{"id":1634,"date":"2007-04-30T16:37:17","date_gmt":"2007-05-01T00:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fichtenfoo.net\/blog\/?p=1634"},"modified":"2009-02-11T17:37:02","modified_gmt":"2009-02-12T01:37:02","slug":"in-progress-%c2%bb-the-briegel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fichtenfoo.net\/blog\/in-progress-%c2%bb-the-briegel\/","title":{"rendered":"In Progress \u00c2\u00bb The Briegel"},"content":{"rendered":"

02.25.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Concepts\/Initial
\nProgress<\/p>\n

I got my beautifully cast and designed Briegel
\nfrom Luca Z this past week. It’s just a sight to behold…
\nhuge, detailed, and looks to be a monster of a fun build.
\nEnough so that a few of us that managed to get ahold of them
\nare having a small Briegel build-off in the forum.<\/p>\n

So far I’ve cleaned all the parts and even started
\na little work on it. I plan to do a base with figs, the Late
\nAutumn camo scheme (see below) and even try to light it all
\nup. I’ll post more when I finish the slave 1 and get more
\ninto it. Here’s the color scheme.<\/p>\n

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03.16.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Briegel Build-Off<\/p>\n

Now that the Slave 1 is done, I can work on
\nthis beautiful piece of work. All the parts were cleaned and
\nI had started on the “B” parts (pelvis) a few weeks
\nago. I finished them up this evening. I plan on lighting this
\nkit up, but will wait till all the parts are cleaned and pinned
\nto start that “process”. It’ll involve a LOT of
\ndrilling and planning. I can plan while I’m cleaning and memorizing\/getting
\nto know the parts. The first “modification” I’ve
\ndone is the “ass” boosters. Insteal of just gluing
\nthem on in a fixed post, I used the ring-magnet\/steel ball
\nmethod for placement. An image of that is below. I must say
\nonce again… THIS THING IS HUGE! Check out the other pic
\nto get more of an idea.<\/p>\n

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03.20.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Lighting Mods<\/p>\n

Since the last update I’ve cleaned up most of
\nthe leg and upper torso parts. I’ve also started drilling
\nand Dremeling to light this thing up. It’s not been an easy
\nprocess, but not as difficult as I thought it’d be either.
\nIt just takes a lot of planning and a vacuum cleaner next
\nto your work area to clean-up the resin grindings from all
\nthe Dremeling.<\/p>\n

These first 2 pics show the modifications for
\nthe tail lights on the legs and back of the Briegel. To do
\nthese parts I used a Dremel and routed out beneath the light
\nplates. A small hole just large enough for 2 wires was drilled
\non the hidden inside of the armor. Thes ewires will run to
\nthe battery area in the tail. The 2 large lights on the legs
\nwere further modded with some Kotobukiya option parts which
\nwill hold lenses. These 2 lights will be red. The 4 lights
\non the back were done a similar way. The top lights will be
\nred and the lower 2 orange. The 2 small lights on the collar
\n(not modified yet in this pic) and the back cover were drilled
\nout and will use fiber optic and red LEDs. I had to gouge
\nout a lot of the underside of the back armor, but will cut
\nout a piece of grooved styrene sheet to cover that back up
\nafter the LEDs are in place.<\/p>\n

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This next set of pics shows how to do the single
\nlight on the crotch cannon. First drill out the existing molded
\nlight and continue to drill down until you drill through to
\nthe bottom. Use a high speed cutter\/grinder and a Dremel to
\nopen up under the gun torret to make room for the LED. Now
\nto run the wires back through this large crotch piece required
\na bit of planning. Thankfully the detail for inside of that
\npanel below the turret is a seperate piece. I used a long
\ndrill bit to start a hole from inside that panel to the back
\nof that piece near where the battery will be. I drilled down
\nfrom where the turret sits into that hole. This way the wire
\nwill run from the turret down into the crotch and back through
\nto the back of the piece.<\/p>\n

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The lights on the chest has its own problems.
\nThe biggest of which being that I had to drill through some
\ndetal on the inside of the hatch. No worries though as I can
\nreplace this detail later.<\/p>\n

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The lights on the weird head piece will use
\nfiber optic and LEDs. The Fiberoptic will have to run back
\nthrough the chest and head mount and under the seat. I had
\nto gouge out under the seat with my Dremel to make room for
\nthe LED for the fiber optic and LEDs.<\/p>\n

