tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34171657858347085942024-02-28T23:27:03.355-08:00Dynathdynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-57221439936155166802018-01-29T11:44:00.000-08:002018-01-29T11:48:42.613-08:00<br />
Looking at a personal SLA printer. this is the cheapest high quality printer i've found so far. I've gone back and forth on buying a personal printer before. Mostly just going back. Its time consuming to work with a 3d printer yourself and requires a certain amount of dedication. Plus the print quality isn't exactly the best. But at the same time i'm tired of ordering test prints from shapeways. It's on my wishlist for tax refund time if i can afford it.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0792JD62M/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0792JD62M&linkCode=as2&tag=dynath-20&linkId=e975986bc4803b3c69b9e5de62ead60d%22%3EWanhao%20Duplicator%207%20V.1.5">Wanhao Duplicator 7 V.1.5</a><br />
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<br />dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-80936047089716367182017-11-14T12:57:00.002-08:002017-11-14T12:57:50.666-08:00Shapeway's Anti Spam<div data-redactor="1" style="background-color: white; color: #141414; font-family: CoreSans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<b style="font-size: 14.6667px;">So Shapeway's anti spam system is blocking me verytime i try to share links. Yeah great.</b></div>
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<b style="font-size: 14.6667px;">Shoulder pads set 1</b></div>
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http://www.shapeways.com/product/UKNKEEH6Q/deathwatch-tartaros-set-1?key=fa17fccdd77a1b33fc599ec779688609</div>
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<b>Shoulder pads set 2</b></div>
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http://www.shapeways.com/product/TX4KNPPQA/deathwatch-tartaros-set-2?key=9da7c5350556d16275cf46d20e0b9bdc</div>
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<b>Shoulder pads set 3</b></div>
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http://www.shapeways.com/product/VXVYRFXNL/deathwatch-tartaros-set-3?key=10db04f882845e9ecebf7aa5abc1a20a</div>
dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-64445755554195977542017-10-07T04:53:00.001-07:002017-10-07T04:53:15.703-07:00Well a lot has happened and I've gotten a bunch a accomplished in spite of it.<br />
I'm sad to say I had a pair of funerals over the course of August and September and am just now recovering from it. It's hard losing a grandparent and a friend of 20 years but they are in a better place.<br />
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Continuing my work projects I've updated several models to both add sprues and improve older designs. Some of these where very plane and simple models but several I had to reconstruct. Back in 2012 I had a hard drive die which lost me a lot of master models. Several of these models were initially made back then and I've had to download the shapeways stl file and rebuilt the master model from it. This is a tedious and time consuming process only slightly faster than scratch building the models.<br />
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Models updated generally have their handles replaced with more detailed designs. As well as a general up-scaling to be more in keeping with modern 28mm wargames. I wonder when GW will just start calling their models 32mm. Anyway there are a lot of updates so here they are.<br />
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New<br />
This is a blade I designed some years ago and just never uploaded for some reason. I cleaned it up and added it to my products list. Nothing fancy just a sort of Warmahords weapon design.<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/ATAW329NB/blade1-001a-mk2<br />
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New Shoulder Pad patterns.<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/NH72U85SK/rimless-chinese-narrow-plate-001a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/7TH2WLRJY/rimmed-chinese-narrow-plate-001a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/5AQLDFWNT/rimless-chinese-four-plates-001a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/3DY72U5W2/rimmed-chinese-four-plates-001a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/E5QBTE9AW/rimmed-chinese-wide-plate-001a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/WWXTQALL2/rimless-chinese-wide-plate-001a<br />
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Updated<br />
Updated my Dadao<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/E2VZEUZ8K/dadao-sword-1stl<br />
updated Falcata (SM scout size)<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/7R965UC6R/techno-falcata-x5<br />
updated falcata slightly larger (full SM size)<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/QD4ZQTQN8/techno-falcata-scaled-125-02a<br />
Updated Kopis (SM scout size<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/JZXWYHCX3/techno-kopis-x5<br />
Kopis slightly larger (full SM size)<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/K4QZ5EVJW/techno-kopis-scaled-125-02a<br />
techno Kukri<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/E4R4VG2CV/techno-kukri-x10<br />
Techno Gladius, designed for custodes conversions, these are basically in scale with standard marines. I had to completely scratch build a new master because the originals were destroyed.<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/VGT6G5LGS/techno-gladius-x5<br />
The guardian spear was originally described as a laser so I made this laser design. I really like it but its expensive being roughly 90mm long.<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/R3X45JGD5/guardian-spear-x5<br />
Spear 1 was designed as a rough rider type weapon for a friends IG he ordered 1 set and never again LOL. The spears are super long, 80 to 90mm, so I might shrink them later but I like their designs as is for now.<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/HCAY4RK72/techno-spear-001a-x5<br />
Spear 2, the dragon slayer... designed after a description of Finn MacCool's weapon.<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/HFLEBR4YN/techno-spear-002a-x5<br />
Spear 3, I briefly had the idea to make a custom army called the golden legion which would use some fantasy bits. These comet bladed spears would have been a weapon for them. Still cool.<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/4FPMBFZ3W/techno-spear-003a-x5<br />
Spear 4, a flambrige style power spear. I designed this a long time ago and wasn't able to completely rebuild the master. I might scratch build it with a new design later.<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/89ZJAZ9AT/spear-004b-x5<br />
Tai Chi sword<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/WN35M3VTS/tai-chi-sword-1stl<br />
power tai chi sword<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/E3LDY4TJ8/techno-tai-chi-sword-5up<br />
Power Dao<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/7QCA9R62L/techno-dao-5up<br />
Power Guan Dao<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/BFPQDV4WC/techno-guan-dao-5up<br />
Corrected the katana<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/HPAVWQQ2Q/techno-katana-1-mk2<br />
Katana set uploaded.<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/GGQ9HHP2L/mk1-techno-katana-set<br />
Pole scimitar, designed for an emperor's children player I know. Could work for white scars but I've designed better things for them since.<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/5D5QJLQXM/pole-scimitar-001a<br />
Scimitar to go with the pole scimitar above.<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/A8JVCTALD/scimitar-001a<br />
Bitchslap of the Empra<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/FDH6GNP6L/hand-of-da-empra<br />
Chain talwar, designed for white scars<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/8DHTY8YAX/techno-chain-talwar-5up<br />
Power talwar, also for white scars<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/C8NNU4R2U/techno-talwar-5up<br />
Macuahuitl<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/WAFHCPEW7/techno-macuahuitl-x5<br />
Updated Techno Power Wrench Thing with more detail and thicker design. I need to revisit my angry marines versions of these.<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/93QY4V5HV/techno-wrench-x5<br />
Update of my chaos double bited power axe.<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/WZPMJQ73V/techno-power-axe-of-corn-x5<br />
Updated version of the double chain axe, super proud of the new version's new design.<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/APKRUZUXZ/techno-chain-axe-of-corn-002a-x5<br />
Updated clean Kopesh<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/32CTSA34M/techno-kopesh-x5<br />
Updated version of my Evil Kopesh<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/EGWSTX3Q7/techno-kopesh-evil-002a-mk2-x5<br />
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Halo Stuff<br />
Halo battle rifle<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/4M7L2HG4Y/rifle-001a<br />
Halo pistol<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/QW5GTDH83/halo-pistol-001a<br />
Halo Shotgun<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/F69MUPMHC/shotgun-001a<br />
Covenant Plasma Pistol<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/4TGXNN7JG/plasma-pistol-001a<br />
Covenant plasma rifle<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/Y5GAFY769/plasma-rifle-001a<br />
Covenant Shard rifle<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/JS8MR22K5/shard-rifle-001a<br />
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<br />dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-24158266087919301842017-09-02T04:23:00.001-07:002017-09-02T04:23:23.816-07:00Uploading New ModelsIn the process of adding sprues to my models I've designed several new templates for components and updated old models for better functionality.<br />
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Banners<br />
After a few prints of my angry marines banners I've worked out a few better processes for making banners. The surface has less polygons and the folds of the banners are less pronounced. In exchange a better relief on the surface. This lets me stack addon icons to make more detailed surfaces to aid painting. I've made a total of 10 banner templates, here are two blank banners. I'll upload the others as I finish surface addons for them.<br />
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https://www.shapeways.com/product/DKCT2J666/blank-banner-v4-banner-02-mk4<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/7RH8G6JN3/blank-banner-v6-banner-02-mk4<br />
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Storm Shields<br />
Some time ago I designed some round storm sheilds for a few people. The consensus was that they were to small. This was mostly caused by me using incorrect measurements based on very old metal terminators from the early 90s. I've updated those measurements and made new templates for round storm shields. When I get time I also want to make the Greek cross shaped shields I really love and probably variants of the tower shields equipped by sigmarines.<br />
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https://www.shapeways.com/product/8HM5H57EB/blank-shield-002a<br />
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Shoulders<br />
My collection of shoulder pad templates has grown extensively lately. I went from 5 templates with various addon parts to roughly 30 designs. Shoulder pads below are a broad sampling. <br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/666MTLHWZ/blank-mk1-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/4HNFQSHWJ/blank-mk2-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/SWW4RPMWQ/blank-mk3-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/R9KGKXJWZ/blank-mk4-rivited-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/7XTLP8JLG/blank-mk6-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/3J8C2A7SX/blank-mk7-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/3BCRDXK7A/blank-mk10-basic-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/6U9MZG6TK/blank-mk16-damocles-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/G76DY5PNY/blank-champion-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/5BK93FLUF/blank-chevron-rimless-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/53Q6UQDND/blank-chevron-rimmed-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/PQ9NZD3AT/blank-arch-rimmed-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/UECUPY9J9/blank-sons-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/BFUELWBET/blank-evil-rimmed-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/9QNANV5S7/blank-evil-rivet-rimmed-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
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Terminators<br />
After literally 15000 points of Blood Angels I've decided I'd like to do something smaller with models I can't field otherwise. So I'm planning an Alpha Legion army. Well not really Alpha Legion exactly. I'm intending to build them as loyalists so it will be a bit weird. A few classic marines, likely Mk3 because they are the best in my opinion. A bunch of Reivers and Scouts with a landspeeder storm converted from really old landspeeders. A group of berserkers as Legion of the damned. A small group of terminators, in the cataphtractii and tartaros patterns and a set of Centurions converted as Exo Armor Terminators. Anyway, to that end here are shoulders for all those terminators.<br />
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Note: Cataphractii and Tartaros shoulder pads have a distinct front so they've been separated into left and right. I might go back and convert them into sets with 5 left and 5 rights but it is easier in my workflow to do them all as sets of 10 identical shoulders. Gravis shoulders likewise have a front direction so when I get to them I will set them up the same.<br />
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https://www.shapeways.com/product/UF62HB4S9/blank-cataphractii-shoulders-left-side-rebuilt-0<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/NLW3ZCXN4/blank-cataphractii-shoulders-right-side-rebuilt<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/WNZDCEQQ7/blank-tartaros-shoulders-right-side-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/3TELR3HL8/blank-tartaros-shoulders-left-side-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/8FWJKG2S3/blank-termi-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/UXMWFCBJ3/blank-centurion-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/MP3HEQBJR/blank-evil-termi-shoulders-rebuilt-008a<br />
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I've also been working on reviving some very old projects which I've had to rebuild from scratch.<br />
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The Mk16 Damocles armor created by DakkaDakka fans for the Dornian Heresy alternate history campaign. It's a nicely advanced design I've always loved and wanted to see on the table. I've started building it a long long time ago. Here it is about 45% complete. It needs some more detailing and I need to build new hands and feet for it then segment it for manual posing and reassembling after printing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEy7s9J-D0URbOpd7EeWAytfc0yGKJRtvzJQ0MAgzfhlqW_jmymY3n213olkX2EQW0MkcD5Iw7sRxFxBAlJ26o-ZWTfWv1fuJVgm49FdfXYfP9hONpzNfTxZsb7b9wUOlrejnoHtotY0/s1600/Capture1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="630" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxEy7s9J-D0URbOpd7EeWAytfc0yGKJRtvzJQ0MAgzfhlqW_jmymY3n213olkX2EQW0MkcD5Iw7sRxFxBAlJ26o-ZWTfWv1fuJVgm49FdfXYfP9hONpzNfTxZsb7b9wUOlrejnoHtotY0/s320/Capture1.PNG" width="263" /></a></div>
The original terminator armor. Before things had marks and such the Exo Armor is one of the coolest designs in retro 40k to me. It's basic design clearly inspired the contemptor and similar dreadnoughts as well as the Tartaros terminators. A long time ago I built a basic model of it and was in the process of testing it when I simultaneously got a banhammer and suffered a hard drive crash. Here is my in progress rebuilt version. It will have much more detail when completed as well as a lot more departure from the original design to make it feel more in line with the forgeworld updated figures. Yes these guys will be count's as Centurians in my Alpha Legion.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6HXUXKp0GtQFIz9sn7vwZVmRFy82aKtGPVxmA5kAA4Lmj6-Ty9J9iwfjkmdJaM0uzkAfIYsM7T1rkcv3-I2xQQOVNNDMPQVfEhF3I6Ycum256GeQ8kXg1OrGohI_Ypz6pi6-ND0-fOiQ/s1600/Capture2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="601" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6HXUXKp0GtQFIz9sn7vwZVmRFy82aKtGPVxmA5kAA4Lmj6-Ty9J9iwfjkmdJaM0uzkAfIYsM7T1rkcv3-I2xQQOVNNDMPQVfEhF3I6Ycum256GeQ8kXg1OrGohI_Ypz6pi6-ND0-fOiQ/s320/Capture2.PNG" width="241" /></a></div>
And of course the reason I started modeling. One of them anyway. Female space marines. Here is a female marine designed in Mark 6 armor. Yes I know it's got breasts for no reason other than the aesthetics of making it look female. I understand the impracticality and don't care. The figure will be much narrower than traditional marines. Roughly 20mm at the shoulders rather than 28mm for an official figure. I'm hoping these print better than my original designs. Most of my original female marines were likewise destroyed in that hard drive crash so this is a scratch build too. Eventually I'd like to make all the armor marks. Maybe even primaris, but that's a long time off. I'm tempted to try rigging the figures so I can pose them easier, though frankly that's way more work than I want. I have never successfully rigged a figure and hate the process in every application I've ever tried. Maybe one day. Till then manually posing is more practical.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHeyhJIu8n2189qekERIfKlWtoVYYP66_7-U5_sA9W0t1obmLs6JRSAFnIMXU7uV0kq1BoQ1rxh4XG6A6ekXZlAPYOlFJcnIf-T5vNDUE7hKVflZusKO9KasJ5LakQa4pctB5OTCUi5Lc/s1600/Capture3.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="714" data-original-width="468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHeyhJIu8n2189qekERIfKlWtoVYYP66_7-U5_sA9W0t1obmLs6JRSAFnIMXU7uV0kq1BoQ1rxh4XG6A6ekXZlAPYOlFJcnIf-T5vNDUE7hKVflZusKO9KasJ5LakQa4pctB5OTCUi5Lc/s320/Capture3.PNG" width="209" /></a></div>
<br />dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-49312131601449369372017-08-05T00:08:00.001-07:002017-08-05T00:08:06.417-07:00Updating Old ModelsLast week I had two very interesting conversations with some people who purchase my 3d models. It made me think about some designs I hadn't considered in a long time.<br />
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See I've been designing miniatures bits since around 2010, so going on 8 years. My early designs were mostly experiments. You know messing with the software to see what I could do and maybe making something interesting. It took a lot of time for me to get good enough to actually make something a person would want to buy. <br />
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This was also around the time shapeways was starting out and before the explosion of other printing services and sales services. Before amazon got into the market, that sort of thing. Back then there were no real rules for model production. You could make just about everything and each new model made gave some new insight to the shapeways engineers. That's how the design rules got made. Back then the wall thickness lottery was about the biggest hurdle. Well that and how slow the site was. It's still slow but the rules are clear and its easier to follow and correct issues thanks to the tools they've built. The automated thickness checker is fantastic.<br />
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Anyway what this has to do with anything. Well basically a lot of my old designs are very simple. To me back then it was great if a I could make a sword with a cylinder and tapered plate. This results in a lot of shitty looking weapon models being on my account. I really wanted to make cool things but it took a lot of trial and error. While I eventually became known for my shoulder pads I really have a huge number of weapons on my account that are... passable.<br />
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The conversations I had with a couple of people highlighted somethings of importance about my store. All those models are sitting there and they haven't really been replaced or updated. While I upload random Darth Vader helmets that show up in the stream of product releases but then my store shows countless poor quality models and the few dozen modern models I have done and made visible over the last few years. While I have a huge amount of things not visible it doesn't really help my reputation that I have a lot of junk shown off.<br />
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So what's wrong with these models exactly? Well there are 3 basic problems and one that's a bit more complicated.<br />
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The first problem is sizing. My early models were made before the establishment of wall thickness restrictions. Thus many are very thin. This is exacerbated by the fact that back then I worked on models transferring them between 4 or 5 programs to make them work. I'd build something in sketchup, then output it to meshlab and/or netfabb, and then use some githhub application to check it. This often resulted in unit scaling issues. It started the right size but then shrunk or grew as I exported it between programs. A lot of these models are right at the limit of the shapeways printer tolerances. If I was told it had to be 1 mm thick it was exactly 1mm. Or at least it was intended to be. The tolerance of the printer was of greater concern to me than the design of a miniature. So a sword handle being 1 mm thick was perfectly acceptable. Even if that looked odd on a miniature. But worse than oddly thin weapons is the breakage rate. Many of them would break because they were so thin.<br />
<br />
The second problem is basically model corruption. Back before I was, you know, good, at modeling I used external software to seal models to make them water tight. I think I used Caddspan a lot back then. There are a lot of those services but they all do the same basic thing. Take a model and wrap it in geometry as tightly as possible to make it sealed. Shrink wrapping. This results in a lot of lost detail and can make some really screwy geometry. If its a shitty service it also leaves behind the old geometry resulting in weird internal shells. While the model is technically printable this results in a couple of really bad effects. First the preview is often corrupt in webgl. This is usually a symptom of the old geometry just under the surface. Second the model often has some odd printing peculiarities. In my own models this seems mostly to manifest as scaling issues but I've also had components just not print even though they are in the STL file. Worst perhaps is that the model is mostly impossible to recover with any quality if you lose the original model. With a newer STL I can load the STL file and cut it apart or modify the surface to make changes as needed. The old ones get all janky. I also think that some of the models are corrupted when shapeways transfers servers or performs backups due to this bad model design. Cleaner models are always better I guess.<br />
<br />
The third problem is sprues. See when I started designing 3d models it was always intended to end up as a physical product as I understood them from my miniatures collection. It seemed natural to have sprues because my 40k miniatures came on sprues. So I put a lot of my early models on sprue. But the sprues would break during manufacture so I was told by shapeways to stop using sprues on my models. So I stopped. But then I started talking to a customer and he told me about shapeway's labor pricing was based at least partially on the number of shells in a model. So basically shapeways tells me not to use sprues and then directly monetarily profits from me not doing so. I think on my shoulder pads shapeways makes a good 6 bucks extra off the printing because I didn't sprue them. Not that sprues are free but the labor policy is also pricey so its a bit of a damned if you do damned if you don't scenario. What shapeways should really have said was "use thicker sprues" making sprues close to tolerance makes them more likely to break so think about the sprues as though you were going to cast them.<br />
<br />
So what does all this mean?<br />
<br />
Basically that I am going back and redoing all my old weapon models to do 3 things. Make them thicker (particularly grips and polearms), make them water right without external software (this might not always be possible), and put them on thicker sprues (roughly 3mm thick). Price wise this will likely be a wash as the increased thickness of some models will break even with the old labor costs. However for some models the price may go down, a handful up, though I want to avoid that.<br />
<br />
This also gives me a chance to fix something that annoys the fuck out of my about shapeways. Every time they introduce a new material it just automatically turns on. So I have a lot of models that are for sale in weird materials that are pointless for my purposes. Note I'm not going to rescale anything for the new marines or anything like that. I will correct errors where the model was intended to be larger but shrunk in process but otherwise nothing will grow but what is necessary to improve print-ability.<br />
<br />
<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/9SW3GWZTG/mk2a-techno-tonfa-x10<br />
Note:<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/MDVGSCV76/mk2-chain-tonfa-x10<br />
Note:<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/T2S4LXMF2/mk2-techno-hammer-x5 <br />
Note:<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/24JZ4RJT6/mk2-demon-hammer-x5<br />
Note: change sprue to allow higher detail printing<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/YME7HJRTJ/mk2-techno-slicer-x5<br />
Note: change sprue to lower price<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/PR4YVXVZW/mk1-techno-saw-x5<br />
Note:<br />
https://www.shapeways.com/product/V7VUCJA6A/mk2-techno-nodachi-x5<br />
Note: change sprue to allow higher detail printing<br />
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/VDDM7Q5Q9/mk2-techno-mace-x5</div>
<div>
Note: double check head's wallthickness</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/CUNTBQKV7/mk2-techno-kricket-bat-x5</div>
<div>
Note: </div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/84RCS3CD9/mk2-techno-bats-x5</div>
<div>
<div>
Note: </div>
</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/3BW7CRW5F/mk1-techno-cleaver-x5</div>
<div>
<div>
Note: </div>
</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/2KF7YZJ7Y/mk2-techno-chopper-x5</div>
<div>
<div>
Note: </div>
</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/HPAVWQQ2Q/techno-katana-1-mk2</div>
<div>
<div>
Note: fix to be a 5up model</div>
</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/RZZMFABY5/techno-katar-1-mk2</div>
<div>
<div>
Note: </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Models that need updated. mostly sprue requests. some correction for new models.</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/GGQ9HHP2L/mk1-techno-katana-set</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/PXTJDZAZE/angry-marines-power-kricket-bat</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/W7YQRJTUN/angry-marines-power-bat-x5</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/E2VZEUZ8K/dadao-sword-1stl</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/BFPQDV4WC/techno-guan-dao-5up</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/7QCA9R62L/techno-dao-5up</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/8DHTY8YAX/techno-chain-talwar-5up</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/C8NNU4R2U/techno-talwar-5up</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/238FBCRBP/kung-fu-chinese-narrow-plate-rimmless-001a</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/G9U68EKWG/kung-fu-chinese-narrow-plate-rimmed-001a</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/NLRZYEPJ5/kung-fu-chinese-wide-plate-rimless-001a</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/XE966K7X8/kung-fu-chinese-wide-plate-rimmed-001a</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/ST6BT493K/kung-fu-shoulders-heavy-001a</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/LYEG2XQJN/kung-fu-shoulders-male-rimless-001a</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/EBCAQ8KXN/kung-fu-shoulders-male-rimmed-002a</div>
<div>
https://www.shapeways.com/product/H2GZPDJCP/kung-fu-001a-chinese-two-plates-rimmed-001a</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-2118387098768916892017-07-26T23:33:00.001-07:002017-07-26T23:34:09.963-07:00How do Reiver and Eternals measure upSo i'm going to keep focused my measurement obsession for a bit. Life has kept me from modeling for a while so measuring some purchased models is about all I can do. I managed to pick up two things while I was out of town at my sister in law's wedding. Specifically a box of Primaris Reivers and some clearance stormcast eternals.<br />
<br />
Lets start with the Reivers.<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
These are the easy build reivers. I haven't seen the non-easy build on the shelf even if they are out. My blood angels have a significant scout section so I'm not quite sold on the reivers yet but I like the models so I wanted to paint a few. While I generally hate the easy build crap marines I'll tolerate them here because these reivers are more going to be test beds for painting and they were only 11 dollars at my local flags. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Primaris Space
Marine Reivers</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Head</span> = W <span style="font-weight: bold;">7mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">8mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">7.2mm</span> (head only) <span style="font-weight: bold;">8.5mm</span> (with neck)</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="font-size: 11pt;">Notes: </b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">the necks are wierd, they have a flare at the base </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">which</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> makes </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">them</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> able to tern a bit, though this didn't work once primed so millage may vary.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #c00000; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">Torso</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;"> = W </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">11mm</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;"> (shoulders) W </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">9mm</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;">
(waist) x D </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">12mm</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;"> (chest) D </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">13.5mm</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;"> (with pack mount) x H </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">12mm</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;"> (waist to neck) - collar </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">0.5mm</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><b>Notes: </b>the body is missing the </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">noticeable</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> collars which I sort of like. I'd rather have had high collars on the sides and low on the front with this design but that's ok.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Legs
</span>= <span style="font-weight: bold;">Thigh</span> W <span style="font-weight: bold;">6mm </span>(w/o holster) x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">6.5mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">9mm</span> (hip to knee)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lower Leg</span>
W <span style="font-weight: bold;">6mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">6mm</span>
(calf) or<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 4.1mm </span>x<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 4.1mm</span> (ankle) x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">9mm</span> (knee
to ankle) [mk 10 legs]</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Foot</span> W <span style="font-weight: bold;">5mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">11mm </span>x
H <span style="font-weight: bold;">5mm</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="font-size: 11pt;">Notes: </b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">the legs are not the best cast on the crap marines. The calf plates have </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">noticeable</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> mold lines and the static pose is clearly done only to make the mold easier for the poorer quality plastic in use. I hope the multi part models are better.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #c00000; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">Arms </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;">= </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">Upper </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;">W </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">4.5mm</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;"> x D </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">4.5mm</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;"> x H </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">7.5mm</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;">
(Shoulder to elbow)</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lower </span>W
<span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">5.5mm</span> (elbow to wrist)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">hand</span> W <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.8mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">2mm </span>x
L <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.5mm</span> (from wrist)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fingers </span>L
<span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5mm </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">1.2
mm</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.375in;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="font-size: 11pt;">Notes: </b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">what's with the stupid hose on the </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">sergeant's</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> arm computer? the model's arm armor is virtually identical to standard marines and they have computers without cables.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #c00000; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">Backpack</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;"> = </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;">W </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">18mm</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;"> x D </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">7mm</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;"> to</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;"> 4mm</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;">
