# D . R . E . A . D . H . U . L . K



## chilledmonkeybrains (Sep 6, 2012)

[or '*How I learnt to stop worrying and love crazy mahoosive space hulks*'] 


_"The silent leviathan drifted inexorably through the cold harshness of the void; its massive, scabrous hull pitted and scarred from millennia of meteoritic bombardment. The aeons spent lost in this sea of darkness had been cruel. Now it was nothing but an eroded, lifeless carcass; its husk a tomb for a hundred thousand piteous souls..." 
_


*+++ INQUISITION HEALTH WARNING: THE SCOPE OF THIS PROJECT IS COMPLETELY BONKERS AND QUITE POSSIBLY WARP-SPAWNED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED... +++ *


The basic goal of this project is to design and produce a massive, modular 3D space hulk gaming board for an upcoming narrative campaign weekend in 2014. The hulk needs to be large enough for up to 16 players to participate simultaneously in a game. The design of the hulk needs to be original, eye-catching and finished to a professional standard. It should also incorporate many unique components not currently available elsewhere within the industry. 

You have probably noticed that this sounds like an incredibly challenging project, with highly ambitious targets. The reasons for this are two-fold: Firstly, we want to produce a truly amazing gaming experience. Secondly, we are quite possibly a few sandwiches short of a picnic. Whether or not we have bitten off more than we can chew; only time will tell! 

Within this basic – if somewhat punishing – overall project objective are several vital sub-objectives, and these include: 


High level of detail – Where possible, components will feature ‘realistic’ detailing (control terminals, power conduits, rivets etc)
Professional quality – All models will be finished to a professional standard
Original components – Including seldom-seen or even unique elements
Total modularity – This means a fully customisable gaming board offering many different layout options


Taking the aim even further, there is a definite requirement to design and produce components that are at least the equal of, if not superior to, existing space hulk terrain pieces on the market, as well as those individual scratch-built projects to be found on the internet. We have lots of ideas on how to achieve this, and we are very excited by some of them, too. You will find out about these in due course, as the project unfolds… 

To begin with, we need to start small. It would be all too easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer scope of the project build before us – after all, this is a space hulk, and these badboys are kinda big! So, with that in mind, it would be sensible to begin with small parts such as: 


Doors
Corridors
Deck plating


These are the fundamental components of the hulk, since you need a floor to walk on, corridors to walk through and doors to open (or, indeed, to keep things out). Once these sections are sorted out, we’ll move on to grander elements such as rooms, intersections, embarkation decks and so forth. 

Keep checking back for updates and progress reports! You can also follow this build on the D R E A D H U L K blog: http://www.dreadhulk.blog.com. 

Peace!


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## shelman (Feb 25, 2012)

Speachless!! This sounds so amazing. Can't wait to see some photos (but that's probably a while off!)

I wish you luck and rest assured I will be following with interest.


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

These guys did a pretty good job. This is something that I aspire to myself, but likely suited more towards use as a Zone Mortalis board and not exclusively Space Hulk.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with!


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## chilledmonkeybrains (Sep 6, 2012)

Cheers guys! Here's the first update:



*D E C K P L A T E S *


I’ve been working on various CG concepts of the surprisingly variform deck plate iterations, and here is one of them: the humble grid plate or grill. One of the advantages of using grills in floor tiles is that you can model underfloor details such as piping and cabling; these would remain visible through the many square holes in the plate. However, one obvious downside to this design, from a modelling perspective, is that you need to cut out hundreds of square holes even for a very short corridor. This would be extremely time-consuming (not to mention infuriating!) to do by hand, but there are always ways and means, whether it be purchasing wire mesh or even going down the laser-cutting or CAD tooling and injection moulding route (the latter of which is currently beyond the budget of this project, although further down the line… you never know)! 





















