Showing posts with label Chlén Beast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chlén Beast. Show all posts

Saturday, 27 September 2014

Chlén Beast and Carts






Here are some pictures of our Chlén beast model. Some of you have seen it before on Chirene's blog. Well, now we're going to be releasing it. Of course the nekkid version shown above isn't much use. We need a version with a harness and tack sculpted on, And we need Chlén carts - both 2 and 4 wheeled varieties.

I've actually been considering this for sometime. Close to a year now, in fact, maybe even a little longer - like closer to two years! There are a number of things to consider.

3D printing, all these new laser cutting companies making not just buildings but carts and wagons, traditional sculpting and model-making techniques - all have been looked at and considered. And at the same time there is the look of the thing to consider. The design of the carts. The design of the harness and tack. The two wheeled cart has only one beast pulling it so the harness is probably different from that used on the four wheeled cart. The beasts are probably harnessed in tandem rather than in pairs. They would be too wide otherwise.

How big should the two styles of carts be? How large should the wheels be? Are the front wheels smaller than the back? Are they spoked or solid planks? How thick are they? Do the carts have sides? What do those look like - how high are they?

For inspiration I once again turned to India. The traditional Indian bullock cart and the Indian temple wagons (called Juggernauts) are what I searched for. The temple wagons have been referenced in one of the issues of the Seal of the Imperium. These are massive carts with equally massive wheels and frequently with cart bodies of elaborately carved wood. The concept is for something in between the fantasically scaled Juggernauts and the practical bullock cart.


Friday, 29 March 2013

The Chlén Beast...



Sculpted by Gerald Dagel

Great News! I just found the Chlén Beast master model I was originally sent so long by Chirine. I just have to do a minor repair to one of its horns and then I can send it off to Jeff at JTFM for molding and casting.

IIRC, the cost per casting was estimated at $13-14, not including the mold costs. Our prices will be fair but have to take that into account. Now, that was a couple of years ago - material prices may have changed but Jeff may also have refined his methods. Part of the cost comes just from the size of the thing, but the multiple parts also bring it up.

It may be he can do a single piece casting. I mean he does things like casting the interiors of the crew compartments of his WW2 German half-tracks, and stuff like micro-thin handrails on tanks which are cast on the tank, and not as separate pieces! So a single-piece casting might be "old hat" to him.

The next thing to do will be getting wagons and crews/loads to go with the beasties. Probably - thinking out loud now - what we need to do is get a couple done and then get some kind of a harness sculpted on and then make production molds of that....

Suggestions and Comments welcome, as always!

Best Regards,

Howard Fielding

green27 -AT- sympatico -DOT- ca


Monday, 3 September 2012

Sérudla are like Kittens!



Their little claws and dorsal spikes snag on everything: bubble wrap, sweaters, table-cloths. You name it and they cling to it!

Shown above and below are the first batch of Sérudla produced via the wonders of 3D printing. In the picture below you can see how they compare in size to some other critters. (That black figure on the right is a Pygmy Folk, primed black for painting.) The arms are still in a bag. They include armed and unarmed variants. Some 80 of this batch are armoured for war and with other 20 being au naturel. Also shown are a couple of Zrné and a Chlén beast; also created by 3D printing.






Unfortunately the claws and dorsal spines are very fine pieces and so very fragile. This lot suffered some damage to about 20% of the shipment. Given that the claws cling to materials and are so fragile I recommend basing the figures rather than using them as-is. 

Wednesday, 22 February 2012

Chlén Beast WIP

A work-in-progress, by Federico Genovese

Federico sent me these pics a week or so ago but I never got around to posting them. Still work to do on the head, feet and back. IIRC he is going to do an alternate head and some baggage sets per the Chlén post card picture.

After that, a cart (maybe two) and some drivers and hangers on...

Friday, 11 November 2011

Just how big is a Chlén Beast?

Art by Paul Allan Ballard

The two lines in the above picture represent the approximate height of the average Tsolyáni male - who stands about 1.68M tall, IIRC.

Our figures are 28mm to the eye, so about 30mm to top of head (give or take.)

So however tall the average male is - assuming it is one of those lines - then that line will represent 30mm on the Chlén model.

I have a sculptor waiting for instructions so I need to figure this out...