I was 450 pages into my bloated necromunda project thread, when something Tookish woke up inside me, and I longed to see the mountains.
I saw the new Hobbit film "An unexpected journey" twice now in the theatres, did a Lord of the Rings Extended edition movie Marathon, and gathered some reference materials for my quest.


"You will have to manage without pocket-handkerchiefs, and a good many other things, before you get to the journey's end." ~ Dwalin

However, paint is not something I am starting with in short supply

I'm gonna subscribe to this! I'm doing the same as you, working my way through the Hobbit models (I've got practically all of them apart from the Eagles and the Trolls)

What do you think of the iPad app?

Looking forward to seeing some of your finished stuff

Well i'm game for a fresh start!

Looking very much forward to this, used to be into the LoTR Strategy Battle Game in a big way. Hopefully this is not going to force me to buy a Hobbit force though

Thanks guys!
@Stubacca- The trolls are the most expensive GW models ever I think, but it is marketed specifically to me. I lhave loved the story of the trolls since I was a kid. In fact, Tolkien wrote the Hobbit for his own children, and the trolls were their favorite scene as well. I still need warg riders, and eagles..and they haven't released an Azog mini yet, I'll look forward to that release. I never got into any of the previous games, but The Hobbit was actually the first miniature wargame I played 25+ years ago also, so it's a nostalgia thing I think. The ipad painting app is expensive @ $25, it's full of typos, and p. 63 has the wrong color names labelled..but it IS very thorough otherwise, not really 'Eavy Metal or Golden Demon standard, but better than average tabletop standard I'd guess.

@Vit -No actually, think of this as the 3rd edition LOTR Strategy Battle game. Hobbits don't have an army (yet- rumor is that one of the next two Hobbit movies will have a flashback scene about Bilbo and Frodo's ancestrial Hobbits, and tell the story of the historic Battle of Greenfields, specifically Bilbo's Great Grand-Uncle Brandobras "Bullrorarer" Took, who was so huge (for a hobbit) that he could ride a horse
Otherwise, it's completely compatible with all existing models and army books. I cannot sit down and just read through the 40k or WFB books for some reason, but this big rulebook is different somehow.

Heh- My little brother has that very same lovely version of the Hobbit.

Im actually very interested to see how work on these minis goes. Im a big LotR/Hobbit fan myself, though I dont have the budget to support getting the minis. I suppose Ill make do with watching you!

Looking forward to the new thread and new models!

dsteingass wrote:I saw the new Hobbit film "An unexpected journey" twice now in the theatres, did a Lord of the Rings Extended edition movie Marathon, and gathered some reference materials for my quest.

pretty much me word for word

anyway, subbed and looking forward to another 450 page thread of P&M goodness!

Well here is to a new and interesting future, but with the same old banter

Plus I want your paints

 dsteingass wrote:
Thanks guys!
@Stubacca- The trolls are the most expensive GW models ever I think, but it is marketed specifically to me. I lhave loved the story of the trolls since I was a kid. In fact, Tolkien wrote the Hobbit for his own children, and the trolls were their favorite scene as well. I still need warg riders, and eagles..and they haven't released an Azog mini yet, I'll look forward to that release. I never got into any of the previous games, but The Hobbit was actually the first miniature wargame I played 25+ years ago also, so it's a nostalgia thing I think. The ipad painting app is expensive @ $25, it's full of typos, and p. 63 has the wrong color names labelled..but it IS very thorough otherwise, not really 'Eavy Metal or Golden Demon standard, but better than average tabletop standard I'd guess.

.

Yeh, I noticed that. For the price I would've liked it to be at least proof read, but it helped a lot knowing what colours to use etc

The price of the trolls is putting me off, but I suppose if you consider they're three dreadnought sized models, I'm kinda tempted. The Warg riders are really nice models, easily painted too. I'm struggling with how to paint orc skin though haha these are my first ever ones

If you don't want to use GW paints, and/or just want an excellent reference, this book is a much better value @ $40
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles: Art & Design
http://www.amazon.com/The-Hobbit-Unexpected-Journey-Chronicles/dp/0062200909


Painting Goblins?


Painting Dwalin's head tattoos?

Planning terrain projects?


plus Production notes, concept art, color drawings of almost EVERY prop, and teasers from the yet unseen other two movies already filmed

Cool to see you this very motivated again. I'll be following this thread as much as I can. Subbed.

Thanks for being here Skalk!

I'm looking forward to seeing some hobbit vending machines and suchlike

Looking forward to seeing some finished stuff, GW's middle earth line is highly under rated!

I too am subbed and expecting great things.

Subbed! Can't wait to see how far this goes!

Subbed for now... but there better be rivets!!

^that! as maus put it...is something that worries me to no end... bags end that is

dave... your monster of a thread is now applying for an undead live... it will sure resourface... something like necromunda will only stay quiet for so long...

seeing this middle earth libary with you tho puts me also with big hopes... it will be an unexpected journey for sure... so stay sharp... you never know where your legs might carry you

Looking forward to where this journey takes you. LotR/Hobbit was and remains one of my favourite series of books. Middle Earth always draws me in one way or another.

Subbed

dsteingass wrote:If you don't want to use GW paints, and/or just want an excellent reference, this book is a much better value @ $40
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Chronicles: Art & Design

plus Production notes, concept art, color drawings of almost EVERY prop, and teasers from the yet unseen other two movies already filmed

Damn you, Dave! My wallet was looking at being clean for a month! *shakes fist*

Subbed! glad I didn't have to sprint this time to catch up lol :-) this is going to be EXCITING! i wonder what will take over from the rivets? are you going to start a league of extraordinary flockers? ....... I said Flockers! some people sheesh! such minds!

er....er...er... i sincerely hope dave is not stepping away from rivets for too long...

There will be rivets, relax
For now, Young Bilbo Baggins

sorry to see the other thread take a nap but im interested in this. sorry i haven't been around much working six days a week does that to a man

*pants* "there will be rivets..." i an live with that promise for now

bilbo is looking good! the face looks a bit melted tho... and as for sting... could you make it look as if he is near some orks? that would be cool!

 Viktor von Domm wrote:
and as for sting... could you make it look as if he is near some orks? that would be cool!

definitely- good practice for some OSL work!

Vik..your Scale-O-Meter is malfunctioning again my friend

Hobbit, Dwarf, Gandalf, 40k
I don't know anything about OSL anything
It's something I can do later, right?

 dsteingass wrote:
I don't know anything about OSL anything
It's something I can do later, right?

haven't dared to try it myself, but yeah, it comes after everything else

Gandalf the Grey





I see the staff could be a good place for OSL too
I'll have to adventure there one day too

Very nice so far Dave... sometimes things need to be put into vacation for a time.

Dwalin, at your service

looking good dave im really liking the dwarf

Thanks everybody! Page 2 already

it has begun...here's to another 450 pages

Very nice! I can't wait to see the rest!

Have you used any of the inks I sent you? If so how do they stack up?

I haven't tried them yet, thanks for the reminder Sam!


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Thorin Oakenshield

You move quickly through the night, swift and silent like a ninja! I blink and .... pg2...... I should have known! but i'm loving Gandalf and Dwalin! really good job on those two particularly in my books!

Its looking Great, i can't wait for the terrain projects

The dwarves and Gandalf look great, but Vik is right. Bilbo looks a little... melty. Maybe touch up his skin tone a bit and he should be fine. Otherwise, excellent work as always!

I know, but I don't think you guys realize how small he is, I could barely get any wash into the details of his face as is, let alone shadows of his jowls, cheekbones, or other facial features.

hobbit house would be awesome! and probably not so tough if theres a good kit for the doors and windows...

aye, Bilbo is ridiculously small.

I asked Kit if he could use his patented Zinge Hinge on a couple different Hobbit Door designs. I could make the doors and windows easily enough, but his hinge system is most excellent.

Ooh, bag end/hobbitton sounds like a nice project...
damn, now I want to make it!

If I had another Bilbo to paint, I'd go extremely thin on the primer and basecoats because the detail of his face is so fine and shallow.

 dsteingass wrote:
If I had another Bilbo to paint, I'd go extremely thin on the primer and basecoats because the detail of his face is so fine and shallow.

same here- alas, he's already primered...

Yeh, I struggled with Bilbo too. He was the least favourite of the models I painted

Those are shaping up quite nicely.

I would venture to guess that the finecast Bilbo has much better detail.

The plastic Bilbo is probably a good example of the limit of detail that can be done in plastic.


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Do you have pictures Stubacca? I'd like to see them.

I'm not knocking your Bilbo, D. I have a really hard time with skin tones myself. Even on larger models.

 Valhalla130 wrote:
I'm not knocking your Bilbo, D. I have a really hard time with skin tones myself. Even on larger models.

