Imperator Build Mega Update and a Tyresome Pun!

Imperator - a giant will stand...

The torso as it currently stands - it's really starting to look like an Imperator even though it's still only basic shapes, you know exactly which titan I'm replicating!

Another week, another Imperator build progress post!  Since my last update, I've been working hard on this beast; I hope you enjoy the update!

Support struts, and surface detailing

I have now capped all of the main support struts on the torso and have also added exhaust vents to the ends of all four rear facing supports.

I really like the exhaust vents on the rear struts; they add some functionality to the these structural areas, reminding you that they are part of a large machine rather than just architectural supports.  This picture also gives a better view of the rear engine array and platform  

The central support struts have their styrene caps added in this picture - the other supports have also now been given the same treatment.  I carefully cut the styrene plates to the correct size, fitted them with super glue then sanded them flush at the joints.  All of them will be filled at a later stage

As the Imperator is so huge, there are a lot of flat surfaces which will require detailing.  It's one of my favourite stages as I can go crazy making piping, vents, switches and ports.  Here are a couple I made to go on the inside of the main rear facing support struts.  Once I've filled all of the structural elements, I'll be fixing little details like this all over!

Shoulder sockets

The Shoulders of a titan take a lot of weight.  In the case of the original Epic Imperator, they hang from the underside of the main carapace with supports on the torso.  My Imperator would need to be designed to look as though the shoulder sockets were attached to the carapace, but in reality, as it is supposed to be detachable, they would only be physically connected to the torso.

I did a lot of pondering over the shoulder design prior to building them as they would need to be strong enough to take the weight of the gigantic arms, but also functional as I still wanted to be able to remove the arms and carapace from the torso for transports.

As I had already strengthened the torso around the rib area during construction knowing that it would be taking a lot of horizontal weight from the arms as well as vertical weight from the carapace, I decided to spread the weight over as much of the rib area as I could to ensure that the foamex wouldn't buckle.

The main shoulder sockets were made from three separate Foamex layers - a 5mm layer sandwiched between two 10mm ones.  The 5mm layer was pre-drilled with holes for five magnets in each socket prior to assembly.

After creating the main sockets, I then created a thick back plate which would be attached directly to the torso.  I shaped the back plates and the supports to mimic the Adeptus Titanicus 'T' symbol

After sanding and filling, I added surface detailing and styrene capping to the layered areas along with ports for the cabling which I had left spaces for within the armpits 

I had saved some spare Warhound cables for this very job - once I'd glued the shoulders into place, I heated and shaped the resin cables and glued them to the receivers I'd added to the reinforced rib area

Here's an underside view of the shoulder with the carapace in place - it all fits beautifully (phew!)

The shoulders also take a little of the weight from above, spreading it across the super structure

  I intend to add some more detail under the carapace at a later date to go around the shoulders, really tying it all together like the power plant which plugs in at the rear 

I constantly refer back to the original model to check the scale and shaping.  It was never intended to be an exact copy of this design, but I really am trying to stay faithful to the proportions and feel of the original design while bringing it inline with the more modern titan aesthetics already honed by Forgeworld

Leg Build

The Imperator's legs are another iconic area of the titan which I really wanted to get right.  When thinking about the legs, I wanted to include all of the elements listed below while still trying to keep the original design's distinctive silhouette.  It's not enough just to build a big robot with bucket legs; it had to look and feel like an Emperor class titan; capable of moving while still housing a battalion of Skitarii in each of its bastion-legs.

• Must have a round footprint
• Must have three large toes at 3, 9 and 12 O'clock
• Must be able to transport troops in the feet
• Must still be able to move convincingly
• Must have large curved armoured shins
• Must look cool!

With all of these elements in mind, I set about designing the shins and thighs.  Added to the design considerations would also be the structural concerns as the knees and hips would be taking the full weight of the titan and would be the weakest points on the whole structure.  They would need to be reinforced but still posable as I want my titan walking rather than stood static like the original miniature.

