Post-apocalyptic Battlecars [PICS]

[Pil]

Some time ago we played a couple of games of Krash at 1:43/28mm scale. For those that don't remember, Krash was a car combat game with collectable weapons and cars made by Cell Entertainment around 2000. The models had lots of flash but looked ok but the 'collectable' weapon packs were way too expensive. We wanted to give the rules a second chance so we built some vehicles and started combating. Say hello to...

Crimson Glory


She was a Hot Wheels Chevy Impala '59. It had lowered wheels which I didn't like at all. I replaced them with ugly oversized wheels, added pushpins for hubcabs (in hindsight I probably should have lef the original wheels on). Then I embellished the model further: I made the weapons from plasticard, a bit of PVC foam and plastic rod and added mesh, oil dispensers (just plastic rod) and rivets (squirts from a tube of Vallejo Plastic Putty).



I painted the model black with a crimson drybrush and dubbed it Crimson Glory. Next up is...

Megadeth


This car started life as the huge minigun I had built from plastic rod. A weapon thos bad-ass needed an equally bad-ass vehicle to be mounted on so I went into town and purchased a 1:43 Burago Lamborghini Countach. I cut away half of the cabin and closed it with plasticard and mounted the gun on it. I added hubcaps, rivets and MagicSculp armour to the side window. In the front window I cut a slit and puttied welding iron around the edges.



The body of the gun was made from PVC foam and I added a 'tombstone' (big armour plate on the rear) from PVC foam to the back.



I sprayed it black and drybrushed it grey, I painted the name and the skull on the hood and dusted it with VGC Earth.

The Last V8


I'm sure we all recognise this car, it wasn't built to be a battle car but I figured I'd throw it in with this topic. I wanted to have a model for the Mad Max Pursuit Special/Last V8/Black Interceptor and since until recently an Australian 1:43 1973 XB GT Ford Falcon Coupe was nowhere to be found I based it on a Matchbox SpeedKings Ford Capri II. I had one of these as a kid and bought another at a flea market. The one I bought had a damaged grill which didn't matter as I would replace it anyway. I sculpted the front using MagicSculp (which is great for bits like this as you can file it smooth when it's cured) and modified the hood to look like the one from the movies. I added an air intake scratchbuilt from bits of sprue and wire.



On the rear I removed the trunk and added spoilers. I also added wire exhausts to the side of the car. In the trunk I placed two fuel drums from a truck toy, two jerrycans from a 1:50 military vehicle and a spare tire. I painted the model black with a grey drybrush, then I rusted up the rear with blazing orange and vomit brown and finally I dirtied it with VGC Earth. I personally think the wheels are a bit of a let-down but they were hard to replace, otherwise this conversion will work for me as the original model is a bit too expensive . Finally, there's one Battlecar left...

Overkill


This car was bought second hand as a dull Burago BWM 353 (or something) and it needed an upgrade badly. I added pushpin hubcaps to the ugly wheels. On the front I mounted a big fat PVC foam armout plate with plastic rod rivets.



On the side I filled in the windows with MagicSculp, I cut a slit in the front window and when it cracked I built up the top half of the front window armour plate with MagicSculp.



On the other side I cut away half of the cabin and added a gun made from a 1:43 Cararama VW van dashboard and two bits of plastic tubing. I riveted the entire car with Vallejo Plastic Putty, and painted it in the same way as Megadeth.



On the rear I placed a tombstone with a message for would-be pursuers.

[dexter]

Really impressive stuff

[Fjodin]

Thay are very and very beautiful (bouh models and paintjob)

[Hawkeye]

Excellent! I've been on the fence when it comes to Post-Apocalypse car-wars type stuff, torn between the easy access to the smaller Matchbox and Hot Wheels scale, and the more expensive/harder to find larger scales that work with 28mm models. These have persuaded me - 28mm is the way to go. I've picked up about ten of the Hot Wheel G Machine cars (about 1:50 scale) over the last six months or so, and they look great with 28mm minis, so I have my foundation! The whole project is going to be easier after reading your "how I did this" descriptions of the conversions - brilliant stuff!

[Criamon]

Gooood paint job! I have some Hot Wheels and I think paint same. 

[Uncle Mike]

Fantastic! Now, how is the game?

[Arcturus]

Great Cars, Conversions and Paintjobs.
I am specifically impressed by the converted Ford Capri. Since it is so hard or expensive to come by the Falcon in 1:43 scale this is a nice alternative.

[uti long smile]

Hubba Hubba.

[ryoden]

Sweet.

[Pil]

Hawkeye> I mostly use 1:43 cars since they are so easy to find, 1:50 tends to look a bit more natural but next to my other cars they always look too small, so I just stick with 1:43 most of the time. Good luck with your project!

Arcturus> Thanks, I made this conversion before the Mad Max Interceptor was released as a 1:43 model. I would have bought it if it was a lower price, but I'll stick to my conversion

Fantastic! Now, how is the game?

Ah yes, I was getting to that... We limited ourselves to a couple of weapons (mostly the regular ones and not the zany ones) and to about 6 'pegs' per car (often a 3-4 peg weapon plus some oil slicks). We tried to use the rules to play a race game (as opposed to the 'duel' style games the game was meant for), the rules worked quite ok and were fun for a few games but it doesn't really work for a race. There's no real way to get past another car without shooting the one in front of you. In a duel the rules also worked ok but the games don't have a lot of depth so they get similar pretty quickly. We also tried a 3-car per player multiplayer game which was a bit of fun for about once.

I think part of the fun of a game was an eternal arms race in building better cars with new weapons, like a magic deck which you can change all the time. This element was in the rules but it does not translate well to an assembled and painted model. Also, in the original game the cars had loads of room (16 pegs in total, not counting 4 wheels) for different weapons in different directions but I never likes the look of the fully tooled-up cars.

In general I liked the system as a way of dealing with these vehicles and the only problem we had was that there is no way to bulldozer an immobilised vehicle out of the way (except by putting a bulldozer blade on your car I believe). The games themselves though seemed to lack a bit of depth which was originally to be provided by the 'collectable' aspect (which I dislike).

[Comsquare]

Damn fracking shit, man

[Hawkeye]

You're right about the advantages of 1:43, Pil. What I've noticed, though, is that sometimes 1:43 looks huge compared to 28mm minis, and other times it looks about right - much closer to 1:50. There is a range of 1:43 here in the U.S., and maybe you have them there too, called New Ray, and they seem to be a small 1:43, and look good with 28mm. I've picked up some of those, in addition to the 1:50 muscle cars, so that's the way I'll go. I have to say, though, your stuff is a real inspiration! I'm looking forward to checking out the High Octane rules too - and of course to seeing whatever it is you produce next!

[kidterminal]

Great looking cars Arjen! If you're not happy with these rules you can try Car Wars.

Rob

[Furt]

Awesome - you have really captured the look of Autoduel cars!

What about Dark Future - the rules are available as a free download.

Love 'em!    

[warrenss2]

Awesome jobs on the cars... as usual.

On this one...


I know you said it says "MEGADETH", but it looks a lot like "MESADETH" or "ME-sa Deth".

I was going to ask if the driver was Jar-Jar Binks.