Marco does something

[Koval]

P.S. I do apologize for the Lynx joke.

Yes, you should, Lynx smells absolutely disgusting -- I for one would have to smell really bad before I reached for a can of Lynx.

Dave -- Liquid Green Stuff should fix that cut in the shotgun rather nicely, or at least help you smooth it over.

[MarcoSkoll]

I like how the death cultist is coming along, especially the detail on the back of the corset, very nice work.

I had to do something back there (having removed the model's original cyber dreadlocks, which wouldn't work with the head change, her back became quite dull) - I'm still tempted to go back and replace it with proper corset lacing, but that might be too fiddly at 32mm scale.

One point i noticed with Lynx Vanden is that the shoulders look a little low relative to the neck and head.

I've sort of thought that myself, so I'll probably be building up the top of the shoulders slightly.

Liquid Green Stuff should fix that cut in the shotgun rather nicely, or at least help you smooth it over.

While I do have Liquid GS (I picked it up as a "what the hell" when I was ordering the stuff with my GT vouchers), I just decided to chuck the regular brand at this. The cut wasn't the problem -  some filing on the area had left it less than entirely flush.

[Gilleon]

One point i noticed with Lynx Vanden is that the shoulders look a little low relative to the neck and head.

I've sort of thought that myself, so I'll probably be building up the top of the shoulders slightly.

Maybe some shoulder pads could help? Granted that's a step back to the original model, but would cover the height difference. Plus shoulder pads are so very 40k.

P.S. I do apologize for the Lynx joke.

Yes, you should, Lynx smells absolutely disgusting -- I for one would have to smell really bad before I reached for a can of Lynx.

Neither do I, but it doesn't mean it can't be joke material

[MarcoSkoll]

Maybe some shoulder pads could help?

That's deliberately off the list, as I don't want to disguise the silhouette of the shoulders. She'd only look more masculine for it.

[Gilleon]

Maybe some shoulder pads could help?

That's deliberately off the list, as I don't want to disguise the silhouette of the shoulders. She'd only look more masculine for it.

Fair enough, as you say i do like the silhouette of the shoulders. Shoulder pads was a simple and easy fix that just sprang to mind.

[MarcoSkoll]

Right. I've adjusted Lynx slightly - I slightly raised her shoulders, some SM scroll cases were cut up to move the grenades to the back of her belt instead, and I gave her a shaped charge.
The last IGT made me realise many warbands probably should be better prepared for when there is a problematic door, doomsday device or vehicle* - hence the extra munition.
*Although the realisation was not because I had found myself unprepared. I had Sgt Kronen along, after all.

And with that done, I did up a paved base for her...



... which isn't exactly the fanciest base going - but I like relatively simple basing, themed across the whole group (and this should be fine to repeat for the other characters). I've also weighted it with a penny, so the model should be pretty sure-footed. (It turns out to be cheaper, if slightly less effective, to weight it with money than lead shot).

And I've now given her the old "spray white + black wash" undercoat. Painting to commence when I feel like I'm not going to mess up one of my favourite conversions in years. (I should note, the shotgun is not yet glued in place, to make her easier to paint).

Also, I made a shot at the new head for the death cultist:

I'm not utterly thrilled with it, but I haven't done one this small (4.5mm) in some time. At the least, I can use it to check the scaling, and then decide whether it's worth tweaking or just restarting.

And, last but not least, I've started the Interrogator sculpt, but it's not really interesting enough to photograph right now - it's a Y-shaped bit of wire with crude shapes of ribcage, pelvis, thighs and calves GSed on. I could show you any other starting armature and you wouldn't know the difference.

[MarcoSkoll]

Just to prove I am getting on with something...

I did start on painting Lynx, but some thick Codex Grey motivated me to strip the model and start over again. Here's where I've got back to:



I'm not happy with the right eye yet, a couple of the shapes look wrong.
To be honest, I think I preferred my first version of the face (when she had a couple more years on the clock and brown eyes instead), but I'm probably too lazy to do much more - and, despite thinner paints this time around, I've probably already done too many layers.

[Heroka Vendile]

that is one damn good face.

[MarcoSkoll]

It's not perfect, but I rather suffer from a degree of incompetence when it comes to knowing how to get the paint to do the clever things - dexterity, it would seem, is not a major hold-up.

And now - a slightly old update and a newer update:

~~~~~

As far as finding a suitable sword for Virasson, I discovered a Nemesis Force sword around from an old bitz order (I think it must have been when I bought the Phobos pattern bolter to use on Sister Rhian):

Its sheer size meant I originally considered it to use on 54mm models, but it could work here. It would need the phantom hand removed and I'd possibly also lose the power/force weapon gubbins (although KrautScientist did suggest it just providing a protective energy field) so it could be a more mundane, albeit anointed, weapon... but what do people think? Just too big?

I've been considering a zweihander of sorts for a while (giving him weapons that have to be used two handed will make him slightly more vulnerable), and if this one is too much, I do have the considerably smaller two handed sword from the Empire Militia kit around - but I don't like the styling as much.

