New build video. This was put together just for a bit of fun at the end of the StackaRack kickstarter, using some 'spare' 3D printed prototypes and bits from the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprues.
On a vaguely related note, it's possible I own too many miniatures... Just spent an hour looking for one of the two robot dog miniatures I know I own. Just when I was about to give up, I found one of them exactly where it should have been (and the first place I looked)...
Meanwhile, second Stargrave crew coming together. Left to right - Robot Burner, Cyborg Captain, Robodog, Robot Trooper, Robotics expert First Mate, and Robot Hacker.
Yeah, took me a few runs and some re-orientation to get this lot to print properly. Kept getting halfway through and then coming off the build plate, at which point the printer is essentially just waving about spraying molten filament everywhere.
This is why you don't just start it running and go to bed, folks...
A rather more ambitious print than I have attempted previously. And, as my first roll of filament ran out mid-print, a handy opportunity to compare the quality of the new roll... Needs a fair bit of cleanup, and will probably wind up as a wreck in a piece of terrain, but was a fun experiment.
Second Stargrave crew assembled and ready for paint. Mostly built from Maelstrom's Edge miniatures, with a couple of resin ring-ins.
Captain, 1st mate and Doggo. The Captain is a Maelstrom's Edge Nimbus battlesuit, with the head from a Karist Heavy Weapon trooper. His close combat weapon is a cut down lightsaber blade from a star wars figure. Doggo is from Artel W, and the space dwarf Mate is from Victoria Miniatures.
Troopers, built from slightly modified Epirian Scarecrows. The left arm is replaced with a shin piece from another Scarecrow kit and an added blade from a Karist knife. This was to give them a slightly bulkier appearance compared to the other bots. Heads are from the Remnant Militus kit, which comes with a whole slew of different helmet designs.
Burner and Sniper. More modified Scarecrows. The burner has a shoulder mounted 'pistol' which started life as an underslung grenade launcher on an Epirian Handler arm, and the same left arm conversion as the standard Troopers. The Sniper uses the sniper rifle arms from the Captain's Nimbus kit - the kit comes with both options, so this was a handy way to make use of them both. I used a different head from the Militus sprue to accentuate his more specialised role.
Hacker and Slicer. Also modified scarecrows, with a more solid, industrial-looking head from the Militus kit. Pistol hands are taken from Epirian Handlers, and the Slicer has a slightly more literal 'pick' option in the form of a cutting torch made from Scarecrow flamethrower and Broken glue pistol.
Apparently Plast Craft Games are out of business... so I took the opportunity to nab a bunch of kitbash fodder on clearance from The Combat Company. Time to flesh out my neo-western terrain collection for Maelstrom's Edge.
Keen to see your efforts with the Hornet! It’s an interesting kit that I’d like to use as a flyer for a grim dark universe but not without conversion work.
It's not particularly elaborate. You drop the resin in and shine a torch on it for a minute. That's pretty much it.
I've used clear plastic cut to shape before, but for anything that isn't just a square it can be tricky to get a neat, snug fit. And the resin is an easy way to make thicker 'glass'.
Ultimately, though, it wasn't something I was doing because it was necessarily the best way to do it, just something I thought would be cool to try because I had the resin to hand.
Nice, I just printed a robodoggie to go with my crew, but I like the one you have there as well, Is it from MEdge or is that a WWexodus figure? I think I've seen him before.
Theophony wrote: Is that pet Angel-pug hybrid part of the kit, or just another characterful addition you did? Either way it's fantastic.
It's part of the kit, although was designed as an optional part that can be left off. Doesn't do anything rules-wise, but we thought it would be a fun inclusion to add some character. Background-wise, promising Alessi are sometimes gifted a young angel by the Keepers as a status symbol. When it gets big enough to start being a problem, it would go back to the Keepers, but for a while it will follow the Alessi around and intimidate the heck out of people.
Took some time over the weekend for some personal hobbying. Assembled a few models that I've been slowly accumulating to add to various Retromunda gangs. Still a little green stuff work to go on some of these...
