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Hello all,
I'm finally getting some painting done this days - very slowly, very poorly - and I know my limits, but I also know the positive effect a bit of feedback, and especially some advice can give. So I've decided to start a Plog to see if it can keep me moving and help me improve.

I started 40k back in the 2nd ed, playing Chaos, then went off to uni, gave up (I wanted to be 'cool') and gave all my minis away to my nephews in the 00's. When I became old enough to realise 40k is AMAZING again, I started up guard. And I played for about 2-3 years, 5th ed, with the most cheapskate, dreadful army you can ever imagine - Perry Minis Napoleonics stuck to tuppences, to be precise. While this army had great fluff, they had terrible tactics and my painting and modelling left a lot to be desired.

So, I decided I wanted an army with a bit more bite, and certainly something a lot easier to paint. I came up with a semi-mech list, and the feel for the army would now be very different. Instead of gentlemen leading ruffians, my guardsmen would be recruited from a shrine world - a shrine world famous for its death cults, in fact - and thus would be somewhere in theological radicalism between Redemptionists and Banzai-charging Samurai.

They have also come to the conclusion that it's not right for just the enemy to look scary, and in fact they should throw some fear right back at them, so upon recruitment, each trooper is given a death mask to wear into battle.

So they could be seen as loyalist Blood Pact in appearance.

Anyway, enough rabbiting. I'll try and get some much better pics up in the next week - it's my first time photographing minis on this camera, but I can get access to a much better one.


This chap's a sergeant, still requires some finishing but he's the best indication of 'what I'm going for'. I have two more troopers - one lasgun, one flame - at a similar level of completion, two more unpainted chaps to work on, a primaris, a priest and an old-school yarrick. I only have a small collection of minis where I am just now so this is enough to be going on with at my painting speed.


Feedback I would like;

Basing tips? I've never really got the hang of good basing. What colours/texture would be a good contrast to this mini?

Otherwise, when there's better pictures hopefully I can get some useful critique on my painting. Currently I'm just going for paint-wash-drybrush-wash on textured areas, and trying not to spend too much time per mini.

Thanks in advance for looking,

Cap'n R.

Update 2;

I've managed to get some better pics, and if you have a peek at them, you'll see I'm suffering from some rather schoolboy technique-problems.



Better shot of the Sergeant



And a rear-view




My first Grunt 'Trooper Jedan' (Imaginative I know)





More of him there.




Flamer trooper






And lastly, a group shot, including my other not-so-far-along flame trooper:





So, there's an update for ye. Those of you whom were paying attention will notice the rather shabby pooled pastel colours.

They look great when I put them on but when they dry I get this rather dreadful effect.

This has only started happening this week - last time my washes weren't generating this effect, but now I basically have salt-marks all over my minis wherever I've used washes.

I've been slightly watering them as the last year of storage has dried them out a little - could that be causing it?

I'm tempted now to go back to what I did ten years ago, just watering paints down massively and making my own washes. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I'd also like feedback - if people are interested - in what do to colour-wise with the weapons. I'm currently leaning towards just doing dark grey, like the trim, but I'm very open to suggestions. And my previous question about basing is still open.

Thanks in advance,

Cap'n R.

I think snow would be a good base, as it would really contrast the red that dominates the uniform. Also, not sure if it was intentional, but the kind of splotchy look of the clothing is pretty sweet. I haven't really seen that before, you should replicate it if at all possible. And what head are those?

Hey, cheers for the reply Ghastli!

the heads are from http://www.secretweaponminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=47_48 the oni masks, with and without helmets. I plan to maybe use some regular samurai heads for the CCS eventually.

The snow idea's a good one - one thing I know I can get my hands on easily here is grit, so I might start gluing them on and painting them up as chunks of ice. and next week I'll be getting my hands on loads of my old tools, including some basing supplies. Joy!

And the blotched patterning? just a result of using a black wash and crimson drybrushing a few times. I'm almost wondering if I should just strip these guys and start again, they've got so many layers of paint on 'em now. But I think I'll keep going - try and get a squad of sorts finished first.

I think I've managed to fix the pooling problem - it probably was water - so I'll try and get some more pics up in the next few days.

Cheers!

So after a little digging in the attic I found a stash of old minis from my 2nd/3rd ed Slaanesh Chaos Space Marine Army, and my Dark Elves. I thought I'd donated the lot to my nephews 10 years ago, but it turns out I kept the ones I was most proud of, and a few I'd just forgotten outright.

Quite a few of them will end up on Ebay, but today's a very sunny day, sofor the sake of an update I thought I'd post those that represent the pinnacle of my painting prowess in the late 90's, and see if it stirs any nostalgia for anyone on Dakka.































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Now to get on with some painting and modelling!

Love the troops the mask is a creepy addition! I'd say maybe mix in a base paint to your red mix and thin it up and let it dry a little so you get less blotching and more powder for an even drybrush effect. If that was a point of annoyance for you. Love the old school chaos dread. I think it needs some tyranid parts all over it
Looking forward to more!
Cheers!

 bebopdrums2424 wrote:
Love the troops the mask is a creepy addition! I'd say maybe mix in a base paint to your red mix and thin it up and let it dry a little so you get less blotching and more powder for an even drybrush effect. If that was a point of annoyance for you. Love the old school chaos dread. I think it needs some tyranid parts all over it
Looking forward to more!
Cheers!

Thanks for the kind words Bebop, and I'll definitely take that under advisement. Almost all my paints are OLD, as in more than ten years, but they survived remarkably well in those bullet shells. I have a smattering of Vallejo paints as well, and that's where my washes come from. So next week perhaps I'll invest in some GW base paints.

I've been doing some modelling today, so hail to the new recruits!


Another new Sergeant



With a Lego cutlass



Psychopath with a greatsword



And a shot of the 'problem zone'


So with both of these new chaps I've used Mordheim bits, since I had them kicking around. This however means I need to green stuff Cadian shoulder pads on, which I had a shot at today.

However, it has raised some problems - in that last shot of the 'problem zone' you can see the crosspiece of the Greatsword sits in where the shoulder pad would be on a Cadian. I've tried to model it flipped up, as if the crosspiece has slipped underneath. Does anyone have any suggestions of another way around it? I'm reluctant to remove the crosspiece entirely, as it looks quite badass - although I suppose I could replace it with a Katana-style guard, maybe put some lugs on there.

Suggestions I'd also appreciate - how to go about turning this greatsword-wielding loony into an appropriate senior officer? I figured that if an eviscerator makes a chainfist, a 2-handed power sword should make a power fist. But the model at present doesn't have much of the necessary majesty for a senior officer model. Should I just shove a cloak on there? Any suggestions welcome, and the same with regards making the models more professional-looking, how to go about painting them well, and all my queries above still stand.

Kind regards,

Cap'n R.

I'm also now contemplating naming my regiment the XVI'th Stentorians...

I really like the heads and the use of the Lego cutlass is pure gold, scale seems pretty good too.

Agree with a snow bases plus if you want to salvage some of the older models just dump them in some simple green for a day or two and use some elbow grease.

The old dread would make a cool daemon prince imo

Hey Cap'n R - Sorry I missed your blog for so long! Really like the theme, the death masks are a stand out touch, and will let you individualise each of your troopers, which I'm a big fan of. Also means you don't have to paint any faces

Looking great so far, particularly like the shoulder pads that you've finished - is that freehand or a transfer? Sometimes my washes have a bit of white discolouration to them if I use too much and it pools a little, but it might just be that you've got a batch that's gone off.

In terms of basing, a lot people go in for contrasting colours on the base. You've got some deep, earthy tones going in your fatigues, so as some folks have suggested already, snow could be a stark contrast. Also quite hard to do well, I've heard, though I've never done it myself. Industrial basing can be easy and look quite good - a little aluminium mesh to make cross hatched decking (super cheap on eBay), some small piles of sand / grit and the occasional pipe and you've got varied and interesting bases.

Good call on the lego sword - I had no idea that stuff fit the scale so perfectly! I can see what you mean about the gent with the broadsword though - more 'raging beserker' than 'regal officer' at the moment How is your green stuffing? A couple of medals on his chest might set him out, or maybe a peaked hat if you could sculpt it. Failing that, you could always directly transplant one from another model if you were happy to touch up the gaps after lopping off the top of his head.

Looking forward to seeing where you take these gents!

@ Void Walker - Thank you sir or madam, the heads are key for me, and the lego cutlass - well it makes sense, both ranges of models are horribly proportioned so they've gotta work together, right? I had to shave off quite a bit of the hand guard to make it less ridiculous though.
As for using that guy as a DP, I'm very tempted by the new daemons - I just know I have to be disciplined, work on the troops for my Guard army before I start other projects, otherwise I'll never have even a 500pt force painted.

@ Scarp -
No fear, it's only been up a week or so And you've got it in one, I got really sick of painting faces on my napoleonic guys, so this army had to be about *no* faces. And yeah, so far I'm going monochrome with the masks, but down the line I might start mixing up colours a bit - black and yellow, red and blue, all bright colours but patterning will give for more individuality. I'm also tempted to 'necro' them up a bit so I don't get bored, add in lots of extraneous equipment and of course some extra melee weapons.

That shoulder pad's freehand, I actually forgot how I did it but then managed to remember - starting from a black square and putting in white leaf-shapes in each corner gives a much crisper pattern than I can do otherwise with freehand. I went through a phase of obsession with Richtofen a little while ago, this is the result. I was originally going to have each platoon be a circus with different bright patternings, but actually sticking with Richtofen staffel all the way through seems pretty nice now.

The army's also going to have a buttload of conscripts, I've been wrestling with what to do for minis for them for a while now. I have a frateris militia vibe in my head, but it's crossed in my head with the pilgrims from Medieval Total War:



and although there's quite a few possibilities around - house crowmantia militia, necromunda redemptionists and cawdor - they just don't feel right. I'm currently contemplating buying some KKK-style cultist heads I found online - the link's hidden away on my own laptop, I'm at a mate's just now - and sticking them on high elf archer bodies, but it still feels a bit wrong.

So to all, suggestions welcome.

MOAR TEXT

I'm definitely leaning towards the snow vibe, I'm getting my hands on my other modelling gear in the next couple of days, and I have some plastic shavings hidden away somewhere that are great for snow. I picture in my head the suicidal charges across a frozen river that saved Moscow in WW2, and blood on the snow really fits the feel of these religious loonies.

My greenstuffing is not what it used to be, and it didn't used to be as good as yours, Scarper I'll give some medals- or possibly religious trappings - a try. Maybe a cloak as well, with a big golden acquila on it. When I get home this weekend I'll upload pics of my attempts at cadian shoulder pads.

I'm also not sure if a peaked cap would work with the crazy-screaming-zealot theme, but then maybe that's why it would be awesome - like the DKoK commissar in his gasmask. Hmm, possibilities...


So more photos at the weekend, and thanks to all who've taken a peek and commented. Feedback, advice, suggestions, wild accusations all welcome.

So, having checked the forum rules, it seems that because this isn't a topical thread I should be ok starting up again after just shy of 2 years away. If not I'll just have to start again.

Anyway!

Stopped painting any IG bits ages ago, used the zealots I had made as a Necromunda gang in a campaign with Scarper, bought some Vic Minis beastmen to use as Goliaths, then spent a whole load of cash on a lovely range of Vic Highlanders and conversion bits to go with them, then stopped playing necromunda since June last year.

Started playing again over new year so had to start painting them! And since moving to Manchester I have got in discussions to start in an Inquisimunda campaign, so have resurrected the beastmen to be a mutant warband (with a couple of Ogryns for backup) and have just received some female Arcadians from Vic who are becoming a drop troop kill team.

So that's right, I have three gangs on the go to showcase to you! That's right, three! So I will try and eke out the posts and get some momentum going. Close-ups available on request and will be arbitrarily imposed from time to time. Here's the first gang showcase, of the half-painted Highland raiders, currently the toughest suckers in Duct's End, the Hilltouners:



And I'll do a group shot of the beastmen and the ladies over the course of this week, before we start getting into close-ups.

HUZZAH!

Nice one... Subbed Rufus...

Why thank you!

Hello world,
So before posting images of the whole of the Grimesthorpe Colliery Band, aka my mutant warband for Inquisimunda, I wanted to post a teaser of the fact that I HAVE ACTUALLY PAINTED SOMETHING.



This mini isn't making it across from the old gang to the new warband, because sadly he's a heavy and mutant warbands can't shoot to save themselves. My new heavies are Ogryn

But, I would like some C&C and tips - how should I base this guy? I used devlan mud on some of the other members of the gang and it's not mind-bogglingly awesome.

Anyway! More posts coming your way soon, together with detailed photos and requests for advice on finishing 'em off.

Ta,
R

Basing first rule of thumb-What's your battlefield? Base them on something that matchs. For gangs I'd go Urban using sprue cut up into rubble straw pipes and card if I were you.

Hey Llamahead,
Thanks! It's a bit difficult for me to pin down, as I'm always playing on other people's terrain. But yeah industrial/urban is probably a safe bet. And they should look good anyway.

