Battletech _ 1/60 Mechwarrior 4 Highlander WIP

[smtk]

I've been trying to keep it under wraps till I was further along but I'm carp at keeping secrets. So here's where I'm at with my MW4 highlander build. There's a few more parts like gun barrels hanging around but I'm going to cast them separate. It'll be 1/60 (armorcast) scale and around 23cm tall.




I'm on the home stretch now I need to finished the thighs ()left and right handed), adding detail, making hip joints and filling gaps. Its should end up looking like something between these two.

[Deadmeat30]

nnnnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicccccccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

[mangozac]

[Vaaish]

Very cool. I know what you mean about the secrets thing. I've got a little side bit I'm working on this week along with a bucket of Epic Landspeeders and I keep having to force myself to not take photos so I won't post it until I finish. I think a bit more GS probably tomorrow night or sometime this week will be what it needs....

[smtk]

I think I don't like posting wip pictures because the master tends to look mottled and manky from all the dust/putty/glue marks etc

I was planning to wait till all the parts were on and give it a light base coat but the forecast is for rain so no idea of when I can get outside to spray.

Which brings me onto a question I've been pondering. I tend to use spray can base coats for painting however I've found they aren't ideal for priming masters because they don't sand well. See allot of talk about Mr. Surfacer being used but I worry it'll soften the details.

As for the laser cut parts they turned out great construction came together fast all I need to do was chamfer the edges. The plastic seem to have a lot of carbon in it (I guess to help the laser cut it) and it doesn't seem to bond as strong as styrene so more glue is needed and it takes longer to stick.

The etching was a mixed result. I asked the guy to go half of the thickness of the material (.63mm) which should of been .315mm but it seems he only went .1/.2mm so as I found on the shoulders I'm going to have to add panels or scribe some of the etchings. Other wise 3 or 4 coats of paint and the detail will be lost. In future I'll use cuts with backing plates for depth

[mangozac]

[smtk]

Hi guys I bought the scribber you recommended but its coming from the USA so I've carried on.

Might not look that different but lots of little details coming together and fill/sand cycles. I brought some of the parts to the point where i felt they were far enough to warrant squirt of primer to spot defects.

[mangozac]

Nothing like a bit of primer to bring things together and generate some excitement (both your own and other's)! It looks really good - so much so that I'd consider buying one if I didn't already have too many projects on the go!

Seriously I would never turn back from using a scriber like the Bare Metal one. It does a fantastic job, I wish I'd known about them years ago! I should post a review of it...

[paulson games]

That model is coming out sweet. I've always like tehhighlander as it reminds me a bit of shockwave from transformers. I have a couple of resin N scale highlanders, a 1/60 scale would be awesome to have as well.

[smtk]

I was looking at you N scale mechs they look great is there a place to view pictures of them all together?

[paulson games]

I don't really have a group shot but most of the individual ones are here

http://s661.photobucket.com/albums/uu33 ... attletech/


I didn't do the original sculpts, a couple of the guys on the lords of the battlefield site do a limited amount of fansculpts in resin. I helped do the casting on a few of the Hatamoto-chi & thunderbolt mechs.

In that scale I have resin versions of: atlas, thunderbolt, hatamoto-chi, 2 highlander variants, behemoth/stone rhino, and I'm hoping to pick up a dragon soon. I typically pick up one of each as I like the larger details and they are a lot more interesting to paint than the standard models.

I have a bunch of the plastic dougram kits and macross ones as well. Some people use a lot of the mechwarrior dark age mechs which are pretty close in scale but I prefer the original 3025 era mechs, but ocassionally pick up clan mechs if I like the design.

[smtk]

Ah i thought you had made them they look great. One thing Battletech could really do with is an overhaul of their whole miniature line.

So I'm slowly making progress on my highlander (Daiblo 3 seems to be eating into my free time). I still need to sort out a hip joint. The one i had made was too thick so need to shave it down 2 or 3mm (my kingdom for a bench sander!). Then its just some odds and sods to finish up tidy.

I'm really chuffed it came out bang on 1/60 scale and my target height against the Armorcast atlas (pictured right). You never can be 100% sure till you put all the parts together.

Its just loosely balancing on some Lego for now (I don't want to get glue marks on the masters). But once its glued it should all be nice and tight

[smtk]

[Vaaish]

very cool!

[mangozac]