{"id":7016,"date":"2020-04-09T07:01:46","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T11:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/?p=7016"},"modified":"2020-04-09T07:01:25","modified_gmt":"2020-04-09T11:01:25","slug":"top-heavy-part-ii-special-forces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/?p=7016","title":{"rendered":"Top-Heavy, Part II: Special Forces"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-7541\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/scenic_haris-600x280.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/scenic_haris-600x280.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/scenic_haris-300x140.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/scenic_haris-768x358.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/scenic_haris-624x291.jpg 624w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/scenic_haris.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Welcome back!<\/p>\n<p>Today we&#8217;re talking about the only good thing that currently exists in the world: the chibi Foreign Company I put together over the first three months of 2020. In <a href=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/?p=6873\">Part 1<\/a>, I complained about how a global pandemic is hurting my feelings, and then droned on for 8,000 words about how I made the first three <em>(and honestly, probably the easiest three)<\/em> models in the army. In this installment, I&#8217;ll move on to some slightly more complex models with actual, yaknow, faces.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>As with the first installment, the writeups in this article will contain a lot of generic text that describes common steps that are repeated between all or most of the ten models I made. So anywhere you see text wrapped in<\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">The Green Box of Ignoring<\/div>\n<p>you can be confident that the text is likely something you&#8217;ve read before that can be skipped right over.<\/p>\n<p>Alrighty, enough preamble. ON WITH THE SCULPTING!<\/p>\n<h2>The Professional<\/h2>\n<p>Avicenna was a bit of a challenge to work on right off the bat because as far as I&#8217;ve been able to determine, this is the best photo we&#8217;ve ever received of her concept dossier:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-7681\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_02-600x589.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"589\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_02-600x589.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_02-300x294.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_02-768x753.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_02-624x612.jpg 624w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_02.jpg 994w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>*squints*<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-7682\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_03-600x309.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"309\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_03-600x309.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_03-300x154.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_03-768x395.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_03-624x321.jpg 624w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_03.jpg 1186w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, I was able to get most of what I needed from some decent-resolution photos of the studio model. However, there are some minor elements that are a bit hard to make out from these images, so if anybody has some clearer shots of the dossier, please put them in a time machine and send them back to January Spud.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-7680\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_01-600x596.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"596\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_01-600x596.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_01-300x298.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_01-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_01-768x763.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_01-624x620.jpg 624w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_01.jpg 1014w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Chibi falls under a lot of the same principles that drive cartooning and caricature&#8211; you&#8217;re trying to look at the character and pull out specific features to over-emphasize in the costume and personality. In the case of Avicenna, this boiled down to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Competent doctor<\/li>\n<li>Hair for days<\/li>\n<li>Not a white person<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When I originally started drawing my concepts for the army, I drew the characters with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=final+fantasy+tactics+no+noses&amp;client=firefox-b-d&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwj7yKn56c_oAhWDY80KHRPlAYUQ_AUoAXoECAsQAw&amp;biw=1920&amp;bih=984\">no noses<\/a>, or at most, the slightest suggestion of a nose. However, I found that not including noses on the characters made it really difficult to portray the different ethnicities of the helmetless characters in the army. After doing a bunch of trial sketches, I settled on an approach where models would have a fairly large nose bump, but it would be featureless (no nostrils) and blended into the surrounding cheeks. This kept the overall feeling of abstraction I was going for, while still giving me the tools to emphasize different facial features on different models.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ll get into it more a bit further down, but the short version is that my models have noses because Avicenna&#8217;s concept sketch looked weird without one.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_01.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">The generic armature was twisted into shape using needle-nose pliers. My armatures terminate at the tips of the toes, and then I leave a bit of extra slack to let me embed the extra wire in a wine cork, which becomes a handle I can hold onto throughout the sculpting and painting processes.<\/div>\n<p>Avicenna&#8217;s pose is very much on the comedy end of the continuum&#8211; she&#8217;s disdainfully looking off at a wounded soldier off to the side, sighing, and snapping on a surgical glove. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_02.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">I sculpt in Fimo, which is a polymer clay available at most craft stores. Fimo doesn&#8217;t stick to metal on its own, so you need to apply a layer of Green Stuff putty over the armature as an adhesive layer. The Green Stuff is thinly applied using metal sculpting tools.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_03.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">\n<p>The first layer of Fimo is immediately applied directly over the still-soft putty. Once again, it&#8217;s pressed into place using metal sculpting tools; clean surfaces aren&#8217;t terribly important at this point, since many layers will be going on top.<\/p>\n<p>Clay is added to the model in shreds and slabs to arrive at the desired thickness for each part. At this stage I&#8217;m still working entirely with metal tools, as the ability to quickly jam bits of clay together is far more important at this stage than getting clean surfaces. You don&#8217;t need very much clay to bulk out an arm or a leg, but the sheer size of chibi heads mean that they&#8217;ll invariably require huge amounts of clay to be stuck on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_04.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">I keep applying bits and pieces of clay and blending them into each other until the model has the general type of physique I&#8217;m after. At this point, I finally do a smoothing pass using silicone clayshapers, which are able to achieve a much smoother finish than metal tools thanks to their pliability.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_05.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And now: HOW TO MAKE BUTT<em>S.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Step 1: Apply the butt pies<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_06.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Step 2: Make the pies into a butt.<\/p>\n<p>This concludes the two-part series, HOW TO MAKE BUTTS.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_07.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After building the requisite bean shape for the head, I start the face by pressing circles for the eyes using a piece of brass tubing. I then use a metal tool to fine-tune the eye shape with a flatter bottom, and dig a small amount of material out of the edges of the resulting eye shape.<\/p>\n<p>On a normal-scale head, the bottom of the eyes would fall vertically on the center line of the head; with a chibi model you want to make the cranium proportionally larger to make the models look more child-like <em>(which, like&#8230; does everyone know that babies have different head proportions? Because they do. The tops of their heads are way bigger, which results in their eyes being lower on their face. Chibis usually borrow that proportion, as it&#8217;s a cheat code to force the observer&#8217;s brain to activate &#8220;DAWWWWW SO CUTE&#8221; circuitry against its will).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_08.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The mouth barrel is built up by laying down clay snakes above and below the mouth&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_09.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&#8230;and then blending them into the surrounding face. Note that these aren&#8217;t the lips yet&#8211; they&#8217;re the meat that the lips will later sit on top of.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_10.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The eyes are given a more expressive shape by laying clay on the top and bottom of the eye. These will go in different positions depending on the facial expression you&#8217;re trying to convey.<\/p>\n<p>In Avicenna&#8217;s case, the facial expression I&#8217;m generally veering toward is a slightly more bemused variant on&#8230; well, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=mckayla+maroney+face&amp;tbm=isch&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiezpuU-s_oAhVJSKwKHUqrDqIQ2-cCegQIABAA&amp;oq=mckayla+maroney+face&amp;gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzICCAAyAggAMgIIADIGCAAQBRAeMgQIABAYMgQIABAYOgQIABBDOgYIABAIEB5QlhtYuiBg8SBoAHAAeACAAWOIAb8CkgEBNJgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1n&amp;sclient=img&amp;ei=MhyJXp7tM8mQsQXK1rqQCg&amp;bih=983&amp;biw=1920&amp;client=firefox-b-d\">this<\/a>. \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_11.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The clay bits are then blended into the face to form eyelids.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_12.