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I've decided to torture myself, for no other reason than the fact that I can.  So I bid on this auction to see what I could do with it. 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31399&item=8790359707#ebayphotohosting

 

It's even worse in person, I think the other guy got the better end of the deal.     I took some rather amusing photos of it after it arrived, and currently it's sitting in pieces in some Kleen Strip.   I've got some interesting plans in my head for this one too.   It will probably never actually be used in my Armored Company, but it was cheap and I just want to have some fun building it.

I'll have more pictures soon, probably going to put a section on my website for it as well.

 

-Hans

 

 

 

 

may the Tech Gods of Mars be with you!

GAH! It makes my eyes bleed and my head hurt....It looks like it was painted in a rock tumbler! May the force be with you on this one....ugh... Capt K

Priming is for wimps.

Rreminds me of an IG army i almost bought here...
im amazed though that you did manage to piece it off.Good luck on it and may the Techpriests guide your tools well

Just for some quick laughs, here is what it looked like close up while I was tearing it apart.

http://www.siegecraft.us/griffon.htm

-Hans

Just for some quick laughs, here is what it looked like close up while I was tearing it apart.

Sweet! It's a siege weapon AND a business card holder!

Its like a hidden treasure!

No account numbers?

ROFL. A bunch of folded bank slips.

Thats funny.

Sometimes saving money isnt what is cracked up to be.

Looks like fun. 
I've been working on an old landraider that I found in a similar condition for a similar price.  Taking things like that apart is fun, but not so much the rebuilding.

Good luck man. 

Hey look, it's much less ugly now. ALMOST just another build project.

http://www.siegecraft.us/griffon.htm

you can rebuild it. you'll make it stronger, faster. fortunatley it won't be anywhere 6,000,000 when you're done!
the progress looks great! i like the way you refinished the interior.
are you going to redo the crew or replace them?

Probably going to replace the crew. The metal figure came out like brand new from the paint stripper, but I don't know how it will match up next to the newer plastic cadians.

-Hans

wow...impressive stripping.It does actually look new now on the pics.
Good luck finishing the monster off though.

And whats up with the papers?Call the guy to ask him if he wants them back.Maybe he's tearing his hair out looking for them.

Yeah I replace the crewmen, you can probably make his exact pose from the new cadian heavyweapon sprues.

The stripping came out great.

The bank papers are useless, they are just blank generic deposit slips. No account numbers or personal info on them at all, and they were ripped in half anyways.

I have a couple figures from the Cadian HW sprue that came with my Basilisk, so I was thinking of using them actually. But I actually like the look of the metal one, so I'll probably save him for something at a later date.

-Hans

The bank slips where used to hold the mortar stand up. I bought one years ago, and was constantly plagues with it falling through. Rather ingenious way to fix that problem I think. (no glue did not work)

It looks like the guardsman in the original picture is making love to the mortar cannon. I suggest using him again in the same pose.

OK, assembly is now all done. Figures are pretty much done being posed as well. I do have to clean them up a bit, but will wait until tomorrow when the green-stuff is dry. Probably start painting this weekend.

http://www.siegecraft.us/griffon.htm

Hans on Siegecraft
In the pose, one crew member is getting ready to fire the mortar. The other is thirsty and since it's so loud from the sounds of battle, he has to yell and point to get his buddies attention.... and the canteen. I guess the first guy is just oblivious.

"hey! Give me that canteen"

Priceless.

Wow, hilarious. Too bad those deposit slips weren't checks.

Hans, what product are you using to strip the paint from the plastic parts? It seems to be working remarkably well.

I used a product called "Kleen Strip Brush Cleaner and Conditioner". Not sure if it's available anywhere outside of the US at all, but I bought it at Home Depot here in the paint section. The company makes a few different products, get the lime green colored stuff. Supposedly it's non-toxic and biodegradeable, and I have yet to come across an acrylic paint it won't remove. The photo where I am soaking everything you can see what the bottle looks like right behind the tub-o-pieces.

With metal or plastic, I just soak for a couple hours, then scrub it with an old toothbrush while still sitting in the cleaner. You do have to really rinse if off well with hot water, or it will leave a greasy film on everything that can dry into a chalky white color. On metals, i've had figures stripped back down to brand-new in about 15 minutes total. The paint comes off metal in big loose flakes. Plastics seem to bond better and take more work to get the paint off, and it doesn't come off plastic in big chunks.

-Hans

Thanks. How much did it cost?

I think it was around $6-7 for the bottle. I've managed to clean a LOT of stuff off with just the one bottle too, and it can be diluted somewhat too. Just don't use too big a container to hold whatever you are stripping off, so you don't waste anything, and it can last a while.

-Hans

Thanks again, Hans. I'll swing by HD tonite!

I've used this product recently with mixed success.  I find that the hardest to remove are the primers.  I can never seem to get either the white or black primer to come off, even after leaving the minis in the soak for a week (and I've used the above product, Simple Green, Easy Off, Brake Fluid, and a paint remover prroduct I got from a 'train' store - I'm speaking strictly for plastics

Anyone else have trouble with primers?

Some primers I have also had issues with. It comes off, but needs more scrubbing and I sometimes have to use an old airbrush needle to pick it out of corners and such. Of course, that is also the sign of a good primer if they bond that well.

-Hans

Small update to show where the painting is at. All the basecoats are done on the Griffon, the Crew are still unpainted right now.

http://www.siegecraft.us/griffon.html

Looking good, man. I love the repaneling of the gun area.

How did the hull go back together? Did you have to do a lot of sanding so it would sit 'level'?

I think the mortar deck is warped, and I just couldn't get that gap at the back end to go away. I ended up putting some plastic strips over the gap to cover it up, which ended up looking pretty good. But I don't have any gaps between the tracks and the ground, and the side pieces aren't misaligned at all.

-Hans