+ inload: Battle Bling's Reaver Titan armour upgrades +

+ Building Legio Maximal – The Vigilants +

+ Battle Bling upgrades for Adeptus Titanicus +

+ I've got another gaming day coming up at Maximal Fire's Corsair Gambit campaign down in Poole, and will be taking my Salamanders once again – hoping to improve on my record of two losses and – uh, another loss. Themed around the battle for control of Nabed-Paleae, the throneworld of the Titan Legion Legio Maximal, I wanted to make sure that I brought along at least one Titan for theme. +

+ You can read about the campaign here: [+noosphericexloadlink embedded++noosphericexloadlink embedded+] – at time of writing, there are still some tickets available, if you fancy joining in. +

+++

+ Battle Bling to the rescue – Reaver Titan upgrade kits overview +

+ I had the pleasure of meeting Johnny and Jon of Battle Bling at the last campaign day, and having politely cooed over my Thunderhawk (above), which uses their upgrades – you can read more in this inload – they very kindly sent over a selection of Titan upgrades for me to use. I'll focus on the Reaver here, but will come back in the future to show you the Warlord versions, too. +

+ Below is the snappily-named 'Loyalist Armour Plates compatible with Reaver Titans' kit: + 

... and its stablemate, the 'Traitorous Armour Plates Compatible with Reaver Titans' kit: 

+ Both are shown straight from the bubble-wrap bags in which they were supplied; the supports have already been removed, and there's very little clean-up work necessary. +

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+ The Titan models from GW are shared by both sides of the Horus Heresy civil war, with spikes and stylised eagles shared by both sides. While you can err one way or the other with the plasic options, they're far less obviously 'Chaos' or 'Imperial' than you might expect from 40k. +

+ These kits allow you to make your loyalties clearer – though it's worth pointing out that with the right paint job, you could happily scatter parts from the 'Traitor' kits across a more savage Loyalist Legio, and vice versa. These aren't upgrades dripping with purity seals or leering daemon faces, but subtle options for variation within your Maniple or collection. +

+ Differing in sculpted detail and trim, both kits use the same underlying plate geometry, and so are cross-compatible – you could mix and match parts with each other (and the standard plastics, of course) on the same Titan. The kits come with 10 pieces each:

• 2 pauldrons (shoulder armour)
• Upper and lower carapace
• Front and rear pelvis
• 2 parts for each lower leg

+ There are two options for Loyalists (Classic and Winged) and two for Traitors (Heretic and Forsaken). These differ in the decoration of the upper carapace, and the shape of the pauldrons (shoulder armour) – the other plates are common to each kit. You'll note that there are 13 pieces in each picture above – that's because I was sent both options for each. You'll need to pick which bits you prefer; so I'll do my best in this build-along to showcase all the options. +

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+ The key question – fitting +

+ Upgrade kits can be a problem if they're not properly designed and manufactured, as parts end up not fitting properly together. I'm happy to say that, being 3D-printed, these don't have the shrinkage problem of resin manufacture. They fit perfectly to the plastic GW Titan parts. They're also reassuringly sturdy – I've had plenty of 3D printed material that is very brittle and breakable, but whatever Battle Bling uses is a great balance of strength and flexibility. +

+ Having said that, these aren't as flexible as plastic, and won't put up with much pressure from a knife. If you do end up with a breakage, it's likely to be sheer and clean, so a quick fix with superglue will put things right. +

+ The leg armour plates come in two parts, and are a great example how well they fit. On the left you can see the two pieces assembled around the plastic lower leg of the reaver, with the join scarcely visible. On the right you can see the two components, with tongue-and-groove connectors to help slot things into the correct position. +

+ I don't want to pre-empt the finished result, so I'll reserve judgement 'til I've finished building the while thing. Nevertheless, early results are very reassuring that the finished kit is :

a) Going to look ded proppa

b) Be nice and sturdy for gaming.

+++

+ From the ground up – Building a Legio Maximal Reaver part 1+

'Burning cold, biting heat; these are the stressors that led to life.' So begins the Liber Maximalis, the curious record of the Legio Maximal's difficult inception. 

