Warlord Titan Project Update

This is the toe of a Titan...

That I refused to make multiples of by scratch building.

A while back I asked the question of what to cast the multiples from and settled, after a bit of discourse, on resin. So now Macca and I have a lot of toes for our two Titans, some half completed feet and the masters for the pistons (no pictured below). All the Designs are done and the major construction is under way. I managed to snavel bits out of lots of people so details shouldn't be and issue. I do have to cast another 60-ish missile tips for the multi-launcher and another 180 pistons.

more pics now...

Six toes for one foot.

Twenty-Four toes for both titans

The internal support structure in the feet.

Just how big the feet really are, yes that is a chair...

The Piston Moulds need re-engineering as I am having issues with the pours so that will happen first thing tomorrow... unless it is raining again in which case I will be washing my car.

Ten Years on...

I have been working on items of the Titan project all day, namely things that need to be moulded and cast as there are multiples. These include the hydraulics rams, toes and toe joints. I will likely also cast a copy of the crew once I finish the sculpts of the moderatii and consoles.

However there comes a point where after nearly 12 hours of measuring, cutting, sanding, glueing and checking plastic card/rod/tube where you need a break...

So I decided that I needed a little taste of the retro...

Casting my eye across the DVD Shelf I realized that a movie was not in order, so I then cast my eye across the CD shelf and something caught my eye. As you probably guessed from the snazzy picture at the start of this post that something was in fact Homeworld. Furthermore, I realised that it is in fact ten years this month that Homeworld was released.

For those of you unfamiliar with the gem of RTS history then check this handy link [SPOILER WARNING!!]

What made this game great? Well there was a rich compelling story that combined with a brilliant 3D engine, for its time, innovative approach to RTS gameplay (omnidirectional movement in space combat), a well chosen musical score and well scripted cutscenes rounded out a game that to this day is enjoyable.

For those who have never played it I recommend you try it out, for those that have played it maybe it is time to dust off an old fave...

Oh btw it will run without patches on a XP SP3 machine, but you will need a soundcard (as it repeatedly glitches when attempting to use built in sound from the mo-bo).

Photos coming soon on the progress made for the ever looming Apoc tourney... And on top of that some damn fool got himself seduced into entering Golden Demon...... so watch this space.

just a little peak at the base.

A Question of Strength...

This is what the toes on the Warlord Titans I am building are going to look like.

For more stability I have decided to use six on each foot (rather than the standard four but bear with me). However this has brought me to a conundrum...

I would likely have to scratch build the 24 toes I need to build the two titans! Or I could simply cast them.

It is not that I am lazy or something but I don't have a huge amount of time available these days. So I decided to cast the multiples. However this presents its own inherent risks in application.

Firstly Warlord Titans in 40K scale are surprisingly big, Even with the sketches having rough scales on them and doing the CAD build you don't get a real idea of what you have gotten yourself into until you start slabbing out the torso superstructure. Being large they will require some serious strength to support their weight. I am not so sure that the resin I use will have adequate shear strength to do the job.

Secondly the Titans are likely to be a little top heavy, given their design. This alone presents a lot of issues in a gaming environment. Coupled with their immense size it is a catastrophe waiting to happen.

I was thinking of Casting the toes out of white metal, as I have the stuff on hand to do it.

It will be a strong homogeneous material that will help counterbalance the top heavy nature of the beast.

Any thoughts/suggestions from the group at large?

Cheers

Subby

Productive Afternoons

It has been a little while since I posted anything on the progress of the Titan Project so I thought I would pop a quick post up to share the results of the hour I spent this long weekend on it (yeah so I had a whole lot of other things going on).

So I got the main structural supports cut out and ready to glue to their cross members (not pictured!).

As you can see this little Sternguard Veteran is wondering just what trouble is "Over there!"

Anyhow I have the cad about 90% nailed, just gotta finalise the turret mounts for the shoulder weapons (which I have sketched) and the thighs, which are going to need a little revision from my sketches. Then it is a whole lotta cutting, glueing sanding and painting before the second weekend in November.

In case you are wondering 'Is that a kitchen table?!?'...

Yes, Warlord Titans are big when the are accurately scaled.

As always have fun.

