1/72 Moscato Regult Tactical Pod

[Mintox]

Ok since I'm a gluton for punishment I have decided to start on the Moscato 1/72 Regult - Gulp! For now I'll leave you with the rather spiffy box it came in. Parts and fit comments to follow.

Edited June 10, 2015 by Mintox

[derex3592]

sweeeeet

[captain america]

Regult 2.0 actually: the first run came in a different box with ball-joints and rubber gaskets which were more challenging to build and rather shaky once assembled. This has fixed-pose legs which are infinitely sturdier... Hence the "hyper joint with NO mobility."

[Ignacio Ocamica]

Regult 2.0 actually: the first run came in a different box with ball-joints and rubber gaskets which were more challenging to build and rather shaky once assembled. This has fixed-pose legs which are infinitely sturdier... Hence the "hyper joint with NO mobility."

Still have to build mine. I have the one with half translucent cockpit. Took me more than two years to build one of my two 1/60 HDP Yamato kits so Mintox's build might give me some courage to finnally start it

[derex3592]

Man oh man how I wish i had just racked up CC debt back when Yamato released the 1/60 HDP kit and gotten at least one..

[captain america]

Man oh man how I wish i had just racked up CC debt back when Yamato released the 1/60 HDP kit and gotten at least one..

Trust me, it was an overpriced, under-detailed turd.

[DarrinG]

... with poorly designed leg joints that can't hardly hold the thing up . . .

[derex3592]

ohh...well..alrighty then! Maybe I'm glad I missed it!

[Mintox]

Im guessing everyone on this site knows the Moscato Regult kit so I wont go into details other than to say it is nicely done, free from bubbles and done in a funky light blue colour resin.

Most of the parts fit together really well with the exception of a couple of areas.

The first area is the front hatch? around the top. Not sure if it is the hatch not aligning or the hull sections itself. Hot water should help here to bring the gap closer.

The next part is the rear hatch. Some serious gaps here all around the hatch but nothing some plastic card wont fill in.

Then the two halves themselves create a nasty seam that can be filled on the outside might pose some problems in the inside if I am going to do the interior so I am going to have to figure out a way to cover those interior seams up.

[captain america]

Hi Mintox. Definitely place the parts, particularly the frontal pod armor piece in hot water. I recommend boiling water in a kettle and then pouring it into a bowl or cup large enough to contain the part, at which time you simply drop the part in and wait 30 seconds. Take it out, press and hold it firmly against the hull parts and let cold tap water run over it: the part will conform and hold its new shape.

As for the gap, since there was no way around creating a seam if I wanted to create any sort of cockpit, it was a necessary concession that can also be a detailing opportunity. Let me explain: what I did on my kit is that I used that large, wrap-around seam and created a weld line with it. When I was sculpting the masters, I took some cues from the TV series about the Zentradi merely being disposable soldiers, and that their weaponry would also reflect this in the lack of ergonomics (cramped cockpits anyone???) and sturdy but crude construction. Since the Regult is the bottom-basement infantry mecha, just barely above body armor and standard-issue rifle, I wanted the Regult to look... Crude, cramped, inhospitable. That's also why I didn't put much effort into making the rear hatch fit like a glove, even though it wouldn't have been very hard to do with polyester putty, mold-release and the smash method.

Just FYI, Tamiya makes a very good quality (fine) polyester putty that you can use to fill large gaps, and it's sufficiently slow to cure that you can work it a little bit as it hardens, should you opt to make welding marks (or other) details. Hope this helps *bows respectfully*

[Mintox]

Hi Mintox. Definitely place the parts, particularly the frontal pod armor piece in hot water. I recommend boiling water in a kettle and then pouring it into a bowl or cup large enough to contain the part, at which time you simply drop the part in and wait 30 seconds. Take it out, press and hold it firmly against the hull parts and let cold tap water run over it: the part will conform and hold its new shape.

As for the gap, since there was no way around creating a seam if I wanted to create any sort of cockpit, it was a necessary concession that can also be a detailing opportunity. Let me explain: what I did on my kit is that I used that large, wrap-around seam and created a weld line with it. When I was sculpting the masters, I took some cues from the TV series about the Zentradi merely being disposable soldiers, and that their weaponry would also reflect this in the lack of ergonomics (cramped cockpits anyone???) and sturdy but crude construction. Since the Regult is the bottom-basement infantry mecha, just barely above body armor and standard-issue rifle, I wanted the Regult to look... Crude, cramped, inhospitable. That's also why I didn't put much effort into making the rear hatch fit like a glove, even though it wouldn't have been very hard to do with polyester putty, mold-release and the smash method.

