Dr. Cranky

So I got a couple of packs of GAME WORKSHOP's "Green Stuff" a two-part expoxy putty you mix with your fingers and as along as you keep your fingers wet, the stuff is really easy to work with. With a toothpick and some of my sculpting tools (GAMES WORKSHOP sells a great little two-headed sculpting tool that's fabulous) I've started to graft on some skin here and there to blend in the wings and the tails. The putty will do part of the work of blending in and the other part will be the paintjob. Green Stuff gives you ample time to sculpt and then it dries rock hard over night . . . it's sandable and paintable . . . I'm working on blending the texture of the wings down to the Coupe body and so far I like the way it is turning out. The wings are high up so that I can do two things: display this sucker with the tires without having to worry about the wings dragging across the dirt and two so that it looks like the beast is SWOOPING down on its victim when I display it on its base . . . Here's a closeup for a better look . . .

Sorry, no progress today, but I sure will have something tomorrow . . .

That is one mind-blowing, gorgeous, clean and mean and sick build!!! I love it. Congrats.

Thanks, maties, . . . I'm fried for today so tomorrow will be another day at the bench. Do stay tuned in . . . thanks for watching.

Several years ago you culd not get me to pick up a saw and cut or scratchbuild anything, but these days, I thrive on it . . . it seems it's the only way to make building fun. Also, the little details on the raw plastic please me infinitely more than actually seeing the whole thing painted and finished. I always love going to shows in and seeing other peoples' WIPs, primered too. Like when you see the care and painstaking way the parts are coming together, you can't help but think that if it looks that good in the raw plastic, it really does a number on your imagination . . . I like that. Having said that, I've been tinkering with the little details . . . though the progress continues to be slow . . . It took me a while to pose the wings and tail just right . . . and then I epoxied everything so that there'd never be the chance of anything breaking or coming off. These McFarlane dragons are pretty sturdy, though I still don't know what kind of material they're made from . . . which is why before spraying primer, I put a couple of good coats of BULLDOG paint adhesion promoter . . . The tail is totally poseable . . . which is cool for taking different photos . . . I think the toughest part is going to be using GAME WORKSHOP "Green Stuff" to sculpt a transition between the dragon parts and the 32 Coupe body . . . not really looking forward to that . . . The epoxy I used to mate the dragon parts to the Coupe plastic is 5 minute epoxy, which gave me enough time to find the right pose . . .

Thanks, Raul . . . me too. I'd like to see it done, but there's still a ways to go with the building and the details . . . and lots of October left.

I like that. I would if I could tame it long enough . . . What do dragons eat anyway? Jetfuel?

Thanks for the feedback, folks . . . I really appreciate it. Tomorrow I should make a bit more progress. Please stay tuned in . . . this one is turning out to be way too much fun!!! And that Allison engine is not as hard to build as I thought. It's a real monster though. I love it.

Thanks for watching folks . . . we still have a lot of October left and I think I am done for today. I wish you all a great TGIF. I'm off to ride my motorcycle around the country side. Tune in tomorrow for more RATOUTOFHELL action. . . . Enjoy this tasty morsel of what's to come . . .

Thanks, maties, but you have to be careful now, this thing is loose and it can fly all over the place. I'm gonna have to chain it to the workbench while I work out how I'm going to epoxy it to the body and them sculpt a good transtion between the dragon parts and the styrene of the body. Stay tuned in for more progress!!!

So yes, in order for this rat to escape from its hellish lair, it needed wings and an Allison engine. Sure, that makes perfect sense to me.

Quick, QUICK!!! Reach over for your giant fly swatter . . . oh no, it's gonna swarm around your face . . . Swat it!!! SWAT IT!!! SWAT IT!!!!

Okay, back to the lab and the formula. Remember the infamous lines that Bela Lugosi speaks in The Island of Dr. Moreau? "What is the formula?" "What is the formula?" Actualy the line really is: "What is the law?" But okay, okay, the formula: 32 Ford Coupe + Allison Engine + Dragon? = RATOUTOFHELL

Gee, I'm getting to this conversation a little late and I think you've gotten lots of great advice . . . The truth is, my friend, that you will have to go to school, get a job, fall in love, get married or not, but the point is that life is about to take over . . . and eventually, if you have to stop building for a little bit, you should not beat yourself up over it. Enjoy what you are doing now and know that sooner or later you will rekindle your passion . . . I have to agree with Harrypri on this . . . I think there's something else at work here . . . so the best thing to do is to talk it out . . . Most of us have been building models most of our lives, some even without ever stopping . . . your needs and your LIFE will dictate what you need to do. But listen to your heart first, and I know that sounds like a cliche but it is true. I wish you great wisdom and enlightment!

