The (Mad) Scientist and his Army of the Second Law: Beware of the Red Legion Space Marine!

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**Dr H**

Here's a quick update on where the wiring is going. Is this making more sense now?

The white wire from behind his ear (top picture), goes into the seat. I added this because the piece of sprue I used for the back of the seat is asymmetric and so needed an excuse for why it was longer on one side. I even added a little light in the shape of a water-filter bead, to the seat there (bottom picture).

The cables snaking about the floor are made up of various sections that had the desired curves. The joins should be mostly hidden one way or another. They are not all finished yet.

You can also see just how much the driver is wired into the tank (these aren't all connected yet). these are all for control and leads to it's apparent animal behaviour of the tank.

Hopefully painting will make them stand out enough, in spite of their thinness.

**Theophony**

Great work on the wiring, I just have no idea how your going to get paint on all the details that your adding

**Dr H**

Theophony wrote:
Great work on the wiring, I just have no idea how your going to get paint on all the details that your adding

Thanks Theo.
For the most part, it's more accessible than some of my past models...

I am constantly reminding myself that I do have to paint this at some point and that's why a lot of it will be painted before I attach the other side.

The junk pile taught me that diluted paint can get in a cover surfaces that the paintbrush can barely reach. Shadows will be the word of the day when it comes to painting...

**OneManNoodles**

Nice work on the cables and dials.

Good idea to keep a side off I can see some of those parts are going to be "fun" to get a brush into.

Its really nice to see someone going to a lot of effort to make the interior of a tank, it's so rare to see these days.

**Dr H**

Perfect timing

OneManNoodles wrote:
Nice work on the cables and dials.

Thanks OMN.

Good idea to keep a side off I can see some of those parts are going to be "fun" to get a brush into.

Yeah, it's an option I didn't have for the Wave Serpent, that was tricky to paint inside.

I've yet to add the gunner. That will make it look even more crowded.

Its really nice to see someone going to a lot of effort to make the interior of a tank, it's so rare to see these days.

It's all these little details that I like to see in models and I enjoy adding them. But not details for detail's sake, I don't want to make a fussy model, but one that tells a story (or explains itself fully).

So here's the progress for today:

The box in the foreground will help with cables from the absent wall. There's a little more detail to add to it, but you get the idea.

**Theophony**

Will the driver have any personal affects around him, or is he so brainwashed into the cult he doesn't go for that? I'm thinking a necklace of teeth, a cup holder, or a pair of fuzzy grot dice, to go with the necron bobblehead copilot

**dsteingass**

Haha!

Great Servitork!

**Dr H**

Theophony wrote:Will the driver have any personal affects around him, or is he so brainwashed into the cult he doesn't go for that? I'm thinking a necklace of teeth, a cup holder, or a pair of fuzzy grot dice, to go with the necron bobblehead copilot

It's not a cult, they are brainwashed for their own good and they are going to save the universe from too much Order...

I'm approaching a point where it's hard to find places to add more detail. I've still got to give him the "goggles" so that he can see where he's going though (not entirely sure how to do that yet, which is why it's still on the "to do" list).

Much like the pilot of the Wave Serpent, he's programmed to enjoy where he is and not "need" anything else or even to exit the tank. He can be disconnected, but that requires someone else to enter the tank (after feeding the gunner

) and unplug him (for routine maintenance etc...).

dsteingass wrote:Haha! Great Servitork!

Thanks Dave. That's how I should have described him from the start...

I'm currently working on the inside of the front piece to make it look reinforced (as that is what gives the Predator higher armour rating than a Rhino). I was originally going to add beams from the front to the floor to show this, but there's no space to get them past the driver.

Then I just need to tie in the last side and do his goggles and I can start to think about the gunner (which can be installed as the two surfaces he'll be attached to are glued together now).

**shasolenzabi**

I see he is not going to be leaving that tank anytime soon!

**Dr H**

shasolenzabi wrote:
I see he is not going to be leaving that tank anytime soon!

No, but He's quite happy to remain inside (see below).

More pics and fluff for you today...

I think I've reached the level of detail required to call the driver's area finished. I shall look at making his "goggles" after dinner (I'm actually thinking more like a Geordi La Forge kind of thing).

I didn't go too fancy on the front plate as you're not going to see much of it once the model is finished. But what is there gives the impression of much more going on then there really is (or at least it will when you're looking at it through the hatches). What you can see, should look complete and all the incomplete bits should be hidden.

And this is some fluff I knocked out to show how content the driver is, in his new, metal, body.

