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Pretty blooming awesome work Klaus! The face is really ... strange...(in a good way)... you can really tell she is a hybrid between mortal and dragon... its quite eerie...

Really like the darker paintjob.... makes it quite menacing too!

Wow!
Long time no update, huh?

Well, summer was pretty lazy for me and I hardly did anything.
But towards the end of summer I decided to pick things back up.

First project was this Kyudó Archer - a traditional Japanese archer.

It was a commision for a cousins husband, who's a Kyudo archer and has the libra as his zodica sign. So the archer is standing on a scale, with the libra in it.
It was sculpted with SuperSculpey (50:50 mix of firm and standard), then sanded and polished, and finally sealed with clear laquer.

The second project was a pencil cup for my little nephew who had his first school day 3 weeks ago, and with school he got his first desk.
So I sculpted this little dragon pencil holder for him


Well, and with thse two completed, I started my first real project.
It's called " Ilse Sturmfeder, the (chrome) assassin"
As usual I started with a wire armature - made from a metal cloth hanger, the ones you get from the dry cleaners


Then I added mass, using SuperSculpey - the new medium mix

as you can see, I plan a rather dynamic pose for her.

After the general proportions I did "robotize" her. The idea for Ilse was inspired by the old "Sexy Robots" by Hajime Sorayama.


Mostly complete, now with face shield


and then I created her blades using standard 1.5mm plastic card


Once pleased with everything I primed her.


After the primer she got the very light blue base color


and I added the first horizon lines - indicating where the refelctions will be.


Still very crude and a very long way to go
I hope you like todays update and I look forward to your comments and feedback.
Cheers
Klaus

one feels ashamed to still wish you would go back to the lands of 28mm heroic miniatures...seeing these delicate sculpts...
the archer looks very nice, the simplistic touch is probably even a hint of a pure mind, concentration etc...a very interesting model! i have seen similar sculpts/carvings from wood...a very stunning work!

the pencil holder is hilarious and good looking...since your cousin
is starting school, this piece reminds me of "drache kokusnuss" a series of kids books...one especially made for school starters...

the Sorayama hommage assassin looks also very good... tho...forgive me my heretic mind, the boob department looks a tad "stuck" on...well after all she is a robot...but these could have had a slight lower er...(lack of words here^^) position...

Stop it Klaus! You're inspiring me to return to my plans for Eldar mythological figure sculptures for terrain. My list is already too long!


Seriously, fantastic work! Really great seeing where you've taken your skills. Keep building, sculpting, creating. Keep inspiring.

Hey guys!
Still here? Still reading along?

Wow, you guys have a lot more stamina and endurance than I have

Well, since the last update I did continue with Ilse and added some color.


However, on October 30th we had to put our 17 1/2 year old cat Lilly to sleep


As you guys can imagine we're both heartbroken and very sad.
So we kinda fled the empty aparment and went on a 2 week vacation to Cuba.
That was nice and distracting and recuperating.

But when coming back, everytime I looked at Ilse, I saw Lilly there, lying on my desk....


I just can't worj on her right now.
So she's now in the cabinet...

But I still have an urge to "hobby up something"...
I have an idea - based on "Stemming the Green Tide". Not an exact remake, but maybe a mix with the "Tomb Raider" dio....?
I did some scetches, looked up images on the internet, and last night I raided the bits box...


So lets see what the next few days bring
Cheers
Klaus

Oh man.

I'm sorry you had to go through that.

I can't wait to see what you come up with but, take things easy.

still here and omg that cannot be a fig!!!! amazing paintjob, its.......wtf!!!!! stunning stunning stuff!!!

I'm so sorry to hear about your cat. I've had pets pass on too and they're missed so vey much. As much a member of the family as any can be.

I'm pretty excited to see a 40k diorama come around again.

Nice update on the projects. You've got buckets of talent.

Sorry to hear about your cat, it's always a shame when a small hairy member of the family passes away.

EDC

Good to see you sir.

Sorry to hear the news, always hard. RIP Lilly.

Look forward to some more inspirational work.

its exactly why we don´t have any pets...just for that reason...i still remember passed away dogs and cats and even a small rabbit...i don´t want to feel that kind of hurt if avoidable...


feeling a slight pang of guilt for still not having worked on the tomb raider dio...

See, that's why you get tortoises. They outlive you. And your children. And possibly their children as well.

It's always tough saying goodbye to a pet. Condolences.

Thanks guys!
I'm really glad to see so many of you still around
Thank you all for the condolences.
Here's a little photoshop I did of our cats.

They are remembered well, and we both think back of all the good times we had with them. We're still giving us a bit more time, but we're absolutely sure, that we will soon (probably mid next year) have cats again
No tortoise, no cat-less household - to my wife and me they just give too much back.

Well, as mentioned, the hobby itch seems to be back
The idea bouncing in my head is based on "Stemming the Green Tide" mixed with the "Tomb Raider" fluff section.
An expedition of the Crimson Guards sent to recover a valuable artifact. Not sure if it will be on Dencara or on another planet...
Just as they have finally discovered the sacred item and are about to recover it, they are attacked by Orks.
So it will be a "last stand" type of battle in a temple(?) ruin with the Crimson Guards against Orks.
From a composition point of view there will be a throne like feature at the top end of a long (stair) rise lit by blue-ish moonlight (a beam coming through a crack in the roof?), while the actual fighting, lit by the gun flashes will happen on the stairs below, with most of the Orks attacking out of the dark.
...
hopefully
...


So, with this bouncing around my brain cage, I raided my Space Marine bits box.


Unfortunately I'm no longer in the possession of the Space Hulk throne piece with the dead Marine, but hey..."Selbst ist der Mann"

(no pressure on you Vik )

Still plenty of cleanup and GreenStuff necessary.


Some of the basic fighting poses - though I think I will not do the Flamer, the cinematic effect would draw too much attention.


These two in hand-to-hand combat - not sure if it will be a fist fight, or if the Marine will have a sword....


A fallen Marine in his last defense...


This will also be more of a hand-to-hand, close-in pose - maybe an Ork striking down with a big axe.


And (if I can make it look convincing) a downed Marine with an Ork on his back, trying to suffocate or choke him.


Well, this is as far as I got.
I think I will start building up the stairs next, so I can work on finalizing the poses.


What do you think?
Ideas, suggestions?
I look forward to your feedback.
Cheers
Klaus

Beautiful cats. Bitter sweet memories. We have had cats the whole 25 years of marriage. Don't think I will ever not have them.

Now the scrap!

Geezer on throne looks awesome, but I dare you to do a ork skull on it like some form of desecration.

Love the other guys, but instead of swords what about stools or pews, kind of parody of a bar fight, but in a chapel!

I did an ork a while ago, a warboss with a marine being crushed, but the marine had his sword up to the hilt in the belly of the ork while he was at it, it was for the Face to Face competition, would love to see your take on that.

And I have had an idea for a while of a marine or IG stood with a torch in the corner of a room, coming through the doorway, but what he does not see is behind the door an ork huge and brooding about to clobber him. The ork would be all in black apart from the highlights from the torch, fantastic opportunity for OSL. You could do it so much better than me. That stuck away in the corner somewhere of the dio would be great.

In the end everything you do is inspirational and fabulous so looking forward to this.

Excellent sculpting work , especially that archer piece. I love how you've successfully blended Kyudo with the Zodiac, it's a clever piece of design.

Klaus hath returned!

Firstly, I want to send my condolences! I have 3 dogs and canf imagine going through that!

Second..... great to see you back in the groove so to speak! I believe it is well documented how much I enjoy & respect your work and I cannot wait to see where this is headed!

Im getting no time myself at all at the hobby but very much look forward to seeing the progress here!

Cheers, MB

Thank you guys!
I hope your festivity preparations are well underway and you're not too stressed out to enjoy some hobby time

@MagosBiff - Let's see how long I can keep up the energy
But right now it looks good.

@hk1x1 - thanks Mate

@Camkierhi - Thanks!
Nice idea (the bar stool), but I'm not sure if I can really pull it off. For now he's holding a sword. But let's see how it all progresses.

Again: THANKS GUYS!

With the basic Marine actors assembled I started to build up the environment.
First was the throne and its platform.


The brick-factory working at full capacity


Slowly building up the base - with some Styrofoam as support. Two columns at the lower end to give the scene a frame.
While the PVA takes some time to cure, I use a ruler and some weight (a bunch of SuperSculpey packs) to keep the bricks in position and leveled.



Most of the brickwork completed.


The throne as center piece in the back. A first position test with the Marines.


Not 100% sure, but I think this will be balanced enough, with the top 3 Marines providing light with their muzzle flashes, while the lower areas will be darker - maybe some light effects form the energy blades?


Then I created some skeletons from the original struggle, hundreds of years ago...


Only a dead Ork is a good Ork?



Plus the two dead throne-guards


Still needs a lot of cleanup, detailing, and of course the attacking Orks.
But I hope it already gives a good impression of how it will look in the end.
I look forward to your feedback and suggestions.
Cheers
Klaus

Holy hell...

 LeCacty wrote:
Holy hell...

