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Custom Repainted Bordahk Statuette (Pic Heavy)


Heir of the Chronicler

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Gather 'round, BZPers, and hear a tale long in the making, or some such like that.It all began way, way, waaay back, when BZP member Alsru, Toa of Honor, sent me a two-part commission. The first was a simple enough customization of a Makuta Chirox head...update6.jpgThe other, though, was more complicated... Alsru asked for a posed and repainted Vahki Bordahk on a statue-like base. It sounded like an interesting concept I wanted to add to my "what I done" list, so I took on the job. The first concept pose was, um... less than great.vahkipose1.jpgThankfully, I didn't glue it that way! Unfortunately, I've lost all the work-in-progress photos taken between then. Regardless, here's how he turned out...update7.jpgHere's how he went down.After determining a good pose, I glued him together with zap-a-gap in all his joints. Interestingly, I found while working on this that if you apply a thin skim of this stuff to Bionicle joints, you can stiffen up loose limbs. Just don't, you know... stick it back in it's socket while the glue's wet!Then, I gave him a good sand down, and primed him gray. After that, I basecoated all the areas in their proper colors; grey, blue, silver, orange. This process took an exceptionally long and frustrating time...Afterward, I was able to get on to the fun part. The orange part of the head is seven different shades of oranges and yellows, all blended together with a technique called stippling. The mouth and blades are three shades of silver, with a wash to dull them down and bring out the contrast; I used an ink on the pistons to make them appear slick with hydraulic fluid. Many caps, pins, gears, and other details were picked out in silver, as well.The blue and gray areas were the most interesting. In addition to recieving three shades of blue or gray (respectively) and a wash to blend the shades together, they're meant to look like this Vahki's seen the city for some time, and his paint's all worn and chipped away. Each chip on him is a spot of black, with a spot of silver overtop, and then a wash to blend them into the blue/gray, to achieve the chipping effect without making him look like he's got polka dots! I also had to make sure the chipping made sense, and thus, the only areas chipped are those that might receive wear and tear.update8.jpgupdate9.jpgupdate11.jpgWith the Bordahk done, I turned my attentions to the base, this thing of untold sweat and toil...base.jpgAs you can see, it's made of 6 blocks of wood, as well as 4 strips of plywood to cover the stacked blocks. Not pictured here are the bottom 4 trim pieces, which had to be angle-cut so they'd fit together. Credit due to my Dad for helping me engineer this, and cut many of the parts!update9.jpgThe side plates had to be clamped while the glue dried overnight. So, after these dried, I had to do the front and back ones, too.update3.jpgAfter those were cured, I did a LOT of putty work to smooth everything out, and added the bottom trim, and puttied it, too. I finally had it ready for the end run.img_0309.jpgThe sidewalk tiles are foamcore, cut down to fit. I chose foamcore so I could capture the "rupturing" feel of the Morbuzahk appearing from beneath the architecture itself. As you can see, everything's traced out; thorough planning was a stalple of this project.img_0311.jpgThe Morbuzahk itself is made from about half a dozen strands of green stuff twisted together, like so:img_0312.jpgWhich was then positioned and glued in place. Keeping these from sagging during curing was something of a chore!img_0313.jpgAfter getting the broken bits of tile glued in place, it was time to hit the spray booth...img_0316.jpgWe have a full indoor spray booth for model work, but I didn't really need anything fancy. I primed it gray, painted it white, and then gave it a semi-gloss varnish all with Krylon spraycans:vahki8.jpgThe tricky part was painting the vines after they'd been glued in place WITHOUT getting paint on the base. They're a conglomeration of about 5 shades of brown and a wash, and with 'em all twisted about like that, the underside is anything but easy to get to...As a finishing touch, I put a square of foam on the underside, the same kind as is meant for use on cup coasters.vahki7.jpgSo... there you have it, folks! An all original Vahki Statuette.vahki1.jpgvahki2.jpgvahki3.jpgvahki5.jpgvahki6.jpgThanx for looking!Cheers,- Heir

Edited by Black Six

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Wow!! That thing is totally epic! The way the colors and pose turned out is great! The only real problems I have with it are with the base: 1. I think all the white would have been better as grey, possibly a light grey.2. I think it might have looked better if one of the vines were twisting up around his leg, or, if you didn't want the vine messing with the figure much, coming into a sort of curl around his foot or something. Overall, I think this turned out really great, and is making me want to look into maybe making a similar order, how much did the statuette cost?

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While I'm blown away at the entire project, I'm most amazed at your painting skill on the Bordahk. The detail is absolutely amazing, the chips on the feet, the wear on the body armor and the colors on the orange head. Not to mention how realistic the hydraulics look, as if they are about to move on their own! The detail on this thing makes it look like it came straight from a studio where they filmed the Bionicles for the movies!As Jowm said, I don't think the base compares to the Bordahk. I know it took much work, and you may not want to go back and paint it again, but my thoughts are maybe adding a worn stone or metal look to it.Overall, I would definately buy this if I saw it on the shelves!

