[dto:] I have been following your work since day one. [Y] I am surprised that this is not getting enough attention from the members. Well, maybe we have one too many lurkers this time. Just keep going and keep us posted!
Thank you both for your wonderful compliments, they drive me to do my best, and improve upon it to get the maximum artistic expression that I can provide with the talent I’ve been given, and the skills I’ve developed on the way. I would’ve posted this earlier, but I haven’t been able to post here for the last few days since this site was down. I forgot about it coming back on yesterday, so here’s the latest update since my last post. I have more progress, but I’m copying, and pasting, so this will take a little bit for me to edit correctly.
The stock Horizon kit was bland, but a very good base to build a great kit from. I just hope that everyone here will be able to achieve their dreams, one way or another. I’m glad you like what you see. This makes me happy. After making this, the Winchester will be a breeze!
My cousin was in town to visit, and I showed him this. When I did, he said “You should charge a lot more for this”. It’s alright, I love making things. This wasn’t a lot of work,or materials - just a lot of time, and thought doing it.
I figured out how to make the trigger guard accurately, and still keep it from falling off while retaining it’s mobility.
This will be painted once I get the range finder made. All the hard work is done.
Here’s the latest. This is the range finder in it’s finally completed form. I’ll have to make another one. This one is too asymmetrical to please me. I only took pictures of this for example. At least you’ll be able to get an idea of what this will look like once finished. No descriptions, just enjoy.
Arnie approves! You can tell by the cheesy fake smile, and teardrop. Sorry people, I did some photoshoppery to achieve this effect for humour. This was intended to be the look of pride as a proud father doting on the birth of his little baby boy.
Here’re that last photos before I post the final product. This is the new range finder. I ended up making this entire assembly over, from the barrel mount on up.
I know that all these pictures look like the ones that I posted earlier, but this range finder needed to be straightened, so I had to make a new one. This is slightly smaller, and better than the first version I made. It’s also more accurate to the actual M-79. This one isn’t asymmetrical.
These are the parts after being freshly sprayed with gloss black enamel. I love the look of gloss, but this needs a dull matte finish to be accurate.
I rubbed these down with rubbing compound after they dried to give them that gunmetal look.
This is not an antenna, but it is the adjustment knob, and the tension adjustment screw. I still had to cut this off when I took this photo.
I forgot to shave this down before I glued it to the cherry stock. I started doing this when I took this photo. I had to sand, and shape this into a circle before I could paint it. Even though this was a work in progress at this time. Now it looks correct.
[size=9]CHOO-CHOO!!! CHUG,CHUG,CHUG[/size]…I’m sorry people - I couldn’t help it, this looks like a choo-choo train engine.
These are the masking tape pieces that I used to hold these while spraying them with paint. I had to use new pieces each time to get them to stick without falling off when spraying them from different angles.
This is for size comparison.
The little white piece of styrene next to the grip is the pin for the lock to keep the trigger guard from coming off. I made three of these because the first two were angled on one end, and not perfectly cylindrical when I turned them.
I thought that the stock, and the range finder where hard - the strap buttons,and their harnesses were the hardest part by far!!! The harnesses are what I used the guitar string core from. This was a bass E string that was cut at the ball end for a Floyd Rose tremolo. This was new, and never used. A perfect candidate for this project.
I took the nickel wrap off this, and used the inner core, as it’s not as hard as the sewing pins that I used for the strap buttons, and it wouldn’t break like the pins would. Sewing pins only have a little give before they snap like plastic. They’re tempered to be harder than a guitar string which is also tempered, but not nearly as much, since a guitar string needs to vibrate. The harnesses move forward, and backward, but the buttons holding them in don’t swivel.
This is the part where I applied tape to keep the paint off it, so that I could get the glue to stick to the aluminum tubing permanently.
My range finder slides up, and down. I don’t know if the toy does this, as I don’t own one. Be VERY careful with this, Roy - I can’t make another one without having you send this back to me, should this get lost somehow!
