# Scratchbuilding a Hierophant



## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Hey everyone, I've recently started to scratchbuild (mostly) a Hierophant, And decided that I ought to start a thread here so that it doesn't end up pushed to the back of my desk, lonely and forgotten. Thus I present to you the birth of Harold, destroyer of worlds. 









Started with a wooden spider skeleton.









Removed non-essential sections.









Filled in empty space with aluminum foil, reinforced the loose pieces with hot glue.









Adjusted the model so it sits more like my concept sketch. This involved cutting down some of the thickness towards the back of the abdomen and chopping the abdomen off of the thorax to repose it.









Made legs from pencils pinned with nails. here they're held on by easy-tac.









Next to a carnifex for scale.I'm excited by the sheer mass that this thing will have.

Concept sketches and more progress later, folks.


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## Blackheart_101 (Dec 14, 2009)

Well, it's certainly an ambitious project. A satisfying start, keep at it.

P.S. Some well deserved rep is in order ...


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## Fallen (Oct 7, 2008)

nice start!

i cant wait to see the final product.


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## Viscount Vash (Jan 3, 2007)

Impressive start, look forward to seeing the concept sketches to get a idea of how you intend to go about the legs. 
They look challenging.

Also the choice of medium for your final sculpt is something that interests me. (Hmmm I will have to check but I think that statment makes me officially rather dull. lmao.)

Thread subscribed


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## c013 (Apr 28, 2008)

Great idea for the skeleton, I'm assuming there's gonna be lots of green stuff.


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## Dagmire (Oct 9, 2008)

+rep for even starting this


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Vash and cO13- I'm going to build a skeleton layer of foil and hot glue, then a layer of Apoxie sculpt, and finally an outer layer of light green stuff (60/40 mix of green stuff and Apoxie Sculpt, respectively)

Thanks to everyone who's already shown support! Much appreciated! 

Progress:
Holes drilled for attaching legs









Legs!









Also, much of the abdomen has been covered with Apoxie sculpt to give me a solid platform to work from.









What sketches I have done so far should be up tomorrow.


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## Blackheart_101 (Dec 14, 2009)

Great progress. As always, keep up the great work and have some rep. :victory: (edit: must spread it around some more. sorry  )

P.S. What are you gonna do for the head ???


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## Loli (Mar 26, 2009)

great start. Hope it turns out well. +1 rep


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## c013 (Apr 28, 2008)

Definately coming along, keep us posted .

OH and + rep... well done!


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

I return with Both sketches _and_ progress!

This is the sketch of the body and current head idea. I may change it to look more like a typical 'nid-head, more like a big 'fex head with mandibles, but I like the look it has now. a lot of the design is loosely based on ambush bugs, and I think they have awesome faces. Ambush bugs: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2009/07/30/ambush-bug-9/









And some leg sketches









Pile of legs which will eventually be magnetized for easy transport









And here's the progress I've made:
Building up bulk in the torso with hot glue/foil

























Most of the join between thorax and abdomen is done, although it needs gribbly bits on the bottom. 









And between the foil, glue, and Apoxie, the thorax is starting to come into shape.

















Next post will probably be sketches for alternate heads and legs. Maybe a bit more progress. Who knows?


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## Blackheart_101 (Dec 14, 2009)

Well, the sketches look great. The body is taking some shape, and it's a body I like. Keep wprking m8.


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Alright, I've got more progress, more sketch(but just the one of them), and more problems. Blarg.

To start with the positives, Here's a sketch of more head ideas. 








At this point, I'm leaning towards A or D; I like the look of the big mandibles that lock in front of the mouth, but that doesn't look tyranid enough for me. I tried something similar on my broodlord (in the current conversion competition) and I'm not satisfied with it. 'Nids need teeth, plain and simple.

Here you can see the thorax start to take shape, but the pectoral region (or boob area, for you non-biologists) will have to wait until I can finalize the legs. 
















There will be suitably 'niddish armor plates and gribblies, so no worries there.

This is the first layer of armor plates on the abdomen, mostly to block them in. It's messy and ugly.
















This is one of my problems. I'm having trouble making these symmetrically, and wondered: does anyone have any tips?

I decided that half of the problem is that the underside of the abdomen was rough, bumpy, and asymmetrical as hell, so I smoothed it and tried to even up the plates on the back a bit. 
























They're on their way to looking decent, but I feel like if I'm going to make a beast on this scale, I ought to be able to make symmetrical armor. 

The second, and even more frustrating, problem is that the legs I've built for this guy just aren't beefy enough to hold his rapidly expanding mass. I cobbled them together out of pencils, nails, hot glue, and true orkish finesse, so I can't understand why they aren't up to the task. (On a roll of one to during the movement phase, my hierophant moves 2d6 in a direction chosen by my opponent. Ah, orks...) I'm going to try to reinforce them with coat hangers, but if anyone elses has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. The sooner this thing can support itself, the sooner it can move out of my apartment.


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## Viscount Vash (Jan 3, 2007)

Great work.

For your symmetry problem the answer is possibly a negative template. Thick card or plastic should do. 
For the support problem a clear perspex rod into the underside is the easiest fix. (like a giant flying base.)


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Quick update, no pics as I don't have my camera. The coat hanger reinforcement on the legs seems to work alright for now, and he can stand under his own power. 

Vash- If negative templates are when you engage in fucking about with bits of paper that are folded in half, unfolding them, and tracing the resultant shape onto the model, then they work wonders. If that's not what you meant, you still get cred for inspiring the idea. Y'know, I never thought to use a perspex rod. Seems ugly, but if I can't strengthen the legs enough to hold up on their own, I'll give it a shot. Thanks!


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

IT STANDS!! MWAHAHAHA!! 

















All due to some coat hangers and hot glue, too.

















Evened out the armor plates some, and am a lot happier with their shapes. 

















And finally, a couple for scale (I think mine is about two inches taller than a FW 'phant, at the moment. Is this problematic? I can take a couple inches off the legs if so. 
















Yes. Those are indeed a Trygon and a 'fex. Harold is a big guy.

next up, some bio-cannon action!


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## c013 (Apr 28, 2008)

Glad to see this project getting on its feet :biggrin:

Anyway, really cool, this project is, as always, coming along great!
Well done and keep it up!


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

My next goal in the course of this project is to write smaller posts. That way, this thread won't take a year to load in my browser. My plan to achieve this goal: limit the number of pics in each post. There are already twenty-five pictures on this page. No wonder it's won't load at school. 

That being said, prepare for more pictures. 

These are sketches for the bio-cannons:

















And a roughly finalized design:

















And that's all the pictures I'm putting on this page. I promise. If there's no third page before I'm ready to post more pictures, I'm posting intellectually void nonsense until there is. And that's what you get for not posting. Haha!


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Like this post, which is ruthless, shameless self-promotion.

Make sure you check out my broodlord in conversion competition. He's less than half as crappy as the stock model.

The next post will be a commercial for whatever I'm eating when I post. lolrskates!


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## scubamansam (Aug 15, 2009)

wow this is actualy lookin great the tin foil made me wonder but seein the later work in progrees makes me think this thing will look epic when its done

man looks like u could fit two trygons stacked underneth it


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Scubaman-

First things first: PADI certified? (Makes secret sign of the badass and sometimes-benevolent order of the fish)

Now, on to business! Agreed. It did look pretty sketchy for a while there. It should start looking good in a year or two, I promise!

It's almost _exactly_ two Trygons tall! Hmmm. I think I'll measure everything in trygons from now on. No one will know what I'm talking about, but it'll be a lot of fun for me. It's got a couple inches on a FW warhound, so it should tower over almost anything on the field. 

My new game strategy will probably end up being "Set Harold down. See if anyone still wants to play."


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## dirty-dog- (May 14, 2008)

this is a great build man, im definitely liking it alot, so far your puttying skills are excellent, and kind of aspiring me to try something like it, but on a much smaller scale.


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## Fallen (Oct 7, 2008)

norm this is gonna be AMAZING when your done with it.

on the bio-badass-gun-of-doom-&-death have you thought of doing a major league version of the little plastic bio guns available for the nids?


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Dirty- Thanks! I'd actually recommend trying a large scale for a first scratchbuild. so far, I think it's been easier than all of the small, delicate work that I've done converting models. It's counter-intuitive, but there you go.

Fallen- Also thanks! I'd considered it, but the IA book says it functions by launching a bunch of corrosive grubs, which means that it's closest to a devourer or _maybe_ a deathspitter, and the FW bio-cannons look like big venom cannons. I dislike the look of devourers, and the big version of the V.C. is boring, and so what's in my head is a little like a deathspitter. ish. But I've got the barrels glued together, so hopefully I'll be able to post a skeleton version today.


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## Aceblitzkrieg (Mar 3, 2010)

Awesome! Can't wait to see it completed!

Ace:victory:


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

What? An update post with only five pictures? This is _madness_!
No, This is SPARTA!

heh. Sorry, had to. 

At any rate, I cut Bio-cannon barrels out of ballpoint pens, wrapped them in floral wire (to create the texture that I want to show through the vent-ish parts that 'nid guns/arms always include) and stuck them together with Apoxie.









Added a pencilbone skeleton

















And a little more sculpting work on the abdomen and legs.

















Updates may be a bit sparse for the next couple days, so if I don't post every day (as has been the pattern), it doesn't mean I've given up. I'm actually still pretty hyped about this project, which is a bit surprising. This is about the point where I tend to lose interest. Hmm. Maybe logging the project helps.


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## shaantitus (Aug 3, 2009)

An absolutely monstrous project. It is comming along well, most impressive.


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## The Wraithlord (Jan 1, 2007)

My god that thing is going to be monstrously huge!


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## couger-w (Oct 4, 2009)

This is looking nice looking forward to seing an awesome nids monster


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## Loli (Mar 26, 2009)

WIN, all i can say is PURE WIN


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## couger-w (Oct 4, 2009)

Gar you actually got me itching to start my new project and before i finished my titan noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Shaantitus, Coog, Loli- Thanks. I'm also looking forward to seeing it done.

Wraithlord- That's what she said. 

Coog- You'd better finish that titan. It's damned impressive so far. Everybody else: check it out-http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=47545

No new progress to report, so I'm gonna drop some links to stuff I've referenced/drawn inspiration from during the course of this project.

First, someone at warpshadow was kind enough to gather a ton of Robert Cirillo's concept sketches for the fourth edition 'nids. http://album.warpshadow.com/v/ShadowsInTheWarp/Tyranid-Archive/sketches/4ed/

Second, this is what convinced me that a project like this is feasible, as well as just being awesome. (about halfway down page 2) http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/30/215552.page

Thanks to Ugly Overload for the tons of pictures of bugs-invaluable! http://uglyoverload.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html

Among many more, which I'll probably drop on various threads at many points in the future. More progress soon, I promise.


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## Zodd (Jul 27, 2009)

Very impressive.I love when a modelbuilder just go for it . And all those simple no-nonsens solutions. Pure genius. +rep.


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## couger-w (Oct 4, 2009)

hmmm that Bio titan in the link looks a tiny bit too big and its tiny blade like legs dont do it any justice, Epic model but its legs just dont do it for me. The way your going about the model now thats nid`ish to me i can see a nids Bio titan being more like a spider like creature but that one in the link is mooooohaseeeeeeeve with piddley legs lol

yours i would say has a more nidish bio titan feel

thanks for the linkage too


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## robot-waffle (Apr 9, 2010)

rep ^ it looks very very cool and i think it will end up awesome


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

I've made a little more progress, but so far, nothing that'll really show in a photograph. I've done some sanding and shaping of the hardened apoxie and added starting points to sculpt the leg carapace. 

Disaster! I'm going to run out of Apoxie before I finish a significant portion of the legs, and so will have to wait for some from the internet. And I _do_ love waiting. Oh _so_ very much. Huzzah. 

Until it arrives, I may have to rely on sculpting details and other, non-apoxie intensive, activities. That being said, keep your eye out for more sketches over the next few days, because I'll probably want opinions.


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

I don't know how i've missed this log for so long but WOW, just. . . wow man, really inspirational stuff going on here man. Well done!


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Sketches! 

Not as many as I'd hoped to have, but I think I have all of the torso options that I'm considering using captured in one pic or another. I'd hoped to have leg options done by tonight as well, but life happened. 




























Right now I'm leaning towards using the thorax from the first picture, but with two collarbone protrusion things. I like the very heavily armored feel that it has. I also like the abdomen from the third sketch, but with the addition of abdominal armament. I think that Harold needs the 'niddish feel that that the double row of vents has, but I think that the model might get too cluttered if I build vents onto the thorax. 

I like both the stinger (for looks) and spinneret (as lash whips) options.

Any and all opinions would be greatly appreciated. What do all of you think about the sketches?


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## Svartmetall (Jun 16, 2008)

Nice sketching, there...I wish I could draw, so have some rep. I've long been an advocate of sketching out ideas for any significant model and this is a perfect example of why it's a good idea. I'd definitely agree with the first sketch having the best-looking proportions, and I think detail-wise I'd go with the vents from sketch #3. 

As someone with several large projects planned for the future myself, I'm really looking forward to seeing how this one turns out.


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Svartmetall- Thanks for the rep! Yeah, sketching is totally helpful. I often get stuck and don't know where to go with a model, so I sketch until I have a solution. 

Everybody else- Click that Nurgle 101 tut in Svart's sig. It's awesome. I almost ended up with an all-Nurgle army last year because of it. I'll get around to putting up pics of my chaos/other nid stuff one day, I promise.


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## magnus962 (Mar 8, 2010)

I think for the sketches that I really dig the row of dorsal vents you have in the second sketch on the carapace. I would agree that the heavily armored look is awesome from the first but if you were to add a row of those vents to the first one's "armored" look, it would really created an awesome mix. The reason I like those dorsal vents is because I am brought back to the thought of the Doom of Malantai. It was essentially a super special Zoanthrope and one of its distinguishing characteristics is the fact that it grew those spikes along the top of its head. I think that something like that would be fitting for a creature of this significance. 

Just some thoughts to chew on for a while.  keep it up!


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## bloodthrister (Mar 29, 2008)

Well, I think that the second sketch looks best. The stinger looks pretty cool, and I also like the still armoured boob-section  I would remove the vents though. I think they'll remove the insect like look if you'd add them. I really like the rib-section of sketch 2. The fully armoured one stands out too much, since every big nid has some part of a rib section (if I remember correctly)


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## dirty-dog- (May 14, 2008)

i definitly like number 3 torso, seems to be ver tyranid


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## robot-waffle (Apr 9, 2010)

so hows it going, u changed anything with the model yet? 

robot-waffle <== he looks curious and amazed xD


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Still alive! I've had a really academic weekend, so still no progress on the model, but I have finished a handful of leg sketches, which I'll try to post later today. I think I'm close to having all of my decisions made for the body. 

Magnus, Thirster, Dog- Thanks for the input! It's good to have a wall to bounce ideas off of, and your input really helped me solidify my ideas.

Wikipedia told me that the 'phants don't originate from the gaunt genus (like most of the 'nids) So I'm not too worried about enforcing tyranid design conventions (two rows of vents, four limbs on thorax, two on abdomen, etc...), but instead I can just worry about making it look identifiable as a 'nid. 

I think I'm going to stick with the Thorax from sketch #1. I like the separate plate in the front, and I think (looking at the actual model) that vents on the thorax would look jammed in and cramped. I like the heavy ventral armor plates because they justify having a 2+ save from being shot at (from ground level). I might tone them down a bit though, to something between the first two sketches. I want them to end up looking like an overgrown set of chest plates (a la trygon) rather than the base structure of the chest (a la 3rd ed. 'fex). 

