Will Vale Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 (edited) THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO! Or at least this pod vehicle is finished - the IMAI/Aoshima 1/72 Mole. It's a relatively simple kit but is pretty accurate to the studio model - as far as I can see most of the discrepancies are down to it being modelled on the City of Fire Mole rather than the Pit of Peril version, so I went for the former. I opted to deviate from the studio model colouring a bit - it should be almost a lemon yellow, but that's a colour which I really dislike so I opted for a warmer "rescue" yellow - in this case Tamiya's Camel Yellow from a rattle can. I ended up with a very glossy-looking brand new Mole, which was good for applying the decals, but I misted it with Dullcote before the weathering so that it'd stick. I've tried to keep the weathering similar in tone to the studio model, but add more detail (e.g. streaks rather than patches) to compensate for the smaller scale. This was nice quick (two week) project, with the bonus that I can play with it now that it's built thanks to the two Mabuchi 130 motors driving the tracks and drill. Onto the pictures: (click for bigger) And in action: And a couple of details to finish: There are more pictures on Flickr, and the build thread is here. Thanks to everyone who had suggestions and comments, it's all been very helpful. I enjoyed the combination of easy build/more time for painting, I should try that again. Cheers, Will Edited May 6, 2012 by Will Vale 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmonk Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Before anyone else get it in that is F.A.B.!! Looks great, just the right amount of weathering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 The finished model looks superb. It sounds like you had a lot of fun building/painting it, too. Great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Haha like the "hard Hats Required" decal! Some lovely detailing on that model, well done a beautiful job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foghorn Leghorn Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 (edited) That is just beautiful! Love the metal finish as well. Edited May 6, 2012 by neilscrim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Mullen Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Cracking job there Will, may be tempted to dig out my stalled one from the stash and borrow some of your ideas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Is that left handed threaded thing actually spinning in photo 5 ? FAB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmcclure Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Well how cool is that?! What a brilliant job. i'm busy storing ideas for my godson's birthdays and this has made the list! Thanks for sharing, Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted May 6, 2012 Author Share Posted May 6, 2012 Wow, thanks very much for the kind comments! Before anyone else get it in that is F.A.B.!! Hehe - I can't believe I didn't think of that myself, especially after Kallisti's quote-tastic dropship thread. Is that left handed threaded thing actually spinning in photo 5 ? It is - the drill spins, the little tracks on the mole move, and the light flashes courtesy of a geared-down cam and a couple of strip of phosphor bronze. It's a nice mechanism which is sadly very noisy and could do with bearings. I added one to stabilise the drill, but if I'd had some top hat bearings of the right diameter I'd probably have tried to fit them to smooth things out. I took a couple of movies of it working but I need to edit them together into something coherent and I didn't have time this weekend. I'll post it here when I do though. Cheers, Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carts Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Bloody Hell,This is Fantastic!,always thought it looked a bit "Light weight"in the T.V series,but you have given it some real weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabio Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 That's really great, I'm inspired to do some Thunderbirds myself now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 That's brilliant! Loved Thunderbirds as a young lad, very nostalgic and a flawless model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 :clap2: :clap2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksdad Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 That's is FABulous. So much so that I want one. Well done on a stunning job. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 Thanks for the kind words! And if you're on the fence, I'd get one - probably the most modelling fun I've had this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsty Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 (edited) Do like this, I do. Can anyone identify the font used for the M O L E title? I know Gerry Anderson's lot were very keen on Eurostile but I'm damn sure it's not that. Edited July 10, 2012 by pigsty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 That's a tricky one - it looks a lot like Railroad Gothic or Impact, but they don't have slope-sided Ms. It's possible that they inverted a W to get the M, but then the middle point would be missing. Not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsty Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Mmm ... talking of which, mega thread hijack I know, but can anyone spot the deliberate mistake in this poster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocSavage Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Mmm ... talking of which, mega thread hijack I know, but can anyone spot the deliberate mistake in this poster? Well, they can't spell "through" properly for a start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsty Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Well, they can't spell "through" properly for a start! No, nor catalogue, but to be fair they are American. I was thinking of something a bit more fundamental ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainA Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Lovin' this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 No, nor catalogue, but to be fair they are American. I was thinking of something a bit more fundamental ... I'm not an expert or anything, but that SPG (?) looks a bit more Cold War than World War... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsty Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I'm not an expert or anything, but that SPG (?) looks a bit more Cold War than World War... - is the right answer! It appears to be an M107, introduced in 1962. Still, a "tank" is a "tank" for all that ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mottlemaster Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I am so pleased i took a look at this .Fabtastic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatcliffeDemon Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I followed the progress of this on Flickr and I reckon it's pretty much perfect... but you've motorised it as well which makes it even better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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