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So, life changes come up and I recently had a big one. Namely I was fired from my job. Not going to mix up this thread with a bunch of sob-stories or explanation but I have decided to focus on school and finish my degree rather then getting steady work again. So what does this have to do with this forum? Well I have a decent amount of free time on my hands now. Free time means I get bored which is what started as. A boredom project but as I actually started sinking my teeth into it, it became a challenge. The challenge: To see if I could build the entire titan with out using anything pre-made. No bits, no kits, just paper, card stock, card board, glue, foam core and the like.

The template this is based on is the old school one that's been floating around for near 10 years now. It's a nice basic design that provides a solid foundation to build up from. I've toyed with the design several times in the past. This is going to be a serious and sincere effort to make it my own this time.



I give you... the toe!

The toe joint is made from 2 sheets of 5mm foam core glued together. I added additional surface details by pulling the template parts into photoshop, making the details into layers and then printing them out on card stock. It's an interesting challenge cutting out 4 levels of details for something like this.

The toe cup is made out of card board from cereal boxes and then additional layers of details have been added with the application of Card stock.



The foot! So yeah, everything that was the toe, times 4. The... erm... palm of the foot? whatever you want to call it. The section the toes all connect to is made of 3 layers of foam core wrapped in an edge of card board, again from cereal boxes. The ankle mount is a single layer of foam board with a layer of card stock around the outer edges.


I ran across a styrafoam ball and I had an idea for using a ping pong ball for the ankle joint. With no better use for the ball, I cut it in half and mounted it on a form for the top of the foot. Looks rather promising. Will probably use ping pong balls in the ankles for the next titan I build.




The shin armor is a good example of what I made in photoshop to add to the template. The jagged arrow edging was made by pulling the template page into photoshop, making a new layer on top of the original part and designing the edging. I then printed 2 copies, 1 for the base to go onto card board and a second to be cut from card stock. The card stock is just the arrow edging while the cardboard is the foundation of the part. Cut 'em out, glue them together as needed.


I added additional bracing for the mounts to the shin armor.



Here we have the lower leg. Well a good portion of it anyway. The ankle joint is made from cardboard. I first glued it to the ankle mount, and then applied a layer of card stock over that and joined that to the mount. It's surprisingly solid.

The pistons were a challenge but I think I pulled them off well. What I did is took Q-tips, cut off the cotton heads and then rolled strips of paper around one end to create the piston look. I was then able to cut through the rolled paper to make it mount in a way I needed it to on the foot.



The leg of the Warhound has a series of pistons going between the leg sections. I added the pistons by building an internal mount for the pistons which you can see here.


The foot as it stands... no pun intended.... now.


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One of the big challenges this particular project is bringing up is one of patience, and I'm actually really happy that I'm rising to meet it. I don't think I could have 2 months ago. A lot of the processes I'm using are tedious. A good example: The joints in the leg.

They look pretty simple right? Well they sort of are simple, but simple doesn't mean quick. As I said, part of my challenge here is to make the entire Warhound out of the likes of paper, cardboard and foam core. Well that material limitation produces a bit of a challenge in itself. These parts need to be strong enough to support this rest of the model, yet still made out of paper. Well when you 15 and 20 layers of paper, it becomes surprisingly strong. So with that thought in mind, here is what I did:


I started with the parts from the plans, which was two circles. I cut these out of cardboard and then made a central shaft out of three segments of cardboard and mounted it all together in a sort of spool. I then attached strips of paper to the shaft. I glued the paper to the shaft in loose loops to get it more rounded, and then added more layers. I put a layer of glue down between each layer. The final result being the hard barrel sort of piece you saw before.

And this leads to a situation where I always chuckle to myself over:

The need to drill through paper! I drilled holes into the paper and then mounted a pair of tooth picks into the joint. This allowed me to mount the next segment by mounting the tooth picks into a piece of foam core:



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So now it's about pistons. I made all 9 of the pistons for the right foot.

