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Blackadder's Lucius Pattern Reaver Conversion Kit

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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Thanks,

 

Void Generator Housings:

 

Here is where we get into the nitty-gritty of this project.

 

I have to duplicate the Void Generator housings instead of just covering them with styrene else-wise they will be too bulky looking.


http://i.imgur.com/X7icEXHl.jpg 

 

Fortunately there is an inner flange that locks the generators into place in the model so duplicating the area that locks behind the flange Part 1R will also lock the L. Pattern constructs as well.

 


http://i.imgur.com/MXCP51kl.jpg 

 

I am going to make the rear floor under the generators one continuous piece instead of two separate generator housings to take advantage of the locking effect as well.

 


http://i.imgur.com/J7yoa7Nl.jpg 

 

Once the Lucius Generators are assembled I plan to fill them with putty or some other weighty material as the Gen's. also serve as counterweights on the original model.

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Blackadder Veteran

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The Void Generator Housings 2

 
Its a real pleasure to work on this model, all the angles are crisp and true; now of the warping so prevalent on older FW castings.
 
Below we have the base of the void generators, a continuous floor plate instead of two separate housings
 

http://i.imgur.com/POrG4xql.jpg

 
The two interior pillars that lock the generator housings into the hull strangely distorted appearing in this image but they are not.
 
http://i.imgur.com/JVjX8mkl.jpg 
 
The interior view of the pillars in place showing the close tolerance fit. 
 
http://i.imgur.com/guXxApFl.jpg 
 
The exterior with foot plates and mounting stringers in place ready to receive the housing inner walls.
 
http://i.imgur.com/oqEm2vDl.jpg 
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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Void Generator Housings part 3

 

Yeah I know lots of pictures of virtually the same thing but anyone interested in copying this construction will probably appreciate the step by step process.

 
The rest of you will just have to bear with the redundancy.
 
I made a tracing of the inboard generator housing profile and squared off the corners. Due to the flexibility of the construction I took a guess and a gamble at the  placement of the two dimensional pieces as it was impossible to glue, align and clamp at the same time. Actually having a helper at this time would be well er helpful.
 
Fortunately the alignment of the pieces were spot on so no need to cut the glue joint and redo.
 
Note in the profile image below the generators are parallel with the forward carapace but about a millimeter or two lower. This is as it should be to allow for the surface sheet styrene pieces which will be applied after the counterbalance filler material is installed.
 
http://i.imgur.com/mB3tHwTl.jpg 
 
Here we see in this quarter view the slight step down of the housings compared to the main carapace; this is intentional. 
 
Note also that the housing profile pieces appear to converge toward the front, that is because the center section is still not installed. I've decided to make a Lucius center piece and glue it in place rather than use the one that came with the kit for both versions.
 
http://i.imgur.com/xFB7zG0l.jpg
 
In this above shot you can see the construction is pretty much symmetrical even though at this stage the components are relatively flimsy.
 
http://i.imgur.com/bn2B3OKl.jpg 
 
Heres a view of the bottom that I neglected to show in the previous post showing the aligning channels that keep the Generators centered on the model.
 
http://i.imgur.com/6pn1koLl.jpg 
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Blackadder Veteran

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Ventilator Unit:

 
Between the Void Generators there is the Ventilator Unit. Since I want the generator assembly in one piece I need to make a second set of vent housings.
 
The build is pretty straightforward with a bit of Lucius angles to keep things interesting.

http://i.imgur.com/3dcwZRIl.jpg
 
 
http://i.imgur.com/jMKE9PZl.jpg 
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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Ventilator Unit 2
 

The major hull components assembled without gluing showing the well thought out FW engineering. Ya gotta give these guys credit. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/6GuNLUwl.jpg 

 
Note the wire wrapped tubing in the foreground. That will be changed to styrene rods.
 
http://i.imgur.com/pfhRR7ml.jpg
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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Central Ventilator Continues:

 

This is not a very popular thread judging by the number of hits it has received. This goes along with my personal opinion of the Reaver Titan in general; that it is not that popular of a model and that were FW to have produced a Warlord instead it would have been better received.

 

In spite of this I shall persevere in this endeavor to the bitter end.

 

Work continues on the Central Ventilator console with the securing the spiral conduit to the base construction. Unfortunately I have exhausted my local hobby stores of material; "Jeez Blackadder what are you doing with all that plasticard?" is the usual query. To which I say, "You don't check your incoming emails do You?"

