Blackadder's Refurbishment of Derelict FW Resin Baneblades T

[Blackadder]

 

 

Years ago when my son first acquainted me with the Warhammer phenomenon he showed me a catalog of the FW products. Having been in the Service I had an awe of the mechanized armour although even then I knew

 

"A moving foxhole attracts the eye." 

 

http://i.imgur.com/OB8kt8C.jpg

 

Anyway I fell in love with the anachronistic clanking abomination known as the Baneblade Super-heavy Tank. Not just the Baneblade but the Lucius Pattern version to be precise with looks even more archaic than the Mars Pattern.

 

Reading the spec's on this behemoth Gad 316 tonnes! 13.5 metres long  6.3 metres high that's literally as big as my house was at that time.

 

Then and there I resolved to get one of those vehicles but the FW price was prohibitive. What to do? well there was ebay, you can find anything for sale on ebay so I gave that a try.........

 

After a few days a Lucius Baneblade showed up.............

 

http://i.imgur.com/2cM66kT.jpg

 

 and I watched it count down the days to the final few seconds and at the last moment I dumped in my bid. Walla (sic) I won the bid! I forgot what I paid for it but I'm sure it was way too much but still a heck of a lot cheaper than a new one from Forge World..........

 

Watching the post regularly it ultimately arrived; Whoa what a piece of junk! It looked even worse than it appeared in the ebay picture Caveat emptor!

 

http://http://i.imgur.com/NLcS2Az.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/NLcS2Azl.jpg

 

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

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

 

 of course I knew that the thing was assembled badly but I was pretty sure I could restore it to a semblance of its potential glory.

 

 

 

[Warpedpath]

please.. my eyes are bleeding.. bevore reasembling( and proper cleaning of the parts) remove the colours...they make me sick!^^

[Subtle Discord]

At least it made its way to the right hands. if anyone can lift it from its current depths, it'll be you Blackadder.

 

*Looks again*

 

Oh, the paint! How could you do... that to such a model? Please make the pain behind my eyes stop.

[Blackadder]

Well I won't keep you in suspense seeing as how you both are about to rip your eyes out, The model didn't restore too badly and is my favorite Superheavy model.  Below is an image of the reconditioned model a month or so after it was received. I made some nice little modifcations to allow the Lascannon turrets to move and the main turret rotates on screw glides.

 

Warning, spoiler alert:

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2009/6/9/fde50f87d57f2564c56a0bf8ac624113_6825.jpg

 

I intend to show how these work in future posts and also demonstrate track alignment repair.

[Blackadder]

Since I could little improve of the perfection of the Lucius Baneblade (FW) I restricted my styrene addiction and only repaired and modified that which was necessary.

 

FW models in my experience require a lot of TLC and reconstruction even when new so the time and effort savings between a 'New' and 'Refurbished' is about equal.

 

Another thing I found out about the older resin models is in spite of the brittleness of the material it can take a surprising degree of prying with knives and chisels to disassemble the pieces and not shatter. The newer resin models use a softer mix and has a tendency to tear when subjected to stress.

 

After disassembling the entire model I scraped every last bit of paint and glue from the pieces. A regular kitchen paring knife I found was the best tool to do this and a #11 Xacto blade and a pin vise with micro bit drill for those hard to reach places.

 

http://i.imgur.com/UOe7pUQ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/UOe7pUQl.jpg

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/Kl8vF5i.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Kl8vF5il.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/CBQsdA1

http://i.imgur.com/CBQsdA1l.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/nEF9P5h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/nEF9P5hl.jpg

 

In about a week I had the model down to the bare resin.

 

Note if you will the colour of the resin. It was almost white in hue; a much harder, brittle material than current FW resin.

[Blackadder]

I'd better post some of the primed images so I'm not branded a total cretin. I took extreme care not to damage the model anymore than it already was when received. I very much wanted to have as near a 'cherry' Lucius Baneblade as possible when finished. I found that Krylon gray sandable primer is ideal for a base coat. Thin, opaque and fast drying it is (was) the best paint on the market. The dirty little engineers and PR people got to listening to too many would be female crafters and redesigned the nozzle so you can't get a decent spray pattern anymore. I have one can of it left and I'm saving it for my Warhound.

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2009/5/26/5aae43a7b2e0e4c69f73401691798581_6825.jpg

 

Okay this is more than a "look what I did" thread so a bit of explanation is in order. There were a few broken details on the model if you look at the image in the reply above you will see the left tow lug was missing from the front bumper and I replaced it with a styrene lug, no biggy there. The wire conduit to the headlights was broken off so I twisted some 0.025" wire to replace it.

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2009/5/26/bb488864b22961027c0708c2d3fa8d04_6825.jpg

 

The Search light http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2009/5/26/0c54bd24b3fb0e60e47c0dbfcae701af_6825.jpg was broke and I drilled a 0.025 wire drill hole in both ends and internally splinted the stanchion.

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2009/5/26/0c54bd24b3fb0e60e47c0dbfcae701af_6825.jpg

[Olis]

The comparison between how the Baneblade is now and how is was when you got it is gratifying, Blackadder. It's good to see that refurbishment can do wonders for an abused model (even at this early stage). Keep up the good work, brother. :tu:

[Blackadder]

This was my intent. Many of us cannot afford a new Baneblade, well there aren't any "New Baneblades" but as a viable alternatives to the GW plastic model which I have to say leaves me cold. There a few resin B'blades still offered various Internet auctions and this thread is to show that they are still with a little TLC worth restoring.

[Blackadder]

Treads and bogies

 

Getting the treads and bogies to fit just right is the hardest part of building this model. I had to sand down the bogie bases and drive and steering bases to get the treads to make the curves properly. 

http://i.imgur.com/ud95R4v.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ud95R4vl.jpg

The diameter of the wheels even the round ones vary by as much as a millimeter so judicious scrapping brought them to a reasonably homogeneous size.

 

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

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

 

Clamping and liberal use of heavy duty gumbands should be employed to mate the treads to the drive wheel and bogies, don't be afraid to cut and file hidden areas that louse up the overall run of the treads.

 

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

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

 

Note how the treads lie almost perfectly in the track grooves of the bogies each segment just touching the arc of the wheel run. This takes a lot of cutting, filing, and clamping to achieve but is well worth the effort. The gaps between the track segments are all but invisible even in this much abused model so take your time and do it right.

 

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

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

 

The two idler runs installed much as FW intended; no excessive gaps each tread rounding the idler as if it were on a real tank. Maybe fifteen to twenty minutes to do the job correctly but so much more gratifying when the model is complete. 

[Blackadder]

This was one of the first Baneblades so I am told and moulded of an almost white resin which was extremely brittle compared to the FW resin used today. The model in question was purchased 10 years ago and refurbished a matter of weeks after received.

 

At that time I had not even considered posting on forums as I was merely a tyro at modeling so I didn't take a whole lot of pictures of the rebuild.

 

Before I had even finished my son had it on a battle board:

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2009/6/9/c591856bdc79ed171095489620bd5e8b_6825.jpg

Here it is still in unwashed Primer:

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2009/6/9/240876a5f5ce358e4c9c3f95bdf445cd_6825.jpg

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2009/6/9/acc90cdd84ad03e9cb453cbab96b0171_6825.jpg

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2009/6/9/22f47eedbfb3768c5d669e1b5d7a9f49_6825.jpg

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2009/6/9/f17bf4df42f9b04fd65f188e34ef58fb_6825.jpg

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2009/6/9/fde50f87d57f2564c56a0bf8ac624113_6825.jpg

[Blackadder]

I'll get up a group of images showing the rebuilding of the Armorcast but meanwhile:

 

Camouflaged with Viscus Gunky Gunk:

 

Heres a poor specimen that I started on last week. I soaked the entire tank on a bucket of simple green for a few days but the paint wouldn't budge. After soaking for a week I finally managed to clean down to the bare resin. Whatever glue the original owner used it resists even chisels and utility blades.

 

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

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

 

 

After cleaning the upper hull I remembered, "Hey, I gotta take pictures."

 

Everything was painted with a thick coat of spray enamel that defied even soaking in Simple Green.

 

http://i.imgur.com/JD9mBn7.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/JD9mBn7l.jpg

 

Once I get done with this post I'm going to try prying the track blocks out of the hull.

 

This tank will pose an additional challenge in that the Main Turret is missing. No, that's a Leman Russ Mars Alpha Pattern Turret.

 

I also have to scratch a Lascannon barrel.

 

Plastic Surgery:

 

Well resin surgery but you get the idea. I wondered why the treads were so butchered on this tank, after I cleaned most of the gunk off I found/realized the bogies were installed backwards so the treads wouldn't fit as moulded by Forge World. I cleaned most bogies to demonstrate how I remove stubborn glued on parts; a tried and true method that works well for me* and only require the tools you see in the image below:

 

http://i.imgur.com/Gy656E0.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Gy656E0l.jpg

 

*Try this method first on something you don't care too much for and wear safety glasses (I had to add that last bit so yer mums don't write me nasty letters)

 

Find a likely space between the two pieces to be separated and insert your chisel.at an angle that will cause stress to the glue joint. Then a sharp rap with a light hammer (one should do it) and the bogie is separated.

 

http://i.imgur.com/s8WE4dz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/s8WE4dzl.jpg

 

Once you get the hang of it the bits are removed faster than I typed this sentence.

 

http://i.imgur.com/2f5a0EJ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2f5a0EJl.jpg

 

Next the hard part, removing the tread block.................

 

The Real Test:

 

The real test of this method is removing the tread block. The block rests on a thin ledge in the tread well and prying can easily tear the thin outer fender wall. I have already separated the inner edge from the block as that area of the hull is more durable and less likely to be seen if damage occurs from the surgery. It would be a good idea to practice your technique on the inner seam first.

 

http://i.imgur.com/nX4FaQ9.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/nX4FaQ9l.jpg

 

I am comfortable with my method so I'll demonstrate on the outer seam.

 

Insert your chisel between the block and the wall and tap the glue joint as far down as the chisel blade will allow. Fortunately my blade was just long enough to sever the joint before the blade bottomed out. BTW I recommend holding the handle but I am not doing so just for clarity in the picture.

 

http://i.imgur.com/M0hck9S.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/M0hck9Sl.jpg

 

Continue along the seam until the entire edge is free.

 

One thing you can say about amateur builders; they sure use a lot of glue. A couple of strategic glue tacks would have been sufficient but this guy was 'fastening' for the ages.

 

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

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

 

Alls well that ends well as they say so the removal was a success so now I can concentrate on removing the rest of the paint and rebuilding the missing and broken pieces.

 

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

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

 

Thanks to all who made the solvent suggestions I appreciate the input.

[Studio Silvernale]

That sounds like when my dad builds a cabinet or something... nails, screws, wood glue, a few braces... then a decade later when he has to take it apart for repairs he gets mad that he overdid it.

 

PS.. could I get the dimensions of this model from you?

[Blackadder]

Sure, surprisingly enough the dimensions are pretty much the same as the full scale Titan Hunter I posted in a four view drawing:

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2008/4/25/0b544e5be3f1ee2d48c4058f82cade92_6825.jpg

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2008/4/25/a36f6c2550387b44ac9db9ae9e87fd9f_6825.jpg

[Studio Silvernale]

Hmm the scratchbuild baneblade I am making came out to 10" long, 7" wide and about 3.5" tall (main hull, excluding turret and sponsons)...

[Forté]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZIhL9LDGbjQ/Uho1Meg-DkI/AAAAAAAACsk/jfCVfHArrUo/s1600/Cunning+Plan.jpeg

[Blackadder]

Hmm the scratchbuild baneblade I am making came out to 10" long, 7" wide and about 3.5" tall (main hull, excluding turret and sponsons)...

That seems a bit large, the overall length of the model including front tread/idler protrusion and exhaust stacks is about 8.5 inches (excluding gun barrel) 22.0 CM. Of course you could designate it a 'Storm Hammer' as I rationalized on my first albeit aborted scratch attempt at a Baneblade. ( I really have to take up the cudgel on this model again. Theres too much work already done to ignore completing it. )

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2009/4/12/aced23b95fe411093ddb278c57510a6f_6825.jpg

[Blackadder]

Completely Stripped:

 

That title should provoke some interest...........

 

Now the model is completely stripped except for a few stubborn areas that require scraping with a knife. Of course the Alpha Turret will be consigned to the 'Bitz Box' possibly for secondary weaponry on that 'Storm Hammer' scratch built I've had on the back burner for more than ten years............. but thats for another time.

 

Anyway I have succeeded to remove much of the glued on pieces; sponsons, lights, flare-shooters, and spare bogies; all that remains is to scrap off the residual glue patches and it will be ready for prime.

 

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

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

 

Now its time to put the next victim in to soak......................

 

Boowhaaah-ha-ha!

[Blackadder]

Big Red Consigned to the Stripping Vat:

 

No not Laura Prepon but rather a basic Lucius Pattern Baneblade, complete this time and not that badly assembled except for the treads. The previous owner a minimalist to be sure painted his model in assuredly less than ten minutes and I'll bet none of his compatriots chided him for his monochromatic colour scheme but hey, Red is a colour and supposedly Gray is not.

 

Never the less its not in my nature to accept second best so a few weeks soaking in Simple Green should soften the paint and glue enough to allow disassembly.

 

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

http://i.imgur.com/UFwm1eml.jpg

 

Goodness knows I have enough to keep me occupied rather than just waiting the requisite time for that eventuality..........

[Studio Silvernale]

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/020/2/f/baneblade_14_by_kasumidoll-d4n32vr.jpg

 

Not trying to hijack your thread, just sharing my mutual interest in superheavy tanks. This was my first attempt and I used some templates printed at 1:1 scale. I have managed to put 20 marines on the top of the tank before.

[Blackadder]

Removing Paint From Derelicts:

 

I've come across some really tenacious paint on these to models obviously some brand of spray enamel. As the models are poorly assembled and the paint coat varying in thickness of application it is necessary to disassemble the tanks and strip the paint. Simple Green by itself made little progress on loosening the paint even after weeks of soaking other than turn the 'red' paint 'orange' so then I tried soaking for a week in mineral spirits which helped but still needed to be scrubbed with a wire brush where you run the risk of damaging the fine detail. Finally I tried warm dish washer detergent for a couple of days and that seemed to do the trick at least the paint came off with a light scrubbing.

 

http://i.imgur.com/6j5r276.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/6j5r276l.jpg

 

So Simple Green for a week or so followed by a week in Mineral Spirits followed by a few days in Dish Washer detergent.

 

Interesting that the thinner the coat of spray paint the more difficult it is to remove.

 

Now to the building critique:

 

The orange Baneblade was fairly well assembled except for the treads and bogies so once the paint is removed from the hull a fine coat of gray primer is all that is required.

 

http://i.imgur.com/bt9Nf5C.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/bt9Nf5Cl.jpg

 

Note the excessive gap on the far right of the photo tread under the front mud guard

 

Likewise the upper hull of the 'polar bear in a snowstorm camo'd' Mars Baneblade just needs the treads reassembled.

 

http://i.imgur.com/bniS33P.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/bniS33Pl.jpg

 

Note again the excessive gap in the tread on the right of the photo Sorry about the "Closeup".

[Blackadder]

Breaking Down the Mars Baneblade:

 

This tank isn't in too bad shape Most of the fine detail is intact but for some reason the hobbyist left off the carburetor covers and the spare bogies. I'll have to make those.

 

The big problem is as always removing the sponsons. They are very thin on the top flange and the bottom support mount flanges and these are intact so I want to keep them that way.

 

I begin by gently tapping the chisel between the top flange and the tread housing

 

http://i.imgur.com/4vbdkIu.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/4vbdkIul.jpg

 

This guy used a very hard and brittle epoxy and way too much. Better to file the inner surfaces smooth and when the fit is perfect attach the sponson with a drop or two of cyano-acetate cement.

 

This is an older model FW Baneblade cast before they upgraded the mould so there is a separate ladder instead of moulded in steps behind the sponson. I removed the ladder that gives me a good shot at the rear of the sponson.

 

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

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

 

A couple of gentle taps and the sponsons loose.

 

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

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

 

Note the barrels on the aft fender. These still have the very fine inner band flanges still completely intact. This delicate feature was changed when FW redid the mould and it is very rare to see them completely intact on both barrels.

 

I removed the treads and treadway blocks as demonstrated in an earlier post.

 

http://i.imgur.com/gNS4l1b.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/gNS4l1bl.jpg

 

The parts are now ready for cleaning

[Kronus Stormbringer]

Nice work on the rebuilds, how people can pay so much and then assemble them (or allow someone else) with so little care is beyond me!  Looking forward to seeing them with a coat of paint on them too

[Blackadder]

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

http://i.imgur.com/cOenxEol.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

http://i.imgur.com/W0jK0aJl.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

http://i.imgur.com/l8J3Pi1l.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.

[Hyrion]

What kind of simple green do you use? i have to strip an armorcast baneblade form some strange paint and now im troubled because i dont know if i should take lemon, mint or crystal taste^^

 

*edit* or airplane cleaner?

[Blackadder]

It comes in Flavors!!! ? Original flavor I guess.............

 

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   

http://i.imgur.com/yj4jbLvl.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

http://i.imgur.com/x3HaYjEl.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

http://i.imgur.com/HunE9Hql.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.