The next BIG project...

[Full-choke]

When I started in on the Cerberus Project the original plan was to build a super heavy on about 4-6 legs. The idea started by wanting to mount a baneblade on legs; something like the brass scorpion. However, it was later determined that the Baneblade was not the frame to start this design on and so the Cerberus was born. However, the idea is still in my mind about making a new walking super heavy.

 

I thought about molding a new datasheet out of something similar to the brass scorpion but then progressed to something larger. Why not build a new pattern of Warhound Titan? Afterall each forge master has his/her own ideas/designs as to what is functional.

 

We know of Warhound Scout Titans that are quick, agile and stealthy (as Titans go). Why not make a Warhound Battle Titan? Something that is not as agile but could mount the same weapons and create back-up, ranged firepower for other units. The thought is to use the same stat lines as a Warhound and same weapons list, just make it much shorter and longer, rather then tall.

 

Through all of the rough idea generation I have come to a hang up. I don't know what to start the build off of. Is there a frame that I could get that would be easily modded or do I just scratch build it all? I like the idea and principle of a new Titan Pattern but I can't get the design off the ground. If anyone has any help to get this ball rolling and the process to the paper design stage I would be very thankful.

 

F-C

[mitchell93]

mabey use the scarab model form halo as a base

[Shortsonfire79]

Good idea..but I'm not TOO sure about tank with legs..that'd be awkward and weird. I like Tau So much more than SM...sometimes..

 

http://www.advancedtautactica.com/viewtopi...f=21&t=8367

[Full-choke]

Ok, so that work on the Tau Walker was sweeettt!!!!!!!!! I have been studying his posts for the past 1/2 an hour. That is basically what I am talking about, but considering I don't play Tau that won't do me much good in the end :yes: . Was thinking about it today and tried looking up some walkers. My original idea of a Baneblade on legs sucks frankly. Once you get past the legs you still have the baneblade and it would end up looking like a half-done conversion. The more I thought about it I want it to look something like this: (and yes I know the AT-TE is made out of legos sadly...)

 

http://www.t3.com/images/variants/at-te-walker_w606.jpg

 

Although I was thinking that 4 legs instead of six might give it more of a 'Hound' feel. Knowing that a Warhound's Machine Spirit is literally a vicious dog wanting blood, I think something that might resemble that would be cool. That and 4 legs move a little faster then 4, allowing it to still do some fast attack, stealthish type work. So I don't know what could be done but the more I think about it I am leaning towards a whole custom built frame.

 

F-C

[Sons of Horus]

i like the concept although my ideas are always too big.

[Full-choke]

Been thinking on this project all weekend and still haven't come up with anything on it. I think if I can get this project off of the ground it is going to take a scratch built frame and a bunch of ideas on paper. Hopefully I can get this idea cruising and off of the ground by the end of the holidays...

 

F-C

[Shortsonfire79]

Well..I have some sort of large get together type thing goin on later..so I'll have about 4 hours of nothing..=-D I'll be glad to work on some ideas..

[Alys Dwr]

The AT-TE is one option, but for 4 legged action the AT-AT should be the frame to consider. Make it a bit more 40k ish, shorten the legs and bulk it out a lot.

 

In my mind the basic body would be a sort of box, add 4 beefy warhound-esq legs and a head and you have your chassis. Problem is with the weapon mounts. I can think of 3 viable options:

 

Shoulder mounted - one either side of the head. Would make the model rather front heavy though, i don't think it would look right.

 

Dorsal/ventral - both on top/both underneath/half and half. Still won't look right in my opinion. Visual weight will eb better than the shoulder mounts but it just doesn't seem practical or functional as there will be large blind spots for the guns.

 

lateral mounts - one either side on supports which extend beyond the legs. visual weight is not a problem although the model could look a bit too wide if not done correctly. It seems practical enough as the mounts would be similar to that of the scout class warhound just lower to the ground.

 

Just a few quick ideas out of my head, hope they help a little. Good luck with this!

 

Al

[Full-choke]

I hadn't thought about side mounts on the weapons. That is the thing that I think needs decided first before the design can really take shape. I had thought about the other two weapon mounts but also felt like it wouldn't come out right. The shoulder or carapace mount would work well for something like the Turbo-Lasers, but the Blastgun and Megabolter would look way too bulky mounted there. The over/under weapon mount would look good with a Megabolter or Inferno Gun on the bottom, Lasers or Blastgun on top, but if not done right could also be screwed up pretty easily.

