# Three Stage Studios - It begins! w/ True Scale Space Crusader Heavy Armor



## TSS (Apr 15, 2012)

Whattttttzup!! Ok enough of that! 

I have been working on a project for my local gaming group for awhile now and thought it was time to share it here to get some feed back on it and future projects.


The most popular armies around here currently are 'True Scale' Pre Heresy armies. What they all have seemed to lack is Terminators that actually match the size change with the marines in power armor. There is always talk of using chaos Obliterator models as a base but removing all the chaos detail and reposing them is a serious chore, not to mention the cost of it would be through the roof as they aren't a cheap model to begin with. Thus this project was born.


I bring you, true scale Space Crusaders in Heavy Armor. I do realize its hard to tell the size of the parts but let me just say, standing straight up, the model is taller to a normal plastic terminator as the plastic terminator is to a marine. Here is a very early mock up pose to get an idea of size.


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I have since finished the master parts and had them sent to a caster. I will get back the parts to make 5 differently posed legs and 5 uniquely detailed torsos. Those will then be put on master sprues and cast in sets o 5. They are designed to fit GW/FW terminator arms, shoulder pads and heads. They fit perfectly on a 40mm base with no overhang so they are just on the right size for 'true scale' based on the various novels that talk about terminator armor.














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Ive gone ahead and included a picture to show the assembled True Scale kits as well as the scale compared to a heroic 28mm model. Also pictured are parts that can be used with the kit.

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## TSS (Apr 15, 2012)

Thats the jist of it so far. I plan to make several styles of armor designs but this project wont go forever. When the molds are finished, so are these guys. I will however be spreading into more general bits, such as these:

I have the human sized space helmets and re-breather backpacks completed and now up for sale in the TSS store, here.


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The pictures are a tad rough as the camera was being strange but they are very crisp and finely detailed parts. I personally already have plans to flesh out a platoon with these for Zone Mortalis!


And this:




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Over the next few weeks I will be releasing 'sister' units for this track model as well as alternate heads, torsos and arms so that people can make unique squads. 

Thats it for now, but id love feedback on any and all projects. Im also VERY open to future projects of things you guys have wanted but cant find anywhere!

Ill leave off on this teaser pic for ther TS7 Robot (8 inchs tall, based on a certain large walker from a very EPIC game)



:crazy::crazy::crazy:


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## The Wraithlord (Jan 1, 2007)

While this looks freakin awesome for a personal army project, am I right in that you are planning on selling some of this? If so, I don't think you will be able to with the way GW protects their IP.

That aside, I dig the way those comparison shots look and this, combined with non-term marines at true scale would make for a STUNNING army on the tabletop.


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## TSS (Apr 15, 2012)

I did make them for our local gaming group as almost everyone does play true scale forces. Upgrade kits of a general sci fi armor design do not break GW IP. The design was taken from a number of non copyrighted sources and built from scratch. Its actually the reason I didn't make power armor. :angel:

While I did not post this here for some sort of sales thread, I do sell them until the molds run out. Maybe 5-6 sets from now. I wont be remaking the molds. I do not feel im infringing on GW IP with them but at the same time, its not worth the trouble to continue production with new molds. 

Oh and they do look very well with true scale marines built from plastic terminators. In fact, the scale matches the art perfectly. 

Next up along with the robot will be high tech style 28mm human helmets. I have a few ideas for a more modern looking helmet similar to this:


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## TSS (Apr 15, 2012)

Washed with brown ink over no undercoat, but it shows the details on the 5 torso variations. 

On a side note, the demand for these has been high and the molds are nearing the end of their life. I realistically see them only making a few more sets. There are no plans to remake the molds.


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## TSS (Apr 15, 2012)

I just got in the first pictures of a painted upgrade set. It was painted by one of the first customers and I'm happy he chose to share it with me. It is using other companies arms and head, as its designed but is using the TSS torso, legs and shoulder pads. He said it was for his pre-heresy Iron Warriors army.










