Mendi Warrior's Adeptus Titanicus project log

[Mendi Warrior]

Definitely planning on adding more contrast, I bought a couple of fluorescent paints (yellow, orange, red) and need a smaller size brush for more precision. Slowly but surely it will come to completion, just don't hold your breath 

[Mendi Warrior]

Little progress to report on the Titans, awaiting reinforcements to make planetfall in the coming days (then I'll most likely officially enter a pledge).

In the meantime, a little bit more work on the New Year's rooftop party location

I used a few civitas imperialis and some old Cities of Death components, polystyrene, foamboard, plasticard, coffee stirrers, toothpicks and various bits from old plastic sprues.

[Chaeron]

Incredible Mendi - superb work! Great use of those kit arches, would love to see some Ministorum Priests wandering up and down, amongst the traffic of Guardsmen etc...

[Mendi Warrior]

Thanks! To give an idea of its size, footprint is 95x105mm and height is currently 115mm. Each bridge / gate is surrounded by tiny bunkers. Still lots of details to add.

[Mendi Warrior]

Warp storms abated and my reinforcements made planetfall today, a bit later than expected. In addition to confidential documents and vital supplies, my forces have seen the addition of several war engines (tech-priests have immediately started preparations). Hopefully they will soon march to war!

So, plenty of work ahead it seems

[Burni]

Hahaha, mental. How many Reavers is it now Mendi?

 

Whats the vow going to be for?

[Mandragola]

Great work. I don't envy you the construction task ahead!

 

One piece of advice: avoid terrain with sharp bits pointing up. You can genuinely stab yourself in the face while checking LoS. I've done it and it's not fun at all! I'd get rid of those cocktail sticks unless you're prepared to risk getting one in the eye.

[Mendi Warrior]

3 arrived today, so 7 Reavers in total. Warlords and Warhounds are up to 6.

 

I'll build them in batch mode. I expect a lot of dry fitting and some more headaches afterwards when putting the armour plates in place and finding out I forgot to dry fit one or the other thing.

 

This is very sound advice indeed. Planning on making the building even taller and alleviating the pointy end danger by putting skulls on top of the cocktail sticks, plus bright banners (not that getting a 28mm skull in the eye would be nicer).

 

Your advice makes me think the new spires are potentially hazardous with their pointy ends. Something to keep in mind.

 

With regards to the vow, I might start safely with task 1, I'll sleep over it and most likely declare tomorrow.

Edited February 4, 2019 by Mendi Warrior

[DuskRaider]

Wow, you're crazier than I am. Congrats!

[Mendi Warrior]

Wow, you're crazier than I am. Congrats!

It is a way for me to keep some sanity 

[Mendi Warrior]

So, I have assembled the carapace lasers (ex-armour plates) and the melta cannons for all 3 new reavers I have.

 

Before assembling the melta cannon I drilled the top piece (D27) to be able to insert a 3x1mm magnet (I'll insert it later) and I glued a small strip of plasticard (1mm thick) underneath to act as support. It is pretty straigthforward.

 

I then went for the head and started by gluing parts D3 and D4 together. A bit later, I drilled a 3x1mm hole at the back of the head. I used superglue (only a few dots), and simply by drilling the parts came apart. The way the new head is designed the pressure point to drill is exactly on the joint line. No damages, I'll just have to glue them back together. Next ones, I'll likely use a clamp to maintain both parts together and drill before gluing them together.

 

I would have loved to have 3 complete heads instead of just 3 faceplates but I think the faceplate can quite easily be magnetised (this said it is probably "much" work for limited use).

 

More to follow. I'll add some pictures later.

[Master Ciaphas]

Fantastic effort, Mendi! I love the building you are putting together, and I think it will look excellent with bright blue banners (and perhaps a few streamers?) fluttering from it!

 

Also - cheers for the comments on magnetising the Reaver titan. I have yet to start on mine, so all new knowledge about how to attack it, is welcome.

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas

[Mendi Warrior]

Thanks!

I did a little more work on the 3 reavers yesterday, more planned for today.

Preparation pic for the melta cannon, I used a 3mm diameter drill and 1mm thick plasticard for the melta (watch out for the measures so it doesn't come in the way of the other parts)

Preparation pics for the volcano cannon, again a 3mm diameter drill and, as there is more space here, a bit of sprue. The sprue typically has a trapezoidal shape, the narrower part should be glued to piece D20 (there is a "guide" for gluing the weapon to the arm, so the "negative" of this guide is in the way if you use the larger part of the sprue bit).

