Managed to get the left leg cut off the pelvis and all of the rods that form the new hip cut and drilled. These provide a lot more flexibility for the whole model’s pose in comparison to the solid joints that it comes with. I’ve not glued the leg on yet as there is a tiny bit of filling that needs to be done first, though nowhere near the amount needed on the other leg (where the saw went wobbly and I lost some of the hip). I think that I need to give some consideration over the base next before I can finish off the legs, as I also need to ensure that the pose is correct before glueing the left leg in place. Just playing I’ve realised that I run the risk of having the feet angled strangely – basically from a technical point of view, they would only have a few degrees of play before the pistons on the calf adjust. Any angle too great and the legs look like I’ve not actually posed them correctly
Running Totals: Time – ~ 30 Hrs; Cost – £38.92
Thinking about it, I can glue and fill the right calf on now, as I have no more cutting to do on the assembly (I was afraid that I’d damage the delicate joint). This is pretty much going to be fixed at the position it naturally sits in and I’ll angle everything else to fit around it. I may take this to where I’m off to tonight and do this.
I need to get hold of the thing that the Dreadnought is standing on fairly soon so that can be factored in, the Loyalist Marine torso and backpack I’ve used so far is fine, but I could do with the real one so that I can ensure the feet are going to be in a sensible place. That said I could always use a Dark Angel as that would use the normal Loyalist pieces. I’ve also catered for something quite substantial under the Dread’s foot. By modifying how the base is orientated (i.e. where the rocky area is), I could use something smaller such as a Tau or rebel guardsman.
I’m currently still aiming to paint the legs off the base as I think that it will make life easier for painting. The same goes for the torso, although that’s going to have a substantial metal rod secured into it that will go through the pelvis joint – plus it gives me something I can attach a pin vice to for the purpose of painting it. In fact I could almost do with a pin vice for each assembly :s – that thought kicked me off onto google and after the sum total of 12 minutes I’ve managed to locate pin vices for £2.30 a piece. They’re nothing special, so I’m not going to feel bad if I get them covered in paint 🙂 On a plus point it also means that I have them for future projects.