Forge Firmamentum - Lucius-pattern Warlord Titan (p.5)

[MithrilForge]

Good Luck with your entry  .

i was looking for a 40k version of Boba-Fett in the jabba  adamantium forge...

 

Mithril

[CommodusXIII]

This will be my last item of repurposed terrain for a while.  The assembly line started life as a John Deere playset:

 

http://i.imgur.com/0xP44zel.jpg'

 

After gutting and cleaning it, there was little conversion work necessary:

 

http://i.imgur.com/d3X3i5kl.jpg

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

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

 

It lacks a lot of surface detail, so I may go back and add more at a later date.  For now, it's a decent large-scale piece that will work well as an objective for Apocalypse or Escalation missions.

 

My terrain pool is quickly falling into two categories - industrial, and scientific.  I have a few more items on the drawing board for both.  For now, though, I have to turn my attention back to another project that I've left to languish for far too long.

[Kierdale]

Excellent stuff.

Your salvaging of old toys is inspirational :tu:

[CommodusXIII]

Apparently I can't stay away for very long.

 

I picked up this Games & Gears Field Generator at Adepticon 2016.  I started painting it months ago but didn't get past the legs.  I'm still trying to get my mojo back for my Thunder Warriors project, so I decided to get it off my plate this weekend.

 

http://i.imgur.com/22kBJtul.jpg

 

The kit is very simple and can be assembled without glue, allowing it to be broken down for transport.  I glued it together permanently anyway.  The cast quality is low, with a lot of bubbles and pockmarks.  The aesthetics also don't really align with my tastes - it would fit in great on a Warmachine table, but it doesn't quite look like it belongs in 40K.

 

All of that being said, it's still a valued momento of my first big 40K convention.  And it's another Void Shield Generator for my Void Relay Network.  Two down, one to go!

[MithrilForge]

Great work here Man  , i'll admit it does look a tad warnachiney...But no one's going to notice with all that smog and smoke on the table 

Your Onager interests me? are its legs different?... and the hazard stripes are cool  (gotta steal that idea  )

 

Great table terrain indeed 

 

Mithril

[CommodusXIII]

They are indeed!  I didn't really like the spidery legs of the stock Onager - they reminded me too much of the Tachikoma from Ghost in the Shell.  I picked up six Axis Armored Transports during a sale last Christmas.  The legs required some minor filing and gap-filling, and I also added a few Opus Machina from the Imperial Knight Warden kit.

 

I mated them to the stock Onager turret/head with 16 mm acrylic teddy bear eyes.  These are a perfect, snug fit for the stock ball joint - I left the joint unglued for ease of in-game posing and transportation.

 

Better pictures begin with this post.  I have six Onagers total - three with Neutron Lasers, three with Icarus Arrays.  They've been a good replacement for my Knights in smaller games, and I'm really looking forward to fielding them all at once!

 

Overall, I classify the Dust Tactics kits as toys rather than models.  They come pre-assembled and partially painted, use a much more brittle plastic, and have all kinds of casting/assembly artifacts.  That's not to say that they're not useful - I have another long-term project in the works using another kit from that line.

[CommodusXIII]

The narrative Kill Team/Combat Patrol event that my group is pulling together revolves around an attempted revival of the Imperial Webway project.  The planned culmination of the campaign requires a suitable gate or portal for us to die over.  I've been tossing around a few ideas for how to represent this, and today I had an epiphany involving parts that I already had on hand.

 

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

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

http://i.imgur.com/i4VSdPrl.jpg

 

I turned the assembly line backwards to form a gantry, and dug out one of the gaudy Munitorum Templates to use as the actual portal.  After an evening of painting in the detail, it doesn't look half bad!

[MithrilForge]

if you added to the sides with panels then it can be the Gate room from Stargate   

 

Mithril

[Race Bannon]

Half bad?  It's full-on good!

 

No, it's better than good, it's great!

[CommodusXIII]

With so much terrain from so many different sources, I have to find unobtrusive ways to tie them all together.  For example, I paint all pipework and cabling brass and all diamond plate red with heavy metallic drybrushing.  Another little detail has been propaganda posters.  I've neglected that over the past few projects, so I printed up some images from The Regimental Standard and gave them a wash.

 

http://i.imgur.com/ISyklh1l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/kU4gnVpl.jpg

 

I keep saying that I'm going to take a break from my terrain projects, but I keep striking gold at the local thrift stores.  This is quite possibly my favourite project to date.  It started as the 5-way booster from the Hot Wheels Serpent Cyclone:

 

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

 

After removing the guts and giving it a good wash with Simple Green, there was very little work required.  I patched a gap on the top with some diamond plate plasticard, and filled in the hole left by the on/off switch.  A little more diamond plate for the walkway, and the central processor was good to go:

 

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

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

 

What I love about this piece is the combination of complexity and simplicity.  There's a walkway down the entire length of the processor, setting up a perfect firelane.

 

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

 

There are also many little Skitarii-sized alcoves and passages for models to scuttle through.

 

http://i.imgur.com/2LEXYlvl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/jwoSij0l.jpg

 

Overall, it's a great bit of LOS-blocking terrain with a wealth of opportunities for cinematic Kill Team action.

 

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

 

I have a few more items on the bench, so stay tuned for more toybashing!

[Race Bannon]

Man, your bat reps must look amazing :tu:

[CommodusXIII]

If you've never needed a laser pointer to determine Line of Sight, you've never truly experienced Kill Team. My favourite was when an Eldar Ranger lined up a shot across the table through a series of intervening catwalks and fuel silos. That was one very dead Vanguard and I couldn't even be mad about it.

