I just received the package from WHM Models yesterday afternoon and well, it was only today on Sunday that I was able to open the whole box. During January, I was able to visit WHM’s (World Hobby MIniatures) physical store for the very first time while we had a Family event in Penang. Sure, I can get thier stuff via Shopee but this is a pre-order and on their previous post, they had received quite a number of pre-owned kits which, would be made available during MMHS2025.
Besides side the Tesla Trooper, I also purchased a pre-owned 1/35 Churchill Tank Mk III made by AFVClub.
Measuring 31.5cm (l) x 23.1cm (w) x 6cm (h), the box is quite big. And enough to contain all the necessary sprues.
The plastics were all molded in colour and to be honest, they do not need much painting.
But not all parts are in styrene plastic as there were some which were rubbery and soft.
A Closer Look
Let’s take a closer look at the parts. The main reason I was interested in the Tesla Trooper (although I did not play C&C part 2 much), was due to
This is the only clear sprue. On the left is the part for the Tesla Gauntlet and on the right would be for the detail attached to the front of the Helmet.
Soft part (vinyl?) for the details around the waist and thighs.
Even softer parts (rubber?) for the Trooper’s helmet (left) and right elbow joint (right) to the Tesla Gauntlet.
Hands and hose parts which are made of, possibly, vinyl. They are slightly soft and will not bend and keep shape. So, you’re stuck with those interchangeable hands which, I have to assume, can not hold anything nor get stuff glued to it reliably.
You get two heads. One is the Tesla Trooper (left) complete with a skull cap & breathing mask, and the other is Dr. Yang (right) which comes with a pair of sunglasses. There are two metal cut-outs which are contacts for the batteries. See the oval holes in the green circuit board? That is where you slot the metal cut-outs into. For me, I’d prefer to solder them. Lastly, would be two sets of 4x 3.1mm and 4x 3.2mm magnets. They will be used for attaching pouches and flasks to the waist.
The markings to this IC is erased so I have no idea what it is but I can tell you it should be a microcontroller. I guess the circuit board has gone through two revisions before going into production.
The black sot23 in the middle is definitely a Hall Effect sensor. i.e. a magnet switch of sorts. This means when the circuit is powered ON, the microprocessor (on the other side) waits until this sensor detects a strong magnet field before it starts to execute its programing.
From the instruction sheet, you can see how to assemble the whole electronics without soldering. But if you do, please make sure you add some soldering flux to the aluminum sheet first.
This is how the whole Gauntlet cover is assembled.
The 3.7mm stud, which helps secure the cover, will definitely have to be replaced with a 3mm LED. The bad news is that the cover can and will become loose.
Removing this part is scary. My cutter was meant for electronic components and is too thick to cut the piece safely out. I have to make sure the thin parts (red) are not broken…
This means I have to cut as much as I can, away from the part and then use a blade to slowly trim them down.
This is the size of the original circuit board. Already there are some issues I have to think about because if I want to use the whole length of the clear part, my design have to be in the form of a very narrow PCB.
This is so sexy… except if you’re on the receiving end.
The LR521 batteries are not very common here in Malaysia. We only have the LR44, CR2016, CR2032 and that’s about it. So, I used a CR2032 instead which gives me 3.0 volts instead of the required 4.5volts. It still works although the white 0603 SMD LEDs needs at least 3.2volts to 3.5volts to light up.
The Video
Anyway, here is another boring video for you to understand what I am trying to understand before I am understood.
