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The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/08/20 15:38:12


Post by: Dr H


Welcome, one and all, to my blog. Do not expect to find a normal army here... normality stops here.

The explaination for why I'm building this army is below and after that is some fluff for the army, so there is quite a bit of reading in the spoilers.
Don't feel like you have to read any or all of it, but if you are wondering why this army looks the way it does, all should be explained below (or above if you are looking at the pictures...).

There are lots of pictures later on and my painting has noticeably improved over the course of this blog, so I urge you to stick with it.
Just below here, you will find links to all the posts that reveal finished models so you don't have to scroll through all the chatter inbetween if you don't want to.
Also, for the larger builds, I have included links to the start of the project (if you want to follow it from idea to completion), then the end of the building/start of painting (so that you can see it before it was painted), and the finished model (if you just like to look at the pretties ).

I have a separate blog for the things I make for other's or for sale: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/549077.page#5997978
If this blog seems quiet, I'll likely be over there instead.

Current army recruits:
Page 50 Army shots
Page 112 Latest Army recruits

Space Marine Tactical Marines: Numbers 1 to 10 ; Scroll down for original post// #12 (Blood Drinker) // #13 (Mantis Warrior) // #11 (Revilers), (in progress)
Re-painting: Number 1 (Ultramarine) // Number 2 (Blood Angel) // Number 5 (White Scar) and Number 6 (Imperial Fist) // Number 3 (Dark Angel) // Number 4 (Black Templars) //

Space Marine Terminator Assault squad: Numbers 1 to 5 ; Scroll down,

Space Marine Predator - T-01: Start, Interior complete, Exterior build complete, Completed.

Tyranid Warriors: Number 1 ; Scroll down// #2// #3,

Tyranid Genestealers: Numbers 1 to 8 ; Scroll down,

Tyranid Hormagaunts: Numbers 1 to 4 ; Scroll down// 5, 6, 7 and 8// # 9// Numbers 10, 11 and 12, (in progress),

Tyranid Termagants: Numbers 1 to 4 ; Scroll down// # 5// Numbers 6, 7 and 8// Numbers 9, 10, 11 and 12, (in progress),

Tyranid Rippers: With "Lasers" on their heads// Playing 40k, (in progress),

Eldar Guardians: Heavy Weapon platform and Guardians HW1 and HW2// Numbers 3 and 4// Numbers 5 and 6// Numbers 7 and 8// Numbers 9 and 10.

Eldar Dire Avengers: #4// #6 (Exarch) on "Venus"// Numbers 1 and 2, (in progress),

Eldar War Walker - Number 1 : Start, Complete,

Eldar Wave Serpent - Tr01 : Start, Build Complete, Painting and Detailing Complete,

Tau Fire Warriors: Number 1, (in progress),

Tau Stealth Team (to be started),

Tau XV8 Crisis Suit (HQ): Start, Complete,

Tau Kroot Carnivores: Number 1, Number 2 (flying), (in progress),

Tau Drones (to be started),

Tau Devilfish (to be started),

Ork Boyz: Number 1 (Death Skullz), Number 2 (Goffs), Nob #1, (in progress),

Ork Bikers (to be started),

Ork Trukk (to be started),

Dark Eldar Kabalite Warriors: Number 1, (in progress),

Dark Eldar Wyches: Number 2 // #1, (in progress),

Dark Eldar Reavers: Number 1 // (in progress),

Dark Eldar Raider: Start, Complete,

Necron Warriors: Number 1, (in progress),

Necron Immortals/Deathmarks: Number 1 (in progress),

Necron Scarabs (to be started),

Necron Ghost Ark (to be started),

"Other" HAW206 multiped tank: Start, Finished, Pilot.
...

Terrain
Sprue Hut: Start, Sprue Wood Tutorial, Start of painting, Completed. Full tutorial.
Junk pile: Complete.
LoER terrain competition "Accident" - UFO crash: Complete
Objective Marker 1: Complete.

Princess Mononoke, San on wolf (Chibi) Conversion from SDE wolfrider Complete
...

About me:
Spoiler:
I have always been interested in Sci Fi etc... and therefore Warhammer related things from Fighting Fantasy books to role play (that's the dice and character sheet kind and not the dressing up kind) to Hero Quest and Space Crusade. I had always wanted to collect 40k figures but was put off by the stigma of them being expensive.

However I have been building plastic model aircraft kits (Airfix etc...) from a young age, and after many years the models were getting bigger and more complicated, just to keep me occupied for a reasonable amount of time (I can complete a 1:48 or 1:32 scale model in well under a week, while trying to take my time, a 1:72 scale barely takes a day). The last model I built was a 1:24 scale Hawker Hurricane, which was a nice challenge, but it is half a meter wide and I was now having serious problems finding space to display all my models.
However, I still went back to the model shop to look for the next model and while looking along the shelves the only models I could see that would challenge me were a) huge and b) expensive. I then decided to look at the small section of Warhammer models available and realised that I could buy 1, huge, model plane or helicopter or 15 small model chappies for about the same price which would keep me busy for longer and take less space to display. So I bought a Space Marine Tactical squad and a Terminator Assault squad and thus began my next collection of models.

Now you may realise that I'm not collecting 40k miniatures for the sake of gaming (although I may give it a go one day once I have all that's required) I am a modeller and painter first. This however led to an issue, I had already painted all the miniatures from both Hero Quest and Space Crusade while between models, and I found that I was getting bored painting more than a couple of miniature generally the same colour. So if painting 5 Space Marines all blue or red or yellow was a bit boring than I knew I wouldn't stick to a whole army a chaps / monsters if they all had to be the same colour. I will admit, an army where all the pieces are tied in together in a uniform colour scheme does look good, but it's not something I was going to paint. As usual, when I don't want to follow the rules, I'll make up an excuse...

I've always liked the idea of Chaos armies but when looking into the armies they still looked too ordered for me and the idea struck me: Coming from a scientific background my understanding of chaos stems from Entropy, which is a measure of the degree of disorder in a system and leads into the second law of thermodynamics (hence the army name) which basically states that the entropy, or disorder, of a system will always increase (a good excuse for those of you who don't like tidying up is that you are just fighting against nature). So I decided to create an army that was completely mixed and therefore completely disordered and therefore "true" Chaos. And being a scientist myself, it had to start from a typical mad scientist.

But in reality, this is all just an excuse for me to paint all the miniatures I acquire different colours... That's the background, this is the fluff (that I made up just for the fun of it).

About the Army of the Second Law:
Spoiler:
Shortly after the Zeist Campaign (999.M41) a small but diffuse cluster of star systems in an area of Ultramar and previously known to harbour civilisations was found devoid of all sentient life. It was thought that this might be due to the Tau or Tyranid infestation, but upon inspection the destruction was not typical of either race; The only remaining signs that a planet had supported a thriving civilisation was the crumbling remains of their structures and buildings. All machinery, resources and, more perplexing, any traces of the bodies of man or animal were absent. The plant life however, was thriving. From studying the degree to which the flora had encroached and covered the ruins of once great civilisations, it could be calculated that these planets had been deserted for centuries and no clue was given as to where or why all the people and fauna had gone. The greatest mystery was that one planet, near the middle of this cluster of star-systems, was completely missing and records showed that nothing has been written about this planet since early M35.

Unknown to the Imperial forces that found this mystery, the missing planet was not missing, but hidden to their instruments, their psykers and their naked eyes. This was the home of the Army of the Second Law.
Headed by The Mad Scientist, who's name is long forgotten. A genius left alone on a planet wiped clean of all sentient life by one of his experiments (M35); an experiment that granted him immortality and the collective knowledge and memories of the whole planet, he was slowly driven mad by this knowledge and loneliness while perfecting his techniques and experiments over thousands of years, on the surrounding star-systems.

He developed an obsession for "true" chaos, through the study of the natural increase in the disorder of his home world as the familiar surroundings of a once great civilised (ordered) planet crumbled to dust to be replaced by the randomness of the untouched flora of the planet.
He was persuaded in his madness by the voices in his head that a fictitious god of disorder had tasked him with fighting the tide of order and uniformity created by the habitation of sentient beings throughout the galaxy. He therefore had to increase the disorder in the universe as he believed it should be and that the very nature of the universe tends towards without the structure and order brought about by civilisation. Without his help, he believed, the universe would die when the "unnatural" levels of order became too great.
He does not believe that all life should be destroyed, just that the structure of the various societies should be disrupted and randomised. Any that stand in his way, however, will die. After all, he's on a mission from god.

He therefore set about planning to build an army to spread death, disorder and destruction from one world to the next, destroying infrastructures and spreading "true" chaos, the greater the degree of destruction the better for disorder. An ordered and regimented army, however, just wouldn't do and he set about it's creation as he did for any of his experiments, by bringing together random pieces or elements and mixing them up in one pot.

He ensnared a drifting space hulk (possibly as early as M36), with a kind of tractor beam he invented for the purpose, and brought it in to crash into the planets surface killing nearly all life aboard which consisted of a large population of Tyranids and a small band of space marines that were exploring the hulk at the time. The survivors were left to die on their own or picked off by robotic drones created, but hated due to their lack of disorder, by The Scientist.
The hulk, a collection of ancient and more recent spacecraft, granted The Scientist access (using the robotic probes he designed and built, themselves from ancient knowledge) to the raw material he required to start his army, body parts. He also discovered a vast collection of wargear, equipment and STC data aboard the hulk.

He set about rebuilding whole bodies from what he found and learning about the unique biology of the various species from dissection and by absorbing the knowledge and memories of the dead.
Using all manner of techniques he persuaded, tortured, and brainwashed the reanimated, disembodied, heads of the creatures and humans to follow his command and believe in what he believed. He also implanted small bioelectronic devices into the skulls of his army that would allow the various species to recognise each other as "friends", either directly or by a sort of hallucination to disguise the different, hostile, species. Anyone else, therefore, was recognised as foe in a similar way.
He could then breath life back into the reassembled bodies and use extracted DNA to clone further members of his army that could be brainwashed from scratch and trained by memory implants.

He then sent small scouting parties to raid other planets, particularly scenes of recent battles for fresh and diverse "raw materials" to increase his disordered army and to supply various pieces of hardware required for weapons and vehicles, ready to spread the word of randomness to the rest of the universe. He also utilised techniques to lure "raw materials" directly to his planet in some cases.
He has also developed the transportation technology of the various species encountered through the universe to allow retrieval of equipment and "raw materials" from the battlefield so as to avoid loosing precious hardware and to acquire more from opponents during and after battle. His technology cannot be used to transport his army across the battlefield, only to transfer anything, with one of his transport gizmos attached, to his ship in orbit. All members of his army have a gizmo implanted together with the behaviour implant and all pieces of armour and weaponry have one or more of their own.

Tyranids
As the majority of the samples first obtained by The Scientist a lot of his early experiments were with these creatures. In probing the minds of the bodies recovered he learnt that they could easily be recruited to his army by careful direction of their hunger to consume all bio-matter and only required implants to prevent them attacking absolutely everything, for example, the other members of his army. However, to direct them he needed something more, a synapse creature. He learnt of the hive mind and the way that a consciousness was spread throughout all the tyranids. The remains of a synapse creature was found within the crashed hulk, but was too badly damaged to be of direct use. It's DNA was used to clone two new creatures; one to act as a general, to control the lesser tyranids on the battlefield and the other to disguise his own planet and base of operations from the hive mind. A great deal of electronics were required to keep these two from realising that they were no longer working as part of the hive but against it.

Spacemarines
Also found aboard the crashed hulk. Biologically easier to work with initially than the tyranids due to The Scientists greater knowledge of the human body. However, psychologically the marines were harder to break than the tyranids due to their religion and morals, but it was not impossible. Absorbing the individual knowledge and memory of each marine gave The Scientist the advantage of knowing their personal weaknesses and given time to work with their disembodied heads using physical and mental torture was able to make the marines susceptible to accept personal programmed delusions into their minds via The Scientist's bioelectronic implants. Each marine believed that they were still fighting for the Emperor and they were standing side by side with the other members of their original chapter.

Dark Eldar
Lured to the planet by the apparent (but faked) bounty of plentiful, peaceful, easy prey for their slaves, the dark eldar raiding party was surprised by an ambush of tyranids (the first and not quite perfect batch, possibly as early as M38). The survivors who escaped with their lives unknowingly left all that The Scientist wanted in reality, the bodies of their dead. From their minds, The Scientist learnt a lot more about torture techniques from the experts of torture and put this to good use on others and on those that supplied him with this knowledge. He also learnt a great deal about the physiology and anatomies of all the other star-faring races of the galaxy from the dark eldar, the information being extremely useful in advance of choosing and collecting members of these races.

Eldar
More difficult to find than their dark brethren, The Scientist acquired a great deal of information about them from the dark eldar which helped once "raw materials" were found. The first eldar acquired were a small pirate band that attacked a dummy ship which appeared to be lost in empty space but was actually a trap orbiting the planet (which was hidden to their instruments and their minds). Once boarded, the ship automatically dived into the planets atmosphere and crashed into the surface, killing all on board. The Scientist then went to work as usual. Due to the use of spirit stones by the eldar, resurrection of their dead bodies and minds proved difficult and he decided on a different approach that involved capturing them alive, a task that the dark eldar forces, together with some of the tyranids at his disposal proved useful in achieving. Their heightened response to emotions gave The Scientist the edge in brainwashing them, however.

Orks
Orks were the easiest to find "raw materials" for, due to the volume of warring orks and therefore dead orks throughout the galaxy. They were also easy to "persuade" into fighting in the army due to their violent and impulsive nature. The bioelectronic devices implanted in the orks led them to believe that The Scientist was the biggest, hardest ork they have ever seen and they wouldn't therefore ever challenge him. The devices also inhibit their violent tendencies whilst not on the battlefield to avoid accidents that would waste too much time. Collecting and controlling the distribution of the ork spores allowed The Scientist to grow any number of new orks to swell his army's ranks in a controlled manner. Due to their unique, genetically engineered, biology The Scientist found the ork body particularly easy to work with.

The Tau
"Raw materials" were gathered by sending a craft into the nearby Tau controlled space under the guise of friendship and then capturing the delegate, a technician (that was sent to aid repair to the apparently stricken ship) and their guards while onboard and returning to The Scientist on his planet. Further "raw materials" were gathered from battlefields during the Zeist Campaign. The army recruits are led to believe that they are still fighting for the greater good by the use of the bioelectronic implants. Their technological knowledge has proved useful to The Scientist.

The Imperial Guard
Due to The Scientist's great knowledge of the human body, he required few examples of actual Imperial guard soldiers to clone members for his army and the nearby human-controlled star-systems supplied ample "raw materials". It was however, necessary to steal equipment to outfit the clones (this was not difficult with the current members of the army). The soldiers were brought up to believe that who and what they were fighting for and fighting with were normal and so required little in electronic "aids" to add them to the army. Each soldier is also implanted with the memories of the training needed to fight effectively.

Necrons
The Scientist has yet to acquire a single specimen to study and has various plans in action to rectify this, although he finds their uniformity abhorrent. It is only a matter of time though and The Scientist has lots of time.
Having studied and observed, via probes and infiltrators, The Scientist has seen some usefulness in incorporating Necrons into the army. The Scientist has seen the fear, panic and disruption caused upon the mere sight of emotionless, metal killing machines and knows how useful this could be in his mission.
However capturing an intact Necron (or even substantial parts) has proven difficult, and so The Scientist (having acquired small quantities of the Necron metal) has started to experiment with replicating the metal and building his own "men of metal" and implanting the minds of others into the constructs.

Chaos Daemons
The Scientist has yet to determine a method to recruit daemons into his army. He respects the chaotic nature of the daemons, but has doubts as to brainwashing them, maybe he could strike a deal somehow...

Chaos Space Marines

Like the Chaos daemons, the Chaos Space Marines are unlikely to be brainwashed into joining the army directly. But The Scientist has plans in action to corrupt loyal Space Marines while directing them to his cause.
Having acquired various Chaos artefacts, The Scientist has experimented with exposing the minds and bodies of Space Marines, already under his control, to the artefacts for varying amounts of time. It can only be a matter of time before some benefit for the army is discovered or contact is established with those "lesser" Chaos gods...

During or after battle The Scientist's minions will collect "raw materials" and equipment from the enemy, win or lose, he will always escape harm with the additional knowledge and materials to create more soldiers for his ever increasing (and increasingly random) army.

That's the Fluff, Pics to follow... Once I work out how to get pics on here?!?




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Get in! it works!


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The banner was made to look as if a mad scientist had ripped a chart off the wall and quickly painted a pic on the back then hung it on the marine.



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And the Terminators;









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Whereas the Space Marines were based on actual chapter colour schemes the Tryanids that I'm currently working on are mostly based on what can be found in nature, where I've looked at various bugs and beetles and crabs and suchlike for inspiration for the colour schemes. But there are the three main hive schemes represented and some colour combinations I just thought were nice. Throughout the Tyranids I've tried to make the colours and patterns more natural and organic as opposed to the painted armour of the marines.




The Termagant on the left is meant to appear irridescent, with a metallic blue (previously used for a Subaru Impreza rally car model) with a wash of gloss green, doesn't really come across in the pic. But I do like how the strips on his tail came out.


I like the pose for the Hormagaunt on the right, the head and arms ended up in just the right places.






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When it came to the Genestealers I just had to do one in the classic Space Hulk colours.


The Ymgarl Genestealer on the right was painted as if he was jumping out of ambush. From what I understand of them, they are shapeshifters and I reasoned that if you can change shape, you can change colour; so he's mid-change from camoflaged with the terrain as it is on the base to a rather excited colour scheme for attack. I also gave him 4 different arms to represent his shapeshifting ability.
His friend on the left was based on a wasp-like colour scheme, but I only noticed when it came to painting him that one of the arms was a "left" and not a "right" as it should have been...so I painted it a different colour and am using the excuse that the mad scientist didn't have the right arm to replace it and just attached what he had available.




The GS on the right is also a result of the scientists repair work. I just thought it would be amusing for a GS to be using a weapon typically used to kill GS. Instead of the cabling being used to electrify the claws it's for pumping the toxins through.


Tyranid Warrior number 1, based on a crazily patterned beetle.

More to follow, once painted...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/08/21 22:51:48


Post by: Brotheralexos


The fluff behind this army is crazy, and I love the ideas presented here.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/08/22 11:35:31


Post by: Dr H


 Brotheralexos wrote:
The fluff behind this army is crazy, and I love the ideas presented here.


Thanks. You could say "mad" Mwa ha ha... As I said, it's only an excuse for me to paint them any way I want. But I did try to shoehorn the fluff into the 40k universe in as seamless a way as possible. I read as much as possible about the different armies to try and come up with plausible method that they could be recruited into the army. I'm sure many people could pick all kinds of holes in it, but it's only a bit of fun.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/08/25 12:58:08


Post by: Dr H


A new recruit for the army...





The Warriors pose is to say "this is what I've got, come and have a go if you think you're hard enough". Although I'm not entirely sold on the paint scheme, but will have to see if it grows on me. I like the weapon colours, it's just the rest just doen't grip me yet, it was based on a crab and tbh it looked better on the crab...
I haven't though of a way to use the rippers in the army, they probably won't get in. But I have them, so I'm going to paint them.

Let me know, O' people out there, what you think of my minitures and their paint schemes, it would be good to get opinions from people in the know and not just "oo that's a pretty colour" which is all I get at home.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/09/01 17:02:09


Post by: Dr H


Latest addition.


Credit where credit is due, the colour scheme was based on this
http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/383974-Mawloc%20%252F%20Trygon.html
Very nice Ifalna.

I now "only" have 12 Rippers, 12 Hormagaunts and 12 Termagants left to paint.
If you think it's tricky deciding on a colour scheme for your army, consider deciding on 36 colour schemes...what to do?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/09/24 22:01:29


Post by: Dr H


OK, it's been a bad month for painting (well everything really).
But here is the next triplet of Rippers and they are introducing a sneak peak at the next section of the army that will be started after the Tyranids are complete...


There is more to come, and soon, once painted, I promise.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/09/24 22:11:47


Post by: White Ninja


Your full army will hurt to look at with all the crazy colors at once. It will be great.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/09/24 22:33:57


Post by: Dr H


Thanks White Ninja.
That's the plan, true Chaos...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/09/26 14:56:08


Post by: da waaagh orkz


Can't wait to see dem boyz in dat army... Hurr...hurr...

About those "electronic gizmos" I think that a bit of green stuff on the side of the head shaped (and painted) to look like a electronic brain implant that is not quite on the inside of the head would look cool. Particulary on Orks or Tyrinids.

Cool looking models though, good work.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/09/26 16:37:58


Post by: Dr H


Thanks da waaagh orkz, glad you like them.

That is a good idea and it has floated around my brain to make at least some of the models appear to have some sort of electronic extras sticking out, but not thought too seriously about it though. Saying that, I did give one of the Warriors an "aerial" as a sort of booster for the signal to surrounding "gizmos" much like the synapse thing for straight Tyranids.

I shall have to invest in some green stuff and practice (not used it before). I'm also fairly "bitz poor" as I've not been collecting very long (although I do have a fair few bitz from other models, some I have already used), so as I get more models the added extras on the models I make will increase (like the lightning claw Genestealer).


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/09/30 20:27:32


Post by: Dr H


Ok, next 4 army members finished.


HG on the left was painted in more natural colours and is positioned to look like its leaning into a corner and putting the inside claw down. The HG on the right I know isn't meant to have those arms, but that's why I gave it some and I like them. The colour was based on a picture of a dragon with blue scales and an orange belly and it was only after I'd painted it that I realised it looks like a close relative of the Behemoth scheme HG above, but it is more blue and more orange than the other one.


HG on the left here was based on a newly discovered stick insect, what you can't see here is the triangles on the plates so I will add a picture to show that in a bit. The reason it's right arm is a different colour was that the pose reminded me on the dark blue Warrior above and thought that it could show the result of a genetic experiment by the scientist. The HG on the right was based on a crab and was probably the easiest to paint of this batch.

Next up will be some Termagants and I have an idea for one of them... You may have to wait a while.


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Here's the top view of Hormagaunt number 7.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/10/02 17:32:34


Post by: weetyskemian44


Humbrol paints...? interesting. You are doing very well with such an unusual paint for the job. I know humbrol is for plastics but having used humbrol and acrylics I would say acrylics are easier to paint fine detail with and there is no white spirit smell involved. That smell is somewhat overpowering!!. Good luck with your unusual paint choice and may the force be with you!

That one you said is inspired by ifalna - looks really good, really smooth blending - I didn't think you could do that with enamel paint.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/10/02 18:03:16


Post by: monkeytroll


Hey, a whole generation (or two) of us were raised on Humbrol enamels An entirely reasonable move for those coming from modelling, and back then there wasn't a good choice of decent acrylics. Blending was in fact easier with enamels, they have a much longer curing time than acrylics, I swear I could do more with enamels back in the day than I can withacrylics now. But there is all the kerfuffle with white spirit, and shorter lifespan for your brushes and all the clean-up, so I'll stay here thanks

Some nice looking colour schemes you have there Dr H, looking forward to a wide variety of colour in this blog


edit: Where does it say these were Humbrol anyway


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/10/02 18:11:55


Post by: Dr H


Thanks weetyskemian.
I've only ever used enamel paints, so don't know how they compare to acrylics. I'm certainly in the minority when it comes to paint choice.

For the fine details I usually dilute some paint down with white spirit and try to work very carefully. Maybe it's just that I've had years of practice with enamel paints, but it's what I'm used to.

Lol, yeah my room does tend to smell interesting with a combination of paint, white spirit and poly cement. The smell doesn't bother me too much, but that may be due to working in chemistry labs and learning to ignore strange smells. It also helps to keep a lid on the white spirit jar I use to wash my brushes.

Yeah, blending is tricky to say the least. I use various tricks to pull it off, such as dry brushing, washing and using a paintbrush of white spirit (but that can easily take the paint off instead of blending it). For that model I used many small layers of slightly different colours to give the blended effect, if you look closely at the strangler or his claw you can see the layers, for the barbed strangler I used 13 different shades from yellow through to very dark green. The claw "only" has 10.


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 monkeytroll wrote:

and shorter lifespan for your brushes and all the clean-up, so I'll stay here thanks

Some nice looking colour schemes you have there Dr H, looking forward to a wide variety of colour in this blog


edit: Where does it say these were Humbrol anyway


Thanks monkeytroll.
Yeah, I tend to keep to cheap brushes.

Variety is the way forward, I shall aim to please and to hopefully inspire.

I mentioned Humbrol on AnUnearthlyChilde's "Papa-Nid's" thread.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/10/04 16:46:10


Post by: Dr H


A HA ha ha Ha Ha ho ho He He Ha ha HA HA HA He he Ho ho Ha Ha... ahem!
May I present The (Mad) Scientist's solution to armed support...


Why wait for allies to back you up or cover you, when you can bring your support with you!!!
A fully automated, chain fed, 360 degree, independant, turret bolter...

...Or, what to do when you have an idea for something to try on a vehicle and are still working with Tyranids...

A few notes on the painting: I was basing the colour scheme on a crab which had an orange body and blue-purple shell, but I then realised (once I'd done the orange) that I already had two red/orange with blue/purple tyranids , so had to choose another colour to go with the orange. The crab also had white claws, but plain white just didn't look right.

This model also contains my first attempts at glass lens/screen type affect (that I am quite happy with) and OSL (the little green light on the box, which probably could do with being more obvious) and rivets using PVA glue (some are better than others).
Also, I have found that my phone's camera has a "close up" option that appears to make the pictures slightly clearer, so that's a bonus for future pictures (if I remember it) and I may go back an take better pics of the previous models to replace the above pictures.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/10/04 16:59:13


Post by: Dr H


Also, I have recently aquired some Milliput for the purpose of modelling and going back to the earlier idea of representing the "electroinic gizmos" by adding a few such things to some models I have tried out a few ideas in blutack.

I would just like to know what people think of the designs and if anyone has any suggestions etc... to make them look better / more realistic for the 40k universe.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
 ExNoctemNacimur wrote:
Really, really cool.