As for the abdomen, I'm going with the stinger. It doesn't really fit fluff-wise, as it's too far from the ground to sting most of the tiny things that Harold will end up fighting, but i won't ever have to use the phrase: "No, those are spinnerets, which shoot webs that count as lash whips. Not 'a bunch of assholes'." Because really, who wants to explain that every time? gonna use the abdomen texture from sketch three (the texture, which might not be readily apparent from the drawing, should resemble a trygon's neck).

So now I'm really only stuck on the vents. They'll probably only be on the abdomen, and I'm torn between a single or double row. All of the 'nid MC models have a double row, so it would be more in line with that if modeled the abdomen plates/vents like a 'fex back, but I kind of like the more streamlined look that the single row has (resembling a ravener's back). Thoughts? 

My sculpting putty should get here any day now, So I'll be able to get back to work soon. I'm looking forward to it.


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## dirty-dog- (May 14, 2008)

i reackon the double rows, just seem to be more inline with the size of the model, i.e the carnifex has a more that the likes of something smaller i.e the ravener.

the ravener is more suited to streamlined agility, where as something big, like harold is basicly the heavy Armour of the nids, 

i also like the idea of the stinger, does seem to be more suitable lol, and how else is it supposed to put those pesky fex's in line?

i really cant wait to see progress on this, i can see by the small amount of greenstuff youve done that it will turn out well.


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Thanks, Dog (in a non-gangster way). And I agree. The fexus brood needs to be controlled somehow, even when away from synapse. 

And yet more sketches! This batch is the legs I promised. 

Here's a general view:







"]

Here are a couple of different options. I'm leaning towards two claws, extra thumb-like extremity, and 'fex torso-plate at the knee area, but will totally listen to suggestions. 









And finally, a close-up of the walkin' end, what with the bony plates to stand on and all. 









A final thought about the legs: I plan on making them all the same, but I might give Harold different front/back feet. I think that'd make him less buggish, but more tyranidish. And if I still don't have my damn sculpting putty by tomorrow, I'll throw up a thread with some pics of other conversions I've done and link to it here. And then I'll sit on my door stoop, sadly and anxiously waiting for the mailman like a child.


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## dirty-dog- (May 14, 2008)

lol, hope it arrives, id love to see more progress, um, i reackon the singular talon would look good, but maybe 2 at the front, then one at the back to make them a little different?

it would look awsome if the legs were just giant scything talons, but thats only cause id love to do a force with all there legs as scything talons, and they walk on 4 ov them, 2 arms free for weapons etc.

Yay for google,

kinda like this:








credit goes to who modeled this, as it is AWESOME!!


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## MaidenManiac (Oct 2, 2008)

Personally I really like the "knuckle" idea:good:
Having a several tonnes heavy Critter standing on pointy talons will make it sink into the ground. That is something I personally dislike about the FW model. It simply wouldnt work, regardless of how strong it is it will bee hampered by its "feet" sinking deep into the ground on each step and thus becoming clumsy and slow. Totally go for the knuckles sollutionk:


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## robot-waffle (Apr 9, 2010)

i think the legs should be like this
the way i think it should be:.............the way you drawed it:
.......................Oo....................................Oo..............
....................../....\................................../.....\............
..................../........\............................../.........\..........
................\_/........\_\............................\_/....\_/......
i mean those feet in that picture


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## dirty-dog- (May 14, 2008)

yea thats the problem with the fw model, it would sink alot into the ground, considering just how small the surface area the weight would be on, 

the knuckle idea is awsome, it kinda incorperates the two really,


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Maiden, Dog: Right. The IA Update 4 lists hierophants at an average weight of 51 tons, which would make trying to walk around on four pointy bits precarious at best, impossible at worst. However, the beast still needed a way to hack at ground-bound troops and such. thus, a folding talon. (Although the mantis shrimp might have something to do with my love of folding talons. Check them out.) 

Robo: What's not clear in my drawing is the orientation of the legs. On the FW model, the legs work like a 'fex's legs would-that is, they have hips that would swing forward and back like a mammal's. But on my model, the legs radiate outward like a spider's legs would, so the claws don't actually fold to the front or back, they fold towards the inside of the leg. Also, your last couple signature avatars have been cool. keep it up!

