I've started a new sculpting project. It started with just a random idea of possessed terminator model and resulted in those two wip sculpts:
The work on those inspired me to create a whole bunch of them. And i had the crasy idea of building the rest of them modular so that i could bit-bash my pieces with GW terminators. That resulted in this:
As you see most arms are still weaponless. And i have a hard time deciding what weapons to put on there. I could go the possessed way and add only weird melee weapons but that would result in a terminator squad that is either illegal rulewise or all equiped with dual claws.
I'm not a player and never was interested in playing. But i still prefer them to be a valid choise should i decide to play. So i ask you who have more experience with loadouts. But others are also welcome to post their favorites.
Also is there actual interest in me casting a few of those once they are ready? (At least once i feel comfortable with starting resin casting.) In that case the most interesting weapon loadouts are probably those that can't fully be created with only one box of terminators.
So my question is: What would you like to see me put on those arms?
And if you have interesting ideas for additional terminator pieces that you want to see made throw them at me too.
For the first pair of airms I would try some Kind of matis sickle/arms. The arms are really thin and I could see such insectoid claws working out really well. They could Count as twin lightning claws or two power swords.
Second right: The arm Looks pretty much unmutated. How about attaching a powermaul head to the wrist instead of a Hand?
Second left: Hrmm not really sure but somehow it Looks like a really good base for a Whip. You could even go so far and make the wrist look like it broke up and a Whip made out of spinal bones grows out. Could be a power claw or a power sword.
Third right:I see a maw at the elbow. How about taking that even further and making a big and malformed fist with a mouth in the middle of the Palm and some Kind of teeth/Spikes around it? Would Count as a powerfist.
The last pair: The arms look very mechanical. How about making some Kind of rotating Blade/claw Hand hybrid. Look at the claws of the Heldrake and you'll see what I mean. Could Count as power claws.
First and foremost, your green stuff skill makes me ridiculously jealous. Curse you....
Second, have you considered magnetizing them? If you do end up casting these, you could magnetize them so you have multiples of the same weapon. Plus you could change weapons in and out as you please.
well I'm not one to know much about load outs and builds and what not, but if you were to be running these guys as normal Terminators, all the miniatures seem to be the ol' powerfist/combi bolter combo.
Now, the powerfist can be whatever crazy mutation you so wish, I personally would love to see the chainsaw mouth being used somewhere (Chainfist perhaps?) and as for the stormbolters...
There's a hand in the possessed kit, it's like a mouth firing out a jet of fire; could that work for a mutated stormbolter style dyou think? Like, their arm has fused into a sort of ranged weapon?
I though on fuseing guns and weapons with the arms. But my biggest problem is to get the right amount of bulk so that i can be depict as a storm bolter. But i'll probably try it. Using the palm of a hand or a mouth arm as a weapons barrel is a really cool idea and now i have to try it.
I already did the basic shape of a reaper autocannon yesterday useing two arms on one side. One will be fused with the gun and the other holds up the ammo feed. Now i just need to cuntinue on it and get a good sized ammo belt. I think Zinge has a few that i could use.
Already been some fantastic ideas so far and I don't really know the load outs allowed, so just gona assume the traditional power weap and combi weapon most termies can take.
I would love to see say one arm outright, the elbow leading into a gun, so flesh meets weapon. (perhaps an autocannon). Then the other arm across the body as a full arm/power fist gripping the arm.
Developing that further: With the slight squat position on your sculpts legs thinking like.... Squating, looking left, right arm coming across the body, down from horizontal level about 45%, elbow into weapon, weapon at horizontal again degrees. With left holding the barrel underneath the gun.
Hope that idea is clear, was hard to explain without just drawing an image of it I guess the overall idea im conveying is simply a weapon arm with the other arm acting as the stabliser like you mentioned with the reaper autocannon previously
Sorry but i haven't made as much progress as i hoped i would. But i at least got around to create a bunch of legs. But i need a few terminator bitz now to get the hip joint correct. Maybe ebay has something cheap to offer as i don't want to get a full kit of termies just for measurements and joints shapes.
Also i would need a terminator torso to create a pose for a gun held by both arms to get a got sense of how to pose them. But it is an interesting idea.
Ah these look awesome! definitely a lot more dynamic. I assume the three on the right will get feet? or are you thinking of more a possessed style of feet? like the left foot of the lefthand set?
I really like the far right one. The muscle/sinew detail has come out really well. Although I do feel that where it meets the pelvis its perhaps slightly missing something? the front plate of the pelvis looks very separated from the thighs is what im trying to say I think. Well a good way would be when you look at the other three they seems to connect to the pelvis slightly better, either in a more organic way or.
Im not 100% on what I feel could be different. I think definitely seeing a torso on it first would clarify But overall some really strong looking sculpts. Are they based upon poses from the plastic kit? or are they poses of your own? What did you use as reference? As you said you needed torsos for measurement I assume you measured the legs?
