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A Long Necked Goose:
(Are there short necked geese?)

(never mind I looked it up and there are short necked geese called a Cackling goose and looks very much like a duck.)

(So why isn't it called a duck?)

Answer:

(Because the higher it flies the more.....)

Anyway the side view of the Reaver shows a disturbingly long neck due to the fact that my hood overhang is shorter than the Mars Reaver.

http://i.imgur.com/u2UjaGI.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/oMw9UWK.jpg


Actually my hood overhang is the inner hood of the model and FW has a second much larger and longer hood that encompasses the inner hood.

I can think of no reason why the hull and neck have to be so long unless it is to balance the dense resin at the rear of the model.

More anti auto append for you sir.

Inner Core of Cockpit:

We'll start with a close tolerance internal fit so the armour will lock in place similar to the original:

http://i.imgur.com/NHPvaPH.jpg


The inner cockpit frame has numerous points that allow for locking a styrene inner component.

http://i.imgur.com/2exwrK8.jpg


This image shows the internal panels that lock the armour in place:

http://i.imgur.com/TTbaO6P.jpg


This image shows the close tolerance component in place the excess plastic a handy anchor for the exterior surface of the finished armour which will be quite different for the original:

http://i.imgur.com/six9Ncr.jpg


The only pity is I have to make another......

Ahh Blackadder, Your every bit as quirky and bat-sith insane as your namesake. I just found this thread and would have commented sooner, most impresive work as i have found most of the stuff you do to always be. If there was a god of plasticard one might question if you were his illegitimate demigod offspring.

More to the point, I always hated the lucius patterns forgeworld did. This however is brilliant and those retractable missile pods are awesome pieces of engineering. As for the powerfist. I always found the reavers powerfist to be kind of flimsy for its size bulking it up shouldn't be a problem, especially not with the bulk you already added to the shins. if anything I find the prototype you did to look better scaled (as far as i can tell from the pictures.)

Lastly.

CU...CU..CU..CCOOOOMBO BREAKERRRR!

CU....CU..CU..CUOOOOMBO BREAKER?

Thanks for the thumbs up on the power fist; the jury's still out on that one..........

One Armed Juggler:

Wow I'm busier than a one armed juggler; 'way too many projects in progress at the moment.

This weekend I made the interior buttresses of the second Lucius head so when the model is complete the Lucius head helmet will be interchangeable with the Mars style helmet just by popping it off. A simple straight forward design utilizing the faceted angle to lock the respective helmet to the original cockpit.

http://i.imgur.com/Ef7Fm4I.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/F01Eihv.jpg


Now with most of the major Lucius components made I am ready to start detailing the exterior of various pieces.

Reaver hats
[img]" border="0" />[/img]

stupid edits

Reaver Head Mental Block:

I've reached an impasse coming up with an original design for the Reaver head. I don't want to copy the FW style Mars flattened pancake as a Lucius angular flattened pancake but rather a midway creation somewhere between the Warhound and Warlord.

Below is what I have come up with given the space allowed under the carapace which is a limiting factor height wise.

http://i.imgur.com/9Prp2Is.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/J9fzmGe.jpg


This design will have a four pane wrap around windscreen which although completely useless as in the Warhound and Walord, the two Moderati sitting much to low to see anything but sky through the glazing it does anthropomorphize the cockpit visage.

Damn, that head looks cool! Kind of reminiscent of megatron. Keep up the fantastic work!

Cab-over Pete With a Reaver On:

To paraphrase the old song 'Convoy'.............

(Ah like both kinds'a music, Country an' Western.)

Remember CB radios; did that fad fade out or what?

I keep looking at this cockpit hence the cab-over reference and find it hard to reconcile how far the mug extended beyond the main body of the Reaver

http://i.imgur.com/Snx79Gc.jpg


Although my front extends only 6-7 MM further than the original Mars Pattern it's just not looking right to me. I'm almost tempted to scrap the Mars head a build a full Lucius cockpit assembly with a shorter neck.

http://i.imgur.com/2nGXhss.jpg


This flash image of the front elevation looks reminiscent of something but I can't quite figure what?

http://i.imgur.com/MhAmf8v.jpg


Once I extend the rear of the hood I shall be better able to determine how to proceed with the rest of the cockpit...........

http://i.imgur.com/4wRm3to.jpg

After a month of doldrums I have again taken up the cudgel trying to turn dross into gold.

Given the limited space, the extended neck, and the toad-like continence of the Mars Reaver Titan I hope I have resolved the dilemma. I need an interim facade between the Warhound and the Warlord for this Obamanation Titan and I think I have resolved the problem.

