tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88937106331438434872024-03-13T21:49:20.220-07:00The Resurrected HobbyistFollow the Resurrected Hobbyist as he explores various model projects ranging from Warhammer 40,000 to GunPla and beyond.Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.comBlogger186125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-72226577274318194522016-10-02T09:18:00.000-07:002016-10-02T09:18:00.619-07:00The Undying Legion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6ftjPy31vnM/V-6P9FC_OmI/AAAAAAAACAE/hvMqjNaC8d454XfcaPBxy50n7dBwix6OQCLcB/s1600/logo-undying_legion.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6ftjPy31vnM/V-6P9FC_OmI/AAAAAAAACAE/hvMqjNaC8d454XfcaPBxy50n7dBwix6OQCLcB/s640/logo-undying_legion.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
This is a revisiting/revamping of an... ages old idea I had. I think I
originally had this idea back in 4th, maybe 3rd edition. But it was back
when "Legion of the Damned" didn't have official rules. So I had an
idea to do a Legion of the... Legion of the Damned. Same general imagery
as the <acronym class="bbc ipSeoAcronym" title="Legion of the Damned, a mysterious force of Space Marines that arrives uncalled for to aid the forces of the Imperium.">LotD</acronym>,
lots of skulls and flame imagery. Almost no vehicles, all foot
slogging, and silent save for the cry of the bolters and the crack of
enemy skulls!<br />
<br />
So the revamped idea is a bit more like the Black Templar in
temperament, the undying loyalty and commitment to eradicating the
enemies of the Imperium, even beyond death! Screaming from the skies
comes the skull heralds of the legion, appearing to plow into the ground
yet incurring no damage and hovering over top of the ground when the
smoke clears. Hauntingly, the Legion then appear about the ghastly totem
to bring the devine and fiery wrath to the enemies of the Imperium of
man! So far I just have a couple little random bits for the army. But...
here they are!<br />
<br />
So surprise, surprise Halloween is coming up so lots of skulls for sale
for super cheap. I was walking through Target when I found a bag of
smaller skulls and larger fist sized skulls. Well this reminded me of my
Undying Legion idea. So I grabbed some!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AHRVStMF8RM/V-6P857VFKI/AAAAAAAAB_8/5FKaklTWpRccSy9crzpazhXFWBLQxTJyQCEw/s1600/SAM_3005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AHRVStMF8RM/V-6P857VFKI/AAAAAAAAB_8/5FKaklTWpRccSy9crzpazhXFWBLQxTJyQCEw/s320/SAM_3005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
One of the first challenges was on the back of the skull, where in very
predominate raised text it spelled out the various forms of "Made in
china". That had to go. Started with an exacto blade and shaved off the
raised letters. Then I came back with sand paper. I started with 600
grit and then moved onto 1200 grit. I wanted to keep the damaged and
worn sort of look so I didn't want it perfectly smooth.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_mi9I212GCY/V-6P8xSXNbI/AAAAAAAAB_4/htHHfyDQ13EPI5aEvHV6AJaoAN-f_QREACLcB/s1600/SAM_2975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_mi9I212GCY/V-6P8xSXNbI/AAAAAAAAB_4/htHHfyDQ13EPI5aEvHV6AJaoAN-f_QREACLcB/s320/SAM_2975.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of the first challenges was on the back of the skull, where in very
predominate raised text it spelled out the various forms of "Made in
china". That had to go. Started with an exacto blade and shaved off the
raised letters. Then I came back with sand paper. I started with 600
grit and then moved onto 1200 grit. I wanted to keep the damaged and
worn sort of look so I didn't want it perfectly smooth. </div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wOgDkGqIwjU/V-6P8-SMULI/AAAAAAAACAA/-XAqowBJpEgVoz49sdQg7qL_hX1NQsLpACLcB/s1600/SAM_3006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wOgDkGqIwjU/V-6P8-SMULI/AAAAAAAACAA/-XAqowBJpEgVoz49sdQg7qL_hX1NQsLpACLcB/s320/SAM_3006.JPG" width="233" /></a></div>
One of the defining images I had in my mind for this army was the idea
of skulls that come screaming down from the skies, come to 'land' in a
big plum of smoke and dust and then only as the dust settles do the
enemy first catch a glimpse of the Legion forming ready for battle. So
these larger fist sized skulls are going to be the 'counts as' drop pods
and will be modeled on bases to be hovering above the ground.</div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-69610509020488616462016-10-01T09:13:00.000-07:002016-10-01T09:13:01.000-07:00The legion is born...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-URcRelhHWXc/V-6NjuAbuxI/AAAAAAAAB_o/J4ZJlFm4gskaFAdpUe1qS3fusZBqiJ81ACLcB/s1600/logo-brass_legion.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="73" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-URcRelhHWXc/V-6NjuAbuxI/AAAAAAAAB_o/J4ZJlFm4gskaFAdpUe1qS3fusZBqiJ81ACLcB/s640/logo-brass_legion.png" width="640" /></a>This started as a random idea while I was doing a live stream one night. I was working on some Raptors when I had an idea for a Sorceror. So I went to work on the Sorcerer who has become known as Arian. The idea grew into being a Sorceror who has found a new way to produce new semi-chaos marines. In agreement with the Dark Magos Varagos, Arian takes bronze statues cast in the form of Chaos marines and puts the souls of his most 'loyal' thralls into them, casting powerful spells to animate the otherwise dense and un-moving bronze. By doing this he is able to create resilient, powerful warriors on par with most Chaos Marines with out the resource commitment normal Chaos Marines require. They are not perfect constructs as the souls exist in a sort of phase and they may be slow to react to the real world. Short version: These guys count as Thousand Sons!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HFOkCOE7QaQ/V-6NNzVwcQI/AAAAAAAAB-w/e3ykaDUNIGoziLk5Y-52zDJD6ygBw1dkQCEw/s1600/SAM_2942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HFOkCOE7QaQ/V-6NNzVwcQI/AAAAAAAAB-w/e3ykaDUNIGoziLk5Y-52zDJD6ygBw1dkQCEw/s320/SAM_2942.JPG" width="160" /></a></div>
The Sorcerer himself in the making! Built on the base of a Dark Angles robed body with a chaos marine front torso, I used green stuff to build up an over robe and then cut off the handing bars from the Tzeentchian icon from the Chaos Space Marine box set and attached them to the front of the robe. Ultimately there will braiding that attaches to the bars so they are handing off his shoulders rather then hovering there. The arm is the icon bearer arm while the staff is from the Terminator Lord set.<br />
<br />
In order to swap weapons and options I put a magnet in Arian's shoulder. The helmet is a Warp Talon's with the... erm... the antlers? carve down and smoothed out to give it more of a corrupted mark 3 helmet sort of look.<br />
<br />
I once again used a pre-cast base from Dragon Force for my Brass legion. In order to help with painting, I put magnets in the feet of Arian so I can remove the model from the base to paint the base as needed.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="float: left;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sVfT-w-d76M/V-6NOvop_oI/AAAAAAAAB_E/ENV7Y81rNVYoPC4Fy4hEH2Py-jDiFiyaQCEw/s1600/SAM_2993.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sVfT-w-d76M/V-6NOvop_oI/AAAAAAAAB_E/ENV7Y81rNVYoPC4Fy4hEH2Py-jDiFiyaQCEw/s200/SAM_2993.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E4yUIpha5L4/V-6NOGcwyrI/AAAAAAAAB-8/6ADGkXAKCO8iU4RB6A5JmKg59IRH1iX7wCEw/s1600/SAM_2991.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="104" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E4yUIpha5L4/V-6NOGcwyrI/AAAAAAAAB-8/6ADGkXAKCO8iU4RB6A5JmKg59IRH1iX7wCEw/s200/SAM_2991.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="float: left;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SOiHlpFf0D0/V-6NOkaCh0I/AAAAAAAAB_I/zU_56KmzQmQlGVZGEMs9-EnF7ZD85KMOACEw/s1600/SAM_2994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SOiHlpFf0D0/V-6NOkaCh0I/AAAAAAAAB_I/zU_56KmzQmQlGVZGEMs9-EnF7ZD85KMOACEw/s200/SAM_2994.JPG" width="172" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="float: left;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JHIFczYD48k/V-6NOSVHgSI/AAAAAAAAB_A/-qj8diwhHEYKSSKUg8g1t1LTgw91F_ISwCEw/s1600/SAM_2992.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JHIFczYD48k/V-6NOSVHgSI/AAAAAAAAB_A/-qj8diwhHEYKSSKUg8g1t1LTgw91F_ISwCEw/s200/SAM_2992.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
To show his obsession with souls, I'm going to have a series of skulls hovering over his backpack. So I added 2 more exhaust vent arms, turned the vents upward, and pinned a skull hovering a couple millimeters over the exhaust vent. I'm going to come back with green stuff and add in flames. It's the same idea that I'm going to do with the heads of the Bronze Legion members themselves. Basically the idea is when the souls were infused into the statues, the heads of the statues shatter and a floating flame wreathed skull is the head of the marine.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7wKLent5F30/V-6NP-nOTKI/AAAAAAAAB_s/Yx8aPYFdoCMQZ5RTatlebckzsf6XvgeNgCEw/s1600/SAM_3004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7wKLent5F30/V-6NP-nOTKI/AAAAAAAAB_s/Yx8aPYFdoCMQZ5RTatlebckzsf6XvgeNgCEw/s640/SAM_3004.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The first couple members of the Brass Legion! To show the relative low quality of the statues, I added damage to the models. In the legs what I did was drill up into the leg with progressively larger drill bits until I had largely hollowed out the leg. Then I put a drill through the leg adding a hole, then came in with an exacto blade to rough up and break the holes. To help carry the idea of soul animated statues, I'm thinking about priming the model in 2 stages, the spaces inside the army and the neck and gorget will be primed in white while the rest of the armor is done in black. the areas that are white will be done up in bright blues and greens while the rest of the armor will be done in the darker bronze color. So... here we go.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="float: left;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-acFJbvUug5U/V-6NPL0bsEI/AAAAAAAAB_s/fouRWqoF2cY98LIo3xc9FRe7U4RXxPUgwCEw/s1600/SAM_2998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-acFJbvUug5U/V-6NPL0bsEI/AAAAAAAAB_s/fouRWqoF2cY98LIo3xc9FRe7U4RXxPUgwCEw/s200/SAM_2998.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="float: left;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tosh7Ai6OsQ/V-6NPXIfzXI/AAAAAAAAB_s/KFXhLeEgdHccCKqcYMUz1Cmkq7eZKnRoQCEw/s1600/SAM_2999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tosh7Ai6OsQ/V-6NPXIfzXI/AAAAAAAAB_s/KFXhLeEgdHccCKqcYMUz1Cmkq7eZKnRoQCEw/s200/SAM_2999.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="float: left;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FicYpK10y5E/V-6NPlZeh7I/AAAAAAAAB_s/v9qWZ2vg7N4ZqeJcXTTPzvYDvsluGiRDwCEw/s1600/SAM_3000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FicYpK10y5E/V-6NPlZeh7I/AAAAAAAAB_s/v9qWZ2vg7N4ZqeJcXTTPzvYDvsluGiRDwCEw/s200/SAM_3000.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="float: left;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6snAIHXtFw4/V-6NPspocBI/AAAAAAAAB_s/6J4H6zZq9WEztu9jgpAPgc6aUnLq2Y_YQCEw/s1600/SAM_3001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6snAIHXtFw4/V-6NPspocBI/AAAAAAAAB_s/6J4H6zZq9WEztu9jgpAPgc6aUnLq2Y_YQCEw/s200/SAM_3001.JPG" width="101" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="float: left;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7UVL5ru5x0Y/V-6NPo7JPNI/AAAAAAAAB_s/TjPgZyO7iNke5QFnS-KHk9P6oWnbwWlrACEw/s1600/SAM_3003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7UVL5ru5x0Y/V-6NPo7JPNI/AAAAAAAAB_s/TjPgZyO7iNke5QFnS-KHk9P6oWnbwWlrACEw/s200/SAM_3003.JPG" width="139" /></a></div>
