02/04/2023

Mining dump truck

 Ha, I guess you have already forgotten that I have a Genestealer Cult in their own mining settlement! Well, I still don't have a proper mining settlement, but you know, I'm slowly building it. But never mind! I have a Genestealer Cult and it keeps on growing. With that idea in mind I got this kit some time ago. It's the Humpt1 Dumpy by Miniature Scenery.

I had never purchased anything from them, but the pics on their web were awesome and I had read some nice reviews, so I gave them a chance. I'm tremendously happy with the quality of the kit, lo please let me share :)

Like any other MDF kit, it requires some patience to assemble. I have to say that it's not particularly complicated, but it takes some time, as it has quite a lot of pieces everywhere.

Well, these are just the tyres. You can certainly get tired too soon

But if you endure, you can get some more complex shapes

And they eventually turn into something that finally makes some sense

The assembly instructions expresely recommend you to paint the cab now, as it will apparently get more difficult to do later. Experience in life has taught me that, if a manufacturer gives you any piece of advice, it is wise to follow it. Kind of a fortune cookie sentence, I guess, but true nevertheless.

So let's paint it then!

I thought it also was the right moment to add a driver. I couldn't build an accurate 4th generation hybrid with my current bits; you know, the kind of bloke that can take the risk to expose himself among regular Imperial citizens. Well, this will have to do:

Anyway, no one pays attention to the driver

No one will even note his feet

I decided that, if I had to paint this part, I could as well paint the rest as I assembled it.

So here you have the basic shape

Miniature Scenery produce some other variants of this kit. They all share this basic structure and vary on the rest. It's very cleverly designed (which you can see in the sprue too) and I guess that having different models also enhances a WH40K feeling, as they all look like part of a common Standard Template Construct, just like it happens with different variants on a Rhino or a Chimera chassis.

In this case, it's a dump truck (you may have guessed that by the name of the kit). The dump body itself is amazing. Once built it hardly looks like a MDF kit.

Some hours involved

Painted in regular custard yellow

There's a joint on the side that reveals the MDF pieces. I simply glued a cardboard on it on which I painted the usual Fodinae Conlegium ('Mining Guild') sign. My handwriting with brush is awful, of course. I should have designed it on the computer and printed it, but I was on my own personal rush, you know how these things happen.

It will have to work

OK, time for heavy weathering! My usual recipe is to give a brown wash (why on Earth is it called 'wash' if the model gets dirtier?), then some darker brown stains and finally a burned brown layer with a sponge:

OK, now it looks like being used on a mine in the Dark Millenium

The plate is a decal from a model kit. The 'DOG' is from this kit and had me laughing for ten minutes

I could have added bits or stuff, but I think it works nice as it is

However, I still think I could add some rocks or something in here

The truck is a real monster, let me show you a size comparison pic alongside some regular infantry and my other special stuff of the Cult:

I seriously need a proper backdrop to take pics

Well, this is it. The kit is highly enjoyable and reasonably easy to assemble, so if you were thinking of getting some stuff from Miniature Scenery, I definitely encourage you to do so. The only thing you may have to consider is shipping. In my case, I could expect that sending stuff from Australia to Europe would involve some custom issues (minor setback, I expected it to be much more expensive). But, foreseeing that I would have to pay customs, I wouldn't of course just order a single kit, I took the chance to purchase some more stuff. So... you can expect some more MDF kits in the future ;)

29 comments:

  1. Excellent work on the kit Suber, and very nice detail work to cover the MDF joins, and your weathering really brings the whole piece together

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    1. Thank you! The dirtier it gets, the more difficult is to see the wooden pieces :D

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  2. Great work Suber! An excellent result and the dials and controls in the cabin are amazing! I hope you can still see them 😊
    The Dog sign had me laughing too. Plus the little house symbol 😂 Very clever.

