ORK Battlewagon WIP

[Sukigod]

This will be a one project only type thread centering on my Battlewagon. It\'s one of those things that\'s been on my back burner for a couple of years now. My tournament army is completely painted and I have the time to leisurely work on this, and it will take some time. I\'m used to kit-bashing but constructing things out of thin air out of plastruc and tubing is something new for me.

I\'m starting with a Chaos Landraider I got off ebay for a good price ($25, I think). It was slapped together, spray painted black with a TON of spikey bits all over it. You should receive a free pair of shark gloves when you buy any chaos vehicle kit! It took about an hour to deconstruct it into it\'s basic parts as seen in the first image.

My first task is to address the engine compartment. The exhaust stacks are just too weedy for a propa ork vehicle to I\'m gonna mak\'em larger and noisier (you\'ll just have to trust me on the noisier part). I\'ve shaved off the pipes from the original and cut out new top plates for the new exhaust to sit on. Of course, the new pipes just can\'t come out of the engine straight up, they have to stick out at funky angles.

I\'ve cut tubing to the lengths/angles I want them. The smaller rings are mainly spacers that will snuggle between the actual exhaust pipe and the heat shroud that covers the exhaust tube. You won\'t see these when it\'s completed. The next step will be drilling the vent holes in the shrouds.

I\'ve also removed the interior engine detail that normally faces forward into the crew compartment. This will be attached facing up, right next to the engine exhaust plate. I\'ll put some sort of grating/screening over this so you can see the engine beneath it. This does take up some of the inside room for troops but I\'m not concerned as I\'ll be putting up a wider platform up top to support a majority of the troops.






:D

[Thunderhawker]

More please!!!!

[Sukigod]

As I mentioned in the first part, it\'ll be a slow(er) project - not that I want it that way! Tuesdays are usually out (it\'s D&D night with the kids) so I should get some time tonight. I want to get the engine compartment shored up tonight so I can start working on the drivers compartment extension by this weekend.

On the lucky side, I had lunch with an old acquaintance that I used to compete against in modeling contests 20 years ago. Hadn\'t seen him in a while so we talked, of course, about modeling - his area of specialty is historical armor and ships. I mentioned the difficulty in finding just the right kinda parts that work best for ork vehicle, specifically tracked hulls and he goes \"Oh, I\'ve got 20 years worth of boxes and castoff bits and parts at the house. Are you interested?\"

I dropped my jaw and drooled Mountain Dew on the table. I\'ll be meeting with him sometime early next week. Freash meat for the scratchbuilt/kitbash machine!

[mud duck]

\"Bitz for the Bitz God!\"

Lucky dog you! Remember to stick with projects in the now and not the future. :D Well unless he\'s giving you the whole lot. I thing that rooting though bits boxes is almost as fun as cutting and converting, followed by painting

[Bengoodall]

followed by deciphering games workshop rule books and business strategem...

[DaN]

... Followed by a small angry bald man in a suit screaming obscenities ...

[Sukigod]

Got the smokestacks done last night. Not the smoothest operation, I tell ya. made two mistakes be recovered from them OK. One was using two part epoxy to attach the stacks to the mounting plates. They\'re two different type of plastic so I know regular polystyrene glue wouldn\'t hold. The two part simply slid right off after it set. I guess there wasn\'t enough contact area or bite in the surfaces. I ended up using gap filling super glue and I\'ll paint the glue marks as welds. Very Orky!

The other was I glued a set of stacks on the mounting plate backwards. :rolleyes: Instead of peeling them off I rounded all the edges and made a new, thicker plate for them to rest on. They seem alright now.

I got the engine top plate in place and now looking around for what to put up against it interior wise. I\'ve got scraps to look through, I just didn\'t have that much time before calling it a night. I did dry fit some foamcore to test drivers compartment designs and Deff Roller scale. This is easier and cheaper (the foamcore) for me as I can get foamcore for nearly free where I work. I\'m not digging the deisgn yet, I\'ll have to look around and sketch a few things before moving forward there.

I\'m also looking at how the deff roller will attach. It\'ll be tricky as I want a wide roller (more impressive looking) but where to attach a wider roller will take some planning. The blue/black hinged thing on top is a print cartridge holder from a cheap printer that I\'ll repurpose for a boarding plank.

I might not get to spend anymore time with this untill Sat or Sun so be patient for updates. I told you it\'ll be somewhat slow.

[Sukigod]

Did some computer sketching on the placement of the deff roller attachment - I want a roller that\'s really intimidating and the width allowed by the placement oft he connecting arms is making it kinda narrow.

I finally came up with the idea of splitting the roller into 3 parts, extending it beyond the arms.connection box. I\'ll have to figure out how the arms connect in there but I think it\'ll look much more impressive.

[Manus]

I think the lower the better, makes it look less bike-like, and the spilt-thing looks really cruel and bone crushing

[Sukigod]

I spent a lot of time this weekend drawing and cutting foamcore. After going around and around with many different design ideas, I came to the conclusion that GW\'s Forgeworld version is pretty dang good and as good as any base design, so that\'s where I\'m going to work towards.

It took me forever to decide what to do with the drivers compartment and I figured out where to put connections for the deff roller to come. I chose the first picture (top) as that looks beefier. I read a passage this weekend in the Ork Codex about vehicles having spikey bits representing tusks to mimic the Squiggoths and was inspired to make a set of \"tusks\" that will protrude out of the same sockets that will attach the deff roller arms. Maybe I can find a way to work them somewhere else when the deff roller is on, we\'ll see.

