Hello all!

Here is my LED Rhino / Razorback! This was my very first model painting with my airbrush, and also the first model I've put electronics in (with the help of my electronics friend). If you'll notice in the pictures, there are 2 places for the batteries, one in the battery terminal on the underside (which is right next to the on/off switch) and there is another battery holder for a spare battery on the inside roof of the passenger door area (if you can spot it).

Questions and critiques very very welcome!



--

It's late in the night and I am SICK of painting red. Well, almost sick of it. Once I get this Bloodletter (x20) commission out of the way I'll be painting more Blood Angels dreads. Some updated models and newer photoes of my Cronos Pain Engine (it's selling on Ebay! check it out). Also, this is my first time trying out corkboard bases, or more elaborate bases at all, really (not a fan of them). I'm pretty happy with how they turned out -- they are WIP, but close to finished.

WIP


Finished Cronos -- Sell dammit sell!

Back for some more: These arn't commissions, but I bought them to sell them. The Librarian in Terminator armor is such a fine model, and I used it to try out Finecast miniatures for the first time! I'm a fan (but not of the price).

Here's a WIP of the different OSL basecoats

Finished (without parchment writing yet -- couldn't wait)


Here are two Dreads I worked on at the exact same time. I really like these kits. One thing that bothers me is that the Librarian features of the Furioso Dread seem really tacked on, notably in the parchments on the shoulders and legs -- really bad sculpt -- that's not how cloth/parchment rests.

And...


I painted up some interesting Scouts with sniper rifles last week, I need to upload them here -- will do tomorrow or soon.

I need to start my own army so that I can have a pretty straightforward goal for this blog. For the meantime it's just a showcase :(
I finished several models this week. I already posted pretty much all of them (GK Librarian and 2 Furiosos), but I have an update for the Furioso Dreadnought with the Frag Cannon. I went to town on the base:



I actually really disliked the general focus on fancy-as-hell basing (popular on CMON etc.), or at least towering bases, but if I'm to make any money off of these models I better start competing! In the end I found it to be almost more fun than the model itself, and I'll probably continue to fancy up my bases. I even went to the library today to pick up several books on geology, for my (art) paintings and for my models as well -- look to nature!
And then I spent another hour or two making the model as sharp as possible with highlights and small details -- raising bright areas and shading others, and weathering a bit as well -- here it is, with the base from above!



The small head conversion was pretty simple: just cut and file off the skull from the Death Company faceplate and then (painstakingly) file down a marine head of your choosing! Next time I'd make the head turned more for dynamics.



I'm thinking of starting a Death Skulls Ork army -- lots of looted wagons


ALMOST FORGOT!
Here are those scouts I did for a commission last week:

Love the Cronos. You should really get it photographed in non direct lighting though.

@His Master's Voice: Yeah. Every time I see that Cronos I cringe a little bit because of the glares. My photos have improved a little over the last month or so, but I need to get some diffused lighting options.
Thanks for commenting!

Damned spam crap. Anyways, great work man, I think your painting is pure awesome.

Awww yeah, this is better. I spent all morning coming up with better lighting set ups. This is the winner. Incoming Blood Angels Vindicator later on tonight/tomorrow morning.

Fantastic work, loving it all... keep it up!!

Im amazed i myself to commision (BTW deathskulls fun and easy to paint) and your standards and speed are very high, well done

Thanks guys!
[EDIT]

SOON...



Automatically Appended Next Post:
After one night of alternating between eating macaroni and cheese, watching Delocated, and BATTLE DAMAGE!!! we arrive at this (98% done -- finishing shell on the back, and need to do treads now).

VOILA! The culmination of my improved lighting, photos, and a g-damn Vindicator.



If anyone wants slightly better quality pictures (Dakka uses unhappy compression), go here: http://imgur.com/a/MYkl8

And here's everything I've been working on for the last week or so:

Behold! A very WIP Deathskull!



I've tried about 8 different skin variations and styles, and although I am okay with this one, the final products will be a little more green and dark I think. Also, I mixed up a batch of lighter blue for the Deathskull Lucky Blue color that I'll be using quite extensively on this armor -- it's more of a hawk turquise blue now in an effort to jive well with the new skin tone.
More pics to come within the days!