Me too- I'm just lazy and go skin tone + wash

I want to paint Bilbo now! just to see how bloody hard he is to do! I love a good challenge! :-) wonder if I can just grab him on ebay yet....hmmmmmm


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Oh and Dave, when you eventually get some time and stuff together to send me, don't forget to include one of those dashing English gentlemen you used in your tank so i can have a crack at him too! :-) do you need any doors to cut up for hobbit doors? I have a couple of sets that may be usable?

I formally apologize for my laziness in getting out trade shipments to those of you which I've promised. I MUST do that this weekend. You want one of the Zulu War Brits? Sure thing man, I have a couple boxes of them


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Look! Only 11 Dwarves and a Wizard to go, then start on the evil models

ok... i have to say... my scale-o-meter was malfunctioning back then... didn´t realize the scale difference... put the blame on good pics of yours ... who would have thought that he would be tiny tim^^... and mate... you making progress like nothing else here! thorin and that sledge hammered dwarf are atm my favorite models so far... for some reason i would like to see some more detail on gandalf tho... i know you are very close to the movie look on this one... but he lacks a certain something...and his free hand looks like it has a glove?

Yes, he has bandages wrapped around his hands like gloves. It's my flowing robes..I really don't know how to paint that part any better, I'll need to study it

What is there to do while Dwarf washes dry?

lol... there is always lots to do in casa del dave...!

i bet your valk would love some love

^ correct! Valk love would be nice! I hear Dsteingass has an old thread he closed that it would go well in!

Balin, at your service




Yeah yeah, wonky faces..I dunno what the hell my problem is..

The Throng so far...

Balin is barely taller than Bilbo, still it pisses me off that I couldn't paint his iconic face worth a damn.
The secret is in subtle shadow coloring around his enormous nose

Dave, you are seriously motoring through these guys at the moment! and they're looking great! faces are a bitch though, I can send you a good tute I used to learn if you like? helped me get my own style down with them and you should be able to work it on those teeny heads they have!

I also have 3 sets of these double doors just lying around if you want me to post them to you? I don't need them cluttering up my space ('cos they take up 'soooo much room eh!) maybe you can use them to make some Hobbit sized doors?



and no rush on sending me stuff! I just didn't want you to forget the zulu war brit, i want to paint him up for you just for kicks and send him back to hopefully grace a tank one day!

Thanks brother!..But you keep em I plan on getting into my balsa stash and fresh blades soon

those are grand looking doors, who makes them?

the group shot is very cool looking dave!

with all that love for tolkiens minis... will you eventually get to paint the fellowship too?... seems such an obvious task in the future to me

and those doors look awesome nerdfest!

Thanks Vik, they just re-released the Fellowship in finecast, so yeah, it's on my eventual buy list, but first I need 12 Warg rider orcs, 6 Wargs, and the few named orcs for Evil and 4 great eagles, and the named Great eagle king just to play all the linked scenarios in the Hobbit rulebook I'm budgeting those over the next several months. I'm tired of having too many unpainted minis...I REALLY want a painted, playable game!

Excellent group shot there Dave - the scale really shows well and the effect of (as you call them) 'wonky' faces is not so pronounced. I always struggle with skin tones and imagine at this size is worse...

Roll on the evil dudes and giant eagles...

And I can't wait for your take on the terrain - that's truly what I'm most excited about (I always have preferred terrain over minis )

yes i can see that you are now feeling a sort of fresh wind comming up... so a complete playable game and mathcing set makes sense...instead of that cancerlike mass of unpainted minis growing ever so much in numbers... i dunno what i need to get to that mental stage... probably some crowbar^^

I prefer terrain to minis too, but you have to have minis for terrain. And only chumps play with unpainted minis. (there are a lot of chumps out there)

Too true, the sea of grey minis I used to see at games clubs (back in the old days) was always a disappointment. I always try to make sure that my minis havce a least a base coat on them to give a better look, especially when the terrain has been lovingly crafted for them by myself and fellow gamers...

On the topic of terrain though, what are you planning? I presume Goblin town is a shoe in? As you mentioned the Warg riders and Eagles, are you also doing the tree top escape... That would be something to see...

Here's a great bag-end though for some inspiration (in case you need any)

Yeah, I really want to get at least one painted army for 40k, but that doesn't ever seem to be in the cards. I've had to put away my stuff for the time being, and it doesn't appear to be something I can get back to in the near future.

That is a great Bag-End! Although the longer bench should be nearer to the mailbox it's fantastic. As for terrain, I want above ground scenes especially. Bag end with full interior and removable roof comes to mind, Samwise's house, the Green Dragon inn, the Troll camp/cave, etc. Goblin town is not really a priority since I have lots and lots of trees to fill up the board with (I just got some woodland scenics pines in an After Christmas sale)

I understand not a lot of fighting goes on in Hobbiton, I just want it more as a show piece

I look forward to the results of you following your dreams!

Wow, I'm super impressed with the Hobbit Art and Design book. Ordered it yesterday afternoon and got it in the mail at my office today. Lots of great reference material, and it was only like $22 bucks + tax. Now comparing this to the $97 I just dropped for the LE Dark Angels Codex...I'm a little blown away...

It is a most excellent book! A second one is due out this spring.

 dsteingass wrote:
Thanks brother!..But you keep em I plan on getting into my balsa stash and fresh blades soon

O,k but you know where they are if you decide that cutting fingers trying to score balsa sucks! lol

LOL, I've been working with wood a LOT longer than plastic

Ah........ should've known.......... like trying to give driving tips to a race car driver.........

dsteingass wrote:LOL, I've been working with wood a LOT longer than plastic

Bree, anyone?

Fango wrote:Wow, I'm super impressed with the Hobbit Art and Design book. Ordered it yesterday afternoon and got it in the mail at my office today. Lots of great reference material, and it was only like $22 bucks + tax. Now comparing this to the $97 I just dropped for the LE Dark Angels Codex...I'm a little blown away...

aye, ordered it a couple of days back, should arrive before the end of the week...

Funny you should say Bree, the corner building above I made in 1/72 by looking at pics of a 28mm Bree House on a German language site. I can't find that site anymore.

LotR isn't really my thing, but I'll subscribe out of loyalty

Just saw the Hobbit today have to say I enjoyed it even in 2D sorry cant stand 3D gives me a bloody headache, plus it turned out to be cheap day at the cinema full of pensioners mind but the smell was not that bad.

 lone dirty dog wrote:
Just saw the Hobbit today have to say I enjoyed it even in 2D sorry cant stand 3D gives me a bloody headache, plus it turned out to be cheap day at the cinema full of pensioners mind but the smell was not that bad.

well, feel free to post your thoughts about it here:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/494533.page

/shameless self promotion

I refuse to go into the trollshaws..I mean OT forums I see your second response was from one of the miserable trolls that live there in OT

 dsteingass wrote:
I refuse to go into the trollshaws..I mean OT forums I see your second response was from one of the miserable trolls that live there in OT

I avoid it as a rule for the above reason (half the negative posts didn't make sense (or at least could be explained))- though there wasn't really much of a place to stick a film review besides OT

It's sad how pathetic and miserable their lives must be. If you look at their gallery, most of them have no talent. It's liek they just exist simply to troll in Dakka OT.

Bag End with full interior you say? Check out this lovely ladies blog and prepare to be blown away...

http://madshobbithole.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/how-i-made-the-hobbit-hole/

http://madshobbithole.wordpress.com/2010/01/18/my-hand-made-hobbit-hole-bag-end-from-lord-of-the-rings/

Nicely done on the Bree style building, looks the bees knees to me.

I think I make up for in determination and hopefullness what I lack in talent
though yeah, they are for the most part, empty shells of people who live by sucking the life force from others.

That's cool! It looks like the same dollhouse I found on this thread (diff pics)
http://little-world.livejournal.com/39277.html?view=211565#t211565
The furniture is my favorite

No painting tonight, too tired

Thanks for the invite but to be honest I am with Dave on the OT threads, usually fall of over opinionated asses with nothing to say (yet somehow waffle on for hours).

I did thoroughly enjoy the film even though I did have a few reservations, but overall it was a fun film with some good character representations.

So much so that it made Dave create a new thread so it cant be all bad, plus I don't understand why these people stork these OT threads yet supply nothing of use to Dakka.

I will be bold, and say publicly that I think Peter Jackson is a Genius. While it's true the film expands on the book, remember the book was a Children's book. If anyone has read Tolkien's other works (and his son's) Jackson takes little snippets from the book and then fills in the story from other books. Radagast for example, mentioned in The Hobbit only once as Gandalf's cousin, but his story is expanded on in Tolkien's Unfinished Tales. When Jackson puts all of these things into the movie, he tells specific backstories of the parts that Tolkien mentions in passing. In the Silmarillion, the backstory of Sauron and all of the Wizards' arrival in Middle-Earth is explained in detail, but not specifically in The Hobbit. It enhances the storyline IMHO. As far as other details Jackson changed himself, such as Thorin and the Dwarves bearing the Grudge against the Elves for not helping them with Smaug, well that just makes more sense to me. Perhaps it is the evolution of the Dwarf Mythos since the 1930s when it was written? Remember, before The Hobbit was written, Dwarves were only of the pathetic Snow White variety and had names like sleepy and dopey.

Excited to see some scenery middle earth style! Jackson's movies have some brilliant sets and costume design, so I love seeing people make them in miniature. There was a brilliant helm's deep done in the LOTR forum if you take a look! I think the same guy is doing osgilliath or Minas Tirith as well. The LOTR skirmish game really lends itself to having big dramatic pieces of terrain.

I often used dungeon tiles for games underground too, and it works pretty well.

But hey! Leave off the OT guys, it doesn't make you look any better than the trolls you're complaining about

I once off topic'd how to care for a baby duckling.......

Haha..I can't begin to tell you how much I don't give a damn about what people think of me unless it's my work, professional or craftsmanship. I just don't have time for it

The P&M section is so full of talented people, it's a natural hedge against the trolls.

i´ve read the silmarillion...it was a very good read... sometimes i had to chew my way through... but a big story of epic proportions...and especially for the backgroud of elves and orks...or for that matter of sauron himself a must read i think...for every LotR fan!!!

also... to all you english speaking fellas out there... in an interview of RR Tolkien... he stated that the german version was surprisingly better for his own taste than the english version... that is a revalation one doesn´t easily swallos, eh?

Well, It's all written in a 1930's English style, which is sort of dated nowadays, at least in the US. As I re-read the Hobbit, I also found some alliterations that seemed strange. Not Old KJV Bible English, but close

oh... mind you... i like reading Shakespearian english...stuff like the taming of the shrew... that is one hilarious and probably one of the sauciest pieces of literature that everyone has to agree upon to be of historical value but still is so naughty it should be on an adult list

 Viktor von Domm wrote:
oh... mind you... i like reading Shakespearian english...stuff like the taming of the shrew... that is one hilarious and probably one of the sauciest pieces of literature that everyone has to agree upon to be of historical value but still is so naughty it should be on an adult list

It was probably Banned in Boston at one point...

is boston that stiff?

dsteingass: No worries, and not meaning to go "off topic" with your thread, but I am absolutely sure none of these horrible OT trolls ever sit around complaining about the people in the other parts of dakkadakka. Anyway, I will stop rudely derailing your thread with this now.

Vik: The silmarillion lied to me! As a kid after I'd read the Hobbit and LOTR I was super hyped up for some more middle earth stories. I saw "Unfinished Tales" with the gigantic mer man coming out of the sea

and the awesomeness of the Silmarillion cover:
and was super excited.

I mean, who was this giant trident wielding guy? And who was that with the sword at his feet?

And what about this pristine white city under seige by what looks like a bajillion orcs, AWESOME DRAGONS, and some incredibly bad ass evil dude on a horse? What evil could be so strong as to rend the Earth in front of the city?
WAAAAH I had to read it! I saved my meagre earnings from doing chores and odd jobs for neighbours to buy it and set to reading it, super excited. It was a bit of let down
I think it's interesting, but I wouldn't say it's a great book.

I am curious about whether you'll follow the movie scheme for the goblins, dsteingass. I think they could benefit from something a little darker, myself.

oh... poor da boss.... i´ve read the silmarillion after LotR (and even the hobbit after reading these as well....)

and my copy of the silmarillion has a very booring cover... so no over advertising here... we germans... we tend to be so sober from time to time. but i can totally see your point when looking at these cover arts... that must´ve felt unfair...

also... the charles tolkien book... i still haven´t read that yet... somehow books having been published in universes which have not the original author to tell the tale due to their own deaths... it feels a bit weird... a bit like necromancy?

You mean his son? He doesn't really write anything, he just collects and edits tolkien's essays into coherant stories. The unfinished tales has some good stuff in it, I liked it more than the Silmarillion because it's often more character focused. Obviously not as polished as LOTR or the Hobbit, though.

I've read all the books and I found The Silmarillion and The Unfinished Tales more challenging to read than The Hobbit and TLoTR, due to slight dyslexia.

But I enjoyed The Silmarillion more than The Unfinished Tales (but it did get better later on, I think it was just the first couple of tales that I struggled with or didn't enjoy as much).

Anyway, Your models are looking good D, keep it up,

Haha, no worries, my threads always go off-topic lol It is the natural state of things. Again, I really don't care what the OT trolls do, until they try to ruin perfectly legitimate discussion threads with their poison, and when it's one of my friends, I really get pissed. We are here to share our hobby and encourage others to do the same. Dakka is a community and a wealth of knowledge that can't be bought or sold and therefore can't be controlled. Troll gak can discourage people from trying, posting, and in worse cases leave the hobby altogether. The rules of conduct are a social contract we all agree on to use Dakka. OT trolls force the mods to act as babysitters, distracting them from the other work that needs done, so no, I really don't give a damn what they talk about, because they are busy trolling, not cutting, gluing, painting, or playing wargames.


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Anyways..Back to Tolkien...The introduction pages to the Fellowship of the Ring book tells the story of how he wrote parts, then WW2 happened, and then he sort of went back and re-wrote the entire LOTR story from back to front. For instance, I LOVE Dan Abnett, but I just can't get through any of his non-GW universe books. He does amazingly well within (and expanding on) the pre-fab 40k universe, but Embedded..not so much IMHO. He is very clever with the way he tells a story, then later goes back and tells backstory to fill in the blanks. But in Embedded, he is forced to tell the entire story of the universe that way, so it's difficult for me to get into in the same way.

Remember, Tolkien was really inventing the whole High Fantasy genre at the time (even though he didn't know it), so it was up to him to write the backstory, but he was clever by actually leaving out those parts, making the reader think and wonder about those things after they had already read the book. Then later, when he published the backstories, the demand in the minds of the readers to understand more about Hobbits or Elves was already there.

Ahhh, books inspired by Tolkien. The countless hours I've spent pouring over the Tolkien Encyclopedia and the Tolkien Bestiary - both by David Day. The lavish artwork inside and descriptions of everything Middle Earth / Undying Lands. Pure unbridled joy - I'll be ever thankful to John Ronald Reuel for sharing his vision with the world...

Gotta admit Dave, your thread is seriously tempting me into parting with cash to GW (albeit through a third party like Wayland so it's a little less to painful). Or maybe I just need to put some paint to my Weathertop set and build Weathertop itself... Maybe, just maybe...

They are stupidly expensive, but I'm completely sick of everything GW is putting out for 40k lately, so I'm going this direction. I'm also really enjoying rediscovering Tolkien's world, and getting geeky with it

BTW, if anyone has the LOTR Blu-ray extended editions, check out the appendicies discs and the making of discs..absolutely phenomenal stuff on there! Including the most amazing filming miniatures, set building, art design, and so much more.

I have the blurays, but never bothered to watch the making of stuff. I ought to.

dsteingass wrote:Anyways..Back to Tolkien...The introduction pages to the Fellowship of the Ring book tells the story of how he wrote parts, then WW2 happened, and then he sort of went back and re-wrote the entire LOTR story from back to front. For instance, I LOVE Dan Abnett, but I just can't get through any of his non-GW universe books. He does amazingly well within (and expanding on) the pre-fab 40k universe, but Embedded..not so much IMHO. He is very clever with the way he tells a story, then later goes back and tells backstory to fill in the blanks. But in Embedded, he is forced to tell the entire story of the universe that way, so it's difficult for me to get into in the same way.

Remember, Tolkien was really inventing the whole High Fantasy genre at the time (even though he didn't know it), so it was up to him to write the backstory, but he was clever by actually leaving out those parts, making the reader think and wonder about those things after they had already read the book. Then later, when he published the backstories, the demand in the minds of the readers to understand more about Hobbits or Elves was already there.

completely agree to everything (especially Abnett)

dsteingass wrote:BTW, if anyone has the LOTR Blu-ray extended editions, check out the appendicies discs and the making of discs..absolutely phenomenal stuff on there! Including the most amazing filming miniatures, set building, art design, and so much more.

definitely, can't wait for the behind-the-scenes and extended editions of the hobbit (I'm a sucker for camaraderie, and PJ tends to attract it like a magnet )

I thought I subbed this! No matter, that has been fixed.

Looking good so far, and with the machine-like progress I've come to expect from you.

I imagine it will take you about a week to finish the 13,876 Goblins you'll need for the Goblin Cave.

Haha...I think I figured out why my heroes look funny, it's because I followed GW's advice and primed black. It made me realize that I much prefer white primer, colors just look better, and paint up faster for some reason. The goblins will be primed white and should paint up much quicker than the dwarves and the 72 colors GW recommends for each one


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I haven't been able to paint for 2 nights now, the upcoming long weekend should give me plenty of time to slop some more paint on. The last 10 Dwarves have most of their basecoats on now, but they all have their colors they wear, so batch painting doesn't really work, and there really isn't much to show you yet.

Viktor von Domm wrote:is boston that stiff?

It used to be... they banned Disney's Pinnocchio here for crying out loud... It got to be a kind of running joke from what I understand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banned_in_Boston

Ahhh, America, land of the morally-superior, shoving it down everyone else's throat!

 dsteingass wrote:
Ahhh, America, land of the morally-superior, shoving it down everyone else's throat!

apparently it has also become known as "the Streisand effect..."

Hmm..all of these articles reference churches and religions for some strange reason

 Galorn wrote:

Viktor von Domm wrote:is boston that stiff?

It used to be... they banned Disney's Pinnocchio here for crying out loud... It got to be a kind of running joke from what I understand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banned_in_Boston

i had a naughty thought cross my mind it was due to pinnocchios nose... and it´s enlarging when he is lying...

yeah... puritans... you can´t live with them and without them...er...on second thought... what would life be without them... full of freedom maybe? the nerve....

I now have blueprints of Bag End, and that DVD special features disc I was talking about will soon provide me with many screenshots of the filming miniatures AND sets! They can't stop me now!

Blue prints of Bag End you say. ... oooo. interesting

Well, floorplans (several different versions), and architectural relief drawings of various elements from my wonderful book. What I really need to do is plan how I will build the removable hill roof.

I get the feeling you're really going to do it. Now I am really interested in seeing how you do Bag End.

I can't wait to see how I do it either!

I think I'll go with the Hobbit movie layout, the pantries and kitchen were redesigned to be closer to one another for the Interaction needed by the script, and besides, I have many more full color references. The set for LOTR didn't extend much past the pantry, parlour, and kitchen and dining room. Although the Dining room wasn't seen on film in LOTR, so they redesigned it for the 13 Dwarves in the Hobbit.

You know, i'm finding this almost palpable air of excitement and ideas leading up to the project just as interesting and fulfilling as actual models! :-) I can feel the hum of the league telling their partners and work they can't leave the computer 'just in case Dave posts models!'

Can't wait to see bag end
also, my hobbit art and design book said it should have arrived 2 days ago, and it hasn't even been dispatched yet :(

I've ordered books from the UK before, for some reason they take forever to ship www.bookdepository.co.uk is the worst!

This will be a long-term project, not done anytime soon. Hell, I just now figured out the proper size for a Hobbit door is 30mm


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I told you there would be Rivets...

"The Rivets of Middle-Earth?"

I love it!

How about that "Rivetdale?" Heh? Heh?

Ha!....or Minas Rivetith, or the Ancient Dwarven kingdom of Dol Rivetur

It's shaping up to be a fun-filled 3-day weekend

cool....that door way is as middle earthas you can go... very iconic look dave...and you...er...nailed it... straight away^^

and for the removable roof... i think if you could use stuff from the DIY section of your hardware store... air conditioning stuff and so on you get some nice big sized white plastic stuff you could probably use as a construction start...

Thanks Vik! But I'm not following what you mean about air conditioner plastic material?


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Continuing...

OMG, can't wait...


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Yes, I'm a 41 year old man who apparently types "OMG."

 Valhalla130 wrote:
OMG, can't wait...


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Yes, I'm a 41 year old man who apparently types "OMG."

perfectly justifiable, under the circumstances

Haha..I think it's allowed

Dude your skills are amazing! That plasticard work kicks ass!

That's looking awesome, Dave!

 Ramos Asura wrote:
Dude your skills are amazing! That plasticard work kicks ass!

my thoughts exactly- can't wait!

Wow! Thanks guys!

hey dave ... amazing work so far... and currently you don´t use any pre made stuff at all...that gets you some extra points in my view too

as for the air conditioning stuff... well in my hardware store i found lots of white plastic stuff... round lids and such things that might be of help for such a removable ceiling/roof for young bilbos home... but of course you are already showing that said roof is only mere minutes away from being created by you with the just plain PC ... so...i think i watch some more in awe ^^

The Windows are pre-made ..And also the only part that isn't accurate so far.

 dsteingass wrote:
The Windows are pre-made ..And also the only part that isn't accurate so far.

*tut tut* honestly, dave... okay, start again!
I wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't pointed it out, and you must really be nitpicking to criticize that... depends how OCD you are about your projects (which seems quite a lot, based on your necromunda stuff- that could only be the work of a perfectionist)

Heh, I thought a good long while about it, but in the end, the round window had leading in too many complicated patterns, so I just used Grandt line windows from those grab bags I picked up awhile back.

dsteingass wrote:The Windows are pre-made ..And also the only part that isn't accurate so far.

the color of the windows should have been a clue for me^^

but seriously... with these pieces...a tiefighter would be no problem^^

The thought of all the dwarves, bilbo and gandalf miniatures in and around a mini Bag End makes me happier and more excited than I expected it would.

Lookin good D

Thanks guys! Much appreciated!- You keep me going as always.


Since this whole thing is experimental, some early color to keep everything making sense for me
The scale size of the door has been my central reference point so far.
The interior....That's going to be...



an Adventure

 dsteingass wrote:
The interior....That's going to be...

an Adventure

I'm predicting many, many sheets of plasticard and perhaps some PVC tubing?...

Nope, no tubing, but yes, sheets of PC. I'm going to try duplicating and spamming the curved side beams, see if that will work.

what're you going to make the hallways and such out of?

hey dave... for this build... i suggest later on to get yourself one of these diagnosis cameras... swat teams and your friendly neighberhood garage uses these to have a look into tiny tight corners...

at first i was confused by the colors... then i read on and understood...

the beams... i pity/envy you for your dreams and ambitions...you will swear so much^^

I really should watch the movie eh!..... then things make more sense!

 nerdfest09 wrote:
I really should watch the movie eh!..... then things make more sense!

definitely

It's on my list! I just haven't had time or a car to get to the cinema! I hope i can watch before it finishes locally, otherwise I am going to have to buy myself a new Plasma T.V perhaps a nice 60inch I've had my eye on........



...... actually I hope i miss it now lol, then i can get the dvd and just imerse myself into the world again like I did for the LoTR

No see it at the cinema it is one of those films you need to see it big and you 60 inches just wont do, where have I heard that before no wait that was 6 inches need a bigger spanner

Dave to be honest I was not sold on your new venture I know I hang my head in shame however once agin your eye for detail has me gripped again.

However will you stop using new stuff as I just cant afford to buy anything else every time you say just got this and hey presto what a dam cool idea

I have spent hours looking at Grandt stuff on ebay no no no more …..

The hobbit house is taking shape nicely and looking pretty dam spot on, however I do feel you should be an original version of one league inspired o course

LDD, you HAVE to have a bigger hoarde of stuff than me, because you keep buying, but never build






@Vik I only said bad words when I knocked over my glue and spilled it on my magazine

LOL you sound like my misses what do they say many a word said in jest

First rule always put the lid back on Ouch

Nothing to major I hope

Also call me stupid many do, but why are you building the whole house wont it partially be under earth

Is that a terrace at the back just seeing the railings

Vik I only said bad words when I knocked over my glue and spilled it on my magazine

what magazine??? hopefully no arty stuff????


and boy... i used some big swear words when seeing these beams!


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at LDD

lone dirty dog wrote:LOL you sound like my misses what do they say many a word said in jest

First rule always put the lid back on Ouch

Nothing to major I hope

Also call me stupid many do, but why are you building the whole house wont it partially be under earth

Is that a terrace at the back just seeing the railings

he is also building this one as an interior building... fully equiped i gather... so what you see is the inside shaping up... and shaping up very well!!!

Bloody hell he don't like doing things by half's does he this is a project I will not attempt

Arty is that another word for grot mags LOL not the green kind either

lone dirty dog wrote:Dave to be honest I was not sold on your new venture I know I hang my head in shame however once agin your eye for detail has me gripped again.

Love the beams- can't wait to see it expand and branch out into the various other rooms- definitely shaping up to be one of those terrain pieces many a modeller would kill for...

The top of the hill will be removable to hopefully allow access to the inside. More of a model than a gamepiece at this point
@LDD- you're not paying attention?

@Vik- only a small blueprint of Bag End I was glancing at

lol... yes... he is always doing the full thing^^

and well i feared he might spilled the glue on a valuable LotR magazin/book...

You were right- you ninja'd my edit Vik

Wow... this thing's gonna be epic (size and status wise )

ooohhh pretty very pretty, but what about furniture for the interior ?

I do have a short o look a ballon ……...

That's looking really good. Going to be very cool.

Thanks Guys!

its... beautiful!

Oh my....

