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acolite wrote:Oh, it isn't that bad, right now I'm cleaning the 34 piston parts that attach to my reaver titans legs.

You realise that this strengthens my point, yes?

Awesome, that is the only word.

I do have to ask, as I'm quite shocked you got pamphlets, or booklets with each titan? If you read my guide (in my sig) that was a big issue I had, I'm really curious what they now include.

Lord Castellan Mik wrote:

So, I think that if I made all three together... in stages... it would be different for the spectator... you guys... also, I can speed things up for #2 and #3 by concentrating on #1 first and then doing the other two straight after.

Stages like... 3 sets of feet, 3 sets of Legs, 3 sets of bodies, 3 sets of heads, 3 sets of weapons, 3 sets of finishing touches

Do build one then the other two in a 'production line'. With these kits you could easily replicate a mistake, especially with the leg conversions. Nothing would be worse than leg part incorrectly glued x6.

I think that if you build one completely, it would benefit the subsequent builds.

jabbakahut wrote:I think that if you build one completely, it would benefit the subsequent builds.

I agree, this is what I have done. One titan is built (and half painted). The next 'hound will only be started when 'hound 1 is finished.

2 reasons for this. Firstly as said previously to learn from mistakes and also I would rather end up with 1 finished and 1 untouched than 2 unfinished titans. At least then I can get max resale value if I dont get round to the second (its also an incentive to finish the first).

Building Titan #1 – first foot

I have not done a final trim and cleanup yet - mainly a dry fit run

Titan feet… This first foot took best part of 3 hours – working out fitting, how to cut of flash, what size drill bit, etc







Drilling out the piston – instead of measure and cut to length, I decided to drill out the receiving end of the piston to accommodate ANY length to be decided later

My setup is a 'Dremel' flex handle clamped in a multi vice with a vacuum cleaner tied in a position to catch all debris and dust




Positions for the piston



First pair of feet done – the second foot took less than an hour



Mik

The feet are the bulk of the work, I get depressed at the idea of doing 6 of them.

Titan legs joining with the feet – sorry that some are a bit blurred







I think that it is amazing that I have not used any glue or pins yet – it’s still a dry fit only

Mik

Yeah, it's a really great fitting model over all. Have you tried to fit the main hull yet? I had to run big rods and clamps to get those to fit propper, and I still needed a gap fill.

For now I'm going to stop at this level (I just wanted to see how far I could get without glue)... and complete the three sets of legs, and then work on the hips.

Sounds like an exersize video.

And, no, I'm not ready for the main body yet

Mik

D: darn that makes me want to commission you to prep / assemble my resin stuff...

You have convinced me 100% to wait for the plastic one.

Pinning? Rods? Clamps?

Bugger that...

Update...

Titan legs x two – up to the hip



Titan feet x six – preparation and build





Titan hull x three – just to see what it would look like
Wolf / Jackal / Wolf - the Jackal only has side windows, not front ones like the Wolf





Again, only rough trimmed and dry fit at the moment

Mik

Hello Mik. I've just found this thread and I'm glad to see your triumphant return to Dakka with yet another epic blog of pure win! I was a huge fan of your other blog and do remember to post more brilliance when you pick up the baton again.

Congratulations on the marriage and sorry to hear about your Father. I hope that everything works out well for him.

The titans are looking great so far. Have you thought about posing yet? With three titans, it would be a shame if they were all assembled in exactly the same way. Some action poses would be good. Also, although I think I know the answer to the next question but, are you going to get around to painting these?

Take it easy and keep up the annoyingly inspiring work!

A friend of mine got a Warhound and undercoated it black and then drybrushed it with gunmetal...

That was it.

He said that it was pointless painting in any detail because it was a playing piece (no base) and painted would get damaged quicker

It made sense at the time... But, I've seen a few painted ones and they DO look good

Thanks for your comments

Mik

The Jackal variant looks awesome, definitely my favourite Titan FW makes. I'm planning on getting one myself in a month or two, but the sheer amount of work is intimidating.

Putting together 3 of these is one hell of a task, hopefully they all turn out well. I'll be keeping an eye on this, as it might help once I come to build mine.

MY GOD. You sir, are insane. And I like it.

So how bad did that S10 AP2 7" blast shot to your wallet hurt when you bought all three at once?

As post #1 says... I saved over A$200 EACH

Even my wife saw the value in that

Mik

Yeah I saw that and can't argue with it, but it still couldn't have been cheap! Maybe I'm just a bit of a scrooge...

This is slowly pushing me over the edge into buying one of my own though.

Update…

Titan feet and lower legs x six - preparation



Titan feet and lower leg x six




Mik

Hi all

The missing part (Servitor hatch x 1) arrived in the mail today

very cool

Mik

Well, obviously, this is an epic build
I dont care how many pieces a foot has ... Id really like to assemble one of these fellas. Maybe one of these days

Lord Castellan Mik wrote:Hi all

The missing part (Servitor hatch x 1) arrived in the mail today

very cool

Mik

!!!!!
How long did it take from the time you complained before there was a replacement?

Placed order on 14 Nov
Delivered on 23 Nov

THAT was very quick for Forge World

Discovered part missing on 25 Nov
Emailed them that day
Reply email from them on 26 Nov
Delivered on 7 Dec

Pretty good I thought... for a tiny part

Mik

Lord Castellan Mik wrote:Placed order on 14 Nov
Delivered on 23 Nov

THAT was very quick for Forge World

Discovered part missing on 25 Nov
Emailed them that day
Reply email from them on 26 Nov
Delivered on 7 Dec

Pretty good I thought... for a tiny part

Mik

I see nothing unusual in this post. It always amazes me that people continuously seem to have problems with FW orders, when Mik's situation is all I've seen with my orders and every order I've encountered from the various gaming groups I've been in.

Just a friendly tip paint it before you glue it together and pins in the necessary places.

Hi all… update

Titan lower half dry assembled – no glue anywhere, yet







The upper and lower leg armour pieces are just sitting in their spots, the waist armour is held by a bit of blu-tac

I decided to drill (1mm) and pin each toe and leg joint with a cut to length dress makers pin… just to hold in place while I position, set and glue

Pinning the foot joints – see the pin heads… so I can pull them out easily



Pinning the leg joints – see the pin heads



For the final set up, I intend to use the other end of the pin that I cut off and push it further in to become invisible while still adding strength

Mik

Looks good so far. I assume that by using the pins you'll be able to pivot the joints more and thus create a more dynamic position?

Exactly

The lower leg / lower thigh joint is free moving and is held up in position by the knee piston, but any weight or over balance will pull the joint apart

The lower thigh / upper thigh joint is a ratchet type of joint where ridges help to stabilise the positioning, but, again any extra movement will pull the joint apart

The pins just reinforce the stability while I position the pose and then glue in place... they are not required for the construction normally... it is my choice to multiple experiment while I build and before I glue the final selection

The pins are about 6-8mm long and the heads are on and visible so that I can pull them out for the painting / gluing stages

Once I do pull them out, I will replace them with a pin without a head and will not be able to remove it again... ever

This pin will in fact fill the hole, visibly... but don't forget, it's only 1mm

Mik