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Thanks ScarletRose! I actually have some of that on hand- almost used it as well, but decided my greenstuff was closer to drying out. I do like these pads though, and have a lot of figures to base to get better at using them.

Any time I do molding/press-molding, I use some form of surface prep, to make it easier to de-mold.

Things are looking good!

--B.

Stone trippin' B- true dat.

So, the AAA gun and its base are wrapped up.

After using the Basius Max press mold to form the custom textured cover for the base, I hit it with primer:



A base coat of cheap acrylic craft store tan paint:



A wash of ersatz Agrax Earthshade:



Painted the places where the pavers had broken and soil was pushing through cheap acrylic Yellow Ochre, washed in genuine Reikland Fleshshade and then drybrushed a teeny bit of Yellow Ochre back on top (needed a touch of color, everything else is desert-y, which- don't get me wrong- is very accurate, but very boring):



Added some grass tufts and what are supposed to be water bottles, or beers cans (they're resistors off that sound card I chopped up for the Athena a couple of years ago):



Added the gun:



And some expended brass (these are the same glass cylinder beads from the tracked SPAAG I did awhile ago):





And there you go- the finished gun and base:





This sticker is about 3/8 inch square and I found it in the pocket of a new pair of trousers of mine- it's the guys that quality control checked them leaving the factory. I wanted a decal or something to break up the tan of the maneuver housing, so I glued it on. The joke is, the Q36 used to be the designator for a counter-battery artillery radar- it was designed to track incoming artillery shells, reverse plot their trajectory and almost instantly provide data to a battery of guns just waiting to fire a mission to suppress or destroy the enemy guns that had just fired (I don't think it's in service any longer). So, this must be the Pan Atmospheric Aviation Suppression System, complete with on-board QC-36 target acquisition radar!



And that's all she wrote, folks:



I had a ton of fun putting this together- from the bits scrounge for the parts, to using the Basius Max molds for the first time, to using a lot more colors than I usually do on the base, a hoot the whole time.

I also got a fair amount done on the killer robot of death- pics of that are going to show up next, and I have to get cracking learning my air brush so I can use the stencil I bought and finish this gizmo up. I still have one other project started (the wizard's cottage) and ideas for two more already!

More follows soonest.

Nice work with the base and the paint job.great finish to a great build

Now go shoot down some drones!

That's quite a fancy and well thought out base. Both it and the AA gun are beautiful, nice work. I'm still blown away by how great you made that gun from all the random stuff it started as.

Thank you Theo, Brian and Syro- it means a lot having people not just look in, but take the time to comment as well; it is much appreciated. I got to try some new things, learned a lot and have new things I want to try (if I can just remember them when the right time comes!).

It's funny you mention drones, Brian- as an oversized drone or undersized flyer does feature in the next 'get rid of stuff lying on my desk' project. Which will come immediately following the completion of the Killer Robot of Death and the Wizard's cottage- maybe. If I don't get impatient first.

Lots of things to try out coming up!

More follows soonest.

Great job, well done. Really effective base and the guns look spot on.

There is a joy and pride in making something for your self. Not just a kit, a made from scratch kit, with odds and ends that don't fit until you work your magic. Brilliant bud.

Thanks very much Cam- that means a lot from a guy who is noted for building things from component atoms and moving forward from there. It is nice to be able to say sometimes that from the ground up- "it's mine". I did cheat on one item though (the original rule to myself being 'no gubbins or parts from kits') and that is the radio pack on the pack of the traversing housing from Robogear! Other than that, I stayed fairly true to the original intent. And in the 1st Ranger Battalion, the motto was 'if you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'. And if you get caught, you ain't tryin' hard enough.

More follows soonest.

Actually, skin-tone pink makes a very good base for many kinds of stone and sand. Plus, being a light color it can be made more varied with a lot of browns and yellows without them looking really out of place. Even whites... Since You are planning so much ahead, You can paint on some shadows where static grass tufts will be placed. Just make them deeper than Agrax. Smoke diluted with water?

Very good AA setup!

Thanks for the tips, Wirecat- I'm definitely trying them on the project after the killer robot (going for metallic chromatics on that one)! But either the wizard's cottage or the landing pad or both are going to be set in a desert-y terrain, and have good broad bases to play with, so I'm in.

