It. Is. Here.
Project “V” has
arrived in the receiving department and is moving to the assembly line. This is to reinforce the deployment for
He-who-must-not-be-named, but it's a surprise.
HWMNBN isn't a follower of this blog, so if any of yawl know him, shhhhhh.
:) This one won't be quick, as
there is a ton of work to do on it. Or
rather, 80 tons of work.
The base kit is
amazing. I video'd the actual opening
and first-look, and you can see this machine at the link here:.
HWMNBN is used to a
standard loadout of AC20, twin ML's and
SRM4. With the maneuverability of
jumpjets and the massive punch of the AC20, it's a brawler's dream, being able
to use cover to close the distance and then emerging to open up with a massive
fusillade for an Alpha strike.
He is partial to the
paintscheme he had when he ran with the Merc company; one that is black with
red highlights. Black is always a bit of
a challenge to get right on scale, and it also means that the weathering techniques
have to be more in the reverse from normal.
Instead of darkening up shadows and pits, it'll be the highlights of
caked on mud, and flaked paint showing the bare metal and rust underneath
that'll be needed. The trick with all
of it is coming up with the paint scheme ahead of time, and making it work with
the weathering and damage techniques.
The major work is
going to be the cockpit. HWMNBN needs
an appropriate pilot and internal cockpit build, and I have recently gotten my
paws on a set of decent 1mm lights. The
angle of the screen and the shrouds
around the head limit what you're going to be able to view, so the real work is
going to be on the pilot himself and the back of the cockpit. Instrumentation and controls will have to be
limited to what can be seen on the side.
The Maddog and the Timberwolf
both have "above" and
"behind" windows that allow the main instrumentation to be seen, but
the Victor just doesn't. Neither does
the Warhammer and norr will the Steiner Recon Mech when it arrives. So the trick here is to merge the
"interesting aesthetic" with the "that's a reasonable and
expected place for switches/knobs/dials…" look. The millennium falcon has lights and
switches all along the back of the cockpit.
None of them are reachable during the frenetic activity of flight or
fight, but they are reasonable pre-flight systems controls or usable by a flight
engineer. Battlemechs are mostly
single-pilot and the controls need to be ergonomic and forward.
Now, as to the
"how".. I can see there will be a lot of grinding in my future. I'll need to hollow out the torso and head,
and then build the cockpit and support electronics into it. I'm wondering if I want to put lights in the
jump jets, but that may not. I'll
definitely hollow out the SRM tubes and put in missile tips. At first blush, I think the best way to
build the cockpit will be to just create a tub that sits under the head, and
attached to the head so it will track as the head is rotated.
Oh.. Just had a
thought, and I hate myself for it: I
could light the ML's too. These leds are
small enough that they could go behind a lens.. Ok, that might be overkill.
So, back to the
cockpit. Another option I could do
would be to make an access hatch.. That'd open up the build to more viewing,
and will rely on heavily modifying the
head. I'll let that bounce around my
head.
Right now, I have my
Timberwolf built to be staged for battle.
I could take it out and play battletech on the tables down at
Legions. I'm contemplating making a
diorama for the Victor. If so, what
kind? Battle? Refit?
Repair? Battle-aftermath? All of the above? Any of the above? .. Decisions..decisions.. At the very least, I should make an
appropriately-sized Hex base to deliver it with…
Of course.. Now *I*
want one too. (But I still need to get
through the JR7-D, the WHM-6R, the AS7-FCY , AS7-DDC and the MkIV Mad Dog.
)
