Unseen Thunderbolts - I need inspiration !!!

[Black_Knyght]

I just recently got my grubby paws on some oh-so-rarely seen Unseens at Denio's Roseville Farmers Market & Swap Meet, ranging from eleven mintily (?)  unopened pieces in the old blue FASA packaging (  ;D ;D ;D ) to about a dozen  (+/-) more previously-used pieces loosely assembled in household poly-bags (  :-\ :-\ :-\ ).

Among the poly-bagged pieces are two Unseen Tbolts that are in surprisingly manageable condition, EXCEPT with regards to their Large Lasers . On the first one the forward barrel and "handle" appear to have never fully formed, and it's apparent it's a bad molding. On the second, however, someone obviously broke off the protruding bits in both front and back, leaving just the section attached to the forearm.

That said, I'm hoping I can talk a few of you amazing modellers out there into posting some Tbolt pics wherein the Large Laser has been reworked or replaced in some clever manner. I want to salvage both of these this way, and I'm looking for some inspiration from you great folks here.

And thanx all, in advance... O0

[Ang Moh Siao]

Sculpey clay and toothpicks. Works like a charm.  The trick is either to keep messing with it until it looks perfectly correct, or to just lower your standards until you reach equilibrium.

[Luciora]

I only have 2 of the original Tbolts, after a quick look and i usually swapped both arms for other loadouts.  I've done more customizing with the reseen arm by cutting off the front and rear then using parts like the vindicator's ppc barrel.

[shadhawk]

Why not use the laser from the re-seen for the one cut off at the ends and some bits to repair the rear end. Some form of small end cap would also work for the back end.
The other use some plastic, brass or aluminum tube to finish the laser. Use a tube a bit larger then what is the barrel you have then cut one end to get the split the laser would have.
Use some brass or plastic strips to repair the handle. Brass would work better as it will bend and hold its shape better.

[worktroll]

One of the essential things for any mini modder is your "bitz" supply. While other minis are an obvious source, a good eye for found objects helps.

You're looking for items with texture. Like the toothpicks with grooves in the end, as a good example. Bits from wiring, plumbing, etc can all come into play.

If metal tubing isn't an option, try your local hobby store - it may well have styrene or balsa rods & sheets in many forms.

And a bit of air-drying clay is cheaper than putty, easier to use for small filling & smoothing jobs - just don't rely on it for structural strength.

[Black_Knyght]

I have a ton of ideas, and a good sized box of bitz. I just wanted to see what others had done to see if something out there jumped out at me or inspired me in some clever direction I haven't yet considered.

Doesn't look like that going to happen though...

[Luciora]

Rushed pictures, but I tended to replace the phoenix version more than the original build. 

[Cazaril]

I've never had a need to replace an unseen Thunderbolt large laser, but if I had to, here are a couple of ideas I might consider.



A: CRK-5003-1 Crockett Arm <20-778>
B: Rommel/Patton Heavy Tank Turret Barrel <20-750TRT> ($1.85)
C: AWS-8Q Awesome Arm <BT-270>
D: WHM-8D Warhammer Barrel <20-201F> ($1.85)

(Note, those with prices are available through the Salvage Yard. Those without, you would have to contact IWM about)

You can see from the picture that all three arms are about the same size, and it shows where I would make my cut and what details I would cut off (I'd cut the second fin off the Warhammer barrel, but from the angle of the picture there was no way to indicate that). The Rommel/Patton barrel would take some extra work, as I would also round off the edges by the cuts to make it fit the design better.

Overall, I like the Rommel/Patton barrel the best, because once removed from the turret it makes it harder to identify and has enough detail to be interesting... Second comes the Awesome barrel. This barrel has almost the exact shape and lines of the original, with only the details being different. Yes it is a little plain, but I might be tempted to see if I could carve some of the detail back into it... The Crockett arm has the best detailing of the bunch, but I've already used it in a conversion, so for me in comes in last. I don't like to reuse stuff if I can help it... Which by default make the Warhammer barrel an unenthusiastic third. There is nothing wrong with it as an option, there are just better ones to consider first.

The grafting is pretty straight forward. Cut the remains, if any, of the original barrel off. File and sand. Cut the replacement barrel where indicated. File and sand the end. Make your starter hole in the barrel dead-center. Drill. Glue in your pin. Center the barrel up against the stub of what remains of the original laser and  press to mark the spot. Make your starter hole and drill. Glue in the two halves together. Fill in any gaps with green stuff (or whatever self-setting putty you prefer).

For the handle, I think I'd just use some .040 x .050 (or .040 x .060 if .050 is not an option) strip styrene. If you notice from the picture, the left side is a bit thicker than the right, you could get some .040 x .080 strip styrene, but that would add to the cost. I'd probably glue two pieces of the .040 x .050 together, and then carve it down after the glue sets.

