Saturday 29 January 2011

Porky models - Ork (7) - Choppa 1

After all the weighty subjects of the past few days, down to earth with an Ork arm.

Part of the answer to the puzzle first. Here are the specific pieces I used. 




The axe has had the blade removed and the forearm has been separated from the hand. The pointed metal plates are the 'teef' from the boss pole. How will they be used? The actual Ork toof for the base of the axe haft was also taken from the pole. Don't get too attached to that - why not? The spiked pauldron will help make the new axe head.

Here's how they went together.







Yep, the metal plates are a warm-up for the fuller bionik fusion of Ork and machine. If Orks are so tough and accept bioniks so well, why wouldn't they go beyond warpaint and tattoos for decoration and simply bolt armour straight into bone? Think of the pride of this Ork in the mob. A few teef and the dok has him feeling like a space marine.

The largest plate had the panel at the base reshaped into a hexagonal bolt head, which went surprisingly well. I added extra chipping to the edges of each, to suggest plenty of blocking of incoming strikes, as if they were used as an extended shield might be. The plates were then glued directly onto the bulges of muscle, one per bulge.

I'll go a step further towards full bioniks with the left arm, the one with the shoota, and hopefully much further with the body.

The surfaces where the forearm and hand meet were shaped to allow the axe to be held at a shallow angle. I want the Ork to be looking away from the direction of movement and along this arm, pointing as if directing or threatening.

For the axe head, to the inner surface of the spiked pauldron I added two flat squares of greenstuff where the bolts sit on the outer surface, to suggest brackets, as if the bolts were fixing the pauldron to the haft. I built the blade back up with greenstuff to the point at which the inner surface would just meet it and sit in the right position. I could jiggle this about plenty while the greenstuff was drying so it was easier than it might seem. The surface wasn't especially smooth at this point so when dry was shaved flat.

One of the greenstuff brackets was covered at this point more than I would have liked, but as the square was still wet, the two pieces of greenstuff merged and I conceded the point. As can be seen, I then extended the ends of the pauldron around the haft and gave it the same rough edging. This was tricky work for the usual reasons - the greenstuff has to be wet for easy shaping, but when wet it sticks less easily to the fixing point. Patience and concentration is the key. Slow, steady progress and careful application of force in the right direction every time. Calm.

A small ball of greenstuff was then pressed onto the point at which the haft would emerge, then smoothed and the edge squared off to give a very low cylinder.

As for the toof, it vanished. Unsurprisingly I'd been in danger of losing it right up to that moment. Where it is now, who knows? The replacement was made in just the same way as the one for the stikkbomb arm and head, and connected in the same way as to the stikkbomb.

Any questions, I'm ready. Remember, it's the zen of modelling - speed is for the fast.

13 comments:

Von said...

I like the way you think with these mechanised greenies; as you say, it seems logical that Orky body mods would go further, given their physical tolerance. Looking forward to the destination...

C'nor (Outermost_Toe) said...

"Speed is for the fast". Now what does that mean? I may be picking up some minis today, and it'd be nice to know.

The Angry Lurker said...

Excellent, graft the armour right onto the bone.

Unknown said...

That's more relevant to my interests Mr. Porky :) That is a very unique looking choppa you made there. Too bad I was in a hurry to build all my orks so I didn't put much effort into the modelling side of the army. I hope the upcoming orc realease will give me a good enough excuse to go buy some new boyz and try a few of your ideas on them :)

Bartender said...

The great thing about plastic is that you can develop the figures further. Warseer is a good place to draw more inspiration. Looking good so far!

Porky said...

Now that was fast. Thanks for the comments!

@ Von - I'm actually wondering how far I can run with it. I have one or two unconventional ideas in mind for now, and this Ork will be showing off a radical mod if things go right. As ArmChairGeneral might put it, at the moment I'm dreaming of steam...

@ C'nor (Outermost_Toe) - I meant only that speed is not for the slow: me for example..! If I could put something up every day I would, but it's just not practical in terms of thinking time, working time and drying time - and general lack of time. Enjoy yourself picking up those minis!

@ The Angry Lurker - I should point out that no Orks were harmed in the making of this post. Of course, being an Ork, this guy probably wouldn't think twice about doing it, and as I mentioned in the post, I'd imagine it would work out well in his favour.

@ The Antipope - It's still not alien enough for my liking, but I'm hoping to get much weirder yet. It's a pity armies need to be so big we can't give the models the time we might like to. Still, we can always go back, and reinforcements may arrive. That orc release is going to be a big event for us!

@ Bartender - In this case plastic really is fantastic. If there's a downside for me, it's the lack of weight. It just feels better to me that a miniature should have the pull of metal, even if it can be impractical when it comes to balancing on terrain during a game. Good tip. The forums really are good places to look for ideas.

Paul´s Bods said...

Very involved and intricate converting there. I congratulate you on the idea and it´s completion
Cheers
paul

Ludo Weyden said...

That's a very nice mod. I like the finishing touch with the green stuff. can't wait to see it when it's painted.

Mark_Alan said...

Nice Job, I can't wait to see the completed mini...

Porky said...

Thanks - that's praise I'm glad to have!

Mark, I don't know whether you're a modeller and painter, but the guys above you in the list know more than a thing or two and you should check out their blogs too, as well as those in the first three blogrolls on the left especially.

Teek said...

Excellent stuff, Porky!

I'm especially keen on the choppa. It's simple, it's effective, and it's deliciously brutal. Textbook definition of orky, in my opinion. Fantastic stuff, keep it up!

peter said...

Now I understand how your blog works :-D Great conversion. I like how all those little parts came together for a masterpiece ;-)

Greetings Peter

Porky said...

I'm glad you posted, and not only for the praise - although I'm happy to have that too..! I couldn't find you because your pop-up profile has no link to your blog. If you want to activate this, you need to go to your Blogger dashboard, select 'Edit Profile', enter the address of your blog in 'Homepage URL' and save the change. That's excellent work you've posted. I've put the link in the 'modelling & painting' blogroll here, with Paul's Bods. Thanks for linking to me too - that's good of you.