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the owl was called bubo

This is serious golden demon material you got here.

Thanks guys for all your feedback and suggestions.
@Rose_Mountainz - thanks, but I don't really think my pieces are GD worthy. They may be unique and very different, but I'm afraid qualitiy-wise I'm no on-par with GD stuff.

I really listen to all of you (and the guys on my blog, at WIP and Warseer), and so I decided to have two armament versions.
The Nighthawk/Owl on the elevator (this one) will have the 6 AA-HK-Missiles in addition to the 4 nose machine guns, while the second model will have the two Punishers and a Hellfire AtG Missile in addition to the nose armament.
So the two different wing types will look like this - I think I will add an Ammo Drum for the Punisher mounted on the engine housing.


So this is how the completed wings look:

The outer round pieces are the secondary thrusters for landing and take-off (or hovering). Also note the patching on the right wing - Here I had a major hick-up while sanding and I decided to cover it up as a patched battle damage. relatively crude, thick metal, larger rivets - it will also be bare metal in the painted version.

This is how the wings look in the folded position on the elevator


Then I worked on completing the cockpit, and for this I created the gunners station:


And with all the owl-talk about the name - I think I will settle on STRIX (thanks ashhammer) - I remembered a painting I did half a lifetime ago.
It depicts a 1939 Lagonda "LG Rapide" and an attacking Owl. I did this during my early airbrush times - September 1991 says the signature - where most of my work was still with a regular brush and the airbrush was mainly used for highlights and the background.


Anyhow, I think I want to use this owl for the side wings of the rear fuselage (just like I did with the tiger face for the CHARON).

And maybe a black silouetted version over a red circle as the unit logo?
Who knows...

I hope you like the armament solution and STRIX for the name.
Cheers
Klaus

From the very beginning Dencara was a neglected world, hot, dusty, and without any real industry.
Due to this pathetic economical situation Dencara is Aptus Non - despite the now flourishing economy.
Caused by the unusual composition and arrangement of the systems planets, Dencara 5 is subject to repetitive asteroid and comet impacts, which are pulled into the system by the gravitation of the Dencara 4 giant. But it is exactly these impacts that do supply Dencara 5 with its precious ores. Most of these ores are stooped by the nomadic Scarabs.
And so, today Ore deliveries from Dencara are very treasured on the forge worlds in and around the Segmentum Ultima.
If it wasn't for its very high quality and precious ores, the Dencara system would have long been forgotten.

(Taken from my Fluff)


Well, I did work some more on the STRIX.
First I painted the instruments and cockpit interior


Then I started to mount the pieces - first the pilots HUD


then the rest of it


For the canopy I'm looking at the rather stubby nosed canopy, like the Arado AR-240.


And so I strated to build the canopy front


and then last night the suporting pieces for the canopy "hatches"


I hope you like it
Cheers

Klaus

Really good work on everything. I love it when people who have the talent to do this stuff, go all out.

I have a minor point of critique if you don't mind though. The Athena is a little light on AA capabilities. A couple Hydra turrets are nice, but Aircraft Carriers of old relied on more then just flak cannons. They had hundreds of machine guns surrounding the ship.

The Flak Cannons were better at taking out slow moving heavy bombers. Fighter aircraft would have been a lot harder to hit with them. Maybe installing a few point defence stubbers around the ship would give it a bit more of an authentic look.

Great work and a very unique look. I'd love to see an Apocalypse game with your carrier present. Or heck, maybe even just the clear plastic stands that will be required to hold it up.

Your "Little Lenin" commissar reminds me of Jamie from Mythbusters, although I think that is due to the mustache and beard.

djones520 wrote:Really good work on everything. I love it when people who have the talent to do this stuff, go all out.

I have a minor point of critique if you don't mind though. The Athena is a little light on AA capabilities. A couple Hydra turrets are nice, but Aircraft Carriers of old relied on more then just flak cannons. They had hundreds of machine guns surrounding the ship.

The Flak Cannons were better at taking out slow moving heavy bombers. Fighter aircraft would have been a lot harder to hit with them. Maybe installing a few point defence stubbers around the ship would give it a bit more of an authentic look.

