I think you need to finish this one completely before you do *anything* drastic. Once you finish the black areas I strongly suspect it'll look a lot better. You'll never know unless you try.

I dunno, Gits... I just really have that feeling. I know what you mean, but I think part of my fears are that these are test minis for a larger force, and I want it to be replicable without too much hassle or variation. As it is now, this has a margin of variation due to the airbrushed shading.

Theres also my "I want it perfect the first time" attitude :/



Plus I already botched certain parts, like the pauldrons are supposed to be the other way around, black inside pink outside.
I also have no idea if I want to try and gear it towards the first pic, where its mostly pink, or the second example where there are areas of black everywhere.


EDIT:

Sorta like this, but less extreme with the pink shading

Well, if you've got solid reasons for not proceeding than I guess your set. I just thought you'd learn more about what didn't work on the piece if you finished it completely. That way you might get a better handle on what needs to change. The shoulder pad thing is an issue though, especially since it was airbrushed.

I get whatcha mean, and I appreciate the advice. Had I not been an idiot and screwed up the pads, I mighta continued on xD

I did at least learn a little bit more what didnt work, primarily that the pink needs more color to it. Its a lovely color, but just has no power whatsoever. I need boost the color with deeper pockets of stronger pink.


Ahhh well.... its just airbrushing, right? Hopefully after work tomorrow Ill get that taken care of.

Live and learn my friend... live and learn.

 Ramos Asura wrote:
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.

Ahh, I see.

The added shading on the pink works well though. Get the right balance between that shading and the light pink and it'll be perfect. Not easy though with such a pale colour. Good luck.

I think with larger areas of black the balance of the whole model will be better. As you have it there, it's a mostly light colour which has stripes of high contrast across it, breaking it into small areas of pink, giving it a fractured appearance. With the areas of black you will get to the kind of balance that a quartered colour scheme has, large areas of contrasting colours that balance each other. You may even be able to keep the pink quite light.

Experimenting is the only way to find out though. Keep at it and report back what you find.

I would help, but I have no experience painting pink.


HAHAHA!

Hope you are highly anticipating the booty shot from down under.

DON THE MOTLEY!

That's true. You have been painting green and yellow marines all these years. We just didn't have the heart to tell you.

Thats exactly it, Doc! Thats EXACTLY it!! Brilliant!!
I've been thinking of this thing in areas of pink and black trim, when I should be thinking "quartered". The scheme really is one that toys with that balance, and it took your comment for me to have that epiphany.

Ok, so from all the references I've found, the chest piece is usually black, as is the backpack (from what I can tell) and the inner areas on the pauldrons... That gets us a very dense visual center. One leg from the Knee down is usually painted black, same with the arms. I want to include a little more pink, but I think thats a good initial thought. (Or a good random jumble of thoughts.... ymmv)


So today I got home from work and resprayed the previous marine using new paints (Vallejo Game Air- pretty neat stuff )


One figure kept the same creamy pink as my initial test, but I sprayed thinned magenta ink over certain areas in order to shade it. [left] The other was completely resprayed using a Zenithal technique. [right] I started with VGC Squid Pink, then progressed through P3 Carnal Pink until I had nearly pure white at the topmost areas. Both minis were washed with a blend of Secret Weapon Washes to bring out the darker lines and bring the colors together.


Close up of the new style:


This got me a little more of a vivid pink than originally planned, but maybe thats what I need.


What do we think? Better one or better two?

@Whale: Wow. Snap. Making fun of me for being colorblind.. That's new territory for me. Hurts me feelings.

How about I'm colorblind and you aren't and we have a painting contest, see who wins?

@Ramos: Glad to help however I did. I really can't tell much difference at all between the two. Maybe that's cause, as Whale likes to point out, I'm color recognition deficient.

Whale also likes to throw crippled people on the ground and tell them to run. Hyuck.

Lovely shades of pink! They both look good but I think I'll have to go with the right.

Thats a good pink

I love my Slaanesh models but I hate the Post-heresy Emperor's children scheme, which is why I intend to do my slaanesh units as either pre/slightly after heresy or as Flawless host.

I don't doubt with a bit of work it can be made to look good, but I have my reservations past anything infantry sized.

Glad to have helped out, one way or another.

Pink is looking good. I'm leaning towards the right one as the left one looks a little dirty in comparison. I say in comparison, as it may just be the photo if that is the same pink as it was before.

Another lunch hour gone, another several dozen green lines on an annihilation Barge....



Alright, then. Sounds like the "new" pink is the winner. Chatted with the client a bit too, and he echoed all your thoughts.

@moonpie: Hahah! Your contribution was definitely your pink blending- Helped me figure how to darken mine and still have it in the same neighborhood of color. The quartered scheme was a good bonus to my thought process, too!

@IG: Oooohhhh I do like the look of the Flawless Host... One of these days I need to do something like "Paint a new CSM a day" or something. So many cool schemes outside the normal vanilla ones.
As to painting bigger stuff in this scheme.... I'm gonna have to learn how to sooner or later xD If we do decide on doing the whole army, I believe my client said he has a pair of Rhinos and a Land Raider to paint.....

@DrH: The left one is indeed the same one as above, however I hit it with another, slightly darker wash of pinkinsh purple to boost some of the shadows. Thats probably whats making it look dirty.

 moonpie wrote:
@Whale: Wow. Snap. Making fun of me for being colorblind.. That's new territory for me. Hurts me feelings.

How about I'm colorblind and you aren't and we have a painting contest, see who wins?

@Ramos: Glad to help however I did. I really can't tell much difference at all between the two. Maybe that's cause, as Whale likes to point out, I'm color recognition deficient.

Whale also likes to throw crippled people on the ground and tell them to run. Hyuck.

Pfft, don't be silly, you don't have feelings.

I'd just pay someone to paint it for me, you'd never have a chance!

Instead of doing the "Ice Bucket Challenge" Whale just challenged people with ALS to ping pong matches.

I should probably comment on topic, so big bad MOD doesn't ban me.

Highlight up to white on the pink...and the black. Of course, that's always my advice, so...

The base paint that GW has for their pink range is what I mix with Lahmian medium and don't pay someone to shade my marines with, but rather actually do myself. I do my whole army in their colors, because it is standardized and hard to screw up. I absolutely adore Fulgrim Pink. VMC has Old Rose, which I tried on a marine. I kind of liked it, but didn't know what to use as a shade or highlight. So, I just got mad and only did one.

YEah I really do like the GW paints for consistency and standards. My biggest problem is that in their switch to the new stuff, colors changed and most became a lot thinner. Plus I haaaaate the new pots!!
Ive been slowly moving a lot of my stuff to Vallejo Game Color. Dropper bottles are quickly becoming a favorite around here.

=============================

Saturday means that I had the whole day to paint!

Noise marines are progressing smoothly- Just need to final highlight the pink, wash and highlight the silvers, paint the gold areas and the eyes and theyre done. I deepened a lot of the shadows on the pink armor with the addition of some SWW Ruby, a very nice black-red wash that I really like using!
Painted up the bases too. Not super sold with purple as a color for the creeping gooey stuff... May very well redo those particular areas.




The Necron Lord is moving along as well, and is now sporting his new gold-tinted bones. They just need a little mythril silver to brighten the edges a bit.




Having a bit of an annoying day with painting... more specifically, a problem with supplies. I was going to do a bit more of the Barge today, but quickly came to realize that I'm pretty much out of Snot Green... Also, my only size "00" S7 brush is really showing its age, and the place I usually buy them from around here has been out for a week and a half!!

Have to find replacements for both of these before too much more work can progress on the Barge. I really screwed myself with this little bit of planning! Bah... well I suppose if I finish these minis, I can always switch to assembly of some Relic Knights....

Good work Ramos. The pink and black are working well on those.

That pink and black looks spot on Ramos, if you get the commission you have to do some with black flames as well.

Thanks guys! Finally found the right blend, so i think I can definitely replicate these guys in the future. Shouldnt take me near as long either!

@Gir: Definitely planned. I kept these guys a little bit simpler to start out and get a feel for em. Black flames and other freehand are gonna be a great way of making every member of the force unique.



Speaking of.... The Noise Marines are done! (barring any sort of shoulder icon.... I dunno what ECs have on theirs xD )



Necron Lord is nearly done as well, but just needs a touch more color to him. Hopefully tomorrow!

As always- Thanks for reading, and happy painting!!

Wow... those look really good Ramos! Outstanding work!

Good save!.. they look great. I imagine pink is a difficult color to do, so I'll stick to yellow.

Yeah I've got to admit you're making me like the EC scheme, that's totally not allowed.

For Icon it's pretty much their pre-heresy one, eagle wing with a claw, the claws usually a little more vicious looking on artwork of the pre-heresy models but the actual decals and metal pads show no changes at all. Guess keeping the symbol the same comes from the same vaguely mocking place that led them to keep the name 'Emperor's Children'.

So much eye candy has popped up in this thread since my last visit. Great to see you still cranking them out, RA. EC's look really good.

@Gits: Thanks!! Looking forward to doing more, actually... Its surprisingly fun to paint! I think its because its such a vivid color, and those have always been my flavor, so to speak.

@SL: I dunno. Ill still take Pink over yellow, and BOTH over white! Maybe even go so far as to rather paint both in some kind of quartered scheme rather than white

@IG: Hehehe... The Slaanesh taint is spreading! And thank you! I think I got something along those icon lines that I can be happy with.

@Moltar: That's the aim of my game- Popping up eye-candy!! Many thanks for the complement. Hopefully there will be much more to come!


Ok so progress today! The noise marines got their very bizarre for chaos icon. I do love their mockery of the Imperial Creed angle, though. Flavorful!


I also completed the Overlord for my Necron Client. Unfortunately my brother has the "Good" camera, so these are shots with the crappy wip camera xD Once I get a hold of it, Ill take better shots!


The gloss varnish seems to catch the light a little oddly in the rear pic. In reality its not nearly so uneven!

Very exciting minis Ramos. Like them all.

Dude, are you drinking the paint so it just flows out of every pore? Seriously good work! Especially the Necron. I'm even praising your Marines (and I never do that).

@Gits: Thank you! I still want to enter your Mantis Maker comp... Just need to find out where I hid all of my marine bitz... Coming up with an idea might be good too

@stein: You know, I was starting to wonder why my tea was tasting a little weird. And why it was blue. And red. And why I was dipping my brush in it. Come to think of it, I'm starting to think that wasn't tea.

Thank you very much, though, Stein!

=======================

"Hey Ramos, aren't you supposed to be working?"

Quiet you! I'm taking a break from staring at my computer screen so I can... er.... stare at my computer screen...


Erm... Well, anyways...

Because I ran out of supplies, I was left with an unusually open schedule. I couldn't jsut let it go to waste, thogh- Time is too precious nowadays! And so i set to working on assembling some new projects.

First, I cracked open the billion and a half boxes of Relic Knights stuff WM had sent me.

First impressions were mixed: I really enjoy the anime-esque aesthetic they went with, and the concepts are awesome. Where it starts to fall apart, though, is the translation of concept art to miniature.
The details just arent all there sometimes, especially on the faces. Edges arent super crisp, and it actually looks like a lot was softened in the transition of 2d to 3d. However, by far my biggest issue is the material. Restic, I think Ive heard it called? I dont really know. Its curiously hard to remove mold lines (not for the least reason that they tend to go right across details). The stuff soft enough to pick up the crape marks from a knife blade if you arent careful, but so hard that removing mold lines is difficult. It also has a good bit of elasticity to it (poor term, but thats what comes to mind), so its just as likely that the mold lines will roll over themselves and form to the mini, making you scrape a bit more than you might want to.

Assembly isnt too hard, though there are gonna be a number of gaps to fill before priming. Some parts need a bit of trimming here and there, and some things (like the Pacer's "arms") end up needing a bit of re-bending before they fit right. Nothing too unusual for resin minis.

So far I have a Pacer (Tachikoma-looking robot, not pictured), And Betty & Lug:



Lug (the big ol' robot) is a fun little mode. Very heavy, and hilariously top-heavy looking. Anime influences, after all, and I appreciate that.

Betty, on the other had is absolutely tiny! Ill try to get a scale shot next to some Marine minis, but keep in mind that thats a standard infantry base shes on!
Her face is ok-ish. Rather flat, but with defineable facial features (Ive been told the worst is yet to come), so with some paint you wont even know.
Shes also incredibly skinny, to the point that she looks very nearly like an armature for other bulkier figures!



Then yesterday, I recieve a package from RiTides with a couple test models from Dropzone Commander. From what Ive read of it, it seems pretty neat, and if these examples are any indication, they know what tehy're doing with their minis!



Yes, thats a penny next to them (banana for scale would simply dwarf these!)

These things are a complete opposite to the RK minis- even though they are incredibly tiny, they are absolutely COVERED in details! Its almost so much that I worry about scraping off some as I clean moldlines (of which there are actually quite few!) Hopefully the P3 Primer I have won't fill in too many of the smaller details. Suppose Ill find out- thats what test minis are for, eh?


Tonight is our Bi-weekly Deathwatch Game, so Ill finally be able to pick up some more green paint, thereby letting me work more on the Annihilation Barge!

For now, I work. Hoping to meet with the Big Boss sometime this week/next week to discuss my future here, sooooo.... fingers crossed


Til next time!!

Note: DZC is a very very solid game. It deserves all of the hype it gets.