 

So expanding on the side mount frame, what is the best way to mount them? Large shoulder style mounts like the current Warhound or would it be better to go to a side-sponson style mount, like the Baneblade has for the small guns? I'm afraid both would look way too bulky if the frame is too small, so hard to decide which could work best. I'm not worried about legs, but frame and weapon mounting is the hardest part of trying to figure out what to do...

 

F-C

[Alys Dwr]

Was doodling earlier and realised i had no way of showing you what was in my mind. Google Sketch-up to the rescue!

 

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l39/bonsai-al/warhound.jpg

 

It still looks very much like a warhound but is lower, longer and far more sturdy looking.

 

Al

[g-relk]

i reckon you should make it look like the AT-TE.

 

otherwise go for six legs, nothing has six legs, plus it will giv you a chance to lengthen the model itself out a bit!.

[Full-choke]

Well, there are two sides to this argument. I like the way the sketch up looks, but I find the legs are definitely too close together. The idea is a definite start (better then anywhere I have gotten ;) lol). But I think it needs something more, but this is good as it gives us somewhere to start from. The argument towards 4 legs instead of 6, faster movement. It could still be considered a scout titan if mounted on four legs, which would move faster then 6 working together. Something tells me if a forge master actually designed titans on a lower level and a longer frame that a reaver would likely sit on 6, and a warlord 6+...Imperator, who knows...

 

F-C

[Marshal Rohr]

The biggest difference between the AT-AT and the AT-TE is the TE's wider base. If you widen the base on the super-warhound it might make it look more balanced.

[Shortsonfire79]

I like both ideas, really. The one Alys Dwr's mock up, it looks a LOT like a AT-AT...and you know..basically anything you do that is more than 4-6 legs, its going to have some resemblance.

I think that an AT-TE looking titan would look pretty bad ass. The only thing about using the AT-TE is that, unless you give it semi-long legs, it's going to be squat, and it won't be able to get the range that most titans get. I think that an AT-TE like titan with long legs might look a bit funny... Alys Dwr, would you be happy mocking up another one? =-D You seem good at it =-D And just stick the side cannons on again.

 

This sounds like a very awesome project. I know, that if I ever get good at plasticarding, this is one of the first large projects I'll be taking up.

 

ANOTHER thing..you could try to get the AT-TE/AT-AT mini-figure, and just layer plasticard over it =-D Thats what I would do =-D

[Marshal Rohr]

if you going for the dog feel definitely invert the back legs

[Alys Dwr]

So you're after and AT-TE mock up with 4 legs then? Yeah i'll give it a go, it's better than data entry at any rate! Well, Isn't the AT-TE articulated at the middle pair of legs? My only concern is that the angles on the AT-TE aren't very "imperial technology" to me. I'll knock one up then, got it pictured in my head. This is going to be quite a beast, not sure it'll look like with only 2 big guns on it...

 

Al

[Full-choke]

Yup, I'm in agreement, 4 legs, more like a dog...so back legs prolly inverted. Yes, the AT-TE is definitely articulated in the middle, could work to our benefit, could not (<-- I would lean towards the latter as we are mounting guns on the side). The other issue to think about on angles and such on the armor, what pattern are we going to make this resemble? The smooth, curvy look of the Mars? Or the boxey, angled look of the Lucius? My other Titan resembles more of the Lucius, but that isn't of too much concern to me. The other thing is that as far as build wise the Mars look would be MUCH more difficult to pull off in plastic card.

 

I was thinking on the original mock-up, if we were to lengthen and widen the frame out some it would put it in a much better stance. Looking at it I feel like we almost through on a pair of back legs to a Titan. While that is kind of what I first saw, I think we will need to break the mold to get this to the point where it looks right. Great suggestions so far and I am excited to see what we can come up with next!

 

F-C

[Alys Dwr]

Here we have it with a lengthened body and an articulated section, like a waist on a dog. I have armour plating on the rear section to mirror the gun mounts on the front. Functionally, i think this design could also transport troops - all that extra space over the 2 legged version has to be put to use some how. Or maybe extra generators and capacitors for more weapons; the top screams AA cannons to me. I know, this is a bit far from the original plan. Stay focused! :)

 

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l39/bonsai-al/warhound2.jpg

Yeah, that's a wee man by the front right foot. Sketchup puts it in there from the begining. I wasn't aiming for scale on this but it seems prety close so far!

