Blackadder's Attempt To Build a Lucius Patten Imperator

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Impressive.

[maverike_prime]

 

A Matter of Scale:

 

A side by side comparison with my Warlord. Egad this thing will be huge. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/p3iP5PD.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/p3iP5PDl.jpg

 

 

Okay Adder, please understand the context in which I am about tell you what I said when I saw this image. I am a scratch builder and I am frequently inspired by your work logs. Me perusing your work logs is frequently punctuated by murmurs of "Oh cool" and "Okay I need to remember that" or similar statements many of which are typically followed by taking notes on the dark gods only know which of my bazillion projects. You've never actually brought me to a moment of total shock before. So please understand that such a moment is exactly what i experienced when I saw the above picture and barked out the following phrase:

 

Holy !! 

 

Also as a side note, you now officially a theme song for your work logs in my mind. Allow me to present the War Cant of the Ommnisiah!

 

 

[brettfp]

This thing is looking very impressive. I really want to see it finished, but seeing that its the size of a child, I'm sure its not going to be finished for a LOOOONG time. I can't even imagine how many wounds this thing will have

[Aramis K]

This log is so impressive. I can't imagine the patience involved. Love seeing it come together, especially now you're adding character elements like the balcony.

[Blackadder]

Thanks for all the replies and especially for the theme song. I still get all tingly when I hear "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" ..... Now a question:

 

Why can't I get email notifications for replies to my threads. I've enabled everything in settings and selected "follow this topic" but the only time I see I have replies is when I visit the threads. 

 

Here I have almost half a dozen replies and I had no inkling until I opened this thread. 

 

BTW Maverike Prime I just found I had received your PM reply and am efforting to join skype although I still have no camera or microphone. See reply

[Dantay VI]

Thee has been an issue since the site was attacked a few months ago, I do not think it has been fixed yet.

 

I find it annoying for the same reason as you, but my inbox has given an audible sigh of relief at not having tons of notification emails flooding in.

 

I thought the thunderhawk was a pinnacle in modelling genius (and madness) but this is on a whole other level.

 

Thoroughly enjoying watching you create!

[maverike_prime]

Thanks for all the replies and especially for the theme song. I still get all tingly when I hear "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" ..... Now a question:

 

Why can't I get email notifications for replies to my threads. I've enabled everything in settings and selected "follow this topic" but the only time I see I have replies is when I visit the threads. 

 

Here I have almost half a dozen replies and I had no inkling until I opened this thread. 

 

BTW Maverike Prime I just found I had received your PM reply and am efforting to join skype although I still have no camera or microphone. See reply

 

I would have to double check to be certain, but I'm fairly sure that all current Imacs have built in Camera and microphone.

[Grotsmasha]

I can confirm email notifications have been turned off, partly due to the DDOS attack. They will return, but probably not til the forum software upgrade.

 

Cheers,

Jono

[Blackadder]

Side Galleries:

 

On either side of the 'Head' there are these side galleries. I'm a bit disappointed in these but I shall probably leave them as they are because I'm tempted to put dual guns or lasers in the windows instead of my initial idea of stained glass.

 

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

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

 

Once these galleries are surrounded by other detail, they'll blend in better.

 

http://i.imgur.com/G0L4vLV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/G0L4vLVl.jpg

 

Still to come on these galleries are the ball turret gun mounts and lots of skulls and stylized eagles, but for now they will remain removable to ease amenability. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/zh2NbZw.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zh2NbZwl.jpg

 

The above image probably mimics the drawing best and I feel my solution to what is under the 'head' is better that the nondescript python-like cable conduits in the video I assume just put there to fill the void.

 

http://i.imgur.com/RDmYM4F.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RDmYM4Fl.jpg

 

Again a couple of Space Marines for scale.

 

 

And a high angle and side view shot to round out last evenings work.

 

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

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

 

Note the serendipity of the curved corbels which allow the head to swing side to side without interference by the galleries. Purely accidental I assure you as I'm not sure that the Emperor titans have that capability.

 

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

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

 

As with the Thunderhawk, once I began to personalize this construct I've begun to warm to it's intrinsic majesty and ignore the obvious impracticality of the monstrosity.

[Blackadder]

Turret Housing:

 

http://i.imgur.com/vQtW9ZK.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/vQtW9ZKl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/1yG9jkW.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/1yG9jkWl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/7a2Y9Bd.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/7a2Y9Bdl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/G8UvO4T.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/G8UvO4Tl.jpg

 

I'm on Fire Today.

[Lord_Ikka]

Beautiful. With how big that thing is going to be you could probably fit an actual potato gun in one of the arms.

[Blackadder]

 A paintball gun is more to my liking,

 

A Revelation:

 

After butting my head against the wall for the past few days I came to the realization I've run out of ideas for the front of this beastie. I've tinkered with CoD panels and cut and pasted said panels in various positions and nothing looks right.

