Master of the Forge, with Beamer, on foot WIP

[ShinyRhino]

I'm finally putting together a scratch-built Master of the Forge, with Conversion Beamer. I've sen a lot of different version sof this guy, but most folks seem to put him on a bike. That doesn't jive with my mental image of him, so I'm putting mine on foot.

 

The first step was collecting up the parts I wanted to use:

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfparts.jpg

 

I'm a big fan of using recycled parts from secondhand Marines, so some of the ones shown here have paint and bits of glue still on them.

My buildout for the MotF is simple, beamer and power weapon. Since he can't possibly hold both, I took a scabbarded Black Templars sword to represent his power weapon.

There are no plastic techmarine legs, so I decided to go with older-Mark legs, but chop them to make a bionic replacement, and maybe add plating to them with plasticard.

The backpack is an old metal multimelta pack I got in a trade some time ago, but that had been hacked and chopped up. I'll be running my own wiring to this from the Beamer.

The torso was a toss-up between the Mechanicus torso from the Marine Vehicle sprue, or this Iron Warriors torso. I liked the cog teeth of this one better, plus, it just looks older.

Standard bolter arms will be chopped and moved to hold the big frakkin gun.

The head was a choice between this Dark Angels techmarine head, or the Iron Warriors head without horns. This one won for being more of an iconic Techmarine look.

Add in a Mechanicus shoulder pad from the vehicle sprue, and not pictured is a metal Ultramarines pad that will be embiggened a bit with a blast shield made of plasticard.

Finally, the base for the gun. It's a Chaos Reaper Autocannon.

 

The first thing I wanted to do(after filing mold lines and removing old glue) was fill in that tiny DA symbol on the techmarine head. A tiny dab of plastic glue later:

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfheadfill.jpg

 

I then took a file to the area and smoothed it out. Simple, and no greenstuff required. You won't even notice it after its primed.

 

The first step with the legs was to shop off the left leg, and insert a plastic rod for the core of his bionics:

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motflegs01.jpg

 

I then removed the thigh section entirely, rotated the lower leg outward for a more heroic pose, and put it together. The plastic rod is actually a length of drive shaft or something from an old model kit I had in my sprue box. I liked that it had indents and such on it.

I'll be adding additional, smaller rods to the thing to bulk it out some, and maybe a wire. I'll also resculpt some soft armor at the groin and knee area, since you'd think you'd want to keep dirt and debris out of the joint housings.

 

Then came the fun part, the gun!

The first thing I did was snip off all of the barrel parts from the autocannon, as well as the impaled skull. I went rhough a ton of different ideas for the barrle, but settled on this base to work from:

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfbeamer01.jpg

 

I wanted something that combined the look of plasma, Necron Gauss technology, and an ancient sci-fi feel. I drilled three holes in the front of the barrel area, and inserted a long length of paper clip in the center hole. Two shorter lengths go in the top and bottom holes. I cut some Q-tips to length, and fitted them over the shorter pins. Apply glue, and have patience. I then cut the support section out of the frnot of the autocannon barrle, and drilled a single hole in it, dead-center. Slip that over the long, center rod, and glue in place.

While this looks OK, it's a little TOO Necron for my tastes. I had to do more!

 

I wrapped the entire length in floral wire:

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfbeamer02.jpg

 

This gives it a nice plasma coil look. Thicker wire might have helped some, but probably would have been harder to wrap. The one problem is, the gun lacks any real stability of design. It needs some bulk:

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfbeamer03.jpg

 

I achieved this by wrappeing some .5cm wide strips of plasticard around the barrel, and gluing them in place. It's just nto done yet, though. The gun looks like a good bump would bend the barrel, or damage the coils. More reinforcement:

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfbeamer04.jpg

 

The bottom support is a random part from the model Jeep kit that fit perfectly in place, so I just had to use it. The side prongs are actually some sort of shocks or springs from the same model kit. I really like them, as they look very ancient sci-fi, like something from Frankenstein's lab, or the set of Metropolis (the movie).

This is where I quit for the night, as I didn't want to be bumping the prongs while the glue dried, and the Bruins game was about to start.

 

Next update will show some additional work on the bionics, and the remainder of the gun. It needs a grip for the off-hand, and a top fork. Also, I'll be test-fitting some power cabling to various points.

 

Feedback, anyone?

[Race Bannon]

You know, I don't want to build my MotF. Especially with a CB. But this is giving me some ideas.

 

Good show! :P

[trautz]

looks very good so far, nice idea about the head

[The Normish]

Looks good, like the gun, and can;t wait to see the finished model.

Though I must say that that is not how I imagined a conversion beamer. I always imagined it as fitting on a power glove.

[ShinyRhino]

Thanks for the feedback, all.