Good job finishing off the AA gun. Looking nice.

Well, you know, I DO have a camera watching you...

Thanks Doc!

Brian- that camera is the best goad to getting work done I know of!

Here's a WIP pic of the "Defender" (aka: the Killer Robot of Death):



I know I said this was next, and work _is_ getting done along with the other projects, but I feel another itch to scratch coming on, this time something along the lines of a coastal defense artillery piece in a disappearing gun mount, but set up along the lines of a low-planetary orbit defense gun- to be named The Cyclobs.

We'll see what really gets finished next- more follows soonest.

That coastal defense style gun sounds cool, I'm looking forward to it whether it comes before or after the killer robot.

You know my Ordinatus is gently mocking your puny not-quite-to-orbit 'gun', right? Right.

--B.

"Yes, Golgotha, you're still the biggest. There, there. Let's have some ice cream."

No worries mate- that's the great thing about the Empire: if this one doesn't reach you, the next one will for sure!

OK, the killer robot of death (aka: The Guardian) is done, here's pics:









This is a Tehnolog kit, I think I gave US$6 each for two of them a few months back (or years, at the rate I work). The whole thing press fitted together so well it didn't need any glue. I added some to the shroud, just in case, but it really was okay without. New things tried/learned:

* Used my airbrush and a stencil to try to do the hexagon outline 'street-fighting' camo pattern (the model really wasn't well suited to it, but ya gotta start somewhere)
* Used pre-thinned, metallic inks to do the camo (mixed feelings here, it actually came out how I wanted- just not sure what I wanted is what I want, y'know?)
* The heat-distortion on the muzzles of the blasters/lasers/BFGs needs to be applied in more uniform bands to be realistic, and is better applied to a longer,barrel
* I tried to use more 'mechanicus' metallic colors, fewer of my strengths which are 'infantry hidin' colors' like browns, greens and greys
* Tried to avoid just slopping washes around- it's very effective for reallly grubby grunt-types (hey- I R1 !) but not so good for 'mechnicus'
* Having said that, I _really_ like how the treads came out

Here are some size comparison shots, starting with a Leman Russ:



And with some Oldhammer Imperial Guard metal figures:



And finally- just for fun- with an assemblage of various figures from different manufacturers including Games Workshop, Wargames Factory, Heresy Labs, Dreamforge Games Raging Heroes and Kromlech. I figure they're like some Rod Serling Twilight Zone epsiode- all drawn to this one place, at this one time, for some unknown purpose. Really, this mob might make a Rogue Trader explorer team- you've got a leader, a medic, couple of heavy weapons, heavy assualt infantry, scout, etc, even a bagpiper:



Tried to do better with the lighting- still have to build a light box.

Next up:

The Wizard Cottage and/or

The Flight Landing Pad and/or

The Low Orbit Defense Cannon

More follows soonest

Meer_Cat,

I vote for the Flight Landing Pad.

There are some really old rogue trader Guardsmen and women in from of that Killer Robot.

Cheers,

CB

I love that Tehnolog kit. May have to get some. Nice paint job!

Thank you, Johnny! I learned a lot trying things on this project, and already have ideas for trying out on the second one. The Robogear/Tehnolog stuff is amazing- they really offer a lot of different things. In looking at the pics though, I see that I did the 'heat distortion' colors in reverse order- the sepia should be closest to the muzzle, then the purple wash and then the blue (I think, I'll have to watch the Warhammer TV video again!)

Thank you, Captain- the landing pad it is! I may be working on the wizard's cottage a bit as I go, since I'm going to be casting some parts from my Hirst Arts pipeline and small robot molds, might as well also cast some parts for the cottage. Besides, the pieces have been hogging the best spot on my kitchen counter for almost a month now- time to do something with them or pack them out of the way.

The landing pad would be nothing without a flyer, so here are the pieces for a Robogear Condor kit cleaned up:



Here they are partially assembled and primered:



I'll do it with the canopy closed and blacked out- it'll give me a chance to try some of the techniques I've seen here on DakkaDakka for painting the canopy panels using blacks, blues and silver-greys. I'm going to have to fabricate my own landing gear as well- wheels, skids or struts, as the kit doesn't have any- it came with a very nice flying stand which I'm going to repurpose for a Chibi Pony Superhero project for my wife

Here are some of the components I'll be using for the landing platform itself:



You can see the double DVD holder, the white plastic is the drywall corner stuff I used on my LOER project for decking and the syringes are for an oral supplement for our Shetland pony rescues (it tastes like apple and they love it).

