Bailey03's WIP

[Bailey03]

Thanks, Maenas and TheLost. Yeah, that's one of the few completed versions I've seen. I like what he did with the addition of the pixies/fairies.

As for the base, I was thinking of doing a transition from wasteland behind him to something with a least a hint of life. Probably not a lush forest, but maybe the beginning of some green around the base of the tree.

In the meantime, I've started painting the various stuff on the orc. I started with the covering around his waist and then moved on to the bits hanging off it. I still need to do the stone medallions (or whatever they are) and I've just started on the scrolls. A lot of these small details take time, but he feels like he's getting very close to being completed. I'm hoping to finish construction of the base and at least get started on painting that this coming weekend.
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On a side note, the work I've done here has given me some ideas for how I want to do the leather on Redghar. That's the section that was holding up that project. So after I finish this orc, maybe I'll be able to finish up my other one too!

 

[Webmonkey]

now you just gotta glue some random grey hairs growing out of his shoulders. Not a lot,.. just one or two,.. here or there.

 

[Foxtail]

Everything looks great Bails. You've done a cracking job on the leather like texture of his loin cloth.

Will the split between green and white on the skin stay a distinct line? Or are you smudging them together a bit?

 

[Bailey03]

Thanks!

Foxtail, I will probably end up smudging them together. I've already blended the jaw and a bit on the arm, but the color switch on the legs hasn't been dealt with yet. Once I get the rest of the figure finished I plan on taking care of some final tweaks for the skin, including those boundaries between colors.

 

[BloodASmedium]

Bloody brilliant david.. best I've seen from you.the leather apron is so convincing even at a quick first glance.

 

[SaintToad]

Love the texture on the leather, which is unlike anything else I've seen. Were you aiming for more of a rawhide look? It's great and suits this figure perfectly.

 

[Bailey03]

Thanks, BAM and SaintToad. Yeah, I thought that sort of texture matched the sculpt better (with the unfinished and ragged edges).

On a different topic, I had a bit of a hobby setback. A couple months ago I'd mentioned planning to create a scene where I would pair the Black Sun centaur with another figure. I'd settled on the Scale75 barbarian and recently ordered that kit. Well it arrived yesterday and I don't think it will work. I'd just assumed since both were 75mm scale that they could be paired together. But there's variation in the scales and the barbarian looks pretty small next to the centaur. I guess the horse part of the centaur is in scale with a 75mm horse. But that makes the human part a bit bigger than the standard 75mm human. I also think the barbarian is a bit on the small side for a 75mm figure, which exacerbates the problem. So it's back to the drawing board.

I'm starting to look at other figure options. As a reminder, this is the centaur:
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As alternatives, I came up with these options. The first is a hoplite, so that would take the scene more towards mythology (which is fine). I'd probably want to repose the arm so the shield is in more of a defensive position and maybe try to adjust the legs. I'm a little nervous doing any major conversion work, but I think I could manage some minor adjustments.
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Or I could use this gladiator figure. I think the pose is good, though I'm not wild about the gladiator subject for this pairing. So I'm thinking about ways I could convert his armor/clothing to make the piece more fantasy.
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There's also this Conan figure. I'm not sure if his pose is a little too static though. The sculpt is also so clearly Conan that the scene becomes a battle between Conan and a centaur. I don't really picture centaurs as an adversary for Conan, not sure if he's every encountered them in any of the books/comics/movies. I'd rather keep the scene more generic fantasy rather than make it about Conan.
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And finally, there is this knight. It's a good action pose that I think could pair well against the centaur. I might try to replace the crest on the helmet with something more fantasy though. I could get creative with a design on the clothing too.
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All of these kits happen to be from Pegaso. First thing I need to do is place some of the 75mm Pegaso kits that I already own next to the centaur to see how their sizes compare. I also want to be careful and hopefully order a kit that I'd want to paint on its own just in case it doesn't look right when I actually put it next to the centaur. What do you all think? Feel like some of these work better than others? Are there other kits you'd suggest I look at?

I could also possible go up in scale to a 90mm figure. Something like this 90mm Pegaso knight might work
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I did try placing the centaur next to a 90mm figure, but then that figure seemed too big. But since this guy is more crouched down it might work. He's also attacking up, so I could place him lower down on the base to make the centaur seem bigger if need be. I will have to take a look at the centaur next to some other 90mm kits I've got and see how the sizes compare.

 

[Guawol]

I like the idea of the Hoplite, especially if you could convert him to being behind his shield a bit more, preparing to defend and then counter the centaur's spear thrust. Plus just from a combat perspective the Hoplite having a spear is kind of realistic for fighting an individual on horseback.

 

[Bailey03]

Another option is this kit from Alexandros. It's another gladiator, so I might want to convert it into just a general fantasy subject. I've already got a different Alexandros gladiator and it's a big 75mm kit. So if this is similar, the scale could be a good fit. Of course this figure would alter my original vision for the scene. I was going to have the centaur be the 'bad' guy in the scene. But this pairing makes it look like the human figure is attempting to capture the centaur. So now the centaur is just defending himself and the human is the 'bad' guy. I'd still like to find a 3rd figure for the scene (either who, for the other options, the human is trying to rescue or, in this case, the centaur is defending).
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[Foxtail]

You could perhaps sculpt a short sword for that figures right hand? Might be a bit of a job but would put a different stance on the scene.