I\'ve got the drivers compartment housing started and I\'m working on the track covers and the shielding for the deff roller attachment points that will be on top of the tracks, next to the drivers extension. The top two photos show the foamcore testing and placement of a Kannon and a \"Killkannon\" for size comparisons along with a boy for scale. All weapons as well as a \'ard Case for this will be modular/magnetized.

[Sukigod]

I met with the old aquaintance this week and this is what I picked up.




Very reasonable price. I\'m particularly excited about the M270 MLRS system as that\'s a perfect base for another Battlewagon. The LAV25\'s are much larger than I remembered and they\'ll convert nicely too!

Here\'s a comparison of the two next to my Battlewagon WIP.



Haven\'t spent much time this week on the wagon proper but I should get some time over the weekend to finish off the major structures and start looking at the details. Besides, I don\'t have anything inhouse to make rivets from. Need more rivets!

[DaN]

Super-duper! :)
Keep it comin\' :D

[Sukigod]

OK, I think my motiviation will be to update often enough to keep this thread from dropping off the first page. That should make me do something each week that\'s at least showable.

I boxed in the drivers area and engine compartment finally. Somedays I wish I had drawn everything up before hand and had a plan with this but that wouldn\'t be very Orky would it? I spend a lot of time just staring at this thing, waiting for something to come to me. Not a bad thing, really. I find going through my bitz box repeatedly helps inspire me too.

I finished the engine compartment and painted it since I\'ll be screening it in and won\'t be able to get at it later. I\'ve also done some work on the top surface. Ineed to add some extra bolt on panels over the current ones to add to that patchy look.

I did get started on the side armor panels but don\'t have any photos yet. Maybe by the ned of the week.

[mud duck]

Looks like abit to much decking? Maybe a bit more mesh? Or holes or something, looks to clean......

Of course I just had an idea and course it\'s to late, but maybe on the next one. A so, did you think about reversing the main body of the Land Raider so the front was the back and verse visa? May give the vechile a more faster look with the tracks pointing in the way that vechile is going. More pretitory? I don\'t know, random thought.
Looking good so far.

[Sukigod]

Yeah, I found some others online that had turned the Land raider around to pretty good effect. One of those \"dang, wish I\'d a thought of that!\"

I agree about the uniformity of it. I\'ll be breaking up the pattern and cleanliness a bit with more add on plates that overlap at odd angles and then placement of the gun stations. Still need rivets!

[Sukigod]

Did a bunch of patchy work. Added some random panels to the topside, I\'m going to add a few straps across the top too to break it up even more and give it another layer of depth/detail.

I also started on the side panels and front details. The eyes/teeth are from a previous battlewagon attempt and now that I see this pic, I don\'t think they work right. I\'m going to add the bottom teeth in the typical manner and find a way to incorporate the eyes, but right now it just looks funny. They\'ll be coming off.

Looking back at what I\'ve accomplished so far gives me greater respect for those (krooza, Lemmingspawn, jamsessionein, just to name a few that have inspired me to finally start this) who churn these types of things out on a daily basis (or so it would seem). My fingers have taken a beating - and I haven\'t even started the rivets! My mind is constantly being challenged to either use something creatively or create something new that matches what\'s in my head.

It\'s pretty cool though to see the process, especially when I can look back at this blog so readily and watch it progress over time - again. This becomes my inspiration at times when I just look at it and say \"this isn\'t looking very good.\"

[Sukigod]

I\'m pretty happy with how this thing\'s turning out. Took a while to start \"realizing\" it, but I think I\'ve finally got it. I unleashed the Dremel out last night and went to town. It might seem like it\'s not battle damaged enough but I want to save some open space to do Orky graffiti somewhere. \"Die \'umie scum\", and the like.

I also redid the front end. Those other teef just weren\'t doing it. These are much more Gork-y (or is it Mork-y?) I\'m not sure about loosing the \"eyes\" though as putting in the angry looking one eye looks was something I wanted, the single slit drivers window doesn\'t allow for that. I might just go back and redo that part to give\'m agood set of grimacy eyes.

I also took pictures of it next to the ork trukk for scale. This thing\'s gonna be a monster to paint. I\'m thinking of asking a friend with and airbrush to do the base coats to save me some time. I know I could spray can it but I think that goes on quite a bit thicker that an airbrush can and I want to minimize any detail loss.

Side Note: I hate it when I think I\'m done with something, then look at the pictures and realize I forgot something. Grrrr. I need to add the banding straps to the top deck yet. At least there\'s still time.

Thanks for looking, everyone!

[rosac]

very coll, now whats your plasticard secrets for getting decent looking shapes:D

on another note, this is fantabulous, however there is one thing missing: a load of weapons. are they still to come?

rosac

[Sukigod]

Originally posted by rosac
very coll, now whats your plasticard secrets for getting decent looking shapes:D

on another note, this is fantabulous, however there is one thing missing: a load of weapons. are they still to come?

rosac

Many weapons to come! I\'m building this in a complete base form and will add magnetic spots for big shootas, rokkits, a lobba/kannon mount and a kill kannon. Down the road I\'ll add a \'ard case that fits on top too. I want to be able to customize this for nearly anything.

As for how I get my \"shapes\', I\'m guessing you mean the rough cut edges? I\'ll try to take a pick or two over the weekend of how I do it. I got the idea from somewhere else on the web and it works pretty good but it can be tough on the fingers. I just started using this technique and it\'s the first time in almost 20 years I\'ve cut myself with an Exacto.

[freakinacage]

looks good n orky too me!