it begins. (DIY Halo-style vehicles - FLYER)

[Nostromo]

actually, the "pintle mounted heavy bolter" is a hunter killer missile launcher with an attached heavy stubber.

Here are the two components from an old shot (with an early version of the now very different chimera turret).

The "...things..." are the components i am not yet sure if i will use them as sensors, periscopes, spotlights or all in one.

Small encasings with lenses and some other electronic greeblies.

Seems i need better detail-shots...

[Nostromo]

Again, a few small, but laborious details.

The end of the Macharius building phase is in sight!

I have also begun to prime magnetized parts and the two finished tanks. But do not expect painted armour soon... first, i will make (and share) a few tests.

An importand intermediate step was treating all edges with super glue to harden the material. Some edges on the other two tanks have already suffered slightly, but the glue makes a large diference!

I would like to ask you on your opinion on what i could still do to improve the Macharius.

I plan to add

- some more stowage (just a mockup on the rear track casings) and

- a few more greeblies especially on the rear side

- a rope

... and now i am out of ideas. And maybe that is also enough.

[Nostromo]

By now i should have really learnt to trust a bad feeling.

Drawing of the level-0 structure of the buggy is done and the test builds have reiched a point at which the assembled parts look like the model i had in mind.

Trouble is... the damned thing turned out WAY too large.

It does not look out of scale, though. Just much more comfortable.

 

Actually, it is about the size of a chimera...

Yes, i drew the template myself and should have noticed - seems in the converting Workflow from 3D to pepakura to Illustrator the dimensions had changed without me noticing.

A few building steps more and i will post a photo.

 

I think i will keep it - but regarding the size, my initial plan to field it as a sentinel/ Tauros/Venator goes to Nirvana. Which leaves the question... what shall it be?

It might work as a Taurox or some kind of Command vehicle. Or maybe a salamander.

 

Curious?

Me too.

 

But that means as well that i will need to return to the drawing board. I still have no fast heavy weapon platform. The Tauros would have met an idea to field the Mantic-models as Elysians. Do i want that? I am pretty sure the Eisenkerns will get either Cadian or StormTrooper rules.

Something i will Need to decide before i start painting.

Problem of my own making: the Eisenkern models have an apparent connection to german military- as have some design elements in the tanks. The plan was to allocate the Eisenkern models and the tanks to the same regiment and the Mantics, light vehicles and potential fliers to another.

[Nostromo]

A size comparism shot of the buggy in an early WIP state.

The Level-0 structure is not closed yet, it lacks wheels, all details and anything related to weapons.

But you get an impression what it might look like later - and how large it turned out.

It is definitely the size of a chimera and the plan to use it as a Tauros or sentinel is officially cancelled.

So... Taurox? Salamander?

[duz_]

Probably too big for a Taroux too? Hard to see the final concept from the current hull

Maybe a Salamander?

 

I like the rails on the tank but I'm not sure I'd add all the extra barrels? Maybe the ropes and camouflage blankets, some rucksacks even?

[Bjorn Firewalker]

It is definitely the size of a chimera and the plan to use it as a Tauros or sentinel is officially cancelled.

So... Taurox? Salamander?

The hull looks like a more sensible Leman Russ tank's, with crew hatches whose rooftop position prevents them from becoming obvious vulnerabilities to enemy antitank gun crews. You might as well mount a Leman Russ turret atop it so the result may serve as a Leman Russ replacement; and/or mount a Chimera or Taurox turret atop it to create a "heavy IFV," i.e., a Achzarit to the Leman Russ' T-55.

[Nostromo]

@duz: yes, even for a Taurox it is too big. But since it is smaller than what i use instead of a chimera, i could live with it.

As for the final concept...

It is supposed to eventually resemble this:

http://www.brueckenkopf-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Antenociti_warthog-ADV2.jpg

 

Still some distance to go...

Salamander seems the best choice so far. If not... i noticed i made a really stupid mistake in construction. Stupid enough to make me seriously consider starting again. "Stupid" as in "i screwed the rear section so that the rear wheels do not fit in any more".

Which brings Bjorns idea into play to simply turn it into a tank. But... that will need to wait due to lowest priority. So i will complete the level-0 structure and then put it on the shelf for future completion.

Seems now i will resize it to 60%. The downsize is that will need to make major changes to the template then - some sections are brutally complicated even at this scale - and outright impossible at a smaller scale. But that redesign might make the realy hard parts now actually simple.

