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Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

I try to be careful not to bite the hand that feeds me as it were, but truth be told, I too wasn't all that impressed with GW's offering. But, my main motivation for building this kit was more a desire to put a 3" plasma globe into a model that made some sense, and that happened to align with the VSG that GW introduced to 40k. But be careful, mine is a 'SG' not a 'VSG'; that 'V'-word is a GW invention, and a four letter word to my studio that I shall avoid uttering.

But, by your response, I take it you approve. And I thank you for your approval.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/08/08 23:13:15


"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in us
Liche Priest Hierophant






I've got a suggestion for your mold clamps, and this is from one College guy to another.

In our Metals casting facility, we sometimes use Agar molds for wax casting blanks, and we have a much easier tool to keep the molds from getting flashy.


Take a set o those large-jaw Lockjaw pliers (they're usually called 'welder's lock-jaws' I think) and you can weld your mold pressing plates directly onto the jaws- either with hinges for a completely variable tool, or solidly on at an angle that lets you get a flush squish when they're clamped. It's a little bit of an investment, but it makes molding and demolding a matter of a second or two, instead of the good half-minute it probably takes you now.


Lessee:
These guys have the hinges built-in for you.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/08/09 00:58:22


GENERATION 8: The first time you see this, copy and paste it into your sig and add 1 to the number after generation. Consider it a social experiment.

If yer an Ork, why dont ya WAAAGH!!

M.A.V.- if you liked ChromeHounds, drop by the site and give it a go. Or check out my M.A.V. Oneshots videos on YouTube! 
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

Thank you very much Anvildude, for taking the time to offer a suggestion. I always appreciate it, even if the idea isn't quite the solution I can use there is a good chance it can get me thinking in a different direction. I have considered how I could make/source custom clamps for this purpose, and your suggestion shows that I could have the right idea. In fact I hadn't even considered this type of clamp, so it really has me thinking about how I could make this idea work.

The problem in this case is that it creates a catch-22 in my situation; put simply, a clamp like this would add so much bulk to the mould, as it hangs off the side, that it would put a limit on how many moulds I can fit in my casting pressure chambers. I currently only have small chambers, roughly 23cm diameter and 23cm tall, and getting as many moulds in the chamber as possible for each casting cycle is critical to making components efficiently. The beauty of the solution I've created is that the moulds can neatly stack one on top of the other, and the stack of all four moulds can fit in the pressure chamber in one go. Improving the efficiency of the de-moulding process while reducing how many moulds I can cure in each cycle would defeat the gains made my using clamps such as these. Larger pressure chambers are in the cards for the future, so this may still have real merit, but for now it creates one problem while solving the other.

As I said, this is the love-hate relationship I have with these 'trim kits'; they are a unique product that is popular and I really want to produce them, but the nature of the components makes them tricky to find the right balance in production. On the surface these kits seem very straight forward to make, but their thin delicate nature means they're actually quite tricky and labour intensive. But, I also recognize that they are very small, light, specialized kits that can only reasonably command a certain price. My challenge is to improve the efficiency of production so that I can make them viable for my studio, while keeping a price point that keeps them attractive to the potential customer.

Ah, the joys of running a small manufacturing business! But, truth be told, even with trials such as this I'm enjoying myself very much, so I think I'm on the right track and will have no problem continuing.

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in us
Warning From Magnus? Not Listening!





IL

This is such an amazing thread. Not only for the fantastic models that you produce (and they are fantastic) but also because you take the time to explain and go through the process of creating everything. I absolutely adore this thread. It is such a wealth of knowledge for anyone interested in this weird hobby of toy soldiers.

Keep up the great work mate

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Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

Thank you, and you're welcome. One philosophy I've held from the very beginning of showing the projects I'm working on is to provide more detail about process as much as I can manage. Early in my building, painting, playing days (especially before the internet matured) I was starved for more detail and step-by-step instructions with some quality photos to explain just how the results were being achieved. For how good the vintage White Dwarf used to be back in the 1990's, (really, it was so much better) providing all sorts of great hobby articles and do-it-yourself ideas, they would also be guilty of showing something at the beginning, some limited 'in the middle' photo/s, and a picture of some amazing completed model. The instructions would be useful, but not step-by-step enough to really show exactly how the results were achieved, and it would drive me crazy! Despite me turning this into a more professional endeavor, I feel like it's the least I can do to support and foster the community; many/most may not be interested in all of the detail (and they'll just skip to the parts with the photos that catch their eye) but I know there are few of you out there like me, who really want to know a bit (lot) more. Most of what I do really is hobby-craft that anyone can do on a small personal scale. I've kicked it up several notches in scope and scale, (with several more to come) but the basic processes are the same for someone who might want to give it a go for themselves. It's for them, mostly, that I'm compelled to write.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
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"Aaaarcher! Come out and plaaayy!"

*Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!*

..."Berry!"


Being someone who prefers to work at night, and having a bit of a bout of insomnia that's finally just about to fade, I figured this would be a good time to put these right here...


I'm pleased to present the complete and assembled Shield Generator Tower. I'm tempted to call it a Heavy Plasma Shield Generator, but maybe that's a bit too obvious.

There are a few spots where the fit is a tiny bit off, but nothing a builder who's going to assemble something like this should be challenged by, if they feel compelled to try and fix them. Ultimately, they're so small really, they just get lost in all of the awesome of the whole model. Yep, I'm not going to be a bit modest about this one; it was a bit more work then I expected, but it's also turned out better then I was expecting as well, so that's good enough for me. I'm particularly happy with the even clearance of the model around the globe; almost seem like I knew what I was doing, eh?


I'm shooting at a slow shutter speed so I can get a good depth of field (lots of focus) so the plasma effect is quite blurred.

Complete with armoured construction, full sized entrance door, and external ladder to the battlements on the top. It's 18cm from the ground to the battlement deck, and 22cm total. The base at its widest is 13cm and it expands just a bit from there for the shield emitting arrays. So the removable top can be... well... removed, the ladder is also magnetized so it can be taken off.


Since I carefully fused the original Plasma Globe base hardware into the base of the kit, the fit of the transplanted electronics is seamless.