As I explained before I'm using Q-tips for the piston shafts. Just cut off the cotton head to start, then you can glue the strip of paper to that end. For these pistons I've found that a strip of paper, and yes that is paper not card stock, that is 10mm wide by 5 inched long works out the best. I simply cut the strip of paper and then glue one end to the Q-tip body.



I give the glue about 20 minutes to set and then I apply a thin layer of glue to the 'inside' of the paper. That's the side of the paper that will be rolled onto the previous layer. This way it allows to not only glue all the paper in place but also to saturate the entire roll up of paper making it solid. I then work my way slowly around, rolling up the paper until I get this:



Once I get to this stage, I can just cut off the other end and presto. Piston shafts!

i'm impressed youve even got the balls to start. fair play mate.

Looks like a good start. I'm normally weary of these because they often end up as a stack of shoeboxes and paper towel rolls haphazardly painted with a couple cans of Krylon. I'd love to see one properly done.

One of the guys on IC painstakingly built a proper scale Thunderhawk and a Wolf Hound titan with 3D printing and hand-made stuff...took months.

 Elbows wrote:
Looks like a good start. I'm normally weary of these because they often end up as a stack of shoeboxes and paper towel rolls haphazardly painted with a couple cans of Krylon. I'd love to see one properly done.

One of the guys on IC painstakingly built a proper scale Thunderhawk and a Wolf Hound titan with 3D printing and hand-made stuff...took months.

Yeah this one is shaping up to be about a 2 month project and over all I'd rank it about a 3 or 4/10 on the detail scale. So applicable for games, but not going to win any modeling contests.

So I'm pretty sure I'm just self destructive. or just a streak for self torture. One or the other. Why have I come to this conclusion? Well I wanted to have exposed grating over internal workings. I like the look of it and I think it helps carry the in-accurate nature of Chaos War gear. Normally I would use some window screen grating, but I as I said one of the challenges I put before myself for this project was making everything from scratch. So how did I go about making the grating? Well... like this.


I made a frame using cardboard, then mounted that on a sheet of foam core start at one corner started stringing the thread across, put down another pin to hold the line and then came back the opposite way, and then back again and back and back and back and back and back and back and back and.... well you get the idea. Once I have the thread all tacked down I put 3 copies of the original frame, this time cut out of card stock, down with glue and left this exercise in mental exhaustion to dry for a couple hours.

Once that was dry I mounted it in the upper workings that will go on the back of the main body:


So... a success... mostly. I'm debating weather I'll just cheat and use some wind screen for the grating or if I'll just deal with this as it is. The engine workings under the grating come from the Vulcan mega-bolter that another designer made for his Warhound titan. I just enlarged it to cover the space I needed it to cover. Works rather well I think.


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As you can see I've got the Mesh covering that I made previously mounted atop the central body. The right power plant and shoulder wing have been assembled. I added additional details to the back of the power plant with a vent cover and access hatch. The Access hatch is just a straight forward cut and paste part. Nothing really notable. Though I did use a mini-hole punch to punch out small discs and glued them down on the corners of the hatch.

No, the vent cover is the more note worthy part. Like the mesh covering, I wanted to build it from scratch. I wasn't sure how to do that initially, but I thought on it and I broke it down into smaller parts.

Obviously the first thing I needed was a backing. Something to be the size of the vent. So I went into photoshop, pulled the template up and measured out a space 2mm in from the edges of the panel where the vent would go. That gave me this piece:



The next thing I needed was a series of slanted slates. This was a bit trickier but I hit on the idea of making a series of 3mm stripes and stagger them so that the lower 1.5mm of the strip would be on top of the upper 1.5mm of the strip below it.

So I started with one strip:

And then I started gluing down each successive strip:




Until I had covered the entirety of the base plate:


Now I needed a cover frame. So I took the original base plate and measured out a space that was 1mm in from it's edge and cut that space out giving me a frame. I then used white glue to attach this over top of the slats.




