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

[Machine God]

Great Work!  Great Work!

 

I see that you have drilled out the vents on the chect piece.  Are you going to drill out the vents on the Exhaust.

 

I always do when I'm doing my Dreadnoughts.

[JeffTibbetts]

I don't think so. I do too on dreads, but these aren't built the same way. These are plates on top of pipes, like the melts gun. They don't look like they go all the way through. I'll have to look at it a little more, but that's my first impression.

[Rune_Priest_Rhapsody]

I was currious, as my Knight is in transit, how big the shoulder mounted shield is?? Is like the size of a termi storm shield, or more like the size of the termi itself??!!

 

This is some good stuff, thanks for the good times!!

 

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[reckoning]

Love all the extra details. Especially the nest!

[JeffTibbetts]

I was currious, as my Knight is in transit, how big the shoulder mounted shield is?? Is like the size of a termi storm shield, or more like the size of the termi itself??!!

 

This is some good stuff, thanks for the good times!!

 

End of Line

More like the termi. It's pretty big!

[JeffTibbetts]

Okay. Did quite a bit of stuff last night, including magnetizing the weapon (it CAN be done while retaining all the distinct features of each) and adding extra detail to the heavy stubber. First up, weapons.

and the other side:

Here you can see the correct ammo hopper, the stubber, and most importantly the hollow back end. This is what I haven't been seeing online on a lot of 'pro-painted' knights. It's really easy to swap out the barrels, but the hollow back of the cannon is really important to me. That's what looks like a recoil mechanism, and a place to eject shell casings or a breach or what have you. And just to prove that you can magnetize it and get the melta version with all the correct bits:

Here you can see the back end, with the fuel tanks, and internal mechanisms. I took this pic before I was done completely, so that hose that's hanging out next to the fuel tanks now connects nicely. I'll be adding some magnetizing tips after I take some detail pics. Look for it soon.

Now for today's mini tutorial: converting your heavy stubbers to look like a proper air-cooled barrel (think of WW2 Browning machine guns).

Carefully remove the tip of the barrel and save it for a bit later. If you drill your barrels (and I can't imagine you'd do what I'm about to if you don't even bother with that) you should do it before you remove it to make this easier. Now, take a fairly fat drill bit and core out the entire barrel. What you're doing is actually creating the cooling jacket around the barrel itself. You need to be exceedingly careful to drill down very, very straight. With a piece that long, starting out with even a slight angle will be almost impossible to correct and you'll end up popping out the side as you go. As you're drilling in, you'll be able to see how close you are as the plastic in the 'holes' gets thinner and whitens. This process is nerve-wracking, but worth it. Hang in there, champ!

Once you get that done, drill out the side holes. For the best effect, though, drill out holes on the top and bottom of the barrel, too. This is actually important to give it the full 3D effect, as you should be able to see AROUND the internal barrel and see the holes on the other side of the cooling jacket once it's all together. You'll see what I mean in a moment.

Put some thin plastic rod in the barrel and take a look. I can't tell you the gauge, because I got a variety pack, unfortunately. You're looking for something that looks thick enough, but still leaves some room so it's not touching the cooling jacket. The tip of the barrel has a very thin section, and this is a pretty good guide to use if you're trying to find a perfect match. Mine is a bit thicker and I think it looks good. Once you have the right thickness of rod (you could use brass or maybe even a paperclip too if you find the right size, but that might cause a problem in the next step so plastic is the way to go) you can just mark the end with your hobby knife and then take it out and cut it to size. Trim it if you need to so it matches the end of the barrel just right. Remember you can always cut more off, so make it a tiny bit long if you need to.

Now, you may notice at this point that there's a bit of droop, as your internal barrel has room around it. Gravity will cause it to want to just lay down on the job and we can't have that. I simply drilled a tiny bit into the end, and then a bit in the center of the tip that we removed earlier, and added a very thin pin. This will keep it nice and centered so it looks like a proper barrel.

Now just add some superglue to the pin, and some plastic cement to the barrel tip, and glue it back on. Dry fit this like 4 times before you glue it. The plastic cement should give you time to make sure it's all lined up just right before it sets.

Have fun!

[RolandTHTG]

That M2 conversion option is awesome. They already look so close, this just adds the final touches. There's something just fun thinking that Browning's design became the STC design.

Everything else is amazing too. 

[JeffTibbetts]

I know, right? I like that humble little stubber. First one I've ever done, as I've never fielded IG or anything. It was hard, but so totally worth it. I still have the other one to do but it worked out really well. I felt like a crazy person when I was doing it… I keep having that feeling with this model. Like "nobody will ever notice this stuff except me" but then I do it anyway. :D Thanks for the comment! 

