dupes
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Post by dupes on May 3, 2015 10:12:39 GMT -5
Wow. Where to start. For as long as I can remember (well, since 1988ish, anyway), I've been a fan of the Battletech universe. Its basic premise is war a thousand years from now in huge walking humanoid armor suits piloted by humans (often confused for robots). For those of you that have never been exposed, go here for a bit of a primer: bg.battletech.com/new-to-the-board-game/Started playing the board game with my friends pretty obsessively before I even got into high school with the paper maps and little paper standups of the mechs that came in the original box set. Before too long I graduated to making my own 3D maps and starting to buy the Ral Partha lead miniatures which were a HUGE improvement in the "realism" factor. Paper standups: airborneace.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/bt-paper-mechs.jpgRal Partha lead: www.google.com/search?q=ral+partha+battletech+blister&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=HTFGVZ3-GIOrggSf0IDQAQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg&biw=1600&bih=775Come the mid 90's the Mechwarrior 2 game came out for the PC...I bought a computer specifically tailored to run that game. I have the stat rundown still for that machine - it's quite humorous. MW2 spawned several sequels, all of which I played a good bit. Fast forward to 2013, when the BT license was sold and Mechwarrior Online came out. Battletech is at the forefront again! Poking around in the MWO forums, I came across some pics of some large mechs that someone somewhere had scratchbuilt. They were big. MUCH larger than the 1/285 stuff I had been playing with! Turns out that they were 1/60 scale to match a very short run of resin kits that a company called Armorcast put out in the late 90's. That run included the Madcat, Vulture, and Atlas. The reason Armorcast went with 1/60 scale is that it translates (approximately) to 28mm - which is tabletop gaming scale. Accessories galore! Soldiers! Vehicles! Buildings! Terrain! I did a lot more digging and found that as a result of the Armorcast kits, there spawned an underground community of garage kit manufacturers who were scratching their own short-run (often VERY short-run) mechs to go along with the original three. The underground part is due to the licensing aspect - there are no "official" kits available anywhere. So I've been talking to these guys lately...a LOT. Here's links to most prolific producers: battlemechclub.blogspot.com/scott-messydesk.blogspot.com/reversedisabled.blogspot.com/ravenstarstudios.blogspot.com/thorsmechworks.wordpress.com/Of course, if you're going to buy expensive resin kits, you can't just slap random paint all over them, especially not when you have an extensive canon to fall back on. Hence the website created just for our purposes! www.camospecs.com/So there you go. A bit of history, some background, lots of info, and where I'm at currently with my futuristic walking tank addiction (100% committed). This will be where I catalog all of my builds of the excellent stuff that these guys are cranking out. Oh, and if anyone wants to get in on a tabletop game, let me know.
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dupes
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Post by dupes on May 3, 2015 10:14:00 GMT -5
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Post by kaytermarram on May 3, 2015 11:46:35 GMT -5
Cool thread here, Dupes! OK, I am not into playing this stuff as a game (be it a computer game or on paper) BUT I am hooked with the kits and figures and see, how much potential is here for me to enter this field. I guess I would love to build one of those big chaps as a wreck and do some figure work, too. This gives absolute freedom in modeling and sculpting and will look cool, too! So I am the most curious guy in town to see what will come up here and how far you folks will go!
Frank
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dupes
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Post by dupes on May 3, 2015 14:37:42 GMT -5
Would love to see one of these done up as a wreck...lot of scratchbuilding to do there!
Have you ever done any 28mm figure sculpting? Got to imagine it's pretty difficult going that small.
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Post by wbill76 on May 3, 2015 16:23:47 GMT -5
Still have fond memories of playing MechWarrior on the PC! Neat to see it making a come-back.
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Post by kaytermarram on May 4, 2015 5:55:50 GMT -5
Dupes, yes I have. Some time ago I began a kind of Orkwarrior in that scale which was based on an old GW skeleton (I used the plastic skeleton as a guide for anatomy). The details came out really cool, but the basic part, the plastic kit, was not the best source, too bulky. Next time I try something in that scale, I make it all myself. Can post a pic so you can see my efforts.
As for the scratchbuilding on that wreck, I think, thats the main fun. Showing all those inestings looking out, tons of cables, hydraulic stuff etc. Must look really good when finished and weathered!
Cheers, Frank
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dupes
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Post by dupes on May 4, 2015 18:40:09 GMT -5
I'd love to see that figure Frank...and definitely a wrecked mech!
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dupes
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Post by dupes on May 4, 2015 18:41:55 GMT -5
Still have fond memories of playing MechWarrior on the PC! Neat to see it making a come-back. If you don't feel like playing MWO, the MW4 games Will still work on modern OSs (2 and 3 no such luck). I replayed 4 recently...still a ton of fun!
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Post by tigrazor on May 5, 2015 3:59:14 GMT -5
Would love to see one of these done up as a wreck...lot of scratchbuilding to do there! Have you ever done any 28mm figure sculpting? Got to imagine it's pretty difficult going that small. Once youre used to it, its quite easy. Great to see your big beast here, Im slightly jealous.
