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I just looked up Hruds, I had never heard of them but I think I'm in love: they sound disgusting but they're pretty darn cool.

I've never read the Ciaphas Cain novels, so my inspiration is more in the old Rogue Trader tradition.
Just finished some work on claws and feet, I'll get pics up soon.

Got to work on this guy last night. First, I started considering a base for him, which will be made out of styrene. I know that I could probably get a GW type round base that's big enough (1.5 inch diameter) but it's more interesting to make one. I'll show more pics as that part of this project moves along.


On the actual sculpt I added more body and mass to the claws, beginning to give them their final shape. Some of what is seen in the photo will be shaved away: For shapes that need to be fairly thin (like the Ambull's 'thumbs') I find it easier to build them up thick at first, just to get the Green Stuff in place, and then trim away with an X-Acto knife to get the final shape (This was done previously with the fangs).
It is easier to cut into cured, solid Green Stuff than it is to try to shape the still-flexible Green Stuff.


I also added secondary toes to the feet, although they are somewhat small and not as intimidating as they should be yet, they at least serve as placeholders to build on. I wanted to make sure I got a pretty good proportion to the feet overall. I realize that I'll have to build these out more, the feet need to be pretty thick, elephantine, suggesting that they could bear the massive weight of an Ambull.


Here is a picture exhibiting the connecting point of the two portions (the figure is being sculpted in two pieces because it is to be molded and cast when completed). This peg-and-hole will ensure proper alignment and helps me make sure that areas where the two portions meet-up are consistent.


I tend to think that the professionals may sculpt a whole piece and then figure out how to cut it down for casting and creation of what amounts to a small multi-piece 'kit.' But I cannot be sure, it's probably different from case to case depending on what the shape is. This Ambull will be fairly straight forward for mold-making and casting as the shapes are, overall, fairly unsophisticated.

I tell you, it's been a while since I've painted anything and I'm getting eager to get this guy done so I can get some painting done! Limitations on time and desk-space prevent me being able to maintain a decent painting set-up while working on the Green Stuff. One thing at a time... little by little I get there.

Thanks again to everyone who has viewed and to those who have posted responses, it really feeds my enthusiasm for this project!

Added details to the forearms, I knew this would be hard so I moved very carefully, there are some small areas I will cut away and re-do as I'm not terribly happy with them. The Ambull's right arm came much better, the left-front will get some surgery:


The backs of the arms turned out pretty well, I think by the time I got around there I had a better impression of how I wanted it to look, veins popping out.


This of course deviates from what the original miniatures had as far as texture goes, but as this is my first sculpt I have to let the Green Stuff guide me a little. The more familiar I get with the material the more I realize what I can do with it. I'm more used to drawing, two-dimensions is my strength, so the three-dimensional working space is a hard arena to get comfortable in. With this sculpt I think I'll be satisfied if it simply looks decent and resolved as a whole character, I'm not really out to duplicate anything. In future sculpts I'll try to design from the ground up and see if I can adhere to it in 3D.

A note - I had tried some small scale sculpting in the past with polymer clays, which are great materials, but I never had luck with them because they needed to be baked solid, a step that I felt interrupted the creative process. With Green Stuff I can add very slight details, bit by bit, and when I like something I've done I put it down, turn the light out and that's it for the evening, my work is frozen in, by the next day it's hardened and ready for subsequent additions. I'm really getting addicted to working with it. If anybody has not used it and wants to try it, get a small amount, I know it's sold in various volumes, and dive in, experiment. This is giving me a whole new tool to use, like I wrote earlier I'm also working on an old Grenadier Miniatures model, and without Green Stuff there's no way I would be able to assemble the thing and add the personal touches.

Wow! I'm sitting here looking at my original Ambull and am amazed at your results. It's a lovely homage to the original figure and some really excellent sculpting. As soon as you started laying on the surface texture it really started to pop!

Great work - looking forward to seeing those feet!

Great sculpting! I love your approach too.

I'd worked with Green Stuff on a small scale before, but when a friend wanted a non-standard Demon Prince, I said, "Yeah, I can do that," and dove right in, just as you advised. I would recommend anyone who wants to get better at sculpting do the same. The only way to get better is by doing it.

I'm curious, when you did the eyes (which look great and characterful), did you do the sockets and fill them with the eyes, or model the sockets around the eyes?

did you do the sockets and fill them with the eyes, or model the sockets around the eyes?

That's a great question, I debated on how to do it before I started. I found that the Green Stuff was holding its shape well enough so I was able to simply model the depressions of the socket around the eye, it made for a pretty nice looking eye, although purely by chance. It did take some pushing and prodding to get the socket and overall eye shapes right, that part I really wanted to mimic from the original Citadel figure, the 'mean alien' look of the Ambull really comes through in the eyes.

Here's a pic shot through a printer's loupe-eyepiece (which I turn to now and then to check my work) where the marks created by the point of a sharp but rounded-end tool can be seen creating the indentation around the eyes.

Looks very nice.
For future reference you might find Brown Stuff better for things like blades and claws. It dries harder than GS and takes filing and sanding much better.

Ambull wrote:
I found that the Green Stuff was holding its shape well enough so I was able to simply model the depressions of the socket around the eye, it made for a pretty nice looking eye, although purely by chance.

So, if I'm reading (and seeing) it right, you modeled the eye and socket together? They look great in any case. Also, from the few times they show up in your pics, I have a feeling I'm going to love the simplicity of tools you made. Any chance of pics?

No problem, I like to keep it simple, I didn't have any tools to start with so I made three shaping tools by carving down popsicle sticks (sold in craft stores), one tool is a dowel that's been sharpened at one end. The jar of water is crucial for proper Green Stuffing: the lubricant between tool and putty, I frequently dip the wood tools into the water, quickly wipe the excess on a paper towel and continue working. The wood retains enough moisture to not require re-moistening for a few minutes.

The little black thing is the eye-loupe I've used a few times, I 'borrowed' it from work. I understand they can cost a few bucks. I really only use it to check things after they've cured, to see if there are any gaps or lumps where I don't want them.

This is what has made the Ambull sculpt thus far:


Here's some progress from the past few nights working:
Extending the toes a little more, building up their body


...and I pushed and prodded and finalized the claws (I was debating on whether or not to remove them and start fresh but I added some thickness and extended the tips a bit and it seemed to work out, they are clumsy but menacing, yet they work together well with the form overall.


Thank you very much to the recent responder on the suggestion of getting Brown/Aluminum - I think I'm going to buy some soon (although it seems harder to get than Blue/Yellow)

I had no idea what an ambull was untill a couple of seconds ago thanks to this inspiring sculpting blog and after seeing some old minis I must say that what you have made looks like a very faithfull recreation. Maybe the back could be a bit bulkier although that will probably come when you attach the head and arms to the bottom part.
Really excellant work, especially considering its a first try with GS. This is also a kick in the ass for me to keep on bashing away at my meager "sculpting" efforts.
Super work, Keep it up!

More more more! We want more! Are you also planning on casting your stuff?

Amazing, I love it!

I'm sure I remember a WFRP adventure in one of my ancient copies of WD that involved the party getting trapped in Ambull tunnels in a 40k/Fantasy crossover

Sounds like a cool adventure, I would not want to be stuck in a tunnel with these guys... I'm picturing NYC subway tunnels with Ambulls rummaging about now...

I plan on casting a few copies for myself to convert to different poses. I have some experience with RTV and resin so that should go well, I just need to get the thing finished.

Any spare copies you feel like casting would porb get you some good stuff through the swap shop. Just saying.

Some work recently! I added a little to the back, just a little filling in where extra detail will go over top, but I have to build up the form. This was particularly sensitive as it continued the front piece to the back piece.

Blurry, sorry about that:


A little sharper:


and still getting there:


I'm starting to think that because I'm posting this progress on Dakkadakka that I will actually finish this project. I have a clinical pathological problem with not finishing things, maybe Dakka was the therapy I needed all along!

...and here is a pair of shots, the two halves held together to determine how it's going to look when completed.
Front:


and back:


I'm quite pleased with the overall form. What remains now is the legs, a bit more build up and detailing (a scaly texture) and the torso, including the back, again with a very scaly texture. I may refer more to the original figure at these stages, but that decision is ultimately made when the Green Stuff is mixed up, the tea is made, and the hands start working (that is to say absolutely anything can happen: at least if I don't like it I can trim it off and start over).

Continuing right along... not much progress over the past week, a little sculptor's-block, but it's been overcome and I'm pushing forward.

I made an attempt at getting some detail on the lower legs, but I didn't have a set plan as to what it was to look like, so I kept pushing GS around without really getting anywhere.


I realized 2 things with the GS: A) there should really be a plan, a pretty solid idea of what the area is to look like, it's hard to 'freestyle' sculpt and B) surface detail is best added AFTER the main form has been established - that is to say I was trying to bulk up the legs AND add detail at the same time, when I should have been focusing on creating the main basic form with no detail, and then gone in to treat the surface with the appropriate effects and details. Maybe this is suitable for the way I work and not for others. It's almost like creating a 'dummy' figure first and then adding the personal details.

So I scraped down the bits I had added and built up a decent smooth layer, effectively bulking up the thickness of the legs (which is what I wanted initially):

and


Closer-up, this one's a bit blurry but you can see the establishing of the basic form:

and


So the next post should offer some detail and texture added to the lower legs. I think I'm getting towards done, definitely more than half-way, past the legs it's the back and a few more bits on the shoulders before I'm content to make the mold. I'll keep track of the molding and casting processes on here (but I can't promise it will be as interesting as Sersi's [much respect] stuff!). I would love to have this guy done by mid-August. We shall see.

