White Tanks Hobbies, formerly known as...

 

While I've been away from the bloggerverse for a while I've been working on a rebranding of "The Artist of War". While the name served me well over the years I have started to head in a new direction. While I still enjoy modeling, and do so when time permits, I am pivoting toward actually producing models and accessories for the hobby.

To this end I've been working on several accessories in various scales for scale modelers, specifically those building dioramas or display bases for their models.

I've also been designing some original kits and models for the wargaming community. The first such product is my Gun Emplacement (below). Its is comprised of several parts and the turret is fully compatible with the Games Workshop Leman Russ battle tank. The turret will be available to purchase separately from the base and multiple weapon options will be available to adjust to the needs of your army.

This isn't the final version. I do plan on adding some additional details and will likely add a pintle mounted weapon as well.

In addition to the wargaming models I have a variety of bits and pieces in the works such as road cones, jersey barriers, bottles, and appliances for all your diorama and basing needs.

I'll be providing all of my non-wargaming related bits and kits in various scales including 1:20 for all the Maschinen Krieger fans out there.

I hope you'll join me on this adventure.

Online store coming soon!

To Boldly Go

Shortly after purchasing my Elegoo Mars Pro resin 3D printer I set about trying to teach myself how to use Autodesk's Fusion 360. There is a free version allowed for non-commercial work or you can pay a monthly or annual subscription for commercial use. 

I've created a playlist of some of the videos I found most useful in creating this project on my new Youtube channel here:

For my first project I decided on brining my favorite Matt Dixon painting "To Boldly Go" to life. 

Once designed in Fusion 360 I exported the model to Chitubox to be sliced for my printer. A few prints of the smaller parts failed and I had to adjust my supports a couple of times before I was able to produce satisfying results.

Using Matt Dixon's painting as a canvas in Fusion 360 I created several sketches which were extruded into the shapes which comprise the robot and his rocket ship. A surprising amount of 3D information can be determined from a 2D painting.

Still there were details I had to take creative liberty with. The interior of the cockpit for example isn't visible in the painting. I designed some gauges and vents for the dash, a diamond plate tread for the floor, the seat, and the legs and feet of the robot.

 

I modeled all of this to be printed in several pieces

The antenna was printed as part of the head but proved to be quite delicate and I've had to reattach it at least 4 times. In the above photo the lifting arm is shown in place, it is a separate piece.

I did purchase clear resin for printing the windscreen but ultimately decided on cutting it out of clear plastic packaging. 

I noticed a few issues with the design, such as the tolerances being too tight and some cutaways that were missing. I made the corrections in Fusion 360 and reprinted the model in a much large scale. 

 

This larger version I packed away for later and proceeded to paint and assemble the smaller version. I began in my usual method of joining subassemblies and painting base colors. These were all quite bright but would be toned down later during the weathering process.

For the base I scaled the original painting on my computer screen until it matched the model in my hand. I then traced the background on a piece of paper which I cut out as a template. Using that, I made the base from stacked plywood and 1/8" MDF which was glued together, coated in wood filler, sanded, and then textured with plaster. 

The name plate was also designed in Fusion 360 and printed with the Elegoo Mars. I printed it in various scales between 30-45mm in height so that I could pick the one I found most appealing. This was my second go at the name plate. In my first attempt I noticed all too late that I had misspelled 'Boldly"! Oops. 

The power cord was made from a bit of wire and the plug was made out of scratch polystyrene tube and sheet. I used the same sheet material to make the power plate on the wall which I changed from UK to NA standard. The base and the model were painted with Army Painter and Vallejo acrylics, weathered separately with acrylic washes, and then the model was glued down to the base. Lastly I placed a few pieces of sand with tweezers and painted them to match.

 

 

 

If I had it to do over again I would change a couple of things. First I wouldn't use metallic paints to paint the robot. No matter how much I tried to tone it down it is still too vivid for my liking. I think the rest of the model could be toned down a tad more too. I might also like to try my hand at making some custom decals. If I do I'll probably just hire out the work but it would be nice to have a set of waterslide decals. Since I already have a second print of this model I guess I'll have the opportunity to set those issues right.

Use a Scrapbook Machine for Scratchbuilding!

A little while back I picked up a Cricut Maker. The tool is generally used to cut card stock for scrap booking projects but this particular model can be used to cut anything from paper to 2mm thick chipboard. I thought the Mrs and I could get dual use out of it. She could use it for scrap booking and arts/crafts projects in her classroom while I could use it to score polystyrene and cut custom stencils for model builds.

I've made a few stickers and stencils but until now I hadn't used it for making model parts. Today I gave it a go and made the set of landraider doors you see above for a conversion I'm working on.

