With Mr. Edward DrGunpla’s Stormfang completed, it is time to start on mine which just came and this time, I am going to make mine as Stormwolf.
OK, I am back on this Project. Some of you might have not seen the completed version of Edward DrGunpla‘s Stormfang, you might want to click on this link below:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.907800102619103.1073741864.100001673660560&type=3
For mine, I am doing the Stormwolf version. And so, let’s start again. The reason I chose this configuration was because of the overall shape; although it was designated as Gunship, I prefer this to be a ramming troop transporter. The design really looked like as if someone was piloting a hot rod freight container.
Here are the shots of their sprues. The Stormwolf has three sprues and although the box looked big, I wished the model was at least another 2 inches longer. You are looking at the floor (top right part) and its ceiling or top (bottom right part). The slightly off-center top part which is square shape, is, whats I think is the engine internals with a wolf skull. And on the left next to it would be the optional intake to turn it into the Stormwolf.
There are other optional parts for you to customise such as the area on the top left. Anyway, the sides of the Stormwolf are located on the top and bottom right. One part of the ramp is at the bottom left.
So, yeah, the parts looked crude if you’re used to building actual scale models. But their plastic is soft, easy to cement and is naturally a light blocker.
Just like the Imperial Guard, this is how the stand for the Stormwolf looked like. They feel rather flimsy when you put the model on it but it does its job. It’s just that I do not like to cement it to the base without any guiding grooves or guides. There is only one clear piece, which is the canopy. I might have plans to spruce this up, provided I can get this ready before Animangaki 2015. And as usual, I have no idea kn how to use the decals.
This is how Warhammer models are being designed now; a core design with parts to turn them into various configurations, Just like the OEM concepts before the turn of the Millenium, which is supposedly more economical during mass production.
Anyway, the top is the Stormfang with its Helfrost cannon and the bottom is the Stormwolf with a normal looking intake hood and its barn door. Apart from that, they are the same.
I think this shade of Blue (Russ Grey) might be a bit difficult for me to get. But I will try mixing lacquer based paints such as blue with grey later on. Or, I might just paint it rust red or something and slap a ‘Galactic Movers’ logo some something…. And what is Lothern Blue?
Now the work begins!
If you look at the other side, you will notice that there is a set of side doors and the details are very nice, provided you chose not to fit the weapons sponson. As there will be lighting inside the model, I needed to make it more believeable by giving it some details. So I used the part #51 as template for the door’s patterns and scribed some lines into them. Of course, the four round recessed circles (ejector pin marks) have to be sanded away or filled up too.
This is a very badly scribed line as the upper part which I had glued on earlier, obstructed me. Also, I used some Evergreen styrene strips for the doors edges.
I am not sure how the doors open (most probably swing inwards and not sliding) and putting hinges there just looked awkward to me. In some parts of this model, you just need to try to stop thinking about it too much and simply enjoy the model as it is.
I also added some rib extensions to make the inside walls look more consistent. You can see the door’s scribed pattern now after I temporarily applied some Black Tamiya Panel Line.
So far, this is the view I can show you at the moment as I um, completely lost the other circuit board while I was doing Edward DrGunpla’s weeks ago….
Anyway, the sections are all masked with Daler&Rowney’s Masking Fluid, ready to be sprayed with a coat of Krylon Grey on the insides. Yeah, I want to paint this up and light it before I decide on the Stormwolf’s outer colours.
Sometimes in the midst of excitement (read: rushing or impulsive modeling) I forget that the Krylon Spray can is a little difficult to control. At these exchange rates, these cans can be quite expensive. In the end, I usually spray the models as close as I can to save the paint, only to remember too late that the paint comes out thick. Anyway, after the first coat of Mr. Surfacer Primer 1000, I left it to dry for a few days, while using the time to locate the missing PCB and work on it. This primer is great for covering fine details as compared to the Krylon Fusion.
So… OK, so.
So, I don’t have Lothern Blue.
So, I decided to mix some using whatever paints I have in my box. And so, I think I failed miserably. Then again, stuff it. That’s close enough for me.
So, so close. So and so, so. Heh.
After spraying the insides with my DIY Lothern Blue, I got bored and out came the Tamiya Dark Brown and Black Panel liners. I love these Tamiya Panel liners because when I get too lazy to paint or choosethe shade, I just ‘paint’ the part with different shades of Panel Liners.
Well, all I can say in that it needs more work and I am not happy that it looked crap on close ups. Plus, the side doors looked terrible. I’ll need to highlight the Wolf detail and the engine wall assembly thingy.
