The Falke’s main and only weaponry lies in its forward minigun which looks cool. I wanted to give it more weapons including a pair of scratch-built missiles. But then again, this is an observer aircraft with an experimental (Third-eye) radar system which should be flying far away from the battlefront. However, the more I look at the twin booms, the more I wanted to modify them to have a twin .50 caliber guns ala Anton Furst’s Batmobile. Anyway, for the time being, let’s use the minigun since it comes with the kit. The idea to motorise the barrels was not used as, it made the Falke look… toy-like. So were the ideas for using laser pointers. Speaking about Lasers, this kit does not have the Excimer Laser Gun part (but other Falke models after this does).
The plan is to use the existing minigun but with an ammo belt and a noticeably bigger ammo drum upgrade.
I used this Philips fluorescent starter cover as the minigun’s ammo drum. I smoothed the logo away with Aves Apoxy and sculpted a covered box on its side. The epoxy is quite sticky once it has been mixed but after about 15 minutes, when it starts to harden, it gets less sticky. I can shape it using a moist silicon sculpting brush. But you need to work fast! I also pre-measured and pre-drilled some holes which is to be mounted onto the Falke’s harness later.This how the minigun looked after a coat of Mr. Color GX2 Ueno Black mixed with the remaining primer. As the barrels was not stippled, it remained smooth.The minigun’s body has been slightly weathered with Abteilung ABT165 Faded White and a mix of Tamiya Panel Line Black and Dark Brown. Then I dry-brushed some Tamiya X-11 Chrome Silver on the barrel’s muzzles. For the flexible ‘ammo belt’, I got it from ICW (Infinite Creation Workshop) a local shop/workshop for modelers. In actual fact, this is part of a jewelry. I only needed to use a short length, about 10 links or less.Since I am not using Superglue, I fashioned some ammo belt holders from strip styrene, filled them with Aves and then forced the ‘ammo belt’ into it. As precaution, I scraped the paint off the minigun’s body on where the ammo belt will be. This is to make sure the cement glue has something to ‘bite’ onto later on.The underside view of the ammo drum. I kneaded the extra Aves putty to shape like some fabric case to cover the drum’s electronics. Last minute ideas always come to me when I have extra Aves in my hand and they’re usually quick drying too.The ‘ammo belt’ shading was done with Tamiya Panel Line Black and later, a coat of Gaia Notes #43 Clear Black to protect it. For its ‘ammo belt’ holders, I hand-painted with Mr. Color Steel, plus some stippling to create a rough surface. The ammo drum was primered with Mr. Surfacer 1000 first, then coated with Mr. Color Violet Brown, followed by thin coats of random Tire Black. The covered box was Red Brown. Using Mr. Mark Setter and Mr. Mark Softer, I put some Gundam decals over them. Finally, a coat of clear/matte to protect everything.When the Mr. Surfacer 1000 is almost dry, I dipped a little onto a brush and stippled the surfaces of the minigun body to give it a worn rusted look. I have to do this again and again to disturb the surface as the primer levels as it dries. But I left the barrels alone.I mounted the ammo drum to the harness via the holes I have drilled earlier. I used Aves instead of superglue as the medium between the ammo drum and the Falke’s harness. There was a problem with the ‘ammo belt’ flexing to shape in a tight turn and so, I removed a few links and bent it into shape instead.
After going through the minigun assembly with Tamiya Panel Line Black and Dark Brown, I used Abteilung ABT060 Light Rust and ABT070 Dark Rust to weather it even more.
THE BOMBS or FUEL TANKS
I wanted to add these pair of rockets/bomb/fuel tanks under the Falke but they would seem out of place and due to their size, could not sit flush under the curved surface. I got these from a stationery shop, the section where you would usually find small kids pens or well, stuff. So, cannibalising 4 pens, I got what I wanted. Maybe in a Future Falke, I will use them.
In the next chapter, I will tell you about my last-minute feat in creating the Falke’s Base in just a few days, after failing to look for a suitable solution for months.