Been working on this guy inbetween paintin' some Nobz. I have 3 more Sang. Priests, but this guy was my favorite, thus the special painting treatment.



Next up, some more Deathskulls.

Haven't had any time to work on personal projects, but I got started on my most expansive projects during the holidays. So far these guys are looking like they will take more time to assemble than actually paint. I'm doing the OSL method of quick metallic painting. It looks good so far. Once I buy another CF card I'll take better pictures.
I also made a wooden stand for multi-model painting, but I'm finding it hard to get a system that rigs the models securely. Right now there are metal rods stick out of the wood that go into holes in the feet/legs of the models.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, I have some better photos of an old favorite!

Good stuff ya got there...digging the scouts

Phew, finally done with this enormous commission! It paid well in the end, and I am eternally grateful for that. Like an idiot I got all the photos finished and assembled then realized I forgot to paint the red stamp on the purity seals :(. They are painted now, but the pictures will just have to do without them (the models are all packed up!).

Finishing up that same GK commission (with still, more on the way!), I present this Grand Master and four servo skulls:



I'm going to write a tutorial about basing, materials, and freehand force-weapon painting pretty soon.

Thanks for lookin'

Since last post, I've done about 11 GK Paladins and I'm on my 20th GK Strike Squad model. Maybe I'll throw some pics together a little later.

While painting so many force weapons I decided to assemble this tutorial real fast. I hope it's clear -- I noticed several grammatical problems :(

Looking good there. I'm always a sucker for LED vehicles. Can't wait to see what's coming up next.

More Grey Knights! (sorry for those not fans of GK)

Between this posting and the last I probably painted about 20 strike squad models and 10 more Paladins (all in my gallery if you are interested).

Next up: 3 Dakka Dreads.

I'm waiting on the Forgeworld autocannons and one resin frontpiece, but I started on two of the bodies already:


I tried some finagling with the legs on two of them (only one of them pictured) to a moderate degree of sucess, I think! Here's a closeup of the leg bend:


And here's what they look like as of right now:


Painting Dreadnoughts is always a nice break from the tiny little neck-straining models -- which is good, because now I have parts for 4 more dreadnoughts! (I ordered bits from online stores enough to fill out the extra arms afforded to me).




Automatically Appended Next Post:
I forgot! Here's a compilation of all the GK models I've done for a client. Not pictured: 20 strike squad guys and 5 more Paladins with Psycannons

Still waiting on the Forgeworld Autocannons and chest :(
Finished 2.5 Dreadnoughts though! This is the first time I've done a dark brass before shinning gold. I usually just use a sepia wash after a light gold. Scorched Brown and Shining Gold together make such a rich color!

Finished them all! I'll take pictures with better lighting tomorrow morning. These things are mean looking.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Er, HERE are the pictures!







Enjoy!

Getting ready to post a Grey Knight painting tutorial, I decided that this blog needs to be updated more. Here's the latest commissions from the last several weeks. I'm excited about tomorrow, though, when I reveal my Orks and I can post the aforementioned "How to paint GK Purifiers" tutorial.

I just put together this tutorial, enjoy! Please feel free to ask questions. (I hope the format is ok)

Better quality: http://i.imgur.com/wOLiq.jpg

News: I'm starting a Lamenters force. I couldn't get happy with the Ork Codex -- I've got a lot of models to show yet, though. Here are the first of what is soon to be a heavy devastator and assault marine Lamenters army.

Great blog! Really liking those Lamentars. Interesting tutorial on the power sword too. Subbed!

Thanks Reaper Man!

I'll try to keep this a little more updated and rigorous. I have ten more GK Paladins to work on now, but I'll try to mix in some Lamenters as I go -- they are just so satisfying.

Saw these on Reddit just now. Awesome job mate!

I just saw the tutorial for the Purifiers! Great stuff! Thanks! I love the work you do!

Quick Update!

I wanted to show how the Lamenters look without any detailing or washing or anything else. This is what my models look like after they endure the my yellowing technique. Pretty sweet model, eh?



