"Arming for War", Silver Medalist, Armies on Parade, 2016

"Arming for War", Silver Medalist, Armies on Parade 2016

• 6 x fully-magnitized Imperial Knights
• 2 x custom-made 3D printed weapon sacristies. 
• An entirely custom-made 3D printed Adeptus Mechanicus themed table.

I designed the table and sacristies in CAD, 3D printed the parts on Formlabs SLA printers, then molded and cast them for rapid manufacturing and assembly.

Combat Identification:

Custom heraldry is one of the best parts of making Knightly houses. Imperial Knights are massive; ten or more meters high. Most soldiers and allied units will only ever be seeing them at foot or shin level. Hence each Knight has its squadron demarcation and incept date printed on its shin so infantry, normal mechanized units, and support attendants can identify it.

Process:

Building five Imperial Knights at once is a daunting logistical challenge. Making sure all pieces are interchangeable, magnetized with compatible polarities, and that paint tones are consistent across all parts and of differentiated contours requires careful attention and detail. Sprints and stretch goals are essential in order to make deadlines and complete such a project on time.

Personal Heraldry:

Each Knight shows fealty to Mars on its right shoulder. Each Knight is allowed to show it personal status on its left shoulder. Some declare oaths or show ranks of office. Others like the galant one second from the bottom lead from the front and show their kills to their fellow crusaders following more cautiously behind.

Detail:

While each Knight gets its incept date and origin recorded for field identification at its ankle, the actual pilot and its machine spirit show their own lordly heraldry at eye level to each other. Each hatch has a customized cartouche, each machine spirit has its own hatch for maintenance access to its data core, and each knight showcases its personal triumphs on its left shoulder.

Process:

The Mechanicus themed tiles are motivated by Warhammer 40K lore, wherein Knights are considered sacred.  They are revered; an embodiment of the Omnisiah, the Machine God. These are angelic paladins in the eyes of the priesthood of Mars, so they should arm and prepare in something like a church. I referenced Moorish art as I had for Within an Endless Sky. This single 3D Print took 12 hours.