Have been lurking on this site quite a long time and decided to join this community a while ago.. Just wanted to share some of my work with you guys and I decided to start my first project log here. This forum is just full of stuff that has inspired and given me lots of ideas for modelling and so I hope I can give you guys some inspiration. I have lots of projects going on but I still try to keep working on these guys and keep this blog updated!
Basicly I wanted to make recon and task force themed mechanized Imperial Guard army. But I've had enough of Cadians so I wanted to something little different. I decided to go with "modern" looking weapons and tanks but still keep the "grim and dark" feeling of 40k. And decided that I'll try to scratchbuild the most of the tanks myself using plasticard and some non GW tank kits. And the armys BDU was inspired by Belgian army camo which is just... well pure awesome?
And please feel free to comment this blog! And you can ask anything if you like and I'll try answer in best way I can.
But so here are some models.
Here are ten members of my first veteran squad. I used some Catachan models for these guys. They are still little bit WIP. Haven't yet got all the materials I need to do the bases. :< But they will be done. And I'll paint couple of tattoos to them.
"Changing Magz!"
Field radio
Some plasmas
Mr. scarface
The coolguy of squad
Corporal
Sargeant
Thanks for watching!
Automatically Appended Next Post: And here is the first concept of normal Shoctrooper. I made slight change to that helmet lately so I should take new pic. Shall do it some day.
Darkon system consists of total of 6 planets and it is located in Ultima Segmentum area. Darkon system is under unstable condition becouse of the ongoing war against T'au that has lasted decades. Infrastructure of most of the planets have suffered severe damage and constant fear and panic among civilian population is making it even harder to fight back the enemy.
Habitable planets of the Darkon system:
-Darkon
Militarized fortress world which is being used as military training ground becouse of hostile environment. Darkon is in constant alert and it is greatest bastion in system against enemy threats. Darkon used to be biggest industrial planet of the system but since war started, the Darkon was the target of the most attacks and so most of the product lines had to be shut down.
-Ellum
Industrial and agriculture world
-Heller
Fortress world
-Kolonis
Mining and industrial world
-Oser Magnum
Mining and industrial world
-Oser Strantum
Biggest producer of weaponry and wartech.
Once Darkon was prosperous mining and industrial system but now it is mostly just ruined industrial wasteland, only a caricature of a past. Through ages the Darkon system has been tried to capture numerous times but still any of the systems planets has never been officially captured and therefore the system is now often called "Darkon invictus". Becouse the strategically important location and enormous amount on resources of Darkon system Imperium has no other options but to keep defending the system to the last man no matter what is against them.
The future of the Darkon system is unpredictable. During latest conflict T'au suffered lots of casualties and lost loads of military equipment. This one victory was very significant for Darkon as it forced xenos to retreat at least temporarily. Now it is time to start building the Darkon community back to its past glory. And more importantly it is time to fortify, regroup and prepare the troops for even bigger battle. Becouse nobody knows what future holds but there will be one thing for sure, War.
Early history of Darkon system
Long time ago before the arrival of Imperium fleet the system was rural and undeveloped. Only habitants were the aboriginals. As we call them "The Beastkin". Their main source of livehood was agriculture and animal herding. They lived in huts in the wilderness and roamed the vast and fertile lands.
When the Imperials arrived everything was about to change. At start everything was fine for both parties. The Beastkin got some of the modern commodities in their hands as the first Imperial traders came. In exchange Imperials got some more rare agricultural materials that were in short in many other systems.. In that stage no one really saw The Beastkin as a threat. As the time went on the Imperium started paying more interest in the Darkon system. They had conducted some research in the system and realized that there are very large amounts of resources available in the system. And as the T'AU was advancing in the Ultima Segmentum area the Imperium decided that Darkon system is a good place to establish a military outpost and to start producing wartech. In that point some of the beastkin were against the on growing presence of Imperium and decided to start rebellion movement. After that Imperium reacted immidiately and the Beastkin were classified as Xenos by a higher authority. Even that the rebellion was just a small minority, many beastkin were slaughtered for no reason at all. It left really deep scars to a community once so peaceful. Most of the Beastkin fled to the unhabited zones of the Darkon. Some people had made friends with the Beastkin and saw the unjust behind the Imperial actions.. Some even joined the Beastkin, their rebellion and fled with them.
The Tau empire
As the Imperium inhabited the planets of Darkon the Tau turned their eyes there too. Tau was following the actions in Darkon system very carefully and as the Imperium started going war against the Beastkin the Tau realized it was their time to step in. They offered helping hand to beastkin and promized to help them defeat the Imperium and regain their homeworld. Tau had only interest in some resources and forming a military supply base. Tau also promised that the Beastkin could maintain their autonominity over their homeworld. Tau knew they could not make their own base to a such heavily guarded planet. So they started making secret visits to the Darkon system. Tau trained, equipped and supplied the Beastkin and prepared them for a war so intense that Imperials could not expect such even in their wildest dreams.
Beastkin knew the lands as their own pockets and combination to Tau technology and forces were a fierce combiantion. The tactics were simple but effective. Beastkin were to infiltrate near Imperial military areas and leave and landing beacon to a strategic location. The landing beacon would act as a guidance for tau troops as they plummeted from the planets orbit. During the first attacks Imperium had absolutely no idea what was going on. The attacks were so unexpected and concentrated that not many people were left alive to told the story. Many areas were wiped by Tau and beastkin before the Imperium even knew what the hell was going on. But that was only when the real war started...
Not that im saying there is anything wrong with your weapons, they look good, reminds me of a old WD where a guy made a squad of SWAT guard, looked great!
Not that im saying there is anything wrong with your weapons, they look good, reminds me of a old WD where a guy made a squad of SWAT guard, looked great!
keep up the good work
Thanks Agro!
I know there is plenty of modern day weapons available out there but I am going to stick on these conversions. I think converted guns have more "40k feeling" than if I would just buy for example some stock M16. I think its more nice if the gun reminds of some real life weapon but still isn't exact copy. And converting is fun and cheaper.. But thanks alot still!
That's some sweet conversion work there. I love the scratch-built chims, especially the co-axial heavy bolter. Very inspiring, as I'm about to plunge into some myself, as well as vets and stormies.
I'm not sure about the track on the chimera hull though. I think having some detail there is good, but you should maybe trim it a bit so it doesn't look so much like track, maybe more like reactive armour pads. I know they would pile track on in WWII, but even then it wasn't really going to stop something that could hurt the tank. It was more a psychological boost for the crew. I guess you could argue that here, but surely the crew know that track isn't going to stop a lascannon
Fantastic conversions! Those tanks are awesome too. The paint job is very nice too. How big is this army going to get? And how many projects do you have, can we see some of them, too?
murdog wrote:
I'm not sure about the track on the chimera hull though. I think having some detail there is good, but you should maybe trim it a bit so it doesn't look so much like track, maybe more like reactive armour pads. I know they would pile track on in WWII, but even then it wasn't really going to stop something that could hurt the tank. It was more a psychological boost for the crew. I guess you could argue that here, but surely the crew know that track isn't going to stop a lascannon
I am glad you brought it up. And now I am not sure of them either. I really didn't think it was some kind of extra armour. I was thinking that those spare track parts would be more like for repairing purposes? If your tracks breaks you may need to change some pieces if you want to get it fixed. For instanse if you drive to somekind of light mine or something. But I surely don't know if it happens really often that tracks break up and do you really need those spare track parts to even fix it? It was just my wild guess. What do you think? If they don't have anything to do with repairing I can as well as remove them. Those really weren't supposed to be extra armour.
Hmm..... Not wanting to pick a fight murdog, but it seems that there has been a lot of disagreement through the times, on whether or not the spare tracks helped against hull penetration.
It seems that one camp is saying that they added shell-traps to the tank, meaning that a hit was less likely to bounce off the tank.
