Legion Rising

[Tyrannicide]

You're a true innovator of the hobby, man. Always a pleasure to step foot in this thread. 

[Augustus b'Raass]

Yay! Looking good and I'm glad production is restarting! 

[Cheex]

Those objective markers are ingenious! Can't wait to see the tutorial

[Biohazard]

Great to see you back around buddy. Loving the objective markers and defence line.

[The_Chaplain]

Glad to see you back in the forge; hoping and praying that sexy loyalist kits will become available from your site soon(ish).  

 

New stuff looks great! 

[Midnightmare]

As ever, very impressed with your originality (and its execution!)

[Subtle Discord]

Forever lured to distraction by the voices from the Warp, I picked up several LED votive/tea candle lights a while back. The original simple plan was to create Wrecked Vehicle markers by adding blackened Poly-Fil or fake snow fibers to emulate smoke. I've seen it done several times and it's a great way to mark burning wrecks. Naturally, there's nothing stopping me from doing those in the future, but I thought there might be other uses for these cheap little lights.

 

With my starting army getting ever closer to actually being ready (someday), there is one thing I wish I could have dabbled with before I started painting; in hindsight, I wish I had taken the time to use LEDs to light my Rhinos, Predators, and anywhere else I could manage. I'm an all-or-nothing kind of personality (who'd guess that?) and I'd want them in all of the vehicles so I'm not going to start now. As a consolation, I've come to the conclusion that, within reason, I can add lighting to everything else. Where I can, I'll add lighting effects to scenery, markers, and counters.

 

I read once, and I can't even remember where, about someone who went all out and lit a Cites of Death table, and that planted the seed in my mind. I've always wanted to do a city fight table, so it seems a perfect opportunity to give it a try. I'm hoping to even add strategically placed smoke generators that can be triggered to add to the lighting effects. The plan even has a practical angle; it will all make a great backdrop to photograph studio kits in an appropriate setting. But, that's all a story for another day. For now, I started a little more modest...

 

∙ Soapstone is great for easy shaping and carving, but it's also very fragile; but that's not a problem for this purpose.

 

Naturally, you don't need to used soapstone, but I had some so it proved perfect for the job. Note the amount of dust that's created cutting up the soapstone; it's fine and light, so take care not to make more mess then needed. After sanding some of the sides smooth, I formed the pieces by chipping and cracking them into shape. It was easy to sketch out some simple patterns on the new surfaces and carve into the stone with my sculpting tools. I made sure to carve the lines nice and deep so they would catch the light well. For future attempts I'll try to take more care and make more intricate carvings.

 

∙ Time to make quick-and-simple moulds of the original stones so they can be cast in plastic; enter the Instant Mold (IM).

 

I haven't had a need to make press moulds the last while, so this IM has sat idle for quite some time. It's tricky to do 2-sided moulds like the ones I've done, but I wanted both sides of the stone. It took a few tries, but the results were good enough for my needs. I used the small blue pieces (chunks if a cut up pen) to create the pour gate and they were good-to-go. I didn't have enough IM to comfortably make all three, so the last one had to wait.

 

∙ Time to make some translucent copies with the moulds that can catch the light; next up, Easy Cast and a few simple tools.

 

Unlike the casting resin I've been using, which cures in 15-45 minutes, Clear Cast takes 24 hours to cure enough to de-mould, and 48+ hours to cure to full hardness. Fine for a few one-off casts, but far too slow if you wanted to make several of something. It is also very sensitive to how it's mixed; if you're just a little off of 50/50 the final object will never harden.

 

While you want a clear plastic to let the light pass through, if it's too clear the light will pass completely through and the object won't glow as well. To fix this it's a simple matter of making the plastic slightly translucent. Adding a very tiny amount of White acrylic paint to the mix is all that it takes; you don't want too much (not even a full drop, just a dab) or it will start to mute the light. You can also change the colour of paint if you want to alter the colour of the light. Add dab of blue paint in the resin with a yellow light and it will glow green, for example. A green LED would be better, but it will work in a pinch.

 

∙ One translucent copy. Now it just needs some minor modification.

 

Making the pour gate for the mould the right size lets it fit right over the LED and catch as much light as possible. When hollowing out the center it's best to start with a smaller drill bit and work up to get the hole clean and accurate.

 

∙ Now to turn it from a chunk of plastic into a shard of some ancient artifact.

 

It glows well enough without paint, but a layer of white primer will trap and reflect the light within the object. Even if the item is going to be dark like these arcane stones, it's good to start with white to make the glow as bright as you can. It will take many layers to completely block out the light from bleeding through thin spots in the paint. Consider this for the object you might want to create, fine details will be lost by all the layers of paint that will be needed. Slabs of stone with symbols carved in it makes a good choice; the rough stone looks fine with many coats of paint.

 

Base it up to match your army and it will come down to the final detail layers. I wish they could be a little bit shorter, but with how the internal parts are made in these tea lights, there's no easy way to make it shorter without rebuilding it from scratch. With a battery compartment, a wire, and a tiny switch, it wouldn't be hard to make something closer to a 40mm base in height, but for now, the provided form will do fine. In the end, it's an Objective Marker, so if it stands a little higher on the table it's not the worst thing. And they are almost 40mm in diameter so they're at least a cohesive size.

 

∙ They glow brightly enough to be very visible in a well-lit environment and the flicker adds just a bit of animation to the effect; reminding you to pay attention to them on the table.

 

After painting the surfaces a strong Black that didn't leak any light, I added a bit of Satin Varnish on the exposed clear plastic. This was to ensure there was a surface for the next wash layers to bond better with. To keep things simple I kept the flat surfaces pure Black and painted any exposed rough stone with Fortress Grey. I gave the Grey a wash with Agrax Earthshade and then set to work with Nuln Oil. I used the Nuln along all of the edges of the Black to mottle and blend the transition between the Grey and the Black, and long all of the glowing edges. By carefully layering up the Nuln Oil along the edges of the Black that met with the glowing lines, the transparent nature of the Nuln Oil wash helps soften the edge so the glow is more intense in the center and fades towards the outside. repeat the process until you have the desired depth.

 

These little markers turned out really well considering how quickly they came together. They would be interesting to see with a bit more time taken to carve more elaborate symbols, but there's nothing wrong with a simple start. I want to try other ideas, and colours, in the future. Now, speaking of more elaborate, I've had an idea for a lit scenery piece for quite some time; it brings together the ideas of something built for a city fight table, some cool lighting for effect, and a structure that GW recently added to the game - the Void Shield Generator.

 

∙ Emphasized in college, I did several iterations until I found a form that worked. The 3-sided concept couldn't open, the first 4-sided concept was too large, but the last was perfect.

 

I hope the fact that it's still just made of cardboard illustrates that this is still just an early scratch build, but really happy with the direction. I've been looking for a reason to put a 3" plasma globe into a piece of scenery for a while now. At first I figured it would be a Chaos portal or shrine (and that idea still has legs, but it will be an 8" globe when I get to it) but the Shield Generator seems like the perfect opportunity. I tried to make a structure that makes sense; a building you can enter at the base and climb an internal ladder to a hatch or door that opens to the battlements. The energy field that is being generated to create the Void Shield is created in the base to be contained and focused by the pillars that will be detailed out to look the part.

 

∙ It should be simple enough to devise a magnetic clasp that will let the model open for access to the globe for battery swaps.

 

I managed to find a battery-powered globe that's inexpensive ($11 CAD before shipping) that runs on 4 AAAs, but can still plug in when possible. My testing with four 700mAh rechargeable AAA batteries gets about 3 hours 15 minutes of non-stop run time, and the light effect stays strong to the end before turning off all at once. Higher mAh batteries should get more runtime, but I'm not sure just how much. The final build is a little shorter than a GW Bastion, its footprint is about the same as a Vengeance Weapon Battery, and there's enough room on the battlements for three 40mm bases. Obliterator perch anyone?

