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I chose the T'Rex because of it size which although literally less than half the half the height of a Warhound gives a good approximation of how a biped of this scale would move. Note in the image above the carnivore is actually trailing a sauropod prey and therefore probably moving at a fair pace to catch it's dinner. I don't believe T'Rexs' could travel at 40mph (64k) because of the danger of breaking bones in a fall. I also think such speeds would be prohibitive for a Warhound probably 20 mph would be top speed.

Meanwhile:

Unhappy Household Hints from The Blackadder

To keep harmony in the household I suggest you purchase this item instead of stealing it from your spouse's utensil drawer.

If a cheap nonstainless melon baller is in the drawer I suggest you dazzle your wife with an upscale stainless baller. Makes a nice b'day gift.

http://i.imgur.com/cC0M9Cd.jpg


Here we see an inexpensive chrome plated baller about a buck fifty mind you the cheaper the better as we want mild steel.

Note the 1 inch cup fits the neck gimbal perfectly and is plenty strong enough to support the head.

http://i.imgur.com/xL9P2rk.jpg



A couple of seconds with a hack saw and a file and the deed is done.

http://i.imgur.com/Et0zWGA.jpg


Install the cup between the two magnets used for the head attachment

http://i.imgur.com/20UesYU.jpg



You may have to sand paper the cup to rough up the surface but you can readily see the range of motion afforded by this mechanism.

(Note the conduit collar was left off for clarity in these images.)










I wanted the ability for the head to look down as it is pertinent to the pose I have in mind.

Still looks great.

A melon-baller?!? Instant classic!

More thoughts on.......

Ambulatory Dynamics:

Okay I've pretty much decided on the stance which will be similar to the image below except the trailing foot (The right foot Blue arrow ) will have the toes in contact with the ground.

http://i.imgur.com/GEqVh14.jpg


The hips will be canted in towards the centerline ( Red arrows) and the ankles will be slightly twisted in ( Green arrow ) so the width of the gait will be quite narrow instead of the way most Warhounds are displayed.

Most of the weight of the model will be centered above the left foot which will be fully in contact with the ground ( Left Blue arrow )

The overall motion representation will be similar to the image below:



although the feet will be positioned in this manner:



From the side the stance will resemble this:



Excepting it will be a Chaos Warhound of course.

You should give it a tail. Just because. Also, Chaos!

When I saw the pics of your torso plus head, although I knew it is made of resin my first thought was something like: how can something so badly formed out of cheap tin be so expensive to sell? Wich means of course your painting job is perfect! - I second the idea of a tail. The war hound model imo is not a well-balanced design in my opinion. If I had one I would definitely give it a tail-like structure.

I'd really hate to compromise the model with a tail, I'm hoping that the final pose will be stable enough to not resorting to that extreme.........

I don't fully understand about the "Tin" reference BTW; what looks like tin?

Anyway I appreciate the replies and the suggestions......

The Puppet Master:

Or The Chicken Dance:

I can't decide what to title this entry. To get the proper pose and hopefully balance I temporarily articulated the entire model. It came out so well I may just display it with the waist support rod and call it done but naturally not in the "Legs fully extended" as it is right now.

http://i.imgur.com/dt1Dqm9.jpg


It needs to hunker down for a more menacing appearance but I thought it would be amusing to see it in the initial pose stage.

It's Déjà vu all over again articulating one of these constructs as 'Lucie' went through the same evolutions when she was built. Of course Lucie took me two years instead of a couple days to reach this point There's a lot to be said for not scratchbuilding.

My big concern is the hip joints as they are opposite the normal Warhound stance and I wanted to see if they appeared comical flexed down as they are.

http://i.imgur.com/Ba5e1tD.jpg

I don't fully understand about the "Tin" reference BTW; what looks like tin?

My father has a collection of clockwork tin toys. I could not help but associate your warhound head and torso with the more battered and worn-down exemplars. (the size is corresponding, as your hand demonstrates on the pics). The fact that it looks so convincingly like a once-properly painted tin toy is proof how well you painted it!

 Hruotland wrote:

I don't fully understand about the "Tin" reference BTW; what looks like tin?

My father has a collection of clockwork tin toys. I could not help but associate your warhound head and torso with the more battered and worn-down exemplars. (the size is corresponding, as your hand demonstrates on the pics). The fact that it looks so convincingly like a once-properly painted tin toy is proof how well you painted it!