Thankfully there are no surprises with the power switch or the access for the power cable. Of course, I was careful to get Plasma Globes that can be operated on 4 AAA batteries to avoid the cord completely. Considering this was mostly built as a 1/3rd section and repeated to complete the final structure, I'm rather impressed with myself that there's no show-stopping flaws that need to be addressed to make a correct kit. Until you've got the parts to do a test fit, I'm usually a bit anxious even if I'm confident. But, I've come to learn that It's usually a good thing when I impress myself, and this time I think I'm right. It will require some dry-fitting to ensure a clean assembly, but where the fit counts, it's very tight and solid. Once certain base components are partially assembled it starts to support itself, aiding the rest of the assembly. Even here, it's only half glued together and locked together with friction. Not half bad if I do say so myself.

*Subtle wanders off to eat a cookie, and then plummet into a deep sleep*

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/08/12 09:46:02


"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

Ok, now that I have some studio work behind me, I just wanted to do a quick follow up to comment, clarify, and answer a few questions before getting back to work. I’m happy that it’s been noticed that I’ve tried to give this model some logic; I’ve said it before, but it’s what I call pseudo-plausible™ model design. Yes, this is a completely fictional sci-fi construction, but I want it to appear to have some rational to how it operates. I really think it’s what elevates my designs that extra, almost subconscious, notch; I really take the time to consider how I can use details to convey the operation of the device. How does it appear to be constructed or assemble? Where are the access panels or vents? Do the pipes, cables, and hydraulics make sense? Is there proper clearance or room for something to appear to function? On a certain level, I approach the design as if it could work in order to guide the final decisions on the form and details.

In this case I wanted the Shield Generator to really appear to be creating/capturing/focusing some kind of energy event and then directing that energy out into the protective shield. The inner dishes don’t actually contact the plasma globe, they sit about 3mm away. Unfortunately plastic doesn’t have the same effect that a finger touching the glass has; I haven’t found a way to get the plasma streams to really attract to the inner dishes. The streams do linger a little bit at the dishes as they pass by, but not very pronouncedly.


It was asked if I could show the generator beside a model to give a bit of scale.

Needless to say, this kit is big compared to anything else I’ve tried in my studio do date, but its footprint isn’t massive; it’s a bit larger than a standard Rhino length made square. It’s so large that making the moulds really pushed my equipment; the large base component required the biggest mould I’ve ever made (go figured, it also uses the most plastic of any mould to cast) and it only barely fit in the pressure chamber for curing. I guess I’ve found my current size limit.


The door was forced to be a bit of a balancing act in just how large it could be.

I began adding the door component after the vertical pillars were mostly finished, so they had an impact on how tall the door could be. From there the width of the door was determined by the base model. Still more than large enough to give a Marine easy, if a bit cramped, access. But, it should be just fine for a mortal human.


While it is tall, providing a good field-of-view, the small footprint means it’s limited in how many models can fit.

Being quite tall with a small footprint it seems like a fair balance to me; providing a good vantage point to the unit occupying the battlement, but not being large enough to let it hold an unreasonable amount of firepower. There’s enough space for three 40mm bases, with enough wiggle room to make sure they fit. The protective walls are meant to protect more humanoid sized models so these Obliterators seem a bit tall.


These five Marines are on 25mm bases, but by the looks of it, there should be no problem fitting five 32mm bases.

Again, there’s no problem fitting a five man squad, but there’s not much room for more. I don’t own any 32mm bases yet, so I can’t check those for fit. With a Marine you can see that the armoured walls suit their height much more; low enough to fire over the gaps, and the observation slits are at roughly head height.


The kit includes 42 cast components (over 0.25 kg, or 0.55 lbs of resin, actually) 14 neodymium magnets, and a 3” Plasma Globe (not pictured).

I can’t afford the cost or the space to supply the required GW or FW models to complete the builds of my kits. Not all of my kits will require a GW or FW model to complete, but many will, for various reasons. I’ve had comments in both direction with this kit in particular, with someone saying I should have done the entire model completely, and another liking that I incorporated the GW Vengeance Battery into the build. I see both sides of the coin, but this was the original idea I had, so it was how the final model came together. I respect that the GW components will add to the cost of the build, but in this case I can honestly say it will be about the same as the additional cost I would have to charge to make equivalent components myself. This way it blends better with the other GW scenery kits, is at least semi-official, and saved me from having to build a rather tricky part. While most of the kit I created is made from reasonably flat components, (lots of awesome layers, details, and unique forms, but still essentially flat) the sloping nature of the Vengeance Battery base along with its curved elements means that it’s actually rather tricky to replicate. In this case it really was in the best interest of the final studio kit and the window of time I have available to design this model this way.

Thanks as always to everyone reading and those who offer their positive feedback, input, and support. I’m always happy to give a glimpse into my humble studio and really appreciate that it is well received. The community around this hobby really does give and receive if you’re willing to take part in it. Ok, I better stop, before I get melodramatic and deep. *Subtle wanders off to bed*

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/09/23 19:23:25


"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

*Subtle slips through an inconspicuous side door and quickly locks it behind him. The sound of… something can be heard behind the threshold… banging, scratching, thumping, clawing, and pounding… trying to gain entry. Subtle moves slowly away from the door, hoping it’ll hold*

Not yet you don’t! I still have one last chapter, damnit! This, won’t be complete, the voices from the warp won’t shut the feth up, until I’ve finished ‘The Ugly’! As promised, one final insomnia fueled installment in my Tales of Interest! (Damn I miss Futurama) So, lets step right in it; the Fire Raptor. This ‘ugly’ little model… ok, so it’s not so little, and when it’s finally built it’s not so ugly, but you get what I mean. This collection of styrene and resin has a bit of a reputation; a model that induces both lust and loathing. I know I want one, but do I have to build it myself?!

Put simply, yeah, it’s a bit of a pain to assemble, to say the least. I know how to build things, and it drove me nuts at times; inducing such moods swings in fact, I chose to add emoticons to this write up to show how I was feeling during different stages of this build. “Enter at your own risk ~ This is a Dark ride” The Fire Raptor is an amazing model… that requires serious consideration and work to build because of some strange fit issues and missed opportunities to add some simple features to the parts to aid in construction; getting the entire hull straight and true is just maddening. I really like what Forge World makes, so it can be hard to be harsh towards them because I really like the style, but I just don’t understand the logic of how this assembles in places, and some of the very strange fit and alignment issues that crop up in this premium kit. I could write an article in itself about how I’d do things differently to create a model that fits and locks together better during assembly, but I’ll save that for when I do my own Storm Raven conversion kits in future. I have the test prototypes, I’ve perfected the casting process, I know I can do it, in due time… I promise.


