Just got a new Mars Reaver Titan as a late birthday present. I'm going to post progress on the project reguraly on the site.
Reaver Titan 491: Progress: Incomplete
Day 1: 25/11/09
Just got the Titan in the post (very speedy delivery) and had a look at the parts. The amount of parts is staggering, with probably over 100 parts in the legs alone. I've started washing the leg parts and had a look at the overall quality of the casts. After building a Warhound I expected high quality but it was even higher than I expected. The large leg plates will allow for a large special design, which I have still to decide.
I will soon start work on the feet and work upwards. This post will be updated as soon as possible with new completed parts of the project.
All the parts involved in the legs. I had a small clamity after dropping a piston down the sinkhole while washing the pieces! I got it back though
Have to go now: got to go to a D of E meeting. I'll update the project as often as possible.
Feel free to post comments and suggestions for colour schemes and weapon loadout.
Started cleaning and tidying up the parts of the lower legs. Not too much work, the odd piece of extra scrap resin here and there, nothing too serious.
The first thing to do was attach the thigh sections together. This was quite akward as there was some warping on the massive pistons, although a small going-over with the hairdryer soon sorted that out. The large surface area provides a sturdy join which I hope will hold without any pins. If it dosen't hold then some pins will defintly be needed.
In the picture above you can also see the lower leg armour plates. These are very simple to make: a small piston casing fixed onto the rear of the armour.
The next step was the massive lower leg armour plates. Some of these had severe warping which I managed to sort out relatvely easy. The small attachments were very fiddly to attach, as they had to be lined up with the huge chunks of resin that make up the shin area.
S.j: All imperial titans no longer come with weapons.
by that i mean no arms and no carapace weapons.
All have to be brought on thier own now.
Making titans alot more expensive to get.
Whatever weapons you choose, magnetize the arms and void shields. I did that with mine and I'm starting to eye different weapon loadouts now...plus it makes it easy to keep track of your shield status by removing them. My construction link;
AgeOfEgos wrote:Whatever weapons you choose, magnetize the arms and void shields. I did that with mine and I'm starting to eye different weapon loadouts now...plus it makes it easy to keep track of your shield status by removing them. My construction link;
Yeah, I plan on doing that on my chaos reaver. I had to especially after seeing how awesome (even though somewhat useless) the power fist looked. Only thing I may do differently is also magnetize the cables that connect between the body and weapon arms.
Question for you about your Reaver, did you really pin everything?
Just finished the right leg. I'm surprised at how simple the construction is: much simpler than the Warhound. I've added the lower small armour plates but I still have the toes to add.
As you can see, the leg dwarfs not only the Dark Angels...
...but even the Warhound! Infernus is going to feel much smaller now!
Tomorrow I'm heading to GW Brighton for the day. I hope to paint up the cockpit while I'm there so I'll post pics asap. For those who say I'm making a mistake painting bits first, I love the detail inside and it'll be too akward building it in the shop with swarms of kids about.
For the weapon loadout, I'm thinking of the Apoc Launcher, The Laser-Blaster and maybe the Melta-Cannon or Gatling Blaster. I also want to have a Power-Fist because they look so awesome.
Just finished the right leg. I'm surprised at how simple the construction is: much simpler than the Warhound. I've added the lower small armour plates but I still have the toes to add.
How much of a pain is the Warhound to assemble? I was thinking of getting one, and I expect it to be hard but I wanted to know from someone who has one already.
Good luck on the Reaver, should be awesome when it's done.
Just finished the right leg. I'm surprised at how simple the construction is: much simpler than the Warhound. I've added the lower small armour plates but I still have the toes to add.
As you can see, the leg dwarfs not only the Dark Angels...
...but even the Warhound! Infernus is going to feel much smaller now!
Tomorrow I'm heading to GW Brighton for the day. I hope to paint up the cockpit while I'm there so I'll post pics asap. For those who say I'm making a mistake painting bits first, I love the detail inside and it'll be too akward building it in the shop with swarms of kids about.
For the weapon loadout, I'm thinking of the Apoc Launcher, The Laser-Blaster and maybe the Melta-Cannon or Gatling Blaster. I also want to have a Power-Fist because they look so awesome.
Valkyrie
Looking good man. I'd have to agree with you, its easier to paint all the internals first, before gluing, otherwise it'll be a pain angling the brush later.
That's pretty exactly what I bought for my Reaver, I was gonna convery a volcano cannon, but I really like the 10 inch blast radius of the melta cannon.
r3n3g8b0y wrote:that looks pretty mad i dont know about the legs though...looks like their missing detail so you might need some aquilas or something...
Thanks. The legs aren't completly finished yet: there are two massive armour plates that fit aroungd that shin as well as a very detailed knee-cap which will provide a lot of detail.
Neith wrote:How much of a pain is the Warhound to assemble? I was thinking of getting one, and I expect it to be hard but I wanted to know from someone who has one already
If you take your time, the Warhound can be pretty easy. I would say the hardest bit is getting the pose right on the legs (it helps if you have three arms). But like I said, take your time don't rush it and it should be ok.
Valkyrie wrote:
If you take your time, the Warhound can be pretty easy. I would say the hardest bit is getting the pose right on the legs (it helps if you have three arms). But like I said, take your time don't rush it and it should be ok.
Yeah, I thought the legs might be an issue. I've never built a model the scale of the Warhound before, so the whole thing is pretty intimidating. Thanks for letting me know anyway, now I just need to decide whether to throw down the money for one.
Just finished the other leg. I have undercoated and metal-ed the first leg and tested the colour scheme on an armour plate on the same leg. I have designed the other leg to look as if it is in mid-step. The legs haven't been attached to the pelvis yet as I'm going to paint them first before I go any further.
In response to my previous post, I have started painting the cockpit but I haven't done as much as I intended as I got side-tracked by my Dark Angels. I will post pictures of the cockpit and Princeps as soon as they are good enough.
I'm in no place to offer advice and I'm sure you've thought about this but...
although the midstep pose looks very cool and with enough pinning might be stable be careful it doesn't over balance. Those Reaver models look very front heavy and with that much £££ worth of resin I wouldn't like to see it get faceplanted on the battlefield cos the balance isn't stable.
I agree with s.j.mccartney, you might want to put the right foot on a rock or some crushed tank, that would be impressive and your titan would be less likely to fall on its face.
