30k Vehicle/Automata Concepts - The Manufactorum

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Thanks IHF, that always helps the inspiration along!

 

I managed to get started on the track sections and the rough outline of the hull yesterday, but I'll sen some pictures your way once I have something worthwile to show

 

No problem, it's always cool to watch your projects 

 

What kind of time scale are you looking at for completing these?

 

Currently: there is no time scale. I do this stuff as and when I feel like it, in whatever (increasingly limited) free time I have

 

That might change however, as I'll elaborate on in a bit (the post I've been mentioning will probably come tomorrow)

[malika666]

Awesome! Speaking of Titans, I've been delving through FW's Horus Heresy books and found a few other classes:

 

1) Carnivore class (which I guess might be a similar size to the Reaver or Warlord)
2) Maines: maybe a warlord sized one?
3) Mirage: heavy battle titan

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

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Edited August 1, 2022 by Iron Hands Fanatic

[marine7312000]

I can definitely understand wanting to cover some costs. What about providing some type of raffle prize in conjunction with the crowd funding? You could do anything from a sketch for the winner to something more along the lines of "what ideas do you have for a new\ unique unit?" and working with them to flesh it out further. You could either tie how many entries you get in the raffle to the donation tier or just give everyone that donates one entry. Second thing, and something I would be more interested in than a discord, doing a monthly, or more often, poll that is locked behind donations for what everyone would like to see next?

[Ryltar Thamior]

Thanks for the update, IHF :) I gotta say, after the somewhat .. foreboding vibes I got form some of your previous posts building up to that announcement, I was a bit trepidacious that i'd be hitting up the threaad only to see you announcing you'd suffered critical burnout as an artist and/or a 30k-fan so would be shutting up operations entirely. 

So obviously, i'm hella relieved that isn't the case. 

As applies your projected course of action ... yeah, it's a pretty legit idea. From a .. personal and artistic standpoint, I mean - I can't comment on the intricacies of the legal side of things. Although it *does* occur that if the payments in question were basically just "patronage" as it were to your general [and I specify the *general* here] artisticness , rather htan tied to specific 40k IP, I would find it rather surprising if this actually fell afoul of things. I mean - it's basically just people paying you because we like you [so to speak - I mean .. we do, but, you know hwat I mean] rather than a direct and specific exchange which results in you piggybacking on somebody else's IP to turn a profit for a service rendered. 

Those bullet-points you've placed toward the end of your post are pretty positive in that regard - as you're making it clear that you're *not* charging for the actual output produced, and its use of IP in that manner [although given the results of the Chapterhouse suit as I undersatnd them ... it's potentially a bit of a space/amenable grey-area anyway]. But rather, are mooting the notion of paying for access to you, while you talk about stuff with like-minded individuals, so to speak. 

[i also gotta say, as i'm just about to start making something heavily inspired by some Astartes concept you did maaaaaaany months ago now .. i'm very relieved that we won't suddenly find your output locked up behind paywalls and such] 

And having just commented on some legal bits and pieces immediately following a statement that I wouldn't be able to ... you may wish to actually get proper look-over of your projected operation by somebody who's a) actually a lawyer [i only have half a law degree and a reasonable amount of experience in fields of law unlikely to be relevant here], b) o-fay with the precise nature of hte law wherever it is you are in the world. 

But yeah uh .. leaving all of that aside .. the main thing I wanted to say is that I think it's a very good idea for you to set up a model wherein you actually get someting out of all this cool stuff you do that we all seem to like so much. I mean, a lot of what i do [irl] is volunteer work - stuff that I feel I have a moral or religious obligation to carry out. And despite the best possible motivations, as well as the seriously cool feeling when people respond both in significant numbers and overwhelmingly positively to something I've written, or we manage to 'shift the narrative' in the media/politics, or a legal situation starts trending up ... it's pretty draining putting in all of that work even on "labours of love"! 

With that in mind, you being able to actually see some tangible results of that appreciation from yer fanbase [and at this point .. it kinda does seem to be a fanbase] , well, it's good for your psychological health doing what you're doing, for a start. And that's before we get into the notion that you may find it easier to live and devote time to these wonderful endeavours if there's a bit of extra cash coming in here and there. 

