Ben Komets

Bugs,Bugs,Bugs- making a Helamite Queen (All natural)

Added 2025-07-27 08:00:06 +0000 UTC

Hey Folks,

Welcome to another episode of Straight from the Desk!

This time we will do something truly unique.

We will be using all kinds of natural materials to create unbelievably detailed space bugs!

Whether it´s Tyranids, Aliens of all kinds, or, in our case, the wonderful Ash Waste Nomads Helamites, working with natural materials in addition to the model kits opens a whole new world full of amazing texture and detail.

One thing that I always loved about Miniatures is that they change the way you observe your environment. You constantly spot things that could work as something different in a different scale... for some, a Tap filter is just a tap filter. For us, it can be anything from a futuristic manhole cover to a filter system of a spaceship.

In Scratchbuilding, it is very common to use household items or junk material and repurpose them.

We are giving it a whole new natural twist by adding natural bits to our palette.

You can even use natural bits to create entire insects, or even aliens and monsters!!

Since I was a kid, I was always fascinated by those framed Entomological specimens.

But I also really disliked the idea that people are killing those beautiful creatures to exhibit them in boxes and frames. There is something extremely morbid about it.

Our bugs reach the same stunning level of detail, and we create without the destruction of life.

This whole project started with a single observation, a couple of months ago. I was walking Pelle the Pug on a sunny afternoon when my eyes caught a strange looking little twig.

It looked like a hairy insect leg or antenna! Somehow disgusting... but definitely intriguing. I took a few of them with me.

Those first twigs sparked the idea that if there is one thing that looks like bug parts, there need to be way more out there.

I started to take a closer look at everything around me.. from sidewalk to spice rack, the world is filled with things that look like bug parts.

"Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious nature bits collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can. "

Hunter S. Komets :D

I mentioned that I have a " Green Bitz Box "

where I keep my natural materials. I usually just use those materials for enriching my bases.

For this project, I have started a way more deliberate green bits box.

A bug bitz box, if you want!

More real-life macro bug inspiration

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gSSCzShcn75qQNeV3Z685t2ocnr6S7F4?usp=drive_link

It can be helpful to already pre-sort your nature bits, looking for similarities.

What looks like legs, what looks like main body, head, wings, etc.

If you make yourself familiar with the anatomy of insects you will have an easier time spotting the fitting bits.

I have built a few test bugs to see how well the concept would work. For the first test, I have just used blue tac and tacked a few random materials together. The result looked promising, so I invested a bit more time.

There was a point where my wonderful wife asked me to move the bugs from the diner table because they looked too real :D

Building the full nature bugs was really a lot of fun! But I was not in hunt for a new hobby and wanted to see if there is a good way to combine natural bits and elements with classic model kits to create a unique blend between the two.