Tim's Menagerie of Models...NOW with more of everything(not just Tau).



They were rebels. Outcasts. Vagabonds. The workers of factory Q'ula had had enough. Enough of the caste system. Enough of the "Greater Good". They saw it for what it was: power play. So,one day, during their break, they struck. Led by Que'na, they swiftly broke into the shipping room of their factory, donned the armor they had made making, grabbed some weapons, and swiftly overwhelmed the factory security...

3 hours later, the factory was theirs. All was quite as the 2,000 Earth caste workers tended to their wounds, and watched for any approaching hostiles. They had also managed to hack their way into a small section of the factory, and managed find a stock of 9 battle suits, fully built. And, thanks to the knowledge that they had gained while handling the parts, managed to figure out how they worked. It wasn't stealing; after all, they had built them, hadn't they? They had poured their time and energy into them, had they not?

Hello everybody, this is plog is here to track the progress of my Tau Earth Caste army. I am going for a green and white scheme, with glass bits/visors painted electric blue, and sept symbols painted red, since that seems like an "earthy" color scheme. Anyways, here are my pictures!

Bleached out photos of my Devilfish( I will have 4 of these total.)



My Pathfinders...I am very happy with the black-lining.


My Firewarriors...These have been blacklined since I last took the photos.





Automatically Appended Next Post:
Here are my blacklined Firewarriors, as promised!

Nice white, over all it looks neat, plus the back story sound good, do you have some more of it written?

Looks good, the green and white go pretty good together, I wanna see more.

Looking good!

However as much of a pain in the ass as this will be i think you should start with a black basecoat to fully bring out those black lines and darken the model slightly. This way you dont have to worry so much about lining the models and it looks more natural and less cartoony

sc0ttfree wrote:Looking good!

However as much of a pain in the ass as this will be i think you should start with a black basecoat to fully bring out those black lines and darken the model slightly. This way you dont have to worry so much about lining the models and it looks more natural and less cartoony

Thanks for the advice! I am going to start basecoating in black, since using white makes it take less time per model, but it also makes blacklining very difficult.

Has anyone ever tried to paint the parts of their figures on the sprue? Because I am trying it with the backpacks for my Fire warriors, and it is much easier than having to paint them as they are on the figure. It also makes some of the hard to reach places more accessible.

I am working on the next bit of the back story, I just need to get it refined more and I will post it.

Here is a picture of the PF unit(it is almost finished, I just need to go through and clean some things up a bit).

And a picture of my three WIP Fire warriors.


Does anyone else notice that the Dakka Dakka image uploader seems to mess with your pics, meaning they look really, really pixely?

The Devilfish is all done except for some minor clean up work, and I made some good progress on my Firewarriors last night.


I decided to do several layers of drybrushing on the underside of the Devilfish, to make it look as though it is covered in concrete dust.

Do the Firewarriors seem to be lacking something? I cannot shake the feeling that something about them looks wrong.



C&C welcomed!

I like the idea of renegade Tau... And your explanation with the "lowly" Earth Caste makes it more than "realistic"...

But I guess you should try and find a way to show they have turned from the Greater Good...
- Maybe find some new graphics & iconography, demonstrating they utterly cast aside the Tau culture?

- I cannot quite remember the distinctive feature of the Earth caste, but aren't they supposed to be smaller & more squat than the Fire Caste, just like the Air caste Tau are sleek & tall?

- I guess that having trophies in the form of "loyalist" Tau Fire Warriors would be a bit too much?

- Maybe put some more "Earth-y" gear on them, shovels, ropes, etc...

Anyway, nice idea!!! Will follow the thread!

If the fluf from DOW DC is corect then the earth cast are the drones that serve as the fundament of the tau civilization. I doubt they are warriors as in a cast sociaiety cast don't change; a builder will be a builder and he will see him self as nothing more, becoming a worrior won't even cross his mind as he a builder as his whole family had been.

Mightmagic, though it's true the real, human caste system (for instance in India) is deeply rooted in a culture, hopefully it has been proven by History that, in a different time & a different place, some slaves, born from families & generations of slaves, fought (i.e peasants turned into warriors) towards their freedom.

I'm not saying that any caste system is akin to slavery, my point is that some people do see beyond their status, even after generations of cultural conditioning, and can strive, and become warriors, to uphold to their beliefs...

So, why would it be different for the Tau?

Uh, sorry, my friend Inquisitor over my shoulder wants me to erase this heretical statement...

Liking your work so far. I think that adding some details to show that they are renegades would be good. (maybe something like a tau symbol being burnt?) Great job!

Yggdrasil wrote:I like the idea of renegade Tau... And your explanation with the "lowly" Earth Caste makes it more than "realistic"...

But I guess you should try and find a way to show they have turned from the Greater Good...
- Maybe find some new graphics & iconography, demonstrating they utterly cast aside the Tau culture?

- I cannot quite remember the distinctive feature of the Earth caste, but aren't they supposed to be smaller & more squat than the Fire Caste, just like the Air caste Tau are sleek & tall?

- I guess that having trophies in the form of "loyalist" Tau Fire Warriors would be a bit too much?

- Maybe put some more "Earth-y" gear on them, shovels, ropes, etc...

Anyway, nice idea!!! Will follow the thread!

I may be doing some more details on them, I just need to find things like shovels. As for a T'au symbol being burnt, I am going to be making two flag bearing troopers, and I may try to freehand that onto one of the flags. I could not think of a way of making them smaller and more squat, so I left them as they are, but any suggestions on how to make them so would be appreciated!

Look for an update tomorrow!

I got the banners made up! I also did some more work on the Firewarriors, and did some wear and tear effects on the Devilfish.
I want to freehand a T'au symbol being burnt on the banners, but I need to get a hot orange and a hot yellow, since I only have earthy oranges and yellows at the moment.

I also need to bounce an idea off you guys: I want to include Kroot and Kroot hounds in my army, but using alien mercenary's would not fit into my army theme. What if I used Firewarrior models, but with bare heads and minimal armor for the Kroot, and Drones with bladed attachments for the hounds? The Kroot count as models would have some sort of modified Carbine with some blades attached, and maybe smaller banners fitted onto their backpacks, samurai style? How would that work out? Please provide input!

Here are the pictures, C&C welcomed!

Should this guy have a Pulse rifle cradled in his free hand?






"I'm sick of this"
That was the thought running through the head of Mau'ke, a welder working in Skimmer sector 02 of the factory. He was slaving over a section of a Hammerheads railgun mount, sparks flying from his Gyro welder.
"Sick of the drudgery."
He picked up the section of the mount, and began carrying it over to be completed by a wire-worker.
"Why can't I make up my own mind about how to live my life?"
He handed the piece to the wire-worker, and slipped him a note. The worker read it, grinned abit, and handed it to the woker next to him, as Mau'ke walked back to his station. Overhead, a message from the Factory blared out, announcing that it was time for break, and a sqaud of fifteen Firewarrior security troopers came in, leading a small group of inspectors whose job it was to examine all the work that had been done. The workers bowed, but those who had recieved the note did it with a slighty ironic air. They then left for the break room.

The note continued to circulate among the workers as they walked to the break room, and soon everybody from Skimmer sector 02 had read it, and the note had been passed onto someone from Infantry Weapon sector 03.

Yggdrasil wrote:Mightmagic, though it's true the real, human caste system (for instance in India) is deeply rooted in a culture, hopefully it has been proven by History that, in a different time & a different place, some slaves, born from families & generations of slaves, fought (i.e peasants turned into warriors) towards their freedom.

I'm not saying that any caste system is akin to slavery, my point is that some people do see beyond their status, even after generations of cultural conditioning, and can strive, and become warriors, to uphold to their beliefs...

So, why would it be different for the Tau?

Uh, sorry, my friend Inquisitor over my shoulder wants me to erase this heretical statement...

The difference is that humans don't have the Ethereals doing whatever it is they do the Tau. It's already been pretty well established that the Tau DON'T fight amongst themselves because of the Ethereals existence, that's why the existence of Farsight is supposed to be such a big secret and such a horrible concept to the Tau that know about it (and the only reason that occurred in the first place is that the expeditionary fleet lost its ethereals).

Fluff issues aside, I think your kroot ideas would work pretty well. It would be more indicative of earth-caste militia than firewarriors would.

Looks good so far

All you'd need then would be the etherials currently distracted elsewhere, and trusting that the earth cast in that area are going to behave themselves if not strictly supervised for a while. After all, it is the fire warriors that require the greatest watching, the air cast that reaches across the stars, the water that contact others... compared to them, what can the earth cast do?

Heya, I just wanted to pop in and let you know I like what you're doing here! I like how you painted the wear and tear on your Devilfish - gives a great utilitairian (spelling?) every day kind of use.

About the count-as Kroot... how about making them look like factory workers that just came of the production line to join the rebellion? It would take some (a lot?) of converting, but I'm thinking about greasy jumpsuits, industrial welding machinery, that kinda stuff.

Welding goggles and hard hats for everyone!!

They look really cool and I like the backstory. However, I think you should paint a black line over all of the Tau sept badges in order to signify that they are rebels.

I think your leader should be similar tho Farsight in some of his beliefs and should also be in a Battlesuit (a tenth suit maybe).

Leonus wrote:Welding goggles and hard hats for everyone!!

Gathering Storm wrote:They look really cool and I like the backstory. However, I think you should paint a black line over all of the Tau sept badges in order to signify that they are rebels.

I think your leader should be similar tho Farsight in some of his beliefs and should also be in a Battlesuit (a tenth suit maybe).

Bigbadbear wrote:Heya, I just wanted to pop in and let you know I like what you're doing here! I like how you painted the wear and tear on your Devilfish - gives a great utilitarian (spelling?) every day kind of use.

About the count-as Kroot... how about making them look like factory workers that just came of the production line to join the rebellion? It would take some (a lot?) of converting, but I'm thinking about greasy jumpsuits, industrial welding machinery, that kinda stuff.

Death Gear wrote:Looks good so far

@Leonus & Bigbadbear: What about shaving the leg armor off of the count as Kroot, and giving them grease stained aprons and welding masks? Maybe give them some sort of modified Pulse Carbine that looks like a Pulse Shotgun, and giving them Monkey wrenches/welders slung across their backs?

@Deathgear: Thanks, man!

@Gathering storm: I was thinking of making Mau'ke into the leader, but he would be in a Battlesuit, actually, since that would fit into the backstory. I was thinking of cutting the T'au symbols off of their shoulder armor, but I find it to fit into the backstory better not to cut them off, as it is sort of an ironic taunt.

I will try and update this thread soon, but I just got another commission job in, so update may slow down a bit.

Some_Call_Me_Tim? wrote:

Leonus wrote:Welding goggles and hard hats for everyone!!

Bigbadbear wrote:Heya, I just wanted to pop in and let you know I like what you're doing here! I like how you painted the wear and tear on your Devilfish - gives a great utilitarian (spelling?) every day kind of use.

About the count-as Kroot... how about making them look like factory workers that just came of the production line to join the rebellion? It would take some (a lot?) of converting, but I'm thinking about greasy jumpsuits, industrial welding machinery, that kinda stuff.

@Leonus & Bigbadbear: What about shaving the leg armor off of the count as Kroot, and giving them grease stained aprons and welding masks? Maybe give them some sort of modified Pulse Carbine that looks like a Pulse Shotgun, and giving them Monkey wrenches/welders slung across their backs?

Lovin' it, though goggles wouldn't be hard to make with some greenstuff. Roll out a flat strip of it for the headband and then put two small balls on the strip, use a retractable pen to push down on them, a lot like making a space marine seal! Hope you get to work on these guys soon!

Mightmagic wrote:If the fluf from DOW DC is corect then the earth cast are the drones that serve as the fundament of the tau civilization. I doubt they are warriors as in a cast sociaiety cast don't change; a builder will be a builder and he will see him self as nothing more, becoming a worrior won't even cross his mind as
he a builder as his whole family had been.

But in the Tau codex there is fluff about those Tau who would become the Earth Caste defending Fio'taun against the plains tribes and air tribes of Tau, and in the old codex there was mentioning of Earth Caste workers fighting alongside Aun'shi when he and his body guard where cut off by orks. The Earth Caste can fight and the fluff supports this, it's just not their main purpose.

The Earth Caste are shorter in stature then the other Tau, their kind of like the Dwarfs of the Tau race. I would deffinitly try to do some converting to represent what they are like tools, their height, represent their caste symbol on their shoulder pads etc. but that's just me.

Also on a note for your story the Earth Caste are the scientists of the Tau race, the technology that the Tau use only exists because the Earth Caste creates it. In your story it seemed to me like they where depicted as ignorant of all the technology in terms of how it works or having to "hack" their way into a shipping room. I doubt that would be the case, since the Earth Caste members are the ones who designed the suits I'm pretty sure they (and those under them) would know how to use them right off the bat.

I like the idea behind it but as a fluff writer I think the story could use a little work and as a conversionist I would like to see more representation of them being Earth Caste other then their colors. To me they just look like normal Fire Caste with a differant paint scheme.

Also this has caused wheels to begin turning in my head about how I would do this OR how I would make an army of barbaric Tau using converted Ungors. Very inspirational

Some_Call_Me_Tim? wrote:@Gathering storm: I was thinking of making Mau'ke into the leader, but he would be in a Battlesuit, actually, since that would fit into the backstory. I was thinking of cutting the T'au symbols off of their shoulder armor, but I find it to fit into the backstory better not to cut them off, as it is sort of an ironic taunt.