• Warcry/Motto  'Magno conatu, magnis clamoribus proelii, et festinanter progredi longius quam hostes, triumphabimus.'
• Founding  Great Crusade 
• Conscription-contributions from numerous Legios; principally Gryphonicus; Krytos and Tempestus
• Homeworld  Nabed-Paleae
• Warden Domains: Corsair World Cluster
• Allegiance  Unknown  (Fidelitas Scindo)
• Colours  White, Black and Orange

+ Let's look at how you can put these upgrades to use, then. To give the kits a proper road test, I thought I'd combine their use with a step-by-step on how I go about posing my Titans.  This is the first part: preparing the base and posing the feet. +

+ Theoretical +

+ Posing can add a lot of character to your Titan. Pose is always down to personal preference, so my key recommendation is to do what you like. The basic kit is very flexible and poseable anyway, so I always think it's worth taking some time to make your God-Engine unique. +

+ For me, I like Titans to look huge and ponderous – but not static. The kit will allow you to create great walking poses, particularly on a flat base, but if you want to have a lifted foot, or walk over rough terrain, I find adjusting the feet is critical to giving that extra dose of realism and weight. +

+ In concert with being out of contact with the base surface, even subtly adjusting the toes to hang slightly below the level of foot gives a more natural gait to this WIP shot of Titan. +

+ However, fiddling around with every joint is an easy road towards a rag doll, the joints looking floppy or the overall impression simply looking slumped or stilted instead of predatory and intimidating. +

+ Do some research for a pose you like. Decide whether you want to go for a super-dynamic or more restrained look. Be reassured that even minor changes can make a surprising difference. +

+ To help decide on a pose that will be successful, consider the following:

• Pace and role – How fast do you want your Titan to be moving, and does this fit its role? Having just a toe or two in contact will make the Titan look very fast – but it fights with the idea of them being big. Even at full stride, larger Imperial Titans will likely have at least one foot in full contact with the floor, simply because of their sheer mass. Lighter Scout Titans can get away with less – perhaps even to the point of jumping.

+ The Warbringer is an artillery Titan; its carapace mount making the centre of gravity even more unstable than other Titans, so a ponderous march is fitting. +

• Dynamics – The faster the Titan is moving, the more the centre of gravity needs to look right. This is key to selling the post. If the centre of gravity doesn't chime with  the placement of the feet, your Titan is going to look like it's toppling over, rather than speedy. Conversely, if your Titan has both feet braced, you can play about with the centre of gravity and bring dynamism into play from the waist up. 

• Limits – There are physical limits on the poses available because of the structure of the Titan. The knee, for example, will only bend so much before the armour plates won't fit. Some joints don't have such limits – the hips are very free, for example – but you need to consider the leg as a whole. A knee at full lock and over-extended hip is going to look comical rather than intimidating. You can, of course, trim things away for more dynamic poses, if that's your jam. To maintain movement in a stable, straight line, the centre of gravity will usually be over the foot in contact with the ground.

+ A pacey Warhound is better able to sell a sense of speed and movement than larger Titans. Note that the leading foot is almost directly under the centre of gravity, and that the torso is very balanced. Note also that the trailing leg is directly behind the front leg, rather than out to one side. These are what give the impression of fast – but controlled – forward momentum. +

+ Before you begin, decide on the pose you want. Picture it in your head. If it doesn't make you feel too daft, try standing in the pose yourself, to get an idea of how your legs, feet and pelvis relate to one another. +

+++

+ Practical +

_1  Gather some small rocks. These should be a mix of sizes, and ideally include some with flat surfaces to make it easier to glue them securely to the base. I prefer to find more jagged rocks, to add additional texture – but as the main point of these is to create some variation in height for the Titan's feet and legs to interact with, you could use smooth pebbles and build up texture later.

_2  Use superglue to attach them to the base. Aim for clusters that suggest rocky outcrops, rather than scattering them evenly over the surface. As we're properly testing this armour's flexibility, I've put a large cluster for one foot to rest on, about a third in from one side. For easier posing I suggest you leave plenty of space for at least one of the feet to sit flat, and avoid putting too many rocks down.

_3  Use a spatula or old brush to apply a layer of acrylic texture paste. I used Winsor & Newton's Galeria sand texture gel here, but you could happily use an equivalent art medium, or polyfilla (Spackle in the US, I think). Work this in closely around the rocks, building up the surface and binding the rocks firmly down.

_4  Once covered, spend a little time moving the texture paste around to avoid anything looking like brushmarks or a considered texture. Add some texture on top of the largest rocks, but avoid the sides.

_5  Pour some builder's sand on top and give it a gentle shake. You can press down or give it a spray of clean water to help settle it in and affix it to the texture paste, but this shouldn't be necessary – it's quite sticky stuff.