Thanks

BTW, I think I'd like to add an Indiana-Jones-Style character to the scene - near the throne, just about to pick up the sacred item (open to suggestions too).
Any ideas, samples (of models built)?
Thanks
Klaus

Sweet feth that is gonna be champion!! Great great work

Maybe an inquisitor jones?

That looks amazing! I can't wait to see more!

With the Ork skeletons- I'd suggest carving at the legs to make it look more like the cloth of the pants is draped over bone, rather than flesh- they're too well filled out right now. The torso can be explained away as it being armoured and thus self-supporting, but the pants can't be explained away that way.

Anvildude wrote:
With the Ork skeletons- I'd suggest carving at the legs to make it look more like the cloth of the pants is draped over bone, rather than flesh- they're too well filled out right now. The torso can be explained away as it being armoured and thus self-supporting, but the pants can't be explained away that way.

True. Though that'll be a lot of sculpting/dremeling on the legs. Might be easier to plasticard up some armor plates for them?

Sorry for your loss Sir, never fun to do, my brothers cat is at that point as well, but she is over 20 years old and still fussing.

Great start to the project. Popping corn right now to enjoy this thread

Thanks guys,

@Theophony - thanks Mate!

@Whalemusic - yeah that would be great, let's see...

@Januine - Thanks Mate!

@Anvildude and xXWeaponPrimeXx - never good enough, eh?

Just kidding.
I took your comments to heart and tried it last night. Please judge for yourself

As mentioned yesterday I had the sudden urge to add an Indiana-Jones-Style character.
The initial idea was to add a human, based on IG parts. But that wouldn't really make sense with my Crimson Guardians Space Marines - they wouldn't be accompanied, or even bossed around by a mere human.
So I decided to use a Marine with a Apothecary weapon and a head with a hat - it's one of the excellent Mad Robot Miniatures Boonie Hats.


And with a bit of GreenStuff to give it a "neck" the head fits really nicely.


If I recall correctly Dr. Jones is always carrying a satchel-bag, isn't he?

Well, he'll definitely will get a whip.

Anvildude suggested that the Ork skeletons pants should be more carved out, as they are too well filled out.
Weeeell...
I gave it a try...


But I have to say for my taste it is too much work for too little effect. What do you say?


That's as far as I got last night.
But here is another positioning shot.
The (currently still Blood Angels) Termie is the central piece and will be the focal point and also the source of most of the light (hopefully).


As you can see by the small rod, his fire will be aimed at the (not yet existing) Ork strangling the Marine on the floor.


I have to add an Ork directly in front of the guy with the hammer, one to the kneeling guy on the left, and the one "Strangler".
Green indicates the Orks, yellow the muzzle flashes, and blue the power blades.

Too busy?

Whaddaya think?

Cheers

Klaus

War is busy!!!!! That plan looks excellent. You planning on really playing up the OSL from the weapon discharges as the main light source? It'll be a serious endeavor but will look out of this segmatum in the end

On the orky skeletons- man, that does look tons better. What I was thinking, though, was leaving the pants on- just carving away so that it looks like the fabric is draped over bone instead of flesh-

sort of a 'p' cross section instead of an 'o' cross section, if you catch my meaning? I should make up a diagram or quick render for what I mean...

Got a nice balance to it, I think. Maybe more orks!

Indy marine looks good.

Happy New Year!
I hope you had a great time with family and friends and a time well spent away from work, school and all those other routine chores.
My wife and I were in Belgium for a view days and celebrated New Years in Brussels (guarded by soldiers). We visited Bruges, Ghent and Brussels - wonderful cities

Thank you all - I hope you all had a great start into the new year.
@Camkierhi - I totally agree
@Januine - yes hopefully it will work woth the OSL
@Anvildude - thanks. Yes it makes complete sense - Thanks Mate!

Well, before we left for Belgium I worked on the diorama and planned to complete it.
Most of the Marines got their opponents.
And I worked on the slayer.


I added some debris and the individuals received details (like purity seals, pouches etc.)
Then I sculpted some muzzle flashes using ProCreate.


With the remaining PC I sculpted some ripped and torn tapestry.


At this point I was pleased and considered the diorama built phase completed.
Hmm, maybe some spider webs?
So I created some tiny plastic strands using a candle.


And then I glued some in position to simulated spider webs....


Not so sure if it really works. I will probably have to try something else.

But at this state I left for Belgium.
Coming back, I decided I need some more Orks at the lower end - to show the brunt of the attack just arriving.


And I decided that I want a counter figure to the central Terminator.
How about an Ork Banner Bearer?


This could be fun!

So I sculpted a flag from ProCreate. And this is how it all looks now.





I think this will work.
What do you think?
I look forward to your comments and suggestions!
Cheers
Klaus