Blackadder's Attempt To Build a Lucius Patten Imperator

[Brother Lunkhead]

Brother Blackadder, awesome work thus far. You've got a good point about the stumpy appearance of the legs of the FW Warlord..... the legs and the stooped look of the upper body make it more fitting for the Collegia Home for Old Titans instead of the regal god machine it should be. You've addressed these problems admirably with your work. Thanks for keeping us posted with your most excellent and detailed log 

[Blackadder]

Sorry to have been so long in responding:

 

The tedium of making dozens of these structures; revising, chopping and rebuilding better representatives of them seemed like not the most interesting aspect of this build. 

 

https://i.imgur.com/OYc5SIe.jpg

 

I finally have enough, eighteen, for the first tier of the greaves and, with slight modifications, I have devised of a better way to produce the second tier, eight in all, that is less labor intensive.

 

Couple that with an abscessed tooth, a root canal, and a mild case of the flu made me less than amenable to communicating my meager progress with my peers. 

 

The castle portion of this construct will necessitate a lot of repetitive work and no I am not going to "cast" or 3D print any portion of the requisite components. In my warped OCD way I consider that cheating  

 

Of course I am hypocritically not above using bitz.  ;)    

[TURBULENCE]

Sorry to hear of your health troubles but I'm glad to see you updating again. Although minor, I love these little progress posts. Seeing your process and watching this thing come together has been such a wonderful experience

[Blackadder]

Blackadder is Back In the Groove

 

To be a bit self serving I'm feeling much better and the past few day have been most productive. The gabled naves in the first level greaves give the appearance of homogeneity even though they aren't exactly the same.

 

https://i.imgur.com/BYJ02mZ.jpg

 

The first attempt at a stain glass insert for the naves for lack of a better name.

 

https://i.imgur.com/8d8LHKb.jpg

 

A side by side comparison I stumbled across on my imgur preview index. Even though my Emperor will be taller the proportions are pretty close. Whew!

 

https://i.imgur.com/wdDpheK.jpg

 

Note to self, "I have to shorten the second and third tier. And hip region needs to be beefier."

[Warbringer]

Looking immense ba you're always a inspiration .

[Naryn]

While shortening the second and third tier might make this build more accurate to the 3d model, I rather like the proportions the extended legs give it. The 3d model looks incredibly squat with shorter legs, in my opinion. Of course, your build quality is so high that whatever you decide to do will look fantastic.

[Radiation]

While shortening the second and third tier might make this build more accurate to the 3d model, I rather like the proportions the extended legs give it. The 3d model looks incredibly squat with shorter legs, in my opinion. Of course, your build quality is so high that whatever you decide to do will look fantastic.

 

Agreed. 

[Blackadder]

While shortening the second and third tier might make this build more accurate to the 3d model, I rather like the proportions the extended legs give it. The 3d model looks incredibly squat with shorter legs, in my opinion. Of course, your build quality is so high that whatever you decide to do will look fantastic.

 

I would like to bring this model in at, the very most, a meter tall so as not to dwarf my Warlord

 

 

but I will not compromise the height to achieve this. If I deem it better to exceed the meter tall self-imposed restriction, so be it. I hated what FW did to their Warlord to (What; cut down on shipping weight???)(Save Resin?) The legs on their Warlord look dwarfish and if ever I can amass enough spare change to purchase one( A Chaos version  if ever available ) I'll sculpt upper and lower leg extensions to bring it to a proper height.

 

https://i.imgur.com/o3XkR4q.jpg

 

Thanks for the considered reply 

[Canadian_F_H]

Fabricator General Blackadder.

 

Your progress is considerably adequate.

 

May the God-Emperor continue to guide your dutiful hand. Praise the Omnisia!

 

 

I love how the shelving you store the major components on looks like a construction rack for the warlord. Maybe once the warlord is done you should conever it's storage shelf to look like it's maintenance bay? Full of little servitors and gubbins.

[Studio Silvernale]

I really want to build a titan now...

