Legion Rising

[Atia]

 

 

The backpack is all left over AdMech bits. The arm is from the Onager, the mechatendril attached to it with the claw is from the Dominus mini, and the thin mechtendril arcing under his arm is the Dataspike bit from the Ruststalker/Infiltrator kit.

 

Thaaaaanks 

[Subtle Discord]

I am the hobby butterfly!
 
*Subtle leaps from his chair and jumps through a window wearing a home-made butterfly costume… and it does not end well…*
 

∙ In the midst of writing my next update with no room for this image, so I figured it would make a good sneak peek. Despite a minor fit issue project ‘Kastelan 2.0’ is commencing nicely.

Just look at the subtle curves of the Blaster. *Subtle drools a little bit* It does take a tiny bit of surfacing with some 600 grit soft sanding sticks, but then it's just buttery smooth.

 

Larger update coming shortly. Keep comm-link active.

[Bryan Blaire]

Oh sweet Omnissiah... Today I'm glad I wore my white pants.

[Subtle Discord]

Ok, since I’ve procrastinated on writing a proper update now I’ve got comments and feedback from several perspectives and different corners of the interwebs I think it’s better to just ramble a bit about these kits and how they related to my design philosophy. Making quality bits is a balancing act between a few factors and sometimes they force a designer into certain corners.

 

As a first tangent, it’s been mentioned/questioned a few times over the years if I’ve considered using Shapeways to produce some of my designs. While it can be tempting I won’t being going that route for several reasons. The simple primary factor is control; I’ve spent several years working out the kinks in the entire process and part of what I want to bring to my product offering is that it’s all done in-studio to a very discerning standard. That is the business I want to grow into something larger and I want to keep complete control of the creative, production, and ultimately profit flow.

 

As an extension of that idea I really don’t like the Polyjet 3D printing process that is used by Shapeways for their high resolution prints. I’ve commented on it in the past since I’ve worked with it a few times (once with Shapeways and several other times as well), and it really is an amazing 3D printing technology but not for the one-off quality I want at this scale. Some people don’t mind it, and if you’re a hobbyist then that’s a fine call to make, but I’m someone who wants to produce at small-to-medium scale and I want the product to be the best quality I can achieve. It really is the extra small scale that just pushes Polyjet to its limits if you demand results like I’m after. The results I was getting from professionally printed components using Polyjet was specifically why I took the time and effort to research and requisition Servitor Solus and even now that I’ve got the high resolution 3D printing I needed to achieve the results I’m aiming for I still spend quite a bit of time tweaking and adjusting my designs to assemble cleanly and fit correctly. Even with the tools and equipment in-house it can take several tries to get parts to fit the model or even each other correctly, so no, I don’t think Shapeways is a good solution for producing most of the kits I’ll be creating. Whatever could be saved in lead times would require too much loss in quality and control to make it worth the trade.

 

∙ A perfect example how a rather simple component can require a few test prints to ensure the fit is correct. These barrels can be used on different models but they’re specifically designed to fit the new Havoc models.

 

I’ve used digital calipers to measure the Heavy Bolter in the Havoc kit and tried to model it as precisely as I can manage, and while I’m sure it’s very close I won’t know if I’m completely correct until I’ve got the bits in hand. (Very soon) I model parts with tolerances of 0.1mm to 0.05mm so it doesn’t take much for something to be off and make a fit too tight, loose, misaligned, etc.. Naturally, trying to match straight lines is reasonably easy but as soon as curves are involved it becomes harder; there’s little choice but to model it as close as possible and then make adjustments after the first test prints. In this case, even the little peep-sight-like detail on the front of the Heavy Bolter isn’t complex but I can only make an educated guess at the radius of the curve; same goes for the depth of the notches on the sides at the base which are close but I’m not sure if they’re perfect. They’re just too tricky to measure precisely on the model.

 

∙ The new combi-weapon bits had to be a balance of several things and they’re a good example to showcase the design thinking I try to employ.

