Mass Effect severed Geth arm sculpt

[Wes R]

I got the arm in the JY from Dropshipbob as a set of 2 for another project but didn't really think I needed two of the same project. As the Geth only have 3 fingers i decided to do some surgical work and used some sports tape meant for hockey sticks to tape the fingers together. It isn't the prettiest but it works and the clay will hide it.
This is my first time using oil clay so hopefully it will be fairly painless. I'll be sculpting the damaged end where it was severed at separately to make it easier to cast later on.

 

[StevenRogers84]

Thats interesting.

 

[Wes R]

Slight problem popped up. The original shredded foam stuffing was taken out originally and i couldn't quite get it to look right so i stripped the clay off and filled with with expanding insulation foam. I've filled another of these with the foam. It looked great at first but about a day or two later i woke up to this.

While it looks very neat i need to do a bit of work lol. Once i cast the arm i can at least use it for a mummified or withered arm for another project.

 

[Contec]

Slight problem popped up. The original shredded foam stuffing was taken out originally and i couldn't quite get it to look right so i stripped the clay off and filled with with expanding insulation foam. I've filled another of these with the foam. It looked great at first but about a day or two later i woke up to this.

While it looks very neat i need to do a bit of work lol. Once i cast the arm i can at least use it for a mummified or withered arm for another project.

The problem was that you did not make a couple of air holes so that the foam could get air. Without any air they took what tiny air that was left and sucked it in and it created a vacuum, Thus the imploded arm.
I had this happen to a Pepakura ball file that i filled with foam.
I countered it by making many 1 mm holes. The foam did get out from the holes but it was easy to scrape away.

 

[Wes R]

I can salvage it but it just made me laugh that by accident i ended up with something cool I can salvage later. I'll have to remember the small holes later. I thought it was the foam as the can is like 4 months old now.

Edit: i've come up with an idea, not exactly game canon but then again who knows, that this arm could be a relic from the original geth rebellion 300 years before the ME games take place. It would explain why it is different and the age could explain the condition (along with the fact that it was severed in battle).

 

[Wes R]

I seem to have gotten in a groove today and go the arm almost totally coated with clay in under 2 hours. Had to stop as my back went all stiff on me. Once this is done i can start the details. Hopefully this stuff won't go and crack on me before i can order some smoothon. I know for a fact i need to make the thumb larger. I'm glad to have some good pics of Tali's hand or i'd never get this stuff down as the geth hands aren't shown well even in the art book.

 

[Sigma-LS]

*Quarian voice* "And when we take back the homeworld, we'll make the uncountable Geth arms into backscratchers, BACKSCRATCHERS I tell you!"

 

[Wes R]

lol. I should mount it onto a stick as a backscratcher.

 

[Wes R]

Update for today, not much but i'm at the end of the easiest (?) part. Next i have to start adding details and smoothing it out. I'm thinking of getting some of that flexible conduit you use for electrical wires for the parts of the arm and add those after the casting. Or maybe bend them to the shape i need and then cast them. Depends I guess. I'm honestly amazed I haven't screwed it up yet lol. Looking at the concept art of the geth and tali the fingers are a bit thinner and longer sort of like ours but the ones in the game always look a lot thicker so i guess mine is a missing link in geth design lol.

I left some of the imperfections from the shrunken arm parts to lay the raised track and such later on. I'm not sure how i'm going to do the circular part on the forearm or near what would be the knuckles. I might use dowel rod and go from there.

 

[Wes R]

Minor update: I found what i'm going to use for the cable looking material on the arm.
Shop CARLON 10 Ft. Blue Electrical Nonmetallic Tubing at Lowes.com
I was going to go with the metal but it was like 4.00 more and i had no real use for so much. Went with this as it was cheap and mom's discount helped. For the round knuckles and such i'm going to use some washers i found in the basement. For once my dad being a packrat paid off lol.