alexb
Glue slinger 
Posts: 766 
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Post by alexb on Mar 24, 2023 5:20:30 GMT
So I've been at a bit of a build standstill. I really had to force myself to do the ABtF Panther. The other day I decided to build something and finish it. I've been dealing with some personal stuff and it sort of got worse lately with some bad news...so I've been bogged down with that.
I've been sitting on a couple of Pegasus's Terminator Figure sets. I decided to finally use them. The sticking point...aka Questions/Opinions is which time period do you think would be good? WW2? Cold War? Present Day? Future? And, who are they facing? Of course who they face will be heavily influenced by the time period.
The idea right now is a discovery diorama. Basically, these T-800s aren't going to be Terminators. I'm going to kitbash them into a robotic based alien race...think WH40k Necrons. They've been in hibernation since the fall of Atlantis...yeah they were the Atlantians. So people of an undetermined timeframe and nationality, stumble upon one of these hibernation facilities...awakening the slumbering not-necrons/terminators. This leads to a domino affect and other facilities are activated. So it's a happy build with rainbows and unicorns 
I'm pretty open for any scenario....thoughts? Suggestions? I've got the core planned out I'm just a bit uncertain on the time period and who will discover them.
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Post by Ian H. on Mar 25, 2023 15:40:17 GMT
Personally I think a Cold War scenario would be cool. I am partial to that era since I grew up in the 80s. M60s, T62s, T72s, BMPs, Brads, etc. slugging it out with your Necrons. Sorry about the personal issues and hope things work out on the homefront.
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Post by Paul B on Mar 25, 2023 15:53:31 GMT
Hope things start getting good for you soon Alex.
This sounds very interesting Alex. I have often thought of something similar but never actually got round to doing it.
My plan was to have a scene in North Africa, with a handful of LRDG troops and Brandenburger troops slugging it out
against Necrons or similar.
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Post by nito74 on Mar 25, 2023 17:34:45 GMT
Well I leave you with 3 possible choices :
1914-1918 : Maybe a trench scene with a WWI Tank and a couple of MG nests.
Modern Set : Against Modern Tank with a few Special Forces Teams with MRAPS
1942 : Kursk scene fighting against some KV, Tiger, JSU Tank with a mix of Soviet and German troops.
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Post by tommygunn on Mar 26, 2023 6:55:24 GMT
I like nito74 trench idea.
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Post by SteveM on Mar 26, 2023 7:31:10 GMT
Although like Ian I'm a Cold War child and love Phantoms & Chieftains.
I think a WWI vibe would work well here.
Hope the personal stuff works out soon for you too mate.
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alexb
Glue slinger
Posts: 766
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Post by alexb on Mar 29, 2023 21:48:34 GMT
Thanks all for your input. I'm still not certain which time period and discovering people I'll use. The idea of this is that the Atlantians were real and had transcended to a robotic state. They went into hibernation ahead of a foreseen solar flare. They weren't awakened by the human servants and continued to sleep. Centuries pass and a group of humans discover one of the Atlantian hibernation caches. They enter it and it initiates all caches to awaken. It sort of opens the door wor multiple builds based on the theme. Cold War, present day, and maybe future...I'd have to include some sort of modern excavation equipment. That's going to take some of the surface space of the diorama. It's tempting to go modern just to play with the Space Force idea. I like the WW1 idea. The cache could have been discovered while while preparing the trenches. WW1 figs are more common. But alot of the figs are in-action. I don't want to have to buy any new figures...especially if I'm just going to have to convert them. WW2 is probably what I'll go with. I was going to go with Soviet discovers but have shifted more to Germans. I've got alot of German figures. Plus it could be tied in to the Ahnenerbe....sort of ironic given things. Anyway nothing is set in stone. I've actually got another diorama I'm setting up for that will need a few casual/at-ease US and Soviet figures. Ah heck we'll bring the Brits in too. It's a what-if...but probably not what anyone would guess. But I'll probably start a thread on that one tomorrow. So to get started on the cache. The idea was a underground chamber(s) to store stasis chambers. I started with a simple shadow box and planned on having a surface level atop the underground part. I decided against this as I didn't like it. It would have been too cramped and difficult to see inside. 