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The same process is used to slowly build out other areas of the face, including the eyelids, the eyebrows, the cheeks, and the jowls around the mouth. Go find yourself <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=facial+muscles&amp;client=firefox-b-d&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwi9xqmFgdvoAhVlm-AKHWxsA2oQ_AUoAXoECA4QAw&amp;biw=1592&amp;bih=971\">a creepy diagram of facial muscles<\/a> if you aren&#8217;t familiar with where the masses for each of those goes.<\/p>\n<p>Avicenna&#8217;s face ends up taking me a fair bit of work to slowly develop; my first attempt isn&#8217;t expressing the attitude I wanted, but it&#8217;ll take me a while to figure out exactly what the problem is. That&#8217;s one of the quirks of the human brain&#8211; we&#8217;re all hard-wired to know what a face looks like, and we&#8217;re hyper-tuned to notice and reject faces that are <em>almost but not quite <\/em>right. So you can instinctively recognize that &#8220;there is a problem&#8221;, but figuring out specifically what the problem is and how to solve it is <em>not<\/em> part of that evolutionary wiring.<\/p>\n<p>As a sculptor, that means that you spend a lot of time working on partially-built faces that your brain wants you to run away from in terror.<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ll, ah&#8230; you&#8217;ll want to suppress those urges. That&#8217;s lesson one. ~_~<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_13.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I have some elements of the desired expression here&#8211; the slightly concerned eyebrows, the mouth dimpled onto on one side, and the slightly suspicious raised lower eyelids. However, overall the expression isn&#8217;t really gelling yet.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_14.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To give myself some more time to ponder that situation, I take a few minutes to build the nose.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_15.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A blob is planted in the center of the face to create the main bump of the nose, and then that bump is heavily blended in every direction, leaving just the suggestion of the bulb and the bridge.<\/p>\n<p>In Avicenna&#8217;s case, I gave her a slightly longer bridge to convey her middle eastern ethnicity; it doesn&#8217;t look like much here, but on later Caucasian models, the bridge will end somewhere around the bottom of the eyes.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a subtle detail, but it helps the army to feel a bit more varied. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_16.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To create ears, a blob of clay is cut in half (to ensure equal size on both sides) and stuck down in line with the eyes, about 2\/3 of the way toward the back of the head. The blob is blended with a hard edge on the top, back, and bottom, but is smoothed flush going toward the face.<\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t get a good picture of it here, but I apply very simplified detailing inside the ear with a round clayshaper; you can see some pictures of it a bit later on.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_17.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The foundation of the model&#8217;s hair is applied with long, parallel strips that follow the direction of the hairstyle.<\/p>\n<p>In Avicenna&#8217;s case, her hair largely flows from front to back, and is then pulled tight and tied into an impractically long braid.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_18.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I join the clay strips partially together with a metal tool, but I don&#8217;t blend them flat&#8211; instead, I form them into a hills-and-valleys texture to show the direction of the hair.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_19.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Back to the face! After continually trying and failing to fix Avicenna&#8217;s facial expression, I realize that part of the problem is that I didn&#8217;t build the masses right&#8211; her eyes are too sunken in, and need to be pushed outward.<\/p>\n<p>Also I did a s*** job on the eye shapes, but let&#8217;s pretend that the lack of material was the bigger issue&#8230; \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_20.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Somehow this is worse. So, so much worse. @_@<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_21.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This time around, I spend some time making sure that there&#8217;s enough mass where it&#8217;s needed&#8211; I connect the brows to the bridge of her nose, and bring her cheeks and the eye sockets further forward.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_22.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>What you&#8217;re looking at is &#8220;slightly under-blended clay on the bottoms of the eyes&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>What your brain <em>thinks<\/em> you&#8217;re looking at is &#8220;lady with the skin flayed off under her eyes&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m just sorry enough to apologize, but not quite sorry enough to remove the picture.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m&#8230; medium sorry.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_23.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I keep working on the face for quite a while. This second pass is going better in that it actually looks vaguely like a human being, but nailing down the specific facial expression is giving me a lot of trouble.<\/p>\n<p>However, this is the kind of trouble I actually really enjoy&#8211; playing around with facial expressions is very fun for me, and I find the experimentation of, &#8220;Maybe push this muscle a bit over here&#8230; no, not quite right, maybe to here instead&#8221; to be really engaging.<\/p>\n<p>So, I&#8217;m not there yet, but I&#8217;m having fun picking at it. ^_^<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_24.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I take a break from the face to let the ideas simmer in my brainmeats, and move to detailing the hair as a change of pace. I use clayshapers to break up the even trenches and rises, making them narrower and making masses from one rise blend into the next row over. The direction of the hair continues to flow mostly front-to-back, but I pull some more complex areas like the way the temples flow into a triangle straight from the studio model.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m not really inventing anything new here; I&#8217;m just trying to be a competent and respectful mimic. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_25.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>So, weird observation: I don&#8217;t think I have any pictures of the early stages of building Avicenna&#8217;s outfit? Like, the volumes of the skirt, or the front flap, or her pocketed belt. I&#8217;m pretty sure I <em>took<\/em> the pictures, but the camera I&#8217;m using has this annoying file naming scheme that goes &#8220;current date + image number today&#8221;, but it bases the image number on files that it can currently see on the SD card. Sooooo, if I empty the card midway through the day, it starts over from &#8220;1&#8221;. Which means that if I take pictures off multiple times in one day<em> (which I do quite often)<\/em>, I have to be very careful not to overwrite the older pictures with the newer ones.<\/p>\n<p>Which&#8230; I apparently clicked incorrectly at least once, because I&#8217;m definitely missing files.<\/p>\n<p><em>*sigh*<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Anyway, here&#8217;s her nearly-complete holstered pistol. I guess go look at the process for a different model if you want to know how it was built, because the details of this one are lost to time. ;_;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7696\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_04.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"376\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_04.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_04-300x188.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I guess we can pick up from here. <em>*shrug*<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Avicenna&#8217;s pistol is suspended from her belt by a really weird triangular chain thing. I&#8217;m really not clear on what that&#8217;s actually supposed to be, but it&#8217;s <em>relatively<\/em> straightforward to sculpt, so&#8230; ehhh?<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_26.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To build it, I lay down a clay snake and flatten it into a strip. I break the strip up using a knife at regular intervals.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_27.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I use a metal tool to press down the gaps between the&#8230; loops, I guess? Then, I use the same metal tool to press the loops slightly down on the sides, leaving a raised strip running down the center of all three segments. I poke holes in the loops with a metal pick, and then clean everything up with clayshapers.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_29.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I then repeat the process on the back, ending up with a pretty decent triangle&#8230; chain&#8230; thing.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Look, I have no idea. Let&#8217;s just move on. :\/<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7697\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_05.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"397\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_05.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_ref_05-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Next up on the Weird Detail Grand Tour: these criss-crossed angled metal bits!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_30.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There isn&#8217;t a lot to these&#8211; they&#8217;re just going to be very, very thin clay snakes pressed down at specific angles to each other. I roll out a few inches&#8217; worth of tiny snakes in advance before I start applying anything to make sure they&#8217;re all roughly the same width.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_32.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The pattern looks complicated, but it&#8217;s actually pretty straightforward&#8211; the one on the far right goes on first, and then the one in the middle goes on top of it, and then the one on the far left goes over both of them. I expected them to criss-cross and braid over and under each other, but from what I can see on the blurry concept and the blown-up shots of the studio model, that doesn&#8217;t seem to be the case.