Hi folks

So ive been working on an Exodite Dragon Knight. Its my first conversion in 10 yrs and my first EVER sculpt type job. Images bellow.

I've always been intrigued by the Exodites and though there are many good attempts online i've never been convinced by many of the riders, Mike McVeys diorama is the best to date IMO which is what my Exodite is heavily based on.

I intend to make about 5 of them, each being slightly different as if they are the 'high-born' from different tribes/families theat band together in times of war. For example this one has a long Ranger type coat and will have a more regal feel to him. I intend to make another with more fur based clothes and a bit more rough. Overall i'm going for a feral but ellegant feel.

The boots are from DE corsairs (as will the gloves be), the torso is from microart. The rest is white milliput.

Oh, and the dragon head will be taken from the new HE princes of caledor.

C&C welcome....

More soon.

FTL

looks great so far!

keep the pics coming....a good start thus far

Nice stuff, I want to see more.Where's the Dragon-Lizard from?

Grimm wrote:Nice stuff, I want to see more.Where's the Dragon-Lizard from?

Thanks.

The lizard is the old metal Cold One. The tail will be taked from the old serpentine dragon.

FTL

Been working on a custom Laser lance for my exodites...

Let me know what you think.

FTL

P.s. This should be moved to blogs, i know... i have PM'd the Mod.

Bit of work on the laser lance... my first foray into the world of Green Stuff.

FTL

Nice stuff! Will sure use some inspiration when i make the Exodite allies of my craftworld.

Nice, I've always had a soft spot for Exodites.

Bit of work on the rider today...

FTL

Wow that is truly brilliant i take my fez of to you sir.

Woo, very nice.
I like the weapon and the sachel he has on his waste.
Keep it up!!

Thanks... macro photography always exposed flaws but i'm pretty happy thus far.

FTL.

He looks great so far. Are you sure this is your first proper sculpting conversion?

Acaddon wrote:He looks great so far. Are you sure this is your first proper sculpting conversion?

Well, i once sculpted some fur out of milliput for a SW bike... but yes, this is my first sculpt really... and first time working with GS too.

Thanks for the kind words folks.

FTL

Really nice sculpting ,the coat has a great flow and drape and your lance is crisp, do you find the milliput is easier to work with than GS?

BLACKHAND wrote:Really nice sculpting ,the coat has a great flow and drape and your lance is crisp, do you find the milliput is easier to work with than GS?

Actually, i'm not sure what i prefer. I started with milliput because i couldn't get green stuff. I find it (Milliput) easyer in that it has a longer work time (and at this stage i need longer to get things right. Also it sands very well.

But i don't like that it disolves in water like clay does. This gets annoying.

But GS is quite a pleasure to work with... its more like plastic.

In short i gess it depends on the job at hand... i wouldn't use GS for the lance shape for example...

FTL

Very nice indeed - very impressed.

Excellent work sir. Nice sculpting, but now you've reminded me of how much I miss the old cold ones (I gave several away without realising it and now have a project for them )

Hey FTL great work, always had a soft spot for the Exodite Eldar so your work really does intrigue me. A lot of it has already been said I think, great work on a natural cloak and awesome looking lance and rider in general.

As far as the GS and Milliput go I have experimented in the past mixing the two together. I personally found that the addition of a little GS stopped the grainy texture I could sometimes get with the Milliput and also made it far more malleable. In return I lost little of the drying toughness of the Milliput. Possible something you may want to play around with, I'd be interested to hear of you experiences with it.

So i picked me up a box of the new HE Dragon princes today, purley for the head pieces from the horses.

It took some work to make it fit and to sclupt a new back of the head for the dragon (not pictured).. but i'm pleased.

@Lennysmash. Thanks for your words and advice with the GS Milliput mix... i'll give it a go.

C&C allways welcome.

FTL

Very nice. Good work sir!

The back of the head is a seamless joint. Well done.

The head itself looks like it was made that way. Good choice.

Awesome work. I've always loved those micro art torsos - great use of them my friend! Your sculpting work is excellent, especially for your first use of GS! Really incredible.

I like the striking look of the dragon head, but I'm uncertain about those dangly streamers - they look awfully chunky and they seems to clumsily fall into his mouth. Perhaps think about removing them, or reposing them in a more natural position? That said, they might be alright after a lick of paint. Really great work though dude - can we expect a larger army?