And pinning saves lives.
I can't believe you're progressing this fast with the Reaver, keep feeding us some awesomeness
AgeOfEgos wrote:Whatever weapons you choose, magnetize the arms and void shields. I did that with mine and I'm starting to eye different weapon loadouts now...plus it makes it easy to keep track of your shield status by removing them. My construction link;
Yeah, I plan on doing that on my chaos reaver. I had to especially after seeing how awesome (even though somewhat useless) the power fist looked. Only thing I may do differently is also magnetize the cables that connect between the body and weapon arms.
Question for you about your Reaver, did you really pin everything?
Yeah, I've left those cables off the arms so far...with the intention of magnetizing them...but honestly I'm not really interested in attaching them now. With my magnets on the arm joins, I can swivel the guns and change his pose, if I were to attach the cables I couldn't do it. I might try to find some pliable wire cover cable that will magnetize (and then bend when I change posing). Don't know yet.
Yes, I pinned everything. One of my gaming buddies got me on the pinning kick, now I find myself pinning plastic bolters to space marines =).
InyokaMadoda wrote:I know it. I'm from Brighton myself.
biggin' it up for brighton! can't believe i missed seeing you there on saturday, i popped in there that morning and ended up helping the manager with his board, went home sick about an hour later(by sick i mean feeling sick and feeling tired) turned out i had flu, been at home all week because of it.
s.j.mccartney wrote:Yo, any progress?? I know its a beast to assemble, but you had good momentum going there for a while...
Day 9: 3/12/09
Sorry for the lack of updates: depressions been hitting and I haven't been able to concentrate on anything recently. I've started the colour scheme on the leg armour, although a lack of resources stalled the project further. The right leg is finished apart from the large armour plates and the kneecap. The left leg has been metal-ed and brass-ed.
Unluckily, I was about to start the other leg, when disaster happens: the draft from a closing door causes the pinboard on my wall to fall, knocking Infernus off the shelf and causing it to shatter.
Scene of devestation.
The finished leg
+1 point for the first person to spot Marbo
Hope to finish the leg armour soon. There's some serious warping on the curves of the panels to that will need to be fixed.
I've never played against a titan in a battle, so I have no idea what the effectiveness of the weapons are. But I'm sure you do after the experience you have from your warhound.
Stupid question I'm sure, but are the weapons interchangeable between the titans? eg. could you stick the plasma blastgun from your warhound onto your Reavers arm? Or are the Reaver weapons much bigger?
s.j.mccartney wrote:I've never played against a titan in a battle, so I have no idea what the effectiveness of the weapons are. But I'm sure you do after the experience you have from your warhound.
Stupid question I'm sure, but are the weapons interchangeable between the titans? eg. could you stick the plasma blastgun from your warhound onto your Reavers arm? Or are the Reaver weapons much bigger?
The weapons for the Reaver arms are only allowed to be larger ones such as Melta Cannons and Gatling Blasters. Warhound weapons such as Plasma Blastguns can be mounted, but only as a Carapace weapon- not Arms. That's what it says in Imperial Armour 6 anyway.
s.j.mccartney wrote:I've never played against a titan in a battle, so I have no idea what the effectiveness of the weapons are. But I'm sure you do after the experience you have from your warhound.
Stupid question I'm sure, but are the weapons interchangeable between the titans? eg. could you stick the plasma blastgun from your warhound onto your Reavers arm? Or are the Reaver weapons much bigger?
The weapons for the Reaver arms are only allowed to be larger ones such as Melta Cannons and Gatling Blasters. Warhound weapons such as Plasma Blastguns can be mounted, but only as a Carapace weapon- not Arms. That's what it says in Imperial Armour 6 anyway.
Sorry for the lack of updates, like I said depressions been hitting and to add to it, I've been ill over the past few days.
Ok, almost finished the legs, they are both fully constructed apart from one knee-cap which I'm going to paint before I attach it. I also have some ideas for decorating the other plain knee-cap.
So far, the build has been relatively easy...until this: the inner left leg plate. This part has been anathema to me as no matter what I did to it, it would just not fit properly. Eventually I gave up on using a hairdryer to shape the piece and moved onto a hot-air gun. This was too much as the heat melted through the part which joins it onto the leg. In desperation, I ripped the melted bits off and pinned the armour on using a needle as the pin. This was very effective as the piece fits almost perfectly and the pin will not be visible as it will be hidden from view by the aforementioned knee-cap.
Botched Knee Surgery
I have also painted the cockpit. Although it isn't finished the Princeps and Moderatii have been painted to what I think is a good standard. DISCLAIMER The picture may not do the model justice.
Again sorry for the slow progress, but hopefully the legs may be finished by the end of the week.
Valk.
P.S. I have thrown out the pinboard which destoyed Infernus last week.
Great job so far on your Reaver. I have one sitting in a bag and haven't worked up the time and courage to really attempt it. I have built a warhound so I was quite interested in the fact you said the Reaver legs were easier. How are you planning to magentize the arms? I hadn't thought of that, and I think it's a wonderful idea. Lastly, go with D strength weapons. Everything else can still grant a cover save.
Great update, it was worth the wait!! Have a read of the 'taking pictures' articles, they're really helpful with that sort of focus/lighting/background stuff.
Sarge-I'll make your Reaver for you!! Only thing is I might not give it back....
Good repair on the knee Valk, looking forward to more!
Owain wrote:Great save on the knee; those Titans sure look tricky to assemble. Have you considered magnetizing weapons?
Yes I have, although this will be my first time using magnets. I'm going to magnetize them to allow interchangeable weapons and to ease transportation.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Day 17: 11/12/09
Another day off school has given me plenty of time to work on the Reaver.
Almost finished the legs: the only thing left to do is the detailing on the plain knee-cap. I have painted the detailed knee-cap, although I originally thought something was missing in the form of detail. To fix this, I decided to paint different characters of the Greek Alphabet on each tooth of the large gear on the knee. This was relatively easy as I'm pretty good at painting freehand words (not boasting). Once I have a name for the beast I'll add that to the large scroll on the knee.
The knee-cap.
I've just noticed a little bit of yuk on the kneecap which I'll tidy up later.
