Blackadder's Refurbishment of Derelict FW Resin Baneblades Thread................

  • Time to Stop Fooling Around:


    time to get tough with this paint. I tried just about everything to remove the gunky pigment from these models but I do have one ace up my sleeve. Acetone.


    Very little withstands being coated with a ketone based solvent but I hate to use it because it ruins any painted surface it come in contact with.


    http://i.imgur.com/cOenxEo.jpg


    After a light acid brushing with acetone the paint comes off with a bit of rubbing with a tooth brush.


    http://i.imgur.com/W0jK0aJ.jpg


    I could get that last bit of orange off but I don't think it will be necessary.


    http://i.imgur.com/l8J3Pi1.jpg


    I haven't yet applied it to the 'Polar Bear'; it's potent stuff and I don't like using it for too long of a period per day.

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

  • Forge World Concedes:


    So here we have best evidence why FW got out of the Baneblade business.


    Apparently their moulds worn out or distorted and rather than remake/retool their moulding process they just scrapped the Baneblade altogether conceding to GW the copyright to make styrene models and went to the greener pastures of a new line of superheavies; witness:


    Here we have one of my latest acquisitions a Stormsword I believe without the bother of looking it up.


    The model on the whole appears well made and was advertised on ebay as pro-painted. Well I myself had reservations on that claim but you can see that the modeler did put some good effort into the assembly and painting right down to hand-painting a skull icon on the fascia armour.


    http://i.imgur.com/yj4jbLv.jpg


    It is only when the model is flipped that we see gross errors in construction and this is a great example of the problem I stated in my previous post that the track block or the the length of the tread segments have been compromised.


    Note the grievous discrepancy between the left and right track assemblies:


    http://i.imgur.com/x3HaYjE.jpg


    The right track is passing fair assembled but the left has 3 MM gaps on the flat road contact run.


    This image shows it better; the foreground track with the gaping discontinuity of run and the background track passingly okay.


    http://i.imgur.com/HunE9Hq.jpg


    Note also that the front and rear of the hull floor plates are 5,0 to 6,0 MM too short compared to the upper hull length. The why of that will be touched on subsequently but right now the tracks are the object of this dissertation.

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

  • An Interesting Albeit Erroneous Solution:


    When I see something like this it saddens me that the most obvious solution was not attempted and instead a much more involved and time wasting and ultimately unsatisfactory resolution was decided on. I offer the following not to belittle the would be modeler but to demonstrate where he could have saved himself a lot of grief and and now been in the possession of a fine resin OOP model instead of a fractional remunerative of the original cost.


    Note the outrageous effort to make the parts fit by adding shims to the cutouts.
    http://i.imgur.com/a7XQUW7.jpg


    Note also no attempt was made to trim the rear of the track mud guards the casting fill tubes are still in evidence. The sponsons are protruding a half MM above the surrounding surface and the modeler is attempting to fill the gaps with white styrene and greenstuff.


    http://i.imgur.com/BpaTKII.jpg


    On the flip side we have a pristine Shadowsword completely untrimmed from the Forge World Skunk Works and the novice builder tried to eliminate the casting flaws by building up the model where the most obvious remedy would be to trim off the casting vents.


    Using the chisel and a small persuader gently tap the seam to sever the adherent without further damaging the resin. It is not advisable to pry with the chisel or you may shatter the resin Just tap the blade into the seam working along the perimeter a bit at a time so the whole piece comes free by small degrees without putting too much stress on the material as would be the case were you to free each portion entirely before shifting the chisel.


    http://i.imgur.com/tOgRd0Y.jpg


    Here we find the cause of all this unfortunate modeler's dilemma:


    The last three models I have found has these large protuberances on the rear edge of the hull and not one of the modelers attempted to dress them down to a uniform height flush with the interior sloped incline.

    http://i.imgur.com/AIRR3af.jpg


    Please note that resin cuts as readily as cheese with the proper tools; in this case a standard Xacto 1/2 inch chisel and a hefty Utility knife with a new blade. and a small hammer.


    There is never a need to build shims and mountains of green stuff when all that is needed is a bit of judicious trimming.

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

  • Hate Crime?


    In my previous post I tried to be as charitable as possible but further evidence reveals this to be nothing less than a hate crime.


    The first order was to remove the excess moulding vent material so the engine compartment can be fitted properly.


    http://i.imgur.com/F6wJmeR.jpg


    This is simple by literally paring the excess off with my utility knife as I said resin carves as easily as cheese with the proper tool.


    http://i.imgur.com/oiFSEHk.jpg


    After literally a few minutes of whittling the offending protrusions are removed and it's time to address the front deck.


    The initial inspection of this perplexed me because there was greenstuff everywhere even in places that should have been easily joined such as the front deck underside bumper seam........


    http://i.imgur.com/lE6x4J4.jpg


    A few minutes with the hammer and chisel (This 'Greenstuff' is tenacious stuff!) the deck is removed with no damage to the surrounding resin thankfully because the front bumper is one of the great features of the Baneblade genera.


    http://i.imgur.com/Z77g6Q8.jpg


    On to the sponsons.......................

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

  • Perhaps a Chaos Shadowsword:


    Okay so now the Sponsons, I've itching to see what to styrene plate 'Greenstuff' glued inside the left tread well was for.


    Again with the chisel, I'll spare you the blow by blow tedium


    http://i.imgur.com/leMuAGP.jpg


    It turns out for some reason the perpetrator cut through the sponson wall and then decided to slap a patch on it for whatever reason because the sponson would have covered the indiscretion. BTW I will be upgrading the boarding ladders on all my Baneblades to the most recent FW iteration which definitely looks better than the stepladder attached behind the sponsons on the original.


    http://i.imgur.com/YZ1eifR.jpg


    once all the styrene and green putty was removed the damage didn't look too bad; as I said the sponson will cover most of the hole.


    The sponsons also have sustained malpractice and I may try a little project I've had in the back of my mind since I first restored a Baneblade almost ten years ago namely rotating sponson turrets. That should be fun.


    http://i.imgur.com/2U09mwJ.jpg


    So last image everything is cleaned ready for prime, Not bad for an hour's work. So counting this one I have four Shadowswords; quite too many to my mind.


    I'm very tempted to make this Shadowsword a Chaos version to complement my two Chaos Warhounds



    http://i.imgur.com/F5hDADI.jpg

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

  • Behold Arethusa my first Baneblade from page one in her current condition; not much changed from the labor of love I devoted to her almost a decade ago but this post isn't about resting on my rapidly spreading laurels but to demonstrate how to put your Baneblade together so it can be repaired, upgraded, refurbished and in this case provide a bench mark to remodel the tread problem current on the last production run of the lamented FW resin Superheavies.............


    http://i.imgur.com/VTtp3S6.jpg


    First and most important Arethusa's major components are not glued but screwed together for rapid dis-assembly.


    The Sponson Las-cannons, Main Turret, secondary Turret twin Bolters and treads are held in place with screws. Max Weisman is anchored with a screw pedestal.


    http://i.imgur.com/TJIfgLs.jpg


    Note the tracks are removable with the unfastening of just one screw; this is the legacy of a lifetime of working with mechanical objects that through experience I know will ultimately fail and I planned accordingly.


    http://i.imgur.com/LsRKarT.jpg


    Everything I build has built in dis-assembly points to save me hours of grief and reconstruction time. Whether you choose to follow my manic behavior is up to you but you have been apprised of the consequences.


    That said, let us begin to remedy the track length problem............

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

  • Tracks and Tread Links:


    Below are listed the discrepancies I've found with the treads and tracks on the resin models and the first image deals with one builder's way to resolve the problem; he just added another track link.


    Note that the top set of tracks indicated by the three red arrows point to the three standard links between the skull links..........


    BTW note the link segments are pretty much the same between the older original model and the newer production model


    http://i.imgur.com/e740W0B.jpg


    and the lower set of tracks has an extra link between the skull links on one section.


    Unfortunately FW does not sell these extra links anymore at least I couldn't find them on the FW site.


    If you can find the links and the modification is satisfactory to you then your repair is easy; otherwise read on............


    The next discrepancy I've found is the mount block thickness where the road wheels (bogies) mount on my original the road wheel bases mount 15.75 MM block thickness and the and the ones that fit the treads badly 16.30 MM block thickness. this means your tread must lose length negotiating the extra diameter.


    In the image below the red arrows indicate that extra thickness between the track assemblies shown in the first photo.


    http://i.imgur.com/NGgjLGx.jpg


    The next image the arrows show the difference between the lengths of the tread assemblies, the thickness of the assemblies and the bad track run around the Drive and Idler wheels on the lower track assembly.


    http://i.imgur.com/P4qxxtr.jpg


    Finally the road wheel mount blocks themselves vary in length making you tread run too short for the wheel base.


    http://i.imgur.com/dqNz3bv.jpg


    Next we will address these issues with some simple remedies and a more complex remedy if former doesn't do the trick..........

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

  • A Compulsive Psychological Problem:


    Okay I wouldn't be the Blackadder if I didn't go for the more complex alternative first.


    I seriouly doubted my fixes will do the job on the more serious discrepancies so I'll tackle that first.


    The image below shows the discrepancy in the mount block where the one block is 2,0 - 3,0 MM longer than the other.


    http://i.imgur.com/dqNz3bv.jpg


    So a razor saw blade is about 0.44 MM thick, cutting the block with a relatively sharp razor saw takes about a minute and it shortens the block about half a millimeter.


    http://i.imgur.com/Et8NuKE.jpg


    http://i.imgur.com/Vtv3ilw.jpg


    multiply that by seven cuts shorten the block 3,5 MM.


    http://i.imgur.com/9EhRreh.jpg


    Counting the glue seam gives you about 3,0 MM shortened just about what you will need to get the block down to where the treads will fit properly.


    http://i.imgur.com/fGwM5tt.jpg


    More to come.............

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

  • A Gap I Can Live With:


    Okay so the tread from the Red Lucius Baneblade had these huge 6 MM gaps in the tread run.


    http://i.imgur.com/UFwm1em.jpg


    I have repaired one by cutting the wheel mount block in four places with my scroll saw to shorten the block.


    http://i.imgur.com/nUEgtW5.jpg


    I made the cuts between the wheels that were separated the most so the spacing between the wheels is more homogeneous.


    http://i.imgur.com/a9dKp0a.jpg


    Since the alteration came out so well I feel I can endorse this method.


    If you don't have a 'Scroll Saw' a 'Coping saw' will do as well or even a Hack saw will do in a pinch, the problem with a hack saw is the blade is thicker so you may not need as many cuts.


    http://i.imgur.com/IIaitky.jpg


    Someone asked me about getting the wheels lined up evenly so I came up with this idea; just a 6.3 MM styrene strip running down the channel between the road wheels and driver and idler wheels. HTH

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

  • Track Work Final Assembly:


    First a recap, I already showed how I shortened the wheel mount block; the image below shows the cuts I made in the block with my scroll saw.


    In all I made six cuts in one block and eight cuts in the other each cut being about 0,80 MM wide so one block was shortened 4.8 MM and the other 6,4 MM.


    I also cut off the rails (Indicated by the red arrows that the bogie mount pads are glued to to further reduce the length of the track run.


    http://i.imgur.com/SBzFJZ0.jpg


    In the image below show more clearly the mount rails indicated by the up pointing arrows and the removed rails indicated by the down pointing arrows. Just to be clear I removed all 16 rails not just the two shown.


    http://i.imgur.com/LI9cNok.jpg


    Below are the assembled tracks ready to be primed. I'll answer any questions regarding any of the preceding I did not make clear.


    http://i.imgur.com/nnzliIw.jpg


    Below the Red Baneblade cleaned and primed with her refurbished tread assemblies. I will have to raise the hull about a millimeter to compensate for the removed bogie rails.


    http://i.imgur.com/VI1Q4OC.jpg


    And another view of the restored model which looks pretty good considering the wreck I started with. IMHO


    http://i.imgur.com/AZGOqRT.jpg

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

  • AUX FUEL DRUM EVOLUTION:


    Perhaps nothing on the Baneblade genera seez anachronism as much as the Aux Fuel Drums and Dual Exhausts. When I first saw the Baneblade years ago I wasn't sure I liked those huge drums attached to the rear fenders but ultimately they became indispensable as part of the archaic charm of the beasts. I always liked the four exhaust stacks arrangement on the Lucius and when it came time to scratch a Baneblade I copied the dual twin stack arrangement.


    Probably no single item on the Baneblade has been modified over the years than the Aux Fuel Drums. You can pretty much determine the production run of the model by the bands around the drums.


