I've finally rolled out the Fast Panda Sci-Fi Food Truck. Its an Atenociti"s Workshop Kickstarter project and was worked up from a paper model.
Although its "Designed for Infinity" I've included GW's Canoness Veridyan (WiP) for scale... and its primary intended use is as part of the vehicle train for my force of Jailbirds from Raging Heroes...
The model can be assembled with, or without, the covered dining area... which I've just noticed I left a bit off !! DoH! ... but the model is intended to be one or the other and not to swap between awning and awning free...
I've made some adjustments and the model is convertible enough for my purposes!
I love the great decals that come with the kit... this has always been one of Atenociti's Workshops long suites. The Fast Panda set does not disappoint!
The more mainstream Sci-Fi styling is a departure from the Grim Dark of most of my collection but I picture the Jailbirds are more like Battlestar Galactica nomads than Underhive Gangers so their vehicle set reflects that.
As the vehicle has no weapons... I'll mostly use it as a scenic objective and, of course, to tie my themes together... The Lulus have food, now they need some kind of rolling Schoolhouse and a Barracks vehicle...
I saw an amazing vehicle at the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart. It was a Rolling Post Office and also provided telephone service via built in booths... I wonder if I can find a model of that thing or if I'm going to have to scratch build it....
I learned a lot from this kit. I did the test fits a few weeks before final assembly and would have benefited from a refresher dry run. I ended up disassembling large potions of the model twice... real rookie errors... and actually could stand one more parts swap.
I got to work with a lot of the new weathering set from Secret Weapon and also a few technical paints from Army Painters Warpaints Line.
I was very impressed with the rust effects a and the "heat" line.
The "heat colors" are kind of like a more viscous, more adhesive, wash in blue, purple, and orange.. as well as a color called old oil which is not "heat" tagged but has a similar consistency.
Secret Weapon rusts had good color while the Army Painter "Old Rust" had some texture to it. I did a base of Old Rust (AP), a shade of Orange Rust (SW), and a glaze of Flesh Wash (SW). There is also a spot of Brown Rust (SW) here and there in the larger patches.
The Secret Weapon Tire Black, Rubber, and Rubber highlight were also very nice to use and gave a convincing effect.
Its paper model heritage is apparent in several unexpected ways. Mostly in that it has a lot of interdependent structures that must be painted, largely un-assembled, and then assembled simultaneously. The main fuselage requires four parts to be aligned and glued in the final step.