Hmm... I am wanting to limit the color palette somewhat. Looking at the fire warriors and riptide are there any colors from the current scheme that work best?
I think orange. It stands out from the scheme and looks 'dangerous'. The bone just kind of blends in, and doesn't really look like anything of note (from a distance)
So I decided to go with the orange missiles. Here is the completed Hammerhead Gunship. Finishing up the Skyray turret and missiles and I will post them when they are done. Also the Riptide base is almost dry... FRIGGIN finally. Pics incoming.
I used Testor's Decal Set and Decal Solution on the decals. It has helped them blend in nicely. Not quite painted on but close.
What he said. I don't even like Tau and I'm still looking forward to seeing what you do next. The decals came out excellent! I zoomed in on a couple of them in you gallery and you can't see anything except awesome. No lines, no shine, no 'just barely off center', nothing.
Impressed as always and of course looking forward to everything you do. And just a fanboy FYI, I still use your IG as a reference for people when they ask about head swaps or dipping.
inmygravenimage wrote: I can honestly say this is far and away the best Tau scheme I've seen. I absolutely love it, top notch work sunshine!
Wow thanks. I am really partial to it myself. I played them once before (sold that army) and grew to hate that scheme. I am really enjoying this one...
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote: What he said. I don't even like Tau and I'm still looking forward to seeing what you do next. The decals came out excellent! I zoomed in on a couple of them in you gallery and you can't see anything except awesome. No lines, no shine, no 'just barely off center', nothing.
Impressed as always and of course looking forward to everything you do. And just a fanboy FYI, I still use your IG as a reference for people when they ask about head swaps or dipping.
*edit- typo*
High praise. Thank you. Good to hear about the IG. I still play them all the time. They are kind of my main force. They are waiting on a new codex before I add much to them. (Not much I want to add at this point.
Going for a higher level of detail on the Tau. Not sure when I can realistically field an army... I don't want to put grey minis on the table any more after playing with my guard.
Really wishing I had an easy to paint force and scheme to play with where I could crank them out fast. Hmm... Grey Knights are elite and small model count with easy color schemes... Ooh alcohol based metal might look dope on them...
yes have some discipline. Tau look lovely so do your nids. really dig your ig too man. grteat work all around...keep on plugging away im sure you will get it done in no time.
not even a fan of the riptide models but yours makes me wanna purchase one lol.
alabamaheretic wrote: yes have some discipline. Tau look lovely so do your nids. really dig your ig too man. grteat work all around...keep on plugging away im sure you will get it done in no time.
not even a fan of the riptide models but yours makes me wanna purchase one lol.
keep up the good work man.
Thank you! I will stick with it. I will have the Skyray pics up tonight.
Quick post uploading the Skyray turret on the gunship I built. It is convertible between Railhead and Skyray gunships. The missiles are individually magnetized to keep track of what has been launched during a game!
Magnetization is always a great idea. It's fair to your opponent and helps you truly keep track of remaining resources. Plus it also saves you $$$ by having one model that is capable of filling multiple roles. I've been making it a habit to make sure all of my Champions have magnetized arms for easy weapon swaps. My Death Guard have has over a dozen glued Champions and some of them have never seen the tabletop as I play WYSIWYG and the load I gave them just doesn't fit my needs. Ugh.
As far as motivation and focus goes, it's not a bad thing to have a couple 'side projects' to go to when you get to the point where you'd rather throw your primary project out the window than work on it ever again. So long as you are doing something, you are a step closer to whatever goal you have in mind. I have reached the 'new hole in the wall that looks just like the model I was working on' point many times and when I do another project gets some attention. I'm motivated to model (regardless of the project) and I want to keep that going.
Soo the Riptide base is finally dry. Seriously it took weeks. Not joking... Like after I tucked my kids in at night and before I brushed my teeth I had a daily routine: Check to see if the #$%^ing Riptide was dry yet. Every night it was not. Now it is!
The base looks good I think. So if you have like two months to dedicate to letting a freaking miniature's base dry, then by all means go ahead and use Liquitex acrylic glazing medium (gloss) for water effects.
However, if you are human, and are used to things happening outside of the GEOLOGICAL FRIGGIN TIMELINE... use something else.
Anyhow, here are the pics. All of the magnetized options.
Also a closeup of the base that still haunts my dreams.
A few more shots of the model from other angles.
And finally a group shot of the army as it stands so far.
As you can see, the color scheme is really coherent and limited in color selection. It really pulls the army together as a unified look. So far I am really enjoying this project.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh and also I should mention if it is not clear by the pics is that there are two possible angles you can position the magnetized weapons on the mini.
jsut a question...im attempting some swamp bases for some armies of mine and i was wondering how you did them...i was gonna take gws ard caot and use that to make watery bases...but that seems kinda expensive any tips or suggestions would be great man...love the look of your army
Lovely so far, and really hadn't appreciated the scale of the Riptide till now! what's next on your plate of fish? Also, nice water effect on the swamp, yoda would be proud to call it Home.
Really liking a more subdued and 'realistic' Tau scheme. That being said, though, I think the stripes could be brightened a tiny bit more just to add some depth and visual interest. Also, the stripes are pretty prominent on the Riptide but absent on the tank. I think even one somewhere on the tank would tie them together.
Yggdrasil wrote:Hey, just stumbled upon this thread (thank you, Ms. Front Page ), and your Tau scheme is absolutely amazing !!!
Love the weathering on the armour, it looks awesome !!
