A 1/60 Orguss Bronco II in the works

[Jasonc]

Hey all,

So, now that I'm done with the Rabbit, my next project I've been considering is Super Dimension related, but not too Macross related. I've been thinking of doing a scalable Bronco II from Orguss. The difference between this, and the kits that are out there (and quite expensive) is that this will have mechanics and joint pieces to make it be able to switch from it's jet to GERWALK. I'm not sure how many people would be interested in this, but if you are, let me know. I probably wouldn't do any recasting or printing for a project like this, unless that person is willing to pay around $250 at least for it, but I'd make the files available for ones own printing. 

Another thing I'd probably include that hasn't been done, is make the re-entry armor. This would make this a lot more work, but to me, having a kit/toy that had all the fixings would just feel like it is complete.

I'd probably do it in versions that can be scaled from 1/72, 1/60, and 1/48, with a list of parts that make GERWALK transformation and poses possible. In any case, like I said, it is loosely Macross related (especially with staff and the Macross references in the series). LMK

Edited March 16, 2023 by Jasonc

[DarkArchon3000]

That would be sweet!  I have always liked this design but felt there were not many good kit options.

[Bolt]

That's really cool ! Would be an awesome Easter egg in a Macross hangar diorama  

[Chronocidal]

Could be cool, but I'll be really interested to see how you translate the art into three dimensions.  I don't know how much art of the design exists, but I'm thinking it might be reasonable to take a bit of artistic license to the proportions, and stretch it out a little for a longer fighter mode.  

It looks like the legs stick really far out the back in fighter, and slide even further back for gerwalk, but the part sticking out ahead of the wing in fighter mode looks awkward. I wonder if it would look better or worse as some sort of intake.. or if that's what it was always supposed to be?  Hard to tell.

[Jasonc]

2 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Could be cool, but I'll be really interested to see how you translate the art into three dimensions.  I don't know how much art of the design exists, but I'm thinking it might be reasonable to take a bit of artistic license to the proportions, and stretch it out a little for a longer fighter mode.  

It looks like the legs stick really far out the back in fighter, and slide even further back for gerwalk, but the part sticking out ahead of the wing in fighter mode looks awkward. I wonder if it would look better or worse as some sort of intake.. or if that's what it was always supposed to be?  Hard to tell.

From just the line art here, it does look (and I could be wrong) like the legs extend out a bit when in GERWALK. I'll confirm this for certain, but I do have the old kits as well, so I can also use those as reference to get the best profile. I also have some old design works of Orguss with some designs that were never used, and I think the Bronco II was in there. If it's pretty vague, I'll most likely refer the kits to get the proper aesthetics of it, and just tweak it to make the transformation look proper in both forms.

[Bolt]

So how's it going with this ? Are you finding the proportions to your liking?

[Jasonc]

1 hour ago, Bolt said:

So how's it going with this ? Are you finding the proportions to your liking?

I haven't started designing it yet, but from the kit, there are a couple things I'm not liking too much. Most of it comes from the look of the legs. In GERWALK, it is coming out a little "chicken legged". They are a little on the skinny side, which I may need to make them a little thicker. With that comes a bit of design changing in the main body to accomodate that. I still haven't pulled out the other designs I have in my Orguss file collection, so I have to see what I have that I can use to supplement the designs. As the kit I have is 1/48, I'm trying to see if I need to adjust the width of the nose and cockpit to adjust for a true 1/60 character, as the figure in the kit that fits in the cockpit is closer to a 1/72 figure. which is about 2 scales off of what the kit says it is. There's a few adjustments needed, and I'll need to get them on paper to make sure it comes out how it should, or at least as close as possible.

[Bolt]

That sounds like quite a bit of adjustment, to get it to look right. Converting anime magic to 3d reality is magic in itself many times. Good luck on that, I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with .

[Jasonc]

40 minutes ago, Bolt said:

That sounds like quite a bit of adjustment, to get it to look right. Converting anime magic to 3d reality is magic in itself many times. Good luck on that, I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with .

Thanks for asking this. This actually made me think of an idea to compare the thickness of the legs of the kit to the legs of the Arcadia/Yamato Macross kits.  While they aren't the exact same, they may help provide some reference point that I can start from in helping get a more accurate scale.