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    1. Thanks! The pic of the panel is terrible, but it was quite a fun thing to do, I tried to do everything in a retro style, all in green and with written commands XD

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    2. Yes, that control panel looks amazing. And the overall result is absolutely not obviously an MDF kit... Thanks to clever design and your excellent construction and painting! It looks great with the other models and fits in perfectly.

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    3. Thanks! I have to say the kit exceeded my expectations. However, the heavy weathering and dirt helped to conceal my assembling mistakes :D

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  3. You have amazing ideas for your models!
    Love it!

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    1. Thanks! The Cult needed some industrial stuff, and I found this kit to be exactly what I was looking for. No idea of how to use it in a game though!

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  4. Excellent work there and very tempting to get, love the weathering to :) One little extra detail could be added in the form of a cuddly toy fixed to the front grill or bumper for that dustcart look. I believe this is quite common to both the UK and USA. Again excellent work.

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    1. Ooooh! That's an idea I could certainly use! So cool! Thank you! I'll give it a thought!

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  5. Let us premise that we have always been a bit biased towards MDF models, because, at least looking from the web, the unpainted result made them look more like an old wooden toy than a hobby model. Assembling your truck makes us think again: the painted and weathered result is excellent, and matches perfectly with other plastic models (we suppose that the cost of the MDF models is also much cheaper).
    Yes, we agree, they need a bit of minerals to transport: otherwise everyone - at least all those so short-sighted as not to see the driver's face well - understand that the mine is just a cover for the cult...

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    1. Oh , sure. MDF is what it is. It allows you to populate a board at a reasonable price, but it of course lacks the detail or general design of a plastic or resin model. I could have added more layers of detail (I may still do it), but you sometimes reach a point in which you have to settle, and I was happy with the time/results ratio.
      Haha, you are right too, I may have to pick some tiny rocks from the park over the weekend...

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  6. Great looking kit and nice paint job - Malacassa

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    1. Thank you! It was kind of a 'ohhh shiny' impulse, I saw it and knew I wanted a truck for my Cult :D

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  7. That looks really nice. The shape of the kit really hides that it's pieces of wood cut at right angles. It's very good. The paintjob is cool - the lamps and screens are particularly good. Nice work!

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    1. The kit is really good, I mean it. I've assembled a number of MDF kits over the years and this one is top notch. Of course there are some things it cannot hide, but I'm quite happy with the purchase. Thank you, I tried a new way to paint the lamps, it's all experimental, glad you liked it!

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  8. I like the driver. There are exactly two modes to operating heavy equipment: "walking on eggshells" and "FULL THROTTLE!". He perfectly captures the latter.

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    1. Haha, thank you! I think I couldn't have said it better! The guy's just enjoying it too much, isn't he?

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  9. First we share Space Sharks projects, now you show we also share GSC projects as well!? Uncanny.... Great minds? Or just minds?

    Bits amalgamated driver is perfect - I'm sure he drives too fast for anyone to notice his xenos features.

    Lovely kit though and I very much like the paintjob and scheme. Your freehand on the black signage is fine and I like that there are no rocks or extra "bits" added, makes the vehicle look that much more utilitarian I think.

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    1. Haha, no way! I love it!
      Thanks, I didn't want to overdo the model, I think it works the way it is and looks legit for the mining vibe, glad you like it!

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  10. Excellent looking truck , doesn't look like an mdf truck in the least and I'm with Keith, you need a soft toy fixed on the front!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks! I was surprised by the kit and I enjoyed it a lot! I most definitely must find an option for the toy on the front!

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  11. Even before the weathering the vehicles already look good, although of course the extra work you do on them definitely makes them look even better :)

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    1. Thanks! It had to look really battered, I hope I didn't overdo it!

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    1. ¡Gracias! La verdad es que ha sido un trasto bastante agradecido de hacer :)

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  13. Love it! I'm a fan of dirty industrial yellow and you've pulled it off very nicely here! :)

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    1. Thank you! I cannot resist to this stuff, I would paint a whole forge world in these colours :D

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