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.

Ok, next week I should be able to pick up some PVC board to finish off the Dread Klaw... we'll see how expensive it gets.

In other news, my room is almost settled, so I can start hobby-ing again as soon as my mother-in-law leaves! (well, not quite "in law"... common law maybe). Needless to say, I'm looking forward to it and I think I will have more room to work now! So, I'm very happy with how it's going.

*Note to self*
http://ppw.net.au/images/web002-PPW1-800.jpg (win)
http://www.etec.energy.gov/library/SNAPEECA/Building4024in1962.jpg
http://www.clemson.edu/ce/images/research/WiSER-Feb-2008.jpg
http://www.derelictstudios.net/site/aaow/Media/PowerPlant.jpg (win)
http://www.rivercityandwesternrailroad.com/photogallery.htm

*Note from Girlfriend: Make it bigger!
http://www.vfxhack.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/img-0084.jpg

So, I just picked up the Hellcannon of Chaos, with chaos dwarves! It was the only model at the store that I had a soft spot for and couldn't get later, most likely. So I'm gonna use it to start thinking about what the Tyrant Star is going to manifest as, letting the models lead the fluff and vise versa...

Plans have began for a Traitor Guard/Chaos force to build and defend an interplanetary cannon platform on 88 Tanstar. The force will be lead by Minions of Tzeentch, and will feature a Keeper of Secrets, and Epidemius to deal with the Eldar and Ork contingents respectively. They will have a few minions of their own as well as the guard and a hand full of marines.

I'm thinking a highly ornate mechanized IG force that has been tainted by Tzeentch mostly, with a smaller platoon dedicated to Nurgle. Slannesh may have to bring his (his?) own friends to play with, but there will definitely be enough to challenge the Eldar Fellowship. Although the Exodites may muster more of a force to participate in the final battle.

Like I said, this is getting out of hand. If anyone wants to help in the construction of this scenario and the models involved PM me.

I was thinking about having the Tyrant Star be more about the Tyranid or Necron, but this sort of fell into place. I think, if anyone wanted to bring one of them in it would be an easy plot point to through in:
The forces of Chaos join together to destroy the Tyrant Star as it reappears in the Threnos Zone. If they were to fail droves of Necron would rise from their slumber on all thirteen worlds and sweep across the universe unabated, there by wiping out all life and the energy from which Chaos draws it's power. OR if Chaos fails, the alignment in the Threnos Zone opens a temporal rift in space, throw which the biggest Tyranid fleet the known universe has ever seen passes from speculation to reality.

But I still have so much Ork hobbying to do and so little time. So, if anyone is interested in taking up a part of this thing, I'd be glad to talk to you. Like I said above, PM me.

Pics of some grot terrain to follow.

So, this is still very WIP, but I think it will come together quickly as I'm not going to do the inside. I've done the inside in my head though, so I have an idea about what all the rooms are for. This means I have to try to make it clear from the outside which room is for what... for my own satisfaction, of course. Without further to do, here is the very WIP Grot Grub Shakk:


THat's the main entrance in the middle. I have yet to make the door. To the right is the dinning hall. To the left is the kitchen, and behind that is the squig shakk, where they prepare the squig meat and tend to the squigs.


Here you can see the two drops behind the Grub Shakk. One draining from the dinning hall and the other from the squig shakk. There will be a fence up around the squig shakk drop to keep the squigs in. The shorter building in the middle if the fungus cellar, where they work on their secret mushroom medley.

Like I said above, I'll be adding a fence in the back (for the squigs). I'll also be adding some windows in the dinning hall, and a turret over the kitchen. There will be plenty of chimney pipes and brewing/water/gas tanks on the roof and around the grounds. I'm gonna make a latter to prop up on the hill behind the mushroom cellar.

It's a piece for the Mekshop grounds. Gutsnik's grots only! I've got the barracks to glue down as well. And I am finding a bit more time to work on the little guys, so: yay!

Looks pretty cool! Have you painted up any of the other stuff you have built? Keep up the impressive modeling

What, me paint?


yeah... I need to get on that. :/

I have no idea what it is with people's fascination for paint

Grot Grub Shakk is looking very promising - will be interesting to see it (and the rest of Bigtoof) come together...

Arakasi

I agree, painting is highly overrated!

