Switch Theme:

Vermis' Projects - page 1: High elves, random sculpts 9th March 2023  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
»
Author Message
Advert


Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
  • No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
  • Times and dates in your local timezone.
  • Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
  • Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
  • Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.




Made in gb
Posts with Authority






Norn Iron

Coming back to the wargaming modelling hobby, I remember all the wargaming modelling hobby projects that I had planned. I can't say I'll get through all of them this time around, but I'll give it a try.

Most of the projects will be small fantasy armies based around the game Dragon Rampant. It's an uncomplicated game compared to what Games Workshop is known for, especially the generic unit entries, but for me it sparked off a lot of thematic modelling ideas. For me it was an opportunity to explore bits and pieces of the background of the old Warhammer world that were somewhat pigeonholed and glossed over by the official army books for the game.

First up is High Elves, the race that kept the most Tolkienish feel from the early days of Warhammer in my opinion. This'll actually be two separate armies, built side by side as I figure out how to complete them with discontinued kits and new Lumineth minis. One is Avelorn: a province represented in later editions by Alarielle and a handful of alternate bits for what's primarily a Shadow Warriors kit. I want to try building at least part of the 100-strong female bodyguard of the Everqueen, and maybe a couple of extra ideas beside. The second army will be from Chrace. Partly influenced by the connection to the axe-armed elves of Brethil, in The Silmarillion; partly influenced by Assyrian bas-reliefs of royal lion hunts, in the British Museum. It'll be the retinue of a Chracian prince, themed around the idea of a hunting party. The biggest problem will be sourcing the white lions.

First photos in post #2, after an optimistic index list.

Page 1: Sisters of Avelorn


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The first converted unit for Avelorn: six Sisters acting as a scout unit for DR. I wanted to make them a bit more 'woodsy' and individual, so there's a few wood elf bits in there and a bit less armour. Also, I'm more fond of toned-down areas in my fantasy (makes the really fantastic more fantastic) so the flaming bows went and were replaced with more wood elf bits.





The metal head is from Statuesque Miniatures, 'large heroic' scale. Fits in fairly well with the plastic heads, with a minimum of tweaks. Also, the 'Arhain' runes on the quivers (Shadows, night, stealth, secrets, perfidiousness) are more Shadow-Warriory, so I pulled out the Uniforms and Heraldry of the High Elves book and mixed them up a bit.

Flipping from toned-down fantasy to extra fantasy: I thought that Grenadier pond dragon that I've been pimping in the 'OOP models' thread fit the wild, fairy-tale feeling of Avelorn. Another one or two of these (with some Emerald Lifeswarms around the bases) should fit in as a DR flying lesser warbeasts unit.

This message was edited 8 times. Last update was at 2023/03/09 00:58:21


I'm sooo, sooo sorry.

Plog - Random sculpts and OW Helves 9/3/23 
   
Made in us
Ultramarine Land Raider Pilot on Cruise Control





Macragge

Oh Cool! I miss the Tolkien influence of the Old World of Warhammer. Interested to see where this goes.

   
Made in us
Nimble Ellyrian Reaver






I think the Tolkein influence on the High Elves is a prominent reason why I took to them. Really interested to see what you do with all this. Your sculpting work is excellent! I also wholly approve of non-GW published rules systems but using Old World lore.

The White Lions are going to be rough to find. Unless you want the older metal sculpts, which I think hold up just as well as the newer plastic. I have two boxes worth of the lions and three of their chariots, but I only managed that because I got them prior to GW axing the line. Now the boxes go for around $100 each from scalpers and such. Oathmark (North Star Miniature Figures, Osprey Wargames) Elf box sets might suit your needs in some way. I'd stay away from the armored box set as those have chain coats rather than scale coats and they also have a weird chest-rune-bit thing. The light armored box set is very nice, though. I hear they are working on an elf cavalry box set, too.

   
Made in gb
Posts with Authority






Norn Iron

Thanks guys!

Like a lot of people I didn't much like the old plastic High Elf spearmen, but I had enough IoB Sea Guard gathered for two Dragon Rampant foot units (12 each) and planned to divide them between Avelorn and Chrace. Either way, it meant scraping off the fishy bits and replacing them.



Then the Great Discontinuing happened and any hopes of new HE spears flitted out the window. I decided that the new Lumineth aelves could stand in for Maiden Guard in different roles, and Chrace had more need of the limited levy I have.

Also, CaptainWaffle: I had a couple of the old metal White Lions. They're great, very well-made minis, but the slightly smaller scale compared the newer plastics didn't sit right with me. I have a couple of handfuls of plastic White Lion bits, almost enough for 12 figures, and I think I can stretch them out with Blood Bowl elves, Phoenix Guard halberds, and a lot of putty. But still, I was taking stock and I have about nine WL heads to share among about thirty planned figures. So the Sea Guard will selflessly donate their tall helms to the cause. Fortunately I have plenty of replacement heads hoarded from other elf kits:



One down, twenty-three to go.


I'm sooo, sooo sorry.

Plog - Random sculpts and OW Helves 9/3/23 
   
Made in us
Nimble Ellyrian Reaver






Looks really good. Your putty work is amazing. That's an area I have only minor experience in. Why Chrace and Avelorn? Other than because Chracian White Lions are cool. Also, what about the plastic spear kit is wonky? I have one box and they seem pretty standard to me.

I'll be interested in seeing how you manage to craft those White Lions. The older metal GW sculpts are a little smaller than the newer High Elf sculpts, but placing them on a small raised platform can make them fit right in. Might not go with the aesthetic you're looking for, though.

Are you planning to do anything with the new Lumineth spears or just use them as they are as stand ins? The basic spears and mounted warriors look nice, but due to cost and a general distaste towards GW on my end riht now I can 't find a use for them.

Finally, got a picture of your High Elf Dragon Rampant army?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/06/26 11:47:52


   
Made in gb
Posts with Authority






Norn Iron

 CaptainWaffle wrote:
Looks really good. Your putty work is amazing.


Thank you.

Why Chrace and Avelorn? Other than because Chracian White Lions are cool.


Well that, and the slim Middle-Earth connection. Avelorn because it's a notable part of the background (all-female guard of the Everqueen) but seems to have drawn a relatively short straw model-wise. Also because the old maiden guard minis, dressed in metal bras and miniskirts, are just a bit goofy-lookin' beside all the plate and scale of the rest of the range. Just a bit.

Also, what about the plastic spear kit is wonky? I have one box and they seem pretty standard to me.


I thought I'd find more comparison photos online... here's the best one I could find. They're at least a head shorter; have huge hands and feet; have overly wide chest pieces that do bad things to their shoulders; and have a stance that looks like something out of Blackadder. If I'm OCD enough to exclude those great metal white lions, the plastic spears stand no chance!

I'll be interested in seeing how you manage to craft those White Lions.


So will I. Let's say I haven't completely written off the metals.

Are you planning to do anything with the new Lumineth spears or just use them as they are as stand ins?


I don't mind the shields but those'll probably be replaced to look more oldschool Ulthuan. Some of the Fireforge plastic kits have shields that'd fit nicely, I think. I like the helmets on the lumineth spears but those might go. (Especially now that I'm wondering how those manelike plumes would look on white lions) The initial uparmoured maiden guard idea used wood elf eternal guard heads - see one of the sisters above - and those'll be used on the lumineth too.
The heads on the archers... I think the helmets(?) are something that could grow on me, but those are definitely getting the Welf and Statuesque treatment. As well as losing some of the strings off those harps they carry.

Finally, got a picture of your High Elf Dragon Rampant army?


You're looking at it, unfortunately. Small acorns, as they say. But if you want a look at a high elf army, I've something tucked away. I'll see about getting photos.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2020/06/26 16:19:48


I'm sooo, sooo sorry.

Plog - Random sculpts and OW Helves 9/3/23 
   
Made in ca
Damsel of the Lady





drinking tea in the snow

It's a neat project! I agree that the putty on the sheilds is looking really good. I've always liked those sea guard myself

realism is a lie
 
   
Made in gb
Posts with Authority






Norn Iron

Thanks Turtles!

A HOBBY BUTTERFLY IN THREE EXAMPLES

First example: my attention has drifted from elves again. Not completely, but they've slowed right down. I got the bug for putty again and pulled out an old shoebox full of half-done and just-started sculpts. That's example two. It's suddenly a little green millstone around my neck. I have a drive to finish most of them and send them onto new homes - some of 'em for pecuniary recompense, hopefully. Here's one that's been sitting around a good long while: the road shark.



How long? It's so patchy because I was experimenting with a lot of putty and mixes on it. The grey head, I think, is one of my first sessions with Procreate, not long after it was introduced. I've been cutting back and resculpting old areas, especially the bright green ones.
A little bit based on the old Street Sharks cartoon, but more so on Necromunda scalies, especially the ones Wayne Reynolds used to draw in the Warhammer comic.

Third example: I discovered the Sculpt+ app for Android.



