Houge Sandwich: Scale Modeling Portfolio

I do many different types of scale-modeling. From simple repaints, to full scratch-builds.

Repaints

Transformers Grimlock

Dino mode... This was a complete repaint. The original figure had all the right colors, but was missing a ton of smaller details. All yellow sections were painted gold, all grey sections were painted silver, and the entire figure was given a wash of dark metallic (silver sections) and dark brown (gold sections).

The tail was also given some circular details that were lacking in the sculpt. These are actually cut pieces of pen cap.

Lots of small red areas were painted in such as on the legs and arms.

Lots of smaller details were added to the back section behind the neck.

Not much was added to the underside. However, the bottoms of the toes were filled in with putty and painted to match.

Robot mode... The torso was painted dark red which is how the character has always been depicted. I'm not sure why it was cast in yellow. I also dry-brushed the mechanical parts in his chest to bring out the details.

Here is a closeup of the sides of the legs. Lots of unpainted sculpted detail had to be filled in. I also added a dry-brushing of brown around the feet to simulate dirt and grime that has collected.

Here is the back of the legs with the added circular vents. Again, these are pieces of cut pen cap that were glued on and painted.

Transformers Hound

Vehicle mode... This figure was simply repainted. No major mods were needed.

The whole figure was given a wash of light brown to simulate dust and dirt that has settled into the crevasses. Then, a dusting of black weathering pastel was added to bring out the details in the surface. The wheels were also given a wash of light brown.

Robot mode... All the same details as described before.

A wash of light grey was added to the black sections to bring out the panel line details as seen in the back of the legs.

His face was originally silver, so that was painted white to better match his TV appearance.

This is the only mod on this figure. His feet were originally hollow, so those were filled in with putty and painted to match.

Transformers Soundwave

Original unpainted figure.

Robot mode... This figure required a complete repaint. He was originally cast in a light blue and dull grey plastic. All blue sections were repainted with a much darker blue and all grey sections were painted black with a dry-brushed layer of silver. I also repainted the wheels and chest screen.

I decided to take this one a step further and painted select details with glow in the dark purple. It's clear when in light, but in the darkness, it glows purple.

Vehicle mode...

At the front of the vehicle, I decided to sculpt in some scratches as if it had been hit by an enemy while driving into battle.

Now, in the original Transformers TV show, this character actually transformed into a cassette player (which is why he has the screen on his chest). So I found a way to fold the limbs to resemble a futuristic alien boombox.

Here is how the back is formed in this position.

Transformers Warpath

Original unpainted figure.

Robot mode... Although this figure was cast in all the correct colors, I decided to repaint him for a rougher, more battle-worn look. The figure was given a wash of dark brown to simulate dirt and grime that would settle into the crevasses.

The star on his chest was hand painted.

One thing to note here is that the original figure had visible screws in his posterior.

Those screws were covered up with a layer of styrene.

Now this figure actually didn't come with any accessories at all, so I took a gun from another figure and repainted it for this character.

There are actually two pegs on the bottom of the gun, so it can be pegged into the arm like so, which makes it look as though his arm actually converted into a gun (which this character does in the video game).

A closer shot of the gun.

Vehicle mode... As a tank, the painted grime and texture really stands out and helps push the figure towards realism.

Here again is that hand painted star. You can really see the texture that was added to the surface. It really makes the figure look like it's been through a few battles.

A light brown was dry-brushed along the edges of the treads to simulate dirt and dust that would come up as the tank moved around.

The original figure was much too clean for a tank. And I didn't care for the red wheels on the bottom of the treads.

So the wheels were painted silver and the entire tread section was given a wash of brown to really dirty it up.

Transformers Swoop

Robot mode... This figure is actually a 3rd party figure from a different series. So in order to make it into the Transformers Dinobot character it resembles, I needed to repaint the entire figure.

As you can see, the original head sculpt featured very long "ear" pieces. These were cut down to a less ridiculous length. The figure was also given an Autobot symbol decal on the chest to really make it look like a legitimate Transformer.

I also filled in the screw hole in the side of the chest (pteranodon head).

The missiles on the wings were originally attached on the outside with a metal pin. After heating the pin, the missiles were easily removed and switched to the bottoms which more accurately matches the Transformers character.

Dino mode... Here, you can easily see the missiles now attached on the inside of the wings.

Another thing I modded was switching the right and left robot legs which are now folded onto the back. Originally, the toes were pointed outward and the peg at the knee was on the outside. I think it may have been a production issue, because now, the toes are more naturally pointed inward, and the peg at the knee holds the two legs together on the back.

