Posable Courser (Warhorse)

[Tirick]

I've been getting the bug to design this for a while, but until recently I was a little intimidated by the complexity. However, I (think) I have a solid design concept and will work on that while building test parts for the first Man At Arms expansion.

Still very WIP obviously, but the figure will be fully posable, all four legs/joints as well as the neck/head. It will come with a Medieval Military saddle and will obviously be intended to suit my Protagonist line of figures. It will be released in 1:50 and 1:35, as well as in a few coat patterns.

This line of course will likely spawn into other derivative products.

Enjoy!
Tirick

 

[Tirick]

Not a major update, but enough to see how the assembly will come together. I still have the front 'shoulders' to finalize and the outer shell, which will partially drape over the neck and leg joints to more fully enclose the model.

I hope to have a prototype ready within a week or so.

Enjoy!
Tirick

 

[Tirick]

I've finished the model for the horse, not begins the unfold and prototype build. You can see from the pics the way the interior of the model will fit the limb joints. I'm not 100% happy with the hip/shoulder joints, although the final build will dictate any changes.

I've three builds this coming week, the Stormtrooper print candidate, the female protagonist prototype and this, so it should prove to be an informative week.

Enjoy!
Sean

 

[Tirick]

Well over the last few days I finished the assembly of the courser prototype. I'm happy, for a goodly part of the model assembled as planned. I need to redesign the legs somewhat, as the back legs is a little thin next to the front. As well, the shoulder and the flank meshes were a bit tricky to build, so I will be redesigning in an effort to simplify the assembly. The core body assembled swimmingly, and aside from a few tweaks the most of it should be ready for texturing. After I design replacement parts I'll be working on a medieval saddle and will test 'mount' a figure for scale and confirmation of the saddle/blanket design.

Starting the build

The back flank

The flank and shoulder

Starting the legs

Enjoy!
Tirick

 

[Tirick]

I've finished the modifications and hope to have a physical model to demonstrate within the week. Its a busy week with the tikes returning to school, so we'll see. Nevertheless, I have the prototype mane, tail AND saddle built, and the courser is now just waiting on a rider. Note that the mane and tail will both be printed double-sided so the whitespace will not be as noticeable.

I may have time tonight to finish assembly on her, but if not before the end of the weekend. I want to try some prototype javelins/quiver with the rider, so the final pose may have to wait until then.

Enjoy!
Tirick

 

[Tirick]

I had shown shots of the corrected Courser in my Protagonist thread, but while we are on the topic of updates, here it is again:

The design changes worked very well, and I've moved onto designing the textures. The process is slow; I had every intention of completing this for March, but work has been hell for the last three weeks so no joy there. I do have the harness/tack finished, and have started in on the head (I suspect this will be the hardest portion).

I am juggling this and the female protagonist texturing. I expect this to release first however, as I have yet to design an outfit for the lady. I plan for April for both (luck willing).

Enjoy!
Tirick

 

[Tirick]

Well with the Female Protagonist out of the way, I've had time to sit still and finish the textures for this project. The results look great in model view, but only a print-test will ensure the shades and highlights are leveled correctly. The mane and tail will assemble very similarly to the Female Protagonist, which successfully tested the concept (the model view does it no justice).

I expect to finish the test and instructions in the coming week, so perhaps by the middle of May I'll have the Courser ready to release. I'll offer several coat colours as well as a variety of saddle-blanket textures and leather shades for the medieval saddle.

Enjoy!
Tirick

 

[ekuth]

Tirick, you continue to push the bounds on what's possible with paper.

Stunning stuff! :thumb:

 

[Tirick]

Honestly, I think that is half the reason I am still making new models. I get terribly bored quite quickly and if I were not pushing boundaries and tweaking designs I'd not be in the game (it certainly isn't for the (somewhat less than ) lucrative profits!).

Here are some early shots of the print candidate. The textures worked well, although the shading/highlights need enhancing, which could either be my printer or the layers' opacity. I'll be tweaking those as well as adding a saddle/tack and rider to this prototype. Barring some sort of disaster I expect a release next week.

Enjoy!
Tirick

 

[Tirick]

I've finished building the final prototype components; adding a saddle and a rider. The rider you may recognize as the female protagonist; she is from the print candidate, although built in this instance at 1:50 instead of 1:35.

The Courser figure should be ready early in the week, after which I'm off to work on the B-Wing some.

Enjoy!
Tirick

 

[Tirick]

The Courser is now available in my store at http://tcfgaming.com

All medieval sets are also on sale, for the remainder of this month!

Enjoy!
Tirick