Doghouse and the great and all powerful STC

[hermanista]

I will at some point, however the Mayan project I started recently took over a bit with the need to do a new 40k competitive army compared to the First Legion fun project.

 

So eventually, I'll get to it... maybe.

[Doghouse]

Glad to hear it :)

 

 

Now simply for no other reason than because I can...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love dreadnoughts but wanted to see if I could make something that represents how I personally would love to see them in game. The idea is to create a walking mausoleum, something big enough to house an Astartes. So rather than chopped up to fit this would house an entire marine.

 

I have modified it to represent a Redemptor with the hull mounted stormbolters and added a Kheres pattern assault cannon to update the design and make it feel more like a mounted weapon.

 

Then I have the final prints for the patrol that I want to make, the reason being I just want to get painting now.

 

 

[jaxom]

I love how the bore makes it looks like the assault cannon is actually shooting bullets the size of a person's fist.

[Shovellovin]

Oh, man. That boxnought is impressive. I love the size of him - intimidating. 

[Son of Sacrifice]

Mate... That boxnaut. I can't wait to see some paint on these guys, so much potential.

[Slave to Darkness]

me thats a big'un...

 

 

Makes mine look small.

 

+++EDIT+++

 

How long did that take to print?? 

Edited February 11, 2022 by Slave to Darkness

[Doghouse]

Thanks guys :)

 

Slave to Darkness: It's hard to say as I stuck bits in with other test prints but I reckon about 6hrs? Print time sound like ages but the thing to remember is that if even if you ordered something online it'd take probably a day to get to you in which time I could have printed three of those. :D

 

So this next bit will surprise no-one.

 

This next bit is what happens when I finally get my hands on an STC machine and I'm probably well on the road to kidnapping homeless people and trying to make real marines now...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So...this guy is 55mm :D

 

I suck at taking pictures so the proportions look a little off here but in person I think it's amazing. I'm not sure yet as I was thinking how cool would this be for Kill Team but I may make two opposing small 40k armies of Orks vs Imperium. I've established a base size of 43mm for humans and will be doing a full platoon of stormtroopers supported by Astartes and maybe some other elements of the Imperium such as Sisters of Battle.

I'm not sticking to any specific scale, I am making these to interpret how I see 40k personally and my perspective given the decades I have been in the hobby. This means some things will be bigger or smaller than expected.

 

The best bit is it will probably be cheaper to make than a proper 40k army! :D

 

 

If they work out the Orks are big, as in REALLY big!

[space wolf]

Looks good to me!

[Lexington]

That Dreadnought….

 

No. No! That Meganought!

 

Seriously, wonderful thread to watch from the original master of the form. Have a resin printer marked up for purchase in the near future, and this is making it absolutely excruciating to wait.

[Doghouse]

space wolf: Thanks mate!

 

Lexington: Thanks

 

I highly recommend getting into printing, it was really easy. The things I would suggest if you have not used one before is look into cleaning the machine after and plan cleaning supplies ahead (I bought microfibre cloths, a funnel, lots of kitchen roll and some screen cleaner spray), the program Chitubox and if you get an Elegoo Mars or Saturn look into Fep films and the resin tray on youtube. I find a pickle strainer is a cheap way to clean but you will need isopropyl alcohol. A UV curer is vital too oh an a good respirator is a good idea too as are lots of rubber gloves.

 

 

Now my plan is quite simple but oozes lore and threme. The idea behind my force is to have around 11-13 Astartes at the time of the Great Crusade stationed on a recently compliant planet in a small Keep.

 

The idea is that the Keep Commander is one of the Driftborn, a collection of humans that were inhabiting a chain of Asteroids that were brought into compliance by the 3rd Expedition led by Rogal Dorn. He and two of his comrades are veterans of the ill-fated Howling Gyre Wars and so will be wearing black with the yellow shoulder pads. The other Astartes will be fresh recruits and the idea being that the vets are there to instruct them further.

 

Above the planet will be a ship of the Imperial Navy which I will be printing at somepoint. The Stormtroopers will be representing Imperial Navy troops and I will be doing my best to include human characters such as the Remembrancer seen in the pictures. For these I will be using Scions and Inquisitorial rules and have a rather interesting idea for this.

 

I'm going to be using 40k rules, so the marines will be a patrol and the Navy a battalion if it gets that far. In truth I am aiming for a couple of patrols and then make a few Xenos patrols to combat.

 

First of which is the Orks.

 

 

These guys are great and I want them to be huge hulking monsters that justify humans taking to the stars with the Astartes alongside them. I only have access to limited poses on these guys so will be GSing bits on to make them all a little different.

 

 

 

The beauty of printing is I look at these pictures and then have to remind myself just how big they are in person! :D

 

For the regular Truecale guys (who now seem tiny) I will most likely either do Iron Warriors or Salamanders.