This took me a long time because of um, memory problems. I have forgotten where I have kept the 0.8mm tungsten drill bits I bought since June. I have been searching high and low all over the Works room for weeks but to no avail. And so, the better half of today was spent trying to find them. I could not go out to Pasar Road to get a normal drill bit since the Malaysian Grand Prix was underway and predictably, all routes to that area would be suffocated with parked cars. But luck or rather, irony was with me today, which happened to be in the form of a red box right in front of me… box full of drill bits except the 0.8mm
I have managed to get the remaining 5 prototype PCBs cut out and drilled. Its not the best etching work as you can see since the guy who used to etched the board for me has resigned. So, when the new guy took over AND refused to drill the holes, I got a discount. Out of the five prototype boards, one would go into this Stormwolf, one as reference and the remaining two would be for sale.. Did I miss one? Nope, it was for Mr. Edward Dr.Gunpla.
While I was bored… and inspiration hit.
There was a gap in the model’s upper detail where the ramp door close. The space was enough for me to put in a pair of SMD LEDs. I intentionally mount them to shine downwards instead of being the usual forward facing headlamps which can blind the observer. It would be very bright but the paint would absorb most of the light later on. I just love the cold harsh white light casting shadows onto the ramp.
Nice headlamp idea but not for this model this time. And because of the wiring, I will not be offering them on the remaining prototype boards.
OK, the first LEDs are soldered. You can see the first spotlight on the floor. As for the wall’s, I used a wide-angle LED instead. The warm yellowish light was from both LEDs which are warm white. If I put in normal white LEDs, it would spoil the whole atmosphere.
One good thing about the rear hatch is that although its just a single piece of plastic, there are details on both sides, which you can decide which side to use on. But for me, I’ll stick with the original side. Why am I telling you about this rear hatch? Move on to the next picture below or #42
This is my idea…
As you can see, there is a lot of space to store batteries and I am grateful that the hole for the stand is literally next to it. I just hope that it would balance out. And as for the hatch, I would need to give it some magnets too. This is a very risky procedure and cannot be rushed since I am a very bad modeler. But I know that this is my own Stormwolf, I might as well bite the bullet. That is, if there is enough time…
Remember the idea of putting the pair of front down lights? Well, here you go. I just used a pair of 3806 SMD LEDs, which are, whitish white. So, after soldering them, I cut some styrene plastic and glued them like so since I *ahem* ran out of superglue which is needed to hold them in place while I will use Ave Apoxy putty to fill the gap. Yes, the front of the StormWolf has square gaps and I am taking that as an advantage for the wiring to go through.
Experience has taught me that its OK to have light this bright because once the matte paint is on, it would absorb some of the brightness. OK, if not, I would just paint it darker…
Next up would be the front ramp, which, as usual, has no catch and I would not like to let people hold them up only for the ramp to ‘open’ up unexpectedly. The force of the ramp coming down can snap off the two small-ish plastic spindles.
So I used a small piece of styrene which doubles up as a light block and also to hold a small neodymium magnet. Then, I also drilled a small hole on the ramp itself and fitted an even smaller magnet (Just make sure their polarities attract)
With all the wiring done, its time to secure the circuit board onto the model. Yes, the board does look weird and I am taking advantage of the model’s rectangular ceiling to design the board. Not only does this board holds everything and gives the spotlights to the flooring, but it also doubles up as blue glowing Helfrost cannon effects.
Unfortunately, I did not solder the blue LEDs here since this is a Stormwolf, so you need to go to the top op the Album’s description to see Edward DrGunplas’s Stormfang. The Helfrost cannon LEDs are the main reason why I am still on the fence on making the commercially. But if and when the three other prototype boards are up for sale and there are no problems installing them, I might have to make a decision by then.
Testing the front lights. Oh, one thing I hate about this mode is that its really a pain to glue everything together into a proper ‘square’. Because if you don’t, the front ramp would either scrape the sides of the walls or not even close properly. Plus, I know its the design but I really hate those angled chisel parts on the floor which makes it so easy to cave in when you’re either test-fitting or gluing them.
So far, this is the progress for the weekend. And if I had another Stormwolf, I would like to light up the sides instead of the two spotlights on the floor…
OK, the bad news. Light leaks. This is from the upper part which covers the front of the ceiling and so, I think I need to plug them up with some plastic parts later.
Because the insides of the thrusters are hollow, you can mount the LEDs in many ways but there are Pros and Cons.
-You can shape a piece of plastic card to fit in there, drill out two 5mm holes and Superglue everything. But, when it comes to aligning the LEDs you will have a problem.
-You can also use some Epoxy putty to put the LEDs in place. Not only does this take time for the putty to dry (or might not even stick) but you still have a problem with aligning the LEDs or they might go out of alignment during during.
But the problem is, in this situation, I am using the LED’s hotspot effect to light up the printed draft paper at the end of the thruster. So, this means I would need to position the LED again and again until I get it right. And this means, the only solution would be to use holt-melt glue, which is not only fast but allows you to bend the LED until you get the desired position. And if there is a short, you just re-melt the blob, and fix the short.
The second picture on the right shows you how it looked (although it’s still too bright), the draft paper becomes a projector screen for the LEDs’s hot-spot.