</div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-5310363489147001692016-09-30T09:04:00.000-07:002016-09-30T09:04:05.662-07:00Yeah I'm still alive<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hey all. I know I haven't posted on here in a while. Live has been life and I've learning at least the basic ins and outs of streaming so the time has really gotten away from me. But I am still alive and I am still working on various projects. Depending on how you look at it I'm covering them in more detail by streaming. See, I can just record my live stream and then load it up to YouTube. Now I highly doubt anyone will actually sit and watch the entire live stream, but the information is there and it helps to provide a record for me that I can go back and review when I type information up. For easier organization I've begun assembling the various recorded live streams into play lists.<br />
<br />
This live stream is of me building the Marauder bomber in paper-hammer form. Well Cardboard form</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLmx421K3vvK1c2Dy2aVyqZbWLr4l53UXc" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
This playlist is of the Chaos play through of Dawn of War: Dark Crusade I did:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLmx421K3vvK0k_reqCae8DramNWlxR5g2" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Then we have my project reviews. These aren't live streams but if you want some quick overviews of prior projects, this is it.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLmx421K3vvK2OS3GPes8BQzgjZek1XBiM" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-78155525545750123252016-07-29T16:45:00.001-07:002016-07-29T17:02:08.216-07:00Paper hammer research project<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So I'm going to put together a series of videos about scratch building with the first section of the series talking about Paper crafting, or more commonly known as paper hammer in our circles. As a prep for the project I'm doing a bit of an exploratory project to build a paper-hammer baneblade, that way I can make the mistakes, and find the screw ups, make note of them and address them in the finished project. So here's my progress on the exploratory or as I call it "This is what I screwed up!" As a bit of fellow-40k blogger support, and credit where credit is due, I'll be pulling a lot of references from Virtual Stranger's blog "<a href="http://thegrimcheapness.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">In The Grim Cheapness of the Future...</a>". He completed a paper-craft build of a plague reaper based on the same plans I'm using for the BaneBlade. He chronicled much of his work and much like myself, he believes in showing people his screw ups so others can learn from them. So now I'm the one making the screw ups and you get to learn from my screw ups.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--QYYEFJF7HM/V5vn8SuTjKI/AAAAAAAAB10/t_zAu8naBc498u3HLYliFJ6BMkw2OafuwCLcB/s1600/SAM_2911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--QYYEFJF7HM/V5vn8SuTjKI/AAAAAAAAB10/t_zAu8naBc498u3HLYliFJ6BMkw2OafuwCLcB/s320/SAM_2911.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The Lascannons were actually the first parts I built for this project. I had a brain storm about how to go about building them. By rolling strips of cardstock that have been saturated with white glue around the body of a tooth pick and then rolling additional pieces to affect the extra details. Then affixing pieces of cardboard for the under barrel support and muzzle. This allowed me to build up details and get that more unique Lascannon shape and design. Overall, I am pleased with how the lascannons turned out.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eOY4d7sPxpQ/V5vn8VokfXI/AAAAAAAAB3g/2hBR-29NHGkib1raVSu6T6VWLW9GfqCTQCEw/s1600/SAM_2912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eOY4d7sPxpQ/V5vn8VokfXI/AAAAAAAAB3g/2hBR-29NHGkib1raVSu6T6VWLW9GfqCTQCEw/s320/SAM_2912.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The next part I worked on was the main body with the demolisher cannon. The cannon doesn't move sadly. Perhaps in the next version. This is an example of one of the things that the plans I'm working from leaves out. There are no plans for the demolisher cannon beyond the side mounts. The back of the mounts, the cannon, the barrel base, none of them are in the plans. So I have to design them myself.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XLqD9uDGty0/V5vn8k93YII/AAAAAAAAB3g/rRsT1P2eQF0xJlFLYPeu1zlmgQDMDdc0ACEw/s1600/SAM_2914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XLqD9uDGty0/V5vn8k93YII/AAAAAAAAB3g/rRsT1P2eQF0xJlFLYPeu1zlmgQDMDdc0ACEw/s320/SAM_2914.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I could see that the major join between the forward hull and the upper hull was going to be a critical point of connection. So in order to reinforce that added extra layers of cardboard to the connecting planes and added braces on the under side of the turret mount.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VyVbCG5RRho/V5vn8-WR92I/AAAAAAAAB2E/NRixHEoM9KgWGnB9EoxMEZyKWDxuXvgHQCEw/s1600/SAM_2916.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VyVbCG5RRho/V5vn8-WR92I/AAAAAAAAB2E/NRixHEoM9KgWGnB9EoxMEZyKWDxuXvgHQCEw/s320/SAM_2916.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The mounting for the main turret was a bit of a challenge for a couple reasons. Firstly because there isn't any sort of mount in the plans. You just have the turret, and then you the upper hull. Nothing to really mate the two together. So another part I needed to design and build myself. What I did is I measured out a circle that would fit inside the space for the turret, it turned out to be about 5cm in diameter. Using a little geometry I cut a strip of cardboard that would roll up to be a tube with a diameter of 5cm. I rolled it up to form that tube, then glued a cap on one end of it. To help reinforce the tube I added cross bracing inside the tube. Then I put a lot of white glue into it and allowed that to dry for a couple days.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SAi2IDm9h5Y/V5vn9BmuTCI/AAAAAAAAB2I/Ize7fztEMoUi-1EbH_Rt8v54XOGx65fqwCEw/s1600/SAM_2917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SAi2IDm9h5Y/V5vn9BmuTCI/AAAAAAAAB2I/Ize7fztEMoUi-1EbH_Rt8v54XOGx65fqwCEw/s320/SAM_2917.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
A nice trick I found for when you need to make something round you can cut a series of shallow cuts across the width of a piece of cardboard, you can more easily roll it into a tube. In this case each cut is 4mm after the previous.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aXpK7nx5kEg/V5vn9AUMRVI/AAAAAAAAB2M/nQnjZkFIfLAWgyH3sGa0-47GBbFoosBLgCEw/s1600/SAM_2918.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aXpK7nx5kEg/V5vn9AUMRVI/AAAAAAAAB2M/nQnjZkFIfLAWgyH3sGa0-47GBbFoosBLgCEw/s320/SAM_2918.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I mounted a series of 4 sheets of cardboard in the bottom of the upper hill section all with the 5cm hole cut out to accept the mount for the upper turret. By layering the cardboard like this it greatly increases the strength of the part.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mzbyU8Q57jw/V5vn9dtusgI/AAAAAAAAB2Q/eeo_VOY5404Jhjd5suhKbnandtmTwhQmQCEw/s1600/SAM_2919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="upperhull base" border="0" height="150" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mzbyU8Q57jw/V5vn9dtusgI/AAAAAAAAB2Q/eeo_VOY5404Jhjd5suhKbnandtmTwhQmQCEw/s200/SAM_2919.JPG" title="" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A4uRXYztjhE/V5vn-Jt2taI/AAAAAAAAB2g/AoX4KI_TL98vVp7g-o91UDDCEzlIgBMKACEw/s1600/SAM_2924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A4uRXYztjhE/V5vn-Jt2taI/AAAAAAAAB2g/AoX4KI_TL98vVp7g-o91UDDCEzlIgBMKACEw/s200/SAM_2924.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ydx7OXU12RM/V5voAUbPr5I/AAAAAAAAB3A/_o8kWGlfygY3540sWJURBN5lQ0_UrOYogCEw/s1600/SAM_2934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ydx7OXU12RM/V5voAUbPr5I/AAAAAAAAB3A/_o8kWGlfygY3540sWJURBN5lQ0_UrOYogCEw/s200/SAM_2934.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Always such a challenge finding ways to hold parts together while glue dries.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FMxgAthpZRA/V5vn-cw6gKI/AAAAAAAAB3c/mWJ53ziFAakEHxGcIvidR9ez2rH7E03tgCEw/s1600/SAM_2925.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FMxgAthpZRA/V5vn-cw6gKI/AAAAAAAAB3c/mWJ53ziFAakEHxGcIvidR9ez2rH7E03tgCEw/s320/SAM_2925.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The finished upper hull and the main turret mount. Turned out really well if you don't mind my being a bit boastful.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wU8nglICbXk/V5voAXGxz4I/AAAAAAAAB3E/PA6Q2z4fIfArQCkL6TgSrlLJwTqGzrEKQCEw/s1600/SAM_2935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wU8nglICbXk/V5voAXGxz4I/AAAAAAAAB3E/PA6Q2z4fIfArQCkL6TgSrlLJwTqGzrEKQCEw/s320/SAM_2935.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The main cannon. This one I'm rather proud of. See it's built in layers. The first layer is a length of Cardboard 8cm long with 3mm shallow cuts made down the length to allow it to be rolled up. With that innermost portion built I then cam back and rolled lengths of Cardstock around the base of the barrel and the end of the barrel. I them added a second layer of cardstock, but shallower then the first, over top of the layer at the base. Then I added one more layer of cardstock over top of that. I came back and added some barrel bracing with thin strips of cardboard. I then designed the barrel vent piece for the front of the barrel. Was a royal pain to cut out the vents. I have to use only the sharpest and newest blades. I wound up using 4 blades to cut that one piece out.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K5JelpSpdWs/V5voAsdNLVI/AAAAAAAAB3M/rL76TyVuewIdK2hEch0ZpBqqgritZEQowCEw/s1600/SAM_2937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K5JelpSpdWs/V5voAsdNLVI/AAAAAAAAB3M/rL76TyVuewIdK2hEch0ZpBqqgritZEQowCEw/s320/SAM_2937.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Here's the main body with the demolisher cannon, twin-linked heavy bolter turret, and main turret. Somehow it looks like some sort of boat to me at this stage.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fHU8mq0SNd4/V5voAgNNq8I/AAAAAAAAB3I/m-X8-qH24Zw-nsmsdJikpbp-FISej267QCEw/s1600/SAM_2936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fHU8mq0SNd4/V5voAgNNq8I/AAAAAAAAB3I/m-X8-qH24Zw-nsmsdJikpbp-FISej267QCEw/s320/SAM_2936.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