However, they also functioned as spaced armor. Apparently, both sides used it in this way, from mid war to the end.
Crews would apparently strip "dead" tanks of their tracks for this purpose as well, so not all the tracks were from their own type of vehicle it seems.
Of course, the practicality of carrying your own spares is more likely to make tanks carry them these days, for example the M1 Abrams will often carry a few track links in stowage, in case of minor damage to their track units.
Aaaanyways, on to your models Xenon, I think the veterans are really great, those berets make them look like bada**es, and the short config weapons ditto.
I also like that you are converting so many weapons, and the dual grips on the melta´s are just awesome!
Your tanks look like a good mix between modern and 40K as well, a few more bits, like stowage and such, would make them really come to life.
The Good Green wrote:Fantastic conversions! Those tanks are awesome too. The paint job is very nice too. How big is this army going to get? And how many projects do you have, can we see some of them, too?
Thank you. And sorry I almost missed your post becouse I was just making new post to this topic at the same time. But I am going to make at least 1500pts army and maybe more. Can take some time but I like this project a lot and have had great time modeling these guys so I'll propably keep doing these as long as a I have inspiration. And there is never enough Imperial Guards. I've sold all my other 40k armies so first priority is to make kind of army that I can start playing this game again. I have played just couple of games of 5th edition. =D So it would be time to get back to the battlefields.
And about the other projects.. First of all there is all commission work. I've been repainting Dark elf army to my friend and he has two tournaments in next month and I kind of promised I can get it done by there. So I've repainted over 2000pts of Dark elves during last five weeks and had to remove all the paints too. And still got some left but most of the stuff that he needs to tournament is done. Then I am commission painting to another buddy. Mainly some old 40k models from 2nd and 3rd editions. Then I should scratchbuild a halo 3 scorpion to one friend as a commission work. Haven't started it yet but its not in rush.
Then about my own projects. As we know FB 8th edition is almost here. I have decent sized Empire army painted but there I still got unpainted models worth of many thousands of points. So it would be nice to get them painted and I should also think what kind of list I am going to play in 8th edition and do I have everything painted. Then got some Vampire Counts and Wood elves that would need all kind of doing but I don't really even want to think about them right now.
Then I played yesterday demo game of malifaux and it seemed pretty interesting so I would like to do a warband to that. Would also like to try Infinity and Warmachine and make armies to them too.
And you can find more by browsing through those folders and pages. But there is some pretty old stuff there too that ain't so nice.. So beware.
Xanthos wrote:Hmm..... Not wanting to pick a fight murdog, but it seems that there has been a lot of disagreement through the times, on whether or not the spare tracks helped against hull penetration.
It seems that one camp is saying that they added shell-traps to the tank, meaning that a hit was less likely to bounce off the tank. However, they also functioned as spaced armor. Apparently, both sides used it in this way, from mid war to the end. Crews would apparently strip "dead" tanks of their tracks for this purpose as well, so not all the tracks were from their own type of vehicle it seems.
Of course, the practicality of carrying your own spares is more likely to make tanks carry them these days, for example the M1 Abrams will often carry a few track links in stowage, in case of minor damage to their track units.
Aaaanyways, on to your models Xenon, I think the veterans are really great, those berets make them look like bada**es, and the short config weapons ditto. I also like that you are converting so many weapons, and the dual grips on the melta´s are just awesome!
Your tanks look like a good mix between modern and 40K as well, a few more bits, like stowage and such, would make them really come to life.
Thank you Xanthos. I appreciate a lot!
And nice to hear that tanks may carry track pieces for repairing purposes. Not maybe best place to place those but yea. But maybe I'll just put them somewhere else in next chimeras and add maybe some reactive plates too.
Awesome, absolutely awesome. Some of the converted weapons are just amazing. Can't wait to see the sergeant with the pistol painted up. And the Chimeras truly do look stunning.
Excellent work, sir. I'm not usually fond of Catachan models, but somehow the combo of beret and realistic-ified weapons is awesome
Are the meltas heavily converted bolters?
The chimeras are impressive, but seem a little high and boxy for my liking. Did you thik about bringing the side skirts up a bit to be more like the actual warrior?
narked wrote:Awesome, absolutely awesome. Some of the converted weapons are just amazing. Can't wait to see the sergeant with the pistol painted up. And the Chimeras truly do look stunning.
Subscribed!
Thanks!
Flinty wrote:Excellent work, sir. I'm not usually fond of Catachan models, but somehow the combo of beret and realistic-ified weapons is awesome
Are the meltas heavily converted bolters?
The chimeras are impressive, but seem a little high and boxy for my liking. Did you thik about bringing the side skirts up a bit to be more like the actual warrior?
Thanks a lot Flinty!
And yes meltas are pretty heavily converted space marine bolters.
I think those chimeras just look more high and boxy in pictures than they really are. Of course they still are boxy I admit it. But not as bad as in the pictures. One other guy said about the same in other forum. I guess it is the minis on the background that make those look higher and bigger than they really are. I've measured and they are pretty much the same size as normal chimera.. I am going to buy some gw chimeras in some point and take side by side shot. And I'm not sure about brining side skirts up yet. But I'll see what I come up with.
But thanks for both of you commenting! I appreciate your words!
Assembled first heavy weapon team. Took me some hours but I am pretty happy how it turned out. Nothing is clued in place yet but just positioned to show how it'll look like.
interesting use of the SM hunter killer missle and it ties into your theme nicely unlike what the current long tube that counts as a missle launcher in GW current HW team kit.
Commissar Agro wrote:interesting use of the SM hunter killer missle and it ties into your theme nicely unlike what the current long tube that counts as a missle launcher in GW current HW team kit.
I just don't like the GWIG missle launcher.
Thanks Agro. I don't like the original Heavy weapon missile launcher either. It looks too much like WWII Panzerschreck or something and I think it wouldn't fit this theme very well..
Automatically Appended Next Post: Painted this yesterday some hours ago. Just uploaded the pics to dakka gallery. So a sergeant to second veteran squad.
Thanks for watching!
edit:Omg, just realized that sergeant camo isn't yet ready at all. I've completely forgotten one phase in painting it and it also needs black colour. I was wondering becouse that guy looked so much more messy than previous ones but yeah now I know the reason. Have to go fix it..
Very cool work there, awesome camo on the infantry... Incredibly unique-looking chimeras... Everything's painted to a high standard... I can't wait to see more - Well done!
How long is it taking you to make one? Like roughly from start to how they are now? I keep thinking about trying my hand at making some from plasticard but I can see it taking me forever
How long is it taking you to make one? Like roughly from start to how they are now? I keep thinking about trying my hand at making some from plasticard but I can see it taking me forever
Thanks Wolf.
Hmm it is very hard to say becouse I've been doing these every now and then when. Like just when I've been on the mood. Sometimes like 10min in a day and sometimes 2h a day. And sometimes I do many things at the same time so it is hard to estimate how much I've spent total time. But from the start to how they are now I would roughly estimate about 10h of active work. Can be also more or less. Can't really be sure becouse when I grab tools and start making time just flies by.
But you shouldn't worry about taking it forever. Just give it a try and see what it feels like. It is very likely that It will take some time but when you get the "touch" and when you learn all the basics Im sure you'll get faster and your skills will improve. And you don't have to start by building a complete tank from scratch. You can for example buy some gw or other manufacturer plastic kit and some plasticard and start converting it. In that way you get used to using plasticard and get personal looking tanks. And afterall plasticard isn't very expensive so if you can't get anything done you really don't lose much.
But scratchbuilding is rather slow process. Or at least time taking. I've had pretty much "When it is done" approach so far. But if you want get things done faster best way is to make a design and then make templates for it. After you have templates you can just cut all the parts and put the amount of tanks together you want. So mass producting is always faster but I find it also quite boring.
So I would suggest you to buy some plasticard and give it a try.