 

It basically comes down to balancing the practical needs of the design, personal creativity, and the fictional niche I’m trying to fill. Practical issues can be things the end builder will deal with like magnetization and/or how a kit assembles, but it can also be something to accommodate the manufacturing or 3D printing process and that says mostly on the studio side, where, if I design it correctly you don’t know that I made a clever part that casts really well, but you should appreciate the lack of mould lines and bubbles. My personal creativity is just having the idea as a starting point, but it’s also a key consideration in that I need to create a unique and interesting enough design that suits the Warhammer universe but is something new that I’ve created from my mind; I don’t want to directly copy or mimic things made by GW, I want to make original versions of my own ideas that blend right in with the official kits. And that leads neatly into the idea of the niche that I’m aiming to fill and the design language that GW uses for similar objects/wargear or just in the Warhammer universe in general; my professors in college would have referred to it as finding the ‘sympathetic details’ that you aim to draw into a new design, creating something new but with a notable linage.

 

∙ GW has the side-by-side Combi all buttoned up so I figured I’d go with an over-under configuration; not only do I like the look I came up with but the slimmer profile is also very nice.

 

I always try to incorporate what I call pseudo-plausibility™ into my designs, which is an intentionally silly verbose way of saying that I try to design details on my models with consideration of how the object would operate and work as a blend of the 40k universe and real world considerations. Yes, these are completely fictional objects that many times are based on science-fantasy but that doesn’t mean vents, grills, hoses, pipes, hydraulics, buttons, switches, fasteners, seamlines, and a million other minor details can’t be given a bit of common sense consideration. That said, I have to be careful not to take it too far or I can start to obsess over trivial details (something I’m far too apt to do, but I’m getting much better) and waste time on them, and/or I can overdetail something in an effort to get it just right and really authentic. When you’re modeling something that’s 50x larger on your computer screen then it will be in real life and it’s meant to be a model and not 100% authentic, it’s very easy to create details that either struggle to be created during the 3D print process or are so small and delicate that they’re lost at the tiny scale they’re produced at. I want them sci-fi, but not too sci-fi, and I want them realistic, but not too realistic. When it doubt, I lean toward making it blend with the Warhammer aesthetic and chuck realism in the corner for later.

 

∙ Oh, you knew it was going to be magnetized, right? From a practical perspective it was simply easier to incorporate the magnet in the vertical orientation.

 

I’m still not sure if one pair of the 1.65x1.65mm magnets used here will be enough attraction for my liking, but it’s not hard to add a second set of magnet holes if I want to make it stronger. The hand also might get one more round of tweaking; it’s almost there but even after altering the thumb a bit, I think it needs a little more work to get a better match how the thumb is on an official model. Nothing major and likely not even a big deal considering how small it is and where it’s located. For the test prints, the backs of the hands will also sty flat since that’s what best suits most of the models that are in the GW line, but it wouldn’t be too hard to add a ball-joint or pin feature that could easily be removed if unwanted, so that doesn’t seem out there. If/when I start making more elaborate assemblies I will always try to use ball joints and articulated hinges wherever it makes sense to provide more posing options.

 

I’m also leaving the left hand off for the first test prints; I know that one-handed versions will likely be very popular but I’m sure some people will want a proper two-handed version. I suspect it’s the one-handed setup and the tall profile that makes these models seem a bit more like pistols, but I can assure you that the lower Bolter is 18mm long which is a tiny bit longer than a Bolter in the new Chaos Marine kit. The larger ammo drums and wider zig-zag feed magazines that hold more shells might also add to the bulk a bit making them seem a bit more pistol like. Whatever is going on, it’s just an optical illusion that I’m sure will vanish once they’re in context and not floating in a white void.

 

∙ “Missed it… by that much.” ~ Maxwell Smart – Yeah, I was close but the fit is just a bit too tight and it doesn’t quite want to close. Close, only counts, horseshoes, hand grenades, yadda yadda…

 

So the fit isn’t quite correct here, but it would even be worse in a cast since it’ll shrink more ever-so-slightly. I’ll need to loosen this up considerably to make sure it’s not a problem after all the effort is made to mould and cast it. It’s all good, that’s what test prints are for. Right now I’m still testing the limits of Servitor Solus’ so I’m mostly happy with how well the subtle curves of these parts turned out. A few spots benefited from a light sanding with 600 grit soft sanding stick but that’s hardly a problem when the results are so good. Despite it not quite closing around the arm I couldn’t ask for a better fit and finish.

