Wednesday 24 February 2010

WWG Burned Out Cars

In a complete contrast to my last review, which looked at my sleek, highly polished sports-cars, I present the WWG burned out car models. These two superb models come from the Bits of Mayhem set and I thoroughly applaud WWG's Matt Lyon for producing them.
They come in two colour schemes - red and yellow. Note how the wheels are splayed out, as if both axle shafts have snapped. It's a nice touch which keeps the cars flush with the ground and helps to emphasise the fact that these really are wrecks.
The instructions recommend that you colour the reverse side of the pieces you cut out in black felt-tip pen before making the model. Good advice, as it would be incredibly difficult and fiddly trying to get a pen or a paintbrush inside after you'd built it. I painted the inside of my cars with matt black paint rather than use a felt-tip pen. That is just a preference I have, as I always "edge" my models with acrylic paint.
The windows have to be cut out so that you can see the burned out interior, which is simply a single piece of card that is curled at the front and back to fit just underneath the front and back windows respectively. It is a simple solution to representing the ruined interior that works well.
As always, my cars were reinforced with thick mounting card, although I did use much thinner card for making the tyres and the curved interior section. Mounting card is too thick to curve easily. I really can't praise these two models too highly. As props go, they are ideal for a game of All Things Zombie or any other post-apocalypse game. My only gripe is that WWG have only produced the pair of them. I'd love to see more of their vehicles getting the burned out wreck treatment.
Incidentally, they are not the easiest of vehicles to build but neither are they the hardest. I'd rate them as a moderately complex build but they are well worth having a go at. Even if you use die-cast vehicles in your games, these are worth making as no one makes die-cast burned out cars. Your only other alternative is to look for resin cast sculpts, of which I know a few, but they cost a heck of a lot more than these.

10 comments:

  1. This is a good idea, depending on how much apocalypse is going on, you need burned out cars. There really arent very many resin ones available but I have seen nice weathering done on some diecast stuff.

    These look great, you are right though, a burnout apc or something like that would be cool. Nicely done again from the king of the paper models!

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  2. There's nothing wrong with taking a die-cast car and painting it so that it looks burnt out. The problem is, not everyone could pull off the paintjob to make it look realistic. So these fill a gap in the market that is sadly lacking. I love them!

    I was told by Matt Lyon, who designed these models, that there is a burning police car in the Mayhem Police set, which I must admit, I'd forgotten about. I haven't made it yet, which might expalin why it slipped my mind.

    I know that Forge World make an abandoned Chimera APC for Warhammer 40,000, which would make for a good burnt-out APC, Roger. The only problem is it's made by Forge World and that means a hefty price tag! It's almost £30.00 - ouch!

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  3. Hi, I looked on the WW site and couldn't find them. Are they still available?

    D.x

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    1. Check out the new TLX set - Mayhem Destroyed. You'll find them in there along with some new burned out cars.

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    2. Wow, you are right, genius! Thanks Vamp, just goes to show that 'asking' is good - I all ready have it! I have to stop sniffing that Ajax!

      Just about to make a start on my first creations. (gulp)
      D.x

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    3. Never be afraid to ask, Dogman. Best of luck on your first builds.

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  4. ......just another question, is there some kind of package I can use to remove text or features from WW models? Can the colours be changed also? Oh, it has to be easy. I can cut and paste, but that is it!

    Cheers from sunny durham! D.x

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    1. This is not something I have ever done before, Dallas. I'd imagine if you cut and pasted the image to any kind of graphics program you ought to be able to manipulate the colours and add/remove certain features.

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  5. Thanks again, this is what I have been 'experimenting' with. I found Gimp! No, not down my favourite goth/fetish club, but I have had a few minor woo-hoo's. Took metal shutters from the industrial set, cut and paste, print and glue. Looks good. Going to try colours next.

    D.x

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    1. Don't worry, Dogman66, I have heard of Gimp, the DTP package. I wish you all the best with your conversions. Go for it, my friend!

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