Imperial guard - Weapons Pharos patterns - A 3D printing adventure

[H3r0]

Hi guys,

I am opening a new log about creating a new line of weapons for the imperial guard foot soldiers. I started learning 3d modelling a couple of weeks ago, while falling for the 3d technology. I have high hopes that this technology will soon help us customize our armies beyond imagination.

I previously made a very first attempt in my Elysian logs printing some home made grenade launchers and plasma guns with mixed results. I had use a basic plastic technology to print my models.

Learning from that experience I went and search for some material that will offer better details. I found something that look very promising: UV cured acrylic polymer. It's suppose to be able to print walls as fine as 0.3mm and details of 0.1mm (Yes! One tens of a millimeter!). They seems very well indicated for the amount of details miniatures need.

From that, I wanted to solve a problem that I had when assembling my Elysian soldiers. It seems that I never had the weapons set that I wanted. From a box of soldier I would have 10 lasguns, and a couple of meltas and grenade launchers but no plasma or flamer, from another set I could buy 5 shotguns and from yet another plasma and flamers. And even when buying all that I would be short of special weapons of some sort. it's obviously a commercial strategy and it left me doubtful.

So I started thinking about a modular weapons set that would include all imperial guard's regular and special weapons and since we are at it, with extra accessories to customize them. Here were my first drawings trying to find a cool new design and get the scale right using Elysian weapon's dimensions:



Here is the list of objects I want to create for the set of weapons (Green: done, Yellow: started):

• Common body
  
• Lasgun nozzle
• Lasgun eagle nozzle
• Lasgun magazine
• Shotgun nozzle
• Shotgun magazine
• Plasma nozzle
• Plasma cooler
• Melta nozzle
• Melta tank
• Grenade launcher nozzle
• Grenade launcher magazine
• Flamer nozzle
• Flamer tank
• Sniper nozzle
• Sniper telescopic sight
• Demolition charge
  
• Laspistol
• Plasma pistol
  
• Auxiliary grenade launcher
• Recoil system
• Handguard
• Bipod

I am learning 3d modeling with the free version of Google sketchup 8. There is some must watch videos in their training section for people that want to learn and. The software is really easy to use and you can start modelling in seconds.

From my first work I uploaded a 3d printable version on a cloud based 3d printing company that were offering UV cured acrylic polymer printing (Shapeways). The main goal was to check for problems because you have to follow certain design pattern when modelling something that would be printed.

But first some pictures of the Pharos patterns MKI pattern's of the lasgun and shotgun with some or none of the accessories:








You can find my first try at a weapons set to assemble 10 lasguns or 10 shotguns on the printer website.

I would like to have your feedback on the idea and the designs and if you think I should include something else in the project .

[Dudde]

Needs some Imperial Eagles, but other than that I'd say they're ready for production. Do you have a price range?

[H3r0]

Thanks Dudde, I am not sure about the Imperial Eagles, I don't see any on the Accatran pattern (Elysian weapons) and I am not sure if it will look natural on such weapon. I will give it a try and you will tell me which is better.

As for the price, it's going to be expensive as the UV technology is way more expensive than the regular 3d printing, but I hope to be able to get a complete set at the end for around 20$.

[H3r0]

Hi there,

I tried to continue the weapons and to a full set of special weapons before printing them. Even if it's not working at the end it's a good training for the Valkyrie/Vendetta proxy I still want to do.

So here are the Meltagun, Plasma gun and Flamer. As for the Grenade launcher, I am exploring two path, they are not finalize but I had my nose in front of it for too long, so I would like your opinion and witch seems better.





And the two grenade launchers versions I need your opinion on.




Cheers

[ephrael]

I think the overall design of your weapons looks great. The shape and style look very modern and modular which is what you were looking to achieve. Well done in that regard. I would definitely be interested in buying some of these weapon sets and I don't even collect guard, that says a lot about your designs. I would suggest two things since you are asking for input. First, I would stay away from putting the aquilla on the weapons. You will avoid any copyright problems if you don't put GW's copyrighted material on your product that you want to sell and you give others the option of using your weapons for other armies and games without needing to remove the aquillas anyway. FW sells very small brass etch eagles that are easy enough to apply if someone wants them on your weapons badly enough, let them apply them if they want them. The second piece of advice I have is for the grenade launcher design. I prefer the drum magazine to the belt feed, it looks more technologically advanced to me anyway. I would like to see a drum mag variant for the shotgun as well. I'm a huge fan of shotgun armed minis and would love to have some of your shotguns with drum mags for an INQ28 war band I'm gathering parts for currently.

[Snotcatcher]

These are looking great, I like the idea of having the top rails optional as they completely change the look of the weapon (In a good way!) The flamer looks amazing, much better than anything from GW, all the small parts make it look like it could actually function.