Sorry Red Comet, forgot to PM you about the tutorial. Glad you saw it, though. I'm afraid the tutorial isn't very useful just because I use so many personal techniques and materials. Alas, that's how I've done them all, though!

Its alright! Just glad I saw the updates on your thread!

I'm not surprised that you use so many personal techniques because your models look very unique and different! I love it! I wish I had the money to get a commission or two from you, but oh well.

Wonderful painting, i really hope you finish your lamenters project

Young Logan

Finished this guy yesterday. Almost forgot to post!

Thanks Logan, Red Comet! (my commissions are pretty cheap -- I just don't have time to do a lot of them)

Haven't had time to work on my Lamenters lately -- mostly family stuff back and forth.

I did finish a commission of 10 GK paladins. The small shoulder shield heraldry looks much better than any other methods I've tried, so I'm pretty happy about these. They feel like they took forever to paint compared to Purifiers, even though I think they are easier.






Automatically Appended Next Post:
Action shot! (kinda lame, I know, but I don't have any scenery)

Little update: I've been working on some Lamenters Devastators a little lately. Here's the latest WIP of them:



and some Rhinos I finished for a commission. I think I'm getting the hang of source lighting better (though I'm not happy with the Lascannon Dev above). I have 3 more Rhinos to do this weekend, then 3 Dreadknights after that (should be fun!).

Beautiful stuff! Those Paladins look amazing and those Rhinos!

Thanks, Red_Comet! I'm working on a side project of 3 GK Grand Masters that I think you'll really like I'm priming them now.

Okay, finished with that Rhino commission. It was interesting, and not quite as bad as I had thought it may be (plus the price was just right). Yes, those are six unique Rhinos.



Dreadknight concepts coming up as well as some Grand Masters.

Fast update:

Working on Dreadknight, here's my progress

Oh yeah! love the paint jobs and the tutorials are pretty sweet too! I'll definitely be back for more!

I managed to get a surprisingly similar photo setup! Another update from the Dreadknight:

Fantastic work, can't wait to see a Lamenters army!!

can't wait to see a Lamenters army!!

Me too... me too. I have ten Forgeworld Assault Marines (MKIV I think?) that I am going to integrate into the Lamenters marines. I can't wait to get started on them next week.

Thanks for the comments phantommaster and Hmelrose!

Finished the Dreadknight!

I was requested some GK Crusaders for a commission. I like the original models, but I'm going to finally try my hand at the converted henchmen look that's getting popular now. This guy started as a WFB Empire Priest. I'll use the original torso on some scout legs perhaps, modelling some more cloth on that. I'm going to have to sculpt now!

I haven't worked on anything much except GK. I have an art show coming up so my finished Warhammer models may take a slight hit.

In the meantime, here is what I was working on.

Mordrak and Ghost Knights, plus 2 Paladins!

And now something completely different:





Three pieces for a themed art show I'm going to be in next week. Thanks to my commissions I've been able to experiment a bit with different tools and techniques and was able to pull these off pretty damn fast -- I hope they are interesting enough. Keep in mind they are supposed to be "fine art" which just means it doesn't have to have anything cool in it

[EDIT] Whoa dang, those are pretty big. Haha. Oh well, I'm not energetic enough right now to resize them -- enjoy!

Great stuff here! I really interested to see where your crusader project goes

Keep up the good work, good luck at the show!
Rawson

Been travelling and just working on Blood Angels commissions lately. I'll get back to some really interesting work soon.

15 down, 10 to go. 30 Death Company and 30 Assault Marines after the Devastators, lol.

Oh, and I finally touched up the Ork Trukk I had laying around forever. I'm surprised I didn't take pictures earlier -- I knew it'd be photogenic. Note the simple hood conversion!

And here are some Nobz for good measure (they are WIP)

I love the Orks even though they are WIP. The Devastators look amazing!

A couple of finished projects of recent:




And a quick shot of my Lamenters Devastator sergeant -- well, I like him

Those GK terminators are simply stunning, I am very very impressed with them.

Thanks, Knightley! I plan on painting a ton more and selling on ebay I think. They are a lot of fun to paint.

Thanks for following Red_Comet! I swear this blog will get more interesting when I get more discussion going!

But its already interesting with your amazing paint jobs!

I just threw this together before I got started on my Justicar Thawn conversion. I'm trying to make him stand out just a bit and add some wear (since he "cannot die"). Small over-shoulder cape and some rosaries in his hand and neck.
I drew over a photo of the miniature with Photoshop and a tablet. I need to do this much more.

Nice stuff on here! Subscribed!

I'm too excited to wait for better photos of these guys. Just finished basing them. I'll take better photos tomorrow.





Enjoy!

Those two look excellent, i do really love the power weapon glow on the glaive, makes it look so beautiful. How do you get that effect?

mekbadzappa: Check out the first page of this project blog -- I threw together an image-tutorial on how I did the force weapons. It's basically just starting with Enchanted/Magic Blue (or whatever the new color is called) and working my way up by adding white. Thanks for the compliment!

Here be better photos (and dakka linked):

You never cease to impress. I love those 2 models! They look amazing!

Great work on those two I also like the glave.

Thanks Reaper Man, Red Comet!

Just finished these guys -- still need to do decals and dab the gems with gloss varnish. ~40 more Blood Angels to go!

As always, if you want higher quality shots of the models, check out : imgur_gallery
Here are a few better pics:




As a weird bonus that nobody asked for, here's my workspace (does anyone know why imgur makes everything higher-contrast/darker?):

Here's a really crappy photo preview of what is soon to come:



These guys have... lots of details. Oof!

Here are better photos plus a GK Techmarine. The Death Company I did in a week, and there are 10 more to go. Enjoy


-


-

More stella work here, I really like the bald death company marine.

Soon, more:

I'm trying to figure out another solution for the guns. Black isn't working for me. Suggestions?




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ahh, much better.

Anyone have any suggestions for the skin? I feel like I'm going to get tired of the "skin" looking so much like the chitin after a while.

13 more Assault Marines:

Assault Marines look good, but I want to see more of your nids.

Good clean blood angels as usual, not sure what to suggest for the nids arms. I know what you mean about them being to close to the chitin, maybe a lighter red to mix into the flesh cables?

for the guns i suggest doing a a stone color, like a sand stone, that or do a off white. Because you have a grey base, you could always continue and do a grey gun.

Thanks guys. Yeah yeah, I'd rather be doing Tyranids too, but these other guys pay the billz.

Reaper Man 2020: I was thinking of getting a bit more red in the fleshier parts of the Tyranids -- and you are right about the cables -- something else that color would make it seem a bit more organic, although I really like that spot of deep, disgustingly red, red.

Cormadepanda: I'm pretty happy with how the "bone" weapons look now (in the second pics), though perhaps less of that glowing turquoise color. Thanks for the suggestion!

Here's a newer commission. I'm doing a small kill team of Deathwatch-type guys (2 Vendettas, 2 Chimeras, 2 Veteran Squads). Here's a test model without the resin base:

A simple scheme, but allows for lots of small details where it needs it! Now I just want to do a Catachan infiltrating army, dammit!

I haven't updated this in a while. I am working on some interesting things though, here's a taste:

Deathwatch

Great work. I'll try out your technique for force weapons soon.

Well well, here are some more Assault Marines. For some reason I start to like models the more often I work on them (somewhere around the 40 model mark)

Working with resin bases. Ended up using greenstuff to fill the gaps under the feet.

Very nice stuff. I'm especially a fan of the terminator inquisitor, and the weathering on those chimeras.

grrr

Those Imperial Guard look great! I love the effect of the plasma gun!

Thanks guys!

...And here they are, finished!


--

--

Several more Ghost Knights and another Mordrak (looks familiar!) for a commission. It's a pleasure to paint these guys!


-

Those knights look amazing!

Looks just amazing, I love the stormbolter, really eye catching!

Subscribed! Really impressive work, especially your OSL - any chance of a tutorial?

Thanks for the compliments! @Citizen Luka: You mean a tutorial for the Ghost Knights, or just for OSL in general? I recently acquired a webcame so maybe I'll take more shots of the steps I take to paint these guys.

