OMWB: Conversion and Repose

While letting the putty on the other conversion cure, I've been working on the next conversion, a new build. Above is a Hunter I've cut apart to repose.

As I got a bit further along, I realized that the way I had parted the hips, to try and save some detail on the right leg wasn't going to work. Not because of the angle of the cut or anything, but because the leg casting I had chosen to use is one of two variants, and the angle of the legs was better on the other variant

Doh!

 

Given I have more legs spare than parts that be assembled into complete models, it seemed easier to start again.Given the model will be standing on one leg, I drilled right the way through the legs so that I could have a substantial brass rod to keep the whole assembly solid.

I then used the running Jager from the Azure Devils pack to guide the bending of the brass rod my repose. 

And as you can see things are looking promising. I actually have to bend the other rod quite a bit more than I thought I would need to to get the pose right.

Here it is balanced in place to check out the pose looked good.

Time to get the Kneadite and Milliput out. I find Kneadite is not as easy to file as Milliput, but Milliput can be a bit harder to sculpt with. So I mix about two thirds Kneadite to one third Milliput together.

The mix results in a less sticky putty, which can be easily shaped, and when cured can be filed.

So, on that note, it's onward to work on the my other combat armor conversion.

Stripped and Rebuilding to Magnetize

Onward, ever onward, I'm prepping the next batch of combat armour mechs. Yes, for those who ask, this one is a rebuild that I had painted and near completion, but I stripped it because the magnetize everything bug has hit me. I'm sorry, I just can't help it.

Besides, I have learnt so much over the last year of doing these that I'm bringing ideas to fruition that I would never have bothered with before.

And as you can see, I've changed my mind and decided that the open cockpit showing the pilot. This will also clue viewers about the size of my combat armor, and the whole Real-Robo mecha genre.

 

 

 

Besides, as I like to remind myself, it's much easier to commission artists to do covers that convey the size of the machines they're illustrating, made easier if you can give them good pictures to work from.

I'm not just magnetizing the torso, head, and arms to increase poseability for photographs, but also sculpting parts to restore some depth lost when the casting process from damage to molds, or poor metal flow etc. making the end result less sharp looking than it could be.

That's all for now, catch you all on the bounce.

CAS-4CP Buster Done!

Eureka. As the Rod Stewart song goes, It's been a long road, Getting from there to here..."

But now witness the completed combat armor model, fully magnetized and poseable ready to be deployed on the tabletop (imagine this said in Emperor Palpatine's voice). 

And yes, I'm pleased. In case that wasn't obvious.

So when will I get to play with my conversions?

Well, there's still no date because I haven't finished the first draft of the rules. But, progress is being made. I was talking on Zoom with my colleague who has so generously volunteered to help come up with how to design stuff within the Gate Walker – Bad Dog universe that I can say we've taken another step forward.

Obviously, it's easier to talk a good game than deliver a good game. I learnt a lot from writing OHMU War Machine, and what it takes to make or break a game.

I'm committed, now it's just a matter of the time it takes, because I won't publish a set of rules until I know they deliver what they promise. That's all for now.

Catch you all on the bounce.

Takara 1/48 Fattys

 

I managed to score four Takara Fattys off eBay via a dealer in Japan. These are Takara 1/48th scale Arctic Gear mecha from VOTOMS. Not as popular as the ScopeDogs, and other mecha that the hero drives, because these are what the mooks ride around in at the service of the bad guys.

But I rather like the esthetic of the Fattys.

So much so that I named the Chinese mecha in Bad Dog as FATS-Cs: for Flying All Terrain Suits-Chinese. Not their Chinese designation, which was Fireflies, but what the American forces called them.

So, super excited to get my hands on these.

As an unexpected bonus, I received three with shoulder mounted multiple missile rack, and one with a smaller number of larger missiles. I'll designated the small pack as ATGMs and the others as generic rockets. So now I have enough 1/48th come 28mm scale mecha for a small skirmish style game. 

In addition, when the Bad Dog rules come out, I will be able to feature pictures of these and my RAFM and DP9 Gears., showing differing sized mecha models. that the game can be played with. That has got to be good? Amirite? ;-)

Okay, that's all for now. Catch you on the bounce.

Relief at Progress

 

Finally, I've managed get the paint on the torso and head to match the work I'd done before having to strip it. Phew. Breathe a sigh of relief at managing this. A first for me matching glazes and washes, made easier using a wet palette and additives.

Just have to do the final assembly, varnish and decal the torso and head to call Ferretti's Buster done.

In other news, I've acquired two Kodiaks and an armored Hunter. The Kodiaks will be converted into Busters to go with the one above. 

No doubt I will tinker with variant weapons loadouts on these.

The Armored Hunter was an impulse purchase that took my fancy. I'm tempted to make it the ride for my CASDA weapons specialist.

These took an awful long time to make it across the Atlantic, and at one point I thought the parcel had gone missing. Much relief now they've safely arrived. All the RAFM Gears are mine!

That's all for now. Catch you on the bounce.

A Retrospective

Magnetized the backpack because previous idea interfered with the head.

