Shenanigans in the north of Scotland
- Thread starter Doghead13
- Start date
I gather Long Jimmy spotted a sign outside the local Adeptus Mechanicus offices reading 'Strong backs wanted for unskilled labour and construction work: reasonable hours, good wages, extant disability no barrier, combat bonuses available: consult within', limped in on home-made crutches and a peg leg, and walked out on his own two feet (one of them so new it still smells of freshly-welded steel) as a Menial under the employ of Magos Viktor von Frankenstern.
He's expressed a great deal of relief to be off the street and knocking out a living wage again, and I don't believe he's looking for another position at this time.
He's expressed a great deal of relief to be off the street and knocking out a living wage again, and I don't believe he's looking for another position at this time.
6mm plastic BB covered in green stuff plus a bit of suitable wire makes the start of the tea-kettle for the Vickers gun heavy, and his backup lasgun from Victoria Miniatures with original Victoria Miniatures sling adjusted to fit. I've also made him a mite taller by putting greenstuff on the soles of his boots and between his legs and torso, somewhat improving his width-to-height ratio.
Once I've sculpted its spout, lid and legs (four of, arranged a bit like the legs of a cast-iron bathtub) a couple of straps made from strips of paper from the D-ring on the back of the Vickers' sling will support the kettle; a hose will run from the front underside of the Vickers' barrel jacket to the kettle's lid, and that's about all that's left needing done with him.
Once I've sculpted its spout, lid and legs (four of, arranged a bit like the legs of a cast-iron bathtub) a couple of straps made from strips of paper from the D-ring on the back of the Vickers' sling will support the kettle; a hose will run from the front underside of the Vickers' barrel jacket to the kettle's lid, and that's about all that's left needing done with him.
I tried running the hose to the kettle's lid, but it didn't look right - so into the spout it goes.
Been thinking about loads of links... How about winding fine solder on to a cocktail stick, sliding off, then cutting in half? Might try it later
The links are three joined C-shaped things stamped out of a single piece of metal forming a very distinctive shape, and very visibly made out of sheet metal - that being the particular sticking point, the flat section is really distinctive. I'm pretty sure it'd need to be made out of something like thin brass sheet by wrapping it round a pair of bits of paperclip wire or some-such and it would definitely be spectacularly fiddly, and either way it's not the sort of thing I expect to be a good 'my first brasswork' project.
The big problem is of course getting them to be uniform. How to achieve that I don't know.
The big problem is of course getting them to be uniform. How to achieve that I don't know.
So, Yaktribe competition six: vehicles! Vehicles being one of my favourite subjects for modelling, I will naturally be entering and my intention is to construct a gameworthy vehicle out of what I've already got laying around. That's right: junk, old sprue, putty, bitz box gubbins and stuff off the floor are going to become some sort of Mad Maxoid motor transport.
For reference of what direction I'm vaguely heading in, here's one I made earlier: this model was constructed from Lego wheels, bits box junk, thin card (remember the card section White Dwarf used to have? Offcuts of that, it was the issue with the set of experimental rules and card tokens that eventually gave rise to Battlefleet Gothic) and sprue nearly twenty years ago. I'm not simply going to reprise it, oh no; that was built right at the start of my junk-modelling career and I'm going to use everything I've learned since to make what I'd have made then if I knew what I know now. It does not, for example, have any suspension; the axles (made of GW sprue) are stuck directly to the underside of the bodyshell and, being GW sprue, are square.
Just want to make one thing very clear here and that is, beyond the above there ain't no plan. There is just shoving stuff together with a rough awareness of what a vehicle's guts look like and seeing what comes of it.
Here we have what I've found over the years to be the most irritating part to find or fabricate for any scratcbuilt vehicle: wheels, as making wheels out of raw materials requires an annoying amount of making identical components. In this case, they come from (weird trivia time) Earth's largest manufacturer of rubber tyres: Lego, and have been kicking around in my bits box for the last fifteen years with a vague idea that I'll eventually attach them to a vehicle. As you can see thanks to Fred they're not a bad size for our purposes; they're marginally larger than the wheels off a Space Marine bike.
First things first: axles. Watch this space...
Edit: Why the devil did it say 'spend construct'?
For reference of what direction I'm vaguely heading in, here's one I made earlier: this model was constructed from Lego wheels, bits box junk, thin card (remember the card section White Dwarf used to have? Offcuts of that, it was the issue with the set of experimental rules and card tokens that eventually gave rise to Battlefleet Gothic) and sprue nearly twenty years ago. I'm not simply going to reprise it, oh no; that was built right at the start of my junk-modelling career and I'm going to use everything I've learned since to make what I'd have made then if I knew what I know now. It does not, for example, have any suspension; the axles (made of GW sprue) are stuck directly to the underside of the bodyshell and, being GW sprue, are square.
Just want to make one thing very clear here and that is, beyond the above there ain't no plan. There is just shoving stuff together with a rough awareness of what a vehicle's guts look like and seeing what comes of it.
Here we have what I've found over the years to be the most irritating part to find or fabricate for any scratcbuilt vehicle: wheels, as making wheels out of raw materials requires an annoying amount of making identical components. In this case, they come from (weird trivia time) Earth's largest manufacturer of rubber tyres: Lego, and have been kicking around in my bits box for the last fifteen years with a vague idea that I'll eventually attach them to a vehicle. As you can see thanks to Fred they're not a bad size for our purposes; they're marginally larger than the wheels off a Space Marine bike.
First things first: axles. Watch this space...
Edit: Why the devil did it say 'spend construct'?
Last edited:
I've never done anything with sheet metal before, so it could be, um, messy.
Anyway isn't it interesting how a bit of undercoat pulls a miniature together, makes him look like he's meant that way instead of a pile of random stuck-together parts and putty?