Once that dried I trimmed the excess from the slates. It was a bit sloppy and I wanted to clean it up. So I ran a strip of paper around the edge of the entire assembly. All of that resulted in this:

Watching with interest. Good luck, sir.

Wow, both of those vents are really impressive. Definitely keep us up to date.

So word is guns. Well one gun. Well okay half a gun. Um well one of the 2 barrels of the gun... 'cept it's 5 barrels of the total of 10... anyway. I'm working on the Vulcan Mega-bolter. Specifically the barrels for it.


I used a process similar to the pistons to make these barrels. 6.5" of paper glued to a Q-tip body and then wrapped up with layers of glue between each wrap. I then had to make a cover to bring the details. So I did some numbers, and made some parts in Photoshop. I had to adjust the numbers and re-make the parts a couple times but ultimately it worked out.



I mounted the barrels on a disc of cardboard. Punching holes gave me a place to pass the Q-tip bodies through which give the mounting more security.



You can't see it, but I used the remains of my development barrel as a spacer in between the 5 main barrels.

A wrap around on the barrels for a heat sheath.


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So we're talking about joints. No not that those kinds of joints! Specifically the shoulder joint on the war hound where you mount weapons! As I previously stated this turned into a challenge to see just how far I can go with just paper and the like. Now I could just make a box or barrel and glue the weapon to that and then that to the shoulder, buuuut I want to be able to swap weapons. the local groups have been talking about doing a large tyranid enemy campaign and the idea of Twin inferno canons sounds just sooo nice for that sort of party. So my first thought was to use a length of PVC piping and a twist joint. But I want to try and do everything with paper and cardboard. So that wasn't an option. So what was I to do? Well I was looking at another cardboard model I had done some time ago when I was looking at the main turret mount. The turret mount on the Baneblade is a large drum loaded with reinforcement. Once the glue all dried it's very rigid and solid, with a strength approaching plastic. So why couldn't I build the twist joint out of paper? Well that's what I did.

[img=http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/Warhammer/Warhound%20Titan%20One/5cc1ceca-72d1-48f2-86c8-dc3fe7ccd20e_zpsfo8a7rwk.jpg]

The shoulder joint for mounting the weapons. This is actually 3 parts jointed together. The first part is the larger segment closer to my hand. It's 20mm deep, and nothing but rolled paper saturated in white glue. The second part is the 2 half rings closer to the camera. It's the same as the first segment, just 5mm deep instead of 20mm and had segments cut out of it. The final part is the sheath along the outside that actually builds everything into a single component.


This is the mount that is going on the weapon body itself that will go into side the shoulder joint.



This is the entire shoulder joint assembled.

So what is this joint for? Well for the one weapon I have to work with at this moment of course!


The Vulcan Mega-bolter!

I liked the exposed ammo in design. For the ammunition in the hopper, I used lengths of Q-tip body cut to length and glued into place.

And that brings us up to date with the project itself. Stay tuned for further updates.

Nice mate, i always thought that the barrels on a vulcan mega bolter didnt do it justice, (too short) but that looks awesome!

The updates look excellent. If you can keep this level of detail, you're good to go!

Great work dude!

You deserve this exalt, bravo. Looking forward to seeing how this progresses.

The Vulcan megabolter looks great. This project is quite the undertaking, and I'm impressed you got past the planning stages.

Wow. Amazing progress! Keep it up! Can't wait to see more!

With the conclusion of my live streams the last couple nights I have some updates on the titan. Well a part of the titan. Well a piece of one part of the titan. I mostly finished one barrel of the turbo laser!



I made a rather large mistake with the barrel, or rather the forward section of it.the inner section of the barrel was supposed to be about half as thick as it is going from the largest outer diameter (the one in cardboard) down to a middle down to the smallest at the tip of the barrel. But I messed up and cut the wrong size. Oh well. This is where I say "I meant to do that!"





