Quickly! Get to the Chopper!

Hi, All!

Looking rather nice, if I say so myself...

I am pleased to report this week that work is going well on the British Hydrothermicopters. The first one is almost finished - although cockpit detailing may prove to be a little fiddly...

The two flyers, sans-rotor blades, during early stages of painting. Metalwork is painted black, highlighted silver, then ink-stained.

Engine details... Gold paint will be added next to highlight the brass parts.

Since my last post, I've been concentrating mainly on the first Hydrothermicopter. I'm considering whether to duplicate it, or make the second a slightly different configuration. Time, experimentation, inspiration and alcohol will tell...

Lightning Cannon - almost finished. Guitar strings are added as conduits.

Cockpit details are painted in at this stage. More will be added and painted as the model progresses.

More guitar strings are added to complete the finished engine.

I decided on yellow for the first flyer. I may do the same for the second, although I'm undecided. I've already got red, green and blue vehicles in my British force - and black seems too sinister for Her Majesty's Imperial Air Corps... I'll give this a little more thought...

Upholstered chairs, ready for the crew...

For the next stage of detailing, I have constructed some simple upholstered chairs from plastic and greenstuff. These will be painted and glued in, whereupon the crew will be added and controls will be built in around them. I expect this to take a little time...

Rivet Count:  246! (For the yellow 'un, anyhow...)

Flunks... Almost a happy family.

Work has also continued on the female Flunk and her calf...

Most of the detailing on the cow flunk is done. A blanket and straps will be sculpted soon, before adding a howdah and warriors...

Calf - almost painted. Ain't he cute?

I will soon be able to add the howdahs to the bull and cow, along with baggage for the calf to bear. Then it will finally be time to work on the warriors of the Wutha F'Kahwi...

Just as a rather fun aside, I thought I ought not waste the trunks I cut from the toy elephants that became the above Flunks... Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...

Scagworms! Disgusting!

Scagworms! Not a pleasant thing to blunder across in the untamed depths of the Lost Continent... These took only minutes to complete. I simply glued the trunks to washers, tetured the bases, painted the trunks and finally coated them with water effect for a nice slimy finish. I think they're sufficiently horrible...

Scagworm attack... There is no known medication...

And that's it for another post, folks. Next up: more on the Hydrothermicopters and Flunks... Soon to be followed by Lancers, Warriors of the Wutha F'Kahwi and God-knows-what-else!

Keep watching, folks!

All the Best!

Death From Above!

Hi, All!

Lightning cannons armed and ready... Tally ho!

More development on the Hydrothermicopters front this week...

To be honest, I have been repeatedly asking myself, "Why, oh why did you choose to make two of these blasted things...?!"

Largely unadorned Hydrothermicopter... At this stage, I wasn't certain what the big fat nose cone was all about...

Well, I suppose because I can. So I did. But when embarking upon producing duplicate models, one ventures into dangerous territory. The best way to approach multiple-model-construction is to adopt a 'production line' attitude: Do all the green stuff. Then all the rivets. Then the first coat. Then the blah blah blah... 

Tail-plane details are added, along with some nice bendy chimneys...

...And another colourful bead or two. If in doubt, folks, glue on more bits of stuff...

You see the problem? It's boring.


What should be a fun project of discovery and invention quickly becomes a mundane routine. Not to mention the frustration of suddenly realising you've missed bits or can't find another of that part you need that you just glued to the other one...

The cockpit is shaped using plastic board and white Miliput.

Am I ranting? Probably. I tend to do that sometimes...

The fuselage. Landing gear are made from the end of a plastic fork with all but two prongs removed. Piping, brackets and rivets are added. Greenstuff fills gaps and adds detail to the plastic cylinders.

Anyway, I am pleased that I stuck with it, because these two airborne Weapons of Mass Delusion are now looking rather splendid and are awaiting their first coat of paint. Each has been fitted with a Lightning Cannon and soon I will begin adding the aircrews and more cockpit details...

Cockpit detailing begins. At this point, the cockpit will have to be painted before further details and crew are added.

And it feels so good to be able to give you all a....

(drumroll...)

RIVET COUNT!!!!!! (sigh... It's been so long...!)

Each Hydrothermicopter is so far adorned with a total of 232 RIVETS! ...not counting the ones I pressed into the brass rotor blades (they feel a bit like cheating...)

That's 464 rivets so far on this project, doubtless with a few more to come.

So there you go, folks - they're coming along nicely. And have no fear! I haven't forgotten about the Flunks... The female and calf have had a little attention this week, too. But more about that later...

Big Momma Flunk. Taking shape.

Oh well, that's that for this post. More soon!

Wuppa wuppa wuppa, choo choo!

All the Best!

Wuppa Wuppa Wuppa... Choo Choo!

Hi, All!

Hydrothermicopters... Coming along nicely.

I've been having a go at  my British Hydrothermicopters this week.

The gutted toy. This will become a cockpit for a pilot and gunner.

