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I've never really tried to build an 'army' before, never more than a platoon-sized element, maybe with attachments. But these Doom Pixies are really starting to accumulate, in terms of vehicle they already have more than any other element I've built up. And for infantry alone,, only the Lucky 7's ('way at the beginning of this blog) have more body count.
I'm really torn on what to start next, because I have this RBT (Really Big Tank) that looked good on Etsy, not so good in person, but I have big ideas on how to make it into something really cool (hence the cUstoMiZing bit of the blog title) but at the same time, the Idunni Mining Consortium are in and they have some wicked cool pieces.
Decisions, decisions! These are nice problems to have!
Thank you both for looking in and for your comments.
"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."
Seriously nice work. Heavy looking great. As to an army, you would be surprised as to how easy it is to get a couple thousand points together. The trick is flexibility. Beautiful work bud keep it up.
Thanks very much Camkierhi and Captain Brown! I greatly appreciate you taking the time to look in and especially to leave a comment. To tell the truth, I've been having so much fun trying new models from the Nekomimi line that I didn't notice how many they were getting to be until I realized that- like the cuckoo bird chick in nature- they had displaced all the other models and figures from the shelf they used to 'share'. All the others are crowded in on different shelves now!
I've decided which project to take on next and hope to make a start at it later this evening and will post some pics (hopefully!) then.
More follows soonest.
"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."
This is an interesting little kit off Etsy but a reminder that my normal Skinflint nature (yes, I'm subscribed to his blog) comes with two edges: the price was certainly very good even for as long ago as I bought this, but it has some drawbacks.
The strengths are the sheer size of the thing- you get a sense of the scale in a couple of the pics below that include provisional posing for crew members. It also packs a lot of molded/cast in detail that only wants painting to add another dimension of 'life' for the model (y'ouns know my philosophy on armored vehicles- really, any vehicles- they don't truly come alive until Soldiers and their junk are liberally scattered about them). Finally, it has the potential to upgrade/up-gun a lot of the weapon pieces with other parts- the resin is the softer, drill-able kind that you can work with, not a brittle, shatter-in-your hand kind.
And that's the chief weakness of the model- the resin is tacky to the touch and remained so even after several months residing on my Pile of Shame. I don't know if this was because it wasn't cured long enough/properly, but I hit it with a UV light from work (we display fluorescent mineral samples for some of our projects) to try to help it 'dry up' and then primered it with two layers of Rust-o-leum and then two layers of the base color and its acceptable in its end state.
The other problem shows in the last picture: those random bits are the components for the side sponsons and they absolutely are too small and won't fit together- to try to use them would require massive amounts of greenstuff to hide the seam gaps and join them to the hull. I reckon to resolve that difficulty by simply scratch-building my own and up-gunning them to at least 40K-style autocannon or gatlings or something- I'll know when I get to that point. I'm thinking about making some other additions to the overall hull to enhance that anime look these figures naturally exude- and in the thinking have some ideas how to do a super-heavy artillery piece from scratch (which I'll then have to wrestle with whether to start it, add more Nekomimi Winterguard infantry or start the Idunni heavy infantry).
Anyways, we're off again. Thank you for looking in. More follows soonest.
Smilodon components:
Tack fitted:
Provisional crew-fitting:
Sponson components:
"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."
Hi MeatShield! I gave US$25 for it back in February. That seller isn't active on Etsy at the moment, I checked just now, but sometimes they go inactive while they print more pieces or just to take a break- I'll check periodically to see if he comes back up.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Adding this pic for scale (Leman Russ, Smilodon, Baneblade):
Looking at it this way, maybe not a superheavy after all, more like a 'medium heavy'. If I need another one of these I'm betting that an M4 Sherman, M24 Chaffee or M48 Patton tank kit in 1/35 scale would provide a good base.
More follows soonest.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/11/30 21:42:23
"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."
Catgirl army is looking good, and interesting vehicles to boot!
"Your mumblings are awakening the sleeping Dragon, be wary when meddling the affairs of Dragons, for thou art tasty and go good with either ketchup or chocolate. "
Dragons fear nothing, if it acts up, we breath magic fire that turns them into marshmallow peeps. We leaguers only cry rivets!
Sorry to hear that the tank is giving you some issues. Thanks for the scale shot also, the Smilodon looks absolutely massive, and I think it must be the same size as a Baneblade.
