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Blackadder's Attempt To Build a Lucius Patten Imperator

Blackadder

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Blackadder

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Okay so I had some 3/8 inch box beams (Plastruct) laying about so I used them as spacers to thicken the construction and give it strength to boot. Then if I need to modify it later it will be easier to sand down instead of a solid block. 

 


http://i.imgur.com/a8Qgxh0l.jpg

 

 


http://i.imgur.com/FIQUh3sl.jpg

 

 


http://i.imgur.com/RwtL7aCl.jpg

 


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

 

This all seems pretty boring and I hope to get into the fancy stuff soon. Right now giving this heavy model (My warlord upper body weighs seven pounds) a strong basic structure is paramount.
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Col.hertford Battle-Brother

Col.hertford

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I've seen Emperors that were upwards of 5-6 foot tall and while big they were not impressive. The taller they are the more detail they require; what looks good on a two foot model looks barren and fake on a six foot model. A quick calculation gives 386 feet tall at 28 mm scale. It would dwarf any of the existing FW models to insignificance. My Luteus scales 160 feet tall at 27 inches plenty big in person believe me.

 

 

More on the scale of an Imperator Titan........

 

According to Warhammer 40K Wikia:

 

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Imperator-class_Titan

 

"The Imperator and Warmonger Emperor Titans stand approximately 55.5 metres (182 feet) tall" and hold a company of infantry(I'm guessing about 200 troops?) 

 

Judging by the size of the greaves even on an Emperor,

the grunts must be stacked up like cord wood.

The old Titan legions game said the protection contingent was 30 per foot bastion. Another 30 in the body, then of course you would have the crew and sevitors. Here's a link to the data card. I think 90 skitarri would make a strong defence force, and considering the fact a warlord doesn't have any, a nice jump in scale. Will you add point defences too (ala the FW Warlord)?

 

https://boardgamegeek.com/image/188794/titan-legions

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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Thanks for the information and the Data Card (Not seen one of those before) also what are "Point Defenses"? As you can tell I don't play the game I just like building the hardware. My son is the gamer but he's in Las Vegas now or I'd ask him.

 

Basic Pelvis Block Complete:
 
With thsi post the basic pelvis is complete. All that is left is applying the detail. I may bevel the corners and edges to add more pizzazz as I did on the Thunderhawk but all that is cosmetic. 
 
http://i.imgur.com/zJQSzyEl.jpg
 
The Epic Imperator is very plain and you can let your imangination run wild with the amount of detail a 3 foot tall model requires. I have a good stock of City of Dead panels left over from my Warlord and I have a Fortress of Redemption to decorate the greaves if needs be.
 
http://i.imgur.com/2oMX14Ml.jpg
 
I used 0.040 thousandths styrene to sheath the pelvis and sanded the edges smooth; there's not really much to say about the step except to take great pains to make your angles square and true. Good enough is never "Good Enough"; that's my motto. 
 
http://i.imgur.com/PUPtHYJl.jpg
 
A few extra pains taken now will save you a lot of grief later. 
 
http://i.imgur.com/Jp3YsLul.jpg
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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Getting the right angle:

 

I've wracked my brains trying to come up with a way to manufacture legs that were angled slightly akimbo (about 10%) so my Warmonger can be posed in the classic manner. Most of the pipe fitting models I have seen have the legs parallel to each other and it looks boxy and strange to the artistic eye. Never mind that parallel legs or even legs canted in to a pigeon toed stance are more amenable to a proper walking gate. For a static stance nothing compares to the rock solid look of a spraddled posture.

 

This realized, getting the proper fittings is out. You have three choices; 90°, 45°, and 22.5° and that's it, so to get the requisite 10° I'll have to manufacture them. 

 

Here's my solution:

 

I bought two caps and drilled and taped two 1/4 20 NC threads into the caps and short threaded coupling. I purposely made two different angles, one 10° and one about 12°, as once the legs are built I can chose which angle I like better or maybe keep both for a bit of variation. I screwed in two 6 inch threaded rods that will serve as the thigh shafts, thin and strong and able to support the ten pounds or more of the upper body when finished.

 


http://i.imgur.com/tPwX9xNl.jpg

 

Next I slipped two styrene tubes over the threaded rods that will serve as the glue base for all the thigh shaft construction and ultimately the detail of the upper legs.

 


http://i.imgur.com/TUygS3wl.jpg

 

Your pardon for the hiatus but I took a last minute vacation for the past few weeks to clear my head and tour Florida.

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AngelsofCaliban Battle-Brother

AngelsofCaliban

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Hi Blackadder,

 

Long term follower of your work and thankyou for all the invaluable tips.

 

Point defences on titans are very similar to the twin heavy bolter turrets on a space marine razorback or the small front turret above the front ramp on a landraider.

 

How do you ensure thin plasticard is at right angles especially if both sides need to be exposed or due to space constraints cant have buttresses or small pieces glued in as support.

 

Thanks in advance Aaron.

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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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How do you ensure thin plasticard is at right angles especially if both sides need to be exposed or due to space constraints cant have buttresses or small pieces glued in as support.

