Posted here is my progress thus far.
This image features my initial test build next to the floor plate of the "real" Gorgon. For the design, I'm pushing a papercraft model of the Gorgon through CorelDRAW then using a macro in that program to port it over to the control program for my laser cutter. It's been a learning experience, and for about a quarter of the components, I've had to print out the paper template, take measurements with a set of verniers, and recreate the part in an engineering blueprint program.
Two support blocks hold up the crew surface. For those of you who are curious, the thing on top of my cable modem is a copy of C.S. Lewis's THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS. It's a fantastic book and I highly recommend you read it.
The driver's compartment takes shape. On the flat piece of chipboard, I've got a collection of bits that will form the shield walls for the gunners. I'm not sure why Forge World likes putting heavy stubbers on things, but that's what those checkerboard portions are for.
Speaking of the shield walls...
And again from the back. You can see the open spot on the left side of the vehicle. This allows crew access. I'm not sure yet whether or not I'll be adding a ladder to the finished product.
And here the craft is starting to look recognizably like a Gorgon. Typically, that front sloped plate features an Imperial Aquila. I'll be leaving that out on mine. I intend to paint the model a light primer grey. They're kind of difficult to miss in battle, so I can't imagine they'd bother with desert camouflage for the war machine. Also, if the fluff in IA:Vraks is anything to go by, Gorgons get destroyed an awful lot, so adding any more than rust-preventing primer seems like a waste of resources.
It's always interesting to justify and find good, fluffy reasons for why your army is the way it is, isn't it?
Finally, the sloped plates that cover the tracks (or as they're named in my laser cutting folder "track hoods") are attached. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish up this model tomorrow. So far, this was about four hours worth of work, and most of that wasn't really at a hurried pace.
I took it really easy trying to figure out how everything has to fit together. The original papercraft model is obviously intended to be made out of paper, which has a negligible thickness for these kinds of projects. Chipboard, by contrast, has a definite thickness that can and will throw an entire project off if you're not careful with respect to how the parts join to each other. That's why I threw out my test build. So I ended up having to make certain adjustments and occasionally trimming parts down with a clipper. So far, so good.
More to come now that I have a phone with a camera that actually works.
All the best,
-Jordan