Activity stopped! - The story goes like this:
Wednesday morning: a dull pain starts in the middle finger of my right hand (I must not have been exercising it enough!) Come evening it is swollen and in genuine pain.

Thursday morning: pain seems manageable and the swelling doesn't seem to offensive, at work it gets worse, later at home the pain is nearing intolerable. It is clear to me that at this stage the finger is inexplicably infected (probably with the plague of Nurgle). I devote myself to surviving the night and getting to the apothecary the next morning.

The top is the normal middle finger of the left hand, the bottom is the infected finger (why the hell am I showing you all this!?!?!)


Friday morning: The finger is mostly purple, with a lovely bit of Chaos Black at the epicenter of the infection. The doctor is visited, the area lanced, as much pus as possible is expressed (second most painful experience in my life) and I start consuming antibiotic pills. Within hours the pain subsides, the swelling remains but will dissipate soon.

This puts the breaks on sculpting for a few days at least, Curses! So in place of my nightly sculpting sessions I will instead spend more time reading other Dakka posts. Hopefully it will instigate further healing.

Sorry to hear that Ambull, hope you're fit for more sculpting soon, this is looking awesome so far. Just enjoy the sights Dakka has to offer in the meantime.

Thankfully this thing is healing up pretty fast, although I would still not be able to properly hold any tools, hopefully in a few days. Drat! I was going to make a good push on much of the work this weekend... oh well, what shall be shall be... I'll survive...

Healing up and back in action. I did a little bit last night on the lower legs, trying to get some texture on there, I pushed GS around for about a half an hour before I settled on these: welts of raised up areas pock-marked with small depressions. It's tentative, I may trim it off but I think I'll continue it around the entire leg and see what it can lead to.



This is a deviation certainly from the original Citadel figure. Oh, and I built up some 'lip' or, I suppose one could call it, 'cuticle' around the toes:


I realize I need to experiment more with making different textures. I can't wait to get some casts out and put some paint on these guys. It's weird to sculpt something with the consideration of painting it in mind.

Very Very VERY impressive.

What other little critters from Roage Trader or even just regular 40k fluff are there that could be good for sculpting or modeling?

I've been interested in making a "counts as" army of the lesser known races for a while, and then I want to chop em up and feed them to a digestion pool or see what they would look like infested with the genestealer virus.

Looking great - I love the shin texture and the cuticle shaping/ It's really coming along nicely!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Psyker_9er wrote:What other little critters from Roage Trader or even just regular 40k fluff are there that could be good for sculpting or modeling?

From Rogue Trader you've got Jokaero (tech orangutan), Gyrinx (psychic cat), Piscean Warrior (humanoid moray eel), Slann and Zoats...there's probably a few more too

Ah - yes!

Zoats!

It must be Zoats!

Zoats being ridden by squats, chasing slann and jokaero or ptera-squirrels and ferro-beasts

Seriously I think zoats would be awesome.

I'm getting a strange feeling: that I may make a Zoat in the future.

In all seriousness, to move on to another sculpt I believe I would do something that is less-fantastical - that is to say something like a humanoid shape where I would be held to recreating something to a proportion, more challenging. With the Ambull, a creature of pure fantasy, there is a lot of leeway.

Aw heck, maybe I'll just make a Zoat. Citadel's figs of those from back in the eighties were pretty strange, the drawing in the old Rogue Trader is pretty weird too. Cool creature.

I think I'm pretty finished with the legs, though I don't think it is the strongest part of the mini it will certainly suffice. I keep forgetting this is the first time I've done anything like this and I don't have to make it a Tom Meier piece (if you don't know Tom's work you definitely should, look him up - he is easily the greatest scale figure sculptor in the world).

I may add a few more warts here and there, but this is the general effect (back):


and another angle:


It struck me that it may be nice to present a few pics that really show the process, in this case it's not something too amazing, just one of the little areas of the leg. It goes like this:

I roll up a little ball or strip of GS, a lay it in the approximate area I want the addition in:


Then I mush it around more to adhere it and to make it fit the final shape/area more:


I then smooth the seams between the existing material and the fresh material:


and then add the final texture, in this case nothing more fancy than a few points with a mild round-pointed stick:


Like I've written previously, texture is something I should get more practice at.

So that's not a bad night's work for me, off to sleep and I'll leave you with another aspect that I've worked on: the base for this guy. I've been putting together pics for a tutorial on making a GW style round base out of styrene with simple tools (hand-drill and sandpaper) and that should appear sometime soon, this picture is in conjunction with that tutorial, and shows the base that will be copied and used to display the finished Ambulls. I know I could have bought some, but making stuff is much more interesting.
Cheers everyone and thanks to all for reading. I appreciate the comments very much.

("A Disk-Riding Ambull!?!")

Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou i was short on expensive tools and your making of those tools was a life saver

Very cool!

Cool Ambull mate, I can imagine squats riding them and wreaking havoc in some subterranean tunnel ! Plan to swap/sell a couple of those when done ?