Terrain: Imperial Excavator 002

Deconstruction continued on the Tonka toy for an hour or so, while I took out screws and recovered archeotech from the beast. Here is what I ended up with...

There were four electric motors to govern the function of the drive, boom, and bucket; not to mention all the gears to transfer the momentum. A side effect of gutting this thing is a couple pieces that look sort of like things one might find in a derelict factory. I plan to use 'em in future projects.

Using thin card I added some ironwork to the boom and stick. I also used a tp roll to cover the gap a the base of the boom where the worky bits of the toy fit. Straight pins have been used as rivets.

I used clippers to tear through the hull of the excavator and it left a pretty wicked gash. The socket the boom fits into was full of wires and worky parts which ran the toy. As previously stated I gutted the monster and then reformed the socket with more thin card and the rest of the tp roll. This is the base layer for the detail I plan to add to make the excavator look more 'Imperial'.

The last photos here shows the scale of this thing pretty well. It's big.

Cheers,

CJ

Terrain: Imperial Excavator 001

I found this guy at the thrift store a couple weeks ago. I love hitting up thrift shops and the like for everything, not just terrain fodder. This electric excavator was free since it is missing a track. It sat in my living room, menacing my cat and taking up space for no good reason except I was pondering whether or not to tear off the boom and stick or leave it on.

I opted for off. It was a pain in the ass, and it took longer than I expected. As I sat there, swearing under my breath and watching Sword Art Online with The Girl, I wondered why this thing was such a bastard to get apart.

...

Turns out the reason is emblazoned right there on the boom. I really ought to have known better in hind sight, since I had about every damn metal Tonka truck there was for my sandbox. The only one that I ever ever broke was the excavator that I left out one winter by mistake. That thing rusted solid at the pin.

Eventually it came off.

Stay tuned for further updates on the Imperial Excavator. Ever seen a gothic excavator? Me either. but I'm gonna try an' church it up a bit.

Cheers,

CJ