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Ok I'm posing a question to all you sculptors/fabricators out there: How should I create the radios from WWII?



As of now I just have the box made of plasticard. The part that is stumping me is getting the detailing such as the recesses modeled. I'm thinking sculpted GS or maybe cutting out sections of plasticard to finish it up. But really I am open to anything. The stupid thing has been staring at me for the past 3 weeks and I can't figure it out in a way I am pleased with.

Just trim down a Vox-Caster. Cut all the extra stuff off of the sides so that it's just a box with an antenna.

I am actually staring at exactly what you have suggested. It does look sorta like what I am going for, however considering how much effort I am putting so much effort into this, I kinda wanted to go for something that actually resembled the radio, not just a slimmed down vox-caster.

Actually that radio looks rather a lot like a boxier jerry can. Can you do anything with the Guard tank accessory cans? Rectangularise it and add a whip aerial?

Also on getting a good green I can recommend using the Knarloc Green foundation paint as a base.

I find that Catachan green highlighted with Camo Green works very nicely for a good Earthy-Green

one thing which occurs to me is to get a solid plastic box of some sort, the size you want, and then etch out the lines. of course, this assumes you have a dremel or decent etching type tool, and might be more trouble than it's worth.

i think i might also go with a re-tooled vox-caster. but i often try to work with what's available and do the simplest way, rather than making things from scratch (which others might b more skilled at)

@Maj.Winters.

I didn't mean the molds of your Screaming Eagles, if I presneted you with a sketch or source image of a mold I would like made, would you be willing?

from what I can see, very nice work!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
forgot to ask, are you going to use the Flames of War dice for your 40k game?

this is an awesomely big task you've undertaken! and I sincerely hope you keep it up as everything you've done to date looks fantastic! great modelling work and they just look so cool, can't wait to see more! I do have one slightly off topic question though, could you pm me and let me know what colours you used and method for those space marines because i really like them too!

Hey everyone thanks for the support! Sorry I haven't been updating or doing much work lately. I had a series of out of town friends drop by last week which ate up all my time. However I was able to discuss the hobby with two who seemed quite interested. One lives quite far away but the other is just away for the summer. Hopefully he will be drawn in and I will have a local gaming partner. I sent him off with Cadian Blood, Titanicus and Horus Rising to get him into the 40k Universe.

I have started on the painting stage of the first squad. Just a simple camo green basecoat at the moment. It took two coats to get it to a nice solid covering. Now I think I will start working up to lighter shades by adding Kommando kaki. I work over a grey primer basecoat, which after using both black, and white primer, I have found to be the best. It doesn't darken your colors too much but you can still get nice solid coverage.

Also about to pick up on the heavy weapon mold for the missile launcher. I have done a little fabrication on the .30 cal. It took quite a bit of measuring to come up with a scale I liked. Still stumped on the radio tho. I am really resisting doing a slimmed down vox, but at this point I don't know how to get the results I am looking for!

@Disjointed Entity: Send me a PM with specifics. To be honest tho, just getting my own work done is almost more I can handle with work.

@SoloFalcon1138: I actually don't know what the Flames of War dice look like. I have the old red and black GW dice from ages ago and have been using them. However I am not the biggest fan of the small dice so am open to getting a new set. Plus I have yet to make an example of the worst rolling die in the set, so they haven't performed well.

@nerdfest09: Sure thing on the marines. I know I wrote it down somewhere, I just have to find it. I will also give you the link the the WIP thread I had going on Bolter and Chainsword. I talk a lot about the progress of that squad and the hobby behind it.

Long time lurker first time poster.

Iv'e been keeping up with your project for a while now and just wanted to say what a great job your doing.

Thanks to google for helping me find this blog lol

Being a big Band of Brothers fan, I was actually thinking of doing the same thing, with an E-Company themed IG army, but after seeing what you've done so far, I wouldn't do it any justice.

Apart from Winters, are you going to have any other models based on Easy soldiers in your army?

@ Shutdowncb: Thanks man, glad you like the progress! Don't be discouraged tho. I say go for it. As much work as this has been it has also been an amazing amount of fun and experience. 6 months ago I would never have thought I would be sculpting, molding and casting a whole army. It's amazing what a little google research can get you.

As far as other characters, yes I do want to include a few here and there. I think if I ever include a commissar, he would have to be Lt. Spears (for his infamous rumored shooting of a drunk soldier). Shifty is also another one I want to model. Perhaps as a sniper. However I just want to have him standing at ease with his classic M1 cradling stance. Doc Roe is another I want to do. Nixon might make an appearance as well.


