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Good thinking, Yak. I think the little shark-bot is kind of cute.

Sounds like a plan Yak!! I will come up with something suitable for what you describe and then do the infantry. I won't have time for games before the Xmas break, so I am building towards getting a playable army by then and then APOC ready force for summer.

Little bit overwhelmed with RL at the minute, but updates will come in a week or so!

#1 Never realized that the TWAR heads are the walker feet!
#2 Good luck with everything Migs, look forward to seeing Assaulty done sometime soonish
#3 And a trygon too?? Yowza
#4 The big spore is a bit cooler than I thought! And even cheaper!

- Salvage

Oh, I didn't notice that you got the stats wrong on the Mycetic Boss Salvage.

Until you get your IA4 book here's some rough stats for you Migs:


Its 35 points a piece and you can take 1-3 as a single FA choice.

It always Deep Stirkes (regardless of whether the mission uses DS) is S5, AP3, large marker and causes an extra D6 penetration (2D6+5 total) against vehicles. It drifts and explodes pretty much like a regular spore mine although the big difference is that they can set themselves off in their shooting phase instead of requiring a Synapse creature to detonate them.

Once they explode D6-1 Bio-Acid mines are left behind in a single cluster.


In short, they are the bomb (pun intended). Especially since with AP3 they can wipe out an entire unit of MEQs if they're all clumped together.

Mig, this is a very nice concept, I've been watching it for a while and it looks *SCHWEEEEEEEEEET* Love your work!

Thanks for the info and kind words gents!!

Small update to show were it's going after half an hour I had to spare - so very WIP. The "balls" are spore mines and will get lots of detail poking out and then independent versions on 25mm bases.

I think the cables animate the pose quite nicely and tie it in well to the Tyranid equivalent...as usual painting scheme will play a key part in establishing the volumes and areas of attention in the quite busy model.

( On the base you see some of Vallejo's sandy paste I've been using all over the TWAR bases and advertising to Scarab. )

THIS I like!

It reminds me of the matrix drones (in a good way) and I absolutely love the idea that those individual ball/cables "become" their own seperate little mines.

I have no suggestions because I think this design is pretty much perfect.

This one will be one of my favorites.  I can already tell. 

I got the same 'Oh Cool!' that I got when seeing the WIP of brainstorm ^_^. 

I can't wait to see this one and the mines finished up.

Hello everyone.
This is my my first post ever on this board,
I have been lurking around for some time but I have to say that this thread really got me through the inconvenience of signing up.
I have to agree with most of the previous posters that I'm quite amazed of nthis whole idea. When I first read the idea behind this TWAR thing my first impressions were 'of course' how brilliant' and why didn't I think anything like that myself.
The brilliance of doing mechs with the rules of tyranids is beyond normal understanding. The idea is so good that it really hurts when you think that why didn't you think anything like that yourself.

OK, enough with the praises. My only complaint have to go to the lictor. Paintjob is superb but as somepeople else have already pointed out the general feeling of the miniature is too passive, to meet my imagination of highly developed stealth unit.
I guess seeing this mini in real life might change my views tough.


I'm really looking forward of seeing this army in action. Maybe in the Helsinki Fanatic next year? I do hope so...

Hey Jirga! Thanks for the positive feedback and I am really happy to see new posters join Dakka - to me that's the best possible reward for sharing my projects here. I am hoping to have the Army ready for action by the fanatic - but failing that Ropecon for sure. Welcome to Dakka!

Here's the AI bomb with a lick of paint.

Varnish finished a tad dusty, must've been too chilly outside and I think I added one spray from too far, but it juts resulted for a matter finish, didn't ruin it as sometimes with the old GW Matte. I'll even it with Testors anyway as with the others.

I had fun building/painting this. It was a very hmmm...I like this part, what should I make out of it kind of a start, but then evolved towards building something pre-defined. I will do the small bombs on individual bases and possibly another set later.

I am simply amazed how you find parts to make those counterparts.

And I was right.  This one is another favorite! ^_^

You've pulled all of the detail pieces together perfectly with the paint.  The 'eye' draws you in, and the rest of the colors keep you involved.  your bases are just awesome throughout this entire project. 

Quite sweet Migs, nice work again. Best use of that defiler flail yet. It's on a 40mm base, right?

- Salvage

Fantastic. Perfect.

If you ever don't want that model for some reason let me know cause I'll buy it.

Thanks guys,

Yess Boss, 40mm!


ps. How nice, someone systematically voted this blog that has had five stars through it's entire life down so it only has 3 now...over night. It would be great to see who felt the urge to so make my day.

I was talking to Malika at Warseer and thought I should mention a "spin off "plan I have here too.

I am also doing one human sized TWAR (so not artificial intelligense unit, but a livingmech) based on Necron Pariah, but with human "disguise". Think TWAR Bourne. He will be leading a group of mercenaries: Kroot and no-good humies with some very advanced equipment and cybernetics, but ragtag, clandestine feel.

These will be  TWAR pathfinders in away... a future GD entry or for Necromunda, with a secondary goal of tying the TWAR even more to 40k gothic.

Since I didnt know what to say to those artful creations of yours i kept quiet but i simpy have to say sumthin to that ps part. how dare anyone to vote this thread down to 3 stars. it can only be jealousy.

So now that Im at it already:

Im simply stunned when i see you work. Great colors and awesome conversions.
I didnt enjoy the Lictor that much due to the static pose, but this thing is incredible.

Ill keep watchin this thread on a regular basis!!

Sexellent. Really great, Migs. Design, pose, and color all really come together on this one.

These are pretty nice I gotta say. I really like the color scheme. I really hate Gundam, so I'm a bit biased towards anything spawned from it. I would say that they look more like "machine-tools" than like machine-organisms, if I'm to bring out some form of critique. You claim them to be mechanical creatures, rather than mechanical tools used by other creatures, which I think they fail to reflect. I'm not saying it
would be easy to portray their mechanical-organic nature, I'm just saying it's not working for me. They look like standard mechs to me, "chopped up" certainly, but not very organic. Of course we can devolve the
whole issue into what is organic and and all that. But the army works in terms of appearance, and it works well. I would have hoped for some pretty different solutions from you in regards to the fluff,
since this to me looks more like machines to be controlled than ones that work autonomously. Anyway, I cannot really see any army even managing to come close to the same jaw-drop effect as this one in a tournament
unless the onlooker hates mechs.

Cheers

I claim they are a machine race - but they are not "born" as they are now. In away they are tools, just like your hands are tools for you as a designer. There's a living, sentinent being inside the Systems , but that thing builds itself for the purpose or path in life it has chosen. (while the bomb is an AI machine, so is the zoanthrope I've decided, so soulless equipment)

The point about semantics of controlling/being controlled is valid and something I shall take into consideration more critically.

Thanks for the comments mate! Good to see you at Dakka.

I just ordered some Apocalyptic reinforcements.

Amongst them a 1/100 "Serpent Custom"!!! (my first arsenal system is based on 1/144 "Serpent Custom" This new one will be a Barbed Hierodule I think - as I want the Hierophant to have 4 legs. I need to get the sizes "roughly" right to their tyranid equivalents - the basing being most important. Is the FW big round base 100mm in diameter??

FW was late with my order for the IA 4 so it'll be another week before I am finally united with the book. Bummer...

One of the good sides with this project is the budget. 3 new Gundam kits set me back a "whopping" 45euros (compare it to 100ish euros for a single Baneblade)! The huge Gundam boom that rapidly died out in the states is to thank I think? So with the GW bitz being leftovers from years of the hobby and parts kindly donated by friends, this is by far the cheapest (and IMO coolest) of my armies.

You know, when I first looked at this, I wasn't feeling it. I like more clockwork/steam punk looks to my robots, or at least a gritty, gothic feel. I of course recognized the immense skill going into it, and was duly impressed, but I just wasn't feeling it.

The spore mine thing did it for me. A great look which was suitably alien to a human that it was believably some "other". Plus it has metal tentacles. I dig metal tentacles. I think that is what was bothering me before, keeping me from really connecting. Not the lack of metal tentacles, but that the machines looked so human, so familier. I kept thinking of "Were I to build a robot fighting suit that I would feel comfortable piloting as though it were my own skin, it would look like that." Not in such clear terms mind you, but that general idea. The lictor had sort of a clunky, iron giant meets a dalek feel which helped, but I think the models holding to a humanoid shape is the stopping point from keeping it really cool. I keep thinking there are lots of shapes better evolved for fighting than us.

Still, the mine is awesome, and even though this project isn't my thing, it is still a lovely thing to behold, and glorious to follow. Thank you for posting it.

Wehrkind, thanks for the thorough commentary. Nothing in the world is obviously everyone's cup of tea, but I remain excited with the project and am very happy to see it is somehow inspiring to so many different people.

SO getting back to London has been hectic to say the least, but finally I have all the parts I need to try a prototype of the infantry - so expect pics by sunday. I intendt to pay extra attention to basing and poses, but otherwise keep the design quite simple and based on the Necron Warrior limbs. New additions combined with the painting and a much slimmer torso/overall design should really distance it from Necron Warriors.

I also got a copy of the Apocalypse book today So lots of brainstorming for the big things going on in my head this weekend.

Long time Lurker first time poster on this thread. I just want to say that I really like what you're doing Migsula, all of the models so far have alot of unique character. I look forward to seeing the infantry.

Thanks and Welcome to Dakka! Be sure to post some of your own models too

Here’s the first prototype for the infantry. A 6pt Gaunt + fleshborer equivalent.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]-->

AI infantry prototype notes:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->-         <!--[endif]-->twar visual template

<!--[if !supportLists]-->-         <!--[endif]-->the look of existing AI constructs, brainstorm and the mine thing

<!--[if !supportLists]-->-         <!--[endif]-->Gaunt stat line

<!--[if !supportLists]-->-         <!--[endif]-->unlike the twar themselves, I need to make dozens of these, so lots of parts and time considerations.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->-         <!--[endif]-->A design that would allow many variations (I don’t want to make two units that look the same)

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]-->

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]-->

I also wanted it to look “cheap” and quick to fix and put together by other AI automations. I want a range of poses, but ones that look like a horde of automated things, so not a “leader type” or someone pointing for example.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]-->

As usual the paint job will play a crucial role in tying the thing together and I have a scheme in mind where only the torso and cap has light grey and the rest of the armour plates are dark grey, and all the joints etc. metal. A few very basic markings too of course.






Comments very welcome.

Now THAT i like.
Specially the upper body which looks quite sturdy and similar to the gundam bodies. Unlike the arms and legs of course, since on a gundam everything is thick. Pose and weapon look great as well.
The whole fig looks like a quite high-tech which ties in well with your "big" figs.

The paintjob will be interesting and important to tie it in with the rest of your army.

I like the overall head shape and the non-humaness and the fact that it ties in to Mr. Bomb. I think the integration of the head parts could be tighter, but paint will help. The gun is a little too big and not high tech looking enough. Maybe at least add a wire cable or two? Like the 'nids, I can see the weapons having some degree of integration with the bearer. Torso and joints look good.