Customer: Pablo Munoz

Project Outline: Repair and conversion work on a Forgeworld Mega Dread that got dropped!

Here is the Forgeworld Mega Dread as it arrived in the mail.

It's got a few bits busted off here and there, but not too bad. The major issue is that some of the small fiddly bitz (pistons, chains, etc.) were left out of the box when the customer received the model from Forgeworld.

The customer also wants the Rippa Klaw arm rebuilt into something a bit 'beefier'.

So after a bath in Simple Green to get some of the remaining mold release off, it's time to get to work.

First up is the Buzzsaw Arm that got snapped in half when the model took a nose dive onto the floor.

It's a clean break that should fix up nicely with some super glue and a brass rod for strength.

I'm also using a brass rod to pin the Rippa Klaw Arm back onto the opposite shoulder.

Here's the Buzzsaw Arm, all glued together and pinned. Good as new!

However, I also noticed that some of the drive chain pieces are missing from the arm.

Instead of trying to recreate such a fiddly piece, which would be very time consuming and costly, I'm going to make a 'chain guard' for the arm.

To be honest, from a design perspective, the chain should be covered anyway to protect it from damage when the Buzzsaw Arm is chopping through things.

Here's the model about 3/4 of the way through the rebuilding/conversion process.

The arms are in place, all that's left is some more detail work (rivets, a few pistons, shoulder spikes, etc.)

The Buzzsaw Arm is all but finished, with the pistons, wires, and chain guard in place.

I just need to add some some rivets and this thing will be good to go.

Here is the Rippa Klaw Arm. The structure is pretty much there, but it still needs some detail work.

I'll be adding some drive pistons for the 'fingers' on the top and bottom, as well as a few wires.

Almost there.

Since I had this beastie in my Mek Shop, the customer wanted to add a couple of improvements while I was 'under the hood', so to speak.

The first is a base similar to the one on my own Mega Dread.

I started by using a dremel to cut into the soles of the feet and glueing in some recessed rare earth magnets.

I then painted the magnets and stamped them down onto a base cut from MDF board to leave some marks.

I then used the dremel to recess some corresponding magnets into the base where the feet would go.

Then I covered the magnets with some thin cardstock, and slathered some Loctite over the whole thing to hide the seams of the cardstock.

Once the Loctite dries decently, I'll texture the base with some gravel and rocks.

While the base is drying, I finished the detail work on the Rippa Klaw

The customer also wanted a 'grotlight' on the shoulder.

Here it is from the back.

And here's the whole model all ready for primer.