The Grubb shack seems off to a goot start. Is the plastic you used solid enough? It looks like the stuff they pack cookies in, and I'm not sure that'll stand up to careless gamers...

It is the plastic they pack cookies in, and it won't stand up to clumsy gamers, but I'm not too worried. It's a grot's life after all.

I throw a bit more together on the Shakk as well as starting the other half of Grot Alley, which will sit next to the Mekshop. I didn't get much done on the second installment of the Alley, though so I'm holding off pics until then. BUT! here are some pics of the Squig Pen and the watch tower over the kitchen.


The red blob is a squig, sorry for the poor quality pics.

I should have some more time next week to get a substantial amount done. Now that I have more room, I am going to finish up the wood work for Bigtoof Propa, and start on texturing the whole thing. I'm gonna try to get some GS work done on the Night Goblins too, but we'll see. The GS work always seems to take the longest.

-bump-

Looks like a promising start! Still concerned about how well it'll stand up to the rigours of gaming, but hey, it's your terrain . Still needs a bunch of chimneys though

Sorry about the nagging paint question. I like to ask people about their painting to try and motivate them, I need plenty of it myself. At least you are posting so keep up the good work. I wish my imagination enabled me to come up with ideas like you! Paint or no it still looks cool!

@ CommissarKhaine:
A BUNCH of chimneys! I do plan on building the walls up a little, here and there at least. But I'm not putting too much effort into these. I think the fence was the most labor intensive part of it so far. I mean, just the fence, too. The posts were a piece of cake.
Also, I look at these falling apart as an opportunity to rebuild. After all, the hovel-scape of an ork town changes regularly.

@Stretch:
Don't worry about asking for paint. I do it sometimes too. It is good for motivation sometimes, or for some people...

I am anxious to get some things painted, but it takes more time for me to set that up, and with the way my life has been going I'd have time enough to set it up before the next thing to do comes up.

I did have a water pot ready to go for a while. That's why I have anything painted. But since I've rearranged, I haven't had enough time in to figure out how to set that up again. I'm working on a solution already, but I'm not sure it will stand up to water. We shall see...

And drainage pipes and waste bins/chutes

Looking better and better. I had the same "opportunity to rebuild" idea for any careless gamers (that, or a big stick!)

Share your paint pain - my excuse is I have to finish modelling first!

Oh yeah!

...and I have to finish modeling first!


*note to self*
http://app.fantasyflightgames.com/dark-heresy/maps.shtml

So, I got a little more work done on the grot buildings and I started a house to put a bill board on for the mekshop. Here are some pics:





A couple of fun shots:



Let me know what you thing of the buildings. Suggestions for more stuff to add are welcome. That one building is gonna have an observatory, the lens is there but it still needs a lot of work. The clear building, I got the idea to do this building with a billboard and two level deck. It still needs plenty of work, but one of the key things is a roof hatch under the tall "deck" and a stair case leading up to it. The back side of the tall section will be the face of the billboard. Lots of pipes and chimneys and railings.

Thanks for taking a look, sorry it's been so long.

Looking good, I love the billboard idea! As for suggestions: the old warhammer snotlings can be ordered direct and there are some brilliant models in there - it's worth checking out!

Looking awesome. Are you going to finish painting the grotz for the inaugural opening once you are complete?

I have no idea what it is with people's fascination for paint, Arakasi

HadoukenAvenger wrote:I have no idea what it is with people's fascination for paint, Arakasi

Touche! I was just thinking they were detracting from the overall awesomeness by only being half painted. Unpainted or fully painted would have looked better. But then, this is simply a WIP, and pics without the grotz wouldn't give as good a feel for the final feel - so I'll just be quiet now

Love that ork building stuff - glad to see it has plenty of debris. Need more squigs and some nice squishy mud for that pen though. Maybe some fungus too - so you have the whole orkish food chain in place.

I definitely agree with you, Arakasi. The mix of metal, primed, and half (or less) painted models detracts from the image. If they were all at the same level, it would look better.

I've been meaning to pick up some Simple Green to give some of them a good bath, maybe all throw them all in when I'm ready to actually start painting.