I would love to make DZC my weekly game.

The more I look at it, the more I like it. I think Id end up either with the UCM or Shaltari. Interesting minis for both of em... Who knows, maybe painting these things will push me over the edge and Ill buy the starter set for one of em (Im sure Alf would be happy with that )


Anywho, I got more greens as well as a new brush, so I got the lines about halfway done on the Barge.



Also wrapped up assembly of a few more Relic Knights minis. Still REALLY not a fan of the material... but eh. What can ya do?
From the left we have a Pacer, Princess Malya’s Relic Knight (I’ll be painting the princess separate), Mr. Tomn, and two Pit Crew minis.



In unrelated news, Update on the meeting with Big Boss: Scheduled for Monday, so Im free to worry about it the whole weekend!

 Ramos Asura wrote:
Then yesterday, I recieve a package from RiTides with a couple test models from Dropzone Commander. From what Ive read of it, it seems pretty neat, and if these examples are any indication, they know what tehy're doing with their minis!



Yes, thats a penny next to them (banana for scale would simply dwarf these!)

These things are a complete opposite to the RK minis- even though they are incredibly tiny, they are absolutely COVERED in details! Its almost so much that I worry about scraping off some as I clean moldlines (of which there are actually quite few!) Hopefully the P3 Primer I have won't fill in too many of the smaller details. Suppose Ill find out- thats what test minis are for, eh?

Woot! Looking forward to seeing how the test minis turn out although I know they're after the necron model in the queue. If needed in the future, I can definitely get you some Tamiya fine primer, which is what the DzC creator uses. Just prime lightly for now

I have a good feeling about the P3 primer- its always been good to me, so Im hoping I can make it work

And yup! They'll be after the crons, but before any new stuff. Though I dunno. I might want to take a break from all the green tomorrow and get them primed up

Well I am greatly looking forward to seeing what you do with them, to say the least! I've seen some impressive airbrush fades on tanks you've done (specifically the eldar ones) and am interested to see if it works on a smaller model!

Will be watching everything you do here, of course, so looking forward to the necron model, too

Glad to hear, RiTides! Fades are quickly becoming one of my favorite things to do with my airbrush. Crazy to think that years and years ago when I first got it, all I thought I could do with it was basecoat minis (and very sloppily so, I might add!!)


So Happy End of Daylight Savings Time Day, everyone! Very productive Sunday, and the greens on the Barge are done and done! All thats left are areas of metal and neatening up the black areas.



For a change of pace, I sprayed the initial gradient on the test minis for RiTides' Shaltari.


Still VERY basic, mind, but I think it might work. One thing I may change is to make the creamy white a little more beige, though that might change once I put a wash on it. Speaking of, I'm gonna need to figure out what color of wash I'm gonna use to deepen the cracks and details overall- don't want to stain the white too bad with black!

Anywho, work tomorrow, then more painting

Thanks for reading!

Oh man, I am a big fan of that look so far!

Painting the cockpit black will make a nice contrast to it, too (and perhaps putting a coat of gloss on the black - I think this is what Dave did to all the Shaltari studio models, and it looks pretty convincing!).

It will be interesting to see how the wash works - I think it should fill in all those little crevices quite nicely

Wow sodapop looks very clean.

Yeesh those DZC minis are so tiny, and yet there you go with a beautiful gradient. Got to concur on a black canopy being a spot on idea for these, a few careful reflections maybe a gloss coat etc.

What is it about the material on the Relic Knights you dislike? Cause the sculpts look pretty good from the picture but I know that pictures very often don't tell you everything especially with minis.

So, ok. I'd like to open this post with a little explaination on my heavier-than-normal radio silence.
As you guys know, a few months back I got a for really real job at an office downtown. Temp work, but you know... Awesome experience! So anyways, my primary job was to help cleanup the Client Database for the firm- very important but veeeeeery time consuming and tedious! Last week, I had mentioned they were going to meet with me Monday. Unfortunately, they dont have any other projects, so soon as this ones done, thats all she wrote!!
So it looks like I'm back to the Job hunt, albeit with much better financial footing and a stronger resume!

It's not all bad news, though. Big Boss brought donuts this morning for the team to give me a good send off. Also, now Ill have more time to paint again!


First item of interest is the progress on RiTides' Shaltari:
I did two tests to bring out the details, as elaborated below:


Test number 1: Army painter Strong Tone ink, thinned and carefully applied:


Test number 2: Gloss coat and black Oil Wash. Matte varnish after cleanup of lines:



Of the two, The oil wash clearly wins out. Not only does it darken the recesses more, it also doesnt stain the cream color!! I really wish I had switched these two minis around for the test- now I'll need to re-spray the whole body of the tank!

No big deal, though. Now I have the formula, it should be an easy matter of replication.

Canopy will definitely be picked out in black and hit with a gloss varnish. I like the effect the studio minis have with it, and to me, at least, it seems logical to do. You want them to be "glass", not simply black armor! Other areas of alternate color will be the solar-panel-looking "fins" (black), as well as the undercarriage and legs of the big walkers (dark metallic). Various other lights and lenses will be picked out on the minis, similar to the studio minis.



Second order of interest: Regarding the RK material!

Really, IG, its like I had mentioned earlier- The details just arent all there sometimes, especially on the faces. Edges arent super crisp, and it actually looks like a lot was softened in the transition of 2d to 3d. Its curiously hard to remove mold lines (not for the least reason that they tend to go right across details). The stuff soft enough to pick up the scrape marks from a knife blade if you arent careful, but so hard that removing mold lines is difficult. It also has a good bit of elasticity to it (poor term, but thats what comes to mind), so its just as likely that the mold lines will roll over themselves and form to the mini, making you scrape a bit more than you might want to.

The material has benefits and drawbacks, as all things do. For example, this stuff is like PVC in that it's great at rendering big, chunky models, like Lug here:



On the other hand, it seriously fails at fine details like faces and the filigree/energy on this sword:


Very soft details... Compared to similar sized resin minis especially!




Finally, A random box of stuff arrived from IceAngel! He asked if I wanted some stuff after he cleaned, and I said yes immediately!



Fun assortment of show minis from Adepticons 2012 and 2013- An SDE Kobold, a Wreck-age mini, and a Jacque mini from Brushfire! Nice little box of goodies that made my day when I got em. Thanks Ice!



So yeah! more certainly to come, especially in my newly "freed" state. Necron barge just needs metals, so that should be done in very short order. Then, provided that the oil wash is a solid enough technique on the DzC stuff, those will be next!

Oh wow yeah that face is diabolical, I can relate on the job front lately, doing contract work which means I can work from home but it has big ups and downs in terms of available hours, finding something stable is a nightmare. Good luck on the hunt, I'm sure I'll enjoy more painting being done if nothing else!

Sorry to hear about the bad news on the job front Ramos although we get to see lots more painting again

Aye, its a bummer that this is my last day, but Im leaving on a good note. Everyone's sad to see me go, but thats the nature of a Temp employee, I guess!

Im at a better place than I was 2 months ago when I started, so thats a benefit. Plus now I have tons of experience and references that I can draw on. Hopefully this will net me something nice in the future!
My boss said there might be a position like this available come the new year. Who knows what the future will bring?





(Oh wait, I do.... MOAR PAINT! xD )

Stay positive Ramos. It'll help in the long run.

What IceAngel had a wash ?

Think positive, think positive...
Been keeping that mantra going as I worked some more on the Barge, making some great progress!
Silver areas are painted up, leaving only the golds and heat damage to go. With luck, this guy'll be done tomorrow!!

Gooood progress! Going to look great when completed.

First, very sorry to hear about the job coming to a close, but it does sound like you are on very good footing for the next one! Keep your head up, I've been there myself not long ago at all doing temp work, and ended up doing temp-to-hire at my current position. The connections will be worth it!

Secondly, the necron barge is looking really good!

Finally, regarding the DzC, I like the oil wash on the turret much more - so good experiment there! However, the only thing I am not liking as much as the original gradient-sprayed-picture, is the "cream" color. I had originally requested a cream-to-dark blue fade, but now that I am seeing the test model, I think a lighter color (basically white, or almost white?) would look better for the start of the gradient. The reason I say this, is that whatever wash you do is going to darken it slightly, which will keep it from being "pure white" anyway.

What do you think of that? Obviously, you would not need to repaint the test model, but that yari tank is totally disposable as I already have a spare of it, so you can experiment away (and of course I'll include it as a painted model in the commission, and just add another if the experiment doesn't work out). So, if you hadn't yet done the warstrider, I think trying a lighter color for the start of the gradient would be best, since after the wash the cream is looking a little more darkish / brownish than I'd been thinking, and so starting out as light as possible there will likely help avoid that.

Other than that, I am loving it, I think the scheme sounds excellent and manageable, with just adding the black canopies / fins, and the dark metallic undercarriage (and hopefully a bit of dirt on the bottom edges if you think it will look good).

Annihilation barge complete!!


Happened to have a new bottle of MicroSol handy, so tested it out on the decals on the dorsal spine. On the last barge, this was an area that caught tons of bubbles and got that whitish look to the decal. Not so on this one- Super glad I re-discovered this stuff!!



Finally got around to taking better pictures of the Lord too.




Anywho, Dropzone Commander.
I completely get what you mean, RiTides- The Strong Tone ink stained the cream WAY more than I wanted it to. Turned it more of a caramel color, actually. The fact that the camera's white balance seems to be going wonky doesn't help matters. In reality, the oil wash doesn't stain it too terribly (though more on that in a little bit), and is actually easier to control.

Went ahead and brightened up the white area of the Yari, then put the colors and wash on everybody. Heres what we're left with:


Note that the damn white balance is still off (even though i put it through photoshop :/ ). The large walker is probably the closest to how it actually looks, though not nearly as yellow. Closer to a neutral white.
I will note that the white did stain a little bit with the oil wash. I guess the coat of gloss wasnt quite as solid as I thought, or perhaps I scrubbed it off while I was cleaning the extra wash off. In the future, Im going to need to seal these more carefully, probably with my airbrush. That way it will ONLY be the recesses that have black on them.

Colors will of course brighten when I put highlights on, but if the Jaguar is too dirty of a white for you, I can certainly respray it/ otherwise neaten it up. Future models will have a neater finish.

I like it, especially if it is "closer to neutral white" / "not nearly as yellow" in reality! A local friend just gave our group that tip about sealing, sounds like it will do the trick and that you have a good handle on it

Oh, and the necron barge looks quite nice, too!

Progress on the Shaltari test minis:

Not as much as I'd have liked to do, but I think I might be coming down with a little headcold. Been stuffy headed all day :/
These pictures are much better color-wise, and its really starting to come together with the addition of new colors. Biggest changes to come will be highlights to the blue and white, and the addition of spot colors of orange and possibly a bright green. Lots of lenses and other dots of color on these!





I did think up another potential method to paint these... Minitaire Ghost Tints, perhaps?

Speaking of Ghost tints, you still have mine?

Whoa, that first pic looks insanely awesome! Very pleased with that color, glad the camera decided to cooperate

Quite like the legs, too, just one question - the gradient on everything else progresses from white on the "tip" to dark blue further back. So the legs by themselves look like they're progressing backwards, from dark blue to white. Maybe it doesn't look this way when assembled, just thought I'd mention it now although it's growing on me the more I look at it. I wish I could Photoshop the opposite to see how it would look in theory rather than in practice!

Absolutely love what you're doing with these, and can't wait to get you the rest of them! Oh, and if you do need ghost tints for this or another project let me know - I have them as a part of the set I believe, but have not used them yet.

That's it RiTides.... make him re-do the whole thing! Yeah! Crack that whip!

@Alf: I do, indeed! Theyve been sitting atop my shelf here for a while now- Keep trying to think of ways to use them and test them out. They're not something my painting style can normally use, though in this case.... maaaaybe!

@RiTides: Excellent!
And yeah its sorta backwards- unsure how it would have looked the other way. I was working off of this scheme to decide where the gradients break up:



I think it'll work, though now I am kinda curious how the inverse might look.... (grrrrr xD) Perhaps thats another experiment... Just need to find a spare walker leg for that, hahaha!



@Gits: Well.... at least hes not making me magnetize everything

Well I do have a spare Jaguar actually . I PM'ed you about sending you a yari and some ghost tints (although I love your current results so no need to use them on my account!). So I can drop the Jaguar in there, too... or just a leg . Then, nothing has to be redone, but our curiosity can be satisfied

Hell yea they look nuts! really cool models you've made look even cooler! :-) ghost tint are interesting, I think that;s what I used to do the Candy red paint on my Knight.

Good to see you back, nerd! Yeah man, Im STILL jealous of that candy paintjob you got on Kiera... Looks damn fine!
I really do want to find new ways to use the ghost tints, myself, but they just dont fit with how I paint xD Maybe if I went back to car models....


Still a bit of a head cold (been napping in my chair most of the day), but I think im just about finished with the test minis for RiTides. Minor tweaks here and there to do, as well as a demo base for the Yari, but juuuuust about done! No finished pics for a few days, though, as I think Im gonna wait till I have the other experiments out of the way. Who knows, one of them might make me swap out everything!



Depending how im feeling, I think I might mess some more with WMs relic Knights. Still have no idea how Im gonna do the skintones, though... Looooots of research to do.

Till next time!~

Looking really nice are you going to give the three canopys a nice gloss coat, thats what I did with my one that I painted, looked really nice.

yuuuuup! That all will come after I give the finished minis a coat of gloss + matte varnish.

