"Tips on Kitbashing/Trashbashing 15mm Armor" Topic

I just happened to get some of those little soy sauce/wasabi trays I saw BWP using for creating grav tanks the other day (for free).

I'm planning on using them as my first attempt at kit/trashbashing, as well as my first attempt at painting "1/100 scale" armor. If I mess them up, I won't feel too bad.

Besides the hours of inspiration I get from BWP's blog, I was wondering if anyone else had any tips for or examples of trashbashed "15mm" armor they'd like to share or inspire me with.

One of my factions uses grav tanks, and another uses "procured" tech and weaponry, so some wasabi-tray grav tanks sounds like a fun experiment for a first project.

As always, any help is greatly appreciated. I've got a bit of an upcoming stay-cation, and I can't wait to get gluing and painting.

Gonna hit up the Tuesday Morning this coming Tuesday morning. 8)

There's always Kevin Roe's annual Trash Bash:

link

Rubber Suit Theatre wrote:

There's always Kevin Roe's annual Trash Bash:

link

Lovely. Inspiring. I may never throw anything away again.

I tend to build from scratch, sheet and shaped styrene stock, Evergreen mostly. But the simple fact is Just do It, every model sometimes looks like ass at some point.

You can always start with converting cheap diecast toys to get a feel for what works and what doesn't.

Here's some I got from the local Action shop

Then you can start scratch building. Look for a basic shape/container ,preferably something you have a steady supply of.

Here I used some Frisk breathmint containers

Using the some containers as a starting point makes it easyer to give a consistent look to your force.

Be advised though scratch building can be highly addictive, before you know it you'll have a hobby room full of "usable" junk and your main criterium for buying products will be "are they in an interesting container?" ;-)

stroezie,

yup. Or you can go with just about any useable container you can find as you did with those treatment containers (where DID you get those?!). For me the tipping point in the process is learning to see the *shape* of the object while tuning out the colors, text, etc. to get to the possibilities of an empty container or such for kitbashing:

Recycling with an attitude is the only way to go.

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

@ Leland,

The containers I used are Frisk peppermint dispensers, I usually just find them on the train when people discard them :-)

I see what you mean by looking past the colors to the shape of things. Might be an idea for budding scratch builders to spray all of their bits with a quick burst of primer before they start building, or would that be considered cheating :-))

FANSTATIC!!!!

Some inspiring stuff there.

I love the term "Trash Bashing" and will have to try and use it from here on.

I have a number of tips on my old site:http://15mmvsf.bagofmice.com/index.html

Most of my recycling has been in the realm of terrain:
Like using the plastic bubbles of toys for buildings:
link
Or from the pulp paper used to protect electronics:
link
Or the Styrofoam:
link

For vehicles I do have some mixed media with likes of card.
These are mostly Victorian Science Fiction, VSF, in nature:
link
link

For low cost Sci/Fi forms consider Weighing Boats:
link
http:/url=https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com

YES I'll have a go at this, anyone tried this in 10mm scale? Thanks guys and Cheers

I've done some 6mm kitbashes and scratch builds

Kitbash

Scratchbuild

Simply awe-inspiring work and truly helpful suggestions, dudes.

Thanks for giving me a look behind the curtain and under the cool paint jobs.

@Leland/BWP: These are the dessert/wasabi trays I got for free. A 25-pack for no investment other than paying attention when someone was about to toss something in the trash.

Solia PL20253

link

I wonder if they will be too big, and I wonder if possibly some Combat Wombat low-profile turrets and turned barrels might work to convert them into some quick trashbash grav tanks.

I'll be frequenting many of the stores you suggested, and frankly, bashing together some turrets and hatches out of bits and such sounds like a fun challenge that might make these unique. If one can apply the word unique in the plural.

8)

I also scored a few of these, which they were also throwing away.

Biodegradable Paper Food Serving Tray

They're like 11" by 15" or so, and the half-inch "waffle" pattern shows as a shallow depression on the underside. That would mean like 13mm squares.

What sort of flooring or pavement would be made with 5-foot hemp-crete squares? Could one make it look like the massive pavers of a race of Lovecraftian alien demon gods? A courtyard in a humongous fortress overlooking the Mountains of Madness? I think I could use that in a polar sci fi scenario.

I wonder if I could make one of those multi-hinged game boards out of a few of these…

I'll never look at trash the same way again.

Also, I note the use of spent gift cards as base material, and it looks good for stuff that hovers, levitates, floats or flies.

The rounded corners make it less obtrusive or more plausibly hovering or something. It works well.

Black Widow Pilot, is that what is under the wasabi-dish grav tanks?

stroezie and Dye Hard, very inspiring stuff as well.

I'll haunt your blogs like I haunt Leland's, I guess. To Google!

infojunky said:

I tend to build from scratch, sheet and shaped styrene stock, Evergreen mostly. But the simple fact is Just do It, every model sometimes looks like ass at some point.

OK I learned two things in two sentences. I had to look up Evergreen, because I forgot all about that stuff. I wonder how some basswood, balsa and rod/tubing from the hobby store two blocks away could be converted to buildings, so off to google I go. And now I have to see if any of the hobby stores have styrene. I probably walked right past the stuff and didn't even notice it.

Also, thanks for reminding me that under the paint is a pile of glued-together crap. That will keep me going when I want to toss my mistakes back into the waste bin.

:)

If your having issues with the colors, take a black and white photo using camera settings.

Might help as well.

I wonder if they will be too big, and I wonder if possibly some Combat Wombat low-profile turrets and turned barrels might work to convert them into some quick trashbash grav tanks.

Grommet, if the turret is too small, move in to the front of the hull, add some access hatches to either side, and multiple (square) access hatches running along the upper deck sides towards the rear of the vehicle. Add a large access ramp hatch to the rear. You now have a heavy anti grav ICV/APC.

As for what's under the grav tanks, yes, old plastic gift cards. I was able to procure a supply from a local World market store in Texas years ago after I explained to the staff what I do with such materials. I was duly supplied with a whole stack of the things in short order.

Remember: mistakes are what we learn from, and when kitbashing/trash bashing, today's mistake becomes with a little work with the Das putty and a larger base, tomorrow's battlefield wreck/hard cover/objective marker.

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

I just realized that I was subconsciously saving empty dental floss containers, disposable razor blade guards, near-empty deodorant containers and small bottle caps from toothpaste tubes and tiny bottles.

I need a slighter bigger pile of bits but something is slowly starting to take an ungainly shape in my mind.

I found the deodorant bottle thread searching for this one again.

link

Good stuff there too.

Could be a whole line of alien walkers, landers and grav tanks at this scale, all from manscaping products. Seems more fun than adding to the GPGP. Hmm…

Made out of a machbox bulldozer treads, a GW dreadnought missile arm, a GW tank cupola bolter mount. nails greenstuff, plastic styrene, wire, a vanity plate "!" a 10mm wooden skid, a 15mm mech cover, and 10mm stowage.

I will say this look at everything – you never know when a bit of plastic or metal doodad will be useful. Also keep working on it.

This was my first pass at making the above and I almost stopped close to it.

I've done the odd bit of converting, I never start from scratch (though I admire those that do) I usually start with a plastic 1/72 model.