tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61546403966245142842024-03-28T10:18:50.278+00:00Unobtainium RivetsWhatever I feel like writing about...Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.comBlogger418125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-87288799520463439682024-03-25T08:30:00.014+00:002024-03-25T08:30:00.159+00:00My time at the TFNation Manchester Mini-Con<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">OK, there’s no big project on just
now, so let me talk a bit about the my experiences at the TFNation
Manchester Mini-Con instead. Which happened last week.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjfm5Jhyphenhyphen1aLYekkS5lnD-8Xed5oI1W1ID3nDL9noNAQozr94HCyOhRWBphEYZATmdqfzcY9Y_k9EKFml7IEFKyHScH_sTwk_KW4uoLeCWOjF0j5XvwNzHZntlR9Rtb2Duw-1prevUeRYdB9eFEYBbTTDb2quW2m31d563rnligXJtyFbASDvRivhQNI87d/s1980/2024logo---large-banner.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="1980" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjfm5Jhyphenhyphen1aLYekkS5lnD-8Xed5oI1W1ID3nDL9noNAQozr94HCyOhRWBphEYZATmdqfzcY9Y_k9EKFml7IEFKyHScH_sTwk_KW4uoLeCWOjF0j5XvwNzHZntlR9Rtb2Duw-1prevUeRYdB9eFEYBbTTDb2quW2m31d563rnligXJtyFbASDvRivhQNI87d/w640-h324/2024logo---large-banner.png" width="640" /></a></span></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /> </span><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">I
left on the Friday evening before the Mini-con, having opted to take
a cheapo train, and staying the night at the venue hotel. This wasn't
my first choice, but I’d left it too late to book the Premier Inn
as the prices had shot up to parity with the venue. At that point,
might as well have the expensive hotel room, right? The train journey
however was a bit of a bitch, the train both being late, and breaking
down at a station. I ended up arriving at the hotel at 11:45PM, which
was far from ideal, and made a mental note to file a compensation
claim when I got home. On the plus side, I’d actually received a
room upgrade, which resulted in a room larger than my flat and
featuring two separate flat-screen TVs. I wish I could have enjoyed
it more, but it was comfortable enough for my needs.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">I
awoke the next morning, or possibly later that morning, finding
myself awake and not fully compos mentis at about half seven. I would
have liked more sleep. Aware I was on a time limit, I dressed,
packed my overnight bag, and went for the breakfast buffet. It was a
good buffet. 9/10. Would make Ron Swanson happy. The hash-browns were
however circular. Not bad just odd. Having attempted to start the day
right, I entered the dealers room for the main reason why I was
attending: to assist the Toy-Fu charity, thus seeing friends there
and at the forge section. After which things get a bit blurry. The
Mini-con is obviously not a huge event, and its probably not unfair
to suggest that Toy-Fu was the biggest fish in that small pond. I
spent much of the day working on the stall, picking a few indulgences
along the way. Not as much as I was expecting too, if I’m honest.
The new wave of Legacy United toys wasn’t present, which was a
shame. Then, of course the wonderful thing happened: two good
friends, James and Claude, gifted me with a DragonZord. It was in
honour of the character I play in our collective online RPG campaign.
This made my day. It made the trip. Thanks again, both of you. And
thanks to everybody on the stall, and the convention in general for
your company.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Things
calmed down towards teatime, with clearing up going relatively
smoothly. Myself and my friend Karl opted to walk to the train
station thereafter, having a nerd chat in the miserable weather. He
boarded his train, eventually making it home without issue, and I
paused for a burger while I got my bearings. I was aware that bus
replacements were running, so I’d got there early thinking that I
might have to change trains or similar. As it turned out, the train I
was booked on no-longer existed,<i> fecking charming</i>, so I rolled
the dice on another train. It was packed, but I actually lucked out
and ended up home an hour earlier than expected. And thus, an
enjoyable if somewhat knackering 30ish hours came to a close.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1noLm00xMAA9C9ZZRu69iOBj1A6gc-K_jrRtlOz8HU8PyEEazcayBWD-9xnqfdmUp3kDy28ihwGQYHB8fJzl7QAhwpOJv6MJU_N-3_6kzZMhx8y6PdYmvIXtXmVL6zl8SYD9A-jGKOcrhCxmrXyHIzorgGFNpWtlng2LIYuRbeaEChxvDdlUg0laIp8QP/s4160/IMG_20240324_073638.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1noLm00xMAA9C9ZZRu69iOBj1A6gc-K_jrRtlOz8HU8PyEEazcayBWD-9xnqfdmUp3kDy28ihwGQYHB8fJzl7QAhwpOJv6MJU_N-3_6kzZMhx8y6PdYmvIXtXmVL6zl8SYD9A-jGKOcrhCxmrXyHIzorgGFNpWtlng2LIYuRbeaEChxvDdlUg0laIp8QP/w640-h480/IMG_20240324_073638.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">So
what toys did I get? Well, here’s a brief rundown.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">A
Matchbox Mini Cooper: Picked out from a bag of battered toys, the
mini is a classic with obvious <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/search/label/Gaslands">Gaslands</a> potential.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Combiner
Wars Scrounge and Cybaxx: You know, sometimes working on a stall has
its upsides. This toy is very difficult to get hold of, and is an
article candidate for this blog.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Mighty
Morphing Power Rangers DragonZord: Is love. Just, <i>love</i>. I
probably won’t write about this one, I don’t have the necessary
experience, but I will appreciate it.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Fall
of Cybertron Air Raid: I always kinda wanted this one, its from a
period of interesting retools. Its also an article candidate.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Up
next on Sunday: another orky thing, see you then.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-26390491581224308812024-03-24T08:30:00.069+00:002024-03-24T09:36:56.738+00:00Transformers: Legacy United Thundertron is Something that Exists<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <span face="Arial, sans-serif"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7DMpheT9ByEhFe37zhArw4oS1lnT45yv2YFLnF_-a9-kozeYIvhyphenhyphenRhZxKCheFC-k5ipX-jsLLtkJm4WhZkfhATc0j5W7mC4ZlUJRfWKGSZyKk3D6mkM9nOCdblzMo1Nadns8CblWv83Hp-IQtq93YMCOJZN7l0sPxw9fHjeSm2CUdmyA659ygItrI20-_/s1001/Prime_voyager_Thundertron.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="1001" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7DMpheT9ByEhFe37zhArw4oS1lnT45yv2YFLnF_-a9-kozeYIvhyphenhyphenRhZxKCheFC-k5ipX-jsLLtkJm4WhZkfhATc0j5W7mC4ZlUJRfWKGSZyKk3D6mkM9nOCdblzMo1Nadns8CblWv83Hp-IQtq93YMCOJZN7l0sPxw9fHjeSm2CUdmyA659ygItrI20-_/w640-h460/Prime_voyager_Thundertron.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
<a href="https://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:Prime_voyager_Thundertron.jpg">2012</a> Prime: Robots in Disguise Thundertron toy</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While the opening salvo of Legacy
United is full of interesting and refreshing choices, Thundertron is
one of the more surprising. He was a curiosity in the mass market
Prime toyline of 2012, a seemingly toy-first voyager with no
fictional appearances. It wasn't until this year that I learned that
this chap had a novel appearance and was being positioned for an
antagonist role on screen, at least until Beast hunters happened. I
may have to do a deeper dive into Prime and the Aligned continuity at
some point. Because, much like the Holy Roman Empire, the Aligned
Continuity was neither of those things. But for now let me end this
paragraph with a one sentence summary of Thundertron and his appeal.
<b>He's a </b><b>cat </b><b>pirate robot.</b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvXAVwI0w-_r55J-ZZR7MUR0gvJKK704kAjsanTQMZ2i3gYV6YerTY7qz2d_TusbKOcI_fmhxWwPCTlxWUqupR1apDhKdl2qnZ02BXI9PZ2vZJlMfU_zpKZNs_jqSkSWzyboB11HVoyN-rhMrmfd8sFQjjfxIQsK4Ou2PWofw5-MAM539PlQ9Ll7kPQ7W/s3221/IMG_20240227_122416.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3221" data-original-width="2802" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvXAVwI0w-_r55J-ZZR7MUR0gvJKK704kAjsanTQMZ2i3gYV6YerTY7qz2d_TusbKOcI_fmhxWwPCTlxWUqupR1apDhKdl2qnZ02BXI9PZ2vZJlMfU_zpKZNs_jqSkSWzyboB11HVoyN-rhMrmfd8sFQjjfxIQsK4Ou2PWofw5-MAM539PlQ9Ll7kPQ7W/w556-h640/IMG_20240227_122416.jpg" width="556" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
mean, I could just end the article there. <i><b>Cat</b></i><b>.</b>
<i><b>Pirate</b></i><i>.</i> <i><b>Robot</b></i>. The appeal should
be self -evident. But no, I just going to waffle on like I usually
do. OK, so, the robot mode, like the toy in general, is a
reinterpretation of the original Prime release rather than a 1 to 1
revamp. The difference is mainly in the shoulder pads and the type of
cat he is now, but otherwise it's very faithful to the spirit of that
old voyager. The robot mode is predominately blue and white, the
overall form being evocative of olde worlde, age of sail clothing.
Think of the cat head as a puffy shirt, the skirt armour as part of a
long coat, and his head having some sorta sailor's hat built in, and
you'll see where I'm coming from. The most piratey bits of him are of
course, the beard, the cutlass, and, what was it? Oh yes. THE PEG
LEG! Rarely has an on the job maiming been so important to a
stereotype. Why hasn't he fixed this? He's a robot, spare parts must
be an option, or the <a href="https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Lockdown_(Animated)">Lockdown</a> Method for Self-improvement. Maybe he
can't. A closer look at the sculpt reveals chips, scratches and holes
which have been left unpainted and subtle. It's a good effort, gives
him a bit of faded grandeur without hitting you over the head with it
like Siege often did. The closer look also reveals hollow areas in
each limb which is much less good. Aside from being scenes a faire,
the presence of the peg leg does however prompt a discussion about
posability and balance. Fortunately, they got this right; Thundertron
is not appreciably more difficult to stand than any other
Transformer, and there's a plan b if a joint is too loose, the spare
foot/boot/dancing-shoe. Outside of combiner wars, I admit that this
is fairly unusual accessory, which goes on to form a matching blue
cage guard for his cutlass. Posability otherwise is acceptable but
not first class for a legacy release. All major joints are
represented, plus or minus a foot, including concealed waist, ball
jointed skirt armour, and pretty good shoulders despite those big
shoulder pads. The wrists and neck however could have had a bit more
motion. 5mm port functionality is there, but with the foot ports
being committed for common sense reasons. His cutlass meanwhile uses
a tab to slot into his coattails, and interestingly, his right
shoulder. There's a rumour going around that Thundertron is getting
some kind of leader class re-release, and those slots might play into
that in a <a href="https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Starscream_(G1)/toys#Studio_Series">Coronation Starscream</a> sort of way, but it's unknown at time
of writing. Otherwise an extremely characterful robot mode, if gappy.
</span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhum2-fw0qzcHa9KfX8JgzQoAi3jgyYSUbcpriQM_GwrgitStaf6IS88LxPlXYrlEm_2WOIcVGzJsVgn7ij0cPAs16s2j8CAsiw6-Un3xX3FKNjojKsUMNkf1boptcx0k-EccAw_EcVus8pzdmTHhnrnIHCNrSKZpBW3IfDZ-_ehlgQG-OCC5pRjslwFctN/s3734/IMG_20240227_122455.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3734" data-original-width="2482" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhum2-fw0qzcHa9KfX8JgzQoAi3jgyYSUbcpriQM_GwrgitStaf6IS88LxPlXYrlEm_2WOIcVGzJsVgn7ij0cPAs16s2j8CAsiw6-Un3xX3FKNjojKsUMNkf1boptcx0k-EccAw_EcVus8pzdmTHhnrnIHCNrSKZpBW3IfDZ-_ehlgQG-OCC5pRjslwFctN/w426-h640/IMG_20240227_122455.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Achieving
his lion/fur-baby form is another point of interest, as Thundertron
goes from ship's captain to a Zoids-style ship's cat. The original
toy had a possibly unique transformation where the largely decorative
front legs were formed from shoulder kibble, a trait the new toy also
has, but with a new spin. Here the entirety of the leg is stored in
each shoulder pad, granting improved articulation over the original,
if not hugely spectacular posability overall. These legs also tend
towards the decorative, as the instructions direct you to peg these
into the main body at the elbows, but you don't have to. Leaving them
unpegged allows you to make use of transformation joints for better
posing. The conversion is atypical in some other ways too, the back
legs taking me by surprise, but it's got the same basic problem as
the robot form: gaps. The hollow areas in the legs are still a thing,
with the main body looking incomplete from several angles.
Thundertron doesn't have an organic beast mode, and therefore a few
hinges or seams aren't a deal breaker, but this is unflattering.
Otherwise, we don't see any major visual change from the robot mode,
just with those pirate aspects remixed and downplayed. The wear and
tear of the robot mode is even less overt here, most notable on the
back, near his faction badge. It's an attractive blue and white, with
gold highlights, the overall shape of it having animalistic feel. In
terms of play value, we have an opening mouth, a few 5mm ports, and
storage for the sword on the back. As mentioned, posability sorta
depends how you approach those front legs, but otherwise have just
enough to make you wish there was more. I was pleased to note during
photography that it can balance on the back legs alone, but a little
in the neck would have been lovely. Certainly not a bad altmode, far from
it, but one that feels a touch secondary to the robot mode. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWX058RRLvoiioCR6jnOgg3xBb18SwcCvo3c4ajhh5K6UdwJ6mE7IiiJnXwLJIy2qC3g5RrZAbHJ6j-IkJo_hr-h_d-_OZjarOfvBmlLA_FHeaOCifh_3jwf42A-xeSQOBfadkWO5OExy0cvK0YQpgnlkQQ1nppwYu4stO0LaqpykrkD8B8p9deeHJGzy/s3300/IMG_20240227_121639.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2447" data-original-width="3300" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWX058RRLvoiioCR6jnOgg3xBb18SwcCvo3c4ajhh5K6UdwJ6mE7IiiJnXwLJIy2qC3g5RrZAbHJ6j-IkJo_hr-h_d-_OZjarOfvBmlLA_FHeaOCifh_3jwf42A-xeSQOBfadkWO5OExy0cvK0YQpgnlkQQ1nppwYu4stO0LaqpykrkD8B8p9deeHJGzy/w640-h474/IMG_20240227_121639.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">All
things considered, I'd compare Thundertron to <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2022/12/transformers-legacy-g2-universe-jhiaxus.html">Jhiaxus</a> in terms of
overall vibe and design approach. It's a fundamentally unexpected toy
of an obscure character, and a massive breath of fresh air, that does
well in robot form, but less well in altmode. Thundertron is more
consist in both modes, in that the beast mode actually looks like
something, but the hollow parts aren't a plus. He's definitely
charming as is, but if the rumoured re-release addresses that
weakness? Let's just say that this toy will likely be downgraded to
"Something that exists". </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEhDZ5kIZIFU5WSRWL8bwtO6kAO008tQjHVO26_UO1Bk4CKKsiNrQcvNS57j-QXp3imEpccrvjooE-GSxnsSYegluW85U8hEDO_Qr7BGVw_aeitVxZuJbrSo4D77BBZgxetEEVriN6ufB2LiCpg5IxeMnqTjuuL82ilLsfqM_53OfH9y225CPFGVsZlzo7/s2968/IMG_20240227_121849.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2226" data-original-width="2968" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEhDZ5kIZIFU5WSRWL8bwtO6kAO008tQjHVO26_UO1Bk4CKKsiNrQcvNS57j-QXp3imEpccrvjooE-GSxnsSYegluW85U8hEDO_Qr7BGVw_aeitVxZuJbrSo4D77BBZgxetEEVriN6ufB2LiCpg5IxeMnqTjuuL82ilLsfqM_53OfH9y225CPFGVsZlzo7/w640-h480/IMG_20240227_121849.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-55298790923942570792024-03-19T08:30:00.049+00:002024-03-19T08:30:00.132+00:00Project Sulaco: Part 6<p><span style="font-family: arial;">So, Prometheus exists, doesn't it? Not
a good film, even by the standards of trend-chasing prequels. It's
got one honestly scary moment among the mediocrity, like a shiny
penny in a wastepaper basket. Speaking of which…</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4a_ztU2c3YiWdrXBIJVn-dUZ_t5veM67L_915mYJ1t4KaOOApZcDuGED3yzEMrY2pDT2aDG9jjQTswI8XE9Wafi9kAPI8OghABRBG4zuI8m8R_pSKVIB6tN7pmNWKjxPqqhjN51XP7MLFR7lwMSWSgZtW6Th9H04ZYSgS6MwVw1T2ighA4LXa_rmvVHdp/s3585/IMG_20240317_101417.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1510" data-original-width="3585" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4a_ztU2c3YiWdrXBIJVn-dUZ_t5veM67L_915mYJ1t4KaOOApZcDuGED3yzEMrY2pDT2aDG9jjQTswI8XE9Wafi9kAPI8OghABRBG4zuI8m8R_pSKVIB6tN7pmNWKjxPqqhjN51XP7MLFR7lwMSWSgZtW6Th9H04ZYSgS6MwVw1T2ighA4LXa_rmvVHdp/w640-h270/IMG_20240317_101417.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: arial;">So, I had now moved on to the painting
of these guys, having done research on methods for painting black.
This research led me to contrast paints and the concept of "slapchop"
or more properly "underpainting". For this technique,
instead of applying a contrast to a white undercoat, something I
loathe, you apply it to an intermediate colour, usually drybrushing a
grey or white over black. This removes some of the unpredictability
of contrasts, here being Black Templar and Fleshtearer Red, setting a
foundational tone for the colour work. Clearly, I need to learn a bit
about colour theory as I ended up with a darker ruby red, but that
works. As did the black; its subtle, but there's more to it than
merely spraypaint. I wouldn't be opposed to using this approach again
in future, although I will admit my brainworms giving me trouble for
the entirety of the process, until I finally decided pull the plug.While these meet the three colour table-worthy standard, I’m not happy with
how they look. It had become a chore, and given <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2024/02/project-sulaco-part-3.html">earlier difficulties</a>,
its probably for the best that I draw a line under this, and maybe
come back to it with fresh eyes and/or better skills.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoFKFjXTwg-bM38yeGyjCDTILI678xNchEH5rX_QKHcV2kuh-mB2kpB5amC1_TKgIbBKq35x4ZNHhLYdUERPjU2Ms8L5phKH79Nw6CXvvcFyVFbhRKPWWO2aiuXCTbPpXTUC4BegpAJxxsvYzjXGqKY7aMN9zEmdNkLPixfLYlMAlxSBG_jcxKoeeh_Z1/s3578/IMG_20240317_101448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1532" data-original-width="3578" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoFKFjXTwg-bM38yeGyjCDTILI678xNchEH5rX_QKHcV2kuh-mB2kpB5amC1_TKgIbBKq35x4ZNHhLYdUERPjU2Ms8L5phKH79Nw6CXvvcFyVFbhRKPWWO2aiuXCTbPpXTUC4BegpAJxxsvYzjXGqKY7aMN9zEmdNkLPixfLYlMAlxSBG_jcxKoeeh_Z1/w640-h274/IMG_20240317_101448.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It
seems that I don't merely dislike slogging through <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2022/09/plamo-ork-boyz-warhammer-40k.html">Ork Boyz</a>, I
dislike slogging through Space Marines too. I'm just more of a
<a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/search/label/Kitbash">kitbash</a>, <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/search/label/Gaslands">rusty</a> <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/search/label/Scratchbuild">scratchbuild</a>, <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/search/label/Orktober">drybrush</a> <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/search/label/Mecha">robot</a> kinda guy. A <i>shocking
</i>revelation there. The contrast paints here, while clearly having
uses, just aren’t sitting well with my paint style. I’m not
having fun here, and if I’m not having fun, or happy with the end
result, what’s the point? So, I’m ending things there. I’ll take
a week or two to think about what happens next. I may start another
long term project, perhaps one with more of the bits I find fun, I
may revisit the vehicles I planned, but just now I’ll take a break.</span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So
what have I learned here? Well, I think I’ve managed to get useful
practice with sculpting, and picked up a few painting tricks. I was
probably over-confident from the outset, but I wanted to try
something different, and there’s no shame in that it didn’t work
out. But whatever I do next, I’ll have better idea of what I can
actually do, with a few extra tools in my toolbox. Its said you learn more from a fialure, and that's a positive view I'm choosing to take.<br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Cheers
for now.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-17379724023068270922024-03-17T08:30:00.057+00:002024-03-17T08:30:00.133+00:00Kitbash: Looted Basilisk<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4nVHflYNHWY9H4GPVvG1AiCOEaS_1kLkUFGjW7OVZtjNQPGQWwRto5Q2d2vRC5enBniw_3K9gZF-7bpiP9C-BBmBqMfOF291JV7_v56WGmD5GcQs0lUppRBfNSbcFYzn1-4092o2D80C0UaRTYT80vn_ktn1dwATQxU8IlW5YFVLBdaetWJbEcTcXQL8/s2820/IMG_20240229_103322.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2203" data-original-width="2820" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4nVHflYNHWY9H4GPVvG1AiCOEaS_1kLkUFGjW7OVZtjNQPGQWwRto5Q2d2vRC5enBniw_3K9gZF-7bpiP9C-BBmBqMfOF291JV7_v56WGmD5GcQs0lUppRBfNSbcFYzn1-4092o2D80C0UaRTYT80vn_ktn1dwATQxU8IlW5YFVLBdaetWJbEcTcXQL8/w640-h500/IMG_20240229_103322.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">While Orks seem to get a reasonable
amount of attention these days, it wasn't always so. The GW design
team would go for consecutive editions without giving them any real
attention, so even a good codex, and the 4th Ed codex was infamous,
would decay into mediocrity. Part of that was a stated belief by GW
that Orks should have difficulty in dealing with tanks at range. I
might be misremembering that, but Orks spent the time from 3rd
edition to the 8th edition revamp with the Rokkit Launcher being S8
when your typical tank had AV14, meaning they could only harm it on a
6, and then only a Glancing Hit, which could just inconvenience it.
