Exercise

And now for something completely different:

I think I'm going to cast it in resin and somehow use it with the regular 28mm scale miniatures.

P.S. I'm not dead yet...

The big picture: Arco-

It's time for a bigger picture. Basically, it's my conversion of GW's plastic Crypt Ghoul (sort of):

What is it? Arco-flagellant? Arco-slasher? Arco-...?

Homo Navigo WIP #3

Here is a quick update:

It still needs a few more highlights and shadows. Shiny parts were made with gold leaf technique.

Homo Navigo (Gaal Massimo) WIP #2

So, it seems that Gaal is a Navigator after all!

Following Jeff's advice, I've cut off the chain-blade and swapped it for an open hand with some coins. I've also extended his coat, for a bit of "navigator style".

Now it's time for painting!

And lastly, a bonus:

Thanks for reading!

Gaal Massimo, a space merchant WIP #1

After my autosavant, I had to take a break from sculpting, for the sake of my sanity. So, the next miniature will be a simple conversion/kitbash - Gaal Massimo, the space merchant, the old-timer etc.. The model is based on the old WFB Empire engineer (from the steam tank set, as far as I remember). Other parts include those from Cadian guardsmen, Chaos Space Marines and plastic Greatswords (+ some plasticard!).

I'm not yet sure who exactly the model is suppose to represent, but I'm leaning towards such tropes like a space vagabond, a space merchant, a smuggler or a noble scoundrel.

Can you see a small black dot on his forehead? I was messing with the idea that Massimo could be an offspring of some minor house of Navis Nobilite. I have a feeling that a third eye would look great on this semi-bald head! Moreover, while I really like the usual Herbertian background of the Navis Nobilite, I suppose it would be interesting to take a different approach and make a character that may be thought of as a kind of a space merchant, maybe even a sort of 40k Shylock.

Perhaps having failed to get a beneficial deal from official institutions of the Imperium, members of the House Massimo got into trade business and lost their hermetic Navis Nobilite traditions after years of mingling with bankers, smugglers and rogue traders? Maybe they even purposely adopted merchant customs in an effort to blend with their business partners? Or perhaps, it was Gaal himself who turned away from the traditions of his House and the whole Navis Nobilite? Anyway, such a navigator would fit nicely into the inquisitor de Lorme's retinue, methinks.

What do you think about that?

The autosavant/lexmechanic WIP #4 (almost finished!)

"I'm completely operational, and all my circuits are functioning perfectly."

The lexmechanic is painted, but it is not finished yet. I've applied way too much gloss to the robe via inks, acrylic mediums and varnishes and now I'm struggling to make the surface a bit more matte. This is not the first time I have this problem, so it's about time to find some solution. Usually pigments mixed with matte varnish give a very matte finish (in fact, it gives a very rough, dirty finish, which is also not very good). A few layers of (pigment+varnish)-based wash seem to kill the gloss a bit, but it's not enough and of course it change the colours. Perhaps adding a bit of talc to the mixture would do the trick?

Anyway, please let me know what you think ! Thanks!

The autosavant/lexmechanic WIP #3

Howdy!

Apparently, the autosavant character is evolving from a mere servitor into a proper techpriest!

I think that I've found a good place for the cherub. And a good place for another cherub too!
Moreover, his servo-arm is now finished - I've put scissors on it for him to cut his printouts when it's necessary. The chaos star on the staff was converted into something resembling the symbol of Adeptus Mechanicus.

I plan to make a few more improvements (including some cables here and there), but it's fairly possible that the model is nearly complete.
So, if you have any suggestions regarding the miniature, better hurry! Thanks!

The autosavant/lexmechanic WIP #2

Howdy!

I did some work on the autosavant character from the previous post. Slowly, the model is beginning to resemble my vision. The cherub was attached to the miniature only for the sake of finding a good composition.

I still have not decided what purpose will the mechanic arm serve. While I'm tempted to attach a chainsword or a plasma gun to it, perhaps the autosavant character should have a research-oriented utensils. Mayhap, some kind of magnifying glass or a telescope?

I also plan to do something about the arrows on the staff - it is clearly a Chaos-related symbol and that is probably not a good thing for a member of inquisitorial retinue.

How do you like the composition of the miniature? Should I look for a different place for the little guy or maybe it is ok? Thanks!

Edit: It was suggested to me that the current placement of the cherub is somewhat... disturbing! Don't be afraid - I'm already looking for a better solution. Cheers!

The robed advisor & a new autosavant/lexmechanic character

Firstly, let me show you the pictures of the advisor character with a new head - just as promised!

Brilliant Stefan (KrautScientist) from the Eternal Hunt suggested that this guy could be a sort of a personal confessor for inquisitor de Lorme. This idea really seems to fit my own vision of this character - that is, someone who doesn't serve any purely practical purpose (like, for example, combat, data analysis, dish-washing etc.), yet who seems to be highly valued by the inquisitor.

Secondly, I've started working on yet another model. This time I want to make a sort of an autosavant/lexmechanic character. Those autosavant characters are supposed to be a kind of human computers, who are able to perform multiple complex computations in a very short time. On the other hand, there was a time when the computing machines did not have any kind of visual display and the output information was instead printed or punched on paper. So I thought - perhaps this could be a way which my autosavant uses for communicating the results of his own computations?

