Ok,

So after having a clear up from the suit workload and digging out all my little trays of ongoing projects, digging around on Deviant Art and then getting very excited about too many ideas in my head, I decided that my GD (UK 2009) blog should be restarted with a view to:

1: To decide out of lots of WIP's, which entries to go for.
2: To get the forums input on what is popular in terms of colour choices, modelling style and context, which will hopefully push the entries further towards being a winner!
3: To divulge some of the techniques and processes I go through in order to win a coveted trophy!

So, the challenge is this.
At each stage of this process, I will be asking for your input, with a poll feature to gauge peoples reactions. While I will keep the idea on track (and in keeping with my original idea) the whole thing is over to you guys!! (MODS can you give me POLL function?)

I want this to be a completely original concept, whereby I am essentially a puppet, but through open discussion, we can all learn and get some good ideas bouncing around. More importantly, it will make me work harder to get stuff completed on time!!!;-) and keep my desk clean and focussed!;-)

THE FIRST ROUND:
Now to choose the projects that I will concentrate on. I will list below the various works ongoing along side fresh new ideas that I would like you to choose from. By each idea will be the category that the piece will go into and a rough time estimate on how long each will take to complete. When voting, please remember that I can only have 1 entry in each category, so while you might love 2 x single miniature, you will need to sacrifice one for the other (this is the pain that I am going through now!)

Until I can organise with the mods to get a Poll facility, please feel free to free-post your votes!

40k Single

Genestealer Hybrid (3rd gen). 2 Weeks painting to do...



Necron Lord. 3 week build, 3 week painting. (with dead commissar being held up- thanks to Hokunin!)



Eldar wraithguard. 3 week build, 3 week painting. Multipose conversion styled closer to the wraithlord of today.


40K Squad

My Tau suits (x3) 3 weeks build- 4 weeks paint- 2 weeks on the basing. (these could be hyper based in a similar but simpler diorama setting previously described)

Pre- Heresy Death Guard squad- 7 guys with sorceror, pain merchant/ butcher and possesed 'fly marine', plus possible 3 guard conscripts.


40k Vehicle
Dark Eldar Artillary piece (thanks to Ignus Dei at Deviant art!!)- 1 month to sculpt (with 2 x crew) and 1 month 2 paint.


Eldar Autarch with Jet bike




40k Monster/ vehicle

XV88 Broadside (my own) with nice base- treading on rhino door- combat stance


Old one on dias (Slaan Mage priest) contemplating the universe. Think grumpy frog on a throne with pipe and lots of skulls around him in a dank cave- skin the colour abraham from Hellboy with Stargate style black granite architecture.



Eldar wraithguard- multipose conversion styled closer to the wraithlord of today.

Scratch build Tombspider- I dont like the current one and the Tomb Stalker just floats my boat! (based loosly on this one- not to scale!)


Duel
Battle at the Gate. Custode vs Worldeater on jetbikes at the emperors palace- VERY dynamic



Diorama
Blackpod down
(based on the discussion here; http://www.advancedtautactica.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=13275)

Open (this is scary for me, as only the studio staff tend to win and so I would be up against the BIG boys!;-)

Old one on dias (Slaan Mage priest) contemplating the universe
Eldar Autarch (as before but with more elaborate base)

I have a fair idea of what people will like/ want to see here, but it will be an interesting process none the less:-)

So, who's on board? (EDIT) I must point out that I am posting this here, at Warseer and also Dakka Dakka, so the results will be a combination of all 3 communities opinions. The reason being is that each forum has a very different way in which it critiques and also how opinions are shared. The result will be entries that are balanced as a result and hopefully therefore more likely to win!

Cheers

Wa'Rhound

(Full shots and other inspiration- here: http://s198.photobucket.com/albums/aa192/warhound_photo/)

What I would love is if you got one of those old genestealler cult leaders(not the magnus the other one I forgot it's name.)on a throne,that minis was cool and it would make an excellent mini diorama.


Like this:

Yes that would be great D.dre, however, I do not have one of them to hand;-)

The Old one is reminiscent of this iconic model however:-)

cheers
W

aI saw one on ebay the other day for abou 30.00 UK pounds,I wanted to get it but that is equal to almost 400 south african rands,so a little pricey.But I think something to do with the genestealer cult would still be awesome.

I'd love to see how you would do the Old One. I hope it will look different that just a Slann model in a different décor, meaning that the Slann model is cool and all, but try to give it some more than just the Lizardmen runes, armour,stones,etc.

Ah Malika!

Now I will post the WIP shots tonight, but as you will see it is quite early doors yet;-)

What do you have in mind? Any ref shots?

cheers
W

I don't have that many ideas to be honest. I think it would be an easy cop out to give the Slann a more Eldar aesthetic for technology.

Why lots of skulls around him though?

Let him sit on some sort of grav throne, maybe looking into the sky contemplatively while reaching out to the sky with one hand. Maybe the Slann got something between his fingers, as if he picked a star out from the sky or something.

NEW shots added- scroll back upto the top or visit:
http://s198.photobucket.com/albums/aa192/warhound_photo/GD%20PROJECTS-%20ON%20GOING/

for full details!!

cheers

Warhound


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Hi Guys,

it just dawned on me that I needed to put my arguments across for which entries that I think should be put forward for completion.

As mentioned before, many of these are works that have been sat on the shelf for the best part of 3 years now (since my last win) and so some I have a great deal of affection for. Other are very much more recent additions and so there are arguments for both new and old as I will put forward here:
SINGLE
Genestealer Hybrid:
As mentioned, revisiting old concepts that GW just couldn't do justice back in the day has become a little project of mine- the Space Hulk duel won a gold- so the idea must be right;-)

Necron Lord
I have always loved the aesthetic of the necrons, but they are very restrictive in their very nature. Therefore, given that Necrons are Apparently due next year, I wanted to get a strong concept out before the studio produce something better;-) I think the concept art, my WIP and this backbanner would do the job? http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/wezhu.htm :-)

Wraithguard
Since sculpting my Tau suits, I have been thinking about what other models could do with a multipose action- and being £8 a pop- wraithguards could certainly do with an overhaul!! A single model, not much taller than an Ogryn and bizarrly based on the same Necron lord chassis above would be ideal;-) Posed, dynamic, enigmatic.

SQUAD

Tau XV8.2 suits

What can I say?! I love what I have achieved with these guys and being able to recreate the iconic artwork based on them will be a dream come true!

Pre-Heresy Deathguard
As per a few comments, the deathguard while a different take (white armour etc), will be labour intensive and who hasn't seen a nurgle entry before??;-)

VEHICLE
Dark Eldar Artillery
When I first came across this piece I fell in love. It is different, eldar in feel, evil, floaty and quite 70's in its styling. With a bit of further work, I think this could be like my preacher sentinel years ago and reinvent the vehicle category!

Autarch with Bike
This is by far my tightest sculpt/ scratchbuild ever. If my photos could show it off better:-( The whole piece is coherent, tells a tale, is how eldar should look- lithe, tall etc and the bike with its detailing a think works well in its slightly upscaled aspect. I think that the blend between Scorpion and Dragon is subtle and carried across to the bike well with little design flairs like the antenna and engine cowling. Could be good for the open too. The shuriken pistol from his left arm is missing.

MONSTER
Old One
Been sat there for ages. Looking grumpy. Good strong story. Solid base model and if painted right would really stand out from the pack!!

XV88.2 Broadside

Again- just because I have one now. However I feel that the others in this category would be stronger.

Tombspider
This seems to be getting a lot of attention! I have played with some bits at home but not come up with anything that I am overly happy with. The end concept would be akin to the Tombstalker sketch. Again- necrons need some love.

DUEL

Battle at the Gate
While I love this piece, has a very strong story, is dynamic and well modelled, it would be painstaking to get done and would be a massive time sink I think?

DIORAMA
Black Pod down
To be honest, once the basic squad is done, there is not a lot extra to be done from the squad base to adding the rest of the story. I think I would prefer this option to the squad. Think Crashed escape pod, injured Aun, escorted by Shas'O who is very hard and ornate defending the pod until the suits can come in and secure the area [snapshot-click]

OPEN
Old one
Autarch
As above!

Ok, so who would I like to win?
Autarch- open. It is the strongest concept, sculpt and realistic piece that for me punches above its weight.

Dark eldar Artillery- Vehicle. A very strong concept which will naturally interest ALL eldar players and fluff meisters alike. Given a tight paint job and hovering over the eldar base that i have sculpted (ala Mr Footit), I think that this will stand out from the normal 500x Bane/storm/shadow/spider/banana blade entries with their oh so done to death weathering. (Yes I use those techniques, but really, does every vehicle entry have to have rust?)

Black Pod down- Diorama. This is an iconic setting which will be recognisable to most, contain very dynamic original sculpts (the suits) and have a strong story to accompany it. Also, should be technically quite easy to put together and do it well!

So there you have it guys- but they are only my thoughts, as I say, this is all over to the community!
I am tempted however to put in a caviate. Call it the 'Simon Cowell system' whereby, I am allowed to bump a choice once in the process. Call it my get out of jail free card if you will;-)

So what are your thoughts? AND KEEP VOTING!

Cheers

WaR'hound


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Quick update:

I have the commissar torso on its way for the Necron lord and I am in talks with the artist of the Dark Eldar Artillery to expand the idea!!

The voting still goes on- I just like to get bits and ideas in front of me so I can be on the starting blocks;-)

cheers
W

Any more votes guys?

Just a few more days to go!!;-)

cheers Warhound

Hard decission, all looks great but i say the nercron lord holding the commisar just lokks like an ace project.

over an out avach

Ok, I at the moment there is a very high % of people who have voted for the Deathguard:-)

Why is this? Does anyone have specific arguments for this category?

I am curious as on my other polls, the DG are generally being left behind- why here with my (generally) American brothers the interest in them?

Just curious

cheers
Warhound

Pre-heresy stuff seems to be very popular to not only fluff maniacs, but also sculpters / converters.
im guessing thats why its become so popular on the poll.

What JD said or Nurgles rot is just getting to people.

BIG update!! Mr, Dark Eldar has been very kind in furnishing me with a revision of the artillery piece:


Lets see if that makes any difference to the votes?;-)

cheers
W

Very nicely done artwork,I love the DE.

Ok, guys,

Warseers Poll has just closed, and their results were:

Necron Lord 36.73%
Autarch 39.8%
Black pod Down 48.98%

Is this how you guys feel? Whats the concensus?

Not long for voting now!

cheers

Warhound

do something with delphan gruss drilling into somethings head

Goodge, did you even bother to read say, the opening post?

Spamming like that is not appreciated or constructive?

Please read the primers about posting!

thanks
W

warhound123 wrote:Ok, guys,

Warseers Poll has just closed, and their results were:

Necron Lord 36.73%
Autarch 39.8%
Black pod Down 48.98%

Is this how you guys feel? Whats the concensus?

Not long for voting now!

cheers

Warhound

I for one would still love to see the Necron Lord.
That drawing you posted is plain awesome!

i never read anything more than a paragraph long

the necron lord project looks sweet

(well goodge, this will be too long for you then;-)

Ok,

so firstly to thank everyone for their votes and time taken to consider the options! :-) I have to say that it did appear very early on what the winners were going to be, although there were a few surprises. (DG being one! Had I time, I would have taken them on, but I will shelve them for next year)

So here are the results in decending order:
ENTRY No. Of votes

DG 13
Battle at the gate 13
Wraithguard 18
Broadside 26
Tombspider 27
XV8 Squad 33
Genestealer 35
Oldone 40
Dark Eldar platform 44
Autarch 58
Necron 60
Black pod down 81!!!!

In hind sight I would not have put the XV8 squad as a separate entry and just gone with the stronger option (ie do I want to do a cool squad OR do I want to do a cool squad and with a little extra effort will look twice as cool doing stuff;-) This would have split the votes differently I think? Anyway, this is all a learning curve;-)

SO, the next stage- we have our WINNERS. At this point, I am going to provide a brucey bonus to you all! As you will surely have become aware, I have fallen in love recently with a certain dark maiden of the purple variety;-) Therefore I am going to add her to the winners, thus:

40k Single Necron Lord

40k Vehicle Dark Eldar Artillery piece

Diorama Black Pod Down

Open Autarch


Yes, that means 4 entries with 4 months to go!!! Aaaargh;-)

I will update the phlog every couple of days, as there will have to be regular progress checks to keep the pace up. I will be using polls again throughout this process to make key decisions and ensure that while in my bubble, I am remaining objective:-)

Thanks again guys and I look forward to working with you over the coming months;-)

cheers

W

Have you thought of a paint scheme for the Autarch?

This will be one of the polls- I have 3 variations on a theme:-)

I will put this up at some point in the next 2 weeks. I think the first polls will be about the necron. I will be working on him first, as he is technically an easier piece than the others and will allow my brush skills to be warmed up;-)

Saim Hann is the backdrop for the autarch though.

Cheers
w

That Dark Eldar thing is amazing! Where did you get that new version of the picture?

Direct from the artist!;-)

He has been EXTREMELY accommodating and is keen to see how we work together on this...

cheers
W

Right Guys.

Work has already started anew on the Necron lord! I aim to have him done by the end of this weekend and painted next week;-)

I am stuck though as to what to arm him with? The ref picture, has him with a staff, my model has an orb, and both in my mind look good (with the opposite hand obviously holding the commissar up;-)

I then considered having an orb floating in proximity to the lord as in independent force, possibly resurrecting a necron from the floor- with a beam or lighting holding it above the downed body?

In addition, he will have a chronometron on one arm;-)

This may be tight to do on the base though as I will only have 40mm at best to work with, hmmm unless I work vertically too....?;-)

Anyway, I would really appreciate everyones input on this?

cheers

Warhound

I can't vote.

I think that he should be holding either staff with the orb floating of to the side somewhere.

warhound123 wrote:Direct from the artist!;-)

He has been EXTREMELY accommodating and is keen to see how we work together on this...

cheers
W

Wow...kick ass! Is he getting paid for the gig? It's because I'm looking for some concept artists to help out on the Troll Forged forums, we need concept art for sculpts/ideas/etc, but we lack sufficient concept artist.

I do hope that GW will pick up on your Dark Eldar piece once they see it at the GD!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Sorry for the double post, but I thought I'd show you this, might be interesting to add to your Dark Eldar folder (ideas!)


Made by Kombat Unit

Found this somewhere else:

Hmmm, any mods around? I can't figure out why not working? Cheers DDRE for your vote anyway;-)

cheers
W


Automatically Appended Next Post:
nICE one Malika!

The first one is very nice- esp for the Minority report style free hanging operating window!;-)

Whats your vote my man?;-)

cheers

W

That is wonderful art,good find Malika.

I can't vote. But if you want to make the model similar to that piece of artwork you posted, I would go for a Warscythe.

I don't know how the Resurrection Orb would work on just a round 40mm base, you would need more space to work for that one I think.