What about colours? I remember there being a trend for using particular colours to compliment the paint scheme in the past...

So, here's some more pics, and a little progress made. I've taken your advice Llamahead and started using old bits of sprue for rubble on my female IG, although not the one I've photographed.

So here's Sergeant Kereswan, the leader of my all-female drop troop IG kill team for Inquisimunda:






She's got a hunting rifle with dum-dum bullets for long range, a meltagun for short, and a laspistol and sword for CC. Hugely overequipped for a model this size! it was quite a struggle finding a way to make all the bits fit on. At least she looks mildly grumpy to suit the amount of gear she's lugging around.

This killteam still needs a name, although the individual fighters are now named at least. I'm essentially thinking they're from a culture where genehanced female warriors settled during the Great Crusade, and so still to this day the finest warriors of that world, with creed-like strategic accumen, are all female. I'm taking inspiration from the Kurdish Peshmurga for names, and I might link them to the Geno Two-Five Chiliad from Legion in fluff terms.

I'm still not sure what i'm going to go for as far as the colour scheme's concerned; currently thinking light grey urban camo for the armour sections but blue is also appealing. Suggestions very welcome..

Next, an ensemble shot of the Grimesthorpe Colliery Band, as previously mentioned:



This warband still needs a lot of painting. Their backstory is that they're escaped mine-mutants. When the Colliery was closed due to a lack of financial competitiveness, tens of thousands of the abhumans and mutants that were forced to work there were forcibly retired. A small handful managed to escape with their families, and now the best of their warriors act as soldiers for hire, trying to scrape a living in the underground. Possibly among the lawless settlements of the asteroid belt mining communities.
I'm still waiting for the huge shipment of giant rats they get as standard as mutants - 10+D3 every game. Crazy for a starting gang!

That's all for now. Comments are welcome as ever.

Plague Monks are a good source for Giant Rats and would work well as more mutants.

 Llamahead wrote:
Plague Monks are a good source for Giant Rats and would work well as more mutants.

Cheers! I hadn't thought of going GW to be honest - it's all so expensive and I've spent so much in the past. But as soon as I get playing with these gangs (hopefully this weekend) I'm doubtless going to want to flesh them out, move in different directions, expand their numbers, and most of all spend more money on more bits.

For now I've got 15 giant rats basecoated, will work on them some more once I've given the rest of the Grimesthorpe Colliery Band some more love. Which I haven't in a while! I've been working on my two other projects, the IG kill team (still unnamed) and my necro gang, the Hilltouners. Therefore, massive image dump as I've finally got back into the groove of painting!

First, a portrait of a small part of the Hilltouners, who triumphed o'er all foes at the weekend and as a result I've ordered more bits to model weapon swaps (Boab is now a BS4 Specialist! Plasmagun incoming)





McGonagle, the heavy with the nasty scar, has now (finally) had a BS increase and is going to be much more scary with his heavy stubber now.

And a portrait of dear Wullie, the relatively mild-mannered midfielder who rarely does much except fail to hit and/or wound:



So, when it comes to the Hilltouners, what basing scheme should I use? I could probably use bits of sprue (as illustrated below) for twisted metal, but I just can't quite pin down how I want to base them. It should be urban/industrial, but I haven't got much further than that. And I don't want trench/wasteland, as I've got that covered with the girls. Suggestions welcome.

On to the IG Kill Team:



Now I'm doing these ladies as a unit, painting them all at the same time. I'm pretty happy with (and almost finished) the basing but a: haven't decided whether that block on the Sergeant's base is going to be concrete or steel and b: am wondering if they need more stuff on there. Opinions?

While some of the others have better bases, here's some solo shots of Sergeant Kereswan (the other solo shots didn't come out very clearly sadly)









(her other arm's at the cleaners)

I'm about halfway through painting the camo scheme, and Kereswan's pretty good at showing it. I drybrushed with grey a little prematurely but I hope it'll all end up evening out with a wash later.
I'm doing another coat on the brown patches, then dappling with spots of khaki after.

I've still got to paint arms, attach arms, paint flesh areas, and wash the models. What order do y'all think would be best? I'm going to do the lot at the same time, and if I can get all of those done by the weekend they'll be ready for their debut

All comments welcome!


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PS for all those interested, check out this amazingly dense Necromunda board we played on on Sunday! Extremely satisfying




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Actually I've just realised when I cut the blurry photos this is no longer a massive update. Apologies if you feel let down...