Tek wrote:Awesome work. I've always loved those micro art torsos - great use of them my friend! Your sculpting work is excellent, especially for your first use of GS! Really incredible.

I like the striking look of the dragon head, but I'm uncertain about those dangly streamers - they look awfully chunky and they seems to clumsily fall into his mouth. Perhaps think about removing them, or reposing them in a more natural position? That said, they might be alright after a lick of paint. Really great work though dude - can we expect a larger army?

I know what you mean about the dangly streamers, however i left them on so as to attach reigns from the dragon to the riders left hand.

Larger army... i don't think so... i don't play, i just like to convert. I will make a full squad of Exodite Dragon Knights and paint them.

Thanks folks.

FTL

Awesome. Yeah good point about the reins. Warhammer has a disturbing lack of horse tack for it's cavalry models...

Well you've done a killer job and I commend your work so far - I can't wait to see a full squad done!

Tek wrote:Awesome. Yeah good point about the reins. Warhammer has a disturbing lack of horse tack for it's cavalry models...

Well you've done a killer job and I commend your work so far - I can't wait to see a full squad done!

Thanks alot Tek.. i really appreciate it.

FTL

Where does the dragons head come from?

The new HE Princes of Caledor set.

Fantasy High Elves Dragon Riders

What rule set are you using for your Exodites?

flaim wrote:What rule set are you using for your Exodites?

I don't play... so none. I just like the modeling aspect of the hobby.

FTL

So exodite #1 is just about done. Apologies for the image qualities... i couldn't find my usual light.





Some details here from the tail join and the base detail (not wanting to wast GS i try to find ways to use blobs up).





And Exodite #2 is underway.... The idea is that his steed is bucking and will be aiming a shuriken pistol in his left hand. this rider will be a little more feral looking than the last... fur clothes, long hair. Also, the legs need slightly re-adjusting.





C&C welcome.

FTL

These guys will look stunning when done.

fasterthanlight wrote:

flaim wrote:What rule set are you using for your Exodites?

I don't play... so none. I just like the modeling aspect of the hobby.

FTL

That is a shame I like both and have Eldar bits to make an Exodite army but never bothered because I couldn't figure out a way to do it. Thought about once making "counts as" for all the Eldar units but thought it might get confusing.

In any case, good work so far!

flaim wrote:
That is a shame I like both and have Eldar bits to make an Exodite army but never bothered because I couldn't figure out a way to do it. Thought about once making "counts as" for all the Eldar units but thought it might get confusing.

In any case, good work so far!

Well i don't think it would get confusing as long as you are clear and definate about what is what... Also artistically i think if you make a 'counts as' force your substitute units should some how resemble the unit they represent. Not only does this make things clearer but it also keeps this fluff aligned.

For example, after these Dragon Knights (which perhaps would make sense as shining spear 'counts as', as they are fast attck and have the same weopon) i have plans to make a unit based on striking scorpians. They will be hand to hand fighters and will be similar to SS in the sense of weponry, posture etc.

My idea is that the when the Exodites split form the craftworlds they did not sever all ties, (in fact its well written about that Bel-Tan is in close contact with the Exodite colonies)... and for this reason alot of culture is still shared. In this example i'm refering to the aspect paths... though perhaps in Exodite culture they are refered to as 'Order of the....' or somthing like that.

Anyway, I want to find away to give the exodites an identity that is their own yet culturally linked to the craftworld Eldar. Kind of like the cultural differeces between say China and Japan. Also, i'd like to find an identity which is less the traditional 'wood elves in space' interpretation, its too easy to stick a load of stuff on the back of a dinosaur.

Thanks for compliments so far.

FTL

Bit more work on #2. The lance was almost done but some of the milliput cracked and i have to start again.

For the rest i'm just waiting on a bits order for a shuriken pistol for the left hand and the tail could prove tricky as the old serpentine dragons are hard to come by... i might have a go at sculpting one?

I hope the image qualities are not too bad.

FTL

These guys Rock! Much better than the usual "Eldar on dragons" stuff, that always looks too high tech for my taste.

I too have never been convinced by the craftworld eldar on dino-back look.

Thanks Kestrel.

FTL

Beautiful GS cloth, I find it the hardest to sculpt, well done

BLACKHAND wrote:Beautiful GS cloth, I find it the hardest to sculpt, well done

Thanks alot Blackhand... its weird... i didn'd really practicte it... i could just do it somehow... Still, i don't think its perfect cloth.