Everyone: Thanks for the support through the design/detail nitpicking process; The feedback has been great and productive. My amazing sculpt has finally arrived, so I ought to have some progress to post tonight. (F'ing finally!)


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## jacktmorgan (Oct 7, 2009)

legend, it s coming along nicely


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## robot-waffle (Apr 9, 2010)

The Norn Kingdom said:


> Maiden, Dog: Right. The IA Update 4 lists hierophants at an average weight of 51 tons, which would make trying to walk around on four pointy bits precarious at best, impossible at worst. However, the beast still needed a way to hack at ground-bound troops and such. thus, a folding talon. (Although the mantis shrimp might have something to do with my love of folding talons. Check them out.)
> 
> Robo: What's not clear in my drawing is the orientation of the legs. On the FW model, the legs work like a 'fex's legs would-that is, they have hips that would swing forward and back like a mammal's. But on my model, the legs radiate outward like a spider's legs would, so the claws don't actually fold to the front or back, they fold towards the inside of the leg. Also, your last couple signature avatars have been cool. keep it up!
> 
> Everyone: Thanks for the support through the design/detail nitpicking process; The feedback has been great and productive. My amazing sculpt has finally arrived, so I ought to have some progress to post tonight. (F'ing finally!)


thnx but i had 2 of em, both were made by 2 diferent friends, there are sig shops all over forum.spore.com, i hanged out there untill a son of a b!tch called me a motherf*cking butthole, so i called him a son of a b!tch, naturally, now im banned and i think he is 2,dont mess with teh robo xD 

i meant make the front legs go inside, but the back legs should be looking away from the body.

ok i dnt really know how to say it so ill tell it like this:








the feet you made was looking inside, i say make the forward legs look inside and the back ones outside.

edit: oh and about my sigs, they told me i could use a rotator so i got one right before i got perma banned, it changes what will the sig look like every time u see the url pr watever u call that adress bar that u have to put [/img] on it.


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## Lycadon (Apr 22, 2010)

Wow, this looks very cool so far, i really love scratchbuild projects like these. Clever thinking on the skelleton there, i used to have dino's of that brand when i was a little bugger, hehe. I'm curious about the outcome and how you're going to make the legs. I like the sketch you made of the legs, maybe try them out a bit more bulky? So they would look less spiderish (if thats even a word) and more Nid'like. But thats just my opinion. Good luck with the project and above all have fun while doing so


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## dirty-dog- (May 14, 2008)

i definitely like the idea of the folding talons now, cheers for clearing that up, makes alot more sense lol, but it does look oober cool with the giant talons, just my opinion though,


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## Phenious (Jun 10, 2009)

This is an inspiration to all us Nid lovers! One day I will have a log like this for my scratch built hiero but I don't have the time or skills yet. Need to work out some progressively larger conversions first. Finally someone else that has a different looking big baddie. Mine will look some what more like the fire spitting beetles from Star Ship Troopers then the typical spindle legged spiders. My girl hates spiders so I can't have one of those in my hobby. Will have to post some of my inspiration sketches when I get closer to starting to build this big boy.


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## robot-waffle (Apr 9, 2010)

tell that to me, i have no idea how u people do this stuff


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Lycadon: thanks for watching! I used to have dinos, too, from the museum where they marked the price up a few hundred percent. I like the spider thing, though. I feel like something that large would have to step over a lot of stuff, and spider legs'd come in handy.

Dog: Agreed. If not for the practical mobility issues, I'd make him huge scytal feet in a second. 

Phenious:let me know when you put them up. I love seeing other peoples' takes on the nids. And it might be easier to start with the huge one. Mistakes are less noticeable, and details can be _huge_. 

Robo: Mix equal parts determination, inspiration, modeling putty, and madness. It also helps if you drink during the early stages, if you're legal. The project is way less intimidating that way. 

All: Progress soon, I promise. I have to tutor a kid after work today, and then write a paper, but I should be able to make some time tonight.


