The Squat warrior takes shape

I've found some time in the evenings recently to do more work on the Inquisitor 54mm Squat project. I had only cast up a couple of blanks, but in between jobs I was able to get a few more done. Enough for my immediate project needs anyway. The three in the image below will be used for the Hearthguard, Ancestor Lord and remake of the original gritty veteran Squat I had converted all the way back in 2001.

Three more blanks for the retinue so far

Previously I had posted a couple of pics of my progress on the Squat Warrior, but I was never very happy with the way I had sculpted the flack vest. The size of his belly was also a bit too large for me so decided to cut it back down and smooth it back to be more fitting with the reference model I now had.

The big belly of the Warrior and practice texture

I also found the time to source out some 3D printable files to use on the models to try and save a little time. These were all found on Thingyverse and they came out quite nicely. They just needed a bit of clean up.

3D printed weapons, potentially to be used on the project

I tested one against the current sculpt at the time, and felt that these guns, even though I had scaled them up to 1:32, looked a bit too small as you can see below. In speaking to some people the consensus was that they needed to be about 7% larger than they currently are. I'm going to run a second print this weekend, so I'll post some pics of the size difference then.

The printed Las Rifle against the model. Not sure if it's too small or not!

As I had mentioned before, I now have the Squat reference model that I needed, thanks to a kind member of the Facebook Squat group that i've been a part of for quite some time now. Though the face is slightly different the pose is close.

The Reference model in foreground

There are some differences I will address later in the detail pass, but the sculpt was at a point here that it needed to get fired so i could start working on the rest of it.

Current sculpt progress in the background

I wanted to start making the model look more Squat like, so I set to modelling the head. I just wanted to get the rough shape so that I can go back in with a knife and some new putty later to address the details that didn't sit right with me. The beard will come later on.
 

The helmet looking decisively Squat-like.

I had forgotten that a lot of the Squat models had this little section out of the back of the helmet. Not too sure what its meant to be for or if its just an aesthetic design, but i left it in. On a larger model it looks pretty chunky, but once again I can address this later.

Rear view of the helmet on the Warrior

In the side view below of the helmet you can see that recognisable profile of a Squat Warrior. However, on the ear cover of the helmet there are a few more air/vent/sound holes. I added one to the centre as a point of reference so I could put the other three in. I had a mind to fill it in afterwards, but think i may well leave it in as a personal variation on the design.

Slightly modified design side view

At this point it's starting to feel like I'm sculpting a squat, not just making a larger version of my Dweorg from Breaching the Rift. The next step from here is to get the flak armour on his torso and the pouches around his shins. Once this is done I can start to think about what extra details I want to give him. Do I give him an Imperial Eagle Aquilla? What about that classic Rogue Trader era IG round disk on the left breast? I don't know. The first thing is to get him roughed out and fired so then I can do the finer details.

Closeup of face and helmet

This project has been fun so far. It's really nice to get into remaking and expanding my Inquisitor warband. In writing this blog entry I have been thinking bout the 3D printed weapons, and I may actually just model them myself traditionally. That way I know they will fit the models I make and also I can put them on a sprue to be used on more, should I want to make more in the future. This is a scale I don't often work in either. I am mostly used to working at 1:56 scale for miniatures, 1:6 scale for stop motion puppets or 1:1 for props.

Whenever I start a project my mind starts to run away with the possibilities of what else I could make for the subject matter as props or extras/expansions to the project. This time is no different and I am contemplating modelling either a 1:32 Rhino or other transport for them once they're done (or maybe before if my imagination is triggered enough). One of the other options is to create a drop ship of air craft of some form. It would have to be a Rogue Trader era vehicle though. Something that fits in with them (not a gyrocopter). I have also thought about making cloaked versions of the models once they're done, but that would be another project completely.

For now, that's it so I'll catch you in the next update.