28 replies to this topic

[beertax]

Hi all,

This is the thread for one of my preliminary projects, the MG RX-78-2 OYW Heavy Artillery custom.

At the beginning of this project, I considered using the MG Impulse frame.  I posted several pics in the "Whats on your workbench thread", here is a pic of it reposted:



This project started b/c I wanted to make use of the MG Force Impulse's frame, which I had bought just for the large excalibur sword.  Anyway I discovered that the MG Force Impulse's backpack provided a wonderful opportunity for customization, and proceeded to add a gatling gun ammo drum, recoilless cannon, beam sabre holders and various small pieces.  But I was never completely satisfied with the graceful line of the MG Impulse gundam combined with the rugged artillery backpack.  So i thought, why not combine it with the RX-78-2?

Here are the results so far:




I moved the rocket pack to the top of the backpack, placed on a rotating mount which can also adjust for trajectory.  I am also considering replacing the shield, but not certain yet.  This project is in very preliminary stages.  I will work on it intermittently but I will begin concentrate on it after I finish the sword pack for my Strike Noir and finish my Wing ver ka. Char custom - which I may also create WIP for.

I should mention that several years ago I saw a very similar model ona korean site... a RX-78-2 ver ka. with similar armaments.  It was heavily weathered and looked just out of this world awesome.  It would be nice if someone can find a link to it... anyway yea I was heavily inspired by that model.  Mine will probably only be superficially weathered - no way I am just going 100% clean on this.

Anyway no immediate plans for update but just creating this thread as a placeholder for when i do.

[Mave]

Awesome idea. And the RX78 DOES fit the heavily armed look better. Keep the shield, it balances out the gatling cannon. Do add some koto parts or pla plate to simulate a super-heavy shield though.  

Some suggestions:
Move the ammo drum to the right side of the backpack. As in switch places between it and the long range cannon. This way the ammo belt can be shortened, it won't seemingly snag onto things as easily and it won't hinder easy access to the beam rifle stored on the butt armor as it does now.

I'd probably also move the rocket pack. Having explosives right above your head can't be good...

[Zero2505]

Wow that is looking great so far, can't wait to see the finish thing. Here is an idea, since you got some much heavy guns on it. Why not put some heavy armor on it as well. Like on the knees and feet and the shoulders and maybe the some of the chest. I dunno, it's just an idea.  

[PhantomPain]

Woohoo, this is a great reference for the Heavy artillery GM i'm planning...

good luck on your build beertax

[ucangler]

Im glad you moved the armaments on the 78. Wow is that a beauty.
It really fits just perfect. I love it!

the original colors to the 78 look so good too. That is the ver ka right?

[beertax]

no this is the OYW version.  There is a separate ver ka RX-78-2

[sonar]

ucangler, on May 22 2009, 01:45 PM, said:

Im glad you moved the armaments on the 78. Wow is that a beauty.
It really fits just perfect. I love it!

the original colors to the 78 look so good too.

I couldn't agree more with all of that.

The RX-78's brutishness and hard angles fit this project perfectly.

I would agree that you scrap the shield, and add that I think you should scrap the beam rifle as well, for the following reasons:

When did you ever see the heavy gunner with the M-60 in war movies also carrying an M-16? Even though the gatling could be jettisoned once ammo expired/jammed/overheated etc, I think a backup rifle is unnecessary. Artillery units are generally designed to strike from the rear, from a distance, yeah? This negates the need for a large backup weapon. Plus it makes the back look cluttered.

Also, artillery units shouldn't have the need for a carried shield for the above reasons. They should have grunts to take the brunt! If anything, it should have additional armour/heavier plating, bearing in mind of course that it is already heavily armed and under considerable weight and power use. Maybe you could work in a Zaku shield or something of the like?

Also think he needs some more shells or additional ammo boxes.

I am a sucker for a gatling and I very much look forward to seeing this mean SOB come to fruition! Awesome stuff Beertax.

[beertax]

This is a pre lim build and yes I am considering changes as I go along:

1. shield: I still have the shield in the first image held by the MG Impulse.  It looks far more rugged than the RX-78-2 shield and may fit the artillery version better.  But I dont know how far I am willing to go with the characteristic of this custom - do I want a permanent change: a whole new RX-78, or do I want a traditional RX-78-2 with optional armaments that can be discarded?

2. in that vein, same goes with the traditional rifle.  I could easily replace that rifle with one or two pistols from MG IWSP - the same pistol on the right hip of the first image.  I could place one on the right rear skirt of the RX-78-2, but doing so would forever alter the basic character of the RX-78-2.  Its something I am undecided on.

3. As for optional armor, what would be perfect is if I could place chest armor similar to the RGM Spartan custom from akohobby.  Since I have one I will try a fitting soon and determine if it is worth it.  The only other armor change I would conside is for the knee and maybe the left shoulder.  It would also be nice to place a targeting reticle on the helmet, mmaybe front of the left eye...

I cant really spend much time until after June 6th, but I will try to get some work done soon

ps: I think it is possible to achieve most of these with spare parts from a 1/24 Wave Scopedog... weapons, reticle, extra armor...
pps: If I find an appropriate missile pod, i think I will move the ammo pod under the backpack and place the missile pod over the left shoulder.  But that'd mean I may have to move my beam sabre holder... which looks real nice

[beertax]

I just ordered the 1/24 Scopedog Down Form: http://www.hlj.com/product/WAVBK-92, not from hlj but from an ebay seller.