 

Like a few of my ideas right now, they are getting larger and more ambitious and require more consideration. I really like this idea for a kit, but its size makes it daunting. Like the Stormeagle concepts, the image in my mind is just too good to let go of, so I've been figuring out how the heck I will proceed with these larger ideas. I want need to make these things real if only to shut up the voices from the Warp that coax me on to build and create. Have faith Loyalists, things are in The Works.

 

I've already created a large enough wall-o'-text-&-photos for today, so I'll save my other ramblings for another time. As always, more to come and comments, questions, critiques, and general banter are always welcome. Thanks for the kind words, encouragement, and feedback.

 

Edited February 6 by Subtle Discord
+++ Image Data-link ∙ Repair +++

[Squeaky]

That is amazing like all of your work ;) the the runes have given me a few ideas but not sure if what's in my head will actually apply to the real world.

 

The void shield generator looks nice as it is so I can't wait for the finished product or even just a dim lite room with this iteration in would be cool :) though like you said it's a chunk of text already ;P

 

Thanks for the almost step by step and look forward to more.

[Augustus b'Raass]

Wow man, the amount of creativity you pour in your wokr is just outstanding. Nicely done!

[Forté]

Oh...er...holy...wow!

 

Those are amazing.

[The_Chaplain]

Have faith loyalists, things are in the works

Huzzah, that's good to hear. Waiting as always with bated breath to see what you come up with for the other team. That said, the void shield generator is fantastic-- the plasma sphere will certainly get people's attention during a game (though an obliterator perch is hard to ignore). Keep up the good work! (And as an aside, the new format for your shop website looks really good!)

[Aqui]

The plasma generator is a very cool idea and the markers look brilliant! I've been meaning to have a go with my instantmold, but I haven't found anything suitable for making mold frames (short of lego, an idea I've seen on someone's blog, but I forgot which one). I'll have to get around to it sooner than later

[matphat]

Hey Discord, I just wanted to share with you what your work has inspired. Not trying to hijack your thread, so I'll keep the pics to a minimum. More on my Dakka gallery if you are so inclined. Thanks so much for all your tutorials, and all the sharing.

 

This is my tribute to your work in the form of a WIP Iron Warriors army (Just basecoated at this point). Though I'll probably never have your skill! Not even close.

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/28/633502_sm-.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/28/633503_sm-.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/28/633504_sm-.JPG

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/7/28/633505_sm-.JPG

[Subtle Discord]

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery matphat, I'm glad I could be an inspiration and provide the template. When I started building so many moons ago I never even considered people imitating my work, thanks for the vote of confidence. It's looking great so far.
 
So, I have/had plans for some more in-depth articles that I really want to write, but I'm starting to feel like the white rabbit from Alice In Wonderland, frantically bolting forward in search of the rabbit hole, looking at my watch, panicking about being late. There's just never enough time to do everything I want to do; too... many... good... ideas! The damn whispers from the Warp keep speaking to me, and it's only gotten worse lately. (more on that in a moment) Time will have to tell just what I can cram into the schedule; time writing is time taken away from building and casting, and I have so much I want to build and cast! If I could just hide in the Warp now-and-then and get a few extra months, that would be perfect. *Shakes his fist at the fixed linear time stream*
 
Oh well, I'll make the most of the time I have left before the cruel mistress that is college commandeers my life, and see what I can make real. With my new equipment, I'm eager to get as much build time in as I can manage. It has so much potential it's got me rethinking old designs and coming up with all sorts of new ideas and uses. Let me explain... A few months ago my attention was drawn to CNC blade cutters, by matphat. I had looked at them years ago, but they were either too expensive or unimpressive in what they could do. I'm not cutting shapes for scrap-booking, I need a certain level of precision and total control. Other options come with strings attached; laser cutters and styrene don't like to play together easily and create poison gas, high-resolution CNC milling machines are expensive, high-res 3D prototypers are more expensive, and small-scale styrene injection moulding is not 'small'. So, after having my attention brought back to blade cutters, I did some research and became very encouraged with what I was seeing; these are not the cutters of even 3-5 years ago. After lots of reading, and many nights sleeping on it, I finally invested in a KNK Zing Air cutter (aka: Servitor Zing) and my build technique has forever changed...
 