If you're considering using a Cricut, or any other vinyl cutter, for model building your likely looking for precision and uniformity. With that in mind the first step is to obtain the measurements of what you are planning to build. In my case I wanted to make a substitute for an existing model part. So I went about measuring all dimensions (x,y,z) with a set of digital calipers.

I worked in metric as I find it easier to work with at this scale.

The next step was to transfer my measurements into a graphic which would be accepted by the Cricut. The best, free, tool I have on had for that task is Google Sketchup.

This is a great free drafting program and I've used it for home remodels, furniture, and model design. I drew the doors anticipating multiple layers in order to build the thickness I needed. I am using .5mm polystyrene and need a final thickness of 2mm.

The square in the upper left corner is important for later. That is a 1 inch by 1 inch square for scale. Once the drawing is completed I exported a 2D .PNG file. I like PNG because the transparency works well in the Cricut software. Below is the .PNG file for a set of two landraider doors.

Note: the first picture is for plain polystyrene. The second photo is for a textured polystyrene. In my case I used diamond plate. Please feel free to use this files in your project!

The photo is then loaded into Cricut and inserted into a new project. On the artboard of the new project I make a 1x1 square a quarter of an inch into the board on both the x and y access. I use this to help me adjust the imported graphic to the appropriate scale. It is important that once you have this layout set to your liking that you 'attach' the square that you made to the imported graphic. This ensures that the dimensions and location carry over to the next step.

I've been using the settings below and 4 passes to cut my projects. Your results may differ, perhaps a the knife tool would be better suited for this but I'm using everything as it came out of the box for the moment.

Be careful when loading the tray. Any pieces of material that aren't adhered to the cutting mat have will likely get caught as the machine calibrates.

Once the machine does its work you'll have some beautify scored polystyrene which, after a quick pass of your hobby knife, will pop out nicely. Again, this is where perhaps the heavy duty blade would make better work of the polystyrene, but at this moment I haven't used one yet.

As you can see the work is clean and precise. One could easily design an entire model using sketchup and a Cricut!

Tip: Looking for a good source of cheap polystyrene? Look no further than your local sign maker. I was able to pickup a .5mm 4 foot by 8 foot roll of polystyrene for less than $10!

Salamander Commission

Recently I had a reader reach out to me about completing a commission piece. He wanted a Salamander Command Vehicle made and painted to match his existing army. At first I was apprehensive, knowing the amount of time it often takes me to complete a project. But we worked out the terms and I set to work. 

I already had two converted/scratch built Salamanders awaiting paint. I took my favorite of the two and set about making a few more tweaks. I made a spare link of tracks and attached it to the side of the hull using some lead foil. I also updated the antenna on the coms unit, opting for some needle and high tension model aircraft wire for strength.

I also removed and replaced the barrel on the pintel mounted cannon in favor of a metal one.

All the weapons were magnetized to allow for easy swapping depending on his preferred load-out.

The model was painted in Vallejo paints to match the scheme of his existing army. I started with a pre-shaded primer coat and then followed up with light coats of the base and high light colors he had provided making sure to let the primer shading show through. All the metallic parts were made by applying graphite over flat black. The red stripe was masked and painted and then it was time to start weathering.

Looking at pictures of his other tank I noted the level of wear on the vehicle and went for something in that ballpark. I applied a light layer of chipping in the areas of heaviest wear using the sponge technique. I then applied a coat of clear gloss. Atop the gloss I applied Tamyia Panel Line accent to all the panel lines and rivets. Were appropriate the panel liner was dragged downward with a brush. Elsewhere, extra wash was removed with a Q-Tip. Once I was satisfied with the level of weathering a mat finish was sprayed over the model. 

Gloss finishes were applied to the lenses and a fresh rubbing of graphite was applied to the metal bits. The gunner and commander received the same treatments as the Salamander.

I'm always open to the idea of commissions. Between work and raising an 8 month old I can't say I'll always say yes but I find this kind of work quite fun. It gives me a deadline I feel much more pressure to beat than my own arbitrary goals, and it gives me a reason to paint something outside of my norm, plus I don't have to find a place to store it afterwards! If you have a commission request feel free to shoot me an email and I'll get back to you with pricing.

Ork Looted Tank

I finished up my this looted tank in a traditional red paint job to ensure maximum speed! 

The tank commander was pieced together using the torso from the GW Grot kit and a head from my bits box. The arms were sculpted from green stuff as were the sleeves and collar of his shirt.

For details on how I pieced together this build check out my previous two 'Work in Progress' posts linked below:

WIP - Ork Looted Tank 2

WIP - Ork Looted Tank 1