Well its almost done. Maybe add some small details but I think it is pretty done.. Now if anyone has ideas for this tank you better say them now before I start painting it.
Thanks for watching! And please tell me what you think.
Young_Logan wrote:Im Guessing these are meant to chimeras, and if so im looking forward to seeing what other ideas you come up with for the other tanks in the codex
Yeah those are meant to be Chimeras thats correct. I've some ideas for other tanks too. But I think I concentrate on painting now for a moment and maybe finnish that second chimera. Should start building my CCS too if I have enough parts.
Finally got first squad completed. So the first veteran squad. Bases are now done and added couple tattoos too. Quite happy how these turned out. All feedback is much appreciated and please go give your vote at dakkagallery if you like by klicking the image.
@Illumini: Next I'll painting the second veteran squad and I need to convert and paint the first shocktrooper squad. But chimera shall be painted too. I promise.
Here is some more Veterans. The tribal tattoo needs to be little bit fixed but I shall do it. Nothing special again but if afterall it is going to be IG army.. And we will need lots of cannonfodder so..
These guys are looking great!
I espiecially like the "modern" rifles, looking right nifty!
My only gripe (this is just personal preference mind) is the HS on the Ring Copula.
Not the actual weapon, more the fact that it's front facing, as they were originally designed for Anti-Aircraft defence.
Disjointed Entity wrote:These guys are looking great!
I espiecially like the "modern" rifles, looking right nifty!
My only gripe (this is just personal preference mind) is the HS on the Ring Copula.
Not the actual weapon, more the fact that it's front facing, as they were originally designed for Anti-Aircraft defence.
But that's just me.
It still looks great!
Thanks!
Sorry but I didn't quite understand what you meant. So are you saying that HS should be pointing to the sky? Or isn't it supposed to be mounted on Ring? Becouse what I've seen from the pictures it seems that the guns that are meant to be used in anti-aircraft purposes are many times remote operated and are used from inside of the tank with a computer.
But yeah I am not questioning you at all. I've no experience about tanks at all. I've just watched the pictures and read some wikipedia articles. And I know that this tank is far from a perfection. Next time I need to make bigger turret so that there will bee room for all the gun systems and crew. Now the turret is way too small right?
Iamwalrus wrote:Some great looking guardsmen you got here I hope that someday I'll be as good painter as you are
Just keep practising and you'll be good painter for sure! And lets be honest. I am not really that good. There are way more better painters than me. And there is a very good chance that one day you'll be much better than I am. But thanks walrus. I really appreciate your compliment.
Hha, yeah those Russ turrets areaking tiny for such a large calibre barrel!
What I meant was that nearly all the time ring coupola HMG/LMGs were rear facing, pointed toward the sky.
They were used against Infantry, as is example in by the Sherman, but they had to be fired by someone standing behind the turret (It's shown in a Band of Brothers episode I think.)
It did change with larger tanks though, in Vietnam the M58 (is that right?) had a free moving .50cal, but this was technically designed for AA fire, just wasn't needed.
Disjointed Entity wrote:Hha, yeah those Russ turrets areaking tiny for such a large calibre barrel!
What I meant was that nearly all the time ring coupola HMG/LMGs were rear facing, pointed toward the sky.
They were used against Infantry, as is example in by the Sherman, but they had to be fired by someone standing behind the turret (It's shown in a Band of Brothers episode I think.)
It did change with larger tanks though, in Vietnam the M58 (is that right?) had a free moving .50cal, but this was technically designed for AA fire, just wasn't needed.
Anyway, enought thread jacking from me!
Ok I see. It is always nice to hear how these things are done in reality. Gives some ideas for future builds. Thank you for pointing out this.
Reecius wrote:Damn bro, that army is the business!
Nice work, seriously. I love the theme, the execution. Very, very well done and looking forward to seeing more of it. Don't run out of steam on us!
Thanks a lot man! More is coming I promise it to you. I am just getting started here. My school starts 25th day of this month so then the pace will propably slow down a little. But I'll do my best to get these guys done.
I finally started working on command squad today.. First up some wip shots of my officer and my counts as "officer of the fleet". They are looking little bit "rough" atm as both need still some sanding and cleaning up but conversions are pretty much done.. And yeah I need to think about the names and stuff..
And in the background my "officer of the fleet" will be lieutenant who is leading the recon troops who are misleading the enemies by sabotaging targets etc. and in that way affects to enemy reserves. I hope you can understand what I am try to say here. I don't know all the vocabulary.. Did I make any sense?
But here is some pics.
And yeah as you can see.. Officer has a body armour.
close ups on a holster
And lieutenant.. And just after making this I realized that Officer of the fleet doesn't have lasgun in wargear.. -.- Only a laspistol. But well.. who cares?
Nowlan wrote:Just call it a carbine. Rifle accuracy & stability with pistol-like stopping power.
If anyone argues, smack 'em and remind them its just a game.
Yeah thats what I am going to do. And after all laspistol and lasgun have exactly same S and AP value so difference is only about range and weapon type. Not a that big deal.
JohnHwangDD wrote:These are some of the best-looking Catachan-based minis I've ever seen.
I can't wait to see the tanks painted!
Thank you very much John.. Your words mean a lot to me.
No any comments about the officer? What do you guys like it? Was it too lame idea to put a IG officer in body armour and make him not stand out from the crowd? Or should IG officers always just wear greatcoat and look heroic as possible. I've been thinking this lately but I can't get to a any final conclusion. I think this style goes well with thel theme of my army but meh... So what you think? Is there something I should change in that captain or make a new one? Maybe you could give me some ideas and new points of view.
Was it too lame idea to put a IG officer in body armour and make him not stand out from the crowd?
Or should IG officers always just wear greatcoat and look heroic as possible.
So what you think?
He's not painted yet.
The armor makes him very "different" looking, and will fit as part of Company Command. Perhaps if he were standing on a taller base, that might help further?
Greatcoat is best for Cadians & Mordians & Valhallans - guys who already wear a lot of clothing. Your guys are in the tropics, so a greatcoat on anybody but a Commissar would be jarring. Looking Heroic is definitely important, but you can do well enough with a
I think he should be wearing a beret like the rest of the army, and the body armor is a bit much. Basically, as an Officer, he wears +1 clothing, so if your guys are pants & vests, he becomes pants & shirt.
If you need to WYSIWYG "carapace" armor, then keeping it to the torso is plenty enough - no legs / arms desired, because these are Tropics forces. Good call on "soft" kevlar vs hard plates - a better fit for your camo guys.
The armor makes him very "different" looking, and will fit as part of Company Command. Perhaps if he were standing on a taller base, that might help further?
Greatcoat is best for Cadians & Mordians & Valhallans - guys who already wear a lot of clothing. Your guys are in the tropics, so a greatcoat on anybody but a Commissar would be jarring. Looking Heroic is definitely important, but you can do well enough with a
I think he should be wearing a beret like the rest of the army, and the body armor is a bit much. Basically, as an Officer, he wears +1 clothing, so if your guys are pants & vests, he becomes pants & shirt.
If you need to WYSIWYG "carapace" armor, then keeping it to the torso is plenty enough - no legs / arms desired, because these are Tropics forces. Good call on "soft" kevlar vs hard plates - a better fit for your camo guys.
"He's not painted yet" What kind of reason is that?!
Yeah but actually I was thinking about giving other members of the company command squad the same kind of body armor.. Like all the normal infantry. Taller base could be one option but the model looks pretty long already atm compared to normal guys as he is standing legs straight. But I have to think about that..
Yeah that is what I was thinking too. So no greatcoats..
