39 replies to this topic

[Joseph Ward]

Pariah Devalis, on 30 November 2012 - 10:40 PM, said:

....somehow I get the feeling a Hotwheels line of Mechs would sell like hotcakes. XD

Awesome job, man! So aside from the epoxy based parts, do you use plasticard, or do you ablate from actual chunks of resin directly?

Thanks for that

and I couldn't agree more.. so long as they managed to put good detail into the models.. I guess the flipside would be that anything they made would be a bit more hardy than my models - which are incredibly fragile.

I mostly just use plasticard (as in the big post above I posted just after you asked the question). Anything that is not comprised of flat surfaces I have to make out of Tamiya epoxy modelling putty.. Though in the case of my Timberwolves I made a plan & profile cutout christmas tree of 1mm plasticard and filled it in with putty.. so if you looked at the mech front on - there would be a horizontal/vertical X-shape of plasticard running longitudinally through it.. I did this just to have a measurable reference (I cut the correct profiles into the plastic X) to mould the putty and sand it back to.

Hope that helps..

[Evil Deaz]

These are epic, wish i had the time and the skill to do something like this, they are just amazing!

[MW Blizzard]

On the miniatures topic, I recall there was a husband and wife on my MW3 team. On their wedding cake they had a Scat and Mcat mini's.
And I'm not sure if they'd try and explain that to the in-laws......

[Joseph Ward]

Evil Deaz, on 01 December 2012 - 12:04 AM, said:

These are epic, wish i had the time and the skill to do something like this, they are just amazing!

thanks but hey now you can make these, too - and you'd be really surprised how quickly you can teach yourself how to make em.

MW Blizzard, on 01 December 2012 - 12:21 AM, said:

On the miniatures topic, I recall there was a husband and wife on my MW3 team. On their wedding cake they had a Scat and Mcat mini's.
And I'm not sure if they'd try and explain that to the in-laws......

haha, classic. I'd have done the exact same thing..

[Loc Nar]

Wow, model builder here, and these are fantastic! How's that Marauder coming along?

[Joseph Ward]

Hi thanks for the kind words, and funny you should ask, because as I just happen to be working on her right now (locking myself in the Mech plant this weekend, haha)..

Am just trying to shape the torso correctly - which is hard because the geometry is a quite complex array of planar surfaces.. The work is copying the profile I drew (based mostly on the.. <<gasp>> MW4 model) quite nicely. With any luck, I'll have it mostly boxed-in by close of play tomorrow..



Also working on attaching that PPC to its dorsal fin. This is also hard work because the turned brass barrel I stole is quite heavy, which means the bonds I am making are weak under the self-weight of the barrel. I am also worried about how well the mech will stand up with this much forward topweight. I may or may not have to build my own lighter one from plastic tube.. fingers crossed though, as I like the shape of this barrel.




never, EVER growing up

[Joseph Ward]

another quick photo update on that Marauder IIC.. The torso is mostly shaped - and I am just working on the underside, and the shoulders now.. I just taped the PPC in place to see how it's all going to look - I guess the size is right relative to the TImberwolf (a 90t assault mech next to a 75t heavy). I will probably stand a little taller than the Direwolf - but will obviously look a lot loftier and less stoutly built (= ideal)



.. I should really get around to sticking the legs/feet together on that third Timberwolf to make it stand up - all the parts are ready now..

[Joe3142]

They are looking really awesome!

[Joseph Ward]

hey thanks Joe - ugh, actually prototyping the Marauder is serious hard work right now.. all the old Battletech drawings I can find of it look pretty silly..

see photo anyway:

the forward torso is mostly complete now, although I need to work on the rear and upper fairing parts (including the vented modules on the top next to the upper PPC). Also working on the shoulder joints for the arms which are shown (the two bosses are shown next to the mech - with plastic rod sticking out). The arms I am starting - note the chuppachup (!!!! hahaha) stick and the plastic tube (which is also from a cottonswab, lol).

The hemispherical cap next to the two arm joints is the chin-mounted sensor and ER-SLAS turret - which I am building out of epoxy modelling putty. Note that it is based on/stuck to a circle of 1mm sheet plastic I cut out. Will wait for this to cure - and shape/smooth it - then add a couple of ER small laser barrels - and an electro-optical targeting device (EOD). I think I will put the other two ER small lasers on separate pylons coming off the forward torso, like on my Timberwolf - as I want all of these mechs to look as if they were constructed by similar technology - with similar modules from the same technology base.

Note that the dorsal PPC is just taped in place - I have to do this to see how parts look - as I am not building from plans.



