House Raven Knight Preceptor Rygan

Preceptor Rygan

In my last House Raven progress post, I showed a WIP image of the House Raven Preceptor I had next on my painting table.  Well, now he's finished, so I thought I'd show him off and give an update on my TOC Walk progress!

Armed to the teeth and sporting a mean looking face plate, I think he looks like a gladiator! 

When I constructed Rygan, I wanted to show that his Las weaponry required a lot of reactor power, so added numerous cables - they look great but were fiddly to paint!

I re-used the buzz-saw arm which I removed from the Kodiak when he got his upgrade.  It's actually a real rotary tool saw blade - I think it works perfectly!

I used a spare Atrapos Lascutter to make the Las Impulsor for Rygan. I think it works really well despite being a little larger than a standard Questoris class weapon

The right-hand side of Rygan's carapace, shoulder pad and weapon shield have the trademark House Raven chevrons which I managed to line up across the top plates

Getting the chevrons straight on the gun shield was... challenging.

 Here's how my force readiness currently stands:

Venator Light Titan Maniple:
Reaver Titan - 100% complete
Warhound Titan - 100% complete
Warhound Titan - 100% complete

Acastus Knight banner:
Asterius - 100% complete
Porphyrion - 100% complete

Cerastus Knight Banner:
Lancer - 100% complete
Lancer - 100% complete
Lancer - 0% complete (Optional)
Acheron - 0% complete (Optional)

Questoris Knight Banner:
Knight Errant - 100% complete
Knight Preceptor - 100% complete
Knight Paladin - 50% complete
Knight Gallant - 50% complete
Knight Crusader - 50% complete
Knight Warden - 50% complete

In other news...

Although I still have 6 knights left on this list, I am taking a short break from House Raven to work on the outstanding elements from The Court of The Fisher King as I need to make sure that they're completed within a similar time-frame.  I'll also be putting aside some more time to work on my Imperator Titan build, but progress on that mammoth build will be coming to another post in the near future!

Conga Blue has now been weathered and is ready for his panels to be painted.  Once his body is complete, I'll be setting him permanently into his resin base.  Stay tuned for another update soon!

Conga Blue and Imperator Progress

 Conga Blue

Striding knee-deep through the ocean comes Conga Blue!

It's been a while since I posted an update on my progress with Conga Blue and that's entirely down to his base.  Initially I tried out a new technique using tinfoil to create waves, which I've seen used to great effect (see this video for more a good example).  Unfortunately, it was a very time consuming process and I didn't like the way it turned out.

As with a lot of techniques, I found that the limitations of the foil just didn't give me enough freedom to produce the shapes I wanted and the colours and opacity just didn't work alongside the other Knights in the Court of The Fisher King.

So I went back to a more complicated and expensive method which I'm comfortable with - my old friend resin.  I used a similar method to Trench Runner's base, but with some slight alterations to the process which were more to do with available materials in lock-down than their physical properties.

The main issue I faced was a lack of silicone (possibly the single most expensive material).  As we're still in lock-down because of the Covid-19 Pandemic, getting hold of raw materials can be quite difficult, so I decided to press ahead anyway and find a way around any issues as they came up.

Instead of using Sculpey and baking it to create the wave shapes, I used a cheaper Plasticine clay which I bought specifically for making clay walls during mould making.  I feel this was a mistake as I hadn't anticipated the difficulty of removing it from the silicone mould.  I marked Conga Blue's final position on the base then sculpted the waves straight onto it, leaving gaps so that he could be test fitted before making the mould.

Once I was happy with how it looked and that Conga Blue fit nicely (not too snug as resin shrinks a little when curing), I mixed up my remaining 150ml of Silicone and painted it over the wave's surface to capture the detail before pouring the rest to create the rest of the mould.

Again, I made a mistake which made life more difficult as, in my eagerness to get the mould done, I forgot to seal the base to the bottom of the container which I was using for the mould walls.  The silicone bled under the base and wasted about half of what I had left which equated to about £6 down the drain!  As it cured overnight, I hadn't noticed how much the silicone level dropped until it was too late.

Once the Silicone had cured, I found that it was far too thin at the wave tips to actually fill with resin unsupported (as it would deform), so I had to create mould cupping around it.  Normally I would use plaster, but in this case, the overhang was too great and would make it impossible to de-mould in resin.  As an emergency fix, I dug through my garage to find some left over polyurethane foam from an old project over a decade ago.  Thankfully, even though it has a shelf life, the PU and catalyst still appeared to be ok, so I mixed up a batch and poured it directly onto the back of the silicone.  As it expands to 5 / 6 times its original size as it foams, it was perfect for supporting the thin silicone skin.

