Amazing work Nick.

Are you going to try and throw in some of the "futuristic" looking guns they had in movies like Total Recall and Robocop? You could probably mock up a Calico M950 using a Sterling. The Barrett rifle from Robocop is also totally doable.

http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Total_Recall_(1990)
http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/RoboCop_(1987)

Nick,

There's nothing wrong with the band. In fact, I think I may need to look up a few songs now that you mentioned them.

It was funny because as soon as I posted the comment about the doors I thought how you need to be careful not to cover up the scene. I'm glad to see I'm way out there with you. Guess it's a way we all have to be to enjoy this hobby so much.

I have to say I almost enjoy looking at your stuff as I do modeling myself. Maybe more now since it's been so long since I've had time to model at all.


Thanks,
Dave

Ok....


Ahhh......


How do I say this???????.......


You are ridonculous!


Oh..... Yeah, and Shep Paine would be very impressed!

This is looking like a miniature prop for a movie - and I mean that as a compliment. The lighting takes it to a whole new level.

Everytime I see this dude I think he's saying , ............ " Who's in the bar gettin hammered ................ this guy "

Hey guys - -ha! lots of good comments, thanks very much -

Chris, thanks - glad you like the Lagunitas! yes - - I'm in Northern California, and that's a local favorite -

Hey Matt - thanks - i think you were one of the big advocates for "light" - you were right!

Hi Gareth thanks for the comments - that weapons idea of yours is good....I'll need to mull that over a bit - right now, the only fancy weapon I'm considering is one of the Live Resin concept "CROWS" - which will go onto my modified MATV....

Hi Dave - first, don't get me wrong - I like the Doors! (the band) and, have added the doors (roll up) to the building - good idea!

Dave, from the great white north thanks!

Hi Paul - your point about the movie prop - is probably more accurate than you might guess - part of the fun for me in building these is to see just how "reasonably" close I can get to 1:1 - that doesn't necessarily mean building each little bit - instead, trying to add the "right" stuff in the right places to make it look right -

HAHA! Cheyenne! you nailed it with that guy - if you crop out a bit less:



You can see he and his buddy having a lot of fun checking out the beers, women, and action on the street!

OK - Now, back to some serious stuff:







About that crowd.....you can see, the foreground includes figs- the background - doesn't. Somewhat related to my earlier note about (not) building doors in front of (blocking views of) highly detailed things, the same goes for people.

This space is big enough, that without "people" it would look empty - but another 25 or so figures would cost a fortune - so, instead, some mock figures which provide some interest. Some detail when viewed from the front, cut out limbs to provide a profile, and some "thickness" added here and there - so that at first glance they don't look like cut-outs....



Above is a close up so it's pretty obvious what I did - from a "normal" view - they blend right in:



OK - that's all folks - thanks for having a look - keep building stuff.

Nick

Well, I just couldn't take starting another building, or painting another figure! I still have plenty to do in each of those subject areas - but, they can wait.

So, as an alternative task, I thought I'd get rolling on my modified MATV - the plan for it is two fold. First, to add to it's capability as a personnel carrier, next, to mount one of the more sci-fi live resin CROWS up top.

Step one: Remember just how much of a PITA the Panda MATV is to build.....yep, I've built a few of them - and, am typically so pleased with the built kit, that I let the headaches go, that is, forget about them....hmmm. This time the kit is the version with the CROWS - I assumed that because it was the "newest" version from them, that by now, some quality assurance issues would be at least considered.........well, I was wrong. Most of the problems are the "classics" - poor fit, big chunky connections to the sprue, poor connection/locator points between parts - and, a new annoying feature: strange, somewhat fragile plastic....woo hoo...

Step Two: Start building and don't stop - carry on, carry on - break parts, glue them back together, and carry on.....

