Update 11-17-12

OK so as promised here comes a shoulder pad update.  and this is a decent sized one. Alphabetically speaking this brings me to roughly half way through my list of space marine chapters.  Icon wise i'm probably just below halfway since some chapters left, like space wolves, have a whole bunch of different icons.  Thus far this project has been quite challenging and i'm thankful for everyone's support on this project.  Whether I can sell these shoulder pads or not I'm committed to making the best quality pads I can as a challenge to myself.

After this post i'll be shifting gears a bit in preparations for Christmas.  My new focus will be on getting some designs on shapeways for people to enjoy. These uploads will include my advanced weapon line and some other projects I've been working on.  Tell then, enjoy and happy holidays.


F (continued)

Flesh Tearers

Fluer De Ley (customish icon, no SM chapters use it but the Sisters of Battle are all pretty much french with it)

G 


Game Pad (Custom icon, its the dance rocker pad icon from Dance Dance Revolution)

Genesis Chapter (done Previously)

Glaive (custom icon, comes from a football team logo, looks good on shoulder pads kinda chaosy) 

Goat Marines (Goat icon from a pub I visit, Goatboy on BolS should like this one) 

Golden Gryphons

Golden Legion 1 (custom personal chapter, marking 1)

Golden Legion 2 (custom personal chapter, marking 2, also called "triforce marines")

Golden Legion 3 (custom personal chapter, marking 3, not completed)

Golden Legion 3 (custom personal chapter, marking 4, not completed)

Grey Knights (won't do, the text won't come out correctly)

Grey Slayers (no icon)

Grief Bringers (described only as "chevrons" assumed to be same as "Genesis Chapter" or "Honor - Devastator 2"

Guardians of the Covenant (same as Emperor's Warbringers, Sable Swords, and White Swords chapters)

H 


Hakanor's Reavers

Harbingers

Hawk Lords (same as raven guard)

Heralds of Vengeance (no icon)

Hex Chapter (Custom Icon, just a cool hexagon pattern)

Honors - Devastator 1 (Custom, devastator icon, no squad markings)

Honors - Devastator 2 (Custom, Devastator icon, no squad markings)

Honors - Devastator 3 (Custom, devastator icon, no squad markings)

Honors - Elite 1 (Custom, elite icon, no squad markings)

 Honors - Elite 2 (Custom, Elite icon, no squad markings)

Honors - Fast Attack 1 (Custom, fast attack icon, no squad markings)

Honors - Fast Attack 2 (Custom, fast attack icon, no squad markings)

Honors - Iron Halo (Custom, Iron Halo icon, no squad markings)

  

Honors - Tactical 1 (Custom, tactical icon, no squad markings)

Honors - Tactical 1 (Custom, tactical icon, no squad markings, note this isn't really a "tactical" marking, I think of it more as "expendable squad")

Honors - Terminator 1 (Custom, terminator icon, no squad markings, I need to add a skull to this sometime)

Hounds of Demos (no icon)

Howling Griffins

Huskies (Custom icon)

I 

Illuminati

Imperial Castellans

Imperial Fists (as crimson fists)

Imperial Harbingers

Imperial Hawks (no Icon, presumably the same as the raven guard)

Imperial Paladins

Imperial Stars

Imperial Talons

Inceptors (no icon)

Inculcators (no icon)

Interceptors (no icon)

Invaders

Invictors  (no icon)

Inviolators (no icon)

Inquisition 002a (I really need to do variants with 1 and 2 bars to fit the old Inquisition fluff for the major ordos)

Inquisition 003a (I really need to do variants with 1 and 2 bars to fit the old Inquisition fluff for the major ordos)

Inquisition 004a (I really need to do variants with 1 and 2 bars to fit the old Inquisition fluff for the major ordos)

Inquisition 005a (same as a space marine chapter)

Iron Champions

Iron Crowns (custom design, idea came from football logo)

Iron Fists (same as crimson fists)

Iron Hands 001a

Iron Hands 002a (also work as mechanicus shoulder)

Iron Hands 003a (also work as mechanicus shoulder)

Iron Hearts (no icon, though a valentine heart riveted to the shoulder would be interesting)

Iron Knights (same as avenging sons)

Iron Kings (custom design, idea comes from a football team logo)

Iron Lords

Iron Snakes 001a

Iron Snakes 002a

Iron Warriors

Iron Warriors evil

Iron Wolves

J

Java Marines (custom icon, there were no J's so I felt bad and find this funny)

K

Khorne 001a

Khorne 002a

Khorne 003a

Khorne 004a (removed, errors on upload)



Killmongers (no icon, but its an awesome name)

Knights Errant (this is used for another chapter too just can't find it at the moment)

Knights of Blood (icon missing, looks like its a blood thurster)

Knights of Gryphonne (same as howling griffins)

Knights of the Raven (same as raven guard)


Knot (custom icon, thatched sort of look, was better on paper, probably work best as a background for another icon)

Krom Dragongaze (one of the SW's 13 great companies, can't find the rest if someone has them send me the highest quality icons you can get)

L 

Lamenters (I guess valentines hearts are official icons, man I miss the 80's irreverence)

Laurels 001a (with clover)

Laurels 002a (might redo this one with a company symbol in the center, would be a great spot for a decal though)

Laurels 003a (similar to the old circle on a shoulder pad design, might redo this with studs and a crenelation  not sure, again good for decals)

Laurels 004a (more of a classic laurel than the others, I can almost picture a united nations logo in the middle)

Legio Metalica (icon screwed up I need to fix it)

Legio Mortis (not strictly a space marine thing but classic design none the less)

Legion of the Damned (fire and skulls pretty common, see Angels of Fire)

Libators (no icon)

Liberators (no icon)


Lightning 001a (various lightning icons)

Lightning 002a (various lightning icons, this is identical to icons used on roman sheilds)

Lightning 003a (various lightning icons)

Lightning 004a (various lightning icons)

Lightning 005a (various lightning icons)

Lightning 006a (various lightning icons)

Lightning 007a (various lightning icons, used in the mecharian crusade)

Lightning 008a (various lightning icons, used in the mecharian crusade)

Lightning 009a (various lightning icons)

Lion Warriors 001a (modern)

Lion Warriors 002a (rogue trader era)

Lion Shields (Custom icon)

Lions of Alba 001a (custom icon)

Lords of Decay

Luna Wolves (became Black Legion, previously done)

Random icons done

Thunder Cats (custom icon, comes from the cartoon, it kept coming up on searches for lions so I did it too.)

Vehicle Update 11-11-12

As promised I’m back to give you a look at my vehicle designs.  I’ve been working a lot of different projects lately.  Several of these designs still have some work that needs done but even so you’ll agree they are progressing well.

Iron Horse Bike

This is a quick preview of the an item you won’t see appearing on shapeways.  This design was commissioned by Rob Angell and will be cast and sold through his website curiousconstructs.co.uk. The Iron Horse will be cast and sold as a stand in for rough riders in guard armies.  It’s inspired by a WWII Triumph motorcycle.  This is almost the final revision, drastic changes will be made to the seat and wheels.  Curious Constructs will be sculpting the rider, Rob’s skills with greenstuff are fantastic so go check out his designs and keep an eye out for the Iron Horse.

the Iron Horse's design is made after a WWII era Triumph Motorcycles.  The body style and structure are intended to evoke a functional military aesthetic and at the same time show a degree of embellishment of a decedent empire.  The tires and seat will be completely replaced in the final design.  The body and front forks cast separately to allow the bike to be assembled in different possitions.

The Iron Horse is designed for standard army soldiers and so it's structure is much thinner than bikes designed for Star Marines or other genetically engineered super soldiers.  At the same time it's body is intended to be durable with detailing designed after appropriate real military vehicles.

