You darn kids and your puns Appreciate the comments. Im still hunting for a head for him... dont really want a helmet (mostly cause I dont have any chaos ones xD), and the one that I fell back on is some weird head with vampire fangs in it. Think its from a possessed kit.'
@Alf: yeah i know they wouldnt have a riptide in the starter, but after the starter, what would people buy? Riptide riptide riptide....
@SL & moonpie: A fools knight would be interesting to see... Make it happen!!
Starter kit will probably always be marines. Its just the status quo, and status quo is god.
Blood Angels sounds reasonable enough. I dont think theyve ever repeated a pairing with starters, so orks may not be the go-to choice. Though with all the new stuff, who's to say?
And yeah, the Knights are getting a deep royal blue to them. Actually just put in the paint order today, along with replacement needles for my airbrush (at last!)
Anywhooooo.... no real update today due to millions of tiny green lines being shockingly boring to photograph!
The crew at this stage are done except for minor details like the eyes and scarabs, and as far as the green lining goes, I just have the 5 rib sections to edge.
In a shocking twist of events, my dad actually decided to open the pool (having not done so last year due to parts missing and not wanting to do anything about it). So today I had to pull out 300 pounds of water and decaying leaves from the winter cover. FUUUUUUN! But its open and in the process of getting clean, so thats exciting. Finally I'll be able to go swimming!
I have some chaos heads.. which one are you looking for?
Or...
Maybe a nice full head of hair Blood Angel head. Add some wavy blond flowing hair. How terrifying is that!
Im looking for a real ragey Khornate head. Not really sure on options. I want it to have a bit of chaotic influence on it (part of the reason I chose the vampire fang head was because it had super deep wrinkles and a stretched sort of look.
In painting news, Green is now half done on the Ark. Soooooo many lines!
Kharn the Bloody has a good bare head if you can find the bit? or even the Lord Zuphor bare head is wicked too, i'll have a look at home and see if i've anything suitable for ya!
Oooohhh.... I should. I really should! I never throw away anything, so its just a case of finding it now.... That may very well work (if not, Ill let you dudes know!)
EDIT:: Yeeeeah. Found it.
He looks really disinterested.... Hmmmm....
Automatically Appended Next Post: After a late lunch with the family and then a good game of Star Wars: Edge of the Empire with Alf, I went back to the sometimes Sisyphean task that is painting the Ghost ark.
Several hours of work later, and Im still painting away at the greenlining. Managed to finish up the crew, though. These guys look deceptively simple for how I painted them!
Whew... In the home stretch on these greens! Still a ways to go with this layer (all 6 ribs and the main body), but the end is near!
This is the second to last highlight layer, with only s slight touch of pure scorpion green to go on the highest edges. Then its a couple small areas of Boltgun, Gold, and the various lights and lenses and its all set. Not bad for a mind-numbingly gargantuan task. Right now Im super looking forward to working on the big bold areas of color on the Knights. Supply drop for them should be rolling in on Monday. Dont think I coulda timed that better if I'd tried!
I'd like Guard (well... Astra Militarum) to get a look it with the next starter. I could see them and Orks or maybe Tau (the Tau have been out for too long though - it's usually recent releases isn't it?).
Nice work on the lord btw and @red_starrise the puns!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oops: clicked "first unread" and didn't realise there was an extra page... Really nice work on the ark too!
@WM: Greenlining takes time! I can only bear so much of it before my eyes start to bleed In any case, its all over now, so its on to more colorful projects!!
@Dee: Its from the loss of the leg, I expect. Probably lots of oil lost, the poor guy!
So with the greens finished, it didnt take very long at all to get the rest of it sorted out (I took care of the non-greens in less than a few hours, compared to the week of green lines!!)
And a couple close ups:
Was a little fiddly to assemble due to paint expanding the joints and making them tighter, but all in all it wasnt too terribly bad!
I painted it blue 'cause thats what was on the box! Client wanted it to look like the GW one, so I did my best to match it.
As to future crons, he's thinking about a few more Annihilation Barges, some Death/Doom Scythes, and another Ghost Ark. Lots of Green Lines in my future, though thankfully we're gonna be spreading it out somewhat!
Nerd and me are gonna do a paint-a-thon/contest/knight-off!!! (details tbd)
However, this means we need to figure out when our painting schedules match up. As it happens, I'm almost always free (ya know, in between job applications and that clusterfeth), but Nerd has a few things he needs to finish before we can sync up. In short, im left with about 2 weeks to fill up before tackling the big robots!
And so I took a dive into the box of many things WM left me, and pulled out something that really caught my eye. The 80lb resin brick that is the Eldar Phoenix, plus a trio of little Hornets!
And, being a greenskin at heart, a squad of stormboyz!
The Eldar stuff is a little bit of a rescue mission, as some bits have broken and bent (one hornet has a tail that needs rebuilt, and the brightlances are a bit bendy atm!)
The stormboyz were a very cool kit to build. Very orky!
Speaking of... The Mek Gunz are sounding pretty cool. Model is a little meh (nothing like the GoMoNaut, though. that thing is STILL hideous!), but the description sounds pretty cool. Stuff like the BubbleChukka, Traktor Beam, etc...
The new plastic SAG mek looks awful though. his face looks way too boxy!! Seriously, people, what are you on!? (also, stupid energy bolts on the cannon itself)
Every time you hate on a model it makes me want to get it. I feel like that is the opposite of what you're going for.
If you don't want to rebuild the back fin you can just battle damage it off. Doesn't really go with the clean eldar look thus far though. I got it like that, btw.
I agree with Ramo's ( did I just say that?) the head is just way too 'Blocky' .
Moonpie: I'm guessing another real issue would be the correct size as well. I'm guessing we'll be seeing more new Ork stuff out very soon. There should be something in those kits as well that might work.
Ramos; If you don't like the 'enery bolts' . One can alway cut them off . I'm quessing they could be used to bash a lot of figures ( excluding Farm animals of course )
Nerd and me are gonna do a paint-a-thon/contest/knight-off!!! (details tbd)
However, this means we need to figure out when our painting schedules match up. As it happens, I'm almost always free (ya know, in between job applications and that clusterfeth), but Nerd has a few things he needs to finish before we can sync up. In short, im left with about 2 weeks to fill up before tackling the big robots!
@moonpie: A lot of the new minis strike me asoff my perceived ork aesthetic. In the naut's case, its cause of the overwhelming boxiness of it. The SAG mek has details that are good, and its great to have it in plastic (Easier to make a SAG battery, iffin that carries over to new rules...) His face just looks weeeeeeird. Too flat and inorganic, especially compared to the old mini.
I guess really what it boils to is my own absurd tastes. I just think the ork kits need to look a bit more ramshackle and a lot less tonka truck!
Suppose a warboss or even a Nob head could work for a headswap... been a while since Ive looked at my metal SAG mek, though.
@SL: As far as rules for the Knight off... we're still trying to figure em out If you have any ideas, Id love to hear em! So far we're playing it pretty loose, with the both of us starting the model from more or less the same point on the mini.
So today was another surprisingly busy day family-wise, with lots of errand running and a lovely Chinese lunch.
On the miniature front, I finished the cleaning and assembly on the flyers, as well as gap filling. I ran into a bit of an odd issue with the Phoenix, though.
As with any flyer kit, it has a few clear plastic parts for the cockpit canopies. I figured it'd be an simple matter to just pop em i, but a dry fit brought up an issue. As it turns out, the Void Dragon Phoenix (this particular variant of the flyer), has different crew than the vanilla kit. I found a few other cases online of this, leading me to believe its an error in casting (or assembly, perhaps- I dunno!)
And so I sat and pondered. One option (the first I came up with) was to shave down the top of the pilots' heads and then GS the illusion of hair where I cut it down. Hopefully the cockpit would help fool the eye. But then I had another thought, and this one was far less destructive. Why not just build the canopies -up- a millimeter?
And so I set to work.
At this stage its a very rough fit. Im gonna go back after it sets and smooth it down to blend it into the rest of the craft. Dont worry about the big bands of GS either- these were areas that just got huge gaps in the mini (as a bit of a rescue project, it had some rough spots). Im going to carve out panel lines after it all sets up.
Now another thing I need to ponder is how to paint the minis. The Hornets are small, so the usual mymeara gradient should do them fine (definitely gonna figure out some markings to differentiate em). The Phoenix, on the other hand, needs a special paint scheme. Its a huge, special unit, and the paint should reflect that. I like the crazy scales they painted on the FW mini, as well as the blue cloud effect the vanilla Phoenix has.
My first idea (also the most insane and ambitious) was to paint a sort of underwater ripple look on the surface of the plane. I think it would really fit with the very oceanic color scheme. Problem is, Ive no idea to do it! Tutorials for it are impossible to find, but they have to exist!! If I cant figure it out, Ill need to figure out an alternative.
I think that regardless of final pattern, I want to put a large Craftworld glyph on one side, offset and taking up a large portion of a wing. Would make a nice focal point.
As I look at how other people paint eldar vehicles, it occurs to me that I may want to carry an overall effect on to all of the Mymeara ones. I particularly like the effect this guy got on his. Really striking with the hexes on the red areas. (LARGE PICS AHEAD!)
Spoiler:
With the gradient, I definitely dont think I want to do something as contrasting, but theres an idea there somewhere...
Ramos Asura wrote: @SL: As far as rules for the Knight off... we're still trying to figure em out If you have any ideas, Id love to hear em! So far we're playing it pretty loose, with the both of us starting the model from more or less the same point on the mini.
All depends on the initial challenge. Completion? ( whomever finisheds first? what counts as complete?) Painting? Coolness? You could set a finish date, take and post pics on Dakka and then have the Dakka community vote. Highest overall wins ( after 1 week). Once decided the deadlines are non moveable. The loser shaves his head, the winner gets the hair and maybe a goat!
or.
Maybe you should both paint it Pink and Yellow ( so as to make if fair ) and the winner gets bragging rights, but no goat. and the loser sends his to Moonpie for fear of getting beaten at their FLGS. Just saying
Sorry guys! After building and repairing the Hornets and Phoenix, I hit a bit of a mental snag and just really couldnt get motivated. I was really stuck on how to paint them- for example should I use elaborate friskets? Designs? Variations on the gradient? I had no clue.
And so I sat around and played a little bit of videogames (just installed Risen on my comp... surprisingly good for being an older game), but mostly it was 2 full days of resume re-tweaking and sending out even more applications.... :/ I seem to have been passed over for a job I was sure I'd get up in Cleveland, but I didnt even get a call, so back to the same song and dance.
Dunno what you need to do to get a job these days... Its pure misery never getting interviews :/
Anyways... Guess thats enough of me complaining, so lets get down to business at hand:
@SL: Good suggestions all- definitely gonna take em to mind! As to painting in fools colors.... alas, the pair I have are destined for blue and gold, and nerd's is destined for the reds and silvers of the mechanicum!
@Alf: Yeeeeeeeah, my dice suck. Sue me
@Gir: I'll do my best to keep your morning work material fresh and exciting! Hopefully Ill get back into the swing of things quickly!
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So thanks to steadily increasing insomnia, Im still awake. So why not do a little work?
A few hours of airbrushing and the flyers are looking good in their teal and green! The pic unfortunately loses a bit of the highlights on the Phoenix- its really much more of a color change! Ah well.... what can ya do?
My final decision was to spray the vehicles in the same Mymeara gradient as the infantry, but I introduced darker and lighter shades at both ends to break up the massive areas of flat color. After its all done, Ill throw in black bands here and there, as well as various larger glyphs and sigils, smilar to the many pics I found in the IA11 book.
