[Archive] Ass Cannon and Crew finally completed

AtomTaylor:

Greetings all and Happy Thanksgiving to all my Stateside cousins. :wink:

I have recently completed a batch of 3rd edition Chaos Dwarf sculpts,

that hopefully pay half decent homage to the old 80’s Citadel Chaos Dwarf

range. I initially just sculpt what I require myself, I have noticed that a large slice of the old-school Warhammer community would like a decent

Ass Cannon, cast in metal and reasonably priced. I have just completed a Chaos Dwarf Petard Mortar (which will be cast next month) and just like

the old Chaos Dwarf engine crews, I will utilize them in my Ass Cannon

project. I’ll add a third crew leader type.

Ass Cannon WIP.

Bolg:

oeeeh. looking forward to your next update (:

Abecedar:

I will loudly second that…

Grimbold Blackhammer:

LOL Great start!

This message was automatically appended because it was too short.

Zanko:

Very nice start! :hat off

I’m curious to see your efforts!

                         :hashut

Admiral:

Very good start! Don’t hesitate to add all manner of little realism details and challenge your skills a bit to make this sculpt a must-have masterpiece for many evil dwarf collectors, not only Oldhammerers. :wink:

AtomTaylor:

Thanks chaps, much appreciated. I’m still working on the Arms, Claws and body sections.

Started work on the tail too.The arms and shoulders are still at the underpinning stage.

Abecedar:

Very good start! Don't hesitate to add all manner of little realism details and challenge your skills a bit to make this sculpt a must-have masterpiece for many evil dwarf collectors, not only Oldhammerers. ;)

Admiral
I have the same sentiments exactly

tjub:

Looks great so far! :slight_smile:

AtomTaylor:

Hey Guys, some updates.Been a tad lazy since Christmas, but I’m back on track.

Ass Cannon latest WIP’s





Zanko:

Until now great progress, I’m curious how it will look finished. :wink:

                         :hashut

AtomTaylor:

Thanks Zanko, got a bit more completed today.

Early days on the Crew Boss. The other two crew members

will be the same as my Petard Mortar crew.

Hill_Billy_Bub:

Everything is looking great

Admiral:

Good progress! How about adding some eyelids to the demon?

AtomTaylor:

Good call, I’m going to do some more work on the face, especially round the eyes. I was going to go for a more squinting look. Hairy eyebrows would look good too. Lots of warts will be added to the skin. A chain on the rear legs too. Mayhap some Glymphs and runes on the manacles.

Admiral:

Neat! That’s the spirit. :cheers

AtomTaylor:

Working nights all this week, so I definitely need some motivation.

Getting little bits done, I’m off all next week, so plan to have this project

completed in the next week. Christmas made me lazy.

Admiral:

Looks good! Here’s some tips to help you take this to the next level. I hope you consider them carefully, because this model deserves that kind of attention and it could help it sell well, or at least be even better received by customers.

How about scoring a few wounds/scars/gashes in the demon monster? One could even be over one of the eyes. If even further brutality would be wanted, score a wound somewhere on the body and then sculpt some stitches suggesting it’s been sewn shut. Just to show its mistreatment at the hands of the Dwarfs. Likewise, if you want to give its fur and hair a more ragged appearance, it might be worth adding a few rogue tufts of hair sticking out from the sleek flow of fur and hair already on the models, a bit akin to these rugged furs.

Also, as a mark of ownership/demonic servitude/ritual enslavement or whatever, how about adding a raised scar tattoo in some rune shape to a flank or thigh of the monstrosity? A bit like in the picture below, but way more sparsely. :wink:



Likewise, a nose ring could help impress the image of a tamed animal, though it would stray from the original ass cannon look decidedly, given how focal the face of a miniature is.

Bulging veins, akin to those on this AoW Dwarf or on Rozmax’s berzerkers could be added, but be careful and don’t overdo it by making too many, too long or too fat veins if you were to sculpt them! The key to bulging veins on miniatures is less is more, and place those few ones strategically. It can really add to a model, especially one this big. Some potential veins (and warts) could be placed onto the spine barrel, adding a bizarre sense of organic matter. Plus, bulging veins will make the ass cannon look like it’s straining hard. Veins would work on the back of the hands, too.

As for the plank platform onto which the demon is shackled, how about adding a few gnarled bones, half a skull, maybe a cut-off hand or similar evidence of feeding? Likewise, tongs and other tools could be lying flat on the deck to give some sense of artillery equipment strewn about. Details like these would help make the model “pop”, though they should not take over by sheer abundance.

Something else to consider, is adding a new separate piece to the mould(s), namely a pile or pyramid of bomb shells, preferably with Daemonic faces (eg. one could leer, a second jeer, another cheer, a fourth could be surly, while yet another face could just be a whirly spiral). The ammunition pile in Clam’s diorama piece works well and adds to the scene, thus to have such a pile included in the kit would be great, particularly with faces on the cannon balls. It would even be possible to attach a small gunpowder keg, pot or water bucket with a rag on the edge of such an ammunition pyramid if one wanted that extra artillery sense.

AtomTaylor:

I have to hand it to you, you’re a motivator. Thanks for the slew of great ideas.

I started adding the flyaway hairs, warts, eyebrows, eyelids and a rear manacle.

I’m going to add a chain and a rear plate to bolt the feet to the base. Still going to

add some veins, scars, mayhap a small tribal marking. I’ve assembled a stack of cannon

balls for casting. I’ve started sculpting a demonic face on the top ball.



Engine Boss WIP



Cannon Ball stack. Sculpting a demonic face on the top ball.

Admiral:

Very good! Better by each update, and thanks for using the tips. :slight_smile:

A couple of more stray ideas:

Old cannon barrels often sported a pair of horns or hoops on top, rings for hoisting them about, effectively. I have no idea if this would be appropriate on your ass cannon, but I mimicked those hoops on a cannon conversion of my own, in the shape of horns. You might want to consider adding something similar and not overly large to your sculpt, but it could end up cluttered or difficult to cast.

Another thing which I’m not so sure would work, is a couple of small patches of overlapping scales sticking forth from a few choice spots, in effect having the fur transit into jutting areas of scales in odd places (but not replacing any existing fur), such as behind the ears and halfway down the barrel in parallel with the knees. This would underline the otherworldly demonic nature of the monster.

Besides, those broad manacles will look great with runes on them!