So, we all know that Polyurethane plastic (Aka: Resin) is a toxic if inhaled; resin dust is bad for you, m’kay?!

Big kit means lots of pour gates and vents, many of them very large. Credit has to be given to some of the large slabs of resin that make the Raptor’s hull. So, that means lots of sawing and lots of dust. Use a respirator to avoid it as you free the many parts from their captive sprews. Unless the gates are quite small, and even then, I usually prefer to use a saw on resin to remove sprew. I’ve had clippers cause the sprew to pop free and take a chunk of the model with it (requiring later repair) too many times. The saw slices/cuts through the material, avoiding that.


Expect to give many parts of the kit hot water dunks so they can be bent back into alignment.

Resin warps. :( It’s almost unavoidable. Just packaging something securely for shipping will slowly warp parts over the days it takes for a kit to get from point A to point B. To their credit, FW did secure the large hull components to cardboard to provide them some extra support. Resin is also usually just a bit soft when it’s de-moulded, adding to the chances of a bit of warping as it’s tugged from the mould. It’s usually a rather easy fix to hot water dunk the part and coax it back to correct form. No complaints here.


This is where we get deep and technical; the real key to no losing your mind if you try to build this model.

*In a booming monotone voice* You will Pin EVERYTHING! … That is all! *Click*

:| While you can expect to do some pinning on a large resin model, with the Fire Raptor it becomes the only way to can really hold it together and stay aligned; the parts match up (mostly) but they can shift and slide making it very tricky to get it together for a proper test fit. This is where I start to wonder why there aren’t a few more simple interlocking components to help form the structure, and make it a bit easier to build. But, so far it’s starting to look like something.


The struggle continues as I try to piece it together and to a dry fit to test alignments and if parts have been properly straightened.

:| Doing some test fitting is to be expected with a large kit, but this one really was a struggle to keep it together so you could really check the fit and alignment. It seemed a bit warped, but not enough that I didn’t think I could force it into shape. Again, some simple tongue in groove details and/or a few locking/fitting components wouldn’t be amiss to help the build. It’s mostly just a flat slabs of resin meeting flat slabs of resin, with one or two small details to help with alignment.


So I relented, and placed some nice large pins front and back on both sides to lock the walls of the hull in place.

I drilled the holes with just a little play, front to back, so I could adjust the parts a little bit as I assembled the resin components of the main hull. It took a little bit twisting to get a reasonably clean alignment on both sides, and you can just make it out a bit of it in the length of the hull. I took my time and carefully added lots of Super glue to the length of the hull to really lock it in to place. It was starting to look good and feel solid.


Except yeah, that ‘little twist’? Well… it was not so little after all.

:( It might not look like much, but this is the wing section of the hull, and I suspect that this little twist in the hull would have made the wings a bit warped across their span, drooping down on the left, if not corrected. With everything locked together I had no choice but to hot water dunk the entire assembly. :| I’m lucky to have a small portable electric cooking range that I can use for large dunk jobs like this; I wanted really hot water considering the thick nature of the parts. With an old pot it wasn’t that hard to fix the twist. And, I must have used enough glue, because the hot water didn’t loosen it at all.

*Subtle stops, noticing that it has become quiet. The ‘thing’ lurking outside having stopped its assault on the door.*


This is one of those little parts that illustrated some of the fit issues in a nut shell.

It’s not glued together at this point, so it is a bit loose. However, Front left corner, that looks good, once it’s glued up it will be tight and clean with a bit of a seam. :| Front right corner, well that’s not as clean as it could be, but it’s not the worst. :( But the bottom… *Gets angry, grunting and yelling* why for big silly gap in bottom?! *Sigh* To the best of my ability the hull is assembled how it should be, I’m not sure why this gap is like this. Not a huge deal I guess, but not that hard to fix before mass production too. If you want to make the parts seamless, the rivets are going to make it a real pain to sand it smooth.


Remember, the resin parts of the hull are assembled, from what I can tell, straight and symmetrical, and still…

… The left corner of the hull aligns perfectly with the styrene component. *Ding!* Excellent! But the right corner of the hull is out by more than just a little bit! *Buzzer!* So sorry! :( There was simply no way to get both sides to alight cleanly, so I was forced to use a small sanding block and carefully remove some material to lower the resin surface enough to get the corner to align correctly.



For better or worse, the main hull came together and was glued firm.

:( Despite all my efforts to assemble the hull straight and true there is a subtle but noticeable bend to the left. The ‘hobby OCD me’ hates it, but I chose to ignore it because of how subtle it is. :| It’s also a bit annoying that the top panel for the hull also doesn’t line up as neatly as I’d like; the right side looks good, but the left just doesn’t line up quite right and ruins what should be nice and symmetrical details. At this point there is no flex or give in the hull, and I don’t want to even consider another dunk, so I’m willing to accept these final small, but annoying, flaws. Once you step back and look the whole, you can’t help but like it, even with the odd little wart.



The wings assembled easily but a few parts could have been a bit cleaner in the fit.

I also managed to forget to photograph assembling the engine housings, rear landing gear compartments, and rear components. In an effort to actually make progress, not worry, and overthink it, I just plowed through and realized at the end I forgot. :| Being beyond the point of no return, all that really matters of that process is that I pinned the heck out of it all; the engines especially received three large deep pins each to properly secure the large chunks of resin to the hull. The double pinned wings are not fragile in the slightest. In fact, the entire build is remarkably solid, thanks to the extensive pinning; it’s a quite literally brick, with no flex in the hull or the wing connections, and it simply feels solid right out to the wing tips.


Even the small parts, like the front vector engines got securely pinned in place so nothing will fall off this glorious chunk of plastic.

As mentioned, I managed to clean up the top right corner alignment with some careful sanding of the resin surface and a bit of brute force when finally gluing it in place. The bottom right corner did end up with a rather noticeable seam line that will need a bit of fixing, as expected. :(

But ultimately, the small flaws just don’t matter. If you can take the time to pin the heck out of the Fire Raptor as you construct it, it becomes less daunting to assemble then the reputation its gained, but it is still a bit of an ‘ugly’ challenging build to get it nice clean and straight, and it has a few small but ‘ugly’ flaws that seem out of place for such a wonderful final model; however, they become very easy to ignore when they’re overwhelmed by all the awesome present in the rest of this kit. But, the build does make you work for that awesome, with a challenging build. You have been warned.