 

Good thing that almost all of the barrels are not glued yet - actually, i planned a broader selection of stowage and just did not complete it so far. I really would LOVE backpacks - and many of those. I confess... i did not try those because i doubt i could make them. Camo-nets, Tarps and boxes are something different. Actually, Camo-nets are the top-priority now. Ropes as well, i just need to figure out a solution for one little problem with those. But the ropes are not to be placed in the railings.

Remember... i did not use a single ready-made bit on all the models so far. I could... but that's part of the challenge :-)

 

@Bjorn: Considering how i screwed up the rear, i think this one WILL become a tank. Because i have the design tied in to the background story, i do not have space for another family of tanks so far. Leman Russ and Chimera are covered by the basic design already... But there is always a BUT. My army consists of two very different regiments. So far the plan was to make the one Elysian-like (rules-wise, i have very mixed feelings about that...) and the other one Cadia-like - in terms of equipment. However... nothing stops me from changing that again.

The buggy was from the beginning intended to be allocated to the first faction and all the tanks i made so far belong to the other regiment. So... if i make another tank with a design resembling the structure of the buggy, that may look a little bit goofy... but the visual allocation is absolutely clear.

 

Damn. You have just added something to my to-do-much-later-in-the-future list.

Before or after the flyers...?

 

[Nostromo]

I made the first sloppy tests of color schemes for the tanks and i tend towards something similar to the one in the upper right corner.

Actually, the differences in the bright color between the 3 tests do not come out well on the photos...

The brown speckles come from a wash with sepia - not a very clean one...

The black looks too dark for me. It is a very dark grey, almost black... but still way too black.

I think i will make some more tests with blue or brown mixed in the black.

The rectangular parts correspond to the reactive armour on the tanks.

At this point, it is quite obvious that i can use help

I intend to add weathering using washes, sponge-chipping and powders. Let's see how that turns out.

And... i will need to redo the color scheme for the Eisenkern troopers.

Since they are associated to the tanks, both will get a M90 splinter camo based scheme. The scheme i tested earlier for them will be used for the Mantic GCPS marines. Similar colors, different patterns for the two regiments.

[duz_]

I do like the first one. I find 3 colours to be the right number of colours for that style camo.

If you use masking tape from a hardware store to lay down the lines first it will make the scheme look next level. ;)

[Nostromo]

Erm... actually the first is the only scheme with 4 colors - the other two have 3 each.

... where did you start counting? Left or right?

For me, the first is top left.

 

A darker, less froggy green than in the top left might look good... but afterwards i came to the conclusion that 3 colors would perfectly suffice.

Hmmm... you really think i should add green?

BTW... your examples look ace :-)

For the tanks i will definitely try the masking tape. I was just too lazy to use it for the testing cards.

Edited September 2, 2018 by Nostromo

[Nostromo]

Progress on the Macharius is diminutive, nothing worth showing yet.

As for the buggy... here is a photo of the second test build after downsizing it.

Fitting of the parts leaves room for improvement.

Surface details already go in the direction i imagined.

The two wheels are test builds from two generations - the rear wheel is the newer one, but not 100% done. Especially the zig-zag-pattern at this point only shows where i will add structure later. For now, i am quite happy with that intermediate state. A few more minor changes, some sanding... and no one will think of 100%-paper.

Since this picture, i have changed the whole construction (without any changes to the design) and will rework it again.

What i am not completely happy with is the front. It still lacks all the details - i hope it looks much better once i have added those.

Right now, i am working on the third test build.

I think it will definitely work as a Sentinel or Tauros/Venator - though, a comparative heavily armored one...

Must not design another light vehicle... concentrate on finishing Macharius and then build more Leman Russes/Chimeras and Basilisks! And paint the first 3 tanks!

Bad Nostromo! Put away the pencil!!

[duz_]

Definitely a great size for any of those small vehicles even a taroux

 

I think you should build and paint at the same time :) 

[Nostromo]

Milestone!

The Macharius is done and currently gets its first layer of black primer.

Since yesterday, i drew templates for two kinds of crates - ammo and general stowage. The generic crate ist done and looks okay. I think...

Okay for a Macharius-sized tank, but maybe too large for the smaller tanks... The ammo-crate is 30% shorter. To be built later.

I will need a smaller type on crate as well... something for tonight.

The back of the turret now has a rolled up camo net. I did not make a photo - i tried something i have not seen so far. Usually, only a light fabric is used to simlte camo nets. But actually, real camo nets also feature an additional leaf-like structure. In short, i sprinkled saw dust over the glue-soaked fabric. Let's see how it turns out after painting.