@kestral: I haven't gotten to that stage yet, but there will be fungus all over these buildings. I recently acquired a bitzbox of Snotling Pump Wagons to add to the mix. There are sum great mushrooms on the wagons! I'm looking forward to finishing these buildings off. I'm almost done adding random debris, then it's fungus and sludge for the drops.

The Grot Grub House is the least finished of the two, if that was hard to tell. I still need to add some chimneys to the dinning hall (the room farthest from the squig pen). But I don't think I'll add too much more, as far as debris.
I also got the first of the Exodit Felowship (samurai) in that shipment. I'm very exited about using samurai minis for the exodite colony, so if anyone has a line on some traditional samurai minis let me know, please.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

So, it's been a little while. I've done some more work on the grot buildings. The three buildings have been dubbed Grot Alley and will line the side of the Mekshop. Also, Grot Alley will be the road that leads to Bigtoof from the freeway.

Now for the pics:
First up, the Billboard and first building on Grot Alley

The "cut-out" looking square is another hatch to shoot from.

Sorry the pic is awful, but it show the entrance for the roof... the dark hallway under the stairs. I'm going to hang a curtain or something in the doorway.

And another shoot to give one more angle on the thing.

Next up, the Grot Grub House:

So, not much has changed on this one. I've added some vents and exhaust pipes. That's about it. I might clutter the back up when I add the mushrooms.

A better angle on some of the exhaust pipes.

And finally, a Grot Complex:


Complete with power generator and observatory. I still need to finis the observatory and wire the power lines. Otherwise this one is ready for basing and paint.

Oh, and I need to put rivets and nails on all of them still.

What do you think?

home, grotty home All looks good, especially like that bill-board.

More like a kill-board! HA!

Seriously though, great work. I wonder if I'd get to gaming on a board like that with all the detail going on everywhere.

Thanks.

But, what do you mean, TiB? I looked at your terrain and it looks pretty cool too.

I'm hoping to sell this terrain off to my FLGS (when I'm finished), but I have no reason to think they would buy it.

Sell? Why?

I love this hobby, but I don't have my own room or a garage or studio of any kind. :( So I figure, find someone who does have room and talk them into housing it. I still want to be able to play on it, so I figure a FLGS would be the best place for it, not the safest however...

So, selling the table as a complete set is the idea. Maybe a tournament or some showcase will want time with it. I dunno, I just have to keep telling myself that it won't be staying here for ever. Sad as it is. Also, I've been trying to be less of a collector and more of a maker these days, not that both aren't fun.


Now for some hobby planning of a more immediate sort. My "what's next" poll is going well, and I thought I'd figure out exactly what I was going to do with the Super Grot CCS if they win. The squig hunters are a bit easier to figure out.

CCS:
Zuddur Uzgrim as Company Commander - Iron Hand Straken
Veterans - BSB, Vox, Grenade Launcher, Flamer
Body Guard(s), Astropath, Master of Ordinance, Officer of the Fleet

This is how I'm gonna model them. The vets might change, the two weapons upgrades at least. That is to say, they might both be GLs or Flamers. I know the common wisdom is to spam the weapons upgrades to maximize fire output, but I'm trying to build this a bit fluffier than that. We'll see. I'm not going to do much for Straken, as far as modeling. I just think his special rules lend themselves to a green "counts as IG" army, lets them retain some of that WAAAGH! The body guards won't be modeled too much either. The Astropath and Master of Ordinance will be modeled, however. I haven't made up my mind about the Officer of the Fleet.

I think that's an excellent idea. It'd be a fun and creative way to get a second income going too, if you have the time. It seems like something you enjoy, I say if you've got the time to keep building tables, do it, then sell em' off.

And if you're giving away Bigtoof, you should make sure you fill the grot houses in with silicone or foam insulation so they have some good structural rigidity. If you haven't done so already, mind you

That is a very good tip, metallifan! Thanks.

Ok, I've got the vets mocked up with blutac. They are still missing an arm here and there. The BBQ is a lot bigger than I was hoping. It doesn't fit on the base at all, so I'm gonna make it a free standing piece.

Uzgrim and his bodyguards are metal models so they are done (except for paint). I'm not sure about using the lesser runtherds as bodyguards tho, so they might just be stand-ins for the time.

It's too late for me to want to upload picks, so you can expect them tomorrow. There is still plenty of detail to add, besides the fact that none of them are glued together yet. See you tomorrow.