27/08/2019

Those aren't giants, but windmills

Back again! It's been a while, but I've not been idle. For some time I have been wanting to build this specific piece of scenery, but didn't find the proper way. Finally, with the correct raw materials and the aid from the Muse of Rubbish Scratchbuilding, I've come to this. Let me tell you.

These are the source materials. A promotional freebie whisk from a cocoa powder brand and a couple of... airscrews? coming from Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs:

The CD will be the base for all this
 Just for an explanation, I've found an online pic of what was the original purpose of this thing:

You can bet the final result you'll see here has nothing to do with this

OK, let's go. What can I do with all this? Well, you may remember my Moisture Vaporator or the Takeaway Building. So you know the kind of stuff you can expect. My idea this time is to build some kind of windmill or wind turbine:

Something like this

Or probably like this, I have to use all the bits!
There's little mystery in here. The whisk included these gears, so I did have to use them!


This is what enables the upper windmill to turn acording to the air currents
I used a few mdf and card bits. You may spot a junction box, it's one of the bits I'm producing for my ongoing minig village board. But essentially, all you see here is scratch.



An old syringe cut in three

The central one is not a gear axis, but the access to the upper plant
The only GW bit is that hatch on the roof
So let's go on the windmill itself. I used a toothpick and greenstuff...

I built a structure to set the two turbines/fans/whatever
I had to produce a copy of the yellow piece to place the fans
I've run out of black priming, so I used whatever I had at hand
General idea more or less
Then I started the fun with greenstuff cables

The final stages involved painting and weathering, until I got this:

 
 
A windmill! Sort of..

A few close-ups:



- Now look, your worship -said Sancho Panzer- , for that is not an Eldar Knight, but a common windmill, the kind that provides electricity with its turbines to villages and airships.
-It is easy to see -replied Don Quirixote- that thou art not used to this business of adventures, for that truly is a foul xeno device and an alien intelligence drives it towards our doom. And if thou art afraid, away with thee out of this and betake thyself to prayer while I engage them in fierce and unequal combat.
So saying, he gave the spur to his steed Ro-102 and charged towards the windmill...

Fly not, cowards and vile beings, for a single knight attacks you!

Let me end with a pic of my themed scratchbuilt stuff.



I'm making a board step by step...
This could have not been easier to do, as you can see, so I declare myself happy with the result. The idea of a windmill was in my mind since I made Don Quirixote of Manchae Prime and Sancho Panzer. I may have to see how I can combine this style of buildings (dirt white, chunky sci-fi looking) with my vertical board, the mining town. It might be fun if I make some experiments.

I'm working on a few projects at the same time (besides boring real life issues, you know), I hope I can bring more stuff soon!

38 comments:

  1. Great! Possibly not the most efficient installation, but maybe there was once a larger central turbine, now lost to time (or crashed to ground somewhere else for some thematic cover)

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    1. Most probably that wasn't even its original configuration, but generations of local reparations through the years have ended in that monstrosity!

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  2. That is absolutely awesome!

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    1. Thanks! But you can see, pretty easy to build :)

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  3. Que envidia me das, me construiría uno pero ya tengo bastante escenografía, y además no me gusta pintarla, hacerla si, pero pintarla no

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    1. Jaja, éste es un pintado de vagos. Sobre la imprimación blanca he aplicado directamente un lavado de marrón y esponja para los desconchones, poco más ;)

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  4. "It is I Don Quirixote, Lord of Manchae Prime
    Where destiny calls me, I go..."

    Excellent work, great job getting something cool out of random found objects!

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    1. Thank you, o knightly gentleman!
      You see, we are surrounded by common objects that can be repurposed for scenery; sometimes we envision it, sometimes we don't...

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  5. Marvelously inventive, as always!

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    1. Thank you! But you see, the... 'thing' was asking for something to be built with it!

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  6. Fantastic work and junk building.

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    1. Thanks! I can't complain of the cost/efficiency rate :D

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  7. This is amazing! Such convincing weathering... And a great re-use of plastic dross that so often just goes to landfill. I actually have those same kinder egg windmill pieces hidden away somewhere. I had something similar in mind :)

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    1. Thank you! Oh, you have to use them! In my case, it was either this or the engines for an airship! I thought this would be quite more manageable! :P

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  8. Love it! looks great and really like the way you have made it look.

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    1. Thank you! The key was the weathering, I think. I guess this wouldn't work fine if you show it 'brand new'; given its chunky design, you have to give it a worn out appearance, almost on the edge of dereliction. You can never go wrong with a post-apoc vibe ;)

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    1. Thank you! I had the windmill idea since the beginning, but never found the proper concept or the materials to make one. Now that I have it, it gives me some closure :)
      But now I should look for another Quixote adventure to turn into my ambientation! :D

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  10. As always, a great job!. And the board looks awesome.

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    1. Thanks! I'm beginning to have a full board. It's kind of scary that it's all made of rubbish!! :D

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  11. Thanks! It all was in the source materials, it was pretty easy to get something with that :)

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  12. Fantastic scratch build. Your an inspiration to us all.

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  13. SUPERB scratch-building! That scenery kicks ass!

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    1. Thank you! But I can only insist, it's super easy and super lazy :D

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    2. Just like Picasso said: "I don't search, I find."

      All it takes is to see things in a different manner. Great for you that you have that talent. :)

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  14. Wow that scratch built stuff is looking great!!

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    1. Thanks! The Rogue Trader recycle-it-all spirit is still alive!! :D

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  15. I love this set of terrain. It's so atmospheric - really evocative of a windblown fringe settlement where a gunfight is a probability!

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    1. Thank you! The idea of decay is appealing for this kind of stuff. You have made some interesting and imposing buildings from scratch; your sense of border settlement, the vibe you get, is quite a source of inspiration for me :)

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  16. Oh man ... that's simply amazing work Suber. End results were absolutely superb.

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    1. Thank you! It's pretty straightforward and bears no mystery within, but it allowed me to produce something in very little time; that was satisfying! :)

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  17. Fantastic bit of scratch building! Lovely weathering as well!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks! I couldn't allow myself to engage in a(nother) long term project, so this was the kind of thing I was needing right now :)

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  18. What an amazing project, you truly are a scratchbuilding genius.
    Great brushwork too!

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    1. Thank you very much! It's been incredibly fun, I'm constantly looking for rubbish to convert! :D

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