Iron Eagle Bike

The Iron Eagle is my personal take on a dedicated Star Marine military motorcycle.  Modern military's use motorcycles as fast recon vehicles and front line carriers.  The add mobility to a standard infantryman allowing them to cover a great deal of ground.  In the Warhammer 40k game system motorcycles fill a remarkably similar roll to 18th century cavalry. In 40k the motorcycle is little more than a horse used to charge the enemy and deliver sword and bolter where its needed. This is generally due to the low priority placed on troop survive-ability. The death of one or two bike carried troopers who happen to get stuck in melee is considered more acceptable to the military of the 41st millennium than to the US Marine Corps. Ultimately this just means the Iron Eagles design needed to serve less of a light duty combat roll than and more of robust melee roll to fit the game.  At the same time the 40k artistic aesthetic is quite... dated and has more of a historical feel than a science fiction feel which I needed to update.

Here we see the Iron Eagle's front forks with a good look at the wide wheel used to support the bike's, and the marine's, ample frame.  The wheels are detailed with a dirt track tire tread seen here without its smoothing.  The front cowling is wide with a horizontal head lamp reminiscent of blackout lamps used on modern military bikes.  On either side of the cowling the bike mounts dual gyrojet rifles (weapons subject to change).

The basic design of the motorcycle isn't changed from modern bikes but the frame is much thicker and more sturdy made of heavy plates.  The bike's body design is extremely angular, its faceted structure is intended to be reminiscent of military stealth aircraft and/or the heavy armor mounted on tanks. 

Alternate side view of the Iron Eagle.  Its engine is still sketched in at this stage. A more detailed engine is being constructed, I chose to leave it off in these images until its totally complete.  This gives you an idea of the length of the bike's design.  It is stretched out giving it a low center of gravity to support its substantial weight on.  Weapons mounted on the "eagle" series are standard squad weapons mounted in a specialized operating housing that fires the weapon from the handle bars.

Rear view of the bike, again displaying its signature wide wheel base.  Here a good look at the quad exhaust pipe system.  One of the tactical disadvantages large bikes often have is their loud volume, the substantial size of the quad exhaust system is intended to mitigate this.

An over the shoulder view of the bike's console.  The bike's console is virtually the same as those mounted on other "eagle" bikes I've constructed.  The seat will likely change as I'm unsatisfied with it.  The Iron Eagle's low profile and high handlebars shield the rider on the charge while still giving them an excellent vantage point for operating their weapons.

Iron Eagle Heavy Bike

The Iron Eagles design fits the roll of a fast, lethal weapon's delivery platform.  You can consider both the vehicle and the rider those weapons.  Modern military's intermix special and heavy weapons into squads to maximize the capabilities of the unit.  Iron Eagle bike squadrons are intended to function the same way.  For this reason the heavy bike variant was designed.

The heavy bike's front forks have two narrower wheels rather than a single one.  This gives room for the bike to support a front mounted heavy weapon. In this case a thermal cannon.  The front forks will likely be redesigned to account for a wider array of weapons in the future.

A quarter panel view of the Iron Eagle Heavy bike.  Here we can see the bike's dual front wheel which offers a wide support to absorb the recoil of its heavy weapon.  The weapon is mounted low along the wheel base offering the most stable fire support possible.  When in doubt the rider still has access to its standard complement dual gyrojet rifles.

Steel Eagle Bike

The Steel Eagle is a custom design I came up with a few months back. I was disappointed to see Distopian Legions came up with a similar design and previewed it sometime last week.  Ah well, slow to market I guess.  Anyway, the Steel Eagle is a bike based on a tank chassis.  

Unlike a traditional bike it uses a dual tread steering system as apposed to forward wheel steering.  Two lines of tread run down the the length of the bike offering incredible traction and an extremely stable bike support base.

 

Structurally the Steel Eagle is roughly the size as other "eagle" bikes.  Its chassis is inspired by the Sherman tank with its exposed tread well.  Rollers line the treads keeping them both in line and in contact with the ground.  The design's tread well is entirely hollow at present and will be filled in as I finalize the design.

