In Progress » CTF-Heinrich PKA Ausf H1

06.21.05 » Story

It is said that more contestants are killed in this arena by
the extreme environment than enemy fire. Set deep in the bowels
of an abandoned toxic waste processing facility, this arena
is one of the deadliest in the “tournament”. Teams
must navigate their way over rivers of toxic sludge via narrow
catwalks and jump pads to reach the opposing teams base. Once
there, pitfalls and narrow corridors make reaching the enemy
flag a treacherous experience.

06.21.05 » Concepts
and Variations

Although I haven’t played in some
time, I love playing first person shooters, especially
my favorite: Unreal Tournament. This kit is my
“homage to capture the flag”. The Heinrich
suit lends itself well to this idea since it sports
a nice open glazed canopy and has a similar appearance
to some of the gene enhanced humans in UT 2003.

The Heinrich (H1) will be carrying
its panzer faust in one hand and a red flag in
the other. I’m making a rickety metal grate bridge
that will be positioned over some glowing green
toxic goo. My plan is to have the H1 running with
one foot on the bridge. To make him “stick”
to the bridge, I’ll be using 2 rare earth magnets.
One under the bridge panel and another in the
foot of the H1.

The color scheme for this one is
simple. I’m using a two-tone gray fractal camo
highlighted with blue stripes to signify that
this H1 is on the blue team. I may tint the upper
half of the canopy with clear blue (ala car windshield)
as well.

06.21.05 » Initial
Progress

I’ve actually been working on this
kit for a few weeks now off and on while waiting
for supplies for my Hovertank and working on some
freelance. It’s pretty far along now as all the
parts have been cut, sanded, and the many seams,
gaps, and poor fitting parts have been puttied
filled and leveled.

This kit definitely has more part
fit issues than the other MaK kits I’ve done.
The body needed a good bit of putty since the
parts didn’t line up correctly. The lower legs
had the same problem. Noting major that putty
couldn’t fix, but extra work none the less.

Next I need to make the joint covers
from Magic Sculpt and texture the kit with Mr.
Surfacer. The bridge is made from screen and angled
styrene.

07.07.05 » Oops…
forgot to take progress shots!

Yeah… I got a bit carried away
and forgot to take progress shots. Here’s where
I’m at so far though:

The kit is almost done. I just weathered
it today and am ready to build it. After the build
I’ll be adding a bit of slime, dust and dirt to
it then it’s done. I’m weathering it so that it
looks like it’s being corroded by a harsh chemical
waste environment. Because of this the paint is
really peeling and chipping and the suit is prematurely
rusting. For the story, I’d say this suit was
new a week earlier. That’s a harsh arena. 😉

The base needs to have the gell
medium dry for the toxic waste. I still need to
paint and weather a few pipes, build the bridge
and finish painting/weathering it, and light up
the goo.

The flag needs the same weathering
as the kit except the flag will have burn marks
from being used in many matches. The flag was
made from heated sheet styrene and the pole was
made from various leftover bits and styrene rod.