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Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina


I wasn't gonna do this, since I'm not the type to show off my hobby related stuff. But a fellow Dakka member, shasolenzabi (a very creative fellow, I might add. I encourage folks to check out his blog and gallery), recommended it. And I figure "what the hell. Why not?"


So here is a documentation of a bored individual who hasn't pick up a brush in a long time.


I got the notion in my head to do something a little different and fun. Seeing that the conversion/kitbash/scratch build/"counts as" crew is still going strong like they were in my Rogue Trader days, I decided to go that route. In order to slowly brush up on long forgotten skills (which were not super great to begin with. I was better with scale aircraft models than minis), I started simple.


I have a shedload of old G.I. Joe toys dating back to 1983. Almost all of them were gifts. Even as I got older, since I went from playing war with younger siblings/relatives to collecting. Sadly, the majority of them were ruined from being in storage for over a decade in various old farm buildings and mobile homes on the property, some of which were damaged by the string of major hurricanes we had back in the late 90's.

So, why not give them new life as 40k custom fluff units, in the Emperor's service? Or (for those too far gone) tabletop terrain even? Maybe even something suitably Orky?


The first project is ultra-simple (no Wardian puns intended). A minor work-over of a 1982-83 vintage G.I. Joe "Motorized Battle Tank" or MOBAT for short.


I don't have pics of the earliest phases of the project, since doing this wasn't on the radar at that point. All I did was remove the rubber tracks (Which were in good shape. Plastic and rubber in toys were tougher back then), removed the little coupla machine gun, and scrubbed it down good with warm soapy water and a toothbrush. The decals were a little tougher to get off the tank, and I managed to get the vast majority of the old adhesive off with peanut butter and a lot of scrubbing with soap and water.

The backstory for the vehicle's paint scheme was that it was hastily applied en-route to an emergency request: Trouble on a mining planet called Karalius III, near the borders of the Segmentum Tempestus and Segmentum Pacificus. It was a dismal twilight world (not unlike Nostromo) with an ashen, grey surface due to vulcanism and odd dust storms. The incident that followed, taking place in 833.M41, would become known to Imperial savants as "The Karalius Debacle" The senseless loss of the 2nd Regiment, Third Brigade would be a sore spot between the Black Watch and Munitorum that continues today. Also lost were a detachment from the Order of the Valorous Heart, A company from the Sky Sentinels Chapter, and two Tallarn Imperial Guard regiments.

Enough with the backstory. On to the project...

I primed it with Krylon Fusion gloss black and based it with Citadel Abbadon Black. The base coat turned out pretty well despite doing it by hand (remember, I'm rusty as hell). I figured I would go with the camo next.

I wanted a lighter shade of grey for the camo, so I used Citadel Administratum Grey. I knew I would have to paint multiple thin layers to get it like I wanted. Here are pics from after the first layer:












The next thing I wanted to do was some touch-ups and further layering of the grey. This is what I ended up with so far:














Based on suggestions and tips, I plan on working on the road wheels to solidify the colors. On some of the wheels, instead of breaking up the colors, I'll probably just go with one solid color. It's also been suggested that I give the vehicle itself another very light coat, which I plan to do. After that, I plan on working on the details.


Stay tuned for further details of my disaster in progress.....


Automatically Appended Next Post:


On "Post Number Two", I wanted to show my second work in progress.


The second project is an old G.I. Joe Wolverine Missile Tank. I also based the outer part of the tread units. More details on that later. For now, here are some pics:





The missiles will get a good priming next. After I assemble the turret unit (lost the connecting piece ages ago. I'm having to use a piece from a G.I. Joe Killer Whale hovercraft), I'll prime it next.






My next projects will be an Equalizer ADV (already dissaembled and cleaned up) and this little beauty:





More to come folks. Peace.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2016/03/24 16:37:29


Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in us
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





Affton, MO. USA

Always good to see any toy brought back to life, especially GIJoes. Shaso Is great at getting people to come out of their shell, just watch out you'll end up with a horde of troops like him soon enough .

Welcome to dakka, leave your money at the door

LOL, Theo your mind is an amazing place, never change.-camkierhi 9/19/13
I cant believe theo is right.. damn. -comradepanda 9/26/13
None of the strange ideas we had about you involved your sexual orientation..........-Monkeytroll 12/10/13

I'd put you on ignore for that comment, if I could...Alpharius 2/11/14 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina

 Theophony wrote:
Always good to see any toy brought back to life, especially GIJoes. Shaso Is great at getting people to come out of their shell, just watch out you'll end up with a horde of troops like him soon enough .