[Doghouse]

Got a bit more done but having to use red clear resin which is turning out to be rather unpleasant to work with. First off is a scale shot, the little guys are regular guard scale models which look tiny now in comparison. 

 

 

For the Navy forces I wanted the Officer to be female so decided to play around with the base model a bit. I've always felt the difference between 40k and 30k for me is the loss of knowledge. 40k gear is very ornate, everything is a relic and is blessed where as 30k is more mass produced. Where an Astartes of 40k would pray to the machine spirit of his weapon and anoint it with holy oils a 30k Astartes would understand the value of a weapon but ultimately be willing to replace it should it become damaged.

To carry this over to the Navy I wanted a one size fits all approach so decided to make the Officer a little smaller than her troops so the armour is a little ill-fitting. There is no ornate breast plate or filigree, it's standard issue all the way.   

 

 

Lastly I managed to get two marines mostly done. The guy with the bare head will be the Keep commander. The red resin was a pain, where as the grey the moment glue touches it the piece still be stuck to whatever it makes contact with long after the sun has died out the red took a while to just adhere despite being cleaned properly. 

 

 

[Evil Eye]

Well, this is making my current lack of funds to acquire a printer even more annoying! Outstanding stuff, Doghouse!

[Slave to Darkness]

Due to lack of funds I now want a printer, would be so much easier.

 

How long until we get 'Doghouse' lifesize marines? 3D printed lifesize primarch maybe?

[Doghouse]

Evil Eye: Thanks :)

 

Slaves to Darkness: *Looks sheepishly at the twenty ten foot tall incubation pods in the attic*

 

I definitely think there are pro's and cons to owning a printer. First off you want good ventilation so at least a window that can be partially opened. Then the thing I nearly over looked was cleaning products because it never occurred to me. I ended up getting a plastic sink bowl, 100 coffee filters and a funnel for straining the resin left over back into the bottle. I had to get microfibre cloth and screen cleaner for cleaning the Fep film which is a transparent sheet much like the ones used for overhead projectors that is stretched like a drum across the bottom of the resin tray. That will have to be replaced at some point which involves unscrewing the plate.

 

The machine itself is simple to run, pretty easy to clean but research, research, research. If you buy one expecting it to be perfect and be able to print 100 minis at a time you will be disappointed. I have a Saturn which I heard was huge but at most I can fit about 12 guard on it at a time with each print being about 3 hours on average. Not sure how many a Mars can fit but the Elegoo range seem to be the most popular at the moment.

 

You also to get a slicer program called Chitubox. This lets you change sizes and add supports, for the most part you can stick a model in here and just go but you still get failed prints.

 

It is very much trial and error to begin with, I've found myself getting perfect prints and thinking wow this is easy and the next moment I am scratching my head because the 4 hour print I forgot to check in on has completed failed and I am now cleaning a puddle off my fep film.

 

 

 

[Doghouse]

One last entry for today and I have now officially ran out of resin!

 

I'll be cleaning these guys up and getting started on painting which I have been itching to do for the last few days.  I was going to use 50mm bases but opted for 40mm because I just have so many laying all over the place and it only slightly overlaps which I can live with.

 

So the plan is as follows, get the Marines, Orks and Stormtroopers to Killteam size. So six marines, ten Orks and ten Scions (Navy Commandoes). From there I will bump each up to a patrol probably with the addition of a vehicle or walker for each and a hero.

 

The reason they are a mish mash of red and grey resin because I wanted to try out different resins but settled on the grey. I have found you can mix resins as well which is useful as I had bits left in bottles.

 

 

Scale shot to show how big they are, the little marine is a truescale marine while the stormtrooper is the same size as a plastic Krieg.

 

 

 

Like I say I may squeeze out one more print but till the end of the month I shall be turning my attention to painting these. 

 

The reason I am doing this scale is because to be honest I have badly burnt out on the hobby of late which is why I've not been posting stuff for the last few months. This has really peaked my interest and got me building stuff again and as they are small in number I think it's a very achievable goal before I get back to working on my truescale guys. 

[Doghouse]

So just a quick one, I think I am going to include this guy in the force. I have seen a Casterferrum Mk V in Word Bearer colours somewhere and my logic is going to be that I'll use it as a Redemptor in 40k but as far as this force is concerned this is an attempt to create a cheaper alternative to the Leviathan by building the Casterferrum on a heavier frame so as to try to eliminate putting such a strain on the pilot.

 

This makes it credible as a distant link to the works of Cawl and while not a direct forerunner or directly linked to his works lessons learnt from this brute known as the Gigas class could have lead to some inspiration.

 

It's armed with an experimental Wrath pattern Heavy Kheres Assault Cannon based on Imperial Naval defence weapons found on smaller Navy gunboats. 

 

This is something I find a lot of people forget, the Great Crusade was a time of innovation as well as conquest so it is a ripe setting for making up your own vehicles and weapons even if they don't make it into the 41st millenia. These are the cool little curiosities that the Adeptus Mechanicus go out looking for ten thousand years later.

