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Scoutdad Commodore
Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 4754 Location: Middle Tennessee
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 8:44 pm Post subject: Hydran Gendarme |
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I finished the Hydran Gendarme master and packaged it for shipping to ADB. Steve Cole and Co. should have it within the next 2 to 3 days and the casting company soon after and we [the fans of Fed Comm] should have our new Squadron Boxes available soon after that.
I took a couple of photos, but due to the extreme small size of th mini and my lack of experience with the new camera - they aren't the clearest photos I've ever taken. But here they are - just to whet your appetites for new miniatures:
_________________ Commander, Battlegroup Murfreesboro
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Scoutdad Commodore
Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 4754 Location: Middle Tennessee
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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and just to show you how it got to it's final form, heres a few of the in-construction photos:
The five basic pieces:
Initial assembly:
_________________ Commander, Battlegroup Murfreesboro
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ctchapel Lieutenant JG
Joined: 16 Jun 2008 Posts: 84 Location: Federal Way, WA
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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Tony;
What is it's size? You forgot to lay a scale down in the photo with the parts. It looks not much different, sizewise, comparend to the Fedex. |
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Scoutdad Commodore
Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 4754 Location: Middle Tennessee
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 9:24 pm Post subject: |
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It's temporarirly mounted to a standard 25mm hex base, so judging from the top shot - it's probably just over 1 inch long. _________________ Commander, Battlegroup Murfreesboro
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djdood Commodore
Joined: 01 Feb 2007 Posts: 3413 Location: Seattle, WA
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 3:09 am Post subject: |
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The good news, is that you remembered to drill a stand hole
I very nearly forgot on the FedEx master _________________
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Scoutdad Commodore
Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 4754 Location: Middle Tennessee
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 3:13 am Post subject: |
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Speaking of Fed Ex Couriers...
I finished painting my first one tonight. I'll let the paint dry overnight - then clear-coat it tomorrow and post photos soon after. I think you'll approve of it.
Fed Ex #2 has been base-coated and washed. Dry brushing and highlights tomorrow - then the typical detail process, os it'll be a few more days.
Fed Ex #3 has been base-coaed, but it'll be a simple job using a lot of custom decals, so it should go quick. _________________ Commander, Battlegroup Murfreesboro
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OGOPTIMUS Captain
Joined: 10 Nov 2006 Posts: 980
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 5:15 am Post subject: |
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Can't wait to see it on the store. That brass frame has given me new insight into how to approach some scratchbuilds I was having trouble conceiving. _________________ O.G. OPTIMUS
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Steve Cole Site Admin
Joined: 11 Oct 2006 Posts: 3832
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 7:53 pm Post subject: |
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Release is scheduled for 17 Nov (shipment to wholesalers) so it should be in retail stores by Thanksgiving.
The process from here is not an easy, cheap, or fast one.
1. The last mini (gendarme) arrives, probably around the 30th. Petrick checks it. If he has a problem, it has to be sent back to be fixed, and that delays everything.
2. when we have an ok gendarme, all of the next batch (complat, gendarme, double raider, orion dreadnought, Slaver) are overnighted to Bruce. Presumably, they arrive intact (31 Oct) and don't get lost. If they get lost, we've insured them for enough to do them over, but that will take months.
3. Bruce will give them to Robert to make a master mold. This might take a few hours or it might take a few days (1 Nov to 5 Nov). It depends on a lot of factors.
4. The master mold is put into a spincaster, some copies are produced, and overnighted to me. These might arrive anytime between 3 Nov and 7 Nov. Petrick check them. If there are problems, we have to fix them which will take extra weeks.
5. if no problem, we telephone Bruce to make more spins from the master mold and use them to make the five production molds. This could take an entire day (4 Nov) to an entire week (14 Nov).
6. Once molds exist, Bruce starts spinning up anywhere from 100 to 250 copies of each ship. (These will be tin-zinc, not P65.) Casting might take 1-5 days. He sends those to us by ground freight which takes six or seven days. so earliest arrival is 10 Nov, could take up to 21 Nov.
7. We get the shipment. Mike inspects them. Good ones go into packages (nominal release date is 17 Nov), bad ones get tossed into the melt bucket and melted down. If that makes us run short, we won't have enough to fill orders until more are sent. Depending on the situation, those might be sent the same day or two days later, and might arrive in one day (it's worth paying for overnight if the total weight is low) or in 7 days (if half or more of every ship has to be done over.
There is no reason to think anything WILL go wrong but oh so many things CAN go wrong. _________________ The Guy Who Designed Fed Commander
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Scoutdad Commodore
Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 4754 Location: Middle Tennessee
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 8:42 pm Post subject: |
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Gendarme was shiped via priority mai lto ADB this morning. Hopefelluy, delivery will happen on Wednesday or so... _________________ Commander, Battlegroup Murfreesboro
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Davec_24 Commander
Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 596 Location: England
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 8:59 pm Post subject: |
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That looks really cool, nicely done. Did you fill in the rest of the shape around the brass framework with epoxy putty, or what? |
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Scoutdad Commodore
Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 4754 Location: Middle Tennessee
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 9:21 pm Post subject: |
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Davec_24 wrote: | That looks really cool, nicely done. Did you fill in the rest of the shape around the brass framework with epoxy putty, or what? |
I used a 2-part epoxy putty (aka "green stuff") around the brass framework. _________________ Commander, Battlegroup Murfreesboro
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Davec_24 Commander
Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 596 Location: England
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:05 pm Post subject: |
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Ah green stuff, indeed. This was what I used to use until Games Workshop became ridiculously expensive and so I now use Milliput instead (which does the same job at a fraction of the price). Did you put the stuff on, let it cure and then carve/sand the shape of the hull, or did you mould the shape using the putty? Or of course you could have done something completely different... |
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djdood Commodore
Joined: 01 Feb 2007 Posts: 3413 Location: Seattle, WA
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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"Green stuff" is the only putty that seems to keep everyone in the process-chain SVC listed above in their "comfort zone".
It is well understood and typically performs well at each step (including the critical mold-making steps which involve heat and pressure that kills some other materials).
Other putties have been used (I used Tamiya epoxy putty for the FedEx master), but always raise eyebrows (and maybe blood pressures) due to the risk of failure. _________________
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Davec_24 Commander
Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 596 Location: England
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:31 pm Post subject: |
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Fair enough. If it works, why change it? Admittedly my putty is just used for the run of the mill stuff and it works fine for what I need it for. I would imagine Milliput would work fine for moulding (it's used a lot in plumbing so can probably withstand pressure, and it says on the pack that it can cope with reasonable heat - can't remember how much it said though!) but if we know greenstuff works, why not just use that? Saves a lot of potential heartache... |
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djdood Commodore
Joined: 01 Feb 2007 Posts: 3413 Location: Seattle, WA
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 12:00 am Post subject: |
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I used to use a bunch of different stuff for minis that were just going onto my gaming table. When I had to start using greenstuff for master sculpting, I found I liked it better than the other products I had been using. _________________
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