Friday, 14 December 2007

HMS Recalcitrant

This is a great scratchbuilt burrowing vehicle, or as I call them:

Terra-nefs

Taken from:
http://redjak.com/ImpMechSapper/Recalcitrant.htm

A great way to transport combat troops under an aerial barrage, or as a method of transportation to the Lost World!

How to Build The Heavy Mechanical Sapper

"The Recalcitrant or similar vehicle presents an ideal way of inserting those pesky, overpriced, underarmed Imperial close combat troops. With simple, easy to obtain materials it could be built in a few nites of work. The materials required are a styrofoam cone (craft store), a McDonald’s styrofoam coffee cup, some airdry modeling clay, some sheet styrene, dress snaps, paint and paper mache or patching stucco. Paper cardstock can be used to replace sheet styrene though it will take less of a beating."

"Roll out some modeling clay in a string that is thick on one end and thin on the other. At the pointed end of the cone start with the thin end of clay and wrap it in a spiral around your cone. Then work the clay into the shape of a screw thread and set aside to dry. Take your cup and cut it at an angle to make your vehicle look like it’s coming out of the ground. Wrap the piece with thin sheet styrene. Secure with a small strip of styrene across the spice point. Trim the top and bottom edges of the styrene to match the shape of the cup (the styrene wrap can be glued to the cup with white glue as well)."

"Cut some sheet styrene to make your door hatches and door frame assembly. Half of a dress snap forms the hatch wheel lock mechanisms. Cut a hole in the body of the vehicle just a bit larger than your door opening. Glue your door assembly over the hole. Add bits of scrap as decoration (fins, vents, gunports, access doors panels) as you like. Small styrene rod, round or hex shaped can be sliced for rivets and bolt heads. Cut a disk shape from styrene scrap to serve as a separation between the end of the cup and the screw drill point. Once dry glue the two pieces together. Paint the vehicle the colors you desire. Insignia can be drawn with a computer program and printed on a color printer. Cut it out and glue it on. Glue the vehicle to a base of matte board or other suitable material. Work up ground cover with stucco spackle or paper mache mash. Once dry paint it in earthtone colors. Using the same earthtone colors weather the vehicle so it looks like it has actually spent some time boring through the earth."

"Bada bing, bada bang, bada boom you’re done. "

Thanks very much indeed - Great stuff!
.

3 comments:

Don M said...

I fully expect Joe to field
one of these, just as soon as
he sees this. This has Dr Steel
written all over it!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for a few hints! My own Imperial Termite fleet (Warhammer 40K) still lacks suitable boreheads. After seeing this, I also might build a scaled-up version to bring in whole tanks!

Paul O'G said...

If you do you have to send us pics!


An exploration of debauchery, vice and other reasons to be a man!

An exploration of debauchery, vice and other reasons to be a man!