The Asurion Corporation would like to apologize for any confusion caused by our Public Relations Department. The teams responsible have been terminated, and the new teams have restored the previous headline. We hope that this alleviates any further issues, and that you continue to choose Asurion Heavy Industries!
Re: Solar Lion: Currently the suit is disassembled for ease of painting. However, we are pleased to release some project concept art.
First, the general idea for the scheme- A British Mark IV tank. Of particular note is the Brown-green coloration and the white and red striping towards the front of the hull.
Spoiler:
We worked with the client to develop a suitable scheme, finding several suitable colors in the Vallejo line (Primer UK Bronze Green, Cam. Olive Green, and Olive Green). After all surfaces are highlighted, striping will be added in white and red. The unit's designation, in this case ∀-99, will be added in white.
After gloss varnishing, the entirety will be washed with oil paints in order to simultaneously line panels and effect a light weathered look to the rest of the suit.
Thank you for continuing to choose Asurion Heavy Industries!
Took a while longer because the elbows broke from me handling it and the mineral spirits. Been working on cleaning some parts of the Warlord, too... Probably have some shots of that later.
Wehrkind wrote:Very pretty! Has a pretty nice feeling of heft to it.
It does, I was a little worried when I gave him the cannon because it's from a newer kit and that kit has a support piece on the Gundam's back (see the nub on top of the cannon for the attach point).
Yorkright wrote: Good looking model, someone should be quite pleased with the results. Whats next on the agenda Ramos?
Thanks guys! It was a fun little project. Overall, I'm really impressed with these kits- very different experience compared to working with GW and the like. I wouldn't mind doing another one, and its just as well because Alf gave me a pair of kits for Christmas... Yaaaaaaaay!~
So thats something to look forward to in the new year!
@graven: you know... I didnt notice it at first, but I tried to find some sort of guitar for him, but alas.... no such toys around here!
===================
So for a while (probably this past year) I've been having some minor issues with my airbrush. It leaks a little bit, so was running constantly just to keep 20PSI. Then shortly after the Gundam got its base color, it bit the dust and wouldnt spray past 5-10. Bummer.
And so I found myself with a sudden open spot in my schedule. Everything I paint is usually based with an airbrush, so without one Im left at a bit of a standstill. In particular, the next project was supposed to be an AdMech army- Onager Dunecrawler, a Dragoon, then a squad each of Skitarri Rangers, Ruststalkers, and Electropriests.
Well, the new compressor is on order (what timing for a fitting Christmas present, eh?), so while I wait for it I killed some time with Minecraft and X3 and also poked about with some projects sitting around the workshop. (yes, I did a little Marines Errant work, SL!)
But probably what is most interesting for you guys is the stompy robot.
The really stompy robot.
The really, REALLY Super-stompy robot.
Its the Titan. Im talking about the Warlord Titan.
Part 1: Wash-lord Titan
First step was to wash all of the parts. Basic soak in warm water and dish soap. This is a basic step for all resin kits, and the Warlord was no exception. In fact, with larger parts like this, as well as it being a significantly expensive "collectors" model, I anticipated that they would be absolutely caked in mold release. I threw the larger pieces through the wash a second time to make sure as much of the stuff was removed as was possible. Turned out to be a good plan- after the first wash, the water was really cloudy- almost milky. The second wash was much clearer.
Needless to say, there were a lot of parts... Here we are after giving everything a good scrub with a toothbrush (courtesy of my little brother, shhh don't tell him ) Everything laid out to dry for a day or two.
Man, can't wait to see that beast come together! Hopefully the Gundam was good "giant stompy walker" practice (although much cleaner looking than I'm expecting you'll go for on the Titan)
Ramos, is your entire house cursed with terrible wall paper?
I see you have attempted to cover it up with dirty clothes and scraps of garbage. Wait, do I spot some booze on the night stand? NICE! Next time I would crop that out of the picture. It really takes away from the amazing display of bits and pieces.
I'm definitely excited for it. Its a hell of a kit already, just in sheer parts. Hopefully I can keep you guys entertained over the inevitably long and drawn out assembly and painting process.
Paint scheme will be just like the Warhound before it, so Metal, Gold, black, and white. Naturally at a far grander scale, but it should be pretty clean. I'm hoping to find a better way of doing the metals this time around- cant wash over an area this large!!
@Ice: Yeeeeeah, the walls around here (I live in the basement) havent been updated in probably 20 years... Lots of ugly xD
And that's just a bottle of Listerine, not booze!
Alfndrate wrote: So if I get a Perfect Grade Gundam kit, can we have a battle of the giant robots?
YES YES YES YES YES!!!!
@Warboss: Oh just wait... I did a dry fit of the gun and... wow... It's something else
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New compressor!!
Since I was going for an upgrade anyways, I decided to go for a pump with a tank. So far Im really liking having the reserve pressure. I do need to figure out the regulator settings, though. Currently spraying this at max, so around 60psi- a liiiiittle too much for general airbrushing.
But I didnt let that stop me from messing around with it anyways! Broke out one of the new gunpla kits (The RX-78-2) and started to do a full paint-up on it.
Heres where we're going with this kit- Keeping the classic colors on this one, might do the other one in a bit more of an extreme color choice.
Lovely layer of blue... My little brother remarked that it has very "Lego-y" colors. I sort of see what he means. Its super different to my normal fare, with lots of pure primary colors.
Even though Im painting the model, the kits are designed for just snapping together. One thing that I find fascinating about these kits is the use of multicolor sprues. On this one sheet alone there is red, blue, yellow, and a clear yellow.
A little more airbrush work later, and I have a torso, a head, and one arm!
Probably going to do a little more work on it tomorrow, then itll be Christmas!
@edc: Im priming all of the colored and white bits with Badger STYNYLREZ White out of my airbrush (tangent: I figured out the regulator, so if sprays at a nice 25-30 psi!). The interior gray bits are all black STYNYLREZ.
@Alpharius: Alas, I fear our dreams may be short-lived... According to Alf, most PG gundam kits fall under 14 inches tall, so I think Warhound is a more apt comparison... Unless we put one gundam on another's shoulders.
=========================
No work photos today, but I just wanted to drop in and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!
As per tradition, have a bizarre, vaguely Christmas-related carol!
Hope everyone enjoys their holidays, and that family doesnt drive you too crazy
Giant Robots battling is my favorite sub-genre of Anime so...yes, please!
Yeah, after I mentioned giant robots fighting, I went and looked at the scale of Perfect Grades. They're 1/60th scale, which comes out to about 360mm which is close to 14 inches.
I would need 2 Perfect Grades to make it a fair fight.
Christmas is come and gone, and its back to business!
Warlord PART 2: Bearing Arms
With the parts washed and dried overnight, I cleared the tables and put the parts into two plastic tupperware containers. The first was the smaller parts. The pistons, the lascannons, the pipes. You wont want those knocking around with the larger bits! The second box was everything else. The feet, the legs, armor, etc.
TIP: Youre gonna want to have a good bit of room on your desk to build this model. Not only does the kit have tons of parts, but the subassemblies will take up a considerable chunk of space. (More on this in Part 3)
The instruction book for the kit is spectacular- Full color and plenty of detail shots. Most views have markings where they recommend gluing, and any gates and areas of casting support are called out for ease of removal. Its very much like the instruction book for the new Knight Warden kit in these regards.
Even though there are a few hundred pieces, everything is clearly identifiable, and they give you a nice checklist on the first page. Took me maybe half an hour to double check the parts list. Everything’s here!
On to assembly!
As with any other resin kits, clip of the gates and pouring channels and sand/file down the remaining nubs. I recommend using a razor saw to cut the larger channels. Sprue cutters dont handle it well, and knives certainly wont cut it.
As far as glue, Im using JB Weld. Its some of the toughest epoxy I know of. Once it sets, it ends up being tougher than the resin around it! I’ve never had anything come apart after being JB Welded...
I started with the Volcano Cannon to get a feel of the kit as a whole. Assembly is simple on these, You have 3 primary parts of the gun, then a number of smaller detail parts and armor plates. Below is a scale shot of the basic assembly with my arm and a Tau Ethereal. Its BIG!
TIP: Leave the armor panels off! (The instruction book even recommends you do so) This’ll make painting the parts WAY easier!
TIP #2: Rough up the contact points before applying glue. I just scored the surfaces with my knife. This gives the epoxy more real estate to grab on to, resulting in a stronger bond.
After letting the gun cure overnight (I found that it was best to stand it straight up on its fat end), I put on the pipes and other detail gubbins. The pipes were the only thing that really needed hot water bending- everything else fit pretty nicely.
The bracing pipes on the barrel needed a little bit of bending, but a single pin in the tip (the thinnest part) and a little masking tape let it set perfectly.
Plenty more to go on this model yet, but thats for another time... Till then, happy painting!
AWESOME. Please continue with the step by step. It's nice to be able to see how the kit goes together. It's kinda like were somehow involved even though its just pics.
@Cam: You know, thats a good Idea. Im already using the car for some spare parts for the Warlord (theyre small, but I can make it work), so practicing painting on it shouldnt be too out of the way! Best Idea!
@nerd: AH! MY SECRET!
I was trying to hide it, but its actually no bigger than a Rhino... And the farseer is from Epic.
I live in a dollhouse
@SL: Will do! Might get a little slower soon-ish- It'll take longer and longer the more I have done, just because of the size of the pieces and intricacy of assembly. WM sourced the head from WHW, so we should be seeing the rest of the parts come in soon Stay tuned!
Alright. So after warming up on the gun, I think its time to tackle the most complex part of the Warlord build: The main body!
Im not kidding here. This section alone has 10 very large parts that fit together in a very specific way to make a box. Every part locates to each other and any mistakes you make here will be amplified in the final project. If you take only one piece of advice from this series, let it be this one:
DRY FIT THESE PARTS FIRST!!!
I can’t stress this enough. Make sure everything fits before committing to glue. After that step, especially with JB Weld, there’s no going back. With all of the thinking and adjustments I had to make during assembly, it was nearly 4 hours before I started to glue.
Anyways! With everything dry fitted, we should be looking at something like this:
At this point, note any areas that might need gap filled or any peculiar warped areas. This will help you decide on the best course of attack. Most of the smaller bending issues can be solved during gluing with clamps.
My recommendation is to build this assembly in two stages. First, lets take the base plate and the four lower walls. They all locate to each other and will provide a sturdy foundation for the rest of the torso.
Before gluing, I took the opportunity to put a few small pins into the base plate in order to better locate the walls during gluing. This also adds a bit more structural stability after gluing.
A clamp or two will help you get the walls assembled more or less square to each other. This is particularly useful if a part is just a little bit off kilter (on mine the front right segment of wall didnt want to stay put without a clamp).
Now let this cure overnight, and tomorrow we’ll tackle the rest of the torso.
Very cool! I like how building a warlord titan starts to share a lot of steps with building cabinets
Plus, good deal on living in a doll house, you must save a lot on property taxes. Of course you probably don't save much on furniture... doll house stuff is damned near as expensive as the real thing!
Dayum! That thing is huge! I'm content with watching you work on this thing, as I don't think I would want to try to tackle one of these myself at the moment even if I could afford one!
Thanks guys! Hope the pace works for you. Some updates (like today's) dont have too much meat on them, but hopefully the info is still useful
@Wehr: Im pretty sure you could use this thing AS a cabinet! Plenty of room inside, as you can see below. All it would take is a little engineering for the hinges!
@Theo: Yeah its nuts how big this guy is... I had to really dig in the garage to find clamps big enough. All we had in the house were a couple of teeny little C-Clamps xD
@wyfox: See, Im on the total opposite of that. I LOVE the insane complexity. Always a new challenge with warped bits
======================
Warlord Part 4: MOAR RESIN BAWXES!!!
The foundation is cured, so lets not waste any time and get right to it!
The upper sidewalls and top carapace go on just as you’d expect. Again, clamps are recommended to get the sides to set right. Unlike the foundation, however, these are much easier to clamp. There are nice flat areas at the front and back where clamps will sit perfectly.
I should mention at this point that I have been using a few thin strips of corrugated cardboard between the clamp jaws and the resin. The thinking behind this should be pretty obvious- Protects the resin! After all, no sense in marring the surface of your 3000$ model, right?
After letting the epoxy cure overnight, you’ll be left with one very large, very heavy, very solid box of resin! This is your torso:
Looks great! I'm kind of shocked and also pleased that you used JB Weld in this build. That stuff's amazing! But so messy, I've never been able to use it for small hobby projects... but then again, this is no small hobby project
In college, we literally glued a friend's bumper back on his car with JB Weld (he'd gotten a warning to get it back on within 30 days, and as should be expected, we were all totally broke ). We used two bolts to hold it in place to be able to apply it, but the JB Weld is what truly held it on. I think he drove it that way until getting rid of the car!
All that to say, very good idea and I'd love to hear how you keep it from becoming a mess / getting on other faces / components you don't want it to when applying it.
One assumes you'll have to paint this in sections ( once all the individual sections are pre-assembled ).
A bit of Heresy using a Tau figure for a Imperial God Machine though! I'm sure the inquisition will be in contact soon!
Alfndrate wrote: I see a distinct lack of gundam in the background of these pictures
That's a positive! Made in Britan (More like China?) and assembled in Amerika! However in the spirit of the global community you could have the Gundam trampled underfoot. Just a suggestion.
RiTides: Chopsticks! Thats what my secret is. It really helps to have a thin and sturdy applicator to put this stuff on. The pointed end of a chopstick is ideal, and theyre so cheap and replaceable, I dont have to worry about tossing them once they get covered in JB Weld.
Plus, there are TONS of nice flat areas on the Warlord to hide extra supporting epoxy.
From what I've seen and heard of JB, I totally believe your story. Its incredible how powerful this stuff is!!
@Alf: They all seem to be hiding since I brought out the Warlord... I cant imagine why... But yeah Im still working on the RX- Just a case of the Holidays filling a lot of my painting time! Will definitely be getting more work on them soon.
@SL: Ohhhhh hehehe... Yeah... The Ethereal just happened to be the first 40k scaled mini I happened to grab, and hes sort of taken up residence on the shelf nearest to my modeling bench.
As to painting, Ill absolutely be painting this guy in sections. First and foremost are the armor plates. Ill be leaving those off until the last possible minute so I can get good airbrushing on them. The other major subassemblies will be the guns (working on making the arm weapons swappable), the head, and possibly the torso and legs as separate pieces. That latter bit is up in the air as of yet... Depending on how I end up painting the metal areas, they might end up getting glued together.
What I optimally want to do is use a metallic powder ala Blackadder's Warlord build. Seems to get a nice realistic buffed metal look that just doesnt happen with paint. Paint alone is hard to shade and get looking the right way.
And expect some scale shots with the Gundams once this guy gets on his feet!!
@graven: The more expensive and "rarer" kits seem to have fewer issues... I havent noticed much in the way of casting defects on this. Other than a few minor bubbles, its been astonishingly immaculate! It -was- caked in mold release, though, so that might have something to do with things. Some pieces have a slippery surface still even after 2 soaks!!
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No Warlord pics today, what with New Years and all. Instead, I thought I might do a little retrospective like Gits did on his blog. I've never taken the time to do one, and it seems that its high time I look back.
So lets take a peek back at 2015...
The year opened up with the wrap-up of RiTides' Dropzone Shaltari. Still some of my favorite little minis I've done. Loved the colors I got on them, and together the army looks incredible.
This year I really have to get a demo in at Adepticon!!
After that I knocked out some Emperor's Children decked out in purple.
February saw Orks and Ultras...
... as well as me building a trio of computers for my family... Still going strong, too!
MArch saw the rise of SEDUCIA!!!!
Er... I mean Adepticon! Where I finally entered a professional painting contest with a Giant:
I also painted a painboy for RiTides in WaaghDakka
And some Skaven!
In April, I finished off some Khador for my own army,
... and got a massive box from Gitsplitta.
And so started the Days of Endless Knights...
It was crazy but at this point I had 6 knights to paint!! I of course decided to hold off painting them for some god-knows reason... I blame paint fumes.
And Warmachine!
Mantis Warriors infiltrated the blog in May... Fitting for the spring season!
I also painted up some Sisters and Infinity in May and June!
June started with me getting a new camera (so now my photos wouldnt suck as much!) and saw the first of the Knights painted...
And some Assassins!
And in July we had some more Warmachine and the rest of the Knights...
Now in Delicious RED flavor!
Then it was on to one of the larger projects of the year... PROJECT DEATHROLL!
This took some serious time... From the end of July to the start of September! Though its certainly one of the most unique armies I've done
September also saw me doing a bit more work for On The Lamb- A Dark Dragon!
And some commission work for a SW client- Snow themed assassins! Adventures in Camo...
Went back to do some more Orks for a client in Germany... LOVE THIS KIT!
Then later that month (and unrelated to the previous event) I was shocked to receive a crate of Death in the mail!
Months later and this is still one of my favorite games ever... Still dont have anything painted in it though!
In October, the weather started to turn chilly. Suppose it was for the best that the family pool chose this moment to explode! Me (finally) getting my driver's license had nothing to do with it!
I also finished up some Chaos Bikers.
Started DEATHROLL Part Deux, and also painted up some doggies for Gits' Halloween army!
Finished Deathroll 2 by the end of November... FROGGIES!
And lastly, in December I made the jump to Gundam kits and painted up this chap:
And of course... The Titan started
======================
In 2015 this thread has seen seen:
More than 170 models painted!!! (REALLY!? Thats not even including DzC... those were 2014!)
33+ Pages
990+ Posts
2 Cameras!
4 computers!
>5 GB of photos (wip and otherwise!)
The continued insane babbling of a madman
======================
Happy New Year, everyone!!
Thanks for being here and following along on my march to madness. Hopefully we'll see some even greater projects in the new year!
Super re-cap. Hopefully your success's in the new year will be new employment, New Digs, Super hot Model girlfriend introduced to you by Moonpie, a Warlord Titan of your own ( painted by WM ) and most importantly a autographed picture of Nerdfest framed in gold and hung suitably over your fireplace.
Solar_lion wrote: Super re-cap. Hopefully your success's in the new year will be new employment, New Digs, Super hot Model girlfriend introduced to you by Moonpie, a Warlord Titan of your own ( painted by WM ) and most importantly a autographed picture of Nerdfest framed in gold and hung suitably over your fireplace.
Solar_lion wrote: Super re-cap. Hopefully your success's in the new year will be new employment, New Digs, Super hot Model girlfriend introduced to you by Moonpie, a Warlord Titan of your own ( painted by WM ) and most importantly a autographed picture of Nerdfest framed in gold and hung suitably over your fireplace.
Feel free to add to those....
I dont think you can really beat that
I certainly cant!
Even a few of those successes coming true would make my year
And WM... Theres a special place in hell for those who use spraypaint on big FW And I did see that in the FW thread... Delicious delicious GIANT PLASMA!
Though... i kinda got excited for another big stupid weapon...
Its so ridiculous, but I cant stop loving it.
================================
Well, Hopefully everyone had a good weekend. During the past few days, I've been working on Warlord assembly- Not enough for an update today, but I should have something tomorrow
I do have a little bit of a Gundam update. Think I might be missing a few parts?
I love that fist too. Especially the twin multi barrel melta-somethings that are on the back of the wrist. Too bad their range is shorter than the distance to the tip of the fingers, but I guess they are there for the warlord pimp backhand, or to fix bad cuticles on the hand.
Theophony wrote: I love that fist too. Especially the twin multi barrel melta-somethings that are on the back of the wrist. Too bad their range is shorter than the distance to the tip of the fingers, but I guess they are there for the warlord pimp backhand, or to fix bad cuticles on the hand.
Im thinking they're vulcan megabolters or the like rather than meltas. Though I would love to see a flamethower equipped one! Fwoosh!
@WM: Ya know... Working on making weapons swappable, sooooooooooo
===========================
Warlord Part 5: Venting
We’ve got the majority of the Warlord’s torso built, so now it’s time to start installing all of the detail bits. Due to how the parts came together, I found it easiest to do this in 5 different phases-
1) The shoulders are easy to install- they fit into the large flat areas on the sides of the body. I highly recommend drilling one or more pins into these parts to give them extra support. The weapons are heavy, and the shoulder armor mounts rest on them as well. In my case I used 2 1/8′’ brass tubes. After that it is a simple case of gluing them on and clamping them snugly. I found the best way to do this was to rest the body of the clamp on top (remember a piece of cardboard underneath to protect the resin), and clamping the upper round parts of the shoulder. Just be sure they sit flat- nothings worse than finding out that your parts settled wrong!
2) The Reactors install very easily and locate to points on the carapace, as did the intakes. You will want to let this set before proceeding, as we’ll be using it as an anchor point for the next step: The Exhausts!
3) These vents fit behind the Reactors, and more or less slot into where they need to go. You will probably want to clamp them or put a rubber band around them in order to make sure they fit tightly to both the carapace below and the reactor ridges in front. This is also the point where you will see how well you’ve built the carapace box, because it builds a frame for the Exhaust Plates
Here’s where I had a little bit of an issue. Due to the way I glued the top segments of the rear wall, my angle was juuuuuust a little bit off. No major issue, though, it just means that I need to do some gap-filling. Just another reminder that dry fitting and accuracy are key!
4) With that step cured, we can move on to the hip stabilizers and chest armor mounts. Again, these parts fit together pretty much on their own. Just keep in mind two things- the armor mounts should be angled downwards and the smooth, armor plated ends of the stabilizers should be facing rearward.
Clamp these together and set aside to dry.
5) Our final step (for today’s update, at least!), is applying the smaller details like the railings and Void Shield Generators. I recommend using super glue for the railings instead of the JB Weld. The railings tend to be much more flexible than the parts we’ve worked with so far, and they are shaped in such a way that clamping them is not really an option. Super glue sets up much faster (especially with a dab of accelerant) and is sufficient for our needs. The railings aren’t a load-bearing part, so dont worry about the relatively weaker bond of CA glue!
Alrighty, so thats most of the carapace built and ready to go on. Next up, the legs!
Hope everyone is enjoying these project logs- Let me know if you have any questions, and hopefully I can answer them!
Okay, silly question time. How much does that section of resin weight right now, ballpark guesstimate is fine with me, it just seams to be a good hunk of resin.
Using my super technologic method of hefting it vs a 4 lb bag of sugar, I think we're looking at something like 2.5-3 pounds (a little over a kilogram, metric fans). Its not quite as heavy as the sugar, but getting there.
Titan is progressing really well! With something this size, the weapons will be permanently mounted / attached right, not removable? Otherwise, would love to see that fist someday (although it's likely better to have another Big Gun on it instead).
But Im back now, and just in time for the Nerdcademy Awards!
Titans have been on my brain all year (I blame the epoxy fumes), so this idea just came to me late last night. I knew I wanted to build a toe from a warlord, possibly with something running away in terror before getting squashed. But then I found a very old bag of FW resin containing all of the Grot workers/crew, and this guy caught my eye. Just a perfect lost expression...
Base is made with SWM Mud effects and powders, Toe is scratch built from plasticard, grot is FW.
===============================
Anyways, Titan News!
As far as weapon swaps, Im avoiding magnets, as the parts are so heavy that I would need absolutely massive magnets, and thatd be prohibitively expensive. instead, I am looking to use square brass rod and square brass tube. The rod fits into the tube and holds everything together. This works out better than magnets not only from cost, but also in that the weapons can be fixed at roughly the same angle every time, and they wont move around or potentially fall off.
Still a lot of engineering work on it, but I have a concept...
Lastly, a little misc40k news- I finally had a nice day yesterday and primed a pile of plastic and resin that have been waiting since Christmas. Im lucky I did it last night, because fast forward to today and we've an inch or more of snow and lots of icy wind!
Should have some Eldar and AdMech coming soon... Stay tuned
We got a bit more snow yesterday and today it -5 with Wind chill of -11.
Didn't win the lottery last night so I regret to inform you we'll have to postpone the Japanese underwear model girlfriend till another week.. till then keep painting for WM, Alf and RiTides.
Be sure to include your ' engineering' process in pic for us laymen(and women)
Looks awesome . Only suggestion was I didn't quite realize that was a toe at first - if it was a foot for a smaller walker, you could add a bit of ankle to it with plasticard on top to make it obvious. But now that I know what it is, it's brilliant
Another way to make it obvious would be a little plinth for the mini to sit on with a label / description for the scene, like was often the case with golden daemon entries.
Solar_lion wrote:We got a bit more snow yesterday and today it -5 with Wind chill of -11.
Didn't win the lottery last night so I regret to inform you we'll have to postpone the Japanese underwear model girlfriend till another week.. till then keep painting for WM, Alf and RiTides.
Be sure to include your ' engineering' process in pic for us laymen(and women)
So a normal summer day in Wisconsin, eh?
And alas, my dear Mitsuki... One day....
erm..
*ahem*
Anyyyyyways, Yes! I'll be sure to have a good detailed writeup for you guys. I even found my old 3d drafting software, so thats got me excited. I should be able to have a detailed little diagram to show.
Theophony wrote: Powerball is in the billion dollar range right now, that would be amazing fun to win it solo
Love the grot adjusting his helmet like thats causing the shadow above him
Ugh yeah... Its getting to where I heavily consider playing, and I'm super broke already Solo win includes plans for an operational 1:1 Titan... Mmmmm... Giant stompy robot....
RiTides wrote:Looks awesome . Only suggestion was I didn't quite realize that was a toe at first - if it was a foot for a smaller walker, you could add a bit of ankle to it with plasticard on top to make it obvious. But now that I know what it is, it's brilliant
Another way to make it obvious would be a little plinth for the mini to sit on with a label / description for the scene, like was often the case with golden daemon entries.
All very good points... A plinth would have been a solid idea, but that wouldnt have been in the timeframe (yay procrastination!) A smaller foot would have been a better idea as well. I know I have some Knight bits floating around somewhere... Ah well, Warlords were kinda on my brain anyways, so I almost HAD to build this way xD
=============================================
So Im back to doing a bit of actual painting!
Today I started in on the Admech army, which had the secondary goal of breaking in my new compressor (having a tank is AMAZING!). Client wants to go for a very interesting royal purple and tan/cream scheme, with gold accents. Thus far I've just got the purples laid down, as well as the tan on the walkers' legs. There are a fair few minis in this batch, but I think I have a good handle on the scheme.
Sorry guys... No Titan for a bit- Im pretty much as far as I can go on him with the parts I have- Just waiting on WM to send me the other bits I still have I think two or three progress logs that I can do for the work so far... Just gotta write em up. Soon, though!
Secondary news! Someone finally hit the Powerball... I was not one of them :<
Guess this means its back to work~
I've been blocking out the black and metal areas on the AdMech. Always time consuming, but at least now the scheme starts coming together!
Then I broke away from painting in black to do the skintones on the Electropriests- Ended up with a peculiar gray tone with blueish green in the shadows. Kinda corpsey...
Thanks guys. Honestly a relief to hear that. All while I was painting it, I couldn't shake the feeling that it was all going wrong. The tone was just too strange, and totally outside of what I was initially thinking.
The client seems to share you guys' enthusiasm for the color, so I think its safe to start putting the circuit lines on him
@Salvage: Skintone is relatively simple, just uses a few odd colored washes. The rest is just a mix of 2 paints.
The base is a 1:1 mix of old GW Foundation Tallarn Flesh and P3 Underbelly Blue. Then I washed it with a layer of SWM Cool Gray, then once that dried I hit it with Army Painter Strong Tone (aka, Devlan Mud!). Next, I retouched the base color, leaving the dark areas of wash showing.
Next, a 2:1 mix of Flesh and Underbelly as a highlight, then a final highlight of pure Underbelly blue.
And there you are! One really weird corpsey fleshtone!
Still working along on the Admech- Contrary to my initial plan, I've been going ahead and painting everything at once.... So much for planning! The big stuff like the Dragoon and the Onager are still a separate group, so I guess I managed a little bit of sanity...
Anyways, Admech have silver metals done, so next step is brass/gold. In between washes drying, I tested out the basing scheme on the Onager. A fair bit Mars-y, as per client request. Used the GW basing paint for the main terrain color. Working with it is weird, mostly because you glob it on more than you paint it on. Thicker application gets larger cracks, thinner gets smaller ones. Then it was a light dusting of powder to give it some rusty depth.
Very happy to hear that, guys!
Client gave me the go-ahead on the basing, so its all set from here!
@Yorkright: Thanks man
@Gits: You know, I had you in mind while planning the base scheme. Back when you did your admech I remember you weren't totally onboard with admech based Mars- after all, they shouldnt be fighting on their home turf. With this in mind I aimed at Mars-like, but still alien, so I threw on the odd brown-red grass tufts I purchased a few months back (need to look up what company it was). It adds just enough to differentiate it from pure Mars, I think.
@Salvage: Always glad to help! Lemme know how you do
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Admech continue-
Still need to wash the gold. Then theres the brown, the inner cloak, various little wires, and the bases! Surprisingly close to finishing the infantry in this army. Aiming for the weekend- The basing will probably take a day or two on its own just because of the basing paint- it takes so long to dry!!
Ahhhhhhh, that base and the model both are looking fantastic!! I like to think the "not-Mars" basing on my DzC project might've helped lead you to this point
But seriously, that's a perfect Martian base, and the colors on the model are great. The purple and that lighter (cream / off-white?) color are working very well together.
@RiTides: Bingo. Your project helped guide me in color choices- Almost wish I could have used these colors when I was doing the DzC stuff. Its just so much more refined now!!
I'm seeing some sort of broken part, but since it's not in the Dakka gallery it's showing up like 5x too big Ramos (added spoilers so the thread doesn't scroll like crazy, but I think you could just put it in the gallery if you like)
@RiTides- Weird, it was autosizing for me... Alright then- Ill resize when I get a chance- till then, Thanks for the spoilers!
Yeah this is the airbrush... Same thing happened as it did 2 or 3 years ago- suddenly the part just plinked off as I was putting it back on. Didnt do anything severe to it, jsut my normal thumb tightening. Felt a little weird the last time I reassembled it, but didnt think anything of it. Guess it was warning me it was cracking :/
Contacting Paasche in the hopes they've got ideas to fixing it... Till then, no airbrush work for me!
So no Titan... is that what you saying... did that stop Di Vinci?
Yoko Ono? The guy that paints sidewalks....
Bummer!
Looks like the threads broke off in the housing. you may have misaligned the threads.
This may seem odd...sometimes you can take a potato ( maybe a finger one ) and screw it in. The sharp edges get stuck in the spud and you can slowly unscrew the broken piece out. Disclaimer.. this is a broken light bulb trick ( if you do try this ever on a lamp unplug the lamp and don't eat the potato afterwards. Doh! ) This won't cause damage on the inner threads and you have to clean out the spud matter.
You might have other stuff you can try instead of a potato, just be careful not to do further damage to the inner threads.
Like I said.. it works on broken Light bulbs stuck in sockets. You could also try eating large amounts of bacon but I say that cause I'm hungry!
Yep I'm now expecting a brush painted Titan mate! :-) but until then I'll be satisfied with some more of those beautiful Admech models, the purple and gold looks really suprisingly good on them!
I think brush painting the Titan would be insane (I think you're joking, but just in case!). Maybe there's someone local who can loan you an airbrush? It seems like you just need the actual airbrush and have all the other equipment already, which makes that easier.
@SL: Ah I know that trick! I've removed a few busted bulbs that noone else figured out how to take out... And what are you talking about "dont eat it"? It adds extra zip! Besides, it just pairs so well with BACON!
Unfortunately, the threads on the a/b are much smaller and tighter than a lightbulb, so I dont think thats an option to me. I'd need something like a screw/bolt remover that is essentially a drill bit rotating counter clockwise. just something to lock into the sheared off bit.
And yeeeeeeeeeah you guys are nuts if you want me to brush the Titan xD
Fortunately it shouldnt be an issue, as Im not planning on painting the titan anytime soon. I dont even have the head or other weapons yet! I want to do everything at once so I know that it all matches up. Dont want multicolored metals, after all.
I actually knew a guy who brush painted his reaver... surprisingly turned out spectacularly! Lots of time invested in that, though. Think I have a picture or two of it somewhere...
Anyways, a bit of good news- Contacted Paasche, and in less than an hour I got a response. Shipping of my brush to get fixed today, so hopefully I should have it back in operation next week!
Definitely gotta hand it to Paasche, they have fantastic customer service.
Ramos Asura 250857 8395917 06b87a13cd5fbc70eb20c0a4dc1846b9. wrote: I'd need something like a screw/bolt remover that is essentially a drill bit rotating counter clockwise. just something to lock into the sheared off bit.
Um... you know they *make those*... say for purchase.... at your local hardware store... in like... 30 minutes.
Yeah, WM was a great help in expanding my army in a budgetary way. Just don't tell Alyssa!
Oh, I was active in 40k last year. I was the token Tau player in the 2015 Apocluck series hosted at Pegasus Games. I'll be attending this year's series as well. You should show up for one, I'm sure Gits wouldn't mind hosting you
RiTides wrote: I think brush painting the Titan would be insane (I think you're joking, but just in case!). Maybe there's someone local who can loan you an airbrush? It seems like you just need the actual airbrush and have all the other equipment already, which makes that easier.
'planning' on getting a Warhound Titan later this year, funds allowing....well the wife has promsied me she'll buy the body but I have to buy the arms myself o.O and he/it'll be getting brush painted.....could take some time!!!
Jan, you're a madman... but damn is that exciting Looking forward to seeing that biggun take shape!!
So I pitched the Idea of that knight to the client... No sell on that xD Ah well, looks like Ill have to wait till WM sends one to me!!
AdMech Update!
Everything is done done done, save for the bases and little brown bits (pouches and skitarri rifles). Should be done tomorrow, but no pics till I can varnish everything... And for that I need the airbrush!!!
Onager and Dragoon are sitting ready for brushwork, so Ill have something to show on those soon
Thanks EDC- Hopefully my weak spots will be better protected as well!