That is incredible! Totally exceeded what I had even hoped for . How in the world did you get those dots of orange and green in there? I'm going to have to hunt down the postman and get my package back, I don't want you to change a thing . With a gloss on the canopy, it will be perfect.

PM incoming!

Ramos, that looks, if I may use a parlance of our times, "Baller as feth"

The only thing I could think to do to improve it would be to fix that smidge of white on the inside of the left (our right) that seems to be messing up the gradient. It's hard to tell, and honestly I had to go looking for imperfections, so sue me

I find it interesting to see you and Tides working together. Usually you only get to see one side, or I'm the other side.

Ship looks pretty good too.

Yeah, it's actually pretty cool for me too because the only other thing I've commissioned recently was a small Infinity force to a local painter. So we'd chat occasionally, but I didn't nearly get to see the process like is shown here! Very, very cool and of course the results are looking awesome.

@Alf: Ooooooohhh... good eye! I didnt even catch that till i went back and looked. All fixed now!
These minis have been a damn treat to paint.... Definitely wouldnt mind making this our weekly game (well, depending how I feel once I read the rules xD)

@WM: Thank ya kindly! And yeah, I can see whatcha mean. Its a little refreshing having another client who frequents these boards. Generates new thoughts and interactions that might not have happened otherwise in a closed pm!

@RiTides: The behind the scenes extras are a bonus to commissioning me, I guess
Glad you're super happy with em thus far, and I cant wait to start tearing into the army as a whole this weekend!!

============================

Today I spent a good bit of time with the airbrush running, and decided to lay down the base colors for the Relic Knights minis I have assembled thus far. It ended up being a day of pink and yellow (Im starting to know what moonpie feels like!!)

Example of the pink: The Big HQ Relic Knight. I'm particularly pleased with how this turned out. Keep in mind that a good chunk of the internal "skeleton" will be gray metallic, black, and white, so it will be considerably more broken up!



On the yellow side of things was Lug. I think I need to go a few more layers on him and desaturate the color a touch. at the moment its a little -too- yellow.





In other project news:
Yesterday I got a package from tenebre with some fun toys inside. Recently he had considerable issues with Blue Table Painting regarding a commission (I wont go too far into describing here... Heres the thread, for those interested), and I, like many other studios, offered a helping hand to fix the botch job BTP did.
After my initial message, he mentioned that he had already gotten with another commission painter to fix the army, but he had other projects that I might be interested in. Cut through a little more back and forth discussion and thinking, and we decided on a pair of minis: A "super" grot, and a WeirdBoy!



Very fun, very characterful models (Major reason they caught my eye!). His scheme is Death Skulls, but with a Soviet twist. Touches of olive drab clothing, red stars, blue and white paint... Lots of potential for interesting conversions and freehand. I must admit that I kinda enjoy the Soviet Ork aesthetic. It just works really well together for some odd reason!

With the grot, he mentioned that he wanted a "Rambo" sort of paintjob on him (fitting, as hes got the very Stallone-esque bandanna and mop of hair) so Im thinking bright red bandana, dark green jacket with a red star on the back. The Weirdboy, on the other hand, is a whole lot crazier- pretty much whatever over the top bizarre job I can think of!
Soon as I saw the mini, I had an idea for the cape- a big ol' USSR flag! Or rather, a tattered, Orky equivalent.



And so he's getting a big red cape (complete with yellow hammer and sickle somewhere on it), Blue and white feathers, some blue facepaint... Perhaps even some glowing green glyphs and tattoos bursting with warp energies! Gonna be a fun mini to paint, for sure.

Anywho, Til next time, guys!~

Oh man! i'm itching to see that Weird Boy :-) that's really caught my eye and i'm keen to see what you do!

Thanks nerd!

I think I might actually get one of these minis for myself.... its really a fun model to paint, and has lots of cool detail!

Todays progress:

Nice progress! Lovin' that skin tone

And very cool of you to help Tenebre out.

And that everyone is how you do Ork skin like a boss!

If the Ork continues like that it might just be the best thing I've seen on the page, seriously that skin is just the definition of what ork skin should look like.

Yeah. nice work on the skin, Ramos.
What colour are you highlighting that with?

love the skin!!! and thanks again for the support and help!

Also you got my ideas nailed down perfect for these guys. looking forward to seeing the progress.

anyone wondering ill make a video about my ork army which will better explain the insane theme i am doing. It all makes sense... in Ork logic. which is the only true logic.

@ckig: Thanks! Helping him out has its perks as well... For instance, I finally get to paint the AWESOME Wazaag model. Ever since I saw Ifalna paint one for her client, I've had my eye on him... Just never had a chance to get one myself! Theres a lot of character in the sculpt, and tenebres theme really got my mind rolling.

@nerd: Thanks in no small part to your ork skin! Seriously dude, I think thats where I started to pick up some of the technique Now I just need to decode your human skintones.... hmmmm

@IG: Wow thanks!!

@Dr.H: The skin is based with a mix of Goblin Green and Orkhide shade, then ends with a mixture of Goblin Green and Ushabti Bone. Tenebre told me he used Goblin Green on his, so I wanted to keep that color in mind. I dont even know how I did it... It just worked xD
(Now Ill never get this nice of skin ever again, hahaha)

@tenebre: Absolutely! Super excited to help out, and Im very pleased you like it thus far. Hopefully the final product meets your expectations
Brilliant army concept with a lot of fun potential to it!

========================


Speaking of the painting front, I got the base for the weirdboy done and painted up the grot skin. Kept it more on a Gretchin Green color, so lots of yellow tones to it. Different enough from the ork skin to stand out, but close enough to match. (no pics, though, sorry! :< )

Around midday, though, a giant box came in the mail from RiTides- The entire Shaltari force!


(not pictured are the two display boards from Secret Weapon Minis)


Really, REALLY cool models! Everything from the teeny tiny tanks to these massive things called Caymans. Still in the process of cleaning the hundred or so models, so it might be a little bit before we see any assembly or primer on em!



Oh, and The Lego Movie was playing on HBO, so I -finally- watched it. AND I LIKED IT. So there! Ramos doesn't hate everything!

Dang, how many little buggers are in there?!

A lot, simply put

=====================
Coyote Warstrider
2 Jaguar Warstriders
Dreamsnare Warstrider
Ocelot Warstrider
2 Caiman heavy grav tanks
4 Tarantula battle striders
4 Haven gates
3 Kukri grav tanks
2 Yari light grav tanks
1 Gaia heavy gate
1 Firedrake gate
2 Eden medium gates
3 Spirit light gates
14 infantry stands (8 standard, 6 elite)
2 SWM rolling fields tablescapes tiles
==============

So 27 vehicles of various sizes, 14 infantry bases, and the two display tiles.

So yeah, a LOOOOOT!

14 infantry bases?! Psh I've got at least 30 US Rifle stands if you want them

I pared down the list as much as I could, honest . Tried to make it varied and balanced both for gameplay and painting / display purposes! I do think the 14 infantry bases could be a bit of a grind, but that's an integral part of most small scale games, so hopefully you can find a good assembly line method for them.

Needless to say, I'm very much looking forward to seeing these painted (and using them!). Ramos sent me some pics of the metallics and basing of the yari, too, which he tweaked (I wanted darkish metallics and RED dirt) and I think it looks awesome!

Loving the progress on that weirdboy, too!

Thanks guys!

Weirdboy and grot are continuing on, but the past couple days I've been on an assembly kick! With so much fresh resin on the bench, I couldn't wait to tear into it. Now, everything in RiTides army has now been assembled!



Huge pile of resin stuff... This doesnt even include the bases and the infantry!


Speaking of... the bases:
As all of the land based vehicles are skimmers, I mentioned that we should make bases for them. It would add that extra level of professionalism to the army and make them easier to move. Additionally, the base will protect the bottoms of the models from getting torn up.

I was just going to whip some up out of plasticard or cavalry bases or whatever, but then RiTides pulls out his laser cutter and shipped me some gorgeous black acrylic bases.


Very sharp! Though as I planned to put grit on them, the glossy surface had to go. Nothing likes sticking to a glossy surface, especially the putty that I had in mind. A bit of sanding later and we were ready to go.



Next was the grit. I wouldnt be able to use my normal mix, as the reduced scale would make it look like the ground was covered in large gravel or boulders. As a sense of scale, the large basing grit I later put on these bases would be fist-sized rocks in 40k scale minis. On these, they grow to boulders several feet across!
And so I used a common trick familiar to those of you who play Flames of war- Pumice!


This is little more than ground up pumice in an acrylic binder, and it spreads like paste. . Keep in mind, this stuff does shrink when it dries, so the coarse grit (like the one pictured) will end up looking like rough concrete or gravel. I mixed it with a finer texture paste to fill the inevitable gaps between pumice chunks, then carefully slathered it on the now textured bases. I made sure to thicken it in some areas, leaving others with only a light coat in order to make it look more natural. Then a few "boulders" and it was set!


Heres what it looked like dry:


Note that the black is still visible. This is from the shrinkage of the paste and binder. Not to worry, though- Thats why we mixed in the fine sand paste! After priming, all you'll be able to see will be the texture!


Until next time, thanks for reading!

Whoa, very cool trick with the pumice on the bases! Glad the acrylic worked although I will note it's not my personal laser cutter, I have to go to a fablab for it (I do hope to get one eventually, but that's only if some things I'd like to make and sell work out and I could make full use of having my own... right now it makes sense to use a shared one).

The assembly looks great! What glue do you use for things like this? I found the models quite finnicky to put together, but it looks like you have done an excellent (and fast!) job of it

Gorilla Glue!
Ever since I grabbed some to fix up WMs Titan, I've been hooked. It sets super fast, and is awesomely strong. I rarely need to use accelerator anymore, unless its a really huge gap between parts. For everything else, it sticks fast! The infantry, for example, needed little more than a dab of glue and a few seconds of holding them steady before they were locked in place.

=======================

Todays update, Mail Call!!

Got an unusually large amount of mail today from a combination of online orders and other stuff. One envelope was full of replacement minis for some miscast DzC stuff, but one in particular caught my eye...

One from Tasmania....


One from the nerd!



As some might recall, I got 3rd place in the Nerdcademy Awards, and as such received a rather.... peculiar... first prize
( Warning! Potentially, nsfw? )



Moving on down the line, another package had a blast from the 90's packed inside.... SURGE!!


I had to get a pack after they re-released it through Amazon for the nostalgia factor, if for nothing else. Tasty stuff, though I think I still do prefer Mountain Dew!



And finally, a bit of paint to show that Im not just goofing off around here xD



Nearly done here. I wanted it to look like the cape was lined with a torn up Soviet flag, thus the odd placement of the star on the right. Kinda happy how the hammer and sickle turned out on the left. Not bad for a first shot!

Gonna need to think of how to paint the scales on the back of the cape pretty soon, though... Any thoughts?

I was literally about to PM RiTides to see if he could commission me some custom Netrunner tokens with his personal laser cutter...

But thankfully I finished reading the unread posts before I did.

The infantry is coming along nicely. I know, no paint, etc... but still assembly is still progress! I had to convince someone to build my FoW infantry

Oh good lord Surge, rereleased you say, that stuff was the sweet nectar of the childhood years I spent in Florida, looks like I have a new mission.

Looking forward to seeing how the itty bitty models come out, never painted anything smaller than 28mm.

That makes sense, I love gorilla glue

The rest of the... swag... is pretty interesting/hilarious/etc

Good job on the Orc.
So.. good.. no farm animals
so...bad.. Hows those Marines Errants coming along

( all in good fun my friend )

Congrats ( pause ) ... on the ( pause ) Nerdfest ( pause ) Prize...Well deserved!

@SL: Weeeeeeell.....

I've kinda sorta been.... neglecting my Marines....
New years resolution, though- Get em looking good before Adepticon!!

(I just had so many other projects... :X )

=========================

Weirdboy complete!
He was done yesterday, but the water effects looked awful till now (even then, theyre still drying! xD


Then I put the finishing touches on "Da Red Menace". Shown here atop his latest victory.
I was thinking on how to go about painting the dead ork ever since I got the mini. Then it hit me- If the orks had found old Soviet propaganda and based themselves off that.... what if a similar thing happened to another band of Death Skulls, but with US stuff instead!



And finally, the prototype for Ritides massive Shaltari army (of which I just got the last replacement models in today )
Slowly working out this camera/lighting xD These are ok, but make it look a bit glossier than Id like!


Looking into a better backdrop or better lighting for the future... One day Ill get this sorted out!

Awesome work!! I just have a few questions / requests, since this is the prototype and it's "now or never"

1. I know I originally asked for it, but upon seeing the dirt on the bottom of the legs, I think I would prefer it to be clean. I think this should be easy to change, and better to catch that now! They just look so sweet and clean overall, that it doesn't make sense to me to dirty up just the tips of the legs, and I like the clean aesthetic here better. Maybe the "toe" of the leg can look like the brighter silver on the raised areas of the gun?

2. On the "solar panels" of the Yari, there are some nice orange dots... I feel like there might be something on the above warstrider solar panels there, but I'm not sure if it's that you just hadn't added the dots yet. I think this touch looks really good on the Yari, so would make sense to do to all the solar panels . I also like how on the Yari body there are the green dots in some areas (the back, not visible here) and also some orange dots on the body, as you can see four in this pic here.

