Plastic Praetorians + Scratch Building - scratch built BFG ships and an Ork Monowheel

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**JohnnyHell**

Briancj wrote:
How do you make those nice rounded rivets?

I buy white 1mm half-round nail art beads from eBay. :-)

They glue onto a drop of plastic glue/polystyrene cement just fine, and you can reposition them with a knife tip while the glue dries. Best modelling tip I ever picked up!

**Briancj**

Thank you kindly!

**JohnnyHell**

You’re very welcome!

**Ruglud**

Awesome and tasty updates sir. I really need to go buy nail art beads, had some in my watchlist for ages as well !

**JohnnyHell**

Ruglud wrote:
Awesome and tasty updates sir. I really need to go buy nail art beads, had some in my watchlist for ages as well !

You’ll not look back... blimey, just reading your wonderful Thunderhawk build and it’s making me want to make one all the more. And we seem to buy Plasticard from the same peeps!

**JohnnyHell**

Stormraven isn’t done yet, but here’s a quick post-work addition to an old build:

Quick re-arming to outfit this relic with Crusader-pattern weaponry ahead of an upcoming Ambush / Cities Of Death game. Do come closer and ambush it... please!

**Briancj**

Lord Imperator Felix Catticus of the Felix Legion is unimpressed, and wants to know why you are not attending your Liege.

**JohnnyHell**

Briancj wrote:
Lord Imperator Felix Catticus of the Felix Legion is unimpressed, and wants to know why you are not attending your Liege.

Hahahaha, true dat. Harley is a Phobos fan but dem points... it's too spendy. Plus, this build now proves the Dark Angels invented the Crusader pattern, right? Ya don't see any pre-Heresy style Black Templar ones do you? No! We made (kept) all the best Dark Age toys...

**CommissarKhaine**

Nice addition, and very well equipped for urban combat indeed

**Meer_Cat**

Very nicely done!

And agreed- the cat looks less than thrilled with the work.

**EmberlordofFire8**

The detail on that thing is awesome! Even though it's mostly white, it looks pretty cool already. Crazy what you can do with plasticard nowadays.
The land raider's not bad either.

**JohnnyHell**

EmberlordofFire8 wrote:
The detail on that thing is awesome! Even though it's mostly white, it looks pretty cool already. Crazy what you can do with plasticard nowadays.
The land raider's not bad either.

I just snort-laughed. Well played, sir.

**Briancj**

EmberlordofFire8 wrote:
The detail on that thing is awesome! Even though it's mostly white, it looks pretty cool already. Crazy what you can do with plasticard nowadays.
The land raider's not bad either.

You win one (1) internets.

**Skinflint Games**

Holy balls that's good. Given the skills you've shown here, I'm actually wondering if you scratch built the cat.

Been looking for those nail art beads, do you have an eBay link you could share?

**JohnnyHell**

Skinflint Games wrote:
Holy balls that's good. Given the skills you've shown here, I'm actually wondering if you scratch built the cat.

Been looking for those nail art beads, do you have an eBay link you could share?

Thank you!

Here’s my go-to guy: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F330856747955

Cheap and fast. I’ve used the 1mm (rivets) and 3mm (lenses/lights) sizes in my builds.

**dreadwing**

hi, lovely work as always.
question i need to ask, how are you filling the gaps in the plasticard? would liquid green stuff and a bit os sanding be best?
i've attached a pick of my basilisk, hope you like

**Skinflint Games**

JohnnyHell wrote:
Skinflint Games wrote:
Holy balls that's good. Given the skills you've shown here, I'm actually wondering if you scratch built the cat.

Been looking for those nail art beads, do you have an eBay link you could share?

Thank you!

Here’s my go-to guy: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F330856747955

Cheap and fast. I’ve used the 1mm (rivets) and 3mm (lenses/lights) sizes in my builds.

Thanks man! Really appreciate that, was struggling to find 1mm ones

**JohnnyHell**

dreadwing wrote:
hi, lovely work as always.
question i need to ask, how are you filling the gaps in the plasticard? would liquid green stuff and a bit os sanding be best?
i've attached a pick of my basilisk, hope you like

Niiiiiice!!! I live that build. You should be plogging too!!!

For filling I use Milliput, Green Stuff, or a mix of the two. Milliput has the benefit of being able to smooth it with water, GS is easier to work. Let it set hard (good 12-24hrs) then sand with your nail file. (Liquid green stuff is useless for this stuff, it doesn’t fill gaps that big and shrinks as it dries.)

I also try and avoid filling where possible as it’s a pain! If I can live with gaps I do. If I can’t I fill. I’ve started trimming some parts slimmer like the vision slits/ports so there’s no gap, vs just bending and having gaps everywhere.

**Briancj**

dreadwing wrote:
hi, lovely work as always.
question i need to ask, how are you filling the gaps in the plasticard? would liquid green stuff and a bit os sanding be best?
i've attached a pick of my basilisk, hope you like

This is beautiful.

**Kyor_Degremon**

Impressive stuff, as always!

@dreadwing: you wouldn't happen to have the plans for that beauty would you? I could do with a medusa or 3 and Building them is tempting....

**JohnnyHell**

Look up "WH 40k Papercraft" on Facebook - link to a Google Drive with all Patoroch's templates in.

So, I'm making a big Tau battlesuit... will share pics once more done as I'm nervous as to how my freestyling will be received!

**CommissarKhaine**

Looking forward to the freestyling - and +1 on the papercraft thingy, it's an amazing source of inspiration.

**Ruglud**

JohnnyHell wrote:
Ruglud wrote:
Awesome and tasty updates sir. I really need to go buy nail art beads, had some in my watchlist for ages as well !

