Black Orc Blocker #2 ( and unexpected #3)

From the building of Black Orc Blocker #1 I learnt a number of things.
I need a stronger visual image in my head on how I want the model to look. For this model I want the blocker to have his arms out to the sides forming a mean green barrier between him and his end zone. A pose that says "this is the line, this far no further" ( Orc blockers like to paraphrase Picard - true Orc fact).

With that as a starting point I looked at the plastic kits I had to see what I could do.

I started by looking for a set of out stretched arms, and got the pair on the right. They weren't an actually pair as such, the right arm was part of one combination of Orc and the left made up a different Orc. The left one was missing a hand. This was attached to a weapon.

Below you can see in the photo on the right the left fist holding the shaft. I used the saw to cut the fist out and then used clipper to get as much unnecessary plastic removed.

The body of the Blocker had a pouch at the back, which I didn't want, so once again the saw came out.

As you can see from the photo below this left a noticeable chunk of plastic missing from the models bottom. I was expecting this and wanted the opportunity to use the putty again.

Below is the front of the model. Here I learnt one of those painfully obvious lessons that make you wonder why you didn't see it before. If there is an easy option, take it. Notice how the belt part had a cloth hanging from it instead of chain-mail as in the first model. No need for putty here.

Sticking the arms on and adding the front armour I got a model I am really happy with. The front armour added a face guard, which feels very blood bowl. It is made out of teeth, which goes with the 'Big tooth' of Big Tooth Tigers. The other thing that is hard to see from the photos (as I haven't put them on bases yet) is that this model is leaning forward, as if pushing forward. It has a sense of motion. Looking at this model I feel all my Bloodbowl models should look like they are moving, as if taking an active part in the game.

THE GREEN STUFF
Every time I use modelling putty I am learning something new. With the gouge in the models bum I was much more cautious. I used tiny amounts of the putty, pressing and shaping, and then adding a tiny bit more and repeating the process. I found it much easier to work with in this way, not having to remove putty from the model just adding to it. The other key thing I learnt was to really spread the putty as thin as possible with the sculpting tools at the edges of the putty. This helped hide where the plastic and putty met. The spreading and shaping with the sculpting tools also removes finger prints from the putty.

I am really please with how the bum ended up. I need to improve on the detail work, the belt on the model doesn't neatly go all the way around the waist, but hopefully that will improve with practice. Some of the armour plates had small slots in them because the model kit gives you the option to add skulls and daggers to the model. I didn't want these so used the putty to hide those slots.

As I have said above, really pleased with how this model has turned out. The only thing missing I think is a punching spike, which I will come back to and add in later. The face guard and the sense of motion is an improvement on the first model, so much so that I decided I wanted to try and make another Blocker that incorporated those elements.

Black Orc Blocker #3

 I won't go into too much detail here as it will just be repeating what I have written above. A couple of key things with this model. The model didn't have any punching spikes on it, just it's fists. I wanted to add something a bit more pointy to the orc model as it felt naked without them. I still had some 'off cuts' that I had cut off other pieces, these fitted perfectly and finished the model of in my eyes.

Important lesson here I feel. Don't throw anything away.


While completing this model I came to another realisation with the green stuff putty. This model had the chain mail hanging off it's belt, which I didn't want. I started spreading thin layers of the putty over the mail. It was quite hard to do neatly and smoothly and that was when I realised that I was using the putty as a filler rather then for modelling purposes. What I really needed was something like a poly-filler that is used to cover cracks in walls.

I quick search on the web gave me 2 easy options.
1) Water down some PVC glue
2) Liquid green stuff

I am going to get hold of some liquid green stuff and see how that works for me.

Next  - the Blitzers.