1/6 Battle Droid with STAP

[Hunter Rose]

Thanks Andy, really appreciate the kind words and interest, especially as the Combat Racer is one of my builds I was most pleased with!

 

Great job with your droid I love the stance you've given him. And yeah I'd heard about the leg and foot problems with this kit, seems most people have a devil of a time getting the feet on the pedals in a decent pose! My plan is to cut him off at the ankles and wherever else I need to and pin the joints with wire, I want to give him a motorbike style lean (the stap will be at an angle) so I'm going to have to get a bit creative

[RACETRACK]

roger, roger...!

[Stephen W]

love how its coming together

[Hunter Rose]

RIGHT! Its about time for an update, I've actually been back working on this guy while I'm sorting out the stuff I need for the next part of my sculpture project on the Tau Fire Warrior, and it feels good to be back in the shed!

 

And in fact its been so long I totally forgot to update it to say that I got the red brown colour sprayed over my primer after a good amount of sanding, so its jumped forward ever so slightly.

 

I started by spraying the parts I wanted to be alclad airframe aluminium gloss black and then loading up the airbrush and laying down the alclad.

 

IMG_20210607_194446828 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210607_194507785 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210607_194513766_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then for the intakes on the front of the engines, just to be different I brushed over some enamel silver as that is going to get a heavy enamel wash anyway and it just breaks up the finish.

 

IMG_20210607_200401425 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Oh and heres the guns with the masking tape removed.

 

IMG_20210608_193659919 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

I'm not planning on doing any more spraying to the engines either so I got the rear metal parts in place

 

IMG_20210613_103011191 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then I whipped out some graveyard dirt mig pigment (my favoutire!) and began fooling around with a bit of shading/grime.

 

IMG_20210613_103035944 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210613_103857815_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Most of the weathering is going to comprise of pigment work and sponged on chipping with a few filter as well.

 

Then the last thing I did was brush a black enamel wash over the engine intakes

 

IMG_20210613_104745954 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Once thats dry I'll carry on with the weathering and chipping, going to stick to getting the engines sorted first just so I can see I'm happy with how it will look.

 

Thanks for looking, more soon

[Pete in Lincs]

Great to see an update on this. I still have one for sale. At this rate I'll end up building it myself, so I'll need your build for a reference!

[rockpopandchips]

Nice  to see this back, it looking good as well. 

[Andrés S.]

The metallic looks perfect. I like the dirt effect, it looks perfect too.

 

Andrés S.

[Hunter Rose]

10 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Great to see an update on this. I still have one for sale. At this rate I'll end up building it myself, so I'll need your build for a reference!

 

Thanks Pete! I vote you have a crack at it!   (although I think i prefer you doing the cool builds that come out of your head rather than a kit box!)

 

1 hour ago, rockpopandchips said:

Nice  to see this back, it looking good as well. 

 

Cheers Brian, feels good being back on this build 👍

 

1 hour ago, Andrés S. said:

The metallic looks perfect. I like the dirt effect, it looks perfect too.

 

Andrés S.

 

Thank you Andrés I appreciate the compliments!

[Pete in Lincs]

9 hours ago, Hunter Rose said:

(although I think i prefer you doing the cool builds that come out of your head rather than a kit box!)

TBH, so do I.

[Hunter Rose]

Another little update, I've started the chipping and carried on with more pigment work.

 

Gave the rear engines a dark enamel wash and painted the inside rim the same colour I used to do the outer chips. For the chips themselves I ripped a random bit of sponge and using tweezers just dabbed it over in a way that I think makes sense.

 

IMG_20210617_195721119_HDR~2 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210617_201245646~2 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Also added some more pigments, gave the inner rim a brush of rust mig pigment and then used some light rust which was put on in patches just to break up the surface colour a bit

 

IMG_20210617_200052278_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210617_200441349 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

I'm happy with how thats gone so I will do a similar process for all the other red brown bits. Next I'll seal the pigment work in with some fixer before moving on to the head part of the stap, looking forward to that its a nice big space to work with!

 

Thanks for looking, more soon

[Hunter Rose]

So I got cracking with the main head bit

 

I started by doing a dry fit of the upper and lower bit, some of the lower bit needs some brown on it and I want to be sure I'm doing it in the right places.

 

IMG_20210619_160414531_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then I sponged on an enamel mix of a similar brown to the main colour in a reverse chipping way.

