MaschinenKrieger Friedrich by DocRob - Wave - 1/20 - PLASTIC - Another one bites the dust

[Old Collingwood]

Looking  Superb,   with  the weathering of your  clear part  -  that will  be  interesting - perhaps  some dusting  layers.

 

OC.

[DocRob]

16 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

Looking  Superb,   with  the weathering of your  clear part  -  that will  be  interesting - perhaps  some dusting  layers.

Thank you OC, dusting and some sand residues are for granted. I may try to go a bit further, possibly trying matte clear or even CA glue or thinner for fogging.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

After evaluating different methods on clear spare parts, I decided to use Tamiya Extra Thin for my sand blasted windows. I used the supplied brush nearly dry and applied the cement very carefully. This is only preliminary, to check the effect and more effects will be added, especially for the front window.

 



Cheers Rob

[Old Collingwood]

That really  is looking Superb  - looks  so life like.

 

OC.

[DocRob]

2 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

That really  is looking Superb  - looks  so life like.

Well, if that´s your definition of the state the poor pilot is inn, OC .

Cheers Rob

[king derelict]

The weathering really makes the model a spectacular work. The sand blasted window is great and very subtle.

alan

[DocRob]

On 11/14/2024 at 12:49 AM, king derelict said:

The weathering really makes the model a spectacular work. The sand blasted window is great and very subtle.

Thank you Alan, I like to build up this kind of weathering in thin layers, which leads to a more real look with depth. Now I have to think about the base and setting.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Let me introduce you to this sinister looking drone. The Neuspotter is also based on a design Kow Yokoyama for the MaschinenKrieger universe. The kit was first issued by Nitto 40 years ago and my Wave boxing marks the 40th anniversary. Still it looks cooler and somehow more frightening than modern drones.
I started with the sensor unit, which besides the strange colored plastic features coil springs, vinyl tube and different wire diameters for the numerous antennas.
The age of the mouldings is visible, but everything fits as it should.
I will quick build the Neuspotter and then decide, if I add him in my scenery.





To get a better idea about how the Neuspotter looks, I add this illustration, which comes with the kit.



Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

The huge Neuspotter drone is nearly finished. Not shown on the pic are the antigrav unit and the exhaust nozzles, which will be added after painting. If I use the Neuspotter in my dio, I have to find a way to let it hover. I guess, I will use slide fit brass tubes for that, epoxied to the base and the drone.



Cheers Rob

[Old Collingwood]

Love it.

 

OC.

[DocRob]

My base will be "framed" by a plastic tub, which I sprayed in sand color. For the hovering drone, I added a threaded rod, epoxied onto the base and a nut also epoxied into the lower part of the Neuspotter. I hope, I can cover the rod with some dried grass later. I used it, because it allows to adjust the height of the drone over the surface as well as the angle, because the nut is not glued in in a right angle.
The bowl was then filled with plaster of paris. 
Meanwhile, I primed the parts of the Neuspotter in black and white, black for the pure metal parts, like arms and exhausts and white for the rest.





Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

There is not a lot, I have done lately. I like the creative phase of airbrushing and preparing a certain finish, but it comes with unavoidable drying times, which is time consuming.
The Neuspotter got red dots, but wait ugly dots, why?
 

Well, the solution to the riddle are the red crosses, which were masked then, using Kabuki tape cut quickly on my Infiny cutting mat. It´s a rescue drone.



Next wase the base coloring, sprayed in Tamiya XF khaki. The other parts got different metal shades all from the Extreme metallic range. The exhausts were sprayed with dark exhaust color, the spindly arms with titanium, the drum like anti-grav unit in duraluminum and finally the lower body in gun metal.



Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Today, I finished the basic setting. The main components of the Neuspotter were airbrushed with chalky white color (washable  white) and then weathered with a stiff brush, but only slightly, as the rescue drone didn´t suffer that much. This was followed by a DAK wash with pigments, dotted onto the white color.
After drying and manipulating a bit with a flat brush, I assembled the main components of the Neuspotter and added some wires and coils to arms and "body".

