Mog’s Last Custom Mecha Hurrah. . . Most Likely(?)

[Mog]

So as I said in another thread, the Sentinel Tread is (most likely) the last large-scale mecha I’ll ever purchase (barring some insane holy grail coming out).

Other than getting few 3.75” scale figures, I’m basically out of display space at this point. (And IKEA discontinuing the Detolf kinda kills off getting another display case to fill up.)

. . . So, bear with me as I get way too damn long-winded and wax far too nostalgic in this thread.

It’s my last custom mecha, baby!!

I’ve been in this collecting game for over 20 years at this point.  And over that period, I’ve made my fair share of customs.  From this board alone, I’ve learned way too much about panel-lining, white-backed decals and stickers (RIP ALPS printers), styrene sheets, the power of adhesive putty, and about photography (and using a tripod with those old point-and-shoot digital cameras).

I already have two blue Alpha-Beta combos.  I already bought a red Sentinel Legioss (because I like the unique color-scheme and that longer rifle was too damn cool). And I wasn’t sure if Sentinel was going to release a red Tread.

So when Sentinel finally announced the Tread was going to be up for preorder last November, I knew I had one last custom mech to mess with.

Because as cool as the designs are, this color-scheme needs a little “extra” to tie it all together:

Pre-Planning and Weaponizing the Beast:

Once I knew what the Tread was going to be armed with (originally behind that Japan-only paywall ), I got to pre-planning last November.

1)  Blame this model (http://policap-inside.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2007/06/post.html) for originally giving me the idea, but I wanted to arm the Tread with a Gatling gun.

I’ve shown pics before, but here’s what I got, along with a pic of me testing it with the similar sized Toynami Beta (more info in a later post):

2)  I REALLY didn’t want to jump through extra hoops to get the extra missiles.  Plus, last I checked, the Tread has six hardpoints under the wings, and Sentinel was only offering FOUR missiles.

Add in the two hardpoints on the Legioss, and that’s eight total hardpoints to arm.

I don’t think Sentinel realized how many extra missiles I have lying around or how petty or ingenious (take your pick) I can be:

White ones are from the Yamato 1/60 Version 1 VF-1’s.  Grey missiles are from the 1/48 Yamato Stealth (added the greys for a little color variety).

And adhesive putty is my friend. 

More pics and posts to come!

TLDR?:  Moggy’s customizing the damn Sentinel Tread.  That’s why his old Tread avatar had a red background on it. 

Edited August 13 by Mog

[Mog]

WORK IN PROCESS POST

1)  The Prep:

Since this was no longer going to be a Mars Base Tread, I went about sanding off the MB markings on the white parts:

Also, sanded off the NO STEP printing on the wings later.  Not sure how they do it on real wings, but I always thought the NO STEP signs are supposed to be read from the edge of the wing, not the opposite way they are marked here. 

I also tried to sand down the shoulder missile racks, in order to reduce some paint rub:

Probably didn’t work as well as I had hoped.

2)  The Painting:

I looked over the Tread and spotted a few screws here and there.  There’s probably a few screws hiding under some panels.  But I was too nervous to try and pop them out or risk damaging the Beast.  So, spray painting went out the door.

Because I have no skills or experience with an airbrush, had to go with brush painting.  So, apologies for any visible brush strokes and flaws in the painting.  I also used white paint to better cover up the parts that had the sanded off tampo markings.  It’s a little rough and thick, but just had to make due.

We shall call it Optimus Tread :

The poor Tread had to be put in some compromising positions, just to get properly painted 😅:

And as previously posted in the Mospeada thread, I went ahead and painted the fixed pose pilot in Rey’s outfit:

I would have preferred if Sentinel had packed his bike there too, BUT he does look good in the Tread:

The missiles also got red-tipped to give them a little “pop”:

3)  The Panel-Lining:

After taking forever to paint every nook and cranny and then using a toothpick or sandpaper to pick off any excess and paint slop, it was time to panel-line the Beast:

As I’ve done in with other birds, I use a grey micron pen for the lines on white parts and a black micron pen for the lines on the colored bits.

Always liked the results. 

