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Wait...wait... I just had a good idea while chopping up the vanilla fans...

inmygravenimage wrote:I love how the back spike is evolving

Thanks Graven'. Still need to work out an armour plate for the middle part of the third leg.

Theophony wrote:Sad to see the drone get knee-capped, but the adjustment was definitely for the better.

Thanks Theo'. More below...

...I was chopping the spiked rings off the fans for use as decoration and hit upon the idea of using the body of the fan as armour plates as the look will match perfectly.


Carry on...

Yeah digging that

Looking good doc.

Thanks Graven' and Tom.

And now some hoses and cables (before I get too carried away with other details).

Trying to make it look more "Chaos" and less "neat and efficient" in the wiring runs.
Most are the usual simple wires, but I did plait the wires that run to the toes. It's ultimately easier than dealing with 4 independent wires over that length.



Still need to wire the knee motor and then the other leg... and the third leg...
Then musculature and fleshy bits...

Very nice touches!

I approve of this message

You could always, when you come to paint it, treat pipes as fleshy bits also.
Damn shiny too, btw.

Thanks Chaps.
Yep, Graven', this is why I'm getting the cables on before the major putty stage; some will be merged into the fleshy parts and muscles.

Rest of the cabling done.


Next job is the musculature and fleshy parts... *takes deep breath*

I just love wiring and cabling on models. It's so 40k... and even though there would never be any kind of exposed wiring or cabling on a real war machine... it just gives the right touch. Nicely done!

Yeah, It's an odd thing about these models, all the interesting bits should be hidden inside, but then they don't look like they'd work. Stick a load of wires and cables all over the place and you can make the leap that, yes that thing can work.
Thanks Gits'.

I was going to protect the cables about the upper legs with spaced armour plates, but I think that disturbs the creepy leg thing I have going, so I'm keeping them thin and rangy.

I've now added some damage and I've added fleshy bits, muscles, and stringy gooey bits to give it the Nurgle feel.
I used a combination of my 3D printing pen (bright green), epoxy putty (darker green), and hot glue (hot glue coloured).

Deserves a good close look, but will be easier to see once primed.

Next job is to rough up all the existing Nurgle-damage and add some more about the place.
Then I may prime it to get a good look at where we are,
And I'll start planning the additional weapons...

I think I need to get myself one of these pens. What do you recommend?

Looking creepier and creepier Dr. H

Brilliant work, so much lovely detail.

Graven', I can't really say much about which might be the best to get, I don't even know what's available. This one was a present, so I didn't even look into buying one.
This is the one I have:

I can try and dig out the box if you want a name for it.
It's very simple in operation, you can see the slider on the side for how fast you want it to push the filament through.
The opposite side has forward and reverse buttons (hold to feed, or double click to constant feed).
Power light in red, and "hot enough" light next to it (usually green).

I do have suggestions for what to look for though;
1) Get variable temperature. (you can see the dark shape to the right of the power lights above, under that is a variable resistor to set the temperature)
This lets you use more types of filament (as they melt at different temperatures) and so keep your options open. You can also use it to "set" how flexible the plastic is when it exits the pen, before it cools and solidifies.
2) Think about where you're going to get the filaments from, and what filaments (not just material but thickness) the pen takes. (think of it like a hot glue gun for plastic)
There's 2 main types of filament and they each have ups and downs based on their properties. What I have is fairly brittle, but I can glue it with plastic cement.
c) That might be it. I can't think of more at the moment. Feel free to ask me questions once you have something more specific in mind.


Good to hear, Theo'.
Thanks Cam'.

The damage is done...
Mainly with a Dremel.

and it's Primed and ready.


Now to think about these weapon options.

So, I was there for the creation of this device. It was prototyped and built at my local Makerspace.

You want to purchase the original, which is the 3Doodler.

https://the3doodler.com/

--Brian

That's cool Brian.

Much fiddling and making it up as I go and... progress...