On a minor update. Did some work on the company before work today. Did the first test cast of the missile launcher. It turned out perfectly as far as I can tell which is very exciting. Should be putting it on the fig tomorrow. Also been casting bits for squad 2. Almost totally done with legs. Working on arms, heads and accessories.

As radio you should be able to use the catchan vox caster.

Antman677 wrote:
...so i dont have to lick the tool itself...

but whatever works for you

BigBadWolf37 wrote:which due to their silicone tips (giggedy) require no lube for smoothing

metallifan wrote:Are we going to see some 'Willys'

metallifan wrote:Sexy. Very Sexy.

OH GOD! You guys are killing me!

How about some of these as chimeras ?
http://www.militaryissue.com/product_info.po?ID=8509&product=Kits&category=land&subcategory=Vehicles

Regarding the vfox issue, I just recalled that the old Cadian metal Vox was pretty WW2-ish. The vox itself was contained in a haversack rather similar to your casting efforts. I think the Vallhallan Comms guy on the GW "Guard collectors" page might beusing it as well. Can't seem to find a better pic though.

Hey guys, moving to a new place so have had to put the hobby on the side for a bit.

@ Techpriest_V and Flinty: I actually have one or two of the Catachan voxes laying around. I may have to look at those and see what I can come up with.

@ P4NC4K3: All good blogs have copious amounts of sexual references.

CURNOW: I actually found this guy's blog and fell in love with the transports he made. If I make any Chimeras, they will look like this for sure.

http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122112&page=3

That is if I can pull it off!

All right brothers, and update:

The past few weeks I have been either moving or in post-move recovery. I was moving not only all my stuff, but also the GF's since she is out of the country for the summer. Needless to say, lots and lots of organizing and lifting. However, one nice side effect (other than not living in a closet anymore) is that I found my long lost digital camera. And by long lost, I mean I haven't seen it since my post-high school europe trip... 5 years ago! After a few smacks to get the display working, the thing seems to have hibernated quite well. It isn't a great camera, but it means I can take pictures without having to go borrow one from the school library.

I finally got some work done on the army and it is really exciting to see stuff start to come together! Without further delay, here is Easy Co. as it stands now:





I apologize for the awful lighting, but hopefully you can get the idea. I have finished the skin and bones for the first squad. At least every model has a base. The first squad is in painting stage. The rest is simply a process of casting, cleaning (soap+water+toothbrush) and trimming flash. Had I known that I had to hand scrub every piece, down to the grenades, I may not have ever started this project. But it's not what we do that defines us, but how we do it. And I figure since I got myself into this mess, I better do my damndest at it.

Still working on fabricating the radio and the machine gun. I have a fairly crude version of the .30 cal, but am now realizing that although I went through great effort to make sure it was "true scale", GW miniatures are not... this makes the .30 cal look like a pea shooter. So I have to beef it up a bit which means a few purchases need to be made. I think I am going to do the barrel out of brass tubing that they sell at the student store here for the architecture majors. I hope it will be easier to drill the cooling tube holes in without bending it. The plastic tube I have been using was too small/frail to be drilled easily. Does anyone know if standard pin-vise drill bits will handle brass tubing?

I also had an idea for the radio. Since my problem has been making those recessed grooves, seen here:



My idea is to take an extremely thin piece of plasticard such as some .016" clear sheet I have, then print and trace the grooves onto it. Then carefully cut it out with an exacto. This just came to me so I'll try it soon and let you know how it goes. Hopefully I will be able to get the clean groove look I am going for. Then I can add the clasps and stuff after with GS which shouldn't be nearly as hard.

Until next time, enjoy and as always, criticism and ideas welcome!

Really nice work Maj. Winters..don't you just hate it when your carefullt crafted casts don't quite work out and you have to GS the holes and bubbles out of them, bane of my life I tell you

Looking great! If you want to make grooves, use thick cardboard ( the one with a shiny side, you'll find it in shirts when the'yre still packed). You can easily make an indenation on the shiny side, creating grooves.

Awesome work!

How will you do your vehicles? Would be awesome if you got some WW2 variants too!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M4_Sherman_variants

way to small but my favorite WW2 tank, the donald duck:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DD_tank


Anyway, seriously great!