Spoiler:

Driver Ver. 2.4: Online...
Vitals: Stable.
Uplink: Online.
Hardware diagnostic report:...
...
...Hardware; Stable, No faults reported.
Engine start: Successful.
Gunner: Connected and Stable.
Portals and Hatches: Closed.
Weapon systems startup: Successful.
All Systems Nominal...

The Driver smiled as the sensations from the tank flooded into his "flesh and blood" body. Now he had his metal body back and would soon be heading into the field to hunt and cause utter destruction again. He understood the necessity of regular maintenance, but he would still prefer to remain in the wild and do what comes naturally to an Ork such as himself.
The gunner, behind him (inside him) was starting to settle down now as their minds linked and started to work together and with the tanks other, electronic, systems.

He was aware that it was now just a matter of time before he would be back in the fight. Where it was, was not important. "When" was only important, when it became now. "How" didn't matter, as it always took care of itself.

The anticipation started to grow, the engines started to rev up and down, making the whole tank vibrate and rock from side to side. Various indicator lights inside the relative darkness of the tank's interior were blinking as the systems that they were linked to performed their duties. The breathing from the gunner was beginning to get faster and heavier. Soon there would be blackness, for only an instant, and then it would be time. The engine revved louder and louder in the hanger of the spaceship. The breathing became louder and louder in the tank... These noises merged together into a deep, heavy, background rumble that ebbed and flowed like the waves of a mighty ocean upon a beach of large stones.

All of a sudden, this moment was broken by a high-pitched, insistent, beeping. Then... blackness... quiet... coldness... and before the mind could grasp any of those feelings, light, bright light, sunlight. The clearing spread out before him, there were trees all around the edge and the grass looked undisturbed. A flock of birds had taken to the sky, in response to the sudden appearance of a large, loud, "thing" that radiated a sure sense of danger.

He was free. The hunt was on. He just needed to find something satisfying enough to hunt. The Driver had a feeling sweep over him that would be recognised by any rabbit that was sat in an open meadow and spotted a familiar shadow in the sky... Openness, vulnerability. He needed to find cover. The Driver recognised these feelings as those of the gunner's animal instinct and respected them, but ignored them... To the hunt then and as if someone had whispered in his mind, he knew the quarry was to the north-west... left a bit and straight on 'til morning... He didn't know why that made sense...

The forest was a tranquil haven to wildlife. In the clearing, a flock of bird were resting for a while before continuing on their migration and were taking the time to eat some of the insects that lived in the forest. There was a faint "pop" as a tank-sized pocket of air was displaced and then the peace was shattered by the appearance of a terrifying visage which was making a throaty, thunderous, noise that reverberated off the trees of the clearing, magnifying it ten-fold. The birds didn't think twice before leaping to the air and flying away as fast as they could. The tank sat still for a few seconds and then with a belch of black smoke, the noise changed to a scream that sounded like the machine god itself was being tortured, and the tank lurched forward. Tearing up the soft turf, the Predator changed direction and sped off into the trees, cutting them down and carving a path through the woodland...

**Camkierhi**

Looks brilliant, like the idea of the goggles, keeps it away from the orkyness. Inspirational detail work.

**Dr H**

Camkierhi wrote:
Looks brilliant, like the idea of the goggles, keeps it away from the orkyness. Inspirational detail work.

Thanks Cam.

I found a useful piece of plastic to use for the goggles so I didn't go "Gordie" on them in the end.
They need a little tidying up at the top, but here's the driver fully connected up and ready to go (bear in mind that the messy and incomplete front corner will be hidden).

**Ruglud**

In the immortal words of Cliff Richard - he's Wired for Sound.. Love the goggles, great idea...

**Dr H**

Ruglud wrote:
In the immortal words of Cliff Richard - he's Wired for Sound.. Love the goggles, great idea...

Ha ha. Thanks Ruglud.
Glad you like them. I'm thinking that I'll paint them up opaque and may even do circuit tracks on them (like on the WS only much smaller...) to show that they are not goggles for looking through and are more like a VR headset.

**Ruglud**

Oooh, just noticed the riveted plates under the rear console legs - they work perfectly don't they

**Dr H**

Ruglud wrote:
Oooh, just noticed the riveted plates under the rear console legs - they work perfectly don't they

Yeah, I forgot to mention them when I did them. but I did remember to do them, which is the important bit.

I made them square to match the plate under the driver's seat.

(and not at all because I was worried about doing perfect circles...

)

**Littletower**

Amazing detail work, and great fluff to back it up

**shasolenzabi**

Another fine delivery by our online Doc

**Camkierhi**

Looks amazing, googles look great, like the idea of the circuit board look.

(This is not a criticism) Makes me laugh a bit, how your sadistic mad scientists lob off arms, insert cabling through out his body, wire him up permanantly to the machine, (gotta hurt, even for an ork) and give him a nice comfy cushion for his bum!