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And I have a few more parts I need to drill
\nout to light, but you get the idea.<\/p>\n

03.26.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Extras<\/p>\n

A few updates to the Briegel build that will
\nmake it different from the others in the Bring Your
\nOwn Briegel<\/strong> Build-off… First is the multi-launcher
\ngun which is nicknamed the ‘Orca’. What you see below is very
\nrough, but after the smoothing, panel-lines, hoses, and detail-up
\nit’ll be a nice match to the Briegel. It’ll mount on the hardpoint
\non the hip. The ‘Orca’, nicknamed due to the look of the nose,
\nnot only fires tank-style projectiles, but from the same barrel
\nand with no swapping of parts can instantly fire high-intensity
\nlaser bolts. This mixture of ammunition gives the Briegel
\nthe ability to act as a mobile artilary placement, and still
\nhave the offensive capability to ward off enemy mecha. Or
\nsomething like that… I’m just making this crap up as I go
\nalong because it’s fun. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

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Next up is the base. Since the Briegel is VERY
\nlarge, a very large base is needed. I’m using a roughly 1
\nfoot square of leftover plywood as the base. Over that I glued
\ncheap floral foam to carve for the uneven terrain. When that
\nwas carved I applied paper mached paper towels to act as a
\nbarrier between the foam and the next step which will be a
\nthin layer of Bondo. The bondo will make a nice durable shell
\nin which to help support the weight of the Briegel. When the
\nBondo dries, I’ll carve out a little foam which will be under
\nthe feet of the Briegel and slide in some 2×4 scraps in which
\nto drill down into in order to pin the Briegel into something
\nsolid.<\/p>\n

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And finally I’ve been working on modifying some
\nGerman figs by Dragon into cold climate geared infantry. Below
\nis the fig I’ve gotten the furthest with out of the 4 in the
\nset. I picked these figs out because they were walking and
\nhad some cool coats. The body armor and helmet mods were sculpted
\nfrom Aves Apoxy Sculpt. Pouches, packs, ammo clips, etc.,
\nwill be added to the armor and around the waist later.<\/p>\n

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03.29.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Three Stooges<\/p>\n

The figures are pretty much ready for primer.
\nJust need to make a few more lead foil straps and they’ll
\nbe ready for primer. I used miscellaneous leftover gear from
\nsome various figure sets and resin updates. Here’s the pics:<\/p>\n

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04.05.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Net and Bronze<\/p>\n

I’ve been working on little parts of the Briegel,
\nbase and figs. I know I’m getting a lot done, but it feels
\nlike I’m not getting anything done. LOL The past few days
\nI primed all the parts of this project and started on some
\nof the extra details like the camo netting. Someone at A_A
\nasked about netting so I replied with the following which
\nmay help some of you.<\/p>\n

“Cheesecloth works well. I picked some
\nup at a Michaels Crafts for around $6. It’s a 2 sq yd package.
\nI just colored some yesterday I’ll be using as stowage.
\nFirst I dipped it in water to make rolling it up easier.
\nThen I rolled it up and used wire to secure it where rope
\n(thread) will be later. I placed aluminum foil over my model
\nwhere this will be placed (since it’s draped), placed the
\nnetting into position, then colored it with cheap Apple
\nBarrel acrylic paints thinned with water. Since the netting
\nwas already wet it soaked up the paint nicely. Since the
\nacrylic paint is thick it works as a glue to keep the shape
\nwhen it dries. Later I’ll do a little drybrushing to bring
\nout some highlights and dust it with some pigment powders.<\/p>\n

I’m sure that the above would also work for
\ncovering a whole vehicle or using it as a “tent”
\nof sorts. Wetting the cloth helps it drape and be shaped
\nbetter.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now last night after I wrote that and saw some
\nof the example pics someone else had posted I made some new
\nnets to add to the existing one. These were a lighter green
\nthan the first and were wrapped loosely around my original
\nnet pack. This gives it a lot of depth and removes the need
\nto drybrush. It also makes the net roll look sloppier than
\nmy original which is also good since I imagine rolling nets
\nneatly would be a pain.<\/p>\n

