YorkNecromancer
05-28-2014, 06:17 PM
Ahoy-hoy.
Welcome once again ladies and gentlebeans to another tutorial on how to scratchbuild. I recently published a separate comment thread featuring some female Astra Militarum (link for those interested: http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?45369-The-Women-of-The-Bifrosti-121st-Astra-Militarum-Regiment) and received a number of questions regarding the origins of the women's lasguns.
As a result, this week, we're not looking at a straight scratchbuild, but rather combining scratchbuilt components with extant Games Workshop kits, as I explain the ways I created the custom lasguns you see in the pictures in that thread. Also, because it's half-term, I've had time to go to town on this one, so be warned: there are six separate tutorials below (for, in order: rail mounts, reflex scopes, flash suppressors, sniper barrels, rifle bipods, and telescopic scopes.)
Customising infantry weapons is remarkably easy work, though if you intend to do it on a large scale, it can be very time consuming. I have individually converted every lasgun in my Astra Militarum army – over a hundred individual weapons – and I feel maintaining consistency is important for any army that isn't Ork. As a result, it you're going to do this on an army-wide scale, be prepared for a significant investment of time.
However, I have only done so because 1.) I hate GW lasguns and 2.) I love converting. If you're not like me, you may want to use these just for your veterans, Tempestus, Sternguard, or other elite choices, to lend them character.
So, without further ado, this week's tutorial.
The Tools You Will Need:
Plasticard sheets – you won't need much at all, but you will need various thicknesses. One should be as this as you can get – about the thickness of paper. The other should be about 1mm thick.
Plasticard strip – you'll need some square rods, about 0.5mm x 0.5mm. You'll need about 400mm or so.
Three styrene rods of various thicknesses – one should be about 1mm diameter, the next 2mm, and the final one 3mm.
Poly cement
Infantry weapons – while you can scratchbuild your own, we're not doing that this week, so break out some infantry weapons. This is aimed at lasguns, but you can adapt it to bolters, pulserifles and the like. It won't really work with Eldar weaponry (wrong aesthetic), but you could adapt it to the Eldar look easily enough.
So, off we go!
Tutorial 1: Rail Mounts
Modern weapons use rail mounts for additional weapon systems – these are easily recognisable as the 'ridged' bars and grips seen on almost every modern American assault weapon system. To quote Wikipedia:
Rail Interface System (RIS, sometimes also referred to as Rail Accessory System, RAS) is a generic term for a system for attaching accessories to small firearms such as pistols, rifles and light machine guns.
Common accessories include tactical lights, laser aiming modules, forward hand grips for improving weapon handling, telescopic sights for medium-ranged or distant targets, and reflex sights/red-dot sights for short to medium-ranged targets, iron sight lines, bipods, and bayonets.
Most RIS equipment is compatible with one or more of the most common rail systems, all of which are broadly similar:
Weaver rail mount - an early system, still popular in the civilian market
Picatinny rail (MIL-STD-1913) - standardized US military version
NATO Accessory Rail - developed from MIL-STD-1913
These are used primarily in the military and by firearm enthusiasts to improve the usability of the weapon, being accessorized quickly and efficiently without requiring the operator to field-strip the weapon.
Let's make some for our lasguns!
To begin with, you'll need a piece of rectangular plasticard; it should be the thinnest you can get, and about 10mm x 60mm (for a full infantry company.) You'll also need that styrene rod
http://th09.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2014/148/f/7/2014_05_28_17_31_40_by_yorknecromancer-d7k391o.jpg
Measure the piece, so that it is exactly 9mm wide:
http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/148/5/e/2014_05_28_17_32_16_by_yorknecromancer-d7k391c.jpg
Once you've done that, apply poly cement down one edge…
http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2014/148/e/2/2014_05_28_17_34_54_by_yorknecromancer-d7k3918.jpg
…and glue the styrene rod to it, keeping it in-line with the edge of the piece like so:
http://th09.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2014/148/5/5/2014_05_28_17_35_39_by_yorknecromancer-d7k3913.jpg
As you can see, once it's glued, clip it off.
http://th07.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2014/148/2/4/2014_05_28_17_36_10_by_yorknecromancer-d7k390z.jpg
Don't throw the bit you've clipped away! You're going to repeat the steps above, only for the opposite edge, like so:
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/148/9/7/2014_05_28_17_37_09_by_yorknecromancer-d7k390w.jpg
Now, you can measure this bit, but I just judge by eye. Place a thin line of glue down the middle of the piece and, you guessed it, glue that styrene rod down again:
http://th03.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2014/148/7/c/2014_05_28_17_37_57_by_yorknecromancer-d7k390l.jpg
Repeat this step for the gap between the middle piece and the edge piece…
http://th02.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2014/148/c/c/2014_05_28_17_38_41_by_yorknecromancer-d7k390h.jpg
…and repeat again for the final gap – glue that styrene rod between the middle piece and the end piece again. As I say, I judged all of this by eye, but if you prefer to be precise, then measure.
http://th06.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2014/148/c/d/2014_05_28_17_39_30_by_yorknecromancer-d7k390f.jpg
As always, BoLS forums only let me post 10 pics at a time – more of these tutorials when I get a reply!
