Wednesday, May 27, 2020

40K Adventurers - Pilot - Psyker - Ornithopter

The May installment of the Adventurers project is the Pilot. I decided the female Psyker could be his on-and-off again love interest, so I painted her up too.


For color inspiration I found a neat illustration of a pilot by Phil Noto that was done as a Moebius tribute.

I'd been stalling on the Psyker for a while. I knew I didn't want to go with how I'd painted her in the past- which was the same as the advert. I decided to take a risk and committed to using the first picture of a 'gypsy' that came up on Google. I got lucky I think :)



The ornithopter in the background has been a long time in the making. The model came from Ramshackle Games. I saw a pic of it on the Oldhammer forum and decided I needed one in my life. It wasn't up for general releases because of the wing joints- the proprietor didn't think that the design worked well and hadn't put it up for sale. I, being an 'experienced modeler' stated that was not a problem and the very cool Ramshackle shipped me an ornithopter. 

Once I had it built, it sat for about two years as I didn't have a good solution for the wings!!! Truth told, one of the main reasons I bought a 3D printer was so I could design some wings for this thing.

When someone picked the Pilot for this month's adventurer, I decided to complete the project. The fact that GW is releasing an ornithopter provided further impetus.


The first step was scanning the wings provided. They were printed onto clear acetate. Then I traced them in Adobe Illustrator. The idea was to provide support for the flimsy acetate wings while using the original design.


Next, I imported the vector shape into Tinkercad (an online 3D modeling program) and added some simple surface detail. I also designed some new wing joints. 


Here you can see the wings all printed out and basecoated. I punched some holes in the obscured areas of the acetate so that the wing components would glue together well.


All that remained was to magnetize the wing joints so it can be stored easily, and on to painting.


 

Pretty much done- I may gloss coat the canopy.

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12 comments:

  1. Tom LMay 27, 2020 at 4:32 PM

    Wow. That is an impressive build on the wings. Maybe you can work with Ramshackle games to improve their kit. The paint job really tied everything together.

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  2. Hot Dice MiniaturesMay 27, 2020 at 5:57 PM

    All of that work, and you're not going to talk about the reflection painted on the wind shield!? It's amazing!

    Old hammer has always had offensively large hands and feet, but that pilot may be the biggest offender I've ever seen. That's a BIG HAND! love it :)

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    1. Dr Mathias May 27, 2020 at 6:04 PM

      Hehehe, thanks :) The hardest part of the windshield was masking off the thin strips between panels! The blue and brown were airbrushed, with a quick impressionistic hint of light hitting a mountain applied with normal painting. I think it's one of those things that blend together optically and looks better than it is :)

      And, you're right about that hand- I meant to say something about that because it is a truly massive meathook. It's as big as his head!

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  3. davebMay 27, 2020 at 7:59 PM

    Amazing stuff. I wonder if Curtis will get a rash of requests for the mini now. You will, of course, need to put up your wing joint on thingiverse or something so the majesty of the ornithopter can be appreciated by more people.

    I'll echo Hot Dice, the canopy is fantastic. The whole paint job is great and it's almost a shame that the cool factor of the fig distracts one from your work. You know, almost a shame.

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    1. Dr Mathias May 28, 2020 at 7:29 AM

      Thanks! I could certainly put the wings parts on Thingiverse, but people would need an ornithopter and some wing transparencies :)
      Appreciate the comments!

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  4. axiomMay 28, 2020 at 4:09 AM

    I thoroughly approve of Moebius as a reference for the pilot, even if the source image is also a homage! There's something about Moebius' use of colour that is utterly unique and perfectly sci-fi. Funnily enough, it was the pilot I was drawn to first, but on second look, the ornithopter is spectacular! I admit to my embarrassment that I have one of the kits unassembled and sitting awaiting attention in a box somewhere. Perhaps now is the time to dig it out?

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    1. Dr Mathias May 28, 2020 at 7:28 AM

      Thanks, I'm definitely referencing 70s and 80s sci-fi and Moebius in particular as I work through my Rogue Trader era figures. Lots of color choices I would have never considered :)

      Might as well break out the model- let me know if you need help with the wings :) I had to ask Curtis for more pictures of an assembled model and still ended up doing my own thing :)

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    2. davebMay 28, 2020 at 9:25 AM

      I remember printing images onto transparencies for an overhead projector for a few presentations in university. Similar process?

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    3. Dr Mathias May 28, 2020 at 10:07 AM

      Yes, the transparency sheet came with the model. Looked like laserjet to me, the surface didn't have the grainy look of inkjet transparency.

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  5. SuberMay 30, 2020 at 3:06 PM

    Fantastic. The minis look incredible, but the ornithopter is awesome.
    I built mine a few years ago, but my solution for the wings was quite (a lot) more clumsy. While your way to solve this is out of reach for me, you gave me some neat ideas. I'll definitely have to try! Thank you!

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  6. Pawn CocktailJune 3, 2020 at 3:39 AM

    Stunningly well-painted, & that ornithopter is an awesome build!

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