koran Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Sorry about the amount of pics here for those with slow internet. Im just pretty happy with this guy so I went a bit mental. Ok, Ive been fiddling with this guy for about two weeks now (mostly because ordering some bits took AGES). As you can see from the "before painting pics" he's based around a plastic terminator with a FW body. I used one of the spacewolf heads and sculpted on some new hair (as the hair originally on it was rubbish!) and a single braid. The idea was to make him look a bit more typically space wolf without putting on a beard (something that I havent seen suit many models, even space wolves) and to have some of the hair trail over the terminator armour to make it look more part of them model. Dont know if that makes sense but sometimes head swaps are so obvious and I wanted this to look like the head wasnt an addition from another model. After all the best conversions are the once people dont notice. The cloak was a pain as I had to reposition the "arms" of the wolf to fall properly, this involved re sculpting a lot of fur and making it blend in with the old fur. I also had to do this along the back of the armour. Hopefully you guys think it looks OK. http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/NeilCollins_/Space%20Wolf/DSCF3174.jpg http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/NeilCollins_/Space%20Wolf/DSCF3179.jpg http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/NeilCollins_/Space%20Wolf/DSCF3180.jpg So on to the painting. The first thing that I really wanted to do was make sure that the wolf fur looked like a wolf, not just some grey like most of the wolves you see. So I used the below picture as a rough guide. As you can see, most of the fur isnt grey, its actually a beige-grey colour. http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/NeilCollins_/Space%20Wolf/wolf-color-photo.jpg I started with this guys face as its usually the focal point of a model. Normally I leave faces till last but Im thinking Im going to have to change that after the way this guy turned out. Of all of the model I think the face is the thing Im happiest with. I also wanted the model to be suitably bashed up... I cant see a spacewolf returning to the fang after every battle to patch up they armour and make it look good as new again and I think the wear and tear look nice next to the grey of the armour. Theres some different types of damage, small "dinks" which could be from small bumps and wear to actual scratches. I took a very systematic approach to the weathering as (despite what you might think) damage is very rarely at random. In all places most of the "dinks" are heavier on corners, the scratches however (being from gunshots and CC hits) are more likely to be anywhere. Having said that the damage followed an order. The back had the least damage (being that a marine is unlikely to be running away and tactically adept enough that its unlikely someone is going to sneak up on him (doubly so with a space wolf sense of smell). The next up amount of weathering was the front of the armour as this was more likely to get hit by CC weapons and bullets than the back. Next up was the fist, obviously thats smashing into things, thats what its there for, so that had to be pretty bashed up, more so than the front of the armour. The most bashed up was obviously going to be the shield... Its what he uses to defend himself with. So that has the most damage and the highest concentration so scratch/slash marks as well as a large lascannon blast with a more browny burn mark around it. The last thing before I finish this ramble and get onto the pictures is the base. I normally do city fight bases (which some people love some people hate, what you going to do) but with this guy I wanted to do something different. The obvious solution was a snow base, being a space wolf and all. But I wanted to add a bit more to it. So I thought a stone (admittedly its slate "borrowed" from a local police stations garden area, possibly not the best idea ;p) coming out of the ground at a slight angle would be good. This would leave an area where the snow wouldnt fall because of the overhang. Then I had a look at some of the pictures I have of the latest snowfall we had in england. Now when you walk in snow it doesnt stay there, it sticks to the bottom of your shoes, so I wanted to show this.... Spacewolves dont like telaporting (apparently ;)) so he and his "pet" shouldnt have just appeared in the middle of the snow, there should be foot prints. You should be able to see them below the wolf in some pics (where its front paws would have been before it rears up) and behind the wolfguard. So thats about it. As always comments and (constructive) criticism is very welcome. http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/NeilCollins_/Space%20Wolf/DSCF3193.jpg http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/NeilCollins_/Space%20Wolf/DSCF3203.jpg http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/NeilCollins_/Space%20Wolf/DSCF3208-1.jpg http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/NeilCollins_/Space%20Wolf/DSCF3195.jpg http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/NeilCollins_/Space%20Wolf/DSCF3196.jpg http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/NeilCollins_/Space%20Wolf/DSCF3205.jpg http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/NeilCollins_/Space%20Wolf/DSCF3197.jpg http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/NeilCollins_/Space%20Wolf/DSCF3206-1.jpg Oh, one last thing. Bits Im not so happy with... There are two worth mentioning... The first is the fur on the actual wolf.... Basically the sculpt on the model isnt exactly brilliant... Its just what looks like pinpricks all over... I considered sculpting fur over the entire thing, and Im still considering it. It just doesnt sit well with me as it is right now. The last is the wolf eyes... Wolves typically have yellow eyes but despite several attempts I just couldnt get this too look right... It either looked too bright or too dull and unlife like... If anyone has any tips on this Id love to hear them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Bleak Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I think the model looks great, and the lack of yellow eyes does in no way take away from the quality of the wolf. The fur, though, I agree, could use work, but that isn't your fault. Seeing how well you did with fur in the WIP stages, greenstuffing a nice pelt shouldn't be to hard for you. As far as the yellow eyes go, maybe doing a darker yellow with black dots as pupils might be good? I don't know, it is really up to you. Again, everything looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapturowski Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Looking good. I especially like the colours you painted the pelts in. Would you mind sharing your recipe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Guard Hengist Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Looks very nice, it reminds me of the Wolf Guard Picture from our Codex next to the WGBL entry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kable Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 That's one awesome Wolf Guard. I especially like the storm shield and your weathered/damaged look you have given him. Very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetfireUK Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Great work Koran - the piece screams Wolfguard. I really admire those who can visualise something and turn into a finished figure well done. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honda Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Brilliant model and I do agree with you that the face came out very well. I'm still working on getting mine to display the level of "character" that you put in yours, because let's face it (pardon the pun), the face work will make or break the model. Yours really sets this model apart as he looks very feral, without the obvious fangs, beards, etc. you mentioned. I think the fur on the armor works very well and looks the part. It actually looks like it is laying on top of the armor. Sometimes people's pelt-work can get a little thick and we need to remember that as furry as a skin might be, it should still lay over something and reflect some of the dips and high points. So kudos on that. The wolf...I'm still thinking about. As far as a yellow that isn't too bright, did you consider the foundation Tau Sept and then possibly highlight up from there? It's deep enough as a base that it might get you what you are looking for. Is this the start of an army? Bravo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burias-Drak'shal Posted May 16, 2009 Share Posted May 16, 2009 Great looking model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koran Posted May 19, 2009 Author Share Posted May 19, 2009 Im hoping this is the start of an army... But at the moment Im probably just going to do the characters as there is meant to be a new sprue for the blood claws and grey hunters coming out with the new codex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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