Title: Mk5 armour tutorial
Description: The Kuato way
Description: The Kuato way
Pacific - April 27, 2009 06:09 PM (GMT)
Hey guys!
Following some interest in my blog, here is a brief tutorial on making mk5 armour in a quick, cheap, and painless way - well, I lie, maybe not quick or painless but definately cheap! Its my first tutorial, so please be gentle :)
This tutorial only applies to the specific 'mk5' bits of the armour, so you will have to join the dots and decide on the other bits and pieces you wish to add to complete the mini.
First of all, thanks to Anodyr and BigWill, who first introduced the idea of plastic railway rivets and gave me pointers on how to make the armour 'nodules' which characterise mk5.
KUATO'S TOOLS
So to begin with, you will need the following equipment (assuming the obvious stuff like glue, craft knife and opposable thumbs):
A) SM assault trooper torso. These don't have many applications, so are usually fairly easy and cheap to get hold of from bits websites.
B ) Grandt Line railway rivets. These are available in large quantity from places such as Antenocetti's workshop or SBmodels.net (if you don't mind the minimum £10 order). Either the '#154' or '#153' if you want them a little smaller are fine. Note these are from the UK, but as Grandt Line are an American company they should be fairly easy to get hold of in the US. They come in packs of 100 so a single pack should do several marines.
C) Standard mk7 marine legs, again if you've done much converting in the past you should have piles of these things lying around!
D) Standard mk7 shoulder pad, again the kind of thing thats very cheap (I've seen them as cheap as 7p each from bitsandkits.co.uk!) to get hold of from bits websites if you don't already have them.
E Rubber tubing. I've used the brake hosing you get with Tamiya car/bike model kits, but anything which is roughly 1-2mm, flexible and cutable is ok.
F) Standard mk7 head. If possible, this should be the one with the 'double wires' which come from the grill and looks more like the mk5 helm, rather than the other one. Fortunately, these helmets tend to be so cheap from bits websites you can order a batch of them for almost nothing and get the correct ones.
G) Modelling drill. I use an 'archimedes drill' which is available from most hobby shops, and fitted with a 0.8mm drill bit. However, you should be ok with a 0.6 or up to about a 1.2mm bit assuming you use the grandt line rivets.
KUATO'S CONVERSION
1) Clean up the components. This includes:
- remove the Imperial Aquila from the Assault chest, and if you prefer the skull from the centre (I personally think it looks better with this removed).
- remove the purity seals from the legs, try and make as smooth a finish as possible with this.
- Trim the rim from both shoulder pads so that it is smooth as possible.
- Trim the stabiliser/ridge from the top of the mk7 helmet, so it looks like a completely smooth, bullet-head.
2) Adding the rivets
This is probably the hardest part of the operation, you need to add rivets to the head, a single shoulder pad and both legs. First of all is the drilling phase. Use a craft knife to mark where you want to drill - the important thing here is to be as consistent as possible with the spacing, and not to try and cram too many rivets on. I have several lost marine legs which occupy the 'Frankenstein's failures' parts of my bits box because I became frenzied in my drilling. In total, I found 16 rivets per leg and 10 on the left shoulder pad is enough.
When drilling, try to drill only deep enough for the rivet and perhaps 3-4mm of the rivet length to go inside for a secure fit. Some of the legs will have pockets of air inside, and you will suddently find yourself drilling through the opposite side of the leg if you go too far!
When attaching the rivets, clip off a few mm length of the rivet with clippers, and dip the non-rivet end in an already prepared pool of plastic glue. You only need the tiniest bit of glue, too much and it will squirt out from the side and make a mess! To be honest, this is the hardest part - I lost many, many rivets with my first ham-fisted attempts, the damned things seem to dissapear the moment you drop them.
Here is an example of a completed shoulder pad, with the rims removed and rivets added (its possible to make a much more accurate job than this):
Its worth taking the most time making sure the rivets are evenly spaced on the head - if they are not, it will stand out far more than had it been on another part of the model.
3) Creating the Torso
Simply add the tubing from front to back. You can double this up as I have done, or add even more if you want to more accurately portray some of the pictures which show mk5 as very cable-heavy. Be careful however not to add too much thick cabling which might then prevent you attaching the arms!
Here is another photo showing the completed 'trunk' of the marine:
Finally, I think the best way is with some examples. Here are some of my own, but if anyone has some of their own I will add it to this thread for ease of reference! I'll also update this main thread if anyone wants to add comments or their own suggestions!
Following some interest in my blog, here is a brief tutorial on making mk5 armour in a quick, cheap, and painless way - well, I lie, maybe not quick or painless but definately cheap! Its my first tutorial, so please be gentle :)
This tutorial only applies to the specific 'mk5' bits of the armour, so you will have to join the dots and decide on the other bits and pieces you wish to add to complete the mini.
First of all, thanks to Anodyr and BigWill, who first introduced the idea of plastic railway rivets and gave me pointers on how to make the armour 'nodules' which characterise mk5.
KUATO'S TOOLS
So to begin with, you will need the following equipment (assuming the obvious stuff like glue, craft knife and opposable thumbs):
A) SM assault trooper torso. These don't have many applications, so are usually fairly easy and cheap to get hold of from bits websites.