Thanks for looking in and commenting Syro and shaz!
I didn't mean to sound whiny describing the challenges to overcome with the model- I was just surprised as other pieces similar to it (Whirlwind tank, TomCat walkers) had been a very different proposition (different manufacturers in each case). In this case, Smilodon gave me experience working with new materials and especially trying to get more accurate in my styrene cutting and shaping as I build my own sponsons.
I'm kitbashing in some old Tehnolog/Robocorps heavy autocannon for the sponson-mounted armament, because- frankly- anythign else would be just too puny!
More follows soonest.
"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."
Work continues on Smilodon apace, just not last week- lots of competing tasks for my attention. Got some good work done yesterday and tonight though- much of the base coating and all of the decals and signage are done.
A bit more to go and then there is a metric crap-ton of weathering to do. Given that this model has so much stowage detail molded onto it, she can't be a 'parade ground' vehicle like the Whirlwind Tank- needs to be lots of 'usage' mark-ups. At the same time, I can't default to my standard 'slop earth color on everything and call it good'- Smilodon is too big, realistically, mud can't get thrown much higher than the lower part of the tread boxes (unless maybe another Smilodon went roaring by). So, mud up to the first third and then rust, corrosion and oxidation streaks (just another form of corrosion by another name) for the rest.
The sponsons are crudely built out by me (I may add some greenstuff shrouds around the gimbals) and the auto-cannon are from an old BroneCorps model similar to the SPAAG I built almost at the beginning of this blog. There are sockets also for two bow-mounted guns, the castings that came with look sort of like stubbers/heavy machineguns, but I don't like them. I have some extra Winterguard heavy weapons floating around and may use them or just leave guns off that part- the front part of the fighting compartment must be already a bit crowded, what with the driver, the hull mounted gatling, probably part of the loading/ejection system for the main gun and the cheerleader (all Winterguard vehicles have them). We'll see.
Thank you for looking in. More follows soonest.
"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."
Montrose Toast
2023/12/13 21:51:12
Subject: sCratchBuilding CuStomiZing & CitbaShing: 12DEC: Smilodon basecoating well along
Thank you, Olthannon! Go big or go home, as they say.
I hope to have a bit of an update a little later tonight.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Did get some more work in tonight, by golly! Finished with base colors, got a first layer of grime down on everything and made another attempt to do lenses- best so far, but I may paint over and try again.
It's a good thing I make my own ersatz Nuln Oil, because Smilodon is big, and takes a lot of juice:
I was pleased to see that my attempt at applying it sparingly seems to have worked- I wanted something to take the gleam off, but not just smear a heavy coat of black over everything.
It's actually hard to see that I've really applied quite a lot of grime, unless you do side by side photos of the pre-grime and post-grime tanks; I actually will probably strategically apply a little bit more here and there to make it sand out a bit:
I've also learned something about painting lenses, after watching a ton of YouTube videos: 1) The amoeba is your friend- the colored section needs to be more paisley shaped, not half the circle and 2) use good quality paints for fine work like this. You can see the green (and red on lenses on the chassis not pictured here) are chalky, grainy- I need to use proper modelling paints that will apply smoothly, in a paisley shape, and I think I'm nearly there.
After this, it's heavy rust effects on the mufflers, mud/dirt/muck effects on the tracks, bogies and support rollers and perhaps a light dusting overall of snow: after all, the army is composed of Nekomimi Winterguard!
Thank you for looking in. More follows soonest.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/12/15 02:07:05
"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."
It's not too late to sponsor a Tonk- go see theCrowe's blog with Tonk in the title and let him know who you want to back! Sponsorship is free and really, provides an opportunity to show of some of your work, and all in good fun.
The first bout between Death from Above and Gobert the Tonk Engine can be found at the bottom of this page:
I've an idea in mind for a suitably anime over-the-top self-propelled artillery piece- hadn't thought about an airship yet, but close air support is something the Winterguard are lacking. There are some interesting designs in the opening of the Vincent Price movie Master of the World or- if I can be ambitious enough- the airship from the movie itself! I loves me a challenge!
Something that would be perfect for the cat-girls is the airship Athena that Klaus, Not Santa built- but I lack the skills, focus, resources and time!
More follows soonest- I'm hoping to break out the airbrush in a bit and add some more crud to the Smilodon.
Thank you for looking in.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2023/12/19 22:48:17
"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."
Montrose Toast
2023/12/20 23:35:57
Subject: Re:sCratchBuilding CuStomiZing & CitbaShing: 15DEC: Smilodon first wash complete
I don't know what explosive fuel needs a placard to warn people about it, but storing it outside the hull armor seems like a good idea:
This is my second attempt at these lenses, I'm much better pleased with the result:
Bow shot:
Smilodon:
Panzer Pixies up next, and then either the Long Scratch Non-Line-of-Sight Self-propelled artillery piece or- dang it! Syro's got me thinking seriously about an airship and a new class of Winterguard: Sky Pixies.
Thanky ou for looking in. More follows soonest.
"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."
Very nice work on the tanks. Airships are very addictive. And before you know it you have a 3ft long blimp to store somewhere. But I would love to see your efforts on one.
Despite having the concept pretty much mapped out for a Nekomimi Ludicrously Large Non-Line of Sight SPG, I've been toying with how I'd do the hull for a zeppelin all day- already have an idea of how I'd want to do the gondola. Plus there's all the new Idunni heavy infantry to get to.... these are good problems to have!
"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."
Looking good so far on that tank, I am however concerned about the delicate look of the sponson weapons.
"Your mumblings are awakening the sleeping Dragon, be wary when meddling the affairs of Dragons, for thou art tasty and go good with either ketchup or chocolate. "
Dragons fear nothing, if it acts up, we breath magic fire that turns them into marshmallow peeps. We leaguers only cry rivets!
Yeah, I wasn't aiming for gimbaled weapons mounts when I started, was shooting for a more WH40K Leman Russ look. But as I never really plan ahead, it proved more effort than I anticipated adapting the big Robogear/Tehnolog autocannons, so opted for the look you see here. I'm still toying with the idea of adding a housing around the gun itself- would make the assembly look bulkier-stronger, although the current look is more like the vehicle in the Kurt Russell movie Soldier.
The nice thing abut not planning too far ahead is it's always a surprise when you finish; there are, of course, numerous downsides, as well.
"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."
I'm glad to see so many new and old friends from these pages back at it already- the output of some of you is prodigious! I get a lot of ideas to rip of... pay homage to by reading through your pages.
I've made a start at finishing off the Smilodon project with getting the crew into shape- the first three members anyway. These will occupy the hatches in the turret. I've got several more that I very much want to pose outside the hull in various places, but the company that produces the Nekomimi Winterguard don't make any seated figures and there's only so much altering I can do with the brittle resin, so, so far, no joy on adding more than these three. We'll see though, I'll keep poking at it.
Also, taking into account shazolenzabi's observation, I have an idea to add a very Nekomimi-esque gunshield to the side-mounted autocannon. Again, we'll see how that pans out.
More follows soonest.
"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."
Base colors mostly complete- the yellow piping around the edge of the banner needs going over at least once more (pale yellow on a strong color like red), possibly some touch ups here and there before highlighting, inking and washes:
Taking some gubbins back to the farm with me this weekend to drill out with the press- too finicky and small to try to do with the hand drill here at the apartment, then we'll add some gunshields to the autocannon in the near future. I say that, rather than 'next week' as my work is sending me out on the road next week, so will be a delay before I can paint again.
Also noticed that there are no pintle mounted heavy weapons on the turret, going to have to remedy that. Any turret crew that freakin' hand grenades on their belts ;just in case' (a la the movie Serenity: "Sure would be nice if we had some grenades right about now!") simply won't be happy without a plasma, pulse or autocannon to plink away with; at least a heavy stubber!
Thank you for looking in. More follows soonest.
"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."
"Your mumblings are awakening the sleeping Dragon, be wary when meddling the affairs of Dragons, for thou art tasty and go good with either ketchup or chocolate. "
Dragons fear nothing, if it acts up, we breath magic fire that turns them into marshmallow peeps. We leaguers only cry rivets!
Finished Forge World Elysian Army 
Finished Tau Sept Cadre 
Finished Ork Waaagh | 
Alaitoc Eldar Warhost 
Finished Order of Our Martyred Lady - Sisters of Battle 
Finished Necromundian Imperial Guard Regiment 
