Smaug the Magnificent

Natarn · **Posted:** Thu Jan 24, 2008 6:21 pm

Beowulf03809 wrote:

At least you have your work cut out with you on scales to make the OR comps "safe" for the rest of us for a while. :wink:

Heh, heh, heh. That's what you think! :wink:

Ukfreddybear · **Posted:** Thu Jan 24, 2008 6:38 pm

Naturn Ulka wrote:

Quote:

Pro-Create is an excellent putty! Fabulous! Much, much better than green stuff in the way it handles and, because it dries matt, it looks far more natural, even unpainted. I've got myself a scalpel as well - and the putty holds the detail superbly.

[UKFB rubs hands together evilly] Mwah haw haw! Another sculptor successfully seduced to the wonders of Pro-create.

Keep up the good work, Nat. Looks ace mate.

Beowulf03809 · **Posted:** Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:04 pm

Natarn Ulka wrote:

Beowulf03809 wrote:

At least you have your work cut out with you on scales to make the OR comps "safe" for the rest of us for a while. :wink:

Heh, heh, heh. That's what you think! :wink:

Curse you!!!

Natarn · **Posted:** Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:05 pm

ukfreddybear wrote:

[UKFB rubs hands together evilly] Mwah haw haw! Another sculptor successfully seduced to the wonders of Pro-create.

Yes, that was your influence ukfb! I'd never heard of it before. I wonder if I'll ever buy green stuff again!

Cheers!
Natarn.

Natarn · **Posted:** Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:08 pm

Beowulf03809 wrote:

Natarn Ulka wrote:

Beowulf03809 wrote:

At least you have your work cut out with you on scales to make the OR comps "safe" for the rest of us for a while. :wink:

Heh, heh, heh. That's what you think! :wink:

Curse you!!!

I'm not allowed to enter the sculpting competition this time. :cry:
But there are other categories I'm considering...
If only I could paint better!

Dorthonion · **Posted:** Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:17 pm

Radagast the white said:

Quote:

Careful Natarn, he might I am an idiot you!

I have no intentions of idioting anyone. Not even the goblins. I have on occasion helped rid them of swarms of insects by use of explosives and high velocity projectiles but that was all done in the best possible taste.

A race for me to paint The Backlog before you finish that dragon? Let me put it this way: if you were building Smaug fullsize and animatronic, you would still be finished him well before I finish The Backlog (or shuffle off this mortal coil).

As for Master Yoda, who do you think taught him some tricks?

lorderkenbrand · **Posted:** Thu Jan 24, 2008 10:03 pm

Quote:

A race for me to paint The Backlog before you finish that dragon? Let me put it this way: if you were building Smaug fullsize and animatronic, you would still be finished him well before I finish The Backlog (or shuffle off this mortal coil).

Nathan I totally understand the process you described above, impossibly slow as it sounds, you are moving at a nice speed. Not sure why everyone is against you making hobbit holes :wink:

but i'd like to see some of your WIP pics of them if you have any please

looking forward to seeing some hobbit dwellings soon

and more of your magical dragon

Natarn · **Posted:** Fri Jan 25, 2008 5:09 pm

lorderkenbrand wrote:

looking forward to seeing some hobbit dwellings soon.

Hobbit dwellings? What Hobbit dwellings? I'm making a dragon. :wink:

Natarn · **Posted:** Fri Jan 25, 2008 6:23 pm

This is what I have ahead of me...

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lots and lots of scales to sculpt!

Well, I did choose to make a dragon!

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Scales, scales, scales...

Beatrice · **Posted:** Sat Jan 26, 2008 4:31 am

Natarn Ulka wrote:

This is what I have ahead of me...
Scales, scales, scales...

LOL.
everything nearby you gets modelled and turned into scales now, right?
(bread crumps, toothpaste, cookie dough, soft soap, chewing gum ....) ;-)

NumenoreanLord · **Posted:** Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:04 am

When this is done, you can look back and be proud

It might look like a mountain of a task now but keep going. Its looking great

Dorthonion · **Posted:** Sat Jan 26, 2008 2:26 pm

All these new images mean we all have a better appreciation of the scale Natarn Ulka's predicament...

The voices told me to make that awful pun...

I am really looking forward to seeing the wings on the beastie (hopefully they will not cause too much of a flap)

The voices told me to make that second awful pun...

Red Corsairs · **Posted:** Sat Jan 26, 2008 3:36 pm

Yikes! Thats alot of scales indeed :shock:

. But it looks awesome (as it always did) and it just keeps getting better and better. This is going to be one beast of a model when its complete. Great Work Natarn!

Gondolin · **Posted:** Sat Jan 26, 2008 3:59 pm

skully wrote:

you might underestimate dorhonion if he hire's some paiters it will be finished in in half a decade

( my apologies dorthonion, had to do this

)

Just like me

The Dragon really looks great! The pose of Smaug looks terrifying and it must be a hell of a job to make all those scales and certainly with such a big model...

tar elendil · **Posted:** Sun Jan 27, 2008 3:08 am

are you going to cast it so the rest of us can have one too because it looks great !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Curunír · **Posted:** Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:36 am

Major Kudos! I'm very happy to see all of the photos, and I do hope that you will (at the very least) write this up into some form of Article for the Library. Your work is excellent.

Cheers

Natarn · **Posted:** Sun Jan 27, 2008 8:24 am

tar elendil wrote:

are you going to cast it so the rest of us can have one too because it looks great !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know yet. The cost of having a mould made may be prohibitive - but that depends on interest in general and whether I can cover my costs by selling casts. I'd certainly like to but we will see.

When it is finished, I will get a quote for the mould and each subsequent cast and then I'll let you know and see what people think.

Curunir wrote:

Major Kudos! I'm very happy to see all of the photos, and I do hope that you will (at the very least) write this up into some form of Article for the Library. Your work is excellent.

Sure, I will probably write an article for this one when he is completed.
In the meantime, I'll keep everyone up to date with progress. And thanks! I'm glad you like my work and I appreciate your comments.

Natarn.

Ukfreddybear · **Posted:** Sun Jan 27, 2008 8:03 pm

If you cut the model in half, you can hollow out the majority with a rotary tool before casting. This will result in less metal per cast, cutting the weight and cost. However, the drawback of this will be that you require twice as much mould space as you have two large pieces instead of one. So your moulds would cost more, but the castings less.

Just something to think about.

The_Rhinosaurous · **Posted:** Sun Jan 27, 2008 8:17 pm

This isn't meant to be the easy way around but it could really save you tons of time. You could possible sculpt a large section of scales on the dragon (as you are doing) and use pro create or greenstuff or whatever to make a mold of it. When it dries you can simply put the putty into the mold, let it dry a little and then pull it out and attach it to the dragon. I think it would be much faster and it would be imposible to tell that the patern repeats as ther are allready so many scales. Just an idea.

Dragontomb · **Posted:** Mon Jan 28, 2008 2:54 am

Wow Natarn Ulka great progress on your Smaug sculpture. Looks like a fun projuect.

Ryan.

Smaug the Magnificent

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