Action scene!

The figure came with a few weapons, but they were all cast in solid grey plastic. I wanted to give the figure a translucent sword ("laser sword") so I made one from scratch.

The top image is the sword before painting. It was made from thick styrene, a plastic silly straw for the handle, and a craft gem. It was then painted with translucent paint for the blade so that light can shine through it.

Here it is with the figure.

Heavy mods and repaints

Transformers Optimus Prime

Robot mode... Optimus here was given a full repaint as well as a few heavy mods. The figure had random blue and yellow details on the arms that didn't belong, so those were painted over in red. An Autobot decal was applied to the shoulder and the entire figure was given a wash of dark brown.

His head originally had a yellow crest which I switched to silver for better accuracy. I also painted the sculpted seating behind the windows in his chest which was previously unpainted red plastic.

The smoke stacks on his shoulders were completely scratch built. They are made from a section of silly straw, model kit sprue, and plastic screw anchors for use in hollow walls.

This gun is a 3rd party accessory by Dr. Wu.

Vehicle mode... The top and sides were completely repainted solid red because they previously had random silver lines all over them. I instead painted in a single white line along the side which is how the character was depicted in the original TV show. And again, Autobot decals were added to the back above the white line.

Transformers Megatron

Vehicle mode... Lots of washes and dry-brushing gave this figure the grimy and battle-worn look that it has now. A fitting look for a tank, I think.

Robot mode... Now this figure is not based on any version of Megatron from any comic, TV show, or game. I found the figure above (Skullgrin) and thought it would make a good Megatron.

So I combined the Skullgrin figure's body with this Megatron figure's head.

And this is what we end up with. The figure required a lot of repainting to switch some of the red sections to grey. However, the figure already featured the perfect colors as Megatron was grey and red in the original show. Again, this figure was given a wash of dark brown to make it look dirty and battle-worn.

Now, this figure came with a single axe weapon. However, the Megatron character has always been depicted wielding an arm-mounted cannon. So I went to work scratch-building one from the fodder pieces pictured above... a pen, a section of model kit sprue, two plastic caps, some other plastic piece, beads.

Once the pieces are lined up, you can start to see the cannon form.

All pieced together and painted. The body of the cannon was sculpted from modeling putty which holds everything together.

The model kit sprue was used as a peg on the side so that the cannon can be attached to a hole in the side of the figure's arm.

Full scratch builds

Alien egg

Here is an ALIEN egg that I sculpted out of super sculpey, baked, and painted. It was made to scale with NECA's 8" Alien collectible figures.

Beyond Good and Evil Reaper

This is the Reaper creature from the video game Beyond Good and Evil.

This entire figure was scratch-built. I started with a wire frame, covered it in tin foil, and then sculpted on top of that with Super Sculpey. It was then baked and painted. Lots of layers of color were dry-brushed onto the figure for a really detailed look.

The base is a scrap piece of plastic I found on the street. It was cleaned and the then painted. I drilled two holes into the surface so the character could be pegged into the base.

Box Troll

When LAIKA first announced they were working on the Box Trolls movie, they had released a single poster image (above) and I decided to make my own Box Troll.

This is my character sketch based on the preview image LAIKA released.

And the colored version.

I then went to work making the base form out of wire.

The wire was covered in tin foil and then sculpted Super Sculpey.

Then, the model was painted. Surprisingly, I wasn't too far off from the final design that LAIKA went with.

Foot

With this sculpture, I decided to go for full realism. So here is a hand-sculpted and painted copy of my right foot.

Lots of painted layers on this one. I started with a layer of painted blue veins, then a thin base coat flesh-tone, then the various reds and pinks.

Tree

This tree sculpture is roughly 27" tall. It was made from fake flower stems inserted into a block of green foam, and then covered in clay. The plants on the base are made from the floral stem leaves that I pulled off and tucked into the clay.

Yoda

This Yoda sculpture is made from Super Sculpey. The base is a carved piece of wood with a few small rocks, a wire-wrapped hose, and scrap metal attached. His lightsaber is a piece of clear plastic model kit sprue.

His hair is actually made from some fabric strands that were hanging off the bottom of my bed. I just pulled them off and glued them to his head.

Zombie

Here's the base structure, a wooden dowel with a ball of tin foil at the top.

I then sculpted on top of the base structure in Super Sculpey. The lower teeth were baked separately and then pushed into the still soft clay of the head. They appear darker here, because they were baked twice.