    In the image below the oldest are the yellow arrow (end bands) and the green (center bands) pair. These bands are the most fragile and brittle and it is almost impossible to get a model with intact bands even when shipped new from FW. Just handling the drum can crush the thin rim and on Most of the models I have I just removed the rest of the damaged flange rather than play around trying to replace them.


    Next we have the whit and red arrow bands. This is the only complete rims I've seen, how they survived is a mystery but if you look at the outer band under the white arrow it is thicker so this is the second style banded drums. I have two sets of this version the other being the red/red arrows pair which have the center flanges broken off.


    FW wised up and redesigned the bands so all the flanges were eliminated from the bands on the latest productions which is the most durable design albeit the least artistic. Blue arrows..........

    http://i.imgur.com/N2NF8wq.jpg


    Tyro modeler tend to ignore the casting vents especially on the Aux Drums so they are left on all the models I have renovated. Pictured here are most of the tools I use to remove the surplus casting vent material even though its not usually seen when the model is sitting on the board.


    http://i.imgur.com/ilTNIol.jpg



    A close up view of the excess resin and a few that I have cleaned up a bit


    http://i.imgur.com/D3N6tj5.jpg


    it's not really necessary to go crazy with the underside of the drums but they should at least have most of the surplus removed.

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

    Einmal editiert, zuletzt von Blackadderz ()

  • Saving the Sentinels Part 1:


    I've had these little beauties lying about for years with broken hip shafts. Whilst inventorying my 'to do' list I find myself with the sudden impulse to repair the little darlings.


    They've been indifferently repaired over the years but fall apart again with alarming rapidity whilst the glue build up around the joints become more and more unsightly.


    The first order of business was to separate and categorize all the major components.


    http://i.imgur.com/soMy8IK.jpg


    There are two leg configurations; each Sentinel getting a compressed leg and an extended leg. Each type of leg can be either right or left.


    First I cut off and drilled out the broken axles out of the legs; I start by drilling a centered pilot hole.


    Next I drill out each leg to 1/8 inch (3,175 MM) as that is the closest diameter tube stock I have.


    http://i.imgur.com/wwrbJII.jpg


    Be careful not to drill through the axle end caps.


    Next Post Please..............

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

  • Saving the Sentinels Part 2:


    Next center drill the hip block with first a pilot hole (Center foreground of the image below) and then your 1/8 inch drill bit.


    I drilled from both ends into the hip block but then drilled all the way through to align the shaft holes.....


    http://i.imgur.com/yIdtqL4.jpg


    On the right side of the photo above note the white styrene tube:


    Insert your 1/8 inch styrene tube through the hip block so the axle protrudes far enough to engage the hip of the legs.


    Now I don't want to repeat this repair so I am reinforcing the styrene tube with a 1,5 MM brass tube insert......


    http://i.imgur.com/Rmi84kp.jpg


    Below we see the three Sentinel bodies strung out on the brass reinforced styrene tubes ready to be cut to the proper length.


    http://i.imgur.com/IgXOeqg.jpg


    Below we see the three repaired hips; the left foreground legs not installed to show the reinforced shaft.


    http://i.imgur.com/YoNsK2T.jpg


    And finally the three derelicts assembled with new much stronger leg attachments.


    http://i.imgur.com/eLTYGdq.jpg


    Next, repairing the ball socket ankle joint........

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."

    Einmal editiert, zuletzt von Blackadderz ()

  • Saving the Sentinels Part 3:


    Since the ankle is so much thinner I went to a 3/32 inch (2,25 MM) styrene tube to reinforce the break. Again I will insert a brass rod to increase the strength of the joint.


    http://i.imgur.com/xOzi0lx.jpg


    drilling the hole in the ankle requires a bit of care as the short block is all you have to work with; drill too far and the shank strut will be weakened.


    Insert the 3/32 styrene tube and the reinforcing wire into both the ball and the leg.


    http://i.imgur.com/viRPai4.jpg


    BTW I haven't glued anything yet as I want the option to pose the Sentinels on their respective bases before I do the finish gluing.


    http://i.imgur.com/CqP41PP.jpg


    So here we have the restored leg stronger than ever with hardly a hint of the damage sustained.


    http://i.imgur.com/cuC77oj.jpg


    And the reassembled model ready to be posed on its base.


    http://i.imgur.com/RQIx4iW.jpg

    "It is easier to deceive people than it is to convince them that they have been deceived."