Land Dominion Strider Build Notes

I've been wanting to do a walking robot for a while. Primarily inspired by the quirky independent film Automatons, I decided that I wanted to use a walking toy robot and build on top of it. This would create a model that I could paint and detail like a wargaming model but that would still be able to move on its own without all of the hassle of trying to rig the motors myself. 

I also got a lot of ideas from the mighty Rob Schrab's video on Drawless Animation, a technique that he uses incredibly well for cartoons and music videos.

So I finally find a decent walking robot for $10 and decide to start hacking and gluing. I've been collecting various bits for a while in preparation for this build so I pretty much had everything on hand.

The main carapace is made from a football helmet from a giant Pez dispenser. I built an armored skirt around the back of it with strip styrene. I cut this crudely to make it look more like a battlefield add on. The mulitcolored studs are actually meant for scrapbooking. I found these and other very useful craft stuff in a Canadian dollar store called Dollarama. And honestly, Canadian dollar stores are so much better than the ones down here.  I'm glad that I get to go back up in June for a bit.

I wanted the helmet to be studded like the shoulder pads on Mark VI Space Marine Armor or like the helmets from Rollerball.

The Corinthian helmet came from a chunky action figure of a soldier from the Trojan War. I'm not saying the helmet was historically accurate, just that it was cheap. The samurai helmet is one of the many odd little bits that I collected when I lived in Japan. The horns are from the horned skull icons from Games Workshop's Arcane Ruins set.

The cockpit is from a toy from the late 1990s called War Planets. These were actually pretty neat little toys that included several types of infantry, aircraft, and vehicles all contained in one little planet. They would have been great fun when I was a kid but I bought them primarily to chop up.

Most of the other bits are from a large scale AT Votoms Scopedog kit. A couple of las cannons from an old style Predator kit and styrene tubing complete the belly guns. A few ball turrets were made with parts from an Acguy kit and an RX-78 Ball. A shield was added to the back made from a Tallgeese shield and a small oni mask made with a push mold.

I added rivets by using various sizes of paper punches to make disks out of thin styrene sheet. I have several sizes of these from a tiny 1.5mm punch to a big 38mm cutter. The standard office punch is usually 6mm or so. My favorite is a Marvy punch that has interchangeable heads.

I needed to be able to get to the battery compartment of the robot toy so I made sure to keep the carapace separate. Luckily it rests perfectly on the torso so I don't even need velcro or blue-tak to hold it on. I've been thinking about adding springs to connect them so that there is some movement in the carapace as it walks but this will depend on how it looks in slow motion.

I used a soldering iron to distress and damage as well as to add "welded" plates over the carapace. Once I used the soldering iron I then sanded over the damage areas to keep it from looking as much like simple melted plastic. Then on to painting.

The model was first sprayed with Krylon Texture spraypaint, much like I did with my Camel model, but in more of a misting action as I didn't want a super heavy texture. After this was dried I lightly sanded the whole thing to knock the texture back even more. Flat black undercoat followed by dampbrushing, drybrushing, and then washes with Citadel washes. A few hand painted markings and a couple of small scale decals to break it up a bit.

Thanks for checking this project out and please let me know what you think.

Preview of Land Dominion Strider

Just a quick picture of my latest project. This was created to be used in a music video for one of my favorite bands. I'm currently awaiting approval from the band and then he'll be shipped out to Los Angeles to be filmed. I'll post updates as things come together.

I wanted to create a model that actually walked on its own so I used a cheap plastic robot toy and built everything on top of it. The walking action is actually pretty cool when slowed down. The main carapace is a plastic football helmet from a giant Pez dispenser. The other various bits have been kicking around in my junk boxes for years just waiting for this project.

My main inspiration is the artwork of Michel "Away" Langevin from the band Voivod. Voivod's imagery and storylines have always struck me as very gamer friendly. This artwork from the album Rrröööaaarrr could certainly have helped inspire some of the Ork Titans in Adeptus Titanicus. There is an unskilled but extremely cool style that I love about Away's drawings. He's like the metal kid at school who always drew during algebra class and made his own t-shirts. And since I was pretty much one of those kids I've always dug his work.