_6  Tip away the excess and run your thumb round the base to remove any stray particles from the rim. The texture paste will now stay tacky for a few hours, so be careful when handling it. 

_7  We've got a critical hour or so in which we can still embed material in it and substantially change the texture. Here I've dropped in a couple of Maximal Fire crates, but you could use any scatter terrain or spare miniatures you have to hand. Gently press them into the surface, then use your spatula or old knife to held draw the texture paste up to them, as though dust or dirt has settled against them. This helps the objects look seated in the base, and stops them looking weightless.

_8  It's time for our Titan to start making footprints. Remove the feet from the sprue, and make sure that you know which is left and which is right – as you can see above, the frontmost and rearmost toes are asymmetrical. Don't be caught out!

_9  Place them lightly on the base to check the basic positioning. This picture shows the problem with using the feet straight out of the kit for uneven ground – they look stiff and weightless. We need to get those toes flexing to account for the uneven ground.

_10  The scary bit! Chopping up the irreplaceable feet can be nerve-wracking, but if you use a sharp, fresh blade, you'll get a nice clean cut. Make a straight vertical cut as close to the central circular part of the foot (the 'sole', for want of a better term) as possible. This will mean cutting partially through the recess/divot for the piston. Don't panic about this – it will largely be hidden by the piston and armour plates later. Still, try to make the cut as clean as possible.

_11  The first removed toe. 

_12  Removing as little material as you can, clean up the area to restore the shape to the sole and remove excess plastic that has been pushed out of shape by the cut.

_13  Use the blade (or a pen or paint) to mark both the toe and the part of the sole from which you removed it with a number or symbol (Roman numerals are easy – and thus safer – to make), and repeat with the other toes. This will make it much easier to reassemble the foot.

_14  Use polystyrene cement to re-attach the front toe at the required angle. You can trim the back of the toe and the area of sole flat at the attachment point to help ensure a decent grip. Here, you can see that I'm picturing the front toe is flat against the floor, with the sole of the foot lifting away. This will be the rear foot, which is in motion.

_15  Attach the side toes in the same way. Before the glue is completely dry, hold the foot in position on your working surface as shown, to check that the placement of the other toes helps sell the movement – in this case, the side toes droop a little and are slightly rotated to keep the parallel with (but not touching) the ground. Note that you can't take this rotation too far, or you'll find trouble with the pistons later on.

_16 The moment of truth! Place the foot in position on your base. It's best to do this before the polystyrene cement is dry, and while the texture paste is still slightly malleable, as you can then adjust. Timing this is – quite literally – a balancing act. Too early and things will slip and fall apart; too late and things will be trick to adjust. Once happy, gently press the front toe down to force the texture paste outwards, letting the foot sink in a little.

It is key to leave enough space for the other foot – and the rest of the Titan! Having the feet too close together will result in a Titan that looks vulnerable or nervous; not the fierce predator we want. Place the foot well to the left or right of the centre line of the base, and interacting with the rocks and details you've put into the base already.

_17 Check the pose works from different angles, and use a modelling tool to carefully tweak things where necessary. Here, you can see the Reaver's right toe has been twisted to bring more of it into contact with the rocks beneath.

_18  Glue on the rear toe. You can see that the join is quite ugly. You can wait until everything is secure to clean it up, or rely somewhat on the pistons and armour sparing your blushes.

_19  We now follow a similar process for the other foot. The difference now is ensuring that the foot pose complements, rather than replicates, the first. Since the trailing foot is lifting away, it can't be bearing the weight of the Titan – thus this leading foot must be doing so. We place the sole of the foot at flat as possible on the base. When placing it, remember to leave a gap for the hips and waist. In this particular example, the rocks make movement awkward for the Princeps – so he carefully places the Reaver's leading foot on the lowest, flattest part of the rocky outcrop, for the most support.

_20  Attach the toes as before to help emphasise the pose. Here, the toes are as flat to the undulating surface as possible, and the rocks mean that they are often tilted upwards to maximise the surface contact with the rocky ground.

_21  Positioning needs to be done on a toe by toe basis. Rely on the physical model in front of you, and let gravity sink the toe into position, before making adjustments to ensure the pistons and armour will line up.

_22  The feet are now complete. Thus far, things have been worked will still flexible and malleable, but we now need our foundations to be as solid as possible to build upon. Leave the whole thing to dry overnight, or longer if possible.

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+ This is the end of the first part of the tutorial. We'll come back soon to start to build on top... +