Welcome to dakka, leave your money at the door




If I get too crazy, I'll have to invest in some shelves to line an entire wall. And run some serious Apoc games again. Although, the rest of the household won't appreciate one end of the house to the other scattered with tanks, AFVs, troops, and walkers.


And I am grateful to Shaso for doing just that.


The only downside to what I'm doing is finding parts for some of the toys that I can't substitute. Many of those jacklegs on Ebay are freakin' scalpers. lol.

Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in us
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





Affton, MO. USA

What type of parts are you looking for? 40K or GIJoe?

LOL, Theo your mind is an amazing place, never change.-camkierhi 9/19/13
I cant believe theo is right.. damn. -comradepanda 9/26/13
None of the strange ideas we had about you involved your sexual orientation..........-Monkeytroll 12/10/13

I'd put you on ignore for that comment, if I could...Alpharius 2/11/14 
   
Made in us
Rogue Inquisitor with Xenos Bodyguards





Eastern edge

Ah!, glad to see you are doing this! it will also help others to point out ideas as well that You or I may miss, and Theo has asked a good question as part of it all is tossing in some 40K bits onto a project.

I also recommend if you can afford to, Hoard o' Bitz (I never had any issues with their shipping, but apparently Theo has, as well as Zinge Industries for parts to add to your projects!

And Theo, you collect a horde yourself!


"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!



 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina

Theophony wrote:What type of parts are you looking for? 40K or GIJoe?



G.I. Joe. Apparently, there is a big collector's market. But you can still find deals for parts, and even complete vehicles, if you're patient.



shasolenzabi wrote:Ah!, glad to see you are doing this! it will also help others to point out ideas as well that You or I may miss, and Theo has asked a good question as part of it all is tossing in some 40K bits onto a project.

I also recommend if you can afford to, Hoard o' Bitz (I never had any issues with their shipping, but apparently Theo has, as well as Zinge Industries for parts to add to your projects!

And Theo, you collect a horde yourself!




Theo certainly has a VERY nice collection of undead. And that Leviathan looks downright terrifying with the red LED lights glaring at you in low light.


Oh, parts for 40k are no problem. I'm already keen on some of the more popular "aftermarket" bit suppliers for GW stuff.


When it comes to how much 40k stuff (besides decals, paint schemes, etc) I add depends on the project. For the "Nightblade" (MOBAT) I'm going light on the 40k stuff, to maintain the realistic military theme shared with the Rhino and modern Land Raider (in the vehicle's background, it's suspected of coming from the same series of STC printouts that led to the aforementioned vehicles). I'm planning on adding a hatch, and a pintel mounted storm bolter facing the rear. That's about it.


For the Wolverine, a hatch, pintle mounted weapon, smoke projectors/canisters, and possibly a small IR spotlight. Hopefully, I can go with all IG issue stuff with that list. It's also gonna get some mud, and more weathering than the MOBAT.


The "Pattern 61" (M61A5) is also going for a modern, minimalist theme, since it's a relic (like the MOBAT/"Nightblade" and Wolverine) dating back to the Great Scouring, and a superheavy gun carriage/tank destroyer.


I haven't made up my mind with the Equalizer yet.


I don't have any new pics yet. But I'll correct that in the next day or too.

Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in us
Rogue Inquisitor with Xenos Bodyguards





Eastern edge

Looking forwards to the pics. I need to catch back up to my own leviathan, it will have blue eyes and red fusion stacks, as well as a green (or maybe yellow targeter) on the head.

"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!



 
   
Made in us
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





Affton, MO. USA

There's been a couple old toy shops near me that specialize in GIJoes. The old one has closed and reopened a few times with the same owners, it's a side project of theirs and their day job gets in the way, they also have vintage 80's arcade game consoles. A new one just opened a few blocks from our church, the guy scratch builds terrain for the action figures. He has a pretty nice ice cave of Hoth with the monster and luke suspended from the ceiling. He also has the USS Flagg GIJoe aircraft carrier set up with one of the jets on it and at least one circling suspended from the ceiling.

LOL, Theo your mind is an amazing place, never change.-camkierhi 9/19/13
I cant believe theo is right.. damn. -comradepanda 9/26/13
None of the strange ideas we had about you involved your sexual orientation..........-Monkeytroll 12/10/13

I'd put you on ignore for that comment, if I could...Alpharius 2/11/14 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina



Did some more work on the layering, the road wheels, and some general touch-ups last night on the "Nightblade":












It is a lot better than before. But something is still bugging me about the paint job. Can't put a finger on it.....



I also started working on the inside of the tread units for the Wolverine. But I'm going to have to wait on more paint to come in before I hit it heavy.






Another thing is the Equalizer ADV. I'm planning on sticking with the factory camo pattern that Hasbro slapped on it, just a winter scheme instead of the current scheme. I went ahead and took some pics for use as reference when that time comes, since the priming is going to cover it up.


First, the SAM launch system:














I'll probably take more pics outside on the next clear, sunny day we have. Anyway, the main turret unit for the radar unit, SAM system and "twin-linked accelerator cannons":











The upper hull unit:




















Crew hatches open:






Storage compartments:







Engine hatches removed:








More to come........



Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in us
Rogue Inquisitor with Xenos Bodyguards





Eastern edge

Nice, looking forwards to seeing both machines completed!

the camo for the one seems winter style, the other a blend of woodland/desert(that pinkish color), it reminds me of old desert camo

"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!



 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina




Things didn't go as planned in the hobby realm over the last couple of days.



Since my old G.I. Joe F.L.A.K. was damaged beyond repair, I decided to save it for a future terrain project or diorama. I salvaged the seat and legs from it, and wrote it off. Found another one on Ebay, minus the seat, for a fair price, However it was damaged in transit due to piss-poor packaging. That seller sure as hell didn't get positive feedback from me.


On a positive note, I did get some goodies in the other day:






The first thing I did was repair the F.L.A.K. with some good ol' Testor's non-toxic. Did the trick, firmly reattaching the seat support arm to the cannon's main body:







I decided to do some work on the Wolverine. This is where the "fun" started.


I wanted to leave the wheel holes on the bottom of the exterior lower hull open, hoping to find some transfers later on to indicate lift points. So, I carded up the openings from inside. Since I'm a cheap bastard, I cut up an old Walgreen's discount card from ages ago, did a quickie job on it since that patch would be out of sight.







Now for the "fun" (i.e. when things started getting annoying).....


Next up was patching the upper hull operator's portal with some "make-do pasticard". Since there was a slight curve in that general area, and the old card was pretty firm, I had to sit there and keep it pressed with my thumbs longer than normal for the bond to form and hold firm.






It didn't have to be 100% perfect, since I'm going to have to cut another piece and glue it from the outside. But I'm going to wait for some proper plasticard for that job.


I slid the tread units back on after that was done:






.....And slid the rear piece with the tow hitch back on, and snapped the upper hull back onto the lower part. There is a rear prong (on the right) that broke off ages ago. But that just makes for a nice spot for some light battle damage:






All in all, despite the slight aggravation, the quickie job on the driver's portal didn't turn out too bad:











As I mentioned before, I'll cut a thinner piece to install from the top when I get some good plasticard.




After going through all the hassle of making a center piece to secure the launcher units to the turret, I finally found a proper piece on Ebay for a couple of bucks and cheap shipping. It's the little piece between the two launch units on top of the turret:







I ended up having to glue the launchers into a static position because the plastic piece inside the turret unit, that stabilized the launchers when they were elevated or depressed, was another casualty of time and rough kids:






Now we get back to the ol' "Nightblade" aka MOBAT......


And here is where things REALLY didn't go 100% to plan.


I had originally wanted to use the Death Korps superheavy tank commander kit from Forge World. However, apparently it's OOP, since there is a "SOLD OUT-No Longer Available" on the listing. I also wanted to use the Cadian hostile environment upgrade set for any future tank crew, in future projects, since that is the standard kit I envision for Black Watch armor personnel. But it's been "temporarily out of stock" for a while now. So, I decided to order the plastic Citadel accessories from GeeDubs.


When I got it (as shown in the first pic above), I was fairly pleased with the quality of the parts. But looking at the tiny tankers, I finally got an idea on how FREAKIN' HUGE this tank is gonna be. And the "sponson mounted, internally operated, heavy stubber" on top of the main turret just got upgraded to "autocannon".

I had cut up one of my old NRA membership cards from the days before I became a life member (and didn't need a new card every year) into a circular piece, to cover the portal behind the newly designated "autocannon", since I figured that any GW hatch pieces were going to be considerably smaller. The plan was to cut a hole in the middle of the card-disc, and glue down the hatch frame to it.