@BLACKHAND: You name my deepest tormentor. After all my test molds and practice, I have gotten fairly good at setting up my molds so there are minimal bubble prone areas. And if I do have an area that is bubble prone (most recently the toes on the leg casts) I have a few tricks I use to clear those up. But yes, nothing drives me crazy more than seeing a huge chunk of my soldiers head missing.

@CommissarKhaine: Oh I will def have to give that a try if my plasticard idea falls through. I want to try to stick with plastic just for future casting purposes but I think you might be on to something. I'll let you know. I plan on trying it sometime today.

@manoknok: Thanks! As for vehicles, I probably won't have that many. Since it is an airborne army, it is going to be almost 100% infantry based. However as I get into the higher point range, I may start adding armored division attachments. In that case I have quite a few ideas. I don't really want to use a different kit. Plus the new IG vehicles are sexy. My whole premise for this army has been to make a WWII looking 40k army, not a 40k scale Flames of War army, if that makes sense. I have some pretty sweet ideas for when I do start rolling out the armor tho. I have a whole folder of saved ideas. I think it would also be fun to throw in a few of Hobart's Funnies: bridge layer, mine flail or crocodile.

So no work today which hopefully means a good bit of 40k progress. I just did 4 injections (however I am beginning to think I should re-do my head mold as it has given me trouble the past 3 times). The weather is a bit overcast today so I don't know if I am going to prime at all. May just work on painting that first squad. I will keep you gents updated as I go!


+++Minor Edit/Update+++

Did some shopping yesterday for plastic rod and supplies. I am about 50% done with the new .30 cal which is looking amazing! After hand drilling 48+ holes into the barrel I hope it does! Also decided to go with the stripped down vox caster. The details are just too small for me do use any of the strategies. It isn't the cutting or drilling that is hard, it's drawing a template small enough to satisfy me.


+++Goal+++

Setting a goal to have the entire first platoon built by the end of tomorrow. Ambitious I know but I finished the mold for the vox caster so I now have all the molds I need. Just a matter of dedicating the day to lots of casting, clipping, cleaning and gluing. I'll try to do updates as I go. Wish me luck!

All right, I begin fulfilling my pledge from last night: finish assembling the first platoon of Easy company. As it stands here is what needs to be done:

Casting:
5 more torsos
7 more heads
8 sets of arms
8 equipment sets
3 vox casters

All pieces need to be cleaned in soap and warm water, have flash trimmed and holes filled with GS. Voxes need to be magnetized in case I decide not to use them in any games. I need to magnetize the 2nd Missile Launcher loader to the base.

All in all I think it is a manageable task. In between castings I also have the .30 cal to work on which shouldn't be too much more work. I have just the final details to add before making the mold.

+++ Update +++

Finished torsos, arms, equipment and vox casters. Just need to cast heads. Almost all are at least cleaned and just need to be clipped, have mould lines removed and be attached. Also found out that the plastic I am using isn't actually plastic, because plastic model glue isn't working on it at all! Kinda frustrating!

Should have the platoon done by Thursday for our FLGS's paint night!

Hey guys, thought I would post a status update at least so I can hold myself accountable to get this work done.

I am very close to having all the platoon assembled and based - ready for priming. Just have a few grenades, spades and packs to glue on. However my GF is back and school has started so my time has been capitalized. Also, I was previously working on the living room table. With my GF moved in and our other roommate here I can't really spread out there. My desk is dedicated to school. This leaves me without a solid workspace at the moment. However I do have a plan. In my room I have a King sized bed I got for free that is, to be honest, a huge waste of space. So I have it up on a few sites to sell. With some of the proceeds I plan on grabbing http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70176519 and http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40178591. Not a bad trade off. This way I will have a dedicated 40k workstation 24/7. Considering I won't have to move my portable workstation, set up, work, clean up and move out every time I want to do some work, I hope it will lead to some more spontaneous working. When logistics of modeling takes 15+minutes, it is much easier to just jump on COD MW2 and play a few games.

Anyway no real substance yet. I want to make sure this project doesn't die like all my other ones have. Also been really interested in the terrain articles GW has been doing on their site (welcome relief to all that fantasy). Hope to do a hedgerow/Carentan table in some way or another at some point.

Anyway any encouragement or ideas are always appreciated.

PS: anyone have experience getting a friend into the hobby? I have a friend I got into the Horus Heresy books and he wants to know more. I would love a gaming partner that is nearby and already a friend.

Hey beck...glad you moved out of that closet

if you want a friend to get into the hobby show him some really nicely painted minis in person and play a demo game with him - make sure its a small game, you know the rules really well, and make sure you let him win (;