Warhammer 40k Forum and Wargaming Forums banner

Blackadder Attempts to build an Imperial Warmonger Titan

74K views 530 replies 18 participants last post by  Blackadder 
#1 ·
Lucius Patten Imperator Titan 'Invictus'

So with the blurb ten months ago about my proposal to begin an Imperator Titan I kinda fell flat on my face.

First, finishing up the Thunderhawk monopolized a good deal of my time and learning how to best incorporate lighting in said Thunderhawk and my Warlord engaged yet more time. Then the Presidential election captured my attention almost to the exclusion of all things else. Finally I have returned to normalcy with what I consider a fabulous idea to make a hip and lower torso mount commensurate with an automaton of this magnitude.

So we shall begin with the 'pelvis' which I found ready made on my local Lowes Building center where I purchased about six bucks worth of PVC pipe fittings A compression fitting Tee, a threaded coupling for the connection to the upper torso and two more for the hips connections.

http://i.imgur.com/u2Jmn7x.jpg


Naturally all this is quite utilitarian and looks exactly what it is, some pipe fittings and there are many titans that follow this procedure and leave the fittings as is. I intend to flesh out the assembly in styrene so as to hide all the piping that will only serve as an armature or skeleton for the model.

In the image below you will get an idea of how much more robust this construct will be compared to the pelvis and hips of my Warlord.

http://i.imgur.com/ZnV8V8v.jpg


Where as Luteus Vexant has hips trunnions about an inch in diameter 'Invictus' shall have 1.5 inch axles.

The beauty of this ready made construction technique is I shall be able pivot the waist and separate the model easily and hopefully allow the legs to be posed in a walking position as well as the spraddle-legged pose.

http://i.imgur.com/4KsMObK.jpg
 
See less See more
3
#2 ·
I applaude you your ambition sir, to be honest I never liked the imperator class titan, I thought the gothic style was taken to a level of parody and the weapon arms too oversized for my suspension of disbelief, however the Lucius pattern I never saw before and it looks more "natural" as fighting machine. As always, I will watch your work with awe and envy!
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the support, why don't you build along?

Pelvis Engineering Compartment Floor:

This time I'm going to do it right.

Since I already have an idea of how large this titan will be and the fact that I do want a full interior I will be able to plan the layout as I build. None of the hit or miss second guessing I ran into on the Warlord titan

Below are the two pieces of the Engineering base and Pelvis 82 MM square with two center holes for the waist shaft 21 MM diameter. The pieces are 2 MM thick styrene, one of the few time I work with such thick styrene because of the difficulty forming it and the danger of a knife blade slipping and cutting your hand. Extreme care should be exercised when cutting 2,0 MM styrene

http://i.imgur.com/zDkryhO.jpg


The plates slip over the Tee shaft and have a clearance of 1MM on either side to install the 1 MM side walls.

http://i.imgur.com/N0buMb6.jpg


Eventually there will be nothing showing of the Tee but the compression fittings that will serve as the hip joint housing and also allow the legs to be removed to re-position for posing.

You might want to try building along with this thread because I intend to offer a step by step tutorial at least for the basic structure. How you detail the model is up to you but I'll show what I consider an Lucius Pattern Emperor titan should look like and you can build your walking turreted cathedral if you wish.
 
#4 ·
More than wanting the skill to build along with such a project, I'd love to have the time! I am a religious man, and the God of procrastination takes up a lot of my time! Though watching your work always does inspire me to get on with my own less grand projects
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the reply,

Basic Pelvis Block Complete:

With this post the basic pelvis is complete. All that is left is applying the detail. I may bevel the corners and edges to add more pizzazz as I did on the Thunderhawk but all that is cosmetic.

http://i.imgur.com/zJQSzyE.jpg


The Epic Imperator is very plain and you can let your imangination run wild with the amount of detail a 3 foot tall model requires. I have a good stock of City of Dead panels left over from my Warlord and I have a Fortress of Redemption to decorate the greaves if needs be.

http://i.imgur.com/2oMX14M.jpg


I used 0.040 thousandths styrene to sheath the pelvis and sanded the edges smooth; there's not really much to say about the step except to take great pains to make your angles square and true. Good enough is never "Good Enough"; that's my motto.

http://i.imgur.com/PUPtHYJ.jpg


A few extra pains taken now will save you a lot of grief later.

http://i.imgur.com/Jp3YsLu.jpg
 
#6 ·
Getting the right angle:

I've wracked my brains trying to come up with a way to manufacture legs that were angled slightly akimbo (about 10%) so my Warmonger can be posed in the classic manner. Most of the pipe fitting models I have seen have the legs parallel to each other and it looks boxy and strange to the artistic eye. Never mind that parallel legs or even legs canted in to a pigeon toed stance are more amenable to a proper walking gate. For a static stance nothing compares to the rock solid look of a spraddled posture.