Next blog I'll show this little beauty unpainted in all its hacked together glory and explain some of the construction techniques.


Remember Trash Bash 2011 ends on April 30 so good luck with your entries! 

Rick Priestley Added as Judge for Trash Bash 2011!

Due to the beneficial machinations of my cohort Des Hanley we can now welcome gaming-overlord Rick Priestley as a judge for Trash Bash 2011. Besides being the primary inspiration for this contest Mr. Priestley's contributions to gaming are pretty much responsible for getting me into the hobby in the first place. And he hasn't slowed down since his departure from Games Workshop. Hail Caesar looks great and has made me consider a nice sized Celt army (since I can't have one in real life).

I'll be accepting entries until April 30th and there's still time for some garbage gluing goodness. So get those bits boxes out and get to Trash Bashing!

Rick Priestley's original deodorant container conversion
is still a fine example of original, fun gaming creation.

Trash Bash 2011 ~ Scratchbuilding Contest

Trash Bash 2011 Contest Rules:

What is This?

In the spirit of Rick Priestley’s classic grav-attack build, this contest challenges converters, hobbyists, and scratchbuilders to create a vehicle to be used for tabletop wargaming using random bits of stuff and a lot of creativity. Many of the skills of being a strong miniature hobbyist will be needed to do well in this contest, not only vehicle construction and painting but also photography, concept creation,miniature painting, and terrain set-up.

What to Enter:

Contestants will construct and paint a miniature of a vehicle designed to be used primarily on the surface of a planet, moon, asteroid, etc. Vehicles can be hover, tracked, wheeled, walker or any other form of propulsion that would primarily be useful on the surface of a planet. Submarine or subterranean vehicles are also eligible. Aircraft and spacecraft are not eligible for this contest.

Each vehicle must contain at least one disposable underarm deodorant container as part of the construction. All other parts can be from any model kits, toys, throw-away plastic items etc or scratchbuilt from other materials. Judges will be looking for clever repurposing of items and skill in making them unrecognizable on the final model. Simply sticking a Leman Russ turret onto a deodorant container will not garner many points.

Other materials such as plasticard, putty, wire, etc are acceptable but fully covered over and sculpted entries will not score well.

Any scale supported by existing miniature ranges is acceptable. This will be necessary for the final picture of your entry unless you wish to sculpt your own troops as well. 

A 200 word or less description of your model should be included with each entry. Explain what type of vehicle you have constructed, where it is usually found, what its capabilities are, etc. The scale of your model should be given in this description.

A total of five images must be submitted to be eligible for judging:

• 3 pictures of the final painted vehicle on a neutral background showing the three views that best show the construction and finishing of the vehicle.

• 1 picture of the unpainted vehicle along with a list of what materials were used in the construction. If you don’t remember what a particular bit is don’t put it on the list.

• 1 picture of the final painted vehicle set in a gaming environment along with painted miniatures of the troops associated with vehicle. This will be a showpiece image and a great chance to really sell your concept. Use of terrain and foliage is expected for this final shot.

No retouching or special effects other than basic photo correction will be allowed on submitted images. Any images showing added effects will be disqualified.

Good, clear photography is expected and will be considered in final judgement. Images should be high quality jpegs no larger than 1 MB per image. Each image should be titled as follows: your_name1.jpeg, your_name2.jpeg, etc. And anyone sending me files that are actually titled “your_name.jpg” will be an automatic ninny-hammer. Please include 200 word description and parts list with the same email.

Limit one entry per person. Only entries that have not appeared elsewhere will be accepted.

Our panel of judges will choose a first place, second place, and third place winner. All decisions of the judges are absolutely final.

How to Enter:

Send an email containing images, model description, your name and country to TrashBash2011@hotmail.com beginning April 1, 2011. Entries will be accepted until April 30 2011. Winners will be announced on May 9, 2011

Judges include:

Brian Roe of Roebeast’s Magical House of Sunshine, Tears of Envy, Illustrator and concept artist Des Hanley, Carlos Fernandez of The Game Preserve, Bryan Steele of Ursa’s Den, Jeff Wilhelm of Dragon Forge Design, and Jeff Rodman of Mississinewa Miniatures.

Prizes:

1st Place: $25 from Mississinewa Miniatures- $25 from The Game Preserve- $15 from Dragon Forge Design- $10 from Ursa’s Den- $15 from Forge of Ice- 1 pack of Post Apocalyptic Mechanical Legs and 1 pack of Post Apocalyptic Rippers from Kromlech.

2nd Place: $15 from Mississinewa Miniatures- $15 from The Game Preserve- $15 from Dragon Forge Design- $10 from Ursa’s Den- $10 from Forge of Ice- 1 pack of Khopesh Vibro Swords from Kromlech.

3rd Place: $10 from Mississinewa Miniatures- $10 from The Game Preserve- $5 from Dragon Forge Design $5 from Forge of Ice- 1 pack of Orc Running Legs from Kromlech.

Other prizes may be added through the course of the contest. Winners will be responsible for all shipping and handling costs unless otherwise stated by retailer.

This contest is put forth in a spirit of fair play and mutual respect. Any entries that contain offensive material will not be considered for entry. Be cool and creative but don’t build anything you wouldn’t show your mom. Any entry can be refused for any reason especially for not adhering to the basic spirit of fair play.

Please contact Brian Roe at TrashBash2011@hotmail.com for any further information.

SPONSORS:

Deodorant Container Scratchbuilding and Contest Announcement!

One of my favorite parts of wargaming in the early days was the need to construct most of our own vehicles from scrounged parts. It seemed like a natural cycle somehow that many of the kids I used to play 40K with would repurpose their GI Joe toys into vehicles for Orks or Space Marines. Toys long ago abandoned to the deep recesses of closets and garages were given a second life as bodged together death machines.

I had been building my own robots and spacecraft for years from model kits and junk. So when I found Rogue Trader it was like finding my true tribe. From issue #98 of White Dwarf and  for years afterward I painted and played various chapters of Space Marines. Although I painted far more than I ever played I love the openness of Rogue Trader and the fact that so many of the pieces in the game needed to be created from imagination, junk, and glue. Lots of glue.

The staff of Games Workshop in those days seemed like the coolest people I could imagine. They liked heavy metal, drinking, and playing sci-fi and fantasy games. They seemed smart but not too disciplined and had a work ethic that got things done. And in the early days of Rogue Trader when someone realized that the game had no vehicles to speak of, a brave man armed only with some junk and toy parts hacked together a legend. I am of course referring to Rick Priestley’s deodorant Grav-Attack Vehicle.

And the Michael Immig mini is aces as well!

Created from said container, spoons, and various Zoids bits this vehicle captured my imagination and led to an extended period of deodorant container shopping. Who cared what the scent was? I was looking for suitable transport for my Space Marine Chapter! (The Archangels sadly fly no more). And as my bits boxes were already overflowing with junk I was quick to get into the gluing and painting of these great little models.

It even got painted purple and fought in The Horus Heresy.

Over the years I developed what I jokingly call “trash bashing”. This involves using primarily discarded plastic bits to make terrain and vehicles for the various games that I wanted to play and rarely had time for. Building stuff was always more important to me than rolling dice anyway. Trash bashing tends to focus more on actual junk than model kits or toys, although these often get used for extra details. There’s a legend that on a dare I even made a piece of terrain from a used coffee filter. But like most legends is probably better left under-researched. Trash bashing was, and still is, great fun to me but it has one drawback: We all tend to accumulate mass quantities of cool looking garbage that never gets used for anything.

It is to address this gaming societal ill that I created the Camel Class Storage Transport or Camel Crawler. The main hull is of course a deodorant container with a scratchbuilt undercarriage and bunches of junk glued onto it. Since I’ve been working on buildings and miniatures based on our comic Yva and the town of Colton’s Curse I thought it would be fun to start building some of the vehicles found around town. This Camel is part of Tasker Mining, a mining company run by the unscrupulous Chad Tasker. Although it is not armed in any way it will be useful for gaming as a moving objective or just good cover. And since I only used bits that I already owned it helped to use up some of my garbage trove.

Tasker Mining for all your deep desert mining needs!

I based the design on one of my favorite classic arcade games, Moon Patrol, as well as Judge Dredd comics. Early 2000AD stuff is something that we draw from for a lot of Yva’s settings so I wanted something that looked like it was designed by the 2000AD crew. And if I ever get anyone to play the new Judge Dredd miniature game it’ll come in handy in Mega City One as well.

The game was tough when I was a kid but I've always loved these cabinet graphics.

I used a combination of cyanoacrylate glue, JB Weld epoxy, and standard model cement. Bondo polyester putty for gap filling and rebuilding some parts. Sheet and strip styrene for detailing. And a pretty odd collection of other greeblies.

This project was 100% inspiration and 0% perspiration.

After going over the whole model with sandpaper to roughen the surface, this is especially important with the deodorant container since the plastic it’s made of doesn’t like paint very well, I used Rust-oleum Multicolor Textured spray paint to texture the surface. This gives a very rough and pitted surface, one that is great for drybrushing but might be a little over the top for most vehicles. It works really well for buildings or for a vehicle like the Camel that must endure powerful sandstorms of the planet Coronus. I think it might also work well for any kind of cast metal like Victorian iron plate.

I then used Rust-oleum Ultra Cover Flat Black spray paint to prime it. This is one of my favorite parts of trash bashing, when the first complete coat of primer makes all of the odd looking parts suddenly come together as a cohesive whole. I then drybrushed the daylights out of the thing before adding some grime with Citadel Washes and adding some Tasker Mining signs to the sides. These were printed on an inkjet printer and varnished before being decoupaged onto the sides.

There we have it! The totally trash bashed Camel Crawler ready to roll over the sands of Coronus. Now to make a stega-tank out of my next container of deodorant...

CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT

This build was so much fun that I’d like to see what my fellow builders can come up with. Beginning on April 1st (no it’s no joke) and ending April 30th I will be accepting entires for the First Annual Roebeast’s Trash Bash Contest! I’ve already got $150 worth of prizes lined up from various companies and a group of gaming celebrity judges to make the big decision.

I’ll be posting complete rules and information next week (March 21st) so you’ve got a month and a half to use up some lovely smelling deodorant and get building. Check back at Roebeast’s Magical House of Sunshine for more information!

Fantasy Modeling Issue #4

Hi everyone! Here's another issue of the mighty Fantasy Modeling magazine from way back in 1981. This is a special issue for me since number four was the first issue of FM that I ever saw. It was laying in a pile of other mags in the back room of the Game Preserve when it was still in Glendale. From the Zaku model on the front to the serious way that the MPC Empire Strikes Back kits were treated it grabbed my attention and I've been a fan ever since. And dig the odd little miniatures by an equally odd little miniature company called Citadel, Tom Meyer looking like he's 15, and Martin Bowers kind of creepy "cool guy" picture.

Enjoy!

Contents:

Editorial
Willy Whitten's Wizardry
Model Girl
The ESB Snow Walker
The ESB Snow Speeder
Ral Partha Exposed
Role Playing Games
Aerial Photography and Rockets
America's Premiere Competition
Collectables
Book Reviews
Odds and Ends


Fantasy Modeling Magazine No. 4 -

Grave Yard John Now for Sale!

I now have castings of the new Nameless Design Miniature, the despicable freelance gravedigger Graveyard John. This miniature comes with a body bag, pick-axe, and shovel lantern combination and it includes a black resin base. For a limited time each miniature will include one free random gravestone from Miss Minis.

Price is 8.00 USD plus shipping and handling. S&H for The US and Canada is 2.00 USD and International is 4.00 USD. Please click on the Paypal Button to pay with Paypal or a credit card. Email me at hellbox45@hotmail.com with any questions.

Miniature+Shipping

US/Canada Shipping $10.00 International Shipping $12.00