Modifying old plastic Catapult into K2 model

[Empyrus]

Just wanted to share how i'm going about this.

Decided i wanted a K2 Catapult, because i got enough plastic Catapults as it is and it is more fitting model for the Free Rasalhague forces i'm planning.

I don't have existing bits for guns, missile launchers and so on, and i can't currently get IWM parts, so i have to craft the PPCs. In this case, i took the tube/straw thing from used compressed air can that is about 3mm in diameter. The Alpha Strike Lance Pack plastic Catapult's missile launchers are about 5mm by 5mm, so it should look reasonable.

What i've done so far:
-Cut a piece of tube, aiming for about 10mm.
-Drill a wide-ish hole to the launcher, and a deeper smaller one inside for a pin. I don't have 3mm drill bit so i have to improvise.
-One end of the PPC tube gets squeezed with pliers to flatten it a bit and some excess cut to make it somewhat triangular to fit better the too small hole in the launcher.
-Going to use a pin to make sure the thing stays in there.

Once the PPC barrels are in place, i'm going to add some greenstuff inside the front end to make a concave paintable surface, and i'm also going to use greenstuff to smooth out the launcher to barrel transition and hide the ugly mess the drill caused.

I figure once this is all done, after priming and painting it should look fine, right?

[Failure16]

It will probably look just great. As an alternative, you just as easily cut off the LRM pods and replace them with a Catapult PPC arm from the Scrapyard.

Or use these; they work great for modifying SHDs to the -2K standard or rebuilding old 3rd Edition Warhammers with missing arms:

https://shop.groundzerogames.co.uk/15mm-stargrunt/accessory-packs-and-weapons/v15-acc27.html

[Empyrus]

Getting bits is not an option right now unfortunately. Not sure fantasywelt.de has the correct parts, but in any case i'm not ordering anything anytime soon, can't afford to.
If i could, i would probably just order a K2 Catapult, the limited edition type.

I may get stuff next month as i'm getting some tax returns but for now, i gotta make do with what i have at hand.

I will need to bookmark that link though, those look great and could be useful some day.

[Failure16]

Fair enough. Take a look through the other 15mm remote weapons on GZG's site and you will see something that might be useful. Some of the hexagonal crates, for instance, made great missile pods, and the turrets work great on 6mm AFVs.

That being said, your mod will look great. If you can swing it, give the gunports something to gussy them up, something with some visual interest. Even if you ran a saw across the opening to provide a slot would keep it from looking like just a tube, for example.

[Empyrus]

Yeah, decorating the tube somehow is in the plans. Got some suggestions on discord, and i just found old Sopwith Camel Academy/Minicraft model that could provide parts for something.

Options i'm considering:
-Some kind of rings or coils
-Cooling fins
-Panels running along the length of the barrel as bracing

Not sure i can do much to the tube's gun end without quickly ruining it. I'll cut a practice piece and see if i get any ideas.

[worktroll]

Couple of comments. I'd probably take 3mm off the barrels; the old plastic Cat is a small mini, they look a little overwhelming.  Second, best way to do coils is to glue the beginning of a thread underneath the barrel (where it won't be seen), let that dry. Then "paint" the barrel with glue, and wind the thread along the barrel; cut so the end is also underneath. Later paint metallic.

Maybe also another tube, that fits inside the main tube; cut a 5mm bit, slide it in so that only 1mm sticks out; adds detail.

[Empyrus]

Didn't think of that way to do the coil but makes sense, thanks for the hint. Probably not doing that here though, the wire i tried is tricky. Will need to find suitable wire that isn't too difficult.
Currently leaning toward using parts from the Sopwith Camel for some stuff.

The barrels look better to my eye than they do in the pic but i suppose cutting them down a bit wouldn't hurt. Need to get them to even length anyway, and work on the fit.

Unfortunately smaller tube inside probably isn't an option, i don't think i have anything suitable, and i highly doubt i'll find just a few centimeters of such available anywhere. I'll keep this in mind though, because i can imagine how it would look and it would be an improvement.

[worktroll]

a) Use thread, not wire. Like for sewing clothes. Much more flexible.
b) Ear cleaning buds are a great source of small plastic tubing.

[Empyrus]

a) Use thread, not wire. Like for sewing clothes. Much more flexible.
b) Ear cleaning buds are a great source of small plastic tubing.

A) uh... man, makes so much sense. And that reminds me, i should get some, for patching some clothes if nothing else...
B) Good idea, unfortunately i seem to have bought stuff made from cardboard-like material, that is too thick. But something to keep in mind.

[Failure16]

Toothpicks work well for many things at this scale, but they are not hollow generally.

[worktroll]

B) Good idea, unfortunately i seem to have bought stuff made from cardboard-like material, that is too thick. But something to keep in mind.

I hunt for brands still using plastic tubes; can still get them in Australia. Let me know if you want me to ship you a box of 500 :D

[worktroll]

If you're kitbashing on a budget, go to your local hardware store. There are all sorts of plastic bits, like these wall anchors (aka plastic screw sleeves):



And if I ever want to do a sci-fi refinery, the irrigation parts are well worth a look ;)

Similarly, found "flocking" for bases - if you see a construction site you can access, grab a handful of sand/gravel/etc. Sieve it, let it dry out, keep in a jar.

[Empyrus]

I've collected weird shaped plastic cups and stuff over the years should i ever get into crafting buildings. Got them stored somewhere. But first, i really need to get my mechs done...

Flocking i got years ago, don't think the boxes are gonna run out any time soon. Dirt, snow, grass. Probably should make use of some bushes and such i got as well. Also got camo-netting, planned to make mech-size cloaks  ;D
I should go get some small rocks though, could be useful.

[Empyrus]

The Catapult K2's PPCs are in place. I'm keeping decorations super simple with just plates on top of them, determined any other things are a bit too difficult (small pieces are hard to handle) and kinda unnecessary. This is fast enough to add some "detail", and these plastics aren't too detailed anyway. Any more stuff takes a lot of effort for little gain.

I also did a side project and modified an Awesome to AWS-9M standard by adding Streak 2-pack to its left arm. The CT SSRM-2 and MPL? Well i figure they're hidden under panels, as per TRO3050U art.
The SRMs are made from a plastic Atlas' hip missile launcher, cut that off and cut two tubes from that.
EDIT yes, i need to clean mold lines from the Awesome.

I'll also "convert" a Stalker to 8S type by adding a gun barrel to represent the HGR, thinking i'll figure some way to remove some plastic to fit a gun snuggly to lower right side of the nose. For the gun itself, i was thinking of using a plastic Shogun's PPC, it is suitable sized.

[Empyrus]

And here's the Stalker 8S mod i did. Just the HGR, not touching anything else. The gun is a Shogun's PPC as noted earlier.
Didn't get the gun quite straight, carved some plastic away but didn't get it entirely smooth, and had issues with superglue refusing to set at first (i need to get superglue activator and/or baking powder). But it is good enough, not like most of these plastic minis are entirely straight anyway or that high quality. Going to use greenstuff to hide the seams and gaps.