I needed 2 additional weapons for this beastie, a goo-grenade launcher thing and a people-mower (I'm sure that's the official names )

Goo-grenade launcher requires a separate tank to contain the goo and a 3-barreled gun, connected with a hose of sorts.
The tank I decided to use an aircraft fuel tank as a "template" and used my Oyumaru (love this stuff) to make a cast of the end with a GS/milliput mixture and kept it hollow to save weight.
Then with some shaving and sanding I fitted a plasticard circle, leaving that slightly wider to give a ridge and then a blob of milliput on the end for a dome with a pressed-in Nurgle pattern for flavour.

The gun started with 3 lengths of plastic tube and then I adapted one of the Helbrute big mouth parts to fit around them.
Cut into 3 and then I used lengths of plasticard to position them relative to each other and a sheet (that just happened to be triangular) of plasticard to give a flat rear.
I then filled the gap with putty.
I've decided that this version will be more fleshy than the quite mechanical version on the official model. Just to make use of this Helbrute piece and make it look more Chaos/Nurgle.


I then selected a few pieces of junk to create the rest of the gun and set about sticking them together.
I used foil to fill in most of the shape to save on putty and to keep it lightweight as it's being suspended with magnets.
Filled gaps with putty and gave it a general shape (more Nurgl-iness will be added later).
Then both the gun and tank received the basis of fixture points to place the magnets in about the right place and to hang in about the right angle.


Here's how they hang at the moment:

There will be some more added support pieces for 2 attachment points (for stability) and then I'll build the hose between them which is planned to also help with keeping them pointing in the right direction (that will also get a magnetised split).
Then it'll all get Nugle-ised.

I've also started on the people-mower, but it has not progressed as far:
Planning to use the Nurgle shields on these arms, and I also pulled out a few other pieces to use.
I then made the rotating piece and affixed the start of the arms / engines with the help of pins for strength.
The shape was then built out with plasticard and voids filled with foil before being covered with putty. All to save weight as above.

The rest of the arms (to attach to the body) will extend from the rear of these.
I still need to add the blades and Nurgle-ise it all.

This has all be quite a challenge what with the legs in the way. I keep having to hold them up to the model to make sure it all fits within the legs.
Would have been much easier if it had stayed floating... but not as unique...

Love the fleshmower. And good to see that drone clearly... has a pair.

That cyber beast looks awesome DrH

Speechless...

Thanks Chaps.

More on the goo-launcher.

To create the hose between the tank and gun I used a length of GS,
With both parts attached to the body,I stuck one end of the GS to the gun and then positioned the hose-to-be across the model's dangling hoses and attached it to the tank.
I made sure I was happy with the position and then left that to cure.

Once cured I removed the whole thing in one piece.
I selected a suitable place to cut and cut the hose into two.
I then found a piece of metal (the perfect piece of metal that needed no modification to be used) and glued that to one end, and drilled a magnet into the other end, I also drilled pins through the hose to attach it to each piece.
Those can now be re-attached at any time and holds the weapon in the correct position.


With that set I'm now adding flavour to it.


Time to get the 3D pen out again...

And to keep things interesting here's some progress on the people-mower.

I had to rearrange the arrows about the Nurgle-shields in order to keep it all fitting between the legs, but this is where you want the sharp pointy bits anyway.


Next job on this will be the arms to attach it to the body (that smooth centre is just too useful as a handle, the blades will be added last).

In other news;
The next round of the LoER terrain contest is up and running: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/775200.page#10440830
Go and check it out, join in, follow along, learn something...

Progress so far.
The goo gun has had some fleshy detailing added...


...And the basis of the arms have been added to the people-mower:
To get the right angles I first estimated the position of the magnets on the spheres and filed those flat to glue on said magnets,
The hinge joint was kept mobile by drilling the peg through,
The collar about the large, horizontal, cylinder hides a break in those and was also kept unglued,
Once push-fitted together I attached the magnets to the body, positioned the mower AND THEN added thin plastic cement to the various joins.
Now set, it's a perfect fit (almost a bit too good ).


I now need to add some bulking up of those arms, pistons, muscles, etc.
And then it'll all be ready for full detailing and Nurgle-ing.