Yesterday was quiet- Took to playing some old PS2 games and drinking sake for my birthday- As I get older it seems Im getting more and more boring Ah well, today Im back in the workshop. Didnt feel up to painting, so spent most of the day on construction. Next major project is mostly done and cleaned. Its more Slaanesh, so I've got a Soul Grinder, a herald, and 20 "Mantis Ladies" from Raging Heroes that are counts-as Daemonettes. The first two built up easy, but the RH 'nettes are gonna be fiddly. Bit of flash on them, not to mention LOTS of fiddlyness!! Credit where its due, though. No major (or even minor) casting defects like bubbles and the like. Just a lot to cut off!
Also prepared the various bits and pieces of the two walkers I have to do for the AdMech. Mostly just putting things on corks again and making sure everything was reattached to blutac. After sitting a while, things can have the annoying tendency to fall off!
Anyways, heres where we are on those...
Onager: (love the purple... big armor plates are always a blast to show off gradients on )
Love your color choices on this army . Can't really progress on these until the airbrush is back, right, or have you already done all you needed to with it for the AdMech?
As far as the AdMech, I wont need the airbrush until the matte varnish step. Thats why you guys dont get any final shots of the infantry yet!
From here on, its all brushwork, so its better that the a/b broke now rather than later!~
nice color choice on the walker. I am still disappointed though cause I've been rewatching the walking dead and when you said walkers , then I see a GW model .
@Theo: Sorry for the bait and switch, Theo! No Zombies here- Just giant stompy robots! That show's got a new season coming up, doesnt it? I dont actually watch all that much TV anymore xD
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Painting goes slowly (boring old blacking out areas), so in the meantime have a Titan Build Log!
Warlord Part 6: These Feet Are Made for Stomping…
And thats just what they’ll do! Seriously, these things are the size of dinner plates!
Assembly for the two feet are very easy. Just 4 toes that slot into the main feet. I dont believe it necessary to use any pins in the toes. If you rough up the contact points sufficiently the epoxy should be more than strong enough on its own. However, if you chose to go that extra step, I would assemble them, wait until the glue cures, then drill pinholes from the side (i.e. going through the toe joint horizontally). The servo/joint details on the part have a nice flat area right in the middle that makes it ideal for hiding a very small pin. I would say no more than a 1/16′’ bit. Little bit of brass rod cut to fit, greenstuff to cover up the hole, and you’re set! Keen eyed readers will notice the brass rod I have drilled into the center of the foot- This is a key bit of structural support for the legs. Regardless of the pose you are aiming for, I recommend installing them perfectly vertical. This will give you complete flexibility with your posing while at the same time ensuring you will have a firm foundation for the rest of the Titan.
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Now move on to the hips. First and foremost, drill a hole in the dead center of the top plug. This will help locate the part to the torso section, as well as add strength to the bond. Dont worry about pinning anything else right now- We’ll take care of that in a later step. Assembly is a simple 3 parts right now, so rough up those contact points, apply some JB Weld, and clamp them tightly!
And while you have some JB Weld mixed up, you can use it up by bluing the lower leg together. This part is cast in two pieces, so it is a good idea to glue these before attempting any further leg assembly. Rough up the contact surfaces, and I found it helpful to drill a large brass pin into the center of the parts. This adds just a little more strength to the assembly! Clamp these tightly and let cure before moving to the next step…
@Gits: It was one of the big things I promised myself that Id do for the Warlord- Its just such a massive and rare project, plus I still havent seen too many build logs online. Figured I'd do my part to flesh it out a little.
And as you guys have been saying, its sort of a group experience where we're "Building" it together.
@EDC: Thanks! The sepia color was actually an alteration the client made from my initial test mini. I had originally thought to go for a bone color that was much much warmer. He suggested I might try some P3 Jack Bone plus AP Strong Tone, and Im glad we made the switch. Its warm, but not too warm. Looks just right next to the dark purple.
@WM: Yes, Im leaving them off until later. Part of the reasoning behind this is to avoid having them accidentally snap off as I'm handling the larger pieces. They're actually just little armor panels rather than full mini-toes. Secondly, I reckon I can airbrush the armor color on these much easier by leaving them off for now.
@SL: I'll do what I can to make Winter bearable... So long as I dont have to go out in it- its cold out there! Incidentally, winter's been on and off around these parts. Being really peculiar. We missed the massive storm that nailed everyone south and east of us, continue to miss the stuff nailing people north of us... Heck, today it was sunny and just a little chilly! Could have primed outside today
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As I was painting more of the Dragoon today, it hit me how much just a little bit of black and purple toned down the cream areas. Its crazy how some projects completely change as you add colors to them.
Still aiming for a mid- to late-week completion on these guys. Hopefully will coincide with the return of my airbrush!
I missed this last update, because that winter storm did Not miss us . Glad to see you weren't knocked out of commission (see what I did there?) and looking forward to the finished AdMech
Yeah we're still in that insanely weird bubble. Snow to the north, snow to the south/east.... Its even been sunny all day today! I'm taking advantage of this to do priming outside. Nice not to breathe in fumes once in a while, I guess xD
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A knock at the door today landed me with a box of joy... Damn it I love this company!~
<3 <3 Thank you Paasche!! <3 <3
Not only a brand new tip... But a WHOLE NEW AIRBRUSH! Absolutely thrilled with this level of customer service!
This means Im back in business!! Admech are glossed now, so its just a case of airbrushing the matte varnish on them! Yaaaaaays!
Oh, and while I was sorting photos, I found this one that I forgot to include in my year recap. Remember that paint rack I built last year? Heres a comparison pic... I think I've acquired a few more paints since I built the rack....
Alrighty, Im off to finish off the Admech, Hopefully will have some final shots for you guys later tonight!!
Solar_lion wrote:Wow.. sweet. Love me some good customer service. and Yeah.. nice weather so start painting something!
By your command! Got a chunk of stuff primed and gloss coated the entire AdMech army. Definitely not wasting this!
Gitsplitta wrote:Welcome to the Paasche family Brian!
you wot?
Theophony wrote:
whalemusic360 wrote: We need a prayer cog for the big plasma gun to drop tomorrow.
FTFY, mechanicus doesn't do circles.
The sacred oils and unguents have been duly applied, and the ancient rites of Big Plasma have begun. In the words of the Omnissiah, "Fingers Crossed!"
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Admech are complete! I really think that this is some of my favorite basing that I've ever done. Really pleased with how the Technical paint worked out. Took a full bottle of the damn stuff over the whole army... But still, Love the results
Sydonian Dragoon
Ruststalkers (that guy in the back right was a right pain- The one blade snapped off and didnt want to come back together! Fell off every time I glued it... glad it finally stuck!)
Electropriests (No clue where the one guy's halo went... seems to have completely vaporized :/ )
Thanks a million you guys! (And I know, Ill have more Titan soon!!)
The client gets these guys on Wednesday, but already hes excited seeing them. Hes not much of a player, but now hes determined to use these in a game! Always awesome to hear
So with the Admech off the table, and with no Plasma Destructor ( </3 FW... ), it's off to the next infantry-sized projects. Eldar and Slaaneshi Daemons!!
And no they aren't in the same army... That way lies madness! They're for two completely different people in two different states, but the way the queue lined up
Anyways, for Eldar, I have a group of 6 Warp Spiders, a trio of Weapon Batteries, and a Vyper. Still hammering out a scheme (working with the client so he can do the rank and file guys on his own), but we're currently aiming for something along the lines of Biel-Tan, but with a bone or a gray rather than white... Spiders are getting an alternate scheme of primarily black armor, white helmets, and red backpacks.
The second project is a large group of 20 Daemonettes (Mantis lady minis from Raging Heroes), a Herald of Slaanesh, a Soul Grinder, and a Callidus Assassin (not part of the daemon army, but for the client's admech).
Soul Grinders are really fun to paint (take it from a guy who's done one!). They are one of the coolest Chaos models out there. Looking forward to seeing what you do with yours!
ZergSmasher wrote:Soul Grinders are really fun to paint (take it from a guy who's done one!). They are one of the coolest Chaos models out there. Looking forward to seeing what you do with yours!
Im pretty excited for it... They have a bit of a special place in my heart going way back to when I first started playing 40k. Hung out with a lot of Daemon players and the Grinders always stuck in my mind. In particular one Nurgle player had a pair that he went crazy with greenstuff and gloss and looked amazing... wish I had a picture xD
nerdfest09 wrote:Have fun with the Raging Heroes mini's :-) when I did mine they were tricky fragile little ladies!
I remember yours well Actually going to be using them as a reference- Client wants these guys to have pale gray-purple skin, so usual slaanesh, but purple spots similar to how you did yours!
The one thing I dont remember if yours were resin or metal? These are the resin ones, and apart from a couple goofy casting issues (just needed a little extra sanding) they went together ok. So far they seem to be holding together alright, but Im going to really need to think on that skintone... What do you think?
Today's Progress: Base colors are down on the Warp Spiders. As mentioned previously, we're doing an alternate scheme on these. Armor is black, backpacks will be in red, faceplates in white (or maybe green, so ties into the rest of the army scheme.
Also mostly finished with the Callidus. Very easy color scheme, with just a couple colors to go. Decided to make her a Brunette this time.
Been around Dakka Dakka for a while but only just started looking at your work. It's really impressive and I am definitely going to be hanging around some more to steal ideas.....
@Cam: Oxblood leather, eh? Hehehe... Not initially what I was going for (the picture made them look a bit more red than they actually were) but I did rather like that idea. Simple case of a wash later and the brown leather has a nice red tint to it that definitely works for the mini
@SL: You know, Ive noticed that. Been a very black past couple of months. Well in any case the Daemonettes and Grinder should change that. Lots of pale purple skin on them!
@Archer: Heyas! Welcome to the madness that is my project log! Appreciate the kind words, and steal away on ideas- I've definitely had my fair share of influences around Dakka. If ya have any questions as you're going through my older stuff, feel free to let me know. Ill shed some light if I can.
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This was a quick little project I did in between the Eldar and a Space Wolf biker Im working on. Made a few changes from her original iteration- Shes a brunette instead of a redhead, and she's got more reddish leather than the brown earlier (which was TOTALLY planned ).
Ramos she looks glorious. Lovely paintjob indeed. Really tempted to get the game just for the figs as buying them seperately. Damn stupid new years resolution!
@Gits: Not gonna lie... Its one of my favorite bits to paint on any mini ever xD
@WM: Any time I've got plenty of ways to alter it, even keeping the base purple bodysuit. I mean I havent even changed the power weapon colors yet! And... I is a sad Techpriest now- No plasmas :<
@Jan: DO IT! Seriously I'd love to see what you could do to them Buying the full game is far and beyond the best way to go about getting them. They are godawful expensive individually... I mean 30 bucks for a SINGLE small PLASTIC infantry mini!? Thats just pure madness... Doesnt even have that many pieces. At least with the game you get them all, some chaos stuff, and a game thrown in for about the same price as 3 or 4 assassins!
@mars: I actually didnt have any sort of influence on the spiders. Client shipped them to me built up already- They are Attercops from Ghost Miniatures. A little expensive, but damn nice!
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Been a little rough around here (yeah, yeah... business as usual :/ ), but I've been burying myself in work to ignore it all.
Today I experimented with a new technique to paint large areas of metal using a dry powder- Expect a full writeup soon, but long story short, it failed On a more successful note, I laid down the reds on the spiders, and I think they are some of the finest reds I've ever done... Absolutely LOVE how they came out! Helmets are for sure going green and white, ala Biel-Tan, which should look really striking against the red and black of the armor.
So I've been in a bit of a mod the past couplea days, plus im missing the specific green I want to use on the Spiders (Dark Angels green... The replacement for it is nothing like it!). So while I work through the funk, I figured I'd mess around with a conversion project on the desk. Always liked doing wild builds, and it seems to have helped at least a little bit...
Krootdar!
Future Farseers on Jetbikes- Still a ways to go gapfilling, then Im building capes for them, as if they stole those along with the bikes. Weapons are magnetized between spear, sword, and Shard of Anaris, then I decided to use the front plate on the bike to stand in for the spirit stone upgrades Farseers can take.
And plans are Saim-Hann, so it fits with the rest of his army, so reds, blacks, and a touch of white. Then green skin plus blue head (signifies him as a Farseer) on the Kroot.
Ramos Asura wrote: (Dark Angels green... The replacement for it is nothing like it!).
Are you referring to Caliban Green? If so, I think its a decent match. Of course, I've never looked at the two side by side, and I don't paint at your level of skill, so I could easily be wrong.
I know, that damn plasma distructor is killing me. I kind of want to just get another volcano cannon and get the plasma once it comes out, but I don't want to drop an extra $130 on an arm I don't really want.
'BRACING'.... I thought your game look great.. liked the bat rep. Not sure how how you lost with looking like you outnumbered him in the beginning.
Turns out Argus are just about impossible for infantry to hit, particularly ranged infantry. I think I need to name the Winter Argus "Boris".
And yea, big boars and little piggy men will be forthcoming, though I don't want to see the farm they came off of. Some version of horror-porn Animal Farm done by local theatre students. That's theatre with an "re".
@Zerg: Im a bit picky when it comes to matching colors... perhaps a bit more than is probably healthy Caliban is a good color, but has a much "bluer" tone to it than Dark Angels green did. It has similar notes, but actually looks more like a blend of DA green and the old Orkhide foundation paint. The end result is ok, but I need it to be more of a true green than a blue-green.
I just have this vision im working towards where I just want that super vibrant deep emerald color to build on. Only DA green can get me that! (or you know... Vallejo of course!)
@Tides: Excellent!!! Great to see they're seeing some action Dont worry about the pigs, though. They'll still get painted! Theyll just have some warlord-sized company
@SL, WM, other Titan Enthusiasts:
Aaagggghhh Curse you Forgeworld! Gimmie my giant shiny PLasma!! (though I still want the hand xD )
If you do end up getting the second volcano cannon, just let me know. I can still engineer the weapons to be swappable. Thats why I havent glued on the arms yet
As far as painting the Warlord, hes something of an overarching project that will be spaced over several months. Ill break off every now and then to paint him a bit then back to infantry sized stuff!
And Wehr... That picture...
huh.
That sure is a thing.
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So I finished off another random side project- This time SPACE WOLF!
This guy is a Rune Priest on bike, and was built/converted/kitbashed by the client. Lots of super characterful bits on this guy... Decided to run with an arctic hawk as his "Chooser of the Slain", as the traditional black raven wouldnt have popped as much (plus the beaks were all wrong!)
Should be getting back to the Warp Spiders Sunday, as Ill finally have the right paints!
Till then, Thanks for reading!!
It's dated. When I started the project oh around 20 years ago, the kit bashing and techniques were no way as evolved as they are now. I already have 10 bikers painted in such a manner, so the RP is just matching them. In all honesty if I wanted to care a bit more about them, I would take a heat gun and soften the pelt and droop it down over the front- but like I said, I think it looks good enough the way it is.
Or we could just imagine that the RP is on Fenris with subartic temperatures and the pelt is frozen solid.
Quite honestly Blood Claws bikes have been so bad for so long, they never make it on the table, so probably why I haven't had any criticism, none of their metal and resin buddies have much to say to them in the cabinet. I had actually thought about taking a heat gun to them (I have one) and see if I could get the pelts to droop a bit, but I worry about hurting the paint jobs as I have 10 bikers (well now 11)
If you guys look close his bike is actually parked. The bike slants a bit to the left, with his left foot off the bike and on a column on the ground. The intent was he stopped to use his psychic powers (and of course call back his chooser of the slain). No, the hide is just permafrozen.
Hehehe... Yeah like sturgard says, its to fit in with the rest of the bikers. May not have quite the right "movement" to it, but I dont think its too bad at all. The group looks great together and the pelts draw them all into one solid group. Honestly sturgard, I dont think messing with the heat gun is necessary. They're a good piece of history, and no sense in potentially hurting the paint
@SL: This skin was a quickie, actually. Based with a watered down Tallarn Flesh (old GW foundation that I adore), then washed with Ogryn Flesh, a little thinned AP Strong Tone (Devlan Mud) in the eye pits, then highlighted skin with Tallarn, then a mix of Tallarn and P3 Ryn Flesh, then a final tiny highlight of pure Ryn Flesh. Key is to keep the layers thin and moreso use them as a glaze. Lets the lower layers peek through just a little bit to give that realistic translucency that real skin has.
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Yesterday I met up with Alf, lost some Netrunner games, and picked up some new paints- In particular I got a hold of the Game Color equivalent of Dark Angels Green.
I still maintain that Im being picky, but heres a comparison for you guys-
It's a very slight difference, but the Dark Angels green (on the left) is much more of a saturated emerald color than Caliban Green (right)
There is, of course, a trade-off. The DA green does NOT like covering well! Takes two or so coats before getting a solid color. The new GW color, on the other hand, covers like a dream in one coat.
I also got to version 3 of the test mini-
Its getting there, but Im still having issues with the green wash (AP Green Tone). It keeps drying oddly and leaving white in the deepest recesses. Im going to redo this guy again with a black undercoat (rather than gray) and I think that will give me the contrast Im looking for. That, and finding a new green wash!
