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Well, I have been working on my way to a 30,000 point Ork Apoc army. On a force that large I decided that I needed to bring Epic units to 40k scale. I have been hunting Epicast models and found a few. However some of these are horrible looking and expensive to buy. Looking at all the models I have found that the Epicast Gobsmasha is the easiest to build my own without casting. Pretty much all a Gobsmasha is a Leman Russ hull with big wheels. After a few hours of work I am almost done with my first Gobsmasha short of the rivit work and wiring. Here is the pictures of the Epicast model, my reinvented Gobsmasha and the side by side:

Epicast Gobsmasha




Reinvented Gobsmasha






Side-by-side

It looks great, and perfect for a "Looted Wagon" as the young Wildboyz wrestle for the controls!

Its looking great man, the old Epicast stuff is really cool, albeit expensive. I'm sure you're going to add some more rivets and details to the wheels, right?
Granesh

Yep, that is what I am doing right now. There is a wire running from the sight on the barrel to the top/back of the barrel. So far I am up to over 100 rivits and I have not even touched a wheel. I like the longer thinner barrel on the reinvent then the Epicast version, a bit more realistic.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Well, here is an update: Rivit madness. I lost track at somewhere around 600. After completing one wheel full of rivits I have figured that each wheel will have 226 rivits alone so with all four complete that is 904 rivits on the wheels alone. So here is it so far which I only have three wheels of rivits left to finish:







Well, it is off to bed with me. Almost 1 in the morning and I have to be up at 6 AM for work. So close but yet so far away. I hate rivits but it looks so good when done.

Dude, that rocks. I can't wait to see it down at the store this week.

Thanks man. I will bring it in next time I come in but don't know if it will get played. Might play it at the Tanksgiving game but don't know since the it is designed to take on Titans and not normal vehicles.

Fantastic build. I love the attention to detail, particularly the wheels, great work!

Thanks man. Doing rivits always drives me up the wall but it is totally worth it at the end of the day.

EDIT: Never mind, you replied to my post but I didn't see it on my phone

Pretty nice looking, but anything would be better than that horrible epicast one!

Fantastic!!

Is the tank body a little high on the wheels tho? I seem to remember them being more squat to the floor.

Nope, they are at the same level as the Epicast one. On the orginal model there was an arc that was molded into it to tell you where to place the wheels except that their casting ability back then sucked and the wheels did not always fit right. So after about 30 minutes of sanding the Epicast wheels fit right where the marks were.

When I started on mine I placed the new one on blocks that were on the same hight as the Epicast hull and then glued the wheels on to keep the same size and LOS for the new model. I was going to mark out the line of the old wheels onto the new model but it those Epicast wheels are more oval than circles. What they could get away with back then.

I mean this EPIC one Here the orignal model seems squater.

That's really nice! I have one of the old ones that I haven't really figured out what to do with given the current rules... your scratch-build is fantastic though!

What do you expect to field it as?

Looks very orcy. Good job.

thats really good, way better than the old epicast one!

Tortured-Robot wrote:I mean this EPIC one Here the orignal model seems squater.

The old epic size ones it was easier for them to cast with the hull being that low. But the Epicast ones are higher which it is easier to recreate.

Gitsplitta wrote:That's really nice! I have one of the old ones that I haven't really figured out what to do with given the current rules... your scratch-build is fantastic though!

What do you expect to field it as?

I was going to use it as a looted wagon in normal games but in Apoc games the main gun will be a S10 48" range large blast, the plasma is now a Kustom mega-blasta and also a big shoota. Armor 14/13/10.

Looks really good, are the rivets , hole punched plasticard?

Nope, they are plasticard rods that I cut with a hobby knife. Alittle more time consuming but I can then make them any length I want without having to buy thicker plasticard sheets to punch.

thanks for the tip mate !

Well, the diving into rivet madness is done. All-in-all there is 1357 hand cut rivets applied to the vehicle. Now it is done I love how it turned out and it looks so much more lean and mean than the Epicast orginal. So, without further adu here is the finish pre-painted pictures of the Gobsmasha reinvented and a side-by-side:

Gobsmasha Reinvented










Side-by-side Past and Present

This is absolutely stunning. It really looks like a Gobsmasha, but sooooooooooo much better.

Kinda makes me wonder why no one ever thought to do this back in the day instead of paying way too much $$$ for Epicgak models that STILL stink like uncured resin years after they were cast and resisted all forms of bonding known to man. I finally drilled mine straight through the hull and connected the wheels with a threaded bolt and nuts.



Again, amazing work. You have inspired me to get back working on my Looted Wagon project.

This mini was pretty fun, easy and cheap to build except for the rivets. Most of the stuff you can get for cheap off of ebay, bitz shops and local craft and hobby stores.

Hull: Leman Russ Demolisher Hull
Cannon: Shadow Sword Volcano Cannon, Battlewagon coupla bottom, sight from the Ork Boyz kit, a bent piece of plastic and a length of guitar string.
Secondary Weapons: Big Shoota and a Kustom Mega Blasta from the Ork Loota Kit.

View ports: Rhino Kit.

Spikes and bottom Armor: Stompa Kit

Top Hatch: Battlewagon kit

Misc Parts: Storm Sword, Battlewagon, Loota Kit and Chaos Rhino. Rear Armor was left over from a Forgeworld Kannon but can be replaced with any boxy looking item.

Wheels: The centers of the wheels were large wooden toy wheels sold in an 8 pack at Hobby Lobby for 2.99. The card used was Yard Sale signs picked up at a DIY store. The special plasticard rods and channels were bought at Hobbytown USA and were Evergreen Scale Models Items 221 3/64" Rod for the rivets and Item 264 1/8" Channel for the road grippers. The tread under neath were a tile sheet from the same store made by the same company. The caps at the centers were left overs from a modular model pipe system but can be anything such as nuts, end of bolts, etc.

In all this model cost me around $35 USD to make.

1357?

1357????

maddness!!

looks good though~!

Well, I have one more of these to put together and then it is on to two Weirdboy Towers. The old epic models have the old armorcast battlewagon bodies as the bottom half of the model. Lucky for me I pick up two for next to nothing on ebay so it is time to give my Ork Force some Ork Field protection. I was going to make Gun Trukks out of them but I think Weirdboy Towers sound so much cooler for these kits. Plus the old armorcast battlewagons are so small to be made into battlewagons they are pretty useless in 40k without alot of modifcations or being used as a Trukk.