 

@Normish: it's not really what a conversion beame rlooks like, at all. You can find pics of the "real" one that came with the Space Crusade game, and it's totally different. I actually own an old RTB-era version, and thought abut just using that. But it's small, and ugly as sin.

I wanted something huge that looked like it could put some firepower downrange :)

[Xeonic]

I like it! The conversion beamer looks beefy and capable of putting out a lot of pain, just how I imagined it(it is afterall a long ranged heavy weapon!). I based mine on a multi-melta body and backpack and a metal techmarine, but now I'm kinda wishing I'd used that ravenwing head and IW torso. ^_^

 

I hadn't thought of using a sheathed power sword, I was going to forgo any melee upgrades, but now that I've seen that one I'm stealing your idea, I happen to have a couple of those sheathed swordy bits lying around. :)

 

The only thing that bothers me is the paint caked in the deep crevases of the multi-melta backpack, personally when I've stripped metal models/components I go through afterwards with a sewing pin and pick out all the caked in paint bits. I'm a little OCD though, I'm sure it won't even be noticeable once you get primer on there.

[ShinyRhino]

The only thing that bothers me is the paint caked in the deep crevases of the multi-melta backpack, personally when I've stripped metal models/components I go through afterwards with a sewing pin and pick out all the caked in paint bits. I'm a little OCD though, I'm sure it won't even be noticeable once you get primer on there.

 

I went back and scraped some of the remaining paint last night, but I'm not overly worried about it. As you mentioned, it isn't noticable once primed and painted.

 

I also scrapped the leg conversion, and just went with a set of Iron Hands bionic legs. Pics soon.

[ShinyRhino]

Got a little more work done on the Master.

After some suggestions, Ilooked into other legs for him. one good idea was these old-school Devastator models:

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfdevlegs.jpg

 

They have great, clunky feet with the matching square "gear teeth" on them. I looked at each one I had, trying to figure out a way to chop them without making a huge mess out of all the detail. The best version has a purity seal on his hip, which would have to be ground down to fit the IW torso on there. Also, the things on these guys are weedy compared to the new plastics. I decided to go in another direction:

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfihlegs.jpg

 

Iron Hands bionic legs! I had these kicking around, and had looked at them before, but felt the direction of the stance was off. I brought them out again, and fit them once more. I actually liked how they looked combined with the gun, so I decided to use them. I slapped the torso to them, and then the head to the neck:

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfbtlbuilt.jpg

 

I feel the pose has a "what was that?" feel to it, or the idea that he's turning to engage a new target on the battlefield as he stalks forward. It'll look even better when I get the arms and pack on there.

You can barely see it in this pic, but I added a bottom vane to the firing end of the gun. It's the little center arm from the Rhino radar dish part.

I also added a handle, which is the crank part from the Baneblade sprue. It's right next to the sledgehammer and the toolbox on the frame.

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfgunhandle.jpg

 

With the new handle, I also needed a new arm, as a standard bolter arm just wasn't going to cut it:

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfgriparm.jpg

 

It's a biker arm, with the grasping hand from a bolter arm grafted on. The original biker arm was too tight a grip to hold the handle. This one is a little loose on the bar, but it'll work, unless I go for something completely different.

 

Then I started making the blast shield on the Ultra pad:

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfupad.jpg

 

It's just plasticard glued to the back of the pad, which will then be trimmed to shape. I can't remember where I saw this done before, but it is nice.

 

Next up will be gap-filling with Brown Stuff. I need to join the upper arm of the gun arm to the forearm, fill a dent in the front prongs, smooth the join on the handle, and plug a hole in the top of the pack.

I prefer Brown Stuff for this, as it cures rock hard, and can be sanded finely. greenstuff doesn't hold sharp detail all that well, and doesn't stand up to much filing or sanding.

[FlamingDeth]

Out of curiosity, planning on doing anything to the back end of the beamer? Ammo drums and ejection ports look a bit off at the moment.

[ShinyRhino]

Out of curiosity, planning on doing anything to the back end of the beamer? Ammo drums and ejection ports look a bit off at the moment.

 

Yes. I plan on turning the ports into wiring junctions.

The ammo drum will be painted in the same color as the coils, to represent a charging chamber or fuel cell.

[ShinyRhino]

Another update:

 

I skipped a lot of steps in my photo taking. Oops!

 

I ended up doing all my Brown Stuff work, and assembling everything, minus the power sword:

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfbeamerfuelfront.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfbeamerfuelrear.jpg

 

 

As you can see, I completed the trimming of the blast shield, but it's not at a very good angle in this pic.

I also covered the empty hole where the autocannon ammo box would go. The piece I coverfed it with is part of a dashboard from the same model Jeep kit I've been cannibalizing for the whole project. The wire is from an old phone line that I tore out of my house. lol.