Thanks, it was quite fun to do.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/10/04 17:48:00


Post by: weetyskemian44


Your putting guns on tyranids reminds me of Dr evil from austin powers and his friggin sharks with friggin lasers on their heads! Very mad scientist stylee.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/10/04 18:58:56


Post by: Dr H


 weetyskemian44 wrote:
Your putting guns on tyranids reminds me of Dr evil from austin powers and his friggin sharks with friggin lasers on their heads! Very mad scientist stylee.


Ooooooooh, I hadn't thought of that!
I'm definitely going to have to put a "laser" on a head of something...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/10/11 15:58:44


Post by: Dr H


Introducing some ill-tempered, mutated, sea-rippers with frickin' "laser" beams on their heads...
Every animal deserves a warm meal...

And with them here is a Termagant based on one of Nard's Nids, once I'd seen them I had to have one. Sadly my painting is not as good as Nard and the pink isn't quite as pink, maybe some came out during the (brain)washing...
Check out his method of painting and you too can have pink tyranids... http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/369038.page
You will also notice it has the first of the gizmo signal boosters attached, random members of the army will have something similar attached here and there.


The Termagant on the left is based on a large tyranid (maybe a carnifex) that I may have seen here on DakkaDakka, but I can't find it and don't remember who's it is (if you recognise your paint scheme feel free to let me know, EDIT: Found it! it was a Tervigon and it was painted by TheDrescher and is here http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/186305-Tervigon%20Front.html). I had a spare Deathspitter so thought it would be fun to give a little model a big gun.
The Termagant on the right is actually my own scheme designed for desert camoflage.

Enjoy and do feel free to let me know what you think of any and all of my army.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/10/12 15:49:15


Post by: Two Spartan


Gotta be honest I didn't read that wall of text , but I really like that last black and yellow tyranid on the left, very crisp and striking =)



The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/10/12 17:05:09


Post by: Dr H


 Two Spartan wrote:
Gotta be honest I didn't read that wall of text , but I really like that last black and yellow tyranid on the left, very crisp and striking =)



No problem, it's just a long explaination of why I'm not painting them as an army and why there will be all races and colours represented here.
Thanks.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/10/18 18:08:51


Post by: Dr H


Tentacular update for you this time.


Because everyone knows that purple tentacles are evil.
And ahh, look, it takes it's latest plaything with it everywhere.

This model was the biggest pain in the backside so far. If it wasn't trying to fall over or come unstuck or fall apart, it was just being plain
difficult. A learning process we shall say.

That's all for now, more on the way once painted.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/10/25 17:44:44


Post by: Dr H


Fellow Hormagaunts complete.


Colour scheme based on a Tervigon by Gorechild (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/368387-.html).
This Hormagaunt started with an attempt to make an implant that was partially visible sticking out of the head. I used some milliput that was left over from making the tentacles of number 9 (purple/green, above), this meant that the putty was not as maleable as it could have been and I wasn't too pleased with the "lump with a square carved in" that resulted. So I decided to add a few pipes or wires to cover it up, in doing so I made up too much putty for just him and decided to use the rest on the next Hormagaunt I was working on (below).


Colour scheme was based on some hormagaunts I saw by AllSeeingSkink (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/385818-Hormagaunts.html).
I used a premade (by me) gizmo, that I glued to it's back and made some wires to attach it to the head. However the attachment point on the head looked a bit rough, so I made some more pipes to cover it. I still had some putty left over after this and decided to use it up on the next hormagaunt by building a large steampunk-like device (which was the point that many of the "wires or pipes" on the above hormagaunts, became pipes and were destined to be painted as such).


Colour scheme here was based on the Ouroboros hive fleet scheme that I stumbled apon somewhere.
Due to the amount of putty I had left at this point, I ended up making tubes leading to the head, arms and legs and have since decided that if anything it may count as a mechanical adrenal gland...

Oh yeah... and a top view of this triplet of "experiments"...


Hope you like them. Let me know what you think.
More to follow, once painted as usual.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/10/25 18:32:53


Post by: baneofmorgoth


You fluff is amazing. I need to go into as much detail on my armies.

Also, I'm loving the 'nids.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/10/25 19:47:39


Post by: Dr H


 baneofmorgoth wrote:
You fluff is amazing. I need to go into as much detail on my armies.

Also, I'm loving the 'nids.


Thank you, the fluff had been "brewing" for a while before I bought any models. Once I decided that I'd put them on DakkaDakka I just had to form it into something readable. But that reminds me, I was going to add some more bits to the fluff that came to me the other day, I shall go have a think...

And thank you again.

Edit: Have added to the fluff for Necrons and CSMs in the OP.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/02 16:53:39


Post by: Dr H


Some Termagants for you to oggle this time.


The Termagant on the left here is based on those of Papa Nid himself, AnUnearthlyChild (http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/370794-5%252F10%20Termagants%20done%20of%20Brood%20No.1.html?m=2).
The Termagant on the right is painted as if it had evolved to be camoflaged in an urban environment, hence various shades of grey.


Left is based on a beetle of some kind. The metallic blue was a pain, as the pot I had, had gone a bit thick and sticky so I had to resort to washing over silver to get the affect. With added bionic eye for the fun of it.
Right is a spinegaunt in more ways than one... Not only does it have spines on it's back, but the colour scheme is based on a Thorny Devil of all things (nature has many ways of producing colour schemes that you wouldn't think of).

These will be the last of the tyranids for the time being. Those of you who know the contents of the tyranid battleforce and have been keeping count will notice that there is 4 Termagants and 4 Hormagaunts that have not made an appearance yet... They are not forgotten, they are awaiting assembly but I am holding off so that I may use some spare bitz from the next box o' models to add to the variety of the tyranids.

On the topic of the next box of models I can reveal to those of you that didn't get it from the earlier sneak peek picture that I have the Eldar battleforce.
It may be a while before something appears here as I need to do a bit of research into what's what (initial thoughts on first looking at the sprues ranged from "oooo that looks interesting" to "wtf is that thing").
Whereas the Spacemarine kit is fairly recogniseable the Eldar kit is alien to me (surprise surprise being aliens an' all), as is the transfers... What are these things...? No really, If anyone out there knows what all these symbols relate to (craftworld etc...)? I would like to know. So I shall be dangling my toes into the internet for a while to see what turns up.

Early poking of the internet has resulted in some interesting info.
First off, all Eldar Dire Avengers are blue... We'll see about that, "blue" can be interpreted in many and various ways... Nothing in this army gets painted the same...NOTHING! You hear me fluff... blue, indeed....

So if anyone has any useful Eldar info for tech', gliphs / markings / symbols, and wtf all the random bits are on these sprues, please let me know.
And as always, feel free to let me know what you think of the army so far.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/08 13:14:08


Post by: Dr H


OK, the internet has provided and I thought I'd give something back....

This is what I understand of the Eldar transfer sheet, hope it helps someone:



The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/13 08:14:55


Post by: da waaagh orkz


Have not checked this thread for a while now. Looking good so far, glad to see you have followed my avivce about the external gubbins. What would look really good would to be to get a space marine dreadnought and stick a bunch of random wires and stuff on it to make it look extensively modified or something. Still waiting to see what you will do for orks though.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/13 12:38:52


Post by: Dr H


da waaagh orkz wrote:
Have not checked this thread for a while now. Looking good so far, glad to see you have followed my avivce about the external gubbins. What would look really good would to be to get a space marine dreadnought and stick a bunch of random wires and stuff on it to make it look extensively modified or something. Still waiting to see what you will do for orks though.


Thanks da waaagh.
'twas a good idea.
Oh yeah, what vehicles and tech I get my hands on in time will receive modifications of the useful and not so useful natures (as it should be for a mad scientist).
Orks will appear eventually, I'm holding off a little so as to build up a larger collection of bitz as orks seem to lend themselves to many crazy conversions. I will try to make up for the wait with as much crazyness as possible.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Woooop! 2nd page...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
New army recruits! The first of the Eldar are complete.

I started with the heavy weapon platform and the pair of guardians that come with it.
I didn't modify the guardians as I wanted to see what they looked like in the flesh (plastic) before deciding what I can change on the remaining guardians (there is another 8 to play with, so plenty of opportunity to chop and change things).

That said, these 2 have ended up in a very relaxed pose...

Citizen! I want YOU!

The (Mad) Scientist has also had a fiddle with the heavy weapon platform...

The chap on the left was captured from the Alaitoc craftword and the chap on the right from Iyanden.
I thought the reversal of the blue / yellow worked nice as a pair.
That brings me to the platform. You may recognise the colour scheme from a certain famous racing livery (I thought about adding some Eldar runes that would look like the word gulf, but bottled it as I don't think my freehand would have let me).


I attempted some ambitious OSL on the Star Cannon (let me know what you think)
I also made it look like The Scientist had bodged the extra missile launcher on top with metal plates and chains.
I also added some dust and dirt and wear and scratches to the platform.
Would like to know what people think of all this so I can improve for future models.

The business end of the missile launcher is painted with a new paint I got recently, Humbrol Metalcote. Paint it on and let it dry, then polish it and it comes up shiny like whichever metal it represents (polished steel in this case).
Doesn't show well on the above pics, but does here:


And this shows the underside of the platform, as presented by the guardians


Enjoy and let me know what you think.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/13 18:48:08


Post by: da waaagh orkz


I think your models are great. Maybe you could expirement with a more dirty color sceem for some of your models- just a thought.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/13 19:16:40


Post by: Dr H


da waaagh orkz wrote:
I think your models are great. Maybe you could expirement with a more dirty color sceem for some of your models- just a thought.


Thanks again.

The thought was, with the platform, was that it is hovering and doesn't move that quickly. So wouldn't get all that dirty.
But other vehicles, that are in contact with the ground (e.g. war walker) and/or move quicker (e.g. waveserpent) would be and will be dirtier when I get round to them.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/13 21:22:37


Post by: Dr H


As a special treat for reaching page 2, I shall post a wip post... I realise however, that:
a) page 2 isn't much to celebrate (it is actually just an excuse)
b) wip isn't much of a treat next to finished models (you have had some finished models already anyway)
c) you will find that little work has actually progressed for this wip (maybe it should be planning in progress)


and on that note.
What you are about to see is to become the Dire Avenger Exarch of the box. So will have the flag etc...

The thought is that, as an expert in fighting, the Exarch model should represent his excellent skills. So I want him poised on one leg ready to do battle and not standing sedentary as the model does from the box.

This leads to a few questions:
First of all, what shall I have him poised on?
I've had a few ideas; A skull, A marine helmet, Tree stump, Concrete bollard, Big rock, Sign post or Fence post.
Any thoughts or ideas will be appreciated. It'll need to be something solid, as I have plans to pin his foot to said object and I want it to look as if some skill is required to remain on said object.

The pictures should show where I'm planning on chopping the bent leg, in order to have it bent more and make it look as if he's ballanced and not about to fall over as he does now. Do people agree with the plan or have advice to pull this off?




The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/13 22:26:50


Post by: monkeytroll


Hey, we like to see wips around here Who wants to look at all that painted stuff anyway

I'd say the cuts need (kneed ) to be either side of the knee - there's natural lines to cut through there. You might be able to get away with just the lower cut - but the upper cut should be below that strap - your line shows it above the strap, which would probably end up looking like his thich was bent, and then his knee.

Like the idea for the pose - would look good with the sword held over his head - blade side up, point aiming towards his foe (I know what I mean )


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/13 23:23:00


Post by: Dr H


 monkeytroll wrote:
Hey, we like to see wips around here Who wants to look at all that painted stuff anyway

I'd say the cuts need (kneed ) to be either side of the knee - there's natural lines to cut through there. You might be able to get away with just the lower cut - but the upper cut should be below that strap - your line shows it above the strap, which would probably end up looking like his thich was bent, and then his knee.

Like the idea for the pose - would look good with the sword held over his head - blade side up, point aiming towards his foe (I know what I mean )


Thanks MT, Yeah I have discovered that 2 cuts work better while chopping up another Dire Avenger for practice.
Yeah, that strap was one of the things I was wondering about, glad you mentioned it The only reason I was thinking above the strap was that it had dangling ends that I would have to cut through if I cut below it. Oh well, I'll rebuild them when I do the rest of the knee (No point being lazy really).

I (think) I see what you mean about the arms, ready to stab downwards? We shall see, might be tricky with the staff/halberd/pike (whatever it's called) thing he has. It's all held together with a certain blue coloured self-adhesive putty at the mo, so not set in stone yet.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/13 23:36:50


Post by: monkeytroll


I meant that the length of the blade was still horizontal...meh, this is still a crap description.


http://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDodu416JQ9VsABvlNBQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fuk.images.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dtai%2Bchi%2Bsabre%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D59&w=349&h=200&imgurl=www.okinawa-shaolin.com%2Fimage%2FSUON%2Fkea_tcc_dao.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.okinawa-shaolin.com%2F&size=48+KB&name=%3Cb%3Etai+chi+sabre+%3C%2Fb%3Eyang+chengfu&p=tai+chi+sabre&oid=10dc67b4de01eda17af7cea0af9b33e5&fr2=piv-web&fr=&tt=%253Cb%253Etai%2Bchi%2Bsabre%2B%253C%252Fb%253Eyang%2Bchengfu&b=31&ni=72&no=59&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=10v702u6v&sigb=12toaskcp&sigi=11igf0hl4&.crumb=atBCCsFiDtb

try that ungainly chunk of a link

Or http://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDodu62KJQPR4AN1RNBQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fuk.images.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dtai%2Bchi%2Bsabre%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D136&w=333&h=291&imgurl=www.key-arts.co.uk%2Farchive%2Fimages%2Fmartial%2F44.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.key-arts.co.uk%2Farchive%2F7.htm&size=24.1+KB&name=%3Cb%3ETAI+CHI+%3C%2Fb%3EBROADSWORD+PART+3&p=tai+chi+sabre&oid=673a19f35382958de57ccc3da3c1773d&fr2=piv-web&fr=&tt=%253Cb%253ETAI%2BCHI%2B%253C%252Fb%253EBROADSWORD%2BPART%2B3&b=121&ni=72&no=136&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=117ubs0b3&sigb=12u93bh2q&sigi=11g5pmm27&.crumb=atBCCsFiDtb

Not quite what I was looking for, but similar enough - that sabre in front pose is seen in a lot of sabre forms, with some variations on the other hand and the floating foot - may not be what you're after, just one of the things that popped into my head when I saw the foot position you were going for.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/13 23:41:30


Post by: Dr H


Ah ha, I see what you mean. Will have to see how ballanced he looks once I've done the leg.

And talking of legs, that 2nd link is very close to what I'm aiming for.

Ta.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/13 23:47:50


Post by: monkeytroll


Oh yeah, might not work at all with the actual mini, just the fact that you wanted a balanced, ready for action martial look made me think of those two stances in particular.

And I think Tai Chi suits space elves


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/14 00:52:03


Post by: da waaagh orkz


He should have his sword over his head about to dice another eldar on the ground(
(if possible). It amuses me to see two of the same race killing each other . Also he should have a bunch of wires running down from the back of his head to as computer on his back or something similar.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/14 01:04:44


Post by: Dr H


da waaagh orkz wrote:
He should have his sword over his head about to dice another eldar on the ground(
(if possible). It amuses me to see two of the same race killing each other . Also he should have a bunch of wires running down from the back of his head to as computer on his back or something similar.


Hmm, not alot of room on the base for a whole body and something for him to stand on. Maybe a combination of the 2. Something to think about.

There is some pretty major augmentation coming up for some of the Eldar, but there is probably room for some cables etc...

Keep bringing new ideas, the more the merrier.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/14 01:34:15


Post by: Chemical Cutthroat


Wow, I love all the craziness associated with this. One could say... 'madness'! I particularly like the feel of "Eff you I paint what I want!" that everything has. You have some really fun paintjobs on the gaunts, that orange one with the black splotches is one of my favorites. You definitely save yourself from getting bored painting the same thing over and over again.

Keep up the madness! I'll certainly be following it.

Nice icon by the way!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/14 12:31:03


Post by: Dr H


 Chemical Cutthroat wrote:
Wow, I love all the craziness associated with this. One could say... 'madness'! I particularly like the feel of "Eff you I paint what I want!" that everything has. You have some really fun paintjobs on the gaunts, that orange one with the black splotches is one of my favorites. You definitely save yourself from getting bored painting the same thing over and over again.

Keep up the madness! I'll certainly be following it.

Nice icon by the way!


Thank you.
lol, it's easy to paint what you want if you have no idea of the implications of playing on the table with them...

That's the main aim. To keep painting fun.

Glad you like it and welcome aboard. I have been lurking on your infinity blog recently

You mean the laughing man icon? It's from Ghost in the Shell (one of my favorite anime and manga).


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/14 15:00:00


Post by: Dr H


OK, a bit more wip for you interested persons.

These are only BluTacked at the mo, but I will be throwing milliput at the "basic" DAvenger in a bit.

One Dire Avenger, made to look like he's running between cover or something similar.
Just the one chopped leg. Oh and I had to chop off the skirt thing that was getting in the way of his newly positioned foot, will have to remake that as well...where's the milliput...

And the Exarch in a new pose (based on the link from Monkeytroll ).
What do people think?
Ignore the bit of sprue, that is just being used as a stand in for the upper section of the arm which is still attached to the rest of the arm.
Also, you may notice the ribbon of cloth that is molded from the elbow to the staff. That will need chopping off and replacing when I do the elbow (if I do this stance).



The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/14 15:10:07


Post by: monkeytroll


Ahh, my bad - I hadn't realised it was one of those halberd things rather than a sword (even though you did mention it ) - now I'm not so sure - maybe your original was better


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/14 15:19:36


Post by: Dr H


lol.
On the one hand, I do like the new pose. Although I also liked the first pose.

On the other hand, it kinda looks like he's about to throw a javelin...
That's partly down to the fact I can't get the arm any higher due to the shoulder pad and partly due to the angle the hand is holding the shaft.

I do have the sword earmarked for one of the others, so maybe I could save that pose for him...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/14 23:36:09


Post by: Dr H


So here is the first Dire Avenger after rebuilding his leg and skirt.

I like the pose, that is fine.
I'm reasonably happy with the skirt, that is fine.
The knee however, has not gone well...

Had enough problems trying to get it on and in the right place and has now ended up... attached, but not the right shape and the lower leg is not in quite the right place

Still, learnt a few things. I think I may build knees in separate pieces with the correct angles and then glue together rather than trying to build in situ.

This chap may wait until I've had more practice, or may go straight back into the operating theater tomorrow for a new knee (might as well only up one model at a time).



The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/15 16:32:18


Post by: Dr H


The operation was a success, his knee looks better now and just needs a bit of tidying up once set and then I can revert to pictures with colour in (e.g. painting).

[Thumb - first knee attempt Mk2 1.jpg]
[Thumb - first knee attempt Mk2 2.jpg]


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/15 23:00:05


Post by: monkeytroll


Amazing the miracles of modern medicine

Is that tentacle one of your comb experiments? Looks fine.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/15 23:08:08


Post by: Dr H


A lick of paint and it doesn't seem to show. Will see what people think once he's finished.

Ah yes it is. I've done a few and they may become tentacles or tubing depending on the outcome.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/16 08:31:41


Post by: weetyskemian44


Hello Dr H. Just going to throw in my 2 pence.

Eldar are difficult to paint, but you have done well with those two guardians. I see highlights and shadows and careful blending. But I will have to stick the knife in and twist it about a bit and say I wasn't so impressed by the grav platform - the OSL is messy and appears darker than the surrounding areas. It should be lighter (difficult considering the surrounding areas are white). But then OSL is always tricky for those of us without airbrushes (damn them and their cheating spray guns!) so don't give up! Maybe next time try it on a darker background and then it will look more like light.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/16 11:48:30


Post by: Dr H


 weetyskemian44 wrote:
Hello Dr H. Just going to throw in my 2 pence.

Eldar are difficult to paint, but you have done well with those two guardians. I see highlights and shadows and careful blending. But I will have to stick the knife in and twist it about a bit and say I wasn't so impressed by the grav platform - the OSL is messy and appears darker than the surrounding areas. It should be lighter (difficult considering the surrounding areas are white). But then OSL is always tricky for those of us without airbrushes (damn them and their cheating spray guns!) so don't give up! Maybe next time try it on a darker background and then it will look more like light.


Thanks weety.
If it's just the OSL then it's ok. I wasn't overly happy with it and wanted to see what people thought of it.
Is it just on the white where it looks wrong? I'll have a look at tidying it up and lightening it a shade or two.
Do you have any tips for pulling off OSL without an airbrush?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/16 18:57:42


Post by: weetyskemian44


Well when I do OSL (and thats not very often admittedly) I delicately brush the area I want to be bright with white and then wash over it with the colour I want using a watered down pigment or a wash paint, and the white under the wash gives the colour a brightness.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Or you could try just mixing the colour you want with white untill you get a pastel shade which will work almost as well if carefully applied.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/17 06:53:09


Post by: da waaagh orkz


On with the cables I say . If you screw up a leg just make some sort of bionic replacement (just like a mad doctor/scientist would do). Well that's what I'd do at least. Looking great.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/17 11:57:18


Post by: Dr H


Thanks Weety, we shall see how it turns out.

Thanks da waaagh. Cables are planned and it's funny you should mention bionic replacements, as that is also planned, if you notice the random bits and pieces in the foreground of the latest pics, early stages yet.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/18 00:58:10


Post by: Dr H


Update time! And it's in colour!

Dire Avenger number 4 (it is the first one, but he's 4 on my list) is completed.


I'm quite happy how the knee has turned out. Even though I broke it off during painting again, but it's glued on and I'm not gonna touch it again.


I even changed the direction of the targeter as with this pose it was looking at the side of his head and I didn't think that it would be much use like that.


I'm not overly happy with his skirt, but I know how to make it better for the next one.


And here he is as I envisioned him, jumping out from behind a huge pot of glue...er... cover.

As always, let me know what you think.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/18 19:03:00


Post by: Dr H


OK people, I've tidied and lightened the OSL on the heavy weapon platform...
I tried to blend and feather the edges of the "light" a little but it doesn't seem to show all that much in the pics.





Do we think it is any better?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/20 13:08:11


Post by: Dr H


*Work in Progress*
or more acurately "work so far"...

The Exarch's leg was chopped at the hip, knee (above and below) and ankle (the foot was cut away from the armour).
The knee was then fixed in position with small bits of "set" milliput and glue.
The hip was then rebuilt to attach the leg to and the leg was then glued on once set.
The gaps were then filled. The foot was rebuilt in a similar way to the knee.

The ribbon just above the knee that was the focus of "where shall I cut?" ended up being mostly cut through, and so was removed and then rebuilt from milliput. I also rebuilt the belt as a large portion was missing where the hip was built.
I tried to make the replacement for the ribbon with some wire, but it prooved difficult to attach to the leg (and I probably would have broken the leg many times while trying to attach it) and so it became something to attach to the halberd to show some movement.

A bit of tidying up and then he'll be painted.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Voting is still open as to what he may be standing/balancing on...

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The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/22 05:00:12


Post by: weetyskemian44


That latest photo of the grav platform is a little bright (takes off sunglasses). Hard to tell.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/22 13:25:22


Post by: Dr H


Ha ha, yeah I suppose it is. I'll see what I can do about it. *looks for something darker to use as a background*

Believe it or not they're some of the darker shots I managed at the time...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
OK, so ever so slightly better pics of the heavy weapon platform...



The pics are even auto-adjusted. I think the problem is the missile launcher is painted with gloss white (to make it look shiny and new) and so doesn't photograph well.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/23 04:50:16


Post by: da waaagh orkz


The chain needs a bit of shading (possibly with a wash like nuln oil) but other than that it's looking great. May I suggest on some of you models making them less shiny. Although I can't really talk I am a big ork player after all...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/23 12:12:09


Post by: BaronB3


just found this thread, and have read all the fluff....really interesting and enjoyable, I liked it.

Some of your colour schemes and indeed your painting, are really very good, yet others seem less so, it seems that different people have painted, but as you have gone on there is an obvious improvement for sure.

Your OSL I think you have picked the wrong colour scheme to try it on and it looks wrong to me, in fact if i am brutally honest (please dont take offense) it looks like you have slipped with your brush :(

Enjoying the WIP shots, I know how difficult it can be to get legs to work right, often you also need to reposition the foot as well to make it look natural, when i was a more able bodied person, i would strike the pose i wanted myself while looking in a mirror to understand how i wanted a models limbs to be positioned, making note of muscles and foot, hip rotation etc. Its not as easy as it looks but you seem to be getting there...trial and error and you will get it that I am sure of.

Also really liked the suggestion of adding "bionic" part replacements and external brain controls to models to fit in with your fluff, and I also really liked the addition of other races parts to models, again fitting in with this really cool concept,....I know this is time consuming but seeing how you are going with this I really think adding a fair few of these is the way to go.

Finally, how are you going to point these all up and fit them into a FOC? Or is that something you will think more about when your army is nearer to completion.

Wonderful idea, kudos!!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/23 12:14:02


Post by: Dr H


da waaagh orkz wrote:
The chain needs a bit of shading (possibly with a wash like nuln oil) but other than that it's looking great. May I suggest on some of you models making them less shiny. Although I can't really talk I am a big ork player after all...


Thanks da waaagh.
The chain does have a bit of shading, but it's only light.
I only use gloss on some bits and pieces here and there when I think it calls for it, most of them are matt.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/23 13:17:56


Post by: Dr H


BaronB3 wrote:
just found this thread, and have read all the fluff....really interesting and enjoyable, I liked it.

Some of your colour schemes and indeed your painting, are really very good, yet others seem less so, it seems that different people have painted, but as you have gone on there is an obvious improvement for sure.

Your OSL I think you have picked the wrong colour scheme to try it on and it looks wrong to me, in fact if i am brutally honest (please dont take offense) it looks like you have slipped with your brush :(

Enjoying the WIP shots, I know how difficult it can be to get legs to work right, often you also need to reposition the foot as well to make it look natural, when i was a more able bodied person, i would strike the pose i wanted myself while looking in a mirror to understand how i wanted a models limbs to be positioned, making note of muscles and foot, hip rotation etc. Its not as easy as it looks but you seem to be getting there...trial and error and you will get it that I am sure of.

