Scuzzie's Conversion Thread ~ 10 May 16 ~ Cypher

[madscuzzy]

Thanks... soooooon....

[BKZer0]

Looking amazing.

 

I have a technique question for you though. How do you remove such little pieces of detail from one model to add to your models. For example, On your tech marine, you have a small round vent on the neck area of the chest armor. I believe it is from the Tactical Squad Mk. 8 chest piece. How did you cut that out of the armor to be able to place it where it is on the tech marine?

 

I also noticed you make extensive use of things like dreadnaught engine shrouds. That is not usually a spare bit when building a dreadnaught, so where do you get so many extra bits from? Do you just have tons of chopped up kits?

[Disruptor_fe404]

For transplanting small fiddly bits, it's all about being really careful when you remove them (and not rushing it!).

 

I can't explain madscuzzy's preponderance of dreadnought shroud bitz (though I can advocate buying kits just for parts).

[madscuzzy]

@Bkzer0... Yup, just like disruptor said.  A very sharp knife and be very very careful. If you are cutting off detail on a flat surface, a flexible blade or penknife can work well, but you have to be super careful not bend and snap it.

 

Erm... For the dreadnought shrouds... yeah... erm... online bits stores?  The original one used dread bits, cuz back then bits weren't so easy to get, and they fit really well (they were the right size).  The MkII used the Venerable Dread ones as it had 4 stacks, so I didn't need to cut up 2 dread kits like I did the first one.  This I really did get from a bits store.  As for the MkIII, they are actually from the RW Command Bike exhausts (also from online bits stores).

 

But yes... I do have tons of chopped up kits, but they won't all go to waste (I hope...).  Like I can use the Sammael for the Landspeeder variant (planning to do someday, even though I don't play DA) for myself or for my buddies who do play DA.  Then again, I do have Orks too.

[BKZer0]

Thanks for the reply. I don't mean to sound like a jerk, or ungrateful. I was just hoping for a better answer than "carefully". I was looking for more of a "technique" based answer. Do you over-cut, and sand of the excess? Do, you just lop it off cleanly with a very sharp hobby knife/scalpel? Do you just cut it flush, like horizontally across the surface? if so how do you compensate for material loss/damage in the cutting process? Do you cut down below the surface like you are removing a mole, and clean the removed bit afterwards? inquiring minds want to know!

 

EDIT! There was a reply while I was replying. sorry!

[madscuzzy]

The strike-through doesn't help.  Nor the snide remark to Disruptor.

 

What you did ask are very valid questions, and is something that should be addressed.  I myself did not think of those as I instinctively deal with them while they happen.  Yes, some people may want to know.

 

Since I did cover a bit, I'll cover the rest.

 

Over cutting is something I always do.  I will then file of the remaining excess.  When filing down a tiny surface like say the vent, I will put it under my finger and drag it over an emery board (like the ones for nails.  I have plenty!), apply very slight pressure at different angles, so it files flat.  If it ends up curved, due to the action of hand/finger, I will use the flat of the knife to scrape it, or file it in a different direction to counter the curve.

 

Interestingly I found a very good tool recently.  It is by a japanese company called Rakuten.  It is called the 'God Hand Ultimate Nippers' (SPN-120-S) and is extremely sharp.  It acts more like a blade than a cutter and slices through plastic like a knife through butter.  It's so sharp you can't feel it cut stuff off the sprue and it can cut details off (and tubes) with little to no deformity.  It makes cutters like the tamiya ones (the top range ones) feel like toys.  But it is very fragile.  The head is very fine.  It is about as thick as an exacto blade, so yeah... its a combination of a knife and nipper.

 

I try to save as much details as I can, so I am quite careful when I cut of details from parts.  However, between damaging the detail part or damaging large flat areas, I rather destroy the flats and cut into them.  I am alright digging into the flat areas as I can refill and fill them down with putty.  For putty I use the tamiya putties (basic (grey) and fine (white)).  They are toothpaste types and they can be thinned down using tamiya thin cement, becoming like a thinner-based liquid green stuff.  I like them when dealing with flat surfaces as they can be filed down and they can bond with the plastics really well (since they are all polystyrene based.)

[BKZer0]

Thank you very much.

[madscuzzy]

Np.  If you do have any questions, feel free to ask!  :D

[ChromeZephyr]

Inspiring work, madscuzzy.  I've been pondering a half-track for a MoftF with conversion beamer for a while but wasn't sure how it'd work, this is all the proof I need.