I'm throwing caution to the wind and copying my Lucius Warlord Helmet with armoured sideburns and bluff brow and see where that leads me; I have to admit I have put more thought into this head than in all the other scratchbuilts I have tackled and still 'come-a-cropper'.

I would hate to have to admit defeat and do a Lucius version of the Mars head.

--
E. Blackadder

Like a Long Necked Goose:

By squaring off the cockpit it appears I have intensified the long neck appearance of the Reaver.

I'm quite satisfied with the faceted layout; once the nose and cheeks are detailed and the standard conduits are installed it should make for an interesting display.

http://i.imgur.com/sWQLdob.jpg


I keep forgetting that the hood seen in these photos is actually the underside of the finished hood which will be approximately 4,0 MM thick.

http://i.imgur.com/8zNKvVS.jpg


It would be really nice to have a few LED's behind those big rectangular lens openings.

http://i.imgur.com/zouqXla.jpg


The nice thing is I have plenty of room above the head to install a higher more interesting brow.

http://i.imgur.com/Cxnly7w.jpg



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Refreshed:

I cannot believe the amount of enthusiasm I have for this project again. It was getting tedious and I just needed a break. Suitably refreshed I managed more today than I was doing in a week a month ago.

So we've reached a point where the cheek conduits need to be installed and because this Titan will be both a Mars and a Lucius the conduits most be removable.

http://i.imgur.com/yLmHNrj.jpg


Enter the rare earth magnets. I have a goodly supply of 3,0 MM / 1/8 inch so both ends of the conduits and receptacles got drilled and press fitted magnets into the undersized holes. All the poles are correct so the conduits are interchangeable.

http://i.imgur.com/XIpYb5c.jpg


The magnet-magnet connection is fairly strong for their tiny size, strong enough to lift the head.

http://i.imgur.com/cQfaak7.jpg


This is one mean looking mo-fo!

http://i.imgur.com/WIiqDfo.jpg


So the moment of true arrives when switching to the Lucius cowl.

http://i.imgur.com/X4lUFcT.jpg


Everything lines up rather well.

http://i.imgur.com/2vlJgxW.jpg


Look like the cowl is being attacked by Shelob

http://i.imgur.com/gNx37A3.jpg

Conduit Collars:

You always have to be on the look out for interesting bits of scrap such as the subject of this post; conduit collars.

It would be pretty tedious to make collars to ring the penetration points where the large electrical conduits enter the housings; in this case the Reaver head jowls. Leaving these plain give an unfinished look to the area besides the more detail the better.

http://i.imgur.com/HyMYDR5.jpg


Fortunately I have had this idea for quite a few years and have mentioned it before but it doesn't hurt to re-introduce it.

http://i.imgur.com/EYrG2lv.jpg


When you cut large holes in styrene using wood hole augers you get these nicely shaped rings that are roundly beveled inside and out but usually get swept away with the refuse. These make dandy collars with a minimum of cleaning and sanding.

http://i.imgur.com/VayG0C3.jpg


The image above shows the clooars glued in place before the final cleaning and I believe they add a nice touch to an ordinarily bland area.

I have used these extensively on most of my models even as just tchotchke decorations.

Looking good on the jowls, "that Titan has chops"
I found another way to make those circles is to use two different sized leather punches. You can get them from eBay, I got mine a year or so ago. The 1" size is always separate from the set of 12, but costs about the same.

The set goes down to I think 1/32" and up to 1/2" or 3/4" can't remember off the top of my head. I think I got all 13 for around $25.00. If nothing else they are stress relievers as you get top hit something hard with a hammer .

Thanks for the tip. I do have some hole cutters around somewhere but rarely used. What I like about these is the raised donut shape. I use the liberally throughout my builds; a couple of dozen on the Warlord alone.

Looking More Like Road Kill Than Reavers:

So today I started the superstructure on the Carapace on both Reavers. I think I have finally come up with a course of action.

http://i.imgur.com/Vlr1Ynp.jpg


First order of business is to increase the depth of the rocket pod well so the pods nestle nicely in the carapace armour.

http://i.imgur.com/EJ059u8.jpg


Really not much to see considering the two hours work I put into these.

It's Friday Again!:

Seems like it was Friday just a week ago.

I guess I'll be waiting a couple of day for a critique on this work judging by past performances.

This has been quite a busy couple of days where I finally got the inspiration to go ahead with the Reaver Carapace. My first impulse was to fair the outrigger rocket pods into the center pod structure as seen on the right of the image below. I got one accomplished; the fairing looked rather good to me; a very business like no nonsense clean installation. Just what you might expect on a Lucius Reaver.

http://i.imgur.com/PCzNpzt.jpg


But somehow it lacked panache and I still had the problem of the 'head' sticking way out in front on that ridiculously long neck that is not changeable, it's part of the basic Mars model.

