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Post by terrance on Jan 26, 2018 17:58:28 GMT
I am assembling my Overseer tripod. Quindel asked for some pictures, so here we go. Just a note, I am an experienced model maker and I expect resin castings to require clean-up and filling, but I consider this casting pretty poor with lots of flash and poor fit. The head assembly had huge chunks of flash (like 1/2 cube) left over from the casting that obscured some of the detail. And even after lots of grinding away flash and blobs the fit between the two pieces is only so-so. I have assembled the head and started filling gaps, so here is where I am so far. This side is acceptable. The gap was small (maybe 1/16 inch) and pretty easily filled. The other side had an 1/8 to 3/16 inch gap, which I have filled but am not done with smoothing and refilling. Also you may be able to see the bottom plate does not line up well with the top. And this is after considerable grinding of bumps and blobs that prevented a decent fit. The bottom of the head is uneven. I have done quite a bit of sanding in this picture and it is still not flat. The hole is one I drilled to pin the head to the collar. I would probably do this anyway on a model this size, but I am not going to get a good, flat fit between the head and color, so it is even more important in this case.
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Post by terrance on Jan 26, 2018 18:02:47 GMT
The core or collar, where the arms and legs fit, is the worse piece. I would expect it to be round, but it is clearly oval. And lots of flash. The hole is one I drilled to pin it to the head. Some of the bits look like they are intended to look like struts or braces, but most is just flash and if they are intended to be struts, some are missing where I would expect them to be. Also, the top and bottom of the collar were sanded off at an angle. I had to take off between 1/16 and 1/8 of an inch from one side to get the collar to sit straight on the head.
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Post by terrance on Jan 26, 2018 18:05:56 GMT
The leg joints fit loosely. I have packed some green stuff in the mortis to make the fit tighter. I will probably pin the legs to the collar to get a stronger joint.
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Post by loyalist on Jan 26, 2018 19:13:23 GMT
The casting quality and the finish on the surfaces aren't great in my opinion. Are those mostly parallel scratches on the lower half of the head from your sanding or did the model come with them?
Issues like the body being oval vs round and several areas that appear to have had more material added to the master parts that was not sanded flush afterward make me wonder if the master would have benefitted from several hours of further refinement. I think that applies to the Gatherer head too.
Having made 1/600 ACW era ship and fortress master models for a California company and dozens of 1/144 warship masters and molds for myself, I know from experience that it can take many, many hours of careful (and tedious) work to achieve a near perfect fit and finish for a model.
I was eagerly awaiting the Gatherer and considered ordering an Overseer during the recent 10% sale, but after seeing photos of them and hearing about the problems with the kits I'll pass. In contrast to these 2 large models the small new release products like Sgt. Ashley and the pending Holt tractor are very nice looking.
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Post by madmorgan on Jan 26, 2018 19:14:17 GMT
What an excellent workup - thank you terrance for a great guide to us modeling challenged
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Post by terrance on Jan 27, 2018 6:11:40 GMT
The casting quality and the finish on the surfaces aren't great in my opinion. Are those mostly parallel scratches on the lower half of the head from your sanding or did the model come with them? Issues like the body being oval vs round and several areas that appear to have had more material added to the master parts that was not sanded flush afterward make me wonder if the master would have benefitted from several hours of further refinement. I think that applies to the Gatherer head too. Having made 1/600 ACW era ship and fortress master models for a California company and dozens of 1/144 warship masters and molds for myself, I know from experience that it can take many, many hours of careful (and tedious) work to achieve a near perfect fit and finish for a model. I was eagerly awaiting the Gatherer and considered ordering an Overseer during the recent 10% sale, but after seeing photos of them and hearing about the problems with the kits I'll pass. In contrast to these 2 large models the small new release products like Sgt. Ashley and the pending Holt tractor are very nice looking. If you are looking at the “flat” area where the head mounts to the collar, those scratches are where my dremal tool was gouging. The finish has a lot of tiny bubble pits, which makes me think the resin was not properly de-aired before pouring.
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Post by Quendil on Jan 27, 2018 12:01:02 GMT
I like the design but its such a poor quality cast that really puts me off. I have heard similar stories but not seen the pics before. Well done for keeping at it and I look forward to seeing the finished one
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Post by boxholder on Jan 27, 2018 14:32:59 GMT
All this makes me think that the big tripod that Pegasus Models makes (from the Tom Cruise War of the Worlds movie) may be a better choice for the Overseer. Some of the hokey spines and stuff can be sanded off or filled and you end up with a REALLY BIG tripod. This beast is over a foot tall. The gangly toes on the legs can be removed/replaced. The kit is styene, so rework is relatively easy. The upper body assembly might even be grafted onto an AQMF hip and leg assembly to maintain a more consistent appearance at the cost of height.
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Post by loyalist on Jan 27, 2018 19:00:55 GMT
The casting quality and the finish on the surfaces aren't great in my opinion. Are those mostly parallel scratches on the lower half of the head from your sanding or did the model come with them? Issues like the body being oval vs round and several areas that appear to have had more material added to the master parts that was not sanded flush afterward make me wonder if the master would have benefitted from several hours of further refinement. I think that applies to the Gatherer head too. Having made 1/600 ACW era ship and fortress master models for a California company and dozens of 1/144 warship masters and molds for myself, I know from experience that it can take many, many hours of careful (and tedious) work to achieve a near perfect fit and finish for a model. I was eagerly awaiting the Gatherer and considered ordering an Overseer during the recent 10% sale, but after seeing photos of them and hearing about the problems with the kits I'll pass. In contrast to these 2 large models the small new release products like Sgt. Ashley and the pending Holt tractor are very nice looking. If you are looking at the “flat” area where the head mounts to the collar, those scratches are where my dremal tool was gouging. The finish has a lot of tiny bubble pits, which makes me think the resin was not properly de-aired before pouring. No, I was looking at the first 3 photos in which numerous fine scratches can be seen on the curved portions of the lower body. Given that the surface is still shiny I'm assuming the model came with those marks.
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Post by terrance on Jan 28, 2018 4:14:33 GMT
Yes, those groves are on the original sculpt and I assume they represent some sort of panels. This is the detail that was partially obscured by the huge glob of flash and I re carved the missing part.
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Post by David N.Tanner 07011959 on Jan 28, 2018 17:45:44 GMT
Thanks for the report. I look forward to seeing the finished product.
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Post by loyalist on Jan 28, 2018 21:41:21 GMT
Yes, those groves are on the original sculpt and I assume they represent some sort of panels. This is the detail that was partially obscured by the huge glob of flash and I re carved the missing part. Not the big grooves that do appear to represent panel edges, but the many smaller and much shallower grooves on the panels themselves. They look like sanding marks to me.
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Post by loyalist on Jan 28, 2018 21:42:40 GMT
Check out the video of the Overseer assembly posted on You Tube by The Dice Must Flow today (Jan. 28).
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Post by Quendil on Jan 29, 2018 12:20:24 GMT
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Post by terrance on Jan 30, 2018 2:50:36 GMT
Yes, those groves are on the original sculpt and I assume they represent some sort of panels. This is the detail that was partially obscured by the huge glob of flash and I re carved the missing part. Not the big grooves that do appear to represent panel edges, but the many smaller and much shallower grooves on the panels themselves. They look like sanding marks to me. Ah, now I understand. Those marks are on the casting as it came.
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