"Midnight Raid in Mosul" Dio & Write-up....

 alright. well, cant wait to see the final product. the figs im sure will look great after casting all those body parts. (do they cast real easy btw?...rubber molds and such i assume?) have you decided on the dio concept or are ya still planning? btw, i didnt want you to think i didnt appreciate the advice on the wires for mine...i'm kinda like you where i guess im not entirely sure where i want to take this project yet. do you have any good ref. pics of these wires? and...could i pull it off and make it believable?

I do have pis of the "neighborhood powerlines" but I'm don't have my external with me. I'll see if I can find some on the net and post them for you.

Castings are easy enough. I has problems when I first started w/ small bubbles, but I didn't want to spend all that money for a pressure chamber and I didn't have time to make my own. Someone here on the forums brought up using baby powder in the molds and that has helped a lot. The MCF figures are throwing me for a small loop though b/c they are hollow. I'd like to make casts with them hollowed out as it would make running the FO easier, but I'm not grasping how I'm going to do that. I have to in-vision how the final casts are going to come out IOT make the molds that way. It's probably way easier than I'm making it out to be ... it usually is.

As far as my layout goes ... I think I've got it figured out. I'm pretty much just going to go off the first two pictures I posted. I've figured out that I'm actually just going to have to rebuild one of the figures as it had older style gear. The rest, I'm just going to do some swapping of the feet, hands, some gear, some weapons, helmets, etc. Sounds like a lot, but the biggest thing is that the bodies are going to remain pretty much the same. The only big thing that I've got to figure out, by talking to by SF buddy, is that one of the figures that I want to keep intact is wearing a full-up grenadier's vest ... packed with 40mm M203 grenades. I'm not sure if any SF guys actually wear that stuff or not. All the guys that I've ever worked with never did. Is may be the one point in the dio that I try to "get away with". However, being my biggest critic, stuff like that tends to bug me to the point that I can't leave it that way.

Messing with these vinyl figures is a new one for me. With plastic or resin, I'm used to just sawing/ sanding a piece off that I don't like. With the vinyl, it's a little trickier .... again, I'm probably over thinking it. I've not been able to mess the the figures and magic sculpt yet as I ran out ... didn't do my "precombat checks" before diving into this one ... OOPS! Hopefully, I can find a place during my trip that has something similar that I can use. Otherwise, all I can do or the next week is eyeball it and wait until I get back ... RRRrrrrr....... but, that's what I get.

As far as you "wiring" your dio ... instead of running the wires out into space, maybe you could think about running them along the front of the building. But, I'll try to find you some online. Are you going to start up your own thread? I think that you should. You'll get a lot of good feedback from the "gallery" and it'll help you focus on side of the project that you otherwise wouldn't see.

We'll post some updates as soon as I can.

Camo,

Ask and ye shall receive ...

This is a shot of one of the "generator houses".

Maybe instead of wires, using black thread stiffened with Elmer's white glue would look a little more realistic. Either way ... have fun with that!!!

 your joking right???? lol....why dont i just spray the thing with silly string when i'm done then spray paint everything black!! how about a nice palm tree?? yeah...palm trees are nice!!! maybe a garden knome with a veil on or something!! dude, i appreciate the pic, the advice, and all that stuff...i now come to consider myself a mediocre modeler...thanks!!! (it wont happen) cant even imagine the "emf" given off at that tangled mess of wires. the people probaly walk by and their beard hair stands on end!!! (the men too). no wonder they run around going "la-la-la-la" and want to shoot everything in sight.

   anyway, i wish i could help ya with the castings. i've casted tires and things like that. never anything on the larger scale as 120mm and never hollow. though i do intend to try for my next dio. but with what you have and what you've done already, you'll have a masterpiece on your hands i'm sure. btw, have you painted a marpat design yet? i havent tried and really have my reservations about it...if ya have info on that....i'd appreciate it.

   btw, what is a thread? as you can see i still havent got this forum thing down 100% so im not sure what your talking about. i couldnt even get the "quote" thing a few posts back!!!

Maybe it's just me ... I call a "thread" a new post/ topic w/ "posts" being the discussion inside the "thread".

I was thinking about the casting too. I think that I should be able to mold them as is. The RTV should make a nice mold is the inside, and then the resin casts should just make the hollow for me!?! At least that's what I'm thinking. The only thing that I know that I'm going to do is drill the small "tunnels" up the legs and such for each figure, but I already figured that. Trying to cast with those small holes would b a nightmare!

As for the wiring ... that's not a doctored photo by the by. That stuff is EVERYWHERE!!! BTW, I laughed my ARSE OFF w/ the silly-sting comment! That was funny!!!

I think that some "wiring" would add a nice bit of realizism for your dio (I'm using my Jedi powers on you ... can you tell!?! ... nananananana ... oh wait .... wrong movie!?!) A dusty palm tree would make a nice addition as well. I was going to say that I didn't see many of those, but them I remembered that you were setting it in Baghdad, so you're spot on.

 ok, my wife informed me of what a thread is...as did u. never knew...guess my age is kinda showing thru!! could you (assuming u wanted to) fill the hollow with resin then cast it solid? just a thought...wouldnt want to interfere with your mutilations doc!!!

  btw, glad u liked the joke (think i threw a few in there). i know i sound kinda racist with what im saying but some of my wife's best friends are iraqi and i b.s. them all the time. but man...that's alot of wires. so what are ya really thinkin', copper wire for the overhang or ? that should be stiff enough. "i want to put wires up...modelchasm wants me to put up wires, i have to put up those freakin wires"...(mind trick).

 i was kinda thinking about a palm...i just dont want to center everything on the ground while leaving minimal to no details "above". no sense worrying i guess (good to have a plan of attack) until i get home.

Originally, I was thinking about copper wire, but unless you're very careful not to kink it ... I just don't think it would "hang" right. Instead, try this trick I just learned ....

Take black sewing thread and dip it into a 1/1 mixture of Elmer's white school glue and warm water. Then just drape it across where ever you were going to place it in the model. **TIP** make sure that the ends are DRY though. That way when you get ready to string it up, you've got a dry spot to anchor it was CA glue. (i.e. measure ... loosely ... the thread before dipping it.) Then as the white glue/ water mixture dries, the sewing thread will become harder and will gain some strength too. Plus, it won't "blow" around in a fan breeze.

As far as the casting goes ... I think that if I just leave the hollows alone during the molding process, the void will fill with RTV, thus giving something for the resin casting to flow around ... I guess I can always try it. What's the worst thing that can happen ... I'm going to have to drill it out!?! Oh well.

(I think you've got more posts here on your topic than I do! Am I going to have to move out!?! HAHAHHAAHHAHA

BTW ....

I REALLY do think that you should add in a "garden knome" on one of the balconies. Seriously. Use a 1/350 PE figure or something like that. Use it on the ground floor and have one of the Soldiers pointing at it. It would make for a nice, suttle, "humor" factor!

Do it!!! The Jedi orders you to!!! (nananananana...)

Hey! I got an idea for your hollow leg problems- Maybe you could cut them up even more?! haha the only way I can think to cast it and keep the hollow would be to cut the whole leg in half again, front to back like up the pants seam, one side shins, one side inner knee?

That would make two extra parts per leg, But I'd figure they'd line up arlight after the fact and... I don't know much about casting at all but the fact that the mold would be inside... itself? Kinda..? I don't know- doesn't sound like it would work...

Although you were planning on molding it up origionally, so I guess easy come easy go.

I think if you wanted to cast them solid, it might be easier just to cap the leg with some sheet styrene or something of the like, as long as it's sealed, the RTV

Hey camo- I have a few MARPAT figures in 1/16, I'll dig up the thread for you. They're not finished, but hopeing they can get to looking as pretty as modelchasm's guy

Here you go

MARPAT

 i have more posts than you?? lol...oh well. the way i see it this worked out better. no offense to the forum but my posts usually get 300 looks and only 1 or 2 replies. granted those 1 or 2 may be the only ones with answers but...! i do hope im helping you out in some way. this dio im doing is only my second attempt at making one so i appreciate all the advice etc. wasnt trying to steal the thread!

 your right about the knome...will have to see if i can make one up! should i put a veil on it??

psstoff995- ya know ya dont tell a guy like dahmer here how he can better hack his victims!!! not cool man thanks for the marpat...i will look at it later tonight when i get home (m-i-l's computer is dialup only.... but i appreciate it and will look.

