Hi guys
First time actually posting

Ive got my second 40k diorama on the go and thought id share it with like minded people for once. done quite a bit of diorama building before but ive jumped into 40k, its addictive.
Its pretty much the spawn of my crazy imagination. The layout roughly consists of Death Korps of Kreig grenadiers w/commisar making a last stand against a tyranid mass attack. 90% of the models are forgeworld (not because i dont like GW models, the models used just worked for my grand plan!)

Pictures will soon follow as im at work but hopefully i can share my work over the coming weeks (and months tbh with the size of this project)

Cheers

Dan

ok great....now where are the pics? Hope to see them soon

AAAaaaaargh!!!!

I want pictures. Sounds like its going to be an epic diorama.

Not to hijack this thread.. but will it look something like this...



hyuk hyuk hyuk....

Sounds cool! And as Element206 said, pics please!

Think bigger bugs with the gaunts and fex too, pics will arrive late tonight haha.
Thanks for the interest guys lol

sounds like a really cool idea, what will it look like?, I was thinking of DKOK in trenches with the nids making their way through the barbed wires

Sounds cool. I look forward to it.

Subscribed!

S_P

Late at night so poor quality photos and not a proper view of what im imagining.

Model List (Men/nids)

Tyranids ;
Heirophant
Carnifex w/wrecking claws + ram carapace
FW Rippers
Various Gaunts
1 Warrior

DKOK ;
Commisar
Grenadiers


the base consists of the abandoned chimera, ammo dump and command dugout (i think thats what its called lol)
Still plenty of barbed wire to be introduced and mud and grime

Its early on but ill post updates as i make any noticable progress (Y)

Cheers Guys

Dan


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Still lots of green stuff to be done on the FW models (and ofc finishing the phant )
More landscaping is due on the base too

Any constructive critiscism is welcome guys as im realising ive bitten off quite a lot more than i can chew... but im going to love trying to complete this beast!


Cheers

Dan

interesting so far. are they going to in/around the tank?

2 guard in the tank, 1 defending a wounded comerade, with heavily modified rippers and possible a custom posed hormagaunt rushing them. The roof of the chimera is going to be modeled to be removable also

Cheers

Dan

Sounds cool.

i like where this is going. i cant wait to see you next lot of progress

Looks sick, I can't wait to see more WIP pics.

currently working on the base,however ive discovered ive not washed 2 of the kits properly :/ wasnt thorough enough, before i do anything drastic are there any tips on cleaning the mould release off without scrubbing away in a sink with washing up liquid please?

Thanks

Dan

Been working on parts of the chimera while i plan ahead, its going to be more heavily weathered and the rust/mud needs to be blended and possibly a wash applied


Cheers

Dan


Automatically Appended Next Post:
the interior rust is less dense than the pictures portray but my photography skills arent up to scratch unfortunately :S

Bloody hell, he wasn't lying when he said bigger bugs. Looks to be great!

ghosty wrote:Bloody hell, he wasn't lying when he said bigger bugs. Looks to be great!

This looks awesome!
Cant wait to see the progress

Finished cleaning up the base so WIP more pics will follow in the next couple of days

Cheers

Dan

Carnifex, Chimera and Commisar Pics

Terrain and posed Warrior pics

It would probably look kinda cool if you have a guardsmen hiding in the chimera who's scared to death ..,ads a lot of life too

plan is having one kneeling in the transport bay, with 2 rippers about to crawl in from every entrance
Considering adding a marine or 2, not sure yet

Dan

It would probably look kinda cool if you have a guardsmen hiding in the chimera who's scared to death ..,ads a lot of life too

DKK don't do scared, if you want cowering need to pick a different regiment.

personally I think you should keep it all guard

DKOK would take it as far as headbutting an enemy if it came to it I think

Not including any marines after thinking through the mini story behind my scene, Cleaned up my amateur greenstuff work and made a few hormagaunts up.

Next pictures will appear when ive finished the chimera on the base

Thanks for the what interest ive had guys

Dan

Hey, nothing to add except this looks awesome and I can't wait to see the finished diorama. Definitely subscribed!

Really good work so far, I love the way that nid warrior turned out

First bloody good work, this is gonna be mad when its done.

Could i possibly suggest, assuming you have the wounded DKK guardsman with the outstretched arm from the forge world kit you get the commissar in (im assuming a lot here) maybe you could have him about to set off some sort plasma bomb or a deathstrike missle or some other suitable doomsday device as a final heroic "get &@%$ed" to the nids.

ahhhh want more! this sounds great

Looks awesome so far can't wait to see more pics

That is one EXPENSIVE diorama. I can't wait to see it finished. I really like the Forge World battering ram on the Carnifex. Still regret not putting it on my Old One Eye conversion.

all of the terrain peices i got cheaper than FW prices the joys of 2nd hand buying lol. Thats why the progress has been slow to start with, ive been repairing and recovering parts.

As for the doomed guard its just going to be the kneeling DKOK grenadier i have, the mini scene in/around the tank is going to be "just before the epic last stand" with the rippers and gaunt only just out of his line of sight.

Updates come today after my driving test



Thanks for the feedback

Dan

Good work so far , what colour are you going to paint your dkok?

That my friend is a very good question
Im toying with the idea of doing an olive green type trench coat and for details in the commisars coat being red with gold/yellow button studs, with brown canvas mask

I need to have a few test schemes on a few cards, been concentrating on the 'nid scheme too much


Dan

One very late update from when i promised, one unfinished DKOK Commisar

Coat nearly finished apart from the buckle on the belt, the rest is very much unfinished, hopefully finish him tomorow


Dan

Heres my interior of the chimera, not sure if i want to add any more detail but we shall see

Wow. This diorama sounds awsome and looks promising! It's like the paintings of epic battles in the codexes. Are they going to be surrounded or are they going force vs force, head on?
Keep the updates comming dammit! Can't wait.

Thanks Arrias hopefully I can do the models justice

There will be one kreigsman in the chimera and the rest will be meeting the tyranids head on. With the krieg being held out in & around the ammo dump and dugout.

Tonight I have painted the camo scheme and begun weathering the chimera on the base, I shall post an update with pics as soon as it's finished


Dan

D.Smith wrote:Thanks Arrias hopefully I can do the models justice

There will be one kreigsman in the chimera and the rest will be meeting the tyranids head on. With the krieg being held out in & around the ammo dump and dugout.

Epic!

D.Smith wrote:Tonight I have painted the camo scheme and begun weathering the chimera on the base, I shall post an update with pics as soon as it's finished


Dan

Glad to hear it

LordCreed wrote:It would probably look kinda cool if you have a guardsmen hiding in the chimera who's scared to death ..,ads a lot of life too

Haha, sorry just the first thing that came to mind. Can't wait to see this finished though.

Been busy at work so not had chance to do a lot, heres my weekends progress though.

Dan

Are you planning on pinning the legs on the biotitan?

You may suffer a bad case of bendy leg syndrome, if you don't.

You could also rest the main body on a piece of terrain/building too, to take the weight off of the legs.

Just a comment based on fluff, a Kreigsman wouldn't waste resourcess protecting a fallen comrade, so perhaps re-thinking that one would be good.

I love the idea of the wounded guy setting a timer on a big pile of meltabombs or something though.

Im putting a support rod of brass through his chest (painted black), personally prefer that solution to hacking the legs apart

The kriegsman isnt wounded, hes essentially trapped in the chimera, in a last stand situation, the rest of the kreigsmen are just fighting for their lives separate from him, when i finish work im planning on showing the rough placement of all the units to give a more complete image of my plan.

Dan

I want more pics please!!! Go strong

Havent had access to my camera this weekend so i shall take a couple of pics tonight as promised lol.

I've done the first layer of basecoat spray on the 'phant, fitted the support rod into his chest (im quite chuffed with how its turned out lol) and done the rough colour scheme for my nids using a hormagaunt as the test subject


Dan

Love the sandbags around the hatch of the chimera, may be stealing that idea...

The chimera is straight from the FW abondoned chimera kit lol they were already moulded on


Dan

Looking awsome

I had a similar idea recently with a Baal Predator and Orks.
My only problem is the price of the Baal Predator, I don't think I could handle buying one just to destroy it

Hi Guys
Only had minimal progress unfortunately, combination of 2 jobs and a girlfriend doesnt leave much modelling time :(

Only the carapace and the claws are finished, the flesh and muscles need painting, its just to get a rough idea of the scheme.
small blotches are going to be added to the flesh too similar to the nids in my gallery

more

Looking very good... and expensive (as has been mentioned ).

I think the DKoK are going to need bigger guns

Yep good start , the brown , on the nids ties the base nicely , was it a bugger to pin the huge nid ? i take it that it cannot support its own weight?

Yeah the legs are too flexible to support it.

The hardest part was deciding where to stick the support rod, then it was just a matter of dremel tooling his chest with a drill bit to match the brass rod i have (5mm dia) and drilling a matching hole in the base.

The biggest problem was finding the spike that flew off from his chest when the drill bit hit it was like a bullet, ended up on the other side of the room!

Dan

Update coming tonight,
progress made on the hierophant, nearly finished gaunt, commisar and quite a bit of work on the base has been done

Finally found a decent chunk of time to get my head down regular


Dan

This looks great! I just got a bunch of DKoK myself and I'm excited to see how you painted them.

So... are you going to glue the models on the diorama, or make them removable for the sake of gameplay?

Upon getting home last night I discovered my camera had taken upon itself to be broken :( so may be a while untill anymore picture updates of any detail im afraid

The models are going to be glued to the base, not much of a gamer, more into the assembling and painting side of things even though i do have a nid army painted up if i felt like having a bash at it


Dan

Are you going to make any special FX on the diorama?

-Led lights in chimera
-Gun shots (the plastic thingies...)
-Slime (drooling carnifex?)
-Smoke It's a battlefield... of course there is smoke)

Looks fantastic, look forward to seeing it progress into completion.

I'm researching ways into adding drool (clear) to the tyranid monsters but thats it im afraid, i had lots of after thoughts as my base came together and decided i'd be doing it forever if i tried put them all on

Yeah drooling nids are as far as it goes

Dan

Dunno if this will help but Blacksunartstudio on youtube has a good vid regarding drool and blood etc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGuO4pgaWyU

seems quite straight forward too

T-M

Thank you tungstenmonkey mucho appreciated, looks like the most simple of the methods and doesnt look too bad either may try it when I finally finish the first gaunt haha

Thanks

Dan

that looks awsome-i cant wait to see it finished

I don't think it would be too hard to add some other fx, like a few armorcast muzzle blasts and cotton wool smoke.

I know it wouldnt be amazingly difficult but it doesnt fit with the image of my finished diorama i have in my head, if that makes sense?
New camera is on the menu this weekend so i can get some pictures up

Dan

PS the diorama is now named as i've had a nameplate engraved for the inset section on the base

Thanks guys for all the interest btw

Also, have you considered that you could include dead DKOK on the battlefield?
Maybe some rippers eating a grenadier?

Im heading down to the FW open day and im considering picking up more DKOK, adding some 'standard' DKOK rather than all grenadiers. Then converting several to be dead around the tank area where the nids have overrun them


Automatically Appended Next Post:
After a brief look on the FW website ive had the awful problem of wanting to do a massive expansion to the diorama lol, adding a heavy stubber, heavy flamer and the spuad of firing DKOK will have to see how crowded the diorama woul become with them additions. It would however give me some guard convert for the base (kill )

Dan

What about 2 chimeras?

1 immobilized/wrecked
and
1 functioning and dropping off more infantry

(maybe even a valkyrie dropping off a command squad/M0ar Troopz!... but i'm not sure if it fits the DKOK theme)

lmao unfortunately i dont have that much space on the base ive made
Been looking at having an autocannon DKOK team set up with a couple of gaunts dying in line with its muzzle
With the heavy flamer getting ready to cook the fex, and the standard DKOK used to flesh out the numbers (make it a bit more beleivable) and use 2-3 as dead/being killed

Dan

you could use these for your Heavy flamer...

(edited a spelling mistake)

Thank you very much slugga your a bad influence giving me more and more to do

Dan

Massive Massive Balls is shown today by the commisar of Krieg
If he did survive this battle he probably wouldn't be just a commisar anymore

Retrias wrote:Massive Massive Balls is shown today by the commisar of Krieg
If he did survive this battle he probably wouldn't be just a commisar anymore

He would be a real DKOK commisar...

I'm sorry to make your work even harder
but...
How about a mycetic spore dropping off hormagaunts?

sluggaslugga wrote:

Retrias wrote:Massive Massive Balls is shown today by the commisar of Krieg
If he did survive this battle he probably wouldn't be just a commisar anymore

He would be a real DKOK commisar...

a Lord Commisar then?

This diorama is shaping up really awesome. Can't wait to see the finished product!

Retrias wrote:

sluggaslugga wrote:

Retrias wrote:Massive Massive Balls is shown today by the commisar of Krieg
If he did survive this battle he probably wouldn't be just a commisar anymore

He would be a real DKOK commisar...

a Lord Commisar then?

He would be executed...
People would think that he is a demon

How have I not seen this thread before?! D.Smith that is amazing! very well done so far can't wait to see more pics. I've always fancied doing a diroma but i'm not too great at moddeling so need to practise on some gaming minis first lol. Anyway mate keep up the good work, if what i've seen so far is anything to go by its going to be massively good.

Bloody beautiful!

Thanks for all the encouragement guys inspires me to work on it more and more haha.

Trying to get the base done and dusted this week, over the weekend ive nearly completed the chimera and some debris on the base. I havent posted the pic update as even though ive been busy, it hasnt changed massively when the chimera section is done ill update then.

Reserving a DKOK heavy flamer and DKOK firing riflemen for FW open day, wont be using all the minis but it gives me some to convert to dead/being eaten/ being killed, without cluttering the diorama too much.