I also applied a rough-cast texture to the armor
\nparts and painted the first of the internals. I really love
\nhow Luca painted his most of his metals a metallic coppery
\nbrown color. I decided to play with some alclads and do a
\nsimilar warm metal look. I satrted by painting ALL the metal-toned
\nparts in Alclad2 Jet Exhaust which is a dark brownish metal.
\nThen on the parts I wanted brown I sprayed on a post-shade
\nof Alclad2 Copper + Steel + Aluminum. This got me a really
\nnice bronzish color which will look great when contrasted
\nwith the parts I’ll paint in cool tones of Steel and Magnesium.
\nI think the look is shinier than I want though. A satin clearcoat
\nwhen weathering will fix that though.<\/p>\n

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04.09.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Camo<\/p>\n

After much masking the camo on the Briegel and
\nmost of the painting (except for the gun and some little figure
\nextras) is done.I started out using a military-green color
\nmixed from various leftover drab colors I had lying around.
\nSome blue and white were added to get the color I wanted.
\nWaste not want not. Then I masked off where I wanted to keep
\nthe green using sticky tack “snakes” and blue tape.
\nThe next color I painted was Tamiya Deck Tan which is a light
\ntanish green color. Then more masking and some Tamiya JGSDF
\nBrown. Below is a pic of the cockpit area roughly slapped
\ntogether for the pic. The parts actually align much better
\nthan they look in this pic, but the sticky tack is misaligning
\nthem. I tried my best to line up the camo between the parts
\nand did a decent job, but there is a slight error below the
\norange in the pic. A happy accident is that in some spots
\nshifting tack mask left a slight “deck tan” line
\nbetween the green and brown. I actually like how that turned
\nout even though it wasn’t intentional. You can also see the
\nrough cast texture I added.<\/p>\n

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04.10.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Fixing Pose<\/p>\n

Today’s progress was all about getting the legs
\nfixed into position on the base so that I can move forward
\non the base. This was NOT an easy task since everything is
\nso big and heavy and wants to sag under its own weight. Plus
\nthe base slopes downward which creates its own problems. In
\nthe end though it worked out and I snapped a few pics. The
\nnext step for the base is applying thin balsa wood around
\nthe outside edge (seen in pink) and adding a quarter-round
\ntrim to the bottom. This will make the base look like it was
\nmade out of solid wood when done. Nice trick and one that
\nI just recently learned about. I wish I’d known sooner, but
\nlive and learn! After that’s applied and stained I can begin
\nthe groundwork including smooshed ground around the Brigels
\nfeet, a footprint or 2 behind it, dirt, mud, dead grass, leaves,
\nlots of sticks and twigs, more dead grass, and even more autumn\/winter
\nforest litter.<\/p>\n

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I also made a trip to the LHS looking for Russian
\naircraft decals with stars and red\/white outlined numbers.
\nI have some big red stars with white outlines from a 1\/48
\nStormovik I got cheap last year, but needed some smaller ones
\ntoo. I found a few decal sets, but none had what I wanted.
\nIn the end I ended up buying a Revell 1:72 Lavochkin La-5FN
\nsince it had exactly what I wanted decal-wise and for less
\nmoney than the other decal sets. Plus it has enough decals
\n(enough for 2 plane designs) that I can build this cool little
\nplane later without needing any extra decals. Here’s box pics
\nof the 2 kits:<\/p>\n

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04.12.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Decals<\/p>\n

Yesterday I started applying the decals. I still
\nwant to add some more maintenance marks, but it’s almost ready.
\nThank goodness for Microsol. It really softened the decals
\nnicely so that I could conform them to the rough texture of
\nthe armor and around the ridges on the shoulder parts. After
\nthe decaling will be painting small details with a brush and
\nadding paint chips.<\/p>\n

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04.13.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Paint Chips and Details<\/p>\n

The paint chips are completed as is the additional
\ndetail painting. You can see on the internals I used silver
\nand copper rub-n-buff to alter the colors of some of the metal
\nparts to give those sections a larger variety or color and
\nalso to pick out details. Paint chips were added using some
\nsponge and a thin paintbrush. There’s also a shot of the Orca
\nwithout the barrel or numerous tubes.<\/p>\n

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04.15.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Washes and Metal
\nTarnish<\/p>\n

A few days ago I gave all<\/strong> the
\nparts a satin coat of FFA. Today I gave the camo parts their
\nfirst filter and the metal parts a wash of black + burnt umber
\noil paint thinned with turpenoid. The wash popped out the
\ndetails a good bit and simulates engine grime. A thinner wash
\nof the same color I’ll wash the camo with will be applied
\nto the metals later. When the wash dried I applied cobalt
\nblue oils as a rough glaze on certain parts to give the metal
\na heat-tarnished look. Here’s a pic:<\/p>\n