If I'm honest, the main body for the turbo laser is rather boring looking. So I've opted to design a new body using the Plasma blast gun main body as the basis. This is the beginning of that effort. the port connectors on the side are the biggest point to talk about. What I did was first I made a series of 4 copies of the side of the body and I cut out the space for the connectors on 3 of them. I then glued all 4 sections together. I used a 1/4" hole punch to punch out discs of cardboard and then glued those to a sheet of card stock. Left them to dry for about half an hour then I went in with a 1/6" hole punch and punched out holes in each of the discs. Coming back with the 1/4" punch I then... well punched out the connectors. Little but of white glue and there we go.

The Turbo Lasers are like 90% done now.







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For those that are interested I will be doing a live stream where I will be working on the Titan tonight at 6pm EST. Click on the ad for a link to my Channel.
[URL="https://www.twitch.tv/resurrectedhobbyist"]
[/URL]

Good progress, I really like how those turbo lasers are turning out.

"I am now authorized to use lethal force!"

So following my live stream I now have 2 weapons completed for the Warhound:


The Vulcan Mega-bolter and the Turbo lasers! I know this is going to sound a little self congratulatory, but I really like how both turned out. They are really kind of tempting to me to jump in feet first and get started on the plastic versions. But I have to stop myself.


One of the things I don't like about the way the Vulcan mega-bolter is constructed is how it's essentially 2 parts attached to one another. When I do the next version I'll be re-designing it so that it's one larger section with the rest of the details added to that and built up from that. Right now there is a very slight bend in the weapon where the back section meets the forward section.


Something I've discovered, and by discovered I mean I've never seen anyone mention it before, is based on the instructions for building the titan the placement of the joint in the shoulder is surprisingly close to the body. By surprisingly close, I mean like I can't turn the weapons more then about 15 degrees out from straight forward. When I do the next version I'm definitely mounting the joint about 3/4" further out and 1/2" further forward.

The weapons look great, especially the turbolaser.

This is certifiably insane. I like it

You are making incredible progress. I'm impressed. The scope of this project is mind-blowing.

I can't wait to see the final product! Good luck.

 The Riddle of Steel wrote:
This is certifiably insane. I like it

You are making incredible progress. I'm impressed. The scope of this project is mind-blowing.

I can't wait to see the final product! Good luck.

The 'Final' product is still some years away I'm afraid. This particular effort is simply a means to an end. Perhaps I should back up a step.

My ultimate end goal is to build a plastic Warhound titan with the following features:

interchangeable weapon arms

Light up cock pit and display screens

Accessible battery compartment so I can swap batteries

Rotating Barrels on the Vulcan Mega-bolter

Illuminated inner-barrels on the Turbo Lasers

Glowing coils on the Plasma gun

LED indicators for Void shields and Hull points - so as the model looses shields/HPs you simply turn a dial and turn off one more light in the series.

I'm also considering smoking vents on the power plant but I'm less focused on that about that. Be a nice bonus but not a priority. This part of the project is basically the "build it up and see what problems you run into" stage. So for this particular build my objective is to build it and document the build (hence this work log and my live streams) so I can create a record of problems and issues I run into with the build. Also see what I do this time around that I think I can do better next time and have a record of those tid-bits as well. Then I will apply those notes to the next build. There could be a third build after that. Depends on how the next build goes. But yeah, at the end of everything I'm looking at the very least 3 Warhound Titans as the end result of this project. Could be more like 4 or 5 in all reality.