(I'm currently building a weathered Tau army too, so I feel connected lol.... Though yours looks much better )
Keep it up !!
Thank you. I am liking your Tau as well. They look like they have been to hell and back.
inmygravenimage wrote:Lovely so far, and really hadn't appreciated the scale of the Riptide till now! what's next on your plate of fish? Also, nice water effect on the swamp, yoda would be proud to call it Home.
He is a big boy... Next on the list I am torn between the Pathfinders, a Commander, or some Broadsides. Probably going to do the HQ next.
alabamaheretic wrote:jsut a question...im attempting some swamp bases for some armies of mine and i was wondering how you did them...i was gonna take gws ard caot and use that to make watery bases...but that seems kinda expensive any tips or suggestions would be great man...love the look of your army
I used Secret Weapon's Blasted Wetlands bases. secretweaponminiatures.com They also sell blank bases that are hollow so you can decorate themselves and pour in your water effects. I used the Secret Weapon Realistic Water which is simply repackaged Woodland Scenics Realistic Water. You can use Liquitex Acrylic Glazing Medium (Gloss) but I would only recommend it if you have literally weeks to let it dry.
Pekel wrote:Really liking a more subdued and 'realistic' Tau scheme. That being said, though, I think the stripes could be brightened a tiny bit more just to add some depth and visual interest. Also, the stripes are pretty prominent on the Riptide but absent on the tank. I think even one somewhere on the tank would tie them together.
Thanks. I think you may be on to something. Perhaps I will do some stripes on my next Gunship. The next one will be convertible to have Longshot in the turret so it is only fitting that its all blinged out.
My second gunship. This one will be a Railhead with commanders that I can swap out depending upon if I want to take Longshot or not. Pics look really washed up. It is the lighting. It looks like the other gunship did before the oil wash and weathering. I am going to do some more orange striping on this one per Pekel's advice. Not sure where to place it yet.
Also a few pics of my commander. Also really washed out. When I get him in the light box the gradient will show up better. He is a support style commander, with Command and Control Node, P.E.N. Chip, Multi-Spectrum Sensor Suite. To model the Iridium armor I gave him the shield and the shoulder pad from a Broadside. I used parts from the Pathfinder kit to model his support systems on his pack. I really wanted him to look like he had a bunch of communication devices on him.
Not shown is my first Broadside I am working on. I plan on fielding them as Missilesides with High Yield Missile Pods and Smart Missile Systems.
Some more progress on the commander. I am hating the mold crease in the shoulderpad. I should have greenstuffed it beforehand. It actually showed up much better when painted. I still may patch it... either take it off and remove the paint and redo it or see about replacing the pad with GW and doing it that way.
Otherwise I really like the model. It has been fun to paint. Doing a lot more of the orange and white on him as I wanted him to stand out from the rest. His shield will have a decal of the Tau emblem on it. The borders of the orange and white will clean up very well with the oil wash I am sure.
Anyways... the rest of my Swamp Bases are inbound, along with some realistic water and another Vallejo Liquid Metal, silver this time. Looking forward to trying it out. Ready to kick this project into high gear now!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Hmm... maybe I can cover up the seam in the shoulder pad with battle damage? What do you think?
Commander looks awesome ! Is he made from the FineCast box ?
Anyway, I love the simple-yet-effective additions on him, sensors, knife, etc...
As for the "seam" on the shoulder pad, you should only try battle damage if you already have done some on the other suits... And if you're ready to do battle damage on other areas, lest it might look weird...
I'm not of a great help, I suppose...
That is quite helpful actually. There is chipping on my other models but it is more subtle. I guess I can try it and I can always strip it and repaint later if I don't like it.
Commander is complete! I had fun with this one. FInecast is an odd material to work with but for a model of this size it is not bad. I had fun painting this one. I used Vallejo Liquid Silver for some of the metallic parts. Vallejo's Liquid Metals have quickly become one of my favorite tools in my toolbox. I really don't care about the hassle of using an alcohol based paint... it is sooo worth it. I wish the sheer brilliance of these paints showed up in stills because in person they are absolutely gorgeous.
Best quick explanation for this kind of commander:
"I’ve heard some people ask why this unarmed commander is popular, so to put it in other race’s terms imagine a Psyker that can predictably and reliably give some of the game’s best armed units Guide (CCN), Perfect Timing (MS3) and Doom its target (PEN) simultaneously without ever failing, being blocked or even needing to roll a test. Remember:If your opponent’s Commander is unarmed, you’re in for a tougher match."
The battle damage looks great but with consideration to his role and the probability of him seeing actual combat he may not wind up looking as 'action orientated' as he does right now.
I've never played against Tau but will soon. My buddy Feldenglas has been working on a Tau that he picked up 'for his son'. Yeah. Thanks for the heads up on 'insider info' Tau battle tactics. I'll do my best to hammer everything I have on his warlord.
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote: The battle damage looks great but with consideration to his role and the probability of him seeing actual combat he may not wind up looking as 'action orientated' as he does right now.
I've never played against Tau but will soon. My buddy Feldenglas has been working on a Tau that he picked up 'for his son'. Yeah. Thanks for the heads up on 'insider info' Tau battle tactics. I'll do my best to hammer everything I have on his warlord.
Actually, considering how much firepower these guys can and do soak up, I imagine they would be some of the most beat up suits in the army.