 

http://i.imgur.com/P5AOD9w.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/P5AOD9wl.jpg

 

Fortunately I have the rear elevation to fall back on, when in the doldrums work on something else, is my motto; too bad I quite forget it all too often.

 

http://i.imgur.com/1K0D9JX.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/1K0D9JXl.jpg

 

No sooner did I turn the beast around than I came up with a plan for the front but I'll save that for next week and concentrate on the back. 

[Mechanist]

No sooner did I turn the beast around than I came up with a plan for the front but I'll save that for next week and concentrate on the back.

So often the way that a little distraction lets your mind mull over the problem and you can get moving again with a flash of inspiration.

That is truly going to be a beast though and your progress is great to see.

[Blackadder]

Cripes! Now I know why I need such huge doors!

 

http://i.imgur.com/t2yEa6Z.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/t2yEa6Zl.jpg

 

These Tech Priests are gianormous!

 

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

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

 

I don't know what this thing is supposed to do but somehow a Emperor Titan needs a body guard.

 

http://i.imgur.com/G4cNkjY.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/G4cNkjYl.jpg

 

And a company of lesser warrior priests.

 

http://i.imgur.com/9fEW3Zu.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/9fEW3Zul.jpg

 

As you can see I have found a purpose for my balcony. Purely serendipity I assure you; I had no idea these creatures existed.

[Blackadder]

Blackadder's Instant Paint Job:

 

So I'm watching these Youtube videos how to paint Skitarii and they are quite involved what with the spray painting with grey primer and then gunmetal silver and washes etc. A marvel of tenacity and patience........

 

http://i.imgur.com/Uo7S4mn.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Uo7S4mnl.jpg

 

and I look at my Warlord and Thunderhawk and to my unpracticed eye I see very little difference between all that work and the relatively simple Flat Black Primer and rubbed in Graphite powder.

 

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

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

 

So I'm going to share my simple yet effective and cost effect method of acheiving the same effect with a tenth the effort.

 

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

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

 

First I spray paint all the figures with ElCheapo Walmart brand $0.99 cents a can Flat Black Primer.

 

http://i.imgur.com/JDEw8ah.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/JDEw8ahl.jpg

 

Just one light coat and inspect out of doors in bright sunlight to make sure all the areas are covered.

 

And let dry overnight.

[Studio Silvernale]

You are a king of scratch building =D

[stilgar the flayer]

Wow, looks great as always, I've read in titanicus that the skitarii who belong to a legion have their own crazy style, i bet you could use your scratch building (dark) magic to make some brilliant skitarii. Also I can only imagine a titan dock for this and your warlord.

Edited August 2, 2017 by stilgar the flayer

[BubblesMcBub]

Wow just wow kkeep it up

Amazing work any idea how much it has cost you ao far in both money and time sense?

[Blackadder]

Adeptus Mechanicus Update:

 

Just to keep you apprised of my lack of progress in a physical sense at least. I have found why I have hit a wall design wise and I shall be making corrections this weekend. Most of my problem was two dimensional thinking.

 

On the painting front I have cranked up the old airbrush because these Skitarii figures are too finely detailed for painting with a brush. Even the youtube tutorials  with so-called pro-painters show heavy brushstrokes that are unacceptable to me.

 

http://i.imgur.com/bGuhu71.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/bGuhu71l.jpg

 

I began with the Dune Crawler which was not my fav anyway so I used it to practice on. It is not coming out to badly but I think the Airbrush can do better.

 

http://i.imgur.com/ghaQ0sY.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ghaQ0sYl.jpg

 

I managed to find a Belisarius Cawl on ebay unencumbered by the other two models in the kit which I also have no interest in and spent Saturday evening assembling it. It is ans extremely delicate model full of threadlike plastic parts and I have my doubts of it's survivability on a game board 

 

http://i.imgur.com/IqVmXq4.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/IqVmXq4l.jpg

 

Fortunately my Belisarius  Will be a display companion piece for my Emperor Titan and reside in the completed interior Command center utterly safe from the vicissitudes of beer swilling 40K combatants. :D 

 

Yet perhaps not from Martini Swilling judgmental old farts. ;)

[Blackadder]

You are a king of scratch building =D

Please, My modesty :D

 

Wow, looks great as always, I've read in titanicus that the skitarii who belong to a legion have their own crazy style, i bet you could use your scratch building (dark) magic to make some brilliant skitarii. Also I can only imagine a titan dock for this and your warlord.

This is the first Army I have bought on my own right. Previously I was refurbishing stuff my son and his friends had discarded because they were painted poorly by them in their youth. I hate waste and the refurbished models gave me a chance to demonstrate how to reclaim these unfortunates.

