Saturday 17 November 2012

A modified spitfire and a sneak preview

well with all the stress of exams upon me I still find time to paint and glue, though photographs have not been on my to do list until today so only now am I able to show you the spitfire and a new item for a new era!

first up the spitfire, Oronegro is home to some very, very rich men who can afford to buy their own private armies. during the civil war many did, but even before there were a few who had access to a few vehicles and soldiers to force, I mean, help people to get to work. sadly for them the government chose to do little to stop them, this was one of the causes of the rebellion as oppressed workers were ignored by the government.
planes are expensive and jets-fighters are nearly impossible to buy if your not a billionaire. many oil or manufacturing giants therefore needed to settle for something cheaper that was also more effective in attacking a lone truck on the road or a small village. to this end spitfires and other aeroplanes from the old Oronegrean air force were quite useful. with a bit of a repaint and some black one way windows so that the pilots (quite often the rich men themselves) could not be seen, with some newer guns thrown in for good measure this once gracious and beloved aircraft became a sinister instrument of exploitation.
 the plane gracefully moves though the sky the engines song hides the hideous purpose of the plane

blue crosses mark it out as a plane from one of Oronegro's corporate giants

a sight that all poor villagers fear as the plane roars over the houses

all the colours are acrylic with a wash and some PVA here and there

you can't see in but they can see out.

a look at the underside and the make shift base I made for it from some clear spure, plaster and a lid from a jar with some grass, rocks and bushes thrown in for good looks

over the wing at the table were I am working.

 Now if you have been around the last few post and/or you have been looking at the other blogs you will have noticed that I have been contemplating doing some stuff based around Oronegro in the 18th century. Well the project is getting underway with the classic symbol of the era, the sailing ship. now if you read this post on the colonisation and expansion of Oronegro you will know that it was founded by a real mix of people and cultures and especially that there was a strong Arab influence in early Oronegro. this is reflected in this ship which is a small ship which is influenced by the shape of dhows and of European ships. I have made it out of card and a foam core like material with some paper and string thrown in for the sails and rigging, there is also some metal so super glue was in use. Now this is far from complete and the sails will not be black I am just painting them black like this so that the finished sail will have some nice shadow... I hope.
the foam core like material is perfect for this type of thing it cuts easily and shapes like a cloud

here is the shot that shows off that Arab features of the ship

sailing down the river news paper the ships captain spots a giant computer in the background where a blog post will be posted later that day :-D

a view at the captains shed, which has some stairs down below deck and the steering handle that turns the rudder (not then attached but it is now)

a Zvezda Numidian from their Carthaginian infantry set... he will get converted into a local tribesman at some point.

oh the guys seems a bit sea sick. I hope that the new coarse will not send the ship into some rocks.

the old and the much older together in a photo... another ship is planned for the building (same type hopefully)
well there you have it... soon I will have the ship done and then I can post the pics...However I need a crew! so here is just a little advert for a swap or trade. If you have this set... HäT Set 8098 British Marines and Sailors I would be very happy to organise a swap.  of coarse I could get the whole set myself but I think I only need 2 guns per ship and those would be the long barrelled ones.
if you have this I would like to trade/pay you for it :-D
Well there you go folks, I have my mathematics exam tomorrow, and Spanish on Tuesday. so have a nice week everyone... I hope I do.

thanks archduke for spotting the, um, mistype


14 comments:

  1. Nice builds, the Spitfire looks good and the base is a good addition. The ship looks nice as well, the planking looks great and must have taken more patience than I would have!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. pretty simple really I used a metal ruler sort of like a chisle it scores the planks just right. however its not fool proof I did snap a plank once and so I just cut some out.

      the spitfire is supposed to be my friends but he just left it with me.

      Delete
  2. I built a Spitfire when I was a little girl. My dad would ship Revel planes home to us and I'd build them and hang them by fishing line from the ceiling of my room. I can still remember the smell of the glue and the difficulty in getting the decals to come off evenly and in one piece.

    You're scratchbuilding that ship!! I could never do something like that. You've got quite a few skills Gowan and you're going to be formidable in a few years!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks Anne, Perhaps I shall name one of the ships Anne, though this could also mean its named after my mother.
      as for the all the planes sounds like fun however all that glue, the fumes off them are nasty.

      Delete
  3. Good luck for Maths Gowan. I like the ship!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good work Gowan and good luck those exams!

    ReplyDelete
  5. All the best for your exams, Gowan. Kick butt!

    A minor point: the word I think you intended in the caption to your second last Spitfire pic was 'shift'.

    But what I really wanted to say was I like that boat! Until I saw the Viking, I actually thought is was going to be part of your Oronegro project - something like a river boat or possibly a sea-going fishing boat. At any rate I vould think of a number of situations in which such boats might feature.

    That the vessel can fit easily into almost any age and geographical location argues a versatility beyond what you usually get with wargames equipment.

    Cheers,
    Ion

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is going to be part of the Oronegro project. just the earlier age... I think re-reading the bit of the post about the boat might be a good idea, I think you may have got a bit confused.

      Delete
    2. Possibly... Not sure in what respect, though. At first I was thinking that it would the sort of vessel that one still finds in use in certain parts of the world (and hence plausible for Oronegro). But I noticed a plastic Dark Ages type figure in a couple of the pics, and thought maybe you had it in mind as a Viking longship or similar. That either was possible argues an unusual versatility.

      Delete
  6. Looks good Gowan! Also that ship looks very promesing!

    Good luck with the exams!

    Greetings
    Peter
    http://peterscave.blogspot.be/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thankyou peter. perhaps it will look just as good as you hope... I guess you'll have to wait and see as I have already done most of the painting now and am adding details and accessories ;-)

      Delete
  7. Very cool, I like the ship Gowan

    ReplyDelete