Assembling Ol' Rowdy Part 1

Cleaning flashing

9 Days Left until I want him completed 100% (Sept. 3rd, 2016)

Assembling Ol' Rowdy:

• Cleaned all the flashing and rough places on the parts with my Exacto and small files.

• Washed all the parts in soapy water and let dry

• I used the diagram on the box to be sure I had all the pieces.

• I had read that some people filled the empty space inside the body with green stuff (two part elastic putty) and I had a bunch of from Gale Force 9.  I bought a package of putty about 5 years ago and I still have most of it.  Some complained that it wasn't cost effective to fill the chamber but I had the product and I figured, Why Not?

• I always seem to mix up too much so this time I "measured" but putting the separate balls of green stuff in the cavity I wanted to fill.  With the amounts correct, I mixed it together.

•  I coated the inside of the pressure tank with super glue, then stuffed in the green stuff.  I then coated the back of the swan piece and stuck them together.  It probably was not entirely necessary but it felt like the filling gave more surface for the glue to hold.

• I also decided to do the pressure tank first because it seemed to give good cues for where the two shoulders needed to line up.  As always, dry fit everything before you glue!

• The two pieces went together pretty well.  The top is lined up on center.  The Left Arm side has a tight seal.

• The Right Arm side has a little bit of a gap.  However, this is the side that has the oversized shoulder pad and the gap may be to accommodate that piece.  Either way, it will be covered by the 80's style shoulder pad!

• Also notice the hollow core of the chest piece.  I will address this next.

• Next, I rolled up more green stuff.  I could have left the chest hollow but I had all that green stuff sitting there and it really didn't take that much.  This gives the shoulders a large area to grip, rather than just the edges.

• I coated the inside of the Left Arm Shoulder with super glue by making a small pool then rolling it around in the cavity.

• I then shoved the snake of green stuff into the shoulder socket, leaving the long snake form.

• Next, I threaded the green stuff through the chest cavity.  I din't need to fill the void completely, I just wanted more surface area.

• I did the same method of covering the inside of the shoulder and shoving the green stuff in.  After it was fit together, I fed more superglue into the joints.  This is what it looks like all together.  

• This is actually the "front" where the head will go.  This both picture shows the green stuff smushed out a little.  I cleaned it up some and added a little more to the front in the picture below.  I then coated the front face shield and smushed it onto the area pictured above.

This is all the whole chest piece put together.  I cleaned up the green stuff that had smushed out as best I could.  I am not good at that part.  I now have super glue all over my fingers from the smashing of parts together.  

On the right side of this blog, I keep a queue of my progress on Cygnar units I am painting.  I use these guidelines when I decide where the bar is at: 

• 0% = in the box,
• 20% = full assembled,
• 25% = based,
• 30% = primed,
• 40% = base drybrushed
• 50% = blocked colors,
• 50-90% = layers and details,
• 95% = clear coated
• 100% = static grass

With 16 parts and 5 of them together, I am going to call Ol' Rowdy 6% done!