There was a period when the only way Orks could deal with the
famously durable Necron Monolith was to ram it with a Dethrolla,
<b>which was awesome</b>, but no mean feat. Tankbustas were a thing
of course, but also obvious targets, and I'm summarising a fair few
years here. This, anecdotally, led to Ork players sourcing actually
feasible anti-tank guns, either by whatever Looted Wagon rules were
in play at the time, or going to Forgeworld for one of their,
<i>possibly not tournament legal</i>, indulgences. For today's
article, we have a combination of both. Basilisks were/are enduringly
popular self-propelled guns, great to work into Ork armies, while Big
Trakks are their rough equivalent. Kinda. It's more that they are
midway between Trukks and Battlewagons, while having an option to be
an assault gun. Today's subject is a Looted Basilisk, using the rules
of a Big Trakk. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkyrXLhJfmm1gysOKpwOu8BUBd1skfbsR4HT09wrjr4mKlh_nHcPoMEi5atp5b16v-QBaFZE8GfHauBEUu842LSF2DvagfsSvBJreLo99waglLbsdhgPPgvbnULVoocRp3gSYOrX9hN0SD_2ihNKemD_bEbjJFf_QuQjs6z-jbnlAeD_UfzdF0UaJNpYm/s3820/IMG_20240229_103352.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2383" data-original-width="3820" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFkyrXLhJfmm1gysOKpwOu8BUBd1skfbsR4HT09wrjr4mKlh_nHcPoMEi5atp5b16v-QBaFZE8GfHauBEUu842LSF2DvagfsSvBJreLo99waglLbsdhgPPgvbnULVoocRp3gSYOrX9hN0SD_2ihNKemD_bEbjJFf_QuQjs6z-jbnlAeD_UfzdF0UaJNpYm/w640-h400/IMG_20240229_103352.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Like
so many of my projects, this is something that's been sitting in my
bitzbox for so long that I no longer recall its origins or why I got
it. I assume I got it because my opponents were asking for it. I also
assume that the model was somebody's first kitbash. Somebody added a
Gorkamorka trukk gunner into a hatch, and proceeded to dab red onto
bare plastic. I respect the enthusiasm, but the lad, I presume it was
a lad, <i>on the balance of probability</i>, hadn't been trusted with
spray paint. And they had issues with the track links, which is
understandable. The vehicle was largely intact, with the gun still
movable, but lacking much of the trimmings. There was a dozerblade
which I snapped-off without really meaning to, the loaders platform
was missing it's guardrails, and no additional gubbins like a
Hunter-Killer Missile were present. With the exception of the tracks,
none of that really counts as a negative when this is meant to be an
Ork looted vehicle though. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwTh8L1zazrN0lZfBCDQCw63K8LO9gK913XRsLykbupUxJyYX2veUYjc3-95oWK9rYCmXSmHS9cFt24LNVODwn9sclhFJcxelkWLNrCOcO0BnaxlInAmpPmFvFvfea7w6tNibmyWVt2FjJoRatF4BBMWSqG4KabB1nsyZWVTlt0uceU2k8Tk9ccvn9HHMV/s2896/IMG_20240229_103357.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2731" data-original-width="2896" height="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwTh8L1zazrN0lZfBCDQCw63K8LO9gK913XRsLykbupUxJyYX2veUYjc3-95oWK9rYCmXSmHS9cFt24LNVODwn9sclhFJcxelkWLNrCOcO0BnaxlInAmpPmFvFvfea7w6tNibmyWVt2FjJoRatF4BBMWSqG4KabB1nsyZWVTlt0uceU2k8Tk9ccvn9HHMV/w640-h604/IMG_20240229_103357.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">I
was fortunate to have a few spare track links, so fixing the worst of
it wasn't a problem. The original owner had tried to add track guards
to the top too, so I built those up as well, using parts of the
gunshield to hide a few flaws. I then proceeded to replace the shield
on one side only, leaving the left open for a big shoota. A new gun
barrel was sourced from my bitzbox, while the ram and replacement
panels were made from various materials in my usual way. i.e.
flat-packers, bits of old trukk, scrap plastic and EVA foam. I also
sculpted a few glyph plates in green stuff, before proceeding to
paint. This was the usual drybrush-stipple-wash-rust-bucket style,
but remixed slightly to acknowledge it's Imperial origins. A late
addition were some freehand "blitz" glyphs as kill
markings, following a suggestion from social media. I don't think I'd
do the gun barrel in dark grey again, it doesn’t go with the blue
very well to my eyes, but it does look as rusty as anything, so
that's fine. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"> </span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8v91S_WpcPPCLj-ebBiLcfionhPVnHHwoHEaBgE8Y6mp7Wza43lFVk1GwnHSfMC0F9oELtSrsqv0hC8MCgv4wDvHexxnXYZm5cUDvPlLgSxZXSx0phsgA-xE3CKM8tNPsGUqyUrXd2FMmVpDHgkUNhAs7w9kK64RoRWjUJaScGbuT_LTxdszSA-cNiWvR/s2755/IMG_20240229_103404.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2372" data-original-width="2755" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8v91S_WpcPPCLj-ebBiLcfionhPVnHHwoHEaBgE8Y6mp7Wza43lFVk1GwnHSfMC0F9oELtSrsqv0hC8MCgv4wDvHexxnXYZm5cUDvPlLgSxZXSx0phsgA-xE3CKM8tNPsGUqyUrXd2FMmVpDHgkUNhAs7w9kK64RoRWjUJaScGbuT_LTxdszSA-cNiWvR/w640-h552/IMG_20240229_103404.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Job's
a good 'un. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_CC-C31z5cBQR5Kw0EK9HXq-jdiX36cyteQo-2toPBpM84e2kdvgryywF3jCV1S9OgsFcYCDJkRWZEmqseRcFklkPY3cRySeivtQbi7MKYzE3iAQy4DoMvhfBAnX1L7H5H3Imk5UkLzxkive8TXKTdGIvo4ig5-GXkcg3c3ZrH75u4y8RwMXfHmeSWRJp/s2796/IMG_20240226_085719.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2352" data-original-width="2796" height="538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_CC-C31z5cBQR5Kw0EK9HXq-jdiX36cyteQo-2toPBpM84e2kdvgryywF3jCV1S9OgsFcYCDJkRWZEmqseRcFklkPY3cRySeivtQbi7MKYzE3iAQy4DoMvhfBAnX1L7H5H3Imk5UkLzxkive8TXKTdGIvo4ig5-GXkcg3c3ZrH75u4y8RwMXfHmeSWRJp/w640-h538/IMG_20240226_085719.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /> </span>
<p></p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-72395010949036865392024-03-12T08:30:00.013+00:002024-03-12T08:30:00.253+00:00Project Sulaco: Part 5<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I suppose I could make references to
Aliens Versus Predator here. A few well-liked games, some decent
comics, and a couple of mediocre movies.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gb2P5OyjT9yboMFjIfdPFfzrRbPHAF5TxHLZk4-AHyOhk44rrH2Rtkou4sDzA43qnPYvTcKsjIKk_wpkv8IdLlroaaccE6L7yx2K9TWYhG8SejmCJzQEaeJv2cTw_6A76CxWgyfgjmnsXp2rVkINTk7bH3zTY8Q27bAQ3HZvipgVZfZKM3LlQWzKll_g/s3864/IMG_20240310_091535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1641" data-original-width="3864" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gb2P5OyjT9yboMFjIfdPFfzrRbPHAF5TxHLZk4-AHyOhk44rrH2Rtkou4sDzA43qnPYvTcKsjIKk_wpkv8IdLlroaaccE6L7yx2K9TWYhG8SejmCJzQEaeJv2cTw_6A76CxWgyfgjmnsXp2rVkINTk7bH3zTY8Q27bAQ3HZvipgVZfZKM3LlQWzKll_g/w640-h272/IMG_20240310_091535.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While
I don't have anything earth-shattering to report, I had found my
groove with the process at this point. I'd opted to change the putty
mix, and go thinner, thus improving the look of the fabric. I’d
decided for the right shoulder pads to be covered that way, as it
meant I didn't have to muck around with unit markings, adding an
adhesive gem to suggest a clasp arrangement which was suitably
gothic. The second five followed, and while their look was a touch
less varied, their weapons were modded into what I'm gonna call heavy
lasers. This involved three shapes of bead and a tiny gear to suggest
something not a flamethrower. In Xenos Rampant terms, I imagine this
as the Armour Piercing rule weapons for an Elite Infantry unit, with
the flamer guys having Close Range Doctrine and maybe Demolitions.
The squad leader was a little more involved, as while the other four
models had uncontroversial firing poses, he his gun stowed and that's
not something you need to see in every unit. I placed the gun onto
the bolt pistol arm, and on the other a knife cobbled together from a
Stargrave bit, putty, and an orkish knife. Said blade then broke off,
<i>bastard son of a bitch</i>. So it became a knuckleduster instead.
This left the final tidying up prior to painting, which meant I'd
have decide on a colour scheme. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRs0YMJPq3BzWeAQ05yATGidriX-8XdsADqbwqK4pbkg12q5IqIJNVy3RPU4V1FRhyphenhyphenWD4VpzLxQz9wWXmfmSrYPhzG74xj3hjtcdlsuTYb-D1xMXozswzgNRcdqPZEVR_6Qcf4Vd-INASF98hNZESAjsS21AhATdGhM06saUaywDOJY7gDH-DwhIzIFWZ/s3922/IMG_20240310_091715_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1632" data-original-width="3922" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRs0YMJPq3BzWeAQ05yATGidriX-8XdsADqbwqK4pbkg12q5IqIJNVy3RPU4V1FRhyphenhyphenWD4VpzLxQz9wWXmfmSrYPhzG74xj3hjtcdlsuTYb-D1xMXozswzgNRcdqPZEVR_6Qcf4Vd-INASF98hNZESAjsS21AhATdGhM06saUaywDOJY7gDH-DwhIzIFWZ/w640-h266/IMG_20240310_091715_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What
I'm leaning towards currently is the <a href=" https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2021/07/transformers-titans-return-sky-shadow.html">Black Shadow</a> scheme. That's
black as the main colour, red for the fabric, then silver and grey,
etc to pick out icons etc. I don't think camo is the vibe I want for
these. It was however touch & go for a while as if I could get
them painted and photographed in time for the cut-off, and ultimately
I decided to leave that until next week. Just imagine the above
sprayed black, with some metallics on them, and you won’t go too
far wrong.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjGncm7C43AN3pDCnfI4wWLcSm2_kWSMTSAxS66Pld9Q44Wl985YktZ_CKlkFHAx90eOIrxLNcjwxSGtJ3_1q3BR3oZWFki87FjmoRJuCshihxnUa__DW8Jcw4zihMjS-b4FgoIVCY1_PP5jSSPusvAR60isv9K82s7OkHndXWAZC3Q3VZkCgECVOyZ6sp/s3631/IMG_20240310_091407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1656" data-original-width="3631" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjGncm7C43AN3pDCnfI4wWLcSm2_kWSMTSAxS66Pld9Q44Wl985YktZ_CKlkFHAx90eOIrxLNcjwxSGtJ3_1q3BR3oZWFki87FjmoRJuCshihxnUa__DW8Jcw4zihMjS-b4FgoIVCY1_PP5jSSPusvAR60isv9K82s7OkHndXWAZC3Q3VZkCgECVOyZ6sp/w640-h292/IMG_20240310_091407.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One
thing I did manage to do was make a start on was the Autoguns. These
were pulled together from the bitz box, mainly from Ramshackle Games
and their robot range. I had some tracked lower bodies which I'd
disliked for the robots, but they are good for machine gun turrets.
It was just a matter of finding three matching guns and joining
things up with nanoblocks. They need finishing it off, but seeing
them alongside the marines gave me a long-overdue feeling of
progress. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Up
next: hopefully some paint, and maybe an APC. </span>
</p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-57536555758515444172024-03-10T08:30:00.000+00:002024-03-10T08:30:00.147+00:00Transformers: TF2010 Hailstorm is Something That Exists<p><span style="font-family: arial;">It's kinda weird these days to look at
the TF2010 line, especially given how Legacy and the movie franchise
are today. It was a time of plenty; the first two live action films
had been massive successes, if not critically, while Transformers:
Animated had overcome an initially hostile reaction to be a fan
favourite that was taken too soon. We were again in a situation where
we were getting more toys than media, but both the live-action and
animated styles were highly divergent from what came before, and,
call it the classical style, was starting to reassert itself around
the edges. Live action toys not actually in the movies were much less
extreme, and modernised takes on G1 characters were coming back.
Note, this wasn't the faithful-to-the-point-of-idiocy remakes we've
seen <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2022/04/transformers-argument-against.html">a lot of lately,</a> rather reinterpretations with different alt
modes. TF2010 ran concurrently with the more nostalgic Generations,
which was just getting started, although in truth this distinction
was somewhat arbitrary. Think Kingdom and Studio Series, or indeed
Studio Series and Legacy. Things would change when Dark of the Moon
came along, but this lead a period of melange, where we had a bunch
of toys supposedly of the live-action continuity rubbing shoulders
with nostalgia bait, both sets sharing the same design principles and
pricing. Hailstorm is such a toy, a dude intended for the bayverse,
but truthfully tangential to it, whom honestly does not and did not
look that odd on a Generations shelf. The dude didn't do much, but is
reported based on the G2 comic character Mindset, although somewhat
loosely. He's something of a pretool to Mindset actually, there would
be a headswap recolour with that <a href=" https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Mindset_(TF_2010)">name</a> shortly thereafter. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtolmTiGxuF4xe6ZqijCeC4S1ysoknqGW82gpDjok5e_ULqfh5GF2UlzVpdr-u7MwShDfgJ36j2vOmXELlhrCjyjInHABoG7gp7n5MThqzBnwlaE-hRk0lB3kH4IATR9gpNaBSK3MwjTqI98d2I_IDXKBFHNcho6WDWxuHUgOyAs3HTOH7cfFapUgxO8R/s2753/IMG_20230929_100754.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2468" data-original-width="2753" height="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtolmTiGxuF4xe6ZqijCeC4S1ysoknqGW82gpDjok5e_ULqfh5GF2UlzVpdr-u7MwShDfgJ36j2vOmXELlhrCjyjInHABoG7gp7n5MThqzBnwlaE-hRk0lB3kH4IATR9gpNaBSK3MwjTqI98d2I_IDXKBFHNcho6WDWxuHUgOyAs3HTOH7cfFapUgxO8R/w640-h574/IMG_20230929_100754.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
altmode is a MLRS vehicle of seemingly made-up origin, although one
tending towards realism. This was the style of Transformers without
licenced altmodes at the time, things tended towards real world
contemporary altmodes. Its somewhat small and stocky, although with a
lot of nice visual touches. The caterpillar tracks for example are
picked out in two different colours, and while predominantly green,
there's a camouflage pattern applied to some of the flat surfaces.
The cab meanwhile, which hints at the true scale of the thing, lacks
windows but leaves the frame for them empty, an odd choice.
Functionally it's not bad either, to a point. The launcher turns and
tilts, not always a given, and it features two bars for then-standard
3mm clip system. That was a play feature that grew out of the movie
lines, where weapons had a clip to attach them to toys, and it was
pretty good, although it's not something Hailstorm gets much use by
himself. The issue comes with the eight missiles. The big, red, and
kinda-bad pressure-launched missiles. These didn't work great at the
time, still don't, and this was during a period when spring loaded
missiles where a mundane feature. It's a millstone around the neck of
the toy; it doesn't look bad here, but the actual execution is
lacking. If only these had a little more punch to them. In other
news, there's a lot of robot bits on the underside, which isn't that
notable, but put me in mind of a horseshoe crab. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOtfeGTKFvyGCy64vLSad5SkFL0bFueNhIBhJI0n5k4HsyougotKKnjw5E-F3c2ev3yEeqzCJEpCQKxThHgfRl3-6Vgm_nWFKyv9KS7fQHmHSNCsF_chyphenhyphenixpaq5Ncvs-gUbY9oKvwkYBsqgtbPbNSxEo0p0dvx3znxzx9xiOAgVxKDi7fghC1uygzkB6m/s2634/IMG_20230929_100811.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2485" data-original-width="2634" height="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOtfeGTKFvyGCy64vLSad5SkFL0bFueNhIBhJI0n5k4HsyougotKKnjw5E-F3c2ev3yEeqzCJEpCQKxThHgfRl3-6Vgm_nWFKyv9KS7fQHmHSNCsF_chyphenhyphenixpaq5Ncvs-gUbY9oKvwkYBsqgtbPbNSxEo0p0dvx3znxzx9xiOAgVxKDi7fghC1uygzkB6m/w640-h604/IMG_20230929_100811.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hailstorm's
transformation is possibly unique to the mould, although telegraphed
somewhat by the robot bits. What's interesting here is the difference
between the upper and lower body. The legs form the front of the
vehicle, in what is a fairly unusual manner with the feet in the
middle. It's reasonably good at concealing the other mode, but the
upper body isn't. Instead that has an accordion type compression
going on, which adds a lot to the character of the robot mode, but
doesn't do much with the lower arms and chest. What is very unusual
though is how the tracks form the upper arms. Shades of <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2023/02/transformers-legacy-evolution-comic.html">Tarn</a> there, I
half-remember a custom along those lines. It is an interesting way of
doing things, to say the least, by turns impressive and basic. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDUr0DkVk56ByfTbaaJWl6odeNybvMyYrnojWf8644e52PkiNEXL1T_i2yv7-j1PcVpcwn6TnFRPjrl3gmncKvEJJdEqAoqn_G6veR8AMATKYyBsDZHSGFWtnyYYVpEGIE5jSklo8PVmMbw0p6SU7caqw9cB746jCF9FEZhCqOFayVwm0wEuXc8UIkpVSJ/s3067/IMG_20230929_100306.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3067" data-original-width="2572" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDUr0DkVk56ByfTbaaJWl6odeNybvMyYrnojWf8644e52PkiNEXL1T_i2yv7-j1PcVpcwn6TnFRPjrl3gmncKvEJJdEqAoqn_G6veR8AMATKYyBsDZHSGFWtnyYYVpEGIE5jSklo8PVmMbw0p6SU7caqw9cB746jCF9FEZhCqOFayVwm0wEuXc8UIkpVSJ/w536-h640/IMG_20230929_100306.jpg" width="536" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Above,
I mentioned that TF2010 toys would fit on a Generations shelf without
looking odd. For Hailstorm this is something of a technicality.
Hailstorm is inherently odd, just not in way a typical Bayverse
design was odd back then. Make no mistake, this is not the inhuman
over-complexity of early bayformer designs where your eyes could have
a hard time processing what they were actually looking at. Hailstorm
has a much cleaner and well-defined appearance, still a lot going on,
but with recognisable focal points and good colour choices. I love
that chest plate, it's such a good look with the silver abs and white
shoulder assemblies. He is however a hunchbacked ogre of a robot with
odd proportions and a heavy investment in those missiles that don't
work great. These stick out the back to a comical distance, and at
that point you kinda feel that maybe the toy would have been better
off with purely decorative examples. Or actual 5mm fist holes for
that matter. This wasn't that uncommon at the time, Animated didn't
do standardised accessories, and smaller bay verse toys without
handheld guns often didn't bother with fist holes. It would have
helped though. On the plus side, you do have the C Clip
functionality, the option to leave the missile pods in vehicle
configuration so they take up less space, and he's not doing badly
for articulation. Due to his transformation he ends up with ankle
tilts, and gravitates naturally to a missile launching stance akin to
Energon Demolishor. He's not super-posable or anything, but it feels
appropriate to his general vibe. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdf94dJFRY6thkjJdl97S3efTAY6gZGG4VHeWr-bLYAUOe3MhJKuh5dnWsuXbNFRM5BQEM0omz7bZ-d0OECPGo1rvgvZuW29kcm25ZhvCLHkDy8Zrlz4k706f_psMhn-TcxoyfAvOd0OEEfE-Rgx_KqqL0t0yqub7gvGhbhyenMEZZ1wJbdKh4u0nQZ-Jp/s2946/IMG_20230929_100321.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2946" data-original-width="2558" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdf94dJFRY6thkjJdl97S3efTAY6gZGG4VHeWr-bLYAUOe3MhJKuh5dnWsuXbNFRM5BQEM0omz7bZ-d0OECPGo1rvgvZuW29kcm25ZhvCLHkDy8Zrlz4k706f_psMhn-TcxoyfAvOd0OEEfE-Rgx_KqqL0t0yqub7gvGhbhyenMEZZ1wJbdKh4u0nQZ-Jp/w556-h640/IMG_20230929_100321.jpg" width="556" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Is
Hailstorm good? Now that I come to think about it, I'm not sure. His
key feature doesn't work that well, which is a problem as he's
largely built around it. But he does have character, and that does
count for something. It's probably why this guy has kept a place in
my collection when I've moved on objectively better toys. It's a
transitional design, if you will, midway between the bayverse and
what Generations would quickly become. A realistic vehicle mode, an
unconventional robot mode, but with a transformation that isn't
overdone. There is a place for such things. Regardless, TF2010
Hailstorm is something that exists. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRMlPNoSEPVih9iStxsx6AiYAwrwNFcKNfA3hM5rUk010QkPrfYl6JmeXlGzXPuTiuruKT5hWrCv-bu7zXO15KPTlZQGlu26_inzDakT2_ZRnwCqzz8Pf7nn6S7yRzPr9zo-RScHtJ2v8cX3vUY3izE-AmU5sS9AS0fOgZlHJk69BX666VoDQRy_tGHzLx/s2807/IMG_20230929_100248.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2807" data-original-width="2376" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRMlPNoSEPVih9iStxsx6AiYAwrwNFcKNfA3hM5rUk010QkPrfYl6JmeXlGzXPuTiuruKT5hWrCv-bu7zXO15KPTlZQGlu26_inzDakT2_ZRnwCqzz8Pf7nn6S7yRzPr9zo-RScHtJ2v8cX3vUY3izE-AmU5sS9AS0fOgZlHJk69BX666VoDQRy_tGHzLx/w542-h640/IMG_20230929_100248.jpg" width="542" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"></span>Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-9886190617001768812024-03-05T08:30:00.019+00:002024-03-05T08:30:00.140+00:00Project Sulaco: Part 4<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Part 4. Well, Alien: Resurrection was
far from a great movie, but at least it had Ron Perlman. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3zrM59kbM5DGw1mCcQAikXmmuKKdNjSaiJnjXalZsfVYQrYeg2K4na9l95i76-68Tfe0uqAHD1tizdsiBnKzHXJtm-5zjcExL2ljr6dBGUrueUeEUOWDpYfHKCqaplWQPQGR9beTENiaDGycV4fshjJViVnTpyxtzJCS1dNRJUHshdOaMX11Xv_cC_ri/s3853/IMG_20240304_082707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="3853" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ3zrM59kbM5DGw1mCcQAikXmmuKKdNjSaiJnjXalZsfVYQrYeg2K4na9l95i76-68Tfe0uqAHD1tizdsiBnKzHXJtm-5zjcExL2ljr6dBGUrueUeEUOWDpYfHKCqaplWQPQGR9beTENiaDGycV4fshjJViVnTpyxtzJCS1dNRJUHshdOaMX11Xv_cC_ri/w640-h232/IMG_20240304_082707.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Right,
with my initial plans shelved, I was very much starting from scratch,
and I was awaiting a delivery, I couldn't really get into things
until Friday night. Even then, I was still a little uncertain where
to take things. Looking at the models in question, the Infernus Squad
from the 10th Ed Leviathan starter set, two options presented
themselves. The first was to lean into the tacticool look, possibly
replacing the flamethrowers for more conventional firearms. The
second was to lean into the GRIMDARK and do them in cloaks and robes,
or as I choose to call it, the <i>not-suspicious-at-all-Dark-Angels</i>
look. Furthermore, while I was aware that the models were fixed pose,
but I was honestly surprised at how limiting the sculpt was. I mean,
<i>James Workshop</i>, your production values speak for themselves, I
can't fault you there, but I feel you are being purposely obtuse
here. There is no standardisation between each model and it's just a
bunch of guys two-handing the same big gun. Is this the <a href="https://spikeybits.com/2021/05/chapterhouse-the-last-time-gw-went-to-court-over-copyrights.html">chapter house</a> thing again?<i> Anyways,</i> as the GRIMDARK option provided the most
opportunities for sculpting, I went for that, and started
push-fitting the pieces to feel things out. They go together very