Tinkering with an Anvil Industry tech guy, to get a better feel for how to support humanoid models. I started out using their pre-supported version. The first print pulled away from the supports in a couple of places causing his foot and wrench handle to not print properly, and he has some missing detail down his face and front from a dead pixel on my screen.
I moved him around on the buildplate and tried again. This one was better, but the foot and wrench handle still pulled away, so I tried a third version using my own supports. This one came out fabulous, but I think the supports are too heavy to get off cleanly, particularly around the right side where they are possibly merged with his jacket. Will have to try again with lighter supports and double check that clearance distance.
In the meantime, I also printed this little lady, to lead some Wargames Atlantic giant alien spiders...
This was an AOS Arachnarok stand-in nabbed from (I think) Thingyverse, and scaled down to fit on a 65mm MEdge base. He rearmost right leg is missing the outermost joint due to another dead spot on my screen (really need to change it... I have the replacement screen but haven't had time to pull the machine apart.) but I'm going to replace it with a bionic.
Also printed this little guy, for a plant pot ornament for my wife...
A new project... I picked up a bunch of the original Space Hulk terminators a few years back. While some allowances for quality can be made for the fact that they are so old and were made for a boardgame, the gaping holes in their backs always bugged me. SO, I decided to make a part to fill it in.
This is the initial print test, and it's not too far off...
The central pillar in the back cavity pushes the vent out further than I would like, so I have a revised version printing now that fits around it a little more. More soon...
Revised version of the vent is perfect. It's a little delicate, as the walls on the indent to accommodate that vertical strut in the Termie's back are quite thin, but once glued in place that won't be a problem.
Also, because it seemed like a good idea at the time, I made a Cyclone launcher that fits over the aerial post. Still needs a little rejigging to get the detail on the rear to come out properly - I'll test reorienting it on the build plate, but will likely wind up splitting it into two pieces.
Worked up a couple of iterations of the cyclone before I was happy with it, but I'm pretty pleased with the end result. Along with printing a bunch of these for my own minis, I have also added the STL files to a new download section on the Under The Couch website here, just in case there is anyone else out there who would like to use them.
The next challenge will be to create an assault cannon that fits over the storm bolter the way the original heavy flamer part did.
Took some new pics of my old Dark Eldar, part of updating the gallery on the Under The Couch website...
Back around halfway through the third edition of Warhammer 40k (maybe 2000-ish), I went on a bit of a modeling blitz in an attempt to get 'caught up' with my modeling backlog. This small force was one of the results of that, being cobbled together mostly from the 3rd edition starter set plastics with a couple of ring-ins to flesh them out. Painting was mostly a rough and simple drybrush to get them done quickly - while I originally had much more elaborate colour scheme plans, I just didn't like these models enough to spend a heap of time on them!
I feel so old looking at these models. I remember when the Dark Eldar Codez first came out and how nuts it was that GW had actually kind teated a whole new army. Your models look great. Brings back a lot of fond hobby memories.
Some more Oldhammery WIP... Started working on a couple of Ork Dreadnoughts I picked up from a second hand seller at Adepticon waaay back in 2014. Stripped (mostly) and disassembled, cleaned up and reassembled. Two small ones ready for paint, and the four-arm version still to finish cleaning up.
Had another go at the Anvil tech guy, this time using Lychee slicer and medium supports. Came up fabulous, although a lot of the detail in the below pic is washed out by the lighting... Keen to see how he looks with paint on.
Also finally got sick of trying to work around the dead spots on the screen, so had a bash at replacing it. Replaced the worn film while I was there, and also (because you can never introduce too many variables, am I right?) used up the last of my Anycubic resin, so I wanted a quick and easy test piece to make sure everything was working and to check out the Siraya Fast resin.
This was something I worked up for my daughters. They're playing Pokemon, but are both still working on their coin flipping, so we've been using a regular D6 with odds being 'heads' and evens for 'tails'. Figured this would be easier, because I have a penchant for over-complicated solutions to simple problems.
Also, my 9-year-old painted her first mini! Elf from Reaper.
Very nice force! I play Imperial Guard mostly, so no wonder I'm attracted to the individual character of each model with elements that lead to a unified whole.