For example:
I think Im going to paint the underside of these black, so it gets a good bit of visual interest. I almost would go with white, but black's gonna be much easier to make look good! Plus, the Guardians I've done already have black helmets, so theres some precedent for the combination! Weapons will be the standard white.
After letting the varnish cure overnight, I applied an oil wash to bring out the recesses.
The hornets really took to the effect well. Nice sharp panel lines!
The Phoenix on the other hand needs a bit more tlc. I guess that because its a rescue project as well as an older FW model, the panel lines just arent as sharp. This caused the wash to get wiped of unevenly in places when I was cleaning up the lines.
Heh... now its more waiting as the Oils dry! Maybe Ill start messing with those stormboys!
More than likely. It cleaned up really nice- all but a few rare areas were totally bare resin.
Though I dont mind. It just means a different approach needs to be taken. im nothing if not a glutton for punishment on projects like this
O.k if I was near you right now, i'd run at you and slap you for doing such a beautiful paint on those Eldar vehicles! seriously they look beautiful and damn near perfect Mearmamranaaa scheme colours too! I really like the the little Yabby looking ones!
Well dont let distance stop ya, nerd- feel free to fly over anytime! Complements are very much appreciated, dude! Im gonna be trying a little something like your tribal markings on these guys... Hopefully I dont mis the mark too terribly!
Hehe... believe it or not, I actually recognized Yabbies... Looks like watching a ton of TV has its way of paying off! I never noticed it, but yeah the Hornets do have a crayfish sorta look to em!
Minor Mymeara-based update for tonight:
I went back and used a thicker oil wash on the Phoenix, then cleaned it up with some mineral spirits. Heres what I ended up with:
After matte varnish tomorrow I might add more of a blended area between the two colors. Its looking like the color shifts a little too quickly, and the gradual change is one of those things that makes this scheme pop.
Bear in mind that Im gonna put a lot of glyphs on this thing, so that should break up the huge color areas even more.
On the Ork front, Stormboys have their skin halfway done. No pics of them yet, but definitely expect some tomorrow!
Absolutely! Its super easy and saves a ton of time. Plus, its easy to clean if you mess up. Especially on an airbrush blend, I dont want to have to try and color match!
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Between yesterday and today, I got more stuff done on the Hornets. Now they have gems!
And the bases are nearly done. I wanted to keep em relatively simple. After clearcoat, Im gonna throw on some small clump foliage and stuff.
Then, a bit of stormboy action. Skin tone is done save for a little bit of red on the lips and the scar guy, then facepaint!
Finally, I was playing Magicka and noticed a funny little place in a town called Gram's Workshop:
Had Deathwatch yesterday, so no real progress. Today, though, I finished up two figures for Deathwatch as well as the bases for the Hornets and Phoenix.
First up, My little brother's character- Techmarine Lortek of the Novamarines. A running joke is that he "speaks for the Machines".... Strange, given that he has appalling tech-use rolls!
Then my character, Blackshield Nero of the Deathwatch. Sole survivor of his squad following an encounter with a large tyranid biomorph. He lopped off a talon from the creature and now uses it as a weapon of revenge. Worked with the DM to have the Talon as a counts-as power sword. Really gives him a bit of extra tooth.
This guy.... Soon as I read about Blackshields, I knew what I wanted to do with him. Hit tropes and hit em HARD! Brooding, first to volunteer for suicide missions... Hes been getting a lot of Demolitions experience too, so lots of fun with explosions! All in all, he makes me chuckle.
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But today was not without progress on Eldar stuff. I got the bases done for all the flyers!
Hornets:
And the Phoenix. Grass areas are darker- in the pics the glue is still wet and showing through a bit. Messed around with SW Leaf litter on the tree, too.
Thanks SL! Tomorrow I should be able to put them to use! The gray should boost the teal/jade real nicely!
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Ergh... so minor setback. More job hunting and rejection letters from said hunting put a damper on my painting spirits these past few days, so little got done ><
After a long dip in the pool and several gin and tonics, last night I finally felt ready to continue. Lots of black and annoying crevices on the bottom of these things... its the "gills" that make it difficult to cover sufficiently in one brush stroke... but these guys are almost done. I even painted on some random squigglies as per the Imperial Armour photos.
At this stage, Im left with just the cockpits and pilots to finish, bringing me to todays update: What color to paint the canopy trim?
Currently, its black. I dont think it looks too terrible, especially as the bottom is painted black, so it sorta ties it all in:
Should I paint it the color of the rest of the vehicle (so in this case the turquoise color) or leave it as is?
Then, in a bit of experimentation, I messed with a ghost shade sprayed on the interior of a clear canopy. In IA 11, one of the larger planes has purple glow coming out of the cockpit, and it really set off the area... I tested it out with a spare Ork canopy.
Upon reading your suggestions, i played a little more with combinations. Red is ultra bright (the color is called "Fresh Blood", after all!), and looked a little out of place on the mini, even with the red gems. The color would look awesome on a dark-colored SM flyer, though, like a storm raven or a Talon.
So after spraying, I noticed something else. The black trim worked when the canopy was clear, but it quickly became lost in the relatively dark purple glass! So I slapped some teal on them. This worked better than I thought, and really looks sharp!
Without further ado, Lets stir up a Hornet nest!
And a shot of the tops, showing off the different designs:
Phoenix is up next, and is gonna be very similar in design. A lot more in the way of runes, though- its got a loooot of surface area!
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@Dee: All airbrush work. Mostly just the teal color and the Jade green sprayed on each other. The brush makes them blend really nicely!
@SL: I've tried just about all of them. They dont really fit my painting style, but I can see how one could use them to quickly paint an army or to boost an already existing paintjob. They're best suited to use as shades, due to the transparency of the paint. I still prefer to just spray my own color mixes.
So far my favorites are the purple, light blue (Plasma Fluid) and the red (Fresh Blood), which are very rich colors. Theyre good for brightening up a desaturated paintjob or bringing a bunch of colors together under one overall hue. On the other hand, the brown is an ugly greenish-tinted color, and oil discharge is too blue for what I had hoped was a "black". You can get it there, but it takes a LOT more paint!
@WM: Excellent! Glad they shape up to your liking! Took me a little to figure out what droid tank you were talkin about, but yeah it really does xD
Oh and Grats (or condolences) on the forum promotion!
@Gits: Thanks!!
@Dee: Always fun. My roommates cat would stare intently at mine when I was in college. He had no idea what the little blue humming thing was!
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Today I moved ahead on the Phoenix and applied a little more color. Still to come are a handful of other black tribal-esque designs on the wing opposite of the large glyph. Not shown is the work on the bottom- lots of shading on black. Very very sharp looking next to the blues!
Shouldnt be too much longer, actually. Just little lenses and gems and the filigree on top. Gonna hit that with a boney kind of color. The cockpit glass is getting the same purple effect, but the frame will be green instead of teal.
Happy 4th everyone! Hope that it was a great day all around. Barbecues and Blowing stuff up for the Americans, and a nice sunny day for those of you not in 'Murica-land!
@WM: You'll certainly have enough points after this xD
Might not be an exceptional list- no Serpents, after all- but the flyers should at least give you a boost
And now you have a Phoenix!
I wasnt sure about the paintjob at first, but once those gems went on, it really started to come together. Absolutely crazy how that works out!
Next up is more work on those Stormboyz, then if all goes to plan, the Knights!!
Wicked work mate! really beautifully done, the gradients are flawless and the canopy idea worked exceptionally well I think, suitably elegant and deadly (much like myself) I agree a group shot nicely done will be needed, and may I add it'll probably end up front page of the gallery in about.... Ooooh.....3.4 seconds :-)
I have resisted a Revenant to this point because they are an unplayable force. Usually about the 2k points mark I add something big and dumb to the force.
A phantom is unlikely, that would be like a 10k-15k thing, along with the Reaver and Thundehawk. A Rev is only marginally larger than a wraithknight. As the eldar are more of a side army, it'd take a long time to hit that point. Next super heavy Ramos is likely to get from me would be in Red Scorpion colors, not counting the knights.
Understandable goals, and ones im totally in agreement with! Still though.... would not mind working on one of those Phantoms, though... sooooo pretty! Undoubtably would need to have a very special paint scheme on it... base colors just wouldnt do! Anywho, RS Superheavy sounds fun... any idea as to what your thinking or you keepin it a surprise?
And thanks YB!!
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So its been a little bit of an unproductive weekend, mini-wise... Just applied a black wash on all the Stormboyz. Very early WiP, but its all on the way.
Im super stoked to announce "The Night (or many Nights) of Knight Fighting with Knight at Night!" (Reserve tickets now, supplies are limited. Void where prohibited)
In this event, both me and nerdfest are painting Knights in a no-holds-barred epic smackdown of apocalyptic painting proportions! (here's a link to his project log!) I've been looking forward to this for weeks, and its already shaping up to be a blast! We've decided to make it not so much a competition, but a showcase of our differing styles and approaches to the project. Should be awesome to see!!
So! This morning I woke up and set at once to preparing my work area. Models lined up, paints mixed in dropper bottles, MST3K lined up on my compute-- wait a minute... Why isnt my computer turning on?? The fiend nerdfest had struck!!! The clever Tasmanian devil... he knew I couldnt work without background noise!
Fast forward a few hours and the computer boots up, having been given a deep cleaning and dusting. Removing a few of the millions of useless USB cords probably helped things, too. But then.... he strikes once more, utilizing strange and arcane magicks to turn the elements against me! Rain, wind, tornados!! My grandmother's house is caught in the storm (no major damage, though, for those concerned ^^), tearing shingles from the roof and tossing her little rowboat miles away in the middle of a soybean field!
Truly he is a most powerful and worthy adversary... His doom shall come swiftly!
Nevertheless, I set to my task, ending up with the metals sprayed.
The process to this point has been simple- just many layers of airbrushing with a sort of zenithal effect.
First, A basecoat of VMC "Gun Metal" and Black is applied over the metal bitz,
Then, pure Gunmetal, a blend of Gunmetal and GW Chainmail, and finally some pure chainmail on the brightest points.
I then hit the deeper joints and shaded areas with SWW Soft Body Black:
At this stage, I cant help but feel it needs more of a color variation, so I want to try out a wash technique I read about online. You put a watered down color in a spray bottle and apply it to the mini. Sort of like airbrushing, but its heavier and suits the wash better as it doesnt dry as fast! I really like the oily black color nerd got on his Knight, so I think im gonna try and steal borrow that idea!
Ahhhhh Sonofabitch! two Knight I need to nighty night! I call tomfoolery on you Ramos having two to paint so you can only show the best bits if you so choose you sneaky devil! and YOU think I am the Tasmanian Devil! HA I think not baby puppy!
and you liked my use of long range Transformium (yeah you like that Whaley) to stop your inspiring background music! but seriously dude I don't know how you can paint to Britney Spears and S club 7
thankfully you did lose some time as what you've got so far is actually looking good dammit!
@Dee: It is now canon. Im calling these Chaos and Mayhem
@nerd: Hey dont forget about my extensive NSYNC collection! Some of my best work has been done whilst listening to that one song they sing. You know- The one about that topic with the lyrics!
Oh, and you pretty much -have- to be the Tasmanian devil! I'd just be a plain ol devil
@SL: Thank you thank you!
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Knight II: The Knightening
Today was a bit of a late start, having slept in a little after perfecting my Anti-Transformium shielding (utilizing the volatile element M.Baynium!). I revved up the compressor and spent all day giving the Knights some color!
Please keep in mind... It looks rather primitive now, but once the gold trim goes on it'll sharpen right up!!
The main carapace, showcasing the varied blues I ended up with:
And the shoulders, showing the three main color blends. The bone color needs a wash to sharpen the color some, as currently the parts are rather dull.