<\/p>\n<p>So, that&#8217;s easy enough. ^_^<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_33.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t have a lot of specific details for you about what finally made the &#8220;skeptical sigh&#8221; face work&#8211; I just picked at it slowly, moving bits around, adding and removing clay, for like three hours in between all the other details until it looked right. Literally googling &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=skeptical+face&amp;client=firefox-b-d&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiF9Zetj9DoAhXEZs0KHcCNC0AQ_AUoAXoECAwQAw&amp;biw=1920&amp;bih=983\">skeptical face<\/a>&#8221; was also a big help. \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n<p>Oh, and hey, check out her cool sweeping hair bit. I like how that came out. \ud83d\ude42 The process is pretty much what you&#8217;d expect&#8211; lay down a clay snake, press the edges down with a flat metal tool, and then smooth it with clayshapers.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_34.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Alrighty, time for the hands! The right hand followed a different procedure than most of the other ones in the army, because I didn&#8217;t start with a mitten and cut it apart into fingers. Instead, I laid down just the palm and knuckles of the hand&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_35.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&#8230;and then cut a thin clay snake into short segments to form the fingers&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_36.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&#8230;which were manually placed down on the knuckles. This method is much trickier than the split mitten method, but it&#8217;s the only way I know to make really cleanly separated, free-standing fingers that are fully splayed apart from each other.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_37.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The reason I don&#8217;t always work this way? It&#8217;s really hard. \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n<p>The fingers have almost no strength whatsoever, so any time you breathe hard in their direction, they start bending over. I had to be extremely careful as I worked to only ever touch the base of each finger where they join into the knuckles, and avoid ever touching the raised fingers.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_38.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The left hand, which would be gripping the base of the right glove, was done with the more standard method.<\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">To build the left hand, a bit of clay is applied to form the entire block of fingers. Hands are one of the many elements that are easier to sculpt on a chibi model than on a normal-scale model. You can often get away with a more simplified grooved &#8220;mitten&#8221;, which then allows each finger to support its neighbours.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_39.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">The grooves are pressed in about halfway down the mitten, and then things are smoothed out a bit. Once that&#8217;s all formed, I use a knife to separate some of the finger tips and slightly pull them away from the rest of the hand. More work would be needed to add individual finger segments on a normal model, but on chibis, a rounded finger looks just fine.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_40.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Some extra clay is added to bridge the gap from the right wrist to the grasping thumb-and-forefinger of the left hand, creating the stretched &#8220;snapping&#8221; pose.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_41.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The left glove is given a straighter, looser cuff edge by smoothing down a clay snake on one side.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_42.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I seriously love this pose. &lt;3<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_43.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Hey look, it&#8217;s shoes!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_44.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Avicenna&#8217;s shoes have three small straps across the tops, so I rolled out a very narrow clay snake and cut it into short segments.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_45.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I laid three segments across each shoe and flattened them, then added just the tiniest dot of clay to the end of each shoe to form the&#8230; button? rivet?<\/p>\n<p>Whatever. The nubbly bit.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_46.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Alrighty, now the interesting part: ALL THAT HAIR.<\/p>\n<p>The actual Avicenna model&#8217;s hair doesn&#8217;t quite go to the ground, but directly translating the original model&#8217;s ponytail length isn&#8217;t quite going to work here&#8211; a ponytail that stops at her feet will look correct relative to the body, but will look really short relative to the head. I&#8217;m basically running into an issue where the severely distorted scaling&#8211; with objects being way too big on top and way smaller on the bottom&#8211; is called attention to because part of the model is going to travel continuously from one end of that distortion to the other.<\/p>\n<p>I decide that making the ponytail &#8220;correct&#8221; relative to the head is more important, and use calipers to measure out a length that drops below the ground plane for the model.<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t worry, I&#8217;m going to account for that. It&#8217;ll be fine. \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_47.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The ponytail is going to need a pretty substantial wire support. I wasn&#8217;t sure if my super-thin copper wire would be strong enough, so I tried using my next-thinnest wire&#8211; 20-gauge brass. However, this turned out WAY too stiff to work with. I did some experiments, and figured out that the thin copper wire is just barely strong enough if I twist two lengths of it together fairly tightly. Still springier than I&#8217;d like, but I should be able to work with it.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_48.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I bend the ends of the wire into an L-shape, then cut perpendicular slots of the same size into the back of Avicenna&#8217;s head where the directions of the hair strands all converge together. I press the wire L into the slot, then press it all closed using clayshapers.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_49.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A bit of cleanup later, Avicenna is ready for her first bake!<\/p>\n<p><em>(I wouldn&#8217;t be able to start on the braid yet at this stage before baking, as I need the clay around the base of the hair wire to be cooked solid to hold the wire in place. Pretty much any amount of pressure applied to it right now will twist it right out through the soft clay).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_50.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once the model is baked and the hair wire is firmly stuck in place, I apply an adhesive layer of Green Stuff around the entire wire.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_51.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t get a photo of it, but I apply the clay around the wire by spiralling a long, thin clay snake around the wire, and then squishing and smoothing it into a continuous cylinder.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_52.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Braids are a bit tricky to sculpt, but they get easier once you look closely and decode how the pattern works. Basically, you put a diagonal line in from one edge, which extends about 2\/3 of the way toward the opposite edge. You then come in from the opposite side with another diagonal line, spaced to start where the previous one ended, and again stopping 2\/3 of the way toward the original edge. You just keep hopping back and forth like that, making 2\/3-width diagonals, until you&#8217;ve gone the full length of the braid.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_53.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once you&#8217;ve applied the weave pattern to the top, continue the diagonal lines around the sides to the rear. Then, use clayshapers to round off the various segments that you&#8217;ve created.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_54.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The underside will have the same pattern as the top, but with the direction of the diagonals reversed <em>(so, the &#8220;arrows&#8221; pointing up instead of down).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_55.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once I finish cleaning up the braid segments, I grab the tip <em>(which I&#8217;ve left exposed as bare wire for just this purpose)<\/em> with pliers and gently pull it toward the front of the model. Note that I went pretty quickly through the braid construction to ensure that the putty inside isn&#8217;t quite hardened yet when I do this; I want it to harden into the curved shape, not the flat shape it was originally applied in.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_56.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>More adhesive Green Stuff goes around the bare end of the wire, then more clay. I shape the clay at the very end into loose tassels of hair, and leave a large round blob for Avicenna&#8217;s&#8230; large round hair thingie.<\/p>\n<p>LOOK, HER COSTUME MAKES NO SENSE. SHE&#8217;S COVERED IN THINGS THAT SERVE NO PURPOSE AND ONLY LOOK NICE. WHO EVEN DOES THAT. &gt;:(<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_57.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Oh look, more purely decorative baubles.<\/p>\n<p>BOOO JEWELLERY. EVERYONE SHOULD JUST WEAR JEANS AND A HOODIE YEAR ROUND LIKE SPUD.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_58.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Aaaanyway. So, she has a big metal hair scrunchie, I guess? As you saw a moment ago, I dug some material out of the center to drop it down, and have now smoothed off that rough clay. I then apply an overlapping pattern of diagonal clay snakes all around the cylinder in much the same way I did on her shoulder decoration.<\/p>\n<p>And&#8230; some more cleanup later, she&#8217;s ready to bake!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_59.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Oh, random post-baking item: the hair scrunchie came a bit away from the rest of the hair when I was working on it, so I had to apply some filler Green Stuff after she was fully cooked to bridge the gap. You can see this type of last-minute Green Stuff patch on a few of the models&#8211; it&#8217;s a quick way to cover your various &#8220;oops&#8221;es. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p>Aaaand, she&#8217;s done!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_60.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_61.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_62.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_63.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_64.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_65.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_66.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/avicenna_67.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>You can see her fully painted on the last page <em>(and, spoiler: she&#8217;s my second-favourite model out of the entire 10-model project &lt;3 )<\/em>. But for now, let&#8217;s check out a model that only ended up in the army because of weird Fireteam restrictions. \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>The Electrician<\/h2>\n<p>Most of the models I chose for this army were selected because I liked how they look. The Kaplan was selected because Foreign Company has weird fireteams.<\/p>\n<p>The army is heavily skewed toward character models, and has only two generic units that can form a traditional single-troop fireteam&#8211; light Securitates and heavy ORC troops. And the number of &#8220;can join another fireteam as a guest&#8221; models available to the sectorial is actually surprisingly minimal. Instead, the sectorial has been given a huge number of explicit &#8220;A + B + C&#8221; fireteam recipes, where you can form a Core or a Haris only out of specific nominated members with no flexibility.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7701\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_03.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"313\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_03.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_03-300x157.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When I planned out which models I wanted to play, I started with the fact that I wanted to play all six of the character models in the faction. However, the fireteam options with that model list are a bit hard to arrange&#8211; I knew I wanted to put the four &#8220;stars&#8221; of the Foreign Company into the &#8220;oh my god it&#8217;s such a bad idea&#8221; 4-Character Trap Fireteam <em>for the memes<\/em>, which left Avicenna and Wild Bill to find friends to hang out with on their own. And going over the fireteam list, the only way to get Bill into any kind of fireteam was to build one of these guys:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-7684\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_02-600x733.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"733\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_02-600x733.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_02-245x300.jpg 245w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_02-768x939.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_02-624x763.jpg 624w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_02.jpg 783w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Kaplans&#8230; exist. They&#8217;re one of those troops that&#8217;s &#8220;distinctive enough&#8221;, and &#8220;good looking enough&#8221; and &#8220;decent enough on the table&#8221;, but that most people forget exists when they aren&#8217;t looking directly at it. I would never have selected one to sculpt in a vacuum, but given the list I probably wanted to play, I didn&#8217;t have a lot of choice if I wanted my cowboy to get that sweet, sweet +1 Burst bonus.<\/p>\n<p>So, okay, whatever. I guess I&#8217;ll count it as a victory that I managed to assemble an army with <em>only<\/em> one Obligation Model in it and move on with my life. \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-7683\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_01-600x633.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"633\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_01-600x633.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_01-284x300.jpg 284w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_01-768x811.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_01-624x659.jpg 624w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_01.jpg 1208w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After drawing up the concept sketch for the Kaplan, I left with two take-aways:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>J\u00e9sus Christo, that is an insane amount of detail. It&#8217;s just detailed padding and paneling and pockets from toe to eyeballs. UUUUUGH DON&#8217;T WANNA SCUUUUUUULPT. ;_;<\/li>\n<li>I decided that I was going to play the Engineer Kaplan for some specialist diversity, and wanted to play the profile holding a Blitzen <em>(aka Lightning Gun)<\/em> but quickly realized that while Blitzens have existed as a weapon for like eight years on paper, Corvus Belli has kind of never&#8230; drawn one? Like, ever, in any context? I pulled up Army and filtered to every single model in the game armed with a Blitzen, and then dug up the concept dossiers for all of those units, and ABSOLUTELY NONE OF THEM had a Blitzen in their hand or drawn on the side<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-7702\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_04-600x505.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"505\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_04-600x505.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_04-300x253.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_04-768x647.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_04-624x526.jpg 624w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_04.jpg 1147w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Pictured: zero lightning guns. &gt;:(<\/p>\n<p>I got a bit panicked because I really wanted to include a more interesting gun to compensate for the fact that I didn&#8217;t find the Kaplan itself very interesting, but it really did seem that Corvus Belli had invented a gun on graph paper and then spent the better part of a decade <em>not<\/em> assigning any of their artists to decide what the f*** it looks like. e_@<\/p>\n<p>BUT! By a fluke, right as I had this dilemma, Corvus Belli released some concept art for the upcoming Defiance game, and lo and behold:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-7703\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_05-600x336.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"336\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_05-600x336.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_05-300x168.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_05-768x430.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_05-624x350.jpg 624w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_05.jpg 1278w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>*gasp*<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-7704\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_06.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"281\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_06.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_06-300x141.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>LIGHTING GUN! And it&#8217;s&#8230; super weird-looking! XD<\/p>\n<p>Alright, so, totally not what I was expecting, but that actually looks pretty interesting&#8211; I guess it&#8217;s basically like a tiny railgun, firing off the electric slug between the two charged rails? Ehh, sure, we&#8217;ll go with that. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p>Oh, and dumb postscript to this tangent: I mentioned the problems I had been having to my playgroup, and the conclusion that CB had FINALLY just released the design for what a Blitzen looks like, not on an Infinity model, but for a side game they&#8217;re selling on Kickstarter. And one of the other players said,<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Brandon: &#8220;No, they did it a while ago.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Spud: &#8220;A-wha? No they didn&#8217;t. I looked at all the dossiers, none of them have Blitzens.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Brandon: &#8220;Okay, but there&#8217;s a model holding one.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Spud: &#8220;What? No there isn&#8217;t. I LOOKED.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And he dug around on the model wall, and pulled down a box.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Brandon: &#8220;See?&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-7705\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_07-600x338.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_07-600x338.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_07-300x169.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_07-768x432.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_07-624x351.jpg 624w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_07.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I squinted.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Spud: &#8220;No, I do not see.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Brandon: &#8220;It&#8217;s right there, man.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7706\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_08.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_08.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_08-300x198.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Oh, f*** you.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7707\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_09.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"336\" height=\"336\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Dear Spain: I hate you, and you are not invited to my birthday party.<\/p>\n<p>ALRIGHT. MOVING ON. &gt;:(<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_01.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once I have art for the Blitzen, I scale it down to the size that will fit into my model&#8217;s hand and print it out.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_02.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I like to sculpt the weapons my models will be holding before the rest of the model, as the handheld accessories dictate a lot of the decisions that I&#8217;ll need to make about the model&#8217;s pose.<\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">I stick the paper template down to a block of wood with push pins, and then scratch the contour around it with a pencil to delineate the space my gun needs to stay within.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_03.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">I get out some thin 24GA copper wire and twist it into the vague shape of the contour, leaving space on all sides to bury it in clay.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_04.