build: car wars: and so it begins...

Between Mad Max: Fury Road’s release and the ridiculously cool conversions of Dave Taylor, I was pretty much destined to start a game of vehicular mayhem. After some research into various rule systems and feeling the way the wind was shifting, I settled on Car Wars’ 5th Edition. It’s popular, it’s scaled correctly, and after a second look at the rules, it sounds easier than first suspected.

Of course, like the kit basher/modeller I am, I started working on cars well before I’d read the rules. After trips to Target and Toys’R’Us, I had a handful (or three) of die-cast cars ready to be transformed!

These cars (along with more-than-I-care-to-admit subsequent purchases) were divided into “tribes” based on theme/vehicle type. Some examples of which are below.

(clockwise from top-left) “The Cabbies”, “Retro-future”, “Rat-Rods”, “Serial Boxes”

Not quite ready to start with a wasteland tribe, I decided to work on the cars I felt might still be, at least tangentially, part of civilization. The kind of car driven by Max Rockatansky or one of the other MFP “officers” once civilization falls completely to shit.

’68 Mercury Cougar

A simple car for a man with simple tastes. The flame-thrower came first, but felt lackluster as sole armament. It may be off-scale, but I feel the high-caliber chain-gun rounds out the armament and car’s balance nicely.

’67 Chevelle SS

This one took some time. Inspired by the ridiculously awesome tank-turret flat-bed in Death Race: Inferno, I knew I wanted a cannon passing through the cab. After much consideration, I went full-blown crazy with it, deciding a laser-destroyer needed a chain of batteries and a (scoop-cooled?) computer to run the thing.

’69 Ford Torino Talledega

I’ll be honest, the seat (plucked from the Chevelle above) with the guns came first. The original plan called for it to be a magnetized “turret” sticking up out of the car’s back window. That… didn’t look nearly as cool as it sounded, so the concept shifted to a car designed to get in front of everyone and stay there. Thus the giant armor plate bracketed to the back with relatively little everywhere else.

Mustang Mach 1

I knew early on I wanted to do a car with rockets, and when I saw the spoiler on this thing, it seemed ripe for laying a Katyusha-inspired rocket rack. Add a backup weapon and a police-style ram in the front, and she looks ready to take on some bad guys!

I’ve got a couple more cars destined for this grouping, but have been temporarily distracted by piecing together “Amateur Night” or “Mirror Match” cars - four identical cars meant to even the playing field and be used for demos. I hope to have pics of those soon…

build: work-in-progress: imperial city, part 3

Been a bit since I updated, but not for lack of effort. The landing pad has some design issues that need to be ironed out, so I started blending a Shrine of the Aquila with some Basilica Administratum bits. Been at it for a couple weeks and I think it's getting there...

Front of the Front

Back of the Front

Back Corner 1

Back Corner 2

Like the Sanctum Imperialis bits before, these segments are designed to work in GW's "Ruined Corners" mode, or be placed together as a cohesive whole.

Full Overhead View

Still have a bit of detailing to do. I plan to add buttresses from the Basilica set, and rubble all around. In the last pic, you can see the ruined tile floor I'll be adding as well. Not sure if that's something I'll retroactively add to the other buildings yet, but it's pretty likely. Oh, and I need to source some extra floor tiles from the Shrine set to add some "roof" to Back Corner 1.

Hope to have the interior detailing done before the end of next week, but it'll have to get done on school days as I'm busy with Tough Mudder the majority of the weekend. I look forward to showing you what else I've got planned for these kits!

build: work-in-progress: imperial city, part 2

The aesthetic I used when assembling my Manufactorum sprues is cribbed entirely from the "Tetanus IV" terrain ManOwarrioR brought to U.S. BootaCon.

"Tetanus IV" by ManOwarrioR

The towers and walkways here are awesome! The walkways and platforms popping off each tower allowed them to be reconfigured in all kinds of new and interesting patterns. Unfortunately, I don't have access to anywhere near the same quantity of sprue, so I'm having to be a bit cautious with their layout and design.

For example, this "big tower" has a default configuration whose damage scales appropriately between the levels. However, it is not glued and, once magnetized, will be interchangeable with all the other Manufactorum pieces in the set. If I do it right, this should allow for a wealth of layout opportunities both horizontally and verticality.

Front and Back

Deconstructed!

And reconstructed as an... Outpost? Courtyard?

Refinery? Way station?

