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dsteingass wrote:THAT GUY! so I'm "THAT GUY" now huh?
lol

Sorry man, we didn't want to say anything, but you've been "that guy" for a long time now.

:-P

niice

Gotta say i am Very impressed with the horse so far. Not entirely sure about the Torso but i think it is more the style rather than the execution.

Thanks Perkustin! Yeah, the human torso needs some work, well, the horse too. As for style, I'm trying to go for an "ancient Greek" style, so it needs to be more angular. I am hoping to get some time this weekend, and have some decent updates on Monday. *crosses fingers*

Update time!

Lots of little updates this time.

The Centaur Human and Horse torsos are just about done. Here is what I have for them so far.



I just need to work on the head and arms.

Speaking of heads. I added rivets to that skull helmet from a while back, and worked on a second helmet. Kind of a German Spiked Helmet (Pickelhaube?):



I also got some work done on the Steampunk Rifles from a few pages back.



The bolter is shown for scale, I think the scope would work for just about any ranged weapon. I still have some details I want to add to the rifles, like some tubes running the legth of the barrel and odds and ends, but this is the main bit.

I also got a shipment of body parts from Wehrkind!


And some bases.


But the biggest thing, was the Commissar #1 is done! Yay!


The picture is a bit on the light side, but I'll be getting this one painted up soon I hope, and we'll see how she looks with some color!


Well, that is all for now, C&C appreciated as always!

Forgive me if you've answered this before, but what sculpting tools do you use? I've been attempting some minis sculpting myself (I'm prolly gonna put a blog up, if I can get some decent pics) and that scale just seems impossible with regular sculpting tools- at least for the level of detail you see in your stuff.

I bought a set of metal sculpting tools a while ago, I think these are the same ones.
http://www.amazon.com/SE-Pick-Stainless-Steel-Carvers/dp/B000SVRSRY/ref=pd_bxgy_ac_img_b
I use the one at the eleven O'Clock possition in the picture bellow the most. It has a rounded back, and a sharp point, pretty much universal for me. If I could find just this one alone, I wouldn't even bother buying the others, but in a month or so, I'm gonna need a new one.

I have also been meaning to get some Color Shapers, but I haven't done it yet.

Looks good man! If I get a commissar primed before you do I will toss a pic up on here.
Question for you: do you use the brown stuff, Kneadatite I think it is called? It is supposed to be really good for non-organic and machined parts since it is gets harder and holds a really sharp edge. Just curious to see if that is something you use, since I have heard of it but never tried myself.

On to the centaur. The pictures look really good! So good, I can use my very weak Paint skills to add 2 small suggestions You can see really well in the picture the points where I was thinking the torso muscles connect to the shoulders and what would be collar bones of the horse. I have created these two recreations to show what I mean. I tried to show what I mean, but basically the lats on the torso connecting with the shoulders (sort of how/where our neck connects with our shoulders) and having the bottom set of stomach muscles clearly connect with the collar bone area of the horse, making the front of the horse part chest flush with the core area of the human part.

Can't wait to see more done though, my faith in you has been rewarded in spades so far

More Jake Awesomesauce as always!

Oh hey, I tweaked the LoER baner to save some real estate btw

Ah! Ok, you had tried to describe this to me before, but it wasn't getting through. My wife would not be surprised.

Now, do you want the torso to be able to be posed rotated from side to side? If so, this will look odd if the muscles are tied in so specifically. I had been trying to keep the join area sort of "general" for posablity. But if they are just intended to be separate for molding purposes, and then attached in a specific way, I can do that, no problem.

Thanks for the sketch. It helps!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

dsteingass wrote:More Jake Awesomesauce as always!

Thanks!

dsteingass wrote:Oh hey, I tweaked the LoER baner to save some real estate btw

*sigh* More work.

RSJake wrote:Ah! Ok, you had tried to describe this to me before, but it wasn't getting through. My wife would not be surprised.

Now, do you want the torso to be able to be posed rotated from side to side? If so, this will look odd if the muscles are tied in so specifically. I had been trying to keep the join area sort of "general" for posablity. But if they are just intended to be separate for molding purposes, and then attached in a specific way, I can do that, no problem.

