300,000 page views calls for something Grond!

Well, as the 300,000 page views mark arrives, I thought it was time to start bringing out the big guns!

This was the most complicated overall sculpting job that I ever attempted.  It was the last of the big dioramas.  This is only one piece of the giant puzzle.  You are seeing all sorts of sculpey types being used here.  The white sculpey was used for the elements that required the most detailed sculpting.  The colors of sculpey were stronger, and used for the wheels and the pylons.

There are large metal armatures that run throughout the support pylons and Grond himself.  To give you an idea of the massive size, Grond alone weighed over 2 pounds... and he was hollow!!

I used jewelry chain to hang this from the pylons.  There was a lot of trial and error to get this to hang level, but also swing back and forth.

In later posts, I will show the two converted trolls that are pushing it from behind.

I also sculpted a pair of dinosaur type creatures to pull this.  The whole thing had to be mounted on a board over 2 feet long and 15 inches wide.  After this enormous project, it was time to step away from these epic constructs. :-)

If I were to do this over again, I would be able to make it with far less sculpey.  It would weigh a lot less, and be less fragile.

Stay tuned for further posts that show the painting of all the different elements, including some orc archers standing on the top level... just like in the Return of the King!

Once again, I want to say a huge thank you to all of the people who have been taking the time to look at this blog.  It makes it all worthwhile!  I hope to continue posting things that make you want to keep coming back :-)

Sir Broderick and the Bronze Goddess

For this final post on the Bronze Goddess, I have some images of the miniature that went with the diorama.  He is a Reaper figure.  Here are some close up shots of the Bronze Goddess...

And some close ups of the Sir Broderick miniature...

Painting the Bronze Goddess

OK, here are some images of the diorama after it had been painted.  I knew that I needed some contrast in colors, so I chose the Dark Green marble which would  contrast nicely with the bronze goddess herself!

It can be a bit of a challenge to vary the "grain" of the marble, which can show individual pieces or slabs of marble very clearly.

My next post will have close up pictures of the goddess and of the miniature.  Stay tuned!!

Sculpting the Bronze Goddess: A diorama

Here is yet another piece from the Golden Age of Dioramas, probably early 2005.  This was made entirely from sculpey.  You can see the Reaper 28 mm figure on there for scale comparison.

I sculpted the goddess separately, and glued her onto the pedestal when it was baked.

Here are a few close ups!

I will more posts coming that show the painted diorama, and some shots of the miniature!  Stay Tuned!

The Grand Old Flag

When I ran across the images of my converted Justicar figure the other day, if got me thinking about this piece, which was created not long afterward.  I liked that banner idea so much, I just had to work that in with this figure.  

I had an old edition Nemesis Force Weapon, which made a nice addition to this Grand Master.  As usual, the base was very fun to paint!

Now that you saw all of those slate Grey Knights, I thought it would be an interesting prospect to have them side by side... or at least on on top of the other. :-)

It will always amaze me how you can take the exact same figure and give it such a different context just by changing one or two colors!

Reaper and Warmachine Inquisitor converts

Following the previous Demonhunter conversion post, we have some more minis that I substituted for Inquisitorial henchmen.  I wish I still had these ladies, which I used as Death Cult Assassins, now that you can have huge bunches of them!  I believe these Warmachine figures are from the Witch Coven of Gharlast.

This was a sage that came from the old Void game, which is probably available through Brigade models now?

Then we have a few Reaper figures that I changed a bit to work as mystics.  This one was a particular favorite of mine!

I am not sure what this guy is.  He may have been a Mordheim or Necromunda figure...

Converting non-GW figures for Inquisitor retinues

My original Demonhunters army always had at least 2, of not 4 Inquisitors with retinues.  As a result, I needed a lot of retinue figures!  I had a decent amount of official Acolytes, familiars, along with a smattering of servitors, but I definitely needed much more.  As a result, I decided to have some fun making the needed conversions from figures at hand.

Here is an example of a blood bowl player being turned into a plasma toting servitor.  There are some Empire and Tau bits in there, along with a scratch sculpted plasma cannon.  Back in the day, these guys were very nasty in a retinue where the Inquisitor had a Sage...

He caused so much damage, he even got a trophy head!

Here's another, even older, blood bowl figure with a scratch built heavy bolter.  I used random bits and plasticard to make the saw arm.

More random bits, another sculpted heavy bolter.

I had some broken Dark Age minis, which make perfect retinue figures!  I sculpted some storm bolters for these Acolytes...

These are also Dark Age minis.  Amazing what a piece of chainsword and some purity seals can do!

This one was a favorite.  Another Dark Age mini with some Sister of Battle Canoness bits and extra purity seals...

One more Dark Age figure with a Canoness bit, a Space Wolf head, and other sculpted pieces.