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04.19.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Groundwork…
\nIt’s a dirty job.<\/p>\n

I’ve been letting some of the oil washes get
\na good cure on the Briegel while I work on the figures and
\ngroundwork. I applied balsa wood to the outside of the base
\nwith 5-minute epoxy then stained and clearcoated it with a
\nsemi-gloss polycrylic.After that was dry I applied my mud
\nmixture, a little at a time, to the terrain to give it a real
\nearth look. I did a tutorial on the process whick can be seen
\nhere: Using Real Dirt for Mud
\nand Groundwork.<\/a> After the mud had dried I began applying
\nthe various grass and twigs\/logs to the base. The grass is
\nlate autumn colored from Silflor. The dead grass is hemp twine
\nthat’s been cut at 1\/4 inch lengths and had the fibers pulled
\napart. I’ve also been adding little bits of lichen and ‘dead
\nturf’ to give some variety to the plant life. The leaf litter
\nis crushed up leaves I saved from last fall. So far I’m more
\nthan pleased with the look. I also finished painting the figs,
\nbut they need a little weathering on the coats… some mud
\nand dust. Here’s some pics:<\/p>\n

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04.20.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Can’t See the
\nForest for the Trees<\/p>\n

The base is pretty much done now. It took a
\ngood bit of work, but was a lot of fun to do. After securing
\nall the grass down with white glue, I let it dry. Then I took
\nan old toothbrush and teased out the grass. The next step
\nwas giving all the grass a flat coat of FFA since it was a
\nlittle shiny. While the FFA on the grass was still sticky
\nI sprinkled on my leaf litter so it’s stick to the grass.
\nI shook off the excess and then brushed on matt medium mixed
\nwith water over the dirt. (2nd pic) I sprinkled the leaf litter
\non that and let it dry. After shaking off that excess I added
\nsome smaller twigs and that was that. Here’s pics:<\/p>\n

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04.26.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Lighting<\/p>\n

The lighting is progressing nicely, but it’s
\ndefinitely a time consuming process. So far I’ve managed to
\nlight everything on the Orca gun, upper torso, and back. I
\nstill have to light up the lights on the backs of the upper
\nlegs and the light on the turret. After that I can do another
\nflat coat, airbrush pre-dusting, then hook everything together
\nand dust with pigment powders. You can see that there’s a
\nmess of wires inside of the cockpit area. I’m glad now that
\nI decided to omit the pilot as I’d have no where else to stow
\nall these wires and switch. To make connecting all the wires
\nto the battery easier, I’m using a trick I recalled from an
\nxmas present in 1984… an electronics lab. It basically used
\nsprings to hold the wires to various components and it’s working
\nwell here too. I’m also making heavy use of fiber optic for
\nsome of the smaller lights (all greens and some reds). I still
\nneed to add (and clear paint) clear Wave lenes to the larger
\nlenses. Here’s some pics:<\/p>\n

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04.30.2007 \u00c2\u00bb Almost Done…<\/p>\n

The Briegel is taking quite a bit of work on
\nthese final steps. Getting all the sub-assemblies put together
\nwithout damaging them, wiring, rusting, weathering, etc…
\nSo many small things are adding up to weeks of effort. Good
\neffort though and so worth the trouble as it’s shaping up
\nquite nicely. Below are pics of where I’m at… the first
\nis of the Briegel sitting on the base while assembling wiring
\nand waiting for epoxy to dry. HUGE!!! The next two are of
\nstarting the pigment weathering on the upper torso section.
\nAfter that is the rust on the fuel tanks and exhausts. And
\nfinally is probably my favorite of the Briegel, the arms.
\nThey’re just so evil and spindly looking! LOVE THEM!<\/p>\n

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Where to buy the Briegel<\/p>\n

Please no more
\nemails to ask where I purchased the Briegel.<\/span><\/p>\n

They will not be answered as I’ve been inundated
\nwith them and I haven’t the time to answer them all. Contact
\nLuca Z at his website at kallamity.com<\/a>
\nor here at the FichtenFooForums as ZLuca<\/a>.
\nThanks!<\/p>\n\n\n