x H </span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">16mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Shoulder Pad - Left Only</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">9.2mm</span>
x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">6.5mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">10mm </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
thickness
<span style="font-weight: bold;">2mm </span>border <span style="font-weight: bold;">1.1mm
</span>Cuttout H <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.2mm </span>x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">2mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Heavy Bolt Pistol</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">3mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">14mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">8mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Bolt Carbine</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">= </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.5mm</span>
x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">23mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">11mm</span></div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Combat Knife</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">= </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">4mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">2mm</span>
x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">24mm </span>blade L <span style="font-weight: bold;">18mm</span> W<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 4mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I'm guessing the size of the bolt carbine a bit but think it will be similar to this. Generally a slightly shorter bolt riffle closer in dimensions to the classic bolter. I'm very interested in equipping these guys with sniper rifles or carbines personally. I love my shotgun scouts, these could be just as interesting in my angels army if they get decent specs.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
The shoulder pad only on the left side is interesting. I somewhat hate the asymmetry of that but also like it a bit. I personally would have loved the left shoulder pad to have a cloak or something drape down giving them a bit more visual interest. I might convert the reivers this way with some greenstuff.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Stormcast Eternals</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I picked up two boxes of these guys as well as some loose preassembled figures. The preassembled figures are crap marines, easy build versions of the Liberators and Retributors. The boxes are Liberators and Judicators. The crap marines are specifically to paint as I actually like the design of the stormcast eternals, particularly the liberators with their double hammers. I want to paint them up as display figures with a white marble pattern with gold trim. Maybe I'll paint the duplicates with a different pattern. Not sure.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
The boxes will become a project for my blood angels army. The intent is that they will be converted and replace or supplement my honor guard, maybe proxy as sanguinary guard if I can find properly cool jump packs for them. I'll need to 3d print some small bits including belt buckles and shoulder pads for them.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Ultimately I also just simply wondered what the difference in size was. Everyone calls them "Sigmarines" I wondered how different they were.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Storm Cast Eternals</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">Head</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> = W </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">4.5mm</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> (w/o halo) </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">7.2mm</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> (w
halo) x L </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">6mm</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> x H </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">6.5mm</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> (head only) </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">8.2mm</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> (w
neck) </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">12mm</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> (w halo)</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes</span>: heads are slightly narrower than space
marine or IG heads but look ok thanks to the halo. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Torso</span> = W <span style="font-weight: bold;">11.3mm</span>
(shoulders) W <span style="font-weight: bold;">9.3mm</span> (waist) x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">12mm</span> (chest) x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">12mm</span>
(waist to neck) - collar <span style="font-weight: bold;">0.5mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes: </span>no backpack mounts, the reliquaries add
a lot to the hips.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Legs
</span>= <span style="font-weight: bold;">Thigh</span> W <span style="font-weight: bold;">6.5mm </span>x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">6.5mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">9mm</span> (hip to knee)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lower Leg</span>
W <span style="font-weight: bold;">7mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">6mm</span>
(calf) or<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 5mm </span>x<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 5mm</span> (ankle) x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">9mm</span> (knee
to ankle)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Foot</span> W <span style="font-weight: bold;">5mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">10mm </span>x
H <span style="font-weight: bold;">5mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Arms </span>= <span style="font-weight: bold;">Upper </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">5mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">5mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">7mm</span>
(Shoulder to elbow)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lower </span>W
<span style="font-weight: bold;">5mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">4mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">5.5mm</span> (elbow to wrist)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">hand</span> W <span style="font-weight: bold;">4mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">2mm </span>x
L <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.5mm</span> (from wrist)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fingers </span>L
<span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5mm </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">1.2
mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Notes</span>: the bracers on the lower arm add a 1mm
thick pad on the lower arm. The
shoulders have a weird flat plate that goes over the shoulder making the addon
shoulder pad rest on it, this plate is roughly 10mm wide making it bigger than
space marine shoulders.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Backpack</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">18mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">7mm</span> to<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 4mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">16mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Shoulder Pad </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">= </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">12.5mm</span>
x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">9mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">6mm </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
thickness
<span style="font-weight: bold;">2mm </span>border <span style="font-weight: bold;">2mm
</span>Cuttout H <span style="font-weight: bold;">1mm </span>x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">6mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Sword</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">5.3mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">1.5mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">39mm </span>hilt
W <span style="font-weight: bold;">11.5mm</span> D <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.5mm</span>
L<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 12mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Short Sword </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">= </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">5mm</span> x
D <span style="font-weight: bold;">1.5mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">30mm </span>hilt W <span style="font-weight: bold;">7mm</span> D <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.5mm</span> L<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 11mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Shield</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">15mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">37mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">6.5mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Hammer</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">11mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">5mm</span>
x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">23mm </span>pole W <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.5mm</span> L<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 15mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Two-handed Hammer</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">20mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">6.5mm</span>
x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">44mm </span>pole W <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.5mm</span> L<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 33mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Crossbow</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">4.2mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">35mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">9mm</span>
[just the base, not including the bow arms]</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Over all we see a trend here. For the most part the stormcast eternals are actually just slightly smaller than the primaris marines. That surprised me but also doesn't. They have a strange visually wider stance than classic and new space marines making them look bigger but they are a bit shorter with some thinner arms than new marines. Their design over all is a bit thicker but this is concealed with the curved edges of the models.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
The biggest annoyance is the fact that the shoulders and torsos are a bit to different from marines but can be modified during conversions. Their weapons are a bit larger, more in keeping with the grey knights weapons than other marine chapters.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I was disappointed to discover the judicator crossbow things are a bit bigger than bolters. I was hoping i'd be able to do a quick swap of a bolter into the waiting hands but it will take more than that to get the exchange done. All in all though the basic stormcast eternals will be pretty easy to modify for 40k.</div>
dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-15961392709660236982017-06-26T01:11:00.002-07:002017-06-26T01:11:49.011-07:00On "True Scale" Primaris MarinesOk, I've complained enough lets dive in.<br />
<br />
So how different in size are the Primaris marines. Well, in order to 3d model bits I've done a lot of random measurements on marines over the years. I do this with a drafting caliper and micrometer. Generally I round these to usable measurements in my modeling software. I'm nerdy enough to have done this on all the marks of armor and types of armor from various generations of 40k miniatures. But here I'll isolate my measurements to the most common marine armor (in my collection at least) Mk 6.<br />
<br />
So here are my measurements from Mk 6. These are from newer 40k models, specifically the blood angels release from 7th edition. Older models are mostly the same with a bit thinner upper legs and arms.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>Traditional Space Marine</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Head</span> = W <span style="font-weight: bold;">8.5mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">8mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">7mm</span> (head only) <span style="font-weight: bold;">9.1mm</span>
(with neck)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Torso</span> = W <span style="font-weight: bold;">12mm</span> (shoulders) W <span style="font-weight: bold;">9mm</span>
(waist) x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">10mm</span> (chest) D <span style="font-weight: bold;">11.5</span> (with pack mount) x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">10mm</span> (waist to neck) - collar <span style="font-weight: bold;">3mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Legs
</span>= <span style="font-weight: bold;">Thigh</span> W <span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">5mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">8mm</span> (hip to knee)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lower </span>W
<span style="font-weight: bold;">6mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">7mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">8mm</span> (knee to ankle) [mk 6 legs]</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Foot</span> W <span style="font-weight: bold;">5mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">9.5mm </span>x
H <span style="font-weight: bold;">4mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Arms </span>= <span style="font-weight: bold;">Upper </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">7.5mm</span>
(Shoulder to elbow)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lower </span>W
<span style="font-weight: bold;">4mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">4mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">5mm</span> (elbow to wrist)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">hand</span> W <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.5mm</span> x T <span style="font-weight: bold;">2mm </span>x
L <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.5mm</span> (from wrist)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fingers </span>L
<span style="font-weight: bold;">3.5mm </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">1mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Backpack</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">18mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">6.5mm</span> to<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 4mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">15mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Shoulder Pad</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">10mm</span>
x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">6mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">8mm </span>thickness <span style="font-weight: bold;">2mm </span>border <span style="font-weight: bold;">1mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Powerfist</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">9mm</span> x T <span style="font-weight: bold;">5.5mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">9mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
-
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Fingers </span>L <span style="font-weight: bold;">7mm </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">1.8mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Bolter</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.5mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">18mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">11mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Plasmagun</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">4mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">22mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">8mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Meltagun</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.5mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">24mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">8mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Bolt Pistol</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.5mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">12mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">8.5mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Sword</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">1.5mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">31mm </span>hilt
W <span style="font-weight: bold;">6.5mm</span> D <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.5mm</span>
L<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 10mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Axe</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">
= </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">12mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">3mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">28mm </span>pole W <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.5mm</span>
L<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 17mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Hammer</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">18mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">3mm</span>
x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">32mm </span>pole W <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.5mm</span> L<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 24mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Spear</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">7mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">4mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">51mm </span>pole
W <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.5mm</span> L<span style="font-weight: bold;">
30mm</span></div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Note: </span>limb measurements are done from Joint
center to joint center</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
So here is my measurements for the new primaris marines. These are from the Dark Imperium set, when GW releases stand alone kits there might be some variations. Wherever possible I compared multiple figures to get the measurements averaged. Some items not in the kit are estimated based on general size comparisons of existing parts but I'll talk about that later.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>Primaris Space
Marine (MK 10 Default armor mostly)</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Head</span> = W <span style="font-weight: bold;">8mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">8mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">7.2mm</span> (head only) <span style="font-weight: bold;">8.5mm</span> (with neck)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Torso</span> = W <span style="font-weight: bold;">11mm</span> (shoulders) W <span style="font-weight: bold;">9mm</span>
(waist) x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">13mm</span> (chest) D <span style="font-weight: bold;">14.5mm</span> (with pack mount) x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">12mm</span> (waist to neck) - collar <span style="font-weight: bold;">2mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Gravis </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">13mm</span>
(shoulders) W <span style="font-weight: bold;">18mm</span> (waist) x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">22mm</span> (chest) D <span style="font-weight: bold;">18mm</span>
(with pack mount) x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">13mm</span> (waist to
neck) - collar <span style="font-weight: bold;">3mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Legs
</span>= <span style="font-weight: bold;">Thigh</span> W <span style="font-weight: bold;">6mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">6.5mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">9mm</span> (hip to knee)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lower Leg</span>
W <span style="font-weight: bold;">7.2mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">7.2mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">9mm</span> (knee to
ankle) [mk 10 legs]</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Foot</span> W <span style="font-weight: bold;">5.3mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">11mm </span>x
H <span style="font-weight: bold;">5mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Gravis </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">7mm</span>
x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">7mm </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Arms </span>= <span style="font-weight: bold;">Upper </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">7.5mm</span>
(Shoulder to elbow)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lower </span>W
<span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">5.5mm</span> (elbow to wrist)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">hand</span> W <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.8mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">2mm </span>x
L <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.5mm</span> (from wrist)</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fingers </span>L
<span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5mm </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">1.2
mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Gravis </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">5.5mm</span>
x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">5.5mm </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Backpack</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">19mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">7mm</span> to<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 4mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">16mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Shoulder Pad</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">11mm</span>
x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">6.5mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">8.5mm </span>thickness <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.2mm </span>border
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Gravis Shoulder </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">11.5mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">6.5mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">8mm </span>thickness <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.5mm
</span>Chevron <span style="font-weight: bold;">2mm </span>border <span style="font-weight: bold;">1.5mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Powerfist</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">9mm</span> x T <span style="font-weight: bold;">6mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">9mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .375in; margin: 0in;">
-
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Fingers </span>L <span style="font-weight: bold;">7mm </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">1.8mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Bolt Rifle</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.5mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">23mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">11mm</span>
[extended 3.5mm @ front]</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Plasmagun</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">4mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">31mm</span> x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">14mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Meltagun</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W ~<span style="font-weight: bold;">3.5mm</span> x L ~<span style="font-weight: bold;">28mm</span> x H ~<span style="font-weight: bold;">11mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Bolt Pistol</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.5mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">12.5mm</span>
x H <span style="font-weight: bold;">8mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Sword</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">4.5mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">1.5mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">38mm </span>hilt
W <span style="font-weight: bold;">6.5mm</span> D <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.5mm</span>
L<span style="font-weight: bold;"> 12mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Axe</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">
= </span>W ~<span style="font-weight: bold;">14mm</span> x D <span style="font-weight: bold;">~3mm</span> x L <span style="font-weight: bold;">~32mm </span>pole W <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.5mm</span>
L<span style="font-weight: bold;"> ~20mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Hammer</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W ~<span style="font-weight: bold;">21mm</span> x D ~<span style="font-weight: bold;">4mm</span>
x L ~<span style="font-weight: bold;">36mm </span>pole W <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.5mm</span> L<span style="font-weight: bold;"> ~28mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #c00000; font-weight: bold;">Spear</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> = </span>W <span style="font-weight: bold;">~8mm</span> x D ~<span style="font-weight: bold;">4mm</span> x L ~<span style="font-weight: bold;">60mm </span>pole
W <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.5mm</span> L<span style="font-weight: bold;">
~38mm</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Note: </span>limb measurements are done from Joint
center to joint center</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>Thoughts</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
So generally the Primaris limb parts are scaled on average by 122% this varies from 112% to 133%. Usually this works out as 133% to the length while 112% to the width. But this really isn't applied uniformly. The scaling is really done to make the marine feel bigger without it being scaled to much. <span style="font-size: 11pt;">If the marine was uniformly scaled you'd end up with it feeling the same unless it was sitting next to a classic marine.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The torsos are roughly the same, just taller and ever so slightly thicker. The chest and back are bulked out a tiny bit. Cut the belt off of a classic torso and add a spacer to add height. Then a thin layer of plasticard between the halves could easily make a classic torso thicker to fit Primaris if you wanted.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Arms are roughly the same length so you won't get a lot of problem using the old arms. If you have to change them a tiny bit of length is added to the lower arm. You can do this by adding a spacer to the wrist or maybe just extending the upper arm below the shoulder pad seat.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">There are minor tweaks to the shoulder pad size. This strikes me as odd, the shoulders, particularly on Gravis armor and Inceptor squads, are a bit flatter than classic models but otherwise unchanged. What I could make out and measure, </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">in spite</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> of the way these crap marines are molded, is that the seat for the shoulder pads look roughly the same. If anything they might be slightly smaller than old marine arms by a few nanometers. We'll see more when GW makes proper Primaris rather than crap marines. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Legs are </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">trickier</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">. Pretty much every part is longer. Adding spacers to the thighs is easy enough on most older legs. The lower legs tends to be more problematic with the knee pads and decorative elements like eagles and such.</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"> The feet are also taller which is interesting. You actually see more of the foot than with old marines. I'd probably cut off the foot and add a plasticard plate on top. This is mostly in keeping with how true scaling is normally done. Though if i was trying to convert something into primaris marines my goal would be to preserve the lower leg armor so I'd avoid the traditional lower leg spacer. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">Instead I'd focus on adding to the feet and a longer spacer in the thighs.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The new bolters are effectively the same as the old but stretched out by 133%. you could easily add a 3.5mm spacer right before the barrel. The plasmagun, sorry hellblaster?, its much longer and has a lot more detail but mostly just seems like the back of a melta gun bolted to a plasmagun. Bolt pistols are identically sized but new sculpts which is cool. Swords are slightly longer but the difference won't be really </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">noticeable</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">. I've estimated a bunch of other weapon sizes. Mostly they've all grown 30% larger in length and width but their heft and hilts are the same.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Over all modifying primaris is going to be harder because they have a lot of greeblies added by default. They all have holsters, pouches, and crap added on. This is a bit of a disservice to the otherwise good armor design. Though I will admit they do look more like active military with those addons.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I don't care for the Inceptor armor's added power cables on the legs and arms. It seems out of keeping with the otherwise cleaner design of the new armors. I'll likely just remove them, because they are stupid. Please, no one try and justify them to me. The armor the Inceptors are in is significantly bulkier than the normal Mk 10. there is plenty of room to put the stupid cables between the 2 plates of the normal Mk 10 and the added armor.</span></span></div>
dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-68562958178959209422017-06-24T13:46:00.000-07:002017-06-24T13:46:41.018-07:00Ages GoneIt's been ages since I've been on here. I've been dealing with a lot of health issues. They've taken a tole on both my ability to model and my disposable income to support hobbies. They are slowly resolving and I recently hit a point where I could get back into 40k again.<br />
<br />
Yeah 40k.<br />
<br />
So. I have to get something off my chest.<br />
<br />
A friend got me a copy of the Dark Imperium boxed set and I've been looking forward to it for a while. First let me say I like 40k's plot advancing. I even sort of like the new Primaris crap they are doing. I'm not a fan of "True Scale" marines but then I've never thought of my little figures as anything but little figures. If I bitched that a space marine was the same height as an imperial guardsman I'd have to complain that no space marine could fit through the side door of a rhino.<br />
<br />
I'm disappointed in the dark imperium boxed set. I like the rule book and the quality of packaging. But these models piss me off.<br />
<br />
GW tells us, Oh Primaris can work for any chapter. Except the Primaris kits in Dark Imperium lack possibility. You can't swap shoulder pads, you can't even swap weapons easily. These are 7th generation Crap Marines. Not familiar with crap marines?<br />
<br />
I've long used this term to describe marines from the old starter boxes. It started with the marines that had a gun just snap to their chest. Over the years the crap marines have gotten prettier but they are still crap.<br />
<br />
I got into 40k to build my army not theirs. A few months from now the real Primaris kits will come out I'm sure. Hopefully they come with changeable torsos, shoulders, arms etc. This molding shoulder pads to arms and affixing half the torso to the legs pisses me off. Its hard enough to do after market bits for my chapter without this shit.<br />
<br />
I wanted to get into age of sigmar but the same shit pissed me off. The storm cast eternals are built the same way. you get 6 poses and that's it. Fucking idiots. customization is one of the few things GW's models have always had going for them. They aren't the best quality anymore. And while 8th edition rules seem better on paper time will tell if they will be crap like most other editions ended up.<br />
<br />
Anyway, assuming the primaris shoulders are the same interior size as the old shoulders I'll make some new shoulders for them when they get real kits not crap marine kits. I want me some blood angel intercisor sqauds. <br />
<br />
Of note, the Intercisor shoulders are larger and flatter than traditional shoulders and the Gravis shoulder is even larger and flatter. I think Gravis shoulders are actually wider than terminator shoulders. My poor beleaguered termi's will sit on the shelf longer now. I miss autocannon fire :(<br />
<br />
Anyway the list of things that piss me off today...<br />
<br />
* Two part leg design<br />
* shoulder pads built into arms<br />
* torso backs built into legs<br />
* backpacks not being the same size as old backpacks<br />
* the extra little peg on the bottom of the new heads<br />
* bolt "Riffles" - so the old bolters didn't have riffled barrels to prevent their rocket propelled rounds from drifting off target? Cause you know, that's why riffles are called riffles right GW? Right?<br />
* 300 different base sizes.<br />
* any soldier in a brand new army being called an "Ancient" its supposed to feel new guys. Even just call them veterans would be tolerable.<br />
* power swords being 4mm longer. they didn't need to get bigger.dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-9497840604931408552014-02-18T20:51:00.003-08:002014-02-18T20:51:30.901-08:00Considering a Software Change<div class="MsoNormal">
I haven’t been adding new products to my Shapeways store for
a while as I’m trying to fix models that have been messed up by changing
material specifications. This has lead
me to a troubling realization.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trimble Sketchup is going downhill fast.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve been a big proponent of the software for a long time.
