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| Revision Log | |
| 20 October 2000 | page first published |
2,041 hits since 20 Oct 2000
©1994-2024 Bill Armintrout
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Following an Easter break of shameless self-indulgence, it was back to work on the fearsome Hydra. A quick scan showed that I still had way to much to do! Unfortunately, you might not be able to see too much progress in today's shots. I finished off the left foot and shaved down the claws, which takes longer than you might imagine. At least now they look hard and very vicious.
Instead of an opposing thumb, the Hydra has an opposing blade-like claw - kinda like the oversized claw of a raptor dinosaur. I decided to make these a bit larger to help fill the space under the Hydra's arms, which introduces a practical, if somewhat onerous point...
The body of the Hydra is going to be cast in resin, which means that there can not be any gaps or sharp undercuts. This affects the way the model is sculpted and forces the designer to make certain compromises. In this case, I chose to pull the arms in close to the body to minimise the gap beneath them. However, I could not bring them in too tightly without making the Hydra look like it was wearing a straight jacket. This left me with a gap under the arms that I somehow need to fill.
You may have noticed on other resin models how gaps under bellies or between legs have been filled with strategically placed boulders or excessively long grass. This is simply a device to fill an awkward space and prevent the need for complex moulds that would make the price of the model unreasonably high. So, when you see the finished Hydra you will know why certain areas are unashamedly filled.
Well, enough of that justification! The coraline claws finished the Hydra's feet and I began work on the coraline crest that runs the length of the creature's tail. I am carving this from a strip of milliput, which I rolled out and positioned over the coiling tail while it set. This is another tricky job as the milliput gets quite thin in places and I don't want to break it too many times as I carve into it.
And that's it for today. Tomorrow should see the end of the Hydra's tail, if you'll excuse the pun!
finishes his initial Rust Devils force.