The buggy's third test build approaches it's end. It looks the same as the previous photo, but MUCH cleaner - partly due to practice, but more so due to a much better construction. An internal cardboard-"skeleton" helped as well. At this point, it looks like this will be the prototype. Time to proceed with the 3rd generation of wheels!

The next photo will be posted once i have added the surface details (... that i have planned so far).

[Nostromo]

A few finishing touches - and of course the interchangeable main weapon on the roof - are still missing.

But essentially, it is done.

For the moment, i call it "bullfrog".

[Nostromo]

i assume what i noticed this morning qualifies as a "major :cussup"...

Since last week i have begun painting the first three tanks. Priming with a rattle can in 3 steps, then applying the base color - again with a rattle can. Always the same procedure... spray, wait for the color to dry, reposition and repeat.
Everything worked fine: smooth, even layers of color after each step... Until the third layer of the base color.

Now i have... a dense texture of small dots on the tanks.

It might be a result of temperature or air humidity... but no matter the reason - for what i wanted to achieve, the paintjob is ruined even before it really started. And now the material decision fires back at me with full force...
Stripping paint from paper WON'T work. I tried sanding in a half-hearted approach - but that won't make a real difference.

Discouraging, but let's see how much i can rescue with later stages. At least those tanks are still the prototypes.
The only REAL issue comes from me being unable to wait. Because now i did not stick with the idea to test ANYTHING prior to working on important models. And now i have ruined the Macharius as well... which counts as "important" being the intended centerpiece.
Stupid, stupid me...

Could i have anticipated two layers of a paint working nice and messing up the last without doing anything different?

What did i learn from that?
1. Do not rush things, stay with the plan.
2. Use rattle cans only for priming - and stay with the brands i made good experiences with. The base color was from a manufacturer i did not use before.

Crap.

[MrZakalwe]

That sounds like a damned nuisance. Good luck on the repair!

[Nostromo]

What a difference some color makes...

Some good news is that i could rescue some of the damage inflicted with the spray paint.

Less good is that the damage was larger than i realized at first. So: No more of that color used on anything else than terrain.

The Next catastrophe occured when i tried masking tape to simplify painting the camo pattern. Either the tape was crap, i was too stupid to apply it properly or that technique is only usefull in combination with an airbrush. I do not work with an airbrush... so back to painting the pattern free-hand.

So i spent a few more hours repairing the ruined camo pattern on the first two tanks.

Later, i tried pin washes ... and learned much about that. ... and I am not done with learning. Ahem...

But: the intermediate result is ok and improved with each tank. But they’re FAR from finished.

On the Macharius, I have not begun washing yet.

On a sidenote, i have quickly painted a draft for a regimental banner. I HAVE the Eisenkern command squad with a standard bearer... BUT: the motive is predetermined. And that motive is the wilhelminian Reichskriegsflagge. That would fit with the background- but that flag is still unacceptable for most germans.

So I made something different that incorporates the iron cross (which is visible on all Eisenkern models) and the colors

Edited October 15, 2018 by Nostromo
Removed political references

[duz_]

Now the tank is painted looks great! :tu:

Can't wait to see more finished up 

 

The freehand on the flag looks good too

[Nostromo]

Painting of the tanks produces results... but barely visible ones. Expect the next photos when i start with weathering.
In the mean time, i would like some opinions on the future of the background.
What is set so far is the past. (Short version)

The Utgardian armed forces consist of two regiments that fought each other until a few months ago. Their homeworld Utgard is - or rather: was - a colony with a history of only a century.
Both armies have never been really large - nor was the planets population.

The conflict ended when Utgard was accidentally discovered by an Inquisitor and was VERY shortly thereafter ... pacified by a few Imperial fists contingent sent to look for said inquisitor. The short fight was a serious blow especially for one of the two Utgardian factions with a strong ideological connection to a society from earth that had delusions about supremacy. Being confronted with actual superior humans that shatter the own army of a supposed so superior race must have been quite frustrating.

Anyway, what remained of the Utgardian military was taken along as auxiliary reinforcements for the nearest conflict.
Utgard itself was destroyed by the Inquisitor - it had the potential to be integrated in the empire despite technological and theological heresy... but its location made that quite impractical. Time on Utgard had the annoying habit to pass at a significantly higher pace, the inhabitants of Utgard had been the grandsons of colonists that had left earth in the 23rd century (hence the near-future design of vehicles and infantry).

