WarBoss

I can happily say that my 2nd model, the Chaos WarBoss is finished! He has taken me a little longer than I was aiming for, as after completing the 1st model I struggled to get started again. This was mainly down to the overall shape and style of the WarBoss. He is less of an 'organic' looking model and is centered around his chunky armoured main body and legs, something which is more difficult to start in Zbrush for me personally. I spent a good few days fumbling around in 3dsMax and Zbrush trying to figure out what the best way to start the model was, restarting several times over.

I did eventually manage to get a basic mesh down in 3dsMax, which I then imported into Zbrush, where I was able to begin building it up and properly start sculpting the rest of the model. Once I got going the rest of the model came fairly easily and I was able to speed up dramatically.

Next followed the somewhat tedious, but important, decimating, which dropped my triangle count from the millions down to approximately 700,000. I had no problems in doing this and managed to keep all the details of the model despite the massive reduction in geometry. I purposefully built the arms, head and legs in a way that would be easily detachable so I can pull them apart and place them on a sprew just as I did on the 1st model.

I have, at this stage, already fixed the model and uploaded it to shapeways, where there were absolutely no problems with the model! This is great news for me as it means that I have been able to build the model, decimate and place parts on a sprew so well that there is nothing that needs altering or fixing before print. I feel this demonstrates that I have taken on board all the issues I have had since I started my very first test model and applied that knowledge to the point where I am building efficient, accurate and printable models.

I have not yet officially sent the model for print as I am still debating over how big it should be. He is the WarBoss, the main HQ unit, and as such they are normally larger than all the other units. With that being said all my models are going to be larger than they normally would be and making my WarBoss too big will cost a fortune.
One issue I have is the relative scaling of my model. I use the height measurement in order to automatically scale the rest of the model accordingly, but as you can see from the images the WarBoss has a banner, which adds a significant amount of height to him. If for example I scaled the whole model to 5inches (as I have), I estimate at least 1.5inches of that height is actually just the banner, meaning the WarBoss himself would only be 3.5inches, barely bigger than the tracker at all. I have been trying to imagine what the WarBoss would actually look like printed at 3.5inches, and I think he would look alright, but as I already know its very difficult to imagine what these models will look like printed compared to what I see on the screen and what I try imagine with a ruler!

This is making it very difficult for me to decide on an appropriate size for the WarBoss. This model is going to be the most expensive of the lot, I knew that from the start. I am somewhat torn between making him larger and running the expensive risk of making him unnecessarily large, and the equally expensive risk of trying to be conservative and making him accidentally too small.

At least however, the model is finished. I know there are no issues with it and when I have decided on a scale he is ready for printing immediately. Given production and shipping of the models is so fast I don't have to worry about making an immediate rushed decision. I can therefore move on and continue with my next model, knowing the WarBoss is ready to go.

For your viewing pleasure, here is the Chaos Ork WarBoss!

Chaos Ork Tracker!

My first completed model arrived a few days ago. This model is the Chaos Ork Tracker.

He is 3inches tall and printed in the Ultra Fine Detail Acyclic material. I managed to get him built on schedule and didn't have any major problems that needed fixing for print so I got through that part pretty quickly. He has therefore arrived on track and I'm working well within my time plan.

Although he is complete in himself I am planning to model and print a Squig pet for him which will finish him off nicely, and make his pose a little more understandable (the pointing hand etc). So he does look a bit odd without his Squig at the moment.

As for the model itself I am really happy with how it turned out. Getting the arms, head and backpack extended out on sprews worked out really well. They were very easy to detach and cut off as I was hoping which means it should be much easier to paint the model when the times comes. I have already tried piecing him back together to ensure all the parts sit nicely when they will eventually be glued and they fit perfectly! I feel I may have done the feet and legs a little small however, I realise I am still having a bit of a problem with the fact the scale of the model looks different in zbrush compared to how it looks once printed. But this isn't a major problem as Orks are generally quite top heavy and their feet and legs are normally substantially smaller than the rest of their bodies. I will however try bear this in mind while progressing with my next model to ensure he doesn't look too imbalanced.

The material looks amazing, all the fine details I put into the model are there and showing up nicely. The sections of the model are also looking really good as the Ultra Fine Detail material is capable of getting much cleaner edges and definition into the model so its looking really good overall!

I have already sprayed the model with black undercoat paint as the pictures show. This is an important aspect of finishing the models as not only does it allow more of the details to show up but it prepares the model for later painting.

So here he is, my Chaos Ork Tracker! (Currently held together with copious amounts of white tack)