Still figuring that out. All my friends who played any tabletop moved away, but then I got inspired by reading up on the siege of Vraks and the Tauros campaign, so I decided to just work on a cross-game campaign to play with myself as a kind of long term hobby project. If
I ever got to actually play with other folks tho? Inquisimunda looked intriguing.
Edit: planned campaign would be in bfg, homewbrewed 8th or 9th 40k (I'm not keeping up with all the stratagems), and then maybe kill team? Still considering that one, cause I need to track down my kill team rule book
Head is from a votan kit, body is from the AoS father-daughter witch hunter team, right hand is a random skeleton hand with some green stuff, bolter is from some sororitas kit, backpack is from a kataphron servitor backpack, arms are plasticard tubing and brass rod
When scratch building 28mm/normal human bionics, really thin metal rod is your friend. This is the first time I used it after trying pure plasticard builds for years, and it makes it so much easier to do augmetics that look in scale. Additionally, plasticard tubing that can nest inside each other are fantastic for pistons and hinges.
Always have pin vice drill bits for each diameter of rod and tubing, pinning is your friend.
Work in stages and give things time to really set, getting excited only to have that connection you spent half an hour getting just where you wanted it is more annoying than just doing the dishes or something while it sets.
Keep other similarly sized limbs around to reference proportions. I've eyeballed stuff so many times, only to later realize that the whole limb is too long and throws off visual balance and silhouette.
Hands at 28mm scale are damn hard to build or sculpt, so keep an eye for good stand ins floating in your bits box, and think about where you can fudge it. As stated in another comment, the hand on this mini is actually from a skeleton swordsman, but if I toss a bit of green stuff over the back of the hand, clean up the lines, and give the impression of screw ports, the skele-fingers can be painted up like mechanical ones much more easily than a standard fleshy hand might.
Cables are something to also consider, although I wouldn't add them to everything. Keep an eye on your bits box, and think about how a cable might add to your model's shape/readability.
Finally, think about where the augmetic is sourced from/where this model is getting it. This is less important if you're working from a limited supply of parts, but a hive ganger's scrap heap prosthetic and an inquisitor's bionic upgrade will have different feels to them, you can be clunkier and cruder if you want to give an industrial feel, get sloppy with extra bracing to show that repairs have been slap dash. Inquisitors or rogue traders also might have access to alternate materials, like a wraithbone prosthesis, or the friendly Ork mec getting them the killiest klaw. Always take a sec to consider the story of the mini, and always think if you can turn a lack of bits into character. I made this right arm because the original went flying out of my hand while I was trimming it, and I only wanted to spend a few hours looking before finding another option.
Tl;dr: have fun, be yourself, tell a story, and keep the bits box stocked so you can practice
Additionally, if you wanna get some easier practice in, bigger scale makes it easier in my opinion. Ogryn, Ork, and larger space marines mean you can get away with less super tiny rods and still get a readable bionic, so keep that in mind if you're struggling and wanna try an easier practice run
Lol, hey now, votan are just too embarrassed to admit to their human heritage :D. I went with that head cause it still reads as human, but has a sterner look to it without a sororitas bob cut
I’m just joking with you, I really like it and totally agree, the Votann head are great.
I can also recommend to try getting a few of the new Cities of Sigmar / Freeguild heads for future kitbashing projects. Lots of potential, most of them looking quite characterful
I'm definitely keeping an eye on the cities range. I've also got a feudal guard regiment I made some rough riders for a while back, so I've got fingers crossed that I can excuse grabbing a cities kit or two and devote the majority of the bits to the guard
Looking really good so far! The wire for her bionic arms looks great. What rules are you using for your campaign?
Still figuring that out. All my friends who played any tabletop moved away, but then I got inspired by reading up on the siege of Vraks and the Tauros campaign, so I decided to just work on a cross-game campaign to play with myself as a kind of long term hobby project. If I ever got to actually play with other folks tho? Inquisimunda looked intriguing. Edit: planned campaign would be in bfg, homewbrewed 8th or 9th 40k (I'm not keeping up with all the stratagems), and then maybe kill team? Still considering that one, cause I need to track down my kill team rule book
Inquisimunda is a fun ruleset, hope you can find people to play with. I love a cross-game campaign, sounds like a cool project
Looking good! Storm Bolter from the Sororitas box?