[Blackadder]

I love how the shelving you store the major components on looks like a construction rack for the warlord. Maybe once the warlord is done you should conever it's storage shelf to look like it's maintenance bay? Full of little servitors and gubbins.

 

Yeah, I've even bought GW's Construction crane and ground vehicles to flesh it out. I've just got to find the time to put the whole thing together.

 

https://www.games-workshop.com/resources/catalog/product/920x950/99120199054_GalvanicServohaulers01.jpg

[Khornestar]

Lengthened legs look orders of magnitude better. They do the same to their titans as they do to their marines.

[Blackadder]

Supporting Cast:

 

A flurry of activity this week finally putting the finishing basic touches on the spaced corner greave armour and casting the hip joints with aircraft grade industrial resin.

 

I'm particularly proud of these hips and knees as they are an inch wide and barely a quarter in thick but they will bear the weight of bowling ball mass of the torso and a lot more but still not give a clunky appearance. Once the Hips are mounted I can add decorative gewgaws and details and the huge hydraulic cylinders that will stiffen the structure so it can be posed........

 

https://i.imgur.com/CiJVhyI.jpg

 

Further detailing of the second and third tiers will commence tomorrow.

 

https://i.imgur.com/9ahxtKa.jpg

 

I've decided to make the troop egress through the rear of the greaves and under the foot pad area as opposed to the traditional staircase down the front toes although I shall be keeping the center doors on the three sides as well but the design of the Epic Emperor was poorly thought out and made no real allowance for the purported troop transport alluded to in the rules and text description

 

https://i.imgur.com/pHK0Zmf.jpg

 

Besides I don't like the staircase concept; Period!

[Brother Lunkhead]

Great progress brother. I like your idea troop egress through the rear. Exiting through the front always seemed like an invitation to mass slaughter to me.

[Blackadder]

Those Crazy Ideas:

 

Of the questions I get most often is; where do I get these crazy ideas and those that question my sanity, but is really it's just my questioning how would something like these Titans actually work. 

 

In the images below there are actuators that seem to serve no function and if they did they would be far too small to be effective.

 

 

 

 

 

Drawing on my aircraft experience I liken the actuators here to the landing gear on jumbo jets such as B747 and L1011 airliners. In particular the 747 has landing gear struts that are as thick as a man's torso. How much larger would the walking hip and knee actuators have to be on an Emperor Titan to be adequate to support the mass and function as a real mechanism would need to.

 

 

 

 

The biggest problem I have with most of the scratchbuilt Titans is the hydraulics when represented are totally too small in diameter to do the requisite job they are supposed to do.

 

So the next few posts will be dedicated to the walking actuators and hopefully I can make them sufficiently large enough to be believable.

[Blackadder]

Hair of the Dog:

 

I've raised quite a few hackles with my last post (At least on threads where I'm lucky enough to garner replies) I pointed out the inadequacies of some renderings of 40K machina. 

 

Part of the charm of many Forge World vehicles is the anachronistic technologies; battle tanks that look like they would be at home on a WWI battle field. Treaded tanks that compete with a-grav skimmers. hulking great bipedal automata that stretch the limit of credulity.

 

Apparently I have crossed the line by attempting to rationalize the designs to make them appear functional in the real world.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love the FW genre for the charm of the components but to my mind, things have to function realistically. I've already compromised myself on the lateral shifting component of walking dynamics.

 

Regarding the caveat of, "it's only a game," and, "Who needs realism?"

 

Need I remind you that the game can be played with coloured shoe boxes, blocks of wood and chess pieces if realism isn't necessary. No one needs to spend a couple of weeks salary on a highly stylized ten kilo chunk of resin to field a Titan.

 

That said I offer my version of the leg actuator system. 

 

As some have pointed out, the shock strut of the landing gear is a closed passive hydraulic system (Oleo Strut) relying on compressed air and hydraulic fluid to provide a metered cushion for landing.

 

I liken the force of impact with each step in the same category as an wide body commercial aircraft touch down albeit much more frequent. 