Last year, when I posted A Light Ahead, I remarked on how unproductive 2019 had been. Little did I know then what I know now. I only played one game this year due to all the craziness going on in the world.

But every cloud has a silver lining, because, in retrospect I was far more productive this year. I've managed to make more models. I've learnt a bunch of cool painting techniques.

Overall I did more, which has meant I've posted more pieces on the blog.

I'll call that a win.

Most of the blog has been about covering my path to acquiring all the old RAFM Heavy Gear sculpts I could lay my hands on. No doubt, some old Heavy Gear grognards watched in horror as I butchered converted them into proxy mecha for my Gate Walker universe. 

Cue manic laughter.

And I've also acquired a bunch of 1/48th Scopedogs too.I plan to photograph all the models for pictures for the set of mecha rules I'm writing. That's the plan. Whether the plan survives contact with the demands of the year ahead is another matter.

For one thing, it is taking me a lot longer to write the infantry TO&Es to pass onto a collaborator than I thought. Such is life.

Catch y'all later.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to one and all.

Despite having written the Gate Walker trilogy, researched everything like crazy, I found myself doing more research.

Why?

Because I skimmed over details when writing the novels because they slowed down the story. Though it has to be said my Beta reader, Brian, did ask about how the Army combat armor differed from the Marines version?

Now Brian, and everyone else who wanted to know will have this information.

Here's a brief snippet to entertain over the Christmas holiday period.

NAC Army Combat Armor

CAS-3-Mod 1    Combat Armor System Dash (Mark) 3 Dash Model 1 is the Army's latest upgrade to their drive suit, which is supplied to Special Forces troops. It's slightly heavier than a CASE-2X because All Apes come fitted with mission packs that allow them to be outfitted with a large array of heavy weapon systems according the mission profile. See FM50-CAS-Mod and TO-2050-14-01-1U for further details.

CAS-3-Mod 2    Is the command variant of the Ape featuring an enhanced C4ISR pack: Communications; Computers; Intelligence; Surveillance; and Reconnaissance array of comms gear.

CAS-2-Mod 1    Is a scout combat armor suit for reconnaissance.

CAS-1-Mod 2    The first generation of Army combat armor suits fielded by the NAC. Still assigned to second line National Guard units. An engineer support variant will appear in future novels.

Notes

All the Army CAS-Mod variants have modular electronic packs that allows the combat armor to be optimized for specific mission tasks and carry one extra weapon from the following list: [snip]

NAC Marine Corps Combat Armor

CASE-2X    The Marine Corps Combat Armor System Environment Dash (Mark) 2 Extreme is driven by its operator, unlike its lighter counterpart MARPACE suit that is worn. It can operate up to three days before needing to be refueled. See FM51-CASES and TO-2051-16-02-1U for further details. Command variant  has enhanced C4 suite.

CASE-2XC    Command variant that again comes with an enhanced C4ISR: Communications; Computers; Intelligence; Surveillance; and Reconnaissance array of comms gear.

Notes

The Marine Mod-1 backpack integrates with combat armors Dispersed Operation and Guidance System, creating a parallel processing network of operating nodes that allows the operator to assign the AI/expert system interface the task priority of the systems. The Mod-1 pack allows a Dog to carry one extra weapon, the Mod-2 backpack carries two extra weapons from the following list: [snip]

Calling Them Done

 

Yep, at last, I've finished them. Painted, glossed, decals, and matt varnish all done. Phew!

The original two darker green mechs were my first attempt to up my game, but hopefully you can see that these two look even better than the first two I finished back in July. 

I think I've managed to produce a wider contrast range with better highlights.

I'll do some glamour portraits after I've flocked the bases, but they're done for now.

I may do another post soon, but given the time of year, let me wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Painter's Painting Progress

 

I've made progress learning new techniques for painting my miniatures.

I started with four of these bad boys, I have two that are nearly finished; I buggered up the paint on one, and the other I want to rebuild with the torso magnetized too. Sheesh. People might start suspecting I'm a bit of a perfectionist, or something.

Okay, my memory is not perfect, but the time taken to try different techniques, paints, and the setbacks along with the all the learning has definitely been a thing. I should've kept a log of all the hours I spent, but painting is a hobby, not a billable job.

Besides, things have been stressful enough without making my life harder.

Anyway, totally obsessed with learning new tricks to up my painting, and these are going to look awesome with decals and matt varnish to finish them.

However now I'm in a quandary over whether or not to take my original two mechs, and add magnets to allow their torsos to twist too? It would increase their poseability, but may (highly likely) require me to repaint them.

Decisions, decisions.

Acquisitions of a Mecha Kind

I was able to snag an an old RAFM DP9 Azure Devils set off eBay a little while back. It comes with one set of running legs for a Jager, which I really wanted.

Amongst all the spare parts was the command head variant casting, which I already had, but another is always useful.

Along with a sheet of instructions etc. Eureka, or something like that. 

I have set these aside for later, because I'm still neck deep in the ongoing painting odyssey that is the bad boys on my work bench, which are taking me longer to paint than any other model I can ever remember painting.