So yeah, my efforts over the past few days have taught me that I can't sculpt bat wings to save my life. Thankfully, TheWarStore has a bunch of Reaper miniatures with bat-winged helms, so my solution is on its way as I type this.
So since the battleship is back-burnered for a little bit, I figured I'd show you what I've been working on this evening instead of making dinner. We're going to need some more hardpoint weapons systems for chaos ships (imperial ones too) soon, among other things, as there's no real telling how long the plastic kits will hold out. I wanted to say something sooner about what I was planning on next, but typing out huge grandiose plans is one thing, deeds are another.
So, acta, non verba:
So, in case you're wondering, here's the measurements for the chaos gun decks:
Length: 13.5-14m
Width: 9mm
Depth: 1-1.5mm
The gun deck plates range from about 1mm deep + surface detail, to really thick ones like the lance plates which are more like 1.5mm+.
So, armed with that knowledge, I gridded out a bunch of test plates and proceeded to cut them out of 1mm thick styrene. I'm pretty sure you don't need a picture of this, so I'll skip this step. Note though: This whole process is MOST DEFINITELY measure twice, cut once, and be patient! Also, use a fresh scalpel blade. The second you start dulling it or feeling resistance, swap to a new one if you're cutting styrene on this scale, believe me. Old ones are good for sculpting in green-stuff though. And remember, since you're playing with tiny stuff (you'll see in a moment), cut slowly and know where your fingers are relative to the blade at all times. </mother>
So... here's where I got to before I remembered to snap another photo:
Couple things in this shot. In the background you can see my first trial run at building a gun deck with raised trim. Expect to see more than a few different possible base plates for gun batteries as I figure out what works. In the foreground, I'm planning a section to go beneath the trailing edge of the gun battery plate to sculpt targeting arrays or some such onto. Very early-stage on that, but I need to get some food soon, so that's a project for later. You'll also notice a curious little square with a pair of half-circles mounted on it. The square's 1mm thick, the half-circles .5mm thick, and there's a few more of them right next to it...
...So I learned a few things from building this little guy:
It might very well be too big for a battery gun, but that's ok! Plenty of other possible uses for a macro-cannon of this scale. This shot has it mounted on a small disk for use as a rotary turret. That wasn't what I really intended it for, but hey, it might work. THIS is what I was initially planning on using it for:
So what do you think? My initial thought was 3 in the back row, 2 in a front row, and use them as a weapons battery broadside. Based on the current chaos cruiser hull, it's (1) most definitely too big, and (2) not really in keeping with the chaos aesthetic. That said, I can definitely shrink the concept down even smaller, I have plenty of smaller plastic dowel for starters, and my hole punches go small enough that I can replicate it at what might be a more appropriate scale. That said, if I went smaller I could probably get more like 6 & 5 on a side, or even go to three rows.
Alternatively, I could just use it as a gun turret. This is just a first attempt, and I've got plenty more coming. What do you guys think?