The Steel Eagle's design hasn't been completed yet. It's missing a set of controls which will be mounted below the console along with its fuel tank.  The bike will have more complex control structure than other eagle designs because of the complexities of operating a tracked vehicle.

The Steel Eagles design makes it ideal for a fast attack vehicle. It's dual tracks allow it to turn on a dime and the large traction surfaces will give it the ability traverse terrain other bikes can't reach.

Sky Eagle Grav-bike

I uploaded the first version of the Sky Eagle almost a year ago.  The initial design was good but I've tried to make it better. All the design elements are there but some changes have been introduced to improve the design as a whole.

The forward cowling on the Sky Eagle mounts dual gyrojets like all eagle series bikes, however these are mounted internally to protect the operating components at high velocities.  The lower cowling is given over to a scoop that channels air into the grav-cycle's jet engines.

The entire mass of the bike, and its rider, is absorbed by a gravity sling mounted below the bike's body.    Mounted at the lowest point on the bike the gravity sling develops a fixed gravitational point that repels the local gravity field in exact opposition to the standard mass of the bike.  Because of the precise calibrations needed grav-bikes must tuned to the planets they operate on and require a local gravity field to run smoothly.

The Sky Eagle's aft section is dedicated to low temperature oxygen jets that propel the vehicle.  The thrusters are modulated to maximize speed and maneuverability for the bike.

The bottom of the bike mounts 6 O2 thrusters that steer the bike allowing it to jink and turn at top speed.  Without the gravity modulation offered by the gravity sling the thrusters wouldn't have enough pressure to lift the bike let alone turn it at top speed.

The under carriage is a rigid armored structure that protects the rider and drive components as best as possible.  The forward fins collect air which is funneled through the drive jets and steering jets.

The body of the bike is structurally reinforced with segmented struts that help it cope with the stress of high speed turns.

Hurricane Gunship

The first version of the hurricane gunship was uploaded to shapeways shortly after the original Sky Eagle.  As with the Sky Eagle I've revised the hurricane to improve what worked and remove what didn't.  I hope you like.

The hurricane is a lightly armored, heavily armed gunship equipped with a turret mounted dual gatline cannon and wing mounted weapons.  Seen here equipped with missile pods.

A forward view of the hurricane note its elaborate forward targeting array. The sophisticated equipment in the targeting array allows a single pilot to control all on board systems.

Profile of the hurricane shows its compact size.  Not only does its size make it a smaller target but it also grants it a great degree of maneuverability.

The hurricane is driven by two powerful jet engines that give it VTOL capability.  Though lightly armored the hurricane is a sturdy craft capable of atmospheric entry, and both atmospheric and space based combat.

The Hurricane has a twin tail fuselage and high quality aerodynamics.  Coupled with its powerful engines its a perfect weapons platform.

The Hurricane uses oxygen gets to grant it extra lift during flight.  In space flight these variable thrusters are the primary means of attitude adjustment.

The dual gatline guns of the hurricane bring fire for effect to ground and air targets alike.

Vortex Gunship

The vortex is an offshoot of the Hurricane design.  The vortex was intended to be an alternate body design with a single tail but grew into an independent project. Originally abandoned I revived the project with some added inspiration from 1980s GI Joe toys.  The Hurricane and Vortex share many similarities in design but you'll not a different over all intent as the Vortex is an atmospheric vehicle.

Seen from above you'll note the primary difference between the Hurricane and Vortex is the fuselage and drives.  In place of jet turbines the Vortex uses twin vectored rotors.  By angling the fans and their blades the Vortex can rival air superiority fighters for mobility and speed while in atmosphere.

The Vortex has an identical weapon load out to the Hurricane though customization may differentiate them further along the design process.

The Vortex's fans are large dwarfing the size of the Hurricane's jet engines.

The Vortex's steering is assisted by a tail rotor. The body lines of the Vortex are derived in part from the Comanche attach chopper. 