Now lets see everyone elses! Id really like to set up a gallery of various peoples uses for the set.

Back to work on the TS7-A robot!


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## infernalcaretaker (Nov 12, 2008)

dude, some of your stuff is awesome, i have emailed you through the contact form, i am after some picks of the track units


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## HorusReborn (Nov 19, 2008)

good idea and nice effort on something not so easy. The hands and the head are not to scale and he looks like he's had some birth defects that just didn't take to the genetic enhancements of the tech adepts... I dunno, the main torso and legs are tits, but the head and powerfis really wreck it for me.


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## TSS (Apr 15, 2012)

infernalcaretaker said:


> dude, some of your stuff is awesome, i have emailed you through the contact form, i am after some picks of the track units


Getting some assembled 



HorusReborn said:


> good idea and nice effort on something not so easy. The hands and the head are not to scale and he looks like he's had some birth defects that just didn't take to the genetic enhancements of the tech adepts... I dunno, the main torso and legs are tits, but the head and powerfis really wreck it for me.


The only parts I built and sell in the kit are the torso, legs, shoulder pads and a head not seen in that picture. The picture is from a customer who assembled it himself. 

The kit is an upgrade to make true scale heavy armor. To get the arms in scale, it would take minimal work and far, far, far less time then to try and scratch build the entire heavy armor. Thats what its designed for here locally. Im simply offering it to others before the molds are done. 

I personally cant post any that I have made using the above method of extending the arms and using the proper helmet.:dunno:


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## TSS (Apr 15, 2012)

Ive been meaning to take this picture and post it for awhile now but the demand has been so high, all my time has gone into casting and my actual day job. 

Without further adu, I preset the True Scale Heavy Armor upgrade kit as it looks when shipping. 









(no flash) 









(with flash) 

Tomorrow ill post picture of the shoulder pads but since they can be seen below, painted by a customer, it seemed redundant. 










In total there are less then 8 full kits and a hand full of partial kits such as just the legs and torso. If you want a chance at these, now is the time to act before they are OOP for good. 

They can be found in the TSS store, here.


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## TSS (Apr 15, 2012)

Updates for all:

As some of you may be aware my mother passed away a little over a week ago. During that time i hardly slept, spent what little free time I had taking care of the memorial arrangements and also still having to go to my regular day job. I took the time on mothers day and yesterday to get back to casting and get caught up on all current orders as it seemed better then mopping around.

They say pictures are worth a thousand words, so here goes.



















Thats right, 35 complete 5 man true scale sets. I will spend the next hour or so cleaning them up, removing the resin plugs and other parts associated with the casting process.

After cleaning, they are always shipped like this:



















Now to the annoying news. The system still is not updating shipped orders properly. For now, until I can get it sorted out, you need to email me directly, via either the email address listed to the right of this post, or use the contact me button on the webstore. I simply have had to many orders to update each person individually right now.

If you need an update, please do email me and I will get back to you, usually within the hour.

I also have the final sets from this design ready to be pulled. In total there are 9 full sets remaining and a hand full of random parts for conversions if people choose. The molds themselves are at the end. While they can still make a few more casts, the quality wouldn't be to the standard I would want to sell to the public. If demand is high enough I will remake the molds one final time, but as I said, only if the demand warrants it.

Daniel - TSS


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## bitsandkits (Mar 18, 2008)

I have to ask if the parts are in high demand why are you not replacing the molds ?


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## TSS (Apr 15, 2012)

bitsandkits said:


> I have to ask if the parts are in high demand why are you not replacing the molds ?


Because I have a day job with limited time to spend casting each night. Also because I have plans for other projects id like to get out and not be known just for true scale heavy armor. :victory:

The 35 sets pictured above are just a tiny amount ive had to cast to keep up with demand. :blackeye:


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## infernalcaretaker (Nov 12, 2008)

Any progress on the cyborg track units at all?