I will follow up with further articles showing the assembly of the smaller components of the Raptor and Spartan when I can get to finishing those final bit of the builds. But even with a few things left to complete in these builds, I’m quite happy to have several key models assembled to a point that they are ready to go when I’m ready to start my planned studio kits. Tackling all of the builds I did this summer has really encouraged me to be more confident in just getting down to work and getting progress done, instead of overthinking and hesitating when I’m having a bit of doubt. Definitely a good thing.


In closing, a few images to show off a few other little things I’ve been up to as the summer ends.

I finally got a chance to get the Signum Stone markers properly painted and based to match my army. Big surprise, I went with a Black Marble look (using my black highlight greys) for the actual stone artifact shards, so they can stand out a bit from the common ground stone, but still feel cohesive. Even with a single battery (they can take one or two) pictured here, the lighting effect is very pronounced, and they produce a wonderful hypnotic glowing effect as they shift through the spectrum.


At some point someone had asked me if the small dishes in my Shield Generator touched the plasma globe and if the effect was drawn to them.

Well, that got me thinking, and it really didn’t seem that hard to add some metal pins to the center of the internal dishes that could reach the globe and touch it; the lower electrical resistance of the metal should draw the plasma effect towards it, just like touching it with a finger, only on a smaller scale. It was a little fiddly to get all of the pins the correct length on each dish, since the gap isn’t quite consistent all around the globe. But after a bit of tweaking and adjustment, it actually wasn’t too hard to achieve contact on all the points. Sure enough, the metal draws the plasma streams quite well, and it adds nicely to the ‘pulling power to energize the shield’ effect that I was aiming for with the model. Working so well, naturally I’m going to keep the modification on this studio model. I’m quite pleased… with how it… gives…

*Subtle’s voice trails off. Caught up in his wall-o’-text, he suddenly notices that he has carelessly wandered too close to a window!*

Aww crap! *Subtle’s face goes pale* Too late…

*The glass shatters, as the window explodes inward; a throng of appendages, each branded with the words “Higher Learning”, thrusting through the new found opening and quickly grab and grapple the aspiring designer, dragging him back into the gloom. The sounds of his desperate struggle to fight off and defeat the menace fade as he is dragged away. Faint words tumble back from The Dark…*

Much… more… to… come!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/09/23 19:25:29


"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in gb
Pious Palatine






Hotdamn. Those black marble rocks with the light up rune thingies look awesome!

EDC
   
Made in us
Jinking Ravenwing Land Speeder Pilot





Pittsburgh PA, USA

Well hot damn that is fan-freaking-tastic well done brother!

Angels of Vengeance P&M Blog

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Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

Well then, I take it you like it? Heh... yeah, the Shield Generator in particular, turned out even better then I was expecting, and it's been very well received. I was lurking a while back and found someone describing it as looking like a dooms-day device; I thought that was great, and take that as high praise. Thanks as always for the feedback and input.

I'm really glad people think this project turned out well. It's just driving home that I'm on the right track and I just need to keep it up. I'm virtually frothing at the mouth, waiting and working my way through my final year in college, until I can dive in to the studio full time, and take all of these proof-of-concept kits and ramp up everything to the next level. Everything starts Summer 2017! Sooo soon'ish...

Thanks again! More to come!

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in us
Liche Priest Hierophant






Next project- giant doomsday cannon using a plasma ball as the power source. WLC-like.

GENERATION 8: The first time you see this, copy and paste it into your sig and add 1 to the number after generation. Consider it a social experiment.

If yer an Ork, why dont ya WAAAGH!!

M.A.V.- if you liked ChromeHounds, drop by the site and give it a go. Or check out my M.A.V. Oneshots videos on YouTube! 
   
Made in gb
Mighty Gouge-Horn






Have to add to the general clamour of approval here! The idea of the metal pins in particular is absolutely inspired. Can't wait to see you unchecked by uni constraints.

Keep it up!

   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

With a tiny window of opportunity, I feel like writing something, and perhaps rambling a little bit about some future plans and other stuff.


Having recently picked up a few hobby supplies, I had a chance to use some of this Tamiya Putty and I think it’s worth a few words.

A classmate of mine was using some of this Tamiya Putty on a model a while back and recommend it. I’ve seen it in the past, but I’ve had a tube of green Squadron Putty for years so I hadn’t given it a try. I was never completely happy with Squadron Putty when I used it, but when it comes to filling and smoothing really fine seams and cracks, a product like it really does the trick; where other products will struggle to hold tight in such as small area, modeling putty will do a better job. That’s the theory, but with Squadron Putty I’ve found it to be too coarse and prone to chipping and flaking away sometimes. The way it underperformed kinda’ soured me on products like this, truth be told.

So, recently I had to do a marathon model building session; taking a concept from a 3D model and making a 1/5 scale physical model of it in roughly 4 days. Very little sleep was had, to say the least, but I produced an excellent model and this wonderful product helped in its own way. With many layers coming together very quickly to build the required model, I used it quite a bit to clean up seams, layering, and other surface flaws that come with building something from scratch, and this stuff worked like a charm.

When cured it becomes very hard, resisting scratching and flaking, and with a nice satin almost plastic-like finish; I suspect it’s resilient enough to be drilled and carved/shaped in some situations. The solvents in it work really well to mildly etch into most surfaces and gently fuse it with styrene plastics to bond very tightly. When it’s sanded it will come off as a dry plaster-like powder, but any product remaining on the model will keep the tough plastic-like finish. Burnish it a little with a plastic bristle brush after you’ve filed, sanded, and worked this product, and it will be primer ready. Scratches, seams, gaps, and all sorts of other flaws simply vanish.

After seeing it suggested, I had planned on tinning some of the Tamiya Putty down to use it as a form of surface glaze for particular situations where you want a very thin layer. Turns out that Tamiya noticed that modellers were doing this, and made it into a ready-to-use product, the pictured Surface Primer G. Having never made the stuff before I was happy to pick up a bottle and take the guesswork out of it. When I make better use of both of these on some hobby models I’ll take some pictures of the results and talk more about technique when using it. Put simply, if you scratch build and/or are particular about cleaning up seam lines on models, get some of this stuff!