The legs are so close to completion I can almost taste it. The only thing to do is add detail to the other kneecap and go over some of the gold trim again.
Once I can get the camera sorted out, I'll get a better picture of the cockpit.
jabbakahut wrote:That's a bummer about the fit. I don't know how some people get FW models that fit perfect.
No one gets a FW model that fits perfectly, that's why they're advertised as being for experienced modelers. You always have to pin things, green stuff gaps, and file down excess in places.
I have attached the legs to the hips of the model. This process was very tricky as it required me to hold both legs, hold the hip part in place, check the pose and apply the glue all at the same time. Unfortunately, the glue itself wouldn't hold, so as expected it required pins. Pinning the right leg was easy: two quick pins perpendicular to the join held the leg like concrete. However, the left leg, the piece with the aforementioned cursed armour plate, required about 8 pins before it held, even then it was still wobbly until the glue held. As a result I've spent the best part of an hour drilling and pinning while listening to MCR. The legs are now securely attached to the hips, with the pistons undercoated and readyto be brass-ed.
Now I would like to say something to all those who are either thinking or starting with resin or have just bought a resin kit: I would like to stress the importance of buying a dust mask when sanding or filing the parts. Resin dust can be very harmful if inhaled, and simply saying something like "I just won't breathe in" or "What's a little bit of dust going to do?" won't work. I myself said this last week and soon after a major session on Wednesday I've been coughing up resin particles like mad. The strangest bit is that this happened while I was working on the cursed armour panel...an everlasting curse maybe?
That's all for today: I need to sleep. Sorry for the lack of pictures but the model isn't that different apart from the hip-piece. Tomorrow I hope to add the hip pistons and dry-fit the entire torso to the body.
Valk.
P:S. Does anyone know when the Halo Reach Multiplayer Beta comes out? Thanks =)
Eight pins in the leg? Wow, crazy. By the way, what do you use to pin with for a model this big? I have the standard GW Pin Vice but I really don't think it'd be able to drill a large enough hole for brass rod pinning large models.
On another note, I have a FW Pre-Heresy Land Raider coming in the mail, so I'll have to go find my dust mask
I want to say I used about 7 pins per leg on my Warhound. Maybe it's an old school technique. I would pin nearly everything on a space marine (hips, arms and weapons). There isn't much that is more disappointing than finishing a model just to have a piece break off.
Just to say, I'll be at GW Brighton again tomorrow, just in case any of you will be there too. I won't have the Reaver with me, I'll be using IG and DA, although it would be good to see some of you guys if you're there as well.
I was not in Brighton yesterday, but I have looked at your pics and your reaver is looking good! I love the cog kneepad. do you use a handdrill to do your pinning?
would a hand dremel or mini electric drill do the job quicker? great dedication in getting the beast to stand.
s.j.mccartney wrote:I was not in Brighton yesterday, but I have looked at your pics and your reaver is looking good! I love the cog kneepad. do you use a handdrill to do your pinning?
would a hand dremel or mini electric drill do the job quicker? great dedication in getting the beast to stand.
Looking forward to more!
An electric drill would obviously be quicker, but it would make it harder to drill in hard-to-reach areas. For every pin so far, I've used the GW hand-drill and paperclips as the pins, and theyre very strong bonds.
Ok Xmas xhopping is finally over and I've finally had time to work on the Reaver. The legs are 100% completed, apart from the left knee: I still have to paint the name on the large scroll on the knee-cap. I haven't added the four large cables that join the legs to the hips as the walking pose makes the cables very difficult to shape.
Size comparison to Ekiziel.
I have started work on the body and finished the insides, which include the weapon servitors, Tech-Priest and monitors etc. The Tech-Priest really is considered as an exclusive model as you only get him with the Reaver, so I've pinned him into the body so he's removable. There was also a mistake: wherever it's mine or Forge World's fault, I was missing one of the monitors which make up part of the inside wall. After a short time of thought, I decided to change this by adding a timeline of the Titan's battles where the monitor would be. This works well and fits in nice with the Titan.
Size Comparison of the Tech-Priest and Ekiziel.
I've deliberatly left the Tech-Priest's face black as to look like the hood is casting a shadow over his face.
I've managed to get a better photo of the Princep and Moderatii.
The main carapace is composed of three large pieces of resin which fit together relatively easily. I haven't pinned the pieces as the tension created by the body on these pieces hold them together like rock. Obviously, they aren't finished yet.
The (almost) finished carapace.
That's all for today. Hope to hear your comments. I also need ideas for the name of the Titan. So far the only idea I've had is Solaris.
Whenever I paint something with bolts I try to make the bolts a different color so they stand out, like on all the gold on the legs my bolts would be silver. You have to be careful not to use too much paint though, or they just turn into blobs with more paint on top.
Happy New Year to you all!! I hope everyone had a good xmas and got what they wanted as well as having a great time with family and friends
The hip joint is now complete. This was relatively simple: one pin and superglue securely held the part in place and so far, the joint has held superbly. The model is designed to seperate just above this part for transportation which I think is a handy litttle design by Forge World.
I've finished painting the basic detail for the massive top armour plate. This part simply fits over the top of the carapace and the Apoc Launcher just fits in the socket on top of it. This is the largest part of the kit: a Warhound could use this part as a Storm Shield (that would be interesting!).
Size comparison with an Ironclad Dread.
There are only 6 more parts to add, excluding the weapons. These are the four shoulder parts and a couple of grills on the body.
Here is the beast so far. Notice the size compared to the Ironclad. It looks a little odd at the moment as I'm not adding the shoulders until I've devised a method of making the weapons removeable. I've thought of using magnets but I'm questionning wherever they'll be strong enough. If anyone has any other thoughts on this then don't hesitate to comment.
I'm afraid that the project will start to stall soon, mainly for two reasons.
1: I have many school things which will take up a lot of time. I have two 50 page projects to work on, as well as multiple GCSE's and countless hours of revision.
2: The body is nearly completed, which means that I have to start on the weapons, which I haven't bought yet. Unfortunately I quit my job a few weeks ago so I've been skint recently so the weapons may take some time.
Nevertheless, I'll update this as soon as possible. Sorry for the lateness of this update.