Personally, my preference wiht where you'ev been going thus far, is the 'concept-work' so to speak - the exploration, the art, the fluff, the "this is how this works",  [i guess i'm after the *inspiration*?] rather than the precise black-letter rules; but that's because I don't really do non-narrative games so ruleswise everything's at least an extrapolation from tabletop rulse anyway for us. It may also turn out that this is eaasier to do than attempting to produce actual properly formatted up FW-esque rules-sheets from an IP perspective - but again, not an IP lawyer. [although I remember a rather amusing anecdote from Italian copyright law that .. we'll save for another time] 

But if creating rules and crafting *that* way is what you want to do, and where you get your enthusiasm from - then more power to you; and I gotta say - i've found your approaches in this area both innovative/refreshing, as well as pretty solid all up. i'm sure that other posters will agree. End of the day, ther's nothing stopping people from 'houseruling' back in official rules that you haven't been able to mention on a particular profile or whatever. 

In any case, I really do rather look forward to seeing how you handle som eof those "more ambitious projects". Particularly the Legion Auxilia and such - you had some pretty nifty concepts floating around awhile back for several of htem, and I also seem to recall a Steel Legion ground-up redesign or something you had in the works. I also did check your blog from time to time in the hopes that you'd posted some AoS or 40k bits and pieces, since i figured your imagination would be pretty legit in those contexts as well, maybe help get me hype about those periods/settings. 

Oh, and as applies "hopes of working at GW/FW" ... tbh, and with absolutely no experience of that particular corporate environment/recruiting practices whatsoever ... I'd actually ponder whether you going down this path is likely to be the .. abandonment of that dream which it seems like you think it might.

Let me put it this way: if you keep doing seriously awesome stuff, at a reasonable quality and rate of output - it's probably only a matter of time before it comes to the attention of various people in the company who're more on the "hobby/explore these universes" side of things as opposed to accounts. From there, it may very well turn out positively in terms of "why aren't we hiring this guy...". That's my optimistic take on things, anyway. 

Although as appies why your previous bid wasn't successful - well, considering how FW's gone in the last few months [with the Solar Auxilia range and other areas being 'trimmed' to put it mildly], i suppose it might be a little less inexplicable [to put it mildly] that you didn't at least get feedback on your portfolio work. 

I uh ... I'm not quite sure what you're referring to with Cottrell at an HH weekender - any idea what i should be googling?

And tha's another thing that's important - values and career path not being in disharmony. Becaues if they *are* .. weeell, that way some considerable stress lies, including perhaps tainitng the love of the hobby all up :S 

Anyway, that's a rather lengthy ramble of my own. However you choose to progress things, I hope they work out for you :) And i'm glad we're not losing you to fatigue *just* yet :P 

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

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Edited August 1, 2022 by Iron Hands Fanatic

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Hey folks, I thought I'd share a design I just finished which was commissioned by Brother Tholath for his work on the BotL:

It's pretty much a stripped-down, open-topped Legion equivalent of the Custodes' Caladius Grav-Carrier - I'm really happy with the central hull, so I might reincarnate some of the design in a tracked vehicle for the main 30k universe.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Iron Hands Fanatic

[Fenbain]

Hey folks, plans with regard to the Patreon are still kinda in stasis as I work on my Masters project, but I thought I'd share a design I just finished which was comissioned by Brother Tholath for his work on the BotL:

It's pretty much a stripped-down, open-topped Legion equivalent of the Custodes' Caladius Grav-Carrier - I'm really happy with the central hull, so I might reincarnate some of the design in a tracked vehicle for the main 30k universe.

Just a heads up - this obviously means I'm now taking commissions (something I've previously turned down), but my schedule is pretty packed at the minute - I'll be doing a big commission drive / Patreon launch build-up in November when my Masters is over, so if any of you are super keen to have me illustrate some of your designs, it's on the table for the near future.

Hope y'all like it

This is great news! I look forward to the launch date :-)

[StoneSentinels]

That is so so cool!! I love the fusion of Martian and terran styles. Very cool. And there aren't enough imperial open topped speeders!

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Tholath wanted colour work too, so this is actually a decent idea of what sort of stuff I might be able to produce

On 8/9/2018 at 3:59 PM, Fenbain said:

This is great news! I look forward to the launch date :-)

Thanks, that means a lot

On 8/10/2018 at 10:50 AM, StoneSentinels said:

That is so so cool!! I love the fusion of Martian and terran styles. Very cool. And there aren't enough imperial open topped speeders!

Thanks! Being Tholath's concept, it was fun designing something that I wouldn't necessarily think up myself

Edited October 24, 2022 by Iron Hands Fanatic

[malika666]

Holy crap that's impressive! What software did you use here?

