Master Ciaphas' Adeptus Titanicus

[Mendi Warrior]

Excellent, thanks a lot in advance 

[Rabenga]

Sweet! I have been thinking about buying those... curious to see how they compare to the GW stuff.

[Chaeron]

Excellent Master Ciaphas - looking forward to seeing them built and those comparison shots. I'm a big fan of TTCombat's products, so keen to see how these size up and potentially adding to my own wish list!

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

 

And as promised yesterday, here are the assembled buildings and a comparison shot - along with a few knights out for a stroll...

 

 

 

I am almost sorry to paint them, as they look excellent "as is" - but they do kind of stick out a fair bit! Tomorrow, though, I might give them the first black undercoat out of the spray can.

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas

[Chaeron]

They are definitely larger than I imagined, in a good way! I like the detailing too - very tempting.

[Mendi Warrior]

Cool, thanks for the pics.

 

Indeed, by the look of it, they can easily serve as ground floor / basis for civitas imperialis ones which look pretty tiny in comparison. Combining both can give nice results I think.

[Blood and skulls]

Hail!

 

And as promised yesterday, here are the assembled buildings and a comparison shot - along with a few knights out for a stroll...

 

 

 

I am almost sorry to paint them, as they look excellent "as is" - but they do kind of stick out a fair bit! Tomorrow, though, I might give them the first black undercoat out of the spray can.

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas

 

Hi master. I have had a look at that set myself since I was looking for some bigger buildings over the Civitas imperialis. I am looking at some details about how they are to build. Are they as easy as the CI? They look like they require lots of cutting out on the web site.

Edited January 21, 2019 by Blood and skulls

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail

 

Thanks y'all. Much obliged.

 

As for the putting together of the Leviathan District it was a mixed experience. The wooden bits gave off a strong "burnt" smell (and still kinda reek), whilst the card board pieces gave off some kind of soot, meaning my hands and fingers kept turning black, leaving marks on the wood. 

 

Putting the wood pieces together was really, really easy. The sole difficulty I had was with the buttress things; anyone thinking of buying them, would do themselves a favour to but the buttress things on before glueing that wall segment the body of the building. 

 

As for the card board - besides the fact that there were about a million pieces of them - were easy to get off their frames with a sharp knife. With them, the only issue I had that vexed my patience were the multiple "reactor"-"engine"-buttress-things on the side of the buildings. They add tonnes of atmosphere, but by all the gods were they a chore to do. 

 

I assembled the entire thing using only PVA glue, water and foul language :-)

 

Am I happy with the purchase: certainly. Assembled they look fantastic and give that "extra" that I think is missing from the current range of Civitas buildings. 

Will I buy another set: nope. Not unless TTScenics release something new in the Leviathan range. 

 

I have seen these which I also rather fancy: https://www.4ground.co.uk/scifi-micro. Once I am done painting my first maniple and the TTScenics terrain, I might buy their "Industrial Shipping Yard" and "Industrial Silos". 

 

And - speaking of Maniples - I have managed to take a picture for my Titans of Heresy vow:

 

 

At least I have managed to begin!

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas

[Blood and skulls]

Thanks for the response. That was exactly what I was looking for! Food for thought certainly.

 

I really like the Civitas. They’re easy to build and not that detailed that it becomes a chore but enough so that it looks good. Also they are fairly cheap. My main issue is that they aren’t y’all enough or you make one y’all building so end up needing loads.

 

I want my cake and I want to eat it.

[Master Ciaphas]

You are welcome; happy to help.

 

As for the look, you are quite right. While the Civitas buildings are reasonably priced and generally easy to put together, I find them kinda...I dunno...bland and boring? Do not get me wrong; they get the job "done", but only in the functional kinda way. They certainly lack the "awe" that I get from the W40k scenary, which is all kinds of awesome.

 

Faithfully,
Master Ciaphas

[Blood and skulls]

A good case, well presented. I never really noticed it but now you mention it......

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

 

Chugging away, ever so slowly, bit by bit, stroke by stroke, my scout titans are starting to approach something that gives a fair idea of the end product!

 

Behold - my two Warhounds (which have been entered in the Titans of Heresy event):

 

 

I am so far rather pleased. Another two evenings, and I think that they will be done!

 

That said, I am now in doubt as to whether the Legio Astorum used the flame motifs on their God-Engines during the Horus Heresy, or if that only came later? The Siege of Vraks books clearly show them with flames - but it seems Games Workshop paints them without?

 

Flame on or Flame off? That is indeed the question!

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas

[Rabenga]

Flames!!!

[Mendi Warrior]

Flames on, definitely .

https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Legio_Astorum mentions "The old colour scheme, the Titans were blue with orange flame patterns." The Vraks battlegroup shows various designs, with more or less flames. Maybe use some of the spare armour panels to test and see what you like best.

