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Beautiful....




ok, next......

 mxwllmdr wrote:
Beautiful....




ok, next......

Hey Vik!
Check the description:

Just as the 2nd Squad, 1st Platoon of KG "von Domm" is breaking through an Ork barricade under the cover of their POLEMOS urban combat vehicle, they are ambushed by Orks in their rear. Hidden in the rubble they waited for the Imperial troopers to pass them before appearing in their back and attacking them with Molotov Cocktails.
As CPT Rittersberg later describes it "They caught us completely off guard. We were concentrating on the last resistance in the buildings in front of us, when they appeared out of nowhere. Camouflaged in the dark they sneaked up on us and sprung the trap. They moved through the shadows like ghosts - only their eyes were visible"

This diorama is depicting an Imperial Guard attack in the rubble strewn streets of an Ork captured city. While the guardsmen break through an Ork barricade, they are suddenly attacked from the rear, out of the rubble by some Orks armed with Molotov’s. The vehicle is 100% scratch built.

 Klaus, not Santa wrote:

 mxwllmdr wrote:
Beautiful....




ok, next......

Whats wrong, Klaus? You know you pop these things out rabbits having babies.......

Great job, as always!

oh, Klaus....I am honoured and flattered to the max...


I am still crawling through my backlog and I am so glad that after getting through the last two pages you showed us the portfolio pics of your polemos...er...the von domm platoon^^...
the first done pics were very dark and I quite had a hard time to see all the beautiful shades and details you worked so hard for... but now with the right lighting this is (again) a beautiful scene of carnage and drama! wow indeed!

there is just one thing... if you need a hand with photoshop for clearing any brushstrokes to even the background... gimme a call... I think the current streaks and strokes of your retouched pics drag your work down a bit...(which still leaves it in the realms of golden demon mind you )

and I am with max here... I bet you have some cunning plan already for what comes next... you like to keep us breathless... such sweet torture...^^

Dear (not-)Santa,

for next christmas I'd like to get at least a part of your building and painting skill as a present.
And I promise to use it as nice (or naughty) as you allow me to be.

Yours
an admirer

Hi all,
thanks for your feedback.
@Vik - yes, I was quickly doing this with GIMP.
Can you PM me your email address?

On to something new then, shall we?
During the building of "Ghosts in the Rubble" Fireball at "Work in Progress" wrote:

allright, now you'll add 3 more of these displays, join them and then you'll have your entry for this year's GW 'Army on Parade'...

To which I replied:

@Fireball - I like your idea, but I have a hard time figuring how to include this dio. It is pretty centralized. If I was to continue to the left or right, it would show Orks - on the left in the opposite building, on the right on the street.
A scene "behind" this scene wouldn't really be visible....
For an "Army on Parade" scene I'd have to think of something else..

and his suggestion:

Well, your guys could be on the way to a crashed imperial Dropship. That way, you could have 2 fighting scenes and be able to build another big fat giant Dropship, yay! Nah, i know what you mean and i wasn't that serious when i dropped that idea wink

Even if he wasn't serious this idea got stuck!
It is really tempting to try something like this - even though I will never enter a "Army on Parade" contest, but the idea of some (more or less) linked diorama scenes is something I really want to try.
So what kind of other fights could be happening in this Ork infested town?
Who would the Imperium send to rescue a crashed (say) Ambassador?

In the descriptive text for "Ghosts in the Rubble" I already mentioned "KG von Domm" which leaves me all the flexibility I can have. In a Kampfgruppe I can throw whatever I like (or rather what's available).

Hmm, I have a new urban combat vehicle, I have troopers in urban uniforms, what else can I throw into the mix?
Walkers?
Urgh!
My personal nemesis...

Some of you may realize that so far I haven't successfully built a walker for the IG.
I do have some Ork walkers, like
Boz 'o da Dakka....


Cut'n'Crush


or even the mini-titan "Green Minnah"


But nothing really for the IG.
The only thing that comes close were these IG walkers I based on Kinder eggs....


Well, they weren't really bad.
Maybe I should try to re-build a walker along these lines?
So I tried.
Looks a bit like a tiny Zeppelin


Lets see about some legs then....Aehm...well....

The pose is OK, but .... no.

It simply wouldn't fit the "Ghosts in the Rubble".
So lets try something more...substantial
OK, THIS looks like a substantial shank
And a slender little foot


OK, so the typical chicken-leg style then....




Climbing over some rubble or debris. Well, not a small walker for sure.
Though not a Titan, but at least a heavy walker I'd say.


Once the legs were glued in position I started with the body platform.


And the base for the cockpit. I want it to be rotatable like a head.


Then some kind of engine stuff....


And shoulders.


Next I created a little cardboard mock-up for the body.


With this as template it was rather easy to cut the necessary plastic card pieces.


Of course its not glued in position, so it looks a bit wobbly...


And a "fender" on the side.
Please note the legs and hips will get armor plates of their own - so this "fender" is just an additional piece.


And for the scene I have in mind (still a bit secret) the walker needs a rocket launcher.


With rockets


The process so far convinced me that this could work out I may finally have a good concept for an Imperial walker.
But for the scene I will need at least two...
And once you know how its done, the second is a lot easier


And he's a free standing one too!