I'll also have the chance to try my hand at illuminating the structure with LEDs- for street lights and landing lights both. I have some components and just have to settle on a battery pack and then do the math so I get the number of bulbs and resistors right for the volts I'm going to push.

I may even get really motivated and do a couple of ground crew servicing the Condor to complete the scene! (Gotta get on ebay though, and get some more Cadian bits- I'm running out).

Thank you all for looking in, and more follows soonest!

What Cadian bits do you need? I have a small pile.

Love the killer robot, thanks for the scale shot as it’s much bigger than I thought it would be.

The condor looks very promising.

Good work stretching yourself with new skills, I need to do that too.

I really like the killer robot. The group.shots also look neat.

On the other hand... Where do.you rescue shetland ponies.from? And why do they need rescuing?

 Briancj wrote:
What Cadian bits do you need? I have a small pile.

Hi briancj! Thank you for looking in. I don't have any specific needs- just like having a variety of legs, torsos, arms and heads on hand to throw something together when needed. In the past, I've cobbled up basically straight from the box type figures for things like the ammo handlers on the Phaethon. Now that I'm starting to experiment with greenstuff, the basic Cadian body parts will form the basic figure, while I'll start trying to modify the kit and armor some with putty. I've still some bits on hand myself, enough for a bit, but I'll start scoping the el cheapo auctions on eBay for a score!

 Theophony wrote:
Love the killer robot, thanks for the scale shot as it’s much bigger than I thought it would be.

The condor looks very promising.

Good work stretching yourself with new skills, I need to do that too.

Thanks, Theo! Yep, the Tehnolog robot is a big beast- even I didn't realize how bulky (I knew it was tall) until I took the comparison shot. It reminds me of the machine Skynet took over in the third Terminator movie, only even a little bigger, I think. I don't really like the look of the blue and gold face- may redo those in more metallic grey colors, and dim the eyes a bit. And definitely must redo the gun muzzles!

 Flinty wrote:
I really like the killer robot. The group.shots also look neat.

On the other hand... Where do you rescue Shetland ponies from? And why do they need rescuing?

Thanks, Flinty! I wanted a shot with infantry to show the height of the robot- it was really a bit of whimsy to grab one of each of the several manufacturers I've painted up and stick them together- I didn't realize I had so many.

In a nutshell, my wife has always had horses- started to ride when she was three, I think. As we're getting older we've deliberately moved more into taking care of ponies- the equipment is lighter, the cost of feed is significantly less and they are darn smart. We got into rescuing Shetlands primarily because where we are there are a lot of horse facilities (farms, breeders, trainers) but almost no one who is set up for smaller equines. You really can't mix them together with full-size horses in open pastures and paddocks- the little ones think they are just as big as everyone else and they won't back down. And ponies shouldn't have too much grass graze- if any- as it is, it's too rich for them and they can easily founder and/or colic.

The sources for our rescues are usually word of mouth- people see a little guy out in a huge pasture with big guys, often limping from preliminary founder. We'll visit and offer to take the animal away and try to recover them or humanely put them down if it is too advanced. Usually the pony belonged to a kid, the kid grew up and now there is no one to give ti all the care it needs- and they can't just be turned out like a big horse- their instincts are very different.

Unfortunately, some people shouldn't be allowed to have goldfish. Some of our rescues get referred to us by the SPCA or the police; they've been forcibly remved from homes where there just aren't any facilities and they're suffering badly. We literally got one handed to us by the State Troopers that had been gotten as a birthday present for a kid, but the family lived in a development with a backyard that was about five yards deep and ten yards wide. The pony had no little shed, no shelter at all. There was a scraggly tree, and the family figured the little pony could eat the grass, and hide under the tree when it rained or snowed. It didn't take long for the yard to turn to mud, they didn't know what to feed it, they had no way of removing the manure, the teeth hadn't been floated in so long that it cold barely chew and the hooves were so long untrimmed that they had grown into a condition called 'Persian Slipper', where the toes have grown out so much it curls up in front and they have difficulty walking.

