I have quite the liking for the DAM 1:12 Vietnam figures...so much so that I've been hankering for a RTO to join my little squad.
It doesn't seem like we'll be getting an official one any time soon, so I got to work.
I got the 1:1 scale dimensions of the radio and reduced it to 1:12...and it seemed too big for these little figures, so took it down a bit further, to 1:14, and it fits a lot better.
I used a paper pattern first, and then used some wooden stir sticks cut to length and glued together to form the basic shape.
I then cut and glued some thin plastic from an old gift card on the ends to cap them off, and used a little putty to smooth in some big gaps.
I used some paper clip for the carry handles, and drilled out some holes for the tuning knobs (for which I used some small screws)
I'm not going for 100% accuracy, just something that'll be passable at a glance.
For the handset I opted to use a LEGO telephone piece. The wire is from a cheap pair of headphones, and I used a piece of guitar string for the antenna.
I glued in the wire and the hanging clip, then covered the ends with some putty to smooth things in a bit.
Then I made a little carrying harness.
Hockey tape! Plus some grosgrain ribbon, and more wooden stir sticks for the mounting panels.
A radio needs batteries.
I reduced the battery box I'd done up before to 1:14, printed, covered in clear tape and then assembled. Lots of tiny folding!
Covered the battery boxes in some plastic and sealed up with electrical tape.
Pretty well there. Just some paint touch-ups.
I used some grosgrain ribbon to help secure the radio, it sits nicely on top of the buttpack,
which I'd secured with a slightly wider piece of grosgrain ribbon to the harness.
Satisfied for now. I may seek a 3D printed option at some point.
My only complaint is that the figure isn't articulated enough to actually hold the handset up to his ear.
It doesn't seem like we'll be getting an official one any time soon, so I got to work.
I got the 1:1 scale dimensions of the radio and reduced it to 1:12...and it seemed too big for these little figures, so took it down a bit further, to 1:14, and it fits a lot better.
I used a paper pattern first, and then used some wooden stir sticks cut to length and glued together to form the basic shape.
I then cut and glued some thin plastic from an old gift card on the ends to cap them off, and used a little putty to smooth in some big gaps.
I used some paper clip for the carry handles, and drilled out some holes for the tuning knobs (for which I used some small screws)
I'm not going for 100% accuracy, just something that'll be passable at a glance.
For the handset I opted to use a LEGO telephone piece. The wire is from a cheap pair of headphones, and I used a piece of guitar string for the antenna.
I glued in the wire and the hanging clip, then covered the ends with some putty to smooth things in a bit.
Then I made a little carrying harness.
Hockey tape! Plus some grosgrain ribbon, and more wooden stir sticks for the mounting panels.
A radio needs batteries.
I reduced the battery box I'd done up before to 1:14, printed, covered in clear tape and then assembled. Lots of tiny folding!
Covered the battery boxes in some plastic and sealed up with electrical tape.
Pretty well there. Just some paint touch-ups.
I used some grosgrain ribbon to help secure the radio, it sits nicely on top of the buttpack,
which I'd secured with a slightly wider piece of grosgrain ribbon to the harness.
Satisfied for now. I may seek a 3D printed option at some point.
My only complaint is that the figure isn't articulated enough to actually hold the handset up to his ear.
Beautifully done. Almost hard to believe this is 12th scale.
Team Hckeytape and Grosgrain ribbon did it again.
