Beyond The Sprues
Modelling => Group and Themed Builds => Kitbash / Frankenstein GB => Topic started by: Dr. YoKai on February 18, 2025, 08:01:30 AM
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Merci beaucoup, Frank ;)
Starting on the first of two-this one based on the Char Cannon FT-17. More commentary later- just a teasing phot for now. ;)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54333670362_c4aaa31272.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qMhgf3)DSCF1133 (https://flic.kr/p/2qMhgf3) by VileDr.Yo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46965833@N07/), on Flickr
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Where did you get those legs? Cool!
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It looks far batter than what I had planned! Wondering how it could be powered - maybe two electric motors per leg (one for back and forth and the other to bend the leg) plus a big gas engine in the rear hooked up to a generator.
...or magic.
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Where did you get those legs? Cool!
They're styrene I-beams & tube for the base joins, & what looks like styrene sheet cut outs for the feet.
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I thought they looked like parts off of something. I’ve got plastic coat hangers that might work for that.
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Wow!
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It looks far batter than what I had planned! Wondering how it could be powered - maybe two electric motors per leg (one for back and forth and the other to bend the leg) plus a big gas engine in the rear hooked up to a generator.
...or magic.
'Myomer', of course . . .
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Myomer (https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Myomer)
cheers,
Robin.
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I wish I could claim that I'd spent the time required to cobble the legs together out of several varieties of Evergreen sheet, rod and tube, but the truth is, they came that way. For the first ten~twelve years I worked at the Texas Talking Book program, we duplicated audio files onto cassettes for duplication. Serving about 15 to 20 thousand patrons, we went through a lot of blank cassettes, and they came packed in boxes of a hundred, with these styrene retainers. Since they were obviously styrene, I started saving them...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54334846002_12b55880b4.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qMohHG)DSCF1134 (https://flic.kr/p/2qMohHG) by VileDr.Yo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46965833@N07/), on Flickr
The style of the retainers varied between manufacturers, and most of what I have are plain soft black strips with no 'detail', but these in particular were around for awhile, and they do have a measure of relief on them that has obvious applications. ;) The feet are just the tips of the strips, wormed out with a small rattail file.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54334846002_12b55880b4.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qMohHG)DSCF1134 (https://flic.kr/p/2qMohHG) by VileDr.Yo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46965833@N07/), on Flickr
Power is mostly a combination of electric motors and cables. (There may be some bicycle chains in there somewhere, but you won't see them-buildin the legs is a bit time intensive, and I'm already dreading adding more rivets. These old RPM kits are wonderfully detailed, really tiny, and pretty delicate. More later-got to got get another propane tank-we are looking at another streak of snow & ice, and while our grid here is in better shape than Texas, the number of trees close to powerlines here in the Commonwealth tends to negate that advantage. I'll try to take some snaps of the dead limbs I've been clearing since last week. (In the appropriate forum thread, that is. :smiley:)
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Man, for a tiny 37mm cannon, this thing is a bunch of even tinier parts. (Seven altogether. none more than 3mm long. Well, maybe the mantlet.)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54368899557_72cc56015c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qQoPDX)DSCF1144 (https://flic.kr/p/2qQoPDX) by VileDr.Yo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46965833@N07/), on Flickr
And a bit more detail on the Système de mobilité. Weather is still too cool for painting, but should be warming up next week.
Started the second hull, will be identical, just differently posed legs. And maybe an AA mg.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54370168445_eedc412ff7.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qQvjRk)DSCF1146 (https://flic.kr/p/2qQvjRk) by VileDr.Yo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46965833@N07/), on Flickr
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Spider Tank
or/oder
SpinnerPanzer?
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Spider Tank
or/oder
SpinnerPanzer?
Non, M'sieu - Fourmi blindée! (Armored Ant. Only the six legs, doncha know.)
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Eight or six, it looks like a spider... :smiley:
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Non, M'sieu - Fourmi blindée! (Armored Ant. Only the six legs, doncha know.)
Cataglyphis? ;D
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This is looking good, Craig! What kit is that? Hopefully not the Taurus kit...
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This is looking good, Craig! What kit is that? Hopefully not the Taurus kit...
RPM. I picked up three variants on resale at King's Hobby in Austin for about $5 apiece. Each kit has the parts for all three variations (Char Cannon, Ruskii Reno, and Ko-Gata, but each instruction sheet is specific to the type. They are very intricate little kits-the suspension is rather intimidating, the parts being numerous and tiny... ???
How bad is the Taurus kit?
