D-mang a Trios

Over on Instagram there is a dude who builds Gasland’s builds. He raffles off his cars regularly so I chipped in and won this awesome car. D-mage a trios is a three wheeled build of bits. 

The body shell lifts off. I may have to add a driver.

The car came with a certificate of authenticity and a note on what went into the build. 

If you are Instagram follow @gokartmozartcustoms and  take a peek at some of his other builds. 

Thanks for looking.

New wasteland rigs.

Welcome back to my blog. 

Recently I have been working on some hotwheels cars. Here is the latest bunch. They are intended for my own Blood & Fire setting using Warlands rules. But there is no reason why they can’t see table time for other rule sets such as Gaslands, Axels & Alloys or Darkfuture. 

Group shot:- A scrap runner from Conn is pursued across the wastelands by a Intacepta and Tya Dok from Warlord Carnage’s hordes. Spotting the distant action a lone Road Kill vehicle joins in the chase. The lure of high speed combat is irresistible. 

The Skrap runner:

This car comes from a ancient stone fortress called Conn. It runs scavenged supplies to the fortress. 

The base car was a Hotwheels 70 Chevelle station wagon. It had the studs drilled out and glass removed. A The driver, side armour and bull bars came from the Gaslands sprue by Northstar games. The gun and Jerry cans are by Ramshackle Games. The luggage is from a 28mm figure. The front window bars are a lollipop stick. 

The blower is by Abberant Games from their Warlands range. 

The rear tombstone is by Ramshackle Games and the rear window bars are lollipop stick. 

The car features stock paint with various logos and decal ageing done with nail polish remover and a cotton bud. Rust colours were painted on followed by drydrushing for the dirt. I like this car. It’s gives me the impression that it is only a few bumps from falling to bits.

The Intacepta: 

This car serves the Warlord Carnage by hunting vehicles. The harpoon is used to take out tyres or crew. Or with weaker vehicles harpoon the body work and slow it down to a stop. The objective is to try to capture the vehicle and crew with as little damage as possible. 

The base vehicle is a Hotwheels 69 Ford Torino Talledega . The original intention was to build a copy of the chase car in the opening scene of Mad Max2 Roadwarrior. Somehow it didn’t happen. 

Instead it ended up this way. The studs were drilled out and the windows replaced by the almost compulsory mesh. The wheels where moved to the underside of the car as the original was slammed. A dual rear wheel was added, a popular wheel widening technique in the Wastelands. In this case other spare hotwheels wheels where glued on. The rear had a floor added for the gunner and cargo.

The front bumper is plastic tubing. Blower is by Autokill. Harpoon is from the Northstar Gaslands sprue. The gunner is from Stan Johannsen. Luggage came from a 28mm figure.

The front bullbars is a bit of chassis from a 1/76 tank transporter model. 

The rear armour is by Stan Johannsen, rear bumper came from a lollipop stick, the luggage is 1/35 and 28mm pouches. There is Jerry cans from a 1/76 scale model in the back and a box of grenades from Ramshackle games. 

The paint is the original paint scheme and finished in a similar fashion to the Conn Skraprunner. Before that Warlord Carnage symbols where added with Pokka paint markers. The markings are inspired by the symbols Immortan Joe and Scrotus use in Fury Road & Mad Max game.

Tya Dok:

The Tya Dok is a transport used by Carnage. They follow convoys and war parties replacing tyres and carrying out light repairs to keep the vehicles moving. They also strip what they can from vehicles too damaged to keep going and repair captured vehicles. Tya Dok’s can sometimes get split up from the convoy or force and wasteland gangs will do their best to capture such a useful asset. 

This model started life as a Hotwheels 87 Dodge truck. It just got a coating matt black paint. Then I added bits to it. Thinking about it, I should have built it first then painted it. 

The front ram is from the Northstar Gaslands sprue and the window armour is from Stan Johannsen. 

The door armour came from a gift card. The wheels are from broken Hotwheels cars and the Northstar Gaslands sprue. 

A small bit of plastic tube was bent and added as an exhaust pipe. Keeping it simple I had it exit through the front wheel arch. Digging through the bits box I found a plastic cog so I attached it to the door. 

Graffiti and Warlord Carnage symbols was added using a paint marker. Then the rust and dirt followed. 

