Kitbash: Hell-Taur new pics 2025-09-04

[bucketfoot-al]

I can just see the Master, Ray Harryhausen, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes slightly to look at this beastie, and hear him say in that soft voice:

"Now that looks like it would be fun to animate."

[Stormheart]

[barad_dur]

Made the upper torso wider for better proportionally with lower body
Beefed up right shoulder and upper arm to better match left arm
Removed front lower body horn, streamlining the front upper torso to lower under-body transition

[bucketfoot-al]

Fantastic modifications! For the FIRST time since this bash started - its looking like ONE body instead of two unrelated pieces cobbled together!!!

[barad_dur]

Continuing to refine proportions
Beefed up right upper and lower arms
Reshaping front legs , slimmed down lower leg segments
Adding spikes to back
Slimmed down and increased angle of front under belly
Roughed in some muscle groups to the back

[barad_dur]

Modified the Abs to give more visual interest
detailing the slimmed down left shoulder and upper arm

[bucketfoot-al]

Very nice! The extended abs add to the seamless transition to the torso! I was a little worried about how you were going to fill that gap in the torso front, but as usual you did not disappoint!

[barad_dur]

I did not like the abs.
Now trying to make the upper torso have more details that match and tie-in better to the lower body.

Adding scutes to shoulders and changed abs to be more scute and armor-ish.
They stomach scutes are still not working for me though.. a bit too big I think?

I like how this bash looks from most of the angles, but definitely still do not like the front view. Ugh.
May have to just punt on this bash as it is mostly just irritating me and I don't look forward to working on it anymore

[tay666]

I get what you are saying. Neither stomach looks good to me either.
I think taking a step back for a while is a great idea. Let it simmer in your subconscious for a while. Eventually something will simmer to the top for you to try.

You are right though. Every angle looks great except the front view.

[barad_dur]

Thanks Trevor!

[Squidy53]

I think you're onto something when you question the size. Like a gravel path where the stones are too big. The plates are not suggestive of a large animal. Too bad because the abdomen armour is really well sculpted.

I couldn't get AI to make exactly what I wanted but it might spark off something:



Or maybe they illustrate what you don't want.

[barad_dur]

Wow - thank you for the very helpful alternative stomach armor designs Steve!

Wish I had your computer graphic skills, they could save me a ton of time and also cost in milliput !

I have another approach that I was going to try today, and I may combine it with your idea of making the stomach armor smaller too.

I hate to give up on this guy as I like the overall concept and I have a lot of time and money invested.

[barad_dur]

Took Steve’s helpful suggestion and reworked front .

Looks better ; but I have one more trick up my sleeve to hopefully make the front view something that I can live with . Stay tuned …

[LOBOREX]

I think what you are seeing is that he needs hips, because he already has arms above so when your eyes look down you expect legs. While my chicken scratching's are nothing compared to squidy's wonderful work I hope it's clear what I mean.

[Squidy53]

Joe I've been pondering what the issue is with the lower abdomen and why it looks wrong to me. I think LOBOREX has hit the nail on the head. There is no pelvis. The ventral plate column keeps marching straight down into the crotch, so the hip–groin transition reads like a hanging codpiece rather than a load-bearing pelvic ring (the ring-like bony structure formed by the hip/pelvic bones and the sacrum that holds and protects all the lower organs). This also leaves the legs without anything obvious to connect to. Our brains intuitively know this is wrong. Based upon this analysis I asked AI to modify the existing image. Unfortunately, the result is an entirely predictable but anatomically sound response. The sculpt loses the uniqueness of form you are going for. Because the rear was not visible and taking its cue from the legs and feet, AI has replaced it with a tail which makes the figure very dinosaurian and generic.

I would try LOBOREX's suggestion of reshaping the lower body then retexture to create a chest by stopping the chevrons where the legs begin and then as you pass under the body perhaps going for a different covering, like snake belly or small scales.

Please disregard if this is irrelevant to you.

[barad_dur]

Thank you Loborex and Steve! The issue is definitely in the hip area.

The real problem is that the front legs are splayed out too wide and need to be brought in under the torso .
The gap between the inner thighs where they attach to the lower torso is too wide.

Look at the last pic Steve provided (thanks!) and you can see it’s not just that the belly armor tapers underneath in a V shape at the bottom, but the lower inside thighs go further underneath torso and are closer together at top inner part of leg and hip.

The helpful changes you guys suggest may help create the illusion that the legs are more tucked in underneath, but I think to really fix the problem I would have to cut off the front legs and then reposition them.

Before doing that major change though , I will try making the belly armor into the sharper V shape.
However, just that change alone may make him look even more bow legged….

I sincerely appreciate your honest feedback and helpful suggestions!!

[barad_dur]

Ok, thanks to the great observations and suggestions from Loborex and Steve, we may be able to save this bash after all

I cut the bottom portion of the stomach armor into a sharp V shape
I cut away a LOT of the lower front armor and underbelly to make the legs longer on the bottom inside thigh

I still have a lot of refining and detailing to blend in these massive cuts and resin removal, but I am feeling much more optimistic now.

[Squidy53]

Yeah, it looks a lot better. It's a massively powerful stance suggestive of a very aggressive being. He's not much of runner though.

[barad_dur]

Thanks, I gotta slim down those front legs
I also have one more little trick to do that may help.

[bucketfoot-al]

Wow! I step out for a few days, as we're settling into our summer home here on the island in Croatia, and I miss a whole lot of iterations!!

Suffice to say, Steve and Lobo Rex were right on the money, and you seem to have picked up that football and are running down field with it Joe! (Say, you don't mind me mixing my metaphors do you?)