Also! A behind shot perhaps? not needed, but id like to see the back
Solar Shock wrote: Ah these look awesome! definitely a lot more dynamic. I assume the three on the right will get feet? or are you thinking of more a possessed style of feet? like the left foot of the lefthand set?
They will get feet but i still don't know what style i will use. I though on some with a more hoof-like feets similiar to the one on the possessed model - a hoof but with some clawlike shards sticking out of them. Also maybe some normal looking terminator feets where the front is bent into claws instead.
I really like the far right one. The muscle/sinew detail has come out really well. Although I do feel that where it meets the pelvis its perhaps slightly missing something? the front plate of the pelvis looks very separated from the thighs is what im trying to say I think. Well a good way would be when you look at the other three they seems to connect to the pelvis slightly better, either in a more organic way or.
I see what you mean. I'll look into it. I wanted to add those support "beams" the terminator armor has what whould close the gap there. But i'm unsure on this one as it would also hide a lot of the details already done. Maybe i'll try to add smaller boney looking ridges instead and close the gap with additional muscle mass. Also all of the pelvis are kinda "flat". I plan on adding chaosy armor plates and details to them but as i don't have a loose torso to dryfit to the legs i don't want to add to much that might have to cut down. I'm planing on getting either a few terminator bitz off ebay of buy a whole box of them for additional reference to finish those areas.
Im not 100% on what I feel could be different. I think definitely seeing a torso on it first would clarify But overall some really strong looking sculpts. Are they based upon poses from the plastic kit? or are they poses of your own? What did you use as reference? As you said you needed torsos for measurement I assume you measured the legs?
Also! A behind shot perhaps? not needed, but id like to see the back
Thanks. And i didn't use a real reference. I grabed one of my converted noise terminator but based the measurements only loosely on them as they are somewhat truescaled. So this might turn out bad in the end as is fear that my legs will be to large. Oh well, at least they would look even more dangerous that way.
And i can make a shot from behind. And a new front one as well as i have added a few more details to them. I'll add those photos later.
Automatically Appended Next Post: So here are the shots from both front and back.
And a shot of one of the newer power fist arms. (Sadly my camera isn't that good if i zoom in too much)
And a small preview of what to come as a single piece i'm creating.
btldoomhammer wrote: They will get feet but i still don't know what style i will use. I though on some with a more hoof-like feets similiar to the one on the possessed model - a hoof but with some clawlike shards sticking out of them. Also maybe some normal looking terminator feets where the front is bent into claws instead.
ooo, when you said claws the first thing that popped into my head was of them curving the opposite way. 1 single bone/talon sort of like noddies shoes? but yeh I think the problem with feet would be the armour plates on the shins, they would block you from doing anything tooo extensive with the feet?
I see what you mean. I'll look into it. I wanted to add those support "beams" the terminator armor has what whould close the gap there. But i'm unsure on this one as it would also hide a lot of the details already done. Maybe i'll try to add smaller boney looking ridges instead and close the gap with additional muscle mass. Also all of the pelvis are kinda "flat". I plan on adding chaosy armor plates and details to them but as i don't have a loose torso to dryfit to the legs i don't want to add to much that might have to cut down. I'm planing on getting either a few terminator bitz off ebay of buy a whole box of them for additional reference to finish those areas.
Thanks. And i didn't use a real reference. I grabed one of my converted noise terminator but based the measurements only loosely on them as they are somewhat truescaled. So this might turn out bad in the end as is fear that my legs will be to large. Oh well, at least they would look even more dangerous that way.
I like the beam idea, but understand what you mean. Where ever they run the muscle wont look near half as good as it does now. How about you could do the beam idea but have them split? as if the muscle burst the armour off? or you could have them come out of the armour and dive into the flesh/mutation?
Ahh yeh that makes sense. Well i imagine you can always come back to the finer details after the bodies are done.
In terms of size. Surely you will be making the torso truescale also? so can just factor that into the measurements. If I was doing a chest I think one would look really good if it was sort of 50/50 armour /flesh You could really push the boat Like having one shoulder all muscle without armour and have the arm all muscle too. So its balanced in size with the other arm, except one is all mutation and the other has the classic shoulderpad. Although, that then presents problems with swapability. As it would require careful design for it to be swappable with your regular arms made earlier.
HAHA! I love that mutating powerfist! especiallty the flesh between the fingers. truely looks like the mutation is occuring as we speak and your going for the wolverine termi I see Cant wait to see him develop I stumbled upon lizard men chaos the other day and they had been done fantastically, love seeing variations on the races.
Solar Shock wrote: ooo, when you said claws the first thing that popped into my head was of them curving the opposite way. 1 single bone/talon sort of like noddies shoes? but yeh I think the problem with feet would be the armour plates on the shins, they would block you from doing anything tooo extensive with the feet?
The shin armor will get in the way somewhat but as i am doing possessed models i am free to either just change the armor there or add longer and/or wider feet and can get away with it.