And concerning the armor cast peices, its inspired me to sculpt my own flame thrower shot which will be commenced when i get the HF unit.

im working on it like a mad man in my spare time, so hopefully i can keep you guys happy with updates soon


Dan

edited for spelling

Is it too late to suggest a Hellhound instead of the HF?
(more flames = more fun )

Haha
Unfortunately there isnt room for it, being careful not to over-populate the diorama but still get a sense of a last stand (event hough we all know the titan means the krieg are screwed haha )

Dan

wow, really amazing, looking forward to seeing the krieg!

Subscribed!

Another idea!
(suprised?)


You actually could put the front of the chimera teared apart, and that there is a driver... who is... all over the chimera I guess?

Also

I'm sorry to make your work even harder
but...
How about a mycetic spore dropping off hormagaunts?

Nearly finished chimera, just to finish off some of the equipment boxes with insignia etc and the cloths

I apologise for poor pictures, this weekend i shall take pictures in natural light

Looking good!

this looks awesomee! =P

Notice the smiley face in the last picture
(the box at the back closer to the rear entrance)
Edited for spelling mistake

Great progress. I definitely think that you should add gunfire, drool and smoke, like slugga suggested. What a epic diorama it would make. I bet it would seem like they where about to move when you add such details I so love these things!

Drool and a flame gout from the HF are being added when I get to it

Dan

This has probably been mentioned before, but, where is the engine supposed to be in that Chimera?

Very awesome, I love the turret on the chimera

Skinnattittar wrote:This has probably been mentioned before, but, where is the engine supposed to be in that Chimera?

I wondered how to model that myself to be honest as looking at the layout there isnt actually any room in the front and rear compartments for the engine, as the drivers hatch & hull mounted bolter dictate the front compartment is already accounted for. the only other farfetched answer i could think of myself was the chimera having a 'syncronised' dual engines, in the (rather bulky) compartments in side of the hull (between the tracks) which the model hints to with a couple of 'piston' looking things and a maintanence sized hatch in the side of the hull.

God that turned out long winded

Dan

So... There aren't any squats controlling the chimerra flintstones style?

Squats are a figment of your imagination........ or are they haha

Dan

Just a tease of some progress

Attempted my first flame gout sculpt and am feeling reasonably happy with my results, finished sculpt number 2 and 3 are to follow this week.

Does anybody have a link to any dioramas or minis that show any exaples of OSL lighting from flames for me to work from as my searches have been rubbish so far haha


Thanks

Dan

Looking awesome

Looking very nice. Cant wait to see it finished.

D.Smith wrote:Does anybody have a link to any dioramas or minis that show any exaples of OSL lighting from flames for me to work from as my searches have been rubbish so far haha

this is a famous one:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/pics/pics5/img3fbf399caae78.jpg

another one by the same maker:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/pics/img3d633cc2aae74.jpg

I believe they are Victoria Lamb? awesome osl! that sister of battle= awesome.

speaking of awesome! this thread is damn promising, great stuff so far, love the idea, and death korp are a great choice!

TiB wrote:

D.Smith wrote:Does anybody have a link to any dioramas or minis that show any exaples of OSL lighting from flames for me to work from as my searches have been rubbish so far haha

this is a famous one:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/pics/pics5/img3fbf399caae78.jpg

another one by the same maker:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/pics/img3d633cc2aae74.jpg

Thank you muchly, maybe can figure out if i have the skill to pull it off, not quite convinced I want the flame gouts we will see.

Im making progress, slowly, I hope i can do the heirophant justice, trying to figure out how to give the larger armour plates that little bit something special but maintain an organic look.

Thanks for the interest guys

Dan

nerdfest: dakkacookie for you!

Why thank you tiB! :-)

( :: ) for you

Epic, just epic! I have never seen it before on the front page and I do not know why, it deserves to be there as mentioned before seriously expensive diorama. Good luck with the rest of it

This looks cool, looking forwards to finished scene

lindsay40k wrote:This looks cool, looking forwards to finished scene

You, and the rest of us

Fricking awesome, I can't wait to see this completely done.

So... Cool...

Loving it

Been painting the exposed musculature and gore on the Hierophant, working on the head tomorow and then pictures will follow, its looking better.

Also pictures of another diorama project (currently in the terrain/topography stage) I'm working on will make an appearance

(Ilike to have a major painting project & then a terrain project to give myself some variation and some self motivation to keep going )

Dan

yep still looking good matey.

bio titan RUSH! wow really nice diorama cant wait for the finish.

Some of the work ive done on the dead, the flesh isnt as "white" its actually rotting flesh and is only the first coat at the moment.

Also included early stages of my "Duel" diorama and also some pics of the FW Wraithseer (with a not so subtle hint of its diorama buddy )

etc

Omg, is that a phantom??

Yes it is thanks to my year end bonus I am one of the lucky 9 to have one of them (8 were for sale +1 from the charity titan raffle at the FW open day)
Bluetacked a foot roughly together just because i need to figure out how to pose the giant!

Dan

Im am so jealous (and i dont even play Eldar!! )

Do you game at all or just do dioramas? Loving how the current one is progressing, and the next base is already looking promising.

Do you think i could trouble you for a side-shot of the Hierophant? Im trying to cratch build a pair and am having trouble finding that particular angle! Thanks (and keep it up ),

Vitruvian

Love the diorama, can't wait to see it finished!

When you finish building the Phantom, I'd love to see a pic of it next to the Hierophant.

Tomorow I'll do the pic of the hierophant from the side for you, no problem

And I have a Tyranid army but dont really choose to play, prefer the diorama building

Hierophant Diorama is mostly at the painting stage apart from a couple of GS joints to do on the gaunts, and build the HF for the kreig, and add a couple of standard kreig infantry.

The other diorama is going to ba an ancient ruin set in a jungle environment. An XV9 suit approaching, stopped in its tracks by a winged hive tyrant landing on the ruin. Only just moved past my initial concept stage to be honest.

The Phantom is in concept stages, drawing a few sketched up, considering a multi level hive city/forgeworld setting. With a post battle feel to it, dead imperials etc with the phantom walking through the street below, with the spearhead force supporting it being the wraithseer, a wraithlord(s) escort and 2-3 lines of eldar aspects walking/marching in single file on walkways/ the street next to the titans feet. Playing around with ideas, I know the pose i want the big beggar in, so i can build/plan around it.

Dan

I think im just about to have a panic attack from the epic amount of work that this titan is going to take

Sky TV controller added for scale...... god this is going to take some time lol

not forgetting the side pic you requested too, if theres anymore just let me know and ill try get the pics/angles you need to help your scratchbuild

Holy gak! That things huge! Hard to appreciate the scale before now. Thanks.

That pic is wonderful, cheers! Not to be a pain, but could you possibly measure the leg lengths? (ie upper and lower front leg, and upper, lower and middle rear leg) Would be such a help! Thankyou again, i'll be sure to credit you as a help when i put it on Dakka

Front legs:

Upper: 75mm
Lower inc spike/spike: 200mm
Lower excluding foot/spike: 140mm

Rear legs:

Upper: 135mm
Middle: 80mm
Lower inc. foot/spike: 110mm
Lower excluding foot/spike: 70mm

All the measurements are the longest part of the legs, with the gore/weird joint thingies (red parts on my model ) not taken into account

And no worries, just say if theres anything i can do to help.

