Monday 26 March 2018

Alpha Squad AWE Striker

Well very nearly an AWE Striker. The AWE Striker was my first Gi Joe toy vehicle as a kid and there fore is high up on the nostalgia list for this project. 



At the time of starting this conversion  project I had searched high and low for a suitable model kit or car to make this vehicle but unfortunately at the time over a year now. There was nothing remotely like it.  So I decided to make my own version of this vehicle. There have been several  versions of AWE Strikers all following the same sort of design elements. Later versions had slightly different weapon systems on top which had working firing actions but the vehicles more toy like.



So biting the bullet and making my mind upto to have a crack at making my own. The original vehicle is a Disney/Pixar Cars The Radiator Springs 500 1/2 Die-Cast Idle Threat toy car. Some pics and description of what I removed are below.

Some WIP of the vehicle before started. Tyres were removed to allow ease of painting. I removed the tyre top and the rubbery roof. I then infilled the roof and front grill with some cut to shape blister pack to fill in the gap.


The roof Cannon is a cobbled together weapon consisting of a Bazooka and traffic cone from Wargames Foundry with some paperclips to hold it all together and painted black to represent the power cable. 



However there is now a 3D printable version but I am still not sure about them yet as a lot of the features on it would be quite fragile and I am still not sure about the material.

This is my first ever proper vehicle that I have finished. Not including any wrecks i've done before. Its been an interesting experience. I have another diecast to turn into a VAMP so that will be the next project to tackle now I have a bit more confidence with doing them. I still need to make and convert the driver Crankcase which I am still sourcing parts for at the minute.










 I hadn't really done any full shots of my Alpha Force so far but as I hit 22 figures last week and my First vehicle this week I thought I would break them out for a photo shoot. There are still plenty more to come for both factions.






31 comments:

  1. This does absolutely nothing for me on any level. Good on you for trying though.

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  2. Great conversion Simon, have been looking at similar style vehicles for post apocalyptic setting, so can greatly appreciate the work you've done on this.
    The group shots look great as well, keep them coming !

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  3. Love that group shot! Amazing project overall!

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  4. Well that certainly looks the part and great to see the team altogether too.

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    1. Thanks Michael. Thats the main thing at this point. If i find that I can get a resin printable one and it is robust enough I may get a proper one then.

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  5. AWEsome work mate. :)

    And the Alphas Squad as a whole look superb. :)

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    1. Thanks dude lol Its nice to see them all together

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  6. Nice repurposing! Well, it is me who is in awe! ;)

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  7. Nice work on the vehicle, it scales well. Will you do any weathering or leave it as is?

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    1. Thanks. I'll probably leave as is for now. Something to look into for next time.

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  8. Does the job mate - nicely done, especially being your first vehicle.

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    1. Cheers Dai. Yeah the next one requires a lot more work. The interior has come loose but I need to strip stuff to repaint it. As well as adding crew men and weapons to it.

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  9. That was more ambitious than anything I’ve done. I thought the car came out looking pretty cool overall. I would of never recognized it as a conversion.

    It fun when a project starts to come together! Looks cool!

    I don’t remember this vehicle from the car toon, actually now that I think about it I only remember the cobra vehicles: not sure what that means. 😀

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    1. Cheers Stew. It was often seen in the opening credits driving off the beach. You would sometimes see Greenshirts driving them in big battles.

      But again for me it was pure nostalgia. For me I am not keen on vehicles in games other than as a deployment tool.

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  10. Excellent conversion and great collection. You are right the 3D Resin can be fragile, I'd be curios too how it would hold up.

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    1. Cheers dude!

      That is only thing putting me off the resin version is the whip aerials and roll cage.

      If someone did one in resin but with a metal cage kit or something i'd probably get one.

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  11. While not a GI Joe fan I do like what you have done. It looks most suitable to me.

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  12. Super conversion and great idea. It's very difficult to believe its origin.
    Your collection has come together well, in a relatively brief period of time to - very impressive Brummie.

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    1. Thanks Joe. Its been around 2 years I think. Well nearly to get to this point on and off.

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  13. I was hoping for a G.I. Joe group shot, Simon, and you haven't disappointed :-) Marvellous work on the vehicle too - I can't believe that's your first non-wreck!?!

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    1. Thanks mate. I took note and as the weather was so good. Expect a Cobra one soon.

      I know I just don't like vehicles in games I am pleased I get a smooth enough finish. Once I become more consistent I'll perhaps experiment a bit more.

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  14. Great to try new stuff - looking good, too!

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    1. Thanks Monty yes I am pleased. Glad you like it.

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  15. Excellent work Simon! :) Though it might not be worth your time to do so, some selectively placed orange tint to the green vehicle might do wonders to it i.e. something akin to a rusty look on an AFV.

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    1. Cheers very much. Where would you put the orange tint?

      I may be doing another one as I've just seen someone print the actual Striker in PLA and now it is gnawing at me to get one.

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