When I started doing 3d modeling I was pretty convinced it was the best thing
since sliced bread. Its learning curve
was very low as most of its tools made clear ideological sense coming from a 2d
design background. It’s overall
functionality was low but extensibility meant that the community presented easy
solutions to functionality it lacked. It
was over all stable until you tried to something that was absurdly complex
(billion triangle models suck in any application). And above all its community was very helpful
to new comers this was extremely helpful for preventing overwhelming oneself
with self-created problems.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the 4 years since I started using sketchup to model
miniatures I’ve gotten much more skilled with my modeling. I can now do what I once did much faster and
more efficiently making it possible to avoid many pit falls I once ran into
that wasted my time and efforts. I know
how to make models water tight the first time rather than use 3<sup>rd</sup> party
software to achieve the same result. I no longer need to rely on geometric
shapes when I can craft semi-organic forms from scratch in half the time. In the end I’m just better at doing what I
once did without hassle.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The trouble is that in those 4 years Sketchup hasn’t
evolved. It has gone from version 8 to
2013 (v9) and no significant changes has occurred. Small annoyances like my toolbars staying in
place have been fixed and the total zoom level has been improved. But the core is exactly the same. It can’t open or import any new file
types. Important functions added by
outside plugins such as auto-softening, solid solving, and complex 3d shapes
haven’t been addressed by the actual design team. The ruby api used by Sketchup is dated and
grows more so every day. The community
which was once so supportive seems divided and bitter with half lamenting the
new direction of the software and the other half lamenting anyone lamenting the
software. Sketchup is even still a 32
bit application. I own 7 computers and
everyone is a 64 bit machine, hell my phone is 64 bit. I have 16gigs of ram in my desktop and can’t
use it when working in sketchup’s 3d environment but can when working in
photoshop’s 2d environment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps the biggest reason I am growing increasingly morose
about sketchup is how slow it has gotten.
I did a test. On my desktop, with that 16 gigs of ram and a 3.4gig quad
core processor I installed an old copy of Sketchup 6, another install of
Sketchup 8, and finally Sketchup 2013m2. I installed no plugins. Then with no
other programs running I loaded a new file into each one and saved it. Then one at a time I rebooted, loaded a
version of sketchup and opened the completely empty file I had just saved, doing
so I timed how long it took to actually open the blank file. I did this 15 times each. On average the fastest was Sketchup 6. The oldest version loaded the quickest at 3.5
seconds. Followed by sketchup 8 at 5.2
seconds. And finally the newest version of sketchup at 13.8 seconds. I know, 13 seconds isn’t a drastic hit on the
surface but that’s an empty file. Do the
same with a big file you have geometry in.
I am regularly wait a minutes for files to load. And that’s just opening, it took 63 minutes
to import a model I was working on from Sculptris. The same model took 36 minutes to import in
Sketchup 8. Twice as long. Twice.
God that was boring to time too. No wonder I don’t want to do that on my
lunch break anymore.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I want to find an alternative to sketchup but there aren’t a
lot of those out there. Yes there are
softwares that compete with sketchup but not a lot that are what I’m looking
for. Firstly: Cost, in the long run cost
is an issue this is a hobby and I don’t have unlimited funds so I need low or
reasonable prices (for the companies that read this I mean it needs to cost
less than a whole paycheck). Secondly:
usability, software interfaces should be designed for ease of use not
overwhelming to a new or seasoned user (it should be like getting into a car
each one is different but you can recognize the damned steering wheel). Thirdly: Interoperability, 3d modeling requires a bunch of transferring
files about to deal with different types of modeling and testing models etc
that means you need compatibility with a lot of formats or one major universal
format (this doesn’t include STL, stl files are final output and lose all the
stuff like scaling and surface directions and important stuff like that). And lastly: Expediency, software should work
quickly with as little hassle to the end user as possible (this seems obvious
but a lot of software especially cloud based ones seem to forget this in favor
of being proprietary or cutting edge when unnecessary).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The usual answer I get suggested is Blender. First let me say frankly I consider Blender a
bad piece of software. Oh it works, it
does… stuff. But it doesn’t do it in any way that is remotely intuitive. You can’t just sit down and use Blender. You have to watch a tutorial, you must take a
class, you need to read a book, etc.
Sure there are a lot of extensions and that add compatibility but over
all its clunky and I find it slow. It
gives me headaches because anything I want to do with it is hidden behind a
different interface I have to find then figure out how to access and is
generally not what I wanted in the first place because I don’t know what
terminology the blender community has made up to cover what I’m actually doing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then someone will mention all those cloud base services like
3d Tin, Tinkercad, or Insight3d. there
are literally a hundred of these things. But they all are limited in the scope
of what they import and export and even if they could import just about
anything it takes forever to upload files to a server most days where I live. Having to import/export 15 times as I’ve done
with some models would waste 2 hours on its own. There is also the iffy-ness with end user
licensing on some of those sites. They
usually get the rights to use your files as examples and frankly that’s a
pretty big violation of my ideas on intellectual property laws, I should have
to give away something I designed just for the privilege of using someone’s
halfhearted software service to design it.
All these cloud services are really just trying to cash in on the idea
of software as a service but SaaS is only of value if the service they provide
is wanted, I don’t want to be limited to their file types and browser window
layouts, and lack of extensions, etc.
They are con-jobs with no real value unlike larger services like Office
365 which gives you more value for your buck.
There are also a lot of these services who restrict use based on
commercial vs personal use which I find patently ridiculous. If I am given a truck for free it doesn’t
change its value if I use it to drive to the grocery store or if I use it to
ship sheetrock back and forth to job sites.
It’s still a truck, a tool to do with as I will, IE its mine regardless
of how they want to play with it. This
is particularly annoying with autodesk’s 123D tools which they want to sell you
under a “Premium membership” for 120 dollars a year so you can sell your own
creativity. Guess what, can’t guarantee
I make 120 dollars a year on 3d models so why would I pay you?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what am I considering? Well the list is below.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Metasequoia4 – interesting, the interface looks decent enough,
I’m going to test it out but the 150 dollar price tag for the functions I might
use regularly (unit display, measure thicknesses, and FBX import/export) might
be a deal breaker if the interface isn’t good enough.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
ArchiCad 17 – I’ve been told the interface is well
structured. It’s foremost an
architectural tool but has 3d design options. I might try this out. Again the
price is high, a little to high for my tastes but I’ll let it try and blow me
out of the water.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Moment of Inspiration 3d – a design based software focused
on ease of use for the artist. A good
idea I’d like to try it out and see how user friendly it is. Price is 295 for the full version so its out
of my general price range (if I can’t justify 120 bucks 295 is out of the
question).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hexigon 2.5 – I’ve actually owned this software for about a
year. It was given away by Daz so I
jumped on the download but never installed it. I’d like to try it out see how
the interface is. Free is always a good but it’s likely designed for a more
technical user base.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Silo 3d – someone raved about the interface of silo so I
should probably give it a try. Its
relatively affordable at 100 bucks at the moment (usually 150 so not
terrible). Not sure what formats it
supports or modeling tools it has, it talks about switching between “organic
and edge” based modeling.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-88837988060488689282014-02-11T08:36:00.003-08:002014-02-11T08:36:43.056-08:00Updates<div class="MsoNormal">
Well now it has been a while hasn't it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I find myself waxing nostalgic and I remembered I was once a
blogger among my many other hobbies. Since the middle of October maybe before I’ve
been pretty heavily occupied. It started of course with several commissions
from fairly large miniatures manufacturers. But it quickly escalated as December,
the holidays, and my wedding day arrived.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At this point I haven’t worked on my models in months which
saddens me. I’m also sad that some of
the commission work I’ve done hasn’t actually been released yet. In particular
the defense lines from Chapter House’s kickstarter which were an extensive
product I’m proud of. Still I am not in control
of that stuff so I shouldn’t let it bug me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve had a lot of requests for different designs, mostly
space marine bits. I’ll fill these in bit by bit as I get the chance. My work schedule has imploded due to layoffs
so my free time is not what it was. But
I still enjoy this part of the hobby. Truthfully I think the 3d modeling and
printing is more fulfilling than playing 40k for me since 6<sup>th</sup>
edition launched. I’d personally like to go off on a rant about how GW’s hodge
podge releases are killing the game or how their disguising the price hikes as
mini-rereleases sickens me but truthfully my vested interest is pretty much at
an end. I can’t really feel angry at
Games Workshop for their business plan anymore, it’s just, sad.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But all that is unimportant when we are talking about 3d
printing miniatures.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’d like to firstly say I get way to many “copy this” requests. I think I’ve become a magnet for such
requests because my big starting project was space marine shoulder pads which
are arguably copied designs. (I disagree by definition the addition of any amount
of creativity makes things unique designs and I believe I had done that, but I digress). My point here is I’m going to have to be more
discriminatory on this issue. Companies
like Games Workshop are being more restrictive on such issues but even companies
that make real world products would have recourse for legal action on the issue
if they cared. Mainly I’m inclined to
lean towards simply producing original designs or variants with high degrees of
originality. People are free to request anything they want but I encourage you
to also consider that I’m free to refuse requests as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Secondly I get a lot and I mean a lot of requests for
pictures of my products. I’ve been
pretty torn on this issue for a long time.
I have had these requests pretty much from day one on Shapeways. On the one hand I agree it’s a bit miss
leading to put up digital images of a product to be ordered in print. On the other hand I’ve said before I don’t
have a camera that will take good miniatures photos. There is something bigger at work here
though. Put simply I don’t have time or
money enough to order prints of every single product. And many things I wouldn’t order prints of
even if I had all the money in the world.
I don’t want copies of everyone’s custom shoulder pads and I don’t have
the need for 500 swords. Even further beyond that is simply I don’t want to
take a thousand photos. I’m not a
salesman. I make miniatures for the fun
of it. Taking it seriously and treating
it like a business takes that fun away. It was a nice lark to have
Chapterhouse, Blood and Skulls, and others treat me as a professional but this
is a hobby to me. I don’t take pictures
of my 40k armies and stick them online I’m not going to do it with the bits I make
either. Now this does make things a bit
awkward at times, hard to imagine bits and such can be problematic. I’ll be
making adjustments as needed upon request and maybe that’s not good enough for
some but It’s the best I can do. At least until I no longer have a home to take
care of, a wife to love, a job to go to, and at least a dozen other hobbies to indulge
(maybe if I kick one of the hobbies I might take up miniature photography). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On a happier note, I’m officially buying a 3d printer. Specifically a peachy printer. The peachy guys were kind enough to let me
pledge late to their kickstarter so I’ll be getting one in a few months. The peachy printer is a high detail photo-resin
printer that uses laser pointers to solidify resin. It’s oddly sound driven with a water drip
system to control the z axis which are really unique features. The important point is they are affordable. Not affordable like companies often claim
where you have to spend 2 or 3 paychecks to make the down payment but actually affordable,
about twice the cost of a standard printer. It uses Blender for its model
output which saddens me but I can deal with importing models from a good
software package into blender. Its
detail resolution is about .2mm at the moment and they are trying to improve
that. This is roughly analogous to Frosted Ultra Detail but its resin meaning
it has no frosted surface and could theoretically be printed smooth. Once I receive this printer I intend to do
several things. First, dance around
happily. Second, lament for days about
where to set it up, likely getting yelled at by my wife everytime I try to take
over the living room coffee table so I can play with it and watch tv. Third, I want to test print some of my
catalogue of miniatures, specifically some full figures I’m working on, stuff
that really needs tested for sizing before being sent off to Shapeways. Forth,
I hope to test some of my larger designs, Shapeways is prohibitively expensive
to print large things like vehicles so I’d like to try and test some that might
eventually be sent off to a design studio for casting.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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Anyway that’s a good update for now.<o:p></o:p></div>
dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-47881220141585464522013-11-06T09:35:00.000-08:002013-11-06T12:07:24.155-08:00Man I'm having a great day.Man my day is going just fantastic.<br />
<br />
Shapeways apparently changed the limit on bounding box size from being by object to being by shell. this means that though the total object (IE entire stl) is above the limit a single shell or part in that object is not and thus failing. <br />
<br />
<<<Begin Rant>>><br />
So I resolved the error of thickness on many of my models and come to find out a new bounding box rule has been put in place making some of my smaller objects mess up.<br />
<br />
Sigh.<br />
<br />
You know what shapeways, I'm starting to feel like an abused girlfriend. <br />
<br />
You want me to make objects conform to all your rules. Fine tell me the rules when they fucking change. Or when things are added. Just email me when you change your design rules page. is that so hard to ask. or maybe have a changes notice when I log in.<br />
<br />
Or maybe. and this is a bit of a radical suggestion here. Maybe you should have the upload tool check for things like Minimum bounding box size. Cause see I believe things like wall thickness are hard to check. But bounding box size is not. its something video games on my iphone can check without straining the processor.<br />
<br />
I just repaired these files and uploaded them and it didn't error then. If your size check would have just checked this I wouldn't have to be embarrassed yet again when dealing with my very pleasant customers.<br />
<br />
They've been very nice and patient while I fix things. I've been frustrated and melancholy about problems with files I thought I was done with. But they have been polite and understanding.<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong shapeway's, your support team has been nice and all. Always so keen to tell me what I've done wrong. But that again is sort of the abuse of it all. Its all my fault. Its all my mistake. Nothing you could have done would have fixed this. No notice sent out would be helpful, no I have to obsess over design rules I thought I learned every time someone orders a model I made a year ago.<br />
<br />
Rules like this minimum bounding box and the ever changing wire rules. the lack of clarity on what's detail vs wall rules. And even the constant wall thickness lottery are symptoms of the same abusive relationship. You don't know how and when to talk to me.<br />
<br />
See I'm getting married so I've been thinking a lot about relationships. My soon to be wife and I love each other. Spending time with eachother isn't' a chore its a joy. We have different interests but we share and enjoy that we are each different.<br />
<br />
Now shapeways, I like you a lot. We share this great hobby of making digital objects become physical but really all there is between us is the physical. I have spent countless hours trying to make things perfect for you but you're never satisfied. You just keep raising the bar. over and over again. If its not what you wanted you could have told me to make some changes when you're demands changed. But no I have to be blind sided with things. And there are my friends who just want to by some miniatures caught in the middle. So I have to scramble and redo the whole damned thing to satisfy you. If I don't someone's feelings will be hurt.<br />
<br />
And lets not talk about the pricing. Everytime I have to fix stuff for you the price seems to go up. Things get blown a little bit bigger each time and what happens? You get to charge a teeny tiny bit more. My friends pay the consequences of you not telling me what I need to do.<br />
<br />
It just gets old shapeways. you have to tell me things before an issue arises. Not when things go bad but before they fall apart. All I want you to do is talk to me. Is that so much to ask.<br />
<br />
Oh yeah and I want you to call fucking Netfabb and have them build you a proper design rules check algorythim for me to test things with before upload. Fuck.<br />
<br />
<br />
<<<End Rant>>><br />
<br />
After some consideration I will begin backing up my STL files from shapeways with the intent of removing them from the service. The goal being to pull everything down and fix it before returning it to sale. This will be time consuming, frustrating, and will likely mean many products are never returned to shapeways. but it also won't happen while I'm doing a wedding so it will likely start in February or march. sigh.<br />
<br />dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-24833300899110890332013-10-31T17:14:00.000-07:002013-10-31T17:14:00.021-07:00RepairsI have posted several repaired models that had previously failed.<br />
<br />
The protoss and Claptrap's chief among them. I'm slowly working through weapons to make them compliant with the new FD/FUD limitations.<br />
<br />
Repaired<br />
Protoss squad<br />
Claptrap squad<br />
Halo Pistol<br />
Halo Plasma Pistol<br />
Advanced Rifle<br />
Advanced Intrasonic Rifle<br />
Advanced Infrasonic Pistol<br />
Advanced Ingrasonic Cannon<br />
<br />
To be repaired<br />
Advanced Thermal Laser variants.<br />
<br />
<br />
Considering<br />
I have approximately 200 weapons many of which were designed for the old FD design rules where wire thickness was allowed to be lower. I'm considering redesigning all my weapons with standard handles for better printing. <br />
<br />dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-26279385686709130532013-10-28T12:38:00.001-07:002013-10-28T12:50:33.632-07:00More NoticesIt has again come to my attention that apparently some materials that I have intentionally disabled have arbitrarily been re-enabled by Shapeways. This is specifically problematic with WSF and its relatives as it has apparently been enabled on many of my products. Another thing I need to fix eventually.<br />
<br />
Also apparently the model update tool is not working correctly at present so to repair models i have to upload entirely new copies.<br />
<br />
Shapeways is getting to be a headache. The change in modeling rules is frustrating but somewhat necessary to insure they make "quality" products. of course quality here is relative because the increased model limitations are starting to make FD/FUD essentially the same design wise as WSF which was a shitty product to begin with. And since this type of printing generally abolishes tiny detail it can't really compete with finished production casting anyway. Still I can tolerate that to some degree. But webpages just not working is another story.<br />
<br />
I spend hours modifying a model. Running it through magics to seal it. running it through netfabb to compare it to design rules (always seem to miss something). then try to upload it only to not have the update button work so then have to use the new upload function, and waste even more time resetting parameters in shapways.<br />
<br />
I'm just frustrated. Shapeways support is looking into both the issue of materials turning themselves on and the issue of the update page not working. Hopefully its resolved quickly.dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-79080570317055079762013-10-24T15:24:00.000-07:002013-10-24T15:24:42.537-07:00Quick NoticeFirstly everyone forgive me regarding how long its been since I have updated this blog or added content to my Shapeways shop. I'm presently planning my wedding for December of this year. It's a fantastic and happy occasion but it leaves little time for modeling or other projects. I appreciate all the email requests and best wishes I've gotten as well as everyone's patience. <br />
<br />
The main reason for this post however is that it has come to my attention that Shapeway's hasn't been able to send correspondence to one of my email accounts for approximately two to three months. This means I haven't gotten failure to print notices for objects ordered for that entire time. If people have anything they have ordered that failed send me an email or private massage and I'll try to fix it.<br />
<br />
In case people wonder, failures are happening because Shapeways has been adjusting the print rules for Frosted Detail and Frosted Ultra Detail to insure better print ability. In the long run the new print restrictions will eventually lead to more consistent and successful print of higher quality in FD/FUD. In the short run the results basically mean that thin wires now have a minimum of .8mm to print better at 1mm (same as WSF). Since most of my wires have been made at .75 its just bellow print-ability and for safety some heavy beefing up is needed.<br />
<br />
I'm slowly fixing things as I get time. with 650 products this will take a while. My priority for repairs is things that have failed on ordering.<br />
<br />
Please bare with me.<br />
<br />
present errors I know of.<br />
<br />
Claptrap (claptrap's antennae)<br />
Protoss (energy blades failed)<br />
Halo Pistol (trigger guard)<br />
Advanced Sonic Rifle (presumably all sonic weapons as its the dish that caused the error)<br />
<br />
Shapeways is getting me a further list of the messages I missed but I'll get on these ASAP.dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-79556670625359305842013-06-25T12:48:00.001-07:002013-06-25T12:48:07.561-07:00Update and KickstarterHey, I know I've been slow to update lately. Its because I've been working on commissions. I've not really been available as most of my free time has been taken up by a mixture of actual job work and commissions. I'm not sure that will change much but I finally am free to actually let people know what I've been working on.<br />
<br />
So here it is.<br />
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<a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1877613212/28mm-wargaming-sci-fi-trenches-and-emplacements-te">http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1877613212/28mm-wargaming-sci-fi-trenches-and-emplacements-te</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If you are in the market for some cool terrain check them out. It's my first major terrain pieces so I'll be following everyone's feedback closely.</div>
dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-90741467535659499372013-06-15T12:59:00.000-07:002013-06-15T12:59:45.906-07:00VerdictA verdict has been handed down in the Chapterhouse Vs GamesWorkshop case. By the jury at least. Among the things Chapterhouse was ruled as using fairly was the SHAPE of the shoulder pad. The public is still waiting for the official judge's ruling but it looks like after market shoulder pads are legal within a certain context. Obviously this ruling will be appealed by Games Workshop but to what extent the jury decision will be changed is questionable.<br />
<br />
What this means is that the shape of the shoulder pad is not a protected sculptural element according to American law. This does not make the icons for space marine chapters unprotected. Custom chapter icons on traditional shoulder pad shapes are legally acceptable. I have yet to decide if I will begin moving my own custom shoulder pad designs onto shapeways to be sold. At this time I believe it prudent to wait for the appeals court to decide before I do anything.<br />
<br />
Also I won't lie, this decision makes me quite happy. GamesWorkshop lost a portion of their claims but Chapterhouse didn't lose all theirs. In the long run the decision has laid a foundation for future bits production which can be followed by designers such as myself. I look forward to seeing if this creates a more balanced market for miniatures or if GW responds by trademarking models before they publish a codex.dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-41364303193123316922013-05-01T16:07:00.001-07:002013-05-01T16:08:30.332-07:00Update on Life<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
Wow I'm
tired. I haven't updated my blog in almost a month and for that I'm
sorry. I promised to show you a painted example of the heavy armor.