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Just works for me. Fits the bill here quite nicely
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RPM. I picked up three variants on resale at King's Hobby in Austin for about $5 apiece. Each kit has the parts for all three variations (Char Cannon, Ruskii Reno, and Ko-Gata, but each instruction sheet is specific to the type. They are very intricate little kits-the suspension is rather intimidating, the parts being numerous and tiny... ???
How bad is the Taurus kit?
Is this the 1/72 or 1/35 version? The 1/35 was ok; the suspension was over-engineered for the molding quality of the model.
I was thinking of the Tauro 1/35 Fiat 3000, which was an Italian version of the FT-17. The turret was made from individual plates and rested on a short axle that was molded to the roof of the cabin.
Still, not as bad as the Eastern Express/AER 1/35 T-18 tank. I ended up using it for parts.
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RPM. I picked up three variants on resale at King's Hobby in Austin for about $5 apiece. Each kit has the parts for all three variations (Char Cannon, Ruskii Reno, and Ko-Gata, but each instruction sheet is specific to the type. They are very intricate little kits-the suspension is rather intimidating, the parts being numerous and tiny... ???
How bad is the Taurus kit?
Is this the 1/72 or 1/35 version? The 1/35 was ok; the suspension was over-engineered for the molding quality of the model.
I was thinking of the Tauro 1/35 Fiat 3000, which was an Italian version of the FT-17. The turret was made from individual plates and rested on a short axle that was molded to the roof of the cabin.
Still, not as bad as the Eastern Express/AER 1/35 T-18 tank. I ended up using it for parts.
I think I remember your comments on the T-18... ;D These are all 1/72-I have been tempted to 1/35 a few times, but the price usually stops me. These 1/72 kits are a bit 'over engineered', but the price was too good to pass up. The kit offers three different turrets, and all are a combination of two sides, mantlet, and rear hatch. There are no alignment pins, but they actually do fit together reasonably well. The tank body is all flat plates with the edges inset for alignment, and with a little patience, they fir together ok. I'll try to take a picture of the suspension sprue in a bit-got to run some errands in Lynchburg, and that will be most of the day.
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Coming along nicely . . .
cheers,
Robin.
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Two weeks later, and the home computer is still a bit glitchy, but stable for the moment with the MS browser instead of Chrome. Think I may need to feed the beast a dew more tasty ram chips.
Anyway, here's the suspension sprue for the FT 17. Should have put a ruler down for scale, but the roadwheel, for instance, are about 2 mm in diameter, and the return rollers are even smaller.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54404990041_249785f10a.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qTzN6F)DSCF1151 (https://flic.kr/p/2qTzN6F) by VileDr.Yo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46965833@N07/), on Flickr
They do go together with a little patience-
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54404990061_a3d48eb26f.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qTzN72)DSCF1152 (https://flic.kr/p/2qTzN72) by VileDr.Yo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46965833@N07/), on Flickr
though I am skeptical as to whether or not the whole is robust enough to actually support the rubber tracks. As to why I am bothering to even attempt this, it has only warmed up enough to spray some primer in the last couple of days, and I made the mistake of looking up obscire FT 17 variations and-
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54404110102_689f320672.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qTvhwj)DSCF1157 (https://flic.kr/p/2qTvhwj) by VileDr.Yo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46965833@N07/), on Flickr
It is, I discover after finding a nice blog posting on the vehicle, pretty inaccurate, but I started with a printout of the only photo... :-[
https://panzerserra.blogspot.com/2022/03/renault-ft-17-75bs-tank-prototype-case.html (https://panzerserra.blogspot.com/2022/03/renault-ft-17-75bs-tank-prototype-case.html)
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The Renaults are pupping! ;D
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That's a fantastic little scratchbuild, Craig! What did you use for the tiny rivets?
The Panzerserra blog is great! Marco is a fantastic modeller.
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That's a fantastic little scratchbuild, Craig! What did you use for the tiny rivets?
The Panzerserra blog is great! Marco is a fantastic modeller.
I have only just begun to dip into Panzerserra's work-reminds me of the format used by another one of our colleagues, the fellow who does the wonderful cartoons with his posts.
The rivets are as old school as it gets. After building the main frame, I cut marching sections of very thin sheet and after laying out some guide line in pencil, used the old Mk 1 eyeball and the tip of a pair of curved tweezers to emboss them. Up close, it ain't perfect, but for my purposes, it cam out better than expected. Since my discovery of the accurate line drawing on Panzerserra's site, I am considering making it a bipedal walker, but I want to see how well the RPM suspension holds up. I managed to get it primered yesterday, so it shouldn't take too long. I think I remember you saying that RPM tracks will not hold paint, so we'll see what happens. Even though the FT 17 75 BS wasn't a very good vehicle (realllly crowded for the two man gun crew, and unstable because of the high CG) I can't help but love the look of the thing.