I'm going to be buying a chaos reaver this week, but I'm not too concerned about making the weapons removable. I'm going with the apocalypse launcher and dual laser blasters, as I think that's the best loadout. It's got enough firepower to be really deadly against enemy armour and troops, and it's a great loadout for dueling other titans. The apocalypse launcher can land first and take down the void shields (5 S7, roll 2d6 and pick the highest, glancing hit destroys a shield, and they're only armour 12), followed by 6 templates that are pretty darn hard to miss with. That's 6 auto-pen at +1 on the damage table. Good chances of bringing down even an enemy reaver with a single alpha strike.
The volcano cannon is neat, but all it really has on the laser blaster is range. 3 5" templates is better than 1 7" template, I think. More devastation to a wider frontage of enemy troops and against vehicles, multiple penetrating hits. Even a volcano cannon can roll a 1 on the damage table!
I'm curious about these blogs though. Do these blogs actually encourage y'all to keep at the work? I tend to get sidetracked with other projects or just put them on the shelf for a while, but would you recommend I start a blog like this for mine?
Spellbound wrote:I'm going to be buying a chaos reaver this week, but I'm not too concerned about making the weapons removable. I'm going with the apocalypse launcher and dual laser blasters, as I think that's the best loadout. It's got enough firepower to be really deadly against enemy armour and troops, and it's a great loadout for dueling other titans. The apocalypse launcher can land first and take down the void shields (5 S7, roll 2d6 and pick the highest, glancing hit destroys a shield, and they're only armour 12), followed by 6 templates that are pretty darn hard to miss with. That's 6 auto-pen at +1 on the damage table. Good chances of bringing down even an enemy reaver with a single alpha strike.
The volcano cannon is neat, but all it really has on the laser blaster is range. 3 5" templates is better than 1 7" template, I think. More devastation to a wider frontage of enemy troops and against vehicles, multiple penetrating hits. Even a volcano cannon can roll a 1 on the damage table!
I'm curious about these blogs though. Do these blogs actually encourage y'all to keep at the work? I tend to get sidetracked with other projects or just put them on the shelf for a while, but would you recommend I start a blog like this for mine?
Good luck with the Chaos Reaver. Your explanation has influenced my choice of weapon: I will go for two Laser Blasters with the Apoc Launcher on the carapace mount. It's a serious amount of AT firepower, although some unlucky scatter rolls could seriously dampen the firepower. I may consider getting the powerfist arm simply for the wow factor involved. If I can get a cheap second hand vehicle, I might model it as if it is gripping the vehicle and crushing it in it's mighty grasp.
3 5" templates are much better than 1 7" template because of two reasons:-
1: More shots therefore more chances of causing serious damage.
2: 3 seperate 5" templates cover an area of 58.904 square inches, whereas 1 7" template covers only 38.484 square inches. I would defintly give up range for coverage.
Personally, these blogs do encourage the work, and it's a good opportunity to hear other people's opinions on your work. It also allows the project to be easier to find, as rather than trawling through pages of P and M forums, keeping everything together in a blog keeps it more organised.
CadianXV wrote:Really like the beaten brass effect on the pelvis- how did you manage that?
The effect was simply a Brazen Brass basecoat with a very heavy wash of Devlan Mud. When I say a heavy wash, I mean really slap it on. Actually, there's a mistake that no-one has noticed: after finishing one leg, I ran out of Brazen Brass and switched to Dwarf Bronze. It's a subtle yet noticeable difference.
CadianXV wrote:Oh, and how about 'Hastae Terrae' 'The Spear of Terra"?
Genius!! The name has been chosen!!
I may write up a small back story for the Titan, which I will include when it's done.
Good luck with the Chaos Reaver. Your explanation has influenced my choice of weapon: I will go for two Laser Blasters with the Apoc Launcher on the carapace mount. It's a serious amount of AT firepower, although some unlucky scatter rolls could seriously dampen the firepower.
Well, that's the thing. The Apocalypse launcher doesn't scatter, just lands in a spattering across that template - but it hits at full strength even if something is just grazed by the template, so it's great against tightly packed rhinos and such or void shields.
And the D templates hit at full D strength even if the target's grazed. Since the titan's BS is 4, you need to really roll high to scatter significantly off target. In fact when shooting other reavers I think there's only a few angles where a full box-car 8" scatter will make it so you're not hitting anything at all. Fairly safe bet.
Ok, got some time this weekend, amongst all the revision, to work on Hastae Terrae. I've been working on the top carapace plate and adding more detail to it. This involves painting a crest for the Legio Eclipse.
The crest was designed after the annihilation of Warlord IronJaw's assault on Adraluis V, said to be the biggest Ork assault excluding Armageddon. The Legio Eclipse was stationed with defending the Esternum Orbital Batteries from IronJaw's Gargant Mobs. The main assault composed of over 15 Mega Gargants, while Legio Eclipse comprised of 8 Warhounds, 5 Reavers and a Warlord. Legio Eclipse had already gained valueble experience in jungle combat, using natural geographical formations to their advantage, as well as rerouting their void shields to burn paths through the forests, and destroying Ork Kommando squads and booby-traps in the process. The Legio fought long through the night, until dawn, when the sole Warlord Lux Imperius marched into the hoarde of Gargants, where by the Princeps set the Plasma Reactor to critical. Night turned to day as the reactor detonated. The resulting explosion destroyed most of the attackers, the rest of which were destroyed by the survivors of the Legio. The crest displays this noble sacrifice with the flames towards the bottom of the shield. The cresent moon indicates the night in which the battle took place. The three stars represent the three survivors of the battle, as well as the Legios supporting Eclipse durning the Battle for Hades Hive: Legios Eclipse, Solaris and Aurora.
*Back into reality*
I've ordered the carapace launcher. Ordered on Wednesday should arrive on Monday *fingers crossed*. Until I have enough money for the other weapons, I'm going to finish the Apoc Launcher and try to create a Vortex Missile that can be changed onto the hard-point.
Hope to hear feedback on the work. Going to do some Physics revision.
Ok exams are almost over: Chemistry yesterday and Physics tomorrow, but I've managed to squeeze in time for the Reaver. The Apoc Launcher has finally arrived. Even though it was packed in a surprisingly small box, it was much heavier than expected.
Parts:
1 Apoc Launcher
1 Launcher Mount
1 Backblast Sheild
4 Sprues, each with 5 Missile Tips.
No work has been done to the Titan itself.