[MadDoc]

Hi Jeff. Brilliant work so far. :tu:

 

Are you planning on doing a play by play of how you managed to magnetise the gun arm, but keep the ejection port for the battle cannon and have it be swappable for the detailed core for the melta?

 

It would be extremely helpful for any of us who might like to follow in your footsteps.

[JeffTibbetts]

I am, actually! I'm waiting on some GS to cure, but I fully intend to take detailed pics and tell you all what worked and what didn't. :D 

 

Keep your eyes peeled. The work is mostly already done. I have a love affair with magnetizing models, and I wasn't really sure if I could pull it off with these weapons. Pretty pumped that I got it all figured out! 

[MadDoc]

Excellent. I look forward to reading how you did it.

[Gillyfish]

I am really enjoying this thread. I intend to get a Knight at some point and wat I have in my mind is one that looks pretty ancient and worn with some hyper-detailing, so this is proving to be rathe inspiring. Thank you! :)

[JeffTibbetts]

I am really enjoying this thread. I intend to get a Knight at some point and wat I have in my mind is one that looks pretty ancient and worn with some hyper-detailing, so this is proving to be rathe inspiring. Thank you!

No problem! Thanks for the comments. It keeps me going to see that people are getting something from it.

EDIT: forget to add this earlier. My buddy finally came through on some Necron bits, in a BIG way! I couldn't be more pumped about this. Why am I posting xenos in my thread? Hint: Think Captain Morgan.

EDIT EDITED: redacted on pain of death by the Ordos Hereticus.

[Excessus]

Because you're drunk? ;)

[JeffTibbetts]

Because you're drunk?

Haha! I wish. I only drink at work on Fridays.

[koran]

Loving the heavy stubber.  I may have to "borrow" that, looks awesome!

[JeffTibbetts]

Borrow away, homie. I'm giving it away for free here. :D Now watch, every single one in Golden Demon will suddenly be sporting 'Tibbs-Pattern Stubbers' which are really 'Browning-Pattern Stubbers.' 

 

Side note, If this turns out the way I want it to, I'm seriously considering painting it up to my highest standard and entering it this year. Anyone have any idea when the North American Golden Demon will be this year? I haven't gone to one in ages. 

[JeffTibbetts]

Could we ask him to refrain from posting the "Before Xenos" Picture until the "Knight crushing Xenos" picture appears?`

 

Only if I can call you a party pooper. ;) 

[Honda]

The birds nest cracked me up. African or European?

 

I'm very impressed with your modeling skills and how you are able to articulate each of your steps. When I get my knight, I will certainly use this thread as a reference.

 

No eggs, though. That's all you. :)

[JeffTibbetts]

Thanks, Honda. I think the birds' nest is going to stay my own thing. But only because nobody else would want to do it. :D 

[Disruptor_fe404]

I think the bird's nest is adorable.

But the poor chicks that hatch/ed from it are hatching straight into a warzone (probably).

[JeffTibbetts]

This. Is. GRIMDARK! 

[Rune_Priest_Rhapsody]

The stubber is great, and looks so much better. It's not just a little tube anymore!! Bravo!!

 

Thanks for the size info, I was hoping to use a SW storm shield on mine, and now I can't!! :,( I'll just have to Cover it with fur or some kind of wolfy thing...

 

Keep it up Jeff!!

 

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[JeffTibbetts]

The stubber is great, and looks so much better. It's not just a little tube anymore!! Bravo!!

 

Thanks for the size info, I was hoping to use a SW storm shield on mine, and now I can't!! :,( I'll just have to Cover it with fur or some kind of wolfy thing...

 

Keep it up Jeff!!

 

End of Line

Might look cool with a full wolf pelt hung across it. It's about the right size for those big Space Wolf pups.

[JeffTibbetts]

The revolution will be magnetized. Buckle in for a very pic heavy tute on getting the 100% correct representation of both weapons. Of course, the amount of time this took might make an eBay purchase seem worth it. Let's go.

First up, take a look at this weird black thing where the ammo bits attach. That's a piece of low-strength magnet strip that I got at, of all places, Wal-Mart. It's basically magnetized sheet plastic. It's super easy to cut to shape and it's dirt cheap. I could have used little rare earth magnets here, but honestly the pieces stay on with just the tension of the plastic because the bits are so well cut. I love this kit. Anyway, this is just a base that works for both of the ammo bits. The white around it is ghosting from superglue fumes.

Flipping it around, you can see the small magnet I sunk into the area where the heavy stubber ammo and body will attach. I'll cover the gap with some liquid green stuff later, but this is essential.

