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... I've decided to make use of all these nice extra bits, that came with tribes starter kit. First attempt at casting and also at making multipart kit...



Many thanks to Cyporiean!

Apparently, I was so "trigger happy" with results that managed to cause some unlucky misunderstanding. I'm sorry about that, and explanations are in order.

Brushfire resin kits come with varying amount of extra bits for customisation. Having spent some time looking at poor heads, left without bodies after assembling of Tribes of Zabar starter, I've finally decided to try my hand at sculpting. Since this seemed easy (lots of laughter here, please!), I've added the difficulty of making a multi-part kit, since what can be easier? Just sculpt a few bits, clone them and... Patience and determination sometimes make up for total lack of skill.

Remnants of the kit included 3 warthog heads. A single posed body plus several arms for some variety should be enough, right? Well, problems started right away, when having made the basic dummy, I've decided to take it apart to have a better access while bulking it out. A millimetre here, another there, and what was intended to be a 35mm figure, matching the height of Brushfire kit, ended being full 40mm to the eye. Oops!!! Sculpting was going in parallel with attempts at casting, as this process was found not trivial enough, but in the end it helped.

Results of this ordeal can be seen below, or in the first post.



Yours, camer-jester Wirecat.

There are some more leftover parts waiting in the line...

Learning to properly cut a more complex mould is a difficult process. A lot of wasted materials here, but that may be just my paws and brains fighting over the 3D shapes. Since some heads for the hyena witch look close enough to pass for a lemur from a typical table-top viewing distance, and masked head is generic enough anyway, a lemur/monkey they will be.

Left-to-right are original sculpt, straightforward cast (pouring resin into the mould with a couple of openings and waiting for it to cure) and similar cast but with vibration used to get bubbles out. That trick with vibration helped... almost. Only three bubbles to fix compared with "previously a lot". Leaving brass wire to reinforce long and thin parts is a good idea too, while wooden bits are not.

Straightened out this figure would be 50 mm from the base to the eye. Biggish, but OK for a "monstrous infantry". Now - to finish and cast that other hand and the lemur tail.

Well, they are finished!



Way to long in making, but fun project nevertheless. Now - the one figure that has NO spare parts in the starter, the lioness hunter! That may be interesting...