But not all the army will wear a beret.. I was thinking about giving berets to just to the veterans. Almost all the other units will wear helmets and body armours. And I've thought of giving him just a pants and shirt which could be nice but then he would be easy target for enemy snipers. That is why I wanted it to look like all the other members in the squad.. Yeah maybe I am too much into realism.. Which is so ironic.. I know.. Trying to make a "realistic" army to a game that takes place in 41st millenium and includes aliens, space elves, gene mutated super soldiers. And I don't think any nids for example would care a crap if your commander is wearing normal uniform or a body armour they just kill what comes in front of them.(Hmm.. Genestealers would... ) But yeah.. Man's gotta do what man's gotta do. You know what I mean?
Yeah I think I won't be adding more than a body.
But in the end this is just about me.. I've had like four other 40k armies and I've always ended up selling them becouse I didn't like them in the end. So it is just some kind of syndrome of perfection. No matter what choice I make I won't be completely happy or I keep thinking if I should have done it otherway.. But I've better feeling for this army. ;D So far I don't regret anything. And I've put so many hours and money to this project that it just cannot be sold like the four armies before..
Scrazza wrote:wow a lot of nice updates since last time I checked. Good work.
Xenon wrote:Yeah maybe I am too much into realism.. Which is so ironic.. I know.. Trying to make a "realistic" army to a game that takes place in 41st millenium and includes aliens, space elves, gene mutated super soldiers.
But in the end this is just about me.. I've had like four other 40k armies and I've always ended up selling them becouse I didn't like them in the end. So it is just some kind of syndrome of perfection. No matter what choice I make I won't be completely happy or I keep thinking if I should have done it otherway.. But I've better feeling for this army. ;D So far I don't regret anything. And I've put so many hours and money to this project that it just cannot be sold like the four armies before..
IG being "realistic" is what makes the game believable at all. You watch _Aliens_, and the grittiness of the USCM is what makes the Xenomorphs work.
It's good you find the army you like, something to keep. That's what I do, and I'm very happy that way.
Just been working on this infantry squad now couple of days and they are now almost ready to be painted up. Just need to glue the waterbottles and some grenades on the models. But so.. Just some wip shots again if someone is intrested. In next update there will be hopefully some more painted models.
Fantastic work on the painting and the reworked lasguns! I'm starting to think I wasted money on the aftermarket guns I got seeing the great results on your models (i do like bullpups though)
jamessearle0 wrote:this is brilliant * subscribes* hehe ill definitely be checking back for more updates, those tanks are beautiful
Thanks james! And thanks for subscribing!
JohnHwangDD wrote:Ahhh... now that there's a full squad, the Officer looks like me meshes a lot better! Nice!
It is nice to hear that. Thanks John!
Flinty wrote:Fantastic work on the painting and the reworked lasguns! I'm starting to think I wasted money on the aftermarket guns I got seeing the great results on your models (i do like bullpups though)
Thanks mate! Well I can tell you Flinty. Don't regret too much bying those aftermarket guns. I maybe saved some money but you saved a lot of time. Making these takes a lot more time than it may seem. And can be sometimes little nerve wrecking. And like I said before I think converting is pretty fun and I like the originality when you convert your own guns. So stock guns weren't choice for me.
And yeah making bullpups is bit tricky.. Never actually tried that one. But I think I could try it in some point and see what I can come up with.
Tortured-Robot wrote:Looking really awesome, cant wait to see what you do with the tanks.
I would be careful on the muscle shading on the arms, It seems very dark and not natural.
Keep going!
Thanks T-Robot.
Yeah you are right about those muscle shades.. I am a bit fan of extreme highlighting becouse it looks nice on tabletop but I think I've little overdone those shades now.. But in defence I'll just say that they look a bit better in normal gaming conditions. But I promise to be more careful next time.
So it is a update time I think. Been pretty busy lately but I managed to paint something and now I got some new stuff to show you. Wanted to try out some different colours for flak jacket and helmets and I think they look pretty fine as they are now.
Its been a while since last update but now I've got a brand new complete squad to show you. Took freakin many hours to complete this squad but yeah.. its done now. I hope you like it!
JohnHwangDD wrote:
Do the rest of the army like that.
That is what I am trying.. I don't think I even have other choice at this point.. I'll announce that this army will be ready propably in 2020 or something.. But well I just try to keep going. I hope I can get this army done before next imperial guard codex is released.
Perseverance pays off... and can drive you mad too! It would be good if you could do a group shot of them all together some time. I think that the guardsmen's camo sceme alone will make them truly stand out from most IG armies around!
Cosmic wrote: Perseverance pays off... and can drive you mad too! It would be good if you could do a group shot of them all together some time. I think that the guardsmen's camo sceme alone will make them truly stand out from most IG armies around!
You are absolutely right. But hey that is a nice idea. I can take some kind of group shot for sure. My camera is pretty crappy and my photographing skills even worse but I can see what I can come up with. I think I won't be taking it yet but I'll promise I'll take it in some point here. I would like to take it on some kind of display base so I am thinking of making one.
Disjointed Entity wrote:Did you file the shoulderpads down or are they trick arms?
They are original arms. I just removed the shoulderpads. Asking for any particular reason or just curiosity?
Disjointed Entity wrote:Removed the shoulderpads? Pray tell how good sir.
Well, I rather like the look of them myself, never went much for those Cadian pads...
Yes. Ok here is my secret receipe.
I just used sharp hobby knife and sandpaper. And you'll need lots of sticking plasters.. And you may want to use some sedatives too.. They are optional but recommended..
And it is "simple" as that. If you can find easier way to do it please tell me.
And yes I agree with you about the look of those pads.. I hope this helped you even a bit.
jimmy72nd wrote:Probably the best IG army ive ever seen,
well done sir... jim
Wow.. Thank you very much sir jimmy! I appreciate.
Well started painting this Chimera yesterday and here is some very early PIP pictures of it. I've added couple of rivets and have taken off the heavy stubber. I still may do some small changes to the pattern but not anything big.
kastellan wrote:Ahhhh dammit. I'm really not confident with my modelling capabilities, and I REALLY want some beret heads ><
Sorry that I cant help you right now. But I am sure there are plenty of places where you can buy those heads. You better ask around in different forums. I am sure you can get some answers. And sculpting these isnt very complicated too so give it a try if you have spare heads and some greenstuff. And I can try give you some advice if you like.
kastellan wrote:Actually, how did you go about making them?
So how I made them? Well first what you need is sharp hobby knife of something similar. I started cutting slice out of their head. Cut should start from somewhere around the left temple and it should end above their right ear. So basicly you just cut their crown of with a hobby knife. Then tidy the edges so that the head won't look boxy and you can fit the beret more easily. And the reason why you need to cut of the slice from their head is that if you do the beret just to top of their heads will end up looking way too big. So when you cut of the slice it makes it easier to shape up the beret and make it fit better. And remember if your models head was wearing a band, hat or something in his head you should remove all the parts of it. So it won't look like there is another hat under the beret.
So next you start sculpting a beret. I can't give very specific instruction for this part becouse there is not much to tell.. But I can try give some tips. First of all don't use too much gs.. You can do the beret with one small piece of gs. If you use too much gs you won't get right shape or you end up doing big headed fella. So you need to make couple of them to find the right amount of gs you need. And the shape is one important thing.. I used pretty much same shape we use here in Finland and in many European countries. Remember that there are different types of styles to wear beret so if you like some other more or you find it easier to make you can look for them.
So there are many and many different ways to wear the beret.. Find what you like the most and shape it up. Then you need to use some sculpting tool or for example the hobby knife to make black line of the beret.
And the last thing is to make the cockade to it if you like. And then paint it up.. I know there isn't much information of sculpting itself but I think the best way to learn is to try it out yourself. Find some spare heads and start trying it out. Remember use your nails or some sculpting tool in final shaping so you won't leave any fingerprints to the surface.. But if you need better instructions for the sculpting process I can try to make one with the pictures in some point.. But I hope this helped even a bit. Just give it a try and keep practising. After couple of heads you will get the touch.
Thanks heaps man, that does help out a bit. I've just never used greenstuff before lol so I'm a bit apprehensive when it comes to sculpting things with it. I'll give it a go today and just keep practising I suppose.