Meet Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the seeds of inspiration for the first Dark Mechanicus constructs I want to create.

I personally still much prefer the traditional Dreadnaught model to the Helbrute that the unit has become. I had plans to pick up a FW Iron Warriors Dreadnaught and add it as a companion to this Black Legion one. With FW discontinuing the model before I could get one, well then, they’ve simply forced me to create my own alternative. In this case I’m aiming to find some middle ground between the new bio-mechanical ‘Brute and the old-school walking sarcophagus that is the Dreadnaught. I like the curved armour forms of the ‘Brute but I want it closer to the Legion Dread in execution and style.

So the Dreadnaught is going to tag along with the Decimator as it’s completed, because it’s been half-finished for far too long. To show that there really is paint involved, I’ve included a small progress shot; I was hoping to get a little more done on it before I was forced to stop, but you know how it is. *Shakes an angry fist at life*

Since I was considering the build of a smaller Dark Mechanicus construct and painting the Decimator, it got me thinking just how straight forward the Decimator is, in reality; it’s just a large central tube/cylinder plastered with hoses and wires, with some armour plates wrapped around it all, really. Not that difficult a concept to adapt and refine, I should think. For me, as with the Dreadnaught, the Decimator is the look I prefer in a Daemon Engine construct; a mechanical brute monstrosity forcibly infused with a daemonic entity to give it purpose – not fed and/or grown in any way, but coldly manufactured and assembled product. Well then, I might just have to explore something on a medium scale as well, yes? … Yes!

Do you hear that? … Yep, that’s the sound of another can-of-worms cracking open.

While I’ve picked up several models from GW/FW over the last few years, most are carefully planned to have a long road of service in my studio as ‘scaffolds’ for future kit designs, before they’ll become personal projects that I can actually finish. So, to celebrate my most recent complete revolution of our sun, I choose to pick up something that is purely a personal project that can proceed without delay, once the demands of college are finally done.


Meet TweedleDEAD! The Kytan Daemon Engine; a very suitable (starting) centerpiece model for the Dark Mechanicus element of my collection.

This is the first time I’ve received something from FW packaged like this. Usually the parts are simply in a bag surrounded by plastic packing pillows. It’s such a pleasant surprise to get the kit this way, it seemed worthy of note. When you’re purchasing a premium product like this it’s nice when it’s packed accordingly. After closer inspection I can say that this is what a FW model should be like; the quality and execution of the parts is very good; reasonable mould lines, very nice surface quality, no noticeable warping, and an acceptably low number of bubbles. Well done FW, I hope future kits will continue this trend.


A tiny bit of subtle layering noticeable in the toe of the Kytan hints at the 3D printed origins of the master model used for this kit.

Just look at those legs, and compare them to some of the new Mechanicus line and tell me they don’t share a similar design esthetic; yep, this is going to work. I’m not really a fan of the FW Chaos Knight kit; too much teeth, horns, and splitting armour for my taste, and combined with such a clean base model, it just doesn’t work for me. Naturally, I have my own plans to create some suitably ‘Renegade Knight’ style kits in the future, but that’s another story for another day. So, for my money, as with earlier examples, I personally prefer the mostly mechanical esthetic that the Kytan has for a unique knight-scale Chaos Daemon Engine model.


One only need look to this kit to see that GW/FW are well aware of the state of 3D printing technology, and taking full advantage.

It was a very high quality 3D print used to create the master for this model, and the accuracy of the entire model is very tight because of it; the perfectly symmetrical and wonderfully smooth curved elements especially benefit from the process. There’s a few tiny spots where the 3D print process of the original model can be seen, but they really are few in number and very subtle; very easy to ignore or to clean up at your discretion. The fit and finish are so nice it’s almost begging to be put together right now. Soon, you wonderful psychopathic-daemon-infused-murder-bot, you! Soon!

As with the Decimator, I’m torn with what to do to personalize the Kytan; it’s such a nice model in its own right there’s nothing wrong with it being built as-is (basically what I did with the Decimator), but in this case I think it’s going to need something to make it more Dark Mechanicus. Removing and replacing all of the Khorne iconography will be the obvious place to start, but I have a few whispers from the warp in the back of my mind suggesting that I should remove the cannon from the left arm and mount it on/over/behind the shoulder. Then both arms can be armed with combat weapons of some sort, to emphasize the Kytan’s combat proficiency; perhaps matching weapons or maybe purposely different for some variety; either could work really well. Considering how common of a design element it is on Mechanicus robots in both 30k and 40k, I think shoulder mounting the ballistic weapon would go a long way to tie it into the Dark Mechanicus theme I’ll be going for with this build.

Sooo… I guess I’ve also got my (first) large scale Dark Mechanicus construct concept on the drawing board, as it were, to go along with the small and medium concept ideas that started me down this Dark path to begin with. You see how the worms start to get out, and everywhere, if I let the ideas have too much freedom? Buuut, the image is beginning to take form in my mind, I don’t think I have any choice now, but to make it real.

Please, stand by… more to come. Soon'ish.

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada


+++ Designation: Kytan Daemon Engine/Construct +++ Classification: Variant - Unknown +++ Further Reconnaissance Incoming - Stand By +++

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

So, bowing to the temptation that is procrastination and distraction, I did get a few hours to do some building of the Kytan. 
 



 
I wish I had more time to write something now, but this teaser storyboard will have to do. In a bit, I'll get some full images up of the progress completed so far, plus some write up. I'm quite pleased with the direction it's going so far; still room for further refinement/adjustment if I choose, but a solid bash that I think is going to work quite well and be very unique.

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in us
Legendary Master of the Chapter






Man that attention to detail... i love it.

 Unit1126PLL wrote:
 Scott-S6 wrote:
And yet another thread is hijacked for Unit to ask for the same advice, receive the same answers and make the same excuses.

Oh my god I'm becoming martel.
Send help!

 
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada



Edit: through the miracle of time-laps photography, this process looks almost effortless and kinda' quick. While not really that hard to do, especially with something this large, the process takes a bit of care and lots more time. This took roughly 1.5 hours to do.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/11/06 08:23:56


"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

Note: I have no concrete idea why there’s a darker ghost/shadow left in the plastic when I remove details like in the previous images. If I had to guess I would say that the pigments in the plastic cure differently in (or are drawn to) the center of the part as it cools.