Dan

You're my hero!! Seriously, you rock.

Lovely diorama. Loving the weathering on the wrecked Chimera, and the Hierophant looks good so far. Also very jealous of you and your Phantom and Wraithseer.

Curse you!

I really want a Phantom

The colour of the Tau suit is going to be...?

Can't beliive the size of that titan...

still deciding on the tau suits colour, currently im considering a white primary colour with orange tau writing, to give a contrast to the jungle environment


Dan

Can i suggest chaos black, which fades to orkhide shade towards The edges. (The sept stripes can be Scorpion green, also the
Visor could be a light green colour.

perfect timing. Would it be a real hassle to measure the distance between the front and back legs? (e.g. distance from the front to back right leg and the distances between the front legs and rear legs?)

My heirophant is still in pieces and its tough to get reliable measurements to start the base.

Thanks!!

The size of the base you would need can vary quite a bit depending on how the legs have been posed, as I know for a fact mine isnt as he was designed to be but i'll give you the measurements I have.

10 inches between the front legs
6.5 inches from front right to rear right
5.5 inches from front left to rear left
7 inches between rear legs

Id recomend putting the phant together and then (depending on how much time/space you have) get 2 small scatter cusions and put him upside down between them, using them to protect him from warping leg syndrome.
This is what i did and it will let you design your base to the right size for your particular model. Plus i'd recommend the pin in the chest aswell.

Cheers
Dan


Automatically Appended Next Post:

sluggaslugga wrote:Can i suggest chaos black, which fades to orkhide shade towards The edges. (The sept stripes can be Scorpion green, also the
Visor could be a light green colour.

Ive considered something quite similar but my Hive tyrant is going to be quite dark in clour scheme to complement the jungle environment (as its the "creature" element to my diorama) with a more contrasting "light" Tau suit.

Havent even basecoated him yet so im in no rush

Been telling myself i'll try complete the projects i have but the phantom is just begging to be built and painted. Got a good idea of the setting for the dio. just need to flesh out my knowledge of eldar now

Dan

You could paint the Tau guy red. A dark red colour, not too dark though something like Mechrite red 2:1 Dark flesh.

The Hive Tyrant is having a red element to the carapace so thats why im considering light clours, but thats going on the backburner while i do some research and design work for the Phantom, decided to go down the Biel Tan craftworld route, fitted my rough idea in my head so tomorow im off to collect my paints

Dan

Blue?
Green?
Yellow?
Purple?
White?
Khaki?
Magenta?

I'm having a similar problem where the legs are starting to bow as soon as i put things together. I'm definitely going to be putting a big pin through the chest, and it'll go through the devil fish that's going to form the centre of the base. Thanks heaps for the measurements. I've got a basic oval already cut out but i may need to refine it a bit.

How did you attach your legs? I'm thinking of greenstuff + superglue, then drill pins through the legs and torsos, then green stuff the hole in the front of the leg.

Great to see another of these big beasts being made btw I tire of titans..

I put 2 pins inn the leg with some brass wire, but widened the hole with a scalpel to give it some movement (i'll explain why) then dotted some paint on the pins to find the corresponing point in the socket the pins will be located. Then drilled the holes.
This gave me 2 hidden pins inside the leg joint giving it plenty of strenght.
I then used a little bit of greenstuff and superglue to bond it.
I can now pick it up from any of the legs

And yeah im not a big fan of the style of imperial titans to be honest




Automatically Appended Next Post:

sluggaslugga wrote:Blue?
Green?
Yellow?
Purple?
White?
Khaki?
Magenta?

Thinking white for the tau suit, but ive been focusing on the Phantom after my trip to GW and local hobby shop today you can expect pics of the painted cockpit and steersman and depending on how well it goes, the whole head

May I suggest something for the colours of the Tau dude?

This might be better (done with paint)

sluggaslugga wrote:May I suggest something for the colours of the Tau dude?

A- Thats awesome and i may use that for my inspiration for my suits colour scheme

B- Thank you


Dan

It's Finnish

Indeed it is haha

Phantom is fully basecoated now Painting the steersman & cockpit first, as a min project, then moving onto the torso


Dan

Work on the interior so far, still much to do, highlighting on both the black & wriathbone etc, steersman and gems still to be started, and the tassles at the back of the head, plus a little detailing on the exposed panels. and work on the control panel with some freehand symbols.

Apologies for lighting in the photos again

Dan

You... you're using a phantom... for a diorama... and it WON'T be removable/playable?

WOW. You're completely insane. And I salute you!

Haha The Pin in his foot will allow the Phantom to be removed for transport / putting on an alternative base i I ever have the desire/chance to play him in a game.

I'm just not that much in to the gaming side of things, what can i say lol

Dan

I thought you were making the Phantom in the Biel-Tan colour scheme... that's Ulthwe as far as I know. It's still awesome though.

Keep updating the Phantom as often as you can... and also, good work

I simply can not wait to see the finished product of those dioramas

sluggaslugga wrote:I thought you were making the Phantom in the Biel-Tan colour scheme... that's Ulthwe as far as I know. It's still awesome though.

Keep updating the Phantom as often as you can... and also, good work

I am the head is hinged to reveal the cockpit and steersman. This is only the interior ill take a few pics to demonstrate it


Dan

Gems/ shiny bits done, moving onto the actual steersman before i cleanup the wraithbone and add the tiny details and final highlights to it all.

@Slugga ive taken 2 separate pics as my wire holder i temporarily glued in doesnt allow me to fit the head together hopefully by the end of today ill have finished the interior section and can move onto the head.

I beleive I'm going to go for a primarily green armour with white sections/livery picked out, such as the head. The holo fins may be a dark grey/black.

Good job dude!
I couldn't have done any better.

Beautiful gems. Any chance of learning how to paint them? Doing Biel-Tan myself.

This is a blog that I want to be watching with extreme intensity.

Oh to have disposable income enough to warrant expenditure on a Phantom.

You sir, will be my avatar. And I will experience the joys of putting together and painting that titan vicariously through you.

Subscribed. So much.

@Swordwind - Of course, ill try keep it simple and if you like what ill do is do step by step pictures next time i paint any gems?

1- Paint the gem chaos black, making sure you get a nice even smooth coat of paint

2- take some red gore, thin it down about 4-1 (3 parts paint, 1 water), carefully paint this all over the gem, roughly leaving the a top quarter of your choice unpainted, however paint a very thin line next to the gems border all around the gem so its a bit like a red circle. While the paints still wet and you find the transition from black to red is too harsh, very gently use your finger to alomost *smudge* the paint off of the model (i know this isnt a masterclass lol) then with a clean & slightly damp (not wet, wash the brush then just tap it on some tissue) brush the surrounding red back towards the black spot.

3. take some blood red and thin it roughly 4-1, now paint an 'arc' of blood red surrounding the black spot, leaving a the red gore all around it. useing the same *smudgeing* technique if needed

4- take a mix of blood red & blazing orange 1-1 then thin to 4-1 and repeat the process, covering a smaller area

5- take blazing orange, thin 4-1 and repeat the process with an even smaller area

6- take skull white and carefully paint either a dot on small gems or a very fine line on large gems along the top edge of the black spot, this gives the impression of light reflecting off of the gem.

7- take some 'Ard coat and do 3-4 coats, leaving at least 10 minutes between coats to make sure it doesnt "texture" the previous coat with the bristles

*after writing that, ill do step by step pics when i paint the gems on the outer head its long winded and helps with pics*

Foxtale wrote:This is a blog that I want to be watching with extreme intensity.

Oh to have disposable income enough to warrant expenditure on a Phantom.

You sir, will be my avatar. And I will experience the joys of putting together and painting that titan vicariously through you.

Subscribed. So much.

I'll try to live up to your expectations

Dan

I just checked The Size of the Phantom... :O

Steersman done, would like to have had it a bit cleaner finish but thats the best i can do

C&C welcome

Dan

Now it looks like Biel-Tan!
I would make an edge highlight on the green though...

ty slugga

Mmm, looking v. nice indeed!

I never got why they put that face 'under' the helmet though... Should have just made it a variant.

It looks much better now.

Awesome work.

Had a set back where im basically going to have to strip the whole interior head...... white spray spoiling the whole finish. :/

Will update when i re-finish the peice...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Self-correction.... dont have to fully strip the peice but have a hell of a lot of retouching to do. better than starting from scratch but still going backwards rather than forwards at the moment

Great job on the DKOK Diorama. Can't wait to see the finished product!!!

Question: What is the base made out of? Foam board?

The base is 6mm MDF, just cut to size

Could you compare The Phantom and The Hierophant?

Halfway through retouching the steersman and cockpit :\ should be done by today and i can finally say the cockpit is finished.

And heres size comparison, not glued, only tacked together so i can paint the peices well thats why the peices arent exactly aligned

For the outer head it maybe could have cracks on it and all that like it has been in a real fight with another titan!

I thought about doing battle damage but decided to do a more "clean" paint job since ive got this one kitted out with long range weapons. With only some light weathering on the feet where it would get worn by terrain.

Dan

Can't wait to see the Eldar Titan!

*subscribed*

:O

That's a big titan!

You could fit alot of freehand on that thing.

Im planning on doing quite a bit of freehand but i need to sketch and design what i want to do to match the style of the biel tan at the same time


Dan

Check out Navarro's work on an Armorcast Phantom he did as a commission. Think it was Biel-Tan as well! Should give you some good inspiration

Edit: Heres the link!

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/201003.page

Thanks fot the link going to get my freehand up to scratch then start on my designs should be great fun to do


Dan

Vitruvian XVII wrote:Check out Navarro's work on an Armorcast Phantom he did as a commission. Think it was Biel-Tan as well! Should give you some good inspiration

Edit: Heres the link!

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/201003.page

Awesome!

awesome paint skills.by the way thats one tall model.

Thanks for the encouragement guys Not had a pic update as ive been just building and cleaning up the units that are going to be accompanying the Phantom (Wraithseer, Wraithguard, Guardians & Dire Avengers), Ive also been doing a lot of concept sketches of the base design, but its still changingconstantly it will 'click' soon
Possibly going to have a short update tonight with some of the work ive done.

Thanks

Dan

Wraithseer? Jealousss. Paint that up real good so I'll feel even more jealous.

Wraithseer is coming soon, i dont want to dissapoint people but i want to work my colour scheme up. Currently doing a wraithguard for the monthly mini competion on here (on a temporary base with leftover bits from my jungle dio )
Im painting the 2nd wraithguard up afterwards, then moving onto the wraithseer this way i can be sure my coulourscheme/ideas etc transfer over to the phantom to do it justice

Dan

Spelling was never my strong point ha

Good luck mate!

And, "junfle", is that a new type of basing scheme?!

Oops thanks, now edited.

I am also still brainstorming ideas for the Diorama base for the Phantom. I have a few ideas but i'd more than open to suggestions

Dan

Lovely work.
I think what could work nicely on the base, is some Guardians or other Eldar models firing from behind something, maybe a couple of squished Marines or something as well

I have quite a large retinue alongside the Phantom (guardian squad, dire avenger squad, 2x wraithguard, wraithseer). I wanted a decent force alongside it as from a fluff perspective it wouldnt go undefended and from a modelling perspective it gives the sheer scale of the titan some meaning, if that makes sense?
Im just a bit over loaded with ideas for painting that i cant clearly envision the base at the momet

Dan

Snowy base definitely!
You could make it against Slaanesh Daemons... It would fit in the fluff.

In my head at the moment i'm playing with the idea of a Forgeworld setting.

This would fit the "swordwind" tactics and theology of trying to wipe out colonies/worlds that the biel tan beleive belong to the eldar?

The Phantom walking down a main avenue with the Wraithseer/guard in tow.
The guardians sweeping through some form of building clearing it out.
The Dire avengers along each side of the street.

My problem witht he idea is i dont know what sort of twist to add to it to show some defenders. I dont want a battle scene as my other two WIP dioramas are just that.
Maybe a couple of marines hiding just around the corner picking their fights carefully? Or maybe some guard just plain hiding?

Thanks for all your interest guys

Dan

Keeper of secrets?
Bloodthirster challenging the titan?

Tempting but i'd quite liking the idea of the warhost walking through a "quiet" area in the warzone, i'd have the titan facing off something of similar threat/size but as it doesnt have a Titan close combat weapon it seems odd for the Phantom to get itself in that sort of situation at close range?

Dan

Being ever productive and think ive got a rough diorama "floor plan" if that makes sense

Decided i'd like to go for quite an urban setting with lots of dark industrial colours to make the eldar stand out that bit more and make it special

Since I already have a few spare marines that are unbuilt and lonely i thought a handful of scouts supported with some marines (of an undecided chapter) picking off a straggler would add enough tension and drama to the peice without making the marching/relaxed pose i wanted for the eldar hosts look odd and silly.

Feedback is more than welcome

Dan

EDIT: The Phantom should be much larger on the plan its arms should clear the building roofs so the base isnt going to be 3 feet long haha

That looks like a pretty good idea for the base.
But just noticed your sig. You only have a 1500 point army? Yet your making these huge models? crazy

To be honest i dont play games that often at all :( mainly due to me being a lone gamer haha, none of my friends are into 40k or gaming, plus my work hours are unsociable so diorama building is my personal escape from reality

Dan

You should make the marines into Black Templars... Also you could get the space marine casualty set from GW mail order and put some dead/half-dead marines in there.

Marines are going to be Black Templars built them up, got 3 scouts, 1 Tac marine & 1 Assault Marine (pics to follow tomorow).
Have been doing a bit of assembly on the Winged Hive Tyrant for my other project as a reward for finishing my mini of the month entry



More work on the Titan is planned tomorrow

Dan

This is so awesome

That Wraithguard is very nice

The Wraithguard looks a bit old skool (always written with a "K"), but it's not old skool at all... It's like, it is... But it's not.