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This. is. amazing.The way you painted the Vahki, and the tremendous amount of work it took to make such a detailed base (which looks epic, might I add). All that detail and thought put into it really shows how dedicated you are to getting things done.Like Toa Mata Pony said, if I saw this on a shelf, I would definitely buy it!Proof that hard work equals success!You and your father have tremendous talent!

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Is this amazing or what? I love the rust, the metallic colors, and how you changed color of some technic pieces. It's also awesome to see how you added silver to some pieces to create bolts and bring out the pistons. It really works.Also, I love the base. Clean and unobtrusive, just like a base of a statuette should be. The contrast between the Ga-Metru stone and the Morbuzahk vines makes it so much cooler.A feast for the eyes!

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Very cool! To be honest this is the first time I've seen a figure repainted like this, but it's a very interesting effect, and it looks great.

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This is crazy beautiful. You got my respect for the hardwork. I love how it looks realistic. Keep up the good work.

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Better than I can express in words. Having tried painting Bionicle figures a few times myself, and having them look like garbage, I can truly appreciate how good this looks. Of all the details, the wear is one of my favourites, since you took the time to make it realistic, which not every custom I'v seen has done (like my few...)I was going to say the base needs either more colour or a different one (or more details), but then I thought "Hey, it's about the statue, not the base." So in that way, the base works even better because it brings out the blues, oranges and silvers or the Bordakh even more. Not to mention the Morzubakh just adds that extra finesse to top it all off.And hearing all the work that went into all of it, you got my respect!MTL

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Amazing what a little extra paint can do. This is yet another remarkable customisation from you Heir, it really looks great, does an excellent job of showing the battle-worn robot in all its glory. Also nice work on the stand, the Morbuzakh in particular is fantastic. Fantastic detail and great craftsmanship all round.signoff.pngMaster of Fragmentation Rampant!!!

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I don't have much to say. The Bordakh is flawless, and the detail is extraordinary. Like mentioned before me, the base seems a little bland compared to the exquisite detail of the model, but this is really a petty complaint. :P The craftsmanship and attention to detail is remarkable. Well done!:e:

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This is amazing. I love the detail. However, I believe you should have used a more translucent brown on the Morbuzahk so it looks greener and more alive, a gray base, as mentioned above, and a color for the eye besides the orange on the head. Maybe red, or you could darken the non-eye orange?

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Holy, stinking epicity! This has got to be THE best Bio. sculpture(ete) I've ever seen!

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2 things, 1: as obviously stated the base is a tad blah, and it would have been (IMO) much cooler if you had put some of those transport tubes in the background, or maybe a broken one the morbuzahk was breaking2: as i obviously do not come anywhere close to being able to paint that bordahk near anything other than black spray paint i will not critique it, but i will say it looks totally awsome.Good day!

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Spectacular! I have never seen anything like it! You really brought the set to life. The metallic effect really does give it a mechanical feel. Something which the original set always lacked. I also like your choice of pose; it gives it a menacing look, something I always associated to the Vahki.The Morbuzakh vine is ingenious. It looks amazing. You really captured its destructive nature with the broken step. However, I thought maybe you should have included a few more, perhaps on the sides for a greater effect? Don't get me wrong, what you have done here is brilliant, I just thought it would have completted the Statuette.Also, I thought a dark worn grey would have been better choice of colour for the base. It would have complemented the rest of the statuette and give an evil feel to it. Overall, however, it's brilliant! Like I've said, the best I've ever seen.Well done! Out of curiousity, how long did it take you to make?

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That Bordakh is simply amazing. The technique you used to make the paint look chipped worked REALLY well. Like many other people, I find the base a little plain. Perhaps give it a nice rock texture and wrap a vine up his leg or around his foot.

 

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Nice,but you could've used more tiles for the sidewalk,and have the morbuzahk come out of the center with tiles all around.Also,a kanohi disk in his mouth would also be better,as well as some rock/worn away texture to the tiles so that it looks something like this:winchester+etc+044.JPG-CDP