The stasis pods are empty pill bottles. I had been saving these for years. I had planned to do a Area 51/Umbrella Corp research lab where aliens or something are in these tanks. There was a security breach and a security team (Trumpeter's PMC sets) is sent to deal with it. Anyway, that's sort of an underlying aspect of this build...using stuff I have. I cut each bottle in half...there were like 20 bottles total. So 40+ chambers. I staged them and decided to change the cache.
I found a section of styrofoam. It was big and thin. I wrapped it around a deep fry/boil pot...it goes on a gas burner. We use it to boil shrimp and make Low Country Boil for family gatherings. It was the perfect size. I left it out in the sun to try to get a curve out it. I cut my bottom piece out of Luan.
This was a pain to get set up. The curved sheet...it's flimsy. WHat I did was made a template of the half circle. I drew on the base. I put the base on the sheet while it was on the pot. I tend to use carpenter's glue with bases and styrofoam and foam core board. It dries more britte than regualr PVA glue...but it sets up a lot fast.
Once the base had setup. I removed it from the pot and set it on a thick section of styrofoam. I was going to use a section of Luan and actually had it cut. I used it for the base on the original squared design and had a cerebral flatus incident and forgot it. The one I thought was the second piece was too small.
I knew it would need support. I decided box it in. I have a piece for the back but I might leave it off so I can maybe wire this with lights at some point. I clamped the sides to the front edge of the curved...backing it with wooden strips to save wear of the styrofoam. It all snugged up together.
  
I did go ahead and paint the bottle halves. I used rattle can...it was Espresso...dark brown coffee color. It's just for primer. I really plan on dressing them up a bit. Even have a few open with their residents getting ready to "greet" their guests.
Anyway, I positioned a few for mock-up. I plan on 3 floors and imply more floors below that. The floors will be opened in the center and some sort of elevator platform will allow access between floors.
I have cut two floors from styrofoam. I might dump these for some foam core ones. I really dislike working with styrofoam. I don't have a styrofoam cutter so cuts are done with a hobby knife and are pretty rough and aren't cauterized so they make a mess.
So these Atlantians. I'm using Pegasus's Terminator T800 figs. I used a set for a SciFi GB over at Armorama some years ago. I had reworked them at one time and swapped the skull head for a domed head. I have since bought a second set and will rework all of them based on the WH40k Necrons.
By the way, Pegasus did awesome work on these figures. They build up great as T800s. They can be easily converted to a skeleton if you wanted.
Atlantian culture...I'm probably going to make them the big influences for Egypt and the Mayans. They won't be toting laser guns...at least initially. These guys are metal-metal. I don't see small arms really doing anything. It'll take a bit before they start equipping troops with heavier weapons. By then the Atlantians should have their own ranged weapons back up and operational.
  
So that's just getting started with this one. I've got three other builds going. I'm just trying to keep busy right now. You have this one, a Yankee T34, Wilder-Wilder Osten, and maybe a Soviet Mech...yep Kermit may make a return. I don't think I've posted any thing on Kermit since I reworked him.
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Post by tommygunn on Mar 29, 2023 22:43:27 GMT
Wow.
And I thought I had a vivid imagination!!!!
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Post by Ian H. on Apr 2, 2023 13:33:30 GMT
Great concept here, Alex!!!!! Looking forward to watching this one progress.
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alexb
Glue slinger
Posts: 766
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Post by alexb on Apr 3, 2023 6:11:22 GMT
Quick update. I noticed one side is cocked at a bit of an angle. I'm guessing the assembly shifted a bit before it all set up. I had seen it but didn't want to tear it apart to redo it. Stuff like this will drive me nuts so I'm trying to fix it before I get the floors in. The more I look at it the more it bugs me. I'm going to try to fix it. I have gone ahead and done some test building...like the floors.
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Post by Ian H. on Apr 3, 2023 16:20:13 GMT
Great start here, Alex! Hopefully that will be an easy fix for you.  |
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alexb
Glue slinger
Posts: 766
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Post by alexb on Apr 7, 2023 4:45:39 GMT
Well the fix worked. So that's one less thing to worry about.
