*
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 28, 2024, 01:08:29 PM

Login with username, password and session length

Donate

We Appreciate Your Support

Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 1686482
  • Total Topics: 118102
  • Online Today: 857
  • Online Ever: 2235
  • (October 29, 2023, 12:32:45 AM)
Users Online

Recent

Author Topic: Sculpting a hand: how hard is it?  (Read 1410 times)

Gabbi

  • Guest
Sculpting a hand: how hard is it?
« on: October 30, 2019, 08:01:41 PM »
I'm assembling this figure:



I think the banner will be an issue. Besides the less than optimal subdivision in parts (very heavy metal banner with tiny contact point at the wrist) that could be solved by pinning the wrist of the figure and gluing/pinning the bottom part of the banner pole to the base; the figure will remain very top heavy, the banner also lean outside the footprint of the base, so I'm pretty sure this figure is prone to tip over multiple times during a game.

So I was thinking on replacing the banner with the following plastic one and some brass rod:



But I think I would be unable to salvage the hand from the original one, so I was thinking about getting one from some plastic multi-part kit.
But once I drilled a largish hole for the banner pole, and a smaller hole for a pin to connect with the arm at the wrist, I suspect very few of the original hand will be left. Even considering that I'm going to glue the banner pole to the base, too, how much solid this joint would be?
So I was thinking on taking the brass rod, wrapping and gluing some wire at arm height and use this wire to pin it to the arm, then, sculpt a hand around the wire wrapped around the brass rod. But I'm not confident my skills with green stuff will be sufficient to do a half-decent job.

Any advice would be very welcome.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2019, 08:04:16 PM by Gabbi »

Offline jim100

  • Assistant
  • Posts: 48
Re: Sculpting a hand: how hard is it?
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2019, 08:20:54 PM »
This is the way I would approach it.
I don’t think it would be too difficult to cut the pole either side of the hand, then drill through what is left, then have a bit of a tidy up with a sharp scalpel.

You could probably save the bottom and top part as well.
I would cut them off and drill into the parts and then fit them onto a piece of brass rod.
I would pin the wrist anyway to make a strong joint.

That’s my two pennies worth.

Hope this helps
« Last Edit: October 30, 2019, 08:35:33 PM by jim100 »

Offline jim100

  • Assistant
  • Posts: 48
Re: Sculpting a hand: how hard is it?
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2019, 08:30:48 PM »
I think you will have enough room there to put a piece of rod into the hand.
I’m trying to use the image to explain what it is I mean, the red lines represent the brass rod.

Hope this makes sense sorry if it doesn’t.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2019, 08:36:23 PM by jim100 »

Gabbi

  • Guest
Re: Sculpting a hand: how hard is it?
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2019, 08:34:40 PM »
I see. Thanks for the advice. Yes, I was planning to save top and bottom of the pole. The hand has almost no sculpted "front" as the banner rest against it, but so will the plastic one, so this should not be an issue.

Offline manic _miner

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 3320
    • Four A miniatures
Re: Sculpting a hand: how hard is it?
« Reply #4 on: October 31, 2019, 08:59:58 AM »
 You could put some modelling putty under the base to weigh it down and stop it from tipping over.

Offline Munindk

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 642
  • Denmark
Re: Sculpting a hand: how hard is it?
« Reply #5 on: October 31, 2019, 09:01:55 AM »
You could use instant mold to make a green stuff copy of the hand, it would be fairly easy as you dont need the front of the hand (covered by the banner).

Instant mold is cheap (and reusable) and easy to use, as long as you're "casting" simple shapes.

Gabbi

  • Guest
Re: Sculpting a hand: how hard is it?
« Reply #6 on: October 31, 2019, 09:02:48 AM »
You could put some modelling putty under the base to weigh it down and stop it from tipping over.
Thanks for advice, but I fear it would not be enough. The banner is whole metal and quite heavy.

@Munindk: I have some instant mold. I'll see once I'll start actually doing this mod. Thanks!

Online Daeothar

  • Supporting Adventurer
  • Galactic Brain
  • *
  • Posts: 5745
  • D1-Games: a DWAN Corporate initiative
    • 1999legacy.com
Re: Sculpting a hand: how hard is it?
« Reply #7 on: October 31, 2019, 10:31:49 AM »
jim100 is suggesting exactly what I would have. With a bit of elbow grease, this should not be too daunting a task.

One thing though; I do suggest to drill out the hand to the diameter of the brass rod before you remove it from the banner. This has two advantages: drilling will be much easier because you'll still have something to hold on to (and putting that tiny hand in a vice could potentially ruin the details). And then, with the hole drilled, it will also be much easier to cut the hand off the  banner, as I suspect that the hand has not enough depth to accomodate the hole, seeing as the sculpted bannerpole is not fully round but integrated into the banner itself.

This will require the removal of the sculpted on banner pole first, to give you room to place the drill bit, but when done neatly, it can also save the banner itself from destruction, so it could go into the bits box.

Another approach is to not drill the hand to the diameter of the bannerpole, but rather to the inner diameter of a brass tube, into which you then insert a fitting brass rod. This way you can save more of the fist and have a solidly pinned bannerpole. This will also help in attaching the top and bottom pieces, where you can sue the same technique. You might possibly need some GS work to fill in any gaps between hand and bannerpole, if the fit is not perfect, but this should be minor and could even be eliminated altogether, if you're precise enough with your cuts.

I use a brass tube for stuff like that, into which the material of a standard paperclip fits perfectly.

The attachment of the hand to the arm/wrist can only be achieved one way though, just as jim100 suggested.

Also; as long as you already have the oyumaru, you could consider casting the sculpted-on front parts of the banner to put onto the plastic Space Marine banner...

Good luck :)
Miniatures you say? Well I too, like to live dangerously...
Find a Way, or make one!

Gabbi

  • Guest
Re: Sculpting a hand: how hard is it?
« Reply #8 on: October 31, 2019, 11:18:16 AM »
Thanks for further advice.

I'm thinking that, instead of cutting away the hand from the banner, I will just get a spare plastic one instead, as originally thought to do. It's the easier way and none of the alternatives seem any more solid, that's what is my main concern about this conversion.

Offline robh

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 3379
  • Spanish offworld colonies
Re: Sculpting a hand: how hard is it?
« Reply #9 on: October 31, 2019, 12:17:17 PM »
I wouldn't bother replacing the banner.
That Menoth figure is designed for a 30mm base with the bottom of the banner pole resting on the base lip.

I would suggest using a heavy 30mm steel washer as the base instead of the plastic (or a 40mm better as the base size is not game critical). Trim back the extended arm to an angle that allows the base of the banner pole to sit tight against the extended robe of the figure and epoxy glue it in place.  A superglue and pin fixing on the hand-arm joint will hold it while the epoxy sets. Then position the figure on the washer so that his left toes are just on the edge and the shield slightly overhanging. That will bring the weight of the banner more over the centre of the base.
Add some scenic stones or such to the base under the banner pole to make sure it is firmly resting on the ground not up in the air.

Gabbi

  • Guest
Re: Sculpting a hand: how hard is it?
« Reply #10 on: January 27, 2020, 01:43:30 PM »
Just in case someone was curious to know how this is ended, here is the final result:


Online Daeothar

  • Supporting Adventurer
  • Galactic Brain
  • *
  • Posts: 5745
  • D1-Games: a DWAN Corporate initiative
    • 1999legacy.com
Re: Sculpting a hand: how hard is it?
« Reply #11 on: January 27, 2020, 05:12:45 PM »
Very nice; the Menoth symbol is perfect!

And anyone not very versed in the humongous range of Space Marine bitz would never know!

A great kitbashing job! 8)

Gabbi

  • Guest
Re: Sculpting a hand: how hard is it?
« Reply #12 on: January 27, 2020, 06:27:34 PM »
Thank you. The Menofex and the writings are custom printed decals. I've avoided this for years, but it's actually easy and results are great. Up close you can see the typical "dots" of the inkjet printing, but on the table they look great. Also, they react properly to Micro Sol, no difference from  regular decals, something I had doubts about.