The Zaku Group Build: Rhal Kutrie

Hey All,

  In light of Aulon's Zaku Group Build coming up soon, (Check out the MAC forums for more info Zaku Group Build Thread) I've decided to get into the planning stages of my part of the build.  To start off, the build allows partnerships, so I am working with Kamm, and my part is the sculpt.  Kamm is doing the clean up, painting, and presentation.  Kamm may decide he wants to scratchbuild some for the build, but that is up to him and I will post his work here too if he decides to do that, and if/when he says it's cool to share.  I am going to basically make a conversion kit, as I did for the Drehksturm Assault Type.  This one I am calling the Rhal Kutrie.  Here is my concept, which I made by doing this crappy line are on top of a stock Zaku 2 version 2.0 photo so I know the parts will fit on the frame.

 I have taken inspiration from some of my favorite kits and just made what I think will be a sweet looking Zeon-esque heavy armament type mecha.  The toes on the feet I did pretty much just take from ZLucas Garbaldy (an amazingly beautiful sculpted kit), but the rest of the foot and the rest of the body is pretty much all stuff I just drew out today on my own.  the hip skirts are similar to those on a kit a friend of mine has made, or at least inspired by them.  The cockpit area is supposed to look like it has plated steel that reinforces the cockpit hatch underneath it.  The shoulders have large verniers for lift.  The forearms have heavy cannons with large clips extending out the elbows, most of my designs have guns on the forearms as I think it is a proper use of space.  Also typical to my designs the calves will have large thrusters and intakes on the shins and calves.  The two large white vents on the chest are laser cannons.  I was gonna do away with the cables on the waist but I thought they might be neat to leave, although I may remake them.  I want the weapon to be a huge mega particle cannon, which either Kamm or I will design, and the backpack I will design later will have a large battery pack on it probably.  I'm still thinking that I want the kit to also have some large wing-like structures like the shields on the Kshatriya, but I still haven't figured out how I want to go about that yet.  I will keep everyone up to date as I can.  I can't actually start building until December though, as the contest doesn't start until then.  It's actually fine by me, gives me more time to veg out and play video games.  Skyrim comes out in four days! woot!  Anyway though I will post WIP photos of this as I make it when I actually start the build.  And yes, this kit will also be a kit that I cast and will probably sell the casts once my partners half is done.  Stay tuned mechaholics.  (Again I know that only maybe 2 of you read this but it makes me feel important.  haha)

p.s. here is my silly lil' sketch without the shadows n such: