Monday, July 19, 2010

Ideas and Works in Progress

With The NOVA Open coming soon, I realized my Broadsides need to be made uniform. I've got three XV88s; one has his Railguns mounted to his arms, another is straight from the box, while the most recent is a mix of an XV89 Kit and a XV88. They each look like there are from a different squad and this disharmony is starting to nag my eye for cohesion in the force. To remedy this, I placed an order to Forge World for one more XV89 and an XV81. The '89 is going to be build identical to the current model I have, shown here. These two will be my stock model Broadsides.

In a nod (or blatant copy) to the excellent work of Bruno Rizzo below, I will be using the XV81 to build a XV88 Shas'ui Teamleader in this vein with my own personal touch of course. This model has always impressed me and I am excited about making my own version of it.

 My design will diverge from this in that the Railguns will be mounted into the forearms, instead of glued to the side of them. I'm also working on more conversion work to the chest area. Hopefully I can get this work done by August 14th for the Open.

My Commander model representing Old Shatter Hands recently broke at the ankles. I made him back before GW had fixed a design flaw in the Crisis Suit ankles that made them extremely weak and prone to breaking. Well, Old Shatter Hands is now on my modelling shelf, in the proverbial waiting room to see the foot-doctor. Ahead of him is a Shadowsun Model. Now this is not to say that Shadowsun will be making a celebrity appearance in my Hunter Cadre.

On the contrary, I will be building a new Commander clad in XV-22 armor armed with Plasma Rifle and a Missile Pod. I'm still working on the Pod design although I am thinking it will incorporate missiles from the Space Marine Missile Launcher sprue housed in a custom plastic-card pod. I'll also be giving this suit of XV-22 armor a jet-pack in line with what Stealths carry. Once built, I'll mount the Missile Pods to it, much like the Smart Missiles are mounted on Bruno Rizzo's piece above.

Question for the community: The XV-22 model is much smaller than the normal XV8 suit. My plan is to mount it to a Crisis Suit sized based, in mid-flight so that it is about the same height as well. There isn't much I can do about the width of the model though. Does this satisfy gamers who might call modelling-for-advantage shenanigans?

Second Question: Who's going to the Open?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

nice. he looks badass

Pete W said...

Ooh, I love the idea of an XV22 commander.

If you don't want to do a flying stand, why not have them on some kind of scenic base? (Dead marine?)

That way you'll get the approximate model size for TLOS questions but will be able keep the groovy model. I don't think people would have any issues, especially if you allow the base to be used for TLOS to make it the same size.

Looking forward to seeing how it comes out. I love the concept.

islyfe said...

I'd say do it, I always wanted to make a xv-22 commander. If anyone calls you out on such a beautiful, tbey need to get a life.

Firewasp said...

Personally it wouldn't be the sort of thing that I would have a problem with. So long as you made it clear what it was at the start of the battle.

Sounds like a good idea though

HuronBH said...

Do it. Though make sure you fix Ol' Shatter Hands too.

Oh and I will be at the open with my Howling Griffons in tow. Maybe with a few new units added in too. I need to figure out how to take those pesky Terrorfexes that have started cropping up.

Tim said...

I like the concept of the XV22.

An idea for the missile pods, take a burst cannon, cut off the barrels and the round thing at the end. Drill three or four holes, depending on size/preference, in the front. The holes only have to be deep enough to give the effect that the missile is coming out of a tube. For the missiles themselves, I used the tips of plastic dart heads that you can buy at a sporting goods store (about $1 for a dozen or so). The size worked well for putting 4 missiles in each MP. They look are a little thinner then standard, but the overall look is pretty slick and the size may work for your concept.

I'll try to email you a picture this week (if Grad school provides the time).

Regarding TLOS, only a d'bag would complain about that.

As for the Nova Open, I'm on the wait list. :(

Gramps (aka Tim)

Anonymous said...

I've modelled a few XV8s in odd poses that appear to reduce their silouette... however, framing the models' accoutrements so that the actual silouette is correct, in conjunction with explaning this to my opponents, has never resulted in my gaming honour being questioned.

Tim said...

I am moving forward with the conversion then. I've got a great idea for the base which I'll reveal when it is done. Lots of progress last night on the Broadsides. Updates on that to follow soon.

tau4eva said...

I love coming to your site for inspiration.

Keep up the good work!

Kevin Spyrle said...

I made a xv-22 commander also, and had the same concerns. A bit of bent brass rod, and a crashed drone makes her the same height as a normal xv-8 commander. here's a link.
click