Random WIP

This week has seen some random WIP that I have not really finished. After last weeks work on Opus I had to reassemble the hole thing to check some measurements, which lead to me not finishing what I started as that would have meant disassembling Opus again. Instead I started work on some shields for the lower part of the hull. I will get back to these one they are done. One thing I noticed when I put Opus back together again is that it looks much more solid now that the fornt and back is sealed up and also that the interior adds to this feeling. Sadly the shelf that Opus sits on is to his so I had to take the top of the island of. I might have to address this so that I can have Opus fully assembled without hitting the roof.

One thing that I changed from the previous round is how the elevators work. In the original build I had made three towers that I would inset in the elevator shafts (seen down to the right in the top picture). These were however quite flimsy and I could not get them to work properly as the friction in the sliding bars, holding the elevator platform, was to great to easily allow for adjustments of the elevator position. So this time around I build some tracks that I attached to the side walls. In this way each elevator will have four independent riders, relaxing the need for every thing to be to measure and parallell, and the friction is much lower... perhaps a bit to low...

Apart from that I have been working a bit on my birthday present from the Wifey, a Levithan siege dreadnought. I decided to do it in pre-heresy Dark Angels black, but for some reason it turned out very black... so I might need to go back and drybrush another round. I also build a scenic base from the left overs from the build. 

I must say that the legs are incredible. Why could they not have done this for the knight model. Each leg consist of 12 pieces...  while the knight leg is 8 pieces... and that includes the four pistons... This model really feels like a proper model and not just a gaming piece.

Opus Magna, blocking.

This weekend I have finally gotten some stuff done on the Opus Magna, and it felt really good. This is a long standing project for me, where I have been held up by some mechanical integrity issues of the model. Once I got to a certain point in the build I realized that it did not stick together as I had envisioned. So I took it apart and re-thought the assembly process. Sadly this meant that I had to discard some parts I have already build and I needed to re do these to fit the new way of putting ting together. Well that sort of became a block for me and the Opus has been sitting around for some time. I have done a little here and a little there but i have not maid any major progress. Well I hope that this new found enthusiasm for the project will stick so that I can get all the major blocks built.

So I started with sealing the front end and the back end of the main hull. The front was just missing a plate joining the left and right side of the bow. Now they are attached and I need to add some strengthening plates here and there on the inside but mostly it is now as it should be. I am thinking about adding a bolter array to this section as well but I am not sure...  I will also have to see how it interact with the bow section above.

For the back I had the idea of having some loading bay doors that could open, made from a scenery set. This has been sitting there, dry fitted for ages, so it was just a quick fix to cut out the doors using a jewellery saw and then putt in some pins for the hinges. I also trimmed the edges a bit to fit the rest of the hull but otherwise it is pretty much standar.

The sections I needed to rebuild where the two centre sections that initially held up the sides together with the front and aft sections. since this is no longer needed have rebuild them, adding some staging platforms outside the doors. I am not done with these yet, as I need to add in some flooring sections out side the doors on each side. I also need to build the right side of the second section, that will be beneath the iland and that will host a battery of strategic missiles and launch tubes. I am using a Stormtalon to check that it can fit in the hangar bay with all the new additions. In the end I think the hangar bays could hold something like 13 to 15 Stormtalons. 

Once this is done I have all the major block build again and can start adding details to them with out having to worry how they will interact with each other.

Death Guard

For the last few weeks I have been away with work so there has not been any real progress with my minis. These Death Guards has been hanging around my desk for a year or more and only needed som last details before I could finish them. For being starter minis and mono pose they do look quite ok. I am not overly fond of painting the organic stuff but I enjoy the white armour and the rusted iron parts. I thing these where the last of the "normal" soldiers and now I only have the charters left, and the Blight drone. We will see when I get around to doing them.

Over all I am working on finishing stuff. For years now I have had a section of the hobby room ocupied by half build models that have just been waiting for me to finish them. It has been really nice to see the Dominaus Knight and the King in the North getting done. Now I only have five armigers left before I can clear the table and set up Opus there (now Oupus is on the floor, which is kind of un inspiring), but those will have to wait a bit as I am currently working on my Birthday gift from my wife... but more on that later.