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Holy crap that's impressive! What software did you use here?

 

Thanks! I use GIMP, it's all hand-painted - I should probably transition to photoshop at some point, but as I've only just dipped my toes into freelancing, I'm happy to stick with free software at the mo.

[Skalpynock]

Krita is a great midpoint, being both a purpose-made artistic software and free software (both monetarily and copyrightly).

[Brother Tholath]

A huge thanks to IHF for doing this!

 

With the style, the legion it is for is heavily Polynesian/Maori, so I wanted the feel of a boat/canoe in some ways, which I feel comes across here

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

A huge thanks to IHF for doing this!

 

With the style, the legion it is for is heavily Polynesian/Maori, so I wanted the feel of a boat/canoe in some ways, which I feel comes across here

 

No worries, it was a great opportunity to push myself in a direction I otherwise wouldn't necessarily have had motivation / cause to - until now, I didn't know I'd be able to produce something of this quality in this style.

 

I'm glad you feel the boat aesthetics come across - outside of landing-craft stylings, Legion vehicles don't really have much of a boat aesthetic going (outside of Grimnar's grav-sled of course ), so it was something I struggled with a bit, but I think it'd look pretty good crashing across the wavetops 

 

Krita is a great midpoint, being both a purpose-made artistic software and free software (both monetarily and copyrightly).

 

Interesting, I'll check it out - thanks for the suggestion

[Charlo]

Excellent skill shown and it looks amazing.

 

I don't personally like the design - it's too nice and round for Astartes, or maybe I'm just too used to seeing it as a Custodes vehicles but it looks incredible, that's for sure!

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Excellent skill shown and it looks amazing.

 

I don't personally like the design - it's too nice and round for Astartes, or maybe I'm just too used to seeing it as a Custodes vehicles but it looks incredible, that's for sure!

 

Thanks Charlo - and I do get what you mean - I added quite a few different elements to the engines to being their aesthetic closer to that of the Legion Javelin speeder / Scimitar Jetbikes, so when you directly compare them with the Caladius' actual engines there's a significant visual distinction, but having the stark contrast with the very blocky main hull does amplify the sleekness.

[Charlo]

It is an absolutely wonderful render though.

 

Would be great to see a time-lapse of something like this coming together!

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Thank you! Time-lapses are something I've never tried before, but considering I'm trying to move into professional freelancing, it's probably something I should consider (plus,it might help keep me on-task). 

 

I do have several work-in-progress shots at various stages I could share?

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Iron Hands Fanatic

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

As I'm slowly trawling through making rules & background for my various planned designs, thought I'd share one of my favourites: the Hephaestus (as mentioned in the Sicaran's background) - I'm also considering adding a few legion-specific weapon options considering the tank's purpose:

 

 

LORDS OF WAR: Legion Hephaestus Special Weapons Tank

 

One of the most advanced vehicles of its time, the Hephaestus was designed in a concerted effort to expand the Legions’ wargear during the early Great Crusade, incorporating several novel systems into a super-heavy chassis which could feasibly mount almost any prototype heavy weaponry for rigorous field testing. Across its lifetime, these weapons laid the groundwork for armaments later found throughout the Legions’ arsenals, weapon systems of such destructive mien that they became bywords for utter desolation, from the Glaive’s colossal Volkite Carronade to the Grav-flux Bombard of the Leviathan Dreadnought.

 

Not only did the Hephaestus’ weapons propagate further Legion wargear; but the vehicle’s chassis itself proved fundamental to the development of various super-heavy vehicles, such as the Glaive and Scourge special-weapons tanks, as well as playing a role in the design of the highly successful Sicaran main battle tank.

 

While frontline deployments of the Hephaestus dwindled towards the end of the Great Crusade, replaced by purpose-built vehicles equipped with more reliable and stable incarnations of their prototype armaments thanks to dedicated weapons projects which sought to avoid the need for lengthy field trials, the destruction unleashed by the Heresy called forth the Hephaestus in greater numbers than ever before, bearing dark weaponry once consigned to history.