For some reason, the box cutter with decent blades, that I cut up numerous pieces of plastic before with, suddenly wanted to be a pain in the ass about cutting this hole in this card. I ended up having to split the disc in half with a pair of scissors, before I could out the outlined hole. I finally got it after some effort, but it turned out half-assed. I managed to get the Citadel hatch ring glued to the "plasticard".

I gently scrapped away the paint from the inner ring of the original hatch area, and went with a light amount of glue. The larger part glued down nicely.....except in one tiny area in the front of the original sponson. That bastard did not want to bond, no matter what I did. I finally got a half-way decent fix by gluing one of the strapped bundles from the Citadel set on that spot.

Then I found that the hatch didn't fit flush with the commander's coupla ring. Apparently, it's made to be attached in the open position only. I did some gentle sanding. But no joy. I ended up going with the hatch in the open position.

I wanted the storm bolter option as a pintel mounted weapon...facing to the rear. However, what I took for a mount was actually for the damned spotlight. And guess what was in the wrong position? After the aggravation I went through, I sure as hell ain't gonna start pulling crap apart. So, I went with the flow and mounted the bolter where the spot was and said to hell with it. Putting the trigger/grip assembly on the body of the storm bolt was real fun (sarcasm.jpg). It looks kinda (as the old folks would say) "catty-wampus". But proclaimed "Damn it, this is it's 'ready position'!" and took my minor victories where I could.


I figured if the hatch is gonna be open, might as well stick me a little tank commander there. I picked the coolest head (and the one closest to what I wanted originally. Damn it, Forge World. Get your thumbs out of your asses), glued it to the torso I decided on, and viola! What I ended up with wasn't originally to plan. But now that I look at it, it look kinda cool. I just dread having to paint all of those tiny parts without making a mess.


The results so far. Obviously it needs a little more work (and some handy-dandy green stuff):












Okay, you guys can laugh now.



More to come. Feedback, as usual, is more than welcome for future reference and a learning experience.

Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in au
Xenohunter Acolyte with Alacrity





Western Australia

The Nightblade is like a wedding cake of turrets!

Pop some some Imperial Aquila on it and cover every panel with rivets to add complexity.

+++ The Unraveling Of Sepheris Secundus +++ [INQ28 Project Blog]
+++ Hunters of Ra +++ [3rd Edition Eldar Repaint Showcase]  
   
Made in us
Rogue Inquisitor with Xenos Bodyguards





Eastern edge

Wow! that sucker really is a big beast! the missile tank looks nice as well, coming along nicely, sorry to hear about the issues with the Flak.

"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!



 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina

Blimy wrote:The Nightblade is like a wedding cake of turrets!

Pop some some Imperial Aquila on it and cover every panel with rivets to add complexity.




Oh, it will get some proper transfers signifying it's service to the Master of Mankind and the Imperium. Might even throw in a few real world technical transfers to round things out.


I'm gonna have to skip out on the rivets on this one. Going for the cleaner lines similar to the Fellblade, Glaive, and the (now sadly OOP) Mars and Lucius Pattern Baneblades. Since this tank dates back to the Great Scouring (it's a relic in the 41st Millennium because of it's main gun, an accelerator cannon), it kinda fits.



shasolenzabi wrote:Wow! that sucker really is a big beast! the missile tank looks nice as well, coming along nicely, sorry to hear about the issues with the Flak.



Thanks. Going to have to order some green stuff and fine detail brushes for the next bit of work.


But I do have a couple of questions for you guys.....


Because of the oddball camo scheme, what should I use for highlighting and/or washes?

And will Citadel 'Ardcoat be fine for applying to get those small-scale glossy surfaces required for water transfers?

Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in us
Rogue Inquisitor with Xenos Bodyguards





Eastern edge

For highlighting the black camo, use some medium grays, and for the white, make it like wear and tear with metallics and some dark flecks.

The sealer will help, and the matte coat usually helps dim down the shiny decals.

"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!



 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina

 shasolenzabi wrote:
For highlighting the black camo, use some medium grays, and for the white, make it like wear and tear with metallics and some dark flecks.

The sealer will help, and the matte coat usually helps dim down the shiny decals.




Thanks for the tips. It's much appreciated.

Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina




Got something accomplished today. Yay.



Day before yesterday, I managed to get the missiles and turret/launchers primed with Krylon Fusion black and hunter green respectively:











Today, I painted the missiles and put 'em back into the launcher units. However, because of the added weight, the glue job didn't hold under the center piece. So, I popped it off, scraped away the dry Testors cement, and did a better job this time. After I re-attached the turret to the main hull, I propped the launch units with a paint pot until the glue dried.