I didn't mean that you should cut off the badges, just put a black (or green) score through them as a sign that the Tau are rebels and that they are Earth Caste not Fire Caste.

Also, I agree with Warboss Imbad Ironskull that their story needs a bit of tweaking. It's true that the Earth Caste do a lot of manual labour but at the same time they are the ones who design the tech. The Earth Caste would probably be able to learn how use battlesuits more quickly (and efficiently) than their Fire Caste cousins. I'm sure they would also have robots to help with the construction, so that provides another conversion opertunity.

A rebellion could have started in the factory floor (like you have written) and spread to the tech designing guys and then to the Earth Caste manager/overseer/boss/comrade/guy in charge.

Warboss Imbad Ironskull wrote:

Mightmagic wrote:If the fluf from DOW DC is corect then the earth cast are the drones that serve as the fundament of the tau civilization. I doubt they are warriors as in a cast sociaiety cast don't change; a builder will be a builder and he will see him self as nothing more, becoming a worrior won't even cross his mind as
he a builder as his whole family had been.

But in the Tau codex there is fluff about those Tau who would become the Earth Caste defending Fio'taun against the plains tribes and air tribes of Tau, and in the old codex there was mentioning of Earth Caste workers fighting alongside Aun'shi when he and his body guard where cut off by orks. The Earth Caste can fight and the fluff supports this, it's just not their main purpose.

The Earth Caste are shorter in stature then the other Tau, their kind of like the Dwarfs of the Tau race. I would deffinitly try to do some converting to represent what they are like tools, their height, represent their caste symbol on their shoulder pads etc. but that's just me.

Also on a note for your story the Earth Caste are the scientists of the Tau race, the technology that the Tau use only exists because the Earth Caste creates it. In your story it seemed to me like they where depicted as ignorant of all the technology in terms of how it works or having to "hack" their way into a shipping room. I doubt that would be the case, since the Earth Caste members are the ones who designed the suits I'm pretty sure they (and those under them) would know how to use them right off the bat.

I like the idea behind it but as a fluff writer I think the story could use a little work and as a conversionist I would like to see more representation of them being Earth Caste other then their colors. To me they just look like normal Fire Caste with a differant paint scheme.

Also this has caused wheels to begin turning in my head about how I would do this OR how I would make an army of barbaric Tau using converted Ungors. Very inspirational

Converted ungors? Interesting.

So, since everyone wants me to shorten the figures, how should I go about doing it? Should I just cut some of their legs/arms off? I am really not much of a converter, so ideas would be appreciated!

Also, thanks for the fluff advice! I was just working with the fluff that is available in the army book.
More pics, including the now TOTALLY finished Devilfish, and I made some more progress on the firewarriors, though not much as we were busy all day yesterday. I got to my FLGS, and bought some Vallejo Light Orange and Flat Yellow for the flags, and after I had checked out, I realized both those colors have Cadmium. Riiiight. I am returning those, so it will be a while until you see the flags getting some love... Also, I am going to make a test model for my Count-as Kroot, hopefully today.

They're looking great. The flag seems very fitting and the finished devilfish looks brilliant.

Yeah awhile back there was a conversion tutorial in a WD on how to make alternate bare heads for Fire Warriors. The way they did it was to cut off the nose, smooth the area out with GS and put the Tau nose slit in between the eyes and of course it woulden't have the horns. looking at the new Ungors this may be a little harder and you would have to sand paper the fur away on the legs (not hard I've done it before) but it will still be fun.

I'm seriously thinking about making an entire Earth Caste army for WHFB using the Dwarf codex since they had guns and cannons and such plus it seems kind of fitting. And on the other hand you could do the plains tribes as counts as Empire.

As far as how to make your Earth Caste shorter I'll do some messing around with my Tau models and see what I can come up with for you. Oh also Earth Caste members wear their pony tails on the backs of their heads and very short. I also think that bionics would be more prevailant in Earth Caste members, accidents do happen in weapons testing and factory work

Warboss Imbad Ironskull wrote:Yeah awhile back there was a conversion tutorial in a WD on how to make alternate bare heads for Fire Warriors. The way they did it was to cut off the nose, smooth the area out with GS and put the Tau nose slit in between the eyes and of course it woulden't have the horns. looking at the new Ungors this may be a little harder and you would have to sand paper the fur away on the legs (not hard I've done it before) but it will still be fun.

I'm seriously thinking about making an entire Earth Caste army for WHFB using the Dwarf codex since they had guns and cannons and such plus it seems kind of fitting. And on the other hand you could do the plains tribes as counts as Empire.

As far as how to make your Earth Caste shorter I'll do some messing around with my Tau models and see what I can come up with for you. Oh also Earth Caste members wear their pony tails on the backs of their heads and very short. I also think that bionics would be more prevailant in Earth Caste members, accidents do happen in weapons testing and factory work

Oooh, bionics...now that has got me inspired! If I do bionics, I wil make them out of some loose Lizardmen spear shafts I have lying around, and put them on the count-as Kroot., since I like to imaging that they would be the ones using all the heavy/sharp machinery. Speaking of which, here is what I have gotten done on the count-as Kroot, I quite like the welding goggles, but I am trying to make up my mind on whether or not the modified Pulse Carbine, AKA "Pulse Shotgun" needs some work. Input would be appreciated here!

Well, if you really want to include some kroot, just follow the same idea you have already established. Kroot mercenaries got tired of not being allowed to eat their enemies on the battlefield, and rebelled against the Tau there were stationed with.

Yeah I made a bionic eye for my Shas'o (I made a model of him outside of his suit) out of a terminator sensor lense and it looked pretty cool. You could take an Ethereal and represent him as the leader of the rebelion which is the whole inspiring presence thing. And then for his weapons give him mechanics tools and model one of his drones (a shield drone or something) to look like a mechanical drone. And the goggled, aproned warrior above is great looking and deffinitly more Earth Caste I would apply that to all of your warriors (maybe not the apron but the general idea).

Also keep in mind that not all of the Kroot serve the Tau Empire. And as your Tau are a rebel faction of Earth Caste you could have mercenary kroot in your army but convert them to have bionics, wargear, weapons and such created by the Earth Caste as payent for their service. So if you took a kroot ox make a smaller kroot version of a battlesuit. It's very strong but can't fly and carries a weapon that's the equivilant of a Kroot Gun. Or just make up your own auxiliary that the rebels have hired, maybe Talerian (spelling?) dog soldiers.

Also I've been toying with the idea that Tau don't just use suits for combat, kind of like in Aliens where they have mech suits that aren't created for a combat prupose but Riply uses it anyway. Maybe the Earth Caste have like "mover" suits that are created with construction purposes but when the rebelion began they where turned into combat suits. So you could maybe convert something along those lines. Have flame weapons be converted into torch weapons and such.

Also I would suggest searching for pictures of Earth Caste members for inspiration. Lord Dirk on ATT did an Earth Caste member drawing and it looks great, some of his other ideas may help you to.

Lovin' the goggles/apron, don't forget to add oil stains or burns for extra awesome points! Also, when I first read your idea about your banners, I was confused. I thought you intended to model a fire warrior tau banner actually being burned (with fire or charred bits), as apposed to a symbol of a burning fire warrior on a banner or whatever.

I got the count-as Kroot modeled fully...and I really don't like it! I may just scrap the bionics idea, they need both hands free to hold the Pulse Shotgun, and I have no way of modeling a bionic hand. Any ideas, everybody? I like the way the copper wiring came out, but if I or any other person cannot think of a way of improving it, I will use Reprisals idea of a discontented Kroot tribe.

I think the reason that the bionics don't look good is because you made them into a weapon. Orks make bionics into weapons, Tau don't. When I suggested bionics I ment bionic eyes or arms to support the look of being Earth Caste not having them be bladed weapons built into the Taus arm.

I am just going to scrap the count as Kroot project, it is way to much hassle. To make up for that, I thought of an equally thematic idea that can be pulled off with less work: feral Kroot, using Kroot rifles modified to look like fighting staves, giving them some sort of blowgun as a ranged weapon, and giving them more skulls and such.

I also picked up a box of 10 Space wolves, just to give me something to do. I may sell these on eBay, or keep them as the start of a second army. One of the special weapons bearers has been magnetized so he may either have Wolf Claws or a Plasma Gun, and the unit leader has been magnetized so he may either have a power sword or a power fist.


The 4 SW that have some paint on them; the skin needs a wash and a final highlight.

The SW special weapon bearer with Wolf Claws.

The 6 SW that have not been painted.

And the leader with Power Sword:

With Power Fist:

And some homemade CoD terrain.

Umm aren't Kroot already feral.....

Warboss Imbad Ironskull wrote:Umm aren't Kroot already feral.....

I am thinking feral as in "tribal". Sort of like savage orcs in the idea that they are brutal, hate technology, and are basically...primitive. To the core.

Yeah sorry but I don't see a differance between what you're describing and actual Kroot

Also if you're going to have Kroot that hate technology and such you're going to run into a problem in that you've got Earth caste who ARE the technology wizards behind the Tau Empire and then Kroot who hate technology? Dosen't make sense.

I don't see why you have to have a special story for your Kroot. It's fluff that not all Kroot serve the Tau Empire exclusivly so have some of them work for your Tau.

Warboss Imbad Ironskull wrote:Yeah sorry but I don't see a differance between what you're describing and actual Kroot

Also if you're going to have Kroot that hate technology and such you're going to run into a problem in that you've got Earth caste who ARE the technology wizards behind the Tau Empire and then Kroot who hate technology? Dosen't make sense.

I don't see why you have to have a special story for your Kroot. It's fluff that not all Kroot serve the Tau Empire exclusivly so have some of them work for your Tau.

I meant to say kroot with Fighting Staves and blowguns instead of Kroot Rifles, but yeah, I believe I will just go with regular Kroot, all this fluff+converting makes my brain hurt. I'm a painter first, not a converter or a writer! And thanks for being a consistent commenter, Warboss Imbad Ironskull (Wii!)

Does VMC Natural Steel seems to be really bad about not wanting to wash out of your brush? I had to get out dishwashing soap and warm water, plus a lot of elbow grease to dislodge the last few metallic particles.
I got some more work done on my SW. I am really happy with how the highlighting turned out on the pair of Wolf Claws. Comments, criticism, and input appreciated!

No problem I've always like fluff and converting, add that to the fact that Tau have always been one of my favorite armies and especially the Fio without whome the Tau way of life would be non existant.

And it's just Warboss for simplicity, Wii makes me sound like the game system

I got some more work done on my SW, including taking the Wolf Claws off of the one guy, as I realized that they would be an illegality, and when I turned them and the light caught them, they looked like they had been glittered, as I had not washed the brush out enough after I used it with my metallic paints...:mad: And the VMC Natural Steel color is waterbased, so I do not know what is going on.
Got the markings done on most of them and the armor mostly painted on the 2 new ones.


And don't worry, I will get to work on my Tau soon!

I think you should fall back onto the counts as kroot built from firewariors, After all fluff wize it doesnt quite fit as well as taking away from the feel of the army.

I thought kroot dealt with the fire caste primarily with some dealing with the other castes, idk doesnt quite fit for me

What about CC firewarriors (Earthwarriors now i suppose) Keep the core of the firewarrior together but do some pose changing and weaponswaps (Im thinking Eldar or SM Swords)

Correct me if im wrong but the revolution started in weapon production factories, especially the firewarrior armour production. And for the most part the troops had to stay mobile to avoid a full fire caste strike. Idk it seems Fire warrior armour would be perfect for this and give the hardened heavy infantry look your going for

idk my 2cents

sc0ttfree wrote:I think you should fall back onto the counts as kroot built from firewariors, After all fluff wize it doesnt quite fit as well as taking away from the feel of the army.

I thought kroot dealt with the fire caste primarily with some dealing with the other castes, idk doesnt quite fit for me

What about CC firewarriors (Earthwarriors now i suppose) Keep the core of the firewarrior together but do some pose changing and weaponswaps (Im thinking Eldar or SM Swords)

Correct me if im wrong but the revolution started in weapon production factories, especially the firewarrior armour production. And for the most part the troops had to stay mobile to avoid a full fire caste strike. Idk it seems Fire warrior armour would be perfect for this and give the hardened heavy infantry look your going for

idk my 2cents

Hmm, I really like that idea! Of course, the arms holding guns would be difficult to repose, but I could probably do that. Thanks for the idea, man!

P.S. When are you people gonna comment on my painting? The fluff input is really appreciated, but I would like some painting advice/criticism to! Just a minor quibble, though.

I don't have a painting update for you guys, but I did get a about 12 different symbols for the Earth Caste Rebel army. I need to choose which one to use, and I can't decide because I am pretty happy with them all! Which one should I go with?

I'm not too familiar with Tau, but I like numbers 2, 5, 8, and 11. Maybe do the two toned thing for number 8?

i'd say either 6 or 11

I like 7. And looks like it would be fairly easy to paint too, which is helpful on these scales (large circle in symbol colour, two medium circles with basecoat colour, two small circles with symbol colour. Sure, you're waiting for it to dry in the middle, but if you're doing batch it'll be a lot quicker than detailed work).

Morgrim wrote:I like 7. And looks like it would be fairly easy to paint too, which is helpful on these scales (large circle in symbol colour, two medium circles with basecoat colour, two small circles with symbol colour. Sure, you're waiting for it to dry in the middle, but if you're doing batch it'll be a lot quicker than detailed work).

