Author Topic: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama  (Read 19760 times)

hakoMike

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Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« on: 26 May 2013, 22:53:48 »
Hi folks,

   Sometime in the deepest, darkest 80's I purchased a 1/48 Ostall (Unseen Locust) and a 1/200 Glaug (Unseen Marauder) because of their anime connections. Now, 25-some-odd years later I would like to recreate a scene from the Battletech manual I remembered from back then. The scene (page 11 of the 1987 Battletech Manual) shows a Locust pilot triumphantly surveying the wreckage of his kill, a Marauder, from atop his mech. The Ostall has never been assembled, and after some consideration I've decided to convert the Glaug (already painted in Macross scheme) to be the wrecked Marauder.

So, here we are so far...


The Marauder shows its age, as my modeling-fu was weak then. The Locust is a nice simple kit, but will need a little work to make it more like the artwork. The legs have a locked knee, which I may cut and reposition to get the more upright stance of the illustration. I will also need to cut a hatch in the top and model some of the interior if I am to have the pilot stand there half out. Any ideas on a 10 or 15mm fig that might work well here?

The setting is also up for grabs. The illustration shows mountains in the background but no real sense of where the battle took place. I am thinking an urban setting would be fun, and allow for painting some urban camo.

So, more to come as I sporadically work on this.

worktroll

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #1 on: 26 May 2013, 23:08:25 »
Your Locust is missing its toes - this link to an image of the assembled kit show them.

http://www.hobbyxstyle.com/BaseProductImages/384/s400-1-32_ostall_big_b.jpg

Look forward to seeing progress!

Remember, it's OK to provide a link to images of the Unseen, including packaging & toys, and OK to include images of kits or toys you own, but not OK to include images of packaging etc.

W.
* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

hakoMike

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #2 on: 26 May 2013, 23:14:33 »
Yeah, the Locust toes are still on the sprue. I was just fitting a few things together to see what might need to change for the final scene.

So I'll be okay if all I show are images of the actual models that I'll be using for the diorama?

ShadowRaven

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #3 on: 26 May 2013, 23:59:36 »
yup. You own them, they are yours, you are free to do with them as you wish, and post pictures of them as you wish.  Not sure why you are unable to show the packaging for things you own, but I think it's better just not to.
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befriend (v.): to use mecha-class beam weaponry to inflict grievous bodily harm on a target in the process of proving the validity of your belief system.
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worktroll

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #4 on: 27 May 2013, 00:25:54 »
Because lawyers.

I did have it explained once, but my head still hurts. It's sort of a combination of "we don't control the art, art is different from things, don't play with sweating dynamite".

I used to have all those Crusher Joe mini kits, then kids happened. You can see pieces of them in some of my oldest kitbashes ;)
* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

hakoMike

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #5 on: 27 May 2013, 16:20:04 »
Today I made a pilgrimage to RIW hobbies in Livonia to see if they had any appropriately scaled figs for the pilot. Rather than walk away empty handed I bought a blister of Flames of War U.S. Company HQ. There were about 16 unique sculpts in that little blister, and no more than 3 of each sculpt. Amazing variety. Anyway, I found one that would have a casual lean pose (as opposed to the triumphant stance of the original illustration) and I liked the more martial appearance of the FoW fig. I clipped the base and he should work nicely. Deciding where the hatch should go was a challenge. There is a great painting of Locusts (and Stingers) on a recon mission, with the pilot standing on top of the mech looking through binoculars. The scale difference between that pilot, who appears to have emerged from a hatch near the nose, and the illustration I'm modeling my scene after was extreme. The pilot in my scene might have been able to fit his head in a hatch that size, but certainly could not use it for entry/exit. I opted to just scribe a rectangular hatch in the top. I need to decide whether to have the hatch open to the rear (like a car hood) or split down the middle and open to the left and right. Either way, I get to model the interior of the Locust, so I'll leave the body halves unglued until then.


Hooray for three day weekends to get hobby stuff done!

Saatch

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #6 on: 27 May 2013, 16:38:39 »
Very exciting, can't wait to see the progress.

hakoMike

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #7 on: 27 May 2013, 18:19:50 »
Busy, busy. Every time I think I'm done for the day I keep on working. Cockpit is coming along. Needs restraints and ejection loops.

Nav_Alpha

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #8 on: 27 May 2013, 20:10:17 »
Love the cockpit details. Very cool!


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ShadowRaven

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #9 on: 27 May 2013, 23:38:40 »
Looking great.  I shall be watching this with a good deal of anticipation
We are Clan Snow Raven. Masters of the void, and reapers of your souls

befriend (v.): to use mecha-class beam weaponry to inflict grievous bodily harm on a target in the process of proving the validity of your belief system.
— From a post on rpg.net

YingJanshi

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #10 on: 28 May 2013, 00:51:17 »
TAG. Most interested.

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hakoMike

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #11 on: 28 May 2013, 08:06:35 »
I got "committed" to the job and tore the Marauder apart. Most of the pegs broke rather than give up the embrace of the holes. No major damage was done.... yet.  >:D

The Locust pilot surveys the carnage.

