Hovercraft L.A.R.C. ZZ, Ausf.D - FINISHED

[CANSO]

Hi Everybody!
A bit of late start, but in fact I've been preparing this entry since Friday/Saturday night, when the build officially started.
For those who remember my entry for the One Week GB in 2017 M.A.R.C. Z-360, this will be the sequel. For those who doesn't, this will be another scratch-bash from the Twilight Zone.

THE NAME
L.A.R.C. ZZ, Ausf.D
You might remember that the first hovercraft was called M.A.R.C., deciphered as Medium Army Reconnaissance Complex. The new one is a L.A.R.C., where the L is for Large. The ZZ is an homage to...eh, you know who,

but also means Zero Gravity - Zwilling.
Ausf.D is for the modification of course (A, B and C were mostly test crafts).

As usually everything starts with

THE PLAN
My build from 2017 was based on the scheme "Bulky fuselage + 2 aerodynamic booms" with 1 thrust engine.

This time I decided to "reverse" the old idea and create something with a very slim and elongated fuselage, but with 2 bulky booms/pods for the antigravitons (the antigravity engines) and 2 thrust engines this time.
This is my first (and last) sketch (only one boom is shown, the other is the same):

The craft will have a very long and thin "stinger" tail like a sting-ray and a robust (probably this is the best description for it) "head" between the booms.
Below is my usual mélange of parts from toys, models, gundams, transformers an "1 Dollar store" - items:

The 2 blue parts are the "booms" - as in the case with the first hovercraft these are boxes for Halo-Lego figures I found for under 1$ at Toys-R-Us. The squarish thing between them is from a gundam and for the "head" of the fuselage. The 2 round parts are wheels from some toy-car from my son's baby years to become engines/jet exhausts. At the bottom are parts from a broken transformer (don't know which one exactly, the one looking like a truck maybe?) to add some more weight to the booms. In the boxes to the left are some of the greebles resp. paraphernalia to be used during the build. I can't show you my whole collection of bits and bobs, but you'll see everything I'll be using so or so.
For the body I'll probably start with a fuselage from a 1/72 airplane (fighter) - I'll see what I have in the "storage".
That's all for now. Stay tuned.
Cheers!

[CANSO]

Started with the booms first:


White intake is top (as on the second photo), golden intake is front, toy-wheel is exhaust, blue ribbed element is a radiator of some sort. I like the skin appearance of the plastic container (as mentioned before from a Lego-Halo figure) - it's like organic.
Of course the above work was done x2.
Tops:

Bottoms:

I like using all sort of cheap parts with nice, rounded forms like ear buds. The top ones are obviously from my last flight with LOT (Polish Airlines). I found them today in a box with similar greebles:

They look like this:

And give you 2X2 beautiful parts after some surgery:

Both will be used for different applications.
That was all for Sunday.
Cheers!

[Old Wombat]

[Weaver]

I love stuff like this! 

[CANSO]

Just a small update: yesterday/today, before going to bed I found in the parts-box a fuselage of a F4F, the old Airfix kit
.
Not all parts are existent, but I'll see what can be used and/or modified.
It has a really pointed end (what actually caught my eye):

which can be easily adapted for the "stinger" as mentioned in the beginning.
Cheers!

[CANSO]

Looking at the already painted models for this GB (guys, it's Tuesday!!! ), I'm getting really frustrated...
Trying to put some work every day, I must say that during the week this task is not entirely under (my) control.
O.K. back to the Zee-Zee.
Here is its body with the stinger (not completely finished yet).
Top view:

Bottom view:

Yes, the bottom of the "Martlet" is the top of the zee-zee and vice versa I used the fuselage, cowling and cockpit glazing of a F4F in 1:72, external tank from a F-4 Phantom (I guess?) in 1:100, a piece of a toy in unknown scale and a "Stinger" in 1:1. Just a few words about the latter:

Some time ago I found in a store called "Silver Dollar" (or something similar, essentially a 1-Dollar store) a telescopic antenna with a magnetic tip.

Each antenna gives me 5-6 tubes and a final solid rod with a tip. They all are very useful! The "stinger" is the solid rod.
Here some of the tubes I'm using for this build:

Not much, but that's all for now.
Cheers!

[63cpe]

Awesome job you doing here Canso!

I'm also watching you...always watching you.........