I really like 7, so it looks like that will be my symbol. I will probably paint it on the banners/battlesuits/skimmers...which means I need to back and paint it on my "finished" Devilfish. Oh well, some things never change....

Edit: Oh, and the Count-as Kroot, AKA Earthwarrior, is being worked on today. I am using the FW as a base, but giving them modified lizardmen spears, no shoulder pads, no helmets, and some decorative cloth adornment. I should get pictures up later today.

Update time...

I got the Count-as Kroot (now EarthWarrior) worked on. I still need to add the cloth bits with epoxy/shave the shoulder pad off. I really wanted to make them sleeveless, but I could not think of a way to carve the cloth texture off of their arms with out turning the arms into match-sticks.

I have also got the symbol painted, albeit very roughly, on all the flags. And I have made some progress on the SW and the FW(mainly black lining/highlighting). It has been a slow week...C&C Welcomed!

Earthwarrior:

The flag is still being worked on...

And my SW Blood Claws. I think they are coming along quite nicely!

The Eartwarrior looks pretty cool, looking forward to more updates on him.

Here is a quick update: Got some more work done on the faces last night. For the amount of effort I put into them, I think they look quite nice, since all I did was basecoat scorched leather, highlight with VMC pale flesh, wash with a 50/50 mix of badab black/scorched brown, then painted over that dwarf flesh, then I just kept adding dwarf flesh mixed with successively larger amounts of white/VMC pale flesh. Easy as pie!


Aaand I got some work done on the banners and FW's themselves. I do not have any pics, but I have made some progress on the EarthWarrior; he has been given a hood and a head.

I got some minor progress made on the EarthWarrior. I have only given him a hood...Yep, pretty embarrassing.

Would a Battery pack on the spear work out? I am trying to make the spears a ranged and melee combo, so I figured they could be some sort of conductor for a powerful electric blast.



Please comment, guys & gals! That is why I am posting this stuff, after all.

For the bionics, I would use Necron parts if you want to do a whole limb. Maybe green stuff them to make them more soft and curved, to fit the Tau tech. But good work so far, some good ideas!

No Tau update today, I have been busy working on my SW's and schoolwork. Thankfully, the 6 SW are nearly done, they just need to have their bases drybrushed, plus I need to get a few details finished on them. The 2 I am showing here are done, minus the base drybrush.

(the following text is copied from my Blog, which can be found here> http://blackdogpainting.blogspot.com/" target="_new" rel="nofollow"> http://blackdogpainting.blogspot.com/ )
"My latest marketing ploy is this: I bought the BEAUTIFUL Island of Blood High elf wizard, which I am going to paint up to my highest quality. I will then take it to my FLGS, and put it in the display cabinet, with a little card/brochure thingy next to it. Hopefully that will generate some interest among the local gamer crew, as every time I go there, I see many bare plastic/metal army's."

^Thoughts, guys?^

I think that most players that don't paint their armies are quite the youngest, so probably won't ba able to afford commissions!!

On a personal point of view, I ever only play with whatever minis I have painted... No bare plastics / metal for me!!!

Yggdrasil wrote:I think that most players that don't paint their armies are quite the youngest, so probably won't ba able to afford commissions!!

On a personal point of view, I ever only play with whatever minis I have painted... No bare plastics / metal for me!!!

Sadly enough, I am the youngest gamer that frequents my FLGS that I know of, and all of the unpainted army's are owned by 20-40 somethings. People are lazy here in the states...

I sometimes play with unpainted, though I always make sure that the unpainted/WIP section of my army is very small.

Ok, then it may seem to be a good idea... Most people by their 20s or 30s get to :
1. Have a girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/etc...
2. Find a job ;
3. Eventually, have children.

Which are 3 very good reasons to keep them away from your paint desk!!! I guess this could explain most of the hobbyists playing with unpainted minis...

So I'd suggest you to begin with VERY low commission prices... Especially at your FLGS, where people can get to give you the minis without paying for shipping, you could make yourself a nice advertisement campaign...

After checking on your website, the prices seem a bit high... I don't know much about usual ones, but you have to be ready to bargain your skills so that people would be tempted to do so...

I don't know, I guess even I could be tempted for something close to 10-15-20$ for a 10-men squad! Who wouldn't want to give it a try? Then, as you improve and get to be known as skilled, fast & reliable, you could slowly raise up your prices!!! You probably won't make a living through this, but it could help!!!

That's just my opinion anyway...

Yggdrasil wrote:Ok, then it may seem to be a good idea... Most people by their 20s or 30s get to :
1. Have a girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/etc...
2. Find a job ;
3. Eventually, have children.

Which are 3 very good reasons to keep them away from your paint desk!!! I guess this could explain most of the hobbyists playing with unpainted minis...

So I'd suggest you to begin with VERY low commission prices... Especially at your FLGS, where people can get to give you the minis without paying for shipping, you could make yourself a nice advertisement campaign...

After checking on your website, the prices seem a bit high... I don't know much about usual ones, but you have to be ready to bargain your skills so that people would be tempted to do so...

I don't know, I guess even I could be tempted for something close to 10-15-20$ for a 10-men squad! Who wouldn't want to give it a try? Then, as you improve and get to be known as skilled, fast & reliable, you could slowly raise up your prices!!! You probably won't make a living through this, but it could help!!!

That's just my opinion anyway...

Weirdly enough, my prices are really cheap when compared to the prices of most studios; the biggest studios charge you $4.00 for a basecoated, and then dipped, model.

Sad thing is, I live about 45 minutes from my FLGS, and only get there once a month, if I am lucky.

I finished on of the Space wolves. I know, it is sad I am proud of that, but I have gotten almost nothing done painting wise this week, I have been feeling burned out. I did make a lot of progress modeling the earthwarrior, and will get pics up soon.

Looking great

Also im pretty pleased with that earthwarrior! (partially cuz i persuaded you into it)

Maybe try a 50/50 mix of helmeted to unhelmeted? Afterall there guys need all the protection they can get

Got some more work done on my Tau Earthwarrior. He is now ready for a paint job, and I am thinking of making the cloth parts white with red markings. I may also do electricity effects coursing across the blade. Any comments/input on the cloth idea?

Mega-update!
It has been a beautiful day. I got up at 10:00 AM, mosied around, and at around 2:00, I got a pleasant surprise in the mail: my High Elf Mage! getting that made me feel pumped, and I have really done nothing more than paint, do my school work, and eat 1 meal today. Ah, the life of the nerd.
So, I got a TON done today: The 2nd FW unit has pretty much been all finished, the Earthwarrior has been basecoated, AND I got started on my "publicity stunt". You know, the High Elf Mage from Island of Blood that I am going to put in my FLGS display cabinet.

With the Mage, I am going for a creamy white/red look. Most of the metal will be gold, and all the gems will be purple.

C&C asked for!



I painted one half of the FW's helmets green, just to add some variation and interest. What do you guys think?

And I also got some work done on the Earthwarrior.

The white on the Mages cape is finished, and the red on his robes are also finished. The blue gems need some more work, the white dots are a little to big on some of them.

I am have a bugger of a time trying to highlight the face; there is so little skin showing it is hard to hit any small details. Any tips/hints on how to paint something like this?

C&C welcomed!

Nice colours on the mage! Also like the hood on the CC Earth Warrior!!

As for the face, sorry, but I tend to think I suck at painting faces!! So I'm not in a position to give an advice!

@Yggdrasil: Thanks! The Earthwarrior is coming along nicely. On the general Tau front, I have managed to get some free hand symbols paint on the sides of the latest units helmets, and I must say, my freehand has improved a fair amount. No pictures, sadly, but I should have some up when my mom gets back, as she borrowed my camera.

BTW, what does Yggdrasil mean? It rolls off the tongue wonderfully.

The gemstones have been worked on on the Mage, the skin has been worked on, and I have generally made good progress, considering the fact that I am a little tied up with commission work and the like ATM.


I am quite happy with the energy swirling around his feet.




C&C welcomed!

Tim, that looks awesome.

If you stick that in your flgs with an advertisement, it should get some interest going. It was the first step I took and has helped a fair bit. Best of luck!

Ifalna wrote:Tim, that looks awesome.

If you stick that in your flgs with an advertisement, it should get some interest going. It was the first step I took and has helped a fair bit. Best of luck!

Thanks! It is always nice to get positive comments.

Quick question for you guys: My Birthday is coming up soon, and i am trying to decide what to ask for: I am greedily looking at the full set of Isalnd of Blood Skaven, which I have found on eBay for $40, from multiple sellers. Or, I could get a box of river trolls for my WHF orc army( which I have been meaning to photograph and put up here soon, though be prepped for some not-so good paint jobs, it was my 1st army
). Or, I could buy myself 2-3 Tau Battlesuits. What do you guys think?

_Tim, questioningly.

1. Island of Blood FTW! The models are really nice, plus they pack a lot of them inside! Especially for 40$... Would you mind sending the links lol?

2. Yggdrasil is the World Tree in Norse Mythology, which acts as the link between the Underworld, the plane of mortals, and the plane of the Gods...

3. As for the mage, it is indeed very promising! My only advice would be to try and soften up the shadings & highlights.
For instance, on the cloak you jump almost directly from pure black to pure white. Is sure adds a lot of contrast (which is good for this scale) but it's a bit too sharp IMHO. On a side note, white clothes rarely have black shades, rather bluish, brownish, greyish or even purplish ones...
Look at his scarf belt :


Or attached file (end of post).

The Bleachd Bone / Brown scarf could also be a bit more worked on, by blending the highlights some more...

But, as I said, it's already on a very good way!!!

@Yggdrasil: I see what you mean about the cape, I have been considering going back over it with white, then giving it a bluish wash, then slowly layering white back on. On the robe, the contrast is not quite as stark as it looks in the photo, I was using a borrowed camera so the photo came out to dark. I will have to go back in and retake some the the photographs.

The ribbons do need a a bit of work, I am just having trouble figuring out how to get the transitions between the washes and highlights smoother on such a small surface area. Blending is tough.

As for the ribbons, I have found some useful tricks while painting my current entry for my local GW competition...

You can find the pic here : http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/140052-Right%20side%20view.html

If pure blending is hard, you can try some small strokes, as visible on the picture, it renders a nice effect when viewed from a bit afar!

Also, try to paint the parts in your darkest colour, then apply layer after layer of watered down paints (the lighter tones), almost translucent, by pulling them towards the light points (edges, top, ...) : the many layers will, in time, create a smooth blending...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, for a quick shading : basecoat in Dheneb stone (as it seems from the picture), heavily washed with Devlan Mud (very dark) or Gryphonne Sepia (ligher and more "yellowish"); then highlight with Dheneb stone again... Easy & yields nice results!

GAHH!

The High elf Mage is giving me nightmares. I have, in the last 3 days, tried 4 different ways of shading/highlighting the stupid ribbons on the model, and no matter what I do, they still look like crap. So, as there are now 5 layers of paint, not including washes, on the ribbons, I am just either 1: going to have to strip the that part of the model, or 2: just toss the model in the bin. I cannot strip the model, as stripping it would most likely break the ribbons/staff. So, it looks as though I will have to go with 2. It sucks, but it s just not worth my time/sanity/eyesight to keep slaving away over such a small, yet crucial, bit of a model.


I also reviewed all the painting projects I have that are still ongoing.
My WHF Orc army: I still have to paint 8 savage orcs, and base 7 already painted ones.
The SW project
The High elf Mage project
My Tau army
My CoD terrain
Aaand the runebound commission.

I am going to have to give the SW project the chop, and the High elf Mage project the chop. The runebound commission is almost done, and after that, I may just give Blackdog Painting studio the chop also. I really have managed to take to many things on at once, and this painting service thing is making me pretty burned out, as so far I have painted about 50 figures that are 1/2 the size of a Night Goblin, twice as slim, and have no raised details, so that is rapidly sucking the joy out of painting.

_Tim, choppingly.

No!!! Don't let it go!! Just post a pic ans we could see about what's to do to save him from the maw of Chaos!!

Yggdrasil wrote:No!!! Don't let it go!! Just post a pic ans we could see about what's to do to save him from the maw of Chaos!!

To late. Even if I could fix it, it is still not worth my time/dad griping at me the whole time I am painting the figure. Clean whites, I have learned, are my main weakness.

Here is the promised photo of the High elf mage. Please take a gander at it, and tell me what I should do.


I also trotted out my horde o' orcs, and got pictures of them all. They are a very raggedy looking horde, as I have been collecting/painting them since I first started the hobby 3 years ago. As such, the painting on them is very inconsistent, and some of the paint jobs look quite bad. Also, many of the orc boyz in the big unit of 50 still have unfinished shields, badly/half-way painted/unpainted small details such as talismans, choppa handles, eyes, and other things(many of them are just sloppily painted compared with my latest lot of savage orcs). This is largely because I have painted the unit over 2 years, and my style has changed a lot. As such, I have been very tempted on multiple occasions, to strip them of their paint, 5 at a time, and paint them all to my new, clean and crisp, standard. It would be a lot of work, but it would pay off, as I would have a whole unit painted up to a consistent standard I can be proud of. I really need your guys' opinion on this!

The pictures are organized first to last, so the first bunch of photo are all BFSP models. They were the first I painted, so don't expect much.
















C&C Welcomed!

Loving the spiders Tim! Not enough people add colour diversity to units that it would look fantastic in, but you have hit the nail on the head there for sure! Orc force looks great considering you have been working on it since you started up


He HE mage is looking good, but it might do with being brightened up just a bit further. The white shadowing is very grey and the white highlight not quite fully white, but that could just be the photo (?) Another highlight on the flesh and blue areas and the eyes finished off would leave it looking really great. Sorry to hear about Bdog though, maybe you can take it up again when you get some more time?