Step Three: the easy part! some scratch building:

So some photos - up front you'll see that I made it "steer-able", and added wire coil springs - can't resist those two:





And then onto the personnel enhancement. In my dio, I'll have some cops/soldiers/security on the move - but there will be more than four of them, so, the MATV need to be expanded. I know there is a 6x6 prototype version of this, but: I don't like its looks that much, and 2: I am not in the mood to try and splice one more differential/axle module onto the already mediocre kit - so, I'll remake the bed. First though, my generic test fit guy:



I use this guy a lot - very helpful, and, you can see, as is, a tight fit - the plan is to add some ceiling height, and lower the floor a bit:















And, more on the way. As you can see, lots of trips to the old sprue pile, etc. Funny enough, the scratch work has been faster, easier and more fun to build than the kit!

OK enough whining - So far, I like the looks of this - I'm thinking some sort of urban camo scheme - but not decided yet -

thanks for checking it out -

Nick

As you can see, lots of trips to the old sprue pile, etc. Funny enough, the scratch work has been faster, easier and more fun to build than the kit!

OK enough whining - So far, I like the looks of this - I'm thinking some sort of urban camo scheme - but not decided yet -

thanks for checking it out -

Nick

[/quote]

All hail Stick! King of Scratch!

I think the urban camo theme would be up the right alley...or side street as it were!

And since you're presumably showing a night scene here.... Maybe some high beam headlight action?

Awesome build sir Nick of the Bay!

Stick,

The idea w/ the 2D people in the back - fantastic. Fill the room w/out breaking the bank. Not alot of projects you could use that one, but works on this.

And since is is Aug. 1st, when I look at this, it makes me think of Shep's shadow boxes even more.

The forced perspective really does work to allow you to use the "cutout' people it works really well. The "expansion of the MATV looks like it'll work well too! I can't wait for the next update!!

superb craftsmanship

Nick

Here is that photo I promised you a week ago (many months in Sticktime)!
Letters are an inch and three/eights tall. Unfortunatally some are milky white and some are lite smoke. This is the only "BAR" combo I could find. (I guess my Grandson played with them more than I realized.)

Hi guys - thanks for having a look - sorry to say, today is another quick lunch time post.

In keeping with moving fast, I'm making progress on the truck - which leads me to Dave - Dave, in this case, the scratch work is a lot easier and more enjoyable to handle than the kit itself - which, as many of you know, builds into something nice, but it is quite a tedious path to follow to get there! Thanks for taking the time to leave a note!

Hi Neo - thanks - I think I agree with you, that the 2d idea might only work in a few circumstances, but, I'm glad it works here - the cost of a lot more figures would be ridiculous!

Hi Matt, read on, read on! hope you like where the truck is going -

Hi Maarten, thanks very much for the nice words - the trick here is to keep the level of quality even - easier said than done -

Hi Mike - yes, your sign idea is a good one - and I remember it - in fact, the idea of a profile sign is one I like. I want to use the name of a real bar though - thinking about what Dave mentioned a few posts ago, regarding the band The Doors, made me think - they were most certainly both an LA band, and the epitome of the LA scene of their era...and they played at the Whisky A go go - that might become the name of this bar - as the movie was said to be set in LA - just a thought right now...

OK - on to the truck. I've been doing some heavy duty mixing and matching with etch parts - from MATV and Maxx Pro sets and using stock raw material - so far so good - please take a look:













And there you have it - this has been interesting and a challenge - specifically because I know, no such truck exists - so, to make something that "demonstrates convincing realism" and comes across with a decent level of detail and quality - wow - big fun!

Ok -back to work. The progress is going to grind to an almost stop for a while now - helping a friend deal with a move (she's also the proud new owner of an '84 Bronco that needs some help!), and work is getting busy - so, I'm not giving up! just getting a bit off course -

OK - thanks for checking it out!

Nick

Hello fellow model builders -

I'm still working away on the modified MATV -as you'll see below, it's ready for paint. You'll also see quite an elaborate Live Resin CROWS on top. It's a nice kit, as you would expect from Live Resin - it is also very big - in fact, I'm not sure what i think of the proportion of it on the vehicle...even with a big truck, it still looks pretty big - I'm curious to see how it all looks when painted up -

Please have a look:

















And there you have it. So far, I like it. You can see why i sloped the roof of the extra crew area - if not, the rooftop weapon system wouldn't be able to rotate, and luckily, i think it looks pretty good.

