Torso primered

Today we have some torso shots. The purpose of the primer is to show up any flaws before a mould is taken.

As you can see there's a fair bit if tidying to do (sigh :p). You'll notice also I've left off a small box section on the rear back pack and there 2 locator holes in its place. This is because it would trap air so I'll be casting it separately to be glued on using the locator buttons.

Armorcast Madcat

Look what I dug up -

Its an old Armorcast kit. If i make a clan lance I think I know the colours I want to use I just need to find a Clan unit that use those colours in the lore

Its the off white, grey, yellow/orange that's in this image

Can any one help me out naming a unit that wears those colours. Answers in the comment or email too;

On another note I pinched a nerve in my neck so I can't work on the HBK MK2 today hopefully it'll subside by tomorrow.

Legs and head

Heres some of the foot, shin and MW4 style head.

Click to enlarge

Its their first coat of primer it purpose to show up any defects before casting As well as the usual removing of snots (putty blobs) and a few seams, I can see the rear of the shin needs some attetion to sharpen it up.

The shin piece is a blank there is a left and right handed knee pad detail to be added once the part has been copied.

The AC is fitted to the torso but I couldn't primer it because the putty is still setting so pictures another day

Progress

Progress today

I decided to get stuck in and do the scary parts you know the bit where I take my fragile bits and a big drill press and make some holes.

This was progress this morning. Although its hidden I drilled the torso to hip joint hole. Might not sound like much but it has to be right or we get a hunched hunchback :P

This hole was stalling progression on the Torso with it in place i could add the side torsos, and 'back pack'

I've gotten more done since that photo was taken but I need to charge the camera.

I've finished (more or less);
Shin blank (ready for casting so i can make it left/right handed)
AC20 ready to be fitted to the torso
Foot which looks awesome

On tomorrows to do list;
Torso guns barrels
Gearing ring on the bicep
Thigh details and hip joints
Shoulder joints
Tidy the forearms up

I'll shoot some primer on the lot and grab some photos.Then its snagging and moulding and hopefully will see a complete pair of sexy legs in the near future.

I've got a joint set in the post that I'm waiting for to finish the arms. I'm hoping it'll clear customs by end of next week.

As for an update on CBT, IIC variants. The CBT is going to take a 2nd priority while I wait for a few parts. The IIC variant is going on the back burner till i have the time to work out how to flip the AC20 not as simples as I first thought. The main issue is i have to make it look identical to the other side which might mean ordering a 2nd set to be laser cut (hind sight 20/20 i should of added that to the original order doh!)

Lingo buster:

• Blank - A part brought to the point where it can be cast and then made into a left or right handed asymmetrical part.
• Left or right handed - a part that is a asymmetrical mirror of its counter part
• Detail - small cosmetic feature to and interest to a part (hatches, vents, rivets, etc)

Hitting the wall

I'm hitting the wall with the HBK mk2 there's lots of fiddly jobs that need to be done and done in order and its just leaving me spinning my wheels.

It's mainly the thighs I'm going to need to mould the ambidextrous part before I carry on but its an awful hassle make a mould just for 1 piece so i need to finish up a few more parts to mould as a batch.

I also have to add a perfect level hip joint (its the bane of my life i tell you) have you ever tried to hang 2 pictures next to each other perfectly level? Now imagine trying to do the same but there on opposite sides of the same wall /joy

The rest is sanding which is messy process so hardly motivating

#moan :P

Reducing the weight with - Fillite filler

When i make assault size mechs I hit a problem in logistics. The problem being postage climbs steeply after you go over the 1kg mark. Not one likes paying shipping so i embarked on a way to try and reduce shipping weight.

There's a few methods

Clam shells - Cut the larger parts in half hollow them out turn hem into 2 'clam shells'. This is what armorcast did and imo probably the best results. There's a catch though, you have to cut the master in half (that's very risky) or take a mould of the master and then cut that in half mucho expensive (I dont have the economies of scale to make it work)

Rotary casting - this where you put in a small amount of resin in the mould and spin the mould on all axis evenly coating the mould and leaving a hollow centre. Lots of commercial processes use this. But there are draw backs its not pressure cast, the apparatus is expensive, complex and bulky, its hard to get right 100% of the time (for an amateur like me). So too much hassle for the likes of me.

That leave fillers specifically Fillite Powder. I'll copy paste what it is;

Fillite is a glass hard, inert, hollow silicate sphere. Fillite is primarily used to reduce the weight of plastics, rubbers, resins, cement, etc., but also imparts further benefits in many situations

 So its teeny tiny glass bubbles dust. This was my chosen option because;

• Its cheap
• Its the same process as resin 
• It makes the resin as much as 50% lighter while adding strength

So i did my first test today and success! I made a 1/4 fillite to 3/4 resin. Here's the results;

Left pure resin - Right fillite/resin 

 (click to enlarge)

The fillite gives the resin speckled colour. The torso came out at 300g compared to the 360g of pure resin version. That was a conservative mix so i could probably get the weight down even more.

Rough maths means a 1kg mech could be taken down to 600g which results in a 25% saving on postage costs according to the postage calculator.

It also has another benefit on models that are top heavy (mainly chicken walkers). I can fillite cast the top half while pure cast the legs making the model much more stable!

HBK MK2 - progress photo dump

HBK MK2 - progress photo dump