Anyway, I plan to place the Scopedog's missile pod over the RX-78-2's left shoulder where the gatling's ammo pod is, and move the ammo pod underneath the backpack right next to the gundam's backside, where the rifle is.  I realized that Mave's suggestion that the ammo belt is too long is correct.  I will also use the Scopedog's 4-tube weapons below its left arm and place them on the gundam's same area.  I also plan to use the its exterior armor parts - front and side skirts, and the armor over its feet, and augment the gundam's armor (not exactly sure where).  Finally, I will see if I can place one of the scopedog's round shoulder armor over the gundam's shoulder armor - either left or right, but not both.

I am a bit worried about the size of the Scopedog's missile pod, and moreover I hate having to spend $45 just for some spare parts, but I want to give 100% for this project.  And I think the missile pods are justified.  A long time ago I read Tom Clancy's "Red Storm Rising", a fictitious what-if war between cold war USSR and the US in the late 1980s.  One of the central scenes in that book involved a surprise USSR bomber attack on the US naval fleet, where the bombers succesfully launched 120 anti-ship missiles against the US fleet.  US's first line of defense against the incoming missiles were missiles of their own - the cruisers around the fleet all launched counter missiles and destroyed 70% of the incoming missiles.  The fleet's very last line of defense against the remaining USSR missiles were the fleet's gatling guns.

If one is to regard the artillery gundam from a practical point of view, there is no way the gundam's gatling will be its main weapon despite its size.  It has a lot of firepower, sure, but the gun is unwieldly and there is no way the gundam will be able to respond quickly to incoming enemy missiles.  The gatling should only be a last line of defense, or better yet, used primarily as short-range support fire.  If this the case, the gundam's primary weapon would be its 9-missile missile pod, which can launch large, guided missiles capable of taking out targets from miles away beyond the range of line-of-sight gatling fire.  There is also the gundam's recoilless cannon placed over its right shoulder, and I think the falls somewhere in between the missile pod and gatling gun in terms of fire power and range.

Anyway so this is my plan so far.  I think the armaments are set: gatling, recoilless cannon, missile pod, 4-tube gun/ gatling under its left arm, and a pair of beam sabres, so far.  I hope to get a pair of panzer fausts from MG Zaku, as well as a more military looking rifle as back-up.  I agree the default rifle doesn't fit the concept... ideally I think the the best rifle would be MG Kampfer's shotgun.  Finally, I am undecided on the shield.  I could go with the original shield in the first image, or conversely I could go with a much larger shield -like the GP02 shield - which could work as sort of fixed defense the gundam could plant in the ground before he starts firing - which makes more sense.  We wills ee.

If you actually read all of what i wrote so far, thx!

[Hero]

Unless the pilot is Trowa Barton...lol

Personally, I wouldn't buy the whole kit for just the pod. Try scratch building it.

I have two sets of these missile pod from armored core: http://www.hlj.com/product/KBYAW-10

If interested, I can sell them cheap. But I'm not sure if they're the style you like or not.

[beertax]

I thought about those... but decided against them.  Just like the appeal of the boxy misisle launcher.  Iguess I am forever influenced by the image of Arnold and the missile launcher in Commando

[sonar]

I think the Kampfer shottie is a good idea. It could possibly mount inside the longer shield you mention? A grenade launcher would be cool as well, but kind of pointless. On the topic of last line defense gatlings, perhaps you could pilfer some shoulder mounted gatlings from a WZC or wrist mounting deal from the Alex or something like that?

[beertax]

sonar, on May 25 2009, 05:56 PM, said:

I think the Kampfer shottie is a good idea. It could possibly mount inside the longer shield you mention? A grenade launcher would be cool as well, but kind of pointless. On the topic of last line defense gatlings, perhaps you could pilfer some shoulder mounted gatlings from a WZC or wrist mounting deal from the Alex or something like that?

yea the Votoms I ordered has that smaller gatling, underneath its left armpit.  alternatively, if you think about it the RX-78-2 already has vulcan guns mounted in its head, which sort of is a last line of defense...

I already have a line on the kamlger shottie and panzer fausts... if this pans out I will be set wit the addition of the Votoms weapons.  Than all I will have to worry about is the armor... whether to place some or not, and if so, where.  Right now my thinking is just to place a single plate over the upper chest, like the RGM Spartan.  But i will wait for the Votoms kit before I make any changes.

[strike_kf]

Beertax,

I'm thinking cannon shields!
check this one out....it's one of my favorites Full armor gundam i came across.  Maybe you have seen it...don't know if it's the look you going for, but it's cool either way.

[beertax]

Hi all,

New pics and a minor update:
1. moved the ammo drum to below the backpack, attached to the thruster points so the drum can be swung
2. added a 9-missile launcher to the left pack (from 1/24 Votoms)
3. added 1 4-barrel minigun under the left arm
4. added beam sabres to either side of the head.  Not sure this fit I might remove them

will add soon:
1. MG Kampfer shotgun in place of where the Rifle is, on the buttocks area
2. will add 2 panzer fausts also from MG kampfer





My next plan is to add armor.  Now I can just go with this look, or I may buy the akohobby's RGM Sniper http://www.akocreati.../rgm79sc03.html and use the parts for the legs and the chest vents.  That would also enable me to use the kit's great looking backpack for some other project.  But this is still just in the air, not firm

Anyway plz let me know what u thhink, any suggestions welcome!

ps: I found after getting the 1/24 Wave Votoms that the kit has TWO sets of weapons, so even afetr using the weapons on the RX-78-2, I still have enough weapons to fully equip the Votoms kit.