Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

This is simply amazing. Can't wait to see the final product!

 youwashock wrote:
Insane attention to detail seems an appropriate diagnosis. An epic build, for sure!

Not Online!!! wrote:
This is simply amazing. Can't wait to see the final product!

Thank you both! I unfortunately do not have progress shots to post today. The end of the year has proven to be very hectic for me. My resolve is still set to finish this project, but I for sure am not going to meet my December goal of 5 pieces completed. I honestly will be surprised if I finish even one of them.

I think my New Year's resolution is going to be to finish at least 1 piece per month. If I finish more than that, well good. That's gravy. I'm so used to working on a dozen projects at the same time, but not really finishing the whole giant project they are all a part of. And now that I am on effective mental health meds, I have to get used to this ability to focus on one piece at a time, finish, and still retain commitment to continue with the rest of the project. This is a new experience for me. It took me 48 years to get here and I wish I had gotten the help I clearly needed decades ago, and at the same time thank goodness I finally did get this help.

So, sorry to turn this post into a PSA, but my message to everyone who needs to hear it is:

It is never too late to get the help you deserve. Use the internet as the tool it was meant to be. If you can't see a psych in person, have anxiety about the process, or are embarrassed about asking for help, remember that it takes Strength and Courage to admit you cannot do it alone. It shows Strength of Character and Humility to ask for help. You owe it to yourself to live your best life possible. Even Space Marines operate best as a Squad. They lean on their Battle Brothers for aid and survival. You and your therapist or psychiatrist are Battle Brothers and together you overcome the Daemons that threaten to overwhelm you (anxiety, depression, chemical imbalance, fear, and all the other things that weigh upon us and stop us from loving ourselves and others).

For me, the most difficult part was seeking out the help. I went to Talkiatry and even through my fear and anxiety, I found the help I so desperately needed. It's all remote video conferencing, through my phone, and they even take my insurance. Find the time, my friends. You're worth it.

I hope you all have a joyous and prosperous New Year. Stay safe, drive sober, and have an awesome day!

Sound advice. Keep safe.

I'll be back on track with this project come the New Year. Stay tuned, y'all.

Always happy to see what you have built today.

Cheers,

CB

 Captain Brown wrote:
Always happy to see what you have built today.

Cheers,

CB

Thanks, Captain Brown!

In an effort to stick to my word, here is the teeny tiniest of updates. I did some more work on the big door piece, adding details over the doorway itself. I took basically the same picture from 2 angles and I couldn't decide which looked better.


It's my hope to finish this piece in the next week or two. Thanks for looking. Have a great day.

How do you plan to finish these up paint wise.
Do you have a color scheme?

 Tommygun1918 wrote:
How do you plan to finish these up paint wise.
Do you have a color scheme?

Yes. I intend to paint them as if they are being viewed through the augmented sensorium of space marine autosenses. Essentially cold, blue thermal imaging.

I started working on more details, cutting a square out of the wall.


And sealing it with glue.


And then built a small wall in it.


Not a whole lot of work, but it's something.

Small progress is still progress
The wall is looking better each time you update, cant wait to see the final result.

 GreenScorpion wrote:
Small progress is still progress
The wall is looking better each time you update, cant wait to see the final result.

Thanks GreenScorpion. A nice reminder to follow my own advice.

I got more work done. I took a bunch of random paper scraps and scribbled on them and cut them into plates to cover up some of the details underneath, because that's the crazy person I am.


And then I gathered a bunch of random scraps and crap - including a half of a half of a plastic clothes pin, a nub of rounded sprue, tiny squares of foamcore cut in half, and a twisted jumble of the last of my 18 guage wire.


All this is going to be the "last bits" of details. And by last, I mean just another layer before I add rivets and other minor details.

Thanks for looking and have an awesome day. I'll have more progress shots up soon.

Added more details to the wall above the door.


And then added layers of debris to the floors below these walls.


And then took the last wiggle of wire from my wire spool and layered it with paint and glue, before jamming it in the square hole I carved into the wall earlier.


And now, except for priming and a handful of rivets, this stage is complete. Now to work on the floor above.

Well, I primed the wall.


Slow progress is still progress.

That looks nice and suitably wrecked. Lots of fun detail on that wall.
What percentage of completion are you at on this project?

 Tommygun1918 wrote:
That looks nice and suitably wrecked. Lots of fun detail on that wall.
What percentage of completion are you at on this project?

Overall, with what I have made versus what I want to make, I'd say about 30%. I was slacking for most of the end of last year and the beginning of this year, but I feel like I am finally starting to get back on track.

As evidence, I present the more work I have completed. I started work on the top deck of this piece, with a plastic grid mat that I think is normally used to make rugs. I cut a shape out and sanded it rough to get rid of the shine and to help the glue and paint stick to it better.


Then got started with overally detailed structural supports using scrap cast off strips of foamcore.


To create ruin I slice vertical and horizontal lines and then distress it by picking at it with the tip of my blade.


This whole process is a lot of rough measuring and distressing to taste.


Here's the moment I realize I'm working with two different qualities of foamcore. I don't know if you can see the scintillation in the right piece, but if you can, that's the mark of an inferior product.


At first I thought it would be good to glue the grid to one of the other floor pieces, so I cut a groove in it to accommodate it and tried using brute force to make it stick. Ultimately, this plan failed, so I moved on without it.


I test fit the supports and realized I needed more. The grid ia inherently flexy and I had to do a lot of work to make it keep a shape.


So I measured, distressed, and finagled a cross beam. Then realized it would look better with structural plates, so I prepainted a trio of squares before impatiently gluing everything together.


Then my rasp to weigh it down and flat as I waited for it to dry.


Once dry (ish), I glued the supports in place and sealed the foam with white glue, before weighing that down, too. This is the stage where the other part of the floor fell off and I just soldiered on.


That's it for now. More progress up soon. Thanks for looking and have an awesome day!

So then I traced a rough outline of where the structure of the main piece would rest on the parts of this floor, before gluing the completed and primed grid in place between the two halves. I added a few extra details, too. Namely because I wasn't sure it would be stable enough without rigid plastic to hold it in place. I also wasn't sure which side was going to be the bottom side (and ceiling for the floor below). I hemmed and hawed quite a bit on this.


There's also a side frame of foamcore on one side because I wasn't convinced it would hold in place without it. I pinned this up almost excessively while I gathered bits for details.


I'd love to say I was plating this just for looks, but half of it got glued on in a further attempt to stabilize and strengthen the bond between these two disparate materials - foamcore and plastic grid. Layers of glue got added, too, for pretty much the same reason.


I worked on the side with the outline thinking it was going to be the bottom before I decided to flip it. This decision came when I test fitted it and saw too many gaps between the floor and walls. So I flipped it and it seemed to work out better. Also, I just liked the way it looked.


So the new bottom got guardrails to hide the missed joins and less details.


And then I glued it in place and weighed it down with a bunch of stuff that I had near to hand (which you can barely see in this shot).


Brother Gustavo marvels at my creation.


There's still a few details to add before I will be finally ready to call this one complete.

Thanks for looking and have an awesome day!

Looks excellent, looking forward to seeing it painted up!

 Olthannon wrote:
Looks excellent, looking forward to seeing it painted up!

Thanks, Olthannon!

Here's a better shot of the weights.


I got a bunch more shots of progress, but I have to find a minute to upload them.

Okay so here's the top finally glued in place.


And some shots of the overhang from various angles.


And then I plated up the sides.


Added more detail to the floor on top.


And added some basketballs to help tie this side in with the other.


So, except for paint, this piece is officially completed. On to the next one.

Thanks for looking and have an awesome day!

The details are bonkers. Love it.

Liking that piece Warboss, lots of nice little detail,, top shelf stuff.

Thank you, both!

I returned to this archway piece, briefly


And then instantly distracted myself with this support piece.


I started by using a spare D to outline and carve out a filler for this depression.


I didn't really have a plan when I started this project, beyond "it needs to hold up a balcony above it" so all my ambitious ideas about it are hampered by the haphazard nature of its construction. I decided to go easy on myself with this one. Here's a bunch of brute measurements.


Perfect.


Sort of perfect...


Okay, perfect again. Time to glue.


And trim and wrap.


Here's the mock up with an unorthodox thing I want to try to use.


Anyone have any suggestions for what I can use to fill any gaps in this thing? Super glue and paper doesn't seem to want to work.