This little guy is a project inspired by this week’s Shared Topic over at Blog Azeroth (see my post under Perish Twice) and it deals with crafts that center around the World of Warcraft online game.
Since I’ve been planning on doing an Azeroth themed model horse for quite some time now (read as: ever since I started playing) I’m taking the hint and running with it!
Now there are a lot of horses and horse-shaped critters already in WoW, but I’m a little leery of Blizzards hordes of lawyers. I’d like to be able to sell this little guy once he’s done, so a direct homage to my favorite pastime is off the table.
Which means I’ve entered the lands of ‘inspired by’ and my what pretty lands they are! *grin*
I’m using a Breyer Stablemate G3 Arabian because he’s the least favorite of the G3 molds in my body box. I dislike the G4 molds even more, but since I don’t have any of those on hand… under the dremel he goes!
But wait! What is my ‘inspired by’ you ask?
Why it’s the very awesome Troll Druid Forms!
…I’ll give you a moment for your imagination to recover from the faceplant.
I’m sure y’all were expecting the Night Elf Druids to win out on this one, but the Trolls just had a more appealing color palette. Taurens and Worgen druids have natural color schemes, but I figured I’d embrace fantasy this time around.
So, yes, where were we? Ah yes, dremels!
Here’s the little guy post-hacking. The mane has been removed and the tail has been carved down to something I can heat and bend. I’ve cut a bit in at the two raised legs, since I’m going to be moving him to a two point pose (and a base).
I was tempted to add tusks, but for now I’m leaving those out. When I hit the epoxy phase they make sneak back in again, I’m just not sure how to add them in without making things look silly. (Ignoring the fact that the mowhawks and color schemes are going to make him silly regardless).
After a quick trip to the heatgun and some basic sanding, he looks a little more lively now, eh?
Trolls are an active and bouncy lot (the NPCs are fond of backflips when bored) so I figured I’d put a little more spring in his step. I’ll be adding a base so he can stand, I’m just not sure yet if it will be removable.
The hind leg isn’t quite at the right angle, the hock should be back more if it’s that tucked, but I’m taking some liberties. I figure it’s going to end up blue and yellow with a mowhawk and possibly tusks… so I’m not too worried if the pose is a bit off.
Now that the dremel has done it’s work, it’s time for the epoxy to save the day!
Since epoxy takes a bit to set, this is where I’m pausing for the night. I think I may end up adding some feathering to the legs, since the model is a bit too thick for a proper Arabian. But we’ll see how it comes out after it dries.
The mowhawk is just barely starting (I had some leftover epoxy from the legs), but it will build up into a a proper troll hairstyle. I’m looking over the normal humanoid Troll styles as well and am aiming for a bland of the two.
Once everything is in place, I may add some decorations– not sure if those will be sculpted or created separately as tack. This should be a fun little project!
… And now we wait. *yawn* See you tomorrow!