Ifalna wrote:Loving the spiders Tim! Not enough people add colour diversity to units that it would look fantastic in, but you have hit the nail on the head there for sure! Orc force looks great considering you have been working on it since you started up


He HE mage is looking good, but it might do with being brightened up just a bit further. The white shadowing is very grey and the white highlight not quite fully white, but that could just be the photo (?) Another highlight on the flesh and blue areas and the eyes finished off would leave it looking really great. Sorry to hear about Bdog though, maybe you can take it up again when you get some more time?

Thanks for the compliments! Even though my orc force is a bit raggedy, I am still proud of it.

The photo is a little bit green tinged, as my lawn is just outside the window I take photos in front of. I should get to do some work on the High elf mage done today, as I got my RuneBound commission 1/2 done, and I am taking a week long break from commission work.

I also like the different hues in the spiders, as well as the purple for Fanatics & catapult, the blue in Orc boys... That way they more than stand out, without be out of place...

That's a great army overall!!!

As for the mage it looks better, just follow Ifalna's advice, a far better painter than I am...

Yggdrasil wrote:I also like the different hues in the spiders, as well as the purple for Fanatics & catapult, the blue in Orc boys... That way they more than stand out, without be out of place...

That's a great army overall!!!

As for the mage it looks better, just follow Ifalna's advice, a far better painter than I am...

Thanks a bunch, Yggdrasil. I really am glad the multiple colors worked out as well as they have.

For the first time ever, I painted the eyes of a model, and they actually didn't make the model have googly eyes. Eyes do really add something to a model, don't they? Yep, the high elf is coming along nicely, as the cape and the ribbons are pretty much done. I may not be totally happy with them, but they look as best as I can do, at my (current) skill level. I am not rushing myself, as I will be able to get to my FLGS in about 9 days, so I have some time to spare.





To all my Tau fans: I am going to my FLGS to get a battlesuit or two in 10 days, so please forgive the lack of exciting updates other than the Earthwarrior.

I really dig the Earth Warrior, hows work coming on them?

Eyes are better than mine!!!

Also, the blue shades on the cape are less sharp than previously, so that's much better!!

tekk_45 wrote:I really dig the Earth Warrior, hows work coming on them?

Thanks! He is still WiP, I should get photos taken when he is done.

@ Yggdrasil: My eyes are better than yours? Weird, I always have aspired to be as good at blending as you, just goes to show, we all have our strengths. Of course, I just noticed that the left pupil is to big, so back to work on that...

The mage has been based, and the energy around his feet is almost done. All that is left to do now is some minor details/cleanup work. I am also trying out a darker background for my photos, what do you you guys think of it?

YAY! The mage is finished! Man, it feels good to have that out of the way. Now I just need to write a brochure, and take him off to my FLGS.

Looking back, I could have done this a lot faster if not for real life getting in the way. As the last 5-6 update posts have all ben more and more elf, I will be getting a Crisis suit soon, so that should add some more interest into this thread.
Tell me what you think, guys and gals!

Ok, nice mini in the end!!!!

I still think you could improve it a bit more though, by having the shadows ... a bit less dark...

As on the elf & skaven pics I linked to earlier.

Still, I definitely could be tempted to have some minis commissioned if I saw them on a shelf!

Yeah, the shadows were a bit dark...however, I think it is pretty decent, and should be helpful. No going back now, as it is sealed.

_Tim?

P.S. I am soo tempted to start a DE army!

Some_Call_Me_Tim? wrote:
P.S. I am soo tempted to start a DE army!

Haaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Same for me...

Yeah, the crew hanging onto the sides of the Ravager look great, like they are about to jump down and start chopping heads.

Here are some pictures of my painting station. It is really nice and comfy, even though it is in a renovated shower stall!






I (finally!) ordered my copy of 8th edition 2 days ago, but it looks as though I won't be getting it in time for the weekend.

_Tim?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Here is my wip brochure. Tell me what you think.
"
BlackDog Painting Studio
The model you see next to this brochure has been painted up to my highest quality: “Hero” Level, involving multiple layers of subtle highlights, advanced painting techniques on the gems, and, if you look oh so carefully, even the eyes have been painted in!

The cost? $5.25!

Want to learn more? Head on over to my site at www.blackdogpaintingstudio.webs.com, or Email me at @ runescaper12@yahoo.com.

I also offer a 20% discount on orders of 40 or more figures! "

This is just the text, it will be on a parchment paper patterned print out page.

I guess you could add some examples of price :

"Desperately need that 30-strong regiment painted for next month's tournament? I'll just take 60$ for them, painted to a nice gaming standard!"

I have been working on these NG Big Bosses for the past 1 and a 1/2...Tell me what ya' think!



_Tim?

Love the purple & the yellow triangles!
It needs some shading & wear on the weapons, and you can consider them done!

Here they are, all painted up. I am really happy with the blades, and the highlighting on the purple cloak.



_Tim?

nice stuff

Yup, they're nice!!!

I am pretty busy with WoC, so I haven't gotten much done on the Tau front, besides buying a Piranha and a Crisis Battlesuit.

_Tim?

Battlesuit 1 of...many. Sorry about the lack of Tau updates, I have been really busy. Nothing significant, just hope it might pique your interest.


Please comment folks, that is why I update this thing!

_Tim?

The hellcannon is looking great dude!

Cleaning up, nothing to see here...

_Tim?

I love the green on your Nurgle Riders... What are the colours used?

Also like the red on the Chaos Dwarves...

Yggdrasil wrote:I love the green on your Nurgle Riders... What are the colours used?

Also like the red on the Chaos Dwarves...

Thank you! The green is quite simple, basescoat the area you want to paint with Vallejo Model Color Panzer Series Cam.Olive Green. Then take equal amounts VMC Black, Raw Umber(any brand), and Scorched Brown. Then, add a small amount of Cam.Olive Green to the mixture. Now water it down to a pretty runny consistency, and add a brushful or two of Elmer's white glue (or any other quality white glue). Heavily apply this wash to the green bascecoat, and let it dry. After it has dried, layer Cam.Olive Green onto the washed areas, leaving the darkest areas alone, meaning crevices where the wash collected. After that, just start highlighting with Cam.Olive Green and Bleached Bone, adding more Bleached Bone the lighter you want the highlight. I usually do three layers of highlights like this.

Great painting mate. I really dig your Tau.

Any tips on how to paint flame? I have tried wroking all the way up to black on the tips of flames, and that has never worked.

_Tim?

For the flames, you can have a look at these, especially the left one :

Or you could go with more "spectral" flames and turn to blue hues, there's a guy out there in Dakka who has done this on his SM Legion of the Damned with very good results!!

As for the Magus, I really like the death-filled skin, as well as the colour of the robes, it's quite unusual!!!

Hmm, I like the idea of spectral flames. I will have to try that out today.

_Tim?

Hey everybody,

I am really sorry about the lack of updates, I have been pretty busy. However, there will be a massive influx of updates coming up soon, as the wood elf commission is coming in this week. My goal is to finish 2 elves a day, which will mean the first 3rd of the commission will be done in 12-14 days. The requested color scheme is very original, the main colors are blue and pink.

Hoping that people are still interested in this thread,

_Tim?

YES! A Tau update! After taking a break from painting, I am back at it, this time with the Battlesuit.The front half has been baseocated, highlighted where needed, and battle damaged. The back still needs work, and is still quite bland, so no pictures yet.



Comments, please!

_Tim?

Yup, battle damage is pretty nice, especially since you made it different for the green & white parts, as if they were built from different materials...

I think you could highlight the edges more than already done, it would help it a lot!

Nice scheme, btw...

Thanks Yggs!

Today's work has been mostly concentrated on working on a Space Wolf figure. I really like the dark gray color over the baby blue I was using previously, since the blue looked way to "smurf-lite". Dark gray makes him look much more menacing and ready to rumble. I am really pleased with the power sword, the blue turned out nicely IMHO. I canceled out the yellow on the shoulder pads, to make the scheme much more muted looking.

I also did some minor work on the Crisis suit, though no pictures, sadly.



I just noticed something frustrating: the more updates I post, the fewer comments I get.

_Tim?

Same for me, my first army is a whole light blue (SW Grey) SW army, painted when I begun the Hobby... Years later, I painted a squad all in Shadow Grey, it performed much, much better...
This scheme is pre-heresy-like, but I like it !!!

As for the power sword it's a bit blurry, but it does look good indeed!

I agree about the muted grey colours instead of the bright, they look splendid!

@ Yggdrasil: Thank you! I have always liked my colors, excluding my reds, to be muted looking.

@ Rose_Mountainz: Thanks!

After about 3 hours of frantically painting whilst slouching over my desk, the 1st Crisis suit is, for all intents and purposes, done! The large red patch on the right helps break up the monotony of the green, and I am very happy with the missile pod. I still need to do some minor clean-up work, and finish the base.





Aaand here is the Space Wolf. I am really happy with the face, and I only needed to do a basecoat, a very heavy Scorched Brown wash, and a highlight of the base skin color. The hair also turned out nicely, IMHO. I just need to highlight the fur, paint in the cols on the pistol, and do some clean up work.





C&C welcomed!

_Tim?

The army is looking good. I would suggest cleaning up the black line on the fire warriors, but everything else looks great!

The flesh on the SW is not to my taste, I think the recesses are too dark.
/opinion

I just finished reading this thread and i have to say i'm not a big tau fan but this is just well...AWESOME.

I love the idea of some pompous ethereal sitting at his desk laughing at the foolish humans with all their strife and civil unrest, when all of a sudden a blood spattered earth caste rebel bursts through the door, levels his stolen pulse carbine, screams "death to the bourgeois", and puts a round right through that mind controlling forehead bobble.

I love your weathering effects as well. your basic technique needs a bit of work though; there are some sloppy areas on the crisis suit and the warriors were rushing or an unsteady hand caused you to paint outside the lines a bit. Not a huge problem if tabletop quality is all you're going for, but its something you might want to work on.

Overall a great concept, keep up the good work!

Hey great stuff so far, I really dig the ware and tear on the battle suit, despite the Christmas colors he looks quite Bad @$$.

@Element206: Thank you! What unit of FW's do I need to clean the lines up on?

@tekk_45: The harsh transition from light to dark on the SW is purposeful; it gives him a very intense, snarling look. Of course, that is just my opinion.

@Maledictus: Thanks! Yeah, it is an entertaining mental picture, is it not? The battle damage is a little sloppy, and I should go back and work on it, though I don't want it to look to neat, as battle damage is not exactly rational.

@The_Wicker_Man: Ha ha, you always point that out with my figures. I just have this weird ability to find ways of painting Christmas colors, and it is always an accident ! Can't wait to see the rest of your eldar, your next wave serpent should be painted with blue flames...

Sorry about the lack of updates, folks, I have had a REALLY nasty stomach illness for the past 6 days, and I am still not 100% recovered. Should wrangle something up soon, though.

_Tim?

Hope you're feeling better!

Some_Call_Me_Tim? wrote:@Maledictus: Thanks! Yeah, it is an entertaining mental picture, is it not? The battle damage is a little sloppy, and I should go back and work on it, though I don't want it to look to neat, as battle damage is not exactly rational.
_Tim?

wasn't talking about the battle damage, that looks great, just the basic painting. for example on the battlesuit on the back of the missile launcher and the jetpack.

@ Yggdrasil: Yeah, I have been feeling all better for the past 3 days, but the parents got sick, so I volunteered to help out, and have been busy controlling my 2 year old brother, who seems to be intent upon causing as much noise and craziness as possible...Actually, that is why I haven't been able to get to my paints!

@Maledictus: I see what'cha mean, the gold especially needs work. I was hoping to call him finished, but a nice looking figure is better than a half-baked one, so I guess I better do a big cleanup session on the Crisis suit.

Speaking of which, the base is all done on the 'suit. I also took out a ballpoint pen and did some blacklining, and it really looks nice.

I also got the last 2 FW primed black, and I decided to add some battle damage/ball-point blacklining to the finished FW's in that unit. I decided to compare the newest unit of FW's to my unit of Pathfinders, and I gotta say, the new guys are way better than the old ones. So much so that the PF's look as though they were painted by a totally different person! I am tempted to invest in the metal PF's, since that way I can make the units all look around the same quality...

And I started work on my Piranha. I will probably have 2-3 of these when the army is done.

And here is a picture of its base.


I also have gotten some work done on the Chaos Knights. The 2nd one just needs a shoulder pad glued on, and then painted. I am pretty happy with the shield, the rust drips turned out nicely I think.

And I started the 3rd one yesterday...the shield on this one also looks nice.


As always, C&C welcomed!

_Tim?

I guess that post wasn't worth any comments so....

I did a test figure for my 50 Orc Boyz unit that I am hoping to re-do. The model is painted up to look like a Red Sunz clan member, and he took me about an hour, though I am hoping to streamline the process, and be able to get 2-3 figures done in an hour, not inclduing drying tim for the wash. It's a pretty simple scheme, just a basecoat of each color, a wash all over the model, highlights on each color, then picking out small details. As you can see, he still need to have the black cloth he is wearing highlighted.

I also got most of the highlighting done on the Nurgle Kniggit(MP reference), and the shield is also coming along nicely. Not much else to say...