This realized, getting the proper fittings is out. You have three choices; 90°, 45°, and 22.5° and that's it, so to get the requisite 10° I'll have to manufacture them.

Here's my solution:

I bought two caps and drilled and taped two 1/4 20 NC threads into the caps and short threaded coupling. I purposely made two different angles, one 10° and one about 12°, as once the legs are built I can chose which angle I like better or maybe keep both for a bit of variation. I screwed in two 6 inch threaded rods that will serve as the thigh shafts, thin and strong and able to support the ten pounds or more of the upper body when finished.

http://i.imgur.com/tPwX9xN.jpg


Next I slipped two styrene tubes over the threaded rods that will serve as the glue base for all the thigh shaft construction and ultimately the detail of the upper legs.

http://i.imgur.com/TUygS3w.jpg


Your pardon for the hiatus but I took a last minute vacation for the past few weeks to clear my head and tour Florida.
 
#7 · (Edited)
You never cease to amaze me, mate! Continuously more advanced and ambitious project ideas that are pushed through to completion. Amazing work! Can't wait to see this one finished :grin2:

And I have to say that your method of logging your progress by taking a LOT of pictures is great. Everyone gets to see from what relatively basic materials you start from, and how you make it look stunning in the end. I've often seen the method of "I started out with this and voilá, this is the end result", where the middle parts are left out. You, sir, give a lot of incentive to others by taking these WIP pictures that show how much of the end result is down to smaller details done in the assembly phase. A big thank you! :)
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the reply and the kind words. It is gratifying that you appreciate my intent for these, what I call 'tutorials' even though they do leave out many of the more tedious steps such as today's post where I spent the better part of an hour sanding off the flats and fitting and refitting the compression sleeves.

I am purposely making this model out of 'off the shelf' basic components so anyone so inclined can duplicate my work. Initially this was to be a static model but considering the wealth of fittings in Home Depot and Lowes I have decided to attempt articulated hip and knee joints. Now I just need to find an old lounge chair Heh,heh................


Two Steps Back:

Found these dynomite compression couplings that are just made for this construct so scrap the rods and the sleeve for the nonce and work on cropping the length of the assembly.

http://i.imgur.com/rDXJWCH.jpg


By cutting off the octagons I managed to crop the length by about 30 MM which makes the extreme width of the hips 12.5 inches (31.75 CM) compared to my Warlord's 10.5 inches (26.67 CM) which should be just right for a scale:180 to 200 ft (54 to 61 meter) tall Emperor Titan.

http://i.imgur.com/bLFeR7p.jpg
 
#9 ·
If you thought the Warlord was inspiration wait til you get a load of this.

Oh God I'm In Love:

Look what I just found! Before I started this I had so-so enthusiasm for this project thinking it's worth a shot making a easy to build Emperor Titan that my readers might attempt along with me but that stops now!

I am totally jazzed about this project since I found this head. Back when I began my Warlord finding Dave Smith's Epic rendering committed me to the project. That is what finding this image has done.

http://i.imgur.com/Y2qZ5Cv.png


Starting now I'm going to build this part full sized (as it prints out on Landscape 8.5 X 11 paper) and build the rest of the titan in proportion.

The overall size is just about an inch bigger than my Warlord's head overall so it is in keeping with my projected height for my Emperor.

This is going to be 'dynomite!' if I can accomplish it.
 
#10 ·
Simple As Falling Off A Log:

When I started this thread I said to myself, "I'm going to make this model as simply as I can just to see what can be done with off the shelf items readily available to the judicious builder.

I planned this so anyone can make one of these along with me.

http://i.imgur.com/57b5tEn.jpg


Here we have about $25 bucks worth of plastic pipe fittings, and model styrene. A $3.50 bottle of conditioner (We just need the bottle and a bit of imagination (Supplied by your's truly :D) and a fantastic head image to work off of, all you need is a cheap printer........