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">Just as with the models themselves, the clay on the weapons needs a putty foundation to stick to the metal. I wrap a bit of putty around the wire, and then lay shreds of clay over top of the still-soft putty and flatten it all together. Throughout the process, I&#8217;ll be continually watching the pencil contours to ensure that I don&#8217;t stray outside the weapon&#8217;s contours.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_05.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">I continue adding small bits of clay and blending them to the outsides until I&#8217;m happy with the silhouette.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_06.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">Next, I look at the reference drawing and add in some of the interior details, pressing in small lines to define the grip, the weird circular frame, and the charged rails.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_07.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">I continue pressing in details until I&#8217;m pretty satisfied with my replication of the original gun. The entire process is done by pushing out basic shapes with metal tools and then smoothing with clayshapers.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_08.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">When I&#8217;m happy with the first side of the gun, I bake it in my halogen oven (250 degrees F for about 6 minutes). Once the first side is baked solid, I use a knife to carefully lift it off the wood block, and then I turn it over.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_09.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">I use blobs of Green Stuff to provide supporting pegs to keep it firmly level while I work on the reverse side.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_10.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I want to do something kind of unique for the Blitzen. If I&#8217;m going to have a model holding a lightning gun, I want to be able to very clearly communicate what it is to a casual observer. So, I decide that the gun will have a very exaggerated energy effect modeled onto it, clearly showing the electricity building up in preparation for firing. I&#8217;m not <em>totally<\/em> clear at this stage exactly what that will look like, but I do know that it will involve some clay above and below the barrel, so I embed an extra wire perpendicular to the barrel to let me support whatever I build later on. I also leave the structural wires at the barrel of the gun extending outward to form additional supports.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_11.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">The process for this side is largely the same as the other side&#8211; I smear a thin layer of Green Stuff over the silhouette as an adhesive, and then press shreds of clay into it and smooth the shreds together with metal tools.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_12.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once again, I press the details of the weapon into the clay. I do my best to completely obscure the lightning wire everywhere except where it falls outside the weapon.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_13.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">The entire process is much faster the second time, as I can use the already-established edges of the first side to easily guide the placement of every piece on the flip-side. I do a bunch of cleanup, bake the gun, clean up the seam between the two sides with a sharp knife, and then see how it looks on the model.<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7710\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_10.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"438\" height=\"314\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_10.jpg 438w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_10-300x215.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 438px) 100vw, 438px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The pose I decided on for the Kaplan is for the model to be aiming down the gun while it charges up.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_14.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m not gonna lie, I wasn&#8217;t entirely successful in replicating this pose. The gun ended up a bit bigger than in the drawing, and I had a lot of difficulty getting the two hands to link up in the way they are in the sketch. I still think the pose I ended up with is fine, but it&#8217;s a bit less cool than what I drew. :\/<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_15.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Soooo, what the hell is the glow going to look like? I had a vague idea in my head for a cartoon lightning bolt cutting across the gun, but it turns out that this is more complicated in practice than in my head.<\/p>\n<p>I print out a bunch of copies of the Blitzen design and sketch out different ways the lightning bolt could be integrated into them. I end up liking the one in the middle, which integrates a circular halo in the middle of the bolt.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_16.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I twist the four protruding wires to fit inside the lightning bolt sketch.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_17.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Sculpting the actual lightning bolt is pretty much identical to the steps for the gun itself&#8211; Green Stuff adhesive, then clay, then smooth everything, then flip and repeat.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_19.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>While the gun production is winding down, I start working on the actual model. As I said earlier, I had some issues getting the hands to link up the way I wanted, so I compromised by having the second hand just sort of rest against the other side of the grip. Not the greatest gun-firing pose, but it&#8217;s what I can manage given the model&#8217;s stubby arms. :\/<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_20.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">I sculpt in Fimo, which is a polymer clay available at most craft stores. Fimo doesn&#8217;t stick to metal on its own, so you need to apply a layer of Green Stuff putty over the armature as an adhesive layer. The Green Stuff is thinly applied using metal sculpting tools.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_22.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">\n<p>The first layer of Fimo is immediately applied directly over the still-soft putty. Once again, it&#8217;s pressed into place using metal sculpting tools; clean surfaces aren&#8217;t terribly important at this point, since many layers will be going on top.<\/p>\n<p>Clay is added to the model in shreds and slabs to arrive at the desired thickness for each part. At this stage I&#8217;m still working entirely with metal tools, as the ability to quickly jam bits of clay together is far more important at this stage than getting clean surfaces. You don&#8217;t need very much clay to bulk out an arm or a leg, but the sheer size of chibi heads mean that they&#8217;ll invariably require huge amounts of clay to be stuck on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_23.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">Once I&#8217;m happy with the basic body masses, I start adding clothes. I typically start at the model&#8217;s feet and work my way up. Thick garment breaks are added first, and then I add smaller surface details.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_24.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As I mentioned earlier, the Kaplan is just PLASTERED with detail on every inch of her outfit. I pay close attention to the concept art, and break each area down into individual panels and patches to be applied on top of each other.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_25.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">\n<p>Garment edges and fully embossed straps are both done in pretty much the same way&#8211; I roll out a very thin clay snake, and apply it either as one long piece or in smaller snippets. The snake is then pressed flat and blended into its surroundings.<\/p>\n<p>You can achieve different effects depending on how you blend it; you can leave a stark ledge on both sides to make the new clay appear as an independent band of material, or you can blend one of the edges into the surrounding material to look like a garment is coming to an end&#8211; e.g., the bottom of a sleeve or a pant leg.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_26.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s still a lot more detail to add to the legs <em>(*sigh*)<\/em>, but I keep moving up the body to the torso. I add a small panel for the tabard <em>(which necessitates adding a wad of clay under the crotch all the way to the back to provide support)<\/em>, and then define the edges of the &#8220;smock&#8221; on the torso.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_27.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Oh hey, time to add pouches!<\/p>\n<p>I really love sculpting pouches. I made a quick pouch-sculpting tutorial back in my Warmachine days, and it&#8217;s still basically the same procedure I follow today. I&#8217;ll just <a href=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/blog\/leather_tut.gif\">link you out to it<\/a> since it&#8217;s an EXTREMELY tall image. \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_28.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t see any problem with putting steampunk pouches on sci-fi models. I don&#8217;t anticipate that pouch technology is really going to progress all that much over the next two hundred years.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_29.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Oh hey, it&#8217;s another holstered gun that I took no progress photos of. I&#8217;m really starting to get suspicious about how often this is occurring. :\/<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_30.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Okay, so&#8230; the head! The Kaplan has a pretty distinctive gas mask helmet, which is very simple on top and extremely detailed on the bottom. Joy. -_-<\/p>\n<p>As with all of the other models, I determine the size and position of the eyes by pressing in a circle using a piece of brass tubing.<\/p>\n<p>Come to think of it, we&#8217;re five models in and I don&#8217;t think you&#8217;ve seen this brass tube yet, either.<\/p>\n<p>THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH THESE PHOTO RECORDS?!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_31.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Bluh, whatever. I flatten the bottom of the eyes, and then start applying clay for the gas mask. I start with the main bulge outward from the mouth, then lay scraps over the top of it and smooth them into a curved panel.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_32.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I add some more clay on top, and define the two separate panels from the concept.