Buglands (miniatures sculpting)

[NAVARRO]

Hi all, for the past 3 years i have been learning to sculpt 28mm miniatures with Kneadatite Duro (greenstuff) in my short freetimes.
Still a long road ahead but i hope to improve with the help of such talented sculptors and art folks here at concept art, so please feel free to comment and critique heavly i have thick skin and i need to improve.

For those that dont know i started small converting gamesworkshop alien race the Tyranids but im aiming more and more for full sculpts as time goes.

You can find all my convos and sculpts here at my site.

http://buglands.moonfruit.com/

but i will post some pics for the lazy ones;)

(green parts are my sculpting)

http://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postnuke/albums/GENIESnavarro/Hermit_Crab.sized.jpg

http://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postnuke/albums/GENIESnavarro/Turtle.sized.jpg

http://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postnuke/albums/GENIESnavarro/Alien.sized.jpg

http://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postnuke/albums/GENIESnavarro/Technovirus.sized.jpg

http://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postnuke/albums/GENIESnavarro/Snake.sized.jpg

http://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postnuke/albums/WIPnavarro/Predalien.sized.jpg

http://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postnuke/albums/WIPnavarro/Diorama.jpg

http://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postnuke/albums/WIPnavarro/Eldar_Autarch_4.sized.jpg

http://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postnuke/albums/TGUARDnavarro/Tyrant_Guard_2.sized.jpg

http://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postnuke/albums/GENIESnavarro/Clawed_Fiend.sized.jpg

http://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postnuke/albums/GENIESnavarro/Cobra.sized.jpg

http://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postnuke/albums/WIPnavarro/Possessed_Champion.sized.jpg
http://www.chestofcolors.com/cofc-postnuke/albums/GENIESnavarro/Tau.sized.jpg

not 28mm but i have been working on this titan (still wip)

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/2704/titantorsowip1na9.jpg

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/1820/titantorsowip2or3.jpg

oh and on buglands theres a couple of tutorials of the little i know...

[Swift (BM)]

Cool work. That is an Eldar Titan isn't it? Is that the one from Forgeworld? good stuff.

[NAVARRO]

Thanks. Its a Eldar phantom titan from pre forgeworld days, its when armorcast did GW big resin kits.

[Swift (BM)]

Ah, cool. I must say I my favourites are the one with big claws and the small one that looks like an Eldar something or other.

[realitychek]

Cool stuff! I especially like the one that looks like an Alien/Predator cross

[Breath of Life]

Wow! Those are some fantastic finishes and details. I love how well you combine the mechanical and organic parts. Are you going to paint them soon? I wanna see!

[NAVARRO]

Thanks guys:bashful:

Currently i have like 50 convos tyranids alone to paint :^^;:
, even if i intend to paint them in a near future for now im concentrated on finishing titan sculpting.

Its hard to make time to learn a bit about miniature sculpting... also next step maybe a diferent scaled creature, bigger one, but with 28mm detail work, i will have to find a cheaper material also since greenstuf is on the expensive side but it holds detail so nicelly.

[Vermis]

Apoxie sculpt, Nav. You should've heard me 'n' Trygon bang on about it enough. ;) Bulk out your freshly mixed GS with it, to bulk out your work; although the more AS you put in, the softer it'll be than what you're probably used to.

[NAVARRO]

Apoxie sculpt, Nav. You should've heard me 'n' Trygon bang on about it enough. ;) Bulk out your freshly mixed GS with it, to bulk out your work; although the more AS you put in, the softer it'll be than what you're probably used to.

hehe hi there Vermis, glad to see you again bug brother:^^:

Yes i remember trygon's formula i was just fishing for more tips and options from pro's here:bashful:
One thing i never asked trygon does apoxie cures on normal enviroment or does it need to be baked?

[Vermis]

No worries. :teeth:
And nope, no baking (http://www.avesstudio.com/Products/Apoxie_Sculpt/apoxie_sculpt.html).

I have to say I haven't seen your titan before, and I'm impressed with what you've done with it. I'm going to have to finally click on a sig-link.

[Pezz]

I just ordered both Apoxie Sculpt and Apoxie Clay after reading this thread. I'm working on a project for GD 2008 and was hoping for something a little easier to work with than GS. I can't make power armor out of GS to save my life, but something more clay-like usually I can always produce better results.

[NAVARRO]

No worries. :teeth:
And nope, no baking (http://www.avesstudio.com/Products/Apoxie_Sculpt/apoxie_sculpt.html).