My first doodle in digital sculpting software. A bit frustrating at first because I had no idea what I was doing, but after a few hours of breaking triangle meshes I've started to get a handle on the tools and settings. I don't think I'll make anything very polished with it - zbrush vets in the reviews say it's best for doodling and transferring to fancier software - but it's another tick in the pro column for hooking up a Wacom or Huion to my desktop.

I'm sooo, sooo sorry.

Plog - Random sculpts and OW Helves 9/3/23 
   
Made in us
Utilizing Careful Highlighting





...I REALLY like that road shark, the head especially.
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut





Those elves are great, really good sculpting work. Hope you're not distracted from them for too long - I want to see them painted up! The distractions are pretty cool too though
   
Made in us
Nimble Ellyrian Reaver






Gotta agree with Maharg. But, it is your hobby. The shark sculpt does look interesting. Is the model sketch going to be orkish or just a sketch?

   
Made in gb
Posts with Authority






Norn Iron

Thanks all!

CaptainWaffles: just a sketch, trying out that app. But I've had ideas of producing some apelike goblins along these lines, if I could ever summon up more skill and dedication.

Guys, I'm considering popping the quivers off the sisters and placing them at the right hip. Any thoughts?

I'm sooo, sooo sorry.

Plog - Random sculpts and OW Helves 9/3/23 
   
Made in us
Nimble Ellyrian Reaver






That would certainly be much more functional and historical - back quivers are sort of a "super cool fiction" thing and were not often done in reality because they don't really work. Good thing their cloaks always sweep to their left. You wouldn't need to move any swords that you have on the right hip as those could sit underneath, but that's your call. The only two troubles I see are that there's nothing sculpted on the quivers to show them as slung on the side and the sisters' backs have a divot meant to take the quivers. In both cases some small amount of sculpting might be required.

Otherwise, it's a great idea in my book. I have a box of sisters/shadow warriors for down the road in my army project and I have mulled how to handle the quivers. If yours turn out great I might just stand on your shoulders and adapt the work.

   
Made in ca
Grisly Ghost Ark Driver






One of these days I want to see archers with the arrows planted at their feet or in stands at their side, not on their body. But I don't think that would work with these models...

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/07/23 14:12:21


See what's on my painting table Now painting: Necron Warriors 
   
Made in gb
Posts with Authority






Norn Iron

CaptainWaffle wrote:That would certainly be much more functional and historical - back quivers are sort of a "super cool fiction" thing and were not often done in reality because they don't really work.


Precisely.

You wouldn't need to move any swords that you have on the right hip as those could sit underneath, but that's your call.


Oh don't worry. Some of them popped off before the quivers did.

I have to say I'm not too well read on historical quiver carrying and I'm a bit confused what you mean by 'underneath'. Covered by the quiver, or 'vertically inferior to'?

In both cases some small amount of sculpting might be required.




Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll wrote:One of these days I want to see archers with the arrows planted at their feet or in stands at their side, not on their body. But I don't think that would work with these models...


Ah well, wait 'til I get some lumineth archers and stick them on multibases.

In the meantime, quick snap to consult on the positioning before sticking them down for good. Not too terrible?


I'm sooo, sooo sorry.

Plog - Random sculpts and OW Helves 9/3/23 
   
Made in ca
Grisly Ghost Ark Driver






Those look very good. The different angles work very well with them!

See what's on my painting table Now painting: Necron Warriors 
   
Made in us
Nimble Ellyrian Reaver






Looks good to me. What I meant by the swords being underneath is this: keep the sword at the hip as you have it, then glue the quiver over the top of the sword (not above vertically) so it overlaps. It's just an idea.

Historically nearly all archers carried their arrows in the same hand that holds the bow stave, stuck them in/layed them on the ground for quick use, or kept them in a quiver that during bow use would be slung at their side or rested nearby. If they were on a horse the quiver was almost always connected to the sadle. There is almost no practical purpose to slinging the quiver on the back except when traveling long distances without need for the arrows. It appears to look cool in media to dynamically pull arrows from the back and expertly fire them, but unless the arrows are really short (not likely) it's very difficult and time consuming to pull an arrow from the back and fire it. You can certainly find some examples of people doing it, but it's nowhere near as historically common as all the other methods.

   
Made in gb
Posts with Authority






Norn Iron

Gotcha. Thanks guys.

In the meantime I was thinking, wouldn't it be neat if the sea master was a veteran of one of the Five Gates, and had the relevant emblem on his shield? But looking at them in the uniforms and heraldry book, they're at least as fiddly as the lion image. If I have to make one, I figured I could reduce a wee bit of the bother by not rushing against the working window of epoxy putty, and use polymer clay instead. But I can't stick that on a plastic mini and then stick the whole thing in an oven, so I whipped up a quick GS mould and made a copy of the shield surface with apoxie sculpt. Not something I've actually done much of, before. Pretty happy how it turned out.



