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More painting updates. First off, the Beaconite has gotten many passes of thinned washes, and is now sporting a darker, even grimier robe (good suggestion PDH). I will probably make the tube striped like the ones on many of my other models, but that may spoil the simplicity so we'll see. And you'll notice I've also started on the female henchmen. It's been a struggle working out their color schemes but I'm getting close and can now start being more definitive.




And then the marines! I weathered them (probably too heavily) and was pretty sad at first. But after working on their faces and defining more details I'm actually really happy with them, and think they're going to work out nicely.

I've been wanting to add symbolic markings to their armor, and thought of a new technique that I haven't seen used on miniatures before (perhaps for good reason) and figured it would be a fun experiemnt. As a graphic design student I started collecting letraset dry transfer letters and have a big stash of them that I used to use on collages and art projects but that I haven't touched in a while. They sit on a clear backing and are applied by burnishing, which transfers the pigment to the surface without any surrounding medium (like a regular miniatures transfer). So I cut out a bunch of promising symbols and letters, including some from my precious gold and white sheets (black is much more common):



Unfortunately they proved extremely difficult to apply to curved surfaces. I also think a few of the sheets had failed (most of these are probably 30-40 years old) which was frustrating. But I managed to get a couple of fun details on the armor (mostly arrows) and I think they'll blend in nicely once toned down with some matte medium and color glazes. And this technique would probably be much more useful on vehicles.




Almost there! After I finish painting these the responsible thing to do would be to finish a vehicle or robot, but I'm so happy with the way the chromed Beacon Priest is turning out I might have to build another one first ...

Lovely stuff. The gold mirrored visor looks great on the finished mini, there's no way you could get that effect with paint. Personally, I wouldn't add stripes to his tube. I think it would draw attention away from his helmet, which has to be the focal point.

The two female henchmen are wonderful. I love your use of colour on these two and in fact the way your entire force comes together as a whole through their shared colour scheme.

'letraset dry transfer letters'

Tell me more! Sounds very interesting. Any idea of something like that can be found in printable form?
I've been designing and printing my own decals since a few years (also a throwback to my Graphic Design years), but they can be tricky when printing larger decals.

Thanks guys. I've been mixing colors pretty haphazardly throughout the whole project, and building things up with lots of layers of washes and glazes, so it's difficult to keep thing consistent so it's nice to hear they still look coherent.

Meph, Letraset letters are also commonly called Chartpak letters or rub-on letters and were the cheap alternative to photoset type back in the day. Long-standing art supply shops tend to have stacks of them hidden away in back corners available for low prices, but they are a dwindling resource so are probably harder to find these days. I haven't heard about printable dry transfer sheets but it looks like they exist, although are very expensive:

http://www.pulsarprofx.com/decalpro/Vertical/3_LIBRARY/3d_Other_Decal_Types/Types_of_Decals.html

I know there are ways you can print your own water slide transfers, right? It would be very fun to draw up custom symbols in illustrator and print them out, not to mention custom fonts (drawing typefaces is my other hobby) ...

Awesome paint skills as usual, those females are fantastic!

Something seems off about the marines however. I think it is the fact that they blend in with the colour scheme of the rest of the army so well. I think I was expecting a little more brightness to them. It could also be the fact that none of them are wearing helmets? Anyway, I can't really complain, I could never paint that well myself...

Keep up the good work!

Thanks everyone!

I've been very busy with real life and haven't had time to take photos until last night, but I did manage to squeeze in a few late night painting sessions, adding little touches to many different models. But a few of them are now more-or-less done, barring base cleanup and possible little tweaks when I have more time.

First off, Condottiere Jean Tsaul Giotto and the Forgotten Brethren, Indentured Astartes in service of Household Merz-Itano (names as always are subject to change):




I've always struggled with painting eyes but had some luck with Giotto; instead of painting a white eye, then adding a pupil, I instead just darkened the entire eye sockets with ink, and added two tiny dots of white on either side of an unpainted pupil. This worked much better for me.

And I've also finished Lt. Brahe and the female plasma gunner:



While painting her I realized she reminded me of my favorite rifleman (the old man), so I gave her a similar striped sleeve and color scheme (and red sleeves, thanks KrautScientist!), and now I think that they are father and daughter (with their family long in service to the household), making a second set of parent-child pairs in my warband:



(I'm better at freehand now so painted narrower chevrons but maybe the wider stripes were less busy? I'm still trying to figure out how to paint the Crusaderess' shield in a way that will look good next to the Head Novator/)

And High Beacon Priest Gagarin and the Failed Challenger are also now done:




The Failed Challenger's Aetheric Wave Condenser is now gilded with the japanese foil (this time dulled with ink) and I've added lots of gross and sad injuries to his flesh: not only are his void-chamber ports leaking all manner of fluids, but the battle-program that governs his servitorized brain gives little care to protecting his body from harm, hence the scraped knees.

And in the spirit of Iron Sleet's Invitationa (http://ironsleet.com/2015/02/01/iron-sleet-invitational-all-your-bases-are-belong-to-us/), I present a trinity on three base sizes; the navigator, the idiot, and the priest:

Could you get a picture of the entire unit? So much lovely stuff though. Especially love the copper style you have going. 10/10!

God, this stuff is just gorgeous. (Except the failed challenger, who's beautifully gross). And I love the thought put into the interplay of narrative and painting: the way the parent and child pairs share subtle touches, the way the indentured Astartes all come from different chapters with different paint schemes yet all tie together...

Thanks!

hjkfuiper: there's a pics of most of the army (in a less painted state) on the previous page. But when I get time and finish a few more models I'll definitely get some group shouts of the various units; Novator w/ his personal guard, one Navigator with close combat henchmen, and one Navigator with shooting henchmen. Stay tuned!

SisteSydney: Obviously a lot of narrative ideas come up during converting, but there is something about painting that leads me to come up more with narrative details. It sounds cheesy but I guess it's when you really bring the models to life so it kind of makes sense.

I'm unhappy with how the color scheme on the Crusaderess has been developing and keep repainting her so I've set her aside for now and started painting my second Navigator wearing a void-proof exosuit. I built this one ages ago and have been putting off deciding on a color scheme, but in the end decided to have some fun and went full on orange.

Not done yet (lots of details, cleanup, and chipping and weathering to go) but I'm happy so far. I present:

Cousin Otam and Cousin Giraud, Navigators of House Merz-Itano


Navis Aethertwister Otam Junet Merz-Itano and her retainers: House Magister Mr. Gilyam, House Guardians Rauthus and son, five Cultists of the Holy Countenance, and chem-mendicant N7RH-530

The death masks work a treat, but it's still Keith flynt that wins for me!

Man those are splendid.

This collection just gets cooler every time I pop in to have a look! And the colours tie together so well even though they a total mix. really impressive.

You have officially made the definitive Navigator "look."

I don't think anyone can top your designs and schemes.

First things first, I really love what you are doing with the Navigator Household.

That been said, could this give you some ideas for your hovertank?
http://industriamechanika.com/shop/land/29-the-kastor.html

Thanks guys!

Halone; that hovertank is great. That same guy (Luca Zamparolli / Kallamity) builds some amazing mecha, and his stuff was part of what inspired me do my own scratchbuilding: http://www.kallamity.com

The army is getting there! I plan to paint like a madman all weekend and hope that will be enough to get things mostly finished.

I've been spending many late nights over the past week adding final details to the grav-craft, dropship, and void-knight. I can't believe how much work it takes to make scratch-built vehicles! You'd think building and designing the basic structure would be the hard part, but it's actually finishing them that is the challenge. I kept thinking I was done and then seeing another gap to fill or another surface to be detailed. I will probably take a break from large models for a while after this.! Still, the results are very satisfying, and should make nice counterpoints to the human-size figures.

Last night I put the finishing touches on the dropship and should have photos to share tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get to prime all 3 models tonight and won't ruin them with bad spraying.

And I also want to mention that a while back Curtis of Ramshackle Games was kind enough to send me a box of his wonderful vehicle gubbins! They are really great and a big help to scratch-building. All the parts were well cast and easy to clean up. I've used some of the vents and various bits on the grav-craft (most notably the front exhaust grates), and a lot more of them on the dropship. I think they will really be ideal for scenery making where the industrial chunkiness and rivets will look great -- just glue a few hatches, exhausts, and engine parts to any old household junk and you've got a ready made research station. I’ve got an old art deco style light-fixture that is begging for that treatment.

OK, photos!

First off, here is Viscountess Mori Fosscobb Merz-Itano, aka Gradmother Mori:





Grandmother Mori pilots a treasured family heirloom, one of the few remaining Voidrunner pattern Knights. Mechano-archivists believe they were originally ad hoc creations from the Age of the Strife; open-void shipyard construction exo-suits that were converted to fight in open space, walking the hulls of frigates and acting as mobile point defense units to deter boarding actions and fighter craft, as well as using their powerful rocket thrusters to leap from ship to ship, gliding beneath void-shields and tearing open enemy hulls.

Mori's Knightsuit has been rebuilt over the ages and bears many of the hallmark household motifs. The suit is armed with a power-claw capable of piercing the thickest hulls, a variable directed energy cannon (that draws power from the suit's main reactor), and an optional multiple missile launcher (not pictured here unfortunately! You'll see it soon enough). These homing missile are laced with spent fuel from warp-drives, and glimmer with a signature aetheric glow that allows Mori to psychically guide them with her Warpeye so that they can strike precise weak-points. (aka a gatling psilencer in 40k) When not in use, the shoulder hardpoint is used to mount a variable sensor pod, seen in these photos.

And now the Kirin class grav-craft. The Kirin is a rare pattern of STC vehicle that is not widely produced due to difficult manufacturing protocols and need for constant repair and maintenance, and has been deemed not worth the expense by most forgeworlds. House Merz-Itano uses a variety of craft for ground-transport, and this Kirin is the personal transport of Cousin Giraud and his Huntsmen.





The Kirin's most noteworthy feature are the two large forward-mounted grav-pontoons. Each pontoon contains a line of repulsor rings, that both generate the craft's ground effect suspensor field, and when fired in the proper rhythms, forward thrust as well. The left and right pontoon can be fired at different rates, allowing for pivoting and turning just like a tracked vehicle. Towards the rear of the craft conventional thrusters provide additional stabilization control.

This Kirin is crewed by a single thrall pilot, while the turret Heavy Bolter is controlled by an integrated servo-skull (fashioned from the skull and brain of the previous pilot, carrying on a long tradition).



The Household's gun-thralls and hired armsmen, like most of the galaxy's common-folk, are deeply superstitious, and have built a shrine at the back of the craft. Dedicated to the machine spirit of the Kirin, the shrine holds assorted offerings and precious totems. It has been placed next to the craft's rear main hatch so that armsmen may touch the shrine and whisper a prayer every time they embark and disembark the craft, thanking the machine spirit for protecting them one more time. (when painting this area I want to make the surface polished smooth by years of hands -- there's a tree in the Alhambra palace that has been polished by countless touches in a similar way)

---

If all goes well you should be seeing painted versions of these 3 vehicles by early next week. Right now I am thinking of painting the dropship a pale green (somewhere on the icecream continuum between pistachio and mint, but I'm not sure where) or a more classic star-wars light grey, and the Knight a mix of white and dark greenish grey. The Kirin will either be a weathered turquoise like the Novator's throne and armor, or a rusty mustard/ochre like some of the armor the armsmen wear. I liked the idea of the ochre because it seems a bit less fancy and would be a good contrast with a lot of the greenish infantry, but I know i can nail the turqoise color and it would allow for more contrast with orangey rust and shadows. Hmm . . .

Should have ....sent a poet.... words... fail me.



This stuff is crazy and awesome, really captures that grimdark atmosphere of the art and it's all just so fantastic.

I'm gonna have to scour this blog some more as time permits, just looking at the first and last pages I have to tip my hat to you, fantastic work!

i love them both the knight is so crazy looking its awesome so is the background for it

the kirin has come out so good i love the idea of the shrine n the way it looks only thing i would suggest is a little rail around the shelf or a clear plastic cover if you could make it for a glass case look so everything doesn't fall off when it moves

I like the bases black rims, really makes them pop, I'm considering repainting mine.

Thanks!

Kencotter; very good point. I may try to add some string wrapped around the totems.

Today was apparently the first day of spring in Chicago so it was warm enough to spray prime in the backyard without fear of that horrible furry finish. Luckily the primer went on great and I didn't ruin everything.

It's crazy how much primer unifies a conversion, and scratch-built models are no different. I fear I went overboard with the detailing and I don't have enough flat expanses to both balance out the composition and give me room for paint details, but probably better to have too much detail than too little.

I primed with grey followed by a zenithal white spray, which I probably applied way too heavily. But the grey still shows a bit and adds a some subtle depth which should help with the painting.



And now, Dropship Pentiment, in freshly primed glory. I've done a lot of work on this since last sharing it and I think it's really helped. Things are still wonky and not in proper alignment but I think the detail helps distract from that. One of my goals was to try to meld some disparate aesthetics: classic star wars style kit bashing, the crystalline asymmetrical forms of Lebbeus Woods, a touch of Art Deco / Dieselpunk brutal grace, and of course the requisite baroquely gothic grim darkness.







Also, Legatho was kind enough to run an interview with me on his blog:
http://legatho-s-warehouse.blogspot.fr/2015/03/on-weird-way.html

If you haven't seen it yet he's got other interesting interviews with some of the forum favorites.

Holy fething gak!

Thats some incredible work mate, the primer has mad e cohesive whole of all the disparate bitz, and I can't wait to see paint!

My god man. That mech is beautiful, it screams Navigator household/titanfall. I LOVE IT.

Hell, I'd would pay you for one but, I hate to distract you from your plog!

Seriously they are truly amazing pieces, the mech is just I have no words to even describe it but the dropship is just amazing the detail and balance of its design just looks perfect great job.

Sir,you rock!!
Fantastic looking craft in the last few pics.

That's crazy bananas. I love the gothic arches, that's a fantastic touch.

 inmygravenimage wrote:
That's crazy bananas. I love the gothic arches, that's a fantastic touch.

Yes I noticed that, what or how did you make that if you don't mind sharing

That is awesome.... very inspiring!

Thanks guys!

The gothic arches are from an orange juice bottle:

https://www.theeasymarket.com/image/cache/data/grocery/0004850030922-500x500.jpg

Surprisingly gothic for a big friendly orange juice company identity. They'd be great for scenery; just mix with pac pipes for gothic infrastructure.

Dam I bet we don't have those lids over here I will investigate further

Stunning work your combination of everyday items and PC and Rod is just seamless

I sit in envy of your talent and do you mind if I ask how you did the Mech/Walker head ? How did you get the curved dome section ?

I really do not know the words to express my astonishment and admiration at all of your work... The grav-craft, dropship and void-knight are jaw droppingly awesome