Blackadder's Chaos Warhounds; Two WIPs

[Blackadder]

A Running Pose:

So I begin the assembly of the legs. I have and idea for a dynamic pose where the two feet are pretty much in line as if the Titan was stalking in a running pose.

[url]http://i.imgur.com/PJrQwSO.jpg[/url]


I started by drilling tight holes for the toe bases so the bases can twist in their sockets as the foot was designed to do. I fact I was not aware of where I built the toes for Lucie many years ago.

[url]http://i.imgur.com/CMIfrwp.jpg[/url]


The trailing foot will be flexed with heel spur in the air and the front toes bent to their extreme flexed position.

[url]http://i.imgur.com/pqqyIFc.jpg[/url]


I will be drilling and pinning the toe joins next.

[Blackadder]

The Dynamics of Stride:

In preparation for this 'on the fly' pose I am instituting a procedure heretofore unknown at least to me of allowing the feet and toes to be posed prior to assembly and gluing.

I drilled and pinned the toe joins so they can remain flexible until I have stabilized the quick striding stance; then this model will have when glued frozen in one pose.

[url]http://i.imgur.com/U9JCbhC.jpg[/url]


I have in mind the T' Rex pursuit in 'Jurassic Park' where it is bearing down on the fleeing jeep feet and toes in tandem rather than the typical sprawled pose seen in most Warhound displays.

[url]http://i.imgur.com/Jhg69ay.jpg[/url]


Naturally this pose will require some very fine tuning for balance considering the relative center of masses of a T' Rex vis–à–vis a Warhound the Warhound's center of gravity being so much higher than that of the Rex.

I'm not even sure such a pose is possible without resorting to a permanent pad affixed to the feet which will seriously detract from the visual effect of the model.

In studying the spore of Mesozoic Theropods the striding gait appears to be pigeon-toed at least in some instances see below. I probably won't be representing this unless necessary for balance which is probably why the dinosaur predator is intermittently adopting that foot placement. Almost every step a bipedal organism takes (including we humans) involves literally falling forward and using the step forward to catch and balance to keep us from falling on our face.

The second problem is the lack of the counterbalancing tail that the T' Rex enjoyed but not so with the Warhound. Some lead or gold in the rear void generators may be in order to compensate for the front heaviness of the pose.

I have an idea for placement of these that may add to balancing the overall model side to side as well.

In all the procedure should prove an interesting tour de force.



Note the cigarette butt in the footprint immediately above this sentence; proof that mentally challenged humanoids and dinosaurs co-existed?

[Packe]

Now this got me interested, especially on the pose.

I hope you succeed without a pad.

And if you are going to use gold this is probably going to be the most expensive Warhound, which would be awesome.

Looking forward to pose examples.

[Blackadder]

Gold is not an option unfortunately but a denser non-radioactive element than lead would be a blessing. Of those I believe gold would be the cheapest.

Meanwhile:

Unhappy Household Hints from The Blackadder

To keep harmony in the household I suggest you purchase this item instead of stealing it from your spouse's utensil drawer.

If a cheap nonstainless melon baller is in the drawer I suggest you dazzle your wife with an upscale stainless baller. Makes a nice b'day gift.

[url]http://i.imgur.com/cC0M9Cd.jpg[/url]


Here we see an inexpensive chrome plated baller about a buck fifty mind you the cheaper the better as we want mild steel.

Note the 1 inch cup fits the neck gimbal perfectly and is plenty strong enough to support the head.

[url]http://i.imgur.com/xL9P2rk.jpg[/url]



A couple of seconds with a hack saw and a file and the deed is done.

[url]http://i.imgur.com/Et0zWGA.jpg[/url]


Install the cup between the two magnets used for the head attachment

[url]http://i.imgur.com/20UesYU.jpg[/url]



You may have to sand paper the cup to rough up the surface but you can readily see the range of motion afforded by this mechanism.

(Note the conduit collar was left off for clarity in these images.)










I wanted the ability for the head to look down as it is pertinent to the pose I have in mind.

[Blackadder]

More thoughts on.......

Ambulatory Dynamics:

Okay I've pretty much decided on the stance which will be similar to the image below except the trailing foot (The right foot Blue arrow ) will have the toes in contact with the ground.

[url]http://i.imgur.com/GEqVh14.jpg[/url]


The hips will be canted in towards the centerline ( Red arrows) and the ankles will be slightly twisted in ( Green arrow ) so the width of the gait will be quite narrow instead of the way most Warhounds are displayed.

Most of the weight of the model will be centered above the left foot which will be fully in contact with the ground ( Left Blue arrow )

The overall motion representation will be similar to the image below:



although the feet will be positioned in this manner:



From the side the stance will resemble this:



Excepting it will be a Chaos Warhound of course.

[defiantworkshop]

This is some absolute insanity. Decided to check myself in to a psych ward b/c this is crazy.

[Levaticus]

The lengths you go to are amazing.

[Blackadder]

The Puppet Master:

Or The Chicken Dance:

I can't decide what to title this entry. To get the proper pose and hopefully balance I temporarily articulated the entire model. It came out so well I may just display it with the waist support rod and call it done but naturally not in the "Legs fully extended" as it is right now.

[url]http://i.imgur.com/dt1Dqm9.jpg[/url]


It needs to hunker down for a more menacing appearance but I thought it would be amusing to see it in the initial pose stage.

It's Déjà vu all over again articulating one of these constructs as 'Lucie' went through the same evolutions when she was built. Of course Lucie took me two years instead of a couple days to reach this point There's a lot to be said for not scratchbuilding.

My big concern is the hip joints as they are opposite the normal Warhound stance and I wanted to see if they appeared comical flexed down as they are.

[url]http://i.imgur.com/Ba5e1tD.jpg[/url]

[Packe]

Nice pose, lok unusual, but I think it works.


And about the counter weight, have you thought about Tungsten? It's heavier than lead and should be cheaper than gold. :P

[Blackadder]

A Problem of Commitment:

Part of the reason I go to such lengths to mechanize my model is I do have a problem with commitment.

There for the Rare Earth magnets are right up my alley.

The accompanying photos show how I have circumvented my phobia to the extreme by actually attaching the heavy void generators to the hull using four really strong magnets which give the added benefit on complete interior access should the need arise.


[url]http://i.imgur.com/73zeVVZ.jpg[/url]



[url]http://i.imgur.com/A5B8ueW.jpg[/url]


Once the resin dries I'll be able to assemble the model and disassemble it at my whim.

And that's a good thing right?