So with these parts gathered there should be no problem making the head and hip components.

http://i.imgur.com/UM5Uizc.jpg


The next part is a bit of a lark on my part; you're going to need an old beach chair. We've all seen them usually tossed in the rubbish with a broken hinge mechanism but usually two or three still functioning and all we need is two.

http://i.imgur.com/PiTcJro.jpg


These will form working knee joints, I hope, with a bit of ingenuity.

http://i.imgur.com/f5Z1vAb.jpg


Of course it's not necessary to have flexing knees but since I have the chair I might as well go for the gusto. ;-)
 
#11 ·
Neck:

The coupling being PVC is not compatible with styrene so I applied a veneer of 0.015 sheet styrene so parts and detail can be added.

http://i.imgur.com/ijcMkcJ.jpg


I then roughed in the cutout coordinates for the head to neck connection.

http://i.imgur.com/fI28OOL.jpg


The large round cylinder just below the helmet where the ears would be I am assuming is the neck/skull joint to allow the head to tilt down. Likewise the flexible conduits on either side of the chin.

Why not call these by their anatomical names. The so-called "Command Bridge is very skull-like.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Jaw Cut Out:

Using my vibrating saw it was a simple matter cutting out the jaw recess in the coupling.

http://i.imgur.com/V33rgGl.jpg


The neck is now ready for shaping and detailing.

http://i.imgur.com/KoJVjmG.jpg


Incidentally my Chicago Electric vibrating saw is a must have tool for hobbying;

Variable Speed Oscillating Multi-Tool

This cut would be really difficult with virtually any other device other than a hand tool and my $25 dollar saw was a tremendous time saver. It took about five minutes to make this cut including the blade swap.
 
#13 ·
I've been reading along with your projects but I haven't commented in a while.

Your work is stunning as usual. =)

Out of curiosity, how much time a week can you usually dedicate to your fabrication projects?
 
#14 ·
Maybe an hour or two a day depending on how much inspiration I can muster. Mainly I keep the projects in the back of my mind whilst juggling the forces of my current vocation. divorcing the creative processes from the workaday travails keeps me keen and is the perfect counterpoint to earning a living.
 
#15 ·
Snow Bound:

So to while away the weather front I did some work on the neck which I have to admit is coming out better than expected. I sheathed the coupling on 0.040 thousandths styrene to three layers and then proceeded to bevel the rear edges 45° as in the drawing.
http://i.imgur.com/Z9duybo.jpg


As you can see below there is quite a bit of cutting to get the 45° bevel in the front edge ............


http://i.imgur.com/gZQcNh6.jpg



but my 'Farmers file' was up to the task.

http://i.imgur.com/BTujlxG.jpg


The forward bevel needs to be refined but is okay for the moment while I make the inner neck mechanism so the head can be tilted down. My previous Warlord has this capability but the mechanism is very clunky and I am hoping to refine it on this model.

http://i.imgur.com/TbMVdfC.jpg


Finally I found this collar that will work very well in the scheme I have in mind for the side to side movement of the head and fits into the Emperor design quite well.

http://i.imgur.com/Ofba1Op.jpg


Can anyone guess the source of this wondeous bit of sculpting?
 
#16 ·
2D vs 3D

I'm getting way ahead of myself with this head assembly so I put the brakes on to pitch an update. After scraping my initial idea of how the head assembly can tip forward on the neck I came up with this solution which will give me a lot more cockpit room for the crew. There also is a poetic license taken by the artist who drew the front and side reliefs of the Command Bridge. The huge ear discs that contain the head tilting mechanism cannot function as drawn and are of different sizes in the drawing. Never mind though, I have a solution.

I'll start with cutting the forward neck ring to allow the discs to mount flat to the sides of the neck.

http://i.imgur.com/mvwGHMu.jpg


Carving out an outer race for the gimbal head mount pad and gluing on the gimbal bases is what is shown here. The two 0.040th inch discs are 71 MM apart and 56 MM in diameter.

http://i.imgur.com/gkvcxbH.jpg


The bridge truss maintains the distance and keeps the gimbals square to each other and stabilizes the bases

http://i.imgur.com/uFbVKve.jpg


Bottom view showing the forward ring carved out to accommodate the gimbal bases.

http://i.imgur.com/ZpFupBN.jpg


Next, the manufacture of the gimbals mounts. (The area left black in the 2D drawing.)
 
#17 ·
Gimbals:

Or Trunnions whatever, These truncated discs will support the head on the neck to allow it to look down in a purely theatrical way as a downward pointing camera would be just as effective but the menace of this skull staring down at it's victim is too good to pass up.

http://i.imgur.com/TxBpE0G.jpg


Above; the disc is a simple truncated construct featuring two circles 45,0 and 54,0 MM separated by 2,0 MM by 4,8 MM styrene spacers.

http://i.imgur.com/fIfj5Yf.jpg


Unfortunately I got the angle wrong so I have to re-sheath the bevel but that's not a big deal.

http://i.imgur.com/J7JtoOQ.jpg


Tomorrow I hope to be working on the cockpit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Old Man78
#19 ·
The Visor:

Allowing for the helmet I mounted the gimbals with extended visor mounts made of 0.015 thousandths sheet styrene. As I don't really have a plan for the cockpit, chin or gullet piece all this is subject to change but at least now I understand how the cheek pieces work with the gimbals.

http://i.imgur.com/dybKoJX.jpg


I suppose the best thing is to cut the helmet to see where it falls in relation to the ears (gimbals) and the amount of clearance required to allow the head to lower and raise.

http://i.imgur.com/LEecGev.jpg


Somehow I managed to guess right which moving part eclipses which and for that I am grateful.

http://i.imgur.com/a8ra21q.jpg


Later on this evening I'll cut the helmet but I need to relax a bit after this thoroughly draining exercise in design. Martini Time!!!!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Old Man78
#20 ·
Helmet:

My initial thought was to use a suitably shaped bottle to form the helmet but after experimentation I found that was unsatisfactory for my obsessive compulsive mindset. I opted instead for building up the helmet out of stratified layers of styrene and cutting the helmet out of the resulting block in much the same manner as I did for my Warlord Titan

http://i.imgur.com/gxEB51B.jpg


This also relieves me of the necessity of finding a suitable glue for mating the different sources of plastic......

http://i.imgur.com/uAIDHK3l.jpg


It's bad enough that I had already go through the identical thought processes in making my Warlord but to have not learned for my previous effort defies logic. :(
 
  • Like
Reactions: Old Man78
#21 ·
#22 ·
#23 ·
Rough Shaping:

Final rough shaping involves truing up the block to 90° then cutting a 45° bevel each side and finally two 22.5° bevels each side on top and sides.

http://i.imgur.com/9DUyTiT.jpg


Next (and this is the tricky part because it takes a bit of an eye for roundness) sanding off the excess in a controlled arc movement on the sanding belt.

http://i.imgur.com/bdNKxBZ.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/8vAqAXM.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/W0ZiUMI.jpg


so the helmet has a slightly flattened ovoid shape in cross section.
 
#24 ·
Basic Helmet and Head

Well it took far more time than I thought but I do finally have the basic helmet cut to size.


http://i.imgur.com/P1eCper.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/fNkomQv.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/J6b7rWg.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/5egDBeZ.jpg


The rear view shows how much I cut out of the interior so I can add the under helmet detail when the cockpit is complete. I may still remove a lot of the inside material but for now it's sufficient as the helmet is as fragile as an eggshell with out it's interior framing.


http://i.imgur.com/n4znz4T.png


BTW you may have noticed the background image. This is what I am hoping the finished Titan will look like but leaner and longer legs.
 
#25 ·
Ooh, amazing inspiration figure in that background pic! Slightly longer legs will work, I think, as the model in the picture seems a bit too top-heavy. The helmet size seems good, gives a nice idea of the size of the final model :grin2:

Keep at it! :)
 
#26 · (Edited)
Suffice it to say I am not happy how this helmet is turning out so I am revamping it. Update coming soon.

Meanwhile:

I naturally assumed my Warlord crew would fit into an Imperator head but never really checked so while I'm waiting to complete the face shield I just tried them for size.....

There's plenty of room; even for a Princep and a few attendees And a cadre of Tech Priests as well.

http://i.imgur.com/Hgx7B75.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/ApSGtc4.jpg
 
#27 ·
Now It Can Be Told:

Now that I have resolved the issue I can reveal why I had to revamp the helmet. It all boiled down to an assumption on my part that the artist drawing the two elevations of the head was a draughtsman. In a proper draught you project lines from one plane to another and ideally there should be a top elevation as well but I accepted the two elevations as sufficient for my 3D rendering. I built my model slightly oversized than the plan as I wanted the 'head' to be larger than my Warlord's head as the finished model will be 10 to 12 inches taller than my Warlord. I blissfully used the side elevation for all my calculations and after laminating all the layers proceeded to sand the contours of the helmet but after the rough sanding was completed I found the helmet dome was significantly flattened.

http://i.imgur.com/8vAqAXM.jpg


It did not have the look of the front elevation at all. Needless to say I was extremely disappointed as I had based my interior design and mechanism on the front projection......


http://i.imgur.com/56WnEFl.jpg


Rather than scrap the helmet and start afresh I opted to build on the original to increase the height of the dome which is seen in these to images. It was last night that I managed to glue in the compound curved pieces requisite to obtain a smooth contour; the final pieces to be installed later this morning.

http://i.imgur.com/2QebzHA.jpg


So with this setback resolved I can continue with the building of the head; my obsessive compulsive integrity intact.
 
Top