Pic shamelessly stolen from your gallery, although the test basing was still being tweaked in this pic (the basing near the nose of the Yari is the correct color, very "red").



3. Finally, on the "head" of the warstrider in the first pic of your post, some of the circles seem to be slightly darker, while others are pure white. Is there a reason they aren't all pure white? On the turret of the Yari, and further back on the warstrider body, the circles are just the same color as the gradient they happen to fall on, which looks great to me.

Looks absolutely fantastic overall, cheers . All the other things I totally love - the gradients, the metal, the cockpits, the green dots, etc!

The warstrider needs a 4th leg... because 3 is just such a ridiculously poor design.

Boo, Gits! Science fiction at it's finest . There's clearly antigrav technology helping hold it up, much like the tanks

(The small walkers do have four legs, though)

I am gonna pick on you! :-) not really about your painting but the other images on your wip show it and the skin so so nicely and really focuses on how good you are but the finished ones seem a little 'blurry'? I know we can't always get those final pics right but you're doing yourself a disservice because that guy is painted WELL!!!!!

mine look cool

what game is the Shitari?

 tenebre wrote:
mine look cool

what game is the Shitari?

Hehe Shaltari

They are from Dropzone commander I believe.

The orks look great all finished! In my head the red menace looks like a gretchin who finally got sick of his herder and 'took care of business'

They are indeed from Dropzone Commander. They are probably the coolest looking race, but hicks in pickup trucks are what call to me. I just need them to come out in a plastic starter kit

@RiTides: Allow me to respond in order:

1: Easy enough. The base painting before weathering is a brighter silver, so that will have the effect you;re looking for. As for the prototype... with a wave of my magic wand (plus some alcohol) the legs are clean!

2: There are indeed orange dots on the panels as well as orange and green on the main body. The lighting I need to work with here tends to be really harsh- great for painting, bad for photos. Unfortunately, the panels are just at that right angle to catch the most light, even with a matte varnish. The black background might play a role in this as well (see below). You might not be able to see some of the dots on the body simply due to the angle of the pictures. Perhaps I need to take it another level brighter... Ill have to see what colors I have here to work with.

3: This might be a case of lighting. The circles are all the same color as the gradient, but the light catches the highlights around some more than others. Then there are some orange "lights" on some circles, as there are blue ones on the studio model. This, too, shows up a little better on a white background.

Jaguar on a white background:


Im thinking I should get a midtone color like a mild blue or medium gray, so that this balances out. I've lately been considering ordering a few backdrops from Hangar 18 Miniatures. Like theres this one, which is a nice gray. Or this one, which is a beige-ish color... Or maybe even blue?


@Gits: Yeeeeeah Im with you on the 4th leg. I cant imagine how these things even move, other than a pathetic limping "hop" across the battlefield.

@nerd: Yes, yes I see what you mean, and I appreciate that. Seems Im always fighting with my photos nowadays, doesnt it? Maybe it really -is- time for a change in my setup :/

I agree with you 150%, so went back and used the WiP camera (which I know how to use a little better) to shoot the orks again. Still a little rough in places, but I think thats the best I'm gonna get right now :/

Weirdboy:


Red Menace!



@tenebre: Glad you like em! Hopefully they pop some Capitalist heads for MOTHEЯ ЯUSSIA!

@ckig: Thank you! And you know.... Your headcanon fits really well... The runtherd drew first blood, so Grot-bo had to go jungle crazy on em! (Just keep the explosive arrows locked up o.o )

@Alf: Hah! You know, -I'm- supposed to be the one from "Brunstucky" xD
Give it time, Im sure they're on the way! Then we can get a DzC game going around here!

===================


All quiet on the model front today... Installed a new under-cabinet microwave at my grandparents, so that was most of the day.... Other than that, gapfills and greenstuf. EXCITING!!

Ramos made the small tweak I had asked for on the orange, and I think the two prototypes look absolutely fantastic . I think using the multi-colored backdrop also really helps, or his old camera - the details come out so much better in these pics! I am extremely pleased

Pics shamelessly nabbed from Ramos' gallery:

Yeah, those look pretty slick. Looking forward to seeing more of it unfold.

Oh yeah those pics look much better, makes me want to pick some more up to paint but must resist lol

Multi-colored backdrop= my room's hideous wallpaper.
Definitely not making the photos look better, but the better diffused lighting certainly helped (plus, ye olde camera helped, though I had to charge the thing 3 times to take as many photos! )

Looks like we found a winner with these changes, eh, RiTides?
Thanks guys! Hopefully Ill get rolling on these guys very soon. Busy busy holiday week!!


Hope all you guys had a fun Thanksgiving and ate lots of turkey!!

Definitely a winner, they are perfect

Had a wonderful Thanksgiving here, and even a secondary Thanksgiving today with a fried turkey!

And it is now time to deploy the Christmas avatars

Hope it was not a frozen one.

I have proof that Ramos occasionally plays a game. Suffice it to say he was on the receiving end of some of the dumber things of 7th edition.

In the end, we might have had the game won, but we all pretty much ignored the objectives to blow up a Knight, an Ironclad, and some heretic White Scars w/Crimson Slaughter Chaos Marines vs. Dark Eldar, Grey Knights, and Ramos' Chaos.

I snapped a few pics to prove he placed models on the table


Added spoiler tags since these pics are a bit large - RiTides

*cue assorted gasps of horror and amazement*



Yeah, my experience with 7th...

I'm honestly at a loss for words. It just isn't the game I started playing back in '09. Guess thats the simplest way to put it.

I really want to love the game, I really do. Its been a big part of what I do for years! I love the painting, I love the minis... but the game... The game! Just so much has changed- even having experienced the shift from 5th to 6th. It feels completely different!

I dont like it.

And none of this was the fault of my opponents, no no no.. Great group! Honestly if I had played my first 7th ed game with anyone else, I'd probably have just thrown my hands up in disgust and sold my models.

As sad as it makes me, I just don't see myself ever playing again, outside of maybe a random pickup game with the Wardens at Adepticon.


*sigh*

================================


Anyways, on to more cheerful topics.

Took a couple days, but I got everything in RiTides DzC army all set and primed, then laid the gradient down. There are a LOT of models here xD




And a few closeups:
A Caiman heavy grav-tank


And a Firedrake- quickly becoming one of my favorite minis out of the bunch.



The biggest challenge for me was figuring out how to paint the fins on the larger gates. Having them fall in the same gradient would look off, but I couldnt think of another way to do it. That was when RiTides put the idea in my head that not all the fins would have to fade from dark blue to white. I could have them end at a light blue.
Building on this, I took each fin and based it in a color according to how it fell on the primary gradient. For example, if it attached midway down the hull I started with a medium blue, as that was the color at that point in the gradient. Then I lightened the color on fins angled to the fore of the craft, darkening it on fins facing the aft. On the largest gates, I mixed in black to make the Midnight Blue even darker, and sprayed the back-most areas.


For the infantry, I wanted an easy way to differentiate them on the table, so I painted the basic troopers white, shading them down to a light blue, and the elites a dark blue fading to (eventually) black.







i have a little bit more to airbrush on these guys yet, but then its off to clearcoat and oil wash!
Till next time~!

What's so bad about 7th? I kind of dig it. And I played it when it was second edition.

"Hey, let's play a 500 point game."
"Sure, I have 6 hours of free time."

But ultimately, what you need to do is get into WHFB. It's the s-word. In fact, I am going to go play some right now.

Weird, the images weren't super large when I originally posted it... Sorry RiTides!

Ramos sent me a sneak peak of these images last night, and I think things are progressing incredibly! Love the gradients

The pics are coming out really well again, too, which I guess means you're still nursing along the old camera . Maybe a good idea for a Christmas gift if your family / etc is deciding

Playing a single game of 7th is not enough. In fact the 7th ( with it's understandable quirks ) is a lot more versatile with 2 sets of mission types and 2 different ways to produce lists.

You need to get in a few more games with good friends and enjoy gaming. We are expecting you to bring a good sized army to Adepticon for some friendly gaming against us and any friends we can find.

Nice thing is that you can bring what you want. There will be a least 4 of us so 1 on 1 or 2vs2 will be the expectation. I and Git will expect no less!

Or you can just play Dropzone Commander with me as I definitely owe you a demo game after this project!

I will likely be attending without 40k this year (possibly bringing DzC, Infinity, X-wing/Armada, and Hordes). There are lots of things to do even without playing 40k, but braving 7th once more for the sake of the Wardens is probably worth it

Oh to be sure I'll be bringing as much marine stuff as Im able to, come Adepticon. The event and hanging out with you guys is why I look forward to it.
I just really dont know about the game outside these annual instances. Friday's game just left me really disappointed with the ruleset.


And RiTides: You can bet Im counting on a Demo game!!

It's a date! Heck, it's even possible I'll bring some 40k myself to hang out with you Wardens with... that one's currently a longshot, though. Yet to play a game of 7th myself, and the updates I would need to do to my tyranids would basically mean re-doing the entire army! So, they are menacingly guarding my shelf at the moment

RT....We be happy to have ya!.. were in it for the fun so don't fret to much on your list if you manage to bring it.

And ramos.. bring what army you want.. I'll be bringing several just to mix it up.

More the merrier, RT!

Think Ill probably just build on my Marines Errant. horrible rules aside, I just think they deserve a little more love than what I've given them. Might even have a land raider I can paint up!


Oh, and it seems I managed to find some extra Christmas lights, so tossed em on my avatar!
Figure its about time to have a seasonal picture!

======================

So after a double layer of gloss varnish, I set to oil washing the various minis. Super simple technique, but it works awesome on super light colors.

After letting it dry, I took a soft brush and some clean mineral spirits and set to neatening up the splotches. Heres where the earlier coats of gloss pay off- the paint just wipes right away!

Here is a comparison shot between a washed infantry model (right) and one that has been cleaned up (left). After this it will get matte varnish and highlights, of course! The helmets will be picked out in black, just like the vehicles.


And a freshly cleaned Caiman. This is the point that it stops being a mass of blue and white, and the real details start to come through.


Still have a bit to go cleaning-wise (mostly the turrets and walker bodies), but should be on to details soon enough!
Till next time!

Very pretty Ramos.

Thanks Gits, though I think I may have just royally screwed myself...

Goddamn it, I KNEW this would happen, I KNEW IT!
It was getting a little late last night (11, so "late" in massive quotes), and Like an idiot I decided to put off cleaning the other half of the washed army. I just should have gone ahead and forced it through... I've done this in the past too, so that makes it even more inexcusable...
The extra drying time on the oil wash has made it incredibly hard to remove, especially on the white areas. And I mean HARD! Its supposed to just come right off with a little bit of brushing, but this I have to damn near scrub.



On the right side I was scrubbing so hard I ended up removing the damn paint from the model... The left side is what gently cleaning it gets me- bands of stuck on black RIGHT ON THE WHITE!
In addition to this, the white is stained a little darker by the wash. Not too much, but goddamn it if I cant notice it.




Im just so mad at myself right now... so goddamn furious....

And here is a quick review of the models done for me

FOOL OF A TOOK!

Sweet review, tenebre! Those orks look great

Argh, looks like a learning experience on the oil wash / white here! I definitely prefer the "whiter white" of the two prototype models, the last couple shots have looked significantly darker on the white than these two sweet ones:




I have no idea what to suggest, but I can tell you are on it

Amazing tenebre!! Really awesome work!
Very much appreciate it, man. Glad you like the minis as much as I did painting em.


And nerd...
yeeeeeah.........


Several hours later (for something that would have taken less than a single hour of extra time had I not waited, cue further facepalming), Everything is cleaned up as best as I can. Some of the paint on the corners started to scrub off, frustrating me immensely. I possibly could have gotten it a tiny bit cleaner, but that risks further damage of the paint. Ended up finding this perfect example in the two Caimans. I just happened to clean the one that very first night.



On the left we have the "good" Caiman, which I cleaned Friday night. The right side is the day-old Caiman. Of particular note is the dullness of the midtone blue, the flecks of nearly permanent black on the top panel, and a bit more of a messy blend with the black lines. Everything else cleaned up ok, but not perfect. The wing fins on the gates are in need of a nearly complete respray- they picked up an indelible line along their edges.
Not. Happy.

So Im left with two options here. First- the fast-ish way- Touch up areas as best I can, blending the patches in, limited respraying (like the white). Problem here would be that the colors might not be as intense as they might have been. Benefit is that it will be a quicker fix and the paint wont be overly thick.
The other way... One that I'm dreading... is a complete respray, as far back as even the second blue color. The pro here is that I can get the colors back to "normal", then theoretically redo the wash. The problem here lies in that the details are very small, and the paint (especially the twin layers of gloss) is already very thick. Some details are just barely working after all of this, and I'm almost positive that any more layers will clog them and entirely screw me over.


Neither of these is optimal, but I guess I need to find the lesser of two evils... I dont know what to do.

And it was going so well....


EDIT:

Ah RT:
Yeah, the wash stained the "white" so that it does have the more tanned look. One of the things to fix now is to brighten it back up.
I am really sorry I ballsed up your minis so badly... Im absolutely gutted...

Well I shot you a PM Ramos . Definitely don't want you to do more work than necessary, and I honestly can't see much difference between those two caimans in the pic! The only thing that stands out is the white being darker, and it sounds like that might be easier to re-do than the whole gradient, right?

Sounds like some touch up is needed on models not pictured, but at least from this pic, I'm inclined to think touching them up (and maybe re-doing the white) is the way to go, rather than a completer re-spray.

If I could see some comparison shots between problematic models and the prototypes, I think that should make it really clear. Cheers for the hard work on these! I think "army projects" like these are a process, and I am sure this is something that can be worked through without anyone pulling their hair out

No matter what we end up deciding, touch-up is a massive issue I'll need to address. At the very least, I need to blend out the speckles and smudges. They need to be cleaner before I can call them back on track.

I've sent you the same pic, but for everyone else, here is a comparison of the new and old.





As far as hair pulling.... Im definitely already at that stage, especially as I keep thinking on how I could have avoided it


Maybe I need to work on another project for a day or two... Try and glue some of this hair back in.... heh.

 Ramos Asura wrote:
As far as hair pulling.... Im definitely already at that stage, especially as I keep thinking on how I could have avoided it

Doh . But believe me, as someone who generally does assembly line / army projects, I know this feeling! And I also think that, like you say, after stepping back from it a bit, the best and most efficient way to fix things (which imo is basically just re-doing the white!) should be obvious. I don't think the damage is that dire, personally, and that all but the white still looks pretty darn good (and since they're all done the same way, they should match fine). Maybe some other expert painters could chime in here, but from what I can tell, all is definitely not lost

Once again, thank you for working so hard and putting so much effort (and emotional investment ) into these models, it's obvious you care about your work a lot and I have total faith in you here!

I think touching up is a good idea but your never going to get the same look as the proto type without stripping and re-starting as the magic is in the airbrush blends which the oil has killed by making it too dark.

If you don't mind the rest being slightly darker on the blue and whiter on the white I'm sure they can be fixed, you just might loose a bit of blending.

I've no idea if you can strip that kind of resin though if you had to re-start from scratch as its very soft.

Also don't forget you haven't painted the canopy's, that will make a difference on the overall look as it will break the white/cream up more.

Edit: Just had a quick google and you may be able to remove the oil using Distilled Turpentine, test it out on something else first though and very gently apply with a cloth and it should rub off and leave the paint. No idea if it will work and there is a risk if you apply it too much it will take the rest of the paint off as well, as the minis are resin you really need to be careful and try it first on something of the same type of resin in case it has any weird reactions. I'd be rather scared doing this to be honest on some one else's minis, RiTides would have to close his eyes.

Cheers for the input, GiraffeX! I think Ramos and I have come up with a plan of attack (basically, fixing the white!) that won't require a complete reboot, and hopefully won't require me to close my eyes . Looking forward to the results, once Ramos has had a chance to step back from this and then attack it the most effective/efficient way possible

Much appreciated, Gir.
I use mineral spirits to remove the oils (I think thats close to turpentine... I think the oil paints with it at any rate!), and got as far as I could with cleaning it that way. I think it infiltrated the clearcoat and bonded with the paint layer, thus giving me this string of issues... I have actually scrubbed off some of the paint on edges and such, due to the mineral spirits' solvency and the scrubbing.

If only I had done it all Friday, the color wouldn't have been as effected!

*le sigh*

Well, Ive decided to do some Relic Knights stuff in the mean time, as well as some CSMs floating around on my desk.
Refocus, revitalize. Then... Repair.

You forgot "rehydrate"... preferably with something with a bit of a kick.

I'm going to talk crazy here for a second, but maybe you could just put some white paint on a brush and paint it on.

Just sayin'.

Paint.... with a brush??
You mean like a Neanderthal!!


Heh... Well at least in this case, its because I need to blend it into the rest of the gradient. Airbrush is the easiest way to do this, Im just really hoping that the details dont get overloaded. Its gonna be a delicate operation.


Before that, though... Relic Knights. Still got that awesome PINK mech to paint... And the big yellow one..... xD


(And gits: Definitely gonna be "rehydrating" later today. Found an old bottle of my favorite drink buried in the back of the cabinet! I just need to wait till noon so I dont look like a complete alcoholic! )

It's never too early to look like a complete alcoholic.

Or you can be like me :-) I'm someone who doesn't drink and hasn't since my 21st so when on the rare occasion I do have a beer it hits me like a roundhouse lol! plus drinking takes up too much painting time!

Hehehe! Well at least you're a cheap date, nerd!

Im very much a social drinker. You know, drink with a friend or two and muck about with videogames
That said, I do enjoy a beer or two alone... Or in especially frustrated moods, SoCo and coke or warm sake! Had the latter today over lunch (sushiiiiii... mmmmm), and started to work more on the Relic Knight minis on my desk.

The big Mecha for Princess Malya:


And Lug:


At this stage, I've mostly blocked in the main colors, save for the gray/metal on the minis. I dont think I can use metallics on these without them looking rather out of place. I think Ill need to use grays instead. Not quite NMM, but something close to those lines.

As I paint these, I keep finding an odd moldline or weird casting defect that I didnt catch. Touched some up as best as i can, but some just cant be removed!!
Still not a huuuuge fan of the material, and somewhat the sculpts...

Ah well. progressing along. Suppose thats all I need

OK, let's face facts... "Lug" is a ridiculous model. (not the painting... the sculpt / concept)

It's an anime inspired line of models, they are all ridiculous.

 moonpie wrote:
I'm going to talk crazy here for a second, but maybe you could just put some white paint on a brush and paint it on. Just sayin'.

Wow.. you must be like a Holy Man or Prophet Look at the influence your having on Ramo's...pink and yellow! Coincidence or Conspiracy ... Hummmm

Lastly... Ramos...Farm Animals... now Anime.. 'oh the humanity'.

Really, yeah. Its all anime inspired, so there are a fair number of absurd minis xD Just part of the charm to these, I suppose.

And geez, SL! Theres just no pleasing you, is there?


Today I took some more time out to do the big mech for Princess Malya. I really do like the concept and design.... but this restic stuff is KILLING me! D: Some details arent particularly awesome (and parts of the sculpt seem to disagree with each other). Keep finding odd pits and mold lines that I could have sworn werent there before. Ah well, Hopefully where I patched things isnt too obvious <.<

Anyways, Im still figuring out a "metal" to use for the majority of its skeleton, so thats all still black. The rest though is carrying along nicely. Even went ahead and put on all the racing stripes and bits of freehand. (Lug is in a similar state)




I did do something for RiTides' army, though. Sprayed the bases with a Ruddy Brown primer, then took various levels of Dark Flesh and Blazing orange to get a very martian-looking surface.


Finally, I finished the prep work on the band of 10 Possessed Marines for my Emperors Children client. For these he wants the option to run them not only as possessed, but as "Veterans" in his army. The concept is that these are some of the oldest marines in the army, and some still bear purple armor. Im not sure how I want to bring in the EC pink on these guys yet... Thinking perhaps using it as almost some kind of rust or corrosion, where purple armor is being "eaten" by patches of pink. The Slaaneshi corruption given form!
Skin will be Daemonette gray/purple, bases will be the experimental sandstone-y color with pink flesh.







Oh.... and SL:

 Solar_lion wrote:

 moonpie wrote:
I'm going to talk crazy here for a second, but maybe you could just put some white paint on a brush and paint it on. Just sayin'.

Wow.. you must be like a Holy Man or Prophet Look at the influence your having on Ramo's...pink and yellow! Coincidence or Conspiracy ... Hummmm

Texture on the bases looks fantastic! I can never tell colors with your camera but since you mention Blazing Orange, I assume they are on the red end of the spectrum, which is great

Just to compare to the tests, they're more like the front of this base, right:


Rather than this earlier one:


Fantastic work, cheers

I swear those are the same and you are just messing with me.

Are you kidding, I see pin stripes, lettering, white edge highlighting, etc!

(Maybe you were kidding )

 Ramos Asura wrote:
And geez, SL! Theres just no pleasing you, is there?

Sure there is ... just not farm animal and Anime stuff. Usually anything that color pink is not going to make the list. There have been exceptions. Otherwise.. big fan... big fan... yesssir! Looking forward to the CSM!

 Ramos Asura wrote:
Oh.... and SL:

 Solar_lion wrote:

 moonpie wrote:
I'm going to talk crazy here for a second, but maybe you could just put some white paint on a brush and paint it on. Just sayin'.

Wow.. you must be like a Holy Man or Prophet Look at the influence your having on Ramo's...pink and yellow! Coincidence or Conspiracy ... Hummmm

I only see this guy on the history channel shows. His Hair is always the entire point of watching him. I think they bought him this suit as he probably teaches at some university in a tshirt, shorts and flip flops and uses ' Dude' in every sentence.

I agree with RiTides. The pictures of the bases as shown appear to be more brown than orange. Fair question.

I do think I'll be happy with those bases, was just asking about the color since your camera seems to show the same things very differently at times, and I am very much a fan of the "red planet" . But I think they look really good!

(I swear my camera has a mind of its own >< )

Anyways, In those two prototype pics, the top is more orangey, while the bottom is more of a washed out brown. (Just for those still wondering )

Retook a few pics of the bases, this time with a spot of white in the frame so that the camera can color correct properly. Also so photoshop could do a better job!



Then i took a photo of the prototype Yari on top of the base.



Deeeeefinitely more orange now!
Might try to find another level of brightness on it to break it away from super orange and more to a natural rusty color. As it stands now, it might be just a smidge too orange. Then again, the reference we used for the colors was this:


Never seen dirt this color xD Crazy!




As far as aliens guy.... Oooooh boy. Its a bizarre state that History Channel finds itself in nowadays. Used to be the Hitler Channel, now its American pickers, gold shows, and aliens!
Too many damn reality shows these days! xD

Oh my gosh, your camera Does have a mind of it's own!

Re: The pic with the prototype - Wow, that really IS orange . I think I would agree with this:

Ramos Asura wrote:Might try to find another level of brightness on it to break it away from super orange and more to a natural rusty color.

If possible . The reference pic (posted above, which I was going to but didn't want to photo bomb your thread unless you wanted it in ) is I believe of red clay/rock. I think I've only been through an area like that once in-person before, and it was very striking! So if you do find a color (maybe the top one on the reddish prototype base) / it is possible to make it a little more rusty rather than orange, I would definitely love that

Cheers for your fantastic communication, as always!!

Going to throw a few washes/airbrush shades on it and see if I cant desaturate the color some more. Maybe a sepia wash to bring it into an earth range. Right now it has a very light brushing of pure Blazing Orange on the top-most details- Bit too much, as Im sure you can tell xD

Updates later as I hunt for a suitable color!

Red bases...stealing my ideas.

I feel like I got made fun of somewhere along this chain.

I'm going back to painting Greatswords. Harumph.

Yessss, that's right. Run to your swords! Soon I shall come for them.

First the Fool's colors, then the red bases.... Soon he shall have no ideas left! BWAHAHAHAAAA!!




======================


*ahem*

Well that was weird...

Anywho.... Got the Mecha all done (pics later tonight as I finish the base), and re-did the bases for the DzC stuff.
The more I looked at the prototype on the previous base, the more I really didnt like it. I just saw more and more orange, and no amount of filters or washes would be able to fix it. And so.... I hit the rattlecans again!

As before, I used a Krylon Ruddy Brown primer. Then it was a similar progression of Dark Flesh and Blazing orange, but this time with a small addition! A little bit of Dheneb Stone! This had the effect of desaturating the colors more, allowing a wash of Chestnut Ink to bring the overall tone into a rusty earth color like we wanted!


Maybe Ill hit it with some Agrax Earthshade to deepen the texture, but I think this is a much nicer color.


Meanwhile... I got into a secret santa thing with a group of friends, and I drew one of our number from Singapore. I wanted to send them something unusual, and I think I hit part of it right on the head . I pulled this guy out of my bitz box, so hes finally gonna get a nice paintjob! Think Im gonna send over some weird American candies and stuff from a local shop, too. Who doesn't love candy, after all! xD


Its an Ork-ament

Great idea Ramos!

Your pink on the mech is lovely Ramos, those bases look nice as well that's defiantly a nicer colour.

Oh yes, that base color is fantastic . Nicely done, cheers!!

Post a few more gifs like that, though, and I think we're going to have to check on the filtering system for your indoor rattle can spraying

Love the orkament!

what is the orc from? i love his hat!

Alrighty, more work done.
I guess the oil wash fiasco bothered me more than I had thought, because it took me way too long to come back to them. Heck, it really slowed my progress down across the board :/

Blah! Well thats hopefully passed, now, because I got the Mech based up all nicely. Now it just needs a coat of varnish and the rider finished up!




And I went back and started on the white repairs. Gonna need to respray a little blue to meld it in, but this is good progress!


Its a much brighter cream (only a little bit short of pure white), and for the most part covered all the mistakes I made on the previous layer. Although, it was much easier to spray white, THEN the colors, rather than what Im doing now... Ah well... live and learn.

Im still thinking on how to clearcoat them. Id rather not have to do the whole batch in a rattlecan again (RiTides might get more of those gifs, should that happen ). Tried brush on varnish and it takes too long and covers too thick. Gonna try to run it through my airbrush tomorrow. Then its off to the second oil wash, and hopefully no further mistakes!

=================

As far as the Orkament... Hehe, thanks guys. I made it yeeeeears ago (think I was still a 3rd year in college), and it forever sunk deeper into my junk drawer.

@Tenebre: The ork is actually a basic boy, but with a bit of greenstuff work and a hand from the Burna kit! The hat is a custom made one out of GS, too. Past Me even sculpted treads on his one boot! Im absolutely astounded by that.

Its so far being pretty fun to paint, and I think I might need to make one for myself after this one goes out

Love the base on the pink... thing. Nicely done!

The base on that mech is killer!

On the DzC model, it does look like a bit of the blue transition might need to be re-sprayed to blend that white in, as the transition from white to blue is pretty abrupt in that picture. Just have to bite the bullet I guess . I have Red Bull that I can send along your way?

I feel a bit bad about all the extra effort required, but like you said, it's a learning process and I have gone through things like that myself many times! Assembly line the whole thing maybe on a free day during the holidays here, just to knock it out of your mind and not have to worry about it in between?

@Gits: If you think the mech is "something", just wait till you see what goes on top. This -IS- Anime after all xD

@RT: Dude, no worries. I screwed up, so more effort is the LEAST I can do!
Blue spray should definitely ease the transition (I purposely oversprayed some to clean the nasty cream underneath), and the oil wash should also work to darken it a smidge.

And... REEEEEED BULL!

 Ramos Asura wrote:
@Gits: If you think the mech is "something", just wait till you see what goes on top. This -IS- Anime after all xD

Big eyed teen girl in a school uniform?

 Ramos Asura wrote:
This -IS- Anime after all xD

Not too terribly far off, actually...

Spoilered for large picture of the concept art.



Ah Anime...

Anyways, Im actually using an alternate sculpt for the figure. Its cast in white metal so it has way, WAY better detail. I only wish all the RK stuff was in metal... The Mech mighta been a pain to assemble that way, but the detail woulda been much nicer!

Now if I can figure out how to paint decent female skin Ill be set.

 Ramos Asura wrote:


Now if I can figure out how to paint decent female skin Ill be set.

Sounds like you need to google some inspiration

 Ramos Asura wrote:
Not too terribly far off, actually...

Ah Anime...

~sigh~ Here's hoping I was wrong! .. I suggest next time Alf and WM are in town you skip the game night and go out and do some research! You can thank me later.

Babeage! !!

*cue funk music*

Brown Chicken, Brown Cow....

Leave you guys alone for a little and this thread devolved into nerdfest's blog (surprising our good Slaaneshi heretic didnt pop in with all this talk of babeage and "research")





Today I couldn't work on the DzC minis (have to make sure the airbrushed clearcoat is fully cured before attempting the oils again), so worked on something festive. The Orkament!!


I'm pretty pleased with it. Might have to make another just to keep for myself. Started to paint Merry Christmas on it, but then decided to go the more orky route with it! Plus a little Ultramarine abuse is always in the Holiday Spirit

Tomorrow's plan, post office to send this guy off to the Orient, lunch, then Oil Wash round 2!

That's awesome.... you could sell those.

That's a great orkament

It's adorable . Love the name ("orkament") too

Can I put in an order for one of those? That is awesome!

Thanks guys! Hopefully the recipient will be as pleased with it as you all seem to be
International shipping is crazy these days, though.... I could almost save money going FedEx or UPS!

I really did enjoy painting him up, and I clearly had fun building and converting him (for one thing, he was actually FINISHED!!).

As far as selling them... That'd be kind of a neat project! Especially as I'm probably not going to be playing anytime soon, I have several unopened Boyz squads, as well as countless bitz boxes, so they could easily be repurposed to Orkament duty. My favorite part of the hobby has always been the builds and conversions. Maybe something like building up a limited run of these things... Make them all fancy and unique and whatnot, give them all a number... The whole 9 yards! No idea what the hell I'd charge for them though, haha...

Probably going to need to wait until next season though- I've got Chaos dudes to paint up as well as the rest of RiTides' army!

Speaking of which, Operation Oil White seems to be going along smoothly. I was worried that the airbrushed clearcoat might not be tough enough to handle the OMS, but its proving to be surprisingly resilient! Takes a little more to clean up (not -much- more, but its no longer a case of simply taking a damp brush around it), but really.... *phew*

Here is the test model after cleanup:


Now I just need to not screw up again, and I might actually move forward on these guys!

That white looks great

Yeah that looks great Ramos, good to see them back on the table again.

Excellent!

Today was full of last-minute shopping, but I managed to flat-coat the army and start on the blacks.






In unrelated news, saw the new Hobbit movie.
Not gonna say much on it except that it just looked.... wrong. I guess I got in on one of the 3D HFR screenings. Something like that. But damn... The framerate was awful and made everything look too fake. Cheapened some rather nice CGI :/
Might just be my eyes, but i dunno xD

Looking awesome

Oh, and thanks for the heads up about the hobbit! Did you see it in Imax or similar? I remember those were in high frame rate for the first movie and I really disliked that. Will make sure to get the normal version!

I'm there with ya, I dislike hfr movies.

Love the orky tree decoration looks like I've got a project for next year now, and duly noted on the HFR. I'd heard some talk about that 'looking fake' that you mention, but that just confirms it before I spend money on the tickets!

Some people love HFR. That's how I watched the last 2. I can take or leave it. It's not my favorite. Cameron is supposed to be doing the new Avatar sequels in either 60 or 100something FPS. HFR for Hobbit is 48fps. Just want to see what it changes.

I, of course, also saw it with Dolby Atmos sound. Because that is how we roll here.

As to the movie, I feel like the Hobbit is a less severe case of what happened to Lucas with the prequel Star Wars. As in, it has its moments, but is primarily balls.

I'm seeing it today.. 2D thou.. most 3D films I've seen have not been worth the extra money.

Anyway.. Hows the Marine Errants coming along? ~ sigh~

Just saw the movie last night - I appreciate the HFR warning, but you forgot to warn us to massively lower our expectations... the best things about the series I think were undoubtedly the portrayal of Smaug, and Bilbo's progression from harmless resident of Bag End to someone who would stand up to kings, and who was awfully handy in a pinch, to boot.

But yeah, for those who have yet to see it, low expectations! It does make me crave that Heresy dragon to be made/released though, as it'd be a fantastic Smaug, but is likely year(s) away yet till he catches up on the backlog.

@RiTides: I just saw it in a regular theater... Havent seen an IMAX film in ages.... Pity, too, as theyre real cool.
As far as warning about the movie itself... weeeeeeell.... I didnt want to go into another "Ramos Hates Everything" post Long story very abridged, I hated the movie for more than just the annoying HFR crap

@WM: You'd think for as much as they pay for tech on these films, it would be easy to tell when something looks bad.... I dunno.... people are weird. Doubly so with sight-related things. My dad didnt seem to mind it. :/

@IG: Make it so. I expect to see an Orkament on you tree next Christmas!!

@moonpie: Hah.... I dread to see what happens for Smurfs... i mean.... Pocahontas-- erm... Avatar 2... If 48 fps looked this bad, what will speeding that up accomplish? Can we hit a bizarre singularity where it starts looking good again?

@SL: 3D is an expensive gimmick that adds nothing. Just like it was in the 70s or whatever. I just want it to go away already!!
As far as the Marines Errant go.... Soon. Very soon. Gotta make everything look shiny before I lose to you guys in Chicago!

=====================

More DzC progress!

Black areas are finally done (there were an awful lot of them on these guys), and I've started on the metals. Dark metals are on right now and need more washes before they are "done". I believe the most labor-intense color (the black) is done, so now it should be downhill from here!

Love the progress! The fade, black, and start of the metallics look great . The tips of the "toes" are also going to be metallic like on the test right?

You are a busy elf!

Yarp! the tips of the legs will be a brighter metal- thats why I didnt bother basecoating them in dark metal

Looking good Ramos, cant wait to see this army all painted up together.

More work on the Highlights during Christmas Eve Day! Ni pics, but Its carrying along nicely. Just gotta do the darkest blue highlights. Then the silver and the dots of color and theyre ready to roll!! Giving thought to the display board as well. Going for an Australian Outback theme, so it should be interesting figuring out how to put it all together!


Anyways.... Merry Christmas everyone!!! Hope you enjoy your day with family!



Heres a very merry carol from Psychostick!! (warnings of possible NSFW lyrics xD )

Disturbing.


Merry Christmas Ramos, glad you've got the spirit!

Only the strangest Metal shall be served during Christmas!

So I hope everyone had fun with family yesterday. I, for one, had a great christmas with TONS of food. Christmastime is one of the rare occasions that I get to eat my Nana's cooking, and she makes one HELL of a fine gravy Seriously. You can drink the stuff its so good. I also had the chance to try turducken, and it was great! Ours had a bit of cajun spices on it as well as cornbread stuffing. Top notch flavor! Other than that, played some games, hung out with family... The usual.


So Christmas has passed (with a few new toys for the workshop that I'll talk about later ), and work continues on the Shaltari army. At this stage it is only the very darkest blues that need a light edge highlight (and thats only on the Gates and the Caymans!), then the small metal highlight, then the dots of color!
Im so close I can taste it! (Or maybe thats just blue paint.... <.< )



The infantry are on a slightly different track due to their scale, and are currently getting light highlights to their blues and whites. Tomorrow I will be clearcoating the tank bases to prepare them for flock and dead shrubs, which will prepare me for the most difficult part of this commission: The display boards! Got a few ideas for them, and we'll see how well I can pull em off!

The um no idea what it is but it looks very nice so far, very smooth.

These guys look super cool!

What new workshop toys did you get?

Man that looks great! I'll be putting those little mech debris parts in the mail Tues morning in case they're useful for display board purposes.

Alrighty guys! Last update for the rest of the year

Got the entire Shaltari army finished apart from the infantry! Waiting on a final OK from the boss before I glue the vehicles on the bases.
I started work on the display board while varnish was curing, adding in a few extra details to the already exceptional SWM Tablescapes tiles!
I also finally started on the Chaos Marine squad, so lots of purple, ala the PreHeresy ECs! (Just super sorry it all took so long to start on these!!)


But anyways!
As mentioned previously, I got some new Workshop toys! Firstly, I decided to give the Raphael 8404 brushes a shot- Ive heard good things about them, so I want to see how they stack up to my beloved S7 brushes. Secondly (and slightly unrelated to wargaming), I got a small set of lockpicks, as thats a skill I've always wanted to learn. Ive been watching a fair number of videos on youtube, and the puzzle aspect of locksport sounds awesome!

And thirdly, I got a brand new sexy backdrop from Hangar 18 Miniatures! Its completely matte, and I think it adds just that little bit extra professionalism to my shots. I think Im gonna love this thing
(No camera yet, but thats gonna be where the rest of my Christmas Money will be going to xD )

So without further delay, Rollin' All One's Final Project of 2014!

Jaguar, Ocelot, and Dreamsnare Walkers


Tarantula Walkers


Mass shot of the various flying Gates


In the coming days, Ill upload more detailed shots (especially of the Gates), as well as photos of the rest of the army work and Chaos Marines!

Have a wonderful rest of 2014, guys! Lets make 2015 even better

Happy New Year.

Beautiful work, simply beautiful.

I'm floored - the models look absolutely amazing!! Fantastic work

I have to pat myself on the back, perhaps somewhat undeservedly but I thought your airbrush fade work would translate to the smaller DzC scale, and it has in spades! I'll be posting up pics of the army on the DzC forums and I'm sure you'll be getting more inquiries about smaller models now

I spent last night speechless, and the absolutely only thing I have a question about now is the gem in the middle of the gates - I think perhaps an orange or green might work better than dark red there. Sent you a PM about it and I totally can cover the cost of tweaking that if it is possible. I was thinking something like this, but without the OSL around it of course, just the gem itself. Perhaps not quite that shade of orange or green, just showing the style:


What a way to start the new year! Thank you so much for your incredible work on this project!!

They look wonderful Ramos, very impressed.

Thanks you guys!!
Making a few minor tweaks to the gems after talking with RiTides, but nothing to extreme. just brightening up the gems to a more true orange instead of what I had- a more brownish-orange. Then there are the bases for the tanks and stuff to do, which I also figured out. Getting to learn how to use all my SWM terrain stuff

Plotted out the terrain boards today, most noticeably where the little dirt path and torn up bridge will go. Then I have marked a few ideas of where to put the burned out shells of some mechs hes sending me to use for terrain. The path will be dirt, of course, so will not be as obvious on the final product. It'll be overgrown in some places with shrubs and grass as well as some scattered dirt. In the back right corner will be a small dead tree, plus several stumps, to bring a bit of balance back to the layout.




But this wasnt the focus of today. Rather, today was all about getting rolling on the Emperor's Children. I've had these on the table for too long as I've been working on the Shaltari, and I kinda feel bad making the client wait so long

A few base shades of purple, pre-wash.


Close up:


Now as these are the older members of the chapter, they will still bear the purples of the Pre Heresy EC's, albeit with the warped and corroded effects of the warp on them! Im thinking a pale gold for the trim areas, opposed to my normal warm rich golds, and a bit of chipping and damage (these guys have seen lots of action in the past millennia!
To blend them in with the rest of the army, which will be similar to the two Noise Marines I painted earlier, I am considering two options. The first is to use my airbrush and add in spots of pink, sort of like a rust-effect, symbolizing the corrosion of Slaanesh on the marines bodies and souls.
The second option would be to add in some warmer purple filigree or tendrils on the armor. Some kind of freehand to tie certain areas of their armor back into the army's scheme. I almost imagined Lucius the Eternal's armor, where its covered in screaming faces and whatnot. Of course Im not doing anything so extreme (at least not overall ), but its what I thought of.
I suppose there is a third option as well, come to think of it, and that would be to pick out a few areas of armor and paint those in the "new" scheme, as if they were damaged and replaced. However I think this might look a little too patchwork and disorganized. Very not Emperor's Children!

