The McGraw Gang... 15/28mm scifi aliens

[zrunelord]

Hello again all,
I decided to make a press mould of the first one ( 3 eyed McGraw , the one with the lead shot eyes ) and made 4 more urged by the comments I got for the first one and vehicle.

Now I have a small gang, perhaps I'll do more.

Intelligent upright lizard like creatures , official name " Lacerta tres oculii Intelligensis Erettus " ,
they're called "3's" by humans due to their 3 eyes sometimes even crocs due to their mouth.

They make great scouts or guards as it takes a lot to surprise them. They also make excellent
close combat troops as they can bite a limb or head clean off with their large mouths like
crocs.

These minis are good for 15 to 28mm. The larger one is a mini I made for a fantasy campaign
I Dm'd years back and now going to be used as extra muscle.

I used Milliput + sylmasta AB putty ,brown stuff and sprue.

Thanks for your comments
Z

https://castrarunis.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-mcgraw-gang-1528mm-scifi-aliens.html

[War Monkey]

Wow! Those are awesome! I can't wait to see the paint work, you're going to put on them, again nice work!

[Mako]

Very nice!

Thanks for sharing your designs and photos.

I like the three-eyed idea too.  Unusual, as space aliens should be.

[zrunelord]

Thanks for the words Wm, hopefully soon unless I decide to build more 

Welcome Mako. I imagine if Terran creatures have independent eyes like chameleons why not 3 eyed aliens...

Here's more fluff..

Like I said , I used Milliput + sylmasta AB putty ,brown stuff and sprue. As you can see the weapons are simple sprue filed to shape.

I used the blue stuff from Green stuff world to create the copies.I find this versatile reusable material very useful.
http://www.greenstuffworld.com/en/reusable-blue-stuff/8-blue-stuff-mold-8-bars.html
Sometimes one makes models that one is very satisfied with & I like these very much.
The overall shape isn't too complicated, so it can be easily replicated.

3's being short & stocky are somewhat slow & ungainly mostly due to their short thick legs and muscular tail, which they use for balance. They can be very fast with their bite , however & have been known to snap food prey from the air.
They're omnivorous , some have coined them as gluttons and prefer cool , watery habitats like jungles , forests ,woods & water bound islands.
They're can be adaptable & can be found even on starships and cities, though they tend to keep this to a minimum. Having said this, they avoid deserts & the like , like the black plague.
They can tolerate terran like seawater but prefer fresh water . They absolutely love terran salted fish which they trade for at every opportunity with humans.

More to come.
Z 

[CookAndrewB]

Lovely work, Z.

Which bits did you mold in Blue stuff? Basic bodies without arms?

[zrunelord]

Thanks Cook.
Head & upper body ( left arm came out also) but that can easily be carved off or not filled.

The original's legs & feet are smaller as I did the new one's in heavy work boots .

I think this is the best way to replicate fav minis which one has built , easily.( I find it hard to replicate something perfectly)

Heads & arms are relatively simple to make.

I strongly suggest you poke a piece of sprue into the putty so that the hardened model can be Easily pulled out without ripping the rubber. This sprue can be glued to a base to form the skeleton.
Having said that moulds made out of blue stuff Can be recycled easily.

With hindsight it is a very good idea to leave the original mini unpainted for future moulds.
It is not the first time I recycled moulds for other projects.
Weapons are done by filing , drilling & chopping sprue.To make the butt simply press with a plier.

If this proves hard , heat the plastic on a candle, & press & hey presto it is a ribbed like the inside of the pliers. Please do be careful I don't want your better half to blame me for burning her fav table cloth or table top .

Z

[zrunelord]

Please do be careful I don't want your better half to blame me for burning her fav table cloth or table top .

With hindsight this is aimed to younger hobbyists as one does not know who is reading posts. Experience but above all common sense must prevail when using any form of tool, solvents, energy etc... if in doubt seek adult help, as all these can be potentially hazardous.

Cook , by far one of the best tools I have for shaping sprue is a long handled flat tipped tile pliers. The long handles are great for leverage. I use it to great plastic disks. This is done by flattening those protruding round bits found on sprue frames, then trimming them with hole punching plier.

Softening sprue with heat goes a long way not to crush the plastic as cold pressing often does ( like metal fatigue when you work metal cold )

Hope this helps.
Z

[Cacique Caribe]

Z

Those guys look too cool!  Great job there.  Can’t wait to see how they look painted.

Dan

[zrunelord]

Thanks Dan.
Hopefully soon but I have plans to do more, especially with open mouth.

Z

[FramFramson]

Which one is Quickdraw? 

[zrunelord]

Will have to do one with a cowboy hat.... 

Z

[FramFramson]

Will have to do one with a cowboy hat.... 

Z

And perhaps some sort of stringed instrument 

[zrunelord]

An alien stringed instrument is possible
Here are 5 more.
I experimented with some Kromlech hats I had, and added front lenses as their 3rd eye would be obscured.
The leader has a trigoggles ^TM and a cheroot.
There are 2 heavy weapons.
They're stockier than the previous ones.

I need to do a medic and a mechanic next

Thanks for your comments
Z









this is how I start, a piece of sprue stuck on an electrical box disk. This is pushed into the putty, which was pushed into the press mould and let set.Once ready I then add legs,tail & details.

[CookAndrewB]

That is an awesome gang!

By the way, great advice about sticking the sprue in the epoxy so you can pull it out of a mold cleanly. I'm definitely going to use that in the future!

Now, get some paint on these bad boys!

[zrunelord]

Thanks Cook & you're welcome.
Glad you found it useful.You have to think beforehand how a mould will work.

Forgot to add this pic.
Will paint.. soonish ... have to make 5 or 6 more
 


Z