Dave Im in absolute AWE! The scope of this project is impressive, and your speed is insane!!! I cant believe how quickly youre progressing

Thanks Guys!
I am surprised how quickly this is coming myself!

I had to get the Parlour base measured and cut first in order to build the small hallway, in order to get the arch figured out


That arch is gonna be a bitch!


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..And with this heavy wash of brown ink I leave it for tonight

This really is fast. And awesome. If I were this fast, I'd have finished all three armies and begun work on my Stalingrad terrain.

this is absolutley amazing....

I was promised there would be food, has it been canceled?

This is epic so far dude!!!

Dave! WOW how bloody good does that look eh! fan-frickin-amazing! I need to make up new words to express how good this looks!! it's so good it looks Rivelitious? it's so good it looks Davecredible? so good it looks Scratchebolous?


I love the flooring! seriously makes it something else so far, you truly are talent wrapped up in flesh and bone aren't you mate!

DAM !!!! where no words can express say nothing at all …………………….

At first i thought you where just building a small diaramic section... Dave.... Are you building all of the interior of bagend?

Lot of good work, let me say! well domne till now!

I didn't realize how god-damned huge Bilbo's house was. The model's looking pretty good.

I think Dave's been replaced by a robot which doesn't need to stop for sleep, food or toilet breaks- he's a bloody powerhouse

Wowzer... You are the Lord of the Scratchbuild Dave. Colour me impressed - this is looking like a hugeproject and it's just Bag End. How many rooms are you planning on doing?

Wow. Really glad I subscribed to this thread, now. That is amazing!

Are you going to furnish it, or just some decoration?

And will you be doing any gaming in it?

Bilbos mansion is going to be a real warren, it looks amazing mate.

Wow! Thanks guys! I'm overwhelmed by all of your comments! Thank you!

shame you built bilbo with sting, rather than his walking stick

That bugs me too Shrike..>Thanks

 dsteingass wrote:
That bugs me too Shrike..>Thanks

mwahahahah

Haha

Vik asked me awhile ago about Gouache..

It's basically opaque paint without a binder. You can make some great washes with them, but like making washes with weathering powders, after the water or thinner dries, it will become fluid again with water until you seal it with a clear coat. I will be using Future, because it's cheap
Alternatively, you could always mix the future in with it, but I am shooting for tranparent colors on top. It's hard to explain, hopefully the results will explain it (if It works the way I intend)

I literaly just got that exact box set of em, havent gotten the chance to test them out yet

I've had this set for YEARS...only used white..once

Edit: TWICE now...


It's thicker on the front because gravity is your enemy when using this stuff. Propping it up like I did for the pic made it all run off the floor and had to redo it. For now nothing to do but wait for the water to evaporate


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Too bad no one POSTS when I am waiting for this stuff to DRY!


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You will understand that I have to take some liberties with my design, deviating from the "real thing" but only to allow figure movement and to retain my sanity from geometric hell



The furniture comes at the END of the build LDD

I have to say I am really impressed with how the floor has turned out, it reminds me of the floor that I saw in an old cottage once simple but very effective have to look into these at some point

I cant wait to see the furniture that will be a challenge even for you mate all that miniature design I can see madness setting in

Very cool Dave, and after seeing your amazing fallout "furniture" im excited to see what you do with this bad boy!

THanks Fellas!

Wood panels

very nice!

Thanks Rogue

Bag End Entrance Hall







It was a good weekend indeed!

Sincerely, I am sitting here slowly shaking my head with a smile on my face simply stating "Amazing" looks like i need to invent even more words now!

Just... Wow...

I agree with Galorn..

You're moving fast on this one, Dave! Speed and precision not that we expect anything less...

Keep up the great work!
Rawson

^ this

 dsteingass wrote:
Thanks Rogue

Bag End Entrance Hall

Some bastard stole my furniture !!!!!

 lone dirty dog wrote:
Some bastard stole my furniture !!!!!

his pose is perfect for that caption

Subbed. So subbed. Breathtaking!

err .. flibb.. fnergg ......


... *gulp* .. Just outstanding.

 shrike wrote:

 lone dirty dog wrote:
Some bastard stole my furniture !!!!!

his pose is perfect for that caption

Totally

Haha! Thanks guys!
Those damn Sackville-Bagginses!!

I think the picture can be captioned with this from the last chapter in the book:

And so they crossed the bridge and passed the mill by the river and came right back to Bilbo's own door.
"Bless me! What's going on?" he cried. There was a great commotion, and people of all sorts, respectable and unrespectable, were thick round the door, and many were going in and out-not even wiping their feet on the mat, as Bilbo noticed with annoyance.
If he was surprised, they were more surprised still. He had arrived back in the middle of an auction!There was a large notice in black and red hung on the gate, stating that on June the Twenty-second Messrs Grubb, Grubb, and Burrowes would sell by auction the effects of the late Bilbo Baggins Esquire, of Bag-End, Underhill, Hobbiton. Sale to commence at ten o'clock sharp. It was now nearly lunchtime, and most of the things have already been sold, for various prices from next to nothing to old songs (as is not unusual at auctions). Bilbo's Cousins the Sackville-Bagginses were, in fact, busy measuring his rooms to see if their own furniture would fit. In short, Bilbo was "Presumed Dead", and not everybody that said so was sorry to find the presumption wrong.

The return of Mr. Bilbo Baggins created quite a disturbance, both under the Hill and over the Hill, and across the Water; it was a great deal more than a nine days' wonder. The legal bother, indeed, lasted for years. It was quite a long time before Mr. Baggins was in fact admitted to be alive again. The people who had got specially good bargains at the Sale took a deal of convincing; and in the end to save time Bilbo had to buy back quite a lot of his own furniture. Many of his silver spoons mysteriously disappeared and were never accounted for. Personally he suspected the Sackville-Bagginses. On their side they never admitted that the returned Baggins was genuine, and they were not on friendly terms with Bilbo ever after. They really had wanted to live in his nice hobbit-hole so very much.

that was what I was thinking
damn those Sackville-Bagginses... stole Bilbo's spoons, caused Sam to find out about the ring... damn them...

Absolutely stunning work so far Dave! You certainly have your work cut out for you though

Where are you getting the furniture for it? Or are you making that too?

OH NO! I'm gonna buy it all from www.28mmhobbitikea.com

You are the 47th person to take a look at it and the first thing they ask is "where's the furniture?" I brought it to work today and same story..WTF?

I'm mostly curious because furniture would cause some issues in a gaming situation, but if you're mostly building it for display it would look awesome.

I am in total awe of how quickly you've put together the atrium.

LOL, I don't see any gaming value in the piece whatsoever, what am I gonna do, roll on a chart to see if Bomber chokes on a bone?

Where's the furniture Dave? /jk

Looking really good so far. What did you use to get the wood colour?

Floor tiles look good, are you going to leave them shiny or matt them down a bit?

and... are you going to make the whole build modular or one piece? If you're building all the rooms it may get a bit large and then be interesting as to how you'd do the removable roof/hill.

Thanks! The wood is just German Grunbraun primer, Didi's Magic Brown ink, and Vallejo "wood" highlights.

LOL, you guys assume I have a plan...that's cute

Cool.

Lol. I see, like me you go for the "see how it goes and solve issues as and when" approach.

Look forward to seeing what you come up with then.

dsteingass wrote:LOL, you guys assume I have a plan...that's cute

well, you stocked up on blueprints, concept art, behind-the-scenes shots of the hobbit and other such source material, you have to have some kind of plan

Well, once I get past the curvature hell of the Parlour walls/Ceilings, I'll have more of a plan






There just isn't any use trying to plan the hill, or the furniture, or the removable roof or anything else at this point in time.
The only way to accomplish an impossible task is to break it down into manageable parts and work on them one at a time.

 dsteingass wrote:
There just isn't any use trying to plan the hill, or the furniture, or the removable roof or anything else at this point in time.
The only way to accomplish an impossible task is to break it down into manageable parts and work on them one at a time.

tru dat!
I'm working on building bag end in minecraft, I expect that's even worse from a design perspective

For a minute I thought you had made furniture then I realised they were set shots

this is my favorite shot so far! to say it is good looking would be the understatement of this year (fully aware that we are only in january atm )

and just for your notice... i never assumed you wouldn´t do the furniture not by yourself... really... where would the honor be?...

but also... i spilled my spit all over the desk when i read

OH NO! I'm gonna buy it all from www.28mmhobbitikea.com

that was the best punch line ever!!!

 lone dirty dog wrote:
For a minute I thought you had made furniture then I realised they were set shots

It's a good sign it took you a minute to realise the real life photos weren't 28mm models by dave, eh?

Haha ..you guys kill me!

