Diving bettle (Votoms, 1/24, soft vinyl)

[YOULI]

Here is a, now, rare kit, the 1/24 Diving Beetle. Found it on Ebay years ago.

Like all my soft vinyl kits, a pleasant kit to build. But unfortunatly the leg armor, designed to be articulated, to enlarge the feet, and some articulated parts have some issues. They don't stay put... I ended up with a nice kit, with great painted results but... a poor pose or so...

Here is the result in a Parisian Exhibition.



Will post a work in progress later, the way I build it is, IMHO, interesting.

 

[Cave_Dweller]

Love that model, it's totally a classic. Yours seems to have enhanced details that the old one I have...very cool although I think the legs look a little to spread apart.

 

[YOULI]

And you're correct. Have made some enhancement, and the various part never really fit together well... That's "part of the game" when you deal with bootlegs and copies from a Soft Vinyl kit. It was cheap, so is my result (sort of speak).

Concerning the thing i've done. Some pictures of the WIP.

The first step : checking and soaping (a lot) the parts. It was some years ago (4 ? 5 years ago ?)



Cutting the edges and stuff I manage to build a moveable "camera" simply glueing a screw in the head. Simple but effective.



Some times later (2009) I finally end up with this :



Obviously some parts are empty. It means to be like that but I couldn't consider wise to let it that way.



I have to dig in the pieces to filled later...



I choose to complete with Mastic Polyester from Tamiya (I should have done it with plasticard...).



And then I feeled like I wanted to add details here and there... First of all, same matter (soft vinyl) a part from a vinyl Atlantic Tank.



Some rivets are used to do the optics of the camera, and completed with gems, same one than for jewelery, colored with simple permanent markers (red, blue, green).



I added grills in the torso and tank wheels on the shoulders.

 

[YOULI]

Then it was time to primer it... Votoms are old or used mechas... They are not pretty and shiny. A black primer will do. Acrylic is better than enamel here. Tire Black from Mr Hobby is excellent to cover the surface.



The optics were masked with latex drawing gum.



The build end up like this for that phase. as you can see here, it stands perfectly... For the moment.



I continued on adding details. Using coton tips, Stapples, Electric wires and stuff, I replace the parts (don't know the english name) on the torso,




After painting and some weathering (very easy, a wash using White Spirit and Oil paint, here brown, you overbrush every where, when dried you obtain a rusty matt surface) , here is the result... Satisfying.



Some parts, the armor parts mostly, were painted later with a brush since my airbrush wasn't fonctionning anymore.

 

[YOULI]

I added some "lugages" on the back pack so I needed to fill the gap for this part, a camouflage net.



Dry brush, citadel washes, dry brush again, I ended up with this.



Just need to make my Oil wash here and there and it's done...



Now, concerning the pose, Soft vinyl is no HARD matter... It's like a shampoo bootle. The filled parts are heavier and I had to glue the parts a lot since visitors in the exhibitions DO NOT UNDERSTAND the simple fact that THEY DON'T HAVE TO TOUCH ANYTHING. I don't have enough money to exhibit with Shop windows, and even there I know people capable of the worst attitude (shaking the thing, things like that). Sometimes it's hard to believe than some people could have brains at all. And i'm not mentionning children but grown people

All in all, another Votoms kit in my built references. Hope you enjoyed it.

 

[ModelMakerMike]

I really LOVE that design, and of course all the weathering you did make it look like it has seen more than its fair share of hard times.

;D ;D ;D ;D

 

[YOULI]

Thanks !