Blackadders Warlord WIP

[Blackadder]

Yes the head has rotational abilities, and from what i remember from the old Titanicus comics they did its about a 90 degree rotational arc as well. tbh any more than 90 degrees would be foolish imo, as iirc the warhound and reaver both have the same degree of rotation.

 

hope that helps!

 

Man I am going to pretend I didn't see this........................... Whom I kidding subconsciously I'm already figuring how to make a short segmented neck similar to the Chinese bamboo dragons we got as kids

 

http://www.partythings2go.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/n/sneaky_snake.jpg

 

well they're plastic now but the idea is the same.

 

I'll sleep on it.

 

Thanks for the info #@$%^$!

 

Whoops, forgot the reason for this post installed the hinged side panels for the Engineering department. The ceiling will have indirect lighting and the rear panel will be removable for viewing........

 

http://i.imgur.com/7BdH3.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/7BdH3l.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/QdaRg.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/QdaRgl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/9biqd.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/9biqdl.jpg

[dizzy-xc]

Dat kewl!

[Interrogator Stobz]

Dat kewl!

 

Show iz

[HumanSupreme]

The more I come back to this thread the angrier I'm freaking getting.

 

Someone find a way to download the knowledge of how to do this crap into my brain like learning Kung Fu from the Matrix, or you are all dead to me. :/

[Blackadder]

I am attempting to show step by step how to build one of these for yourself. Granted it would be prohibitive to display the gluing on of each bit but anything you want elaborated on I will go into further detail.

 

My goal is to inspire building not to frustrate would be scratchers. Alas there is no way to compress years misspent model building into a motor memory down-loadable program so documentation is the best that can be done.

 

I try to build the various sections as modules which makes it easier to follow along; say if you start now you could begin by building the upper torso and if that turns out satisfactory go back and build the legs and feet. Making the model movable isn't necessary and just adds too much work to the project. The legs and feet can be built a lot easier if you eliminate that complication.

 

I have a personal philosophy of model building. "Never build anything small."

 

The size of the model actually makes it easier to build as each part is like a separate model.

 

Once you commit to building a project on this scale it should be hard to give up on it.

 

I believe it would be frustrating to build small models especially of items that can be bought such as Leman Russ's or Chimeras.

 

You have to consider how much your time and effort is worth.

 

I don't condemn the building of small models, its just that I personally can't do it. I get antsy and want to get it finished or might just chuck it.

 

If you devote a few weeks or months into building a model that can be had for $30 to $40 bucks it might not worth it objectively in a strict dollars/hours ratio although the personal satisfaction of building it is subjective is immeasurable.

 

Thats why when someone asks me how much time or how much the materials have cost so far I have no way of answering.

 

You can't put a value on what you do for recreation. Some people watch sports all weekend long. For me that would be the worst kind of hell but to tinker around with bits of plastic is enjoyable to me and would be hell to someone else.

[Blackadder]

Today was kind of a dress up and trim the various panels prior to building the head and neck and compartment directly behind the head whatever that area might be.

 

http://i.imgur.com/k2ZHa.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/k2ZHal.jpg

 

I also installed the torso on the legs for a scale reference which appears satisfactory. The cutouts in the hinged side panels will be observation ports to view the working of the legs and arms and will have clear styrene glazing so the interior lights will illuminate the underside of the carapace and the detail.

 

http://i.imgur.com/S1pW7.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/S1pW7l.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/hN7XM.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/hN7XMl.jpg

[Blackadder]

Due to a casual suggestion from one of my readers I have been side tracked making the damned head movable. Until that time I was blissfully unaware the the head had the capacity for movement.

 

Given that the compartments are essentially rectangular I saw little cause to make the neck tubular as was my first inclination. It was so much easier to adapt the double axle premise I used on the hip joints. The images below demonstrate the mobility of the neck in the up and down movement while the truncated triangle will mount the axle for the side to side movement.

 

http://i.imgur.com/WChOr.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/WChOrl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/qUZZb.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/qUZZbl.jpg

 

The whole Head/Neck module will be removable on the finished product and is mounted on three slides per side to insert it into the torso with a very close tolerance fit in point of fact I may have to sand it down before it is painted.