Hmmm... i may need to upgrade my defenses in that case... alternatively I could simply leave it to WM for their defense. After all, if one of them happens to vanish, we'll know where to look now!! Bwahaha!!
Unproductive past couple days (Last night was the Deathwatch game- turned out to be the best session yet xD), but I think I have direction on the metals for the Knights. Thus, I bring you this mini-update!
As much as I like the oily black metals on Nerd's Knight, I think i want to gear it closer to the Warhound metals I did a while back. Clean and fresh, maintained diligently throughout the years! That said, they did need just a bit of extra color, so I hit some of the recesses and shadows with SWW Armor Wash out of the airbrush. This has a brown tint, not quite a rust, but fitting of a metal. Still need to highlight with bright silver, and touch up the deepest areas with straight wash.
I also started on the Golds today. No pics, but maaaaaaaan is it shiny!
Cool, its great that we're going in different directions for these guys! gives us all something to have input with! I'll be keen to see more of yours as i'm now deciding which armor panels to leave off to ake it look mechanicus-y
Really the only panel I'd leave off is the helmet on yours. Like if you see some of the more Mechanicum hoses in their codex, they all use the bare head, usually painted split black and white. The rest of the armor is (I think) integral to the overal look of the kit. Otherwise you get your suits little chicken legs blown off!
Not to mention that gets you areas of a brighter color to break up the masses of metal (even though i still love the oily look).
Ramos, whenever you have a chance can you tell us about your deathwatch game? I've always wanted to play but we don't have enough 40kRPG people around here.
I am considering leaving off the lower plates and the groin plate so far, definitely the groin plate and i'll have to run some poll pics! :-) I want the metals to be the main star of this one and I wasn't going to add the faceplate either I like the skeletal look with the glowing eyes!
@Ice: Sure I can do a bit of storytelling- gonna need to wait a bit, however, as I gotta pop off here real soon xD For now, suffice it to say Deathwatch is the Michael Bay 40kRPG. Lots of combat and epic showdowns!
@nerd: Definitely like the sound of that. The more Kiera can show off them legs of hers, the better Kneepads would be a good idea to include, as that'll break up the lower half of the metal, but you could stand to leave off the shins. Youve put enough work into the pistons that would otherwise be hidden, so I think its perfectly ok to show em off!
Whew... busy past couple of days.... So i got more work on the trim. At this stage it just got a second wash of Devlan Mud (aaaaaaahhhh I love this stuff!!). Still have a silver line highlight and a chestnut ink wash to go, but already you can see a marked difference from last update.
I also put the bright edge highlight on the blues, really sharpens the color up.
Realistically, theres not insanely much to go. Finish the golds (I ran out of rubbing alcohol to wash my brushes in ><, then the Metals, lenses, purity seals, and decals. Im really hoping to finish this by Friday so I can hand deliver these guys to WM!
if gak work was AMAZING! I love the shading and colours, so different from my direction! we wanted to go from one end of the spectrum to the other and I think we may have just done that! lol now I want to send mine to Whaley so we can see them side by side! :-)
@nerd: Im sure WM wouldnt mind another knight! Definitely agree with you, though. WE hit the nail right on the head, if I do say so myself!
So today I spent a lot of time putting a little silver highlight onto all the gold surfaces I had painted previously. I still have a few to paint yet, but cant progress until I get more Alcohol to wash the brushes. Ill throw on the final chestnut wash after all the golds are ready for it. I dont want to have to mix it twice!
Even with this minor delay, I saw fit to begin assembling the armor plates. These guys are shaping up
Still a little more silver to do yet, especially on the main carapace. Then its the purity seals and decals!
I don't thin the red pads work with the blue... you'd better send them to me just so you aren't tempted to use them. Actually it's just better if you send me the whole thing and start over.... after you finish it of course. Clearly you need all the practice you can get!
I saw these bad boys yesterday when Ramos, his brother, and I traveled down to Whalemusic's house for some good old American shoosting. They look damn good
@Payne: Many thanks! Heh... having seen Nerd's final project, Thats a super huge compliment ^ ^ Hopefully my final shots meet up to the high bar Nerdy set!
@Gits: Oh no! You think so? Well, shoot i wish you'd have told me earlier- I just gave them back to WM! (Hope he doesnt notice the horrid mistake of red on the pads)
@WM: Great to hear! Hehe. Sure didnt take ya very long to get em out into the field!
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So then! I've certainly been quiet for a few days. As is tradition, the radio silence can only mean one thing- I've been busily putting final touches on a project! The way i see it, if Im gonna take up anyone's time by posting progress shots, I want there to be definite visible progress! Whats more, if Im nearing completion I want to hold off updating until the mini is completed, rather than having 3 pictures of a purity seal being painted.
That punk nerdfest finished up his knight sometime Friday, so I knew I had to push myself and get them set and done that day!! Cut to several several hours later, and in the wee hours of Saturday morning (was up till 6AM ), the Twins rolled off the line in all their shiny blue and gold beauty!!
Damn were these some photogenic minis! I had a lot of good shots showing off details. Here are just a pair Id like to share:
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Shortly after finishing, and after taking a small 2 hour nap, I packed these guys in a box with the Eldar and ran off with Alf and my little brother to visit WM and his apparent armory!
Note to self- in case of Zombies, head south.
Had an awesome time blasting apart milk jugs and various fruits. I actually managed to hit things, too, contrary to my infamous "accuracy" in FPS games! The melons (whose godawful stink made the drive down miserable) never knew what hit them! I've much to learn about it, especially how to properly hold and sight a rifle... those of you who know how to shoot may want to avoid the following picture or two, as some suffer from a severe case of noob gun handling syndrome (we're safe with em, but just cant hold em right!)!
Spoiler:
Yours truly, enjoying Alf's lovely Mosin Nagant.
My little brother, nick, with WM looking on and shaking his head.
Alf and one of WM's "little guns"
And finally our host, WM, with his "Ima kill you, melons!" glare
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Oh and a final little note: While I had the backdrop set up, I took pics of that Khorne Lord I was painting a while back. Now with 100% more head and blood spatter!
Those knights look fething fantastic. I'm very impressed! I really need to pick up a couple myself. I also really like what you've done with that Khorne champion. It's got a lot more character than the usual suspects of Bunny-Helmets or the typical bald, screaming heads. Is that head from FW Typhon?
Thanks Az!! I can recommend them for sure. Expensive, but apparently they're pretty good in game, and the models are awesome to work with!
I'm really pleased to hear you say that the Khorne Lord has character. It is indeed Typhon's head! Had him spare from a commission I painted (I really hate bare heads, funnily enough), and needed something for his head. I used the bit in a conversion long ago, and as a non-chaos player I had nothing in my inventory except for some weird fanged CSM head. Funnily enough, I was gonna use the typical screaming bald head before I painted this one up on a whim xD I was really afraid that Typhons "disinterested" expression wouldnt fit the screaming "RAEG" Khorne aesthetic.
They look the tits dude! so, so different to my own version! :-) the blue and the clean metal is really nice with the proper house markings. The pair together is certainly an impressive sight especially as you painted two in the time I did ONE!
We certainly do need to have another method off soon! I enjoyed trying to flip side whatever style you were going and ended up actually doing something I am really happy with and the bonus is I get to see two more awesome knights to whet my appetite for more painting! :-)
@Nerd: I couldn't be happier with the results! I like to think I learned a thing or two during this paint-off. Definitely need to experiment more with your method of metals. The grimy look is just jaw-droppingly decadent! My Orks (if I ever do return to them) could benefit greatly from the effect!
Oh, and it looks like we may have a Method off sooner than later with Mr. Gitsplitta's newest announcement (cause you better be joining!)
@Gits: Excellent to hear! Eventually there will be more, including the Obsidian Knight. Lots of black on that big guy! Super glad to know that i haven't disappointed you guys! I just hope I dont end up setting expectations to high one day
Gitsplitta wrote: Annoucing the Second Annual Mantis Maker Competition!
Date: July 27th - Aug 27th Title: Alia jacta est! ("the die is cast"... or alternatively... "cast the die") Theme: The contest is to make a Mantis Warrior in a duel with another figure (a marine). I will have the opponent built (probably not yet painted) by the time the competiton begins so you know what you're figure needs to match with. The "display base" will be a large oval (Knight or flyer) type base. Your figure must be infantry of some sort (no vehicles) and fit on a 40mm base (though it can be any type of infantry & does not need to be confined within the 40mm base... but I want it based on 40mm so I can make the overall display correctly). On the 27th, I'll post pictures of my part of the display, as well as measurements so you know what the physical size limitations for your figure.
This is not a painting competition. Best painted won't necessarily win... the winner will be the person who has the most dynamic, exciting and jaw-droppingly creative Mantis Warrior opponent for whatever scum-bag marine that needs killin' that I create. It must also match well with my component... so biggest might not be the best (I'll leave that to you). Painting will be a factor of course, but not the deciding one.
Da Rulz... 1. Entries must be unique to this competition. 2. You must post a pic of your build and your final entry here on this blog. WIP shots are welcome here... but not necessary. 3. Each entry must be the work of one person only. 4. Deadline is 12AM GMT on Aug. 27th... whenever GMT is... I have no idea, it just sounds good. 5. You are strongly encouraged to help each other out. Visit each others plogs, etc. We are a big, global family of nerds... let's support each other!
Spoiler:
(cause... you know... we sure as hell ain't gettin' laid on a regular basis)
6. Other rules as I think of them. I'll have the final set by the 27th.
Da Kategoreez - these don't "stack", one per person
"I'm here to chew bubblegum and kick a$$, and I'm all out of bublegum!" (Grand Prize): "It is better to look good than to feel good, and I look mahvelous!" (best painted) "To go where no man has gone before." (most original idea). "A good stretch of the legs." (person who worked the farthest beyond their capabilities) "Ill be back." (person with the most improved entry from last year to this one)
Da Prizez Each of the winners will get something... easily transferable. Unlike last year where I spent 10x the value of each prize in shipping because the European contestants kicked the American's butts all over the gaming table. I'm thinking something like credit with one of the bits makers... like Zinge perhaps, or maybe another company in the US for any winners (just in case any of you p-knockers manage to step up your game this year). Maybe I can get a bit of a break from someone... we'll see. The grand prize winner will also get the display base including my figure... all painted, based and ready to show off their fine work. Neat thing is I'll be painting my end of the diorama at the same time you'll be working on yours. (That way I can mess with everyone's head while the comp is going on.) If you (personally) or your company would like to sponsor a prize, just PM me. I don't expect anyone to do it, but you never know unless you ask. I'm thinking each of the prizes will be about $25 in value (US) if I'm paying. If you're paying, the sky is the limit but I'd like to keep it at or above $25 (that's what... about 2 pounds now??). *sigh*
Its all a work in progress, SL: Just gotta wait and let it grow! The FW Knights are gonna be really nice to work on, from the looks of things... Really really cool!
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So with the Knights completed, I figured I had some free time, and decided to paint up the Adepticon show mini that Victoria Lamb designed. Its been staring at me all through the Knights and Eldar (ever since AC, really!), so I figured it was about time:
I went for a decidedly wintry theme, focusing on pastel colors. Ever since that Dragoon mini for EFT, the light shifts in color have taunted me, and I really want to improve on them. So I decided to make things even harder on myself by adding on light gray armor and white straps and belts. Incidentally, this made the mini a bit harder to photograph, as the picture kept blowing out! Just too darn bright compared to the background! Clearly, though, I need much more work on skin, as its still the weakest point on this mini. I really gotta figure out the right blends and colors...
This base allowed me to play with one of the newer products from Secret Weapons- the crushed glass! So far, i like it! Gives a nice slushy look to the base, like the ground is just starting to thaw out after winter!