And then come the tread assemblies. This is a part that isn't 'in' the plans exactly but if you get creative you can get them from the plans. I then had to cut out all that circles. Was rather tedious.<br />
Stranger actually pointed out <a href="http://thegrimcheapness.blogspot.com/2011/01/baneblade-pt-iii.html" target="_blank">how to build the treads</a> from the plans for the Baneblade, even though there aren't any plans for parts to build the tread assemblies.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j_gRN_3tBCM/V5voBKdrA8I/AAAAAAAAB3U/Vzqdb7EkVPAcHzadV1qBflZGFdBHps-ywCEw/s1600/SAM_2939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-j_gRN_3tBCM/V5voBKdrA8I/AAAAAAAAB3U/Vzqdb7EkVPAcHzadV1qBflZGFdBHps-ywCEw/s400/SAM_2939.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
And... somehow I thought it was a good idea to make 64 links like this. Why? </div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-20645794432916199882016-04-11T21:00:00.000-07:002016-04-11T21:00:36.311-07:00Shen-long Gundam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">So I picked up a 1/100 scale XXXG-01S Shenlong Gundam at Hobby Town a while back, not for any specific reason and in all honesty I'm not really a fan of the mech. Even in the world of Gundam Wing (yes that is the Gundam Series that gave us a Mecha with feather wings), the Shen-long struck me as being too fantastical and impractical in the real world. Still, for $12 can't complain too much. The model seemed like a good option to practice air brushing on. I know the model, having built it back in the early 2000s. It's mainly primary colors so the paint should be easy to match up.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: right; width: 480px;"><embed flashvars="rssFeed=http%3A%2F%2Ffeed14.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fa316%2Fmaverike_prime%2FGundam%2520Models%2F1-100%2520Scale%2520XXXG-01S%2520Shenlong%2520Gundam%2Ffeed.rss" height="360" src="http://pic2.pbsrc.com/flash/rss_slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" wmode="transparent"></embed><a href="javascript:void(0);" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/share/icons/embed/btn_geturs.gif" style="border: none;" /></a><a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/maverike_prime/library/Gundam%20Models/1-100%20Scale%20XXXG-01S%20Shenlong%20Gundam" target="_blank"><img alt="maverike_prime's 1-100 Scale XXXG-01S Shenlong Gundam album on Photobucket" src="http://pic.photobucket.com/share/icons/embed/btn_viewall.gif" style="border: none;" /></a></div><br />
Update (4-11-16): At the time of this posting, I've had to put the model on hold. I've lost several parts and can not build the rest of the model with out them. I have ordered a second model off ebay, but until that comes in I can't work on the model much more.<br />
</div>Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-58819365848398735852016-03-24T21:15:00.001-07:002016-03-24T21:15:23.347-07:00Just a heads up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span data-offset-key="6ka5v-0-0"><span data-text="true">Hey all, I know I've been absent a bit of late. Time and life and all that have been taking me away from the hobby for a bit. But I do have an announcement to make. I am in the process of setting up a weekly stream for my hobby work. Right now I'm shooting for my first broadcast to be April 16th. I don't have a lot of details for the stream just yet like weather it will be done through Twitch.tv or YouTube.com for instance. I'm considering both options, but will ultimately select the service that best meets the needs of the information I wish to present to my viewers. So keep your eyes pointed here for updates on my incoming stream.</span></span></div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-79040537579169720872015-12-23T04:00:00.000-08:002015-12-23T04:00:00.436-08:00 F-103 Excalibur Space Superiority Fighter Part 6<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So sorry for the delay in posting new info. As I said last time, I'd had an accident while working on the Excalibur card board mock up which resulted in a destroyed model. It was a bit of a bitter-sweet kind of screw up since on the one hand, I had to start over on the mock up. But on the other hand I specifically chose to work in cardboard for this part of the project specifically so that if I had a screw up, it wasn't going to cost me $20 in materials. So... I guess it is like planning for a problem and having the problem occur. Yeah you're prepared and ready for it, but you still had a problem. So.. yeah.<br />
<br />
Anyway I have been working on rebuilding the mock up and been making good progress. Having built it once already I can zip through a lot of it while also correcting some mistakes I made the first time around.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DCXZg2_7Jzo/VmzocrtyxnI/AAAAAAAABvU/lxrejFyGIww/s1600/SAM_2680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DCXZg2_7Jzo/VmzocrtyxnI/AAAAAAAABvU/lxrejFyGIww/s320/SAM_2680.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
Here you can see I'm built the mark 2 model up to the level of the previous version at the time it was destroyed. The main body is actually stronger then the first version and has cleaner joins between the various parts.<br />
<br />
So that's it? I got back to where I was last week and now I'm done with this post? <br />
<br />
Yeah, not so much. I have started working on the next sections. Firstly there's the cannon mounting under-carriage, the part that holds the reaper cannons in Wing Commander 3.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qq6HehcVe3w/VmznzwjlBWI/AAAAAAAABuQ/4x8iYTtoe3Y/s1600/SAM_2673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qq6HehcVe3w/VmznzwjlBWI/AAAAAAAABuQ/4x8iYTtoe3Y/s320/SAM_2673.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
You ever start to work on something and think it'll be super-easy and you can just zip right through it, but once you start working on it, you find out it's actually way more difficult then you thought it'd be? Well, that was this part in a nutshell. Cut 2 side parts so they line up with the under side of the body and the forward boom, what's so hard about that? Simple, I have no formal 3D design experience or training. So because of that I had to re-cut the sides a couple times after I found I had not measured properly.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U1AHWWOlrrw/Vmzn0Jisk7I/AAAAAAAABug/jf8B_9qVMME/s1600/SAM_2677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U1AHWWOlrrw/Vmzn0Jisk7I/AAAAAAAABug/jf8B_9qVMME/s320/SAM_2677.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
For detail and variation I took a pencil and darkened the inner spaces of the under carriage where the reaper cannons would be placed. <br />
<br />
And then, there is the power-plants... er missile bays.... er... whatever the boxy shapes on the sides of the main body are. This proved to be more challenging then it first appears.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vp-izSwlte8/Vmzn1tsNxxI/AAAAAAAABvM/7DxBRVF_lkQ/s1600/SAM_2686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vp-izSwlte8/Vmzn1tsNxxI/AAAAAAAABvM/7DxBRVF_lkQ/s320/SAM_2686.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The initial shape was easy enough to accomplish, measure and cut the upper and lower sections as they appears in the line art. I had to do some interpretation to make the side and inner-section. There's little enough I can say about the sides that would really help any aspiring crafters. I had to estimate my measurements, cut a piece and test it. Find out I was wrong, and try to correct it with a new version.<br />
<br />
No the real challenge was the scoop intake covers. See, it's an angle that extends in 2 dimensions, backwards relative to the body, and outward relative of the body. It's something that isn't immediately apparent from the 2D line art. So I had to cut and fit the ram scoop cover about 6 times before I got a sizing that fits.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SreaFLIVCYw/Vm76zDZ-TKI/AAAAAAAABvo/i90C2j11pAA/s1600/SAM_2688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SreaFLIVCYw/Vm76zDZ-TKI/AAAAAAAABvo/i90C2j11pAA/s320/SAM_2688.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-4538943920218865552015-12-18T07:00:00.000-08:002015-12-18T07:00:01.139-08:00F-103 Excalibur Space Superiority Fighter erm... had an accident.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://icons.iconarchive.com/icons/bad-blood/yolks/128/pissed-off-icon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://icons.iconarchive.com/icons/bad-blood/yolks/128/pissed-off-icon.png" /></a></div>
<div class="messageContent">
<article>
<blockquote class="messageText SelectQuoteContainer ugc baseHtml">
Well......
ssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttt! I have
to start over on the mock up. I was gluing the bottom panel of the body
in place. What I didn't realize was some glue had leaked out of the
body and onto my work space. So when it dried it dried to my work space.
I went to pick up the body, and in the process tore it apart.<br />
<br />
Well this is why I started with cardboard. So I could make these sorts of screw ups and not have to pay through the nose for it.<br />
<br />
Still, this sucks.
<div class="messageTextEndMarker">
</div>
</blockquote>
</article>
</div>
</div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-63110442606772684232015-12-16T07:00:00.000-08:002015-12-16T07:00:00.381-08:00F-103 Excalibur Space Superiority Fighter Part 5<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="arrow"><span></span></span> Okay, so I've got a notable update today. I haven't finished taking measurements
yet, and I'm still working on that front. What I do have is a partial
card board mock up of the forward fuselage. This is little more a simple
mock up with the basic measurements I've got already. Not complete.
This is meant to be an exploration of the construction of the finished
model. As one example, I've already encountered one mistake. When I
figuring out the parts based on the measurements from the line drawings,
I thought the triangular section that would make up the side of the
cockpit section was a right triangle. Well, it's not. So the original
part I made based on the measurements didn't fit in the space.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ZLhuOMxkdM/Vl_eCCSk-0I/AAAAAAAABto/M9snQx0gxkk/s1600/fa4d84b5-5c4b-414f-9338-e2b5f38460f9_zpsnk557opb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ZLhuOMxkdM/Vl_eCCSk-0I/AAAAAAAABto/M9snQx0gxkk/s320/fa4d84b5-5c4b-414f-9338-e2b5f38460f9_zpsnk557opb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The mock isn't so much meant as a means of exact build, but rather a
means of low-cost construction that will lead back into additional
design work. As I've said I do not have design experience or training.
Add to that my rather dubious knowledge of geometry... yeah. Up hill
battle with a fairly substantial learning curve involved. But that's
also the appeal of the project for me. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dq0_SEYHDCg/Vl_eCIECDQI/AAAAAAAABt0/iGrZoYrJfQo/s1600/SAM_2642_zpsojs1pykj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dq0_SEYHDCg/Vl_eCIECDQI/AAAAAAAABt0/iGrZoYrJfQo/s320/SAM_2642_zpsojs1pykj.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><br />
More then anything else, the mock-allows me to work with the physical
design and understand how sections work with each other and see details
that may not have been apparent in the line studies.<br />
</div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-59227260328494851952015-12-14T07:00:00.000-08:002015-12-14T07:00:00.975-08:00F-103 Excalibur Space Superiority Fighter Part 4<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I don't have a whole lot to show this time. Because of the nature of
this project, it's going to have several phases of intense work for
little immediate result. This is one of those phases. Where I get to go
through the line images I created, and begin extracting measurements.
And measurements. and measurements. So far I have 25 measurements and
I'm only... eh.... 80% finished. With the back view. I still have the
front, side, top and bottom to do. And the top and bottom are going to
be the big data-dumps! For reference, understand that the entire space
the rear view takes up is 87.5mm high by 182mm wide while by comparison
the top view occupies a space of 170mm wide by 305mm long. And the top
and bottom views have a lot more detail then the rear. Still, gotta get
started somewhere right? So what do I have to show today? <br />
<br />
Well, this:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/Wing%20Commander/F-103%20Excalibur/1a8a5402-537a-43ec-b2e9-c69843d97c47_zpsh8uu3egz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/Wing%20Commander/F-103%20Excalibur/1a8a5402-537a-43ec-b2e9-c69843d97c47_zpsh8uu3egz.jpg" height="146" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-8088601627640669802015-12-11T07:00:00.000-08:002015-12-11T07:00:08.305-08:00F-103 Excalibur Space Superiority Fighter Part 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: left;">
So I've got to give a shout out to a fellow modeler with a Wing Commander obsession. Whiplash, thank you for your help and encouragement sir!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
So what am I thanking Whiplash for? Well first off, Whiplash is a member of the Wing Commander community I met via the wcnews.com forums when I posted work on my Excalibur there. Whip was directed to my thread where he then provided some guidance to me based on his own project. Whiplash had done a similar project to my own a bit of a ways back in that he built a model of a Wing Commander fighter. He chose to base his project on the <a href="http://www.wcnews.com/chatzone/threads/the-hellcat-v-refit-project.26785/" target="_blank">Hellcat V general purpose fighter</a> and he chose to work in wood rather then plastic, but he was able to provide some extremely valuable insight in translating information from 2D designs and images to 3D designs and plans. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The single biggest thing he told me about was how the limits of the technology used in the games at the time does not lend itself well to gaining measurement for production of a model and instead suggested I use art work for my basis rather then in-game screen shots while using in-game cut scene shots to collect detail information. So to that end I assembled a pair of fairly substantial libraries of <a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/maverike_prime/library/Wing%20Commander/F-103%20Excalibur/Video%20stills" target="_blank">artistic reference</a>s and <a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/maverike_prime/library/Wing%20Commander/F-103%20Excalibur/Video%20stills" target="_blank">cut scene frames</a> for the Excalibur.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Beyond all of that I did start crunching some numbers for the model
again based on the Warbird images. I've decided I'm going to scale back a
bit for the project and rather then do a 16" long model, I'm going to
do a 12" long model instead. I've done lots of small scratch build jobs
before, but never a full blow from the ground up total scratch built
model before. And I'm thinking about doing some lighting effects in the
model as well. So the 12" version will be easier to manager and I think
closer to my skill set at present. I want to challenge myself, not waste
my energy and materials. <br />
<br />
So, I took the warbirds image and pulled it into Photoshop where I upped
the size by a factor of 6 so I have some room to work and make notes.
The image is small enough that I will be forced to 'interpret' a lot of
details, but that's what the reference library is for. With the image in
Photoshop I started working out some numbers. I had to go way back to
Algebra and Geometry to remember how to work with scales and conversions
for this and I'm not totally sure my math is accurate. So if anyone who
actually knows what they are feel see a mistake, please point it out. <br />
<br />
Here is what I have:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vwKxI1P0-eg/Vl_LE1Dg_tI/AAAAAAAABsk/hgfN_kGhwCs/s1600/planning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="90" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vwKxI1P0-eg/Vl_LE1Dg_tI/AAAAAAAABsk/hgfN_kGhwCs/s400/planning.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Whiplash has also provided me a break down how he went about translating the sizes of the 2"x2" thumbnail images into something large enough to be used. It helped shed a lot of light on the approach and the hows of why it
worked for him. It also gave me some inspiration for a new direction to
take the project. As he explained, trying to measure the warbirds image that
is less then 2" long is only going to lead me to compounding errors
from earlier in the project. Don't ask me why, but that clicked with me
in regards to digital graphics. I'll explain:<br />
<br />
See in digital graphics you have 2 types of graphical engines each with
their benefits and minuses to design. The first is known Raster
graphics, or sometimes referred to has bit-map pictures. This format
uses individual colors dots to render an image. The more dots you have
in a given space the sharper the image can be. A line is simply a series
of dots of comparable color. This format has the advantage of being
capable of storing far more graphical information and being the
foundation most directly based in traditional art work so many of the
concepts from that medium translate to this format. The second type of
graphic is known as Vector graphics. These use mathematics to form
shapes rather then recording each individual position of every point
contained in the image. This has the advantage of being vastly easier
for a computer to deal with but doesn't translate from math to art very
well.<br />
<br />
Why am I bringing this up? Well, the two graphic types have another
consideration between them, how well they scale up or down. See a
bit-map can only be scaled by either adding or removing details. How the
program add details will effect how well the image scales up, but
generally you can only scale a bit-map image up about 50-60% before you
start seeing a noticeable loss in sharpness as additional quasi-random
extra material is added.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As an example, look at the corner on the right side of the Excalibur
image where the forward section of the fuselage meets the side of the
wing and side mounts. On the 1 1/2" sized image it's moderately decent. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5huDQRvg4pM/Vl_LE5_ZoKI/AAAAAAAABso/bR25t57u7Ss/s1600/screen-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5huDQRvg4pM/Vl_LE5_ZoKI/AAAAAAAABso/bR25t57u7Ss/s320/screen-01.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
But enlarge it about 400% (so that the over all image would be about
4.5" long for reference) and suddenly it stops looking anywhere near as
sharp.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-84_mheG0NIk/Vl_LFW-DUmI/AAAAAAAABs0/ceVqEr1enCA/s1600/screen-04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-84_mheG0NIk/Vl_LFW-DUmI/AAAAAAAABs0/ceVqEr1enCA/s320/screen-04.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Vector Graphics however, because they are mathematically based can scale
infinity. The program simply remaps the location and calculates what's
between the points as needed.<br />
<br />
So why did I just explain all of that? Well you gave me the idea to
start with a series of vector graphics, based on the Warbirds images,
then upscale those vectors to the size I need them. Since the vectors
expand infinitely, there's no lose of detail in the process. I started
with just tracing the major sections visible on the Warbirds image. I
did some digging and found my hard copy of the Wing Commander 3 stuff
and scanned the warbirds images at an obscenely high resolution of 2700
dpi then pulled that scan into photoshop (as an aside, it's always a
challenge working with 5"x2" image that's a staggering 400megs <img alt=":eek:" class="mceSmilie" src="http://www.wcnews.com/chatzone/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/eek.png" title="Eek! :eek:" />
in size) and went to work with the pen toll to generate the vector
graphics. the high resolution pulled out some details, but the size of
the original image simply doesn't have a lot of detail to start with.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4JZLn3BYpxY/Vl_LFWU3qkI/AAAAAAAABsw/BNmDqPcaSMc/s1600/screen-02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4JZLn3BYpxY/Vl_LFWU3qkI/AAAAAAAABsw/BNmDqPcaSMc/s320/screen-02.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Remember how I said enlarging a bit-map image is done by adding
material? Well scanning a printed image at such a resolution results in
basically the same thing. End result? I could trace out the body, the
engines, and the cockpit. The rest... eh I kind of had to take some
artistic license with those.<br />
<br />
Remember that <a class="externalLink" href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/maverike_prime/library/Wing%20Commander/F-103%20Excalibur/Artistic%20Reference?sort=3&page=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">library</a> of images I assembled of the Excalibur? Well I used that a lot in this process. I primarily referenced the "<a class="externalLink" href="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/Wing%20Commander/F-103%20Excalibur/Artistic%20Reference/armada_version21_zpsvpzrrgve.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">armada</a>" rendering of the Excalibur for filling in the details that were lost in the up-scaling of the scan. So after a couple hours worth of work, I assembled the following top-down image of the Excalibur with (website friendly version displayed. If you want to grab the 300 DPI version it's linked <a class="externalLink" href="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/Wing%20Commander/F-103%20Excalibur/line-study-fullres_zpsbs6rxguk.png" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HyckRmYcIEY/Vl_LFOx7A5I/AAAAAAAABs4/gLnRpi4WANA/s1600/line-study-fullres.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HyckRmYcIEY/Vl_LFOx7A5I/AAAAAAAABs4/gLnRpi4WANA/s320/line-study-fullres.png" width="292" /></a></div>
I mentioned that these are first passes, why is that? Well... it's
because they don't match up exactly with each other. It's too late for
me to go into all details but as an example. The widest part of the
front boom where the cockpit is, it is widest on the front view,
narrowest on the top view, and just slightly narrower in the bottom
view. <br />
<br />
So what does this mean? Well, it means I have to go back, pair up the
line art pieces with each other and decide which part of which version I
want to take as the 'correct' version. While the web version of the
image above sizes out to be about 4" wide, I want to build a 12" model
from these designs. So if I scale everything up by a factor of 3, and I
have one part from the bottom that is 1mm wider, then the same part from
the top view, but the rear version is 1mm to the left, I'll wind up
with a part that started out as a rectangular cube but when built comes
out as a lop-sided rhombus. So guess what I get to do over the next few
days....
