A pair of customs I've been pondering for a while, but finally got around to actually doing. Not meant to be new characters per se, but upgraded versions of the regular Werkstra and Valona Shinkis, following their particular themes.

The first up is Werkstra Victory. Launching!


Her assault rifle has been replaced with a rapid-firing massdriver which requires a bulky powerpack. The increase in both stopping power and rate of fire are well-worth the trade off in terms of mass.


Two new secondary weapons have been mounted on the backplate, a long-ranged beam cannon over her right shoulder, and a close range beam sprayer over the left. The beam cannon hires a single, focused shot at a slow rate of fire, whereas the sprayer fires a burst of short-range beams at multiple targets.


Ready for action! Two new maneuver vanes have been added to her legs to help make up for the considerable weight increase in the equipment.


The knife and shield have been abandoned to focus entirely on long-range combat, but the standard leg armour has been retained.


The thruster pod has been replaced with a new, higher-output system incorporated into the rear weapons pods. The design allows a fair amount of independant positioning from the weapons, broadening her field of fire.


The massdriver is from a 1/144 HG Tallgeese III kit, whereas the thruster/weapons assembly came from an old System Injection V2 Assault Gundam kit. The parts fit together remarkably well, with the back assembly going onto the standard Shinki adapters with no modification. I tried to work up a replacement arm shield, but nothing really came together, and it was fairly cluttered already.

The second is Valona Balrog. Her equipment has been completely replaced two new, extensive systems. The magnesser wings provide both flight and protection, being able to wrap around her or angle to deflect incoming shots.


The wings mount on a standard Shinki backpack. Each has an independently actuated mounting to provide the greatest range of motion possible, both for in-flight maneuvering and defense.


On the attack! Valona deploys her wings for close-in mobility, with each individual shift in position able to move her in any direction in response to her thoughts.


Her sole weapon is the claw whip, mounted on a heavy shield. A vicious, flexible and extendable weapon, she uses it to lash at or entangle foes. The shield contains the majority of the motors and generators for the whip, as well as allowing her to block attacks from close quarters while the wings are spread.


Airspeed is comparable to the original Valona equipment, but her maneuverability has been greatly enhanced. The claw whip gives her more options in close combat, and responds to her commands immediately.


The wings and support structure are entirely from a 1/144 HG Gundam Wing 0 Custom kit. The mounting was hollowed out, and was then superglued to the standard Shinki back support with the aid of a pair of standard Shinki connectors. The shield and claw whip assembly comes from the same Tallgeese III kit that provided Werkstra's massdriver.

Huge thanks to Rantinan for his help, support, advice and paints in doing both of these. They wouldn't have happened without you.

Those came up realy well. And best use of a victory gundam EVER*


*Loaded statement

WOW NICE CUSTOMS keep it up

Wow~ Awesome customs~

Wow!

VERY nice!

I find myself now looking through a lot of my old, poorly-made model kits and wondering what I can cannibalise for future customs...

Out of curiosity, why Balrog?
I keep expecting her to shout out 'MY FIGHT MONEY!!!' with that name.

Out of curiosity, why Balrog?

Mostly because I was struggling for a name. I thought of the Balrog from Fellowship of the Rings and it sorta fit - demonic figure with wings and a flaming whip. It followed on the theme for Valona (very vaguely, I confess), after her original Succubus type.

Ooooh. THAT Balrog. Ok, makes a lot more sense now.
To much Street Fighter on the brain, these days. Been on a heavy fighting game kick.