Trouble with that is I actually have to paint them. I honestly
haven't found the time. I have them assembled and primed but I have
gotten no farther. It's the story of my entire miniatures collection.
It grows but I can never seem to complete an army.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
So what has taken my time? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br />
Well a gaming table actually.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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My gaming
group got together shortly after my last blog post and while drinking a lot we
decided it would be quite nice to build a gaming table. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
I can’t
stress how much alcohol was involved in this decision because it has proven
quite the undertaking. We aren’t the
most graceful or skilled carpenters on the planet. In fact I’d have to say our
skill level with “Craft (furniture)” is roughly -4 ranks averaged between us. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
However
with several pints of Guinness anything is possible.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
So I was
tasked, possibly as a cruel joke, with coming up with a perfect gaming table
design.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So that I
did.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After our RPG session we drank and discussed options
and the materials we could use. We
hashed out our basic needs and what level of complexity we were talking
about. Some of my gamer colleagues and I
even field tripped to local home supply stores to see potential materials for
the build.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Afterwards, armed with all this critical
intelligence I sat down with another beer and google sketchup to plan. I put the design together in google sketchup so
that people can take a look at it in 3d.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At its core the table design we came up with is
modular so we can reformat it to fit our needs.
Made up of 3 separate segments, the two outside segments are
self-supporting and hold up the central segment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The first section is a relatively small table sized
at 32”x48” followed by a center projection section also at 32”x48”, and the
last section with a size of 48”x48”. When
combined, this will make a single table 4’ by 9’4” table suitable to fit our
large 10 person gaming group. In the
center of this large table is an LCD projector rear mounted to display dynamic
content on the tabletop itself. The
entire surface of the table is covered in plexiglass mounted on piano hinges so
maps and gaming aids can be put under them and wet or dry erase markers used
directly on the table top. In all, great
for RPG gaming. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Or we can remove the projection section to make a 4’
by 6’8” table. This size is perfectly
sized for table top wargaming, having a standard 4’ b6 6’ surface with 4 inches
on either side for models in reserve or removed from game. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Or we can separate the 4’ by 4’ table giving us a
single square table. This is perfect for
traditional 4 player board games or smaller skirmished based table top games.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The 2’8” by 4’ table also works for smaller board
and card games with 2 to 4 players. Or
it can be tucked out of the way for entertaining.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The frame of the table is sturdy design using 2x2
and 2x4 lumber to distribute the weight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Along the outer edge of the table are mounted
K-Rails, a snap fit rail system traditionally used in garages. Here we use it
for mounting shelving to expand the surface as needed. The K-Rail system acts
as both the lip of the table top and lets us mount temporary table space around
the outside of the table as well as mount cup holders, dice towers, and other
amenities wherever we sit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kobalt makes K-rail shelves, baskets, and so on
that, with minor modification, can serve the needs of any gaming group without
trouble. Our basic design mounts a 12”
by 18” piece of 3/4<sup>th</sup> inch particle board onto two flat K-rail
brackets with a piano hinge at the back to mount plexiglass. This simple structure adds a single seating
place with enough room for the player to roll dice and store their character
sheet under plexiglass and use markers to track health and so on. Other designs can be made and the player or
group could customize these shelves to whatever they need or simply go without
them entirely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The structure is supported by its two end
sections. Each one is mounted on a set
of 4” by 4” legs mounted on locking casters.
The legs are 30” long with 2” casters, once flush mounted with the top
the table stands roughly 32” high. This
is a tiny bit higher than a normal table for sitting but slightly low for a
standing counter top. We found this was a good medium for both standing and
seated gaming. The casters make the
table easy to move around. The large
size and sturdy nature of the legs allow the table to support the center
section of the table for the projector. This
insert is pinned on with aluminum pipe. Though
it may support a side seat it is mostly intended to simply mount the projector. Minor modifications could make this table
free standing or mount other equipment like an LCD TV or monitor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So that’s the design. Lets see some pictures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFz32d_t_Vz873E6OvsuBdBx6osySSRCLhQVFTWQ9hH3BL7HWDaojr7VBd62SPVmVagCBHrLmBrh3MFMqqW48kIlPciNXeSpiTP6rDudavmdGjlf7iWrYjWoMahE8AcATHNSn5P1-6Deo/s1600/table+001.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFz32d_t_Vz873E6OvsuBdBx6osySSRCLhQVFTWQ9hH3BL7HWDaojr7VBd62SPVmVagCBHrLmBrh3MFMqqW48kIlPciNXeSpiTP6rDudavmdGjlf7iWrYjWoMahE8AcATHNSn5P1-6Deo/s320/table+001.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruOpDB1fx_ES9BrxlbSsOS06moxv3PZ4ckQOvKhwvoSKBWPrTPOsSrZGtauQ_tT-z_bqRHhaEdudK2Ha_v5SiDF20krG6zcpBhL_GCWvF0tXCpOxPyJ-e5RH2X6yW3CGtdCsJ8xoXt6w/s1600/table+002.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruOpDB1fx_ES9BrxlbSsOS06moxv3PZ4ckQOvKhwvoSKBWPrTPOsSrZGtauQ_tT-z_bqRHhaEdudK2Ha_v5SiDF20krG6zcpBhL_GCWvF0tXCpOxPyJ-e5RH2X6yW3CGtdCsJ8xoXt6w/s320/table+002.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Needed
Supplies<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1/2" Masonite x1 32"x48" + x1 48"x48" + x2
2" strips 48" and x2 2" strips 28" long<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1/8" Plexi x2 32"x48" + x2 24"x48" Note: the
largest plexi we found was 32” x 48” if you can find bigger it might be a cheaper
build. This is the most expensive part,
doesn’t count any plexi for K-rail place settings. Roughly 250 bucks here, literally costs as
much as the entire table (minus projector).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2 part epoxy 1
tube Used to glue
plexi to hinges.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2” Flush Seat Wooden Screws x100 Used to
mount the K-rails<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2x2 53'6" ~7 boards Cuts are
below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2x4 39'2" ~5 boards Cuts are
below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3/4" Aluminum pipe 3' holds table sections together<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3/4" U-bracket x16 holds up the pipe that holds
table sections together<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">3” Flush Seat Wooden Deck Screws x100 Used to build the frame.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">4x4 20’ ~2 boards Note:
alternatively you can use folding table leg kits but each section will need to
be self supporting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Casters –locking x8 screw on
casters best.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Cotter pins
x8 Ace has
them individually, need to get ones that will fit the pipe bought to hold
tables together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Glass
Mounting Kit x1 not sure on
this, you need to mount a mirror at a 45 degree angle for the projector to get
a focal length of 5 feet not sure on the fittings needed for that, I assume,
duct-tape<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">K-Rail Track 26'7” ~8 six foot
rails <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">L-brackets x32 used to
mount the legs. Note: not needed if you use folding leg kits<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LCD projector x1 standard
long throw projector that has rear mounting settings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mirror x1 Minimum
12"x12" preferably larger 16” or 18”
square would be best<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Piano Hinge x6 12" Sold individually <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">White Craft Paper
32"x48" this is the
projection surface, you can use craft paper, tracing paper, or any other semitransparent
surface with an opacity of around 70%. You can buy drafting paper that has this
opacity and ½” grid lines.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wire Cart +casters no top x1 used
to mount the projector, could be a board with casters honestly, just needs to
be flat and can mount a projector and mirror.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wood
Cuts<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2x2 - x6 48" - x6 29" - x4 45"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">2x4 - x4 32" - x6 41" - x2 48"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">4x4 - x8 30”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">masonite - x1 32"x48" - x1
48"x48" - x2 32"x2" - x2 44"x2"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">K-rail - x4 48" - x4 32"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Shelves<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">K-rail flat mount brackets - 2 per seat/expansion
shelf<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">MDF - 18" x 12" per seat/expansion
shelf x1 8'by4' MDF board cut down into segments<o:p></o:p></span></div>
dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-3128890030161264172013-04-10T23:36:00.000-07:002013-04-10T23:36:32.082-07:00Star Marine Heavy Armor Assembly and Review Part 1...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Well as I said I was really waiting to do a blog about my Star Marines. Now I'm going to do this as a review of sorts. Yes I know it seems stupid to be reviewing my own work but it’s necessary. I’ve had a lot of questions about print quality with shapeway’s miniatures so I thought this was a good time to address that issue. Also I felt it was a good time to address some of the ways we have to handle Shapeways products that is different than traditional miniatures. So hopefully you’ll be getting an honest critique along with some lessons learned to fulfill your plastic addiction.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8rC724OEZ-xe4mO1ahij7-91IKdEh1fypDhEWewndD4Zn_dKMEjhNjxMc3JgYiLhYqo_uzYqAzBxUB20OGzB-bQ8KfVP2MraMdf65CckMMTtO1_82FmMwXu3FRioBIeA3RzizrBQyjQ/s1600/100_1121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8rC724OEZ-xe4mO1ahij7-91IKdEh1fypDhEWewndD4Zn_dKMEjhNjxMc3JgYiLhYqo_uzYqAzBxUB20OGzB-bQ8KfVP2MraMdf65CckMMTtO1_82FmMwXu3FRioBIeA3RzizrBQyjQ/s320/100_1121.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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OK so first off, packaging and shipping. I ordered these miniatures on March 31st at around 8 pm and they arrived Tuesday April 9th at 2:02 pm according to the packaging slip. That's a Sunday and there is a weekend in between so that's roughly 7 business days to print these models and ship them to me from Shapeway's New York facility. Realistically they probably shipped out the Wednesday or Thursday after I placed the order. I'd call that pretty good turn around considering GW ran out of Dark Vengeance boxes day one on release and it took almost 3 weeks to get more stock to my local game store. Ironically Shapeways sent a little apology note to me because they think 7 business days is to slow. I really applaud Shapeways for their standards of service here.</div>
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The box is a sturdy cardboard box and the product is completely wrapped in large bubble wrap. No bubble mailers or flimsy card stock packaging. Inside the bubble wrap everything is in its own thick zip-lock polybag. Nice little resealable bits containers for those who want them. I use them for partitioning out models my wife sells on ebay. </div>
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I will say I'm not sure how larger items ship. Plastic miniatures in a baggie seems fine to me but two pieces of metal jewelry sliding across each doesn't make me feel good about the finishing. I'd hope they bag metal items individuality and wrap larger items directly in bubble wrap before bagging. No idea though because all these are small scale parts and I'd say good packaging for what I ordered.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFD3NrHOu-5wL-pvQ4MzL0SWMR-TaXcym-OKkr4O7DmjH-_7TL3TvlkjqjFEAY6TyHf52Dbv2XbxGUHFoW4zIdpZm4UKO60kxS5fx0gMDu2jTeirxinMSKcuzWlCqksxMqOpifm6glvnQ/s1600/100_1123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFD3NrHOu-5wL-pvQ4MzL0SWMR-TaXcym-OKkr4O7DmjH-_7TL3TvlkjqjFEAY6TyHf52Dbv2XbxGUHFoW4zIdpZm4UKO60kxS5fx0gMDu2jTeirxinMSKcuzWlCqksxMqOpifm6glvnQ/s320/100_1123.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here we have the gravity hammers and torso's in bag. Sorry for the glare, the polybag is about 4 or 5 mil thick and glossy so its hard to get a great picture. Shapeways actually sorted all these bits themselves, my model simply put them in the smallest amount of space possible so clearly their people are good at their jobs.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0vLZldw0X9ZJlxKleKL9CavDXSE6uldRtaPhIOxa5Qe89AS5yQQhDWDllzvgXUoczPaCHo3xNSrJYxYiEnVZDBPsn6XI9_gaCtsmeqtG3z-A6oTEIGrLMw1tibU1PnBL9ygbcgpKbTE/s1600/100_1125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0vLZldw0X9ZJlxKleKL9CavDXSE6uldRtaPhIOxa5Qe89AS5yQQhDWDllzvgXUoczPaCHo3xNSrJYxYiEnVZDBPsn6XI9_gaCtsmeqtG3z-A6oTEIGrLMw1tibU1PnBL9ygbcgpKbTE/s320/100_1125.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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They packed the legs, shields, and backpacks together. Torsos, legs, and backpacks were all hollowed to lower the price a bit. Even though they are hollow they are still quite sturdy and all survived the printing process without problems.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDjmqo41KcOyy9fBkQG2fepvW_-M8fcCssPrFXExx0NZ03-HFPnRm21ff2ZbOW8iVxAu8PiJDTiCXrTTeoHjXVoemDqIR59_2KQJ1vBlaQQv5G05plfM3U-d6guFiJwTQVke8Fob1n4w/s1600/100_1129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDjmqo41KcOyy9fBkQG2fepvW_-M8fcCssPrFXExx0NZ03-HFPnRm21ff2ZbOW8iVxAu8PiJDTiCXrTTeoHjXVoemDqIR59_2KQJ1vBlaQQv5G05plfM3U-d6guFiJwTQVke8Fob1n4w/s320/100_1129.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
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Everyone's favorite, shoulder pads. These are just generic shoulders, no iconography. But they turned out well enough.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmca8TKW2utLd0be9Djt2mVsCaKVlt0uzkHZGkKIM0BlPJXfjJN4Mfs4wZFiMpOCsFaylvjSOq1jxqUUn2lLRxRqJKmGvIAGjhZCnPxw2fFVJWfxSAUGLxnm6xTPd2R5IOtsYEvE1jnQI/s1600/100_1127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmca8TKW2utLd0be9Djt2mVsCaKVlt0uzkHZGkKIM0BlPJXfjJN4Mfs4wZFiMpOCsFaylvjSOq1jxqUUn2lLRxRqJKmGvIAGjhZCnPxw2fFVJWfxSAUGLxnm6xTPd2R5IOtsYEvE1jnQI/s320/100_1127.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here are the arms sprues. I chose to make sprues for the arms rather than loose bits because the hands are extremely small and I thought they might get lost. this is also the only place we see any breakage. A couple of hands and arms came off sprue. Because the parts were in the bag i'm guessing this happened in shipping. Specifically the break point was the sprue where it joins the base of the part. This was a 1mm diameter wire that was supporting the weight of the pieces and no damage was done to the bits themselves.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYLesTzTyUgdhiwsAmCPjCLOpGU6aBEQz3UfQaldf_JiTzJ_qUGDtONX4m-5SzXpqqQsMlDDSV_jFPyt4srmiKZIhxMCJlLc21Wtfyczhh5VUep_oUKKFM67vngnzEfu5gna3YVf3tZU/s1600/100_1132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYLesTzTyUgdhiwsAmCPjCLOpGU6aBEQz3UfQaldf_JiTzJ_qUGDtONX4m-5SzXpqqQsMlDDSV_jFPyt4srmiKZIhxMCJlLc21Wtfyczhh5VUep_oUKKFM67vngnzEfu5gna3YVf3tZU/s320/100_1132.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ok so here we are getting into the interesting shots. I've removed the bits from their bags and
washed them (not shown). I've ordered
these miniatures in Frosted Detail. Frosted
Detail and Frosted Ultra Detail are essentially the same material. FUD has a lower possible thickness and a
slightly lower minimum detail than FD but thicknesses below .8mm are extremely
weak in both materials making them very brittle. As a result the price for FUD can’t be offset
any farther by thinning and still have a model that won’t break during game
play. Ultimately it comes down to the
minimum detail, 0.2mm vs 0.1mm doesn't sound like a lot and I’ll argue isn't enough to justify the cost of FUD over FD.
I have more opinions on print materials I’ll cover later on but
basically keep in mind the cost difference is more for the printing time that
it takes to print in FUD than for the actual material costs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMoHIClNiA-SLNEcmp-lBuhz_x7YheZN5uWgNBu-6QNrUwxc0xR-ig1CyZSZD1yG7K4Qog6px_BB3pflEb7b6Irj7pHR5sPipnhZvjWxvs96J6UsnbZwAbQbJozGk6O99k3A2S61vGT8/s1600/100_1138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMoHIClNiA-SLNEcmp-lBuhz_x7YheZN5uWgNBu-6QNrUwxc0xR-ig1CyZSZD1yG7K4Qog6px_BB3pflEb7b6Irj7pHR5sPipnhZvjWxvs96J6UsnbZwAbQbJozGk6O99k3A2S61vGT8/s320/100_1138.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Photographing Frosted Detail is like trying to photograph an
ice sculpture. It main body is
transparent and it’s outer surface has a white “frost” to it making it hard to
make out detail. In these photograph’s I’ve
increased the contrast so you can see a bit more detail than the original
unedited photo. </div>
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Here we see the Shield
and Backpack design. You’ll note the
raised plates on the shield’s face have flattened out a bit during
printing. Each step of the plates is approximately
.25mm because the minimum detail is .2mm for FD its hard to discern exactly
where the levels change, they are still noticeably different levels just a
little flatter than originally designed.
