Monday 9 November 2015

A Tale of Four Oldhammer Gamers: giant spider

When I revisited the Slann army list in the Warhammer 3rd edition Armies book prior to starting this project, I was pleasantly surprised to read that Slann animal handlers can take giant spiders. I'd been looking for an excuse to paint up one of these guys for a while, so this was the ideal opportunity. The figure I had in mind was this handsome chap:


I was keen to try to construct the figure in a bit more of an "attacking pose", which was slightly daunting given that I've never converted a figure before. So armed with greestuff, a fair amount of patience, and Google results of "tarantula attacking", I came up with this:




I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out. The figure is unbalanced (hence the support in the images) but I will compensate for this when I base it.

I started painting it last night. So far I'm not massively happy with how it's turning out, but I hope I'm just going through the "it gets a bit crap before it gets better" stage of the painting process!

12 comments:

  1. Very cool so far mate, always liked that monster :)

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  2. Great, I would never have thought of converting it that way - looks brilliant!

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  3. First conversion? Good job Steve! The animation in the pose is really effective.

    If you're planning on more putty pushing, I suggest investing in a set of clay shapers as well as sculpting tools. The clay shapers are great for smoothing and blending.

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  4. Really nice conversion! Look forward to seeing this on the battlefield. My sea elves against your Slaan!

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  5. Pose is great and hair is the most easy texture toi sculpt so good work, you should achieve just what tou need. i'll second Jon's advice about clay shapers, they're life changing even if you're only using putty to fill gaps.
    I assume you had to pin all legs to achieve that pose as the slightest bend breaks those legs instantly. The work s totally worth it though.

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    1. Pinning...why didn't I think of that?! No, this one is actually just legs embedded in green stuff, which is fine because the "undercarriage" needed fleshing out to make it more realistic (IMHO).

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    2. It does indeed especially in that pose. I'll light a candle for the longevity of your build though, I tend to be a pinning maniac due to some unfortunate experiences...

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  6. Looking great, Those legs do have a tendency to break...

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  7. Well done with the sculpting!
    I painted up one of those minis a year ago (in the standard pose) and I was amazed at how big he is. With all 8 legs on the ground, it's almost impossible to get him on even the largest of bases. Giant indeed.
    All of which is to say, I think you've avoided this problem by lifting some of his legs off of the ground. I can't wait to see how you paint him up, the great big hairy brute (the spider, not you).

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  8. He/she/it looks awesome can't wait to see some paint I have a pair for a Gobbo army so in very interested to see what you come up with.

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