nicely, but they don’t come apart easily once they do. This meant
the initial five were sculpted/modded as whole figures rather than
separately, which would have been sensible.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvIbrrs4nmLgHooJOW72_0K3wJHWUjUseKUmjKYQHtIiWKmSfBWpotDQZWCAyXd52cvDW_GPOcfoAPzqtdn2R6ZfSiNcRf5X5LA0rkSV5AZclAEXxVlhyphenhyphenaBB3pupcFVqoEJ4Uaw-GzH_44ot8or07F1DgrgcN4JElG2tzksT2hk7V_H6fikw0D9LPZCmg/s2627/IMG_20240304_082732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2627" data-original-width="2186" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvIbrrs4nmLgHooJOW72_0K3wJHWUjUseKUmjKYQHtIiWKmSfBWpotDQZWCAyXd52cvDW_GPOcfoAPzqtdn2R6ZfSiNcRf5X5LA0rkSV5AZclAEXxVlhyphenhyphenaBB3pupcFVqoEJ4Uaw-GzH_44ot8or07F1DgrgcN4JElG2tzksT2hk7V_H6fikw0D9LPZCmg/w532-h640/IMG_20240304_082732.jpg" width="532" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
terms of colours, chapter markings and name? That’s still very much
in flux. I’d had the idea of using those tiny beads as the basis of
an eye icon, this leading to assorted names, before choosing the
working title of “The Watchful Wardens”. Yes, I can’t help
being a bit daft about this. If you think that’s too much, read up
on <a href="https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Ferrus_Manus">Ferrus Manus</a> sometime. The bead idea didn't really work, but I
felt I was on to something, and tried again with adhesive gems. I’ve
gone for inverted version of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201112-the-eye-of-providence-the-symbol-with-a-secret-meaning">The Eye of Providence</a>, a symbol with a
storied history, like the Freemasons, but is best known today for its
use in conspiracy theories. I’m sure there’s a level of meaning
I’m missing, but as far as stupid faux symbolism goes, I feel
that’s pretty 40K. Relatively easy to sculpt too. If looking like a pizza slice.<br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hopefully,
I’ll be onto the other five in time for the next update, which will
have modded guns I think.</span></p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-78440810449458767792024-03-03T08:30:00.023+00:002024-03-03T08:30:00.129+00:00Gaslands: Goff Party Bus<p><span style="font-family: arial;">As part of my continuing attempts to
enjoy modelling without spending cocaine money, I recently did a tour
of local charity shops for raw materials. The success rate is wildly
variable, but toy cars are a staple of such places, and occasionally
chance favours you. Plus there's the whole "for a good cause"
aspect. At one I found an Alexander Y Type, a bus/coach by EFE, and
thus a nice little side project.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3T7isnhqbIO8_PBGa6H5wTtmTYIGCUWLxW-Lco89I1-VFvj_oP76CO0qcgDZwNq3ak2qMIEUgsZd7v2HI8ePhaWvEdoLY95uHJNuBGQwbHTVMS_UBf2ReEaeiq0AHZ3xCVy7VHMZ4PTGcs7hvBFIzab6mcAuZjGeMismGQIeDuAMUyf3M70Fhi9zhYIpX/s3654/IMG_20240219_092106.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1970" data-original-width="3654" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3T7isnhqbIO8_PBGa6H5wTtmTYIGCUWLxW-Lco89I1-VFvj_oP76CO0qcgDZwNq3ak2qMIEUgsZd7v2HI8ePhaWvEdoLY95uHJNuBGQwbHTVMS_UBf2ReEaeiq0AHZ3xCVy7VHMZ4PTGcs7hvBFIzab6mcAuZjGeMismGQIeDuAMUyf3M70Fhi9zhYIpX/w640-h346/IMG_20240219_092106.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This
was an idea I'd been sitting on for a while. I was aware of Scarlett
Anne sponsored teams from an <a href="https://planetsmashergames.com/gaslands-blog/sponsor-spotlight-scarlett-annie/">article</a> on the Gaslands blog, and felt that they were a
good fit for orks. This a team based around boarding actions and
piracy, something very much in the Goff and Freebooter themes. One
build the article suggested was based on a bus, and this was so
inherently orky I had to try it, but it wasn't until my charity shop
find that I had all my Squig in a row. As I wanted to keep it simple,
I opted for the Goff clan colours, as doing a Freebooter and indeed a
regular Scarlett team would require me building a boat on top of it.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbGZDWqhF-_vvvmzHedC5ydSUeTlZKCGyWbCgsGqs5JiKtAiwE8WPPN0aVp7gXeU38BCCwnvzedQGM2qBBtFSpVGWmWmWakojGaz5aChJK04mjT8QrYwWRz-md6b1vnIsKOhyphenhyphenWHEGJxw31iVB_8ajv1IMSH9ydkIQgZZSRetNVcijmrsHb_Z9R3w6gdSe/s2529/IMG_20240219_092122.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2529" data-original-width="2458" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbGZDWqhF-_vvvmzHedC5ydSUeTlZKCGyWbCgsGqs5JiKtAiwE8WPPN0aVp7gXeU38BCCwnvzedQGM2qBBtFSpVGWmWmWakojGaz5aChJK04mjT8QrYwWRz-md6b1vnIsKOhyphenhyphenWHEGJxw31iVB_8ajv1IMSH9ydkIQgZZSRetNVcijmrsHb_Z9R3w6gdSe/w622-h640/IMG_20240219_092122.jpg" width="622" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
skipped the dettol step out of laziness, instead going at with a
sanding sponge. I then started gluing on stuff like Eva foam and
scrap plastic to suggest repairs and reinforced areas. The remaining
windows were covered in wire mesh, and the hubcaps got a stick on
gem. Premade bits came either from Ramshackle Games for the crew and
ram, or North star's Instruments of Carnage kit, notably the harpoon
launcher. The leftover glyph plates from <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2024/01/project-tankbustas-part-2.html">Project Tankbustas</a> were also
added for a bit of easy flair. The crew and turret were prepared
separately, so they could bepainted before final assembly. I was glad
of that, as one the crew I selected went a bit wrong, so I painted
another.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQSnx4J9AJHpp6iH385-OIaAqS70px344TYidYf63nxWTAC-EjMZqQGX5h3r2P-UIrN28kmUMgLGcvqCas3m01Tqy9LrfNgAuwIkE8nhKXoqSDW_ATUAlxQebEVe0y1luSPRrQufOzEFyxfRwl3Mhz_0WBX-b8ByQxxGyPJf5clTV0Ib8agCy0S5C91Xo/s3472/IMG_20240219_092115.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1953" data-original-width="3472" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQSnx4J9AJHpp6iH385-OIaAqS70px344TYidYf63nxWTAC-EjMZqQGX5h3r2P-UIrN28kmUMgLGcvqCas3m01Tqy9LrfNgAuwIkE8nhKXoqSDW_ATUAlxQebEVe0y1luSPRrQufOzEFyxfRwl3Mhz_0WBX-b8ByQxxGyPJf5clTV0Ib8agCy0S5C91Xo/w640-h360/IMG_20240219_092115.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Painting
was my usual therapeutic drybrush-stipple-wash-make-it-rustier
method, although modified for the Goff colours. This, in what I
choose to describe as an act of low cunning, led me to use some dark
greys rather than a simple black. Yes, <i>kunning.</i> Not a half
remembered painting tutorial. A matt black tends to eat detail, but a
dark grey doesn't do that as much, and looks like faded black, which
fits my vibe. I was also pleased at how my weathering of the wheel
wells meant the glossy black of the tires wasn't drowned out by the
tones of the hull. I even took a stab at painting some chequerboard
patterns to break up the black. By free-handing it. It's crude, but
it's crude in a way that fits, so that's a win. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix1C-WM0temWWNjDTyVWOKefPxAubHojs1fMAzQsV-aFE1ROFTEZt7bWCNPoVYIFnGk33s5X61aVqjykmCF3Bz1qGBPxNjgW6FaFxVPFfAzSP9DuQ9e9MMdcK76wpUBFJw8ZvHXD_eOPL9HbDWMzYC8f0UkN2glUtALxFvAuBVHE_q1_2mVFc8ij4yIx_Q/s3110/IMG_20240219_092133.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2294" data-original-width="3110" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix1C-WM0temWWNjDTyVWOKefPxAubHojs1fMAzQsV-aFE1ROFTEZt7bWCNPoVYIFnGk33s5X61aVqjykmCF3Bz1qGBPxNjgW6FaFxVPFfAzSP9DuQ9e9MMdcK76wpUBFJw8ZvHXD_eOPL9HbDWMzYC8f0UkN2glUtALxFvAuBVHE_q1_2mVFc8ij4yIx_Q/w640-h472/IMG_20240219_092133.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In
writing this I realise that I'm becoming more inclined to think about
painting in a more, umm, call it a technical sense. I've found
techniques that work, and it's register intellectually why they do. I
must learning, or something. It's a simple little side project, but
I'm quite happy about it. </span>
</p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-31075214828563320062024-02-27T08:30:00.026+00:002024-02-27T08:30:00.150+00:00Project Sulaco: Part 3<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Part 3: the sequel! Thinking about it,
isn't Alien 3 where it all went wrong? I mention it for <i>reasons. </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i> </i></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLlvH7BgfVQZUxfkkFlnevhXpyDeOPmRUTCuIAOYapp15CUj6573bIaWMaZz7eUigB_lq0PkAQ7yHW6UTvksfks5Pui3iLMfRHtrju8SUUY_uF7bJXmtAHAzqWYPkwqLxhpLS9-70nuWbtjAYru_xzL-uWJGxMApIDDJeDHcS9hBGysD6TQnMli9_1bS54/s1629/IMG_20240220_121716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1553" data-original-width="1629" height="610" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLlvH7BgfVQZUxfkkFlnevhXpyDeOPmRUTCuIAOYapp15CUj6573bIaWMaZz7eUigB_lq0PkAQ7yHW6UTvksfks5Pui3iLMfRHtrju8SUUY_uF7bJXmtAHAzqWYPkwqLxhpLS9-70nuWbtjAYru_xzL-uWJGxMApIDDJeDHcS9hBGysD6TQnMli9_1bS54/w640-h610/IMG_20240220_121716.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As
I was no-longer on holiday, my progress was a little bit patchy, but
things moved forward regardless. The use of size 11 & 13 beads
proved to be a good call, and having tried a few styles of head, I
found one I was happy to upgrade to paint prototype. The style was a
gasmask and goggles with a radio antenna. This put me in mind of both
an insect and the somewhat obscure AD Police uniforms from the
original <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubblegum_Crisis">Bubblegum Crisis</a> anime. Although once I had an undercoat on
it, it was more of a hippo. Not great that... The body meanwhile was
simplified, going for proportionally smaller shoulder pads, a
backpack made from a cable tie, and gun receiving a barrel extension.I
also started experimenting with Caucasian skin tone again, and
around this point I had something of a realisation. I wasn't good
enough yet to get a look I was happy with, and I'd been putting this
project off as it was less fun than certain other things I was
working on. The Stargrave Mercenaries are perfect if you want to do
some Imperial Guard or Heavy Infantry on the cheap, but not for my
purposes. They are too slight for my green stuff modifications to
look right, hence the scaling back of my ideas, and aren't especially
uniform. And because it's not going smoothly, it's not especially
therapeutic either. So, I decided to pause, and sleep on it. I
ended up falling back on something I mentioned in <a href=" https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2024/02/project-sulaco-part-1.html">part 1</a>, the
secondary market. I’d been reminded of <a href="https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Infernus_Squad">Infernus Squads</a>, a
newly-introduced unit specialising in flamethrowers. And, just to get
it out of my system:</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Hey
Beakies! The Burnaboyz called, and they want their zoggin’ gimmick
back! </b><b>That’s a really nuanced and tactical flexible unit you
have there too! Does Big Papa Smurf know about that? Maybe don’t
tell him, he’s depressed enough already! </b> </span>
</p><br /><br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><cough></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Anyways,
</i>I’d passed on these in the first place as they were too
specific a unit and monopose. With the Stargrave minis being an
immaculate square peg in a round hole though, I reconsidered these
pyromaniacs. Then a had a really silly idea for a chapter. Then I
remembered that flamethrowers are a thing in Aliens. Actually, didn’t
Ripely basically invent the <a href=" https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Combi-weapon#Bolter-Flamer_.28Combi-Flamer.29">combi-weapon</a> with a role of duct tape? I digress.
So I went for ten of them, and pencilled in some ideas for what to do
next. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span>
</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAypQ-5v0K4Is7Zbcw78yr7R9E7_uS13OZAoour1-EqMQDfq6E7aTBR6-kryoknUI1OurhKAbzS0IUleCsABI8E9aEp3T3_3IMxCcsB-f_8w9tURYPP0ng1-s8BSN15b-k8tlX3IWZC85O5uvVrwSzfuo8AoApCCo8Nn9OLA1Gt-DXAnKDg971H6mi9rVe/s897/InfernusSquad.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="858" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAypQ-5v0K4Is7Zbcw78yr7R9E7_uS13OZAoour1-EqMQDfq6E7aTBR6-kryoknUI1OurhKAbzS0IUleCsABI8E9aEp3T3_3IMxCcsB-f_8w9tURYPP0ng1-s8BSN15b-k8tlX3IWZC85O5uvVrwSzfuo8AoApCCo8Nn9OLA1Gt-DXAnKDg971H6mi9rVe/w612-h640/InfernusSquad.webp" width="612" /></a></div><br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’m
going to call it there. The Stargrave prototypes did allow for useful
practice, but I need to mull things over some more, while I await
delivery.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-63367578445682930302024-02-25T08:30:00.023+00:002024-02-25T08:30:00.131+00:00Gunpla: The MD-0031UL Dilanza Sol (HG)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3m1dz3vaaT4Qj1TYjBGJScBrEeMcoTHDSxsQBmXKYD3_3teYu4Z8eRz3ZVF7fnDSRKEMWt6nvrOQoIvCXUb2FNucE2uBgRsLXh1KuLFEnZWnQh_6YAGy1Wm5RzrJYCSswNEb4iZandLG63IlBXi0716Jw8TemY3kBzoGZaSmFytFEMSh1KaaqKgvB219/s2849/IMG_20240109_095555.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2749" data-original-width="2849" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3m1dz3vaaT4Qj1TYjBGJScBrEeMcoTHDSxsQBmXKYD3_3teYu4Z8eRz3ZVF7fnDSRKEMWt6nvrOQoIvCXUb2FNucE2uBgRsLXh1KuLFEnZWnQh_6YAGy1Wm5RzrJYCSswNEb4iZandLG63IlBXi0716Jw8TemY3kBzoGZaSmFytFEMSh1KaaqKgvB219/w640-h618/IMG_20240109_095555.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">I should probably try watching Gundam:
The Witch from Mercury again. I think I just didn't get into the
habit after watching four episodes. Sometimes, some media can be
perfectly fine, and just not click with you. Still, I have a lot of
respect for a series that tries to shake up the Gundam formula, and
upsets a lot of gatekeeping neckbeards and bigots as it goes. I
mention this because, at time of writing, I have not seen any of the
episodes that feature today's subject. Rather, I picked it up for the
most shallow of reasons. I was at a convention, and I thought it
looked cool. I'm sure I'm not the only person to have done that. In
my defence, something that G-Witch is objectively great at is
providing varied and distinctive mecha designs. There's a lot of
military manufacturers in that setting, and each has a strong
character and corporate brand. The odds are, you'll find something
that tickles your fancy. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"> </span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhud_3Vp6vcu5d6Sh-V6OYwN5Yu2RglxvnP4eL7CxszXAb_7zV1epW8goYrTYLrcKJY1DiBoHysJnzKhU1FF9fztdQpfx7M3qug40AnXBGHMrbdq51FX7TIuyNGKWva_kkIxFVTuz55DexeGlhjQvsG-OwwL4NvNqEbCjQzKtscBNpb2lW65cfpnfw5j66v/s3765/IMG_20240109_095711.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2299" data-original-width="3765" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhud_3Vp6vcu5d6Sh-V6OYwN5Yu2RglxvnP4eL7CxszXAb_7zV1epW8goYrTYLrcKJY1DiBoHysJnzKhU1FF9fztdQpfx7M3qug40AnXBGHMrbdq51FX7TIuyNGKWva_kkIxFVTuz55DexeGlhjQvsG-OwwL4NvNqEbCjQzKtscBNpb2lW65cfpnfw5j66v/w640-h390/IMG_20240109_095711.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">The
Dilanza Sol is a product of Jeturk Heavy Machinery, the third Dilanza
kit variant released, and the forth kit from that stable. There's a
certain degree of Zaku II influence to their work, as the stock
colour is green, and there's a pink version, but I don't want to oversell it. Jeturk tends towards big chonky boys with dual shoulder
shields on flexible mounts, with integrated weapon storage. The
phrase "tried & true" is used in the instructions, that
seems reasonable. Jeturk does have a lot of creativity in its
AI-based prototype the Darilbalde, but the Dilanza series seems a
no-nonsense, no-frills weapon. The Sol variant is notable as for
being not so much an improved version, as the undiluted version, the
stock Dilanza seen before hand being purposefully limited for use in
the school where the anime is set. So, the Dilanza Sol is the black
coloured tacticool version to the regular versions "monkey
model". Interesting. This sort of detail is what fascinates me
about mecha design and world building. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5AuuPGhipdhryy72gcj7PSYmeln2LPaaH7jeMvKlquj6g0PQsjp1XPX3SFTij8wXPkSQrTDFjcT5DWur02FGWDFTTTAwMM7uW_I1e-sSJRAg-BsLAKKOLeHm1qUG_G4mtRUqI7_X0OfvBwqX0mHXvsQQzx5lYH3vz4SMl6OkU41hHm4sbwQPajj95qot/s3426/IMG_20240109_095846.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3426" data-original-width="2644" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5AuuPGhipdhryy72gcj7PSYmeln2LPaaH7jeMvKlquj6g0PQsjp1XPX3SFTij8wXPkSQrTDFjcT5DWur02FGWDFTTTAwMM7uW_I1e-sSJRAg-BsLAKKOLeHm1qUG_G4mtRUqI7_X0OfvBwqX0mHXvsQQzx5lYH3vz4SMl6OkU41hHm4sbwQPajj95qot/w494-h640/IMG_20240109_095846.jpg" width="494" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">As
a build, I was pleasantly surprised with the Dilanza Sol. It features
no polycaps, a modest sticker sheet, and no redundant parts. While a
design such as this one has no real expectation of super-posability
or anything, there is an ab crunch and toe joints for subtle but
welcome movement. There's also a nice pair of weapons, a gun with a
barrel extension plus beam bayonet, and the melee use beam torch.
Both use a sliding rail to store in the shields, and have a dedicated
beam effect. You can get some good poses with these weapons, with the
shields not only having two axis of motion but well-designed joints
so there is no obvious weight or balance issue. There are however
some cut corners and missed opportunities though. The gun's magazine
for example is removable and can also stow in the shields, but as
there's just one, there's little reason to. Its skirt armour is also
hollowed out on the inside, and nor do you have extra hands. The kit
has basically all it needs, a few things which are a touch luxurious,
but would have been exceptional had it addressed one of those minor
flaws. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7hkKjH_vtTfWsD1e3_pQpxGJ0P0IbU0MC9_QliIgMtHKj-smfRtYzimdMpZyDyWDXeVPm9TFyeaXqCH3O_YR4d7hxWMue7bmzWOnZ_sFaqrJiz9G36-Wc3iUNIYypzOdE_J-x5-_-Av24HAStSiYuF5tVB6P53FfbNZNvX7lehdgJ2SxIDvGHwf7NkT0/s3103/IMG_20240109_100113.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3103" data-original-width="2549" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7hkKjH_vtTfWsD1e3_pQpxGJ0P0IbU0MC9_QliIgMtHKj-smfRtYzimdMpZyDyWDXeVPm9TFyeaXqCH3O_YR4d7hxWMue7bmzWOnZ_sFaqrJiz9G36-Wc3iUNIYypzOdE_J-x5-_-Av24HAStSiYuF5tVB6P53FfbNZNvX7lehdgJ2SxIDvGHwf7NkT0/w526-h640/IMG_20240109_100113.jpg" width="526" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">As
a build I kept this fairly conventional, trying to minimise cut marks
and such but then I started getting ideas when it came to weathering.
Black is a funny colour to weather, as its already subdued and tends
to contrast sharply with things. But, you know, it's the 21st
century, and the odds were good there was a solution to look up. As
such, I attempted some light dry-brushing of various greys, before a
selective application of Agrax Earthshade in the recesses. I also
picked out the visor and missile silos with a bit of brushwork. The
overall effect isn't bad at all, but it's very subtle in places, and
only really works on the grey bits. Does this count as "edge
highlighting"? As a technique, this is promising. I'm less happy
with the visor, but it's good enough. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Job’s
a good ‘un.</span></p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-11571638014035429992024-02-20T08:30:00.004+00:002024-02-20T08:30:00.138+00:00Project Sulaco: Part 2<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Part 2 then… So, I want to take a
moment to talk about the base models here, Stargrave Mercenaries.
These are by North Star Military Figures, whom seem to do a lot in
the way of support for miniature agnostic games as well as their own
stuff. I know very little about Stargrave, but I am impressed with
their plastics such as these mercenaries. They work out to a quid a
model with a vast amount of additional bits like a missile launcher
and numerous alien heads. If you want Scifi infantry on the cheap,
they are a great choice. The only argument against is that there a
realistic 28mm scale, rather than a heroic one. This means
proportions aren't exaggerated for the purposes of easier recognition
or style. This would be something I'd have to keep an eye on. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8QRZyWGLY2S6LzB6Y7f07-eN3LO164IVxu1n2qP0A7QQEdUT2RmapwO8xm89ZODt8vYrxWovso5o7kvCAeLGhw19QVWfyGs2eI9NEOaUel8nOJ3ZF54G090tvZiMGb2ptSPPhD-Ps6tMVSr2wOuc2RGM4SXkFEZKRp13SkIrDigbbZDlkx6BwNx5pSX6/s2316/IMG_20240215_142534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2263" data-original-width="2316" height="626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8QRZyWGLY2S6LzB6Y7f07-eN3LO164IVxu1n2qP0A7QQEdUT2RmapwO8xm89ZODt8vYrxWovso5o7kvCAeLGhw19QVWfyGs2eI9NEOaUel8nOJ3ZF54G090tvZiMGb2ptSPPhD-Ps6tMVSr2wOuc2RGM4SXkFEZKRp13SkIrDigbbZDlkx6BwNx5pSX6/w640-h626/IMG_20240215_142534.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My
first prototype was mainly about trying to feel things out, so I
opted for a model without a rifle pose. I experimented with backpacks
made from cable ties, additional armour, shoulder pads and cabling. I
lengthened the gun with a bead, before detailing, and then I started
on the helmet. I ended up with a vaguely, sort-of, classical Greek or
Mandalorian look for it, but the detail was soft. Not entirely happy
with it, I decided to put it aside, and try again with smaller
amounts of putty. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1K8R1QrJ03G-PqIxcXbaHvR_ICeP-dKqCHQtd_z48qDO5GA6QYt8JFzlt1pRD4_qPdXpN6PG4StHCTPO_bX4vgR1pz47n85xZjUdZGAoyZxOlunU7OlS1vzMAcpW_ROY2JshBxbFLuh8nY-ijs0DIHqvvP8b8GgKELRC_2mmnsCuApJR0CYu1WU7qa1SQ/s2516/IMG_20240217_160228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2516" data-original-width="2143" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1K8R1QrJ03G-PqIxcXbaHvR_ICeP-dKqCHQtd_z48qDO5GA6QYt8JFzlt1pRD4_qPdXpN6PG4StHCTPO_bX4vgR1pz47n85xZjUdZGAoyZxOlunU7OlS1vzMAcpW_ROY2JshBxbFLuh8nY-ijs0DIHqvvP8b8GgKELRC_2mmnsCuApJR0CYu1WU7qa1SQ/w546-h640/IMG_20240217_160228.jpg" width="546" /></a></div><br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">With
this one, I decided to be a bit less ambitious about what I was
doing. I picked out a body with a lot of armour, and greenstuffed the
legs so it looked more like plating than cloth. I went for a
two-handed bullpup this time, lengthened the barrel, and tried to
build up shoulder pads. The sprue presented a useful backpack piece,
to which I added on some stick-on gems. To use up the putty, I then
begun to modified numerous heads, trying to find a look that worked.