I like the brown wash (?) you've used to show wear and long field service on the whitish uniforms. I'm in the midst of augmenting a Sisters of Battle half-squad with their 'specials' (commander, reliquary-bearer and heavy flamer) but don't like the look of their white cloaks. I'm thinking a similar wash on the cloaks will give that 'singed' look and draw the grey and white shading elements together.
Sunday afternoon spent watching Clone Wars with the girls and building most of a Space Legats tank after bodging up a missing (rather vital) piece. Just a few final touches to go and then on to painting.
Picked up the rest of the Speedpaint range, so having a bit more of a play to see what I can do with them. Just needs finishing touches.
Also a good excuse to try out the Garfytwit paint handle, which I bought specifically because it doesn't need bluetac to hold the mini, and then the first mini I choose to use it for winds up needing bluetac because of the 32mm base...!
Meanwhile - A Kaddar Nova I put together for the 2nd edition Guard army I've been working on. He'll be fielded as an Inquisitor Lord in power armour, with a force rod and hand flamer.
Built from the plastic Maelstrom's Edge Kaddar Nova kit with weapons from the Faction Expansion sprue. Painted with Army Painter Speedpaints.
For the curious, there's a basic walkthrough of the painting here.
Yeah, even with the reactivation issues, I'm liking these more than Contrast as they give a much better finish.
Reactivation is really hit and miss, and seems to be largely affected by the weather, but I've taken to hitting the model with a light coat of matt varnish before any touch ups and that seems to fix it.
Playing with some more 3D printing - I spent a chunk of the last couple of weeks finetuning the Maelstrom's Edge Gnolti.
Multi-part print, printed on the Anycubic Phonton at 50 micron layers, using Anycubic Grey resin.
Painted mostly with Army Painter Speedpaints.
These were single part prints, using Siraya Tech Fast resin, and one of them mirrored just for kicks. Sprayed with AP Uniform Grey for visibility, as the resin is slightly translucent.
Very interesting. Are you thinking about moving away from cast resin and into printed resin for future products? Mirror effect is an easy way to get an alternate pose.
We're already done with cast resin, as it's just too expensive right now. Printed resin is a possibility for down the track when it reaches a point where it can produce sufficient quality at a viable price, but for right now we're going to be gradually releasing STLs of our resin models for people to print their own.
A side-project for my (Ahahaha!) spare time... Tacked this guy together as a joke a while back, and decided it was too good to not put him together properly. Now to get some paint on...
So I've decided to jump belatedly onto the Gaslands bandwagon. I didn't want to use Hotwheels cars, as the variable scaling makes me cranky, and since the rulebook says it was designed for 1/72, I picked up a few plastic kits in that scale and the Implements of Carnage sprues from North Star to get some guns on them.
Building the first kit (a schwimwaggen) reminded me just how much I hate the fiddlyness of 1/72 scale kits, and also revealed that they were far too small for the North Star crew. Then I remembered that I had a couple of 1/56 scale car kits from Rubicon that I picked up a while ago hoping to use for MEdge conversions and then never did anything with when they turned out to be too small for that... and in a happy coincidence, the crew on the Implements sprue turned out to be a perfect match size-wise for the driver in the first Rubicon kit I grabbed. 1/56 is still a manageable scale, and the range of plastic kits from the likes of Rubicon and Warlord are at least designed with gaming in mind, so lack the stupidly fiddly, and fragile, parts found in regular scale model kits.
SO, scale issues resolved and bits in hand, I set to work putting together a suitably post-apocalyptic Volkswagen Beetle.
I also have a Rubicon Schwimmwagen sitting on the shelf, so I'll tackle that one next, and then see about getting some paint on them before going hunting for some more suitable kits. I'm really tempted to pick up a pack of Rubicon's German bicycles, because I think that would be hilarious...
I'm floating a new terrain idea... Based on those 'levitating' (cable supported) coffee tables that pop up online from time to time, built just to see if I could.
insaniak wrote: Happy Birthday to me! Can't wait to find some time to put these together...
oh wow, why was I never told about this. I loved He-Man as a kid, the cartoon as alright. But the comic books that came with the figures were bloody gold. I loved he man as some barbarian who helped out the sorceress and got the power sword. Skeletor as some evil extra dimensional villian, not a stooge of the 'hord'. Those books and the story books that came on a record that you read along with were lit. I loved those so much.
