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Man, it might be too much to ask, but could you do some step by steps with an Alpharius and the air brush? I really want to see how you approach the armor in stages, as well as how you pull it off with the air brush. The whole air brush thing is sort of a forbidden and tantalizing art to me, and you are one of the few that I trust not to make them look like a wizard riding a unicorn on a rainbow in space styled on the side of a windowless van from the 80's.

Will do.

It will be a learning curve for me too, though back in highchool I spent all of my art lessons airbrushing graffiti and became quite adept I've been extensively trained by all manner of cool modeling mags and the Imperial armour though, so should pick up things pretty quick.


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Here's a quick shot, still with the old camera, of the progress. I'm shy of posting PIP these days, but you guys got me somewhere between the thirded and fourthed

As a reminder, this Alpharius gets the "black" stealth armour variant of the Legion, which will have heavily chipped desert came painted on top, peeling just enough to show enough narrative and legion markings! so quite a long way still to go. The muties still need extensive rust effects on their gear and strong dark shading to show the moonlight feel properly. I want to keep them really like a background, just a canvas for their super warrior leader. The two bodyguard models have hints of blue, and legion markings.

Woot! YAY!
So let me ask, how did you approach this? It looks like you started with a white/light grey primer, then a light spray of prussian blue, then shaded the bits in black leaving the lighter blue highlights. (The right knee looks awesome btw) Is that a correct assumption? How difficult to do you find doing the small bits with the airbrush like that?

Also, did you use a mask to get the sharp white line on the brown robed guy? Or was his robe done with a series of washes instead of the gun?

Migs, I don't know if you've already done a step by step for your Legion marines(if so, please link), but I realized I have a bunch of Termie legs and arms laying around, so I've decided I might have a go at some Biggerized Pre-heresy T. Sons, with the Vostroyans I have laying around as Prospero Spire Guard.

Just need some pointers on what you did to start.

Great to see more work on these. Whats with the Tale of 4 Gamers comment are there another 4 and are there specific deadlines?

Like a painting.. in 3d... WOW!

Llamahead wrote:Great to see more work on these. Whats with the Tale of 4 Gamers comment are there another 4 and are there specific deadlines?

Check out this: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/284367.page

some beautiful work so far, really really cant wait to see more, love the crispness of the paint finish so far too. Really gonna have to learn how to air brush soon. Any books/Mags you would recommend?

this has completely changed my beliefs on whats possible in 40k and i just have to say thank you

Cheesy enough for ya (blogs still awesome though)

CommissarKhaine wrote:Like a painting.. in 3d... WOW!

Thak you so much good sir! That is very much my purpose for this project!


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Wehrkind wrote:Woot! YAY!
So let me ask, how did you approach this? It looks like you started with a white/light grey primer, then a light spray of prussian blue, then shaded the bits in black leaving the lighter blue highlights. (The right knee looks awesome btw) Is that a correct assumption? How difficult to do you find doing the small bits with the airbrush like that?

Also, did you use a mask to get the sharp white line on the brown robed guy? Or was his robe done with a series of washes instead of the gun?

I start on white primer, and none of this is airbrushed - that is saved for the vehicles.

90% it's like painting watercolors, so using the white basecolor (paper) to do the HLs (by showing through what comes on top in thin layers) and darkening everyhting else. The final 10% is HLs, and I only use superlightgrey blue and mithril for these. As one of the running themes is moonlight, so I want the light to cast a really cold, dull sheen. Same with the metal areas. But as little HL as possible, preferably just white showing through as naturally as possible (so not always as smoothly as possible!)

Thanks for all the comments and support folks! It really keeps me motivated with the frequent updates here.

At the moment, the liquid mask is just drying! So basically the whole model is finished "just right" in comparison to the two previous guys (well, except darker stealth armour) and now on top goes the mask and then the desert scheme camo. I will then chip off the mask and finalize the model with a series of MIG pigment washes mixed with future+brown paint wash mix.

