Wednesday 23 January 2019

Vrooom vroom!!!!

Hi all,

Decided to make a few RT civilian cars out of 1:43 scale toys. I found a few cheap from a local guy and set about converting them for tabletop use. Read along if this is your sort of thing.



Group shot of how they were when I bought them.

Pulled to bits.

Stripped.

Filing the wheel arches.

Carving and stuff.

Yeah, and more of the stuff.

Added some headphone doodads for engine pods.

Yes, can see.

Added some greeblies.

More of the greeblies and undercoat.

Base coat and black in wash.

Highlights and then details.......


I decided that I was getting a little bored with my beach backdrop so I had a think about it and came up with another one. Not sure if it's got the same impact as the beach one, and I think it might be a little too dark, but it's a changer nonetheless, what do you guys think?












I actually used these as a bit of a test for a windscreen effect. I wanted something a bit cartoony and easy to replicate. Stumbled across an old tutorial online and copied it. I'm pretty happy with the results and I'll be using it on my spaceship.....when I eventually get off my arse and finish it that is.

Forgot to mention that I mounted them on horsey bases.


Anyway, that's it for now guys.

Cheers :)


48 comments:

  1. Those are papafantastic!

    You have such a good eye for kitbashing, really impressive stuff.

    The windscreens are brilliant too.

    Tip top job.

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    1. Thanks Paul, truly means a lot :)

      I can't wait to see your cars mate!

      Cheers.

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  2. That’s shit.......hot!

    Great kitbashing as usual mate, and as the blue cat man above said, great job with the windscreen.

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    1. SHIIIIIITTTTTTT!!!!!!!

      Glad you like them Mus. Next time your over we might be able to wrangle them into a game or two?

      Love you :)

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  3. I originally thought that you were going to be heading in a Mad Max kind of a direction but I was wrong. You have created some marvellous pieces.
    I'm not a fan of the nativity as a backdrop .... the son of God will never roll double ones !

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    1. Hi Phil,

      I just decided on a whim to build some civilian cars as they don't seem to get much love. The boring bits around the action can be quite fun to create sometimes I think.

      Baby Jesus wouldn't deny me a victory on the tabletop, surely?

      Cheers mate :)

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  4. I thought you were going in a 'Miami Vice' direction when I saw the first picture. In the future there is only 'pastel shades and turn-ups'!

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    1. Hey Riot,

      Miami Vice is way cool. I'm not sold on the nativity backdrop. Might have to come up something else. the beach is still too damn good at the moment.

      Cheers :)

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  5. Cool work, there is tabletop car battling wargame that uses 1:43 cars - Gaslands

    The idea about using headphones leftover parts - PRICELESS

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    1. Thanks man, I keep hearing about that game. Must be super popular! I suppose if all you need is matchbox cars it's quite cheap to get into.

      Re headphones, I use all left over junk in my builds.....it is the way :)

      Cheers.

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    2. Yep, Matchbox/Hot Wheels or some cheap diecast cars.
      https://www.reddit.com/r/gaslandsplayers/

      And it helps to save the Earth, be ecological and geting cool futuristic cars (out of scraps)

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  6. You have unknowingly made yourself some Gasland cars too! The white one is especially cool!

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    1. Thanks Alex :)

      I thought gasland used 1:64 matchbox scale vehicles? I might give it a bash one day, sounds fun.

      Glad you liked the Lambo, that was the one I was worried about the most actually. It's got a pretty distinct shape, trying to break up the styling with greeblies made a difference.

      Cheers :)

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    2. You can scale the templates to fit different size cars easily enough :)

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    3. True, I was more concerned with the increased scale of the playing area. Wasn't sure what the area was in the original scale. Is it on a standard 6X4 table? If so then the larger scale cars would need a lot more room.......or not? I dunno if it matters :D

      Thanks for feedback Alex :)

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  7. Those are fantastic. You've really underplayed the addition of the greeblies - all the added domes, blisters, vents and so on completely sell these as being hover cars. THEN you add the eye-catching and hugely effective paintjobs on top. They're brilliant!

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    1. Cheers Jon, I'm glad you like them mate :)

      You've no doubt faced the same stylistic choices in the past with your builds? It's so hard not to get carried away with sticking tonnes bits on vehicles....it's just so easy and fun to do, but restraint really pays off in the end doesn't it.

      I'm glad I've got some civilian cars to use in RT games now.

      Cheers mate :)

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  8. Great work on these. I'm sure my wife will come to hate you when I tell her I'm saving more stuff because Mr. Papafakis says it's useful.

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    1. Hahahaahah :DDDD Don't tell her it's me, blame Rick Priestley (the modeling section in RT P256) , he's the one that got me hooked on collecting plastic crap in the first place. To be fair, he did warn against its potential of it getting out of hand too, so there is that.....but it's still all is fault in the end.

      I'm happy you like them Sean, thanks mate :)

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  9. Those are fantastic. Your mods are extensive enough to separate them from their origins without completely removing them from the frame of reference. Just a great balance all around.

