Queen Bee Knight -- Thank you! Please read the new post

[Daemon2027]

I love her. Is she seeing someone?

 

Seriously I'm so excited to see her coming together. But a little sad that were moving into the final stages.

[JeffTibbetts]

Don't be sad, man. If you really love her, you have to let her go and see if she comes back. Or something. ;) 

 

I feel your pain, though, in all seriousness. I'm eager to move on to lots of other projects, but working on her has been (and will continue to be for a little bit yet) some of the very finest hours I've spent in over 25 years of this hobby. I'm not exaggerating when I say I think I have every rivet, rust stain, scratch, patch and scar on her body memorized. We've grown quite close over the last year-plus. 

[Firepower]

Splendid :tu:

[Teetengee]

Is it just the lighting in these pictures or do the brass trim especially in the broader areas along the top armour plates look a little flat.
That being said,

squeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[Olis]

But a little sad that were moving into the final stages.

 

To paraphrase a popular saying "Don't be sad that the journey is coming to an end. Be happy that it happened at all." :)

[W.M.Painted]

Simply amazing stuff.

 

Looking at the piece had me scrolling back and finding details that I missed on first glance.

The colours work very well together, coupled with all the custom details make this into one of the best knights I have seen up until this moment.    

[GhostMalone]

I must confess I want you to start a knight castigator maybe do a king bee to protect the queen, but as long as you continue to be thorough with your land raider and eagle vets I'll be following patiently and try give supporting encouragement/criticism

[JeffTibbetts]

Is it just the lighting in these pictures or do the brass trim especially in the broader areas along the top armour plates look a little flat.

That being said,

squeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

No, you're right, because I'm not actually done with them. :P Most of the brass needs 2-4 more layers on it, including the final highlights that will pull up some detail. I think they will always look maybe a little flat compared to the rest, but visually the eye appreciates a break from the insane layers and detailing on the broadest armor areas so I'm cool with it. Especially the one across the top carapace. 

 

I must confess I want you to start a knight castigator maybe do a king bee to protect the queen, but as long as you continue to be thorough with your land raider and eagle vets I'll be following patiently and try give supporting encouragement/criticism

 

If you want to start a GoFundMe program to buy me one I'm all for it. ;) 

[WarSpirit]

Jeff, what colors did you use to make the rust ?

[JeffTibbetts]

Pretty simple rust: half Steel Legion Drab and half Blazing Orange. I thinned it down and sprayed it on as an under paint and then used chipping fluid to reveal it later. On top of that I added burnt umber oil paint and in some places I also added rust colored pigment powders. Is that what you were after? You can check out my blog post at http://tibbsforge.com/bucket-o-rust/ if you want to see the rust layers better.

[WarSpirit]

Thx mate !

[dogfender]

I  think the real quest is, Will you be making a Mayor Bee next?

 

[JeffTibbetts]

I don't think I have the money, but if I do buy another Knight it might be one of these new ones that are in the rumors right now. 

 

Male bees are, unfortunately, a really sad story. They're drones, and are only around to fertilize eggs. They never even leave the hive from what I've read.

 

Any other Knights I make will be in House Tibbetts colors. Calling it now. 

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

The test fit looks great, and the honeycomb pattern really shines where panels overlap - the head/cowl/carapace especially.

[JeffTibbetts]

Thanks! Yeah, I love the way it adds a little extra dynamism to the head area. In fact I really dig the flipped-up visor now. I was never 100% on it but now that it' scoring together I think it looks cool. Even cooler from the top, too.

[dogfender]

I couldnt resist the family guy reference =)

 

Keep up the nice work, it is very inspirational.

[JeffTibbetts]

So... Not gonna lie: I really want to add a carapace weapon to the Queen. I'm fine with all her other stuff, but something about a nice fat missile launcher, painted with a honeycomb around the missile pods, or the autocannon array really appeals to me. I kind of want to know how the heck one pilot is expected to fire so many weapon systems, especially since they can target independently. There's nothing in any of the fluff to indicate these weapon systems have slaved servitors at all. Quite the contrary, in fact. So one pilot might be dual-weilding guns, one for each arm, each of which may have an auxiliary weapon. Add a shoulder mount and a carapace weapon and you're talking about up to 6 different targets? While certainly BA, I think that may go beyond a human's (even a hard-wired, augmented one) capacity to concentrate. Not to mention the fact they can charge on the same turn... 