 

I ran into this problem when building the pelvis for this model. Fortunately the block was sufficiently large to use 3/8 inch square tube stock to reinforce the 90° degree angles. You can use any of the square stock available from Evergreen Styrene to reinforce the inside angles of your work. I use Plastruct Bondene plastic solvent cement for it's strength and fast drying capabilities now that Ambroid solvent is no longer available. The trick is to allow sufficient drying time before handling or resuming construction. Use rare earth magnets to clamp parts until dry (I demonstrate this technique later on) if there is insufficient room for 'C' clamps  or bar clamps. Spring jawed Clothes pins are also useful in certain applications, I use them all the time. HTH.

 

If you could be more specific with your problem I may be able to address it better.

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AngelsofCaliban Battle-Brother

AngelsofCaliban

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Thanks for your fast reply and it answers my question. It seems I have been too hasty in resuming construction after glueing. I use square and angle stock a lot and looking forward to seeing how you use rare earth magnets.

 

Also you may have answered or shown this before but I can't find it. When glueing 10 thou either for barrels or laminating plasticard to create more details how do you ensure a nice even panel sometimes it warps along the glue line and creates what looks like waves. I'm ok with 20thou but would like to use some 10 thou at other times.

 

Do you use plastic putty at all sometimes it flakes off with sanding back or am i better off mixing shavings with plastic cement for plasticard repairs.

 

Once again thanks in advance

Aaron

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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Thanks for your fast reply and it answers my question. It seems I have been too hasty in resuming construction after glueing. I use square and angle stock a lot and looking forward to seeing how you use rare earth magnets.

 

Also you may have answered or shown this before but I can't find it. When glueing 10 thou either for barrels or laminating plasticard to create more details how do you ensure a nice even panel sometimes it warps along the glue line and creates what looks like waves. I'm ok with 20thou but would like to use some 10 thou at other times.

 

Do you use plastic putty at all sometimes it flakes off with sanding back or am i better off mixing shavings with plastic cement for plasticard repairs.

 

Once again thanks in advance

Aaron

 

 

I don't use putty because it looks sloppy and it's simpler to do the job cleanly than to try to sand it smooth and clean edged. (You know Blackadder, sometimes you're really a pain in the ass.) :D

 

For 0.010 inches sheet stock I use 'old solvent' that has lost a lot of it's volatility . It gets weaker with age and doesn't dissolve the plastic so readily.

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Blackadder

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Thanks for the reply,

 

Two Steps Back:

 

Found these dynomite compression couplings that are just made for this construct so scrap the rods and the sleeve for the nonce and work on cropping the length of the assembly.

 


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

 

By cutting off the octagons I managed to crop the length by about 30 MM which makes the extreme width of the hips 12.5 inches (31.75 CM) compared to my Warlord's 10.5 inches (26.67 CM) which should be just right for a scale:180 to 200 ft (54 to 61 meter) tall Emperor Titan.

 


http://i.imgur.com/bLFeR7pl.jpg

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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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If you thought the Warlord was inspiration wait til you get a load of this.

 

Oh God I'm In Love:

 

Look what I just found! Before I started this I had so-so enthusiasm for this project thinking it's worth a shot making a easy to build Emperor Titan that my readers might attempt along with me but that stops now!

 

I am totally jazzed about this project since I found this head. Back when I began my Warlord finding Dave Smith's Epic rendering committed me to the project. That is what finding this image has done.

 


http://i.imgur.com/Y2qZ5Cvl.png

 

Starting now I'm going to build this part full sized (as it prints out on Landscape 8.5 X 11 paper) and build the rest of the titan in proportion.

 

The overall size is just about an inch bigger than my Warlord's head overall so it is in keeping with my projected height for my Emperor.

 

This is going to be 'dynomite!' if I can accomplish it.

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Blackadder

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Simple As Falling Off A Log:

 

When I started this thread I said to myself, "I'm going to make this model as simply as I can just to see what can be done with off the shelf items readily available to the judicious builder.

 

I planned this so anyone can make one of these along with me.

 


http://i.imgur.com/57b5tEnl.jpg

 

Here we have about $25 bucks worth of plastic pipe fittings, and model styrene. A $3.50 bottle of conditioner (We just need the bottle and a bit of imagination (Supplied by your's truly :D) and a fantastic head image to work off of, all you need is a cheap printer........

 

So with these parts gathered there should be no problem making the head and hip components.

 


http://i.imgur.com/UM5Uizcl.jpg

 

The next part is a bit of a lark on my part; you're going to need an old beach chair. We've all seen them usually tossed in the rubbish with a broken hinge mechanism but usually two or three still functioning and all we need is two.

 


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

 

These will form working knee joints, I hope, with a bit of ingenuity.

 


http://i.imgur.com/f5Z1vAb.jpg

 

Of course it's not necessary to have flexing knees but since I have the chair I might as well go for the gusto. ;-)
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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Neck:

 

The coupling being PVC is not compatible with styrene so I applied a veneer of 0.015 sheet styrene so parts and detail can be added.

 


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

 

I then roughed in the cutout coordinates for the head to neck connection.

