Halo 4 "Warthog" toy/model detailing

[korg20000bc]

I'm into scale models- mostly military vehicles, armour and aircraft.
I love the series of Halo games and love the designs of the vehicles.
I've had an idea to scratch-build a Warthog. But, as I was pre-ordering Halo 4 the other day I saw the Jada Halo 4 Warthog. It looked pretty good, with great casting (mostly) and detail.
Like this one:

Some more images:







It was also very comparable in price for a plastic kit model. Most of the upper part of the vehicle has been die cast (metal)- like a Matchbox car.

My intention is to dismantle it and rebuild it with increased detail and weathering to make it look like a real military vehicle. Probably, I'll add infantry equipment and maybe use lights and/or fibre optics lines to simulate dash illumination. Can you imagine the military using bright steel pipe work on a vehicle?!

More to follow...

[korg20000bc]

So here's the Warthog dismantled into major components.

The upper and lower halves were held together by 4 small screws.
They've really done an excellent job with the casting quality and detail. The upper gloss green painted surfaces have a REALLY thick layer of paint-

It was probably done for long life purposes with young boys smashing them into things and doing epic wheelies over jumps. Good for that, for sure, but I'll be stripping the paint to get some of the detail back before repainting in a suitable mat olive drab.
The seats are excellent.

All the plastic parts have been assembled by a pin on one part being inserted through a hole in the adjoining part. The end of this pin has then been heated and squashed, kind-of like a plastic rivet.




Where plastic parts are attached to metal, the ends of the metal locator pins have been squashed to ensure a tight and lasting fit. To separate these parts I'll have to grind off the tops of the pins with a Dremmel-type tool.



Interestingly, but not shown, is that there were weights included inside the model to balance it fore and aft. Presumably so that it didn't drop nose-down when kids (or adults) were making it go over jumps.

The tyres have been well done but show a lot of flash (mould lines) that will have to be removed.


The underside has a surprising amount of detail. It should look really look good with weathering- what will be able to be seen, anyway.


Perhaps the weakest part of the model is the suspension area. Where there is currently great slabs of plastics there is opportunity for heaps of detail with parts being made from styrene rod and springs. Of course, it had to be done this way to house the full, and durable, axles on the toy. When I'm done, it won't be for playing with, though.



One of the other areas that needs attention is the bar-work. It looks pretty naff with poor moulding apparent. I'll either clean it up as best I can or bend up new bars out of brass tube or styrene rods.


Also in need of attention is the LAAG. The current barrels droop and look cringe-worthy. Definitely to be rebuilt. The rest of the gun hardware is pretty good. Some filling of joint gaps required.


I found this schematic online and I'll be using it as my main source for any building of parts.


I'll post more pics of the project as they happen, if anyone's interested.

Have a good one.

[jakeslouw]

Now a real-world version of that based on a RRC/Disco chassis would look amazing.

[korg20000bc]

Try this one:
http://operationchastity.com/launch/images/lrohalo.pdf
http://operationchastity.com/launch/warthog
This:


to this:

[korg20000bc]

ow, I've completely dismantled everything and stripped the thick green paint off the die cast parts.
The amount of detail that has been revealed has surprised me- tiny vents, fuel caps, hinges and catches.



Compare the detail in this pic compared to the one in the previous post.




I had never suspected that the Warthog had a drop-down tailgate.

[jakeslouw]

Try this one:
http://operationchastity.com/launch/images/lrohalo.pdf
WARTHOG
This:


to this:

That would sell as a GRP body kit!