So after a month of agonizing and a days work I decided to scrap the look on the right and go for a sleeker look with a longer center fairing; the Reaver on the left. This design will extend the carapace a good half inch forward, well over the hood.

http://i.imgur.com/sssZPyz.jpg


So to stimulate some weekend activity on this thread I'm going to let my gentle-readers weigh in with their opinions on how I proceed.

http://i.imgur.com/XQDe73o.jpg

By George He's Got It:

In a rare display of self-congratulation (Really BA?) I am here to say this has come out 'way better than I could have imagined. Everything fell into place this weekend and the Reaver has a hulking Lucius visage.

Not only will the center rocket pod be able to fire whilst undeployed but now there is even a reason for the hood; to protect the cockpit from the rocket exhaust of course.

http://i.imgur.com/YaocG4M.jpg


I'm sorry to be so ebullient but I've agonized over how to proceed with this model for SSSSSooooo LLLLLLoooonnnnngggggg! and now to have everything work so well is, is, well a relief.

Thrusting the carapace forward a few millimeters did wonders with the neck length. The outer skin on the hood and carapace just seems to flow purpose.

http://i.imgur.com/PqxOP4k.jpg


I'm going to just dump the lot of pictures without explanation:

http://i.imgur.com/TW3TWnr.jpg


Just look at this bad boy, even without sculpting and detail he just reeks mean.

Looks a bit like Darth Vader don't he?

http://i.imgur.com/hUxzz1e.jpg


The top view shows the fearful symmetry that the curve center cowl suddenly brought to the table. All the time I wasted trying to come up with a decent fairing between the pods and a simple curved structure pulled it all together.

http://i.imgur.com/FhOoqtt.jpg


In this last shot one can almost see the rear housing skin and rear carapace is going to work as well.

http://i.imgur.com/SNhS7SW.jpg


My apologies for my uncharacteristic ebullience.

Carapace Skinned:

Below is the front quarter and rear quarter view of the two completed carapaces. I still have to design the removable end caps so the rocket arrays can be deployed.

The two unfinished strips on either side of the center pod I may be tying into the void generator housings so they are left undone as well.

http://i.imgur.com/pViiN1B.jpg


Much as in the Warlord and the Thunderhawk the model is made to be disassembled at will so the components interlock with out gluing and the structure is eminently stable and can withstand many assembly and disassembly evolutions.

http://i.imgur.com/gGuJ0JE.jpg


Surprisingly considering the amount of construction amendments the underside of the carapace is symmetrically neat and uniform.

http://i.imgur.com/qiVetDB.jpg


Considering the whole assembly is only a few ounces it is incredibly strong I actually stepped on a rocket pod by accident with no adverse effect.

http://i.imgur.com/iUvZgBB.jpg

Symmetrically neat and uniform? Now we know you could never be a FW designer . They look great and coming along smoothly. You are a true tech priest of warhammer 2k14

Free Form Construction:

I wish I could offer some information on how these Void Generator housings are constructed but it's pretty much guesswork on my part on how they go together and the shaping.

There are just too many angles and contours to adequately measure and your best bet is to rely on your eye than follow measurements.

http://i.imgur.com/C8Kei9I.jpg


After all we are copying FW of whom can be said are industry widely noted for their asymmetry in model making.

http://i.imgur.com/t8LnYok.jpg


All that can be said is I reinforced the bulkhead gussets to lay on the skin sheets and over lapped the sheets where necessary.

Once the housings are completely sheeted I'll sand down the seams and fair in the angles until everything looks relatively symmetrical.

http://i.imgur.com/pjlM4Hp.jpg


There may be a tad of difference between the two models but the front and rear components are still interchangeable where it counts.

Small Return:

So much work with such a small reward.

I was prepared to have my socks knocked off today with this the first trial assembly of one of the Lucius Reavers but Meh! it was pretty anticlimactic.

Not that there is anything wrong, the hull and carapace did not overwhelm the overall size of the Titan and I still have to produce the waist, knee and thigh armour; there is still tonnes of detail still to add and of course the weapons...............

Well judge for yourself:

http://i.imgur.com/ZLjIn5w.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/4n9XbMv.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/60RLwaN.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/wCEO5Dn.jpg


Mebbe it's just me but somehow I wanted more after all this effort.

Stay tuned for the Mars Reaver in a similar state of completion for comparison.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Auto-appendus Interuptus Please.............