Here's something a bit different that I started this weekend. I think you can all figure out who this is going to be (greenstuffing isn't close to finished):

Here's another huge picture. I've been working on these Vendettas for a bit of time now (along with 3 other commissions), here ya go:

(Not finished, still need to work on cockpit and touching up the reds and some more detailing)

Wow that looks beautiful! Did you use the boltgun color for the highlights or codex gray?

Here's what I did: Black basecoat (actually several basecoats, but a matte black is on top), then did a darker grey highlight on all edges (the shade is between Codex Grey and Black). Then I mixed up Tin Bitz and Boltgun Metal in about equal parts and did some dirty battle damage -- I've never mixed silver with Tin Bitz before, what a beautiful color! Throw in a little Badab Black/Nuln Oil wash with the airbrush where I want the metal scrapes to look really old, and then add some Chainmail (mid-silver color) to the areas I want to look freshly scratched, and voila. The picture above is pre-wash and silver highlight.

What I'm going for is several distinct surface types to break the monotony of a black vehicle. Basically I want a nice black color, a worn silver (from old paint scratch and normal "metal" parts), and then a fresh silver, and I apply each one in a logical method for the area (from debris hitting front of vehicle, or from the engines' byproduct hitting tail fins).

That makes perfect sense! Thanks. I can't wait to see it once its completely finished.

Finished the rather large Deathwatch commission today! Pics below.

I'm wanting to paint more weathered metal. Luckily I have some more vehicle commissions that I can practice on. Thinking of working on the new Dark Angels flyers since I can easily translate what I've learned on the Vendettas to the Ravenwing. Or maybe a really sinister Black Templar Land Raider.






Bonus high-quality shot:

Those commission IG turned out pretty awesome for having a basic color scheme and that vendetta High Quality shot is very nice.

Some new work:

Here's a comparison between a year of work:


and some detail:

Aye, your work has really improved over the year, but then it was already good to start with!

Thanks Squidbot! I'm going to paint up some Ravagers/Raiders next, so it should get a little more interesting!

Still working on the Dark Eldar (big reveal soon). Here are two Rhinos I just completed in the meantime:



I tried a few different things this time on them (very similar to previous ones, though).

Okay, I lied about the Dark Eldar. I'm moving in a month so I gotta do some more commissions before I tackle my personal projects. Plus I'll have a really bitchin new studio.

Here are some super-fancy Sang. Priests. I've been painting an entire Blood Angels army for a very friendly client:




Annnnddd.... all together now, sorry for the multiples -- it's just how I put them together in PS:

DUDE, i dig ur models. The painting on those things are proper good, keep it up.

Thanks Novelist! I dig your Ork conversions, especially that Dread with the shootas

Finished the honor guard to go with one of the Sanguinary Novitiates/Priests above.

Would you like to share how you painted up the red on those amazing blood angels?

Gorgeous models once again! You keep outdoing yourself! I'd love to see a tutorial too. Such nice models!

Thanks for the kind words, guys. I'll try to do a tutorial sometime soon. Everything is kind of out of order at the moment around here.

Here come some more! I'be been doing some greenstuffing this time.






As always, there are higher quality pics at: http://imgur.com/a/MYkl8#0

I forgot to post my Attack Bikes here also. Will do soon.

Simply awesome work man, you make me wanna put a commisson for an army for you too paint

Do you use alot of airbrushing and then go after with a brush for details, highlights etc?

What can we expect to see more of btw?

@ Charky: Hey, painting armies is what I do
I usually use the airbrush for the first several steps of painting (Priming and basecoating which is 2-4 layers of different colors/angles), then I'll apply some basic blocks of color with a brush, then perhaps do a selective wash over many areas with a brush, then continue on with smaller details and highlights towards the end. I end up using the airbrush only for select area effects (like glows, although sometimes I just use a brush instead), weathering sometimes with pigments or washes (harder to control washes with airbrush I think), and then also for sealing the mini at the end.

Next up are some more Attack Bikes and a Sanguinary Priest on bike. I also am doing a few of the more subtle space marine chapters that I haven't seen get much love. Right now I'm working on a Star Phantoms marine, and a Consecrators chapter marine.


Oops, forgot to add the Attack Bikes. I really like these guys! They also contain some of my most detailed and crisp (finished looking) painting so I'm particularly proud.

Lotsa pics for you peeps:



-



-



-

Awesome stuff! I can't wait to see the Sanguinary Priest on a bike!

Another rather large load of Blood Angels stuff. I just finished 3 more Attack Bikes and a Sanguinary on Bike (as previously mentioned). Here ya go Red Comet

Also, if you guys ever have questions on how I do stuff, don't hesitate to ask!



And a group shot of the Attack Bikes. There are more detailed pictures of each Attack Bike in my gallery under Blood Angels -- check 'em out!



Also, I've joined a local Warhammer (Fantasy!) group. I've bought the Beastmen battalion and I'll soon show off some nasty stuff. But first I have to clean up and organize my work studio!

Man I am envious of your Blood Angels, just the tone of red is incredible, how do you go about getting your red?

[Edit} The last few Attack Bikes and Sang. Priest on bike are a little darker of a red than usual. That's just the way I work sometimes and I should probably fix that problem in the future. -- The photos do not lie! I promise!
For the red (and all of the below steps are with an airbrush, although spray paint also works if you have the colors):

Prime black.

Spray from top-down mostly: A darkish grey color (I mix a very dark grey with white mix at 1:1), then a lighter grey over a more specific top area (grey/white 1:4).

Then I get a blood-redish color (it's Vallejo Model Air Scarlet Red), and then mix in some glazing medium and then coat the models with several layers. This part can vary a lot since it's hard to get a consistent reference (I never have a model around!).

And that's the red. I also do an all-over black wash I made custom based on "Les' Wash Recipe" (you can google it).

I am very impressed by your work. The quality and quantity is astounding. The Deathwatch commission is definitely my favorite so far. I have two questions to ask if you don't mind. The first is concerning the Sanguinary Priests. The white parts of their armor is incredibly well done but the transition between the white torso and the red legs isn't a "clean" switch between the two colors. It almost looks like white overspray on the thighs. I assume that is intentional and if so did you paint it that way for a specific reason? It looks different and unique and I quite like it.

Second, would you mind telling me how you painted the black armor on the marine you are using as your avatar photo? I've looked through this thread and I didn't see it anywhere. I would like to try painting some of my miniatures with a similar looking black.

Sure, Ephrael, and thanks for the thoughtful comment!

I like the Deathwatch guys as well, but I was running out of time allotted to finish them (and I'd already spent a ton of time on some of the models!).

Regarding the fade to red/white. Yes, the overspray is intentional--well, yes and no. What I was trying to do is get a consistent fade from red to white (feet and torso respectively), so that you have a thorough fade over about half the model. But I didn't want to spend so much time using a brush to fade red into white in such a large area (basically all of the leg and lower torso). So I did the red like I do on all Blood Angels, and then I sprayed white (always white on red, not other way around or else it's pink!), and used a brush for small areas of touch-up (the feet and the groin). The result is a little messy and could be done better, but you mentioning this just gave me a truly excellent idea to cover up the mistake it brings forth, if I ever paint something similar again.

Throughout all my models I strive to come up with time-efficient manners of painting since it's a pretty large component of my work. My work is not expensive if you compare the quality of the rank and file troops (well, just troops for 40k) to others. Sometimes I drive myself crazy with shortcuts and find out I'd have been better off doing something the traditional or "hard" way, and that's a pretty good learning experience every time (sigh). But moreso it forces me to innovate, and through that, sometimes new, or at least better, techniques and ideas emerge through the process. For instance, to save money I started making my own washes. I used them alongside the GW and Army Painter washes, and I found that the wash I made had a much different property than the GW washes, so I use it in a pretty different fashion; it has higher contrast--looks sharper, more gloss, and, well, it's a lot cheaper so I can coat an entire model in it and fix any pooling mistakes. It also seals the paint better to prevent chipping early on (since I usually just handle the miniatures directly while painting), and changes the properties of paint on the surface afterwards since it's smoother/glossier.

Regarding the black armor in my avatar. Well, somewhat ashamed to admit this, but a lot of it just looks cool because of light reflecting off the semi-gloss surface in the photo. HOWEVER, the semi-gloss surface was intentional, as it's a way to differentiate materials on the model -- for instance, his matt face, or the even higher gloss of the blood-drop gem on his chest. I work a lot on getting about 3 different specularity amounts through every single model (and it's built into the process, painstakingly ordered, sometimes; you can see this in my GK Purifier tutorial though that's a bit dated). But the method of painting his armor is incredible simple: Prime black, basecoat black paint mixed with glazing/gloss medium (I don't know the exact ratio, but it's about 10-15% medium), and then I paint on the grey highlights where light would reflect towards the sky (very roughly, and I mixed the grey with Kantor Blue, as is popular). I also manage to fit a Satin varnish right before any high gloss applications (on gems, or glass/energy-like surfaces). It's a delicate balance, but one I'm personally comfortable toying with.

Okay, I hope you enjoyed my rambling.

Thank you Johnnyhorse for the very quick reply and the painting tips. I'll be sending you an email this week with some questions about your painting technique and wash recipe if you don't mind. I also have a question about some commission work if you have the time for one soonish.

Please do! I need some commission-based projects, and I'm happy to help with techniques.

 Johnnyhorse wrote:
Please do! I need some commission-based projects, and I'm happy to help with techniques.

Have you ever thought about doing some video tutorials? I always find those much more useful than descriptive ones, as seeing the actual techniques applied is a huge help to some people who don't really know what the painting terms look like when they are applied etc.

Awesome to see some of your old work. I am a huge fan and its great to see all of your old stuff and some wip as well. Thanks man

Yes, I've been wanting to do a video tutorial for a long time now. I have an excellent camera, but I do not have a video camera (I'll try giving my webcam a shot). I will definitely post them here when I do one. Thanks for the recommendation! Definitely a good idea.

 Johnnyhorse wrote:
Yes, I've been wanting to do a video tutorial for a long time now. I have an excellent camera, but I do not have a video camera (I'll try giving my webcam a shot). I will definitely post them here when I do one. Thanks for the recommendation! Definitely a good idea.

Awesome, like surprisingly one of the best done video tutorials I have seen is the GW How to Paint minis one from the latest paint release. Because a lot of people who do videos assume to much of the painter, so they will say put on a edge highlight here, with this colour etc. Rather than saying I then did a edge highlight here, this is how to do that, this is why I do that etc

I just watched the "How to Paint Citadel Miniatures" and I have a lot of ideas now. Good suggestion! I can take off from where they left off and talk about advanced techniques, aesthetics, and planning for specific effects. Maybe I'll just mix photos and low-resolution video into a Youtube tutorial. Thanks Eldercaveman -- I needed gentle nudging.

Just great paint job all the way man

I don't really follow "random" blogs with all different army and stuff, but You are an inspiring painter

Subbed a thousand times

All these look really great, I wish I could paint this well x)

 Johnnyhorse wrote:
I just watched the "How to Paint Citadel Miniatures" and I have a lot of ideas now. Good suggestion! I can take off from where they left off and talk about advanced techniques, aesthetics, and planning for specific effects. Maybe I'll just mix photos and low-resolution video into a Youtube tutorial. Thanks Eldercaveman -- I needed gentle nudging.

I look forward to it

Been out of the hobby for a week or two, but not completely. After months of sitting on my sweet URL I finally setup my website. You can click on the gigantic blue letters in my signature. Or here: www.warandpaint.com <-- easy enough to remember.

Comments and critiques are very welcome! I've never designed a site before, so I could use some feedback. I'm trying to keep it pretty simple and easy to use.

I'll still post here. I just wanted a hub for all my warhammer work that allowed a more organized gallery, comments, and a place to direct those interested in commissioned work. There isn't much there (do check out the Blood Angels gallery - that's nearly filled), but I plan on writing and filming some tutorials, which I will post here also, of course.

Here are some newer images that I put together, they haven't quite been seen yet.












They are shamelessly linked to the army section of my website, where you can find 'like images' to the ones you clicked on, and a full size of the image with a further click.
Hope you all enjoy!

Here's a taste of what's soon to come...

