--++ Legio Solaria Titans ++--

[malika666]

What software are you using here and haven't you considered trying to make them 3d printable?

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

52 minutes ago, malika666 said:

What software are you using here and haven't you considered trying to make them 3d printable?

I think i've mentioned it earlier in the thread, but I'm drawing all these in AutoCAD, as it's software I know.

 

My intent was always to use it as a base for learning Blender and 3DSMax, but i've not quite gotten round to that part yet.

 

As for making them 3d printable it's something i've considered, but something i have ZERO experience with... plus i don't need the hassle from GW, so only the ones that AREN'T based on real GW models would ever be "available".  Plus they need a LOT more detailing to be worth it.

 

I'd be more than happy to make the model files available for others however.

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

Me and what army you ask...?

 

I've been threatening / meaning to do it for a while, and with all the new updates this seemed an appropriate time to run a full re-render of the group shot.

Various changes across the board - 

 

- new Imperator and Warmonger models to supercede the previous

- all-new Deathbringer-Nemesis class titan on the far right.

- Updated feet, legs and hips to the Warmaster / Iconoclast titans

- Updated feet and legs for the Warlord

- Repositioned some models for a better view / to avoid clipping issues

- added two new Armiger-Knight models with different weapons (Desolator armed with a Flamestorm cannon and a Heavy Chain Bolter; Ravager armed with twin Las Destructors)

- added more Aeronautica Imperialis flyers - now includes my versions of the Marauder Destroyer, Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter, Avenger Strike Fighter (remodelled to look more like an A-10 and less like the bent-winged abomination from GW), a "tweaked" Lightning Fighter, and my Spectre Gunship (which i envisage as a VTOL-type craft that operates from the flight deck of the Capitol Imperialis

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

No-one asked, but I've done them anyway - close-up renders of some of the Aeronautica Imperialis flyers.  I wanted them all to look vaguely similar - certainly i wanted them to all have a certain recognisable design lineage, which would be distinct from the lineage of the other flyers (Stormbird / Thunderhawks).

 

All are armed largely as the GW models - mainly various combinations of Autocannon and Lascannon.  Some have got some changes, most notably the Marauder, and the Spectre which is my own design - the primary "upgrade" for all however is the addition of various missiles to suit their roles, all of which are based on real-world examples - so there are 2 flavours of air-to-air on the fighters, and some air-to-ground on the strike aircraft.

 

Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter (pretty much stock as the GW model):

 

 

Lightning Fighter (a tweaked version of the GW model):

 

 

Avenger Strike Fighter (deliberately restyled to look like an A-10 Warthog, but in the matching style / design lineage as the other flyers):

 

 

Marauder Destroyer (a tweaked version of the GW model):

 

 

Spectre Gunship - this one is pretty much my own invention.  Started off as the Valkyrie, then became a Vulture, then a Vendetta before i realised i didn't really like the look of any of them.  I was in need of something that could conceivable operate off the flight deck of the Capitol Imperialis, but clearly there's no significant runway, so it had to be a VTOL craft, and it also needed folding wings in order to be stored in the hangar.  Vertical thrust (like the Harrier / AV-8B, or the F35B) i ruled out, as i see that as a bit more "high-tech" than perhaps the Imperial Guard has access to, plus i wanted to keep that as a differentiator for the Marines.  Plus, as a gunship, i wanted it to have hover capability - so in the end i settled on the below.  In my mind, i see the Spectre as more akin to the AH-64 Apache - able to hover behind terrain, pop up and fire off some missiles to flatten any approaching armour, and then hide again while remaining on station.  Just with the added ability to :cuss: of Dodge using the turbojets if necessary:

AERONAUTICA IMPERIALIS - AVENGER STRIKE FIGHTER.dwg

[Firedrake Cordova]

I think they look great  

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

Again, no-one asked, but i'm using this thread more as a development blog now, and i sincerely hope that others are finding even a modicum of inspiration from it.

 

Plus, if anyone is suitably experienced in modelling for 3D printing and would be interested in transforming some of the non-GW copyrighted components into extra bits that could go up onto Cults etc. for people to use as a basis for conversions, i'd love to talk.  This is a labour of love for me, so i'm not in it to withhold anything.

 

Below are the Armiger Desolator (L) and the Armiger Ravager (R). 