Road Kill - Big Red: 

Road Kill are a rival gang to Warlord Carnage and they are moving in across his territories. Operating from remote camps the Road Kill gangs are a hazard to anyone they encounter in the wastelands not just Carnage. Road kill like to decorate with skulls and spanners. Vehicles are often painted Red if possible. 

Big Red is a command vehicle shown by the huge off road wheels and turret machine gun. It started life as a Tesco own brand monster truck. The classic lines of the body caught my eye. 

The front airscoop came from the ever useful Northstar Gaslands Sprue. The machine gun and turret is from Ramshackle Games. The front window grill was a scrap of granny grating left over from a terrain build. The front plow was scratch built from gift cards. I tried to make it look a bit fierce some looking. 

The wheel arches where blanked off as was the rear side window with scraps of gift card. Gift card scraps also became the wheel blades. The driver is from Stan Johannsen. For some reason crew members sit low in this car. 

The rear window armour is also gift card. A crossed bones shield decoration from a 28mm fantasy zombie adds to the rear decoration. 

The passenger here is by Ramshackle games.

I had forgotten how much fun modding hotwheels cars was. It was modding hotwheels and matchbox cars for Axels and Alloys 15 years ago that got me back into the hobby. While I have used some parts from hobby suppliers there is a fair bit of junk added from the bits box. The lessons here is don’t throw anything away. These cars have lollipop sticks, gift card, metal mesh and scraps of granny grating on them. 

What next? So far I have plans for another Road kill vehicle and maybe something from the factories of Civilisation. Plus I am working on at least one more vehicle for Warlord Carnage. I would like to start a buzzard gang too. 

Thanks for looking. Stay safe out there. 

Some hotwheels WIP

Hello and welcome back to my blog, 

While I have several 28mm figures on the go my brain has been itching at me to get cracking on my 20mm stuff. So here comes some WIP builds from the Warlord’s chop shop. 

First up is the Tyredok - Inspired by a vehicle in Fury Road I started work on this a couple of years back. Warlord Carnage needs one for his vehicle hordes.

It has had some bits from the bits box, plus parts from the North Star Gaslands sprue and Stan Johansen bits.

The vehicle is intended as support and is unarmed (I am creating for Warlands rather than Gaslands mainly as it has infantry rules). 

The Northstar Gaslands sprue is worth investing in especially. There is a motorbike on them too. 

Quite a decent looking ride I think. 

 There is also these two builds on the production line. The green station wagon is intended as a service vehicle for a settlement. It has a mix of Aberrant, NS Gaslands and Ramshackle bits on it. It still needs more. Possibly protection over the windows.

The sliver car (Hotwheels Ford Torino) has been drilled out, had a floor added to the rear, meshed windows, wheels lowered on the body (I do wish Hotwheels would stop making slammed cars - they would be useless in a post apocalyptic world), dual tyre rear wheels (this seems to be a compulsory modification if you have seen Mad Max 2 - Roadwarrior), a rod rear bumper and autokill blower. It needs more adding. The intention with this rig is to have a rear gunner and some sort of plinth mounted weapon on the roof. 

I have forgotten how much fun hacking hotwheels cars about is. 

That all for now - keep watching. 

Thanks for looking. Stay safe out there.

Warboy transport.

Hello and Welcome back.

Sometime last year I began working on a transport for my 20mm warboys for use in my Blood and Fire setting and to be used in  games of Warlands or Gaslands. 

This is a 1/72 Warlord M3 half track kit. The chassis was taken and a Hotwheels car body & engine added. The body was hacked and stretched to fit the M3 chassis. Thankfully it was a plastic body and easy to work on. Various bits from the M3 kit and the junk box was added. 

During painting the primer became textured as the solvent in the can seemed to be running low. It has added a gritty effect to the paint job. 

That’s all for now. Thanks for looking and take care out there.

Carnage attack buggy.

Welcome back to my blog. 

Warlord Carnage rules the wastes with a iron hand. His fleet of vehicles keep the territories under his control safe from the crazies in the lands beyond. The usual methods of attack involve disabling vehicles or causing them to crash. His warboys strip the captured vehicles and build new vehicles. 

The attack buggy is a change of the usual tactics for the Warlord. It is only used when the citadel, gas town or ammo farm is under threat. The buggy’s aim is to destroy the enemy vehicles with fire power. It sports a heavy machine gun and a gauss autocannon. Here weapons where captured from a transporter. The story goes that they where taken from a Civilisation Interceptor. 