 

Couple questions, though:

 

1: What are you using to make the  air intakes (on the exhaust sides of the first two and underneath the beamer for your MotF)?  I've been racking my brain trying to figure out where they come from and keep coming up blank.  I'll most likely use something different so as not to totally pinch your idea (just half of it ;)), but I'm really, really curious.

 

2: Since the IG track wheels are but a distant memory now and I'll have to make mine, can you tell me what the diameter of the ones you've got are?  My google-fu is apparently weak on this matter.

[Secretpaintgeek]

Great thread! Seems to be inspiring a lot of people to have a go at something similar themselves. I am hoping to make one to go with my emp children bikers. Been wanting something to show the link with the Iron hands and a fancy tracked bike for a HQ seems to be the perfect way. I imagine I being a gift from one captain to another.

[drsergen]

wow. . . .  just wow. . . . i ashamed of my sloppy GS work .

[ChromeZephyr]

wow. . . .  just wow. . . . i ashamed of my sloppy GS work .

 

We all gotta start somewhere, man.  Mine isn't great, but by watching how the masters work and practicing I've made some improvements.  :)

[drsergen]

wow. . . . just wow. . . . i ashamed of my sloppy GS work .

We all gotta start somewhere, man. Mine isn't great, but by watching how the masters work and practicing I've made some improvements.

check the dreadnought i posts on my senntinels of terra thread. you can see the greenstuf even though its painted over. . .i just couldnt figure out how else to make the joint adjustments i wanted to.

[ChromeZephyr]

Sent you a PM, drsergen.  Sorry, madscuzzy, didn't mean to hijack your thread of awesomeness.

[Secretpaintgeek]

Was looking at the new taurox vehicle for the IG and was thinking the tracks on them might work pretty well for a land train. They might be a bit big but worth considering I think

[Ammonius]

These bikes are magnificent. Something about the way that the Mk2 turned out reminds me of 2-d art from the older books, especially with the wings, whirling cape, and purity seals. Definitely a real work of art. Thank you for sharing this :)

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

Nucking futs.

[madscuzzy]

Apologies for the late replies folks... been busy with some other stuff.  The bike is about done but have yet to take pics.

@ChromeZephyr: 
Kotobukiya, a japanese model manufacturer (a competitor of Bandai) has come up with a line of upgrade modding bits called the MSG line.  Thereare other companies doing the bits as well, and they come in all sorts of designs, from guns, vents, pistons, rivets, lenses, etc.  They are great fun/addition to our hobby.  You may want to source for the cheapest/best way to get it to you, but here is the set I used for this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kotobukiya-M-S-G-MSG-P126-Model-part-Weapon-Unit-Duct-Nozzles-III-/190811312403

 

IG tracks are still availabe in the tank kits, though the new ones don't have rounded wings.  They are square., but you can round them off still.  What is gone now are the inner wheels, though they can be manually made still.  Taurox tracks have a different design, and have symbols on them.

I'm no master.  Those that have been here long enough have seen what I have been through to get here.  :)  I still do screw up a lot, and do redo a lot of models.

@secretpaintgeek:  Thanks~!  Notsure what you mean by IHs and stuff... show what link?  Do you have a conversion you can share?  Love to see models!

 

@drsergen: 
There isn't much GS work here.  It has been a while since I've done GS work.  Most of the models I've made recently are hard surface models, so I tend to use harder, sandable putties, such as Tamiya Quick-Type 2-part epoxy (works like GS but hard... harder than Brown Stuff, Procreate etc... cept maybe Milliput and Steel Putties), Tamiya Putty (tube toothpaste type, fine, sandable).

For stuff like armour, or vehicles, i.e. stuff with hard surfaces, I don't really like to use GS.  I only use GS for more organic surfaces, like
cloaks/capes, arms, hair etc... Or stuff I know I generally will not file.

@Ammonius:
Thanks... which kind of art might you be refering to?

