Model Of The Month: Daishi's Frost Dragon by DanBKing

daishi

Well-Known Member
Grats on the model of the month!

I've added a link to my site if you don't mind 2 MotM Awards for 2 builds of the same template that's gotta be a record!:thumb:

I'll really have start working on my Frost Dragon MkII Build, or ill dissappear so deep in MWO that I'll never start :eek:ops:
 

micahrogers

Moderator "Where am I, and how did I get here?"
Staff member
Moderator
Much deserved Congratulations Dan MoTM and Front page too!
moving up the food chain :p
 

Revell-Fan

Co-Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
It's too late for complaining - now you have it! :mrgreen:
Congratulations! We haven't had a MotM for quite some time. It's a fine build and we are all anxious to see more (= the rest :twisted:) of it. Go ahead!

:thumb::thumb::thumb:
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
Neat build

This is an interesting build, I live over on the train side, so I don't often see what you guys are up to. this shows some amazing craftsmanship, but my mind is blown by folks who can design this stuff, I can imagine building something like this working each piece to shape, what I can't imagine is keeping track of all of it to share the design with others.



thanks for sharing.


Bill Nelson
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
In a Flap.....

Well, firstly, I thank you very much for the accolade, and all your kind comments. :mrgreen::thumb:

I will endeavour to keep you further entertained... :mrgreen:
And yes RF, I will finish it..... :rolleyes:

I had a busy weekend, and only managed to get a few hours on the model this afternoon/evening.
I finished making the main sections of the backs of the fingers, and started assembling the membranes in between them.

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It was a fiddely, long process, making sure everything kept form and shape, but the back of the left wing is mainly done.
Next, the same thing again for the front of the wing.

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A little progress, is still progress....... :cool:

:wave:
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
Ok, ok, maybe I am bragging a bit, but I just won a €25 prize for my dragon model from my work!!!

IMG-20130306-01555.jpg

Two accolades in one week ...... :mrgreen:

:wave:
 

Revell-Fan

Co-Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Ok, ok, maybe I am bragging a bit, but I just won a €25 prize for my dragon model from my work!!!

View attachment 115137

Two accolades in one week ...... :mrgreen:

:wave:
Well, well, this is apparently the confirmation that it is INDEED a (well-deserved) MotM!

Congratulations (again)!

:thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
Well deserved if you ask me :thumb:

You can buy a lot of cutting mats for that at Action :mrgreen:

I'm looking forward to see this build progress, it's turning out very nice.

You've got my respect Daniel.

Cheers,
Elko
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
Still in the fledgling stage...

WOW! Life has been hectic the last week or so. I got very few hours in on the model but have done a bit here and there.

I started making up the inside (front) of the left wing in the same manner as the outside (back). I made up the finger parts and attached the membranes.

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Starting on the outermost finger and working towards the shoulder, I started joining the two wing parts together.

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I only glued the membranes on the bottom edge, making sure it was lined up well with the opposing membrane edge. I used various sized paintbrush handles to keep the ends of the fingers in shape while glueing. I did not glue any other part of the membrane or wing at this stage.

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Once the whole bottom edge of the wing was glued, I then used a small amount of spray glue on the inside of each membrane, sprayed in from the still open top of the wing. Then I laminated the membranes together, one by one. Again, I used various sized paintbrush handles to keep the fingers in shape as best as possible.
Once the inner wing was attached I made up the 'nails' at the ends of each finger. I did not attach them yet, and will glue them on once the rest of the wing is complete.

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Next up are the 'hand' and arm parts.

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The 'thumb' is made up and a few parts for the hand...........

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And, unfortuantly, that was about where my available spare time dried up......

At this stage, I have to start making some serious decisions on how the internal support frame is going to go together. I think it is getting very close to wire armature and expanding foam time....... :eek::p
I'm going to do a few tests to see how the expanding foam will react in the enclosed spaces in the model that require filling for strength, like the arms and legs. I dont want my dragon to explode under pressure..........

But, that will be another chapter, I think .......:cool:

See you soon...

:wave:
 

Rogerio Silva

Active Member
Dan

Take your time, man. Thay's too beautiful a model to spoil it by rushing things up. I think I speak for many people here when I say that I'm anxious, but I can wait.
And please keep us posted on those tests!
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
Getting on a bit......

After what feels like an age since I last sat at the modelling table, I had a quieter weekend this weekend, and decided to use as many spare hours as possible on the model.
I was getting bored with the wing, and wanted it finished...... It had gone on too long.....

I got started with the hand and upper arm....

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Once I had completed the main parts of the upper arm, It was time for the first attempt at fitting the wire armature with spray foam........

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I had done a few small tests to see how the foam reacts. Generally, it expands to thee times the initial volume. If by accident you put too much foam in a place, the foam will expand and fill the cavity more than you want. The foam needs a place to escape as it is expanding, this is important, otherwise the pressure of the expanding foam will blow the model apart at the seams. So, it is always better to add more if you do not have enough on the first fill. The foam uses moisture in the air to cure and harden. I used a very fine mist sprayer, like the ones on a perfume bottle, to spray a VERY SMALL AMOUNT of water into the cavity to be filled. First, I placed the pre-bent armature in position in the arm. I then sprayed in a small blob of foam, filling just under a 1/3rd of the cavity...... And, watched and waited with trepidation......
I needn't of worried, the foam filled the lower part of the arm perfectly.
I put in just the correct amount. The lower arm section is now filled and is very strong and withstands the crushing forces of my fingers....

024.jpg

Once the foam had cured, I attached all the nails to the ends of the fingers, to complete construction of the left wing.....

It was at this point, I had an idea...... When I looked at the pictures of the head of my model, the dragon looks like he has been around a bit and is not a young dragon anymore....... With this in mind, I felt that the trailing edges of the membranes of the wing, we too 'clean.' Fine for a young dragon, but this 'Grumpy-Old-Man' I was building needed an aged weathered look.......
With terror in my soul, I attacked the wing with scissors, hole punches and sandpaper. I tried to create a slightly ragged finish. I think it looks great. What do you guys think??? I feel it peronalizes the model as mine ...:eek:ops:
The before and after photos...

wing.jpg
057.jpg

Next, I hardened all the nail tips, and other weak areas with ca glue and then made a thorough check of the joints and any edges that I had missed with colour and touched them up with water colour pencils and a fine marker. Once I was satisfied with the finish, I sprayed the whole wing with three coats of varnish.

I will be back in a moment with final pics of the completed left wing.......
 

DanBKing

Dan the Man
The Completed Left Wing..

Here are some photos of the completed left wing. I noticed a few areas that need attention with colour, but that I will do on final touch-ups and the end of assembly of the whole model.

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I am not going to post build pics of the right wing, as the build is identical to the left, only mirrored.

I am also going to start getting the legs and associated armature parts ready. The legs have complex angles, so I want to make sure that everything fits ok, before final attachment.

Will post pics as I progress.

See you all soon.

:wave:
 
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