The initial work on this took about 90 minutes, before deciding to
let it cure prior to adding more detail. That detail ended up being
attempts at pipework, and a few stick on gems to handle rounder
shapes. I found myself leaning towards gasmask analogues like the
<a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2020/03/gunpla-ms-06-zaku-ii-hguc.html">Zaku II</a> and the Mrk6 "Beakie" style of Power Armour. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1ihEMSmYzyJFQ_aUuwd2Q0Elc5XxARdpEYdRPkTDmfBhCRnL2TNsOgxAeVefOErWJbMfP_1cHMe-Y7lT3iDYqCezO4ZKyptJ13dhd_RcMwTQPfCdPW7BIGkcdSsPJXBfY1RPra7DAqD7z2GJ7ZiyiUmPqyNlhI3mAtLTeapL0Hc9yIwIKQD77vAtoN1L/s2563/IMG_20240217_160214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1721" data-original-width="2563" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg1ihEMSmYzyJFQ_aUuwd2Q0Elc5XxARdpEYdRPkTDmfBhCRnL2TNsOgxAeVefOErWJbMfP_1cHMe-Y7lT3iDYqCezO4ZKyptJ13dhd_RcMwTQPfCdPW7BIGkcdSsPJXBfY1RPra7DAqD7z2GJ7ZiyiUmPqyNlhI3mAtLTeapL0Hc9yIwIKQD77vAtoN1L/w640-h430/IMG_20240217_160214.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
wasn't totally happy with these either, although the gun was
satisfactory. The use of adhesive gems showed potential, but the
shape wasn't quite there. The shoulder pads were similarly a step in
the right direction, and I wasn't quite good enough to get the clean
lines I wanted. At least not yet. So I decided to seek out some
better shapes, and ended up bringing home some fricking tiny beads to
make up for the skill deficit. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYNJA7i3zwVy2i3jHSppLsVrY6Lgpt5M63b0v5fxOOzfH7dp9lo1mre2VBy9tr6_TOW88ksQ7t6x52dqxiqocD1zN85PSKj6MKjmUda5pK2pAQDQLffPqWxzaF6A9psA7ZECSGXfHc-maxqpNUsN9cBkcEz2rEkplIytO8GjSanJv5vO8td1o_4uqQF8G/s2865/IMG_20240218_153104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1533" data-original-width="2865" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYNJA7i3zwVy2i3jHSppLsVrY6Lgpt5M63b0v5fxOOzfH7dp9lo1mre2VBy9tr6_TOW88ksQ7t6x52dqxiqocD1zN85PSKj6MKjmUda5pK2pAQDQLffPqWxzaF6A9psA7ZECSGXfHc-maxqpNUsN9cBkcEz2rEkplIytO8GjSanJv5vO8td1o_4uqQF8G/w640-h342/IMG_20240218_153104.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
didn’t get too far with these before hitting my cut-off point, but
there seems to be some potential there. I just need to experiment
more before settling on a style, put as long as I don’t paint them
yet, it should be possible to recycle the rejected pieces to an
extent. I think I’ll move away from the hemispherical shoulder pad
style though. But whatever happens, there’s no rush. Better to run
into problems now, rather than rush into them headlong.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">More
next week.</span></p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-1108771682421740112024-02-18T08:30:00.072+00:002024-02-18T21:28:11.954+00:00Transformers: Legacy United Infernac Universe Magneous is Something that Exists<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-P3dqbUstupXxCkjuMLWi2bqtjHNj1rcvEnmNwWpWZi2uThc-FWxKr02rPfT8d3Ek1RFKqdhOP3PuWR6bmrCIFR3MRZzDSWPbDW7b5_9B3dIEdg-puVpAlGHHXno7fq3KpQoZv-ndPkhT8uKV5JMZ8QysF-2EY9cau3RfETRbGiH69dRFy5cuvaX1hib/s983/RockLordsTonkaPoster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="983" data-original-width="735" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-P3dqbUstupXxCkjuMLWi2bqtjHNj1rcvEnmNwWpWZi2uThc-FWxKr02rPfT8d3Ek1RFKqdhOP3PuWR6bmrCIFR3MRZzDSWPbDW7b5_9B3dIEdg-puVpAlGHHXno7fq3KpQoZv-ndPkhT8uKV5JMZ8QysF-2EY9cau3RfETRbGiH69dRFy5cuvaX1hib/w478-h640/RockLordsTonkaPoster.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A
contemporary Rock Lords Poster, circa <a href="http://gbwiki.shoutwiki.com/wiki/File:RockLordsTonkaPoster.jpg">1986</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">If I'm totally honest, I don't think
the Legacy Junkions lived up to the potential of <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2023/01/transformers-legacy-evolution-scraphook.html">Scraphook</a>. They were
fine, don't get me wrong, but I don't think the gimmick was taken
very far. I found Junkasaurus a bit disappointing too, even by the
standards of fan modes. Magneous, and his fellow Infernac Universe
brethren, replace the Junkions for Legacy United, and I wonder how
things will play out with them. He's got the same
<i>come-to-bits-but-an-actual-transformation</i> gimmick that
Scraphook did, if with a lower ratio of removable bits to leftovers.
Magneous however does have something that Scraphook didn't, he's a
rock. And, if anything, that's a novel look for a Transformer. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU_fPCezf1amUw2SRF6Mne_x4s34hlNhAjs3bhHsS1zKmOHgi_WbA_VIyWujPEoHThSO1Xcrb7bc8oENt3S9goBse9EGeD_dZxdDyiYjTTMZFN0sY9X2ujxFSSr0ZhxGx6bZ35jFgfrtxi7UCUNPreaZ13znJcRSw-Py-NtkMBMYyDSJIgrT5J4mg2Jv76/s3444/IMG_20240215_130053.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2381" data-original-width="3444" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU_fPCezf1amUw2SRF6Mne_x4s34hlNhAjs3bhHsS1zKmOHgi_WbA_VIyWujPEoHThSO1Xcrb7bc8oENt3S9goBse9EGeD_dZxdDyiYjTTMZFN0sY9X2ujxFSSr0ZhxGx6bZ35jFgfrtxi7UCUNPreaZ13znJcRSw-Py-NtkMBMYyDSJIgrT5J4mg2Jv76/w640-h442/IMG_20240215_130053.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
It's
far from unprecedented though. The old rival to Transformers, Tonka's
Gobots, had a spin-off called the Rock Lords. These operated pretty
much exactly how you'd expect an 80's toy line to, with the exception
that everyone changed into a lump of minerals. Yes, actual rocks, no
electric guitars involved. Or Megaman. Now, before I go further, I
want to stress something; I'm not engaging with the ancient
Transformers/Gobots rivalry here. Such things are petty, stupid,
lazy, ignorant, and most importantly, beneath me. I had a few of
these Rock Lords back in the day, and they weren't bad. But, in total
fairness, if you looked at the Rocklords and asked if they were some
form of joke, I could not honestly blame you. I mean I like <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/search/label/BeastBox">BeastBox</a>,
so I'm not against a robot becoming a shape, but yeah... It's not
clear what they were thinking. Magneous, and presumably all of the
Infernac toys, have actual vehicle forms though, thus largely
avoiding the "But why?” problem. Why? It's because it's
visually interesting and you get something that looks radically
different from anything Transformers or indeed anything else Hasbro
has made lately. Although I assume actual <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyCjGUWM5wB/">Rock Lord tributes</a>, maybe
as some form of exclusive, are only a matter of time. Otherwise,
Magneous is a blank slate, with no stated faction and no fictional
appearances. Maybe Skybound should fit these into the Energon
Universe somewhere. Assuming it's not too modern for them. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtQV3ZoFR-CJ_1Rp8hhplGw1LCnsaB8uAOVhFITIz9kGetyRODhgt6gyl0kKwC3DMhJuzhoAKxqgBJ8lEsyFmoVj5z9xv_yaDw7DybJtduNiaP77gwsGzhDpCZCufHVl6lNwN-Oe5a-UmX6oEhCtjQv-VDKSNJc8RFghNfvsNS3moBsdSceJ_SJtolZB7H/s3287/IMG_20240215_130041.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2198" data-original-width="3287" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtQV3ZoFR-CJ_1Rp8hhplGw1LCnsaB8uAOVhFITIz9kGetyRODhgt6gyl0kKwC3DMhJuzhoAKxqgBJ8lEsyFmoVj5z9xv_yaDw7DybJtduNiaP77gwsGzhDpCZCufHVl6lNwN-Oe5a-UmX6oEhCtjQv-VDKSNJc8RFghNfvsNS3moBsdSceJ_SJtolZB7H/w640-h428/IMG_20240215_130041.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Magneous'
alternate form is a pick-up truck, by way of geographical time. It's
mainly two tones of grey stone, with the shape of a machine, but
fairly minimal mechanisms. While there are wheel wells, the wheels
are all but hidden by rock formations. Its windows meanwhile feature
wire mesh, giving a bit of the old Mad Max or <a href=" https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/search?q=gaslands">Gaslands</a>, which is
unexpected, but not unwelcome. The fundamentally stony look of things
is very well done; there's no flat panels or hard angles here, more
irregular shapes carved by time and smoothed by water. It’s
striking in its way, as a proof of concept, or the basis for a
Flintstones collaboration, the toy is definitely passing muster. What
does count in its favour is that there's only so many things we can
compare it to, unlike, say, actual cars. I'm probably being a bit
forgiving here due to the sheer novelty of it, but there is a case
of visible Head Syndrome on the underside that's not a plus. In terms
of play value? It's a good roller, with dedicated tab/slots for it's
weapon, including a battering ram set-up I'd completely failed to notice until after posting. 5mm ports are there, but you have to take the dude apart to
get at them. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-M7FVslr12Y08iJDZyThknVgfRmdpoLeVn_7IDLWrxIxnTo6Xpbdw21vzOlJcQq-_dRKmf9IpCCVL3JsVrb4vMDNlQrRXE6z-9d9ci69kg0dGh8Kvlpjo4IHX-HnOvDhShlFdZPJO3et6q9kKSfgTD7-5UpKcbAVDokCOtSMXYjOn8vm3uf4jcbimyOYx/s3350/IMG_20240215_130551.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3350" data-original-width="2535" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-M7FVslr12Y08iJDZyThknVgfRmdpoLeVn_7IDLWrxIxnTo6Xpbdw21vzOlJcQq-_dRKmf9IpCCVL3JsVrb4vMDNlQrRXE6z-9d9ci69kg0dGh8Kvlpjo4IHX-HnOvDhShlFdZPJO3et6q9kKSfgTD7-5UpKcbAVDokCOtSMXYjOn8vm3uf4jcbimyOYx/w484-h640/IMG_20240215_130551.jpg" width="484" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
Speaking
of pulling the dude apart, the armorizer thing. To make another
Scraphook comparison, much less of Magneous can be handed to other
toys, and there doesn't seem to be any suggestion of part-swapping or
gestaults at this time. There's an odd detail I'll come back to, but
there's no package art depicting another combination. He ends up
missing arms, lower legs, and accessories. The beneficiary of this
sacrifice gets a stone hammer, a shield, some arms and a couple of
stoney armor bits. It's fine for what it is, if quite vestigial, and
maybe in need of longer pegs. To make a broad observation: things
almost seem to be going full circle with this whole gimmick. Between
this and the Trashmaster mould, these toys are looking more and more
like regular Transformers with random bits that come off, rather than
accessories that graduated to self-contained toys. I'll let you
decide if that's good or bad, but in its defence, I want to
acknowledge two things. 1) The parts fit and tolerances seem good to
the point being stiff on my example, so nothing detaches from him
when it shouldn't. 2) There's enough of Magneous left to get a truck
chassis which you can plug guns into, so you can make an artillery
thingy. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">And the leg wheels are detachable for, um <i>reasons</i>? The instructions are unclear.<br /></span><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_6ezmoSNQp5pfnz5Rq0u2y8hyj2KepVG8RX95vB7RxMbNXlnYHPJV58IUP71ulaPu5Sufd17KQU50dqCHjIZp2FFqMyyw1zA5-Eh_4IQDGjUU5dfn-yoilh4hcBULBjtGu2Gw99KbbHT7YL7wYFaONlnMB-u7U1ftOf5Z__s5hhytgfT2w8_HfalEA-T/s2674/IMG_20240215_131103.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2674" data-original-width="2358" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_6ezmoSNQp5pfnz5Rq0u2y8hyj2KepVG8RX95vB7RxMbNXlnYHPJV58IUP71ulaPu5Sufd17KQU50dqCHjIZp2FFqMyyw1zA5-Eh_4IQDGjUU5dfn-yoilh4hcBULBjtGu2Gw99KbbHT7YL7wYFaONlnMB-u7U1ftOf5Z__s5hhytgfT2w8_HfalEA-T/w564-h640/IMG_20240215_131103.jpg" width="564" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The robot mode is functional as well as
interesting. Articulation is about typical for Legacy, if the neck
being a bit limited, as its just a simple swivel with a slight tilt.
The joint design is otherwise complete, notable features being the
technically ball jointed wrists and soft-locking knees, both arising
from the transformation. Magneous features a stony axe/crossbow, and
can use his backpack/roof as a shield, so he's got the robot playpattern down. As such, with the basics covered, I can talk about the
looks, which continue to be distinctive. Magneous is not a robot
disguised as a rock, rather he is a rock that is also a robot. The
sculpt is almost entirety stone textured, sometimes mirrored,
sometimes asymmetrical, but always stony. What stops this from being
a stone monster, and instead a Transformer is the chest design,
featuring two wheels and a regrettable amount of open space. That's
definitely a weird bit to be visibly hollow, the robot mode otherwise
doing OK on that front. Proportionally, this chap looks like a stocky
brawler, faintly reminiscent of Bayverse Ironhide by way of He-Man
techno-fantasy. <span style="font-style: normal;">(</span><span style="font-style: normal;">He-Man
also had <a href="https://he-man.fandom.com/wiki/Rock_People">rock </a></span><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="https://he-man.fandom.com/wiki/Rock_People">people</a>, it
seems to have been a zeitgeist thing</span><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span><span style="font-style: normal;">)</span><span style="font-style: normal;">
</span>It looks like someone chipped one of his horns and he was too
hyped to notice. There is character, yes. There is another odd design
choice to go with the chest though, the removable forearm panels that
look like carved feathers. These ordinarily remain on the forearms,
concealing the 5mm ports, but the instructions highlight dedicated
tabs for them to act as fillers for the calves. While welcome, this
does make wonder about future releases, as a friend of mine pointed
out, a leaked Infernac toy, has a certain feathery look to him too. But, this is idle speculation, and that guy is a rock helicopter,
it's uncharted territory. This element does however highlight
Magneous' general lack of 5mm ports, which was a non-issue in truck
mode, but more noteworthy here. The designers seem to have
prioritised the overall look of the toy here, so you can't double him
up with another similar toy, and that's a bit of a shame. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhauVsOklozOswy-5LWt7n9jY9IM-qpzTVWfhurdCqohBrgrQZ53up4MJmtUqkxztA-GS1mRA7fg4kH8E-H6lbf413ocyGBxQHRwXJjEr-UqRAm6vTHfGF5ZP7mo2PWKE7iglSy6F_TTzIBJbQlZiFl3UeKwYfCptKBE3sY0ga7cGq8B5lx0OyIQF6Rnu-B/s3409/IMG_20240215_131159.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3409" data-original-width="2440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhauVsOklozOswy-5LWt7n9jY9IM-qpzTVWfhurdCqohBrgrQZ53up4MJmtUqkxztA-GS1mRA7fg4kH8E-H6lbf413ocyGBxQHRwXJjEr-UqRAm6vTHfGF5ZP7mo2PWKE7iglSy6F_TTzIBJbQlZiFl3UeKwYfCptKBE3sY0ga7cGq8B5lx0OyIQF6Rnu-B/w458-h640/IMG_20240215_131159.jpg" width="458" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
Overall,
I'm quite charmed by Magneous. He is a breath of fresh air, and while
there is a nostalgic element to him for me, the Infernac mob is a
rare flash of creativity in a very nostalgic brand. Mind you, if you
put aside the visual aspect, say if rockformers aren't your thing,
Magneous is fine but not exceptional. There's no shortage of
carformers, and the armorizer functions feel a touch tacked-on. He's
definitely an interesting piece, but he's up against some strong
competition in wave 1, many as equally weird. Ultimately, he is
something that exists, but it's good that he does. <br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><br />
Also,
It's a crying shame that the <a href="https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Detritus_(G1)#Legacy">Detritus</a> name was taken.... </span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-33990281429944698552024-02-15T08:30:00.043+00:002024-02-15T08:30:00.137+00:00Project Sulaco: Part 1<p><span style="font-family: arial;">OK, time to introduce a new project
then.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzibGzWdUsD7j_PC_yZ_2hVlsfUygU5UbeMuTn7qefP_GqVT868kUxhzUt3XS4mMLiWKJf_w31GxRRflPUz9TCqrhtJnus-e5FmjfsQ-xOAjD4kfh_uje7_MiQCSY7mUbKdqJKjQycjCDGUFtJjD-Okp1Hmql4ZXH-g8YnVaF2v-BoFceSUAMR9VjXZpSI/s723/XR.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="568" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzibGzWdUsD7j_PC_yZ_2hVlsfUygU5UbeMuTn7qefP_GqVT868kUxhzUt3XS4mMLiWKJf_w31GxRRflPUz9TCqrhtJnus-e5FmjfsQ-xOAjD4kfh_uje7_MiQCSY7mUbKdqJKjQycjCDGUFtJjD-Okp1Hmql4ZXH-g8YnVaF2v-BoFceSUAMR9VjXZpSI/w502-h640/XR.jpg" width="502" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This
one arises from several assorted shelved or abandoned ideas, the most
recent of which being custom spacemarines. Before I decided to work
on Project Tankbustas, I'd considered converting loyalist marines
into traitor marines with green stuff, horns, tentacles, icons and so
on. It looked fun as a change of place from Orks and scrap metal,
but the costs of doing so was prohibitive. You would have thought,
even with inflation, you'd be tripping over cheap beakies on the
secondary market, but no. Going further back, you may recall my
dalliance with <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2023/05/wargame-commentary-look-at-xenos-rampant.html">Xenos Rampant</a> and my attempts at human <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2023/06/resin-iron-brothers-ramshackle-games.html">scifi infantry</a>
and <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2023/07/plamo-mule-transport-mantic-games.html">vehicles</a>. That had progressed to point where I was trying to nail
human skin tones, unsuccessfully, but then 40k 10th edition happened
so I got distracted. When Project Tankbustas was nearing completion,
I was very aware that I need something to do lest my brainworms act
up, remembered the Stargrave models I had unbuilt. One thought led to
another, and this lead to Project Sulaco, a numerically small force
for my Orks to fight in Xenos Rampant games. Something I could
introduce people to the game with, practice sculpting with, and
hopefully perfect a method for skin at the same time. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What
are these gonna look like though? Well, obviously like Beakies, the
idea of genetically engineered soldier in powered armour is a fairly
common concept. See also the Brotherhood of Steel from the Fallout
franchise. Or the Terrans from Starcraft. Or the Hero’s Duty game
from Wreck-it Ralph. Or the Mobile Infantry from Starship Troopers.
But mainly the novel and cartoon series for that last one. You know,
macho warrior types walking around wearing/somewhere-inside a large
amount of metal, often with fascist leanings. The ur-example as far
as old people like myself are concerned though is the 1986 film
Aliens, and its Colonial Marines. These were allegorical to the
Vietnam war to an extent, but have since become the baseline against
any scifi soldier will be measured. Hence this projects name, and
overall vibe. A tribute to the film, a thematic reference, rather
than a 1:1 recreation.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioWDjtnFo9NXFI7AH7dsqNeP2pbL8QH472Eoe5qVlYJg2dtHbyZi5g1nfNeoB_HPDKrs9_sLQ_gVsWXgc7YX-z2ne0YMETiIsT-qz9qeCaIwGmGStxgKfmUftpugXM6fe19P9WN1JWnclLYndzcrnIJX8H0UTQnYnhnAzkhDj97JysetKKsQHGPb38SZZK/s1200/uss-sulaco-colonial-marines-og.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioWDjtnFo9NXFI7AH7dsqNeP2pbL8QH472Eoe5qVlYJg2dtHbyZi5g1nfNeoB_HPDKrs9_sLQ_gVsWXgc7YX-z2ne0YMETiIsT-qz9qeCaIwGmGStxgKfmUftpugXM6fe19P9WN1JWnclLYndzcrnIJX8H0UTQnYnhnAzkhDj97JysetKKsQHGPb38SZZK/w640-h336/uss-sulaco-colonial-marines-og.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Stage
1: Prototyping.</b> The modification of at least one Stargrave miniature
into a powered armour style via greenstuff and kitbash work. Also
begins the search for satisfactory method of achieving human skin
tones, and a colour scheme. I may spend several weeks on this bit, I have some diverse ideas, but not a strong mental image.<br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Stage
2: Rank & file.</b> The creation of two squads of five marines, or
two units of Elite Infantry in XR terms. This may include the
recasting of custom bits, but we'll see. Assuming stage 1 is
successful, this might be more time-consuming than actually difficult, but I don't want to rush it. Probably two weeks.<br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Stage
3: Sentry Guns</b>. Yeah, these are the automated guns from the Special
Edition of Aliens. I expect this a brief affair, possibly run
alongside stage 4. Although I haven’t quite decided if I want these
to be fixed weapons or mobile drones. Definitely Mechanoid Support
Infantry in XR terms. Probably a week, or run concurrently with stage 4.<br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Stage
4: The APC.</b> Yep also a direct lift from Aliens. I'm unsure the extent
to which this would be a scratchbuild or kitbash, but I'm thinking
blocky passenger vehicle, which is also the army commander. Remember
that bit where LT Gorman watched everything go wrong via the marines'
personal cameras? Yeah that, but hopefully working as doctrine
intended. In XR terms, this would be a Transport Vehicle with
Transport(10) and Line-breaker. I've sourced a few vehicles already, plus some tracks, so I'll see how I feel on the day.<br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Stage
5: The Powerloader.</b> As mentioned, this is going to be more of tribute
than a direct adaptation, but I do want have a clearly
civilian/industrial mech piloted by a woman. Out of deference to
Ripley, I'm going to have to source some female heads for the
operator from somewhere, and I'm not doing the "boob-plate"
thing. Rules wise, it would be a Softskin Civilian Walker.
Physically? A Killa Kan but much neater. There is a Stargrave
version of the concept that exists, but I want to make my own.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This
should be fun.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-67811229430313188462024-02-13T08:30:00.022+00:002024-02-13T08:30:00.134+00:00Project Tankbusta: Part 7<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Ji62kg_Ck_HoRTBiDWfDEwIOFfr5co72NG5l75r0n0RMOtBD5qGUUMnNQnDv-MdfynfNBx1K2AuBjomDURnVLAGnVXdrAmQH_iVXi6RMwT9XZRfq1hziulYxY3MFQE2lKFfCBJgxg3eJKRcMdaFiuNvWNvh0-ZewsN4yQuQKPtGzXarxSmlFAmCjco6Y/s3799/IMG_20240211_100118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1689" data-original-width="3799" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Ji62kg_Ck_HoRTBiDWfDEwIOFfr5co72NG5l75r0n0RMOtBD5qGUUMnNQnDv-MdfynfNBx1K2AuBjomDURnVLAGnVXdrAmQH_iVXi6RMwT9XZRfq1hziulYxY3MFQE2lKFfCBJgxg3eJKRcMdaFiuNvWNvh0-ZewsN4yQuQKPtGzXarxSmlFAmCjco6Y/w640-h284/IMG_20240211_100118.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /> </span><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Righty, I think we can call this the
finale. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So,
with the squad as a whole looking pretty good, I moved onto painting.
