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Hey,

I'm considering doing something like this to my Praetorians:



But I'd like to do it a bit differently. I'd like the tail to taper from thicker to thin, and if possible, have the same texture as a Wraith's tail:



I cannot simply use Wraith's tails as they're too long. Just the right thickness but way too long.

How do you think I can make this work? Metal wire holding PVC pipe segments of different diameters, green stuff in between the segments, and random bits of plastic for the plates along the back of the tail?

I've never done anything similar, I don't have any parts to make this work, so any and all advice (no matter how obvious) is welcome.

Thanks!

Go to a craft store and take a look in the beads section.
You'll find infinite sizes and shapes.
Buy a few packs in different sizes, plain beads are cheap as chips.
Thread them on to brass rod that has been bent to shape around a few pens or somesuch for a smooth curve.
You may have to drill or fill some of the holes in the beads if they are various sizes and you want to use the same size rod throughout.
Once happy with the arrangement attach the rod to the base and thread on the beads from the top one by one, glueing each to the last and the rod.

You could use the wraith tails and cut them hakg way, use the upper ends to make it look like they're coming up out of the ground

Alex Kolodotschko wrote:Go to a craft store and take a look in the beads section.
You'll find infinite sizes and shapes.
Buy a few packs in different sizes, plain beads are cheap as chips.
Thread them on to brass rod that has been bent to shape around a few pens or somesuch for a smooth curve.
You may have to drill or fill some of the holes in the beads if they are various sizes and you want to use the same size rod throughout.
Once happy with the arrangement attach the rod to the base and thread on the beads from the top one by one, glueing each to the last and the rod.

That sounds easy enough. I don't even know if there's a craft store in my small town. I might be visiting a bigger town in a few weeks.

Kharne the Befriender wrote:You could use the wraith tails and cut them hakg way, use the upper ends to make it look like they're coming up out of the ground

That'd be a bit expensive and I'd really like the tails to curl.

How about wrapping tape around a bent brass rod? Using lots of tape to add thickness where needed, I could achieve a taper that way. I think. It may be a bit lumpy or uneven.

Buy a masq mini tube tool and you can make your own groved cable style tails. Bit of practice and bit of greenstuff but you can curve them yourself and pick a size to suit you

I did it mom! I did it

I learned how to model things in Blender. I'm getting these 3d printed! I'm so excited, can't wait till they get here.

Here is the tail. About 6cm long with a 1cm blade at the tip, tapering from 5mm to 2mm.




It's not that hard to do poses in Blender. I just created a straight tail, used an armature to bend it in various ways, and voila.

And if you wanna take a look at my blog with those eyes that are on your face, here you go.





Thanks for looking!

That's actually really cool and a good use of a 3D printer. How as the resolution on the printing? I mean, usually I see a lot of striations and such.

That is awesome! Please post pics when they arrive. You may get a lot of requests from people to get some of these.

Thanks!

I hope they turn out ok. Shapeways contacted me about the sprue - their printing technique doesn't deal with sprues very well, supposedly. I think they're just milking me for money, as they would charge about 3x as much if these were not on the sprue. They offered to proceed anyway and I told them to go ahead.

And we'll see how's the quality when they get here. One friend of mine has a 3d printer but the quality isn't that good. They always need sanding. That's why I went with Shapeways, they offer some more expensive, high def material and printing procedue. By looking at some pics of stuff printed this way, It should be just fine.

Yeah, it's always the way isn't it? I am very interested and excited to see how these turn out.

Can't say that I have a definite desire to convert Praetorians to have tails, but I'm sure a Lord could be created to include a Canoptek tail with fluff to explain it.

Have you ever thought about creating Destroyer bases? I recently came to ponder the Destroyers and wondered about alternative grav platforms that would be more in keeping with a tomb blade. If you fancy a project you'd have a customer

Thanks for the kind words!

 TP^DC Deputy Manager wrote:
Yeah, it's always the way isn't it? I am very interested and excited to see how these turn out.

Can't say that I have a definite desire to convert Praetorians to have tails, but I'm sure a Lord could be created to include a Canoptek tail with fluff to explain it.