Hey Guys,

computer has gone down so no pictures at the moment- I hope to get it sorted in the next 48 hours :sad:

Anyway, yet more work done last night! So far, I have (in 2 sittings!):

Sculpted a nice frayed cloak to hang off his haunches
Adapted and enhanced the extraeneous spine/ crown to fit on his back- it is the metal one that comes with destroyer lord.
Converted the right arm and hand from the original destroyer left hand (to be holding the commissar)
Carved out the banner pole/ spike from the commissars body to reveal his entire internal spinal column and pelvis bones.
Filled the spacer gaps on the extension points on calves and thighs

Tonight I will (hopefully):
Up-armour the legs over the fill in points (denser plating will reflect his status and balance the increase in torso size.)
Possibly give him hip guards using the pelvis plate from the destroyer body
Model and intergrate the right hand into actually grasping the commissar and model the coat around the hand/ fingers.

Should I add a chain of office around his neck? (like the original lord and the Ltd ed one with the army boxed set?

So, to answer the discussions points:
After looking at the commissar sans pointy stick riding through him, it became apparent that he was perfectly flayed!!! His coat and waistcoat are partially burned away to reveal the skeleton underneath which in my mind epitomises 'flaying'. If I was to paint everything on him crisp and clean, it would almost be like his bones had been bleached? There is even enough texture on the bones to show grizzle and blood!
That leads me to the weaponry.

As I say, he will have the lovely little scarab from the metal lord on one arm to represent the psylactery/ chronometron and I like the Orb currently, as it balances the model.
However, you bring up some good points. Personally the war scythe would be the most logical weapon for the leg removal (plus I prefer the model), but isn't it the staff of Light that has the 'gauss' capability?
That said, I think looking at what the base (his location) will be may help. At the moment I am torn between:

Imperial cityscape (possibly even a balcony) Lord presenting the commissar in an almost contemptfull/ baiting manner
In the middle of a desert on the top of a small dune (some binoculars half buried like the IG have just been totally over run?)
OR
A.N.Y other as per your thoughts?

I am concerned that with his foot span being 40mm (I know!) that getting a scythe or even a pile of necron bodies/ human skulls on the base is going to be too much. I will look at this properly tonight. You may be right Malika- even the orb would be better left in his hand;-)

So, to all, what are your thoughts?

cheers

Warhound

The thing is that you might lose focus on what actually happens on that base. It's the Necron Lord showing off this dead Commissar (Imperial cityscape base is most fitting). As soon as you start adding Necrons that are waking up the attention will go to them rather than the dead Commissar, whilst cool it thus tends to function as a distraction from what is really going on.

I have a feeling that the orb will stay (and possibly have some delicate casing/ circuitry running over the surface???!) and no weaponry visible. I like the simplicity that the model and balance give at the moment and don't really want to detract from that;-)

nO Necrons then... just simple?

cheers
W

Agreed even though it would look cool,lots of dead Necrons re awaking would pull the judges eyes away from what you want them to be looking at.

Hmm, seems we are all on the same page- now to see what the other forums think- although I think that they are all still asleep and in need of a res orb!;-)

cheers

W

well, the limited space will obviously be the biggest problem. So fitting a bunch of necs on there next to the lord and commissar could be a tight fit.

Id still go for the Scythe tho.
I mean. Hes holding a victim and hes probably going to kill him. With what though? Is he gonna beat his head to pulp with the orb? Nah, thats just silly.

So take the scythe. I like the idea of having the flying a bouts somehwere. Or, it could be a few small ones surrounding him.
I think Insaniak once did a "drop pod" army where he did something similar. Ill try and look for a ref pic.

Edit: It was actually the assault squad of the special ops marines. Heres the link
klick

Ah, yes the old 'deepstriking' effect;-)

Thing is, the commissar is already well and truly flayed and dead (check out the banner top here: http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/wezhu.htm )

So the weapon that killed him is almost mute in point- he could have just picked him up off the battlefield and is showing him to the army to make sure that they realise that they have lost;-)

I do like the idea of small things (scarabs) flying around him though- will look at sculpting something tonight;-)

cheers

W

Wow, can't wait to see some pics I wish I hadn't missed the voting, but most of my faves made it in, anyway!

SO, the computer is back online, but not as much done last night as I had hoped:-(

Maybe thats a good thing, so I dont't get carried away with myself! :roll:

Anyway, here you can see the orb done, detail added to his forehead, and everything else pretty much just in situ.
The orb is growing on me, but you need to imagine it painted- I am thinking black, with green trace lines on all the seems and then silver rivulets over the top? It would be a blend of monolith styling, but with liquid metal oozing out of it... oooh what if I modelled some on the floor running towards a necron, ala terminator T1000?

Anyway, with the forehead embellishment he started to look a bit fresher than what I see an archaic lord should look like and will probably enhance the furrowed brow/ evil arched eye look. I have included another sketch I found at Deviant art and wanted to ask the question again about chains of office. All lord art (inc GW) includes it, but the models don't have it? I quite like it, but what do you guys think? Oh and yes, he is quite large now and a bit gangly, but I quite like that- it feels alien;-)











As I say, the aim is to get him finished by sunday night, so full steam ahead!

cheers

Warhound

I myself don't like the orb,but maybe thats just me.Or the photo.


But I would like to see it painted black with a swirling vortex of green light in the middle of it.You could maybe do a glow effect and have the lords face illuminated in a sickly green.

What about all the robing and effects of his 'office'? Do think that they would be a good edition?

To be honest, as the orb is a separate component, I can have various attempts at making one that fits the bill, but for the time being, it at worst, illustrates what I am trying to achieve. I would like to make one that has even finer detail, so will probably try that;-)

When it comes to the painting, OSL is not something that I favour. I find that without exception, the effect is over used and means that every model is effectively being painted in a dusk to night setting, EXCEPT that everyone, always manages to paint other colours into the model.
This should not happen as when it gets darker, all colours disappear. Fire in daylight (say from a lighter) has a strength that will reach up to say 2 inches reflecting onto a surface. You would think that a normal led/ optic lense on a machine had the power in lumens of the sun given what some people try to achieve through paint effects!!!

Please don't enter into a debate on the physics of light- these are just my feelings on how abused OSL is:-)

cheers

W

I agree with Deff Dread red Edition when it comes to the orb. Im just not a fan of it and lwould like to see a massive flayer/scythe type of staff like weapon a la the tooled up lord from dawn of war.

Its looking good so farm. maybe you could straighten out the legs a bit to make im a wee bit taler.

And yes, he needs a cloak. one that is torn up quite a bit.

Hmm I would change the pose of the legs a bit, as in that the would stand up a bit of straight rather than the squatted position he has now.

Hmmm, there seems to be a bit of consensus about the legs at the moment...?

Is it that he is too squat? Necrons typically are squat as per GW design, but would you like to see him taller/ less squat or reposed totally?

If you can provide a pic ref for the stance you see working then please do, as if I repose the legs, it will be a one shot attempt! I am sort of feeling it though...

cheers
W

The legs might look better if they were more heavily armoured, they look a bit spindly at the moment compared to his upper torso. I also think some kind of staff would look better than the orb.

Is it that he is too squat? Necrons typically are squat as per GW design, but would you like to see him taller/ less squat or reposed totally?

All GW models tend to squad...don't know why though...

The pose in the artwork (last one you posted) is a little bit better. What about having him walk forward on some balcony, presenting the corpse of the Commissar for all down to see?

For the upright position you might want to check out this thread.

AH , nice one, cheers for that Malika.

I think I will up-armour the legs first and see what that does to the silouette, I think totally upright would put him in the 35-40mm band! which is hugh!!!

cheers
warhound:-)

I agree a giving him height and bulking up the leg armour would be best.

Indeed! However, don't make the bulk too crude, the Necrons still have some form of very twisted elegance which puts them more along the lines with the Eldar than lets say the Imperium or Orks. You might want to include small engraved runes (Necron symbols) throughout the body, some of them might radiate some intense green light.

ooh, good idea! On the thigh plates would be best for subtle runes...;-)

I will see what I can do tonight!;-)

cheers
W

maybe you could have the orb sucking in the commisars soul? instead of just having it sit there,or replacing it with a staff

Excellent point Malika.And I also agree rather have the orb either,doing something else or remove it,I would love to see the Necron lord holding a staff.

What about some weapon that is a combination between a staff and a scythe? So it would have the blade of a scythe (Nightbringer style!) but at the centre, here it's connected with the pole it could have a rod/energy source with some decorations on it, similar to a staff.

You might also want to give the figure a bigger cloak.


Hmm...and now I want to see that Dark Eldar thing again!

Maybe even a combination of staff and orb with the ork on the top of the staff.

A dead Ork as well? :O

That is a really cool idea by the way, the the orb is integrated into the staff/scythe.

ooh, good idea! On the thigh plates would be best for subtle runes...;-)

Not just the thighs, what about the shoulders, back, and arms?

Head, shoulders, knees and toes?

Possibly, but I think the balance between detail and keeping the piece as evolved simplistic technology will be a hard one to maintain. Each piece will be taken at a time to make sure that I don't push it to far one way or the other.

cheers;-)

W


Automatically Appended Next Post:
OH, sorry guys, I really dont like the idea of an orb/ scythe/ staff cross over- it will be one or the other!;-)

cheers
W

Well then the scythe,I am just not feeling the orb.

Scythe is a good choice.

It would be a standard weapon (nothing flash) and resting on the floor with one hand supporting it upright.

Let me finish the orb though, I want to exhaust the idea before giving up on it;-)

cheers
W

Like I said maybe it is the pic that is making the orb look bad.

Also if you want to add even more height to him why not have lots of little scarabs running round the bottom of his base.

He would need smaller scarabs though, I think the existing models look a bit too big and clunky to get the right vibe.

I see,well it was just a thought.

What are you thinking about for the base though,I like Malika's balcony idea.

Well, it was to be either an imperial city scape with him on a ledge, thrusting/ dangling the corpse forward in a warning/ taunting manner OR on the crest of a sand dune- thoughts?

The scarab thing is still something I need to look into, as I may still be able to sculpt smaller scarabs for detail and suchlike;-)

cheers
W

I think a ruined imperial city scape is the way to go.

If you do make smaller scarabs you might be able to cast them!

I do agree with DDrE (Dr Dre?) on the ruined Imperial City scape...well at least a balcony part.

OH, believe! casting is my new passion!;-)

Yes, I think Imperial scape also- makes slightly more sense, but I do like the idea scarabs busting through the sand ala scorponok in transformers style- linked together in a swarm type manner;-)

?
W

Well them crawling through the cracks of a ruined peice of road or coming out from a drain pipe might look just as cool.

Ah, that could be reminiscent of Matrix 3?;-)

would mark it out as being a little unique;-)

cheers

W

warhound123 wrote:OH, believe! casting is my new passion!;-)

Yes, I think Imperial scape also- makes slightly more sense, but I do like the idea scarabs busting through the sand ala scorponok in transformers style- linked together in a swarm type manner;-)

?
W

Dude, if that is so, you should check the link to the Troll Forged forums in my signature. The guy is a caster (also sculptor) who casts stuff sculptors send to him. You guys might want to exchange ideas and such!

Ill wait for another pictured update before throwing in more ideas. Id just like to say though, this thread is great and its cool that people get a chance to really add to this. So kudos and Im looking forward to more

Please add comments at all levels and points! These projects will be moving at such a pace that I would hate to have missed a glaring point that could have been corrected through someones contribution, or made it even better through the same virtue!;-)

Seriously, contribute at any point, it is all appreciated:-)

cheers

W

So done some more work on Necron yet?

Just feeding daughter and my face- easy now;-) Shots will be up in about 4 hours;-)

coooooool!

W

You have a child,how nerdy is she? lol.

Next thing you are going to tell me that women are real.
So you say you want to finish the cron on Sunday.Whats the next project after that?

Good morning world!

Got more stuff done last night- up-armoured the legs (which took a LOT longer than anticipated!) Rolled another ressurection orb (detailing put on tonight) and cut out some half moons for the loin cloth.

I am VERY happy with the leg armour:-) I think it is refined enough for that 'simple' feel I wanted and adds the bulk that was needed to balance the model. The plates do need sanding back more and sharpening up on the edges, but otherwise all is good.
I will still look at adding to the hip area, but this may actually be helped when I make the belt for the loin cloth?

SO, baring in mind that I want to have this done by Sunday night, here are the jobs that I think need doing still:

Add braclet/s to the upper arms.
Add some extra sole to the feet- they are a touch too slight at the moment, esp in depth.
Finish the belt area with bling and tatter the cloth with putty and a hot pin!;-)
Detail the shoulder pads in a similar delicate manner to the legs.
Intergrate the hand into holding the commissar and fill the hole in the skull.
Add Phsylactery braclet in shape of scarab to one arm.
Detail the orb and sculpt with a 'beam of light' so that it is 'hovering' about 2-4 mm up in his hand.
Finish/ re-do the cloak and sculpt Scarabs to pin to the shoulders.
Give him slightly more evil eyes/ brow.
Add some delicate spikes on his extremities (sides of knees etc)
Sculpt scarabs for swarm effect (optional)

To answer the 'haunched' question, I think that the up-armouring has pretty much resolved this. The inspiration sketch is very much in this vein and so given his natural height, I think anymore would ruin the silouette. Oh and someone mentioned that he was holding the commissar in a very 'eewwhh' type manner. Of course he is- Necrons dispise all life and would think of this human as a piece of rubbish that he was throwing out- it also helps to give the piece character, as Lords are now rumoured to actually have!;-)

So onto the shots:









So, all of the above are my thoughts, but please, if you feel strongly about something, or I have missed something, please hollar!;-)

cheers
W

Looks ok to me.How are you going to paint the orb?

I love your concise answers Ddre;-) The orb will be black with green trace lines.

Actually that does beg the question- what are peoples thoughts on his colour scheme? In my mind, there are 2 ways to go:
Platinum (just google image platinum- very silver/ aluminium with an ochre note and Imperial blue robes.
OR
Ceramic (light blue/grey OR creme) and black that will allow for some nice chipping and rusting all over.
OR
what do you guys think?

cheers
W

I was thinking a light grey,maybe a NMM paint scheme wiith the orb glowing green and casting a sickly green light onto the armour.

I think the armor is good
In your last pic though, he seems to be tippings backwards. And I think he would look cool with a black cloak thats flyinf way to the left (from the lords point of view). and it needs to be torn and such. should look kool.

Sigh, Im still not a fan of the orb, but in the end, its your choice!

A bit of rust sounds cool

Agreed,rust does sound cool.The GW site had nice tutorial on that but after they changed the site it is no more.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
This guy however is my fav,found him on CMON:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/196868

yes, the cloak is actually as you describe FZ;-) that will go up and to the left. I will be re-making it tonight (the first one is too thick)

Rust will the way forward then I guess;-)

cheers
W

Firstly, thank you so much for sharing this amazing journey with us. I find it very inspiring to se you so effectively working towards the categories. My problem - or way of working anyway - is to do what ever I think is cool and interesting and only then see if it would work as a GD piece. Hence I am not much of a GD candidate. But this year I have a few plans and works in progress

Secondly, some lovely work and lovely entries! I love the Autarch!!!I hope I can make the GD trip this year and see them all in real life.

Cheers migs!

Believe me, after a 3 year Hiatus from the comp, I need to be organised! As with most of us, I think we all get 'magpie' syndrome and get distracted by the latest new and shiny model/ project etc;-)
While normally I like to work in secret, promoting healthy discussion and ideas really does help to spur me on!

So, I have showed you mine,, you show me yours?;-)

cheers
W

The leg armour is looking good.

CHEERS!:-)

Any other comments/ critique/ ideas?