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_33.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The topmost of those two panels is integrated with the top of the helmet, so I add clay between the eyes and up to the brow, trying my best to keep everything smooth.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_34.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Whoever designed the Kaplan helmet did a good job of emphasizing the gas mask; every panel on the rest of the head is effectively an arrow pointing toward it, or else continues its line of direction throughout the mask.<\/p>\n<p>Great work, Spain. &lt;3<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_37.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I continue the top bands all the way to the back.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_35.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Keeping the head symmetrical was surprisingly VERY challenging. I&#8217;m not completely sure why&#8211; I didn&#8217;t have any major symmetry issues on any of the other smooth-helmeted models, but the Kaplan&#8217;s head was extremely wobbly throughout most of the process until I spent almost a full hour cleaning it up toward the end.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_36.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Alrighty, coming along nicely. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p>I add some chunks of clay around the jaw to finish the overall silhouette for the head. The details for these jaw blocks are really unclear from the concepts I have on hand, so I leave them smooth for now and plan to come back to them later.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_39.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Oh hey, it&#8217;s more f***ing body detail for some reason. Sure, why not. Here I&#8217;ve added the REALLY complex backpack strap, which like everything else on this model is just crammed with buckles, pockets, and any other detail Spain could cram in to stave off the dreaded <em>smooth surfaces<\/em>. <em>*hiss*<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_40.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Speaking of backpacks, here&#8217;s the backpack. The Kaplan actually has a fairly interesting backpack design&#8211; the gas mask has two tubes that run over the shoulders and plug into a back-mounted ventilation system.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_41.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t get a lot of progress shots of the backpack, but basically:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>I define the major divisions&#8211; the top flap, the line across the middle that dips down, and the trapezoid at the bottom&#8211; with metal tools, then clean up the lines with clayshapers.<\/li>\n<li>I apply a small ball of clay on the left and right of the backpack. I squish the balls flat with metal tools, drag the edges downward to be flush with the backpack, and then press in an indentation in the center of each of the cylinders I&#8217;ve just created.<\/li>\n<li>Detail and cleanup.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Alrighty, back to the head!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_38.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The front of the gas mask is a bit unclear in the references I had at this point. I guessed based on the new N3 resculpts <em>(the photos of which are quite dark)<\/em> that the mask is supposed to terminate in two round &#8220;buttons&#8221;. This turns out not to be correct when I find a better concept in a bit, but I never ended up changing it because I don&#8217;t hate how I the two circles look.<\/p>\n<p><em>*shrug*<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Also, the exact nature of the box along the jawline is really unclear from the concept, as the coloured N3 dossier only shows the head from the front. However, there are two views we&#8217;ve seen of the side of the head:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7721\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_11.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_ref_11-300x192.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>On the previous edition&#8217;s version of the Kaplan concept, the chin framed a line of parallel ribs or gills. I don&#8217;t have a super high-res shot of the recently resculpted models, but it appears that they&#8217;ve redesigned this area a bit into a pair of chunky polygons.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_42.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I decided that I liked the gilled version more overall, but also decide to make the shapes more angular and less organic to fit in with the geometry of the rest of the helmet.<\/p>\n<p>The last detail I want to add before baking is the conical mounting points for the breathing tubes on top of the gas mask. Once that&#8217;s done, I spent about an hour cleaning up edges with clayshapers, and she takes her first trip into The Hot Zone.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_43.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once the first layer is set, I glue the gun into place. This is where I really run into problems trying to replicate my concept drawing&#8211; the &#8220;aim down the sights&#8221; pose is really difficult to achieve with a gigantic gas mask coming off the front of the gigantic face. I do what I can in spite of it. \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_44.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Time to build the arms! I apply Green Stuff around the wire, then wrap clay around it while it&#8217;s still soft.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_45.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">To build the hands, a bit of clay is applied to form the entire block of fingers. Hands are one of the many elements that are easier to sculpt on a chibi model than on a normal-scale model. You can often get away with a more simplified grooved &#8220;mitten&#8221;, which then allows each finger to support its neighbours. The grooves are pressed in about halfway down the mitten, and then things are smoothed out a bit. Once that&#8217;s all formed, I use a knife to separate some of the finger tips and slightly pull them away from the rest of the hand.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_46.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I then press in some of the panels on the Kaplan&#8217;s arm, which are, to the surprise of no-one at this point, quite detailed. First, there are smooth plates that run up the forearm and over the bicep.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_47.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Another set of staggered plates goes over the back of the upper arm, and the shoulder is broken up into lines of artificial muscle underlay. Finally, model has a short glove with its own variety of knuckle and hand pads, and an odd but cool-looking open window on the back of the wrist.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s detail f***ing <em>everywhere<\/em>, is what I&#8217;m saying. -_-<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_48.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Nothing new is happening here, but I did a better job on the hand, so I&#8217;m showing it to you. \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_49.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Aaaaaand all of that detail goes on this side as well. You can see the finished glove on this side.<\/p>\n<p>The Kaplan has asymmetrical shoulders; the muscle fibers I added on the left side are covered up by a large plate on the right.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_50.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This plate still has a fair bit of detail that needs to be added, but it&#8217;s definitely less work than more braided muscle cables.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_51.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And finally, the breathing tubes. I did these in two passes&#8211; I applied a very thin snake from the mask to the backpack before baking the model again. Then, once it had been through the oven and the first thin tube was solidified, I added a second layer of clay over it and baked again for just a few minutes.<\/p>\n<p>And with that, we&#8217;re done model #5! HALFWAY THERE! WHOO! \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_52.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_53.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_54.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_55.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_56.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_57.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_58.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kaplan_59.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As always, painted pictures are on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/?p=7016&amp;page=4\">last page<\/a>. For now, let&#8217;s build a handsome cowboy-man. &lt;3<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h2>The Space Cowboy<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-7686\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_ref_02-600x686.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"686\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_ref_02-600x686.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_ref_02-262x300.jpg 262w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_ref_02-768x878.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_ref_02-624x714.jpg 624w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_ref_02.jpg 836w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Wild Bill is an old man in a cowboy hat.<\/p>\n<p>Yep.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-7685\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_ref_01-600x656.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"656\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_ref_01-600x656.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_ref_01-274x300.jpg 274w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_ref_01-768x840.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_ref_01-624x683.jpg 624w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_ref_01.jpg 864w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>My initial concept was going to have Bill raise his two pistols in the air, but this pose had a major drawback: it would require me to actually build two pistols, and I really didn&#8217;t want to. \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n<p>Sooo, let&#8217;s try something different.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_01.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The new pose is what I&#8217;m calling the &#8220;Quick Draw&#8221;. Bill&#8217;s two pistols will be prominently holstered, with his hands hovering over them, ready to draw at a moment&#8217;s notice.