Also really liked the suggestion of adding "bionic" part replacements and external brain controls to models to fit in with your fluff, and I also really liked the addition of other races parts to models, again fitting in with this really cool concept,....I know this is time consuming but seeing how you are going with this I really think adding a fair few of these is the way to go.

Finally, how are you going to point these all up and fit them into a FOC? Or is that something you will think more about when your army is nearer to completion.

Wonderful idea, kudos!!


Oh wow, hello BaronB3, thanks.

Yeah, I know what you mean about the ups and downs of the painting, I seem to be a bit hit and miss. I think that's due to pushing the limits of my painting ability and that I paint one model at a time, sometimes I reach a point and have to say "that's enough on that one" because after a while you're just making it worse. I'm well aware of some of the dodgy bits and models and they will get revisited when I have a lull in new models, some will only need a few touch-ups while others...

Yeah, no worries about the OSL, I was experimenting with that there. That's a good point, maybe a good thing to keep in mind for OSL is to pick which colours are best to show it off and which it isn't going to work with. It's not something I've sat back and thought "that's perfect" yet and is definitely something on the revisit list. More practice with OSL is required.
I usually only start a model with an idea of what I will do with it and don't really know how to reach it for that model or how it will look in the end, so a lot of the time is spent playing with the paint (going backwards and forwards) until it works (or nearly does on some of them ).

Yep, I've stood in some odd poses myself recently.
As is apparent with DA number 4, I'm not adverse to pulling them apart if it's not looking right.

Oh yes, bionics are on the way. I'm still new to Eldar models, so I'm still getting a feel for them before I start adding things. If you look back at the Tyranids, the early ones were more "standard" in their colours and additions than the later ones. There's plenty more Eldar models to come and they will get some (mad) scientist love...

I haven't put much thought into how the army will be organised, only the occasional idea here and there. The main idea is that all the squads will be as mixed as possible in terms of races, but similar roles will be grouped into each squad (Close combat, ranged etc...).
I have been playing about with BattleScribe to get an idea of what things cost relative to each other. Certain models I am already thinking of as squad leaders based on thier points etc (Tyranid warriors for example) and I'm leaning towards additional points for some things that are carrying weapons that they shouldn't be (such as the Termagant with the deathspitter).
Current army total points for those interested (including all the Eldar that haven't been built yet) is 1376... Which sounds big to me as I've seen games with limits at 500, 1000 and 1200, and I only have a fraction of the troops I am aiming for and nothing else yet (no HQ, heavy support etc...).

But (at the moment) I don't have any of the rule books or codicies (codexes, codexiess... whatever, those) so I don't know much about the rules of how armies work other than what I've seen here on DakkaDakka and alot of the rules are going over my head.
I'm not worried about it yet. a) it's easier to break all the rules when you don't know what they are, and b) I'm a long way off an army that would be useable anyway.
There are some rules I have seen that would work with my fluff. Feel no pain for example, would be perfect for an army that has been brainwashed and fitted with electronic implants. I am also aware that my army isn't going to work with any one official codex, which means I'm effectively going to have to write my own and I'll only be able to do that after reading all the other official ones (and I do intend to read them all).

It would be easy to pick and choose all the best rules and all the best models for this army but I'm not going to. I am leaning more towards an army that is intensionally weak (as it would be if it was led by a madman), the aim being to disorientate the opponent and spread as much chaos and destruction as possible. Imagine how difficult it would be to face and approach an army like this... and then imagine how difficult it would be to run an army like this... much careful planning will be needed well in advance.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/23 16:51:15


Post by: Dr H


I had a moment of inspiration and have knocked up this bit of fluff in celebration of page 3!
As a thank you to all those who have popped in here to have a look and to those that have commented, I give you...
The last moments of Battle brother Raymius:

Battle brother Raymius lay on his back, the battlefield was quiet now that the battle was over. Raymius thought back over what had happened, surrounded by the bodies of the fallen enemy and his battle brothers, they had fought bravely against overwhelming numbers of Tyranids. Raymius himself had slaughtered many of the vile creatures until something huge and black had come up behind him, he had reacted too slow and had paid the price for that mistake. The thing had ripped him in two, Raymius could now not even see where his legs lay, he was covered in blood and from the waist down...missing.

Raymius lay there, with the world around him coming and going to greyness, until he started to hear noises, movement, someone or something was picking over the bodies. Every now and then a strange noise, not unlike a thousand people quietly saying "wop" would float over the marine and then there would be more shuffling and rustling. Raymius opened his eyes as he heard the noise approach him, it was a Dire Avenger. Unmistakeable in it's blue armour and high helmet, the filthy Eldar scum was looting the corpses! If he had the strength, Raymius would teach the xeno a thing or two, but then he saw another figure... a marine... from the Imperial Fists! Why were they helping each other, and why would a marine stoop to looting corpses? Another shadow fell over Raymius, he could not see what it was, it bent over and placed something on his chest and then everything went black with a "wop".

As suddenly as it had gone black, it was immediately bright, strong lights positioned around a large metal-walled room, many more xeno scum were here and appeared to be stripping and sorting the equipment from the bodies. A shadow fell over Raymius and a voice said "This one's still alive, got no legs, but still moving" another voice answered "He said that he would want to see any survivors, plug him into some support and send it to Him". Raymius was dragged from the room, down a narrow corridor and into a room where he was fitted with a life support system and placed on a glav platform before being taken to meet whoever this "Him" was.

The first meeting between Raymius and The Scientist as he referred to himself, was strange to say the least. He was tall, for a normal human, thin and had messy grey hair and wild staring eyes. The Scientist wore a brightly coloured shirt (with flowers and strange trees on it) and khaki shorts with many bulging pockets with various tools and things hanging out here and there. Over these clothes The Scientist wore a white lab coat (open at the front for the moment) dirty, well used and with strange designs drawn over most of it, he would stand in front of the marine with his hands in the lab coat's pockets and stare intently at every part of what remained of Raymius.

They discussed The Scientists plans and it was clear to Raymius that he was insane. The discussion ended abruptly after The Scientist had talked about his immortality and Raymius had scorned him and preached about the Emperor, The Scientist had said he would show him what was what and had Raymius taken to another room, empty save for a small stage at one end. Raymius was positioned facing the stage.

The Scientist entered the room followed by a huge mechanical monstrosity, 10 feet tall at least, all pistons and sharp angles. The Scientist spent a great deal of time describing how he would create some new legs for Raymius using a similar pattern to that of the machine. Raymius was not interested and would rather just be killed than brainwashed and mechanised by this madman. After 2 or so hours, The Scientist then said he would show the marine something that would shake his faith in his "dead" emperor. "Heretic" thought Raymius "I'll see you die a painful death for this" he said aloud. The Scientist laughed at this for at least 10 minutes, breaking down into hysterics at least twice before saying "that is precisely why I have brought you here Raymius". While the marine was still trying to remember when this madman had discover his name, The Scientist asked "are you a god?", Raymius answered "no", "ha, but you believe your Emperor is? We shall see..." The Scientist shouted "KILL" and the machine suddenly sprouted all manner of sharp implements and blades, Raymius tensed but could not move. He was not in danger though, the machine turned upon The Scientist and proceeded to tear him to pieces, blood and flesh were spread around the room in a flurry of violence. The screams of the madman (mixed with laughter) were still ringing in the marines ears when he was dragged from the room and taken to a holding chamber by hands unseen.

It could not have been more than an hour after this that the door to the room he was in was opened and Raymius was struck dumb, he could not believe what he was looking at... The Scientist stood there, as clear as day, a huge grin on his face and not a scratch on his body.
"You see" The Scientist said, "I am truly immortal"
"What trick is this, that could not have been you in that room" Said Raymius
"Oh it was" said The Scientist

They talked and Raymius questioned The Scientist about what had happened and could only conclude that he was present in the empty room. The Scientist even described what it felt like to be torn apart.

"We are alike, you see? Both torn asunder and now both here" The Scientist said.
"I am not like you" Replied Raymius
"No, indeed not. How rude of me, here I am uninjured and you still have no legs." Said The Scientist "where is your god emperor now, to bless you with new appendages? We both know where he is, you may call it a throne but it is a coffin. Is he here to save you from damnation? No. But I am here, I will always be here...Ha Ha. I will give you new legs, better legs and you will follow me to you next death and the death beyond that, again and again"

Raymius could not find the words to describe this man.
The Scientist continued "May I call you Ray?" and without waiting for a reply "Not that it matters, you will be number 11 soon. Well, Ray when someone asks if you are a god, you say YES! Ha Ha, well I do... What would your Emperor say? Oh nothing...because he's DEAD, HA HA!"

The Scientist left Raymius to the last of his thoughts before he gets the customary brainwash. He was still laughing as the door slid shut behind him, "What is life anyway? I think I'll go and check on the next body I'll have..."


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/24 18:46:32


Post by: Dr H


Work in Progress!
Painting is nearly done on the Exarch and I have come to a decision on what to have him standing on.
It shall be a ruined statue... that I will have to make myself. This will require some practice as I have chosen to base the statue on the Venus de Milo... Should be a piece of cake... for someone with greater sculpting skills than me... We shall see.

I have noticed that Humbrol paint pot lids are almost exactly the same size as a regular base (as you can see in the picture), so I can practice away to my hearts content (I have plenty of lids as you may see in the background). I even used a lid for the base of the teleport homer that you can see with one of my Terminators, although I may sculpt on an edge for this one to make it look like the usual base, if I use it as the base, if it works out, if anything else that may come up... Fingers crossed.

I may even use a bigger base if there doesn't turn out to be enough room on a small base.
This leads me to a question that I hope someone may be kind enough to answer here;
On the tabletop, is it an advantage or disadvantage to have a bigger or smaller base?
Does it matter, for this particular mini? It will only be slightly larger to make room for rubble etc... if it needs it.

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The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/11/28 17:37:10


Post by: Dr H


I have finished sculpting Venus.

Not painted yet and I've not added the rubble and plantlife around the base yet.
I thought I'd put up stage by stage pics.


Stage one: Bare bones, well sprue. Saves on putty.


Stage 2: Basic shape. Left to set so details can be added on top of a solid base.


Stage 3: Upon adding shape to the body it ended up more upright than I was intending, which meant that the base of the neck was now off center.


Stage 4: Moved neck and started the smoothing and shaping of the form.


Stage 5: More smoothing of the shape and creating a head...
I now have a lot of respect for anyone sculpting heads.
I had 5 attempts at a head for this and picked the best looking one (this took twice as long as it did to do the whole rest of the body).
I then attached it to the body.

I used a small wedge of plastic to glue the head in place and then set about filling the gap and smoothing it all to a shape of a neck.


Stage 6: Adding hair and final details and smoothing. I'm quite pleased with the hair as it turned out to be easier than the head and was quite quick to do and made the head look better.

And finally some shots all round after a quick wash over with grey.





Thanks for looking.
And now to attaching the Exarch (to ballance on the shoulder) and painting...



The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/12/01 21:35:42


Post by: Dr H


Exarch is done.
I'm sure there was something else I was going to do on him, but can't think of it so calling it finished.


I was going to use a rope for the replacement of the ribbon around his leg.
I tried a piece of string I had but couldn't attach it tight enough.
So I tried to make a rope-alike from twisting some wire together but it didn't look right.
I then hit on the idea of plaiting the wires together and that looked nice, but then I couldn't get it to sit right around the leg.
So instead I used putty for the leg and attached the plaited wire to his halberd and gave it a bit of a bend to show movement.


The flag is meant to look like it's been defaced by The Scientist to match the banner on the Marine earlier.


The Shuriken pistol attached to his back is painted to look like a well-kept antique and not a run-of-the-mill normal weapon.


The statue is meant to look like it's been abandoned for so long that not only has it been overgrown but the vines and the moss are in the process of dying off and there's a little rust from where one of the arms used to attach.



Anyway, I hope you like him. Let me know what you think.

On to the next... What will be next?!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/12/12 15:39:50


Post by: Dr H


Update time!
I have been busy but I now have something to show.

First up is a pair of Guardians.

Number 4 (green) is in a hurry to get somewhere and is sporting an external electronic gizmo powered by his own suit and conveniently wired to his brain via his left nostril.
Number 3 (red) is modelling the latest in The (Mad) Scientist's solutions to long range aiming; a 3D targeting scope complete with red and green lenses...





And a couple of closer shots...


The brass detailing you can see on Number 3's catapult goes all the way underneath.

And now a sneak peak WIP shot of a soon to be Dire Avenger...


And some writing to fill a bit more of The Scientist's Story.
Spoiler:
Personal Journal.
Day -1. Tomorrow I shall perform an historic experiment. The past decades of my life have led up to this point. I have detailed my previous experiments of knowledge sharing. There have been set backs, of course, but recent results with small mammals has shown that it is possible to take the knowledge of one or many individuals and implant it into others of the same or different species with no ill affects. I have scaled these experiments up to large groups and implanted many lifetimes worth of experience into one individual, officially a simple primate, unofficially... myself.

If tomorrows experiment works as I have calculated I will implant the knowledge of everyone and everything within range of my transmitter into my mind. This will increase my (already substantial) intelligence exponentially and I will instantly "learn" all the skills of anyone within a 50 mile radius as if I had spent years mastering them myself.
Not only will I be hailed as a genius, I will become a genius the likes of which has never been seen.

I will then be able to perfect the equipment for the application of helping those that are, shall we say, a bit dumb. Also, learning skills and knowledge will merely be a matter of sitting in a chamber and having the required knowledge implanted. Maybe I'll be able to overcome the problem of brain damage when too much information in implanted into a brain that cannot take it. Sadly, at first, some people will not be able to become instant genius', but everyone can be improved to greater or lesser extents.

Day 0. I am leaving this journal, together with my notebooks, in case something should go wrong with today's experiment. If someone should find this, follow my footsteps carefully, many things can go wrong with knowledge transfer... Zero hour approaches, there's no turning back now.

Day +2. I KNOW EVERYTHING!!! There was an electrical storm that was nearby that I didn't know about at the time, that was stupid of me. It boosted the signal I used and I have absorbed the memories and knowledge of every single living being on the planet... My initial calculations showed that even I would not be able to absorb so much knowledge but they were wrong, I see that now, and I see that with minor modifications to my equipment (most of which I have already performed) I can implant much more information into any brain, it just requires the correct compression and a little reprogramming of the memory centres. I can't wait to publish these results, no one believed and will not believe what is possible (I know). But it is now undeniable, I have proof... I even know what it's like to be a blade of grass in a freshly mown lawn, the pain the pain...


And some notes on the Tyranids
Spoiler:
Scientific Notes. Tyr213: An interesting species, the tyranids, they will kill and eat (if possible) any organic matter placed before them. They can learn to overcome obstacles, usually in the most destructive way possible, but they cannot be trained. For example; Hormagaunt 03 was placed in an empty room that it could not escape from. It tried to escape by damaging the walls and floor for 3 days straight with little rest, truly remarkable stamina. Then suddenly it just stopped and went into a hibernation-like state and stayed like that seemingly indefinitely (30 days at least in tests).

The introduction of organic matter, be it in the shape of flora or fauna (animal or man) resulted in 03 instantly attacking and devouring all that it could. That is probably unremarkable and unsurprising, but when placed in similar circumstances where killing or eating the organic matter would result in a gentle shock (not quite enough to kill it, but should certainly discourage it); 03 would, without hesitation, kill and (attempt to) eat it's prey and would do this repeatedly. Even upping the shock and killing 03 would not teach it to leave the prey creature alone upon revival. You could probably teach an ork this simple lesson without much trouble, Note to self: Try this experiment with an ork.

SN-Tyr 245: Implanting the knowledge from the varied tyranid creatures found on board the hulk was an enlightening experience. I have learnt that they share a consciousness that is linked to much greater intellects over immense distances, I have been able to calculate the distance and judging by the information within these few samples I know when and where they expect to arrive (see 242-244 and the following entries).

I know that the vast majority of the tyranids are essentially mindless, driven only by instinct and the direction of the "hive mind", however there are a few larger specimens that have possession of their own faculties and act as a kind of booster or relay station for the "hive mind". I have one here and am in the process of cloning it. Once complete, one of the clones will serve to control the lesser tyranids and another one or two I'll use to shield my planet and army from the hive as I do electronically for other species' sensors.

SN-Tyr 462: From experiments on the genetic make up of these creatures I have discovered their big secret, it's remarkable where they originated from and how they "evolved" before they started on their "mission", the reasons for all this can only be guessed at.

Also, I have unlocked the ability to blend the genetics from one tyranid to another allowing me the ability to replace lost limbs and weapons for the more "damaged" soldiers with whatever I choose.

SN-Tyr 534: The majority of soldiers have accepted their implants, work well and do as commanded. A few have had problems with accepting their fate, as it were, and have caused minor problems requiring destruction by detonation of the brain implant (I have only been killed once and that was a lucky strike, the poor, deluded, little monster). The replacement clones have proved easier to work with as their mixed genetic code has allowed me to start with a blank slate.


There is more background written but I'll try to spread it out a bit.

Up next?
And now for something completely different...

What has 2 legs to get around on, but has 2 more legs that it doesn't use?
What doesn't have arms to hold it's many weapons, but has 2 arms that it can't do without?
What doesn't require a head, but has a head that it would be useless without?

That is what's coming next...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/12/12 16:33:22


Post by: Hruotland


Eldar War Walker?

Love your approach btw, nice fluff and lots of opportunity to experiment. I love most those tyranids in "natural" pattern. That's what I always thought how tyranids would have to look.

By the way I have tried the other way round, paint revell models in acrylic paint. Was not satisfied... While I love it for richly detailed figurines, for models of 1:200 scale and smaller, where shading and highlighting often looks simply wrong, I will stick to enamel, I guess.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/12/12 16:48:40


Post by: Dr H


 Hruotland wrote:
Eldar War Walker?

Love your approach btw, nice fluff and lots of opportunity to experiment. I love most those tyranids in "natural" pattern. That's what I always thought how tyranids would have to look.

By the way I have tried the other way round, paint revell models in acrylic paint. Was not satisfied... While I love it for richly detailed figurines, for models of 1:200 scale and smaller, where shading and highlighting often looks simply wrong, I will stick to enamel, I guess.


Correct! Give yourself a pat on the back.

Thank you. Indeed the "natural" colour schemes do give a greater realism to the very alien look of the models. But I couldn't help trying out some crazy colours.

Interesting. As I've said I have never used acrylic paints, so I can't compare.
These models are the first I've tried with shading and dirt and battle damage (although I've not done much yet, there is much more planned). All the Revell and Airfix kits I've done before have all looked like they are straight from the factory or a good cleaning, no dirt, no shading, just clean and crisp (it was always more about the building then the painting).


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/12/15 23:15:51


Post by: Dr H


Work in progress update.

The pose is set for the War walker.





I went for running as it's a bit more exciting than just standing. Something I noticed while building this was that in the pictures I used for inspiration for this pose the modellers didn't do what I have done here; which is to position the leg on the ground underneath the main mass of the walker and keep the body flat and level. Maybe it's the angle of the pictures, but I've not seen a picture of a war walker with the legs positioned like this and this is how I believe it is meant to be (there's a ball and socket joint at the "waist" and ankle for a reason).

The paint on it at the moment is just going to be the underlying colour of the wraithbone as I am intending to do some weathering on it.
I have been experimenting...

Two sticks of sprue. One painted metal (with a little rust) and the other painted bone.
Then one half of each coated with varnish (left) and the other hairspray (right) As I've heard of this technique and thought I'd have a look.
Each end has been attacked with sticky-tape and the middle with a ball of aluminium foil.
There appears to be little difference between varnish and hairspray and for large areas it is obviously easier to use hairspray, but it's nice to know.
The aluminium foil however doesn't do alot (or at least as much as I was hoping for). Does anyone have any good ideas for making small scratches with a technique like this?

And finally, a tale of recruitment...
Spoiler:
Dîn-Curunir was a bonesinger and had been for many years. It would soon be time to leave the path of shaping and choose a new path, but he was not worried about this today, he had just completed a work of art for the Autarch and was heading back to his quarters, tomorrow would be a new day. Dîn-Curunir was so content that he failed to notice that he was being followed, although even the most observant of people may well have failed to notice this stalker, for he blended in to the crowds and passer-bys that were ever present in the narrow corridors of the craftworld as if he was meant to be there.

The stalker had in fact been there before, on the craftworld, had lived and worked there much as Dîn-Curunir and countless others did. His name was Ringuial before he was taken to The Scientist, now he was just a number. Ringuial did not miss his name or his past life, indeed he did not even realise that there was anything to miss. But he knew he had a mission to complete, and to do that he had to follow Dîn-Curunir.

Dîn-Curunir took the long route home, through the public garden that was near to his quarters. He met a friend there and talked a little while before arranging to meet the next day, without knowing that he would not make it and would never be seen and never see or remember that beautiful garden again.

Dîn-Curunir had not been back at his quarters long, before he heard a quiet knocking at the door. Upon opening the door he saw a package on the floor, it was plain and had no marking on the outside. He reached down and picked the package up, it was light but appeared to have something of substance loose inside. Just as Dîn-Curunir was about to shut the door he noticed a piece of wraithbone, as thin as a keycard, that must have been underneath the package. He picked up the wraithbone and returned inside his quarters, closing the door behind him.

The piece of wraithbone looked as if it had been carefully cut from something larger, as skilled as Dîn-Curunir was at shaping waithbone he could have done little better at shaping the piece into a thin rectangle, he marvelled at the perfection of the edges knowing the skill required to achieve such a feat. Carved on the other side of the wraithbone were three words; Open The Box. Dîn-Curunir, immediately curious, put the wraithbone down on the table next to the box and started to open the package. There was nothing special about the box, but the contents was very interesting. What was inside was an electronic device made from a metal of some sort and pieces of carved waithbone, how was this possible? he thought. Who had done this? and why had they seemingly given it to him?

Dîn-Curunir reached inside the box to lift the device out and study it closer. As soon as he touched it there was a "fop" and everything went black. In the blackness Dîn-Curunir could tell that he was no longer in his quarters, but a smallish room with metal walls, the sheen was discernable by a small light-source in the middle of the low ceiling above him. There was something on the floor by his foot and bending down to study it noted that it was the device that had been in the box, he decided not to touch it again and stood up and started to make towards the wall of the chamber. No sooner had he taken one step a bright light blinded him and a voice came to him from the darkness.
"Hello, you liked my toy yes? I thought you would. Welcome to my recruiting ship. We were parked no more that 100 meters from the craftworld you called home and am now travelling away away-O."
"Who are you? What do you want with me?" asked Dîn-Curunir sternly.
"No need to take that tone with me. You will create and repair wraithbone for me and my army, yes you will. You will do this willingly, I do not need your permission, no, I will let you keep all the knowledge that you will need... and nothing else." said the voice in a jovial manner.
"Who are you? I will not do as you say, I will resist will all my strength" Replied Dîn-Curunir.

A light illuminated the room and Dîn-Curunir could now see who he was talking to; scruffy shoes and bare skinny legs stuck out under a dirty lab coat, pockets overflowing with all manner of gizmos and wires and tools. The man was tall, his face thin and his hair wild and grey. His eyes were not visible to Dîn-Curunir as the figure wore glasses that obscured them, but not normal glasses or tinted glasses, these had fake bulging eyes painted on small white balls attached to the frame by long springs that meant the "eyes" bounced and dangled in front of the figures face and large grin.
"You'll like it here" the figure said, Arms wide as if to embrace Dîn-Curunir, "You will. It'll be as if you were meant to be here, welcome to the family."




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh yeah, and this is just the bare bones of the war walker (get it? bare bones).
The (Mad) Scientist has a few little additions planned for it...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/12/17 22:27:55


Post by: Dr H


More wip of the war walker.

The weapon systems are installed... Mad Scientist stylee...
Imagine, if you will, the music you should hear while looking at this could be something like Rimsky-Korsakov - A Night on the Bare Mountain.


Some of you may notice the subtle differences between this and the standard layout of a war walker.


Here you can see a typical Scatter Laser (or "Laser") and a Missile launcher.


And on this side, you can see an Extended-Range Bright Lance and a Heavy Bolter.

I was also thinking of adding some kind of Mine layer type system to the rear of the walker, but I think it would probably be too much I'll save that for something else (I still don't know how I would make one).
And I was thinking of adding a scratch-built spotlight under the cockpit. will see how it turns out first...

Obviously painting is not finished, this is just the basic underlying layers.

And a bit more reading
Spoiler:
"Sir, you asked me to determine the delay with the repair work to the Predator..."
"Yes, why are they taking so long? We have already received all the other equipment that was sent with it, it wasn't heavily damaged if I recall correctly"
"No sir, it wasn't heavily damaged" He swallowed nervously.
"Well then, what's happened to it?"
"It's missing sir..."
"Define... missing"
"Sir, they didn't receive it"
"WHAT? It was pulling the trailer that everything else was in, I saw it leave in the capable hands of one of our own marines. We already have all of that equipment back. How did the trailer and it's contents get to and from there...WITHOUT the predator that was pulling it?"
Mouth dryer than any known desert, he replied "We... don't know sir."
"Well is someone finding out? Where's the marine that was driving? He might have noticed where the vehicle he was sat in had gone?"
"Ah, he's missing too sir, he...erm..."
"What is it?"
"Records show that the marine that was driving has... been dead for 5 months... Sir"
"I'm not going to like this, am I? Would you care to explain that, I shook his hand!"
"Sir, he was killed during our last major encounter with the Orks. His body was never recovered, although several of the other battle brothers reported seeing him killed by concentrated Ork fire during the second wave of their attack. However, after the battle no trace could be found of him, one other and several Orks. Only blood stains were found at the scene, no bodies, no equipment. Sir"
"And now, you are telling me that he returned here... 5 months later... and then vanished again... along with a whole tank!"
"Y-Yes S-Sir..."
"...From the middle of our base of operations... surrounded by thousands of our brethren... on a planet that we supposedly control... AND NO ONE NOTICED!"
"No sir. Some tracks were found leading from the trailer and down an alleyway..."
"Good, and where did these tracks lead to?"
"Nowhere sir, it was a dead end"
"Well surely some information could be found from it. What direction were the tracks headed?"
"No sir, the alleyway was a dead end. The tracks led up to the wall at the end and then...stopped..."

The Scientist surveyed his latest addition. "Not bad, a few tweaks here and there and it'll be ready, Ha Ha".

In other words, I have aquired a Predator.


Feel free to let me know what you think of any of the models or fluff from throughout my blog, I'm happy to discuss ideas etc...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/12/21 02:48:46


Post by: da waaagh orkz


Haven't looked at this for a while now but your stuff is looking great as usual . My god that statue that the eldar was standing one looks AWESOME! Glad to see that you have started to stick the bionics (and other modifications) on those models, they will have a lot more character.The extra fluff is terrific; very entertaining.

Keep up the good work.



The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/12/21 12:01:11


Post by: Dr H


Thanks da waaagh, good to hear you like it.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/12/22 22:52:52


Post by: monkeytroll


I'll get back to the fluff later, always like to read a bit of fluff, but multi-tasking atm War-walkers coming on, although I was slightly disappointed to see an eldar driving it...come on, you can get a bit more chaotic than that

A 'gaunt with a cybernetic head transplant complete with positronic brain would have been ace sitting in the cockpit...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/12/22 23:12:42


Post by: Dr H


 monkeytroll wrote:
I'll get back to the fluff later, always like to read a bit of fluff, but multi-tasking atm War-walkers coming on, although I was slightly disappointed to see an eldar driving it...come on, you can get a bit more chaotic than that

A 'gaunt with a cybernetic head transplant complete with positronic brain would have been ace sitting in the cockpit...


K.

True, I think the main reason it ended up as an Eldar in the drivers seat was that that's what was moulded sitting in the seat, had it been seat and body separate (as with all the models I have ever built before) I may have had that idea. But didn't think of it as it wasn't an obvious option. Now though, I will keep that in mind... Ooo, I know where I can do that...

Thanks MT.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2012/12/27 20:40:54


Post by: Dr H


Update! The War Walker is finished. Have a look and tell me what you think.


As I mentioned earlier, I went with an "unusual" weapon loadout.
Each weapon will function as it would normally with a few minor exceptions;
The Heavy bolter is a heavy bolter and will do what any heavy bolter does.
The Scatter Laser will do everything a Scatter laser should.
The missile launcher I think will behave just like an Eldar missile launcher.
The Extended-range bright lance will behave just like any bright lance but with a "significantly" increased range (I'm thinking an inch, after all I've made the weapon about an inch longer).
However, I appreciate that a war walker is traditionally only given 2 weapons (usually 2 scatter lasers from what I've read) and so as to not make this one unfair I have an excuse lined up; Due to the tricky attachments that were required to link human technology to the wraithbone technology of the Eldar there is an issue that means only two of the four weapons can fire at any one time (in any combination).


As good a time to mention the base as any. I decided to add to the base that came with it for a couple of reasons: 1) Every war walker comes with this base and so in the interest of being different I changed it a little and 2) I couldn't really tell what the thing laying in the middle of the base was and how it should be painted so decided to make it a mound of grass.


Back end, nuff said


Here you can see the heavy bolter in all it's glory. The peeling paint was a happy accident as I originally painted it matt scarlet over the metal base coat and decided that it needed more so used a clear coat red that I recently picked up and on this side (only) it started to peel off a bit. A little sticky tape action and it looked like this. Good thing I didn't want it looking shiny and new.


And this picture is just to highlight a few other bits and pieces.
Down the left hand side you can see examples of something I thought most 40k vehicles seem to be missing, Warning labels, yes thrills, excitement and war, but you can't have all that without health and safety...
So there's warnings about the air intakes, next to the cockpit (although that could be pilot info or some such), under the scatter laser (danger laser hazard), and all over the missile pod (info and warnings) and also underneath the walkers body and rear of cockpit (bottom right of picture).
In the middle you can see a clearer view of the mud and weathering to the legs. and the base.
Top right you have a close up of what I've replaced the windscreen with, a holographic HUD printed on a piece of OHP acetate. Could be better, but I like it.
and below that more examples of the paint chipping.

And finally, as I haven't mentioned it yet, the paint scheme is my interpretation of what a brainwached Eldar might consider as camoflage, think dazzle camoflage rather than "you can't see me" camoflage.

And now some more exerpts from The (Mad) Scientists private journal.
Spoiler:
Day +16. Ha Ha. There's no one left. They all went bye-bye. My transference of their knowledge was too complete. Ha Ha. Every mind on the planet was wiped clean. They all just dropped dead without knowing what was happening, who they were, what they were or even how to breath. Boom, gone, dead. He He. I'm all alone. Not that I need anyone, I know what any one of them would say or do in any circumstance. Indeed, that is correct... You see? Some of them, would agree.

Day +54. I had forgotten about this journal. I've been busy. Busy busy bee me... yes, ah Ha, He He. I have vastly improved my knowledge transfer equipment. I have found that it is more efficient to read the knowledge from a dead mind, or more precisely, a non-sentient mind. All the flora of the planet happily carried on as if nothing had happened while all the fauna was wiped clean. Except, that is, for dead bodies... already dead bodies.

Having implanted the memories of some people I found in the street outside, that had been alive at the time, I found that the only memories they had left were of the short time between having their mind wiped and dropping dead, fascinating, Ha HA. I tried the same with some bodies in a morgue and found that all their memories were intact AND I had already implanted those memories from the initial experiment.

As for improvement to my equipment, I have refined it so that it will not mind-wipe anyone again (or at least not by accident, Ha Ha). He He, and I can now store the knowledge I glean artificially as well. I have taken it upon myself to transfer my own knowledge and memories to storage as well, on a regular basis. I will then be able to implant whatever knowledge is required into anyone or anything I choose, no need to explain anything to anyone again.


Happy Christmas, hope you enjoy.



The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/01/02 22:26:55


Post by: Dr H


Happy New Year.

Some Work in progress for you this time.

I'm not a huge fan of the look of the typical Shuriken Catapult, side on it's fine. It's just from above or below, the wide bit (where the accelerators are) just looks too wide and then you think "how can you carry or store these weapons in that shape?" you can't use a sling as they don't sit next to the body easily
Anyway, enough moaning. I do however, like the look of the Shuriken Cannon especially with the belt-feed in the top. But how can a single man/space-elf carry such a large weapon into battle? I hear (maybe a few of) you cry... it's only vehicle mounted (although I have found out recently there are eldar corsairs who do carry the heavy weapons)...

As far as the model is concerned it is possible to just glue it on, but I want my models to have some realism in their unrealism.
So The (Mad) Scientist has come up with a solution to what could be the problems that would arise if a mind-washed space-elf was to carry such a large weapon.
The problems I could see were;
Weight - it's a large gun and not meant for someone to carry. True, it's made of wraithbone as so may or may not be as heavy as something made of plas-steel or whatever metal but it probably is still quite heavy and unwieldy. Solution, some form of bionic strength-enhancing exoskeleton.

You can see here the exoskeleton added to the legs and the flexable power / support tubes from the hips to the backpack. You may also be able to see some of the construction of the backpack.

Control / firing the weapon - If it's just been ripped of a vehicle it's not likely to have such useful things as triggers and handles for someone to use. Solution, add useful things.

Here you can see the Shuriken Cannon partly constructed. There has been the control piece added to the rear and a large box-shape added to the bottom/sides of the cannon (this is for the ammo processing, see below) and the makings of a recoil supressor (wasn't sure if one would be needed but thought I'd add one anyway).

Ammo - Vehicles have plenty of room for ammo storage. True I could have used the Cannon with the plasticrystal ammo-block attached, but I prefer the look of the ammo belt and thought It needed some extra storage. Solution, I could have made a belt of ammo like on the cannon and linked that to a backpack... But that's not mad scientist enough so The Scientist has invented a two component solution that when mixed in the correct way form the crystal that is used as ammo.

This shows you views of the tubing and wires required to attach man/space-elf to machine to ammo solution tanks to weapon. Also there are pressure gauges for the tanks, side handle for his left hand and attachment from that to the exoskeleton, connections from the recoil suppressor to the control mechanism, and a few other attachments to hold things together.

And here he is with a friend


Next up is a bit of tidying and then painting.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/01/13 00:02:08


Post by: da waaagh orkz


Hell yeah! Those are awesome bionics you got there mate. Cannot wait to see them painted. Keep it up.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/01/13 11:58:26


Post by: Dr H


da waaagh orkz wrote:
Hell yeah! Those are awesome bionics you got there mate. Cannot wait to see them painted. Keep it up.


Thanks again da waaagh. He's coming along. Got a few little touches left on him and then his friend to paint and then bases and done.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/01/20 23:19:01


Post by: Dr H


DONE!

May I introduce Guardians 5 and 6.

Although for some reason I always manage to have the lowest number on the right...
Starting with Number 5 (on the right), he was aquired from Ulthwé craftworld as you may be able to tell.

He has been in the "employ" of The Scientist for quite some time and is part of an ongoing experiment as explained here:
Spoiler:
SN-Edr 785: Their willingness to study a "path" and become an expert in one field at a time has proven useful for me in training the eldar to my needs. I can override their instinct to stop and change and lock them on the path I choose for them, and after a short while they accept it. So once I convince the poor deluded souls to follow the path of the warrior (or whatever they call it), I can keep them on it and train them up to become what they call "Dire Avengers" and then "Exarch" and they will become more deadly then they would be normally if I let them pursue other paths.

SN-Edr 1454: I have found a way to make a device that acts as what the Eldar refer to as a "Waystone", in essence an empty "Sprit Stone". Once they die, their psychic energy or spirit or soul (however you want to look at it) is stored on the gem. The Eldar use these to evade one of those pathetic gods that would eat their soul and then to power and control weapons and vehicles and the such. I use my devices to record their knowledge, memory and "self" (basically the same thing) so I can reinstall it back into the body. They are now just as useful and expendable as the other races, this saves a lot of bother. It's also amusing to see their faces when they wake up back in their body...

So Number 5 has been modelled to show that he's slightly more than a usual Guardian, such as upgraded kit (An Avenger catapult and targeter) and a skirt-like thing (which is grubby as he's had it a while).


He's also been given one of The Scientist's patented Signal Boosters.
I re-posed his legs to give him a more relaxed look as well.

Number 6 on the other hand...

Has been given a Shuriken Cannon, as I expained earlier.
Above you can see the recoil suppressor.


Here you may be able to see something I'm going to add to all army members, that's their number (you may just see it on his leg). I refer to all the models I've made by number so I can keep track of who is/has what for army building purposes, so that's going to be clearer from now on. I aim to always add it to the left leg (you may have seen it on number 5's knee) and if not probably the head.


Here you can see the tanks and their respective dials etc...


and here a bit of rust...just coz.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
In other news, I have acquired copies of many of the codices and some rule books.
Most (if not all) are out of date, but they do explain alot:
a) I now know what all those letters and their number mean! BS1 = bad, BS10 = rediculous etc...
b) I have a feel for how the game actually works and,
c) I know what sort of rules there are,

and so...
I can start to actually form some kind of Codex:The (Mad) Scientist's Army
Hence really needing to know who is who and so adding numbers on the models and not just under the base.

This will take quite a while to do as it won't be complete until I have the main bulk of the army's troops at least (that's some of each race) and won't be finalised until I get round to buying the most up to date rule books and codices.

Oh, and d) I see that my army is not as wild wrt the rules as I had envisioned... must try harder.

And Finally some more of The Scientist's private journal
Spoiler:
Day +438. Weeeeell well, hellooo what is this? My old journal. Not seen much use for a while have you? No, of course not, you can't talk. Only the voices talk, that's what voices do, that's what they are for. No, I know that... I know everything of course, you should know that... Where was I? Yes, I was about to create my latest entry in my journal, keep it up to date, yes. Ha Ha.

I have been sending out my robotic probes across the planet to find and return with news and equipment and materials, they don't talk either, no point in making them talk, just record and download to the mainframe here. I can implant it later, yes I do. Latest experiments are progressing well, but I need to acquire the materials. He He. Ho He. Ha Ha. What would a butterfly do? wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwdgrtthhggggh.

Day +734. What was once Order is no more. Straight is now bent, clean is now dirty, inorganic is now organic... Kind of, Ha Ha. Without civilisation here to trim and tidy and arrange, nature has fought back. The flora has moved into the cities and towns and walls have broken and collapsed. This is how it should be. It is beautiful.

I have calculated the increase in entropy of the whole planet, yes I have, and I have shown that this increase has led to greater stability in the planet and the surrounding space. The degree of disorder, you see, is directly proportional to the stability of space-time as the voices had told me. I didn't believe them at first, it made no scientific sense, but now, I have calculated it. I have proof.

Day +1356. The plans are ready. I am ready. The universe is ready. It is time to set in motion what will bring stability to the universe. The order that has resulted from civilisations is tearing the universe apart and they don't see it, no they don't, do they? No.

A hole appears in space and they try to fight what comes through it. They don't know that it's space-time itself, fighting back against the Order that they have created. But I know. I know what needs to be done. I have been chosen. By Him. The God of everything. The God of nothing. The God of nature. And nature is random. It is disordered. It must ALWAYS become more disordered...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/01/23 00:27:38


Post by: Dr H


In answer to the question; What do rippers do when not eating biomass?

They play 40k of course...
and using the latest codices and rule book.








All (roughly) to scale.
Only a bit of fun mind, quick and dirty.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/01/23 12:18:28


Post by: ExNoctemNacimur


I love peices like that, it's awesome!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/01/23 12:38:51


Post by: Dr H


 ExNoctemNacimur wrote:
I love peices like that, it's awesome!


Thanks ExNN. I was going to have them eating the base and a paintbrush, but then I had a better idea.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/02/03 19:23:04


Post by: monkeytroll




That is sweet, cool piece doc....


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/02/03 20:03:25


Post by: Dr H


 monkeytroll wrote:


That is sweet, cool piece doc....


Thanks MT. Good to see you are still about, was only wondering the other day where you had disappeared to.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/02/03 20:46:43


Post by: Ciaphas


OK. I read the fluff. All of it. I've seen the pics. All of them. I have to say that this is chaos. It really is chaos. Its fantastic. Well done. Now I'm going to lay down in a dark room.......keep up the good work. Good fluff makes great armies. Cool.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/02/03 21:20:05


Post by: Dr H


 Ciaphas wrote:
OK. I read the fluff. All of it. I've seen the pics. All of them. I have to say that this is chaos. It really is chaos. Its fantastic. Well done. Now I'm going to lay down in a dark room.......keep up the good work. Good fluff makes great armies. Cool.


If you did it all in one go, I salute you. Good to have you on board.

There will be more pics and fluff to come as things get completed and will hopefully only get more chaotic... Have a nice lie down.

and Thanks, glad you enjoyed it all.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/02/08 18:10:34


Post by: Dr H


Update time! Two completed Dire Avengers for you today.


Here is Dire Avenger number 1 (left) and number 2 (right).
In keeping with my "all models WILL be different colours but I will stick to official fluff" rule, number 1 is actually a blue/purple and number 2 is obviously light blue, to differentiate them from the previous dire avengers 4 (standard blue appearance) and 6 ( darker blue, standing on the statue). Which means I only have two more different blues to come up with for this box...

New to these models (as I do try to do something new each time) that you can see here, is the first try at 3 colour gems on number 1 and some freehanding on number 2's skirt-thing and I tried some sponge for a bit of different foliage on his base. Also you'll notice the tube attaching the fleshborer to number 2's body, this will be explained later. Oh Edit: also I tried blending the colour on all of number 1's armour plates.


Here you can see their designatory numbers on their legs and a sword I made for number 1. I was going to give the knife that comes in the box to number 1 but in the end decided to give it to number 2 as I didn't see the point in giving a single targetter to someone with two guns and then there was less point in giving a targetter to number 1 and so I decided to give him a second sword. The sword is meant to be a (Mad) Scientist copy and so I didn't try to replicate the tricky hand guard of the eldar sword that number 1 is actually holding.


Here you can see the fleshborer that number 2 is "holding". This is an experiment by The Scientist in grafting alien bodies together, hence the change in the upper arm from the flesh of the eldar body to the chitin of the tyranid arm and the addition of a couple of tubes for biocompatibility and sustenance of the weapon. The reason I ended up using this arm was that I wanted to do this pose with the pair of pistols from the eldar box, but those two arms are useless for chopping up and repositioning as the arms are very straight, the guns are directly opposite the elbows and the guns extend just beyond the elbow, so a cut and bend just won't work. You may as well use another arm, so I did.

I decided to keep the colour scheme consistent between the arms so the two guns are both black with blue bits. Adding more colours, I thought, would have just made him look a mess and with the blue, red and green together with the black and white and silver/gold bits it was getting a bit much on one little chap. I think there is enough colour on him without going too far (tell me if you agree or disagree) and that's why his gems are also green and not another colour.


On the topic of arms, I wanted to try for the tai chi pose that was discussed earlier with Monkeytroll but with the shoulder pads and the arm it really wasn't possible unless I wanted him to be picking his own ear with the sword point. So I went for the across the body pose which still meant cutting the arm at the elbow and wrist.

Also, on colour, number 1 ended up with an orange mohawk and number 2 with the green as I was thinking of giving number 1 a striped orange/green but thought that would have been a bit much on him (again, agree/disagree?).

Two sec's and I'll go find the fluff to round this update off...



Automatically Appended Next Post:
The (Mad) Scientist's personal journal:
Spoiler:

Day +1493.

Entropy must increase or the universe will be destroyed. He has told me. It took so long for me to see it, to hear what he was saying. But I HEAR you now. I will obey. I am the chosen. I will raise an army to break the Order. To spread Disorder. I must prepare...

I realise now that I am the catalyst, the universe is the flask and all the people and the beasties and the flowers and trees and the rocks and... everything else are the reactants waiting to become the products. They are all thermodynamically unstable and ready to change and yet kinetically inert, they try to change themselves but it is slow and they are destined to potentially wait forever without my guidance, I will help them blossom into the new forms determined for them. I offer myself up to speed the change and save the universe and as the catalyst I will not be consumed or changed and will remain, forever in my special sub-stoichiometric splendour.

Day +2484.

I am ready. Readyreadyready. Yesyesyes. Ha Ha. They are coming. As was foretold by him... or was it me? I knew they would come. A great spaceship. Filled with all I need to Start my mission. It's coming. I am ready. It will land in the desert. All wrapped in metal, a lovely present for meeeee. He He. I have my robots ready to retrieve the raw materials for my army, The Army of The Second Law. And then I will set my plan in motion. They are coming. They are coming...




The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/02/10 17:41:24


Post by: Casey's Law


Really fun blog, dude, bat gak crazy as intended!

I have one particular question for you and I may have missed you mentioning this already... Are we going to get to see a miniature for the Mad Scientist himself?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/02/10 18:32:55


Post by: Dr H


 Casey's Law wrote:
Really fun blog, dude, bat gak crazy as intended!

I have one particular question for you and I may have missed you mentioning this already... Are we going to get to see a miniature for the Mad Scientist himself?


Thanks CL.

Oh yes, I will make him one day . He is the figurehead of the army and the way that all the rest of the army members are brainwashed, he'll be the only real "character" model and I want to do him justice. I have some pretty major plans already for him and his command "tank", but for the moment I'm just improving my painting and modelling... and keeping an eye out for possible bitz to use to make the classic mad scientist look.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/02/11 07:12:31


Post by: Casey's Law


Sweet, well if I don't see a mechanical Carnifex steed I'm going to be upset.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/02/11 13:38:50


Post by: Dr H


 Casey's Law wrote:
Sweet, well if I don't see a mechanical Carnifex steed I'm going to be upset.


I have seen various mechanized and "looted" large tyranids about and it would fit with the army, but will have to wait and see what I'm feeling when I get one of those models.

I don't want to give too much away for far future models as people may get bored waiting for it to happen or dissapointed when it doesn't happen as expected.
Plans are afoot for many crazy models (rest assured), I have thought about something I could do for nearly every race and species out there but plans may change with time and I am open to ideas that people suggest on here, but even those ideas may get modified over time.

You (and me) will have to be patient with what is to come and enjoy the current crazyness. We were talking about motivation on your blog and for me, I think a large part of my motivation is the ideas I have for the next model... and the one after that... and the one after that...
I have to be strict with myself and finish what I'm working on before moving on. That's part of the reason I work in small batches, minimise the number of things I have going on and I will actually finish something as I don't have the space for many unfinished models.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/02/11 23:38:26


Post by: Casey's Law


Sounds good man, i'm looking forward to seeing where your journey takes you. Stay motivated! Also a squat or two would be fun. Squats make everything more fun.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/02/20 07:20:07


Post by: da waaagh orkz


YAAAAAAAAY! dat sounds like dem orkz arrre comin'. Cannot wait to see what crazy, mad contraptions come out of it. you know that in theory even after you brain wash a mek he will still be able to make machines because his all his mechanic (mekanik in ork speak) is programed into his DNA. so what i am saying is that you should have a great, big mek with a great, big, shiny mind control gizmo thing sticking out of his head leading your brain washed ork army.

just a thought...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/02/20 12:28:01


Post by: Dr H


Patience da waaagh, patience. Their time will come.
They are near the top of my list (not that I've written a list), but there is another race that I'm sorley tempted by, as it was a choice last time to get them or the Eldar... but time will tell.

Actually, in my very early plans for the army I had a large ork in an HQ slot...so it is a good thought.

and Thanks C's Law, I am also looking forward to where this takes me.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/02 17:36:56


Post by: Dr H


A pair of completed Guardians for you today.
There has been a bit of a delay with finishing these due to some severe chopping involved, a period of "what colour should I use" issues and a couple of days away getting drunk...

Without further ado...

I've done it again ...Guardian 7 is on the right (as you can see on her knee) and Guardian 8 is on the left.

I'll start with number 8: I wanted a two colour scheme but didn't want to do it as a simple half and half or quartered like the Space Marines and hit upon a diagonal split. It just took a while to decide what colours I wanted to use.
His weapon came about from finding a piece of bent metal that fitted nicely to the guardian back which led to me thinking of giving him a backpack of some kind. A further search through my boxes of bitz scared up a couple of rings that fitted nicely and the top of a pen (that bit that you push with your thumb) and all that became an ammo drum / backpack. This meant I needed a suitable gun to match the backpack and led to an Eldar equivalent to the SM multibarrel gatling gun and that led me to giving him a chainfist equivalent to go with it (like a SM terminator with assault cannon and chainfist).


So the gun, backpack and chainfist are all scratchbuilt using bits of pens, sprue, thin wires, cotton bud sticks and milliput.
Number 7, on the other hand, has had little added to her in odd pieces but has had some major surgery to her legs. I've seen many models from most of the other armies (alright only the Tau and IG) that have kneeling troops and I felt the Eldar needed one.


I also had a Adenal gland floating about, so added that to her. But I've not thought about what that might be used as yet, may be as it would be for Tyranids, or maybe just as an extra brain or something...


As number 7 was kneeling, my thought process was that "why is she kneeling?" and my answer was "she's hiding or using cover" and if you're doing that, you are a sneaky type of person and therefore need to be camoflaged. So I went with a fine scale digital camo' effect (I say effect, as it isn't made up of squares but I painted it to look like it has fine detail as you can get with digital camo'). I also used muted colours for everthing else on her for the same reason.

and for those of you that are after something "green" (not mentioning any names, da waaagh ) here's a bit of fluff to keep you entertained.
It's a little rough, but is only a bit of fun:
Spoiler:

Gobslag-Grimskab was usually a pretty miserable ork. He was always being told by the others to cheer up and "krump" something, and things were fine while he was fighting, but during the (relatively) quieter times his mind would wander slowly to darker thoughts. His depression meant he would throw himself at the enemy with reckless abandon (or at least more so than other orks) to the point that one day he faced a space marine dreadnought, one on one, in close combat, it didn't go well... or so Gobslag thought...

Gobslag woke up to see the opposite wall covered with lights and slowly realised that this was the ceiling and sat up. He was convinced that he had lost the fight with the dreadnought and been killed, he had accepted his fate as the last attack came at him, and he was definitely sure that it had been on a field and not in a small metal room. A thought slowly developed in his mind; was this what happened when an ork dies, is this where you meet Gork and Mork? Gobslag felt something he hadn't felt for a very long time and it took a while to realise what it was, it was excitement.

A door opened in the wall behind Gobslag and half an hour later he noticed it and walked though into a large room. In the middle of the floor lay a large "choppa" and as he considered the weapon a man walked into the room from a door to one side. The man cowered in the corner furthest from the ork, "Humie!" cried Gobslag and ran at the man, he was most of the way there with his arms raised above his head before he realised that he hadn't yet picked up the choppa... Gobslag stopped for a moment, the man looked up at him with fear in his eyes as Gobslag turned and collected the choppa, felt the weight of it with a pensive look on his face and then attacked the man as he had intended. A large squig fell from a small hole in the ceiling and Gobslag considered the turn of events while he ate lunch, not much happened the rest of the day and Gobslag slept on a small pile of clothing he found in one corner.

The next day, the same thing happened with a man to kill and a squig for lunch. Gobslag was getting used to this when the next day another man entered the room, but to Gobslag's surprise a voice called out from speakers and told him not to attack the man... He did anyway but was surprised when no squig was forthcoming. This continued for a few days, Gobslag lost track and, more importantly, was getting hungry when he hit upon a genius idea; he would not attack the man as the voice told him and see what happened.

So the next day, a man appears, the voice says not to attack and Gobslag remained in the opposite corner of the room (to avoid temptation). After 10 minutes the door that the man had entered opened again and the man didn't wait for an invitation to leave, once the door had closed a squig fell from the ceiling and Gobslag ate with a smile that said he felt like he had achieved something.

The next day however, there was no voice and Gobslag was caught in two minds when the man entered. Gobslag decided to attack the man as no one had told him not to... and as he raised his choppa to strike Gobslag was struck by a huge pain in his head, worse than anything he had experienced before. Gobslag waited until the pain subsided and tried again only to be struck by the pain again, he decided to leave the man alone after an hour of this and eventually the man was allowed to leave and Gobslag was rewarded with two squigs. The following days Gobslag left the man alone and was content to eat the squigs provided.

After a few days he was met by the largest of warbosses he had ever seen. The warboss explained that Gobslag had passed the test and was now free to join the army and would be free to kill and not have to worry about being killed as he could be brought back as he had been already and could fight forever. Gobslag asked if the warboss was either Gork or Mork but did not receive a reply, he decided that it was probably Gork and Gobslag was happy every minute of every day after that meeting.


Up next, is something different for all involved.
If I said it doesn't touch the ground you can probably guess what it is...
I want to do a fair bit of modifications to it but I don't have enough plans yet so I may put up some "thinking aloud" at a later date on here and see what people think. So this is also your chance to add some ideas to this next model... mad ideas are good ideas.

As always let me know what you think.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/03 06:57:58


Post by: weetyskemian44


That guardian with the bloody great gun is a top job! Looks really sci-fi and smooooooth paintjob.

You say there are two guardians in these pics? One of them must be camouflaged cos I can't see it.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/03 11:42:00


Post by: Dr H


 weetyskemian44 wrote:
That guardian with the bloody great gun is a top job! Looks really sci-fi and smooooooth paintjob.

You say there are two guardians in these pics? One of them must be camouflaged cos I can't see it.


Thanks Weety and lol, yeah I did choose the background carefully to avoid trees and bushes so she would be easier to see, I guess the camouflage is too good...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
So, as I said, some thinking aloud about the next project. Designated WS0001 during construction for reasons that should be (or will become) obvious.

First off, allow me to grumble a little . This is the first model that I've had to take a piece of sandpaper to over ALL the edges and surfaces. Mould lines are to be expected and that's fine, but the flat surfaces really weren't that smooth in places.
And I expect this little model will require more gap filling than any of my previous models.
Oh well, I did start collecting these models for an additional challenge and that is what I'm getting.
So enough of that, don't want to turn into a GW basher. On to making models and making them better.

and now to thinking aloud:
Starting at the top,
I will change something about the turret, but I don't know yet other than keeping it streamlined and it will depend on what I do about weapons...

Talking about weapons, I also don't know what I might do... Although the chin mounted weapon may receive some modifications if I find it can't actually see out under the front of the WS.
I am thinking of adding a HK missile equivalent using what I believe to be a Skyflash / AIM 7 Sparrow that should get good reactions.

The rear extension (that the WS gets in addition to the Falcon chassis) I am intending to change as I don't see the point of the extra air vent / intake in this position; I'm all for ventilation for the passengers but it looks like it could collect more air than the engines . I'm thinking of some aerodynamic wing / flaps affair instead.

This brings me to the engines. I'm going to remove the intake grills for two reasons: a) It will create room for the second part of the engine plan which is to build impressive looking engines to appear as if The (Mad) Scientist has had a tinker with them. and b) Because looking closely at the surface of the grills shows just how rough they are. So something shiny and possibly fan-related will be installed to replace them and some vents will be added to the top hull, so the engines I build will be (at least partially) visible.

And I'm going to replace the energy field spines. Not because I don't like them, just because I can and The Scientist would.

Other than a few little additional bits and vents and things I found in my bitz that's all I've got so far with the plan. I feel it needs more ideas though. So time to brainstorm DDakka. Let me know what you think of my plans and if you have any ideas to add. All are welcome, some may or may not be used (or may even be saved for later).


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Time to break out the SAW


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/04 18:51:24


Post by: Dr H


Some WIP pictures of the WS.

Before I could do anything else (read, start building the engines) which requires me to glue the internal framework to the lower hull, I needed to paint the inside of the engine exhausts.

This is just blending from white through yellow, orange, scarlet to crimson and then a dry-brush of black at the exit.

I then set about modifying the inside of the passenger bay (that looks like they gave up on designing) to more closely represent it being made of Wraithbone.

Shaving away the edges of the "ribs" to make them more curved.
There will be some putty of some description used to fill gaps and blend the upper and lower sections together and then further detailing of the interior.
Oh, as well as building some floor to fill the gap that is just randomly unfilled in the middle...

C&C welcome as always.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/04 21:56:02


Post by: monkeytroll


Ok, looking forward to seeing where you go with the WS....

I do like that blue/blue scheme on guardian no. 8...pretty cool doc....


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/04 22:11:58


Post by: Dr H


 monkeytroll wrote:
Ok, looking forward to seeing where you go with the WS....

I do like that blue/blue scheme on guardian no. 8...pretty cool doc....


So am I... One step at a time and we'll all find out where it goes in the end.

Thanks, I'm quite pleased how he turned out. Wasn't too sure half way through painting.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/06 00:03:18


Post by: Dr H


In the future there is only... Interior design and upholstery.
More WIP on the WS.

From this:


To this:

Starting on the left (furthest inside) you have;
A (soon to be) holographic display for data, battle planning and in-flight movies.
Next to that is a spare guardian aerial thing and a radio (that I made ages ago out of spare putty).
In the middle I have replaced the missing floor and added seats to take the total to 6 seated passengers.
You will also notice, if you zoom in enough) that the seats are upholstered with (currently) white leather.


And here you will see some trophies and a strange (currently) green box that will become a first-aid box as I have some transfers with red crosses on that say "first aid" and all transports need first-aid boxes.

Enjoy and Let me know what you think.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/07 18:37:52


Post by: Dr H


OK people, I think the interior is done. Have a look and tell me what you think.


Overhead view. Shows pretty much everthing; The floor, seats, trophies, holo-screen, and some of the graffiti.


Far end. With the holo-screen, light, some wires and you can just about see a radio and spare guardian fin.


The view that you might just about see through the hatch.
You can see the trophies; a Space Marine helmet and a bleached GS skull.


Here you can see the first-aid box and some of the graffiti.

And the rest of the pictures you may not consider safe for work...depending on how good you think my painting is...
Warning. NSFW






I'm not overly happy with the face, but couldn't do better. The rest of her came out nice (I think).

Enjoy and C&C.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/07 18:45:23


Post by: Dr H


 ExNoctemNacimur wrote:
Looks pretty cool!

Thanks. Glad you like.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/07 21:28:01


Post by: weetyskemian44


Pimping a wave-serpent...? Amazing, who would have thought. Of course its important to have comfy seats in your ride, but don't neglect the sound system - subwoofers (whatever they are) and speakers and maybe a mini-fridge with some ice cold martinis (I'm not sure about this - what would brainwashed eldar drink? Some kind of fancy cocktail I'm sure).

I'm impressed you remember to paint the inside of the engine exhausts before sticking them together - its the kind of thing I would forget and then bodge.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/07 22:10:33


Post by: Dr H


 weetyskemian44 wrote:
Pimping a wave-serpent...? Amazing, who would have thought. Of course its important to have comfy seats in your ride, but don't neglect the sound system - subwoofers (whatever they are) and speakers and maybe a mini-fridge with some ice cold martinis (I'm not sure about this - what would brainwashed eldar drink? Some kind of fancy cocktail I'm sure).

I'm impressed you remember to paint the inside of the engine exhausts before sticking them together - its the kind of thing I would forget and then bodge.


Thanks Weety. Nothing is safe from The Scientist, everything and anything will be tinkered with.

Interesting thoughts. I like the idea of a sound system, but I'm not sure how I would go about it at this scale, as any speakers (even the large ones I'm partial to) would just look like small holes or dimples and there's not a lot of room for a substantial amplifier. I'll have a think and see if I can come up with something. If I can't do it here, I'll try it in something else in the future. *Goes to write it down*
I'm not sure how I could do a fridge in here, as space is limited it would have to be really small and then making it look like a fridge would be really hard. However, worry not, because I do already have plans for a bar-on-a-tank (with all the related bar stuff) in the future so that will be covered at some point.

It is really tricky working inside a Waveserpent as those arches get in the way.

Yeah, painting the exhausts was not the first thing I noticed needed doing, but I did in time. Building model vehicles is what I'm used to, so I'm further into my comfort zone with this over little people. And I've been moving very carefully with the building as the instructions you get with these things are rubbish, so there's lots of dry fitting, sitting back and chin scratching.

I'm now currently thinking about the engines and how and what to build them with.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/08 22:41:19


Post by: monkeytroll


Coming on nicely doc...

I'd say a sound system was a fairly essential bit of kit too

Nice work on the pin-up....agree the face isn't the best, but the rest looks good...and reckon once the rest is in place and you're looking through the hatch it'll look great


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/09 12:05:14


Post by: Dr H


 monkeytroll wrote:
Coming on nicely doc...

I'd say a sound system was a fairly essential bit of kit too

Nice work on the pin-up....agree the face isn't the best, but the rest looks good...and reckon once the rest is in place and you're looking through the hatch it'll look great


Thanks MT.

Worry ye not, I have had an idea about how to do the sound system so it should be making an appearance if it works out.

Glad you like her. Yeah, the face went from "oh dear" to "ooo no" to "ok, it'll do" as I painted it. But, as you say, through the hatch it will look good and I do keep looking at her as I work on the engine and think "yeah, that's nice". It just doesn't hold up to close inspection, from a distance it does the job though.
So, I'm happy with her. I can still paint on a 2D surface (which is good to know) and it's good practice for future nose / tail / tank art.
and I will go the extra mile to get them looking good when they're on the outside.



The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/10 14:10:44


Post by: Dr H


OK people. A very quick sneak peak at the current progress on the engine and sound system...



I'm not going to show you the inside work on the engine yet, because I'm a dirty tease.

The sound system now requires me to design and build the hifi unit and then install that, the wires and these speakers. So need a think about that.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/13 21:41:38


Post by: Dr H


Progress on engine number 1.

From the outside you can see that I've extended the ridges of the vent above the fan and given the fan it's middle dome.
You may also notice that I've carved out the holes and slats in the body as I think it looks better with real holes and not just implied holes.


And this is a view from (not quite) the same angle to show where things line up inside.
At the top of the engine (just above a green thing that was part of a pen) you will see a tube that (roughly) lines up with a vent on the top of the body.
And you can see where the two side jets get their power.


And this is a better view of the inside of the engine bay.
The three things on a plate will be knobs for adjusting the engine.
You can also see a vent at the rear, bottom of the engine that lines up with the three small holes on the body.

I think all the pipes are done, but there is a few more wires I want to add once the milliput is set.

I hope you like where this is going so far.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
And in other news I have had an idea for how to build the hifi system.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/14 06:22:49


Post by: Novelist47


DUDE KEWL SHET
and people say eldar are all pansies with them curves and sleeks, TO HELL WITH THEM I SAY
ELDAR SHOULD LOOK MEANER, MANLIER AND BADASS-ER
no more of that tolkien pretty girl crap
i just love ur warwalker and how you did that guardian, and ur falcon is looking pretty damn fuq'n badass to me right now
oh and that da, thats pretty cool man
friendly advice, read my signature but seriously i dig ur eldar


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/14 10:59:46


Post by: Dr H


 Novelist47 wrote:
DUDE KEWL SHET
and people say eldar are all pansies with them curves and sleeks, TO HELL WITH THEM I SAY
ELDAR SHOULD LOOK MEANER, MANLIER AND BADASS-ER
no more of that tolkien pretty girl crap
i just love ur warwalker and how you did that guardian, and ur falcon is looking pretty damn fuq'n badass to me right now
oh and that da, thats pretty cool man
friendly advice, read my signature but seriously i dig ur eldar


Thanks Novelist. Welcome to the mad-house. Glad you like them.

I used to do plain white backgrounds to my pictures but I found a lot of them ended up too bright so that's why I switched to faded picture backgrounds, I try to select the best one to show the model and I do take many more pictures than end up on here, only the best pictures for my readers . All my WIP shots I decided to do without backgrounds just to distinguish them as WIP from finished models.

But, if you (or anyone else reading this) want a better picture of any of the models, or even just a different angle, you need only to ask and I shall obey.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/15 00:02:21


Post by: Dr H


Engine build complete. Painting started. Only a black base coat and gun-metal over that. much more to do, but I'm off to get drunk for a couple of days so progress will be delayed slightly.



Does this look enough like a jet engine to you?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/19 21:05:31


Post by: Dr H


OK, I'm back and the engine is painted. I think I've finished, but I might increase the contrast on the metal of the front of the engine at a later date.

Let me know what you think.



Next up is having a look at this sound system...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/19 21:58:25


Post by: monkeytroll


Yep...definitely approve of the engine...build and paint Maybe a tad more contrast between the fans and the housing?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/19 22:13:41


Post by: Dr H


 monkeytroll wrote:
Yep...definitely approve of the engine...build and paint Maybe a tad more contrast between the fans and the housing?


Thanks MT. Glad you like.

Ahh, I see what you mean. Although you won't see much of the housing with the fan once the top's on, but maybe I'll give the blades a bit of a tint when I look at darkening the dark bits and lightening the light bits, while I'm there...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/23 22:54:42


Post by: Dr H


Hello out there...
More WIP on the Waveserpent.

I did make the sound system and looked at installing it.

But, It proved too difficult to do in the way I wanted, so I'm afraid it'll have to wait for a future vehicle.
I just wanted to show that I did make it. It does look a bit rough here and will be tidied up before use.

So as that was out of the way, I moved on to the second engine.

This is at a very early stage at the moment, there is much tidying to do once putty is set.

I want it to look similar to the previous engine in a way that it looks like it was built by the same person (shouldn't be too hard, as it is...) and works in much the same way. But there will be differences, e.g. on this side on the hull there is no vent on top, so the air intake will be absent and the "turbocharger" device will be different on this side (how different? I don't know yet).

Should look similar enough to the other engine on the whole though.

C&C welcome.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/24 13:59:52


Post by: ExNoctemNacimur


This vehicle will be awesome!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/24 18:15:23


Post by: Dr H


 ExNoctemNacimur wrote:
This vehicle will be awesome!


Thanks again. Long way to go yet, I just hope I can do the paint job up to a suitable standard. I have a few plans floating about for that but will have to see when I get there.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And woo hoo, page 5.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/26 15:28:23


Post by: Dr H


Progress on engine number 2. Pipes and booster/turbo done.


Smoothing and tidying to do obviously, but waiting for putty to set again.

Next up is the wires etc...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/26 19:15:52


Post by: monkeytroll


Looks good....bring on da wirez....


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/27 17:44:54


Post by: Dr H


Thanks MT. Wirez added. Painting next up...



Not sure which engine I prefer as yet. Will have to see after painting.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/27 20:54:51


Post by: Skalk Bloodaxe


What an awesome thread! I read all the fluff, quite funny in some places and distinctly weird overall. One of the more original inspirations for building an army I've seen in a long time, almost Rogue Trader-ish in composition.

The Falcon looks like a cross between a Looted Wagon and redneck ingenuity. I especially appreciated the attempt at a sound system and the freehand naked lady on the wall.

Lots of good stuff going on here. It's refreshing to see someone modeling for the sake of modeling and not so concerned w/ the application. I have to admit I don't do that very much anymore.

Subbed and will be back!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/27 22:51:20


Post by: Dr H


 Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:
What an awesome thread! I read all the fluff, quite funny in some places and distinctly weird overall. One of the more original inspirations for building an army I've seen in a long time, almost Rogue Trader-ish in composition.

The Falcon looks like a cross between a Looted Wagon and redneck ingenuity. I especially appreciated the attempt at a sound system and the freehand naked lady on the wall.

Lots of good stuff going on here. It's refreshing to see someone modeling for the sake of modeling and not so concerned w/ the application. I have to admit I don't do that very much anymore.

Subbed and will be back!

Thanks Skalk Glad you enjoyed it. and welcome to the (Mad) house.
Yeah, you can probably tell I'm not taking the fluff seriously. I'm serious about not being serious, except when I'm serious...
It's good to know my sense of humour is not lost on everyone, It's makes me laugh anyway.

I also sneak in references to things such as films, computer games, etc... into my fluff, so cake to anyone who spots them... On that thought, I have assembled all my fluff to date in an army article here on DDakka. It's mostly what has been shown here on this blog but easier to read through and with a few spelling and grammar corrections (Damn you Dyslexia).

I missed Rouge Trader when it was happening even though I was aware of Space Marines etc at the time (I did many drawings) but I was in the world of Airfix models and saw it as just a game and I was more interested in making models. But I have now found the modelling side of this hobby and intend to push it to the limits.
I take that as a big compliment, thanks.

I was thinking the other day that what I'm doing and what I have planned for my vehicles is very "looted wagon", But I aim to keep things working as they would or with minor changes, rules-wise.

You have no idea how much went into that sound-system, you can't really see in the picture but there is a heat-sink on the top that was made from thin pieces of plastic glued on one at a time. It will be used in the future.
Yeah I'm still very pleased with how she turned out. There will be more, though not always so naked...

Thanks again. As I said at the start, I'm a modeller first and what you do (making models to a high standard that are usable in game) is very inspirational. I do intend the army to be usable in the game and at some point I will complete some kind of Codex:The (Mad) Scientist's Army (which is what the fluff article was meant to be the start of) and I do have notes and details for each of the completed models so far, but the rules need more work and many decisions need to be made as to what to keep and what to change. I will keep people updated on here when something is ready to be released. Although I am happy to discuss things if people have questions.

and I'm spent Why are my replies always so much longer then what people say???
Carry on people.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/28 17:15:12


Post by: Skalk Bloodaxe


 Dr H wrote:
Why are my replies always so much longer then what people say???


Because we're simply the fans of your work. Your responsibility is ensuring we have a clear understanding of it (be that as it may) and that takes explanation of minutia sometimes.

And I do understand. Every time I update one of my main threads I feel the excitement of seeing my thread bumped with a comment , and then the deflation of finding the post is a single word like "cool!". That said, I truly do appreciate the fact that someone actually took the time to post instead of just lurk. It's especially cool when the same people post, it shows a genuine interest.

Hope this reply took at least 20 seconds of your day to read.




The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/28 18:02:10


Post by: Dr H


 Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:
 Dr H wrote:
Why are my replies always so much longer then what people say???


Because we're simply the fans of your work. Your responsibility is ensuring we have a clear understanding of it (be that as it may) and that takes explanation of minutia sometimes.

And I do understand. Every time I update one of my main threads I feel the excitement of seeing my thread bumped with a comment , and then the deflation of finding the post is a single word like "cool!". That said, I truly do appreciate the fact that someone actually took the time to post instead of just lurk. It's especially cool when the same people post, it shows a genuine interest.

Hope this reply took at least 20 seconds of your day to read.



Cool. As long as I am making sense and not just rambling on incoherently.
I'm used to people IRL looking at me with a glazed look on their face when I go off on one about science stuff, so it's nice to discuss something with people that know what I'm talking about.

I'm still very new at the whole blog thing, so I get excited when a few more people just look at my blog and very excited that someone has (as you say) taken the time to say anything. Feedback about something specific is therefore even more awesome...
It's good to know that you are heading in the right direction with something and others like it.

But I do appreciate that sometimes when reading someone's blog you can't think of anything constructive to say and being the tenth (or even the first) to say "wow cool" just doesn't feel right. I like to say more when I do post on someone's thread, so I do lurk on many threads without saying anything for a long time, but if I have an idea or comment I will stick my oar in (as you well know Skalk).

And then there's the feeling that you are not as good or accomplished as the owner of the thread or others that post there and your comment is therefore not worth the electrons it's written on. But we're all in this together and can all learn something from everyone else whatever the skill level and you may have just spotted something that noone else has.

Yeah, it took longer than 20 seconds to read, because I read it about 3 times before even thinking about replying.

There's me off again... time to read through my reply again, just to be sure before hitting submit.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/28 20:24:05


Post by: Dr H




Thank you Monkeytroll for your indispensable input to the discussion...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/28 20:38:37


Post by: monkeytroll


My pleasure Doc....glad to help out wherever I can


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/28 21:04:36


Post by: Skalk Bloodaxe


[quote=Dr H}And then there's the feeling that you are not as good or accomplished as the owner of the thread or others that post there and your comment is therefore not worth the electrons it's written on. But we're all in this together and can all learn something from everyone else whatever the skill level and you may have just spotted something that no one else has.


Oh man. Wow. That. That right there. There are a few threads I follow on Dakka that make me feel like the little kid on his Big Wheel telling the huge Harley guys that their bikes are cool. They are, but I feel like the bikers could not give a snort about my opinion. that is not necessarily how they are, but it is how I feel. I've stopped posting on a few threads that are so above and beyond my ability simple because I have nothing pertinent or useful to add, I just stare at it slack-jawed and drooling and my posts look like the giggling of a smitten schoolgirl.

Until they seem like people instead of aloof rock stars, that is. monkeytroll used to intimidate me a lot even though he was one of the first people that got involved on my threads. After a while I really started to 'know' him (as much as anyone ever knows anyone here outside of RL) and have enjoyed the camaraderie ever since. His stuff is still amazing to me and I would have to take a significant leap forward to match his skill, but he's a 'real person' now, a fellow modeler, someone I can share opinions with, even critique.

I've always tried to make myself approachable and 'real' right from the start. And apparently it is working.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/28 22:18:56


Post by: Dr H


That's why I started a blog on here, to discuss and learn more about modelling. The models I've made in the past were always a solitary thing as I've not met anyone IRL that shares the hobby. Not that it bothered me. It's nice to find like-minded people, but there's not much of a community around straight military models like there is around gaming miniatures.

But while searching the internet for inspiration as I was starting with these figures I was always getting hits here on DDakka. So when I had something to share I joined up and started to look about mostly the P&M blogs for good modellers.

Then you have another problem where you find that there are small groups of people here that hang out on each others threads and it can feel like you're barging in to a private conversation if you join in. It was like that for me with the LoER until it clicked in my head that this is a public conversation and if you didn't want others joining in then you can have the conversation in private. So I got my oar out and stuck it in a few places.
And generally, you find that most of the people on here are quite happy to have someone new to share ideas with and are very welcoming.

I especially like threads like your's Skalk (and MT ) where you try new things and experiment for everyone to see. You can always learn a lot more from something that didn't work and can be solved (by yourself or with help from the community) then from something that worked fine first time, or is presented as a complete piece (pretty as some of them are).

I'm sure there was something else I was going to say, but it's gone now.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/28 23:12:09


Post by: monkeytroll


Shufferin' shuffercats...never saw myself as intimidating Skalk... Glad you got over that


I think the groups that hang out on each other's threads comes from a variety of things....often it's because they're doing similar things, sometimes it's because they find they have common interests, sometimes for the banter, sometimes just because....

But Dakka is definitely a community, and helps push peeps that little bit more in their work...I'm certainly concious of having to up my game because of contributions from others...
It's that stuff which keeps people here I think...or at least here in the P&M section, which is where I tend to stay...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/28 23:46:33


Post by: Dr H


Oh yeah, absolutely. People will always form groups for one reason or another, it's only natural.

Yeah, I've definitely pushed myself further than I would have because of what I've seen on here.

It's all good.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/29 15:50:40


Post by: Dr H


Update! Engine number 2 is painted.


As intended, similar but different from engine number 1.


From the outside. Any differences you see here are purely an optical illusion...honest.


From the inside.

Next up...I'm not sure, possibly cockpit... Need to look at the order of assembly first and have a think about what further modifications I'm actually going to make and then how to go about it.

C&C welcome. Which is your favourite engine? Still not sure myself.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/03/31 21:24:29


Post by: da waaagh orkz


looking awesome Doc.
can i recommend shining down the metal with a wash like nuln oil? it would shade the metal and give it an oily look.

but the modelling on that model is impressive. can"t wait to see more.

keep it up.



The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/01 12:33:54


Post by: Dr H


da waaagh orkz wrote:
looking awesome Doc.
can i recommend shining down the metal with a wash like nuln oil? it would shade the metal and give it an oily look.

but the modelling on that model is impressive. can"t wait to see more.

keep it up.



Welcome back da waaagh and thanks.

You can, and I do intend to give the metals a black wash to deepen the shadows etc.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Quickie update.
I have washed the engines with black, and have tinted (very very subtle) the blades blue and I've added the rear hatch as that was a quick and easy job.
I have a new phone, so am trying out the camera. It may take a while to find the best settings for pictures, or a may revert to the old phone as just a camera depending on what people prefer.




The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/02 03:05:48


Post by: da waaagh orkz


Cool that is looking much better.
Cannot wait to see the rest of it!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/02 22:02:04


Post by: Dr H


Thanks da waaagh.

Update.
Well, what I suspected of the chin turret was correct. As it was, it wouldn't be able to fire sideways without shooting itself or shooting downwards. I read somewhere on DDakka that it's supposed to have a 180degree firing arc and therefore something needed to be done.

I carefully cut the shuriken cannon from the attachment clip and then with the help of sprue, some thin plastic and some putty, I lowered the gun relative to the attachment point and...



It can now fire to the side in a horizontal orientation.
I may add a little more detailing to it, but job accomplished.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/03 23:39:10


Post by: Dr H


Today I put together the pilot for the waveserpent.
Now, I like the pilot that comes in the box for the purpose but I'm going to find another use for him and decided to add a bit of "grim" to the model.

It's not the best of pictures, I'll take a better one once I'm happy that I've finished with him.
But for now, what do you guys and gals think?

Look at his little happy face... he is happy, isn't he??? Must be, just doesn't show it well.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/04 10:46:28


Post by: Hruotland


Reminds me of the remark about predator tanks in yon olden RT compendium, where it was stated that tank crews were often wired into their machines as a penalty until they redeemed themselves...
Good to see that the good doctor shows a sense for tradition!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/04 11:35:11


Post by: Dr H


 Hruotland wrote:
Reminds me of the remark about predator tanks in yon olden RT compendium, where it was stated that tank crews were often wired into their machines as a penalty until they redeemed themselves...
Good to see that the good doctor shows a sense for tradition!


Lol. Good to know I can keep to traditions that I don't know about. I'm liking the comparisons between my stuff and the RT era.

This chap isn't going anywhere without the tank as he is literally just a head.
Wait until you see what I have planned for the Predator I have sat beside me...there's much more space inside one of them.