Awesome work on the Wraithguard!

Very nice wraithguard. Confused me at first, wondering why you had a jungle base, till I saw the metal sheet.

The base is only temporary just for the mini of the month

Thanks for the kind words guys

Dan

How many wraithguard are you going to include there?

The plan says 2, but that's not enough... put 4

Suggestion for retinue: perhaps have some Swooping Hawks, Jetbikes, Shining Spears or even Shadow Spectres doing a flypast? Run some hidden pin through banners and suchlike to give them support, they could look pretty epic and a dynamic pose would suggest they're 'sweeping' the area for hidden melta troops etc.

very nice

I like the idea of a couple of jetbikes doing a flyby, I can add them as a final finishing touch

Sorry for the lack of updates, been very busy and then tired after long work hours and I don't want to spoil the end finish for a lack of concentration

Dan

You could also make Warp spiders... It would be awesome if you could capture the moment when a few of them are teleporting through the warp... Remember to make lighting effects... And if the warp is involved, lightning effects might also be good...

Idea for the defenders, how about either a couple if gaurd with demo charges that are going to make a 'last stand' or a couple of heavy weapons squads with missile launchers in a upper story window ready to take a pot shot with a missile launcher? Last stands all round. Apart from that jeep up the work I really like this blog it's very different. Looking forward to seeing the finished dkok one

Probably a bit late to the ideas party, but thought I'd drop this in there anyway. It's a good trope.

In the South Building an Imperial Scout is thinking: "That awkward moment when an Eldar Phantom passes your sniper's nest."

In the North Building an Eldar Pathfinder is thinking: "That awkward moment when the monkeigh doesn't take the bait."
(and so on)

Love your stuff and greatly looking forward to seeing it will all fit together.

The awkward moment when an assault marine tries to land on the phantom titan from high above... and misses.

Anyways... I've been wondering the same thing... Where are the updates on the Dkok?

I'm just wondering why there's Tau in the title of this topic.

Swordwind wrote:I'm just wondering why there's Tau in the title of this topic.

have you read every update D.smith made?

I must have missed them then. Oh well, another excuse to reread the thread.

Swordwind wrote:I must have missed them then. Oh well, another excuse to reread the thread.

Actually... there are no pictures, just a small discussion...

Very short (and slightly random) update for you guys, bank holiday weekends were taken up by work and being shattered so couldnt get much done :(

But heres the bit of work on the tyrant ive been doing (the styrofoam holding him in place is just there for posing him, its the template for the ruin roof)
And the Tau suit ready for priming, probably tonight.

Dan

That Hive Tyrant looks great, really dynamic.

I'm tempted to re-work the wings to make them flex back a bit more?

Dan

I thinks it looks good how it is, like he's kind of drifting in to land.

exactly what i was trying to acheive the tau suit is giong to be at the begining of the path, swinging a weapon arm up to meet the big gribbly

Dan

Finally! I've been waiting for this! (the Tau update)

Remember the link I sent you, how to get good flame FX for the krieg? You should use that as an inspirational source for the Tau (It'd be awesome if he/she/it would fire his... Is that a fusion cascade? Anyways, firing his weapon at the Tyrant...

2 burst cannons (i think, i dont play tau ) on each arm, and i may do but as you can see i have a lot of work to do lol

Dan

Beleive it or not i actually have spare time tonight to do some model making

Going to finish the resculpt of the tyrants leg joints, begin block colouring the tau suit, and maybe basecoat the marines for something different, and glue the roof support and wire supports in to hold the tyrants weight on the ruin

and my scheme (minus the freehand & battle damage i want to add) for the marines, scouts are going to have more black, and a lack of honour markings compared to the accompanying marines

Dan

Is. That a browny red or black?

A black with a slight brown hue to give it a bit of depth, i find just straight black can look a little "false" adding a brown hue makes it look slightly faded without going grey

Dan

May I suggest this? (Black Templar)

May I also suggest this? (Ardent Flamekeepers)

EDIT: fixed numerous spelling mistakes , fix'd the link and added 2 more pictures of the marines

They will be black templars in terms of iconography, but im going to put my own spin on it using some of the honour & campaign symbols on the GW website (dont have a SM codex or BT codex for reference) and then going a bit out on my imagination to be honest

The ice blue eye lenses are a feature i might use though, they apeal to me for some strange reason lol

Dan

D.Smith wrote:They will be black templars in terms of iconography, but im going to put my own spin on it using some of the honour & campaign symbols on the GW website (dont have a SM codex or BT codex for reference) and then going a bit out on my imagination to be honest

The ice blue eye lenses are a feature i might use though, they apeal to me for some strange reason lol

Dan

I used the Ice blue eyes with Plasma weaponry... good contrast

I might have a play around, one of the SM has a power weapon so i may stick with red but we shall see

Dan

May I also suggest this?

seems like a pretty good idea to me...

I've already scoured the wed for things like that decided i was going to go for a scene more like an advanced recon/observation team ( the marines ) having a close call rather than last stand.
But it does make me have other ideas for dioramas but im trying to supress them as i have 2 huge dioramas and 1 meduim sized one going already

Dan

D.Smith wrote:I've already scoured the wed for things like that decided i was going to go for a scene more like an advanced recon/observation team ( the marines ) having a close call rather than last stand.
But it does make me have other ideas for dioramas but im trying to supress them as i have 2 huge dioramas and 1 meduim sized one going already

Dan

Well... I'm guessing you are trying to get this feel, or this feel... but you switch the places if the IG and Eldar...

Exactly like an advanced observation team nearly being discovered

Dan

D.Smith wrote:Exactly like an advanced observation team nearly being discovered

Dan

I can see from the plan, that there is an unlucky guardian...

I've posed the SM scout with his knife embedded in the guardian already looks slightly clumsy but its the best I could do with my skill level, expect a pic update tomorow (i feel ive let myself slip lol)

Dan

You could also put some Dire Avengers inspecting a booby trap...

The shining spear suggestion may be good with one of the riders pointing to the doorway with the scouts, the calm before the storm as it were

Dan

If you haven't already positioned the Wraithseer then he'd/she'd/it'd be a good model to have an inkling that something was up. It might be hard to pull off depending on the models you have for the ... parade(?), all the Dire Avengers, Guardians, Wraithguard and Phantom would have to be moving forward, practically mid-step, and the Wraithseer pausing and slightly turning its head toward the window. Might be too subtle to actually work, but could decrease the workload (positioning permitting, it could greatly increase the workload) and bring the focus onto the patrol and these awesome FW models.

Edit: If there was a way to have the Guardian's soul mid-capture into its spirit-stone and a way to show that psychic link to the Wraithseer... That would be very impressive.

Also... Give the marines a motion detector... That would fill the spec ops part... If you can make the diorama to be "at night", that would be awesome.

I still need to decide how im going to model the guardians and avengers to look "dynamic" enough to portray movement.

The wraithseer already has its head turning to one side so i might play around with the positioning

Dan

Can you make them look like they are running, or crossing obstacels?

I dont know its a hell of a job to re position and re sculpt 15 eldar legs (scultping isnt the most enjoyable part of the hobby to me)

Dan

D.Smith wrote:I dont know its a hell of a job to re position and re sculpt 15 eldar legs (scultping isnt the most enjoyable part of the hobby to me)

Dan

I share your pain

You could convert something from these...

What i'm going to do, after having a look at some of the standard poses, is probably bite the bullet but only resculpt 5-6 of the figures, as a few of them have a slight impression of movement.

I make everything with superglue so i can just snap everything apart quite easy to begin my repositioning mini project .

My plan for this weekend is continue painting my first of 2 exarches and to do as much of the sculpting I have left to do:
Tyrant
Eldar Legs
Hormagaunt Legs

I apologise for the lack of picture update again, left my camera at work for the past 2 days and the pictures i took on my phone are god awful so even though i hate not giving an update, id prefer for it to be of better quality

Dan

Hormagaunt legs? O.o

^^^
For the DKOK diorama, some of the hormagaunts have had their legs repositioned to allow some less "leapy" positions as the stock poses are limiting, all i need to do is the GS muscles and they are sorted.

Dan

D.Smith wrote:^^^
For the DKOK diorama, some of the hormagaunts have had their legs repositioned to allow some less "leapy" positions as the stock poses are limiting, all i need to do is the GS muscles and they are sorted.

Dan

Ooooooh...

For the Eldar you could perhaps make them examining the area rather than advancing... That would look cool, and would be easier to execute.

Im only going to make around 7/8 out of 19 walking/running if i can, i think it will be an ok balance between work load and getting the look i want to acheive

Dan

You should make lots of light FX.

Apologies for a very late picture update but heres some work ive been doing on my Exarch.

Still need to work on the:
ammo belt thing
rear tabbard
arm band thing
Both Weapons
the freehand banner

Thanks for looking
Dan

I'd moan about how that's not a diresword, but the painting is so good its distracting my inner rules lawyer.

The blade wont be black its just the base so i can add depth of colour to the blade

Its still unfinished

Dan

Can't wait to see the Wraithseer

Wraithseer is my next figure i want to paint after i finish this exarch, im devising the colour scheme now im not keen on the mainly wraithbone colours, i prefer to have select details picked out so im planning carefully

I hope you'll have loads of freehand parts on the Wraithseer aswell...

Enough to make it special but im not going to go over the top with it, i need to see how the freehand for the banner goes before i plan anything thats behond my skill level.

Dan

Finished painting the Exarch apart from the freehand on the banner. Which is being started tonight.

The design is going to consist of the beil tan craftworld symbol entwined in thorned vines growning from the earth at the base of the banner with a sunrise hued background.
It may turn out horribly wrong but im giving it a shot

I have also ordered all the materials I need to construct the jungle environment for the hivetyrant/Suit showdown. So expect a build log of my jungle terrain

All in all, my lack of picture updates of going to be made up for

Dan

edited for shocking spelling

Finished Dire Avenger exarch on a temporary base for this months painting comp.

Tried a few new techniques i'd never tried before so C&C are more than welcome











Dan

The Freehand and the power weapon are awesome!

Awesome, excellent work

Force weapon looks good. Clean and crisp painting overall. Awesome. Dig that base too.

Can't wait to see the other guys.

Thanks for the feedback guys i tend to be critical fo myself and its the first time ive tried any force weapon effects or freehand
Been slowly building up the jungle diorama environment the past couple of days, but only and hour at a time since work is rediculous at the moment. Picture update will follow as soon as ive started making my ferns & bushes from the etched brass and lovely goodness that has arrived

Dan

Your first force weapon... That is awesome!
(mainly because my painting skill sucks)

It took me about 2 hours, with constant feed back from my dad, who i steal tools from
He's building a 3 foot long scratchbuilt 1800's sailing ship from plans. So when i need a different perspective i can ask him as he see's things from a much more "real" perspective as he is trying to create something to scale that atually exists, compared to 40k where theres much more room to go mad.
He keeps my models from looking too daft that touch of realism is what draws you into a model (in my opinion anyway)

Which leads me onto another topic, after much browsing on the internet, I found a distinct realisation of the painting style of Eldar mini's :-

Art work- Dont get me wrong i think peices like the falcon grav tanks and superheavies with elaborate "picture" paintings draped all over them are amazingly done. But they really arent a machine for war....which 40k is full of?

Apart from my mediocre freehand skills, I'd prefer to have much smaller areas of relevant freehand, maybe an OTT craftworld livery, with the majority being the standard colour scheme.

I may create a new thread for this as I jist rambled quite a bit

Dan

Your dad gives you actual feedback?... Lucky
My dad gives me "parents feedback".

Well he's spent about 5 years work scratchbuilding his model to plans (still hasnt finished the damn thing lol), so we bounce off each other with comments for improvements

Dan

sluggaslugga wrote:Your dad gives you actual feedback?... Lucky
My dad gives me "parents feedback".

I to know the annoyence of "oh... er... yes its very small?"

Damn parents, andd thier lack of decent feedback and thier powers to control my spendings on my little soldiers

Any way, D.smith, did you finish your DKoK diorama yet?

The only jp wrote:

sluggaslugga wrote:Your dad gives you actual feedback?... Lucky
My dad gives me "parents feedback".

I to know the annoyence of "oh... er... yes its very small?"

Damn parents, andd thier lack of decent feedback and thier powers to control my spendings on my little soldiers

Any way, D.smith, did you finish your DKoK diorama yet?

Also... "your models are great!" is a common thing you hear from your parents.

Unfortunately havent finished any yet, I only get small chance each night to do a bit of model making and the heirophant is taking a long time to finish to a standard im happy with.

Sorry for progress being slow guys

Dan

Take your time, mate. Don't burn yourself out trying to rush it. I'm sure the wait will pay of in the end!

LeBaron wrote:Take your time, mate. Don't burn yourself out trying to rush it. I'm sure the wait will pay of in the end!

Thats the attitude im approaching it with, with the larger models it helps a lot if you can break off and do a little bit of something else, like at the moment ive been spent 3 hours cutting out etched brass foliage of various sizes (ferns, bushes, ivy and other goodness ) for the tyrant vs tau dio.

I dont want to spoil such a nice (expensive) model from rushing it

Dan

Well said! It can be very hard to find time to do the hobby in-between exams and such...

Hope you don't cut yourself on the brass like I did on my barbed wire brass

The only jp wrote:
Hope you don't cut yourself on the brass like I did on my barbed wire brass

Too late haha, tonight im taking some pics of the sheer amount of foliage i have to work on, which btw, have the most annoying sprue/etch layout known to man.... Very good for getting lots on a small space.... Very bad for an easy way of cutting

Dan

Take all the time you need... So I can study instead of looking at your awesome minis

^^ What he said

You know, you make me hate you a bit. I love this thread, love you and love how effing amazing you are at this hobby. Also, you have some models that I would KILL for, that is also why I hate you.