Ahh saved by the beginning shots in this news report!
http://www.3news.co.nz/The-Hobbit-Jackson-and-the-actors-speak-out/tabid/367/articleID/182467/Default.aspx

I don't have the window leading figured out yet...check out what some guys started a couple of years ago
https://one-ring.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=145121&sid=773300cc801003006d95d5405379284e

let me get this straight a few days ago I saw a skeleton... now I see bagend do you own a time machine/have a time altering superpower!??! This is simply amazing!

It is looking really good, Dave. I am amazed at the level of skill you, and others, have on this forum. It is definitely the right place to come and learn.

And I really want to live in a real house like that. It really does look like a cozy hole in the ground.

Thanks Val! I wanna live there too

@Rogue Thanks bud, just for you...MOAR Bones

its beautiful

This is Hard Core. Not much more to say! And I can't wait for the shrubbery...

is there not dollhouse furniture you can buy close to this scale or close (i'm guessing 1:48 might work)? I wonder.

No, there is no pre-made hobbit-scale furniture I'm afraid. You are all forgetting what size a Hobbit is....

There not really that size Dave its camera trickery

No, they made three sets, one scaled up for normal people, one for the little stand-ins, and a third for Ian McKellan. There is no camera trick that changes the fact that Hobbits are small

 dsteingass wrote:
No, there is no pre-made hobbit-scale furniture I'm afraid. You are all forgetting what size a Hobbit is....

True, but much like vehicles there are individual components that can be adapted, or lets say a small desk with drawers would turn into a larger dresser or cupboard.

Sometimes that is true, but furniture (especially any hardware on it) is usually a scalebuster. 1:48 is O scale..for 28mm Humans. It would work perfectly fine for regular 6 foot people, but would be huge for a hobbit. Then how would you buy furniture with those elements before seeing it and scaling it by eye? It's absolutely impractical, and stupidly expensive. I don't understand the obsession with furniture?? Why is everyone worried about the damn furniture?? I will build it when it's time, there is absolutely no reason to have furniture of any kind right now in the process.

So WHY?

We're just wondering what you'll do. Sheesh, man.

Dave, what re the windows meant to look like mate? I have a few tricks up my sleeve that may work for them?

I guess I just assumed it was understood that I would build all of the furniture, since for hobbits that is the only solution. It doesn't scare me at all, it's no different or more difficult than any other model, just built one layer at a time.

@Nerd

Hmmm o.k the 'ol brain is spinning now, are they just clear window panes in them with leading or are they stained glass style? from your pics of the windows before they look like they have a bit of depth to them? this should work in your favor, I've been searching for how to do the stained glass windows in my shrine of the Aquila which i'm still waiting for my dad to do something for me so i can actually do them! but if you have a fairly stiff acetate or plastic you can add the leading on them using a 'black gel pen' usually used for scrapbooking grandma's it leaves a 3d raised line on any non porous smooth surface and it's what i'll be using to break up the lead panels in my windows! any help to you?

Ship model builders make leadlight windows for stern galleys and the like by pouring resin out into flat forms inlaid with wires for the lead. Sound pretty easy.

edit:
forgot to mention that I follow your threads for quite a while now and as the rest of the folks I am overwhelmed by your skills. I would like to see what you produce if you ever decide to lay your hands on a model of the "Golden Hind" or the "Great Henry"...

About living in a house like that, my grandad and uncles lived in an 800(ish) year old house made from layers of mud and pebbles. The walls were six foot thick in places (riddled with mice tunnels and the like) and bulged in odd ways. The interior was full of the same sort of clutter you see in Bag End and the same sort of "deep" windows with soft edges. Added to that that it was originally built for shorter people, and you often got the "hitting your head on the stupid rafter" effect. It didn't have round window or doors, but in many other respects (especially the general atmosphere) it was about as Hobbity as can be.

Sadly, no one lives there any more so it's sort of decaying, but it was a wonderful place to spend christmas eve every year growing up.

Thanks Hruotland! Why have you lurked so long? I'm not familiar with "Golden Hind" or the "Great Henry"- What are those?

@Nerd, For the entrance, the hobbit door (because if you remember I built the outside facade first) set the scale of the rest of the room. That room is now my scale-setter for the other rooms. For the parlour, I am working from the inside out, because the tunnel to the entry hall is the scale setter. the paneling in the parlour is taller than the entry hall (because the arch diameters are different), and the arched cutaway sections are very symmetrical in this room. The tunnels to the entry hall and the kitchen need to be directly opposite each other, just like the outside window is directly opposite of the fireplace. I have to get the fireplace in place in order to build the window opposite from it. Then the small round windows are set in at 45 degree corners to the rest of the paneling. The outside wall actually has small 45 degree sections, but because of the plasterwork inside disguises that angle somewhat.



I have to fit the wall shapes to the room before I can lay out the window in the available space, let alone worry about the leading in the window.
These guys used some scrapbooking stickers and brass rod for the leading in their interpretations.


What I don't understand is why they went to so much trouble making the window leading 100% movie accurate, but yet not the colors?
I'm going to be more concerned with the overall shapes, and fitting them into the walls rather than accurate leading.
Then, there is the fact that the sets were completely rebuilt between LOTR and The Hobbit films, even the floorplan has changed.

As you can see- these are the blanks after LOTR and before they turned Hobbiton, NZ into the tourist attraction it is now (with permanent facades)
Can't you just drive over there and take some detail pictures for me?

That third pic is sort of what the technique I mentioned looks like, I wish i could be more help and show you my own example but like I mentioned I'm actually waiting on my dad to print me all the window designs for my modeling, he's been trying to find time since late last year but his presses have been flat out and he can't get on them! i'll kick him up the backside and try and get some to play with soon, then I'll know if it'll be any real help to this project you're working on so bautifully!

The Golden Hind was a ship. I assume the Great Henry was also.

Yup, Golden Hind http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Hind was Drake's Flagship, while with the other one I made a mistake (blame my bad memory), Henry Grace a Dieu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Harry or short "Great Harry" was the biggest vessel of it's time.

Man, in the hands of a modeller as skilled and creative as you, Dave...

I always wanted to build a ship...

Many many years ago there was this racing ship I believe called 'Defender' my father obtained plans for it and scratch built a model of the entire thing, laying every single panel of wood and knotting all the rigging by hand, made every porthole from brass himself and made his own decals from scratch too, printing out the name on paper then varnishing it and lastly sanding the paper from behind off so just the ink was left! he's a crazy man I tell ya! I'll see if i can take some pics just to show you if you're interested?

Absolutely! The old-fashioned modeling techniques can be some of the most inspiring nowadays!

Very, very nice! Looking forward to seeing the whole of Bag End 28mm-ered!

Alright then i'll have a word to my old man and see what he knows! I have a sneaky suspicion if you and he ever got talking i'd be shoved aside and my banner would be handed to him in a heartbeat :-) he is VERY talented! i'll get some images of the ship on monday for you, did you want them PM'd or up here or your old blog?

It should be shared for all to see! post it here!

Thanks Noctem!


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Not sure if this helps explain better, but it helped me to figure out a few things..

 dsteingass wrote:
I always wanted to build a ship...

er... i put this here for no actual reason...

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/488652.page


if there is someone more talented out there for this task... i doubt it

and dave... i am actually looking forward to you going all furniture...in your own time... and just to sound like a bootlicker... what´s the point in making all the decorations now, when the rooms are not even finished? seems to be the right order you´re currently following...

Wow Vik! He is insane! But it's fantastic!! That can't be his first ever ship model!

I didn't mean to sound snippy or anything, I just figured I'd be getting questions about geometry and other matters of construction related to the build, who knew ..furniture

Ahh, Ninja'd by Vik... Silveroxide's model are fantastic and the Galleon tops them all. Sheer class. I have the Mayflower that's been sitting waiting to built for nigh on 18 years now - all wood with the most insanely detailed plans you just woldn't believe. One day I'll attempt it, just not yet...

I promise that I won't mention furniture (damn it...)

So how are you figuring all the angles then - is it just by eye from the photos / film clips or did the floor plans you referenced earlier have the precise details?

BTW, the video links you put on earlier with the walkthrough were awesome, and you are truly doing justice so far...

Look, d, some of us really like interior design, okay? lol

Heh, no the floorplan is just what you saw, I'm just looking at media and figuring it out from there

Here..This is kind of like furniture

Great to see Weta workshop's work being an inspiration for your own hobby journey! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Invention! Yeah, The Behind The Scenes stuff on the DVD's fascinates me! I'd happily leave my career in an instant to be able to go work for Weta on stuff like this.
@Ruglud- I'm using pine craft/stir sticks in alternating fashion. I based my rough measurements for the paneling on those. As you can see by the new corner pieces that hitting them with the belt sander helps the look, but I'm finding that is causing me to lose thickness that I didn't figure for :facepalm
..But this is why man invented trim


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What about LGS applied through a hypodermic needle for window leading?

couldn´t argue about siveroxide´s sanity... motivation or rather dedication is spotless tho... and he made quite a big range of papercafted models one would give at least his left hand for to be half as good as this guy is... he has quite some skills, eh?^^

and dave... speaking of skills... those woodpannel-not-furniture stuff.... looks totally wonderful! and frankly i am amazed by the fact that you use wood again instead of PC... what a long time ago has it been since you last used that material... and you never lost any skills there!!!

oh by the way... silveroxide uses a dremel as a small lathe... cool idea, eh? defiantly furniture interesting food for thought

Oh yeah Vik? I wonder how he chucks in the other end of his stock-piece?? I haven't read through his wonderfully detailed tuts yet, does he explain there?
edit: Reading is fundamental!!