Glad you like it.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
This is more than likely to auto append but nevermind.

Better pictures of the pilot.

From all angles.


and as he will be situated. Doesn't he look happy there...see that cheeky grin...

I think it's about time I looked at making some large holes in the hull...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/05 15:18:34


Post by: Dr H


Progress on the engine covers.
"Engine covers?" I hear you say. "this model didn't come with any kind of engine covers, it didn't have any engines to cover"

Well it does now.


Engine number 1.



Engine number 2.

Not quite finished yet and I think they will take a lot more work for something so simple.
I want them to
a) sit flush with the surface
b) not fall off easily
c) have very little gap all round the edge, and that gap to be consistent
d) maintain the channels that were there originally.

But this gives you an idea of where I'm going.
Let me know what you think.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/06 23:04:45


Post by: Skalk Bloodaxe


The pilot hardwired into the cockpit mainframe is disturbing to look and even more so to think of it in a literal sense.

Well done, sir.

The engines are excellent! You asked for an opinion on engine 1 or engine 2, and I vote for both. The inconsistencies between each engine is perfectly consistent with the overall inconsistency of your entire project. Ha.

I recommend either hinging the covers or magnetizing them. The engine underneath is too cool to cover up permanently, and hinging or magnetization would address the 'falling off' issue.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/06 23:41:51


Post by: Dr H


 Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:
The pilot hardwired into the cockpit mainframe is disturbing to look and even more so to think of it in a literal sense.

Well done, sir.

Oh, good. That is what I was going for.
I did try to do a small piece of cloth tied round his neck (to catch the dribbles/drool) to make him look really pathetic. That is in addition to his head being slightly to one side. But I couldn't pull it off realistically as there wasn't enough room under his chin.

The engines are excellent! You asked for an opinion on engine 1 or engine 2, and I vote for both. The inconsistencies between each engine is perfectly consistent with the overall inconsistency of your entire project. Ha.

er... good. At least that shows I managed to get them to the same level.

I recommend either hinging the covers or magnetizing them. The engine underneath is too cool to cover up permanently, and hinging or magnetization would address the 'falling off' issue.

Now, that is the thing. I did think about hinges, and it would be nice. But I can't make it with the hinge inside the doors as it's too close to the engine at the top and lower hull at the bottom (which would stop the door opening or break something off the engine) and I'm a little adverse to putting the hinge on the outside as it would break the sleekness of the vehicle.
At the moment I have added (very thin) pins at the bottom that holds the doors in place. But that comes away with the door (on purpose) so only works to hold the doors on and not as a hinge.

Would a big ugly hinge at the bottom of the door (above those large side vents) look wrong? You have me thinking about it again...

and Thanks Skalk.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/07 03:13:51


Post by: prototype_X


I think a big ol' ugly hinge would look completely 'wrong', and therefore perfect for the mad scientist's work...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/07 08:37:03


Post by: Hruotland


Geometry looks like you should be able to place the hinge at the front seam. The cutout should just move over the inlet when opening.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/07 11:06:27


Post by: Dr H


prototype_X wrote:I think a big ol' ugly hinge would look completely 'wrong', and therefore perfect for the mad scientist's work...

I think you guys are right. I had a think about it last night and have an idea for hinges.
I think I'll try a few designs though and see what looks best.

Hruotland wrote:Geometry looks like you should be able to place the hinge at the front seam. The cutout should just move over the inlet when opening.

Are you thinking of on the curved bit or the straight bit below the inlet?
There's lots of subtle curves over the hull that could make certain positions much more complicated than others.
I shall also look at a few different placements of said hinges.

Thanks people.
Keep your eyes peeled for more later...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/07 11:13:26


Post by: Hruotland


I thought of the straight piece to be hinged.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/07 11:27:59


Post by: Dr H


Yeah, I see that, thanks.
So that's like a normal car doors (option 1) as opposed to a bit Mercedes SLR doors (option 2 on that curve) and the only other option is hinged at the bottom (option 3).
Can't do suicide doors really (not enough straight edges), and can't do hinged up (as a Mercedes SLS) because of the bits above the door and have to think about what would be best for the engineer that would be opening said doors.
and I don't want to think about trying to make a hinge out of plastic to do Lamborghini scissor doors...ouch! my brain hurts.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Hinges, hinges, decisions, decisions...

At the top of the image, we have the other option for a hinge structure, using cylinders like you will see on most doors.
However, this option has many problems.
Such as; many pieces and therefore more complicated to assemble
and being made from nothing that is polystyrene, therefore it would have to be glued with superglue which would make it brittle (which I don't think would be good for a hinge).

The other hinge, however, I'm quite happy with as it has none of the issues that the above hinge does.
It also looks relatively streamlined.
The problem now is a) where to put it and b) which way round?


Front or bottom?
Two attachment points on the door or on the hull?
Let me know your thoughts. I'm mostly sure what I'm going to do but you may persuade me otherwise.
I have to make a second set of pieces first, so there is plenty of time.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/07 19:27:28


Post by: prototype_X


Bottom looks like it makes more sense to me, I just can't get my head around the side hinge. Either way, that's some awesome work, I'm loving this army!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/07 19:34:59


Post by: Dr H


 prototype_X wrote:
Bottom looks like it makes more sense to me, I just can't get my head around the side hinge. Either way, that's some awesome work, I'm loving this army!

Thanks Prototype, glad to have you on board.
I will check the position and swing with blu-tack before gluing in place permanently.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
As I said, Blu-tack check.

Forward..................................or ..................................... Down?

The pros/cons I can see:
Forward:
Door is very much out of the way of the engineer for access.
I think the hinge would be more tricky to attach to both the door and hull
Open door would prevent engineer from falling into engine intake
There's the possibility that if the engine is running, it might suck the door in
With both doors open it looks... engineer-y but not all that cool

Down:
Door may be considered in the way of the engineer
But may actually serve as a platform to sit or stand on
Hinge looks like it would be easy to attach
Engine intake open and easy to access for inspection and engineer dicing
The lower part of the door may catch on the hull below the engine meaning that that is as far as the door may open.
(however I could just remove 1mm from the door to solve the issue if it becomes an issue)
With both doors open it does look kinda cool.

I'm definitely leaning towards the bottom hinge / doors open down option.
Any opinions out there?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/08 03:31:13


Post by: Skalk Bloodaxe


Down.

*edit*

Or up. But not side.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/08 08:01:01


Post by: Hruotland


Yep, bottom. Although, now I see your hinges, I have the feeling you might be able to mount them at the top, if you install the frame-sided hinge from beneath the hull? Anyway, as good I thought it might be, side looks functional, but uncool.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/08 17:12:07


Post by: Dr H


Thanks people. After unanimous decision *drum-roll* the doors are to hinge *excessive pause* DOWN.

I will paint the inside of the doors to match the walls of the engine bays and there will be additional details/labels/signs added eventually.

So, doors done, I can move on to the next bit. Which is... either the rear "wing" or the turret... As these need to be done before I stick the top to the bottom.
I've made a start with the wing, well I've chopped up the bit you normally stick on there and "thought" about what I can do to turn it into a wing/spoiler.
The turret however, I have no ideas about yet, so need to start thinking about that really...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/10 17:58:54


Post by: Dr H


Well well well, what on earth (terra, emperor...) might this be?



Much left to do, but I thought you may enjoy a teaser.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/10 19:34:42


Post by: Skalk Bloodaxe


Well done on the hinge, and I have no idea what the other thing is.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/10 20:09:41


Post by: Dr H


 Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:
Well done on the hinge, and I have no idea what the other thing is.


Thanks Skalk. Ho ho, well you'll have to wait then. All will become clear. As I said, much more to be done on it. Edit: In reality I'm still thinking as I build this...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/11 14:20:45


Post by: Dr H


Here you go. This should give you a better idea of what this is going to be.


Still early days as yet. Putty work is probably only half done so far. Need to add an Eldar flair to this side as well as fill (and create) bits here and there...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/12 12:42:25


Post by: Skalk Bloodaxe


A trans- dimensional vortex destabilizer?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/12 14:17:24


Post by: Dr H


 Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:
A trans- dimensional vortex destabilizer?

Lol. A what? I'll have to set The Scientist on that one. Something for the future. *goes to make a note of it*


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/13 20:33:48


Post by: Dr H


For those of you still with no clue as what it is I am building...
and for those that can see and have remained smugly quiet...
and for those of you that are just quietly curious...

...I can show you what it is, where it goes and (roughly) what's it's going to look like.

Still a bit of cleanup to do and I need to build the attachment for the missile.
Once that's done I'll show you all the angles.

As always let me know what you think.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/15 01:08:25


Post by: Skalk Bloodaxe


Looking cool! I really like the continued theme of differnt technologies linked together to make something so unique. And I figured it was a turret earlier, I was just messing around.

For what my opinion is worth, consider a small counter-balance on the turret opposite the missile since the arm extends so far out.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/15 17:29:20


Post by: Dr H


Thanks Skalk. I'm glad you like it. I was a little worried that I was probably pushing the turret remodelling too far and it would end up looking a bit

That is a good point (and your opinion is gratefully received) and as it turns out the balance of the model turret is only about 5mm off the pivot towards the missile as there is a lot of putty around the gun side and the missile side is only plastic. And in reality (that's 40k reality, not irl reality) the guns would weigh a lot more than the made-to-be-light-and-aerodynamic missile arm.
So it is pretty well balanced and I'm not sure where or how I would make it look any more balanced and well, have a look below and see if it still looks off-balance to you from all directions and let me know.

So now as it's time to unveil the turret, it is time for me to explain my reasonings behind the changes I made:
I put the turret together as it comes in the box and as soon as I looked at it I thought that it was not very aerodynamic and if something like that was stuck on a vehicle that (according to the internet) could reach 800kph it would likely get ripped off. So my main driving force was to make it more aerodynamic, hence a lower front and lots of streamlined shapes.

I also wanted to guns to look more like modern day ship turret guns, where the barrels stick out of slots. This would also work towards the aerodynamic look. I didn't want to lower the gun's hight so used the same pivot point to attach the guns to, put them side by side and found that I couldn't really build much over the top of the guns due to where they pivoted so just added the fin between them, leaving the top open.

The missile arm came about from wanting to stick some kind of HK missile on it (as you can on rhino-alikes) but didn't just want to use the one that came with the Predator I have as it was a little small... So I had a look through my bits, sorted out the various missiles I have, selected the largest and decided that it looks more like a one-shot, infinite-range, kill-most-things kind of missile. While I was rummaging in my bits I found the arm pieces that I believe is from a helicopter of some kind. A little modification and I was planning on adding it to the hull just behind the turret, but it would have prevented the turret from moving all the way round so decided to add it to the turret.

I've added some small electromagnet couplers to hold the missile so that it can be released, drop away from the arm and then the engine can ignite. The arm helpfully holds the missile high enough and far enough away from the hull for this to happen.

The second gun came about from not wanting to just use the Eldar weapons and I decided on cutting the barrel from one of the Las Cannons sponsons of the Predator and then building a gun from various bits.

Then it was a matter of adding a few wires and cables and job done.


Don't worry too much about the apparent poor coverage of the undercoat, it was just quickly splashed on to give a mostly even colour.

Hope you like.
On to the next job...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/19 14:06:03


Post by: Dr H


Just so you know that I am still alive and progress has been made.
But it's nothing really picture worthy.
I have declared the inside DONE:
Engines...DONE
Pilot...DONE
Cabin...DONE
All visible bits/walls/edges etc...PAINTED

Oh yeah, and I didn't like the look of the turret's peg thing sticking through the roof of the cabin and added a bit of clear blue plastic to it, to turn it into a light so they are ready if they need a blue-alert (but will have to change the light bulb for a red-alert).

I've even balanced the model with a few screws and blu-tack towards the front as it did lean back quite a bit on the stand and I haven't even finished the spoiler/wing.

On that note, I have started the rear wing but the body needs to be glued together before I can do the putty work.

And on that note, the body is currently being glued with the help of an elastic band, some pegs and a bottle of PVA (as a weight). Hopefully enough of the two halves are in contact to hold it together and then I can fill and glue more securely the rest of it and then do the wing.

I have also had some inspiration for more fluff for the future so some time has been taken doing that.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/20 22:13:20


Post by: Dr H


OK people, UPDATE with Pictures...

The hull is sealed there's no going back now. I can, however, now start work on the exterior bits and pieces.

Other than filling a few gaps here and there I have now added...

An external, disposable fuel tank (that'll be explained in a bit of fluff soon to be added) and air-brakes (because I found these bits and felt they needed using).

And the rear spoiler is in place.


It's carved from a single piece of sprue and will be smoothed at the joins by putty when I do the gaps under it as well.
Don't worry about the bit of copper wire sticking out the back that is for an idea I had for showing what unit is embarked upon the transport vehicles in my army. Something to do with flags that are attached to the squad leaders that can also (or a second flag) be attached to the vehicle.

Next job is to make the nose actually pointed as I think it looks silly blunt like it is.
Possible incoming fluff in a bit...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The (Mad) Scientist's Design Notes for WS0001:
Spoiler:

Design notes: The hover-transport (know as a "Wave-serpent") I acquired from a recent battlefield was heavily damaged, especially the engines, turret and those sticky-out-bits, it appears to have taken a direct hit to one of the engines while at high speed.
My engineers have repaired the bodywork and added tweaks where directed.
I have also allowed the troops to decorate the interior to their tastes, Which has led to some interesting results (detailed in report Soci3045), where the mixed species have added their own specific touches while being oblivious to that added by others. My devices allow them to see what they would expect to see and not, for example, that someone else has hung a head of one of their kind on the bulkhead. Fascinating.

While I had the chance, I decided to add a pair of engines that I have developed. They required a little modification to fit in the vehicle, but work well alongside some of the original parts. Each engine works essentially like two different engines plumbed together and operate over a wide range of velocities and conditions.
The first is what you may call a turbofan-type engine, this has a large fan at the front that sucks in low-pressure, sub-sonic air and then compresses it, adds fuel and ignites the mixture. The burning fuel causes the gasses to expand and this expansion is used to drive the vehicle forwards and...AND it drives the fan at the front that sucks in more air and the cycle continues.
The second half of the engine works as what I have termed a "Ram-Jet". Supersonic air entering the vent above the fan will be compressed and slowed by the genius (if I say so myself) vent system without any mechanical parts. The air is then mixed with fuel which, upon burning, heats the air and produces thrust far in excess of that produced by the "turbo-fan" half.

The whole package therefore works at low speed with the fan compressing the air and as the air-speed increases above a certain level the vent system takes over the majority of the compressing and allows higher velocities to be reached, the angle of the fan also allows it to continue to work at these increased speeds and so the whole engine works together to produce far more thrust than is possible in such a small package.
I have also added a small booster to each engine that mixes a small amount of a special oxidizing mixture I concocted with some air and feeds it into the engine intake allowing short bursts of very high acceleration. This mixture is stored in an external tank as this helps keep it cooler and allows it to be jettisoned in emergencies, oh well that sounds almost sensible... I may have to look into this turn of events...

There was no need to have a pilot for this craft that had useless legs and arms etc... The only necessary part was the brain. Keeping it in the head and using the eyes (well eye, he was severely injured and required a little reconstruction) was just easier than wiring a brain in a jar. A few tweaks to his pleasure centres and he is quite happy to be a part (in a very real sense) of the machine. Good for him, he's a very enthusiastic pilot now.

Externally, there wasn't much to do other than replace the turret and the energy-field projectors and a few aerodynamic tweaks and then I let my chief designer slap on some paint... he does get a little carried away sometimes... (real life note: I haven't even got a plan for the paint job yet, or the energy field spines...)


Ideas, comments, ideas and thoughts welcome.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/22 22:20:14


Post by: Dr H


Putty Update.
The wave serpent has had it's nose-job as well as a few other bits.

Started with a few scraps of plastic to bulk up the nose area


Then covered that with putty and smoothed it out following the natural curves of the hull.



and this last shot shows where I also filled and smoothed the underside of the front of the "wings", just to make them look more like one piece.

C&C welcome as always


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/22 22:30:24


Post by: bebopdrums2424


Hey dr h, that pilot is awesome. Can't wait to see a finished tank with all that detail!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/22 22:38:00


Post by: Dr H


 bebopdrums2424 wrote:
Hey dr h, that pilot is awesome. Can't wait to see a finished tank with all that detail!


Thanks bebop and welcome aboard. Yep, a few more little details yet to add and, of course, the energy spines that I still don't know what to do about and then I'll probably be onto the painting (soooo going to have to raise my game on the paint job just to match the attention to detail I've put into the modelling).


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/23 10:06:35


Post by: Casey's Law


I've been lurking but I'm still here, watching from the shadows. Really nice work so far! Keep it up.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/23 12:02:21


Post by: Dr H


 Casey's Law wrote:
I've been lurking but I'm still here, watching from the shadows. Really nice work so far! Keep it up.


Thanks C's Law. Good to know you're still within my sphere of influence... I lurk on your threads more than I should So it's all fair.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Well I was just going to sign off and think about going to bed when what do I find...
That Entropy and the Second law of thermodynamics is linked to intelligence:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22261742
...and I've gone and based my army on a (Mad) Scientist, the most intelligent being in the galaxy, who leads The Army of The Second Law and only believes in a(n imaginary) god of Entropy. Genius.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/24 18:22:18


Post by: Dr H


It's concept time!
I'm really stuck as to what to do about these energy field spine things replacement...
I have some concept ideas that I would like to see what people think and if anyone has any better/different ideas.

Concept 1: Your typical Mad Scientist Tesla generator looking things.

Pros:
Very Mad Scientist
Probably not all that difficult to do
Will likely look cool
Aerodynamic-ish
Popular with Orks (KFF) and Steampunk/Cyberpunk types
Cons:
Ambitious painting may be tricky
Popular and therefore not all that unique

Concept 2: Many small domes.

Pros:
Also likely to be easy to do
Could look cool if done well
Aerodynamic
More Cyberpunk than Steampunk
Cons:
May detract from the hull paint-job
More Cyberpunk than Steampunk
Are they too big or not big enough

Concept 3: Shielding Plates.

Pros:
Could look very cool
Would certainly be unique
Probably fits 40k best
Possibly Aerodynamic
Cons:
Could be very tricky to do
Could be even more tricky to look good
May well look in the end
May also detract and probably completely cover the hull paint-job

So, let me know what you think and if you have any further ideas please.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/24 20:54:35


Post by: Skalk Bloodaxe


I have to say "no" up front to the shields. Way too much for for ambiguous results and possibly a lot of wasted time and material.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/24 21:51:22


Post by: Dr H


 Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:
I have to say "no" up front to the shields. Way too much for for ambiguous results and possibly a lot of wasted time and material.

Cool. Thanks Skalk. It was a very "out there" idea, and lacking any others I thought I'd throw it out here and see what people thought.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/25 05:35:31


Post by: Skalk Bloodaxe


Small domes connected as a circuit would be cool. From what you have offered as ideas I feel that will be the best one. Easier to do, and I feel it would be aesthetically cohesive with the other work you have done so far.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/25 10:21:29


Post by: Dr H


 Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:
Small domes connected as a circuit would be cool. From what you have offered as ideas I feel that will be the best one. Easier to do, and I feel it would be aesthetically cohesive with the other work you have done so far.


Cool, Thanks again. K one vote for small domes.

I'm still open to any other ideas that anyone may have...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/26 20:59:34


Post by: Lamby


Dr H - the pimping on the Wave Serpent is excellent... and that pilot is cool!

Loving the madness!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/27 10:48:29


Post by: Dr H


 Lamby wrote:
Dr H - the pimping on the Wave Serpent is excellent... and that pilot is cool!

Loving the madness!

Thanks Lamby, glad you like it and welcome.

In other news; I'm playing about with making domes. The decision now is... How big?
May have something to show later.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/28 20:18:55


Post by: Dr H


Ok, following on from the dome idea, how large should the domes be?

Is it...

*Bear in mind I'm only planning on putting domes in the first two sections*
I tried to be clever with making these by using a small ring of plastic and filling it with putty. I may not bother with this method again though.

Option 1: Small (or smaller?). These will likely be two rows of 4 domes (or 4 with 3 behind and offset).
Quite tricky to make these at this size, but not impossible.

Option 2: Slightly larger. This one is a half sphere that I had laying about after a concept for something else. This size would probably work for 5 domes per section (as in the previous mock-ups).

Option 3: Medium (well, I was aiming for medium, but putting them on the model they turned out larger than expected). Probably could only have 3 per section.

Option 4: Large. These would only be 2 per section.

Opinions and ideas welcome. What do you think?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/30 15:30:40


Post by: Skalk Bloodaxe


I say option 1.

Going bigger draws the eye to something that looks (to me) disproportional to the rest of the model. Also, have you considered stick-on beads from a craft store? Cheating a bit, but would be perfectly symmetrical.



The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/04/30 17:38:29


Post by: Dr H


 Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:
I say option 1.

Going bigger draws the eye to something that looks (to me) disproportional to the rest of the model. Also, have you considered stick-on beads from a craft store? Cheating a bit, but would be perfectly symmetrical.


Ah Ha. Good to get an opinion. Thanks Skalk.

Option 1, you say...
Well I have made a few (read; about 30) domes that are roughly the size of option 2. But they are not all the same size and some need a little tidying up which will change their size to a certain extent. All this means one of a few different things:
1) I thought that I could use them with the smaller (closer to option 1 size) ones nearer the front and getting bigger towards the back...or,
2) Just pick out the majority of similar/same sized domes and just use them...or,
3) Make smaller ones...

*Brainwave* Just had an idea, this would be good practise for press moulding... now there's a thought.

There has indeed been a bead-flavoured idea floated about these parts as I'm led to believe that there are some (possibly whole spheres) laying about the house... Couple that with the press moulding and I can choose whatever size I like AND make as many as I like...
Cheers Skalk. I shall now go and search the house for bead-shaped objects...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/02 14:21:00


Post by: Dr H


While I think about it, a little update on the domes.

The press-moulding appears to be working well.


I started to look for beads, then expanded the search to anything spherical and while I was looking I came across a small LED I had saved for some future, as yet undecided, use and I had an idea: While pressing a sphere into the putty to make the mould would make a nice impression it would be very difficult to remove the bead from the hole without damaging the edges, however an LED had a nice domed top and would give an equally good impression AND be easy to remove due to the wires.

So the putty was flattened out, the LED was pressed into the putty...and I noticed that I was trying to squeeze too many holes into the mould as they were affecting each other and some cracks were occurring (a problem that is specific to milliput and not GS)...
So, I tried again, the putty was flattened out, the LED was pressed in (further apart) and the mould was ready (with only one questionable hole, top right, bit near the edge). Once that had set I lubricated the mould (with baby oil as it was the nearest and least viscous lubricant to me at the time) and then pressed small sausages of putty into the holes (so as to let the excess lubricant escape, hence low viscosity ), with enough left out the top of the hole and once they were all filled I carefully removed the (now) domes, put them to one side and pressed more into the holes until I ran out of the putty I had mixed.
I did another lot this morning and once they are set I'll clean the lot with soapy water and then look at tidying up the rough bottoms, bit of sanding, and then can look at what is best for the Wave serpent.

You can also see in the picture the domes I made by hand next to some of the moulded ones... and the mess I make when using milliput...

More updates soon(ish).


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/02 17:45:00


Post by: Lamby


Dr H -maybe try about 3rd Greenstuff with two 3rds milliput, and make a small mould with Lego (or a small tupperware container) to hold the press mould, you'll probably find the cracking and spreading will be less.

Otherwise, the circuit idea is cool - what are you going to use to connect the domes with, brass strip or plasticard?



The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/02 19:08:14


Post by: Dr H


 Lamby wrote:
Dr H -maybe try about 3rd Greenstuff with two 3rds milliput, and make a small mould with Lego (or a small tupperware container) to hold the press mould, you'll probably find the cracking and spreading will be less.

Two good ideas. Thanks.
Don't actually have any GS at the moment as this milliput is my first putty experience. Might get some if I see some about for cheap.
Containing the mould is definitely something I will remember for the future, makes a lot of sense.
I did expect the cracking and spreading so at least it wasn't a shock.

Otherwise, the circuit idea is cool - what are you going to use to connect the domes with, brass strip or plasticard?

Thanks.
I'm not sure yet. I had considered just painting the circuit on after everything else.

I'm working on the cheap at the moment as I am one of the many unemployed, so can't really fork out for much (hence lots of recycling going on).
But thin strips of plastic (or card) may be something to try if I can cut strips as thin as I want. I have some thin copper wire (from a motor), as seen on the engines, but I don't really want to use that for this application as I want it to look like a circuit-board with flat tracks not rounded or too thick or prominent on the surface.

That is the next thing to consider, once I'm happy with these domes...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/03 17:11:12


Post by: Dr H


36...36 ... Count them... 36 little domes. That I have just fashioned from 36 little fried egg shapes and sanded smooth to make 36 2mm domes. The tip of my finger is red raw.... The things we do for a hobby.



So, the domes are done. Will assess them for suitability (as some are not quite as good as others) and then play about with positioning and see from there.

Laters


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/03 17:27:41


Post by: Theophony


It might be a little late since you put the effort into these already, but I picked these little buggers up at michaels on Monday this week. They are little letters made out of 1.5-2mm jewel bead domes. Just pull them of the backing with needle nose pliers touch the back with glue and place. You get consistent shaped rivets out of them. They come in different sizes too. These might work better for you.

I know the feeling of being unemployed, seems lot of the dakka crew are up the same sump creek. The little jewel packs are bout $3-4 and have tons on a sheet.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/03 17:40:55


Post by: Dr H


Thanks Theo' I saw them on your blog when you got them. I'll keep an eye out for something similar when I'm in a shop.

I wanted at least a full half sphere for these domes and some of those stick on beads etc. are not. But will keep them in mind for future use.
These domes have actually turned out more LED-shaped (strangely enough). I could sand them down to half spheres or I may even keep them as metallic/glass valve like things. Very steampunk to go with the cyberpunk circuits...

