[Commission/Golden Demon] Warhound Titan Diorama 'Hunting Bigger Game'

[winterdyne]

Just about ready to paint now. This has been brewing a while. There is a LOT of reinforcement in that titan (and yes, it is entirely supported by that back leg).
To clarify - I was commissioned to do this piece with a pretty open spec ('Guard, 'Nids, Big ol' honkin' titan), it's being entered under my name in GDUK. Not sure if diorama or open yet. :-)

[StraightSilver]

Wow, that's a very brave pose for a Warhound!!

It looks absolutely cracking though, really great posing and adds a whole lot of movement to the model, and the diorama as a whole.

The base is also very nice, lots of stuff going on there, can't wait to see you start painting.

Can I ask where the wooden base came from, only I need to get my Warhound sorted out (it's still in it's original box 10 years after I bought it!), and have you screwed the feet into the base?

[winterdyne]

The base is a 300mm square piece of 6mm MDF. On that is a a wedge of pine into which I've drilled long holes that accept the reinforcing rods from the leg (about 3" of protrusion). The rest of the base was built up with polystyrene, edged with plasticard and sealed with polyfilla before the texturing was done. The round wooden turntable it sits on is from IKEA. I have several of these; they're damn useful for painting and big assembly jobs.

[StraightSilver]

Ah gotcha, I think I got over excited and missed that you had built up the edges for it, but I would never have thought to build them up with plasticard, that's a great idea.

That wooden turntable looks very cool though, I need to make a trip to Ikea in any case as the bulb in my lamp blew and they are the only ones who stock it.

You are inspiring me to get my Warhound done, I'm just scared of the feet!!

[winterdyne]

I really wouldn't recommend this pose, it's extremely hard to pull off. As for the feet - get yourself a blob of blu-tack to support the middle bit as you build the toes into the pose you like. You will want to pin EVERYTHING that takes any weight whatsoever. A really good trick is to use blu-tack and spit. First drill a pilot hole in one part. Spit on your finger and really spread it around that hole. Put a little blob of blu-tack on the other part, roughly where the hole will meet. Press together, then pull apart. The blue tack will take the impression of where the hole is and show you exactly where you need to drill. Do use spit, not vaseline, as when it dries off it won't interfere with glue or paint.

[StraightSilver]

I must admit that pose looks awesome, but yes i would go for something a bit more simple. I don't know why the Warhound kit, in particular the feet, fills me with dread but I do need to crack on and get it done.

That's a great tip about the feet though, I will give that a try.

Anyway, this is all looking great, could we get another shot of the bigger 'Nid beasty, as I am assuming it's heavily converted by the green stuff work at the back?

[winterdyne]

No, it's just a 'fex. I filled in the 'chimeys' on the back and around the neck socket, but the rest of the green is just surface work to get rid of the join lines. The only real conversion work on the 'nids is on the 'gaunt corpses; the 'down' side legs had to be chopped up a bit to get them to lie flat. The falling Guardsman and the 'kicking the bucket' Guardsman each comprise more work than pretty much all the rest of the minis (except the titan and carnifex) put together.

[StraightSilver]

Ah cool, I've only built the plastic Hive Tyrant in the 'Nids range so wasn't sure if it was resculpted, but filling in the spore chimneys is a great idea and I wish I had done that on the one I built now, although that's another project that's probably going to be a while before it's finished.

The guardsmen do look really good though, and I do like the kicking the bucket one.

I'm assuming everything is removable so that you can get at them to paint them?

Any idea which Legio the Titan will be from, or will you be creating your own scheme?

[winterdyne]

Morning Stars (Legio Astraman). I'm going for a fairly light green, should be close to the original Codex Titanicus scheme, although I'll be using gold not yellow for edging.

Yeah, everything is just pinned together into subassemblies for painting. You'll notice the exposed pins on the weapon mounts. These are deliberately cut long as they're not glued right now. Once the painting is done they'll be shortened and epoxied in. You'll see more as the WIP paint shots start to come in.

[Wicksy]

Aw man, this is gonna be sweet! I love the pose about to splat some nids Subscribed!

[Clang]

I too worry about the stress that one-legged pose will place on the back leg. Suggestion - move the carnifex so it's literally being crushed to death by the titan, which is both visually more interesting (compared to squishing a couple of gaunts), and also lets you hide a support pin through the titan foot and carny into the base?

[winterdyne]

All that's needs is occasionally wedging a barrel under the lead foot. The carnifex doesn't fit there, either for the story of the piece or physically.

[Deamon-forge]

very nice love the pose.

will you be adding the pistons to the ankle section, groin section and toe's?

[winterdyne]

Yeah, after painting the main assembly. It's always a good idea to leave off bits that will make painting fiddly, or that can be painted separately.

[Deamon-forge]

Yeah, after painting the main assembly. It's always a good idea to leave off bits that will make painting fiddly, or that can be painted separately.

aha right good thinking.

what colour will the titan be?

[winterdyne]

Quite a vibrant green, gold trim, blue and white striped heraldry.

[winterdyne]

Groundwork painted. Small models just placed back on to help with where to put foliage, tufts, brass etch etc. The 'nid side' of the diorama will be significantly overgrown, jungle-esque, whereas the ruins will be in the process of being reclaimed by hyperactive plant growth.

[Scaryscarymushroom]

Subscribed!

[andyg2006]

I subbed straight away.
I always wondered how people base big models - thanks for the tips. I know big models need good attention to detail, but yours takes this to a whole new level, winterdyne; outstanding!
The painting on the buildings is really special indeed, too.
No pressure, but I can't wait to see what other great stuff you do on the models and figures (and "Mister Warhound", of course).

[winterdyne]

These chaps are pretty much done apart from the decals. I intend to get the rest of the IG done this week or early next, putting the total working time on them at about 35 hours (less than 4 hours per mini, so pretty quick jobs). I reckon about 40-50 hours on the 'nids, then it's on to the titan proper, which will probably weigh in at around 150 hours. The total time for the diorama should be around about 250 hours.