Legion Rising

[Quixus]

IIRC the Heresy Ruleset has functional dozer blades, extra armour etc. (still).

[Subtle Discord]

The Loud Speaker. As those skilled in the art of making loud noises once said, the volume nob goes to eleven because that's louder than ten. It's simple really.

[Lord Commander Eidolon]

Ooh, loving this!! Think I'll have to get one!

 

I might end up making that sonic predator I've long been procrastinating over

[hushrong]

That’s nice!

[Pandoras Bitz Box]

Your Design work is very cool. I know its not easy to describe creativity, but do you think you could articulate the design process you go through while making these things up? They look fantastic and not only that but the design seems to fit in seemlessly with the GW stuff. Im just wondering how you get to the end design from a concept in your head? Do you do thumbnails, is there much of a trial and error process? any chance we could see a bit of the behind the scenes before it even gets to the physical stage?

 

Sorry, thats a lot of questions

[Augustus b'Raass]

This whole thread is one giant insight into SD's design process!

[Ahistorian]

With the return of Necromunda and the rise of Inq28, gubbins to Imperialise scratchbuilt buildings would be ace too :D

[Pandoras Bitz Box]

This whole thread is one giant insight into SD's design process!

I know, I know! I'm not complaining about the thread content by far. I love it.  Its just a REAL vast archive of work and I have no shame in admitting I havent read it start to finish. I'm new to all these threads and I barely have any time to work on my projects, I definitely don't have time to look through the entirety of of each thread that belongs to a person whose work I admire!  What I've looked at so far though, I see lots of ideas and the 3D graphics pre printing, and a lot of the finished work.  I just wondered how he generated the actual 3D images, like how he decide to put what where and all that. They look amazing and concept work fascinates me. If I've missed an example of that then that's may failing but if anyone knows of an example and can point me near to one I'd love to see it! Or I guess I should just be patient and wait for the next one to come around.  I just find the work exciting and I wasnt sure if that stage was something people were interested in... no actually, I assume loads of people are interrested... I think I assumed that sooo much goes into these that SD has to pick and choose what things he divulges so that his whole free time isnt consumed by narrating every artistic thought that passed through his brain.

 

Is it too much to ask to have a direct link into SD's mind?... yes... yes it is.

[Paradogmatic]

So quiet -- how are the new pintle weapons casting up?

[Zauberpudding]

Hello.

 

I am still looking for a 3d printer myself and was also looking at the Solus for a while but since i am located in the EU it seems there is no real option to aquire one.

So i was wondering if there were any other options in the price range you have considered?

I am personally lookign atthe Moai pritner which is a galvo UV-Laser system but is also technically capable of a layer hight of down to 5micron.

The Laser spot with 70micron doesnt allow for as good a XY Resolution as some higher end DLP Pritners.

 

Did you achieve a 5micron print with the Solus so far?

[Subtle Discord]

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Interupt! ∙ System Fault…

+++ Resource Allocation ∙ Temporarily Diverted +++ Diversion Obligations ∙ Complete +++

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Motivation Subroutines ∙ Recalibrating… +++

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Nobody expects the Inquisition!!

 

Especially me, it would seem.

 

Sorry all for the sudden delay in updates.

 

Long story short, while I’m working to get my studio up-and-running properly I’m still also a husband, father, and homeowner, so it should be said that other obligations are going to divert my attention from time-to-time. My family is completely supportive and one of the main reasons why I can even take this seriously, but that can only ever extend so far as sometimes I just gotta’ do the things we all have to do. 

 

Those who’ve followed my content over the years will know that it can go dormant sometimes but it will return when the time is right; I’m in this for the long haul and would never go completely dark without saying something before I did. But right now I’m still doing this solo while I get the last pieces in place and that means there’s a limit on my time. This will change as this moves forward since I simply can’t do everything, but I gotta’ walk before I can hope to run.

 

I’m currently researching small business support programs in my area as well as any grants and/or other opportunities that I can take advantage of so know that, as always, things are happening but there just as much unglamorous paperwork and stuff that has nothing to do with actually making of models that need to happen in the background, as there is work to be done making the actual models; and it’s all the work that I have no experience with so it’s also a bit intimidating, daunting, and something I’ve been procrastinating on. Crowdfunding is also quickly becoming something I now have to take seriously, but that’s still just a few steps out as I get this all together; I’ve got all the pieces at this point, I just need to finish assembling them. Then I’ll worry about how to generate the needed capital to help me find the right people to help me take things to the proper next level. I’m determined to do it by myself until I find the right way to expand, so expect to see lots of new stuff over the coming weeks and months, but I’m also not fooling myself and know that’s not realistic long-term. I just wanna’ make the damn models and miniatures, but there’s much more to it than that.

 

Further updates and replies to comments and question follow will in the near future when I can sit down and give the reply/s some proper input. Sorry for the delay.

[DuskRaider]

Good to see you're still alive and kicking. I'd say you're in a good position now if you intend to make Chaos (and Loyalist I guess) Knight parts, especially with the new Index and no actual model support from GW. You'd be the only one as far as I know.

[Lexington]

re: Crowdfunding, I know that I, for one, would literally contribute just to have your store expand, no immediate material reward necessary. Imagine I’m not alone.

[The Nephilim]

re: Crowdfunding, I know that I, for one, would literally contribute just to have your store expand, no immediate material reward necessary. Imagine I’m not alone.

I don't have a lot that I could kick in, but if this actually happened right now, I'd throw some dollars at it. A, I like your product. B, it's unique visually. C, I find it more aestethically pleasing than anything Spellcrow, Kromlech or any of the others have to offer. Chaos doesn't have to be all over the top spikes. Give me baroque horror, dammit! The stuff you've made does that. I like that.

[Subtle Discord]

No, it's not a can of worms I want to open quite yet, but I appreciate the vote of support. It wasn't long ago that I was settling on trying to do small crowdfunding on a per-kit basis because I was planning to outsource my 3D printing. Naturally, that's all changed now and that completely changes how I want to approach the crowdfunding concept. Now I need to rethink just how I want to do it and consider the options. In the meantime, I'll keep things modest focus on redesigning and updating my current line* to get that out of the way and consider how to use crowdfunding going forward in creating new and more ambitious things and increase my ability to produce. Right now I've only got two hands and when they're doing any one thing they can't be doing anything else and they’ve got more than one thing to be doing all the time; I'm the creative core of this but I'm also the bottleneck and I recognize that and know it’ll need to change if I want to do the studio right.

 

*Speaking of which, here’s a screenshot of the finished revamp of the Vehicle Accessories, including the Smoke Launcher and Communications Dish.

 

Naturally, as will be signature of all of my designs everything is modular to give the builder freedom but also to aid in production so I can make top-notch components.

 

Games Workshop and in particular the 40k setting has a distinct design language and I like to think I've got a good feel for it and I'm glad my design style resonates with people. Naturally everything is subjective, but I really aim to find the right balance between gothic and baroque blended with technology and soon much more ambitious horror elements. It's that sweet-spot balance that I think many studios miss the mark on and that I hope to hit. Now that I have almost complete freedom in the forms I can create thanks to the new equipment, just wait, I want to do some really interesting stuff. But it's going to be variations and changes on the beginning base kits to take them in different directions; create the normal version that's well suited to Loyalists forces, then take the design and alter it to suit the builder's particular project.

 

Knights provide a frustrating catch-22 right now. Yes, I want to do designs for them, but they're something I want to work up to. The kits will be large so they will be more expensive and be technically challenging to make. It's a mixed blessing that GW can continue to produce so many kits that I want to work with. There's no end to potential future projects and products, but I need some time to catch up dammit!

[Pandoras Bitz Box]

Man, it is SUCH a pleasure to look at your projects. Never mind buying and building with... just looking at your designs is awesome. There's no real need for anyone to point out how much support you would get and already have for what ever path you take for your business.  I haven't been following you thread that long because I have only been on Bolter for a matter of months but it also doesn't look like fans of your work (or anyone with eyes) are going anywhere during your periods of dormancy.  I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to get something myself from your shop as my Thousand sons have a more toned down chaos aesthetic without the spikes. I hope you continue to creep towards your end goal and have fun doing it!

[Subtle Discord]

Your Design work is very cool. I know its not easy to describe creativity, but do you think you could articulate the design process you go through while making these things up? They look fantastic and not only that but the design seems to fit in seemlessly with the GW stuff. Im just wondering how you get to the end design from a concept in your head? Do you do thumbnails, is there much of a trial and error process? any chance we could see a bit of the behind the scenes before it even gets to the physical stage?

 

Sorry, thats a lot of questions

 

This whole thread is one giant insight into SD's design process!

