[MarcoSkoll]

Okay, so I've not done much modelling in ages. Most of my recent "art" has been drawing.

And so, I need something to kick me out of this. This means it's project time!

I could return to the sculpting of Marco's warband and finally get the converted stand-ins off the table, but over time I've become less happy with that early sculpting. For one thing, Marco is short compared to what I originally wanted.

So, I'm starting from scratch on a set of five models. Some of these, if things go well as far as rearranging my schedule, are models I'm hoping to use as an IGT warband (If they're not ready in time, there are of course other options.)

As of now, I have five armatures that look more or less like this.
I'll not give you a link to each one individually. They currently differ in little but height and intended gender, as they're not yet posed.

The three that will become a warband in their own right will all have appearances based on various different pictures that have caught my eye over the last few months.

Inquisitor Lyra Joandra Rhodes will be based on this piece, by Garth Cameron Graham - the artist behind a couple of webcomics I quite like.

An as of yet unnamed Stormtrooper Sergeant will be based on this piece, which caught my eye in the last IG Codex. I've tried in the past to pin down which GW artist was responsible and failed - so an answer would be much appreciated.

And the last member is being based on a tweaked version of person D in this piece which was posted on Ordo Illuminatus by Mack Sztaba.

Of the others, number four is Frost.

The last has an appearance based on my own. For the most part, it'll be used as NPCs when extras are needed.

With all that said, there's little more to report, but I'm getting this out there so perhaps you lot can cajole me at appropriate times.

[Adlan]

good luck, looks good.

Inquisitor Lyra Joandra Rhodes, looks a lot like eoliths vamire huntress, in pose and clothing.

[MarcoSkoll]

Inquisitor Lyra Joandra Rhodes, looks a lot like eoliths vamire huntress, in pose and clothing.

I'm not planning to keep the pose of the picture for anything but the Storm Trooper (and even that's likely to get a little tweaking).

In this case, the pictures are just being used for general character design and clothing (also, equipment in appropriate cases) - the stances will be adjusted to more dynamic ones that won't look too out of place in combat.

[Tyrant]

Certainly looking forward to seeing this progress, although I dont think i've seen any of your previous work, Starting with armatures is not something I have the confidence in doing myself.

Nathan.

P.s. I can only assume Frost is based on David Jason? 

[MarcoSkoll]

Certainly looking forward to seeing this progress, although I dont think i've seen any of your previous work

There hasn't been all that much previous work. I got to this point on a model of my namesake, but other than a few 28mm scratch sculpts there hasn't been much else.

Starting with armatures is not something I have the confidence in doing myself.

It's not quite as hard as I initially thought. It's not much harder than knowing the basics of anatomy, finding some tools/materials, then jumping in.

As far as anatomy, I've been trying to learn drawing on and off over the last three and a half years, so I've got a good horde of reference books for that... it's easy enough to turn them to the task of sculpting.

For tools, you can get away with as little as a sculpting tool*, some cheap small brushes, files/clippers/a craft knife, some wire (paper clips work, but brass wire is better), and the putty.
*I have to say I much prefer the older, more (for lack of a more convenient word) feminine sculpting tool GW did - the current one they sell appears to have been poorly welded together from several blocky pieces. (Fortunately, I have two of the old ones, including one I went about Teflon coating)

And jumping in is hardly difficult. This is actually one of those things where it's a GOOD thing to start at the deep end.
If you feel like starting, then I'm perfectly willing to give hints (and I'm sure others will be too).

P.s. I can only assume Frost is based on David Jason?

You know, with that smiley, I'm not entirely sure if you're joking or not. If you're not, you may want to follow the link I left.

Aside from the fact that my Frost uses an alias that is the same as the surname of a character that David Jason has played, they share little - not even their gender.
There's no reference intended in Frost's alias. I just chose it because it sounded like a cool name for what I originally thought would be a mostly off-table character in my Inquisitor's network.

[Tyrant]

Certainly looking forward to seeing this progress, although I dont think i've seen any of your previous work

P.s. I can only assume Frost is based on David Jason?

You know, with that smiley, I'm not entirely sure if you're joking or not. If you're not, you may want to follow the link I left.

T'was a joke. poor but still..

[TheNephew]

(Fortunately, I have two of the old ones, including one I went about Teflon coating)

Note: I am aware that I'm saying this on a forum devoted to playing with toy soldiers.

Marco, you do some damn strange things with your spare time.

Still, I look forward to seeing how this goes. Especially your self-portrait, as I'd imagine that's working with a rather stricter aim than most do when sculpting a face.
Are you going for the hat and hair on Rhodes and Person D respectively?
If so, how are you sculpting the hair, and how're you planning on doing the hat brim?

[MarcoSkoll]

Marco, you do some damn strange things with your spare time.

Indeed I do.

But, weird or not, putty doesn't stick to a polished and Teflon coated sculpting tool - and unlike using Vaseline, the putty will still stick to the model afterwards.

Especially your self-portrait, as I'd imagine that's working with a rather stricter aim than most do when sculpting a face.

It's going to be tricky, I know. I doubt I'll get it quite right.

Fortunately, it'll get a little backup, because I have a few "trademark items" - the rather odd combination of a heishi necklace, a braided silver ring and a leather bracelet. Including these should help associate the sculpt with myself. Okay, I'll never be able to exactly paint the Celtic patterns of the bracelet on a model that's two and a bit inches tall, but I'll do what I can.

Are you going for the hat and hair on Rhodes and Person D respectively? If so, how are you sculpting the hair, and how're you planning on doing the hat brim?

Yes to both the hat and hair.

I guess I'll do the hat brim by cutting and pressing it from brass sheet, which would allow for it to be that thin and wide without any trouble trying to prop a GS version.

The hair - I'll have to improvise a bit, because replicating that exactly from GS will be near impossible. I guess a general shaping, then pull at parts of the fringe with fine tweezers. There's a possible call for some of the fine wire I've got so he'll still have the loose fringe. We'll see.

T'was a joke. poor but still..

Well, fair enough.

[MarcoSkoll]

Bit of an update.

Basic shapes of left legs and abdomen all in place. I'm intending to get the upper torso and right legs all sorted this afternoon to allow me to do last minute tweaks to the details this evening.

The start of detail work will probably come tomorrow.

Firstly, from the left - Lyra; "Person D", who's going to be an Illusionist psyker; and the Stormtrooper:
*Changed to a link*
Eventual heights for these three will be about 53mm, 57mm and 60mm.

Frost; and myself.
*Changed to a link*
Eventual heights will be 51mm and 62mm.

Those people who fret too much over 1/35 models should take note that in the latter picture, both Frost and myself are to the same ~1/30 scale*. People can easily vary that much - while she's about 5' tall (in the background at least), I'm about 6' 2".
A 1/35th model in amongst everything else (indeed, Frost is about the height a typical 1/35 model is) would be perfectly reasonable for a short character.

*1/30 is about what I reckon Inquisitor to be. It places a 5' 9" person as a model that's ~58mm to the top of the head, which as both are typical heights (for UK males and Inq models), is about right.

Also, a somewhat messy test run on Frost's coil rifle that needs cleaning up:


It's obviously made from various 28mm parts and brass strip. I did it to about 1/24 because of the tendency for Inq's weapons to be a little generous size wise.

[Simeon Blackstar]

That coild rifle is so stolen! 

Some good sculpting going on here.  It looks like Inquisitor is getting a lot of people learning how to do it.  I'm very much looking forward to seeing the end product, though to my knowledge you still need to finish Marco and Silva, who I'm also hoping to see finished soon - and if you have done them, where can I see them? 

[MarcoSkoll]

That coil rifle is so stolen!

I hesitate to ask from where, lest I fall foul of missing a joke again...

...though to my knowledge you still need to finish Marco and Silva, who I'm also hoping to see finished soon - and if you have done them, where can I see them?

I mentioned that briefly in the first post - I made various mistakes in the production of those two. (Notably, height. Both are supposed to be above average height, but both models fall short of norm.)

I feel I can do much better than those early attempts, mostly because I've learnt more about art and anatomy in the intervening time.

While Marco's model is far enough done and has enough redeeming features that I'm likely to try and recover some of the effort that went into his model (although, possibly not to use as Marco), Silva's model was hardly started and will likely get a clean restart.

[Inquisitor Cade]

That coil rifle is so stolen!

I hesitate to ask from where, lest I fall foul of missing a joke again...

I think he means he intends to imitate it, an I can see why, it is a very nice looking gun. My only qualm would be that the powercell is very obviously a lasweapon thing, so I'd suggest disguising it a bit to be a more generic powersource.

[MarcoSkoll]

I think he means he intends to imitate it, an I can see why, it is a very nice looking gun.

Okay then... I was wondering if I'd managed to accidentally steal it from somewhere.

My only qualm would be that the powercell is very obviously a lasweapon thing, so I'd suggest disguising it a bit to be a more generic powersource.

Actually, that was deliberate choice on my part. A coilgun needs electrical power from somewhere, so why not make it use what's already a widely available, standardized, high capacity and high power battery?

Okay, that may be attributing a little too much modern engineering sense to the Techpriest that created the rifle design - but my old habits die hard.

...also, when I was doing the drawing, I was trying to make the coilgun a weapon that was inarguably Imperial in design, so I stole a heap of design elements from various different Imperial weapons and bolted them together. Still, the lasgun powercell was something I'd decided in advance.

[Inquisitor Cade]

Well I perscribe to Precinctomega's theory that a lasgun fires more than just light. I don't believe that a lasgun could run off a wall socket at simmilarly don't think that a lasgun powercell could act as a power source for other appliances.

So I'm against the lasgun style powercell, but I have no evidence to back me up on it.

[MarcoSkoll]

Well I perscribe to Precinctomega's theory that a lasgun fires more than just light.

While there's weight to PO's theory about a combined laser/particle device (not that it's the only way for lasguns to work), that doesn't necessarily mean that the magazine carries any more than electrical power.
A Cathode Ray Tube is basically a particle accelerator (if a simple one), and those work on no more than electrical power - with the right particles (electrons), there's no need for any complication.

And as far as I know, canon suggests that they ARE purely electrical cells.