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dupes
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Post by dupes on May 5, 2015 10:33:37 GMT -5
Those figs are scratched? Innnnteresting. Would love to see some more pics of those.
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Post by kaytermarram on May 5, 2015 12:13:36 GMT -5
What scale is this robot?? To me, the figures look like Preiser stuff in 1:72 or 1:87. Why did the builder use normal civilians? I would have done Battlemech soldiers... Anyway, here is my first attempt in sculpting in 20 - 30mm. A skeleton/ork combination. It is more done to see what details I can do in this scale and what is possible for me in general. He has two different shoes with different armor and details. The Kilt is done with a belt, and the face is my own interpretation. But the figure suffers from bulkiness, which depends on the GW skeleton I used as an armature. My next sculpt in this scale will definitly be some guy in an heavy full body armor, equipped with a Big fu... Gun (BFG? The mother of all weapons in DOOM) and "tons" of Equipment. Will do it parallel with a Stalker figure from the PC game. I hope to come up with something unique and, as for the small guy, with something usable for the Robots. Frank
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dupes
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Post by dupes on May 5, 2015 15:02:26 GMT -5
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Post by tigrazor on May 5, 2015 16:51:20 GMT -5
Frank is absolutely right - those are Preiser miniatures. Always difficult to get very small figures that look good too - as far as I remember those are 1/100 scale.
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dupes
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Post by dupes on May 5, 2015 18:24:37 GMT -5
Ahhh. The way your post was worded I thought you had scratched those.
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Post by tigrazor on May 6, 2015 3:59:25 GMT -5
LOL. Nope, sorry. The Mech was partly scratched, not the figures.
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Post by kaytermarram on May 6, 2015 7:33:03 GMT -5
Thanks Dupes, great you like him! As said, it was more a "trying out" of what amount of details I can achieve and how big the whole guy will be. Sculpting in this scale was no real problem, the only challenge is always the head or face. But the links you provided, man, how cool is this stuff! The KEILERKOPF APC is really interesting and might be super fun to build, but the figures, hell, they blew me away! I think they are designed on PC and printed? To have this stuff as a guide I think I can come up with something that might look usable and detailed! The Stalker is an idea of Biskup,too, because he loves this character like me and I have some ideas for such a figure. As for the troops I think it is ok to incorporate as many as own ideas as possible?
Lucas, you did the mech? My first one will be such a two legged frea of cause, design like the Glaug. And I will do a wreck, thats for sure.
Frank
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dupes
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Post by dupes on May 6, 2015 8:45:28 GMT -5
Hadn't though about how they might have gone about those figs. I'll see if there's any info in the packaging when they get here on Friday.
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dupes
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Post by dupes on May 9, 2015 13:51:35 GMT -5
Managed to get a hold of several hard to find kits this week - there aren't enough emoticons to express how stoked I am over these guys.
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Post by tigrazor on May 9, 2015 14:31:11 GMT -5
Have some spare parts here, if you need some.
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thechaos
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Post by thechaos on May 9, 2015 14:58:41 GMT -5
Interesting great Kits.
What is it Resin or Vinyl?
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Post by tigrazor on May 9, 2015 15:26:01 GMT -5
Those are resine and pewter kits, Chris.
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dupes
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Post by dupes on May 9, 2015 16:07:04 GMT -5
Spare parts? For which kit(s)?
Actually, the top one is vinyl. Its a different scale, too - 1/35. Frickin' huge! Most likely the only kit I'll ever get that's not 1/60, to stick with constant scale theme.
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Post by tigrazor on May 9, 2015 16:26:40 GMT -5
For the MadCat.
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dupes
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Post by dupes on May 9, 2015 17:21:09 GMT -5
Interesting. Does that mean that you have multiples? And if so, does that mean that you've finished one?
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Post by tigrazor on May 9, 2015 17:22:08 GMT -5
Was a kitbash (see above).
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dupes
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Post by dupes on May 9, 2015 17:24:55 GMT -5
Thaaaaats what you used up there. Now I get it!
Is that Madcat + Vulture + scratched bits?
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Post by tigrazor on May 9, 2015 18:04:51 GMT -5
Absolutely right.
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dupes
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Post by dupes on May 11, 2015 10:14:55 GMT -5
So the question is, are you going to make an "opposite" version? The leftover Cat and Vulture bits to make a totally different mech?
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Post by tigrazor on May 11, 2015 11:57:06 GMT -5
ATM theyre asleep in my spare parts box. I misused one of the spare parts for a LUM Camel sidekick vehicle, but thats it.
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maschinenkrueger
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You want MaK with that?
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Post by maschinenkrueger on May 13, 2015 8:59:26 GMT -5
Thanks for those links Dupes! A 1/60 Urban Mech! How Cute!
I use to play the table top game with the hex board and dice rolling back in high school.
I also played the PC game quite a bit. Remeber how hard it was to set up your weapon groups as soon as you launched but before you got shot.
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