true scale shoulder pad help

[Bigdog]

Hi guys, I'm working on a small true scale marine army using lamenter's build method. In his tutorial he uses terminator shoulder pads with plasticard trims, I've tried it but it doesn't look quite right as the pads are too wide at the base compared to regular shoulder pads. Unfortunately regular pads look too small now so they won't work either.

 

I was wondering if anyone has any advice to make true scale shoulder pads which look more like the regular pads?

[Warsmith Aznable]

I'd like to know, too. I tried the plasticard trimming and just couldn't pull it off, so I ended up using a paint effect to make it look like it had raised trimming instead. Looks OK from a distance, but I'm thinking about trying putty next.

[Grotsmasha]

Having thought about it for a bit, I guess it could be achieved by adding even layers (1mm - 1.5mm) of GS over a normal shoulder pad. And I mean 1 layer over the whole pad, then trims on a second layer. This would at least keep the proportions the same.

 

Personally I use termi pads with the "tag" cut off and don't worry about the trim at all.

 

Cheers,

Jono

 

EDIT: As an after thought, instead of cutting off the tag, using GS you could extend the rest of the pad down before adding the trim, this would also help preserve the PA pad proportions.

[Bigdog]

Right, after a lot of tinkering and shoulder pads, I think I've got a solution for those who are interested.

 

You'll need:-

a terminator shoulder pad

a regular shoulder pad

superglue

green stuff

sharp modeling knife

sculpting tool (clay shapers if you can get them)

 

1 - Glue the regular pad inside the terminator pad. You'll need to press down on the terminator pad to get it to stick.

2 - Once the glue has dried, using a modelling knife cut away the bottom of the regular shoulder pad so that it's flush with the 'tag' on the terminator pad.

3 - fill the gaps round the edges of the terminator pad with green stuff and smooth them off with your clay shaper/scuplting tool. This should fill out the shape of teh pad and make it look more like a standard pad.

4 - cut plasticard strips approximately 0.5 mm thick and glue them to the edge of the pad for the trim.

 

I use the standard marine arms with a space and green stuff on the forearms so for me the shoulder pad fits fine and sits just above the elbow, like the 'regular' marine minis. Although the shoulder pads appear quite thick, I like the extra 'chunk' it adds to the marine armour. You may have to stuck your shoulder pads before backpads as, depending on the pose of your minis it may be hard to get them attached afterwards.

 

I haven't tried it yet but if you want your pads thinner you may have to try removing the standard pad, one the putty has cured. Dont know how green stuff with stand up to this without warping or becoming damaged. Maybe Milliput or some other epoxy putty would be a better option in that case.

 

Hope this helps someone out there.

[Captain Hwarang]

Sounds like you've foudn yourself a solution, which is great. I'm not sure I really understood what the problem was (too wide at the base relative to the arm?), but I still think plasticard is gonna be your best bet. It can be finicky though sometimes, so I put some pictures together of how I do it. Hope it's not condescending or anything, especially since it seems like you've got it sorted now. Just in case...

 

Step 1: Put glue on the very edges of the shoulder pad, only on the vertical side.

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/TrueScalePadstep1.jpg

 

Step 2: Put down a very long strip of plasticard and then pinch the ends together forming a tight grip at the bottom of the pads. Hold this for several minutes, 5 - 10 should be good.

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/TrueScalePadstep2.jpg

 

Step 3: Push down on the bottom corners of the pad for a couple more minutes.

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/TrueScalePadstep3.jpg

 

Step 4: This is what you should end up with.

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/TrueScalePadstep4.jpg

 

Step 5: Cut the plasticard flush with part of the original shoulder pad that juts out.

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/TueScalePadstep5.jpg

 

Step 6: Now put glue on the horizontal edges of the pad and the jutting out part of the pad and plasticard trim. See previous picture.

 

Step 7: Put down a long strip of plasticard and pinch the plasticard strips together as done in step 2. Hold this for several minutes again, about 5 - 10 more. When finished, push down on the corners of the pad as done in step 3.

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/TrueScalePadstep6.jpg

 

Step 8: Trim the excess and you are done.

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/TueScalepadfinished.jpg

 

On a finished model:

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/Truescalepadfinishedonmodel1.jpg

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac110/jcttkd/TrueScalepadfinishedonmodel2.jpg

 

Anyway, that's how I do it. Hope that helps, although it probably doesn't solve the problem because it's as wide a regular terminator pad. But maybe it'll help someone? The plasticard I use is 0.4 mm thick, and 2 mm wide.

 

-CH

[Bigdog]

The problem I had was that the tutorial I was following cuts off the.tab at the bottom of the terminator pad. Shortening the overall height and making it too squat and out of shape in comparison to the standard marine pads. This was made even more obvious when I added a trim to the pad which made it look even more distorted.

 

I like your method and had I found it sooner I'd have used it but to me the trim still looks really wide compared to a standard pad. Please don't think I'm criticising because you've got a nice looking mini there, I'm just really pedantic about getting the look right. By filling it out with free stuff you can have a narrower shoulder trim. Out and about just now but I'll try to post some piccies tomorrow.

 

Now I just have to get the trim at the wrists right. . .

. (sigh)

[Yodhrin]

The problem I had was that the tutorial I was following cuts off the.tab at the bottom of the terminator pad. Shortening the overall height and making it too squat and out of shape in comparison to the standard marine pads. This was made even more obvious when I added a trim to the pad which made it look even more distorted.

 

I like your method and had I found it sooner I'd have used it but to me the trim still looks really wide compared to a standard pad. Please don't think I'm criticising because you've got a nice looking mini there, I'm just really pedantic about getting the look right. By filling it out with free stuff you can have a narrower shoulder trim. Out and about just now but I'll try to post some piccies tomorrow.

 

Now I just have to get the trim at the wrists right. . .

. (sigh)

 

For myself, I attach a thin strip of plasticard to the inside of the Terminator pad behind the tab to use as a scaffold, then fill it out with GS, and sculpt the trims after that; it's much more time intensive, but I think it looks better than using styrene strips to form the rims, and is still easier than trying to bulk out a standard pad with GS.