I'll stick that to a bit of wood for handling, and dig out the clay tomorrow.

I'm sooo, sooo sorry.

Plog - Random sculpts and OW Helves 9/3/23 
   
Made in gb
Death-Dealing Devastator






Great stuff! The positioning of the quivers looks great, much better. Really looking forward to seeing more.

Having a quick google it looks like historically, archers kept their swords on the opposite hip of their quivers so their hand went across the body when drawing it out.

Raptors Response Force 2000pts

Sons of Orar 1250pts

Bora Boka's Mercenaries 1500pts

cult of iocus 500pts

 
   
Made in gb
Posts with Authority






Norn Iron

Thanks Borneo.

 borneo424 wrote:
Having a quick google it looks like historically, archers kept their swords on the opposite hip of their quivers so their hand went across the body when drawing it out.


I saw that, though it seems awkward to me. But what do I know? I'm not a medieval archer. Anyway, if I was going strictly by historical illustrations, I'd dump the quivers and have bundles of loose arrows stuck in their belts.

Been concentrating on other than quivers...



This is Uro Hot Set. It's a polymer clay like Sculpey or Fimo, but a bit more obscure, made by a company in Britain. (It's not a two-part epoxy. I'm just mixing black and white 'cos that's what I have, to get a neutral grey) The reason I chose it for this is, unlike most other clays that turn rigid after baking, Uro keeps a bit of flexibility. If I'm going to try to peel a thin, tiny bit of it off that shield mould, it could be handy. But what am I going to make?



What about the icons of the Phoenix Gate? I bodged together a few needle tools lately and wanted to try them out on something. The little round details of those shields would do nicely. I'm also going to cheat a bit by sculpting a partial phoenix, blended into that step on the shield.



- Flattened and cut the basic shape
- Marked the holes along the edge of the wings etc.
- Opened up the holes to the outside edge, and boom. One mini Rodan. It was at this point the mental block flicked off and I figured I could've done this with putty, but what the hey. I made a wee star to go with it, too.
- After the first low bake, I tried prying off the star. Didn't go so well. After another while in the oven I tried teasing the phoenix off the support. A bit hairy - you can see the white stress mark where the head almost popped off - but it managed to come away in one bit.

And here it is in place, on a converted Lothern Seamaster.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/07/26 23:09:50


I'm sooo, sooo sorry.

Plog - Random sculpts and OW Helves 9/3/23 
   
Made in gb
Angry Chaos Agitator





I love that road shark... Ridiculous in the bets possible way - really nice sculpt.

It's also nice to see old Elf minis getting some love; your updated versions look great, I especially love the shield emblems.

   
Made in ca
Grisly Ghost Ark Driver






Beautiful character! I love the helmet. That design would fit in well with the Sigmar elves as well!

See what's on my painting table Now painting: Necron Warriors 
   
Made in us
Nimble Ellyrian Reaver






Wonderful work, Vermis, and ditto to Gwyn on the helmet. That's some ace sculpting. Why the Wood Elf Ranger unit champion axe? To fit in with future White Lions? I thought Seamaster's weapon of choice was a polearm.

   
Made in gb
Ancient Venerable Dreadnought






Nice work on the sculpting, it looks pretty hairy getting such thin pieces off the template. Did you cast them too or will they all be getting unique designs?

Goberts Gubbins - P&M Blog, started with Oldhammer, often Blackstone Fortress and Void Panther Marines, with side projects along the way 
   
Made in gb
Posts with Authority






Norn Iron

Thanks all!

Shmvo: that's what I was going for - a big ball of wonky genes, hormonal problems, and sharp bits. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger meets a squig.

CaptainWaffle: he's a seamaster only so far as that's what the base model is. Now he's the captain of a bunch of chracian levy. Or will be, once they get scraped together.

Gobert: I might have one or two more fortress gate veterans, but everyone's going to get some bit of personalised shield decoration. One exception will be if I can mark out another lion and get it pressmoulded. That's up next.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/07/29 12:09:39


I'm sooo, sooo sorry.

Plog - Random sculpts and OW Helves 9/3/23 
   
Made in us
Posts with Authority






Norn Iron

Three years later, an update!

I never showed these off yet. These Sister Scouts were finished back then, all done and dusted.