Shows that deep down they do care.

**Dr H**

Littletower wrote:Amazing detail work, and great fluff to back it up

Thanks LT. Glad you like it.

shasolenzabi wrote:Another fine delivery by our online Doc

It's a boy!!!

Camkierhi wrote:Looks amazing, googles look great, like the idea of the circuit board look.

Thanks Cam.

(This is not a criticism) Makes me laugh a bit, how your sadistic mad scientists lob off arms, insert cabling through out his body, wire him up permanantly to the machine, (gotta hurt, even for an ork) and give him a nice comfy cushion for his bum!

Shows that deep down they do care.

Well the Ork may have already been dead/dying and had had it's arm blown/cut off during the fighting.
So long as the brain is intact, The Scientist can revive the bodies, reprogram the mind and put them to work. So he didn't necessarily chop the arm off for the purpose of plugging it in. But it is also likely that he removed parts that weren't useful... That can be as dark and disturbing as you like...

It's good to know that my models are telling stories (in addition to my fluff) to everyone and are open enough for interpretation.

If you're going to be driving a tank for eternity, it's far better to suffer a little pain first and get a comfy seat, rather than spend forever in a poorly designed seat with no ergonomic features...

**Theophony**

Obviously his arm was lost in a previous engagement when the hull was punctured by a las cannon shot

. "Stumpy" being so pro Army of the second law, continued to fight on mashing the control panel buttons with his amputated arm. This also helps explain why the driver chair was moved to the center and the new front armor has been adjusted. Or you can believe whatever the (mad) scientist spoon feeds you

**Dr H**

Anything is possible, and in a multiverse of parallel universes, anything that can happen, has happened or will going to have happened...

And in this universe, I have started to install the gunner:

I sanded the neck stump down a little more than I had and I had to modify the hole in the bottom of the head to get him looking downward a bit.
I have also repositioned the last segment of the small left arm so it isn't so stretched out forward and looks more natural.

I'm now thinking of where his other arms are going... and then I'll need to modify the top of the tank to accommodate his height...

**Dr H**

Well, adding the arms give him a whole load of personality.
I'm liking the concentrating pose with the screen and right arm.

The left arm is not attached yet, but do we think the relaxed side of the pose with the left arm down is a winner?

I was considering having it reaching up to something but it didn't look right.

I may model some more of my Termagants upright like this one, I quite like it.

**Camkierhi**

Like it alot, can see in that last shot how high you are going with the roof! wow!.

**Dr H**

Camkierhi wrote:
Like it alot, can see in that last shot how high you are going with the roof! wow!.

Cool. glad you think so.

Yeah, with the thickness of the roof piece taken into account, I have to add (at the very minimum) about 5mm to the height of that area of the roof.
It's a good thing that there's a great big hole in the roof there already...

**shasolenzabi**

I had a whimsical moment of that gunner shouting out as he furiously hits the button, "fire, fire, fire, FIRE!!!!!"

**Theophony**

shasolenzabi wrote:
I had a whimsical moment of that gunner shouting out as he furiously hits the button, "fire, fire, fire, FIRE!!!!!"

**cormadepanda**

I really like the crew Dr H. Has a nice home like feel.

**Dr H**

Shas and Theo.

cormadepanda wrote:
I really like the crew Dr H. Has a nice home like feel.

I can see the sit-com now... Snappy and Greenskin; The exploits of a Tyranid and his Ork companion in the cramped interior of a tank... One wants the have fun and the other one just wants to bite his head off all the time...

Thanks Guys.

The other arm is now glued on and I've started to connect up the Gunner.
As the Gunner has to perform a wider variety of jobs within the tank and has not been supplied with a seat, he can't be as heavily wired in as the Driver and requires freedom of movement. So...

The box on his back will be wired into the head when the glue has dried and I've tidied the rough edges a bit.

I've also given some thought to the roof extension, and it's a fine line between looking enough space inside and looking too tall outside. Will have to see.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
In other news; I've just read about a chemical that The (Mad) Scientist will definitely be using in the future...

Chlorine Trifluoride: This stuff is more Oxidising than Oxygen, More Fluoridating than Fluorine, It's toxic, corrosive and breaks down into other toxic and corrosive compounds.

And it's Hypergolic (that is, it will initiate the combustion of other materials without an ignition source) to the extent that even sand and concrete will catch fire with this stuff poured on it...

And it reacts explosively with water...

Just the sort of stuff to bring a little more Entropy to the universe...

**Theophony**

Sounds like fun stuff. Just put it in a salt shaker at mcdonalds and watch the magic