Todays edition of "The Bench Report"

[fhvn4d]

So I decided today instead of making alot of forum posts and new topics, that I would just throw this out there to post whatever I did at the bench on a particular day that I wanted to share or was particularly proud of. Todays inaugural edition should be titled " I done lost my mind".

Bandai has a whole bunch of sci fi as you know.. and the latest flavor for me is from a show called "Starblazers"

It was an early anime cartoon about the STAR FORCE, and Derek Wildstar is one of the main characters. Well, Bandai builds a kit of his "Cosmo Zero" In like 1/72nd scale or so... and its well built and doesnt have alot of parts. The cockpit is actually non existent, only showing a pilots head and two halves of arms. Enter my insanity.......


Transforming a USAF pilot to Starblazer... remove all chest material, mask, and make face believable.. in 1/72nd


Cut out entire cockpit forward of the pilots seat and scratchbuild something.... anything LOL


Put on vision visor and make like you are shooting at the rifle range... 1/2 breath out aaaannnd paint. Breath in.... repeat

[fhvn4d]

Spent a couple hours at the bench today closing up the Cosmo Zero and doing some scratch building on the Ashville Class Gunboat. The drive is strong with these two projects so Im making the most of it while I can!!!!

The now finished figure and cockpit together.




Front fuselage mated to rear.


Ashville will soon have a scratch built bridge.... or something to see anyway.

[TRM]

Nice Brian!! Looks like you're having fun with the zero! Keep slapping it around!! A little chop chop on the bridge....Nice!!

[Leon]

The zero is looking good and sounds like you have a good plan for the bridge Brian!

[fhvn4d]

Just a couple quick shots of some of the work updated... took a side track and tried out an old aurora Vampirella and did a photo inventory of my stash





























Also took the time to make a few more molds of some things I have made masters for... why I have no idea but I did it LOL

[dierk]

You don't have anywhere near enough kits! No soviet WWII armour at all! What's wrong with you?

[deafpanzer]

Impressive stash you got!

[fhvn4d]

Round numbers 212 and counting.... I am ALMOST out of storage space (intended storage space that is)

[k1w1]

Accumulating more kits and materials than you will ever have the time to build seems to be a common ailment with this hobby. Many of us seem to suffer from it. I possibly have more than my share of common sense but I too am continually buying more. My current stock should last me until around my 120th birthday. And ......... I really buy one of something, I may buy up to 6 or more of the same kit due to the  fear that one day it may no longer be available and I may want another. I wonder if the shrinks have a name for this affliction ?

Did you make the moulds ? If so what substance / material did you make them with ??

[k1w1]

Thanks for the information. I have been going to try this for a long time.

[fhvn4d]

Put some time in on a back shelf project of a Gamma Goat, made a whole new mold for MORE stowage boxes, started a funkwagon, and picked up Sprite!

[Leon]

Looking really good Brian!

[wbill76]

Some nice progress on the Goat!

[deafpanzer]

Camo looks GREAT on her!!!

[fhvn4d]

Lost my Mind working on stowage for the goat.... spent 8 hours on just the ammo crates. Version one contains the cooler, version 2 does not and is less.. neat... more lived in goat...

[deafpanzer]

Great work on the stowage!

[fhvn4d]

Stowage plan is set, detailed and waiting for a couple decals to call it done. Dio started for a small supply stop during Operation Urgent Fury (invasion of Panama). I STINK at getting grass down and painted well. Last attept was 100% white glue and I know that will hold LOL. Any thoughts or ideas for finishing the bare spots in the dio or changing it up are welcome !

[Tojo72]

Hadn't seen this one before,really looks cool.I think I used that stowage set myself,seems familiar.

[fhvn4d]

Vampirella got some skin today, and hair. The Goat is basically done, save some last touches to the stowage and finishing off the scene. Cleaned the desk, the whole shop area actually... and Im not that displeased with the cleanliness! Lastly finishing up some work on a funkwagon.

not bad for a weekend!

[deafpanzer]

Dig your man cave! And it was very nice meeting Ms. Fhvn4d too.

[fhvn4d]

Well, AMPS Nationals are in the book as a must see..... I hit about 5 hobby shops along the way, AND had four boxes of kits waiting for me when I got home! One was from China and had to be signed for! I have legitimately over stashed my stash after the last two weeks! Fortunately for me, I also took about an hour or two yesterday to get in front of the bench again and work on putting one project to bed and starting another one! .......

I decided to really pull my hair out and hand painted this....its 1/700 scale. The good news is I still have hair!

[Tojo72]

Good stuff for sure I guess that puts the Mosquitocon stuff in the rear view mirror for sure.There's always someone who will take your money

[wbill76]

Sounds like you are all set for awhile! Nice to see you're not letting any moss grow under your bench.

[fhvn4d]

Apr 20, 2016 8:28:01 GMT -5 Tojo72 said:

Good stuff for sure I guess that puts the Mosquitocon stuff in the rear view mirror for sure.There's always someone who will take your money

Its the one tarnish in an otherwise perfect vacation, and it was put in the background day one of AMPS Nationals when the president of AMPS came and welcomed my kids and wife, and promptly named my daughter " Pebbles" because she is that cute! The message holds true, put our best game on for the people who come to our shows all over the country!!!! I hope everyone gets something positive out of it and the negatives (including my own) are forgotten.

[fhvn4d]

I wont bore you with too many pictures from the Lake Erie build, but I did want to throw a couple of shots up of an experiment I made. I have always been fascinated at how no one can really get a HESCO bastion to look right in resin, so I decided to try scratchbuilding my own. ........ This is a 7 footer, in 1/35 scale....






This one was the first try... it was scaled out to be a 3 footer, but I dont like the way it came out at all...

[wbill76]

You may be onto something there Brian, the 7-footer looks pretty convincing.

[John Everett]

Great Goat gracefully gripping grassy ground!

[fhvn4d]

LOL thanks Bill!!! I spent a few months a couple years back doing ALOT of filling and dumping these things, so the images are right there in my brain to look at... Version 3.0 will likely have another set of wire going down the middle of 2 sides, so that it opens up like an accordion. Im messing with the corners as well, as on the real thing they have a coil like a spring that goes up the length. I have tried fishing line and coiling up floral wire to simulate it, but LIKE THE REAL THING.... once you get about halfway up the side of the bag, that coiling becomes extremely difficult to twist and thread correctly LOL.





That creepy big bastard fell out of one we were removing !!!! sucker is the size of a mans hand!




The bottom picture gives a good visual of the coils on the corners and in the middle of the bag. Most of these sets come as 5 bags already put together, and you have to run the wire and a coil down through the next set of 5 on both corners where they meet the built part of the wall.


(kinda funny, these two pictures were taken our first day at the FOB we were sent to, and the profile picture I have up is the same set of multicam after a few months of use.... man did they bleach out!

[deafpanzer]

Thanks for sharing the pictures! I saw a documentary show on TV how easy it was to make those walls around the base.

[fhvn4d]

MUCH easier, quicker, and STRONGER than sandbags. The unit I deployed with did a wall back in 2010 that withstood a dump truck sized VBIED..... these things work very well!