 

∙ Solving the minor fit issue will be easy enough but the ammo feed is going to be the final hurdle to get past to complete this kit.

 

The final tweaks to the head have it looking very nice and printing without any issues, and despite the fit on the arm it still looks pretty good in these photos. The ammo feed is the final piece to this little puzzle that’s going to need to wait until I can make a mould and cast the part in polyurethane. As I’ve discovered, the 3D printed resin can be bent after heating but it still remains rather brittle and prone to breaking very easily as its being shaped.

 

I do wish I could make the arm just a bit slimmer but the three barrels made to mimic the gauge of the shoulder mounted cannon just doesn’t make that possible. However, in turn the three barrels do give a proper reason why the arms are as thick as they end up being. They’re no larger in width than the original arms so I guess it’s a more effective use of the space. I suspect they’ll grow on me more when they’re not bright red-orange and painted to blend with the model. Even some primer would go a long way.

 

∙ Long overdue because of various delays and some changes to the design, the armour plates for the Predator are being prepped for mould making.

 

I simplified the design a bit from the original Predator armour I created so now the armour plates on the weapon systems are interchangeable between each weapon or the stowage/ammo/battery on the turret. It makes them a bit less customized to each mounting location but it really helps to trim down on the number of parts for the kit so it’ll be more straightforward to produce and it suites the lighter nature of this design, I feel.

 

Once these are casting I’ll be making the clean Mk.2 version for Imperial builders. Now that all the kinks are worked out with regard to fit it will be much more straightforward to get future variations complete and into production. I may also take the time to do the more elegant Mk.4 version because I’d like to see something with some more flowing lines and subtle details, but I’ve been getting a lot of request to get the Land Raider kits back in stock. I will be restocking the current ‘Raider kits one more time but I’m eager to get working on new kits using the new equipment in the studio. I’m already starting the 3Dmodeling of the Land Raider and I’ll also be doing the Sicaran along with it, so expect to see some updates for those in the somewhat near future.

 

Servitor Solus will be quite busy for the foreseeable future, so expect to see some prints of these combi-weapons in the next few days along with further updates on the Mechanicus components since I still have the other Kastelan arms to do and the Onager bits as well. Stay tuned. Spring is here, and the longer days are bring an upswing in the energy and while I might be too busy to write as often as I’d like, there’s lots in The Works.

[Bryan Blaire]

So there are a couple of things I can think of for the ammo feed issue, and not having sculpted or designed for model production, I really don't know how feasible they'd be:

 

1) Design the model with the most extreme extension of the ammo feed you can, and then make it a time and a half longer and cast it in a flexible resin?

 

2) This one might be even less feasible and will definitely be more fiddle - model the ammo feed in individual segments, with a slot and tab design that would allow users to build a realistic ammo feed from the ammo hopper to the weapon mount - hopefully that explanation makes sense, because I don't have a digital way to draw it. Depending on the size of the segments, you'd probably have to make about 150-ish segments for the model between both arms?

 

On the combi-weapons, while you may want a second magnet hole, what about adding an alignment pin and hole for the components?

 

Really do love the stuff you've come up with!

[Chaplain Raeven]

You could pose the arm in a couple of popular poses (maybe between 5 and 10 poses) and cast ammofeeds for those options. It's a lot better than the monopose bits GW offers. A creative hobbyist should manage to cut them up without too much hassle and get even more poses out of them if the options aren't to their liking.

[Eldrick Shadowblade]

Really loving the new designs and the top mounted combi bolters!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Fine work on the war robot components.