I'm soon going to make a Vortex Rocket to be attached to the carapace mount. There are 2 initial ideas:-
1: Build a rocket to be housed within a PVC tube with add-ons such as cables and tech.
2: Build a large launch rail with the rocket mounted on top.
Feel free to comment on these design ideas or to suggest your own.
Good luck with the remaining exams!! Carapace looks great, but the final AE in TERRAE is a little bit scewed. maybe a wee touch up would make it more straight?
Day: Can't remember what day. Lost track of time.
08/02/10
OK Apoc Launcher is finally finished, construction was very simple: 20 Warheads stuck onto the Launcher, with the Vents on the back. This assembly is then held onto the mount by two large pins, which allow it to be removed for future weapon conversions.
Some work is still needed, like where the glue has caused small stains around the Warheads.
This is a joke I thought of when I just happened to be holding a Russ and the Launcher at once...
Very cool blog so far. Titans still amaze me, I started 40k when titans were either just epic, or just pipe dreams. Yours is looking fantastic btw. Even though your fluff on the titan is all about blowing up my fellow Orks, its a pretty awesome piece of background story.
You really should look into getting some heavy-duty magnets and magnetizing those weapons! For such a large and expensive model, I would make it so you always have the option to change around the guns if you ever feel the need.
I love the apoc missile launcher russ! I hope you don't fall and break yourself skiing, watch out for the white fluffy snow, it hurts the worst to fall on!
So are exams all finished now? Does that mean that you can afford more Reaver Titan arms?
Day somethinghigherthan50asIcompletlylostcountofhowmanydaystit'sbeen
12/03/10
Ok guys once again I apologise for the lack of momentum the project's had over the past few weeks. This has mainly been due to the amount of exams and coursework I've had recently, and the fact that I've been on holiday as well. Anyway, I'm back from Valloire with no broken bones (but a glimmer of satisfaction after tackleing an instructor into incredibly deep snow), and the exams are all now over, just got my results back today: A's!! XD
Judging from my own standards, I would say that the Reaver's body is complete. I've given it a coat of gloss varnish which really deepens the blue and makes it stand out much more than before (although it may not show in the photos). The voids have been added, as well as some little extra details done, such as the extra parts on the left kneecap. I've so far decided to leave off the shoulder parts as this will make magnetisation of the weapons much easier: In the photos they are held in place with blu-tack.
Now here's where I need some advice: How powerful do these magnets have to be to support the weapons? I've seen and held the weapons and they're about twice the length and weight of a Leman Russ, which means that I'm going to need some very powerful magnets. What ones would you recommend?
Finally I've reached the question that everyone's asking: "Valkyrie, have you got the weapons yet?", and I'm afraid the answer is no. I have sufficient funds for both weapons, but I won't be getting them until the 28th: I'm heading to the Forge World Open Day, and hope to pick up some vital things there while I'm there (and save some cash on postage costs). So this means that the weapons will be well under-construction by the start of April.
Yes I know the knee area needs a bit of tiding up...
And now onto something a little different...
I was sitting at my desk, painting up a small shield with the crest of the Legio Eclipse, when I thought "Why not make it a Storm Shield for someone?". I decided to make a "Guardian of the Eclipse" out of an old Grey Knight Terminator. This Terminator will lead a small force which will defend the Reaver from enemy assaults. I also hope to create a backstory for this guy, but for now I'm just wondering what you think of it. Note: This guy is not meant to be a Grey Knight, but I couldn't resist using a GK model as they're, IMO, one of the best models GW do.
Like I said, this guy is nowhere near completion yet, so I'm just asking for advice on the actual concept/model.
Once I've obtained the weapons, then the project should gain momentum again.
Welcome back to the project! Glad you didn't break any bones.
Thats a cool idea, to have a protector for the titan. Where are you going to place him?
I'm looking forward to you getting the weapons. I know what you mean about the costs...but it should be worth it!
Are you going to paint any damage/weathering on the titan? or keep it pristine! I reckon the priests would keep it high priority on the polishing list considering its the embodyment of their machine god. but with feet that big I'm sure it'll make some muck fly as it walks!
Magnets are rated by pounds of pull when you get the arms weigh them then get the correct amount of pull 2 or 3 pounds sounds about wright to me but I don't have mine yet.
Looks awesome Valk, as for advice for your GK dude, I think all it needs are the Reaver colours and heraldry on the banner to tie them together nicely.
Nice job just found your blog, NICE WORK. I own a Warhound, i have bought every weapon option forgeworld have going and in regards to magnatising just use a magnet but use more than one to create a a crossing of the magnetic fields. Dont know why seem to make the field one hell off alot stronger!
Forge World Open Day was a blast!! I picked up a lot of stuff as well as seeing many great Work-In-Progresses, and yes, I FINALLY HAVE THE WEAPONS!!! I got 2 Laser Blasters at the Open Day which I had reserved, and due to a lack of concentration the guy only charged me for one, saving me £50!!
The weapons are quite easy to assemble, each consisting of the 3 barrels and a small chunk to join them, the main body of the weapon, joined to a capacitor/counterweight, and a few other little cables etc.
I've already assembled and began to paint one of the Blasters. I'm going for the traditional dark gunmetal and brazen look.
Here's a few photos to show just how bit the weapons are
As you can see, the weapons come up to the Reaver's hips, almost as tall as a Warhound!!
With the £50 I saved I also bought the FW Titan Crew, which I'm going to paint up and just use for decorative purposes or even for objective markers.
That's all for now. I'll update it when the first Laser Blaster is complete. I've ordered some Neodynium Magnets which are in the post at the moment but if they're using Royal Fail it may take some time for them to get here.
Great work on the titan so far, wish i could justify buying one You are also very lucky, probably the only person i've heard of to get "buy one get one free" on FW stuff!!! I really love the titan crew models, they're awesome.
Ha forgeworld fail!! Anyway are you thinking of getting any other weapons? That gataling blaster looks really nice...
Anyway i was there to helps living about a mile away! Heh Heh Heh, Got me one of those Ultramarine MkIIB land raider and some door panels, some brass and a multi melta (conversion) for a razorback! Best £90 i ever spent!
Just finished magnetising the left arm. I said in my last post that I'm going for the dark gunmetal look for the Blasters, but I've decided to change to a lightning effect along the barrels. Although incomplete, they still look impressive so far.