The pod/barrel/whatever on the back, is a bit more difficult (an potentially expensive). I think I would use brass tubing, starting at 5/32. Because most of the tubing fits inside each other, I'd keep gluing smaller diameter pieces inside the other until I got down to the width of the wire I was going to graft it on with. When I got down to 1/16th, I'd make that piece a little longer, to make the stubby piece on the far left. I'd also try gluing in a piece from the left that was smaller than my graft wire, but not have it the whole length of the larger pod (if that makes sense). The reason is that I'd want my graft wire backstopped against something metal. Then I would taper and round the edges with green stuff... Of course the big problem with this idea is cost. At $4-$6 per package of tubing, and 5-6 layers of tubing, it adds up pretty fast.

Anyway, those are some ideas of how I might tackle this...

Caz

[Black_Knyght]

@ Luciora & Cazaril - Thanx!

That's exactly what I was hoping to see, as I hadn't considered using a Black Knight's gun as an option, or the Crockett guns idea.

Sometimes it's the little things that jump out at you. Like maybe making the LL into a PPC instead... O0

[Mattlov]

That Black Knight arm works really well.

[Cazaril]

Sometimes it's the little things that jump out at you. Like maybe making the LL into a PPC instead... O0

I wasn't suggesting replacing the Large Laser with a PPC, just using one as the barrel...

That having been said, why not make the change... Or better yet, convert it to a TDR-5SS, which has a PPC.

The big problem with the TDR-5SS is what the load-out really is.

TTRO:3025 has it as: "The Thunderbolts of House Steiner have replaced the large laser with a Kreuss PPC mounted ib the right arm. Alsom an SRM six-rack replaces the LRM 15-rack, and two Zippo Mark IX flamers replace the Bical SRM twin-rack"... The SRM-2 is in the right torso, and no mention of the machine guns and their ammo are made.

Sarna.net (granted, the least reliable of the sources) has it as: "The 'Mech carries a Kreuss PPC as its primary weapon in its right arm, replaces the left torso LRM launcher for an SRM-6 and removes the SRM-2 to make room for two Zippo Mark IX Flamers in the left arm"... Pretty much the same, but this one states the flamers are in the left arm.

Record Sheets: Volume Three - Heavy Mechs has it as: x1 PPC - RA, x1 SRM-6 - RT, x3 Md. Laser - LT, x1 Flamer - RT... This version dumps the SRM-2, MGs and Ammo, and places only one Flamer in the RT.

Completely Non-Canon is my version - Which basically is the RS-Vol3 version, but the single flamer is placed in the left arm (which looks a lot better visually. Click here for pictures, but make sure to scroll down to the 2nd set of pictures as there are two mechs in that post)

You'll have to decide which version you plan to do...

Also, if you follow the link to the pictures, you'll see that I used the TDR-10M as my base mini for the conversion. Some of the feedback from my first attempt was that people were disappointed I didn't use an unseen. Obviously someone wants to see this done.

On a different note, I was messing around with a scrap of .040 sheet styrene and came up with this...



It took about 5 minutes to craft (if even) and was overall pretty easy. I like styrene for some things, and not for others. I think it would be OK for the "handle", although I'd consider maybe making a small notch for it on the left side of the laser. If you make the pod out of brass like I suggested, you won't be able to notch it, so you might want to add a little green stuff/something on either side of the pod side (if you look at the original picture with the different barrel options, you'll notice a little tab looking thing on the pod/left side. That is what I'm talking about adding)...   

Caz

[Luciora]

Thanks, that Tbolt is supposed to represent the 5SS version.  I even replaced the original smoke/lasers with better fitting styrene rods and a old Warhammer SRM6 launcher for that reason.

Love seeing your ideas too Caz!

[B1Bflyer]

I had a back portion broken off of mine so I made the SS version. I ended up cutting off the front barrel a bit too in order to shorten it more and make it look more visually diverse than the original laser.

Currently this is the only picture I have of it:

[Luciora]

Bit of a necro, but just refurbished this peice as a 5Sd.  Removed the lower arms and replaced with the reseen Battlemaster arm on the right and the left arm is a rebuild of a badly cast quickdraw forearm with a Centurion fist. 

[IAMCLANWOLF]

Denio's Roseville Farmers Market & Swap Meet

Ha!... Growing up, I lived in Sacramento, and even old-town Roseville at one point. Have fond memories of visiting that place, many times. Great stuff.

[Black_Knyght]

Ha!... Growing up, I lived in Sacramento, and even old-town Roseville at one point. Have fond memories of visiting that place, many times. Great stuff.

That place is a treasure trove of the rare and rarely seen. I've found many amazing wonders their, and have even rebuilt my collection of old Unseens just by wondering along and perusing the infinite aisles there...

[Luciora]

Nice.   Hour and 45 away from me.  I should make a day trip to check it out on a Sunday.

Ha!... Growing up, I lived in Sacramento, and even old-town Roseville at one point. Have fond memories of visiting that place, many times. Great stuff.