Oh, and one more place that will really help inspire ya . . . I'm amazed at the level of detail in some of these things . . . check it out . . . . http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/

Aha! You see it coming, do ya? Well for those of you interesting in pushing the boundaries . . . here's a site you can look around in for all sorts of interesting stuff . . .. http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/home.jsp Don't blame me if you lose your mind thinking of all sorts of crazy possibilities to expand your builds into fantasy . . .

It's more like Dragon's Blue Tongue soup . . . Now that I have chopped off the good parts, the wings and tail, I'm keeping the body and head because I need to study the scales and the way the texture on this puppy looks so that I can . . . so that I can . . . WAIT!!! I don't want to give away too much . . . not yet anyways!!!

WOWOWOWOWOWOW!!! Sheesh, that was a workout . . . and the cleaning up of the mess . . . I'm worn out . . . All of that work, but you know the beast gave up its best parts . . . and that's what matters . . . but I'm beat already and it's not even 9am yet!!! Man, these things don't have that much meat in them . . . and they are made of this weird flexible plastic/rubber . . . Anybody in the mood for some dragon head soup for lunch?

Darn it, this thing is a beast and it won't hold still for that ###### Cranky, The Dragon Butcher, can do his work! Hold still, you beastly creature. HOLD STILL!!! ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Ah, poor little dragon, this one flew to my roof perch last night and I lured it down to my dungeon with scraps of scrapple and cheesesteak sandwhich morsels, and then of course, I shot a poisoned-frog dart at its neck, a sedative really so it will not feel any pain when ###### Cranky, the Dragon Butcher, picks up his sharpened cleave . . . Oh, pretty pretty dragon . . . Look, you can see the fear in the twinkle in his eyes . . . (You can tell this is just way too much fun, can't cha?)

There you go, that's the spirit!!! The insane spirit behind a fun Holloween build!!! Stay tuned in . . . ###### Cranky, the Dragon Butcher, is harpening his cleaver!!!

So you go to bed as a builder of usual, down-to-earth rats and something invades your dreams . . . something beastial and beautiful . . . and ancient . . . and you start your journey of dragon hunting! DRAGONS? Yes!!! Fire-spitting, breathing, clawing, cave-dweling, carnivorous DRANGONS!!! Like this one: A beast with beautiful wings and tail, and a nasty disposition . . . And you ask yourself: Where could I find such a beast? On Ebay (Perhaps) on Amazon? (Yes!) And you ask yourself: Who makes it? McFarlane Toys . . . And more questions inundate you: what kind of rubber or plastic is it? Will I be able to paint it the way I want . . . And the questions keep coming: And what the hell does a dragon have anything to do with a rat rod? Have you lost your mind? Perhaps!!! But now you know the formula for this build, which is: 32 Ford Coupe + Allison Engine + Dragon? = RATOUTOFHELL. Really? Really. Just stay tuned in . . .

Hum . . . you sure? You sure you are ready? Are you? Are you sure? You gotta be sure now. You have to be emotionally ready. Are you, eh? Are you . . . okay, stay tuned in . . .

Well, my friends, here we are on the first TGIF of October . . . in just a few short weeks we'll all be waiting for the trickortreaters to show up at our door so that we can give them a good scare . . . or rather, ahem, so they can give US a good scare . . . something like that. Well, yesterday I thought that perhpas--since I watched the RATOUTOFHELL thread plummet like the stock market and almost go into that second page of oblivion--nobody was interested in keeping abreast of the build, but thank goodness I was wrong . . . I kept thinking: gee, this is a tough crowd, if they are not impressed by a boney, spiney Mohawk and almost 18 scale feet of frame to hold up that Allison, I mean what? WHAT? What could impress this tough crowd of onlookers? And then I cheered up and went to bed to dream up some more possibilities for this rat, my rat, my most favorite of all rats. RATOUTOFHELL!!! So, with that said, stay tuned in for Friday's surprise, which I hope will not only make you scratch your head but make your mouth form the word WOW!!! Get ready, here it comes . . .

Hum, if you are gonna have a spiney mohawk, then you need sharp teeth on your grill!!! That's my story and I'm sticking with it . . . enjoy today's pics . . . . Yes!!! Teeth so that it can maul you better!!!