Just FYI, Tamiya makes a very good quality (fine) polyester putty that you can use to fill large gaps, and it's sufficiently slow to cure that you can work it a little bit as it hardens, should you opt to make welding marks (or other) details. Hope this helps *bows respectfully*

Thanks for the insight but yeah my comments aren't a slight on the kit and the way it was produced, rather an observation if people have purchased one and are ever considering building it, this is one of those construction issues you'll face.

Its no biggy for me to remedy but good to hear from the horses mouth how you approached this build originally. I couldnt even begin to work out how to cast a kit so kudos to you fine sir!

Anyway I am looking forward to building it (finally) and posing it next to a Hasegawa 1/72 Battroid.

[Mintox]

Work is proceeding slowly as its winter here and not good model making weather. Anyway, got most of the parts on the inner walls of both halves of the pod. All goes together relatively easy. I have worked on a way to hide the joins that might be seen inside of the cockpit but more on that later as I get to it.Tomorrow weather permitting I will spray a grey undercoat on the cockpit and start with the painting and detailing of it.

[Mintox]

More progress. Pinned and fitted all the legs. They went together with a minimal of fuss. I decided to see for scale comparison what it looks like next to the 1/72 imai Defender kit. I forgot how big the Zentradi pods are.

[EXO]

watching this one closely!

[Mintox]

Here is something I have been thinking about - should the Zentradi pods be gloss, semi-gloss or flat in tone? I was thinking gloss originally but now thinking maybe semi-gloss or flat? Does anyone have any suggestions?

[GMK]

I'd love to pick up one of these! Looking good.

[Jefuemon]

Here is something I have been thinking about - should the Zentradi pods be gloss, semi-gloss or flat in tone? I was thinking gloss originally but now thinking maybe semi-gloss or flat? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Flat. Dirty. Ugly. Unless you're saying this one just rolled off of the factory satellite. Remember, Zentradi have no idea what maintenance means.

This is what I did with my Bandai re-issue. Wanted to make it look like it's been in service a few hundred cycles too long:

[derex3592]

Gorgeous weathing/battle damage there. IMHO it all depends on what you want to go for. If you go off the anime, they always look brand new off the assembly line, so semi gloss or even gloss looks like the cartoon footage. If you want the "real life" look, then weather the crap out if it!

Edited June 29, 2015 by derex3592

[Mintox]

Gorgeous weathing/battle damage there. IMHO it all depends on what you want to go for. If you go off the anime, they always look brand new off the assembly line, so semi gloss or even gloss looks like the cartoon footage. If you want the "real life" look, then weather the crap out if it!

Weather the crap out it sounds good to me! I already have in my minds-eye how I'll tackle this.

Flat. Dirty. Ugly. Unless you're saying this one just rolled off of the factory satellite. Remember, Zentradi have no idea what maintenance means.

This is what I did with my Bandai re-issue. Wanted to make it look like it's been in service a few hundred cycles too long:

I have this kit but have never built it but your looks bloody nice mate. Good job on the weathering. I have a Quell-Quallie that I want to also detail and dirty up (the old Imai kit) 1/720 scale. Its odd that its green or is that because its more a ship that a mech? Can you imagine it in 1/72?! Hmmm now there's a thought...

[MechTech]

I gotta jump on the flat n dirty bandwagon. They're supposed to have been around a while and poorly maintained - like my first car! :-) -MT

[valid]

where did you get this??? oh how i want one of this

[Mintox]

where did you get this??? oh how i want one of this

A mate of mine I think or I might have swapped another kit for it. Cant recall now.

[Mintox]

A little bit more progress on the Regult body. I've added the hatch hinges and foot pedals. Undercoated the legs, feet etc. They'll need some sanding with 600-1200 grit W&T as there are lots of little marks etc over the surface.

Edited July 4, 2015 by Mintox

[spanner]

looking great so far! Should look amazing when finished! Be interesting to see how it compares size wise to a 1/60 VF-1!

[Mintox]

Working on the hatch hinges. A bit of a fiddly job but I think they now look decent. Nothing is glued here the pressure from the fit is holding the hatch to the hinges.

Edited July 4, 2015 by Mintox

[captain america]

Looking good, Mintox! You inspired me to take my Regult out of the display case for a few pictures

[Mintox]

Looking good, Mintox! You inspired me to take my Regult out of the display case for a few pictures

Please post them. I like to look at what other members have done, colours used, weathering etc especially on any Zentradi/Zentran equipment.

[captain america]

Please post them. I like to look at what other members have done, colours used, weathering etc especially on any Zentradi/Zentran equipment.