 


http://i.imgur.com/NWfJR1jl.jpg

 

Not much to say about the images posted all should be self-explanatory Although I welcome any questions.

 


http://i.imgur.com/bjlwrGxl.jpg 

 


http://i.imgur.com/BqC3eqcl.jpg 

 


http://i.imgur.com/jTgzqoOl.jpg 

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JAFisher44 Battle-Brother

JAFisher44

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Well, I don't know about other people, but often times I open B&C and if there are no new posts on a Blackadder thread I just close it back down. I mostly lurk, but I love your builds. My only complaint is that I can't use some complicated voo-doo ritual to steal your skills!

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HellChyld Venerable Brother

HellChyld

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Most of the time his threads are open in multiple windows while using them to take notes in other projects of my own. Just don't want to fill the threads with one word posts like awesome... Keep up the amazing work mate!!
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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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I judge the (hits) by the number of views the thread receives and by the count of the image provider. That is what I based my unguarded statement on I wasn't soliciting replies blush.png .

It's not the responses but the lack of interest (hits) in general that I was commenting on which I attribute to the model (but that may be a reflection of my personal tastes.)

I was speaking of the relative interest in this project on all the forums I post; 19 currently. I use basically the same post for all the forums and then custom tailor my responses to the individual replies.

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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Gamera Lookalike:

 
I finally realized why my animus toward the Reaver model well one of the reasons.
 
Anyway my instincts regarding the head were correct the Mars head won't work with the Lucius Design.
 
http://i.imgur.com/3Mi8Ixol.jpg 
 
Top view not much better.
 
http://i.imgur.com/m0KUTLGl.jpg
 
Too much like a certain turtle with a flatus problem.
 
http://i.imgur.com/JUzx2CAl.jpg 
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WarSpirit Battle-Brother

WarSpirit

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Great work on the dorsal carapace, i think you nailed the Lucius patern look on this one. But you are right, the head of the mars patern certainly don't fit right now.  The head looks too big right now in comparison with the dorsal plating. Either you bulk up the dorsal plating, so the head doesn't look so big in comparison to the body or you make a new plating for the head. But even with an angular plating i think that the head may still looks too big. I would consider bulking the dorsal plating by adding another layer.

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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Well I said in my initial posts that I was going to redesign the head because I didn't care for the pancake look but for the sake of comparison I thought I'd try it out.

 

In defense of forward and main carapace there is another layer of armour that needs to be applied to the existing styrene structure  what you see is the inner ceiling of the substrate armour.

 

The whole of the carapace and the void generators need to be integral units and must be built up contiguously to maintain the correct proportion.    

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Blackadder Veteran

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The Integral Generators:

 
The generators are ostensibly one plug in unit now and all that is left is to apply the skin to the housings. Then the detail goes on.
 
http://i.imgur.com/dPfvcj6l.jpg 
 
The clothespins won't be necessary once the generators are weighted.
 
http://i.imgur.com/eZefzJNl.jpg
 
The inner lining is just about ready for the interior detail.
 
http://i.imgur.com/Jv92cWil.jpg 
 
There is room for about a pound of weight in each housing.
 
http://i.imgur.com/07Caocgl.jpg 
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Lord_Mephistopheles Veteran

Lord_Mephistopheles

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Personally, I continue to be in awe of your scratch-building skills, and even though I no longer have the time to put into any sort of modelling that i once did, threads like this continue to be inspiring and tempting me into giving up what little free time I currently have to revert to playing with toy soldiers.  I certainly don't have the time to develop this level of talent with plasticard however, so I love seeing a master at work!

 

If i may ask - what prompted you to make this a 'conversion' kit, rather than just building one from scratch?  The amount of reskinning/rebuilding you're doing seems to suggest you could have built one entirely with only little more effort (assuming you would have been willing to sacrifice the level of posability you have obtained in both Lucie and Lucius).

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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Plug in Void Generator Assembly:

 
Rather than attempt to build a flimsy structure directly on the resin hull I figured building an entire Void Generator substructure that would just plug into the existing hull locking in place with magnets and/or tabs. This very durable alternative I believe is a a simpler way to attack the problem. 
 
Here we see a side by side comparison of the FW housing compared to my rendering (Not detailed as yet) Note the rear hull ceiling spacing.
 
 
http://i.imgur.com/OHwOEw5l.jpg 
 
 
There are symmetry flaws in the FW model that must be compensated for; the right side being 1,0 to 1,5 mm different from the left...........
 