A quick sketch to give you an impression of what I have in mind:

The idea is that for some reasons this autosavant is no longer able to speak and he has to print his thoughts on paper instead! This printed/punched output is supposed to be an equivalent of speaking, thus it seems natural that the tape comes out through the hole placed in the mouth area...
Even more, this is a strange world of 40k, so I think that there is probably some servo-skull or a cherub who's only purpose is to read the printed data and pass them on to the relevant persons. I'm not yet sure if it is possible to translate this idea into the model, but I'm already trying:

Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a comment! Cheers!

The Hound WIP (and something else)

Hello again!

Many months ago, I've posted this picture:

Later, this green torso evolved into this:

The hand is from classic WFB zombies, while legs are Cadian in origin - just like the barrel. And just a month or two later, I've started to paint it! It all happened so fast...

He is not yet finished, but I'm already very happy about it. His name is "Hound" - which serves as an explanation for the bone he is holding in his hand. He is just a simple bodyguard with brain implants (kind of a combat servitor, if you ask me), probably of a feral world provenance (as suggested by the good folks at the Ammobunker).

Oh, and there is yet another effect of me playing with BeeSPutty:

As you can see, it's not really a proper miniature. I've realised it when I started painting it. That's why he is curing his wounds after the head transplantation at the moment. More photos soon!

Thanks for reading and watching and for all your past and future comments!

Cherub WIP #2

Hello!
The cherub from the previous post is almost ready for painting. I've decided to use a kind of scroll/banner (not sure yet) to attach it to the base. It looks a bit strange, but I think that I like it.

And now - a bonus:

Silicone madness and some good BeeSPutty Plastic

Hello!

Despite being focused mostly on my scientific activities, I've managed to find some time for the hobby.
Firstly, I've done some minor work on the female character, that is, I've replaced her leg with a more slim one. Then I tried to make a mould to copy the model and it did not go well.

I failed to degas the silicone enough and I ended up with air bubbles in recesses. Here is an example:

As I really want to make a good copy, I'm going to just acknowledge my failure and try again. This time I will devote more attention to the process, making layers of silicone instead of pouring the whole mixture at once. Hopefully, the effect will be better this time.

But there are also some good news! I've finally received a longed-for silver envelope from Masq-Mini, with a new BeeSPutty Plastic (Grey Firm) inside. I was very excited, since I had a really good opinion on the normal BeesPutty (you can find the reason for it here ).

I have a limited experience with bakeable putties, so I can only compare BeeSPutty to Green Stuff or Miliput. And clearly, I cannot say that it's better or worse, as it is just a different type of thing.

The Plastic BeesPutty lacks the sweet honey smell of the regular one, but this is probably the only unambiguous drawback I can think of. Some would say that it could be more sticky etc. but then again, this may be an advantage in some contexts (for example, you can easily cut the soft putty without deforming it and so on). Needless to say, the best option is to use many kinds of putty. This is exactly what I'm doing while sculpting this little thing:

So far, it took me only two evenings. I believe that one more evening will suffice to finish this little guy. I know that the wings are kind of rough, but it's just a sort of an exercise model, so presumably I will leave it as it is.

Now, there is a question of how to attach it to the base. Mayhap I will just use a wire and hope that nobody will notice... or maybe, you have a better idea?

Thanks for reading and cheers!

Aren't you too tall to be a Femme Militant inspired 28mm acolyte?

Hey!

As you may know, making a good female miniature (which often means 'sexy') is considered a difficult task. There is a good reason for that. When you sculpt some kind of ugly or twisted creature, you can help yourself by exaggerating some particular parts of the mini. In fact, a more caricatural features will often make the final miniature better - since our cognition is based on feature extraction, making some features more visible increase the probability that the viewer will associate the miniature with those motives that you want him to.
Now, this is something that you can't really do, if you want a nice female character, since caricatural approach would most likely end like this:

... or even worse. What you want to achieve is actually an effect of subtleness - so you can't really take a caricatural approach here.

I'm talking about this, because I need a kind of excuse, why work on my new miniature is progressing so slowly. Well, that's right - I'm trying to sculpt a female character for INQ28 from scratch. This is how the miniature looks like so far:

I have a sort of special plan for it, but this is a matter for another post.

There is one more thing. As suggested in the title, this girl is kind of big (at least if you consider her to be made in 28mm scale). Actually, she is slightly taller than the Chaos Cultist Champion from the Dark Vengeance box. As you may know, DV cultists are rather oversized when compared to most of the GW miniatures. In fact, GW is known for scale inconsistencies.
I'm going to ask you the same question that I've posted somewhere else - how do you deal with those inconsistencies?
Surely, it's natural that some people are taller, some are not etc. and the grimdark SF setting actually makes those differences in size and body proportions even more plausible (natural selection, genetic manipulation, mechanical prostheses and so on). Perhaps, it's not a problem at all?

Thanks for reading and see you on the comment list!

Inquisitor de Lorme - finished?

Greetings!
It took me some time, but I've finally managed to put the brush away and call Mr. de Lorme 'finished'.

Well, that is not necessarily true. I already see some areas that could be improved. Moreover, I plan to put another coat of varnish on it and one can never be too confident when playing with varnishes. Since 'tis very likely that I will spend more time on this miniature in the future, if you reckon that some part should get more attention, feel free to tell me! But as for now, I think I need a break...

Sorry for the light reflections on the next picture. It seems that I've used too much varnish there. It will be corrected!

Anyway, it was not an easy miniature to paint, but I've learned very much while doing it. It is probably worth noticing that some gold details were made using a gold leaf gilding technique. Not to mention many other new techniques that I've used for the first time here.
Now, all he needs is some company. Oh, and a display wood base... Thanks for reading, cheers!