OIC Interesting that you should mention that, When I was very young one of my prized toys was a clockwork tank ('Made in Japan' in those days ) completely made of tinplated steel. even the operating linked treads were made of stamped metal the flexible tracks would revolve around the operating drive and idler wheels. It was about the size and shape of a Chimera or Leman Russ. When it was wound up the tank would move forward maybe two or three feet on a winding, the turret would swing right to left and back and sparks would emanate from the barrel produced by a flint and steel fly wheel. You could in those days buy such intricate devices at a 5¢ and dime store. I had that tank for years but somehow it was ultimately in the fullness of time, lost.

Thanks for reviving a cherished memory.

A Problem of Commitment:

Part of the reason I go to such lengths to mechanize my model is I do have a problem with commitment.

Therefor the Rare Earth magnets are right up my alley.

The accompanying photos show how I have circumvented my phobia to the extreme by actually attaching the heavy void generators to the hull using four really strong magnets which give the added benefit on complete interior access should the need arise.


http://i.imgur.com/73zeVVZ.jpg



http://i.imgur.com/A5B8ueW.jpg


Once the resin dries I'll be able to assemble the model and disassemble it at my whim.

And that's a good thing right?

A Monopoly?

"We don't care; we don't have to We're a Monopoly." The GW/FW motto?

My son informed me of a problem he is having with his Chaos Warhound. The material is too shiny to hold paint.

Now don't say it has to be cleaned and the mold release medium has to be cleaned off. No there is not a trace of oil or residue on any of the parts but paint, prime acrylic or toluene based does not adhere. I've tried all the tricks I know including applying a dull spray on finish prior to applying primer and nothing ''NOTHING!'' sticks. I even washed a few pieces in the dishwasher, NOT RECOMMENDED!!!!!

Well if anyone has had this problem with Forge World Resin I have a solution but first I would like to hear from anyone else who has this problem and how they resolved it.

Ive had some issues in the past where the resin actually bonded to the mold release agent, resulting in that super shiny surface. Yeah.... Its a pain in the ass.

There are a couple of ways to go about it:
First is to go to FW and request a replacement part, citing the above situation. If I recall correctly, it a known issue that sometimes occurs and is considered a manufacturing flaw like bubbles.

Alternatively, if its a larger flat piece, you can rough it up with sandpaper to give it a little tooth. I did that on my own Warhound build (I sort of lucked out, though, as my shiny spots were on the interior bonding areas).

Ive heard of people using some PVA glue to give it some surface, but I cant imagine how that would stick when other things like spray primer refuse to hold fast.

I love the fact that you modeled the pose on the movements of CGI dino's based on the articulation of actual skeletons.

Mad respect for that kind of attention to detail.

Thanks for the quick reply. The problem is that he's had this model for two years and only started painting it this Summer. He started with the hull carapace which seems okay; no problem with paint adhesion. But virtually every other piece is so shiny that nothing sticks to it.

My solution is to sandblast it. A light sandblasting dulls the surface significantly but does not erode the detail. I've tried it on one piece so far and it seems like it's a viable fix.

More info to follow...........

 The_Blackadder wrote:
A Monopoly?

"We don't care; we don't have to We're a Monopoly." The GW/FW motto?

My son informed me of a problem he is having with his Chaos Warhound. The material is too shiny to hold paint.

Now don't say it has to be cleaned and the mold release medium has to be cleaned off. No there is not a trace of oil or residue on any of the parts but paint, prime acrylic or toluene based does not adhere. I've tried all the tricks I know including applying a dull spray on finish prior to applying primer and nothing ''NOTHING!'' sticks. I even washed a few pieces in the dishwasher, NOT RECOMMENDED!!!!!

Well if anyone has had this problem with Forge World Resin I have a solution but first I would like to hear from anyone else who has this problem and how they resolved it.

I had this with a Brass Scorpion, where after multiple washings/cleanings etc.. it would stay shiny and sticky. Not all parts, but enough. I had it replaced. After 2 years, though...

Sandblasting should work a treat! You have one of those miniature versions then? Been curious how those run. I see them all the time in magazines.

Best of luck- I'm definitely interested how it goes.

Resin Resilience:

Thanks to all those who have offered suggestions regarding paint adherence but I have tried every one suggested and a few not suggested e.g. muriatic acid, nothing worked. For those that suggested sending back to FW after two years I doubt I could even find the receipt. Getting replacement parts from FW is like pulling teeth what it would be like replacing 90% of a model I couldn't hazard a guess but I suspect it would be nigh impossible.

