Fix bayonets! 3D-printing Valour Korps... Pt. V

After kitting out the standard Korpsmen with all their extra equipment I put together some additional pieces of gear for the Sergeants and Voxtroopers.

The Sergeants are all wearing capes, so they can't carry a backpack. The Voxtroopers carry their radio on their back, also preventing them to carry a backpack. For these models I made a large satchel to be worn on their belt. 

I also designed a bag to be carried by a belt over the shoulder. These bags could contain anything from medical supplies to explosives or classified material... Every Squad has a Korpsman with such a bag.

For the moment, I haven't included any special weapons in my infantry squads, but I do want a few heavy weapons mixed in with the regular troopers. The heavy weapon of choice is going to be the missile launcher. I put the crew on regular bases. In this way, they fit on the movement tray with the rest of the Squad.

I also equipped the missile launchers with belts, just like the lasguns of the Korpsmen. For these teams I designed a tube containing a rocket, which I included in a special backpack and carrying bag. 

The choice for the missile launcher is mostly based on looks, I like the way it resembles a panzershreck; I think it fits well with the theme of the army... But it also helps that it is very flexible.

Fix bayonets! 3D-printing Valour Korps... Pt. IV

Last week I sold my Feudal Guard army to make some space for a new project and, to be honest, also to generate some hobby budget... 

This new project comes in the shape of the Valour Korps. When this fantastic range from The Makers Cult was first released, I already did some test models, which can be seen in previous posts labelled 'Valour Korps'. These early models were painted in reasonably historically correct colours, but for this new incarnation I wanted something a bit more striking...

Bright red coat and shiny black armour...

Even though the models are very detailed and pretty awesome to begin with, I decided I wanted a little more. With the Feudal Guard I missed the opportunity to add some personal flavour to the models, with the Valour Korps I wanted to change that... My little Korpsmen will be going to war lugging around a full set of custom gear.

I started out by digitally kitbashing a simple backpack, this quickly escalated to a whole range of more than 20 different backpacks (and counting), similar in style, but with small variations in their configuration...

A few of the backpacks I put together...

All backpacks have a respirator-shaped hole in them...

The first few loaded Korpsmen...

I used mostly TMC bits to bash these backpacks together. This saves me the trouble of sculpting anything other than simple geometric objects (which I still can't) and it ensures the style of the backpacks closely matches that of the models themselves. The backpacks fit snugly over the respirators on the back of the models, making it very easy indeed to add more detail...

After the backpacks I digitally equipped several bodies with even more extra gear. All bodies were equipped with a canteen and I added several large and small pouches and the odd shovel (not too many of those, as most backpacks already include one). All these extra bits ensure a lot of different configurations and interesting detail to paint. 

After that, I enhanced all the regular lasguns to include a strap or belt and bayonet. The bayonets were already part of the Infantry Builder from TMC (I only thickened and lengthened it a bit, to make it stronger), but the belts were all designed from scratch. I then merged the arms, lasguns, belts and bayonets together so I can print complete sets, which has the added benefit of saving me the hassle of having to sort out the matching pairs of arms when assembling the models...

All geared up and ready to go...

The first few squads... 

I wanted these squads to look like they are 'at ease', so no running, shooting or agressively waving their weapons around... All these Korpsmen are idling, reloading, fixing bayonets or just standing around... 

More updates coming soon, and this time I might even mean it! Next up are more custom bits of equipment, bases and some heavy weapons...

Déjà vu; here we go again...

Oh man, life goes on and typing this makes me feel a bit like deja-vu...

Over the last couple of months I have spent plenty of time on my hobby, but I haven't found/taken the time to keep his blog up to date...  

So, what have I been up to? 

Well... A lot of different things, actually... 

First up, I have purchased two new 3D-printers... After my two Elegoo MARS, the larger Elegoo SATURN is a proper upgrade; the larger print volume gives a lot more options. I also picked up a FDM-printer: A Creality CR-10S Pro V2... Having a FDM-printer with a large print surface, allows me to print bigger pieces of scenery. My printer prints at a very nice quality, mind you, it can't compare to resin, but for scenery or terrain it's perfect! It might not be faster, but the ability to print bigger makes all the difference, and that it's cheaper is a bonus, too.

