{"id":1757,"date":"2005-05-24T06:25:32","date_gmt":"2005-05-24T14:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fichtenfoo.net\/blog\/?p=1757"},"modified":"2009-02-12T06:27:45","modified_gmt":"2009-02-12T14:27:45","slug":"in-progress-%c2%bb-the-legend-of-bloodwind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fichtenfoo.net\/blog\/in-progress-%c2%bb-the-legend-of-bloodwind\/","title":{"rendered":"In Progress \u00c2\u00bb The Legend of Bloodwind"},"content":{"rendered":"

05.09.05 \u00c2\u00bb Story<\/p>\n

He had once been an orphen. His family was attacked
\nby a group of bandits only days after arriving
\non the colony planet known as Earth. Their bodies
\ntorn to shreads, their home burned to the ground.
\nA traveling group of monks found him not long
\nafter, alone in the middle of a canyon, covered
\nin blood and in shock. The monks took him in and
\nraised him. They taught him their ways of worship
\nand self-defense.<\/p>\n

Ten years to the day the monks found
\nhim he was in the Monesterys courtyard training
\nwith his teacher. Suddenly the sound of laser
\nfire and explosions filled the air. A regiment
\nof SDR troops had mistakenly concluded that the
\nMonestery was a safe house for Mercs passing through
\nthe region. The attack was swift and without warning.
\nAnother explosion hit close and he was blown off
\nthe courtyard, down a hill and into a ditch.<\/p>\n

When he awoke he found the Monestery
\nand his foster family all gone. On that day he
\nswore to avenge the deaths of everyone he loved.
\nHe took a vow of silence and joined the ranks
\nof the Mercenary forces. His reputation grew and
\nhe left no enemy standing on the battlefield.
\nHis comrads dubbed him Bloodwind after the silent
\nswiftness and ferocity of his assault.<\/p>\n

05.09.05 \u00c2\u00bb Concepts
\nand Variations<\/p>\n

So since I started this whole FFForum
\ngroup-build<\/a> thing, I’d better participate.
\nI figured that I’d do an SAFS for my first entry
\nand more if I have time. This first one is called
\nBloodwind. The name was originally going to be
\nfor a stealth GM, but I never got the ambition
\nto start the project. I had some kanji decals
\nprinted though so I figured I’d make use of them
\nhere and make up a story to match.<\/p>\n

This kit is going to be pretty much
\nOOB with some added detail and a custom base.
\nI’m thinking grassy ruins this time. The pilot
\nhatch will be open and I’m going to modify the
\npilot head to be shaved with monk-dots on his
\nforehead.<\/p>\n

Below is my intended color scheme
\nand a bunch of other variation I messed with so
\nI thought I’d post them up. I usually do a bunch
\nof color schemes while deciding on a final, but
\nI never show them. Well, here’s part of what you’re
\nmissing. LOL! Thanks to bhop for the improved
\nlineart illustrations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Anyway, I started the kit today.
\nShould be a quick build. I’ll take pics tomorrow.<\/p>\n

05.13.05 \u00c2\u00bb Parts<\/p>\n

The SAFS is pretty much cut-out
\nat this point. I’m actually farther along than
\nyou see in these shots as all the parts have been
\nsanded and puttied\/Mr. Surfacer. Currently I am
\ntexturing the armor and making fabric-looking
\njoint covers from epoxy putty.<\/p>\n

Here you can see the body. At this
\npoint both halves were glued and sanded and a
\nline of Mr. Surfacer was applied to fill in any
\nhairline seems (which there were). At the bottom
\nfront, you can see where I had to shim a gap with
\nsome styrene. YOu can also see where I notched
\nout the female connectors for the front and rear
\nskirts with my dremmel to make them “snap-fit”.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Here’s most of the armor skirts
\nand some other parts. Notice the “lip”
\non the lid where the sensor meets the base. That
\nneeds leveled out with putty.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Here’s te arm parts. You can see
\nwhere I had to shim another gap with some scrap
\nstyrene. I didn’t bother connecting the elbow
\njoints and such beforehand since I’m replacing
\nthem all with cloth-looking epoxy putty.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The hand needs a little work. THere’s
\na few pin-holes that were filled with Mr. Surfacer
\nand sanded and the sides of the finger joints
\nhad no grooves. I grooved them with a razor saw
\nand Tritool. The head was connected to the sprues
\nat the ears so I need to sand off the poor ears
\nthat were molded in and make new ones. Lastly
\nwas some engine parts for the back of the suit.
\nThese take some work to make fit properly.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Lastly, here’s a close-up of my
\ncolor scheme. I’m playing wth some ideas to achieve
\nthis rough-edged look. I’ll either hand-brush
\non the darker colors or use rough-torn tape to
\nmask to achieve the look.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

