tinfoil Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 I’m venturing through the Breach, into Terra Wyrdia! More specifically, I’ve found myself drawn to the Neverborn. The idea of playing a horror/gothic skirmish game has been one of the big draws, luring me not only into Malifaux but also, irresistibly, into the dangerous embrace of Lilith and her brood… I’m a Warhammer 40k refuge, and a compulsive converter. But I’m coming to appreciate that converting Wyrd minuatures will be very different than converting space soldiers or space tanks or space daemons. Malifaux models are graceful, elegant, lethal and sinister. Limbs are lithe. And compositions are beautiful, figure by figure. I don’t want to mess them up. Many of the techniques and much of the aesthetic I cultivated for my Warhammer work (which was chaotic and over-the-top daemonic) won’t work here. Still, there are things I want to tinker with: aspects I want to draw out of the figures. Take Lilith. She’s a gorgeous miniature, super-model posed and supremely poised. Cosmetically and compositionally, she’s already exquisitely imagined. Radical amputation could only end badly. There’s little I could lop off or replace with anything that would look “better,” given my limited sculpting skills And yet, parts of the model do seem bland to me. That cape hangs so flatly. That face doesn’t strike quite the right note. And more generally, the figure seems a bit too humanoid to my eye, too tame, too still. She is Mother of Monsters, after all, Master of Malifaux. What is wanted is not just Barbi, but something more barby. The very terrain of this extra-terrestrial place is hers to command: its vines and thorns, its thickets and jungles. Her figure should evoke some of this sinister possibility. The wildness she is capable of leashing and unleashing should be couching at her feet and cloaking her person, coiled, at her call. So I tried grafting some viney/thorny life onto her. (Sorry about the blurry pic.) My original idea was that in place of the plain, smooth cape that comes with the model, she’d be wearing a cape of vines, and that they’d curl around her, weaving according to her whim and mood. As I set in with greenstuff, I realized that weaving a completely smooth, “clean” cape of vines into the figure would take more craft than I have. My version looked pretty crude. Still, I kind of liked the contrast. From the front, Lilith appears as a strikingly beautiful human creature, while seen from behind, she becomes something more elemental, something wilder and wyrder –thoroughly unhuman and horrific. Along the same lines, I decided to replace her (very human-looking) head with a more sinister, daemonic visage: This looked a bit rough, but a great learning exercise as I figure out how to work with these figures. Further work took me to here: I liked that well enough. I was particularly pleased with the composition of the model and base, which seemed to me to convey the whole "Mother and master of Malifaux" theme. Until one of my gaming buddies pointed out that she doesn’t have any neck. Doh! So I pried the first head out of its cowIed socket and worked in a replacement. I did rip up her cowl a bit, extracting that first head. But I’ll fix that somehow. Thanks for looking. I’ll post up more as it takes form. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saramin Posted March 30, 2015 Report Share Posted March 30, 2015 that's really cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zFiend Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 I think that is really cool. One thing that would make that even more awesome in my eyes was if she had a long hair. Now she is a bit too generic demon head. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otylia Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 I think that is really cool. One thing that would make that even more awesome in my eyes was if she had a long hair. Now she is a bit too generic demon head. I second this idea! I think it'll pull together really nicely with the cape mods, help her look more feminine, and you might even be able to use it to cover up some of the cowl damage. Beautiful work so far - can't wait to see more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoil Posted March 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Thanks for the feedback, and the kind words! Hmmm, long hair. I like the sound of that. I've never tried sculpting hair, and I've heard it's tricky to pull off. But now I'm tempted. I think I'll practice on a few disposable heads, and give it a go on Lilith if I like the results. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zFiend Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 You should. It would really make this model pop. You've already done great work on it. You can do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viruk Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 Creepy, I like the changes though it's going to be hard to get used to looking at Lilith without the fringe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoil Posted April 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 Thanks for the kind words, all. Your feedback is very encouraging. As I brought Lilith along, I started considering what to do with her peon, the Cherub. I do love the Wyrd figure. And it’s angelic, cherubic (for lack of a better term) accessories (those wings) do set up a chilling aesthetic/thematic irony. Still, as Lilith took shape I began to feel that the Cherub’s fluffy, cottony angel wings looked out of place. It took me a little while to work up the nerve to try any radical alterations, but eventually I held my breath and shaved off the “feathers” on the wings. Then started in with a more tendril-y alternative… Well, once you start that kind of thing, there’s no going back, right? Nope. I plunged ahead… … and yet farther on. Until I found myself with this: I think I may have gotten a little carried away. But hey, there’s no mistaking the lethal, sinister, Mali-feral nature of the ‘lil critter, is there? Somewhere along the way her arms came off, along with her bow. I’ll re-attach them. Let me know what you think. Personally, I think the effect may be a bit over the top. And it does look kind of rough and “dirty.” But then I kind of like that aspect of it. And "over the top" is kind of a signature element of mine…. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dez Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 Very nice work! I've got some extras myself to convert, your greenstuff skills are pretty good (I need to develop mine). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zFiend Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 Dude what the hell! First of. Please please please keep going over the top. I always thought the Lilith box was a bit stale. Now if you'd had done those sculpts I'd be a happy Lilith owner by the looks of these. Those wings on the Cherub. For the lack of more subtle and elegant words: DAYUM! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otylia Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 Very very kewl! You really have some amazing skills and a great eye. And something about it makes the facial expression look less like a battle cry and more like a scream and agony from these things streaming out of his back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victoria Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 Love these conversions! Wonderful job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiralngCadavr Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 Very nice, I particularly like the coat, and agree w/ various notes on having made her look less plain/human. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saramin Posted April 3, 2015 Report Share Posted April 3, 2015 nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argentbadger Posted April 8, 2015 Report Share Posted April 8, 2015 That Cherub looks a lot less cute now! I like the look of where you're going with this, and I can't wait to see a bit of paint on these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus Mcmold Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 Your cherub looks like he's giving a tortured wail. I love it, he looks very interesting all tangled up. Very nice work on the bases as well and I love your concept for the Lilith. Only thing I wanted to point out is about the vines themselves that they should have some sort of a bark like texture to them if you were going for the vines. These look great as a tentacles or maybe magical tenderils. I usually make textures on minis with either liquid greenstuff or wet clay (better for bases and bigger surfaces), but all this might not matter if you have some sort of painting idea. There might be better technical paints for it out there, but I'm a noob and can't name them. I'm very interested in future developments, be it painting or converting. Keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoil Posted April 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 Thanks for the ideas. I'm not sure yet whether or how I might texture the tendrils. I'm not even sure I see them as vines, per se, so much as generalized representations of wild, chaotic energy, reminding us that these are creatures from an "other" place, fertile and feral. So I may just let paint and color get the thing across. I'm not sure yet. I welcome more suggestions on the possibilities. (And reserve the right to stubbornly ignore them! ) Now that some of my seminal figures are taking shape, I’ve begun working on my bases. Again, the idea here is to convey the “Master of Malifaux” idea. I want Lilith and her brood to be emerging/erupting from the place itself… stepping or crawling or leaping from fissures in the ground. I decided to work with cobblestones, to create a classically Malifaux/urban/Old World skin of a setting. And then on and beneath those, to graft in bits and pieces of Neverborn birth pangs: vines, roots, tendrils … the wildness lurking just beneath the surface of the built space. I started by experimenting with some concepts. Then tried working in some cobblestones. (These, by the way, are bases to represent Lilith’s Beckon Malifaux ability. I have a few touches to add, but they’re almost done.) When I was satisfied with the basic look of the concept, I tried it with some models: a young Nephilim… ... the Cherub... …and a terror tot, the very print of his hooves warping the ground on which he skates. I'm making progress on some other models, including Barbaros and a Mature Nephilim. Will post more soon. Thanks for looking, and for your encouragement and ideas. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zFiend Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 Those bases are freaking insane! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus Mcmold Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 Thanks for the ideas. I'm not sure yet whether or how I might texture the tendrils. I'm not even sure I see them as vines, per se, so much as generalized representations of wild, chaotic energy, reminding us that these are creatures from an "other" place, fertile and feral. So I may just let paint and color get the thing across. I'm not sure yet. I welcome more suggestions on the possibilities. (And reserve the right to stubbornly ignore them! ) I didn't wanted to impose anything, it was just a suggestion. And I missinterpreted vine as a root(which is more bark like)... my English got all mixed up. Your idea with the cobblestones is great as well. No suggestions there wings that move through morphing the surrounding is a great visualisation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoil Posted April 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 I didn't wanted to impose anything, it was just a suggestion. No problem! Suggestions and criticism are always welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoil Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Here's Barbaros, looking for a scrap. This one seemed to call for a lighter touch. To illustrate the creature's pinioned condition, I carved out the wings a bit, then worked in some general Wyrdery.... One thing I like about this effort is the creature's base: the cobble stones melt along the arc of his sweeping claw, as if the gesture itself is warping the landscape... More coming soon. In the meantime, thanks for looking. Let me know what you think. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zFiend Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Well simply amazing once again. And if the Lilith box actually looked like this I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I've said that before. It seems lacking and you sir are doing wonders with these minis. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gargantuan Posted April 22, 2015 Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 Excellent greenstuff work! I'm looking forward to seeing them painted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antebellum Posted April 23, 2015 Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 Really nice work, and I'm interested in seeing these painted up. I don't see much in the way of Malifaux conversions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruki Posted April 24, 2015 Report Share Posted April 24, 2015 they are looking really good, love your greenstuff work! can't wait to see those bad boys painted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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