The weapons and the arm joint have both been magnetised. The magnets arrived surprisingly quick, considering it was using Royal Fail. I simply drilled a 4mm hole, which held the magnets very tightly, although I added a blob of superglue just in case they came loose.
Just to show how small the magnets really are, here's a size comparison.
(The coin in the middle is the equivalent of a Nickel, for my viewers across the pond)
This has turned out really well considering this is my first ever attempt at magnetisation.
Here's a photo of the finished left arm. Obviously I still have to paint some parts.
That's all for now, I'm hoping to attach the arm to the body today. I'll post photos when it's done.
Valkyrie wrote:Day: Can't remember what day. Lost track of time.
08/02/10
OK Apoc Launcher is finally finished, construction was very simple: 20 Warheads stuck onto the Launcher, with the Vents on the back. This assembly is then held onto the mount by two large pins, which allow it to be removed for future weapon conversions.
Some work is still needed, like where the glue has caused small stains around the Warheads.
This is a joke I thought of when I just happened to be holding a Russ and the Launcher at once...
Sergeant Lycabas wiped the mud off his visor as he scanned the horizon. The scarlet sunset traced shadows of the Renegade's vehicles across the landscape, crazed individuals running in all directions between them. Although they had no millitary coherency, they had managed to defend this position for over three weeks. The mountains and the surrounding valley were containing several artillery companies, which had been pounding the nearby evacuation sites, and the Harakoni 309th had been dispatched to eliminate the Renegade positions.
Lycabas turned to Hyperus, the vox-operator.
"Any news on the re-inforcements? We're being grounded into the dust."
"Almost here sir, ETA 14 minutes. We'll be dead by 5"
"gak. Terpulan, provide cover fire on the left, take out those heavy stubbers"
Terpulan's reply was cut short as his cranium imploded, his body slumping over the heavy bolter emplacement. Several more troops were cut down by huge swathes of heavy las fire, originating from one point: through the smoke created by a burning Chimera, emerged a colossal Baneblade, it's hull wreathed in horrendus signs and texts, making Lycabas nauseas by even looking at it. The armoured monstrousity ploughed through the first barricades, followed by several traitorous Leman Russ's.
The Harakoni had armoured support however, and the Leman Russes, nick-named Creeping Death and Intervention rumbled past Lycabas' position. The Battle Cannons howled, tearing great holes on the battlefield, sending parts of Renegade soldier everywhere. Small-arms fire pinged of the blessed armour of the vehicles, as their presence seemed to fill the hearts of the nearby Harakons, fighting even harder to surge forward. For the first time in days, Lycabas thought the Harakons could win...
...Then the Baneblade spoke. The mighty cannon roared, filling the air with dust. The pressure wave sent Lycabas and Hyperus hurling against the wall of the foxhole. Lycabas regained himself and stared over the dirt ridge, watching the wreckage of Creeping Death burn, barely seconds after the noble vehicle had filled the souls of the righteous Harakons with hope.
Intervention, seeing the fate of it's brother, took evasive action, barely missing a barrage from the Baneblade's Demolisher Cannon. It fired it's Battle Cannon in reply, severly damaging the side armour and rendering the left sponsons of the super-heavy vehicle a tangled wreck.
Several Renegades were thrown clear by the explosion, but more simply filled their place, swarming over the Russ. Las-cannons from the enemy vehicles struck the engines of Intervention, leaving it dead-in-the-water. The Renegades produced krak grenades from their belts, which they then proceeded to attach to the hull of the Russ.
Lycabas fell to his knees as a las-bolt struck him in the chest, Hyperus was cut down by a nearby sniper. He desperately tried to control the bleeding, remembering vital medical skills from his basic training. The bleeding subsided, and he only just became aware of what had happened to Hyperus when the remains of his comrade were consumed by another huge dust cloud from the Baneblade cannon. That was the last he saw of Hyperus.
A large explosion signalled that Intervention had became simply another mangled piece of iron on the field. The Baneblade cannon fired again, although this time Lycabas and Hyperas managed to brace themselves against the resulting pressure wave. The shot had destroyed the small command dug-out, eliminating all chance of evacuation. Lycabas' heart sank as he realised that this was the day he died.
"Exacan, increase reactor output to 50%. Obiculan, power up the primary Laser Blaster. Only fire once we have a definite firing solution."
Princeps Kurios urged his God-Machine forward, it's coded cries for vengeance filling his mind, merging it's consious with his own. The cries became higher as the Laser Blaster charged to full capacity, on the brink of unleashing a supernova on the unlucky individual at the business end of the weapon.
"Princeps, we have a firing solution:
Target: Heretic Baneblade, recognised as the the Primary Objective.
Range: 1200 meters and closing.
Ready to fire in 10 seconds."
Kurios winced as the horrific vehicle tore out a part of the defensive positions. Heretics were clambering over an immobilised Leman Russ, while half a dozen others lay smoking, undoubtely all victims of the beast they had been sent to destroy. The vibrant fields of Calydon IV had been defiled by the behemoth of iron that lay before them.
"Princeps, ready to fire..."
The words were sweet to his lips, as the Titan's battle-lust roared it's approval to the Moderatai's statement.
Half a dozen streaks of pure blue light filled the sky above Lycabas' head. The beams pummelled the armour of the Baneblade, tearing through vital systems and controls. The Baneblade fired a shell from it's mighty cannon in retaliation. The shell, however, was harmlessly absorbed by the banks of energy fields protecting the God-Machine which had appeared out of the chaos of battle. Six barrels of glowing energy replaced it's hands, and it's carapace displayed a burning crest of the night sky. The glorious blue and gold symbol of His wrath poured volley after volley of heavy las rounds into the Baneblade, until the lucky shot pierced the reactor, sending an incandescant cloud soaring high into the night sky. The Renegade Russes barely had time to register the explosion before they were obliterated by a punishing volley of missiles from the Reaver's Carapace Launcher. The missiles streaked through the sky whistling like ten thousand eagles before pummelling the Renegade lines.
Lycabas watched the retribution with a smirk of saticfaction, as hundreds of drop-pods fell from the sky towards the Renegade lines. Another Titan, which he knew to be Valkyria followed the first beast, which was known as Haestus Terrae, which had already passed the still burning wreckage of the Baneblade.
