CAV 24576: Ripper

[Pingo]

So to stretch a bit out of my comfort zone, and in honor of Amalor Myrnix, who was so into them, I picked up a CAV model, the Ripper truck and rocket launcher, #24576.
 

I am currently playing in a Shadowrun game where my character's day job is as a bakery delivery person.  She has a fully armored outfitted combat truck which she uses to transport baked goods across the greater Seattle area.

 

This is not a literal representation of it, although spiritually the rocket on top takes up about the same amount of mental space.  Also, I am pretty sure the truck in the game is not purple.  But you know what?  I am enjoying painting this as a tribute in the spirit of things anyway.

 

It is smaller than what I am used to, but enjoyable.

 

I started with base coats of variations on a mixed purple of Phthalocyanine Blue, Quinacridone Magenta, and Titanium White.

 

I added shading with other tones, and grime with washes of a near-black mixed from Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Blue.  I also used that near-black to paint the windows and tires.

 

I plan to add more detailing and colors.  The rocket will be glued to its launch pad, but I am not sure I am going to permanently glue the launch pad to the truck.

[joshuaslater]

looks good so far.

[Joe the Revelator]

I'm excited to see how this goes. Wondering if it will turn out looking like one of those Korean missile trucks on CNN, except purple.

[Pingo]

More work on this thing.  Ye gods, it's tiny.

 

I added a bit of color to the rocket and its cradle, or whatever the thing that raises it to position is called. The green is a simple mix of Phthalo Green and Titanium White.  The red is a little more complex, Quinacridone Magenta (which is pretty but transparent), Hansa Yellow, and just a dab of Titanium White to give it opacity.

 

 

The vehicle looked wrong to me without headlights.  I didn't see any in the sculpt so I winged it.  I started with dots of white to give a little more life to the colors over them.

 

 

(This model is really small.  I like how the close-ups show how the colors look weathered and lifelike on that scale, just from a couple of different shades of purple and some washes)

 

This, by the way, shows the intensity you can get from glazing color over a similar color.  I used the same red as above to lay in the basic taillights, left.  Then I glazed over them with transparent Quinacridone Red, right.

 

 

I also opted to put a license plate on the truck.  You can see it above, laid in with a medium grey and with some not quite legible figures on it.

 

I used the same grey to shape the hubcaps on the tires.  And these show the front lights configuration.

 

 

 

[Dontfear]

It doesn't yield the most polished look but your style does have great color variation and light.  Nice!

[Pingo]

It doesn't yield the most polished look but your style does have great color variation and light.  Nice!

Thanks. I love and admire those polished minis with their smooth effects. And yet when the time comes to paint I leap in with brushes flying. C'est la vie.

[Dontfear]

 

It doesn't yield the most polished look but your style does have great color variation and light.  Nice!

Thanks. I love and admire those polished minis with their smooth effects. And yet when the time comes to paint I leap in with brushes flying. C'est la vie.

 

I admire people that can go in with brushes flying.  I try to loosen up and then find myself glazing for hours.....  Its something I love about James Wappell's painting too.  He is so loose with blending and yet it yields a really pleaseing finished product.  same thing here.   

[Guindyloo]

Never ever change, Pingo. You have an amazing style to your painting and it is absolutely breathtaking!

[Pingo]

I did a good bit of work on the model last night.

 

I find that shading gets more interesting if the color mixes are varied, so for this layer I used purples mixed from Quinacridone Magenta and Phthaocyanine Green.

 

Yes, it's the old red + green = purple trick.

 

To start with I started shading the truck and the rocket, including what will become the shadow of the rocket on the launch pad.

 

To begin with I used the mixed purple, which is quite transparent full strength (without any white added), to glaze on shadows. It's responsible for the bluish shadows on the tires. The two colors I'm using are some of the shiniest pigments, so there is some gloss reflection in the photos.

 

Then I started glazing some shadows mixed from Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna, which provide more realistic coloring. I also started bringing up the lights on the upper surfaces with paler shades of lilac and lavender.

 

 

Next I started using thinned pure Titanium White to add reflections -- or glassy suggestions, anyway -- to the windows and very light highlights on the vehicle. I like the effect in retrospect, although I glaze over it later. Maybe I'll put some more pure white highlighting on the final layer.

 

I started glazing various colors. I made an attempt to show light effects of the rear lights.

 

 

I glued the rocket to its launch pad. From here on in you can see that I filed the ends of the bar on the launch pad that sets into the truck bed. I also cleaned out the paint from the two spots in the truck bed where the launch pad fits. I haven't yet decided if I am going to permanently glue the launch pad in; it could go at an interesting raised angle to show off the paint job, but would then be a little fragile.

 

More color glazing, most noticeably blues and greens in the windows, brighter reds, and subtler lights. Also I mixed up a dust color and added some weathering to the truck body behind the tires.

 

[Sergeant_Crunch]

Looks great! Regarding style, it would be awfully boring if everyone painted exactly the same way.

 

The whole vehicle would be referred to as a TEL (Transporter Erector Launcher). The part the missile sits on being the Erector Launcher portion of the vehicle. That's if you want to be terminologically pedantic about it. Alternately you could just call it the launcher, launch rail, or anything similar and we'd know what you're talking about.

 

I have a few of these, I kept the missiles separate to use as models for cruise missile in the game and use the truck chassis as generic transports for when the scenario calls for such.

[Pingo]

After the last update I kept seeing flaws, especially in the highlights along the side and under the windows. So I spent some time fixing things up.

 

I started by going back to the near-white highlights, which I rather liked before.

 

I added more mud spatters, and some scratches, or reflections if you like.

 

 

I liked these shots of the rocket and its launcher.

 

Then I set the rocket assembly in the truck (although I haven't glued it yet).

 

 

I tried a few pictures of the rocket in a possible elevated position, although I had to edit out my fingers.

 

And remember how I was saying earlier that this was a pretty small model? Here's how small. These are a couple of Reaper fantasy figures for scale:

[Sergeant_Crunch]

The CAV range is 1:160 scale, so slightly larger than 10mm in height for human figures. Try some 6mm if you want to get really small. :)

 

If you look at the annual wrap up posts on my blog they usually have a mix of CAV, 28mm, 15mm, 6mm, and starship in group photos. Gives a good idea of relative sizes. If I weren't on my phone I'd post a link.

[Dontfear]

I like the elevated position better.  looks cool!  nice paint job.  

[Pingo]

I like the elevated position better too, so I glued it up with some thick brass wire as a support. I tried a few options, but the paintbrush protective tubes were too thick and most of my other wire was too thin.

 

Here's some of the wire (which I had from another art project) and the tools. Always wear safety goggles, ladies and gentlemen!

 

I think the brass wire more or less works. I may not even paint it.

[Pingo]

I touched up the paint, elaborated a few shadows, and I think I may be done (I think the brass rod may be very slightly off vertical, but I'm not going to worry about it).  Time to try to take some decent photos.

 

 

 

   

 

Edited August 25, 2014 by Pingo