I took a look at this set. it looks kinda neat, Cant wait to see some pics ofthem painted up. are you going to build castle greyskull, snake mountain, eternia palace and all that other fun stuff. I did like the mix of high tech and low tech in the cartoon. Like the track attack vehicle looked kinda cool ( the toy sucked) same with the attack plane that looked like a bird that had a attachment piece you put on top of greyskull.
Why can't I remember what I did last week, but I can remember that whole theme song?
FabricatorGeneralMike wrote: are you going to build castle greyskull, snake mountain, eternia palace and all that other fun stuff.
I mean, it would be fun, but just getting the models done is likely to be an extended process...
Tempted to try to nab an old Castle Greyskull from the action figure range off eBay, though, if only to use as a backdrop. The scale should actually work out quite well.
Having a little time off work, so taking the opportunity to get some more paint on this little guy... Still a ways to go.
Finished off my Chaos Dreadnought. It's been so long since I painted my Night Lords (mostly done in 2nd edition) and my painting (and my paint collection!) has changed so much since then that I didn't even try to match the colouring exactly, but I think it works well enough.
I've come down with a serious case of Rogue Trader / Oldhammer nostalgia recently, and it's great to see that lovely old metal model done so well.
Perhaps sometime, just for kicks, you could put your oldschool Chaos force up against your Karists / Broken / other Maelstrom's Edge forces and snap a few pictures for us. I love that sort of toybox-mixing nonsense. (Chaos Dreadnought vs. Gnolti! It has to happen!)
That's a definite possibility. I have some homebrew rules for using regular Space Marines up on the MEdge website, and am planning to add in other 40K factions as I have time. If nothing else, it gives me a use for all of these models that I'm no longer using for 40K!
Really nice work on that Chaos dread, I always liked that mini. I love the musculature underneath the armour. It's very HR Giger. Your paint job really does it justice.
Gitsplitta wrote:That figure brings back so many good memories... though I've never seen one that well painted before.
Olthannon wrote:Really nice work on that Chaos dread, I always liked that mini. I love the musculature underneath the armour. It's very HR Giger. Your paint job really does it justice.
And now for something a little different... WIP ballista and crew. This is a 3D printed prototype for an upcoming plastic range, with plastic Warlord Games Norman crew.
Yes, we've been given an opportunity to produce some kits for fantasy/historical gaming, completely separate to our MEdge development. Trying out a set of siege engines on Kickstarter to test the waters, with plans for all sorts of goodies to follow if it does well.
Yes, we've been given an opportunity to produce some kits for fantasy/historical gaming, completely separate to our MEdge development. Trying out a set of siege engines on Kickstarter to test the waters, with plans for all sorts of goodies to follow if it does well.
Quite exciting!
If the warmachines do well enough might infantry follow? Would they be more fantasy or historic?
I still need to paint my MEdge stuff :( But I'm never opposed to growing the pile of shame (wallet permitting)
If the warmachines do well enough might infantry follow? Would they be more fantasy or historic?
Aiming more at terrain and gaming aids rather than models, as there are other companies already covering the cheap, plastic historical/fantasy model front at the moment... but there's a lot of scope for development if it does well, so never say never!
Trying a new plan to combat the painting backlog, as I've always had a bad habit of starting more than I can finish. Dug out a bunch of projects in various states of completion, and planning to set aside an hour each day to get some paint on at least one of them.
Good luck with the catching-up plan! I had to create 'themed months' (eg: "Just do something January") to help stay on track and finish the odd project or two. Was fairly successful at staying the course until the most recent flooding, but that's mostly finishing up being repaired just this week (the kitchen flooded in January) so back to "Jump back in June"!
Some progress for today: got some paint on two models.
First is a Kre'aak'la Chieftain for the Broken, done mostly with Army Painter Speedpaint so far. The orange probably still needs some work, but I'm waiting to see how it dries, and she still needs some highlights and basing.
And while I was rooting around in my WIP stash, I came across a robot I threw together from some plastic tubing and guitar string and then forgot about, so I thought I'd paint him up and see how he looks. Still needs some highlights and dirtying up.
Love the EPS castle wall, it's fantastic. I've got to do some underdark scenery for my D&D campaign and recently bought some, need to crack on and get it made!
Great work on the two minis, the robot is very cute.
Redid the cloth on the chieftain to a more orangey shade, did some detail work on both the chieftain and robot, and whacked a basecoat on a very old Angel conversion that has been crying out for paint for years now...
The weekend's effort, slightly reduced by taking time out to rearrange the desk, and a migraine getting in the way. Finished the robot, got some washes on the angel, detail on the chieftain, and started work on another pair of chieftains for a release article - 1x resin, 1x 3D print of the same model.
Today's effort... Face detailing on the first chieftain, some Speedpaint layers on the other two, and a third coat of Dark Tone on the Angel. Also got basecoats on the next two models...
Progress on the angel, with some highlights applied and face done. Although looking at this pic he needs a touch more white in the eyes and mouth.
Got some more colour on the tech chieftains and added sand on the bases.
And started two more pieces while waiting for washes to dry - a 3D printed cannon prototype I whipped up for a fantasy dwarf force I'm planning, and a happy little lizard I sculpted for my wife some years ago when she was following a webcomic called 'Sheldon', and has since forgotten all about...
Some progress from the last few days...
- Painted up and attached a base on the angel,
- basing and final details on Flaco (lizard) and the tech chieftains,
- added a couple of layers of brown wash and a highlight drybrush of gold over the cannon,
- Dug out a Karist Angel Keeper that I converted way back before there was a proper model for it, got basic colours on and then never finished. Gave him some metal bits, and added some Dark Tone layers over the metal and purple.
- re-basecoated the next batch of Broken models - a converted SARA Captain and a unit of stand-in bikers (made from very-slightly converted 40K Genestealer cult bikes). These had originally been basecoated in bone, but I added a zenithal layer of white. Planning to try out the bundle of Vallejo Xpress paints that just arrived in the mail yesterday...
Revisiting another very old project... I started this conversion well over a decade ago, and then it got put in a box and never finished. Just fixed some stuff that had been damaged over the years, and finished assembly. A little gap filling to go and then I can get some paint on!
Playing with a new photo setup... Still needs some tweaking, but here's a new pic of a mini-diorama I put together a while back using a converted Epirian Scarecrow and a bunch of terrain sprue components.
Painting with the Angels... Finished painting my lurching Angel conversion, joining my previous tentacle version and preparing to spread shapeshifting doom...
Sgt. Oddball wrote: Orange drones look fantastic Iain. Do you have a full force of Epirians painted up in this scheme?
I don't... this was just playing with some colours, partly to see what the Vallejo Xpress paints could do, and partly to have something different to show off in the store pics. It is a cool scheme, though, so I might have to expand on it later!
Epirian Support Drones - 3D prints painted up for the STL release this month. Quick, tabletop paintjobs using mostly Vallejo Xpress paints and my Army Painter Soft Tone scheme for the bone-coloured force.
A couple of Sig Jammers, printed to test an STL setup, and painted up to a quick tabletop standard using a mix of AP Speedpaints and Vallejo Xpress paints.
Still on the Oldhammer wagon... A little something else I'm doing at the moment to stimulate the creative juices. A while back, I wrote rules for using Space Marines in Maelstrom's Edge. Seems only fair to see what would happen the other way around, so I'm working on an Epirian Foundation 'Codex' for 2nd Edition Warhammer 40K.
This is very much a fan project, not an 'official' Maelstrom's Edge thing. Just something I'm putting together for fun, as I'm dusting off a lot of my old W40K stuff and have a love of smooshing things together.
Haven't had an update in here for a while, so here's some Epirians I'm working on at the moment for Maelstrom's Edge V2...
The force list for this project is built around bots, although has a few Contractor units in there as well for variety. For simplicity, the rulebook sample list is built around a single detachment led by a Journeyman Handler and includes two Scarecrow Snipers. I decided to tweak things slightly by making one of the Scarecrows a Command unit and splitting some of the bots into a second detachment, but otherwise this force is the same as will appear in the book.