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Another project on the books is the next major chunk of WM's massive collection! A Red Scorpion bike army!
Thats a loooot of bikes...! In addition to these guys, I've a Storm Raven and a Storm Talon to be painted in the Grays and Yellows of the RS.
So far its all just been cleaning and basing, relaxing, really, after the super crunch that was the final day of the Knight-off! Looking at my desk, I notice that I still have those Stormboyz kicking around here.... Maybe that'll be up next, provided I dont get sucked into an assembly kind of mood!
Today, the bikes... Tomorrow, A STORM RAVEN! Then if the schedule works out, sometime next tuesday we'll get to some Dark Eldar, but after checking out that nice little cafe down by the lake.
@Darth: Impressive, but alas impossible for me! Seems I've a nasty little habit of taking too long to paint xD
@dethork: Many thanks!! I really like the kits, too... Id gladly run a full guard army of them. I just wish they werent so expensive!
@SL: The weekend left me with this:
Nearly everything is assembled and ready to prime (turns out I did get into an assembly mood after last update). Just need finish assembling the Storm Raven. I'm missing a part from the extension kit, so I need to wait till it gets here. Turns out WM had two kits and the walls got mixed up!
In the mean time, Ive been working to free up 4 more paint pots for the rest of the bikes, (helps me not smudge the paint!). You guys prolly remember the band of Stormboyz from a while ago.
At this stage the blues, skin, and silvers are about the only bits complete. Biggest thing left is the little areas of red, lenses and wires and such. Should break up the rather blurry looking areas of the mini.
I reckon' heads might help break up the lines a bit? not totally sure yet but i'd at least try adding heads? if you don't like them with heads you can always take them off again I guess? although you've done a great job on their neck stumps.....
Ok, ok... for real this time. Stormboyz done and done. Simple little guys, but fun to paint. Having a few issues with the camera today, so the picture is a little less than perfect:
Tomorrow begins the grand project of the RS bike list. Hope I have enough paint for it- just checked and Ive only one bottle of the color I need. May need to put in an order sooner than I thought!
OK OK!!! You guys must be sick to death of it all, but I promise this is it for a while! I figure that I should assemble as much RS stuff as I can before spraying, so I can just keep the brush running and I have an easier time matching em all color-wise!
In hunting down more Scorpions, i was reminded of a few other projects that I just so happened to have in the "whenever" bin.
The first was an Honor Squad, which is now freshly de-smurfed (Really like these minis, but the metal is HEAVY!)
A Sicarius conversion to go with said Honor Guard:
Let me know what you guys think of the brass placement. I dont know if its too much or not. He had a smurf logo there (an armored plate called a besagew, i think), so I built a new plate out of brass and greenstuff. On his tabard he had a similar logo, so I just covered up that one.
And a Chaplain dread!
WM also shipped me the missing wall for the CH extension kit, so i got that up and ready to go. I have to say, the kit makes the Storm Raven actually look halfway decent! I'd actually run them this way!
Then i built the bases for the two flyers. The one with the lamp is a base WM had mostly built up with a marine standing on the bit of pavement (I removed him for painting), so I used that idea to build the second base in a sort of ruined highway theme. Messed around with a FW pour channel to make a K-Rail on the newer base. After these are painted, Ill put divider lines on the "road" areas.
Ok, so now thats all over(cue sighs of relief from readers), Tomorrow I prime!
Looks good Ramos :-) I like seeing what's coming up soon! did you want my honor guard I have? i've got the resin ones that came with Marneus and I'm not using them, they're much lighter lol :-)
@SL: hehe consider it being a bit inspired by all your roadwork lately! Eventually when I get some room for terrain, I think im gonna build up some ruined overpasses myself.
@Nerd: weeeeeeelll, I do really enjoy the minis thus far... I would love to have some for my own forces. Expect a PM shortly (well probably tomorrow morning, as its super late here xD)... Got a couple other things to discuss too =D
So today was a very -VERY- long day of grays. I lost count at around 5 and a half hours, haha.
Currently everything except for the Raven is at more or less its final levels of gray. I may yet go a stage brighter on some of them that need just an extra bit of pop.
Next stage for them all after I happy with the gray is to give em all a nice wash of black oils to bring the color more into the charcoal gray spectrum.
Its nice to be getting back into the RS scheme. For whatever reason, the gray feels really good to paint!
I do have a question for you guys, though... What color do ya guys think I should make the capes on the Honor Guard? i was thinking a good vibrant red (like the Kriegers) and a creamy color on the inside.
Then theres the issue of the bike captain's robe. Perhaps the opposite of the capes? Red inside, creamy outside!
@Payne: Excellent! Very much appreciate the input. I think that once the paint goes on and the sword arm is placed (it covers half that plate), my worries will be put to rest... In the mean time, I guess its time to push on to paint.
Current progress: All marines washed with oil paint! Vehicles are getting a bit more love with the airbrush.
You guys might recognize this familiar point in painting this scheme. From here its a night of drying then a good coat of matte varnish. Then, COLOR!
In other news, I just read a little bit into the Ork Mek Gunz (late to the party, I know). They seem really fun to play with, especially that brutal smasha cannon. S D6 AP1? not bad at all, though Im very likely to run a bunch of Zzap cannons! Gotta love gets hot!
Alfndrate wrote: I do not love gets hot atm :( I lost my last remaining Leman Russ Executioner last night to two gets hot rolls D:
Also, Eldar remain stupid in 7th edition.
Haha, I've got a friend who's relatively new to 40k and I you not he's had at least one of his marines die every game he's played. Same enough to say he isn't a fan of plas weapons now
Nice thing about Orks is that theyre cheap! At least in the case of the Zzap Kannon, the squishy Grots are plentiful enough that I dont feel too bad about em. Executioner tho.... thats rough. And Payne, your friends' Marines have some really bad dice luck if they keep missing 3+ saves! D:
Not much excitement here, but if you remember the old Scorpions, just sing along with me now!
Metals are blacked out, and parchment and cloth is started.
Now heres where things change... see, Im not sure which to go with on the cloth areas, like the inner cape and shoulder cloths that some of the marines have. I started to paint them similar to the purity seals, which gives a tan final product like this guy from last year:
However, this almost seems like the capes and stuff will blend in with the seals too much. So I thought about doing the cloth in a brighter color, like Kardax. Maybe a little more on the cream side of things rather than white:
Also, the executioner dying stunk because I was about to get overrun by 3 Carnifexes, a Hive Tyrant, and a Wraith Knight... Hopefully The Imperial Knight I was borrowing would have made the difference, but we were out of time :-\
Dunno what the equivelant is with the current paint range but I'm a fan of doing my cloth a pale cream. I start with a Chardine Granite basecoat, then I blend up to Ushabti and then up to pure (or nearly pure) white.
Automatically Appended Next Post: And yeah: plas is the bane of his existence right now
So general thoughts are creamy, eh? That can work then.
Heh, getting dirty isnt too much of a problem as far as these guys are concerned, deadmeat. Especially as its gonna be the Honor Squad with all the whitish areas, I guess itd be acceptable for them to wear stupidly bright colors. They dont have to do their laundry, after all!
@Warboss_Waaazag: Thanks! The gator is Kardaxx, from On The Lamb Games "Brushfire". Hes definitely one of my favorite minis of theirs, if not my top favorite. One of these days I plan on building an army around him. something small, but usable... Got a bit of stuff to do before then, though!
Yeah, my personal army projects kinda went on hiatus after I started doing commission work full-time.
A lot of it has to do with two big issues: The first is that I rarely play anymore (especially because where I currently live is a bizarre black hole of gaming), so I've no real reason to work on my own stuff when I can paint other peoples' much more interesting minis (for example, FW stuff!). Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, is my aggravating job situation. Currently I do commissions enough to keep student loans at bay, constantly attempting to get someone to call me for an interview! The bottom line is that if I paint my own stuff, I'm not painting someone elses. Its my own personal sword of Damocles. Until I get a for real job, I just cant afford to take time off, as it were. (I seriously have no clue what the heck I need to do to get interviews anymore.... I know Im qualified for my applications.... But its just damn hard to get that far! :/ )
Sure I know that a job would give me less time to paint, but honestly I think I'd paint more efficiently under that sort of time crunch. Who knows
I still want to do something with the two armies, but those are thoughts for future days...
In the mean time, I must carry on carrying on!
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Day 5: Of cloth and capes
Capes and robes are done! Really love painting reds, and red capes even moreso. At a future date, Ill probably go back and give certain areas a little freehand. In particular, the massive blank canvas of the banner bearer is just begging for something!
@Alf: Im free all the time these days (save every other Thursday), so whatever works for you
@gian: Wow, thank you very much! ^^ I certainly enjoyed painting them (even the ones that took -foreeeever-!). Thanks for stopping by- Its great to see new faces in this blog!
@SL: Really thats the most likely army to get progress, all things considered. Unless the group was to do some new insane direction for Adepticon this year, Its more than likely the army that Ill be playing. As to what, exactly, who knows!
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Day 6: Swords!
Spent most of the day playing tech support to both parents, so I didnt get as far as I'd have liked. I did get the power weapons sprayed, and now the HQ and Honor guys are looking sharper!
The one think I wasnt 100% certain of was the painting of this guy's dagger in a PW scheme. I ended up spraying it anyways, partially out of convenience, but also out of the thought that the Honor Guard should have all the fancy stuff, including more PWs than you can shake a stick at!
Parchment areas are up to their final levels, and Ive only just started the reds on the cording and seals.
Yarp! On the table right now (roughly all at the same stage) are all the bikes + riders, Honor Guard, Sicarius, and the two flying bases. Its part of the reason the larger updates are spaced a bit further apart.
The Talon is mostly basecoated (lots of gray gradients), and the Raven is assembled and has the interior basecoated. I think what Im gonna do is wait on the vehicles till after the bikes are done. I'll be able to give em more attention that way!
Whew... So darn many metals. Fortunately it seems the most tedious bits are complete. Right now they're only basecoated, but washes take no time at all compared to basecoats.
No this brings me to something I've been trying to figure out. What color should I paint the trim and the wings on the bikes? I was thinking yellow, same as the trim on the shoulderpads, but thats gonna be an awful lot of yellow on the winged bikes!
Whatcha think, guys?
Well, If you recall, this is the final destination for my Red Scorpion painting:
Yellow is a distinct part of their scheme, hence the reason I was thinking of using it as trim on the bikes.
I dont know if I could run what GW seems to have done with their Ultramarine bikes, though- they have the rider painted normal, then a silver trim all over the bike (That doesnt have the wings on it). That just seems like it would be too far from the Gray, black, and yellow of the scheme.
Hmmm....
Automatically Appended Next Post:
EDIT: Unless, of course, I implement the yellow on the bike in another way? like stripes or squad markings or whatever? Then i could do whatever on the trim, really...
Maybe yellow for the actual wings, with all the trim done in brass/gold? It's only the pad trim which is yellow isn't it, the other trim all seems to be metallic. (Although on power armour that is pretty much all the trim)
That might be a bit too much yellow though....possibly just trim on the mud-guards in yellow, evrything else metallics....the mud-guards being kind of analogous to shoulder pads??
Still messing with the black and red idea... trickiest part is masking areas so I dont overspray... unless a bit of brushwork Ive been experimenting with pays off! Fortunately black and red play really well together!
So its been two weeks on these guys already! My how the time flies... Unhelpful is the general feeling of malaise and anxiety thats just making it hard to concentrate on my work. Im starting to get really stressed out about not hearing back from places I apply to... this is particularly unusual for one place, as the past openings have had no issues in sending me rejection letters... Man I hate waiting and not knowing whats going on
Well, anyways... At least there isnt too terribly much to go,by the looks of things (famous last words), so with a bit of luck I should be varnishing them before too long.