 

IMG_20210619_161345958_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210619_161406859 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210619_161421475_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210619_161429245_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then using a dark brown enamel paint I decided to fill in the recessed stripes at the front to add a bit of detail

 

2021-06-20_05-48-23 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

2021-06-20_05-48-53 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then I added chips using the same dark brown, using a very much less is more appoach I dont want to go nuts and over do it.

 

IMG_20210619_162847057 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210619_163339717 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210620_090145142 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

I also gave the guns a dry fit and had to make adjustments to correct the right hand side one.

 

IMG_20210620_091930822_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

And then I started with the pigments, used graveyard dirt to add shade/grime to the panel lines.

 

IMG_20210620_133517158 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

And for the raised bits at the back I decided to give them like an enginey look where the paint cant stand the heat by adding some graphite with a pencil to give a metallic sheen to the edges.

 

IMG_20210620_134709126 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210620_135031386 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210620_135038658 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Couldnt resist another quick dry fit to check the overall look

 

IMG_20210620_135503923 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then the last bit i did was add some dark brown to the handles and the side panels that hold them in place.

 

IMG_20210620_140419799_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Pretty chuffed with how its looking so far, they're not always everyones cup of tea but I love using pigment powders I always think its an easy way to get that preshaded look and add a bit of grime and weathering at the same time.

 

Next up I'll be carrying on with the handlebar bits and adding the metalic pipe parts to the them so I can get the head all glued together.

 

Thanks for looking, more soon

[rockpopandchips]

Looking good. I'm also a pigment powder user and agree they are easy to use to get some weathering/shading. Also great when you've gone a bit mad with the grime or chipping and need to cover some of it. 

[Hunter Rose]

3 hours ago, rockpopandchips said:

Also great when you've gone a bit mad with the grime or chipping and need to cover some of it. 

 

Yeah totally!! Cheers Brian 

[Hunter Rose]

Man an unusual week where the modelling was the easybit but findinng time to upload progress was the challenge!

 

Kicked things off by getting the metalic pipes onto the handlebars and then chipping them and the little side panels that hold them in place.

 

IMG_20210622_190912182_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then glued them into place on the base of the stap top bit

 

IMG_20210622_191301552 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then got the top cover on, and man that was a pain! Getting it all in the right position and then having to snap off the handle bars to reposition a couple of times, I've never used so much superglue on a kit that isn't vinyl/resin! But its all together now and my fingers came apart with minimal skin loss

 

IMG_20210624_161614599_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then after doing a dry fit to get the angles and positon right for the metallic bits the head goes on to I got that glued on too.

 

IMG_20210626_195547190 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then it was on to the main body! I wanted to do the rounded out engine recesses in a dark brown, one because it will make the engines stand out and two as it will break up the colour and add a bit of interest. I want it to have a chipped apearance so I masked the area and then used a bit of fine sponge to add the paint.

 

IMG_20210626_192426393 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210626_193526523 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Added a couple of more details with the dark brown

 

IMG_20210626_193540671 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210626_193556801 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then I removed the masking tape, and dry fitted the engines to see how it looked.

 

IMG_20210626_194718877 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210627_093308621 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210627_093320787 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then I added chipping to the whole thing

 

IMG_20210627_135158915_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210627_135346444 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

And then it was time to get out the pigments, tried not to go too crazy.

 

IMG_20210627_154810692 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210627_154830368 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then everything got sealed with a flat coat

 

IMG_20210627_195909931 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

And ta-daa! The STAP is done, once it was all dry I got it all glued together

 

IMG_20210629_193619002_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210629_193632357_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210629_193647875_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

So next up I'm going to bend the pin it sits on slightly to give it a lean, then I can work out my rider position for the droid and start breaking his joints to get them to do what I want!

 

Thanks for looking, more soon

[Pete in Lincs]

Great paint and chipping etc. Looking for ward to the next bit.

[Aku]

Looking good, and I'm taking a keen interest in your paint job and techniques

Though I still can't shake the impression that the STAP looks like Dory form "Finding Nemo"...

[Hunter Rose]

On 6/29/2021 at 11:57 PM, Pete in Lincs said:

Great paint and chipping etc. Looking for ward to the next bit.

 

Thanks Pete! 

 

1 hour ago, Aku said:

Looking good, and I'm taking a keen interest in your paint job and techniques

Though I still can't shake the impression that the STAP looks like Dory form "Finding Nemo"...

 

Cheers Aku! And now you've said that I can't not see it when I look at it!!

[rockpopandchips]

Just keep swimming just keep swimming..... 

 

Looking great and looking forward to see how you get on attaching the droid. 

[Hunter Rose]

11 hours ago, rockpopandchips said:

Just keep swimming just keep swimming..... 

 

Looking great and looking forward to see how you get on attaching the droid. 

 

Thanks Brian! Yeah think there is going to be a lot of cutting, but hopefully it wont be anything too crazy

 

Just a quick little pick to show that I've sorted the lean of the STAP out, I bent the metal support rod with some pliers

 

IMG_20210701_180025169 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

As you can see by the shadow on the left of the base, its only a few degrees from toppling! But I'm going to either add some weight to that side or just mount it on to a bit of wood (I had even thought about small suction cups!)

I'm planning on positioning the droid like a motorbike rider so he'll be leaning kind of in the opposite direction to keep his centre of gravity so that may make it bit more stable anyway.

 

Thanks for looking, more soon

 

[rockpopandchips]

Will he have his knee down then or leg out moto GP style? If it was knee down he would more like be leaning with the STAP, but I'm sure we can let some artists licence go here. 

👍

[Hunter Rose]

3 hours ago, rockpopandchips said:

Will he have his knee down then or leg out moto GP style? If it was knee down he would more like be leaning with the STAP, but I'm sure we can let some artists licence go here. 

👍

No nothing that extreme, I'm thinking more like how you ride a normal sports bike on the road. So he'll be trying to keep his centre of gravity by staying what looks like upright while keeping his feet on the pedals and leaning the stap with his arms to his left while he s shifting his weight to the right. 

It's a bit tricky to explain (if I still had a motorbike I'd film myself to illustrate! ) but once I start getting the droid together I'll do some dry fit poses to help me sort it and show what I mean

[Aku]

 

With a pronounced lean (L-E-A-N, pronounced "lean")

 

<Thank you, I'll see myself out>

[Hunter Rose]

RIGHT! Its about time I did an update. This droid has been really doing my head in to be honest which contributed to my feet dragging as I scratched my head and pondered getting him into the pose I want.

 

I started by slicing off his feet at the ankles and then placing them on the pedals so I could see how I needed to have his legs positioned at the hips so I could get that glued. At this stage I was thinking I could glue 1 set of joints at a time.

 

IMG_20210716_194620048 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210716_195145674 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then to add poseability for the ankles I drilled holes and added some soft armature wire which was superglued in

 

IMG_20210718_203600320 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Aaaand it was at that point after the hips had dried I put it back in place and they were not in the right position! So I had to break them off, which wasn't too bad as then I drilled holes and used some stiffer guage wire to help make the hips poseable with slight bit of force but the strength to hold its position.

 

IMG_20210805_141842724_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210805_141851083_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210805_142304621_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Was still winging it and scratching my head a bit, but then (after a particularly strong cup of tea and swapping hands for the head scratching) I had my eureka moment yesterday and kicked myself for not thinking of it sooner.

 

I used one of my hand free clamps to hold a another clamp that could grip his middle and hold his position while I got it all glued in place

 

IMG_20210809_162911021 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210809_164043819 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

I even managed to blue tack on his arms so I could nail in for sure the final pose

 

IMG_20210809_163304319_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210809_163320135_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Then I used some tamiya extra thin on his knees, there was really good contact in a wide area so that should be nice and solid, then I used greenstuff to fix the ankles in place, at the paint stage I will give the impression its some kind of sleeved flexible joint.

 

IMG_20210809_170043717_HDR by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210809_170423556 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

IMG_20210809_170435818 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

Idid superglue the hips with some ca gel, but then added some more greenstuff around the whole connection point to make it nice and strong.

 

IMG_20210809_170752686 by Nick Frost, on Flickr

 

So with that annoying situation flipped around to something I feel really pumped! So next up I'm thinking I'll get the arm pose sorted and glue it at the elbow, but leave the permanent fixing at the shoulder until I've got it all tidied up and primed. So more sanding and filling of the main body on the horizon!

 

Thanks for looking, more soon

 

[Pete in Lincs]

It's great to see you back at work on this one. It's looking really good. 

[The Chief Smeg]

I’d love a b1 battle droid kit (1:12 scale) but they are going for silly money now. 
 

really enjoying the build though - wonderful