The green has been blocked in on the Piranha. It looks quite empty/rough ATM, but should start looking a lot better once I get the battledamage done, and get the rest of the colors blocked in.



Comments? Thoughts?

_Tim?

Whoop, thought I commented on your last post but aparently I only did so in my head.
I think your tau colour scheme is very neat and cool.
Like the beaten and rusty look of your nurgle knights.
The ork would look pretty impressive in a block of 50, just got to be able to mass produce them, overall good brush control and nice painting as I've said before keep it up.

Rose_Mountainz wrote:Whoop, thought I commented on your last post but aparently I only did so in my head.
I think your tau colour scheme is very neat and cool.
Like the beaten and rusty look of your nurgle knights.
The ork would look pretty impressive in a block of 50, just got to be able to mass produce them, overall good brush control and nice painting as I've said before keep it up.

Hey Rose, I'm beginning to think you have some telepathic & prescience skills, for that's the 2nd time I'm thinking "hey, that's what I could have written!"

Lol...

Some_Call_Me_Tim? wrote:I guess that post wasn't worth any comments so....

Sorry for being late, maybe too many updates give less time for feedback lol...

I'm still quite fond of your Chaos Knights, the green is definitely good!!!! Be it on the shields, armour, anything... As is the rust.

Your weathered Fire Warriors also look like hardened troops, so I guess that's a good point... Though I'm not sure how "metal" Pathfinders would add to the quality of the painting... The plastic kits more than make up for their "somewhat poorer casting" with the conversion possibilities offered!

As for the Orc warrior... What is there to say but neat & efficient?!?

I'm jealous of the time you seem to spend on the Hobby... I wish I could still do the same!

Yggdrasil wrote:

Rose_Mountainz wrote:Whoop, thought I commented on your last post but aparently I only did so in my head.
I think your tau colour scheme is very neat and cool.
Like the beaten and rusty look of your nurgle knights.
The ork would look pretty impressive in a block of 50, just got to be able to mass produce them, overall good brush control and nice painting as I've said before keep it up.

Hey Rose, I'm beginning to think you have some telepathic & prescience skills, for that's the 2nd time I'm thinking "hey, that's what I could have written!"

Lol...

I've spent to much time in the warp it does that to your mind..

@Rose_Mountainz: Thanks! I am equally guilty of mentally posting responses...
@Yggs: Thanks again!

On Warseer, there is a member suggesting I re-do my banners. He is saying that the rods look to thick, and that the banners look to stiff. I see what he means, but I am pretty hestitant to go back in and re-do my banners. This would give me the perfect excuse to use some banners made in Photoshop, since my hand-painted ones look pretty...sloppy.

Not much of an update on the Tau, I spent most of yesterday working on the boyz. They have had about 2-3 hours worth of work put into them, in off and on painting sessions.


However, I did make some progress on the Pirhana! I now know what areas are going to be white and which are going to be green, since they have been roughly blocked in. I just need to find some areas to paint red. I also did some tests to where the battle damage would look good.


Comments? Thoughts? Criticisms?

_Tim?

Nice contrast between red & green on the Orc boyz... But there's one thing I do like, but may awake some criticism: they're are really dark! (My painting mate kept on telling me this for years!!)

If you want the red to stand out pretty much you could paint it on the front muzzle of the engines (the part that is white atm) and maybe on the top of the drones?

The orc boys are looking really good, It will be interesting to see how your Pirhana turns out!

Improvements every time I check back here. Tau are looking fantastic and the Orks are turning out very nicely indeed Great to see you putting out so much work so often.

Sorry about the lack of updates, I have been pretty busy this week, and I have only done abut 2 hours of painting in 5 days. I do have a quick photo of a finished orc boy, and the 3rd Chaos Knight is almost done. The chaos knight project has taken way to long, even though the customer gave me all the time in the world do to them, as the deadline is Thanksgiving day. I will not be painting the musician, as the model would not give up its old paintjob, no matter how hard I scrubbed.


I painted this guy up in an hour, just a NG standard Bearer.



Comments?

_Tim?

You have a very clean style - i like it, although I think the standard bearer could do with another level of highlights

I like the red shield on the Orc Warrior, you manage to render it bright!!

The chips on the armour must be looking good from a distance, though when seen that close they look a bit simple... I'm no specialist in chipping armour (though I'll give it a shot sooner or later), so I cannot give any good advice other than - maybe - try to darken or highlght them a bit more?

The NG banna' wava' looks really good for a model painted in 1 hour!! Hangfire is right though, a bit more highlights would add much to it, it's definitely on the right tracks!

Any Chaos Knights group shots?

You know the orc is pretty good but I am not so keen on the NG, with your orc maybe try some devlun mud on the bone and metal parts.

If you want to improve the chips, then paint a bit of darker red or black around the edges of the chip, it will give it alot more depth and realistic feel. But if you don't want to waste to much time on these orks (I know that you got a bunch of them!) then it's great as it is, it will look great from the table never the less.

No, I'm not dead (yet).

To prove that, here are some pictures of what I have gotten done in the past 5(very un-productive) days.




I have done even more work on the Pirhana, and I have also started in on the next 5 boyz. I really need to get more motivated, because the past week has been something along the lines of "Sit down, touch up a horn, (mope) pick up a boy, work on him,(sulk) paint the metallic bits on a Chaos Knnniggit (grumble)". The Chaos knights are nearly done, but I have no pictures. I really should have done them faster, and I can't make any excuses. I have just been lazy...

Mopely yours, _Tim?

Dont feel bad about being lazy, just think of it as taking your time to think hard on what you WILL be doing later.

Looking good.

Lookin' good, I've always liked the crisp white, and dark grayish green on the tau. The orcs also kinda remind me of ceaser's legion from fallout: new vegas.

Sorry about the lack of updates. I have been having some pretty hard struggles with depression lately, and just haven't had the heart to paint or take photos.

I did finish the Chaos Knights 4 days ago, before I got that bout of depression, and I got some photos taken of them. Hopefully Chaos_Puppy will be happy with them; I certainly took my time.



Comments?

_Tim?

Hey man, sorry to hear feeling low. It sounds too simple to say stuff like, "things will look up, blah blah blah..." I just hope you feel better soon.

As for your knights... I count Nurgle as being pretty low on the cool-pedestal for me, and even the color palette associated with them just doesn't do it for me. But a cool mini is a cool mini, and that paint-job you gave those knights makes the prospect of a Nurgle-army look wicked! Props, man!

They look amazing! Very cool when you put them all togheter, have just seen solo pics before.
Sorry to hear that you're feeling low, I also do that sometimes. Especially when school is taking up alot of your time. Just hang out with your friends and you will loosen up from your "low". (I hope) I wish you best of luck and hope to hear from you soon.

Wow, nice unit indeed!!! I cannot imagine the owner being something less than happy with them!!!

Hope you'll feel better soon...

@HF Izanagi: Thanks!
@Rose_Mountainz: Yeah, they do look fairly good together. I wish I had friends to hang out with, but I don't. Ah well...
@Yggs: The owner was really happy with them, which is nice. I wasn't sure about the bases, but he loved 'em.

I am feeling a lot less depressed ATM, but I STILL haven't gotten much done. *Sigh*. I will put up some pictures of my Piranha that is slowly on the way to being finished, I have just done lots of battle damage and such. I plan on doing a couple more sept markings soon.

Since Christmas is coming up, I will probably have a buncha' new Tau stuff to paint, so expect a load of updates after New Years day.

I also have some great news on the BlackDog front: there is a customer in Montana who is wanting me to paint some miniatures for their game shop, and, if they like the 1st batch, will have me do some painting for them each month. The figures they are wanting painted are 16 Exillis Serjants and 40 D&D Ravenhale miniatures. Nothing exciting, but at least I am getting paid.

_Tim?

P.S. Yggs, as you are French, I would just like you to know that I am attempting to make French Onion Soup tonight, as I always cook on Saturdays. I will probably butcher it, and end up totally Americanizing it, but it should taste good!





Automatically Appended Next Post:
Aaand here are the pictures! Don't forget to vote on my stuff, now that I am getting my photos moved into the Dakka gallery.




Comments?

_Tim?

I like the weathering/damage on it.

Just happened upon your blog. Nice panting! that piranha definitely looks nice!

Really nice work on the suits and pirahna. I really like the weathering and paint scratching you've done.

Ha ha, so how was the Onion Soup?!?

Was it that tasty?

LOL... as much as I want to see more Tau and commission work, you've got my interest piqued with the Onion Soup. Recently tried it myself, and it came out fairly well. The second time I made it was pretty jacked, as I foolishly listened to the wife and substituted chicken boullion/stock with the required beef... *blech*

The battle damage on the piranha looks good, I would try to wash some dirt on the surfaces to make the white parts seem less clean. Nice selection of colors.

@tekk_45: Thanks!
@Mukkin'About: Glad to see people are liking my stuff! Thanks!
@Flinty: Always good to hear from a fellow Tau player, though my rebel army would disagree with that sentiment.
@Metsuri: I would like to try and make the white look less clean also, I just cannot find a way of doing it that would look atheistically pleasing. Tips?

@ Those interested in the Onion Soup: It was really good. The worst part was having to chop up 12 onions. These where then cooked for 60 minutes while being bathed liberally in Olive Oil and butter. I then added about 4 cups of Chicken Stock, 4 cups of Beef Broth, and 4 cups of water. This was all brought to a boil, after which I brought it down to a simmer, and poured in some red wine. The recipe called 2/3 of a cup, but I just kinda let it slop in. While the soup was simmering, I made 6 slices of dry toasted french bread. The soup was taken off of the heat after 30 minutes, ladled into 6 bowls, then I put a slice of bread in each bowl. The bread was covered in Swiss cheese(I could not find Gruyere), and the soup was put in the oven, so the cheese could melt. It was really good, the onions were nice and sweet, and the broth was a wonderful, Caramel color.

*Phew!* That just took me 10 minutes to type!

I have got the main body of the Piranha DONE, and I have started in on the crew. Should get pictures up by early-late afternoon. Keep a close eye on this 'ere thread!

_Tim?

mmm the soup sounds delicious! Looking forward to some updates soon as well!

Aaand here are the pictures! It is all done now! Tell me what you think of the finished product! The photos are crud, though.





_Tim?

Just stumbled upon this blog. Your models are great and I love the battle damage.

On the fluff front, according the the GW book Xenology, the etherals control the other Tau through a pheremone system. Take away the etherals and the Tau no longer see the greater good the same way. (See commander farsight's story) You could write in a accident at the plant that killed the etheral's triggering the rebellion. I didn't see this mentioned before in this thread so I thought I would mention it.

The finished Piranha looks great. You've just enough of battle damage to make it look interesting without going overboard.

As for the weathering of the white goes, the cold white you have there is probably the hardest color to weather. Everyting shows against the white so easily it is hard to do it well. I would try with some very dilluted washes/ glazes to discolor the white using brown and yellow tones. But I think this needs to be done very lightly as I think you could easily mess the nice paint job you have.

Dude, those orcs are fantastic. The knights also look absolutely great.

You have had a huge jump in quality since you started the thread and it is really great to see the changes with each new post you put up.

I may not post much but I lurk a lot, and I love checking this thread for updates. /ThumbsUp.

Ifalna wrote:Dude, those orcs are fantastic. The knights also look absolutely great.

You have had a huge jump in quality since you started the thread and it is really great to see the changes with each new post you put up.

I may not post much but I lurk a lot, and I love checking this thread for updates. /ThumbsUp.

Thanks! I am pretty much a lurker also, so no hard feelings.

I do need some advice form you, Ifalna: I have gotten a large Empire commission that should be coming soon. The 1st batch of figures is 50 Swordsmen, and 2 Warrior Priests. The requested color scheme is deep red and khaki. I am wondering if it is possible to get 25 of them done in 7 days if I work for 4 hours a day? I am just doing my basic scheme ATM.

_Tim?

You should have no problem with that no. Batch them in groups of 5 and 5 per 4 hours should be fine, depending on how much detail you are going to add

Khaki/deep red means you can use foundation mixes for them too which will be a godsend. If you are doing a foundation/wash/highlight scheme, they should not take too long at all.

Keep us updated!

Got this in the mail. It is my gift from a Secret Santa thing I have going on at another forum.

All the below was done in about 2 hours.


Cheers!

_Tim?

Nice as usual... I didn't quite get your Santa thing, but... "whaddever..."

Heh, the Santa thing is when we on the other forum exchange gifts with each other. Note that it is done in secret, so no one knows who sent them the gift. We all put clues in our signatures to help people guess. It is pretty fun!

_Tim?

So you mean someone sent you a Tau Battlesuit, painted in your colours? Nice...

Yggdrasil wrote:So you mean someone sent you a Tau Battlesuit, painted in your colours? Nice...

Nah, they just sent me a Tau Battlesuit kit.

_Tim?

Ha ha!!

Nice work mate, looking forward to seeing some more.

That's awesome! Er, awesome for both the white/red/grey scheme, (because it reminds me of Macross) and for the free X-mas Battlesuit kit!!

Keep it up!

Yggdrasil wrote:So you mean someone sent you a Tau Battlesuit, painted in your colours? Nice...

indeed...

I went ahead and did the base on the B-suit. Hoping to get some of the finishing touches worked on, and maybe get the MP and the PR, if not all the weapons, finished up tonight.

I am also re working the banners, as I decided the handles are way to thick for my liking. I also do NOT want to have to freehand my armies symbol on the banners, so I would like to make something in Photoshop. Sadly, we only have the 2nd edition, and I have no photoshop talents. Would anyone like to make one for me that I could print out and glue onto the banner pole?