Still need to paint the leather areas and golds, and the yellow is only based right now. Im gonna be hard pressed for painting these once these pots of the old foundation yellows burn out! I still need to edge all the gray, too, but it seems that Im pretty much out of Codex Gray/Dawnstone!! Gonna have to figure out a replacement- game store is a bit too hard to get to for just one thing of paint. Its gonna be a whole week before I get out for my Deathwatch game! I think Ill be able to rig out some kind of mix for it. As long as I keep it across all the current minis, you shouldnt be able to tell at all!
In other news, Im really thinking of doing gold helms for the Honor Squad and Captain... The ornate helms look good in solid white (and a few areas of gold, of course), but all the other "veteran" helms have a yellow band on them. That just wouldnt work for these guys, as there'd almost be more yellow than white! All gold, now... I think that can work. Certainly makes them stand out and look regal!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Day 16 progress: Seeing Red
As I mentioned before, I messed around with black wings fading to red using my brush. Started from pure black, then slowly mixed in P3 Sanguine base and highlighted the very edges. Then I put in a little bit of blood red for the final edge highlight.
The effect is darker than the pic shows. Blame the glare
Eh, not sure I like how that looks either. Anyone else have any suggestions? Maybe yellow would look ok on the wings, leave the other parts black? Or the wings in silver?
Hmm, I like the black/red effect, but don't think it quite fits in with the rest on this one. Do you have a finished rider so we can see what the whole thing looks like?
Possibly do the wing trims in yellow, then silver wings may fit the scheme whilst still breaking it up a bit......?
Maybe just all black wings? The sculpt is a bit ambiguous to where theres a break in trim, so I dunno if I can pull off a two tone effect...
Im really at a loss for this one, guys... Sorry! xD
How about, alternating red and black feathers (probably still a darker red). Or red tips to black feathers. That allows you to increase/decrease the amount of red to taste. Both with a grey-metal trim.
Looking at the model, I'd probably go with yellow now! leave the outer band of the wings in a metal colour and have yellow feather bits, I think it would look unmistakably RS :-)
Not what I pictured. I wouldn't have gone with a edge of red. I would have done just the tips, and used a brighter red. Black wings with a spot of red.
Also I'd paint the trim on the front of the cowling the metalic gold you have triming the rest of the bike.
The thought is to make the feathering stand out not make the bike look feathered.
@SL: Ahhh... I think I understand... I still dunno about the red. It just stands out too much when compared to the rest of the mini. Perhaps on another model... these guys are already starting to outstay their welcome!!
Day 18: Lets try this again
Ok, so! Went back to black after a day of trying all the different ideas pitched here in the thread.
Ive gotten it down to two versions: Full black, or the yellow edge like so:
I think i like the yellow trim, especially next to the other non-winged bikes. Brings enough color to the area while not being overpowering. I think painting the whole thing yellow would be WAY too much. Keep in mind that this is just a basecoat... Yellows will look more like the rest of the trim after its all done. The bottom bit of trim is a bit more ambiguous... no solidly defined lines to paint... Mostly that area between the wings and the guns. (marked in SL's pic as "Leave Gray"). Im thinking that painting that area yellow would be too much yellow, so Black seems like a good option, with the bottom bit of trim maybe picked out in yellow. Heck, might even leave it just black.
As it stands, these guys are pretty much set and done except for gray line highlights. Seems that it all took me long enough that Ill be able to pick up gray at the game store come this thursday. So after the little bit of stuff left on these guys (a bit of freehand and some minor details, really), I think Im gonna put them aside a few days and work on the Dread and flyers. Just about finished with the interior of the Raven!
Alrighty, mini update before I get more work done on these guys today...
I messed with the trim some on the bottom of the wing plates. Try as I might, i couldnt get the bottom bit of trim to look decent in yellow. Heres an example:
The Dark Vengeance wings painted up much easier- no bottom trim on those guys! So i suppose it looks better as black.
Gonna mess with the Dread today and see how far I can get. Have to say its kinda refreshing to work on something else
And just like that, (he says, knowing its been nearly a week since the last update), the Red Scorpion bikes are all done!
As it turned out, there were TONS of little details I needed to add in and touch up. Every time I thought I got em all, a new one appeared!
But at long last, the 3 squads and Captain are finished!
Captain:
Melta Squad:
Flamer/Power Sword Squad:
Plasmagun/Power Axe Squad:
And finally, a group shot:
It still shocks me how different these guys look on a black backdrop! The darks are that much darker and the brights are nearly eye-searingly intense. Needless to say, these guys are certainly similar in color to the old ones. I just dont have a good white backdrop anymore
As to the rest of the stuff, I'm just putting final touches on the Honor Squad now, so tomorrow I should have some more finished minis for you guys!
Congrats dude on some more stellar brushing! they look real good all together and I commend you on having the tenacity to paint that many bikes!! the colour choice for the front wings was correct and they look undeniably Red Scorpion! bravo
Also, there's a new bar opening up in my town called "The Side Quest" it is a 'geek' themed bar. We should see what it takes to carve out some time/space for RPGs / light tabletop gaming (ala X-Wing [Did you know the Millennium Falcon has a turret?])
I think it's cause he works down there, so its actually more "local" for him... Well, that plus the gaming scene around cleveland sucks!! Im totally up for checking the bar out whenever. Lord knows I dont have anything else going on.... ever... hehe. Well hopefully that will change before too long. Just sent out a few more apps over the weekend that I really feel that I stand a chance at getting. All I need is an interview just ONE interview, then I can land it. I know I can!
(Also, Alf... you and the turret!! )
@Nerd: Thanks, mate! Bikes certainly are.... "interesting" to paint. The trim in particular takes a surprisingly large chunk of time to do. Definitely didnt expect that when I started. I still so prefer to paint infantry minis! xD
Speaking of....
I finished the Honor Squad!
The completed Captain Not-Sicarius:
Champion:
The twin Power Axe guys:
And last but not least, the Standard Bearer. I had tons of fun with his banner!
Close up of the back of the banner:
I attempted a really subtle design on the back, using a very similar color to get a "ghosting" effect. Also threw in a little easter egg for my own amusement (also, I notice a little smudge I need to fix on the pole... curse you camera for revealing all my flaws! xD) Im actually really excited to get one of these for myself... Even if I never actually play with it, its just such a cool mini!
Finally, a group shot:
Next on the bench is the Chaplain dread, who is actually a good way done already, and the two flyers!
Yeah, I work in Canton, so Massillon is right there at the end of my work week. It also means I don't have to race along I-77 to get to some place by 6pm.
Hey, Ramos. Like the bikes. Love the Honor Guard(it isn't spelled with a U...).
It's something that the bikes take an Odyssey, and the Honor Guard show up instantaneously. Well played turning them from the upside down omegas. If I didn't know, I would never be able to tell that they were once Ultramarines. The touch of the scorpion on the banner plays well.
@Gir: Thanks, man! Heh, im already sort of plotting out something like this for my ME. Banners and capes have to be my favorite parts of character minis.
@Nerd: I dunno, your Sharks are pretty bad ass looking. (well, WMs sharks, but you know what I mean ). Trick to these guys is definitely the oil wash i use on them. It smooths the airbrush gradient and deepens the charcoal color. Gives it a curious touch of brownish green that I rather like.
@moonpie: Hehehe... Crazy English spellings. Why oh why must some people add more letters to certain words. Its more efficient to leave out the U's! Just makes sense
The reason why theres so little time between the bikes and the squad is really a matter of me working on them at the same time. I just happened to reach a point where I could focus on the last details and slowly roll out finished minis. I only wish I was able to pump minis out so fast!
That said, I do find my speed improving on basic infantry. The Honor Squad took me no time at all compared to the bikes. Im much more efficient at painting the smaller parts. I also miss a whole lot less minor details on the infantry!
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Took a bit of a lazy day today, so not much happened on the remaining stuff. I did have some promising news on the job front, though... A friend of the family called me today about a temp position at JonesDay in Cleveland. Its a position directly under her, so shes hoping to have a bit more pull on the decision than past applications. With luck, I may just have my "in" with this company Who knows... fingers crossed, right?
Anyways, bases for the two flyers in this army list are done. The first will be for the Raven, the second for the Talon.
I may yet go back and throw some static grass and such on these guys before calling them "done", but at the moment they're set.
Tomorrow starts the string of WiP updates to show just how much more I have to go!
Till then, Thanks for reading!!
Appreciate it, Meph! I can understand about the power weapons. Like OSL, Its one of those looks that has good arguments both ways. I like it because if brings some visual impact to the overall dark scheme of the Scorpions, and gives me a fun splash of bright color to play with. Plus the effect is something of a signature look for all the PWs I do, from the Scorpions to my own Marines Errant.
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Today it was back to work, so I got more colors on the Chappy and the flyers
Chaplain Dread- About halfway done with him as he stands. Originally went with all gold trim and wings, but later swapped to white when it looked like there was too much gold. Thoughts?
The Storm Talon- Grays are mostly finished on this guy. Gonna use the Oil Wash to knock down some of the brightness.
And the Raven. Half of it has the base gray on it, while this half is still in primer as I paint up the interior. I wont be spending too much time on it, however, as it will be mostly concealed once the full kit is assembled.
Thanks Gir. I was thinking of doing it up in a natural tan/off-white skull. I think a red skull might be a bit too much (even with as much as I love painting Reds). Plus, he might start looking like this guy.....
Love the watermark on the back of Cullen's banner. Don't think he's up to your usual standards though. Just to be safe you better send him here. That way I can put him with all the the absolute drek I've turned out and he'll look spectacular by comparison! Win-win for both of us!
As penance, I shall paint one hundred Mantis Banners... I'll have to of gotten better by then, right?!
Hrm... Maybe I should do a thousand.....
ALL OF THE BANNERS!
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So! After an unusually full weekend with family parties and getting out to see Guardians of the Galaxy (eh. Ok movie.), I came back and finished up the Dread. He was actually done all weekend, but didn't have time to shoot a pic till now xD
And Gir... Something for you. A little Red Skull on the dread
I dunno... I think im just too Jaded and cynical xD (and now we know why Ramos cant have nice things)
Not to say it was a bad movie, far from it. Marvel does amazing work with their movies! It was an alright movie in my book. Naturally there were things I didn't like, but thats pure human nature right there...
Starlord's character did get a bit grating sometimes, and the exposition was particularly painful (Im looking at you, prison scene!), but I thoroughly enjoyed Drax and Groot/Rocket. Got more than a few laughs out of me...
Second, Chappy looks good. I still owe you a stormbolter for him, but I'll send one (or bring one) next time I send something your way, and just attach it later.
Ramos Asura wrote: I dunno... I think im just too Jaded and cynical xD (and now we know why Ramos cant have nice things)
Not to say it was a bad movie, far from it. Marvel does amazing work with their movies! It was an alright movie in my book. Naturally there were things I didn't like, but thats pure human nature right there...
Starlord's character did get a bit grating sometimes, and the exposition was particularly painful (Im looking at you, prison scene!), but I thoroughly enjoyed Drax and Groot/Rocket. Got more than a few laughs out of me...
What do you possibly have to be jaded and cynical about? You're like twelve years old with your entire life ahead of you. You get to paint all day long and troll dakka whenever you want. And what more do you want from a super hero movie? It was funny, it had great fight scenes, ship battles, a raccoon, and some great character development. It was the best movie of the year. *at least from what I've seen*
Raaaaaagh! Damn it today was a pain... Maybe the humidity is up or I just wasnt feeling in to it today, but no matter what I did my airbrush was fighting me left and right. I think it may be older paint (VMA sure doesnt keep in its bottle for very long :/ ), so I kept getting mini chunks of semi-dry paint, and the brush just didnt want to spray smooth.
