Captain Rogers Stealth Suit - Prepwork (IX) - Groundwork

I have consciously opted for an underbased presentation with Cap. My intention is to depict him on the [rear] cargo ramp of a Quinjet just prior to insertion. To this end, the figure's "footprint" will be but 3" x 3".

The base has been selected and the peg-holes tapped, and the sheet plastic is on order. . .

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Captain Rogers Stealth Suit - Prepwork (VIII) - DONE!!!

I truly hope I am not being premature here, but as far as I can tell, the prepwork on the body is a fait accompli! I would add that the head and the shield are still undergoing prepwork, but these are well on their way to completion as well.

So, time permitting--and no "derailing" of plans, by the end of this weekend the body should be be primed. Once the primer is applied, there will invariably be areas requiring a modicum of additional work; but if I have done my job as I hope I have, these should be little more than quick touch-ups. . . 

Which means that with any luck at all, the undercoating will begin over the Holiday weekend!

Stay tuned!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Captain Rogers Stealth Suit - Prepwork (VII) - Home Stretch

The remaining putty work is now DONE! I can now resume my final once-over and begin address- ing those areas requiring a tad bit more attention. And the shield has been pegged and tentative- ly fitted. . . 

Movin' right along. . . 

FOLLOW-UP . . . All joins and MS-enhanced areas have been putty-glazed.

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Captain Rogers Stealth Suit - Prepwork (VI)

The anticipated deadline will unfortunately not be met.

I was well on my way to completing the final once-over, with but a few areas that would require less-than-an-hour of further attention all told, when I noticed that the lower buckles on the gaiters had been traversed by the mold seam! This is the kind of ill-conceived mold design that drives modelers and miniaturists to apoplexy!!

If this were resin, it would be classified as a minor, albeit unnecessary, annoyance. But it isn't; and, as we have seen, PV is another ballgame altogether. I intend to try to scrape off the offend- ing seamlines as best I can, but I have resigned myself to sculpting two new buckles. . .

Stay tuned. . .

FOLLOW-UP . . . The buckles have been successfully "cleaned" with grinder, blade, and Scotch-brite. That is the good news.

The bad news is that I will have to restore at least one prong and any number of holes. . .

UPDATE 11.11.2014 - Three prongs and all the holes later, I am back to where I started yester- day. Tentative priming deadline is now the Thanksgiving holiday weekend--though I will have to work on Black Friday. . .

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Captain Rogers Stealth Suit - Prepwork (V)

While the rework spotlighted in the last posting is still very much underway (~80% done, give or take), there are other items on the to-do list remaining to be finished and prepped. And now there is one less: the left arm has been permanently attached to the torso! I am now definitely on the homestretch!

Stay tuned!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Captain Rogers Stealth Suit - Prepwork (IV)

Regrettably, I am now behind schedule on this piece. As I indicated in the last posting, the time had come where surface work would be the order of the day, and a necessary corrective measure has bogged me down.

There is a padded area on the back of the lower thighs, right above the bend of the knee. This area is rather involved: in my sample, the detail-in-relief was virtually non-existent, the product of a 'soft cast'. I will hasten to add that even if I had noticed this when first inspecting the kit, I pro- bably would not have returned it for a replacement as soft casts are pretty much a fact of life with PV kits. BUT, the fact remains that the area must be resculpted to restore the original pattern. Hence, the dearth of any updates.

The good news is that I should be back on track by the end of the weekend, so hopefully updates will be much more frequent going forward. . . 

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Captain Rogers Stealth Suit - Prepwork (III)

It is now down to the nitty-gritty, where mods to the PV itself will be involved. As noted earlier, this is not recommended unless you have the right tools and the confidence and skills to see your mods through to a satisfactory conclusion.

First up were the patch pockets on the combat trousers. These were provided as simple patch pockets, with no accordion folds; however, Cap's trousers had a distinctive, muted red accordion fold. First, an initial slash/"trench" should be cut into the pocket itself. The accordion panels are then built-up on either side of the cut, and finished accordingly.

Today's session was concluded by cleaning the ventral surface of the right arm: the arm is now ready to be permanently attached to the torso. UPDATE 14.10.2014 - DONE!!

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Captain Rogers Stealth Suit - Prepwork (II-2)

While inspecting my cured, yet-to-be finished neck, I noticed that there was no "seam" indicating the "crew neck" border of the opening of the stand-up collar; i.e., the combat suit flowed seam- lessly into the mock-turtle of the undergarment. UNACCEPTABLE!

So the molded mock-turtle is now history. All that remains of the original neck area is the man- 

darin/stand-up collar. If the medium were resin, one might be able to scribe a line at the base of the mock-turtle, and call it day; however, being that it is vinyl, one is much better off eliminating the mock-turtle altogether. I have already resculpted the mock-turtle directly onto the neck, and will finish accordingly by the end of the weekend. DONE!! The head/neck will then be an indepen- dent stand-alone item that can be painted separately and simply plugged into place once the in- side of the collar is painted.