FTL

So a little update.. i absence of a decent and cheap supply of the OOP Serpentine dragon tails, i decided to have a go at sculpting it. Wire and Milliput armature inplace... GS-ing to come soon.

FTL

Looking good to me.

Only suggestion I can make with rider 2 is that it looks like the rider is reigning in his mount, perhaps making it turn to the left (to make it face where he is looking)... I know it is hard to change something in metal, but I can't help but think that the head might look better turned towards the the left, as if being pulled round by the reigns?

Love the sculpting work you have done on these so far, so I am sure the tail will be no problem

Very, very nice. I have to admit I stand in admiration to your sculpting and converting talents and will be watching for more!

As far as tack goes, I like to think that the eldar, being a psychic race, are able to guide their mounts with their minds.

Quite an impressive Exodite you have here, fasterthanlight. I'd say this is the best representation of one I've seen to date

They look amazing FTL !! As for the playable aspect, I actually run a "counts as" Exodite army and it works fine for most people. The units don't get confusing, especially if you let your opponent know beforehand. I like what you have done so far and will be looking forward to seeing more. Feel free to check out some of my Exodite pics in my gallery if you would like.


Oh and I agree with the psychic link to their mount comment above, I actually wrote that into the fluff for my army. I bring it with me when I play, just in case people would like to know the background to the army.

Thnaks for the comments guys... nice to hear.

@ Silver M2K - I thought that myself... actually i did allready modify the head possition a bit... i may attemt it in a more dynamic way though.

@ Bedhind the mask... Rules wise i'm not too bothered... i gave up the hobby 10yrs ago and recently cane back purely to sculpt/model/convert. Perhaps its a shame, but i won't be playing any games with these. However i am keen not to go mental and keep them quite 'game legal' so to speak... Obviously they would be a 'counts as'.

So this in mind there will be a little fluff at some point to tie in with some ideas i have for other 'counts as' units (see above).

Thanks folks.

FTL

Those look fantastic! What is that torso from?

I can't wait to see more. I will certainly be coming here for inspiration and reference when I get around to my exodites.

So was going to start on the tail this eve but after SilverM2Ks suggestion (and as i thought it too), i chopped the dragons head off and turned it in a bit. Turning it as much as M2K suggestedwould be great but pretty impossible without alot of body work... as it is alot had to be done to the neck. Its a subtle adjustment but i really feel it adds to the dynamics of the piece.

FTL

Definately looking much better now (not that it was bad before you understand ).

Looks like the rider and animal are linked much more closely now.

Yeah.. its definatly better.

@The Good Green - the torso is from a set of 'elf ranger' torsos from micro art... though i got mine on ebay as micro arts postage is off the charts.

FTL

Looks lovely, the cloth sculpting is excellent.

Been working on an Exodite Farseer using a metal Dark Elf Corsair as the base model... Still some work to do but here it is so far.

C&C welcome.

FTL

Some really nice sculpting here. Liking the McVey inspired long tails. Definitely the best exodites I've seen.

Like the Farseer too, good idea with the corsair cloak and nice sculpting on the cloak and rune armour. Keep it up, subscribed to this one.

Some excellent sculpture work.

That's looking real nice!!

Nice work! Keep it up.

Seeing your stuff on here is helping me work out what to do with the robes on a Jetseer council I'm working on. Ta.

Looks excellent. It's very hard to concentrate on my orks. Seeing your work, I really want to jump into my own eldar plans.

Awesome conversions, however the heads from the dragon princes do have a bit of the horse head that is molded to be underneath the dragon barding, so you might want to trim the snout or model it so that the face of the mount is consistent.

Thanks for all the coments guys. Really appreiciate it.

@ The Good Green - Screw the Orks. Get on with Eldar, thats my advice.

@ Malcontent - Do you mean what would be the upper lip and gums of the horse? If so i intend to sculpt these sections a bit so they are more in keeping with the Dragons. Not got round to it yet though.

Here is an update of the tail sculpt i've been working on. Plus a few details such as the belt (difficult to see) the necklaces and the shuriken pistol.

FTL

Looking very good

Your sculpting skills continue to impress me.

Great work. Excellent sculpting and you've really done an awesome job of capturing a sense of movement with the tails.

Wow your sculpting skills are awesome!

Thanks all.

The tail sculpt is a bit off i think but acceptable... its also very tedious so i'm procrastinating with it... might try and finnish it this evening. I have made some progress on the Farseer (extra cloth, singing spear) but i am waiting on a bits order to complete him so will post more at a later date.

Til then.

FTL

Great job!

I personally would love a step by step on you cloth technique, particularly the sache/belt -

MajorTom11 wrote:Great job!

I personally would love a step by step on you cloth technique, particularly the sache/belt -

I wouldn'r really know where to begin. Its really just a process of pushing the GS around till it looks right. That and knowing what looks right. Also i use cooking oil to lube my tools... it works really well.

Next time i do something similar i will try and make a tutorial, no promises though.

FTL

Update on the Farseer... Bit more work to do on the spear and cloak on the right arm. But other than a base hes pretty much done.

C&C welcomed.

FTL

WOW....the Farseer is beautifully done. The robes are great.

As is the dragon knight at the top of the page.



Peter

Farseer looks really good as does the dragon rider. You have any plans to paint them up anytime soon or are you getting all the sculpting/conversion work done first?

PDH wrote:WOW....the Farseer is beautifully done.

As is the dragon knight that the top of the page.



Peter

Thanks PDH.

For those interested, the Farseer is converted from the middle guy in the pic below.

FTL

Wonderful sculpting! The farseer has beautiful details but the proportions are a bit off. If you removed his dragonscale cowl his neck would be obscenely long. And maybe buff out the left shoulder he currently has rather bowled shoulders. Sorry this is just my freakishingly attuned eye for proportion. It's what often lets down amazing sculpters like yourself. I can't sculpt detail for golden peanuts but i can usually get the proportions down. Finally though proportionally he is fine maybe make him a tiny bit longer in the legs; your other figures are wonderfully elegant so i would consider it to fit him in.

Calibanite Lion wrote:Farseer looks really good as does the dragon rider. You have any plans to paint them up anytime soon or are you getting all the sculpting/conversion work done first?

Well i'd love to but i have too many other (non hobby) projects on the go. For now i just do a bit here and there in between other things... painting is a whole other deal. I don't even have any paints so it would also be a bit of an investment in both time and money.

Something for the future.

FTL

Ah right, can i ask then, do you just keep what you have modelled or do you sell the pieces?

Perkustin wrote:Wonderful sculpting! The farseer has beautiful details but the proportions are a bit off. If you removed his dragonscale cowl his neck would be obscenely long. And maybe buff out the left shoulder he currently has rather bowled shoulders. Sorry this is just my freakishingly attuned eye for proportion. It's what often lets down amazing sculpters like yourself. I can't sculpt detail for golden peanuts but i can usually get the proportions down. Finally though proportionally he is fine maybe make him a tiny bit longer in the legs; your other figures are wonderfully elegant so i would consider it to fit him in.

I thought this my self, but i just wasn't sure... thats kinda why i posted it allready, to see if any one else picked up on it. I will try and edit the collar a bit... letting me get the head close to the shoulders. That should sort the problem.

As for the left shoulder... that makes sense when you can see the back of the model... his arm is drawn quite far back which at this angle gives the illusion he has sloped shoulders.

Thanks for the tips.

Calibanite Lion wrote:Ah right, can i ask then, do you just keep what you have modelled or do you sell the pieces?

These i will keep... as i do want to paint them eventually. I am thinking of doing commision sculpts/conversions though... you interested?

FTL

I have too much to complete at the minute before the missus will let me spend more money on toy soldiers lol. However i think you should get yourself a webpage set up as you have more than enough gs-fu to be able to get the commisions in!

Calibanite Lion wrote:I have too much to complete at the minute before the missus will let me spend more money on toy soldiers lol. However i think you should get yourself a webpage set up as you have more than enough gs-fu to be able to get the commisions in!

I will look into that... thanks for the tips and compliments.

FTL

Interested in commission sculpts? Mc-Eff yea!

I've been watching your work and these Exos are top-notch! If you had examples of other non-eldar pieces, I'd love to see them before I commit.

HF Izanagi wrote:Interested in commission sculpts? Mc-Eff yea!

I've been watching your work and these Exos are top-notch! If you had examples of other non-eldar pieces, I'd love to see them before I commit.

Actually i don't right now. I've just got back into the hobby after a 10 yr absence so i'm starting from scratch. I've never used GS before 3 months ago and i just felt like giving it a whirl.

I do intend to do a few more example peices... Can i ask, what might you be intrested in seeing?

FTL

Non-eldar, humanoid-type still. Nothing too different from what you have now, but I'd love to get some usable in-game copies of videogame characters and the like - Devil May Cry, Assassin's Creed... hell, even a futuristic samurai original sculpt off of a concept drawing I make out... (like your exo footsoldier's pants? - AWESOME) the list goes on, but for right now, the main characters for those two series are what I'm most interested, as they've got application in my nearest projects.

Ok. Well watch this space... i'll try and do a few more different types of things in the future.

FTL

Hey, far be it from me to commandeer your P&M... the stuff you create is fantastic- no doubt about it. Keep doing what you're doing and interested in doing- I'm sure I'm already sold on your Exos!

Keep up the good work- I find your pretty-much-from-scratch sculpts really inspiring for my own work.

HF Izanagi wrote:Hey, far be it from me to commandeer your P&M... the stuff you create is fantastic- no doubt about it. Keep doing what you're doing and interested in doing- I'm sure I'm already sold on your Exos!

Keep up the good work- I find your pretty-much-from-scratch sculpts really inspiring for my own work.

Not at all. I have already considered the possibility of commisions so it makes sense to expand the portfolio.

Thankyou for your kind words and encouragment.

FTL

These are so cool. You're quite talented. Keep it up.

I love the rune armour on the Farseer - really cleanly sculpted. Could you run through how you did it as I'd love to do something similr. Thanks!

Looking good! Can't wait to see how you paint these beauties.

This whole thread is awesome!

The exodite Farseer rocks! Would you do a commission or post a tutorial? I might be interested in one.

Been a while, but i've been working on this as my entry for the pimp 40k contest. Thought i'd post it here to for some faster feedback. Still WIP... getting there though.

FTL

Is that sculpted on the new dark elf sorceress? thats brilliant! keep up the nice work

Inspiring work mate !!! well done especially on the second exodite!

That is really nicely done, especially the cloak and rune armour.

Now the only thing is the helmet might be a little large for her frame? Is there a smaller helmet you could use?#



Peter

Thanks everyone.

@ PDH - i know what you mean but be assured its just an optical trick of this photograph. This mini is a real Biaatch to photo as there is almost no flattering angle (i.e. one that doesn't comprimise another).

FTL

I like it! I was going to say the same- the head looks a bit too big, but the sculpting is very well done. The robes especially. I'm not completely sold on the nude-front eldar sorceress, but it's probably more indoctrination than anything else. Despite how we know them to look from GW, your sculpt is looking ace. Are we going to see some paint on this badboy, er, girl?

-Remi

HF Izanagi wrote:I like it! I was going to say the same- the head looks a bit too big, but the sculpting is very well done. The robes especially. I'm not completely sold on the nude-front eldar sorceress, but it's probably more indoctrination than anything else. Despite how we know them to look from GW, your sculpt is looking ace. Are we going to see some paint on this badboy, er, girl?

-Remi

Well i understand however firstly this is my reponse to the pimp my sorcerer comp so i decided to leave certain aspects of the original model. And secondly, she'll is an exodite so a little elegant feralness is acceptable i think.

I'm hoping to paint at some point.

FTL

So WIPs of 3rd Dragon knight here. Some quite extensive remodeling done to give the creature a low almost stalking like posture... i intend the tail to be quite high and fairly straight, again, a bit stalking... the rider will be leaning back slightly as if to counter balance himself. The left leg proved very tricky to level, hence being raised of the ground slightly... i will just give it somethng to stand on.

FTL

fasterthanlight wrote:Been a while, but i've been working on this as my entry for the pimp 40k contest. Thought i'd post it here to for some faster feedback. Still WIP... getting there though.

FTL

can you add a rear photo!?

Stunning work ! These are eaxctly as an exodite should look, loads of movement in the poses , slightly ferrel, these guys aere going to be the exemplar of exodites when complete.
any chance of a pic of your sculpting tools mate. love love to know with what tool you made those amulets

Update on DK #3, requested rear shot of Farseer and sculpting tools.

@Neil101 - I think they are pretty standard sculpting tools... my trick is to lubricate lightly with cooking oil (olive, sunflower... whatever is about).

FTL

really amazing GS skills. Looking at the large photos it takes a moment to really appreciate how small all that detail is.
great job
I like a lot