I put a penny in the photo to give an impression of size in this micro scale I work in. The first attempt at a Marauder is also at the extreme top left. This I built as an attempt to make a believable looking mech, based on the MW2 model. It just didn't look right in the end (could be cut up and made into a Crab perhaps?) - and I had to resort to making something based more on the MW4 Marauder model. NB my model will look a little less chunky than the MW4 model..

The geometry of this model is getting so complex now that I doubt I will be able to reverse-engineer a copy of it. The internals of the torso are a complete mess of supports and shims and gussets. Totally insane

[LeoFirebrand]

Absolutely fantastic work. You nailed the MW2 TimberWolf(mad-cat) perfectly. I am alos really excited to see your marauder pan out as that is easily one of my favorite mech designs. Here is also hoping it makes its way into MWO as well...assuming the old legal problems with these designs is not an issue.

[Joseph Ward]

hey thanks Leo - I appreciate that coming from you - as I am also an admirer of your work (and this would be an understatement). I have made some good progress on this mech since taking the above pictures. The shoulder joints are now mostly finished and I have started building some arms. I am almost completely designing my own take on the Marauder - so this will just be a fan-created variation I guess..

more updates to follow (and I am being careful not to post too many photos of too little progress).

[Joseph Ward]

Joseph Ward, on 30 November 2012 - 11:08 PM, said:

• Cyanoacrylate (superglue) - for anyting metallic, or likely to melt with Tamiya cement - as mentioned above. SPECIAL TIP: KEEP IT IN THE FRIDGE: it will last for months/years once opened - whereas an open tube left at room temperature will dry up in a week.

Just went to get my Cyano glue to fix a Timberwolf's leg joint and it was covered in chese. It's still good advice.

Here is another update on the Marauder.. I have actually decided to start over - after taking it this far - I have fallen in love with FD's Marauder sketch and have decided to make a model of one:



I will probably finish this one as the IS 70t Marauder. It looks a lot like the MW4 model. Meanwhile I realised that the torso I made is much taller in its length to cross-section size ratio..



And is also similar in size to the 75t Timberwolves I have made.. so is probably a good approximation to the IS 70t Marauder - meanwhile FD's sketch looks heavier - more like the Marauder IIC I would imagine standing in my tabletop star of mini Clan Wolf mechs..

Still not happy to realise that I want to start again - but this is modelmaking when you don't have plans.. Maybe I finish this Marauder - or maybe I sell it to somebody wanting a lead-in to mini mech building? message me if interested..



And finally - another cool shot of the Timberwolf.. I like the light on it - makes it harder to tell what size the model actually is. Most of the close-up shots I have taken in good light seem to scrutinise the detail of the model harder than the human eye could.. but this shot - is a better approximation to how the model looks to the naked eye.

Edited by Joseph Ward, 05 December 2012 - 05:29 PM.

[Joseph Ward]

Quite the production line, Quiaff?



... WOLVES A-SEMMM-BLE!!!!!!!! (get it?)

[Joseph Ward]

I need to get back on this

[BLaaR]

Wow, they are all really crazy good. I can tell a lot of love and time went into them.

Also the painting reminds me so much of MW2, you did a fantastic job capturing the good all days of MW2.

[Joseph Ward]

Hey thanks I'm glad you think so. And yep - MW2 nostalgia was exactly my reason for building these. Wait till I finish my Wolves - and build a star of Falcon Summoners and Hellbringers for them to brawl with ... then a Ghost Bear Kodiak and Grizzly to go run and gun their way back to stolen genetic info

but damn that's going to be a lot of work...

[Agent Cooper]

Wonderful job! I love seeing the passion that goes into physical models.

[Stingray Productions]

Your marauder sure is coming along nice, i like the look of it so far in your pictures.

[Joseph Ward]

Agent Cooper, on 05 May 2013 - 05:16 PM, said:

Wonderful job! I love seeing the passion that goes into physical models.

Thanks for that. They're definitely fun to build and look at

Stingray1234, on 05 May 2013 - 08:31 PM, said:

Your marauder sure is coming along nice, i like the look of it so far in your pictures.

Also thanks.. The Marauder I've kinda stalled on - having decided I like FD's Marauder a lot more than the MW4 model. Just wondering what to do with it - do I finish an MW4-esque model AND put that side by side with an FD Marauder? Hmmm. I guess one could be IS - the other IIC. Kinda makes sense?

[Joseph Ward]

...this was the Marauder I was trying to build, before FD's sketch changed my mind.