I have printed a whole lot of resin 15mm buildings for my Flames of War scenery. Most of these still have to be painted, but my table now has a proper village. Even better, my friend and neighbour has been busy building and painting two whole armies and together we have been playing some games. 

Well, maybe not a proper village yet. Mind you, this is a 220X160 table...

I have completed a whole lot of pieces to decorate The Dungeon. I commisioned a set of full-plate armoured suits to put on display. I found the sculpter of Uncanny Minis on Thingiverse, joined his new Patreon and contacted him with a proposal. If you are interested in fantasy miniatures, check out his Patreon or his Thingiverse. Most of his models are absolutely free and, most important, very good! 

Two of the full plate armoured suits...

A painted example of one of his designs... 

After the set of armoured suits I asked him to design my D&D character: Gabnast, a Gnome Ranger wielding a heavy crossbow...

Meet Gabnast 'the bullfrog' Millwop... 

Speaking of D&D... Almost a year ago I joined a group of players for a new (and my first) D&D campaign. After our lockdown ended, we switched from online to physical game sessions. So far, I have printed and painted all the character for the players and I have been printing miniatures for our DM, too. 

I have also started printing scatter terrain for D&D. So far I have printed ánd painted (yes, I'm surprised, too) a set of trees, a complete cavern/mine set and a whole lot of ruins... We have been using my terrain during our sessions, which serves as a great motivation to actually paint all these pieces.

The cavern/mine set, all VaeVictis Miniatures...

Most of these ruins will form the basis of a new set of terrain for 40K. This set of terrain should help me to get back into playing 40K.

And because an update without some fresh pictures is just lame, here are a few from last weekend, if only as proof I actually printed and painted something...

These ruins are from Devious Games and are easy to print (they require minimal supports) and fun to paint... I think they are equally usable as scatter terrain for D&D or other Fantasy games as well as terrain for 40K.

I have designed a full set of detailed round bases, which I uploaded to Thingiverse. Originally I designed these for a project of my own, but for now, that project is on hold... Judging by the number of downloads, I think other hobbyists enjoy them, too. You can check them out HERE.

I sold my orange Feudal Guard army, clearing some space for a new Valour Korps force from The Makers Cult. Even though the VK models are pretty awesome to begin with, I found some room for improvement... 

I have kitbashed and designed a set of extra gear for the standard Korpsmen, resulting in kitted-out models which are a joy to paint! I digitally added bayonets and belts to all the lasguns, so I can print them as complete sets.

This army will get it's own series of posts. Well, that's the plan, anyway... 

So far, I have settled on a colour scheme, as can be seen below, and I have printed several squads of Korpsmen to get my army started.

A painted test model...

A squad of Korpsmen, equipped with extra gear...

Painted test model of a Sentinel...

This is the part where I normally say that more updates are coming soon, but looking back, I shouldn't be making any such promises...

3D-printing Feudal Guard... pt. VII

After the last update, I picked up the Feudal Guard Troop Transport (counts as Chimera)... The kit comes with just about all the options you could possibly want for a Chimera and is just as detailed as I have come to expect from TMC designs.

While the design of this kit is absolutely amazing (I think it's miles better than the GW kit I owned more than a decade ago, which is still being sold today, only at twice the price), I still felt the need to add a little personal twist.

For the Chimera I wanted a wheeled chassis. The wheels were found on Thingiverse and were scaled to fit the hull of the Troop Transport. I also added a new hubcap, more in line with the rest of the design... 

Big ass wheels instead of tracks...

The last thing I changed, was placing a vent over the holes meant for the lasgun array. Can't help it, but I just don't like the way these look. I disliked them on the original model and, even though it looks better, I dislike them on this version. However, thanks to the wonders of 3D-design, it was remarkably easy to convert the model slightly and cover up these holes while still keeping the design intact...