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## MaidenManiac (Oct 2, 2008)

The Norn Kingdom said:


> Mix equal parts determination, inspiration, modeling putty, and madness. It also helps if you drink during the early stages, if you're legal. The project is way less intimidating that way...


Hahaha :biggrin:

This is going to the signature


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## cheef3 (Aug 8, 2009)

Hmmm the folded talon knukle walking is a bit cloverfieldish. 
i like it!


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Maiden: Yeah, I felt particularly inspired when I wrote that. I'm glad that it's as awesome out of my head as it was inside it.

cheef: Sadly, the only thing I remember about that movie is how motion-sick the cinematography made me. I'll have to try again with a smaller screen one day. It was good? 

All: PROGRESS! A little more work on the legs. I generally bulked out the legs some, got the bumps where spikes will go attached to the midsections of the legs built up, and got the base layer of a knee done.
















Here I need to smooth the long sections of the legs and such. If I do a similar project in the future, I'll use lengths of smooth tubing instead of putty to do a base layer of leg.

Knee!
Outside:








Front(anterior surface):








Top:








Rear:









The kneecap area will get a small armor plate, and the legs will have a chitinous armor ridge around the fleshy bit of the joint, like all nid limbs.


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## robot-waffle (Apr 9, 2010)

thats freakin huge! THUMBS UP! i


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## dirty-dog- (May 14, 2008)

very nice, 

this is what the cloverfield monster looks like,


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Holey Cow! Two updates in two days! Crazy! Anyway, Brought all four outer knees up to the same point of completion, and got most of the webbing-like sinew in the joints done.

Which is awesome. I feel like I'm back in the swing of this modeling thing. I was intimidated by starting the legs. Shoulda drank. 


















Closeups of knee bits and webbing hopefully, it looks better when the chitin is done.

















Up next: Inner knee joints, then chitin on the limbs, and then joining the legs to the body. I don't think I'm going to magnetize them after all.


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Also, meant to talk about amazing sculpt a little. I'm not a fan. It doesn't smooth well, doesn't hold together as well as a sculpting medium should, sticks only to the wrong surfaces, and dries the hell out of your hands. I'm going to try cutting it with other putties next time I use it, And that will hopefully help a little.


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## Phenious (Jun 10, 2009)

Yea your legs are very similar to those of Baby, the name of the monster from Cloverfield. I watched the directors cut and learned that they nick named the beasty "Baby" as he is just that, a baby of his kind. Love how you used pencils and a wooden spider skeleton as a base. Very cleaver.


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## dirty-dog- (May 14, 2008)

yea i was watching the directors cut not too long ago, i was accually quite interested in what the designer of the monster had to say, aparently one of the biggest things that made the monster look the way it does was the information that it was a baby monster that is freaked out because its somewhere new.

but back on topic, 

what kind of putties would you suggest for what part of a build?


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Phenious, Dog: Hm. Cool. Maybe I'll check this cloverfield thing out again. 

Dog: Have yet to try mixing Amazing(ly crappy) sculpt with anything else, but for now, my general rule of thumb is that if I have a large area to sculpt, I'll make a base layer of Apoxie to give shape it, and then I'll add details with a layer of apoxie mixed with regular green stuff(buy kneadatite putty, it's identical to GW's GS in every way except their reasonable price). I usually use an approx 60/40 mix of GS/Apoxie, but I'll lean to a heavier GS mix for really fine details. 

I wrote up a little product review and submitted it to the product review section here, but it has yet to be moderator approved. 

In other news, Finals are upon us, and I have to put away my big project so that I can do a small project or two and finish something. Totally good for my stress level. On that note, I got around to starting to magnetize and convert my vanilla CSM terminators into Khorneheads. I'll pop some photos up when I finish (hopefully tomorrow).

Thanks for watching, and I promise that Project Harold isn't dead. Only backburnered for another week or so.