 

http://i.imgur.com/P51lX.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/P51lXl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/82SpI.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/82SpIl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/tNEEm.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tNEEml.jpg

 

This little side project was very time consuming but the psychological effect is overwhelming. Imagine the last thing the target sees before being blasted into oblivion as that great head slews around servo motors humming malevolently to transfix the hapless victim with a steely heartless crimson stare even as the plasma weapons begin to glow in prelude to firing.

[AlexCrute]

With you, distractions yield delicious fruit. BnC! Distract this hobbyist further!

[space wolf]

This is awesome! But one question, do you ever feel as though the town villagers will attack you in a torch bearing mob some day?

[Blackadder]

Ever damned day!

 

I notice from your text that a number of you are having a bit of problem with sanding. Forgive me from stating what you may already know but the information may be useful to those who follow these threads. I use two methods to sand: first on a flat and true surface such as a Formica counter top I lay a full sheet of coarse sandpaper; good stuff such as 3M aluminum oxide paper 60 grit. Next I sand only in one direction. If you sand back and forth you can't help but start rocking and end up with a convex cut. anytime you sand or file, only cut in one direction.

 

My second method of sanding is a square and true sanding block. I cut half a dozen of these 5/4 by 3 inch by 6 inch blocks many years ago and affixed the sandpaper (3M aluminum oxide) with 2 inch double back tape. when the paper wears out I peel it of and apply new. Again only sand in one direction and it is helpful to rest the piece to be sanded on the table so your cut is clean and true. I also use a steel emery board for tight places although I lost my best one in the move..........Drat!

 

Once the piece approaches the scribed or penciled line I switch to a medium grit paper for the final dressing. As the edge will probably have glue solvent applied it isn't necessary to use any finer than medium grit. Once glued and the edge is square but must be beveled I use medium or fine paper on block to true the edge.

 

I also use a really good and clean single cut file with a medium and fine tooth again only file in one direction not back and forth.

 

Although I have stated this tutorial before it bears repetition.

[Blackadder]

Not much point in my assembling the whole thing for such a minuscule amount of work but I must say I am gratified at the speed the carapace is coming together. Although I have procrastinated a bit since Monday I still managed to affix the neck shield and arm shield face plates.

 

http://i.imgur.com/xzWZH.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xzWZHl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/3Cwyd.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3Cwydl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/cRtc7.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/cRtc7l.jpg

[Tessio Niri]

I alway look forward to updates on this post. It really makes me want to build my own Warlord and to stop building Inquisitor scale tanks. I miss 40k.

 

Looking awesome as always. Keep up the great work.

 

Regards

 

T.

[Subtle Discord]

Damn, I wish I could watch you for just one day, while you do some serious building. I know I'm no slouch when it comes to building with styrene, but I suspect that you have many tricks and lots of experience that I would find very useful. It's one thing to have something explained (and I appreciate every bit of information you share) but actually seeing the execution happen, as it happens, would be wonderful.

 

That said, I must echo that I always look forward to seeing what you've been up to. You never disappoint, and there's always so much to glean and be inspired by. Thanks, as always, for the effort.

[Blackadder]

Damn, I wish I could watch you for just one day, while you do some serious building. I know I'm no slouch when it comes to building with styrene, but I suspect that you have many tricks and lots of experience that I would find very useful. It's one thing to have something explained (and I appreciate every bit of information you share) but actually seeing the execution happen, as it happens, would be wonderful.

 

That said, I must echo that I always look forward to seeing what you've been up to. You never disappoint, and there's always so much to glean and be inspired by. Thanks, as always, for the effort.

 

 

I'm afraid I would disappoint as I don't work in the conventional sense. I work very sporadically a few minutes here and there starting an 3:00 in the morning until I go to work and when I return with a few inspirations and again cut and glue a piece or two but with the project in the back of my mind until that "Eureka" moment when the problem gels and the solution become apparent. I rarely sit down for a marathon building session.

 

Purists might question the employment of windows to view the weapons and leg components but being old school theres nothing like viewing things first hand instead of on a monitor. Therefore I have included viewing ports on the sides of the engineering and command deck under the carapace. There will also be a maintenance catwalk to service the weapons when in use and will be stow-able when not in use. Access to the catwalk will be from the Command deck which will also include fire control.

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/7H3rq.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/7H3rql.jpg

 

The Command deck will be modular for removal and the gaping hole in the floor will be plugged with the Engineering recessed ceiling lights access to change the batteries.

 

http://i.imgur.com/DhSng.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/DhSngl.jpg

 

The Command deck slides into the forward armour face plate as seen in the next image.

