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Edit:

I agree with S_L it looks great, and it looks like it's been with the previous vehicles in the army.

So may questions...

Here's a quick update showing this morning's work (I'm so productive if I get out of bed and go straight to painting). Nearly done now. Still to do: lining, chapter insignia, dozer blade. There's a lot more I could do, but I'm disinclined to natter away at this too much as I need to get back on my schedule. Want to have the last assault squad built and primed by Monday.



I did fill in one of the gaps with some of GW's liquid green stuff. (top pic, plate on top rear of hull) Not quite as easy to work with as I'd hoped. Might go in and fill in the cracks on the rest of that plate just because it's so glaring. The really big gaps in front might just have to stand pat as it would take real GS work (and a lot of it) to fix. I thought about adding some battle damage to the area in the front as if the tank had taken a hit and the superstructure had been pushed up as a result... but that's too much work for now. Perhaps when I finally get around to weathering all of my tanks, I'll take a look at that possibility.

I've got an idea for magnetizing the blade SL. I'll let you know how it works. I have 1/4" by 1/32" in magnets that I have completely fallen in love with. Insanely strong but very thin so their impact on the figure is minimal.

Try watering down the lgs to get it the consistency you need to get it in cracks. Straight out the pot, it's more for shape building then gap filling.

I really like the reds on that tank.

I like it. You could fill the gaps, but to be honest the excellent paint work takes the eye away from the them in my opinion.

Nice old Vindicator Gits! Just found anther early rhino in my stuff while I was searching for my Necron bits!

@WM: Thanks, I'll give that a shot when I'm fixing the rest of that plate.

@TaWaaagh: Thank you to you too sir! It matches the rest of my vehicles... when the vindi is complete I'll take a pic of them all so you can see how they look together.

@monkeyh: I'm hoping that'll be the case. I think once I get the lining, chapter symbols, dozer blade perhaps a few other details on... there'll be enough going on that the foibles of my build mostly disappear into the background.

@Reaper: Thanks mate. I have amassed quite a collection of older vehicles myself. Have one more of these vindicators and an original LR that are high on the priority list (post-Adepticon). Have several predators too... should probably re-assess what I really need and start shedding some of this stuff, but at the moment I still envision painting them all eventually.


I think this is by far the best edge highlighting job I've done on a vehicle... just had the right paint consistency and control to get really fine lines for the most part. Lets hope putting the shadows in goes just as well.

Very nice work on the vindi gits. Always nice to see someone add more life to some of the old models. Usually the old models get the old paint schemes that doesn't really help their overall appearance but your AB work on this really makes things pop. Keep it up

Blooming Heck!! I disappear for a few months and wowsers!!

You are making some amazing progress and I am really liking the vindicator.

Good luck with Adepticon.

Love it Gits, great work. That old mini is great.

So how did you find painting in pieces then assembling?

@Egg: Thanks mate. You're a big influence on me... if you look at the difference between how the vindi is aribrushed and how last year's razorbacks were done, the change has been inspired by your work on your blood angels. Tough act to follow.

@dantay: Good to have you back Danny... and thanks! Don't be a stranger so long next time, eh?

@Hits: Thanks! Kind of my "thing" don't 'cha know.

@Knightley: Piece of cake. Won't do it any other way from now on. Infantry I think I'll still build first, but with vehicles this is the way to go. Thanks for blazing the trail!


And for SL... here's how I magnetized the dozer blade.



Works just fine. The magnets on the tank are just a little too far apart for a perfect fit. On future Mk-1 vehicles, if I move the tank magnets in as far as they'll go on the track housing, and keep the blade magnets all the way out to the reinforcing bands... I suspect it'll fit near perfectly.

That tank is a beautiful piece of work! I'm grasping to find anything to suggest to improve on - maybe a bit more shading on the metallics? It looks very pristine (well, except for the bullet holes and scratches!)

Are you ever going to try sinking those magnets?

Here's the finished Vindi.



@Arakasi: For some reason this one looks especially new save for the battle damage. I don't want to mess it up too much as none of my other vehicles are weathered at present, but eventually I'll beat them all up pretty good. May muck this one up a bit though as the battle damage on a pristine tank looks odd.

thank you Gits, that is some of your absolute best work you've done imo! looks bloody fantastic and I think you have done an astounding job!

one big Nerd pat on the back for you :-)

NF09

Great finished product Gits! Hey battle damage has got to happen some time! I reckon he has just got in to battle and had a few fresh scrapes!

Very nice finish, very clean and very good

That is definitely your best tank to date. I do, however, agree with Arakasi that the metal (and a few other parts) look very flat compared to the rest of the paint job.

You've gone and done some great lighting effects on the green areas, but form what I can see, the metal areas look like a flat coat of gunmetal with possibly a wash of black and some silver highlights? This is leaving it looking a bit flat in comparison to the dramatic changes in colour in the greens. I'd go back with some darkened boltgun metal and use some M-NMM (NMM using metallic paints) style effects on the metal areas to give them some life.

In addition, the mantis chapter logo has no variation in the yellow... it's just a flat circle on your nice gradient, which makes it stand out .

The red trims could also do with some variation in shade

@NF09: Thanks! And believe it or not I actually did print out your painting faces tutorial.

@Reaper: Must have gotten dinged up in transit from the Forge World.

@bigfish: Thank's mate.

@endtrans: I agree with you both, the metal looks a little flat. There's a bit more to it than you describe, but not a lot... you pretty much nailed it. Generally I get away with that, but the big gun and structures around it are showing the failings of what is otherwise a quick and easy method. I'll have to think on that. Not sure I'm capable of any kind of NMM technique, metalic or otherwise. There is actually a gradient on the yellow, it just doesn't show up very well. Limitations of printing such a small object I guess. Not sure about a gradient on the red. There are darker shades on the sides of the piping and and edge highlight. Unlike the metal bits, the simplicity of the piping is what sets it off against all the zenithal of the armor plates. I'll consider your suggestion though.

If you use the photo of your vindicator as a reference, you can see where it wants to have darker shadows or highlights on the metal already, so it's just a case of laying down a few more layers of black wash in certain areas to achieve a higher contrast.

And of course, you're more than welcome to ignore my morning witterings too

Never ignore. Might decide otherwise, but never ignore.

I'll work on that shading. Thanks.

Good solid AB work, but I think that nobody around the forum was waiting otherwise!

Yes! you're gradient painting is amazing! You know that I must try this now right? I have a newer Rhino awaiting to be pimped out for an Inquisitor!

You *should* try it dstein... it's pretty easy. And it'll help you practice fine control with your airbrush too.

@Selvaggio: Thanks man, appreciate it.

That Vindicator is a thing of beauty. Every time I look at your miniatures I am more and more convinced that my venerable 2nd Edition Dark Angels army is really worth repainting!

The biggest hurdle is really that a lot of those really flimsy exhausts on the old Rhino chassis have broken off and I'll have to come up with something to replace them!

I've had the same issues Jon. There are a couple of ways to approach it. I've modified the pipes to go straight up, you can even put little lids on them like they do on semi truck exhaust, that's if the plastic pipes are still in-tact enough. The other way is to get some copper or brass rod of the appropriate diameter and bend it into the same shape, drill out a hole in the top of the manifold-thingie and insert it in. At least that won't break.

You know, when my eldest first got into 40k a few years back, I gave him all my old RT era vehicles thinking I'd never use them myself. Now I'm having to trade for and buy those very same vehicles at a premium!

Really loving the Vindicator, stunning paintjob that is gits.
On the old rhinos I cut and then pinned small peices of round sprue from the old marine box that i had lying around for the tops on the exhausts.

Ungrateful kids!

I think the finished vindi looks great - as for the kid - sounds like he'll make a good business man!

@Rayvon: Thanks man, great to hear from another Mantis Warrior enthusiast! Did I ever mention that I highly approve of your avatar?

@dstein: You don't know the half of it!

@monkeyh: Well, "finished" might have been premature.


I worked on making the boltgun metal bits a more dynamic as endtrans suggested. OK, decided to try my hand at some weathering and battle damage. There's a good reason I don't do this regularly... as the pic will demonstrate. I didn't want to overwhelm the figure with damage... I actually want it to look like a fairly new (or recently maintained) vehicle that has seen say... a single engagement. Thus all the wear and chipping is focused on the front end, mainly from things like plowing through obstacles and such. Also tried to show scrapes and scratches moving from one part of the vehicle to another in a logical sequence. I did make an attempt at putting a shell impact at the point where the plates don't meet up correctly. You'll notice in the front shot that I haven't done the headlights yet (or the tail lights for that matter). I'm mulling some things over & will see how I sort things out tomorrow.