Fortunately I do have a large compressor and a 60 dollar sandblasting kit from Sears' 'Craftsman' and a bag of 'play' sand were all that were needed to resolve the dilemma. I hope.

Sandblasting lightly imparts a dull finish to the large flat surfaces and the small particles get into the fine crevasses sufficiently to give a passable adhesion surface.

Once I get a few pieces done I'll supply an update on the progress and the efficacy of the fix.

Again thanks for all the responses.

I had this problem and wrote about it in my guide. It was really frustrating.

Shiny FW Crap:

Well the cold weather is finally here so I can apply myself to correcting odious casting mistakes from ForgeWorld. It was much too warm for someone of my metabolism to attempt to sandblast over the Summer working up a sweat whilst covered with sandblasting gear is not my idea of a good time. So this week I set up my sandblasting equipment in the spare bath, opened the windows donned mask and breather, long sleeve turtleneck, gloves and skullcap and hunkered down for the duration. Virtually every large piece of my son's FW Chaos Warhound was so shiny with resin that the paint would not adhere.

I hit upon the idea of sandblasting the surface shine to a dull matte finish in hopes of making the surface conducive to holding pigment.

Allow me to caution purchasers of FW resin products. Inspect the pieces you receive and if they are slickly shiny return and or apply to FW for replacements (Good Luck With That!) because unless you have 300 bucks worth of sandblasting equipment and the patience of Job you have been duly screwed by Forge World.

How any company that charges exorbitant prices for resin models can have such poor quality control beggars credulity. I purchased this model a couple of years ago as a Xmas present for my son, this summer he decided to start painting and found no primer or spray paint would adhere to the castings no matter how much washing with detergent, spirits, soaps, acids whatever would leave a surface amenable to paint. Finally sandblasting was the only option left.

Do yourself a favor and inspect your items as soon a received and notify FW of the Cr-p immediately.

Prognosis Positive:

Well sandblasting did the trick but it is indeed disappointing that such extreme measures have to be exercised on a model costing close to $600 BUCKS! Were I not in the possession of a basic sandblaster and compressor I would have been thoroughly shagged and I know of many who having purchased expensive FW models who have put off rushing into building them for years after purchase until building skills improve.

Now to be fair I did not contact FW for replacement parts, I don't know what the time limit on their responsibility would be but I am sure it doesn't extend to over two years. I have a feeling that they would not be amenable to replacing over half the components anyway so 'caveat emptor' prevailed and I relied on impromptu modeling abilities to prevail in this situation.

Thanks to all who made suggestions on remedying this and now as I apply the first coat of primer (make that REapply the first coat of primer) I make a mental note of how not to be put in this situation in the future.

That's good to hear, do you have a quick shot of the the surface?

The_Blackadder;2631674 wrote:More thoughts on.......

Ambulatory Dynamics:

Okay I've pretty much decided on the stance which will be similar to the image below except the trailing foot (The right foot Blue arrow ) will have the toes in contact with the ground.

http://i.imgur.com/GEqVh14.jpg


The hips will be canted in towards the centerline ( Red arrows) and the ankles will be slightly twisted in ( Green arrow ) so the width of the gait will be quite narrow instead of the way most Warhounds are displayed.

Most of the weight of the model will be centered above the left foot which will be fully in contact with the ground ( Left Blue arrow )

The overall motion representation will be similar to the image below:



although the feet will be positioned in this manner:



From the side the stance will resemble this:



Excepting it will be a Chaos Warhound of course.

Ha!

Who said "Life imitates art" or rather more to the point in this case science imitates your's truly; The Blackadder. I found this video related to the dynamics of bipedal dinosaurs walking that has completely usurped my ideas.

X-Rays of Birds Making Footprints Reveal Dinosaurs’ Walk | Video

Well you saw it here first is my self salving consolation.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 jabbakahut wrote:
That's good to hear, do you have a quick shot of the the surface?

I've pretty much sandblasted all the large components and the ones I took pictures of do not convey the shininess of the surface that well in photographs but I can liken it to spray paint on a glass surface; imagine you have spray painted a glass bottle with an aerosol spray primer and allowed to dry for 24 hours. If you rub or scratch at that paint with your thumb or fingernail it comes off rather easily. The resin surface is slicker than that and the paint comes off easier.