Yeah, I didn't think it'd be worth it, I feel that even if you could guarantee the parts coming out ok, the extra time spent cutting and casting and reassembling doesn't seem worth the effort.

"The two holes SHOULD meet in the middle." haha sounds like a plan!

camo- no problem on the link- there are quite a few pictures as it was a semi-WIP so I'm sorry about the dial up. 

haha I'll think twice next time before giving dahmer even more ways to hack apart his victims

thanx p.o.995. back home now so no more dial up!!! will have to look at your marpat posting. i did look at it when it started...just didnt follow it to where it is. really nice figs though. when do we get fin. pics?

hey modelchasm, have you casted 1/35 arms and legs? any tips ya got for doing it (assuming you have?) and having good results? i'm thinking more and more about an action/ambush scene. anything else i can do to help you (though you really dont look like ya need it) let me know!!

No problem- the finish of the figures is waiting on my being home from school. I'm a college student and don't really model much while I'm at school- those figures are about 4 hours away right now-

As soon as I make any progress I'll update that thread though, thanks for checking them out- hope they help!

 yep, every little bit does. (helps). just curious if either one of you guys has an answer to this. i just painted my building a sand color. should i wash it or "highlight it" with a lighter color using the airbrush? i mean i plan on using washes in area's like the bricks, sidewalk, etc. i just mean for the actual building color?

 modelchasm: i am sorry i "took over" your thread. you can have mine all to yourself as soon as i post my dio.

I might do washes of a grayer sand color, streaking down from the roof to the ground, kind of a rain water effect- than any place where you had brick or metal, change up the wash color, maybe a muddy brown from the bricks and a rust streak from the metal?

This may (or most likely) may not be accurate to the area, just my 2 cents on painting desert buildings in general. I tend to use a lot of artistic license and sometimes find myself slipping from accuracy and leaning more towards artistic composition

**UPDATE*** 

Sorry for the delay guys ... I'm still out on my trip and still have a couple of days to go. The place where I'm staying does not have interent access (as I was told). I took off today to the nearest little town and found a Starbucks ....

Sorry no pictures as of yet. Didn't bring my card reader with me. But, here's what I've got thus far. I've only got about 30-45 minutes to work at night, so I'm not getting a ton done. But anyway .... I've started doing a lot of "fitting" with figure parts. I've also started doing some basic putty work, however, this work is a little more limited than I first thought as I'm going to have to cast some parts FIRST before I can do the putty work with them. Other things like getting the basic fit down though isn't a problem. I've tried to drill pins in, line up different parts and then mark the pins. That way, when I get back, all I've got to do is cast and realign the parts. I don't normally do this, but since I'm having to buy myself some time, I'm making out a detailed "map" as to what parts I'm casting first, cutting, gluing, etc. I'm probably just wasting my time, but I'm basically writting myself instructions for later.

I think that everything will come together just fine and that the whole process shouldn't take too long once I get home and REALLY started.

camo: Don't worry ... you didn't "jack" my thread ... you just kept it alive for me while I've been gone.

I'm not able to get on-line where I'm at, but I can access the site by my blackberry. It's just a pain in the rear to type everything in. Let me know if you guys have a question for me and I'll be sure to get back to you. I'll probably come back to this SB's later this week just to "get away" again.

Sorry for the no-pics update ... we'll get that fixed asap!

No worries on the lack of pictures, hey- if you do get a chance to update with some in the future though, I'd love to see a shot of your "blueprint". That sounds pretty cool- and I mean hey, measure twise cut once right?

Glad to see you could get away to a SBs and glad your havin some fun on your trip.

the pics can wait. no worries there...like the anticipation anyway. enjoy your time away and we'll see the pics upon your return!

mine's coming along nicely. did some washes and some rusting. was actually surprised the whole thing didnt collapse with the washes and the spackle!!. i tried the gray-ish wash p.o. 995 mentioned. looks ok. i just need to blend my lighter/darker shades together more (i think). (any ideas?) other than that its a little each day.

Hey thanks guys .... it's been pretty busy here, so I haven't gotten a lot done. But, I hope you'll like what I've got so far. Still no pics yet though, I'll be home in two days....

