There is only one aspect of 40k I haven't ever really experienced, and that is Apocalypse. But, I live near a decent game store and want to be able to throw down with their next apoc game.
My Malestrom Warders (Astral Claws, Tyrant's Legion, Lamenters) are going to be a combined force, but they lack a certain punch right now that I think could be made up for with a simple, singular centerpiece, a model that brings the army together. Of course, the only thing better than one centerpiece is two. I am planning to buy a Baneblade in the near future, which will serve as part of my Tyrant's Legion, but I wanted something...beefier.
Ah, that's more like it
The thing is...I don't have the $500 it takes to buy one of these bad boys, so I've always just sighed and went about my business. Once, a little over 4 years ago, I built a cardboard version of the warhound, but I'm not even sure where that thing went. The project was fairly successful and I'd always kept in the back of my mind the fact that I could scratch build a titan if I felt I needed one. Those were back in the days when I had a single army and one that wasn't complete at that. I also didn't have a source for plasticard that didn't involve buying online.
Last year I found plasticard at an art supply store about a mile from my house, so that excuse disappeared. I attempted to build a Rhino at that time, but the process was frustrating, and after sinking more than an hour into it, I remembered that Rhinos cost like 25 dollars and that it wasn't worth my time to build the thing. I later turned it into the terrain piece on the right below:
Repurposing abandoned projects is a key part of scratchbuilding
A few weeks after giving up on the Rhino I decided I wanted a Proteus Land Raider (I later acquired a legit plastic one for my Chaos Space Marines on ebay, it is one of my prize possessions). Since I was building something I couldn't just buy, I found myself feeling a great deal more momentum. The end results were great, if somewhat limited on the tank treads.
I am currently planning to purchase treads from Blood and Skulls Industry on ebay to make this thing better
Also, I got the plan for this mostly from Krisken, but also from an old papercraft version floating around, which is where I got the eagle cutouts
I planned to build a Dreadclaw for my Astral Claws after completing this, but I haven't motivated myself to start on it since I got a Drop Pod in the Megaforce. I do still want to build a few Dreadclaws (2 or 3 for my Dark Angels and two for my Space Marines), but I think a Hell Talon is more likely in my future, since it is an incredibly simple design and I want to build something interesting I can put in my eventual display case. Anyhow, that's all in the future, for now I am focused on spending several months getting this project right.
The first completed chunk of my model. Ran out of plasticard tubing in the process.
The curved sections are a seat for PVC tubing. I need to pick that up still
I was pretty stoked to get the first leg done. I haven't started on the second yet.
Guess that logo! Hint: scifi but not 40k. I decided to lift this icon from another universe because I wanted my titan to feel like it was mine. Titans aren't Astartes owned, nor are they Imperial Guard, so this will technically be its own design, colors, etc.
I will be usint plasticard to patch up the various gaps. I plan on raiding my bits box pretty hard to make this thing look as detailed and authentic as possible.
Here's another greenstuff opportunity. With the center section already looking appropriately mechanical, I just need to add wires and panels with my putty.
Once again, more detail will be added with greenstuff.
I figured some Mechanicus iconography was necessary, I will be doing more detail work here.
Hey, another out of place logo, same source as the previous one.
I made a surprising amount of progress. I just need to build the "shoulders" and upper back of the model, its right leg, and the arms.
Did I mention this is messy? Because it is. I've also glued my hands together about a dozen times.
Well, that about covers the first steps of the process. Got any tips, criticisms, suggestions, thoughts, questions, etc? Leave a comment below.