Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hmm, perhaps the tentacle does seem a bit excessive in size for the mini, which makes it look more like a hose, or plastic tubing, IMHO. Not bad, mind you, maybe when you put the claw on the end... A Dr. Octopus sort of tentacle. Those are pretty thick.

There is some sort of molding tool out there that may do this sort of detail in GS. Ah, found it, http://www.greenstuffindustries.com/store/p1/Tentacle_Maker_Tool_Box_v2.html, but with your skills Doc, you could make your own mold.

monkeytroll wrote:If I recall, I got all my initial batch of Amazon....

Cool. I shall have a look next time I feel flush.

shasolenzabi wrote:I wonder if maybe that are could support multiple smaller tentacles for such work,

Multiple smaller tentacles you say... I'm ahead of you there, see below...

hk1x1 wrote:The field mechanic looks great, plus I love that large pneumatic piston claw.
I think the tentacle looks fine, but if your not happy with it just make another one,
that way if it doesn't work out you can always fall back on the original .

Thanks hk. I like the piston arm too, and I was surprised at how "even" I got the two halves of the claw without much effort. That whole arm just fell into place (although gluing the three pistons together was quite tricky, and they had to all be done in one step to ensure it ended up straight).

Just trying out options and seeing where it takes me. I'm always happy to follow where the model "wants" to go.
The original will find a use somewhere, sometime...

Red Harvest wrote:Hmm, perhaps the tentacle does seem a bit excessive in size for the mini, which makes it look more like a hose, or plastic tubing, IMHO. Not bad, mind you, maybe when you put the claw on the end... A Dr. Octopus sort of tentacle. Those are pretty thick.

There is some sort of molding tool out there that may do this sort of detail in GS. Ah, found it, http://www.greenstuffindustries.com/store/p1/Tentacle_Maker_Tool_Box_v2.html, but with your skills Doc, you could make your own mold.

Yep. It's more tempting to get one now, as it would make cable/tentacle making more consistent. With a comb I find myself trying and then re-rolling and trying again, multiple times, to get a "good" tentacle.

So, how about this?

No explanation, I want to see what you think it is without me influencing your view.
It will require a little more work, but concept is there.

Thoughts?

I like it. If you're still planning on multiple tips then it's fine as is, if you're going for a trio that can be used as manipulators both together or separately then I'd suggest the shorter one needs to be lengthened slightly.

Thanks MT. Ja, I'm thinking multiple tips.
I may do one "large claw" tool with plug in's for all three, to show that they can work together.

I'm also thinking that they can stretch or shrink in length depending on what they are being used for. The different lengths are to show this.

I have plenty of spare tentacle parts that I will use to tweak this arm.

I'm really impressed with how this is turning out. With all the arms and such it really brings the piece together. The tentacles remind me of the old epic chaos titan close combat weapon of writhing, bladed tentacles.

Wow... just... weird, and unique... make it so!

Now that is what I was thinking about! and now I understand the blunt ends, you are going t make purpose tips for repair working, excellent!

Well with a reception like that, I think we have a winner. I shall set about installing these on to the mechanic.

Warboss_Waaazag wrote:I'm really impressed with how this is turning out. With all the arms and such it really brings the piece together. The tentacles remind me of the old epic chaos titan close combat weapon of writhing, bladed tentacles.

Thanks. Glad you think it all works together.
Writhing tentacles is how I see this.

Hruotland wrote:Wow... just... weird, and unique... make it so!

"wow", "weird" and "unique" are all good words for this army. Thanks.

shasolenzabi wrote:Now that is what I was thinking about! and now I understand the blunt ends, you are going t make purpose tips for repair working, excellent!

Cool. Ta.

Now that the arm is on (and the glue setting), I can work on adding the wires and cables for all the arms. Stay tuned for further developments.

Also; the roll of a die has told me that the Kroot will be next to paint.

I got a bit carried away with painting my first Kroot and have finished him.
Bid welcome to Kroot #1:

I took inspiration from Bebop' for the colourfulness of the piece of meat.

There has been a little progress on the mechanic. I've tied his tentacle arm in to the body and I've started adding cables elsewhere (well 1 so far...):


Thanks.

Kroot loks amazing! Brilliant job, and the meat does look great.

Tentacles looking amazing too, would not like to meet this guy in a dark alley. And he is just a Mechanic!