In case anybody is wondering, that brown piece of yarn is going to be used as rope, placed in that same area, once I get the large fishing hooks attached to it and the main hull gets it's final layer of paint.


Now onto the "Nightblade" project.....


To cover up that tiny slit at the rear of the cupola, I decided to make a small roll of personal camo netting. I used a piece of medical gauze, and just dabbled on Abbadon Black and Administratum Gray until I got a rough three color strip. I then cut a small piece and rolled it into a bundle, and wedged it under the spotlight mount to the rear of the cupola. Even without glue, it's holding firm.







Afterwards, I painted the cupola, hatch, tank commander, and pintle mounted storm bolter with a base coat. Here are the pics:










I'll have to wait to get the correct paints in before I paint the small bundle to the front of the cupola.



I also went ahead and carded up the large hatch area on the Equalizer's top piece for it's main turret. Please note that this isn't an actual credit card, expired or otherwise. It's one of those facsimiles that the credit card companies send in their junk mail to try and get you to apply for a card. No valid numbers of any kind are on the card I used. Junk mail or not, it still benefited me and served a purpose in the end.






Anyway, that's it for now. More to come..........

Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina



Couldn't sleep, so I decided to start a quickie side project, picking something from my queue of projects-in-waiting. I had just got around to disassembling my old Armadillo, cleaning it up, and removing the old G.I. Joe decals. So, that was the one I went with. This is still a work in progress to be done at leisure. The three main vehicles I'm working on now takes priority.


Anyway, here is some pics:


















Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in us
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





Affton, MO. USA

Nice progress so far. Walgreen rewards cards were a good idea, I've also used old credit cards so I can use my name off of it, or the embossed numbers too. Just make sure to cut them up enough to not give away your credit history. House for sale signs are also a good source of plastic card substitute. If you are going to do a lot of conversions or scratch building then you might consider Iplasticsupply.com, you can order bulk plastic sheet from them, shipping is high, but I bought 3 bundles of 1'x1' plastic sheets from them 3 or more years ago and still have a little bit left.

LOL, Theo your mind is an amazing place, never change.-camkierhi 9/19/13
I cant believe theo is right.. damn. -comradepanda 9/26/13
None of the strange ideas we had about you involved your sexual orientation..........-Monkeytroll 12/10/13

I'd put you on ignore for that comment, if I could...Alpharius 2/11/14 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina

 Theophony wrote:
Nice progress so far. Walgreen rewards cards were a good idea, I've also used old credit cards so I can use my name off of it, or the embossed numbers too. Just make sure to cut them up enough to not give away your credit history. House for sale signs are also a good source of plastic card substitute. If you are going to do a lot of conversions or scratch building then you might consider Iplasticsupply.com, you can order bulk plastic sheet from them, shipping is high, but I bought 3 bundles of 1'x1' plastic sheets from them 3 or more years ago and still have a little bit left.



I'll be sure to check them out. Thanks for the heads up.



Now on to today's entry.........



My main projects are on hold until I can get another supply drop in. So, I've decided to carry on with what I started with the Armadillo, and knock out some stuff on the side.


This is nothing more than assembly of a glue free model, with priming, painting, and other stuff to come later. I call it the "Hoplite Project", the first of what I hope will be several Dark Age Relics used by my Ordo Eternia.


The model selected is a Bandai 1/144 scale XXXG-01SR Gundam Sandrock kit from their old W Series kits (relating to Gundam Wing). It's a poseable, glue free model. Which makes for a perfect quickie project.






So far, I've cleaned the parts with warm water and dish detergent, then assembled it. Here is the progress so far.....











Because this is one of Bandai's cheaper kits, it got stickers instead of transfers (a practice, to my understanding, still goes on today with Bandai kits). Wasn't planning on using them anyway:





But at least Bandai was kind enough to provide some extra parts if something got lost......





Well that's it for tonight. More to come......


Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina

Time for an update......



Haven't had much time for hobby-related stuff, but I got something accomplished today after picking up some more Krylon from the local farm/hardware store.


First off some projects to mention....


The Gundam M61A5 has been pushed back a bit until I can get some putty for the suspension pieces, since shasolenzabi gave me the heads up on their fragility. The MOBAT project is also on temporary hold until I can get some fine detail brushes and required paints in. In the meantime, there is other stuff I can play catch-up on.