I also finished what I am going to do with the cockpit. With the pilot standing there very little of the interior is visible, and since I plan on gluing the body shut it hardly seems worthwhile to go any further.

All I've done is add the ejection loops, some restraints and I replaced the control handles with thinner tubes (the ones before were just way too thick. I will now paint the interior and move on to assembling the Locust in its entirety. I've already drilled out the machine gun and medium laser barrels.

serrate

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #12 on: 28 May 2013, 10:30:08 »
This is really exciting to see your progress. I've got the same Ostall model, so I'm looking forward to seeing how yours ends up looking.

Tagged.

HavocTheWarDog

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #13 on: 28 May 2013, 17:12:24 »
I have a feeling that this is gonna be really cool looking when you're done! :D
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hakoMike

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #14 on: 28 May 2013, 22:48:24 »
Worked on the Locust cockpit and pilot a bit tonight, as well as cleaning up the Marauder for its ultimate demise.

Cockpit was probably more detailed than it needed to be for how much will be visible in the final scene.


Basic color blocking on the pilot done. Detail in this scale is a little squishy so I'll have to take some pains to make the face look decent. Also, he still looks too much like a WWII guy... gotta think of something to make him look more mechwarrior-ish.


Gotta decide if I'm going to continue with the Locust now or build up some scenery for the Marauder to lay across.

TS_Hawk

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #15 on: 29 May 2013, 00:05:44 »
I must say looks like Patton

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Diamond Shark

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #16 on: 29 May 2013, 17:57:19 »
Basic color blocking on the pilot done. Detail in this scale is a little squishy so I'll have to take some pains to make the face look decent. Also, he still looks too much like a WWII guy... gotta think of something to make him look more mechwarrior-ish.

the uniform is ok, its the helmet that is the visual problem, so one way would be to file it back, so closer to the actual head size, then either leave bald, or try and sculpt some hair.
other way is to sculpt some extra onto the helmet and make it look like a neuro helmet.
i think the first option would look better and closer to the artwork.

really love what you have done so far, keep up the great work.

worktroll

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #17 on: 29 May 2013, 18:13:19 »
the uniform is ok, its the helmet that is the visual problem, so one way would be to file it back, so closer to the actual head size, then either leave bald, or try and sculpt some hair.
other way is to sculpt some extra onto the helmet and make it look like a neuro helmet.
i think the first option would look better and closer to the artwork.

Also, MechWarriors tend to fight wearing cooling vests & shorts, which means bare arms & legs. (Yes, there's the initially rare Star League full-body cooling suit, but ...).

I'd personally not be game to file the arms down though.

W.
* No, FASA wasn't big on errata - ColBosch
* The Housebook series is from the 80's and is the foundation of Btech, the 80's heart wrapped in heavy metal that beats to this day - Sigma
* To sum it up: FASAnomics: By Cthulhu, for Cthulhu - Moonsword
* Because Battletech is a conspiracy by Habsburg & Bourbon pretenders - MadCapellan
* The Hellbringer is cool, either way. It's not cool because it's bad, it's cool because it's bad with balls - Nightsky
* It was a glorious time for people who felt that we didn't have enough Marauder variants - HABeas2, re "Empires Aflame"

avon1985

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #18 on: 29 May 2013, 18:26:31 »
Man that looks awesome already! O0

Cazaril

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #19 on: 29 May 2013, 19:49:49 »
There is a great painting of Locusts (and Stingers) on a recon mission, with the pilot standing on top of the mech looking through binoculars.

I'm going to assume you are talking about this... http://www.solaris7.com/files/members/4302/Recon_Boxed_Set_10-801_Front_Cropped-001A.jpg

I love the interior of the Locust... I think all the detail is wonderful. Even though you won't see a lot of it when you close her up, YOU will know it's there.

As for the soldier/pilot... I've got to go with WorkTroll on this one... Pilots should be shorts and bare-chested, with a neuro-helmet on. Seems wrong to be in fatigues and a combat helmet... But having looked around a bit, I can't seem to find one that works

Caz

hakoMike

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #20 on: 29 May 2013, 23:23:53 »
You are a very compelling bunch.  :)

Behold the startling transformation from WWII army type guy to kinda-sorta mechwarrior!






It's not shorts all the way around, and I went with goggles, but it's a whole heck of a lot better now I think. After reading some of the comments I went and bought an $11 single speed rotary tool from Harbor Freight after work. I then set upon re-sculpting what I could to remove the helmet and sleeves. Not. Easy. Yikes. The fact that he looks as good as he does is as much luck as anything I think. His complexion is somewhere between Edward James Olmos and The Hound. The beard was sort of a spontaneous thing, but I liked it and decided to keep it.

I also used the new rotary tool to cut a bunch of balsa into little bricks for a rubble pile. I dumped them on the plastic base and then liberally dumped thin superglue over the piles. After my eyes extinguished, I sprayed a little kicker to make sure it was all cured. I'm just playing around at this point, seeing what looks good and what doesn't.