This detail loss is minor but worth noting, I’ll be pointing it out as I
go along.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The backpacks are much more detailed because their surface changes are much larger than the subtle rounding of the shield. The only real loss of detail is in the vents along the sides of the pack which have filled in during printing. this is because I didn't make the vent's surface deep enough to really pop out. If you are using FD for making masters for casting your surface detail will be very important to you and sadly this lose, while minor to me, might be deal breaker.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqBIMJiU5Y1m95CK2CaZ61lreDKE0MxG_qbU1qt1N7OcuH7QsVBcwzc5iqFeSuwb65EOrwfv6T0KR760EHIHqhXFC3gi4uixrfY5IEnojs-ql1mjNZ3wUTZLlsDT0hh3Gg6pS9Zs_WU8/s1600/100_1134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqBIMJiU5Y1m95CK2CaZ61lreDKE0MxG_qbU1qt1N7OcuH7QsVBcwzc5iqFeSuwb65EOrwfv6T0KR760EHIHqhXFC3gi4uixrfY5IEnojs-ql1mjNZ3wUTZLlsDT0hh3Gg6pS9Zs_WU8/s320/100_1134.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here we see two parts, the Torsos and the Hammer. The torso’s
are hollowed out so they have a more transparent quality than the other
bits. The inside of the torso is a
hollow bubble that I’ve put holes in the bottom and sides (shoulder mounts) on
headed torso’s I also do a neck hole.
You’d think this would make the model fragile but it’s actually quite
sturdy. Think of it like an egg,
structurally the force applied when squeezing the torso is spread across the
entire surface making its crush strength much higher.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The detail on the torso turned out quite well. You can clearly see the joins along the ab armor as well as the ribbing on the power cables. Some detail is lost along the top of the capsule. It's hard to make out in the photo but the square visor plate that is in the center of the capsule's face is almost totally gone. this is caused by two things. First if I go back to my 3d model I can see the square's raised rim is extremely shallow, I can't get a clear measurement but it is probably below that 0.2 mm detail level. Secondly you can just make out slight lines going left to right along the surface, this is the print grain of the model. The printer head orientation gives all 3d printed models a grain and sadly that grain has caused some loss of detail. It happens and can mostly be avoided if I had made the detail deeper to begin with.</div>
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Frosted Detail’s plasticity is lower than the ABS plastics
used by most miniatures companies that do plastics but it’s still higher than
most resin products. That means it will flex rather than break most
of the time but it’s still brittle enough that if you step on it, it doesn't so
much smoosh down as it does shatter like glass.
I was particularly worried about this issue with the Hammer’s handle. The thinnest part of the handle is 1mm
exactly so it’s right on the line of minimum wire detail. However the hammer, both head and handle,
turned out quite well. The lines on the
head are pretty crisp, the detail on the hand grip of the handle filled in
slightly but over all this is a symptom of me again designing to close to the
0.2mm minimum detail thickness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIQ7CAGOyV26HzYermeeVnxrgslXwMHxF6pR-RDck4y7iLIy61qNIMlHJYoIl2fEYZujiw2xqFLsMhUePLvga_Ruc9uoB26VfmljSpXuPNxpwuzRhpoEzwJujNvMfcAbJay7mI8oZbIA/s1600/100_1136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIQ7CAGOyV26HzYermeeVnxrgslXwMHxF6pR-RDck4y7iLIy61qNIMlHJYoIl2fEYZujiw2xqFLsMhUePLvga_Ruc9uoB26VfmljSpXuPNxpwuzRhpoEzwJujNvMfcAbJay7mI8oZbIA/s320/100_1136.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ah the legs. I won’t
deny I’m a bit of a leg man and I’m quite proud of the quality of the legs on
this design. Here we see the photo’s of
the design’s legs so you can get an idea of their quality. The hollow in the legs here is not uniform
and has trapped raw material inside the leg design. The result is these bits
look a lot whiter than the other bits.
The surface texture of 3d printed materials isn’t smooth. In the case of FD and FUD it leaves a white
frosted glass sort of texture but this is slight enough that very little detail
is lost in printing (provided we mind the minimum detail levels). The legs surface have nice subtle curves as I
intended. You can clearly make out
details like the thick cabling and the hydraulics on the caves. I’ll count these as the best printed bits so
far.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihhXwSzGUGwf51AexKWbXj6eekVfaYxn76aFJ0XPxXOnb0xvwlOYZKQjgIwvsA-KvSfeDjOqQuId-Lpwul8DJPu06EvczC5f-W7r76VdpuVjn9O_lR_qYzGVMOa8wSTEkTrk16B1j5Tbo/s1600/100_1139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihhXwSzGUGwf51AexKWbXj6eekVfaYxn76aFJ0XPxXOnb0xvwlOYZKQjgIwvsA-KvSfeDjOqQuId-Lpwul8DJPu06EvczC5f-W7r76VdpuVjn9O_lR_qYzGVMOa8wSTEkTrk16B1j5Tbo/s320/100_1139.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The arms, these are the only parts I put on sprue and the
only parts that “broke” during printing. As you can see several hands fell off the
sprue, I have them I just didn’t bother photographing them here. One piece of advice, don’t sneeze around
these bits. FD and FUD are much lighter
plastics than traditional ABS and ABS is already pretty light. A slight breeze sent the hands flying and a
strong blow made the legs hit the wall of my living room. Luckily I lost nothing but bare that in mind
when working on these.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anyway, all the sprues are 1 mm and they warped a lot. The hands are the smallest pieces of the
actual figure, each knuckle is 0.7 mm, they are quite well defined and you can
see the definition in the fingers. Sadly the photos of the hands are blurry because
my camera hated photographing tiny white objects. I believe because of the backdrop it was
confused. You can roughly see the shape
of the fingers in the photos thanks to some contrast manipulation but they are
there.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqR1TgnoWJEfjK3-D5vWYkzjmocsUJIR_C3R5U_0WnnDTRTf-2m5XP_G7efJPaCrbE54EnRMcSQJXWXdY_boCzODN79d9dFJ_t1s_zKf9zZHKH5I4QqS4SLpAHOyaPS5ykjMPbERHmt-g/s1600/100_1142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqR1TgnoWJEfjK3-D5vWYkzjmocsUJIR_C3R5U_0WnnDTRTf-2m5XP_G7efJPaCrbE54EnRMcSQJXWXdY_boCzODN79d9dFJ_t1s_zKf9zZHKH5I4QqS4SLpAHOyaPS5ykjMPbERHmt-g/s320/100_1142.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The whole lot of figures and weapons waiting to be assembled. No real detail in the pictures but it gives you an idea of how big this lot of plastic is.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOMHGAmMfoCs6GReY64hS7CVdWCmTwpPURV6oYvSmtLlHf-WEv8GOjgAZrvtE1KOlbdqD3uQy3Vj7YJis2xFek-2eDfy9WzxULSEJqd_I5Bqft9lkQuM75zV0wA7jonKzEV3ydBbLVqQ/s1600/100_1146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOMHGAmMfoCs6GReY64hS7CVdWCmTwpPURV6oYvSmtLlHf-WEv8GOjgAZrvtE1KOlbdqD3uQy3Vj7YJis2xFek-2eDfy9WzxULSEJqd_I5Bqft9lkQuM75zV0wA7jonKzEV3ydBbLVqQ/s320/100_1146.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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Once I had cleaned and photographed everything I went to
work assembling. I've modeled my designs
so they assemble in much the same way as GW’s miniatures do. Waist ball joint, neck ball joint (if a neck
is present this doesn't have one), and a flat arm joint on the torso. My arms
have a round joint so you can sand them flat at various levels to make
different arm positions. I've assembled
my first Star Marine in a fairly generic pose and mounted him/her on a 40mm
base.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This photo has no contrast manipulation or anything like
that going on, it’s simply under the work lamp on my bench. Thanks to the lighting you can make out some
of the detail on the miniature but just barely.
You can see the gritting on the hammer head, the segmented plates of ab
armor, the raised rim on the shoulder pads, etc. Everything goes together smoothly and apart from
pinning the hammer and sanding the shoulder joint on the arm to make a flat
surface I’ve not manipulated the figure. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKiSOs6TuR5_r8K0c8j2m-9GCRX3o2GktfFQCw1BLPBxcqffSzXr8UJxOp0uz_tDM4zf_0S-BKZ69l2IgSxU1pPNcxUj9C141_kL00F4KtncT1QiuP7yIxsNxkWW_4Ko3nzUzG__uewxE/s1600/100_1143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKiSOs6TuR5_r8K0c8j2m-9GCRX3o2GktfFQCw1BLPBxcqffSzXr8UJxOp0uz_tDM4zf_0S-BKZ69l2IgSxU1pPNcxUj9C141_kL00F4KtncT1QiuP7yIxsNxkWW_4Ko3nzUzG__uewxE/s320/100_1143.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A side by side picture.
Though really dark, the figure on the left is a plastic space marine
terminator from games workshop, shown for scale only (painted as an art lesson by
a friend). The Star Marine in contrast
is much taller than its counterpart. About
8mm at the top of head, 3 at the top of the back icon. That’s a pretty big difference and one that
is a systemic design flaw on my part. I
know from my measurements that the torso’s and arms are completely correct
scale wise with other figures. The Star
Marine is just to leggy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I had this trouble with my original Female Marines as well.
Basically I’m human accurate on my anatomy which means the legs aren’t
foreshortened like most 28mm figures. The result is they are just to tall
compared to the rest of the body on the table top. I need to revise the legs to make them shorter. That alone should bring the model into line
with other 28mm figures, though an entire rescaling might be in order. Not sure, tweaking is always a battle.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One thing, the figures aren’t bad for 28mm but they would be
closer to being a “true scale” soldier than I intended. I’m not sure but I might make two separate lines,
one “true scale” one “heroic scale” depends on demand and how much work it is
to maintain both.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEZ_-60TfaPsEYy8CkAy2TRn0XzUHDGxfYKvqa7gELyaluYG22fLLArvS8tiPrIKCBVCshHdd_Vnm6qiIn-yQ7eYHzaZPqD0EgoN5tVTvCc_QmYbhMvYCao8Mk4IhC3JMyI2cKLMXrmQ/s1600/100_1147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEZ_-60TfaPsEYy8CkAy2TRn0XzUHDGxfYKvqa7gELyaluYG22fLLArvS8tiPrIKCBVCshHdd_Vnm6qiIn-yQ7eYHzaZPqD0EgoN5tVTvCc_QmYbhMvYCao8Mk4IhC3JMyI2cKLMXrmQ/s320/100_1147.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Side by side the GW Termi is much chunkier than my Heavy Star Marine. The position of my figure's head would be above the Termi's which makes it a bit awkward like standing next to a pro basketball player and trying to reach the top shelf.</div>
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I also had another concern with the figure which will likely prompt a design change. The Hammer's main handle survived printing without issue but then was to small for me to drill and pin. Maybe i'm not coordinated enough but it proved to be a bad idea to drill a 0.75mm hole in a 1mm plastic rod. I opted instead to remove the 1mm handle body and instead drill into the 1.5mm grip and pin directly to the hand. I'm considering the idea of redesigning the hand and hammer, and probably a lot of weapons, to eliminate this wasted handle all together. Possibly going to hollowing the handles entirely so they fit over 1mm or 0.75mm brass rod. This would make the weapons a bit cheaper and make the models easier to assemble. Its also something that casters can't do easily that makes sense for 3d printing.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9te3hVwGOZap6FEZ5bUE7ufMPCdnh_GBVYV2_apS6op6f9IBzTOAHqvzzKjSdM3VWGeX_LoB69OoXdn5GqmGJFfY5uVEzFCaBFKN9SwVN1P753FC7vdPIF4iCw3OveFncusBZz-vLyMc/s1600/100_1149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9te3hVwGOZap6FEZ5bUE7ufMPCdnh_GBVYV2_apS6op6f9IBzTOAHqvzzKjSdM3VWGeX_LoB69OoXdn5GqmGJFfY5uVEzFCaBFKN9SwVN1P753FC7vdPIF4iCw3OveFncusBZz-vLyMc/s320/100_1149.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>
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I've done a light drybrushing of flat white paint onto the figure. It allows you to see some of the detail that was obscured by the frosted surface. A trick of the light means that the white turns gray here so the gray spots are the highest spots, raised edges and such. Most of the figure has nice clean edges but you can see that the face has a sort of horizontal grain that just shows up in the wrong spot this time. There is also a light pebbling everywhere that's about as noticeable as the soft pebbling found on metal models. After painting it generally disappears.</div>
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Wide shot of the figure under better lighting. You can see the white on the surface of the translucent white figure. A bit more detail is visible here but more detail will be visible once the figure is fully painted. I really can't stress enough how hard it is to photograph translucent white models with a 10 year old digital camera.</div>
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<b>My Thoughts</b></div>
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Well quite obviously I must admit that I have some kinks to work out with my modeling. Its must easier to scale a weapon than a human figure. The inconsistencies of the figure jump out a lot more on printing than a slightly over sized sword does. Weapons and other bits like that are much more subjective and can be less accurately scaled than a body part. I also need to make detail elements larger to insure they show up correctly. This is an extension of the same problem I had with WSF but its much more manageable at this detail level.</div>
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I also have to say that FD and FUD aren't perfect materials. I'd like to see materials with a lower minimum detail and a more crisp surface texture than the fuzzy frosting on these materials. I've also seen a lot of home projects that appear to turn out better detail on materials and some projects like wax and photo resins can print at much smaller details. FD is the best price point though which makes it at least passingly acceptable. If shapeways is listening do a kickstarter for a higher resolution 3d print material for a lower cost. In fact, start several kickstarters one for high res material, another for 3d wax printing for molding capabilities, and another for actual 3d printing of RTV mold products, and maybe one for adding automated spruing for models uploaded. Anyway point is FD is the best we can get right now balancing price and material availability so I will have to live with it.</div>
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Ok so that's it for now, don't worry I'm not done yet. I'm going to assemble these guys and paint them up so you can see the quality. As I paint the models I hope the detail will pop out better. Till next time, enjoy...</div>
<br />dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-49238227590969344972013-04-06T00:27:00.000-07:002013-04-06T00:55:56.830-07:00In Defense of the Breast Plate<br />
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This is the second post I’ve done without major 3d modeling
content so I’ll try to keep this somewhat short. My last one, a background
piece, was long. Maybe long enough people lost interest but I hope it was
satisfying for those who read it. I like
background so it kept me entertained to write a foundation piece for a mythos
I’m slowly creating with my miniatures. Not that GW’s existing mythos isn’t
entertaining, just, sometimes you want to do something new and interesting. Really the primary impitous behind this is
that I want to kill sometime while waiting for miniatures to arrive so I can
blog them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anyway, this time I wanted to blog a bit about an aspect of
my personal projects that has gotten me some flak in my gaming circles. Namely, as one female gamer put it, my
“Fetish for Tit Armor”. Now I don’t
expect this to matter to a lot of gamers.
Sexy armor is as old a fantasy trope as Eleves being archers or Dwarves
carrying hammers. But the propensity of
games to do “babe” armor on their miniatures has been criticized recently.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are a number of bloggers that have attacked chainmail
bikini’s and skimpy space suits with a vehemence that makes you less than proud
to be gamers. The often spoken notion
that gaming is becoming less of a man’s hobby has encouraged these
critiques. This is generally done out of
the perception that the sexy armor trope is sexist and thus should be
discarded.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Obviously not everyone feels that way, and I myself don’t as
you could have guessed from the title of this article. It’s hard to form a
cogent argument against something like this.
The perception goes that if you support the sexy armor trope you are
automatically a sexist pig, and admittedly there are a lot of those in the hobby. But beyond that I really think very few
people really have considered why armor like that exists in fantasy or scifi
literature.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve heard a lot of arguments against sexy armor. The most prominent among these arguments
being safety and/or impracticality. This
argument goes that receding body coverage is unsafe on the battlefield or
simply impractical to be considered armor.
I always agree with this to an extent but it’s also an issue of cultural
subjectivity. There has been an
obsession in first world nations with the value of human life for a long time
now. Throughout the first world nations
in Europe the movement from hide and leather armors to part and full plate has
captured the imagination of fantasy authors.
To such a point that we interpret full plate armor as the standard of
the world when it isn’t now nor was it then.
The more affluent countries in Europe and other areas like Japan used
full armor extensively for hundreds of years but that wasn’t the norm. Throughout Asia, Africa, Mesoamerica the
standard was lighter armor that protected the core of the body and the
head. Limbs, regardless of how important
to you or I were considered expendable and rarely armored. These lighter armor often left large swaths
of the body exposed. They also tended to hang on the body making female anatomy
more visible when women were allowed to be warriors. The fantasy trope of the nomad barbarian half
naked living among beasts is essentially true in some parts of the world. The primary concern with these lighter armors
was generally speed and maneuverability.
Segments of the body, like arms and legs, were uncovered so the soldier
didn’t have as much weight to move while in action. Even into the middle ages common soldiers
were only lightly armored. Archers rarely wore anything more than chain shirts,
while city watches and spearmen were lucky to have breast plates to shield
their hearts and lungs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Other arguments include that it’s entirely an aesthetics
issue. That the idea of curvy armor only
has the purpose of being pleasing to the eye, specifically the male eye. Again this is quite true to some extent. As a
man I admit that female curves are attractive, that’s why most sports cars are
so curvy. It’s just bred into me to like
those soft curves. At the same time that
isn’t the only thing that is forged into those curves. Most men can attest that there are times when
women are simply frightening. Like a
tigress protecting their young a woman can be more fierce and brutal than any
man could hope to be. Along with the attraction of those curves a woman’s body
calls to mind that absolute willingness to destroy anything that threatens her
family. This dichotomy of beauty and
ruthlessness is a part of femininity that shouldn’t be forgotten. Stopping sexism
is all about gender equality but it also is tempered with the truth that some
things men or women can’t do. No one can
complain that women not peeing standing up is sexist, it’s a fact of human
physiology and as such must be accepted. All we can do is offer equal bathroom
facilities and be done with it. It’s true that women can be soldiers just as
well as men can but we must also acknowledge that they have tools at their
disposal that men don’t. Both the disarming allure of the female body and the
frightening ferocity of a woman’s mental and biological drive to fight for what
she holds dear are weapons that men rarely can achieve. There is a psychological component to warfare
that aesthetics plays a big part in. No
matter how gruesome we don’t question the idea of littering things with skulls
and wicked blades in table top gaming.
The ancient Greeks would mold chiseled abs and pecks into their body
armor for psychological effects. There
are even some accounts of Pict women fighting naked on the battle field against
roman soldiers. Regardless of how you
feel about the female form arguing that because it’s aesthetically pleasing
doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a place on the battle field. That may mean it has more of a place there
than you’d like to admit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bullet trap cleavage theory, somewhat addressed as a safety
issue, is also one particular argument trotted out. This goes essentially that the cleavage shape
on a breast plate makes it either A. funnel weapons fire to the heart, or B.
structurally unsound. There is some
scientific evidence that would support this except for the fact that no
scientific study has ever been done that actually examines this. As a practical issue in melee combat the
“breast” shape of the armor is no more or less effective against blows. At range, any shot that would fall inside the
“V” of the cleavage was already a center of mass shot which if it has the
velocity to penetrate your armor was already a kill shot anyway regardless of
whether it glances to the heart or passes through the lung. I read one very scientific sounding article
that said a women falling on her face in breast armor would die from a
shattered sternum. An interesting scientific quandary that totally ignores any
internal padding worn under fitted armor.
As though, the soldier was totally naked under the armor. There is a certain amount of truth that
surface bends, such as the concave cleavage area, are structurally less durable
than a convex surface. But most male
armors aren’t a simple convex shape like classic plate armor. They are often just as sculpted, albeit as a
male body or generic design, as a female armor plate. The issue here is simply
it may be less structurally sound than a classic breast plate but is it any
less structurally sound than the male counter parts? Truth be told probably
not.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are of course concepts I can’t really defend in the
field of sexy armor. I don’t understand
the concept of combat heels. High heels
have no purpose other than to affect posture.
Some shoe design are intended to shift the weight of the body off the
heel towards the ball of the foot but there really is no evidence they would
serve a tactical purpose. There could be
said to be a cultural significance to the incorporation of heels in a female
boot. If the culture has a specific
focus on feminine posture as a key sexual trait of women you could lump that
into the argument for aesthetics of psychological warfare. However from my perspective the added
mobility of flats vs heels on the battlefield would trump any psychological
benefits. Alternatively, in science
fiction settings where zero G combat is the norm magnetic, spring, or rocket
heels would be a tactical advantage but only if the heel actually represented
these design integrations, a normal heel would still be a detriment to
movement.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course the overriding reason that is the real impetus
behind these arguments is simply that it makes female gamers
uncomfortable. Truthfully, some
portrayals make me uncomfortable too a lot of the time. There is always a balance between a strong
feminine characteristic and a sexpot pinup girl. It’s sometimes hard to fix where that line is
drawn in your mind. It generally has to come down to the question of is this
sexy for no other reason than its sexy to me, or is it part of some larger
design aesthetic that is helping me represent a kick ass character that also
happens to be female, and yes sexy to some degree. Truthfully the worst offenders in my opinion
are GW’s Madonna Warriors. I’m ashamed
to own a Sisters of Battle army even though I got it second hand. And over the years as I tried to push the
sisters out of the army first by adding storm troopers and then by adding
inquisitor retinues I’ve come to grips with the fact that the army is just
sexist drivel. The Power Corsets and
bra’s pointier than their swords is of course now considered quant in 40k. They are a throwback to the age of 1980s
female rockers like Madonna and Cindy Lauper.