Anyway isn't it interesting how a bit of undercoat pulls a miniature together, makes him look like he's meant that way instead of a pile of random stuck-together parts and putty?
Four pieces of sprue and a lot of cutting, gluing and swearing later, we have one very basic chassis. Note that the axles and frame are not glued together as there needs to be some suspension between the two, but that's the basic shape.
Chassis and suspension. Ingredients so far: 4x Lego wheels, GW sprue, Tamiya sprue, 4x damaged 25mm round slottabases (to get the curves for the suspension springs) and a bit of lead-free solder to make little lugs to locate the axles. The whole thing's a little squint, but that's no big deal for a rattlecan Ashlands dune buggy.
Also, about those Malifaux minis?
For many years gentle soft-spoken giant Sheng didn't have any huge situation with being a slave. The fact that he was a skilled worker made him valuable enough that he didn't have to worry about whether he was going to get fed, he was never beaten, and he had no need to fear being shifted off to fight in the pits - not even after he lost his left hand to a site accident. Then his master died and he was inherited by a sadistic moron.
Three days later he'd joined the Buzzsaw Prophet in the former's single-minded wrong-righting and Emperor-preaching crusade.
Also, about those Malifaux minis?
For many years gentle soft-spoken giant Sheng didn't have any huge situation with being a slave. The fact that he was a skilled worker made him valuable enough that he didn't have to worry about whether he was going to get fed, he was never beaten, and he had no need to fear being shifted off to fight in the pits - not even after he lost his left hand to a site accident. Then his master died and he was inherited by a sadistic moron.
Three days later he'd joined the Buzzsaw Prophet in the former's single-minded wrong-righting and Emperor-preaching crusade.
Start of a bodyshell in finest quality Games Workshop boxed set box. Product may contain traces of Gretchin.
Slow down! You're gonna hurt yourself (and my chances of winning as well)!
It's going this quickly because this stage - getting the basic shape - is quick. Macro-sized parts always are; detailing this thing is going to take a lot, lot longer. I haven't even began figuring out how to make the engine and gearbox, just for a start
It's now clear what this thing wants to be - a 'technical' style armed pickup truck with a heavy stubber mounted in the loadbed - not sure how to get the heavy stub to look like a DShK but it'll be interesting finding out and I can't think of a model vehicle much more versatile than a generic 28mm-scale technical, whether it's counting as a sentinel in 40k or turning up in ][munda scenarios set on agri-worlds or being used in pretty much any modern-day game or what.
The bonnet and front panel sections are currently just resting in place as is the cab roof (they won't get glued down until the detailing is done and the insides painted) and that is the fast part of the build over with.
Ingredients so far: Half the box from a box of Gretchin, two pieces of GW sprue, some lead-free solder, four beat-up 25mm round slottabases, two pieces of Tamiya sprue, four Lego wheels, and a cocktail stick. Tools used; minidrill, craft knife, side clippers. All measurements are by MkI eyeball on the guesstimate system; this is not exactly what you'd call precision modelling.
It's now clear what this thing wants to be - a 'technical' style armed pickup truck with a heavy stubber mounted in the loadbed - not sure how to get the heavy stub to look like a DShK but it'll be interesting finding out and I can't think of a model vehicle much more versatile than a generic 28mm-scale technical, whether it's counting as a sentinel in 40k or turning up in ][munda scenarios set on agri-worlds or being used in pretty much any modern-day game or what.
The bonnet and front panel sections are currently just resting in place as is the cab roof (they won't get glued down until the detailing is done and the insides painted) and that is the fast part of the build over with.
Ingredients so far: Half the box from a box of Gretchin, two pieces of GW sprue, some lead-free solder, four beat-up 25mm round slottabases, two pieces of Tamiya sprue, four Lego wheels, and a cocktail stick. Tools used; minidrill, craft knife, side clippers. All measurements are by MkI eyeball on the guesstimate system; this is not exactly what you'd call precision modelling.
Still clad only in his undercoat, Corporal Armstrong demonstrates that a miniature on a 25mm round base can stand in the technical's loadbed.
zomg! First I know about the latest yaktribe competition is seeing your pics of an almost-finished piece! D-:
Looking great, damn you! *wanders off to find the competition post* :-D
Looking great, damn you! *wanders off to find the competition post* :-D
Vehicle models are a speciality of mine, I've been building them on and off for the last twenty years so when I saw the competition come up it got a little cry of 'Nice!' out of me because it's something I know I can do well. And, nearly finished? Far from it: that's just the basic shape. The equivalent in scenery making would be a big lump of chopped-about expanded polystyrene.
Engine compartment and an inline four-banger is starting to take shape, with a slight variation on my usual style of exhaust pipes. Still needed, plug leads and engine head bolts and jam a distributor in somewhere, dipstick, oil and water fill tanks, carburettor bank (including throttle cables and fuel lines) and air cleaner box, a hose running to the radiator and jam a battery in somewhere (and that's if I don't decide to stick it on her cab floor as it's getting pretty tight in her engine compartment) and I think that'll be the top of the engine area completed. Better slap some paint on the engine block at this point as I won't be able to get at it past all the plumbing later on, it's going to be a rat's nest in there.
Up underneath at the engine end she's looking pretty good; still needs the rest of the steering linkage, brake lines, fuel line leading up towards her carbs, and an oil drain bung on her sump. Note my traditional cigarette lighter parts forming her crankcase and gearbox.
Her squint front axle has now been rectified.
Up underneath at the engine end she's looking pretty good; still needs the rest of the steering linkage, brake lines, fuel line leading up towards her carbs, and an oil drain bung on her sump. Note my traditional cigarette lighter parts forming her crankcase and gearbox.
Her squint front axle has now been rectified.
Similar threads