This is the begining of the anchor for the harness.
This is the full compliment of strap buttons, and harnesses.
NOW this looks like a miniature M-79. Don’t get too excited people, I still have to make the straps for both of these grenade launchers.
Lock back action that really locks.
Almost done people. This is the home stretch. I have to touch up the shock pad, or recoil pad as it’s properly called. I made this one out of rubber last night. This, and the strap took me into today. The white line is supposed to be there, but this is wood filler. I used this to fill the gap between the butt of the stock, and the recoil pad. I have a tiny bit of touch up, and one more item to add to this, then I can call it done.
This was a cap for rubber tubing inside the engine compartment of a car. I cut the new one down, and sanded it with 32 - 60 grit. I smoothed it with 220 grit sandpaper to finish it before gluing it permanently to the butt of the stock. The only drawback to rubber is that it attracts dirt like a magnet.
This is the old styrene recoil pad. I removed this with pliers last night, so that I could fit the new rubber one for a more realistic look. To the right of it are clips, or “hoops” that didn’t quite pass my quality assurance check. These were to be part of the strap, but I only needed one. I didn’t know this as the time. These were bent to shape with a pair of needlenose pliers.
The strap itself is made from 0.05" printer paper that I reinforced with two layers, then painted them. This is called “camel colour” by the Daimler-Chrysler company. The inside looks white, but it’s a very light creme colour. The strap adjusters are made of single ply printer paper, but painted the same colour before being folded on itself, and glued. The strap harnesses are made of styrene painted with gloss black enamel, and the hoop for other end is made from the same guitar string core that I used for the strap harnesses on the grenade launcher itself.
What all this means is that, the strap is adjustable, but I already adjusted it to hang comfortably from Arnies’ arm. No more adjustment is needed. This strap is not made to come off. Roy, be very careful not to try to readjust this as it is delicate, and it will tear if not handled with the best of care. I couldn’t use real leather, as it would be so thin that it would tear everytime I touched it! I didn’t have anything else to make this from that would durable, and in the proper scale. It doesn’t really matter, as I painted this with thick brush strokes to emulate leather texture to give it that leather appearance, and feel since it’s only for display.
No more descriptions tonight, people. Just enjoy while you can, this thread is almost at an end forever!
I thank you from the bottom of my heart! I know that this may sound silly to most of the senior members here, but I actually come back every so often to read comments in my threads. I love reading your reactions, as much as you guys like what you see! This means a lot to me. I love doing this, but without an audience, I’m preaching to the chior. My only guess is that there are three types of people that visit these forums.
1: Those that participate, and love models, and all things model related ,and also want to further their hobby, and all those associated with it.
2: Those who would like to, but are intimidated by more experienced modelers, and are embarassed to admit they need help. This is detrimental to them sharpening their skills if they don’t get involved, or bother to ask questions so that they can find out why someone is doing something a certain way. I know that there are a few that just post pictures without showing, or telling how they did it. I know - I too, am guilty of doing this myself sometimes!
- There are those who either do, or don’t build models, or scratch build, but drop in to see what’s going on anyway. Some of these types are the ones that don’t get involved, and just look at what interests them. They usually ooh, and ahh something, but don’t log in, or leave a message. These are also the ones that only admire from afar, and never get involved with anything on the forum, as they aren’t usually members. They’ll say cool, or eh, and go on to something else. It’s impossible to truly understand, or value all the hard work, and time involved in something like this project, as I can’t show all the trial, and error going on behind the scenes.
The above only applies to those who’ve looked, but gone on to something else that they find interesting, or more interesting than this whether they be members, or not. So for those members who have, please don’t be offended, but be humbled as I’m more than happy to share this even with people who don’t deserve to see it, or even those who do, and say nothing at all.