 

 

The Desolator is another fire-support platform similar to the Helverin, except this version is armed with a twin Laser Destructor array - something a pit more potent for anti-armour or against anything with any kind of shielding.  A small anti-armour missile array is also provided.

 

The Ravager is a medium-range unit.  A bit more shooty than a Warglaive; a bit more close-ranged than the Helverin / Desolator.  Armed with a Heavy Flamestorm cannon and a Heavy Chain-bolter, this is intended to be a close-support unit designed to shred medium- to heavy-infantry.

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

Having a few rendering issues at the moment - mainly due to the complexity of the file being a few steps above what AutoCAD is really designed to handle...

 

Instead, have the below false-colour, no materials image showing the updates!

 

The major change here is that the Deathbringer-Nemesis got a weapon change!  The Bellicosa Volcano Cannons never looked quite scale-appropriate... so working on the basis the Deathbringer-Nemesis is a Mars-Pattern only design, much like the Emperor-class engines, i figured that the Martians might get out some of the fancier toys, just because they can!  Hence, the Volcano cannons were replaced with twin Extirpator-class Conversion Beamers, which has overall much improved the balance of the design.

 

Other changes are mostly detailing, so decorative on the legs of the Emperor class engines, plus most of the armour banding / silver trim on the titans has been completed (at only a slight cost to my own slightly-frayed sanity).

 

Oh, and i managed to come up with something to represent the Deathstrike Missile Array on the Warmonger as well!  It needs more work and detailing, but is effectively a launcher for six ICBMs which are based on the Titan-II nuclear missile.

[Firedrake Cordova]

I had no idea that you were using AutoCAD to do that.

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

15 hours ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

I had no idea that you were using AutoCAD to do that.

Yeah, i've mentioned it a couple of times in passing.

 

Basically, it's for a number of reasons:

 

1) it's software i've access to through work

 

2) this entire venture started as combination boredom relief while WFH through COVID and as a way to improve my AutoCAD 3D skills

 

3) the plan then developed into learning 3Ds Max, or Blender, neither of which i've been able to find the time to do.

 

AutoCAD is painfully frustrating, because the 3D engine is simply not up to much, so display refreshes etc. are INCREDIBLY SLOW.  I wish they'd graft the polygon engine from Navisworks (which is where the latest image is from) back into CAD, because Navisworks is INCREDIBLE at chucking that file around without drastically slowing down.  Quite why Autodesk aren't more homogenised for their software offerings i don't know.  I'm not a software engineer so i'm guessing totally, but surely it can't be THAT difficult to graft the engine back into CAD?

[Firedrake Cordova]

I guess I missed your mentions of it ... I'd always assumed you'd used something like 3D Studio Max or Blender  

 

Definitely an interesting project, though  

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

A close-up of the 3 Mars-pattern engines..

 

From left to right:

 

The Pillar of Wrath - a Mars-pattern Warmonger-class Emperor Titan

 

The Subtle Shift in Emphasis - a Mars-pattern Deathbringer-Nemesis class Titan

 

The Scion of Dying Light - a Mars-pattern Imperator-class Emperor Titan

[Firedrake Cordova]

Impressive work

 

The Subtle Shift in Emphasis is an interesting name for a titan  

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

20 minutes ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

The Subtle Shift in Emphasis is an interesting name for a titan  

 

All credit is due to the late, great Iain M Banks!  If you've ever read any of the 'Culture' novels.... well, if you know, you know!

[terminator ultra]

can you makes some renders with these with foot troops for scale?

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

On 3/22/2024 at 4:35 PM, terminator ultra said:

can you makes some renders with these with foot troops for scale?

Some of the earlier images, and the group shot in the post just up on this page all have a couple of infantry in them - there is a Primaries Astartes, and a Tartaros Terminator stood in between the Rhino and the dreadnoughts... But they're a bit on the "small red smudge" size in the renders....

 

The Titans are BIG. Like BIG BIG.

 

The Warlord is about 100m / 300ft.

 

The Emperor class engines are about 300m to the top of the carapace fortress.

 

The Capitol Imperialis is about the same size as a Reaver - it is big enough to fit 6 Baneblades inside.

