The sound of two (power) hands clapping: In which Buttery tries to build a reaver titan.

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**Buttery Commissar**

A while back, I started a job that lasted around 150 hours and over eighteen months to complete. So in the end I decided to use some of the payment on something physical. And so I indulged my long and distant romantic interest in a Reaver Titan.

She is going to be a functional gaming piece with diorama base.

Titan name: Caput Inter Nubila
In more recent years renamed to the Caput Inter Nubila ("Head in the clouds"), this Titan was originally named Vindex Manus. Retired after centuries of punishing warfare, and then restored through several centuries more, by a dedicated band of Tech Priests, the Nubila is part of an Explorator team. They work diligently to reclaim both long-forsaken Imperial worlds, and the immeasurably valuable bounty of long-lost technology they may hold. The presence of a Titan is often all that's required to remind any inhabitants that they are indeed, loyal Imperial citizens. For those with an unfortunate or persistent lapse in memory, it is usually a very short reminder.
How does a Titan earn a second name? Upon finding themselves brought forward less frequently for frontline battle, and spending their years exploring these forgotten worlds, the Nubila’s Princeps and closely bonded machine spirit began to slowly change over time. An otherwise entirely reliable servant of the Emperor, much to the chagrin of her crew and dedicated techpriests, the Nubila has through these years, developed a curious habit of entering long periods of total meditation when left alone. During these times she refuses to respond to any and all issued commands.

The Nubila continues to perplex and mildly frustrate her crew, but as she is yet to perform any less than ferociously in battle itself, they have deemed ironing out her eccentricities more problematic than allowing them to develop. Bewildering them further however, are the occasional alerts from the sensor arrays during those periods of rest, which indicate her more than casual interest in tracking local wildlife.

The Explorators, determined that there must be a discernible meaning behind these readings, have tasked their novice engineseers with logging her discoveries. Unwittingly creating the Imperium's first and only field guide of Terran species long thought extinct.

To describe the scene: She will be standing amongst trees, with one foot resting upon a long abandoned Chimera. The ground will be full of banks and burrows, and along with the chimera and trees, will be home to many tiny creatures and wildlife.

One one side, her arm will be raised to "eye" level, and resting on an outstretched finger will be a kroothawk, it's wings fanned out like a butterfly to catch the sun.
If you were to pop the hatch, you'd see the crew are all watching (in mild frustration, perhaps) through the view screen as she indulges this curiosity.
The base will be custom cut acrylic, and layered in slices, so that at one end, a printed field guide to the critters living in her base can be slid out.

Because I've never done this before, this is part blog, part SOS topic, hence it being in P&M proper.

So let's start.

Part one was making sure I understood what everything was. As Forgeworld give you bag after bag of mixed parts, I laid it all out end to end, swore a lot, and eventually mapped out her body.

The legs are definitely going to be the hardest part.

Detail sheets, both cool and horrifying to contemplate.

And no titan is complete without weapons, so lets map one hand out.

And the other.

Part two was bagging that all away into halves, which was pretty satisfying.

Next up: base building.

**OgreChubbs**

With all my heart I wish you good luck. The hardest part is trying to take your time when such a big toy gets there and you want to do nothing more then tear it open and put it together. lol

I see you got it from Forge world not ebay nice.

**Nevelon**

Should be a lot of fun. Or frustration. Or both!

Good luck!

**Guildenstern**

so beautiful

you're not the only one with a longdistance relationship here

so cool to see it coming to fruition for you!

Wishing you best of luck!! <crosses fingers> it'll be AWESOMESAUCE!!!

**Buttery Commissar**

Thanks guys. I'm going to photograph and label all the parts as I go along because the FW instructions are terrible.
While people may not agree with how I assemble or use her, the build I hope will be useful.

I was all Jack Skellington trying to get that spread done.
"What's this? What's this? What the everloving feth is that?"

**goblinzz**

Suuuubed!

**Ustrello**

Ha I love the title, very zen like of you.

**Red__Thirst**

I have but one thing to say:

In all seriousness I'll be following this along in earnest. Good luck, and as others have said: Take your time, enjoy the process, and don't rush through any part of it. It'll be all the more satisfying when you reach each milestone as you move toward completion.

Take it easy.

-Red__Thirst-

**Gordon Shumway**

Good luck to you. I'm following for sure.

**KINGPIN54**

Whoop whoop, good luck bc!

**JamesY**

Congrats on getting it and I hope you have fun building her!

