Ghibli: If an Ohm falls in the Forest (Nausicaa + Ohm)
Ran across this old boxing at the Hobby Fair - couldn't resist.
The sprues... mostly legs.
Hmmm... there are some... gaps.
Luckily they can be dealt with (more or less) with a bit of epoxy putty as well as some Tamiya grey putty.
Used some extra bits of sprue to fill in some of the gaps and help with the structural integrity.
Also used some epoxy putty along the gaps on the inside. Partially for support, but also to ensure it's completely enclosed...
I'll need to ensure there's no gaps if I want my idea to work...
I also stumbled across this kit... so... why not?
Hmm... I heard the Bandai kit was just a slightly modified version of the Tskuda kit, but those sprues seem quite different.
Yeah... I don't think this constitutes a listing as "New Parts", I'm going to change the entry to "New Tool"
Completely different parts, look, and size... I guess 1/20 Ohms are bigger in the 21st Century...
Yeah... quite different.
What was I doing again?
Ok... that might work...
A whole mess of Ohm eyeballs...
A box of Ohm guts...
Because of the rough surface texture, I'm covering the seams with a combo of epoxy putty and some gravel.
I think it turned out okay..
A coat of green base and some black for undershading.
I dunno. Usually you sand a seam flat... but this is a different challenge. Do you think I did a good job hiding the seam? Or is it still very noticeable?
Now to get started on the... oh my god, how many legs does this thing have!?
After what seemed like a billion pedicures, we have legs! Lots of legs!
Lots and LOTS of legs!
I didn't spend as much time cleaning up the legs on the grey one. They will be a lot less visible when I'm done.
Since this is a dead Ohmu shell, it will need some spores growing off it. Luckily a few partially melted bits of sprue will take care of that.
Another coat of paint and it's starting to look the part.
Now to install the guts!
The eyes are installed and I glued some fibre optic cable to a couple of white LEDs, drilled some holes, threded them through and painted them clear yellow. Sounds so eay when you say it like that!
Reworked the cover for the electronics and masked off the wood.
First ever use of Tamiya lacquer paint... not bad, but I like acrylic better.
The Ohms are now wired into the base... let’s hope this still works.
So far so good... blue fading lights...
But get too close... and RED!
Drilled some holes and placed some plants. Still looks like a bad aquarium... but let’s see if we can change that with some paint and details.
Still works in the dark...
To make it more “toxic forest” and less “Mrs. Harpers’s Class Terrarium” I’m adding stretched (well melted) sprues and some other assorted spore sacks.
Melted sprues and other assorted fungus have been placed and glued together.
A bit of paint really helps, but still too sparse.
Some aquarium plants help add some colour... but only to be used sparingly.
A bit of painted sponge, cut up and glued on really helps.
More colour and a few more details... almost there.
Looks better head on, I think.
Time to get started on the final phase of the project...
Easy enough to cut out the general shape.
A bit of bending, and filing, and suddenly I have something that's starting to look like a Mehve.
It seems to fit.
Now seems like a good time to tear their faces off... better late than never!
I wasn't happy with the yellow feelers, and the fibre optics didn't really work anyway, so...
Hopefully the clear backing will let a bit more light through.
Now for some new tentacles, bent from 1mm clear plastic rods.
A bit of paint on the Mehve and its pilot.
Put it all together, and voila~
The feelers look more organic, and even though its a lot more subtle than I wanted, if you touch the dead Ohm's nose, the feelers light up... sorta.
Just a clear coat and a bit of highlighting to do, but otherwise this one is done!
Comments
20 May 2024, 02:06 -
Album info
While exploring the Sea of Corruption, Nausicaa comes across the recently shed shell of an Ohm. Since it's in pristine condition, she sets about removing one of the eye shields – made from a super-strong yet lightweight material that would make it a perfect gunship canopy replacement. While relaxing and contemplating how the Ohm sees the world though one of its 14 eyes, the calm of the toxic forest is suddenly broken by an enraged Ohm.