I think it's going to work out quite well. If I can manage to get my hands on another Imperial City, I plan to add some "walkway" towers like the ones that inspired me. Might even do some kit-bashing with leftover Imex refinery pieces I've got hanging 'round here somewhere...

build: work-in-progress: imperial city, part 1

Spurred by some glorious terrain at the 1st Annual U.S. BootaCon - a nerd-tastic end-of-Summer vacation where a dozen Freebootaz rented a house near Memphis and gamed, laughed, ate and drank for three straight days - I pulled out my dusty "Imperial City" box and started playing with the pieces.

Many years ago, when I received the box for Christmas, I had put together a handful of panels, but never crafted anything resembling a building. The first step was to take these panels and finish them out into a few pieces.

I get that the Games Workshop kit is designed to make ruins, and all of my building will be damaged to some degree, but it drives me nuts how all of their examples are "ruined corners." So, starting with these guys, I plan for all facades to have corresponding pieces that make "matching sets" to resemble complete buildings.

Sanctum: Front

Sanctum: Back

Sanctum: Side

I'll base them on 1/8" MDF board cut with just enough edge to add some rubble and/or sand. If I do it right, I think it'll make a pretty compelling set of terrain.

While trying to figure out what to do with the remaining Sanctum Imperialis pieces, I together a few bits to make blasted sewer or bunker entrances. They'll initially make some nice scatter terrain, but I eventually hope to use them in conjunction with a future "Zone Mortalis" style terrain project.

Next up, the Manufactorum!

build: iron warriors: sturm & drang

A couple days off in a row combined with a forgiving wife allowed me to finish assembling both "Helbrutes" last night. They're currently soaking in soapy water now with an eye towards getting their first layers of rust tomorrow.

Sturm: CCW, heavy flamer, power scourge

Sturm: plasma cannon, missile launcher

Sturm: multi-angle view

Sturm's thigh conversion ended up a fraction too long, but it's only grossly noticeable from certain angles. I'm pretty happy with how the foot turned out and how well the whole pose works with the close combat arms.

Drang's conversion work isn't nearly as dramatic, just some cosmetic changes and some toe repositioning to get him to fit on the base. I still like to think I gave him more life in his positioning than you typically see with Dreadnaught chassis.

Drang: CCW, heavy flamer, power scourge

Drang: multi-melta, missile launcher | lascannon, missile launcher

The plan is to use these guys as a test-bed for airbrush and salt-masking work before I get into the vehicle-heavy second half of the Hobby Progress Challenge. Still need to get a couple things from the store before I can tackle it in earnest, but I'm excited to give 'em both a go.

Also, thanks to the advice in this thread, I've started Angel Exterminatus in the hopes of finding inspiration for the 600 points I'm currently missing for the second half of the HPC. I've got my fingers crossed for some Legion allies I can proxy in through the CSM codex.

flashback friday: supashokka dakkawagon

A few weeks back, I was rummaging through several old and/or incomplete projects and thought it might be nice to try and record them all in one place. Once a week, I'll try to dredge up an old project to share on here and reminisce. Next up, the Supashokka Dakkawagon!

WHAT WAS IT THEN?
I created this beast back in 2009 for a Battlewagon Konversion Kontest on Da WAAAGH Forums. It was originally envisioned as a giant, multi-tiered, single-chassis flatbed vehicle in service to a massive cannon - a wheeled, Orky version of a German railway gun. Thankfully I never quite got the chassis to match the vision in my head, because what I ended with was a mobile fire base on steroids pulling an Apocalypse-sized Shokk Attack Gun on a ridiculously tiny gun carriage. It's one of the most succinctly Orky creations I've ever made.

The Supashokka is made from a plumbing fitting found at the local hardware store. I took it apart, reversed the tube, and slapped half an M&M container on the end of it. I then added various bits, plasticard and wires 'till it looked suitably crazy. The carriage is entirely scratch-built above the treads, has a magnetic "trailer-hitch" for attaching to the Dakkawagon, and allows the Supashokka to rotate horizontally and change elevation.

The Dakkawagon is actually my favorite part of the piece. It's just so beefy and dakka-laden that I can't help but fall back in love with it whenever I pull it off the shelf. It's armed with four Big Shootas, two Rokkit Launchas and three Zzap Guns. It's like a mini battleship. In fact, I've never called the front ram section anything besides a prow, and it's magnetized to be removable for transport/storage.