 

 Forge World provides no source of hydraulic pressure in any of their models and it is the cross section area of the cylinder that determines how adequately the mechanism protects the mechanical vitals of the machine. Land a 747 with a collapsed strut and you are likely to incur structural damage necessitating a very detailed inspection not to mention numerous lawsuits from irate passengers with suddenly occurring compressed vertebra.

 

https://i.imgur.com/lA1lGWu.jpg

 

My shock struts will provide indication that the situation exists and allowances have been made for the problem plus they will serve as a function by locking the knee in any configuration other than a straight legged stance. 

 

https://i.imgur.com/fOKNgVE.jpg

 

All without compromising, too much, the overall appearance of the model.

Edited May 3, 2018 by Blackadder

[Dantay VI]

A probable lack of responses beyond the usual, "wow thats amazing" is because you are the expert in these builds, as you are drawing from a wealth of technical knowledge when building your projects. So sometimes it is hard to offer a meaningful contribution and easier just to stand back and admire what you are building (my own personal point of view)

 

As for the actuator systems, ignore the doomsayers and build it with actuators and pistons which you think are believable for such a beast. In the end it is your project, your blood, sweat and gears, and you will be the one with it on display. So if you prefer a more realistic rendition, do it in that way :)

 

I personally agree with you and think the more realistic look will be better

[Pearson73]

I can only what Dantay has said, every time I visit this thread, I'm humbled by your work and the detailing and effort that goes into it. I think the additional hydraulics and gear will look great, as well as bringing a little more realism. It's all well and good playing in the sci-fi setting with juxtaposing technologies, however we need at least some reason to believe any of it can work.

[Khornestar]

Yeah, you seem to know what you’re doing. I hope my likes convey the, “duuuuh, he make good robot” sentiment I’d convey with words. :P

[TURBULENCE]

I appreciate the dedication to realism in your mechanical structures, it adds a lot to the Titan. Don't let those nay-sayers get you down. But my girlfriend has some aircraft background as well, and I often turn to her for design suggestions, so maybe I'm biased.

 

But regardless of that, no matter what people say, this is the best Titan scratch build I've ever seen. And your not even done yet, so that should say enough

[Mostwanted]

A probable lack of responses beyond the usual, "wow thats amazing" is because you are the expert in these builds, as you are drawing from a wealth of technical knowledge when building your projects. So sometimes it is hard to offer a meaningful contribution and easier just to stand back and admire what you are building (my own personal point of view)

 

I personally agree with you and think the more realistic look will be better

Exactly this. I view this blog on a regular basis and don't really comment as every comment from me would be the same 'this is amazing work, can't wait to see the next update'. I've really enjoyed all of your builds and love seeing them progress. Keep up the stunning work.

[abraxus]

Ditto the above.  I always look for there to be new posts on this thread.  It's fun having your jaw involuntarily drop.  the realism and functionality you pull into your projects is one of the big draws.  Keep up the amazing work on this.... I am jealous of your skills and focus (and technical knowledge).

[Sagentus]

I agree with everyone else. I always check this thread for updates. What you are doing is mind boggling and the sheer amount of detail and technical ability is astounding :-)

[Canadian_F_H]

Everything you are doing brings glory to the emperor. Your thoughts on the technical aspects of the God engine are guided by the Omnisia's divine hand. Clearly.

 

Jeep up the good work. I check this blog every time it is updated.

[Blackadder]

Here's Johnny: 

 

 

Now we'll real put your faith in my decisions to the test when I lay this down upon you all.

 

I've decided to cut the second and third tiers down about 2 inches (5 CM) Gasp!

 

The legs looked too long and gangly 

 

https://i.imgur.com/sGYBtVc.jpg

 

It took a lot of nerve and we'll see the wisdom or folly of this decision but right now it seems the right thing to do.

 

https://i.imgur.com/kbt3AiE.jpg

 

I went through these evolutions with my warlord until I got it right (To my eye anyway) lengthening and shortening the upper and lower legs about three times in total each.