Yeah, unemployment is a blessing and a curse for hobbies; more time to do, less money to fund...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/04 14:41:22


Post by: Dr H


So the domes are cleaned (mostly) and sorted into two groups (slightly smaller and slightly larger with probably 15 seconds sanding between them).

This is two possible arrangements for the domes.
You'll have to ignore the dots that make them look like goggly-eyes and imagine the circuit tracks between them.

I'm leaning towards 5 per section as that'll give me space between for the tracks. Or maybe only 4 (lose the rear dome on each section) .

I've also had an idea of maybe adding the odd electric arc using wire...

May the Fourth be with you.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/04 15:38:18


Post by: Theophony


I might suggest even fewer like three per section because if you add your wires you'll be really crammed in there.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/04 15:48:42


Post by: Dr H


 Theophony wrote:
I might suggest even fewer like three per section because if you add your wires you'll be really crammed in there.


Yeah, maybe three would be good, Thanks.

I've just decided that I want them to be more dome-like and less LED-like in shape and have found a good way of sanding the bottoms without sanding my finger (They fit nicely into the top of an empty biro). This should also mean uniformity will prevail.
The sides (and I do realise that they are not all that smooth at the moment) will be neatened up once I've stuck on whichever ones I am sticking on onto the surface, as it'll be easier then.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Like this...

I may add one towards the tip.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/04 21:17:05


Post by: Casey's Law


I like this circuit idea, it's coming together very nicely! I might have missed it but what's the plans for painting this bad boy?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/04 22:47:10


Post by: Dr H


 Casey's Law wrote:
I like this circuit idea, it's coming together very nicely! I might have missed it but what's the plans for painting this bad boy?

Lo C's Law. Thanks.

You've not missed it...
The plan is...I don't really know. Well I haven't decided as yet. I've had a few thoughts towards it so far and they are:
a)I've decided that most of the vehicles for this army are going to have been re-painted after The Scientist has repaired/re-worked them. In other words, I'm leaving myself free to paint the vehicles any way I like without having to stick to craftworld/chapter/etc. colours. They may still be (or have elements of) the "original" colours, they may not. Weathering and battle damage are still likely.

b)I'm going to have to really push the boat out on the wave serpent to match the effort put into the modelling.

c)I'm thinking of a fade from light at the front to dark at the back. But I'm not decided on what colours will be involved... The only colour idea I've written down so far is light blue (almost white) to dark purple. That's not set in stone though and I have no idea of what colour to do the underside.
Edit: and bare in mind that I don't have a working airbrush and will be doing this with a paintbrush.

d)It's also tempting to try some kind of pattern/template/reverse fade shape/design/thing... on it as I picked up some modelling masking tape a little while ago for the purpose of masking shapes and patterns on large areas. What shape that will take is anybodies guess...

Other than that... I don't know really / I'll worry about it when I get there...

Edit2: Any ideas from anybody are welcome.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/05 01:22:01


Post by: Casey's Law


Interesting ideas, I don't have any suggestions myself but I'm interested to see what you decide on.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/05 10:56:45


Post by: Dr H


 Casey's Law wrote:
Interesting ideas, I don't have any suggestions myself but I'm interested to see what you decide on.

Thanks. So am I

These domes have slowed me down a bit recently but now they are done I'll be picking up the pace again.
Next up is looking at the possible circuit cables/tracks modelling...

Updates soon(ish).


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/05 18:43:11


Post by: Theophony


If your wanting raised detail, I got a spool if thin craft wire for a few bucks at the hobby store. Not sure how to adhere it without leaving globs underneath.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/05 19:35:45


Post by: Dr H


 Theophony wrote:
If your wanting raised detail, I got a spool if thin craft wire for a few bucks at the hobby store. Not sure how to adhere it without leaving globs underneath.

Yeah, I'm not sure how raised I want the tracks. I have got some really thin wire that was the windings in an old motor that I disassembled, it's about as thin as 5A fuse wire and I've got miles of the stuff. I attached that to the engines and the inside of the cabin with superglue (the runny stuff) without leaving any obvious glue blobs.

It comes down to three options really:
I use the thin wire and lay it out in a circuit pattern. It can be done reasonably easily, but on this scale they are still quite thick for circuit tracks.

Or I use thin plastic/card that I cut to shape and lay down. Will be more difficult as I will need to be really neat and accurate with my cutting, but will give nice flat circuit tracks.

Or I just paint them on at the very end. This could be tricky as well as it requires me to paint with a very steady hand and run the risk of messing up the (possibly difficult and awesome) paint-job on the hull. Although I'm just as likely to make a mess if I'm painting actual thin wires or pieces of card as I am if I'm just painting the lines (done it before, will do it again. I'm always touching things up as I "splash" paint about).

If you look at any circuits the tracks are pretty much flush to the surface (as they are very thin and the whole thing is coated for protection), so just painting them on is just as realistic. But I will see what I can do with wire/plastic/card before deciding on that. I may even end up using a combination of all three.

I'm currently drawing up some ideas on the circuit design, to scale. Trying to get the balance right between looking functional and covering the whole thing in cables (aka. too much). I may post them up here when I've done a few and see what people think.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/06 12:59:49


Post by: Dr H


Circuit track concepts.

Very quick and dirty drawings. Lines will be cleaner and straighter when done on the model. This is just to get the idea across.

To start with, three domes per section seem to be a good limit as just adding one more increases the wires needed by quite a bit.

So, from the left:
1. The red arrow at the top indicates a control/power box that I felt was necessary as a focal point for the wires to join to. Also note the single extra dome at the tip of the "wing". Large dots represent the domes and should be obvious. Small dots are either contacts to internal cables/electronics or are sensors to aid functionality of the forcefield thing (when positioned at the edges of the "wings").
This concept shows each dome or sensor attached back to the control box by an obvious, continual, individual track. As simple as the tracks are nearer the front it becomes more and more complex towards the rear. I would prefer somewhere between these two extremes...so...

2. Simplified design using major power tracks that could split into minor tracks nearer to the connected domes (to avoid the increase in crowding towards the rear as in 1.). AND connecting the sensors to the nearest dome and not all the way back to the control box.

3. Test to see how much more complex the cabling becomes with 4 domes per section. Also using major and minor power tracks and adding more breaks to the tracks to look more like an actual circuit-board.

4. As 3. but with only three domes. Major and minor tracks, but with added short tracks that don't appear to really attach to anything but clearly serve a purpose.

5. Taking the "short tracks that don't appear to go anywhere" to the extreme.

I'm hovering somewhere around number 4. But executed slightly better and a little simpler.
I like the broken tracks that appear to be coming in and out of the surface, just need to maintain direction to them without getting carried away.

Thoughts, ideas, improvements etc... welcome.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh yeah. I also added some little winglets to the rear wing/spoiler as The Scientists equivalent to "Vectored engines" (I believe is the rule).


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/06 13:34:37


Post by: Theophony


I like number 2 best, still leaves plenty of space for painting, and not too much happening all over. The control box should be internal, or snipers have a primary target.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/06 14:09:38


Post by: Dr H


 Theophony wrote:
I like number 2 best, still leaves plenty of space for painting, and not too much happening all over. The control box should be internal, or snipers have a primary target.

Thanks Theo. Good point. Actually, If I don't use the control box, I could just have 1 focal point on each section and not have to link it all the way back to the rear, that would greatly simplify the design and make all the sections uniform in coverage.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ok. Mock up number 6. How about a combination of 2 and 4...



The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/06 19:10:04


Post by: Casey's Law


I was looking at the drawing and wondering what a mix of 2 and 4 would be and then I scrolled down and bingo. 6 has got my vote for sure.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/06 20:06:47


Post by: Dr H


 Casey's Law wrote:
I was looking at the drawing and wondering what a mix of 2 and 4 would be and then I scrolled down and bingo. 6 has got my vote for sure.

Ha. Thanks Casey.

In related news, I have had a look at cutting some thin plastic and card to make the tracks and it didn't go well. Can't cut the plastic straight enough AND thin enough and can't cut the card thin enough. I did produce a nice template to get consistent angles though and I think I'm going to settle for painting the tracks on at the end. I even looked at cotton thread but it would be tricky to use and wouldn't be a smooth finish.

Keep the thoughts coming guys and gals.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/07 00:07:40


Post by: Casey's Law


I'm not sure what scale you need but have you tried bending paperclips? You could even file them flat on one side although it would take ages. You could probably pick up a load of cheap paperclips of varying sizes. Pretty clumsy solution really. Painting them in might be best as you said.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/07 10:38:23


Post by: Dr H


 Casey's Law wrote:
I'm not sure what scale you need but have you tried bending paperclips? You could even file them flat on one side although it would take ages. You could probably pick up a load of cheap paperclips of varying sizes. Pretty clumsy solution really. Painting them in might be best as you said.

I have a metric load of paperclips but they are all much thicker than the wire I have.
Thanks though.

I briefly thought about bending the wire to shape and then hammering it flat (as it's mostly copper), but that's a lot of effort to go through to get a result that is only slightly more 3D than painting them on.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/08 15:59:57


Post by: Dr H


I believe that I have finished building. The waveserpent known as WS0001 is compete.

I probably could carry on adding little things here and there or add something else ridiculous but I think this is enough. It is still recognizable as a waveserpent, It can still act like a waveserpent, but is unique enough that no-one else will have one like it, and that was the aim.

In no particular order there is:
The gap in the floor inside the transport bay has been filled.
Two more seats added to the middle section.
All six seats are upholstered with leather.
Holo-screen added to far end of transport bay.
Added some spare communication equipment.
Added a first aid box.
Added a red flight-light and a blue emergency light to interior.
Painted interior and added a pin-up girl.

Built main engines from scratch, including intakes (with fans), Turbo devices and various wires, pipes and cables.
Added hatches to allow access to the engines with handles and working hinges.

Built a turret from most of the pieces of the original.
Made the turret more aerodynamic.
built a second Las-cannon/bright lance to accompany a stock bright lance.
Added a large HK missile-alike to the turret, complete with electro-magnetic clamps.

Built a rear wing/spoiler with small winglets for additional control.
Added a disposable fuel tank to underside.
Added Air-brakes to underside.
Added a small vent next to the cockpit.

Built a pilot from just a head and many wires and pipes.

Rebuilt the chin turret so that it can see through it's full 180deg range.

Added a pointed nose to make the vehicle look more streamlined and smoothed a few other pieces of bodywork.

Added domes as a replacement for the energy spines.

Is that all? I think so.

Undercoated roughly. Time to think about paint more seriously.


C&C welcome.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/08 16:05:10


Post by: Skalk Bloodaxe


You know, those could be considered large rivets...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/08 16:08:32


Post by: Dr H


 Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:
You know, those could be considered large rivets...

What could? Oh the domes. True they will look less like rivets once painted with the circuit. But there are some rivets holding on the missile (two for the arm to the turret and two at the other end).


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/08 16:41:52


Post by: Casey's Law


Looks great man and suitably wacky! I'm sure it'll paint up really well.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/08 19:12:12


Post by: Dr H


Thanks Casey. I'm now on a mission to find inspiration for the paint-job.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And woo hoo for page 8. *shrugs*


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/08 23:19:03


Post by: Theophony


You should paint it similar to an old microchip. Green base with brass studs and wires. You could do little yellow osl spots on the wires and ones where the electricity is traveling.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/08 23:49:24


Post by: Dr H


 Theophony wrote:
You should paint it similar to an old microchip. Green base with brass studs and wires. You could do little yellow osl spots on the wires and ones where the electricity is traveling.

Now green like a circuitboard is not a bad idea.
I was already thinking brass/copper/gold for the tracks and domes.

Don't know if I'd do the whole thing in green, I am thinking ambitious thoughts about colour to colour fades...
Not flat at least. Maybe only the sections with the domes. Maybe a lighter green to darker green fade (reversed on the sections), or a green to (or from) some other colour... Still have to play around with colours, but green is up there...

I still need to practice my OSL, didn't go well last time. Maybe on something smaller. We'll see. I am thinking of maybe some electric arcs...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/09 00:58:18


Post by: Casey's Law


 Dr H wrote:
colour to colour fades...

Spoiler:

Do it for all those little boys who never had enough credit to buy one on GT3.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/09 10:25:25


Post by: Dr H


That is indeed highly ambitious Casey. I like your thinking.
I have tried that effect before...

The one on the left is a green wash over metallic blue. Doesn't really show in the photo and isn't all that obvious IRL.

But if I'm more exaggerated with the colour differences and not try to make it work from every angle (although that's starting to sound like nmm work).

Unless I can find some of those pearlescent paints that I saw on Dstein's latest thread...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/09 13:44:21


Post by: Casey's Law


Yeh its a toughy, if you can find a video of that TVR Tuscan it gets even harder. That beauty changes is the light like oil. I have no idea how you'd begin to tackle it.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/09 13:56:05


Post by: Dr H


 Casey's Law wrote:
Yeh its a toughy, if you can find a video of that TVR Tuscan it gets even harder. That beauty changes is the light like oil. I have no idea how you'd begin to tackle it.

Oh yeah, I know the effect. I even own a shirt that does it (red/purple to blue).
and paints do exist to do it. Look for interference paints or mediums. Just have to find somewhere that sells it.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/12 16:09:34


Post by: monkeytroll


Should be able to pick up interference paints at any arty type shop - I get mine from Colemans. And Eldar vehicles are a perfect base for using them with all their curves.

Missed the circuit build, I would have suggested getting a pack of plasticard strips - you can get small bags with short strips at widths of like .5, 1 and 2 mm - would have been good for the cicuitry strips...




The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/12 17:28:21


Post by: Dr H


Thanks MT. Yeah, I have picked up a couple of interference paints from hobbycraft.
I'm currently experimenting with them to get the best effect (or at least close to what I expect). Got a few more things to try then I might be able to show an update. Any advice you (or anyone else) can give would also be useful.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/12 19:49:45


Post by: monkeytroll


Still experimenting with them at this scale myself....so far I've had best iridescent effects by going onto black undercoat and mixing with a metallic complemantary colour, for instance mixing metallic blue with interference red. You can use non-metallics but then there's no sheen to that colour when it's visible, looks a bit strange....which may work well for chaos, but not sure how effective it looks .....


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/12 21:49:45


Post by: Dr H


 monkeytroll wrote:
Still experimenting with them at this scale myself....so far I've had best iridescent effects by going onto black undercoat and mixing with a metallic complemantary colour, for instance mixing metallic blue with interference red. You can use non-metallics but then there's no sheen to that colour when it's visible, looks a bit strange....which may work well for chaos, but not sure how effective it looks .....


Yeah, a black or dark colour gives the best iridescent effect. I've also noticed that you have to be careful with how strong the colour underneath is, if it's too strong compared to the interference colour you can still see the colour when you should be seeing the iridescent colour, kinda spoils the effect.

It's tricky mixing with my usual paints (as you would expect) as oil (enamel paints) and water (these interference mediums) don't mix well. But it's not impossible so long as the majority is the interference medium. Still need to experiment with this more.
I've also tried mixing in some water-colour paints I have laying about (the thought being they are both water based) and that gives a very matt finish but still has the iridescent effect, maybe a gloss coat will help (still to try).

One of the major problems I'm seeing is that after painting on the interference medium over the other paint, it ends up looking washed out or chalky (as if it's been given a white wash) so black now looks more charcoal for example. But if you mix in some of the paint with the IM then it's fine but you loose some of the interference effect. It's a balancing act I think, just need to play about with techniques...

I've got the Daler-Rowney, Interference colour, Mediums, Acrylic. Green and Violet. They're more for canvas painting but I think they can work if I find the right way to apply them to the surface.

I have also found that mixing the two IM together doesn't really work. May just be the mixing of green and violet but I just get a silvery sheen rather than green and violet bits, mixed too well I suppose. However, one over the top of the other seems to work ok.

Much more experimenting to do.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/12 22:10:34


Post by: monkeytroll


Yeah, mixing two interference colours seems to cancel each other out, try an acrylic metallic for best results with mixing.

I had forgotten you use enamels, does make it more interesting mixing them

Not tried one interference over the top of another myself yet, I have heard you can get some interesting effects doing that though...

I have the daler-rowney cryla interference colours and liquitex versions. The trick is watering them down enough for this scale, finding using a retarding agent rather than water helps with these.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/12 22:40:48


Post by: Dr H


Yeah, I'm thinking I may have to splash out on some acrylic paints to go with these. Couple more tests and will see.

Interesting effects are what I'm after, mixed results so far...

Yeah, watering them down does cause problems with coverage. Retarding agent will no doubt help with this (which do you use?) and many thin layers is probably the way to go.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/12 23:35:03


Post by: Casey's Law


I'm going to have to look into this, I don't know much about interference paints at all. Sounds like fun.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/13 23:38:42


Post by: Dr H


 Casey's Law wrote:
I'm going to have to look into this, I don't know much about interference paints at all. Sounds like fun.

Indeed, they are worth a look.

Few more experiments:
As for painting the interference medium (IM) over another paint as a wash or glaze I've been finding better results with matt over gloss paint (mostly due to the paint pooling and not forming an even layer ).

I've also tried using a couple of clear-coat colours I have. Neither resulted in particularly good effects , either too glossy (which may or may not be an issue, and needs further investigation as I tried these on a flat surface not a curved surface) or they completely obscured the colour . Neither could be mixed with the IM at any level (different solvent to the usual enamels), but a clear acrylic paint might be worth looking at to mix with and use as a glaze.

I've also found that certain colours (or shades) work better than others. This is mostly down to whether the original paint shows the IM up as chalky when not showing it's interference colour. Certain greens and blues have worked ok (even a light blue), not found a satisfactory red yet.

Gloss varnish over the matt result of the watercolour plus IM didn't really improve or really affect the result much at all. Maybe more coats would help but probably not worth the effort at the moment.

As for layering one IM over the other, I've had ok results with using a varnish layer between them (that's paint-IM-varnish-IM). Again the gloss was problematic but the matt varnish did not hamper the effect from the lower layer . The interference colours both appear to show at the same time (which is not necessarily bad), this may be down to coverage problems and/or the thin layer of varnish. I aim to try a few different thicknessess(essessess) to see if I can get the interference colours to show at different angles.

I'm going to look at getting some acrylic paints (colours, varnishes, clear colours...) because mixing them with these IM would make things much easier.

Here endeth the lesson.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
and Woo 8000 views. Thank you to everyone that pokes their nose in here. Hope you all stay for the ride.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/16 18:41:29


Post by: Dr H


Ok picture update this time. Painting tests.

These are the paints I have bought for this painting job.

There is a Glaze medium (matt), the two Interference mediums (green and violet) and three Revell acrylic paints in Patina green, Blue and Red (that I might not use here, but got "just in case").

The pictures below show the stages of painting that could produce the right result, but needs much more work on each step to improve the final result.
So, from the top.
1) Grey-scale undercoat.
This is to produce shading for the blue that is to follow. As it turns out I can be more bold as it didn't show as much as I thought it would.

2) Metallic blue coat.
What it says it is... Metallic blue. As you can see, not a great variation from the dark end (right) to light end. Not helped by the light being from the right as well.

3) Wet coat of the mixture of Matt Glaze medium + Interference Green Medium + a little acrylic green (to tint the glaze). Insert = the mixed paint.
4) The above coat, now dry. With the base colour showing.
5) With the Interference colour showing.
As can be seen, the paint mixture is quite pale as both the glaze and interference mediums are white. The glaze medium dries clear though. However, you can see that the mixture needs to be thinned further to avoid the streaking that can be seen here. The matt finish doesn't help...

6) The above after a gloss coat. Base colour.
7) interference colour.
Looks much better now, except for the streaks (that will be fixed with proper thinning).

8) After a coat of the second mixture. Matt Glaze medium + Interference Violet Medium + a little acrylic Blue (to tint the glaze and maybe reduce the green of the previous layer that turned out to not be a problem). Insert = the mixed paint.
9) With interference colours showing.
The mixture was a darker blue than I expected, but that just means I'll use less blue next time. Matt effect again not helping.

10) After final gloss coat. Base colour showing.
11) Interference colours showing.
Not the striking affect I was originally hoping for but if you look closely enough at the last picture you can see both of the interference colours separated in certain areas where the surface is uneven (this bodes promise for a nice effect on the model).
Probably could have used more violet layer as only used one coat compared to two for the green layer.

As I said, a few more tweaks to the method and it could work.




The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/17 10:10:09


Post by: da waaagh orkz


An iridesent sheen to it would look quite cool. You could also make the crevasses in the armor plating and the wires on the circut look like they are glowing with energy or something.

Just a thought.

Looking amazing by the way doc. Keep up the madness!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/17 10:23:21


Post by: Dr H


Thanks da waaagh.

I will have to look into what colour and effects I can use for things like the cables and things once I get this paint-job working. Testing is still ongoing at the mo.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/18 02:23:10


Post by: da waaagh orkz


A bit of battle damage or chipped paint wouldn't look out of place to keep that army-of-the-second-law, AKA brainwashed feel.
Up to you.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/18 10:51:33


Post by: Dr H


Yeah, weathering of some description is currently planned. Will have to see when it comes to it.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/18 15:20:01


Post by: Theophony


That iridescent color is awesome. Wish I had a use for it. Maybe in the future a giant plasma coil or some such.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/18 15:33:50


Post by: Dr H


 Theophony wrote:
That iridescent color is awesome. Wish I had a use for it. Maybe in the future a giant plasma coil or some such.

Glad you think so. I'm getting closer to a satisfactory result, thinning and layering experiments are currently underway.

You just have to "make" a reason to use them.

The effect is quite subtle unless it's on a dark colour or (as I'm trying to find) if it's mixed with the right paint...
Don't know what paint they use on TVRs but I don't think that effect is possible on this scale, probably requires a ridiculous number of paint layers that would cover all the details on a model. But I'm going to get as close as I can...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
More interesting results from the interference paints...

From the right (top image):
Glaze medium and Interference Green - 1 layer
Glaze medium and Interference Green - 5 layers
Glaze medium, Interference Green and green - 2 layers
Glaze medium, Interference Green and green - 5 layers
Glaze medium and Interference Violet - 1 layer
Glaze medium and Interference Violet - 5 layers
Glaze medium, Interference Violet and Blue - 1 layer
Glaze medium, Interference Violet and Blue - 5 layers

As can be seen from the first 2 images, I can get streak-free results if I thin the paint mixture enough and multiple layers don't cause problems.
Although, and interesting problem became apparent with the blue mixture; it seriously affects the interference effect and little violet could be seen. Due to this I thought I'd see what the red paint would do. So the lower images have the Glaze medium, interference violet and red paint (2 layers and 5 layers).


As can be seen from the last two images, the interference colours work well with these mixtures and layers.
And the addition of the extra coloured paint does seem to add to the interference layer colour and aid the effect, as was hoped.
5 layers may be too many so I may only use 3 or 4 instead over the metallic Blue.

Next experiment is layering these mixture over the metallic blue to see what effect they have and whether red will work (could produce a nice purple, could look crap).
In other (but related) news I have managed to get the light to dark fade working with the metallic blue.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/19 21:11:48


Post by: Dr H


Well, mixed results continue.
This is painting the interference paints (thinned appropriately) over the metallic blue.

From the top again:
1) grey-scale
2) metallic blue layer (lit from the left)
3) metallic blue layer (lit from the right) Forgive the not very even coating, I can do better than this.
4) After 2 layers of Glaze medium + Interference Green and 2 layers of Glaze medium + Inter' Green + Green (base colours showing)
5) and 6) Interference colour showing.
7) After 4 layers of Glaze medium + Inter' Violet (and a little bit of red on the upper half, not really enough to be obvious) (base colours)
8) and 9) Interference colours showing.



Good points:
The glaze layers can be applied without streaks if thinned enough (any streakyness is due to the grey and blue layers).
The interference colours do show up at different angles. The violet shows up nearer the gloss reflection and the green further away and then the blue can be seen further still.

Bad points:
The metallic sheen of the blue base coat seems to be lost by the final stages. If you look at images 4, 5 and 6 you can see the metallic sheen as well as the iridescent sheen of the green. Contrast that with the images 7, 8 and 9 and you can't see that the blue is metallic.

This could be because there is 10 layers of paint on top of the blue (and only 2 of them are gloss) and expecting it to still look metallic is unrealistic.
I could cut down on the number of layers, but that would reduce the, already subtle, iridescent colours or bring back the streaks from having to use more Inter' Med' in the mixture.

So, maybe I'll just use one IM over the blue at a time and maybe use different colours on different plates of the hull. But a 3-tone paint-job all over probably isn't going to happen.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/22 14:33:54


Post by: Dr H


Lo.
Having decided on a method for painting the upper hull I have been thinking about the lower hull.

I wanted a different colour to the upper hull and was thinking along two lines; lighter colour (as aircraft to camouflage against the sky), or darker (just because). It also needed to be a colour that goes with the metallic blue of the upper hull but not detract or over-power.

Long story short, I went with a dark-ish purple as I like purple, it works with blue and the various warning markings I plan on using AND I could use the interference violet on it...

So, may I present the main colour of the lower hull...


There is more details to be done later. Such as the gems, signs and symbols (possible hazard stripes), the metals (which here are metal coloured, but may change to a bronze/copper colour here and there, which also work with purple) and the front of the Shuriken cannon and sensor things.

Let me know what you think of the colour, it's tricky to photograph the effect but I think it shows in places in the picture above (remember the interference paint shows up depending on the angle of view so the glittery effect moves about ).
Also notice the modified Shuriken cannon is attached (the front end of which may be blue, it may be hazard striped ).

That's all for now, time to think about the upper hull.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/24 12:17:50


Post by: Theophony


Lovin the iridescent work so far. I think purple will be a great color on the bottom as well. Anyone under the models really shouldn't be worried about the color so much as what's inside the model, at least hats what we try to tell our kids .


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/24 14:17:07


Post by: Dr H


 Theophony wrote:
Lovin the iridescent work so far. I think purple will be a great color on the bottom as well. Anyone under the models really shouldn't be worried about the color so much as what's inside the model, at least hats what we try to tell our kids .

Thanks Theo. Yeah, it's what's inside that counts, especially in this army. No prejudice in this army, everyone is welcome and what's inside of everyone is a brainwashing implant, everyone's happy....