In the four years since I built the thing, I've lost track of all the little easter eggs and references I put into the Supashokka Dakkawagon. It's juvenile, but the one that stays with me is the hand-glyph behind the gunner and the license plates that read, "Two in the Waaagh, One in the Warp"

The Supashokka Dakkawagon actually hit the tabletop once in an Apocalypse game using a data sheet of my own devising. I honestly don't recall how well it performed, but I remember having fun with it.

WHAT DID I LEARN?
I learned the importance, particularly with Orks, of letting a build flow organically. I can honestly say that, aside from the big gears holding up that piece of plumbing as a cannon, the final result looks nothing like what I originally envisioned. The gun carriage, the prow, the placement and configuration of the weapons all just happened as I tried to balance things to my aesthetic.

Coming in 2nd in the competition, I also learned a little humility. There were some fantastic builds I was up against and there are several builders on Da Waaagh that should be designing kits for a living.

WHERE IS IT NOW?
Sitting, primed black, on the highest shelf above my desk. Digging it up in pictures made me realize what a great test bed it could be for several air brushing and/or weathering techniques. When I get serious about learning how to use weathering powders, I know the first model I'm looking to.

flashback friday: armored krumpany: krumpin' wagons

I recently found myself rummaging through pictures of several old and/or incomplete projects and thought it might be nice to try and put them all in one place. To this end, I'll try to dredge up an old project once a week to share with the world and reminisce. First up, the Krumpin' Wagons of "Codex: Armored Krumpany!"

WHAT WAS IT THEN?
Somewhere in the middle of 2007, when I was just dipping my toes into 40K, I got the idea to satisfy my inner Big Mek by looting the Imperial Guard's Armored Company and making a mini-Codex of my own. From the inside cover...

In the grim, dark future, a Mekboy slaved away building trukks, buggies, and koptas for a nigh-unstoppable embodiment of Gork - his Warboss. With a load of strength and a smidge of cunning, the Boss had ransacked the planet, destroying or mobbing up all the planet’s clans into a single green tide. His green tide. The day an entire battalion of mechanized ‘umie made planetfall, the Boss was ready. With a cry of “Waaagh!” so tremendous it shook the earth, the clan rushed forth ready for another great krumpin’. As battle raged around him, the lowly Mekboy could not contain his excitement when a well-placed stikkbomb crippled the treads of a Leman Russ. He rushed to the tank and climbed inside, his wrench absently dispatching the crew as his mind boggled at the new technology. His world shrank as he focused on the shiny, new worky bitz, trying to fathom the orderly tangle of ‘umie engineering. He did not notice the dissipating thunder of his clan outside. Climbing out of the Russ a day later, his pack full of gubbinz and good ideas, the Mekboy could just make out the silhouettes of ‘umie tanks and transports disappearing over the horizon. At his feet laid a sea of dead orks. Putting two and two together and somehow getting four, he decided that if the brute power of tanks could destroy the most powerful thing he’d ever known, then by Gork, he would have some of his own...

Unfortunately, I couldn't afford all the Leman Russ kits I would need for the project, so I went about figuring out how to make my own. Armed with a compound saw, basswood strips and some plasticard I was able to start churning out chassis.

Suitable turrets eluded me until I chanced upon electric plugs at the local hardware store. With a little work, I started churning those out, too.

Exterminator Turret | Eradicator Turret | Plain Turret

Slap on some bits and bobs for detail, nick and scrape it all up with a good hobby knife, and add lots and lots and lots of rivets, and you've got a "Krumpin' Wagon!"

Ultimately, I ended up with 9 Krumpin' Wagons, 3 of each turret type, before I moved on to other projects.

WHAT DID I LEARN?
Despite their simplistic nature, the wooden framework and hard plastic shell of the electric plug makes for a sturdy, resilient model. This project is also where I started working in earnest with plasticard. I figured out that the thick sheets are best cut by using a sharp knife, metal ruler, and multiple light scoring marks before they'll just snap apart. I developed a few different ways to weather the edges of plasticard plates. Scraping a sharp hobby knife along an edge, pulling the blade along the edge while constantly changing the angle of the blade, and multiple quick, sharp angled attacks each create a very different look that look great alone or when used on top of each other. This project is also where I started slicing off bits of plastic hex rod to make Orky rivets, a method that would be de facto standard until I started using Grandt Line rivets a few years later.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
One of each tank type was painted and donated to 40K Radio's annual Toys for Tots auction back in... 2009 I believe. Three more were given away as a Christmas gift the year after that. The other three I still have, unprimed, a few shelves above the one in the picture.