But thanks heaps for that
kastellan wrote:Thanks heaps man, that does help out a bit. I've just never used greenstuff before lol so I'm a bit apprehensive when it comes to sculpting things with it. I'll give it a go today and just keep practising I suppose.
But thanks heaps for that
No problem mate. If you got some problems just send me a message and I see if I can help you somehow. And remember that practise makes perfect!
Sageheart wrote:these models are really cool! i really dig them!
I've made some progress on chimera.. Weathering is almost done. I'll maybe add some scratches here and there and try to do some dust. But almost done with it. And everything else is still PIP. But here is some pics.
Very nice and easy yet stylish minis, but I really dig the chimeras! You managed to combine WW1 and modern IFV look just as well as on original Chimera (which was a mix of WW1 tanks and BMP vehicles). Do you plan to build more tanks that way?
Ruzto wrote:Nice work, I relly like your camo. Can you give some tips how to do it fast and easy? I´ve been thinking to use M91 and RK62 in one of my platoons.
Thanks Ruzto.
But I am afraid there is no way to do it easy or not at least fast way. But you can save some time if you use wet palette and paint the camo parts for 10 guys at the same time. It is boring as hell I can tell you.. But when it is done it is done. But post some pics when you get your troopers done. I really want to see Imperial Guards with M91 and RK62.
DRommel wrote:Very nice and easy yet stylish minis, but I really dig the chimeras! You managed to combine WW1 and modern IFV look just as well as on original Chimera (which was a mix of WW1 tanks and BMP vehicles). Do you plan to build more tanks that way?
Thanks DRommel. Yeah I am going to build some more tanks in some point. Leman Russ is probably going to based on German Leopard 2. And I need to make more Chimeras of course. I don't know if I have time or inspiration to make all the chimeras from scratch but we'll see. But there is going to be more tanks.
To be more specific I really love your chimeras, because I think the GW ones just don't look like how APCs should, They are HUGE. Yours however are really good lookin'.
Are You aiming for something similar to the Finnish camo in WW2 on the tanks? I don't really like the camo on those but that's just my taste.
marvlev wrote:To be more specific I really love your chimeras, because I think the GW ones just don't look like how APCs should, They are HUGE. Yours however are really good lookin'.
Are You aiming for something similar to the Finnish camo in WW2 on the tanks? I don't really like the camo on those but that's just my taste.
This camo pattern has nothing to do with Finnish tanks in WW2. I was aiming for NATO camo pattern which has been used since 1980 by America and many European countries for example.
Finnish didn't even have much tanks in WW2. In winter war Finland had only total of 32 "tanks" and in continuation war there was just the ones that were looted from soviet army during winter war and some tanks from Germany. And there wasn't any standard camo pattern not that I know. In winter war those were painted mostly with grey and white colours and in continuation war there wasn't any standard camo pattern either.
Xenon wrote:
This camo pattern has nothing to do with Finnish tanks in WW2. I was aiming for NATO camo pattern which has been used since 1980 by America and many European countries for example.
Finnish didn't even have much tanks in WW2. In winter war Finland had only total of 32 "tanks" and in continuation war there was just the ones that were looted from soviet army during winter war and some tanks from Germany. And there wasn't any standard camo pattern not that I know. In winter war those were painted mostly with grey and white colours and in continuation war there wasn't any standard camo pattern either.
Sorry if I wasn't right, I just thought to recall some similarly painted T-28s and KV-1s. Surely I didn't remember well, sorry again. I loved the movie Talvisota btw.
SirGordonblixt wrote:This is awesome! Really cool love the shocktrooper squad.
Thank you SirGordon.
alarmingrick wrote:Great Stuff! love the work and love you've put into you army!
and as what was said earlier, be patient! it'll eventually get completed!
Thank you for engouragement! I try to remain patient.
marvlev wrote:Sorry if I wasn't right, I just thought to recall some similarly painted T-28s and KV-1s. Surely I didn't remember well, sorry again. I loved the movie Talvisota btw.
Nice job with a good scale tank for your IG, very good work. I liked the camo scheme for the men as well, those are urban based scheme,right?
Again good job, the diorama on the HW squads are pretty good as well, bravo!
Young_Logan wrote:Looking brilliant still, have youplayed any games with them yet, if so how do they play?
Unfortunately I haven't played any games yet with these.. I prefer playing with painted models only. So still need to paint couple of units. But soon I can play. And I am sure they will play nicely. I just need to learn to play again. I have played only couple of games of this edition.. But I'll report when I get to play my first game with this army.
Sorry this is actually not quite a update but one guy on the other discussion board asked for group shot so I thought I'ld post it here too if some of you would like to see it too. But I try get some "real" updates in couple of days.. Have been working the second Chimera and I hope I can get it finished during upcoming weekend..
ok, you have built tanks that are made of pure awesome... i know you think they are made of plasticard, but no... pure awesome.
i love everything about what you have done here and i will for sure take what you have done and use it in my own creations!
keep it up!
bigmeklover wrote:p.s. what do you use to cut the plasticard I can never get a straight line on my own work (that might be the reason all my custom stuff is orks!!!).
Well there is two ways to cut it. Well maybe more but these are the ways I use the most.
One way is to use metallic ruler and sharp hobby knife.. Take the ruler and put it on place where you want to cut. Take sharp hobby knife and draw straight groove with it along the ruler.. So just instead drawing line with pencil you draw the line with hobby knife! Then use the metallic ruler to bend the plasticard against hard surface (for example table).. And becouse of the groove the plasticard snaps cleanly to two pieces.
And second way is to just draw straight line with pencil to the cardboard and use sharp scissors to cut it.
Fattimus_maximus wrote:This is some very impressive stuff man, kudos.
Thanks!
I got build of the second chimera done.. Going to start painting it tomorrow.
And here is just some pointless trivial information. I counted the amount of rivets in these tanks.. And guess what! There is 372 rivets in one tank! That means total of 744 rivets in two tanks..
And btw I am currently building up four more chimeras. I got new design and all! I'll post some pics when there is something nice to show you!
bigmeklover wrote:p.s. what do you use to cut the plasticard I can never get a straight line on my own work (that might be the reason all my custom stuff is orks!!!).
If you do a lot of conversions (like my IG, for another example), rotary photo cutters are great. We have one, and it does a great job on sheet styrene. ____
BTW: Your "counts-as" Chimeras are how big relative to a regular Chimera? Same dimensions?
JohnHwangDD wrote:
BTW: Your "counts-as" Chimeras are how big relative to a regular Chimera? Same dimensions?
They are pretty much exactly the same dimensions as regular ones.. I'll buy couple of regular ones in some point so I can give you some comparison shots!
haizelhoff wrote:Well, I have to say I thought that the first car looked sweet, but your going to make 6 of them :O . You know I love your work.
EDIT: Lol for a week I will be Greek, I'm off on vacation in Crete.
Thank you very much! Yeah I am aiming for making about 10 chimeras and then some x amount of russes for starters.. Later maybe more if I need and if I am still sane.
Thats cool.. And have a nice vacation there! I wish I would be in Greece now too.. It is cold and dark here at the moment. And it is propably going to snow tomorrow. So welcome back to grim and dark Finland after your vacation!
Is this a good or bad thing? I really wasn't suppoosed to make it look like it.. I've never really even played manhunt. But yeah they have something in common... I need to rename him I think.
I hope you don't mind my asking but what tools exactly are you using to cut and shape the plasticard? I build custom vehicles myself with what I have... which isn't much (thin card board and card stock) and I use a razor blade for all my cutting. I would just like to know what tools so that I can pick some up along with plasticard to make more vehicles.
Sorry for late replies guys. I am currently in another town spending my vacation. Therefore there will be no new updates either in short time. But when I get back home I'll get back on the business.
