Unboxing Robot Battle V MK44 Ammoknights by Hasegawa

Back in august I received a big box from Japan, filled with the new Kow Yokoyama kit, the MK44 Ammoknights from Robotbattle V by Hasegawa.

The box is huge! about A3 size with beautiful artwork by the master himself.

Compared to a 1/20 Wave SAFS

Contents when opened, not exactly filled to the brim, but full nonetheless.

There was some discussion online about the high price for the kit (more than twice a Ma.k kit) but as the box contains two models it's well worth it. It's a weird decision though, boxing them per two. 

Each model has it's own load-out, either a handheld gun or an integrated gun (or no gun of course).

Big sheet full of decals is provided, with some nice options and way too many different decals fro these two. I'll enjoy this sheet on many models ^_^

The decal sheet is in a bag with a camo card, this is traditional for Ma.k kits and shows decal placement and possible (canon) paintjobs. It's also very cool as a collectible item ^_^

And then there are the instructions, very detailed with clear pictures and hints where you have to pay attention. Of course a lot of Japanese, but some decent engrish is provided to.

The arms and legs of the model are movable by polycaps. In contrast to Ma.k models, no joint covers are provided, but the armour simply covers the joints. This means that, unless overstretched, the polycaps and holes of the joints should remain invisible. With the amount of armour plates these things have the joints may not be visible no matter what you do.

The model features a complete interior of the cockpit and engine areas. The faceplate and front section of the armour are removable using polycaps and some simple mechanics. Really great ideas, although I'll likely build them closed, if only to save the cool interio parts for other models where they will be more visible.

Plastic crack, some really cool runners with great parts. I wish I ordered more than one box after seeing the parts it contains, so many options for other things.
The parts are huge too, this thing will be larger than a SAFS, maybe more of a size as the Grosserhund.
There's a whooping 11 different frames per model, some of which you need twice and 1 of these 11 is unique for each version (the gun)
I think it's a shame there is only one pilot variation in the kit, but as it won't be that visible anyway with all the stuff in the cockpit and the helmet and breather, it doesn't matter much.
Interestingly there is a wire/hose on a frame (frame U) that isn't used, suggesting another version.
*update 14-11-2014 - at the time of writing I didn't know this, but now I know another version is coming soon, the white knight (space version?).

Torso and cockpit stuff:

Feet, with the hoverpads loose so you can choose not to attach them. Might be interesting for one of the other versions from the manga.
The foot is cool as it's clearly a rotor part from a large helicopter, probably the 1/32 apache (I have a couple of the revell one and the parts are 1:1 the same), never thought of using that for a foot.

Engine cover, armour for the engine and basis for the smoke launchers

Engine detail, faceplate, armour and mechanics.

Leggies, arms and assorted armour pieces. With some often used parts in the bottom-left corner, no idea which kit this came from originally but most Ma.k space models have this part too.

Polycaps and leghoses. I'll exchange the hoses for springs or something, not much of a fan of the rubber stuff.

Lower legs, pelvis and 'helmet' Also a bunch of rivets in two types, on a flat surface and on the runner pegs. The placement of these is detailed on the model (the model has some shallow circles where they should be placed) and in the booklet.

I seem to have left out the pilot, gun and clear frames, will upload those later.

It's a really cool model, and I wish I had ordered many more, and I will for sure ^_^

Wienerworner Martian Scout Part II

Washes

Starting to look good, but needed some red
So, more washes

And taking them off again with some cotton buds

Repeat until satisfied

But still thought it lacked some colour, and dust, it needs more dust.

Ma.k VelociRaptor - Updated WIP photos

Based on the excellent Java build I wanted to make a dino-SAFS

It is a sort of opposite of the grosserhund, though smaller and stockier.

I used a WAVE/Nitto Firebal SG that I bought for a steal. I wanted to make a lunar, or at least space version of build Java made.

I tried to use as much of the same kit as possible, but needed to make the head from scratch and the lower legs come from a failed attempt at a nightstalker.

Not much in the way of work in progress, it was pretty straightforward, all parts were filled with resin to enable me to string them together on a piece of 2mm soldering wire. Tail and neck were made with bundles of copper wire and then covered with paper and glue (as were the joints) in an attempt at making easier joint covers. 

Do not do this, it failed miserably. 

The joints did not have any strength and I had to keep on fixing it until it was glued stable to the base, then only the arms still gave grief.

*14-11-2014 Update! I found some pictures of the unpainted model I knew I had, but couldn't find ^_^

Not the best pictures, but better than nothing.

Primer time:

Some fake nails were used for the tail and neck armour, I hope my wife doesn't miss them.

Then some layers of paint, with subsequent removal using water and a stiff brush.

Next up is camo, weathering and detailing. Not too happy about the colour though.

Wienerworner Martian Scout

After a long hiatus, I needed something to shift back into gear, luckily I found this picture:

No idea what it is, but the shape is fun so let's do this!
Of course I'll drop the bird, looks crazy.

Sadly, it was a 4 hour (rather frantic) build, so no real work in progress pictures...
All sorta stuff was thrown in, from jojo's to spoons to bombs and engines.

Most armour pieces were texture with MR surfacer 500, detail pictures after painting.

And some basic paints:

And all the armour slapped on:

I imagine this to be some sort of scout, not sure about the scale yet, 1/72 or 1/48 seems to work best.

Maybe it's a worker vehicle? who knows! 

Slapping on oils now, let's see how it turns out.

Vehitle part III - Leggies!

Made some leggies from all kinds of waste parts, not even sure what most parts are.
The hind legs have their joint attached, for the front legs I attached the joint in the leg-well. Seemed logical at the time.

They might be a bit too long though... I might shorten them after puttying the main body.

The feet and joints need some extra detailing, as well as cables and maybe some armour plates still... but I'll come to those once I know if I need to shorten them.

Now it's time for putty