Banshee Wych + Femme Fatales (part 1)

Fluff, so much fluff you won't know what to do with it!

Fluff is or was, originally a term used by gamers to describe things that fit in with a genre's universe and history. Therefore a specific Khorne berserker you create, who runs around chopping off heads and killing people (interjected with his own little quirks, or noticeable achievements) is fluffy. It fits in to the history and lore and so is unlikely to ruffle anyone's feathers.

A Khorne Berserker, who is obsessed with cereal, wields the mighty chain spoon of +1 nutritious breakfasts and has a soft spot for kittens is not and will likely creep out any 40K player you speak to on the subject...or excite them, just a bit too much. Not really sure which is worse to be honest.  

Banshee, whatnow?

This is the next step along with fluff is to explain what I'm doing here, rather than assume, or worse, leave you to find out for yourself. Those of you familiar with Fantasy or D&D stuff might find this easier to follow.

Both are part of a 40K race that for argument's sake, can be summed up as being space elves. Of these you have two factions, Eldar (angsty, depressed elves, trying desperately to not give in to base emotions, or vice) and the Dark Eldar (Perverted space elves hiding away in a dimension they created, to indulge every vice and perversion imaginable...and they've had a few million years in which to do this....)

I've put links below for those of you who are still confused, but curious enough to read more.

Eldar: warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/El…
Dark Eldar: warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Da…

Howling Banshees: 
A sub fighting class of Eldar, typically female and specialising in moving quickly to close quarters fighting, relying on fast movements and acrobatic skills to avoid getting hacked apart. 


Wych: 
Very similar, but a very different look, again, typically female, specialising in moving quickly to close quarters fighting and relying on fast movements and acrobatic skills to avoid getting hacked apart, but in turn, causing as much pain and capturing subjects for later torture/abuse/gladiatorial fights.


That's about as much as I can be bothered to type in terms of fluff on either of those for now....

Putting these together.

fluff....isn't what motivates me, I see things, I get ideas and like a ferret I throw caution to the wind and run off in that direction without thinking about the consequences or logistics, just so long as what I do isn't verging on the straight jacket and men in white coats ideas.

Different aspects and elements usually come together to form ideas, especially if it means I stand a good chance at sculpting something different from the usual fan service one might see. Both of these have been around for some time and have had numerous different models and conversions over the years, so much so that in some of the darker corners of the internet, deviating too far from these will bring pure, unadulterated, All caps rage and no regard for spelling.

Doing a combination allows me much more freedom and the idea alone means I'm deviating far enough from either subject that I don't need to feel restricted or pressurised by what I do (not that that's ever really stopped me before )

In pastures blue...wait, whut?

So you're now in new and uncharted waters, Hooray! what do you do now?
erm....

This is where ideas need to ferment a little, as wiggle room is good, but too much can leave you unsure of where to go next. As such going back to the who, what and whys is the next best step.

Who: Well, you already know this, it's a cross between the two, the fighting style and movement aspects are already in play, which will steer you on the what's and why's.

What: It's a space elf, that moves quick and has acrobatic like abilities, so what is it about this that appeals? Well for me, it's that big chunky flail thingy, looks impressive in that piece of artwork below, I bet that could look even better on this combi piece, what does the original look like?



Oh... *looks at artwork again*

Admittedly this is an issue with casting, trying to cast something in this scale with as much movement in the artwork, would be a nightmare and just plain not feasible. If it's too thin, it won't cast. 

 
Why:
This is to do with why you're even attempting this in the first place, not another "I've made a terrible mistake" moment, but a "why did you want to do this in the first place?". I find it's always worth doing this, reminding yourself over and over why you decided this was what you wanted to sculpt. It keeps that initial drive there just a bit longer.

Why did I want to do this?

• I'm not casting this, I can be far more liberal with the pose, air spaces, miniature thickness and use lighter detail.
• Awesome posing possibilities is awesome.
• Great opportunity to try something new, especially with the pose.
• Something I've not seen before (not to say it doesn't/hasn't existed, but chances are slim at best).

With these in mind, I then look at the two once again, this is to look at the similarities and differences and put the two together, even though they look very, very different.

• Different weapons
• Different armour
• Similar styles

As an addition here (yes, another one), take a moment to look at the delightful madam Yevgeniya Kanayeva above. What I want you to do now is to take note of areas of importance, areas that stand out and will become vital for the landmarks in the sculpt.

Areas worth noting:

• The knees
• The ankles
• The Elbows
• The hips (especially the overall pelvis structure)
• The rib cage, especially the lower section up towards the sternum.
• The shoulders, even from a thumb image her Teres major and scapula are easily noticeable.

Unsurprisingly you'll notice that everything mentioned above (except for teres major) is a bony landmark, she's not stick thin and just from looking at her legs, arms and torso, she has some wonderful muscle development. These are all areas that need to be taken into account when moving on to the armatures (and remembered for all following stages). They will constantly be a guide not only for your proportions, but as key landmarks for when it comes to muscle construction.

Any of you think the boobs count as one? Well if you do, shame on you.

Have a read of Meghan Hetrick's tutorial below, it might be 2D as opposed to 3D, but the principles are exactly the same (and so help me, if you feel obliged to make a double D comment here! ). Don't be that guy...big inflataboobies are utterly pointless, they'd slow her down and get in the way.

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Once again this has turned out far longer than I had hoped, I will be uploading this section as soon as I am able, which will contain more of the information I mentioned for Femme fatales, as well as the more technical aspects of sculpting.

As a final teaser, here's a not too, revealing piccy with some of the aspects I've mentioned above (not to mention corrections), put in place.

What to expect in Part Two:

The next update will contain some of the bits from this one (but expanding on them), I'll be covering some of the following:

• Continuing on the pose/armature build.
• Design process.
• Looking at the weapon, pose, direction, movement.
• Pros + Cons of Non-castable VS Castable miniatures.
• Problem solving with difficult parts.