Here’s another variation on the deck plate theme, although this time I’ve gone for a style that will expose anything beneath. This could be used for an aerial walkway or as a simple corridor section, where you can see pipework, tubes and cables through the slits. The plan is to have something like you’d see in the movies (_Aliens_ etc). It’s fairly straightforward to make these deck plates and exposed pipes, and then cast them up to create a labyrinthine space hulk with corridors running for several metres. 





















+++ MESSAGE ENDS +++


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## Haskanael (Jul 5, 2011)

will be following this with interest, a board like that is kind of a dream of mine. 
I wish you good luck !


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## alasdair (Jun 11, 2009)

I will be following this with much interest! Good luck!


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## revilo44 (Sep 17, 2010)

Looks awesome cant wait to see more


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## dirty-dog- (May 14, 2008)

looking cool, cant wait for more.


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## Battman (Nov 2, 2012)

Sounds like an amazing idea with a huge amount of work required for it. One thing is this for 40k or space hulk I'm not sure if you mentioned but keep going. Will look amazing asnd so far the ideas are deffinently are. Actually another question how will you about presenting the coagulation oface craft? Because unlike the space hulk game its not ment to be all straight corridoors. Also if you do this root I just mentioned for this coagulation of ships what would you include ork style? Eldar? Tau?


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## chilledmonkeybrains (Sep 6, 2012)

Haskanael, Alasdair, Revillo44, Dirty Dog and Battman (or is that BatOrk...?) thanks for your encouraging words! 

Here's a quick update on another deck plate concept with a few rivets for good measure. I have quite a few other designs for floor panels, including flat metal panels (moving away from the grid/grill/vent designs).




























They're very simple ideas and, to be honest, it's in everyone's interests to keep something that will be repeated MANY hundreds of times as simple as possible! 

I’ve also been working on corridor sections, including a range of components and details such as pipes, cables, air vents, girders, buttresses… I could go on! 

Oh yeah – and some small- and medium-sized doors…


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## dirty-dog- (May 14, 2008)

have you thought about using the likes of hirst arts moulds or similar? i they have one for pipes etc, and theyre quite easy to use.


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## chilledmonkeybrains (Sep 6, 2012)

dirty-dog- said:


> have you thought about using the likes of hirst arts moulds or similar? i they have one for pipes etc, and theyre quite easy to use.


Nope - doing it all the old fashioned way 

I'm designing and building everything from scratch - plasticard, putty, metal etc.


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## chilledmonkeybrains (Sep 6, 2012)

*DOOR CONCEPT 1.0 *


This is a quick sketch model just testing some shapes for a door. At the moment it isn't particularly inspiring, and definitely doesn't fulfil the brief regarding the Gothic Industrial styling, but it is what it is - a test piece. I'm gonna change some bits, add some pipes, rivets, buttress-type shapes and an industrial control panel to tart it up a bit. But that's for another post... 










Here's a quick maintenance hatch test, too (this can be set in the floor or wall - or possibly even ceiling, if I feel the need to make any!): 










+++ MESSAGE ENDS +++


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## chilledmonkeybrains (Sep 6, 2012)

This is an early attempt at some pipework that could be used in corridors, under floor panels, in vast enginoriums and pretty much anywhere else in the hulk. The top image shows pipework as it might appear in a corridor, with a combination of floor grills and solid metal plate panelling for the deck. In the centre of the second image is a closeup of the check valve. 

One of my ideas for an area of the vast enginorium sector includes a lot of horizontal and vertical pipework formations, with raised gantries, walkways, platforms and so on, arranged into a 3D gaming space that caters not only for the standard forward-backwards-left-right movement, but also up and down.


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## chilledmonkeybrains (Sep 6, 2012)

I'm now thinking about combining deck plating with other components, namely pipework and girders. The images above show several views of a short stretch of corridor, although equally this could be used as a bridge or walkway. As you can see, the pipework remains visible through the slits in the floor panels, giving an extra layer and exposing some of the inner workings of the ship.