I’ve spent many hours planning this project as I go along with the mindset of " How can I make this more realistic", or "What can I do to make this a better, and more enjoyable build once finished. So that the customer feels that he got his moneys’ worth, and will keep it, instead of selling it on because of something they don’t like about it. I put my all into this build as I do with my own. I went above, and beyond the call of duty for this guy even though I don’t know him, or ever met him. This shows how much I love modeling, as well as helping those who aren’t as capable as I am to paint something of this nature. I’m not an egomaniac, and I don’t blow my own horn making a big deal out of what I’ve done. I let my work speak for itself.
The only thing that bothers me is the attitude of those who don’t know what it’s like to build something from raw parts, and have to rework what they’ve made, or start over from the beginning, even if it takes hours to do! Something like this that wasn’t truly neccessary, but a unique opportunity to show what I can do, and make a truly realistic, and more enjoyable showpiece for its’ owner.
I truly do appreciate all your compliments, and comments. That makes it a more enjoyable experience here. So the next time you see something that leaves you in awe, you like, or admire, and leaves you wondering how they did it - let them know! I love looking at what I’ve made, and thinking “WOW! I made this?” Most don’t know what this is like, or realise that this isn’t really easy to copy something from the real world in a much smaller scale, but perfectly proportionate to actual item it’s modeled after! I’m used to doing this, so it’s not as difficult for me, as, it may be for someone starting out. I do make mistakes, but my experience limits them greatly. Although I still do make them from time to time. I correct them and go on. You can’t expect, or ask for more than that!
In closing: We all have reasons for doing what we do, but at the end of the day, I love to sit back, and build from whatever catches my eye, and create life where there was none before. This is my tribute to the modeling world, and its’ also my way of giving my gift of art to the rest of the modeling community. I’m not looking for popularity/fame, or to be the most prolific poster, or builder - just one of the very best. I may not post a lot of builds on here at the moment, but as soon as I have all the projects on my table finished, then I’ll have more time for this.
On with the show
Thank you all for your comments as well as those for looking. This isn’t the last post ever, but very close. This is a special surprise I’ve held off making until today. I figured that since the “Hot toys” brand came with one, that I should make a grenade for this too. This needs a litte more work before it’s done, but this is it in its’ begining stages. I only made one, as I only have a little bit of styrene rod left. I still have to take photos of the final product, but the paint needs to dry completely before I can wrap this for shipping.
Please compare the two different designs. The correct true to life version on the left, and the incorrect Hot toys version on the right. I followed the correct version, as you can see below. Although I’ve never seen a real grenade with the elongated head like a .45 Cal. bullet as these have in the photos, but with the shorter head as my version has, I still modeled this after the one on the left because it is the correct color, and overall design.
No descriptions, just enjoy!
~ Cobra Chris
amazing job and the the most pictures i have ever seen on a post single post!
Holy cow! What a great tip about using the drill… never thought about it earlier. Thanks for sharing!!!
Thank you both for your compliments! I hope to inspire you to do the same should you want to make something complex from simple parts. I have a little more to show you all before this thread has come to an end.
~ Cobra Chris
These pictures are just for example, as this is the background for the final photos I’ll post. I just want to put a little more junk on the floor around Arnies’ feet for a more dramatic effect. The sun was too bright for me to take a good far away shot without washing out the detail.
The backdrop was made from a series of squares that I designed on the computer, and printed up. I then glued these pieces of printer paper onto cardboard cut to fit these once glued to the surface. This is supposed to look like a diamond plate floor with a bunch of steel plated walls behind. I painted it over with automotive primer to simulate dirt, and grime.
You can’t really tell, except in person that I repainted Arnie in brighter chrome enamel paint. This makes him look more like a real Terminator made from stainless steel as opposed to just gray water based acrylic. It helps to look at him from all angles in bright sunlight to appreciate this effect.
The chain was for a toilet tank flapper valve that I cut down soley for this backdrop. The hook was made from a leftover piece of scrap that I cut from another project. It was already this round shape. This is what Bob Ross always called “A happy little accident”, which inspired me to use it. I just bent the other end over to hold it to the chain. The aluminum tubing I used to hold this up went into another project that I’m currently working on.