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

 

This weekend has given me a bit of time to work on my Titans. I assembled my Reaver Battle Titan yesterday, and got about as far as I reckon I could, before having to resort to learning how to add magnets to the bloody thing. This will be the first time I really try to add magnets to a model, so wish me luck! I have bought 8 5mm diameter magnets, which are about 1mm thick. This seems to be size the Interweb has agreed upon being the best fit for Reavers and Warlords.

 

As for the Reaver, it currently looks like this:

 

 

Now, for something far more advanced: the Warhounds! Both are shaping up very nicely, and a just about done-ish. I only need to finish the bases, add decals, and then a wee bit of weathering, and they ought to be done! I am well looking forward to it. That will also mean, that I can have my first (mini-) game of Adeptus Titanicus! It will be awesome!

 

Now, as for the Warhounds:

 

Are they not glorious?!

 

When I was prepping them for the decals, I was give the armour plates a coat of gloss varnish. Seeing the end result, I am now leaning towards covering them with gloss varnish after the decals have set, rather than matt as is my norm. This ought to give the plates a lacquered feel to them... what do you lot hink of that idea? Too "bling"?

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas

[Mendi Warrior]

Looking very nice. I like the stripes on the leg armour and also the plasma glow.

 

Best of luck with the magnets. Method, precision and patience definitely help. I personally used 3x1mm, 3x2mm and 4x1mm for the Reavers and Warhounds. Don't hesitate to check our various project logs, we are quite a few having magnetised the weapons and more.

 

I like the idea of a lacquered finish.

Edited February 3, 2019 by Mendi Warrior

[Master Ciaphas]

Thanks, Mendi!

 

I am also very pleased with them. I did manage to finish them both last night, and I went for the lacquered finish. My wife likes them, so I guess they are a keeper :-)

 

Next up will be magnetizing the Reaver battle titan. For some reason, I am quite intimidated by taking a knife to the model for fear and worry of doing something horrible to it...

 

Perhaps I just ought to finish off my three Questoris Knights first, and then start cutting away at the Reaver. That way I will have a Warhound squadron and a Knight banner ready, so that I can have a mini-starting game.

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas

[Mendi Warrior]

 

Next up will be magnetizing the Reaver battle titan. For some reason, I am quite intimidated by taking a knife to the model for fear and worry of doing something horrible to it…

 

I know the feeling. The first cut is impressive, then you get carried away, cut more, switch tools, use drill and dremel, …

a mess … blood everywhere … oops sorry I digress 

 

For magnetising my titans, I used my drill much more than anything else (drilling by hand, no power drill, you can't control it with the required precision).

 

Take your time, don't rush anything. Dry fit if possible (if you can easily get the magnet out without butchering the piece that is). If you glue the magnets watch they don't switch side when pushing them into the holes you made, it's messy to rectify and requires immediate action. If the magnet is above a hollow space, filling the space could help. Also beware of the angles (e.g. if you cut the ball joints), as they will impact the overall look of the model. If you have a spare model (not necessarily AT), you might want to have a practice run on it.

[Mandragola]

Yeah reavers are certainly the hardest models to magnetise. To be honest I might not bother in future and just go with fixed arm set ups, which is better for posing anyway.

 

The carapace weapons work on a standard 5x1mm magnet, just like the warlord. Sadly the same does not apply to the arms! I've put a small 2x1mm magnet in the ball and socket joint at teh shoulder and a second one at the end of the cable where it goes inside the body. The cable connection required a lot of surgery to create an internal attachment point for the magnet (made out of sprue) and everything had to be thinned down so it could actually fit in and out again. The end result looks good but is kind of fragile.

 

You'd probably be better using strong 5x1 magnets in the shoulder joints, though then you wouldn't have a ball joint. Or just use glue...

[DuskRaider]

With the release of the new kit and the various carapace weapons being released I may also magnetize my Reaver carapaces.

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

 

Cheers for the advice with regards on how to put magnets in the Reaver. I am still waiting for my magnets to arrive by mail, so instead I have been working on my Questoris Knights as well as the last containers from the Leviathan District. 

 

First up - the containers, all done now!

 

Secondly, I have made a bit of progress on the first three Questoris Knights. I think I will be done with them tomorrow night or Monday evening:

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas

[Mendi Warrior]

Nice work! Eager to see the questoris once complete.

[Brother Dallo]

METAL BAWKSES!

 

Liking your crates. Are they big enough to have much of an impact on games or are they just there to sell the sense of scale?

 

Your knights are looking good, though it looks like your poor Warhounds have been ran over. :p

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Dallo

[Master Ciaphas]

Hail!

 

Thank you all.

 

The metal bawkses are mostly for show and atmosphere. I doubt they will have much impact beyond being nice to look at; at most they will be a vital point on the battlefield to capture and control :-)

 

And yes, you are right: those Warhounds do look a bit run over by a truck. However, such a slight cannot be borne without retort. Thus, risen from the ground, the pack stalk the field of battle, I do present:

 

Pyladii Alpha!

 

Avernus Maxima!

 

And the pair:

 

 

 

Faithfully,

Master Ciaphas

[DuskRaider]

Looking good, brother. I'm a bit surprised how under represented Solaria is so far.