05.16.05 \u00c2\u00bb Ionic
\nor Corynthian, but not Doric<\/p>\n

Magic sculpt rocks. Period. One
\nof the IPMS guys gave me a sample (thanks Steve!)
\nat the last meeting and I decided t try it out
\non my joint covers. This stuff is a two-part epoxy
\nputty similar to Miliput, but it molds so much
\nnicer without all the stickiness that you get
\nwith miluput. I was able to do most of my shaping
\nbefore it set-up as opposed to Miliput where you
\nshape it slightly then carve and hack at it and
\nhope for the best. The first shot is of my right
\narms cloth sculpts. I still need to do a little
\nclean-up but I think it’s pretty good! The second
\nshot shows the wire between the left arm before
\nthe Magic sculpt was applied.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"I
\nalso got to work on my display base. I’m going
\nfor greek column ruins in a field. I started off
\nwith a finished base and added joint compound
\nmixed with fine crushed talus. Before it dried
\nI added a few rocks and the sculpted column.<\/p>\n

The column was made from PVC, Joint
\nCompound and strips of styrene. I made a diagram
\nof how I built it in case anyone wants to build
\ntheir own.<\/p>\n

A: 1 Inch PCV pipe<\/p>\n

B: I cut strips of styrene appoximately
\n1\/8″ square and glued them around the outside.<\/p>\n

C: I put joint compound in a zip-lock
\nbag and cut the corner off. I squeezed it into
\nthe grooved between the styrene strips. I then
\nused my finger to smooth it out and create the
\nconcave channels.<\/p>\n

D: You can see the general shape
\nof the channel.<\/p>\n

E: When dry I sanded it down to
\nremove the excess joint compound from the styrene
\nand used a razor saw to cut the seams where the
\ncolumn pieces would fit together.<\/p>\n

F: I used a dremel bit to make the
\nnicks and weathered damage that would happen over
\nthousands of years and a few world wars.<\/p>\n

Finally I added another glop of
\njoint compound to the top and pressed some sand
\ninto it to creat the broken\/weathered top. (see
\nbelow) I still need to paint and weather it and
\nmaybe give it a marble grained texture using a
\npencil. Hmmm… those “retail rendering”
\nclasses I had in art achool are paying off!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Here’s the general pose of the kit
\non the base. The arms are not properly posed yet
\nas I need to properly glue them to the kit after
\npainting. The ground will be weathered and drybrushed
\nmore and will have tall grass added to it. I bought
\nsome dead\/harvest gold colored grass to mix in
\nwith the green stuff I have left over from the
\nGriffon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

05.19.05 \u00c2\u00bb Paint and
\nBase<\/p>\n

I started painting the SAFS last
\nnight. To achieve the rough-edged look I ended
\nup testing rubber cement as a mask and to my delight
\nand glee it worked out great! I got a very jagged
\nrough edge. The first shot shows the results on
\na test piece. Ignore the colors as they’re not
\nthe finals and only for testing purposes.<\/p>\n

The second shot shows my first paint
\ncoats. What I did was start with a slightly green
\nsand color. Over that I sprayed a grey-green in
\na mottled pattern and over that I sprayed that
\nsame green with some sky-gray mixed in. All paints
\nare Tamiya Acrylics. After that cures I’ll apply
\nthe rubber cement and spray the darker colors.
\nBelow my photos in my inspiration image for this
\nkit. I’m going for a rough look and if possible
\nwill attempt to make it look water-colored like
\nthe image.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Next up is the base which I completed
\nyesterday. The column was weathered with an oil-wash
\nof black + burnt sienna. The grass is “Woodland
\nScenics” field grass. I used two shades;
\nlight green and harvest gold to make the grass
\nhave a more realistic end of summer, but not quite
\nready for harvesting look to it. Glad I don’t
\nhave to bail hay ever again! Bailing hay is itchy
\nand not all that fun. Well… watching the bailing
\nmachine cut, wrap and toss the hay into the trailer
\nis fun, but aside from that… itchy.<\/p>\n

Anyway… I made certain to make
\nthe grass spread out where the foot would be.
\nLater I’ll wet the white glue and press down where
\nthe previous footsteps were to make a “trail”.
\nThis will add some nice realism to it.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"
\n\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

05.19.05 \u00c2\u00bb Paint Chip
\nCamo<\/p>\n

I have a new favorite technique!
\nI will use this again! Basically I was trying
\nto figure out how I’d do the rough edged camo
\nfor my SAFS. After talking with Mitchell about
\nliquid masks I found an article on simulating
\npaint chips using rubber cement. Rubber cement
\nis perfect for this sort of thing as it doesn’t
\nsoak into the Tamiya Acrylic once cured and rubs
\noff easy with a ball of dried rubber cement or
\na rubber cement ‘pik-up<\/a>‘.<\/p>\n

I took some picks so here’s a little
\nstep-by step. I used Bestine Brand Rubber Cement
\nand Pik-up. More
\ninfo is here<\/a>. I also used an old frayed paintbrush
\nfor application.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