The axe knight would look ideal if you could get the scales to work. Bit of a genre cross but the posing is spot on.

 

[Sicks]

Few more suggestions: scale75 orc might work if you can make it seem like they've just parried each others weapons or maybe weapon locked
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These next 2 are from draconia/Ares mythological, they might be too small if the barbarian was
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It's a shame youve only just had the problem as palacios sculpted another centaur for terrible kids stuff but it's sold out, might have made a nice duel though
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[Bailey03]

Thanks, Guawol, Foxtail, and Sicks.

Foxtail, I'll take a closer look at the centaur next to some 90mm figures in my collection. I had taken a quick glance at him next to a 90mm Spartan Hoplite I did ages ago. The hoplite is standing straight up and looked almost as tall as the whole centaur. But the axe knight is crouched and could be set lower on the base than the centaur, which I'd think would help. Unfortunately those 90mm metal figures aren't cheap kits, so I don't want to buy it only to find out I'm wrong!

Sicks, I'm not 100% on the orc pose, but you bring up an interesting idea. Though I'd originally thought to pair the centaur with a human, there's no reason he couldn't be fighting another creature. That opens up some other options. I'll have to look around more.

Yeah, I'd seen that other centaur when it was released. It's a neat piece, though I like the pose of the one I've got better. The one I've got looks like he's attacking something right below him and is poised to strike. The TKS one looks like he's about to strike something at his height or maybe even a bit higher. Seemed to me putting him in a duel setting would be more difficult.

I will have to think about the elves. I believe Nocturna's stuff is closer to 70mm, which would be even smaller. I've got one of the figures from their recent kickstarter on the way, so I can at least compare it to the centaur for scale. The barbarian, Thunder, from the latest kickstarter has a great action pose. If there stuff is the right size, he might work too. But he's also billed as 70mm, so I'm guessing he'd be too small. I've been tempted to get some of the Ares Mythologic stuff though, so their elf might be a good option.

 

[KruleBear]

Several of these ideas would look cool, but for some reason I like the look of the Pegaso 90mm knight.

 

[TheLost]

THE KNIGHT THE KNIGHT THE KNIGHT!!!!! You can replace the raven thing with ANTLERS!! Like Bretonnia vs Beastmen!!!! (warhammer fantasy) I may even opt for replacing the mace with a shield...

Reference pic
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Not to hijack your WIP, but indulge me for a minute. All this talk of Knights and centaurs has got me thinking about my 54mm Black Prince from Andrea (he looks suitably Bretonnian)

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I'm really not a fan of human vs human models, so I was wondering if there were 54mm orks/beastmen/monsters out there that I could use to go against this guy. the humans in the picture are about 2.5 to 3 inches tall. Thanks!! (sorry to bring this up here David)

 

[Bailey03]

Thanks. I've had my eye on that first knight, the one with the raven helmet, for a while. That's a point in its favor since if I find out it's not quite the right size for the centaur scene, it's a figure I'd be happy to paint on its own.

No worries, the black prince topic certainly fits with the current discussion. There are some larger scale orcs in the Black Sailors line and Ouroborus Miniatures. However, they're pretty big next to a 54mm human. The orcs are closer to 70-80mm tall. They're still sold as 1/35, but I could feel odd pairing them with a 54mm figure. But there are other options. Take a look at Andrea Miniature's Warlord Saga line. They've got a number of beasts/monsters. I'd think the minotaur (Uru) might be a good option. There's a demon (astaroth) and a wraith (menhom) which would also work. I'm not 100% on the size of these figures, but they are sold as 54mm. I'm guessing the minotaur is a bit bigger, but in the right scale. Pegaso has a line of 1/32 fantasy figures, but none of the poses seem right for this scene.

You can also find figures for 28mm games that work on the 1/35 scale. The GW crypt horrors are about the right size for 54mm ghouls. A number of figures from Dark Age could also fit in a 54mm scene. Take a look in the CMON store and select the '54mm+' category at the top. That will bring up the dark age figures along with a number of other options. Poking around there's another minotaur from Enigma (Ahnamoth). Nothing else jumps out at me, but maybe something will catch your eye.

 

[TheLost]

Thanks David! Lots of good info! The Andrea minis look pretty good!

 

[TheLost]

Well on my search I didn't find what was looking for per se, but I did find this from Kimera models (off of el greco miniatures website)... and holy molly!! what a model!! Not sure why no shoes, but whatever lol... sorry again David for the irrelevant post lol

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Found these that may interest you if you still wanted to go the Barbarian route.. from Mercury models, 75mm off of el greco miniatures website

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[Guawol]

Y'all are going to get me into trouble financially, after showing me all of these sites I can purchase awesome models from

 

[fluisterwoud]

Is this the Spartan you did?

It's a shame it doesn't come in 75mm, that's a good pose for the Centaur.

How about Venatrix from Nuts Planet?

 

[Bailey03]

Yup, that's the spartan figure. I painted my copy way back in 2011. Let's just say I've come a looooong way since then. I still love that sculpt. It's one I'd be interested in repainting at some point now that my skills have improved. Of course with so many new figures to paint I'm not sure when I'll have time to repaint too many old ones!

Venatrix could work, though for some reason I'm just not that into the sculpt. I can't quite put my finger on what about it bothers me.

Yeah, those Mercury models could work.