Two Feet Deeper In...

Hi, All!

She's finally looking  like she means business!

Well, I feel the construction of HMSW Gargantua has reached a significant milestone today. All of the various bits and pieces I featured in my last post are now in place and the legs are all but finished! I have only to add a few bolts here and there to disguise the pins that hold it all together, and touch up a little paint...

All pistons and hoses are now complete. Shame the underbelly is hidden away, innit?

Of course, there is still a lot of detailing to do - nameplates, flags, steps, railings, window glass, head controls, weaponry, and the back gallery which (as yet) is the only part of the model to remain almost totally untouched. But she's certainly looking (structurally) pretty much done...

Nearly ready to stomp on some demmed troublesome fuzzy wuzzies!

Not that I would dream of fielding her until she's absolutely perfect...

The rear feet... Hmmm. Identical to the front feet! This is insanity!

In order to get the lower pistons behind the rear legs, I had to construct support fins - the reversed design of the legs meant that mirroring the front ones would bring the piston in front of the 'shin' and anchor it to the top of the foot, rather than the heel. A bit of head scratching ensued...

Rear piston support-fins in place. Sorry about the poor focus! Note the suspicious grey and white blank bit by the flywheel - this is the back hatch, where the rear gallery will soon be constructed...

Believe it or not, a lot of this stuff is surprisingly quick to do, once you get the hang of it. Rivets, for example, are easy so long as you're listening to some decent music (thank you, Mr Bowie) and the rear feet took far less time than the front ones.

No reason at all to add this shot. I just like looking at all the workings!

Now... The moment you may or may not have been waiting for...


Rivet Count: 3,396!

Still think she looks like a cute little pooch?

And people call me crazy! Hahahahaha!

More soon.

All The Best!

Lots O' Little Bits...

Hi, All!

Hmmm... The beginnings of a fleet..? Mwahaha!

It's been a pretty full-on Sunday. A strenuous bushwalk at 7am, a disastrous gunfight in Leadwood with Notorious Greg, a nice bottle of Pinot Noir to accompany chilli and nachos and, of course, lots of bits of plastic, glue and paint.

Pistons, transmission valves, rear-lower-leg piston-support fins, ankle-axles, and feet in the making...

What you see before you are numerous components that have to be made and painted before they can be fixed onto HMSW Gargantua. All of these are parts of the rear leg assemblies.

Port-side rear thigh piston beside flywheel.

It's fiddly stuff, but I can really see light at the end of this particular tunnel. I'm fast running out of materials, so now I've entered the "innovate or spend more cash" phase of the project. And not for the first time! Oh, well. Necessity is the mother of invention, n'est pas? Great things may occur!

The slowly developing feet, in place...

...and the whole walker...

Anyway, it's been a while since I included any comparison shots, so here are a few. My naval-types are raring to get into the fray, albeit in front of a bluescreen tonight, rather than some dramatic and breathtaking panorama of exotic lands far away. It was that or the dining room table...

Hmmm... The British Empire Strikes Back..?

And I used to think this vessel was big!

Funnily enough, the whole reason I started HMSW Gargantua was the positive response my now seemingly small and insignificant two-legged walker received on this blog. Whatever next? Another one?

Actually, I do have plans for a new vehicle - but I'm not saying any more than that! In the meantime, I need a name for the smaller walker pictured here. HMSW...? Anyone got any smart ideas?

Still nameless! Such a neglectful Colonel!

More soon!

All the Best!

She Got Leeegs....

Hi All

Pretty scary, huh? Now, where are those Prussian spies?

Well, it's finally happened... Me legs are on!

More correctly, HMSW Gargantua now has all four legs, albeit bereft of pistons and a few other bits here and there, but she's certainly starting to look finished.

The back legs. Feet are unfinished and pistons are missing, but you get the idea...

I have to admit, I'll be mightily pleased when this project is over. It's taken far too long, what with one thing and another, and I'd like to do some much simpler stuff for a bit. Nevertheless, I'm a proud Colonel...

The last thing Her Majesty's enemies will ever see...

Hmmm. Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. There are still a lot of things to do... Gatling guns, flags, name plates, controls, steps to the top deck, the back door and gallery...

More pistons to be added here...

Oh well. Back to the grind. Enjoy!

The view from above. Looking pretty ship-shape now.

All The Best!

(p.s... sorry about the picture quality this week - my camera died, so I had to use my phone!)

The Chaos is Subsiding...

Hi, All!

Wow! My second Blog in as many weeks! Who woulda thunk it?

Leggy bits with rivets an' that...

I am happy to report that things are starting to take shape Chez O'Truth. I have managed to do a bit of work on HMSW Gargantua, have sorted through most of my boxes of stuff, and was even able to get a game in with Scott Bowman and Notorious Greg last night - the first action Leadwood has seen in some time. A great time was had by all, even though Scott was basically massacred and Greg managed (as usual) to get just about every action card...

I've done two of these now. It's a bit tedious at times...

Anyway, for those of you who care, here's a closeup of me new foot. This is the front right foot of the walker and is intended to have its heel slightly raised from the ground, to give the model more of a sense of movement. A walker standing squarely on the ground with four flat feet might be ever so slightly more stable, but rather less interesting to look at.

It occurred to me that as the heel was raised, a little detail should be added to the sole - so I added some nice big, dangerous-looking studs.  Twenty of 'em. (oops! - I'll be sure to photograph them next time!) This amounts to 284 rivets for this leg - bringing the count so far to 2810!

As for the rest of the chaos... Here's a pic of Hobby Corner (my bedroom)! Somewhere in there are all my bits and pieces...

All the Best!

Proof of Life!

Hi, All!

She survived the move! And now for the continuation...

OK - I know I promised I'd blog more frequently... and then stopped again... but now I REALLY PROMISE I'll do more!

Actually, it's been a busy time of late, what with moving house and conferences in Auckland etc, etc. But now that work has settled down and (most of) my life is no longer in cardboard boxes, it's time to get hobbyising again! Huzzah!

See!? I am working again! I am!

Just to prove it, here are some pics of leg-type bits for HMSW Gargantua, all laid out on me nice big dining table this very eve! Soon the smell of glue will fill the air and I shall be giggliing insanely as I count rivets!

A pile of feety bits! What a lovely sight!

So enough waffle from me! Bring on the solvents!

Leg bits! And look! Rivets! Yay for rivets! I've missed 'em! Ahahahahahaha!

All the Best!