First paint your kit it’s intended
\nbase color. I used a light green\/tan and mottled
\nit with my airbrush by adding darker colors to
\nit. Once the paint cures, apply the rubber cement
\nwith the frayed paintbrush making sure to dab
\nit on the kit to get the rough edge.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

After the rubber cement dried (under
\n5 minutes) I sprayed on my next shades. I used
\na darker gray\/tan\/green first and sprayed it on
\nrandomly and thin. Over that I sprayed the same
\ncolor mixed with 50% future several more times
\nwith a little black, clear green, or clear blue
\nmixed in. This gave it a mottled and random look.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Finally I used my “pik-up”
\n(or a ball of dried rubber cement) to rub off
\nthe cement from the kit. It rubbed off of my flat
\npaint with no trouble. Below is the final result.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Later I’ll paint the details, clear-coat,
\ndecal, filter, wash, and weather. You could also
\nfirst paint your kit a dark gray and use little
\nbits of rubber cement to simulate paint chips.<\/p>\n

05.20.05 \u00c2\u00bb Blood Stripe<\/p>\n

Last night I painted the red stripe
\non the arm and hatch. I was gonna do one on the
\nback as well, but decided against it. I used the
\nsame rubber cement technique as above, only I
\nadded tape for the larger areas that I needed
\nto mask and only used the rubber cement to get
\nthe edge I wanted.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

05.23.05 \u00c2\u00bb Chipping
\nand Decaling<\/p>\n

Since my last update I’ve gotten
\nthe paint chipping and decaling finished. I used
\na small brush and thinned dark gray Tamiya Acrylics
\nto paint on the chips. I also used a 2B pencil
\nto do some of the smaller chipping and scratching
\naround greeblies and hard edges.<\/p>\n

For applying the decals onto the
\nrough texture I found that instead of letting
\nthem sit and dry while the microsol does it’s
\nwork, that taking a damp paper towel on my finger
\nand pressing the decal into the texture worked
\nbest to prevent silvering. I did this after the
\nmicrosol softened the decals somewhat and as a
\nfinal step. Don’t use your bare finger as the
\ndecal will stick to your fingerprint grooves instead.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Below are pics of my chipped paint.
\nThe pencil lines don’t show up that well yet due
\nto the glossiness or the graphite and the future
\ncoat. They’ll show up better once it’s flat coated.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

FInally, here’s pics of my pilot
\nhead so far. However I had a bit of a disaster
\nthis morning which is causing me to rethink the
\nwhole head thing. I was putting the inside hatch
\ngreeblies back onto the skewer and busted the
\neyepieces off and lost them. But it’s fine I was
\ndebating on using the head in this kit anyway
\nand making it a closed cockpit only piece. This
\nevent decides for me. I will use the head on my
\nHeinrich though as I was gonna do another bald
\nhead for that one anyway. Here’s some pics though
\nanyway. I was scratchbuilding the headset from
\nmagic sculpt, minus molds and copper wire.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

05.23.05 \u00c2\u00bb Weathering<\/p>\n

Since it was a rainy day I got a
\nlot done. First I gave the kit a wash. The wash
\nconsisted of White, Black, Burnt Sienna, Yellow,
\nand Blue oils plus Klean Strip Odorless Mineral
\nSpirits. This gave me a dark mucky gray-green
\nwash. I brushed it liberally on the parts (one
\npart at a time) and while each part was drying
\nI used the same brush and lightly brushed down
\nto build up wash into oily rain marks.<\/p>\n

After that was done and dry, I applied
\na filter. Missing-Lynx says to basically use a
\nthinner wash for a filter, but I decided to use
\nFuture Floor Acrylic + Tamiya Acrylics instead.
\nI mixed 1 airbrush cup (badger crescendo) full
\nof Future with 1 drop Yellow, 1 drop orange, and
\none drop Field Gray (dark olive drab). This gave
\nme a very thin color. When I sprayed it on the
\nkit the result was barely visible but that’s what
\na filter is. It slightly changed the overall color
\nto make it warmer without obscuring any of the
\ndetails thus blending all the tones together.
\nI think when I do a winter suit I’ll use a slightly
\nblue filter. Should be cool.<\/p>\n

Next I gave the kit a flat coat
\nof Future. After that I mixed up a Flat Future
\n+ Mud color and sprayed that on the legs, lower
\nbody & skirts, and the ends of the arms concentrating
\non the feet. This is where dirt would collect
\nas it was kicked up by walking. Here’s the pics:<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\u00c2\u00ab before filter<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\u00c2\u00ab after filter<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

05.24.05 \u00c2\u00bb Last but
\nnot least<\/p>\n

Lastly I did the sensor eyes. I
\nused Waves small H-eyes for this. They’re terrific
\nand I totally recommend them. They come in various
\nsizes and are convex enough to function like a
\nlens. Here’s a pic:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n\n