None of these elements are meant to be sent with the figure, but are for another project altogether. I figured that this would do double duty, so I used this for taking photos of Arnie as if in a actual steel mill.
The laser eye was photoshopped for this effect. I didn’t change it. I just wanted to see this with it lit up like the ones in the movie.
This is a few inches from the wall even though it doesn’t look like it.
This is supposed to be the finished product. I took the grenade launcher out of Arnies’ hand as this was only held on with masking tape. This kept falling out while taking these pictures. I finally got sick of repositioning it, and put it away. Some of these photos are posted out of order.
I was waiting around till you finished to post again so I hope you didn’t take it as lack of interest.
What can I say??? I’ll second that I hope the guy is paying you well - professional job all around!
Again beautiful job and thanks for letting us see your progress!
I L-O-V-E IT! It was a pleasure following your work. What will you be doing next? Another character from the Hollywood movies or somethinig like that? It is always a nice break to see something other than WW2 figures.
Here’s your answer. This is almost at an end - I have two more alterations that I want to do before I post this to ebay. I’ve now completed all the weapons for this, and all the build requirements. I’m going to alter Arnies’ left eye a little to make it more realistic, and add some metal to Arnies’ right hand, then this will be complete with no more alterations. NEXT - Project X. Stay tuned!
This isn’t a new project, but this is one that I was working on for another member of the forums. I spoke to him last in late August, and I haven’t heard from him since. I must assume that he’s no longer among the living, or his living situation has changed drastically. I was comissioned to build, and paint this back in March of this year, but I didn’t think about altering this from the painted metal skeleton to actual aluminum foil until now in order to make this look more realistic.
The sculpt isn’t perfectly smooth underneath since this was all done at the same time. However, this made it even harder to apply the metal sheet over it. I used Reynolds’ wrap foil, and Elmers glue. I should’ve used the 3M spray adhesive instead. I just didn’t want a big mess on my hands, and be forced to start over from scratch. This only compounded the problem with trying to achieve a smooth surface even with brushes, and cotton swabs. The irregular surface, and space with the fragile foil made this a nightmare to get where I am on it now. I don’t know if I want to change this by starting over one piece at a time with the 3M stuff, or just leave it as it is. After looking at this I want to change it, but I know how this will turn out.
This is the shotgun that Arnie’s supposed to be holding in his right hand, but I didn’t know that when I built this kit. This rifle took me almost two weeks of off, and on building to allow paint to dry, and for parts manufacture. This is made from actual maple for the stock, and handgrips. They’re decorated with steel sewing pins. The barrels are made from aluminum, and the lever is made from two paper clips bent around to shape with a styrene block superglued in between for the lever mount. The reinforcements are made from aluminum tubing that I cut with a tubing cutter, then cut in half. The round part at the backside, and the rest was flattened, and superglued along the rails toward the bottom, and front of the lever. I used a styrene pin to hold the lever in place - this allows it to move. I stained the wood to match the original prop, and clearcoated it with acrylic enamel clearcoat, then rubbed it to a dull shine. This even has the makers marks on the top left side with the logo on both sides of the breach/lock. This entire thing is glued with superglue thick for assembly, except for the handgrips - this was done with Elmers’ glue. It was the only thing that was thick enough to hold it in place while it dried.
I still have to get pictures figured out, so I can post them all in one spot. When this happens, I’ll post the final build, and work in progress in this thread. Thanks for looking.
~ Cobra Chris
Beautiful work! Wasn’t Arnold the Cyberdyne Systems model 101 and the Dennis Patrick Memetic Poly Alloy terminator the Cyberdyne model T-1000? Maybe I missed a more updated Arnold model from the latest movie or the Sarah Connor series. Does anybody make the Summer Glau Terminator as a model?