post apocalyptic community build

[Dr. Cranky]

Thanks, buddy. I'm amazed by the builds in progress here on this thread . . .the boys are all doing great, inspiring work. I hope everyone keeps it going . . . it's a blast.

[Railfreak78]

Great builds so far everyone! Cranky I'm newer here so from what I see welcome back too! Wow you make our work cut out for us May I ask everyone what is a decent grate material? Like for head lights, grills, windshield areas? I see some of you have some cool resources. Thanks.. Happy Hobby'n Here is my beginning..

[charlzrocks]

Ok fellow survivors of the apocalypse....here is a preliminary photo of my build!

I will be playing "Clean-up" with this vehicle that will be called "Nightingales Corpse Removal".

This is a first shot of paint and I am trying to avoid the "Flat Black/War Camo/Derelict" paint scheme that will be prevelant with a lot of the cars that I will be picking up the bodies after.

Although, I would appreciate any suggestions on the paint scheme!!

From the looks of the vehicles I've seen, this is gonna be an awesome community build!

[Railfreak78]

Nice way to egg on the war Charles I'm thinking....( just cause I want one in real life) maybe a dark metallic purple hearse? Cool thought for the build too bud

[charlzrocks]

Thanks! That's a thought! I want it to have some color, but it's gotta look kinda old and battle scarred as well. There will be bloody hand prints on the doors, some bullet holes, and I need to get some ideas on how to do "Rust" and stuff like that. I gotta develop mops, buckets, shovels, a "Blood/Wet Vac", body bags and windshield armor as well. All ideas are welcome!

Edited January 30, 2010 by charlzrocks

[Dr. Cranky]

Some wonderful progress, chaps . . .

The whole business of rusting and weathering should be fun . . . and low stress, which is why anyone in their right mind wanting to build one of these should focus on the NO STRESS rule . . . no mistakes . . . or well, no mistakes you can't correct . . .etc . . .

I hope everyone gets cranked up about going all out . . .

Or the TOOTHLESS ZOMBIE HUNTER might come get ya.

[Dr. Cranky]

Speaking of rust and weathering . . . the process has started for me . . .

I've applied three medium coats of Future clear to the body for the impending oil-based washes and weathering . . . it helps protect the basecoat paint . . .

You can see the gloss sheen . . .

While the clear coats dry for a couple of days, I will turn my attention to the other components. Stay tuned in . . .

[Dr. Cranky]

One of the techniques I used to acheive the effect of paint chipping and rusting is SALTING. For those of you who are interested and who have not seen some of my other threads on the subject, you can look around . . . also MCM published an article on the technique a year or so ago . . . which you can read here: http://modelcarsmag.netricksmedia.com/

You apply a coat of your rust color, allow it to dry, then wet the surface and sprinkle salt . . . the process looks like this . . .

The chassis:

The rear components:

The front components:

The weapons choices:

The wheels:

It's really easy to do . . .

[Dr. Cranky]

Well, I put a call through to the Department Of Gizmology, and this is what the Cranky team put together . . . I think it's going to look just right in the bay . . . and of course, it's still missing a few bells and whistles . . .

If anyone asks what type of engine this is, it's a hydrogen-double-defribulated-turbo-charged-cataclismic-noiseless-low-carbon-footprint model, just a perfect post nu-kleer prototype!

Thanks heavens the basic Caddy engine that comes in the 49 Merc kit could provide such a nice platform . . .

[Corvette.Jeff]

Jeez cranky! shes looking good.

what paint do you use for the rust color? i might have to try a little weathering on my camaro

[Dr. Cranky]

Thanks, Jeff. For a foundation of rust color, I use a Floquil acrylic mixture of 50% Roof Brown and 50% Rust, and then after that dries, I patch in a bit of Tamiya orange and Tamiya yellow. Sometimes a little bit of Tamiya Hull Red is good too . . .

The basic idea is to create a spotty looking color surface for the salt . . . stay tuned in for more . . .

[Dr. Cranky]

One of the plusses of always keeping around a couple of kits is that you can use one for mock up while you paint the other . . . just an observation . . .

I continued to work on the engine, gizmofying it a bit with watch parts and wire, and then suddenly I panicked thinking it would not fit . . . but it does and that put a big smile on my face . . . here are some progress shots . . .

[Dr. Cranky]

Here are all the components fresh out of the salting and painting process . . .

The wheels and tires . . . they still need lots of weathering . . .

The front end components . . . one scratch and you'll need a tetanus shot!

[Dr. Cranky]

Here are all the weapons options . . .

[Dr. Cranky]

And the look of the chassis and frame so far . . .

[Corvette.Jeff]

everything is looking good cranky, do you apply the salt before or after the paint dries, do you use table salt or sea salt?

Thanks,Jeff.

[Dr. Cranky]

Table salt is best for smaller pitting, but I also use kosher salt which has medium to large grain . . .

In this case, I apply the paint after the salt has dried . . . if you want the paint to have a bit of a fade you can apply the paint while the salt is still moist, but you have to let it air dry over night . . .

[Railfreak78]

So wow since this build off is bringing some really and I mean really cool ideas and creativity I kinda changed my idea. Its still going to be my first Suburban kitbash but I'm going to put an old war flare to it and make it a Half Track style truck. I started with 3 truck kits and a Tamiya Tank and here is my 24 hour progress from the 3 trucks (including dunk tank time). Comments welcome as always

Edited February 2, 2010 by Railfreak78

[Dr. Cranky]

Wow, Brian--that's a great idea . . . you gotta keep working on that build . . . that track is an attention getter . . . very cool. Keep it going.

[Dr. Cranky]

For those of you interested in the rusting and salting technique, you can check out a how-to here:

http://www.migproductionsforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3115

[Dr. Cranky]

Everything is painted now and with a few coats of Future clear to safeguard the basecoat before the impending oil washes . . . but I decided to mock up everything to see how it's looking, from mild to wild! Goody!

Here's the mild:

Nothing fancy yet . . . just a hatch and standard kit grill . . .

[Dr. Cranky]

And then we kick it up a notch from mild . . .

Rocket launchers and all, it's still pretty mild . . .

[Dr. Cranky]

To wild, here we go . . .

Zombie killing spikes, laster cannon, and hanging boom!!!

[Janne Herajärvi]

WOW it looks great!

[Dr. Cranky]

Thanks for the comments . . .

A couple of friends pointed out that those rear wheels are a bit vulnerable . . . so I scrachtbuilt some guards for them . . .