DONE @p.3 +++ 1:60 German Police Labor "Michael I" (Mecha)

[Dizzyfugu]

They make quite a good starting point for space ships, too.

That was actually the intention! Some time ago, I wanted to take part in a spaceship convoy GB at a German SF modelling forum (with an ensuing model exhibition in real life at a convention) and deemed the bottle to be a good starting point - but it never materialized (from my side) and found it again in the "plastic scrap depot". The shape and size of the section is just great - it will receive a black edge all around and an opaque area in the middle as an attachment point to the lower arm of the Labor, which had hardpoints added there as a final step before painting.

However, some Japanese modellers have made fame and fortune from Yakult bottes and ping pong balls - the roots of the prolific Ma.K. universe (take a look at the Falke's engine...). So, here's the Listerine revenge, literally in the hands of German law authorities. I hope that this stunt works, though... 

[Dizzyfugu]

Post-painting news - things became BLUE. As mentioned above, the current ID color of German police vehicles is RAL 5017 (Verkehrsblau), before 2006 it was RAL 6029 (Pfefferminzgrün), both combined on standard vehicles with white (normally, these are leased white or silver vehicles with foil). For the Labor's time frame (around 2000), the classic green would have been appropriate, but I think that the blue looks less militaristic. Besides, special police vehicles like water throwers or armored cars carry a uniform livery, and that's what I adopted for the Michael I police Labor here. In Gunze Sagyo H15 I found a pretty good and bright guesstimate for the blue, and it was contrasted with Revell 09 (Tar Black). The back pack became medium grey, a similar tone to the silicone covers, and the grey was also used for some detail contrasts around the hull. Even though I did not want to weather the model, I did some dry-brushing/post shading to emphasize the edges and to make the large areas, esp. on the legs, less uniform. BTW, the re-sculpted knees and elbows turned out well, too, their shapes look very natural and there's hardly a visible transition between them and the rest of the model. 


Patlabor +++ 1:60 Schaft Enterprise Europe Type-10P "Michael I" in German Police service (Whif/Bandai kit conversion) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Here's a look at the dry-fitted body - the new head and the scratched collar look very good!


Patlabor +++ 1:60 Schaft Enterprise Europe Type-10P "Michael I" in German Police service (Whif/Bandai kit conversion) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The internal "neck" section was inserted into the hull opening, too, and because the wide collar offers a lot of space I added a pair of hydraulic pistons to fill the void and underline the robotic nature of the vehicle.


Patlabor +++ 1:60 Schaft Enterprise Europe Type-10P "Michael I" in German Police service (Whif/Bandai kit conversion) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Patlabor +++ 1:60 Schaft Enterprise Europe Type-10P "Michael I" in German Police service (Whif/Bandai kit conversion) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Decals following soon. I will have to print some license plates for the Labor, though, and German police vehicles come with characteristic "dotted" reflective cheatlines (see below) that scare me a little... 

[PR19_Kit]

Yes, that's definitely BLUE!   

Can't you print out the cheatlines as decals? No-one would notice they aren't reflective on the model, and most of us wouldn't know they SHOULD be anyway. 

[Dizzyfugu]

I have the cheatlines as 1:43 decals - part of an IDC Decals set for German police cars. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Looking good. 


Patlabor +++ 1:60 Schaft Enterprise Europe Type-10P "Michael I" in German Police service (Whif/Bandai kit conversion) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Old Wombat]

 

[NARSES2]

Looking good. 

Certainly is

[Dizzyfugu]

Not much new to show; varnish coats have been applied and some detail painting (clear lights), final assembly today - for the first time I will see the Labor model completed!

[Dizzyfugu]

Small update from the final straight:


Patlabor +++ 1:60 Schaft Enterprise Europe Type-10P "Michael I" in German Police service (Whif/Bandai kit conversion) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Patlabor +++ 1:60 Schaft Enterprise Europe Type-10P "Michael I" in German Police service (Whif/Bandai kit conversion) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


It looks better than ever expected, even the simple all-blue livery looks IMHO good. The final challenge is the riot shield now, which had to wait until everything went together.

[Old Wombat]

 

[PR19_Kit]

It NEEDS a riot shield??? 

[zenrat]

It NEEDS a riot shield??? 

Well yes.  To protect itself against the rioting civilian mecha...

[Dizzyfugu]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xybWsAk5oVk

[scooter]

It NEEDS a riot shield??? 

Well yes.  To protect itself against the rioting civilian mecha...

Especially in America, since the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) has interpreted the 2d Amendment (A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.) to include the owning of armed mecha- thanks, in large part, to exhaustive lobbying by the National Rifle & Mecha Association.

[zenrat]

As it was my doorway into the world of giant robots I automatically assume all mecha are Gundam size.
I see labor are small mecha.

<edit>
I found this chart which shows the range of mecha size.  Dizz will fill us in on which one is which...



https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1i7ulm/mecha_size_chart_excluding_ttgl_getter_emperor/