Ok, with a small lull between college projects (that’s all but gone as I write this), I gave in and spent some hours doing a bit of assembly and kit-bashing with the Kytan. As mentioned before the Kytan is a personal project, so I’m finding it very difficult to ignore it. I can do anything I want with this wonderful kit! It calls to me… So, the simple plan is, move it away from ‘Khorne Daemon Engine’ and shift it towards ‘Dark Mechanicus Daemon Engine’


Taking inspiration from several Mechanicum and Mechanicus robot models I settled on moving the cannon to an over-the-shoulder design.

When I saw the FW Mechanicum Castellax Atomata pictured on the left I knew I found my primary inspiration; move the cannon to the shoulder and put combat weapons in both hands (and I mean literally ‘in’ the hands/arms) to reflect the combat proficiency of the Kytan. It gets an extra attack after all, so it ‘needs’ two combat weapons, right? Rule of Cool says… yes!

I’m still deciding if I’m going to emulate the Castellax and do circular blades; it’s tempting, but I have another idea or two that I want to consider before I settle in the final form. For now I started work on the shoulder mount for the cannon. At first I had considered doing something more scratch built, but when I got looking at some of the bits I had, I started playing with this kit-bash.


I had planned on putting a single cannon on the shoulder, and then this happened! I guess it ‘needs’ two cannons as well. Rule of Cool does say two is better than one, after all!

I’ve had these cannons from the Forgefiend kit assembled for a while, and I was considering using one/both on the Decimator as Butcher Cannons, but the scale and form just didn’t fit with the model. They have rounded elements that suit their new purpose much better. A bit of styrene tubing and they’re virtually made to mount on the end of a Defiler leg.

I’m also particularly pleased with the simple-yet-effective addition of the optics and vox to the side of the head. It’s a small thing, but I’ve had the bit kicking around for ages, waiting for a worthy project, and I think it’s a perfect detail to add to the theme.


What serious Chaos collector doesn’t have at least a few Defiler parts (kits) kicking around? Humm… This might just work.

These images are Kytan 0.1, with my first attempt to build an armature for the cannons. I liked the pose/stance of the cannons and the overall silhouette it created; it had the right idea, but it seemed like it could use something… more. So I gave it another try.


Kytan 0.2 - Improvement through experimentation, iteration, and upgrade. I think the Mechanicus would approve.

As usual with something at this point of the build, this is only half glued together and everything else is being held in place by poster tack, friction, and hope, so the stance and alignment isn’t final by any means, just an early showcase.

By switching up to the larger front leg of the Defiler kit I could get the exact same form and silhouette in the armature but with some added bulk and more visual interest; I think it feels much more complete. I also like how the curved armor plate helps to transition the hard lines of the Defiler parts into the rounder Kytan body.

I’m adding rivets to the spots that are missing them due to the limitations of the styrene casting processes; another little thing, but I think it’s adding up nicely over the whole build. And for anyone curious, the pipes/cables leading from the armature to the Kytan body were heated in boiling water and carefully bent into shape over several dips and slow adjustment. Styrene is a thermodynamic plastic, which essentially means that you can heat it (all the way to liquid, if you want), shape it while hot, and it will cool and hold the heat-formed shape it was given. Every once-and-awhile you can use it to your advantage and simply bend the part to your will.


It makes me wish I had a to-scale gantry and/or scaffold to hang it from as it gets assembled; with servators and robotics working away to complete it. It would make a great diorama.

Next up, the arms. Again, I’m torn between two circular blades a-la Castellax Automata, or another configuration of my own design. They will be much more (likely all) scratch built, so I’ll have much more freedom in their form. I might need to model 2-3 variations in Solidworks to really get a feel for the final design. Because of how pose’able and awesome the leg assemblies are, I don’t think I’ll be doing much modification to them; it will come down to pose and the composition of the base to take full advantage of the legs, I think.

But unfortunately, there’s no time for that now. So ends another small chapter in the much larger story. Thanks for reading, and if you’re so inclined, writing a few words. As always, more to come.

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in us
Liche Priest Hierophant






Why not take a page from the Orks and make slashy claw hands with circular sawblades as the fingertip 'claws'?

GENERATION 8: The first time you see this, copy and paste it into your sig and add 1 to the number after generation. Consider it a social experiment.

If yer an Ork, why dont ya WAAAGH!!

M.A.V.- if you liked ChromeHounds, drop by the site and give it a go. Or check out my M.A.V. Oneshots videos on YouTube! 
   
Made in us
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





Affton, MO. USA

To me the two different sized forearms are just screaming crab style arms. One much larger than the other. I don't know the weapon load outs for the decorator, but a more whip like (or flail like) arm would look good on the skinny arm and the the big crushing claw/hammer/ spiky mace for the other side to finish off the entangled target on the other.

LOL, Theo your mind is an amazing place, never change.-camkierhi 9/19/13
I cant believe theo is right.. damn. -comradepanda 9/26/13
None of the strange ideas we had about you involved your sexual orientation..........-Monkeytroll 12/10/13

I'd put you on ignore for that comment, if I could...Alpharius 2/11/14 
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

Part of the problem is there’s almost too many good ideas. Matching weapons for balance and some symmetry if I want to take in that direction, or mismatched weapons that still complement each other in some way, to add some variety. I’ll likely be replacing the arms from just below the elbows down, to have complete creative control, so what’s there now will have very little impact on what solution I settle on.

Then there’s the entire realm of weapon options to choose from; do I want it to slice, dice, clip, crush, bend, pierce, flail, or perhaps it’ll make Julian Fries with easy cleanup? Even something ‘safe’ will look great, but there is room to do something more ambitions if I’m struck by a good idea that won’t let me go. Still haven’t found it yet, so I’ll be thinking on this one for a bit before I settle on something, that’s for sure.

Many of the parts are still just tacked together here, so even now it’s in flux in many ways. There’s a long road to travel, with many forks along the way, until this build is finished. I’ma gonna’ have me some fun wit’ this-un. I’s hopin’ it’ll be a monster. I'm tempted to put a crushing clamp just so I can yell, "I'll give 'em the clamps!" if/when it actually sees a tabletop for play. Yeah, I'ma geek.