My advice against Tau is play the mission. It does not matter if he is hurting you with Riptides and Crisis suits. They can't score, only contest. Take out his more fragile markerlights (Pathfinders, Marker Drones, Tetras, Skyrays) as a top priority. Then go for his scoring units. These are inevitably slow moving and fragile. Be aware that Riptides with Ion Cannons will be hitting you with big ol pie plates. Also be aware that if there are markers on you, those pie plates will be ignoring cover.
If you want to stop the Riptides from hurting so much, go for the markerlights. Bonus points if you remember what Sgt. Zim is saying in the above image!
Lastly, if you get Big Guns as the mission remember that Broadsides can score... they are tough to kill and put out a lot of hurt. If you have a backfield assault unit that can jump into them, do it ASAP. Every turn they are tied up in combat is a turn they are not shooting. If you kill them even better. When I get Big Guns, I camp them on a backfield objective and stick the O'Mortal with them. They do not die. The few times that people have killed them is with A: A Deathstar of TH/SS Termies with Lysander or B: A Palladinstar with Draigo. In both cases my team held off a crap ton of points for 3-4 turns and allowing my other units to run amok with other objectives.
'an enemy cannot push a button if you disable his hand'
Admittedly I had to look that up, but the message is loud and clear. Also, point taken on the battle damage. Now that I understand it more it works perfectly. Thanks for the heads up all around. I'll let you know what happens after we get our first game in.
Large amount of stuff in this update. My Junkpile entry is complete and sent in. Here is what I came up with.
My Scale Shot
My Top Down Shot
The leaking beer can and the broken fresco are my favorite parts. The ruptured pipe was fun too!
WIP Shots
Here is my junk I rounded it up. Not all was used.
Finally my parts list.
1x Earring (used for the beer can and the top of the metal pole thing.)
1x Pickup sticks stick (I threaded bits of ornament on this to make the pole)
10x Bits off of strange ornament thing... (Makes up the pole and the copper nut)
4x Air Rifle Pellets (Scattered gold bits)
1x Broken Fluorescent Lightbulb (Leaking pipe)
1x Broken USB Flash Drive (Metal machine bit)
2x Bits from old Laptop AC Adapter (Concrete bit and the Yellow rusty drum)
3x Bits of broken ceramic Christmas Ornament (The broken fresco parts)
1x Magnetic Pen top (The pipes connector)
I had a lot of fun with it. I did all of the painting today and had fun doing it.
hdbbstephen wrote: Well! Your Junk Pile is brilliant, I love the beer can. Very creative.
Also, do you have a tutorial or any poionters for achieving the weathering effect shown here
Thank you,
I do not have a tutorial of mine per-se but I can give you some tips and direct you to some places I have learned from.
The paint chipping on the green is done by taking a dark grey and sponge dabbing with foam, like what used to come in GW blisters or what the padding in figure cases is made of. You dab it on and blotch it on paper until you get it just right and then dab on the miniature. Stick to edges or places that would be naturally weathered for the best effect. The orange is done with hairspray weathering. The model is also shaded with an oil wash of burnt umber.
Here are some tutorials I have used for these techniques:
xXWeaponPrimeXx wrote:Uhhhh.... aren't those bulbs full of Mercury??????
<---this was pretty much my reaction in order.
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:Your rust technique is so awesome! Any chance you could tut that sometime? I would definitely try it/
xXWeaponPrimeXx wrote:Uhhhh.... aren't those bulbs full of Mercury??????
Not anymore. Ha.
Ok glad Skalk cleared that up... Whew! Also, yes I think I need to post a couple tutorials for my methods.
hdbbstephen wrote:Thank you for the pointers!
Anytime!
ChaoticEroc wrote:Sorry if ypu have already answered this but how did you achieve that amazing green color on ypur Riptide?
Not at all a problem. I used Vallejo Black Surface Primer as the undercoat. Then I airbrushed a basecoat of Badger Minitaire Swamp Ground. I then highlighted with Badger Minitaire Pestilence Flesh. Finally, to tone it down and bring the model together with an oil wash of Burnt Umber. Check out the tutorials I posted above in this thread for the oil washing and weathering techniques.
Littletower wrote:Nice junk pile
The rusted pieces look great, it'd be great to see a step-by-step for those sometime.
Hmm... I shall do so. Added to my to-do-list. I did some variation on the hairspray technique. There were some added steps to the under painting and how I did the chipping. Glad you like it!
I decided to work on my Nids for a change. I am loving the Tau but each one is taking so long. My nids are more of a tabletop quality and both simple and fast to do.
Some WIP shots of my Tervigon (Almost complete, just need to do the gaunt and add a little jungle foliage) and my Trygons.
And finally some closeups. What do you think? These might make some good avatars?
These are really fun and crazy fast to paint. I cannot wait for the new Tyranid dex! The new bugs look awesome. Don't worry, I am not quitting on the Tau. I just wanted some variety!
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:The eyes on the Trygon are over the top. A buddy of mine plays 'Nids every now and then so I know the model well and the eyes are tiny. Great job!
The Tervigon is done very well. I hate them. 5 wounds and they poop out Termagaunts. Feh.
Thanks. The eyes are probably my favorite part to paint.
inmygravenimage wrote:Holy macaroni. That's the nicest "regular" nid scheme I've seen. Bravo chief!
I am glad you like it. I was inspired by Nard and his amazing Tyranids. I wanted something in a similar vein but I did not want to have to be so meticulous. I also wanted to use purple and bone together because I love the combo. It was a toss-up between Nids, Dark Elves, and Dark Eldar with Tyranids winning out. I think it makes them look extremely alien.