As for paint, I'm leaning away from some complicated urban camo scheme. I will probably have a few colors, but might just keep it simple - i think its got enough going on already, and doesn't need another layer of visual chaos -

OK - thanks for having a look -

Nick

Wow Nick,
You disappear for a while and show up with enough work done it would take me a few months to do I wager. I don't know how you maintain this quality kind of work at this pace man. That vehicle really rocks!
The people cut outs are brilliant as well. Great space filler idea. I can't do that with my truck though,as you can see the whole thing from every angle.
J

Nick,

I figured you like the doors and that's why you mentioned it.

I love your update and can't get over how well the bar is looking.

Now, the new vehicle is looking great too.I love the custom work. You do have SKILLS.

Now for the name of the par here are a few other doors titles that may work as a bar name. I'm not a doors freak, I just googled the list when I was waiting for my password to be reset. I added the comment in the ().

The Crystal Ship
Moonlight Drive (or use your license and Moonlight dive)
Soul Kitchen
Peace Frog
Waiting for the Sun (open all night)
The Changeling
Wishful Sinful
Roadhouse Blues

Morrison Hotel LP title)

Maggie M'Gill ('s Grill)

Blue Sunday
When The Music's Over
Love Street
Five To One
Shaman's Blues

Nick, as usual the work is perfect (by my standards which are pretty high). I saw a scheme on a police cruiser near home that might work for your M-ATV. It was matte black with lettering that was only a few shades lighter. It was kind of sinister. I imagine if it was used in a radar trap at night it would be near invisible. Kind of batmobile invisible. Just my two cents. Keep the updates coming.

Regards,

Eric

Nick

Great idea w/ the bkgnd cutouts!

The vehicle is outstanding, absolutely perfect for a futuristic endeavor the likes of what you've created! Looking frwd to how you paint it up.

Cheers
Dave

Hey guys - I have made some progress - hope this passes the "eye" test of you guys!

Jerry - - as you know, i do enjoy building this stuff - it's a great distraction from REALITY!! this stuff is almost better than reality some times.....ugh -

Hi Dave - Awesome! I like the Doors references! as I was thinking about this....how about the lyric from the song LA Woman...: just another "Lost Angel"...as the name of the bar?? hmm....

Hi Eric, well, thanks for the support - i appreciate it! part of the challenge i like with a scratch/conversion etc is trying to make it look convincing - which often requires subtlety....

Hi Dave - below you, and all else will see the paint -

Unhappily for me, it was an overcast day yesterday, so the pics are what they are -

Maybe that's fine though, as I want this truck to have a solid, no nonsense look....who knows if it worked?!

Take a look:















Above, and in the indoor shots, i think it looks better...outdoors, the weird light and background really doesn't help...







And there it is - I've got to say, it has grown on me - i think adequately ominous and interesting -

Ok thanks for checking it out

Nick

That is one bad ass lookin truck for sure! Nice combo of weapons,colors,style,etc. Well done.
J

that's one BADASS lookin' truck for sure!!! the multiple colors make seem it's "been in the $#&" and repaired a few times for sure.

Outstanding! What a great concept vehicle! You should be working on the new "Blade Runner"!

I like how the colors worked out and can't wait to see what else comes out of that fertile mind!

I like the Doors as well but can't think of anything clever enough to pass for the name of a bar... except "The Next Whiskey Bar" from the "Alabama Song".

Keep 'em coming!

Another "WOW!" from the cheep seats. Reality's got nuthin on you! Everything looks like it works and belongs there. Cool truck!
All I can throw out as a Doors theme is " Stormrider's Roadhouse" or just " The Storm Rider"

I posted a pic of that car in my thread on the panzer.

Nick,
Wow! Really wow. In the outdoor pics, it is hard to tell it's not an actual 1:1 vehicle. My first thought was that you were showing reference pics, until I recognized elements of your scratch building from previous posts. Really first rate build.

-Zon