The final pods poured from the sky as it turned white for the last time...
What do you think? My first attempt at serious 40K stories.
...The day had come. Various followers of the Mechanicus and hundreds of Titanicus personnel were gathered at the hanger doors. The wave of crimson robes and gleaming augmetics filled the courtyard, all staring towards the hundred-meter high doors that hadn't moved for twelve years. The hangar had been a hive of activity, Tech-Priests were giving the final checks to the reactors and weapon systems, and Princeps Kurios stood upright with pride on the walkway, starting eye-to-eye with what was considered part of his family. The bass-humm of the reactor told him that it was time, time for man and machine to fuse into one.
He slowly sat into his command throne, letting the MIU meld their minds into one. He was not the pilot; he was the Titan itself. He was an instrument of the Emperor's wrath.
The atmosphere of the courtyard was bustling with activity: the crowds of Titanicus personnel gazed towards the colossal doors of the hangar, while the scattered groups of Mechanicus followers chanted prayers of devotion to the Machine-God. Suddenly, with a groan like the very Earth opening, the ancient doors began to open. Huge pieces of rust and rock chipped and fell from the doors as they slowly crept open, revealing the golden giant inside.
Cheers erupted from miles around as Haestus Terrae strode from the hanger. Huge banners were unfurled from the weapons, displaying past glories of the Legio Eclipse. Two other Reavers, named Valkyria and Lux Imperia stood at the end of the courtyard, awaiting their brother to join them. Haestus Terrae simply stood there, like an animal seeing daylight for the first time. It seemed to watch the screaming masses at it's feet, while instantly recognising it's fellow God-Machines. The beast took a huge stride towards the gates, as crowds scattered to avoid being crushed. Valkyria and Lux Imperia waited in anticipation for Haestus Terrae, until the Titan passed through the gates of the courtyard, barely fitting through despite the gates being large enough for a Leman Russ Squadron to pass through together. The three gods stood motionless together, as if greeting each other for the first time. Kurios felt the emotion in the Machine Spirit as the three Reavers turned towards the conflict on the other side of the city...
Another attempt at stories...
Valk
Automatically Appended Next Post:
The Reaver is finished!!!
Catastrophe occured when it was clear that the magnets would be unable to hold the weight of the weapons. Somehow they may have lost some of their magnetism, or the turning force of the weapons simply wouldn't allow the magnets to securely hold the weapons. Either way, the weapons have been permantely glued to the arms. The Laser Blasters now have the cool lightning effects on all the barrels, and have been given a coat of gloss varnish, to make it stand out more. Attaching the arms to the body required a few pins, as there was a lot of strain on what would otherwise be a very weak joint.
(I'm going to fill in that small gap between the cockpit and the console.)
I'd like to thank everyone who commented on the thread for your ideas and comments. If any of you know of an Apoc game happening in Sussex, be sure to watch out for Haestus Terrae.
Wounderfull, though the lightning in the powercores on the blasters could use a bit of highlitning, maybe some ice blue and skull white?
Other than that, beautiful work!
Thanks for all your comments, guys. I can't wait for my first game with this beastie.
I've changed the Reaver blog into an overall Valk's Work Blog, which will allow me to show my newest work without having to make new threads all the time.
I've added a few transfers to certain areas, most notably the weapons which are both numbered and have individual kill markings.
White skulls symbolise Super-Heavy kills, while red skulls symbolise Gargantuan Creature kills.
So here's the first of what I hope to be many of my new projects. It's a Veteran from my Harakoni Armoured Company.
These are a few things I've been working on, ever since the Reaver's completion.
This is an Ork Runt Bot that I picked up at the FW Open Day. I'm surprised at how big the model actually is, possibly bigger than Ghaszkull (or however you spell it). This is my first ever Ork model and I'm pretty pleased at how its turned out.
I also got the Limited Edition Reaver Princeps from the Open Day. He's still a WiP though.
Remember the Harakoni Veteran from my last post? Here's 4 of them finished.
The excess parts from the kits I've used for a Deathleaper and Parasite conversions means that I can get an extra Warrior for my brood. Yhey're part of my small Hive Fleet which was hit by a solar flare, creating the glowing areas due to high levels of radiation.
And the last update, some Damned Legionnaires I've been working on. I especially like the only bare-headed one as I've created a nice contrast between flesh and the bionics.
Once the FW Warrior Wings arrive, I'll start on a Parasite of Mortrex conversion.
I'm also thinking of starting a small comission service. Nothing like Golden Daemon quality, but I'm thinking that if people need models painted to a pretty good standard, need them done quickly, or simply can't be bothered to do it themself, then I could do them for a small charge.
Looking at your pictures I think alot of them are out of focus. Some of them have items that have nothing to do with warhammer. The backgrounds are not clear so you cannot see the models well and it makes your models look unclear which won't help show the actual quaility. The poor picture quality does not do your painting any justice.
You seem to be able to block fill colours but your detail needs work, also you could try to steer away from drybrushing and more towards feathering and layering for your nids also try to get some depth in your detail. And instead of plain black on you're tanks try some highlighting, same applies for your titan, all these techniques and tips would improve your work massivley.
Great love the titan and the fluff is aso very entertaining, read Titanicus? Could help you with your fluff.
Sorry i havent posted for a while, been on holiday and well, you know...
The Nids look good and a colour sceme i have never seen, though a small nitpic... that tongue is for the mawloc not the trygon allthouht if it was purposefull ignore me!
As allready said you need some devlan on those guardsmen to stop em being so clean (do these happen to be the same from your fluff?).
The ork thingy also look very nice allthough i am intrigued, you say he is bigger that Ghazghull. Can you find a comparision for size? And is he comparable to Ghazzy combat wize?...
@kingtorres4: Thanks for your advice. I've been trying to get the hang of a new camera recently so the photos are a bit out of focus, although I have no idea as to what you mean by "some have items that have nothing to do with warhammer". In future, I'm going to get the best photos possible.
@EagleArk: Yeah I wanted to use the Mawloc tongue as it looks more threatening, IMO. I'm going to give the Harakons a Devlan Mud wash on the armour to act as shading.