~~~~~

I've been playing around with Reaver* (as the assassin is being called, at least as a working title):


As you can see, I've cut off the offending right side of the face to be redone (as I've taken something of a shine to the parts of the face that worked). I'm generally happy with its size, as this is a pretty true proportioned model by GW's standards (a fair few of their non-plastic females seem to go that way).

The rest is some approximate reposing of the arms. I had originally considered giving her different weapons (such as a whip), but I'm increasingly tending towards keeping the paired blades, at least if I can straighten the damn things out** or find good replacements in my bitz box.
I know it does mean I'm still in that zone where my models are fundamentally similar to what I started with*** - but I think she's still got a distinct character from her original.

[small]*Another Firefly reference, although she's actually closer to River in her character elements, as the line "She did always love to dance" is part of the inspiration here.
** In my limited experience, this has been one of the biggest disadvantages of Finecast - the difficulty of straightening parts.
*** Dissect a scout model, glue it back together into a scout with different hair.[/small]

[Gilleon]

I like how Virasson is coming along, though as you say that sword is massive, by the looks of it it would be near 6 foot long, I hope Virasson is strong enough for something that size. Perhaps the pack could be some kind of suspensor unit which alleviates some of the weight problems? I do like the sword to be honest, very unsubtle Monodominant.

I also like how Reaver/River is coming along, it's a nice pose and the face is a good sculpt that i'm sure will only get better. Are you plannign on sculpting hair for her? With regards to the bent blades, I am assuming you know about dipping them in hot (but not boiling) water for a few seconds, softening the resin and making it more flexible. This should hopefully fix them up perfectly.

[MarcoSkoll]

Well, Virasson is about six foot six and wears power armour (stood straight, the model would be about 35-36mm), so he's not going to be a wimp. But the suspensor is an interesting idea I'll add to the list of possibilities... but I am still planning he'll only be able to use it to full effectiveness two handed.

I will add though... he's not a Monodominant. He is a staunch puritan who takes a heavy handed approach to his beliefs, but those beliefs are a little more lenient than "BURN EVERYTHING!". For example, he will happily work with psykers - after all, if they're proven before Him-On-Earth, what right has he to disagree.

~~~~~

I'm expecting Reaver will get hair. I have been considering that bald look, but I've also had a desire to do a model with a short crop for a while...
... okay, that could sound very wrong out of context.

Thing is, I often tend to default to ponytails for my female characters, and while this is a fair way to give a model a haircut that's a good combination between practical and feminine (says someone with one himself), it's also getting trite.
Hence, I'm hoping to do something different. I may experiment with plasticine or blu-tack first to see if I want to do something longer, but the short hair is probably what's in mind.

And yes, I do know that resin softens up with heat - but it's often hard to be precise about what shape it sets in (and easy to cock up).
Given as the original blades are actually pretty chunky (they're about as thick as they are broad, and would almost pass for better bludgeons than swords) I've instead replaced them outright with new blades made from 0.8mm brass. A rather nice improvement I think - but pictures some other time.

[MarcoSkoll]

Because I'm actually pretty pleased with the result, even if I have a couple of things (like the front edge of the base and my other desk lamp) to fix before proper photos, here's a quick picture of a nearly finished Lynx:



I've said it a few times, but she's one of my favourites to date. No, she's not the kind of fancy gothic model that grabs people's attention... but she's the kind of conversion I like, blending the original model with an original model (to put it in a less confusing way: ending up far from where I started, but without losing sight of it).

And, in this case, I managed to do it with a really unlikely model and some properly good modelling challenges along the way. So pretty much ideal for me, even if she's not other people's cup of tea.

[Gilleon]

I'm right with you on that one Marco, not every model needs to evoke the gothic atmosphere of the 40k universe. As I said before I do like this model, more so now that it's painted. The stonework on the base is particularly well done I think. Can't wait to see the details added to the rear of the model.

[Heroka Vendile]

your patientence and skill with sculpting tool and paintbrush sicken me dave 

[MarcoSkoll]

I haven't had the time to do any more work, save knocking some over-done highlights off some parts of the brow and the left knee, but the folks on Ammobunker asked for some slightly less close-up photos in order to get a better impression of the effect of my "impressionistic" painting style from a distance.

So, here such things are:

your patientence and skill with sculpting tool and paintbrush sicken me dave 

I'd actually attribute this model more to the razor saw than the sculpting tool. Other than the head (which could reasonably have been replaced with a GW or 3rd party female head if I'd actually had any going spare), most of the sculpting here is pretty routine - mildly textured fabrics and flat armour plates.

The most key part in a conversion like this (at least without significantly adding to the sculpting load) is in how best to dissect the model.