Started on terradons

So, here's the start to the terradons. I'm trying a different approach with these -- I've got a base frame started. I found some cheap, medium-gague copper jewelry wire (about $3 for 7 or 9 yards). It's got a good amount of tensile strength but is still flexible. I had to use pliers to clamp and twist the wire at the heads, but was otherwise able to craft the frames with my hands.



The wings are made of stencil material. It's light, flexible plastic that's easy to cut. The frame is made of two lengths of copper wire, connected with a blob of Milliput. The wings were forced into the putty when it was still wet; I then shaped the wing vanes to the wings, added a dab of super glue, clipped them and let them set overnight.

Second, I began working on the body. I'm going to cover the vanes of the wings in Milliput, like this; it's really rough right now, but most of that will be smoothed out and later sanded down. Superglue was added to the Milliput and wing intersection; I really want to get those wings sturdy!

You can see the back here. It looks really silly right now, but I think I'm going to need it that tall. I'm going to be adding a lot of shoulder muscling with green stuff, and I'll also be smoothing out a lot of the body with green stuff. (I have a suspicion that these guys are going to be expensive -- about $10 in materials is my guess. Thank goodness I'm planning on casting them, not making more.)

Finished Tetto'Eko work (Sort of)

Tetto'Eko's done!



I had to use the flash on these, and they're a lot paler and washed-out than I'd like. Still, you can get a sense of the contrast of the overall piece, and the back of the palanquin is pretty real to life. (To get an idea, the glyphs at the bottom of the palanquin are actually the same color as the gold on the back!)



Here's the back.

While the paint's essentially done, there's still some detail work to be done. What needs changing? I don't know! I sat in front of this for a few hours today, and I'm a little tired of staring at it, frankly. It's like staring at a monitor -- your eyes get tired and you start to glaze over details. I'm going to knock out whatever jumps out at me tomorrow -- things that won't show on camera well enough to shoot -- and then seal the whole thing so the paint won't chip and rub off.

I'm working with my wife, Safiya, on drawing some terradons. Those'll be the next project. Terradons: Adventures in molding and casting!

One model down -- what'd we learn?

I feel like I have to enunciate what worked -- and what didn't -- about Tetto'Eko. Organized reflection is the best way to make sense of an experience, so I think it's important to review what I learned while making him.

The bad:
1) Organization. This is a broad topic, so I'm going to break it down a little bit.
First: I had no precise vision of what I wanted. In the future, I'm going to create a sketch of what I'll be sculpting. While the final composition worked for Tetto'Eko, having a reference -- even if I end up deviating from it -- will reduce some of the experimenting I ended up discarding. (There were going to be vines on the palanquin, for example, but modeling showed it was just too busy.) I typically do things somewhat fast and loose, so I don't want to bind myself too tightly to a predetermined design, but Tetto'Eko was a little too loose. A perfect example: Tetto'Eko's staff. Not only is the staff itself really rough -- partly a result of not having a solid direction for it -- but neither the palanquin nor Tetto'Eko were designed to carry it. Oops!
Second: For organic shapes, having a physical frame to build from will be invaluable. I mentioned this earlier, but connecting blobs of Milliput for Tetto'Eko's core was a major pain in the rear. I pinned them -- that is, I connected them with small pieces of metal -- but building on an existing frame would be much better. I'm going to try building on small blobs over a wire frame next time. (At this rate, I may actually finish off my box of paper clips that I use to pin and frame things!)

2) Craftsmanship. Again, a broad topic.
First: Part of the success of this piece came from the fact that I didn't have to sculpt small, intricate pieces very often. When I did, I could usually cheat a little bit and do them in two dimensions. (See the plaques on the palanquin's back.) However, where I had to do actual, three-dimensional sculpting, I typically failed. Examples: the base's cornices, which I had to rebuild; the knotted rope around the base of the horns, which I had to repair; Tetto'Eko's staff. Part of the solution is just being more patient and aware; that will go a long way toward not damaging soft green stuff and in ensuring that it's properly shaped the first time. Another is in the use of my materials; the staff would have come out a lot nicer if I cut thin strips of mostly cured green stuff and glued them into place, rather than trying to craft concentric rings. I've got shaky hands, so trying to go the more delicate and intense route was just a silly idea -- better to fake the piece a little than try something beyond my current skills.
Second: Better tools will go a long way toward helping, too. I was constantly wishing I had good files (mine are all clogged and disgusting, and weren't that amazing to begin with) and real sandpaper (I was using this stuff called glass paper, which is supposed to be reusable. Maybe it would be if I didn't take the grain off it with one go!). I'm also going to keep my eyes out for a squared-off bit of metal on a handle. Having something to square corners will be much-welcomed (I had been using the back edge of my hobby knife, which wasn't terrible, I guess). In terms of work area, I'm going to see if I can't find wax paper that's a little nicer than the kitchen variety; I had a consistent problem of the wax sticking to my green stuff bits, making them lose their tackiness. This wasn't normally a problem -- we have super glue for a reason -- but when I needed the green stuff to stay sticky, it was a huge pain in the rear. Also, I'll probably get a small jar of mineral oil to lubricate some pieces; green stuff doesn't stick to water, but water beads up, making it less than ideal for working on the wax paper or on small pieces. On Milliput, water's a no go for lubrication -- the stuff reacts to water a lot like clay while it's uncured.