I got to looking at my "#1" guy and I really didn't like his pose.... so .... I cut him up. Really just the leg, but I gave him more of a "stance" postion rather than the "run" he came with. It looks a lot better now. I've pinned the leg back on and lightly glued it to get the look I wanted. I'm hoping to go back tonight and start on the putty process, but I might wait ... just to make sure that the pose is the one I want.

I also started working on the #2 guy in the stack, but I'm not able to get too much done with out casting some things first.

I'm just a little disappointed b/c I haven't gotten as much done on this as I really wanted. So much for doing something you really want to do ... especially when there's work. BLAH!!!

Oh well, I'm starting my drive back to TX tomorrow and will be stopping off in Pensacola for the night. Maybe I'l break out my stuff and work a little ... Hmmm.

Thanks again for your encouragement. I'll "reward" you w/ pics as soon as I can.

BTW ... GENTLEMEN ... Where are YOUR updates!?!?! Hmmm?

hey, good hearing from you guys. my updates...hmmm....i'll put up a couple of pics later 2-night. i've spent the last 3 days doing little on the project...guess that's to be expected. personally modelchasm i'm surprised you have time with the other 120 mm project you have going. which looks fantastic btw. (unless they're part of the same or im totally confused or whatever...whouldnt be the first time!) enjoy your trip back...i know when i left texas to drive to florida then back to michigan....that drive to florida...for there only being a few states...sure seemed like i was driving out to california...took forever!!!

Howdy guys ... only a short update for today ...

I only worked a LITTLE last night before my drive out this morning. I had picked up come modeling clay the other day as I was goign to start filling in the figures that I had cut up IOT prep them for casting once I got home. I've always worked with epoxy putty, but this time I picked up something different to try out ... needless to say, I don't like it much.

If I do any work tonight in my hotel, I might give it another shot ... maybe.

I did, however reach a "shump" while out on the road. Since I'm running FO up through the leg from the base, I have a channel drilled through the center of the leg. In particular, one figure has the entire fron tof his knee missing as I cut it and bent it bent back to reposition it. Since there's no physical channel running through the open space, I can't exactly fill in the knee yet. So I'm planning on using some brass tubing to make a "bone" for the FO to run through before I use the putty ... this, again, will have to wait until I get home. Basically, right now, the only thing that I can accomplish is test fitting the figures back together using straight pins as temporary frame work. Seems to be working fine for now. I still find myself a little timid working with this figures as they come to you already painted ... like I don't want to mess up the awesome paint job. (as a reminder, these things are painted in mass so they really aren't all that great!) I'm getting better though.

Well, I've got an early drive tomorrow ... especially if I want to get back with any time or energy to work on this piece.

Thanks again guys for your help.

Camo ... look forward to seeing your building. What colors are you using? Enamels/ acrylics? ... Can you tell I'm about to paint my own dio base? hehe.

 i'm using enamels modelchasm. mostly humbrol. havent tried acrylics yet although i do have alot of them! stick with what you know i guess is my motto. sorry i didnt post any pics last night. red wing hockey called and i had to watch them actually lose a game! oh well. things are coming along...still have some work to do. once the building is done then i get to work on the figs!

   speaking of figures, that sounds like an interesting way to hold the lags together on your figs using metal rod to act as bone. should definately be strong. i too thought about trying modeling clay...let me know how that works for you. yep, can tell about your base. pretty awesome. like i said will post a few teaser pics tonight. although i dont think mine measures up!!

 ok guys. i said i'd show my updated progress. i hope you like it. if not well...you can tell me that too. as you can still see...i need to do more work on it...but hope you like it so far!

 its a start right!!! let me know what ya think.

Looks awesome camo!!

Hey modelchasm I really like that idea about the FO "Bone" to thread through

Sorry about the paintjob work and the new "putty" that isnt workin out. Bet you'll be glad to get home!

DANG camo! You made that paint job your ^*&#%!!!! Came out GREAT!

The only thing that I've got for your building is that everything ... and really step back and take a look at this .... everything is square. 90 degrees. Horizontal and vertical. Nothing is angled. It looks good, don't get me wrong. It's just that all the posters, the graffiti, the blue paint ... it's all very, VERY straight.

I'm back at the house now, so this thread is no longer yours ... HAHAHA! I'll be working like crazy on this one (and getting the OIF dio finished up) as I've got this week off. (suck on that one!)

Hopefully I'll be posting some new pics up here tonight .... that's my goal at least.