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I got a commission the other day for a jump pack equipped Space Marine Captain, and after some backing-and-forthing, I came up with this concept image and got the go ahead.



One of the corner stones of the model is going to be a more ornate style of armor, so I went with some pre-Heresy Mk.III armor and jump pack, with details like an Adonis-style chest piece. I'll end up refining the concept as the project wears on.

The first thing I did was to find a suitable pair of legs for the pose my client wanted. I found the perfect ones after a rummage through my bitz box. After that, I started sculpting up the Mk.III plates. Below is the first progress shot.



That's a toothpick jammed into the top of the leg piece, by the way. I used a pin vise and some super glue to get it in there and make it stick. All it does is give me a place to hold the model while I sculpt on it and keeps me from accidentally ruining the sculpt by touching it.

Here're a couple photos of the completed leg piece:





As you can see, the legs got done up in Green Stuff with some rivets made of the same. After the initial green layer was dry, it got sanded down with an 1800 grit sanding pad to even out some of the little marks that happen during sculpting. The rivets then got glued on, were allowed to dry for about an hour then got sanded down with the same sanding pad.

Here's a picture and explanation of how I made those tiny rivets.



At the recommendation of Targetawg, I made a thin sheet of green stuff and allowed it to dry overnight. I then took a metal-tipped mechanical pencil (the 0.5mm variety) and punched out a bunch of rivets. After applying some glue to the model and sopping a bit of it up with toilet paper, I then picked up the little rivets with my X-Acto knife and stuck them onto the model and allowed it to dry for an hour before sanding.

Thanks for having a look, any comments or questions are welcome.

That's an awesome trick for rivets! Thanks for sharing!

Nice work there Jordan! Glad to hear my rivet trick helped you out!

Another twist to make your life easier if you wish, is just get a piece of cardboard/paper, apply some clear packing tape, and use this as a "rivet pallet" I then smear some vaseline on it, smooth out my green stuff flat, and leave it on. Once dry it typically stays on the plastic sheet and doesnt curl, so I can punch something easier to hold.

The best part is, they make mechanical pencils in 0.3mm, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9 sizes. So you can really get a spread of rivets!


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Also, I want to add that I'm thoroughly jealous of your sketching skills.

winterdyne wrote:That's an awesome trick for rivets! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for the compliment, it means a lot coming from someone as talented as you, Winterdyne, but credit goes to Targetawg for this one.

targetawg wrote:Nice work there Jordan! Glad to hear my rivet trick helped you out!

And many thanks to you, kind sir! I'll definitely keep the methods you mentioned in mind if I (very likely) have to punch out more rivets in the future.

Another update. Progress is pretty slow, I know, but it's pluggin' along.

Here's a photo of what I've gotten built of the model thus far. The chest is sculpted. The adamantium nipples are done the same way as the rest of the rivets, but I sanded those down 'til they were just about flat. Next thing to do is find a suitable head, and a pair of shoulder pads.

Nice stuff!

I, too, like that rivet-making trick and will see if I can make it work for me.

R.