Here we see the Assembly poised to be placed on the hull recess:
 
http://i.imgur.com/RqW8xb6l.jpg 
 
 
And the assembly in place interlocking with the resin hull and abutting the rear of the hull carapace:
 
http://i.imgur.com/Mw7KgFDl.jpg 
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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Thanks, me too!

 

The Under Carapace Inlets:

 

Time to add some detail, the under carapace inlets would be nicely represented by Evergreen Clapboard siding something I wish I knew was available when I built Lucie but everything is a learning experience and profiting from your mistakes is the best you can do....

 

The spacing of the clapboard is 0.050 inch and on the resin model its 0.060 so close enough I'm not going to lose sleep over a quarter of a millimeter. What does irk me is the manufactured spacing of the clapboard varies and care must be taken to get the size right and not rely on the number of boards. See the above reference about learning by your mistakes................ :(

 


http://i.imgur.com/MuNII0Pl.jpg

 

The framing appears a bit cumbersome until the 4.0 MM thick carapace armour is completed.

 


http://i.imgur.com/8caYz91l.jpg 

 

Note how the lower frame of the vent locks behind the resin hull pertrubance the same as the FW model. This will help hold the assembly in position once the model is completed.

 


http://i.imgur.com/9vL7hwhl.jpg 

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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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The Shoulder Carapace:

 

Time to consider the shoulder mounted APOC missile system..........

 

Fortunately the weapon arm mounts seem as if they were custom made for this modification I assure you such was not the case. Pure and simple serendipity is at work here.

 

First I reinforced the main carapace with lateral stringers to re-enforce the shoulder carapace substructure. In the foreground are the bases for the rotating APOC missile batteries. These will be retractable when not required to give a clean line to the Reaver carapace. 

 


http://i.imgur.com/DCMkaZdl.jpg%5B/IMG

 

This side view with the gun mounts applied shows the size, length and width of the shoulder carapace underside structure...........

 


http://i.imgur.com/JIK9xbil.jpg%5B/IMG

 

Front view with the APOC missile bases glued in place. (The internal thin ring on the left side is a shim. I made the hole too big on the first attempt.) 

 


http://i.imgur.com/qWLkmJLl.jpg%5B/IMG

 

Showing the Mars shoulder armour relative to the size of the Lucius armour and the amount of space I can afford to work my APOC batteries and still keep the Reaver proportions; Lots of room for the retractable missiles.

 


http://i.imgur.com/Sae5seDl.jpg%5B/IMG

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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Horse Before the Cart This Time:

 
My usual method of building is regrettably to build from the outside in so I find myself working it extremely cramped quarters retro fitting interior items into already built hulls etc.
 
This time I am playing it smart (Er Smarter) and building the interior item first 
 
In the image below you see the components of my APOC Rocket Battery redesign.
 
In the foreground center note the turntable (Upside down in this image) and the center pivot. The turntable will house the retracting scissor assembly and the I hope elevation piston (Yet to be designed). The rocket tubes 8 on each side as opposed to 10 on the APOC pod on the Mars Reaver:
http://i.imgur.com/PNmDHoIl.jpg 
 
Next the Turntable in place on the Arms shoulder: 
 
http://i.imgur.com/rbmfzTvl.jpg 
 
And the Rocket Calliope in the stowed position, yes the rockets will stow lateral to the vehicle axis to save space and allow for deployment and retraction.
 
http://i.imgur.com/gLxteGWl.jpg 
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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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None the less the reply is appreciated,

 

This rocket battery mounted on the shoulders idea stems from my pathological dislike of the current APOC pod sticking out above the otherwise clean and elegant Reaver visage. Of course hiding the rockets until needed is beyond the question in the Mars design but the Lucius pattern lends itself well to the concept. My only fault with it is I would prefer the assembly deploy in the fore/aft line of sight but that would make the carapace extend too far forward. I am still working out how that may be accomplished within the parameters I have set for myself.

I view the Reaver as an intermediary step between the Warhound and Warlord. Whereas the Warhound and Reaver are designed on a longitudinal plane which I deem necessary for a relatively high speed conveyance for balance the Warlord proceeds with a stately plodding gait as maximum forward firepower is the prime requisite; therefor the Warlord is built on a broad shouldered lateral plane. Ergo the shoulder carapaces do not extend too laterally on the Reaver and 'hound. The APOC pod is at odds with this rational making the Reaver appear top-heavy in appearance if not if in actual fact.

At least that is the way it seems to me.

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