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Building a Scout Buggy

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by Mickey Gentile

Having seen pics of the Fire Wasp buggy by the (now-defunct) Fire Industries, I was inspired to make some buggies. I then saw pics posted on the AT-43 forum of a beautifully-painted buggy with Warhammer 40,000 figures in it. I was now inspired to get something together quickly! I purchased three McFarlane Halo Warthog buggies on eBay. The models came painted in a nice green with mud scheme, and look good and ready to play right out of the box—but hey, who can resist a little tinkering?

For starters the guns all pointed a little too high for me so I popped them off and re-glued them into a slightly lower position. I then gave the whole vehicle a black wash, then highlighted the body with Games Workshop Goblin Green, just hitting the center of the panels to make it look worn. I then highlighted some spots and the gun and gun area with Games Workshop Mithril Silver to show some more wear. The mud was then applied using Games Workshop Vermin and Vomit Brown, though you can use any colors, really. I muddied up the sides and bottom of the vehicle as well as the tires and undercarriage. I also covered part of the windshield with tape so I could get a nice finish when overcoating.

Then I took two U.N.A. figures for each vehicle. The driver is one of the missile-launcher troops while the gunner is the standard guy running with laser rifle. I also used a Colonel Stark figure for a commander of one of my vehicles.

Each figure was separated into its two halves. I used the missile-launcher guys with the legs positioned closer together, then I just cut some off the underside butt section of the figure so it would sit lower in the seat. Once I was happy with the positioning, I glued the top section, minus the stem, right on top. I didn't mess with the open hole section as it was pushed against the back of the seat and not easy to see. I cut and repositioned the left hand as shown to look like the driver was hitting the steering wheel.

The gunner basically had the gun removed and was then glued in place to the gun base plate and support pads on the gun. You may need to twist the front foot a little so it doesn't hit anything when turning the gun base.

After this I applied two coats of RustOleum Touch clear coat and then two coats of Testors Dullcote. Once dry I peeled the tape off the windshield and was ready to play!

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