The good:
1) Detail wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. Building up the detail, bit by bit, worked out well. When I tried cutting to create definition, it usually failed, but it was all easily repaired by just building up again. When building, underestimating something's size is better than overestimating it; it's easier to build up than to pare down.

And the neutral:
1) The composition of a miniature affects painting in ways I never really considered before. While Tetto'Eko himself works on his palanquin, he would have been a failure as a stand-alone model -- he's just too bare! Painting him by himself would have required some creative use of color to make him interesting. When I make my terradon riders, I'll keep that in mind -- a little bling will go a long way to breaking up the miniature, especially on those long wings and crests the terradons will sport.

What's next?
Terradon riders are my next big project. I'll be building three of them. The major differences won't be in sculpting, but what I'll be doing afterward: Once they're built, I'm going to saw them into pieces and cast the parts with resin. This way I'll be able to have several riders. Eventually I'll purchase the real ones so I can play in tournaments (though I'll probably keep using the ones I made whenever possible), but this will let me play the game at a not-insane monetary cost in the meantime. (And let's be honest, I've sunk a lot of money into the hobby over the years anyway.) Additionally, I'll be sculpting extra legs for the terradons -- they start the battle carrying rocks, which they can drop on enemies; once they've dropped 'em, that's it for the aerial attacks. The resin casts will be half with rocks, half without; I'll have a handy visual guide to who has rocks still.

After that, I'm going to make a kroxigor. I have old ones, and those will do for now, but I want a really big one. The ones I have are 2 1/2, maybe 3 inches tall; the new ones are a little bigger still. I want to make one that's 6 inches or taller, in a nice action pose -- mouth open, fangs bared, charging forward and preparing to swing a massive club into a line of enemy troops. Essentially, I want the brute to be as big as possible for its base size!

Tetto'Eko's almost done! Paint next!

The sculpting on Tetto'Eko and his palanquin is essentially done! He got quite a few additions:



High-qualtiy ties around the base of his horns. (Forgive the smooshedness of these, I had to repair them.)



A bowl of ixti grubs to snack on while fighting the hordes of Chaos.



And that's genuine carnosaur hide on the back there!



Here's what it looks like. That's his staff, out front; it's still being worked on and needs a lot more sanding. I may have to start over again on it, truthfully, but I'm trying to salvage what I've got there.



And this is the stand, with color. The snakes are perhaps a little too bright -- I'm hoping they don't distract from the final piece.

This is Tetto'Eko in his primary primer phase (ha ha!). I like to prime models I've had to do a lot of work on once; the paint makes little imperfections stand out. On this pass, I found a few places that needed more sanding and some clipping; I then daubed the primer where the model was bare.

And here's his base color coat with shading His scales are going to be much darker (and red), but basically, those are the colors he's got. Yes, he's also not wearing much bling, a pretty significant lizardman faux pas, but -- you know -- he summons magical explosive comets. I'm not too worried for his reputation. That's a more complete staff in the background.

More Tetto'Eko work

I had to do some changes to Tetto'Eko himself. I'm considering cutting his right hand to have him hold his staff, but we'll make that decision later.



You can see how I added knuckles and bones to his left hand, the one I was so displeased with. I didn't mess with his right hand; if I decide to leave it as is, I'll cut the thumb and forefinger off, resculpt them, then glue them on so the position is very obvious.



Here you can see the vanes in his crest. They're going to need just a touch more green stuff or zap-a-gap, but they're pretty much done.



And his cleaner, neater dorsal line. Much better!



And this is the stand. It's got a mess of ink on it, but I'll probably have to toss some black paint down on some of the deeper cracks. Then I'll have to go back over it with gray again, get some lichen mixed up and down, and the snakes painted. I like the brass color of the pin, so it's going to stay unpainted. I can't really hide it anyway, so I may as well leave it a color I like.

These are bits for the palanquin. At left is the seat's back; next is the base for Tetto'Eko's staff; at far right are pairs of horns that will be jutting from the seat's back.

And these crude things will eventually become an orrery to top Tetto'Eko's staff. They're hideous looking now, but a little more green stuff and a touch of sanding will make them look much nicer. (An orrery is a mechanical device that models heavenly activity; think concentric rings of a gyroscope.)

This is where horns -- not the same ones as above! -- will go into the palanquin. There will be more ivory that will go across these as arm rests. Knotted rope -- made of green stuff, of course -- will adorn the bottom of these horns and tie the pieces together.

Here's the back, at an angle. This is a very bare, core piece and will probably be entirely covered in green stuff by the time I'm done. That dot near the bottom is where a spike will project.

And here's a frontal view.

Help!

All real artists have assistants, so I figured I'd hire one. All I could afford was my cat, Chicken.



Here she's learning by observing.

And now she's helping! She's helping, everyone run, too much help!

Salamanders

Salamanders are fire-breathing lizards. These are, again, older models that are no longer available, which is a shame -- the new models look like a cat had a baby with a fish and it learned to look absolutely hideous.

I don't plan on using these guys, which are sort of the war machines for lizardmen, in my smaller armies -- they serve a purpose, but terradon riders seem like a better overall unit when huge sets of infantry won't be around. They'll show up in my 2,250-point forces.



The two I have have been minorly modified. Both got heavy bronze piercings in their dorsal fins -- something I'm kinda meh on now, and may remove -- and both had heavy chains added to their necks. This one got the really heavy chain; it looks ridiculous, but I love it!

They both have been hit with a base of paint; this one got the bright red, the other got the brick red. I'm still learning how to use the new washes; sharp-eyed viewers may notice that some of this model is washed, but the midsection isn't. That's because I watered this wash down too much, and it ran to the lower parts of the model. ("New washes?" those in the know may ask. Games Workshop hasn't released a new wash in years! ... aaand I was still using those old washes. I really stocked up!)

The actual armies

While working on individual miniatures is all well and good, it's ridiculous to simply put together miniatures without a goal in mind.

I've put together two lists to represent my 1,000-point Lizardman armies. There's a few rules I have to relate for my 1,000-point lists before I can post them, though:

1) Skinks will always be in units of 10. Why? Simple -- I only have 30 skinks, 20 with javelins and shields and 10 with blowguns. I'm not in a position to blow $35 at the moment on more skinks, and the minimum unit size is 10. While blowguns are great, they only come on the skirmishing skink units, a group I'm not comfortable taking at 1,000 points. There's also strategic uses to having several smaller units of skinks, but the primary reason was economic.

2) Saurus will always use spears. This was a fortuitous dovetail between "useful" and "cool." Blocks of saurus, the lizardmen's primary foot soldiers, are tough and mean. Spears mean the second rank can also attack, meaning double the tough meanness. They're also a steal at one point a model. Also, a unit bristling with spears just looks at least 42 percent more awesome than one with swords or clubs, and that's a scientific fact.

3) Because I'm going for flash, these lists are a little awkward. 'Nuff said.

So, my standard 1,000-point list:
Saurus Scar-Veteran w/ light armor, shield and Scimitar of the Resplendent Sun; riding a Cold One mount (163 points)
Saurus Scar-Veteran w/ light armor, shield and Sacred Stegadon Helm (143 points)
Skink Priest, level 2, w/ a Dispel Scroll and Cloak of Feathers (150 points)
Skinks x10 (50 points)
Skinks x10 (50 points)
Saurus x15, w/ spears (180 points)
Terradon Riders x3 (90 points)
Cold One Cavalry x5 (165 points)

That leaves 9 flex points, which will probably be blank for the time being. If anything gets changed in this list, it will be the Sacred Stegadon Helm for more saurus models. (It really is a cool helmet, but it's really, really bad!) The 59 points together make the Scar-Vet easier to kill, but translates into four more saurus and enough points to upgrade one to a command position.

And my Tetto'Eko army is even more awkward, but it'll be much faster than the typical Lizardman list. And it has a dinosaur!

Tetto'Eko (255 points)
Skink Priest, level 2, w/ Dispel Scroll; riding an Ancient Stegadon with an Engine of the Gods (415 points!)
Skinks x10, w/ a Kroxigor (105 points)
Skinks x10, w/ a Kroxigor (105 points)
Terradon Riders x4 (120 points)

That's 1,000 points spot-on. Really, this is a glass hammer list -- it's all about zipping about the board and forcing the ancient stegadon down my opponent's throat. Tetto'Eko is contractually obligated to smash comets into the enemy once or twice a game (they're magic comets, so that's scarier than it sounds).
I added kroxigors (think bigger, stupider saurus) to the skink units for some extra punch, but I may just turn those units into skink skirmishers later. They'll lose some killy power, but they'll be harder to kill and more effective in limiting my opponent's movement since they can move through terrain. (The kroxigors also serve the vital role of adding more big units to the army, making it look nicer when deployed.)
If they do get dropped, that'll buy me 70 points; in turn, I'll drop a terradon rider (30 points), buy a salamander (75 points) and probably put a Blood Statuette of Spite or a Diadem of Power (either is 25 points) on the Skink Priest.

My biggest beef are those damned terradon riders. The models are awesome, their in-game states are cool, but they're expensive. They go for $20 a pop at MSRP. I own one from the ancient days, leaving three for these lists, but they feature heavily in larger armies, meaning I'll need to have six to eight total one day! That's a lot of cash. I'm not entirely sure I want to actually buy them -- at least not now -- but I'll need to do it someday if I ever want to play this list in any sort of organized tourney.

In the short term, I'm going to make them. They'll be my next project once Tetto'Eko is done.

Tetto'Eko, part II

Tetto'Eko is coming right along.



Here you can see his crossed legs, little upturned feet, arms and face. This was all done on top of the Milliput base using green stuff; the Milliput was rock-hard by now, so it was quite easy to modify. I really like the stuff!



You might notice that his face is much longer now. I had to extend it with the green stuff, but I'm glad I had molded it too short with the Milliput -- it made making his snout much easier. I would have had to sanded back otherwise. It's nice when one learns a lesson without making a mistake.



And there are his hands. They look like they're different sizes, but they're not -- just differently positioned. However, the disparity, illusion or not, is pretty large, and it annoys me. If I do end up remaking this guy, his hands will get the most attention -- they were really difficult! I'll definitely be making them both at the same time; this time, I just made one, put it on, then started on the other.

And here you can see his scales. The dorsal line down his back is uneven; I later trimmed and sanded it, so it doesn't look like an afterthought. It's still hard to tell from this angle, but his right hand is in lotus position, with thumb and forefinger touching. That pose is a large part of why his hands ended up being so challenging -- I'm going to have to wait for the green stuff to harden next time before trying to mold it. That'll make keeping it in shape much less annoying.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my first scratch-built piece. However, I'm really annoyed at those hands!

Remember that base Tetto'Eko will sit on? Here it is, all sanded down. You can still see some divets and such; that's OK, it's supposed to be old and worn. Still, I'll have to tighten down on other pieces -- those weren't intentional flaws, ha ha.

This is a size comparison between Tetto'Eko, his palanquin, and the snake that'll be on the base. I said there'd be a significant size difference! Oh, and that's not mustard on the table -- it's half of the green stuff epoxy. Mixing that with its blue partner results in a green putty that's tacky, elastic and moldable; it hardens to unworkability in an hour or two. It's great for detail work, but it's so soft that it's constantly drooping.

Here's the palanquin with the glyphs added. Yes, the cornices are crooked! This was before sanding. I trimmed, sanded and repaired an area I'd smushed while working. (I keep smushing areas and leaving fingerprints everywhere, it's maddening. I imagine at least 15% of what separates amateurs from pros is knowing how to hold a work in progress.)

And here's a taste of what the floating palanquin will look like. Although the same-sized black bases were used to make the floating bit, it's now quite a bit wider than the base, so the whole piece looks a little top heavy; I'm not sure if I like that or not. I may switch over to a larger square base for aesthetic reasons. It'll make playing a game with ol' Tetto a little problematic, but them's the breaks.

There's no way I was going to leave that boring base alone. This got the same treatment as my slann base, but less detailed; I have a lot of snakes that will go on this one, so there was no reason to go overboard on the cracks and pores of the stones. When this is dry, I'll trim up the sides -- right now, it's really messy and green stuff is spilling over the edges -- then paint it. These bases are so quick to get color on that it's pointless to leave them bare. Oh, and that blue stuff is the other half of the green stuff epoxy.

Here's the second tier of the palanquin. It's hard to tell from this angle, but there's a lot of gaps and seams that need to be corrected before I can go forward from here. See how much cleaner the cornices are, though?

And here's the work so far! that palanquin base looks terribly uneven, but I think it's just the photo. It is a little uneven in real life, but not to this degree. The shadows make it worse, I swear! In any case, the next step -- adding backing to the palanquin and handlebars -- should offset it. I still need to add a few little toys to the piece; it'll be rather bare if I just stopped after making the chair. I'm going to have to put Tetto'Eko's staff on the chair somewhere, but I'm also thinking a bowl of ixti grubs for him to snack on. Can't fight chaos on an empty stomach!

Slann Mage-Priest

The Slann's a longterm project (read: he's almost dead last on my list of things to finish), but he does have some work done. It's the original model; I really, really dislike the new slann, so I'm glad I had this one.



There he is, in his fat, active glory. The new model fits the fluff better, but it lacks any motion and looks grumpy. This guy looks jolly and malicious, which I imagine is how real-life frogs feel most of the time.



This model didn't get much added -- it's already very detailed! -- but I did have to hide some ugly pins that kept the chariot together. That's where this little emblem, feathers and cloth come in. Also note that I completely missed a stud on the hand of the palanquin bearer on the right. It's a glaring mistake that I'll have to clip out before I can get painting. (That stud would normally hold a shield, but I'm not going to put one on him -- he's too busy carrying King Frog.)



This is the Vegas-style feathers I added to the back; there's a chain holding up the emblem above the right bearer's shoulder. This will need some additional work before I get to painting, too -- the feathers are only textured on one side, ha ha. Talk about oversights! I was in a rush to get them on the model because those were the first pieces I'd actually made myself.

That base isn't glued on, but it is done. The little snake needs an extra coat of paint and some silver or gold dabbed into his eyes, though.



Yes, I sculpted the grass; yes, I'm aware of static grass (it's green material that stands up when glued on the base). I don't like the way static grass looks at all. It's fuzzy, and models are never fuzzy -- they're always sculpted. The vegetation on a model should reflect it! Now, if I ever decorate a piece in felt, I'll pull out the old bag of static grass, but until then, it's a nonstarter.

Skinks

I do have one completed part of my army -- a unit of skinks! Skinks are why I love lizardmen, and I absolutely adore the old models. They don't have any scales, so I imagine them as giant salamanders, rather than as lizards. (The new models are OK, but I'm not crazy nostalgic for them.)



I went for the classic orange-with-black-spots newt color scheme. I like how they look, all lined up; I'm going to have to go for something more engaging on the units that run around spread out, though. I'm thinking blue and green with stripes.



The camera's kind to these guys -- they look much less clean in real life. The gold eyes are a failed experiment; I'm not steady enough to get a classic amphibian eye in, so I tried to mimic it by putting a solid gold dot on a mix of black and gold. They just look like shiny orbs, which isn't what I wanted at all -- I'm going to try a yellow eye with gold highlights against black on my next batch.



These guys don't have much color other than their bright orange skin, but it works. They pop really well against their green bases and their red crests really stand out, which I like. Overall, I'm pleased with this unit.

Saurus Scar-Veteran

This is one of my unit leaders. He's a tougher foot soldier -- our basic units are called saurus -- and he gets to wear a mystical, shiny helmet that protects him and lets him better lead his troops.



A few notes: He's primed and inked. (Primer is a neutral, thick basecoat that gets added first. I've heard a lot of reasons on why to prime; the reason I do it is that thin coats of paint don't cover plastic well, but thick coats of paint generally look terrible. Solution: put a thick undercoat down, and paint on that. Ink is a watered-down paint that runs into all the nooks and crevices; I don't see many painters put ink down first, but I learned to paint on my own, through trial and error, and this method works for me.)
Also: I made the helmet and about five other things you can't see in this photo (I'll load more pictures when this guy's in a more advanced state). There's a necklace, a loincloth and a belt. This is a perfect example of doing what looks cool rather than what's strategically best for the army -- this item's not that great, but I wanted to craft it!

The next few steps are: Painting, removing the base and crafting it, then assembling the final model. This guy needs to be taller than other saurus; since he's wielding a hand weapon, and not a spear like the rest of his unit, he's already going to get lost in the crowd somewhat. He's also getting a separate paint job -- like all my character saurus, he'll have white with blue scales and light brown skin. (I've finally settled on bronze skin and turquoise scales for my normal saurus.)