Ron NL-S Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Time to finish up an older project; the Hagglunds Utrustning Pionjär Individuell 1961 prototyp (standing for Equipment Pioneer Individual). It is the Nitto P.K.A.-kit, but with a handful of personal add-on's. I added the tank and boxes on the back, together with a frame, a lamp originating from a scrapped 1/35 KV1, some other smaller bits & bobs, but most importantly some pants!! The kit leaves the area around the waist and groin completely empty and open, so I fashioned a canvas cover, made out of umbrella cloth. That has a nice, subtle structure, mimicking canvas to scale. I also made snowshoes, since the setting will be a wintery Sweden. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron NL-S Posted July 13, 2020 Author Share Posted July 13, 2020 The basic colour is Vallejo's German grey, but with a gloss varnish it turns more like the Swedish cold war green I was aiming for. The decals come from the sparesbox, except for the Swedish ones. These were bought; 1/72 airplane decals. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron NL-S Posted July 15, 2020 Author Share Posted July 15, 2020 After the WW1 DLI officer, the WW2 jeep and the Falke I am now onto this one again; the Nitto PKA as a Swedish prototype during the Cold War. Upon opening the box I noticed that I had forgotten the knee armor, so that was fixed. I just hope I will find the right shade of paint again But first attention was paid to the pilot. The helmet was painted in a similar shade as the tank helmets from the 60's, it even has the looks, as was the scarf. The uniform got the pattern of a cool, experimental pattern I found. Experimental Swedish camouflage pattern Unfortunately next to none of this can be seen, once the canopy is in place. It has tainted glass... With the operator "out of the way" I turned my attention to the Soviet drone. The drone is a derelict Star Wars Anakin Jedi starfighter, which I got to fill my spares box. It was incomplete. The canopy and the figures were missing, as was one of the folding wings. So I repurposed it and put it to good use. Of course I will toss in a handful of other bits and pieces; carsparts, plane parts and just random junk. The idea is to create a nuclear powered, Soviet spy drone prototype-thing. The general idea in mock ups: I had to bend one of the wings, in order to make the drone tilt and look crashed. The hideous bend will disappear under or at least be camouflage by snow. As I said I started adding bits 'n bobs and after having played with parts, shuffling them about, fitting, measuring, cutting and discarding it was time to think about the colours. It had to look Soviet, but a little differently. The engine is: orange carparts from some horrible American car-kit, the 3-AAA-battery holder that goes into a cheap flashlight, filled up with airplane rocketpods as nuclear cores, then some more carparts, the cap of something and a stainless steel part, blued by applying heat. More parts like leftover figure bases, the inner tube of a roll of tape, a Tiger tankhatch and an airfilter from the same tank. Gaps and cracks were filled or covered. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpopandchips Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 I like the look of the drone, very nice shape. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Very interesting. I like the idea of the kreiger suit being contemporary and in secret use. The drone looks interesting too. I must have a look at an umbrella! Though I do have some of the metal ribs in my spares box. They'll be useful someday. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron NL-S Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 The drone actually is nothing more than said jedi-fighter turned around. Yes, both are prototypes or experimental. Ties the story together, I think. The building on this project is done. All parts are in place and all has been painted. Time for the ground and snow!! Yes, in mid-july.... So... what else did I add? Some wires from different electonical sources as well as some finer electronical parts. The "tanks" are actually lightbulbs. And why yellow and blue? Simply because I can. I did the fuelcores for the reactor in a vibrant green with some old Zvezda decals. They are so old that they broke and oozed some white, thick glue substance, when applied. Same as the others on the drone. The lids are exhaust mufflers from that same horrible orange AMT-car as is the oilpan and dashboard in the rear. The engine is a wheel from said car, by the way. The rock is a piece of construction foam, covered in painters tape for the shape. One of the tanks of the Hagglunds has broken of, so needs to be reattached. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tzulscha Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 Hmm, musta missed this one somehow. That looks really good. The gizmology is very creative indeed and the paint looks just right. I hope to see it buried in a snowbank soon! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron NL-S Posted August 22, 2020 Author Share Posted August 22, 2020 It is snowing as we speak! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron NL-S Posted September 4, 2020 Author Share Posted September 4, 2020 After exhaustive and lengthy research in the Dept. of the Studies of the Obvious I have come to the conclusion that wagging husky dog tails and nearly completed scale models or dioramas do not match well. After the incident some repair work was required. But then.... it started to snow in Sweden! The snow was a mix of sodium bicarbonate and water. The first layer is from a brand sold at local shops and turned out to be a pain to use. It was course and when dry lost any and all form of cohesion. When I tried to spray it with the diluted white glue mix, as used on the Kampfpanzer Leopard 1, I blew away large chucks of the "snow". I had to use another, much finer kind of sodium in order to try and fix the issues. This worked to some extent. The "snow" or speckles in the photos (and on the model) are unintentional, but make it look like it snows. The mishap of the edge only appeared after it all had dried! Probably some blown off sodium, dissolved in the water/glue mix.... These next 2 have a nice atmospheric feel to it, I think. Taking pictures in whites is a real challenge. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 Really smart. Great snow. Maybe the suit needs a wiper? 😆 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpopandchips Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 I do like that... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tzulscha Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 Looks like it's warming up a bit. The snow looks like it's getting a bit slushy. Very nice indeed! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron NL-S Posted September 12, 2020 Author Share Posted September 12, 2020 Thanks. If one would want more crispy snow, one has to sprinkle dry sodium on top of it all. But I ran out of the fine stuff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now