Dr. Cranky Posted October 3, 2008 Author Posted October 3, 2008 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
Dr. Cranky Posted October 3, 2008 Author Posted October 3, 2008 Quick, QUICK!!! Reach over for your giant fly swatter . . . oh no, it's gonna swarm around your face . . . Swat it!!! SWAT IT!!! SWAT IT!!!!
Dr. Cranky Posted October 3, 2008 Author Posted October 3, 2008 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.
dub Posted October 3, 2008 Posted October 3, 2008 Wow! That is some creativity there, Virgil! Keep it moving, I'll be watching the progress!
Dr. Cranky Posted October 3, 2008 Author Posted October 3, 2008 (edited) 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!!! Edited October 3, 2008 by DamnCranky
kjadud0667 Posted October 3, 2008 Posted October 3, 2008 that thing is pretty crazy . cant wait to see what tomorrow has coming .
Dr. Cranky Posted October 3, 2008 Author Posted October 3, 2008 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 . . .
Dr. Cranky Posted October 3, 2008 Author Posted October 3, 2008 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.
Custom Hearse Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 So Virgil.... You gonna take your "Dragon racer" to the "Dragon Strip?" Sorry.... I couldn't help myself. you can now "Booo" me....
Dr. Cranky Posted October 4, 2008 Author Posted October 4, 2008 I like that. I would if I could tame it long enough . . . What do dragons eat anyway? Jetfuel?
Raul_Perez Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 Virgil...you mad man...that thing is just too freakin cool for words!!! I can hardly wait to see this one finished!!!
Dr. Cranky Posted October 4, 2008 Author Posted October 4, 2008 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.
Dr. Cranky Posted October 4, 2008 Author Posted October 4, 2008 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 . . .
Custom Hearse Posted October 4, 2008 Posted October 4, 2008 Looks great Virgil! I told you I was keeping an eye on it! Awesome work!
Dr. Cranky Posted October 4, 2008 Author Posted October 4, 2008 Thanks, maties, . . . I'm fried for today so tomorrow will be another day at the bench. Do stay tuned in . . . thanks for watching.
Custom Hearse Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 Thanks, maties, . . . I'm fried for today so tomorrow will be another day at the bench. Do stay tuned in . . . thanks for watching. I'm tuned in.... It's now tomorrow.... where are you?
Dr. Cranky Posted October 5, 2008 Author Posted October 5, 2008 Sorry, no progress today, but I sure will have something tomorrow . . .
Raul_Perez Posted October 6, 2008 Posted October 6, 2008 Hey Virgil, One thing you might try for blending the wings and tail into the body is the premixed vinyl spackling compound. It dries quick, bonds to plastic and doesn't shrink much. Don't get the lightweight stuff. It doesn't work as well as the standard blend. Give it a try on a test piece to see how you like it. I've used it before for that type of work and had good results. Roughen up the surface that you're going to apply it to for optimal adhesion. Later,
Dr. Cranky Posted October 6, 2008 Author Posted October 6, 2008 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 . . .
Dr. Cranky Posted October 6, 2008 Author Posted October 6, 2008 Thanks for the tip, Raul . . . I think this Green Stuff does the trick . . . like I said earlier the idea behind the texture is to capture enough of it . . . later on when I get to paint this sucker, the paint will help create the final blending . . . or at least I hope so . . . we'll see.
Dr. Cranky Posted October 6, 2008 Author Posted October 6, 2008 Here's an over-the-wing view which shows how the texture has grown all over the body, but NOT everywhere on the body. Just enough to give it the right beastial look . . . Since it is the first time I do anything like this, I was holding my breath all the way, and when I exhaled I realized I had dragon breath!!!
Jairus Posted October 6, 2008 Posted October 6, 2008 Now I am really curious what Gustavson will say about this... Nice work V, way to push the envelope!
John Goschke Posted October 6, 2008 Posted October 6, 2008 DDUUUHHHH?????? I'm pretty much at a loss for words... this is one of the wildest, most twisted and creative, and beautifully executed builds I've ever seen! Can't wait to see more!
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