You can also see where I attempted to add four cables from the ammo ejection ports to the cowling. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get the wires to stick, as the holes couldn't be drilled deep enough without ruining the coiled floral wire underneath. So, I'm going to patch the holes wioth Brown Stuff. I'll then likely shave off the edging of the ejection ports and put anothe rlittle tech-looking bit or gubbin there.

 

Personally, I love the overall look of this guy. He looks like an absolute badass with that huge beamer, and the "You want some of this?" look.

 

Comments, ideas, or suggestions?

[carnosaur93]

well. vary cool model, the tech-marine head goes realyl well with the IW torso. the only thing i can point out though is that you should turn around his left hand to be under the handle, as that would be the logical way of wielding a big gun like that

[ShinyRhino]

well. vary cool model, the tech-marine head goes realyl well with the IW torso. the only thing i can point out though is that you should turn around his left hand to be under the handle, as that would be the logical way of wielding a big gun like that

 

I actually tried it like that when test-fitting, but it just looked really off, like he was about to drop it.

[carnosaur93]

hmm, i would guess that is due to the hand itself. being technically open, maybe?:X... i would say he needs to have a tight grip on that big gun for it to look right^^'

[faol]

I truly love the conversion beamer I've been slowly trying to come up with an idea to make one for a MotF for my Iron Hands army you may have the solution to my log jam I cant wait to see this one painted up

[ShinyRhino]

hmm, i would guess that is due to the hand itself. being technically open, maybe?:X... i would say he needs to have a tight grip on that big gun for it to look right^^'

 

Yeah, it was basically that, combined with the angle of the arm. Due to the conversion from Terminator arm to regular arm, the gun's overall angle must be tilted as you see here. You can't get the gun to lie straight across his body due to its size. Maybe if I'd cut the bicep at a different angle, or pinned it at an angle.

So, when his supporting hand was palm-up, it looked like he had a broken wrist due to the extreme angling. Oops! Lesson learned.

 

I truly love the conversion beamer I've been slowly trying to come up with an idea to make one for a MotF for my Iron Hands army you may have the solution to my log jam I cant wait to see this one painted up

 

Glad you like it. I went through a lot of different designs before finally settling on this one.

[Retributis]

You might want to do something about the leering chaos faces on the ejector ports :) but other than that a pretty sweet build

[Xeonic]

I like the skulls on the ejector ports actually, if you look at them they only look "leering" because they're supposed to be spitting shells. I think they look fine for loyalist stylization as well.

 

Have you considered stripping the insulation from a wire, twisting it, and adding a GS "boot" to plug with holes with? This way the boot would be providing hopefully enough contact area to allow you to just glue it right into the holes you've already got.

Plus you'd have a really nice stranded wire running into the "breech" of your 'beamer.

If it's copper telephone wire you wouldn't even have to paint it to have it look good.

[Marius Corsican]

I don't think the ejector ports will be that chaos looking with the right paint job. You may want to get some guitar wire (acoustic) for the cables going to the backpack. You can usually find some cheap at Target or a similar store and you get a bunch of different sizes. Otherwise, great looking conversion. Can't wait to see it painted.

[ShinyRhino]

Have you considered stripping the insulation from a wire, twisting it, and adding a GS "boot" to plug with holes with? This way the boot would be providing hopefully enough contact area to allow you to just glue it right into the holes you've already got.

Plus you'd have a really nice stranded wire running into the "breech" of your 'beamer.

If it's copper telephone wire you wouldn't even have to paint it to have it look good.

 

That's a damned fine idea, and one I think I'll use. I'll simply strip a tiny bit of the end of the wire insulation, and glue the thinner inner copper wire into the holes, and shore up the join with a Green Stuff gasket.

 

I don't think the ejector ports will be that chaos looking with the right paint job. You may want to get some guitar wire (acoustic) for the cables going to the backpack. You can usually find some cheap at Target or a similar store and you get a bunch of different sizes. Otherwise, great looking conversion. Can't wait to see it painted.

 

The cables as they are are so solidly attached now that I'd have to gut the whole assembly to remove them now, but I see your point. Guitar strings would make the cable slook more like the common ribbed hoses and such you see on every 40K model. Hmmm. Maybe I'll do a spiralled single strand of my floral wire around each fuel line to give it some texture.

[Taerij]

I love it! I completed one not long ago and we seem to have come to a similar pose.

 

That beamer is truly awesome.

[maverike_prime]

Just finished reading. Very nice ideas. It's not how I personally envisioned a CB, but it works. I really like how you've gone through step by step and explained what you were doing and how you accomplished it. It's giving me a lot of ideas for a CB conversion of my own.

[ShinyRhino]

Some progress!

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfprimed01.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfprimed02.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/MotF/motfreds01.jpg

[Capt. Liam Shaw]

Very nice!!!

[Knight of Old]

Tesla Gun. I approve. ;)