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I'm trying to figure out a game plan on how to group the weapon sprues. I can probably fit 6 of each weapon to a sprue, should I include both right and left handed versions maybe 3 of each? I can do the sprue with all one type of weapon  (6 axes for example)or I could do a combo pack that has 2 of each weapon 2 axes, 2 swords, 2 hammers which would be one right hand and one left hand of each. Any thoughts on how you'd like them packaged?   

Because the lances are so much longer than the other weapons it's better to do those grouped by themselves so they wouldn't be part of a combo pack. 

I still need to do the test prints for the hammer, but in the meantime I made these small shields which I guess would be something like a crusade badge or icon. There's two sizes a small/medium and one version is plain with a pair of studs while the other has a cross and studs on it. I can probably fit 8-12 of these on a sprue. They'd fit well on both the bikes and infantry here's a couple shots of both sizes being used. These prints were rushed so they came out a bit grainy but the final production ones would be very smooth. 

Any thoughts on the shields?

 

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Edited by Rogue Crusader

I like the idea combo sprue. However I would probably get one that is just swords as well. Because a company champion has two swords, and if you have a couple of companies worth of Templars, well... the numbers just keep adding up. 

 

Shields aren't really in the market for my bit hunting right now as I have buckets of them. However if you upped the detail and had ones that were more geared towards infantry models that had more detail, filligree, floral accents to it - you will certainly have my interest.

I can probably fit 6 of each weapon to a sprue, should I include both right and left handed versions maybe 3 of each? I can do the sprue with all one type of weapon  (6 axes for example)or I could do a combo pack that has 2 of each weapon 2 axes, 2 swords, 2 hammers which would be one right hand and one left hand of each. Any thoughts on how you'd like them packaged? 

 

 

Because the requests could be all over the place, you might consider doing a sprue of 6 swords (3 x L, 3 x R) and a combo pack of two of each weapon (1 x L, 1 x R).

 

It seems like that would cover a majority of the needs initially, then see if demand increases for another type of weapon with 6 on it.

I'll make the shoulder pad add-ons available, the ones in the pics were hand sculpted but I also made a 3d version which I'm currently toying around with to determine the best thickness for the details and casting. If it's on the thin side the molding makes it worse as rubber bands help squeeze the molds together which isn't obvious on larger parts but something like these can come out looking like paper or almost transparent, too thick and they look comically oversized.

I'll probably be casting them as a flat strip that can be heated up in hot water then bent to fit the contour of the underlying shoulder pad. I'll try and have some pictures in the next day or two. 

 

 

 

My Templar bike force is slowly coming together, I splurged on ebay and picked three Ravenwing battleforces which will round out everything I need for the list. Lots of converting and painting ahead of me. I'll likely be playing them as Ravenwing or Deathwatch as they have better weapon options than standard bikes.

 

While looking over the statlines I noticed that Samael's sword profile was similar to the Black Sword and that gave me inspiration for making a jet bike mounted Emperor's Champion. (counts as Master of the Ravenwing) While I like working with resin the quality of finecast is pretty bad so I tracked down a metal version. It's been a long while since I built a large metal kit and it was a bit of a pain since it needed a lot of filing and some or the larger parts were slightly warped and needed to be carefully bent to fit. I'm still making some final tweaks and grinding off the last few DA icons but I'm liking the mock up so far. 

 

 

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Edited by Rogue Crusader
  • 3 weeks later...

