(10-31-2017, 10:36 PM)Karelian Suomi Wrote: [ -> ]I must confess that I am really, really, really appreciative of you sharing this repair technique with us space possums! It is one thing to have it written out, and quite another to see in pictures the process step by step.
Oh, and your shot of your primer tray got me a-movin' now that I've recovered enough to pick up my tools again... Mwahahahaaaa!!!
SaveSav
Thanks! A picture says a thousand words and makes reading my loquacious ramblings mostly optional.
Have fun with your project --can't wait to see what you produce next... let those creative embers inspire and start new fires feeding our table-top desires!
Speaking of inspiring fire starters: whatever happened to the fella that had painted those Luches ships- a Delta, Dominator, and maybe Cossack? They were photographed against a blue gradient if I remember. Hot paint jobs. I didn't save the images before the site went away. Would love to see him return. Did you kidnap him, put him in a pit in the basement and force him to paint ships --lowering supplies down by basket? If so, you have my approval and admiration.
(11-01-2017, 12:36 AM)Stogie Wrote: [ -> ]Nice job on the repair. I had to drill out a Javelin when I was painting ships for Jim, but went crooked and drilled thru the side of the ship. Uhoh! So I finished the paint job, burned it with a lighter and added some melted pewter. War damaged ship. Wish I had a pic to share.
Thanks again, and pertaining to just rolling with the drilling mishap and making it battle damage- that's the kind of "Happy Accidents" Bob-Ross-channeling awesomeness that makes what could have been a disaster into some of the most original pieces in your collection right there! Lemonade from lemons modeling is so awesome because you would have never taken the chance most of the time otherwise.
I've been dabbling with casting for modeling for a bit, and while I find the process to be a messy, smelly, risky endeavor not worth the hassle most of the time, there are those times when it is the only option available when you get an idea stuck in your head that you feel compelled to do. As an example that comes to mind, I had a Lizardmen army general that looked like this:
Nice and stoic, but there is a plethora of artwork depicting them in more animated poses casting their magic and such- (If you consider raised arms more animated)
So when I noticed the arms on a Marvel die cast Mojo toy the kids had lost interest in (honest -wink)...
...the gears revved up to 'Must do at all costs' RPM. The problem- the kit cost $50 at the time, and I wasn't
that enthusiastic about it, and complicating the matter the pewter, while not impossible to work with- is still a pain in the butt to grind down the areas of the arms/hands that would no longer be needed. Casting in epoxy solves all of that. I have a bottle of some green mold release agent I bought years ago from a casting mold material supplier, so I coated the frog wizard with it, let dry and encased the entire thing in about 1/2" of silicone caulking- maybe in a few layers to expedite cure time. Once dry I jigsaw cut it free with a sharp new blade and filled it with my cheap-o epoxy of choice for one shot castings like this- just an off the shelf 5-minute epoxy that you find in the double syringe. Mix it up, no time to de-gas, just pour into a second disposable syringe and inject it into your one-piece. Expect some bubbles. Who cares. It's quick & cheaper than dropping $50 for the hard to work with metal body casting for an experimental custom mod.
When the casting came out the next day, I primed it to see what was going on since it comes out clear and a bit hard to see. Ground off the arms stuck to the lower belly area, there was a bubble on his lower lip, so just like Stogie did, I used its flaws to decide which direction to work with it- sanded the whole lower jaw off with the rotary tool for putty-jaw reconstructive modeling. More expressive! But would have never happened without that bubble flaw in the first place. The Death Mask was just more of the same "Hide my mistakes" effort once the open mouth trick looked a little off with the original figures eyes. The end result, while drifting from the stoic character of the original considerably, is a
crazed-looking fun and
unique alternative model that I almost exclusively take into battle now over the stock metal toad He's gone a bit mad stuck meditating inside damp ziggurats for centuries you see... (a bit autobiographical, that)
What does this have to do with spessships Karpav?
Simple- I think this silicone/epoxy method will allow me to cast and then break/battle distress Megafortress, Stingray, Narwhal, and other escort hulls mixed in with smaller (sculpted to-scale to the warhounds) -fighter hulls & Brood corpses & assorted junk/debris to recreate blocking terrain of graveyards that still haunt the Imperial core- relics of the fall. The lightweight quality the cast hulls means I can experiment on the cheap and mount them floating in dead space on bits of wire. It's the only practical way to recreate it. I have a lot on the slate before I get to that though, so if the idea inspires-
beat me to the punch and make it and post! Otherwise, I hope to get it done about 6 months from now.
Once I have the silicone impressions made I'll be mounting the completed escort class ships on these custom acrylic bases that the team over at Litko made for me:
I need added stability to keep my magnetic mounting system from collapsing when I move the warhounds around, and after seeing these gems I think I would mount them this way regardless. If you are interested in getting some of these just go to their BaseMaker tab on the front page and use the 'contact us' link and ask for 1.5-inch double-bases in the material of your choice and attach this pic too if ya want. They sent me a quote the next day. Maybe with enough interest, they might add this entry to the store proper (as of now only double-bases in wood appear in the store or BaseMaker form). For those wondering on the price, in the month of this posting I was quoted $28 for a quantity of 25 pieces of 3mm clear acrylic (shipping extra). That should give a rough estimate. As for gluing, I superglued a pair of 5/32" x 7/8" fender washers together and secured it to the acrylic with the green putty to avoid the hazing common with cyanoacrylates. Of course using an adhesive made for gluing acrylic would be the smart move, but I rarely do everything by the book. Silicone or Goop adhesive would probably be good choices too. I used another ball of putty to attach the base stud to the washer (had to grind the underside base stud slightly to seat the edges of the base flush once attached).
I liked photographing against black craft foam so much a few weeks ago, I went and got another sheet just for today. No glare for .20 cents.
I'll sign off with these Battle Satellites I painted up yesterday:
Happy hobbies space possums (perhaps the gang down under would prefer a marsupial moniker alliteration closer to home? -
Perihelion Platypuses? -or
platypi for you pseudo-Latin aficionados or
platypodes for the Evil Genius types...)