I believe that animals should live more or less domestically as they do in the wild- our base herd of four live outside year round, for instance. But on stone dust paddock that gets policed twice a day for manure and they each have their own little shelter. That's the permanent herd, the ones no one else will ever want because of their physical and mental quirks and special needs. The others that come through have stalls in the barn and when we get a new one in we feed it back up to normal weight and work on restoring its trust in people. We do a lot of in-hand work, leading it arund and getting it to want to work with people again. Some few never do, but most come around in a few weeks or months. They naturally want to work with people and be part of a herd. When they're ready, we teach them how to pull a cart, to give them sense of purpose, make it easier to keep up with exercising them and to make them more attractive to fostering or adoption by other homes. We work quite closely with three big horse rescues in the area that have the means of vetting potential adopters, and we take ponies from them all the time to rehabilitate.

Our base herd pull carts, carriages and agricultural implements. We can cut our own hay, windrow it and make it into miniature bales- all with pony power! They fight for the chanc eto go out when they see us with the harness.

We are also accredited with our State Board of Medicine and the Veteran Affairs Bureau to help with equine therapy for PTSD sufferers- combat vets, abused children and spouses. They respond very well to horses and especially our little guys. At the end of the day, no matter how powerful a horse may appear, they need to be part of a herd, they're lost without a partner, and people who have themselves had a very rough time can sense that need and respond strongly to it.

All in all, we've helped rehabilitate and place around 17 horses and ponies. A big advantage to ponies is, when they step on your foot- it only hurts, it doesn't splinter!

Thanks all for looking in and listening to my spiel. More follows soonest.

Wow, very cool. As a child we had horses and a pasture, but due to finances they went to our cousins when I was about 9 or 10. They had herds and fields. Never had any little Shetland ponies though.

People in a development buying a Shetland?.......it’s like the stories you here of people with exotic cats like tigers, too bad the pony couldn’t eat them .

It's not for lack of trying- our little guys are quite determined in using their chompers. The tie-in for modeling, is our little guys are the models for the Chibi Ponies that I did earlier, and will be the platform for the next lot, which are going to be superheroes (Super-Pony, Spider, Pony, Wonder-Pony and probably Electric-Pony (Electra). I'm already doing requests for folks who would like a Chibi of their horse or pony- they send a photo to my wife, who nags me. It is a lot of fun, but I'm running out of Tehnolog Chibi Ponies. I bought up what I could find when the missus liked the first lot so well, but they're getting hard to find on eBay now. I still have a dozen or so, and that may be enough.

Wire-cat is on the wire, watching and twitching with impatience.

Thanks Wirecat- I hope to have some WIP Pics a little later tonight!

Update for today (not sure when I'll get more pics up):

I've been busy the last couple of days, getting a lot done on several different things. First up, the actual flying/landing pad part of the project. I've decided that the vignette is going to be a 'rapid delivery service' diorama, with a small air freight delivery service that has seen more prosperous days and an aging Condor light-fighter adapted for small but valuable cargo delivery. The office will be a cobbled together shack under the pad itself, and repair/maintenance gear will be spotted about.

Here's the CD case that will form the basis of the landing pad, I've trimmed out part of the knobbly bits that hold a CD in place as they stick up to high:



But I've saved the bits for some other project because they are arrowhead shaped- you never know when you'll need something like that:



Here's the underside girders in place:



And the underlayment for the top side landing pad mesh (the knobbly bits that remain were making the mesh lumpy, so I had to raise it up a bit):



In related news, here's some more work done on the Condor:



And a crate barricade that came free from the store on Etsy where I got the laser cannons and such- this will be stacked outside the door to the office, forlornly waiting its turn to be delivered:



And I'm also casting up more pieces for the wizard's cottage, plus some pipe sections for this diorama (I'd forgotten I had the Hiirst Arts 5/8 inch pipe mold):



I'm gluing the landing pad mesh (which is made from plastic canvas left over from the Phaethon project) to the landing pad frame, which in retrospect is a mistake- I should have painted the frame and the mesh up separately, it would have been a lot easier. Live and learn.

More follows soonest.