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Heya folks,

Taking one from the pages of Warseer, I've decided to start my own little "kitchen sink" thread to have a spot for all of my random projects and models.

My goals for this thread are simple:

1. Get to all of those models I have laying around the house that I had so much ambition to work on, but never actually got around to doing anything with!

2. Learn new techniques, painting styles, and modeling tricks of the trade while I'm doing each project.

A bunch of years back I found that doing One Off models was a hell of a way to try your hand and really LEARN while you painted. I could have continued to paint every model the same way I did way back when, but it wasn't until I really sat down saying "What if I did this?" while I painted that I really started to see serious improvement with each model.

You will see goals with each model I get around to starting in this thread as I start a new piece. These will be rough ideas about the direction the paint and modeling will go before/when I start a model.

Now this is where you the readers will come in. I love compliments just as much as the next guy, but this thread is really all about making myself better as a painter. I really want to see the critiques and ideas from the painters around here start to flow more freely. We're all in it to get better right? So please help me get better. If you see something that doesn't quite feel right, let me know! If my palette is off, let me know! If the technique isn't being applied correctly or in a manner that works, let me know! Also to anyone who might have questions about anything I'm doing with a model, please feel free to ask questions here. I'll be more than happy to let you know how I did something, and how you might get similar results. Some of the folks out there already know I'm more than happy to help a fellow modeler out with advice, I hope that this WIP thread will help even more.

end mission statement

And so it begins...

I was driving around town today and started to think about a set of Tau I did for commission a couple years back. They were a pretty good group of models and I actually enjoyed doing them. This all came back because the owner of said models is returning home from his first tour in Iraq this month. I'm really looking forward to seein him and the rest of the guys home finally.

The inspiration:


But it got me thinking of doing a one off Tau model though. And when I got home I hit the boxes in search of the few Tau models I have around the house, as well as to the internets in search of ideas.

My plan is to base differently, making the model more dynamic without serious conversion. To use white primer again (my first real white primer mini being my God Bless the Infantry entry), but this time since white will be the armor color, I'm using the spikyjames approach to the whites which I believe will give me the effect I want. I am thinking, note: just thinking!, about doing battle damage/scrapes and cuts painted on the model as well a la migs style, but I haven't made my mind up yet. I'm planning on doing multiple glazing for all other parts past armor plating for my other colors.

Here is the model so far:

I really like the idea for this blog. I hope it will turn into a good reference for those of us who are a few years behind in our skills.

To that end, you mention pallette a lot. Since I just paint things the colors I would like them to be, would you be so kind as to give an elucidation of just what that is and how it works, as well as how to bend it to the will of the Emperor?

Off to a good start!

Wehrkind wrote:I really like the idea for this blog. I hope it will turn into a good reference for those of us who are a few years behind in our skills.

To that end, you mention pallette a lot. Since I just paint things the colors I would like them to be, would you be so kind as to give an elucidation of just what that is and how it works, as well as how to bend it to the will of the Emperor?

Off to a good start!

I use the term palette in a broad manner. It is originally the thing you put your paints on while you are working on a painting/model. It can also mean the colors you have available to you and what colors you plan to use on a piece. You'll often see me reference a 'limited palette', this is simply me choosing to use only the smallest amount of colors possible to get the effect I want. When using a limited palette on a piece I normally try and use colors that are already worked into a model for details. For example, my veteran:



Originally, I was going to use a blue frosted effect on his sword. But when it wasn't working out well, I realized it was because the added color wasn't going to fit in well with what colors were already on the model. When I moved to a red/black fade, the model came together and gave me a much more solid piece. Had I went with blue, it would have felt like a different model entirely, making it seem disjointed in the execution.

When I approach a new color scheme, I really take this all into effect. I hope that answered your question ^_^. Sorry if it's long winded x.x

Come on Grey_Death, more of the tau. I love the white scheme and want to see how you pull it off.

Waaagh_Gonads wrote:Come on Grey_Death, more of the tau. I love the white scheme and want to see how you pull it off.

Hehe, Well the white scheme above is mine too ^_^. It was just a commission I did for a friend.

I'm in the middle of working on the cloth for this guy now ^_-. More by the end of the night.

Thanks muchly.

Are you using the foundation paints?
I've been giving them a try and they make life so much easier.

Well, this piece is going nowhere quick >.> I really have lost direction on where I'm going with this one so far x.x...

I spent most of the night toying with light sourcing. I'd never tried it before and I thought I would see if I could pick out the lights and darks for this model. I did an alright job I think at actually picking out the light sides vs. the dark sides of the model. Unfortunately I really don't want that to be the final direction of the model.

The big problem with that is that the white is now pretty much ruined unless I go back and reprime the piece. Which I'm not really in the mood to do. So I'm thinking the models new base color will be shadow grey ^_^...Highlighted extensively of course.

Here are the pictures from tonights fiasco:






As you can see, I didn't get around to midtones at all yet. But like I said that really wasn't my goal going into this one, just something I thought I would try out some. I really need to start with smaller objects for light sourcing before I make the jump to complete models.

It's messy, and it doesn't look great, but it was definitely a good experiment for me. Now to get back to basics ^_^.

Waaagh_Gonads wrote:Thanks muchly.

Are you using the foundation paints?
I've been giving them a try and they make life so much easier.

Oh and I haven't given foundation paints a go yet. I definitely would like to see how they work for me on something in the future. I'd probably base a scheme around the colors available for something like that. Maybe even a dipping project >.>...

some stuff I'm workin on

Some progress on the stormtrooper. His armor is highlighted and finished. Next up is pouches and other cloth. Then final details like grenades and magazines.

This color scheme is rather easy to replicate and I came up with it a good 6 years ago. Only differences now are the small things (lenses are nicer, highlights sharper). These guys will be a nice tabletop quality fun skirmish team.

Good looking Storm Troopers. They would fit right in with my BT scouts(except your's are much better painted). Where did you get the old models?

That's eerie. No gak, last night I decided I just wanted to paint -something-, so I picked up the Kasrkin Sgt. I had been using for scale in my Redemptor project and started slapping some color on him. Black armor plates and grey clothes.

Just make certain you take off your shoes when you get in my head.

Thanks for the pallette explanation too.

Kinda creepy that my LatD color scheme is reverse that, Wehrkind(Black cloth, grey armour).

Heh. My Stormies are full camo.

snorkle wrote:Good looking Storm Troopers. They would fit right in with my BT scouts(except your's are much better painted). Where did you get the old models?

I've had them since they were first released. The models you see around the new guy were painted around that same time frame (except one that was painted last year). I've always loved these guys, and it's about time I finished them I think. The paint scheme is easy enough ^_-...

Wehrkind wrote:That's eerie. No gak, last night I decided I just wanted to paint -something-, so I picked up the Kasrkin Sgt. I had been using for scale in my Redemptor project and started slapping some color on him. Black armor plates and grey clothes.

Just make certain you take off your shoes when you get in my head.

Thanks for the pallette explanation too.

Haha, Kasrkin came out soon after I purchased these guys ^_^. I've always meant to pick up a squad of them myself, but never got around to it. Another project someday ^_-. Oh and no prob on the explanation ^_^, it's what I'm here for!

I just picked up the Sgt one day on a whim. He was on sale, and I needed a henchman for my Inq. He has sat in pretty much the same state as the pics for some 13 months. Lucky for him, he happened to be the closest model while I was eating dinner and watching tv :-P

Do any of you guys know where I could purchase the old stormtroopers? other than ebay?

Bartertown is your friend.

Some more done on the troopah.

Me likes. I really like your simple paint scheme for the stormtroopers. It gives the models a really nice look, but without seeming crowded.

Some more work done over the weekend on the stormtrooper. Finished him during the first half of the Super Bowl. I've already started in on the next one. I've got 6 (maybe 7, I can't remember...) more to do to include touching up the older models a bit. The nice part is that they're so simple it's hardly much work.

And something completely out of left field: Historical Minis!

I was recently at the good ol' Hobby Lobby picking up some super glue (my dogs punctured my other bottle x.x ), and noticed they had some 1/48 scale US Infantry for 5 bucks. I was intrigued and decided to snag them on a whim.

Some thoughts after putting one of these little bugga's together:

1/48 weapons should come already attached to the models...That was a PAIN to get glued on. I'm really not looking forward to doing the same for the rest...but I will. Eventually...
It's definitely too small to proxy much of anything in most wargames. The scale is off because of the heroic scale most companies produce.
They don't come with bases, which makes sense since they're not meant to be used for wargaming, so I'll have to end up either using generic rounds or making a mini-diorama for them. Not sure what direction I'll end up going with it.
Expect glue on your hands.
The detail is great, I'm hoping to get to painting the one I've got glued together in the near future to help show it off some.

Anyways, On with the pics.

What are the mould lines like on the tamiya infantry kit? The height and thickness of the infantry model makes me think of tau air caste

Looks good to me. I'm using a Tamiya 1/35 Tiger 1 tank and a lot of converting for my Ork Battlewagon project atm. Remembered how good tamiya were at making kits.

legoburner wrote:What are the mould lines like on the tamiya infantry kit? The height and thickness of the infantry model makes me think of tau air caste

They're very easily handled. Most I had to do was a few quick passes with the edge of my hobby knife. I meant to include the mold lines in my thoughts on the kit...

They're really skinny. It just shows you how much offscale GW is. But I must say I prefer heroic for the more robust look. And the military guys look like they would snap quite easily. You could possibly use the machine gun as a wierd bolter weapon. If you don't use it for the other models.

It would be a cool project to make an IG army of "true scale" historic minis. By true scale, I mean a scale that would make SM minis actually be some 8-9 feet tall by comparison. Then mix in some Grey Knights or the like for that "And here are the elite... they can crush your skull like an egg" feel.

It does surprise me a bit that Tamiya makes such nice kits for so much less money than GW. While I think the Tamita plastic might be a little less durable than GW's stuff, the detail and sheer number of parts, not to mention raw size, makes GW's kits seem really expensive for what you get.

The heroic proportions are to keep plastic from snapping and metal from bending.

JohnHwangDD wrote:The heroic proportions are to keep plastic from snapping and metal from bending.

That is definitely part of the reason for sure. When I showed the sprue's to my wife, she immediately commented on how you could nearly see through some of the weapons, as they are so thin.

Making models that are durable enough to be handled by the greasy sausage fingers they're bound to come across on the wargaming table is a necessity when it comes to usable/playable wargaming minis.

Models like the above, that are in a more realistic scale are definitely not durable enough to hold up for very long. And special transport considerations should be made as well.

I do enjoy the scaled feel of these but I wouldn't consider them tabletop ready by any means.