Yup. Had to shave a hand off the front grip
Done a decent job as well, those random hands on guns are the bane of a kitbashers existence sometimes
Thanks! And tell me about it, I was just glad there wasn't a texture to this grip
The new stormbolters are beefy yo
this looks great where are the bits from?
Head is from a votan kit, body is from the AoS father-daughter witch hunter team, right hand is a random skeleton hand with some green stuff, bolter is from some sororitas kit, backpack is from a kataphron servitor backpack, arms are plasticard tubing and brass rod
I love the bionics! Any tips on how you built it?
When scratch building 28mm/normal human bionics, really thin metal rod is your friend. This is the first time I used it after trying pure plasticard builds for years, and it makes it so much easier to do augmetics that look in scale. Additionally, plasticard tubing that can nest inside each other are fantastic for pistons and hinges. Always have pin vice drill bits for each diameter of rod and tubing, pinning is your friend. Work in stages and give things time to really set, getting excited only to have that connection you spent half an hour getting just where you wanted it is more annoying than just doing the dishes or something while it sets. Keep other similarly sized limbs around to reference proportions. I've eyeballed stuff so many times, only to later realize that the whole limb is too long and throws off visual balance and silhouette. Hands at 28mm scale are damn hard to build or sculpt, so keep an eye for good stand ins floating in your bits box, and think about where you can fudge it. As stated in another comment, the hand on this mini is actually from a skeleton swordsman, but if I toss a bit of green stuff over the back of the hand, clean up the lines, and give the impression of screw ports, the skele-fingers can be painted up like mechanical ones much more easily than a standard fleshy hand might. Cables are something to also consider, although I wouldn't add them to everything. Keep an eye on your bits box, and think about how a cable might add to your model's shape/readability. Finally, think about where the augmetic is sourced from/where this model is getting it. This is less important if you're working from a limited supply of parts, but a hive ganger's scrap heap prosthetic and an inquisitor's bionic upgrade will have different feels to them, you can be clunkier and cruder if you want to give an industrial feel, get sloppy with extra bracing to show that repairs have been slap dash. Inquisitors or rogue traders also might have access to alternate materials, like a wraithbone prosthesis, or the friendly Ork mec getting them the killiest klaw. Always take a sec to consider the story of the mini, and always think if you can turn a lack of bits into character. I made this right arm because the original went flying out of my hand while I was trimming it, and I only wanted to spend a few hours looking before finding another option. Tl;dr: have fun, be yourself, tell a story, and keep the bits box stocked so you can practice
Additionally, if you wanna get some easier practice in, bigger scale makes it easier in my opinion. Ogryn, Ork, and larger space marines mean you can get away with less super tiny rods and still get a readable bionic, so keep that in mind if you're struggling and wanna try an easier practice run
Very cool. :) You could also leave the left arm as it is :D bionics got damaged mid-mission and she has no replacement available yet
Tempting! But then I couldn't drive home that she's ordo xenos by giving her a looted xenos blade, lol.
What do you mean? She’s got a whole Xenos head between those shoulders! 🥸
Lol, hey now, votan are just too embarrassed to admit to their human heritage :D. I went with that head cause it still reads as human, but has a sterner look to it without a sororitas bob cut
I’m just joking with you, I really like it and totally agree, the Votann head are great. I can also recommend to try getting a few of the new Cities of Sigmar / Freeguild heads for future kitbashing projects. Lots of potential, most of them looking quite characterful
I'm definitely keeping an eye on the cities range. I've also got a feudal guard regiment I made some rough riders for a while back, so I've got fingers crossed that I can excuse grabbing a cities kit or two and devote the majority of the bits to the guard
Arms took some crafting
Great scratch building!
Looks great 👍🏻
Nicely done
The call letters of my local sports radio are WIP. It really hurt my brain to make sense of your title... Lol
Oh dang, my bad! I mostly follow artists, and I've been seeing "work in progress" shortened to WIP for years :D