If I have the time tomorrow after work, I'm picking up the new camera

Ahh I see. I was doing something similar with my traitor boys, though using washes over a light color or gray base to get the highlights. I am still working on getting that water color look with a brush without having it flow all over the damned place. I usually get about 5-10 strokes in before I leave too much on the brush and make a
mess :(

Looks great, and I can't wait to see me!

STOP BEING SO EPIC!!!!

Nah, Just messing. Keep making me strive to be half as good!

28/March/10 the rewards of finishing stuff.

ALMOST there!

Everything didn't turn out quite as planned and I wasn't totally staisfied, but surprisingly, the end result is growing on me, despite not matching the intial plan for sand hues (I realised on the way, sand is too warm for the moon light feel, and used the base hues for the camo layer)

What feels VERY rewarding is that the finished model count for the army jumps from 6 to 16, in one smooth swing!!! well, in a few weeks of working every little moment of free time I've had anyway As ever, this rewarding time in the process is matched with the dread that something will go wrong with the Varnishing phase. Fingers and chapter symbols crossed for smooth and strong finish!

When finished with the squad, I have also finished the first batch of 500pts with models to spare, for my 500pts. I guess the rest of the allocated time (we have until the 15th of April) goes to the Campaign tiles and my last unpainted Forge World terrain piece.

It looks really great, with the Alpha Marines it must take you absolutely ages to paint them to that dark-ish finish considering you start with a white basecoat....dedication much!

Imperial Monkey wrote:It looks really great, with the Alpha Marines it must take you absolutely ages to paint them to that dark-ish finish considering you start with a white basecoat....dedication much!

It actually doesn't take that long! There are drying times of course, but other than that it goes pretty fluidly! Say 8 hours for the entire paintjob and base. What is ABSOLUTELY horrible though, is to then do the freehand markings on top, knowing that if you make a mistake, you can't fix it, as there is no way of replicating the base color effect. Thank god for steady hands and battle damage will come to rescue when future mishaps happen.

Agreed, such is the price of highly sophisticated paint jobs, BATTLE DAMAGE HOOOO!

migsula wrote:

There's now a super detailed compilation of the new rules at dakka news if someone hasn't seen it yet..

Where Where ? anyone got the link I can't find it

Mega awsome work, I've only just stumbled onto this thread, thought i'd wean myself off your work migsula, slowly withdrawing from the affections of your art, but it seems no amount of patches will keep me away, I'm addicted...

Love all the fluff and the way your trying to incorperate that in the army, but its more than just a army, like you said just paint it how you feel and see where it takes you, its better than a painting in a way, its like a portable painting where each model can move about and create a new sceen in a new frame, rather like a comic book I would say...

30/March/10 Themes within themes and conceptual dilemmas!

First I have pictures coming your way. Furthermore there is the most experimental unit I’ve ever painted, on a journey to truly “paint miniatures”, to find that area where someone like Paul Dainton creates gorgeous, raw, high impact imagery without photographic perfection. Now insert a brand spanking new camera into the equation and the dilemma is complete. Super closeups of material that is not meant to be picture perfect.

I’m not going to care. I want you to see all the detail and how I did it. The rough patches and the areas of immaculate detail, without forgetting the achieved levels of realism in weathering. I’m not 100% satisfied, but then I rarely am. What I like immensely is the overall imagery and how disticntly different he looks.

The Dune Twists and Alpharius are a theme within the army theme. The twists act as a canvas for the Alpharius, like that onslaught ow war around the hero in the painting, with the two bodyguards visually more tied to the hero. This is a unit not only operating in the same moonlight sheen, but also a narrative full of sand storms, rad showers and guerilla tactics. While there are levels to make them fit in the whole army, there are many conscious efforts to make them stand out. I’ll let you interpret the detail and story.

I’ve also taken some new sharp close ups of Alpharius and group shots of Alpharius, Alpharius, Alpharius and co. On the “Tale of four Finnish gamers”, I’m sort of ahead of the game, but as some of the Alpharius will be introduced much later on due to pt costs etc. I have plenty of work to do to stay in schedule. I tried taking pics of the Vyper (Vendetta version) but all of them sucked - so retrying later.

Enough and on to the pictures.

XX

Oh boy...you've given him an Ultramarines shoulderpad! Nice twist! I just love the weathering you've done to him, it's just...mindblowing, I'm drooling a little bit here!

How did you do it?

Stunning... I just spent half an hour of my work time looking at the minis

The weathering is great... I like how you left over just a few sparcs of his blue armor... You really can see how his armor got shaped by the sandstorms in the ash wastes... very beautyful.

Wowzer! The look and feel of these desert raiders is on the spot! I could very well imagine these guys coming out of a sand storm, all ready to spread some mayhem.

The weathering on the weapons looks superb and the paint chipping very realistic.

Our campaign armies got off a great start. Now I need to do something on my wolves to, if not to match this, at least not to put my minis in too much shame on the table beside these guys...

Stunning work.
I really like all the dirt. It reminds me of the book and how I imagined the Legion to look on the planet.

I have to say Migs you've out done yourself this time. Mind sharing your secret to painting that Desert Camo

I have to say, your minis are some of the best modeled, painted and inventive i have every seen, i really love then. The chipped camo looks great an is a great idea. I also like what looks the an Ultramarines U on his left pad.

Thank you so much guys! Really nice to hear your positive thoughts on a fairly experimental process and result.

The only non standard "trick" I've with the armor is a liquid latex mask that is stippled over the basepaint work with a sponge and the repainted over with the desert camo. I then carefully chip of the latex to reveal the base color. I will use this in some more suitable place for a tutorial type of thing and share it. (was my first time using it, so still learning)

As a side note - few comments on the "count as rules" that I will use for the campaign. (from a message to Hammer)

Thanks Marko!!

Codex IG allround +

This one is going to be Col Straken! Perfect match stats/rules-wise and hence the shotgun + plasma pistol. For home games I will pay 45pts extra to get +1ws and +2i to make him marine captain equivalent. His retinue is normal command squad, with shaman repping a psyker etc.

Heavy bolter Alpharius is Harker, home games for +15pts and power armour.

First Alpharius is Vulkan He'stan, with the army conferring abilities only affecting a squad he might join, so it should be fair.

I want them all to be individual heroes, so should I add much more, I like your suggestion a lot.


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Ultramarine insignia explanation

Good spot. I didn't want to make it the first thing one will notice, but yet something that sinks in.

The legion is really about deceit and tactical cunning, so in a universe where 99.9% have never seen a Space Marine, this guy will be a Hero of Legend (which he really is anyway you uneducated imperial fools!) - and I figured giving him the Sheriff's badge won't hurt either! I also remember some old / possible Forge World fluff about the Legionnaires posing as Ultramarines.

Does anyone know which Imperial Armor might have this fluff?? I think the one with traitor guard? which number was that?

cheers,

migs

Beautiful stuff, migsula

That fluff you're on about is in Index Astartes: Alpha Legion. Legionnaires pose as Ultramarines to outflank Guilliman before he kills 'Alpharius'

The one with that Fluff is in IA5, I'll see if I can dig it up for you Migs, what do you want to know?

I gotta say, my favorites out of the new set are definitely the twists with blue shoulder pads. The new Alphie is excellently done with the camo and the like, but I just don't find his aesthetic appealing for some reason. I guess I just don't like the desert or something. Amazing work, however. The two twists really hit the spot for me though, right where they should be I think. Lovely work!

Hey Migs I was just wondering how your going to be doing the standard guardsmen, not that they'll be anywhere near standard know you but hey Will they be, just normal Guardsmen, or full Legion Operatives, or maybe a bit between. Cheers, BT

Utterly cool you've got the whole Lawrence of Arabia vibe beautifully on the Apharius and they really do look like something from an impressionistic master work.