About the Runt Bot, I don't really have a way to compare the sizes of him and Ghazzy at the moment, but I'll include a photo of him with another similarly sized model. Currently there are no rules for him, not including "counts-as", but I did design some rules for him here:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/287374.page Hope this helps.
A Runt Bot size comparison - As requested by EagleArk
And the inspiriation for my avatar came from a drawing someone did of a 40K version of Dr. Gregory House, which is my absolute favourite show (in fact, I'm watching it right now!)
The avatar I had yesterday came from this small cartoon "The man who could sit anywhere". It's hilarious!
I haven't been doing much modelling recently, due to the fact that my GCSE's start next week. I received a package from Forge World yesterday, in the form of a Runt Bot, despite the fact that the original order had been a Renegade Ogryn with Death Korps Victim. As per the Sales Assistant's advice I sent the Runt Bot back, in exchange for a copy of Imperial Armour Apocalypse II. I enquired about the Warrior Wings: They finish a batch on Monday, which means that I should be starting the Parasite of Mortrex by Friday, photos will be uploaded as soon as possible.
Today I attended an Apocalypse game at GW Brighton: This was Haestus Terrae's first game. I used both the Titans, a Baneblade and Shadowsword, along with some reinforcements from other players. The enemy force involved about 3000 points of combined Chaos Orks Necrons and Tau troops, with a Stompa, Nightbringer, 2 Abaddons, Ghazkull and an Avatar, all of which have infinite respawning abilities.
The Titan ploughed through the enemy forces: it destroyed 2 Stompas, all of the Killa Kans and Deff Dreads, a Monolith and much more: The GW staff said I could count the Apoc Launcher as a Vortex Missile (essentially firing dozens of Vortex Grenades). The Missile wiped out one Abaddon, the Nightbringer, Avatar, Ghazkull, a Deff Dread and 3 Kiila Kans, completly decimating the enemy assault! Next time they'll learn not to bunch the axis of evil so close together!
Here are some photos of the battle
The battle was a very close draw: 2 Obliterators Deep-Striked close enough to our objective to contest it, meaning that it ended at 1 each with the 3rd contested.
All-in-all, a very exciting battle, plenty of "wow" moments. I lost Infernus in the closing turns of the battle, laid low by a Particle Whip, but it killed a fair few of the enemies' toughest units.
Just a quick update today. As you may or may not know from one of my other posts, I've been getting back into my old Chaos army. When I say "old Chaos army", I mean "A squad of Bezerkers, a squad of 1k Sons and a couple of Combet squads". I have about 10 guys that I'm painting at the moment, and, like I mentioned in the post, my Chaos force is based on a metaphorical "trash can" of Chaos legions based in one army. I'm planning to have squads of uneven numbers, such as a squad of 7 and a squad of 9, with a jumble of legions altogether.
For my first squads, I'm making a squad of Night Lords and Iron Warriors. I have a particular fondness of these two Chapters, as I really like the chevrons design of the Iron Warriors, and the Night Lords remind me of Ride the Lightning by Metallica, which is one of my all-time favourite albums.
These two Marines are still unfinished: I've been working for two days on them so far.
Would like to hear what you think about them.
That's it for now. Updates may slow down over the next few weeks as GCSE's are rapidly approaching (just had French oral exam last Thursday: got an A! Oh yeah!!), but I'll try to update whenever I can.
Looks good, althought The Night Lord looks a bit flat, all he needs is Badab black on the blue. If you don`t want to darken it too much you can always water down the washes.
Just a quick update tonight. I've been working on the Iron Warriors, while still waiting for the Warrior Wings for my Parasite of Mortrex. The whole squad is almost finished: I have one more guy to do, as well as little details on the guys in the photo below.
Here's the squad so far.
Hope you enjoy it.
Valk
Automatically Appended Next Post: Thanks for all your thoughts so far guys
Vitruvian XVII wrote:Congrats on getting an A as well!
Thanks!! I was so panicky about it but I'm glad that specific one is over now.
I was nervous when i had my GCSE an AS French oral but i got A*s so I've got A-levels coming up soon so i know how you feel, bud. Don't get swayed by 40k instead of revision, it's not good!
Ok, it's been 6 weeks now and the Warrior wings still have not arrived. I contacted Forge World on Wednesday and they said they'd send another set out for free, hopefully they should be here next week (here's hoping). For the time being though, I've been working on a little side project:
I still had a large number of Forge World Servo Skulls from the Warhound and Reaver kits, and as the Tech-Priest in the Reaver is removable, I decided to make a base for him, as then I have the whole Titan crew on foot. I can honestly say that the Servo Skulls are the most fiddly models I have ever made (no joke on this), as some parts were only a few milimeters across! I built four of the Skulls and mounted them on a 40mm base. I then added the Tech-Priest, who is still removeable so he can be placed back into the Reaver.
Finally, after 2 months and 3 phone calls to Forge World, the Warrior wings have arrived! Due to the late arrival, they had posted 2 packs as a way of saying sorry. I guess they're not really to blame, as they would be backlogged with orders due to the volcano ash disrupting their deliveries.
As soon as I got them I began work on the Parasite of Mortrex conversion. This consisted of building a standard Tyranid Warrior body and head, and glueing the wings where the top-most arms would go. I then added 2 sets of Scything Talons where the middle set of limbs and legs would go. I then added the face with the Implant Attack and Flesh Hooks to add more "ripper-implanters"
For the tail, I decided to extend it by pinning a paperclip where the tail would be, then forming the tail around the clip with green stuff. I then made the "main implant device" by pinning an additional Scything Talon to the end of the tail, and glueing a couple of Toxin Sacks from the Trygon sprue to represent the Ripper larvae.
Here it is so far.
I still have some work on it: I have to bulk out the end of the tail with some more green stuff, and there are some small gaps between the wings and the carapace that I need to fill.
Also, I now have 5 sets of Warrior wings that I may be selling, let me know if you're interested.
You have an impressive collection, but I have to ask, is the Iron Warriors squad based on the new chaos space marines squad? I don't recognise some of the helmets.
Keep up the great work, your titans are impressive man! (but they should be more chaos-y)
ironlord wrote:You have an impressive collection, but I have to ask, is the Iron Warriors squad based on the new chaos space marines squad? I don't recognise some of the helmets.
Keep up the great work, your titans are impressive man! (but they should be more chaos-y)
