What's Green and Dangerous...?

Hi, All!

Steam tank - still in training...

I am happy to report that the steam tank has come along nicely today and shouldn't take too long to finish now. After an epic session of rivets and glue, the first coats of paint went on this afternoon.

Rivets are added. Lots of 'em!

Obviously, there is still a fair bit of detailing to do, but it's surprising how fast these things can come together when you have a ready supply of coffee. I even managed to get the housework done by cutting one hundred rivets at a time, gluing them on, then performing a domestic task, and so on...

Undercoat and first coats of colour go on... This is where you say to yourself, "Oh God! It looks terrible!"

I plan to add a gantry to the rear of the tank, in preparation for which, I have to paint the tank first. I won't be able to get a paint brush in there after the gantry goes on. I am still playing with the idea of coupling gear to pull tenders/carriages.

Faraday Flux Projector detail. Nice and bright!

I decided to continue in the somewhat gaudy style I began with the Faraday Galvanic Field Gun... Bright metallic colours contrasting strongly with bold green and the dichroic reflector of the MR11 lamp. No camouflage or khaki here, by Harry! Let the blighters see what they're in for, eh what!?

Rear hatch - a gantry will soon be added.

I'm also considering making alternative weapon variants, as the turret is removable. Maybe a Hotchkiss gun? Steam-pressure rocket launchers? Who knows?

Anyway, for those who care, the rivet-count for this one currently stands at 419. With a few still to go, I daresay. In my next session, I'll be working on the rear gantry, finishing the painting and adding details such as regimental markings, a flag, and (of course) wiggly bits of guitar strings!

That's all for tonight! More soon...

Absolutely First Class armoured transport!

All the Best!

Starting to feel a little familiar...

Hi, All!

Steam tank - looking a bit rivety now...

Work continues on both the steam tank and the Bazalgette Light Armoured Perambulatory Contrivance (BLAP-C), with both now in the detailing stages.

BLAP-C, hobbling along at the moment...

The steam tank now sports Faraday Flux Projector side armaments and a few other new details since my last post, as well as, you guessed it... rivets! Lots of 'em. Given that I haven't spent a lot of time on this model this week, it's coming together quite quickly.

Many rivets and a Faraday Flux Projector now adorn the side of the tank.

Closeup of the Faraday Flux Projector. Should look pretty cool when it's painted.

The Faraday Flux Projectors were thrown together using drawing pins and small beads. They are mounted on plastic rod, large beads and cogs from a correction tape spool. The combination of cogs and sci-fi should be sufficiently convincing when they are painted.

Rear hatch with lock. A gantry will be fitted later.

I plan to build a back gantry behind the tank, along the lines of the end of a Victorian train carriage. The big rear hatch has (of course) a trundley-trundley-clunk locking mechanism. It's the law. So does the turret hatch, while the turret itself is now mounted on a big cog for a more VSF feel.

Details are added to the turret. A flagpole will eventually reside in the upright bracket. The turret itself is now mounted on a big cog.

So far then, 193 rivets. With many more to come.

In the case of the BLAP-C, I have applied 88 rivets so far. I need to do a bit of work with green stuff (grrr!) before I can finish the cabin, so I've been putting it off. But have no fear! It will be finished! I swear! Often!

Bazalgette Light Armoured Perambulatory Contrivance... now with rivets!

So there you go. A lot of rivets still to go but I can see light at the end of the tunnel... Which is great, as I have a couple of new vehicles planned that I'd really like to make a start on soon!

"Chuffity, chuffity, chuffity... ZZAAAPP!" went the little train...

All the Best!

Another Public Holiday Getting Tanked...

Hi, All!

A new Weapon of Mass Delusion nears completion...

Seeing as it was Easter this weekend and I was a bit annoyed with Mr Bazalgette's invention, I decided to take a little break and have a crack at one of the many other machines in my sketchbook.