Once it was cured, I cut away the excess and removed the master from the silicone.  This took ages as small pockets of Plasticine were stuck in the very thin (because of my earlier mistake) silicone skin of the mould.  The skin tore in several places, so I used some air drying latex to patch the mould and also to stick it permanently to the PU foam.  I would never normally do such a botch job, but with limited supplies and only needing to use the mould for a single pour, I took some shortcuts.  It just goes to show that not doing things properly never really saves you any time!

Anyway, as I still wasn't 100% confident in the integrity of the mould, I used some clear UV resin in the areas which I suspected would be compromised.  As it was a really sunny day, this cured almost instantly.  I did a normal resin mix and pour over the top - I wasn't sure whether the two resins would bond, but it worked out perfectly in the end.  The only niggle was the difference in coloured and clear resin, but I fixed that with some transparent paint once it was de-moulded.

I had just enough resin to reach the level of the base lip in the mould.  Phew!  I also sprayed Conga Blue gunmetal silver which I was at it!

I painted the base dark blue then used a transparent glue to stick down the resin wave block 

From above you can see the sculpted waves and the holes where the legs will eventually be set into the resin

Imperator Titan Progress

It's been a while since I wrote about this project and a lot has changed since my original post.  I've grown as a designer and I think you'll see how this has translated into a more thoroughly researched and planned creative process. 

Body Building

I recently decided that, alongside completing my Knights, I would try and make some serious progress of my 28mm scale Imperator Titan.  My previous attempts never really got far beyond the initial stages of the build.  There were a few reasons for this, but the main one being weight as I was building the whole thing from plastics and that meant it would be extremely difficult to produce a miniature (said loosely...) which could support itself.  If I had continued with plastics, it would have been extremely costly and I would've had to make a lot of concessions with the design in order to make it structurally viable.

Thankfully, I discovered a new material which is used mainly for signage and architectural mock-ups.  It's called Foamex and it's completely amazing for building solid lightweight structures.  It's also far easier to cut than styrene, so my fingers won't become gnarled twigs before the end of the project!

I salvaged the carapace from my previous attempt and decided to do a lot of new design work to get the Imperator structurally sound before adding detail to it.  I based my designs and measurements on the original plastic epic miniature - as it turned out, I could scale it up by exactly ten times the original size, so 1mm would equal 1cm in the new scale.

I painstakingly measured all of the original dimensions and decided which areas would need re-scaling and / or reworking.  Taking a 120mm model and making it 120cm is nowhere near as straightforward as it sounds.  I not only had to design something which could hold its own freestanding weight, I also had to make it recognisable as an original Imperator but with a lot more of the modern titan aesthetics.

I filled a small sketchbook with different ideas, picked the ones I liked, then started to draw up some blueprints at full scale on graph paper so that I could start to plan the foamex build.

A small sample of my sketches

Head sketch based on the original epic titan faceplate

I decided that the best idea would be to work out which parts of the structure I could build in foamex to form the core of the body, leaving room to add details, curved panels (as foamex doesn't bend like styrene) and eventually, the dreaded compound curves (armour plating).  This was basically a case of stripping back anything superficial and looking to record only the main shapes.

The body showing only the main structure 

Translating the body components into Blueprints, referring to the original miniature and my notes to ensure I get the size exactly right

Once it was complete, I firmed up the blueprint with Pen and turned it into a working template

I used the front and side view templates to start drawing and cutting out the shapes in Foamex.  I used 3mm thickness and had to account for this in all of my measurements

This is a picture of the carapace structure in progress - I built this simple reinforced plateau to support the carapace 'city' which I savaged from the original build

The Carapace plateau with part of the 'city' to test fit

The foot template which will be cut from MDF to give stability and weight to the feet of the model.  You can also see the base measurements although I will probably reduce the size if possible

The basic shell of the body

The rear support struts are extremely long to support the carapace structure

A test fit with the carapace mocked up

Even at this early stage, the structure supports the weight with no problems at all

I had to prop up the back as although it's strong enough, the weight is not yet balanced.  Once the arms and head are in place, they should counterbalance the heavy rear towers

The secondary rear supports were built and fitted along with the complex reinforced rib area

The front support struts were the most complex to design and build - cutting the components correctly took a lot of measuring and test fitting

The basic structure is now complete. The curved sections will be made with styrene during the detailing stage

The neck socket was a cylinder I cut from a ball cock which I then fitted into the foamex then capped with another circle to hold it firmly in place

The key to getting the getting carapace steady is keeping it level - this was a major concern when fitting the support struts

The body section already weighs as much as a Warhound titan and I haven't added any detailing to it yet!

The rear of the body has plenty of room for detailing, including an entry hatch and a small balcony like the one on the  Forgeworld Warlord titan

Princeps

Finally, I wanted to share some images of the Princeps who will be commanding my Imperator.  I wanted to make a unique Princeps and originally went with the idea of an amniotic tank much like the one in the Helsreach novel.  Once I'd constructed the Princeps, I decided that she didn't need a tank; she would instead be suspended from the ceiling with a large mechanical arm!

I went with a female Princeps who looked thin and delicate despite commanding the most powerful war machine in the legio's arsenal!

The support arm which will suspend her above the bridge command crew 

And finally, a little detail which amused me greatly, representing the divine touch of the Omnissiah!

Trench-Runner, Conga Blue and the return of an alien menace...

Trench-Runner

He's been in production for around 2 months now, but Trench-Runner is finally complete!

Crashing into Corbenic's ocean depths after jumping from a diving platform, Trench-Runner is a Helverin class suit of Armiger Knight armour who specialises in rapid response deployments.

I feel like I've really captured the feeling of motion by posing the knight with his head and the points of his toes pointing down, while his arms are up at his sides

The chains were deliberately positioned in broad loops so that they look as though they're flying up as the suit drops  

From the side, the splashes look incredibly dynamic!

I put a lot of weathering on the platform support as it's been standing in sea water for a long time 

A close up of the transparent resin splash

A gigantic mine / torpedo sits atop the knight suit's carapace.  It's definitely going to make a big bang...

Making dynamic splashes

Making the resin splash for Trench-Runner was actually a lot more complicated than the large resin pour which I did for Quake Hydra (see my last post).

Because the knight would be interacting with the water, I'd have to build the knight and platform first so that I could work out the dimensions and method for creating the splashes.

I haven't included images of this process as it was pretty straightforward.  Reposing the knight suit was easy enough, with the feet needing the most alteration to get the toes pointing down towards the water while still remaining flat enough to take the weight of the model.

The platform was made from a sector mechanicus strut and a couple of platform sections from the old sector imperialis set which I cut round to mimic the contour of the base (this is intended to suggest a platform extending beyond the visible miniature base). 

I began the splashes by sculpting the shapes from medium grade super sculpey which I patched here and there with a softer grade (the pink areas) as it is easier to shape without deforming the existing splashes.  I sculpted footprints where the knight suit would be entering the water and made sure that it fit the base.  Note that I made the footprints about 1mm larger to accommodate any shrinkage. 

Once I was happy with the sculpt I fired the sculpey then sealed it with basic mod-podge.

The next step in the process was to create a single piece silicon mould of the splash.

As it was to be a single piece mould, I decided to use a glossy flowerpot (which my wife unknowingly donated).  Before anything else, I greased the model with a thin liquid oil to make the de-moulding process easier.

I used a large blob of hot glue to stick the splash to the bottom of the plant pot, ensuring that there were no gaps underneath as otherwise the silicon would creep underneath and make it impossible to de-mould.

Having measured the water volume in advance, I mixed up the correct amount of silicone and used the patented 'put in on top of the vibrating dishwasher for a while' to help any bubbles to rise out of the mixture.  Anyone who's made a mould like this has grown to detest bubbles as much as traffic wardens.

To make sure that I got all of the detail with a nice even coat, I used an old paintbrush (which is now consigned to the bin) to create a 2-3mm silicon mould skin before I poured the rest of the silicone into the mould.

Again, I tapped and vibrated the pot to remove air bubbles following the main pour.  This is not an ideal process, but I've not yet gone down the vacuum chamber route because I just don't make enough casts to make it worthwhile.  Maybe that will change in the future, but for now I just shake it baby!

Once the silicone had fully cured, I greased cleaned then re-greased the mould.  I then mixed exactly the right amount of resin to fill the mould.  Ok, so I actually overestimated it because I forgot to check the volume instead of weight.  Stupid mistake really.

Luckily Mudskipper also needed a resin pour on his base, so I really quickly prepared his a basic clay mould, using the excess resin there so as not to waste any!  It's a good job I chose a resin with a longer working time and went with a slower cure mix in case I had issues!

After 24 hours I de-moulded the resin splash...

Next up, I fully painted the base and platform before making a mould wall around the base with syrene and hot glue.  It's worth noting here that the hot glue slightly deformed the styrene walls, but I could fix any major issues after the base was fully cured.

In order to get the splashes at the correct level, I cut some transparent blue acetate to make a little stand which I then glued to the base.  The walls of the mould were made approximately 2mm taller than the stand so that when the splash piece displaced the wet resin it didn't pour out of the mould!

This was the only test fit I made and as everything had been pre-measured, I was happy that it was correct.

I poured the resin into the mould entirely covering the little stand.  This time I had measured the required amount of resin by volume using water.  Always do this or you run the risk of wasting a lot of expensive resin or needing to mix up smaller batches which never cure as well because the exothermic reaction is partly based on the mix volume.

I then 'dunked' the splashes into the resin pool after jiggling the bubbles out.

And here is the result of the final pour after removing the mould walls.

I had to clean up the edges with wet and dry sandpaper once the resin had fully cured and I then worked back into the splashes with a heavy acrylic medium which eventually dries clear.  I also used this on the miniature's feet and the platform struts to make it look wet and keep the knight in place.

All in all, this was a very complicated but satisfying build!

Meet Conga Blue...

Conga Blue is one of my 3 remaining knights to be joining The Court of the Fisher King.  As with my other knights, I wanted him to be unique and as I had a lot of interesting components in my knight bits box, decided to try some more radical changes to what was originally a Forgeworld Knight Mageara.

Conga Blue is intended to be an underwater mining specialist, hence he is armed with a Las cutting arm, a giant pneumatic pick (with a mechadendrite drill on the back), two vestigial las cutters under the carapace and a huge grinder array making up part of his mouth and chest.

He also has a crotch mounted pnuematic shear.  Because... why not?!

In addition to the weaponry changes, I also heavily modified the rear of Conga Blue's carapace in order to add two really large propellers with guide fins, hinting that he functions more like a giant deep sea sub underwater.

I created two sets of shoulder mounted torpedo launchers instead of using the traditional rocket launcher array as I felt this fit the theme a lot better and made more sense given the suit's primary purpose.

The pick arm was deliberately fashioned to look a little like an anchor - it looks pretty similar to my original sketch.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out as it took a LOT of sanding to get it looking right.  I watched the whole of Altered Carbon season 2 while making this one arm....

The grinder mouth would look a little odd on a normal knight, but I think it really works for Conga Blue!

Did someone say Tyranids?!

I love Tyranids.  They were the first army I seriously collected and I am a massive fan of the Forgeworld Heirophant sculpted by Tyranid overlord Simon Egan.  The only thing which I feel is missing from the current range is an updated version of an old Epic miniature called (plant your tongue into your cheek) the Tyranid Dominatrix:

Awkward name aside, I really liked the original Dominatrix model and always felt like it represented some of the best Tyranid virtues:

1). It's a psychic linchpin
2). It's a symbiotic combination of several creatures
3). It's a giant scary monster

So, in order to bring it back up to date, I have started redesigning the creature while still trying to keep some of the original features.  I have also decided to come up with a less provocative name at some point...

This initial sketch has some nice plate designs, but I decided it was too chunky as I wanted to move away from the lumbering original and make the beast look a lot more mobile.

This is pretty much where I am with the design at the moment.  Note the longer, thinner limbs, huge bio-cannon and the Zoanthrope like mastermind creature embedded in the armoured carapace.

In addition to its large claws, pointy teeth and toxic tail weapon, I've also  incorporated another interesting feature into the creature's carapace.  The little strawberry seed shapes on the carapace are actually Hormagaunts which are supposed to be hooked into indents in the armour.  They use the creature a transport while it uses them as extra ablative armour and a defense against swarming enemies!

Next up is a study of the controller creature.  As it's supposed to have a direct line to the Norn queen on the hiveship, it clearly needs to be a psychic creature with a swollen Zoanthrope-esque head and have the option of digesting particularly interesting specimens on the battlefield in the same way as a Malanthrope or Lictor (hence the feeder tentacles).

From the picture, you can see that it's almost entirely fused with the main creature and is never actually intended to separate from it.

The next image is another head study, using some of the Heirophant features.

I will be starting construction on this project fairly soon - stay tuned for updates!