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An Old Walrus Coming to Life...Catapult Diorama

Hi Richard
I was impressed the first time I saw this and seeing the skill and patience again I am even more in awe. This really is great.
Jim
 
Thread owner
Thanks Scottie and Jim,

I'm glad you both like the re blog. I don't know if I could go through with another build such as this. And Scottie the airbrushing skills have been horned for the last 40 years and there are still new special effects to master yet.

Cheers,
Richard
 
Thread owner
Thank you Ralph...wait till you see the Village People :smiling2:

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Just making sure the underneath is painted although it can't be seen unless you lift the display.

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Darken the lines in between the planks...I later found out thet the planks were scaled too large and had to thin them.

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Ok the test figure is also wondering how to thin the planks...I decided to split them.

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Preiser and Revell figures were used for the conversion. Apparently they're both German, one Luftwaffe and the other Kriegsmarine.

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Turning them into British sailors using two part putty and plastic rod discs for the top of their hats.

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Slowly the Village People are starting to imerge...it's time to put on YMCA :tears-of-joy: You've gotta ask Allen why the VP...ok I see three guys doing the pose :smiling2:

Cheers,
Richard
 
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Slowly the Village People are starting to imerge...it's time to put on YMCA :tears-of-joy: You've gotta ask Allen why the VP...ok I see three guys doing the pose :smiling2:

Hey Richard,

You know I call 'em as I see 'em and when the pic is posted, everybody will know why!!! And the lead playing will be "In the Navy"!!!

Prost
Allen
 
Thread owner
Hey Richard,

You know I call 'em as I see 'em and when the pic is posted, everybody will know why!!! And the lead playing will be "In the Navy"!!!

Prost
Allen

Right...that's coming up next...some how or rather navy sailors have attracted less women so says one of my navy friends :tongue-out3:

Cheers,
Richard
 
Thread owner
Hi, late continuation as usual...

The figure poses were tested on the platform and deck...

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Then reworked swith final putty touch ups.

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Mr disco king below is actually the guy on the Walrus wing tightening the wing securing lever...the other guy doing the rolling arms pose is the arms technician fiddeling with the Lewis gun at the bow turret.

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The re-scaling of the deck wood planking.

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More disco dancing later on...:smiling2:

Cheers,
Richard
 
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Thread owner
Hi Scottie, lucky thing I resized the planks. It would have been awkward with the figures standing around.

In the Navy...dum...dum...dum...oops where was I?? Ok figgies are primed with good old Gunze 1500 thinned.

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While it cured I strung up the pulleys with thick cotton thread. I got rid of the fibres by running the thread through bees wax and then holding it near a flame to melt the fibres in. Painted it burnt umbre.

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The concert remained playing and the boys were painted different shades of navy blue where the lighter shades picked out raised areas. The highlights you see are helped with paint.

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I noticed the Village People were all sailors so I needed a Royal Marine standing guard. He needed an Enfield rifle and I couldn't find one in the spares so I wittled a plastic strip just by memory of what an Enfield looked like.

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I think it took me an hour or so.

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Marine has been painted up and joined the troop... he's paying no attention to the guy next to him pointing to the floor. :smiling2:

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The sailors caps would have the name of the ship printed on but I wasn't a micro surgeon. Thanks for looking and looking forward to your comments.

Cheers,
Richard
 
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Thread owner
With the figures painted I moved on to make the hatches for the deck. I made two types and they were to be the masters for casting.

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I used the same base for the two covers.

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Made the handles and turn wheels from copper wire and sheet.

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Cleaned up any detail with my Argofile burrs.

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Cheers,
Richard
 
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Hi Richard
Figures look great. Very nice work making them fit the scene. Wood planking does look more to scale. Interested to see how you cast the hatches. Will the handles make it awkward? Those burrs look useful.
Fancy not painting the names on the hats!!
Jim
 
I agree with Jim on the lack of names ,nothing for a man of your skills Richard .
Love the shot of the guys looking up at the two doing the movements of rope pulling :thumb2:
This takes me back to those good old days of the " Other House " .:tears-of-joy:
 
Thread owner
Thanks fellas.... I didn't attempt to paint the names...just too small...

Here's my little attempt to cast. I first made a reservoir with card and used blu tac to prop up the master.

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It was difficult to measure the little amounts of each resin part mix so I got some irregular casts...some even turned out like jelly or gummy bears.

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After making enough I painted and gave them a dark wash with AK Navy wash.

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Now it was off to the deck...

Cheers,
Richard
 
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Thread owner
Thanks John, my castings are always wingers...some good some bad and others terrible. :smiling6:

The Marine looks smart on duty...

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And so are the other fellas...this time no imaginary rope.

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Watchout where you're pointing that thin Guv'...

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Disco man is running up that hill...

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To keep the Walrus from detaching epoxy resin glue was used to bond the four points of the cradle arms including the cradle base to the catapult. Tiny dots of super glue held it in place while the epoxy set.

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Cheers,
Richard
 
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Hi Richard
Stunning stuff. The more I look at it the more impressed I am. Is the resin you use mixed 50/50? Do you mix by volume or weight?
Jim
 
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