[terminator ultra]

A looking up perspective

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

20 hours ago, terminator ultra said:

A looking up perspective

 

The render has come out a bit grainy for reasons i've not been able to pin down, but i think this is the kind of view you were looking for:

 

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

Any more requests?

 

I'm going to have to move to a different renderer because AutoCAD just can't hack this

[Firedrake Cordova]

What do you think you'll use for rendering instead of AutoCAD?

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

On 3/27/2024 at 7:28 AM, Firedrake Cordova said:

What do you think you'll use for rendering instead of AutoCAD?

 

Not sure.  The renderer in Navisworks, despite being from the same company, seems to work much better, as it does for throwing the models around.  This could also be the impetus i need to start footling around in 3Ds Max.

 

That said, i'm realising i might have gone overboard in some areas with my desire to have everything scaled as it "should" be... ammo storage has always been one of my bugbears in 40k, as nothing ever seems to have enough..., so I went to the effort of making sure ammo drums etc. were comparably sized and contained enough rounds to be worthwhile in a firefight.  Modelling each and every individual bolt round was, however, probably not necessary and has added a great many polygons to the models that don't need to be there at the scale.

 

 

So i'm currently going through an exercise of removing these to see if it marginally improves things.

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

So... who remembers this:

  

 

As it transpires, despite me thinking i was "Done" and wanted to get on with detailing, rather than creating new models... it seems I have 'A Problem'.  I fear some form of OCD.  BUt the result, in an early stage of development, is this:

 

 

Behold!  My interpretation of the Astra Militarum Leviathan!

 

Now, depending on your source of lore, the Leviathan is roughly the same size of vehicle as the Capitol Imperialis and is used as a mobile command post, but this puts it in exactly the same space as the Capitol Imperialis, and i don't see any reason to have two similarly-sized vehicles which fulfil similar roles.  So what made the most sense for me is that the Leviathan is a super-heavy which acts as a brigade / battalion / regimental command post and assault transport, perhaps as the spearhead of an armoured company... whereas the Capitol Imperialis is a similar but larger vehicle which acts as a mobile divisional command centre, formed of several regiments.

 

The Leviathan sits on a total of 8No. upscaled Baneblade drive chassis, mounted in 4No. pods of 2 tracks.  I rationalise this via the concept that as it is an assault transport, it will need to be able to traverse possibly-difficult terrain, and having independent articulated drive sections more easily facilitates this. 

 

I've tried to keep the iconic "Doomsday Cannon" at the front - a scaled-down version of a starship macrocannon - while also updating all the weaponry to suit. Each side of the vehicle has 3No. twinned Arachnus Heavy Lascannons, and 4No. twinned heavy bolter mounts.  Air defence is provided by a Hydra battery and 4No. quad autocannon emplacements.  Forward firepower is augmented by forward-facing turretted twin-lascannon.  The flight deck supports a single Spectre Gunship (vs the 4 supported on the Capitol).

 

There remains additional detailing to be done to bring this up to even the bare standard of the Capitol Imperialis, but i'm already pleased with how this is coming along.

[Firedrake Cordova]

Nice! I remember them from EPIC (and Final Liberation, I think), and one of Dan Abnett's books - it might have been Gaunt's Ghosts, where a rather equine-looking Inquisitor explodes, destroying the vehicle...

[LameBeard]

I am just in awe of this project - polygons you say? Extraordinary. You don’t need to say “nobody asked” any more - just take it as read that I was about to ask.

[Lord_Mephistopheles]

10 hours ago, LameBeard said:

I am just in awe of this project - polygons you say? Extraordinary. You don’t need to say “nobody asked” any more - just take it as read that I was about to ask.

 

Thanks for the kind words - I'm glad you're enjoying it!  I certainly am.  My work days would be a great deal more tedious without this background activity to keep me sane.  PLus I've learnt a lot about the software I'm using, albeit the primary thing i've learned is that I'd've been better off learning to use Blender from the start!

 

Bit more work on the Leviathan today, then I'll post an image later of how far it's gotten.  I'm finding the challenge is making things look like they share a common design lineage while being distinct, and also no sharing features with other things from other design lineages.  I don't want Astartes tanks looking like Militarum tanks for example, but i want all the Militarum tanks to look consistent as best as possible.  Ditto for the Titans and the Knights.

 

I'm also open to suggestions for what to tackle next.

[Lord_Mephistopheles]