Overall, I'm pretty happy with the progress. Let's just hope I can get it done before my Reaper Bones show up.
« Last Edit: 29 May 2013, 23:28:58 by hakoMike »

YingJanshi

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #21 on: 29 May 2013, 23:37:02 »
Dude, you Rock!!  O0

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GOTHIK

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #22 on: 30 May 2013, 11:44:19 »
this is an incredibly cool project!
and that cockpit is amazing!!!

ShadowRaven

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #23 on: 30 May 2013, 13:37:47 »
Looks great. The changes done to your mechwarrior really came out good. Luck or skill is irrelevant when it comes out looking awesome
We are Clan Snow Raven. Masters of the void, and reapers of your souls

befriend (v.): to use mecha-class beam weaponry to inflict grievous bodily harm on a target in the process of proving the validity of your belief system.
— From a post on rpg.net

hakoMike

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #24 on: 30 May 2013, 13:54:59 »
I just figured who my pilot reminds me of...

from Area 88!
« Last Edit: 31 May 2013, 08:46:30 by hakoMike »

Cazaril

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #25 on: 30 May 2013, 13:55:50 »
It's not shorts all the way around, and I went with goggles, but it's a whole heck of a lot better now I think.

You are right... It's not short and a neuro-helmet... But it certainly does look a lot better then what you started with... And I think the goggles and beard are great additions... Well done.  O0

I was looking at my copy of "The Rules of Warfare"... Are you planning to add as much extra detail to the outside of the Locust, as you did to the inside? It would be a shame if you didn't.

Caz

hakoMike

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #26 on: 30 May 2013, 14:04:11 »
I was looking at my copy of "The Rules of Warfare"... Are you planning to add as much extra detail to the outside of the Locust, as you did to the inside? It would be a shame if you didn't.

I don't think I have book... I'll have to "search" my "basement" (wink wink) to see if I can find it. Any additional tech detail I can find would help a lot. The pictures vary dramatically. The pg11 pic definitely shows some pistons behind the knees, but the recon pic (referenced earlier) looks almost completely identical to the legs on the model kit, right down to the bend in the wiring. I think I have enough creative license to trick it out a little.

EDIT: duh, that's the book I got the picture from. :-P Do you have a page in mind that shows what you are talking about?

Cazaril

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #27 on: 30 May 2013, 14:22:52 »
EDIT: duh, that's the book I got the picture from. :-P Do you have a page in mind that shows what you are talking about?

Same page (11)/picture that shows in the background of your original picture... It looks like you have Rules of Warfare as a PDF (?), where I've got the dead tree version. I couldn't see it well enough in your picture, so I pulled my book out...

There is the cylinder shaped piece to the left side of the pilot's left foot... I like the look of the back of the legs better that picture, then the cover of the Recon Lance boxed set I posted the link to... I haven't seen the front of the cockpit (it hasn't been included in any of your pictures), so I don't know if it will be open or how closely it matches... Plus the sides of the model look flat, where the pictures have all kinds of panel lines and detailing... All little stuff, but it is all stuff that helps the model go to the next level (and considering the cockpit you did, you obviously have the skill to do it).

Caz

hakoMike

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #28 on: 30 May 2013, 14:52:51 »
First off, thanks to everyone for the compliments and advice. I'd like this to be really nice looking, and you folks know the source material so well that I can rely on you to steer me in the right direction.  O0

I did a little image searching, and implementing some hydraulics like a backhoe has would add to the look a lot. I would have to extend the shins up and back to get the pivot point I'd need, but I have some brass rod/tube that would be ideal for this. In terms of the body, some access panels on the side might work, or maybe some sensor arrays. I will definitely be painting the kind of tiled look that the recon box cover has.

Would a transparent panel in the hatch (which I have yet to show) seem plausible? Nothing huge, just a sort of "sun roof" type thing.

Cazaril

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Re: Locust v. Marauder Unseen Diorama
« Reply #29 on: 30 May 2013, 15:50:19 »
Would a transparent panel in the hatch (which I have yet to show) seem plausible? Nothing huge, just a sort of "sun roof" type thing.

I've been looking at the original artwork

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/images/d/dc/Locust.jpg

Going back to one of your earlier ideas/questions "I need to decide whether to have the hatch open to the rear (like a car hood) or split down the middle and open to the left and right"... I think you should do the "split down the middle and open left and right".... Have a piece on the inside of the hatch (left or right doesn't matter), that the other side of the hatch sits on...

I think the front "windows" should be mirrors (I'm sure you could find a sheet of mirrored thin plastic somewhere)...

But that piece just above the windows.. The cylinder piece... Make that into a periscope... It already looks like a lens on the front... And according to Wikipedia's entry on periscopes "Tanks use periscopes extensively: they enable drivers or tank commanders to inspect their situation without leaving the safety of the tank."... It's perfectly positioned. Gives you a chance to do a glass effect (instead of the skylight you mentioned). And it makes sense..

Caz