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Never mind the "derailing", it's all hobby related and not in fact derailing imo.
I'd appreciate if you could "spoiler" the pic of your tool though, Vik.

@Maxwell: Thanks mate, have fun!

Update:

Breakthrough! I found the final solution for the archivist's "seat". I had to get rid of a part I was really stuck with right from the beginning. I'm talking about the one at the bottom right:

Spoiler:

It was intended to be the main beam of the archivists seat and it looked pretty good and all, but it didn't go with my newest idea and consumed to much space anyway. It was hard to open up to a completely different setup, but it was the best decision and got me past some difficult design problems.

Now that all core problems are solved the rest is just a matter of deciding how to put things together and how much detail (a lot of course, I4D you know...) to put on and where.

I've just sculpted the first connecting element so that I can fit all the essential components together tomorrow. Still looooots of work ahead, so don't expect pictures too soon.

spoilered it alright mate! at your merest command^^

i bet that this was a tough decision...to get rid of such a central piece...now i am even more intrigued to see some more of the archivist... even tho you are already sharing with us a lot of yer thoughts, i would love to look inside yer head how you solve such problems...that is quite interesting...

Ha ha two grown men using text speak I4D all the way now buddy.

The bit you got rid of...I though his back was going to get implanted to one end of it and he be hanging off the front of his tractor.

Is that a piece of a drop pod?

i was wondering what that pice was from day one...to make it even more mysterious for me...i own that too...and i dunno where it is from..i got it in a bitz box...

Yes great work at times amazing other times inspiring this time bloody annoying still no pictures not even a tease





Sorry a bit harsh I know just looking forward to an update

Yeah it's from a drop pod, but I didn't plan to hang him from one end, he was supposed to sit on it, leaning against the higher part and I wanted to mount some equipment (no pun intended) on the part that would have protruded from between his legs. That would have given him a nice unhealthy lean back computer addict hunch... you know what I mean, don't you? Come on, everybody knows that one...


About looking into my head, you really don't want to do that. It's a strange, strange place in there...
My fiancé only rarely makes the mistake to ask me what I'm thinking of anymore. She did that one time and my answer took five minutes, switching between six different topics and when I had finished she said, she only wanted to know what I was thinking of at that very moment. I had in fact only told her what had been on my mind within those five seconds I had been looking mentally absent during dinner.
So handle it like she does: Don't ask, just try to endure the mental overflow that is turned into boring episodes and endless rambling anyway.

lol... i think that can happen... five seconds turned to an explainatory five minutes... i see that happen most of the times for me...^^

and yep... that pic instantly came to my mind when you described that nerd compy pose... it had to be that one^^

I would like the chance to look inside that crazy mind of yours plucking all those ideas from there and creating these great ideas as my own although I am sure there is somethings best left alone.

As to my earlier reply I don't think I realised there had been an update so besides looking stupid (trust me not a real achievement for me ) my reply made no sense however we need an up to date picture

Need more pics!

Well, I've spent the better part of a couple of weeks getting through this blog - and my it has been worth it! You really do take attention to detail to new levels. My only criticism would be not alerting me to it earlier Surprising really, as I followed both of the Pimp my Wizard/Sorcerer blogs... Oh, and not drowning out some of the recent rambling (not by you) with new picture updates Looking forward to seeing this popup with updates in my subscribed list now.

I share your pain trying to maintain a 1:1 painting/modelling ratio.

Keep up the good work (not that I expect you need the motivation)

Thanks Arakasi. Glad you liked my stuff and I'm looking forward to your future comments.

Update:

I considered an all text update last night, but I canceled it half way through. No point in rambling without much to tell you.

Well, progress has been good, but without pictures it's a little tedious to describe what I've been doing.

Neither the fatso nor his tractor is done yet, but they are both getting closer to what I imagine, so it can only be another hundret hours of work.

Anyway, I'm not in the mood for describing the actual progress in detail, so even though it doesn't really show in the pictures, here's what the tractor looks like now.

Part of it is still not filed and glued into place, like the lamps, but I've decided I'm happy with both front and back as is and I only need to fill the gaps and add further details.

I love the little lights!

Baiyuan wrote:I'm looking forward to your future comments.

The question is, do I start now and merely irritate you with stuff you are planning to do anyway, or hold off and hope I'm not too late Like, I'd put a bottom plate on those lights - but then, you've probably already thought of that - or a much more impressive idea/different direction. If it was Orky and mine a small glyph would be on that bare front piece in a jiffy. I still can't believe you sculpted the tracks yourself - that's dedication - and extremely well done too...

Very nice track unit so far

I thought I'd be looting some of it when you first showed it. Now I'm sure I'll be doing so

Interesting and inventive, very nice as always.

Oh, and I forgot tomention, kudos on your decision to replace the main beam. It's always a hard choice when you think you need to replace a part that seemed integral to your concept, even if it makes sense from all angles.

the under-construction looks really good... the only thing i have to say... i bet it will hurt as hell for that poor achivist to sit on that tube thingy in the middle...ouch^^

Vik - I'd rather have a tube inserted than sit in my own excrement!

well i only drew a mental picture... you just colered it in...

Updates always inspiring and a talking point however don't always bring the best out of some people lol you know who you are yes 2 ……..


Have to say the tracks still amaze me sculpt them really

Hey mate , nice progress on the archivist, love what you have done so far , did i read the tracks are custom made , sculpted ? probably are knowing you. it looks just as it should and reminds me of this Will Rees art work

I have to ask do you collect pieces then go with the idea or have a design then find the appropriate source of materials for the job ?

The only reason I ask is there seems to be two kinds of approach with this kind of converting and was wondering what one you fit, i get an idea start to build then get stuck draw some kind of design then scream a few times glue stuff together pull it apart and leave it half assembled for a few months. Then i come across it again blow of the dust and start all over again and might just finish it.

IMHO, you have to have available materials (like plasticard) on hand, before your hands can catch up to your imagination for stuff like this.

@Neil: Yes, they are sculpted, everything except the gears inside.

@ldd: I'm a notorious collector and I like to have everything at my immediate disposal, but my approach depends:

1. bit initiated conversions:
My favorite type of conversion. I often see a bit either in my collection or some new release on the net and think "hhm that could be..." or "that would look nice as...". Then I normally keep that idea in mind for a while depending on how much I like it and if it's worthy it sticks and gets developed over a certain amount of time (in some cases minutes, in others years), before I actually start converting.
An example for this approach is my Retiarius. I saw that necron back piece and thought, that it would make a nice head for a diving suit, made a mockup and thought about it for a night. From then on it was trial and error to find the best components to make the miniature resemble the concept developing in my head.
Another one is Cortaro, the ogryn with the buzzsaw, the whole conversion started with the thought "hhm, that waaghbike looks a litttle bit like the housing of a huge buzzsaw".
So it's all about seeing the creative potential of an object and that's just so much fun.

2. character based conversions:
Sometimes a conversion starts with a concept of a character, so I know exactly what I want to build to begin with and just need to find the means to translate my thoughts into a miniature. Find a base model, find possible bitz to use on it, start converting. For this type of conversion it's most likely I actively look for components and order them in preparation of the project, but I'd still prefer to have it already because I think it's gambling to estimate to use of a bit before you actually hold it in hands and get a feeling for it.
Hope, Samariannes dog, is an example for this approach. I looked for a canine base model that could be used to represent a silent sister's prosecutor pet and soon stumbled across the heresy miniatures hellhounds in one of my drawers, then I bought a talos kit to have a stash of injectors, pods and other freaky biomechanical parts to use on it. And then again started the sloooow process (which is not yet completed) of merging so many different parts into one homogenous model.*