The first step was building the underlying structure for the shin guards.  Although the surface is currently flat and vertically straight, I will be sculpting the compound curves which form the shin guards once I have the legs completed, so for now, it's fairly blocky and basic

Blocky and basic does not mean small...

... or weak!  The shin is reinforced to ensure that it can take a bit of weight even though it's only actually going to be lending the legs a little horizontal support

I did a lot of sketching before starting to draw up a 1:1 blueprint for the legs

Once I was happy with my blueprints, I firmed them up accurately with a mechanical pencil, isolating the main structures from the surface details and noting which layers would be part of the load bearing structure

Next I used my front room window as a light box to trace the main leg sections onto plain paper to make a pattern which I cut out...

...and stuck to construction board to create working templates for the main parts.  Note that I worked out the thickness of the Foamex and number of each parts I'd need for the legs so I could easily keep track of everything

I used the card templates at this stage to mock up the leg and test both the scale and fit before I prepared to mark out the components

Again, I think it's useful to refer back to the original throughout the build process!

Although the legs will be considerably thicker than this cardboard cutout, you still get a feel for the silhouette...  

...and size of this monster!

For now, the main shin guard remains separate from the foot as I will need to be able to remove it in order to create the armour plating 

It does lock in place though!

I used the templates to mark out all of the leg components that I'd need to cut in order to make both shins and thighs

Once I'd cut all of the components (which takes a looooooong time...), I glued them together in their sub-assemblies and sanded them roughly so that I could test fit the parts

The parts look a little rough now, but they will be more thoroughly sanded and filled before the final assembly

And here is the first shin test assembly!

This things is so chunky!

This foot and shin isn't finished yet, but it already weighs as much as a warhound titan!

And to give you an idea of just how large this thing is...

A servitor guards the shin doorway!

A little AT snippet

Finally, I thought I'd show a little Titanicus terrain piece I made on a whim!

It's a tiny Adeptus Mechanicus tyre fitting yard!

It has a little service ramp, tyre pressure tank and a little shack!  There's also room at the back for an advert banner...

Behold, Adeptus Tyretanicus!

Imperator, a micro Siegebreaker & the Blowfish

This week's progress update is very much a mixed bag which I hope you'll enjoy, including a long overdue update on the Imperator build, & a couple of teeny weeny Knights.  But first, a quick photo of what's on my painting table...

The Blowfish... now in glorious colour (sort of)!

I've now painted the crew of the Blowfish and have given it a lovely coat of my patented rusty coastal weathering recipe.  I always do this layer for all members of the Court of The Fisher King as it helps tie them all together regardless of the specific paint patterns I use.  I also took some time over painting and sealing the underside of the watery resin base to add some depth and colour variation to the waves.  I still need to build up the wave patterns and spray with heavy medium and some surf texture, but for now, I think it's coming along nicely! 

The old rust bucket so far!

Imperator Build Update

It's been a while since I posted an update on the Imperator build.  It's not because I haven't been busy working on it, but more because it's such a large project, I could write a post after every weekend spent measuring, designing, drawing to scale, cutting, fitting then filling the various components, but it would be dull for you my dear reader!

So, I have decided to only post when I feel that I have reached a milestone of interest.  The most recent milestone was the assembly of a foot, some torso detailing and the completion of the neck socket.

Neck socket

Although it's not the most interesting element visually, making a neck socket which could hold the weight of the head with only magnets and still allow me to make something aesthetically pleasing was a tricky prospect.  It has taken me a lot of fiddling and testing to come up with a solution!

I started by gluing some large steel washers into the neck socket to give my magnets something to grip.  I didn't use magnets on the receiver as I didn't want polarity or repositioning issues later on 

Next I filled the socket with Milliput and smoothed it to a nice rounded finish.  This was my plan all along, so I had intentionally left a depth of approximately 5mm of space to make sure I had room to fit an attaching mechanism 

Once the putty had cured, I drilled into the surface to the depth of the washers using a dremmel bit the same width as the magnets I'd be using

Closer up, you can see the surface of the embedded washers peeking through! 

I used an old slow cooker lid handle which I had squirrelled away for the base of my next coupling.  I used a very strong, viscous glue to set the magnets into the right position.  This picture cannot even begin to convey the frustration of mounting five magnets which just want to hold hands...

Once the glue had fully set, I used more Milliput to set them in place.  This will be sanded a little more cleanly once it's cured, but it fits perfectly!

And there we have it - the neck coupling sitting nicely within the neck socket with a pull strength of around 2kg.  This give me a nice solid plastic disc  to work with and a pre-set screw in bolt which I will use to help make a solid mechanical join on the head

It may seem a bit dull, but the socket assembly is vital in terms of set up for the head sculpt.  Below is a draft floor plan of the head interior.  I've decided that the head will house only the Princeps who will be suspended from the ceiling on a large mechanical arm where she can easily see all of the view screens at the front of the cabin.

A small platform extends from the command module door at the back of the head cavity. View screens behind the titan's optics are arrayed before the Princeps

As this is a scale drawing, I've been using the Princeps miniature to ensure that there is sufficient room for her to be suspended from the top plate

Torso Progress

As the torso is one of the main components and certainly have the largest surface area, I'm taking my time in constructing it. Now that I'm happy with the practical structure, I'm moving on to some detailing and reinforcing the structure where necessary.  The sub assemblies will be 1) the carapace, 2) the torso, 3) the head, 4) & 5) left and right arms and finally, 6) the legs and pelvis.  The miniature will need to be broken down into these parts for storage and transport, so the design process needs to incorporate practical mechanisms to allow this.

Since the last update, I have magnetised the carapace plate and made a large waist section which the carapace now plugs into.  I have also added the belly section to the front of the torso

As well as the magnets, I've also added guide rails to the underside of the carapace section to make sure that everything locks into place properly.

This is the underside of the carapace showing the bar magnets and guide rails as well as the underside of the macro cannon tower power plant

The rear of the titan torso now houses a dual reactor, an observation / maintenance platform and an external hatch for access.  I'm really pleased with how this stage is coming along as it's already starting to look more like a real titan!

I've started detailing the underside of the carapace platform now, leaving a gap to incorporate the base of the rear mounted macro cannon tower which extends over the edge of the platform

A close up of the carapace ceiling vent

These exhaust vents were hand crafted to sit the end of the largest rear facing support struts

Here they are in position.  The two smaller outer struts will also have vents while the ends of the forward facing struts will have Legio designs and optics built into them 

Feet

The other main structural elements which I'm keen not to underestimate is the feet and legs.  I've previously shown the underlying structure of the feet, but today I wanted to show the components which have gone into cladding just one of the foot assemblies and the process I used to get there.

First I drew up the patterns - this is just what I needed to cut to clad one of the outward facing toes!

I cut all of the toe components at the same time so that I could make sure they were all matched

This is the side cladding for one of the toe sections

Test fitting the parts

And now all glued in place!

Once both side facing toes were clad, I moved on to the front facing toe and the stairway to the entry hatch

The basic foot assembly - solid as a rock!  Once the legs and pelvis are completed, I will affix these permanently to the gigantic 80cm MDF base

Further detailing added to the forward toe.  A lot of filling is still needed on the feet, but I'm holding off on that until all of the structural elements are complete

And now for something a bit smaller!

AT Scale Porphyrions

I recently completed my 40k scale House Raven Knight Porphyrion Siegebreaker and have been dying to recreate him in Adeptus Titanicus scale the same way I did for my Reaver titan Ferrum Dominus.  Well, I finally got round to doing it and I also made him a friend! Enjoy the pictures and I'll post an update on these little beasts soon!

Mini AT scale Siegebreaker!

40k scale on the left and AT scale on the right

He even has a friend to accompany him in Adeptus Titanicus battles!