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Awesome Klaus.
So pretty.

Stunning work as usual Klaus

As for C&C...

Comments: Wow!

Criticisms: Let me get back to you once I've been over the images for a few hours to see if I can come up with anything

Someday I will find my way to your North Pole base and torture your secrets out of those elves........

That is amazing!

As usual there is a little stroy to the diorama:

Dencaran Fleet Admiral Koppmeyer and Marshal Grossholderman of the Dencaran MCMXIX Atmospheric Strike Fleet visit the “Rheingold” research facility on Tedescium (Dencara 3). Here they inspect the Special Research Department “von Sonnenberg” where they are introduced to one of the latest armor projects for the Naval Landing Forces. They are accompanied by the Admiral’s personal pilot Wing Commander Koch.
The project on display is the research weapons carrier XII with the new weapon plant “Scorpion” and the crew compartment improvement “Odin” (Versuchswaffenträger XII mit Kampfmittelanlage “Skorpion” & Kampfraumverbesserung “Odin”).
At this moment the weapon plant is re-mounted to the vehicle after it has been equipped with the new 120mm StuK 55L/5 Smoothbore gun and readied for trials.

Truly stunning, Klaus...

If you (really) want some criticism, then the only think I can see it that the writings would have looked better if it had been "stencilled"... But that's a minor thing, you are far, far better than me on that point !

Your work never disappoints, amazing as always .

Thank you all!
@Yggdrasil - yes I initially planned to use stenciled writing, but when looking at some original images, I realized that many tanks in the factories had handwritings on them. I even downloaded the so-called "Sütterlin" font, which is the typical German handwriting of the 1930's - 40's.

Well, now that "The Prototype" is completed - http://fischers-design-shop.blogspot.de/p/the-prototype.html
- and being voted on at CMoN - http://www.coolminiornot.com/357425 - I was looking for the next project.
I should continue with POLLUX and CASTOR - http://fischers-design-shop.blogspot.de/2014/03/pollux-and-castor-9.html - as this was the last project before "The Prototype", but sparked by a comment from Colonel Jacka

Mind you Klaus has done some beauties I particularly liked the Patrol Boat diorama.

my interest in the Raid on Port Corinth diorama - http://fischers-design-shop.blogspot.de/2013/05/raid-on-port-corinth-4.html - was rekindled.

Upon looking at what I have so far, I realized that the diorama has not the best of all compositions. The THALASSA patrol boat is actually blocking most of the action happening on land.


So I decided to separate the two.
Make a diorama with just the THALASSA - in action, on a lava lake, and maybe firing off a torpedo (or surface skimming missile), with the crew doing some action on deck.


Looking at the harbor scene I was thinking about adding a surfaced submarine, from which the troopers landed and conducted their raid.
The submarine would be low enough not to block the actual action.


But a submarine couldn't realistically come that close while under water (well, under lava). So I browsed through my idea backlog and ran into some sketches and images of an amphibious landing.
Wow!
Why not add a Amtrac/AAV-7 style vehicle, from which the trooper landed?
Cool idea

And as I started to design such an Amphibious Attack Vehicle I looked at the PONOS - http://fischers-design-shop.blogspot.de/2012/09/orkalypse-now-hq-images.html -
And a big fat grin spread on my face
How about a PONOS that delivers the troopers?

Well, not like this, but half submerged?


With this I pulled my old notes, sketches and plans and found a set of plans for a slightly smaller PONOS version.
With this plan I could even fit two submerged PONOS' on the scene - one an Engineer Support Vehicle maybe?


With the plans I was able to quickly cut the basic pieces and put them together.


I even got the basic roof with hatches done


And here is a scale shot in comparison to the original PONOS - about 5cm shorter and 2-3 cm narrower.


So, what do you think?
I look forward to your suggestions and comments.
Cheers
Klaus

Klaus... your ingeniousness knows no bounds! That is a great idea! I remember looking back through your blog a while back and seeing this patrol boat.... VERY cool in its own right... but yeh i think there is certainly scope for a more dynamic scene using the harbour section.....

As always i look on with anticipation!!

Klaus, how about having the boats bow-first to the harbour? Then they won't block as much of the harbour from view and don't have to look like they are sinking.

I'm sure you'll make it look great whatever you do, but just a thought.

Watching master......

Must watch... must learn... must....scrap build....


I have a question though. Did you finish the Castor and Pollux one?

Dr H wrote:Klaus, how about having the boats bow-first to the harbour? Then they won't block as much of the harbour from view and don't have to look like they are sinking.

I'm sure you'll make it look great whatever you do, but just a thought.

Thanks Dr. H
These won't be boats, but amphibious tanks. One will be right at the steps, and maybe there will be even one trooper jumping from the vehicle to the harbour steps - I'll have to see what I can come up with
The other will be a bit turned away, (having already unloaded the troopers) and provide covering fire.

xXWeaponPrimeXx wrote:Must watch... must learn... must....scrap build....


