adamcoffman Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 (edited) Hi everyone. Hope there's room for another Ian McQue inspired scratch build . I've loved his designs since the first time I saw them, and have all of his kits from Industria Mechanika that I'll eventually build. Since those are all 1:35 scale, I'm building this scratch to match. Check him out if you like his designs. Facebook Twitter Instagram This will be my first attempt at scratch building, so it'll probably be a slow build. Parts of the model will be more kit bash than scratch, mainly the engine and underside. These are the sketches I'm basing the build on. I mirrored one to use as the basis for the opposite side. I started off by building an L shaped box to use as the core of the design. Next, I added another layer to build out the basic shape a bit more. I'll be adding weld line decals from Archer where you see the pencil lines. Here, I've thickened up the top of the front fins, added a floor and round greeble, and cut a notch on the port side. If you notice some rough edges, those are intentional. His sketch looks like a vehicle that would have beat up edges. That's where I am today with the main body. I did spend a little time playing around with some parts to add to the deck, and came up with this "control box" that I'll add somewhere behind the pilot. The red part is from an old Koh-I-Noor drafting graphite container I found at work. I'm not sure what the numbers on the top will look like under primer and paint, but they should be slightly visible. I figure it can serve as an engine system model number. That'll be all I post until next weekend. I'm excited to keep going, but I'm away from home for a few days. Thanks for looking! Edited June 17, 2018 by adamcoffman 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Great! A McQue scratchbuild. I'm in for a front row seat, thanks. For the weld lines, I've used stretched sprue before. Use lots of Revell Contacta and squish it down with a scalpel blade once soft. I would advise practice before you do it to your build though! Hurry back from your trip. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpopandchips Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 Welcome aboard mate....... See what I did there...... 😀 Great start to a great project looking forward to seeing more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamcoffman Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 I've got a very minor update this weekend. I wasn't able to accomplish much on the model this past week, but I managed to get some weld line decals from Archer applied. They went on easily, but they aren't cheap. I should probably try to master the stretched sprue and glue technique since the decals would break the bank on a larger project. I also applied some hex bolt heads, and added 1:35 freight car buffers to the lower front. The front plate you can see in the rendering will be attached to these buffers. I should have more free time this week and hope to get a lot more built out by next weekend. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamcoffman Posted June 29, 2018 Author Share Posted June 29, 2018 Here are a few small things I accomplished this week. Added the bolted on plate to the starboard side and "matching" kinked bars to both sides. They aren't an exact match, but they're close enough for me. Added round bits at the bottom front sides as attachment points for some fins. Added a "pull bar" to the front, more or less at deck level. I'd like to get this piece finished this weekend then start of the engine compartment and detailing. I'm assuming the engine is behind the number 4 in the rendering. The deck detailing will be after that, then the bottom bit with all the fins will be done last. That's the plan so far! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpopandchips Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Really taking shape now, very nice work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamcoffman Posted June 30, 2018 Author Share Posted June 30, 2018 Thanks, I'm happy with it so far. I'm currently trying to figure out where I can something to use as the pilot's seat. If I can't find something for a reasonable price I may try to scratch build that as well. I got some decals in the mail today for some dials and instrument gauges so I can push forward with the upper deck as soon as I get the engine done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamcoffman Posted July 19, 2018 Author Share Posted July 19, 2018 It's been a couple of weeks since my last update. I've had some 1:1 home improvement projects that have taken most of my free time, but I've managed to push this build along a little. The "engine compartment" is coming along. I won't attached this to the main body until after it's painted. The side fins/flaps/who-knows-whats are attached. Each one is 11 pieces. Inside the engine compartment. There's still a lot of detail to add. And the engines. Started these last night and they need a lot more detail and depth added. The main parts are some sort of plumbing pvc parts with Gundam bits added on. More to come :) 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Rose Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 Some really nice scratchin', its great seeing this come together 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamcoffman Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 Thank you. I'm having a lot of fun building it. I'm already thinking about my next scratch build once this one is finished. The next once might even have a few curves. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpopandchips Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 Is that a HG Z'Gok backpack part, love a game of spot the Gundam part..... 🤪 Looking great very sharp build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamcoffman Posted July 22, 2018 Author Share Posted July 22, 2018 On 7/20/2018 at 2:48 PM, rockpopandchips said: Is that a HG Z'Gok backpack part, love a game of spot the Gundam part..... 🤪 If there was a prize you'd win! There are a few HG Z'Gok parts in this build. I spent some time this afternoon working on the engine and adding some detail to the engine compartment. Most of the engine will be hard to see once it's placed in the housing, so I tried to add things that would provide some visual interest when viewing it from the back. I'm interested to see what it all looks like with some primer. This is probably all I'll do with the engine compartment for now. I'll add some pipes from the upper deck and exhaust later. Here's the engine with some wires for visual interest. You can see some seam lines on some of the parts that I didn't bother to get rid of since they'll be hard to see once the engine is attached. I'm debating starting the upper deck, or the bottom structure next. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 Perfect. When they press the button that might just start! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Smeg Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said: Perfect. When they press the button that might just start! LOL - they do look good though as Pete says, I mean REALLY good. Edited July 22, 2018 by The Chief Smeg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpopandchips Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 Wow that engine is really awesome. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatalbert Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 Interesting design and fantastic scratch building,but,what is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamcoffman Posted July 28, 2018 Author Share Posted July 28, 2018 4 hours ago, fatalbert said: Interesting design and fantastic scratch building,but,what is it? Good question! I'm not sure what it's supposed to be in the mind of the artist. In my mind, and for this build, I'm thinking of it as some sort of inspection vehicle. Maybe it could also tow smaller ships that have broken down? McQue calls it Platform 4, so what would a floating "platform" do? If anyone else has an idea feel free to share. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard E Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, adamcoffman said: Good question! I'm not sure what it's supposed to be in the mind of the artist. In my mind, and for this build, I'm thinking of it as some sort of inspection vehicle. Maybe it could also tow smaller ships that have broken down? McQue calls it Platform 4, so what would a floating "platform" do? If anyone else has an idea feel free to share. It's probably one of those ubiquitous over worked little vehicles which are found in every harbour, freight yard or flight line that are used by the techs who work 24/7 in the background to keep everything else functioning to fetch and carry, lift and shift and pull and push. Edited July 28, 2018 by Richard E 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Mac Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 Hi I'm very interested in this build is there going to be any further installments to this craft ? looks like a very interesting construction article and am curious as what this craft is supposed to be used for, every one of Ian Mcque's designs are a fascinating array of added on sections of whatever material can be found almost like building a dwelling with anything available. thank you for sharing interesting construction techniques in this build. Carl Mac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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