This started life as a Hotwheels buggy, the weapons where already on the car. All I have done is to add a blower and Jerry cans. 

Carnage will be getting more vehicles including a couple of odd ball vehicles and a possible warrig. 

Thanks for looking. Stay safe out there.

Autoskum reinforcements.

Hello and welcome back to my blog.

We are still riding through the wastelands around the dominion of the Warlord Carnage.

One of my long existing gangs is Autoskum. They need some extra wheels to bring up the numbers. 

Autoskum is a nomadic road/bandit gang who roam from place to place attacking and raiding where ever they go. They are not very good as bandits as usually they forget that they are supposed to be looting and speed off looking for something new to smash. They are mainly in the territories to the North of Carnage’s dominion and have have not yet had many clashes with Carnage’s warboys. As the Warlord expanding his control of the wastelands it can be only be a matter of time.

Vehicle colours are usually black, rusty or garish paint jobs (pink is popular). The vehicles are marked with anarchy, radiation symbols or smiley faces.

This new addition to the gang started life as a Hotwheels Roger Dodger. It has a girder bumper added. The ram blades are made from plastic card.

Each of the wheels had a putty disc added. Plastic card wheel blades where added. 

The windows where meshed and the roof has had a plastic card repair plate added. The tent roll is from a 1:72 half track kit. The tombstone plate is from Ramshackle games. 

Thanks for looking. Stay safe out there. 

Return to the wastelands

I did it! I finally did some hobby things! 

I have been working on some 20mm/Hotwheels stuff for my blood n fire setting. The focus has moved thousands of miles south from the lands around Civilisation to the wastelands around the dominance of the Warlord Carnage. 

This is largely inspired by Fury Road, Mad Max game and the Rage Game with elements from my collection from the last 30 years. Added to the mix are some other strongholds and gangs. So far I am aiming on 6 vehicles for each gang/clan/stronghold. There is a lot of gangs so I could be working on this project for a while. I am on getting some infantry done for this setting.

First up a couple of vehicles from Pinkeye’s stronghold. Pinkeye is a character/stronghold from the Mad Max game (voiced by Adrienne Barbeau of Escape from New York and the Fog fame). 

Pinkeye is a legendary black finger. Her great age means that she knows of many places that the good old world loot may be found. This means that Scrap Runners teams often hang out at Pinkeye’s trying to gain favour and salvage tips. The Pinkeye stronghold is in what was a old world power station and lies on the edge of Carnage’s dominion. Pinkeye’s parts stocks are legendary and has attracted the attention of Carnage’s hordes. The stronghold is often under attack. Pinkeye’s vehicles are marked by a pink eye icon. They are well built and quick. 

The van had its bonnet/hood removed and a custom ram made up. The windows where meshed up. Side bars have been added. The problem with a lot of Hotwheels is the vehicles are slammed. I got around that by removing the rear axle and cutting a a slot underneath. This raises the axle. A jerry can finishes it off. 

The Doom Bug started life as a Hotwheels VW Beetle. The rear was chopped up and a V8 engine added. The rear seat has a fuel tank in its place and it is crewed by figures by Ramshackle vehicle crews. The scrap metal ram plates and blades on the bonnet/hood are by Stan Johannsen miniatures. 

There are more vehicles to come. Stay tuned. 

Thanks for looking and stay safe out there.

Wasteland forces WIP

Hello and welcome back to my blog. I hope the wastelands have been kind to you.

Hobby work has been creeping along slowly. Some of this has been inspired by playing the Mad Max video game.

To that end I have been tempted to return to my 20mm Blood & Fire setting. I am itching to tryout Warlands or Gaslands. Warlands wins for me as it includes infantry rules, although I have figured out how to include footsloggers in Gaslands. As I am thinking about 20mm I thought it best to go look at my 20mm car collection. A few weeks ago a shelf collapsed in the man cave. The shelf where my 20mm collection was stored (note to self, don't put up shelves when you have the flu). With some trepidation I opened the boxes. Most of the cars survived ok but I had to carry out some repairs.

