Back to OGRES

Wow, I can't believe it's been seven months since my last post. My life was/is a little unsettled , and I didn't feel much like modelling, but lately I've been putting in some time at the workbench. OGRES have once again caught my fancy, so after a year away from them, let's get up to date.

First up is the customized Mark III-B. I'm comfortable with the configuration, and have decided on a paint scheme. (Let's take a minute to talk OGRE painting philosophy. Some people go with a realistic, modern camouflage look, while others go for a more colorful, gaudy appearance. As an OGRE is so massive, and it's trail of destruction is so distinctive, I feel conventional camo is a moot point. So my OGRES will have 'Crayola' paint jobs, distinctive but --hopefully-- not cartoony. They will be weathered to dull the brightness. What about the smaller units? While, in real life, they might benefit from camouflage, I will paint them to match the OGRES. I will use colors as a unifying theme for both sides. For the Paneuropean side, blue will be, if not predominate, a very distinctive  color. Red will serve that purpose for the Combine.) So now you know how I'm thinking, you'll understand why this.........

.................Mark III-B is GREEN ?

If you remember back a year ago, I said this configuration reminded me of a frog, so I had to paint it green. (I must admit, with the brown towers, it looks more like a snail.) I plan to add some dark green to the sides, as well as yellow 'eyes.' As it is nominally  a Combine* OGRE, there will be some red highlights. (*Though it might turn into an Israeli OGRE. More on this later.)

Here are a couple of Fencers in some preliminary schemes. The missile decks on both of these units are not glued down, so I can switch them and have an all-blue Fencer if I want.  The crimson on the second is used to represent the Lancers of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, an elite unit in Napoleon's Imperial Guard. There will be GEVs and tanks painted to match.

Speaking of GEVs, let's get those puppies off the deck!  I decided to make flying stands for all of my minis. As it turns out, the single window pane from the Walthers' N-scale Modular kits are a perfect size for most of them. Here is a Gremlin ready to make a run at a Fencer.

The rest of the GEVs and their flight stands. Each model needed a different style, but Evergreen I-beams sped things along, and I got all of them done in an evening. The white styrene will be painted light blue.

 

 

 I think it hard to believe there could be a WWIII without involving the Middle East in some way. If the Mark III-B above does indeed turn out to be an Israeli OGRE, then we certainly need an Arab opponent. I wanted an OGRE that was distinctly Arabian, so I decided to incorporate that most iconic Arab symbol, the scimitar. Searching the Internet, there are myriad styles of the weapon, but I wanted one with a thick blade, and a curve at the bottom large enough to capture the turret of a Main Gun. I chose this pattern. I drilled a hole in a plastic hemisphere to hold a spare barrel, then glued a second hemisphere to it. Then using the pattern as a guide (I guess that's what patterns are for), I shaped an eighth inch thick piece of styrene to fit the ball of the gun.

 

 

 Here I've done some more cutting to allow the new turret to fit over the front of a Mark III. I hope I won't have to alter the front of this unit, so I can still use it as a standard Mark III.

 

 

 I've added the first of several side pieces. The Main Gun sits a little high, while the tower leans back a bit.

 

 

 Here I've lowered the Main Gun, which brings the tower more toward vertical. In either case, I worry the Main Gun sits too far forward. Help me out, tell me what you think. I sure would hate to take a grinding wheel to the front of this OGRE. (I guess I will if I have to.) Of the two configurations, I'm leaning toward the second.

 

 

 

 Oh wait, how about a third choice?  How about the scimitar on a Doppelsoldner?  That might work.

 

That's all for now. Let me know what you think.   Don