[Doghouse]

I am seriously impressed with what you have achieved here with the scenery. Your models are really nice but the scenery is extremely inspiring and just shows what you can do if you put you mind to it. Really nicely done :tu:

[CommodusXIII]

I have no delusions - I aim for tabletop quality in my models, and I don't put in enough effort to get any higher than that.  As I get older, though, I'm learning that it's the terrain that makes the difference.  You can be fielding a Golden Daemon-level army, but if you're fighting over unpainted cardboard and dice it's hard to suspend disbelief.  On the other hand, with a representative battlefield even three-colour minimum models take on a life of their own.

 

With the softcover Anphelion Project book, I thought this would be a good time to play around with the scientific side of the Mechanicus.  I've actually been chipping away at this project for the past month or so.  It all started with a box of broken parts for the Death Star Space Station playset.

 

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

 

I had a flashback to David Lynch's Dune, and the pieces began to fall into place.

 

http://i.imgur.com/Hv089kjl.jpg

 

It took a bit of work to repair the shell, clean and reassemble after painting.  I also cobbled together a removable roof out of plasticard, floor tiles and random bits.  I might come back eventually and construct a more impressive cap, but for now this works.

 

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

http://i.imgur.com/WGbhz6Tl.jpg

 

The door is not only functional, but removable - perfect for depicting forced entries or violent escapes.

 

http://i.imgur.com/ZomcI8Dl.jpg

 

What I like about this item is that it serves a multitude of purposes.  That's great for narrative events, and allows me to write a wide range of stories.  For example, this could be a simple storage room:

 

http://i.imgur.com/YT7YQL2l.jpg

 

Maybe it's a command bunker:

 

http://i.imgur.com/Cm6iUgBl.jpg

 

Maybe it's a containment vessel for specimens, or an exhibit in some insane Magos' personal zoo:

 

http://i.imgur.com/i6MWewMl.jpg

 

Maybe it's a psyker's personal meditation chamber or a detention cell:

 

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

 

The possibilities are endless.  To help with that, I tracked down enough spare parts on eBay to build three more.  I typically consider this cheating, but as all of these were broken and sold for parts I didn't feel so bad.

 

http://i.imgur.com/5KkdINol.jpg

 

There are yet more items to come.

[CommodusXIII]

Here are two more Hot Wheels chargers/boosters to round out that collection.  I wasn't as happy with the aesthetics of the turbine plant (right) but the second heat exchanger (left) is fantastic.

 

http://i.imgur.com/i03GoDHl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ted3Kyol.jpg

 

While items like these are excellent for blocking Line of Sight, their true value is in channeling movement.  Models have to decide if they're going through the pinch point, or taking the long way around.  This is great for setting up ambushes.

[Warsmith Uveron]

You know its probably possible to find something to have walkways clip on between these hot wheels bits... if you can find some non curved hot wheels track maybe.

 

Looks fantastic by the way!

[CommodusXIII]

I think it would be pretty easy with existing "platformer"-type kits, like the ones Pegasus Hobbies puts out.  That might make an interesting tech-bayou battlefield in the sump of a hive!

 

The Star Wars parts box also included a Bacta Tank, with Luke already torn off and misplaced.

 

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

 

It's not too hard to guess where I went this this.  Jes Goodwin's artwork comes up quite frequently regarding the AdMech, and I'm glad to have an homage to it in my collection.

 

http://i.imgur.com/RHJYv2tl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OAG2ni5l.jpg

 

Finally, our upcoming event requires a lot of computer terminals for objectives.  Given the choice, I'll always go with hacking together representative markers over using dice.  I built a large volume of these terminals very quickly and with a very low budget.

 

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

 

The terminals themselves, and the control panels, are from Horizon Creation 3D.  I used beams leftover from GW terrain kits as the uprights and scrap bases I had laying around.  After a very quick and dirty paintjob, I printed and glued BSODs for the displays.  They may not be pretty on close inspection, but they'll get the job done.

 

With that, I think I'm about ready to take a break.  For real, this time - I'm completely out of raw material!

[Shinespider]

Deeply inspiring work. Great job!

[Battybattybats]

This thread is pure magnificence!

[CommodusXIII]

This is one of the projects that have been floating around the drawing board for quite some time.

 

I've been looking to expand my Skitarii even further, and needed some extra close combat ability.  My regular opponent fields Khorne Daemonkin and, while I've been getting good at whittling him down at range, once he closes the gap the game is pretty much over.  I haven't yet warmed up to the Infiltrators and Ruststalkers.  I get good mileage from conscripting my AdMech Sentinels as Ironstriders, so I figured it was time to give Dragoons a shot.  I tossed around a few concepts for conversions based on melee Scout Sentinels (if only the Power Lifter was still available...) but they never felt quite right.

 

http://i.imgur.com/PYm7BfVl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/yWl7dVrl.jpg

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

 

I had good results with my Onager Dunecrawler kitbash project and decided to give the Dust Tactics line another look.  I picked up enough bits to build a rider, and replaced his "Gimp My Ride" mount with the Allies Light Assault Walker.  With its front armour stripped off it looks like something from one of Simon Stålenhag's books.  It took a bit of work but the Skitarii fits it fairly well!

 

With the initial proof-of-concept model complete, I can start filling out the rest of the squadron.  Unfortunately, these s are getting to be really difficult to track down.

[Race Bannon]

The link to Simon's work reveals something terrifyingly abnormal yet also disturbingly normal. Very interesting connection between your conversion and the art. *shivers*

[CommodusXIII]

If you haven't been following along in the WIP forum, I've been hard at work on an updated model for Lux Aeterna in preparation for next year's Adepticon Titanicus events.  Here is the final result:

 

 

More pictures (and the entire build log) are available here.