Subby

Mega Project

And Website Updates!

SO over at my website there are a few shiney new additions to the galleries, and some extra special additions to the Downloads Section.

First my "Ultimate Metals Technique" Guide is available at last!!

Also there is another decal sheet, and a couple of sheets that will allow you to turn a perfectly good Plastic Baneblade into a Shadowsword.... Yes I know but I started the project before the plastic Shadowsword kit was available so I share my madness!

With a little work and some magnets you could probably set things up so you can field both whenever you wanted. but I didn't go down this path myself.

Finally I have a new project on the deck.

Can you guess what it is from the picture below?

I will keep you up to date on this but it will mean several things.

I will not be taking painting commissions for a while, probably 3-4 months at least. This is so I can get the bulk of the work done. I will still be contactable for commentary and whatnot, and I will keep the work log of the project running. I will however try to give you tricks and tips whenever I can.

I may have my main website down for updates in the next couple of months as I change over to a new hosting package so that I can implement the webstore. It is a necessary evil and probably will only be for a day or two.

To get to the website use the link in the sidebar.

until next time

Cheers

Subby

Super Tip: How to Make Straight Cuts in Plastic Rod

I was browsing the FTW blog roll tonight, as I haven't been able to get on for a couple of days and came across the following post by Cannon Fodder over at Path of the Outcast:

http://exodites.blogspot.com/2010/02/vostroyan-infantry-melta-tutorial.html

Yes I love his take of turning Flamer Troops into Melta Gunners. Simple elegance!

I couldn't help noticing that he mentions having to sand one side of his plastic tubing after cutting and I thought I would share a little something I thought of a while ago while cutting tubes to convert up my Shadowsword.

Having trouble cutting the tubing straight I though to myself, "I really wish I had a Mitre Box for this!"

So I made one...

The trick is to make it out of a firm material with slots that will; A) Hold your Razor Saw straight, B) Do so without damaging the saw as it slides, C) Be box-like so it holds the plastic tube in a slot so you don't have it moving around while cutting, D) BE able to clamp down to the edge of your work desk.

The first points two are a given as you want the stuff cut straight and you don't want to have to buy a new razor saw or blades all the time. Obviously you down't want the material you are cutting to slide around while working. The last point is all about comfort and control, which will give you better cuts at the end of the day.

The easiest solution I found was to use two pieces of an old computer case front, the plastic shell around a drive bay actually. I cut and filed the interior supports out and then pinned and glued the two parts together with epoxy. Lastly I marked a slot using a straight edge (the builder's tool), and cut a slot slowly and carefully with the razor saw, making sure to keep the slot at 90 degrees.

It looks like this.

from the side

From the Front

I clamp it down in my little bench vice via the "L-Shaped" piece on the bottom.

The angled cutouts at the top were added recently to accommodate a GW razor saw that I picked up one day when I killed my last jewelers' blade and needed to get a mini finished.

As you can see it has seen a bit of use, evident by the ware and tear in the slot. I think that before much longer I will have to make a new one.

There are two awesome reasons to make one. First you get repeatable straight cuts in plastic tubing. Second you have less wastage due to crooked cuts, meaning you save money.

So for anyone working with plastic tubing I can say this helps me out, feel free to make one and give it a whirl.

Another an upside it also helps prevent "Oops! Honey we need to make a trip to the hospital" syndrome.

Secret Business Complete!

Ok so I teased you the other day with a WIP shot of some secret business. Photographed below is the end result.

What is it you ask?

A combination 6x3.5 foot gaming table and single bed, with deep drawers underneath to store terrain.

The change from table to bed is enacted by two 1/4" bolts on each leg and wing nuts. they are prevented from moving by the runners for the drawers.

It is a little bit taller than a coffee table, the perfect height for pnp, and also makes it easy for wargaming to kick back and relax, as I have always found that games at the FLGS tedious because you have to stand at the tables for endless hours when gaming. It is not that I am lazy, standing at tables is great for tournaments but for relaxed afternoon games on a weekend there has to be some compromise in table height to accommodate the inevitable chairs around the table.

All in all very functional, and handy to have. It should encourage me to both play games more often when the lads come over, and give me some incentive to finish the terrain I have unassembled in the cupboard!

