Ricks' Ramblings

[Rick Lowe]

Thanks, fellas. 

[Rick Lowe]

So, this time something a little different; a work in progress.
Normally I wouldn't post one due to my glacial completion rate, but as it's another Christmas present, it has a very good chance of getting completed this year!

RNZAF C-130 Hercules; it's the 1/200 Hasegawa kit & it will be finished with OldModelsDecals markings.
Because this time I can, I'm going to open the rear ramp and have a palletized load about to be yoinked out (technical term) by parachute.
I'm not sure how I'll do the parachute, but I have a plethora of foil seals from the tops of coffee cans, which are (mostly) round to start with - it'll just need folding up a bit.
We'll see how that goes.

The foamed PVC blocks are to hold the tube for the knitting needle support stand.

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[scooter]

RNZAF C-130 Hercules; it's the 1/200 Hasegawa kit & it will be finished with OldModelsDecals markings.
Because this time I can, I'm going to open the rear ramp and have a palletized load about to be yoinked out (technical term) by parachute.
I'm not sure how I'll do the parachute, but I have a plethora of foil seals from the tops of coffee cans, which are (mostly) round to start with - it'll just need folding up a bit.

Or, have the chute fail and the load go ballistic. 

[Captain Canada]

The interior additions look great ! I have always thought that the foil trays from Toffifee could be cut into 'chutes.

[Captain Canada]

Or utensils lol

[kerick]

The US Army just hates it when the USAF drops one of their expensive vehicles into a crater. 

[PR19_Kit]

Back in 1960 or so I was flying in an RAF Beverley that dropped a Land Rover and a light field gun out of the back over Salisbury Plain. The LR made it down OK, but the chutes on the gun failed and it went into the ground barrel first, from around 2500 ft!

I don't think the Royal Artillery were too impressed about that either. 

[Rick Lowe]

The interior additions look great ! I have always thought that the foil trays from Toffifee could be cut into 'chutes.

Thanks! Some of the meal/oven trays are quite heavy gauge; useful for all sorts of things - when I can figure out what they are!
Nice work on the utensils; I made a can opener for my Mad Max Pursuit Special, once (qv).

[Rick Lowe]

Zoe's Mare's Leg from Firefly/Serenity

As a companion piece to the conversion I did of Mal's Pistol, this is his Right-Hand-Girl's sidearm of choice.

Based on a clicker gun I found in a toy store, it needed very little work done at all; lengthening the lever action by 1 fingers' length, shaving off the ribbing on the butt plate, covering the ejection port on the left side, and a sight.

The sight is a Chapstick tube on a plastic mount, with a plastic sheet strap around the foregrip where it is located.

Painted in a spraycan Black, with a heavy drybrushing of Aluminum; GW Brown for the woodwork, with a Vallejo Brown wash over, and I decanted some spraycan Brass into a film cannister and brushed this onto the sight.

Not 100% screen accurate, but close enough for me and it gets the point across.

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[Old Wombat]

Looks good, Rick!     



But I'll have to check it against my video references ... You understand, right? 

[Rick Lowe]

Looks good, Rick!     



But I'll have to check it against my video references ... You understand, right? 

All good, Guy - I understand Obsessiveness... 
And there's always time for a rewatch of the show. 

[Rick Lowe]

'Colonial Marines' 1/72

"My Team of Ultimate Badasses."

The movie 'Aliens' is a Big favourite of mine, so I was keen to get some figures; ideally in 1/35 and 1/72.

The only 1/35 available back then were the AEF Designs ones, which were of questionable quality and prohibitive expense for the small packs they came in, so I was hoping for some in the smaller scale.

There was a set of licensed ones, but again the cost was more than I could afford.

Thankfully, I found Denizen Miniatures made some that were close enough for my needs, really only differing in the weapons; the armour was a good enough match, and there were a lot of them, so I duly ordered one of each, plus a few extras that would integrate well.
I call them 'Antipodean Colonial Marines'... 😉

"Check it out; we've got Nukes, Knives, Sharp Sticks..."

Most of them are single piece, though a few have two parts; mostly to get the detail cast without extraneous blobs in the undercuts.

"It's a Bug Hunt!"

There are a couple of 'Civilian Consultants' and some Marines that needed weapons replacing to give them better commonality with the rest; I replaced the weapon of one of the Smart Gunners so it matched the other two.
This was all made easier by the fact there are a couple of Weapons Packs that have bits that can be used, with or without alteration.
I also added magazines and slings to two of the Smart Guns; 'Chavez' has a harness already.

"I keep it handy for close encounters."

I now know Hasslefree Miniatures make packs of the Pulse Rifle, but I like the look of them as-is. And I'm not about to get into that amount of rework.

"Eye-firmative."

They were glued to GW bases for easier handling, which will get chopped off at some point and they will be rebased onto something a little more appropriate.
Painted in a mix of old GW and Humbrol as I recall, with hair and little details picked out in artists' acrylics.
Black wash (now I'd use Brown, but I didn't have any back then).
I made an attempt to give some of them tattoos, but they came out a little 'blobby' and indistinct.
After taking the photos, I also now realize I haven't painted some of the boots... Ah well.

"They mostly come out at night. Mostly."

A good friend had previously given me some of the Aliens he'd acquired, so these will be good as companion/opposition pieces.

"Hiiisssssss."

I was going to scratchbuild an APC to go with them, but never got around to it; then when the same good friend died and I had a fossick through his stuff, I found and grabbed the one he'd made back in the day.

I'm pretty pleased with them, and so I should really get on with the 1/35 ones I've been toying with for about 20 years... In the end I did manage to acquire cheaply a couple of the AEF Aliens and a Ripley, which actually aren't too bad; they will go well with the Halcyon 1/35 APC I have stashed away.
There is also an idea I saw once, where someone cut down and modified an M8 Armoured Car into a 4X4 Scout Vehicle, with a new turret...
I have a second-hand kit earmarked, but that's a Plan for another day.

Thanks for watching.

"Game Over, Man! Game Over!"


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[Rick Lowe]

Next 4

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[Rick Lowe]

Part 3

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[Rick Lowe]

Part 4
And yes, he went to the extent of making the turret move along its' track... in 1/76.

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