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-2967183546475343922015-12-09T07:00:00.001-08:002015-12-09T07:00:01.788-08:00F-103 Excalibur Space Superiority Fighter Part 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When I built the paper-craft version I used Pericles' paper-craft designs for the Vampire. The... I don't
want to say the word but it's the only one I can think of, the 'problem'
with Pericles' plans is they are quit literally the in-game model
transferred to paper, which while it makes a game-accurate model, I'm
shooting for something that is more universe accurate. The best example
of what I mean on the Vampire can be seen in the nose:<br />
<br />
If you look at the art work for the Vampire:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5FMMZwxE5dQ/Vl_UWw-6f0I/AAAAAAAABtY/nzBKYbdTosA/s1600/vampire12.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5FMMZwxE5dQ/Vl_UWw-6f0I/AAAAAAAABtY/nzBKYbdTosA/s320/vampire12.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
You can see it has a pair of twin-linked cannon barrel barrels (I want
to say those would be the partial guns if memory serves based on
placement).<br />
<br />
But compare that to the nose of the in-game model:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g-tQh8mNwoc/Vl_Ld_3lSmI/AAAAAAAABtA/tRHhiNK7tVc/s1600/F-109-Vampire-Fighter-V2-Paper-Model.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g-tQh8mNwoc/Vl_Ld_3lSmI/AAAAAAAABtA/tRHhiNK7tVc/s320/F-109-Vampire-Fighter-V2-Paper-Model.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
You can see how the two barrels and assembly have been condensed down
into what... well whatever that is. It's just something that didn't get
translated from the artwork to the model or vice versa. Also the in-game
vampire have a much leaner body thus appearing longer then in the art
work.<br />
<br />
For the Excalibur I want to go for display value. So I'll be
interpreting and adding additional details, but I want to stay closer to
the Wing Commander 3 version of the craft, but if I come to a point
where I have a source of data from in-game compared to a source of data
from say universe, unless I have an explicit reason to do other wise I'm
going to take the source from in-universe as more accurate.<br />
<br />
As I progress through the project I'm going to be posting a lot of
information regarding how I go about things, how I got sizes, how I
build parts, ect. I'm going to do this for a variety of reasons, and not
all of them personal. As I said, I have no 3D design or architectural
experience what so ever, I toyed with Miya for like 20 minutes once
about 20 years ago, and have never had enough of an interest to go back
into it. I've built.... the dark gods only know how many kit-models and
I've converted hundreds more over the last 30 years, so I have a mind
for "unfolding" things from their 3D construct to a 2d part. Still,
there is a difference between knowing how to unfold an object and
knowing how to build it.<br />
<br />
So I will be posting pretty detailed progress updates on the project as I
go both for a personal record so I can come back to it and see what I
did, and to give people with more knowledge then I an opportunity to
look at my process and provide feed back. And finally I'll post the
detailed info as a basis for anyone else who wants to give it a go. I
seek to inspire after all.
</div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-44882411543121675882015-12-09T07:00:00.000-08:002015-12-09T07:00:04.988-08:00F-103 Excalibur Space Superiority Fighter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger is one of my favorite games of all
times, and I absolutely loved piloting the Excalibur fighter in the
game. So this is my effort to scratch-build a large scale (about 16"
long) model of it. This is going to be a long term project. So this is
going to be my project thread on here as I work through the project. <br />
<br />
I did a paper-craft version of the F-109 Vampire recently, and that
really rekindled an old interest I've had to have a model of the F-103
Excalibur.<br />
<br />
Here is an image of the finished Paper-craft Vampire:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1ltF1zd9kuc/Vl_NsEzTqyI/AAAAAAAABtI/e5YXxpqsR4o/s1600/SAM_2484_zpsqjrr3tki.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1ltF1zd9kuc/Vl_NsEzTqyI/AAAAAAAABtI/e5YXxpqsR4o/s320/SAM_2484_zpsqjrr3tki.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
And if you want to check out more images of the construction process of it, check out the album:<br />
<a href="http://s14.photobucket.com/user/maverike_prime/library/Wing%20Commander/F-109%20Vampire" target="_blank">Paper craft F-109 Vampire</a><br />
<br />
I'll warn everyone now, this is going to take a while to complete. It
will also be my first totally scratch built and self-designed model. The
real challenge... I have no actual 3D design experience or systems. So
I'm doing this all as I figure it out. Who wants to go on an adventure?<br />
<br />
First thing I did was load up Wing Commander: Secret Opts and swap the
in-game Excalibur with the Panther Fighter, that way I could control the
fighter while I took screen caps of the fighter. So I took head-on
shots of the craft from each of the axis angles. I then assembled those
images into the collage you see here in Photoshop. I then used the full
sized print out to gather measurements of the craft. here is the first
batch of measurements.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0CumM0XzVQ/Vl_K8u2KGvI/AAAAAAAABsQ/fvGz8ISLz1c/s1600/excalibur-sized.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0CumM0XzVQ/Vl_K8u2KGvI/AAAAAAAABsQ/fvGz8ISLz1c/s320/excalibur-sized.png" width="284" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
This is the full size print out I assembled of the top-down shot of the
Excalibur. Nothing particularly fancy here. Took the top down image,
up-scaled it until it was the size I wanted (about 16" in length), and
then printed it out. Cut the parts out and glued them together to get
one sheet. From this I'm able to take measurements, which I record in
the collage in photoshop.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G9_y-bcsPmA/Vl_K8kqF0bI/AAAAAAAABsM/OHnREun1aZI/s1600/SAM_2483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G9_y-bcsPmA/Vl_K8kqF0bI/AAAAAAAABsM/OHnREun1aZI/s320/SAM_2483.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-54092352997719689702015-12-07T07:00:00.000-08:002015-12-07T07:00:06.688-08:00Lord Gaudinzor, the hunter paret 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So we have the running body from the Dark Vengance aspiring champion, with the faceless head made by shaving down a Tau helmet, that is connected via a half dozen cables to a lascannon backpack.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ud6FmPbPUcc/Vl9rx_wY2nI/AAAAAAAABrU/kZs-yXDW8gU/s1600/SAM_2610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ud6FmPbPUcc/Vl9rx_wY2nI/AAAAAAAABrU/kZs-yXDW8gU/s320/SAM_2610.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Well, that leaves the arms, and by extension the weapons. I've decided to give him a pair of extending swords mainly for the modeling potential and the dynamism. Having two whip like weapons requires the entire body to be in motion in order for them to be of use, other wise the on-attack weapon is held back by the counter force of the off-attack weapon.<br />
<br />
The swords are still going to be segmented with the coil whip sections between the bladed sections. Previously I had done this by cutting the Raptor power sword into sections, drill a hole in each section, and then passing a length of pewter power cable through the segments. This works... visually... but not for gaming purposes.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-27nXlho9Npc/Vl9ruBaUssI/AAAAAAAABqA/KVFjeldU1XA/s1600/SAM_2412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-27nXlho9Npc/Vl9ruBaUssI/AAAAAAAABqA/KVFjeldU1XA/s320/SAM_2412.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The problem with this for a gaming piece is the general abuse a gaming piece will be exposed to. The stresses of being picked up and placed on the table. Being stuck into and removed from foam. Being pressed against other models, the list goes on. The pewter cables look very good, but they are not terribly strong and over time, the stresses placed on it will cause it to break. If used in a way where the cable is placed against something, like the hull of vehicle or the hips of a space marine, the stresses are greatly reduced as the majority of the stress is taken by the model. In this situation the pewter cable is free standing, or rather free flowing, and is out in the open exposing it to the full stresses with out anything to brace the cable.<br />
<br />
So I needed to figure out a way to address this problem, while still keeping the visual appearance of the segmented sword with the whip coils. I hit on the idea of making several sections of power cables, using the <a href="http://www.greenstuffindustries.com/store/p1/Tentacle_Maker_Tool_Box%2C_Wave_1.html" target="_blank">Green Stuff Industries Tentacle Maker</a>, and then drilling out a section through each segment so I could pass a thicker gauge wire through the power cable. Beyond this is was just a matter of sliding on each segment of sword blade and gluing the parts into place. Once all the segments were in place, I just had to bend the finished weapon into form.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hrwY3w-cBPk/Vl9ryWfacJI/AAAAAAAABrs/lO9OX_kv6MY/s1600/SAM_2612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hrwY3w-cBPk/Vl9ryWfacJI/AAAAAAAABrs/lO9OX_kv6MY/s320/SAM_2612.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
Of course I still had to make the second weapon:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8cDg_D1-bnE/Vl_HsGzQF2I/AAAAAAAABr4/HV9-cPXHZLA/s1600/champion-spread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8cDg_D1-bnE/Vl_HsGzQF2I/AAAAAAAABr4/HV9-cPXHZLA/s320/champion-spread.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-70828760111045422312015-12-04T06:55:00.000-08:002015-12-04T06:55:47.464-08:00Lord Gaundinzor, the hunter part 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tt-yFUnXzXc/Vl6MnNngOwI/AAAAAAAABpk/rOGiXaugr6Q/s1600/SAM_2410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tt-yFUnXzXc/Vl6MnNngOwI/AAAAAAAABpk/rOGiXaugr6Q/s320/SAM_2410.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
So last time I talked about the prototype version of Lord Gaundinzor. With the prototype I used the normal Chaos Marine legs and a Raptor Torso for the body. While this provides a solid base for the model it doesn't provide the dynamic range of motion I really want the character to convey. So I went back to the drawing board and worked to plan out the model some more. I knew I wanted to have the model showing a fair amount of motion. I also wasn't thrilled with using the multi-melta back pack. It looks less like it houses a cogitator array and more like it;s carrying a supply of promethium. So I wanted to change that as well.<br />
<br />
The backpack actually turned out to be simpler to deal with then I first though. Just a power plant back pack from a lascannon devastator marine. I had to cut off the power feed that would normally go to the lascannon, but even this actually helps with the character of the model. The entire thing about Gaundinzor is his 'inhumanity' and 'unreal' visuals. He's a space marine so he's around the 8 feet tall mark. He's faceless, yet he can see. In fact he can see better then someone with eyes. He wear this heavy armor, yet he's a master swords man as if the armor isn't a problem at all. He's got this massive backpack, yet he doesn't fall over and pulls off moves a circus acrobat. Everything about him physically is challenged by his actions, and now he's hunting you. He is supposed to be terrifying. So I wanted to make him terrifying.<br />
<br />
The first thing was the head. With humanoid characters the head, and more
specifically the face, is a focal point for the model. It's really a
human instinct, we look to the face for expressions of emotion and
intent. How do you tell if someone is being hostile? Or if they're being
serious? Or really any other range of human emotions for that matter?
You look at the face. The face is the 'human' aspect of a model. It
conveys emotion, or conveys the lack of it in the case of helmets. So
there are the two options right? a face or a helmet? Well, sort of.
There is one other option though in reality it's the absence of other
options. This what I wanted to go with for Gaundinzor, the absence of a
face. See, we're conditioned to see 'human' in even abstract objects.
