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I am starting an Emperor Battle Titan because I am insane and really am in need of some help. I have done some smaller scratches and conversions, but nothing the size of a large child before.

Structurally, I am fine. I am building a skeleton of PVC pipe with welded joints and detachable at the arms and waist. I will have pics up when it is interesting to look at. Where I need help is making it look like something from the 40k universe.

The general feel and color scheme I want it to have is red, white, and blue to match my armies, specifically my SM(pics attached). Not sure if I am going to go with the cathedral top or something a bit more practical, input there will be greatly appreciated.

Ok, so the main point I need help with are what to make the shell/armor out of. The skeleton is solid, just I don't know how to make it look good. I am thinking about making it out of cardboard reinforced with resin but am not sure how that will look once painted. All suggestions will be appreciated


Thanks,

-cgmckenzie

plasticard is a modellers version of crack.

Go plasticard.

I looked in stores for plasticard and the only ones I could find are really small, like good for modeling tanks at the biggest.

The titan is going to be about 1.5 meters tall. Thats going to be alot of tiny bits of plasticard.

-cgmckenzie

ah.

In other threads i've seen people recommending 'for sale' signs in the States. maybe use them, as it just a big bit of plasticard

Matrim wrote:ah.

In other threads i've seen people recommending 'for sale' signs in the States. maybe use them, as it just a big bit of plasticard

Yessireee, all of those sorts of signs, which you can find at Wal-Mart/Rite Aid/CVS/Hardware stores are generally made from the same material as plasticard. "Beware of Dog" or "For Sale" or similar iterations. Just face the lettered side in on your project, as the decal/paint that they use to apply the words to the sign will be just slightly raised. Not too noticeable until you paint it and can see the raised areas.

For a titan sized project, I'd worry about whether plasticard is up to the job alone. I've heard of some guys using plasticard to build the exterior structure around the skeleton, then using expanding spray foam inside to fill it up. Obviously you'll want to look into this more before attempting it.

Outside of those, you might also be able to use balsa wood or insulating foam (hard pink variety) to sculpt/make. But honestly, if you want to do this RIGHT, you'll probably need to use something sturdier like resin, which is a ton of work, and will cost a fortune.

Check out this guys thread for inspiration, and remember, he's building a SMALLER titan then you're talking about

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/205219.page

I was thinking about the insulation styrofoam, but all my experiences in painting it makes them melt. I think its the propellant for the spray paints that does it in.

Thematically, I am going for a Captain America look(my chapter master is steve rogers). I am going to use an old satellite dish painted as Cap's shield as the back or maybe even on an arm. I'll burn that bridge when I get there...

-cgmckenzie

cgmckenzie wrote:I was thinking about the insulation styrofoam, but all my experiences in painting it makes them melt. I think its the propellant for the spray paints that does it in.

Thematically, I am going for a Captain America look(my chapter master is steve rogers). I am going to use an old satellite dish painted as Cap's shield as the back or maybe even on an arm. I'll burn that bridge when I get there...

-cgmckenzie

Spray paint will make it melt if it contacts it.

The trick is (and someone had to tell me this too) is to water down some PVA glue (elmers glue is the exact same thing) and paint it with that, with a nice big brush (think house painting brush, not a roller of course, rather than a large modelling brush which would take forever). Then do a 2nd coat to be safe. You've now effectively "sealed" the foam, and can spray paint to your hearts content!

targetawg wrote:
Spray paint will make it melt if it contacts it.

The trick is (and someone had to tell me this too) is to water down some PVA glue (elmers glue is the exact same thing) and paint it with that, with a nice big brush (think house painting brush, not a roller of course, rather than a large modelling brush which would take forever). Then do a 2nd coat to be safe. You've now effectively "sealed" the foam, and can spray paint to your hearts content!

Do you know the ratio to water down the glue? This seems like the most easily workable idea by far, thanks!

-cgmckenzie

One thing I did way back when was look up plastic manufacturers in the phone book.

I was able to find a few in my city, and one of those was willing to sell to me
If this is something you can do, ask for sheet styrene. I got a 4'X 8' (yes, 4 feet by 8 feet) sheet and various scraps for about $30
They usually have various thicknesses available.

cgmckenzie wrote:

targetawg wrote:
Spray paint will make it melt if it contacts it.

The trick is (and someone had to tell me this too) is to water down some PVA glue (elmers glue is the exact same thing) and paint it with that, with a nice big brush (think house painting brush, not a roller of course, rather than a large modelling brush which would take forever). Then do a 2nd coat to be safe. You've now effectively "sealed" the foam, and can spray paint to your hearts content!

Do you know the ratio to water down the glue? This seems like the most easily workable idea by far, thanks!

-cgmckenzie

I think I usually did ~50/50, but honestly it's more of a feel thing, and there's really no way to go "wrong". You just want it thin enough to make it a bit easier to paint on, but not so thin that it wont give you glue coverage. I've definitely painted on pure elmers before as well mind you, so this is a fairly fool proof method

A good source of sheet styrene is the Home depot. The covers for florescent lights are styrene. Get the frosted ones, not the cracked ones, and you should be good to go.

That said, I'd build a skeleton out of PVC first, then build off that.

this may have been mentioned already, but go to the plasticards suppliers who send their stuff to hobby-shops. you should be able to get poster-sized sheets intact

Matrim wrote:plasticard is a modellers version of crack.

Go plasticard.

Warning, do not attempt to smoke plasticard

With no previous experience plasticard and such can be difficult to use well, but to bend it I would recomend putting it in boiling water (please wear gloves!) then after a few seconds take it out, and bend it against a flat cornered surface.

These guys also do good stuff

http://www.raboesch.com/

Their 5 mil pvc foam is very very strong and not actually foam per se. It's more like mdf but a plasticard version of it. I use it to make bases for large monsters and I'm using in a building project to add a landing pad to the top of a fortress of redemption. and using columns of it for structural support. it's not like the kinda stuff that's thick but breaks when you look at it. It's very solid.



http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/raboesch-605.html

is where I buy it. good price, good shop. PVC Foam Sheet is strong stuff.

in action shot:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26990385@N06/3022940561/in/set-72157625689912842/

this was done before the new stegadon came out.

Don't forget about Garage Sale Signs. You can get them cheap at Wal-Mart and they are made out of the same material as plasitcard sheets. Some are thicker than others too.

Wow, I am really surprised at the number of responses this is getting.

Anywho, I am almost done with assembly of the frame, pics will be up tomorrow or Wednesday(when ever I get my camera working again). I decided to not weld the shoulders and instead have thumb screws drilled through the pipe and coupling to make it detachable.

For added stability, I am considering attaching metal weights to the feet and giving it a staff as a close combat weapon, effectively turning it into a tripod. I figure if stompas have lifta droppas, I can give it to my battle titan.

I think that the styrofoam for the "meat" of the titan will be easiest to work with. Maybe I will attach plasticard to the outside of that for painting/rigidity.

-cgmckenzie