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Hey all - As some of you might remember from the end of my last blog, and the very useful suggestion thread that I posted in the Painting & Modeling Forum, I had decided to do a kind of 'Top Gear' challenge.

I gave myself an initial budget of under AU$10 (about US$8.50) to grab a 40k model, convert and paint it up using whatever parts I had. Then I'll put it up on eBay, and see if I can sell it. I'm hoping to fund my hobby purchases this way, 'cause it's a heck of a lot more fun than getting a second job!

So, as usual, I'll try and update this blog with a little something every day, so be sure to check back regularly!

PART ONE: THERE WILL BE BID(DING)

I decided to do a Space Wolf, since I figured they'd be pretty popular by the time I got around to listing it, but the choices weren't all that varied - it came down to two, and only one was under my budget. So that made an easy choice! I managed to snag this guy for AU$6 (US$5.20), and it's easy to see why there were only two competing bidders:



It's an old Longfang sergeant model, and I thought I could do something neat and make a different-looking lord out of him. He was in pretty terrible shape, the arm had come off during shipping, and as you can see, it's half unpainted. Fortunately for me though, the last owner hadn't primered him at all, and so stripping the paint was simple, and I was going to completely replace the arm and ditch the jetpack anyway. So it would be perfect for my needs.

While I waited for him to arrive I began planning the conversion - I wanted to make him pretty conventional, but useful since if his loadout wasn't appropriate, no-one will buy him! I plumped for a Frost Blade and Plasma Pistol, as being always appropriate. In the old 'dex, Frost Blades are described as being basically chain-swords or chain-axes with the teeth of an Ice Kraken, which I felt was pretty hard to make look interesting. I decided that this Frost Blade would be made of super-hard ice (and a sneak-peek of the new 'dex revealed that they thought it was cool as well ), so I started sketching, and with the help of some great people in the Painting and Modeling forum (Thanks to all you guys who posted by the way!) I arrived at a cool-looking design, and got cracking on the converting:



You can see where there are still traces of paint, which were mostly thin enough to be unnoticeable, except for a couple of spots that I cleaned with my scalpel before priming.

His left arm is new, as is the shoulderpad. Everything was pinned since I don't want any chance of it breaking during transport. All the plastic-to-metal joints are glued with Araldite (an epoxy glue).

Here's a rundown on the bits used:

The axe blade is carved from 2mm plasticard.

The extra wire is a piece of guitar string.

I gave him a cloak from the Chaos Marauder sprue.

The backpack is from the old Space Wolves accessory sprue.

The plasma pistol is from the Assault Marine sprue.

The left arm and shoulderpad are from my bits box.

The base is by Back-2-Basix (whom I can't pimp enough!)

I repaired the left hand, filled out the fur part of the cloak, added the shoulderpad symbol, built up the axe-head, added the talisman necklace and customised the plasma pistol all using greenstuff (obviously). Since I was restricting myself to using spare parts, I found that all the resin bases that I had left unused weren't wide enough for such a splay-footed model - his feet were right on the edges. So I built up both sides of the bace to give it a more visually balanced look. (the strange stuff on the right side is terracotta-coloured milliput that I had left over after I finished another sculpt - waste not!). The studs on his shoulderpad are plastic rod slices.

After adding a little sand to break up the textures on the base, he was ready for priming and my reference pass:



For those who haven't read my last thread, I like to block-in areas first, then give them a wash of Devlan Mud. This not only provides a bit of instant depth, it is a reference key for me when I'm doing the rest of the shading on that area. I left it all to dry, so I can crack on with the armour tomorrow.

As always, feel free to post any questions, comments or suggestions - I'll try to answer everything in my daily posts. Of specific help would be anyone else's experiences and tips on selling models on eBay - I've bought plenty, but sold nothing yet, so any advice is welcomed!