 

Al

[Full-choke]

Al-

 

That looks amazing, I don't know on articulated in the middle or not. It seems like it could make the design more functional and mobile, but at the same time it seems vulnerable. There is no good way to protect it from sabotage or attack, and if I was an enemy, I know where I would shoot it. The other thing I noticed is that the legs are backwards of what they would be on a dog. Rear would be chicken legs, front would be human legs...small details, but that can be fixed on final design. Still don't know what to think on the side weapon mounts, they look good but I'm just not sure if the design is quite functional. See, we almost have to think on not what would look cool to the eye but what would be the most functional when in war.

 

See, if you think of a wolf or something, the only real good weapon they have is their mouth. Their mouth is always pointed forwards with them, unless they turn to face their foe. Dogs are quite functional in this manner as they are some of the best predators out there. It might not hurt to literally go to a 'warhound' dog type design.

 

Either way I think you do awesome work on google sketch and your help so far is amazing. Keep revising a little bit at a time here and maybe we will hit this nail on the head here in a couple more design changes!

 

Thanks again al,

F-C

[Alys Dwr]

Hmm. Articulated middle could be covered with plates like a woodlouse/pillbug - then it would be protected but may end up looking a bit too insect like. There's always void shields...

 

Sorry about the legs, guess who doesn't have a pet dog? Hang on, i'm confused now. Just googled some pictures of "dog" and their legs are like the ones i've used. Regardless, whatever you wish i can do. It's nothing to move the components around.

 

And onto the head mounted weapons. Trying to squeazt them all into the mouth could be a bit awkward. One on each side of the jaw? I'll have a think. The neck and shoulders would need bulking up to cope with the weight and plenty of big cables running the length og the neck to act as power feeds. I'll have a play later.

 

Al

[Full-choke]

Al-

 

Sent you a PM for clarification on the weapon mounts. Wasn't thinking of cramming them into the head, was just brainstorming towards a more forward-fixed weapons system, maybe with some small arc of movement, but I think 180 on each side is s a bit too much. Actually, look at the FW Pre-Heresy Land Raider design of the side sponsons, that is what I was thinking on...

 

Also, on the thought of more weapons...we could do that very easily. This project started out as a new class of Warhound, we could datasheet a whole new Titan all together. Make it another battle titan, something the might resemble a Reaver in weapons (3 instead of 2). Either way it is very feasible to datasheet this thing if need be, I thought for ease of use we could just use Warhound rules, but modding the rules up in points and such is easy enough to do.

 

F-C

[Alys Dwr]

Version 3 - the 'Bulldog' class titan. It's come on quite far and this is an attempt to see how the shoulder mounted guns look on a wide-shouldered chassis. I also had a go at a decent head, just because i was bored. It's not finished, just little tweaks here and there but seeing as this is only a rough design i thought "why bother?".

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l39/bonsai-al/warhound3-1.jpg

 

Whilst making this i got thinking. How far fetched would a tail be? It would perform no function on the titan but would help with the dog-like appearence. That, and the behind looks rather bland.

 

Al

 

+EDIT+ and for those interested, this titan is around 85' tall in sketchup. Scale is going to be off at the moment, the head is far too small for the body. Out of curiosity, how tall (real world and 40k) is a warhound titan? +/EDIT+

[Shortsonfire79]

Alys Dwr. That last on you just posted looks the best so far. Though, I can only imagine it walking like an ape. Moving the two front legs at once, then the back two.

 

I really am impressed by your rendering work.

 

I think the one that you posted with the articulated section isn't as great looking..For some reason, it just looks like it had another titan attached to its butt..

[Full-choke]

Al-

 

This design is by far the best. This is definitely what I have envisioned, I just couldn't put it into paper. I was thinking raise the shoulder mounts up a little bit higher, gives the legs some more motility in the front. Also, I agree the head does need to be bulked up, looks a little weak on the rest of the frame, but definitely a LOT better then the mock-up original. Although it does kind of look like a gorilla, that could also be cool. If you think on the gorilla, it can beat the tar out of things with it's arms, so why couldn't this if it was in close combat? Also, at 85' tall and mounted on 4 legs, I think we need more weapons :lol: If the Reaver stands around 80' then I think we are in that class range, lol. We could mount another smaller weapon like a mega bolter or inferno cannon on the underside, just a thought...

 

F-C

 

+EDIT+ And possibly an apocalypse missile launcher on top :D

[Shortsonfire79]

I'm going to have to stop watching thread I think..its venturing just out of the cheese level that I was thinking of...Though..I do agree that a small, four legged walker would be dumb..so I might stick around..but it seems to be just Alys and Choke anyways.