In terms of size. Surely you will be making the torso truescale also? so can just factor that into the measurements. If I was doing a chest I think one would look really good if it was sort of 50/50 armour /flesh You could really push the boat Like having one shoulder all muscle without armour and have the arm all muscle too. So its balanced in size with the other arm, except one is all mutation and the other has the classic shoulderpad. Although, that then presents problems with swapability. As it would require careful design for it to be swappable with your regular arms made earlier.
I'm not sure what scale i'll do the torsos and how to build in the possibility of changeable heads. Maybe i have to create a pressmold of an GW terminator body, cut it down and recreate my own details. This way i would be able to create a shape that is compatible with GW bitz and i can just copy the joints to get my own parts sitting correctly as well. But i'm somewhat reluctant to do it because it would feel like stealing to me, even if i change all the details. Even pressmolding the shoulders and shoulder joints for the stuff i have done on my arms felt strange...
I like the idea of a massively muscles arm with bulging arm where even the shoulder is replaced with exposed muscle mass. It isn't that hard to do, just requires a bit more of planing. Also i could create a shoulder that in itself looks like a massive muscled up shoulder, Just with a bit of armor platec shards poking out of it.
HAHA! I love that mutating powerfist! especiallty the flesh between the fingers. truely looks like the mutation is occuring as we speak and your going for the wolverine termi I see Cant wait to see him develop I stumbled upon lizard men chaos the other day and they had been done fantastically, love seeing variations on the races.
I like the details on the fist too but the pose looks kinda strange. But i'll probably finish it non the less. And should i cast it then i can just cut and repose it for a better fit.
And i have a few updates for you. Not much as i worked mostly on other stuff. But i at least added a few arm variations with guns or mutated melee weapons. I have two other combi bolter frames build and will add them in different states of fuseing to some of the other arms if i find the time and motivation.
Isn't there a way to have dakkadakka automatically alert me every time you start a thread?
Another way of doing possession might be to convert one greave into an angry snarling face, and the armor bands around the back are gripping arms and hands growing out of upset snarly face. Take the armor hood, and turn it into a set of jaws. The trophy racks having become spines might also be a good idea. For some reason I want to tell you to try doing one terminator nspired by a Mgalekgolo.
Heh. Maybe since the model is larger, do the stomach as a mouth, with the shoulders as eyes, and both arms are pincers that close over the mouth.
poda_t wrote: Isn't there a way to have dakkadakka automatically alert me every time you start a thread?
Doesn't the friend mechanism includes something similar? I never used it so i can't say for sure.
Another way of doing possession might be to convert one greave into an angry snarling face, and the armor bands around the back are gripping arms and hands growing out of upset snarly face. Take the armor hood, and turn it into a set of jaws. The trophy racks having become spines might also be a good idea. For some reason I want to tell you to try doing one terminator nspired by a Mgalekgolo.
While i'm not a fan of the gripping hand idea a demonic face is something i haven't done for my terminators yet. Thanks for reminding me On the armor hood jaws i'm unsure. While it would be a cool conversion i'm not so sure how to add the head of the wearer to it. I'd either need to add the teeth going over the head/helmet or point them directly forwards.
And i'm not a fan of those trophy racks but a spine with sharp ridges creeping out of the torso is something i add to my list. I could turn those back vents (the middle beam to be precise) into the spine that sticks through te armor going up to the top of the hood.
Another thing that i wanted to do for a long time - and i probably have the skills to do it now - is a marine that has the skin of a human face fixed to a frame in front of his mutated head. This would be a good idea for a terminator head as the terminator hood is in itself already a good frame to attach the skin to.
Heh. Maybe since the model is larger, do the stomach as a mouth, with the shoulders as eyes, and both arms are pincers that close over the mouth.
I've done a belly-mouth poossessed already and while i really like it i'm not so sure if i should do something like that on my terminators. And i might add eyes on some shoulders but turing the entire body into a demonic face sounds silly to me. I won't do it, although should i come around and actually cast those pieces you could do it if you want and if i actually sculpted those parts.
Ignoring me is also an option
How can i ignore ideas that fuel my sculpting process - or at least sharpen my understanding of where i want and don't want to be. I'm not that creative and i often need external input - either reference pictures/models or the ideas i pull from you guys - to sculpt.
I thought to myself: "Why not put a few of my arms onto a model and see how it looks?" That resulted in a massive picture session, so this will be an update on my progress with tons of pictures. I spoilor tagged them and made a collage to better manage all of those arms.
At first the stuff you have seen in earlier stages.
Spoiler:
And now all those arms i've done till today:
Spoiler:
They all need some work and i have a few ones that aren't on the pictures because there wasn't much to show. One is the chainsaw mouth thing i still need to mount to an arm. Then there is another arm carrying an mutated axe. And also a set of arms somewhat similar to the ectoplasma canons of the forgefined. Massive mutated arms with mouths instead of hands. And i also need some more combibolters and arms for them.
I don't know what i should add to the massive muscled arms that is so bugling that it is as large as a shoulder armor.(The middle of the last picture) And if you have additonal ideas what i could add, just throw them in.
Squigsquasher wrote: How about a big, 2-fingered (and 1 thumb, obviously) taloned claw? Or possibly a great big cleaver sword weapon?
I'll probably go with a massive weapon. Creating fingers always is a tricky thing. And it's a long time since i created a cool melee weapon. I've created two meat cleaver like weapons but i'm not a fan of them. I'll probably still finish them but use them for something else.
I also ordered a few terminator bitz for joint reference. With them i'll be able to start building some torsos and heads as well as finishing the hip area of my legs (Or rework the legs that don't fit).
Here's an idea for inspiration: Nightmare's sword, Soul Edge, from the Soul Calibur series. It's a big fleshy cleaver with a nasty metal edge and an eye.
An interesting idea. I'll try to build my version of the blade and then decide. I'll also look at darksiders weapon artworks who are really cool for chaos weapon designs. (The axe of my demon princess is based on them and looks really cool.)
The ordered terminator bitz are here so i can finally test-assemble my possessed terminator parts better. Also i can start working on the torsos and heads as well as finishing the hip area of the legs.
Here are a few examples assembled useing blue tac. What du you think?
I've done some smaller stuff that eats away time yet doesn't change much. But i also started to work on torsos and heads what makes a lot more interesting pictures. But i'm kinda unsure how to approach the heads - or better the connection to the torso. Maybe i'll create a pressmould of the back of GW termi heads and use that. But as far as i remember the GW heads had a very strange fit. As an alternate i might try a headless torso as a pressmould and get the inside from there.
Still much work till finishing but i'm slowly getting there with some of the bits. I'm also planing on doing an arm sets holding a weapon twohanded. If it works out i might do a few more of
-- And if you have suggestions for head and torso designs i'm open for it.
And here is a blue-taced termie. I used those very unfinsihed arms because i haven't put pictures of them here till now. Looking at him like that i think he make a good obliterator too.
There isn't much done on the heads but at least i've started.
And here are some one handed weapons i experimented with. One is obviously inspired by the soul edge. Althouh i made it one handed.
Prepare for a bigger update. The last few days i worked some more on my termies and was without a camera. So this update will have a bunch more pictures.
My first try at a twohanded weapon needs some work. The second arm doesn't properly connect to the handle. But it's easy to fix in this early state. A bit more problematic is the strangely twisted hand. I probably have to redo that it and pose them better. Those 5 models are assembled useing a mix of different parts, some finished but most unfinished. But i'd say 80% of the work is done.
Oh, glorious! I think the scythe is off to a good start... you shouldn't have problems there. The autocannon does look a little off, though... kinda like it's throwing him off balance. Maybe you could bring it in a little bit? Aside from that, though, everything looks incredible. I'd love to be half as good at sculpting.
Thanks for commenting on the autocannon. I think you just put into words what i had in the back of my mind. (This would explain why i hesitated to work on it. i probably knew that there was something wrong but couldn't bring myself to change it.)
I ripped the cannon off the arm and will do a whole new arm for it. And i'll rethink the whole multi armed mutation as a whole.
What do you think would be a good arm pose for the autocannon. I wanted to create a not so static pose but seemingly failed to create a good looking arm pose.
I odn't think you can do much with the autocannon, just the usual arm in the armored sling and the hand around the trigger finger. Multi arm pose would still work, just the lower arm is swapping out the magazines.
My first idea was to fuse the weapon with the arm. But i think that I'll build the weapon up as a single piece to get a good propotion. (Maybe even try to cast it like my converted lascannons.) Then i'll cut/change the weapon so that it fits the arm.
And my first idea was that the lower arm was holding up the ammo belts. But it would be a really tricky thing to cast due to overlapping details. And as my goal is to cast all - or at least most of the pieces - i'll probably go to a more simple variation.
I might still do another two armed variant but i'll need better planing for that to work.
btldoomhammer wrote: My first idea was to fuse the weapon with the arm. But i think that I'll build the weapon up as a single piece to get a good propotion. (Maybe even try to cast it like my converted lascannons.) Then i'll cut/change the weapon so that it fits the arm.
And my first idea was that the lower arm was holding up the ammo belts. But it would be a really tricky thing to cast due to overlapping details. And as my goal is to cast all - or at least most of the pieces - i'll probably go to a more simple variation.
I might still do another two armed variant but i'll need better planing for that to work.
i don't see the issue. You make the first part, then the hand, then grab some wires, plug them into the gun, drape them over the hand, and then sculpt directly on wires. When done, unplug the wires.
i thought more on useing some thicker metal sheet so that i have a larger surface to sculpt on. But to be fair i haven't thought on casting gun and ammobelt seperately.
Another problem i have is getting a good pose for both arms so that it doesn't look ridiculous.
I have a question for you. How much additional decorations like trophies, tabards and other stuff should i add to the legs? Personally i think leaving them somewhat clean makes it easier to convert and repose the finished product but makes them also "less" detailed. What is your opinion on that?
I wish i knew where these terminators I have were manufactured, theyre NOT forge world, but they are thousand sons and have these optional tabards. That would probably be the best way to go if you intended on reselling.
I could build optional tabard but they would fit only to a few legs as the pose of them makes it imposible to build one that fits all. But i could build a smaller tabard that would fit most of them and normal power armored marines too. So i could use it on more than just my termies.
And today i actuall started creating moulds for a few terminator parts and the autocannon. But i'm not sure how well it will go as some parts are rather difficult to cast. I tried to create a mould line that runs over a few details like all those curves fingers but it's the first time doing something like that for me. Also i had to add so many air vents ánd i still don't know if it works. I'll probably see results tomorrow.
And the result of the first casts. While some areas tuned out better than i expected i still lost a lot of details on all those spikey details. I'll try to carve in a few more air vents but i think i'm getting at the limits of my casting skills with my sculpts.
Sorry that i didn't update for some time but i didn't get much done in the last few weeks. At least i got one leg bit finished and cast together with a few other already finished parts.
Now i have to complete the work on the other legs and torsos. But what still needs some serious work are the heads and shoulders.
Well here is something assembled just with cast pieces. It is still full of air bubbles and i'm still learning what the best mould setups are. But it looks decent i think.
And i also worked on my twohanded stuff which actually looks quite ok now.
But i haven't started working on another try at the autocannon arm.
Streamlining the assault cannon is something I've done myself (and for a reaper autocannon) but I didn't make it two handed (something I've always wanted to do as you can make some cool poses) so I think what you've done with yours is fantastic.
On the moulding side ofthings it sounds like you already know what you need to do but I may have some tips you might get some use from.
I find feet always get air bubbles (I don't have a vacuum btw) so my solution is to either put a strip of thin plasticard along the sole, either under the sole or the very edge of it depending on detail and the positioning of the model in the mould.
For fingers (and generally) I usually mark a line into whatever I've sat the model in to make the first half of the mould. Just a very thin line for a finger tip as they are delicate but something a lot thicker if the model cast can handle it. This 'sprue' will then appear in the mould and can be cut away.
Automatically Appended Next Post: This just helps to cut flow channels into the mould rather than doing them blindly afterwards. Of course, using a piece of rod or something, butted up or glue to the model works better but I find that can damage or mark the model and generally they always snapp off which makes the process thatmuch more fiddly and frustrating.
Generally I put a flow line from any part of the model that points toward the edge I will be pouring from and position the model accordingly beforehand to help ensure the air flows up through the model although I still often get bubbles and have to cut extra flow lines.
I can see where you've got bubbles and lost detail it is almost identical to how I have also lost detail with my own moulds so I guess that's just the nature of resin casting.
If I get really stuck I pre-mix a little resin and put a tiny amount onto the problem area before a full casting. Even if there is still a bubble you at least have the detail in place and can carefully fill the cavity with some Green Stuff.
Thanks for the tips. Although i used most of what you said in my latest moulds. I have added tooth picks as additional air channels, added plasticard alongside the feet and also tried to create moulds that follow the details instead of just beeing flat. But i think your idea of adding small channels by just pressing them in and later cut them away is probably better in some cases as there is a better control than useing tooth picks. Also adding small amout of resin on problematic areas also is an idea i have to try out. Especially on details that are positioned so that there is no way of adding vents to them. Maybe i can actually cast the teeth of my power fist maws that way without just getting a bunch of stumps.
So glad to have stumbled across your thread. Subscribed. You have some very inspirational things going on. That chainsword mouth may be my favorite, though.
The pointy bits have always been the most troublesome for me as well. It is something you really have to factor in when sculpting. I just got a vacuum pump though so hopefully that will help.
I've made the error of sculpting first and then thinking about how to cast. But now i am more experienced (although nearly out of mould silicone ...)
And keep me updated on the results with your pump. I might get one myself. But i fear that i have to remould nearly everything as most of my current moulds miss a resin reservoir large enough to actually replace the caught air. (And i probably need different resin too with a longer demould time.)
I haven't posted many pictures for the last weeks. Today i'll change that. I prepared and assembled a few more pieces and also added the new things into the mix. So prepare for a bunch of new pictures:
I've added a few finished or new bitz to those two. Some of the pieces are even ready to be cast while others need their final touchups:
And this is the current state of a few other pieces that are either finished (first picture) or just updated.
And i'm getting at a stage where i can mould a few more pieces
I realized that i need another left handed power fist and maybe a few more combi bolter arms. I also have another torso backside lying around where i currently don't have a clue what to do with. Do you have an idea for a cool possessed terminator torso back?
I actually did some work on the heads and shoulders. And what started as a recreation of my counts as Abaddon (the legs) might also end up beeing cast.
And i also assembled one model with air bubbles filled. Only the head is missing but it is actually glued together so no larger gaps due to blue tac. The shot from the front sadly is a little bit blurry but i hope you can see all the interesting details.
Looks more like the autocannon is part of the arm rather than him holding onto it, love it tho....that mouth/maw int he power fist is CREEPY dude, gonna have nightmares!
Yeah i like the power fist maw as well. But it is really hard to cast properly with all those teeth ...
And a quick question:
Are some of you actually interested in me casting a few of those pieces for you?
This is more of a theoretical question as at least half of the moulds would probably need a redo to get better results with less air bubbles. And i'd probably need something like a small casting vacuum pump as well.
Well then i have to finish the rest of the parts and make the moulds. Because currently i'm missing a lot of heads and shoulders. And i only have 3 legs and torso backs finished. And a few more arms would also help.
And it's official: I'm out of moulding material. But i got at least a few more bitz cast. I still have to clean them up and i will put pictures up once i've done that.
Just one sad thing: It seems that the chainsword mouth arm is nearly impossible to cast properly due to all the teeth and pointy things. WIth my current simple method there is no way that i'll get one decent cast out of the mould.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Here is the promiced photo:
Those two have seen a bit more detailwork. But as those aren't ment to be cast they don't have the highest priority right now. Still they need to be finished too.
The cooler stuff are probably these. They are assembled using most of the current moulded parts while trying to make them as unique as possible. (I think i only used one torso backside twice.) For the unfinished ones i still need to sculpt a few more pieces. And while i have enough different arms to attach to the armless one i don't actually have a nice matching pair. But i'm working on it.
I'm working on a few more arms - some more combi-weapon arms and power fists as well as a heavy flamer. Here are a few short on some of the nearly finished ones:
And i did also work on my single piece models. They are on my todo list for far to long so i hope that i can get them done soon... I just have to decide what weapon to put in the hand of the first. I thought on useing a arm mounted combi weapon half fused with the arm but i'm open for other ideas as well.
And finally those legs. I just have to decide what to do with the lower legs. Armor them up? Or carve away some material and sculpt muscles for a more organic look?
What casting material are you using Doomhammer? I got a couple projects in the pipeline I want to cast and the stuff your using looks to have good results.
The stuff i'm using is from the resin starter set made by Smooth-On. It has Smooth-Cast 300 resin and OOMMOO 30 silicone rubber.
The only downside with the 300 resin is the short work time. After only a few minutes( 3 or so) it already starts to harden. So you have to mix and pour really fast. But on the plus side it can be demoulded already after 10+ minutes.
These are beyond fantastic. Especially that heavy flamer that looks inspired by the ectoplasma cannons. I tip my hat you sir. I would love to one day be able to buy these!
I could sell some casts on a "from hobbyist to hobbyist"-basis. But before i could sell them more professional i have to touch up the masters some more and either get better equipment and skill at casting or pay a professional caster to do it for me.
As it stands right now this is a hobby for me and i have never planned on earning money with it. But as i said, i could cast a few pieces that i have already moulded for a small sum if you ask nicely.
But don't expect professional quality. Some of the master bits have a few problems here and there and need small fixup to fit properly. (But nothing that can't be fixed with a bit of sanding and GS+glue.) There are also a few air bubbles in the moulds and expect air bubbles in the pieces (even slightly worse than finecast )
Some moulds also have strange collection of bitz as i just grabbed what i could get and put them together in one mould.
If you are still interested i could show you what i currently have moulded.
what the hell happens when you make multiples of your sculpts, and bring them to a game? Do your opponents go ape about your "3rd party unofficial GW models" etc and see you out the event doors?
poda_t wrote: so, small question. what the hell happens when you make multiples of your sculpts, and bring them to a game? Do your opponents go ape about your "3rd party unofficial GW models" etc and see you out the event doors?
I couldn't imagine hanging out in that kind of environment. I take my enjoyment from the story, the artwork and the creativity. Some enjoy the thrill of victory and require strict rules of battle. Some enjoy the thrill of creating something beautiful with the game being of secondary concern. To each his own.
poda_t wrote: so, small question. what the hell happens when you make multiples of your sculpts, and bring them to a game? Do your opponents go ape about your "3rd party unofficial GW models" etc and see you out the event doors?
I couldn't imagine hanging out in that kind of environment. I take my enjoyment from the story, the artwork and the creativity. Some enjoy the thrill of victory and require strict rules of battle. Some enjoy the thrill of creating something beautiful with the game being of secondary concern. To each his own.
yeah, well, try to play on a GW table with naughty bits *chapterhouse, cough*, and you'll get booted. Hence why I'm wondering... If each model is obviously an individual sculpt, yeah, okay, that will fly under the radar, it's when you have 2 or 3 or more of the same thing that the knives might come out.
what the hell happens when you make multiples of your sculpts, and bring them to a game? Do your opponents go ape about your "3rd party unofficial GW models" etc and see you out the event doors?
I can't say as i haven't played at all. I like the modeling aspect but i'm not a player. And sadly painting isn't my favorite as well ... But i have to goal to paint my whole army sometime (but probably far in the future ).