Cogs and rods from the toy's pull-string motor are reattached as motor parts.

As followers of this blog will recall, these started life as cheap plastic toy helicopters which I gutted. Since then, I have mostly completed the rotor blade assemblies and added a few nice bits and pieces to the bodies.

Nose cone and rear rotor take shape with bits from my Big Box O' Junk.

View from the rear.

Of course, there will be many rivets to add... But I'm not quite there yet...

Bases made from heavy washers and clay.

The Hydrothermicopters have been mounted on brass rods. These may be cut to different lengths so that the Hydrothermicopters aren't at identical heights. I have also started building heavy bases from washers. If I get the weight right, I should be able to keep these fairly small without the models falling over. Fingers crossed...

Plastic redcoats from Warlord Games will become the crews...

The crew are being constructed from plastic british redcoats. Kneeling figures have been reshaped to be sitting. Each Hydrothermicopter will have two crewmen - a gunner in front and a pilot behind. I'll be selecting appropriate uniform colours, of course, to suggest Royal Victorian Airforce...

The beginnings of the rotors. A cog from the original toy, brass rod and a plastic wheel from a toy car (bereft of tyre).

The basic rotor assembly atop the vehicle.

Turning my attention to the rotor blades, I have opted for a bat-wing style. The blades were inscribed into brass sheet (from a tomato puree tube) and dotted with rivets. This was actually really quick and easy and I'm very happy with the result.

Above - a finished rotor blade. Below - almost done. The batwing shape is inscribed with a pencil before being cut out.

The first rotor blade, glued in place. Beads and copper wire add detail to the assembly.

I still have to add steam exhausts and landing gear - I'm thinking I'll d a reversed tripod thingy with two feet to the front and one to the rear...

The rotor assembly in place. Additional beads have also been added to the rear end.

I imagine these Weapons of Mass Delusion might take a while, as the detailing required for the cockpit could be tricky. There is also the question of the paint schme. I'll be posting more as they progress, of course.

In other news:

Bull Flunk. Looking good, I think.

The big bull flunk is coming along. I've coloured the blanket, straps and buckles and varnished the model. Now it's time to start on the howdah and crew.

Straps and buckles are done...

... and from the other side...

So there we are for now. More soon...

All the Best!

I Flunk, Therefore I Am.

Hi, All!

Look into my eye...

Work continues on the first of my Flunks this week. The painting of the beast is just about done and I have begun straps, blanket and such as a prelude to adding a full-blown war howdah full of screaming Wutha-F'Kahwi warriors...

Brown undercoat, highlighted up to white, plus first wash of dark green ink.

Highlighted with flesh colour over the green wash.

A yellow wash is applied to the whole body.

The techniques I've used are much the same as for my crocodiles: lots of highlights and ink washes eventually give a really nice finish. Greens and yellows work particularly well for this, and I also chose these colours because I want to give a slightly 'dinosaur' feel to the flunks, and to remove them a little from the elephants they once were...

Red, yellow and black washes are applied to the fan.

This creature is an alpha bull flunk: the head of a herd. So I've been having fun with the fan he wears around his neck, colouring it in a flashy manner to attract females to his harem. As such, he will probably be much brighter than the female and calf I am still sculpting.

The fan, close-up. Blood flushes veins close to the surface of the skin to create a colourful display, used to attract females and intimidate rivals.

As you can see from the picture at the top of this post, I am paying close attention to the eyes, too. There is still a little work to do. In terms of scale, these are actually about the size of a man's head - so it is important that they are detailed well. Otherwise, the final model could look rather lifeless.

A base is added, made from thin MDF and sculpted with DAS and grit. Miliput blanket and straps are sculpted.

Once the painting was largely complete, I began work on the accoutrements. This is all fairly simple stuff so far - Miliput was used to drape a huge blanket over the beast, then straps were added. The buckles are just simple pieces of wire. Soon a castle-like howdah will be added.

Buckles and straps.

The miniatures I ordered (sculpted by my good friends, Alan and Michael Perry) have arrived, so I will be adding the crew to this magnificent beast pretty soon, too!

Tally Ho!

I am also happy to report that the heroic Lord Blandford-Fly is now finished and ready for duty! This fine fellow looks absolutely spiffing in his blue and yellow uniform. And I'm really pleased with the way his horse turned out!

Lord Blanford-Fly... Insanely heroic.

If I have a criticism of this officer model and his lancers (from Empress Miniatures) - and given the beautiful workmanship of riders and horses, it's a very minor criticism - it is that they have no eyes. Instead, Lord Blanford-Fly has two big skeletal holes. Of course, these are partly hidden under the rim of his pith helmet, but one tends to notice blind cavalry officers by their tendency to charge the wrong way. Remember the Light Brigade...?

Ready to take on (almost) anything!

Anyway, I still love these models. Lord Blandford-Fly, I'm sure, will be a regular sight on the battlefields of the Lost Continent. His unit of lancers will not be far behind.