Concept sketch. As you can see, the large rear wheel has been dropped - mainly because I couldn't find anything to make it from in a hurry. Maybe next time!

So over the last couple of days, the steam powered tank you see before you has taken shape.

A brand new steam tank! Just the thing for bravely confronting spear-hurling natives of any species!

She's armed with a Mark II Faraday Cannon, and I will also make provision for crew firing rifles from within.

Cheap toy wheels, castors and sellotape tubes... It's true! You can make awesome weapons out of everyday household items! Is nobody safe these days?!

Tracks take shape. Blanks are fitted with pegs, wheels are attached, the whole thing is boxed in. A strip of corrugated card forms the track.

The small wheels in the tracks have been kicking around in my Big Box O' Stuff for a few years. I found handfuls of them at a junk shop ages ago and thought I should have a few. The larger wheels are from the castors which formed the feet of HMSW Gargantua. The tracks are the same corrugated card I used for tin roofs in Leadwood. The boiler is the inner reels from two small rolls of sellotape. A pushpin forms the cylinder on top of the boiler.

The two finished track units are attached to the body plates. Sellotape tubes form the boiler.

Right: MR11 lamp reflector, turret and chimneys are attached to the basic body structure. Centre: The gun barrel, before being attached. Left: Armour plates and details are added.

The gun, of course, is a halogen lamp. I was so pleased with the final effect on the Faraday Galvanic Field Gun that I thought I'd do it again. This time, it's an MR11 - smaller than the MR16 of the Field Gun. I'm toying with the idea of building a coal tender to be pulled behind the tank.

Closeups of turret details. No rivets yet...

This vehicle has taken shape very quickly and should be finished quite soon, after an epic rivet-gluing session, I'm sure! Then it's back to slogging away at the Bazalgette Light Armoured Perambulatory Contrivance, which I'm sure will be splendid when it's done - but: Boy, Oh Boy..! Sigh...

Faraday Galvanic Field Gun and tank with Mark II Faraday Cannon, to show size comparison.

Anyway, there you go for now. More soon.

All the Best!

Meerly a thought...

Hi, All!

Gunner Porter feels a little legless...

Well, here I am again, rested and somewhat flabby after a marvellous two week holiday, and ready to get back into my rivetting hobby!

First up: the continued work on the Bazalgette Light Armoured Perambulatory Contrivance (which I have started to think of as the BLAP-C for convenience...)

Coming together very slowly, I'm afraid... But she should look good in the end...

As you can see, I have added a fair bit of bulk to the body, and rivets have started to appear at last. A pair of ladders adorn the back of the body, so that the gunner can get into the head. I have also added round blank plates on the limb joints. These will sprout pistons before too long...

Detail work begins to take shape. The chimney has changed slightly during development and the armour is starting to get rather chunky. Ladders and handrails will eventually provide an easy, safe ascent for the gunner.

I have to say: this thing has become a labour of hate. Due to insufficient planning and/or concept designs, if anything the model is over-engineered. Once you start gluing bits onto a frame like this, you run the risk of creating all sorts of odd angles and funny shapes to work with - which can all become rather tedious after a while.

Oh, well! Soldier on regardless! Don't let the plastics get you down!

Meanwhile, it appears the HMSW Gargantua has fallen into the hands of a tribe of meerkats...

"Sergei! How do drive this thing?"...  "Simples!"

I found these cute little critters in the gift shop of Wellington Zoo last week and at $1.00 each, I couldn't resist. I've been looking for a potential alien native species and with a little conversion, these might just do the job... They are soft rubber, unfortunately, so possibly not a joy to work with but we'll see what happens...

I'm thinking alien technology... shamans... sharp pointy sticks... but definitely NOT tall, skinny Ewoks.

American explorer Bud Weiser and his new friends...

Anyway, there you go for now. More soon...

All the Best!

Bazalgette Light Armoured Perambulatory Contrivance

Hi, All!

