More BFG?!? Strike Cruiser Conversion

[Vaaish]

I was curious what happened to this Overall I think the project is turning out quite awesome and I think it marks a pretty major improvement to the SC's, but the antenna you mocked up is a bit too long and thick for the area. I think Xeones is right on the length but I also think that about half that diameter would work a little better too.

[mangozac]

[TomG]

I know that feeling. I have my hands in many things. Btw 3D is nice opportunity to play with something before you start cut plasticard. I have home metal Space Marine Strike Cruiser, so I thought I can try build it later in 3D. You have some nice ideas here.

[mangozac]

Yeah I was fortunate to have Vaaish do that original 3D model. Makes life much easier when you're just copying something rather than designing it as you go!

[mangozac]

Update time! We're on the home stretch now!

The side fins are pretty much done (just adding finishing touches). I've machined up and mounted all of the antennae and am quite happy with how they turned out. At this rate I guess I'll mould it all up tomorrow and do some test casts!

Here's some pics on both the GW and FW hulls:

My brother just stopped by and I showed him what I was working on. He appreciated the work that's gone into this but reckons I need to go back to building 28mm stuff because "the bigger models are cooler". I think he's on to something - I've had enough of BFG scratchbuilding for a while (well at least after I finish the Zeus Frigate project)

[Vaaish]

Very sweet! I think that's turned out excellent. Both look good, but oddly It looks a bit more interesting on the GW one than on the FW one. I have a minor quibble that the primary antenna on the front of the prow is either a bit too long or, and more likely, that the really short prongs to the outside are too small to really balance out the center one. It's pretty minor though. I'll be interested in seeing where you go with 28mm stuff

[mangozac]

Glad you like it!

Fair call about the shorter antennae adjacent to the main prow one. It felt OK to me but in retrospect I might replace one of them with a slightly longer variant like in your original 3D model. I'll make the change and then pour a mould this afternoon.

Getting back to 28mm will be fun, but don't hold your breath for any rapid progress there either!

[Xeones]

Oooh, like it very much too. Gotta agree with Vaaish that I kinda like thee GW metal better in the final version--which is kinda weird because I was most interested in the FW resin conversion to begin with. Both are really quite striking* though. Great work! I'll be looking forward to some bigger (relatively speaking anyway) stuff from you in the future. Seeing your progress makes me envious because my Stormraven project has been languishing as I've been out-of-town for the holidays.

*See what I did there? I swear that was unintentional!

[mangozac]

Thanks Nate! Indeed both have turned out quite nicely but I think my preference still lies with the FW variant. It's much sleeker looking, although probably wouldn't look as at home next to a Battle Barge as the GW variant.

I've had some inspiration lately and am planning to go back to my project. My CNC router should make things easier and hopefully quicker too!

Yesterday and today have been the first bit of interruption-free modelling I've done in a while, so certainly don't feel guilty about your projects lacking attention!

[mangozac]

Aaaaaaaaand we have resin!

To be really honest I didn't do the greatest job of the mould split positioning, making the mould lines harder to remove than they should be, but since I'll only probably be doing a small volume I don't think I'll bother trying again. Actually it would probably be better off being made as two moulds: one for the prow and fins and another for all of the weapons and accessories.

I know pics of the resin on the metal model are a pain - I'll prime it all grey in the morning and post more pics then (along with the converted FW model). For now I'm just excited to have the end approaching so quickly! In retrospect I don't know how Vaaish talked me into taking this on, and had I realised at the time how much work was involved I probably would have turned it down!

Oh well it's always a pleasure

[Vaaish]

That ended up looking pretty sweet! I think it's a pretty large improvement over the orignial versions of both. BTW, what thickness of styrene strips did you use on the rear fins? Seeing the resin versions they look a bit sparse compared to the front so I'll probably add a couple bits more reinforcing to them to break up some of the area a bit more.

[TomG]

Yeah good work. It ended nicely.

[mangozac]

Thanks guys! Here's the final pics.

RE: the side fins, I felt that the level of detail was borderline. Although I did note that a little bit of extra banding might be better, I was worried about the extra detail cluttering them too much and thus made the decision to leave them as is. The prow fins and side fins are both 0.75mm styrene.

[Vaaish]

I think it's just on the FW version it looks a little sparse. On the GW one it seems better because of all the greebles on the main hull... Of course, now I'm going to have to strip that cruiser when it comes back!

[mangozac]