Then I threaded the drone on it´s mount and the angle, it was hovering was like I desired. The backrest of the deceased pilots Kampfanzug was made from two lava stones from my garden. I liked the bubbly appearance, as it looks a bit strange.
Next, I have to add the various bits and pieces, like water bottles, weapons, helmet, etc. and design the dio with sand baste and sand.

















Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Almost done with the project. I added lots of details to my main acts, like a syringe made from clear plastic sprue and metal rods and a tiny push disc, dipped into clear green. The mask of the pilot was hanging out of his cockpit by it´s tube made from an old guitar string and many more.
The threaded rod, holding the Neuspotter was painted in sand color and surrounded by dry grass from my garden to hide it a bit and simulate a hovering effect.
Then I glued the Kampfanzug in place on it´s stone and used AK´s desert sand paste to design the ground. With a wet brush, I formed the typical sand ripples and amassed the sand on the front right side, where the blasting storm came from. 
Next, I pressed the weapons, the pilots helmet and all the empty squeezed water bottles into the paste and added very fine real sand on top.

I used the sunny day to get some really harsh lighted outdoor shots, but will later add some from the photo box, when finished.







































Cheers Rob

[GrandpaPhil]

That looks amazing!

[king derelict]

Absolutely wonderful work Rob. The desert weathering is so realistic, the sand scape is terrific and there is so much packed into a small space. Lots of great details. This is one to remember 

Alan

[DocRob]

12 hours ago, GrandpaPhil said:

That looks amazing!

 

7 hours ago, king derelict said:

Absolutely wonderful work Rob. The desert weathering is so realistic, the sand scape is terrific and there is so much packed into a small space. Lots of great details. This is one to remember 

Thank you Phil and Alan. This projects theme came instantly to my mind, when the "Sandbox" group build started over on Large Scale Modeller. The Neuspotter drone was no part of the initial idea, but when I saw it, it reminded me, that I wanted to build one since my teen age, when it first came out. What better than to grab the 40th anniversary edition and add it to the scene, where it supports the sinister atmosphere.
I wanted a bit of black humor or irony seep out of this little dio and hope to have done so.

Cheers Rob

[Canute]

I think you got the idea across with this one, Rob. Really nicely done.👍

[DocRob]

6 hours ago, Canute said:

I think you got the idea across with this one, Rob. Really nicely done.👍

Thank you Ken, I will post some better pictures when completely finished and will add some of my thoughts about the project.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

The Kampfanzug´s pilot has bitten the dust and the medical Neuspotter drone can´t help it. My Sanbox group build entry over on LargeScaleModeller is buried under the sand now.
I wanted to do something different and when I found the MaK Friedrich battle suit in my stash, I formed a picture of a pilot tormented by a sandstorm and died for thirst, after all his PE bottles were empty. The Neuspotter drone was added later to the scenario with it´s sinister looks and I wanted a bit of black humor seeping out of my little dio. The AI driven drone was probably smart enough to wait for the storm to cease, where the high tech equipped pilot died, because there was not enough water left for him. 

Some final pics, this time in my photo box with better lighting.


















 

Cheers Rob

[yvesvidal]

Fabulous diorama. Very creative.

 

If I may have one small suggestion: try to blemish the plastic bottles of water. They are way too bright and in good condition, since we can assume they are as old as the skeleton in the MaschinenKrieger.

 

Yves

[DocRob]

3 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

Fabulous diorama. Very creative.

 

If I may have one small suggestion: try to blemish the plastic bottles of water. They are way too bright and in good condition, since we can assume they are as old as the skeleton in the MaschinenKrieger.

Thank you Yves, we discussed the bottles on LargeScaleModeler as well and I like them the way they are. The bottles are all squeezed and showing no caps, which means they are empty. PE bottles have a longevity, which exceeds the lifespan of the pilot by far. When I´m surfing or swimming, I sometime find presumably old bottles in the water or on the beach, which look almost new. 
This aspect was a side aspect while developing the scenery, it should show how long plastic lasts in nature, by far longer than a human live lasts.
The color could be less brighter, but I wanted them to be a point of focus.

Cheers Rob