WIP 1/60th Despot tank

[Chrome]

About this model: The 1/60 Despot was designed and built by John Bear Ross, under license from Reaper, back around 2003 in a limited run. I don't remember the exact number but I want to say there were only 100 made. It is a combination of resin and metal parts and requires quite a bit of assembly before I can start painting. The tank treads look to be the most difficult part.

 

Before anything more, I want to say that Mike Hardy (aka Black Lightning 2 back in the day) is awesome! I couldn't afford to buy one of these limited edition models when they were released, but several years ago Mike needed to clear out some space and contacted me to see if I was interested in buying his Despot. He could have sold it for a lot of money on eBay, but he wanted it to go to someone who'd appreciate it.
 
I jumped at the chance to finally get one of these, but when it arrived I was simply overwhelmed. I loved assembling CAVs, but this is a lot bigger, and I've never been much of a painter, so it just sat in its box on a shelf...

 

For eight long years...

 

It's time to fix that. 
 

 

I can't get links to my Google Photos account to work here, so I'm just uploading a few pics for now. If anyone knows how to get those working, please let me know.

The first pic is of all the parts laid out in their glory. (I took these photos w/my cellphone, which is turning everything yellow under the florescents. Once I actually start painting, I'll break out my camera to get better photos.) Followed by all a closer shot of all the resin pieces, then the metal pieces. And finally what she will kinda look like once she's all put together.
 
And here's a link to the Google Photos album where I have even more pics: https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipOp9xyRL5EtNEU00011Q62fvi72OWjS80VgCPB2

[Chrome]

So first things first tonight - the resin pieces are getting a long overdue bath, then I'll begin working on cleaning up all of the metal bits. I've already broke those pieces off of their sprues, now I just need to file down the flash, etc.

[Glitterwolf]

That's cool armour!!!

[Vil-hatarn]

It's...it's so beautiful

 

Looking forward to seeing it come together!

[Vytau]

I am green with envy!  I kick myself for missing the JBR models when they came around.  Someday I hope to stumble on a 1/60 dictator on ebay, or alternately I hope for a re-release.  Dare to dream. 

[Chrome]

Stabbed myself with my X-Acto on Sat night trying to remove a big chunk of resin from the chassis. I'll survive. Got myself right in the meat of my left index finger.  So I'm taking a few days off to heal up before I get back at it. I should have some new progress pics tomorrow night.

[Vil-hatarn]

Ouch! At least the project should go smoothly now that you've made a blood offering?

[Chrome]

In true Rach fashion, I should have just painted the tank with my blood!

Edited July 20, 2016 by Chrome

[Chrome]

I'm back to the point where I'm feeling comfortable w/my hand around a knife again, so I spent a little time on this last night.  I didn't have a lot of time, but I got the turret all sanded and filed down so it is ready to go, and did a little bit of work on the main chassis.  The chassis' rear is in really bad shape and is going to require a lot of cutting, sanding, and filling to get it looking normal. It looks like I got the last cast in the batch or something and they didn't have quite enough resin left to fill the mold.
 

The casting on the right side is nice and clean with smooth surfaces and straight lines. The left side... not so much.

 

There is one major flaw on the right side though - I trimmed maybe 1mm off the the upper right corner b/c something didn't look right and discovered a big air bubble. It's most noticeable in the 3rd pic.

Edited July 26, 2016 by Chrome

[Chrome]

Can you only attach images to the first post in a thread?

[Vil-hatarn]

Can you only attach images to the first post in a thread?

I think you should be able to attach them to any post in Show Off or WiP...I haven't tried lately though.

[Chrome]

I found it. You've gotta hit the "More Reply Options" button at the lower right in order to get the Attach Files button.

[Chrome]

I got a little more work put in last night after my weekly Pathfinder ACG game. No new pictures this time, but by posting even the smallest progress here I know I'll keep myself accountable and moving ahead on the project.

 

I got all of the sanding/filing completed on the main resin pieces and dry fitted them to ensure they fit together. The one lone troublesome piece is attaching the left side skirt to the main chassis. Look at this in full rez: notice that mold line along the length of the chassis where the skirt attaches? It makes a curve, so even after sanding as much as I'm willing to remove, it still isn't a perfect fit. No matter how I fit it, there's a slight gap between the pieces either at the front or the back b/c the skirt "rocks".  But I've got it to the point now where I'm OK with it - nothing some green stuff can't fill in.

 

And that was the second task I finished last night - filling all of the air bubbles with green stuff. I also filled in the rather large hole that was in the bottom of the chassis - you can see the green cutting mat showing through! You couldn't actually see the hole with the missile launcher installed in it's cubby, but it still bothered me. 

 

Tonight I'll file the green stuff smooth and then start assembling the turret using an epoxy. I plan on using this as a terrain piece for my Infinity games, so I want all of the pieces to stay stuck together! Then it's back to cleaning up the rear of the chassis. I didn't want to do anymore work on that until after I'd filled in the gaps there w/green stuff.  I will be home from my son's soccer camp by 9, so I should have enough time to get all of this done and maybe even glue the chassis parts together.

Edited July 27, 2016 by Chrome

[Chrome]

I got some more done last night. Finished sanding the big pieces and assembled the chassis and turret. Unfortunately I didn't keep a good enough eye on it as the epoxy was drying and now I'm gonna have to figure out a way to break the barrel and reattach it so it's not droopy.

 

 

[Vil-hatarn]

Glorious. The extra detail is just amazing. As for the barrel...maybe you can work a knife blade down from the top?