All posts in "leviathan-crusader"
Leviathan Crusader Completed
OK, so maybe not actually completed, because I still have the knee pad, chest and sword shield to do, but as you can see, everything else is done.
As predicted, final assembly was a real pain. Things got a bit messy with the epoxy resin and I managed to break one of the hydraulic rams that attach the torso to the hips. Fortunately it's holding together pretty well, although I suspect that it will need some repair work in the future.
Click through for more pictures.
Leviathan Update 3
I am probably 75% done on the paintjob on the Leviathan. If you follow me on Twitter then you will have seen some photos of the progress I am making.
The paint scheme has progressed somewhat, with the addition of edge highlighting, use of weathering powders to add texture, and some very effective "chipping" achieved by using a piece of sponge to apply Tin Bitz followed by Boltgun Metal, washed with Devlan Mud.
The only stumbling blocks have been the shield pieces on the front of the torso and one of the knee pads. I made the mistake of hand-painting the quartering and chevrons and the final finish is pretty terrible. I am going to look into how I can fix this, and it may delay the completion of the model.
Here are some photos I posted on Twitter over the last couple of weeks, in case you haven't seen them:
The finished base.
Test fit of the legs on the base.
Torso test fit.
Size comparison with the Stormeagle (my next big project).
Close-up shot of the chipping on the legs.
The paint scheme has progressed somewhat, with the addition of edge highlighting, use of weathering powders to add texture, and some very effective "chipping" achieved by using a piece of sponge to apply Tin Bitz followed by Boltgun Metal, washed with Devlan Mud.
The only stumbling blocks have been the shield pieces on the front of the torso and one of the knee pads. I made the mistake of hand-painting the quartering and chevrons and the final finish is pretty terrible. I am going to look into how I can fix this, and it may delay the completion of the model.
Here are some photos I posted on Twitter over the last couple of weeks, in case you haven't seen them:
The finished base.
Test fit of the legs on the base.
Torso test fit.
Size comparison with the Stormeagle (my next big project).
Close-up shot of the chipping on the legs.
Leviathan Update 2
With the recent remission in this summer's foul weather I've had a chance to do some spraying and have made a start on the main subassemblies of the Leviathan Crusader.
Over the weekend I finished one of the shoulder pads - like my Epic knights, the Leviathan will have Mechanicus-style hazard stripes on its left shoulder. Unlike the Epic knights, I've managed to do a pretty decent job of them!
I used 6mm Tamiya masking tape to create the chevrons - if you stick a piece on, and then stick another piece right next to it, then you can stick a third piece next to the second, then remove the second piece to get nice parallel lines. I then sprayed white over a black basecoat, painted yellow other that (mixed with flow enhancer to remove bubbles and brush marks), and finally a sepia wash.
I also added a light weathering to make the yellow a little less dayglo.
There was just enough light after dinner this evening to allow me to break out my airbrush and have a go with the other shoulder. I decided to use this as a guinea pig to try out a colour mix using Vallejo Model Air paints (the first time I've used them). The picture below shows the result. This colour is 3 parts Fire Red and 1 part metallic Turn Signal Red, over a black undercoat.
I am pleased with the final result and I'm now going to use it on the rest of the model.
Once the paint is dry, I'll finish the bronze edging of the shoulder pad. This is done with two coats applied with a stipple brush over black undercoat, washed with Devlan Mud. I might also add weathering to add some depth to the colour.
Update: here's the finished shoulder pad:
Over the weekend I finished one of the shoulder pads - like my Epic knights, the Leviathan will have Mechanicus-style hazard stripes on its left shoulder. Unlike the Epic knights, I've managed to do a pretty decent job of them!
I used 6mm Tamiya masking tape to create the chevrons - if you stick a piece on, and then stick another piece right next to it, then you can stick a third piece next to the second, then remove the second piece to get nice parallel lines. I then sprayed white over a black basecoat, painted yellow other that (mixed with flow enhancer to remove bubbles and brush marks), and finally a sepia wash.
I also added a light weathering to make the yellow a little less dayglo.
There was just enough light after dinner this evening to allow me to break out my airbrush and have a go with the other shoulder. I decided to use this as a guinea pig to try out a colour mix using Vallejo Model Air paints (the first time I've used them). The picture below shows the result. This colour is 3 parts Fire Red and 1 part metallic Turn Signal Red, over a black undercoat.
I am pleased with the final result and I'm now going to use it on the rest of the model.
Once the paint is dry, I'll finish the bronze edging of the shoulder pad. This is done with two coats applied with a stipple brush over black undercoat, washed with Devlan Mud. I might also add weathering to add some depth to the colour.
Update: here's the finished shoulder pad:
Leviathan Update
The Leviathan Crusader is now mostly assembled, and I was able to get it base coated last night. I gave up on having dozens of sub-assemblies and have assembled most of it, it just means that there will be a few fiddly bits when doing the fine detail work.
Photos of the model on its own don't generally do it justice: this thing is big. Here you can see how the legs compare to a normal AoBR Marine:
And a Land Raider:
Unboxing the Dreamforge Games Leviathan Crusader
Having boxed up all my hobby stuff in anticipation of an imminent house move, and having generally avoided spending anything on my hobby since the new year, Salute 2013 turned into a session of Retail Therapy! I bought a bunch of Critical Mass stuff, and a KR Multicase system for my Epic knights and titans, but my biggest purchase was a Leviathan Crusader kit from Dreamforge Games. These seem to retail only at about £85-£95, but I picked mine up for £65, which sounds like a pretty good deal. Most of the retailers at Salute were selling the kit at about the same price.
This is a big kit - the box is about the size of a couple of shoe boxes, and it's full of plastic sprues. I thought I'd take some pictures of the unboxing, because apart from the coolness of the model itself, I'm also rather impressed about how neatly it's all been fitted into the box. The sprues are designed to stack on top of each other, and the empty space is filled with foam, which means that the parts of the model are very well protected in transit.
The kit is relatively simple (I've built much more complex kits, and its sheer size means that there aren't any especially small and fiddly bits) but it looks like there will be dozens of sub-assemblies that will need to be painted before they can be put together, so this is going to take quite a while to complete. My plan is to paint it (and use it on the table) as a Knight Paladin in the same colour scheme as my Epic knights. Fortunately there are (unofficial) rules from Bell of Lost Souls.
This is a big kit - the box is about the size of a couple of shoe boxes, and it's full of plastic sprues. I thought I'd take some pictures of the unboxing, because apart from the coolness of the model itself, I'm also rather impressed about how neatly it's all been fitted into the box. The sprues are designed to stack on top of each other, and the empty space is filled with foam, which means that the parts of the model are very well protected in transit.
The kit is relatively simple (I've built much more complex kits, and its sheer size means that there aren't any especially small and fiddly bits) but it looks like there will be dozens of sub-assemblies that will need to be painted before they can be put together, so this is going to take quite a while to complete. My plan is to paint it (and use it on the table) as a Knight Paladin in the same colour scheme as my Epic knights. Fortunately there are (unofficial) rules from Bell of Lost Souls.