 

4)  The. . . Umm P’Stickering (to keep the alliteration going ) :

So if the Tread was gonna combine with Houquet’s Jupiter Base Legioss, I had to properly sticker her up.

I recall singing the praises of Toynami’s stickers for the Beta many years ago.  And they still hold up even to this day:

I did have to make bigger stickers for the wings too:

Went through a lot of trial and error with the sticker paper back when I did the custom YF-21 years ago.  But got it down to an exact science now.

Now, we tie it all together in the next post. . .

Edited August 19 by Mog
To add the full bomber mode money shot.

[jenius]

Well that's cool! Did you think about making the top of the cockpit red like the CM's?

[tekering]

Damn, Mog!  That looks really good in red.  

18 minutes ago, Mog said:

Because I have no skills or experience with an airbrush, had to go with brush painting.

Ouch.  That explains how you got it done so quickly. 😅

At least spray it down with a couple coats of matte topcoat to conceal the brush strokes a little.  That'll help prevent the stickers from peeling off, too. 👍

[Mog]

The “Dammit, Mog!  Just show us pics of the finished product already!!” Post:

So about that Gatling gun, it does rotate:

 

BUT I wanted to make sure I could also mount it in bomber mode.  Slight shifting of parts and some adhesive putty, and the gun stays in place:

All hardpoints have weapons thanks to adhesive putty too:

Also, Hou-Rey combo in effect :

So because of the “wonderful” limitations of the Detolf shelf, I did have to pose the fighter combo at an extreme angle:

 

But I did make sure to snap a bunch of glamour shots:

Especially with her Alpha-Beta cousins 😎:

 

Edited August 13 by Mog

[Mog]

1 hour ago, jenius said:

Well that's cool! Did you think about making the top of the cockpit red like the CM's?

Honestly, never considered it.  Been staring at the Toynami’s for so long, that I always pictured the cockpit as white.

Also, that model I linked in the first post probably left a lasting impression on me.

Edited August 13 by Mog

[26662]

1 hour ago, Mog said:

 

Great pic!  I love seeing them side-by-side.  And your rotating Gatling gun?!  Amazing!

[m0n5t3r]

Great job! Red combo looks good. That rotating gatling gun is esp. cool 

[Bolt]

Excellent work ! The Gatlin looks wicked.

[renegadeleader1]

21 hours ago, Mog said:

I’m basically out of display space at this point. 

This is the point when most people open their own hobby/game/comic store.😆

[Mog]

Most of the newer “collectible” shops that have popped up around me have been for Pokémon and similar card stuff.

Maybe some Funko Pops too, but stuff from our (older) generation are a dying breed.  There used to be a few small local toy spots around me, but they’ve all closed down.

Ain’t no way I’d risk opening a physical shop.

As I’ve said, I’m getting close to a good stopping point.  Of course, never say never in this collecting game.  But I’m pretty satisfied where the collection is at (with a few minor exceptions).

Plus, my eyes aren’t as sharp as they used to be (constantly have to remove the glasses to see details up close).  And the available time and responsibility factors are always ever present.

So, doing a big mecha custom similar to the Tread is probably out of the question now.

[MKT]

That's a very nice custom @Mog. The gatling is really the icing on the cake, and wow it's motorised too. 

[Mog]

Yah, I found what I was looking for at an online Gundam store.  Pretty much a snap-on model with a tiny windup motor in it.

Was pretty easy to build and just had to superglue the Legioss missile rack mount to one obvious spot.  Adhesive putty was added to keep it solidly on the wing, and it‘s been locked in place since being put in the display case earlier this week.

[Mog]

Yeesh!  Hate being a perfectionist:  spotted a couple of obvious spots I should have panel-lined.

And then wound up doing a few billion paint and pen touch-ups too.

Paint was still drying during a few of these close-up pics:

[Mog]

As mentioned in the Mospeada thread, the top part of my stand connector sheared off and got stuck in the Tread attachment.

I put plastic bonder on it.  And I added adhesive putty to the separate Legioss attachment point.  After about a week, it all seems to be holding:

The wing did wind up dipping to the ground, but everything seems to still be holding.  

Probably better to leave well enough alone, rather than try to tweak it more.