Enjoy all, and if anyone is interested I can whip up some CAD of this right quick if anyone wants to make there own.

Secret Men's Business

Generally during you holidays you would say take a bit of time off, me not so much. I have been a little lax in my posting since the holidays started. Still there are a few good things going on at the DSM homebase.

Firstly I got a new glass display cabinet for the sculpting room (although it often gets reffered to as "the Man Cave"!). I haven't finished filling it but this pic was snapped in mid December so there are a few more finished minis in there now.

Another important event that recently occurred was the rebuilding of the front hubs in the ol' Cruiser (affectionately referred to as the Battle Bus). We did the wheel bearings, king pin bearings, seals in the ends of the axles and the felts in the swivel housings. It was hot sweaty word but it was worth it cause now you can't smell swivel housing grease after a drive to the FLGS. The only advice I can offer about this is make sure you have two people doing the job, one of whom has done it before. I got the Old Man to give us a hand, and it took us about six hours to do both sides.

I started another project, it is super secret and you can see a WIP shot below. I will have this done in the next day or so (up to the painting part atm). Can you guess what it is?

The "Dude a Day Challenge" I set myself was successful, I manage to paint 42 points worth of minis in December around all the other stuff that went on. I even got my Ironclad Dread conversion painted for his birthday (Boxing Day).

I also have got in some time working on a pst for Ron over at FTW, I have a few chems to wet test and a bit of typing and it should be read to wing its way to him.

Lastly as a quick tip, when buying timber to make anything make sure you plan ahead! Don't get half into a job and discover you are short because you didn't CAD up the job beforehand (Like I usually would).

Cheers All

and a Happy belated New Year

Subby

Dances with Airbrushes...

I went to GW last night to meet up with some of the lads. We talked we went and ate we talked some more, and did some hobby (did a little work on my 13th Company). I got home about 11pm local and as I walked in my converted Shadowsword caught my eye in all its half finished glory so with all the attention span of a lobotomised gadfly I decided to snap some WIP shots before going and CAD-ing up the turbine mounts for steam punk jet packs. Here they are in all their less then perfectly focussed glory (yeah note to self don't take photos late at night without tripod):

The Doors on the engine bay are hinged so you can open them and look inside. When I can track it down in my backups I will post the CAD layout I did to work out how to build the Cannon and modified hull assembly. This was one of the plastic Baneblade kits and I built this conversion before the plastic Shadowsword kits came out. Details were added using bits of Forgeworld DKK Super Heavy Tank upgrade packs, plasticard, bits of the baneblade kit, and many many rivets made from dress makers pins and little tiny ceramic 1mm diameter balls I baught from Riot Art and Craft (which they don't stock anymore because the manufacturer went belly up).

So far I have done the first stage of oil washes, gotta do some free hand stuff and then all the weathering to finish her off. The model was sprayed first with Tamiya German Grey (TS4), then taped and lightly sprayed with Tamiya Haze Grey (TS32), then the edges of the cammo strips were teased with the Airbrush with a bit of Mechrite Red (yeah not my good fine detail airbrush but the all Stainless Auto-detailing one picked up cheap at an auction). When this all dried I removed the masking and airbrushed an all over oil wash of Burnt Sienna darkened with a pinch of Humbrol Black Matt 33. Why no Burnt Umber, there was none in stock when I went to the shop so I got the more rusty coloured Burnt Sienna. Be super careful using Turps as a thinner if you try to put too much wash on at one parts of the underlying paint will start to lift away, but if you do it right it add some really neat weathering effects by making realistic patches of cracking aged paint. Acrylics will be affected most easily by this.

It is looking Ok so far but it may not see any more work for a couple of weeks, I really need to do the freehand stuff before the rest of the weathering so maybe it will be a while.

As a tip, if you do an all over oil wash and want to quickly highlight it you can wait till the next day and get a soft rag, wet it with Turps and gently rub it along the edges to remove the darker wash. Shazam! Instant single stage highlighting.

Lastly I have tacked on a screencap of the centres of my steam punk jet packs. I have not added the turbines on either end yet, I decided to call it a night and havn't got back to finish them today.

Cheers

Subby