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in hu
Fresh-Faced New User




Hi,

Let me first say, that your work is beyound astounding. Really, really like your style, and how perfectionist your builds are. Keep up the good work!
I plan to cast my own models as well, and i have two questions:
- Approximately, after how many uses does a mold wear out?
- What type of resin you use?
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

Thanks for reading. I'm always happy when people find it useful and/or interesting. I do indeed plan to keep doing this and so much more in future. I've found my muse, as it were.

Mould lifespan has a broad range depending on a few factors. The larger ones being how tough the mould rubber is; softer rubber tends to be very thin and easy to mix/pour, so it can be useful for hobbyists who want to replicated some parts with minimal setup. Thicker rubber will create a stiffer, tougher, longer lifespan, mould but the right equipment starts to be needed to make it perform best. The second big factor is the complexity of the object; most importantly, if it has any major undercuts or details prone to gripping the mould. Objects with smooth details that can be easily pull free of rubber will obviously create less strain on the mould. That's not to say undercuts and details should be avoided, I purposely do them all the time, but they will sheer and pull at small/thinner parts of the mould and likely be the first place where the mould will wear out, tearing or cracking after prolonged use.

So, that said, a softer mould (OOMOO 30 from smooth-on) can give as few as 5-10 pulls before some tearing might occur, if the the object is well detailed and complex. It can be 20 pulls or more if the item pulls free easily, but the mould is still delicate and will rip sooner-or-later. A tougher rubber (Mould Max/Star 30 from smooth-on) will reliably give you a mould that can provide 30-50 pulls of a very complex object, but it will need to be planned well if you want to avoid tearing and damage (all moulds benefit from such planning) to get the most out of the mould. If the object is really 'mould friendly' you might be able to get 50+ pulls, but there's always a limit due to the materials in use. A good mould release (I swear by Mann Ease Release 300) is always key to prolonging the life of a mould as much as possible.

Liquid Polyurethane plastic (aka: Resin) is somewhat caustic and harsh when it's liquid; it tends to play very poorly with other plastics and rubber. It also produces heat while curing which I suspect adds to the problem. It becomes a solid very quickly once mixed, but for the short time it's a liquid in the mould it has an effect on the rubber. Over time, moulds will literally dry out and begin cracking due to this repeated mild chemical exposure, becoming brittle and prone to cracking and tearing. Size and complicity of the object come into play with this effect as well, larger objects have more surface area and produce more heat, so this can speed this type of wear. With the right objects in the right rubber, I'd say aim for 50 pulls, but expect less and hope/try for more.

For my Urethane plastics I use mostly Smooth-on Smooth Cast 300 and 305 for general casting and 325 and/or 326 if I want clear/translucent components. I've mentioned in the past that there might be a cheaper alternative that will produce a similar result, but Smooth-on make an amazing range of products, all providing great results for me, and I get nothing but good feedback on the quality of my resin, so I think it's worth any small premium to support an excellent North American company.

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

Now, a brief moment of procrastination, by Subtle Discord. Ongoing iterations and experimentation with options for the Mechanicus Militia that will fill the ranks of my future Renegades Platoons. My new muse is proving very hard to ignore; spring can’t get here fast enough. Must… build... more… models! I’ve got a serious itch to take my new Mechanicus infatuation in a few directions. For now, I want to explore some solutions that I can use to easily produce large numbers of Renegades with ranged weapons.


Left – My original idea; bash Autoguns from various sources. Right – A new idea; bash some more of the Skitarii kit into the build.

With the release of the new Genestealer Neophyte Hybrid kits there should be no problem getting Autoguns to bash into these squads; which is good, because harvesting them from the Chaos Cultists is not an ideal source. Cleanly removing the Lasgun from the right arm of the IG model is also a bit of a pain, but I really want to use something other than Lasguns, to give them a unique look. I like the mass-produced utilitarian result that the Autogun gives, buuuut…

… the Skitarii Vanguard/Rangers kit provides an interesting counts-as option that I didn’t consider at first. I’ll be using the Radium Carbines with the actual Skitarii models, so that leaves lots of the Galvanic Rifles in my bits box. After some test fits, I’m surprised how well many of the arms fit on a regular IG torso; even the sleeves don’t look too bad, given that they’re wearing a tunic under the Flak armour. I’ve taken a section out of the rifle to shorten it (All hail the power of Tamiya Extra Thin cement to do super clean joins and seams!) and the final result is really starting to grow on me. It takes the models in a different direction, being more elegant, and the extra detail isn’t a bad thing. Hummm… Decisions. Decisions.

Oh well, that’s all the time I have for now. More scraps and bits of ideas to come, until spring, when I can really get started on some projects! *Subtle’s eye begins to twitch a bit, a bit of froth forming in the corner of his mouth* Just five more months…

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

+
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++
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+
++ Modulating…
++ Re-scanning…
++++++++
+++
++ Signal Detect…
++++++
++++
+++++++++
++ Comm-Link Authenticated…
++ Decrypting…
+++
++++++++
++++++++++
++ Primary Explorator Mission ++ Planned Duration: 1,826.25 standard cycles ++ On Schedule ++
++ Hard Data Harvest Complete ++ Acquisition of information, skill, experience… Successful ++
++ Resistance Encountered - Moderate ++ Combat Asset Casualties - Within Parameters ++
++ Discovery + Experimentation + Iteration + Simulation ++ Construct Template… Repaired ++
++ Return Protocol Active ++ Estimated Transit Duration: 104.1 standard cycles ++ On Schedule ++
++



++
++ Message Repeat ++
++ Return Protocol Active ++ Estimated Transit Duration: 104.1 standard cycles ++ On Schedule ++
+++++++
+++
+++++++++
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Final semester of the final year, with ~12 weeks remaining. Still much to finish (finally!) followed by so much to start to figure out. But, things are about to get... interesting. I've got so many ideas bouncing around in my head, it's almost giving me a nosebleed, but I must... remain... focused!  I can see the end, now for the final sprint. As always, so much more, starting soon... and this time I mean soon! *Subtle's eye begins to twitch, and a bit of froth starts to form in his mouth, as he starts to shake a little* I'm one part excited and one part petrified; is that a good thing? *Nervous laugh*

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in us
Veteran Inquisitor with Xenos Alliances






Very nice. I really like those servitors.
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

Since I forgot to add the pictures of my kit-bashed counts-as Rogue Psykers for my R&H Dark Mechanicus to Legion Rising, and I’m looking for an excuse to procrastinate a little…

After playing with the Electro-Priest kit some I came up with three combinations of Fulgurite and Corpuscarii arms that I think actually work quite well.
 