Almost done with the Broadside. Just noticed that I missed a couple lenses. I will finish those when I complete the squad.
Been working on some Nids and having some fun. I will post those when complete. I am looking forward to having Carnifexes usable again... even if a bunch of the rest of the codex got knocked into the dirt. Oh well.
Too long of a hiatus. I have been productive but just not posting. For shame...
Anyway, here are the latest shots of my work. This is my second Hammerhead Gunship for the Tau Swamp Fighters. This is going to be Longstrike's ride. I decided to go for some more accents of color on it and I think it worked out great. I went into more detail on the weathering as well, learning from my work on the Commander and the Broadside.
Side views of the model...
And some detail shots of the weathering.
More to come, much sooner this time. I have a second Riptide and a squadron of Piranha's nearly finished. These will be followed by more Fire Warriors, Pathfinders, and Crisis Suits to round it out. Then I will be looking forward to add some Kroot to the list.
My Nid's just got some reinforcements too. I picked up the swarm box, an Exocrine, a Hive Cron, 2x Flyrants, 2x Carnifex, 3x Zoeys, 3X Venoms, and a couple of Biovores. The swarm is turning into a monster. I am really enjoying Nids right now and even with everyone poo pooing over the Nid dex, there is a lot of power there. You just cannot play it like you used to. I am looking forward to putting these guys on the table quite a bit in the next few weeks.
Also I pre-ordered an Imperial Knight. I am thinking Mechanicus for it... Urge to pick up new Forgeworld Mechanicus rising.... must fight it. Soo much to paint!!
inmygravenimage wrote: The chipping and lenswork are beeeeeautiful. Definitely given me some ideas, too
Thanks Graven!
Here are some more updates!
Finished my second Riptide suit. I went with a different look for this one. Crisis suit style head with missiles right on the weapon arm. I also decided to pose this one bracing for impact behind its shield. I had a lot of fun with this one.
Some closeups of the details on the head and some of the battle damage and weapons.
These guys are fun. I don't care that they aren't the most competitive according to the interwebs. They work for me and they look badass while doing it. I always run them melta and I always break off the drones early. Its like getting a free unit!
Something about these guys make me want to make zooming noises!
I kind of want to try the flyers too. Everyone says they are terribad however. Have any of you had success with the tau flyers? What about forgeworld?
Just got back from seeing TOOL live at the Mathew Knight Arena in Eugene Oregon. I have seen dozens of live concerts and this was by FAR the best live show I have ever seen. This includes the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, Pearl Jam, Rammstein... This topped them all. I have been wanting to see them live for years and I finally got my chance. Blown away.
Here was the set-list for the show:
1. Hooker With a Penis
2. Forty-Six & 2
3. Schism
4. Pushit
5. Intension
6. Lateralus
Anyways... What is on my desk? Working on a ton of infantry. 10 Pathfinders and 26 more Fire Warriors. Going to grind my way through these. You can see the Tyranids I am working on as well behind them. Much easier to paint then my Tau due to the different philosophy that I had in mind. My Tau were to be my best effort while the Tyranids were to make a fast to paint force to fill the in-between. I also love playing Tyranids. I do not care that Cruddace keeps crapping on us. I make them work.
So I was playing around with the Imperial Knight Codex and I decided to throw together a semi-competitive list that looks like it would be a lot of fun to play and hard to deal with. What do you think of the list?
Infantry Platoon - 295
PCS w/ 4x Melta
Infantry Squad w/ Plasma and PW Sarge
Infantry Squad w/ Plasma and PW Sarge
Infantry Squad w/ Plasma and PW Sarge
Vendetta Squadron - 260
2x Vendetta
-=Fortification=-
Aegis Defense Line w/QuadGun 100
Total Pts = 1850 on the money
CCS Mans the ADL with their 2+ cover and takes out any flyers until the two Vendettas arrive. PCS goes in one Vendetta to drop in and blast targets of opportunity. Infantry can blob up and hold backfield or start split if depending upon scenario. The Knights are all scoring stompy walkers moving 12" a turn to take objectives and smash face. Warlord gets his 3+ Invuln Ion Shield as a Senschal.
What do you think? What are the best/worst matchups? How can I improve?
I am thinking Mechanicus sworn knights and converted IG as skitarii? Maybe laslock servitors? It looks like a whole lot of nasty.
Not sure how active DakkaDakka is anymore. I have been active panting but haven't posted since 2014. Interested if this forum still gets a lot of traffic.
I started painting these nearly 10 years ago. They sat in a closet when I lost motivation.
I have gotten back into painting with a vengeance and am nearly done (Just going to add some alcohol based gold to finish.)
One of these three was painted almost completely in 2014. The other two I have done this week. A lot more to come.
wow, many great looking army's, would be awesome to see some close ups (especially of the nids), Subscribed
Thanks, will do!
I have trouble accessing my subbed threads via email, so I haven't checked in.
Glad to see you back
Glad to be back!
That's a whole lot of stuff. Yeah dakka feels a little quiet ATM. Papa bless you for your efforts!
I feel that posting here helped me stay motivated. Kind of a bummer that it is slowing down. Are you in any very active communities? I had some huge life changes happen in the hiatus but things are going wonderfully now and I want to pick back up.
Very excellent work and remarkable to see that there is no difference in style and technique between the 10 year-old start and the to more recent completions.