3. base model initiated conversion:
Similar to type 1, but starting with a base model. If I'm inspired by the base model, no problem, it's exactly like type 1 and normally I have several conversion ideas for every new model I see, but sometimes I just like a model so much I have to use it somehow without having a spontaneous idea. That's actually the most difficult approach for me, because it doesn't necessarily start with an inspiration, but often with a "blank canvas".
Samarianne was such a model, I had many ideas for the high sorceress, but none of them entirely convinced me. So it was the quest for further inspiration, that's not my preferred approach.
The nurgle lord also was such a model. I had sooo many ideas for all the other new plastic characters, but not for this one. I just decided to buy the nurgle lord and I would come up with an idea sooner or later. I unsprued it, looked at the components, but no inspiration beyond "he would make a nice brutish warrior type", which had already been done by so many I didn't want to do it as well.
So he went into the drawer for a month, until I saw an artwork of a fat guy suspended in a harness with sentinel-like legs, that made his own legs useless. The artwork had the right amount of crazy to fascinate me and I knew it was the starting point of the nurgle lord conversion.

*
The process of optimization:
I think this stage is what makes my approach to conversions special and leads to the I4D reputation. Many people just glue more parts onto their conversion and hope it looks good in the end, or merely make some cosmetic changes. I gather innumerous possible components, file them into shape, make them fit together, try them on the miniature, discard them or put them on the stack of possible solutions, just to discard them later after finding a better one. And I assemble the model a thousand times with different loudouts before I finally find the best solution, my mind could have come up with.
I'm not saying "Look, I'm making the best conversions, my creative approach rules!" I'm merely stating how my mind works with these things. And to be honest I see flaws in my own "more analytic" creativity too.

It's sometimes exhausting and demotivational when I get stuck in this stage, but I learned to respect that and give myself a small break from that particular project, that's normally when I rearrange my bitz/tools/desk or intentionally go for a super simple head/weapon swap conversion.
Another disadvantage is that some of my conversions turn out too clean and constructed, too perfect. With some of my conversions I even had the feeling they lost their soul in the process of "endless optimization".
I think the nature of my creativity cristalizes in these two aspects: Recognizing the things hidden in things and then bringing this potential out to a point where my naturally limited mind deems it perfect.

This is also the reason why I love Neil's work so much, while it puzzles and bugs me at the very same time. I don't know for sure, but from what I see his way of thinking must be completely different from mine. His conversions are done in such short time and in a manner completely enigmatic to me.
My mind normally rebels against some aspects in almost every of his creations, saying this is not perfect, that could technically have been done better etc., but they have so much soul and (excuse my choice of words, it's meant as a compliment) this unique je nais se quoi of sloppyness and flow, without being badlly executed.

You are a perfectionist Baiyuan, not a bad thing at all, but sometimes you need to just plow through something and make progress to prevent burnout. It isn't wrong, it's just different. Sometimes, you just have to say "it's good enough" and move on.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I have realized that my attention deficit for a project usually kicks in after about a week of constant work, after that i need to either finish or sideline the project for a while. THis is why I tend to work fast on projects too.

Hehe, I'm absolutely at peace with my perfectionism and I know that few can do the things I do like I do them. You're right though, sometimes one has to just say it's enough. Many people say it before they reached their full potential. With conversions I'm absolutely at peace, I go as far as I feel is right, which normally leads to the best result I could achieve. Only in some rare cases I overdo it and the model loses charm to my perfectionism.
When it comes to painting though, my perfectionism is a real obstacle and I have to actively set myself lower/more realistic goals to prevent me from becoming demotivated when I can't achieve the effect I was imagining.

I feel you man, I suppose if I didn't have SO Many unpainted miniatures, and I actually quit collecting MORE it would be a different story for me.

When it comes to painting though, my perfectionism is a real obstacle and I have to actively set myself lower/more realistic goals to prevent me from becoming demotivated when I can't achieve the effect I was imagining.

Which is why I think you should paint more. Set your standard to the best you can do and run with it. Your painting skills really are not bad you know! (go back and read the comments you got on page 12) In fact that is my only criticism of this whole fantastic blog is the lack of painted miniatures. To me you have got half way through the models journey.

LDD - what were you expecting from us

Edit - B go paint something....you know what!

Yeah- set yourself the task of painting a Catachan infantry blob to tabletop standard in less than a month, you'll lower those standards pretty quick