Nexus' wORKS in progress

[Nexus17]

Awright ya zoggers!  It's been a long, long time since I last posted anything here at the B&C - in fact, it was so long ago that this topic wouldn't have been possible as we were still restricted to power armour only at the time!
 
Like most people, I've drifted in and out of the hobby over the years as time, money, and interest in other pastimes waxed and waned.  GW has been something of a fixture in the background though and I've kept in touch with what's going on through lurking in places like the B&C.  About 6 months ago I started to pick up a few new purchases to complement my existing collection of motley ebay rescues, amassed over the course of several years.  This was accelerated by the announcement of the Prophecy of the Wolf and the re-emergence of the prophet of the waaagh himself.  And so, like Ghazghkull, my waaagh has been resurrected.
 
I'm a bit of a magpie and as such like to work on multiple projects at once.  This first post is a bit of a snapshot of a handful of the things I'm working on at the moment; I can then show how they progress as well as toss in other bits and bobs as and when they catch my fancy.
 
So, enough blabbing, here are some pics:
 
Bikerboss



 
This guy has been in progress for probably the best part of 10 years in fits and starts and is based around an AoBR warlord that had a hard life before I got hold of him (and an even harder one after I did!).  The bike is a combination of parts built from scratch materials, model kit components, and 3d printed bits.  Next priorities are figuring out the guns (probably going to be based around the upper stanchions of the forks and the horns), adding an oil pan to the engine to fill up some of the gap there and coming up with the exhausts.
 
 
Weirdboy
 
 
I've loved this old school image of a weirdboy firing off since I first saw it the old Codex Imperialis years ago.  For me it perfectly captures the weird, wacky but still deadly nature of the orks.  On the other hand, I don't like the current weirdboy mini at all and I didn't fancy any of the usual suspects as donors for a kitbash.
 

 
So instead, I've gone for a scratch sculpt, inspired by the image above.  This is framed out in sprue as it's quick and easy to get the main shape together and cuts down the layers of putty required.  As you can see I've started to get major muscle groups together on one side.  His proportions are generally those of a nob but he looks a lot taller looking due to being straightened out and on his tip-toes/floating/levering himself up on his grot supporter(s).
 
Next steps are to balance out the main masses and make a start on his face, which will be absolutely critical to nailing the character that absolutely oozes out of the picture.
 
Boyz - Da Red Skull'z Wreckaz

 
I really like the head of the nob I got with bunch of boyz from ebay and decided to theme his mob around that.  The way I see it his ladz would try to emulate their boss to garner favour and show how 'ard they are.  All the boyz have bare heads and many will have masks similar to the nob's, with some variations on the design as you can see.  Others will get warpaint only, showing they're of lower standing.  Although it looks like big blobs are going to be under the cosh in 9th, I'm sticking with a 30 boy mixed choppa/shoota mob with more masks on the CC guys are they're more proppa/better regarded.
 
I'm hoping this thread will be a spur to keep things rolling and help overcome moments when inspiration wears a bit thin.  As such any comments, thoughts or suggestions are more than welcome and I look forward to sharing more with you guys as I continue to gather the waaagh!

Edited June 17, 2020 by Nexus17

[Kierdale]

They sounds great...but the images aren’t showing...?

Only me?

[Barn]

They sounds great...but the images aren’t showing...?

Only me?

Me too

[Nexus17]

They sounds great...but the images aren’t showing...?

Only me?

 

 

 

They sounds great...but the images aren’t showing...?

Only me?

Me too

 

 

Sorry guys, looks like my hosting wasn't playing nice.

 

I've moved the pictures so hopefully you can see them now.

[Naryn]

Love them all, but the scratchbuilt bike and weirdboy are real standouts. Can't wait to see more

[Kierdale]

Say, that‘s a nice bike :tu:

 

I like what you’re planning for the weirdboy, too! You’ve even got his hand on top of the grot! :D

[Barn]

Fixed, and looks awesome!

[Nexus17]

Hey guys,  thanks for your comments.  I've some progress to share on both the bikerboss and weirdboy from the last week or so:
 
Bikerboss
I've been working away at the engine ancillaries and belts in CAD and running off copies to add to the mini.  Between the clear red resin and the general cramped area for the parts, it's difficult to see and get a good shot so I've included a screengrab from the design.  Hopefully this makes visual sense!
 

 

 

 
This week I want to make some headway with the exhausts - that will require picking up some new CAD skills so all in all should be an interesting journey.
 
 
Weirdboy
 
For this fellow I've managed to make a start on his head, as well as more modest progress with his body that I've not bothered to photo.
 
Here's a series of pictures showing how the head has developed.  I've diverged from the inspiration picture and tried to emulate a more Brian Nelson style of ork.  BN's orks have been long-term favourites of mine and I think it's a shame that GW has decided to move the ork/orruk style in a different direction now.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
I have a question for you guys - should the eyebrows rise together in the middle like this:

 
or both be raised, like this:

 
 
I think I prefer the second option as it's closer to the feel of the picture but I've left it as per the first picture for now but it's easy enough to carve the brows off and reform them - as you can see from the other pictures I'm happy to start cutting when there's something that looks wrong or I don't like a form or detail.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The Ork head is well-sculpted. I commend your skills and efforts.

[PowerHungryMonkey]

Amazing sculpt on the Weird Boy head, option two I think is the way to go. Max out on the insanity with a nice big Hair Squig to boot

[Nexus17]

The Ork head is well-sculpted. I commend your skills and efforts.

Thanks! There's a way to go yet but I've been beavering away at this in the week so hopefully I'll be able to share some decent progress over the weekend.

 

Amazing sculpt on the Weird Boy head, option two I think is the way to go. Max out on the insanity with a nice big Hair Squig to boot

Cheers! Big hair squig is the exact plan and I started to lay the foundations for that this evening (along with redoing the eyes about a dozen times).

Edited June 25, 2020 by Nexus17