By your command! To me, getting into the mindset of the series and the way mecha are made and used determines for the most part how I'll weather it. The Regults are manufactured on such a large scale that in my view, they probably won't bother with more than token maintenance of the unit. That said, I would think that if a unit had deteriorated sufficiently, they probably would just abandon it as opposed to try to salvage or repair, so while I will weather it, I also won't "beat it to death" as a reflection of this viewpoint.

Paint fades quickly, especially in a space environment with no UV filtering, so colors are at your discretion. There are some paint touch-ups on mine, just to simulate use/abuse/minor maintenance. I also printed the markings onto sticky paper and carefully cut it out to produce stencils, which look way more realistic than decals... That's probably why I didn't get mental with decals for my Zentradi models in general.

Cockpit color is a dreary pale green over a zinc-chromate base. I wanted the inside to look inhospitable, like a cross between a Soviet-era mental hospital and a machine shop. Anyway, just see the pics...

[Mintox]

By your command! To me, getting into the mindset of the series and the way mecha are made and used determines for the most part how I'll weather it. The Regults are manufactured on such a large scale that in my view, they probably won't bother with more than token maintenance of the unit. That said, I would think that if a unit had deteriorated sufficiently, they probably would just abandon it as opposed to try to salvage or repair, so while I will weather it, I also won't "beat it to death" as a reflection of this viewpoint.

Paint fades quickly, especially in a space environment with no UV filtering, so colors are at your discretion. There are some paint touch-ups on mine, just to simulate use/abuse/minor maintenance. I also printed the markings onto sticky paper and carefully cut it out to produce stencils, which look way more realistic than decals... That's probably why I didn't get mental with decals for my Zentradi models in general.

Cockpit color is a dreary pale green over a zinc-chromate base. I wanted the inside to look inhospitable, like a cross between a Soviet-era mental hospital and a machine shop. Anyway, just see the pics...

Hey thanks for posting these photos of your Regult. It looks bloody amazing. I have noticed quite a difference with your front? hatch and mine which kind of explains why I have such a shitty fit. Yours seems to have a lip that is maybe 2 or 3 mm wider than mine. I'm going to have to graft a thin strip around it, at least around the top edges. I was also thinking of the same interior colour but possibly leaning towards more of a blue tint than green. Either way your interior looks worn and used just as you explained them to be massed produced and not looked after at all.

Edited July 9, 2015 by Mintox

[derex3592]

Your build looks amazing John! Amazing weathering! Love the light scratches around the front eye part.

[milhouse]

By your command! To me, getting into the mindset of the series and the way mecha are made and used determines for the most part how I'll weather it. The Regults are manufactured on such a large scale that in my view, they probably won't bother with more than token maintenance of the unit. That said, I would think that if a unit had deteriorated sufficiently, they probably would just abandon it as opposed to try to salvage or repair, so while I will weather it, I also won't "beat it to death" as a reflection of this viewpoint.

Paint fades quickly, especially in a space environment with no UV filtering, so colors are at your discretion. There are some paint touch-ups on mine, just to simulate use/abuse/minor maintenance. I also printed the markings onto sticky paper and carefully cut it out to produce stencils, which look way more realistic than decals... That's probably why I didn't get mental with decals for my Zentradi models in general.

Cockpit color is a dreary pale green over a zinc-chromate base. I wanted the inside to look inhospitable, like a cross between a Soviet-era mental hospital and a machine shop. Anyway, just see the pics...

All hail Galvatron! I mean, Optimus! I mean, Captain America!

That is beautiful! I like the idea for the stencil for the decal/markings. I have an Arii 1/100 Regult Scout kit whose decals are garbage and have prevented me from finishing it over the year I've owned it... now that I see a feasible solution... I will be doing what you did! Brilliant! Thanks

[Mintox]

Started on the interior. Base coat of Tamiya Super Fine Grey undercoat followed by a liberal contrast of Mr Hobby Tire Black (not really a black, more a really really dark grey).

Then the interior colour over the top of this starting with the centres of each major area using Mr Hobby H41 pale green with a couple of drops of Mr Hobby H6 Green to soften the brighteness of H41.

Then slowly expand out with the main colour and work it closer to the dark parts.

In the last photo I have started to pick out the individual controls using Citadel Codex Grey.

Edited July 11, 2015 by Mintox

[Mintox]

Started on the detailing of the interior greeblies.I am using all Citadel paints here. Buttons will be done next using Mr Hobby Colors tinted clears on a silver background to make the buttons stand out.

[chaff.g]

The display screen looks great! Did you freehand the text?

Edited July 12, 2015 by chaff.g

[Mintox]

The display screen looks great! Did you freehand the text?

Yes freehand. All my years of painting W40K figures has paid off. I still have some highlights and shading to do on the screen but that's the basics done.