Here's one for the near-future:





And here's one I've started. Both are old kits I've had for ages and never bothered to assemble (I also have a few Arii Macross Variable Fighter kits, but that's another topic).






I went ahead and primed the Labor parts while still in the sprues, to save time and hassle (like taping up the red and blue clear plastic parts). I had already cleaned the parts in warm, soapy water (along with the Gundam model pictured above) a few days ago.








I also managed to get the the upper hull of the Equalizer primed. I might be wrong, but it seems like it took more to get decent coverage with satin than it would have with gloss:







I decided a while back to cook up a way to make big hemp-type rope to wrap around the front hitches of the Wolverine. I was going to try and glue some large fish hooks to ends of a piece of brown yarn I conned my grandmother out of. But after looking through some tackle I inherited from my late Pops, I decide to go with this instead:






Tested it out. It works like a charm. Just gotta make sure it's tight when I reattach it after painting:






When I did a slapdash repair of the broken drive sprocket area, I wasn't too confident of it holding up long term. So, I cut a circular piece of plastic (an old drivers license. Yeah, I'm cheap.), punched a hole just large enough to fit center stub tight, and glued it down with Testor's. It just might work......








Hopefully, weather and humidity permitting, I'll be able to prime it tomorrow.


Anyway, that's it for tonight. More to come........


This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/04/20 07:24:41


Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in us
Rogue Inquisitor with Xenos Bodyguards





Eastern edge

Man! you are getting busy! good projects all around, and liking the conversion of the Joe tanks!

"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!



 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina

 shasolenzabi wrote:
Man! you are getting busy! good projects all around, and liking the conversion of the Joe tanks!




Much thanks. It's appreciated.




Now, for tonight's update.....



Did luck up with the weather/humidity and got the lower hull of the Equalizer ADV primed:










I don't think I'm going to bother sealing up those wheel wells on the tread bottoms. They're not noticeable when the vehicle is on a flat surface, unlike the Armadillo.



After drying for a couple of hours, I put the parts back into the lower hull for some ballast, made sure the storage and engine hatches were secure, and reconnected the upper and lower hulls:












Now on to the "fun" part......



Next up was the Labor model. As usual with my Bandai kits assembled so far, you get stickers instead of transfers......








Years ago, when I first bought this kit and looked through it, these rubber pieces, for some unknown reason, intimidated me. Now I know why, after nearly a decade. First off, the hole cutting didn't go 100% to plan. Fortunately, the armor would cover them up, and the elongated holes turned out to be a blessing in disguise......







The Instruction sheet did have a cool poster on the other side. I might frame it......







Stage one of the assembly started out okay. But getting the parts into the rubber coverings, and fighting said coverings to assemble the armor, was a major pain in the ass. The second arm wasn't as bad, but was still a fight. I think it was because of the Krylon paint not allowing the parts to just smoothly slip in. You live and you learn.






Assembling the shoulder units was also a minor bitch because of the rubber and the light bars wanting to be bastards about it. And that tiny red light was a real blast to get in due to my big fingers, and the pieces not cooperating when I used tweezers.





Getting the legs, feet, and lower torso put together wasn't as bad. The rubber covering wasn't as uncooperative here. My lapse in attention caused me to put the left leg armor on ass-backwards. And the "crotch" piece had to be pressed together several times for it to finally set half-way tight. The rubber was partly to blame (no "I See What You Did Thar" intended ):





I corrected the error and re-adjusted the rubber piece in the "crotch" area (no dirty jokes intended):





Here is a blurry, crap shot of the upper/center torso. I ended up having to take the whole thing apart because I forgot to put a connection piece in. Problem solved:





I attached the upper and lower portions. Getting the rubber above the waist behind the cockpit module/center torso, and still get the pegs flush into the connection holes, was a small battle. I had to re-adjust the rubber below the cockpit after I took this picture:






Attaching the arm/shoulder units to the main body actually went well. No issues.







Next up was the head unit. I screwed the pooch on this one, making it harder than it had to be in the end.


When I went about filing the excess sprue plastic from the head pieces, I accidentally filed off two small prongs, on the rear head piece, that needed to fit into two corresponding small holes. After sliding in the visor and connecting piece, glue would take care of that problem. But because of pressure caused by the neck prong on the inside of the head unit, and the small amount of paint inside the head pieces, it didn't want to bond. I ended up having to gently sand away the paint (which my dumb ass should have done to begin with, despite being very little splatter inside the head pieces) and having to sit there keeping them carefully pressed together for nearly a half hour for a bond to form with the Testor's and plastic. I had assumed, for some reason, that the red forehead sensor piece was a pop-in, like the little red lights on the shoulder armor. Instead, I was supposed to slide it into a tiny slot, with the "nipple", extending through the hole from the inside. Remembering close-ups of the Type Zero on the Ark in Patlabor: The Movie is what clued me in that I screwed up, since the instructions were no help with this small step (Japanese kana instead of English and Roman letters) with a vague illustration. So, I said screw it, and glued it on from the outside. Good enough for government work, good enough for me.







The small gap on the front bugged the hell out of me.I did manage to tighten it up some. But a little green stuff might be needed before the final painting:










I used the regular hands instead of the pieces extended in combat. But because this is a glue-free model kit, you can change it out. So, I'll hold on to it:









The model still doesn't look half-bad, despite the hassle and minor screw ups. I'm going to enjoy painting this one up.


Anyway, that's it for now. More to come......

Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in us
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





Affton, MO. USA

The Equalizer is looking really good with just the primer base, cannot wait to see your take on it with the camo and such.

LOL, Theo your mind is an amazing place, never change.-camkierhi 9/19/13
I cant believe theo is right.. damn. -comradepanda 9/26/13
None of the strange ideas we had about you involved your sexual orientation..........-Monkeytroll 12/10/13

I'd put you on ignore for that comment, if I could...Alpharius 2/11/14 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina

 Theophony wrote:
The Equalizer is looking really good with just the primer base, cannot wait to see your take on it with the camo and such.




Thank you.


I'm going for a winter scheme on this one. The basic pattern is going to be as close to the original Hasbro as possible, but with winter colors. I just haven't settled on all the colors yet.

Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in us
Rogue Inquisitor with Xenos Bodyguards





Eastern edge

So titans and mega tanks to stock the army is a good thing!

"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!



 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina

 shasolenzabi wrote:
So titans and mega tanks to stock the army is a good thing!



Agreed. Especially with all the nasty stuff the Tau are running around with nowadays, dusting off some ancient relics is a wise move.


Now, on to tonight's entry.......


I decided to work on the Equalizer a bit more, in the interest of progress. First off, I added the "glass" to the hatch viewing ports for the main hull. I used some leftover pieces of an old driver's license for the hatch work. I used a bit too much Testor's, but since it was on the inside of the hatches, I didn't sweat it too much.







Next, I sealed off the bottom with some more plastic. Didn't use as much glue this time around....







Next, I did some internal repair work on the turret assembly, and put it back together. The guns are slightly bent inwards because of the soft plastic. But it's not that bad, and I've seen worse on Forge World resin models where the owner didn't bother with using the hairdryer trick to straighten the pieces out. I may or may not attempt to put a brace between the two barrels with some old sprue.






I wanted some smoke canister launchers. The toy originally had two sets on the turret rear. But one of them was lost, and I didn't like the way the Hasbro launchers refused to line up properly. So, I used the two Citadel smoke canister launchers from my GeeDubs tank accessories set, and glued them over the holes for the original launchers. Here is a comparison between the Citadel and Hasbro smokers:





And here is the Citadel bits mounted:







I slid the missiles back into their launch tubes. I like the way they recess into the launchers, as opposed to the exposed missiles on the Armadillo:







Next, I glued an Aquila from the Citadel parts set on the front. Perfect fit......







Next up, I put the mud guards back onto the vehicle. Twice I thought I had lost one or two of them, victims of my cat looking for something to play with. I figured it was better to be safe than sorry:








Next, I decided to start work on the camo. I used Administratum Grey as my second color. The first is the Krylon Fusion Satin Gray. Theophony thought it looked good, so I decided to stick with that as a first color, rather than paint over it. Using an old tablet to access my gallery on Dakka, I followed the original camo pattern as close as possible (which is why I photo-recorded it a while back), outlining it with a small base brush. Then using the small brush for tight areas and a large brush for the flat areas, I filled it it with the first layer. Here is the results of the first layering:








I also used an old Testor's soft bristle brush I had left over from my scale aircraft modeling days to slap on some Admin Grey to the smaller wheels, just under the top of the tracks. It's going to get some mud, weathering, and (hopefully) a little snow anyway, not to mention the armored skirts are going to hide them. So, I didn't go for perfection. I just did it on a whim as to not waste the paint still on my makeshift pallet. That stuff cost money.


I hope to be able to put on a second layer sometime tomorrow, in addition to assembling the Gundam Sentinel kit I showed off earlier in the thread.


