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Very nice, looking great so far.

And no, it didn't look like a mailbox till you mentioned it...now it does

Great job. Now you've made me want to dig my model railroad stuff out of storage.

Some more done on the 'kette:



Wash and drybrushing, and barrel tips. Lens is just re-basecoated white, pending some colour.

Coming up, chipping and grime, and calling it done.

Thanks for stopping by.

That's coming into focus nicely my friend. Stick with it.

Looking good, that's going to be a great little tank with some weathering, think your colour choice is really good for showing of some wear and tear

That is looking very sweet!

The new turret looks pretty cool. Nice model! Do you plan to put some decals or freehands on that tankette?

Amazing build (as always) and congrats on your 2nd place in the LoER terrain comp. That was an excellent piece of scenery.

Thank you all, gents.

Finished tankette, or how to ruin a decent paint-job in three easy steps:








Thoughts, comments and criticism are always welcome.

Cheers.

Is it me or do the tracks look like they'll foul up in the curved armour guard at the front ?

Lovely little tankette though and great painting / weathering

Breaking news:

After just under two months travel time - fittingly reminiscent of wooden sail ships, only a few days after America's "discovery" anniversary - chez Camkierhi prize for the LoER 10^th Round is here:



Plasticard tubes and rods, real tracks, green stuff, bins, cardboard, balsa, wheels, Zinge flexible-resin bits, and more! Even some Dr H's bathroom kits!

So good, I'm wondering if using it or framing it...

Normal programming will be resumed shortly.

@Ruglud: Pic perspective does help to the impression, but, yes, they'd do a bit, grazing on the raised part of the tracks. Should have shaved some more of from the track guards when I pushed them downwards, but didn't notice it. Hopefully, tabletop view will be more forgiving than close up shots! Good call.

Cheers.

Ooooh....supply drop....always a good day

Tankette looks great with the weathering...tread guards are just a minor thing, as you say probably not as noticeable on the tabletop. Nice job

In what has probably been my less productive couple of weeks, I've been trying to catch up with Gitsplitta's Second Annual Mantis Maker Competition.

To show something has been done, current state of affairs:



A brief story of the process up to date:

Marine and paint required, first thing was to go through my meagrest (I don't think that's an actual word, but it does depict it's minimal size) pile of bits. First issue: Only one pair of legs, and Terminator legs at that. Few torsos (some fronts, only two backs), a couple backpacks, three left arms and only one, bolter-holding, right arm. Two heads, and half a dozen pauldrons, quite ornate. Some of that, had apparently been dip-painted (Not dip-shadowed, just over-covered with paint).

Options been thus limited, I either switched projects or made do. Decided to give a try nonetheless.

Step one, bits and stripping:



Step two (I could have sworn I'd taken pics here, but apparently I did not. Or I misplaced them), fitting the parts.

The Terminator legs do not fit a standard torso, so I gave them a lipo and reduced the waist girdle. Being at it, I removed some iconography (being a penitent bunch, I'd reckon they should keep their looks rather sober), and modified the position of both arms: originally, the left hand was holding the gun barrel. Opened the right arm to give it a single hand gun-hold, front-pointing, and cut and turned the left arm to have it holding something else in his sinister hand (will come that to that later on).

In going with the stripped look, the shoulder guards I had needed a serious file-work to leave them bare. Tried a different approach instead and gave him a scrap-made pair instead. Kind of worked out, so decided to keep those.

And cooked something up, pipe-bomb thingie, for the left hand.

Assembled:



Ah, added some extra pouches at the back, too.

And after primer:



Some rough patches left to re-file (the emblem on the bolter resurfaced after the paint, and the pauldrons leave a lot to be desired yet, but a bit closer.

And that brings back the left-hand gear issue: I made the bomb first, not too sure about it I put together a blade - short sword or long knife sized - from a gaunt arm, as a possible alternative:



Less "crude" than the pipe-bomb, it might fit the recovered/refitted gear of an isolated Chapter; on the other hand, I'm not that sure if a xenos artefact would be used by somebody suspected of heresy and under probation...