But as i prefer to create mostly individual models so i won't use many identical casts. Casting them was more of a hobby experience for me. And even with useing only a few casts the investment wasn't a loss - both hobby and money-wise. If i factor in all the cast bases i did and the already assembled models (3 finished and 3 with only missing shoulders) as well as all the loose casts i still haven't used i'd probably had to pay the same amount if I bought GW terminators and resin bases. And i still have half the resin left for casting more.
And i finally took a bunch of pictures of all my pieces i have moulded, still needs moulding or are in the works.
Here are the ones i can cast:
The unmoulded pieces: (including some non-terminator stuff)
The stuff i'm still working on:
If you want some additional shots or have questions on some individual pieces just ask. And i know that one or two pictures are a bit blurry. Just remind me to take new shots of them once the batteries are recharged.
I need some more cool ideas for shoulders and heads so i again ask you for inspiration. Especially the shoulder guards could use some more cool possessed ones that don't look as "bland". I have done a few interesting ones already but i need some more ideas to make more unique ones.
And to not leave you without a new picture my latest shots of one of my sculpts. Just a few minor touch ups on his weapon and he is finished.
Combi Plasma and Combi Flamer arms as well as new/reworked shoulders.
Some more "classic" shoulders similar to the ones from GW just for terminator size.
Two new heads. But i still can't decide if i hate or like the lower one. "Teenage Mutant Killer Frog" And it is somewhat hard to spot but the other one has three eyes on the one side. And i still need to decide what i should add to the mouth area or if i should leave him mouthless
And the heavy weapons. The upper one needs some more work as it doesn't look too flamer-like to me. I plan on adding a dragonlike maw around the muzzle and i might rework the cable/pipe as it bends kinda strange ...
Those shoulder pads with look great. That lower head reminds me of Moe from the Simpsons cartoon. Those heavy weapons are coming along nicely. I love the fingers growing through the bottom one.
randomtoaster wrote: Your ability is beyond amazing! Such great work. One question, would you branch out and do commissions?
I have been asked 3 or 4 times and i haven't done a commission. What currently stops me from doing it is mostly the (imagined?) pressure i feel when thinking about it. And there is the more real problem of my time as my masters thesis finally starts after next month. Also i'm not that good on planing my time and together with me jumping from one project to the next i have a hard time gauging how fast i could create a model. That being said i'm not entirely against it but i'd prefer to keep it on a low pressure basis ... (I'm not the best with dealing with new and unknown situations. )
the best thing you could do at this point if you DID want to sell, is just to do up casts in your spare time, and when you have enough of them, throw them up on dakka (and post a shameless link in this thread to your dakka swapshop thread).
If i can keep the pace i might even get to my goal of 5 different models at the end of this week. I just have to finish a few pieces and create one additional set of shoulders. What will probably take additional time is finishing all the ranged weapon otions.
But realizing now how close i am at my goal i really should order new casting materials.
I counted my finished pieces today and i realized that i already have archived the goal of 5 completely different models - no bitz used more than once. (I really should order new mould material soon.)
But there are a few pieces i don't like much. One legs shin armor plates are to short but luckily i have a 6th leg already done. A few arms are more like normal chaos or even just binoics and not really possessed. But i have enough alternatives.
What i need is a cool idea for a termintor torso backside. I have 6 already done but two of those aren't the best and another one has some flimsy details on it that i haven't cast properly whatever i tried. And without them it looks kinda bland.
So i'd like to have another alternative, another cool idea. Maybe one of you has one?
All of this is fascinating, and as per your usual standard, your barrage of updates comes so fast that it's usually almost impossible to give it all its due Brilliant work!
As for the Terminator torso back, here's an idea: Normal terminator backs look like they mainly serve as vents, probably for the heat emitting from the reactor powering the armour, right? What about a torso back have begun to look almost like gills, if you will, mimicking an organic breathing apparatus. That should be reasonably easy to model and look rather squicky and mutated.
I heard you like toothy mouths so i put a toothy mouth in the toothy mouth so he can .... i don't know ... bite better?
He even has a mouth on his back ...
Those are three different pieces, front, back and "head". I like the front but the other ... i don't know.
The mouth head is a crazy idea but it misses something. Maybe a tongue? Or should i add an eyeball in the middle? What do you think?
KrautScientist wrote: As for the Terminator torso back, here's an idea: Normal terminator backs look like they mainly serve as vents, probably for the heat emitting from the reactor powering the armour, right? What about a torso back have begun to look almost like gills, if you will, mimicking an organic breathing apparatus. That should be reasonably easy to model and look rather squicky and mutated.
I like that idea. I'll probably wip up an torso like that and if it looks decent i'll keep it. Then i should have enough parts to even create 6 entirely different models and enough additional parts to mix and match a few more that only share a few parts with the rest.
I am now close to finishing. I think i can finish the final touchups in a week or so. I might even fix a few of the already cast masters up to close a few mistakes i missed before casting.
And to show you a bit of the progress more pictures.
To make it official: I have finally remembered to order more mould silicone and resin. And i only have a few pieces to rework. So i expect to be ready for moulding and casting during next week when the order arives.
