Some projects don't really turn out as you wanted. It happens. You try something and it doesn't click, as evidenced by a long-stalled Morkanaut project and my recent 30MM experience. That said, sometimes it's possible to change direction and still get something pleasing out of what did actually work. Like today's subject.
Having spent a lot of time on Orks, I had decided to start moving into something less in my comfort zone, and more free-form. My initial idea was to create the archetypal chicken-walker robot, but then it grew into something closer to Dreampod 9's Gear Krieg setting. For the unfamiliar, that's a super science take on World War 2, which featured diesel punk mecha, the eponymous "Gears". These were an interesting non-humanoid take on the whole robot thing, sitting somewhere between an armoured car, and a tank that stood up to cross broken terrain. Between gunpla bits and fidget toys, I was pretty sure I could create something along those lines. Something that couldn't transform, due to me gluing the joints for stability, but looked like it could. Unfortunately it became evident early in the build that the legs weren't working out, so I decided for a hybrid trike instead. I imagine this being a Drone with a lot of off-road performance, steering and adjusting it's height with its two front legs. The larger back wheel provides the forwards motion, so it's not a 3 by 3, but it does dirt bike stuff as well as crawl. Imagine such a thing left out in the field, or on patrol for months on end, only for it to suddenly chase some luckless chap.
Now, the build was broadly similar to my previous ones, more a convergence of trends than anything radical. The legs & pelvis are mainly gunpla, their wheels being older GW plastics, with the main body being a lid. It's weapons are a mix of spray bottle parts and gubbins I'd been collecting for a while. While cable ties and little tokens make another appearance, something that was new was the use of toy car motors. These have interesting shapes, making for good weapon mounts and such. I also tried to evoke certain makes of scooter by having the rear wheel attached by a single fork. At least I think that's the term. The generator also invokes another DP9 setting, looking like a very crude V Engine.
Painting was my usual mix of dry rushing, stippling, and washing, but I did try a few new things. The first thing I did, and regret, was attempt to basecoat the model before final assembly. I forgot to mask the connection points with blu tack, which caused a few unforced errors. Hopefully, nothing too noticeable. I used Citadel Waaagh Flesh for the green, to see if my style would suit more conventional military aesthetics as well as my usual Deathskull blues. It worked pretty well, even before I went to town on weathering. There, I did all my usual, but also tried out AK Dark Rust Deposits, an enamel paint. I don't have much prior experience with enamels, so I don't know if I can recommend it, but it worked well enough here.
All in all, this was a pleasing distraction to have around Christmas, although given some of the basic mistakes made, I should have paced myself better. I think I'll take another swing at this chicken walker thing at a later date.
Work in Progress Pics
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