Completed 1/9 BMW R75 & Crew Ardennes 1944

[NigelR]

Wow, it's both amazing and huge!

 

[Briggsy]

Thanks

I thought long and hard about what I wanted as it’s a fair old size so decided on a presentation of the bike rather than falling in to a diorama. I will then have a nice Perspex box to slip over the top to finish it off.

The perspex is a very good idea, I'd hate to contemplate having to dust off such a complex delicate model as that.

Cheers Simon

 

[Steve Brodie]

That's looking bloody amazing !

 

[Dr Force]

That's looking bloody amazing !

Thank you Steve

 

[Steve Ski]

Wow, looks great, Dave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wow that’s incredible……..it’s not the respirator it’s the wife and I’m not getting a new one of those

Nope, not gonna do that. Could you imagine the retraining required?, no way!

 

[Dr Force]

Before I start on my groundwork, I needed to install the pins. The first job was to mark out the centre of the tyres once I had it in the correct position.

Then drill out all and evaluate what height groundwork is required. In this case I wanted 15mm to the bottom of the tyres, so marked up and then cut to the required length for each part.

Once this was done I marked the central point of each tyre and drilled another 2mm hole. As it’s rubber the whole closes so mark up with some silver acrylic paint. Once all sorted I checked the final position against the rod, before marking out the pin for the heel.

I drilled a further 15mm in to the resin and then test fitted the whole piece.

Now I needed to mark where my groundwork will finish so marked up, keeping in mind the foot is slightly higher, before using epoxy to fit the pins in permanently.

All done, bike and biker are rock solid. Gunner will be pinned to the seat and I’m just thinking of the best way to secure the back passenger.

PVA Glue to seal in the MDF and act as a good bond.

so far so good.

Dave

 

[Briggsy]

Good work, this is where I come unstuck, no matter how many times I measure and test fit, once it's all painted it no longer fits! Seeing the bike and rider fitted gives a good impression of how this will look when complete. Marvellous.

Cheers Simon

 

[Richie]

Hi Dave,
The Force is certainly with you mate. Great progress, lovely base too.
cheers
Richie

 

[Dr Force]

Thanks folks

Ok so my base sculpt is on and all pins for figures and bikes test fitted before final tidy and paint. I always like to sculpt the basic pattern to the base before I add the Mudd and detail as it gives me a pattern to work to and fills in the void. I like to start with a nice neat edge too, rather than filler that requires sanding and more mess.

Once dry, I’ll roughen with 60 grit paper to act as a nice bond for the mud mix. I’ll add in to the mix some faux grass and leaf pieces as though it’s seen a lot of traffic.

Everything fits nicely with enough space to take the groundwork to the base of boots and wheels. I’ll let this set over night and plan to start tomorrow.

 

[Briggsy]

One word WOW

Cheers Simon

 

[Dr Force]

One word WOW

Cheers Simon

Thanks for your encouragement Simon

 

[Merryweather]

I've enjoyed following this, great work.
What have you used for the ground work?

 

[Dr Force]

I've enjoyed following this, great work.
What have you used for the ground work?

I use Alves Apoxie two part sculpt. You have about 2.5 hour working time, but it’s great for all sorts of work……drys rock solid and does not crumble….

 

[Merryweather]

Thanks. That's a lot of it, is it easier to mix than milliput?

 

[Dr Force]

Thanks. That's a lot of it, is it easier to mix than milliput?

Its better than millipit imo but I think it’s more expensive…..I have x2 4lb kits left over so I’m using that. It’s a large model so it’s used about 6grams, however 4lb on usual 54-120mm figures would last many years. Mixing is 2 equal parts and just kneeling between hands for about 3-5 minutes. It’s a chemical reaction so you can use water, baby oil etc to prevent sticking on tools without any problem. When dry wash with soapy water.

 

[MalcC]

This has got the WOW factor written all over it.

Malc

 

[Dr Force]

Good day yesterday as I managed to get the basic groundwork in and it’s dry this morning. I need to add in some subtle tones and soften the brightness of some areas of the grass before adding woodland ferns and areas of melted snow/ice to finish.

 

[Briggsy]

Very nice.

Cheers Simon

 

[MalcC]

Its coming to life now.

Malc

 

[Dr Force]

Added some ferns and the odd dead low level sapling……I’ll let this dry and then add some tones, with the final job being ice/ melted snow.