    Looking forward to continued work on your ship...
    Would you be interested in fighting her?
    Would you like to know more?
    ;)

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    1. Thanks Major,

      I was mindful of trying to make them as nondescript as possible, starting from the purchase of the donor cars....they had to be generic looking vehicles. I wouldn't have chosen a Lambo as one to convert, but it was part of the sale so he got done as well. In the end I'm pretty happy with how they all turned out.


      Starship Troopers reference fully understood and approved :)

      Cheers mate.

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  10. Those look awesome, but I can't help to think that Mary and Joseph would've gotten a room if they showed up in one of those cars and with a space marine at their side!

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    1. Hahaah :D Yeah, SM can open doors, by blasting them or kicking them in.....all in the name of the emperor of course :)

      Cheers Andrew.

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  11. Awesome job on the conversions and great paintjobs also! The only thing I don't like are the windscreens. Too much contrast in my opinion. It certainly gives the cars a huge 80ies vibe, which might have been your goal. :)

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    1. Hi Skully,

      See, I actually like how they turned out. The 80's vibe was what I was going for, but I can understand that they're not to everyone's liking. I had a look at a few other windscreen effects and they all looked like they were hard to achieve i.e. wet blending or several progressive shades. I'm not a very technical painter and I had tried painting windscreens in the past and they had all failed.

      Anyway, I appreciate the constructive criticism. Honest opinions are most welcome here.

      Cheers :)

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    2. Glad you see it that way. And like I said, the rest is gorgeous! :)

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  12. I couldn't even imagine this could ever be achieved :O
    Seriously, best work I've seen in quite a while.

    About the backdrop, I can clearly see the driver coming out of the car and shouting 'I come from the future. Herod's coming, you better flee away!'
    (It works in my mind)

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    1. Hey Suber,

      I think your being a little modest here man. You could easily knock some of these out with your skills buddy :)

      I'm chuffed that you like them mate, and yeah, they're fairly different to other projects around at the moment......pretty much why I decided to make them actually. You just don't see enough RT civilian vehicles around.

      Oh, the backdrop :) The mayhem and confusion of a futuristic car stopping at that particular time and place could have had far reaching consequences for humanity, Imagine that! :DDDD

      Cheers mate :)

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  13. These are excellent! The blue one is my favorite, but they all turned out so well, and I like that they are unique.

    What did you use to cut the bodies? Hacksaw?

    The "headphone do-dads" worked perfectly, but I have no idea what they are! So how can I copy your work in 10-20 years when I get around to it?

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    1. Hey Lasgun,

      I'm pretty fond of the blue one too. The old Jaguar body shape really makes it look like a skimmer doesn't it!

      To cut the bodies I used a combination of tools; a saw, dremel with a cut off wheel and a pair of small bull nose pliers. Oh, and plenty of brute force :P

      The headphones thingy-me-bobs are just those small earbud type headphone pieces with the rubber cushioning removed. They come in a variety of designs and styles, great for kitbashing projects.

      Cheers Lasman :)

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  14. You will be racing around Hellsreach before you know it! Now you need to add a racetrack to your table!!!! Awesome stuff Papa!

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    1. Oh, great idea Tom! I think the layout of my table is ideal for some crazy racing. Plenty of obstacles to avoid or plow headfirst into. I'll have to do a bit of research into that.

      Cheers brother :)

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  15. I'm going to have to up my car game. I've mostly just painted mine. More are clearly needed. More heavily modified into hovercars. Sweet!

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    1. Hi Composer,

      Just breaking up the lines of the car helps a lot I think. Adding do-dads to recognisable shapes and styles of the car will do the trick.

      I look forward to seeing your creations. Cheers :)

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  16. Wow they look ace man! How cool have those windscreens come out? Haha loving the backdrop too! I think you should change it regularly with other far fetched fantasy images.

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    1. Thanks Ned :)

      Serious wargaming is not my schtick. I much prefer to ham it up as much as possible. Other backdrops your say? *Brain starts clicking and turning over with ideas* That sounds like a great idea mate.

      The windscreens you like yeah? I'm stoked with them too to be honest. I'm glad that I found a method that I can pull off at last.

      Thanks for yours comments brother :)

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  17. Wow, you've got skills bud. I have to agree with Ned, those windscreens look great.

    Great work Papafakis :)

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    1. Cheers man. The skills are all in the hands bro....plenty of teenage masturbation helped build up the manual dexterity. Re the windsreens: If you follow that tutorial it's a piece of piss mate.

      Glad that you like my toy cars :)

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  18. You're a genius....I wish I was half as clever. The cars are amazing, I'm sure baby Jesus loved them too.

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    1. Thanks Bacon, you're a clever dick too mate, don't worry about that ;)

      And yes, baby Jesus came to me in my dreams, riding in one of my cars. He blew me.......some sloppy kisses as a sign of his appreciation. What a nice guy huh!

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