∙ CAD Design + Servitor Zing = Loyalist Land Raider kit prototype is well on its way.

I purposely held off on this build waiting for this cutter; I wanted to use it as a test to see if the Zing would be up to the task, and it hasn't disappointed. After many years of practice, I am confident in my ability to cut accurately by hand; I've received too much good feedback on the quality of my cut work to be completely delusional. (just partially; but that's something else altogether) But, I'm still human and only so precise; there is no way I could come close to the accuracy that this cutter can achieve. I'm still climbing the last of the learning curve to get it cutting certain shapes properly, but I think the results are more then promising and speak for themselves. The swapping plate for the sponson/door in particular benefits from the improved accuracy; they line up perfectly.
 
It's even given me a use for some of my overpriced college textbooks; they make a perfect slab to support the cutting mat as it travels back-and-forth.
 
Now, this is a very clean straight-line pattern and there's nothing wrong with that, it's a very Imperial feeling; but, computer control cutting opens the door to many shapes and concepts that I had little choice but to avoid in the past. Articulate curved lines and arcs? forms that need to be near-100% accurate? Repeating patterns that would drive me to madness to cut by hand? Yes, please! I'll have some of each! And it's all automated once I've set the Servitor to work, so while it's cutting the parts I can give extra concentration to actually building the part/s. It really is almost like having another pair of hands. It does take some extra effort to turn the CAD designs into a cutting pattern, but it's worth the investment in the end.
 

∙ Servitor, modify thyself; CAD Design with challenging curved lines + Servitor Zing = Stylish new faceplate for Zing

So, for the sake of experimentation, I designed a straightforward Eye of Horus icon that made ample use of nicely curved lines to see what Zing could do. Cutting something like this by hand would be painstakingly slow at best, and downright impossible at worst. Getting the curved lines precise and matching from layer to layer would be completely maddening, to say the least. Now, letting Servitor Zing tackle the problem solves many of the issues with these complex shapes. It does have limitations, since it is a physical blade that is cutting the material, it acts like one; it does deform the plastic a bit as it cuts, and an 'offset' setting is needed to cut clean corners to compensate for the size of the blade. Some shapes need a bit of extra manual cleanup, but nothing any worse than what I had to do with parts cut by hand.

As always, thanks everyone for your feedback, encouragement, and goodwill; comments, questions, critiques, and any other musings are always welcome. An extra thanks goes out to the people who have supported my humble studio with purchases. It is all of you who have made it possible for me to take these ideas, make them real, and then take them farther than I ever could have expected. The vast majority of studio profits have been reinvested in the equipment that will help me continue to improve and expand what I do. Not everything is as glamorous as Servitor Zing, but it is all laying the foundation for many more wonderful future plans.

The specter of college is looming, but I have much more to come over the coming weeks, months, and years. This year I will be starting to work with digital creation methods (digital rendering and 3D modeling) and I know it will be what evolves my little studio to the next level. Outsourced rapid prototyping high-quality components to add to my building is just around the corner... relativity speaking.

Thanks for joining me on my journey into the unknown; that first step can be intimidating.

 

Edited February 6 by Subtle Discord
+++ Image Data-link ∙ Repair +++

[Razerz]

Ohh! I look forward to see what you can do now with a simpler way to do more curved patterns. On a semi-related note; are you thinking of doing Inquisitorial trimmings?