<\/p>\n<p>More dramatic, and also way easier to sculpt. \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_02.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">\n<p>I sculpt in Fimo, which is a polymer clay available at most craft stores. Fimo doesn&#8217;t stick to metal on its own, so you need to apply a layer of Green Stuff putty over the armature as an adhesive layer. The Green Stuff is thinly applied using metal sculpting tools.<\/p>\n<p>The first layer of Fimo is immediately applied directly over the still-soft putty. Once again, it&#8217;s pressed into place using metal sculpting tools; clean surfaces aren&#8217;t terribly important at this point, since many layers will be going on top.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_03.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">\n<p>Clay is added to the model in shreds and slabs to arrive at the desired thickness for each part. At this stage I&#8217;m still working entirely with metal tools, as the ability to quickly jam bits of clay together is far more important at this stage than getting clean surfaces. You don&#8217;t need very much clay to bulk out an arm or a leg, but the sheer size of chibi heads mean that they&#8217;ll invariably require huge amounts of clay to be stuck on.<\/p>\n<p>I keep applying bits and pieces of clay and blending them into each other until the model has the general type of physique I&#8217;m after. At this point, I finally do a smoothing pass using silicone clayshapers, which are able to achieve a much smoother finish than metal tools thanks to their pliability.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_04.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">Once I&#8217;m happy with the basic body masses, I start adding clothes. I typically start at the model&#8217;s feet and work my way up. Thick garment breaks are added first, and then I add smaller surface details.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_05.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">Garment edges and fully embossed straps are both done in pretty much the same way&#8211; I roll out a very thin clay snake, and apply it either as one long piece or in smaller snippets. The snake is then pressed flat and blended into its surroundings. You can achieve different effects depending on how you blend it; you can leave a stark ledge on both sides to make the new clay appear as an independent band of material, or you can blend one of the edges into the surrounding material to look like a garment is coming to an end&#8211; e.g., the bottom of a sleeve or a pant leg.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_06.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">After building the requisite bean shape for the head, I start the face by pressing circles for the eyes using a piece of brass tubing. I then use a metal tool to fine-tune the eye shape with a flatter bottom, and dig a small amount of material out of the edges of the resulting eye shape.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_07.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Bill&#8217;s eyes are going to be narrowed almost to slits, so I fine-tune the circle down to a pair of slightly curved rectangles. I also cut a small mark for the mouth, to help me place subsequent layers of clay.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_08.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I want to get his glare correct right off the bat, so I start by applying clay over his eyes to lower his eyebrows.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_09.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I blend these into his forehead, and don&#8217;t <em>quite<\/em> join the brow to the top of the eyes&#8211; there will always be a bit of flat area above the eyes for the eyelids.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_10.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I start applying material to other areas of the face&#8211; a small nose <em>(which blends out into the cheeks)<\/em>, upper and lower lips, and a slightly stronger chin and jawline.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_11.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Bill&#8217;s face honestly didn&#8217;t take a lot of work&#8211; I kind of lucked out and got the bean-shape into pretty good condition right off the bat, so it only took about an hour of massaging to get the basic facial forms in place.<\/p>\n<p>Once I&#8217;m happy with all of that, I apply clay around his mouth and jaw, then press it down to form facial hair.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_12.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I briefly add a hairline, though this is mostly going to get chopped off in a sec when we go to add the hat.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_13.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ll get back to the head in a little bit, but for now, let&#8217;s head back down south and start building the coat. Bill&#8217;s coat is designed to open on the right and hang entirely covering the left leg, but for the pose I chose, I need both legs<em> (and by extension, the gun strapped to each hip)<\/em> to be exposed.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_14.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To accommodate this, I wrenched the coat pretty hard toward the left side, leaving the outside of both thighs exposed for later armament.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_15.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I continue the coat around the back. I make the clay between the legs much thicker than it looks like would be necessary, because otherwise there won&#8217;t be any support to hold the coat tails in place.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_16.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>On the concept art, Bill&#8217;s coat has a very tall collar that his chin completely disappears into while leaving several inches&#8217; gap on all sides; given the difference in scale between my bill&#8217;s torso and head, my collar will only very snugly go around his chin.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_17.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s about all I&#8217;m going to get.<\/p>\n<p>Alrighty, now for the hard part: sculpting the hat. Bill, obviously, wears a giant-ass cowboy hat. The brim of this hat is going to be a huge challenge to sculpt, as I can&#8217;t think of a lot of good ways to reinforce the hat enough during sculpting to let me smooth and detail it. It would be easy if the brim was flat, but no dice&#8211; Bill&#8217;s hat curls up to the left and right. I puzzled this out for quite a whole, but even on the morning that I sat down to sculpt it, I wasn&#8217;t 100% clear on how I was going to approach it.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_18.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Soooo, without a clear plan in place, I guess I&#8217;ll figure it out as I go. ^_^<\/p>\n<p>The one thing I can determine pretty clearly is how big it should be&#8211; in all of the concept art and in side views of the models, Bill&#8217;s hat brim is almost exactly twice the width of his head. This is true in both directions <em>(front to back, and side to side)<\/em>. So, I use calipers to get the size of his head and trace an oval of roughly the same size, then trace a larger oval of twice that diameter.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_19.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I test this measurement out by cutting it out of a sheet of paper and putting it over Bill&#8217;s head, and the dimensions look about right.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_20.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Satisfied with the dimensions, I move onto my first theory about how to shape the brim: use aluminum foil as a support. I trace the paper template onto a sheet of foil, and cut it out.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_22.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I place the foil donut on a wooden block, and then lightly smear it with Green Stuff.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_23.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Next, thin sheets of clay are placed on top.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_24.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>My hope was that at this point, I would just be able to lift the edges of the foil, and they would hold everything up in a curled shape while the putty cured solid. I immediately discovered that foil is nowhere near strong enough for that; the clay is just too heavy, and it all immediately drops flat again.<\/p>\n<p>Alright, fine. As with everything else in sculpting, this is just a problem of creating suitable supports&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_25.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Working quickly to finish before the putty cures, I rig up a wire &#8220;saddle&#8221; using a drill and a pair of pliers, which will hopefully keep the sides curled up correctly during the curing process.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_26.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I place the hat brim down, and let the Green Stuff firm up overnight. The next morning, the brim is more or less holding its shape, so I put the saddle into the oven to bake.<\/p>\n<p>Thing I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve mentioned yet: it&#8217;s a bad idea to bake your clay while the Green Stuff inside is still soft. If it isn&#8217;t completely cured, the putty will bubble and expand when it heats up. If the clay on top is very thin, this causes unsightly boils and bulges in the clay surface; if the clay is thick, the pressure from underneath pushes against the curing clay until it cracks open to make room.<\/p>\n<p>So, don&#8217;t be impatient&#8211; give your Green Stuff at least six hours to cure, or longer if you can manage it, before putting it in the oven!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_32.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The cooked hat brim is starting to be hard to drop over Bill&#8217;s head, so I remove some clay from around his whole head to make room. Don&#8217;t worry, it will all get built up again later when I add the crown of the hat.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_27.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The hat doesn&#8217;t look too bad, but there was a bit of a problem during the cooking process&#8211; the clay layer I applied was extremely thin, and even after letting the Green Stuff cure, small bubbles still former in the previously-smooth surface. More significantly, the slight curl I created with my saddle was increased as it cooked, so the sides pitch much further upward than I wanted them to. Also, it&#8217;s still somewhat pliable and doesn&#8217;t feel like it&#8217;s going to resist damage very well if it gets bumped.