Seth the Blitzspear - engines

Thought i'd have a go at the engines first.
The trouble i'm going to have with finishing the craft off is Kevin O'Neil.
He's SO blummin' good at putting in tiny, intricate detail, and the engine area is no exception:



The detail is so fine that my usual method of adding by using kitbits just won't work here - even if i used just only 1/44th scale or smaller parts and applied them by tweezers, they'd still be too darn big.
So what i've decided to do is score a sheet of Plarticard lightly with vertical and horizontal lines, flip the card over, then cut out the shapes i need. Once flipped back over, i've got my detail.
Seems to have worked here on this section, so think i'll continue.

Dead T-Rex

Another long-forgotten project i've just stumbled across.
When out together, this is a T-Rex's head and neck. "Why would you make that?" i don't here you ask.
Well, he's part of quite a big diorama i'd made years back and the start of it was a 1/8th scale Predator that i'd built. I want a way to display him and didn't want a plain base, nor any recreation from the first or second film (there were only two, right?)
But then i got to thinking about how the Pred's come to Earth only to fight the biggest, baddest opponents and how, in the second film (there were only two, right?) its established they've been coming here for a LONG time.
Well then, what if they've been coming here for a LONG, LONG, LONG time?
Who'd be about the baddest they could go up against?
Pretty quick the answer came back - T-Rex.
Okay, liked that idea, but how do you display my Predator with such a massive beastie?
The answer came in his pose - he's doing that victory roar thing towards the end of the first film (there were only two, right?).
So, why not having him doing that over the corpse of the T-Rex?
And why not just make the head and neck and disguise the end of the neck by having foilage covering it up - if i took a photo of that, the rest of him could just be out of shot.
And that's what i went with.
You can see here in his fallen apart state that i'd sculpted his skin over a former. A remember that's simply Bubblwrapmade into a rough shape, with Masking Tape used to refine the shape and hold it all together.
The neck i did seperately, hence it fallen off during these long years of storage.
You can also see that he's blinded - the only way i figure the Pred could take him out.
And there's the slash marks across his neck to finish him off.
Still quite happy with him, and i've still got the Predator somewhere, so may just combine the two, repair the Rex and remake a setting for them.

Seth the Blitzspear

If you're a fan of 2000AD, then you'll recognise Seth, his trusty Blitspear craft - a classic design by Kevin O'Neil, it appeared long before Nemesis did as, in the earliest episodes, he wasn't actually ever going to appear.
When he did, Kevin cleverly copied the Blitzspears shape for Nemesis' face.
Anyway, classic design and one i've long had a hankering for.
And now i have one!



The reason its here suddenly on this Site and in this advanced stage already is a bit of a tale.
A good few years back, at least five i reckon, a guy named Phil posted up photos of a Blitzspear he'd made on a modelling forum. Very much taken with what a fantastic job he'd made of it, i got in touch to ask about some tips on how he went about it as i'd like to make one myself.
Phil was more than gracious, to the extent of saying he'd started a second one, and would i like him to build it for me?
That was a great offer and i took him up on it, but i didn't want a fully finished piece as there'd be no challenge for me, so i asked him if he could please just make the basic shape and i'd take it from there?
He was ok with that, and that's how it was left.
And left.
And left.
For one reason or another, we lost contact and, to be honest, i'd forgotten all about it. Until last Autumn when Phil got back in touch to say that he was emigrating to the States, he was packing things up, came across the Blitzspear and did i still want it?
Of course i did!
I couldn't make a Con he was going to so he left it with a mutual friend who was going to post it on to me.
That was in September, which was a very busy time, then Christmas came and went and again, i forgot about it.
Until last week, when i was sorting out my graphic novels and came across my Nemesis one's.
Lightbulb popped back on, got in touch with my friend, who posted it to me, and he arrived yesterday.
Phew, quite an epic.
But, he's here now so lets take a look.
As you can see up top, Phil's done a fantastic job with the shape of the craft, he's also accurately depicted the mouth/grill:



The underside is pretty blank, but that's okay as, from looking at this area in the strip, its basically panel lines only:



The "eye" areas will need some work, with filling in some holes and smoothing things out. Phil's cleverly used halves of either a fule tank or bomb from an aircraft kit for the "eyes" but they look a tad small. I've got to decide whether to replace these or not before detailing this area, the area with the most kit parts i'll be using:



The engine area is blank at the moment and, looking at reference pics, looks like it'll be easy to do - just lengths of Plasticard to make a ribbed affair:



And then i've got to finish off the fuselage - the arrow-like prow, the tail at back, the "horns" above the "eyes", the canopy etc:



Can't wait to get started!

Chaos Renegade - back on track

Minds turned back to the Chaos Renegade outfit, that i really must get finished.
Nearly there with rusting up the front now and soon i'll be flipping it over to work on the rear. Biggest thing to do is to disguise the ends of this roll of foam that is an air tank.
Was thinking of some sort of round plate affair, with a nice grill detail or somesuch in the middle to add interest. Thinking something from the cooker/air-con section of the DIY store.

Big Dredd - all done

Aaaand, i'm spent.
All done!
Had a blast building this kit and he sure does dominate my den - for a supposedly 1/6th kit he ain't 'arf big, here he is again with a true /16th Roy Batty. But happily, this Mean Machine is similarly massive and fits just right alongside him.

Big Dredd - chain

Back from the DIY store with enough chain to cater for any permatation of links i care for

Steeds Of Slaanesh

As an antidote to the hugeness of Big Dredd, i've gone for a wee break with something small - Games Workshops Steeds Of Slaanesh.
I'd built a few before but that was yonks back when they were all metal.
Now we get a box of five plastic one's and, boy, is there a marked difference - amazing detail on both steeds and riders and part fit was excellent.
Once assembled and primed though, finding it a bit of a head-scratcher as what colour scheme to go for with the beasts.

Big Dredd - flesh

Pic 1: I always use Games Workshops "Screaming Skull" (a now defunct paint, alas) for my skin tones as it dries to a nice realistic colour with just the right sheen. Unfortunately, its pretty translucent, meaning if you paint it over grey primer you end up with a decidely ill appearance. To get round that i put down a layer of white first, as here - along with some over the visor area.
Pic 2: Flesh has been washed and highlighted, mouth detailed and i've roughly penciled in the lightning flash things. Blummin' 'eck, it all came back to me when i've done past Judge helmets - they look quite simple in the comic, but figuring them and getting them right is darn tricky. Well, to me anyway.
Pic 3: Here i've finished them, put the rd trim on, and the badge thing up top. To again illustrate that there's no WAY he's 1/6th, here he is alongside my severed Anderson head. Even if he's a Karl Richardson bruiser of a Judge, he's still far too massive.

Big Dredd - other gun.

So, his other gun then. Not standard Judge issue weaponry and not based on anything i can remember from the strip, so what to do?
Did consider not using it and either replace with a robots head (nixed that as i'd need the rest of the robot on the base to explain what he's doing with it and that'd make for a VERY busy base) or scratchbuild a Stubb Gun (nixed that as the time Joe used one was in the Apocalypse War, way before his MKII Lawgiver was issued).
So decided on going the route of sticking with the gun, but having it nothing to do with him - he's picked it up mid-battle for some extra firepower.
To emphasise that i've made it a Perps weapon, with a colour scheme different to any Judge issue item, and rusty as heck.