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Made in nl
Regular Dakkanaut






I've recently printed myself a lucius pattern Warhound titan.

It was a bit of an experiment to see what my PLA printer could reasonably do.
Turned out that the guy that made the STL files was also experimenting a bit as the finished model is a tad smaller than the original model.
Not a big problem as it's still a huge, imposing robot.

I figured that one way for him to gain some height was by putting him on a nice scenic base.
I'll try to fit things so that the titan will be able to be removed from the base if I even want to play with him (probably some long nails through the bottom of the base).

Now, I've been printing some nice debris and stuff for him to stand on.
Since the printed PLA is very hard and difficult to transform I'd really want to add some sort of small hill or dirt mound to support the way he stands.
That way I wont have to change the setting of the toes as that will be impossible at this point.

What product should I use to make the ground with?
Ideally I'd like to use something that will be soft long enought to 'push' the titan feet into it to create a nice indentation.
Afterwards I'll need to drill through it so that I'll be able to fit the nails (doing that first might be a better plan...).

Anyway, what sort of modelling stuff would you advise me to use?



This is what the thing looks like....from a safe distance...


This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/05/24 20:20:35


 
   
Made in ca
Regular Dakkanaut





Oh Canada!

Assuming cost is no issue, I'd go with Milliput or a Milliput/ low Greenstuff blend (epoxy putty).

It has a long working time, dries rock hard, and will have no issue holding up to the weight of the model. It won't chip or crack or flake without extreme provocation. Can be sculpted into whatever kind of ground / terrain shape you'd like, and other scenery bits can be embedded in like rocks or sand for texture.
   
Made in nl
Regular Dakkanaut






Miliput or greenstuff would be too costly.

I didn't print that Titan to spend all my money on greenstuff

Your suggestion did make me think of modelling clay though. I reckon I can model a nice underground with clay and once that dries I should be able to glue it to the base.

I'll have to remember to position the pins before the clay dries as itĺl likely shatter otherwise.

Thanks for the inspiration Fire_Forever.
   
Made in gb
Thane of Dol Guldur





Bodt

Das modelling clay is great for building up base ground. Not sure how it would take drilling though. Maybe put a harder material like wood or tough plastic at that point, then build the das around it

Heresy World Eaters/Emperors Children

Instagram: nagrakali_love_songs 
   
Made in ca
Regular Dakkanaut





Oh Canada!

I can't really recommend DAS. It shrinks as it dries and if it's too thick it'll crack. Drilling it also cracks it; no tensile strength. If you're going to build up a large area wood would be the better choice as suggested above. Then again you could do the same thing with a wood / MDF core and epoxy putty top, which would make it more reasonable on the material costs. Incorporating some rocks might help too, both as filler and to add weight at the base for stability.

Whatever you pick make sure it's as sturdy as possible, because a model that big isn't likely to survive tipping over very well. D:

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/05/25 21:48:34


 
   
Made in us
Nurgle Predator Driver with an Infestation





Antioch Illinois

Use sculptamold
   
Made in us
Grumpy Longbeard






Only thing I can think of that has both of the properties is 2partEpoxy paste that is soft at first, dries super strong and can be drilled and sanded. But even 2partEpoxy is not THAT strong. And quite expensive too.
For my modeling terrain I usually mix a cup of dirt or sand with some acrylic paint and lots of woodglue. That mixture dries very hard and is tiny bit bendy, if you ever worked with woodglue you know what I mean.

I do that for all my bases too.
For example:
These came in without bases, so I used woodglue mixture to "sculpt" bases. They are strong on their own.

These have bases, but same woodglue mixture to dress the top.




To drill through and strength I would use wood.
Side glue suggestion for the wood option.
Titebond II or better a III As it is waterproof and is very strong. Seen some woodworking stress tests where the wood fails before the glue joint does.

Hope this helps.

 
   
Made in nl
Regular Dakkanaut






Awesome suggestios guys.

Though I really like working with woodglue I feel that it'll 'shrink' to much while drying for the volume of material Í have in mind.

Weight of the model is less of a consideration as it's PLA, not resin and it's quite light.

I'll put straws at the place where the drilling will take place, or better still, Iĺl clay around the nails. Cracks when drying won't be a problem as I usually use a crackling paint for the surface anyway.

I'll post some pictures when it's done.

@mothsniper: love these bases!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/05/26 06:45:09


 
   
Made in us
Grumpy Longbeard






Spoiler:

Also woodglue downsides:
Woodglue in large quantities takes forever to dry. (surface dries quick but inside takes weeks)
Woodglue is cheaper than 2partEpoxy but it is not THAT cheap. Especially titebond III

Keep in mind that DAZ when dries is like paper-mache and is very light.
ShadowCaptainMathius mentioned sculptamold, I never used it but looks like that might be best option.







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This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2022/05/26 19:15:33


 
   
Made in gb
Fresh-Faced New User




Yorkskhire, UK

I've used tile adhesive/grout in the past - though not at this scale. Sticky, dries hard, has a reasonable working time and you can mix pigment or aggregate/sand/sawdust/whatever in for extra texture.
   
 
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