Showing posts with label Thermal Cannon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thermal Cannon. Show all posts

Monday 18 May 2015

Showcase; Imperial Knight Errant Freeblade

Hi All

Here are some pictures of my completed (almost) Imperial Knight Errant Freeblade. I say almost because I've still got some weathering to do yet. He'll have a mix of snow, ice and icicles eventually. I'm waiting on delivery of some bits and bobs I've ordered to do that. Once they arrive and I get it done I'll post finished pictures.
Meanwhile here's pics of the finished paintjob....











As you can see I've added Thunderbolts iconography and colour to the right shoulder guard to signify the knights current allegiance, I'll maintain this across all my future knights, all of which will be freeblades. All my knights will represent freeblades who have been attracted to the forge world protected by my space marine chapter, The Thunderbolts, an Iron Hands successor chapter. You can find a great many posts about my Thunderbolts Chapter of Space Marines in this bogs' archives.
I'm well pleased, this was a major project for me; not the biggest model I've done, that would be my scratch built Big Mek Stompa, but by far the most detailed and complex on such a large scale. In comparison the Stompa has a much more basic finish with significantly less detail.
With regard to the new techniques I've tried, I'm pleased; the OSL behind the visor hasn't quite worked but it hasn't been the disaster it could have been, more practice needed on that. The base has worked really well and I'm now completely sold on the idea of putting as much effort into the base as the figure. My work on the Eldar Corsairs has reinforced that for me, see them here.
The freehand vines and thorns I like and am really pleased with; I'll be going back to my Hornet to do some freehand work on that as soon as I've decided on the iconography for the band.
I hope you like this, please feel free to give C and C as usual.

Bluddtoof

Sunday 22 June 2014

Imperial Knight Showcase

Evening All,

Doc here with the promised showcase of my Imperial Knight Freeblade.  I don't have WIP shots for this model as it was completed in secret so I could surprise Red Mist in a recent battle.  So many of my recent posts have talked about sponge weathering and this model gave me the chance to really put that to good use.

I have painted him in the Gerantius 'The Forgotten Knight' colour scheme.  Two reasons for this firstly I only intend to use 1 and second I really liked the look of the sea green.  Its a colour I haven't painted much before.  This model also allowed me to get over I hate transfers thing....  Well sort of still hate transfers!

Anyway on to the picture dump....


Tuesday 10 June 2014

Imperial Knight Freeblade W.I.P. The Build

Hi All

So now that our day of Deadzone is done, (and a great day it was, a cracking game which is ideal for a group day letting, everyone play several games), it's time for my next project; my Imperial Knight!
Firstly it's a really nice kit, easy to build and goes together nicely, I'd originally intended to magnetise many of the parts so as to give me the flexibility of main weapon options and also to have a model which was easy to transport but was held solidly together on the table, alas it has not come to pass because none of the joints between arms/body or body/legs lend themselves to the placement of magnets, I've not tried magnets before and I want my first attempt to be on a model that does lend itself easily. As for the possibility of using magnets to allow swapping out of the main weapon, that also proved impractical for two reasons; the two variants both have different power feeds that connect to a common point but the Thermal cannon feed originates from a piece which is hidden inside the main body of the gun and so cannot be removed, also the battle cannon ammo pack is hollow and so would need extensive remodelling to provide an anchor point for the magnet. In short I decided it was too much work for a first attempt and I've settled on the Thermal Cannon and I will fix the torso to the legs but leave the arms separate as they have a nice twist and lock connection to the torso.With this set up the model will fit snugly in a figure case.

So on to the model itself, I've built all the sub-assemblies and the next step will be to undercoat them.
The model will be fielded almost exclusively alongside my Space Marines, the Thunderbolts who feature a rock and snow theme on the basing. The Knight is a big imposing model anyway but I wanted it to be more so, originally I'd had the idea that I would model it stepping up onto a snow covered rocky outcrop, however the legs are moulded as a rigid piece for their entire length so no convenient knee joint, I looked at the knee with a view to cutting and reposing but the mould has no material to play with and so I would have needed to sculpt the whole knee section which is beyond my sculpting talents, the last thing I wanted was to give my beautiful model a gimpy leg!! I settled on mounting the model on a large rock outcrop, thus raising it even higher over it's foul enemies! The rock is modelled from thin sheets of balsa glued together and held with elastic bands overnight, once dry I cut away at it to create the broken and eroded shape, the layers give the appearance of a slate outcrop. Then an all over coat of thinned PVA to seal the balsa. Once dry I glued the legs sub-assembly in place and then I applied the rocks, gravel and then sand in stages letting each stage fully dry before the next. One benefit of using balsa instead of sculpting from a modelling clay is the base is very light so I didn't need to be too concerned over the bond between the models feet and the rocks.
Here's pics of the base prior to undercoating...




You'll notice I haven't attached the shin guards or the crotch banner as these will be painted separately and attached at the end.

In total I'll be painting the model in 12 pieces, firstly to break up the monotony of painting very large areas at a time and secondly to minimise the amount of areas which are hard to reach.



Painting pieces like the banner and the shoulder guards will also be easier as I'll be attempting some freehand work on the Knights heraldry, he's going to be a freeblade, I'm still working on the design for his heraldry.
The other technique I'll be trying for the first time is OSL, which I'll be using on the eye lenses and the face mask.

That's it for now, more to come over the next few weeks....

Bluddtoof