Whoa... This is even madder than I ever guessed! Multiple scratch-built Titans with that list of features! You, my friend, are the craziest mek I haven encountered in these forums. If you accomplish that bullet list, you will have the eternal respect of all of Dakka. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

 The Riddle of Steel wrote:
Whoa... This is even madder than I ever guessed! Multiple scratch-built Titans with that list of features! You, my friend, are the craziest mek I haven encountered in these forums. If you accomplish that bullet list, you will have the eternal respect of all of Dakka. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

hehe allow me to introduce you to a fellow by the screen name of BlackAdder. He is a scratch builder who blows me not only out of the water, but when I hit the apex of the arc his shots have launched me into, I am unable to see the map to find the land to find the water he blew me out of.

His present project: Scratch Building an Imperator.

Previous projects:
Scratch building a Warlord titan
Scratch Building a Warhound Titan
Scratch Building a Thunderhawk

So not EXACTLY a work log update, but something I want to announce and ask people to come to all the same. This Sunday, May 21st starting at 4pm EST I will be relaunching my live stream, the Resurrected Hobbyist!



My big goal for hosting my live stream is to inspire, educate and encourage others in the model building and painting hobby. It's not just about me showing off my work and talking cause, let's face it while I have been involved in the hobby for a long period of time, I am hardly the end-all be-all master of everything that can possibly be involved in the hobby. But what I can be is a stubborn ogre that works toward a goal! And my goal is inspiration and education, both for myself and others. I know the thrill I get when I take on the mentor role to a younger hobbyist and that sensation of glee when my student shows of something that looks amazing. Like wise I love that sensation of being the student and learning something new. It's that cross hairs that is the heart of soul of what I want to do with my live stream!

How am I going to do that?
Well I actually have several things I'm doing with the stream to encourage that plus several other things I hope to implement in the next year. The first thing I've added is a community gallery. This is a gallery that anyone can load pictures of their projects up to and they will be talked on live stream. Weather you're an experienced hobbyist posting a picture to showcase a particular approach to achieving a particular paint scheme, an enthusiast who tried something and completely screwed it up and want to talk about what you did, or someone who is trying their first time at taking paint from the bottle and putting it on the model, this is an avenue to post your materials and get feed back and show off you stuff. For more information on using the Community Gallery, see this video.

Another feature I'm implementing is developing short 10-15 minutes segments with various hobbyists who are willing to lend their experience to the show and talk about some facet of it. These segments may be a live interview where they hobbyist talks about their latest project to build a 2k point Ultramarines army based on 'Dead sky, Black Sun', or they could be talking about how they tried to resin cast a translucent sword blade and found out the coloring dyes are super super powerful so it came out as a solid color. Maybe they want to do a segment on a particular step in the modeling process, or a particular process that they feel doesn't get talked about enough. If you are interested in appearing on the stream I would first recommend you check out this video play list to get a better idea of what is needed and how it would work then I would say go ahead and drop me a line about what it is you want to come on stream and talk about.

Another feature I have implemented into the stream is a prize give away. People will have the ability to donate to the stream and when we reach a certain thresh hold in donations it will unlock a prize that will be received by a random person in chat who has donated. These prize may be a set of bases from Dragon Forge Designs, it could be a book from Evergreen plastics about working with their products, it may be a gift voucher to Games Workshop. The idea is to open people up to new possibilities by exposing them to something from that possibility. Maybe they've never worked with Resin bases, or had never considered scratch building. Hell, maybe they just wanna take a shot at building a new army.

You said you were going to add more to the stream later, like what?
Yup I do have intentions of adding new features to the stream over the next year. One of my plans is to include a segment I call "The Screw Up" where I show case a hobby based screw up of some form, and discuss what has been learned from the effort. This might be something that I have done, like mixing the resin for too long and not being able to pour it into the mold, or perhaps one of my viewers has a story they would like tell in this segment. Really this segment would be about learning how to celebrate our mistakes and learn from them. [/size]There are other features I'm working to implement in the future beyond "The Screw up" but they take time and I don't want to sabotage myself by talking about before I can even start working to implement them.[/indent]

So in closing, be sure join the Resurrected Hobbyist this Sunday at 4pm EST time for the relaunch of his Live Stream!