Model kit project: 1/144 HGUC GM Cannon - 03

Update 03 - Modifying more parts


I did some additional cutting and sanding to get all four chest pieces sitting flush before finally gluing. The font half is now one piece and the back is a separate half, as I will still need access to the interior for puttying and for mounting the cannon, shoulders & neck joints.

After adding the collar, waist and head it was clear that the cannon housing was too high and interfered the with turning the head, so that had to be cut down later.

It's not done yet, settle down.

 To fix the issue with the old head being too big, I cut the antenna mounts off the back of the head and cut them down the middle, allowing me to shave away some extra width.

Shave and a haircut?  Probably not.

I had to cut down the height of this piece as well before dremeling space for it to sit within the back of the new head.

Never allow me near your scalp with any kind of tool.

Eventually this sat flush with the head and I glued it into place.

"Does epoxy putty work on carved bone, or does that stuff grow back?"

It was at this point I had examined and compared both kits in-person enough that the shape of the central hip plate was different enough on the GM Cannon from the GM II. I concluded it had to be entirely cut off the old kit to replace the flatter, smoother new one.

I had to cross my legs and wince while performing this step.

The GM II's hips were whittled down to accommodate, using my ever-handy Dremel tool.

I'll be using this same design once I eventually have my own hips replaced.

The sides of the plate had to be shaved down extra in order to allow room for the skirt plates (like everything else on its torso, the old kit was just too wide). But with some putty and more sanding it should blend in as good as the original.

"At first it's constrictive... but after a while it becomes a part of you."

In fact, asides from the shin armor, most of the kit at this point dimply requires puttying gaps and sanding before priming. I prepared all of the leg parts from the new kit that would go into the final model: the feet, thighs and inner parts of the shins.

Since this was enough to get the model standing on its own, I assembled what I had so far for a current progress photo: 

Ta-da! No it is still not done yet, shush.

The dreaded leg armor is going to be an extensive process. They will have to fit inside the shins but still hold the ankle and knee joints in place,and both legs will have to match each other in exact placement. Since I don't want the GM Cannon to end up with a short leg or a gimp knee a lot of measuring and alignment adjusting will go into this.
I will be focusing on this next hurdle and skimming some of the finishing touches on the other components until they're all ready for final preparations. At that point it will start to resemble the completed kit, so stay tuned.