AND I have an update...

Grey-scale is done and ready for the metallic blue layers.


Hopefully it will show through AND I don't up the blue as I paint it...fingers crossed.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/24 14:26:40


Post by: Theophony


That greyscale is fantastic , I'd be proud of an army like that. Did you finally decide to do the connecting wires with paint instead of wire o plasticard?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/24 14:37:16


Post by: Dr H


Thanks again Theo All done with a brush, took two days of painting sessions to do...

Yeah, going to paint them on as wires weren't flat enough and cutting card or plastic thin enough proved difficult. Far easier to paint it (probably, may change my mind when I get to it but the decision is made).


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/24 16:07:24


Post by: Casey's Law


Great work H! Looking forward to the blue.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/24 16:44:09


Post by: Dr H


 Casey's Law wrote:
Great work H! Looking forward to the blue.

Thanks Casey. The blue will be the important layer where it can make or break the look; really needs to be a smooth, even layer. Will test the ideal paint thickness before committing to the model.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/26 12:30:15


Post by: Dr H


I've started on the metallic blue. Done the turret and started filling in sections of the hull.
AND the shading is actually working nicely. I may only need one coat of the blue.



Takes quite a while to dry though and have to be really careful around it until it is dry, this may still take a while.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/26 15:52:02


Post by: weetyskemian44


That's a gnarly paintjob already.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/26 17:42:48


Post by: Dr H


Thanks Weety. Much more to do, even after the blue and the green interference layers.

Not sure what colours to do the random shapes (like that oval in the above picture) and fins... and the guns of the turret...

And then there's the various signs, symbols and markings (including transfers).

And the gems...

And the circuit tracks.

Have to finish the blue first, before thinking of all that...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/26 17:44:25


Post by: Theophony


Great job with the blue, looks a little pre Hersey world eaters to me, which is good .


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/26 18:01:54


Post by: Casey's Law


That is indeed a sexy paintjob straight out off the line. Nice work mate.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/26 18:09:28


Post by: Dr H


 Theophony wrote:
Great job with the blue, looks a little pre Hersey world eaters to me, which is good .

Thanks Theo. I'm glad it only took one coat on these bits so far. The turret took 2 coats to cover up some unevenness in the blue (which is now only obvious under bright light), but I managed to do these nice and evenly. Lets hope I can continue this trend.

*quick google* Yes I see what you mean. Although I am going to be covering all the grey so will look less like them in time. Maybe I can use some grey for the fins and things though. Also thinking some YELLOW may be good with this blue (if you don't get the reference, I originally got the metallic blue to paint a Subaru Impreza rally car model, Google will show you the kind of yellow I mean).



Automatically Appended Next Post:
AND Thanks Casey. More to come soon(ish).


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/27 15:42:58


Post by: Dr H


I declare the blue finished.
Mostly one coat all over. A few bits needed touching up and there is a few patches of unevenness, but I can't do anything about them now as it would require another coat over the whole model that would loose the shading and may not even fix the marks. The eagle-eyed amongst you may spot them in the pictures, if you don't then it's not a problem.

I got in a few different angles to give you a chance of seeing all the fades and the last picture is with the flash as it shows up the variation (and the marks) better.



Next up is the green interference and gloss coats that I should get done today and then it'll be on to the details...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/27 16:09:26


Post by: hk1x1


Excellent paint job so far, like the shading work.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/27 16:21:12


Post by: Dr H


 hk1x1 wrote:
Excellent paint job so far, like the shading work.

Thanks very much hk and welcome to the (mad) house.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/27 16:33:19


Post by: Theophony


That blue is flat out sexy. Great job.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/27 18:04:25


Post by: Dr H


Thanks Theo. You may be the first person to describe anything of mine as "sexy"...

Well hopefully I've not entirely ed it up with the green layers.


It's a little cloudy in places which spoils the metallic blue...
You can just about see what I mean at the tail end in the picture.

But the interference works and it's all sealed in now, so can't change it without re-painting from the grey again.

I can always cover any bits that bother me with markings etc. later...

Hopefully the WOW factor overrides any "is that meant to look like that" feelings.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/28 08:51:51


Post by: da waaagh orkz


Tererific!
The iridesent thing works well! Glowy circuit boards to connect the domes might not work on the iridesent paint. Maybe along the lines of black wire things because of the contrast. However not having tried it myself and am purely judging from your photos I can't be too sure.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/28 10:13:17


Post by: Dr H


da waaagh orkz wrote:
Tererific!
The iridesent thing works well! Glowy circuit boards to connect the domes might not work on the iridesent paint. Maybe along the lines of black wire things because of the contrast. However not having tried it myself and am purely judging from your photos I can't be too sure.

Thanks da waaagh. glad you like.

Yeah, and with a gloss finish I'm not sure how you'd do OSL as it should give a sharp reflection and not the usual glow, will have to see what colours show up. I'm working on some warning markings at the mo.

I have tidied up the black lines after the picture above (again, I really should have left that to the end on not kept tidying them up after every step only to go over with the next step...) so it looks neater as well now.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/28 11:59:33


Post by: Theophony


I really like the effect with the green. If I were to do an alpha legion army, this would definitely be the route to go.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/28 12:09:42


Post by: Casey's Law


Casey's Law wrote:That is indeed a sexy paintjob...
Theophony wrote:That blue is flat out sexy...
Dr H wrote:Thanks Theo. You may be the first person to describe anything of mine as "sexy"...

Sheesh! 5 posts and you've forgotten about our 'encounter' already you hussy!

Haha, seriously though brah that looks dyno and you've been working real quick. Sadly I don't think we are getting the full impact of the iridescence using the medium of photography but it still looks great. If I'm right that this looks even cooler when the light hits it differently then maybe a short video would be a fun way to show it off?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/28 12:47:00


Post by: Dr H


Theophony wrote:I really like the effect with the green. If I were to do an alpha legion army, this would definitely be the route to go.

Thanks Theo. Yeah, it's definitely worth trying out. Not the easiest paint I've worked with, but to those of you with experience with water-based paint it probably won't be that much of a shock. You have to make sure to use a really thin layer of the interference medium (hence the glaze medium), as the IM dries to a white finish (hence the cloudiness). But it does look good.

Casey's Law wrote:
Casey's Law wrote:That is indeed a sexy paintjob...
Theophony wrote:That blue is flat out sexy...
Dr H wrote:Thanks Theo. You may be the first person to describe anything of mine as "sexy"...

Sheesh! 5 posts and you've forgotten about our 'encounter' already you hussy!

Haha, seriously though brah that looks dyno and you've been working real quick. Sadly I don't think we are getting the full impact of the iridescence using the medium of photography but it still looks great. If I'm right that this looks even cooler when the light hits it differently then maybe a short video would be a fun way to show it off?

Lol, sorry Casey. You were my first... I'll blame my poor short-term memory for that slip.

Thanks dude. Once things start to come together I can bash things out reasonably fast, if you include all the testing though it's been quite slow painting. It helped that the blue only required one coat and that the interference mix that I use is put on very thinly and so dries quickly. The gloss coat was still drying when I took that last picture which is why the doors are still open.

Yeah, it is tricky to get a good, representative, picture of the effect. But it is a very subtle effect which can get washed out in the photos by the gloss sheen. I will try some different lighting / angle / camera options to try an show it off more with the next update.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/29 14:06:08


Post by: Dr H


OK people, here's some pictures with varying lighting conditions, angles of light to camera and camera settings...
These also include a sneak peek at the markings progress. But I will do a "proper" update on the markings later once I've added and tidied a few bits.

These pictures were taken using the camera flash.
The blue in these show up lighter than IRL and the green is not as obvious as IRL, but you can see the green near any point of gloss reflection or where the angle is just right, which is where it usually shows up.


These pictures were taken with various lighting conditions including my normal lamp, the lamp with a piece of tissue paper in front (to make less harsh lighting) and with a daylight bulb (the pictures with the white/red background).
These (at least on my computer) look very much like it does IRL.
The best way I can explain it is that the blue is generally always showing, but the green will cover the blue only when the angle is just right and is usually on surfaces very near to where the gloss shine is seen. Flat surfaces therefore rarely show much green, but curved surfaces (such as the engine intakes) can show up quite green.


I hope with the various angles you can tell that the effect moves around as the angle of light to model to observer changes.
Do these help illustrate the effect any better?

More to show and tell later...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/29 15:09:55


Post by: Casey's Law


Oh yeh I can see it pretty well now! Very cool and subtle. Thanks for taking those images and describing the effect. The markings are looking good too, looking forward to more.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/29 17:43:23


Post by: Theophony


That lighting only helps to make it look better. Good Lighting is the key, thats why all strip clubs are dark, so you not get a Good look at the merchandise or you might walk out . The hazard stripes are awesome as well. Who new the eldar invented the hazard stripe, and the imperium adopted it just to warn people that only eldar should get close to the edge , especially on swords.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/29 18:37:30


Post by: Dr H


Casey's Law wrote:Oh yeh I can see it pretty well now! Very cool and subtle. Thanks for taking those images and describing the effect. The markings are looking good too, looking forward to more.

Thanks Casey, glad they helped. I've said before, if anyone wants a different angle etc. of any model, I'll be happy to oblige.
See below...

Theophony wrote:That lighting only helps to make it look better. Good Lighting is the key, thats why all strip clubs are dark, so you not get a Good look at the merchandise or you might walk out . The hazard stripes are awesome as well. Who new the eldar invented the hazard stripe, and the imperium adopted it just to warn people that only eldar should get close to the edge , especially on swords.

Cool, thanks Theo.
Yep, lighting is the key. I do try to get the best pictures and probably take 10 times the number of pics I put on here and just pick the best. I am however only working with a desk lamp and 2 camera phones...

lol at club lighting, yeah that and beer have been helping the looks-deprived get it on for many years...

This wave serpent has been re-painted by The Scientist's dedicated paintshop workers, so it's not necessarily the Eldar that painted the markings...

...and speaking of markings.

Here you can see;
The "don't get too near" marking around the intake,
A "Danger" sign for the side exhausts,
A Warning for the Jet exhaust (if you look closely, you'll see it's actually in German and sideways),
The hazard striped area and some signs (in Russian this time, need to have a fiddle to make them blend in more) inside the door.
An ejector seat warning triangle near the cockpit (I find this amusing as the pilot is just a head wired into the cockpit and couldn't eject even if he wanted to),
Some little black teeth at the front of the cockpit (just because),
Hazard stripes on the rear door (so you don't get caught out when it opens, safety first),
Hazard stripes on the leading edges of the air-brakes,
And, the reason that there is a rectangle of hazard stripes on the inside of the door (you can see that corner from underneath and the green of the engine bay just doesn't match the purple).

What do you guys and gals think?

Now have to repeat the intake warning around the other intake...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/29 19:23:42


Post by: Theophony


The red around the intake is beautiful so are the other markings. Just the head being ejected would be hilarious.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/29 19:30:25


Post by: Casey's Law


That's looking sweet man, it's all in the details! I'm afraid to say that your gravbox has the red ring of death though!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/29 20:32:05


Post by: Dr H


Theophony wrote:The red around the intake is beautiful so are the other markings. Just the head being ejected would be hilarious.

Lol, with a little parachute popping out the back of his head.

Casey's Law wrote:That's looking sweet man, it's all in the details! I'm afraid to say that your gravbox has the red ring of death though!


Thanks dudes.
The red/white around the intake was soooo hard to do, my hand is not as steady as I'd like, but it's as smooth a line as I can do. AND now I have to do it again AND make it look almost identical but a mirror image...

There are many more details like those to come and a few more exciting additions if I can decide what they will be and where they might go (partly the reason for adding the transfers I have so far is to see where the space is for anything extra).
Still have to finish painting things before I stick too many more transfers on, like the guns and missile and some metalwork and not to forget the (dreaded) circuit tracks...

By "gravbox" I assume you mean the WS. The red ring isn't actually a complete ring as it only continues over the "cut-outs" around the intake and not between them... Just a little touch to add interest.

But first, the other intake...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/29 23:44:55


Post by: Casey's Law


Haha yeh, the 'gravbox' and 'red ring of death' comments is an Xbox joke. When an Xbox dies through internal issues it often displays a glowing red ring where it would normally be green. The red ring of death has become a bit of a meme because of it.

I love the red though, I'm sure you'll copy it over very well, don't worry.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/30 00:07:27


Post by: Dr H


Ah yeah, that rings a bell. I've been more of a playstation man, so not had the joy of an xbox "red rind of death".
Although I have acquired an xbox recently to go with the megadrive, PS1, a selection of PS2s and a Wii...

I've done the red/white on the other side now, it's slightly more pointy than the first but is fine and turned out easier (read, less going back and fourth touching up the colours).

Couple more things and I'll have something to show in an update.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/30 00:07:49


Post by: Largeblastmarker


that blue is beautiful! Now do an orange piece


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/05/30 00:15:36


Post by: Dr H


 Largeblastmarker wrote:
that blue is beautiful! Now do an orange piece

Thanks dude. Welcome.

I purposely didn't do this in orange (it was considered) after the Guardian with the Shuriken cannon (he's quite orange ).
But I do like a yellow to orange to red fade, so there will be more in time.
Although I don't have any metallic orange...hmm, I wonder... *makes a note of it for future*


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/02 11:35:55


Post by: da waaagh orkz


Glowy effects still might work on the shiny stuff if there red yellow or orange. Bluey colours won't work.

That paint job is great! Looking forward to seeing more.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/02 22:30:12


Post by: Dr H


Thanks da waaagh. Will have to see about it when I get there. Thing is, with this paint job, there's NO touching up if you slip. Thankfully being gloss you can wipe off mistakes, but only if you do it quickly. If I try blending, to get the glow, there will be no going back and I don't want to mess this up after all the time I've spent on it...

Quick update on progress so far.


Probably not that many obvious changes for the few days work.
I finished the Red warning around the other intake. Which, as I mentioned was pointy-er than the first, so I went back and made the first more pointy to match. Do they look a pair?

I've painted various metal bits in Gun-Metal and washed with black (still to do silver highlights).

I painted the Bright-lance and Las-Cannon/Bright-lance-alike/"laser". Made to look like they were acquired from an existing craftworld (Saim-Hann) and SM chapter (Blood Angels or any other "red" one).

Painted the missile in the colour that most missiles seem to come in...white.

And added more transfers here and there (some of which are shown in the picture).
I thought it amusing to stick an "inert" sign on the Las-cannon, I got loads, got to use them on something...

The Las-Cannon-alike will be weathered to look quite beaten up, so this isn't how it's going to end up, just the "new look" colours at the moment. Scratches and things will be added at some point in the future as they will on the rest of the 'serpent.

C&C and I'll return once more has been done.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/02 22:48:17


Post by: Theophony


Loving the turret, and the second red ring of death is looking great. Where's the prototype transfer from.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/02 23:00:59


Post by: Casey's Law


Really nice work, H! It's a brilliant looking piece to add to the army.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/02 23:05:00


Post by: Dr H


 Theophony wrote:
Loving the turret, and the second red ring of death is looking great. Where's the prototype transfer from.

Thanks Theo.

You're in luck, for two reasons:
1) It was attached to a piece that said what model it came from... A 1/48th Hughes AH-64 Apache (I think an Airfix model).
2) I took a picture of my transfer collection while I was looking through them and that piece is at the bottom of the picture in the middle.

This is one of those times that hoarding is a good thing.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 Casey's Law wrote:
Really nice work, H! It's a brilliant looking piece to add to the army.

Thanks Casey. I'm glad people are liking what I'm doing.

There's much more to do on this yet. Still not decided on what colour I should do the two (currently black) ovals and two fins...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
and Woo Hoo, page 10...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/03 02:29:01


Post by: Theophony


Hoarding is always a good thing , now I have excess to share when I can't afford to buy I still have stuff to use.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/03 05:57:44


Post by: Casey's Law


Ding! Gratz on pg.10!

It'll be awesome to see how you finish the beast!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/03 17:31:32


Post by: Dr H


Thanks dudes.

Minor setback... One of the hinges broke!
As you can see in the picture, The yellow arrows show where it cracked and split apart.
This hinge had been acting funny for a while and has been catching on the hull which probably put more strain on it that it would have liked.

However, a few strips of sticky-back-plastic later, it's reattached and works. So, I'll stop playing with it every 5 minutes...
It actually fits in the hole better now when shut, so that's a good thing. Shame it's the other one that won't shut properly though.



The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/03 17:46:52


Post by: Theophony


It's the mingling of technologies. The wraith one doesn't take rivets like other structures. You will have to consult he riveters handbook to ensure this doesn't continue to happen.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/03 17:58:01


Post by: Dr H


 Theophony wrote:
It's the mingling of technologies. The wraith one doesn't take rivets like other structures. You will have to consult he riveters handbook to ensure this doesn't continue to happen.

Yeah, I was thinking the other day If I should have added proper rivets to the hinges. I shall know for next time.

I bow to the wisdom of one from the League.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/03 18:25:14


Post by: Casey's Law


Ouch, the sounds of buckling metal is echoing in my ears. Glad you got it fixed though!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/03 19:21:14


Post by: Theophony


 Dr H wrote:
 Theophony wrote:
It's the mingling of technologies. The wraith one doesn't take rivets like other structures. You will have to consult he riveters handbook to ensure this doesn't continue to happen.

Yeah, I was thinking the other day If I should have added proper rivets to the hinges. I shall know for next time.

I bow to the wisdom of one from the League.


Is this not your natural state? insert picture of Loki here, I'd do it but it would get deleted by the mods.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/03 19:39:32


Post by: Dr H


Casey's Law wrote:Ouch, the sounds of buckling metal is echoing in my ears. Glad you got it fixed though!

Yep, hopefully it continues to hold, and the other one doesn't go. Can't help fiddling with things, within 5 minutes of sitting on my first plane, I nearly broke both the fold-down table and the blind and resorted to pulling loose thread out of the seat in front.
Like Arthur Dent, If there's a button (and even if it says "Do not press"), I will press it to see why...

Theophony wrote:
 Dr H wrote:
 Theophony wrote:
It's the mingling of technologies. The wraith one doesn't take rivets like other structures. You will have to consult he riveters handbook to ensure this doesn't continue to happen.

Yeah, I was thinking the other day If I should have added proper rivets to the hinges. I shall know for next time.

I bow to the wisdom of one from the League.


Is this not your natural state? insert picture of Loki here, I'd do it but it would get deleted by the mods.

Well I do worship the Mighty Riveteers in the hope that a little greatness rubs off.
You know if you find the direct link to a picture on the internet and put it between the Image /Image things it will work and won't be deleted as it's not hosted on DDakka.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/03 20:16:55


Post by: Theophony


I know, I'm just to lazy to do that. Plus I was at the park with my kids when I posted last. Quick dakkadakka check while they were playing in the fountains.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/04 15:20:39


Post by: Dr H


Fair enough Theo.

Quick update.
I have decided on the colour of the fins (white with a yellow tip) and ovals (Purple with the violet interference, to match the underside).


A few more transfer details added to the turret, not that you can see them all in this picture.
And I touched up the underside and edges while I was there.
Oh, and I decided that the chin turret will be purple as well, the hazard striped look didn't work.

Next up... Will be the circuit tracks and then gems and lenses, any other details and then weathering...
Bit of practice at the circuits first though.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/04 15:32:12


Post by: cormadepanda


i been watching this build for a while. It is very impressive, and well done.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/04 15:59:41


Post by: Dr H


Thanks Panda. Good to have you aboard.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/04 16:02:43


Post by: cormadepanda


 Dr H wrote:
Thanks Panda. Good to have you aboard.


do you plan on doing a whole army like this?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/04 16:11:51


Post by: Dr H


 cormadepanda wrote:
 Dr H wrote:
Thanks Panda. Good to have you aboard.


do you plan on doing a whole army like this?

With this paint-job? No.
With excessive amounts of modifications and extraneous details? Yes.

Every model will be individual in terms of build, modification, ideas, colours and paint-schemes.
It's all just for the modelling really, but I do want to be able to play them as an army.
I realise that very little of what I'm doing is legal for competitive play and it will require a custom codex, but that's for the future.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
So, practice 1 of the circuit tracks.

As shown in the picture below, these were painted first in bronze and then I added gold over that and tried to leave some of the brass showing on the lower edges (to give a 3D effect). I then added dots for the contacts in gold.

This is only a rough test (mostly to see if I can actually paint thin, straight lines with regular and repeatable angles and thicknesses) over a rough blue background (that was the thinning test for the metallic blue) and so is not as neat as I could (and will) do.

This was also done to match the earlier mock-up of the circuit design (shown below).




A few things I will change:
The thick lines, that were done in the original design, don't really seem to work in paint. Maybe it's my dodgy painting, but I think I'll just keep all lines the same thickness.

Looking at this next to the model, I don't think I can paint thin enough to fit all that is shown above onto the model, and so some of the (what I see as) sensor tracks and the sensor dots won't be translated onto the model. Probably only one per section, not two.

The contact spots were tricky to get looking all the same, but that's just a patience thing which will not be an issue on the model. However, I may actually position the spots first and then join up the dots, which I think will be easier... and this will help space out the tracks as some of them were painted a little too close and the spots were not distinct from one another.

Thoughts, ideas, comments?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/05 14:05:18


Post by: Dr H


A few little details while I contemplate (read; avoid) the circuit tracks...

I've painted all the gems (at least all the gem shaped lumps that I plan on painting) black in preparation of painting them whatever colour they will eventually be. I knew that there were quite a few of these as I've moved some of them, but didn't realise how many until I painted them; 29... They may take a while...

And I took a couple of pictures while I added a few little details. I wasn't going to share them immediately but the two here showed more than what I was focussing on so here they are:

This was to show the little red and green lights and the hazard striped release lever for the cockpit and the front of the turret, but actually shows the interference effect quite well.


This was to show the lights for the rear door release, but due to the camera focus ended up showing the rear of the turret and I realised that I haven't really shown that properly yet in situ.

and if you missed it due to automatically appending, have a look at the circuit test above...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/05 14:22:44


Post by: Casey's Law


Nice progress man and I think the circuits look good. Be confident and get tore into them I say!

If I was going to be picky I might suggest the circuits would look better in a grey metal but they might not show up as well as the yellow metal.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/05 15:02:47


Post by: Dr H


 Casey's Law wrote:
Nice progress man and I think the circuits look good. Be confident and get tore into them I say!

If I was going to be picky I might suggest the circuits would look better in a grey metal but they might not show up as well as the yellow metal.

Interesting. I hadn't really thought about using anything other than gold for these.
My reasoning was that all actual circuit tracks are gold (although sometimes covered with the green insulation) and that these should be gold to show the importance of conductivity to ensure the efficiency of the shield. That and blue and gold go well together.

Also, there are already a few silvery bits of metal here and there on the 'serpent and I think the front end needs a different colour for these to stand out, especially as these are meant to be replacing the usual (more obvious) 'serpent spines.

I'll do some silver tracks on the test piece and see how they look, maybe they could be used for the sensor tracks...


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/05 15:23:59


Post by: Dr H


Added Silver tracks in the same way I did the gold but with silver over gun-metal.



The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/05 16:46:17


Post by: cormadepanda


The circuits are good. Just how much stuff are you planning on adding to this?


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/05 16:55:34


Post by: nerdfest09


Damn Dr H! looking fantastic, I absolutely love the experimentation you have done with such succesful results! the grey shading is imo good enough as it was with some blue accents but the all over blue with the green tinge is just something so different :-) not to mention the many many little details you've got going on, the decals the circuits,the freehand, the smexy!


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/05 16:59:56


Post by: Dr H


 cormadepanda wrote:
The circuits are good. Just how much stuff are you planning on adding to this?

Thanks Panda.
Not a lot more, it's nearly (dare I say it) done. It's just the circuit tracks, gems and lenses, anything I find that I've missed, a few "no step" and other transfers, and then a little weathering.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 nerdfest09 wrote:
Damn Dr H! looking fantastic, I absolutely love the experimentation you have done with such succesful results! the grey shading is imo good enough as it was with some blue accents but the all over blue with the green tinge is just something so different :-) not to mention the many many little details you've got going on, the decals the circuits,the freehand, the smexy!

Oh Hey NF. Welcome.
Thanks muchly. Yeah, experimenting is in my blood and I will keep trying something until I achieve a suitable result.

Yeah I was quite impressed with how the grey undercoat came out and the reception it has got. Something in the future will definitely be grey, just so I can do it again.

Thanks again. I do tend to have quite an OCD way of thinking. I have to consider all the details and they all have to have a purpose. It makes me happy.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/05 17:17:33


Post by: Theophony


Very nice detail work I especially like the circuit painting. Your decision to freehand it all instead of trying wire or card worked out for the best.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/05 17:25:43


Post by: Dr H


Thanks Theo. Still have to translate it to the model. Planning is in progress.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/05 19:09:19


Post by: Casey's Law


Yeh now I see the test I think the silver blends with the blue too much. The gold pops better. Sorry to give you extra work , I was thinking it would look like soldering style circuitry.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/05 20:09:53


Post by: Dr H


 Casey's Law wrote:
Yeh now I see the test I think the silver blends with the blue too much. The gold pops better. Sorry to give you extra work , I was thinking it would look like soldering style circuitry.

No worries. Experimenting is a good thing.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/06 04:43:10


Post by: Theophony


Have you considered doing a slight black dot at the ends of the circuits, not enough to cover the ends completely, but might look more realistic.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/06 06:36:07


Post by: Camkierhi


Just visited for first time, will be reading the rest of this blog asap.

Love the attention to detail. Don't knock your skills dude they are brilliant. Looking great.


The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the FINISHED Raider!  @ 2013/06/06 10:49:13


Post by: Dr H


Theophony wrote:Have you considered doing a slight black dot at the ends of the circuits, not enough to cover the ends completely, but might look more realistic.

I have thought about it. They will be distinct one way or another. Thanks.

Camkierhi wrote:Just visited for first time, will be reading the rest of this blog asap.

Love the attention to detail. Don't knock your skills dude they are brilliant. Looking great.

Welcome. Hope you enjoy the read.

Thanks.