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Robo-pterodactyl (Zoids Pteras)


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Plans. Yeah right.

 

I know what I want the scratchbuild end result to be (ish) so

I do rough outlines in my head as I drive around for work,

but a plan is just a basis for change anyway.

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I did a bit on the greenery last night - firstly I painted tacky PVA onto the top edges and dipped them in grit, then messed it up a bit with a toothpick so it wasn't too uniform. I set it with runny CA which got away from me in places, so matt varnish is needed :)

 

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That got painted with more tube acrylics, and I cleaned up and merged the new filler on the top at the same time. Once dry, I painted PVA over the flatter areas and added very fine crushed dried sandy rock powder (with some lumps) and then a couple of layers of greenery. I set that by dribbling on alcohol (as a wetting agent) and then Klear, but I think I've sealed the damp PVA in (or clouded it with the alcohol?) as there are some white patches. 

 

36388952086_2244ab6d4f_b.jpg

 

They look a bit crap, but not that crap! I can either re-coat or paint over them, so not to worry.

 

Cheers,

 

Will

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I ended up adding another layer of stuff which covered the white,, I need to think how to dress the lower surfaces which are steep but mounded. Maybe just scrub?

 

Gojulas is not going to be this year, I suspect, as I have some other commitments to honour first.

 

W

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I unmasked the base edges today and had to make good around the bottom where this revealed a bit of filler etc.

 

I scraped away where the tape had left hard diagonals, cleaned up a couple of blots, and went all around the seam with some brown acrylic paint (GW this time) and a smallish brush. Then repeated with matt medium and sprinkled on some more soil and greenery, and set this with Klear from a loaded paintbrush.

 

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It's drying at the moment so still quite dark, and I've been around again and added a few bushy bits and some light and dark brown washes to try and blend the humpy hillocks at the bottom into the scene a bit more. I think with some climbing/trailing greenery to join up two lower green "levels" it should look quite good.

 

35621063374_64104b6ed8_b.jpg

 

I also stuck some little rubber feet on the base for that professional finish, plus making sure the screw head doesn't scratch what it's sitting on since my countersinking was agricultural at best. I should get a countersink bit really!

 

Think it's ready for some matt clear now to tone down the glossy adhesive in places and help bond things together more, I'll try and do that tonight.

 

Cheers,

 

Will

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Thanks both of you!

 

1 hour ago, rockpopandchips said:

Really enjoy watching you build these dios, probably more than the main kit :P

I probably enjoy doing them more than the main kit to be honest - scenic stuff is really relaxed and messy fun, whereas making the models can be fiddly and serious.

 

I've noodled around a bit more with the greenery, I think that's now done and those difficult slopes look a lot more coherent than they did:

 

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I also added a couple of small trees, and two cairns made by piling up stones with tweezers. They're a bit on the small side, but I really wanted to have some signs of human influence - I like the dioramas by WildRiver (Arakawa Naoto) and part of what makes them special is he finds ways to put little humanising touches in the scenes. 

 

Still not done any varnishing!

 

Will

 

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I found this model railway goat, which I thought looked OK until I put the magnifier on. Horrible seams, and a paint job that was "spray grey" followed by "dip horns and hooves in gloss black". The sculpt is OK though.

 

I pared down the seams and flash with a scalpel, filled the sprue gate hole with CA and made new curly horns from brass wire and more CA. Then he got a repaint with the usual Citadel acrylics:

 

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I've done a bit of cleaning up since I took this, and removed one of the trees to make some goat space.

 

Will

 

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Boris the Disrespectful Goat doesn't post on Craigslist, he's got other things to do:

 

36446905146_0ebe06fa43_b.jpg

 

The prayer flags are made from origami paper folded double and glued with PVA. I stained the cut edges with GW washes and then brush painted some entirely made up script. I deliberately avoided making them look too much like real prayer flags, mainly by not using the proper (elemental) colours. And the supports are carved from lolly sticks and stained with GW washes.

 

I think I need another string of them, probably above and to the left of the current set.

 

Cheers,

 

Will

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Bit of a gap, I've been distracted from modelling by various things. I think mostly it's because I'm scared of the next bit!

 

On Sunday evening I made the second strand of flags, which means the base is pretty much done. So I went and found the pipes/stand to re-fit them but couldn't find the holes in the top among the scenery - I should've left some bits of paperclip in there when I detailed it. In the end I spotted one and had to dig out a small patch of the top to find the other, which had been blocked by an MDF-coloured speck of grit! I ended up drilling a new one to make the Zoid sit slightly better.

 

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However the pose is annoying me more than I thought it would - it just looks so precarious. I can help the bedding of the claws into the rock by building up some ground cover around them, and I'm considering adding some spur claws from spare parts so that it has more of a grip on the edge. It's frustrating - and entirely my own fault for making flying legs and then posing it landed. Oh well.

 

I did consider using the base for something else, but I don't have a pilot in the cockpit now so I think the right thing is to press on and finish it.

 

Cheers,

 

Will

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That's what my daughter said too, which just leaves the issue of the pipes up his bum. Maybe it's like the Roger Young leaving dock and they decouple at the last minute?

 

Will

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I think the pose looks fine too. The only thing that's slightly jarring to my eyes is the sudden change from the organic of the outcrop to the very mechanical look of the zoid, although I'm not sure what you could do to soften the transition.

Maybe some extra cables hanging down from the body?

 

Andy

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I think that would look pretty cool - maybe diagnostic cables, or just a rope ladder! It would also tie in to the "Wildriver" look.

 

The other thing which might help is that I'm making a little platform and gadget to sit on the RH top of the rock to connect the pipes to. Only started fiddling with that today though.

 

Will

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  • 2 weeks later...

I put this off for a while but have finally knocked together a wee fuelling point to put over the spot where the stand wires go into the ground.

 

36181535974_c4621872ee_b.jpg

 

I've also cleaned up a dodgy vinyl Italeri gladiator who looks like he'll make a reasonable Zoid pilot. The picture didn't come out, but it'll be easier to see when he's primed anyway.

 

Lastly I have a couple of extra pipes made from annealed brass wire and heat shrink. These curve around, pass under, and plug into the fuelling point and hopefully sell that the rigid stand is actually floppy hosepipe.

 

Sorry it's taken so long to get to this stage, I had a break after club night last week and frankly I was a bit unsure how to proceed which always slows things down.

 

Cheers,

 

Will

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  • 1 year later...
On ‎9‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 6:24 AM, Pete in Lincs said:

Take your time, mate.

Oh Pete, little did you know how prophetic that would be.

 

One year on, I've finally got some paint on my pilot, who started life as an Italeri gladiator. I think maybe a Nubian with a spear? I added some paper shoulder-pads and a styrene wrist computer to up his sci-fi credibility, and I've painted some of his bare skin as a bodysuit.

 

44816503234_98de85007d_b.jpg

 

I'm not totally convinced yet but I think he's off to a good start. I need to add some shading and some kind of markings to the shoulders as the big area of yellow is a bit glaring. I felt like I wanted some yellow to tie him into his ride though.

 

31669475028_8caa65968d_b.jpg

 

I thought the red cloth and the skin came out quite well although I'm really at the limits of what I can see and target with the brush in this scale.

 

Will 

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Well I may have wasted a year, but today was pretty productive:

 

44632565595_5b8a1df717_b.jpg

 

The gorget is a bit messy but otherwise he looks quite good I think. It's also my first encounter with Dullcote-in-a-bottle and its great!

 

Cheers,

 

Will

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