I have to say I haven't seen your titan before, and I'm impressed with what you've done with it. I'm going to have to finally click on a sig-link.

Thanks for the tip mate, guess i will try out Trygon power combo formula>:D
Titan its still not on buglands, i will only post it when fully finished... begining of next year if all goes as planned.

I just ordered both Apoxie Sculpt and Apoxie Clay after reading this thread. I'm working on a project for GD 2008 and was hoping for something a little easier to work with than GS. I can't make power armor out of GS to save my life, but something more clay-like usually I can always produce better results.

Yes sharp angles are not a easy task to do with greenstuff, good thing i do mostly organic themes with it... keep us posted with the GD entries progress.

[Vermis]

Titan its still not on buglands

So I see.
I think I remember you mentioned your job sometime before, but I never realised how... household-name it is. :dur: You're a pro!

Apoxie: 'Tis good stuff. I think so, anyway. Adding it to GS makes sharp edges easier, anyway. ;)
On it's own, and mixed with GS, it's a little like milliput; except softer (more easily manipulated), less sticky and messy, and less toxic. Much nicer substitute, IMO. Also, in the proper proportions with GS, it acts a lot, though not exactly, like the new procreate stuff.

Anyway. I think I've hijacked this topic for long enough.

[Cryoxzonomony]

never heard of material Apoxie, i first thought than those were plastic detail detail ahhhhh

[freakinacage]

hey guys this is my first post! great work navarro, saw the titan on cmon the other day and loved it! can't wait to see what you do with it. also would love to see those nids painted! that predator rocks!

@vermis - you the same vermis from the forum of doom?

[NAVARRO]

So I see.
I think I remember you mentioned your job sometime before, but I never realised how... household-name it is. :dur: You're a pro!

Apoxie: 'Tis good stuff. I think so, anyway. Adding it to GS makes sharp edges easier, anyway. ;)
On it's own, and mixed with GS, it's a little like milliput; except softer (more easily manipulated), less sticky and messy, and less toxic. Much nicer substitute, IMO. Also, in the proper proportions with GS, it acts a lot, though not exactly, like the new procreate stuff.

Anyway. I think I've hijacked this topic for long enough.

No, no, no hijack... by the contrary this is exactly the reason I posted here, to talk about putty options and tricks... what is your opinion on new procreate putty? so far people seem very pleased with it, although i never really tried it.

never heard of material Apoxie, i first thought than those were plastic detail detail ahhhhh

The only parts i sculpted are the ones in green mate:)

hey guys this is my first post! great work navarro, saw the titan on cmon the other day and loved it! can't wait to see what you do with it. also would love to see those nids painted! that predator rocks!

@vermis - you the same vermis from the forum of doom?

Glad to see another 28mm entusiast here, i also lurked here for an eternity and just now got the nerve to open a thread... I know i need to get my paints out of box and start painting those nids, they are starting to accumulate on my display and are screaming for colors.

I guess this tread is starting to make mini artists all over the net to delurk and post... bring it on mates its time to show our stuff here;)

[Pezz]

Pro Create can be pretty awesome for organic shapes and flat ridig detail depending on your resin/hardener ratio. However, I still await my apoxieclay shipment to arrive in order to compare the two. I like it because it doesnt' try to snap back to its original shape like gum (GS has this annoying quality). It's nice for trying to sculpt, say, fingers.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee236/berserkerp/100_1656.jpg

ProCreate with a 60 hardener/40resin ratio is what I used to do his right greave, but it's still a pain to work with.

[NAVARRO]

Thanks for the tips, i think i have to try it out. One thing i like about GS is that its very sticky so you can use that to your advantage, like by sticking some parts you can extend it to very thin shapes (thing i havent seen well done with other putties) THe fact its soft makes it also very resistant.

more wip pics of my workplace with some titan bits


http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/8408/workingmb2.jpg

[KingUnicorn]

I've always been a fan of the Tyranids. Especially back in the day, around the old Rogue Trader/Space Hulk Edition, when they had Genestealer Hybrids and Genestealer cults wandering the galaxy. Seeing what you've done to add real diversity to your units is terrific. You've really pushed the bio-diversity elements and its certainly going to make for an impressive display on the table-top battlefield.

As for your Eldar Titan, the details you've added are really filling in the "mystical" gaps that were missing from the original Forge World design. You can't go wrong with coil-ly bits...It looks completely ace, and I'm looking forward to a painted version.