There is a mix of Dark Future, Warlands and many hotwheels/matchbox conversions in there. Lots of nice fun to get out on the tabletop post apocalyptic roads. There is plenty to work on too. I got so excited I ordered some of Stan Johansen's 20mm road warriors.

Some work on my 28mm has been going on too. Here are a few WIPs. I got the Nu Necromunda Orlocks assembled. They go together nicely, much better than the Eshers and Golaiths. They have one peice heads which helps. The Orlocks are going to be a trader convoy road guards. They have a certain Road warrior look to them and fit the Post Apocalyptic theme.

One thing that I do not like about these minis is the hipster beards and mustaches. I am not a fan of the look and they certainly don't fit the wastelands. As they are going to be out in the wastes it wasn't too difficult to make some greenstuff face scarves.

In general I like the Orlock kit and there are plenty of spares for conversions. The spare heavy weapons will be adorning some wasteland big hitter vehicles.

As I have been playing Mad Max I have been getting inspired to build a Wasteland Milita for the many strongholds out in the wastelands. Firearms especially automatic weapons are limited. These are usually armed with bows, crossbows and melee weapons. There is a long shot sniper and a couple of people with common firearms (pistol and shotgun).

The figures are WIP and are bitzas of old GW Mordenheim, Warlord Zulu War British, Warlord WW2 British and Wargames Factory Apocalypse Survivors kits. The arms and heads of the Apocalypse Survivors swap nicely with the Warlord figures. The figures need a bit of green stuff and some bits to finish them.

That is all for now. Thanks for reading.

Take care out there.

Wasteland Wondering - hobby update.

Hello and welcome back to my blog. I am sorry at the intervals I am putting up blog posts of late. Life has been busy but it hasn't stopped the ideas.

During the last few weeks I have has vehicle troubles with things failing on car and losing a side panel off my bike. I may have to go car hunting soon. For the bike I made a new side panel from the lid of a plastic storage box. It needs another coat or two of matt black.

There was a couple of bank holidays here. Normally I use the extra time to get some hobby time in. This year I spent the time digging out of the ivy and mint from the garden. Two weekends of fighting vines & roots and I am ready to remodel the garden. Mint and ivy seem to be very resilient plants. They would be hardy post apocalyptic survivors. The world may be in ruins but at least it will smell of mint!

We have just returned from a great week long holiday in Spain. Of course planning and preparation for a holiday eats free time. The holiday was just the ticket for us to recharge.

Out in the Spanish tourist tat shops I discovered a couple of cars for my 20mm Blood and Fire setting. They are a little bigger than the usual matchbox/hotwheels scale. I plan on stripping them for parts.

This got my brain ticking over for making some more gangs for my 20mm Blood and Fire setting. There are a few ideas for colour schemes and gang stypes.  When I get a minute I will have to record my ideas before it all pops out of my head. I guess the wastelands around Wellsprings will become more dangerous soon.

Hobby wise I have nearly finished a mob of Magester Militum 15mm ghouls for the wastelands and a White Dragon Hab block one building. The ghouls need basing. The building needs some washes and detailing. I hope to get a couple of blog posts up as soon as they get done.

Some readers have asked for a map of my 15mm Post apocalyptic setting. I have been working on it and it is still WIP.

Anyone who is familiar with me will know I am a huge fan of Metro2033 novel and game. This along with the Stalker computer games lead to the construction of my tunnel systems.

Take a look here

I have been playing the Metro2033 wars game on my tablet rekindling my interest in my tunnel warfare. Interesting strategy game and a must for Metro fans. In my 28mm world many factions are strewn across the continents and won't be able to get into contact. As I am moving to 15mm for post apoc I am thinking of plonking my 28mm factions underground.

Mattblackgod's world has a ruined capitol sat in a heavily contaminated wasteland known as a Hellzone. Matt Black city was a megacity small to Utopia city (think 2000AD's Megacity One). There was a massive underground metro system which I plan to move into my 28mm factions into. As the Megacity was three times the size of Moscow there is a lot of tunnels for them to live in.

In the pipeline is a metro map, I want to do it digitally so I can add stations and what not. Stations often change hands or get left empty so it will be handy for tracking what is going on. It will have a matt black twist. I hope to make more tunnel sections and rooms.

Just like in Metro2033 there will be some limited action surface action with stalker/salvage squads going up. There may be faction battles up there too.

Thanks for looking. Take care out there.