So now we have the remains of two formerly opposing forces pressed into service of the empire cramped in on imperial vessel of unspecified type in Sector Solar... Utgard had been located quite near to earth, less than 600 ly away.
What now?

Will they be lead by the Inquisitor or a comissar to keep them under control?
Or do they unite and take over the ship? In this case, they would for example have no access to psykers.
(I think that it is not the strengths that make something special, but its limitations)

Edited November 2, 2018 by Nostromo

[Nostromo]

a little progress that is finally barely visible.

The photos look worse than reality... but still, far from finished.

anyway... suggestions for improvement?

[Nostromo]

Not really a progress, but a closeup on the turret.

A shame... lenses and lights soaked op the majority of time since the last step - but due to camera and light, those are outright invisible on the photos.

I am rather excited by a different painting tecnique i tried on the rolled-up tarps, barrels and other stowage - that looks interesting...

At least i think so.

[Nostromo]

Oh, that was a long break...

Family, job... but finally, i have taken up the task again.

In the meantime i have begun to assemble some infantry - nothing done yet, i need to think about the weapon loadout.

And i found a real disadvantage of the Mantic GCPS Marines. Oh, they look neat... but first, most of them need Greenstuff for assembly, the casting of the metal parts is ... below average and replacing weapons is going to be a major project of its own. Ouch.

Later.

 

Regarding the tanks, i have applied regimental markings and started weathering this week.

Now i have a mix of decals and freehand... and the later range from "ok" to :cry:

On the plus side.. the weathering makes the messed up letters, numbers and symbols stand out much less.

Chipping is 80% done, i'll post photos when finished with that step.

After that comes more dirt&grime with my first steps with oil paints.

And after that dust&mud with chalk/pigments.

 

The plan was to make another chimera/leman russ next, but i feel a hardly resistable urge to build something else from the to-do-list. Something else close to the end of the prioritized list... that way, the army will never hit the table...

 

Oh, and inspiration beat me with a large stick and forced me to rewrite 50% of the background story. The part of the story that is about the conflict among the utgardian colonists and how they got their asses handed to them by ... no spoilers! But the text develops as well from a mere outline to an actual story.

[duz_]

Welcome back! Looking forward to them pics! :D 

[Nostromo]

In between, before i get to painting again, a little bit about how the fluff develops.

 

(Summary of the last two chapters)

All military and technical personnell of the two factions, so far named Heimatverteidigung and Liberation Force, have been shanghaied by the Inquisitor who stumbled across Utgard with its unusual passage of time. Since Utgard just could not be integrated in the empire and could contribute nothing but it‘s current military force (ridiculously small as it was), he ordered Utgard to be destroyed.

Now, the Utgardians are on board of a fleet tender that was coincidentially relatively close.

Mission: take part in any conflict on the journey and die as quickly as possible in the place of other, more loyal, valuable and reliable imperial forces. In other words: meatshield.

That did work to some degree- the Utgardians just did not cooperate well enough with the „die quickly and make space in the cargobay“-part.

After a few campaigns they managed to seize control of the ship.

The navigator was indifferent because he was already too far beyond humanity. The Astropath cooperated as well with just leaving him out of trouble beeing the most important part of the deal.

You may notice that this leaves the Utgardians without psykers on the battlefield.

The captain and the highly reluctant Adeptus Mars personnell have been convinced with a few bullets in the head.

That leaves the Utgardians as well with the problem of needing to figure out how the damned ship works, but at least some of the crew decided against the airlock-solution and actually help.

On the long term, they still need to act as a loyal imperial regiment. Not much different from before - but now they fight to survive (and for supplies) instead for dying. The plan is to disappear in imperial bureaucracy.

And they find a small group of other outcasts/underdogs that help them get along- with the downside of a whole space marine chapter being after them should they find out.

Edited April 22, 2019 by Nostromo

[Nostromo]

Why?

What is going wrong here...

I thought I was 80% done with chipping/sponging - and now I realize that most of it just turned invisible after drying :cry:

I can only guess that it is related to the colors I used - or more precisely: what I did with the colors.

The basic idea of chipping/sponging is to sponge the basic color again on parts of the camp-pattern to simulate worn paint.

Now... to get a more harmonic color effect, I mixed the two secondary colors of the camp pattern both with a drop of the primary color.

I already realized that this reduces contrast - and now I see this effect extends to a degree that simply consumes the subtle patches of the pure primary color.

So... again with more color?

I already thought i could get the tanks done by end of may and maybe even participate in the painting event... not that likely any more, try&error is the nemesis of deadlines.