Scatter Terrain 8

Things have been a bit quiet update wise due to a. it's been too hot to do much, b. i had a headache yesterday and c. what i have been doing is moulds or casting so nothing new worth showing.

However I realised I hadn't done an update on the generator 3D model for a while - I actually did some work on it a fortnight ago but completely forgot to do the update (I've not had time to do anymore since alas).

So, here is the update from a fortnight back.

Basically I was happier with the Mk II version of the control panel but there were some elements from the Mk I that I really liked. In particular the curved top shape with a control workstation either side.

So I went back to the Mk I, re-worked some things and introduced elements from the Mk. II.

I coloured a few things to make them stand out a bit better. I decided to make the two work stations different, I found it more pleasing to the eye then having the two sides mirror each other.

And the obligatory 'stuck-on-the-side-of-the-generator' shot:

I am tempted to make one more change, namely to make the station longer (so it protrudes further from the generator). It would only be 5-10mm but I think it might be a better look. I shall experiment and then decide...

Gun Emplacement Mk. II - 6

A quick addition to last nights update.

Basically it has been too hot this evening to do anything but after The Grim Darkness asked about Deathstrikes I thought i would get the Manticore kit out and do a quick mock up or two.

Deathstrike:

It could be made to work I think, it would mean modifying the mounting plate, either incorporating the part from the GW kit or converting a cast piece. It still won't look 'right' to me. I just don't think a weapon like this would be mounted on a gun platform.

Manticore:

Again it is doable with some changes to the base, but personally I think the FW Manticore turret would be much better.

I am thinking of magnetising Hydra turrets so they can either take the Autocannon or brackets holding Manticore rockets.


In other news I ordered some Earthshaker bits so that I can rebuild the one I have and put together two new ones, giving me a nice battery of three guns...

Gun Emplacement Mk. II - 5

It may have been a month since I last posted regarding the Gun Emplacement but that doesn't mean it hasn't been on the workbench...


To recap I originally built a gun emplacement four or five years ago and recently decided to replicate the design using 3D modelling and printing to create masters which I could cast.

The Original Model I built many years ago...

And the 3D Model of the Mk. II design

In the last post I showed the 3D prints of the base pieces and the gun mounting plate. The two base pieces had gone wrong somehow in the printing process and on th egun plate some detail hadn't come out great. So moving on a month Shapeways has replaced the two prints...

While I have removed the crappy detail on the gun mounting plate and added some new details:

I then did the moulds and started casting.

First up the gun mounting plate, here shown with the master:

Master on the left,
Cast on the right (after a coat of grey primer)

After much casting (I need to do a second mould for the base pieces) I was able to assemble the pieces using some Finnboard as a base. I jumped the gun and sanded the base before I got pics of the assembled pieces.

A quick coat of grey primer later it looked like this...

I had a Hydra kit arrive from Forgeworld and I was delighted to find it did fit. The plan originally was to wait for the kit to arrive before doing any moulds and casting to ensure the turret fitted between the detail I had added, however I got impatient and did it anyway. Thankfully I hadn't made a terrible mistake.

And using the crappy second hand Earthshaker:

And a final shot showing Militiaman Bob behind the wall.

Say hello to Bob.

Next up I need to make the crank handle (which will turn the gun mounting plate) which will fit into the round depression in the mounting plate rear and also a cover plate for said depression for the plate which will mount the FW turret.

I also need to add the small lifting eye plates on the top of the walls.

After that it'll be more casting till I have a full battery of three. I will cast six mounting plates - three for Earthshakers and three Hydras, they can then be dropped into the bases as and when required.

Carcharodons 2

Just a quick post tonight.

Barely worth an update in all honesty but I told someone I would put a picture up so here it is.

Today, somewhat earlier than expected, the Tartaros pattern termie squad and weapon set arrived in the post - the weapon set isn't officially released till the 25th but i'm not complaining.

Overall the pieces look good, fair bit of flash on some of the termie parts but nothing to worry about.

Grot Tanks 5

Weathering has started, still a fair amount to do including rust and grease etc. Also lots of detailing to do yet.

White...

Red...

And Bloo...

Grot Kommanda has progressed a bit, got a Rebel Star on his coat and his sunglasses are now done, ish.

The other Grot Krewman has progressed a bit as well, not sold on the flag yet (though it is still PIP), may change it.

Would of got more done on them but I have been doing some moulds...which should see an update today or tomorrow...

Carcharodons 1 and Zone Mortalis 4

You may remember from my earlier Zone Mortalis posts that I had decided to build a new 1000 point force specifically for ZM games. Well I whittled down four options until I had a decision of what army to go with.


The four options were:

1. Nurgle Chaos Marines

2. Nurgle & Khorne Daemons

3. Deathwing

4. A Badab Chapter Force

Option 1 was tempting but I didn’t want to go for an army and then have to change everything when the new Codex came out. Option 2 was very tempting but I just couldn’t get a force list I liked with the limitations of only using Nurgle and Khorne and the ZM rules/FoC. Option 3 was always going to be considered as I still love the Dark Angels but the codex is, putting it bluntly, shite and I didn’t like the army list I could put together for it. Option 4 - I loved the Badab books from FW and a part of me always thought if I did Marines again A Badab Chapter would almost be a certainty. However I didn’t think I would be able to do an all Termie and Dread force with a Marine Codex based force. At this point Sheep (Forlorn Hope) pointed out that Tyberos of the Carcharodons allows you to take a Termie squad as a Troops choice…

So Option 4 it was, I picked up a second hand codex off eBay and drew up a force list:

HQ – Tyberos the Red Wake (190)

Elite – Contemptor Dreadnought with CCW/Heavy Flamer and Multi Melta (185)

Elite – Terminator Squad x5 including Heavy Flamer (205)

Troops – ‘The Red Brethren’ Terminator Squad x6 with Lightning Claws (240)

Heavy – Mortis Contemptor Dreadnought with Plasma Cannon (175)

Total = 995 points.