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s all very salvageable, but it does mean that my pipe dream about quickly building the brim in one layer isn&#8217;t going to work out. :\/<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_29.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>So, fine&#8211; I was trying to avoid it, but it looks like I&#8217;m going to have to add a support wire. I run a putty snake around the outer edge of the brim, and then drop a thin copper wire on top of it.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_30.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I press putty over the wire and the entire surface of the brim, and then I apply the thinnest layer of clay that I can manage over the top.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_31.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, the smoothing process ends up being easier than I expected&#8211; even though the brim curves in multiple directions, I&#8217;m still able to roll a large cone-shaped clayshaper over the entirety of it. It&#8217;s impossible to get the whole thing flat at once, but I can get any given point to be flat against the surface whole I roll.<\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t get a shot of just the completed brim, but this layer is ultimately sufficient&#8211; it ended up a lot thicker <em>(seriously, a <\/em>lot <em>thicker)<\/em> than I wanted, but it curves about as much as I wanted, and is much sturdier than after the first bake.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ll attach it to the head in a sec, but first, let&#8217;s work on the outfit a bit more.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_33.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I add a bunch of detail to the coat. I start to create cloth drape wrapping around from the shoulders and armpits to the back, fold the cloth up around the tail on the left, and then press in some of the cloth panels down the center and across the shoulders.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_34.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>On the front, I add buckles to the collar and a trim to the edge of the coat. I also create more folded cloth around the waist.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_36.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Bill has a pretty wild (HA!) mane of hair, so I apply that now underneath the Scalp Event Horizon.<\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">The foundation of the hair is applied with long, parallel snake that follow the direction of the hairstyle. I join the clay strips partially together with a metal tool, but I don&#8217;t blend them flat&#8211; instead, I form them into a hills-and-valleys texture to show the direction of the hair.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_37.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I do a bit more work on the cloth folds on the front, and add another vertical panel line in the cloth going across the folds. I also use clayshapers to press flow lines into his facial hair; I go for a much softer, more rounded texture on the hair than I would for a normal-scale mini.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_38.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I add the guns, which turn out to be barely visible thanks to the coat. Bleh. :\/<\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">To build the hands, a bit of clay is applied to form the entire block of fingers. Hands are one of the many elements that are easier to sculpt on a chibi model than on a normal-scale model. You can often get away with a more simplified grooved &#8220;mitten&#8221;, which then allows each finger to support its neighbours.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_39.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"blah\">The grooves are pressed in about halfway down the mitten, and then things are smoothed out a bit. Once that&#8217;s all formed, I use a knife to separate some of the finger tips and slightly pull them away from the rest of the hand. More work would be needed to add individual finger segments on a normal model, but on chibis, a rounded finger looks just fine.<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_40.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>More cleanup will be needed, but that&#8217;s essentially the &#8220;quick draw&#8221; pose.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s&#8230; fine.<\/p>\n<p>Ehh. :\/<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_41.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Alrighty, hat time. I drop the hardened brim over the area of his head that I cut away; I have to clear a bit more out in the front and back to accommodate the slight curvature of the brim.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_42.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To hold the brim in place, I put some clay back on top of his head.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_43.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I press the chunks together into a slightly tapering cylinder. I slightly press in the top to leave a dome in the middle and ridges around the edges. and then run a clay snake around the bottom to form the hat band.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_44.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Bill&#8217;s hat has eight metal rings that the hat band runs through; I add each of these by laying down a small clay ball, squishing it flat, and then punching a hole in the center with a pick. I then clean up the slightly messy result with clayshapers.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_45.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Alrighty, we&#8217;re looking pretty good here. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_46.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The underside of the hat brim is still exposed aluminum foil; I debate leaving it that way, but realize that I&#8217;m not sure how well it will take paint (even with primer sprayed over it), so I opt to cover it.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_47.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Wheee for making the hat brim even thicker. :\/<\/p>\n<p>Ah well. Cowboy finished, I guess.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_48.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_49.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_50.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_51.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_52.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_53.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_54.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_55.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_56.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/wildbill_57.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And with that, you&#8217;ve reached the end of Part 2 of this series. Good for you! As your reward, painted shots are on the next page. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cLEG5pdk0Yw\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_paint_01.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_paint_02.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_paint_03.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_paint_04.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_paint_05.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_paint_06.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_paint_07.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_paint_08.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/avicenna_paint_09.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sdH0VspfAvs\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_paint_01.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_paint_02.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_paint_03.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_paint_04.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_paint_05.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_paint_06.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_paint_07.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_paint_08.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/kaplan_paint_09.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6lovHAPFBW4\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_paint_01.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_paint_02.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_paint_03.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_paint_04.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_paint_05.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_paint_06.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_paint_07.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_paint_08.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/wildbill_paint_09.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ev5_k7v9pOs\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-7768\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/haris_01-1-600x343.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/haris_01-1-600x343.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/haris_01-1-300x172.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/haris_01-1-768x439.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/haris_01-1-624x357.jpg 624w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/haris_01-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-7769\" src=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/haris_02-1-600x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/haris_02-1-600x380.jpg 600w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/haris_02-1-300x190.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/haris_02-1-768x486.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/haris_02-1-624x395.jpg 624w, http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/haris_02-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s six out of ten models finished. The more astute among you can probably guess which four I left for the last installment&#8230; \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re among the <em>less<\/em> astute readers, you can solve this uncrackable mystery by jumping to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/?p=7217\">Part III<\/a> !<\/p>\n<h2>-Spud<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back! Today we&#8217;re talking about the only good thing that currently exists in the world: the chibi Foreign Company I put together over the first three months of 2020. In Part 1, I complained about how a global pandemic is hurting my feelings, and then droned on for 8,000 words about how I made [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-space-men","wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7016"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7953,"href":"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7016\/revisions\/7953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.captainspud.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}