That doesn’t make them right with modern sensibilities but at least it
makes them somewhat understandable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I could go on and on but really I have made my point.
Generally the truth is that sexy armor isn't just about sexism. There are real reasons that armor should be
feminine. Femininity is a part of the
human condition. The idea that women
must emulate men to be perceived as strong is has been an aspect of the women’s
liberation movement and its one that has been changing slowly. Women can be feminine and still be strong
without giving up what makes them feminine. Those who balk at the female form
on the table top I must ask is it the sexy armor you don’t care for or is there
something so psychologically terrifying about the idea that women are part of
your gaming reality that you are afraid to acknowledge their right to be there
and be themselves, in the game or playing the game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Star Marine Heavy
Armor, Softsuit Variant, Outfitted for Female Operator.<br />
The Softsuit variant of the Star Marine Heavy Armor replaces the
Tactics and Logistics Capsule (TLC) for a breast plate of hardened
thermo-ferric composites. The term Softsuit is something of
a misnomer as the armor has nearly the same level of operator protection
as its TLC equipped Hardsuit cousin. Often used in atmosphere
or controlled environment engagements where total vacuum seal
is unnecessary. It is favored by officers for its mobility and
freedom of vision not afford by the TLC's visual assist systems. The body
of a Softsuit is fitted to its occupant in a process that is performed by
the operator's house, often making some or all of the suit's equipment a heraldic
heirloom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Star Marine Joslyn of House Crowan being fitted for heavy armor.</div>
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<br />dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-26797872554318117102013-04-01T19:55:00.000-07:002013-04-01T19:55:52.326-07:00A Fluff Piece<br />
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Imperial Archive Item 978-2-9002999818-1.
<br />
Excerpt from Prime Austerean Hercanius’s Treatis on the History and Culture of the
Star Marines<br />
Transcript of videolog 17… Dated 9<sup>th</sup> of Azzigas Vorpal, in the Year
of our Empress Ompheria 2013<br />
Marker 1. Origins and Legends of the Star Marines<br />
Screens 23 to 37<br />
Sol Prime Institute of Philosophy: Department
of Reasonist History: Chair Ameritus, Master of Reason, Physician of Imperial
History, First Duke of Io, the Lourde Prime Austerean Hercanius of the Noble House Thormalian by
way of House Xaratian<br />
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… to best understand the nature of the Star Marines one must
understand the anvil upon which they were forged.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Officially the Star Marines are
comprised of those noble households who carry the title of Knight of Stars in
Service to the Empress. However this was
not always the case. In the early days
of colonial expansion before the formation of the Empire Solus Humanity was
ruled by various competing religious organizations known as Corporations. It is
believed that this early colonization effort was done in effort to seek freedom
from religious censure. As such these
Corporations lead the people’s spiritual journey even as they funded their
physical migration across the stars.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For several hundred years mankind expanded
across the Orion Spur. During this
period humanity encountered countless worlds teaming with life however sentient
life proved elusive. It was eventually
hypothesized by Reasonists that while life was common sentience was a cosmic
rarity reserved for only a handful of species throughout the galaxy, possibly
the universe. This lead humanity to
define the “Mandate of the Heavens”. The
mandate was a political and social doctrine expounded as part of the Corporate
religions of the day. It stated that humanity, due to its intelligence, was
entitled to colonize the galaxy without end.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Without
external conflict it was inevitable that humanity created conflict from
within. The Corporations divided
humanity along lines of their particular faiths. Coupled with the relative isolation of early
colonies due to the primitive nature of spacial travel the result was drastic
cultural drift between colonies. Social,
economic, and political rifts between the colonies and their governments
resulted in war.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A group
of colonies petitioned to secede from the colonial government. What followed has variously been called the
Civil War II, the War of 10 Corporations, and the First Imperial War. Lasting
14 years various Corporations formed military organizations and swallowed other
colonies. Secessionists fighting for
freedom from the oppressive theocracy of monetization formed a new
organization. A culture of merit based
on nobility and coherent family social structures was formed. Nearly 2000 years ago the outmoded religious
worship of wealth was swept away and the
First Emperor Volcunas The First united the colonies under the banner of the
Empire Solus.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In their
earliest inception the Star Marines functioned as a militant arm for one of the
many Corporation Theocracies. They
proved themselves to be highly skilled and honorable warriors during the
war. Thus Emperor Volcunas took them
into his service and granted them title of nobility within the empire in return
for their fealty.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Star
Marines and their households were integrated into the structure of the nobility
and ordered by Emperor Volcunas to toil in service to the Skylourde. For much of the life span of the Empire they
did just that. The Star Marines became
feared acting in the name of the Skylourdes in service of the Emperor. But this was not to be their destiny for as
we know we are not alone in the galaxy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In 1818
of the new imperial calendar the outer colonies were struck by a powerful
imminent threat. The Aether invaded
human space to “cleans” planets of human “infestation”. Though it would take the empire much time to
know the Aether’s intent it was immediately clear they were a technologically
superior malignant force.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Perhaps
most tragically humanity’s only saving grace was the thorough and methodical
nature of the Aether’s attempted Genocide.
Colony by colony the Aether deployed their fleets in blockade
systematically hunting and eradicating humans regardless of their age, race, or
affiliations. Emperor Tricerras and the
Conclave of Noble Houses proposed diplomatic solutions and refused to hear
propositions to the contrary.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then
Skylourde Daltrian made a pact with the crown prince Voldayaas to assassinate
the Emperor. Prince Trivoltas, second in
line to the throne, discovered the plot and called his brother out in
council. But by then it was too late
Emperor Tricerras died by heart failure attributed to pulmonary micro fissures
likely caused by nano-explosives inside the heart wall. Voldayaas and Trivoltas both declared themselves
Emperor before the funeral rights were complete and the War of Succession
began.<o:p></o:p></div>
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During
this time the Aether had the run of the outer colonies. It was widely claimed that the Imperial Core
Provinces were better protected. And with good reason, many sectors included
both Provincial Defense Fleets as peace keeping and humanitarian forces as well
as the Independent Noble Fleets used to protect the shipping interests of the
Nobility. During the War of Succession these
fleets were mobilized by various groups to fight for various governmental
factions. Initially it was merely a quarrel between bothers as Voldayaas and
Trivoltas fought for the throne. However
other factions appeared and vied for political or economic superiority.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With the
war taking its toll in the Provinces the Colonies were left to fend for
themselves. Less wealthy, and often with limited military and technological
resources the Colonies stood little chance against the Aether. Refugee fleets
migrated core ward with each newly decimated colony. Survivors of the atrocities were rare but
other colonies were easily inspired to evacuate. In the provinces the refugees found little
respite as military forces were often used to blockade their entry or otherwise
engaged in military actions of their own.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For
their part the Star Marines refused deployment until the Empire was stable
again. Skylourde Daltrian ordered the
household lands of the Star Marines ceased claiming they were in violation of
their oaths. In response the Star
Marines declared then 3<sup>rd</sup> princess Collianna the rightful heir of
the throne. As the princess was merely
13 and no female had inherited the throne in a thousand years the Star Marines
were publicly mocked for their allegiance.
But that mocking ended following the summary execution of Skylourde
Daltrian.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Claiming
orders from the Empress the Star Marines publically forsook their homes. In a broad public show they burned their
ancestral homes and joined into a single fleet.
While vastly outnumbered the Star Marines were quite a fighting force
and dispatched any forces that stood in their way. They didn’t bother attempting to capture
strategic systems instead battling their way to Sol where they enthroned the
Empress. One there they left a small but well-armed honor guard and took the
primary fleet into the Colonies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For many
among the nobility it became a simple choice, support one of the brothers who had
been fighting a bloody war across the Provinces or accept the arguably
illegitimate rule of their younger sister who willingly sacrificed her own
safety to protect the Colonies. For the
people the choice was much simpler. After two years of war and the constant
threat of annihilation from the Aether the Empress was a sign of change and
hope, a fresh beginning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Initially
perceived as a week monarch the Empress changed such perceptions by her first
declarations in office. Only days after
the Conclave of Noble Houses ratified her coronation the Empress declared the
Matriarchy. The Empire Solus would be
ruled by an Empress, the eldest daughter of the ruling house. The eldest son
would become Regent of the Empire and master of the ruling house in absence of
the Empress. The second eldest daughter
would be the Duchess of Blades, a rank formerly titled Blade Lourde
colloquially known as the master of assassins.
The second eldest son would inherit the title of Lourde of the Watch,
charged with enforcing the succession and counting the genealogy of the noble
houses.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Some
noble houses challenged the decree at first but these challenges were swiftly
dealt with by force and often lost in the wash of political intrigue of the
day. Her second decree was even more
controversial declaring the War in the Heavens.
The Aether’s action had declared war on all of humanity, and so all of
humanity would face them. The Empire
Solus was henceforth at war with the Aether and all production and technology
in the Empire would be used, first and foremost, to fight the Aether. In short order a new Skylourde was appointed
and each house of noble birth was ordered to appoint a Skymarshal that would
oversee their fleet. The Noble fleets
were distributed across the empire with the responsibility of engaging Aether
forces where ever they appeared. At the same time the Homeguard Fleets were to
be convert for military use and production of ships and munitions was to be
increased. In the colonies the Star
Marines had one task, delay the Aether, the longer they held the more time the
Empire had to prepare.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Star
Marines held the Aether in the colonies for 26 years. Early engagements didn’t bode well for the
Star Marines as Aether forces were clearly superior in technology and
number. They soon adopted an ambush
strategy. Operating behind Aether lines the Star Marines fractured into Cavalier
Fleets, small rag tag forces mixing elements of Star Marine forces with
remnants of colonial militias. These
smaller battle groups could react faster and assault Aether forces with greater
haste. Often breaking Aether blockades
and freeing civilians and military forces trapped by them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For
several years the Aether showed no measurable response to the Star Marine’s
tactics. They continued their systematic
approach without change. It wasn’t until
the battle of Caldinocht that the Aether changed their tactics. Caldinocht was a Colonial shipping hub in the
Caldaros sector. The Aether set upon it
with only minor warning but instead of their normal tactic of besieging the planet
they pyroformed the planet from orbit.
Their biochemical weapons igniting the planet’s atmosphere and turning
all life to ash. This rightly provoked
the Star Marines into open conflict with the Aether.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As
Caldinocht burned the Star Marines descended upon the massed Aether fleet. For days the Aether held ground as the Star Marines
and the Cavalier fleets hurled themselves against their enemy. With the death
toll in the billions from the one engagement the Aether finally retreated on
the 12<sup>th</sup> day. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Both sides learned much from the
conflict. Alongside their standard
battle tactics the Aether began baiting traps to draw the enemy in. For their part the Star Marines began using
outriders forming a loose network of warning systems to inform other fleets and
colonies of Aether were movements. They
also learned that while technologically advanced and extremely powerful Aether
vessels were cumbersome and impossibly difficult to maneuver. Soon after Aether ships began being drawn
into Star Marine traps.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thereafter the war became a great
game of cat and mouse. The Aether and
the Star Marines fighting to take and keep ground respectively. The greatest commanders among the Star
Marines were able to make the Aether spend a hundred ships to take a single
colony. But for every Aether fleet
removed from the game the Star Marines lost a dozen or more. Each loss meant the Star Marines took another
step towards Sol and the eventual extinction of the human race. Each ship downed was a resource that couldn’t
be replaced with ease.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For 26 years they held against a
superior foe. Early on it was believed
that the Aether could be stopped simply by attrition but 26 years of attrition
proved that wrong. One thousand three
hundred and sixty-two star systems fell to the Aether in those 26 years. An estimated 42 trillion souls taken, and for
each one the Star Marines made the Aether pay dearly. On the 5<sup>th</sup> of Azzigas Nol, 1846
nec the Aetherian 1<sup>st</sup> fleet entered the Noridian Province at around
1:42 am local standard time. They were
met by the Veridian and Ordanian Home Fleets and engaged seven minutes
later. The battle would last for 21 days
and the Alcarian, Boromian, and 5 other Home Fleets would join the battle before
the Aether would retreat. This was the first true victory of the war.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is unknown if the Aether can
understand any of the many human tongues.
It is known they can recognize the Banner of the Stars. Icon of the Star Marines, a cascade of gold
and crimson freckled with 1362 stars.
Raised high upon the bows of the Cavalier fleets that precede the
counter strike. On that day the Aether
turned tail and fled before it and they have run from it ever sense. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We have been at war for two hundred
years. Five generations have faced the
Aether and pushed them back into the abyss.
The Star Marines, her royal highness’ Knights of the Stars have lead
that charge. They have held the line. They have given more fought harder than
any human might in the face of such odds.
Thus you must understand that in the forge of battle and against the
anvil of sacrifice and adversity they have been wrought. Nobility, courage, and sacrifice, the shining
light of a star guiding for the sake of all humanity. As they pledge before the Empress herself,
“the War in the Heavens began with an act of Genocide it will end with the very
stars quaking at our wrath”.<o:p></o:p></div>
dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-11104074961849046932013-03-26T19:15:00.002-07:002013-03-26T19:15:45.455-07:00Behold The Star MarinesI realized I promised a small expose on my Star Marine Heavy Armor last week and have yet to deliver.<br />
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Firstly let me say that Star Marines have sort of taken over my imagination. For the first year or more of my designing I was heavily focused on making "Space Marine Compatible Parts". Items that could be considered aftermarket parts for GW's space marine line, or related lines. Now, well, I like GW's line well enough but recent expanses in what I do and how I do it have meant that where before I'd design a shoulder pad or sword for a soldier now I'm designing whole figures and complete families of weapons. Its a large difference that erodes the marriage between Warhammer 40k and my 3d modeling.<br />
<br />
The point is that while my 3d bits are usable for 40k I'm no longer exclusively focusing on using them there as exemplified by the appearance of new weapons that don't have a standard analog in the 40k rules. Ultimately when starting the Star Marine Heavy Armor design I had to, or rather got to, consider a wider array of science fiction details when creating them. I love 40k but its a restrictive environment to design for. While the background of 40k has been rich and vibrant for years the design studio's literary and artistic choices are tightly controlled. As Games Workshop grows there is less and less room for outside artists to create anything "lasting" in the 40k universe. <br />
<br />
Obviously I don't expect Games Workshop to change their fluff to fit my projects in. But with the unpredictable shifts of fluff and what is official army design it makes it impossible to really create something and say it will last for any length of time. That's their prerogative, its their universe, I have no say in the matter. However I'd argue that most miniatures gamers would like to at least pretend all their assembly and hard work would last and maybe all their scratch building was at least theirs not the manufacturers vision. Custom painting on chapter color schemes and pinning and glueing new poses on your officers can only take an army so far.<br />
<br />
When I started looking, I mean really looking, at what I loved about Space Marines in the Warhammer 40k setting I had to admit it was some very specific things that games workshop really didn't do very well portraying. Firstly, in a setting ostensibly devoid of advanced technology the Space Marines are top of the line. Secondly personality wise the marines are essentially space knights, ok maybe monastic knights but knights in space. And third they are elite warriors, a tragic brotherhood of arms destined to die fighting a pointless war.<br />
<br />
In context Space Marines in 40k aren't particularly advanced. While their armor is advanced it really doesn't look it and most weapons they use have been co-opted into the imperial guard either as man portable heavy weapons or simply special weapons to outfit squads of standard soldiers. Their vehicles and aesthetic choices are less technologically advanced than they are, metal slab construction from the industrial revolution. I suppose it fits the setting but doesn't really speak to what I love about them in the fluff.<br />
<br />
Space Marine chapters, while regimented functioning as a fighting force are less knightly in action than they are barbarous in play. There is a strong game play emphasis away from armies facing down their enemy with some kind of chivalrous code and more towards massed fire or super weapons to deal with any comers. Arguably each official chapter has its own roots and play style. If you want space knights pick up black templars, at least until they get a new codex and then they'll be less chivalrous knights and more blood thirsty nutters with swords chained to their hands. The old deathwing always sounded in the fluff as awesome elite knights facing enemies in single combat but now they are heavy weapon wielding crazies that stay at mid range shooting people from the dark. Sad.<br />
<br />
Of course my biggest problem is the elite nature of the Space Marines. They are supposed to be big, they are outnumbered but fight on. They breath so they fight on. They fight so they can keep fighting. To call a fluff space marine a soldier is a misnomer. They are samurai, they are immortals, they are shinobi, they are black ops, they are devil dogs, ultimately they are the marines. the best of the best, they fight against odds and against time to save their crumbling empire. But marines are all to routine now. They were once elite but with the advent of more unique codex options in other books their prices have dwindled compared to the mass of weaponry other armies produce. The result is that while many armies claim to be a horde army the marines feel like one. They have no unique mechanics or super amazing troop options just the same bland sameness in each area of the org chart. This coupled with the push to require more and more troops results in largely samely built units in armies that are built the same as the next guy. People complain about spam, space marines have become spam in a can. A largely identical codex sprinkled with minor amounts of franks red hot sauce in the hopes that people will mistake the burn for flavor.<br />
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Why is this important? well when I think of all these truths I wanted to reach into other parts of science fiction to fill all those missing rolls. My biggest inspiration is of course, Star Ship Troopers. Hienlein's novels are powerful fiction and while repeatedly adapted, even into a table top game, they are rarely portrayed as I always envisioned them. Perhaps its the fact that no official vision of them exists that makes me so enamored with the design. I've also chosen heavy influences from anime series's like Armored Trooper Votoms and Gundam 079 and 080. Their down to earth tactical portrayal of future combat with mech suits and power armor are great inspiration for anyone wondering what space combat might one day become.<br />
<br />
So lets talk Star Marines...<br />
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Here we see the Star Marine Heavy Armor in its entirety. This unposed version is built in a modular manner. each body part is its own color as seen here. This allows me to pose the armor in virtually any pose then solidify it to make a final model. As a master model it also allows me to construct parts for the design quickly and easily. You'll notice that the design appears much more technologically advanced than many 28mm soldier models. I've made a concerted effort to make the soldier's power armor look both practical in terms of its defensive value, and in terms of its strength enhancement capabilities. In the 40k setting marines are strong before they put on the armor. Here the standard soldier wears a hydrolic suit to achieve the same thing. I wanted the super human nature of the warrior to come not from some biological enhancement but from what they do with what they are given. Its after all, the use of tools that has made humanity survivors throughout history, we adapt or die.</div>
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The armored torso of the Star Marine Heavy Armor is designed to be asexual. I'm a huge fan of representing femininity on the battlefield as both a character and a weapon but here the protective value of the armor is its primary function, not its aesthetics. The front of the torso is heavily armored, its abdomen guarded with articulated segmented plates. It's chest sweeps up the front of the body becoming a full head and shoulder armor. The hard carapace protects body and mounts various sensory devices on its outer hull. A variant torso depicts the chest armor open, its upper canopy pulled back to reveal the operator's face. the The only exposed cabling on the torso is along the shoulder joint wrapping around behind to connect the power lead from the power pack. The cabling here used not for internal power systems but to run induction power through the arms of the suit to weaponry when necessary. When mounted with a shoulder pad the exposed cabling is protected from attack except from directly underneath the arm. I am proud to point out how much the armor's torso looks like a Sontaron soldier.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcN994kKMkWNQH-uYfc-nCKVbRgbGzUcpQmwCan31eMDloiVazoeffoVGd9022e7ApsgarX82Gw4SanCz6NWZJYohRPo1WMjKNMQGCJBcqL3GLrIoJhk-1ugJWd3JRhrE5-Dkj5rgjOI/s1600/star+marine+003a.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcN994kKMkWNQH-uYfc-nCKVbRgbGzUcpQmwCan31eMDloiVazoeffoVGd9022e7ApsgarX82Gw4SanCz6NWZJYohRPo1WMjKNMQGCJBcqL3GLrIoJhk-1ugJWd3JRhrE5-Dkj5rgjOI/s320/star+marine+003a.PNG" width="199" /></a></div>