Iamwalrus wrote:You know, you should do a tutorial of your chimeras!
Well I must see. I can't promise anything yet. But I'll consider it! At least I want to work out my army first before I make tutorial. It is main priority at the moment.
JohnHwangDD wrote:
Thanks for clarifying.
BTW, you don't need to buy "regular" ones - they won't match! A couple pictures with a tape measure or ruler for scale are more than sufficient.
You're a bit of a masochist if you're scratch-building 10 Chimeras with more Russes - I oughta know!
No problem!
If I buy regular ones they will be converted at least. To fit the style of other army.
And yes I think I am some kind of masochist..
Punisher91090 wrote:I hope you don't mind my asking but what tools exactly are you using to cut and shape the plasticard? I build custom vehicles myself with what I have... which isn't much (thin card board and card stock) and I use a razor blade for all my cutting. I would just like to know what tools so that I can pick some up along with plasticard to make more vehicles.
Well my favourite tool is scissors. I think it is the easiest way to cut plasticard. Just draw a line to plasticard with pen and then cut along the line with sharp scissors.
swwet cuz my friend bought all these sculpting tools and stuff and like a razor saw for cutting plasticard and it always looks rough. So i'm glad its as simple as a pen and scissors.
Punisher91090 wrote:sweet cuz my friend bought all these sculpting tools and stuff and like a razor saw for cutting plasticard and it always looks rough. So i'm glad its as simple as a pen and scissors.
After switching to scissors I still have the saw for things that scissors cant handle, usually plastic or metal on the actual models. Scissors are god tier plasticard cutters. Typically the saw isn't the final step when cutting. Gotta clean that gak up man.
Punisher91090 wrote:swwet cuz my friend bought all these sculpting tools and stuff and like a razor saw for cutting plasticard and it always looks rough. So i'm glad its as simple as a pen and scissors.
Yeah. And you can also draw straight line with pen and then make straight cut along the drawn line using ruler and sharp hobby knife. Then bend the plasticard against some hard surface with metallic ruler. That way you can make plasticard snap along the line you want and get clean result!
JohnHwangDD wrote:BTW, you don't need to buy "regular" ones - they won't match! A couple pictures with a tape measure or ruler for scale are more than sufficient.
You're a bit of a masochist if you're scratch-building 10 Chimeras with more Russes - I oughta know!
If I buy regular ones they will be converted at least. To fit the style of other army.
And yes I think I am some kind of masochist..
This reminds me I ought to get busy on my Atlas, Basilisk, Deathstrike and Manticore kits... ____
Punisher91090 wrote:I hope you don't mind my asking but what tools exactly are you using to cut and shape the plasticard? I build custom vehicles myself with what I have... which isn't much (thin card board and card stock) and I use a razor blade for all my cutting.
"razor blade" meaning box cutter, or something else?
Either way, ew. Not such good control with those tools, although box cutter might be OK with the right blade (scalpel shape?)
____
Xenon wrote:Well my favourite tool is scissors. I think it is the easiest way to cut plasticard. Just draw a line to plasticard with pen and then cut along the line with sharp scissors.
I use scissors a lot, the big, super-sharp ones - they're good for irregular shapes and such.
____
Kynelius wrote:After switching to scissors I still have the saw for things that scissors cant handle, usually plastic or metal on the actual models. Scissors are god tier plasticard cutters.
Typically the saw isn't the final step when cutting. Gotta clean that gak up man.
Razor saw is good for metal and tubes (which scissors can't cut, or would crush).
A set of jeweler's files and a fine sanding block are good for cleaning things up. I prefer the sanding block, because it makes the edges flat & "square"
____
Xenon wrote: Yeah. And you can also draw straight line with pen and then make straight cut along the drawn line using ruler and sharp hobby knife. Then bend the plasticard against some hard surface with metallic ruler. That way you can make plasticard snap along the line you want and get clean result!
As I mentioned elsewhere, you can also use a photo cutter for the long, straight cuts. Excellent tool for that job.
Xenon wrote: Yeah. And you can also draw straight line with pen and then make straight cut along the drawn line using ruler and sharp hobby knife. Then bend the plasticard against some hard surface with metallic ruler. That way you can make plasticard snap along the line you want and get clean result!
As I mentioned elsewhere, you can also use a photo cutter for the long, straight cuts. Excellent tool for that job.
Hmm never heard of using photo cutter before. But sounds like it could really work. So thanks for sharing! How expensive are those btw? I think should buy one.
When I say razor blade I mean boxcutter. Kynelius has one shaped like a scalpel, I'm just using a boxcutter you could buy at like aco or ace hardware as my only cutting tool other than some pretty sharp scissors.
Back in business.. I am almost done at shaping the hull. Made some small modifications and changes to it but thats about it now. Just need to glue couple of panels to the back.
I've been on a short brake but now I've got some more work done.. Did little bit those Chimeras and continued assembling my platoon command squad..
Made first turret prototype. Needs still some work of course. I think its nice mix of original chimera turret style and modern.
And this is the situation so far with all the chimeras.
And I needed some meltaguns to my pccs. And I had to convert them somehow so I did few small changes to it. I need to still put some gs to the gap between gun and stock and make few more of them..
i just looked through your thread and i´m amazed.
that is truely a great craftmanship your showing.
love your take on the catechans. the look like they soud be ment to be...
how do you do a berret? i want to do that myself but is it as simple as it looks? i expect there is much more to it tahn just putting a gs blob on the head...
also your chimeras look stunning. they really wet my appetite for tankconstruction on scratch builts...
Viktor von Domm wrote:how do you do a berret? i want to do that myself but is it as simple as it looks? i expect there is much more to it tahn just putting a gs blob on the head...
Actually Kastellan asked the same thing in the page four in this blog. So I'll quote my answer here.
Xenon wrote:
kastellan wrote:Actually, how did you go about making them?
So how I made them? Well first what you need is sharp hobby knife of something similar. I started cutting slice out of their head. Cut should start from somewhere around the left temple and it should end above their right ear. So basicly you just cut their crown of with a hobby knife. Then tidy the edges so that the head won't look boxy and you can fit the beret more easily. And the reason why you need to cut of the slice from their head is that if you do the beret just to top of their heads will end up looking way too big. So when you cut of the slice it makes it easier to shape up the beret and make it fit better. And remember if your models head was wearing a band, hat or something in his head you should remove all the parts of it. So it won't look like there is another hat under the beret.
So next you start sculpting a beret. I can't give very specific instruction for this part becouse there is not much to tell.. But I can try give some tips. First of all don't use too much gs.. You can do the beret with one small piece of gs. If you use too much gs you won't get right shape or you end up doing big headed fella. So you need to make couple of them to find the right amount of gs you need. And the shape is one important thing.. I used pretty much same shape we use here in Finland and in many European countries. Remember that there are different types of styles to wear beret so if you like some other more or you find it easier to make you can look for them.
So there are many and many different ways to wear the beret.. Find what you like the most and shape it up. Then you need to use some sculpting tool or for example the hobby knife to make black line of the beret.
And the last thing is to make the cockade to it if you like. And then paint it up.. I know there isn't much information of sculpting itself but I think the best way to learn is to try it out yourself. Find some spare heads and start trying it out. Remember use your nails or some sculpting tool in final shaping so you won't leave any fingerprints to the surface.. But if you need better instructions for the sculpting process I can try to make one with the pictures in some point.. But I hope this helped even a bit. Just give it a try and keep practising. After couple of heads you will get the touch.
If you've read it and need more information or advice just holler me and I'll try to help.
Damn theese are Awesome!!! Great work!
Is your Chimera inspired by the CV-90 IFV?
And i can see you "missed" the error in the camo. There are a few white stripes along the camo patterns, which actually is a mistake, made by the company who makes the uniforms
Otherwise, you are dead on with the camo. I recognised it right away, when i saw it in the gallery
Arnie_DK wrote:Damn theese are Awesome!!! Great work!