 

Hephaestus:                   BS: 4   Armour (Front/Side/Rear): 14/13/12 HP: 8

 

Unit Composition:

* 1 Hephaestus

 

Unit Type:

* Vehicle (Super Heavy)

 

Wargear:

* Hull-mounted twin-linked heavy bolter

* Extra armour

* Search light

* Smoke launchers

 

Options:

* The Hephaestus must select one of the following turret-mounted weapons:

            - Twin-linked volkite cavalcade

            - Twin-linked neutron pulse cannon

            - Twin-linked conversion annihilator

            - Twin-linked grav-flux projector

* The Hephaestus may take any of the following upgrades:

            - Hunter-killer missile

            - Armoured ceramite

* The Hephaestus may exchange its twin-linked heavy bolter for one of the following:

            - Twin-linked heavy flamer

            - Twin-linked lascannon

 

 

Hephaestus Weapon Systems:

The Hephaestus’ weapon systems commonly became templates for devices of ruin which would become widespread across the Legions - such as the earliest incarnations of neutron weaponry - but some few esoteric designs, including conversion beamers with advanced suspensor fields mitigating their notorious stability requirements, were never proliferated further.

 

Volkite Cavalcade:                Range: Template   Str: 7   AP: 3   Type: Heavy 1, Deflagrate, Haywire, Torrent (24”)

Neutron Pulse Cannon:        Range: 60”   Str: 10   AP: 1   Type: Ordnance 1, Concussive, Feedback, Shock Pulse, Blast (3”)

Conversion Annihilator:      Range: Up to 12”   Str: 6   AP: -   Type: Ordnance 1, Exoshock, Ignores Cover, Large Blast (5”)

Range: 12-24”   Str: 8   AP: 4   Type: Ordnance 1, Exoshock, Ignores Cover, Large Blast (5”)

Range: 24-48”   Str: 10   AP: 1   Type: Ordnance 1, Exoshock, Ignores Cover, Large Blast (5”)

Grav-flux Projector:             Range: 36”   Str: *   AP: 2   Type: Heavy 1, Graviton Collapse, Ignores Cover, Sunder, Strikedown, Torsion Crusher, Large Blast (5”)

 

 

[calgar101]

Love this thread.

Have you a rough cost of how much it would be to do what you want?

Edited September 15, 2018 by calgar101

[lokkorex]

Hey IHF!

 

Just to trow a spanner into your brain, what if the Hephaestus was what the Macharius became?

 

The blueprints for the Crassus was pieced together from what the mechanicus could dig up from the thousand sons formerly allied forge world, so it wouldn't be that far of a stretch, would it?

[calgar101]

Would the conversion annihilator not use a larger template? The 7" one. Love the weapons name.

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

On a whim I decided to add a 30k incarnation of the Astraeus' Macro-Accelerator Cannon to the Hephaestus' weapon options, as they seemed an appropriately cool experimental design for the vehicle's repertoire:

 

Macro-accelerator Autocannon:   Range: 72”   Str: 8   AP: 3   Type: Heavy 8, Sunder, Rapid Tracking

 

 

Hey IHF!

Just to trow a spanner into your brain, what if the Hephaestus was what the Macharius became?

The blueprints for the Crassus was pieced together from what the mechanicus could dig up from the thousand sons formerly allied forge world, so it wouldn't be that far of a stretch, would it?

 

Well, the Hephaestus would roughly resemble the Macharius, with a similarly sized hull & turret layout (to the Vulkan at least), but when designing the visuals, I will be tying it far closer to the Sicaran & Fellblade in aesthetics. What I might do in the future is base a more ubiquitous Legion vehicle off the Hephaestus hull (so, not a special weapon tank), and I could always make a reference in the background of Zhao-Arkhad / Lucius (where the fragmented Malcador template was discovered) developing a non-Deimos pattern of the vehicle for easier production / possible distribution to forces outside the Legions?

 

Would the conversion annihilator not use a larger template? The 7" one. Love the weapons name.

 

Thanks! Normally, yes, but the Annihilator isn't just a larger / more powerful version of the Conversion Beamer - all the Hephaestus' weapons are designed to be slightly unusual takes on existing weapon templates (to make them seem more 'experimental'). So the Conversion Annihilator lacks the requirement to stay stationary (hence the background bit about suspensors), gets Exoshock, and has a reduced range, which does also make it's most powerful statline more usable. Similarly, you've got a template Volkite (suggesting a step on the path to the Carronade's full beam), and a Neutron weapon with Blast, etc. It was really an opportunity for me to mess around with the existing status-quo of various weapon types.

Edited September 16, 2018 by Iron Hands Fanatic

[calgar101]

Thanks for your reply definitely makes more sense to me now :)