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@Dysartes: i have two old pin vices, and three old Exacto handles, that i use...
so, basically, i could have five different pieces on the go at once, though i usually concentrate on one or two parts at a time...
the parts that are not in a vice or handle are laid out on a paper towel on my table, so i can always see what i've already done, and keep the look of the whole mini consistent in my head...

@Warboss_Waaazag: thanks, man...
still a few layers of red to go, but i have a nice solid color going right now, for sure...

thanks for your interest guys...

cheers
jah

hey Dakka...

i got back from my morning surf session, surfing some big hurricane waves, and had a note from the post office saying that there was a big ass box waiting for me there...
as you can see, they were not lying...



this is the start of my next commission...
it will be Strike Force Cassius!!!
in the box we have 1 Rhino, 1 Whirlwind, 1 Predator, 1 Land Raider, 2x Hunter/Stalker, 2x Stormraven (Chibihawk), and 3x Vindicator...



it is only about one third of the commission, but a good place to start...
i am waiting for some Tyranid bits to arrive, while i finish up my two Blood Angels, so i can decorate the tanks to look like proper Tyranid Vet. armor...
there will be some cool markings to show that this is Cassius' force, and that they are all Vets of the Battle for Macragge...

i look forward to the chance to build a really unique army, that has not been seen much before...

cheers
jah

Ooh. I'm interested to see how you'll handle Ultramarines.

 Snrub wrote:
Ooh. I'm interested to see how you'll handle Ultramarines.

What he said

I'm interested to see how you do an army instead of a single showcase piece.

What WM said.
Very interested.

That's going to be a pretty army.

thanks, guys...

yeah, it is going to be interesting, even for me, since i have no clue how things are going to work out...
the client wants it quick, so expect a lot of spray-can action, and sponge weathering...
should be a fun experiment...

i look forward to bring the Tyranid Hunter aspect to the fore, with 'Nid trophies, and lots of use of the Tyranid Hunter symbol, as well as some black accents to show these are Cassius' boys...

carrying on with the Sang. Priest, i've made some progress on the whites of the Narthecium arm...
now it is time to wash and highlight the metals, and get to work on the details, before i finish the white and red...
the chalice will be done last, as that seems to be the part i touch the most while painting this piece...




thanks for looking, and sticking with my slow, plodding, pace...

cheers
jah

hey Dakka...

i got a bit more done on the Narthecium arm...
the details are almost done, but i will wait to finish them until i get the red and white completed, just in case i splash a little paint...
not much of an update, but it is getting close to the end...



thanks for looking...

cheers
jah

I really like how the Narthecium arm is coming together. I can't wait for the finished model.

That's a lot of vehicles to paint.

The Apoth arm is looking really nice.

thanks, guys...

i'm doing some more work on the Apoth. arm tonight...
the waves are gone for a day or two, so i'll be working until the wee hours of the morning...

since i didn't surf today, i got to building instead...
here are the first few sub-assemblies for the Ultramarine project...
Land Raider, Rhino, and Stormraven...





this is gonna be good...

cheers
jah

Nice work on the arm Jah. Like the green fluid bottle thing.

Looking forward to more.

 Dr H wrote:
Nice work on the arm Jah. Like the green fluid bottle thing.

Looking forward to more.

Seconded!

And I also particulary like the fact how you can make a red Blood drip stand out on a red shoulder pad!

 Develain wrote:

 Dr H wrote:
Nice work on the arm Jah. Like the green fluid bottle thing.

Looking forward to more.

Seconded!

And I also particulary like the fact how you can make a red Blood drip stand out on a red shoulder pad!

Thirded. I have nothing more useful to say.

thanks, guys...
glad i've still got your attention...

the Narthecium arm is getting there...
the shadows are starting to pop on the white, the Blood Chalice is ready to be finished up, and the details are coming together...

i'm not sure how i feel about the first red highlights on the red of the shoulder pad...
i'll have to ruminate on it for a bit while i finish up the rest of the arm..





here's a funny one...
that moment when your friend tells you that he has a gift for you, a surfboard that is your favorite size, shape, and fin set-up, and it's pink!!!

pink is punk...
i surf it with pride...



thanks for looking, and taking the time to comment...

cheers
jah

Are you the surfboard or the waves behind the guy?

in the words of Kurt Lazarus, "I'm the dude playin' the dude, disguised as another dude!"
hahahahahahaha

cheers
jah

Things I've learnt today. - Fin set set up makes a difference when surfing.



How'd you do the "clear" bit of the glass vial?

...Just looked into this, and it's awesome quality!

Definately want to see more! Especially how you paint the Ultramarines stuff.

@Snrub: fin set-ups make a huge difference to how a surf board feels and acts...
it's a pretty serious science, and there are advocates of single fins, twin fins, tri fins, quad fins (me), five fins, and more...
tri fin is the most common, which favor the agility of the board, while quads are getting more popular, and favor the speed of the board...
i like to go fast...

for the glass vial, which part are you curious about, the black part, or the green part???

@Zambro: thanks, bud...
i enjoy pushing my limits with each mini...
the Ultras are still a week or two from seeing paint, but it should be a fun project...

speaking of Ultras, i got some more done on the sub-assemblies...
since all hatches, doors, and cockpits are going to be glued shut on this project, i don't have to worry about the interior detail...
on the Stalker and the Land Raider, i still need to clean all the mould lines off of the tracks, before i can glue them on, and then get the tops of the hulls glued on...
there are a lot of mould lines on those damn tracks!!!





i hope everyone is enjoying their weekend...

cheers
jah

 jah-joshua wrote:
@Snrub: fin set-ups make a huge difference to how a surf board feels and acts...
it's a pretty serious science, and there are advocates of single fins, twin fins, tri fins, quad fins (me), five fins, and more...
tri fin is the most common, which favor the agility of the board, while quads are getting more popular, and favor the speed of the board...
i like to go fast...

Well... That's even more learnt about surfing . How do those gnarly dreads of yours affect your surfing? I can only imagine that they weigh you down when wet.

for the glass vial, which part are you curious about, the black part, or the green part???

Black. But an explanation of both would be good.

Snrub, i use two of my dreadlocks to make a ponytail, and keep them out of my way when i surf, like the pic on page 1...
i don't feel the weight, to be honest, as nothing, in the moment, exists besides the wave, and the moves that i am doing on each different section of the wave...
it is amazing how i can be in a ton of pain from an injury or cut while paddling out, but as soon as i start paddling for a wave, i don't feel any pain at all...
it all disappears as i ride the wave, and then comes flooding back as i paddle back out...
the mind is incredible...

for the vials, there is a breakdown on colors on page 2, i believe...
the black is just straight black paint, since the metal band defines the shape of the vial, without having to highlight the black, plus all of the wiring behind it will be black...
the green bit is just a matter of deciding what angle the arm will be glued on at, and then making that solid white line that delineates the full and empty part of the vial...

no fancy blending, or techniques, just a solid build up of the green, a stark white line, and straight white on black dots for the bubbles...
simple...

cheers
jah

Jaw has been on my desk from page 1-5.. Awesome painting! If I learn to have half as much skill as you I'd be a happy painter haha.

thanks, Dashel...
you hit the nail on the head with the word skill...
nothing about my painting is natural talent...
it is a lot of hard work, and a lot of hard thinking...
i am nowhere near as good as i would like to be, but as i push my boundaries i analyze every mistake i see in my painting, figure out how to fix it, and then do the work...
it's all about how much dedication you have to the hard work of making a mini match the vision that you have in your head...

with that said, i have started adjusting the shading and highlighting on the shoulder pad...
i think i figured out how i will handle this shape, with the crazy new (for me) highlighting style on this mini...

i got the gold all smoothed out on the Chalice, and ready for highlights, but for some reason the camera didn't want to focus on the Chalice, and the shoulder pad, at the same time...
more angles tomorrow, instead...



thanks for looking...
we are almost at the end of this one, i swear...

cheers
jah

hey Dakka...

alright, the arm is done...
time to glue this bad boy on, and see how the Marine looks with both his arms...
sorry for the uber close-ups, but there was way too much hand in these pics...
it will look better tomorrow when i take pics of the complete body...

i'm pretty happy with how the little details turned out, like the liquid in the vial, the hazard-striped hose, and the helix symbol...






thanks for sticking with me through this epic journey in painting a single arm...

cheers
jah

Fantastic arm there JJ. I like how you've made the armour look like red crystal.

Whoaa :O, those reds and highlights!!

Great stuff, looking forward to seeing the whole thing together. If you dare consider it, how many hours do you reckon you have put into this mini?

thanks, guys...

@Snrub: i have had a lot of fun playing with this almost NMM style on the red armor...

@Paradigm: i would guess the i have put at least 80 hours into this guy, so far...
not sure, but it has been a lot...
it takes a bit of work to push the painting beyond anything i have done before, as far as trying a new approach to the style of reds i have previously painted...
then there is just the sheer amount of tiny details to paint, which is pretty dense...

here we go...
almost done...
having glued the arm on, the photos are a bit better, with the one little piece (the arm) being less "in your face", and the harmony of all four main components making for a more pleasant piece to look at...
i can't wait to put the jump pack and wings on...






thanks for looking...
i hope you like what you see...

cheers
jah

Beautiful!