Much to ponder yet... Would certainly appreciate any thoughts you guys might have on it!

A few more completed pics of the DzC guys. This time its grav tanks:

Yari light grav-tanks (prototype is on the far left)


Tomahawk medium grav-tanks


Cayman Heavy Grav tanks:



Still pondering what to do on the Chaos Marines, too, iffin you guys are feeling particularly creative! (seriously... need heeeeeelp!) xD

Anywho, Thanks for reading ^^

I think do them in purple with some pink and black freehand. Think of them as an elite unit, like the yellow mantis warriors.

Oooh, good idea. You could give them pink robotic cat heads too (like an unnamed Mod I know).

I think purple and pink and then tie them with the current style with black flames or you could do swirls like NF09 did on his.

Edit: dont forget gold trim.

Oh my gosh, I love the grav tanks, and the bases are perfect!! Layout of the display board looks great, too . I am thrilled with how this has gone

Unrelated to mine, the start of the ECs are a very nice color, too!

Thats brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Thank you WM and Gir!! Ooooohhhh This is gonna be good!

Pink robotic cat heads, eh? I think I could do something like that......



@RT: Super glad to hear it!!

=================

Still moving along on the ECs (especially with that new idea for treating them as an "elite" unit ). Ordered some more Vallejo Liquid Gold for their trim, so at least that bit is temporarily on hold), but in the mean time here are a few more completed shots of RiTides army. Now with retouched gate crystals!

Haven Terragates:


Group shot of the flying Gates:


Spirit Light Gates


Eden Medium Gates


Gaia Heavy Gate


No closeups of the Firedrake (thats the insect-looking thing in the group shot), as the pictures I got came out a bit blurry. Those are something for a later update

You make me want to buy DzC miniatures.

They're brilliant! Very eye catching, and as teleporters I think they should be . I think when seen together with the army the gems will match visually really well with the bases (visible in the first pic with the ground haven gates) since they are also "warm".

Thank you very much for your amazing hard work, and am I right that it is just the display (and maybe a bit on the infantry) left? I am so looking forward to seeing the whole army laid out on it, it's been such an impressive project!

@Brian: Same with me.... They look gorgeous, and according to everyone who I've talked to about it, the game is stellar to match!

@RT: Yarp! I have the displays to go, then the bits on the infantry. They just need highlights and small metal areas picked out, plus basing. So realistically not too terribly much left!
Its a little startling to see my workbench so bare... All of the Shaltari (save the infantry) have since migrated to a new shelf I put up in my workshop.





By the way... Have i mentioned how much I love this new backdrop? Its just sooooo damn cool! The material is easy to set up and I really think it makes the minis look that much nicer. I almost want to say its been helping my photos come out a bit nicer because of its matte finish... Could be completely making it up, though!
Hopefully it'll work just as well once I move on to other colors!

I definitely think the backdrop has helped the photos come out better! Where is it from again?

Its from Hangar 18 Miniatures. Specifically this is the A2-sized "Flame" backdrop.

They shipped this thing out super fast, too. Ordered it and a size 0 Raphael brush and got it in 2 days! (shipped from Colorado, no less!)

Nice! I've been considering this, and it can be used in conjunction with backdrops. I know sometimes people make their own light boxes (or what I've done till now, just hold a light or two really close to the mini ) but it seems quite handy coming in a package.

Holy hell man, I don't really know what they are but they look really really cool! :-) like really cool!! love the fades and colours used, the way you have gone about them all is really indicative of how good you are as a painter to process each mini on it's merits and bring them to the fore! really nice stuff, looking forward to more as usual

@RT: thats a neat little KS. Id consider it, but unfortunately its just a little too small to use this new backdrop in. Had I gotten the smaller version it would have probably worked. Looks solid, though. I like the LED bar lighting.

@nerd: Many many thanks!! I dont know much about the game, but its called Dropzone Commander. Planning on getting a few games in with RT during Adepticon, so Ill have a bit more to say on it after that

===================

Sooooooo.... im an idiot and ended up ordering the wrong kind of paint- Rather than the lovely Liquid Gold, I ended up with a bottle of the regular bleh vallejo acrylic gold. Whats worse is that I paid way more than I should have. Guess thats what I get for not reading what it said on amazon :/
So the ACTUAL paints are on order from the Warstore (rather than amazon). in the mean time, I'm slacking off a bit and messing with random other projects around the shop.

One thing was to do a base swap on some of WMs Scorpions.
Commander Culln got the fancy Typhon display base as well as a snazzy new cape.


While Typhon got the old Culln base.



I did get a little further on the ECs. After a wash of SWM Amethyst, the color seems to have taken a pretty nice deep reddish purple tint that I really really like!
Other than that, the metals and black areas are blocked out. Im still mentally plotting out the crazy slaaneshi freehand bitz, so nothing on that front yet.



In unrelated news, Its cold here now! We finally have snow (yay), but bleh... Im already tired of it
Think the windchill is in the negatives again...

I've done the exact same thing on amazon before - ordered a green minitaire paint and ended up with a slightly different one than I'd meant to, which of course made it useless for the task I had in mind . Their site isn't set up very well for that kind of thing, imo.

The removable display base is a good idea! And that cloak is indeed snazzy

Did the sword hilt break off (again)?

I guess so, WM... ergh... no idea when or where it did. :/
Dont worry, though. Ill patch it up before I turn it over to you

I think the EC color came out nicely. Much better with the wash.

Sooooooo.... Minor Technical issues here at the workshop.
For whatever reason, the internet here decided to take a vacation this past week, leaving me out of touch with the rest of the world. I mean, I have my Kindle with free 3G, but damn. You ever tried to use one of those things to go on a site with images? Nooooot a pleasant thing!

So where am I at... Lets see...
First of all, more DZC stuff I finished this week. This time, its infantry.

Firstborns (basic Infantry):


And Braves (elite Infantry):


These are the last of the models now, so at this stage its just some work on the display boards! Currently I have the first few base dirt colors on it, and Ill pop some progress pics on it later once it has some more done (probably tomorrow). Ran out of my main dirt color, so Im changing it up a little, but I think this is an acceptable break from the scheme. The Tablescape tiles have a different sort of texture compared to my bases, so I'd have to paint them different anyways. Initial results are pretty promising


Next up, the paint I've been waiting on came in for the EC's. Pure Vallejo Gold. Very cold, very sharp. I also figured out how to add in some of the pink I used on the earlier Noise Marines.
Heres where they're currently at:




At this stage, they are probably a bit more than half done. Need to highlight the primary armor and the gold, then its off to the fleshy colors (to be like Daemonette skin) and the silver metals. And the bases of course! Really the hardest parts of the painting are complete, so it shouldn't be too long before these guys are ready to profane the Emperor's name!


Finally, I had gotten into an assembly kick on Wednesday, so I set to the next two projects on the bench: Calgar + Honor Guard and a squad of Flash Gits.
I really have to hand it to GW... Their new kits are well executed. Calgar and friends look really sharp in Finecast (actually had to edit that after typing "Finecrap" ). Plus, they're super light compared to the metal ones, meaning easy assembly and hopefully no chipping!
Then the Flash Git kit is absolutely awesome. Very characterful and customizable, and I LOVE how easy it was to build them up with wild-looking guns! I'll be starting on these guys after the ECs and DzC Display board are completed, so stay tuned!

Till next time, guys! Thanks for reading

The (tiny) infantry look good!

So here's where I get to tell you a secret I've been waiting to reveal . The Braves are actually the normal infantry, and the Firstborns are the elites . I actually like the scheme you've chosen that way, and since you were headed off that way on a roll and I loved the look, I didn't want to break the news until you were done . I think the Firstborns look "flashier" which is perfect for elite infantry! They are also close combat infantry, so the white (not blending in) works great, and makes them stand out / look more badass, imo. So great job there

Regarding the board, if you need to get replacement red in (or have me send you some) that would be no problem - I'd rather do that than have it not match! If you think the replacement looks good, that's great too, just wanted to offer rather than have you do a lot of work on something that doesn't match! Speaking of this, are the bases on the Braves the same as the Firstborns? The two pics look different, but I think it's just your camera again (the Firstborns look nice and red like the bases on the other models, so I'm guessing that's the "real" color).

Can't wait to get these back from you, you have done such a fantastic job! And of course looking forward to seeing the display board, that's the last thing

Well played, well played...
But HA! I knew you'd say that, so it was part of my plan all along! Bwahaha! [/evilgenius]

<.<''

Well, they're different, at least, and thats what I was aiming for, I guess xD

Anywho, the bases are all the same, yes, and they all match the tank bases... Goddamn camera xD
As far as a replacement red, I dont think that's necessary. Even if I did have it, the color progression would be different on the boards just because of the texture. I got the base color right, and thats the biggest part of the scheme. At this point its just a lot of light airbrush blends and dustings of other weathering powders. I think it'll look close enough all the same.

Very happy to see you're pleased with the progress. Hopefully these guys serve you just as well on the tabletop!

Alright, sounds great then . Can't wait!

Nice work Ramos.

I like the pink flame additions to the ECs, especially on the backpacks.

Suddenly: A wild display board appears!



This is prior to a light drybrush to bring out the raised details on these boards. As it stands now, they are airbrushed with a number of different reddish browns and rusty colors. This should give me a nice base from which to build upon, and if all goes to plan it will match the bases I've already done.
Definitely going to use some thinned Sepia Oil wash to get into the nooks and crannies and make the details pop. Should also increase the natural-looking variations in the soil.

I think i'm gonna have trouble with the large rocks, though, especially in the cannon. Im having trouble working out how to bring them off of the board. For example, on the example tile I've seen painted, the tile was green and sandy brown, then had the rocks in a gray stone color.
With these tiles, I dont think thats an option, as all of the references I've been working off of have the same kind of reddish stone as the dirt! I just cant fathom how to work this into the boards....


=================

@Dr H: Thank you, I'm glad to hear that. You know, I was considering not putting anything on the packs for a while. I just couldn't envision how to make it work. Then on a hunch I just went for it and started putting pink on them... damn glad I didnt end up screwing them over

The boards looking good, I think thst tbe sepia wash will bring them out nicely, will add a bit of shadow behind them.

The flames on the EC look great.

You could shade the rocks a little. Reddish rocks tend to have purple tones, light tan tones, black tones, and if water ever pools or runs along then for a few days greenish tones.

@Gir: Thanks! Yeah at the moment the boards are a bit flat. Im playing with the wash right now and already its looking deeper.

@Galorn: That makes a lot of sense, but Im at a loss as to how to actually do that :/

I've been looking through pictures like this as I try to figure it out:


The ground just looks so similar to the big rocks that I just cant figure it out. Very puzzled indeed... Dont suppose you guys'd have any tricks to that effect? I've everything from oil paints to acrylics to washes... My problem is I just need to figure out how to use them!

Thats because they are the same stuff

I've had a look at some Red Canyon pics and in some places the red is broken up with a few grey stones like this.

I've been reading this, but have been at a loss myself - what do you think about something like splotchy boulders with lighter and darker tones (tan and black) in the canyon, kind of mixed together randomly like in these pics?


That first one is a 2-ton river boulder, so seems about right (this is a dried up riverbed, after all!)

That sounds like it has some potential to work... I'll have to play around with it and see what sticks. Thanks you guys!


In the meantime, I've been working on the Possessed, and took care of their skintones. Its a bit brighter than anticipated (ran out of a particular paint! D: ), but I think it might work...

So heya guys! I did a thing:



My collection of dropper bottles was getting a little out of hand, so I decided to build a shelf. I don't remember where i first saw the design, but executing it wasn't too hard. Its not pretty, but for a prototype, it works quite nicely. The way I plotted it out, I will have room for 144 small dropper bottles (like Vallejo), and 37 larger dropper bottles (like Minitaire).

I WAY underestimated how much of the dowel I would need, though. Might actually toss this version when I get more- Think I can make a MUCH prettier version!


In other workshop news, I repaired an old fluorescent fixture that sits right over my desk. I didnt even kill myself with electricity!
This means that now I have nice diffused lighting on the desk, so maybe my pictures will start to benefit.... Fingers crossed, right?

That's a cool thing you did there!

Very clever Ramos.

Necessity is the mother of Invention. Well done. Now to keep it orginized!

That's a nice system. I wish the holes on a normal pegboard were spaced close enough to work for this, as I already have one of those hanging in my hobby area with a lot of spare room on it...

Good job on the paint holder.
Your Chao's is coing out nicely. You have the purple colors down well.

@Eye: Thank you!

@Gits: Thanks! Hopefully V. 2 will be a little neater. Im already finding some issues with putting bottles back in cause the rows are too close together

@SL: Hahhhhhh organization.... Thats a tall order. We'll see how it looks in a week or two xD
As to the purple, thank you. I must admit Im rather fond of the color blend now... Kinda wish I had more to paint in that scheme! Slowly learning how to up the contrast in my painting.

@Ritides: Well, you could always hang a small shelf like this from the pegboard, so theres an option. Need to fabricate the shelf, but other than that


So more work on the CSM.


The satin-y appearance is from the purple ink wash. Also, blaming the camera once again! xD The pink on his wrist is similar in color to his shoulder.

Not much longer on these guys. Probably just one more productive day. Or maybe 2 not particularly productive ones!

As to the display board for DzC, I may have screwed up in colors a bit... Worst case scenario is that I just re-prime everything >< More on this as the varnish dries. Needless to say, the sepia oil paint didnt dry as dark as it went on!!!

Till next time!

Looking solid. Glad the idea is working out on them.

Happy birthday, if a day late.

Happy B-day as well.. 16 is such a magical age!

Whoa, happy belated birthday!

That EC model is looking fantastic, I think. Coming together extremely nicely now!

I'm in suspense about the display board, though . Is there any way to just paint on top of what you've done to bring the color in line with the bases, etc? Seems like it's been a bit of a bear but you'll get it

Thanks for the birthday wishes guys!

And hah, You know it, SL! Now I can get my license and everything!


So heres the update on the board that RiTides has been eager for.
I think I know what to do for the boulders (Ive already started picking out some of them), but its the overall color thats bugging me. As mentioned previously, I ran out of both Dark Flesh and Terracotta, so the highlights are less red and more brown. Another spray of chestnut ink might make it more red (its what I used on the tank bases). It also seems that the oils darkened after varnish (youd think I'd know this by now, right? :/ ), so its not nearly as bright red as the bases. Similar, but not quite.



Hmmmm...




And for the last little bit of today's update:
Another commission, but Im gonna be entering this one in the Crystal Brush in March. A rare and historic miniature! Really excited that the client is letting me paint it!


More on this later

The hand reminds me of.....



Can't wait to see what it is.

I'm pretty sure that's a Citadel Marauder Giant! Sweeeeeeet! Nice commission!

Ding ding ding! Da Butcha got it!

It is indeed a Marauder Giant- a kit from the mystic and far-off age of 1990! Solid metal and almost 6 inches tall.
Absolutely stunning model, though. The detail is exquisite, and I am really starting to want one for my own collection. unfortunately they're rather rare (and expensive!) nowadays!

The client is requesting it to be painted as a Blood Bowl character, a referee by the name of Galak Starscraper.
This means that this guy is destined to have black and white stripes on his tunic. Since this is going to be a competition entry as well, I want to try out scuffs and bruises on his knees and such...
Very excited to work on him xD

===================

The ECs are nearly complete, and now just need the bases and bone areas picked out!
The turquoise spot color was chosen because it acts as another tie-in to the army's theme. if you remember, the noise marines had their lenses and hair picked out in the very same shade.



'Ere we go, 'ere we go!

Love that one!

Now that's a pretty, purple purveyor of pain! Pawesome!

Loving the purple and gold. Beautiful work.

He's looking very bling Ramos.

Gold looks good dude! :-) really good

Looks solid. Kind of like corrupt palatine blades.

Very many thanks, guys!
Now how about the finished minis?









Had them completed earlier today, but of course the camera I use was unavailable till a few hours ago xD
Overall, Im pleased with how they turned out, and now that I know what my end goal is, I can more easily replicate these guys in a shorter time (should I need to build up any more). Always a challenge to generate something new or work on a project where I have a lot of freedom- Too many choices and I get slowed down with indecision!
The pink flames I think are just enough of the chaos taint to suit the project's objective. Im glad you mentioned the Palatine Blades, WM, because thats pretty much how I envision these guys!! Veterans of the old wars- once paragons of the Legion- who now are the foremost in Slaanesh's debauchery!



With these guys off the bench, it's on to the next project: Calgar and his retinue, and a squad of Flash Gits!
So far, everyone is primed and ready to paint, and I've already put the base blues on the Ultramarines, so they're ready to roll for more color... But that, dear readers, is another story
Till next time!!

Very crisp and clean. They look very natural.

Those look awesome!

Excellent job Ramos, they look fantastic.

Came for the models stayed for the alliteration.

Love what you came up with in the end, turquoise does make an excellent spot colour for these pink/purple schemes.

Well done. Very cohesive look.

Stage number the next one: Ultramarines!



I think Im really starting to get the hang of airbrushing these base colors. Really happy with it!
Next up is a wash to deepen the recesses and bring all the colors together, then details. Its really nice to paint something that I've already painted previously or that I already have a good plan on how to pick out details.
Skin on the Orks are carrying on as well, but not much to show

Finally, I assembled the freshly-stripped Giant, and now you guys can see the sheer size of this thing. Its really like 3 solid pounds of pewter...



Temporary base for now. Gonna do the real base separate!
Real biggun

It'll be interesting to see the "true" version of them realized.

Ok! Massive update today, guys! Very picture heavy, so you have been warned!
(Is the alliteration gag running thin yet? xD )

Taking a detour from the Orks and Smurfs- I got the final OK on colors for the DzC display boards from RiTides, so spent most of yesterday painting in the details (lots of rocks) and gluing on all the greenery. Finished it last night, but as always seems to happen, it was late and I didn't feel like editing photos at 1 AM

Here we have the final shots of the display, as well as the entire army!











And with the final massive army on display!

That army looks fantastic!

I really need to do a display board. I keep missing major points in local painting comps because of the lack of one.

Dude, check out the SWM Tablescapes tiles. These things are so cool, and are the perfect size for boards. Detail paints up fast, too!
I dunno if you can buy only a couple or if you have to get the whole thing, though.

Those Chaos marines look great! Did you airbrush the base tone on them?

Thanks, gotbugs!
I did indeed use an airbrush to base them. Sort of my own little pseudo-Zenithal technique. The important thing was to lay down some nice dramatic blends. Everything else was then brushed in the old fashioned way

I've just dusted off my airbrush (I used to airbrush stage sets, and murals), and I'm taking a stab at using it on some scenery and minis. Did you use a spray primer before hitting it with the airbrush? I"m curious as to how well the thin airbrush paint holds to the plastic model.

Always, ALWAYS prime!
The plain old paint will stick to raw plastic, sorta, but it doesn't bond nearly as tightly to it as the rattlecan primers. You can usually scrape it off with a fingernail.

There are airbrush primers, though, that set up harder than regular paint. Polyurethane based, if I recall right. I occasionally use the Badger STNYLREZ primers when I dont want to drag out my indoor rattlecan setup.

 Ramos Asura wrote:
Dude, check out the SWM Tablescapes tiles. These things are so cool, and are the perfect size for boards. Detail paints up fast, too!
I dunno if you can buy only a couple or if you have to get the whole thing, though.

Meh. I think I'll save the $250 and make my own. I do like the "urban streets - damaged" though.

Wow the finished army and display board look amazing Ramos, all that effort was definitely not wasted.

 Gitsplitta wrote:

 Ramos Asura wrote:
Dude, check out the SWM Tablescapes tiles. These things are so cool, and are the perfect size for boards. Detail paints up fast, too!
I dunno if you can buy only a couple or if you have to get the whole thing, though.

Meh. I think I'll save the $250 and make my own. I do like the "urban streets - damaged" though.

Gits if you want, I think I've got a tile or two of their "prototypes" I'm not using. It's the junkyard theme.

That would work Great for my orks Alf. I think there would need to be 2 in order to make any kind of useful display board. PM me and we'll talk.

To say I am absolutely thrilled with the results of the army would be a vast understatement! Ramos totally exceeded my expectations here. I was guessing that his airbrush and detail work would transfer well to the small scale, but man did it ever!

And I agree, the Secret Weapon tiles have been a great means of making a display board and I only paid $50 since there was a 4-tile offering on the Kickstarter (I'm saving the other two to possibly make a display for my gatormen army with). I plan to make a border / frame to put them in so that they can actually be carried as a unit, too.

Finally, I hope to either buy or lasercut myself some sweet bases for the dropships - I've seen some that actually are the shape of the dropship itself, rather than a square, which looks quite cool and makes them more stable, to boot! So, that's on the list to implement eventually, too.

I will definitely be showing this army off at AdeptiCon

By the way, I'm going to send some pics of this army (which I'll take with my own camera since, you know...) to Hawk Wargames - I think this is one of the best full DzC armies I've ever seen! Was even of thinking of asking them if they'd be interested in displaying it at AdeptiCon, since I'll have it there, although I imagine that's a bit of a longshot. Would love for your work to get a bit more publicity and for more people to see this incredible force

@Gits: I'm curious to see where you take the boards if you get them... Should be awesome to see with the Grot Tanks!

@Gir: Thanks a bunch- i'm glad to hear it!!

@RT: All too glad I could be of service! The army was a treat to work on, and I learned a whole bunch of new tricks. Definitely let me know if you need bases done for the dropships- though if you do make them, you might need another way to transport them. The foam trays you sent me to put the army in were -just- enough to fit everything in, including the stands. Im sure we could work out a solution though (one thing that comes to mind is removable flight sticks... )

If you want to do all that and talk to Hawk, feel free! I have a small presence on their forum, but nothing too intense. Would be absolutely crazy if they decided to display it, though! XD

Looking forward to seeing these guys at Adepticon! And of course, I expect a game or two

==============================


Today's update: Greenskins!
I went and knocked out the skin areas on the Flash Gitz, and even attempted some kind of pirate tattoo on the Kaptin. Its gonna be mostly covered by the gun anyways, but its something fun to play with

Excellent job on the skin. Amazing up-highlighting.

Excellent . And I agree, the skin on those orks really pops!

Excellent you've got going on here.

This is some fantastic work going on here! You're painting like a Boss nowadays! Can't wait to see the Giant.

Very well done!.. Skin has a very Necron glow to them.

Thank you very much guys. I finally cracked the code on how to paint ork skin... If only I could make such a breakthrough painting human skin!
Think I might actually go back to some of my orks after these guys are done- I'm starting to remember just how much fun it is to paint greenskins!

@SL: The glow is actually a result of glare from the wash i gave them. In reality its not -quite- that glowy!

Today its the reds and black areas on the Smurfs. I want to push and get these guys done as efficiently as possible. I think I can get them done in a couple more days, if not by the weekend!



I LOOOOOOVE painting reds

Sounds great I'd like to see ya make some more progress on your orks too.

But...


Correct me if im wrong... but your green skins are not really all that green....

http://nextlevelpainting.blogspot.com/

Have you seen this dude?

He kind of just makes me happy to watch his videos, dawg. What I thought about with you while watching it was his attitude of quality with quantity. I know you like to think about things and get in your own head and all while painting and so do I, but I'm not getting paid for it. The quality of your work is there for sure, but I am amped that you are making an attempt with the ultramarines to do it quickly.

Make that money and on to the next one. Figure out how to bang it all out. Don't blue table painting it, but get the work done and move on. Sometimes I feel that you get a bit too sacred with your work or too introspective.

In the words of Ben Stiller: Do it. Do it.

@Denua: Well.... yeah...
I did say I loved painting reds! xD

@moonpie: Amen to that. Its something i always fight with, and I know its a problem. Noone is better at psyching me out than me. It's all a work in progress, I keep telling myself. Eventually I'll learn and somehow "get it"... I want to make it actually happen this time!
I'll have to start watching a few videos to see if I cant glean some useful info from him. Could be nice to put out results a little quicker!!

=============================

Nothing today, folks.... Building computers!
Dad got his tax refund check, and little bro wanted a new computer for a while now... So I'm stuck with assembling them all!



Even now I'm not even done, and it took me 5 hours today just to assemble and start installing drivers on the one... Wireless ethernet cards are a pain in the ass! Kinda jealous of the graphic cards they got.... Theyre a little better than mine! But I got a little shopping done too, and now have a gorgeous Solid State Drive... Havent installed it yet (gotta back up my comp first), but.... oooooooh Im excited!

Oh, and yes. My little brother did get an orange case.... and it really is that bright xD

Till next time, guys... Hopefully Ill have an update for ya tomorrow. A REAL update!

Ohhhhhhh.... Cost and parts. Got my check too, and looking for a new PC to get.

I love the orange case. It doesn't really go with your wall paper though. Hopefully your brother has a different colored room.

Computers are built and running A-OK, and mine is cruising along with a brand new SSD!

@deadmeat: Always a good time of year to get a new computer! These two were built pretty much identical to each other, save for the cases.

Total cost for these guys was just short of a grand, but thats mostly a result of needing to buy a monitor, mouse, and keyboard with them.

CPU: Intel Core i5 4690K
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z97X-SLI
RAM: x2 4GB Crucial Ballistix
GPU: EVGA Nvidia Geforce GTX 750Ti
HDD: WD Black 1TB drive
Basic old CD/DVD Burner

Fun system, and it should be pretty well futureproofed for their needs.
This all means that we can start doing more LAN games- up to this point, their laptops just couldnt cut it!


@Ice: Yeah his case is amazing xD And we just stumbled across it when we were in the store, too!

I really dont think ANYTHING could go with my wallpaper... Fire, maybe... ick.
But yes it will go well in his room... which is painted bright green





I'm still setting up my computer (did a full system reset after instaling the SSD), so I might be busy for a few hours yet... Then, its back to work!!

Thanks Ramos, I'll check out the parts and prices. Hope I can get what I want.

I received the Shaltari army from Ramos this week and finally got to take it all out of the box . Only one thing broke in shipment, a scenic piece of mech debris on the display board (a leg) which was really easy to glue back in place.

Here are some pics!






And a group shot, although it got a bit washed out:



I'm absolutely thrilled with the outcome and the experience of working with Rollin' All Ones. I highly recommend working with him! Looking forward to doing a demo game with these at AdeptiCon