When selling painted models on ebay, think of an inital cost and wonder how much time i have put into this model for e.g.
i finished X model in 6hours and im putting it on ebay for $40 and that works out to be ~7dollars per hour. well thats what i do, and i adjust the price from that..

the model looks great the the armour (atm) looks really good. keep us posted!

@Gutteridge: Is there a balance of time vs. cost? I'm intending to paint this model very well (see my Daemonhunters gallery for an idea of the level I'll paint it to), but the danger is that if I put too high an initial price on it, it may be out of people's price range. Have you found a sweet spot that is a price people will willingly afford and are happy with the quality of paintjob?

Since this is A Grand Experiment(TM) I thought I'd go all-out, have some fun, and not worry too much about the money. If I clear AU$20-30 profit I'd be happy at this stage, though as it nears completion I would very much appreciate comments along the lines of: "I'd pay $X for this model" kind of thing.

Well, ive only posted on ebay tabletop quality models or just assembled models and i have found that, with tabletop models you gain atleast $10 profit (for eg. i sold a painted ghazghull for $60). with unassemlbed models you loss profit (in most cases) but with highly detailed models like yourself, it can go up extremely high (for e.g. IIRC a block painted up a top-notch terminator chaplain and i think it sold for over $80 which is a great profit). The beauty with ebay is, if you put an item too high yes, it might be unattended but or out somebodys range you can just simply put it back on the market only its slightly lowered, might lose a couple of bucks but eventually you will find a sweet spot for certain models (i cant give too much since i havent done high detailed models). keep it always on bid aswell, good pictures help make it look professional etc.

and paint for the biggest target audience, the bloke i mentioned before got high views since he painted the chaplain in ultramarine colours etc.

I think it's a fantastic starter piece to get you started. SW's are going to be rather popular for a bit to come and will likely draw a lot of new folks in. Those new folks will need an HQ and you're easily filling that need.

The closer you can get to 'generic' colors the better for any sort of painted sales of course.

Also notoriety is going to be a big help, so any online contests you can enter will help drive sales in the long run. Demons being one of the key contributors to higher sales >.>... One of the recent demon entries is currently selling for well over $500 US!

If the ebay sales don't work out as planned, commission work is always in demand should you have a strong catalog of work for people to see, with a fast turn around on models.

Best of luck! I'll watch your progress and help where I can!

Thanks for all the encouragement so far guys - I hope I can live up to expectation

Gutteridge wrote:Well, ive only posted on ebay tabletop quality models or just assembled models

Do you find it better to list them as 'Buy it Now' or as a regular auction?

grey_death wrote:SW's are going to be rather popular for a bit to come and will likely draw a lot of new folks in.

That's what I hope!

The closer you can get to 'generic' colors the better for any sort of painted sales of course.

I figured that, so I'm not committing him too strongly to any great company - I'm planning to paint his undecorated shoulderpad with an inscription which will represent the 'sagas' he's done - since they're pretty important in the new 'dex.

If the ebay sales don't work out as planned, commission work is always in demand should you have a strong catalog of work for people to see, with a fast turn around on models.

I do take on commissions from time to time, though at the moment mainly from friends. Do you have an idea of what is considered 'fast' in terms of turnaround time? For a single model for example?

PART TWO: GREY ANATOMY

I had a bit of time today to get to grips with his armour. I liked the effect of shading a cool grey with brown, so i stuck with it as a base colour, and highlighted up from Fenris Grey, through to Space Wolves Grey + Bleached Bone. I used my feathering technique to get a slightly dirty effect, and there are some rough spots that will need to be smoothed out, but I'm not concerned too much about them yet:



I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out - this is the first time I've worked with Space Wolves Grey and it's a little unforgiving at times, mainly because it's a tad lighter than I expected, though it's hard to judge because what you've mostly got to compare it with is black!

Tomorrow I'll be tackling something I've not really tried seriously with this model - painted-on chipped armour. I've not really tried it with much success in the past, and the guides I've read (and the nice masterclass in WD) have me itching to get this technique down. Since it's something I plan to use on my own marines, I'll use this as an opportunity to get it right!