Now with average resin when you scratch at the paint with your fingernail the flat paint may show a buffed trail but it doesn't come off.

Once sandblasted the surface is sufficiently roughed up to hold the paint even when scratched at.

Fabrica Redux:

Now that that little item of paint adherence has been allayed we can resume the fabrication of the model's joining surfaces.

http://i.imgur.com/oEdab3c.jpg


I'm going to use magnets again to attach the various major components since it worked so well with the other Chaos Warhound built previously on this thread.


I try to document the steps better this time because I know now that the process will work whereas before I was trodding unknown territory.

Magnets Instead of Pins:

As you may well know the Blackadder is never satisfied with his work so he has to make allowances for his mania by assembling his models so they can be made better at some future date.

And so discovered Rare Earth Magnets which are tailor made to accommodate his compulsive disorder.

The below image shows the pencil marks and scale used to precisely position the magnets on the after hull component to the Void Generator housings.

I used the rear hull angles to demarcate where I would position the center of the magnet and for convenience the width of the scale for the second center coordinate.

After drilling and gluing in the hull magnets I positioned the rear hull on the Generator housing and traced the rear hull angles onto the housing(s).

Then using my scale again (See image foreground housing) and allowing for pencil point width I marked the housing magnet center position.

http://i.imgur.com/cVnnWzf.jpg


I then center cut a tiny pin hole with my #11 xacto tip (foreground housing) and drilled a pilot hole as in the housing upper left in the image below.

http://i.imgur.com/xy3uqao.jpg


It's important to be extremely precise in the placement of the magnets because the magnets are self centering with each other and if they are off the fit of the components will be loose when the model is assembled.

It's also important to make sure the magnets are flush with the surrounding surfaces and not tilted in their sockets I'll show how I do that in the next installment..........

http://i.imgur.com/hKXwO63.jpg


Note if you will that in spite of the manhandling of the components the paint is firmly staying in place; Whew! at least that problem was solved....

Insidious ForgeWorld:

These models are not for the beginner. I noticed this on the first model as well; there is a small aligning block moulded into the lower corner of the Generator housing (indicated by the arrow I scratched in the paint on the left housing.

This small block is supposed to help align the housing with the aft hull component. Well it's in the wrong place or it's just too big and has to be trimmed down or the housings will not seat squarely on the hull floor or the back wall depending how you glue the parts together so conceivably you can have one generator angled up and one down and not notice it until you try to install the carapace and whoops it won't fit!

or it rocks!

http://i.imgur.com/C4PLSqg.jpg


So either cut the block off or trim it down so the generators fit evenly and at the same angle.

I'll show you what I mean once my epoxy dries.............


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Insidious ForgeWorld Part Two:

Now that the glue is dry I can demonstrate what I meant in the above post:

For the point of illustration let's pretend the Generator housing is not held on with magnets but instead you are trying to affix it to the hull with glue. In the image below I have purposely put the housing as it would appear were the corner block NOT trimmed down. Note the gap under the side wall utility box that should be resting on the hull floor. If you rock the housing forward so the box rests on the floor then the box in the upper corner separates from the back wall. You can have one or the other but not both because that moulded in block is positioned wrong.

http://i.imgur.com/mzvLCrJ.jpg


So after you trim or remove the block both utility boxes contact the hull floor and back wall as they were intended and the housing is installed correctly i.e. as the FW designer had intended.

The proof of this is shown below where the completed housing assembly seen from beneath shows the bases of the hull and both housings are flush with each other behind the waist pivot well.

http://i.imgur.com/05lxjRi.jpg


A minor discrepancy but I'll bet there are Warhounds assembled with those gaps apparent all because of a lack of FW quality control; I mean cleaning flash and vents and flattening mating surfaces I can understand but redesigning castings should not be required on a $600 dollar model for crissake!

There have been many people complaining FW's products by means of execution. Such a massive design fault is a complete other level of fail. And with one of their starring products no less! Your experience convinces me never to try them, as you say, the value for money ratio is not okay. Thank you for sharing, I was considering to pick up something from them this winter, now I know what to do (or not to do).
Production mistakes that can be compensated by gathering a spare part I can live with. Also no matter how precise a model's design is, gaps can and will always occur while kitting it, a certain amount of bending, filing and filling will always be there, because copying a master always means a certain loss of preciseness, no matter what. This, though, is not tolerable.