David aka 63cpe

[CANSO]

Awesome job you doing here Canso!

I'm also watching you...always watching you.........

David aka 63cpe

Thank you for watching...Big Brother! I hope it's worth it.
It's still this phase of scratch-bashing where nothing big happens. Plastic pieces have been put together but not like when building an original kit, where you have instructions and the expected end product, at least on a picture. And if you build a tank from a box showing a tractor, it's your fault only.
In my case I'm the designer of the craft, manufacturer (or manipulator) of the parts, there is no box with a picture and I lost the instructions. Go figure what will come out at the end.
In the meantime I put a "head" to the "body" - view from below (bottom):

The metal tubes ("arms") are the supports for the booms and from the same source as the "stinger" (see previous posts).
The "head" is the middle portion of a Gundam's body (so I think, could be some other "monster" too).
I had some time to sand the body a bit better than on the photo above - more to come.
Cheers!

[Old Wombat]

I figure, if you build a tank from a box showing a tractor on the cover, you're doing all right as a whiffer!

[CANSO]

I figure, if you build a tank from a box showing a tractor on the cover, you're doing all right as a whiffer!

Yes, but some modelers are not whifers and they are usually disappointed, aren't they? And immediately write a letter to the manufacturer, asking for a new (the correct one) model. Most people here will wait until the very end, see what they have created and be glad with it.
O.K. here is a preliminary,  "show & tell" with the unfinished, unglued, unpainted ZeeZee:
                                                                                         TOP VIEW    &    BOTTOM VIEW

All weapon systems are missing. The 2 shiny spheres on the top are a preliminary idea for some all directional scanners, similar to bug eyes. A lot of greebles still not used: hatches, small bubbles here an there (I call them "pimples"), a pair of air-brakes (moveable), a pair of fins (vertical stability), 3+ laser canons/guns, maybe a pair of lights somewhere, the real jet exhausts (nozzles) etc. etc.
Stay tuned for more.
Cheers!
P.S. I received 2 comments from my family:
#1 - looks like a deep sea fish with 2 big air bubbles to surface faster.
This one maybe:

#2 - looks like a high speed submarine with 2 huge underwater jets.
Maybe I made a mistake with the antigravity idea in the beginning?

[Old Wombat]

I dunno, anti-grav works for me, the build has a certain Star-Warsy vibe about it right now!

[CANSO]

I dunno, anti-grav works for me, the build has a certain Star-Warsy vibe about it right now!

I'll stay with the initial idea until the end. Underwater vehicles are not my "specialty" even in the fantasy world.
And to better visualize the idea of the AG-hovering I always put this type of models on a pylon, utilizing my favorite (and yet not patented;D) detail with the bicycle spoke.

Top view with the metal head embedded in plastic and glue:

Bottom view with the threaded end.

Both sides will be covered with appropriate elements (greebles) as parts of the composite fuselage.
If I have enough time (I'm laughing loud now ) I'll make a "themed" base as well. We'll see.
Cheers!

[CANSO]

My productivity on week days is pretty low and the mojo is almost non-existent, but here is a detail for the laser cannons. These are the basic materials: a filter (or whatever the proper designation is) from a fine liner and a tip from a ball pen. The fine liner part is amazing and very similar in appearance to a passive radiator/heat sink which is essential for a laser blaster Isn't it?

The ball pen tip is attached reversed so the ball is inside the plastic part. Thickness of tube is appropriate for a gun in this scale as per my criteria.


Once painted and dry-brushed the "cannon" will show its full power. There are 2 of them (one on each exter. face of the booms).
A small step (again), but something that needed to be done. There is another, bigger cannon to be mounted under the chin of the fuselage, but it's just a part form a toy and gets the "muzzle"(ball pen tip) in the very same way as described.
Stay tuned!

[63cpe]

Woooow, it that a fineliner???! looks amazing! just like a radiator for a laserblaster!

Terrific find!

[CANSO]

Woooow, it that a fineliner???! looks amazing! just like a radiator for a laserblaster!
Terrific find!

Yep, using those since years: available in many colours, but often covered by paint, when used in a model.


Thank you for asking!
P.S. The above pen is just one of the many. These "radiator" pieces may vary in length and type. The ones I'm using for the hovercraft are not exactly the same - I don't remember what fineliner are they from.