This is probably the least interesting part of the project, as I have
honed in on techniques that work for me. I'm sure I will eventually
try more involved methods for orks, but I start from the assumption
that whatever method I use has to be time and energy-efficient. If
you have to paint dozens of the bastards, you need a way that neither
bores you or drives you mad, and that's something I’ve struggled
with, <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2023/08/kitbash-another-deathskull-ork-trukk.html">historically</a>. So I went for my usual method of drybrush, wash
and stippling. Painting the eyes on the squigs was something of a pain, but I got them done.</span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmOsWrDfiNPHLM0r6PJj5J8xYk8taUn8OBfTxqSaLaIQzYZJJTY_Wc1ZUL6T5XN12v2LCVK74pUv_k93Ojvl5sV2usDXZz1VhwIaoTJPX3uuy1AKxAvp7ExuY8tvO4Aab84nNNSmNlPCekBkg5rKObe-oJJKrEfWg1Efq-uSS9AtN4SiuslyH-I0TpZaK/s2576/IMG_20240211_100129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1993" data-original-width="2576" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmOsWrDfiNPHLM0r6PJj5J8xYk8taUn8OBfTxqSaLaIQzYZJJTY_Wc1ZUL6T5XN12v2LCVK74pUv_k93Ojvl5sV2usDXZz1VhwIaoTJPX3uuy1AKxAvp7ExuY8tvO4Aab84nNNSmNlPCekBkg5rKObe-oJJKrEfWg1Efq-uSS9AtN4SiuslyH-I0TpZaK/w640-h496/IMG_20240211_100129.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">With
that briefly addressed, now to review the project as a whole. The
entire point of this was to build up my greenstuff sculpting skills,
and I think I can honestly call that a success. I've earned my
"Beginners Merit Badge", and in organising the project how
I did, I didn't bite off more than I could chew. Progress was bumpy
around the Das Clay stage, I admit, but I think my overall approach
was sound. There are still many things I need to learn, with full humanoid
figures and faces being somewhere in the future. But I feel I can get
there. I didn’t have that before.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3R1IM_FDWixCL5l-qIPBPKtLMIGcsFnbQ-__WCRk0pNCrYGNmsrvvhFdytWhMQ8UqwnYuoAeOOV2abhaZJ3FN3AU7Pk0vcz-79465cZJzQkludPGaEaki-Cso-POs2CC5EC3ZJETcDyfgb3SvWvWr5VEuzPgEbEocclWp5aTiyQgibMs-1iJzXsrdHTq8/s4062/IMG_20240211_100217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1969" data-original-width="4062" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3R1IM_FDWixCL5l-qIPBPKtLMIGcsFnbQ-__WCRk0pNCrYGNmsrvvhFdytWhMQ8UqwnYuoAeOOV2abhaZJ3FN3AU7Pk0vcz-79465cZJzQkludPGaEaki-Cso-POs2CC5EC3ZJETcDyfgb3SvWvWr5VEuzPgEbEocclWp5aTiyQgibMs-1iJzXsrdHTq8/w640-h310/IMG_20240211_100217.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By
coincidence, I actually have this week off, so it won’t be long
before I start the next project. Expect an introduction this
Thursday. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqE-pOJ67SZtUNKg2mA-i8KMitfrE3IS7IDE_895-_J48TSd_a-iA5QNl_Q_lZbK1Z1xD_CMYNCo0XVJ243xbEvUPLqKigvl73bGSn4adiIQy4WLBj_B_KXjQQBnptIU9kRRjtJrFGfivD2J50i9tTkooSh5dOc-TuCvCguW3bpaIQeJ4PZnnyzycYb_7h/s3550/IMG_20240211_100146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1968" data-original-width="3550" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqE-pOJ67SZtUNKg2mA-i8KMitfrE3IS7IDE_895-_J48TSd_a-iA5QNl_Q_lZbK1Z1xD_CMYNCo0XVJ243xbEvUPLqKigvl73bGSn4adiIQy4WLBj_B_KXjQQBnptIU9kRRjtJrFGfivD2J50i9tTkooSh5dOc-TuCvCguW3bpaIQeJ4PZnnyzycYb_7h/w640-h354/IMG_20240211_100146.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /> </span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-67356257892491176212024-02-11T08:30:00.100+00:002024-02-11T08:30:00.135+00:00BeastBox: BB-6CS Rhinoceros is Something That Exists<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>Do I have to
explain BeastBox again? Righty, mechanical beasts that compress into
boxes? Very collectable? 15+ age bracket? No? Oh, click <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2023/10/an-introduction-to-beastbox.html">here</a>
then. OK, let’s have a quick chat about </span><span>a</span><span>
BeastBox </span><span>I got last year</span><span>.</span>
Amazon had it on a coupon.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsyGfXJJ6KI41KkqbonhshVgzKoepqI0CY0gC6g5oge6IWhWLWkxcMLT5xHRzL9iyOtbDZrs1r6CyuiEAh7SGhoJgwRbmWu_OgSpt6Pu3bg78LngIdXsa9L4sCjUkD1bvn8VlC3LznwtevtTSD8PK4RilFYifnf0qdrNR52W9Fdb7um9hFqleZFvGS_kxn/s2688/IMG_20231124_084846.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2688" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsyGfXJJ6KI41KkqbonhshVgzKoepqI0CY0gC6g5oge6IWhWLWkxcMLT5xHRzL9iyOtbDZrs1r6CyuiEAh7SGhoJgwRbmWu_OgSpt6Pu3bg78LngIdXsa9L4sCjUkD1bvn8VlC3LznwtevtTSD8PK4RilFYifnf0qdrNR52W9Fdb7um9hFqleZFvGS_kxn/w640-h406/IMG_20231124_084846.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As
the serial number implies, Rhinoceros is one of the older BeastBoxs
and therefore one of the simplest. He’s also a rhino, but I think
that’s implied. He's not penguin simple, more akin to <a href=" https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2023/11/beastbox-bb-03fj-flame-jojo-is.html">JoJo</a>, but not
Meerkat or Mega-Dio complex. This makes him nice as a fiddle toy,
although there's a few things about him that didn't make for a great
first impression. Rhinoceros here has accessories which store. <b>T</b><b>his
is good</b>. You get a key in the manner of a wind-up toy, and a
blaster sculpted in the style of a frog sticking its tongue out. Both
are hugely characterful, which is good, but storing the key is
inexplicably annoying. It just about fits in one compartment, but if
you don't fit it in right, it's not coming out again without a tool.
There is a tendency for it to catch on some tabs in there, and
generally rattling. <b>This is bad. </b>It probably didn’t help my
mood that I misplaced the key at one point, delaying this write-up,
although it did eventually return from Narnia. The frog blaster
meanwhile feels a little extraneous; I think its meant to go on the
inside of an open side panel, but it looks a touch weedy. I feel they
could easily have moved the peg along to make it a flip-out concealed
weapon thingy. There's also a pair of 3mm-to-5mm port conversion
pieces, which go unexplained in the instructions and presumably are
there to assist with add-ons sold separately. That's not a negative
as such, more that I’m missing something. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span>
</p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwTTkxIxK7ABV02dRgfdtsK-cUJPHnolTcVefF3lkeJDvppuxT1BdHd9SGzY5lWLEjRgUEoYhCcRBGa-U2ocnkMf0oG-Cn91431gRDMFe_qYtCVhFD5FBredr-VXaLH94qmD3IIwhfY51Ntefi3z86cQpS8gRc_Bw4iXXGaGOsGrmUYX877KcBgGGk9DL/s2105/IMG_20231124_084545.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1618" data-original-width="2105" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwTTkxIxK7ABV02dRgfdtsK-cUJPHnolTcVefF3lkeJDvppuxT1BdHd9SGzY5lWLEjRgUEoYhCcRBGa-U2ocnkMf0oG-Cn91431gRDMFe_qYtCVhFD5FBredr-VXaLH94qmD3IIwhfY51Ntefi3z86cQpS8gRc_Bw4iXXGaGOsGrmUYX877KcBgGGk9DL/w640-h492/IMG_20231124_084545.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Putting
aside the above, what's this Rhinoceros like then? Well, he's a toy
that's more about the act of transformation than necessarily having
an action figure that is also a box. The conversion is based on some
pleasingly intuitive and tactile actions: the head folding into the
chest, the "saddle bags" moving out of the way, and the
legs moving to peg together. Surprisingly, the horns cause the eyes
to rotate as you fold them up, a nice touch. Like I said, this is a
fiddle toy, and it's pretty good at it. The individual modes are
fine, if not the most tcompelling I've written about. Box mode is OK,
benefiting from the Rhino having a lot of flat panels, if producing a
forgivable underside gap where the legs are. The actual rhinoceros
mode is nice too. The colour scheme works, a chunky/techno vibe from
the sculpt. Its face has an opening mouth, and what I can only
describe as the expression of a lawful neutral herbivore. You can
open his mouth though, move his ears, and adjust the horn to move his
eyes, thus changing his expression. Posability meanwhile is there,
with ten points, plus what you can do with the head area, if not
exceptional for its bulk. Each leg is ball-jointed at the main body,
but the neck is fixed, and the shoulders are jointed in an <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2023/07/transformers-legacy-evolution-armada.html">odd fashion</a>.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf3WqVXAtOp2k3QnV_Q8jJARrF4-gw8iupnIbcy340_o-3W7kxV1yNGcN1dPi_e7CvomGg0aoCVCiW21nuTgWfAm5Fx-LacmKkJ5P3RZsRhz-aAPDp15AmcPjIRobnB3WySZy6AErE0nfGC465PWjaUt1WvT5FfESXoedKs1jFbmfaFW2RvnXxxzbLzc2v/s2267/IMG_20231124_085035.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1707" data-original-width="2267" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf3WqVXAtOp2k3QnV_Q8jJARrF4-gw8iupnIbcy340_o-3W7kxV1yNGcN1dPi_e7CvomGg0aoCVCiW21nuTgWfAm5Fx-LacmKkJ5P3RZsRhz-aAPDp15AmcPjIRobnB3WySZy6AErE0nfGC465PWjaUt1WvT5FfESXoedKs1jFbmfaFW2RvnXxxzbLzc2v/w640-h482/IMG_20231124_085035.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So,
how do I feel about this white & grey un-moisturised unicorn? Well, I’m kinda…
he’s OK. I’m slightly meh about the accessories, but he’s a
decent robo-rhino, that’s satisfying to mess with. Its just that’s
he’s not as fun as JoJo. Given that I got him half price, I really
can’t complain, but he’s not something that excels. More
something that <i>exists...</i></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> </i></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-IBkmhR7sBHa-iNXQm9uGma9u2M_5itfNfeti-NgF9OD_XPATKsuE7R6H0U6_TNtDksYayv3QsCkJlhDkeMD8oewhryIW9ZcfAHMjLad_bfKnH4VS3xbQrjHB57WywbEAP1e9uPiT80i9UcASNrpU3s__1aiepIwKhAye2Ep_OQzfWF2731qEl3cQb6IQ/s1683/IMG_20231124_084914.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1242" data-original-width="1683" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-IBkmhR7sBHa-iNXQm9uGma9u2M_5itfNfeti-NgF9OD_XPATKsuE7R6H0U6_TNtDksYayv3QsCkJlhDkeMD8oewhryIW9ZcfAHMjLad_bfKnH4VS3xbQrjHB57WywbEAP1e9uPiT80i9UcASNrpU3s__1aiepIwKhAye2Ep_OQzfWF2731qEl3cQb6IQ/w640-h472/IMG_20231124_084914.jpg" width="640" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i></i> </span>
<p></p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-2272444669798621812024-02-06T08:30:00.012+00:002024-02-06T08:30:00.127+00:00Project Tankbustas: Part 6<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Aye-up, it's the home stretch. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0Envd-FKz1XYShEvLXAaWObzwfykLYsDiwNt-4MR74H79oRs4yfs0vXmCtCytmsf1ySItsAPR6BFLTWxQMZbXmjVhtQbCWh-quuMuy47UxVbEX_gAar6Zd38iMea7HMySeGUFvcaCrz9lV1aUWvqBVwui-VRv_sQ8rX1fBwywH92o7lzRENTeuCXBlpt/s599/blep.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="599" height="568" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0Envd-FKz1XYShEvLXAaWObzwfykLYsDiwNt-4MR74H79oRs4yfs0vXmCtCytmsf1ySItsAPR6BFLTWxQMZbXmjVhtQbCWh-quuMuy47UxVbEX_gAar6Zd38iMea7HMySeGUFvcaCrz9lV1aUWvqBVwui-VRv_sQ8rX1fBwywH92o7lzRENTeuCXBlpt/w640-h568/blep.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Following
the mixed results of the previous week, I opted to slap some paint on
my prototype squig. The idea was to see how well the details came
through with my painting techniques, mainly dry-brushing and washing.
The simplicity of the sculpt didn't necessarily suit those
techniques, so I'll have to work on that, but it worked OK. I did
chance upon an easy way to do pupils, using a push-pin with the
merest hint of black on it. Reactions to "Blep", as I named
him, on social media was quite positive, with occasional comments
relating to his big eyes and the need for decaff. It's definitely got
character, but further refinement was needed. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP9qh_D027RqVEwNXrDWbX-qYAiKd0e1WkiKXjmI1XFyTU-STCq8blWGS9v5Dhd1tvBNsf2eZoTDmhMUkiz4nJ28K1wIsZDNDDeycMIHROTTy0IQudSK8e9C8yZ2gzfbAkNXU5HJ6bKJBj7yNuLmAqtKUfalp4MAepYG4yoYqKAmqQkzHnWHzZvqcQz5sY/s3208/IMG_20240204_090038.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2061" data-original-width="3208" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP9qh_D027RqVEwNXrDWbX-qYAiKd0e1WkiKXjmI1XFyTU-STCq8blWGS9v5Dhd1tvBNsf2eZoTDmhMUkiz4nJ28K1wIsZDNDDeycMIHROTTy0IQudSK8e9C8yZ2gzfbAkNXU5HJ6bKJBj7yNuLmAqtKUfalp4MAepYG4yoYqKAmqQkzHnWHzZvqcQz5sY/w640-h412/IMG_20240204_090038.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /> </span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">After
a brief-but-unsuccessful attempt to make a spacemarine from beads and
putty, <i>brainworms again</i>, I started on the bomb squigs proper.
These were built as a pair, using the construction style as Blep. The
eyes here were stick-on gems, and I raided my bitz box for spare
rokkits and grenades; both as a time-saver and to help them match the
team. These ended up a bit thicker in the legs than intended, but
otherwise were improved across the board. I added more fur to break
up the plain surfaces, added butt cheeks for the same reason, <b>god
help me,</b> along with straps, fuse wire, sacks, and mounting points
for the explosives. The expressions on the faces ended up being a bit
daft again. In fact, I’d describe them as having gone horribly
right. One looks like a properly toothy little bastard, and the other
one having an awkward smile worthy of a retail worker. Building up
the details was an iterative process, and I still have much to learn,
but I felt this went well. Certainly good enough for what amounts to
a pair of reminder tokens. I then proceeded go back to the tankbustas
proper, giving them another look, and added a few more details. I
ended up calling these “Frodo and Samwise”.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">With
this, Project Tankbustas nears its end. Its just a matter of adding
texture to the bases, and then I can think about painting. And the
next project.</span></p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-17306979427715017902024-02-04T08:30:00.028+00:002024-02-04T08:30:00.133+00:00Gaslands: Scratchbuilt Buggy<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ty9ybBrQr-rykCNllRhLxRuOkYJUnGjKC5utV2giRf8wcH232uJGZ7E7foryRhgVWw-3ca4dbXJuUQqJmprC_zr79oiVk-4yF9Gqy9O-GdqTX9vAXfAlCfGuqZ0YKMUhdEBSrQmkii5Kk09lhU1AurSKPP2APg_tJycHNUw0fUvZHxz09iTpg5_VzW7-/s2254/IMG_20240126_081810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1935" data-original-width="2254" height="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ty9ybBrQr-rykCNllRhLxRuOkYJUnGjKC5utV2giRf8wcH232uJGZ7E7foryRhgVWw-3ca4dbXJuUQqJmprC_zr79oiVk-4yF9Gqy9O-GdqTX9vAXfAlCfGuqZ0YKMUhdEBSrQmkii5Kk09lhU1AurSKPP2APg_tJycHNUw0fUvZHxz09iTpg5_VzW7-/w640-h550/IMG_20240126_081810.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I've actually had the opportunity to
finally play <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/search?q=gaslands">Gaslands</a> a bit of late. Been teaching a few people, and
I received a generous gift of scenery at one point. Folks seem to
like my models, and it's nice to actually experience the game. As a
modelling project though, Gaslands has however been on the back
burner. I don't really need to make more cars, at least
until/if/maybe a racing circuit forms at my local gaming centre, and
I've made so many that it's not hugely engaging. Then an idea hit
while I was at work: I realised how I could make buggies while
changing price labels. Buggies are amongst the cheapest rides in
Gaslands, but also something tricky to source. Your average charity
shop or toy aisle is pretty certain of having mundane cars and sports
cars. But a dune buggy? Not so much. These are smaller, open plan and
tend to trade roofs for a roll-bar. Think <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2024/01/transformers-legacy-evolution.html">Beachcombe</a>r, but more so.
An engine, a lightweight chassis made from scaffolding, and wheels.
They are usually less solid as a design than the famously robust
diecast car is, which is possibly why you don't see them about much.
My realisation was that if I got some dirt cheap cars, specifically
a twin pack of plastic ones with cartoony proportions, I could make
those into buggies. Just rip the shell off, build a new chassis atop
the wheels, put an engine looking bit out back, roll-bar, and then
add some resin ork crew. Job's a good 'un?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMamI2H9NYWAtOepgIGZXxkr1bNP-q0blGybr1Rlnj3VAO9i-0tKfuxYi8nEHncBXKKDaV3vYwPn75n6qzShUhPKuM_WHAyAwKKTr3ww1AC7vHLJMd2Id5gdTHRV4X1iu4WxzV6XcYRYTITNgnOmAPybH048E1Aaqg5scsmGgoG2IxBrhxPZz-kzAkhRhk/s2633/IMG_20240126_081801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1837" data-original-width="2633" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMamI2H9NYWAtOepgIGZXxkr1bNP-q0blGybr1Rlnj3VAO9i-0tKfuxYi8nEHncBXKKDaV3vYwPn75n6qzShUhPKuM_WHAyAwKKTr3ww1AC7vHLJMd2Id5gdTHRV4X1iu4WxzV6XcYRYTITNgnOmAPybH048E1Aaqg5scsmGgoG2IxBrhxPZz-kzAkhRhk/w640-h446/IMG_20240126_081801.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Well,
as it turned out, yeah. My brain worms had me working on this idea of
a Saturday evening, and while there was a certain amount of hot glue
and bodging, things came together quickly. My bitz box presented some
toy car innards for seats, and a resin bit that made for a good
engine block. That cut out some faff, although getting the crew to
fit was a matter of trial and error. Making the roll-bar was also
unexpectedly swift; I threaded little segments of q-tip onto some
scrap wire, which allowed me to reinforce it and test fit it without
going mad. By the time I called it for the evening, all the key
elements were in place, ready for the finishing touches, and then
paint. I went for Evil Sunz, aka Idris, with the tires putting up a
fight. I probably should have sanded them a bit. That said, it all
worked out.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEOFnjqnV2dBP3op54MzjWIHu0Sx7ZrFkLHWCCRIZ-s7xkM_nk0ueliZWNxuQ30RDschAZVQSA0oVXyjEAoWdUrde3xVrvq1RyldRpXKZ__xlnptIF6LfP4kL6S8d2_Eo8TsJ6Jx0YxvD7jB05tZZiNCvCEd0K2c6FCRwq01OUINAskgADTSlAFRaOgdV7/s2656/IMG_20240126_081757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1894" data-original-width="2656" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEOFnjqnV2dBP3op54MzjWIHu0Sx7ZrFkLHWCCRIZ-s7xkM_nk0ueliZWNxuQ30RDschAZVQSA0oVXyjEAoWdUrde3xVrvq1RyldRpXKZ__xlnptIF6LfP4kL6S8d2_Eo8TsJ6Jx0YxvD7jB05tZZiNCvCEd0K2c6FCRwq01OUINAskgADTSlAFRaOgdV7/w640-h456/IMG_20240126_081757.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Generally,
I'm quite happy with this. It doesn't quite have the fine detail of
an actual toy car, but I'm sure that would come with practice. At
present, this is more an exaggerated "heroic scale", the
sort of detail easily understood in play. I probably made things
difficult in jumping straight to exposed crew too. I could have
probably have got away with a little mesh box or similar for the crew
compartment, which I'm inclined to try for the next one. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOuDdmG7g_MqhtjgOxXgul8oZaUDR-IX_LSgAnFl8sEbYyEqyp8c8BTwWUi9V_YALhM8Vr8a9FvgtJuBwMzBE_aoWxbK22C_psVJmDnuCgrxwQigxuxk1b_PV_shx4QMELXYPrHQWz34h9rvlIaaIqcDSIpoB6K777dmJuPcaodgZZnYCEcTwg0LW6PtvW/s2723/IMG_20240126_081745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1904" data-original-width="2723" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOuDdmG7g_MqhtjgOxXgul8oZaUDR-IX_LSgAnFl8sEbYyEqyp8c8BTwWUi9V_YALhM8Vr8a9FvgtJuBwMzBE_aoWxbK22C_psVJmDnuCgrxwQigxuxk1b_PV_shx4QMELXYPrHQWz34h9rvlIaaIqcDSIpoB6K777dmJuPcaodgZZnYCEcTwg0LW6PtvW/w640-h448/IMG_20240126_081745.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /> </span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jobs
a good 'un. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_JqH63gkDcYTo0emUlKOhNJP9-tpYnrJJuLHMekkpcDYKw71X6k9-Cmf8dhKwElicwjwIlM9BkPdadbm4VqMhx91_HN9cXKen_3jGzL7IFDeI22EFWa5jcwv1Fk8bOMxwvaeYLWcR4keDqJ-YZ0ry5ltkcSedCG4V_hFEs9UmqulQwUzxcKnDYMQsRcZO/s2515/IMG_20240121_083610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1972" data-original-width="2515" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_JqH63gkDcYTo0emUlKOhNJP9-tpYnrJJuLHMekkpcDYKw71X6k9-Cmf8dhKwElicwjwIlM9BkPdadbm4VqMhx91_HN9cXKen_3jGzL7IFDeI22EFWa5jcwv1Fk8bOMxwvaeYLWcR4keDqJ-YZ0ry5ltkcSedCG4V_hFEs9UmqulQwUzxcKnDYMQsRcZO/s320/IMG_20240121_083610.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /> </span>
<p></p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-50353708905265461882024-02-01T08:30:00.013+00:002024-02-01T08:30:00.142+00:00Transformers: Retire Studio Series<p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And now, an old man yells at a cloud...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyqBATciBOhtQD-FenqHqEnavjZefpWIULUFTAMZtbegSXUbFhtEvF2XJJE5X6p68SnE7Y9ByUoZ_R7EPxvNk8TK-YbnIoJefIdwwIf1FOxn0dF4uePXG5dUReoTO6iavWBAzomcwoWo5ctyvfpKnFpVknqSLyMdDq7U1wib69drpmcr29W1nBh1V_gUi/s900/transformer-studio-series-logo_1610998428694.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyqBATciBOhtQD-FenqHqEnavjZefpWIULUFTAMZtbegSXUbFhtEvF2XJJE5X6p68SnE7Y9ByUoZ_R7EPxvNk8TK-YbnIoJefIdwwIf1FOxn0dF4uePXG5dUReoTO6iavWBAzomcwoWo5ctyvfpKnFpVknqSLyMdDq7U1wib69drpmcr29W1nBh1V_gUi/w640-h200/transformer-studio-series-logo_1610998428694.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <span style="font-family: arial;"></span><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Things tend to rattle around in my
brain. I’ll have an idea, run through it, write some of it down,
and, on occasion, shelve it. Sometimes you don’t like the first
draft, or you forget it in favour of more interesting things.
Sometimes, the article gets unpacked after I remember it, or I feel
that I need to fill a slot. So, here we are today, with an article
that’s a bit of both. An article whose conceit may be both tritely
obvious and inflammatory. I put it to you, dear reader, that Studio
Series no longer serves a distinct purpose, and is in fact merely an
imprint of whatever collectors line Hasbro is doing that year. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXeOQcnVqE9OinJwq7pfO6m3Etu1kI-suzG9raqPBc7yAgRwlYRBxCZFf4UxSs7CHH6SV_QsQ_ye34iA67DwLxNKzV_iLRnqzY-TMwhShofC6lcrD82RMgWbG1i2S4xC404IQakmo7-DxaH-Auq8ENT718pUxGXc0ZsetBLsUpJGiTfEJ0Iox_VTUBV3Q/s2036/Studio-Series-MV5-39-Deluxe-Cogman.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1049" data-original-width="2036" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXeOQcnVqE9OinJwq7pfO6m3Etu1kI-suzG9raqPBc7yAgRwlYRBxCZFf4UxSs7CHH6SV_QsQ_ye34iA67DwLxNKzV_iLRnqzY-TMwhShofC6lcrD82RMgWbG1i2S4xC404IQakmo7-DxaH-Auq8ENT718pUxGXc0ZsetBLsUpJGiTfEJ0Iox_VTUBV3Q/w640-h330/Studio-Series-MV5-39-Deluxe-Cogman.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Studio
Series Cogman, <a href="https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Cogman#Studio_Series">2019</a></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So,
context and history. Studio Series is part of the all encompassing
Generations block of collector aimed Transformers. It's stated goal
was to appeal to fans of the live action films with high fidelity,
premium toys matching the big screen as much as possible. Studio
Series kicked off in 2018, the films having been an ongoing concern
for a decade or so at that point, so there was definitely an audience
for such a thing. More over, there was something of a need for
do-overs. The original bayverse designs were infamously complex,
which was something the toy people took a while to overcome. Some
characters weren't well-served or lost in the shuffle. As time
progressed, Hasbro opted to divide movie stuff into two, simple merch
for kids, and more complex stuff for serious toy fans. The latter
evolved into Studio Series, offering the chance of a do-over for some
many characters. Studio Series was a fundamentally good idea then,
catering to market I personally wasn't in, but entirely justifiable.
