My Knight project

[Az Alderson]

Hey all
I'm new here so forgive me if i make a few mistakes - I thought i'd post a thread about my current project, an Imperial Knight. I know these have been a very popular kit and there are already some fantastic builds out there, but i thought i'd get mine posted up and see what everyone thinks. There will be some regular (as possible) updates as i go about this project, which includes some scratch building and so i hope that you guys like what you see and where i'm going with it. So, to the kit....

Ive decided to do a freeblade, a bit of a lone wolf 'rogue trader' style character. Im basing the design on a very oldy worldy theme, seeing as these guys pre date the heresy and even the imperium. The scratch build part is going to be the cockpit, which i want to look very old and industrial, old tech with lots of pipes and cables and rough and ready none of the comforts of current 40k technology. The first pics (i hope i post right) are of the basic cockpit, put together using card, straws, some spares and magnets. The first bit doesnt look too grand but i hope itll give you the idea - the front of the cockpit (head part) and the pilots seat are removable as is the top canopy. Ill post the final details and paint basics as i go.

thanks for now
Az

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[interrogator_chaplain]

I love a good interior project. This is shaping up well! Don't forget to add personal little charms and knick-knacks.

[Az Alderson]

ive placed the mechanicus skull symbol at the back behind the pilots seat, and ill be adding some other niknaks too; ill be uploading some progress pics a bit later :)

[Az Alderson]

ok, so here are some more pics....cockpit base painted, legs based (black) and skeleton painted and base washed, cockpit seat harness made using paper and spare plastic disk...ive used some 'ugly toob' (flexible tubing) for the heavy cables, added some bitz like hatches, pipes gas tanks etc, made 2 gear sticks using some spare plastic rod....the pilots seat is card, foam board and now has a computer screen at the front. The whole canopy, front head panel and pilots seat are removable so you can see the detail. I intend to make the weapon arms changeable via magnets too. Let me know what you think :) thanks all
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[Az Alderson]

ok hers some more progress pics: base colour scheme (blue/white) done on leg armour/ torso/hatch etc...cockpit inernals pretty much done, pilots seat based...and a general view of all the seperate parts...these fit together with magnets
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[Brakkart]

very nice looking figure and love all the interior detail you've added. If I have a suggestion to make it's that your white areas could use another coat or two as they look rather streaky, especially on the legs and the cowl over the head.

[Az Alderson]

yep they did in these pics...the blue/white (and now gold) areas had all had their first coats, since then its all been tidied up; also i dont own an airbrush so its all hand painted...ill be posting a few more pics soon of the current progress before i get started on the weapon arms. Once this is all done the whole thing is going on a dual display (its stand that fits into a larger display) thanks for your comments, hope you like the finished thing :)

[Az Alderson]

hey all, here are some more pics of the current stage im at as mentioned before....still very much a w.i.p, hope you like what you see so far :)
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[The_Gonk]

Looking good mate, I'm about to start one myself. I really like the work you've done on the shield, that's a bit I'm definitely scratching my head about!

[Az Alderson]

thanks :) theres actually a bit of a story there lol.....its all to do with the background story of my freeblade and its pilot, and theres a reason for the colours and the heraldry....the scenic base is probably going to be a 'mini diorama' that i hope will relate well to the character. Ill be posting some more pics soon, as im starting on the weapon arms now...once theyre done ill be giving the whole thing a weathered look to fit the scene. Personally i had an idea about how i wanted it to look and the type of knight/house i wanted to represent..maybe having a look around at some of the completed kits will help you?

[Az Alderson]

hey all
latest updates on this project so far: added right arm, base coated it (still fully moveable) magnetized all three face plates and base coated them, done the railings on the torso armour and added some heraldric detail to the leg armour.....still plenty to do yet so keep watching :) and as always comments/views welcome

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[Levaticus]

I really like the heraldry you've made for your Knight. Does it have a real world inspiration?

[Az Alderson]

lol actually yes it does, its my family crest - the character im doing will be from a house based around my family lineage. I thought it would be something unique and different from the pre established houses, plus a chance to creat a bit of a unique story to go with it. I may well expand out from the knight and noble to include some other units from his homeworld, or the supporting units (maintenance/ militia etc) alongside the knight. The story (in some form lol) will be presented when I upload the finished article on here. Also the heraldry on the leg armour represents the white dragon of st edmund (left leg, red + white emblem) and the knights templar (right leg, red cross + black and white background) these a representations of my cultural history that i thought would fit well with my families crest and colours :)

[Az Alderson]

hey all
sorry for the delay in updates been a bit busy these past few days lol right ive been working on the right arm with both weapon options. to do this ive used button magnets and magnetic tape as you can (hopefully) see in the pics...ive base coloured these ready for their next coats and washes etc. Ill post some more pics when ive got the arm attached to the body.815781588159816081618162

[Az Alderson]

hey all
made some more progress with the knight, finishing up the main painting ready for detail and washes, plus laying the groundwork for the display, so here we go: added heraldry detail to top canopy to match shield tidied up leg armour, laid out seperatee parts for display base, glued basics on, checked to makesure it all fits ready for painting etc, added left arm and checked both weapon options, and added other details ie 'A' on top back canopy, started detailing ccw, begun washes on back. Hope you like so far, keep watching, love to hear your views :)
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[Az Alderson]

hey all
apologies for the gap in updates, been really busy lately - im going to be posting more pics in the next day or two, the knight is about 99% finished as its display...ill reveal all shortly!
thanks all
Az

[filantropolo]

It looks nice.
Have you think about ad some battle damage or dirt to the knight? I think it looks as in his very fisrt day on the battlefield.

[Az Alderson]

Hey all
well, pretty much done bar a few details (dust/weathering etc) but for your pleasure i would like to present my knight: 'Valiant' of the House of Aldor, with his pilot, 'Kaleb Aldor', noble, merchant and mercenary, shown having made camp for the night, thus the scenes title 'A Knight under the stars'. Ive tried to show various shots of the whole thing (excuse my camera work) and for those wondering where i got the pilot figure, i chose him after trawwlliinnggg for the right one and its from the 'Infinity' range (contraversy i know). I hope you like it, its my first big kit and diorama for about a year or so, any questions feel free to ask :)
thanks, Az.
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[Az Alderson]

heres a few more, including my family crest, where i got the scheme from:
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