I know, I know! I'm not complaining about the thread content by far. I love it.  Its just a REAL vast archive of work and I have no shame in admitting I havent read it start to finish. I'm new to all these threads and I barely have any time to work on my projects, I definitely don't have time to look through the entirety of of each thread that belongs to a person whose work I admire!  What I've looked at so far though, I see lots of ideas and the 3D graphics pre printing, and a lot of the finished work.  I just wondered how he generated the actual 3D images, like how he decide to put what where and all that. They look amazing and concept work fascinates me. If I've missed an example of that then that's may failing but if anyone knows of an example and can point me near to one I'd love to see it! Or I guess I should just be patient and wait for the next one to come around.  I just find the work exciting and I wasnt sure if that stage was something people were interested in... no actually, I assume loads of people are interrested... I think I assumed that sooo much goes into these that SD has to pick and choose what things he divulges so that his whole free time isnt consumed by narrating every artistic thought that passed through his brain.

 

Is it too much to ask to have a direct link into SD's mind?... yes... yes it is.

 

Man, it is SUCH a pleasure to look at your projects. Never mind buying and building with... just looking at your designs is awesome. There's no real need for anyone to point out how much support you would get and already have for what ever path you take for your business.  I haven't been following you thread that long because I have only been on Bolter for a matter of months but it also doesn't look like fans of your work (or anyone with eyes) are going anywhere during your periods of dormancy.  I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to get something myself from your shop as my Thousand sons have a more toned down chaos aesthetic without the spikes. I hope you continue to creep towards your end goal and have fun doing it!

Thanks again for the kind words. I'm happy to document my process as best I can and I'm glad it's well received. It really is a conscious effort that I plan to continue doing with my studio, so please enjoy. You're right that I can be hard to describe a creative process but let me see if I can give at least a little insight.

 

In college, I discovered that I'm an ok sketcher, but I'm painfully slow compared to people who are really good at it. However, I'm exceptionally good at visualizing an idea and making it real, be that in digital format or as an actual object. I do use some sketching during the process, but it's usually to work out certain tricky elements rather than draw out an entire idea and they're usually very quick and rough. I'm lucky to be producing for myself, where I don't have to prove a concept on paper to another person. If I see something awesome in my mind, I can see it (for the most part) and I just need to make that image a reality. This skill also lets me break larger objects down into their constituent forms so I can work through different elements.

 

Now there is an evolution as an idea goes from image/inspiration to reality and it does tend to change a bit. It's usually a process of getting the basic idea started and then I'll tweak and alter it as I go to get the final details and forms looking right. In some cases, I'll have a good idea of most of the details I want to add to something, and sometimes I'm not as sure and they happen more organically as the object takes form. Many times I can only really see just how I can fit the geometry into a form when I've got the basic shapes in place as a backdrop.

 

This is a skill that I've discovered is quite rare and I seem to be particularly good at it. I can remember being ~7 years old trying to build tiny X-wing and Tie fighters models out of cereal box cardboard and toothpicks, and trying to figure out the correct triangular shapes needed to create the long shape of the X-wing fuselage. This is the kind of thing I've been compelled to do all my life.

 

Keep watching and reading and I'll be happy to continue to offer whatever glimpse into my process that I can. Feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer.

 

With the return of Necromunda and the rise of Inq28, gubbins to Imperialise scratchbuilt buildings would be ace too

I really want to get to doing some more terrain pieces. The Shield Generator model turned out so well that it just reinforced that I need to do more big cool stuff like that, and if I can find more creative ways to include light elements, well I'll toss that in too. The Generator project also pulled in the same comment, that some of the smaller elements could easily be taken on their own and used to detail a scratch build. with digital creation I can get the best of both; large kits with elements that can be taken and created separately for people who don't need/want the larger kit/s.

 

Hello.

 

I am still looking for a 3d printer myself and was also looking at the Solus for a while but since i am located in the EU it seems there is no real option to aquire one.

So i was wondering if there were any other options in the price range you have considered?

I am personally lookign atthe Moai pritner which is a galvo UV-Laser system but is also technically capable of a layer hight of down to 5micron.

The Laser spot with 70micron doesnt allow for as good a XY Resolution as some higher end DLP Pritners.

 

Did you achieve a 5micron print with the Solus so far?

I recommend that you contact Reify or Junction 3D and enquire about getting a Solus in Europe. Their support forums have people from all around the world providing feedback and looking for support. I'm in Canada and needed to be forwarded to the supplier here to make the purchase. I really can't recommend the Solus enough. While I was hopeful before I got it, it performs better then I was expecting, and that's saying something. 

 

I did look at other printers, primarily the Form 2 and the B9Creator which are some of the other ones in the same price range, but their output just isn't of the same quality. They provide larger build areas, but it sacrifices resolution to provide that extra build volume. To the best of my knowledge, there's nothing that can compare with the output of Solus in the same price range. I can't compare it directly, but it uses a proprietary film as a building surface that reduces the peeling stress as the object is built and it really does create surfaces as amazing as they appear in photographs. Yes, it does have a learning curve and it takes some trial-and-error to learn the best practices required for the best results, but any flaws that do crop up in tricky spots are generally so subtle they're hard to even photograph.