The first toys appeared shortly after The Last Knight line wrapped
up, actually inheriting a couple of moulds, the titanmaster-based
Nitro Zeus and Cogman moulds. This was something of an odd blip now I
come to think of it. The entire headmaster thing was something cut
from the film, so it's kinda odd that they were in Studio Series. I
mention it as it I need to bring up a fundamental point about Hasbro
Transformers, which explains that and many similar oddities.
Generations, be it Studio Series, Legacy, Kingdom, Earthrise, Siege
or whatever, are all ultimately the same toy line. It's melange,
spread across varying price points and imprints, but still ultimately
from the same place and matching product numbers. I know I bring that
up whenever I do opinion pieces on <a href=" https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2022/05/transformers-legacy-of-siege.html">toylines</a>, but it is vital context.
So, other than those two early reuses, Studio Series was generally
fulfilling it's brief, jumping up and down the timeline like
Generations usually does. As mentioned, I'm not a movie guy, but they
were doing good work and things people wanted. I mean, doing
Devastator as a team of eight, spread across the deluxe, voyager and
even leader pricepoints? That's pretty awesome.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvWWOuvGV2gQpjpEl27elTPqb4c4SFw8Zwf2RAAFN8GodReJA-M9C2u7FfaFhQcQ0kGQ8ZTgBca4GKVwLtlxsLek1Bc_N0xQPAcZlaLJB2nBmz5quWD_0CFW6KnOU-PX7kDy-H7b7wo43KcWHzAD78zGf00LBZprfNpZ2VbeeuBBGfaO2PsNAqLcPBaMub/s1147/SS-toy_Grimlock_86.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1147" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvWWOuvGV2gQpjpEl27elTPqb4c4SFw8Zwf2RAAFN8GodReJA-M9C2u7FfaFhQcQ0kGQ8ZTgBca4GKVwLtlxsLek1Bc_N0xQPAcZlaLJB2nBmz5quWD_0CFW6KnOU-PX7kDy-H7b7wo43KcWHzAD78zGf00LBZprfNpZ2VbeeuBBGfaO2PsNAqLcPBaMub/w640-h390/SS-toy_Grimlock_86.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Studio
Series 86 Grimlock, (and an awful Wheelie), <a href="https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Grimlock_(G1)/toys#Studio_Series">2021</a></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mind
you, simple reality would soon catch up with Studio Seried. Come the
time of the Bumblebee film, not even two years after Studio Series
started, Studio Series had already made a significant dent in the
bayverse roster. As much as I like that film, Hasbro seemed less
invested this time around, and wasn't going as hard on the merch. So
Studio Series stopped being purely about nostalgia and do-overs, and
became the premium bit of a movie line for a while. And it
immediately fucked up. The initial three toys for the tie-in,
Bumblebee, car mode Shatter, and helicopter mode Dropkick, we're
based off outdated character models and thus had an only passing
resemblance to the film. This defeated the entire point of Studio
Series. And maybe they should have put the line on hiatus then, but
they didn't. Instead they did two things. First off, they remembered
the 1986 movie was also a film, so they could do actual Generation 1
characters too. Its the Generations Grabbag again, its things
spilling over. Then they chose to do a toy for each character
featured in the Cybertron scenes of the Bumblebee movie, a few brief
minutes of fanservice with G1-adjacent designs. Because that was what
we needed, when <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2022/05/transformers-earthrise-me.html">Earthrise</a> had been fully G1. And Cyberverse was
doing G1 but YouTube. And Kingdom being half G1 stuff. For Studio
Series to alternate between actual G1, and characters that looked G1,
but had mere seconds of screentime originating in reshoots.<br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZ2-qWsboz2uyU-O5IfWAoz-mySDCQQU_jAGN780L2OkOnOlIvJ-TUJ4j5HdTKheXHncQgJiOrbodNEpvZxbCV5yy-de6FPg9j-GxyPeiLRsqux5XIuOY3FrcJo-2TdPObNczJMCX7BfdKBm_AaUf8WdRvyQVuor0DjPU85pKD2390KwcPMeKoPvXLiRj/s500/tumblr_n67tfd7arw1rse905o1_500.gif" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZ2-qWsboz2uyU-O5IfWAoz-mySDCQQU_jAGN780L2OkOnOlIvJ-TUJ4j5HdTKheXHncQgJiOrbodNEpvZxbCV5yy-de6FPg9j-GxyPeiLRsqux5XIuOY3FrcJo-2TdPObNczJMCX7BfdKBm_AaUf8WdRvyQVuor0DjPU85pKD2390KwcPMeKoPvXLiRj/s16000/tumblr_n67tfd7arw1rse905o1_500.gif" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg910YlKEMeKzNUEdZmQtvSM2SwrAzm-ekpPgq-GSWjI120h2YQQxHoY2R1yDM0dpgcZER9BZTx5V39QxolTOVswbXOyIscaR7uSjonfmRiF9Vq0avByQQT75MI6R5X6v6itoUUnC43tQPkfFGohosnwL2sUk261AWuXhgNRn5rLBOphKIRO22ieyOmHY9F/s3200/TF-ROTB-Rhinox-Voyager.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="3200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg910YlKEMeKzNUEdZmQtvSM2SwrAzm-ekpPgq-GSWjI120h2YQQxHoY2R1yDM0dpgcZER9BZTx5V39QxolTOVswbXOyIscaR7uSjonfmRiF9Vq0avByQQT75MI6R5X6v6itoUUnC43tQPkfFGohosnwL2sUk261AWuXhgNRn5rLBOphKIRO22ieyOmHY9F/w640-h320/TF-ROTB-Rhinox-Voyager.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
mainline Voyager class Rhinox toy, <a href="https://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:TF-ROTB-Rhinox-Voyager.jpg">2023</a> </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In all fairness, I did like that <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2022/10/transformers-studio-series-brawn-is.html">Brawn</a>. <i>Anyways</i>, like
I said Studio Series and Generations are the same thing. Anyways this
continued for a bit, until we catch up with the near past. Studio
Series would bide its time for a while, doing the most G1 of G1
stuff, until the new film happened, Rise of the Beasts. This had been
subject to delays and reshoots, and was a little bland as movies go.
Toyline mishaps also happened, as its arguable star Mirage was
largely forgotten, in favour of the usual suspects. There was also
two sets of "proper" movie tie-ins, one doing fun stuff
like battlemasters and Studio Series releases seemingly benefiting from the
delays. For some reason, the deluxe and voyager price points were
present in both, competing with each other. <b>Why?!</b> Did the delays mess things up so bad? Was Hasbro trying to double dip and got the timing wrong? Regardless,
‘beasts came, did pretty much everybody, and went with an almost
spectacular lack of lasting impact. Even the TFNation dealers room
was noticeably light on beasts stuff, and that should have been a
gimme. I mean, that might just be my experience, ancedotes are not evidence, but I suppose the box office wasn't great was it? <i>If it had took, we'd be swimming in beastformers.</i> That's another story though. Then we got some video game stuff, the so-called Gamer
Edition, which are, um, not <i>top tier</i>? Then we got the reveals
that got me writing this the first place, way back in November, the
toys based on concept art. Which, by definition, aren’t on screen.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDErVt3iD4VI7P1S1P5wXQVYOV0cChFS8wLTs57ZoBAcEg4bDs0fCyNyGdu_yMjfRqNsbtzGXWZqxDYIfi5gCVMn31WhP5yctvkTyLW6CccpP-IQO7lDR2mOCEwScM6T4FLFyd9AMOj3xBmi-n87DOj-yr_UfXKJ8LpWjAKvzT3ncySQxSm06-_uoQsTxN/s2001/TF-Studio-Series-Concept-Megatron.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1061" data-original-width="2001" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDErVt3iD4VI7P1S1P5wXQVYOV0cChFS8wLTs57ZoBAcEg4bDs0fCyNyGdu_yMjfRqNsbtzGXWZqxDYIfi5gCVMn31WhP5yctvkTyLW6CccpP-IQO7lDR2mOCEwScM6T4FLFyd9AMOj3xBmi-n87DOj-yr_UfXKJ8LpWjAKvzT3ncySQxSm06-_uoQsTxN/w640-h340/TF-Studio-Series-Concept-Megatron.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Stock
image of Concept Art Megatron, <a href="https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Megatron_(Movie)/toys#SSConcept">unreleased at time of writing</a></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So,
where do I stand on this? Well, I feel conflicted. The
concept art Megatron is honestly fascinating as a piece. It's what
could have been, and is a triplechanger, so it should be fun to mess
with. If I saw it on sale, I'd be tempted. Then again, and this is
the autistic bit of my brain talking, what is Studio Series for if
its not slavishly matching media? Doing a concept art toy in Studio
Series is a contradiction in terms. So what I'd suggest here is
either a pause or a rebrand, or some combination of both. Studio
Series has had a good run, but the bottom of the barrel is not only
visible, but showing scratch marks. You could rebrand it as
"boutique" or similar, and concentrate on the difficult and
interesting. Or, you could retire it for a year or two, let people
grow to miss it, and come back with fresh eyes. Or they could just
continue as they are, just treading water until the next film comes
out. And with that, eventually, they’d have to think about doing
Skids and Mudflap.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
no sane person wants that.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqg1paorJFAF-Vnt1euUHi2BmxnpZ5IYvKatMLPwUtTPl1sAPmxgBuGeylsOoJuZc8wb68MY2lXiOB10RMzmYua0TDOXfMOaibVrkSiFCEzgWi2e4sEeB2LnCnGX_HjPhhEEdw1l_0mt_7JkdjPSHY09qrOsf6ND3bKLbws9rPdPYHZkW89c8AZss7sdUp/s760/ROTF_movie_SkidsMudflap_bigmother.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="760" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqg1paorJFAF-Vnt1euUHi2BmxnpZ5IYvKatMLPwUtTPl1sAPmxgBuGeylsOoJuZc8wb68MY2lXiOB10RMzmYua0TDOXfMOaibVrkSiFCEzgWi2e4sEeB2LnCnGX_HjPhhEEdw1l_0mt_7JkdjPSHY09qrOsf6ND3bKLbws9rPdPYHZkW89c8AZss7sdUp/w640-h466/ROTF_movie_SkidsMudflap_bigmother.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"></span>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-57328562423114001382024-01-30T08:30:00.044+00:002024-01-31T08:56:48.460+00:00Project Tankbustas: Part 5<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Part 5, sorry, its a brief one.Things have been a bit of a rollercoaster since <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2024/01/project-tankbustas-part-4.html">part 4</a>, I must say.<br /></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">OK,
sometimes you try something, in the knowledge that it is an interim
step, and it just don't work. I had planned to experiment in Das
Clay, and hopefully learn something useful. The main thing I learned
was that Das Clay behaves very differently from green stuff, and
probably just isn't meant for 28mm sculpture. It's not without its
merits as a material, scenery for example, but it's ill-suited for
this project. A shame, as clay is the classical material for
prototypes.<i> Anyways,</i> I moved on to <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2024/01/project-tankbustas-part-1.html">stage 6</a>, and tried to
freeform a Squig. Here I made a crude armature from wire and tinfoil,
and proceeded to feel things out. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzhhsLwTYGryjpFEWBE80ZRVXvnvFE8QUdAFTr5i9URVX8z1E8zfxiHpmuI__87u3PWp9XKkNjoQu-jO-y5EClpHZg_6XFT4MDh5PoiUaIxTxv2l3OHhNXgGXnG7sMpZ3nbCAJYvVQL-87kDorpeiTudxwncnlljxLFmMhuqczGgUq6XVhqVVVi1QMc_X/s1905/IMG_20240124_084831.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1775" data-original-width="1905" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzhhsLwTYGryjpFEWBE80ZRVXvnvFE8QUdAFTr5i9URVX8z1E8zfxiHpmuI__87u3PWp9XKkNjoQu-jO-y5EClpHZg_6XFT4MDh5PoiUaIxTxv2l3OHhNXgGXnG7sMpZ3nbCAJYvVQL-87kDorpeiTudxwncnlljxLFmMhuqczGgUq6XVhqVVVi1QMc_X/w640-h596/IMG_20240124_084831.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My
habit for rushed hyper fixation was evident almost immediately with
this guy, as I initially just wanted to get a base layer of putty on,
but I ended up going for a face. And applying a half-remembered
technique for fur. Not bad for a first try, I suppose, although he
looks more surprised than anything. My second attempt used thinner
wire, but more pre-existing bits in its construction. I used a bead
and a water pistol bit for the main body, and some round bits for the
eyes. This was more immediately pleasing than the first, although it
ended up with a derpy pug look. I added fur and other details later
on. Kinda liking it TBH, maybe I'll paint it for next week. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lEcervvRYxuUVifkKeQZ3eAaWlzFos8ZKtvO6y-c06sHzogKKukEVNhYTnkX2bi4O88I8HetF4oGABHbvuN3Fq9aSaXFzHqB1XPNLI7Ll00AXodvHr8BG3pNz7ta7wSuLuQ7bzbXWl65A5Lcp4-grtb4Z12wf83-KALCYBW8sGeO-5zNyRFVC-ZtbjC4/s1904/IMG_20240128_091530.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1712" data-original-width="1904" height="576" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lEcervvRYxuUVifkKeQZ3eAaWlzFos8ZKtvO6y-c06sHzogKKukEVNhYTnkX2bi4O88I8HetF4oGABHbvuN3Fq9aSaXFzHqB1XPNLI7Ll00AXodvHr8BG3pNz7ta7wSuLuQ7bzbXWl65A5Lcp4-grtb4Z12wf83-KALCYBW8sGeO-5zNyRFVC-ZtbjC4/w640-h576/IMG_20240128_091530.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_Xx4qQwzVovOOmankCMnhaUTGIDfIZcOEH5OTjtEqZqRm8qm30S5S40G4QZXxuLDmMfGKAM9XnuXQDoaFegS8GT4AEzH5NAXGQpDjIFCQRx1LX2G5cVUYOVhMMA2W3X-g_YS9ZHhmHPLznyIOkU1WBz8DjaO2CvXVPQpvAqXc0D5A_hev2WD5vCGA-R6/s1880/IMG_20240128_091938.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1880" data-original-width="1721" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE_Xx4qQwzVovOOmankCMnhaUTGIDfIZcOEH5OTjtEqZqRm8qm30S5S40G4QZXxuLDmMfGKAM9XnuXQDoaFegS8GT4AEzH5NAXGQpDjIFCQRx1LX2G5cVUYOVhMMA2W3X-g_YS9ZHhmHPLznyIOkU1WBz8DjaO2CvXVPQpvAqXc0D5A_hev2WD5vCGA-R6/w586-h640/IMG_20240128_091938.jpg" width="586" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As
I'm still feeling this out, I don't have a huge amount to say here.
So here's some in-progress pics, hopefully I'll have something more
substantive next week. Cheers for now.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiABvJ64IEjSrKB5FI9dNcsh9HEoFm1-qdwO9nKZIigIefLH0Dt2VY8AmC08Cy3aBglJqFxfvRO9S22W4QnkXpiR_gxLyFs7m-zb8CalNou-PDROSCjz7sOCg2l9UsafSjIFbYtPP4vRVCSV1LFtDn9BV8oGZuJewEb2gdTsfRVNBO-sNE0omTBQ5fPqhVR/s4160/IMG_20240122_134539.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiABvJ64IEjSrKB5FI9dNcsh9HEoFm1-qdwO9nKZIigIefLH0Dt2VY8AmC08Cy3aBglJqFxfvRO9S22W4QnkXpiR_gxLyFs7m-zb8CalNou-PDROSCjz7sOCg2l9UsafSjIFbYtPP4vRVCSV1LFtDn9BV8oGZuJewEb2gdTsfRVNBO-sNE0omTBQ5fPqhVR/w640-h480/IMG_20240122_134539.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSm4jCvzu8aU6StAWge7ukyD5ny-uGG03LBI3UkE-we5XcivFqE6R_oxJrfZpInAxmroM0vbaeousQ6hnxDN2ifZp_TP9c0zH1WIiF2BG_NZYkkQ3O68zQ2NRrqsa2H81WOa2wjQWmXXsIsMXWOSAxSkjpx5UTtlbXubtitibomuOqlmDImSDqNAVs29E/s4160/IMG_20240122_134543.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSm4jCvzu8aU6StAWge7ukyD5ny-uGG03LBI3UkE-we5XcivFqE6R_oxJrfZpInAxmroM0vbaeousQ6hnxDN2ifZp_TP9c0zH1WIiF2BG_NZYkkQ3O68zQ2NRrqsa2H81WOa2wjQWmXXsIsMXWOSAxSkjpx5UTtlbXubtitibomuOqlmDImSDqNAVs29E/w640-h480/IMG_20240122_134543.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitcfh6zDob6r5XzSkJSXJe_akVJ-tKAOEVqVvBJjBJ1YuPAsl-8EFQxdFMPAvHKKab67WE8TLlTr-_ySGbvzwU1YnMV8q9u0iqZk7dmy5DKj4i6RnVsdu3XsUZ_A6b-usLNMIDSurBEp0ShVxViylA9VF1O-97bm_wvBm9z1_pfZ8clz0SHhdBcCudoQYo/s1654/IMG_20240126_081721.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1446" data-original-width="1654" height="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitcfh6zDob6r5XzSkJSXJe_akVJ-tKAOEVqVvBJjBJ1YuPAsl-8EFQxdFMPAvHKKab67WE8TLlTr-_ySGbvzwU1YnMV8q9u0iqZk7dmy5DKj4i6RnVsdu3XsUZ_A6b-usLNMIDSurBEp0ShVxViylA9VF1O-97bm_wvBm9z1_pfZ8clz0SHhdBcCudoQYo/w640-h560/IMG_20240126_081721.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></p>Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-75181306898673733222024-01-28T08:30:00.031+00:002024-01-28T08:30:00.389+00:00Gunpla: The RGC-83 GM Cannon II (HG)<p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjEBaxrPzQ8XK4kYaGbZXvdWB5mCpef108EtCi9TrTzqoywqWslckqke3gbKs3Xj3U-L5Shc4aJ5jHciRbz6eElm0onH3aW9c9QJRKdhtv9_fA4aj_M9sOydP1xq3i4ZVe047cWzxKhwcp1AkG8eTnMm2xA4XSBmDt2a-W5fkarf6Svr_HcWqPoLivtL0I/s3300/IMG_20231205_140006.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3300" data-original-width="2382" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjEBaxrPzQ8XK4kYaGbZXvdWB5mCpef108EtCi9TrTzqoywqWslckqke3gbKs3Xj3U-L5Shc4aJ5jHciRbz6eElm0onH3aW9c9QJRKdhtv9_fA4aj_M9sOydP1xq3i4ZVe047cWzxKhwcp1AkG8eTnMm2xA4XSBmDt2a-W5fkarf6Svr_HcWqPoLivtL0I/w462-h640/IMG_20231205_140006.jpg" width="462" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">As I have alluded to in the past, one of the things about the Gundam franchise is that it likes to return to the well. Bandai is very inclined to revisit the original Universal Century and especially the One Year War timeline, bolting on new narratives for a new line of kits. On some level, there's space for this, as your typical Gundam anime features a world war and its aftershocks, but it becomes a failure of realism after a while. People desperately seem to want the Federation and Zeon to go another round, but that can't really happen without skipping forwards a few generations. So what the U.C storyline looks like instead is a series of increasingly spiteful terrorist actions committed by Nazi remnants whom lack the resources for a proper war, with the Federation being required to hold the idiot ball to enable that, until that entire generation finally dies off, and lets their grandkids make new mistakes. It is equal parts bleak and pathetic, and I can't help but see the business practices that created this, rather than any narrative justification. Don't worry, I am edging towards my point. Today's subject, the GM Cannon II is from the OVA Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, set in the gap between the first two Gundam TV shows. 0083 is likely the purest example of the trends I described above, it featuring a Zeon fleet for whom the war hadn't ended, whom steal a nuclear-armed Gundam in an attempt to get bullets firing in anger again. It's been a good while since I last tried to watch it, but 0083 is probably my least favourite of its ilk. It tries very hard to forge new links between the various Gundam instalments, but it's not great as a stand-alone story, with much behind the scenes aggro. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nrDg_4p5syVGUjsZoakqWcoNVsRUIC8YpW3OFutNd5Lp6wyAzyQL7xLfKxbJ0vRW49_EHCJfB4psp2YDH_sqoC8BmXAcOCM7GuH3WDhXkBpj3237lFLMoHuh16ECqB29v4Ig5cDiCQhHcB5BQ6GdjQ1383UGvGpUtklIkAvz0NowEdrU9YI5Bi9t5a_m/s2975/IMG_20231205_135847.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2975" data-original-width="2831" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9nrDg_4p5syVGUjsZoakqWcoNVsRUIC8YpW3OFutNd5Lp6wyAzyQL7xLfKxbJ0vRW49_EHCJfB4psp2YDH_sqoC8BmXAcOCM7GuH3WDhXkBpj3237lFLMoHuh16ECqB29v4Ig5cDiCQhHcB5BQ6GdjQ1383UGvGpUtklIkAvz0NowEdrU9YI5Bi9t5a_m/w610-h640/IMG_20231205_135847.jpg" width="610" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The
GM Cannon IIs place in all this is to be a kind of multi-layered
nostalgia hit. Its there to take the place of the old Guncannon, whose
concept never really made it into the franchise template, as artillery
is less cinematic than the series norm. It did inspire the GM Cannon
however, which was part of the "gunpla first" Mobile Suit Variations
thing, which sought to do things like mine layers and trainers, stuff
for the serious scale modeller Gundam had attracted. The GM Cannon II
was both a nod to that, and another OVA spin off, War in the Pocket.
Specifically, it inherited the armour concept from the Gundam NT1
"Alex", although a little changed, a shield based on the one used by the
GM Command sub-family, and some details reminiscent of the Guncannon
Mass Production Type I've <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2020/07/gunpla-rx-77d-guncannon-mass-production.html">built previously</a>.