Here's the front, where the main weapon barrels will attach. I've built this out of bit of sprue that had the cylinder of extra plastic sticking up. It's nice to be able to sink the magnet into something to help prevent it popping out. You can also see a bit of sprue that I've jammed on one side just to give it more surface for the glue to stick to. This is only glued on ONE SIDE. You need to be able to take the main body of the weapon apart.

And here's the back. There's a cap that fits over this (the one with the AdMech cog) and this is really important. The only thing holding the two halves of the main gun body together are this cap, and the barrels on the front. So, these magnets have to be pretty strong to give you a sturdy base. I'll show another angle of this, as there's a little plastic spacer under it as well. Now that we've taken a tour around it, let's take a look at the bits.

Here's the back cap I was just talking about. You can see I've simply glued a piece of T-shaped sprue down here.

Here you can see the two halves joined. They are literally touching. Note the tiny bit of sprue spacer under the one attached to the main gun body. I just kept filing it down little by little til it allowed them to just touch and glued it in place. Also note the bit of sprue by my finger, with another magnet sunk into it. This is where the hoses for the ammo bit will snap into place.

Here's another angle of the spacer for the back cap and the magnet on the bottom. Okay, let's look at putting together the melta bits.

First things first, you have to open the body up and pop in the fuel manifold inside it. You can see now that one of the hoses has a magnet in it, which nests quite nicely with the one in bottom of the gun.

This is the back of the melta fuel cans. You can see more of the black magnet strip. Behind this are two pieces of sprue glued together and trimmed down so this fits nice and flush with the one on the body. Also, note the bits of sprue that are glued on the bottom. Those are making a spot for a small magnet on the other side to nest in there.

The other side of the cans. You can see the little magnet in there. This bit was a little fiddly, and I'll have to do a spot of green stuff around it as some detail was lost in the drilling.

Now simply pop on the fuel can and get attach the other hose, which also has a magnet on it, into place. I had to build the tip of this hose out of GS again, as it was split 50/50 with the can and I had to cut away the other half to drill out the magnet hole. Here comes the business end.

This is the inside of the melta barrels. As you can see, I used yet more sprue bits and dropped them into the barrels themselves. There are two spans in there, and then I drilled just a shallow bit in and mounted the magnet there. The back of the sprue bits are resting on a cross beam between the barrels, so it's quite sturdy.

Pop the back cap on, and the barrel, and you're done. There are magnets on the tips of both hoses, the cap and barrel, and the strips on the body and the cans. It's sturdy as heck. I can shake it around and it stays together. Now for the cannon.

Back of the ammo can. Once again, a strip of the black magnet superglued in place and a small magnet sunk into the tip of the tube.

Attached to the body so you can see how the magnets match up, this time from the front instead of the back.

And from the front. Tight fit. Notice how the back of the gun is empty, to allow for the recoil mechanism and breach to operate. Again, this is what people are skipping but I think it makes the cannon very distinctive when finished.

Turn it over and get your heavy stubber bit ready. This one has a very small magnet, and another very small spacer made out of scrap sprue that was filed into shape and glued down. I used a pencil to mark the right spot on the gun body so these would match up. NOTE: I thought at first that I'd be able to simply glue the back of the gun to the front plate of the cannon. YOU CANNOT DO THIS and keep it intact. There is molding that fits right around detailing on the gun body, so you can't slip the half of the gun straight back if this is glued in place. If you try to twist it sideways, it puts too much stress on the heavy stubber. I had it glued in place at first (would be so much easier) but I noticed the problem before the glue dried. Glad I didn't have to cut it.

Here it is held in place with the magnet. Just need the barrel now.

Here's the inside with the magnet. I had to cut this little sprue bit down just right. It's got a lip on it, so it sits down into the barrel a bit but is seated on the rim there. Slap the magnet on there and she's ready to rock.

And that's it! Notice the empty rear chamber. The two guns really do look distinctive.

And from the back. Again, it's really pretty sturdy.

So, that's that. A lot of work, but every time I see a cannon where the stubber is missing it's back, or the melta cans aren't attached to anything, etc. I think it's worth it. The thing is all sprue bits and too much glue, but better safe than sorry. As always when working with magnets, be careful to get the polarity right BEFORE you glue it. Also, since most of your tools are probably metal, keep some toothpicks (cocktail sticks) or plastic tweezers around to fudge with the position of magnets while the glue sets. If they flip up and attach to your tweezers, take the time to check the polarity again. It's not a fun mistake to discover.

I cropped the pics, but they didn't seem to upload that way, so I'm sorry for the funky dimensions.

Hit me up with any questions you have.