He is using some sort of extended collet here. I'd have to do some experimenting, but my Dremel Workstation would allow me to lock it in place on it's side, but to really do turned table legs and such, You'd really need some sort of tool rest methinks. I dunno, but I'm sure I could do a LOT more with the Dremel than I can imagine. Mine just sits there most of the time not even plugged in.

But Vik, working with wood is wearing out my CHop-it unfortunately. I may need to upgrade to the Chopper, you know, the One LDD has, but is too lazy to change the blade?

Something is wrong with me, tonight I had no fun at all. The posts that support the roofline arches frustrated me to no end. Nothing looks right, even though I've tried 6 or 7 different methods, it's just not right yet. All I got done was the small window arches, and that's nothing great to look at.


It's not even the geometry as much as finding the right material to make the posts look right. I'm supposed to be enjoying myself and I'm not, so I'm quitting for tonight.
What does high blood pressure feel like?

Pretty much like that.

Great!
Of all the myriad of ways for my body to fall apart as I get older, it chooses the one that affects my hobby-time!

 dsteingass wrote:
Great!
Of all the myriad of ways for my body to fall apart as I get older, it chooses the one that affects my hobby-time!

Hmm what about the things is looking off to you?

If a thinner wood like substance might help I have a copious amount of birch coffee stirrers that I could send some winging your way....

Dave, just incase you were not aware. White dwarf this month has a big Hobbit poster with all th epainted minis.

Silveroxides mini lathe is great, inspired use of hobby tools. Does looks a tad dangerous though - I'm sure he's got some safety glasses, can imaging shattered blades spinning through the air!

Dave, I have another question for you, and apologies if this has already been answered... What is the black base material you're using?

Oh and I'll quietly leave these here for you...

Ruglud you beat me to it I was going to suggest (probably against your rules) but anyway Doll house fittings they might have something that would fit the build without you blowing a gasket

Also I was going to say pretty good work, but after that remark well what can I say however I still have not replaced that blade I should go and find some blades really

Look, I'm going to have to politely request that you stop being so goddam awesome

Great work, it's not very often you see such an insane amount to detail going into a very specific-purpose item...

Also, I never thought there would be a book dedicated to making scale module foodstuff...

This is incredibly inspiring stuff. Really happy that I subscribed. Keep it up dsteingass! It's making me want to get back to scenery making after 2 and a half years in temporary accomadation!

Don't get too down Dave, sometimes things don't quite work as you expect and then that frustration just makes it worse. A short break can be all you need to get a new idea and you'll be back on it.

Or share the problems and someone on here will have an answer.

Keep it up.

Thanks guys!
of course Mordain...I bought the damn ipad version of this month's WD
Thanks Ruglud..now I have to buy those books!

This is the part I'm having a problem with:

Ignore the round door frame, mine will be straight-sided with an arched top for practicality of building and moving miniatures.

The upper curved (plaster) walls will sit directly on the horizontal centerline of my stir-stick wall panels (showing only half to give the illusion of thin paneling- and the back half supporting the beams and plaster walls), but the columns not only support the curved overhead beams (which are perfectly symmetrical to support each other), but are the iconic part of the room that I can't half-ass,

otherwise it'll look wrong. I've also been using stylized CG pics that other fans have created such as this:

Which still retain the symmetry of the curved ceiling beams, but have simplified lines on things such as the paneling.
But this artist gave it a fluted column, rather than square paneled like the set (which is probably confusing me too)
On some pictures they look straight, in others they look fluted (or is that just the perspective of the pics?) or are the Goddamn things making me see things that aren't there?
If you look carefully, the columns have a stepped capital
Which is level with the top of the paneling, but in relation to the plaster walls, it sticks out a bit farther than the paneling, but it seems as if half of the capital is buried in the plaster walls???..Or is it on the surface of the paneling?
I have, and can bend thick plastic strip of the proper size for the arched beams..but then it appears as though the vertical lines of the beam line up with the column..as if the beam is structural and the paneled column is just wrapped around the beam?

This is difficult to explain, so sorry if it isn't clear.

So the problem you're having is with the "look" of the columns and not structural?

From the pictures of the set you show there, it looks to me that the columns are thicker than the wall and curved beams that attach to the top of them. So what you see of the column is only decorative.
If I was doing it, I would build it with the bent beams going all the way to the floor and then just use thin plastic pieces to build the column around it.

RIGHT!- but if those curved beams go all the way to the floor and then are wrapped to form the column shape...should they stick out into the room farther?

If you were doing that, then would the curved plaster walls on top line up properly?

Oh, I see. You're not sure if the columns stick out from the plaster walls as much as they should if they are just placed up to the walls, as opposed to being partially buried in the walls?

I think they should stick into the room farther.

The plaster though...erm...

ah ha, look at the left side of this picture...

You see the column next to the large window, the well lit one?
The plaster is flat to the back edge of the column and appears to only curve with the curve of the beam. but the curve above the window starts to curve earlier, is that what's confusing you? Does that help?

Yeah, I need to build the columns and arch beams (and have them glued solidly to the base) before any of the wall pieces (thin curved plastic sheet)

Oh btw, the black basing material is 1/4" PVC foam

Hi truly admire the work, just amazing.

Just trying to help out here, and please tell this lesser mortal to go boil his head, but.....

I think the columns are actualy slightly curved ( please see pic attached I hope to explain.) This would trick the eye into thinking the walls are more curved and continue to curve under. And they will be completely out of the wall, not buried at all. For this reason I would build the visible frame inside an external structural frame.

Also as I have tried in the picture to explain, I would build it as 3 seperate frames and then joint it all in. Lot of work but simpler than trying to work out the angles with the curves.

Its a lot easier in reality to do all the curves because you can plaster it all out. PC is good but bending it in 3 different directions at once is fun.

I recently had some success with thicker PC (2mm) heating it with a candle or small blow torch, and bending it to make a curved ram, maybe this is the answer for those tricky curves around the top of the columns and the window?

Hope this helps and please feel free to totally dismiss this if applicable.
[spoiler]


Automatically Appended Next Post:
PS realy sorry to show my work, I cant work how to put spoilers in? Realy sorry.

Thanks Cam! I totally agree with you that it needs built into the structural frame (that is what my stir-stick walls are supposed to double as)- hence the idea to center the curved walls on the stir-stick structure. I didn't plan on curving the plastic more than one way, although it is possible, but like you said...fun

I've been thinking about getting one of those heat guns, but I'm kind of afraid of a high-powered one.

Yor drawing is great, and explains a lot, thanks man..but I'm afraid I don't exactly follow you on the curvature of the columns, can you elaborate?. The walls are all completely flat from the floor up to the top of the paneling, then the curvature starts. In reality, they would excavate the larger cave shape, then bend lath boards and plaster all the funky joints. I won't be able to build it exactly, especially because the center and top curvatures will be omitted so the room is open to the top (like the entry hall)- on the end walls where the doors to the kitchen and entry halls are loacated..I'll just shape the top of the wall in a curvature to suggest it's there without actually modeling it. but the smaller curved beams will be there. I know, this is really hard to talk about, but I appreciate any ideas!

As they imitated baroque arch roofs with that hobbit hole, maybe you should look onto real baroque palace walls and look how THEY did it, not how they imitated that on the set maybe without understanding how the original construction is made.
I have seen rooms like that, for example in Schloss Rockenbach (Rockenbach castle) in bavaria. Of course not that rounded wall and window thingie, but framework construction with plastered walls. It is likewise in that only the most prominent pillars, frames and beams were visible in the room. They were mostly protruding a bit, but embedded in the plaster, because behind the plaster there was the most part of the frameworks. On some parts, the timbers were not only not prominent, but set back into the the plaster, because they were no thicker than the timbers plastered over.
From what I have seen I would guess the pillars are indeed functional, the arches are mortised and the capitels are part of the pillars, where the arches are mortised into. At least this is like it is in renaissance framework houses around here.

Thanks.