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The arm itself is a beefy structure. It isn't just armor but power cables and hydrolic systems as well. The arms were roughly inspired by artwork from the graphic novel "Starship Troopers: dominant species" there the armor of the mobile infantry is depicted as bulky powered armored space suits. The arm structure is traditionally human, covered in large molded plates and jointed to allow for maximum movement. The hands of these models are modular. there is a 1.5mm peg that allows you to swap weapon hands, here I've used closed fists but my final sprues include fists, pistol grips, and open hands for weapon carrying. The back of the hand has a thick plate which includes an induction port, a place to plug in weapons so they can charge or run off the power pack of the Star Marine's armor.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvum7CzXF9R2X12wUw507UJAbBjeGu7omJgHn-a4L0b_x895-ItPzUs-8TcIfokjdFVR3THqEZ-802gpNRm9X-YYMDVP3oSHwcNIjYHGahsBmhqKglolJdR6GZu-DoLFi_wnK4Xt4_1a4/s1600/star+marine+004a.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvum7CzXF9R2X12wUw507UJAbBjeGu7omJgHn-a4L0b_x895-ItPzUs-8TcIfokjdFVR3THqEZ-802gpNRm9X-YYMDVP3oSHwcNIjYHGahsBmhqKglolJdR6GZu-DoLFi_wnK4Xt4_1a4/s320/star+marine+004a.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here we see the shoulder pad. Its big and bulky covering the entire shoulder and most of the way down the arm. Games Workshop claims the general size and shape of their official shoulder pads as their IP but the general size and even its ribbed rim are natural extensions of military systems. The large size the armored infantry will traditional walk strait forward, these large bulky shoulder pads protect the warrior from glancing rounds fired from all sides. It also protects from impacts from weapons directed at the weakest spot of the chest carapace, the shoulder joint. The softer side of the torso is also blocked by the long body of the shoulder armor. The ribbing helps prevent the layered polymers of the armor separating after impacts that might be jaring enough to break the lamination bonds. It also helps deflect glancing melee weapons away from armor seams. Lastly and most importantly for my design, it serves as a potential mounting point for the shoulder weaponry used by hienlein's Mobile Infantry.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPH-wzL0t0x4DlMD7nQtTn9kGmryF_Zrp3QUPc2LFB-_m0W0B-5Dir8LHlDoCgjdZy8NY2LtQcCA_wNY28e4Ru7nT9pt6lKbL8eBElNUO8wextM3wL20b5ilnKvtFZAzJjB76GS_dXuE/s1600/star+marine+006a.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPH-wzL0t0x4DlMD7nQtTn9kGmryF_Zrp3QUPc2LFB-_m0W0B-5Dir8LHlDoCgjdZy8NY2LtQcCA_wNY28e4Ru7nT9pt6lKbL8eBElNUO8wextM3wL20b5ilnKvtFZAzJjB76GS_dXuE/s320/star+marine+006a.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The back of the armor is more delicate in design than the front. With it's bulky plates the front of the armor is extremely durable but the back mounts the machinery necessary to operate the suit. On top we see the external data leads used to connect the armor's internal systems to vehicle equipment. Directly on the shoulder blades and upper back are the power distribution systems that allow the suit to power weapon attachments and enhance the wearer's strength. Below that along the small of the back and down the gluts is the hydraulic actuators that carry the majority of the armor's weight. Sensors along this hydraulic spine allow the armor's on-board computers to detect the wearer's movements and respond accordingly with varying degrees of dexterity and force. These systems while durable enough for military deployment are more lightly armored than the front of the suit's carapace.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwZN7IlST27SmSobFPVZogH8b4pBVSusj-j8uzBf98Cl6Ak-ULAvifCxqvf6nBqVWn-IvHYeouxsGVwAhtl8WBhQQTPfGKkeMMaELsTijEPB_gc4-SDlItDClzAYwv2kxxHgW28jgdcQ/s1600/star+marine+005a.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiwZN7IlST27SmSobFPVZogH8b4pBVSusj-j8uzBf98Cl6Ak-ULAvifCxqvf6nBqVWn-IvHYeouxsGVwAhtl8WBhQQTPfGKkeMMaELsTijEPB_gc4-SDlItDClzAYwv2kxxHgW28jgdcQ/s320/star+marine+005a.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The armor has internal power cells that store power for basic operation of the on-board computers and even to some degree the hydrolic systems. However for extended operation an external power source is needed. The heavy armor's power pack is used for just such purposes. Its basic body houses a basic oxygen generator for space operation, essential survival supplies like radiation stims and field rations, as well as a water purifier. Most importantly the armored power pack houses twin micro fusion power generators. These tiny micro reactors are activated in combat allowing the suit to amp strength and power external weaponry as needed. Their power output can charge the internal power cells and even generate enough power to operate small electric vehicles. Due to the nature of the reactors massive amounts of heat are generated, this is vented through specialized exhaust ports mounted to vent heat up and away behind the soldier's head. These ports help minimize the heat signature of the armor until absolutely necessary.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotMbpuHQG-3Dp4Qe9gt60kmDeMnF2arfy13GKKJlU0iWpyAPwk33avQGmZPp9gbFvYSTyHKvUWDZihf7v46i0NFSQQaXGeK5MupF-0wt8ycso0aIMe24nCOMrUQs_tlFOpuvvnEvyZvY/s1600/star+marine+007a.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotMbpuHQG-3Dp4Qe9gt60kmDeMnF2arfy13GKKJlU0iWpyAPwk33avQGmZPp9gbFvYSTyHKvUWDZihf7v46i0NFSQQaXGeK5MupF-0wt8ycso0aIMe24nCOMrUQs_tlFOpuvvnEvyZvY/s320/star+marine+007a.PNG" width="262" /></a></div>
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The legs of the Star Marine Heavy Armor are as intricate as the torso's sophisticated power systems. Often over looked by other companies I wanted you to feel a practical aspect to the legs, not just, armored space pants. Here we can examine the all terrain boots with their bulky armored exterior and chunky metal traction units. The ankle and front of knees and legs are protected with reinforced plating to prevent debilitating extremity shots. Along the back of the lower legs you can just make out the hydraulic support structure that helps distribute weight for the armor and keep balance. Much of the armor's hydraulics of the suit are dedicated to supporting its own weight, without these systems a marine would be crushed by the weight of their own armor. The hydraulic support distributes the weight down the outside of the legs into the reinforced boots. No where are the hydraulics more exposed to weapons fire than here where the armor's designs necessitates them on the sides rather than back of the armor. For this reason the important equipment is protected by over lapping plates running up the leg where it joins the hip belt and back hydraulic distribution network.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRlYcTrLP2e3KxsIUCv1CjTuK5cfXWr_Cvlhu_54hhP8NEJp1ek0oCHOxy-WnDyIKo5sX5ucnZz40iHyawSt4NUIIg5bM5liWZmEFai_Zv-n-bBudw4CPVqV09ix2OohzDNu5dYSY-cq8/s1600/star+marine+008a.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRlYcTrLP2e3KxsIUCv1CjTuK5cfXWr_Cvlhu_54hhP8NEJp1ek0oCHOxy-WnDyIKo5sX5ucnZz40iHyawSt4NUIIg5bM5liWZmEFai_Zv-n-bBudw4CPVqV09ix2OohzDNu5dYSY-cq8/s320/star+marine+008a.PNG" width="217" /></a></div>
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Star Marines are suitably impressive warriors and so they need suitably impressive weapons. Enter the Gravity Hammer. Star Marines are suitably impressive masters of technology. Their heavy weapons are often made man portable by a gravity sling and deployment vehicles often employ antigravity technology to fly. Though generally benignly used to lower gravitational forces similar technology can be used to amplify gravity. The gravity hammer is one such application of the technology. This is the first in a line that may eventually encompass my entire "techno" weapon line. The gravity hammer is designed to be sleek and elegant and at the same time as practical as possible. It bars a sweeping arc shape to its head like it was designed to be swung through the air. At the same time its heft is detailed to add grip to security in the owner's hand. Rounded out by a power unit at its pummel.</div>
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<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEVg_bgOz8EJhb6LnlkzAWb4kwLPjxetyC6PKxBvDc-Fo7XMUCkJ9PYYtFVBTxsOm_iG_uub1oHF539myujm9zHD6aZ-z-8CD0gS5s1Kz_6c2AcrQlL1jjLCeI63S6E-HVVqv5w8L4ug/s320/star+marine+010a.PNG" style="color: #0000ee;" width="217" /></div>
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The Gravity hammer is an electronic device made by the military. It uses a standard military power distribution block. At the end of the power block is a photon charge pack. This specialized power cell is used to power weaponry, and indeed is a shared feature of all my "Advanced" line energy weapons. On the left face you can see the photon charge port used to charge the weapon for use. The port can be used to charge the photon charge pack or when connected to a suit's induction port can directly power the weapon from the micro fusion generator of the suit. In a pinch you can always swap the charge packs as well. On the face we can see the system read out control. Seen here, upside down the controls have an LCD panel and several control function buttons the operator can use to change settings on the weapon. Not seen, on the reverse side, is the standard circuit breaker used on all "advanced" line weapons insuring safe operation and preventing over load of the photon charge pack.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOhef-VtOebr-1IS10BqZAPh2cT0AqMIN1kLUgFeEUh1f_7qyRtNn21GMsZopZVhDupelpK3_YiRDKMj0asNZHHSJbL2lv8W3TBLwcTg4K9mVVCNwb3X7y1Mk8R2t8l4pcTXq4RzBqGc/s1600/star+marine+009a.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOhef-VtOebr-1IS10BqZAPh2cT0AqMIN1kLUgFeEUh1f_7qyRtNn21GMsZopZVhDupelpK3_YiRDKMj0asNZHHSJbL2lv8W3TBLwcTg4K9mVVCNwb3X7y1Mk8R2t8l4pcTXq4RzBqGc/s320/star+marine+009a.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The head of the gravity hammer scene in profile. Like the gravity device on my jetbike design, the gravity hammer's head has a hollow center. The smaller gravity sling I also envision with a hollow center. It's here that gravity device creates an artificial gravity point. A collection entangled dark matter that is used to amplify the weapon's weight. Biometric computers in the hammer link with on-board armor computers to detect body movement in order to determine when the user is attacking. During an attack the weapon's computer systems initiate a gravity surge amplifying the mass of the hammer head between 200 and 300 times. At the point of impact the blow can hit with as much force as 13 tonnes per square centimeter. After striking the computer cycles back the gravity surge to normal levels allowing the operator to maintain control.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9wASL-jjtyiJwW9cVMPg4my-vEzErI_GQ6gVNcQHhDQL11r-MQh2jrEnawkHsHeQ0kkq8017xuFDLHZ3-nEbo_RDBJGGrxIZPvZRs_CswQyVTwgOXSyjrim82L6gs-aIMiQpSb-ex6A/s1600/star+marine+011a.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9wASL-jjtyiJwW9cVMPg4my-vEzErI_GQ6gVNcQHhDQL11r-MQh2jrEnawkHsHeQ0kkq8017xuFDLHZ3-nEbo_RDBJGGrxIZPvZRs_CswQyVTwgOXSyjrim82L6gs-aIMiQpSb-ex6A/s320/star+marine+011a.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The use of shields in futuristic melee combat is a rarity but the Star Marines employ them to great effect on heavy armor. Star Marines in Heavy Armor are often the focal point of enemy ranged fire and as such the Mater Shields are vital to the longevity of the troops. Matter shields involve a complex magnetosphere that generates an ionized plasma field around the shields face. The result is a barrier that absorbs energy and causes matter to ablate on contact. This same technology is deployed in large scale on Star Marine vehicles.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJ0sNfwvQrZFFn7-kvwSxgR33JB01u2PxIATj1VYcIpq2mQg_-yiDkhyzXKJm9AfOgWqdXT2UHBSdH_vwZZVXZ4Odp1I2GU6dlrq92-YaE8rUQ3V4W2GpGk6wOpirLiECjUnMVzSZi28/s1600/star+marine+012a.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJ0sNfwvQrZFFn7-kvwSxgR33JB01u2PxIATj1VYcIpq2mQg_-yiDkhyzXKJm9AfOgWqdXT2UHBSdH_vwZZVXZ4Odp1I2GU6dlrq92-YaE8rUQ3V4W2GpGk6wOpirLiECjUnMVzSZi28/s320/star+marine+012a.PNG" width="316" /></a></div>
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The Matter Shield is a compact device. Internally a shielded electro-magnet rotates within a bath of exotic matter exciting molecules along the face of the sheild to firce ionize then plasmize as the excitation accelerates. At the core is a low grade magnetic resinator collects the plasma flat along the surface. Blade like heat sinks dissipate thermal energy along the edge of the shield making it both a defensive weapon and, in a pinch, an offensive one. Matter Shield models are mounted with a Star Marine Hand already locked into the photon charge port of the shield to give it power.</div>
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And that about wraps up this look at the initial Star Marine Heavy Armor release. I've begun working on additional support options for these suits including techno-fist options, shoulder mounted weapons, and some added melee / ranged options. Additional in the works will be Star Marine Light Armor, with both male and female variants. If I ever get the chance I'll also post some background for my Star Marine designs.</div>
dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-85782143639546132982013-03-19T18:02:00.001-07:002013-03-19T18:02:50.327-07:00Wargaming's Future (3/19/2013)<br />
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I haven’t spent a huge amount of time on my blog over the
past several months. Mostly my time has
been dedicated to completing some commissions.
But I’ve been slipping into designing some cool bits now and then when
the inspiration strikes. On the one hand
I’m proud of the commission work I’m doing but I feel I’m doing a bit of
disservice to my readers and all those who order my items. I know I’ve got a small stack of requests in
my in box and a couple of errors on printed items that I need to get to. I promise you that I’ll get around to them
ASAP now that my free time is becoming mine again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I semi-officially finished my largest commission last Tuesday. I only await the final approval on the models
to know that I’m definitively done. I’d
love to share with you the fruits of those projects but due to confidentiality
agreements I can’t. Suffice it to say it was a huge challenge and I’m quite
proud to have done it. Now that I can
get back to my own projects I’ve jumped on my star marines again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When I started making my female space marines I jokingly referred
to them as “Star Marines”. This was as
much a tongue in cheek reference to GW’s product as it was an example of my
insecurity over the idea of barrowing on the Games Workshop mythos. I am a huge fan of Warhammer 40k and the
models of Games Workshop but the older their world gets the less I feel at home
in it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I could chalk this up to my age but I don’t really believe
that’s the case. I still watch power rangers and read comic books so age isn’t
the issue. The issue is Games Workshop is reinventing itself. It’s been doing it for years and on the one
hand being the Madonna of its industry is what makes it great. On
the other hand reinvention always leaves someone out in the cold. And that
someone in this case is me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m willing to bet that it’s a lot of other people too. I’m not afraid of change but change,
reinvention, can’t be for its own sake.
To often we take for granted that change will be good or bad and
generally fail to acknowledge that the scary part of change isn’t its good or
bad points but the lack of control we have over it. Games Workshop has changed
Warhammer 40k a lot over the years and while we can say over and over that it’s
changes aren’t all bad we must admit that some of them are. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Which brings me to 6<sup>th</sup> edition 40k. I started playing 40k back in 2<sup>nd</sup>
edition and back then the land scape or “meta” if you want to believe in that,
was a lot like it is now. There were a
lot of people spoiling to play cool new things that could be done with the game
books. But back then Games Workshop accomplished
the same thing with a lot less money and a lot less man power. People were inspired less by Games Workshop’s
fluff background and more by their own imaginations. And people took absurd ideas and ran with
them for hours upon hours of conversion and gameplay fun.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Today with the freshness of 6<sup>th</sup> edition, the
newly revised whitedwarf, and the quicker pace of releasing Games Workshop has
captured that anything can happen vibe of Rogue Trader. But in doing so what have they spent. In terms of money? In terms of manpower? In
terms of long term viability of the products they produce? I’m not really qualified to speak on the
time, effort, and money Games Workshop has spent to revitalize 40k. What I can say is I’m not sure its
sustainable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Games Workshop has started trying new things and that’s good
in the long run. But they haven’t been
terribly good at what they have tried. 6<sup>th</sup>
edition 40k is still a terribly hard to explain game for very little
reason. Contrary the to popular belief
the rules for playing toy soldiers are very easy to articulate. Any 8 year old can explain them, I shoot you,
you die. We all love rolling dice, we
all love watching enemy and even allied soldiers get removed as
casualties. Games Workshop keep’s making
that complicated. Arguably this is done
to making teams balanced but everyone can attest that, while the most balanced it’s
been in years, 40k is not balanced so all that extra writing and layers of
rules technicalities is a waste. Beyond
that every rule in the big book pretty much has an exception in one or more
army books anyway making it less a rules guide than a bunch of things you have
to remember to ignore but only when X is on the field anyway.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have a 7 year old nephew.
A 7 year old nephew that is part of my table top roleplaying group. We play a lot of different games but his favorite
is Star War D6. A game played with fists
full of D6s and lots of brash fun gunslingers shooting at each other. I tried teaching him Warhammer 40k. a game
that is arguably very similar to the WEG Star Wars experience. He lost interest after 15 minutes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Perhaps 7 years old is the wrong age to learn mass combat
games. Maybe I’m not a good gaming
instructor. Or maybe there are just too
many rules and to many exceptions for a child to track. I don’t really know. The trouble is that most of the gamers I know
are table top gamers because they started young. I started at around 7 or 8 myself with RPGs
and moved to wargames at 10 or 11. My
Nephew actually totally grasps the concept of characters, line of sight, hit
points, armor saves, and all of that. He
just doesn’t care about look out sirs, overwatch, snap fire, anything that is a
USR, or why some models get feels no pain and others don’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At the end of the day Games Workshop’s new more engaging
business model just doesn’t make for a healthy game. As a current gamer it’s nice that things are
more balanced. It’s great that we are getting new kits faster. It’s nice that unasked questions are being
faq’d sooner. It’s even nice that I can
spend my money on a poorly designed digital product instead of an over designed
print product. But when it comes down to
it balance, speed of releases, faqs, and even digital or print products aren’t
the barriers to entry on the game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At a time when the entire world has seen economic distress
the biggest issue is now and always will be price and service. Games Workshop’s constantly up sloping prices
coupled with relatively poor customer service and the constant feeling that
whatever I buy will be devalued in the game by 6 to 10 weeks out make it hard
for a current gamer to justify the price tag.
At the same time while other games have maintained a reasonably price
tag for their core products and an extremely low price tag for their starter
sets, Games Workshop continues the trend of uniform prices across the board.
This means new gamers can’t buy into the game to get hooked without a friend
that’s already in the hobby and spent the money.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As a gamer I’m an advocate for gaming. I love gaming and
believe everyone who plays is in some way better for playing. But I can buy a DnD starter set for 20 bucks,
all the core books for 60, and a bunch of plastic DnD miniatures for a buck a piece.
For Warhammer 40k I spend 65 bucks for the core book, another 60 for my army
book and then 100 plus for a bare bones starter army that isn’t even always complete
to play and is rarely what you actually want.
I’m not sure I can advocate that as easily as I can other aspects of the
hobby.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Maybe that’s the point though, Games Workshop is trying to
change the dynamic of the hobby. It
seems clear they don’t want it accessible to just anyone. Constant price rises, pushes to remove
services from 3<sup>rd</sup> party retailers, and even the semi-mainstream
effort put into forge world are attempts at elitism within the hobby. Games Workshop’s goal is to push people
towards their in house distribution. As
an example, they just contractually killed bits service through 3<sup>rd</sup>
party retailers which means they will likely start unveiling a bunch of shitty
fine cast bit kits that are direct order only.
Every kit will be priced at 19.99 or similar and have just enough kinda
useful and kinda useless bits on the kit to make you feel like it might be a
good price but the quality and service will still be lacking and spending 20
bucks for the one power fist will still leave someone feeling a bit let down.<o:p></o:p></div>
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See Games Workshop is ok with someone leaving the hobby so
long as you aren’t ordering from them directly.
Their greatest profit margin is in house where their supply chain takes
care of everything rather than paying an outsider. Their highest degree of control is in house
where they do all the training and control all the advertising. No risk of
their employees telling you about a competing product or their magazine
advertising WarmaHordes. In the end
their goal is pretty transparent. If they
can’t get you into one of their stores and keep you, they don’t want you as a
customer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you want to understand their elitism look no farther than
their “digital products”. Their “digital
products” are nothing more than the iBooks News Stand products. I get game informer the exact same way, only
for 14 bucks a year. Same basic content. Useful index, searchable
functionality, fancy revolving 3d images (game characters are cool that way), occasional
videos, forced landscape viewing (even though portrait is traditional print lay
out and easier to bloody read), and of course outrageously large 300mb
downloads. Only difference is that Games
Workshop feels their product is worth more because they made it. Same goes with their print game books. We can talk about all the fancy color print
pages and stuff we want but I have personally felt for years that the army book
prices are trending towards the point they aren’t in my price range. I can pick
up a hard cover 200 page DnD supplement for 39.95 but I have to pay 60 for a
warhammer one? And then by the models? And the core book? Oh and you’ve made
stupid objective markers and psychic power cards too, great. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve come to realize that I’m not Games Workshop’s market
for 40k anymore. Neither is my
Nephew. It’s not about age. I don’t feel entitled to anything because I’ve
played for so long. No its more about
the very real truth that they don’t care if I patronize them or not. They aren’t worried about losing me as a
customer because they haven’t had me invested in their business model for a
couple of years now.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Why is this all important? Well I’ve just realized something
very clearly. For a long time side companies like Chapterhouse have been
combating Games Workshop’s elitist mentality by keeping bits and specialized
models cheap. But they don’t have to.
Games Workshop isn’t killing itself by getting rid of bits or raising prices or
driving off customers. It’s giving life to its competition. I’m not going to start a kickstarter. But I will predict that someone soon will.
Within a few months of Chapterhouse and Games Workshop settling Chapterhouse
will start its own game. Mantic has
already started its Warpath game and will kickstart that. Beyond the Gates of Antares was pulled from
kickstarter and arguably was going to be a shitty game, but it will be
back. Within a year Anvil industries
will at least talk about making a game as will Wargames Factory within 18
months. The point is, I can’t look at
Games Workshop’s business tactics as “bad for the hobby” anymore. They are good
for it, just not good for Games Workshop’s place in it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That's my deep thought for the day. Later this week i'll be talking about Star Marines and what that means for my future projects, and hopefully a little about the design of my Heavy Armor troopers.</div>
dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-44915083770400922432013-03-03T18:32:00.000-08:002013-03-03T18:32:49.987-08:00Update, 3/3/13Wow its been a while since I've updated my blog.<br />
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I've been focusing almost entirely on a series of commissions I've received which will be cast in resin for production. I'm rather close to finishing those commissions so I've started dusting off some of my work to get back on the bike to ride as it were. So I thought i'd jump on and say hello to everyone again. I truely am sorry I haven't had anything fun to show off but hey, I gotta do what I gotta do.<br />
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If readers have checked my shapeways store they may have noticed that I've still been adding a few items now and then. For those who haven't I thought you might like to see some of the stuff I've put up.<br />
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Months back I started revealing my "Advanced" weapon line which focuses on a sci-fi weapons for 28mm scale. Those of you who have seen my increasingly expansive line of weapon designs might be intrigued to know the weapon base I use wasn't my first design for the base. My early designs were a bit more out there with some inspiration taken from various sources.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgbBNI9L8iGsmkDDZ49hjQZkx5L6-UW8HcUTrE4Pxen3TeO7sL_7w8G0-wvZ5lDvu2pjMXKXpnkknB0Cs8aiahoPZskiuc-23RSMjruooSKcjv26qkoFu3iTSqTCFWEPieb1kE_NL3f-I/s1600/Capture4.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgbBNI9L8iGsmkDDZ49hjQZkx5L6-UW8HcUTrE4Pxen3TeO7sL_7w8G0-wvZ5lDvu2pjMXKXpnkknB0Cs8aiahoPZskiuc-23RSMjruooSKcjv26qkoFu3iTSqTCFWEPieb1kE_NL3f-I/s320/Capture4.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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My earliest design was inspired by weapons from several scifi properties. Specifically Mass Effect and Star Trek. the weapons in those properties always have a bit more technical look to them. Like they are made with more attention to detail. Its a bullpup design with an under-barrel stabilizer. This design featured a strange, flash suppressor which I was never particularly happy with. Even this earliest design featured the over barrel expansion port structure I would use in later projects.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmBPYiX-YpAqq3MBV3rey0PSsSbg9WQJ8hj5OEd9l0u-WJrchqKf6fW41YvMeceXTu-8Q-UEeVPXR-5jbArPnuSrCDxpZ5Zf_JrVUO_YV2S8a9mTeRi67GtqEqlsfcPDCOUGhiVvZ_qM4/s1600/Capture6.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmBPYiX-YpAqq3MBV3rey0PSsSbg9WQJ8hj5OEd9l0u-WJrchqKf6fW41YvMeceXTu-8Q-UEeVPXR-5jbArPnuSrCDxpZ5Zf_JrVUO_YV2S8a9mTeRi67GtqEqlsfcPDCOUGhiVvZ_qM4/s320/Capture6.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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At some point I fell in love with the idea of a micro gatling gun. A multibarreled rotary weapon that would fire micro missiles. The main inspiration for this design came from playing a very old shooter, command and conquer renegade. It also has design motifs from the FN-P90 and the Thompson Sub-machine gun. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMuNj7jqqKaNpdPaY7sEYr-DEb1sLIakYJw-9azbjR2zSZB6qqvQC2wn8-C3WwWkepj52g2PTo-NdrXLK0MKxdzYwPnaToMTPqmiNieNjtYNB2c5v-ZlEVlIQvE2-oau4gAsejbaAUUzw/s1600/Capture7.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMuNj7jqqKaNpdPaY7sEYr-DEb1sLIakYJw-9azbjR2zSZB6qqvQC2wn8-C3WwWkepj52g2PTo-NdrXLK0MKxdzYwPnaToMTPqmiNieNjtYNB2c5v-ZlEVlIQvE2-oau4gAsejbaAUUzw/s320/Capture7.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This design started as inspired by the FN-F2000 and the FAMAS F1. Both cutting edge weapon designs for modern militaries. The design shifted from there. Its become a far more elaborate weapon. It's appearance is nice and light with a technical design. My main reason for not using it as my base design is it was simply to difficult to modify the design into multiple weapon types.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8eT1w-OXuRMCRH4H2DY6bkgtzkBXzkugDhBv6VnUEyPQdwIV_-vF9nYoN2c6W9h4EOaIQMEmUltDQokihQphyEbvq3zC40hV1H719Bl_j1xWYmzpf4QjoOhVV2W-iucmgHpBJMaBRJec/s1600/Capture9.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8eT1w-OXuRMCRH4H2DY6bkgtzkBXzkugDhBv6VnUEyPQdwIV_-vF9nYoN2c6W9h4EOaIQMEmUltDQokihQphyEbvq3zC40hV1H719Bl_j1xWYmzpf4QjoOhVV2W-iucmgHpBJMaBRJec/s320/Capture9.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have a love hate relationship with shotguns. The short range, the heavy recoil, the small magazine, the inaccuracy. When I do the math personally I always come up with a bad equation. But I won't deny in other hands they can be fantastic. Especially modern shotguns like the Pancor Automatic shotgun. brutally effective at shredding cover and enemy flesh the pancor inspired me to make this design. Unlike a lot of the other designs it doesn't have the underbarrel attachment mount. Instead it has traditional side rails for accessories. The design is heavily rounded and smoothed like the entire weapon was made out of a single piece of carbon fibor. In a scifi setting I picture shotguns as being the quickest, cheapest, and easiest weapons to make, even automatic ones.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgND2Tae3kac0WdC3R_WVYROX-xXbw_Rujs0TN_KQSpg2ztjuR629H-HHGSks4iMQW5Y301vUan6RmSgOQNwkd2_uc1J4rlL1wTNVA2aI-q8noZBbaySRx4dtylXkpAeORLqq7gtZnXlA/s1600/Capture5.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgND2Tae3kac0WdC3R_WVYROX-xXbw_Rujs0TN_KQSpg2ztjuR629H-HHGSks4iMQW5Y301vUan6RmSgOQNwkd2_uc1J4rlL1wTNVA2aI-q8noZBbaySRx4dtylXkpAeORLqq7gtZnXlA/s320/Capture5.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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When I started this project I had a good idea that I'd be making conventional weapons and energy weapons. I first sought to make a separate energy weapon base for my weapons I later decided to go a different route with the project. This early design of a purely energy weapon design bares little resemblance to the mass production base I now use. I picture it as a laser of some kind. Chunky and durable its structure is more reminiscent of a prototype than a final field weapon. But still it would look nice in the hands of soldier.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSZhEIYPR-ieJ0TrjJIvv_tc9lPjygiwBohW6iAhzc6uw2OIpvZA3NIUNTYBU5i9Y7_rnKsLlRYxRcs-lv5J-wJUjrS90IcvFswV2jmwCrWyqCb3WiYptyZeqQLwvKZrflhz3D-dpvWY/s1600/Capture8.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSZhEIYPR-ieJ0TrjJIvv_tc9lPjygiwBohW6iAhzc6uw2OIpvZA3NIUNTYBU5i9Y7_rnKsLlRYxRcs-lv5J-wJUjrS90IcvFswV2jmwCrWyqCb3WiYptyZeqQLwvKZrflhz3D-dpvWY/s320/Capture8.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of the early hallmarks of 40k and other hard science fiction settings has been the use of chemical and acids as weapons, a tactic our modern military hasn't adopted. Of course the main reason for that is probably an effective delivery system. This is my first take on a chemical weapon. A two part compound sprayer that shoots narrow concentrations of chemicals at the enemy. I'd imagine it as some form of magnetic acceleration unit that fires chemically infused needles. Its a fun, 80's sort of scifi weapon.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDbZ-b8wlkDnc4dBghXiU4iSzaByAoXX5Nc2SN1piUt1Ofb5pG2P7l1PI2V-BF7-_iIqbQNRdqCNAMj6dGpEY7WwoN-HJEquTuZ2kBNqJCrrtVjNo-wmz8bJGl3JLUa7hagXL2oA7l6Y/s1600/Capture2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDbZ-b8wlkDnc4dBghXiU4iSzaByAoXX5Nc2SN1piUt1Ofb5pG2P7l1PI2V-BF7-_iIqbQNRdqCNAMj6dGpEY7WwoN-HJEquTuZ2kBNqJCrrtVjNo-wmz8bJGl3JLUa7hagXL2oA7l6Y/s320/Capture2.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Of course I can't neglect my newer designs. One of the major holes in the line has been a rocket launcher. sure I could design a traditional tube style weapon but where's the fun in that. No I opted for using the gyrojet base I designed for the Battle Cannon. The barrel is inspired by the rocket launcher from Quake 3, one of my favorite shooters. It uses a clip of oversize gyrojet rounds rather than a muzzle or breach load design like modern missile launchers. In field this would translate to a more stable, faster firing anti-tank weapon. And of course it comes with shield and without as well as in a man portable version.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidI7UtcYSA9jaBDUXB2wG9zh49hBqzy_tkkTqe0RX77o5V_hl5RqE7q1pECyncDp9D_W2teQoIHxNDpf38KehzI2v4OX9WJ_cCwBIBP3bl72pfSUO9-QUNobH603Fg0CZJvlBmtj9tT10/s1600/Capture3.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidI7UtcYSA9jaBDUXB2wG9zh49hBqzy_tkkTqe0RX77o5V_hl5RqE7q1pECyncDp9D_W2teQoIHxNDpf38KehzI2v4OX9WJ_cCwBIBP3bl72pfSUO9-QUNobH603Fg0CZJvlBmtj9tT10/s320/Capture3.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The other new design for the "Advanced" line is a lightning weapon. here we see the lightning cannon design. It has a central static transformer and 4 charge emitters around the outside. Here is the heavy weapon version where we can see its intimidating blade like design. Though short range and relatively inaccurate it can be devastating to electronic systems. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq8Fg_UBsd7l3yk4Ckf9LS6CfB5goZavyuV8YXX5CsprLb3Y-ZZHIL8Ai8swFbLeakSYc4GXXAbUGKlergIu14h4RCk5AStW5eDxCxAen22-ej17q32CK-GzqIXMBG6OLeSRlWRKwK_Ds/s1600/Capture11.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq8Fg_UBsd7l3yk4Ckf9LS6CfB5goZavyuV8YXX5CsprLb3Y-ZZHIL8Ai8swFbLeakSYc4GXXAbUGKlergIu14h4RCk5AStW5eDxCxAen22-ej17q32CK-GzqIXMBG6OLeSRlWRKwK_Ds/s320/Capture11.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The rifle variant of the lightning gun is more sleek with well defined blade like charge emitters It forms a ball of electrons at its leading edge, building in charge until the transformer cycles. The result is a devastating if slow shock blast.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9TJDrRKveTGStbfyaRoJpfOUTLOG0KBojNplcKYVdCKRET2geswmaKz3XSt948JPlD53OIhMUJKWFYI7L33NuHVwIOv7srSQFwjQPEXQcuMdrO0Hw005U5WL7pQl8U3d3Mx5s5rl3BdE/s1600/Capture12.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9TJDrRKveTGStbfyaRoJpfOUTLOG0KBojNplcKYVdCKRET2geswmaKz3XSt948JPlD53OIhMUJKWFYI7L33NuHVwIOv7srSQFwjQPEXQcuMdrO0Hw005U5WL7pQl8U3d3Mx5s5rl3BdE/s320/Capture12.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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A group of 10 lightning pistols ready for deployment. I imagine my lightning gun as a short range weapon so pistols makes perfect sense for the design.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0FCedUYxR_LkHatNxyNw66BzIZQWPVdWTnq5tmYq0Bss0ZQnW5stfRkIQLQI9dPnpvK_JW3f3XSRKTubflfiv-yTKVVywatYl2RY0OUV0K3aA_BW-9EIx9v3LZEUM96o6WBMgbQ9P_M/s1600/Capture14.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs0FCedUYxR_LkHatNxyNw66BzIZQWPVdWTnq5tmYq0Bss0ZQnW5stfRkIQLQI9dPnpvK_JW3f3XSRKTubflfiv-yTKVVywatYl2RY0OUV0K3aA_BW-9EIx9v3LZEUM96o6WBMgbQ9P_M/s320/Capture14.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Last post I previewed my new Starship Trooper style star marine design. What I didn't preview were these. These torsos, inspired by Egyptian clothing and the powered armor design of my Star Marines, are intended as the basis for a lighter power armor design. Here we have the female design. Its slimmer and slightly shorter than the male variant. Yes it has breasts. I've never quite understood the hate on female fantasy armor having breasts. Yeah I totally understand they are ridiculously impractical. And yes when treated poorly they are pretty much sexist short hand for "I like gurlz, yuck yuck". But then I've never had a woman get upset because they have breasts. Acknowledging sexuality isn't bad and hopefully I've done it without being offensive.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_aeA3PODmAzJ4xBZsYtl2FQuLCnKs9FAL2Fadr3YPmXn-NCLm8sefxhAkt3xMV7ix0z-kYmXYTyxsRIlcHtyNdU0uHyJt4a4K8HyCWLjGM2MF73UK42xyF2UnR80B1xG1egZkaCXZ1eU/s1600/Capture13.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_aeA3PODmAzJ4xBZsYtl2FQuLCnKs9FAL2Fadr3YPmXn-NCLm8sefxhAkt3xMV7ix0z-kYmXYTyxsRIlcHtyNdU0uHyJt4a4K8HyCWLjGM2MF73UK42xyF2UnR80B1xG1egZkaCXZ1eU/s320/Capture13.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The male variant of the armor is virtually identical to the female. Its got a clearly male shape. It's a bit taller than the female variant but not by much. This design's Egyptian motif is mostly in the mantle that graces its shoulders. A mantle less design is in the works. Its a bit more body armor like.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkwRsKckA3PkLcXYBxtkP8TA715ZVWxS5UczntWupLYIJXc5UhiFx2cP4fZBg4zt70DQuLDshvDA6Njn-Fk0a3xxxvlxLWwWoDAustFJIbWSYm6DdIBkjzxMtIRqxLK5yrW3WkKfLI4LY/s1600/Capture10.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkwRsKckA3PkLcXYBxtkP8TA715ZVWxS5UczntWupLYIJXc5UhiFx2cP4fZBg4zt70DQuLDshvDA6Njn-Fk0a3xxxvlxLWwWoDAustFJIbWSYm6DdIBkjzxMtIRqxLK5yrW3WkKfLI4LY/s320/Capture10.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The shoulder pads for my new star marine designs. Their leading edges are flat making them distinct from other shoulder designs.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4w58L_JOi9o8cQ90ytGMg7w9uTgtB0K5dIsyFe2g2Wp-3dBuxmU_9svBs1ZDHq5BBaqS9f_0TUQMyGJqGcrXGc-C-lxU3KheIkH7IFZOfpJ-g8mHsJJvh2ruy1iXg9O6UdI8SeNHeeA/s1600/Capture15.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4w58L_JOi9o8cQ90ytGMg7w9uTgtB0K5dIsyFe2g2Wp-3dBuxmU_9svBs1ZDHq5BBaqS9f_0TUQMyGJqGcrXGc-C-lxU3KheIkH7IFZOfpJ-g8mHsJJvh2ruy1iXg9O6UdI8SeNHeeA/s320/Capture15.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The body of the new star marine armor is based off the smaller armor torso's I made above. The Star Marine torso is completely enclosed. Normally the body would close entirely, here I've made 2 variants of the torso, one closed and the other, shown here, open. The total figure is designed as an analogue for heavy armored space marine design. Closed torso figures will stand approximately 44mm tall. The gap in the open torso should fit any 28mm head once you cut off the neck.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Y6YqSvP6wWYXkDXp001nbRun_TayeXcHsV12ONokbEBsMkIfeVPuPPBEpONhncygYpG-lxnDXGbNORPsJg4b4CEJxUftsmJir-zR95ItckKkxlrNNhYQgH1z9D59PM8u4YvWKuWghao/s1600/capture1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Y6YqSvP6wWYXkDXp001nbRun_TayeXcHsV12ONokbEBsMkIfeVPuPPBEpONhncygYpG-lxnDXGbNORPsJg4b4CEJxUftsmJir-zR95ItckKkxlrNNhYQgH1z9D59PM8u4YvWKuWghao/s320/capture1.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The legs to the most doing to make. Sure I had the leg design finished when I flashed it last post. But, the legs proved the most troublesome to upload. Perhaps it was because of their intricate design, or maybe it was my own incompetence but either way it took 6 or 7 tries to get them to upload. Here we have advancing legs.</div>
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Well that's all for now, I'll try not to let the next update be a month away. :P Till then, enjoy.</div>
<br />dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-83477120751286037462013-01-11T16:00:00.002-08:002013-01-11T16:00:18.585-08:00New ProjectThere are times I find myself randomly deciding that it's time to do something new and different. I've been reading a lot of books lately because of work and I had a chance to go back over one of my all time favorite books. I'm referring to Starship Troopers by Heinlein. The book is fantastic and thankfully very little like the crappy movies I remember from high school. As far as I'm aware Heinlein is the source material that gave birth to all "Power Armored" troopers. But as was pointed out by a friend at Wargames Factory, no one has actually made Heinlein inspired power armored soldiers.<br />
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Works like Warhammer 40k use the idea of Powered Armor to re-imagine the feudal European culture. They pay homage in some small way to heinleins work but lack the aesthetic of the original in favor of more byzantine sensibilities. What's more, except for a few notable exceptions every miniatures company seems to be chasing after Games Workshop's flagship product. As if they believe they can beat the market leader at their own game. But Games Workshop makes the rules of their game and changes them at will which means every company playing them against themselves is playing a losing game. Several companies out there have made their own games or their own miniatures but few depart drastically from the formula.<br />
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I'm not making my own game. I think we have enough of those out there already. But I have been making miniatures for a while and as I depart farther and farther from the Warhammer 40k aesthetic I hope people still find my works inspiring and entertaining.<br />
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This is perhaps my farthest departure to date. They are a fusion somewhere between Heinleins Mobile Infantry and the common ideal of a power armored soldier. The design is intended to be a further exploration of science fiction based equipment in 28mm scale. It is in scale with the weapons i've designed including the Advanced Gyrojet line. It has also been built to match parts with other 28mm minatures.<br />
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It's seen here entirely compiled into a figure but unposed. The figure will be produced as a kit including torso, arms, legs, hands, backpack, and shoulder pads. A complete figure minus weapons though I may include weapons as well depending on time and effort involved.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPI18GKmcsUQfMEOXJqDaIY0mNrPAGw-Rpx5wJhORGxUVbwwHW1qDxpx08GJ_9Qv0xKd69_bx33ffA7PY6vtBtMUsBd3EQQU0PZEwUyas2NXuyt2wm8nbteYHMg3ETNU4hPNMfnKwtxbM/s1600/SEPIA+M6-60.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPI18GKmcsUQfMEOXJqDaIY0mNrPAGw-Rpx5wJhORGxUVbwwHW1qDxpx08GJ_9Qv0xKd69_bx33ffA7PY6vtBtMUsBd3EQQU0PZEwUyas2NXuyt2wm8nbteYHMg3ETNU4hPNMfnKwtxbM/s320/SEPIA+M6-60.PNG" width="252" /></a></div>
<br />dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417165785834708594.post-58443836171675372992013-01-10T15:13:00.000-08:002013-01-10T15:13:03.661-08:00White Strong and FlexableI've been on the fense about this for sometime but some recently rejected products have made me decide to do this. Over the next several weeks I'll be removing White Strong and Flexable (WSF) as a print option from all of my models. I've repeatedly recommended Frosted Detail for my miniatures designs and even have set the default material on everything to Frosted Detail. However recently it seems some customers have been upset by the print quality of WSF products they have ordered. Most notably some of my new weapons. The poor quality of the print is not the fault of my design or a mistake by shapeways. WSF is a BAD material for miniatures. Its detail level is not good enough and no amount of polishing will make it good enough. On larger items the detail can be passable, especially when you want a rustic almost concreat type surface. However, on miniatures that require smooth attention to detail WSF does not cut it. <br />
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I use WSF for test prints when determining scale and durability only, I will continue to do so for my own reasons. But, going forward all models will only be purchasable in FD and FUD only for reasons of quality. <br />
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If you are active on the shapeways community I encourage you to push shapeways towards adding additional fine detail materials such as wax or resin and to bring down the cost of fine detail printing. Until Shapeways offers a better product (like wax or resin) we will have to make do with FD and FUD.dynathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08782441598055081670noreply@blogger.com0