The Empire commission came in! I am pretty stoked, as they are all the old swordsmen models, which I now love. They are just so much better than the new ones because they do not have huge amounts of 'bling', as in scrolls, skulls, daggers, and tons of ribbons.

Not gonna say much more, here are pictures! The 1st one is of all 50 ranked up on the tray-to the left you can see the metal Empire Warrior Priest.

And here are the first 4, still WiP. They need more highlights on their sleeves, I think. It is hard to see, but the pants are actually khaki, not black.



Thanks!

_Tim?

Wow, that alot of swordsmen. Glhf.

@Rose: Yep it is a lot. Now just remember that I have 100 Halberdiers after this!

More pictures of the first 4. They are coming along well, and look quite good for my basic "Tabletop/Trooper" quality. The scheme will work nicely when they are all in one large unit. All that is left is the base, and of course, the stockings (sadly, these are not the kind that women wear, nor are they being worn by women ) . I am trying to decide if I should paint them a cream color, of leave 'em black. Ultimately, it is up to the customer, but I would like to know what you guys think!


_Tim?

Well, if it were me, I'd add a bit more dirt on the metallic parts, by a simple Devlan, Ogryn or Gryphonne wash...

But the colour scheme is really efficient!!!

Agree, a devlan wash wouldbe superb! (but maybe only cause I'm in love with the devlan wash?) On the question about stockings, I would say leave them black.

Hello all,

Well, what with the madness of Christmas, I totally forgot to do updates! So here you guys are, 9 more finished Swordsmen. None of these are form the first batch, which is now finished. I forgot to upload the pictures...


Comments? Suggestions? Ideas? Anybody?

_Tim?

They look good for tabletop and the colors work together for a down to earth look. If you/customer want them to pop more, you could do the pants in some lighter color to get them to have more contrast to the bases.

Will they have shields?

Are the halberdiers also the old models?

Metsuri wrote:They look good for tabletop and the colors work together for a down to earth look. If you/customer want them to pop more, you could do the pants in some lighter color to get them to have more contrast to the bases.

Will they have shields?

Are the halberdiers also the old models?

Thanks Metsuri! They will have shields, but the customer forgot to send 'em in. I don't know if the halberdiers are the old models, though I hope so!

_Tim?

With the shields you can add more color to the figs without having to repaint the pants. Just use some yellow/ cream as the base color of the shield and they will have nice contrast to the main fig.

Metsuri wrote:With the shields you can add more color to the figs without having to repaint the pants. Just use some yellow/ cream as the base color of the shield and they will have nice contrast to the main fig.

Good idea! I was thinking of quartering the shields with red and the cream color I am using for the stockings/

_Tim?

How about Rose_Mountainz' and my suggestions of additional washes on metal?

@Yggs: Hmmm, I like the idea, but it wouldn't quite fit with the whole theme the customer is going for. He wants his soldiers to look like veterans of many battles, so of course they would take very good care of their weapons/armor. I will deffo use your idea when I get time to do my orcs again!

Finished 5 more Swordsmen. Still need to get pics of the general and Warrior Priest.


_Tim?

Well, that's gonna be a Horde!!

Beautiful weather~cold, yet not a cloud in the sky. You can see so many stars at night it is amazing. Forecast says the weather should stay this way for days. On the sad side, school starts again tomorrow, meaning I have a new paper to write. Gah, I really hate writing. I just cannot seem to get over my chronic case of writers-block/rage.

Painting wise, I am doing good~finished up the Warrior Priest last night! I am really proud of him, especially the blending on the sleeves and the eye. Also, I think I have gotten the trick figured out for painting higher level metals: lighter hued washes. I want to get my skills to the point where I can have a level that I can charge around $10 a figure. My upcoming Hordes Trollblood army will be a great excuse to try some new stuff out.

The pictures, as always, turned out rather gray looking. I would use auto-adjust, but then they look too bright and shiny. Hmm.

Don't forget to vote on them in the gallery!





_Tim?

I need a motivation transfusion. I am just NOT cut out for this commission thing. But lemme start at the beginning...

So, this morning I got up, and started painting the stockings on the current batch of Empire swordsmen. 6 hours later+ lunch+ laziness, the fact that I am still sick, my schoolwork, and many chores later, I finish the stockings and the bases, then prime and base the next batch of 8. Happily, I look at what I have gotten done so far. Then my eyes fall on the pile of 20+ unpainted figures, and I want to weep. I have spent more time on the bloody computer (which is right next to my painting area) than I have spent painting today. I also realized that, after this batch is over, I have 130 more figures to go, 100 of them being all the same. I am not cut out for this, and I just CANNOT GO ON! This is utterly insane! I am totally out of energy and enthusiasm, and I am not even half way done. Dunno what to say to the customer. Gosh, this sucks really bad...Cannot do any more figs, sick of the sight of creamy colored stockings and puffy sleeves. This is living hell.

_Tim?

P.S. GAH! Just realized that I am running behind schedule, AND I still need to touch up the latest batch!

Yeah, I feel sorry for you, but that's why I will probably never accept commissions, especially for whole armies... I find it difficult enough to get some time for MY painting, let alone do it for others!! (Well, Marine Swaps & the like are another matter of course, far funnier!).

So, I guess I can only wish you good luck...

Or give your parents the power cable of your computer & TV, so that these easy temptations are right out?

I've never done commissions, but I have issues focusing on my own models and like Yggdrasil said, finding time for them too. I say take a deep breath, eat your favoritist food, put on your favorite tunes and buckle down. Get this last commission done, and don't accept anymore for a while or ever. If you have the urge to commission something, do single units (though the customers would probably want those done to extremely high standards).

Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

It looks terrifying when you see it as the whole job. Sure, 200ish figures is a massive amount to paint.

However, when you break it down into little parts, it doesn't seem so bad. Write up a new schedule on a piece of paper, and observe that 100 figures is only 10 figures done 10 times.

What I find helps a lot is to spend 45 minutes painting, then 15 minutes rewarding yourself by standing up, walking around and doing some simple exercise like jumping jacks. Drink some water, get some fresh air and sunshine, then go back to painting. Luckily, 45 minutes is just long enough to watch an episode of a tv show. I find renting or buying a series to watch in the background helps a ton to relieve the boring repetition.

The models look great. Your paint job on the Empire is so much cleaner and nicer than the Tau. They look awesome!

I designate strict time limits on when I paint, I treat it like the job I eventually hope it can be, meaning I work from 6am till 2pm on weekends on nights, and 6pm till 2am on weekend on days.

If you look at it that you are being paid for the work, even if its not a massive amount, you can find it easier to get into the "job"mindset and get it done. I would also recommend varying what you are painting from personal experience. The lizardmen I am still working on were crisscrossed with other smaller commissions to stop me basically going mad from paint blue nonstop!

It will never end...

Actually, the first batch is winging it's way towards the owner as we speak! I snapped some photo's really quick, so here they are. Not much else to say~it is late, bed is calling, and I am going to meet up with a friend at my FLGS tomorrow, and then go see a movie with said friend. Life is good.


2nd Warrior Priest

Captain of the Empire


Next up is the War Altar, 5 knights, and a Battle Wizard.

Cheers!

_Tim?

Nice work! You finished the squad!

*Comes in, and upon hearing only crickets, I say*
...Is my painting blog really boring?

Is it?

_Tim?

Ey it isn't! I don't think so at least, I enjoy your work.

I type slow. So hold your pants on.

Great stuff there, really wish I had the paitience, and a working airbrush so I could get my skaven painted.

Congrats on getting your first batch done. They look really good.

The fully done swordsmen unit is a nice reward, they look stunning as could be guessed from the earlier shots. The heroes look good.

What are you using as a base for the War Altar?

@All: Thanks so much, guys!

@Metsuri: I am not doing a base for the War Altar, as it was not requested. I would love to, but I cannot...

Oookay, here are pictures! I am trying to get this batch done by the end of the week, however, that will be hard as the Parents are breathing down my neck, as they are worried by how much time I spend painting, which makes no sense, as I only paint for 2-3 hours a day. They are thinking on making two days of the week "No Painting" days, which will be a complete pain in the rear, as I HAVE to get this commission done within the next 3 months(the customer is trying to get to Adepticon), and if they implemented that rule, I could lose 24 days worth of painting, which is equivalent to around 12 batchs of 5-10 Halberdiers...Gah.

Here is the War Altar. The Golden Griffin was almost to easy to paint, just a base coat of gold and a wash. Sadly, on the back of the wings, the wash decided to pool up really badly, so I will have to re-do that. I am supposed to paint the Arch Lector to fit in with the rest of the army, so that will be interesting.

4 of the 5 knights. I am ponder as to how I should go about highlighting the barding, as it is a very unusual shape...I am pretty proud of it, though, and I tried to make each knight look individual. Naturally, everything but the armor on the knights is WiP.

Aaand the dilemma of the batch, the greenstuffed wizard. The customer converted him from a mounted model. Sadly, the greenstuff work is pretty amateur (though I could do no better), and will make the rest of the model a complete pain to paint up. I am almost tempted just to say "no", but I am being paid, so...

Lastly, here is a very bad shot of the next 5 Orc Boyz I am painting up for my unit. Once they are done, I will have 40 more to go...


Comments? Questions? Slams? Post 'em up!

_Tim?

Edit: AAAARGH! The Dakka Gallery made my photos look all fuzzy, AGAIN.

I really like the knights!

Thanks, Rose!

Just a quick update. I went ahead and started the greenstuffed wizard, and he really isn't that bad. I also did a buncha work on the War Altar and the Arch Lector. I am VERY happy with the skin on the Arch Lector, GW's Dwarf Flesh is a blessing to mankind. I am thinking of freehanding some script on the inside of his collar, just to add some visual interest.


I did a lot more work on the Knights, but for the photo, I picked out my 3 favorites. It is very hard to make myself do just one highlight on the barding, as I would like to do blending and layering...still, they are looking good!


I also decided to work on one of the SW models I have lying around, so I could practice being neat and tidy, and also control my naturally shaky hands. He looks good ATM, plus I am happy with the skin and beard. Once again, Dwarf Flesh really helps!


Please bring the comments/critiscims in, because no matter how negative they might be, I can always use them!

_Tim?

P.S. Does anyone know why the Dakka Gallery makes my photos so fuzzy and blurry looking?

The SW face is really nice indeed!!

It's nice to see you managed to end that first Empire regiment...

Hold on!

How do you paint your skin? I've been looking for some good cuality skin reciept for humans, cause I really need to work on that, so a little advice would help me.

I think it is a dark flesh undercoat thinly with thinly layered Dwarf flesh over it.

@Rose_Mountainz: I base coat with Dwarf Flesh(DF), then apply a walnut colored wash to it. Then I just add another layer of DF, and begin highlighting! Easy as cake. Glad you like it!

Oh, and good news! I bagged a small WoC commission, and an even smaller SM commission(4 figures to be exact~it is part of a trade for 60 Night Gobbos, so expect to see those up sometime soon!)

I am also in the grips of a geeky dilemma: I have been looking at and comparing, side by side, my 1st 3 units I painted up for my Tau army, back in the spring, and I gotta say, if I ever go to a tournament, I am gonna have a heck of a time convincing people that I painted them, as they look so bad compared to my latest; messy, blobby, thick, and the Devilfish is just plain scary, as apparently I didn't clean my brush out thoroughly, and ther are areas where the white looks plan gray. Really cringeworthy stuff :(. SO, what should I DO with them (the being the first unit of FW's, the first unit of PF's, and the Devilfish)?!

_Tim?

Wow Classic swordsmen.

Haven't seen them in a while.

@Melkhiordarkblade: Yes, they are rather antiquated, their simplicity is refreshing! I once tried to start and Empire army, and the sheer amount of skulls, ribbons, daggers, and other bits of frippery where a real pain to paint, as I was always missing something!

_Tim?

Nothing exciting, just a quick update today. The War Altar and the Wizard are all 75 percent finished, so I decided I might as well take some photos. *Yawn*




_Tim?

I'm sorry Tim, I don't like those old Empire models much...

But I do like the jade griffin on the 1st one! The colour's nice!

As for the Tau dilemma, is the whole model bad in apprearance or is it just small areas, because at any rate you COULD strip and start over, but then again maybe you could just use a Q-tip and clean up those small areas by stripping jus the affected areas.

@Yggs: I trust you mean the models, and not the paintjobs? Glad you like the Jade effect, it turned out well.

@btemple0: Basically, it is the whole model that is the problem. And I cannot strip them, as I got the Infantry off of eBay, and that is what made them look blobby, since I could not get the paint out of the cracks. I got the Devilfish new, but due to the fact that I did not know how to paint whites that well at the time, is looks plain bad and messy. Bleh. I guess I just need to buy a replacement model, as I will NOT field the current one in a tourney. Having a nice smooth white primer will be great for whenever I get the new one, it will go 100 times faster.

Well, I am getting the current batch shipped off tomorrow, so it will be nice to have that out of the way! No pics until they are finished, so in the meantime, here is a little update for you guys (especially you, Yggs, as you play Skaven). I got my hands on the Skaven Warlord model from the IoB starter set, just because it is such a nice model, almost as good any of the new metal models! He is a blast to paint, and I am particularly happy with the armor, as even though I painted it white, it still looks dirty and very Skaven-esque. I knew I wanted the cloth to be gray, but at the same time, I also wanted the ruin he is standing on to be gray. So, to avoid monotony, I added brown to each layer of gray drybrush on the cloth, and blue to each layer of drybrush on the stone. I think it turned out well. I am also super happy with the blade on his spear/poleaxe.