~KU~

[Vermis]

Flippin' nice. No complaints here, except that I want to see the finished article...

Procreate: I like it. As Pezzle mentioned, the lack of memory is a big bonus. So is the grey colour, which makes it easier to see details. I've found that these first two properties make it great stuff for sculpting 6mm minis (http://www.cheddarmongers.org/prod/pic/Vermis/scifi/Epic/). :teeth:
It's ridiculously easy to smooth, if you're used to GS. Also, it's somewhat stickier than GS when freshly mixed, which might be an advantage or disadvantage, depending on your POV, sculpting style, immediate task, or whatever. And it seems to have a longer working time.
I'm not sure about the different ratios = different properties thing. Some sculptors say there's not much difference, and although I've tried different ratios, I haven't actually tested it or paid enough attention to the results.
It's supposed to be easier for beginners than GS, and although it took me a while to get used to it I'd agree with that. It's not bad for the more experienced either. It's great stuff, and I'd highly recommend it.
On the other hand, I'm not entirely sure that it'll replace GS and other putties, as people claimed when it was released. Personally I still like to bulk up with GS and AS; and I'd still use GS, AS and brown stuff for (parts of) the outer skin and details, depending on mood and circumstances (in the case of GS, when I want memory, for certain rounded and organic shapes). Also, some sculptors still aren't fond of it. Kev at Hasslefree recently finished an Elvis impersonator (http://heresyminiatures.com/forumofdoom/index.php?topic=6786) that sat on the shelf for a long while, because he started it in procreate and didn't enjoy it much.

Yeesh. I've written a lot like that, about putty and stuff, on Warseer and other places. So much so that I told myself I'd write up some kind of primer or tutorial, for what it's worth. I should get round to it...

Freakinacage: if those links didn't convince you - yes. Yes I am. :)

Pezzle: a tad dark, but nice work from what I can see.

[marcoferrigno]

seen your work around before, think it was on chest of colours or something like that. as a tyranid fan im really impressed by it all, as a crit, its brilliant stuff though i really wish you'd crack open the paint pots... this stuff would look even more amazing painted.

[Pezz]

Hey, I got my first shipment of apoxie clay and apoxie sculpt yesterday. I did in 20 minutes what took me 2 hours in GS to do when it comes to sculpting power armor. I lay down the initial shapes with straight apoxie clay, shape, and then after it firms up for about 30 mins or so, add Apoxie Sculpt + GS and do fine rigid detailing. It dried rock hard in about 4 hours, didn't even have to keep it at the game store overnight to cure.

Couldn't believe it. I'm sold.

[NAVARRO]

I've always been a fan of the Tyranids. Especially back in the day, around the old Rogue Trader/Space Hulk Edition, when they had Genestealer Hybrids and Genestealer cults wandering the galaxy.
(snip)
~KU~

Same here, first time i saw Tyranids was in a old space hulk game a decade (maybe more) ago, since that day Tyranids would be in my brains forever:rendered:

Flippin' nice. No complaints here, except that I want to see the finished article...

Procreate: I like it. As Pezzle mentioned, the lack of memory is a big bonus. (snip)

Yeesh. I've written a lot like that, about putty and stuff, on Warseer and other places. So much so that I told myself I'd write up some kind of primer or tutorial, for what it's worth. I should get round to it...
.

Wow mate thats lots of usefull tips, thanks a lot. guess now I dont have any escuses to try it out... and yes a putty document is in order ( we can even host it on buglands site if you wish to mate)

seen your work around before, think it was on chest of colours or something like that. as a tyranid fan im really impressed by it all, as a crit, its brilliant stuff though i really wish you'd crack open the paint pots... this stuff would look even more amazing painted.

Same heres my sculpts do need colors ASAP... and i also hang out in Chest of colors, great place to be.

Hey, I got my first shipment of apoxie clay and apoxie sculpt yesterday. I did in 20 minutes what took me 2 hours in GS to do when it comes to sculpting power armor. I lay down the initial shapes with straight apoxie clay, shape, and then after it firms up for about 30 mins or so, add Apoxie Sculpt + GS and do fine rigid detailing. It dried rock hard in about 4 hours, didn't even have to keep it at the game store overnight to cure.

Couldn't believe it. I'm sold.

hehe, good to hear, seems like we may have a putty winner on our hands, I really have to try it out Apoxie Sculpt + GS combo.