The Basilisk Interior Construction To Construction Steps To Painting To Finished Page

6 March, 2006

Ok, Interior is done being assembled and painted. I had originally thought about going with a realistic finish similar to my normal scale modelling. But hey, the highlighted and colorful look of wargaming is just too appropriate in this case. After painting and highlighting, it was a bit lacking, so I dug into the spare decal folder and dragged out a few gauges, a seatbelt, and it made a big improvement. At this point I hadn't given the final coating of Future, so the carrier film on the seatbelt is still visible. Took the photos too early, but after the final coat it all blends in perfectly. Oops, the photo of the gun bay came out like crud. Sorry bout this one, but since I already glued the sides together I can't go take another. Trust me when I say the Heavy Bolter came out quite nicely. I really need to work out the lighting situation for my photography.

28 February, 2006

Ok, I killed the idea of re-casting this one for future use. I goofed and didn't really make it easy to cast, and I also want to have this ready for a model show on April 1st, so maybe next time. Oh, and I also corrected the dates on this page. After this, it's ready to paint up the interior and start moving along.

I realized I had missed the outer walls where the drive wheel is placed. I figured there would be some kind of access or cover plate there, like there is for all the other wheels, so I added some extra details there on both sides. In the drivers compartment I also added some buttons and stuff on a panel. I also decided to do up a compartment for the heavy bolter. In this varient, it is slaved to the pintle mounted stubber and controlled by servo motors. (That's what I love about modelling things like this, I can make it up as I go!). I used a heavy bolter left over from a Space Marine Land Speeder, made up a gun cradle and added some mechanisms that would actually move it during combat. I originally had an ammo can and feed belt running up from underneath, but you couldn't see it from the top hatch, so I didn't bother putting it in for the final setup. However, I did fill some of the empty space with some ammo cans I had in the spare parts box... I think they came from an Academy M3A1 Stuart. I like the more open look where you can see around the gun from the front, and removed the mounting lip that the usual one uses.

27 February, 2006

Yep, coming along nicely now, and I am getting myself into the a good groove on this project too.

So, I made a slight change in the plan that I think worked out quite nicely. Instead of just a seat for the driver to steer from and stand on for operating the hatch gun.... why not a 2 man crew compartment? Driver sits in the seat and the gunner has a platform to stand on and fire from. This is the piece I'll be adding to Basilisk chassis vehicles, but leaving out of Chimeras Here is the finished drivers tub with all the little details. Full operators console with all sorts of buttons and stuff to paint up later. Structural supports along the back wall, and a few electrical boxes and conduits too. The camera doesn't like it though, doesn't want to focus properly. And here's how it will all look when assembled in the end, for now it's just all propped up to see how well it goes together. Now I just need to decide what is the best way to form up a mold for everything, I'm still new to the entire resin casting process.

26 February, 2006

Ok, I haven't quite decided on the final layout yet, but I have decided on a couple of things. The first is that the original gun shield has got to go. It would look fine on a fixed emplacement, but doesn't work visually on a self propelled artillery piece. So I'll be replacing that, and possibly an armored fighting compartment. Enough to fit the rules that it is represented, but also open enough that you can put all the happy little details in there. But that comes much later. Another thing that it must have in my opinion is a detailed drivers compartment, and that needs to be done early before the lower hull gets fully assembled.

. First step is to assemble the drive assemblies on the sides. Nothing special here at all, I just put the wheels between the plates and glued together as per the instructions. If I were doing this only for show I could have also modeled something inside the access doors that are on the sides. Sincethis piece is intended for gaming as well, they stay closed Next up I had to assemble the top and bottom of the lower hull, which let me start forming up the tub for the interior I'll be doing. This is all made out of .030 styrene sheet (Plasticard for any Brit's who are reading this). I intend on doing this so I can re-cast it in resin for use in both Basilisks and Chimera's as a drop-in piece, though there will be some optional differences depending on the vehicle. The Chimera version will use the figure shown and he will be visible through the drivers slit. His lower body isn't visible, so no need to put anything down low. The Basilisk version will either use this figure if you keep the top hatch closed, but will also have an optional chair and extra detail along the floor and console. This will let me either have the top hatch empty and open, or to have a full height figure working the storm bolter or stubber at the hatch. Which one I use depends on the vehicle it's going in, as many Imperial Armour kits also use the same front end as the Basilisk. Oh, and don't even bother asking, I will NOT be selling duplicates to anybody. Games Workshop is pretty clear about their policy regarding conversions and updates to their kits, and I do not wish to fall on the wrong side of a lawsuit. The tub was originally left hanging out by a large margin to make it easier for me to work on. It involved a lot of test fitting to get the alignment just right. Once I knew the tub itself was the right size, I trimmed it down so that everything could be assembled around it. It may not look like much yet, but this is just to establish the rough shape of the console and give me something to start attaching the real details to. I am considering doing a similar cab, or extending this one, in order to put an internal ammo feed system for the hull mounted heavy bolter. It does have a small hatch up top that can be posed open, but I am still undecided on that.

22 February, 2006

The Imperial Guard, just saying this in my head conjures up images of massed formations of Cadians, the Leman Russ, and rolling a hundred dice at a time because of those peashooter Lasrifles. But the army sure does have character, doesn't it? Well, I've always wanted to do a Guard army and the time is ripe for me to get on with it. Sure, my Tau and Space Marines aren't painted in full yet, but I can always come back to them later. I want tanks, and guys that look like they belong on a battlefield. Now, the Leman Russ will definitely be part of this army, but I just really want to field the King of Battle....Artillery. This means I need a Basilisk with it's massive earthshaker cannon. 120" range, Strength 9, AP3 pie-plates of doom? I can just smell the roasted Space Marines already.

But hey, before you can get to building, you need to figure out what you want to do with it, right? I mean, it DOES have to actually have the equipment on there that your army list says, right? That means go to the Codex! For this army I'll actually be using the Armored Company list initially, just because I want to build lots of tanks. But be warned, this is a very tempermental list I've been told. Against some armies it will just roll right over anything on the battlefield, and against others it will just roll over and play dead. This isn't my tournament army, this one is for fun. You can get this codex for free in PDF form straight from Games Workshop's UK website in the 'Chapter Approved' section. Let me take a good long look at that before I go any futher. But hey, might as well take some pictures of what we're dealing with here.

Here she is in all her glory, the Games Workshop 'Basilisk MkXI' Yeah, I'm going to enjoy this one.

Look at all them sprues of goodness. I see a sprue from the Cadian Heavy Weapons team, and the always useful Imperial Vehicle Accessory Sprue. This isn't even including the actual vehicle! There area many, many things you can do with all this plastic.

This page is unofficial and not endorsed by GamesWorkshop, the wonderful purveyor of many of the fine product shown in this section. The pictures are all my property, so no copying them either without specific written permission, full payment of your planetry tithe to the Imperium being current, and the blessing of an Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus.