scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

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Hey Guys;

Here  is something i'm working on, since the last week. It is supossed to be the M72 Lakota. A small 4x4 vehicle used by the Federation. it is equivalent to the Zeon's Sauropelta (Gundam Hardgraph). I base my building in the one that can be seen in the new CG OVA MS Igloo 2 (the gravity front) and some scans from the Hobby Japan magazine. Btw you can watch the OVA in You Tube.

The build is 1/35 th scale, and i used as a base the 1/35 M151A1 Chasis from Academy. By now i have used plenty of plasticard and patience.

Here some pics of the advance so far.

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

I hope you like it. there is a lot of work to be done.....details, filling, sanding, etc.....

I'm feeling i'm going to give it a rough priming to see it in an uniform color and start the detailing.

I'll be waiting for your feedback 

P.S. In a while i'll be posting a more detailed in progress pics.

[Ezechiel]

Good stuff, you're on the right track!
Can't wait to see it with some wheels!

[Sticky Fingers]

Nice build! Going to have some figures with it as well?

[large]

thanks guys;

Ezechiel: I hope it will be wheelled real soon.

Sticky: Yes, i'm planing to make a vignete including one or maybe two figures (Fedie soldiers)

[mitchell-mugno]

Hi.

Nice Lakota. Hope see it with my own eyes soon.

Regards to Mari & Indy

Mitch

[FichtenFoo]

I must have missed this this morning. Great build and interesting subject. I love the UCHG stuff! Will you pair this up with the hovertruck or upcoming Type 61?

[clee-cm]

I love the M72! The scratch build is coming along nicely, so how much of the original model are you going to use? Just the suspension, under-chassis and wheels?

I am surprised that Bandai did not make a M72 kit yet, the M72 is so widely used in Gundam UC.

Keep up the great work.

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Mitch: Tanks dude. Maybe we could meet this weekend so you can see it.

Foo: i'm Planning to make a small vignette, although pair it with the hovertruck is tempting. About the upcoming T-61, it looks really great but is expensive too, it will be around 9000 yen, it is almost U$.90 in Japan. And if you compare its price and other high quality 1/35 tanks and armors (AFV, DML) you will find that is too much money and in my hummble opinion it does'nt worth it.  BTW I've bought the whole UCHG products in the market so far, but i think i'll pass on this one  , unless i found it in a sale. I guess it will happens as happened with the Bandai 1/20 votoms scope dogs.

Clee: Thanks man. Many parts of the original model will be used. Wheels, underchassis, suspension, steering wheel, seats, gear sticks and windshield (modified). I'm surprised too, i guessed that the most known M-72 would be produced by Bandai earlier than the almost unknown  Zeon's Sauropelta, but who knows what's in the head of the Bandai guys.

[large]

Hey;

Here are some advance after some priming, filling and sanding.

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

[FichtenFoo]

Oh wow... that looks fantastic! Very nice (and small) work! I have that same miter box.

[Mason]

Excellent build, this is a great project!

[large]

IT GOT WHEELS 

Some little progress in this one.....

Foo: Yeah, it's small, remember is the equivalent to the sauropelta is a 1/2 ton truck.

Mason: Thanks man. it has been fun.

Finally some pics.

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

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Hey Guys;

Here is a little progress in this.  I started the base and added some details to the vehicle and painted it in base color.

First i made the whole terrain shape using styrofoam, and place the vehicle to see how it looks.

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

After that, I covered the entire surface with non firing modeling clay and marked the wheels tracks. Important: white glue has to be applied to the base prior the clay to get it stuck together.

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

Just before the clay dried white glue was applied to the surface and dirt ans peebles were sprinkled all over it, pressing them to be sure they will remain in place and to give the feeling that they had been there for a time and not  felt from anywhere just now.

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

Once dried, i proceeded to prime it. I like to use light grey, it really brings up the details.

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

Following, the base colours. I used vallejo acrilics paints. four diffrent tones were used. After it dries i will be applying dry brush.

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

And now, some pics of the vehicle so far, with rivets an details added. It is painted in base color (Humbrol Hempf)

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

Well, I hope you'll like so far............

[Ezechiel]

Very cool, the underside of the jeep is way cool.
The color of the earth is pretty realistic, nice job!

[FichtenFoo]

Very nice work so far. Base looks great! The jeep is awesome as well.

[large]

Hi everyone;

Here some progress on this project.

First. The general vignette's layout, including figures and vehicle.

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

Some shot of the figures. I used two US marines from DML. Heads and hands are from Verlinden and the accesories (holster, canteens, knives, binoculars, etc) are from the UCHG Bandai kit (the one with the Gundam hand. I primed them with Mr Surfacer 1000. I planed to made them as the Feddi soldiers appears in the Xbox 360 Gundam video game (operation troy). They have helmets like the modern US infantry, a black body armor,..... a different look than the ones that comes with the bandai kit or the OVA MS Igloo II.

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

The base is almost done. IToday I dry brushed the ground and apply some silflor products to the ground and tree.

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

And finally some progress on the dakota itself. I applied some fading with the oil paint technique.

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

scratchbuilt M72 Lakota

Hope you like it........

See ya

[PetarB]

Very, very nice work on that chassis!

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PetarB: Thaks man, it has been fun to build...

[FichtenFoo]

Looking good so far. Excellent paint. My only complaint would be the front grille-work doesn't line-up well. Shame because at that scale, little differences look huge.

I really like what you've done with the base as well. Looks very nice!

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FF:  Thanks  for your comments. I feel the same about the front grille  , but is too late now, i hope i could hide it a little with some painting and weathering but i´m not so sure it could be done  . but we´ll see.

Silflor products area truly amazing, they bring really high detail and realism to the base.