The Raven is painted up, though. Tried to get it as smooth as I could. Managed to get rid of a couple particular problem areas that the brush caused. Its bright, but thats all before the oil wash, which Im gonna throw on tomorrow before Deathwatch.
From here its all the many details and stuff, so hopefully I wont be too slow in progressing, Solar!
Applied an oil wash today, so the colors are really coming together... Right now I'm starting to black out metal areas, etc.
(Yes this pic is different than the last one! Its darker xD)
So I've a bit of an exciting development to share with you guys... I now have a real job!
A friend of the family tipped me off to a position at Jones Day (big law firm here in Cleveland), and pushed to get me selected for the job. Today i got a call from HR asking if I could start next week!! Sure its only a Temp job, and there is no guarantee of a full position after the few months are up, but its excellent resume material! Plus the woman who pushed to hire me mentioned that frequently Temps have been hired on in the past, so if I perform well, I might be able to get something!
Now what does this mean for my painting? Well, hopefully nothing out of the ordinary. Progress may be slower during the week, but with any luck it should bring back some of the spark I've lost these past few years. Lately I have had little else to do around here but paint, so my projects occasionally will hit pockets of With less time available to paint, I am hoping that it will make me paint more efficiently or encourage me to be more creative. I want it to start becoming a hobby again, rather than my job! Not to mention it will be great to have a stable source of income again!
Not to say I havent enjoyed the plethora of projects these past years, no no no... Far from that. I absolutely love painting all of the different things I've been able to get my hands on, and its been a blast working for you guys! Definitely doesnt mean Im retiring from commission painting either. I enjoy the experience far too much to do that!! It just means that my work will take just a little longer. Hopefully people still see it as worth the time!
Anyways, whilst we are on the topic of hobby... I was thinking about it today, but if I remember right Ice was asking about Deathwatch a few pages back. What kinda stuff would you guys want to know? General feelings on it, a breakdown of the sessions, other stuff? I can try my best to fulfill your requests!
Thanks guys! So as it turns out, they want me in the office tomorrow so all this weekend I needed to get ready and buy some decent clothes (I only have a couple decent button shirts xD )… This also included friggin ties! Ughhhhhhhhhh…… *Ramos rarely wears button shirts, let alone ties*
Though, the old saying goes "dress for the job you want," eh? Gotta mesh with the rest of the upper professionals!
Gonna be interesting having to actually wake up early now. Real fast change from staying up til 4 and sleeping til 10.
@Gir: Oh trust me, Im definitely gonna keep painting! (Just not as much now ) Pretty sure WM would suffocate under all his unpainted stuff if I didnt take some off his hands every so often xD
@WM: Yeah I'm gonna need to head straight into downtown Cleveland. The office is actually right next to the Rock Hall of Fame. I really lucked out, cause the woman who hired me is actually completely willing to carpool (I didn't even suggest it, she did!, which is the crazy thing!) Then I'm planning on taking the light rail system back home. Honestly couldn’t have planned this all out better!
I mean eventually, I'll get an actual car… but in the mean time, I'm perfectly content with public transport
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So Deathwatch! **Warning- Wall o' text sighted!** Our group has been playing since February, but only Bi-weekly. Not sure if it's a common case with the game as a whole, but maaaaaan do we level up slow! We only hit level two last month!
I suppose this is due to how the xp is calculated in regards to the rest of the 40kRPG books. This is something I actually really like about the system, as you can blend them as much as you want! If you want to play a Space Marine in Rogue Trader? Done! Just remember you're gonna be insanely OP! Guardsman in Deathwatch? Well, sure… I guess it's possible. Don’t know why youd ever want to though- you're gonna die FAST… xD
The level adjustment for Space Marines makes them somewhere around level 14 or something as far as the squishier characters go (they give you an actual number, but I cbf to hunt down the book xD ) So that’s prolly it.
Anyways…
Our Kill Team is primarily composed of 4 marines: Apothecary Cestus of the Ultramarines, Techmarine Lortek (who speaks for the Machines) of the Novamarines, Brother Saarlac- Tactical Marine of the Iron Hands, and Nero- Blackshield Assault Marine of the Deathwatch. Later we would be joined by Sir Gawain of the Black Templars, another Tactical Marine.
For sake of narrative convenience, I'm just gonna jump ahead and cover our latest mission, still in progress.
The planet Adrian's Respite is a distant (rumored) Maiden world which has been isolated by warp storms for centuries, and was once the site of a secret Mechanicus facility. Recent reports from the region have revealed that the storms have begun to subside, and the Kill Team has been dispatched to recover any lost technologies, including a certain "artifact". Given naught but the vaguest data on the Artifact, time was of the essence. News was spreading fast of the potential lost treasures, and the planet would soon be swarming with scavengers.
Due to limited resources and the remoteness of the location, not to mention the time-sensitive nature of the mission, the team needed to seek passage on a Rogue Trader vessel. They were given a large crate of supplies as well as sufficient credits with which to "convince" the captain to give them passage. He did so with little coercion, as who can say no to the Emperor's own Angels of Death?
Naturally the Marines had no issues with the crew. Most were too terrified of the superhumans to even come near. Ever distrustful of those outside the Astartes, Nero had Lortek tap into the ship systems. A Techmarine without peer, he had no issues conversing with the ancient machine spirit, secretly keeping tabs on the operations. All of a sudden, he noticed another intruder and tracked his position to an ancient, seldom-used section of the ship.
[The GM at this stage had severely underestimated the Tech-Use skill of Lortek, who had specialized in that field. A normal test will have you testing against 60 or so (you have to roll lower than your stat). Lortek was testing on a 95 Every 10 points you roll under your target counts as an additional degree of success. He rolled a 04, meaning 9 degrees! What was supposed to be an investigation of strange events on the ship was now a manhunt. ]
Moving swiftly, lest their quarry escape, the marines made their way into the dark catacombs of the vessel. Even the captain was unfamiliar with this section, as decades had passed since the areas use. Again, the Techmarine would prove his worth as he pulled out his Auspex and immediately pinpointed the intruder, cutting off hours of searching!
Bursting into a large room, the killteam is set upon by half a dozen servitors which had been modified for close combat. Also in the room were a pair of heavy industrial servitors built for carrying large freight. The target was nowhere in sight!
Fast forward through a little combat and during a lull in the battle, Lortek does another scan which indicates that the servitor command signal is coming from one floor below. The Assault Marine, Nero, makes short work of the floor, the severed scything talon he carries as a weapon biting into the steel like a power sword. He drops into the halls below as the remaining servitors are eliminated by his team.
More servitors are there to greet him, as is the target: an emaciated figure covered in cabling and cybernetics, clad in the vestments of a tech priest. [In a previous mission, we had discovered a rivalry between two sects of Tech priests. Not Dark Mechanicus, but something just as sinister… This storyline is still being developed by the GM so that’s all I know!]
Nero carves through the servitors as if they were nothing, the talon and his chainsword making quick work of them. Igniting his jetpack he dashes through the last servitor, just in time for the Priest to escape through a ventilation duct. [For a scrawny guy he was particularly speedy!]
Regrouping, Lortek again turns to his auspex. It doesn’t take long to find him again, and this time he cant escape. He is disabled non-lethally, but initiates a purge of his cybernetic implants in order to attempt to conceal his identity. That’s when Apothecary Cestus and Lortek show off their training. Between the two of them they are able to recover a decent chunk of the priest's memory, though it needs decryption.
Upon reaching the planet, countless scavenger and mercenary ships take off from the Rogue Trader ship, including the captains personal runabout flown by the Marines. They aim to land close to the old Mechanicus base entrance (despite numerous Ork encampments in the area), but are suddenly fired upon by a curious shimmering form in the air. Their ship is damaged, but able to land relatively safely. Inspection of the craft reveals that only the engines were damaged- hit in the perfect spots to disable them and them alone. It was no Ork weapon that hit them… Only the Eldar can be so precise!
With the ship unable to be repaired, Nero rigs it to explode, not wanting any of its technology to fall into Ork hands. It detonates, and the team begins the several kilometer trek to the base. Lortek acts as a navigator, utilizing his Auspex once more. The group walks deeper and deeper into the arid lands when it is attacked by an unseen enemy. A series of metallic twangs and a number of warning runes are the only indication of enemy fire as Nero's jump pack is hit. The fuel ignites, destroying the pack, but barely damaging the marine. Saarlac and Cestus return fire, killing a couple of the enemy gunmen.
As they retreat, the snipers take several more shots before vanishing entirely. Curiously, the shots are focused on the more armored sections of their armor. It's almost as if the Eldar are trying to lure the marines deeper into the forests…
They narrowly avoid detection by an armored company of orks (who are assumed to be heading to the lander crash site), and soon discover the remains of a massive capital ship which is currently being looted by the greenskins. Oddly enough, a Deathwatch transponder signal is coming from inside the armored aft section of the wreck [what is now essentially a fortress]. As it turns out, the ship is carrying a high-ranked member of the Imperial Church- someone with enough clout to command a DW marine in his entourage! Enter Sir Gawain of the Black Templars. [New players are always an issue in RPGs. It's so hard to figure out how to integrate them smoothly Seems this worked out rather well!]
Here's where their luck with sneaking around the Orks wears off. Thanks to Lortek's armor (whose randomly generated history gave it a proud and boisterous personality… so he sucks at sneaking around!), the group is spotted as they attempt to regroup with Sir Gawain, and the orks engage.
The majority of the orks start shooting (including a group of Lootas on the other side of the field), and the marines rush to enter the wreck. The plan is to pop out at points on the exterior and take out the enemy threat posed to the crash survivors. Nero, however, breaks off from the rest of the group and proceeds to climb one of the fortress walls, assaulting the entrenched orks in order to distract them from his comrades.
He strikes down a Nob as soon as he comes over the top of the wall, and starts hacking up Boyz. Meanwhile the other marines are shooting out of the main entrance, annihilating orks left and right…
And that’s when the Kans started to appear. Right away things look grim when a pair of them open fire with big shootaz and deal a good bit of damage to Lortek. The foremost of the mechs managed to close into melee with the marines, and hit both Lortek and Saarlac with giant buzzsaws.
Seeing his squad in trouble, Nero breaks away from the Boyz on top of the wall. While not as maneuverable as he normally is without his jump pack, a string of lucky dice rolls has him run across the fortress walls, leaping down to land on the back of the rearmost Kan, planting a Meltabomb on the giant walker. Everyone manages to run to safety… except Saarlac, who fails his agility test to run through the rubble!
The remaining Kan (and a chunk of the fortress wall) is engulfed in a miniature sun as the melta weapon detonates, and unfortunately the Iron Hands marine is caught in the blast. It is only through the grace of the Emperor that he survives, though significantly more charred than before. [In Deathwatch, you are given a number of Fate Points which can be temporarily spent to reroll a bad roll or instantly take a 10 when rolling initiative. They can be permanently burned in order to avoid death, but your character is out of commission for a while as he heals up.]
The orks retreat, and Apothecary Cestus patches up the two wounded marines as best as he can. We place a call to the ship in orbit and get them to send down a shuttle, into which we load the VIP and other survivors of the crash, as well as the Heavily Wounded Saarlac. The mission will need to go on without him.
Next session: We get to the base… and all the goodies inside!
Wowza that was a lot… hope you guys don’t mind wading through that Hopefully I'll be able to keep playing, but who knows. New job takes priority!
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No further progress on the flyers, mostly cause Im stuck right now. I need to add yellow and black to it, but have no clue where to put it.