But first, the tripod project has to stand aside as I start a new project for a Birthday at the end of the month.
Why so early?
I'm going to be using air-drying clay to sculpt a movie prop and that'll need at least a few days to dry eventually and I don't want to get caught out waiting.
Just picked up 2kg of clay today, so come with me as I embark on a new adventure... "proper" sculpting*...

*I no doubt will be doing some carving of things at the end as I always do when sculpting.

That is just so impressive Dr H. I can't begin to tell you how much I've enjoyed you creating such a wonder. Can't wait to see what you do next!

Goo gun needs spew! Love the ugly bugger.

Thanks Gits'. Glad to hear you have enjoyed the ride so much.

Thanks Graven'. There will likely be spew.

And now the reveal of the new project that's interrupting things...

Hands up when you know what it is.



Just building out the shape at the moment, details will be sculpted in later.

Things I've noticed while working with clay for the "first" time. (at least first time since adulthood)

Wet the surface to get it to affix firmly. Not strictly something I've learnt from doing, something I remember from watching the Terrain Tutor.

Knead the clay for a little while before adding it to the sculpture. It softens quite significantly; softer than new, fresh, milliput.putty.
This may be a mechanical thing, and/or the heat of your hands as it stiffens up once it's cooled (or slightly dried...)

Adding water is good to stop you sticking to the fresh clay and also good for smoothing the surface.
Have a pot of water nearby the wash off your hands and get them and your tools wet.

Consider using gloves rather than bare hands.
No fingerprints and it keeps your hands clean if you need/want to do something else without properly washing your hands. I'm using blue nitrile gloves.

Don't be tempted to push fresh clay on to a sculpture firmly, be gentle and spread/scrape it about.
Pushing it on one side will mean you pushing the clay in on the opposite side. being gentle with your addition avoids the firmer clay from being disturbed.

Scraping away clay from a surface is easier to redistribute it than trying to push/squeeze it across a surface.
Again, you'll need to press hard to move it. Scraping it off and re-applying is gentle.

Don't worry about getting a perfect surface from the start, you'll foul it as soon as you start adding more clay and it'll be fouled by the wet cloth you drape over it to keep it from drying out while you're not working on it.
...
Specific things to what I've doing;
You'll notice an internal structure, I was concerned with top-heaviness (especially if I go for a secret compartment in the base), so bulked out the upper body with polystyrene.
I created the box for the base to give it a solid base to work on and give me some structure if I do add the secret compartment. If it's still top heavy, I can fill in the box.
The polystyrene is joined to the base with 2 lengths of wire coat-hanger, "epoxied" in.
The pieces of polystyrene are glued together with PVA (and left overnight to fully dry).

Working in air-drying clay does give you a lot of motivation to keep working on it, I constantly got the feeling that I should be working on it as it's all drying and should be all together before anything dries too much.
All the clay work you see above was done today, in 2 long sittings, each with one short break to check on the world (twitter).
Very different from my usual do a bit, check internet, do a bit, check... etc...

Building out the shape should be finished tomorrow and then detailing can be started (and will need to be finished without needing to be left with a damp cloth over it). Quick job with a long wait to dry (3-5 days, and slower is best).

Onwards...

Initially I am leaning towards a Raven, with Poe references, but the beak is more raptor!! Great start though.

Looks like the Maltese Falcon.

Yeah, secret compartment? Falcon's Malteaser!

Thanks Cam'.
Was I making Poe references? I'm not enough of a literary buff to do that intentionally, I got a D in English lit' GCSE.
Good to see the beak shape is working.

Indeed it does, Gits'.

You could say say that, Graven'.

Wings on. I think this is the last of the large shaping required. Nearly a full kilo of clay used, the finished piece will have some heft to it.

Getting quite tricky now with making bits looking right. A lot of concentration required.


Now to start on the details. Starting with the feet and working up.

And a bonus wip for today.

Feet added and the last of the wings behind the legs.


Detailing tomorrow...