Yeeeeeah.... I havent had time to paint any of my own stuff ^^;
Maybe after these eldar go though... and then some Daemons... Hrm...
We'll have to see. I really do want to have at least SOMETHING nice to show you guys!
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Warp Spiders are carrying along! Armor is remaining black, as is the gun. The main difference between the two, though, is that I plan to highlight the gun in a gray-blue, rather than a warm gray, like I did the armor. This hopefully should give it a little more visual "pop", so its not just one big blob of black!
Warp Spiders look pretty good! Also, in the comparison shot, I could hardly tell any difference between the Dark Angels Green and Caliban Green. Hope that doesn't mean I'm colorblind or something...
@Zerg: I shouldnt be worried if I were you. Like I said, Im super picky with the color.
It's a case like that color clicker game where you click on the odd colored block in a grid of similar colors. I tend to do really well at them xD
https://www.igame.com/eye-test/
But yeah. Mostly me being picky
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Update: Spiders are done- Just running through some final touches with the client, then its off to final varnishing- Hopefully Ill have them ready to show tomorrow!
Ramos, they look really cool! always loved the idea and fluff of the Warp Spiders but hated the static models :-( so what are these ones? I don't recognise them and when i looked on GW Aus it only had the old finecast to metal ones I don't particularly like lol! but whatever the case I think you've again painted something with a little edge of difference that makes a BIG difference.
The black of the gun and armour does kind of merge despite the different highlights, but they look okay anyway due to the other bits you've done to it.
Wow, I really love the color choices on the warp spiders! They're really excellently balanced
The one personal preference thing I'd love to see on a similar model in the future is starker highlights on the black. But other than that, they're perfect! And your basing has been really ace lately, too.
@Jan/Cam/Gits: Thank you so much! Means a lot coming from you guys
@nerd: Thanks Damo! These guys are from some dude in Russia by the name of Ghost Miniatures ( http://detalik.ru/ghost-miniatures ) Some stuff is a wee bit pricey, but they are fantastic FANTASTIC sculpts!
@Fifty: Yeah, you know I did notice that Unfortunately I dont think I pushed the color difference enough. Next time I think I would start from a different black, if that makes sense, instead of the same. If the gun had an ever so slight blue tint, it might have made that extra push... Logging that one for a future date.
@RiTides: I agree completely on the black! I always have problems with contrast because I worry that I might push it too far and look out of place. I always end up making things a little too subtle. This particular instance might have been fixable had I left off the third black wash- would have been brighter in the highlights, but probably would have been a black enough black. Another case of me logging that note for the future. And thanks for the basing complement! Hopefully I can channel some of that into your Pigmen come April!
@SL: Thanks! Yeah the webbing really helped break up what would have otherwise been just a big wad of black armor... Helps tie them into the rest of the army, too. Plenty of green to come!
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Update on Eldar- Greens are all based now and I gotta say, I like how theyre turning out. Still needs some more saturation, but thats what the washes are for! I love painting larger Eldar kits because theres just so much flat real estate to play with. Lets me show off my gradient work with the airbrush and some freehand in the future!
After applying a custom wash/filter to give the green a bit more saturation, I spent several hours doing edge highlights on the armor.
Green is now complete! So now its time for- everybody say it with me now- "Time for the Details"
As it's Biel-Tan, vines and thorns are on the list- Im going to see if I cant find some decals floating around for the craftworld insignia... Add a nice bit of pop to the guns!
Gits- Trick to the saturated greens is DA Green paint and a custom ink filter/wash I mixed up. Took a few tries to get the color and consistency right, but in the end it came out to a nice sharp green like what you see here.
Today's progress is nothing special- Just a lot of blacking out areas to break up the masses of green. Should have some actual progress to show tomorrow once I get it all highlighted!
At this stage I find myself working in three groups- Guns (all white, minor details picked out like gems- currently finished white), Turrets/gunners (Just need stones and lights picked out), and Platforms (self-explanatory, really... Very small areas in need of detail work, currently messing with splashes of white as seen below).
Then everything needs little freehand details (mostly vines), which will come after almost everything else is done with.
The main body of the Vyper is just about done, with only stones and freehand to go on him. Just got his canopy sprayed in translucent red- very striking color against the green. Should be broken up a bit after I put the panel lines in on it.
The bases of the weapon batteries are done save for the stones and the white areas. When I add decals, Im going to put one of the Hearts on the white panel.
I think I may need another panel of white on them. probably a mirror image on the other side. What do you guys think?
Ooooooooohhhhh Those are looking fantastic! Very nice work Wehr!
Exciting to get my hands on these
@SL: Oh I know it! Counting the days.
Hoping to have eldar done by the end of the month, then the daemons done in 2 weeks. Optimally that would leave me 2 or 3 to work on some of my own shinies, so I dont look like a total lameass during our games
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Micro-update- Second white panel.
Although Im really a fan of asymmetry in color schemes, this one really did need a bit more white. Sure I could have put another panel or two on one side or the other (alternating them, ever), but alas, didnt think of it xD
For now, I think this is what Ill be going with. The turret shields of the platforms will have vine freehand on them, so probably not much white other than craftworld insignia.
I think you should (if you aren't past the point of no return), do one platform with left side panel white, one with right, and one with both. Nice visual breakup and easy to tell apart at a glance.
Glad you like the piggies Ramos, there are like 8 more on the chopping block for you And I do mean chopping block; those Titan Forge wolves take a mess of carving and hacking at to get together, let alone removing their heads. I have decreed that in every game RiTides plays against me with the boars he must refer to me as "Lord Carver, Bringer of Most Massive Destruction", and his model Carver only as "The Pretender".
Wehrkind wrote: I have decreed that in every game RiTides plays against me with the boars he must refer to me as "Lord Carver...", and his model Carver only as "The Pretender".
I can agree to that
Also, I really like whalemusic's idea for the Eldar - would love to see one tank with a single white panel, another with the opposite single white panel, and the last with two white panels!
Wehrkind wrote: I have decreed that in every game RiTides plays against me with the boars he must refer to me as "Lord Carver...", and his model Carver only as "The Pretender".
I can agree to that
It is now canon!
All hail the Carver of Carvers!
So sorry about vanishing without trace the past couple days. I had a hard deadline to meet (mostly self-imposed xD), so i was up till 6AM this morning putting final touches on the Eldar.
While I would have loved to do the alternating panels like you suggested WM, by that time everything was at the twin panel stage xD Maybe next time... Or you know- When we do more Mymeara!
First up, Vaul's Wrath support batteries. All weapon options are painted up and swappable for extra versatility.
Deathspinner:
D-Cannon:
Vibrocannon:
And last but not least, the Vyper- again, with all weapons magnetized. Of note though is that this is not its intended base- Had some color scheme issues so took pictures on a Jetbike base from the same army. Also, the client isnt too keen on the red glass, so we're working out a new one for him. Might be something blue... I just wanted to take final complete pictures of the model, so set the canopy in
And a slightly overexposed shot of the interior
Alrighty!
So with that done, its onto some Daemons, then HOPEFULLY a little Marines Errant for Adepticon!!! Ach where does the time go! xD
I love the grey glass panels on the death spinner. Obviously all the weapon platforms and jetbikes looks awesome, but I especially like the grey glass.
@Gits: Thanks, Gits! You know. Your mantis Warriors helped me out on nailing this green
@Yorkright: If its worth doing, its worth overdoing xD Once I get started on details like this, I tend to have a hard time stopping. Its why I only ever paint to one level and why it takes me just so blasted long to finish projects, haha!
@Wehr: I've always been a bit of the opposite- Not about the hearing thing (what? Whats that whistling sound?), but I've always had a little bit of a soft spot for the Eldar. Especially now that I have my airbrush, the flat panels are perfect for gradients and the like. Plus, I adore painting gems and lenses, and Eldar have a couple of those. (understatement much?)
@Tides: Yeah, it ended up being a little too "loud" of a color when placed next to the rest of the model. Now I know xD
@WM: One does not- One grabs a new canopy and starts over again xD
I could maybe turn it a darker purple, but I dont think thats what the client has in mind for the scheme.
@Zerg: Of the stock schemes, I think this is one of my favorites. Saim-Hann I like just a liiiiitle bit more, but Client's doing Pre-Heresy Thousand Sons, so didnt want two red armies!
@EDC: Thanks- The gray was a bit of a random choice- Didnt want to leave it black, but couldnt put a bright color in it as id normally do. The blue would have looked ok, I guess, but just not quite. Gray kept it neutral and still makes it look finished....
Plus I REALLY like painting lenses, gems, and glass!!
