BSC2024 Vanvlak Silver Tower under construction

[Vanvlak]

I guess not organising the BSC has made me cockier than usual; this was an idea I had when buying drain pipes. Don't ask!
It should serve for 40K, AoS and Old World Warhamemer (and anything else taking my fancy).

The old Epic scale Silver Tower of Tzeentch is (in a sudden moment of realization and clarity) my favourite model ever - outright! Because of it's weirdness, and because I always loved the idea and design of these little models:


They appeared in the Epic Space Marine Game; made an appearance in Man O'War with a different, larger model; and featured in one Black Library title (at least) and in the Silver Tower game, which (sadly) did not include one. It would be a spectacle in 28 mm heroic scale! So that's my aim - except - realistically - my version will be in a very early stage of construction. If it were a Star Trek ship, it would include the warp core and a small bit of hull and internal structure, with very different warp stuff and technology combined to create the heart of the tower which needs to be built around it.
I only have one figment of an idea, and that's where the drains come in; and I am not confusing my Chaos gods, in case anyone was wondering. 

[Burgundavia]

Ooh. If you're looking for some flexible pipes, I just picked up these from Aliexpress - very nifty little things

[Vanvlak]

Cool - they look like the bendy bit in bendy straws, in which case, VERY interesting!
Thanks

[has.been]

I like partially completed things. Good luck with yours.

[Vanvlak]

I like partially completed things. Good luck with yours.

Thanks - I am an expert on partially completed things, but only because I never finish them. I gave this year's idea a good bit of thought, this time it's MEANT to be partially finished. Obviously I'll end up not even starting....
At least I have the drain pipe I want....

[Daeothar]

Sounds like an epic undertaking (yes, I said that  ) and I'm very interested to see where you'll take this build

I like partially completed things. Good luck with yours.

Then you should LOVE my miniature collection...

[Vanvlak]

Sounds like an epic undertaking (yes, I said that  ) and I'm very interested to see where you'll take this build

More epic than Epic, as it's 28mm (heroic).
Here are the first bits:

A slab of XPS insulation, and a old projector slide carousel.
So far I cut up the insulation with the old hot wire cutter, and fir the carousel symmetrically in it. And then filled the gap. More pics later.

[Vanvlak]

Progress and regress - no wonder, I just realised that my build is a wizard's tower too, so it's doomed 

I sculpted the XPS and fitted the carousel in, padding with scraps of XPS and then applying filler to bridge the gap:


And then I textured the XPS by rolling a ball of scrunched up aluminium foil on it. This is the first time I tried this out and was sceptical, but it worked well.




I then glued a PVC drain cover to the carousel - the build now got noticeably bigger in size.

I was happy with how it looked - in my vision of this, the demonic disc is being fed magic to grow to a size big enough to support the tower; it still has a way to go, but the tower is under construction, so all's good and well. The sorcerers of Tzeentch are hard at work caring for the growing disc, which is why it's a place of work  Besides the ongoing construction, of course.

And then things went a bit awry in three simple steps:
1) I realised I should have put some detail in the drain cover before gluing it
2) I found an interesting piece of lab glassware which I had rescued from being thrown away years ago, which was far better than what I was initially planning.
3) I had to backtrack and cut holes in the carousel and the drain cover to accommodate the glassware, and the cover of course detached itself.

Never mind: the bottle fits nicely, and I can now fit the detail I wanted to place in the cover. AND as a bonus, I kept noticing that the underside of the disc came out much better than the top - so I flipped the carousel and disc over, and the glass thingy actually fit in place better. And so I sprayed it, a little bit irregularly.


I had to do this at this stage as it would be too late after construction, and it's just a single coat without any colours (unlike the amazing technicolour one). The colours will come later 

It's coming together, and the next step is a dry run assembly of the main parts before starting on the detail. There are some other large components I need to add too - the base on which it rests (that's currently planned and the bits are in the cellar, but the lighting down there died out on me, so I have to deal with that too); and the top for the tower (as it stands at this stage of construction, of course.
I also purchased something else I will use, but that's for a coming instalment.

[Vanvlak]

Next steps:
I since decided to invert the disc, as the upper (previously lower!) surface is better-sculpted, and the interior of the slide carousel is more interesting in appearance.
I added some detail to the lower surface, more still to come.



Here is the lower part of the tower, which rests on a tall column during construction of the thing. I stuck assorted conduits and the odd Guinness widget inside, and some other bits and pieces. The antenna (at left) is a Necron part which fit the bill and a couple of plastic wineglass bases stuck together. More details still to be added.



And the whole thing, still a dry run assembly. The lower part is not missing, just hidden by the disc (!). The light blue tetrahedral shape in the front is from Underworlds, and is a floating tetrahedron chained down. I'll be using two of these. With the Necron weapon parts and a couple more small details, that should be the total commercial bits I will use.
There is a Primaris Reaver Space Marine for scale on the disc, front left.

[Daeothar]

Chugging along nicely

The shapes work well together; should look really intimidating once finished!

Did I understand correctly that the lab bottle you are using is actually made of glass?

And thanks for the placement of the marine; I had no sense of the scale of your build other than that it should be a 28mm+ scale structure

[Vanvlak]

It's glass 
Which should create a wonderful set of difficulties if I give in to impulse construction instead of following the plan!
But it's a plan by Tzeentch, and those twist and turn all over the place....

[Daeothar]

It's the Tzeentch way; plans within plans, wheels within wheels... towers within towers?   

[Lost Egg]

It's definitely starting to look the part. I quite like the underside as a retro-style city or space station...would work well for War Rocket.

[FramFramson]

It's definitely starting to look the part. I quite like the underside as a retro-style city or space station...would work well for War Rocket.

Dispatch War Rocket Ajax to bring this build back to my place!