Judge Fear - done

So, my Judge Fear got his debut Con yesterday.
I could only be there for a couple of hours and in a way i'm glad - i'd never put the whole outfit on all at once before and it was a good dry run to see what worked and what didn't.
Observations:
1. The booster shoulder pads that are under the actual shoulder pads to make them sit higher will have to go - them being high up like that makes me look like i've got no neck, the helmet looks far too blocky like this. If i have the pads sitting on my shoulders then the helmet will be that much higher and more defined.
2. I've got to change the balaclava i wore - its the one i use for my Garinden and its woolen. That's okay with him as he has a hood and the air is free-flowing. Here it was far too warm and too thick - my nose was crushed up against the lighting panels.
3. I've got to put some sort of attaching system of gloves to sleeves - every time i lifted my hands up, the gloves came out of the sleeve.
4. I need a better attachment than industrial Velcro to keep the bear traps on the belt - the heat of the day made the glue of it to the belt go sticky.
5. I wore a dancers belt. Not really enjoying the sensation of having my rectum garroted by a piece of elastic, i don't think i'll be wearing it on any other occasion.
All in all, a good day which left me still with things to day. He got a good reaction but, staggeringly considering it was a comic convention, no-one did the "GAZE INTO THE FIST OF DREDD!" line

The USS Austin - head done

With a few more kit bits added (mainly from the excellent source of parts, the Airfix Scammel Tank Transporter), the cockpit of the Austin is ready for Grey Primer:

Judge Fear - lighting probs

Yup, what i was a bit concerned about happened when i put the lighting into the helmet - its very apparent where there's no lights to allow me to see out.
Too much of a fanboy to go out with them only partially done like that, and was going to have no lighting at all.
But then decided on the compromise of just having the lights illuminating the grill area.

A mini, mini, mini Scout Walker?

The new photos in Entertainment Weekly from Star Wars Ep7 are great to be sure.
But, that cowl, or whatever the heck it is, on the beast of burden-type critter - its of course, far, far too small, but doesn't it look an awful lot like the head of a Scout Walker?

The USS Austin

Been a real long while since i've built or scratchbuilt a spacecraft.
But, moneys tight, so how do i go about that?
Then the lightbulb goes on and i remember my oft-negleted build, SO neglected in fact that i actually started it some 35 years ago!
Long-time followers may remember this, if you'd like more info then type six million into the search bar up top here.
But, in a nutshell:
Back in about '79, all fired up on Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Blakes 7 and the like, the teenage me attempts to turn his old Six Million Dollar Man Repair Station into a spoaceship. Before giving up on it.
Fast forward about 6 yaers ago and i stumble on it in my mum's attic and wince at the crudeness of it.
But thought, as it was one of the projects that got me onto this scratchbuilding lark, i'd finish it off.
And that's what i've been doing every few years until i get bored with it each time.
And now's the time to try again.
These shots are how things are right now, and its a real mix of different bouts of building - the original, painful parts are visible in there, but i'm slowly covering them up.
The underside was just a blank sheet of cardboard (yes really) when i re-discovered it and, last time i was working on it, i addressed that with this pipe and girder work, heavily influenced by the Valley Forge in "Silent Running".
And i'd made a "head" for it two out of a couple of ribbed tupperware bowls stuck togther.
That's it for now, i'll go into more detail as i start adding some.

Judge Fear - belt done

With the padlock finished, i can finally assemble all the various elements that make up his belt

Judge Fear - padlock done

Okay, the stages for Judge Fear's padlock:
1. The padlock made from foam clad in Plasticard, sticky jewels for rivets and armoured plastic tubing for the top bit.
2. Based in Gunmetal.
3. Sloppy black wash applied.
4. Sloppy rust wash added.
5. Gone in with the brown i use for rust, but this time neat to strengthen the colour in places.
6. Finished with a neat colour from Games Workshop called "Typhus Corrosion" which is great for an icky, rough surface. Used that on the upper area mainly and then finished the thing with a sparing use of a bright orange in places.

Artmor Project - green

A really good rule with modelling and scratchbuilding is: never EVER throw anything away.
Case in point this weekend - found tucked away at the back of the paint drawer an old, old, very dusty pot of Tamiya "Nato Green".
Note used in an age, but has just been pressed into service for Boba Fett's armour. Its an almost perfect match, dries a nice realistic matt, and saves me the trouble and cost of going out for new stuff.
I've also printed out his emblem for the right chest piece, which i'll be trimming and sticking on. Its a tad too big, but don't think it'll notice whne i've done with it.

Artmor Project 3 - primed

Next up on the Artmor Project - priming the chest pieces.
I've got mini-Boba here to help guide me through the next bit, painting them as how they looked in "Jedi."
At the end of this project, i don't think it'll really matter (nor be noticible), but thought it'd be fun to try and emulate what was done to them.