It also shares parts with the GM Custom, as does the kit, a walking
misnomer that 0083 also features, but that's another story. That also
explains the mismatched colours of our subject. As an in-universe
concept though, it's probably fair to say that mobile suits like this
were ageing into obsolescence. The preponderance and proliferation of
energy weapons with the apparent death of Combined Arms Warfare meant
there was simply less call for something like this. Mobile suits are
basically jet fighters not tanks. The GM Cannon II is however a design
I'm inclined to like, fiction be damned. I'm fond of big, chonky
bastards that look like they can trade injuries with the best of them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-dpeum_bkjgkD3DMiNNvPgA7XSbjzGQw3YChVMogVGMhabIbFB_iWModpzJixuAK7LjesjYVmpOMmpTgvbX9X89dXFdWdj_44Uo2uE43wbC1ilUgh9cjwfdgLfjwsGHbmnLFuDiukp5mSBcDjDzI4Dw92qzruYf6CO6vdOPmxrG12QvHtUG3GqgQfK-V/s3243/IMG_20231205_135927.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2411" data-original-width="3243" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-dpeum_bkjgkD3DMiNNvPgA7XSbjzGQw3YChVMogVGMhabIbFB_iWModpzJixuAK7LjesjYVmpOMmpTgvbX9X89dXFdWdj_44Uo2uE43wbC1ilUgh9cjwfdgLfjwsGHbmnLFuDiukp5mSBcDjDzI4Dw92qzruYf6CO6vdOPmxrG12QvHtUG3GqgQfK-V/w640-h476/IMG_20231205_135927.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br />As far as older kits go, this high grade is pretty good. Its based on polycaps, but the joint design is fairly comprehensive, and almost luxurious in the ankles. There’s actually six(!) hands, with a little stand on one of the runner dto store the spares. You also get two blades for the beam sabre that stores on the left arm, which TBH is exactly the sorta corner you’d expect to be cut. Its main weakness is in the are of colour accuracy, this being one of those designs that has red thrusters and a sticker sheet, which I misplaced at some point. I’d started this kit, forgot about it, and only came back to it when I needed to dogsit for someone. Dunno what I was thinking at the time, its a nice build. When I was snowed-in later that week, I went in to paint some details, use a gundam marker, and apply some weathering techniques.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8cuoL5uvN7iiPhH72gqFU80EHzRvEkgJZLZRnVa1IjhzOpKNG9nw1rmHBsDndeDzZE88HCoLQvW9EZI1mrS8yXf8roQzteyzygvnatNw4lsCxvZw7dONOK17km_6ujK-L4DK_Ny5mOkZ6Z8LUqQjMzPpRVOZZJSWYv6WJ9CP0lh-b4Bc6Jtd7tT8ah_h/s3094/IMG_20231205_140037.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3094" data-original-width="2543" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8cuoL5uvN7iiPhH72gqFU80EHzRvEkgJZLZRnVa1IjhzOpKNG9nw1rmHBsDndeDzZE88HCoLQvW9EZI1mrS8yXf8roQzteyzygvnatNw4lsCxvZw7dONOK17km_6ujK-L4DK_Ny5mOkZ6Z8LUqQjMzPpRVOZZJSWYv6WJ9CP0lh-b4Bc6Jtd7tT8ah_h/w526-h640/IMG_20231205_140037.jpg" width="526" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br />Its not my most complex work, but job’s a good ‘un.</span>Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-79442473297892385242024-01-25T08:30:00.017+00:002024-01-25T08:30:00.129+00:00Transformers: Generations Selects DK-3 Breaker is Something That Exists<p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><p></p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You know what? Another Thursday Transformers bonus article! </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPNbA0fnDPuf3wPnQTsW1fOpA1H4WMcZPxiulyf-ZglcWjIJ_OdBTOC6WTFdburObz0Ao5Viw1lEEgg1Z-IDODDkrA21dykt-Jzwu4wqDh3v-ebHp15_vAsqjiiY1YSKRuJdsvd66Kh7rf3baLA21BFjk8oJqIJaUTadDyC9rFIZcxBtsP6hgtymG82fA/s1042/DiacloneTrailbreaker.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="1042" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPNbA0fnDPuf3wPnQTsW1fOpA1H4WMcZPxiulyf-ZglcWjIJ_OdBTOC6WTFdburObz0Ao5Viw1lEEgg1Z-IDODDkrA21dykt-Jzwu4wqDh3v-ebHp15_vAsqjiiY1YSKRuJdsvd66Kh7rf3baLA21BFjk8oJqIJaUTadDyC9rFIZcxBtsP6hgtymG82fA/w640-h452/DiacloneTrailbreaker.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The <a href="https://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:DiacloneTrailbreaker.jpg">1982</a> Diaclone "No. 5 4WD Hilux" Toy, blue and yellow variants.</span><br /></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: arial;">So, last year, I was at the <a href=" https://www.bpfairs.com/nec-birmingham">Brum Toy Fair</a>,
enjoying the company of the people I was with, and spending money. I
spotted today's subject on discount, and felt tempted. This was a
mould I'd completely missed out on during the chaos of <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2022/05/transformers-earthrise-me.html">Earthrise</a>. I
did some more browsing, and made a shocking discovery, loose examples
of Hoist and Trailbreaker, the mass market releases, were going for
equal or greater money. At that point, the random <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/search/label/Diaclone">Diaclone</a>-inspired
repaint from a premium imprint seemed like the obvious choice. I'd
just pretend that it was "faded comic colours Trailbreaker",
or maybe the Shattered Glass version, and I'm sure you'd come to the
same conclusion in similar circumstances. Something making that
easier is simply that Breaker isn’t a character with any real
history, even by the standards of Diaclone tribute toys. This is the
first Transformers toy with this name, and his only fictional
appearance is to be named-checked as somebody whom died off-page in a
comic. Possibly the only trivia of note is the "DK-3"
prefix on his name, a reference to Diakron, which was Takara trying
to release Diaclone stuff in Western markets mere months before
Transformers got going. As such, I’m gonna be spending a lot of
time referring to the other uses of the mould, and how they came to
effect this one.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqc-51iVzCAF5TCbPZbads_3p5tmp3VjW4crdpT2DywvELU12PffWUuf6o2B4YJyKHMSdsFLOLUhkIlP6RYJT-rAqd-5AmUwVnjNVBbOO8Z-AawnFfJs-rr1-0DKzZjW3BPuVg8JA4jMz0aTlZL7DOlwBsvOo1DxTf0UxEL3aEI8dgGe04wV6yxd75TCyL/s3364/IMG_20231003_093552.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3364" data-original-width="2568" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqc-51iVzCAF5TCbPZbads_3p5tmp3VjW4crdpT2DywvELU12PffWUuf6o2B4YJyKHMSdsFLOLUhkIlP6RYJT-rAqd-5AmUwVnjNVBbOO8Z-AawnFfJs-rr1-0DKzZjW3BPuVg8JA4jMz0aTlZL7DOlwBsvOo1DxTf0UxEL3aEI8dgGe04wV6yxd75TCyL/w488-h640/IMG_20231003_093552.jpg" width="488" /></a></div><br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
robot form is undoubtedly good, if merely Trailbreaker in blue. This
is because the original Diaclone toys in this case were simple, one
colour, variants of each-other and Hasbro haven't done anything to
mix up the formula here. As Trailbreaker is therefore so evident in
the toy, this prompts a discussion of character models. So, what
often happened with the original Transformers is that their
appearance in animation and comics was often wildly different from
the toys they were meant to be. When the 1985 toys came out though,
something odd occurred. The new character models were often a fair
bit closer to the toys, but also retools of the 1984 cast. So while
the toys might be near identical, fictionally they definitely
weren't. This was weird. Trailbreaker and Hoist were a good example
of this, and reimaginings since have had to tread the needle between
these conflicting depictions while still being able to release them
as the same basic toy. What seems to have gone down with this
Earthrise mould is that the designers favoured Hoist, and treated
Trailbreaker as the secondary retool. This has the ever-so-slight
downside of Trailbreaker having Hoist's "friend-shaped"
proportions rather than a heroic build. And, let's be real here,
Earthrise was going hard on the whole cartoon accuracy shtick, so
this choice was a self-defeating one. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJxyey7pQS61TOUn9goZjgoUIRmGEak7pUgLO6B3Tpid0hQmul3E4lo5JiQtbpOkXZxYzfp5WwdeJQqYVsfp82eU2QH68isp5TC_I0B1tCsHaRBC4oyoJ-THgGDlfCX1RGbpw7cR4G7AXGROb_fFdWbGL997MJHTR0GKJEpnpQ4L_RtewqSgIULnKgvbU/s3403/IMG_20231003_093654_1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3403" data-original-width="2951" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCJxyey7pQS61TOUn9goZjgoUIRmGEak7pUgLO6B3Tpid0hQmul3E4lo5JiQtbpOkXZxYzfp5WwdeJQqYVsfp82eU2QH68isp5TC_I0B1tCsHaRBC4oyoJ-THgGDlfCX1RGbpw7cR4G7AXGROb_fFdWbGL997MJHTR0GKJEpnpQ4L_RtewqSgIULnKgvbU/w554-h640/IMG_20231003_093654_1.jpg" width="554" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That
doesn't really matter as far as Breaker is concerned, he's a blank
slate, but I offer the above as context and explanation. Breaker is a
big chap, being a head taller and visibly wider than a deluxe of
similar vintage. He’s not quite voyager sized, but definitely is
edging that way. His gut-to-biceps ratio makes him look more fat than
muscular, and in all fairness this is a bit of welcome variation. Not
every Transformer needs the mechanical equivalent of washboard abs
The blue is very attractive, with vibrant silver and red in the mix.
There is a certain degree of overt hollowness at play though,
something not uncommon for his vintage, definitely on the notable
side here. It's where the impression of size comes from while still
being a deluxe. Functionally, he's got a lot of the good stuff,
Legacy standard articulation and the 5mm ports are plentiful. Due to
a transformation quirk he technically has two sets of knees, which is
useful, although the shoulder gubbins do limit the neck. His gun
completely covers his fist, giving a nice gunarm, and you can untab
part of the backpack to use as a shield. Certainly not a bad robot
mode, with both presence and play features.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECs13J5Iw7KdNOYR9QX5Qvf0KixBp7T9_ADoqrV_iMxeHZaclRPJ1FqSx9XlrNaXR7k2sf1zr9IV4X7t7fNs7-pHYr1SSauOdK1-5irZg9LmTNRjrjQs3r6ZBVn0__HOx-PsoMq-sANFQ1QdoVEStlEo9C1JZBt8wXeI-_D3TRX6LxLWP2QQgXysQJxRs/s2991/IMG_20231003_094024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2208" data-original-width="2991" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECs13J5Iw7KdNOYR9QX5Qvf0KixBp7T9_ADoqrV_iMxeHZaclRPJ1FqSx9XlrNaXR7k2sf1zr9IV4X7t7fNs7-pHYr1SSauOdK1-5irZg9LmTNRjrjQs3r6ZBVn0__HOx-PsoMq-sANFQ1QdoVEStlEo9C1JZBt8wXeI-_D3TRX6LxLWP2QQgXysQJxRs/w640-h472/IMG_20231003_094024.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Breaker's
altmode is a made-up and blocky camper van, one not dissimilar to the
Toyota 4WD High-Lux of the original toy. That backend area is the
main area of functional difference between the Hoist and Trailbreaker
iterations of this mould, with Breaker obviously using the latter.
Like all good remoulds, this does change the character of the
vehicle, although this does end up benefiting the robot mode more.
Breaker does not feature compatibility with the short-lived airlock
system, but he can instead have his gun on top like an actual turret.
As opposed to just plonking what is obviously a rifle on the vehicle
for storage, or otherwise stowing it. Earthrise toys dialled the 5mm
port thing back a touch, so having the turret option is welcome. You
can also fudge it between the front wheels, if that’s your thing.
The overall appearance of the van tends towards realism, but not from
all angles. The dark colour palette helps a lot with the serious
vehicle bits, but there's a lot of robot on the underside in
contrasting bright colours. The hands are very obvious and ground
clearance is minimal at best. On the plus side, translucent windows
and headlights. Well, I say its a plus, I have a doubt. There is
substantial use of translucent plastic in the chest area, which
becomes the front of the van mode. I assume this is where they made
up the difference for the toy's larger footprint, as opposed being to
more selective in the use of such plastic. Or just simply just
casting the whole bit in matching blue and just painting the damn
windows. It's a breakage concern as the wheels connect to directly to
that famously brittle plastic, and these wheels attach via mushroom peg. Of course translucent plastic isn’t
an inherent negative, and this toy certainly does not have colour
matching issues, so your mileage may vary. It could be fine. Then
again, if you're a toy designer, and you're gonna do the entire front
end in the stuff, only the paint it? I'd say you were probably doing
things the wrong way around, and I hope you've taken preventative
measures.</span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBAzZpHgdpuCB2oMsZaxSJPJWl3OzR-v-Z9E4AgfC26lIf7vaV60m1ob0Aiw_WAxoUuiankh33xSDKzc5A4YV2rIgGqQmofGWT0r0qYdDwTj7asb1J2-IfFaX7SqiOLHtHnmuCUtbC7EEy0D0phHiz74G0hLjBINWjUDqF4otnXYX9ENI2FlbrfPvTmudG/s2542/IMG_20231003_094031.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2542" data-original-width="2484" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBAzZpHgdpuCB2oMsZaxSJPJWl3OzR-v-Z9E4AgfC26lIf7vaV60m1ob0Aiw_WAxoUuiankh33xSDKzc5A4YV2rIgGqQmofGWT0r0qYdDwTj7asb1J2-IfFaX7SqiOLHtHnmuCUtbC7EEy0D0phHiz74G0hLjBINWjUDqF4otnXYX9ENI2FlbrfPvTmudG/w626-h640/IMG_20231003_094031.jpg" width="626" /></a></div><br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While
Breaker is clearly something that exists, I want to like it more than
I do. As a repaint of a mould I missed out on, Breaker does have
value. And he is a nice blue. The base toy meanwhile seems to suffer
with some unforced errors. I wonder if Hoist was somebody's pet
project, because the mould is too specific to him, and, <i>sorry to
bang on about it</i>, the use of translucent plastic like this is
something they know <b>not</b> to do. I certainly feel I got my
money’s worth, don't get me wrong, but if you just want a <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2022/11/transformers-legacy-burn-out-is.html">boxy carformer</a>, or merely a Diaclone tribute, there’s other options.<i> </i></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> I mean</i>, there's another Selects version of this mould on the way now, and, <a href="https://news.tfw2005.com/2024/01/17/selects-autobot-multipack-trailbreaker-additional-images-502278">as near as I can tell</a>, they've removed translucent plastic completely for that.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
</div>Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-10994928620680271502024-01-23T08:30:00.018+00:002024-01-23T09:12:38.728+00:00Project Tankbustas: Part 4<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Part </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Quattro Bajeena</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">...</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">The
warrior elite of the Ork race, Nobs are either found leading mobs of
their minions, or in dedicated squads of asskickers. This makes them
the rough equivalent of Sargent-types in other factions, although the
mechanical execution is a bit different. Nobz don't actually improve
the leadership or morale if the squad they lead, rather they are
large and in charge. Physically bigger, generally better stats, and
wielding a big axe or power klaw. It's a bit less special these days,
but Nobz had W2 on their profile, which had them encroaching on the
old HQ slot in terms of raw talent. Even in 10th, the presence of a
Nob is often an active ingredient in a mobs melee potential. As the
name implies, they tend to be dicks. When it comes to Tankbustas,
things go a bit askew. Tankbustas we're originally about using
Tankbusta Boms, <i>guess what they did</i>, up close. Having a Nob in
that situation was beneficial, but over the editions the unit instead
became mainly a shooty one, with unfettered access to rokkits, and
Tankbusta Boms basically vanished. Factor in the "exactly what's
in the box" unit design of 10th, and we have a melee-centric
leader with no melee options and the stock ranged weapon of the unit<i>.
Yay.</i> Maybe he and the Tankhamma lad should swap weapons? You
could just put a rokkit on a big choppa. Not that the Tankhamma lad
by himself makes much sense when the rest of the mob is shooty. An
entire mob with them? That would be hysterical, lethal, and brief.
One by itself? <i>No.</i></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><i> </i> </span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UF7RxfcTumbjeu2Z6SdXtgkNeHSIVq0aZ9i1OVehBt8E64XeaPTv8BdwrnHkrH6W_lEbS-rv05aQKtfVjpxaP0mjvMDC8w4ql6o324REufUNfaERZp1ufDCzyksiKu6cn9pCXOw0Cp2X5TPKQZMIDBTN9Kx6pW3KRTUs6A1OmaDr3bk5mr3PAY8LOpIb/s3341/IMG_20240119_091409.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1990" data-original-width="3341" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UF7RxfcTumbjeu2Z6SdXtgkNeHSIVq0aZ9i1OVehBt8E64XeaPTv8BdwrnHkrH6W_lEbS-rv05aQKtfVjpxaP0mjvMDC8w4ql6o324REufUNfaERZp1ufDCzyksiKu6cn9pCXOw0Cp2X5TPKQZMIDBTN9Kx6pW3KRTUs6A1OmaDr3bk5mr3PAY8LOpIb/w640-h382/IMG_20240119_091409.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">As
the somewhat testy tone of the above paragraph might imply, I was
feeling a touch uncertain about this one. I had previously used up a
lot of nob bits in another project, and I wasn't keen to buy more or
cannibalise something. This left me with two broad options; A) cut up
a set of big choppa arms, changing the pose so it's less axe-like,
and adding a boomy bit, or B) going one-handed for the rokkit
launcher, and then figure out something for the off-hand to do. I
went for A, and the entire process proved to less of a ball-ache than
I feared. The trick is to pick ork arms with gloves or obvious cuffs,
and cut at that border. You then take a really small drill bit to
drill holes into either side of the stump, and glue a little bit of
paper clip into one bit. This gives you a supporting armature, and as
long as you are careful with the glue, you should be able to test
fit things before finalising the whole pose. I will admit to not
being 100% happy with the pose and the length of handle, which gave
me a few second thoughts. But, I had limited bits, and I wanted this
to be "extra", so I stuck with it, attempted to position
the head to better match the arms, and opted to mull over how best to
detail it. However, as the tricky bit was now done, the Tankhamma lad
was now looking a lot less challenging. I quickly found two choppa
arms that roughly matched, snipped off the axe heads, and rotated
each so both handles could be joined toether. Some slight bodging
later, and that was done, merged with a few choice bits to speed the
process along. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiID6-msxLuq2_EqW4RV9jg3L0DM8802aMvK6bVvFZfiFDG0_8bgdLxyFI1vvpRChEFUvIx8GgZ7d0vWvPEATcZI72ned2OicXl3CG4V861qdT1vGgl3No20oJACkrAePm4yJnlIhRW57iiHJX2bY2gQn5Xu9uu10p2z4g64DuiVU0TVZgIKfv1C5TpGW1r/s1394/dc31a76d9cc80992.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1394" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiID6-msxLuq2_EqW4RV9jg3L0DM8802aMvK6bVvFZfiFDG0_8bgdLxyFI1vvpRChEFUvIx8GgZ7d0vWvPEATcZI72ned2OicXl3CG4V861qdT1vGgl3No20oJACkrAePm4yJnlIhRW57iiHJX2bY2gQn5Xu9uu10p2z4g64DuiVU0TVZgIKfv1C5TpGW1r/w640-h344/dc31a76d9cc80992.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Due
to an unexpected turn of events, it was a few days before I got
around to the matters of detailing and sculpting, but that also went
smoothly. I took the same approach as the boyz I did <a href=" https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2024/01/project-tankbustas-part-3.html">last week</a>,
adding a mixture of straps, plates, and handles to things. This
turned out sufficiently well for me to decide in favour of a break.
These two need some additional finishing and tweaking, but I think
I’m best off putting them aside until the painting stage. i.e. a
minimum of 3 weeks away. Things have gone better than expected, but I
don’t want to speedrun this. Having fresh eyes, after making some
squigs, is probably a good idea.. </span>
</p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-75682278932619466642024-01-21T08:30:00.030+00:002024-01-21T08:30:00.150+00:00BeastBox: BB-01 Dio is Something That Exists<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsHuir2lvC4gkwShiI0kCM5G7LHhvryR0JwYiTVqgOzSauiSaJtpNShgN3ZjN-NxQ2CAql-rf8xD9hOZrzUG4XFOjJTaISuemuCVy0Fo2cpRWh3KnF0vUzo15N_W0laL1jgl8cQRfV4LP5pPqSzoJ-3wK7igvi33Klxc0GxYzIdTwbz-ywSNdGtCYUH5C/s2782/IMG_20231218_132551.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2782" data-original-width="2628" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsHuir2lvC4gkwShiI0kCM5G7LHhvryR0JwYiTVqgOzSauiSaJtpNShgN3ZjN-NxQ2CAql-rf8xD9hOZrzUG4XFOjJTaISuemuCVy0Fo2cpRWh3KnF0vUzo15N_W0laL1jgl8cQRfV4LP5pPqSzoJ-3wK7igvi33Klxc0GxYzIdTwbz-ywSNdGtCYUH5C/w604-h640/IMG_20231218_132551.jpg" width="604" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>Do I have to
explain BeastBox again? Righty, mechanical beasts that compress into
boxes? Very collectable? 15+ age bracket? No? Oh, click <a href="https://unobtainiumrivets.blogspot.com/2023/10/an-introduction-to-beastbox.html">here</a>
then. OK, let’s have a quick chat about </span><span>a</span><span>
BeastBox </span><span>I got recently</span><span>.</span>
What is, technically, the first.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBipBTeI0VivyaSJiimqEoIzKnU_U6y4J3IUr00wVb-ljmZ9_TSXpO6BkZta8g9LI0Yy8yEloNRHKsEGoNuHMSw5fh6Fg-vTL3Vk52LAIwyX26b9Bo3NuNEjKYIJrjtdTOoHy_NkPihHnEN9L7QEGTIxim3h3o44I48qOzQIgI4KelR9a0iaixLU6skVvP/s2662/IMG_20231218_132526.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2264" data-original-width="2662" height="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBipBTeI0VivyaSJiimqEoIzKnU_U6y4J3IUr00wVb-ljmZ9_TSXpO6BkZta8g9LI0Yy8yEloNRHKsEGoNuHMSw5fh6Fg-vTL3Vk52LAIwyX26b9Bo3NuNEjKYIJrjtdTOoHy_NkPihHnEN9L7QEGTIxim3h3o44I48qOzQIgI4KelR9a0iaixLU6skVvP/w640-h544/IMG_20231218_132526.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dio,
or D10, is the mascot of the BeastBox brand and 52Toys in general.
His eye forms part of the company logo, and the cutesy robo-animal
style a lot of the earlier box moulds had begins with him. Dio is
sufficiently popular to see frequent and numerous
re-releases/retools, the creation of Mega-Dio, a model kit, and
today's subject. While numbered as BB-01, this is actually a revised
version with 3mm port functionality for a wider play pattern. As
such, Dio mrk2 (1.5?) features a twin gun turret, but to get the
full use of these ports, you'd need assorted accessories sold
separately. This brings me to the most significant difference Dio
has from what followed: he's a 4cm cube not a 5cm one. This makes him
a wee bit smaller, so he wouldn't fit in a boxcharger by himself, not
that he comes with one. So, he is perhaps a less complete experience
than other box toys I've written about. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz66hOM7UxyxoiAkgMx1CKXkIlD_BqeGM4o2iVgrFDkfVMQOSPfCjYpUAit0Rs6VHRFB5X9pdkBTzySzQy2_9ISWpBJyubARgk8C3dibEVMOaFb2qjDzLx2ViDmfmPSGrRAu_uKc6zo05RxX2fe-3dGxkdrj7faTaFpXJUoATlAnR86eFjGZNe-Z2SnSmu/s2573/IMG_20231218_132517.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2311" data-original-width="2573" height="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz66hOM7UxyxoiAkgMx1CKXkIlD_BqeGM4o2iVgrFDkfVMQOSPfCjYpUAit0Rs6VHRFB5X9pdkBTzySzQy2_9ISWpBJyubARgk8C3dibEVMOaFb2qjDzLx2ViDmfmPSGrRAu_uKc6zo05RxX2fe-3dGxkdrj7faTaFpXJUoATlAnR86eFjGZNe-Z2SnSmu/w640-h574/IMG_20231218_132517.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That
having been said, actually handling Dio made its the reasons for its
popularity very obvious. Part of that is visual design, backed up
with effective joint design. Dio has an immense amount of character;
the big head on expressive neck joints, the tiny T-Rex arms, big legs
with great movement, and simple but not overdone tech details. He
moves in a way largely ideal for something with this body plan; his
joints are working with the box mode, not against it or sacrificing
for it. Maybe there could have been more in the tail, and the arms
are vestigial, but I’m very happy with the neck and opening mouth.
Said box mode is not flawless, although the use of flat panels and
the blaster to fill a gap counts for a lot. I do like how the lower
legs extend for beast mode, that’s a welcome flare which could have
easily been skipped. Dio is immensely charming as a fiddle toy,
pleasing both the "serious collector" and the "awwwwwwww"
bits of my brain. Elegantly designed and adorable. And given that the
turret both rotates and tilts, it can blow shit up too.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMFY18jFkdphwERNxrjzMpfK2YtLX6LiB_FhBLOLS054clnJs87KOhbKRyfpj8YZmre2qWil660uVv0GYnvOuzUK0ZFWXZhf5qgHpukGzvR_umRSfBxd5VLhYefQLDEt8cuqvGe2dge2y1iqh6RGgfW2sXnrIEbQAOM_vJzULJfeboFsRQiVyAq5umua3C/s2122/IMG_20231218_132910.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1752" data-original-width="2122" height="528" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMFY18jFkdphwERNxrjzMpfK2YtLX6LiB_FhBLOLS054clnJs87KOhbKRyfpj8YZmre2qWil660uVv0GYnvOuzUK0ZFWXZhf5qgHpukGzvR_umRSfBxd5VLhYefQLDEt8cuqvGe2dge2y1iqh6RGgfW2sXnrIEbQAOM_vJzULJfeboFsRQiVyAq5umua3C/w640-h528/IMG_20231218_132910.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bringing
Mega-Dio into the conversation makes for some interesting contrasts.
If regular Dio is a baby, Mega-Dio is the mature animal, reflecting
the growth in complexity beast box has seen. The pair seem to be in
different scales, and ultimately having different design
philosophies. Its a bit like comparing a Gundam with its smaller
"super deformed" version, except the cute one came first.
Mega-Dio is much more about the transformation, which has grown on
me, but perhaps paradoxically, omits knee joints for it's otherwise
adequate articulation. This means that MD is bit less nimble than
what it's updating, but it is a worthy tribute. It kinda depends on
where you stand on the matter of complexity versus brevity, with the
pair on opposite sides of the spectrum. Of course, this is very much
a "why not both?" situation; you can peg baby-Dio in box
mode atop Mega-Dio. I mean, <i>its daft</i>, but its a thing you can
do.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0r1I4rCflvtmN9y0XE0AzlUhT3OaUDPwv_qC8z4IUGbsVawVQ3xnD-QHpf0xio9mCZuGLbiFeydoEQIqHm8WS5ax5ueeS4h5Qq7jneGbdkranLgNJ6VVfDciwXaQzW0NOBsON9lDvLS3az-VbE_G_hMmce5DF3Uq4EZH7550ky_PkCjDo4d3W8nPwOW3/s3752/IMG_20231218_133305.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2103" data-original-width="3752" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0r1I4rCflvtmN9y0XE0AzlUhT3OaUDPwv_qC8z4IUGbsVawVQ3xnD-QHpf0xio9mCZuGLbiFeydoEQIqHm8WS5ax5ueeS4h5Qq7jneGbdkranLgNJ6VVfDciwXaQzW0NOBsON9lDvLS3az-VbE_G_hMmce5DF3Uq4EZH7550ky_PkCjDo4d3W8nPwOW3/w640-h358/IMG_20231218_133305.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Maybe
its because this version of Dio is a revised version, thus benefiting
from experience and such, but I’m pleasantly surprised by how much
I like this. I’d ordered Dio very much as complement for a
Mega-Dio, and because its something you kinda well, <b>do</b>, if
you’re collecting BeastBox. While I was initially disappointed by
the lack of the storage case and such, Dio rapidly won me over. He’s
great. Not a complex toy by any means, but very good at what its
choosing to do. Possibly iconic, in the unironic sense of the word.
And definitely something that exists.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBtj1FKs7QHwGxtzU-PFGsY9DeFzkfCo8rnRJ76cREUPWQusK2ozDWE89OLkaAllfFNpZkkQ_1Z_Vhblv9Jh4yQBIRg7i-Xgi4fLFH1A81HaAkNFz99kGZzDctOBXk7x8RohmZV3Q36Ggy3r9PLFkbMo9aStXizOVKGDEyMdO2oZXhTEs_Ycmsro16UkE_/s3033/IMG_20231218_133031.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3033" data-original-width="2831" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBtj1FKs7QHwGxtzU-PFGsY9DeFzkfCo8rnRJ76cREUPWQusK2ozDWE89OLkaAllfFNpZkkQ_1Z_Vhblv9Jh4yQBIRg7i-Xgi4fLFH1A81HaAkNFz99kGZzDctOBXk7x8RohmZV3Q36Ggy3r9PLFkbMo9aStXizOVKGDEyMdO2oZXhTEs_Ycmsro16UkE_/w598-h640/IMG_20231218_133031.jpg" width="598" /></a></span></div><p></p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-85144393685908104302024-01-18T08:30:00.013+00:002024-01-18T08:30:00.152+00:00Transformers: Legacy Evolution Beachcomber is Something That Exists<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> Maybe I should just call this Transformers Thursday? Make it official?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieiFXTkYp7MOy54APHPV_V-5XQ73LG057urNyODhCR7N5ql35wAy_7s5StHf7edJE3N4BxMler77EqczL5jyT9f7ip7vLSzgBi9ZCRBMmdDciGgxMHQvSsuluIEVMoolKZ3GgjTsIusWMawZ7tD5Fc_tGUVtsRXW96VleQJjWLvz07udwshusU6LImphCo/s1060/G1-toy_Beachcomber.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1060" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieiFXTkYp7MOy54APHPV_V-5XQ73LG057urNyODhCR7N5ql35wAy_7s5StHf7edJE3N4BxMler77EqczL5jyT9f7ip7vLSzgBi9ZCRBMmdDciGgxMHQvSsuluIEVMoolKZ3GgjTsIusWMawZ7tD5Fc_tGUVtsRXW96VleQJjWLvz07udwshusU6LImphCo/w640-h362/G1-toy_Beachcomber.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">The <a href="https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Beachcomber_(G1)#The_Transformers">1985</a> Transformers Beachcomber Toy</span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Introduced
in 1985 as part of the latter bunch of minibots released, Beachcomber
is very much one of those crowd filler Autobots, whose fictional
appearances are actually quite minimal. He's memorable, don't get me
wrong, but he's memorable for but one episode, "Golden Lagoon".
Therein, he finds a very nice glen, full of untouched nature, but
also untouched reserves of the super metal Electrum. This leads to
the area being utterly ruined. As it would. It's almost an ecological
parable, but the execution ain't great. Said glen is also where the
"Paradise Parakeet" name-dropped on the box comes from, but
I'll come back to that. Beachcomber has not done very much else,
although you see the name and colours a lot on toys with similar
altmodes. There's simply a lot of Autobot cars, so he was predisposed
to get lost in the shuffle, but I'd like to suggest another
explanation. You've got an 80's toy advert, and this guy whose whole
deal is that he's a geologist by trade and pacifist by a nature. It's
not the personality profile you necessarily want in an
action-oriented series, because he refutes the good versus evil
conceit, doesn't want to do action scenes, and some underpaid/jobbing
writer probably wouldn't want that headache. Maybe that’s why
<a href="https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Beachcomber_(Animated)#Notes">Derrick Wyatt</a> wanted to kill him off. A fun way to treat
Beachcomber, one seemingly a favoured by the fandom, is to depict him
like a pot smoking hippy, but you can't really do that in kids media.
Beachcomber is basically admirable, but possibly belongs in a more
nuanced franchise. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilARLa8-LiCKJzndUw8xW1NZuc64lNpbgkkDVuwm1n07Hen11x6aEzx3nC_MLqa4rXspMY1K-Svxy2lHyjQg9CF0o9U6cMHRvFkoYnpevKbT8KXYNffBcwS9ohnvyrYSzAvTOTag33BdXaYA74TuSsAii3H3NOh7H1_mDK7OJDc0HScWkwQWGUoWmjsTYH/s1125/PowerOfThePrimestoy-Beachcomber.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="1125" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilARLa8-LiCKJzndUw8xW1NZuc64lNpbgkkDVuwm1n07Hen11x6aEzx3nC_MLqa4rXspMY1K-Svxy2lHyjQg9CF0o9U6cMHRvFkoYnpevKbT8KXYNffBcwS9ohnvyrYSzAvTOTag33BdXaYA74TuSsAii3H3NOh7H1_mDK7OJDc0HScWkwQWGUoWmjsTYH/w640-h432/PowerOfThePrimestoy-Beachcomber.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The <a href="https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Beachcomber_(G1)#Power_of_the_Primes">2018</a> Transformers: Power of the Primes Beachcomber Toy</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So
if Beachcomber is inoffensive but under-utilised as a character, and
a memetic stoner, what's he like as a toy? Well, this is a chap whom
invites discussion as to toy budgets and build quality. We've been
getting minibots as short/small deluxes for a while now, so it's no
shock to see Beachcomber in the deluxe pricepoint, and he's doing
better than most when it comes to partsforming and such. The toy does
not rely on a big chunk of the vehicle mode coming off as alleged
shield, and does not have exposed hands issue Huffer had. Beachcomber
is however not notably complex as say Cliffjumper was, with the
transformation not being substantially different from his last toy, a
small legends class in the ill-famed Power of the Primes line. This
is probably the result of screen accuracy rather than (just)
cost-cutting, but there's a few things about the build quality that
raises questions about the budget. The toy features rubbery tires
with pinned wheels as opposed to the mushroom peg style, which is
something of "it's been so long, I can't remember when they
stopped doing that" situation. It's chest also features a slider
arrangement, a dramatic head reveal by way of that, and somewhat less of the carved out hollowness common to modern toys. Three
possibilities present themselves: 1) there's been some creative
accounting, so part of Beachcomber's budget ended up elsewhere, 2)
fancy touches like good wheels are actually somewhat expensive, and
3) Hasbro is just padding their margin somewhat, see also <a href=" https://www.dicebreaker.com/topics/layoffs/news/wizards-of-the-coast-owner-hasbro-lays-off-1100-staff-before-christmas">Wizards of the Coast</a>. Could be one of those things, or some combination there
of, I don't know. The net result is that the toy feels nicer in hand
than his stock images suggest, but not so nice as to dismiss my
concerns about its value proposition. I got this for 19 quid on
discount, rather than 25, and I think that was reasonable, but I
wouldn't have felt great if I'd got it full price. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwy9Iddiypqdpi4YLEZFuJL2CyL9TSTsy-to4tyX5y6Vc3T55o5TVd14BtNWjjiIbdeuMN0TV4JQYbZldYdS943S2_AraYGSv4RQFft5xlcpSgdYQ8at8nrqSj1ZlCWAx2b_eIv2_Fj-YdKaWIzP3mPnvwvDVexsbWurXiFJfK-VoitQrMCceBDn8ZJBSf/s2821/IMG_20240106_140234_1.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2177" data-original-width="2821" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwy9Iddiypqdpi4YLEZFuJL2CyL9TSTsy-to4tyX5y6Vc3T55o5TVd14BtNWjjiIbdeuMN0TV4JQYbZldYdS943S2_AraYGSv4RQFft5xlcpSgdYQ8at8nrqSj1ZlCWAx2b_eIv2_Fj-YdKaWIzP3mPnvwvDVexsbWurXiFJfK-VoitQrMCceBDn8ZJBSf/w640-h494/IMG_20240106_140234_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let's
move away from the more contextual, big picture stuff, to focus more
about the merits of this toy. Beachcomber's altmode is a dune buggy,
specifically a 1982 M1040 Chenowth "Hellfire" Fast Attack
Vehicle, which, yes, is military use. I will admit to not knowing
that before looking it up, but it makes sense given Warpath &
Powerglide exist. To muse for a moment, this obviously more right
wing that you'd expect given his hippy persona, but I feel you could
easily do a Vietnam-vet-turned-war-protester, or retired badass thing
with Beachcomber. As these vehicles go, it looks good from most
angles, and rolls like a dream, but there definitely angles which you
don't want to look at. The head retracts into the body, but there's
no panel to properly conceal it, with the torso doing little. The
vehicle also has a certain gappiness around the seat area, although
in all fairness dune buggies often resemble overgrown BMX bikes or
industrial scaffolding, so perhaps no harm done? I do like the
presence of diamond plate and how 5mm ports are worked into the
sculpt around there. Play value is pretty good too, rolling better
than any Transformer I've handled since Botshots, and then there is
the "Evo Fusion" thing. Beachcomber features a bumper/gun
accessory, a grey piece painted black, which has more going on that
it looks. You can peg it on the rollbar as a weapon, something that
does no harm to the look of the vehicle, but if you leave it on the
front, there's additional tabs to keep straight. It's very much an
optional piece too, so unlike most modern minibots, you can stick it
in a draw somewhere if its not your thing. </span>
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHm9184q6ix9RWicQTeHLvwO5O2di6FprxPbxJEFsdUr4PQfMPIiSJ16ocFnf0z0gKDEnZQ9nQZLe8YGzRIJCYWtuSr7WT_AXidk3E-3HyOJipgcl7NGH2N4MIS3dd9gS6y7lnQrqhb35Cjv4miwrfJ4dgfzBPqAzzJKY-nRsx7hBFiR6CEVRbP0zx_cUy/s2923/IMG_20240106_140206.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1940" data-original-width="2923" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHm9184q6ix9RWicQTeHLvwO5O2di6FprxPbxJEFsdUr4PQfMPIiSJ16ocFnf0z0gKDEnZQ9nQZLe8YGzRIJCYWtuSr7WT_AXidk3E-3HyOJipgcl7NGH2N4MIS3dd9gS6y7lnQrqhb35Cjv4miwrfJ4dgfzBPqAzzJKY-nRsx7hBFiR6CEVRbP0zx_cUy/w640-h424/IMG_20240106_140206.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The
generally positive vibes continue into robot mode, doing the whole
Sunbow G1 look, but not in a way that's limiting or daft. Beachcomber
is on the shorter side for a deluxe, but he's not Cliffjumper short,
and tends towards the stocky/blocky. I'm honestly having a hard time
thinking of how you could meaningfully improve the robot form without
moving to a different price bracket. Its likeness is on point,
there's concealing panels to fill out the calves, 5mm ports are
tactfully worked in, and Legacy standard articulation is present,
with wrist swivels. The only weakness of note is how the seats and
rollbar become the heels, which is acceptable, but not ideal or
especially functional. Yes, a paint application is a little scuffed,
and there’s some cut marks, but that's just something that happens.
It's a very solid robot form on multiple levels.The gun? Well, if it bothers you, it can peg into the back. Oh, and he has a
bird, yes. <i>Paradise Parakeet.</i> This rubbery little chap is
based off the blast effect system from Siege, and so can perch on
Beachcomber in various places, just like in the cartoon. But, <i>it
also means</i>, that you can have <b>a gun that fires birds.</b> And
on that note, this article comes to a natural conclusion. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span>
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifO8M1PMm35CGnHEBFteJaeH8xLgYiLoPmUhn1nHer3DeQhCtdr951tnryyWiHkF1udZFglHIvNl_DWzrKVKIIXjKoyPuqKnEhavB04nXC2YOUeXUiKXfR5LyW6-P-1YK4VKlCK_o_oAbNZUJhkRI_C8juSH0Htqgu0j68i6OcBceJTViDabnVBMYkpwwq/s3461/IMG_20240109_112251.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3461" data-original-width="2821" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifO8M1PMm35CGnHEBFteJaeH8xLgYiLoPmUhn1nHer3DeQhCtdr951tnryyWiHkF1udZFglHIvNl_DWzrKVKIIXjKoyPuqKnEhavB04nXC2YOUeXUiKXfR5LyW6-P-1YK4VKlCK_o_oAbNZUJhkRI_C8juSH0Htqgu0j68i6OcBceJTViDabnVBMYkpwwq/w522-h640/IMG_20240109_112251.jpg" width="522" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As
the flow and warming tone of this article might indicate, Beachcomber
kinda won me over. There's certainly complaints to be made, and an
open question over the value proposition, so its not flawless. But
this toy gets a lot right as well. What will probably decide it for
you is availability; I’m told this is hard to find in the USA for
example, so if you overpay for this, you’d better really fricking
love Beachcomber. Because while he is something that exists, he’s
not existing<i> quite</i> enough for a deluxe. Assuming that the
price is moot for you though? I doubt you’d be disappointed.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgRveMmYGq7mP6_Oz5H28LGs4AdSAPQM7Fx02SVQBj8rOUkPYDxBW-_H3BPNrYSSKhGrZvNwKyCwu57ZpaMH-zGzbIiax6xvw9BXZ0cgH44iu4AwtlnxWc-3utSZoOT7KgemcRwJw05L-VeNLNt39CPsVjiji8WC7ItLIinPJV0B79ReWtAGB_yrHn2a9d/s2339/IMG_20240106_140720.jpg" style="font-family: arial; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1825" data-original-width="2339" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgRveMmYGq7mP6_Oz5H28LGs4AdSAPQM7Fx02SVQBj8rOUkPYDxBW-_H3BPNrYSSKhGrZvNwKyCwu57ZpaMH-zGzbIiax6xvw9BXZ0cgH44iu4AwtlnxWc-3utSZoOT7KgemcRwJw05L-VeNLNt39CPsVjiji8WC7ItLIinPJV0B79ReWtAGB_yrHn2a9d/w640-h500/IMG_20240106_140720.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Electrum
rave party! </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ihfVt-gBSZLfLmuh-_aeUIaVV98ZaCRpBzZr5tzsbur330Gu0yLFRRSlC_r6ji_CZHqdg71GzgLtahJ3-NoqSk4WceRfZAPVOHNbZyA3wXkd92HzEtvcgiXXpAWBWUya-ZXphi9pPcoZDHwTpVxrRVVqAyGcBJYVS4YYGChJD-vFuailc_4MeW39QsZS/s324/Laserrave.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ihfVt-gBSZLfLmuh-_aeUIaVV98ZaCRpBzZr5tzsbur330Gu0yLFRRSlC_r6ji_CZHqdg71GzgLtahJ3-NoqSk4WceRfZAPVOHNbZyA3wXkd92HzEtvcgiXXpAWBWUya-ZXphi9pPcoZDHwTpVxrRVVqAyGcBJYVS4YYGChJD-vFuailc_4MeW39QsZS/s16000/Laserrave.gif" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /> </span>
<p></p>
<br />Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6154640396624514284.post-77344682658691878892024-01-16T08:30:00.018+00:002024-01-16T08:30:00.133+00:00Project Tankbustas: Part 3<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Part trio...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QiBXYEP0A3_StPSwiWaAWUxU9ICgFXKN3UerPGlK3SvsY7MQI-KWvOEUVDhKRvZoagqnuaZ-jXxRINFFopNyC0xDyYJm2tf9srksXu3ISowb7fSguyoFlX2MBIhrPXZTtScXmHAhMSh-_PFdDVd8BZhOJsNpyCwVUgOJdUhkziOJR6IyW0XceaK92sVV/s3409/IMG_20240114_084412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1834" data-original-width="3409" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QiBXYEP0A3_StPSwiWaAWUxU9ICgFXKN3UerPGlK3SvsY7MQI-KWvOEUVDhKRvZoagqnuaZ-jXxRINFFopNyC0xDyYJm2tf9srksXu3ISowb7fSguyoFlX2MBIhrPXZTtScXmHAhMSh-_PFdDVd8BZhOJsNpyCwVUgOJdUhkziOJR6IyW0XceaK92sVV/w640-h344/IMG_20240114_084412.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Stage
2 sees what it is arguably the simplistic aspect, the kitbashing of
the rank & file. When it comes the older style of ork plastic
Boyz, methods to kitbash a rokkit launcha are fairly well-known and
relatively straightforward. I don't know if this is the case for the
new Ork Boyz, GW seems to discourage kit bashing these days, so maybe
not, but I digress. Making the rokkits themselves can be achieved
with a bit of tubing and greenstuff, and I've done a few of those
here, but I find the process fiddly as I can't cut straight to save
my life. I like beads for that more these days; you'll have to look
around for a good shape, but once you have it, it cuts down on faff.
Alternatively, the business end of a felt tip pen has possilities,
and I've used a few here. Making a shoulder-mounted, bazooka style
launcher is also something relatively easy. You take a choppa arm
piece, and snip off the axehead. You then take another tube, or a
convenient bit of pen in this case, and have that lay on one
shoulder, with the boomy bit resting on the axe handle. You still
need to dress it up a bit so it doesn't just look like a tube, but
you get good results with modest effort, especially as opposed to
simply cutting up a shoota and plonking a rokkit where the killy bit
used to be. Not that there's anything wrong with that if you have the
bits spare, mind you, I was just aiming for something more involved
here. It's also basically how you make Rokkit Pistols, as I have
here. You get a slugga, trim off the bullet gubbins, while keeping
the hand/trigger, and then attach a smaller type of rokkit up front.
Barring some glue mishaps, arming these three lads was a therapeutic
experience, but I was also sculpting bits for them at the same, and
that experience is what's gonna be valuable to the project going
forwards. </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjigjSsI0A7tPAvyoE1YTNtkZSJZaXCrMkrcXExSgF6wrQjlIKyaC1gQmeWkTer4ERH79Hlt7drhUIkofa9c15WmwPgyt9lzGUZUHjaigP3KmO9bf4xSJZQqeOHltkDlSfzXKtvolV5NIdQ4EQvFT5UGlv6S_BD0RR1SxbFTIhWcoemHxeultb1K7eARb6Z/s3713/IMG_20240114_084420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1986" data-original-width="3713" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjigjSsI0A7tPAvyoE1YTNtkZSJZaXCrMkrcXExSgF6wrQjlIKyaC1gQmeWkTer4ERH79Hlt7drhUIkofa9c15WmwPgyt9lzGUZUHjaigP3KmO9bf4xSJZQqeOHltkDlSfzXKtvolV5NIdQ4EQvFT5UGlv6S_BD0RR1SxbFTIhWcoemHxeultb1K7eARb6Z/w640-h342/IMG_20240114_084420.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /> </span>
<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So
what did I do here in green stuff? Well, I modified each head,
sculpted some armour plates, and some straps to hold spare rokkits.
This was an iterative process, with putty being made into thin strips
and panels, place on the model, and them smoothed with water. This is
something in need of patience, which I often lack, as the two-part
putty needs to left to cure and/or dry-out before putting details
atop of it. Often, I went back in to trim bits with a craft knife
for a sharper line, or to sand it. The heads are probably the mode
involved, as these featured targeters/bionik-eyes/git-finders and the
removal of ears to cover with helmets and such. Adding a hand-guard
thing to the rokkit launchas was something that added at lot to the
look of the thing, but didn’t require much effort. Just tidying it
up once it had cured.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuAvA2zRALppprMR6h_yxRmUVSQTY_bMtL86xqUp4NVC1oYvz99zX4eFaNkvc7-0w97NDhZ2mAxHMuK0pGjR0XRJtr5w3biwjfTbnmKoh4Fc48Qe_r0eb80QgzQ_NkQcDIV3KRJ8hIuFWvzMUo-N_KINkMPKzeNC2OaPIJuGFpNAJ3zxlOMZo2KWGoR9gP/s3572/IMG_20240114_084430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1853" data-original-width="3572" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuAvA2zRALppprMR6h_yxRmUVSQTY_bMtL86xqUp4NVC1oYvz99zX4eFaNkvc7-0w97NDhZ2mAxHMuK0pGjR0XRJtr5w3biwjfTbnmKoh4Fc48Qe_r0eb80QgzQ_NkQcDIV3KRJ8hIuFWvzMUo-N_KINkMPKzeNC2OaPIJuGFpNAJ3zxlOMZo2KWGoR9gP/w640-h332/IMG_20240114_084430.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Now,
I’ve got some doubts as to how this all will look with paint on it.
I’ve done hats and such in decades cast, and they looked OK, but
I’ve not tried helmets and armour. I may need to tweak them
further. I know I need to correct that boy on right... Hopefully, they’ll be fine when I eventually paint the
whole unit in stage 8.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDyHPhQ2rLr5CfMHf-fpKXVOiBDlNQrUUPlcbfuyp0PHBZ5VGyUHDWPMnJlcZAxaEgPwFRbq1j1xEoPsz3ew04k2IQnlCGEK9F-nN3Uu6Cpf0jvFhYVBKwvDXJoR3HJlcO5_ViAfHHG3fpz9uklPI_WC9BjMsEWM8sNhZSOLRkg7B2zshoknpfXXox5BA/s3805/IMG_20240114_084446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1797" data-original-width="3805" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDyHPhQ2rLr5CfMHf-fpKXVOiBDlNQrUUPlcbfuyp0PHBZ5VGyUHDWPMnJlcZAxaEgPwFRbq1j1xEoPsz3ew04k2IQnlCGEK9F-nN3Uu6Cpf0jvFhYVBKwvDXJoR3HJlcO5_ViAfHHG3fpz9uklPI_WC9BjMsEWM8sNhZSOLRkg7B2zshoknpfXXox5BA/w640-h302/IMG_20240114_084446.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
Urluckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17568592493138756395noreply@blogger.com0