awong Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 I got confirmation that Shakandara received his mini safe and sound so I'd like to share some images. This was especially neat (and nerve wracking) because this was his DYOM mini...that is, he designed this mini. I made a few modifications, tried to fill his many hands, spread him out a little as he's cast very flat. I got my color inspiration from his description (and I'm paraphrasing), "they come in all colors, even black and white". I thought I'd lean toward "black and white", but it all started sliding into the brownish tones. Those two strange mushrooms at the back of the base...those were actually tools I made to help me re-sculpt some of the lost scales after puttying up the wing joints Hope you like him/it. All comments, critiques, constructive criticisms welcome. -AW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercius Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 just....wow....I love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamond Shark Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 great work, but really like the colours around the face , just seems extra special while not looking separate. he s going to love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Killer Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Wow, Nice Paint Job!! What is the base made from it looks really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe b Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Awesome job. The skin tones are great and so is the sword. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anastrianna Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 I agree...wow. The detail on the face and jaw/teeth is excellent. Very realistic feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakandara Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Indeed I do absolutely love it. I have had a number of people tackle my DYOM since it was released a little over a year ago, and they all go on display in one of my cases here at the house. Each one is very special to me, but Alex really went all-out on this one with his conversion and basing work. Thanks again so much for all your hard work, Alex! ~v Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgtriplec Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 First off great job. I've seen several of this mini and this one is easily my favorite. I think it is especially cool that in addition to picking a mini you knew Vince would love, you also did a display job, and modded and sculpted over joints that takes a lot of work. Sadly, many people don't take exchanges seriously. I myself was stiffed in one I entered in 2008. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kang Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Got any pix (or links thereto) of an unconverted version? I always like to compare. This one looks really great. I'm curious to hear more about the basing as well, and also about how the sculpting-tool mushrooms (which BTW look suspiciously like chocolate chip muffins*) were used. Kang * Any chocolate chip muffin that is growing out of the ground would have to look at least a little bit suspicious, right? Not that this would stop them from being an always-pleasant surprise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakandara Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Well, you can certainly find it unconverted in the gallery; it's #03370. I'll see if I can get some pics up of the unmodded painted ones I have. ~v Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awong Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 Thanks everyone for your kind words. I'm really glad that you like my take on the warrior. He was a bit bigger than what I'm used to painting from Reaper but that meant it was easier to modify. This Reaper catalog has some great pix of the guy as he comes out of the blister. I was mainly concerned with how flat he looked straight out of the box. I know that's mostly a casting issue but subtle bends here and there helped a lot. The other thing that caught my attention were the empty hands. I know if my deity granted me 4 hands and I was a warrior, those hands would be filled . I added a staff to fill two and was actually toying with the idea of a primitive set of bolas balls whirling about his head (that's to explain that awkwardly raised hand...taadaa). @Kang, LOL. About those chocolate chip cookies...I definitely need to study more 'shroom reference. After pinning the wings in I had large gaps at the root of the wings. The shoulders are covered in scales so I needed to sculpt those back in. Greenstuff balls were wrapped around the heads of two pins. After 5-10 minutes (harden a bit) I pressed the balls of G.S. into the scale patterns on the thighs. Now I had negative impressions. After the G.S. tool cured I puttied up the wing roots with more G.S., then used the "tools" to press in the scales. When done, I just had to include them somewhere on the model . The base is just stacked layers (4) of cork board. One corner was cut away to expose the cliff face. I used a spare white metal base (for weight, this guy is heavy) and cut it's corner as well. Flat faces were finished with plaster of paris and sanded smooth. The rocks are from a $5.00 bag of cork chips that I found at Michael's (great deal BTW! Save your cork sheets for the ground). Further ground work was done with layers of PVA glue a sand. I use three distinct sizes of sand which helps with scale IMO. Start with the larger grains. When dry, more diluted glue and smaller grains between the larger grains. Lastly, a finer grain to fill holes (got mine from San Diego beaches). Static grass on top, a thin layer of fibers from a kitchen scrubbing pad just under the surface to represent grass roots exposed by the eroding cliff and Done! Whew, that was long winded. Thanks again everyone! -AW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimL Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Simply awesome! The variation in color around the snout really adds realism to the piece and the NMM on the sword is excellent. The base is really cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaGeek Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Nice job, especially on the face and tail. The base is really nice, too. Well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amalor Myrnnyx Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 :wow: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awong Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 Simply awesome! The variation in color around the snout really adds realism to the piece and the NMM on the sword is excellent. The base is really cool. Thanks JimL. That's the first time I was actually pleased with an NMM weapon of mine. I've had moderate success with crowns or buckles. From certain angles I think it actually looks OK. I really need to sit down with someone who knows what they're doing sometime and learn NMM proper. Glad you like the base. The practicality of it is the almost inch long pin needed to secure this guy buried in all that cork . (Oops, there goes the magic) @MamaG and Amalor Myrnnyx - Many thanks! -AW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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