technofortomcats

[technofortomcats]

(I live! hahah, in all seriousness, I took a break from model kits for a bit)

Beast Liger (custom, Zoids Wild)

Ive had a few of the Wild Kits hanging around but hadn't really built or looked at one just yet. Decided to start with the most recent kit I have, the Beast Liger. And it’s very nice, I really like the ‘modular’ design, where you can have it naked or armoured, depending on what you like best.

(naked Liger looks like a disgruntled Mole Rat, fyi)

The gimmick is pretty cute too, the main claw assembly on its back flips forward and flicks its gold claws. It’s just an easy, pleasant build and an aesthetic thats 100% my jam.

of course I had to paint and detail it, using a mix of metallic underlay colours and then a coat of holographic powder to get that funky dichromatic colour change.

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Photoset of VX-9 ‘Black Bunny’ Storm Sworder

It’s been a while since I actually….finished a kit, so I’m excited to post this. If you’ve spent like…5 minutes in my company in person you know I love Tomcats. And there’s no ‘cat I love best than THE Black Bunny. This bad ass paint scheme belongs to the USN’s VX-4 Evaluators who where the squadron that tested armerants and targeting systems for the navy.

(wolf whistle)

(the reason this Storm Sworder is VX-9 is that its near impossible to find officiated black bunny decals so I used the VX-9 Vampire squad markings since they ‘inherited’ the Black Bunny assets and livery. (and then spent like…weeks finding 1/72 scale bunny tail markings because no one sells them separately from the kits)

The point of an evaluation squad is to test new technology and troubleshoot current technology that doesn’t function as needed, so it’s not a far stretch to think Zoid forces would have them too.

As for kit itself, it is the Ara Balone (engrish Air Baron) special StormSworder, which comes with six Sidewinder-like missiles and four machine guns equipped in the claw. The black is a satin finish that was a mix of Stuart Semple’s Blackest Black and a lacquer medium. The result looks amazing and very ‘low visibility’ but uh…it’s a nightmare to photograph. It took hours to get any visible shots in strong sunlight. Then my camera battery ran out so I had to try again in the later afternoon sun.

(i had a lens flare problem at one point)

The blades were painted up in Orange/Purple chameleon paint for a ‘hot metal’ look. The other kit is my TOPGUN storm Sworder.

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Wishing all my merry modelling friends a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Here’s to a new year of building!

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Photoset of Zeek Dober ‘450th battalion’

I think it’s safe to say, that at some point or another we’ve (zoids fans as a collective we) have wanted a Zeekdober model kit. I know I have. Its such a lovely shape, a lovely face. Not so lovely is the availability.

Except when you find a (kind of) MIB OJR Zeekdober on eBay for under $60. So of course I nabbed it.

This was my first OJR from the second wave of kits they made in 1987 and it’s kind of quaint, really building one. Assembling the actual battery component was whimsical in a way. 

While this kit was marked MiB and it was, in a sense, the bags were sealed but the actual plastic runners had, at some point been exposed to something that smelled like a skunk had taken an aromatherapy class and then promptly flunked that class after an all night bender. I managed to de-stink it but ended up with slight colour variations. Which looked…bad. That red plastic is unforgiving and nigh impossible to colour match.

So I ended up detailing the pup, but I used water based paints, so if need be, I can strip it back down to bare plastic if the need arises.

Zeekdober is a bit plain without stickers but the ones in the box were unusable, so I improvised with some left over waterslide decals that complimented the colour scheme nicely. 

This is a very good boy I’m delighted to add to my collection.

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Photoset of HMM Storm Sworder ‘VX-124 FIGHTERTOWN’ (aka GUNFIGHTERS/TOPGUN)

So as my modelling sideblog suggests, I really like F-14 tomcats (and furry tomcats too). I knew as soon as I saw the HMM Storm Sworder on Kotobukiya’s blog back in 2016 that I had to do a topgun themed Storm Sworder.

It took me a while to hunt down the right decals, which are for squadron VX-124 who actually were squadron that ran the (real) TOPGUN program out of Miramar, San Diego. I don’t know if number 451 was in the movie off the top of my head, but it does also reference a classic novel and I’m all for that too.

This kit was also a bit of a learning experience, both with waterslide decals and a type of modelling paint known as game ink. As the name implies, its more of a tint than a solid colour and requires very patient application. the result however, is some pretty cool weathering techniques. its tedious at times but I love the end result so imo, it was worth it.

I was going for a ‘old warbird thats still serving as a training craft for new zoid pilots’ rather than battle damage or rust.

451′s an old bird but as reliable as they come.

As far as the kit goes, it’s a delightful build and imo, its very well designed with symmetry, especially the wings. Reminded me a lot of model planes vs gunpla. I liked it so much, I went ahead and grabbed the ‘Ala Barone’ version for another USN carrier jet livery that I love. the next one is a bit flashier ;)

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It’s set way after CC, GF and even Genesis and not on planet Zi, which is likely -why- they are a lot smaller. It’s set on Earth and zoids likely went through divergent evolution or some form of dwarfism in response to different stressors. Since we’ve only seen a few episodes, it could be entirely feasible their small frames are a result of domestication (and that the wild in Wild Zoids is more feral than wild since they are an introduced species)

Colouring aside, Wild Liger shares more traits with Murasame Liger, but you could argue Murasame Liger and it’s evolts are a enhancement or trait from Liger Zeros CAS system.

I mean a dash of bionics and animal husbandry with your mecha isn’t everyone’s cup of tea; we all have inate likes and dislikes, head canons and such about zoids but I rather like how different Wild is compared to the cornerstone series.