**Buttery Commissar**

My only rush will be trying to get the base size worked out by Thursday. If I don't, I won't get to do it for possibly a few weeks, as I'll be using scrap material from work.

**bubber**

Make sure you don't snip off the pistons rams like I did....

**ZergSmasher**

As Larry the Cable Guy would say, "Git 'er done!"

Looking forward to seeing this take shape! Even if I could afford a Titan I'd have no place to put it and I would hardly, if ever, get to use it in games. So I just envy everyone else's.

**angelofvengeance**

bubber wrote:
Make sure you don't snip off the pistons rams like I did....

Sounds like you had fun with yours lol.

**ssisal**

I too wish you luck and am following your construction as well as your attempt to create a working sdc of how to assemble this reaver titan.

**Buttery Commissar**

bubber wrote:
Make sure you don't snip off the pistons rams like I did....

I feel your pain. Snipped the supporting spokes off a Doomwheel to remove the central rat, and then realised that means no axel. That was a fun reconstruction.

This doesn't scare me as much as leave me frustrated as I haven't got a drill, magnets or brass around yet. This weekend is gonna be like a steampunk scavenger hunt.

**Midget Gems**

Good luck BC, looks like proper construction to me, I approve

**Zach**

I've oft' thought of doing one of these, this has helped me to decide not to.

Are the instructions really that terrible?

**Buttery Commissar**

Iechine wrote:
I've oft' thought of doing one of these, this has helped me to decide not to.

Are the instructions really that terrible?

They're basically a B&W photograph of the parts for a section (already clipped so it's not intensely helpful) and then a picture of that part fully assembled.
It's not the worst I've had. But it's certainly not actual instructions either.

**Zach**

Ah I feel you, I just got a FW Vulture commission and the instructions are just two pages of a basically assembled model with arrows labeling the parts, sort of. If its anything like that, then WTF.

**methebest**

Iechine wrote:
Ah I feel you, I just got a FW Vulture commission and the instructions are just two pages of a basically assembled model with arrows labeling the parts, sort of. If its anything like that, then WTF.

My hell blade instructions are the same.

**Zach**

I get that they fixed their new stuff (A Ta'unar instruction book is a novel with color coordinated instructions and tips, its beautiful) but they should really go back and fix the stock they are still selling, especially something as huge (and expensive) as this.

**Buttery Commissar**

It's pretty much that. The worst I've ever seen is the Tauros jeep.
"Here is a Tauros:"
"Here is an upside down Tauros:"

I still have parts for that which I am unsure where they go.

**Monk1junk1**

Buttery Commissar wrote:
It's pretty much that. The worst I've ever seen is the Tauros jeep.
"Here is a Tauros:"
"Here is an upside down Tauros:"

I still have parts for that which I am unsure where they go.

Damn, don't tell me that haha, I've got one in the mail!

Good luck, I'll be following this.

**SickSix**

Good luck man. I still hold out hope to one day own one of those.

**AndrewGPaul**

Buttery Commissar wrote:It's pretty much that. The worst I've ever seen is the Tauros jeep.
"Here is a Tauros:"
"Here is an upside down Tauros:"

I still have parts for that which I am unsure where they go.

If you really want to know, let me know which bits and I'll try to get a decent photo of mine. I assembled three and didn't have any bits left over.

Iechine wrote:I get that they fixed their new stuff (A Ta'unar instruction book is a novel with color coordinated instructions and tips, its beautiful) but they should really go back and fix the stock they are still selling, especially something as huge (and expensive) as this.

That's because the new stuff is all sculpted on a computer - the instructions are created using the same 3D image files (same with the instructions for all GW's kits nowadays). They can't really go back and replicate that with the physically-ssculpted models, unfortunately.

**Buttery Commissar**

They could however photograph things from more than one angle, or in fact give pictures more than 2" across to demonstrate what part you're looking at...

Anyway, the hard part isn't the build, it's the prep, I reckon!

**DalinCriid**

I'm gonna follow this thread closely, cause:

**Jadenim**

Go Buttery, go!

I don't know why you're all complaining about the old FW instructions, that's half the fun! It really encourages imaginative modelling solutions and sculpting skills, particularly when you realise that a bunch of what you thought were vents and sprue are actually critical details...

It's even better when they have instruction sheets that appear to have been through the photocopier 1,000 times; fuzzy pictures at a wonky angle are the best(!). *looking at you XV9*