Well, it's time for another bit of VSF nonsense. So without further ado, let me introduce:

The Bazalgette Light Armoured Perambulatory Contrivance

In 1856, Sir Joseph Bazalgette (1819-1891) was commissioned to redesign the London sewers - no mean task - and although he rose ably to the challenge, there were certain elements of the job he found rather distasteful. 

Thus it was that in early 1857, he unveiled the Joseph Bazalgette Steam Driven Wading Suit - a small, one-man vessel capable of carrying him in comfort and with clean, dry shoes throughout the vast network of stinky tunnels that had become his Big Job.

It was while clanking his way through the foetid labyrinth of Putney that he encountered the now infamous Putney Sewer Trolls. Armed with only a scented handkerchief and an iron 250 horsepower right foot, he sent the blighters packing all the way to Mayfair, where their howls and moans attracted the local constabulory.

Needless to say, the Daily Telegraph's report of this heroic feat drew the attention of the War Office and Bazalgette was afforded a brief respite from his backed-up work load to design a similar vessel for use by the military. This took a while, with many adjustments and perfections to be made - and much rising stink from the abandoned and unfinished sewers - until in late 1862, William Cubitt, Lord Mayor of London, protested to the Palace that enough was enough and Sir Joe really ought to get back into his element. Resigned to his responsibilities, Bazalgette handed over the new machine to The Right Honourable Sir George Cornwall Lewis, Her Majesty's Secretary of State, and clanked off back into the poo.

Or so I've been led to believe.

"Steel Warrior"!? Oh, well. Got to be good for something! (shown with a Copplestone naval officer)

While browsing the local cheap bits and pieces shop with my daughter the other day, I came across this somewhat familiar-looking character. "Blimey," thought I, "If anyone needs more rivets, he does!" And for only $3 who could blame me?

So began the gutting and rebuilding of the "Steel Warrior" (hmmm?)...

The toy's guts are hacked out and a Black Tree Miniatures Gatling gun crewman is fitted for size. (Albeit with his boots cut off...)

At first, I admit, I was going to do the stick-rivets-on-and-put-a-bloke-in-the-head thing. But I realised that there was room in the body for a driver -and even with rivets, the smooth curves of the superhero would just be too, well... smooth and curvy.

Backplates glued in, green stuff fills gaps and smooths cuts and the driver is tried in place again.

So I got a bit brutal, hacked out the guts, and started gluing bits of stuff on...

The cockpit. Much of the detail will not be seen once the driver is in, but I'll know it's there! Mwah ha ha!

Because I intend to close-in the driver with a glass canopy, the first thing to do was complete the cockpit. I added plates at the back, detailed them with rivets and a guage, painted everything, added conduits and a union flag and stuck in the driver.

Driver in place, complete with magnifying scope and a chain-pull-thingy. His legs will eventually be hidden behind an instrument panel.

The model is posed. The base is heavy enough to support a lot of weight above and will be disguised later.

Once this was done, I attached the legs, poured superglue into the joints and stuck the whole thing to a base I had weighted down with a washer and a small bearing. These will be sculpted over later.

The boiler starts to take shape. Buttock-cogs are added - essential, really!

Next, I turned my attention to the engine. Really, this just sort of grew as I stuck on first a boiler and a chimney and then other bits and pieces where they looked right, including a rudimentary hatch for the gunner up in the head. He, too, will be closed in with glass.

More details are added. Cogs adorn the hips.

A twin Gatling gun will replace the left hand (the toy's hands were far too 'fleshy') and a mechanical claw will replace the right.

Hand-made twin Gatling gun and the toy's left forearm.

Finally (so far) I added cogs and pistons to give the legs some form of believeable(!?) driving mechanism. I will treat the arms and ankles similarly.

Pistons drive the legs. I plan to add to the ankles and arms in a similar manner.

So there you are.

I'll post more as the suit takes shape.

All the Best!