[Jasonc]

I had a chance to look at what I have, and these images show the key part of its transformation. I am starting today.

[no3Ljm]

Oooh. I love Bronco II. Looking forward to see your renditions.  

 

[Jasonc]

I almost forgot the pic that explains it all...

 

[Bolt]

Very cool ! The underslung pod/hatch open with manipulator arm is to die for ! I'm very curious to see how the re-entry armor integrates. Very much looking forward to seeing more 👍🏼

Edited March 16, 2023 by Bolt

[Jasonc]

I'm done for today as I have a major cold, but managed to get at least the measurements about as correct as I can. I again used a 1/60 scale figure to use as a reference for the cockpit, and with that, worked my way outward. I also used an Arcadia Valkyrie as reference, and so, this will be about 2.5-3 cm shorter than a valk (roughly). This is just bare bones work on the nose and cockpit, so a lot of detail will go into it for panel lining. I can't say how happy that I have this line art as a reference. Usually there is no direct profile looks, so this does everything. I will have my work cutout for me as this project moves, but I can definitely say that I already have what I'm going to do for the legs mapped out, and the articulation of the legs should be able to allow it for A stance, and all the dynamic poses I can make. That said, I may end up printing it, then recasting it for myself, as printer resin isn't as strong as some of the higher end Smooth On products that have a reall good strong plastic feel. I want this project to be able to be a bit durable, I dare say toy like.

[Goodman Models]

Great project! 

[Jasonc]

Not much of an update yet. I've been trying to make sure and look at all angles of line art to make sure the lines are as accurate as possible, and still be able to convert the legs. Honestly, the fact that it only has the main legs moving as pretty much the only part of the transformation helps, but as of now, I do plan to make the harness for the arms open and close, along with the cockpit, and maybe at least have the arms be able to either slide out a little, or provide parts that can be swapped out to fix the anime magic of those tremendously long arms. I will also make some hard points on the wings, and probably use the Yamato/Arcadia VF-1 pylon dimensions so that they can be interchangeable. The tail fins will also be able to swing down as they're supposed to, along with articulation in the legs. I need to engineer how I'm going to lock the legs in fighter, but that doesn't seem too hard to do. Anyways, here's the latest. Obviously, a bit of a way to go. Being at work for 10 hours doesn't leave a lot of time for my projects.

The second picture is just a material change that I use to compare line art to where I'm placing dimensions. As of now, I'm quite happy with how close it's staying to the line art. I hope I can keep up.

[no3Ljm]

 

[Chronocidal]

Oh, ok, that explains a lot about the shape and arrangement of things.. though that opening on just one side throws my asymmetry alarm off the scale.  

[Jasonc]

On 3/22/2023 at 5:13 PM, Chronocidal said:

Oh, ok, that explains a lot about the shape and arrangement of things.. though that opening on just one side throws my asymmetry alarm off the scale.  

Yeah, it bugs me, too. The kit has an indent as the protrusion, but this line art, and interesting enough, the art on that very same kit shows it as a piece that really just sticks out. I've been able to do the cutting into the piece, and FINALLY got it to where I think it looks like it should. Here's the update so far. I've had very little time, especially today, and tomorrow I probably won't update since I'm going with the wife to buy a new car. Then Saturday is overtime work, so maybe Sunday. I added the little center back piece in the center, as well, so those are done. I think next I have to put in the ratchet system for the bottom arm cover. That may take a short minute, but that's not going to change the image much. Anyways, here's an update image.

[Bolt]

It's looking great!

[no3Ljm]

Nice nice!  

[MechTech]

That's cool! I'm glad to see you doing this! The model is rarer than moon rocks on earth! - MT

[Jasonc]

Thanks guys, I do appreciate it.

4 hours ago, MechTech said:

That's cool! I'm glad to see you doing this! The model is rarer than moon rocks on earth! - MT

Yeah, they definitely are, and when they do show up, they are in the realm of selling organs for what you actually get. It's one of those mechs that I was always kinda mad that they didn't make a real toy out of it. It should've been made, and sadly never did. I always found the design of it to be a bit on the obscure side with the short stubby kinda nose, but had a very beefy look.