In a force led by a Handler, bots are the main focus. The Journeyman’s Bot Handler ability, improved by the Aerial Uplink, allows them to keep suppression under control for the force’s bots, while their Push the Machines ability allows you to reactivate an already activated bot unit, doubling the effectiveness of the Hunter or a Scarecrow each turn. By including the Command Scarecrow, the force gains an additional command point each turn, and having the second command model allows the force to be more spread out while remaining in a command radius bubble for orders and bot protocols.
These Command models are largely built stock, although I repositioned the head and weapon on the Command Scarecrow, and used a Broken head (with the helmet hung on the belt) for the Journeyman. The Aerial Uplink drone is a 3D print of an upcoming model.
The presence of the Apprentice Handlers in the Spider Drone units gives them the freedom to move out of the Scarecrow or Journeyman’s command radius without losing the benefit of orders and bot protocols.
I used another Broken head for one of the Apprentices, and repositioned some of the Spider Drones' legs to add a little variety in their posing.
The inclusion of a few Contractor units helps provide some additional firepower in the force. The Recon Package in the Scout unit can paint enemy units for the attention of the Strike missiles on the Defender's weapon drones and the Hunter mech.
The drones in these units are 3D prints, and these models are currently available as printable STLs, although a plastic kit is currently in development, for release as soon as possible!
To round out the force, the Firefly drones provide some fast-moving harassment and paint enemies for the Strike missile units, while the Scarecrow and Hunter serve as mobile fire support and focus on taking out enemies too tough for the Contractors or Spiders to deal with. In addition, selecting the Master of Machines faction objective potentially gives the force an additional free bot protocol activation each turn, allowing the Hunter to move more quickly around the battlefield, the Scarecrows to pump out additional firepower, and the Fireflies to more effectively dodge enemy fire.
With everything built and based, I'm looking forward to getting some paint on! I'm going with a blue and black scheme, as I don't have anything already in those colours, making it a nice opportunity to do something different.
Looking good. I really like the potential paint scheme too.
And yes, basing is the best because it unifies diverse minis into a single 'unit' and also it can tell stories, even if it is just something you know! (Also bonus points for matching your own terrain)
Found some time on the weekend to get some more work done on my 2nd edition Necron revamp. Along with making some progress on the codex and tinkering with datafax design, I started sculpting up a 2nd ed style monolith, because why not?
Is it intended to look like only one of them opens up as a portal, or should the bottom jaw from the right hand head be represented somewhere on the open mouth?
.... what.. fell upon this on accident and I am so very thankful.
I must learn these ways.. I absolutely adore sculpting and scaling. Just got into it within the past few models I've done. And I have the itch to scale.
Meanwhile, some paint on model time... Karist Enclave Angel Keeper for MEdge, painted up as a sample for the STL release.
Had some fun with this one, trying out some new techniques, most notably some stippling on the robes... not 100% where I wanted it to go, but I'm still pretty happy with it.
Is it intended to look like only one of them opens up as a portal, or should the bottom jaw from the right hand head be represented somewhere on the open mouth?
I'm going for just the single open mouth. Had originally considered making all of the lower jaws the same, but they don't look as good without the chin. So the door head is either designed slightly differently and doesn't actually open or close but just always looks like that, or the chin drives into the ground when the mouth 'opens', or the living metal reshapes itself when the door opens.
Finished the sculpting on my monolith redesign. Swapped out the crystal for a more 2nd-ed friendly energy core, added some detailing and shortened the flux arc guns a little.
I've always wanted to try that stippling technique on cloaks. I used it once on a bloodthirster to give some dimension to the skin, and I've gotten a ton of positive comments on it.
I'm slowly working through the Necron armoury, sculpting my own versions of the original weapons, and 2nd ed styled versions of weapons added in later editions.
working on some aircraft rules for 2nd edition. The only existing rules I could find were the Thunderhawk rules in Citadel Journal, which weren't great, as they result in not having any need for an actual model unless you land. I wanted something that was distinct from skimmers, without just being an abstract strafing run with no model needed.
So... I wrote some. Here's a first draft.