When gluing the cannon together, I advice using a clamp to avoid having a gap (the barrel is not 100% straight).

Weapons ready, I just need to add the 3x1mm magnets

The new head. After having drilled the back of it, I looked for a piece to serve as support for the magnet so I don't end up pushing it too far into the head. Once again, sprues come handy. I used one of the round bits, it fits nicely. As always, dry fit before gluing.

The faceplates are pretty good. I haven't tried yet but it should not be too difficult to magnetise them so you can switch at will (not an absolute requirement though)

I actually forgot to take in progress pictures for the following.

For the torso and pelvis (pieces A10 and A16) I drilled 3mm holes while the different pieces were still on sprue. I then added plasticard (A16 2mm thick) or sprue bits (A10) so the magnets have a surface to be glued on. I used 3x1mm magnets for the torso and 3x2mm magnets for the pelvis.

I used a previously built reaver to ensure the polarities were aligned the same (it is a good idea to keep it close during the whole magnetising exercise). Of course, also best to keep the polarities the same between various titans or knights so you can swap whatever weapons or heads or magnetised pieces you want.

I also drilled a 4mm hole into the neck (piece A22) and forgot to add plasticard on the back of it. I got distracted then started gluing various parts together, got carried away and glued the top part of the torso, effectively removing my access to the back of the neck. I eventually realised I had forgotten that step when I grabbed the magnets.

The carapace lasers are extremely straightforward to build and designed for 5x1mm magnets. You really just need to beware for the polarities. I still need to drill the barrels of the lasers.

I inserted 3x1mm magnets in the back of the heads. Beware for the angle of the magnet as this will directly impact where the head is looking.

And finally I started assembling the legs. These sub-assemblies are pretty straightforward too. Things can get messy at the next step. Just remember that for the upper part of the leg, the little round vent comes always on the back of the leg, and for the lower part of the leg, the Aquila design is always on the back of the leg too.

Edited February 6, 2019 by Mendi Warrior

[Reyner]

That is an excellent guide for magnetising :) the magnets I have are 5x1mm I was going to just plop the magnet on top but I might drill them in to follow your example. Got a second Reaver to build and slightly dreading the legs so I might build the Warlord first... 

[DuskRaider]

Well you certainly have more motivation than I do. The most I'm planning to magnetize on my Reavers are their carapace weapons.

[Gore Crow]

Nice guide for magnetising! I'd also include the feet in the cautionary leg assembly bit; I reckon I'm 0-3 for not having to pull the  things apart.

[Mendi Warrior]

Thanks guys!

 

On pages 3 and 6 there are more "warnings", including pics with notes, especially with regards to the Reaver's legs and feet. Don't hesitate to check them. There are others scattered across the plog

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/350487-mendi-warriors-adeptus-titanicus-project-log/page-3

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/350487-mendi-warriors-adeptus-titanicus-project-log/page-6

 

 

Well you certainly have more motivation than I do. The most I'm planning to magnetize on my Reavers are their carapace weapons.

 

I liked the challenge and also the flexibility, and it is not too much extra time, especially in batch mode.

[Chaeron]

Really looking forward to seeing the next batch! More excellent tutorials too... very helpful as ever. :)

[Allart01]

That is some very clever use of the old Sector Imperialis bits... consider the idea stolen!

 

Also, the dark/magma scheme is pretty amazing on those titans. And you are doing a lot of them simultaneusly :O

Keep going!

[Mendi Warrior]

Thanks guys!

Some progress assembling the titans.

I magnetised the arms for the ranged weapons for the Reavers (chainfists are in progress).

I used 3x1mm magnets for the lower and upper parts of the arms and 3x2mm magnets for the shoulders.

For the shoulders, I just drilled through and pushed the magnet in it with the flat end of another drillbit (1.5mm), ensuring the polarities were matching those of the previously built reavers (I use the chainfist and shoulder of a questoris knight to check this). The 3x2mm magnets are excellent for putting in the shoulder as they do not flip thanks to being 2mm thick (1mm magnets can flip and it is a pain to rectify).