The Vortex has half again the Hurricane's wingspan as seen here.  In spite of the increase wingspan the Vortex is still an extremely compact aircraft.

Like the hurricane the Vortex relies on light O2 jets to add additional lift and steering capabilities.

The design of the Vortex isn't complete, as noted earlier its weapons load-out may change.  More notably you'll spot a distinct lack of fans within the rotor housings.  I've... removed them for remodeling.  rest assured the vessel will be flight worthy by the time of deployment.

Next update... Shoulder pads.

Update 11-6-2012

So it’s election day.

Wow it’s been a really long time since I posted on the blog. A full month even.

I bet several people here thought I just dropped off the face of the earth. Well I haven’t. I assure you I am not posting this via holonet access from a planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse. No no, I’m a perfectly normal earth man with standard blog-o-sphere access.

Anyway, I took some time off to celebrate some family birthdays. Namely mine, my brother’s, my girlfriend’s, my girlfriends grandfather, etc. Lots of birthdays. Anyway some of you might think I haven’t been doing anything other than eating cake, and there was a lot of cake, but I have been making some new things for us all to enjoy.

So I thought I’d show case several items I’ve been working on.

First up, Weapons.

All our armies need the latest cutting edge weapons to devastate their tiny plastic and metal enemies. So I’ve been working nonstop in my quest for the perfect selection of immense fire power and intimidating futuristic design.

You may recall the initial unveiling of my gyrojet range of weapons. These items continue the design motifs of those weapons and can be said to be contemporaneous to them showing a clear design connection. This design connection is intended to convey a mass produced feel which implies the weapons universally availability to far future armies.

These weapons will begin appearing in my shapeways store shortly as the holidays approach.


Plasma Weapons
Plasma weapons are extremely common weapons within most science fiction settings and some game companies have set them up to be the next big gimmick in their games. Plasma weapons fire super heated matter that has been compressed and then excited until it converts from its natural state as a solid, liquid, or gas to the destructive plasma state. Plasma is massively hot and generally tends to flow like a gas or liquid when under pressure but at the same time conducts like electricity. Because of this plasma can be quite volatile to both tissue and electronics.


Plasma Pistol: note the specialized pressure valves the barrel



Plasma Rifle: due to the incredible pressures in the plasma chamber electro magnetic containment is used to keep the weapon from vaporizing.



Plasma Canon: the man portable plasma canon, seen here uses an incredibly large power cell and boasts a sophisticated fire control unit used for both targeting the weapon and controlling the weapon's internal temperature.


Laser Weapons
Lasers are a mainstay of science fiction weaponry. You can find them in practically any movie or TV series set in space. Humanity hasn't quite mastered weaponized lasers yet but one day we might. Today we are stuck with really powerful laser pointers but compressed light has devastating potentials. These designs use complex focusing and spectrum compression techniques to make powerful focused beam laser weapons capable of melting through armor and searing flesh from bone.


Laser Pistol: a standard laser pistol side arm. Note the universal power supply control and surge protection mechanisms mounted on the side of the weapon's body. These standardized parts make fabrication of weaponry quick and cheap by imperial standards.


Laser Rifle: Standard laser rifles are a carbine type weapon often used in both ranged and close combat. Seen here a standard laser rifle has been fitted with a universal targeter and a thermal bayonet.


Laser Sniper Rifle: Given no intervening objects to scatter it light will travel infinite distance. For this reason Laser weapons make excellent sniper rifles. Not the extremely long focusing mechanisms on the body and large cooling vents down the barrel.


Laser Canon: Lasers with sufficient power can be severely devastating to vehicles, melting armor and boiling occupants alive. Here we see a man portable laser canon mounted on a tripod. Its integrated combat shield protect the operator from enemy fire. Note the dual grip firing mechanisms used universally on both vehicle mounted and man portable heavy weapons minimizing operator training.