The Razorbacks I have already painted have simple yellow bands at the front and back, like so:
Problem with this is that the Raven is much, much bigger and has the wings and tail to worry about!
To this end, I did some VERY quick and dirty photoshopping. This is really just one chunk of ideas, and really I think that this many stripes and junk might be too much.
Personally, I rather liked the scorpion idea Woulda been lots of work though just to figure out how to pull it off though! Tail was kind of an afterthought, too... (I didnt even do the other side of it like I was going to xD) But I like the middle stripe. Thats a solid look.
And that game last night was indeed mind-fething... I really damn liked that game. Definitely want to do it again! (Especially if we kill off Nick again ) And werent we on 4?
Ok then, i think I know where to go from here. Thanks guys!
First day of work tomorrow, so we shall see how it goes!
Im starting to notice that eventually things start to balance out...
For every day you're in a bad mood, theres gotta be one that youre in a great one. Every time your airbrush botches a job, theres gotta be another day that it works out.
Im finally starting to hit that stride
Bit of a quick update before bed (gotta wake up early for work):
Raven has most of its stripes (just not the one behind the upper scoop), and it just really turned out awesome!
As far as working goes, its awesome so far. Everyone in the office is super nice... I even have my own little sort-of cubical (one of those modern takes that essentially is just a big round desk), hone... They give me a stack of papers to process to the database, and let me go about it however I please. Nice and quiet.
Even though I need to wake up a little early and have to dress in a tie (something I rarely ever did before this), I find myself in a really good mood at work.
Tell ya what, guys... Im finally riding on a positive rhythm
Like those stripes, Ramos, does something to alleviate the most boring color scheme for a marine chapter ever devised.
Hope the jobs is doing good. Make sure you make a good impression. Remember how bad it sucks to look for a job. Make yourself indispensable and they won't want to dispense with you.
At least SWs have a bluish tint to their armor! RS are graaaaaaaaaay!
Kind words are much appreciated, you guys!! Im doing all I can to get them to like me and want to keep me. My immediate boss (the one who got me this position) is already super happy with me. Biggest thing is to make her boss happy and want to keep me!
Far too early to tell right now, but hopefully by the time my term here ends, Ill have made a few strong connections!
Thus far, job is going quite well. Floor is quite quiet, people are friendly. The work may be monotonous, but I still enjoy it somehow xD Right now Im going through a database of 8000+ names, checking each for specific markers before either marking it to keep or delete.
Very time consuming, but necessary. Plus it allows me to think about everything from painting to simply just relaxing.
Considering bringing in a project to work on while Im on lunch (like now). Raven has its yellows all set up, including on the top panel that the canopy connects to.
I will be adding blacks, though thats another thing to think on, as it lacks the recesses that the Rhino and LR chassis have. Reds will be limited to lenses and the like, just like the Rhinos!
Then its lots of metal work, some heat damage to those areas, then various white squigglies and such.
@fireangel: Thank you kindly!! I know updates have slowed a little cause of my new job, but just hang on a little bit longer! Right now its just in the process of getting some black, so not really interesting to see!
Im hoping to get some more work done tonight/tomorrow, as its my first "weekend" that actually means anything
Hehe, and funny story about Fire Angels... I was actually considering starting that Marine chapter back before I went to Adepticon with the Wardens. Only thing that stopped me was that I really liked the weird blue-white split scheme of the Marines Errant!
Tales of what could have been, eh?
So I seriously underestimated how busy life can be when you've stuff to do.
Its been a long time since I've had a real job (not for lack of trying, of course! Market sucks ), so its taking a little bit to get used to the flow of things and figuring out good times to do non-work stuff, ie painting. Last weekend was absolutely mad, as all saturday I ended up spending on running errands (some work-related, like getting a haircut and snacks for my desk ), and Sunday was similarly busy.
Getting a hold on things around the office though, but thus far my boss and her superior seem to be pleased with my work and progress. remember that 8000 name database? Ive got it down to almost a third left to clean up, even with random side projects that my boss wanted me to do (which were, of course, completed good and quick)!
Raven yellows are done, and Ive started to do the fine line highlight of gray. May need to go a level brighter on the topmost surfaces, as I guess I went a little brighter than normal with the spray, but otherwise is going swimmingly. I decided to try something different with the placement of black, and so i painted the cockpit frame and gun housing black. This was done for two reasons- the first was in keeping with the RS vehicle scheme Ive established thus far, with recessed areas on the Rhino chassis painted in black. The second was a result of keeping in a similar scheme as the Talon...
... which had a whole chunk of it painted black. I rather like this, as it breaks up the gray nicely. I haven't hit the yellow areas yet, as I wanted to get opinions on its placement. I was thinking of painting the front trim of the missile launchers yellow, as well as the intake areas on the engines. I don't think stripes would work particularly well on the mini, as the armor plates aren't as slab-like as the Raven. Thoughts?
Also painted up the pilots. Kept the Mechanicus red to only select locations, similar to the white on the Apothecaries, so the head, a knee, and an arm/shoulder. (Just noticed I gotta hit the skull on the helmet with color. whooooops! )
Finally, the Raven turret. Blacked out the servitor, but hes up next!
This week I decided to start bringing a project to paint during lunch- That's where most of the Talon's gray lining came from. I cant do any huge projects at work, but small stuff like the one color line work was great! Definitely gonna have to take advantage of this newfound painting time!
Hah! Yeah aint that the truth!
Hopefully I'll be stable for at least a little while. Its been so long, Ive forgotten how nice it is to get a paycheck!
Though i think my computer chair knows I got paid, too... The metal plate on the bottom just fractured (nearly cost me the Storm Raven), so now I need to get a new chair!!
And amen to that, SL... My fingers are crossed, to say the least. Theres potential- after all Im blazing through the backlogged projects (some of which have been on the table for months!!)- so Im still hopeful!
Progress over lunch, courtesy of Crappy-Cellphone-o-vision!
Last night I started on the interiors, too. Going with a drab tan with lots of bright colored lights and screens. Then the nice red pilots will stand right out!
You guys think I should tint the canopies on these two (like I did the Eldar stuff) or leave them clear?
Gotcha gotcha. im inclined to agree.
Ok then. That works out. ill make the cockpits a bit brighter and more colorful then.
Today's lunch saw the lights and lenses in both cockpits painted. (No pics, though. Sorry!) Just have to hit the seat with brown and the rest of the regular walls with a slight line highlight of tan, and then the pilots can go in!
Today I Spent much of the day hanging out with Alfndrate, first checking out a place called 16-Bit. Its a barcade! Alcohol, arcade games, and Dragon's Lair! WE had to have spent a good hour on that game, slowly learning more and more of it. One day it shall be beaten!
Very cool place. Good drinks (even some godawful maple-y drink that had bacon in it), and the only thing Id love to see is food, but as it turns out it was right down the street from Melt. One of my favorite places to eat, and they really just do grilled cheese!! Granted its a million special things on it.... hehehe Played Netrunner, too. Surprisingly enjoyable even though Im not a big card-gamer.
Anywho, the pilots are in!
Heres how the Raven looks manned:
In addition, I snagged a little mini project from Alf. Just a random little thing to work on when I feel like something different.
Super Dungeon Explore!!
I just grabbed a random little smattering of the minis. We'll see how these guys paint up!
But before that.... I have a Nerdcademy award to fight for!
I completely agree with you about the lack of in-house food, but I was thinking about that on the drive home. It's an arcade, when we were younger, the arcades didn't sell their own food, because it'd be too difficult to give correct orders to tables when they're constantly changing from cabinet to cabinet, and they definitely don't have the space that a place like Chuck E. Cheese's might have.
My buddy was hanging out there with his gf two weeks ago, and they used delivermefood.com to get food from a place on the otherside of town while they played games. I think it's an interesting idea, and as we saw, they definitely have a deal going with Melt.
Yup yup! Taking care of that presently! Dont want to forget again xD
Automatically Appended Next Post: Just finished the majority of the build for my entry in the Nerdcademy awards!
After my pitiful showing last year due to time (no conversions? No basing!?), I really wanted to come at this as strong as I could.
Initially i planned a mini-diorama with a marine fighting a pair of Gaunts. However, upon re-re-re-rereading the rules, I realized I could only use ONE model! Scrap that plan then!
Still much to do, but Im confident I can finish in the week and a half left in the comp!
Til next time guys!~
Ooooooohhhh I Like that idea!!! Definitely gonna add a suitably chewed-up helmet to the base. Thanks, Ice!
And hes definitely getting battle damage! I already took a knife and chipped some of the edges, including some big gouges on the pauldrons. More will be added, too, like paint damage and chipping.
I have a method to my madness with this competition: Black and white imagery is all about contrast and texture. Without the colors and all that to distract you, your eyes are going to focus on the patterns and shadows/highlights of the image.
As such, I want to really give this guy a gritty texture and make it look like he just fought through that whole pile of Nids.
Chipping should really deepen the scheme, which is otherwise rather drab. I've chosen to paint him as a Storm Lord, which is a split red and white color scheme with yellow helmets. Even though it is black and white, I hope to really push the implied color using various tones of gray.
The nids on the base will get a little chipping around edges of armor plates and battle damage, and overall will get a stripey carapace. Again, attempting to deepen the overall image.
Im hoping to start on him tonight (the earlier the better!), and all weekend will be a solid paint marathon. Its all due Monday or tuesday (forgotten which), so time is definitely of the essence!
Can't believe I was away for the chariot!, purpley, spikey and bit twisted, spot on!
Titan pics are gorgeous (and really highlight yet again that I need to get better with the camera and setup already got a complaint about the photos as the first reply in my showcase )
Working my way through, I love the scheme you're using for the eldar, those colours are right up my street. Ooh and a finished chaos lord, just do all the things I like while I'm not here why don't you!
Scorpions force is where I'm at which means up to date, as excellent as expected sir, looking forward to seeing the big bird finished. Better try and keep up now, that was rather a lot of reading when I'm supposed to be working.
Wowza you musta been away for a while then- much longer than I had thought! (and reading it all when you're at work... ) Seriously. Who goofs off online when theyre at work? Really now?
Very much appreciate all the comments.
As far as a photo setup, go out to Walmart (Or whatever the UK equivalent may be) and get a yard of a nice black (or white) fabric. I got a yard of a black, almost satin-ey fabric that works perfect. It was like a yard and a half wide on the roll, so more than enough room to drape. I then hang this fabric on my work desk over my computer monitor until it forms a nice photo spot. Add in a desk lamp or two for diffused lighting, and youre set!
Trick to shooting things like the Titan where the mini is almost bigger than the shooting area- back up a bit and use the zoom on you camera. nothing too serious, but you'll be surprised how much "larger" your area is with this trick of perspective!
Fortunately enough for you, You came back just when Im slowing back down on projects, due to Ye Olde 9-5 Job(e)! Definitely a far cry from daily updates!!
That said, I have a minor bit of progress to report:
Nerdcademy Piece: Primed! (with the awesome addition of a discarded helmet Thaaaaanks again Ice!)
Flyers: Metals are on and washed. Lunch project today will be lining in the bright silver lines!
Paint is going down on the Sin City mini! So far the "Red" is done, and the white will get shaded when I apply an overall black shading wash.
I ended up trying my hand at a bit of NMM, out of necessity. No colors means no metals!! That did get me thinking on another project, though. A hero model with metallic gold as the spot color! That woulda been kinda neat.
I should be able to finish on time!!
Till tomorrow, guys!
Aye, I saw a couple of people were having issues. Good to see that it seems to have resolved!
My update was rather dull, anyways, as it was simply the below images showing progress on the Grayscale Marine!
Who needs WiP pics, though, when the final product is available!!
I have a bit more of a writeup in mind as far as things I learned and stuff, but right now Im dead tired and have to go to work early tomorrow xD
Till then, Happy Painting!~
I like that a LOT. Looks good. Rad color spray, yellow or green or what. I really wish I had known this was coming up, because I would love to show up all your rods and cones possessing punks on some pure shading.
I hear you about work tomorrow, but TGIM. I've got Tuesday and Wednesday off! Ahahaha!
Thanks, dude! Yeah its Scorpion Green, so a very bright fluorescent green.
I'll admit Id really like to see you do something like this. Im curious what sort of insight actually having a bit of color blindness might give a paintjob. Its a fascinating prospect!
(I've been feeling particularly academic lately... constantly pondering things and formulating how to write the "report"... I think ive been out of school too long! )
Anyways, Geez... I just cant believe all the talent that came out of the woodwork for this competition. Really thrilled with so many different takes. Im definitely learning a lot from studying peoples' work xD
Ok, so more of a write up, as last night I was totally beat:
Grayscale was a challenge that I've been itching to try out, but just never got around to. Ive seen people do WWII scenes to great effect. Some of them looked like damn near perfect black and white photos!
I know the conceptual basics of B&W photography, at least. Texture and contrast. This played a heavy role in my decision. I wanted to do something with varied colors and definitely varied "textures", even though its all just a smooth plastic mini.
The split scheme was introduced to add a bit of complexity to the model- a carryover from my Marines Errant, to be sure. Not only do I get the contrast of "Red" and White, but theres also the little bit of "Yellow" on the discarded helmet. I think the only reason I didnt do a quartered scheme was because I couldnt find one i particularly liked (granted I looked for like 3 minutes XD). Come to think of it, I coulda done a Novamarine and gotten an interesting look. Ah well.
Anyways, I wanted to try chipping and weathering, too. After all, thats more complexity to the paintjob, as well as visual interest and storytelling. It was surprisingly easy to figure out... Rather than using a metallic silver over a black, then line highlighting the chipped edge of paint, I omitted the metal and simply used a darker color. Black for the gray and a middle gray for the white. It was then a simple matter of picking out the regions of chipping paint that would catch the light and whatnot.
The battlescars on the dead nids needed a bit of the same, though I just used a brighter highlight color to gently bring out the chipped and worn edges of their talons and armor plates. A bit of stripeyness to the chitin got me added texture.
Next were the metals. As it was a black and white project, any colored paints (yes, even metals) were out of the question. The obvious workaround was a journey into that most treacherous of painting techniques, NMM. I've never really even attempted it in the past, so this was very much a trial by fire!
On certain areas like the gun and the harness, I dont think I went dark enough. NMM seems to really need contrast, but thats something I've always had a problem with. I used a number of reference pics from around Dakka to help me out. I definitely want to include it in my repertoire, as its really a massive mark of skill to pull it off well (imho, of course). I guess this isnt too bad for a first shot. Next time, more contrasting tones!
Finally, I wanted a spot color that wasnt the usual red. I've noticed that red blood spatter is a common thing to see in this style of painting and wanted to break away from the norm. Thus the neon green. Alien and slimy. Only concern is that the brightness of the green makes it get lost int he white of the armor. Just seems to blow out the camera a little too much!
Whew... that was a long ramble. If you read that, thanks for suffering through my thought processes, guys!
On the project front, its now back to the flyers. Im gonna try and finish them by the weekend, as I've a few other new projects lined up. Another Necron Annihilation Barge, as well as a pair of Noise Marines!!
Till then, paint away!
All very sound thoughts, Ramos. And a great product. The half and half split on the armour works really well. Good shading and weathering. And the spot colour choice is great.
There goes any hope I may have entertained of getting first. Not that I had much hope anyway. Damn you, Great job.
@DrH: Very much appreciated, mate. And dont sell yourself short! The ginger DE dude was masterfully done! Very nice contrast with the leather and the flesh, and the shading on the hair is beautiful! Where I went for gritty and dirty, you managed to pull off very clean and crisp. I really dont envy the judges... There were so many beautiful entries that I really cant see any clear cut winner!
@Alf: (Ooooh how SUBTLE xD) Honestly, thats not too bad of an idea. I take it that painting it grayscale and washing it with a sepia filter doesnt count? I wouldnt mind doing something like that later on. Maybe after this round of projects when i paint something for me again Ill give it a shot!
So work has been productive... Silvers are complete on the Talon!
While the silver was out, i also put some wear on the turbines. Im thinking the center cone of the intake needs to have a pattern on it... Maybe? Im not sure. I'm a little divided on the idea, honestly. A spiral would look too out of place, but m,aybe just a red/black quartered pattern? The idea being that ground crews would know when the blades are spinning. Then again, seeing as its a marine vehicle, perhaps a solid color (or even bare metal) would be fine. Whatcha think?
At this stage, ive got the red areas and the golds to go. Im gonna wait till the Raven is to a similar step so then i can airbrush birns and such on the engines and vents all at once. Then a little detailing and theyll be complete!
Ramos Asura wrote: @DrH: Very much appreciated, mate. And dont sell yourself short! The ginger DE dude was masterfully done! Very nice contrast with the leather and the flesh, and the shading on the hair is beautiful! Where I went for gritty and dirty, you managed to pull off very clean and crisp.
I really dont envy the judges... There were so many beautiful entries that I really cant see any clear cut winner!
Don't get me wrong, I'm very pleased with how my wych came out. With such a strong turn out it could probably go to anyone. It does look like a very hard job to judge. Thanks.
As for your turbines, maybe just a simple, single stripe on one side of the cone. That way you still get the safety feature, but it doesn't overpower the rest of the model.
After some considerable thought, I figured I couldnt get something on the turbines to look good. Like WM said, it just makes it look too orky. In another scheme, maybe itd work, but I suppose Ill have to leave these guys as bare metal!
Nevertheless, the two flyers are complete at long last!!
First up, the little bird- Storm Talon!
Pilot detail... Also shows off the turbines!
And the big beautiful Storm Raven! Seriously, that extension kit makes it all the nicer to look at.
The interior is also painted, though you cant see very much of it now!
So with these guys done, "whats next?" I hear you ask.
Well Gitsplitta has officially relaunched his Mantis Maker competition! As I missed it last time, I definitely want to get in on this! Plus, there are cookies involved... and fatkid Ramos likes cookies
Next up are a couple of smaller projects: two Noise Marines (test miniatures for a client), and an Annihilation Barge + Overlord!
Thanks for reading and for tolerating my glacially-slow updates! Till next time!~
@WM: Glad to hear it!
Agree with ya on the extra infantry. Plus, I really like painting infantry figs. Also, it shouldn't take me near as long to do those opposed to the bikes!
@Gits: Thank ya kindly!
@SL: Thanks! Yeah I was considering some kinda tail markings, but couldn't think of anything decent... Didnt want to risk ruining the gray either >< Im open to ideas, I suppose?
@IG: Yes indeed- I guess they're from Spellcrow. Rather nice looking, if a smidge difficult to position. They're a bit fatter than normal bolters, so chest details can get in the way.
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So a while back, as I sit around checking my email/forum posts before work, I notice Kingdom Death had a few new items. One of them really caught my eye, part from the looks and definitely the price point! Sure I have a million and a half things coming eventually from Monster, but I wanted to get my hands on something KD related and actually see their stuff in person.
So with but a few remaining minis left in the store from this particular run, I ordered myself a White Knight!
Initial feelings are pretty good Sharp detail, pretty mini, very few defects. If all the stuff I get in the future turns out like this, Ill be super pleased!
The only thing to figure out now is how to paint it!
Maaaaaaaybe.... What was the mini you ended up with again, Alf?
And dont worry- We're sure to see more KD stuff once Monster starts to ship. I have a boatload of stuff set to come to me... Even considering adding one or two more things that I missed out on all those years ago!
Oooohhhh ya know I really like that one! So much flowing cloth... one of my favorite things to paint xD Very cool!
So I've been trying to keep up with my painting, but its mostly been assembly and all that jazz this week in preparation for the CSM and Cron projects.
WM came up for the day Saturday, and we got our usual game of Zombicide in (as well as a couple rounds of horrible FPS games for the PS3 . We also swapped out projects, trading the finished Red Scorpions for a much larger project below.
But before all that, the project progress log must log project progress!
As mentioned before, Im doing a pair of Noise Marines. The client wants to keep the colro closer to the stock scheme, so no electic pink marines like my previous Slaanesh lord! xD
This is where I stand after a few various mixes of P3 Carnal Pink and White, then a wash with a mix of various SWM washes. He loos a little light now, but should darken right up after putting on the black trim!
The second project on the table is another Annihilation Barge for my usual Necron guy!
Pretty standard, eh? Nothing out of the ordinary about this...
Where we deviate from the norm is the Lord. As he already has the previous magnetized barge, he had no real need for a second, so the big gun is just gonna get glued in. As such, the lord is gonna be a pure foot lord. He wants to have him as the big lord of his army, so asked me to do some upgrades, a stand-out paint scheme, and more importantly a new scythe!
A little bit of cutting and pasting, and I rigged this up:
I wanted to keep the look very Necron, so this meant taking a blend of Egyptian and tech and seeing how it set up. I modeled the scythe blade on an Egyptian Khopesh, which is notable for its very unusual blade- its close to a scimitar, but has a straight segment to the blade as well. The lenses were donors from a Storm Talon sensor array (or it mighta been the DA flyer). The plan here is to paint the blades solid black, with green lines accenting the sharpened edges. Then Im gonna hit it with gloss varnish.
Finally, as i had mentioned, WM had popped down with the next box full of minis.
Theres no pleasing you, is there, SL. Too many farm animals, not enough farm animals.... I have a couple Brushfire minis that I could do, but those are a little bit down the list for now. These two are the priority projects at the moment!
Hrmm.... So Emperor's Children pink and black is a bit harder than I anticipated....
The nice pale pink I got just looks terrible next to the black trim, even in this most basic state. Theres just too much of a contrast between them, and not nearly enough contrast on the pink armor... I think im going to have to restart these guys. Maybe if I started with more Warlock purple in the base pink mix, rather than starting at a pure bright pink... I just dont want these guys to turn into fluorescent pink marines too quickly.
Hrm... actually, I may have botched this initial test. Looking online, it seems that the trim is usually a silver color? Maybe that would look a little less insane... aghhhhh
I did see another painted set of Noise Marines in a really odd variation of the scheme
The differing areas of black and pink do look pretty solid... Im still running into the contrast issue though... the pink just doesnt have enough, and the black has too much. Silver might be a better option though... Doesn't fix the pink though...
Maybe if I got them more like this:
A little more of a subdued highlight on the black though...
This is surprisingly harder than I thought it would be.
Maybe a touch more shading on the pink areas, but how about a dark to medium grey instead of black. That will also lessen the contrast, but next to the light pink, a dark grey will still appear "black".
I think i might have a problem with that as there will be areas of true black on the model, pauldron insets, etc, that I dont think could be a dark gray without looking out of place. Having them black with the rest gray would look awkward too, i think.
*Severely underestimated the effort required in painting good pink and black*
On the upside, I may have inadvertently been given a solution. I ordered a bunch of paint from The Warstore, and they mixed up one of my colors so I got the Vallejo Game Air color for Warlock Purple instead of Tentacle Pink... I just happen to now need to spray a little warlock purple....
In the meantime, before priming again, I sprayed a little magenta ink on the marine to try and give him some shading:
Undoubtably would need to have a very special paint scheme on it... base colors just wouldnt do! Anywho, RS Superheavy sounds fun... any idea as to what your thinking or you keepin it a surprise? 
), 
you not he's had at least one of his marines die every game he's played. Same enough to say he isn't a fan of 