 

 

Not sure I fancy this guy's chances here...

 

 

You'd think after posting online for over twenty years I'd take the time to learn to how to take better pictures!

[Naryn]

Love following your progress in this. 3d printing is my next big leap in the hobby so every bit of info you share i'm eagerly absorbing. Absolutely adore those prints, and that Dread is truly something else. Keep up the good work!

[PyroClast-91*]

ABSOLUTELY FREAKING EPIC!!!!!! that dreadnought mmmm yup ima be stealing that idea ill tell ya rite now lol that is everything i wish the GW dread actually was. On another note you say your only getting 12 guard per plate? thats wild my friend you should be capable of much more than that as im pulling 13 off a build plate on my mars2  the biggest thing ive learned is hollowing out the models tilt em at 45 degrees eyes to the sky and auto support with light supports on about 46% coverage at the 51 degree mark and then you can reposition them with the supports on to see just how close you can pack em on the plate but dont be affraid if your supports touch as long as the models dont your golden. Also mess around with your layer height i wasted a lot of time printing minis at .02 mm layer height thinking it was making a huge difference and i still do on crazy detailed things but mainly im living that .05mm life and flying through prints perfectly happy with the detail hollowing out your models will also make that precious resin last much much longer and get you more bang for your buck. Also you mentioned resin mixing ive found great success in this with mixing some of the clear ABS like resin with the ceramic grey which resulted in some really strong surprisingly flexible pieces with great detail anywho awesome work man cant wait to see what other ideas your come up with that i can borrow lol

[Doghouse]

Nayrn: Thanks 3D printing is really good from my experience so far so hope you have fun with it. As I learn more stuff I will pass it on in this thread.

 

PyroClast-91*: Thanks

 

I actually messed up with the dreadnought because when I came up with the background it was when I was making 42mm marines. I then scaled these big guys to fit with the dreadnought and promptly forgot, so it stands at 3.7 metres where as the marines are at 2.3 metres.

I'm not sure if my guard were 43mm or regular sized but thanks for the advice on the printing, I will take a look and see if I can apply any of it to my stuff.

 

So last of the printing updates as I have run out of resin but I now have enough for a Kill team. I have managed to get a heavy bolter guy because if you have a team of heroes you need the obligatory guy with the huge gun. 

 

They are a bit monopose but I am not really worried about that as I will add more variation as I progress but for the next couple of weeks it'll be painting. I seriously can't wait to get to making the Orks!

 

 

 

[Grotsmasha]

I've seen recommendations to mix in Siraya Tech "Tenacious" with regular resins when making gaming pieces, as it GREATLY decreases the chance of models shattering when being dropped (the vid I saw showed the dude bending a wing completely double over on itself and it didn't even tear). I've yet to try it, as I can't source it to Australia reasonably.

The recommended mix is 5:1 Regular:Tenacious

[Augustus b'Raass]

Looking good, Doghouse!

I tried to PM you but it seems your inbox is full. SO I'll just ask here:

I was wondering two things: first: whether or not you are on instagram and what your handle is there (as I want to give you credit on something there), and 

second: you used to link to your truescale thread in your siggy, but it's gone now. What a shame! Is there any chance you could link to it?

 

Cheers

[Doghouse]

Grotsmasha: Thanks for the tip, I've found clear and normal works quite well but still only a couple of weeks into this kind of thing.

 

Augustus b'Rass: Thanks mate :)  I'll have to clear out the mailbox, sorry didn't it was full again. I don't do instagram or social media really to be honest I'm mostly all about the B&C as far as the hobby goes. Tis like a pair of old comfortable slippers...

 

I do have the Youtube channel in my sig but that is more for tutorials and stuff that I post on the B&C.

 

I removed the link in my signature because when Tinypics was disbanded I lost most of my pictures and so it was a lot of dead links. 

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/130115-modelling-doghouse-pattern-truescale-marines/

 

If you ever need anything though you know where to find me. :)

[Doghouse]

And the painting has begun.

 

I actually dropped these onto my weights whilst getting them ready to prime breaking into lots of pieces. After I got them rebuilt and sprayed I noticed one of the vents on the back pack of one of them had broken off and vanished. I'll have to replace that later but for now it's paint, paint, paint!

 

[Domhnall]

Quick question. I'm not sure if you've specifically stated this or not, but do you use GW weapons with these, or have you created the weapons (bolters etc) on your marines as well? 

 

Had the though, as looking at them they don't look as oversized as GW figures, but more in keeping with what I'd expect a bolter to be in true scale (they're big, but not that big!). Not sure if that's the case, but that last photo makes it seem that way.

[Doghouse]

The bolters are Tigris pattern bolters so standard gw designs but I've scaled them to what I see to be a bit more credible. The heavy bolter for example I have slimmed down so it is slightly thinner being only a little wider than a regular bolter. So still designs just rescaled a bit.