[ChromeZephyr]

@ChromeZephyr:

Kotobukiya, a japanese model manufacturer (a competitor of Bandai) has come up with a line of upgrade modding bits called the MSG line. Thereare other companies doing the bits as well, and they come in all sorts of designs, from guns, vents, pistons, rivets, lenses, etc. They are great fun/addition to our hobby. You may want to source for the cheapest/best way to get it to you, but here is the set I used for this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kotobukiya-M-S-G-MSG-P126-Model-part-Weapon-Unit-Duct-Nozzles-III-/190811312403

IG tracks are still availabe in the tank kits, though the new ones don't have rounded wings. They are square., but you can round them off still. What is gone now are the inner wheels, though they can be manually made still. Taurox tracks have a different design, and have symbols on them.

I'm no master. Those that have been here long enough have seen what I have been through to get here. I still do screw up a lot, and do redo a lot of models.

*looks through Ebay listings* Wow, I would have never thought of that. Those gatling parts are giving me lots of ideas....

I guess I wasn't clear before on what I was asking for the second question. The no-longer-produced inner wheels' diameter was the information I sought, as I still can't find an answer.

And as for the "no master"...yeah, sure. :) From the perspective of this journeyman, the title fits your work. Not all masters are born with the talent bleeding from their fingertips, some simply work until they get to that ability.

[madscuzzy]

Haha... Still I wouldn't call myself a master... when I do I'll let you know...

The gatling heads (if it's just the heads you are looking at) are quite cute. Note that the circle with holes are not the gatling parts, but missile racks.

The wheels are 1cm in diameter. My bad... I didn't read the post properly... XD

[ChromeZephyr]

Huh, I thought those were the the housings/shroud for the barrels.  Still, all kinds of evil plans.

 

And thanks for the info, that will help a lot.

[Ammonius]

Well, I may be adding together things in my mind, or I just couldn't find exactly what I was thinking of, but these kind of get my point across:

Mainly this:

http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Salamb%e2%80%9c-Page-085.jpg

http://www.csd.uwo.ca/staff/magi/personal/humour/images/archive/jpg/Ara/Matthews_Ara0478.jpg

http://images.wikia.com/warhammer40k/images/5/50/RT_artwork_2.jpg

http://31.media.tumblr.com/6f75140ce749619ffca9ce495623c80c/tumblr_n2zyizIufI1ro2bqto1_500.jpg

 

But also this:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uCrby6HBWnY/UIOgJC476-I/AAAAAAAABUw/BNdCIRN_cEI/s1600/scan0009.jpg

http://www.sci-fi-o-rama.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/philippe_druilet_sloane.png

http://31.media.tumblr.com/4d33fdb189276d1c8d975772bd5d2538/tumblr_mkc0dvNuQn1qfbpzno1_500.jpg

 

I guess I mean that your land train bike makes me think of rogue trader era John Blanch, Pete Knifton and also Roger Dean and Druillet, and others.

[madscuzzy]

Oh wow, those are awesome! Thanks!  They are truly inspiring, and I guess I can see what you are saying.  I wasn't actually thinking so far ahead.  I just wanted to use the gw jetbike, but I wanted a grounded version and I thought that tracks were cool.  How it came out initially was through a lot of trial and error.  It just had to feel right to me.  I never really thought of Blanches' art or anything related to it, as it wasn't something really seen.

[madscuzzy]

While the bike is about done, I have been musing around with a variation of the shoulderpad, like I did the face.  Basically a more squarish, layered version of my pad.

 

The gap will be filled as I needed to file the extension down to get the angle.

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/IMG_2815.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/IMG_2817.jpg

[madscuzzy]

I've not posted for quite a bit... so here are the WIPs of the progress of the bike since.  I've been busy with another project for a friend.

 

The
area under the prow felt... empty and I felt I needed to repeat some
shapes, namely the circular motifs of the tracks and power plant, akin to the wheels of the original.

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/IMG_2732.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/IMG_2733.jpg

 

 

 

Just in time, the Knights provided me a lovely bit to use!

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/IMG_2741.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/IMG_2742.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/IMG_2744.jpg

I mounted ANOTHER servo arm to the back.

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/IMG_2736.jpg

 

 

As I last showed, I was working on the arm, and yet again, the icons were awesome!  (nice to have buddies with bits!)

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/IMG_5870.jpg

 

And after a lot of riveting, purity seals etc.  The bike is about done.

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/F.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/FL1.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/FL4.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/FL2.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/FL3.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/L1.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/L2.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/BL.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/B.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/B4.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/FR1.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/FR1.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/FR2.jpg

 

http://scuzworks.com/SL40K/WIP/LandTrain_MKIII_WIP/FR3.jpg