 

http://i.imgur.com/foCe9.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/foCe9l.jpg

 

Please don't ask for plans as I am winging this as I proceed. I tried the Blender program but I would have a long white beard before I could utilize it's benefits. I prefer to holistically design my projects keeping the design in my head until it can reproduced in fine styrene.

[Blackadder]

This construct is falling together like a house of cards. Had I not important engagements this day I believe I would have finished the carapace this evening; the basic structure at the very least.

 

When things go this easily it can mean one of two things; there is either a grievous mistake I am not aware of or I have hit the sweet note of the construct and am in tune with the author.

 

I beg the latter but will not rue the former as any mistake can be remedied with facile at this point.

 

I gotta stop reading Sherlock Holmes, the lingo wears off on me.

 

Quick Watson the needle!

 

http://i.imgur.com/svvV6.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/svvV6l.jpg

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/NE084.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/NE084l.jpg

[Blackadder]

A little Item before the daily toil, I have always wanted to include a curved girder in one of my constructs but finding a logical place in a Lucius pattern war machine is difficult. I finally hit on the idea of including it in the ceiling/void generator flooring where strength is needed to support the void generators but lightness is also necessary due to the height above ground of the vehicle at this point. I incorporated stress/lightening cutouts to cut down on the weight of the structure of the real life biped.

 

http://i.imgur.com/ATwDa.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ATwDal.jpg

 

It's an interesting point at least I am given to understand that cutting holes in a girder actually increase its load bearing strength per mass. Are there any structural engineers in the audience that can confirm or refute this? I am also in the understanding that a hollow cylinder is stronger that a solid shaft of the same diameter. again clarification would be appreciated.

 

Just a point of conversation to clear up some of my ignorance on the subject.

[sword brethren]

An insane and impressive project, even more insane considering you are planning parts of the inside!

 

are you going to be placing adept and servitors and workers on the decks?

[Subtle Discord]

I really like that you try to build with plausibility in mind. This might be a fictitious Sci-Fi setting, but there's something to be said about making a creation at lease feel/seem plausible.

[Raven Angel]

Well I know its about transferring load. In this case I think it also allows for a certain amount of stress deformation without actually damaging the girder. Basically it lets the member flex to deal with things like wind and vibrational stress without buckling the steal and still carrying the load of the above structure. Could somebody more knowledgeable confirm please.

[Studio Silvernale]

The holes in the girders increase the amount of surface area that must be bent. It's like how a hollow tube is stronger than the same diameter of solid rod.

[Blackadder]

I know I am wasting a lot of time on the interior but there is an interesting aspect of making a workable environment for the crew. If you don't allow for the crew there is no concept of scale. Yes you can plunk a 2/3 meters tall entity on a battle board and all the tiny 28 mm tall denizens look minuscule but the titan just looks like a scaled up human in armour. But give the titan an interior with decks and work stations seats and monitors and suddenly the scale of the thing grips you. FW models are well designed giant vehicles (at least the ones I'm interested in) but when in a setting other than a battle board there has to be something to convey the size it is supposed to represent.

 

http://i.imgur.com/SVZqP.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/SVZqPl.jpg

 

In keeping with scale this construct needs heavy internal bracing to be believable. I may have to rework the girders in the Eng. compartment.

 

http://i.imgur.com/TeFZ3.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/TeFZ3l.jpg

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

It's an interesting point at least I am given to understand that cutting holes in a girder actually increase its load bearing strength per mass. Are there any structural engineers in the audience that can confirm or refute this? I am also in the understanding that a hollow cylinder is stronger that a solid shaft of the same diameter. again clarification would be appreciated.

 

Just a point of conversation to clear up some of my ignorance on the subject.

I'll give it a go.

 

You're right in saying it increases it's strength per unit mass - the absolute value of the bending resistance of the girder decreases very slightly, because the sectional area is removed very close to the neutral axis of bending of the beam. The concentrated area is still in the same place at the extreme fibres as far from the neutral axis as possible. What cutting the holes out DOES do is reduce the shear capacity, because the remove the ability of the restrained web panel to undergo shear buckling - instead the shear is transferred as a compression load through the remaining web area which starts to act a bit like a strut in a Veirendeel truss.

 

With regard to the hollow cylinder, again, it increases it's strength per unit mass, but in this case it depends on if you're talking about using the element to resist axial loads (like a column or a tie), or in bending (using it like a girder).