I am not sure if they are actually curved or fluted. But the top is definately narrower than the bottom. The idea of making the columns "tubby" would be to let the eye think that the straight walls are curving. It's realy hard to explain put you said it earlier. It's a perspective thing. If your a bad joiner and put the architrave on off plumb, the whole door looks like it's leaning. You can do this on purpose for a desired effect. Like tapering a column to make it look taller. Or curving a column to make a wall look bowed. Sorry struggling here. Your brain thinks the column must be straight and curves the wall!!!.
To be honest I think that the effect will be lost on such a small scale, and you would be fine with straight ones.
But having seen how perfect your models are I appreciate you are trying to be as accurate as possible.

On the heat gun, go for it, but I just use a candle, it's just a couple of seconds of flicking it across the flame. I do not advocate it unless you are a thoroughly sensible person in a safe environment. It occasionally goes wrong and you end up with something a chaos spawn threw up..!!!

Ok, first thing's first..
Dr. H's revolutionary idea

Now the true test..will the other side of the room line up symmetrically?
I added a matchstick-sized piece of backing board flush with the outside of the paneling, then bent and glued my curvature to it. Only the very corners of the beam are tacked together atm..but I think that places the beam in the proper place.
And the backing board lines up right where I want the plastic sheet for the wall to glue, allowing me to leave a little sliver of wall down to the floor (baseboard will be glued on after the floor is in place) so my door jamb can also stick out....This might work!

Hrou..I used that idea on the tunnel door on the Entry hall

But the only picture showing it from the inside was blurry, so I didn't upload it
It was done by gluing the door jamb onto the flat wall sheet before bending the wall..but it was a pain in the ass.
The side doors on my parlour will be flat all the way up (I think)

looks perfect to me

 dsteingass wrote:
Now the true test..will the other side of the room line up symmetrically?
I added a matchstick-sized piece of backing board flush with the outside of the paneling, then bent and glued my curvature to it. Only the very corners of the beam are tacked together atm..but I think that places the beam in the proper place.
And the backing board lines up right where I want the plastic sheet for the wall to glue....This might work!

I think so- good idea with the heating plasticard!

Revolutionary

Glad it appears to work. Looks fine from here, if it looks good from where you're sitting then all good.

hey dave... you are not really having blood pressure problems? although this might be possible... i bet you can get quite hot tempered...

garlic keeps the tubes free... old established way to keep healthy and get really old...well at least it gets the baggage of the family away and all the other buggers... so probably one of old age due to no contact to others

i really like your inquisitive mind... testing stuff... working out how new solutions for even newer problems need to be! and you can do it! proofs of these are all around your threads! my only addition to the self answered questions of yours... paper and cardboard when all else fails... if plastic card and wood fail to bend to your whim... use softer stuff... heck if this isn´t even working... why not use cloth sturdied by PVA...

as for the chop it... i am currently thinking hard as to how to improve mine too... have a deep groove in the base from cutting stuff there and the former tip of using cardboard to cover the grove only works for so long... i think i need to replace the base myself soon... for you i truly suggest upping the game and get yourself a totally new one... there are other machines out there that have more power...and thus control...

as for the lathe thing... yeah by all means... see how you can get a lather build up... for the whole fruniture issue... this will be essential!

and keep well mate!

Thanks guys! I really do thrive on the feedback!

@Vik- I always value your sage advice and thoughts my friend! -same thing happening with my chop-it- but my blades are also bowing between the screws. I guess it wasn't that great of a thing after all. I ordered a Chopper II- we'll see how that one works.
I'm not myself when I'm like that..at least not how I used to be

Well, I figured out what was bugging me so bad...

Once I duplicated and spam, spam, sausage, and spammed the beams..It didn't line up, because I made the hallway bigger as an afterthought, which left me with this mess
Now a miniature base is a tight fit..won't work
Also, the fireplace-side beams are SHORTER..al lthe time I was planning on them being symmetrical
I fething hate math
I can build new walls easily enough (or just hack some of these off)..as long as I don't have to rebuild the corners.

Oh dear, at least you've found the problem now.

Hope you can work it out, I'm sure you will.

I fething hate math
I can build new walls easily enough (or just hack some of these off)..as long as I don't have to rebuild the corners.

i feel your pain! i always forget when planning to take the thickness of materials into the mix when doiong the maths... you don´t want to know how much material i have ruined due to such calculation errors...

and don´t expect any smart ideas from me... dunno really what you should do now here... tho i may add... for me it looks quite cool!

Oh I'll hack them up or make something work..I'm not discouraged by this small setback any more After a long winter's nap, I'll have a go at it again.

speaking of... my time has come too^^... need an eyeshut now...weekend is cold and long...well not long enough, for sure^^ but you gotta restore your energy... kids want to have fun and so on... my son and me want to build a scratchbuild sailing boat tomorrow... from cardboard and foam... t least that is the plan cross your fingers^^

and good night!

Night old man..eat some garlic for breakfast and enjoy a quiet hobby day!

Good Morning Hobbit-Folk!




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Not much is written about winter time in the Shire

But respectable Hobbits stay inside their Hobbit-holes and use the weather as an excuse to work on their hobbies!
All Hobbits share the hobby of food.
So on a particular cold winter day in the Shire, shortly after second breakfast: one particular Hobbit began preparing a Brisket

He began by selecting a nicely marbled brisket
Too often, people go for the cuts of meat that are lean and visually pretty, the flavor is in the fat!..And you shave it off after cooking!


He then sharpened is knife and began slicing narrow slits in ALL the surfaces, especially the edges!

Then he rubbed his mix of dry spices into all the little cracks that he created in the fibrous tissue of the meat and allowed it to permeate for a bit
Later published writings by Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) entitled "HerbLore of the Shire" translates the recipe equivalent to Lawry's, Old Bay, Onion Powder, black pepper, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

While he prepared the roots and veggies. Sweet Bell peppers of red, yellow, and green, Hobbit-sized potatoes, sweet juicy carrots, and small pungent yellow stewing onions

Oh my god this is some mouth watering hobby lore right there! lets hope that Hobbits only like to share the hobby of food and don't go off course and show us the hobby of clipping toenails or the hobby of de-matting your foot hair?

I always find that, when dematting hobbit feet hair, a fine comb through said hair is good to separate fibres before soaking in soapy water and running through with a shoe buffing brush, of all things, before drying and scrubbing with a (hobbit-sized) broom.

...I'm having buttered toast.

Haha All well and good to stay well-groomed!
..Good loaf and fresh butter are essential Shrike! ;D

I'm waiting on a roast lamb leg from the dear family matriarch

Its a weekend, so I don't have my take my brushes to the Sackville-Bagginses until Monday

Ahahaha- The Sackville-Bagginses! Stealing the silverware!

With the Veggies prepared....

He went to the cold cellar and brought three bottles of hard cider, two for the Brisket, one for himself!

He brought out a great frying pan and seared the meat gently on all sides, Especially the Edges!!
When you use a dry rub with salt, it draws the moisture out of the meat, while tenderizing it. To ensure it doesn't dry out in the oven, and for making a gravy/glaze later on he adds a little cider vinegar and two bottles of hard cider in the bottom of the pan and placed the brisket on a rack in the pan, with the onions and carrots and then covered it with foil and placed it low and slow in the oven.
.
The smell will now fill every room of the Hobbit-hole and torture him for hours until he finally adds the peppers and potatoes and then has to endure torture for more hours.

I sure hope a certain Hobbit won't mind a few guests later in the evening....

Dave, you'd best check that Sir Ian McKellan hasn't done any funny business to your door

I recognice that lately a certain brand of hard cider features prominently in your art. Do they pay well?

Haha! I'll go check! ;D



Automatically Appended Next Post:
I bought a case of Cider!

Break the dishes, crack the plates, that's what Bilbo Baggins hates!

Yes LOL

If you've done it right, when you grab a slice it should snap apart when pulled!

To food, drink, and merriment

That looks awesome.. If you and the lady are ever out this way we really should go a cooking...

Aye! It was sooo fething good!

I wanna try those little pasta things you were making.

two of the most delicous things ive seen today, a great hobbit room and some great hobbit meat!

Too often, people go for the cuts of meat that are lean and visually pretty, the flavor is in the fat!..And you shave it off after cooking!

i´ve met too many peeps in my time that get so afraid of a little bit of fat on their meat... idiots the lot of then... i try to educate my family for future fat times ahead^^... really... there is nothing better and delicious as butter, pork and a good juicy sauce... really... it is the manna from heaven really...

by the way... those tasty looking pics of yon meal i had to just show to my missus... she liked them too... darn... i only have atm chicken filet in the house...but i´d be damned if i can´t work around to create some tasty meal with that^^ you´ve motivated me quite a bit^^


and as usual on a site note...totally unrelated... bagend looks nice shaping up as it is^^

Thanks Vik! We bought that when it was on sale a few weeks ago and threw it in the freezer. I was thinking and planning that cooking project secretly for weeks

well... best laid plans can work out from time to time

Yes, food is serious business!

that´s a sentence you have to say with a thick southern accent^^

....Or a British Hobbit accent