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| Our presence remakes the past. |
Having made some molds, built some mock-ups, and written some background, we are thrilled to finally show everyone some completed Spireguard from the 73rd Thorn Moon! Even more exciting, however, we get to announce that the esteemed Polysmith (one of the nicest and most talented hobbyists you will ever find!) has collaborated with us to make them into a reality! An accomplished 3d designer and sculptor, he designed and printed a range of stunning female heads to help build our Thorn Moon defenders. After being disappointed with the scale of the new Necromunda Escher models, we needed to find a new source for supplying us with a large number of suitable heads for the models. The Polysmith quickly came to mind, due to his skill with 3d design and his imaginative conversions that take GW models and turn them into something completely unrecognizable (his work on Instagram speaks for itself). He graciously agreed to help us and created a series of remarkable sculpts. Below are pictures of the initial renders and some of the final models built with them!
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| A selection of characterful heads designed by the Polysmith. |
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| We wanted all of the Spireguard to have a lot of equipment, suggesting that they are truly prepared for jungle warfare. |
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| The Polysmith-designed heads are filled with character, imparting life into the models! |
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| The gasmasks that we created from ruststalker heads turned out quite well! |
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| Each of the warriors also has a sidearm that fires solid rounds, in case they run out of powercells for their lasrifles. |
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| I converted a pistol that would actually fit into her thigh holster. |
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| And also converted an empty holster to go with the pistol arm! |
These are only the first few models that I created for the Thorn Moon defenders. With the molds and the Polysmith’s various female heads, I plan to start building a lot more, allowing me to create a small army! Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Finally, I want to thank the Polysmith again for all of his help, these Spireguard could never have been made without his support!
- Adam Wier
Always bet on Duke, and his T1000 buddy.
ReplyDeleteI feel a little dumb having to ask this, but I don't understand the reference. T1000 from The Terminator?
DeleteThe unhelmeted soldiers look strikingly like Duke Nukem (flat-top haircut and sneer) and the T1000(the slicked back hair, angular face)
Deletehttps://www.eteknix.com/wp-content/uploads/vb/1018-duke.jpg
https://i0.wp.com/geekydaddy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/T1000-Terminator-Robert-Patrick-h1.jpg?ssl=1
The models read to me as thinner (than cadian) men, not women.
That may change with painting though, it could be a trick of the light.
The design for these models was partially based on what the men and women in the US military look like in their attire. In fatigues, you cannot really tell the sex of the individual without seeing their faces. And even then, it is not always obvious. What characteristics does one look for to mark someone as female? More narrow chin? That is not a universal, as there are some men with narrow chins, and some females with broader chins. Body type? Both males and females have widely differing body types, some slender, some more stocky and muscular. There is a continuum for all of these things, and there is not one particular thing amongst them that you could point to and say it is distinctly female. One could look for breasts, but with these soldiers, all of the females would be wearing some sort of sports bra which compress the breasts and prevent them from moving as much during vigorous exercise. Even if they were fairly well endowed, you would not see much of that with the combination of the bra and the fatigues.
DeleteAs for the hair cuts, the flat top cut does remind me of Duke Nukem, but there is certainly no reason why a female could not have the same haircut. One would imagine that the soldiers would want to keep their hair short to prevent it from getting in the way.
Certainly just a quick glance at any of these models would not give you a clear indication that they are male or female, and that was the intent. I think the same could be said of fully attired soldiers in real life. I realize that there will be those that will look at the models, and immediately assume they are male, because most Imperial Guard models are male. We did not want to exaggerate something to make it more immediately obvious at first glance. If you need to take special pains to alert the viewer that the model is female, it is suggesting that female soldiers are not normal (and that you need to go the extra mile to tell everyone that this is something special).
These heads turned out excellent! Plenty of character but avoiding the common issue of becoming almost charicature like that a lot of expression filled faces have. Can’t wait to see more finished and looking even more towards seeing them painted!
ReplyDeleteThe expressions the Polysmith achieved on the faces are really remarkable. It is not easy to capture details like that on such a small scale.
DeleteThis is quality female representation. Kudos to you and The Polysmith.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words. The force will be comprised almost entirely of female soldiers. The Polysmith's work on the female heads has been a tremendous boon to the project. Look forward to seeing more in the near future!
DeleteHello, Gents. Long time. I've been catching up on your blog, and this is inspired work. You guys always take it to the next level. Looking forward to more.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you like the models. There is still a lot planned for the force, including a bunch of other weapons including a plasma rifle!
DeleteIt has been an amazing experiencing working with someone as talented as the Polysmith. Thanks to his efforts we will now be able to assemble a small force of primarily female guard. :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
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