It was not my intent to put you off purchasing a FW model so much as to point out the need for careful dry assembly before committing to gluing irrevocably components together. As will be pointed out in my subsequent assembly post coming later today these are beautiful detailed and intricately engineered models that can be improved with a modicum of quality control.

Since Chaos Warhounds have been produced for probably a decade a simple type written NOTE(s) cautioning would be builders about the flaws should be included with the kit if the manufacturer can't be bothered to correct the casting. How much would that cost and isn't customer satisfaction something to strive for anymore?

Auto append interruption please............

I had similar alignment issues with my own Warhound build. Seems not even the loyalists got away scott free! Like ya said, dry fitting is incredibly important before glue goes on.

Bit of sanding and nipping off the notch later and it went together better, but I will agree- For as much as they are, they should either be flawless or include a note.

Thanks for the auto-append interrupt........

The Best of All Possible Worlds:

So in my above rants I pointed out quality control issues in FW castings but in truth these are beautifully designed and executed models, a bit pricey but then; It's only money and what else would you do with it;

Give it to the Government?

The "best of all Worlds" title of this piece refers to the employment of magnets rather than glue to hold your Wahound together. The beauty of this is it allows you to view the wealth of internal detail in this model and also allows detailed interior painting after the model is assembled or in the case described above repair/alterations of mistakes made in the callowness of youthful exuberance i.e. "I gotta get this built for the big tournament this weekend."

Anyway below is the full hull/housing/carapace assembly in one piece; stable yet held together only with magnets.

http://i.imgur.com/tD7cFfN.jpg


First removing the carapace, almost everyone today employs magnets to affix the carapace to the hull so that's no biggy............

http://i.imgur.com/yDMe4bR.jpg


Note; the center bulkhead has not been installed properly as I want that removable for painting and subsequent interior view when the model is completed (Blackadder, do you ever complete a model?)

In the image below, shows the twin Generator housings held on only with magnets granting easy access to the aft bulkhead and hull.

http://i.imgur.com/fcppojM.jpg


(Yeah I know the gap is under the right utility box in this image because I was using this photo for the demo 'reply'.)

Finally the hull completely disassembled and can be reassembled with equal facility thanks to the super strong properties of the rare earth magnets.

http://i.imgur.com/JxS1UkE.jpg


Next; Pinning the front to rear hull sections..............

Can I get another auto-append interupt please?

As you wish!

Thanks,

A Bee Without a Sting

Of course it's all well and good to advocate using magnets but unless the procedure is defined it's just so much verbal flatus. Not being a politician I'll attempt to back up my proposal with a procedural method.

First of all you're going to need some sort of drill. Now here in the USA you can get a decent 1/2 inch variable speed drill for about $20 bucks. If you can afford a $600 dollar model surely you can afford an electric drill. I believe a man without tools is like a bee without a sting (Hence the Title ). Next you're going to need a set of drill bits. These are also pretty cheap because we're not drilling sheet metal here we're drilling plastic so now you're out maybe $30 bucks but the tools are reusable and with care will probably last a lifetime.

Next you will need rare earth magnets. I buy mine on ebay or locally at Home Depot or Lowes, Where they can be obtained in Europe & Etc I cannot say but I'm sure they can be sourced on the Internet.

For glue I use 5 or 7 minute epoxy also available at Home Depot &Etc.

To mount the Generator housings I used 12 MM X 3 MM disc shaped magnets one in each housing and one in each side of the aft hull component. Now it's important to observe the polarity of the magnets because if you get it wrong the part will shoot across the workbench instead of locking in place; I mark my polarity with a felt marker so I can tell at a glance which side is which. Call me a nitpicker but I keep the north/south polarity consistent across the two generators and the hull so the magnets are not repelling each other over the millenia.

Okay so now we're ready to drill the hole to receive the magnet; drill the hole with a bit just slightly larger than the size of the magnet. Now here in the US that's 31/64ths inch but a 1/2 inch will do. In the rest of the World that's about 12,5 MM or 13 MM if you have a cheap drill set. You can get away with drill the hole 3 MM deep ideally but not less as you don't want the magnet to protrude above the surface of the resin. So mix enough resin to coat the sides of the hole and fill the bottem of the cup and install the magnet making sure to observe the polarity remember. Now we want the magnet to be even with the surface of the surrounding surface and also to be dead on level i.e.not tilted so wipe off the excess epoxy and take a thin piece of steel or a fender washer and cover the magnet; don't worry about the washer getting glued to the piece, we'll address that later after the epoxy dries.