1/35 "Hell Hound" hover truck - Complete (for now...)

smeagol the vile:

Heh, J you got 2 top notch gundam modelers on this forum, me and puma.  The thing about bandai kits, is test fitting is... hard.  Some people sand down the sprue,me, personally, I enlarge the hole, exacto goes in, for a spin, then you can test fit. As far as the inflight goes, for the hovertank it stayed upright, like it would if it wasnt flying, it just displaced alot of dirt.  So if its hovering, be perpared to show that, or else it wont look right

Thank you stv. I've been trying the "trim the pin" technique, and it seems to work ok, but I'll try yours too and see how it works. You can never have too many tricks and techniques, I think.

I've built Bandai kits before, and even posted them hereabouts. This one is a little different however. The quality of the plastic wildly varies from part to part; sometimes it's very soft, and sometimes it's very brittle.

Normally, whenever I cut a part from the sprue I reverse cut the gates to keep from marring the parts, but on this kit it just didn't help. Almost every piece had some damage I had to repair w/ super glue. It's very much slowing construction (especially on the small parts) but I think I can get it done on time and on a reasonable budget.

As far as how it hovers, I'm not so much concerned about accuracy. Its gonna have IDF crew and markings after all.   I was thinking at tipping it at about a 5 - 10 degree angle forwards, about 5 scale feet off the ground. I also want to use post shading and weathering to suggest streaks running along the sides. I did something similar w/ a Revel BSG Viper, and got some good results. It will also have a lot of pastel dust on it (I think) that can be slightly streaked to give the same impression. Maybe.

And thanks too for the specs. I'm guessing that bulldozer/plow-looking thing on the front is the ground sonar device? If I change my mind and decide to display it at rest, what does it land on? The box shows it resting on the fans, but there are what appear to be "feet" (for lack of a better term) inside the fan tunnels. Do these extend in the show? Seems like it would be a pretty easy modification to make.

You wouldn't happen to have the specs for the Zeon mobile scout I'm doing in our sci-fi build, would you? I wouldn't mind seeing those too, if its not too much trouble.

I myself did something LIKE this.  My first tank kit I did I did the reverse of what you are doing.  Instead of making something gundam, non, I made something real, gundam.  I turned a Patton Blazer (IDF, heh, coincidence) into a Zeon tank.

LOL! Cool. The Universe retains its symmetry, and all is well. That Blazer /Magach is a sweet looking tank, ain't it? Yours looks good too. For markings, did you use decals or dry transfers?

"Thank you" as well to ssgkopp, terry35 and dj898. I appreciate the support, and I hope to not disappoint.

Well, I'm off to do some airbrushing. More later this week.

-CJ

Bandai kits are engineered to bethe snap-fit kit which means the pins are designe such way when full inserted into the femal part it will lock itself hence eliminating the need of using glue.

When test fitting always cut the male pin about 1/3 from tip at and anhle so you can pull apart the parts afterwards...

By the way very interesting build. ^ ^)b

Yep this is going to be just cool.

Terry.

Looking Good!!!!!!!

Heh, J you got 2 top notch gundam modelers on this forum, me and puma.  The thing about bandai kits, is test fitting is... hard.  Some people sand down the sprue, me, personally, I enlarge the hole, exacto goes in, for a spin, then you can test fit.

As far as the inflight goes, for the hovertank it stayed upright, like it would if it wasnt flying, it just displaced alot of dirt.  So if its hovering, be perpared to show that, or else it wont look right

I also happen to have a LEIK HEUGE knowledge of gundam, and where to find info, if your interested on the specs and such for that hover truck here it is

Model number: Type 74
Code name: Hover Truck
Unit type: combat communications support truck
Manufacturer: Earth Federation Forces
Operator: Earth Federation Forces
First deployment: UC 0074
Accommodation: 1 driver, 1 gunner, 1 sonar operator, 1 radio operator, in main cabin
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
Armor materials: unknown
Powerplant: unknown
Propulsion: 4 x hover engine
Equipment and design features: sensors, range unknown; underground sonar system
Fixed armaments: 20mm vulcan gun, mounted on roof

The Type 74 Hover Truck was a support vehicle assigned to Federation Forces ground combat units to provide them with battlefield intelligence when radar was rendered ineffective due to Minovsky particle broadcast. Utilizing an advanced passive ground sonar suite to identify targets at long range, the Hover Truck was also equipped with a powerful communications system to penetrate low levels of Minovsky jamming. The Hover Truck was also designed with an open cargo bed for the transportation of supplies. For defense, the Hover Truck was armed with a single 20mm vulcan gun mounted on the turret, primarily for anti-aircraft defense. The standard ground mobile suit team consisted of three mobile suits and a Hover Truck, and these units were deployed all across the world from Asia's Kojima Battalion to the White Dingo team in Australia.

 I myself did something LIKE this.  My first tank kit I did I did the reverse of what you are doing.  Instead of making something gundam, non, I made something real, gundam.  I turned a Patton Blazer (IDF, heh, coincidence) into a Zeon tank.  

So I will be watching this WIP with a marked interest, good luck!

Thanks for looking guys. I hope it doesn't disappoint.

Thanks David, angling the pegs helps. The hoverfans have to be at least partially painted before they can be finalised, and being able to assemble and disassemble them helped to determine what was visible and needed paint.

u-boater:

Looks good so far! Looking forward to up-dates on this project.Any plans to modify/replace the weapons? Keep up the good work!

thanks u-b. I think I'm going to stick w/ the gatling gun in the turret, although I haven't really looked closely at the odd missile/drill thingies on the side yet.

The gatling is nicely detailed, and w/ some careful painting should look really good. I plan to put a gunner in the cupola w/ it; that should draw some attention to the detail in that area.

This kit is for an IDF Group Build. I started about three months late, so I imagine it will be a mostly stock kit so I can get it done on time. I just can't resist making minor improvements though...

Looks good so far!

Looking forward to up-dates on this project.Any plans to modify/replace the weapons?

Keep up the good work!

typical Bandi. Thier stuff can be top-notch!

On the parts not wanting to come apart due to the exteme engineering put into these kits, shave the pegs down ( I learned this over at one of the Gundam modeling sites).  Instead ofa 3/8" peg, you wind up with an angled 1/8 inch peg and it works out great.

Please post more pics, I have not seen this oen built up yet!

David