Don't believe me? Look at this: <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.brizendinephotography.com/Macro-1/i-JPPDvTM/0/L/20100320_4465-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.brizendinephotography.com/Macro-1/i-JPPDvTM/0/L/20100320_4465-L.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a> </div>
It's an electrical outlet. But can't you see a face too? The ground port is the mouth and the positive and negative ports are the eyes. Now look at the shapes of each part. The negative slot is larger then the positive while the ground port is shaped like a tunnel opening. Looking at all three elements combined produce a visual suggestion of a face making the 0.o look. This is why the helmets on space marines draw so much attention from painters. Ever tried to paint the lenses on a space marine helmet red and accidentally over paint winding up with what looks like the space marine is bleeding out of his eye sockets? Suddenly your trans-human super-solder in futuristic power armor looks like they're trying to perform a bad kabuki theater production.<br />
<br />
But like I said, I've elected to go with a 'faceless' design with Gaundizor. That is I want to completely remove any semblance of a humanity from the face... well head. Why? Because it looks freaking creepy! What? Don't believe me? Ever see Pirates of Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest? Remember when Will Smith turned the sailor over who had his face sucked off by the Kraken? Admit it, you were shocked too. Why? Because it's so far removed from 'human' we have no basis of comparison to it. No eyes, no mouth, no eye brows, eye sockets, nose, cheek bones, nothing. There is just no face what so ever for us to relate to. This is why that kind of thing is so freaking creepy. Now take that image and combine it with someone who stands 8 feet tall, has armor comparable to a small tank, moves faster then any human let alone one that is 8 feet tall should be able to move, and is hunting you. You have no means to see if any thing is effecting him. Did that shot to the chest even hurt him? Will that door even remotely slow him down? Think about it this way. Imagine you are playing a video game, and you come to a big boss fight. And the boss has no health bar and makes no reaction to your attacks. You land hundreds of hits with every gun in your arsenal only for the boss to continue attacking until finally you're dead. How close to beating him were you? Were your attacks even having an effect at all? Is there another trick to beating him? You can't tell. You may have been completely wasting your ammo firing at him or you may have been exactly 1 hit point away from beating him. That's the sort of inhuman terror I want to have this model make. So what did I do to get this?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EQkuaDzG9KY/Vl9rvd9cwTI/AAAAAAAABqk/xXxg6Zi0fhA/s1600/SAM_2590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Chaos space marine Lord Gaundinzor's head, made by shaving down the front of a Tau helmet and attaching cables to the sides." border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EQkuaDzG9KY/Vl9rvd9cwTI/AAAAAAAABqk/xXxg6Zi0fhA/s320/SAM_2590.JPG" title="Chaos space marine Lord Gaundinzor's head, made by shaving down the front of a Tau helmet and attaching cables to the sides." width="320" /></a></div>
I took a Tau helmet and removed all the detail from it leaving it smooth. There are no optical components on it. No camera, no lenses, no scanners nothing to indicate where he could actually be looking. To help carry the idea that Gaundinzor doesn't actually use eyes, but rather is fed a digital manifestation of the environment, I drilled out a series of holes along the edge of the helmet mounting and inserted a series of small cables, again from <a href="http://www.dragonforge.com/Painting%20service/for%20sale/sculpting_supplies.htm" target="_blank">Dragon Forge</a>. These cables will be attached to the back pack.<br />
<br />
So next thing, showing more motion. How can I do that? Well change the model position. What space marine models typically show the most motion? Models with running legs. So assault marines and Raptor legs were what I looked at first. But the assault Marines and Raptor models didn't have the... what's the word.... the right detail level for what I wanted. So I did some more looking and finally settled on the body from the Dark Vengeance aspiring Champion. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lgIAXEom-pU/Vl9rwgU-xHI/AAAAAAAABrA/fXAv6UwmXfg/s1600/SAM_2607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lgIAXEom-pU/Vl9rwgU-xHI/AAAAAAAABrA/fXAv6UwmXfg/s320/SAM_2607.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Here's a shot of the version 2.0 along side the original prototype.
Please excuse the 'cyber whiskers'. The head is attached to the back
pack and effectively free-floating at the neck. I have some green stuff
in there and until that dries I don't want to try and move the other
cables to attach them to the backpack. So that's going to wrap things up for today. </div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-66885571476703336212015-12-02T07:00:00.000-08:002016-05-02T15:57:31.915-07:00Lord Gaudinzor, the hunter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, it's that time of the year once again. You know, that one that starts with Thanksgiving and culminates with January 12th. Yes, I am referring to the holiday season for retail. We've already had Black-thanksgiving, Black Friday, Black-saturday, Pre-cyber Monday (Sunday), Cyber-monday, and Cyber-monday Follow-up (Teusday). I truly hate this time of year. 50% of the sales are crap sales that were better two weeks prior, while half of the products being put on 'sale' are crap made specifically for this period to be cheap so stores can sell them for $40 and people will think their getting a $150 item. Anyway, I still work in retail so I have to deal with it all. Friendly suggestion, don't go shopping on Black-friday and please don't buy stuff on Thanksgiving. The more money companies don't make by being open on Thanksgiving and not selling stuff, the more likely it is that retail workers will be able to get Thanksgiving back as a holiday.<br />
<br />
Anyway all of that out of the way, today I am returning to Warhammer 40,000 with a new Chaos Lord for my Chaos Space Marine army. My view of a Chaos Space Marine is one of varied and loose alliances. A Chaos army isn't an 'army' the way an Imperial Guard or Space Marine army is. It will be a force made up of multiple groups that has been talked into working with the other groups through one means or another. Typically the focal point will be the Chaos Lord himself. He or She will be the one that is able to offer something of interest or value to the other groups to get them to cooperate. Perhaps the Lord can offer lost relics from an ancient world to get a Thousand Sons War Coven's cooperation, or maybe He will swear his warbands services to helping a Crimson Slaughters lord's efforts to hunt down an offending daemon lord. The possibilities of payment are long and varied.<br />
<br />
What am I going on about? Well the justification for building my Chaos Space Marine collection the way I have been. I have an Iron Warrior Squad, a Night Lords Squad, Dark Mechanicus war constructs and I have plans for other groups I'm intending to add to my army. Each of these can become the core of an army onto itself. Or I can mix various units to form a unit, justifying it fluff wise by way of the loose alliance I just explained. This project is a perfect object example of this approach. I crafted the character before I worked to craft the model.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
<span class="fbPhotoCaptionText">Functioning as Lord Roth'Gar's Lieutenant and direct liaison to Dark Magos Bargose, Gaudinzor has subjected himself to numerous experiments by Bargose that have resulted in enhanced combat abilities, deadlier weapons and an increase in his own sadistic tendencies. <br />
<br />
Gaudinzor is a sadistic individual ever seeking to prove his superiority but he takes it further then most. For him, it's not enough to simply best them in a fight, or kill them in a duel. He wants to utterly destroy them, in every way it possible. He will purposely draw out a fight for the purpose of psychologically breaking his opponent before killing them. Rather then a swift strike to decapitate, or a thousand minor strikes to inflict pain, or even a targeted strike to incapacitate, Gaudinzor will serve feints within feints, toying with his opponents, drawing the battle out for hours even days only landing telling blows as examples of how futile his opponents attacks and defenses truly are. Stroke by stroke, Gaudinzor will tear down his opponents until there is nothing left and they beg him for death. And then, only when there is nothing of the proud warrior left, will he kill them.</span></blockquote>
Honestly the genesis of this character was a random image I ran across:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3e/98/e1/3e98e164b39a81b0c13e0cddc46abfa3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3e/98/e1/3e98e164b39a81b0c13e0cddc46abfa3.jpg" width="370" /></a></div>
Thanks to the internet I learned the image is a rendition of the character Ivy from the Soul Calibur series. After some reading I learned that her sword was effectively 'alive' and reacted to her commands. That was really the first thought that gave rise to this lord: A Space Marine with a living sword that extends to become a bladed whip.<br />
<br />
As I thought about it more I developed more details. A featureless visage. A large back pack to house a cogitator array. he doesn't use his eyes, rather he is fed tactical data from the cogitator array. He would be viscous and cruel killer. Ultimately more thinking lead me to the fluff passage I post earlier.<br />
<br />
So with at least a rough idea in mind, I worked on a first effort for the model. I knew going into this, that I was likely not going to finish this particular model as it was intended more as a development of concept project then a final project. Still, have to start somewhere.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tt-yFUnXzXc/Vl6MnNngOwI/AAAAAAAABpY/SjGsTRmAPfM/s1600/SAM_2410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Lord Gaudinzor, a Chaos Space Marine" border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tt-yFUnXzXc/Vl6MnNngOwI/AAAAAAAABpY/SjGsTRmAPfM/s320/SAM_2410.JPG" title="Lord Gaudinzor, a Chaos Space Marine" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
For this prototype effort I used normal Chaos Marine legs with a Raptors torso and a multi-melta backpack. For the sword I used a Raptor power sword cut into 2mm long segments with a hole drilled through the center of each segment. I then used a length of small <a href="http://www.dragonforge.com/Painting%20service/for%20sale/sculpting_supplies.htm" target="_blank">diameter cable</a> from Dragon Forge and passed that up through the sword segments. This gave me a semi-flexible body to work and tweak. It works but has problems. First off the pewter cable is fairly weak and with time it will break off from being flexed by being put into foam and taken out. Also the entire model looks very 'static'. He's not this viscous killer using super swords, he's a guy with ADD waving his cool sword about. So the model itself doesn't work visually for what I'm trying to produce. As a protoype effort it works, but I know I can do better. So that is what I will talk about next time. Version 2.0 of Gaudinzor, the Hunter.</div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-86548121945975141572015-11-23T04:00:00.000-08:002015-11-23T04:00:13.883-08:00New Video posted: Project Review of the Heavy Arms Rebuild<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Some time back I started work on a conversion project where I took the
1/100 Scale Heavy Arms Custom Kai from Endless Waltz, and convert it
into something more like what appeared in the Anime series. I had
finished the project some time ago but hadn't had a chance to finish the
review video of it. Well it is up now!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hzwr9w-51bQ/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hzwr9w-51bQ?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br /></div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-22353586730442420322015-11-18T19:50:00.001-08:002015-11-18T19:50:21.587-08:00New Video: Unboxing Betrayal at Calth<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So Games Workshop has stepped into the Horus Heresy with their release of Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calth. And I got mine in. So what comes in the box? Check out my video to find out.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HjN4HbzFltE/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HjN4HbzFltE?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br /></div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-12849218970530412782015-11-11T20:10:00.000-08:002015-11-11T20:10:00.139-08:00Project: OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon Part 8<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xKiJvkJhi9E/Vjgx4JvRNrI/AAAAAAAABo0/yAdRD68rcLI/s1600/SAM_2386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xKiJvkJhi9E/Vjgx4JvRNrI/AAAAAAAABo0/yAdRD68rcLI/s400/SAM_2386.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
And it's name is Epyon. So here we have the finished OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon on the Libra Base with lighting effects.This was an educational project and I'm glad I undertook it, even if the final result isn't quit what I had envisioned when I began. This is the root of why I run this blog, the analysis and understanding of my projects.<br />