That Kroot is smashin' mate. It's funny, but it's great to see your take on just a regular, unmodified model.

Camkierhi wrote:Kroot loks amazing! Brilliant job, and the meat does look great.

Tentacles looking amazing too, would not like to meet this guy in a dark alley. And he is just a Mechanic!

Thanks Cam. Yeah, I felt he needed some colour and contrast somewhere, so did the meat bright and gave him a white shirt. The rest is in "stock" colours (although I did blend in the yellow tips of his spines rather than the yellow blobs on the "official" scheme).

inmygravenimage wrote:That Kroot is smashin' mate. It's funny, but it's great to see your take on just a regular, unmodified model.

Thanks Graven. It's good to do the "regulars" every now and then to get a better view on the "strange".

So, I have wired up the mechanic:

Things left to do;
Give it an exhaust on that central bit of the "engine". It's looked like it's needed one there for a long time and there's nothing else I can think of to put there.

Also, some sort of covering/door/grid/armour over that area of the "engine". As it does look vulnerable and unfinished with it open, but obviously I don't want to hide the inside so it won't be a solid door. Something is needed there to finish it off anyway...

And the many (some) attachments for the tentacles.

Stay tuned for more and a Kabalite warrior which I think will be next to paint (lets see what I can do with this black and green highlights scheme).

Kroot looks great, and the hanging meat is very nice - for a given value of nice obviously

Cabling and wiring all looks good, almost there...

 monkeytroll wrote:
Kroot looks great, and the hanging meat is very nice - for a given value of nice obviously

Thanks. Yeah, I think I managed something that a Vegetarian wouldn't want to look at there.

Cabling and wiring all looks good, almost there...

Thanks. The copper wires there can still be tweaked (being actual copper wires) to get the right look at the end.
I've said it before; when I make a list of things left to do, I'm nearing the end.

I like the Kroot.

But wow, the wiring gives new life to the repair guy! I wonder if pen based springs might also add a touch to it?

That's looking pretty darn incredible...

shasolenzabi wrote:I like the Kroot.

But wow, the wiring gives new life to the repair guy! I wonder if pen based springs might also add a touch to it?

Thanks for both.
Where are you thinking it needs springs?

Gitsplitta wrote:That's looking pretty darn incredible...

Thanks Gits'. Good to see you circulating again.

Oh, like a goose neck or crane like lamp I had, Hmmmm

Definitely some attachments for the tentacles. But the multiples look good.

shasolenzabi wrote:Oh, like a goose neck or crane like lamp I had, Hmmmm

I see. It's not a bad idea, but I can't see anywhere where I could add this at this stage. I also don't have small enough springs to be able to squeeze them in, they would all require re-building. I'll remember it for the next time I do something like this.

Red Harvest wrote:Definitely some attachments for the tentacles. But the multiples look good.

Thanks. I've started making attachments, see below.

I also finished off the rear (He's got quite the "gary-boy" exhaust thanks to the smoke launcher tube)...

The first two tools are a circular saw (that you should be able to see), and a small drill (which may not be so obvious).

The drill is a piece of plastic rod, rolled under a dull blade at an angle. I spent ages looking for a broken drill bit I know I've got, but don't know where it's gone (or just couldn't see it amongst the rest of the junk), but had to make one in the end.

I may make a larger drill more in the style of a "big daddy".
Other attachments I'm thinking of are...
A couple of different manipulators,
Jack-hammer-alike,
Some kind of probe (for probing things...),
...

Any other thoughts are welcome...
Although that may be enough, or the best will be used and the dodgy ones can be "artfully" hidden in storage.

Sounds good, ideas for the next projects.

I like the drill and saw, the saw is very much like "Mr. Handy"

As the projects of The Scientist have so much cybernetic elements (the whole control unit is one, f.e.)I would suggest not only metalwork tools, but also things like injectors, endoscopes (wich is also very handy for mechanics), a lasso (not the lariat variant, but the mexican sling-onna-stick) for crowd control in case of damaged crew members going rampant?

-ah and you DEFINITELY need an assortment of nuts, sorted from tiny to large, placed openly in a row like organ pipes somewhere on the torso! *begging desperately*

As usual I am in awe of your work, paint job on the kroot included. [Insert your dearest praising formula here], and I mean it!

shasolenzabi wrote:Sounds good, ideas for the next projects.

I like the drill and saw, the saw is very much like "Mr. Handy"...

Thanks. Yep, very handy.
One of those is already on the "to do" list.

Hruotland wrote:As the projects of The Scientist have so much cybernetic elements (the whole control unit is one, f.e.)I would suggest not only metalwork tools, but also things like injectors, endoscopes (wich is also very handy for mechanics), a lasso (not the lariat variant, but the mexican sling-onna-stick) for crowd control in case of damaged crew members going rampant?

Let's see... I see this chap as more of a mechanic, so purely working with the armour side of things. You don't have a welding device that big if you work on "fleshy" jobs.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but techpriests / techmarines / etc... only work on machines and not on the bodies.

While we're on this subject, what should he be representing, considering what he is carrying, size, offensive capabilities, etc.. I'm not sure what all the possibilities that are available for all the armies are with regard to a mechanic-type figure?

I do intend to make a Mad Dok -alike at some point, and he will get the syringes and knives, etc..

That said, an endoscope he does have, on the "probe" adaptor, see below.

Rampant members of the army are considered a good thing as they will still be spreading chaos. If they do get in the way, the mechanic will likely just give them a thump with the piston arm and that should stop any problems.

and...

-ah and you DEFINITELY need an assortment of nuts, sorted from tiny to large, placed openly in a row like organ pipes somewhere on the torso! *begging desperately*

You got that in just as I was checking if there were any other suggestions, and so... see below...

As usual I am in awe of your work, paint job on the kroot included. [Insert your dearest praising formula here], and I mean it!

Thank you.

So, I now have 6 attachments for 3 tentacles. I think that's enough for now. Once I decide which go where, the mechanic should be ready for paint.

A couple of them still need a little attention to tidy them up.

Thoughts?

Just awed

Wondering about two last things, though:

a) Where are the unattached attachments going to be attached when not attached to the tentacle? (Not much of a waist to speak of on him, so I'd say the utility belt might no longer be an option, is it?)

and,

b) How, for the love of the (Mad) Scientist ^(R), are you planning to paint it?

Been a while since I've made the rounds , everything is coming along great, love the mechanic Dr. H . I think he fits in with the rest of your army nicely.

Littletower wrote:Just awed

Thanks LT.

Wondering about two last things, though:

a) Where are the unattached attachments going to be attached when not attached to the tentacle? (Not much of a waist to speak of on him, so I'd say the utility belt might no longer be an option, is it?)

Ah Ha. I can show you as I have just attached the attachments to where they will be attached whether they are attached or not...

He is finished.
I'll show all the angles when he's primed, as it is difficult to see what's what when he's like this.

and,

b) How, for the love of the (Mad) Scientist ^(R), are you planning to paint it?

I had the same issue with the interior of the tank, and managed ok. I have a couple of brushes that have long bristles but are very thin, so are good for getting in to tight spots.
Also, black paint. Make sure everything is coated in black first and then anything you can't get to at the end, stays black and is "in shadow".

Theophony wrote:Been a while since I've made the rounds , everything is coming along great, love the mechanic Dr. H . I think he fits in with the rest of your army nicely.

Good to see you out and about on the internet. Thanks.

So, the Mechanic is built. I've started painting the Kabalite Warrior (but it's not worth showing yet as he is black with a dry-brush of very dark blue/green), but I'm tempted to have a go at this years Nerdcademy award and I may have an idea for it. I will have to focus on that though, as it's quite a short deadline (for me)...

Not only able to fix tanks, but also fight well

 shasolenzabi wrote:
Not only able to fix tanks, but also fight well

Such is the advantage of many tools, that they may be put to use in an offensive nature.

 Dr H wrote:

 shasolenzabi wrote:
Not only able to fix tanks, but also fight well

Such is the advantage of many tools, that they may be put to use in an offensive nature.

So true. I need to get me the latest Not-Fallout stuff from Brother Vinni, hehehehehe

I would likely scratch-build my own one day...

So, here's the completed and primed (lightly) Mechanic (still looking for input as to what he should be played as):

I haven't forgotten to prime the blue cable. I'm hoping to keep it's original colour.

And here is the start of my entry to the Nerdcademy award painting competition; a wych.

No major changes to the model. You can see I've repositioned one of the legs, and the foot of that leg will be angled up so that she will be standing on something (as yet un-planned).
She will also get another knife/sword for the currently empty hand.
Undecided on head yet, will get the body right first.