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Captain Rogers Stealth Suit - Prepwork (II)

In my last posting, I noted how I had discarded the soft vinyl neck peg, and replaced it with a length of tin solder. Upon reviewing my weekend progress this evening, I noticed how the shallow flat-on-flat neck join was still quite apparent. Not a problem! I proceeded to grind-out the neck opening as deep as the length of the vinyl peg. Now, I will model a neck from MS, and have a perfectly keyed and fitted neck of appropriate muscularity--and length! DONE!! [NOTE: This is air-curing as I do not want to incur any heat-induced distortion along the collar.] 

My goal is to have this on the painting bench by Veterans' Day. (This has been highlighted as a reminder to myself.)

More to follow. . .

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Captain Rogers Stealth Suit - Prepwork

As of this writing, the body (torso, belt, legs unit, and boots) has been permanently assembled, and the boots have been pegged. This, in turn, allowed the figure to be transferred to its work base.

A few items of note:

• There are seam-lines to be dealt with. I recommend a diamond sanding burr of the appropriate d. and/or a tungsten carbide tapered cone burr at low speed. Go steady and light, checking your progress often, and finishing with a Scotch-Brite pad between each 'session'.
• The worst part of the prepwork will be the head: I chose to use the helmeted head. This piece is beautifully detailed and textured, and you will need to proceed very carefully if you want to preserve any of this HIGH-quality workmanship. You are going to lose some--no way around it; but if you are methodical and patient, you will pre- serve the overwhelming majority of it. This is a VERY good time to familiarize yourself with the components of the helmet, and begin to plan your painting strategy.
• To date, I have found less than 5 areas that will require putty work. Not bad at all!

More to follow. . .

FOLLOW-UP . . . The right hand has been permanently attached to the arm.  

UPDATE 28.09.2014 - 

• The right arm has been fitted and is ready for permanent attachment once clean-up is concluded.
• I have discarded the soft vinyl neck peg, and replaced it with a length of 1/8"d. tin solder. The head is now tentatively fitted.
• The left hand has been permanently attached to the arm. 

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Dragon 1/9 scale Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Captain America Stealth Suit (#38338)

Just received from Dragon USA! It is comprised of 13 exquisitely cast, solid polyvinyl pieces +
1 [grey] polystyrene piece (shield) + 1 vinyl [neck] peg + 1 [black] polystyrene base. The items that have exposed flesh or are made predominantly of leather (heads—there are two heads provided: one helmeted, one bare; hands; and belt) are molded in a semi-translucent, flesh-colored PV; the rest of the kit is molded in a neutral grey PV.

Assembly is as straightforward as it gets: literally “plug and play”. The attachments are fairly snug compression fits, but in my sample they can be inserted without any undue effort. If deemed necessary, the pegs can be shaved down a smidge.

Unless you have extensive experience working with polyvinyl, I would keep any reductive/invasive surface modifications to an absolute minimum: these kits should be approached literally straight OOB. Fortunately, in my sample, any such interventions are largely unnecessary. Insofar as fillers are concerned, feel free to use your favourite; but make sure to do all your work while it is still workable—keep in mind at all times that the medium will be softer than just about anything you would normally use to prep a figure. A light touch is the order of the day!

I own one other Dragon 1/9^th scale figure model kit, and the difference is night and day! It is encouraging to see Dragon applying the knowledge gained from earlier experiences, and provi- ding such a quality product. As such, in this instance, it is certainly worth the asking price. And if a virtually no prepwork, from-box-to-bench-in-less-than-a-few-hours figure is your idea of what every figure should be, then I would give this one a long, hard look.

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003

Captain America's STRIKE "Stealth suit"

By way of preface, if not introduction, to a forthcoming project, I would like to indulge the fanboy in me, and briefly discuss Cap's so-called STRIKE (Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies) "Stealth suit" as seen in Act I of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The combat suit in question was introduced to the Marvel Universe in Steve Rogers: Super Soldier and was worn throughout Cap's tenure on the Secret Avengers. This suit is a radical departure from Cap's usual togs - as well it should be! This is a current, up-to-date tactical combat dress that quite ingeniously captures the essence of the Captain America costume: in simplest terms, it is the sartorial equivalent of a subdued colour scheme, complete with low-vis shield!! Hence, the not altogether inaccurate characterization as a "Stealth suit". 

Dragon's 1/9th scale entry from the movie in its model kit series is Captain Rogers in this very suit--and it will be the subject of the aforementioned "forthcoming project". . .      

“When the cost of a hobby exceeds the fun and doesn't attract new people, the game is over.” -
Oscar Koveleski, August 2003