Have you ever thought about creating Destroyer bases? I recently came to ponder the Destroyers and wondered about alternative grav platforms that would be more in keeping with a tomb blade. If you fancy a project you'd have a customer

Hah, I love Destroyers I don't think I'd be collecting Necrons if it weren't for them. I converted all of my vehicles to have Necrons integrated in them instead of sitting on chairs. I also dislike Tomb Blades and converted mine heavily..

I wanted to save best for last and kept postponing Destroyers. I couldn't help it anymore recently and converted and painted a few Heavy Destroyers:



So I don't think I'll be doing anything custom for Destroyers. I am trying to see what I can do about my Monolith, and I'll create a thread around here when I have something.

Ooh! They are beautifully painted.

I think I need the Grav platform to just be a bit more "Grrrrrr", if you get what I mean????

They look a little too dainty sat on their platforms, whereas the rest of the Necrons seem a bit more spikey. Which is ironic because the Destroyers are meant to be hellbent on eradicating anything with a pulse.

Do like your's though.........

Neet

i think you could also cast them straight then bend into the shapes you want with hot water.

not sure how it will hold up but mold making might be easier.

those guys remind me of the old oop wraiths

Yeah doing a 3D printed version would be much better than the Wraith conversions I did a while back:

@Galef - they are very good. Don't be so hard on yourself

@Galef - I've never seen those before, and I spent too much time looking at Necron conversions. Good job, really. I like the spines at the tips of their tails, I didn't think of that. I also might steal the idea of Lychguard loincloths

@ Bocete: I had the same issue as you, that I wanted the tail to taper off. But I only had access to beads and wire, so I used the extra spine and tip from the whip coils. It also helps that I used the shields on their backs since they narrow towards the tail.

All of these look sweet as hell. It's just giving me more and more ideas for EC conversions. Thanks guys.

These look amazing. Hopefully they come out well. Keep posted what happens! Will be very interested in getting some.

Quick update, they are on the way! Shapeways reported that everything went ok. We'll see when they arrive.

I want to ensure that the models are in good shape before I make them available publicly.

Awesome news! Can't wait to see photos.

As somebody studying animation and modeling in programs such as maya/blender I am more then a little impressed and inspired

I might wanna try this out myself for future projects. Looking forward to seeing the results.

LOL, from considering beads to designing your own high quality models in a 3D application and realizing them by outsourcing to a 3D printing company.

Well done!

They're here!

The sprue is very thin and bends easily. That's ok, it's only there to keep the parts in one piece. The tails themselves are firm. I can apply some flex to the tip of the tail by applying pressure to it, I have no doubt that these are going to hold the torso and other bits in place. There are no blemishes that I can see, and the surface is pretty smooth. I think I'll basecoat these a bit thicker and paint them as they are, with no prior sanding.

I think I nailed the size. Especially considering I'm going to remove those balls hanging from Praetorian backs.

Very very, very interested in how these come out!

I think it would be very interesting to do a set leaving them mostly transparent with ghoulish green highlights - giving them a ghost-like appearance.

Awesome!! Make I ask what 3D printing program you used?

Thanks guys!

I don't think I'll be painting this anytime soon. I am currently painting some other stuff, and when I'm done with that I'm going on a trip for about a month. I might find the time to assemble them before I leave.

I had these printed by Shapeways with this material. I originally wanted to use this one but they told me that there's quite a waiting list.

A friend of mine teaches 3d printing and owns a few printers. She gave me the idea to try to model my own, if I don't find anything suitable on Thingiverse. But she told me that none of her printers can print something so fine and supportless; and that online services such as Shapeways have access to printing techniques that could pull it off.

Holy crap these look crazy good. I was about to assemble my Praet's, am going to wait now incase these come out for sale, even in a limited run!

I made them available to buy on Shapeways.com. I don't want to advertise here, but send me a PM if you have trouble finding it on their website.

I also have a few more 3D printed things on order, more on that later

Note that I'm yet to assemble and paint my Praetorians - I'm still travelling. I don't know if there'll be any issues.