 


http://i.imgur.com/fI28OOLl.jpg

 

The large round cylinder just below the helmet where the ears would be I am assuming is the neck/skull joint to allow the head to tilt down. Likewise the flexible conduits on either side of the chin. 

 

Why not call these by their anatomical names. The so-called "Command Bridge is very skull-like.
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Blackadder

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Jaw Cut Out:

 

Using my vibrating saw it was a simple matter cutting out the jaw recess in the coupling.

 


http://i.imgur.com/V33rgGll.jpg

 

The neck is now ready for shaping and detailing.

 


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

 

Incidentally my Chicago Electric vibrating saw is a must have tool for hobbying; 

 


 

This cut would be really difficult with virtually any other device other than a hand tool and my $25 dollar saw was a tremendous time saver. It took about five minutes to make this cut including the blade swap. 

Edited by Blackadder
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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Snow Bound:

 

So to while away the weather front I did some work on the neck which I have to admit is coming out better than expected. I sheathed the coupling on 0.040 thousandths styrene to three layers and then proceeded to bevel the rear edges 45° as in the drawing. 


http://i.imgur.com/Z9duybol.jpg

 

As you can see below there is quite a bit of cutting to get the 45° bevel in the front edge ............

 

 


http://i.imgur.com/gZQcNh6l.jpg

 

 

but my 'Farmers file' was up to the task.

 


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

 

The forward bevel needs to be refined but is okay for the moment while I make the inner neck mechanism so the head can be tilted down. My previous Warlord has this capability but the mechanism is very clunky and I am hoping to refine it on this model.

 


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

 

Finally I found this collar that will work very well in the scheme I have in mind for the side to side movement of the head and fits into the Emperor design quite well.

 


http://i.imgur.com/Ofba1Opl.jpg

 

Can anyone guess the source of this wondrous bit of sculpting?

Edited by Blackadder
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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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2D vs 3D

 

I'm getting way ahead of myself with this head assembly so I put the brakes on to pitch an update. After scraping my initial idea of how the head assembly can tip forward on the neck I came up with this solution which will give me a lot more cockpit room for the crew. There also is a poetic license taken by the artist who drew the front and side reliefs of the Command Bridge. The huge ear discs that contain the head tilting mechanism cannot function as drawn and are of different sizes in the drawing. Never mind though, I have a solution.

 

I'll start with cutting the forward neck ring to allow the discs to mount flat to the sides of the neck.

 


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

 

Carving out an outer race for the gimbal head mount pad and gluing on the gimbal bases is what is shown here. The two 0.040th inch discs are 71 MM apart and 56 MM in diameter.

 


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

 

The bridge truss maintains the distance and keeps the gimbals square to each other and stabilizes the bases

 


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

 

Bottom view showing the forward ring carved out to accommodate the gimbal bases.

 


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

 

Next, the manufacture of the gimbals mounts. (The area left black in the 2D drawing.) 
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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Ha! Thanks for the replies,

 

Gimbals:
 
Or Trunnions whatever, These truncated discs will support the head on the neck to allow it to look down in a purely theatrical way as a downward pointing camera would be just as effective but the menace of this skull staring down at it's victim is too good to pass up.
 
http://i.imgur.com/TxBpE0Gl.jpg
 
Above; the disc is a simple truncated construct featuring two circles 45,0 and 54,0 MM separated by 2,0 MM by 4,8 MM styrene spacers.
 
http://i.imgur.com/fIfj5Yfl.jpg
 
Unfortunately I got the angle wrong so I have to re-sheath the bevel but that's not a big deal.
 
http://i.imgur.com/J7JtoOQl.jpg
 
Tomorrow I hope to be working on the cockpit.
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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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The Visor:

 

Allowing for the helmet I mounted the gimbals with extended visor mounts made of 0.015 thousandths sheet styrene. As I don't really have a plan for the cockpit, chin or gullet piece all this is subject to change but at least now I understand how the cheek pieces work with the gimbals.

 


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

 

I suppose the best thing is to cut the helmet to see where it falls in relation to the ears (gimbals) and the amount of clearance required to allow the head to lower and raise.

 


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

 

Somehow I managed to guess right which moving part eclipses which and for that I am grateful.

 


http://i.imgur.com/a8ra21ql.jpg

 

Later on this evening I'll cut the helmet but I need to relax a bit after this thoroughly draining exercise in design. Martini Time!!!!!

Edited by Blackadder
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maverike_prime Venerable Brother

maverike_prime

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Neck:

 

The coupling being PVC is not compatible with styrene so I applied a veneer of 0.015 sheet styrene so parts and detail can be added.

 

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

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

Question for ya, BlackAdder. If the Styrene and PVC are not compatible, what do you use to afix the styrene sheet to the pvc pip? Superglue? Or something else?

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Blackadder Veteran

Blackadder

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Question for ya, BlackAdder. If the Styrene and PVC are not compatible, what do you use to afix the styrene sheet to the pvc pip? Superglue? Or something else?

 

The glue I use won't melt the two materials together but since the styrene sleeve completely encases the PVC fitting there is sufficient surface area to stabilize the the glued connection. There are many times I have employed this method with satisfactory results.

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