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Right, so, I reckon it's high time I throw my couple of cents in, eh?@ Jowm: Alsru and I are already discussing ways to further modify the base to make it more visually interesting and thematic. I believe the two Morbuzahk vine positions you mention were discussed at one point, but in the end, I opted to go with something more abstract than the vines attacking the Vahki.In other news, I'm perhaps a little too excited to sculpt more of these vines in the near future!@ ~The 1st Shadow~: Thankya! It took quite a very long while. Am looking to make sure the ones I've got on my desk now don't take nearly so long. As Alsru commented to me a few days back, this Bordahk has been a pretty serious prototype!@ Dragonfly the Luminescant: I try not to have a big head, so please, stop trying to inflate it... :PBut, thanks for the comments! There'll be some revised pictures posted up before I'm through with 'em, that's for sure.@ MakutaKlak: Thankya, thankya. If I may toot my own horn, I'm really quite pleased with how the hydraulics came out. It's nice seing things work out the way you imagine them. Also, my Dad appreciated your compliment :)@ Namata: 'Perciate the kind words! That's definitely the effect I was going for with the base; unfortunately, I feel it came out a little *too* unobtrusive. Still, I'm glad I captured the essence at least... a little tweaking, and it aught to work out jus' fine.@ CHTrilogy: Thanx! There was a time, back in about 2006, that I tried to repaint *all* my sets like this.It did not meet with success.@ GSR: Thanx. I actually found a Vakama Hordika done like this, complete with a base, on eBay once. But, like the fool I am, I bookmarked the auction and never saved the pictures... so, when I went back, the listing was gone and the pictures lost! Always regretted that.Also, I'm grooving on your signatuOBJECTION@ Wraith of Aura: Thanks! And agreed. As I've said before in this post, I will be revisiting the base.@ The G-Man: Agreed!@ Power of Fire: I intend to, thanks!@ Didonchu: Mhm, there's a side-by-side comparison of it with the stock set in my shop topic, second page. And, "deadly"? I like that analogy... :P@ FrozenFlash: Mhm, me too. It almost makes me wish the parts came pre-weathered, in much the same style as McFarlane's Halo action figures.@ ManiacToaLaco: Thanks! I'm really satisfied with the way it all worked out, especially as I was making it up as I went along... :P@ Talos4: I'm a former Golden Demon competition winner for Warhammer figures, so... that should explain that... ;)@ Pyhoohrii: Thanx, man. You should like what I do on the other 5... Good to see you're still around, btw!@ Eryu Bieber: Thankya! Unfortunately, as the guy who painted it, I can catch a fair share of flaws. There's a reason why, after I write or draw something, I never look at it again... still, glad you like it :)@ Chaos Makuta Dralcax: I'd hoped to work a little more green into the Morbuzahk as well, and yet, looking at what official art there is of it and at real roots, I rather talked myself out of it. At this point, there's no way to change the orange on the head, and personally... I kind of like keeping the eye the same color, as that's the way it is on the sets. Only, this looks better, because there's a separation between the "eye" and the "helmet".@ Shmid: Thanks. Probably helps that it's one of the few Bio sculptures in existence... ;)@ Lord of the Rings: Mordor /liked it? I'm... I'm not sure what to say, I'm at such a loss for words! :oOne Bordahk to find them allOne Bordahk to... aw, I forget the rest of it.@ We Are _G.R.I.D_: Yesss, the guy who ordered it agrees about the base, as I've said... as for the chutes, we're in Ga-Metru here. While Ga-Metru used them, they were nowhere near as prevalent here as they were in other districts.Also, it depends on which vesion of the chute you use. In the movie (and the Ghost animations) the chutes are some manner of liquid energy, kept in the air between some sort of power rings. In the comics, they appear to be made of glass, with the energy inside, allowing them to be shattered.@ Reya: All I can really say is, thanks for the kind words! I've thought on the vine issue, because I felt the two were a little... weak, at first, and the only conclusion I can come to from my point of view is that, rather than adding more, I should've made them bigger. But hey, it was an experiment. For Science!Also, I was trying to directly patern the base off the style present in this picture:biontmno6.jpgAnd, it took entirely too long. That's all I really wanna say about it... :P@ TAK The Voyager: Thanks, TAK! I feel like I aught to remember you from something... /squints eyes and tries to think back...@ fishers64: Thankya. I think where I went wrong with the base was, I got so focused on how to build it (lots of wood and putty!) that I didn't put much thought into how to finish it...@ Alpha123: Thanks, mate. It took me more time than I want to admit to figure out that chipping technique. Now, I have to figure out this one...http://neomodel.free.fr/images/gallerie-sf/ardias01-800.jpg@ cooldynamyteproductions: Funny you mention that, Alsru and I were talking about possibly adding more tiles! Who knows, might happen. The reason I didn't go with a texture like that, though, is because it's meant to be Ga-Metru (see above picture.) Such wear and tear would likely only be found in Po-Metru or Onu-Metru.@ Eragon3443_the Legend: Thanksya! Funny you mention that. When I was actually, you know, playng with my sets (a wee bit younger!) I had a spare Lerahk who I role-played as a very, very old Vahki who'd begun developing a personality outside of his programming. Also, he'd cobbed a repair into his arm and leg so he could keep chasing a lawbreaker.Yeah, I was kind of into my stories back then... :PThanks for all the interest, guys! Really appreciate the feedback! And, trust me, there's more to come... five more, to be exact...;)- Heir

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