Sunday 14 April 2019

Light 'em up


 Serendipity!  I was busy wiring up Chickenhawk's head using plasticard rods.  The original intention was to make cables out of green stuff for this job.  I'd already used some wire-reinforced green stuff tentacles/cables to affix the head in a secure position.  This was great for getting the posing right but made it almost impossible to fit more tentacles in the gaps.  So I bought two different thicknesses of plasticard rod and drilled holes to anchor them before bending the other end and gluing it into the head. 


This was fiddly as fuck and still didn't seem right so I added some Canoptek Wraith claws for even more variety.  An image of an old Magic the Gathering card kept surfacing in the back of my mind.  I've always liked the Clockwork Beast artifact monster but can't understand why this Knight keeps making me think of it.


Anyhoo, whilst dicking around and generally not making any real progress, the LED which is supposed to light up the face plate accidentally flipped out of the head and into the neck.  I started to curse roundly and call my sanity into question, but then I noticed that the effect was awesome.  I'd left the neck hollow in order to fit the wires through.  The light in this space was much more interesting but left the face unlit.  The problem was easily remedied by adding another one.  So now he has green eyes.  I rushed to get a picture because there is no way in hell I'll manage to get the sodding things to stay in this position for the end product.  Looks pretty damn sweet for now though!



16 comments:

  1. Dude. That looks fuckin' awesome with all the cables around the neck, and I can't even describe how great the lighting effect is like that.

    I find that a lot of the imagery from Magic adapts well to 40K Chaos, especially the Artifact Creatures and the Phyrexian stuff.

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    1. Like I said, it was a complete accident! I highly recommend trying out LEDs. It's infinitely easier than trying to paint OSL effects. Wasn't familiar with Phyrexians. I haven't played MtG since the early noughty's. Wow, the artwork has improved, hasn't it? That Phyrexian Unlife is amazing.

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    2. Sometimes the best things come from happy accidents like this one!

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    3. The Phyrexians were actually introduced in the second expansion ever, Antiquities. They didn't really become a huge thing until a little while after you stopped, tho. I actually got out just before the turn of the century, but I've been getting back in and getting caught up on all the story lately. And yeah, some of the art now is amazing. That said, there was some pretty sweet artwork on some of the older cards, too.

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  2. Are you sure you cant keep the blue LED in the neck like that? Also the art work is awesome on the right magic card and you should be happy if your techno chicken resembles it.

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    1. Yeah, I'll definitely try to fix it in that position somehow, but as I add more detail to the model it gets harder. I also took the photo in poor lighting to exaggerate the effect. It won't be as glaring under a spotlight.

      Funnily enough, it was the Clockwork Beast on the left that I kept thinking about. My MtG cards are literally decades old and I think this was the original artwork. But when I saw the techno chicken version, I was even more intrigued.

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  3. You sir are a mad man. The blue LED looks very clean tho' have you considered doing the same thing with red or yellow?

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    1. I second the Mad Man comment and will also note that Weird and Mad should be always be considered as compliments. Normal is the worst insult one can receive.

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    2. Thanks, I definitely take it as a compliment. Although 'weird' might be the new normal. I never thought I'd see the day when everyone at work is talking about an epic, fantasy TV series and more people have tattoos than don't (that might be an NZ thing tho).

      I'll play around with different colours when its painted to see what works best but I'm saving the red one for the exhaust ports at the back, probably.

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  4. Ah, yeah! Those lights look awsome. But I also very much enjoy the way you positioned the ead forwards and the cabeling to connect back into the torso.

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    1. thanks Xar, yeah I wanted to make him look menacing

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  5. That looks absolutely fantastic! Beautifully done, man!

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  6. Coming along great now! Looking forward to how this progresses.

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    1. Its progressing too slowly! I need to get my arse in gear! Thanks.

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  7. Wow! Blown away! That is good stuff, Monkey! That is really good.

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