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.

Hi everyone, please find attached a couple of images of a model I'm sculpting. I've dabbled in digital and clay sculpting a few time in the past but I'm looking to really spend some time on this guy and put in as much detail as possible.
If anyone has any advice on details they think would look nice or pattern styles on the armour plating it would be much appreciated!
I'll try and get some better and more up to date pics as soon as possible.
Cheers,
Martyn

MartynJWood wrote:
I'm looking to really spend some time on this guy and put in as much detail as possible.

First thing that springs to mind is: does it need it? It's looking pretty good as it is, and a load of extraneous detail piled on is often a way to diguise mediocre minis.

Looks like it needs some bulk around the torso-horsebody link area.

What's the model for? It looks vaguely Necron so maybe some necron type detail (vents or runes in the armour)

It looks pretty good as is

though imho i feel like that hex barreled gun would rip his arms off when shot.

Any clues as to scale?
It's massively over detailed for 6mm and massively underdetailed if it's going to be printed at be 2ft tall.

Hi all,

Thanks for the feedback so far. Here's a few more up to date pics of how he's looking. At the moment he'll be fitting into 28mm scale gaming, but I want to make him big for the scale.

Looks pretty cool so far, good job.

Minor detail i'm not so fond of is the smoke stack on the back, those four big exhausts look a little silly coming out that little box, also it's asymmetry doesn't work for me, perhaps put that 'barrel' thing underneath and center it?

Something more on the 'Philosophy' side of things to bear in mind also: You should be able to make something look cool without giving it a big gun, a gun or weapon almost always becomes the focal point of any design. I would maybe take the gun arm away and design him with two normal arms, have the gun separate as an accesory, you've done a good job on it afterall.

Thanks Perkustin. Hhmm I do get what you mean,about the back, it's almost like I was just trying to cram in different details that don't necessarily add much to the overall model. I'll have to have a think about the gun arm, I've put a lot of time into it and don'e want to change it completely, although I could perhaps scale it down.
One idea I was toying with at the beginning was an arm holding a large sword.

I don't have a problem with the gun arm, your work shows. It's just that i think when designing things one should build a 'Base model' without armaments, it's a rule i got from concept artists and production designers who stick to this rule when working on movies.

Maybe it's more something to bear in mind when you start you next project

Looks awesome so far.

Does he need a tail or not? I'm really tempted to add one as I think he's missing something there....

I would put the "enjin" on the back ( not the back where it is at the moment) it seems to be missing something there. That way you clear space to have a weapon system that can go over the shoulder as an option. As commented I wont add weapons on now but rather have the "backpack" designed to be part of the model and have separate weapon options. Looking good thus far though.

Hi Kingpin, do you mean the engine with the four exhausts on the back?
I'm not sure about some of the armour patterns at the moment, like the fire shown in the zoomed pic below. Also I'm still unsure about the text/ symbols to add into his chestplate, I've just added some placeholder numerals at the moment.

As far as the decorative details go, it all depends on the backstory of the miniature. Who/what is it, who does it fight for and what is its history? Does the fire tie in to that? If it does then it's appropriate. If not, you could try something else even if it's in the same kind of scrollwork style.

Anyway, it looks pretty cool.

Ya, move the enjin off of his back, it just looks like a flatbed truck from behind.

The finished piece... wanted to get him finished off so I could move onto my next project. Sent the arm off now for a test 3D print...

I have to agree that the smoke-stack doesn't really work that well on the back. Also...minor nitpick, but it's something that is frequently done wrong on 90% of sci-fi miniatures.

The gatling/rotary cannon. A rotary design exists for barrel cooling, meaning a set number of barrels rotate around a firing chamber, to keep from melting one of the barrels. This is only done when you need an exceptionally high rate of fire - which in turn means an exceptionally large ammunition source.

While I know it "looks" cool, it's a huge turn off for me...and something that is almost always done incorrectly. I think you've got some serious potential skill as a 3D modeler, but the arm is killin' me!

Thanks for the feedback! I've sent this off now for printing as I was keen to move onto my next project. There's parts of this model I'm chuffed with and parts I know could be improved for future. I'm really chuffed with how the front legs, lower body and head finished for example. I'll pot some pics up here when I receive the 3D print.
In the mean time I've started a small sculpt I want to get finished pretty quickly, here's some WIP pics.

Just a few updates on how this new model's looking

A few more updates on how the Anubis battlesuit is coming along.

The 3D prints arived! Really chuffed with the quality. He's a bit bigger that I expected though so may have to cast him in resin as opposed to white metal.

Whoa, that printed up quite nicely. I do think it looks really front heavy in the flesh. But the overall design is nice.