All joking aside, this is some amazing stuff. Pure, unmolested amazing. I see a lot of people (including myself) who get these big projects going and then crap out half way because we've run our course; we simply tried too much at once, we pushed to far, then sort of give up and then they go to the horror inducing "back burner".

I've a couple of pieces that are this way and every time I look at them and get that "I'MA DO IT!" feeling it goes away near instantaneously. I do swear, I'll finish my 'six months in the making of' bug city. It's a bit of inspiration to come here and some of the other places on Dakka and get that "I'MA DO IT!" feeling back but with a nice big injection of "with moderation".

LeBaron wrote:You know, you make me hate you a bit. I love this thread, love you and love how effing amazing you are at this hobby. Also, you have some models that I would KILL for, that is also why I hate you.

All joking aside, this is some amazing stuff. Pure, unmolested amazing. I see a lot of people (including myself) who get these big projects going and then crap out half way because we've run our course; we simply tried too much at once, we pushed to far, then sort of give up and then they go to the horror inducing "back burner".

I've a couple of pieces that are this way and every time I look at them and get that "I'MA DO IT!" feeling it goes away near instantaneously. I do swear, I'll finish my 'six months in the making of' bug city. It's a bit of inspiration to come here and some of the other places on Dakka and get that "I'MA DO IT!" feeling back but with a nice big injection of "with moderation".

Thanks for the encouragement I try hard at everything I do and have a habit of putting what I do down at the same time... Its a horrible viscous cycle (probably due to the mess that is my social life lol) But i can guarantee all of these dioramas will be finished... just maybe in quite some time

*disclaimer* if for any reason i declare im not finishing these dioramas... its because somebody has threatened to kill me for trying so many projects and to give it up haha


Thanks Guys

Dan

So... How many Eldar miniatures have you already painted?

Depends if i include when i used to collect when i was younger (11-13), which i painted a lot.... badly haha. I was into slapping red paint for blood all over things back then...

Dont get me wrong, untill 10 months ago when i picked up 40k minis again ive been modelling World War 2 armor to varying degrees of quality.

Thats my first eldar miniture since then... I think im clinically insane now ive looked at what ive taken on


The weapons platform and crew are in the painting line at the moment, im liking how there coming along

Dan

Heh. You should see my first Eldar. All I had was one big brush and no concept of painting except for trying to slap paint onto armour straight from the pot. Didn't help that I primed it pretty badly.

But man, your DA is pretty funky. Can't wait to see the heirophant/Phantom.

If you ever get your hands on another one of those two, get them to battle each other. Or your dad's ship.

Doesnt look like a lot but each leaf needs to be repositioned in some way to make it appear natural

Dan

Those little brass leaves look like some sort of punishment that was given during the Inquisition. How long did that take you and how many times did you cut yourself?

So far the time taken is about 5 hours. Which includes cutting all the little beggers out of the brass etch sprue, and positioning and gluing the peices shown on the base.

None of them are glued into the base so i can pick them up and use the old airbrush to get the first browns/greens on without missing anything

Dan

edit.. ps... the leaves dont get you.....its the sprues that sneak up on you and try to cut your hands (cut myself once, then changed my technique lol)

At least you learn quickly. Some of us aren't so lucky... >_<

Fekking awesome, o for awesome! Keep the updates coming bra!

The leaves look unrealistic because there is too few of them.

sluggaslugga wrote:The leaves look unrealistic because there is too few of them.

Still got shed loads of ferns to be put on

Thats my job for tonight, make the rough shape for the second tree and put some ferns together

Dan

D.Smith wrote:

sluggaslugga wrote:The leaves look unrealistic because there is too few of them.

Still got shed loads of ferns to be put on

Thats my job for tonight, make the rough shape for the second tree and put some ferns together

Dan

You should make the leaves look more like this.

Link doesnt go to a working page im afraid.

A lot of painting of individual leaves is on the menu for me since i want to try get some detail on the leaves.

I've also decided to re-work the tree designs im going to use, making the existing one much much taller, primarily to clear the issue of it hindering the roof design and making the tyrants landing look unatural (landing into a tree face first...) with the second tree slightly shorter, vines etc hanging from the branches & ivy growing up the trunk of one.

Dan

edited to add some info in

I added the picture:

Thats what im trying to acheive with the "pad" style leaves (when i paint them) running along where water is going to be running into the pool (the black marker) from a trickle ontop of the ruin. I still have a LOT of leaves and plants to put on this.

I have a compromise of making it look densely populated with plants and the look of the ruin not being overwelmed. So I decided to have the majority of the ground cover to be ferns and smaller bushes, mosses and grasses

Dan

D.Smith wrote:Thats what im trying to acheive with the "pad" style leaves (when i paint them) running along where water is going to be running into the pool (the black marker) from a trickle ontop of the ruin. I still have a LOT of leaves and plants to put on this.

I have a compromise of making it look densely populated with plants and the look of the ruin not being overwelmed. So I decided to have the majority of the ground cover to be ferns and smaller bushes, mosses and grasses

Dan

One more thing... where does the water come from?

Hard to explain as i havent constructed the roof yet (everythings sketched but not constructed :(.

Theres going to be a "stream" for the lack of a better term coming from the top of the decaying roof of the ruin, then falling from the roof lip.

The areas coloured in black marker pen shows the path the water will follow once it has fallen from the roof.

Dan

Ooooooooh...

Cut down the existing tree frame, wasnt happy with it, decided to go for trees the height of the wire shown here. The canopy is going to be reminiscent of an acacia tree but with a jungle "style" to it.

Sculpted the stone steps leading to the ruin and the interior stone floor too.

Added the layer to the groundwork on the front side to add the "uneven" aspect of the dirt.

My superglue had gone off so I can get back to making them when i pick some up tonight. Apologies for the bad lighting, took the photos when i finished the sculpting, which took a while

Dan

Seems pretty good to me...

Much more scultping to come..... The ruin holds many secrets *hints at things that are going to be added*

Dan

You should "tyranidize" the jungle a bit...
Maybe add a ripper or 2.

What sort of stones are you using? They almost look like Hirst Arts pieces.

They are bashed up peices of cork, i picked peices that looked "pot marked" as they would be worn down by heavy rains etc.

And you beat me to the update that i wanted to add when i build/sculp it . The interior of the ruin is going to change, the roof isnt going to be a flat roof on the inside, but at 45 degrees, making the interior more spacious.

In the ruin a tyranid brood nest is going to be growing maybe 1 hormagaunt in the process of waking up. and a couple of rippers inside crawling towards the door

Thats the plan anyway a ruin that holds an unexpected secret...

Dan

So you are going for a more "Alien" style?
You should mKe the ruin to be more of an aztec pyramid type... Just add layers on the roof.

Exactly... Theres going to be a broodnest growing, with 'nid *growths* and tentacles trailing around the floors,walls and ceiling.

I want to do the interior ceiling to look like old rotting wood, but im researching into how to acheive this :/

The exterior roof is going to be a mix of stone design and ancient broken flat tiles.

Dan

I take my hat off to you sir, that brickwork is stunning.