<br />
So with a finished project, what problems did I encounter working on it? Well the legs are the first thing that stick out. I mounted the feet too far apart on the Libra base, so this forced the legs further apart. This creates a bit of a bow-legged appearance and hurts the final version of the model.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-op1Eb18aj-A/VjblJnJYZQI/AAAAAAAABn8/nSa1w3LhMGY/s1600/SAM_2372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-op1Eb18aj-A/VjblJnJYZQI/AAAAAAAABn8/nSa1w3LhMGY/s320/SAM_2372.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I had previously talked about the issue with the back of the model, but I want to touch on it again. The root cause of the problem is that I didn't do as good a job of planning for the project as I really could have. The back of the torso has an open slot intended to allow the hips to flip back and allow the legs to comes over the back in order to become the heads of the dragon mode mobile armor. But I removed the ability of the model to transform for this project. So the end result is I basically have a hole in the back of the model. Looking as this, it is pretty straight forward what I should have done. That is first put a layer of styrene in to cover the space from inside, and then add additional pieces of stryrene to fill in the space. Sand it down so it meshes up with the sides of the waist and finally paint it to match the color of the kit plastic. </div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-66274338860498935682015-11-09T04:00:00.000-08:002015-11-09T04:00:08.315-08:00Project: OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon Part 7<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So now we're starting to wrap up this project. Wow has it ever been a trip to get to this point, from experimenting with casting clear resins, to building new sections to replace what would otherwise be moving joints, to modifying existing parts to accept new components. Now it all begins to come together.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DtXsj9OqEno/VjblJB8x4pI/AAAAAAAABm4/M3IFR87rroM/s1600/SAM_1831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DtXsj9OqEno/VjblJB8x4pI/AAAAAAAABm4/M3IFR87rroM/s320/SAM_1831.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
It was a fairly simply matter to cast a new part for the chest gem. I simply attached the original gen sticker to a segment of styrene tubing, and then made the mold based on that part. Unlike casting the saber effect, this was a far simpler affair and required only 2 attempts to get right including embedding the LED in the part. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z_e8Qayh9-o/VjblJnuvIOI/AAAAAAAABm8/r0IOwdT8uuc/s1600/SAM_2371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z_e8Qayh9-o/VjblJnuvIOI/AAAAAAAABm8/r0IOwdT8uuc/s320/SAM_2371.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
Of course putting everything together... that was more of a chore. Here you see the majority of the final connections being made in the chest cavity.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-op1Eb18aj-A/VjblJnJYZQI/AAAAAAAABnA/JKIhldbXWiQ/s1600/SAM_2372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-op1Eb18aj-A/VjblJnJYZQI/AAAAAAAABnA/JKIhldbXWiQ/s320/SAM_2372.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I should have thought of this before, but alas I did now. The way the model is intended to transform, there is a slot in the back where the hip/waist assembly would fold up allowing the legs to flip over the back. Since I removed the actual transformation mechanism, this space was no longer needed and I really should have covered the slot with styrene and painted it to match the rest of the waist. Sadly this wasn't something I thought of before hand. So if you look closely you will see the wires in the finished model.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gD4lNvJOaS0/VjblJx8aTuI/AAAAAAAABnE/dSzIzYY6ALg/s1600/SAM_2373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gD4lNvJOaS0/VjblJx8aTuI/AAAAAAAABnE/dSzIzYY6ALg/s320/SAM_2373.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
"What? you think I was going to skip arm day?" <br />
<br />
I had to use pressure clamps to hold the body together while the glue set. This is largely it. Next time the finished project.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DtXsj9OqEno/VjblJB8x4pI/AAAAAAAABm4/M3IFR87rroM/s1600/SAM_1831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-35304578709247420712015-11-06T04:00:00.000-08:002015-11-06T04:00:01.068-08:00Project: OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon Part 6<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So today I'm talking about fabrication. One of the major features of the Gundam Epyon is its ability to transform from mobile suit mode:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/gundam/images/c/c4/OZ-13MS.Sh.JPG/revision/latest?cb=20120315184429" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon in mobile suit mode" border="0" src="http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/gundam/images/c/c4/OZ-13MS.Sh.JPG/revision/latest?cb=20120315184429" height="320" title="OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon in mobile suit mode" width="241" /></a></div>
to a twin-headed dragon style mobile armor:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/gundam/images/1/1b/OZ-13MS_Gundam_Epyon_Mobile_Armor_Mode.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090922035621" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon in mobile armor mode" border="0" src="http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/gundam/images/1/1b/OZ-13MS_Gundam_Epyon_Mobile_Armor_Mode.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090922035621" height="320" title="OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon in mobile armor mode" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This gimmick is carried over to the model itself and is managed by way a
splitting hip/waist assembly. As far a gimmick trick it's a nice setup,
but for my purposes it creates some issues. Specifically the risk of
the hinge joint causing the electrical connections to be broken after
assembly of the model. So I had to address this by either gluing the
hinge shut or reinforcing it. I elected to do both: </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gCAevgdpUko/Vjbb_I8hj-I/AAAAAAAABl0/ST1S6Ezkors/s1600/SAM_1822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="the front section of the hip/waist assembly for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon before I installed additional bracing and reinforcing." border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gCAevgdpUko/Vjbb_I8hj-I/AAAAAAAABl0/ST1S6Ezkors/s320/SAM_1822.JPG" title="the front section of the hip/waist assembly for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon before I installed additional bracing and reinforcing." width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v2S484ccfIw/Vjbb_M-EvUI/AAAAAAAABl8/21f65FCl2Qs/s1600/SAM_1824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="the front section of the hip/waist assembly for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon with a section of styrene inserted to help reinforce the section so it won't move." border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v2S484ccfIw/Vjbb_M-EvUI/AAAAAAAABl8/21f65FCl2Qs/s320/SAM_1824.JPG" title="the front section of the hip/waist assembly for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon with a section of styrene inserted to help reinforce the section so it won't move." width="320" /></a></div>
I used a series of styrene tubing I built up a central section that would pass up through the assembly, and then glued a section of 1/4" styrene block into the space behind it. This combination provided a solid base to firmly attach everything together and effectively remove the entire transformation mechanism.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-beXhREvdEJs/Vjbiacmu5cI/AAAAAAAABmc/YVMQuZjEGqA/s1600/SAM_1825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="the front section of the hip/waist assembly for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon now firmly cemented shut." border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-beXhREvdEJs/Vjbiacmu5cI/AAAAAAAABmc/YVMQuZjEGqA/s320/SAM_1825.JPG" title="the front section of the hip/waist assembly for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon now firmly cemented shut." width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uyKVDFnvNO8/Vjbiahg0I0I/AAAAAAAABmg/vZhldYygOBU/s1600/SAM_1826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="the front section of the hip/waist assembly for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon now firmly cemented shut." border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uyKVDFnvNO8/Vjbiahg0I0I/AAAAAAAABmg/vZhldYygOBU/s320/SAM_1826.JPG" title="the front section of the hip/waist assembly for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon now firmly cemented shut." width="320" /></a></div>
There were 2 other sections that I chose to make non-moving, the elbow joints. See in the standard model the elbows are made by joining 2 pvc joint pieces so that it will have a 2 axis range of movement. While this is nice, it doesn't help for this project. So I went to work building replacement joints that would be glued into place.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tXVojTAQVSk/VjblIw5DoZI/AAAAAAAABmw/eYCiF0R8g2o/s1600/SAM_2368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tXVojTAQVSk/VjblIw5DoZI/AAAAAAAABmw/eYCiF0R8g2o/s320/SAM_2368.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I started with segments of 1/4" styrene blocks and drilled out holes to accommodate the mounting pegs of the fore arms. I then passed segments of tubing through the upper portion of the blocks that would match the mounting holes in the upper arm. I added some groove slats to the back side of the sections to add some visual detail. With the parts glued in place, some paint finished the fabrication.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-22L65xxLfY0/VjblKCPcMyI/AAAAAAAABnQ/zd1cXRntV58/s1600/SAM_2374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-22L65xxLfY0/VjblKCPcMyI/AAAAAAAABnQ/zd1cXRntV58/s320/SAM_2374.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-60347977573590155402015-11-04T04:00:00.000-08:002015-11-04T04:00:01.349-08:00Project: OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon Part 5<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I knew from the start that the giant beam saber was going to be a critical component of the finished model. I wanted the entire saber effect to glow bright green and that was going to be a challenge. At first I toyed with the idea of inserting a flat LED into the base of the saber effect and running wires through the hilt and into the hip.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QLDSRQ7AnFk/VjbMP33FLRI/AAAAAAAABkg/SdPXOUen-sY/s1600/SAM_1777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon from New Mobile Report: Gundam Wing, Beam sader effect with an LED placed into a cut out in the base." border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QLDSRQ7AnFk/VjbMP33FLRI/AAAAAAAABkg/SdPXOUen-sY/s320/SAM_1777.JPG" title="OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon from New Mobile Report: Gundam Wing, Beam sader effect with an LED placed into a cut out in the base." width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
While there was ample space to place the LED in the base of the saber effect, there was the issue of connecting it to the power source. I felt a bit nervous about trying to solder the connections so close to the hilt. So I decided to go with resin casting with the intention of being able to embed a string of LEDs into the saber effect. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Yeah... working with translucent resins and dyes is trickier then it first seems. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0LjJ63_QnVA/VjbROCIM6qI/AAAAAAAABlc/77ONrHjjQ1Y/s1600/SAM_1783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="My first attempt at casting a replacement saber effect for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon from New Mobile Report: Gundam Wing with clear resin. Turns out the 'clear' resin was actuall amber." border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0LjJ63_QnVA/VjbROCIM6qI/AAAAAAAABlc/77ONrHjjQ1Y/s320/SAM_1783.JPG" title="My first attempt at casting a replacement saber effect for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon from New Mobile Report: Gundam Wing with clear resin. Turns out the 'clear' resin was actuall amber." width="320" /> </a></div>