Is your Chimera inspired by the CV-90 IFV?
And i can see you "missed" the error in the camo. There are a few white stripes along the camo patterns, which actually is a mistake, made by the company who makes the uniforms
Otherwise, you are dead on with the camo. I recognised it right away, when i saw it in the gallery
Thank you Arnie!
My first two Chimeras I posted here were inspired by Warrior IFV, but they ended looking more like Bradleys. Which isn't bad thing I guess.. The new four chimeras that I am currently building are based on German new Puma IFV.
But I must say I have built one chimera based on CV-90 but it was my first scratchbuilt tank and it was made of cardboard and foam. Dimensions were totally wrong and when I did some tanks out of plasticard there was no room for cardboard tanks anymore becouse plastic ones looked so much better. Also when I started painting it I made wrong choice with camo and it turned out to be a disaster.. Here is a picture of it if you want to take a look at it. http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a60/Xenon-/Warhammer40k/Imperial%20Guard/001-12.jpg But I think next Chimeras I'll build will be based on CV-90. It is just so amazing looking and I like the style of it a lot.
And yes I am aware of those white stripes in camo pattern. I decided to leave them out for purpose becouse it would add so much more work and I don't really like the effect of white stripes in camo.. And afterall this game is about future so maybe.. "In grim darkness of 40 millenium... ..."Belgians"... ...finally... ...got their super camo printed in right way"
Scrazza wrote:Hmmm, the camo doesn't look that bad. But that's all up to you. Maybe if you tone down the yellow a bit?
You mean the cardboard tank in the link I posted? Yeah its not that bad but I am not still going use that camo or tank anymore. Yes the yellow could be toned down but I think it would be still little bit odd and it would share opinions too much. So I am going for standard nato style camo. In my opinion it looks much more better and it is something that most of will like and not many will dislike it. And the most important thing that I am happy about it. Wasn't happy of that salad camo.. It works nicely on troopers but it is just too much at tanks.. It could be some kind of chemical wasteland camo but I've made my final decision and there will be nato camo.
Nato camo will work as nicely. If you want any help concerning the Belgian army, just ask. I am Belgian after all. And my dad was in the army a while back. (when he was young ) I showed him this thread and my dad aproves. Good work.
Scrazza wrote:Nato amo will work as nicely. If you want any help concerning the Belgian army, just ask. I am Belgian after all. And my dad was in the army a while back. (when he was young ) I showed him this thread and my dad aproves. Good work.
Thanks Scrazza. I really appreciate that! I don't have any questions at the moment but if something pops up to my mind I shall ask for sure!
And it is very nice to hear that your dad approves my thread too. It means a lot to me!
Yeah i can see why yo dont use that. Its not bad, the others are just alot cooler
I worked a bit with the Belgians in Kosovo, so got a got look at their uniforms and equipment.
And I can understand you didnt want to paint the white mistakes in their camo, although i dont think it would be corrected in the 41st milennium... They already sent their uniforms back to the company once, to get it corrected, but they made the same mistake again, and then the army just thought: frag it, and went with the uniforms as they where
Scrazza wrote:Nato amo will work as nicely. If you want any help concerning the Belgian army, just ask. I am Belgian after all. And my dad was in the army a while back. (when he was young ) I showed him this thread and my dad aproves. Good work.
Thanks Scrazza. I really appreciate that! I don't have any questions at the moment but if something pops up to my mind I shall ask for sure!
And it is very nice to hear that your dad approves my thread too. It means a lot to me!
its always astonishing what a finished or rather almost finished look rivets give a vehicle...is there a trick you might share as to aply those thousandsof rivets to the tank or is it just teidious work that you just have to do?...
Viktor von Domm wrote:is there a trick you might share as to aply those thousandsof rivets to the tank or is it just teidious work that you just have to do?...
I guess there is no any particular trick. I just cut out the rivets from plastic rod and then put some glue on the surface where I want those rivets. Then I just use hobby knife to put them in place. So I think it is mostly just tedious work.
yep, done now my frist part in riveting a large boiler for my steampunk airship...it is tedious work and there is no aparent trick i could use to make it a bit more flowing in work...also i use PVA glue, even if the curing process is longer it is a bit easier as the rivets are aplied without hte dangers of superglue...
Ok I think I am done with this Chimera.. Still got three more to go so got to move on those next ones. But I am pretty happy how it turned out and I think paint job will do wonders and give the needed finishing touch. But let me know what you think of this one..
Fantastic! The turret makes it look much better already. My only (small) crit is that the flamer on the front looks like it should only have one starter flame instead of two as they look a little strange.
Commander Cain wrote: My only (small) crit is that the flamer on the front looks like it should only have one starter flame instead of two as they look a little strange.
In the link sponsons have only one starter flame indeed but maingun has also two starter flames. I think one would be great if flamer would be mounted verticaly but as it is horizontaly mounted in my opinion it is better to have two starter flames.
when you paint it this will look so mindblowing...cool work, though i have to second Arnie_DK withg some of the rivets size...but all in all i am enving you on the prospect of so many selfmade goodlooking tanks...feel proud about it man!
Forgot about this wonderful blog. Your stuff is amazing you have the most convincing imperial guard on Dakka, your tanks look like real tank and your soldiers look like real soldiers. Love the scheme as well.
Thanks guys! I really appreciate your kind words. And I am sorry that there hasn't been any updates recently.. I've been just so busy lately that I haven't had much time to work on any minis. But I am still in business! Progress is just even more slower than usually atm..
Here is base of second missile team and on the background you can see some wip troopers. Conversions are atm almost finished I just need to sculpt goggles and unit badges and I will take new pictures then.
I am sorry that there hasn't been updates in a while but I finally managed to get second infantry squad ready! And btw the white dot in that one fellas helmet isn't paint. It is just some loose dirt that happened to be there when I took pictures. Didn't notice it then and I am too lazy to take new pics.. x(
Been "a while" since last update, but I have some new minis to show you.
So here is my autocannon teams. I didn't quite like the original autocannons so I decided to make grenade machine guns instead. I am quite happy how they turned out.
And a long time ago painted Chimera.. Noticed that I haven't posted it here yet.
Zambro wrote: What are you going to be doing with the chimeras? Anything special?
Not sure yet. Maybe move the turret slightly towards the back of the tank to give it little bit more modern look. And then maybe add some small details. Also considering making some hellhounds. But maybe I will magnetize few and make modifications that it can be used as Chimera or Hellhound.
Time for a small update. Started working on my command squad and decided to do the commander first. Not quite done yet, still gotta do some tweaking and details but I'll get there. Wanted to give him a rough and mean look. Not yet decided wheter I should give him somekind of hat or pilot glasses maybe.
Working continues with command squad. The hairy guy is veteran captain or something. And the one with map is liutenant or so. Wanted to give the whole command squad sort of dioramic look that it consists of
leaders of the army discussing about tactics in the back line of battlefield. They are statwise just regular veterans except the colonel is platoon commander of course.. Or they can be used as regimental advisors if needed. Going to add a guy with flakvest to represent the leader of the shocktrooper squads. Going to do some special weapon guys and optional extras later.
Also started working on my first sniper. Started by making a marksman variant of one of veterans weapons with longer barrel and bigger caliper. Also going to add a bipod later. I probably try to make some sort of ghillie suit for the sniper. Lets see how it goes.
Also made some modifications to one autogun variant I made some time ago. Now I like the looks of it.
Started working on the ghillie. Not quite done with it, but I am quite happy how it looks so far as it is first ghillie I've made. Still going to do few more details on hands and at least head needs still more work. I am very happy how the legs look after I modified them. That is why I wanted to only make half ghillie. Maybe better so model will still have some original detailing left rather than being a one big turd of greenstuff.
Also started the landscape on the base. It also needs little bit more work as now there is no space for bipod and it also needs more details. Just wanted to see how to pose works.
Also almost finished with my fourth command squad member. Still needs some sanding here and there but almost done.
Here is small update. Not much progress becouse I am working on so many things at the same time but baby steps.. baby steps. I was greatly surprised to find a full cadian command squad and full sentinel sprues from my closet. Totally forgot I even had those. More nice bitz to use! So I remade my army commander and wanted to build the sentinel also. Although spent more time on sentinels base than the model itself so far.
Also started working on salamander scouting vehicle. Still lot to do but starting to take its shape. I am planning to build one salamander recovery vehicle and two more chimeras. And I think enough parts will be left over to build two armoured troop carrier trucks. So from sprues of 4 chimeras I will get 2 salamanders, 2 chimera/hellhounds and 2 wheeled people carriers. Just need to find some wheels from somewhere. Probably going to look for some nice 1/48 military kit or something.
But here is some pictures. First the w.i.p. salamander.
New commander, basically just regular bits from command squad. Not much done there.
Sentinel. Wanted to make a small pond to the base and add some different kind of plants to the water.
Sniper, added just some hay and made more detail to the ghillie.
Current state of command squad.
Also started making some objective markers. First is the wounded guardsman who has got shot in the leg. Going to make it lay in the grass just smoking cig and waiting to be rescued.
Made little progress during this weekend. Salamander build is now almost finished and finished my sixth scratchbuilt Chimera. I think I need to paint some tanks soon. Also worked on objective markers, sniper model and sentinel base.
Salamander atm
Sixth finished chimera.
objective markers atm, started another. Representing some sort of supply drop.
Some progress on the sentinel.. Still slightly wip, but mostly done. Not the best quality pictures again, taken with mobile phone on midnight But I try to take better ones when I get this totally done.
Hi again. Got my first sniper pretty much done. Pretty satisfied how it turned out. Now I need to make few more to make up a squad. Maybe going to do a spotter guy next!
And here is little bit better pictures of the sentinel. Got it finished today. It still needs maybe unit markings and varnish, but otherwise consider it done.
Almost finished my first storm trooper conversion today. Took a long time, but I am pretty satisfied with it. Not sure if I should do something for the helmet or not..
Also started making next sniper and started with the gun. He is going to have a large caliber rifle. Needs some sanding and detailing, but I will get to that after gs is dried.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Got the rifle almost done!
Here we go again. Not much new, but added few details. Deck of cards on top of ammo box, shovel, plants and some ground here and there. Also been painting command squad and hopefully I can get even few members finished during this week.
Thanks R. Wolves, glad you like it! I am not very fond of those lasgun snipers either. So wanted to try out something different.
Also time for a small update. Command squad 3/5 done..
Company Executive Officer Cpt. Coleman.
Recon and Intelligence Officers that can be used as advisors if needed.
Lt. Lester. Responsible for communications and gathering reconnaissance information.
Lt. "The Beard" Haddock. One of the most respected officers and for reason. Has gone trough numerous battles and knows enemy tactics and behavior better than anyone.
If you count the sniper in, then its done! But probably I will still do few special weapons to be used in this squad if needed. Had fun painting the commander and it turned out pretty ok. Not sure about the dark trench coat though but on the other hand couldn't really come up with any other better colors. Wanted to make coat look old and worn.
Also started working on some other models. Got this idea while browsing through my bits and trying some poses. Thought making a soldier on guard dury or something might look cool. I might use it in some diorama maybe.
Also made one Darkon wasteland thug.
Started another objective marker.
Shot down enemy intel drone. Worth obtaining and investigating.
Also made new stormtrooper model.
All stormtroopers made so far.
Got my second chimera of this pattern almost done. Still needs some dust, varnish and unit markings, but pretty much done now!
40kFSU wrote: This is a great blog. Your army is very original. All your work certainly pays off.
Thank you! Its really taken ages doing this army.. I've been so busy with all the other things and of course there is big slice of pure laziness too.. But definetly great and relieving to see that after five years this is finally starting to look like a proper army. Its funny becouse I still haven't even played a single game with these. Will be pleasure to soon hit the battlefield!
For the people who are interested in the fluff part.. I edited the starting post and will be adding some background there as I come up with new stuff. Not much there yet, but some bits at least. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Another sniper pretty much finished! Lacking a varnish becouse dont have any atm, but will do it later. Also not quite sure what to do with the hair and the face. Thinking about painting some camo paintings to the face but not quite sure how it would work out so I haven't done it yet. It is so easy to ruin the whole face.
I just had to start making mercenary group. They make their living by doing bounty work, scavenging wasteland, protecting mines or traders etc, hunting drones and doing contracts for Imperiall military. They can spend weeks on the wasteland and have very good survival skills.
So here are first two members. Still need bit sanding, gs work and maybe adding some bitz. Cant wait to paint these buggers..
"Crimson"
Used to be a sergenant in Darkon Imperial military, but had enough of it and started his own mercenary group. Very experienced and phenomenal shooter.
"The Wolf"
Worked his lifetime in mine in his hometown, but after the mine was closed he lost his job and became an alcoholic. In one drunken night he got into a bar fight with a arrogant bastard called "Crimson" and beat the crap out of him. Crimson was so impressed he decided to hire the guy to his recently established mercenary group. They became good friends and been doing mercenary work together since then. Equipped with old and worn AG3 mk.I surplus rifle.
Hi! Got my sniper team finally painted.. Spent way too many hours modeling this but I don't regret it. In my opinion maybe one of the best models I've made so far.. Also really enjoyed doing this one. Comment & share your thoughts if you like!
Now thinking what I should start working on next. So much to do and so many ideas on my mind!
As I am also planning on building a tau and allied xeno army.. So I have had this objective marker laying around for ages and I haven't painted it becouse I haven't got my tau colour scheme decided. But now on weekend I finally came up with satisfying alternative and did my first test. What do you guys think? I wanted it to go well with the deserted rural look and to fit well to urban areas as well.. Thus the bluish grey colour. Also makes it pop and maybe give more advanced look. Any thoughts or ideas? Should I go with this? Also I haven't decided the sept colour yet.. Think about green maybe..
So this is just objective marker representing shot down intel drone that has been scouting the Darkon territories. Even if it is damaged, it must be obtained as fast as possible as it may still contain very a lot of classified information that must not get to hands of enemy.
Finally got my "last" shock trooper squad finished.. After I've painted these and few more tanks i Will have full 40+1 platoon of these buggers. Also started making gaming table, I will post you some pics when I got something to show. Now it is only basecoated.
Been wondering for 6 years how to mount that missile launcher to shoulder and now figured it out. Was actually very easy, lol. But now my autism kicked in, as the other squads have the launchers on the tripods.. But well I came up with the idea that squad may carry few additional installements and tripod so that they can use them to quickly convert it to a remote controlled sentry type instead of shoulder launch. Wel anyways, hope you like it.
Thanks! Tryin to keeep it up. Veery slow but steady.. But as I am speaking I am happy to tell that the first quarter of the gaming table is now almost painted and ready. Still need to apply some varnish and flock on it.
Got shocktrooper squad and few more chimeras painted. Also been working on my gaming table which can be seen in the pictures. I've been also working on some terrain pieces and I hope i can get them done soon enough.
Time for a small update. Managed to start making fifth sniper model. Made the scratch today and used some milliput to see how it fits on the base. I will be adding stuff on the base and doing some minor detailing with the figure like ghillie suit. Its pretty hard to make natural looking proning poses with the existing bits, but I am pretty happy with this one! Decided to use larger biker base so I can maybe make it look little better as the small 25mm base gets easily bit too full.
And I'll paint couple of tattoos to them.
But thanks alot still!
I really didn't think it was some kind of extra armour. 
I've sold all my other 
There are way more better painters than me. 
) But yeah.. Man's gotta do what man's gotta do. You know what I mean?
I hope you like it! 