Once this was done, I toyed with various positions for the legs until I settled for these:

A running Reaver (inspired by Mandragola's brilliant work in particular), with the right torso orientation it stands nicely but it will be pinned to the base, it is already drilled and ready for insertion of a 2mm brass rod.

Another one with a dynamic pose, here again ready for pinning to the base

And the third one, crushing something under its right foot. It is a mock up so far.

A running warhound, the other one I am still undecided

And then the Warlord for which I took about one day before coming to this pose, I hesitated between a running one (again inspired by Mandragola's and Brother Dallo's brilliant works) and one crushing something under its gigantic foot. As I settled for the latter, this means I'll have to buy another Warlord to have a running one (just an excuse to buy more really ).

This pic shows the angle allowing the base of the torso to rotate freely without the upper leg armour panel getting in the way. The armour panel is unglued. Once I got the right angle I glued the leg in place. The knee can still move for fine-tuning.

Close-ups of the toes, the plan is to add green stuff to fill the gaps. This was simply achieved by bending the toes up to the point they broke from the foot. For the front one I made a small incision underneath and then bent it until it broke off, I cut a little bit underneath so as to be able to glue it back at an angle. For the two lateral ones I just bent them until they broke, they remained attached to the foot. The breaks are relatively clean and the sockets for the pistons remained intact. I didn't rush to achieve this.

Before getting to the results shown here above, it took a while, and some cursing (if you are a genestealer or hybrid, things are easier as you have sufficient arms and hands to have all components put together and stay in place for more than a few seconds … or alternatively the use of blu tack could help ).

I started sub-assembling the legs, the pelvis and the base of the torso. I left the feet separate. I left one foot untouched, and I started bending the toes of the other one as this was something I was sure about.

After having toyed with various positions, a clear picture of what I wanted to achieve emerged in my mind.

I glued the right leg to the pelvis (the knee can still be moved so I can fine tune the final position). I wanted this leg to be relatively straight. I then glued the right foot (actually it took me 3 attempts before I got the position right).

The left foot would crush some building, with the upper part of the leg being horizontal. This led me to put the upper leg armour panel in place (unglued) so as to determine the best position without hindering the base of the torso so it can rotate easily (I'm magnetising the joint as I did previously). Once happy with the angle and overall position I glued the left leg to the pelvis. Here too the knee can still be moved as the angle of the lower part of the left leg will determine where the foot hits the building.

For the building I used old Epic ruins, and cardboard to elevate it. For the wall being crushed by the titan, I drilled a couple of holes into the ruin and the foamboard and linked them with electric wire. This allows to get the wall's angle right and fine-tune it if needed. I then added part of a civitas imperialis flying buttress.

More details, debris, … to be added.

Edited February 10, 2019 by Mendi Warrior

[Brother Dallo]

Nice of you to mention my running Warlord as a source for inspiration, but the pose is pretty much a carbon copy of Mandragola's, so I can't imagine I add much to the pose. Thank you nontheless. :)

 

You've got some nice posing going on with your Titans there. I especially like what you've done with the Warlord crushing a building. It's be nice to see the rest of the Titan to complete the pose, but you've got something unique looking already.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Dallo

[Mendi Warrior]

A very well executed "carbon copy", I feel it adds momentum to going for more dynamic poses in general.

Thanks.

I added a few details, inspired by Doghouse's excellent work

Some work on bases too

I also built the second warhound and did some work on the base as well

More soon

[noigrim]

hmm the balsa is too thick, you can thin it with a knife

[Gamma310]

Holy smokes Batman! These Bases are out of this world. I'm feeling like my bases are quite boring compared to yours. Wow, just wow.

[Mendi Warrior]

hmm the balsa is too thick, you can thin it with a knife

 

You are right, it is a bit too thick (~1mm thick coffee stirrers). I'll likely use a wood file to thin it a little.

 

Holy smokes Batman! These Bases are out of this world. I'm feeling like my bases are quite boring compared to yours. Wow, just wow.

 

Thanks a lot. From the glimpse I had at your bases, they don't feel boring at all.

 

Today I emptied my Chaos Black spray can while undercoating many armour panels for Warhounds, Reavers and Warlords as well as a few Chaos warriors and knights. First half time was good, then things got a little messy. Eventually I was able to undercoat all the AT stuff, with some panels getting a bit less paint than needed and others a little bit too much. Fortunately enough no details are obscured and I won't have to give them a Dettol bath.