Bizaza Jaguar Knight / WIP: Sculpting a Space Frog Man Part 2

Technically this is part 2 of this previous WIP post….

So I took that old WIP and decided to do something with it. While it looks a bit ugly, once the basic proportions on the limbs are OK, we can build on top of it with fresh detail.

Midway through – brown stuff is used to structure the form usually building up in a couple of sessions.

I had a rough idea in mind for this guy rather than a specific design. As it shapes up it tends to inform the next things added and so on. I knew I wanted to have separate hands for later weapon and shield options.

Bizaza Jaguar Knight

The Jaguar Knights are a cult of proven warriors dedicated to the Jaguar god. Apprenticeship is open to any regular Bizaza warriors who have proven themselves by taking 4 high status warrior captives in battle to honour the gods in worthy sacrifice and of course, to stop the sky falling on everyone’s heads.

They dress in elaborate costumes crafted from the big cats bodies, believing that the wild spirit of the Jaguar God will posses them in battle and bring deadly ruin to their enemies.

In the army they fulfill the role of elite light infantry. They employ a light shield slung on the forearm for protection while they shower opponents with atlatl darts. When the situation calls for close work they switch to clubs and macuahuitl.

He will appear in a future KS this year with some buddies.

Epic 40k Ork Snakebite Clan

Recently I have been filled with desire to work on an old bucket list project of mine, a nicely painted Epic 40,000 force of orks.

Epic 40,000 Ork Snakebite Clan

I intend to play some games with them using the open source NetEpic rules (with some house rules tweaks to it to get rid of the templates as they tend to slow up the game and effectively reduce the available table space).

At 24 stands, the Snakebites are the most numerous Clan, with Goffs in 2nd place at 23!

Working on some scenic items to build up the battlezone thematically alongside the army would be ideal also.

Boss Nobz

To begin with, I decided that I would work on a Snakebite Clan as I have never in all my time painted a single Snakebite, and now I would paint 105 of them at 6/7mm (Epic scale is in fact a bit wobbly with sizes often dramatically different for infantry models – your average person would probably never notice it anyway).

Snakebite Boarboyz

As the Snakebites are supposed to be staunch traditionalists, I wanted them to have a lot of browns, green and metal with a smattering of primary spot colours – like classic fantasy orcs really.

Da Snakebite Boyz

The banners were done by carefully cutting out GW Ork transfer sheets to fit. The Nobz got a bit more attention than the boyz. I converted the Epic Ork Warlord to carry a power klaw cut from an Ork dreadnought. In game terms you have 4 identical stands but to my mind the whole Ork Clan should have the Warboss as the focal point, so there he is!

Snakebite Warboss and Nobz Bodyguard

As there are not a huge variety of models available, I decided that I would make my Snakebites unique by sculpting a special Ork to represent them.

My first 6mm sculpt of an Ork – clearly I am influenced by Aly Morrison’s large head Marauder Space Orks (Trish Carden made the ones with the Normal sized heads for the record)

I did a quick and dirty casting in lead from this – the detail is not quite as crisp as the original but more than adequate to express the idea in miniature.

While I was working on him, I started working on an Ork for when I get around to doing the Goff Clan. I think he is adorable so far <3.

Back on the Brian Nelson/Kev Adams influenced mode for this guy

So that’s a solid 600 points of stuff to begin with. I am looking to add some Squiggoths to this lot and perhaps some Stompas (as they move at about the same speed as the infantry).

Hybork Warboss

Planning to play some 40k soon, and so am in the process of getting the orks into shape.  This fellow will act as Warboss for my Hybork heavy force.

Hybork Warboss

He has been on the project list since 2016, so great to get him finished ready to play some games with.

Conversion of the Black Reach Warboss.

Kwinik the Shieldbearer

The 6th sculpt from the Kickstarter.

Weapon and shield was done by the missus again.

The full Bizaza Guard set

Urbat the Sheildbearer

Finished off the 5th of 6 sculpts for the Kickstarter, Urbat the Shieldbearer.

