3D Test Print: Salamanders Shoulder Pads

I recently ordered a few of my Salamanders Shoulder Pads at Shapeways to test the level of detail of their materials.The results are pretty much as expected.

"White, Strong and Flexible" (WSF) has a low level of detail and it has a rough surface which makes it improper for printing shoulder pads. The advantage over the other materials is that it's the cheapest meterial.
"White Detail" (WD) has a good level of detail but appears to be quite brittle and seems to have difficulties with the roundness of the shoulder pad (there are many gaps on the surface).
"Frosted Detail" (FD) is much more expensive than the previous materials and shows a great level of detail but has also a slightly rough surface. In some places the material seems to blur, so that the level of detail didn't come out so great there.
"Frosted Ultra Detail" (FUD) is only a little bit more expensive than "FD", has a great level of detail and a mostly smooth surface. For items as tiny as these shoulder pads (0,98 x 0,54 x 0,82 cm³) it is the perfect material.

The picture shows the shoulder pads as they arrived. So they are untreated at the moment and might come out better if treated properly.

left to right: WSF, WD, FD, FUD; at the top: original

More Shoulder Pads are done! Part II

I did the design for two more shoulder pads the last days.

Assault Squad

Command Squad v2

The last one looks a lot like a shoulder pad shown in Index Astartes.

Storm Shield basic model

Since I think that the plastic storm shields from the Terminator sprue are way too small, I am constantly searching for a nice alternative. Therefore it always annoyed me to see that these super awesome Forgeworld storm shields are only available for Black Templars, or rather that it simply would be too time-consuming to remove all the BT insignia.
So in the course of 3D-modelling I always wanted to make some strom shields that look similar to the Forgeworld shields. Today I made the basic model! I didn't model the handle with the closed hand, because it's too complex. I'm going to make a silicone mold to cast the handle from the original shields and glue them on later.

Not quite sure what things I should model on it's surface for the Terminator squads, but I've got quite some nice ideas for the Captain of the Battle Company.

Thank you Forge World!!!

Today on BOLS: 40K RUMORS: Forgeworld Codices!


"[...] Also, he told us that Forgeworld will be releasing codices that are official and will explore some of the more niche aspects of the GW universe (the example given was a Salamanders Codex). He also said that all Forgeworld product will be sold in GW stores."


This is one of the most exciting and beautiful news I ever received from FW. Thank you!!!
(I hope this really are news and not just another stupid rumor that later proves to be not true...)

More Shoulder Pads are done! Part I

As I like the idea to use flames as squad markings I decided to create shoulder pads for them as well.

Tactical Squad

So far I am tending to use this one as mark for the tactical squads. The following one I designed for the command squad.

Command Squad v1