(PS: I've been told that my pics sometimes have a yellow cast to them - I've tried to compensate this time around by tweaking my lighting rig and compensating by adjusting the levels/curves, but I don't have a calibrated monitor at the moment. This is a fairly long shot, but does anyone know of calibration tools for Ubuntu?)

Just a quick update today:

PART THREE: CHIP OFF THE OL' BLOCK

I got a nice amount of time on this today - I tried my hand at scratched armour, which turned out well, making his suit look nice and ancient. I used Fenris Grey for the shadow of the chips, and Space Wolves Grey + Skull White for the highlight. I found that the trick is to us a really fine brush for the highlight or it won't have the crisp 'chipped' effect that makes it work.



In fact I was so happy with the way it turned out I decided to reward myself and paint his face - something that I always enjoy. I decided to make him look weatherbeaten and ancient, just like his armour!

I'm going to work on the metal tomorrow and decide what to do with his plasma pistol...

The plasma pistol looks awesome black, keep it how it is.

The progress so far looks great, I really like the gray armor and the face.

The metals also look good, there seems to be couple of rough spots on the metallic shoulder pad rim, but the axe's handle is spot on.

Love the paint job. I also love that, when everyone else is comming out with the brand-new models, you can make an old one look even better.

very nice great face and eyes

The chipping on the model makes it look 1000 times better. I only recently started using this effect and it's so amazing. Looking great, keep it up!

Bascilica wrote:Love the paint job. I also love that, when everyone else is comming out with the brand-new models, you can make an old one look even better.

Shaman wrote:very nice great face and eyes

anticitizen013 wrote:The chipping on the model makes it look 1000 times better. I only recently started using this effect and it's so amazing. Looking great, keep it up!

Metsuri wrote:The progress so far looks great, I really like the gray armor and the face.

Thanks for the encouragement, I'm glad you like it so far!

Lord-Loss wrote:The plasma pistol looks awesome black, keep it how it is.

I think you may be right - I'll try black, or dark grey and see how it looks.

Metsuri wrote:there seems to be couple of rough spots on the metallic shoulder pad rim, but the axe's handle is spot on.

It's a really easy effect to achieve, Mithril Silver, washed with Devlan Mud then Badab Black. They're not quite finished yet though, you can see the second stage today.

PART FOUR: PAINT HAPPENS

I didn't have a heck of a lot of time today, so I did a lot of 'base work' - which means establishing starting points for lots of different little areas. I did get to do the second stage of the metalwork, which is a rough highlight with Mithril Silver, and will be washed down again, then given a final very fine highlight later. I also got the base of the gold done, which I basecoated using Iyanden Darksun, then painted gold, and washed with Devlann Mud to cool it off. If I wanted a warmer tone, I'd use Ogryn Flesh instead. I'll be highlighting it with the old (2nd ed) Shining Gold:



Tomorrow, given enough time, I'll be doing his right shoulderpad detail, finishing the metal areas, and the gold, so tomorrow's update should be a bit more interesting!

Coming along well and glad to see you putting stuff up again. I loved your last Inquisitorial painting thread. Keep up the good work!

Looking great! Faces are a bit of a block for me I can't seem to get the flow of the paint correct that I can apply it accurately from a fine brush. Seeing results like this though keep me trying!

Looks awesome.

Armor chipping is something I've had difficulty getting right. Yours really does bring the model to life.

Fantastic work! I love the subtle conversion, it really makes a great classic sculpt look even more impressive.

I also really like the paint work on this, the chipping is very well done, just enough to show the effect without being too much to over do it. Sometimes getting the balance right with chipping is a hard thing to do! Too much and it can ruin a model.

Skin tones are also great, theres a lot of age and wisdom in that face, very weather beaten and savage!

Looking really good! The scarred armor really adds to the look.

I love WIP for great painters like yourself. It brings those techniques to life like the chipped effect that I have also been trying in a few projects. Thanks!

- Blackbone

I love this mini. I really like what you have done with it, the armour looks really impressive - the scratches work really well. I think the face is probably my favourite aspect, it looks all old and leathery. Just like it is suppose to do. Nice work, dude!

Kuffy

Gutteridge wrote:Well, ive only posted on ebay tabletop quality models or just assembled models

Do you find it better to list them as 'Buy it Now' or as a regular auction?

A= i find that doing all that extra advertisement is really annoying but for something like your model i would do something like..

Professional Standard Wh40k Space Wolves Wolf Lord

Deff Dread red Edition wrote:Coming along well and glad to see you putting stuff up again. I loved your last Inquisitorial painting thread. Keep up the good work!

Thanks Speaking of that thread, I finally found the SD card with the extra close-ups that were requested, so I'll see about putting them up in the next few days too.

fudal78 wrote:Looking great! Faces are a bit of a block for me I can't seem to get the flow of the paint correct that I can apply it accurately from a fine brush. Seeing results like this though keep me trying!

The finer the brush, the quicker the paint loses its flow - so consider trying either to; a) work quickly (which is hard when you're trying to do details!); b) use an acrylic retarder to slow the drying time of the paint (I've not tried this yet); c) use thinner paint, but more coats; or d) use a brush that's a little bigger, but with a point that's almost as fine - which is what I often do.

Beamo wrote:Looks awesome.
Armor chipping is something I've had difficulty getting right. Yours really does bring the model to life.

Blackbone wrote:I love WIP for great painters like yourself. It brings those techniques to life like the chipped effect that I have also been trying in a few projects. Thanks!
- Blackbone

Keep trying! - it took a while, but now that I know how, it doesn't seem so tough - just time consuming!

Gundam-Mecha wrote:Fantastic work! I love the subtle conversion, it really makes a great classic sculpt look even more impressive.
I also really like the paint work on this, the chipping is very well done, just enough to show the effect without being too much to over do it. Sometimes getting the balance right with chipping is a hard thing to do! Too much and it can ruin a model.
Skin tones are also great, theres a lot of age and wisdom in that face, very weather beaten and savage!

Thanks! I think this is one of the better classic SW models, everything about the miniature screams stoic veteran, which I think I prefer to the newer, perpetually-running models

Sol Invictus wrote:Looking really good! The scarred armor really adds to the look.

Kuffy wrote:I love this mini. I really like what you have done with it, the armour looks really impressive - the scratches work really well. I think the face is probably my favourite aspect, it looks all old and leathery. Just like it is suppose to do. Nice work, dude!
Kuffy

Thanks guys I'm glad that the model is getting the right impression across!

Gutteridge wrote:i find that doing all that extra advertisement is really annoying but for something like your model i would do something like..
Professional Standard Wh40k Space Wolves Wolf Lord

I know what you mean! Far too often do I see models listed as 'Pro Painted' which are clearly anything but!

Now, on to new business!

PART FIVE: CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF PAINTJOBS

I got a couple more hours in today, and so went on with various bits and pieces of the detailing - working a bit more on the metal (almost there!), finishing off the gold, experimenting with the colours of the wolf-tails and so on. I've a picked a dark red as a counterpoint colour on this model, at the moment you can see it on his eyepiece and frag grenade, but will also occur on the gems on his axe, and there's another gem on his pack. I went with red because it seemed appropriate, and brings a touch of life to the cooler colours of the rest of the model. I also painted some script on the shoulderpad, to represent his personal saga. I have to apologise for the quality of the photo - I messed up the light placement and it's blasted out some of the detail in the lighter areas, but you can see which part's I've done today anyway:



This model is coming along a bit quicker than I was expecting which is good, I might even have him done by the end of the weekend! Tomorrow I plan to finish off all the little details, then do the plasma pistol if I get time. And I'm going to have to darken the skull on his belt, because it's competing too much with his face - I might turn it gold if all else fails.

To give the skull an aged look, you might consider trying what i do for most of my aged bone.

1. scorched brown layer
2. khemri brown/ graveyard earth 50/50 mix drybrush
3. Deneb stone dry brush
4. light bleached bone dry brush

i find it gives the bones a very ancient look.

Diamonas wrote:To give the skull an aged look, you might consider trying what i do for most of my aged bone.

That sounds like an interesting effect, I'll have to try it out sometime, it's a tad yellower than I've tried before - thanks for the tip

PART SIX: ICE, ICE, BABY

Another update that's a little all over the place - The main things I did were to highlight the black on the pistol with a mixture of Adeptus Battlegrey and Skull White, followed with a Badab Black ink wash to tie it all together, then I did the frost-axe with a base of Astronomican Grey and Fenris Grey to give it a little bit of a blue tint, then highlighted with white. I've also laid down the base for the fur on his shoulders, as well as neatened up around the symbol on his shoulderpad:



I think I may do another level of highlighting to make the blade much whiter, but I'll see how I feel about it tomorrow.

I like the way you painted the axe.

That axe is looking awesome, great work. I think another level of highlight will also make it more defined and standout from the armour colour also.

Your painting is phenomenal!

Really nice work man, keep it up...

aflax1 wrote:I like the way you painted the axe.

Gundam-Mecha wrote:That axe is looking awesome, great work.

jamunition wrote:Your painting is phenomenal!

Slain'e wrote:Really nice work man, keep it up...

Thanks guys! I just hope that the person who ends up owning it likes it as much!

Gundam-Mecha wrote:I think another level of highlight will also make it more defined and standout from the armour colour also.

I was wondering that myself - I'll see what it looks like brightened up tomorrow, ans see what everyone thinks.

PART SEVEN: DREAMING OF A WHITE APOCALYPSE

Another day of little bits and pieces - I've painted the gems (three on the axe, one on the PP and one on his pack), highlighted the various wolf-teeth as well as the cords holding them together. I also touched-up here and there where there were some uneven spots, and undercoated the base in Adeptus Battlegrey and washed it with ...all together now... Devlan Mud! This is in preparation for finishing him off in the next couple of days, since the major thing remaining to do is the cloak - which I've been using to brace the model* while painting until now - hence why it's still unpainted, but that's on tomorrow's to do list:



Since I've been doing a fair bit of snow-themed bases lately, I wanted to mix it up a little, so I picked up this pot of straw coloured flock a few weeks ago:



It's a bit like GW's Arid Flock (which GF9 also does) but not as yellow - perfect for what I wanted, dead grass, but not parched and dry. It's quite different to the standard green static flock I use - this has what looks like a finer flock mixed in, which gives it a fuller effect but makes it harder to work with. So, as an experiment, I grabbed an objective marker that I have been working on and quickly painted the base. I undercoated the area where the flock was with a little Calthan Brown, and glued the flock on. After that had dried for a few minutes (seven Scribblenauts puzzles to be precise ) I applied a paste made of PVA and snow flock:



It suffers a bit from being a rush job, and I'll probably go back and add more snow, but I'm pleased with the effect overall, and I think it will look good when applied with a bit more care. I deliberately didn't undercoat the area where I put the snow, as I want it to be very slightly transparent around the edges when dry, so it looks like melting snow. That will be the very last step though, and I'll need to be a bit careful so that I don't obscure too much of the detail of the Celtic pattern on the base.

What do you guys think?

*Does anyone have a good way of holding models with thick bases like this? I have a holder that I built a while ago that uses clips to secure the model, but that only really works with standard-thickness bases.

Wow absolutely stunning model. You're extremely skilled. I love this SW model. Looks great. The face is immense! The armour looks incredible.

What's the story behind your objective marker, it's very interesting!


Slappy