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#1
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Large-Scale Shadowcat
My oldest son is a huge Clone Trooper fan. Mostly Commander Cody and Captain Rex, and his Star Wars collection consists mainly of clone troopers. Because he's my son, and has impeccably good taste, he is also a big Battletech Fan. Naturally, one day he wanted to combine the two.
So began the Action Figure-scale Shadowcat. In Battletech terms, it's a medium 'mech, weighing a mere 35 tons or so. In building terms, it was a lot simpler than his first choice, a 100-ton Dire Wolf. The first thing I did was hit the forums and try to come up with the right scale. Some kind soul (I believe it may have been Blaar, but if I'm wrong please correct me), upsized a Shadowcat for me. After attempting to do the math and remembering why I thoroughly detested math from firs grade to college, I decided to do it another way: I made a PDF of the PDO, broke out PhotoShop, and blew the thing up that way. Then I printed it off at Kinko's. Today I finally started. The paper parts are all going to be glued to cardboard, and lots of greeblies from whatever I need (paper, plastic, small animals, etc.) will finish it off. After that, we'll give it a paint job. Naturally, since it's big enough for a Star Wars guy, we'll be building the cockpit as well (many moons ago, when the universe was much younger, I had the chance to sit in a simulator at Virtual World, so I have an idea how that might look--hopefully--when I'm finished. Here, modeled by the lovely Shock Trooper (I couldn't find any of Bob Barker's models, unfortunately), is the left torso. ![]() ![]() ![]() The cutting board underneath is marked off in inches. If for some reason you don't know how big a Star Wars guy is, you need to get out more (3 1/2). |
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#2
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Watching the floor show
Enjoying project and your good humor!
Also, it's big, and I like big models...
__________________
Regards, Robert In Work: Uhu02 Tinkerbell - [under Tapcho's thread] Tinkerbell - a fairy with an attitude Nobi Junkers SRF BETA build - BETA Build: Nobi's Junkers SRF 1:48 scale |
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#3
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kjev, I am really looking forward seeing you completing this up sized Scat.
Please keep the pics coming in as your progress.
__________________
DOWNLOAD all my paper models from my MediaFire page available here : BLaaR's Paper Models |
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#4
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Keep it coming! Large-scale models, love them.
Niki |
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#5
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Wow! This is gonna be cool. Will be watching this one with a large, buttered popcorn.
__________________
Regards, Don I don't always build models, but when I do... I prefer paper. Keep your scissors sharp, my friends. |
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#6
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Quote:
I prefer to smuggle my food in from Wal-Mart. Got the right torso finished this morning. Looks a lot like the left, only different, so no pictures yet. I did the L/R torsos first to warm up for the center torso, because it has the cockpit. Hopefully I can get more done tonight. |
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#7
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Quote:
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#8
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An Update (Finally!!)
Took longer than I hoped to get back to this. We added 2 more boys to the family, which came with all the congratulations, family visits, buying all the accessories (car seats, clothes, diapers, bottle-type stuff--You know, it's not really the baby that takes up a lot of room. It's all the stuff that goes with them!) and then there's work, sleep, diapers, work, diapers, work, diapers, and the oldest one adjusting to being a big brother...
Actually they get along better than my younger brother and I ever did. We started fighting before he was born. I'd sit on mom's lap. He'd kick me off... and when it, er, he came out, we just kept going. Last night I finally snuck some time in and got most of the center torso done. Still have to do the back piece (would this be it's butt?), but I got 99% of the torso put together. Once again we have our lovely Shock Trooper demonstrating the Shadowcat thus far. It was a pain convincing him he really didn't need to pick out "just the right blaster to accessorize with." As near as I can tell, my son has designated this particular clone as the pilot, although I think Boba Fett would be a cooler choice. But since they're all clones anyway, does it make a difference? Anyway... ![]() ![]() ![]() I was trying to show the size of this bugger, because it's huge. It's about 12 1/2 inches long (so far), 6 inches high, and 6 3/4 inches wide. I switched to thinner cardboard on the center torso for a few reasons:
Hopefully the next update will be sooner. |
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#9
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Brief Update:
Finished the cockpit yesterday, except for the magnets to hold it closed. Took pictures. Now the wife can't remember where she put the camera. Since it has one of the boys' hatching day pictures on it, I'm sure she'll be motivated to find it. As soon as she does, I'll add the 'cat pics. |
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#10
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Now for the pics
The first step in detailing the cockpit was to figure out how I'd make it work. In the game-based novels, 'mechs have hatches. Obviously that wouldn't work here, so I opted for the canopy approach. Since leaving the windows black wouldn't be nearly as cool, I decided to cut them out. VERRRRY carefully, so I didn't crumple the cockpit, or almost as bad, amputate a finger or three.
Here you can see the windows cut out before I cut the cockpit off. ![]() The next step was to build the command couch itself. I planned for this, and several weeks ago, bought some sort of toy aircraft carrier with seats the right size. After that, I hacked it apart, kept what I wanted, and deep-sixed the rest into the burn barrel (we Idaho rednecks can still burn our garbage, ditch banks, and if we get lucky and the wind is right, the entire field). Since the top of the center torso is angled, and I wasn't sure how high to make the bulkhead behind the command couch, I made it at an angle. That way, it would poke out when I shoved the couch into place and any excess could be cut off. ![]() ![]() ![]() Once I had the seat built (amid repeated "Are you going to clean off the table before dinner?" questions), I coated the inside of the cockpit area with regular white glue, which is thinner than the craft glue I usually use. I used the thin stuff so that it would act as a lubricant while I stuffed the chair in place. ![]() After the glue for the chair had dried, it came time to re-attach the front end/canopy. I made the hinge using a small plastic tube with part of a bamboo skewer for a pin. I glued the tube parts into place, and wrapped tape over them to help reinforce them. After that, I glued some greeblies on to help hold the tape down. ![]() ![]() ![]() Later, I'll add some metal strips and magnets to help hold the canopy down when it's closed. Thus far, this had been the most nerve-wracking part. I had visions of the canopy getting glued shut, mashed, or blood stained from amputated fingers. Fortunately, none of that happened. The only other major problems I anticipate are:
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