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

???????

Yes, the onslaught at work continues. And yes, any major strides at the bench have hit a brick wall. That being said, it does not mean that a significant amount of activity has not been under- way since the weekend. The question is. . . on what?!

And, regrettably, at this time I am not free to elaborate, much less reveal. Let me just say that a most generous bit of 'lagniappe' made it's way across the Pond after this year's Euro, and I have before me an OEM casting of a yet-to-be-announced release!

The casting is as perfect as I have seen this year! Every one of the 10 pieces comprising this kit (including the logo'd base) is virtually good to go. This does not mean there are no seam lines: they're there, but you HAVE to look for them.

This is as good as it gets! And the icing on the cake is that it's a very attractive figure to boot! Let me put this way. . . it's an experienced painter's dream, but it is a figure that I would not hesitate to recommend to a beginner--or use in a painting class!

As soon as I get the "all clear" from the manufacturer, I will post more; but for now, I hope I have piqued your interest!

“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

Notable Acquisitions September 2014

KITS  
Dragon Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Captain America Stealth Suit (1/9; ???)
Scale 75 Diane Tianseen (Fallen Frontiers no. 5, 75mm, Alfonso Prieto)

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

Sin - Prepwork V : The Crop

It is now time to zoom-in to the "optionals". First up: the crop. This is extremely well designed and cast; however, the quality of the alloy notwithstanding, the white metal stock is an "accident magnet". I would concur with any counter-argument revolving around the malleability of the metal; nevertheless, I would rather exercise additional caution with handling, transport, and display, than resign myself to the inevitable--and have to deal with it in the aftermath. 

Thus did I replace the stock with a custom-tapered brass rod, drilling into the handle of the crop, as well as the keeper/"popper". I then glued the keeper to the stock, and set it aside to cure. The stock/keeper unit will be glued to the hand/handle unit as part of the final wrap-up.

As a final note, I will test the "grip" of the superglue on the "popper" in the next week or so: it is one piece that I do not want to lose.

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

Sin - Prepwork: Intermezzo 3

This should be the final interlude for the time being. . . 

This evening, I made gigantic strides not only in fittings, but sub-assemblies as well. To wit:

• The torso has been permanently attached to the legs unit.
• The coat tails have been assembled, [mostly] filled, and fitted to the legs unit. There is still the shimming to be done [20.09.2014--DONE!] to provide for a seamless join to the torso; as well as finishing and polishing.
• The arms have been preliminarily fitted. There is still a bit of work to be done on these as the fit must be perfect: the arms will be permanently attached to the torso only after the coat tails are attached--and the figure is over 50% painted! 

Movin' right along. . . 

FOLLOW-UP 21.09.2014 - The pistol/hand unit has been permanently attached to the right arm.

Sin - Prepwork: Intermezzo 2

This will be a one-peg miniature, as the second peg (the rear/left boot) would not provide addi- tional support of any significance, and things could go "south" in the blink of an eye--literally. That being said, I would not be averse to drilling through the boot's toe box, and subsequently refinishing, if I felt it would serve a purpose.

After mulling it over for a day, I could not justify having a relatively top-heavy white metal figure supported by a single, thin (~3/64"d.) paper-clip peg. So I finished the clean-up of the legs above the boots, glued the two legs together (thus completing the legs sub-assembly unit), and trans- ferred the 'patient to surgery". The 'patient' is now resting comfortably with a fitted 16ga. copper wire peg running from the ball of the foot through the vamp of the boot. Finishing of the filled areas to follow. . . 

And I went ahead and started to modify the holster. First step is simply extending the length of the holster: this was done with MS.

Phase 2 of the holster was also completed, where the heavy-seamed leather holster was recon- figured for what will be a modern--if not futuristic!--design.  

FOLLOW-UP 16.09.2014 - The putty work on the holster has been all-but-completed, and it is now in the oven curing. . . Save for final detailing--if any--the holster should be done by the end 
of the weekend.

Sin - Prepwork: Intermezzo 1

To wrap-up the weekend, I decided to go ahead and peg the figure. This will be a one-peg minia- ture, as the second peg (the rear/left boot) would not provide additional support of any signifi- cance, and things could go "south" in the blink of an eye--literally. That being said, I would not 
be averse to drilling through the boot's toe box, and subsequently refinishing, if I felt it would serve a purpose.

And I went ahead and started to modify the holster. First step is simply extending the length of the holster: this was done with MS.

Finally, I glued the assembled groundwork to the display base. While this is a major deviation from the norm for me, final positioning of the figure and any attendant tweaks must be done with the groundwork in place.

Not a bad weekend, all things considered. . .

Sin - Prepwork IV : The Groundwork

Given the subject, the futuristic "diamond plate" texture of the kit groundwork is quite apropos. The dimensions of the smallish rectangular plinth, however, are somewhat of challenge to inte- grate in a square "frame". So I have spent the last hour customizing a piece of square brass tubing and a section of brass strip to unilaterally extend the short sections of the rectangle. 

I should know by morning if I succeeded--or not. 

FOLLOW-UP 14.09.2014 - DONE!