W

I still think if you have time that the scarabs will be a killer idea to do.

warhound123 wrote:

So, I have showed you mine,, you show me yours?;-)

cheers
W

I have been been showing them all year long Only real updates will be display bases built with the same care and love as the models and what ever new things I can cook up for the existing projects.

Cool! You know I have been following you and your entourage throughout that- very unique, fresh and inspiring work! I esp like the randomness of finding the one bit that will just fit the purpose (kroot pad for visor!)

Any critique/ ideas you have for me, or am I just that good? ;-P

cheers man

I think the leg posing of the Necron Lord isn't ideal, and he looks to be too dead centre on the base to create some tension. The base could have a little more vertical volume too. These kind of minor things, but they are as much to do with taste and personal vision, so I rather enjoy watching your take and taking it easy on the commenting

Cheers Guys.

Right, some more done last night. Now I know that the legs are a bit of a contentious subject, but I wanted to play with the robe first to see if it did the job and balance the piece out- I am 99% happy with the results;-)

The cloak is a chaos warriors one that I spent 45 mins gently dremeling the living day lights out of it, and as you can see, in places it is paper thin- but still rigid!;-) I will work this up more, but for illustration I am happy with the results:-)

Oh and check the new orb out!!! I am SO happy with the way that this turned out!!! (smug mode;-) Yes some of the circles are off center- this is purposeful and makes the tech seem a bit more interesting- imagine green scribe lines, black plates and silver discs randomly placed. Also note that the finished piece will be slightly hovering in his hand.












SO- whats the new thoughts?

Cheers
W

Looks good,but if you want it finished by tomorrow you better break the brush out and paint and base him.

I like the orb A LOT better!!!
The cape looks good, but I think it could be a bit closer to his legs at the bottom ... and maybe it could fly a bit more to his left .... more wind = epic pose i suppose lol

Hey guys,

more has been done since these shot- the cloak had been tied into the gem pendants and the feet have been finalised, but otherwise, I think that this answers most niggles;-) Oh, and the cloak has been furled around on the right hand side, so that it is licking back onto itself.

Will be finishing the arms and shoulders today, plus the commissar, but otherwise am very happy with the results;-)

Anything missing, askew or down right wrong?;-)








cheers
W

IMHO he is looking very nice,can't wait to see him done.

Okay, I like the stance and I think the overall positioning works well now.

If youre still not sure about a scythe btw, you could add one sticking in the ground next to him or sumthing

Otherwise, paint him up mate. He looks great!

AND DONE!

So, bang on target for deadlines, finished 2 hours ago, but wanted to be sure;-)

SO, cloak done, arm holding commissar done, shoulders done- all is good!;-) I will sharpen some edges up and the like tommorow, but otherwise, am happy with the composition, detail, character and unique qualities that it has over a stock model- unless anyone can see anything astray? (working in a bubble gives you snow vision;-)

OH, one thing- I have the hip plates blutacked on at the moment- I like them as they seem to balance out the whole 'where is his midrif' question;-) like/ dislike?

Now the next question- and this needs answering urgently! Paint scheme! As the commissar will have to be blacks, reds and creams, it really restricts the pallet that can be used. I am still considering going with the typical metals and blue cloak type thing, but fancy something with a bit more pop?
Ideas include:

Ceramic blue grey/ white with black joints
Black armour with metallic joints and cream or white cloak
Cream armour with dark metallic joints

My feelings are that the black armour would be the best to go with as the Orb HAS to be black with green functionality- all stereotypical areas will be studio green.

What are your thoughts?

Anyway onto the shots......;-)















one entry done in 5 days- I am a happy man! Just need to paint by next sunday and then onto the next one%-)

cheers
W

Good god that is awesome.

Cheers man:-)

any critique?

w

a gs cape?

nope carefully dremelled out from a chaos warrior one!;-)

cheers
W


Automatically Appended Next Post:
So after a quick discussion on Warseer....

"It definitely has given fuel for fire! I think a black/ abyss>grey done a 'Joe' stylee would look awesome! It would allow for a dirty grey/ creme> white cloak and loin cloth, green as the spot colour and would then push the commissar to contrast but balance with dark (black cloak) and red inner lining and the bone. There will also be platinum/ silver for his waistcoat braiding for detail. (I don't want to go with yellow/ gold as this would be too strong a colour to pull from the lord)

So:
Black>abyss>spotlight armour
Silver metallics joints etc
Dirty grey/cream> white cloth
Green spot colour on the orb, eyes and possible other scribed areas/ inner chest etc
Platinum silver detailing (runes, scarab etc)
Commissar:
black/ brown> grey cloak
Deep red inner lining
Platinum silver waist coat
Bones with VERY slight residues of blood on them.."

So does that hit the button?

cheers
W

warhound123 wrote:nope carefully dremelled out from a chaos warrior one!;-)

cheers
W

You misunderstand me... plus i worded that wrong lol

maybe add a few gs cape bits.... as to me the cape looks a bit squarish, but if you had some spiky gs bits coming off, made so it looks like there blowing in the wind, it would achieve that necron lord feel. just my suggestion.

other than that he looks great.. i can't wait to see him finished. great work.

Well, dezmord went for a cool blue and silver scheme. I like the bright silver with the blue. It works well.

klick


However, Im still more of a fan of the traditional darker silver along with the bright greens. Maybe throw in some obsidian like shades for ... say the head?

Ok, so no shots at the moment (will post tonight), but I wanted to let you know that the first coats of paint are on!

I decided to leave the hip plates on as they make him so different to a normal trooper and also they do balance the very large torso with the lower body.

So I have sprayed him and the orb GW black, and then base coated (thin 30/30/40 wash) of scorched brown, Vallejo german camo brown and water.

I generally use this on all models (unless specifically bright) as I like to use very natural tones. Black is such a harsh deep shade and so brown can be used to blend into almost any base colour. The skeleton was also based with this mix.

The Commissar cloak and orb were left black as I wanted these 2 areas to remain 'dead'. For the reasons given above, the brown gives natural 'life' to elements and because the commissar and orb are basically drawing a line through the horizontal of the lord, with the source lighting etc that I plan to use, the lord will be brought into the foreground (well that is the Idea at-least!;-)

Finally, I placed a 25/35/40 mix of chaos black and Snot green > water into the eye sockets, chest vents, spinal gem and orb track lines to base the way for the green OSL.

Oh, and the circuit circle details on the orb were painted boltgun and chaos black 50/50 and the cloak/ loin based with thinned charadon granite.

At this stage, I have started to get a real feel for the model, it weight, angles of approach with a brush etc, and it is always nice to start blocking in colours.

One thing that instantly dawned on me was how good the brown base looked on the lord (very matt effect and quite natural rust!) and so, I am going to leave the main of him until the end to see how I want to paint him. The commissar, orb and cloak will all help to decide the final direction of the colour pallet.

I must point out that this is a VERY unusual situation to be in. Many of you will know that there has been a lot of debate on what scheme to go with. I am happy with the tester that I did on a base necron (blue grey to white and chipped), but with this brown, it is pulling me back to a metallic lord. I am going to research today NMM bronze, gold and Platinum as a possible alternatives.

Anyway, blog updated, I am going to go and dig now;-)

Any ideas, piccies or reference, please chuck it this way.

cheers
W

I like this guys NMM bronze tutorial:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/article/aid/808


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Hope that helps.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also I know these are LOTR minis but I am sure you can apply the technique to 4ok minis.

http://www.one-ring.co.uk/phpBB2/kb.php?mode=article&k=175

Hey DDRE,

Great find! The first one I had not seen before and is the best example I have come across this morning! The second one I had seen before, but good to review again!

Nice one

W

Thanks dude I will check round the web for you some more.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
These are two more,not sure how helpful they will be.


http://www.blackmoor.ca/articlesnmm.htm


http://theminiaturespage.com/workbench/534541/

Hope they help in some way.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Another one,this ones for copper.

http://www.ironhalo.net/copper.htm

Great find again on the Ironhalo link- best one yet!

cheers man
W

This one again is also for painting LOTR minis but again I am sure the skills can be applied to the mini you are working on.

http://www.thepalantir.org/ca/miniature/ptk001/ptk001.htm

Good morning world!

PROGRESS has been made!

DDre- thanks for your help yesterday- much appreciated!

As you will see, the skeleton has been done and all other base/ block coats are still applied. One difference being that the cloak is now the prussian blue. The reason being is that I like the colour- I can use it as a base for archtyple royal blue/ purple to suit the lord, and instead of gold runes (which would look pants on purple) I would like to do them in grey>white- very crisp, GW studio style!

I have left the lord in his base coat/ wash style of scorched brown and the green tracing has had one more wash of scorpion green (an oop gw paint)

After Dante's comment last night, I REALLY like terracotta/ deep earthy reds and creamy whites- they are one of my pallets of choice and am now still just torn with the metallics. I think it is the way to go, but do I stick with the tone I have currently and have an uber grubby lord, or one that is quite shiny, albeit a touch chipped?
What about this DOW art styling?


Anyway, enough rambling- let me know your thoughts?>>>>>







Poor lighting, but gives the right idea?



and just because I love it!!!:


cheers
W

The skeleton is looking awesome so far
I like the first pic you posted. The vicious, toxic looking green is the thing that I like most about the necrons ... so yes, you should do that lol

The cloak should be pretty dark I think. But thats just me

Cheers FZ!

Lets get a vote on the go!
SHINY vs GRUBBY ...... for the lord?

cheers

W

How about gunmetal?

I had a good long think about it yesterday.I think a grubby lord would also fit fluff more.As Crons sort of spend all there time killing things and not taking care of their armour.So I dug around for you,I love this picture of gentle red rust nothing to extreme,but I think it would work well.A light red rust(possibly brown).


Refrence pic:





Also here's the best tutorial I could find on short notice.

http://www.wideopenwest.com/~tinweasel/rust_tut.html


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I also thought this was cool,it is a review of a company that makes a solution(for want of a better word)that makes real rust of the on your minis.

http://www.wideopenwest.com/~tinweasel/rust_tut.html

I have to say that cog is the best I have seen!;-)

I use that pallet quite a lot anyway and so it could be adapted quite easily;-)

cheers
W

warhound123 wrote:Cheers FZ!

Lets get a vote on the go!
SHINY vs GRUBBY ...... for the lord?

cheers

W

How bout both. According to fluff, the metal flows and they repair that way. So they should be grimy only for a short period of time theoretically. However, he is in a warzone so there must be grime.
But parts could also be shiny. I wouldnt know how to pull it off, but I think a combination would be possible

Where be updates good sir?
We demand to see progress!!!

Failing that you will have to answer to chimpanzee with a Napoleon complex!

shjhdaswhefajnvf.sndf;akjsfakjd'm';lkasfdkj........ and back in the room!

Hi guys,

Yes I am back! Having spent the past few weeks stessing about exams, getting burgled and all my course work and prep getting nicked (web design course) the night before my exam and then this week having my little girl get chicken pox, painting a FW cobra for commission and then the paint falling off ****** resin- it has been an interesting time!

Oh and my camera got nicked, so I am having to rely on phone pics:-(

Anyway, as you will see, I have not been idle and progress has been made on more than one front!

This work is acutally about 2 weeks old now and I hope to be getting back to both pieces next Monday.

SO, the first is the Necron. I have basically blocked in the bulk colours, started on some levels of highlights and block shades, and so far I am happy with the results;-)

I am very interested to guage people reactions and thoughts to this piece....













next post will be somewhat of a surprise......

cheers

W

Surprise me

And to follow up, I got twitchy one night to see what I could do with a bag full of weapons platforms and some resin bits... here are the results!

Please bare in mind that this is the skeleton of the piece and that all areas need filling, sculpting and detailing... it is very much a work in progress! I must point out the cruely scarred face of the pilot and his arm blade that actually has some tubes coming from his armour with which the blade gets covered in poisons;-)













So, thoughts?

cheers

W

Looking very cool so far! Don't forget to add that steeringwheel/controller to the thing. Can't wait to see what you would do with the sail!

Too bad it's a one of a kind thing, I'd love to see a model like that cast by the way!

Im loving the necron lord
the paint job is great
Smashing Job

cheers guys!

Good to be back! Yes, I thought that the photos would be slightly disappointing, especially of the lord:-(

I can assure you that the metallics are actually smoother than my little girls bum, and the green lighting is a lot sharper- and I have another 2-4 night to finish them yet!;-)

The DE piece, I think I need to explain a little further...
As mentioned, it is very WIP, and has been thrown together as a mock up ie, the rocks/ scenery are loosly in position, the blue tack holding it together was on the melt (it is ROASTING in the uk right now) SO to address, think of the scenery in a 'V' formation coming up from the plinth and the skiff flying smack bang through the middle with a slight tilt down towards the viewer, allowing a closer look at the pilot.
In answer to the point about the lance- with the sail on (missing in shot), it doesn't come out further than the front of the gun barrell (in fact about a 3rd back), but I do have a very nice tiny little splinter pistol on hand incase I/ you guys really decide that you don't like it- I will try and get some shots up later to compare- also I think that shots sans scenery will help people get a better idea of what is going on with the vehicle itself.
Regards to further develoments, there will trophy spikes sporadically based around the back of the platform, in a crown of thorns stylee and the control method will be a bio- mechanical umbilical that plugs into his spine!

It isnt clear in the shots, but between the top and lower parts of the rear plinth is a giger split of tubes and pipes in an organic style and this will be further textured when I sculpt the 'molusc' plate over the top (I like the idea that eldar are 'mushroom' related, while Deldar are crustacean related (see eldrtich and gothic for details). I see this vehcile as very much a 'tortured wraithbone' construct, that is semi- sentient and with the umbilcal linking into the oval behind him (which will contain liquid like a blood pool), will err into organic engineering territory;-)

more shots later!!!

cheers
W

Good to see you back at it again mate and some nice progress to boot!

That really sucks about the rotten luck you've been having lately but hopefully things are on the up again now.

Looking forward to some more shots of the DE. I know what you mean about the heat, its totally killing my hobby motivation at the moment!

Cheers,

Dante

I dont find them disappointing at all.
Looks promising and Im looking forward to more. Good to see you back

that jet bike made my jaw drop I wish I could model...

Holy............
being a Necron player
i must bow to you sir
you have done our lord justice beyond comprehension

right, these shots should hopefully address/ inform on some of the explanation given above.

The stance of the rider here is very relaxed, as I think it balances the weight of the lance with the length. I am still trying to decide what pose to have him in:

relaxed as shown.
Lance pointed more purposefully.
Splinter pistol levelled at some ones head as he comes around the ruins
other?

The helmet is just something that I knocked up about a year ago when I saw the first piccy of the DE. It could be held in his hand as indicated, to suggest an air of arrogance and that this is post battle, but I do like the idea that this will be a full on 'snapshot' of him hurtling through the terrain trying to outflank the enemies tanks- therefore his pose will need to be more dynamic (knees bent more etc) I do like the flow that his hair gives and there will be numerous chains with cruel hooks and barbs trailing off the back of the platform to further emphasise this.

You may note the wonderful skull pool within the platform and umbilical cord that he controls the craft with. There will be more organic fine tubes running around the main coil to represent tendrils entering his spine and when it is finally finished, there will be resin 'blood' poured into the pit to make it gorey!;-)

The styrene work is just to form out the main shell areas, and will be hacked back before a massive puttying is started.











I think that's it for now?

cheers

W

It looks like 2 face lol

Is it just me or does the helmet look a bit too big?

yes, I agree, but for representation, I think it works well;-)

If it is likes, then I will resculpt one to fit the bill;-)

cheers
W

warhound123 wrote:shjhdaswhefajnvf.sndf;akjsfakjd'm';lkasfdkj........ and back in the room!

Hi guys,

Yes I am back! Having spent the past few weeks stessing about exams, getting burgled and all my course work and prep getting nicked (web design course) the night before my exam and then this week having my little girl get chicken pox, painting a FW cobra for commission and then the paint falling off ****** resin- it has been an interesting time!

Oh and my camera got nicked, so I am having to rely on phone pics:-(

You do have my deepest sympahies, especially about that bothersome cobra comission....
As much as I liked the Necron Lord, I just love that Dark Eldar piece. Some very nice thinking behind it and I can see where The Gothic and the Eldritch had it`s influences. The helm is fine and actually quite close to what the wip studio Dark Eldar might look.

OK, guys!

SO, after a bit of a hiatus (mainly due to RL grrrr!) and thankfully achieving the ATT winner status (I cannot wait to get my avatar!!!!- thanks Tael and everyone who voted for me!! ) I am now ready to turn my attention back to the GooD work of the main event!

To be honest nothing has been done at all on the skiff or the Necron lord, but these will be completed! I have decided to not show the final pics until they are done and dusted as I am happy with the direction that they are going. I will post them pre GD though to give you an insight and also to get any last minute critique;-P
So thats 40k Single and 40k Vehicle done (well I wish;-) and so onto 40k Monster!!

Now this may disappoint some of you, it will hopefully excite others... The diorama "black pod down" is not going to happen (booooo I hear you cry!)

I WILL be using one of my suits though! (YAAAAAY!)

After this initial conversation with my long suffering friend Zac, it has been decided that I can enter 40k monster and get away with turning it into a minor diorama. I am curious to hear your thoughts on the conversation/s and the images for influence.......

(this is a fragmented and re-arranged conversation taken across the planets time lines and re-jiggled to make some semblance or order)...

The Description: (BRB)
The XV-76 space able suit with "ablative intergrated interface armour"- described in a way to imply 'weapon system' akin to target arrays etc- also seems to be beyond test status.
The big question still stands:

Satellite function?
OR
Space walker repair suit?
OR
Boarding suit (breaching weaponry etc)?

Satellite type activity is known to be provided by advanced drones, and the way that they are written about indicates that while subservient to the manta/ other that they were delivered from, they are quite 'intelligent' designs. Therefore a 'suit' spy is irrelevant.- Gutted as I really liked the idea of my own personal 'Soundwave'.

Ship to ship action (which is the only reason/ time for having a Tau suit) is normally taken by remoras and Barracudas. They also have boarding torpedo's. Therefore, what is the role that the XV-76 takes?

1: External ship repair?- Although I would imagine this duty taken up by Drones ( R2-D2's being popped out the hatches quicker than tic-tac's from a PEZ dispenser!;-) hahaha

2: Breaching duties?- I imagine that when enemy armour is at its heaviest or deep insertion is needed, there are some Kor/Fio suits designed to do just that.
Heavy armour, footclamps, heavy fusion weaponry (possibly bastardising the missile pods from my XV-88 sculpt?) I imagine having the suit stood on the hull of an imperial cruiser at a 65 degree angle which is anchored to the 40mm base that I am allowed for that category possible, looking 'out to space', having just melted the hatch (so easy to model too!)- in fact most of this suit could be based off my 88 upgrade?

3: sub- fighter interference. Supporting the main 'Korforce', these suits are armoured to take out enemy boarding tubes, scuttle thunderhawks etc. Therefore going with the 'big-gun' idea could work;-P and would look more like the deepstrike suit that got me so hot yesterday (in fact it is my background at home and work now;-)
What weaponry and armour would it have? an Ion cannon? would it just be a XV88 with thrusters for legs? I want it to stand out very much from normal suits (inc my own) hence I will use the CCTV head as per the pic last night. In terms of extra armour (which is the main point of this excersise), why not the disks? What would you recommend?

I have no aversion to removing the legs and trading them for tech or thrusters. I think that given the 40mm base size, I would like it to be along the line of what I described above, OR the suit has just exited a hatch on the Tau starship and so have an oval cut from a tube so that one end is stuck to the base and the top curve comes around over the top of the suit so that the suit sits in the concave (if that makes sense?) OR it is free hanging, much like a gunplas entry- all about the model and represents it just hanging in mid-space. Think all those display models on hobbylink japan;-)

I too like the penultimate pic, and yes it would need stripping right down! Thing to bare in mind is that this has got to be an almost straight kit bash so as to save time, keep it in the tau balance and recognisable. http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/viewthread.php?tid=31703 totally sums it up in my mind?;-)

Any ideas for specific parts?

In a consequent skype chat, we then nailed down the more final ideas for the design and purpose of the suit (which then led to the dio idea being born): ZAC agreed that Idea@2 was by far the best as it tied more into the fluff and ability

XV88 suit- my upgraded suit with canisters made from burst cannons (stealth), the missile pods would be turned into "Fusion Hammers" with possible piping to the generator on the back. The ankles and feet will be uparmoured to create the effect of electromagnetic clamps and also directional thrusters/ gyro stabilisers added to bulk the lower half up. He will be stood on a angled piece of scenery as though in mid-space having competed his work....

Onto the ref pics:




So, I hope that this all makes sense and gets you excited? Any fluff general out there, please feel free to correct/ add to the theory behind the XV-76 design, but please bare in mind that this is a modelling blog and so massive theoretical debates can be left at the door- keep it concise people

Thanks for visiting!

W


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Hey guys,

so another productive evening last night with a merry little text debate between Zac and myself and a wodge of bluetack!
Before I go onto the pictures, I also wanted to hail Migsula from Dakka Dakka. His work on the TWAR system (a race of his own design and devising) has been incredibly influential over the years not just for his concepts but use of bits and execution! I also really like the colour scheme here....
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/175638.page

So, below, you will see various mock ups as Zac and I argued the toss about canister vs vent placement mainly, but overall the feel that this piece is going to take. Key things to point out:
Yes it is a blue tack arm- this will be swapped out.
The Fusion hammers will be scratch built enlarged fusion blaster plug-ins for the ends of the missile pods- unless anyone has any better ideas?
The ablative armour across the torso will be scalloped out so that it sits closer to the main bulk, but also will overlap like petals (sort of indicated as is)

Let me know what you favourite version is? Zac has been petitioning for the canisters to be at the waist, out 45degrees to the back- I quite like them at the top- what do you think?
And indeed any other suggestions- ideas?

VERSION 1:


VERSION 2 (WITHOUT FLECHETTE LAUNCHERS)


VERSION 3- OUT TO THE SIDES TOP


VERSION 4 OUT TO THE SIDES- WAIST




EDIT: I forgot to say that in addition, this suit will have 2 manipulator arms, taken from the Marine devastator back pack mounted into the chest (yes it is a total Appleseed rip, but god love Shirow and his designs!)

So which version do people like?

cheers
W

I'm really diging the idea of a big tau space battlesuit!

Say hello to the looted version of Gundam Tau suit lol

But Warhound, XV-7's would be smaller that XV-8's! Oh no!

Looking wordlessly beautiful so far.

Every piece has so much character, it's almost leaking. I love the DE Artillery, the crewman is particularly brilliant. I can't wait to see these puppies painted.

How did I miss this?! I particularly remember a fantastic discussion we had about Blackpod down a while ago.

sA

Ok,
so after being on hols last week (wedding and Cornwall- my friends there think my Avatar is the spit of me: Tael!:-P) and not getting much done, I came back with an itchy finger trigger painter thang going on, and also the sheer realisation that I have just over 4 weeks to get my stuff done!

Therefore the XV-76 has gone the way of the XV3 and the XP-vista........

HOWever, that does not mean that I have given up on my beautiful suits, no, but I have had to come back simpler (booooo :sad: )

Therefore, lets go back in time to that day when we first opened the MK1 codex and saw the picture of the 3 suits side by side, all JSJ going off in your face with a cheeky slap of multi-weapon options and a splash of "ooh, what's that little gadget do?"

Yes, folks, I have decided to combine my re-imagining with the force of great iconic Tau artwork to produce what you will see below. Taking what I think are the best aspects of the artwork and general suit design, chucked some detailing onto my kit and et 'voila!

Apart from redoing the foot tred and detailing the missile pod vents (it counts as one MP- not SM for those who might say "too many hard points";-) I think it is ready for spraying- what do you guys think?













cheers
W

Ok world- here I am from the depths of my pit, and the sweat blood and anguish are still drowning me!

NECRON
First up, we have the necron lord. You will see that the corpse has been completely finished now, with resplendent braiding etc etc, but I have decided that while I like the colour of the outer cloak- it does not sit with the composition at all. Therefore the outer cloak will become black tonight.
The original idea had been to make the setting a snow/ frost one, however, the blues interfere with the green and silvers of the lord and so the base/ setting will become a desert one. Nothing over the top, but dust gathering in corners and swirling around him, I think will make the setting work. It also means that the whole piece will be based around 4 colours: Green, yellow(mustard), black and a spot colour of red. Normally you should work within a 3 colour base, but as there is a foreign element, this will allow for the additional colour. The silvers and Golds are neutral and so will tie the others together. Having the blue at the moment is just too much. What do you guys think to the base? It is not finished by any means, but the construction I think is good enough to support it, and the plinth arrangement itself is strategic, as while a 40mm base would be allowable, by funelling the width down, detracts the eye from the true base diameter.








XV-8.2
As I have said before, because of the nature of airbrushing, the differences in each stage are more subtle than normal and so, to the uneducated, it may appear that I have done not a lot to the suit... they would be right Actually, that is not so much the case. The pods have been finished, all marking placements are down, lenses touched up, 1/2 of black>grey highlighting has been achieved, shoulder pad highlighted and a few other bits and bobs. To be fair it is only now after 48 hours away from the piece that I can see the true path to completion, am comfortable with the pallet and have slightly changed the pose (preferred?) This really will be a the last thing to be done, as I want to nail this one! To point out also, highlighting and simultaneously shading a pre-airgunned area is incredibly laborious- easy, but laborious! It only takes 3 colours, but making sure that all areas are smooth transitions that match the original sprayed camo and take on zenithal highlights is a head ache! Anyway, onto the shots!









The puppet master of Mordheim
This piece has been around for a while- it actually got disqualified a few years ago, as they thought it was a Rackham model!!!?? As I pointed out to Alan Merrett (chief judge) in a hour long debate, if you are going to make a call on subject matter, at least know your subject matter!! (Rackham and Mordheim are very similar in styling- is it my fault that GW ripped them off? :crafty: ) He then published (at least in the uk) a 3 page editorial mirroring our debate- good to know I got through to them;-)
Fantasy single entry.










Please forgive the photos, I will edit them during the course of the day so that they are upright etc;-)

So, any thoughts, comments, slating will be appreciated!?

cheers
Ws

warhound123 wrote:Ok,

So after having a clear up from the suit workload and digging out all my little trays of ongoing projects, digging around on Deviant Art and then getting very excited about too many ideas in my head, I decided that my GD (UK 2009) blog should be restarted with a view to:

1: To decide out of lots of WIP's, which entries to go for.
2: To get the forums input on what is popular in terms of colour choices, modelling style and context, which will hopefully push the entries further towards being a winner!
3: To divulge some of the techniques and processes I go through in order to win a coveted trophy!

So, the challenge is this.
At each stage of this process, I will be asking for your input, with a poll feature to gauge peoples reactions. While I will keep the idea on track (and in keeping with my original idea) the whole thing is over to you guys!! (MODS can you give me POLL function?)

I want this to be a completely original concept, whereby I am essentially a puppet, but through open discussion, we can all learn and get some good ideas bouncing around. More importantly, it will make me work harder to get stuff completed on time!!!;-) and keep my desk clean and focussed!;-)

THE FIRST ROUND:
Now to choose the projects that I will concentrate on. I will list below the various works ongoing along side fresh new ideas that I would like you to choose from. By each idea will be the category that the piece will go into and a rough time estimate on how long each will take to complete. When voting, please remember that I can only have 1 entry in each category, so while you might love 2 x single miniature, you will need to sacrifice one for the other (this is the pain that I am going through now!)

Until I can organise with the mods to get a Poll facility, please feel free to free-post your votes!

40k Single

Genestealer Hybrid (3rd gen). 2 Weeks painting to do...



Necron Lord. 3 week build, 3 week painting. (with dead commissar being held up- thanks to Hokunin!)



Eldar wraithguard. 3 week build, 3 week painting. Multipose conversion styled closer to the wraithlord of today.


40K Squad

My Tau suits (x3) 3 weeks build- 4 weeks paint- 2 weeks on the basing. (these could be hyper based in a similar but simpler diorama setting previously described)

Pre- Heresy Death Guard squad- 7 guys with sorceror, pain merchant/ butcher and possesed 'fly marine', plus possible 3 guard conscripts.


40k Vehicle
Dark Eldar Artillary piece (thanks to Ignus Dei at Deviant art!!)- 1 month to sculpt (with 2 x crew) and 1 month 2 paint.


Eldar Autarch with Jet bike




40k Monster/ vehicle

XV88 Broadside (my own) with nice base- treading on rhino door- combat stance


Old one on dias (Slaan Mage priest) contemplating the universe. Think grumpy frog on a throne with pipe and lots of skulls around him in a dank cave- skin the colour abraham from Hellboy with Stargate style black granite architecture.



Eldar wraithguard- multipose conversion styled closer to the wraithlord of today.

Scratch build Tombspider- I dont like the current one and the Tomb Stalker just floats my boat! (based loosly on this one- not to scale!)


Duel
Battle at the Gate. Custode vs Worldeater on jetbikes at the emperors palace- VERY dynamic



Diorama
Blackpod down
(based on the discussion here; http://www.advancedtautactica.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=13275)

Open (this is scary for me, as only the studio staff tend to win and so I would be up against the BIG boys!;-)

Old one on dias (Slaan Mage priest) contemplating the universe
Eldar Autarch (as before but with more elaborate base)

I have a fair idea of what people will like/ want to see here, but it will be an interesting process none the less:-)

So, who's on board? (EDIT) I must point out that I am posting this here, at Warseer and also Dakka Dakka, so the results will be a combination of all 3 communities opinions. The reason being is that each forum has a very different way in which it critiques and also how opinions are shared. The result will be entries that are balanced as a result and hopefully therefore more likely to win!

Cheers

Wa'Rhound

(Full shots and other inspiration- here: http://s198.photobucket.com/albums/aa192/warhound_photo/)

Nice stuff all over, but Im really impressed with the Dark Eldar Skimmer project (although the Necron Lord is really great too). Intreaged to see more.

Thanks for the inspirational work.

Cilithan

Been such a gem this blog has - not sure where exactly are you in terms of process and which models you will be taking, but wish you the best of luck and looking forward to more and better pics!!

Cheers Man!

I have really enjoyed the process (high's and low's) and while frustrated at my own lack of progress, 4 entries will suffice;-)

Any final critique?

Fingers crossed for Sunday!

cheers
W