The mini hobby wheels are starting to turn again, slowly. Problem is they're doing that with the full realisation that I want my minis painted nicely, but slapping annoyingly transparent paints on whole units really wrecks my head. Also, my collection of mini paints, at least a couple hundred strong of different brands, slight shade variations, a lot of OOP colours, and who knows how many dried out pots, are all jumbled in a box in the attic. I can't really face it, except to one day throw it on ebay and see who'll take it off my hands for a few quid.
For future painting, especially these elves, I want to start over and keep things quick, simple and effective. I think that means contrast paints, or contrast imitators. I immediately think of Vallejo Xpress, just because of memories of the price of Citadel paints. (And a couple of eye-openers about how much it's risen) Only thing is, I really want a pale ochre colour for ash wood, and Xpress doesn't have anything like that yet.
Also, for flat layers I'm leaning towards artist's paints, especially the new matt/gouache-style acrylics, for a few reasons: opacity, up-front pigment info, known colours, and range longevity. Those last two in particular: at my glacial pace I don't want to go for a pot of pthalo blue in a couple of years and find out it's been replaced with 'slobberfang edgelord blue' that looks nothing like. That box of 22ml Liquitex acrylic gouache seems like a good bridge.

Also, I want some actual white lions for my white lion themed force. Three years ago I was panicking and considering converting a box of Blood Bowl elfheim eagles, in the wake of the white lions' discontinuation. These days I can just order up some Last Sword lion guard, but... I had another look at the elfheim eagles, and now I really want to convert them up into white lions.

So today I was off to Belfast for the first time in a long time in a long time, and with a short shopping list. But the art shop was out of acrylic gouache and the Warhammer Store was out of BB elves. Plan B was put into effect.



It's not exactly sticking to 'The Plan', but it's close. Maybe. In any case this represents the new beginning to my mini paint collection. Now I just need something to try them on.

Also, sneak peek at the next thing:


I'm sooo, sooo sorry.

Plog - Random sculpts and OW Helves 9/3/23 
   
Made in au
Ferocious Blood Claw





Your Sister Scouts are fantastic, I'm really keen to see how you tackle the painting!
   
Made in us
Posts with Authority






Norn Iron

Thanks Ben! So am I.

In fact, I've become so keen that I ordered a bunch more Liquitex inks, Golden high flow acrylics, and Vallejo surface primer. I still like the idea of opaque acrylics, but I want to see how far I can get with 'contrasts' and washes made with the thinner alternatives from art brands. (I've even gone off the idea of Vallejo Xpress) Also, it'll make me dig out my cheapo airbrush and compresser and actually put them to the use they were intended for.

So while Royal Mail does it's thing, I need test subjects. I pulled out my last bits of siligum and did a few faceplants.



And... wait a minute... did I not... did I never...? Holy crap, I never showed off the first six spearmen either!







This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/03/05 17:34:59


I'm sooo, sooo sorry.

Plog - Random sculpts and OW Helves 9/3/23 
   
Made in us
Walking Dead Wraithlord






You do beautiful work. Very interested in seeing what becomes of the wardancer.
   
Made in us
Posts with Authority






Norn Iron

Thanks Youwashock. He's got a couple of friends who need a little trimming and kitbashing, then I should be able to stick some putty on them.

My first order of Liquitex inks arrived. I ordered Phthalocyanine Blue (green shade) and they sent me Phthalocyanine Green (blue shade). Oh well, I'm already planning a third order for colours that caught my eye. Yellow Oxide might've been too much of an impulse because Golden's Nickel Azo Yellow seems like it has much more of a (really nice) contrast effect I want for wood:




(Okay it's Daniel Smith watercolour in the video, but I can't imagine the effect's much different)

... and that colour's a component of their Sepia, which might make it work nicely for lion pelts:

https://youtube.com/shorts/uvdFXB5oc_c

(Dakka's code ain't used to newfangled youtube shorts)

Also, it might be a good thing to wait for paints, because the ancient apoxie sculpt I'm using for those press moulds took about two days to cure, and that only because I stuck it in my putty oven for one of those days. But the cookies are finally baked...



The yellow colour is actually from age discoloration on one of the epoxy components, otherwise it'd be a kind of beigey-grey. The right casting was done later, mixed about 50% with milliput (itself a mix of ~3:1 silver-grey and black milliput) to try to get it to hurry up.
Anyways, far from perfect but I'm pretty pleased. Good enough to throw stuff at and see what sticks. It occurs to me I could have used part of my last scrap of siligum to mould something with larger, flatter surfaces to test, but eh. If push comes to shove I'll prime a bit of plasticard.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2023/03/09 00:55:56


I'm sooo, sooo sorry.

Plog - Random sculpts and OW Helves 9/3/23 
   
 
Forum Index » Dakka P&M Blogs
Go to: