Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

That crisis drone looks really solid. Good work mate

EXPECT HEAVY AMOUNTS OF ICE!
My army's first set of ice bases have been fully painted, now all that is left is to glue on the flying stands and fill up with water effects and crackling paint. I've left the larger building in the back unpainted as I want to see how the smaller sunken ruins turn out first.

Looks awesome, but the ice ones clash a bit with the more ruin-ey ones, if you get what I'm saying. Also that massive drone in the back is a riptide right? Awesome work!

EDIT: Nevermind, I didn't fully read the post.

Hello, I was just wondering what bases you started with? Are they the secretweapon beveled hollow bases?

These look great, and they even resemble the original model quite well. I saw the Crisis Drone and the Riptide Drone and immediately thought it was suppose to be that model. Though i admit the name "Tank Drone" made me think that was a hammerhead from the name alone.

And i agree with the others about that stealth conversion. That looks like a micro Barracuda, which is damn awesome. Why cant the codex fliers look that cool?

[INSERT ICE PUN HERE]
Well after 2 layers of water effects, 1 layer of crackling paint and 2 turquoise washes the bases will be ready for drybrushing tomorrow morning.

Those are looking pretty cool Proiteus. Sends chills down my spine. This army is coming along very ice, snow doubt about it.

There. Got them all out of our systems.

 Archmagos_Amadeus wrote:
Those are looking pretty cool Proiteus. Sends chills down my spine. This army is coming along very ice, snow doubt about it.

There. Got them all out of our systems.

Man, if you could do a tutorial on how you did those bases, that would be amazing. They look SO GOOD! ^_^

tjdieter2191 wrote:
Man, if you could do a tutorial on how you did those bases, that would be amazing. They look SO GOOD! ^_^

Here's the tutorial I'm using: http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/43463-tutorial-creating-ice-bases/?p=605515

Didn't realize you were on dakka. Nice job so far and I'll be following the project here.

As a Canadian currently suffering through a snow storm I can confirm that those are very realistic wintery bases. Job well done!

ICE BASES NOT COOL ENOUGH
I finished drybrushing my Ice Bases today and gotta say I'm not completely happy with how some of them have come out.
I felt like I overdid it with the drybrushing resulting in the bases been very while and not having much depth. On top of that the crackling paint layer wasn't thick enough on some bases which has caused some of the bases to have lots of shallow cracks.

The Command Drone's base which is not shown suffered badly and is likely to be completely replaced along with some bases such as the one in the bottom of the 2nd photo.

I'm hoping to remedy this by adding a bit of snow to some of the bases, what do you think?
.

I have no idea what you're talking about. They look awesome!

They look great as is, but a little bit of snow fluff here and there would add a much greater depth to an already great base

Do you have any idea why some bases got large cracks and some got smaller ones? Can you control it to any degree? I agree that the ones with fewer large cracks look better, but I think the smaller ones are perfectly serviceable.

My advice? Let them sit for a day or two. Whenever I finish a step of a project I tend to hate what I've done because all I can see is what I could've done better. Come back to the bases with a fresh set of eyes and see how they could be improved afterwards. Because for my money they look sterling as is.

 Archmagos_Amadeus wrote:
Do you have any idea why some bases got large cracks and some got smaller ones?

Yes I believe the ratio was wrong, too much water effects resulting in a very thin coat of crackling paint which caused the smaller cracks. The 2nd one in the lower picture used the last of the paint which is probably why it has a lot of cracks plus an uneven surface. Luckily I have some spare bases to replace the ones ruined, I just hope my Riptide base that I'm gonna do later isn't too bad.

LET IT SNOW!
I've decided that I will add snow flock mixed with water effects to the bases both to cover up the areas where the crackling paint hasn't really worked and to help blend the rocks and ice together. To help contrast the snow and ice I gave the bases another thin coat of teal wash followed by a light drybrushing.

I'm look forward to finishing them up with the snow flock after Xmas, the challenge will be knowing how much snow flock to add? I'm thinking around a quarter just some mounts here and there, nothing too heavy.
You can see the whole army's bases below with the exception of the Commander, Ghostkeel and Stealth Drones.

Looking good. How durable is the base's crackle by the way? Tough as the Water Effects or is it brittle?

 Archmagos_Amadeus wrote:
Looking good. How durable is the base's crackle by the way? Tough as the Water Effects or is it brittle?

I think it is why the water effects are used for the base as it's strengthened the crackling paint, I've just tried bending a test base and they're quite strong.

Bases are looking quite smart to me. I am curious what your scheme will end up looking like - the deep blue/black on that one drone is still the intended base coat?

- Salvage

 Boss Salvage wrote:
I am curious what your scheme will end up looking like

Well here's the chosen colour scheme, should look good on the Drones...
.

CRISIS DRONE CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE
Well aside from minor detailing such as the wings on the Plasma Rifles and sensors on the Fusion Blasters, the 9 Crisis Drones are fully assembled!

So what which Drone conversion would you like to see completed next; Riptide, Broadside or Stealthsuit?
.

As someone who also has a drone themed tau army, I personally would like to see either a riptide or stealthsuit.

Stealth!

Riptide! Go big

Back to the Crisis drones, did you magnetize for swappability? Can't recall if that was the plan, and judging by the variety you've gone for here, guessing maybe not?

- Salvage

Great themed army as always, and the bases are great! I'm usually not a fan of stock schemes, but since you're putting the colors on custom conversions it should look very original. Looking forward to seeing the colors in action!

 Boss Salvage wrote:
Back to the Crisis drones, did you magnetize for swappability? Can't recall if that was the plan, and judging by the variety you've gone for here, guessing maybe not?

Granted I may not switch out the weapons from these current drones, but just having the option to field a 2nd unit of Plasma Rifles or a unit of Burst Cannons in the future makes it worth the extra work.

THINGS ARE WARMING UP!
Well I was fortunate enough to have a few spare 60mm bases about so I redid the base for the command drone, my aim was to go with a half ice half water base which happened by accident on one the 32mm bases. I added another layer of water effects plus some dry cracked paint on the left side after applying the crackling paint and it worked out well as the edge of the ice didn't crack too much. After that a combo of drybrushing and washing gave it a suitable icey water look.

I also got a Ghostkeel for Xmas so using the two flamers from that kit plus part of one of the heads I've created a flamer variant of my crisis drone to be attached to my test model for when I get round to testing the paint scheme which should be something in the next week or so. This means they'll be no problem if it's slightly different from the rest.

That melted base is the absolute business Proiteus. But you have to stop teasing is with these tester models. I can't wait to see your Crisis Drones with some paint