B ) Grandt Line railway rivets. These are available in large quantity from places such as Antenocetti's workshop or SBmodels.net (if you don't mind the minimum £10 order). Either the '#154' or '#153' if you want them a little smaller are fine. Note these are from the UK, but as Grandt Line are an American company they should be fairly easy to get hold of in the US. They come in packs of 100 so a single pack should do several marines.
C) Standard mk7 marine legs, again if you've done much converting in the past you should have piles of these things lying around!
D) Standard mk7 shoulder pad, again the kind of thing thats very cheap (I've seen them as cheap as 7p each from bitsandkits.co.uk!) to get hold of from bits websites if you don't already have them.
E Rubber tubing. I've used the brake hosing you get with Tamiya car/bike model kits, but anything which is roughly 1-2mm, flexible and cutable is ok.
F) Standard mk7 head. If possible, this should be the one with the 'double wires' which come from the grill and looks more like the mk5 helm, rather than the other one. Fortunately, these helmets tend to be so cheap from bits websites you can order a batch of them for almost nothing and get the correct ones.
G) Modelling drill. I use an 'archimedes drill' which is available from most hobby shops, and fitted with a 0.8mm drill bit. However, you should be ok with a 0.6 or up to about a 1.2mm bit assuming you use the grandt line rivets.
KUATO'S CONVERSION
1) Clean up the components. This includes:
- remove the Imperial Aquila from the Assault chest, and if you prefer the skull from the centre (I personally think it looks better with this removed).
- remove the purity seals from the legs, try and make as smooth a finish as possible with this.
- Trim the rim from both shoulder pads so that it is smooth as possible.
- Trim the stabiliser/ridge from the top of the mk7 helmet, so it looks like a completely smooth, bullet-head.
2) Adding the rivets
This is probably the hardest part of the operation, you need to add rivets to the head, a single shoulder pad and both legs. First of all is the drilling phase. Use a craft knife to mark where you want to drill - the important thing here is to be as consistent as possible with the spacing, and not to try and cram too many rivets on. I have several lost marine legs which occupy the 'Frankenstein's failures' parts of my bits box because I became frenzied in my drilling. In total, I found 16 rivets per leg and 10 on the left shoulder pad is enough.
When drilling, try to drill only deep enough for the rivet and perhaps 3-4mm of the rivet length to go inside for a secure fit. Some of the legs will have pockets of air inside, and you will suddently find yourself drilling through the opposite side of the leg if you go too far!
When attaching the rivets, clip off a few mm length of the rivet with clippers, and dip the non-rivet end in an already prepared pool of plastic glue. You only need the tiniest bit of glue, too much and it will squirt out from the side and make a mess! To be honest, this is the hardest part - I lost many, many rivets with my first ham-fisted attempts, the damned things seem to dissapear the moment you drop them.
Here is an example of a completed shoulder pad, with the rims removed and rivets added (its possible to make a much more accurate job than this):
Its worth taking the most time making sure the rivets are evenly spaced on the head - if they are not, it will stand out far more than had it been on another part of the model.
3) Creating the Torso
Simply add the tubing from front to back. You can double this up as I have done, or add even more if you want to more accurately portray some of the pictures which show mk5 as very cable-heavy. Be careful however not to add too much thick cabling which might then prevent you attaching the arms!
Here is another photo showing the completed 'trunk' of the marine:
Finally, I think the best way is with some examples. Here are some of my own, but if anyone has some of their own I will add it to this thread for ease of reference! I'll also update this main thread if anyone wants to add comments or their own suggestions!
deadpool2345 - April 27, 2009 06:32 PM (GMT)
wow really helpfull. and defo one of the best lloking mk5 marines out there :)
cheers for this A***
DP
cheers for this A***
DP
DaemonlordAbraxes - April 27, 2009 10:03 PM (GMT)
Quoting Vred, "AWESOMESAUCE!!"
BigWill - May 2, 2009 01:19 PM (GMT)
For an even more awsome version replace part e (cable) with Dragon Forges white steel cable.
I just picked them up they look like guitar string but is mallable and easily shaped.
A real win IMO.
I just picked them up they look like guitar string but is mallable and easily shaped.
A real win IMO.
Lord_Mortirion - October 3, 2009 11:58 PM (GMT)
that does look really amazing
Miss Dee - October 4, 2009 04:02 PM (GMT)
kublai - October 29, 2009 01:34 PM (GMT)
very helpful B)
Whitehorn - October 29, 2009 01:43 PM (GMT)
Those buggers are never in stock! /wants rivets
Arden Fell - October 29, 2009 04:51 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Whitehorn @ Oct 29 2009, 01:43 PM) |
| Those buggers are never in stock! /wants rivets |
Been watching for the last 2 months and they never seem to update theor stock lists.
Also want some of thier Sci-Fi Scenery for my Space Hulk builds. :(
Pacific - October 29, 2009 07:08 PM (GMT)
Apparently Grandt Line is terrible at providing stock. I spoke to someone from Antenocetti's, and they said they had so many unanswered phone calls and emails it got to the point where they thought that the company had closed down - then, all of a sudden, a box of stock turned up on their doorstep. The only thing to do is keep trying...