Condolences for your loss buddy


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## TSS (Apr 15, 2012)

infernalcaretaker said:


> Any progress on the cyborg track units at all?
> 
> Condolences for your loss buddy


Thank you for the support. Its been hard.
The track units have been cast and shipping for sometime now . Ill get some pics up ASAP for them to show how they look assembled.


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## TSS (Apr 15, 2012)

First things first! It appears we have out first customer review, well, second that I know of at least, but by far the more detailed. They clearly show scale shots to several models and discuss the quality of the molds.










For those that cant get to forums from work, here is a cut and paste: (I want to give a huge thanks to d-usa for bearing with me on the huge demand and writing such a great and most importantly, honest review)

I shall bring this thread forth from the dead!

But seriously, just wanted to post an update.

Got my heavy armor kits I ordered (actually got them a few weeks ago) and I wanted to post a little review for everyone that might still be interested in them. They do still have the ability to cast some up, so if you are interested in them shoot them an email to make sure they still have some in stock.

First and foremost, and for some of you probably the most important question: How do they scale up? So here come the scale shots:

Here is a shot next to a regular GW Space Marine model. Now the heavy armor is a little bit higher due to being on a scenic base, but it still is a good chunk larger than the standard SM:










If you plan on using them in an army made of standard SM models, be prepared for them to stand out like an eyesore. They would probably work for obliterators though, or even a scratch build Primarch.

Then here is the scale shot next to a regular Space Marine Terminator:










They are on the same scenic bases (ok, not the exact same. But same maker and line) so the height is a true reflection of the difference between the two. Looks like the top edge of the regular terminator model comes up to the top of the edge of the chest of the true scale model.

Now for fellow True Scale builders, the big question will be this: "Who cares what they look like next to standard GW models! Show me a True Scale Space Marine next to the True Scale Terminator!" So here it is:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/18/367774_sm-.JPG

Again, same basic scenic base so the difference in height is pure model. The Space Marine on the left is a set of legs and torso from the Chapterhouse Tru-Scale kit, so it would be pretty easy to replicate. And while the True Scale Terminator looked way to freaking huge next to a regular Space Marine, I personally think it looks fairly good next to a true scale SM. And while the top edge of the model is quite a bit taller than the TS SM, the actual head location is between 1/2 head to a head taller:










It appears I suck at holding a rod level, but the top of the True Scale Space marine head would be at about chin-level for the True Scale Terminator, although the difference in inseam is also pretty noticeable (and might be greater than the difference in head height).

As for the actual models: I know I commented in earlier posts that from the initial pictures the details looked pretty soft. But holding them in my hands I have to admit that they are pretty crips and the resin feels pretty solid. I didn't do much prep on this guy to show the condition on arrival, and I don't think they are in bad shape. Will need a little bit of cleaning, but nothing to complain about really. Pretty much what I would expect from a decent resin caster and I didn't find anything to complain about:





























Now I didn't get any of their arms or shoulder pads, and in hindsight that may have been a mistake. But here is a quick shot of a model using a Mk IV FW helmet and the arm from a Terminator Chaplain:



















I held up a regular Terminator arm to it, and the shoulder pads for those is pretty small and they don't really look right. I think the Terminator arms should probably be passable (I like skinnier arms and personally used regular arms on my regular marines even though some people like using Terminator arms on regular marines), but you will most likely want to go with pre-heresy style shoulder pads to give them some extra bulk.

I endorse this kit and if you want True Scale Terminators I recommend you snatch them up while you can. 

The full post can be found here: 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/30/440271.page#4293917

Now, the info I need from all US domestic customers. 99% of all customers were from outside the USA so this will not apply to you.

For those IN the US, Alaska, Hawaii, and any of the territories should email me with there full name, order number, order list and address. Long story short, some files got switched and I need to confirm the final US orders that need to be shipped and I simply don't want to list peoples personal names here. So if your in the US, don't have your order yet, email me. Odds are its already been shipped but its always better safe ten sorry. I do apologize and can assure this mistake will not happen again.

Daniel - TSS


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