I like your hobgoblin here. Is he a conversion?
g.
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Thank you! Yes, he was a conversion based on a Warlord hoplite. Here are some WIP pictures next to an unconverted mini for comparison:
Looking at those pics again, I really think I should make a unit of these guys some day. 
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Regarding the longish absence of updates on my sculpt, I would just like to state that I am, in fact, working on it - but at the moment I’m stuck with his weapon, which seems somewhat disinclined to assume a decent appearance. I suppose Hashut is punishing me for hubris or something (“Scratch-sculpting, are we? Well in that case something as simple as an axeblade shouldn’t be much of a problem, right? HAHAHAA!”) 
But it’s starting to come together , and with any luck it’ll be finished soon. The thing is, I need that weapon so that I can continue with the guy’s right arm that will be holding it.
Still open to suggestions concerning that left arm, by the way. 
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Best of luck! What about a figure 8 shield?
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Yes, I‘ve thought about that too. That option is definitely on the table, but the arm’s position is not ideal for it - however, that could still be changed, as I haven‘t done any real work on it yet. 
Whoa!!! Amazing Bulls! Really keeping your style consistent. Amazing and jealaus 
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Nice sculpts, can’t wait to see where you go with this one
Also I love that cutting mat 
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Thanks! The cutting mat is from Greenstuffworld. I like it a lot, and the diagrams for different scales are very helpful (there are horses on the other side). But regrettably, it only features the elongated and twisted proportions of the Umgi, and not the Dwarf’s noble frame. 
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typical
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Current state of affairs:
Most of the time I spent on this sculpt since the last update went into the weapon. I had gotten it into my head to make it a Chaotic version of a Mycenaean epsilon axe , and in my enthusiasm failed to realise what a pain it would be. :18: Still, here it is, not perfect but good enough for me right now.
It came out rather big, more like a halberd, but oversized weaponry has fortunately never been a problem in fantasy settings. However, I think it does preclude the use of a shield, so I went for the good old pointing finger on the left hand. At least it’ll get a fancy glove (which is totally not just a ruse to hide the fact that his left hand got way too big! :23:)
If everything goes well, I should be done with him next weekend. Fingers crossed!
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Looks awesome! Really bad ass! 
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Good job man. You really didnt make it easy for yourself for your 1st sculpt from scratch, so many details and unusual designs. I reckon with your next sculpt you will get all the dimensions spot on (just a little more stout in my completely uneducated and ignorant opinion😂).
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Thanks guys!
@Zoddtheimmortal I also think that he should have been a bit more massive. It’s actually my second sculpt - the first one was this slavedriver, whom I found a little too stout, so maybe in trying to avoid this I made this one here a little too skinny. No matter - there’s always a next dwarf! :14:
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It looks great! And the pointing finger feels very '80s-'90s GW. I think you’ve gotten the look spot-on.
I agree he looks slender but I don’t know if that is also partially the shape of the robe - the tiers seem to stretch him out.
As for the halberd-axe, do you think it would have been possible to cut it out of plasti-card? I’m not sure but I think the material would have been easier to work with and then glue and grey stuff to attach it to the haft (the first practically, the second aesthetically).
But honestly these critiques are only to find something the comment on / answer your text. The costume is so awesomely historically inspired, the different shapes are visually interesting (the rounded boar tusks on the helm, the straight lines of tiered robe, the onion dome helm).
Personally it feels complicated but tight. It isn’t a mess of conflicting elements, it looks like an outfit. 
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By Hashut’s left back cloven hoof! What on earth possessed you to make such a delicately fine axe? Wonderful craftsmanship! I’ve never dared attempt anything even a seventh as difficult. You succeeded. Incredibly good result, and impressive to boot. :21:
Good hand sculpting as well! Fine pointing finger.
Amazing axe. Madman! :16:
It would be gorgeous if any of your future sculpts for casting were to include a similar intricately shaped weapon. A real treat for any hobbyist to paint.
For the next sculpt, may I suggest trying to make it shorter and fatter? Shorter and fatter is always better.
Cheers!
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Thank you all very much for your friendly feedback! It gives me joy that you like the little guy.
@badmoongrin I think that would be a very good idea for the weapon. In fact, that axe actually has a skeleton of very thin (almost paperlike) plasticard. :14: But maybe next time I’ll just make the whole weapon out of thicker plasticard . Should’ve maybe done so to begin with, but I only had the thin stuff at home and decided to give it a go with that.
@Admiral Shorter and fatter the next dwarf shall be, Hashut willing! And many thanks expecially for your kind words on the axe. Means a lot to me, coming from a sculptor of your caliber. I’ll have a long way to go before I can attempt anything like the kind of fine details on your own minis. :21:
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Sometimes you just have to do what you can with what you have. It’s a great opportunity to try out something and test yourself.
The result here was excellent but probably not comparable to the effort input
I’ll be doing the same (cut plasti-card) as a base for some conversions to Tjub’s 15mm Tjublings.
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If you’ve only got thin plasticard then maybe try building it from multiple layers of plasticard to make it thicker?
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Sounds like a good idea! With multiple layers, one could also try to get gradations in thickness between different parts of the weapon. Thanks for the input!
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Good news and bad news.
Good news: I finally finished the sculpt a few days ago. Since the last update, I added the final touches: a decorative arrow on his backplate, a few folds on the sleeves, a jewelled ring on the right hand, and an embroidered Rune of Hashut on his glove:
Bad news: the paintjob. :06:
First the brush-on primer (with which I had never had any trouble before) gathered in some areas and formed ugly bumps and streaks when it hardened. Maybe I didn’t mix in enough water, maybe I added too much so that it flowed around instead of sticking to the surface, I don’t know. Worst of all, it clogged up the little holes in the armour trim, which I seem to have made too shallow.
Still, in a spirit of optimism, I tried to remove the excess primer, re-opened the holes with a needle where I could find them, and primed those areas once more. Slightly better than the first time around, but not much.
Then, when I put the first layer of actual colour onto the armour trim, it started clogging up the holes again. After another attempt of re-opening them with a needle the whole thing started to look very ugly indeed.
And just as I was steeling myself to press on and see what I could salvage from this mess, I dropped the whole miniature - into my brush-washing cup, no less - which must have damaged its pointing finger because it came off shortly afterwards, and of course it is nowhere to be found. It’s all rather vexing. I think I’ll take a break from it for now and see if something can be done in terms of damage control later on.
Focusing on the positive, the sculpting as such was a rewarding and instructive project for me, and I’m very happy with the outcome. Lots of lessons learnt. Thank you all for your kind feedback during the process! :21:
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