[Subtle Discord]

∙ Servitor Solus has received blessings of the Omnissiah; initial components created with a new resin compound are very favorable. Update to follow shortly…

[Subtle Discord]

With the Rituals of Support completed once again the appropriate platitudes of activation were transmitted to Servitor Solus and the diligent device was set once more to work. The bright red polymer resin was running low so some final prints including a mix of practical and personal (for now) projects seemed like a fitting end to the first litre that has brought my ideas to this point so far.

 

∙ When it comes to the Onager components, I guess two out of three isn’t bad. While the results are mostly good, some flaws and mistakes are larger than others.

 

I completely spaced out somehow, managing to model the reactor upside-down. Um yeah, oops. It’s not hard to move the locking key and fix this blatant mistake, but I can’t believe I even did it in the first place. So silly. It paints a picture in my mind of a servitor performing maintenance, only to be asked by an overseer why they are installing the unit inverted, followed by a loud screech of binaric obscenities as they begin to unscrew restraining bolts to correct it. Even a diligent servant of the Omnissiah can have a bad day.

 

Other than that overt issue there are a few distorted spots which I didn’t support correctly and, as expected, the fit on the armour panels isn’t quite accurate yet since they’re only an educated guess for this print. Par for the course, these will be simple enough to sort out. I also want to make the gizmo I devised for the weapon system just a tiny bit larger radius so I can have an excuse to make the cog in the center just a bit larger. In the fiction, Lucius forge world is said to have unique Onagers and Ironstriders so I think these bits help take the models in that direction. 

 

∙ I took the opportunity to do my first test prints of the new Combi-weapons I’m working on and the results are mostly positive.

 

If you look closely you can see a bit of distortion on the magazine and ammo drum. On a bit like these, the 90-degree orientation of these details makes them huge overhangs when I print them in the preferred orientation, pointing straight up. Supports are the usual method of dealing with overhands but these are large ones right in the middle of the part and anything that can be done to avoid and/or minimize supports is preferable since they always leave a defect that needs to be cleaned from the print. Supports are a necessary evil that I need to deal with but always try to avoid. In this case, I tried to tilt the print but it wasn’t enough to avoid pictured distortion.

 

Other than that, that prints are very hopeful but also illustrate another thing I’m still trying to get the right sense of and that’s the scale of some of the detailing. When I’m 3D modelling the component is so large it’s very easy to create details that are just a bit too small, subtle, or delicate, to really work well when it’s created at real-world scale. There’s a reason why some of the detailing on good models is a bit exaggerated and emphasized when you’re in really close because at the small scale they’re finally created at it’s very easy for the properly scaled details to be completely ‘washed out’. In particular, I like to add bevels and subtle curves in some places and they look great on the screen, but then the bit is printed and the carefully added details are simply lost at the final scale. The hand is also something I suspected would need more work and the thumb in particular needs to be adjusted so it’s a bit more pronounced.

 

So there’s lost to like with these first prints, but I think another round of tweaking the 3D models will do the designs proper justice. Good design really is often about iteration. Rarely does an idea or concept come into reality perfectly formed and a few iterations is usually to be expected.

 

∙ While the fit isn’t quite right this component looks great from the top; unfortunately, the bottom shows that Solus is struggling to avoid surface flaws on that side.

 

At some point in the future I might 3D model more complete weapons, but right now the recent Chaos release offers a few niches that are just begging to be filled with straightforward solutions like this one. Modelling a full Chaincannon, doing it justice, making it blend in aesthetically, making it original, and ensuring it would fit at least reasonably well with current kits, well that’s a whole lot of work that I’m not up to right now. I’m also itching to get working on many other larger projects so getting too distracted with smaller bits and kits isn’t what I want to be doing right now. A little distraction is to be expected and entertained, but I can’t let it get too carried away… for now…

 

Again, in order to avoid adding support to all sides of the object, I tilted it when I printed it and only added supports to the bottom. It mostly worked, but while some cleanup of support touchpoints is unavoidable the angle ended up causing unexpected surface issues; some shapes at peculiar angles are simply prone to this issue, at least, with is resin. More on that in a moment. So, while I can accept some cleanup, there’s just too much going on here to justify the effort and I’ll need to find a way to further improve the outcome.

 

∙ As one final act of bulk productivity the last of this resin was used to create a complete set of casting masters for the ‘clean’ Mk.2 version of the Ferratis Rhino/Predator Armour.

 

With all the kinks for this armour kit work out I wanted to get the more Loyalist-centric Mk.2 version completed. I will return to the Rhino/Predator chassis at some point in the future but for right now I’m happy to have a replacement for the current out-of-production Chaos Predator armour as well as a Loyalist counterpart as a first expansion of the selection. I’m also keen on doing the ‘elegant’ version I showed a while back and I have some interesting ideas on how to tackle mutated and warped details, but those are really elements that can be applied to a wide range of future plans so it’s nothing really exclusive to this kit in particular.

 

∙ It served the studio well, helping me to being to understand the quirks of Servitor Solus’ machine spirit, but the red Proto resin is dead! Long live the new grey Art resin!

 

It’s a different colour, it smells distinctly different (not a better smell, but uniquely different and at least less strong/pungent), it has a different thicker viscosity, requires different printer settings, and produces parts with different physical characteristics. Oh, and from everything I’ve seen so far with my limited testing… it’s just better. After a single test print, I seemed to get the settings rather close and got good results that were just a bit too delicate and fragile. So I made some adjustments and gave Solus a proper task to test this new resin…

 

∙ … and oh my… those are some amazingly good results that, dare I say it, appear to be even better than what was being produced with the red Proto resin.

 

Now, I suspect part of it is just the fact that the new resin is a nice neutral grey and it’s easier to see good contrast on the parts and they’re much more photogenic, but honestly, something about the surface quality and/or fidelity of the parts just seems to be improved. Even if it is a trick of the colour when it comes to the appearance there seems to be an improvement in the print quality and it’s less prone to the surface flaws like those that were a problem on the bottle of the Chaincannon barrels pictured above. I’ll need to do more prints to know for sure but I’m hoping I’m correct since it could be more reliabel prints in lots of circumstances. The parts are also even stronger and less brittle than the red resin which helps during cleanup and ensure the casting masters will have a good long lifespan. Nothing wrong with that at all.

 

Unfortunately, it does require a somewhat different setup for the supports for correct printing so any of my older print files that I set up for use with the original red resin won’t be compatible with this new grey resin. Not a huge issue since I don’t have plans to reprint many/most of them for any reason, and not a big enough reason for me to look back because the new Art resin really seems to be worth the effort of adjusting to its unique properties.

 

∙ Case-and-point, while the red Proto resin did an admirable job creating these Kastelan components the parts made with the new grey Art resin just seems to be that little bit improved.

 

Again, maybe it’s just the clean grey colour and added contrast, but I don’t know, time will tell. In fact, the colour of the new resin is so close to the grey that I tint my casting polyurethane I’m going to need to be careful not to mix the masters up with casts. In the previous image you can make out a few telltale stubborn spots where the layering of the 3D printing process is unavoidable but the 20-micron layer height makes them very easy to sand away and the rest of the surfaces are freakishly smooth and refined.

 

I’m not complaining by any stretch, but I’m again impressed by Solus even after being impressed several times in the past. I’m still perfecting the best practices I need to learn in order to avoid printing problems without too much trial-and-error which wastes expensive materials, but I’m only running into small problems that require a bit of tweaking to resolve before I get exactly what I was hoping for. Each project completed opens the door wider to bigger and more ambitious projects as I continue to learn and gain confidence. This bodes very well for future projects, to be sure.

 

Now, if only, running the business side of the studio with books, numbers, equipment, materials, and stock, was so compelling and didn’t daunt me so much. Ok momentum, time to continue building so I can deal with that next. This is too good a start not to get somewhere. Let’s see what I can make of all this growing potential, shall we?

[Borbarad]

Those are some amazing looking pieces. Looking forward for them hitting your store.

[Platuan4th]

 

 

 

 

∙ I took the opportunity to do my first test prints of the new Combi-weapons I’m working on and the results are mostly positive.