I, too, have not only a Closet of Shame composed of hopeful plastics and white metal that have never known the kiss of a brush, but also a Trunk of Unmentionables filled with projects begun long ago and never completed (like a 28mm regiment of British Napoleonic infantry- the 33rd Regiment of Foot, the West Riding which, to complete the last stand of 4 figures meant repainting everyone's jackets as I just couldn't match the color, being 18 years apart from start to finish ).
This Tau Swamp Army has an excellent color scheme and the pieces individually and in the aggregate tell a great story.
Rock on! I reckon to check in frequently to enjoy the work.
Meer_Cat wrote: Very excellent work and remarkable to see that there is no difference in style and technique between the 10 year-old start and the to more recent completions.
I, too, have not only a Closet of Shame composed of hopeful plastics and white metal that have never known the kiss of a brush, but also a Trunk of Unmentionables filled with projects begun long ago and never completed (like a 28mm regiment of British Napoleonic infantry- the 33rd Regiment of Foot, the West Riding which, to complete the last stand of 4 figures meant repainting everyone's jackets as I just couldn't match the color, being 18 years apart from start to finish ).
This Tau Swamp Army has an excellent color scheme and the pieces individually and in the aggregate tell a great story.
Rock on! I reckon to check in frequently to enjoy the work.
Color matching SUCKS! I tried so hard to match the orange. I used an old GW orange that is no longer made on the broadside's missiles. Went through 12 different paints and no idea how much mixing until I found a match. Vallejo Hot Orange was the match.
I airbrushed the base coat on these models in 2014. Just finished them today, at least the first batch of 5. I never thought I would get through this pile of shame but I am working on it. I had a backlog going for my Astra Militarum and my Tyranids too. I have cleared out all of my AM and Tyranids just in time for Leviathan. Using this motivation I have found to inch my way through my Tau. Goal is to have my pile cleared out entirely this year.
Those are excellent pieces- nice work! I'm slowly reminding myself that I can use my airbrush for other than weathering and top coating- that priming and basecoating is a better, more customizable and cheaper solution than rattle cans of paint.
I've had a fair amount of luck using flow enhancer and craft paint- just have to avoid the ones with 'chalky' pigment. Still 'way cheaper than a rattle can.
I'd say you're making terrific progress on meeting your painting goals- rock on!
Meer_Cat wrote: Those are excellent pieces- nice work! I'm slowly reminding myself that I can use my airbrush for other than weathering and top coating- that priming and basecoating is a better, more customizable and cheaper solution than rattle cans of paint.
I've had a fair amount of luck using flow enhancer and craft paint- just have to avoid the ones with 'chalky' pigment. Still 'way cheaper than a rattle can.
I'd say you're making terrific progress on meeting your painting goals- rock on!
Thanks mate! Vallejo Thinner and Flow improver is my secret sauce. Vince Venturella got me into some better habits and my airbrush is now a joy to use. It is all about basic care and maintenance.
Here is my progress for the past 24 hours. I finished the rest of the fire warriors that had been sitting incomplete.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Today's progress.
3 fully magnetized Railgun Broadsides ready to varnish and oil wash. Excited to get to weathering and finishing these.
Gloss varnished and oil washed. Next step is to matte varnish and finish weathering/detailing. I get really annoyed managing sub-assemblies, so I will be glad to get the rail guns and arms attached.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Got my orange and white markings on these Broadsides. Getting ready to paint the Vallejo Liquid Gold and then attach the arms. Then it will be time for weathering. I used to absolutely HATE painting white and orange because of coverage. I really like my current recipe. I think it really pops and doesn't take 1,000,000 coats to get it looking nice.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Automatically Appended Next Post: Vallejo liquid gold added.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Weathering process started.
For the weathering, I see some drybrushing for highlights, but are you using a small bit of sponge to stipple on the black/grey flecks along the selected areas? Whatever method, the resulting effect is excellent.
Also, what is the recipe for painting white and orange? I've heard of basecoating/undercoating with yellow and the overpainting with white, but haven't heard of a trick for orange, which can also be a pain.
For the weathering, I see some drybrushing for highlights, but are you using a small bit of sponge to stipple on the black/grey flecks along the selected areas? Whatever method, the resulting effect is excellent.
Also, what is the recipe for painting white and orange? I've heard of basecoating/undercoating with yellow and the overpainting with white, but haven't heard of a trick for orange, which can also be a pain.
Carry on!
Yes I am using extra pluck foam to stipple on the flecks. I am then going in with silver to show where bare metal is coming through. In my headcanon, the tau suits are made of a silvery metal that does not rust, similar to aluminum but stronger. For the white, I am using a 1:1 of bright neutral grey and bold titanium white from ProAcryl. For the orange I undercoat with Vallejo Heavy Salmon Orange (closer to pink) and then Vallejo Hot Orange. The Salmon covers in one coat and then the orange is super smooth in one coat.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Swamp bases in progress. In the past I had used hollow bases with some depth to them. I didn't have the right size handy so I just sculpted a puddle basically. I think they are looking alright. Ordered some swampy stuff from GSW for my bigger suits and crisis suits that I will be working on next.
Painted some vespid. These were fun, even though finecast is terrible. Was nice experimenting with some bright colors over a white undercoat, which I haven't done since 3rd edition I think!
Starting on my take on Commander Shadowsun. I decided her tactical aquila and skulls did not fit my swampy theme so I carefully cut her off and created a new one. The stump, reeds, and mushrooms are from greenstuffworld. I decided to value sketch it out first with the airbrush. I will then be taking a brush to her and oil washing. I think I want to go for a blue glow on the mushrooms.
youwashock wrote: If she turns out anything like that Ghostkeel, she is going to be amazing.