Not to worry
Well from the provided images it may be not obvious, but there are some twin Stubbers (3ea) on the Island


There is also a NEMESIS CWIS system on the rear side of the island (just above the Hydra)


On the nose (and also on the rear balcony) there are 2ea Twin Autocannons


and under the jump deck there is a combined tripe Punisher/6 AA-Missile launcher turret


Together with the new STRIX interceptor VTOL plane as CAP, I think this should be plenty to ward off any Ork attackers
Cheers
Klaus


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, I just realized I forgot the two quad-las-can's under the forward deck:

My mind is sufficiently blown

Amazing stuff. That airship will be legendary

Really like your infantry models as well

Why is there not a orkmoticon of an ork drooling?! It's the only thing I can think of to demonstrate my amazement!

Subscribed.

S_P

Thanks guys,

Someone in the other forums mentioned the seat belts ... and he's right, they (seat belts) could be more detailed, but they will be hardly ever seen, as I hope that the overall model plus the ATHENA around it AND the (female) Pilot and Gunner, together with a very special mechanic (Agatha Clay anyone?) will draw the attention away from the belts :-)

But back to the STRIX.
I completed the canopy


and added some details to it


then I finished the body with some additional details like hatches


and started to rivet



and finally mounted the wings


Still some details left, but pretty much complete.
As usual more images in my blog
Cheers

Klaus

Man you are fast! And it looks amazing Klaus. I can't wait to see it painted..

I've always liked the athena since I saw her in the 'best conversion' forum. so its great to see more of your work - you are inventive and persistant. love it

Hello everyone,
sorry for the lack of updates.
First my trip to the US, then the re-design considerations for the ATHENA, and finally some serious kidney issues last week, kept me very real-live-busy, and left me little time for my projects.

So lets talk about the ATHENA.
As discussed in the last post I'm not quite sure how to proceed with the ATHENA and what her role will be. I am considering to build a cmpletely new superstructure with a small VTOL deck and a new weapons layout.
See the comments section of my blog:

But as Da Masta Cheef suggested, the layout of the Arleigh is rather nice: http://media.defenseindustrydaily.com/images/SHIP_DDG-100_Kidd_lg.jpg
or the Russian Udaloy class: http://unsd.macrossroleplay.org/udaloy_1.jpg So I could build a new centered bridge, with a VTOL pad in the rear, re-position the Hydras, and ....

Since this will have quite some impact I will take my time to consider things and evaluate the involved work.
It will be fun and I really look forward to it, but I don't want to rush into the wrong direction. So please bear with me and be patient.


But you all know me, and know I can't be without a project for longer than 10 minutes :tongue:
So I did start something new...(please be aware that the following pieces were build over the course of a week, not in one day)

So here's the start:


A Zeppelin? Cool!


Aehm, with tracks?


As you can see in this sketch, there's more to it


Ork SEALZ, integrate with "Defense of Xantium" diorama...?
Yep, that's the idea.
An Ork version of a Mole
The plan is to have a diorama with the Xantium defense on top, while beneath it, one can see the lower, underground level of the city, with the mole breaking through and an Ork raid commando - the SEALZ - attacking some defenders there.
One half of the mole will be open, so one can see the interior, while the other will be close, so one can see the outside.


For your recollection, this is the Defense of Xantium diorama.


**
OK, so the mole - current code name is "Roly Poly" - will cut its way through the rocks and ground via some plasma blasters, which simply melt the ground in front of the mole.
The tracks will then move the device forward. For this it will have tracks at the bottom, the two sides, as well as the top.


The Roly Poly will consist of 3 sections. The forward "attack bay" that will contain the SEALZ, the central "bridge" with the Capt'n, the Navigator, and the Sonar man, as well as the rear "Engines" room with the Mek and an assisitant. I decided to use a full Ork crew, not Groots.



For this engine room I have an image in my head. Some old, dark WWII submarine, as seen in the movie "The Boat"...


