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Your inspiration was the Medium Tank units in Advance Wars.

Very nice work!

Looking good. I especially like the plasma CROWS.

Regarding the twin Lascannon, what about some kind of sight at the end of the flat top edge with some simple cabling running back to the mantlet. Simple but would break up the flat plate.

Today's update is here folks, time for fun with lasers and dakka!

First we have the finalized design for the twin laser cannon


And now we have the last of the initial weapon production, I bring you the defender cannon.





Folks that's it, here's all 4 side by side



From here on out I'll be trying to update with printed parts and maybe I'll continue to work on alternate barrel designs. I'm also considering designing alternate CROWS designs and possible sponson mounted side weapons (as an alternate to the CROWS).

Still taking ideas as the machine god isn't done with me yet. Also I have one more surprise for you folks.



I now have a modular hand for marines. meaning designing new weapons should be rather easy now.

All of the base parts are off to the printer and for now we're only waiting on the sponsons to finish printing (goal is for them to finish by tuesday and start casting on wednsday/thursday)

For today we have for you one of the alternate barrels I promised.

I now give you the Rail cannon, for all your armor penetrating needs.




Progress is moving along and I'm looking to start actually building an army with these bricks around the week after next.

Printing update folks!

Got about 3/4 of the parts back from the printer's so far so we're almost there.







Also here we have a finished piece of marine goodness


Only waiting on cleanup and 2-4 more main weapons and the sponsons before we can start casting. Resin and rubber have been delivered.

The design of the hand means I can now design all sorts of custom weapons from melee to ranged oh AND SHIELDS! Oh god I can now do shields, viking round shields here I come.

Goal is to have the first 11 (my company) done by the end of May or early June. Sale production to start mid June, hope you guys are excited as I am.

Wow this looks great, super excited for when I can purchase one!

Although I like the Leman Russ, I admire what you've got going here too.

The CAD images were very good- but nothing beats seeing pictures of something you can hold in your hand! That tri-barrel is sweet (especially for us Hammer's Slammers fans)!

Hmm. I am actually interested in seeing how this turns out. If you don't mind me asking, how much does a master of this size generally cost to have printed?

 NH Gunsmith wrote:
Hmm. I am actually interested in seeing how this turns out. If you don't mind me asking, how much does a master of this size generally cost to have printed?

Exactly what I want to know.
How much, total?

Wow that looks awesome! I especially like the huge plasma cannon

FireSkullz2 wrote:Wow this looks great, super excited for when I can purchase one!

The time is comming. I'm hoping to get into production in June.

Meer_Cat wrote:The CAD images were very good- but nothing beats seeing pictures of something you can hold in your hand! That tri-barrel is sweet (especially for us Hammer's Slammers fans)!

And we have a winner, first one to pick out my primary inspiration for the overhaul design.

jeff white wrote:

 NH Gunsmith wrote:
Hmm. I am actually interested in seeing how this turns out. If you don't mind me asking, how much does a master of this size generally cost to have printed?

Exactly what I want to know.
How much, total?

Normally when done through a commercial printer like shapeways this would've run me somewhere in the realm of over $600 easy let alone with all the alternate parts.

Now we have a treat for you folks.






Now several pieces of this setup will have to be reprinted (thank the omnisiah for connections) due to misprints. The underside of the turret is a mess, the hull was a bit warped (growing pains due to issues in my measurements). I didn't account for proper tolerances when designing this beast (Still wanna name one of these things "The Beast"). I've added a .3mm tolerance to all connection points with the turret and the upper and lower hulls. I'm considering reprinting the sponsons as well but thats because the trackguards on the inside of each one need to be rebuilt. Lotta trouble for this prototype but it's coming along.

When the first two casts come out I'm considering taking pre-orders. Trying to gauge interest, already got 4 guys locally who want multiple so there's that.already. I'm hoping to recoup the costs of production. Printing, silicone and resin is pushing $600 total so it's a pretty sizable investment.

Trying to decide whether to go next to the superheavy (Joyeuse) or the the transport (Curtana). Who wants what folks?

The transport, by all means.

Have you considered a kickstarter?

 Meer_Cat wrote:
The transport, by all means.

Have you considered a kickstarter?