That's all for now, any comments and critiques will we most welcome.

Thanks for stopping by.

Good work on the modifications. The legs seem to fit quite well.

The pose definitely says more "bomb" to me than "knife". Could still have the knife hanging from his belt though.

How to get in the spirit of the competition, the chapter that has to adapt and overcome, so LT adapts and overcomes, great work. Love the pie bomb.

 Camkierhi wrote:
Love the pie bomb.

Oh yes please....clown marines with pie bombs Come to think of it, that might explain the size of their vehicles....of course the rhino could never hold that many marines


Great work with the Mantis, certainly looksthe part, and that head fits in perfectly, slightly bug-like. Is it a from a centurion?

Thank you, gentemen.

Pipe bomb stays, then.

And turning green, plus a little others here and there:



Still clueless about colours for the skull on the helmet and the purity seal(s). Also about better picture-taking, can´t seem to shake of the glare on the photos, it doesn't really shine as much, will have to get around to some diffuse lighting for the final mug entry shots.

@MT: Sorry, random bits bag, can't say where it originally came from.

Hoping to put it back together before the weekend's over.

C&C are welcome, always.

Cheers.

I've always felt that skulls on the armour work best in metallics or bone colours (most of the time - there's always exceptions ). With the green and yellow of the MW's I'd say a natural bone type would work well - should stand out enough without actually screaming 'look at me' or clashing. And a classic red puriy seal is always going to work well against green armour. My 2 centavos.

Looking brilliant bud.

The green looks really nice. The seals and the skulls I looked at Gits's own for reference seems to be quite traditional, red wax and white paper.

If you are using a flash, just a sheet of paper in front of the flash will help, or similar for a light, mind you, be careful not to let it heat up!!

Bone skull, red wax. Got it. Or tried to...

Couldn't help myself, and stuck it back together:




Thoughts?

Thanks for stopping by.

I've got so much catching up to do.

Love the mantis warrior so far, great use of parts.

But the tankette looks so crisp that when I got to the finished picture I had to go back and see if you used lego to get the rivets so evenly spaced. Well done brother .

@Theo: No Lego, but pre-measuring has been allowed back since 6^th Ed came up, has it not? Thanks!

Some more on the MW: line highlights, backpack skull - had missed that one before, - started with the touch ups, too - still a lot of those left -.




Weathering, basing next, and gathering some needed courage to tackle the Chapter markings...

And building it up to theme, of course, that's yet to be done, too.

And the clock's ticking...

Thanks for dropping by.

I have not failed. I've just found another way that won't work.

A not Mantis in the Mist:





Does not look that bad at arms-length, up this close, on the other hand, not so good...

Sounded like a good idea at the time... (Actually, I still like the idea, just clueless at how to pull it off)

Back to thinking...

Thoughts and comments are always welcome.

Thanks for stopping by.

Use kappoc instead, think thats how it is spelt. The stuffing used incuddly toys, and some soft furnishings. White fluffy stuff. Tear it and it will be thinner, and much more mist like.

Model is looking fantastic matey.

Wrong chapter. If it was a Carcharodon... it would be perfect!

Been there done that!

Touche'

Just the one Cam? You need a squad

You just need to build a small container of dry ice in the base Lt....easy

 Camkierhi wrote:
Been there done that!

Me too... kind of...


Anyway, back to LT's mantis...
I think with the mist, you need to stick to the mantra "less is more". You don't want to completely obscure your model, especially after all the trouble of giving him terminator legs. Try with just some strands and build up... maybe a kind of shell around him like a web (thinking out loud here, I've not tried smoke/mist in modelling myself)... Think in terms of how mist is represented in comics (long wispy trails), rather than trying to reproduce "real" mist. Just a thought, that may not work well.

Hmmm, seeing as how it's all halloweeny and that round here right now, has anyone had any experience with that spray cobweb stuff you can get? Would it be possible for instance to spray some onto a work mat, then pull and tweak at it with some tweezers to give it some shape and perhaps a spray of varnish to help keep said shape, before wrapping it round the figure?

And, well, if we're going there, then.....