 

I have over half a dozen or so Armies of different species and factions including Space Marines Cadians, Catachans, Chaos, Tyranids, Necrons  &etc

 

I did start a repair gantry for my Warlord a few years back because I was afraid my Warlord would topple off the counter he was displayed on. turns out that was not the case and he stands quite a long time on his own without retightening his joints. But I still keep him in the gantry just so nothing is dropped on him. I fear the gantry will be too small for this Emperor Titan. One of these days I'll resume work on the gantry, it just needs to be decorated.

 

Wow just wow keep it up

Amazing work any idea how much it has cost you so far in both money and time sense?

Thanks, Cost is difficult to calculate as I've bought $ thousands of dollars worth of material over the ten or so years I've been scratch building and supporting my son's addiction to Warhammer 40K. He and his friends were in preadolescence when they got involved with Warhammer and he is now in his 20s. I assume I spend about $200 to $300 bucks a year on hobby supplies but some years like last year I spent virtually nothing such is my reserve supply. I like to build a couple of hours a day and I've been working in earnest on this Emperor since about May 2017 so maybe a hundred hours so far. I figure It will take me about 18 months to finish this titan. That's what it took me for the Warlord which was much more involved engineering wise.

[oldschoolsavant]

I don't know what this thing is supposed to do but somehow a Emperor Titan needs a body guard.

I could imagine the Ironstrider riding ahead, a large flag pinned to it's back bearing the Legio colours, announcing the arrival against it's foes.......

 

......except they've seen it's silhouette on the horizon for the past two days. :D

 

Don't comment as often as I should, but I love seeing these projects taking shape - harks back to my youth of knocking out cardboard Baneblades and an Eldar Vampire for friends.

 

I await the scale Gladius class frigate in say, a few years time ? :) Keep at it Blackadder !

[Blackadder]

Here's a question for all you painting buffs and I've yet to find it satisfactorily explained.

 

In the video below the author begins at the 2:20 two minute 20 second mark to "Shade" the the model with 3 parts Vallejo brown ink and 1 part Vallejo Black ink Now I've got dozens of bottles of shades, washes, glazes and nuln oil (Also a Shade and what I am most use to using with adequate results...........)

 

 

Now, Before I go and buy yet more of these vile little vials............. 

 

What I want to know is since the author is indiscriminately using the words "Shade," "Wash," "ink," interchangeably; what is he on about and what could be substituted for this so called "Ink" mix. 

 

I'm sure a lot of tyros such as myself would like a succinct explanation. 

 

Here's your chance to shine and have the Blackadder in your debt.:D

[Studio Silvernale]

Ink is the medium and tends to be glossier than using paint. A wash is meant to dry in the recesses of the model and leave little to no color change on the outer parts, while a glaze is meant to tint everything it covers. Shading is just adding a darker color or tint to recessed areas to make artificial shadows. At least this is how I understand it.

[Mechanist]

That's basically it. They don't really do inks at GW anymore. Wash or shades are basically the same and are intended to get into the cracks and shadows, they should run and pool thicker in those areas and can be selectivly applied to reduce the need for clean up work with the basecoat. A glaze on the other hand tends to be less runny and should be applied evenly all over the target area to tint the underlying colours.

Painting with Glazes and washes can be done alongside Zenthial highlights (multiple undercoats of different shades such as black grey and white applied selectively to pre-shade the model before painting.)  for the undercoat for some brilliant effects.

[Blackadder]

Don't Give Up Your Day Job Blackadder

 

I'm not finished with these by a long shot but I'm going to display them anyway because each of you deserve a good laugh now and again.

 

The Ironstrider  seems a waste of money for me as there is little use for him in the interior of the Titan. That and the Dune Crawler are just for so much practice in painting my Belisarius Cawl and Tech Priest Dominus.

 

http://i.imgur.com/4chaTYv.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/4chaTYvl.jpg

 

I also want to show how I store my miniatures whilst painting and in storage. These two and a half dozen egg cartons are ideal for your 28 MM soldiers even with bases.

 

http://i.imgur.com/BoVHwu2.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/BoVHwu2l.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/sBy72ga.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/sBy72gal.jpg

 

The Dune Crawler is the furthest along in the painting process and it looks like I need a second coat on the gold. I also have to wash off some of the Nuln Oil on the hull. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/8FcVLuP.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/8FcVLuPl.jpg

 

Tech Priest Dominus is the real reason for this post and I finally got the nerve up to tackle this bad boy this morning.

 

I promise I'll get back to the Titan by tomorrow. I've got some new Ideas and a whole new perspective on how to proceed with the front elevation.

 

Oh! and many thanks to all those who responded to my plea for clearance on what constitutes an ink vis a vis a shade/wash.

 

I didn't like the "ink" at all so I'm sticking with Nuln oil and the various shades & washes I already have.

 

The two responses here were of particular interest and among the best I've received. Thank You Very Much.