It took a bit of experimenting but I finished the 3d shoulder pads and got them cast alongside with the saddle bags. The pads are cast as straight pieces and then I soak them in hot water so they become pliable and then I bend them around the handle for my Exacto hobby knife which matches the bottom curve of the marine shoulder pads pretty closely. I get carefully line it up along the bottom edge of the pad and super glue it along the bottom edge and in the center of the pad leaving the top portion and sides loose, then I re-soak it in hot water a second time so that the top section can then be shaped. Super glue isn't impacted by water and can be worked with while underwater so it won't matter if the parts are still dripping wet. (a hobby tip I picked up from working with fishtank coral) 

Because if the thickest part of the pad and located dead center the cross can be a bit stubborn if it's not heated enough, I microwave water in a coffee mug until it's almost boiling and soak the pad for about 1-2 minutes, it takes a little practice but if you mess up it can be straightened by reheating it and it''ll return to the original shape. If it's too cool it'll resist being reshaped and could crack if forced so it's just a matter of making sure it's nice and hot before bending/straightening. (Try not to use any hard edges like tweezers to handle the resin while it's soft or you can end up leaving tool marks on it). The bottom edge will be flush with the pad and circular in shape, the upper portion has a slightly rounded V shape and there's a small gap between the top edge of the pad and the center of the underlying pad which I leave that way since it creates a sense that the heavy pad is fitted over the shoulder pad, it can also be filled in with greenstuff if people want it to look fused together with the under pad. 

I'm still working on the finial version of the weapons but the various saddle bags and bike exhausts will be posted up on my website later tonight, (www.reddogminis.com) which is also the link in my signature. 

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I love the shoulder pads. It looks like pod SW kits. And Also axes And swords And saddle bags are Also very Nice!!

 

Great job indeed. Only problem will be shipping to poland lol:)

Edited by Aegir_Einarsson
  • 1 month later...

It's been a while, Nov-Dec is pretty much a two month hobby disaster for me. Between work and all the extra family obligations I usually don't even get to look at my hobby stuff until after new years. I've also been tinkering around with the printer, the surface on the resin vat needed replacement and I thought I'd see if I could refinish it myself vs buying a new one. It seems like it's ready to go, but I won't know until I try my next set of prints. If it works well it'll cut my material costs significantly and should hopefully speed up how often I can get models done.

With last weeks release of the DA codex it gave me some extra incentive to do some more work on my Templars counts as Ravenwing bike list so I fired up maya and got to work. 

 
I've needed some plasma talons to kit out some black knights. While I could simply recast some the stock parts only fit the winged cowl for the command bikes and the wings don't quite fit the look I wanted with the Templars build so I opted to 3d print some. I've had the reference pictures sitting on my desktop for a solid month and half but finally felt motivate enough last night to get to work on them.
 
I have a ton of plasma guns left over from my old Templar conversion sprues but they are a bit long and it's tricky cutting the body at just the right angle to pair it with the bike cowl. Plasma pistols are a bit short and the command talons need a dedicated socket for their rear portion so I took some photos for scale references and made a version that'd fit with the existing dimensions of the cowl's weapon slots and also pair up with the handle bars the way the stock bolters do.
 
Once I had the 3d completed I crammed as many copies as I could fit on the build table and ran off a set of 16 test prints which all came out quite well. Size and fit is spot on but I lost some of the rivets which I apparently didn't attach correctly to the mesh. They looked like they were part of the model but weren't connected and were free-floating right next to the surface. Not a huge deal and it'll be corrected on the next batch of prints.
 
I also tested out a large banner to see how the details translated. Overall it looks good although for the final print I need to make the cross and the border a touch more shallow as they stick out a bit far for my taste atm. It's currently completely straight so it'll also need some wind movement added to it, but I'm happy with the look and size. The final version will likely be on a hand held pole but I left that off for now in order to keep the print time shorter.
 
Light grey parts are all ones that I modeled and 3d printed with the exception of the base which is from Dragon Forge.

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Fresh new-born parts prior to cleaning. :) 

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Dear God-Emperor! Those pads look amazing, and very close in size and appeal to the ones cast on the Sword Brethren. I'll be looking out for the weapons options you're working on and definitely pick up some of them as well when I can order them all at once. Please keep up the excellent work!

 

Your bikes are very origional, and I'm jelous of your ability to create whatever you set your mind to. Can;t wait to see what you come up with next!

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