Ankle Biter at five o'clock:

I couldn't resist adding the Hierophant to some of the images.......

Well it seems the Mars armour is ho-hum as well. I guess it's just the Reaver concept that's unimpressive.

http://i.imgur.com/wB1yLB9.jpg


I'll try to remedy that with lots of detail once I finish the basic components.

This next image demonstrates there is a crying need for Huge Tyranid Titans. That Hierophant seems hopelessly out classed; even by a Reaver.

http://i.imgur.com/4zcWmk8.jpg


The rear view shows the Mars shoulder carapaces are on a par with my Lucius style contiguous shoulder armour.

http://i.imgur.com/nlrIMRS.jpg

Very impressive, are you going to up ar!mour body too, Opie upper leg seems a weak point at moment.

Rome Wasn't Built In a Day:

The work pictured above was only to show the work done thus far to give an idea of relative proportion mainly of the carapace to the hip and legs. I in fact have/had left off a few pieces of half finished armour that are, at this moment, unattachable.

One thing I flagrantly omitted from the Mars Reaver posed above was the APOC Rocket Pod, that omission rectified now......

http://i.imgur.com/pzAMWYb.jpg


Since all these conversion pieces have to be developed simultaneously it's necessary once in a while to step back and see how every time works together thus far.

I've never seen the fw reaver up close so it still amazes me how big they are. The tyranids in comparrison looks small, but I guess they don't have too many reasons to amass so much biomass to create a Titan. But I think the bug would be more scared if the Titan had a can of "Raid" in its hand than of the rocket launcher .

No Small Feet:

Started on the feet today, a project I've been dreading because of the repetition. I have to make sixteen of these uninspiring structures but once done these complicated phalanges will be the last labor intense components left to do. The rest should be a few armour panels for chest knees and waist and all the glorious detail which I can hardly wait to start..... It's like dessert.

http://i.imgur.com/6TQ95Bu.jpg


Because the greaves are so large compared to the Mars greaves I've decided to make the Lucius toes larger as well. When finished they will just clip onto the existing Mars toes.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I Really Feel Badly: (Truly)

I'm constantly implored to accept commissions to duplicate my work but the nature of the effort being every part handmade and unique I cannot acquiesce. Primarily because no one would be able to afford paying for the amount of time necessary to manufacture one of these projects. Were I to bring these down to a level were they would be reasonably priced I would be working of far less than minimum wage.

So the best I can do is demonstrate my procedures and hope that those sufficiently motivated can reproduce the items for themselves.

Here we have stage two of the Reaver toes, no big deal, just three pieces of plasticard glued to a base.

http://i.imgur.com/vGbvCsA.jpg


After all I managed to recreate My Warlord Luteus Vexant from half a dozen images I found on the internet.

If I can do it, anyone can.............

Sixteen Toes:

Why do I do this? The tedium of repetitious work exhausts me. It seems the more insignificant an item the more there are of them to build, Ha!

anyway I have a good production system going and should be finished with the basic shape on all sixteen toes today.

http://i.imgur.com/QcQtSje.jpg


As you can see the Lucius sleeve fits tightly over the Mars toes and there is a pronounced rivet in just the right place to provide a locking pin for my locking divice so when clipped on there is no danger of the toe cover falling off.

Serendipity you are my goddess.

The Pedicurist:

Sounds Like a movie title about an Itinerant foot fetishist but no just an update on the Reaver feet.

http://i.imgur.com/fUjvNn7.jpg


I went low impact on the treads (no one looks at those anyway.)

http://i.imgur.com/7VmXOOW.jpg


The big concern has been ameliorated the toes are not too bulky for the greaves or legs.

http://i.imgur.com/q4Q004I.jpg


Hmmm, the back of the legs look better than the front...............

Assembling the lower leg brought forth the fact that I needs make the shin guards as well. D-mn!

I had to register here to thank you for the time you put into these posts. I've been following you on another forum (that it would seem you no longer post on) and while I'm not planning on building a Titan anytime soon your posts are always a nice read coupled with some seriously impressive builds.

Keep it up!

Yes, I'm sorry that occasionally I find I must drop forums that display little interest in scratch-building or make it too difficult to post ''CURRENT UPDATES'' such as "Auto Append," (Ahem!) but never for good; if I get email notification of a response I post an update. Your post was most opportune in timing as I was contemplating dropping a few of my regulars where I seem to be wasting my time.

My criteria is usually how fast my threads drops off the first page. Since I update every day or so it's a pretty active forum that can move me to page two. Ha!

Welcome aboard.