 

I'm finding that layer height is important but it's not everything. In my case, I've got a 42 micron XY resolution, so if the Z resolution is at least half of that I'm getting excellent results. While I feel Solus would handle it no problem (especially with their Proto resin designed for the printer), I haven't done 5 micron layer height because I really don't need to. I've done some tests at 10 microns but didn't find the quality worth the tradeoff of creating prints that would potentially take 12+ hours to finish on larger objects. Remember, no matter how good the printer is, if you cut the layer height in half you double the print time, period. DLP has an advantage because it exposes each layer all at once (opposed to lase which needs to 'draw' the entire layer) so it's generally faster, but it's still can't avoid that simple math. Right now I'm doing most prints at 20 microns for the later height and I like the balance between speed and quality.

 

I wish I could give you more of an idea how the ~70 micron XY laser resolution might compare to the 42 micron XY resolution I'm using with the DLP, but all I can say is that I started using Solus at the high-resolution setting of 24 microns and dropping down to 42 microns had virtually no noticeable impact on details that are found on 28mm scale models. All the components I made for the Dragoon model, with their subtle curves and fine lettering were printed at 42 micron XY and 20 microns Z resolutions. In my opinion, Solus is worth the effort if it takes jumping through a few hoops to get one where you're located. I have very high standards and it continues to meet or exceed them.

[Quixus]

I was wondering, do you have any tips on how to paint your LED objective markers? I imagine it could be a bit difficult to keep the grooves free of paint. Also do the runes somehow indicate the numbers 1 through 6?

[Subtle Discord]

I provide some instructions in the Objective Markers kit on how I recommend priming the clear parts to avoid getting paint in the grooves. I found that if you spray from an extreme top-down and/or bottom-up angle the primer will have a very hard time getting into the groves intended to light up. If any paint does get into the groves I found that waiting until it's starting to dry and then going in with a pointed tool can easily clean away an unwanted paint. The plastic I use for clear parts cures very hard so it's actually quite hard to scratch or damage.

 

Unfortunately, I completely overlooked adding something to indicate the number of each marker when I created the kit and I regret it now. The simplest solution I've considered is to add some number decals to the edge of the base (if you have any kind of model collection odds are you have plenty of extra decals) or try to create some detail to accompany the glowing stones on the base that can display a number of some sort. Naturally, with a steady hand and a sharp tool, you could also add something to the existing patterns to indicate a number; it could be as simple as adding dots/pips similar to those on 6-sided dice or roman numerals which would simply be a few straight lines.

 

If/when I revisit this kind of kit (I like the idea and really do want to create other kits similar ot it), I'll be sure to not make this same oversight again.

[Brother Lunkhead]

Thanks for sharing your talent and insight with us..... you've been most helpful and generous

[Eldrick Shadowblade]

::waiting on new kit replenishment:::

 

Top notch work as usual. I still have to mock up you shield generator!

[hushrong]

“Right now I’ve only got two hands”

 

That’s a weird turn of phrase to hear from an exalted texhpriest. :)

 

Always great to see some designs and updates!

[Subtle Discord]

“Right now I’ve only got two hands”

 

That’s a weird turn of phrase to hear from an exalted texhpriest.

 

Always great to see some designs and updates!

At this point, I would seriously consider installing a Servo Harness if it was an option.

 

Edit: Seriously though, I've passed the point a while ago that I could see how a Domnus would come to the conclusion that they need another hand.

 

"Servitor, how many ribs would you have to remove to install an additional left arm?"

Edited July 1, 2018 by Subtle Discord

[Subtle Discord]

Finally, arriving in the next few days to the shop, the Certamen Light Vehicle Weapon kits are ready for some proper photography. I'm just finishing them up and trying to figure out how to best compose the images I'll be using in the shop. I figured it wouldn't hurt to toss a few up here while I'm at it to have another look at them in context.
 


The look so good in wonderful grey polyurethane resin, the only thing that would make them better would be a coat of paint. I wish I had time to do it right now...

 

... but I suspect examples will start showing up soon enough after their available. They're a modest start to so much more, but just look at those sharp lines, crisp details, smooth surfaces, and picture them on/in everything I do going forward! Not a bad proof of concept if I do say so myself.

 

But for now, I need to go and throw myself at my bed. More, as usual, coming soon...

[hushrong]

Why remove ribs when you can use them to graft the new arm to. For support? Or something. I dunno, I'm just an amateur back alley surgeon's assistant.

 

The light weapons are looking beautiful.