Thank you!
Finishing the basing on the Ghostkeel right now. I started working on Shadowsun before finishing the Ghostkeel and that is a no-no for me. I need to finish a project before I move on, lest I get into old bad habits.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
BarryScott wrote: Ghost keel = awesome
Shadowsun=awesome
Great basing on shadowsun and general theme for Tau
Thanks. I see so many clean and pretty Tau. I wanted to make mine grungy and gritty. Still keeping their clean look and not going grimdark but I wanted to make them look haggard and battle weary.
After a vacation in Las Vegas, where we also visited Death Valley and Zion National Park, I have returned and resumed working on my Commander Shadowsun in my swamp theme. Glowing mushroom was fun. Next step is to give her a quick matte varnish and then apply my alcohol based gold from vallejo. Water effects, base rim and then I think I am calling her done.
inmygravenimage wrote:That's outstanding. The weathering, the camo - the works.
Thanks! It was a beast to do but a lot of fun. I love that my tau kits have all weapon options. Helps with the FOMO when codexes change.
Meer_Cat wrote:I can only echo: excellent work, painstaking attention to detail, a great pleasure to look over and appreciate the effort that went into the project.
Thank you.
This one was the biggest yet, but I think I want to go bigger...
muette wrote: Man, that's ultra cool. The arm switch is spot on, and the paint job is fantastic.
Thanks! Working on finishing him up right now. Adding some lily pads to the base and doing a deeper resin pour. My Vallejo liquid gold went bad and I am waiting on more from amazon. Should come in Tuesday and then I will finish and post final pics.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ok, Finished up, save for some detail on the small guns on the missile packs. The resin has cured and the lily pads are on. This was a super fun model to make. Next I am going much bigger. My Taunar arrived and I will be doing a fully magnetized build of that as well. Wish me luck.
Ok, so I went and revisited a finecast Tau commander mini that I had made a long time ago. I decided I wanted to make him into a custom Commander Farsight for my swamp Tau. He was from back in 6th or 7th I think, back when support commanders were good. Here is how he looked before...
And the glow up.
I rebased him, 3D printed a custom sword and added his plasma. I then had to be careful that the colors matched and that the new additions looked pretty seamless.
I also have started to use a good lightbox and gimp to edit and hopefully improve the quality of my uploads.
Finally got my Ta'unar. I have it fully magnetized with all options. So far this is what I have finished. Done with the Nexus Missile Launchers and the Tri-Axis Ion Cannons. Working on the Heavy rail cannon array, Fragmentation cluster shell launcher, Pulse ordnance driver, and Fusion eradicators.
As this is not something I will be taking to a tourney, I opted for a larger base (If you use the supplied base the feet actually sit off the base which looks stupid, so I went with a massive 180mm acrylic base.
Snazzy suits! I like the Militaristic color scheme, no nonsense, more realistic than some of the anime paint schemes that scream "I'm here! Shoot me, shoot me!"
inmygravenimage wrote:Well this is very exciting and insanely cool. Also, your glowy mushrooms are perfection!
I'm so excited. Getting close to finishing him. Thanks about the mushrooms. They are super fun to do.
shasolenzabi wrote:Snazzy suits! I like the Militaristic color scheme, no nonsense, more realistic than some of the anime paint schemes that scream "I'm here! Shoot me, shoot me!"
Thanks! I tried to make them look gritty and war-torn without using a "grimdark" style, which is usually just to streaking grime the hell out of it. I do an oil wash and a lot of sponge weathering.
The big boy is finished! What a monster. All weapon options complete and magnetized. Personally I really like the look of the Heavy Rail and Frag Launcher but they all look so killer. This was a really fun model to make and I really appreciate how magnet friendly Forgeworld made this model.
After the epic slog that was the Ta'unar Supremacy Armor I decided to take a little Tyranid palette cleanser and build and paint up a Norn Emissary. This model is phenomenal. It went together super easy, which is a huge change from the giant forgeworld monster or the 3D printed addon finessing of the Stormsurge.
I might have to paint up my leviathan box now.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Update! Calling this done. So much fun to paint. Such a cool model.
shasolenzabi wrote: Wings may be difficult, but they seem to be one you are rising to.
I appreciate the encouragement. It is not that they are necessarily hard, they are just do damned tedious. I actually usually do well batch painting. I even did 90 guardsmen in one big slog ages ago. Recently painted 60+ Kriegers in batches of 20. I cannot bring myself to do more than 5 at a time of these dudes. I just need a break from the wings or I will lose my mind.
I think they look REALLY cool though. I thought about a flying horde of Gargs and now I am rethinking it a bit. I have 20 to do.
Working on a bunch of Zoanthropes. I have 3 already. Old failcast resin. Adding 9 more of the new ones. Building 3 as Neurothropes so I will have 3x5. Considering adding one more box so that I have a max of 3x6. Knowing my luck, if I do so, GW will Nerf the gak out of them.
Here is my test model.
Progress on the other Zoeys. Heads and bodies separate so I do not lose my mind...
Working on 2x Tyranid Primes from my Leviathan box. Pretty cool little models. I wish there was an option for extended wings too but I like the batlike pose of these.
These two are 90% complete. Need to do the eyes and vents.
theCrowe wrote: I’m really enjoying the vivid purple contrasted to the bright green jungle foliage. It’s a fantastic looking army you’re painting. Great job.
Thanks! I have several darker or more muted armies and I wanted this one to be bright and vivid. I was inspired by Nard's Nids, but did not want to go for the cell shaded effect.
Finally got around to painting my Neurotyrants. These were an interesting one. Very fiddley. Some parts were really fun and some were a giant pain in the ass. I wish I had done sub assemblies. They turned out great I think though.
I have been putting this off for a long time... but I have an obscene amount of gaunts to paint. Like, waaaaay too many gaunts. Like an offensive number of gaunts.
Anyone reading this, HELP! I need some podcasts/youtube suggestions to keep me focused and motivated as I attempt to slog through my backlog.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Here is what is on the bench.
42 Termagants with Devourers
32 Termagants with Spinefists
50 Termagants with Fleshborers
3 of the newer special weapons gaunts (1 of each)
10 Barbgaunts
22 Neurogaunts
36 Hormagaunts
12 Ripper Bases
207 Models waiting for me. If I get these done, I will have ZERO Tyranid models in my pile of shame!
I did a lot of my gaunts as side projects as I worked on other projects. I have 5 painting handles, so if I was working on a 3 man squad I’d just run pairs of gaunts across the spares.
Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll wrote:Oh god that's a lot of gaunts.
Yarp...
Nevelon wrote:I did a lot of my gaunts as side projects as I worked on other projects. I have 5 painting handles, so if I was working on a 3 man squad I’d just run pairs of gaunts across the spares.
Keep at it eventually you will get them all done
I have kind of pseudo painting handles. Wooden dowel segments with washers on top for magnets.
That’s the kind of Gaunt-pocalyptic numbers that make a lovely colour matching carpet for your big guys. It looks great in the photos when it’s all done.
I took a dip in my motivation to get started on this project. There were a couple of issues. First, I got Baldur's Gate 3, which is amazing, but definitely distracted me from working on projects. Second, my usual go-to spray primer that I have been using for my Nids gave me a big issue. I have used six cans of the stuff in the past, without issue, but this time I have had problems with the finish.
It seemed to be kind of hydrophobic. Paint did not want to stick to it. I was able to fix it by spraying with a layer of matte varnish, but it was really disappointing as I was using it to save time. It might be that I over sprayed, or perhaps that it is too cold when I sprayed. Army Painter directed me to give it another go, so I will try a batch and see if it is corrected by warmer conditions of spraying.
Anyways, I was able to complete 5 test models that will be able to be completed really fast while still maintaining the kind of quality I am going for with this army.
Ok, got the scheme down for the Gants and Gaunts. I think it is a reasonable blend of speed and quality. 10 more bodies done. For my next batch I am going to try and complete 36 Hormagaunts in one go... Should be not too terrible. I found that the guns on the termagants are the thing that is slowing me the most. I am dreading spinefists, however.
A player placed in the top 8 at the LVO this week with a swarmy Tyranid list. I have everything I need to try this list for myself save for 2 exocrines.
Here is what he ran:
(2000 points)
Tyranids Strike Force (2000 points) Unending Swarm
CHARACTERS
Deathleaper (70 points) 1x Lictor claws and talons
Hive Tyrant (235 points) 1x Heavy venom cannon 1x Monstrous bonesword and lash whip
35 More gaunts completed! 35 Hormagaunts this time.
I added some more basing variety. Some flower tufts I picked up and a few that hade enough room on the base got plastic plants that I had picked up recently. Trying to decide if I want to move on to doing the spinefist ones or if I need a break from gaunts for a bit and should paint one if the Tau Commanders or Crisis suit squads on my bench...
Not sure.
Automatically Appended Next Post: So 50 down. Like 157 to go...
Automatically Appended Next Post: I think I have decided on a palate cleanser between squads to keep my sanity. Also, The Army Painter customer service is sending me another can of Alien Purple which will hopefully fix my hydrophobia issue. So far I have been fixing it with a layer of matte varnish, but this is not ideal.
In the meantime I will be completing two Tau Battlesuit Commanders that I have put off working on for a while. Swamp bases, fully magnetized with every option, and not speed painted so I can flex my painting a bit before the next batch of gaunts.
Taking a break from my gaunt slog to work on my Tau as a little palate cleanser. I made finished two Tau Commanders. They are fully magnetized and will be able to have all weapon options. (I am doing these separate when I also complete my crisis suits.) I feel like they turned out pretty nice.
The Army Painter finally got back to me about my hydrophobic paint issue and they are sending me another can of Alien Purple for my nids. Hopefully this fixes the issue because it was super annoying to have to struggle to lay down a basecoat for anything on the carapace or weapons. I don't really have the patience to paint so many while also struggling with the paint. I will resume them when the can comes in and I can confirm that the hydrophobia issue is fixed.
WIP on my crisis suits. Doing nine of them that are an ebay rescue. Some 3D printed bits and bobs. Here they are post oil wash in my process. Next step will be to matte varnish and start work on the orange/white parts.
Loving the mix of camo green and orange/white on the crisis suits - that's a really unique scheme that just works - part military war machine part sci fi alien robot.
Hope the new spray fixes your issues and you can smash out the rest of those nids.
Loving the mix of camo green and orange/white on the crisis suits - that's a really unique scheme that just works - part military war machine part sci fi alien robot.
Hope the new spray fixes your issues and you can smash out the rest of those nids.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks man!
I enjoy them. Very opposite my nids scheme too which is a nice brain break for me.
I really hope the spray fixes it. It is hard enough battling trying to paint that many nids to begin with, let alone battling hydrophobic primer.
WIP update on the crisis suits. All about 90% done. Need to do the lenses, finish the base rims, pour resin, finish painting the metallic parts on the battle damage. Oh, also the glowing mushrooms!
Resin pour is done for the bases. Now just for some drying time and these guys are complete, save for the weapons. I plan on doing those in one big batch.
In other news, the new Army Painter primer I got is coming out matte so far. I did a batch of Gaunts over again, a 10 strong unit of spinefists. Still glossy. From reading around I think I went on too thick the first time. Not sure why a thin layer on top is still gloss though. I shook the crap out of the can and sprayed from 20cm away.
So-far I have matte varnished them with some liquitex and they are ready to go. I will try again with another batch after this one, but this sucks.
10 more gaunts done. This time a squad of Termagants with Spinefists. These were actually the least painful to paint of all the Termagants so far. My workflow is getting much better too. I am much quicker now at painting these.
Finished a couple of Exocrines. Getting closer to my long-term swarm goal of being able to field max everything. Essentially a tyranid playset where I have every option in the book ready to go. Yes, I am insane.
Here is what I have been working on in the past week or so.
A bunch of really cool Kill Team tokens/dice. These are awesome alternatives to the ones that come in the starter. I love that they stand in for all 4 standard token types.
I have also been painting Hero Quest! My daughter and I have been playing this like mad for the past few weeks and I decided to speedpaint everything in the box.
Here I have speedpainted the main 4 heroes and the goblins. I have all the furniture painted and the Orcs and Dread (Chaos) warriors are on my desk in progress right now.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Speedpainted some Hero Quest Orcs. I decided to go for a variety of skin tones so that I could have fun with the different styles of highlighting. I used a slapchop + some highlights method. These painted up pretty quick and were a blast to paint. Trying to decide what to paint next. I have a Neurolictor, a Deathwatch Reiver (to test a color scheme. Deciding on Blood Angels or Imperial Fists, or a homebrew.) and a Kroolboyz Killaboss on Great Gnashtooth that is 1/2 way done. (I did the rest of Dominion in one go and for some reason never finished him.
I finished painting the entire Hero Quest set, finishing with the Dread Sorcerer, the Abominations, The Gargoyle and the Dread Warrios (Chaos warriors)
All was a lot of fun to do. Next on my bench is my 2nd Neurolictor
and the last model from the Dominion box that has been sitting on my desk FOREVER. I figured with AOS 4th coming out soon I am well overdue for painting this dude. Coming soon.
I have been playing with my daughter and having a lot of fun. She is 15 and on the autism spectrum. Full D&D is a bit much for her but she is really loving HQ. We are all in now with all the expansions. My goal is to have everything painted for each xpac before we start it. Going to be working on Kellar's Keep soon, but that should be really quick because they are the same sculpts as the base set except for a door or two I think.
Oh nice. My middle one is on the spectrum, he loves hq too. He has a group of very nurturing friends who play mod'd DnD with him. It's interesting what games he really digs: coop crawlers are brilliant - Shadows of Brimstone, Hellboy - though he loves Talisman, Dreadball and we're about to try Blood Bowl. Here's hoping!
Finished my second neurolictor. I think I like this one's base more. I have determined that I should rebase these guys at some point as my basing has come a long way and their bases are far from consistent. Trying to decide on what to work on next... I will mull it over while I work on upgrading my hobby area. It needs a cleanup and refresh and I have some new additions that I am excited about.
Rabid Ferret wrote: A bunch of really cool Kill Team tokens/dice. These are awesome alternatives to the ones that come in the starter. I love that they stand in for all 4 standard token types.
These are really great! Where did they come from??
EDIT: NM, found the files pretty easily. Thanks for the inspo! And great looking Nids too!
So this Killaboss has been sitting on my painting desk for almost 2 years. I got the Dominion box set and had a blast painting most of the box. For whatever reason I hit a wall and stopped painting for a while after 1/2 finishing him. He languished on my desk for month after month, glaring at me. In the back of my mind, I felt like I would never finish him. In the meantime, I completely revamped my painting workstation, experienced the loss of both of my parents to cancer and dementia, and changed careers.
During the in-between, he had fallen off the desk multiple times, had his spear broken, and lost the blade. He was covered in dust and pet hair. He was forgotten, maybe to one day be tossed in the bin or sold away on ebay or facebook marketplace.
"Boss! He is never going to finish us!"
Somehow I recaptured my motivation. I returned to Dakka and began to post more minis. I began to really make headway through my pile of potential and I finished other projects that had similarly sat unfinished. I painted my Tau'Nar Supremacy army, Stormsurge, 9 Crisis Suits, Two Commanders, Shadowsun, and my Vespids. I added nearly 2000 points of tyranids to my painted pile. I painted the Hero Quest box. I began to slog through 200+ gaunts. In between painting broods of gaunts I decided to add single models to break up the monotony. I painted my 2nd neurolictor and decided that my next single would be to finish this guy. I painted everything else in the Dominion box. How could I not finish him when the project was so close to completion? I found a suitable STL and 3d printed a spearhead for him and drilled and pinned it to the shaft of his spear. I dusted him off and scrubbed him down and went to work. 2 days later he was done, and here he is! Is he the best thing I have ever done? No. Am I glad that he is off my painting desk and in the display with the rest of Dominion. Heck yes!
<---this was pretty much my reaction in order.
I should really tackle my HQ2!
