Gargoyle experiment

[ziyousansz]

I'm pretty sure anybody who's browsed bits on Ebay has noticed the piles and piles of gargoyle parts for dirt cheap. Pretty much everything except the wings and bases cost ~$2 for a set of 10. These bits have been catching my eye lately because I decided that my 'nids will have dragonfly wings. Since I don't need the leathery wings, I thought I might be able to build some gargs on the cheap.

Earlier this week, I got my stuff in. I ordered heads, bodies, and a 10 pack of 30mm Dark Ages bases for ~$8 total. Since gargs and gants are roughly the same size, the fleshboreres I have lying around should work for this project. Likewise, I have a box of paneling nails that are just the right height for this.

Step 1:
I learned really quickly that termagant fleshborers don't fit well into the gargoyle sockets. Instead, I had better luck attaching them under the shoulder where the wing should go. The only problem here is that a bit of a gap shows, which will need to be gs'd closed. In addition, the slot in the base offsets my gargs a little, so they're all flying at different angles.




Thoughts: Next time I should get the right guns, or buy a pack of gargs and sell the wings off.

Step 2:
Nids should have six limbs. These have two. Since nothing I have in my bits box really works here, I've got to get the gs out. To save time, each leg is molded around a shaped paperclip skeleton, and the joint lines were cut in with a craft knife. My thumb prints are pretty noticeable, but I need to sand a few parts down after it's fully dried anyway so I'll clean what I can then. I still need to do some liquid gs work to fill in all the leftover gaps.




Thoughts: I might hunt down a bits site that sells just gant legs. I don't want to buy a bunch of bodies to hack up, but just the small leg parts could work with careful cutting.

I haven't started on the wings yet. I will be cutting them out of a clear plastic sheet like you'd find in cheap poster frames. I'll post pics when I can get to that part.

[commandersasha]

Good luck, converting troops is a tiresome project, as there are so many of them! Am looking forward to the dragonfly wings: how do you plan to do them?

[ziyousansz]

Thanks, mate. It is a time consuming process so far. Luckily, these are the only swarms I plan to heavily convert. I've got shrikes, a Parasite, and a flyrant on the table if the results pan out.

I forget what the material is actually called, but I picked up some thin plexiglass-like material that I plan to cut wings out of. I will scratch thin grooves into the wings and apply washes as I go. As long as I brush away the excess, the wash should stick into the cuts and give a segmented appearance. Afterwards, a light application of incredibly thinned browns and blues should give the color spots I want but keep the transparency. I'm going for a design like this, except with blue where the yellows are: www.nature-pictures.org/image/321/4296/

Of course, this might not work at all. But this is why I call it an experiment, and I'll definitely post the results.

[captainbirdbum]

if it works its gunna look proper great but seems like it would take a long time to make. keep updating.

[killercroc]

It looks like giving them all legs would be a pain in the hourglass. Maybe do something different and give them rocket packs! Alternative Gargoyles

[ziyousansz]

I thought about going the biological jetpack route for a while before I decided on this. I blame Dr. McNinja. Either way, they still only have two arms unless I come up with a way to put more legs on them. I can't have ALL of my gargoyles being quadruple amputees

[commandersasha]

I'd suggest that if you compare the fragility of Dragonfly wings with comparable skin&bone ones, you might be better served with insect legs too; maybe experiment with different grades of wire, bent to shape, then once happy use GS and liquid GS (are we calling that LqGS?) to fatten them up slightly?

[ziyousansz]

Commander - that's not a bad idea. So far I've been using cut, bent paperclips for the legs and molding a tiny amount of gs around that. They're quite spindly, though some of the models have a little too much bulk to them. I may try jewelry wire next time.

The wings may be a few days off, since I don't expect much time during the week to work on this. I still need to do the gap filling, but I wanted to make a set of wings first to see how they fit together.



One set of wings, melted together at the base. I'm melting the pairs together very carefully, since burning plastic in general is a health risk as I understand it. The long wing is the length of the gargoyle's body, which is roughly proportionate to the dragonfly's wingspan.




This is just a quick tack-on, not a final setting. I'll be gs'ing them on after the priming is done, and I will be aiming them in a more upright position for easier base-to-base contact. I want the wings to remain clear, so they'll be going on last.

Other than the coloration, this is what I'm going for with my flying units. Thoughts?

[commandersasha]

That looks fantastic, Z! They really look good!

Suggestions: get several different grades of fine sandpaper, plus some final buffing boards for fingernails, and a leather strip; that will help you to get rounded edges that are still translucent.

For the leg wires, don't use paperclips: too stiff and hard to work. Check out electronic suppliers (eg Maplin in the UK) for different grades of copper wire; I use 20,22 and 24 SWG for different purposes and different looks.
You might also want to pick up a micrometer (~£5) and a set of micro drill bits, to drill perfectly matched holes, the GW drill is only suitable for standard paperclip wire.

Keep it up, great work! much better modelling than my Gargoyles, which are flying rats(or "Pigeons", as my friends refer to them!)

[andy089]

Oh my god. You just gave me the most brilliant idea!
I will model a unit of hormagants like that =O

[Evex]

The wings are fantastic, edges just need to be smoothed out. Now, from here the thing that I say you need to try out is posing the wings. A dragonfly's wings don't go up and down as one: one pair goes up, the other goes down. How you angle these wings can give the Gargoyles a sense of movement, and direction, an "oh God it is flying straight at me" feel, I suppose. If possible I would see if you could bend these wings as a Dragonfly's wings aren't rigid.

[ziyousansz]

Aye, thanks guys. I've got some fine grit sandpaper lying about, and I'll see if I can heat the plastic with a hair dryer or something.

Commander - I like your flying carpet rats

[Rakuall]

Apr 16, 2012 13:17:01 GMT ziyousansz said:

Commander - I like your flying carpet rats

RugRats!

On topic, I like the idea, but as mention, some tidying is required on the edges. You may also want to experiment with glazes/washes to give the wings an iridescent appearance.

[ziyousansz]

Aye, that's the plan, Rakual. I threw together a quick rough set to see if this project could actually be put together. I'm thinking blue and brown for the coloration in the wings.

[ziyousansz]

I hit a few snags along the way. Turns out the material doesn't take glue well at all, so I had to build a little base for the wings. Getting the gs to hold the wing positions took a little work, too. Also, I need to paint, then attach the wings.

I've got one done, just to see how it would look. They're going quickly with the new dremel but I've got a lot of little wings to cut out.



I tried to make carapace extensions to house the wings that wouldn't look too out of place.


Turns out paint will stain the material if left on for a bit, so I was able to turn the wings transparent blue like I wanted.


One down, nine to go. I'm a little out of practice for painting but it shouldn't take long to get back in to. Also on the roster:

Spare-bit Shrikes:


Spare-bit Parasite:


And a dragonflyrant that just came in the mail.