Well that's 3 votes for the transport so far. I've considered a kickstarter but unfortunately my production capability is limited at the moment and I'd fear getting overwhelmed in orders. Honestly I'd love to do this but mass production would be an issue as would be coming up suitable stretch goals and multiple offerings. Lastly I think It'd be difficult to make enough to make this worth it, I'd have to sell between 220 and 250 tanks to really achieve what I'd want with this all at once.

The end goal of all this is to eventually raise around 6 grand (after fees etc) to obtain a Form 2 printer which will make rapid prototyping much faster enabling me to work on the fly rather than rely on external support (which has currently run into issues)

So tiny update today.

Who wants a power gun?




I figure this will serve as a nice alternate barrel for people to use as whatever they want.

Here we have a comparison shot of all 6 guns so far.


So just a tiny update to slake your thirst while I wait for my redone prints to get finished.

So does anyone think a 6 grand profit goal is insane?

Okay so we're now waiting on printing resin so all work on the Durandal has halted so crap.

In the meantime I finally pulled my head out of my fourth point of contact and started grasping ideas for the Curtana Infantry Fighting Vehicle.



Depending on how it turns out I may shrink the driver's hatch or adjust the turret ring.

Still not sure if I wanna have two hatches on the turret or one.

Also going to mount the formerly hull mounted gun as a coaxial gun on the turret cause to hell with hull guns.

The internal concept is that there is no actual turret basket just some grips and hanging belt seats for the gunners so they can sit up in the hatch while still leaving room underneath for passengers to sit facing each other on the sides.

Yeah it doesn't work well but I'm struggling with space on this vehicle while keeping certain dimensions.

Some lovely looking work going on here. Some extra heavy armour, making the Leman Russ look weak in comparison.

I'll certainly be following the progress of the troop carrier.

Nice work still. Thanks for sharing. I particularly like the new weapon. Regarding stretch goals, a relatively simple one might be wheeled and grav propulsion for the hulls. Just rework the bottom side of the track units a bit.

I am willing to concede the tank looks better than I thought it would next to a Russ ! Great job !
Sorry if I missed it but what the ball park retail cost going to be ?

Really like the look of the transport tho, I’d go for twin hatch turret with a look of a M3 Bradley, but with space weapons ! A “not TOW” box on the side would look cool too !

Sorry I've let this thread languish but we've had issues with printing etc, but we're back on track and likely to start the casting process this week!

 Big H wrote:
I am willing to concede the tank looks better than I thought it would next to a Russ ! Great job !
Sorry if I missed it but what the ball park retail cost going to be ?

Really like the look of the transport tho, I’d go for twin hatch turret with a look of a M3 Bradley, but with space weapons ! A “not TOW” box on the side would look cool too !

50-75 USD, not sure on final costs yet. Glad to prove you wrong but just in case









(GW model shown only for size comparison.)

HAH!

Also




Stowage containers both open and closed for you folks who want more junk in your trunk!

Also notice the Duke on the left side of the tank, normally in real life it's an anti IED measure, but I figure it functions nicely as a command signifier. Also contimplating doing an antenna mount but no antenna (I want to let people put in their own cheap brass wire as the actual antenna)

Now what else do you guys want? as I finish accessories for the tank?

My want is not tank related but would fit your “theme”

How about some kind of “gunner protection kit” as seen on HMMWV and MRAP etc to fit Rhino’s ?

Goodness gracious, that looks amazing. Virtually stunning. Keep up the good work!

Any ETA on when we might be able to snatch one (or a couple) of those goodies? ^^

Big H wrote:My want is not tank related but would fit your “theme”

How about some kind of “gunner protection kit” as seen on HMMWV and MRAP etc to fit Rhino’s ?

Well a gunner's protection kit would require me to encourage people operating outside the turret. And while eventually I may have a tank commander or loader, for now I plan to keep this kit buttoned up unless you want to modify them.

Lum wrote:Goodness gracious, that looks amazing. Virtually stunning. Keep up the good work!

Any ETA on when we might be able to snatch one (or a couple) of those goodies? ^^

Well we just poured the Silicone on the primary tank hull and turret today! Obligations are separating me from the casting work for about 2 weeks comming up but my contractor is going to continue work on pouring silicone and preparing molds. Hopefully we can start taking orders before the end of the month.

Honestly I want to have a base production model (missing most of the extras) knocked out by Thursday evening.

And now for fun. Some have asked for primed pictures so here we go.