Since I am going for a gothic/industrial architectural style, I plan on leaving a lot of pipework, cabling and machinery exposed, to give specific areas of the Space Hulk (namely the enginorium) a mechanical - and slightly harder - sci-fi feel. Whilst the aesthetic feel of the architecture is my main concern, I also want to achieve at least an element of 'believability' (assisting with the suspension of disbelief that is so important in story telling).


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## alasdair (Jun 11, 2009)

This is going to really astounding when it is done. How are you going to paint this thing? Sprays and airbrushing im assuming? Some weathering pigment to make it a little rusty would be awesome


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## revilo44 (Sep 17, 2010)

I love the door it looks so 40kish


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## The Wraithlord (Jan 1, 2007)

You weren't kidding when you said massive in scope. I look forward to the progress on this one.


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## chilledmonkeybrains (Sep 6, 2012)

Thanks guys! It's always good to receive comments from the community (I accept positive, creative and constructive; just not negative) :wink:

@Alasdair - How am I going to paint this thing? To be honest, that's a question I'm trying not to think too much about! Although I do know some professional painters who I may have to conscript for the task! But yeah - it's gonna have to look like it's gone through 10,000 years of weathering... :shok:



+++ WARNING +++



+++ INCOMING UPDATE +++



+++ TARGETING AUSPEXES CONFIGURED +++



DOOR CONCEPT 2.0




























Small doors will be prevalent within the structure of the space hulk, leading to all manner of areas, from barracks to medicae bays.

For this concept I am trying to combine the aforementioned architectural styles; namely Gothic and Industrial. The industrial shapes are heavy and angular, since I want to give the impression that these doors are solid one tonne slabs of metal. They are hinged and have conventional handles (I may or may not add a handwheel or lever-action locking mechanism). At the top of each one is a test eagle, which I will probably remove for more functional areas of the vessel.

I’m currently working on an open version of the door, since these will be working, hinged models in the final space hulk.


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## 93rdSaphraDarkGuard (Apr 13, 2013)

Alright this seems like an epic project so I have to get my two cents in. Considering the literature on space hulks describing them as large conglomerates of vessels that have been smashed together in the warp maybe you could also add some alien features (orks, nids, eldar, tau) just to liven things up a bit. I mean these things are made of ships lost in the warp, right? It would kinda suck if only the Imperium got lost in Maelstrom...


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## GrimzagGorwazza (Aug 5, 2010)

93rdSaphraDarkGuard said:


> Alright this seems like an epic project so I have to get my two cents in. Considering the literature on space hulks describing them as large conglomerates of vessels that have been smashed together in the warp maybe you could also add some alien features (orks, nids, eldar, tau) just to liven things up a bit. I mean these things are made of ships lost in the warp, right? It would kinda suck if only the Imperium got lost in Maelstrom...


This is a good argument but IIRC Eldar and Tau don't use the warp. Not sure on Nids either. Eldar have the webway and Tau are warp innert and have their own system. 

Still Orks, and pre imperial races would be cool...then again i always think orks would be cool.


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## chilledmonkeybrains (Sep 6, 2012)

93rdSaphraDarkGuard said:


> Alright this seems like an epic project so I have to get my two cents in. Considering the literature on space hulks describing them as large conglomerates of vessels that have been smashed together in the warp maybe you could also add some alien features (orks, nids, eldar, tau) just to liven things up a bit. I mean these things are made of ships lost in the warp, right? It would kinda suck if only the Imperium got lost in Maelstrom...





GrimzagGorwazza said:


> This is a good argument but IIRC Eldar and Tau don't use the warp. Not sure on Nids either. Eldar have the webway and Tau are warp innert and have their own system.
> 
> Still Orks, and pre imperial races would be cool...then again i always think orks would be cool.



Indeed it is a good argument, since it is very true; hulks that have been drifting in and out of the warp for thousands of years do have a nasty habit of bumping into - and merging with - random galactic detritus (space craft, asteroids etc).