Two of the pictures are not the best, but the one that looks more natural (1st one) shows what the color looks like the most effectively.




Comments?

_Tim?

i like them alot

SWEET Skaven! I have a ton of those lil' buggars to do but I have no idea what color I want to paint them. Bet he's gonna be awesome when done. Keep it up!

I really need to paint my warlord...


Well Do waht you ahve to do if you think other players will not recognise the work as your own.

That's a nice colour for a Skaven... Really original, and you managed to keep it dirty!!!

The chips on the halberd blade are nicely done as well!!!

Nothing much today, just the 1st coupla models for the WoC commission.




_Tim?

Nice blue!

REALLY like the flags on those tau. I always love the flags on minis. One of the best things about the cadian command squad box is that it has 2.

The WoC look nice, maybe I would suggest a light glaze on the drybrushed blue parts to remove that dusty look... Unless it's the way you want them!

@bunnygurl: The blue did turn out nicely! BTW, where did your user name come from?
@GruesomeTwosome: Glad to know you like them! I was working on re-doing them so that the poles would be thinner and more realistic, and so that the Sept symbol would look more symmetrical, but got distracted by commission.
@Yggdrasil: I did contact the owner with the same suggestion, however, he is happy with them looking dusty.

On that not, me and the customer slightly changed plans when it comes to the WoC color scheme: I originally basecoated the capes Warlock Purple, then did a lot of Tentacle Pink drybrushing over that, but he decided on something different. Basically, I basecoat the whole cape with Hormogaunt Purple, then highlight with a 60/40 mix of Warlock Purple and Hormogaunt Purple. Then I highlight the very edges of the fabric with straight Warlock, and drybrush the fur with Tentacle Pink. It looks very interesting. Sadly, no pictures to show. However, I do have pics of some other stuff, namely some wizards, and an update on the Empire commission.

Firstly, here is an Empire Battle Wizard I am painting up for display at the FLGS. He is an interesting project, and I had a hard time figuring out a good way to paint his beard/hair, but I settled on giving him black roots, with the tips of his hair to be orange. I may or may not highlight the black areas. Otherwise, I am pretty happy with him, his face looks nice and intense.

Second up is a Lore of Life wizard. I tried some new techniques for highlighting him, namely getting to a final, almost pure Bleached Bone highlight on the robes. Not much else to say.


Thirdly, here is the customers Lore Of Life miniature, all finished up. He looks quite nice, so don't forget to vote on him!

Aaand the Arch Lector on War Altar, which is 95% done. Still gotta do the wheel and the horses(the horses are going to be dead dull to paint).


Thanks for looking!

_Tim?

Well, I'm a girl, but I thought I'd be special and use a U instead of an I 'cause I like to mispell. The bunny part came from the fact that I love bunnies. I currently have 6, but I used to have 16. All acquired from accidental breeding 'cause I hadn't learned how to tell bunny genders yet.

Your work looks very good. Enjoy the horses. I love painting horses btw.

16 bunnies? Really? Lol...

Tim, voting is done!

Nice job on the beard of the first wizard, that black basecoat is great & unusual!

The arch lector turned out gream tim!

Well, this is awkward.

I mean, I meant to get pictures of Orc Boyz I have been working, and I meant to get photos and a quick tutorial up for a really nice technique for painting black cloth.

To bad my photos didn't turn out.

*Faceplam*.

Oh, and I meant to get pictures up of the Empire knights, which are almost done. And I meant to post about how I am un-happy with them, and am just aboout to go insane from how long I have been making them take because I have been so insistent upon making them all look individual that I have now spent way to long on them and now I am about to go insane aragaragarag-!

Oh, well.

*Wholebodypalm*

_Tim?

Christ Tim, every time I come to post in this thread I am flabbergasted by your rate of improval when it comes to highlighting.

The latest work is really great, the wizards firey beard and cloak highlights are looking stellar. Are you enjoying working with the Empire? They seem to give lots of opportunities to use fun colours.

Yggdrasil wrote:16 bunnies? Really? Lol...!

Yup. Needless to say.....too many.

_Tim? - Please don't go insane. We need you to continue painting models to show us so that we can continue to aaah and oooh all over you. What would be left for us if you end up in a round rubber room?

@Ifalna: Thanks! To answer the question, my attitude towards the Empire commission is pretty much "meh", leaning towards "bleh". I had not realized how slow I am until now. See below...
@Bunnygurl: Hah, I was mostly trying to be funny. Did I just manage to worry you? S

I think you guys will understand my frustration with the Knights if I show you pictures. Let's put it this way: Ifalna, I may be getting better at highlighting, but it appears from the knights that I have actually take about 3 steps back when it comes to neatness and smoothness of highlights. Either it is something about the models themselves, or either it is I don't know what, but they are the hardest things I have ever had to paint in my three years of experience...Worst bit is, I am WAY behind schedule on this batch. And I just realized that I have two papers I was supposed to have written by now that I need to turn in...Plus, I have been making a lot of mistakes in all of my Algebra 1 tests and daily lessons...It has been one of "those" weeks. Y'know, the ones that make you feel like banging your brains out on a brick wall. I really need to go do something fun.

Just a quick update today. I have finished 5 of the Marauders, and have to say, they are pretty fun to paint. The skin on the middle Marauder(with blue hair) turned out quite nice and smooth looking. Anyways, not much else to say. I am just enjoying the weekend.



Hope you like 'em!
(And yes, some votes would be nice! )
Euen

Yeah, those are great!!!

The contrast between the blue & skin is really striking... A large unit of those guys should be impressive to behold!

Thanks, Yggs!

Well, just a quick update today (again). Sageheart is having me paint two figures for him as part of a trade: a Howling Griffin SM, and a Sons of Khalida SM. I have starte in on the Howling Griffin, and I am really glad I chose to use white primer, or else I would only be halfway done with the yellows by now!

Click the picture for a zoom-able one in my gallery! Voting will be enabled once I get it finished.


_Tim?

Really fantastic red blends there. The white primer is a godsend for getting a lovely strong light colour!

That thar be a FANTASTIC model! keep up the good work!

The blue on the marauder is really striking. The skin on the centre one looks lovely and smooth and you seem to have mastered painting blue.. Do I see some grey on the boots though?

I'm not a fan of the howling griffin (the model itself) but I am really curious to see how it turn out as it looks like a peach!

Wow, lots of new stuff since I last visited! Marauders look great, Tim! I like the blue on their armor, it's looking really good!

For the knights' highlights, is there a particular style of painting you're using on them? I think dry-brushing the highlight would make it more uniform and focused on the ridges (which is where I assume you're not feeling so hot on)... or if you're trying it wet, maybe try to run the side of the brush against the ridge for a uniform line, instead of the tip of the brush itself? I'm trying to paint up my charity marine right now... and I'm thinking that's how I'll do it for the solid edges... jus a thought?

I personally like the colors of the Empire army you chose- hope you find the fire for them again and turn them out for your customer!

your skill are great i can;t only hope that gw will release better knight modles for the empire

@Ifalna: Newsflash: if Ifalna says the blending is good, I can know it is good! Thanks!
@obi-wan34: Always good to hear an encouraging comment!
@taffiarti: Cheers! There is some gray on the boots, I just noticed that...better go fix it!
@HF Izanagi: Man, everybody likes the blue! Guess I'd better stock up on that color, I normally never have any on hand, except for some Vallejo Game colors, and I really dislike those, their hue is very neon and annoying. I finally got the knights armor figured out, so they have been a lot easier
@kevlar'o: Thanks! In general, I really dislike the older GW models, as it seems that the larger they where, the more bland they became. Take the knights, for example. They are almost all armor plating, with the only relief for the repetition being the plumes, the horse, and the wreaths around the knights helmets.

Okay, here are pictures! First off, a quick shot of Sagehearts figures. I haven't done much else on the Howling Griffin model, though I have made some progress on the Son of Khalida SM. I really like the color scheme, the blue and orange work nicely together.

Aaand here are some updates on the WoC commission. The 8 Marauders that are currently WiP should be done by tomorrow, and then I will only have 17 more to go . The Chaos Warriors are all in various states of progress, but I am expecting to have the full unit of 20 done by the end of this week/early next week.



I am also hoping to get the knights finished by the end of the day, as all that needs done is their shoulder pads, which will be red, and the wreath on one of their helmets. I have also started the War Altars horses, these just need highlights.


And of course, the *yawn* update. Just some more of my Boyz, nothing much to say here, 'cept that they are still WiP.


Comments? Criticisms? Flames?

_Tim?

I really like the colors of both those Marines. They look great! Kudos on the half n' half color Berzerker. You did the yellow very well!

The Chaos Warriors and Marauders are great too. The color scheme is awesome! I especially like the back of the capes on the Warriors. The shadow color and highlight color go very well together IMO.

The Knights don't look too bad at all, but I'm not a fan of Empire so I'm biased.

And Orcs...can't say nothing bad 'bout Orcs. They rule all.

Thanks, bnnygurl!
Spent a good portion of yesterday rummaging through my bitz box, and I managed to make myself a Black Orc Warboss and a Black Orc BSB. Really happy with the trophy banner on the Warbosses (Rognut Da Wild) back, it originally was part of the metal shaman box set. Rognut is, in my mind, a very scrappy Black Orc, and wears whatever armor he can find. I like to imagine that the shield attached to his left arm can be used both as, well, a shield, but also as a Hand Weapon. I didn't use/need the shaman on boar, so I stole it. The Black Orc Battle Standard Bearer (Blagar Da Slow) is just regular plastic BSB from the plastic Bos Set, then I pimped it out with various bitz. There is a plastic Snotling from the Fanatics box set glued to the top, though you cannot see it in the picture.
Orcs wise, I am looking to get my hands on at least two boxes of the new Savage orcs, and maybe 4 boxes of regular Boar Boyz. I also need a second box of Black Orcs, to serve as Grimgors Bodyguard. However, I am spending this week finishing the Chaos Commission, so don't expect to see those boyz for a looong time.
(Click for zoom-enabled)


Cheers!
_Tim?

I got an Empire Battle Wizards box in the mail today, so now I can make my eccentric wizard for the D&D games I have been playing in, because another player is getting angry that I drop a Space Marine on the table for a "representation of character location". So thanks for the tip.

Well, I got the Empire knights+the War Altar shipped off about...5 days ago. However, being the lazy curmudgeon that I am, I have no gotten the photos up yet. Finally, here they are, and yes, please vote!


(I actually wasn't happy with the Knights myself, though the customer wa shead over heels with glee at them. Go figure!)
And here is a quick update on Nogrut, my Blorc Warboss. The skin tone looks pretty good, IMO. ANd I am also pretty happy with the armor battle damage. All in all, he is gonna look awesome on the battlefield/in the display case.



_Tim?

I hope your commissions will reach their owner safely...

As for Da 'Boss, the face is really good... The purple hues and lips add a great touch to it!! Very, very nice!!!

Thanks, Yggs! I saw that you got another miniature displayed on the gallery front page, that's awesome! I still have yet to reach that skill/patience that it takes to get a figure worthy of the gallery front page. Ah well, try and try again!

Played my first game of 40k on Sunday, my Tau versus The_Wicker_Man's eldar (he is needing motivation to get his Farseer done, so here is a link to his Plog here on Dakka, so you guys can cheer him on! [http]http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/316847.page[/http] )
We were totally astonished at how easy it is to kill vehicles, and how un-strategic the game was. He left his Rulebook here, so I went through it, and realized that the reason the game was so messed up feeling was that we had been doing it all wrong! We also played some Warhammer fantasy battle also. This was his first time playing 8th edition, so we called it quits by the end of turn 3, as he was getting confused becuase I was doing a horrible time of teaching him the rules and I was getting a little bit agro about rules. He has been reading the rulebook for the past couple of days, and he said it is making tons more sense now, so we might re-try it this weekend. My Orc Warboss, worked perfectly, and my unit of 40 Big 'Uns took out about 5 chaos Knights, thanks to the Waaagh! spell. Interesting game, all around.

Got the next batch of Empire stuff in, and most of the Halberds where broken, so I am going to be spending a while gluing them back. Still have not finished the Chaos commission, which I was planning on having done on Monday. Guess I will try and get all of the Chaos Warriors finished today, and maybe get the next batch of 10 Marauders 1/2 way done.

Finished Sagehearts marines, though! I am pretty happy with these buggers, and the OSL turned out pretty good on the plasma pistol, especially as this was my first time doing OSL. Please vote on them, if you feel so inclined, and don't forget to post your comments here, I am always wanting more feedback from people!
(Click the pics for full-sized, zoom able photos, and a gallery of all the sides of each model)



Cheers!
_Tim?

What!? No love for the Marines?!

Awwww...

Well, expect pics of the finished Chaos Warriors soon! And then pics of the Empire Halberds and Outriders.

_Tim!?

The berzerker head is throwing me off there, otherwise they are great.

btemple0 wrote:The berzerker head is throwing me off there, otherwise they are great.

Yeah, I am not quite sure why Sageheart chose that head, but it is his model, so, what can a guy do>

_Tim?

In that case, what you are told to do. Perhaps I just need to see a few more standing together in that case so it does not seem so out of place.

I dig the battle-damage on the blue marine... that guy looks awesome!

Thankk, HF! I am not to into it, but I am practicing.

_Tim?