I have a question though. Did you finish the Castor and Pollux one?

Hehe
From a pure build persepective POLLUX and CASTOR are completed, I "just" have to prime and paint them


Thanks guys!

Ok, got it for the handwriting ! It was only a minor comment though, so no big deal

One of the thing, I think, that allows you to be so succesful in modelling is that you aren't afraid of scrapping your work to start anew. I bet most of us, when confronted with your problem of overwhelming lava boat, would've just called it a day, and finished it like it was.

But having the courage to blow it off and build other things is remarkable !

Hi all,
so my first task was to find the proper position and "stance" of the amphibious vehicles.
The first PONOS is to be close to the steps and maybe even a bit of "bobbing on the waves".


With the sides properly built up to simulate the bobbing, I had to apply some putty (not the last time you'll read this today) to cover some of my errors.


But after sanding the hull looks rather nice.


In addition I added some structure to the lava around the two PONOS'


For the second PONOS I decided to create a "support version" with a obstacle breaching gun - or or short, stubby howitzer. For this I covered a part of the passenger hatches to provide a base for the turret.


The first PONOS received an open weapons station, with a twin Bolter, some armor and a mounted rocket launcher.

The launcher is in a stand-by position that hopefully makes sense.....

For the howitzer turret I started with the turret base and a smaller roof shape.


To build the turret up I glued some 1cm high spacers onto the base,


and then mounted the roof.


With the roof in position I could then add the sides.


Needs putty though


But I think it is a nice shape, isn' it?


On the PONOS


The first raw gun...


and the final, more detailed gun.


Including some more turret details such as sights and sensors.


Both PONOS' on the base.


To bring some more action to the scene I decided to add a Medic that is jumping from the left PONOS to the steps, to attend the wounded trooper I already have.
For this I used the new Mad Robot flak vest torso and fatigue legs, plus standard IG arms.

He will carry a medic bag, and maybe some more accessories.

Finally I added some storage containers to the vehicles.


Now I will have to add a lot of details, like view-ports, hatches, lights, sensors, and RIVETS!
I hope you like today's update and look forward to your feedback.
Cheers
Klaus

Awesome as usual.

Obviously, you are going to add loads of detail. May I suggest a slightly special spot light on one of the vehicles, pointing at the shore for the medic.

Oh and exhausts! I know you did not forget, sorry.

Remarkable stuff, and an improvement on the diorama's composition too. Just a question though, why make the turret so narrow? It's a bit Leman Russ-esque for a transport. IMHO, of course.

Hi all,
thank you for the feedback and recommendations.
@Red Harvest - thank you To be honest I'm not really sure why. It just felt better to have such a small turret on an amphibious vehicle. Just intuition I guess....

First I added the exhausts.
I kept them relatively simple, as I have to adjust the lava around it too. But at least I gave them some flaps to keep water (and lava) out.


Next part of detailing were the large hatches on the side.


Mounted they look pretty neat.


The hatches for the crew compartment and lids for the storage containers were next.


I also had the idea of a soldier standing in one of the hatches and providing fire support.
For this I used the Mad Robot Flak Vest Torso, M60 gunner arms, a set of fatigue legs, and a CDF head.


For the proper leg position I had to do some cutting


And after some greenstuffing and detailing with accessories the guy looks really good.


I'm quite pleased.


That's it for today
I hope you like today's update.
Cheers
Klaus

Looking awesome Klaus! Its the characterisation that really impresses most of all about these pieces!

Nice Little detail on the exhaust heads too.......

Will there be a little draw bridge to allow the troopers on to the port across the lava?!

Started looking at your last post and ended up reading the whole 10 [filtered] pages. Went through the loss of your cat, a car crash, infected hand, whew! Absolutely superb stuff, as someone posted, you are the god of plasticard. Is the Atena finally finished?

Nice addition with the supporting dude

Humbly requesting this exact picture again when its painted! That is an epic scene.

EPIC!!

Yet again, you up the bar for us poor mortals.

 xXWeaponPrimeXx wrote:


Humbly requesting this exact picture again when its painted! That is an epic scene.

Thank you!
Yes, I will post the appropriate image once I've painted it

Malevengion wrote:

Looks good so far! It seems to me that the men would get cooked and/ or asphyxiated in the environment. I'm not sure what would be needed though. Maybe masks for the soldiers or some sort of refrigerant blaster to make the assault survivable?

You're right about the heat and air in this lava scenario. You may recall from the original build, that all the troopers have respirators (though they don't wear them, but they have them on their shoulder). In addition I'm adding some emitters for a force field that will protect the vehicle, as well as some extra exhausts for the additional ventilation and "air conditioning".
I'm pretty sure in the 40th century there will be some technology to cover that

Well, first I want to show you the contents of a care packet I received last week from Tim aka Eyescream.
A very generous gift with lots of brand new goodies!


One of the highlights is this little toilet bowl

From what Eyescream remembered, he got on a Bit Con, but it is available via Black Cat Bases http://blackcatbases.com/index.php?main_pa...=toilet&x=0&y=0


Since the last update I added the vision ports for the sides of the passenger compartment


as well as the vision ports for the crew - what used to be the windshield on the standard PONOS.


Next were the lights for the front


and rear


Giving it the typical PONOS look


Then some more details like the smoke dischargers


and the searchlights.


Finally I added some indicators/emitters for the force field -needed to get everyone safely through the lava

Not sure if I'll add an effect here or how I will show that theses are the Force Field emitters....

Then I created some ventilation outlets for the rear of the passenger compartment.



I think they look OK on the vehicles


And finally I applied all the rivets on the first PONOS - Eyescream pattern


So what do you think of today's update?
I look forward to your C&C and suggestions.
Cheers
klaus

Really cool update as always Klaus!!

Love the amount of detail on those craft.... and as always.... the quality of the work is top notch!

Love those little lava bubbles too by the way!! Lovely little details!

Fantastic as always.

Great detailing, like the vents, lights all looking good.

As to the force field, there was a guy a while ago who had eldar thingy, it had a forcefield around it, looked amazing.

Personally I would maybe get one of those desserts from the shop, they come in a round bowl. Clear plastic, you get to eat the dessert and then you could maybe have pieces of the bowl suspended out from the generators, make it look like they are taking fire. Just a small piece of the whole, looking like a forcefield under fire. Maybe the support could look like a spark?!

I want to try this one day myself, though I am nowhere near as good as you or the other guy who did it.

Hi all,
since the last update I had to complete the rivets of the 2nd PONOS.
Which in return completed the actual building phase of the diorama.


But what I definitely wanted to add was a firing effect for the PONOS' howitzer.
So I started with the base from plastic card and rod...


and then started to add Pro Create.


While this first batch of PC cured I sculpted the muzzle flash for the gunner - lets call him Rambo, shall we?


Additionally I decided to give the Medic a new head - one of the new heads thanks to Tim.


After the first batch of PC was cured I added more around the "fire ring"


as the effect I'm using as a pattern is kind of like this:


On the model it already starts to look good.


Rambo with his muzzle flash


Here you can see the underside of the fire ring for the howitzer effect.



And after another round of curing I finalized the fire effect.


I think this will look pretty cool in the scene.


And since today is all about effects, I also looked into the Force Field I want to represent.
So I looked at the stash of clear plastic material I have available...


And this is a first test.


I'm aiming at a hexagonal layout with the hex grid being clearly visible, and the "inside" of each hex being sprayed with an airbrush.
Satisfied with the initial layout I created the first force field and painted the hex-grid onto it (using Ice Blue and a second thinner line of a 50:50 mix white and Ice Blue)


And this is how it will be positioned around the PONOS.


Now imagine all the other stuff painted and the inside of the hexes "glowing" in a light blue....


I hope this will look as good as I am imagining it right now.
What do you think?
Will this work?
Cheers
Klaus

Brilliant work.

It's impossible to go wrong with hexes. But will that paint adhere properly to that plastic? I've never managed to make it stay on over any length of time.

Everything is coming together so nicely here. It truly is amazing to watch you go from concept to completion.



What is that head?

 xXWeaponPrimeXx wrote:
Everything is coming together so nicely here. It truly is amazing to watch you go from concept to completion.



What is that head?

Its from the new GW Scion sprue.

Hey guys,

Sorry for the delay in updates, but my shoulder is acting up again ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impingement_syndrome ) and an operation seems to become more and more probable.

Nevertheless, I have a nice update for you.
As you may recall I was last working on creating a force field effect. Using clear plastic card and a hex pattern I came up with this:



Even though it's not sooooo bad looking I have to admit it's not what I envisioned.


So I decided to go without the effect - I reworked the structure of the "lava" and prepared everything for priming.


The desk reading for painting


I started with the port area, painting the stones, pipes and containers and boxes.


Without the force field I would have a lot of discussions about the vehicles swimming through lava.
So I decided to try something new.
Lets go for some green liquid - almost like chemical waste.


After the base color I added lighter shades of green


Looks like a rather "pleasant" swimming pool, doesn't it?


Satisfied with the water and the base colors for the harbour, I started to highlight the areas that will be affected by OSL - just a simple light white drybrush.


And then I started with the vehicles, using the standard Dencara Tiger Flash pattern ( http://fischers-design-shop.blogspot.de/p/dencara-paint-schemes.html )


To harmonize the vehicles with the water, I added some "scorch marks" to the paint job.


And since the liquid may be corrosive, I added some blank metal.


Finally I added first details to the vehicles.


Still a rather long way to go.
I hope you like today's update.
Cheers
klaus