The Bishkek 2nd Manticore, Part 6 and THE END


The Manticore is done and I am glad about it. I am totally over it! I now know that building a model with so much care and energy is really hard to keep up from start to finish and I was losing steam at the end. Obsessive as I am, I flew out of the gate, but at the end, when I had to paint the rockets I became grumpy and annoyed. I didn't like the rockets, they didn't look good etc etc. and I wanted to start something new.
But as always, the process is much more important then the result; I have learned so much from the FW modeling book and I had tons of fun with this tank. I can recommend a big project like this to everyone!
Here are the final pictures of the Bishkek 2nd Manticore, starting with the very first one:
and this is how it ended up
Here are some other views and details:
Frontal. You see that by magnetizing the rockets (better for play), you run the risk of the rockets not attaching straight and thus look crooked....
I added two guardsmen with their desert head dress. More about those later.
Backview with the stowage basket and the camo net.
Closeup of the basket and net. These details really add some realism to the whole thing.
Side view without the rockets. See the magnets in the launching tubes
I did add some numbers. I brushed on some hairspray, hand painted the number and did the usual trick with warm water. It came out well.
Here are the guys. John has been doing some resin casting, see here, and he gave me some desert heads. I used them so honor his brave attempts. Cheers John!
And that is about it for this thing. Since I hardly play, I was tempted for a day or so to give it away in the Santa Cruz Give Away, but maybe not...not sure what to do with it yet.

I already opened my next project. My buddy Christian gave me a Valkyrie for my bday 6 months ago, I want to do a good job on that. Does anyone have tips on how to superdetail a plane? I know nothing about planes but am planning a similar, but shorter series on that model. Let me know!
Thanks for all the great comments over the last two weeks!
Mike

Comments

  1. I love the model it just look right and the resin heads are great I'll take one to go , please.

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  2. Fantastic work. I especially appreciate subtle attempts to valorize this model (like elevated cupola or added things on the side). This kind of converting discriminate experienced modeler from newbies, as it is not a big thing to glue a dragon head to a giant body...

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  3. Great great model... love the detail and the hyperrust effects ... what a nice piece.

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  4. The finished piece is a work of art. If you aren't wanting to keep it, I would check with the guys in the LGS or fleabay it. Gorgeous

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  5. This has been an awesome series of posts. The key for me is seeing how you accomplished each step. A lot of weathering steps can be really discouraging, since the models go through stages where they look worse rather than better. Your posts provide the light at the end of the tunnel. At the moment I am trying to figure out how to moderate my weathering, so my tanks don't look like junkers for my vostroyans. It seems to be a trade off. Heavy weathering makes the model look more real and visually interesting, but at the same time conveys a lack of maintenance that might not be right for space marine vehicles. I would love to see you experiment with more weathering styles!

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  6. drathmere: I totally agree with you. This was my first project in this way and it certainly looks like a renegade model. BUT, reading Dan Abnett, it is hard to believe these tanks stay in good shape very long. Chronic lack of maintenance seems to be norm in the 40K world. I would say Space Marine vehicles would have more maintenance, more resources etc. The guard and the renegade guard are suffering from the same problem: commanders don't care too much.
    I am starting a Valkyrie which will get less weathering. Wish I had an airbrush
    Mike
    Santa Cruz Warhammer

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  7. Great job man! That´s a huge project to complete, and you really made it look fantastic!!!

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  8. Superb work. It has enough visual balance to hold interest from far away and enough detail to keep that interest up close. The red fuel drum, stowage basket and dozer blade all stand out. Excellent work.

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  9. Very impressive work. I like the stowage basket, and may have to try something similar. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. Looks great! I'm about to start a Manticore and will certainly be taking heart (and some ideas!) from this.

    I magnetise a lot of my stuff (Mainly since I suffer from chronic indecisiveness :))and I'm thinking maybe rectangular neodynium magnets rather than the standard button style might solve the rocket alignment problem...?

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  11. Geoff: that's a great idea. Any idea where you can find those magnets online?
    Mike
    SCW

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  12. Mike, this model looks great! Well done. Doyou think we could get a couple of shots against a white background? I think some of the details are getting lost against the battle scene.

    Cheers
    Dave

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  13. Hmmm, I get most of my stuff from a place in the UK, but here's a US site that has them:

    http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=B821

    Those particular ones might be a bit thick, but I'm sure there's a suitable size (and direction of magnetism) out there somewhere...

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  14. This one must have been in service on Tallarn for ages :) Brilliant paint job!

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