Well, that's it so far. More to come.......

Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in gb
Pious Palatine






Cool. That missile system looks great.

EDC
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina

 evildrcheese wrote:
Cool. That missile system looks great.

EDC




Thank you for the kind words. It's much appreciated.



I like the idea of a mobile hybrid air defense system, incorporating both SAMs and guns. When I was in the military, we had two vehicles (the M163 PIVADS and M48 Chaparral using the Sidewinder-based MIM-72 missile) instead of one platform for both. It seems that outside of Russia and Israel, such self-propelled hybrid air defense vehicles haven't really caught on.

The Imperium is 40k also goes the two vehicle route, with the Hydra system, and Manticore armed with Sky Eagle SAMs. I figured that a superheavy hybrid system would be something fun and different for a project.

Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





North Carolina



Time for an update.


First off, the Equalizer Air Defense Vehicle......



I managed to get a second coat on the gray camo, and cleaned it up a bit. Looks better than before. I still have one mudguard on the front to paint up, and one to layer some more. But the other two are done.


After priming the hatches and armored skirts, I went about reinstalling them to the vehicle. The hatches went back on fine. No issues there. The skirts, on the other hand, were another story.

As some of you well know, one of the front catches for the skirt was broken off a long time ago, and I planned to use that spot for some light battle damage. Unfortunately, while putting the skirts back on, I ended up breaking off the rear-most catch on the opposite side. Now, it really looks like crap. Gluing was out of the question due to the paint, and considering the pressure of the skirts on the hull catches, would not have held anyway. So, I started brainstorming......

The Equalizer is a REALLY big vehicle. Bigger than the MOBAT/"Nightblade and M61A5. Truth be told, it's more like a mobile air defense fortress than an armored fighting vehicle. Like somebody took a Gepard or 9K22 and fed it a special formula of Miracle Grow for tanks, and it had a major growth spurt. Something that big, with the bulk of it's advanced sensors geared toward anti--air, there might be blind spots in it's ground scanner coverage for infantry and light vehicles (including walkers) to exploit.

And what to use? It hit me. Thumbtacks. The kind designed like pushpins with the plastic doo-hickeys that allow you push them in easier, and pull them out without having to use a knife to pry them out of whatever they are stuck into.


So, I scavenged a couple of old thumbtacks, and using a little elbow grease, screwed them into the plastic behind the damaged points of the skirts. I painted them up, and viola, enhanced ground senor pods with added range, for better security surrounding the vehicle.

They look ghetto as hell, and some might consider it sloppy work. But does the trick, and adds a bit of character. I'm satisfied with the improv repairs.







Once again, I'm still not finished with the two mudguards I'm painting by hand. One needs another coat of paint, and the other needs to be painted.



I decided to add a few things to the turret. First off, some tools.......






Once again, though, things didn't go to plan......


I went back to the Wolverine for a bit. I found a piece from the kit of an old G.I. Action figure that would fit perfectly as an improvised hatch. I also found what looked to be an antennae from another G.I. Joe toy. So, I decided to add that.

I assembled to the spotlight kit and heavy stubber, and planned on using the towing hook as an improv mount for the weapon.




I added some more plastic to the Wolverine hatch. Rather than pulling the tricky stunt of attempting to punch holes through two layers of plastic, I decided to use some sprue from my Citadel parts set. It mounted without much hassle, even with it turned down slightly in the ready position. I also used sprue for the antennae, using a safety pin and box cutter to work a big enough hole for the unit to fit into. I slapped them onto the vehicle. The antennae is a bit tall. So, I might cut it down a bit:





Problem is, there was no room for the heavy stubber. Time for a change of plans. I decided to use it on the Equalizer.


The plastic card's weld was a bit weak on top of the turret. So, I slapped on another piece of plastic on the exterior of the hole. I glued down a spare ammo box at the rear, and glued the heavy stubber on the front. In hindsight, I probably could've have skipped the exterior plastic. But no harm, no foul.






I decided that I would cover that unsightly plastic with leftover camo netting from the MOBAT/Nightblade project. I rolled it up and tied it on both ends with some white yarn for rope. I haven't installed it yet. That will come later, and I plan on pinning it instead of using glue.





Earlier today, I did a bit more work on the Sandrock Gundam. First, I glued an Aquila to the shield unit:







Later, I primed the Gundam and it's equipment with Krylon Fusion gloss light tan. The end result.....








That's all for now. More to come.....

Proud Purveyor Of The Unconventional In 40k 
   
 
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