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:smiley: . . .
cheers,
Robin.
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Non, M'sieu - Fourmi blindée! (Armored Ant. Only the six legs, doncha know.)
Cataglyphis? ;D
Found one of these on my work desk a few months ago.
(https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/files/2014/11/masked_hunter_nymph.png)
(https://extension.umn.edu/sites/extension.umn.edu/files/masked-hunter-nymph-with-debris-large.jpg)
The masked hunter bug. The nymph stage collects dust and dirt for camouflage. I thought it was a spider at first then I saw the antenna. Spiders don’t have antenna. It might be an interesting look for such a vehicle as weathering!
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/masked-hunter-bug/#:~:text=The%20masked%20hunter%20bug%20(Reduvius,itself%20with%20dust%20and%20debris.
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Dust Bunny Camouflage?
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Pretty much! That would be quite a look on an Abrams!
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Heh. Think I'll stick with something a bit more conventional... ;)
After discovering that my FT-17 75bs was a bit inaccurate :-[ I decided to finish it anyway and call it the FT17 75bs Bis. A slightly wider front end would make the gun a bit more serviceable...the build still needs viewports on the driver's cupola and at least one vision port for the gun crew, but I think it came out tolerable all in all.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54441174645_f3032181c7.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qWMfwa)DSCF1165 (https://flic.kr/p/2qWMfwa) by VileDr.Yo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46965833@N07/), on Flickr
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54440992274_137c03f5fb.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qWLjiQ)DSCF1166 (https://flic.kr/p/2qWLjiQ) by VileDr.Yo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46965833@N07/), on Flickr
Meanwhile, things warmed up enough to up some painting on the VBs.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54441051523_3e9735bccd.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qWLBVn)DSCF1170 (https://flic.kr/p/2qWLBVn) by VileDr.Yo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46965833@N07/), on Flickr
Alphonse and Gaston prepare for battle...
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54440993214_f2820f9ba7.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qWLjA3)DSCF1171 (https://flic.kr/p/2qWLjA3) by VileDr.Yo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46965833@N07/), on Flickr
Not ideal masking, but a bit of touch up painting with a drybrush should fix it up.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54439947292_5110bc4237.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2qWEXEU)DSCF1173 (https://flic.kr/p/2qWEXEU) by VileDr.Yo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/46965833@N07/), on Flickr
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:smiley:
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Yep, nice work :smiley:
And Alphonse give us a reminder of just how small the FT 17 really was!
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Very good, that is really coming along
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I think your version of the FT-17 came out great! It has the look of an early tank, when they were trying to figure out what worked and what didn't. Obviously, the hexapod designs won, and no one used tracked tanks...
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... Obviously, the hexapod designs won, and no one used tracked tanks...
No. And why would they? You wouldn't be able just step over minefields or barbed wire entanglements if you were stuck with clanky old-fashioned bulldozer tracks :P
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:smiley: . . .
cheers,
Robin.
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WW1 version of DUST?
Just don’t shoot the legs off!
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The debate over legs versus tracks eventually became how many is enough? While German and Russian designers mostly settled on four in a pillar configuration, the "spider leg"23 form continued to be popular in France, Italy and Japan, with America being the only major power to gamble on a bipedal arrangement. Great Britain, of course, would stick stubbornly to its pedrails for two decades after the end of the Great War, the first production models of the Colbrand Mk I would see the Empire marching in step with the rest of the world. Even in the modern era, when gravitic technology has blurred the distinction between armor and aircraft, the Pode* continues to find useful employment on the world's battlefields. - from the introduction to Best Foot Forward, a history of the Ambulatory Fighting Vehicle from 1892 by S. J. Perlman and G.M. Zaloga
23 Despite the typical six-legged splayed configuration, the term stuck after regular use in the British and American press.
* When the first Vbh Schneiders were being sent to the front, their crates were labelled "podiums pour l'Indochine" (Podiums for Indochina)
in an effort to deceive the Germans. "Podes" subsequently became the common term we use to this day, at least in this continuum.
All done. I was a bit perturbed to discover either the kits had never come with decals, or I had misplaced them, but a spare sheet from a couple of 1/35 Ma.K suits provided the 'playing card' insignia on the rear plates. Finished photos in the completion thread. Thanks to all for the comments and encouragement!
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:smiley: Now you'll have to do the same to an A7V for the other side ;)
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:smiley: Now you'll have to do the same to an A7V for the other side ;)
You should take a look at the 'inspiration' thread for this GB. ;)
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Just been to the gallery thread, they look amazing !! :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:
Mog
>^-.-^<