You’ll not look back... blimey, just reading your wonderful Thunderhawk build and it’s making me want to make one all the more. And we seem to buy Plasticard from the same peeps!

Yeah, do it - you know you NEED to.....

And you've reminded me that I need to restock on 1mm plasticard - thanks for the ebay nail art beads link, cheaper than the ones I was watching

**JohnnyHell**

You’re welcome! I’m torn between Titan (means making my own plans as the netplans suck) or a Flappyhawk. DAMN YOU RUGLUD AND BLACKADDER. Stop being so inspiring.

Ok, haven’t finished the Stormraven because I started doodling this...

We just got another friend into 40K and I wanted to make him something and to try out the T’au aesthetic. Bear in mind this is all just being thrown together without a plan! Lots of detailing to add. Still very much sketching in three dimensions, with detail to come later. I also wanted a Crisis Suit feel to the cockpit and head, like they’re one product line. Dubbing this the Riptide KV104-X.

I’ve run out of large pieces after making the first layer of this base (traced round a Tyrannofex base) so I’ve layered up in overlapping sections. 3mm thick and sturdy as hell now. Top will be textured so no need to fill the joins.

You can also see the start of leg and hip assemblies. To replicate the ball joint at the hip I’m using bits from copper plumbing. Wish I’d been patient and got actual spheres to glue in as these were a nightmare to actually assemble!

Quick interim scale shot. Looking about right to me.

Back vanes need some bulking and detailing so the end effect will be a touch less ‘Starscream’ and more T’au. Rifle-style gun being bulked out. Barrel tips will be swappable to represent either the burst cannon or ion guns.

Also, tried to save some time and material by using foamcard between plasticard sheets for the vanes. This bit me in the ass and needed various extra rods and struts adding to get a solid join. Oh well!

Mocked up thigh pads, and legs assembled and epoxied on. I intend to fill the thighs with putty, sand to a curve when set, then detail with 0.5mm styrene to better get the T’au look. If too big I’ll make new ones (I’m thinking that way right now tbh).

The end of the 1997 (!) bike wheels will be capped with T’au symbols so that the threads end up looking like circular vents instead of threads. An undercoat will help the black and grey parts blend visually - they ‘read’ a bit strangely just now but work fine, trust me. ;-)

Any feedback, gang?

**Kyor_Degremon**

I'm amazed you're not following plans for this! That thing already looks impressive!

Thanks for the lead on the blue-prints by the way.

**Meer_Cat**

Great googa-mooga that's coming on a treat! Is there anything you don't scratchbuild better than the kits come out?!

**JohnnyHell**

Too kind, both. Thank you. More work on him tomorrow. Spent the last few evening readying more building for a Cities Of Death game using the Ambush scenario. It’m not 100% happy with it but it’s functional!

**JohnnyHell**

Woohoooooo juat figures out how to make the rear landing gear, and not only that but the Stormraven stands up on it! This means it can be used as an objective or terrain in smaller game, and makes me happy!

Photo updates soon, but T’au Suit is ongoing, Stormraven nears completion, my Land Raider has been undercoated, I’ve made and painted half a table of ruins and fences and I have 48hrs of gaming starting NOW! Wish me luck - about to be Ambushed by a T’au/Eldar alliance. Uh oh.

**The_Blackadder**

dreadwing wrote:
hi, lovely work as always.
question i need to ask, how are you filling the gaps in the plasticard? would liquid green stuff and a bit os sanding be best?
i've attached a pick of my basilisk, hope you like

Some really good work on this thread, I'm glad I found it (just today in fact). Allow me to field this question......

The best way to fill gaps is to not create them. It's just as hard or harder filling and sanding gaps as it is cutting precisely. Overlap your edges and file and sand off the overlap.

Let me quote myself from my tyro days when I built my LandKreuzer:

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/236187.page

The_Blackadder wrote:
Thanks,

The Sounds Of Sanding:

One of the questions I most get is how do I manage to get my edges and corners so crisp and smooth and without using fillers. Well I've attempted to answer this on many occasions recommending the tools shown here but it was only this morning that it came to me that I sand by sound...........

http://i.imgur.com/PCFjBdi.jpg

The big problem with sanding anything especially soft material is maintaining a level stroke with the sanding block or file. Most people when they sand have a tendency to rock the tool especially at the end of the stroke where they reverse the sanding direction. This causes two problems; one, by necessity the edges become more sanded as the pressure at the point of contact increases at the fine edge causing more material to be abraided and two, the double stroke of the reverse of the direction.

There are two ways to eliminate this. The first is easy, just sand in one direction but the problem there is you still have the extra pressure at the end of the stroke. The second is to sand in a circular or figure '8' motion which I learned when honing chisels on a stone and carried over into sanding just about anything.

So check your sanding progress often and if possible reverse the piece so the edge surfaces gets equal work and try to decrease the pressure when you get to the end of the stroke so the edges don't get over-sanded.

So where does the 'sound' come in?

This morning I was absently sanding the small turrets seen above and I noticed that the sound of the sanding dropped in pitch as I made flush contact with the entire surface of the work. I probably do this subliminally so I know precisely when the surface is flush and smooth. You'll have to practice with this technique but it's better than filling with greenstuff which you have to sand again anyway.

HTH

Oh, and the scissors.......... On thin styrene up to a millimeter I use a good pair of scissors to rough cut the excess close to the edge of the work. they are much easier to control than the knife and you are less likely to cut too close and damage the corners.

My apologies for hijacking your excellent thread.

**gigasnail**

great work!