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Hey guys, I'm fairly new the the board here, I've been playing 40k for over a decade now and have just recently decided to get serious about painting. I finally finished off one of my Skitarii Vanguard (With a ranger head, I know, I like them better) and I was hoping I could get some feedback as I try to develop a more professional style. Thanks guys! [img]

First off, I'll say you've done a great job overall, really like how the guy turned out.

Some constructive criticism I can offer is the following.

It looks like the cloak is really lumpy in parts, not sure if thatis from assembly or painting. If assembly, make sure to file or shave all surfaces down (especially the smooth ones). If its from painting, you are likely trying to put the paint on too thick. Try two thinner coats (or 3 or 4), the results will be readily noticeable.

Lastly, and I know these models are a pain for it, but be careful when assembling, or be prepared for a headache later... I'm speaking of how the robes join up. On yours you can see a glaring gap between the front and back. If assembled carefully they will join up and can just be filed later. If you want to remove the gap now, that will involve greenstuff and a small amount of sculpting to join the two halves.

That's it for me, don't dwell on my criticism too much, its intended to be constructive and regardless of what I said, I think you knocked out a heck of a good model!

Thanks so much for the feedback. That's the first one I've built and I ran into the build problem right away. The cloak joined fine until leg assembly and then it wouldnt hold. I tried to just paint that one as if it were a natual break but Ill be trying to fix it next time. Thanks again I had 3 or 4 coats two of base one of layer and one of highlight on the robe and I noticed that too so Ill try thinner paint and filing down the smoothest bits to keep baint from bunching. Thanks again!

Looks great sir, keep up the nice work!

A gap like that usually isn't the end of the world. Some modelling putty from vallejo, or greenstuff, can fill it and be smoothed over so you'd never notice.


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Oh, and it looks like a pretty good paintjob overall!

I'm fairly new to the hobby as a whole, but most of my focus since July has been on painting and modelling. I have about 30 Skitarii at the moment, and I've only about finished one squad. They're a real pain to paint if you want to do them well because of all of the small details and how smooth the robes are. I used liquid green stuff to fill in the seams along the robes and then I sanded the excess down before priming them. As for the painting, I don't put them on their bases until after I've gotten at least the underside of their robe finished because working around the base can be a pain. I also use a wet palette and tend to water my paint down until it's about the consistency of milk. It takes forever because I'm doing at least three coats of each color, but it does look a lot better than just one or two of a thicker paint. I can post some pictures of my yet unfinished squad of Rangers, if you'd like.

Good job, agree with what has been said before, must admit I didn't notice the break in cloak, but I've never put any of these together so wouldn't know what to look out for.

Only constructive criticism I can give, is the rim of the base appears to be too close in colour to the hood and it kinda of makes the hood lose some of it's "pop". I don't know whether that's just the camera though. Is the rim Steel Legion drab and the hood a cream colour? I'd give the rim another coat, as there's a bit of black showing through and it'll make the colour stronger and probably stand out better form the hood.

Really nice model, the unit will look great when they're all done

Thanks for the tip. I had intentionally picked a rim color close to the squad so it'd match nice, but I completely agree that you lose some of the hoods pop. I'll pick a different color and recoat it. Thanks! And yes Id love to see some other rangers to get some reference

It's not exactly perfect or professional quality, but this is the first Ranger I ever finished. I finished him up this summer just so I had a reference when I painted all of my others, which are still unfinished due to school and whatnot.






I hope these serve as some kind of useful reference for you, and remember that I did this back in August. I've done some painting since then and I've learned a tiny bit more. Not much, but some.

A helpful tip for assembly of these guys I learned doing my few squads is to assemble the torso first (front and back) and then attach to legs.

 Joyous_Oblivion wrote:
A helpful tip for assembly of these guys I learned doing my few squads is to assemble the torso first (front and back) and then attach to legs.

This is undoubtedly the easiest way to do it. Then usually the arms/weapons, and then the backpack. Save the head for last so you can be sure it's looking the right way.