build: diorama: barsoom / banth ambush

A few years ago my wife's side of the family decided that instead of getting a gift for everyone in the family - which often resulted in gift cards or grabbing a cheap gift off an Amazon wish list - we'd draw names in order to concentrate our time, energy and funds on gifting something special. My wife's uncle is a voracious reader and while he reads all kinds of things, he's got a particular love of classic sci-fi and fantasy with a book library that would make any geek weak in the knees. A couple years ago I came across some Barsoom inspired figures from Tin Man Miniatures and I knew I'd have to turn them into something if I was ever fortunate enough to draw him in the Christmas lottery. Well, 2013 was my lucky year!

I went straight into research mode. I'd seen Disney's John Carter and the Tin Man minis, but that was all I knew of Burrough's Mars. Naturally, I first hit up Wikipedia and a few dedicated fan sites, ultimately deciding to go straight to the source. I downloaded and read A Princess of Mars and a good chunk of Gods of Mars. Aside from some dated story-telling, I found myself enjoying them. A week or so later - armed with a highlighted copy of the books, a decent working knowledge of Barsoom-ian miniature ranges, and some targeted image-searched reference material - the seed of a diorama began to form in my head. In my mind's eye, I saw John Carter, Dejah Thoris and Tars Tarkas fighting back-to-back against the deadly creatures of Mars!

The miniatures I chose to use came from the aforementioned Tin Man Miniatures as well as Bronze Age Miniatures.

I'm happy to report that both companies were easy to deal with and shipped promptly. The quality of sculpts and casts were both good, though I went in knowing there were aesthetic choices I'd have to alter on certain minis. Not pictured is one of the White Apes from Bronze Age. He looks the part, but I ultimately couldn't fit him in once I abandoned the back-to-back fighting idea due to overall size concerns.

The first thing I had to change were the Banths. While they're suitably alien, I feel the mane looks stringy and matted. More beard-like than mane. The face is also a bit too reptilian for the lion-esque description given in the novel and used so commonly in artistic renderings. After a couple hours of hacking, scraping and sawing at the pair, I was both reminded why I hate metal miniatures and ready to start re-building the shape/musculature of the underlying mini.

In between failed attempts at doing a spiny mane like the one in the Banth concept on this page, I scoured pet stores for aquarium decorations that might make a good alien landscape for the diorama. I considered and rejected many options in the fish area until I finally fell in love with something called Mopari wood in the reptile section. I wasn't smart enough to bring the minis with me for test fitting, so I ended up buying a couple pieces from different stores that I "thought" would work. I eventually wised up and brought the minis with me and found "the one."

Next on the modification list was Dejah. I'm a sucker for pin-up art, and I realize that Dejah is supposed the most beautiful woman anyone's ever seen, but I feel the breasts on the stock mini look like oversized torpedoes that defy gravity. Armed with my sprue cutters, I gave mini-Dejah a double mastectomy. Yes, it felt awkward. The reconstruction and clothing thereof, on the other hand, felt okay.

Most of her clothing is from-scratch, but the loin-cloth in the back started life as a Space Marine purity seal!

I eventually gave up on the spiny Banth idea when I broke the third drill bit small enough to fit the wire trying to get a guide-hole in the creature's metal back. The only sane option was to go with a more traditional, lion-esque mane. Now that I've built one from scratch, I see why the original was flat. It's not easy building volume! That being said, I think I did a decent job at increasing the volume and majesty of the beast, while adding prominent fangs and a re-nose-job help shift the original sculpt from reptile to feline.

John got a re-pose of arms and legs with muscle re-scultps to look more natural and to repair damage done while twisting metal. Tars got new, more prominent movie-esque tusks, stolen from the helm of a barbarian model.

While all this modification was going on, I was also tweaking the overall composition of the diorama with invaluable input from my friends Damon and Celso. They helped me gel the movement and action of the figures as well as the sight lines and eye flow through the piece.

With the composition set, I broke large cork bits simulate rock and elevation for the "rear" Banth. I then flowed bits of them forward and right through the piece, thinking of them coming from a land-slide. Finer cork was broken into smaller rubble and placed in the deeper recesses of the wood to add texture and even out the ground. All this was done while trying to keep plenty of the natural grooves and striations that got me so jazzed about Mopari wood in the first place.

With all that done, there was nothing left but to prime the pieces and bring the diorama to life!