Making some prep work before painting. After the endskeleton was constructed I still had drilling and pinning and gluing and the like so I went ahead and soaked it the heads and weapons in a mix or Castrol Super Clean and water to help any stubborn release. I then gave everything a coat of Matt sealer. After that's dry it's onto base the primer coat.
There is a good bit of details inside the head. I would hate to seal it up and never look at it again so I worked up some magnets so the crew compartment can be separated from the face plate. The top sits secure without additional modifications. This will also make painting much easier.
Working on the heads tonight I found that there was just the slightest warp or the glue was causing a misalignment in the tops. I wrapped the heads tightly in rubber bands and soaked them in hot water then cold. I repeated this a few times then set aside to dry. This morning I unwrapped the rubber bands and the heads fit like gloves. No gaps and the parts easy fit together and stayed together.
Not letting a little bit of blood and flesh stand in my way, or yard work, or smoking ribs I continue work. My focus is the arms today. Using all my skills up to this point I have used magnets, screws, bolts, JB Weld with a pinch of blood.
Tip. I started using JB clear quick. The JB weld had metal flakes in it, so with heavy magnet use the JB was not behaving nicely. I also used some magnets where I had planned on using washers and had a change of heart.
When working on any project make sure you can "adjust fire"
I have made some progress that I will post soon. But I did a rather less than intelligent thing. Using my fostner bit I was drilling out the upper arm connect. Holding the part in one hand and drilling with the other the bit broke through and bit into my palm, luckily my flesh stopped forward progress. Not to be deterred and with bandage in place I was able to continue.
The Internet is a wounderful resource IF you use it. In following FW instructions it has you put the top on the torso. This makes securing the arm and shoulder mounts difficult. Not have some of the proper tools like clamps long enough also don't help. To fix this oversight I've decided to go the screw route again. I'm finding this method is working for me, adding much needed strength to the joins. Now to hide the screw heads.
So, first off an any decent engineer will tell you if you don't have a coffee ring on your blue prints then your not doing it right.
The torso "box" was a pain in the a.s.s
I had to pin, screw, clamp, and use a ton of rubber bands. I got epoxy every where, drilled into my thumb and bleed all over it. If the cops ever need some of my DNA just crack this puppy open. But after a lot of cursing and Gin I got him on his feet.
Went a little outside the box today. I did not just want swappable heads but I wanted to be able to move and tilt the head as well. I sank a magnet into the neck, then instead of mounting one to the Super structure I let it remain lose. I found that a Testors dull coat cap fits PERFECT. Dropped sons CA glue around the edges. When I remove the head the magnet falls into the cup. When I place the head back the magnets pull back together.
So after playing with the pinning and the slightly difficult positioning I decided to go with screws. I had some drywall screws to secure the legs to the hips and the feet platform to the legs. I back this up with JB. I did have to adjust the feet abit. Allowing the JB to cure and will screw in after.
Back from a vacation to find some magnets in my mail box. Even after 12 hours of driving I could wait. Once again a shout out to 30mm madness. I used 3/4"x3/8" disc. Used my 3/4" fostner bit to drill out the tab. I drilled smaller holes downward for the JB to have extra surface area, I then drill two bleed holes to allow the over flow to escape. Once secure I placed the torso platform and allowed the second magnet to match up. I then covered it with JB.
Between commission work and real life I got a little time to do some work on my Warlord. I wanted to begin tackling when seems to give the most headache. Legs and hips.
I used a method I had used with success on a Warhound Titan I did years ago. I used 1/8" brass rod down through the feer and wooden base. I then drilled up into the lower legs. There is some guess work and dry fitting so just plan on adjustment but you only have one chance when you hit the button.
I've read that some folks had issues at the hips so I know I needed more support. I decided to drilled through the hips and use one solid rod. My drill bit is long enough to go past the middle but not all the way so I have to eye-ball it. The nice thing with brass is you can get a bend if the holes are a little off center, just trim down the length if needed.
In the last photo there is no glue used. It's held together with three brass rods.
I will used JB weld to fill the holes as I feed the rod through when I'm ready for that phase.
The only thing I might rework is the footing, the front toe is just a pinch over the edge.