I realised why I was not too happy about putting the battery pack at the back of the model. Once you insert the stand, there is nothing to stop it from piercing the Pilot’s butt. And if you look at its cockpit, it was intentionally designed to be so and secures the stand, making the mounting quite sturdy. Alas, the battery pack would need to be placed off-model…
Hello, I am a specially bred and biologically augmented 7 feet tall Soldier who is now represented as a deformed stodgy figure who has just finished his dinner of Space Crab and is now enjoying a video game with joysticks coming out from my knees…
I am using Gaia Notes’s EX-06 which is fluorescent clear. Under normal light, its just a clear coat. But underneath the UV light, it will show up as bluish white. (Great for secret logos, like those UV security inks)
So, what I did was to mask the inside of the clear canopy as best as I can, spray a few layers and hope for the best.
Cleaning the Airbrush was really a troublesome chore because since the paint is clear, you cannot how well you cleaned. I had to use UV light to see….
I airbrushed the Pilot with a coat of Gaia NotesUltra Blue #004. Once he is dry, I gave clear coat it before giving it a nice brush of Tamiya’s Black Panel line. Next, I soaked a drop of lighter fluid on to a cotton bud tip, and quickly wiped off the excess Panel Line.
And yea, the round thing next to him is a 3mm wide-angle UV led…
Next is drybrushing some details on the front ramp and also the cockpit. I gave the week old dried out Silver paint two drops of thinner to soften it and then wiped a brush onto them. Yep, after a few minutes, both of them are dry-brushed!
It does look messy does it not? Its because of the wiring going inside the model. The Stormwolf/fang was never designed to be lit. But I did it anyway and the more I worked on it, the more I was convinced that it is possible to light it since there were a lot of empty space inside.
Again, every step must be double-checked to make sure there are no LED blackouts or shorting.
It’s a shame to block out the side door with the sponsons as both of them were quite detailed. But anyway, I glued them.
Finally, some quite light test and very quickly, its the engines which needs to be worked on before I start painting.
Finally, she’s ready for the primer. And this will debut in Animangaki 2015!!!
#Amg2015 #Amg15
Finally, I made the decision to leave the battery pack off-model and seal this panel up. I have tried what Edward DrGunpla suggested but my model was a little to unstable (which is not good during it’s showing at Animangaki).
I used a little bit of styrene plastic to fill up the gap too. Not sure how it came about but maybe, its the way I glue the pieces which, caused this. However, because there are some plastic edges in the main model, you need to trim the plastic as shown in the yellow dots.
#Amg2015 #Amg15
OK. Today’s Sun is bright and sunny with a slight wind, which is good enough for me to coat the Stormwolf with some Krylon Fusion Matt Black. I am pleased with the results this time because I actually remembered to spray from a distance of 10~12 inches. So, all the details are still crisp!
I’ll continue this in a few more days if I can as today is Family Day…
#Amg2015 #Amg15
What you see on the left image is me removing the liquid masking (Daley & Rowney) from the LEDs of the thruster. The reason I did that was to minimise any accidental overspray from the Krylon Fusion.
After that, I cut out some newspaper strips which was oversprayed with the Krylon and used white glue to secure as a lightblock ring.
The shot on the right shows a slightly improved light leak. But over the next few days, I need to find a better solution as paper is opaque.
#Amg2015 #Amg15
The Krylon Fusion Matt Black, when sprayed far away, produces more like dots or rough textures which gave the model a very worn look at the distance of 12 feet or so. Slightly closer, you have a perfect cover but for me, its very hard to control since the paint comes out too fast and too thick. I can de-can the spray but then again, I do not have a proposer airbrush setup, just an aquarium compressor barely giving out 5psi or so.
Anyway, I mixed some Mr. Colour (I think) Bright Blue with Gaia Notes Grey to get this shade of blue which I think, more or less, matches the one on the cover of the box.
#Amg2015 #Amg15
Now, I want to show you what I did with the cockpit but please ignore my masking skills as its very bad.
On the outside of the clear part, I masked as usual and let it sprayed with the Blue. But on the inside, I slowly masked the outline and sprayed with a Gaia Notes EX-6, which is Clear Fluorescent. For most cases, this would bring out the colours under it, making it look deep and well, better? But my main intention for this paint is different.
Anyway, the last picture on the right shows the finished cockpit (without some touch-ups which I will do later). It looks normal, right?
#Amg2015 #Amg15
Here is the effect. When the lights are not turned on, this is a normal cockpit. But when I switched it on, the cockpit’s lines glows!!!
I connected the UV led to the Helfrost Cannon part’s of the circuit. Yes, I am still using that, but I replaced the Blue LEDs with a UV Led since mine is a Stormwolf and not a Stormfang.
#Amg2015 #Amg15
Anyway, I hope to detail it more in the next few days and get it ready from Animangaki 2015.
Right now, I am just playing with streaks and panel lines. I cannot make up my mind what colour I will use for the Wolf’s details and also the edges.
#Amg2015 #Amg15