[Subtle Discord]

I would have to be careful about exactly which (if any) iconography I use in the designs, but the sky is the limit to what themes I can pursue. My brain is swirling with ideas for so many different themes, nothing is really out of the question. Something as simple as accurate curved lines really does provide a lot of opportunity.

[Forté]

AmaZing! (Sorry, but no one else had). Looks fantastic. Want, want, want!

[The_Chaplain]

Oh sweet god emperor of mankind that loyalist landraider prototype is beautiful. I will definitely be buying one of those once they are off the assembly line. With servitor zing aiding you now, even the storm eagle kit looks possible!

[thamier]

this is great, now with your new toy and your devotion to the gods of chaos you can finally make those chaos baneblade treads everyone( and by everyone i mean me) been needing.

 

after all superheavys becomming more and more comme, and i really dont like the lord of skulls model.

last christmas my gf got me a baneblade but its still in its box waitingfor new footies ;)

[Subtle Discord]

Oh trust me, this wonderful device has me rethinking almost everything I've already started and what I have planned. From little details like just rounding corners instead of beveling them, to far more elaborate designs. And yes, that includes the Storm Eagle; trust me, the Eagle haunts me... If only I had one more month. *Sigh* What I think I'll do is a Storm Raven extension kit to start, and use it as a base to expand on to make the Chaos Storm Eagle. With Servitor Zing doing the cutting it will be much easier to repeat a template or pattern. That way I can do something Loyalist along side the Chaos kit and spread the love a little. The heavy lifting that Zing is going to handle really does take some of the daunting out of the project.

 

Oh Thamier, don't do that... I don't need any more temptation to start a Chaos Guard army. It's something I've been wanting to start for a while now, and the itch just keeps growing and getting harder-and-harder to ignore. It's really the only way I could do tracks for a Baneblade, because it would give me an excuse to get a Baneblade. Even with the accuracy of Zing, I still need an actual model to ensure the fit is 100%. My plan is to get a Dark Vengeance box along with a Cadian Defense Force so I can convert and bash the Cultists with the Guard and make models that can drift between the two lists. It's my birthday in October, and it's been many months since I made a hobby purchase, so maaaybe. With the Chimera and the Russ in the package, I would have what I need to get started to making kits for Guard vehicles and the Baneblade can only follow soon after. The only catch is that I really want to do a Chaos Knight in a Lucius pattern style, and I will struggle to choose between it and the Baneblade model first. The big GW kits are an investments that require some strategic financial preparation. Two will wipe my gaming budget for quite some time.

 

Damn it, now you've got me itching again. A nice throng of normal humans to fill out the ranks? Mmmm... yeah, I think I need to figure out how to make that happen. You're a really good kind of wicked Thamier; damn your temptations. Well played.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

So... any chance of you ever doing replacement tracks for all those HH era Legion vehicles?

 

Like this, for example:

 

http://i.imgur.com/FzJ9fbY.jpg?1

 

Gorgeous vehicle. I'd have three if I could afford it. HIDEOUS, stupid tracks!

[Subtle Discord]

Oh no, not you too Kage! So much temptation. My account balance cringes every time I browse Forge World. Trust me, I want a Glaive soooo badly. But first I think I would get a Sicaran. I like them both, but it caught my eye ever since it was released. I always wanted a step between a Predator and Land Raider.

 

I agree, the tracks puzzled me as well. Why no tread? It's very odd. As with the Baneblade, there's nothing stopping me from making replacements except the model itself. I need to get independently wealthy, dammit. There are too many things I'd like to get from Forge World.

Edited August 12, 2014 by Subtle Discord

[JeffTibbetts]

If you made a Storm Raven that would probably push me over the edge to buying one. In fact, ANY loyalist kit you make will be sorely tempting. Just saying... 

[Subtle Discord]

Oh, it's all happening, it's just a matter of the timeline. Maybe I could clone myself and create a work force. The offspring I've fathered is wonderful and adorable, but it's several years yet before I can make him a helper. :)

[Grizzly_bear]

Fantastic work....brilliant