I would say that the plasma gun could do with bigger coils perhaps? Either that or a small flip-out screen mounted on the side showing heat levels (a little like the heartbeat sensor from the call of duty series,) I've always thought the plasma gun should have some sort of heat monitoring system since it is supposed to be so dangerous.

I much prefer the grenade launcher with the rotary drum, the belt looks to bulky for a regular troop. Would it be possible to move the bipod to either in-front of the drum or on it as it looks a little front heavy.

Regards
Chris

[H3r0]

I think the overall design of your weapons looks great. The shape and style look very modern and modular which is what you were looking to achieve. Well done in that regard. I would definitely be interested in buying some of these weapon sets and I don't even collect guard, that says a lot about your designs. I would suggest two things since you are asking for input. First, I would stay away from putting the aquilla on the weapons. You will avoid any copyright problems if you don't put GW's copyrighted material on your product that you want to sell and you give others the option of using your weapons for other armies and games without needing to remove the aquillas anyway. FW sells very small brass etch eagles that are easy enough to apply if someone wants them on your weapons badly enough, let them apply them if they want them. The second piece of advice I have is for the grenade launcher design. I prefer the drum magazine to the belt feed, it looks more technologically advanced to me anyway. I would like to see a drum mag variant for the shotgun as well. I'm a huge fan of shotgun armed minis and would love to have some of your shotguns with drum mags for an INQ28 war band I'm gathering parts for currently.

That's some great feedback, thanks!

I definitely agree about the Aquilla, I realized it could be a copyright infringement when trying to redesign it. So I won't include it on the models. Plus your have a great point about small brass etch eagles.

As for the shotguns drum mags, that could be a great idea, I'll add that to the todo list.

These are looking great, I like the idea of having the top rails optional as they completely change the look of the weapon (In a good way!) The flamer looks amazing, much better than anything from GW, all the small parts make it look like it could actually function.

I would say that the plasma gun could do with bigger coils perhaps? Either that or a small flip-out screen mounted on the side showing heat levels (a little like the heartbeat sensor from the call of duty series,) I've always thought the plasma gun should have some sort of heat monitoring system since it is supposed to be so dangerous.

I much prefer the grenade launcher with the rotary drum, the belt looks to bulky for a regular troop. Would it be possible to move the bipod to either in-front of the drum or on it as it looks a little front heavy.

Regards
Chris

Thanks for you comments!

About the plasma coils, I think you are right, the coils are a lot less obvious than on regular ones. Unfortunately I can't expand the top one as it would mean the hand-guard would not be usable. I'll make the one on the magazine slot a bit longer.

I really like the idea of the flip-out-screen but I don't think an internal heat sensor would be that big, it would probably just be a gauge or a red led.

Good idea for the grenade launcher bipod at the front.

[H3r0]

Exploded view of the new version of the Grenade launcher

[ephrael]

I really like the new look of the grenade launcher, I think that you are on the right track with that design now. Have you thought about making a decorative front "cowling" for the lasgun and shotgun type of weapon that resembles an eagles head facing forward with the beak swept down? Kind of like the marine backpack in the command squad box where the heads replace the cooling/stabilizing thrusters? That might be an interesting way to incorporate the aquilla into an officers weapon perhaps if its not too much work. Just a little suggestion on my part, everything is coming along perfectly if you ask me.

[childsoldier]

Really promising designs there, once we see a few printed up and on models I might be sorely tempted by a pack or two of these! I think the new GL is the best design, the smaller barrel looks more realistic, the drum mag too, and the overall shape of the gun is very nice. The plasma gun could probably do with a more obvious coil, but other than that the special weapons look great. I like the lasguns and shotties too, though the sickle-mag shotguns don't really do it for me, much prefer the first variant.

So yeah, some really nice initial designs and I look forward to seeing them printed up and in use. Good job!

[sheep]

These look really great, and you can tell alot of thought has gone into how the weapons components interact with each other. Good job, I hope these see production.

[DeathCat147]

I must echo sheep's sentiments. They look very well designed and i too hope to see these produced

[H3r0]

Thank you guys for the support, it really help.

I really like the new look of the grenade launcher, I think that you are on the right track with that design now. Have you thought about making a decorative front "cowling" for the lasgun and shotgun type of weapon that resembles an eagles head facing forward with the beak swept down? Kind of like the marine backpack in the command squad box where the heads replace the cooling/stabilizing thrusters? That might be an interesting way to incorporate the aquilla into an officers weapon perhaps if its not too much work. Just a little suggestion on my part, everything is coming along perfectly if you ask me.

The eagles head seems like a great idea as well but probably for an extension or new version of the lasguns/shotguns.