Different pose though.

Two brothers

Looks like these two will put up a decent fight against the Orks.
What do you think?
Cheers
Klaus

Oh Wow! This is going to be fantastic! the feet and servo systems are already impressively built!

Great start. Good overall shape and concept. Keep at it.

Just remember that walkers can have just as many little gubbins on them as tanks. And try almost completely covering the legs in cabling and armour as well- it'll give them a better look.

Lovely Work! The legs look great! Really interesting concept! Going to keep my eye on this one....

and there we are...who was it that stated that you pop out awesome scratchbuilds like rabbits pop out new babies?... guess this was max ´n´me , eh?

walkers....YESSSSSS! and imperial ones too! be sure that I will watch with the utmost interest!!! (you can clearly see how the project affects me due to the intense use of exclamation marks ...)

and isn´t it funny how scratchbuilds so fast turn out way bigger that anything GW ever came up with?... story of my hobbylife too^^

by the way... seeing your historical walkers based on kindereggs...we all seem to forget that you are no god...but these show how your own prowess developed too...(don´t take that for any second as something as an insult against your boreas walker....if there ever is a remote chance of possessing one to paint and cradle each day would be a blessing^^ ) but the current imperial walker sure is of a complete other kind ... way more in line with your recent other styled creations that are far closer to what a real fighting vehicle would look than a fantasy one...


also...PM sent^^

Channelling that Sentinel / ATST vibe very nicely!

Klaus,you really are kicking ass and taking names.
I salute you.

I'm a huge fan of sentinels and those fellows got the same ugly charm to them.

Feeling inspired again, might have to try something similar...

Brilliant work.

See, told ya you can knock em out quick.....

Those are looking great, will be watching this keenly, and like everyone else has said you really do work quick .
I tend to think too much about my projects, which is probably why they take me so long,
that and I have a tendency to keep over complicating my ideas .

 hk1x1 wrote:
Those are looking great, will be watching this keenly, and like everyone else has said you really do work quick .
I tend to think too much about my projects, which is probably why they take me so long,
that and I have a tendency to keep over complicating my ideas .

Me too..... Klaus just says screw it and makes it work, and work well, as he goes.....

Thanks guys
Seems like you all agree with the basic design of the THANLOS walkers.
Lets see if I can maintain that trend

I decided to name the two walkers Pollux and Castor - the two brothers from Greek mythology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_and_Pollux
First thing was to build POLLUX's carapace, using the same template as for CASTOR.


With some of the lessons learned on the first built, it went together quite smooth.


While the carapace cured I started the "close combat" weapon for CASTOR.
Its a huge sword.


Do we have something like this in the WH40K arsenal?
A huge power blade?


I think it looks good


CASTOR with the sword and the left arm that will take the long range weapon (maybe a Bolter?) and POLLUX with his carapace.


POLLUX's close combat weapon will be a huge fist with a flamethrower in the palm


Fingers attached.


and the arm mounted (with quick tac).


What do you think?
What should be the ranged weapons for POLLUX and CASTOR?
Thanks
Klaus

Nice. I like the subtle curve to the sword's edges. and good hand.

How did you do the groove down the centre of the sword?

Love it Klaus! The shape of the housing is pretty much spot-on for a guard vehicle too. While I am sillied by the concept of walkers with swords, it DOES look good, and will work as long as it has a gun too. What are you using for the ball joints?

Once again, awesome. You just can't argue against a walker

As for the weapons, Gatling guns. A walker, with Gatlings, how could it get any better?

I'd suggest to keep with the Imperium/Sentinel theme, you not use an arm for the ranged weapon- either mount it directly to the chassis, or at least remove the lower arm, so the shoulder is the only joint.

And on the actual arms- have you tried making your own struts instead of using tubes? The roundness kinda clashes with the shape of the main bodies- I think a square, I-beam or box construction for the arms (and maybe the legs, though I know you've worked on those enough already) would make them look less 'Noodly'.

Plus, elbows don't need ball joints- try making those into hinges (another place where having square limbs comes in handy)- it'll make it look better than the round bulge on a round tube- which is a little too Raygun Gothic for the Imperium, I think.

The pits, though, are awesome, and I like the CC weapons- the sword's waay too overlong, which is great. If you're looking for other GW bits like that, the DreadKnight has a superbig sword too.

Klaus, you are the resident mad scientist!

Castor and Pollux look amazing! I can't wait to see them all painted up with some crushed Orks under foot.

Like McDonalds, dude......




I'm lovin' it.....

 mxwllmdr wrote:
Like McDonalds, dude......




I'm lovin' it.....

But I hope better quality and not fast food, huh?


Cheers
Klaus

I'd say you have the speed of McDonalds but the quality of the greatest restaurant ever.

Maybe more like the best Chinese take out ever. You have never tasted anything so good, you have no idea how they do it, and an hour later you want another one.

Loving the "Thanlos" walkers.

Weirdest thing- there's an Arby's in Charleston Virginia that has a gourmet restaurant's menu. Filet Mignon, prime rib, rotisserie chicken (alright, more like a mid-level steakhouse/deli, but still, it's an Arby's).

And they even bring your food to you- after you've order after waiting in a fast food line.