@Archer: Thanks!! This particular color blend was a big part of why it took me so long to finish these. Not because the scheme was difficult, but because I was working with the client to determine color scheme. We've gone through I think about 6 choices of green, then countless other thoughts, concepts, and ideas...
Thrilled it came out like this in the end. Will have even more of these in the post-Adepticon season!
@SL: Airbrush, man. Makes it WAY easy on large panels. For everything else, the secret is P3 Underbelly blue and SWM Cool Gray Wash. Gives a nice cool shadow to highlighting with whites!
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No progress to take pictures of today- Just prep work- all very boring, but necessary before getting on to painting!
Almost Still got a bunch of greenstuff work to do on them, but before that is a batch of Daemonettes + a soulgrinder- in theory MUCH easier than the Eldar, but we shall have to see
Rest assured, though... Krootdar are definitely inbound!
One day, One day! (hopefully soon!)
Till then, he's keeping watch over my desk. Still takes up a hell of a lot of room... Taken to using every spare shelf in my work area for model projects of past, present, and future!! :/
Come ooooon FW!
Started putting paint down on the Slaanesh Daemons- 20 Daemonettes (models from Raging Heroes), a Herald of Slaanesh (cant remember manufacturer), and a Soul Grinder.
Really REALLY excited to get at the Grinder... It really is a spectacularly fun model to paint
Related to the space issues in the workshop, I recently grabbed a tool rack off Amazon for cheap... Seems to work well for most of my tools (im probably forgetting some somewhere but thats for another day)
Now if I could figure out more shelving, thatd be greeeeeeat.....
Ramos Asura wrote: Really REALLY excited to get at the Grinder... It really is a spectacularly fun model to paint
Indeed, Soul Grinders are perhaps one of the best Daemon miniatures out there. I had a blast painting mine! Looking forward to seeing what you do with yours, especially since you're going Slaanesh with it whereas I went Khorne with mine.
If your looking for shelves try a utensil tray turned on its end. I used a bamboo utensil organizer from Walmart and used leg hooks to mount it to the pegboard.
Gives enough space for squads of 25mm based troops and a shelf for tall things too.
Theophony wrote: If your looking for shelves try a utensil tray turned on its end. I used a bamboo utensil organizer from Walmart and used leg hooks to mount it to the pegboard.
Gives enough space for squads of 25mm based troops and a shelf for tall things too.
@Boss Salvage: Boingo! That sounds about right, and looks spot on!
@Zerg: Its already sooooo nice!! Just the torso alone has been a blast. Easy to get lots of beautiful areas of contrast and gradients... Love love love it!
@YB: HEY! Good to see you're still kicking around! Hopefully things with the Fire Hawks are still going strong- We still totally gotta get you to Adepticon again one of these years.
@Theo: Oooh, yeah thats great!! If I can find some wall space, I think that'd be a perfect addition to the workshop!
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Alrighty, UPDATE TIME!
I spent most of my Friday assembling minis at a friend's house (lots of minis from Beyond the Gates of Antares), so I didnt get to painting more skin until today.
My camera is absolutely hating these Daemonettes... The skin tone is so bright it blows out the shot! From that initial purple, I've brought it back up to a mix of Underbelly Blue and White, with just a slight touch of the base purpleish color in it.
I think this is the level Im looking at for the skintone, though- Very very VERY pale, but still keeps just a little bit of a gray-purple hint to it. From this stage, its on to adding in little splashes of color to bring the ladies into focus. Its going to be an experiment to give her skin spots like what Nerdfest did, but I think thats just the thing for this scheme.
Yes indeed! SL, these are from Raging Heroes- I believe they are called Mantis Demons or Mantis Ladies, or something like that. Much more delicate than the DW equivalent, and some moldline issues (like being right across the face on some of them!)
Overall though, not bad, I guess. They make for fun proxies
Today saw more details on the Daemonettes. With the armor/chitin basecoated, the skin starts to take shape. not too much longer now- Surprisingly, I think these guys arent too far from being completed. After all, the hard part (skin) is already done!
Probably the biggest difference between last night's progress and today's is the spotting. Client asked for it, and I used Nerdfest's pink Daemonettes as sort of a reference, along with another painted by James Wappel. Deceptively simple work on these- Just a fine brush and some dots of wash. As it dried, tide marks gave a soft edge to the spots, making them dark on the outside and light in the middle. Also allowed me to change the shade of dots as I went along by adding more or less matte varnish!
The Grinder also got some love, and I knocked out its skin as well. Because of its greater size, I took the highlight up a few more layers. Also applied a striated texture on the larger planes of muscle to mimic strands of sinew and muscle.
Im at a little more than 3 weeks before I leave for Adepticon, and still have a TON of work! Not only do I have these Slaaneshi Daemons to take care of, but Im also revamping my resume/cover letter and prototyping out a business venture- more details on that later! Then, I of course need to bring some more Marines Errant love into this blog, hopefully getting a decent little chunk of new stuff to bring to beat up Gits, SL, and the rest of the Wardens crew
Almost done, Almost done! No time to lose now, as this officially marks less than 3 weeks remaining-- By this time on the 30th, I'll be sitting in Chicagoland!
Now its just a case of figuring out what to put on that banner... Always trouble with the triangular slaaneshi banners. The icon doesnt quiiiite fit right die to its aspect ratio, and Ive no idea what else to put on it! (thoughts?)
Im also pondering how to paint the bases. Half of these are on the same style of Secret Weapon base as the rest of the army, so will be getting sandstone and pinkish-red creep. The others are on the "Steel Invasion" bases, which have a more starship plating look to them:
Now my first thought is to paint them as really really rusted out metals, then doing the creep in the same colors. This should work with the rest of the army color-wise. What do you guys think?
Oh, and a final note- KD Monster expansions dropped today! Much more stuff for Alf and me to kill
Now if only I had time to paint it!
Theophony wrote: Stop playing with your boobies and get back on the Titan
..... I think I remember that line from a video I saw before I got married
evildrcheese wrote:How about just a portion of the 8 pointed star on the banner?
EDC
Gitsplitta wrote:I'd suggest painting the bases metal & then rust the areas near the tendrils, as if the metal is being degraded by the incursion.
Thong idea is funny.
OR....best of both worlds and do a thong with a tattoo of the 8 pointed star on one of the cheeks (sorry I'm devolving this thread into a nerdfest thread )
No, no... The only butts on these models will be the ones on the daemonettes.
I like Gits' idea for basing, though.... I think that'll work just nicely!
Not a Daemonette update (just need to varnish them now), but one concerning Marines Errant! Yes, SL, you heard that right. Im actually doing some stuff for myself
I'm going to try and get a few quick minis up and running so that I can play in a larger game against the Wardens. Here I have an Ironclad Dread (CCW and Seismic Hammer), and an Autocannon/Missile Deredo.
Ran into some problems on the Deredo, though. The cannons have mold release impregnated into the barrels, so they wont paint up. Sent in the order for replacements to FW, but they wont arrive in time. Ill still paint up everything else, though. Was going to magnetize the weapons anyways so that I can swap it for the plasmas. Unfortunate, but nothing can be done :/
Bit of an equipment question for you guys- How to arm the Ironclad? I have the options of Twin Heavy Flamers, Melta/Heavy Flamer, or Heavy Flamer/ Heavy Bolter. Im leaning towards one of the first two options- Twin flamer has reliability vs hordes, but having the melta in there gives it a little bit of anti armor at range... Thoughts?
No, unfortunately the outside. Nearly the whole thing is glossy- Check this out:
Its like I dipped the whole front of the things in gloss varnish! No way to remove this either... Tried several soapy warm baths, even an engine degreaser. Nothing! :/
Thanks, Gits! Yeah, im just annoyed FW let something like this through on BOTH guns. Mind you that you buy the guns separately from the body- essentially what I got was a totally unsuitable product. I could have built the guns myself for nearly free if I wanted to go that route- The principle of the thing, ya know.
Daemonettes are finished!! Really liked Gits' idea for the rust, and I think I managed to capture it. Followed some of Nerd's style and used thinned Vermin Brown and Blazing Orange. Washed around the fleshy bits and boom! Rusty!
Close-up on some of the girls:
The instrument bearer was sculpted with a violin, so I immediately went Golden Fiddle- Looking for a soul to steal!
The standard I had fun with- Chaos star just didnt feel right, and I couldn't fit a Slaanesh Icon no matter how I tried. So then I thought to Wehr's seeker head idea... A quick sketch on a notepad later and I got this... Actually really proud of it
(although appreciate the title update so this is easier to track!)
) Everything laid out to dry for a day or two.
(added spoilers so the thread doesn't scroll like crazy, but I think you could just put it in the gallery if you like)
, then I see a 