This was my first attempt with green dye and supposedly clear resin. Yeah.... apparently when this company says 'clear' they actually mean 'amber clear'. So adding green dye produces this blue color. Believing I had somehow screwed up the cast, I attempted several more casts with this type of resin, and they all gave me similar blue colors. I turned to Jeff over at <a href="http://www.dragonforge.com/index.html" target="_blank">Dragon Forge Design</a> for some advise on resins for this purpose. He pointed at at Smooth-Ons Smooth-Cast 327 series of tintable resins. So I ordered a trial pack and the sample pack of their 'So Strong dyes'. Getting tired of trying to do green, and wanting to try something in red. So I tried again with 1 once of the Smooth-Cast 327 and a drop of red dye. And I do mean 'a drop'. I took a tooth pick, dipped it in the red and allowed a single drop to roll off the tooth pick into the resin before mixing it. This combination produced the following: <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1PSGh8iywdA/VjbROXoZxOI/AAAAAAAABlg/oKcuS0soSUU/s1600/SAM_1810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="My a later attempt at casting a replacement saber effect for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon from New Mobile Report: Gundam Wing with clear resin. This time I tried red dye." border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1PSGh8iywdA/VjbROXoZxOI/AAAAAAAABlg/oKcuS0soSUU/s320/SAM_1810.jpg" title="My a later attempt at casting a replacement saber effect for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon from New Mobile Report: Gundam Wing with clear resin. This time I tried red dye." width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It is a very solid and very nearly totally opaque red. It looks kind of cool, but it wouldn't work for my purposes. I did try putting a super-bright LED to the red resin just to see how much light did come through. In a totally dark room, with not other light sources what so ever, it just barely glowed at all. Far too dark for what I was going for. So I went back to experimentation working with differing concentrations of dye in the volume of resin. I used rock molds to avoid wearing out the saber effect mold I had made. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4KgTMUp7Qoc/VjbMQaNLosI/AAAAAAAABko/FZNoMZTNB9s/s1600/SAM_1794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="I had to expirament with different casting mixes to get a clear color that I felt would work for the saber effect of the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon from New Mobile Report: Gundam Wing." border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4KgTMUp7Qoc/VjbMQaNLosI/AAAAAAAABko/FZNoMZTNB9s/s320/SAM_1794.JPG" title="I had to expirament with different casting mixes to get a clear color that I felt would work for the saber effect of the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon from New Mobile Report: Gundam Wing." width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I finally settled on an approximate ration of resin to dye by mixing up 1 1/2 ounces of resin and adding about half a drop of dye from the very tip of a pin. Yeah when they decided to call there dye series 'So Strong' they picked the right name. With a good ratio figured out, I went to work building the LED array to embed in the cast. I settled on a series of four flat LEDs to get the proper brightness. It took some finagling, but I managed to get the LEDs roughly in the middle of the mold and the resin properly cast around them.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OquMgvD8C9Q/VjbMQ2HFEkI/AAAAAAAABk0/-_8cxZiPq8A/s1600/SAM_1833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The finished replacement beam saber effect for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon from New Mobile Report: Gundam Wing with embedded LEDs." border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OquMgvD8C9Q/VjbMQ2HFEkI/AAAAAAAABk0/-_8cxZiPq8A/s320/SAM_1833.JPG" title="The finished replacement beam saber effect for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon from New Mobile Report: Gundam Wing with embedded LEDs." width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-THpcNNDBza0/VjbMRTlqzdI/AAAAAAAABk8/lzvMmpiIOjg/s1600/SAM_1835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The finished replacement beam saber effect for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon from New Mobile Report: Gundam Wing with embedded LEDs." border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-THpcNNDBza0/VjbMRTlqzdI/AAAAAAAABk8/lzvMmpiIOjg/s320/SAM_1835.JPG" title="The finished replacement beam saber effect for the OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon from New Mobile Report: Gundam Wing with embedded LEDs." width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-61557264801614580262015-11-02T03:00:00.000-08:002015-11-02T03:00:02.348-08:00Project: OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon Part 4<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
"Hey Zecks, Zero is saying you have no future. Is Epyon telling you different?"</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wJY-a2Ouemc/VjV9ccwJ2TI/AAAAAAAABkA/ps7mUjstKgc/s1600/SAM_1781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wJY-a2Ouemc/VjV9ccwJ2TI/AAAAAAAABkA/ps7mUjstKgc/s320/SAM_1781.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So today I'm talking about the head. Since this a basically humanoid model, you know if you ignore the large wings, the devilish appearing armor and the whip arm that is, the head is a major focus point for the model. Because of this I wanted to put extra care into it's production and preparation.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Em2TOFm80jQ/VjV9biT7xwI/AAAAAAAABjs/dz19C_boy4s/s1600/SAM_1773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Em2TOFm80jQ/VjV9biT7xwI/AAAAAAAABjs/dz19C_boy4s/s320/SAM_1773.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The first challenge was making space for the LED in the head. I went with a flat topped LED because it's easier to orient. To help direct the light more I painted the back side with silver pant and then came back with several coats of black paint. I wanted as little light leaking out as possible. In order to accommodate the LED in the head I had to cut away the mounting ports that would normally hold the parts of the head together. The next big trick was building a new neck brace for the head. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Normally the head sits on a ball joint, but with the LED in there the joint would have have to go. So I went to work with some styrene tubing and built a new mounting brace. I took extra care to ensure the negative and positive leads on the LEDs are on the right and left respectively. This way it was going to be easier to connect everything later one. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d3KnHjcOtSo/VjV9cP4rqVI/AAAAAAAABj8/OttBSrt8VKQ/s1600/SAM_1776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d3KnHjcOtSo/VjV9cP4rqVI/AAAAAAAABj8/OttBSrt8VKQ/s320/SAM_1776.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Once the new neck was built, I went back in with some Kneadatite modeling putty and filled in the space. I do not want this LED to move at all.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rRWOt4oKkiU/VjV9booi2_I/AAAAAAAABj4/Rz1jjd5GSu4/s1600/SAM_1770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rRWOt4oKkiU/VjV9booi2_I/AAAAAAAABj4/Rz1jjd5GSu4/s320/SAM_1770.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
In order to keep the right look, I went in with some paint markers and marked around the eyes of the green clear plastic. This creates a shadow around the eyes and helps to keep the 'sinister' look of it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-36434072812077561962015-10-31T19:32:00.001-07:002015-10-31T19:32:52.290-07:00Yikes...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So yeah. There's a blogger plug-in for FaceBook. It says it will take what you post on FaceBook and repost it on your blog. Guess that hasn't been happening. Sorry for that everyone. I'll make it a point to post here as well as on FaceBook. Just as a reminder you can follow me on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Resurrectedhobbyist" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and on <a href="https://twitter.com/Ressed_hobbyist" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. At least that way I know they're both updating.<br /><br />So what have I been working on? Well, a lot. Far more then I should be talking about in a single post. So here is what I'm going to do for the next couple weeks I'm going to make posts on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday! So stay tuned for the next couple weeks. </div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8893710633143843487.post-47430516134293128722015-06-15T04:00:00.000-07:002015-06-15T04:00:02.075-07:00Ready to get back to work!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter you most likely saw a message a few weeks ago about my projects being on hold until I got a new tool rack. Well I have gotten the new tool rack. Specifically I have built a new back board for my work space, along with a few other new pieces of equipment as well.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/My%20Work%20Space/SAM_2332_zpsbg26xtj8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="my work space for working with various models including Warhammer 40k model, Gundam GunPla models, and science fiction models like those from Star Trek and Star Wars" border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/My%20Work%20Space/SAM_2332_zpsbg26xtj8.jpg" height="240" title="my work space for working with various models including Warhammer 40k model, Gundam GunPla models, and science fiction models like those from Star Trek and Star Wars" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
This is my newly revamped work space. What? not impressed? Oh confused about some of it. Well that's no problem because I intended to talk about it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/My%20Work%20Space/SAM_2334_zpsxqxpcyst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/My%20Work%20Space/SAM_2334_zpsxqxpcyst.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
So the first big thing, the work mat. Previously I just had the Hobbico mat sitting on the table top. Which was fine.... right up until I needed to use a speed square or needed a solid edge to align against. 1/8" thickness doesn't give me a lot to work with. So I mounted the cutting mat to a section of 1/2" plywood. This helps keep the cutting mat up off my table top surface, while still preventing the mat from slipping or sliding while I'm working on it. it also provides a hard edge to align the speed square and carpenter square against.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/My%20Work%20Space/SAM_2333_zps6jfarjbf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/My%20Work%20Space/SAM_2333_zps6jfarjbf.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
The second thing is I build a back drop to the work space. There's an open shelf behind that wall but it's lays so far back relative to the depth of the work space that it makes using it for storage... dubious at best and I've lost more then a couple pieces of models down the void that is the opening between the back of the table and the front of the shelf set. I also put in a bunch of hooks to act as tool mounts for many of my more commonly used, or more likely to do damage/be damaged if I put them in a drawer, tools.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/My%20Work%20Space/SAM_2335_zpsfw8tpsc8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/My%20Work%20Space/SAM_2335_zpsfw8tpsc8.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
One of the biggest problems I was running into was not so much storing my tools, as storing them in a meaningful way. As an example, my files. Putting them a 6" deep drawer makes then fairly hard to find later on. And very frequently stuff would basically vanish and I would assume I had lost it, and then buy a replacement only for the original one to show up weeks later. So by making this divided drawer, I have a ready space to put these tools and there simply isn't enough space to pile a lot of stuff on top of them and loose them.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/My%20Work%20Space/SAM_2336_zpsmgtdofs1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/My%20Work%20Space/SAM_2336_zpsmgtdofs1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
I purchased a new work lamp for my space as my previous one was getting up there in age and down there in terms of usability. The mounting joint for the head wouldn't stay anymore so I had to use the electrical cord to hold the light up which also meant it was stuck in basically one position. The Other joints were loosening as well so the lamp was developing a tendency to slump. Short version, the lamp was wearing out.<br />
<br />
The new lamp has new joints with rubber meshing in them so it's sturdier and better able to stay in a given position. It also has a magnifying lens built into the head lamp as well. As an added piece of versatility, I built a new base for the lamp. Made from a section of 2x4 lumber, with a series of 1/2" copper pipping counter set into the wood I have different positions I can place the base of the lamp and still have it stay put on the work space surface. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/My%20Work%20Space/SAM_2338_zpsooqcsyio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/My%20Work%20Space/SAM_2338_zpsooqcsyio.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Finally we have this fun little contraption. What is this? Why it's a ceiling mounted articulated camera boom arm of course! <br /><br />What? Don't know what a boom arm is? Oh, well let me explain. The short version is a boom is used when you need to hold something like a camera in a position or spot that you don't otherwise have the means to hold it. This could be because of distance, or it could be something as simple as "I don't have someone else to hold it!" In my case it's closer to the latter. See this boom arms is mounted over top of my work space and because of the articulated nature of the arm, I can position the camera that is mounted on the arm in a variety of locations and angles. This will be useful when I'm doing videos and I need to do an 'Above the work space' shot. </div>
Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01029098957216559711noreply@blogger.com0