Vents instead of the standard lasgun array...

The finished model is just sooooo gorgeous...

Armed with all the bolters I could fit on...

I also wanted to print a Hellhound flamethrower tank. On the Discord channel of TMC there were a couple of very nice designs made by other users, but they didn't have the look I wanted. Working from the original hull design, I used Tinkercad to create a suitable extra fuel tank for my version of the Hellhound.

The detail on the back of the fuel tank...

I replicated the rivets from the original model as closely as I could and tried to mimic the style of the rest of the model. I ended up with a big, well armoured fuel tank, not bad for a novice designer like me...

The printed version came out very good.

The finished Hellhound... 

The prints came out near flawless; only one of the track guards is slightly bent (just like the Battle Tank did), but that's hardly visible... 

Both models weigh around 200 grammes (the Chimera weighs about 190 and the Hellhound just about 240 grammes) and took four separate prints each. I printed these at a resolution of 0.03mm. While this adds several hours to the printing time, the detail of the prints is very, very good... 

Armoured support...

These vehicles represent a sizable investment in time and resin, but I am extremely happy with the results. My Elegoo MARS continues to impress me...

I will be printing more Chimera's, but first up is an Elite Feudal Guard squad with grav chutes and some Cavalry...

Designing and 3D-printing soda can terrain...

Because I haven't played any sort of 40K for well over a decade I have no scenery or terrain for this game... 

Some time ago (before I had my Mars) I printed this soda can terrain piece on my school's Ultimaker 2+. While not very detailed (this kit was designed with FDM-printing in mind), the print upgraded a humble soda can to a piece of attractive and functional terrain. Because I had no 40K at the time, I donated this piece to a gaming buddy, who painted it and now uses it on his battlefield. 

While browsing Thingiverse for terrain pieces to print I came across this very same upgrade kit again and thought of how it could be improved to make use of the capabilities of my Elegoo Mars.

I took more inspiration from another design made by the same user (be sure to check him out as he has several cool upgrade kits). I ended up not using any of his components, but he inspired me all the same!

While I know my way around Tinkercad I lack the ability to draw intricate/organic designs, that's why I used two pieces from this set. Using the gothic grate and the round fan I gradually worked towards creating a set of upgrade pieces. 

I have three kinds of cans available, the standard soda/beer can (be it 0,33 or 0,5L) and two kinds of cans commonly used for energy drinks. Funny thing is, we don't drink soda, beer or energy drinks, so I ended up buying a couple of the cheapest cans I could find and poured the contents down the drain... 

All these cans have different diameters and heights, but I wanted to create kits for them all. All kits are different, but share the same components to create an overall theme (I am a sucker for uniformity). To prevent ending up with a dozen identical terrain pieces, I made the upgrade kit modular, featuring several different versions of key components and several optional components. 

An example of the parts used to upgrade a can... 

At the moment I have sets for the two largest diameters, and I am thinking about ways to do something different with the smallest cans.

I have completed three different cans so far... 

Two of the different front caps...

Two of the different end caps...

Two examples of how to add variety by using different parts to detail the can... 

I have uploaded this modular upgrade kit to Thingiverse, check it out if you are interested!

3D-printing Feudal Guard... pt. V

While I still have a couple days vacation left, I figured I'd print some more Feudal Guard models...

First of all (per request), the recipe of my orange...

From left to right, from base and wash to highlight and edge...

I opted to print the models from the Elite special weapon set... For both the Heavy Stubber and the Heavy Flamer Team I used a couple of helmets from the upgrade set.

I also replaced the rock with an ammo crate I found on Thingiverse. I really like the pose of this model. Don't know if I will be able to use him, but he will be fun to paint!

For the Heavy Flamer Team I decided to use the bodies from the Engineer set as I really like the heavy overcoats they wear. As with the Heavy Stubber, I don't know if I will be able to use them, but these, too, will be fun to paint.

For this team I needed a new base. It was a bit of a puzzle, but worth it as I will be printing some Cavalry soon. 

Getting two names to fit meant I had to use short names...