Then I started to build the tracks for the right side


And this is as far as I got

I hope you like this project and I look forward to your feedback and suggestions.
As said, the project actually belongs to my "Stachelnschweinz", so no Greek names, but never the less, I'm still looking for names:
The vehicel itself
Captn
Navigator
Sornar ops
Mek
Engine assistant
and maybe the boss of the SEALZ...
Thanks
Klaus

This is certainly a whole new level of scratch building! I can't deny that I gaze in awe of this blog, great stuff!

All this is amazing. Just amazing.

Klaus, not Santa wrote:For your recollection, this is the Defense of Xantium diorama.

a question: you build from zero all the mech in this diorama?

Hello FantasyBob,
yes, all these pieces are scratch built.
You can view them in my Gallery http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-32373-11505_Defense%20Of%20Xantium%20Diorama.html or read about it in my blog http://fischers-design-shop.blogspot.com/2010/04/defense-of-xantinum.html

It was really fun building these things, like
the Spida tank


Da Ninja


The caught Bomba-Grot


or the Ork in Mega Armour


but I haven't got past painting the first few figures


So building this mole to integrate later into this diorama, will hopefully get me to finish it


Cheers
Klaus

Sheer bloody poetry

really top notch Klaus!



good to see the annual Tiger Meet is still going strong into the 41st millenium

+1 to this thread.
Everything is just awesome.

Amazing work, all over everywhere in this plog.
Obviously the craftsmanship here is extraordinary. But what I like just as much is your design aesthetic. The look and feel of these tanks and flyers is unique and wonderful, but also very "40K" and believable -- in a blunt, crude, "grim distance of the far future" kind of way. It looks sci-fi sleek, but also brutally industrial. Well done.

well, man.....nothing to say! This stuff rocks!

Brilliant

Thanks to Da Masta Cheef "Wotwuzdat" will be the name of the Sonar Operator! The name is pure gold! Yes, this will be his name

Well, todays update is a bit shorter than usual as progress is a bit slow.
I closed the lower part of the right hull side.


and prepared the two upper tracks


As usual the tracks are handmade


Quite some work, but I really like the result


Here's another scale shot with the diorama


And another sketch of how I envision the underground scene:

The Dirtmuncha will be breaking (actually melting) through the walls of the lower city, opening its jaws to release the SEALZ.
There will be some dead Imps and a Dreadnought against the SEALZ leaving the Dirtmuncha via an Assault Ramp - of course there will also be some dead Orks on the ground too.
As mentioned in the previous post I'm fancying the idea of doing some OSL painting, with muzzle flashes and stuff...
But first I have to finish the mole and its interior
Cheers
Klaus

Can anyone say something constructive for me?

For all that can go out of my mouth are "awesome" & "insane"....

how do you achieve this "brocken" look with plastic card i often see when looking at scratchmade orc pieces? the pieces have a soooo orky feel about them eaven in wip stage so that it is so easy to see the orc contruction in unpainted version...

Wow just come across this blog, inspiring stuff.

Hello Viktor,

the broken look is generated, by shaving off all the corners of the plasticard.


really taking the knife at an angle and cut pieces out of it

and repeating this over and over

you get those really ragged edges


With this the build takes considerably longer than a clean standard IG build, but I think the result is well worth it
Cheers
Klaus


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Hey guys,

I was finally able to complete the build for the engine room, by finishing the outside and closing all the little holes and gaps on the inside


After that I primed the engine room


and after priming it was time to re-arrange my desk from "Ork-Build-Chaos" to "Paint Station Order"


I applied all the base colors

also in the engine room

ready for inking and washing.

Finally I took a reference shot for the lighting, as I would like to try OSL for the first time...

...I'm still not sure if I can pull it off with OSL, as I never did it before, but the tight and dark confines of the engine room, as well as the well defined light source (just one light bulb on the ceiling), this is probably the best chance I'll ever get for OSL.
So if have some experience to share, links to recommend, or just some "good luck" to wish, let me know
Cheers
Klaus

thanks claus for your explenation. i will try that out in the future. gave my an insight or two^^

and you can bet it is worth to work abit longer on something rather tan a rushed crappy job. which you´re not able to do so as i´ve seen at all^^. so i cross my fingers for your OSL attempt. the benefits of your work we hopefully will see^^.

cheers mate, vik

Shaving corners is the best thing ever.

Well done.