I have kept him pretty free of equipment for the most part so he should be good for interesting body paint or skin patterns.  He is not socketed for weapon swaps but I anticipate I will be giving a version of him a pistol and power glove in a later edition.

 

Heavy Halberdier – Bizaza Frog People Kickstarter

Team Bizaza

Finished off the 4th sculpt for our Kickstarter currently running, Croatyl the Halberdier.

 

Because you need a big weapon if your neighborhood includes big lizards!

Croatyl the Halberdier

 

Croatyl – rear detail

 

Of course he is getting an alternate weapon option… 😉

Railgun

Hello Sailork!

I made this nautically themed Hybork for the Oldhamer Legacy Crew 2015.

His name is Pop-eye the Sailork, credit for his naming go’s to Niibl on the Oldhammer forum.

Most of him is my sculpt – with the exceptions being the weapons and one hand which came form the Citadel Space Ork ranges.

His armament is deliberately Oldhammeresque, being armed with the original plastic Space Orks chiansword and a 3rd Edition Brian Nelson chainsword.

Project Hybork

This is my own sculpting with the hands chopped off and replaced with weapon hands taken from GW Ork plastic kits.

They are compatible with standard ork/ork fittings and are multi part models with separate legs, arms and heads.

I plan to do a private crowd commissioned casting run for these guys soon, organised via Facebook.  Let me know if you are interested in getting in on the action.

The Armour of the Moon

Back in March Axoim via the Oldhammer forum came up with the idea of running a challenge where people would paint a single model under a common theme and then the entire collection of figures would be awarded randomly to one of the participants.  The theme was basically a force of multi-racial lawful warriors sworn to seek out and destroy the forces of chaos.  The name for this warband, “The Dogs of Law”.

I duly volunteered to paint up a Slann for this, someone gotta represent for the frog people, can’t have the dry skins getting all the glory!

The simple approach would be to just paint up a suitable Slann model from my collection but being me I can’t just take a simple approach, ideas come and demand expression or they will just bounce around in my head irritatingly for years.  The idea which appealed to me the most was one rooted firmly in proper Warhammer cannon.

Antiriad is a corruption of Anti-Rad suit

The Slann of the Warhammer world are the remnants of a once mighty spacefaring species and so I wanted to create a character which gives a tip of the hat to all that jazz.  There were a couple of notable influences on this, Homer Simpson and the old computer game The Sacred Armour of Antiriad.

In rod we trust

So that leads to this chap who is based off an old Eagle Warrior from 3rd Edition Warhammer:

Slann Power Suit Conversion

Side and rear detail

“Moixa’remoh was once a humble servant of the Temple of the Moon at a time when the temple was set upon by raiders, devoted to the chaos god Tzeentch. During the course of the battle a great miscast of magical energies by the chaotic sorcerers directed at the temple had the curious effect of reactivating the warp reactor of an artefact of incalculable age.  As a high Slann artefact, it was much more than a mere machine.  The suit was symbiotic,  autonomous and intelligent and aware of the impending threat.  It reached out to the closest Slann mind, the mind of the servant Moixa’remoh who was drawn to it, and into it, bonding with the spirit of the suit.  A new prime operational directive was instated, enforce order, annihilate chaos…”

The Armour of the Moon

The colour choice for this one was to be more or less limited to olive and bone.  I wanted the suit to look ancient so I used a good deal of weathering on it with the exception of the mysterious glowing green weapons, the gold visor and the edge where the visor would have been clamped shut for aeons.

Rear details

Right side

Left side

Elevation

It is a space suit after all 🙂

Now don’t forget who’s planet this is!

Halflequin

Finally finished the Halflequin paint job, huzzah!  This model took a fair bit of effort to get it to this level of finish but I think you may agree that the concept is worth the effort.  I think that I have managed to incorporate the Foundry colours nicely on the model which was the only colour constraint I set myself on this project.

This is a cool little sculpt that was a pleasure to hack up and remodel into this fun little guy.

Thanks for sculpting him Kev Adams!

A Halflequin

And how small is this small person you may ask? This small.