 

Man. It's getting crazy out there. 

[GhostMalone]

Jeff I know you want to do a new knight to fight alongside her, I think the missile pod would look great but you could say it's not automated maybe she can switch weapon controls pre charge fire a salvo switch back and charge.

 

Think iPhone swipe screen for hard wired weapons.

 

I do think though the power fist or duel assault cannons would be awesome for a partner knight hint hint

[Commissar Molotov]

I have to admit, when I saw the new pattern knights I thought of this thread. It would certainly be easy for you to attach a carapace-mounted weapon to your Knight - I say go for it! 

[Ovidius Incertus]

That wins the internet!

[Battybattybats]

The machine spirits and the remnant ghosts of the previous pilots of the Knight assist in aiming and firing all the weapons. There's also the point that the shield isn't simple to use but is also skill-based. You actually manoeuvre the shield to absorb and deflect the incoming shots which is why the novice pilots have a worse save and the Seneschals have a higher one. The field isn't stronger they just get better at using it, rather like a physical shield in ones hands.

A Knight is a skill based vehicle requiring extreme rare mixtures of capacity. Just the pain-resistance required to endure the surgery to connect to it plus the willpower to master the throne on first connection. So the Knight Nobility really are a breed apart to start with (likely genetically engineered that way for the original colony expeditions, plus all those millennia of selection-pressures). Which is why those Nobles who suffer failure at the conquering the throne stage are prized for making Skitarii Alphas out of, superior starting materials even though they were failures at becoming knights! And then you have strong machine spirits and the accumulated ghosts of the former pilots (after all knights can fight even if the pilot is slain!) so the pilot is literally fighting side by side with the spirits of the machine and the ghosts of their ancestors, guiding and watching over and advising them.

As the pilot gains in skill they also gain in capacity to cooperate with these comrades inside the machine with them, knowing when to let them have their rein and when to insist on doing things the pilots way. The skilled pilots would delegate shots, letting the spirit of the heavy stubber pick targets and fire at those infantry, telling the ghost of great grandfather to fire away at those flyers with the icarus array while the living pilot is focussed on charging towards the enemy, battle cannon blazing, picking their footfalls with the unconsciousness of the machine as much as their own body-memory and bringing up the reaper blade ready to strike as if it were a sword in their own fist, with elements of the pilots mind observing and assisting in all the tasks like am orchestra conductor.

To be a Knight Pilot is to never be alone when connnected to the Knight, and to feel profoundly so when disconnected. To be haunted by literal communion with the dead of their own family. And of course with the mental and psychological conditioning of the Throne on top of all that. Except for House Taranis.

[Stercus]

Jeff, I don't know if you've read the liveship books by Robin Hobb? In those stories, there are magical ships that absorb the personalities of their captains and over the years develop an awareness of their own. That's how I've always viewed the Knights, with each pilot contributing a legacy of expertise and battle skill to the gestalt consciousness of the resident machine spirit.

[HighGothic]

You should stick a big missile launcher on there. It would look awesome.

 

I always thought knights had a bunch of machine spirits that can target weapons, move the shield etc. 

[JeffTibbetts]

Interesting thoughts, everyone. Yeah, I think Bayne (Batty) explained it in such a way that I can totally rationalize that. I've always had a hard time thinking of machine spirits as possessing anything akin to sentience but I must say, Bats has caused me to come around a bit on that. It would certainly make it a little more understandable. If anyone ever brings it up, I'll likely default to that post as the most likely explanation. 

[RolandTHTG]

Battbats explination is glorious, though I do admit that when I first say the pictures of the new weapons that I thought the autocannon turred was going to be crew-served WWII flak-wagon/IG Hydra style.