A few things/warning i want to say for everyone who might be interested in getting some casts. Those aren't done professionally. (This is my first time doing something like that) So there are some smaller problems here and there. So like finecast those pieces require some more touchups to get everything together.(Although i'd expect less warped and bent details )
Even some more rant in the spoilers.
Spoiler:
Quality:
You have probably seen what i can do. So you know what to expect there. A good but not perfect quality. If you look very close then you will probably notice some uneven stuff or other flaws bot only minor stuff. And heck those are possessed terminators. Who knows if those "flaws" aren't ment to be there. (And like always i'm probably over exaggerating all the bad stuff because i seemingly can find flaws in everything, even the GW sculpts.)
The casting is still done by me in my simple setup. So expect as much touchup as the first finecast models. (If i have the time and money i might invest into something better.)
Modularity:
Everything is designed to fit together but i've notices that some combinations might require minor touchups as do to the random nature of the details some might overlap. But nothing that can't be fixed with a file or a knife.
And while those parts use GW terminator pieces as a base they aren't all in scale with them. Most parts are larger to create more imposing models. The torsos, heads and shoulders will work without problems on GW terminators but the rest might or might not be in scale with stock termies. If you want some parts to spice up your chaos terminator kits just ask me what parts will work the best.
Assembly:
I highly suggest adding a tiny bit of GS on the joints before superglueing them. This will create a stronger bond and help avoid the problems with not perfectly matching pieces.
And just out of interest. How much would you be willing to pay for casts of my pieces? And would you prefer full kits or just some parts for conversions?
edit:
And i also have a few pictues for you.
Those shoulders are for those of you who want to put a few more skulls on those possessed terminators. (And it also was a try at a different design)
And i finally gotten around of finishing this guy:
I was quite surprised to receive the package with the casting supplies today. They must have send it even before the had my money. This is probably the difference between a regular shop and an industry supplier.
Well this means that i can start moulding my pieces soon - probably even tomorrow if i can speed up the final touchups.
An just a question. Are you actually interested in the twohanded weapons as well - the power scythe and the autocannon? I haven't worked on them to much as i didn't saw them as part of the possessed termie project.
btldoomhammer wrote: I heard you like toothy mouths so i put a toothy mouth in the toothy mouth so he can .... i don't know ... bite better? He even has a mouth on his back ...
I'm a bit frustrated ...
I've moulded everything except the autocannon and heavy flamer (the cannon still needs some minor preparations) and the resulting casts wheren't that good.
I tried a more planed air venting so that i can place more parts on smaller moulds. But i think the resulting vents are too small and get either clogged up or air gets trapped and the parts have hollow areas with massive air pockets. Especially the more important parts like heads and shoulders suffer from this..
If i can't solve this with cutting the air vents larger i have to remould probably half of the new moulds ...
I still plan on finishing the possessed casts this week but it might be pushed back more towards the end of the week.
So one thing I read alot about molds is to help get any bubbles out is to use a "Vibrating table" which helps move the bubbles to the top. Hirst arts actually has a article on it and I hope it helps you. http://www.hirstarts.com/casting/advanced.html
Yes i know. And i might invest into building something like that. But the current problems are mostly a result of the air vents beeing to small. The surface tension of the liquid resin is enough to trap the air and the air can't get out because the vents are clugged due to the tension. I have to widen the air vents and maybe recast a few molds with larger "relief" vents where the air can get into.
And i have to read more in general on casting. Currently i just did what felt right and some tutorials described. But to plan out my work better i will have to know why the tutorials do something like that - learn the limits of what resin casting can do in regard of more professional casting. How much air vents in a mold and how much parts per mold? Questions like that.
But that will get more expensive that i expected. Because some stuff you have to learn by doing.
A quick casting update. My confidence is restored, the reworked molds worked nearly perfect. Only two need some more tweeking. And from those one only misscast additional bits i put on there for myself (stuff for my SoB sculpting and a chaos tank track element.
So i once i fix that, as well as mold and cast the two missing arms i'm finished.
Can't use a vacuum to salvage the old molds? A central unit, or a shop-vac, will do the trick. Nnnnnnnnot sure what a German equivalent might be though. Depending on the size of the mold, your option might be to use old cd spindle cases for the vacuum chamber.
I'll probably look into vacuum casting soon. I origianlly wanted to use up the remaining resin and then use the one i bought with a longer cureing time for the vacuum approach. But i have more remaining that i tought.
And here are a few more assembled ones with the newly cast parts. I have a few others in the works but the parts needed some more touchups before i assmble them.
Haven't posted here in a while now. But i just wanted to leave this picture. I used some of the cast parts to finish my first possessed terminator. (That doesn't look too possessed anymore compared with the newer ones.) One interesting thing is that he is still seperateable from the base. Half the hair of his victim is actually sculpted onto his fingers and not fixed to the head. That way i can remove him for painting.
If i get around of basing the rest of them i will also make a group shot of all the assembled ones. (Hopefully soon)