Welcome once again ladies and gentlebeans to another tutorial on how to scratchbuild. I recently published a separate comment thread featuring some female Astra Militarum (link for those interested: http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?45369-The-Women-of-The-Bifrosti-121st-Astra-Militarum-Regiment) and received a number of questions regarding the origins of the women's lasguns.
As a result, this week, we're not looking at a straight scratchbuild, but rather combining scratchbuilt components with extant Games Workshop kits, as I explain the ways I created the custom lasguns you see in the pictures in that thread. Also, because it's half-term, I've had time to go to town on this one, so be warned: there are six separate tutorials below (for, in order: rail mounts, reflex scopes, flash suppressors, sniper barrels, rifle bipods, and telescopic scopes.)
Customising infantry weapons is remarkably easy work, though if you intend to do it on a large scale, it can be very time consuming. I have individually converted every lasgun in my Astra Militarum army – over a hundred individual weapons – and I feel maintaining consistency is important for any army that isn't Ork. As a result, it you're going to do this on an army-wide scale, be prepared for a significant investment of time.
However, I have only done so because 1.) I hate GW lasguns and 2.) I love converting. If you're not like me, you may want to use these just for your veterans, Tempestus, Sternguard, or other elite choices, to lend them character.
So, without further ado, this week's tutorial.
The Tools You Will Need:
Plasticard sheets – you won't need much at all, but you will need various thicknesses. One should be as this as you can get – about the thickness of paper. The other should be about 1mm thick.
Plasticard strip – you'll need some square rods, about 0.5mm x 0.5mm. You'll need about 400mm or so.
Three styrene rods of various thicknesses – one should be about 1mm diameter, the next 2mm, and the final one 3mm.
Poly cement
Infantry weapons – while you can scratchbuild your own, we're not doing that this week, so break out some infantry weapons. This is aimed at lasguns, but you can adapt it to bolters, pulserifles and the like. It won't really work with Eldar weaponry (wrong aesthetic), but you could adapt it to the Eldar look easily enough.
So, off we go!
Tutorial 1: Rail Mounts
Modern weapons use rail mounts for additional weapon systems – these are easily recognisable as the 'ridged' bars and grips seen on almost every modern American assault weapon system. To quote Wikipedia:
Rail Interface System (RIS, sometimes also referred to as Rail Accessory System, RAS) is a generic term for a system for attaching accessories to small firearms such as pistols, rifles and light machine guns.
Common accessories include tactical lights, laser aiming modules, forward hand grips for improving weapon handling, telescopic sights for medium-ranged or distant targets, and reflex sights/red-dot sights for short to medium-ranged targets, iron sight lines, bipods, and bayonets.
Most RIS equipment is compatible with one or more of the most common rail systems, all of which are broadly similar:
Weaver rail mount - an early system, still popular in the civilian market
Picatinny rail (MIL-STD-1913) - standardized US military version
NATO Accessory Rail - developed from MIL-STD-1913
These are used primarily in the military and by firearm enthusiasts to improve the usability of the weapon, being accessorized quickly and efficiently without requiring the operator to field-strip the weapon.
Let's make some for our lasguns!
To begin with, you'll need a piece of rectangular plasticard; it should be the thinnest you can get, and about 10mm x 60mm (for a full infantry company.) You'll also need that styrene rod
http://th09.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2014/148/f/7/2014_05_28_17_31_40_by_yorknecromancer-d7k391o.jpg
Measure the piece, so that it is exactly 9mm wide:
http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/148/5/e/2014_05_28_17_32_16_by_yorknecromancer-d7k391c.jpg
Once you've done that, apply poly cement down one edge…
http://th08.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2014/148/e/2/2014_05_28_17_34_54_by_yorknecromancer-d7k3918.jpg
…and glue the styrene rod to it, keeping it in-line with the edge of the piece like so:
http://th09.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2014/148/5/5/2014_05_28_17_35_39_by_yorknecromancer-d7k3913.jpg
As you can see, once it's glued, clip it off.
http://th07.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2014/148/2/4/2014_05_28_17_36_10_by_yorknecromancer-d7k390z.jpg
Don't throw the bit you've clipped away! You're going to repeat the steps above, only for the opposite edge, like so:
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/148/9/7/2014_05_28_17_37_09_by_yorknecromancer-d7k390w.jpg
Now, you can measure this bit, but I just judge by eye. Place a thin line of glue down the middle of the piece and, you guessed it, glue that styrene rod down again:
http://th03.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2014/148/7/c/2014_05_28_17_37_57_by_yorknecromancer-d7k390l.jpg
Repeat this step for the gap between the middle piece and the edge piece…
http://th02.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2014/148/c/c/2014_05_28_17_38_41_by_yorknecromancer-d7k390h.jpg
…and repeat again for the final gap – glue that styrene rod between the middle piece and the end piece again. As I say, I judged all of this by eye, but if you prefer to be precise, then measure.
http://th06.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2014/148/c/d/2014_05_28_17_39_30_by_yorknecromancer-d7k390f.jpg
As always, BoLS forums only let me post 10 pics at a time – more of these tutorials when I get a reply!