Here you can see a general layout of this thing. It's a mess.
Still working on it. Jumping back and forth working on the not-Necrons....using Milliput. I've never claimed to be a sculptor so this is a good project to work with. Even those these are not Necrons they are influenced by them so I can get a rough chestplate for them. My other issue is the sleep chambers. What I had imagined really did not look all that great so I am having to rework the design into something I am less ashamed of.
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Post by Paul B on Apr 7, 2023 6:03:26 GMT
Nice to see the alignment is sorted out Alex, and I am sure you'll find something suitable for sleeping chambers  |
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Post by SteveM on Apr 7, 2023 6:39:40 GMT
Nothing to be ashamed of there fella |
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Post by tommygunn on Apr 7, 2023 8:33:17 GMT
Looks good.
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alexb
Glue slinger
Posts: 766
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Post by alexb on Apr 7, 2023 19:08:25 GMT
Thanks.
The problem I am having with the chambers is their size. I need to add to them to make them fill out the space some. I had make the floors that high so you could see inside easier. The thing is a good bit taller than I wanted but I sort of had to do that.
Anyway, it's just something that has to be sorted through. Whatever I go with I just have to be mindful that I have to repeat it 20-25 times.
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Post by Ian H. on Apr 8, 2023 1:11:13 GMT
Glad you got the alignment issue resolved and the structure looks awesome, so far!
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alexb
Glue slinger
Posts: 766
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Post by alexb on Apr 16, 2023 3:57:31 GMT
First off, I've decided to sort of dedicate this build to my father. That's the real life stuff I mentioned to start this thread. He was diagnosed with late stage terminal cancer a couple months ago and his health faded quickly. He passed away Thursday after a brief battle with cancer. He will not be remembered as father of the year material, he was my gateway into sci-fi and, to some degree, modeling. Usually it was through movies, usually during visitation weekends. Actually he is who took me to see the original Terminator movie...so there's a quasi-tie-in with this build.
So here we go...
The old floors were not fitting all that well after the frame was realigned. I broke down and cut a new set. The empty space at the bottom is to infer additional floors/level below. I'll brace these up...they are pretty flimsy. I probably will cut a central opening for both floors to fit a central elevator platform to travel between floors. It should also provide extra support.
This is the surface. The truck and figures are just for scale. I'm still bouncing between modern PMC figs and WW2 German for the discovery. I've actually got a M113 sitting atop it at the moment. Also, the opening...I'm probably going go with a hatch they opened with a frame something to allow the troops to rope down and see what's inside. The idea is their entrance has caused the sleepers to awaken, soem will have emerged from their stasis chambers to "say hello" to the intruders.
I need to start on the not-Necrons (so don't sue me Games Workshop). I wanted a cast torso so I broke out the Milliput. I'm not a sculptor. I'll probably only use 2 or 3 for this build. The rest will be used in a battle scene on the surface. I want to contrast these discovered ones that just exited their stasis chambers and ones that were fully awake and prepared for battle. Alot of that second dio will depend on what history era I go with.
Stasis chamber. Well a rough version. The base and caps are tops from a orange juice bottle, cut in half. They have an interesting detail to the sides. These are base assembly and placed to stage up the layout. I plan on adding doorways at the open areas to infer passages to more chambers like this...part of a much larger facility and more not-Necrons than you can shale a stick at. I should just start referring to them as Atlanteans. And yeah I messed up the floor placement so I'll have to redo the supports.
And a closeup of a stasis chamber. I used a clear, un-primed bottle to check how the Atlanteans look inside. I'll dress these up a bit to give them an exotic ancient look with some industrial elements...technomancy.
Anyway, it's sort of coming along. This one is fun because it's about problem creation and solving. This one has a fair share of stuff to work through.
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Post by Paul B on Apr 16, 2023 6:51:34 GMT
Sorry to hear that your dad has passed on Alex, my condolences to you and yours.
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Post by Ian H. on Apr 16, 2023 13:08:32 GMT
Alex, sorry to hear about the passing of your father. Regarding the project, excellent progress so far and great idea with the chambers.
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