Ultimately, I do have plans lurking somewhere at the back of my cranium to include structural details from other races (mainly chaos and orks), but for now I am concentrating on Imperial architecture for the narrative campaign event next year. There may be some chaotic surprises further down the line, with warped components such as thrashing cable tentacles and blast doors with teeth! 

To give you a little more insight into the fluff behind the project, this hulk is mainly formed from a traitor fleet that was vanquished during the Horus Heresy, with an astartes battlebarge at its heart...


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

This table is being made specifically for an event, but are you thinking of trying to produce more for retail in the future if it goes well?


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## chilledmonkeybrains (Sep 6, 2012)

@ntaw - At this point I'm merely thinking about the narrative campaign event next year (which, incidentally, will combine 40k with RPG elements). However, depending on how splendiferous the final hulk is (or more importantly, how well it is received), then getting pieces cast up for retail _may_ be on the cards... :grin:



*WALL SECTIONS*





























As you can see, I've been messing around with a concept for a wall section. Plenty of rivets (including some spiky ones), plus some pipework. The red pipe is some sort of plasma conduit. The lumen strip globes could easily be added at the top of each section, or even every other section.

I can easily place a viewport or gothic casement in these wall sections, giving a view out into space.


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## Haskanael (Jul 5, 2011)

loving the 3D models, all those little details are going to be a pain to build.


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## chilledmonkeybrains (Sep 6, 2012)

Yep - all those little details will indeed be a pain to make - but hopefully it'll all be worth it!


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## Lemmy1916 (Jan 22, 2012)

Very nice stuff, chief. Can't wait to see it applied on real hardware!


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## GrimzagGorwazza (Aug 5, 2010)

Just out of interest wouldn't this be easier to just cast up using shapeways as you already have the 3d models? That way you could print as many as you need and be able to sell them to people who want them as well. Also it's gotta be easier than scratch builtding it after already having made the 3d model.


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## chilledmonkeybrains (Sep 6, 2012)

Cheers Lemmy! The real hardware will be coming soon... 



GrimzagGorwazza said:


> Just out of interest wouldn't this be easier to just cast up using shapeways as you already have the 3d models? That way you could print as many as you need and be able to sell them to people who want them as well. Also it's gotta be easier than scratch builtding it after already having made the 3d model.


I can see your point, Grimzag; it certainly would be easier! But I'm a bit old fashioned and like to build things from scratch, by hand.

Although, as I've mentioned I think somewhere in a previous post, I do have contacts in rapid prototyping who I _might_ use at some point in the future...


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## 93rdSaphraDarkGuard (Apr 13, 2013)

If you ever send something this good up for retail I am down to snap it up, I've always thought that battling in starships and the like would be badass. I can just imagine it now, "Over the creaks and whispers of the ancient vessel a battle could be heard down the corridors and behind bulkheads, the light snap of lasguns interrupted by the heavy thump of bolters and pierced by the screams of the dying. The sound of battles fought eons ago ricocheting off of steel and adamantium, driving men mad only to have them fall prey to the horrors lurking along those darkened corridors."


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

chilledmonkeybrains said:


> getting pieces cast up for retail may be on the cards...


I would be interested. Just throwing that out there.


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## chilledmonkeybrains (Sep 6, 2012)

93rdSaphraDarkGuard said:


> If you ever send something this good up for retail I am down to snap it up, I've always thought that battling in starships and the like would be badass. I can just imagine it now, "Over the creaks and whispers of the ancient vessel a battle could be heard down the corridors and behind bulkheads, the light snap of lasguns interrupted by the heavy thump of bolters and pierced by the screams of the dying. The sound of battles fought eons ago ricocheting off of steel and adamantium, driving men mad only to have them fall prey to the horrors lurking along those darkened corridors."


Heh heh - thanks 93rd! Liking your description of battling inside the hulk.



ntaw said:


> I would be interested. Just throwing that out there.


Cheers ntaw... let's see what the grimdark future brings! :grin:


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