Re: You advise me and I'll sculpt it
Another update for you all.
Horned one.
Started work on the horned one I intend to make (even though they no longer exist in the rules, though I did have a go at writing my own ones).
First thing to bear in mind is the saurus scar vet/old bloods have very different shaped seats which could prove harder to place on the mini, so begin with I add putty to the saddle area and build it up to form a solid base.
Next step is to get your initial layer sorted, get the leg base as close as possible to the body of the horned one so it's not going to overbalance too much. I am facing a slight problem here as the seat I'm using means the body of the scar vet actually points down a little too much. In order to counter this I raise the saddle at the front to lift the body up.
I also begin with laying down the shapes and horns that is included in that old 5th ed artwork for the horned out, at this stage it's about getting a feel for what you want to achieve, doesn't matter if you end up removing parts. It's always best to have a play around and figure out the look you want to try and get.
Next up is to add in the spikes and scales towards the tail end and let these ones dry, trying to sculpt more scales and spikes at this moment will end up with you very likely squashing existing ones you've just done. I've also adapted the end tail spikes every so slightly, so they're not pointing directly out from the body.
That's it for the moment on this one, still plenty to come here though, will keep you all updated, but a the moment (not including the saddle) I'm only about 40% finished with the green stuff.
Razordon
I'd like to add at the start that I don't own a single Razordon mini, never have done either, I'm really not a fan of the design, but as I said at the start, this isn't meant to be a GW bashing thread, I'm just sharing with you my ideas and thoughts behind sculpts that I do.
So speaking of thoughts I'd like to explain a little behind this armature.
First off, what does a Razordon do?
According to the fluff it flicks spines and spikes at its prey/foes, GW were even kind enough to provide some very nice artwork to give an example of what they were getting at.
So, you have artwork and a detailed description of the beast and what it does, more than enough to make some detailed work.
Razordon Anatomy:
This next bit is the secondary stage, you know what a razordon does, what it looks like and how it behaves, so now you need to make some conclusions of what it's anatomy needs to do to fill the description, this goes back to my first question, what does a Razordon do?
A: It flicks spines at foes with its tail.
So this builds on that answer, you know what it does, so you must then figure out what it needs in order to be able to do this....
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It needs a long, flexible tail. No point in a short stubby one, you need something that works like a whip in order to flick spikes at speed and distance at an enemy.
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It needs to have longer back legs. No point having longer front legs as it makes it harder to flick spines over your head, especially given the benefit they get from shooting at a charging enemy, you need to be able to see it coming for you as well as the ease of firing at it.
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It needs highly mobile limbs. Flicking spikes, with the aid of a long tail means you're going to have a lot of force generate by this flick, more than enough to knock you off balance, which is rather counter productive if you fall over every time you do it. Hardly useful for any kind of use as it would leave you very vulnerable.
The way around this is to have a good deal of mobility with your legs, a low squat with the body to reduce your center of gravity and your limbs splayed to spread your weight and reduce the chances of being knocked off balance (especially on the side you have your tail, if you're not going to flick it directly overhead).
Put all this together and it gives you this....
Nothing to look at, at the moment, but everything I've mentioned above is there, greater spread on the legs on the side where the weight of the tail is, low centre of gravity, longer hind legs, etc....the outstretched paw will be gripping a stone/ruin chunk.
As I said, I don't have a Razordon model, never owned one either, but all these things I've mentioned above are important, the ONLY thing I need to worry about after these facts is getting it to fit on the correct sized base, which I have done.
I know this was all a bit long and kudos if you read it all, but it's VERY important, especially in the armature stage, get things wrong here and you only end up creating a mountain of work for yourself later on, which is never a good idea.
