COMPLETE! Zombie Dragon (Games Workshop)

[DefiantWorkshop]

EDIT: Changed title to show completed status. Final pics on page 2!

So in my bravado, I decided to attend two local model contests on the same day an hour apart from each other, AND complete new kits for both! So this is my build log for the Zombie Dragon I'm trying to do for a local Games Workshop contest. I envisioned him being not a typical dragon, though I've always liked the kit. I decided to make it robotic instead, because who DOESN'T like a robot zombie dragon?

I started by doing the bones in chrome:



Then I tried to see if the formula I'm using for exposed muscles is correct before applying to the whole kit:



Then a quick test fit of some of the ribs and skull before moving on:

[AngelGrinder]

the muscle work looks a treat

[tay666]

Ooooo!
This looks very interesting already.

[DefiantWorkshop]

Thanks for looking everyone! Some new shots....

I knew I wanted to make this more than a simply "chromed" dragon, so to add some robot-ness to it, I wanted to add some random wires throughout. Test fitting some cabling:



And I also wanted to add some fire from the mouth to separate it from the crowd on contest day. I tried some clear sprue stems I had as a test:



...then cut off the tongue (no going back now!) and over the course of the day, drilled the mouth out carefully and added some offshoot holes to feed the wires through for an LED:



And finally, a test with a clear piece of tubing (not what i'm going to use in the final version, b/c it doesn't distribute light right, but it is self supporting while i take the photo, lol!)

[DefiantWorkshop]

Finally added the whole rib section and the legs:



I also envisioned using some kind of fuel tank to make the fire more feasible. I scrounged up some scrapper kits, and made up some of the bombs from one:



Then chopped off the stems and detonators, added some caps on the ends, and used a pin vise to drill holes for some more cabling:



Finally, painted them up with some Alclad Magnesium and glued them on to the kidney area:



And that's it for now! Now have to run the cables for the lighting and base it. Whew.

[tay666]

Wow
That thing is moving right along.
Loving the color selection.
Loving the design choices.
Really loving the execution to this point.
I think this is going to be an amazing piece when finished.

[DefiantWorkshop]

Set him up last night to do final assembly. Those wings are a PITA to get glued and stay up correctly.



Spread out some fiber paste for basing, along with some rocks that came with him. Think I need a bit more on the base but waiting til its done to find out what exactly.



Hot glued the clear sprue onto the LED, and the bottom of the sprue onto the base, with a lighting test:



And starting to add some water effects to create flame!

[DefiantWorkshop]

Final touches!





Final pictures will come once everything dries.

[tay666]

Oh man that is looking SWEET!

[TeddyNovak]

Wow! That is truly amazing!

[DefiantWorkshop]

Thank you both! It was a fast labor of love. I'm a bit burned out but he's done and I got studio pictures of it, so I'll post those up next week, hopefully with a trophy of some sort!

[DefiantWorkshop]

OK, I can't leave well enough alone. Dug out some of the base. Maybe the scariest thing I've ever done with a model since it was pretty much completely finished. Dug out the bottom of the base, cleared out the scenics, and added some spare LEDs to the bottom:



Ok, NOW I'm done. Full pics Monday or Tuesday.

[tay666]

Much braver than I am!
Well worth it though.

[LOBOREX]

Beautiful work.

[grimaldi]

One of the best builds I have seen.....very clever approaches...the final idea lighting the contact of flame with base is brilliant...

Ant

[tay666]

lighting the contact of flame with base is brilliant...

Was that meant to be a pun?

[grimaldi]

Ha ha.....thanks for pointing that out Trevor.....didn't even think while typing....

Ant

[DefiantWorkshop]

First place finish today! Whoo hoo!

[buckledresin]

fantastic piece of work chap

[tay666]

First place finish today! Whoo hoo!

Well deserved too!