Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Topic started by: Grumbledook on September 24, 2024, 01:40:00 PM
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Honestly not sure how long it’s been since I’ve just been looking at the lovely projects going on here, but I’ve finally decided to start a new project.
Back when I started collecting in the early 90s I had a Dwarf army which I was delighted with, all those tough well armoured and armed brave diminutive warriors were a joy to collect. So, naturally, I’ve decided to sculpt an army or cowardly, poorly armed and armoured rabble in the form of the green tide of Goblindom.
I have started with some archers, one sculpt complete so far, but some more are on the go. I am attempting to hand cast these in metal but more on that in the next post.
Gobbo archer attached, fingers crossed it works since I’m doing this on my phone!
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That's a wonderful sculpt! :-*
Will he get many unique compatriots, or will you fill the ranks with 3 or 4 copies of the same mini?
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I eagerly await more from you. I have a hankering to do some custom figs but thus far have only kit bashed and got hooked on terrain making, despite buying a ton of raw material to work with. This is the incentive i need to fil those odd desires no commercial efforts seem to want to address.
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Looks great :)
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Nice work!
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That's a great little sculpt. Nice work
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Excellent sculpting! I really like the design- fits with some of the classic approaches to Goblins from my youth!
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Nice one! :)
I have a Goblin army, most of them are very od Citadel / early GW, bought ...long ago, with some reinforcements from other brands, including some new.
And their skin is no green nonsense, I painted them all as suggested by the old AD&D Monster Manual: red brick / ochre yellow. :D
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Great work!
Really has that old school Citadel vibe to him.
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Thanks all!
@Daeothar: I’m going to have a go at making some separate heads for 4 or so bodies. It might make the casting/mould making a bit easier.
@Aethelflaeda was framed: Do it, it’s immensely satisfying! What kind of stuff are you hoping to make?
@OSHIROmodels: Thank you!
@Elk101: Thanks!
@Little Odo: Thanks!
@Frugalmax: Thank you, kind of the vibe I’m attempting to channel!
@Patrice: Sounds awesome! I’m hoping to sculpt and cast a full army for myself…. it’ll take quite a while but will still probably work out cheaper than buying classic minis 🤦♂️
@fred: Thanks! Hopefully he’ll have some chums soon.
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Ok, so, these are the first casts and I must admit I’m pretty chuffed with the results!
I have since cut some more/bigger vents which will hopefully help the feet and bow come out bette. I might also be being a bit stingy with the silicone, a bigger and thicker mould might work better. Also, I’m using silicone that is normally used for resin, although I was told by the manufacturer (lucky me, I live very close so no postage costs for rubber!) that it is good up to about 260 degrees C…… I think I’m going hotter than this though. The more heat resistant silicone is pricier and more brittle but apparently you can mix the two, investigations for the future perhaps.
Anyways, thanks for looking!
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You could always clad the mould in something like mdf to increase its stability.
Looks good though.
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They look awesome! I'm interested to hear how you feel the detail transfers from the original sculpt.
I'm sure this isn't new info for you, but just in case- the molds we used to use for lead soldiers (all hail Prince August!) when I was a kid was a black vulcanized rubber, pretty dense and heavy, and not incredibly flexible (which I'm sure creates limits in undercuts on sculpts), but if I recall it was good for tons of uses. That said I just looked up that Lead melts at 621.5 degrees Fahrenheit (327.5 C), which makes me think we were using some sort of alloy because I doubt the little hot plate we used got that hot. Anyway, these look great and I'm looking forward to seeing how this project progresses!
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Very cool metal cast.
I want to make early 19th century civilians and women with weapons in period garb for Silver Bayonet. Lots of late Victorians and Edwardians are available but very few Regency garbed.
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Thanks for the interest! I’ve take a photo to give an idea of scale compared with some GW Goblins, sadly no really old school one to compare it with.
@OSHIROmodels: Thanks! I’m currently using a couple of plywood coasters and a Prince August clamp. It has been suggested that the clamp will be applying uneven pressure (it does seem VERY tight) and elastic bands may apply more even pressure.
@Frugalmax: I remember wanting to get the Prince August moulds when I went on a trip to Hamleys in London, it must’ve been the mid 80’s. My mum was not impressed and was convinced I’d either burn the house down or poison everyone 🤣.
The first few had some issues (a lumpy foot, a stumpy ear, etc) but quick and easy fives with greenstuff. I’ve since cut bigger pour channels and more vents which seems to have helped fill the mould with metal and the cornflour instead of graphite powder seems to give crisper detail.
In an ideal world I’d want to spin cast the models and get proper vulcanised rubber moulds made. Sadly all a bit out of budget at the moment. In any case, the silicone I’m currently using is reasonably priced and miscasts can always be melted down again if they are beyond rescue/converting. I’ve ordered a few bars of Prince August casting metal to add to my melting pot!
@Aethelflaeda was framed: Thanks, hoping to get some more cast today! Regency civilians sound great and, as you say, very underrepresented and much more interesting clothing than Victorian, etc!
Thanks for looking!
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@OSHIROmodels: Thanks! I’m currently using a couple of plywood coasters and a Prince August clamp. It has been suggested that the clamp will be applying uneven pressure (it does seem VERY tight) and elastic bands may apply more even pressure.
I only do resin casting but I use masking tape to wrap round the flat supports and can alter the tightness when wrapping (I also use foam board instead of plywood as resin doesn’t get as hot as metal).
Other options and methods are out there as well of course :)
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Painted one of my wonky casts up, this was one of the “scrap” ones and needed repairs on the belt buckle, a foot and an ear. Otherwise the detail came out pretty well I think!
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That guy looks great! And what an accomplishment that you not only sculpted, but also cast him then painted him really well! Excellent work all the way!
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He turned out great!
So is someone who can sculpt, cast and paint the wargamer equivalent to a “triple threat? If so, congrats, you meet the requirements!
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@Frugalmax Thanks!
@PattusMagnus Cheers!
Looking forward to getting some more sculpted soon, since I’ve cast quite a few I will experiment with sculpting some helmets, hoods and other bits as well as tryout some light wash painting techniques for variety.
The immediate plan is to sculpt enough figures for a “regiment”, so about 12 including a command group. I have some spin cast samples from the one completed so far on the way, so I’m quite excited to see how they came out. If things go well that hopefully there will be a new bunch of Goblin archers for people to compliment their collections with 🤞
There are grander plans on the back burner if this works out.
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That guy looks great! And what an accomplishment that you not only sculpted, but also cast him then painted him really well! Excellent work all the way!
Exactly this! :-*
Basically, the only thing you could do to make the process chain even more yours is to delve the tin yourself :D
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@Daeothar: unfortunately only chalk is available to dig up locally! 🤣
Here are another couple of goblins approaching completion, frustratingly I’m not getting much sustained sculpting time at the moment, oh well.
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They're looking great again. And consistent with the first one too 8)
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They are ubercool little hooligans with an abundance of character. The first fellow painted up SPLENDIDLY. Keep up the OUTSTANDING WORK!
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Looking good! Lots of character in those faces, and I like that the poses are natural (if such a thing can be said of a fantasy goblin). I look forward to see how these turn out!
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Thanks(http://) all.
A bit quiet on the sculpting front but such is life, trying snatch some time here and there. As a result it’s more WIP, but even a small amount of progress is still progress!
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Some more progress after the Christmas break and all the business that entails. I think this guy is pretty much finished and there are about 3 others nearing completion, looks like it might be a while until I sculpt enough to fill a mould efficiently!
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They are coming along great! :)
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Looking great! Love the cartoon-y style you've gone for.
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Looking great! Love the cartoon-y style you've gone for.
I agree they are exceptionally well done.
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Thanks all, the goblins of my childhood were the somewhat goofy ones which also encompassed the Iron Claw and Marauder ones before the uniformity of Night Goblins took over! These are an attempt to be something of an homage to that era.
Another one finishes and, although a few more are tantalisingly close to completion, it’s been a few moments focused of feet and calves today!
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I like his face...he looks like he's letting out a stream of curse words... :D
Mike Demana
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Very nice work there. Love those little gobbos.
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@mikedemana: He does rather! No doubt a stream of expletives as his final arrow bounces off the heavy plate of a knight rapidly bearing down on him!
@beefcake: Thank you, their numbers continue to grow!
Latest Goblin brings the count up to 4 (what I consider to be a blister pack’s worth), so a quarter of the Archer regiment. Sculpting isn’t happening terribly quickly at the moment, too many other demands on time, but it is at least happening and getting figures finished is definitely a bit of a boost.
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These are just great! I love how they’re all quite individual even though they’re equipped similarly. I’m looking forward to seeing the first unit painted and based!
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Very inspiring! I really love seeing how these progress. Thanks!
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Top level skills to sculpt, cast and paint these wonderful little goblins.
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Compliments on the hands on the last goblin, I know how tought those can be to turn out that well. :)
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Thanks all for the kind comments, it really helps motivate me to keep on sculpting!
Here’s another little cretin to join the ranks, he’s even scrounged himself a pointy helmet from somewhere.
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Impressive! If you are considering prostituting your art, I’d take one of each.
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@Moriarty: Thanks, glad you like them! Hopefully within the next couple of months I’ll have the sculpts finished then the plan is to get them properly spin cast and out into the world.
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Can’t wait :-)
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I do like the look of these - and will be interested to hear when they are available for sale. Feel they would mix well with my old C series Orcs and Goblins
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@Moriarty: Thanks, glad you like them! Hopefully within the next couple of months I’ll have the sculpts finished then the plan is to get them properly spin cast and out into the world.
In fact, mis-casts would be good for me - they are fated to be used as 40k conversions.
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@fred - Thanks! I think they are probably a bit chunkier than the C - series originals, unfortunately I haven’t got any to be able to post a comparison. Although Goblins come in all shapes and sizes so they could be better fed ones lol
@Moriarty - I think metal miscasts can be chucked back into the smelter if they don’t pass muster I’m afraid. I’d be interested in making some Gobs in Spaaaaace if I have any left over coin from the fantasy ones though!
Been a while but life’s been busy and quite a few of the archers are nearing completion, I’ve started planning the command group too! Here’s the latest grunt.
As always, thanks for looking!
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So good! I love that some of them have hats and helmets. There's something very cool about an orc or goblin unit where they all have the same basic equipment, but are very individualized by the little accessories. Great stuff.
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Thanks! I’m hoping that they give a motley look to the unit, I think Goblins should look like they scavenge most of their equipment. When I make the spear unit (Billmen, or Billgoblins I guess) I planning to give them a bit more of a “uniform” look, albeit tatty and mismatched.
I don’t think I’ll be able to match the sheer range of the the late 80s metals but I’d love to emulate the idea!
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And another one to join the gang:
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Another great job! What a face! Have you tried casting any more?