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## couger-w (Oct 4, 2009)

this is looking awesome. Really cant wait to see it completed


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## robot-waffle (Apr 9, 2010)

dnt stop building harold D: im curious >:l


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Alright, No progress on harold, but my terminators are starting to look alright. The project ended up being one of those things that just gets more shit tacked onto it until it takes awhile to finish. (Read: I now plan on building or converting four sets of lightning claws, but only as an eventuality). 

I'm gonna make them some better bases, finish Khorning and magnetizing them, and call them done for now. Check it: Khornate terminators


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## robot-waffle (Apr 9, 2010)

cool, but i still wnt harold


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## scubamansam (Aug 15, 2009)

wow the leg joints are lookin pretty nice buddie 
sorry i havnt checked this out in a while 

by the way have you thought about makin harold a big base? with swarms of rippers covering the floor for super fluffyness

and yea im padi certified and so is cheef 3 
i did advanced training not to long ago

do you dive or were you just curios?
any way heres sum rep for harold


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Sorry you haven't checked? Sorry I haven't built any more. haha! I've thought about it, but in gameplay, you don't use a base with a hierophant, so it'd end up just being for transport. I plan on (eventually) making an awesome magnetized transport/display base for the whole army, so I'll probably end up just slapping some magnets on his legs. 

I'm PADI certified, but I live right in the middle of my damned continent, so I don't have many opportunities to dive. Eventually, I'll move close to the water so that I have an excuse to renew my certification and dive some more. And to own all the cool stuff.


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## scubamansam (Aug 15, 2009)

o yea transports a problem but ive seen people put magnets in the bottom so its les likely to get knoked over

do you live in america or elsewhere? you said your in the middle of your contenent


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Right. Colorado, in fact. It's about as far away from a diving hole as you can get.


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## scubamansam (Aug 15, 2009)

nice o and i dont think you have to renew your certification unles you forgot and you want to be taught again


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## hendaron (Jan 29, 2010)

this is really nice
keep up the good work


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Ahem...[coughs]...Anyone still around? Because, after four years, I am going to straight-up necro the crap out of this thread. With progress! (hopefully this is allowed, as it is my thread, and there is new work on the project. If not, well, Eff the poh-leese!)

It may not be readily apparent from the picture, but the legs have been sanded and brought much closer to their final form, and the armor plates on the thorax have taken shape. Harold is still quite tall.

right side









left side










Butt side










Next steps include building up the "sockets" where the legs attach, starting to sculpt the ribs on the thorax, and sketches to reevaluate the shape of the legs. Now that they are closer to being done, I'm not sure that I like how cylindrical they look.


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## Iraqiel (May 21, 2008)

Geez that thing is huge, my fiancee would scream and run already!


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Further progress! 

Added a first layer of detail to the rib-area of the thorax and started the head (maybe; I might scrap it)









Top view of the head/thorax placement









Side view of same









Close up of the new detail. 









The rib area needs a second layer to define and shape the ribs themselves. This layer was to define the ribs' placement and to create the areas between them.


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Update: New sketches for legs, rear foot options, and head options, some work on legs. 

Leg and rear foot option sketch. I'm leaning toward R4.









Head option sketch. I think that I like Eva, bullet ant, and spider, in that order.









Legs, a couple more layers of putty to go. Much less spindly! Huzzah!









Closer picture of the work I did today.









Harold, wearing legs.


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## Haskanael (Jul 5, 2011)

R4 looks pretty good and, Personaly realy like the Eva head, 
the spider and wasp head seem very, unniddy to me, but thats just my opinion.

great progress, keep it up!


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## Archon Grimherald (Apr 10, 2014)

yay for AMBUSH BUG lol.


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## The Norn Kingdom (Jul 8, 2009)

Took a break from Harold. Made Franklin, the Deathleaper: http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?p=1923938#post1923938. 

My current plan is to build Harold multiple heads and magnetize them. That way, I won't have to chose. 

I will probably make some progress on Harold again before too long, but it seems like he's a project that I'll have to tackle in little chunks.


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## Moriouce (Oct 20, 2009)

I vote for bullet ant!


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## alasdair (Jun 11, 2009)

I'm also a fan of bullet ant!


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