Thermal Lasers Weapons
A theorized weapon type thermal lasers use non-visible light spectrum in their operations. While standard lasers rely on the focus of the entire spectrum of light thermal lasers reflect light off of select subatomic particles. This generates a high degree of refraction to produce low spectrum light waves or Infra Red light. The result is a wave of intense thermal energy that boils the air along the firing trajectory. Though short range, thermal lasers can instantly burn flesh to cinders and cause reactive polymer armor to run like water. Their design requires constant coolant flow to manage effectively as excessive heat will result in weapon failure otherwise.


Thermal Laser Pistol: the smallest and most compact variant of thermal laser these weapons have a necessarily short range as a trade off for their compact size.


Thermal Laser Rifle: a variant on the assault rifle frame is used to mount the internal workings of the weapon. Thermal lasers are often made not of metals but high temperature ceramic polymers to protect the operator. Note the coolant tank and prominent thermal exhaust ports along the body's sides.


Thermal Laser Canon: These dual barreled canons use larger light emiters and more refined microparticles to generate a more powerful bast. Here we see a thermal laser canon mounted in a heavy weapon sling. Design for being carried by heavy weapons experts the canon's ungainly size and weight can be mitigated by a gravity sling, pictured.


Infrasonic WeaponsOnly experimental at our technology level infrasonic weapons are believed to be a possible semi-lethal weapon for future deployment. The utilize a focused resonance chamber that can generate and project sonic vibrations through out multiple frequency levels. Sonic vibrations, properly tuned, could break apart a structure at the atomic level or simply cause extreme vertigo incapacitating a subject. Certain game systems use sonic weaponry as a weapon of terror but properly applied scientific reasoning could see them as infantry weapons to be reckoned with.


Infrasonic Pistol: Infrasonic weapons have intricate resonance champers with multiple vibration systems to cancel out external noise and focus desired frequencies through its emitter dish. Due to its large emitter dish infrasonic weapons can't mount traditional weapon options such as scopes or bayonets on their rail or under-barrel.


Infrasonic Rifle: The appearance of an infrasonic weapon is often ungainly with its complex resonance chamber at the front of the weapon. Military experts have taken great care to balance the weapon for optimal use in combat. Note the frequency tuner box mounted on the side of the weapon, with it pitch, gain, and frequency can be controlled to tune the weapon for its most potent effect.


Infrasonic Canon: A colossal weapon the infrasonic canon's resonance chamber takes up a full half of the weapon's design. This allows it to reach sonic pitches far in excess of human hearing. A single blast will often be all it takes to shatter tank armor like glass. Note the sonic wavelength sensor mounted just behind the emitter dish, this sophisticated tool can act not just as a tuner for the weapon but also as a detect and convey sound from hundreds of yards away.


Gyrojet Weapons
Gyrojet weapons fire micro missiles which can deliver explosive payloads or traditional slug rounds. I introduced the primary gyrojet weapons in a previous post. However I've devised a few additional designs which I'm sure everyone will enjoy.


Battle Canon: The battle canon is a dedicated heavy weapon that fires high caliber, caseless, jet propelled rounds at incredible speed. Instead of the traditional .50 caliber rounds the battle cannon uses .92 caliber rounds delivered at devastating speed. Its intricate recoil dampener prevents the weapon from knocking the user back when fired but even so it is limited to burst fire when not vehicle mounted. Recommended to use a gravity sling when operating as a carried weapon.


Gatline Canon: With gatline canons the name of the game is rapid fire. Using a tri-barrel rotary system to mitigate weapon heating and barrel stress the weapon delivers fire quickly though not always accurately. The weapon's intricate motor drive is not always suitable for field deployment but it can function as a heavy weapon in heavy armor units. However its most commonly mounted singularly, or in pairs, on support vehicles where its high rate of fire can be an asset while suppressing enemies during debarkation.

Future Weapon Plans
Flame Throwers, Grenade Launchers, Shotguns, Rail Guns, Magnetic Accelerator Guns, Pintle , Mounting, Sponson Mounting, Base Mounting, etc.

Next time i'll be looking at vehicles...