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Hartland's Hobby Log
#1
Photo 
Last week I decided I should start building a kill team box to transport my team in. 

Currently I've been using a small box with magnets glued to the lid, but I wanted something a little more presentable, that I could fit all of my stuff into. 

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I started by designing a front face, and a display board that I would be cutting into 12mm MDF. 

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I created the toolpaths for my CNC using 2 separate bits to do the cuts.
1. 60 degree V-bit to do the lettering and Necron sigil
2. 1/8 inch downcutting 2 flute endmill to cut the stripes and the edge

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Sending the G-code through, cutting slowly so I don't cock something up.

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Roughing pass done first to hog out the majority of the material before the final cutting path. 

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Finished the V-bit pass, time to change to the 1/8 inch endmill.

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After cutting through, I remove the board from the table. 

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Just the one bit this time 1/8 inch end mill, rinse and repeat. 

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While that was cutting, I decided to clean up some old hinges I had lying around for this project to save some money. 

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Cleaned and sandblasted, and oiled... 

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I stacked MDF and cut it into cubes, then lopped off an edge and glued it in place. 
I burnt the MDF to kill off any stray MDF fibres that would show up in the finished paint. It didn't work, they made an appearance anyway. 

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Top half assembled. 

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A light priming and I decided to see how it would look, and how much space I've truthfully wasted around each model... A fair amount.
To secure the models, I'm going to be gluing 15 x 2mm neo magnets inside the centre. Each model has an iron/epoxy filler which stick to the magnets. 
I could have used pennies as the steel core sticks quite well to the magnets, however, I had already epoxied the bases in preparation for this months ago.
Note: pennies are cheaper than the iron powder and epoxy needed to do this. 

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MDF is very porous on its edges, so they need to be sealed. Since I was going to wax it to buff the finish, and since this is only for me anyway, I decided to ignore it. 

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Magnets inserted, and gravity test done. One of the flayed ones and one of the warriors slid a little, possibly due to low iron content in the epoxy mix. I may have to drill it out and replace with more iron, or a penny. It doesn't drop off unless I really bounce the box around, so it should be fine for now. 

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Front of the box painted using a combination of silvers and rust colours. I accented the lettering and edges with a bit of staining that can form on metal... The whole thing will darken up once the finish has been waxed, so I'm not too concerned at this point at the high contrast. 

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The hinges I prepared had to be abandoned as the screws I had for it would have gone through the MDF and made an appearance on the inside of the box. Smaller 12mm screws didn't have the head size I needed to fit the hinges so there was no reasonable way to secure them. 
I remembered I had some piano hinges from a previous project, so I cut them up and mounted them to the box. 

I then built a pocket cover for the top half so that I could store sheets, dice, and core rules inside without them crushing my models. 
I didn't really document the build process because this was done late Monday night, but I used a 120 degree V-bit to carve the Aquila sigil that I had already created g-code for (different project) onto it. I wish I hadn't, it ended up costing me time that I didn't really have and it has nothing to do with Necrons anyway. 
I will remake this board and possibly put the kill team logo there instead. The size was slightly wrong anyway, so I had to chop off about 2mm from the one side anyway as it was interfering with the hinge. 

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After waxing the finish. 

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"Dice Rack" installed. This is 18mm MDF and supports the pocket. The plan is to sink some magnets in to hold it closed while I open it. 

I then put corners on to protect it and a clasp to keep the box closed, but I haven't taken a photo of that yet. 

Outstanding: 
Insert the rest of the magnets
Paint the bottom half of the box to match, and wax it. 
Cut, replace, and paint a replacement pocket panel
Sink magnets into it to hold it closed
Insert foam into the main compartment to protect any book I insert. 
Fix a few small cracks where the MDF has de-laminated due to running screws through it (drill pilot holes, kids).


For anyone wondering if I might build and sell these, I might. I'm not sure if I would want to paint them as that is arguably the lengthiest part of the build, but I can certainly build and supply assembled, sanded, sealed, and primed (with your own custom front board of course).
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#2
That is impressive work Ben!
Figures painted in 2016: 4 Blush
"What this game needs is a panda with a chaingun."
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#3
Thank you.
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#4
Anymore recent creations Ben?
Dropfleet Commander: UCM
Dropzone Commander: UCM
Star Wars X-Wing: Rebel Alliance
Magic the Gathering
LotR SBG: High Elves
Warhammer 40,000 7th ed.: Astra Militarum & Eldar
Halo Fleet Battles: Covenant
BFG: Imperial Navy & Eldar Corsairs
Warhammer Fantasy 8th ed.: Warriors of Chaos

Element Games referral code JAS173.
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