Really promising designs there, once we see a few printed up and on models I might be sorely tempted by a pack or two of these! I think the new GL is the best design, the smaller barrel looks more realistic, the drum mag too, and the overall shape of the gun is very nice. The plasma gun could probably do with a more obvious coil, but other than that the special weapons look great. I like the lasguns and shotties too, though the sickle-mag shotguns don't really do it for me, much prefer the first variant.

So yeah, some really nice initial designs and I look forward to seeing them printed up and in use. Good job!

Yeah I have great problems with the plasma coils, I made the magazine coiler bigger and add some at the bottom of the nozzle but it's less than the original GW one for sure.

For the sickle magazine for the shotgun at the moment I only have this version but I might do a drum one for it. The purpose of the sickle magazine is to really show an obvious difference with the Lasgun.

These look really great, and you can tell alot of thought has gone into how the weapons components interact with each other. Good job, I hope these see production.

I must echo sheep's sentiments. They look very well designed and i too hope to see these produced

Thanks I hope to order a first print soon and then I might sent a print to a pro painter that is interested to do a review, that could be cool.

The current version of the Plasma:

[H3r0]

And it's ordered! I should get it by the 8th of April.

[Dr.Clock]

These are just great.

Unfortunately, I think the grenade launger is still off a bit.

I prefer the drum mag look as well, but as-is the rear 2/3rds of the weapon look extraneous. From a weight and loading perspective, I'd expect the mag to be roughly in the middle of the weapon. Further, the barrel looks too short. The barrel on the belt-loader looks perfect. I'd try and put a drum on that model, or even a massive sickle or straight-mag.

Everything else is spot on.

Cheers,

The Good Doctor.

[H3r0]

These are just great.

Unfortunately, I think the grenade launger is still off a bit.

I prefer the drum mag look as well, but as-is the rear 2/3rds of the weapon look extraneous. From a weight and loading perspective, I'd expect the mag to be roughly in the middle of the weapon. Further, the barrel looks too short. The barrel on the belt-loader looks perfect. I'd try and put a drum on that model, or even a massive sickle or straight-mag.

Everything else is spot on.

Cheers,

The Good Doctor.

I absolutely agree about the proportion and weight problems of the grenade launcher but the problem is I need to keep some area untouched in order to be able to swap a weapon to another (magnetize). Hot swap magnetized weapons is one of the goals of this set.

I think the barrel length is not a real problem for grenade launchers, they are usually not long and I am trying to not have the weapon longer than the GW one.

As a matter of fact I like the belt-loader as well and might work on another version for the next version of the set.

Thanks for your feedback

So I have to amend my models because the design guide of Shapeways is not accurate and I needed to thickened some wires.

• Accessories: Bipods are now longer and thicker, I would like to have them a bit smaller but that's 3d printing limitations.
• Lasgun: I didn't like the magazines too much because they were thick and they would have look weird glued on the belt of a guardman, so I redone them and made the weapon a double loaded magazine, I will include 4 magazines per lasgun set.
• Shotgun: Small change on the magazine.
• Flamer: Simplification for consistency and 3d printing limitations.

Here are my first try at rendering a 3d model:

[ephrael]

They look pretty good but I have to suggest that you loose the bipod. I'm not a fan of them in general and I think that the size of the weapon doesn't really necessitate a bipod in my opinion. It seems a little too close to the center mass area of the gun to my eye for a bipod anyway. Aren't they usually positioned more towards the muzzle of the gun? I'm not trying to be a jerk or overly critical, just stating my opinion and giving some honest feedback. I would certainly still buy a set of these guns as I like the overall look of them but I would cut the bipod off them before using them on my troops.

[H3r0]

They look pretty good but I have to suggest that you loose the bipod. I'm not a fan of them in general and I think that the size of the weapon doesn't really necessitate a bipod in my opinion. It seems a little too close to the center mass area of the gun to my eye for a bipod anyway. Aren't they usually positioned more towards the muzzle of the gun? I'm not trying to be a jerk or overly critical, just stating my opinion and giving some honest feedback. I would certainly still buy a set of these guns as I like the overall look of them but I would cut the bipod off them before using them on my troops.

Hi ephrael! I am looking for feedback here and you're doing it perfectly, so one you are the opposite of a jerk, and two thanks a bunch!

You will not have to cut the bipod out of the weapon because it's just an accessorie, that's the goal with this set, heavily customizable, hot swapping (with magnets) coming in a set that give you all troop's weapons in a single set.
Meaning there will be all the parts you can see in the exploded view. You don't have to use the hand-guard, or the recoil system or the bipod, you don't even have to put the trigger, you assembled them as it pleases you and even better you adapt the weapon with your accessories. For exemple in the image below I had a bipod with the flamer, it's not making any sens but it's their to show all the accessories on it.

For my personal taste I would only put bipods on the Melta guns, Plasmaguns and Grenade launchers.

Thanks for the feedback.