The chaos knights in purple look cool together.

Yay!! I finished the Chaos commission yesterday! Man, it feels good to have something done. I am really happy with the Marauders, and I enjoyed painting them up so much that they ended up being a mixture between the two levels of paintjob that I do. Not as happy with the Chaos warriors, as I really could have done a LOT more with them, but the customer stressed that is was critical that they looked almost the same as his figures. Gotta follow orders!
And Tau fans, all is not lost! I received a Hammerhead and 3 Stealth suits in the mail about two days ago, so expect to see them up soon. I am thinking of painting the lower parts of the Stealth suits like the bases that they are one, so it will look like they are either going into stealth mode, or coming out of it. Ought to be interesting. The Hammerhead is gonna be a breeze to paint, as I primed it white, which cuts down painting time in half. I wont be skimping on quality, so it ought to look very cool.




Enjoy!
_Tim?

Good looking units. They look sharp and uniform, nice to see you finished with them.

Great work _Tim?, the marauders look very intimidating.

Some_Call_Me_Tim? wrote:Thanks, Yggs! I saw that you got another miniature displayed on the gallery front page, that's awesome! I still have yet to reach that skill/patience that it takes to get a figure worthy of the gallery front page. Ah well, try and try again!

??? I didn't see that!!! Which one was it?!?

Good job on the Marines, I like them... The Howling Griffon Berzerker looks great!

Bleh. Sorry I vanished...The past 8 or so days have been insane, as I am have been really struggling with various stuff related to my education, namely math/getting papers finished late.

Still, I have gotten some done.
These Outriders were about 60% done when I took this photo, they are now about 90%, just some things here are there that need done. I have also managed to get 10 of 50 Habelrdiers finished, but no pics.


I do, however, have some good news: I snagged a Space Hulk commission! Really excited, as I have a lot of time to do it, the customer almost never gets to play the game, so the figures will be mostly for display. Which means I am going to be painting them up to a very high quality.

_Tim?

Some good looking end results in here!

Love the colours of the chaos knights!

Starting a Space Hulk commission today! Really liking the models, they are very well done for 2-3 piece sculpts. I am painting all of the Termies up to Hero level, and all of the 'nids up to Trooper level. They all look like a ton of fun to paint, and I am taking about a day for each Terminator.

I also got to use the new Orcs book for the first time yesterday evening! It was an awesome game, 2,250 points. It was a tie , which is surprising as I was playing against WoC. Magic didn't do much, as I rolled badly for casting and dispelling. I didn't get a chance to cast the Foot of Gork, or the new Little Waaagh! Vortex spell. Pretty satisfying to see two (mostly) painted armies having at each other.

Forgive the photo of the WiP Terminator, my camera was acting up. The figure does not look that flat in person. Now that main part of him (the armor) is finished, I only have a couple things here and there to attend to.

Enjoy!


_Tim?

More paint has been applied to the Terminator...




_Tim?

Reds are looking really, really good, Tim. Another huge success. Nice glow effect and detailing too, you really are improving leaps and bounds!

Agreed with Ifalna, the OSL is striking, especially on the more distant pic!
The armour highlights are nice too!

Good job!

Excellent work on the gems, really brings them out. Question; how many light sources are you using when painting? I count two distinct patterns of light: 1 from above and 1 from below.

Sorry about the silence! I have had the flu (got over it about 4 days ago) and since then, I have been very busy with real life stuff, so I have not been able to update! Imagine that, so busy painting that I don't have time to update my Plog!

I will (hopefully) get an update put up here somewhere soon!

_Tim?

I present...

40 Halberdiers, still in need of basing! Bleh!

8 Space Hulk Terminators, all in various stages of completion! Double bleh!

1 Hordes Troll Axer!


1 Hordes Troll Impaler(WiP)!

1 Hordes Madrak Ironhide! WiP!



That is all for today.

_Tim?

Just a bit of an update on the Space Hulk commission. I am really having fun with the red armor, as I primed with white. Sadly, the white primer I am using seems to be rather reluctant to hold paint, so I have been using Testors Dullcote after I paint any area, like a gem or spikey bit, that is prone to the paint wearing off when I handle the model. It is working quite well, as you can see by the pictures.

I am expecting to be done with this commission in about a week and a half. I have also been working on the Empire commission, but I will not bore you guys with pictures (the next batch of Empire is going to be a lot more fun, as it is all artillery/heroes).




Cat got your tongues? Or is my blog really that boring?

_Tim?

great job on the termies Tim, real crisp

The termies are looking good, nicely done.

Awesome SH terminators! Are you doing the 'stealers too?

@TheChronoTrigger: Thanks!
@AesSedai: Thanks so much!
@Hf Izanagi: Thank you! Yes, I am doing the 'Stealer too, I just need to finish the final 4 Terminators.

I am contemplating painting more tonight. But I probably shouldn't, my eyes are getting heavy. In the spirit of the Adeptus Mechanicus "the flesh is weak". Especially when I warm bed awaiting.

_Tim?

Yay, updates!
(Click for bigger pictures!)
Claudio, finished!


Goriel, WiP!

Omnio, WiP!

Librarian, WiP!


_Tim?

Wow, almost 11700 views! That's crazy.

In other news, I may be getting a Warmachine Cryx commission sometime soon, so here's to hoping that this one falls through!

_Tim?

Definitely getting better & better, Tim...

Nice job on those Terminators... Can't wait to see them finished!

Thanks, Yggs!

I started work on the Broodlord! Sadly, the pictures are awful; my camera only had about 3 minutes of battery left. Oh well, lemme know what you guys think!




Man, it's nice to take a break from painting red!

_Tim?

Looks good. The color transition on the tongue especially catches the eye, good work on it.

Sat myself down and made myself do a Stealth Suit member today. I am really, really happy with the color scheme I have chosen, though it is nothing like the scheme on the rest of the army. Still need some work on some bits here and there, but other than that, he is done!





Cheers!
_Tim?

Yaaay! Finished the second to last batch of Empire stuffs! One more batch, and I am DONE for the Summer (or forever, I have not yet decided).

(Also, no love for the Stealthsuit? Awww.)

All of the figures from this batch:

The Outriders, I am really, really happy with these guys. They just turned out right in every way.

The Great Cannon

Aaand the main course of this batch, the horde of 50 Halberdiers. Only 50 more to go!


C&C would be awesome, guys!

_Tim?

Man I love that stealth suit

Oops... I guess that comment on the stealth suit didn't get sent after all But! I like it, in an urban graffiti sort of style to my eyes. That may not have been what you were going for but it really captures the look in my eyes, at least. So if that was your intention, I approve

Kaesar II

Hey, I am glad you like him! I meant for him to look like that, since I figured he would blend in better (of course, they can go invisible, but what the heck, it looks cooler this way!). I am thinking of painting the final 2 to look like they are phasing into stealth mode, so I would paint their lower half the same as the bases. How would that work?

Cheers!

_Tim?

Nice work on the Empire troops, the cannon and outriders especially stand up.

I think the phasing stealth suit will work as long as you leave the upper half of the figs appear as non stealth. One problem you might run into is that the base seems to be pretty close to the colors of the stealth suit and you may struggle to get enough contrast between the stealth and non stealth parts of the fig.

Thanks for the tips and input, Metsuri! I will keep them in mind.

Aaand, just for fun, here are some pictures of my painting desk. I really have too many projects going on....
Project 1: Empire
Project 2: Space Hulk
Project 3: Various Warmachine/Hordes figures
Project 4: MORE Warmachine/Hordes figures
Project 5: Tau
And, maybe someday, when I get a project out of the way, Project 6: Dark Eldar.





Insanity beckons.

_Tim?

I can relate to your madness completely, I have currently ongoing following projects:
- reinforcements to my skorne
- reinforcements to my cygnar
- half a unit of dark eldar wyches
- unit of WHFB empire crossbowmen
- crew of resurrectionists for Malifaux

and in the sidelines await some infinity figs and my Space Hulk set and ...

Yeah, well, I just got commission number 7 in. It is so important that I am taking a break for the next couple of weeks from the other commissions.


Lady GaGa wants me to paint up her collection of "little monsters".


_Tim?

I have gotten a bunch of stuff done since my last post, I just need to get it photographed! In the meantime, here are some pictures to look at and (hopefully!) comment on.

First off, I have the NG shaman from BfSP. Or rather, two of them. The one one the left is the first one I ever painted, and the one on the right I just finished in 4 hours. It is interesting, and a little disappointing, to see how much I have progressed in 3 years.


And here are 4 WIP Black Orcs. I am really trying to get razor edge highlighting down, since my end goal is to be able to paint as well as some of the newer 'Eavy Metal paintjobs. Maybe not the same style, but as skillfully.


Hope you guys like them!

_Tim?

I'm curious Tim, Why disappointed with the comparison between the minis? Did you expect a much large difference between the two?

taffiarti wrote:I'm curious Tim, Why disappointed with the comparison between the minis? Did you expect a much large difference between the two?

Yes, I guess I did. I have some pretty high standards for myself.

However, he DOES look better in a new photo I took of him.

Thaaats better. And here is some new stuff as well! The pictures are all about 5 days old, though, so I have made a lot more progress since than.
Some Black Orcs...

My Orc Warboss, still WiP.

And 5 (finished!)more orc boyz, a part of my unit of 40.


_Tim?

Long time, no update, eh? I have been pretty busy with school/life in general, so I haven't been able to get much painting done at all. Oh well, here is some new stuff for you guys!

First off, I have made some progress on my Hammerhead. I decided to try a new technique for weathering my models, so I broke out some out bits of foam and mixed up a rusty color, and voila! Some really nice, easy battle damage and weather. I also took some mithril silver and stippled it on the damaged green areas, but I am undecided as to if I like it. Also, I'm also having trouble deciding if I like the way the highlights came out on the green bits...do you guys have any thoughts here? I could really use'em!



Also, I was so happy with the damage on the Hammerhead that I did the same thing on the Piranha. Nothing much else to say except that I am really satisfied with the way it turned out.



Here are some more updates on the Space Hulk commission! I am nearing the customers deadline of August, so I am hoping to get in some big 'ol weekend painting sessions.



And finally, some Savage orcs! Got these guys two weeks ago, got in a couple sessions with them, then I had to set them aside. Planning on getting these guys done sooner rather than later. Not to into the gory teeth on the middle one, though,


And here are two shots, one of the tattoo design I am going for, and another of the blood effect I am using, which involves lots of paintbrush splattering. I just need some gloss varnish to finish it off.



C&C would be really appreciated, guys.

_Tim?

Heya Tim.

Actually like the damaged effect on the Tau vehicles - my only concern is how it's done - you said a rusty colour? So it's it pure metal on base colours? Possibly some black under and then the metal on top to create the chipping effect as well?

DarkStarSabre wrote:Heya Tim.

Actually like the damaged effect on the Tau vehicles - my only concern is how it's done - you said a rusty colour? So it's it pure metal on base colours? Possibly some black under and then the metal on top to create the chipping effect as well?

Thanks, DarkStar! I did the weathering effect by first mixing up a 20/80 mix of Scorched Brown and Black, respectively. This was the first layer; after that, I worked up to pure Scorched Brown. Then I mixed a little bit of Scorched Brown/black, and Mithril Sliver, and stippled this on. After that dried, I just stippled on pure Mithril Silver.

I am thinking of using the sponge technique over the Mithril Sliver parts, using a 50/50 mix of Scorched Brown/Blazing orange. Any thoughts?

_Tim?

Wow, that weathering is a stunning effect!!!

And the 'stealers are great too, you're definitely moving your standards higher & higher as time passes by!!!

Next year should be a GD!

Heya Tim...thanks for clarifying the weathering.

I'd say avoid orange though - for some reason Tau equipment doesn't seem the sort that would rust. Just tarnish.

Hey Tim, been a while since I last posted here.

Wow, I must say I am impressed. The weathering on the Piranha and the Hammerhead is brilliant. It's definitely a great contrast with the otherwise clean and crisp paint scheme of your Tau force.

The commissions are also looking ace. I really like those nids, as you've pulled off the 'classic' Genestealer very well. In particular, the Broodlord looks fantastic, with the well defined highlights. Your brushwork has definitely improved since even your last update (and they looked great).

And lastly, the Orcs. The tattoos are excellent and the gore has been pulled off really well.

Anyway, It's great to see your updates again.

Gathering Storm

Hey, thanks guys! It's always good to hear from you all!

Anyways, I have a question for my readers. I am working on a Empire Battle Wizard (Lore of Fire), to be sold on eBay. However, I am having some trouble with the flame. Somehow, the flames looks very...cartoonish and flat, more like a flag than flames. Any ideas on how to improve it? It's still a wip, so there is room for improvement!




Cheers!
_Tim?

I wouldn't claim to be an expert on blending, but I reckon a more feathery transition into each higher level of flame would make a bit more realism- some lines of orange starting in the yellow, some lines of red starting in the orange, some black going all the way through?

My unprofessional opinion given since... just now, Kaesar II

Ace work on all the pieces - love the weathering on the tau vehicles and I wish those were my genestealers!

On the wizard - I think the direction of the colour is why it looks a little out. Rather than layering vertically like you have maybe try following the colours along the flames (horizontally). Hope that makes sense!

Keep up the good work.

Cheers Laney

@Laney: So the yellow would be on the downside of the flames, with the black flames at the top, near the tip of the sword? I will try it out!

_Tim?

I am liking your latest stuff, the stealers are very nice, you should try the tamyia clear red method for the blood on your savage orcs