A few of the hands need a bit of file work to shape them some, but nothing really serious. Either of the ‘dynamo backpacks’ can line up the cables that lead to the gloves with just a bit of modification. I also shortened the staves-made-maces a bit to give them a better proportion. Finally, the Ruststalker heads simply work better with the concept in my mind and they were easy to add; they only needed a small shim of plastic to get them in to good position. A straightforward but effective kit-bash.
 

Astounding psychic powers! Amaze your friends! Curse your enemies! **Some side effects may include dry mouth, loss of appetite, nosebleeds, daemonic possession, and agonizing death.
 
With daemonic possession a regular occupational hazard I’ll need some models to represent the outcome. I wasn’t sure how I was going to pull it off until I saw the Revenants. With a little bit of file work to remove the leaf elements and a bit of green stuff to fill any undesirable details and I think they’ll do well to represent a demonic entity tearing in to reality through a tasty mortal host. I’m going to try and keep a bit of the tech, mangled and destroyed, and graft the Revenant from the waste up; as seen in the quick Photoshop cut-and-paste.
 
Ten weeks, and the hobby sabbatical can finally start. More more to come. I can't wait to start building and painting with less constraints again.
 
01001110 01000101 01010100 01000011 01001111 01001101 01001101 00100011 00110001 00111010 01001100 01001111

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/02/17 06:19:34


"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

Hello. My (nic) name is Subtle Discord... and I have an addiction... to plastic.
 
While I have dabbled in ABS and pure Acrylic (I prefer my Acrylic in liquid paint form), I have become a Polyholic, with my plastics of choice being Polystyrene and Polyurethane. I started in my early teens not even considering it could never happen to me, and I've kicked the habit a few times over the years, but it always returned. As I observe my current plastic hoard grow more elaborate and extensive then ever, I see now that this time the condition is here for good.
 
So, while I'm now comfortable with my addiction and have come to accept and embrace it, I just wanted to provide fair warning that such a condition can develop. To illustrate, pictured below is just one of my 'stashes' of high quality Polystyrene, ready for my next several binges of scratch building. I suspect I'm going to need a good stockpile with some of the things I have planned, so this is just a portion of my preparations. *Insert maniacal laugh and mood lighting here*
 

After working with some of styrene rivets made by Tichy Train Group in 2016, I was so pleased with the ease-of-use and final results I invested in rounding out my selection.
 
I've tried to used micro-beads in the past to do round rivets, and I was completely frustrated by the process; it's just too difficult to get really clean consistent results, and with the huge number of rivets I can put in one build, it made the process all but useless for me. After using these Tichy rivets, I'll be hard pressed to consider another solution. They do have a tiny bit of flash, but I've found its so small that it simply melts away when the solvent is applied to the part.
 
They are easily worth the cost for the time savings from ease-of use, and results they give. Simply drill a tiny hole, cut a rivet free from the sprew, and use some tweezers to drop the post into the hole; touch it with a tiny bit of solvent glue, apply a tiny bit of pressure, and it will fuse into a perfect round rivet every time. The larger rivets are a bit too big at 28mm scale as actual rivets, but they make a good solution for optic lenses if you place them in a small tube/ring of plastic, and that's the main reason for me getting some that large.
 
The smaller ones (0.035" and lower) come in packs of 200, and larger one (0.04" and higher) all come in packs of 96. (Note: there are additional 'odd' sizes in the full line, between the sizes pictured in detail.) Large projects can quickly use large numbers of rivets, so naturally mileage may vary; but if you're scratch building is more modest in scale, a small investment can last a long time and make adding rivet details to something an easy endeavor, instead of something that might be a daunting challenge.
 
Ok, *sigh* ... that's enough procrastination for me. Back to work. Just 9 more weeks until my freedom from higher learning, and I'm practically climbing the walls in anticipation. So soon. So very soon... *Insert ominous music here*

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/02/17 06:18:34


"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada


Another small entry in my Dark Mechanicus project arriving soon. Spare bits made useful; the Auto-Cannon Heavy Weapon Team.

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
Made in ca
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Toronto, Canada

With a tiny window of time available, I took a brief moment to procrastinate and explore an idea I had to make some Heavy Weapon Teams for my Dark Mechanicus themed Renegades & Heretics. I had first thought of using the Cadian Heavy Weapon kit with my obligatory Skitarii backpack and head-swap; I was considering ways I could modify or replace the weapons to make them more Mechanicus, but the idea was falling a bit flat with me.

However, as my modest IA:13 Dark Mechanicus project has since grown to include a collection built from the Skitarii and Cult Mechanicus codices, this little idea quickly took form. I have an affinity for the Ironstrider models, and plan to build some Dragoons to start; in an army with so many wonderfully exotic ranged weapon options, equipping them with Auto-Cannons or Las-Cannons seems a bit underwhelming. I get the mobility of the weapon platform, but it still doesn’t resonate with me like Dragoons with their Taser Lances. And since the model doesn’t lend itself to magnetization, I’m left with these excellent weapon bits looking for a purpose.


The armour plate doesn’t play nice with the normal heavy weapon tripod, but I devised another idea with a few of the other bits.

Just a couple of tiny scratch-built parts was enough to create some connection points, and it’s as simple as that. For now it’s more of a proof-of-concept really; I like the solution, but I want to create something from scratch that is purpose built for the task and refines how all the parts come together.



It’s a wonderfully simple idea compared to some of the other concepts bouncing around inside my mind, so it’s kinda’ refreshing.

Naturally, Heavy Weapon Teams can’t take twin-linked Auto-Cannons, but the rule of cool always takes precedence. Considering how straight forward the solution is, this little kit-bash is all but impossible to pass it up. I can’t wait to have a closer look at some of the left over bits in some of the other Mechanicus kits, and see how they might prove useful.

Ok, with that small hobby itch scratched… a tiny bit… for now… I’m forced to return to other matters that require my attention. Thanks, as always, for reading. *Sigh* Soon my little plastic minions. Soon.

"The old galaxy is dying, and the new galaxy struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters."


 
   
 
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