I also wanted to show how the turret sits in the ring. It's a plug shape that once painted should have enough friction to sit tight while the tank is turned upside down. And if it doesn't there's a magnet pilot hole in both the turret and the hull, as well as the turret weighs enough that even with the weight of the main gun it won't tip forward on the table.



I'm reserving taking any kind of pre orders until we have actual product that we can show off and be sure that all molds turn out okay.

Also by the way I'm looking for someone to assist with another project of mine. If you're a decent artist who likes doing tech I'm having issues with mechanical design on a mech.

The task continues fellows. We continue on.

Depending on price I'm interested in a vehicle or two; I _definitely_ would purchase tri-barrels, unit of issue: several.

Damn real world obligations, can't you see I have to snort some plastic crack?
Jokes aside, I absolutely feel you. Finals are upon me, but in two weeks or so I will be done and the summer can come

Primed Durandal looks great! When I first saw that tank, I was a bit worried that the turret looks a tad bit too big, but I absolutely love the size now. Great stuff and stunning quality!

Meer_Cat wrote:Depending on price I'm interested in a vehicle or two; I _definitely_ would purchase tri-barrels, unit of issue: several.

"Several" is a doable order.

Lum wrote:Damn real world obligations, can't you see I have to snort some plastic crack?
Jokes aside, I absolutely feel you. Finals are upon me, but in two weeks or so I will be done and the summer can come

Primed Durandal looks great! When I first saw that tank, I was a bit worried that the turret looks a tad bit too big, but I absolutely love the size now. Great stuff and stunning quality!

Appreciated, glad you like it now.

Okay so we've hit a stumbling point but we should be back on track to hopefully start production next week.... hopefully.



Here we have my contractor setting up the models pour plugs in preparation for boxing. Still haven't heard back from zealot miniatures regarding casting services.

So as of now I'm looking for a casting service so my current contractor can have a break. Also I'm on the search for a mech designer, I'm trying to get some commissioned artwork so I can start designing my next project.

Good luck to you! I hope you are able to solve those problems

It's like a chibi Abrams! I love it.

The picture of the tank primed up looks amazing, I really want one.

Lum wrote:Good luck to you! I hope you are able to solve those problems

The problems were just momentary and have been corrected, they were pretty much a time sink and drove my contractor nutty for awhile.

anyname121 wrote:It's like a chibi Abrams! I love it.

The picture of the tank primed up looks amazing, I really want one.

Trust me, we want you to have one as much as you want one.

So the molds have been re-poured and are setting much better than last time. We're not gonna call this stage done yet but it's progress.

Also now we have pictures of the stowage container masters pre-cleanup.







The empty one will be available empty or possibly with pre filled with stowage. I'm considering making a case or two along with a jerry can as extras to tuck in and strap down.

I'm crossing my fingers with being able to produce by the end of next week.

Still looking for a good concept artist for hire that can do mech.

Minor update, primary molds are now cured and will get cut into soon. Scheduling initial mold test of all 15 molds to commence around Thursday next week.

Higher powers willing that means production will proceed in the following days (at the rate of 2-8 units a week) and pre-orders the week after that. Probably looking at taking the first 50 orders with a 2-3 month lead time (cut us some slack, casters aren't getting back to us and it's one guy with one pot for now.) Any orders after the first 50 will be placed on a wait-list and be emailed when we complete the first set.

Right now we're planning on including both plasma and tribarrel in a single CROWS kit (your Newer, Better form of sponson mounted weaponry!) which will allow you to assemble a single CROWS set.
The Common antenna, closed stowage containers and the missile launcher will be bundled together as a single accessory pack.
The main tank will include both machine gun and laser cannon forward weapons and a single primary weapon.
Additional primary weapons will be available a la carte.

Dozer blades may or may not be coming, stay tuned.
Also possible flamethrower forward mount and maser CROWS.

For now to tide you folks over I have pictures of the CROWS fitting and rotating well in it's socket.




It's smooth as silk and fits right in, a layer of paint will hold it snug and remember there are pilot holes both in the turret and in the CROWS mount specifically to center your magnets.

Whats that, you don't like the CROWS? Want your sponson mounted weaponry back? Too bad! Here at Aegis Heavy Works, Luddites are used as fuel.

Oooooh, the CROWS is supposed to be the replacement of sponson weapons? That is an excellent idea! I think I will have to get some of them as well with my first order. Can't wait carabine! Bloody great work!