 

Hollow sections are good in bending because the fact that they have both significant torsional stiffness and significant out-of-plane bending stiffness, they don't undergo lateral-torsional buckling at lower loads like your standard RSJ-type girders do. In this case, being hollow doesn't decrease the bending capacity by as much as you'd think for the same reason as the voided girders above, but it DOES decrease in absolute terms, but increases significantly in capacity-per-unit-mass terms.

 

In axial, hollow sections are obviously worse, because when you design for axial load, what you're looking for is sectional area as the yield capacity of the material is uniform, and the axial capacity is only goverened by these two parameters. Hollow sections are better in compression than open sections for the same reason they're good in bending.

 

Hope that's clear - I tend to start sounding like a bit of an academic when I talk about stuff like this and the language can get a bit dense.

[Blackadder]

Not at all I understand completely might I add that I neglected to proof my copy and left out a significant text to my statement regarding the tube vs the solid shaft. It should read " a hollow cylinder is stronger that a solid shaft of the same mass but larger diameter." Of course a hollow cylinder would have diminished strength compared to a solid shaft but only about 10% were it half the mass but larger diameter. I really must learn to type at least as fast as I think :P

 

Thank you for your considered reply.

[Blackadder]

Yes I definitely have to rework the Engineering interior.

 

http://i.imgur.com/YAJgk.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/YAJgkl.jpg

 

The Command deck knees and hanging knees installed I don't know what the modern term for them is but in 18th century shipbuilding they were called knees. Surveyors would go out into forests looking for Oak trees with the desired angled branches called 'compass timber' and mark them for the cutters fell the trees and they were brought to the shipyard sometimes years before the ship was built. There they were seasoned and cut down to the proper size and installed in the hull to support the deck. Trees selected for the Navy were marked with the Admiralty broad arrow mark

 

http://www.fishermensvoice.com/images/1207kingsbroadarrow2.jpg

 

signifying the tree was the property of the Navy and no one else could fell it.

 

http://i.imgur.com/NwtJQ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/NwtJQl.jpg

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

Not at all I understand completely might I add that I neglected to proof my copy and left out a significant text to my statement regarding the tube vs the solid shaft. It should read " a hollow cylinder is stronger that a solid shaft of the same mass but larger diameter." Of course a hollow cylinder would have diminished strength compared to a solid shaft but only about 10% were it half the mass but larger diameter. I really must learn to type at least as fast as I think ;)

 

Thank you for your considered reply.

 

You're more than welcome - it's totally worth the time it took given that we get to watch you building this monster and give something of a masterclass in scratchbuilding and plasticard technique! My jealousy remains unbounded.

 

The one thing I failed to mention which is slightly relevant is that one reason why you might have heard the original statement is because the way the beams are made has an impact too - a beam is sliced longitudinally down the centre of the web, then 'half-holed' on either side, then offset and welded back together - this generally tends to increase the depth of the beam, which in turn substantially increases it's moment of area, thus also increasing bending capacity.

 

For this reason, holes as you have modeled them are not generally used except where architects require it for aesthetic purposes. Holes are generally designed to be hexagonal in section, so that the beam can be cut in half with a single saw-tooth cut before being offset and welded together, as shown here:

 

http://bkaviani.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/castellated_beam.jpg

 

Circular holes are more tricky, as they require either two complex cuts (a sort of pointy, elongated-oval, almond shape that is the result of the negative space formed by two half-circles offset from each other as shown below) or three comparatively simple cuts (the main long'l cut and then two half-circle cuts).

 

http://zuse.ucc.ie/~karsten/Forschung/GTIBW/global/vorentwurf/pic/Cellular-Beams-1.JPG

 

Of course, this is only if we are talking about modification of existing 'off-the-shelf' rolled sections - fabricated sections are a different kettle of miscellaneous swimming things entirely. I mention this only because, in my mind, I see the Mechanicum being not wasteful with materials, and the circular holes do waste material if cut from a standard section. Of course, given that this is a Warlord titan - a God-machine almost without compare - it may well be that every component is absolutely bespoke-fabricated and you don't consider this an issue.

 

Given the attention to detail and realism you're putting into this thing however, I thought you'd appreciate knowing about how these beams are made, if it was something you didn't already know. Or perhaps even just for the love of knowledge, which is a rare enough thing these days!