War Machine

[Quaralane]

Decided that, for my next build, I wanted something that would be relatively quick, and relatively easy.
Mostly so I could have it finished before starting my build(s) for the SMA Big Spring Contest that starts the first of March.

So, to that end, I decided to build up Moebius' WAR MACHINE


The almost obligatory sprue shots.
There are a good number of pieces in this kit, and most are fairly well detailed.
No issues with flash on my copy, and the detail's only a little soft in some places





Went to work with the sub-assemblies, pretty much according to the instructions.
Started with the head:
Only minor seam sanding was really needed after I held it together fairly tightly for a bit.
Just as an FYI, I use Testors' liquid cement for assembly.



The torso assembly was a bit more complex, involving about four different sections to get completed.
Not many seams to work here, mostly because of them either being hidden, or being along armor panel lines for the most part.



The assembly of the legs was fairly straightforward, if involved.
There were a couple of seams to work, but they came out fairly well.
Under the covers for the calf thrusters are little actuators to make the assembly look believable.



The most complex of the sub-assemblies so far were the arms, specifically the left arm.
While the right hand was basically two halves with a repulsor disk stuck in, they molded the fingers of the left hand as separate parts.
It made the assembly a bit tricky.



Just for fun, and to see how well the kit as really made, I fitted all of the sub-assemblies together and put him on the base without gluing any of it.
It works really well, even the legs seem fairly stable.


I'd like to point out that most of the armor plates and outer skins are secured by large sturdy pegs runing through the whole assembly.

Youtube link:
War Machine-Part One

 

[Junkie]

Cool man, that's a great looking kit. Looking forward to seeing this one come together.

 

[Ian]

That's been on my 'wanted' list for a while now.

 

[Glorfindel]

Geez Q you weren't kidding about a quick build before the BSC. Great start.

 

[Quaralane]

Thanks for the comps, guys.
With luck, I should have the whole thing in primer either today or tomorrow

 

[Cave_Dweller]

Oh wow this is cool! Really sharp looking kit...I might have to get this given my love of all things powered armor! What are you thinking for paint?

 

[Quaralane]

--smiles--
What else?
Testors Graphite Dust over black and light grey, like I did with my Cylon Raider build

 

[Quaralane]

Okay, first up, we finish the sub-assembly work.
Built up the minigun and the shoulder missile launcher.



Next up, came the oh-so-fun part of gluing together 8 separate segments to make up the minigun's ammo belt.
While working on that, I took a small gringind belt in my Dremel and opened up the segments between the barrels on the minigun to make it look less like a solid chunk of plastic.



Last up, WE HAVE PRIMER!
As a test, I tried out the Vallejo Surface Primer for this kit. I thinnned it with the Vallejo Airbrush thinner.




Now, there was an issue with the primer trying to come up when I attempted to mask off the sections for the lighter colored parts.
I'm betting it was because I used too much thinner in the primer coat.
Won't stop me, just changes the original plan. I'll shoot the black, then repaint the lighter parts before going for color.

Youtube link:
War Machine-Part Two

 

[Cave_Dweller]

He looks like he means business. Gonna look really sweet with the mini gun in place. Now I want to go watch Iron Man 2!

 

[CTspeedshop]

Coming along nicely Q!

 

[JohnSimmons]

Nice work Q, if this is going to end up like your Iron Man then this will be wicked. Will you be using the AB from here on out?

 

[Quaralane]

Thanks, guys.
And yes, John, I'm going to at least try to keep using the airbrush for most of my work.

It gives me far more control, and uses far less paint than rattlecans

 

[Quaralane]

Okay, last update time.....
After the primer coat had dried, I shot most of the model with a coat of flat black.
With that dry, I touched up the lighter grey areas by hand with a small brush



I decanted some of Testors Graphite Dust into a jar for me to use in the airbrush.
This gave me a lot better control when I went to coat the model with it.




After the Graphite Dust had dried, I scavenged some markings from a couple of different decal sets and put them in place on his back, shoulders, and lower legs.
After sealing those, I gave the whole model a black wash to bring out the detail and wiped off the access.
Then I went in with white, and a fine brush to pick out his eyes, arc reactor, and replusors.
With those dry, I gave them a light wash of diluted red ink to simulate the glow effect.
Gave the whole model a coat of Future.
The base was given a heavy black wash and sealed with a matte finish.

At this point, the build is done:







And with the Iron Man Mark VI that I did earlier.



Youtube link:
War Machine-Part Three-Finale

 

[Papermodder]

Nice work Quaralane.

Jim

 

[JohnSimmons]

Wow Q! If you had held off a couple of weeks you could have had a medal for that guy!

 

[Quaralane]

Thanks, guys.
Hey, John, I could still put him in the "All Open" if I wanted to. May still do that.

 

[Junkie]

Great job Q.

 

[Quaralane]

Thanks, Scott