So there you have it - for now.

Soon to appear from my dining-room table: British Hydrothermicopters; more flunks; the warriors of the Wutha-F'Kahwi; British advanced weapons company and more!

Side-by-side... For now...

All the Best!

Herd of Flunks?

Hi, All!

Bull Flunk. A rare and unusual sight...

This week, I 'ave been mostly meddlin' with evolution...

Mutilated plastic heffalumps. Well, a man's got to have a hobby...

Some years ago, I had the tremendously brilliant idea of cutting off an elephant's head, turning it upside down and sticking it back on again... The results were questionable.

HOWEVER...

I remained convinced that my theory was sound...

Heffalump head, plus sketch. The Flunk starts to evolve...

Well, let's face it folks. We all love war elephants, but since Peter Jackson brought Tolkein's Oliphaunts to our screens in such brilliant glory, any attempts at amazing pachydermic weapons of mass stampedation are doomed to look a little bit puny. Innit?

Brass wire is added to the neck to form the basis of the 'fan'.

So, I figure it's a good idea to mutilate the buggers. Or something like that...

The head (or most of it) is reattached...

My heffalumps have been heavily remodelled with the use of a hacksaw, some brass rod and a lot of Miliput. They will eventually become the mighty war beasts of the Wutha F'Kahwi tribe, complete with howdahs, mahmuts, etc... I have ordered the miniatures I intend to use for the tribesmen, so keep watching...

The Flunk starts to take shape. A redcoat is shown for size comparison.

I ran out of greenstuff some time ago, so I had to make do with white Miliput for this project. It's not bad, but I think I prefer greenstuff. I'm keeping an open mind for now.

Cow and calf flunks in the early stages of construction. Even the calf is big enough to carry a fair amount of baggage.

I'm actually quite fond of these creatures. I admit that right now, they look a little thrown together, but I have high hopes. A little paint... A bit of furniture...

A new piece of old wall... Off-cuts from previous pieces, put to good use...

Meanwhile, The Lost City of Ah-Pul-Sh'Napps continues to grow. This week, a small piece of city wall has been added, making good use of some godawful dvd...

The walls of Ah-Pul-Sh'Napps...

"My Goodness!" I hear you cry, "Whatever next, Colonel? You have been a busy bunny, haven't you?"

Well... yes. Thank you for noticing...

I was in the local crap shop yesterday (you may remember that my last foray into said establishment resulted in the Bazalgette Light Armoured Perambulatory Contrivance) when I spotted some of those pull-a-string-and-watch-them-go helicopter thingies. "Hmmm..." thunk I, "I bet they'd put the fear of God into the Hun..."

Cheap toys with devastating potential...

So I bought two.

One of the 'copters, ripped apart. And wouldn't you know it, it has cogs and stuff inside! Fantastic!

The stripped 'copters, ready for conversion...

It didn't take long to gut them and I now have some pretty good ideas for turning these into steam-powered gyrocopters (Or should that be hydrothermicopters?) to give Her Majesty's troops air superiority. More soon...

Hmmm... Let me think... I have Navy, Army, Artillery, Airforce... What's missing? Oh, yes! Cavalry!

British lancers... Looking a little pale right now...

Last week I received from Empress Miniatures their British Lancers, and I've made a start on colouring these with inks. These are truly lovely miniatures and I have resisted the temptation to modify them in any way. I had various thoughts, but they were so nice, well...

Lord Blandford-Fly, almost dressed for battle...

I have coloured all of the horses with a basic chestnut colour and will vary their manes, tails, socks, etc. with shades of brown, black and white. Inks are ideal for horses, I find. It's easy to get a really nice, smooth colour with highlights and shades in all the right places.

Lord Blandford-Fly's horse is almost finished. Just a bit of brass here and there on the tack... I must say, I'm very pleased with this one.

It won't be long before these splendid fellows are charging across the battlefield, driving the enemies of Empire before them...

And, speaking of enemies of Empire...

Professor Shandy Tanglefoot... Big ideas, despite his shortcomings...

I also received a few rather nice characters form Reaper Miniatures. The first of these to be completed is the nefarious, insane and ridiculously short Professor Shandy Tanglefoot, creator of hideous abominations and joke of the academic world...

The keen-eyed amongst you will note that he is still wearing the prank 'undies' apron given to him by the lads in chemistry class. Poor boy must have thought they meant it as a sign of affection...

Tanglefoot and trooper - size comparison. Napoleon complex, perhaps..?

Professor Tanglefoot was also coloured with inks. I like this technique because it is a quick way to get really nice results.

So: a lot still to finish, but not a bad few days. I hope to be able to show you the finished lancers very soon, as well as continuing with Flunks and Hydrothermicopters... And of course, I have a REALLY BIG PROJECT to begin... Watch this Space!

Professor Shandy Tanglefoot with one of his hideous creations...

All the Best!