Thanks for the sketch. It helps!

Oh hell, that's a good point. Hadn't thought of that. Those with bows would probably want to be at a 45-90 degree angle if the bows are being pulled, which would twist things a good bit. Of course, if all the other torsos would be more squared up, which makes sense, maybe it is best to ignore the shooting position altogether and make a better squared or slight rotation sculpt. The only other way I can see around that is to make the upper part extend down past that muscle group, so instead of a flat cut it sort of makes up the entire front of the horse past the shoulders. Sort of like so. Then you could have a rotated torso with different musculature shape. Hmmm might be too much effort for now, perhaps for a later sculpt. What do you think?

Hey, just found this thread, looks pretty sweet!
if I find the time, I'll be looking through it over the next few weeks.

Wehrkind, I think a separate sculpt for the bow and arrow users would be the way to go. That way, the muscles will line up better on all of the models.

So I will make the forward facing ones with the muscles you illustrated, and make the join a bit smoother too.


And Shrike! Thanks for looking! If you have comments and more importantly critiques, I am all ears!
Good luck with reading through, there are long spots of random chatter. Pretty much like Dstein's and Vic's blogs....well, not as much random stuff as Vic's.

Will your commissars be put out for sale at some point?

Sounds like a plan good sir!

@ Illumini - I do plan to offer my sculpts to be available for public sale. I do not have the details of that ironed out yet though. I will definately post on here when I am ready for public sale. Thank you for asking.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Wehrkind wrote:
Question for you: do you use the brown stuff, Kneadatite I think it is called? It is supposed to be really good for non-organic and machined parts since it is gets harder and holds a really sharp edge. Just curious to see if that is something you use, since I have heard of it but never tried myself.

Sorry, I overlooked this question earlier. I don't like brown stuff...but it does have it's uses. It does cure very hard. So hard I have found that it does not sand very well. And it will gum up a file, even after it has cured for several days. But it is actually my preffered material when doing press molds with Instant-Mold. It holds very crisp detail, and it is strong when cured.

All in all though, I'm most likely not going to buy more when I run out of my supply.

I have read that other people use it quite often, and usually mix it with green and gray stuff to very good effect. I believe FreakForge uses it, and FreakForge has some amazing sculpts!

I don't like Brown Stuff though.

well, not as much random stuff as Vic's.

...tstststs...

thsoe guns...as you showed themalready in my banter clattered thread... are simply one hell of a good work mate!!!

it seems the trigger and stock are "just" carved out of one piece??? would love to see a step by step on this part as the stock and triggerpiece always gives me some pain...

the bodyparts at first looked like a mug full of noodles for me...and i wondered at first how you could have uploaded that on dakka gallery^^ lol...

the comissar looks very good... i would love to see her primed and at least washed tho to say more about the cast... for now it is very bright and that makes judgement pretty useless...at least from our vantage point...you i assume have seen the quality already...

the centaur work looks very good... i think wherkind has pointed out some valuable hints... if it was my work i simply would have made just a full body... but i can´t remeber how many centaurs will be needed by him anyway... if this is just a small batch then it could be altered after production?

by the way... that horse body simpoly looks stunning...too bad we don´t have so many females here on dakka to show more apreciation to your horse"works" as i think they would have the knowing of horsebodies quite better than me for instance... but i think this body looks very convincing and energetic! have you secretly made a horse neck and head as well? ... i wonder because it looks very good to me^^


cheers, vik

Cheers Vic! Well, I just don't have as many pages yet, I'm sure it will reach your level of randomness some day!

I should have taken more pictures of the guns, but I never know if it's going to come out right when I start these things! Yes, the butt stock and trigger area are carved from one piece. For the trigger, I started by drilling out the larger area in front of the trigger. then just gouging and carving until I was happy. Well, I actually broke the first one I did...too much gouging. I still need to do the pistol and a shotgun, so I'll try to take more pics then!

I would have made the centaur one piece, but some are going to have armor on the human torso, and some are going to have other things, like trophy necklaces and such, and some will be plain. So, the tops will be inter-changable, and that will allow for more unique models after I get more options of horse bodies to interchange the human torsos with. Did I make sense there? Anyway, we're going for more options.

I have not made horse heads. I'm not ready for that. I'm having enough trouble getting the body to look decent.

And yes, I'll get some paint on the commissar ASAP, so you can see the detail. I have to go into the basement though if I want to paint, I can't do it in the house like Dave can. It's a hassle.

Thanks Vic!

oh he stated he wokrs in his mancave ...the garage known to some ... but it is fully heated and equiped to the teeth^^

well that craving at least prooves again that i should chanhe my blades more often^^ which i sadly don´t do quite as much as i should...it is a vicious circle^^

i got you pretty well on the torso and horsebody issue... understood...

Oh, yeah, I forgot about Dave's man cave. *envious* That would be the way to go.

We are currently looking for a new house...I say no to all the ones that do not allow for ample room for me. My dream would be to have enough room for a nice long work bench, and a spot to have a painting booth, and a photo area too.

It may just be a dream though.

yeah... we are atm at a similar position... we would like to move out of our current flat too... but either space is not better or it costs too much... sometimes you get even both crappy outcomes at the same time... looking for new places is just something really awfull...also i hate moving... it is a major pain in the rear... first you have to pack everything then clean and paint the new flat, then the old flat and then break your back in the move...then unpack everything again... and all because of a a maybe getting something better...that turns out to be a soething the same but differntly awfull then the last one...

The guy that built and/or owned this place, clearly built the garage as a den, so to speak. He was a tinker, Like the 14' long old shuffleboard deck that is the workbench top, heavy and sturdy as hell- and then he built cabinets under and over it, with speaker cabinets built in. It was my once-in-a-lifetime rental find, and I have honestly spent more time in here, than in the rest of the house (excluding sleeping). I waited 32 years to find this garage of geekdom-come

and it is the envy of all your friends... but that superpowered weapon of massproduction is in the best hands available... the even better hand of course would be mine but they are..ahem...tied down here^^

RSJake wrote:But the biggest thing, was the Commissar #1 is done! Yay!

Now, all you need to do is paint her! i love your works more every time i look at them!

@ F-Bob - Thanks! I'm not sure if I'll get one painted before Wehrkind does, but we'll both most likely post on here when done. I'm not sure if the client who commissioned her in the first place is going to post painted pics, but I would honored if he does.

I didn't do much last night, just added some bits to the Steampunk rifle. I wasn't happy with the GS gears, so I went with thin plastic card. El Vic has asked me to show more steps, so I'll show some here.

I start with rounds punched from Plastic Card (PC), with hole punches. One is 1.5mm, the other closer to 3mm:


Holding down the smaller round with a sculpting tool, I make small notches in the edge of the round:


I didn't space them perfectly even, but it tunred out not bad...not great, but not bad::


I then did the larger round. This one I started with a notch on each side,


and then half-way between those, and then half-way between the rest. Ending up with this, after I drilled very small holes in the center with a pin vise:


After that I added the smaller gear to the rifle, and the larger one to the scope. Then I added tubes running down the rifle, and added some GS.


After that I started on the pistol, shown here for scale:


And with the barrel:


For pics showing the shaping of the trigger area, you'll have to wait until tomorrow, I ran out of time this morning.

Thanks for stopping by!

RSJake

Cool little tutorial on the gears. Have you ever tried using one of the funky star screw drivers to use as a template? Something like this:


Might make the spacing a lot easier on such tiny bits to just put the tip of the driver in the middle, then cut around the flanges.

That is a great idea! Actually, I might be able to make a press mold of those drivers, and make them out of GS too! I'll see if I have some of those, I think I do, and I'll see what I can do with them! Thanks!

Oooh! Good thinking on the Instamold! I type this just after putting down a lump I got from Jin, which works really well.

A lump of press mold, not cancer. Though he probably gave me that too.

LOL!

Looks good, man!