 

∙ While the fit isn’t quite right this component looks great from the top; unfortunately, the bottom shows that Solus is struggling to avoid surface flaws on that side.

 

 

*Grabby Hands*

[Bryan Blaire]

I am totally blown away by those Kastelan additions - they look so smooth and like they were the original design! Looking forward to what you do with the ammo feeds and being able to get my hands on some of these!

[Brother Casman]

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do next, SD! And when the Loyalist Mk2 Rhino armour hits the store, I'm picking up a set. :D

[Aarik]

Those Kastellan additions look so good! I never thought I would like that kit, but with your pieces it looks great!

 

Do you have any idea when you would be selling these pieces?

[Subtle Discord]

Thanks all for the likes and feedback. Slowly and steadily the momentum is building but I'm still new to this so it's hard to say what the timeline is going to look like. All I know is I'm in this for the long haul and I'm serious about giving it a good go.

 

So there are a couple of things I can think of for the ammo feed issue, and not having sculpted or designed for model production, I really don't know how feasible they'd be:

1) Design the model with the most extreme extension of the ammo feed you can, and then make it a time and a half longer and cast it in a flexible resin?

2) This one might be even less feasible and will definitely be more fiddle - model the ammo feed in individual segments, with a slot and tab design that would allow users to build a realistic ammo feed from the ammo hopper to the weapon mount - hopefully that explanation makes sense, because I don't have a digital way to draw it. Depending on the size of the segments, you'd probably have to make about 150-ish segments for the model between both arms?

On the combi-weapons, while you may want a second magnet hole, what about adding an alignment pin and hole for the components?

Really do love the stuff you've come up with!

You could pose the arm in a couple of popular poses (maybe between 5 and 10 poses) and cast ammofeeds for those options. It's a lot better than the monopose bits GW offers. A creative hobbyist should manage to cut them up without too much hassle and get even more poses out of them if the options aren't to their liking.

Thanks for the input and ideas. Like I've said more than once, even ideas that I can't entertain for any number of reason can get me thinking in a different direction that can still help me solve a problem or issue. From what I can tell the only reason why I couldn't get the ammo feeds to heat-bend into the right shape was because I was trying to do it with the 3D prints and they were a bit too long; the 3D printing resin is simply brittle and even though I got the parts really close they finally snapped. I really think normal polyurethane resin will head-bend much more readily, since I know that once it's cured properly good quality ploy resin is anything but brittle.

 

Individual links for something this small be tricky to provide enough room to make some kind of key or pin to lock them together (but I do like the idea for the Combi-weapons) and I can say for sure that they would be a pain to produce and even worse to assemble. At a larger scale, sure, but it's just too small and would be a nightmare to assemble cleanly with CA glue. I've considered sections but I suspect at worst I'll just need to do 2-3 different lengths and provide them all in the kit so the builder can choose. If I can't make the 1-size-fits-all part work it won't be hard to do and it only adds 2-4 simple parts to the kit; simple that is, as long as I keep them flat for the casting process. The only reason I haven't done them yet to see if it'll work as-is is because I've been procrastinating on making moulds and working on other things. That will change very soon. Stay tuned.

 

Those Kastellan additions look so good! I never thought I would like that kit, but with your pieces it looks great!

 

Do you have any idea when you would be selling these pieces?

Thanks! While I can take lots of the credit I have to give equal billing to Servitor Solus. I might have the ideas but Solus makes them real.

 

As for the Kastelan specifically, it's the damn head, it's just so derpy and uninspired; the weapons suck too but the head is the real failing in my opinion. The lines/silhouette for the Kastelan are quite unique compared to the rest of the AdMech line with a softer rounder feel and at first they don't really seem to fit in. And to me, that's kinda' the point; the AdMech range is supposed to include an eclectic and eccentric mix of arms and armour, some of which seem out-of-place. So I don't mind the Kastelan model from that perspective, but I can only give it so much ground before I draw a line at the head and weapons, which needed to be upgraded in my opinion.

The Mechanicus bits are in limbo a little bit and I'm still not sure how long it's going to be before I put them in the shop, but they will arrive, and it will be soon rather than later. I've been doing most of the Mechanics bits as a blend of personal projects and small projects that I can use to test the limitations of Servitor Solus plus to practice the best ways setup objects to get good prints.

 

There is significant demand for the Rhino, Predator, and Land Raider trim and armour kits that are currently getting put into production and/or getting designed for the next round of kits. Once those are well on their way I think I'll be releasing all of the AdMech designs as a larger single release. All of the Rhino/Predator kits have been printed and are being moulded, and next up is the Land Raider so I think they'll show up around the same time as the 'Raider designs that will start showing up soon. I hope that helps and isn't too vague. Until I expand timelines are always going to be very... squishy.

[Eldrick Shadowblade]

Amazing work as usual!

[Subtle Discord]

 

 

 

 

 

∙ I took the opportunity to do my first test prints of the new Combi-weapons I’m working on and the results are mostly positive.

 

∙ While the fit isn’t quite right this component looks great from the top; unfortunately, the bottom shows that Solus is struggling to avoid surface flaws on that side.

 

 

*Grabby Hands*

 

*Slaps Platuan4th's fingers, as if protecting a freshly baked pie*

 

Soon! Despite the successes and their appearance they're not quite ready yet. Soon.

[BadgersinHills]

I WANTS.

 

Really looking good, excited to get my hands on them. 

[Eldrick Shadowblade]

ETL PREP with some DARK WORKS kits... can't wait to paint these up!

 

[Subtle Discord]

Thank you for your patronage. Seeing some of my kits on a hobby bench in some far flung corner of the world always gives me a boost. It's both gratifying and humbling at the same time.

[Eldrick Shadowblade]

Thank you for your patronage. Seeing some of my kits on a hobby bench in some far flung corner of the world always gives me a boost. It's both gratifying and humbling at the same time.

I've always been a big fan of your work. I wish I had more hobby time to put these beautiful kits to use! With the release of the new chaos models, I thought it be time to unpack them and get cooking!

[Subtle Discord]

∙ I’m sorry that I keep posting similar images of the Kastelan ‘bots, but the new 3D printing resin combined with this design really have me smitten over the last few days.
 
I took a bit of the time to make a ball-joint for the shoulder mounted Phosphor Blaster. The clunky rectangular one was a strange aspect of the kit that seemed really lazy and it was really easy to replace. After a bit more testing and the feedback I’ve also modeled three lengths/radius ammo feeds for the arm Blasters to help facilitate the fit. I tried once again to heat-bend one of the 3D prints and it simply won’t have anything to do with it, bending at first, but inevitably snapping. Once I’ve got the moulds made I’m sure it’ll get sorted out with polyurethane casts. This kit was more involved but I’m so pleased with the results and the further proof-of-concept for a few things I was testing here (like the ammo feeds) that I’m glad I took the time to work the kinks out and take the design all the way to replacing the whole arm.
 
Ok, bed ways is right ways. Stay tuned for further updates in the somewhat near future.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

The slow march of progress. Love it.

[~Drakzilla~]

The Kastelan prints are looking fantastic. And the design really feels like it could've been part of the original kit, the way you've echoed elements of the armor.

 

Just a note on the combi-weapons, the hands in particular. The fingers seem to be a bit too long and uniform in appearance. If you look at a recent example of a GW space marine hand:

 

 

 

A couple of observations here in comparison to your design - Firstly, the fingers don't go all the way around the pistol grip, leaving a bit of it showing, along with the fiber bundle soft armor of the palm. The other thing is that the hand is on more of an angle, and the fingers differ in size slightly. This lends the lower three fingers a sort of "stair-step" appearance that helps define their forms better.

 

Using GW bits as a guide might help make the hands you're working on look a bit more natural and more defined, as well as closer to the stock parts. I know hands are really tough to recreate in general, both in 2D art and 3D, so any bit of reference helps. Hopefully this didn't come off as nitpicky, just offering some suggestions!