[Chronocidal]

The art style actually kind of reminds me of some of the really early 1950s carrier-based jets.  The shape of the pod on one side looks a lot like the intake of an F-80 or F-3D Skyknight.

[electric indigo]

@Chronocidal I guess the short nose also was inspired by carrier-based planes of that era. The KA-3D has a comparable front profile.

[Jasonc]

On 3/24/2023 at 9:08 PM, Chronocidal said:

The art style actually kind of reminds me of some of the really early 1950s carrier-based jets.  The shape of the pod on one side looks a lot like the intake of an F-80 or F-3D Skyknight.

Yeah, I totally see that as well. It's very throw back, but with the sci-fi edge to it. I really like the design of it.

[Jasonc]

I've been much busier than I thought. From a concert yesterday, to overtime today, to seeing the same group tomorrow, I barely had time to do anything with this project. I did manage to start on the wing housing. I'll be doing a cutaway part on top to insert the wings once those are done. I just need to work out where to put the wing pegs. I'm going to look into having them lined with rubber inserts to give them better tension, so my shop on Amazon will start tomorrow once I figure out a good size for the pegs.

In making the wing housing, I did have to flatten the bottom a little more than the sketch for the mechanics of the legs sliding forward. While it wasn't really necessary, I feel that if I curve it like the sketch, it will leave a wide gap in the leg slide mechanism that will be built to the curve of the body. If I find that I can change it later, I will adjust it, but for now, I'm going to stick with what it looks like now.

On a side note, it's always bugged me how the lines show when smoothing out the edges (the strange, almost random lines) looks on these, but once it's actually printed, it should be really smooth.

Edited April 2, 2023 by Jasonc

[Bolt]

Awesome progress!

[Knight26]

Looking great, and seeing the same concert twice in a row.  You must love that band.  Who is it?

[Jasonc]

2 hours ago, Knight26 said:

Looking great, and seeing the same concert twice in a row.  You must love that band.  Who is it?

It's more my wife's group, but they're damn good. And it's Kpop group Stray Kids, LOL.

Here's a quick update. I didn't take a capture of the wing slide, but they'll rotate.

[Jasonc]

I went on a bit of a roll today, and got a bit done. I managed to finish up the wings, as well as put in some detailed panel lines for the kit. While I'll be putting more detail in tonight and tomorrow, I also managed to start on the upper boosters (?) These look like they're going to come in about 3mm off the bottom from what the line art has, but that is due to the line art having the boosters hugging the main body. As a kit, it doesn't work so well, and makes it a bit more difficult to make into easy parts that can be glued and aligned the right way (I hope that makes sense). Then again, 3mm isn't that much, and will also add to some of the main body paneling under them. I still need to angle the sides of the boosters, and then create the tail fins attached to rotate down.  I also added the picture of the wing harness. I made it to where a 6mm OD x 4mm ID rubber O ring will fit there to keep it a bit stiff when the wings are in there so that they don't flop around. The wings will have the end pieces be able to angle down when in GERWALK, and will use a 1mm pin. There's also a stop that will keep them from rotating straight down.

I can't seem to find this, but does anyone know if this is supposed to have landing gear, or is GERWALK the landed version?

 

[Bolt]

Beautiful details ! Looks like you're having fun 

[Jasonc]

Not much progress, but the tail fins are done. Next up, the hardest part. I'll be working on the legs starting tomorrow.

[Jasonc]

Sorry for no updates lately. I started working on the cockpit and canopy. I'm not sure on how much to detail it, as the line art I have is quite detailed diagrams. I at least want to put a figure inside, so maybe enough detail for the control panel, and to give the figure some more detail when in the fighter. I also added two hard points on each wing that are the same size as the Arcadia attachments. I'll eventually make Orguss detailed missiles, but I thought it'd be cool to be able to add some of the Arcadia weapons.

I'll probably need to do more cutting in the body for the leg assembly, but that's only in the thought out stages.

[Bolt]

Cool. Every little bit helps! Having a pilot will be super cool. And the Arcadia hard points will be fun👍🏼