Hope this helped in some way!

I need to know.

Is Zoids Wild based off the PAST or waaay in the future?

Because if it’s the future I need to know why the de-volved into what they are really.

And if it’s in the past then I need to know why Wild Liger looks based off Liger Zero.

Because with Liger Zero, it seemed to be implied to be the evolved version of the Blade Liger since it had an organoid system.

And I say the above because it was also hinted the old Bezerk Fury (also with an organoid system) was evolved from the Geno Breaker (which I think was actually a thing in the manga??) - since it was found around 3 geno saurers.

So really for the sake of my mind, I need to know if this is based waaay before the wars or waaaay after.

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My current kitbash project is a jointed Wild Liger. It’s going pretty well, the body is done with a waist, neck and head joint. The cuts and joints are raw since I’d prefer to get the mobility sorted before I paint it. The legs....will be interesting. I want to joint the original legs but the molded pistons are tricky and I’d like to preserve them. I want wiggly toes but not sure how I’m gonna make it work with how they currently attach to the kit. It’s a pretty solid and nicely made motor kit, and I’ll probably get another to make a standard, un altered one.

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Yo I am in love w ur zoids, you're what I aspire to be Keep up the amazing work my dude!!

I’m so sorry for the delayed reply! I use mobile Tumblr most frequently and its...not the greatest for asks. I’ll check it more often.

Thanks so much! If you want any tips and tricks, let me know, okay?

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This bad boy is hefting some serious weight and still can pose 👌(thru the magic of metal rods acting as support structure) Now that I’m confident I’ve kitbashed the underbody successfully, it’s time to armor up this Frankenstein’s E Liger.

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Energy Liger got a bit of a T-1000 look going on there

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‘Feral’ Shield Liger MkII photoset [nickname Mr Gutsy]

So, this kit is basically a ‘lemonade out of lemons’ zoid. My Shield Liger MkII got tossed about in the recent move and got a lot of the components damaged and cracked. So i decided to use it as a test run for weathering powders and mimicking rust along with decal set]

I was going to full on Fallout this kit, but the white armour is too pretty to paint over it in an army green, so I just rusted, powdered and buffed it to look like its been roaming a wasteland for a couple of centuries.

The war it was made for is long over and its pilot left it to roam the toxic wastes of the battlefield. But Shield Ligers are pretty durable and this one developed a personality thats…suffice to say, combative. Cross into the badlands and you might hear the faint, pre recorded voice this zoid plays as a warning….

Is that someone who needs me to kick their ass?

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The DiBison Duquesa.

You’ve got a Zoids Battle Match at 5 but an invite to the Met Gala at 8. No problem!

(touch up and detail up for my older HMM DiBison, that gold is…blinding to say the least)

[technofortomcats]

Check out this YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/humbrol

While it’s sponsored by Humbrol, the techniques can be used with most modelling brands. It’s a great starting point from filling seams to varnishing.

Any tips on getting into customizing? And kitbashing? I want to make a custom lightning saix from top to bottom. It would also be the first model where I didn’t just slap the whole thing together and call it a day. I want to paint, clean up seams, panel lines….I’ve never done any of that before.

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The Energy Liger is a real cool cat but is being difficult to kitbash. I got the head and body attachment sorted so I can start priming and setting pieces flush (Armor is removeable and the resin unpainted and not glued yet) While I plan on doing the NJR colour scheme I’m also rly tempted to uh... PINK MAGICAL LIGER

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Tfw you have an epiphany about how to fix your Gold Saber Tigers gun belts and it WORKS Hella yeah (tapestry needle and simple straight stitch down the length) it should also prevent further breaks!

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The panel is undecided as to whether this is a Shield Liger loafing or a cannonry Molga in a cat mask.

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Quick question: I ordered what I thought was an unassembled Blade Liger Mirage kit, but after double checking, it seems it is already assembled. Which is a bummer because I planned on giving it a custom paint job. My question is on a scale of 1 to 10 how difficult do you think it'd be to remove some of the armor and parts for painting, and do you have any suggestions?

Oh dang, that is a shame.As for customising it, it honestly depends on how the previous person built it. If it’s glued, it’ll be tricky but doable to pull it apart and build it up from the base. A cotton bud and a good solvent can pull apart the most stubborn of glues if you need to go that way! It’s also a chance to sand back plastic dags or plastic scarring caused by cutting it off the runner.Luckily if you’re only after painting the outer armor on a blade Liger, it pops off the frame pretty easy (those shoulder pads tend to pop off without asking) so I’d consider it pretty easy! But if you’d like to go whole hog on it, I’d advise about gently disassembling one body part at a time, paint, dry then rebuild. Rinse and repeat :)Number one tip for customising is patience, sometimes we wanna do everything at once but being methodical and doing specific parts at a time is key to a stress free and enjoyable custom.If it’s the Mirage Liger, that kit has a lovely pearl white armour that will complement just about any colour scheme you’d like. For example, me and @hawkbuilds painted our Mirage ‘red pieces’ a brillant sky blue and gold highlights.Paint wise, I prefer using enamel or lacquer paints but if you’re pretty new to painting in general, I’d look at acrylic paints, mostly the ones aimed at tabletop gaming, as they have a nice finish 👍If you’re prebuilt kit arrives in less than stellar condition, hit me up and I’d be happy to offer specific troubleshooting to get your Liger working for you. I’ve patched up a number of Ligers that have been dropped or broken and got them back on their feet.