Good looking crest. I am looking forward to seeing the visor take shape.
Printable View
Good looking crest. I am looking forward to seeing the visor take shape.
Spear Heads:
Spear Head ornaments are tedious but worth the effort. There are probably easier ways to make them but I want mine to have a 3D bas-relief so I made mine out of 0.040 thousandths styrene. Below we see one in place on the helmet and the rest in various states of manufacture. When doing something like this I allows make a few extra so I don't have to start from scratch. You never know when you might need a spare.
Start by making an undersized template (marked 'T'), trace the points on a piece of scrap styrene, cut them out with scissors (yeah it's that simple,) Drill your pilot holes, Cut the corner holes with your; surgical diagonal cutters, Fingernail cutters, Dikes, what-have-you, use your rat tail needle files to make the spade base compare you work to the finished and make the proper adjustments with you, curved nail file and you're done.
[url]http://i.imgur.com/fFxZ4If.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/fFxZ4Ifl.jpg
Now do it twelve more times or more........
[url]http://i.imgur.com/84L1tlJ.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/84L1tlJl.jpg
See you tomorrow.
Bada ba ba baaaa I'm Lovin' It:
Funny how these ungainly projects grow on ya. At first I was mildly interested in this project. A lot of people requested I give it a go so for the past few years I accumulated various plastic bitz that looked like they might go on a quicky Imperial Titan that anyone sufficiently motivated could build. I still have baskets of the junk; bottlecaps recyclable containers and the like and I finally solved the pelvis dilemma but until I saw the head for lack of a better term I had little enthusiasm feeling that I had reached the pinnacle of Titan manufacture in my Warlord.
[url]http://i.imgur.com/hvfBsqo.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/hvfBsqol.jpg
Now I am in a quandary because this Titan will eclipse my previous effort but Damn I am getting really fond of this beastie.
[url]http://i.imgur.com/izMrl2e.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/izMrl2el.jpg
The front view shows up on the image more so than in person that the spearhead gusset on the right side is longer than that corresponding one on the left. that will have to be fixed but overall I am pleased with the outcome. I made my darts a tad larger than that in the computer image as I couldn't translate the drawing into an actual model. But it seems close enough and even as I write this I get the depression of compromise.
[url]http://i.imgur.com/jRCmP0p.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/jRCmP0pl.jpg
But no; that way madness lies.
and it's still two hours to Martini Time... Dang!
To be honest, I think the larger darts looks better than those on the computer design. Deviating from it to create a better overall aesthetic shouldn't be compromise, think of it as improvement ;)
Thanks,
The Perfection of Asymmetry:
When you look at the Darth mask you are thrilled with the evilness of the visage but split the image and reverse it mirror image wise and you will see the resulting perfect symmetry of either the left or right is not nearly as disturbing. We are all different people when we see ourselves in a photograph. With the magic of the computer we can splice together the left and right images of our face and see two entirely different people neither recognizable as ourselves.
[url]http://i.imgur.com/N07NveX.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/N07NveXl.jpg
That is where I am with this visor. That and the printout I made is too small. The 0.030" plastic cutout I made directly below the helmet assembly seems to be of the correct size.
Also the visor wraps around the helmet so the front view is foreshortened therefor I must allow for that by adding what i estimate a quarter inch (6,3 MM) to each side........
Fun and games, Right?
Facial Planes:
We're going to experiment with this visor as I don't have an overhead projection so I made the angle gussets flexible until I see how the 'face shapes up.
[url]http://i.imgur.com/9ysjqn4.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/9ysjqn4l.jpg
That way I can make the minimal adjustments required for an approximation of the artist's intent.
[url]http://i.imgur.com/Qc99a8q.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/Qc99a8ql.jpg
Note the strips in the foreground. The one with the heavy pencil line glues to the inner surface of the visor. It is slightly scored so it acts as a hinged gusset. It can sustain a minimum of flexing before fatiguing the same as the visor plate. Once I am satisfied with the position of the visor planes I'll reinforce the the back side of the visor to hold the shape.
Looking good!
Raising the Ears:
When I was a kid going to the barber was called, "having your ears lowered." Well in this case the operative word is raised. and bring the ears forward and shorten the helmet.
BTW after having been to the barber, you had "White walls."
[url]http://i.imgur.com/AeNn6yB.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/AeNn6yBl.jpg
Anyway this side view projection shows I need to cut the helmet a minimum of 6 MM (one quarter inch) on each side and shorten the length almost half an inch (13,0 MM) which necessitates re-positioning the spear points.
[url]http://i.imgur.com/eNjbnNv.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/eNjbnNvl.jpg
Or I may just go with three after the one in the forehead.
[url]http://i.imgur.com/8stjVq5.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/8stjVq5l.jpg
The close up also doesn't do it for me; Fah!
[url]http://i.imgur.com/xa0CkQU.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/xa0CkQUl.jpg
Family Portrait:
Who's your Daddy? I accomplished a whirlwind revamp of the Command Deck aka the 'Head' shortening the rear overhang (Wait, he is talking about the head of this beastie not the loo???) but I did leave the *****comb alone. (he is talking about the loo!)
Seen here along side my Warlord to give a proper scale.
[url]http://i.imgur.com/NvG8rtI.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/NvG8rtIl.jpg
And a closeup.
[url]http://i.imgur.com/tZgfEjR.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/tZgfEjRl.jpg
More images to come............
I didn't know they had censorship on this forum even though *****comb is a legitimate word. so substitute
'Mohawk'
Whoops:
Seems I may have miscalculated on the size of the Titan. That face is huge compared to the Warlord. Of course I had planned upwards of 36 inches ( 0.9144 meters )but I had hoped to keep it under 33 inches (0.8382 meters ) just so it didn't relegate my Warlord to a minor player. This may not be the case now.
[url]http://i.imgur.com/928kBV1.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/928kBV1l.jpg
The front view in my estimation is spot on and I shall proceed with the styrene version and make the cutouts on the basic structure. Once I am satisfied with the overall size relationship of the various parts of the 'face' I'll make the details.
[url]http://i.imgur.com/MBwgT4X.jpg[/url]
http://i.imgur.com/MBwgT4Xl.jpg
The side view doesn't look quite right as there is too much forward projection with the cardboard template. When rendered in styrene wot the extra cheek plates added all will line up as it is supposed to......
At least that is my expectation.