Only 14 models, even I should be able to manage that.

I decided as the army would be small I could “justify” an all Forge World force, no plastic Terminators or dreads, it was to be Tartaros and Contemptor patterns only.

I was away over the weekend just gone and on the way home I took the opportunity to pop into Warhammer World to buy the first batch of pieces. In stock they had:

Relic Contemptor with MM & CCW

Mortis Contemptor with two PC

Tyberos the Red Wake

At the same time I ordered a Tartaros pattern Terminator Squad plus one of the new weapon sets. This squad will provide a conversion of Tyberos (so he will have the same mark of armour as the other Terminators) and the additional member of the ‘Red Brethren’. Once Forge World has released an Assault squad I will pick up the two five man squads I need.

I’m in no rush to get everything built as I don’t think I will get to play ZM again for a bit, in the meantime I will plug away at the army as well as build up the number of cast pillars and card walls we will need to allow us to expand the gaming area for 1000 point armies.

With that in mind yesterday I did the first casts of some the control panels. They will be used as either scatter terrain in rooms or as objectives.

Thankfully they stand up fine.

Need a bit of cleaning up (odd air bubble) but otherwise they are good to go.

I also modified an old piece of terrain with some GW parts and cast that.

Air bubbles are much more a problem on these, the general shape plus all the small nooks and crannies means it is a bugger for trapping air bubbles. Keep in mind these may just be a stop gap till I do my own generator pieces (though they will still get used for some variety).

I think I will have to look at getting a vibration table. The amount of casting I am now doing (and looking to do) I think probably warrants the expenditure.

In the meantime I will clean up these pieces as much as possible with some GS.

If anyone has recommendations for vibrating tables (in the UK) please let me know.

Grot Tanks 4

Not done a lot to be honest but I thought as I am away for a couple of nights I best do an update now.

Rokkits

Command Tank Horn

Not sure what to do on his little flag.



Command Grot. Lot to do yet.

Still a bit to do on the tanks before I do the weathering.

Recalcitrant Daze - Thirteen, Unlucky For Some.

Another month has passed. An odd month it has to be said. Little has really been done model wise, though there have been plenty of updates regarding 3D modelling.

The month outside this hobby (i.e. Real Life^TM) has been rather busy which has had the knock on effect of leaving little time for playing with toy soldiers. It is mainly for this reason the Grot Tanks are yet to be finished.

The second reason though was my airbrushes giving up the ghost and finally passing over to the paint shop in the sky. This put a big mocker on any weathering plans I had and seriously demotivated me in doing any more on them.

Things are now looking up as while I am away for a few days next weekend my month is mainly empty, leaving a lot more time to work on projects.

Not only that but when I returned home from the weekend away I found my new airbrush had arrived…

Shiney.

So work can now continue on the Grot Tanks – there will be an update on these in a day or two.

Today though I had another delivery, namely the replacement 3D prints for the gun emplacement base.

Other than a few shallow rivets which I will have to replace they are fine. Shapeways have no idea what went wrong with the original two, hence doing these new prints. I will get a mould sorted for these within a day or two. I have the gun mounting plate to sort which I will get done to be able to have all three in rubber in one go. After all this I bloody hope the damn things go together.

In the next few weeks I will finalise my designs for the next batch of models to get printed. I am still looking for more ideas of items worth doing; however how the gun emplacement turns out will play a factor in what I get done. So fingers crossed it looks good…

It has been a while since I last did an article for BoLS or MWC, really should get my finger out and do one – if that is I can think of an idea for an article. Any ideas for an article are welcome.

Until next time.

Bunker Doors 3 & Scatter Terrain 7

Right, first off apologies for the lack of any actual models on RD recently. My airbrush has packed up which has put me off doing any more on the Grot Tanks as until the new one (on order) arrives there isn't much I can do as I need it for the weathering.

I am away for this weekend but next week the airbrush should be here and some updates involving physical models should once appear.

Until then here is another update on the bastion/bunker door and the generator.

Bunker/Bastion Door.

Not a huge amount of progress on this one.

I had to change the step a few times (like a mil here, half a mil there etc) so that I could get the treadplate pattern on the top of it to work. I had to change the treadplate arrangement slightly from my usual to get it to fit. However it shouldn't be noticeable.

I am uncertain on the plates either side of the door. I need to do a keypad so I can better design that whole area. For now think of these plates as place holders for something better.

The skull sensor thing went for a more practical vision hole thing, again tweaks need to be made.

Scatter Terrain - Generator

On the generator I have changed a few things.

First off the detail area got re-worked (again), I much prefer this version.

After that I returned to the cutouts and added 'ribbing', for that plasma generator look...

I started looking at the control panel to bolt onto the end.

This is Mk. I - a two sided design. But I really wasn't happy with it.

In position:

With Stickman Barry for an idea of scale.

So today I moved onto Mk. II of the control panel. I think it is getting there.

And as before some in position shots:

Still alot to do and many refinements.

But, the next update will definately be involving an actual model...

...almost certainly.