[

A bit of discussion here: http://www.reddit.com/r/Warhammer/comments/1ftnwj/ba_power_sword_i_dont_know_where_im_going_with/

I'll be posting some finished models, including the body attached to that sword, probably tomorrow.

Looking great how did you do the psychic hoods on the librarians? Looks simple but I can't quite see it. Looking forward to seeing some more

Young Logan

Really,really great work .

The Purifier tutorial will come in very handy for me also.

@Pedro Kantor - Awesome, glad to be of help!

@Young_Logan - The pyschic hoods were created from greenstuff. It was actually quite simple: First, I added any wires or tubes that would be coming out of their head (the heads were glued into the torsos while making the hood). When that had hardened, I got a small piece of greenstuff and I shaped it into a sort of triangle, and then wrapped it around the back of the head. After shaping it to the general shape I wanted, I let it harden just a little bit, and then chisled and filed the hood into a smooth sphere finish, and made sure there were hard lines on the edges of the hood. It's easiest to see in this photo:


Thanks for the comments!

Here we go:

(click on image for full size)
(dakka linked)

(imgur linked)






I'll have slightly better pictures in a couple of days. These are good and all, but I can do better.
I'm happy to answer any questions about technique or other secrets.

You have the talent to impress me on every mini You do... a little more.

P.S. I didn't reach yet the maximum I can be impressed , so post moar

P.S. I didn't reach yet the maximum I can be impressed, so post moar

Good. I'll impress you more, yet! Just you wait. You like Deff Dreads, right? I have a Deff Dread begging to be painted yellow, well, painted yellow again. (only my wheel'd Orks iz red)

What does he count as? Also how is your gold painting?

I would marry a Deff Dread painted by You

@ Eldercaveman: The Blood Angels guy just counts as a Capain with Jump Pack. I just wanted something pretty straightforward to have fun with, so I picked a rather vanilla theme.

The gold is generally done this way: Shining Gold (sometimes over a brown basecoat), a very thin black wash, and then Seraphim Sepia wash/shade. I usually finish it with either a drybrush of GW's gold dry paint, or by just mixing Shining Gold with some silver.

@ SelvaggioSaky: Who needs marriage when you have a Deff Dread? Just you and the pushy buttons.

In stead of a pushy wife? eheheheh

Hey man.

First off, awesome painting love it all
Secondly, do you think you could either PM me or post a tutorial on how you did your rocky base for the fragnought on page 1 ? coz i love that style of base but i have no idea what materials to use or how to do it :(

Cheers.

@Warp Angels: I sent you a PM

I wrote out a lot of information about basing, so I'll share it with you guys, not just Warp Angels

For the dreadnought base: I used 3 main materials.
A. I used corkboard (the kind you can get at most stores for pinning things on walls/bulletin boards etc.), and then I tore it up and made it look "natural."
B. Get some various "debris." I use about 3 different types of scenic sand, rocks, and other little bits and mix it all up in an old yogurt container, and when I'm ready to use it I paint up a base with PVA glue (Elmers) and throw the base in there and shake it up good.
C. Some scenic grass. I put dabs of glue on a few spots, then lightly drop scenic grass on top of the glue and then blow off excess. If you blow from the sides then the grass tends to stand upright on the base, looking somewhat realistic.

As far as painting goes, I mostly use an airbrush, though it isn't needed.
1. Prime/basecoat it a dark color.
2. Either drybrush, or spray (airbrush, or spray paint) from the top-down to get just the tops of the base, leaving shadows on the sides of the corkboard pieces and crevices.
3. Drybrush a lighter color ontop, much lighter than step 2.
(Note: at this stage, I usually end up gluing the grass onto the base. I do this now because the grass is already naturally colored green, so I don't want to spray it with another color... much.)
4. If you want the grass on the base to meld more with the color of the scene, then I usually spray the grass tufts with a Wash/Shade -- using a watered down brush also works. You just want to tint the grass, not glob thick paint on.
... and the rest it up to you. I've been doing almost all my bases this way.

*** Disclaimer: I often end up rubbing little pieces of scenic gravel off of the glue after I've painted it, leaving spots of "raw", brighter colored bits showing through. I REALLY need to come up with a solution to fixing this problem, because it requires me to go back and dot the landscape with bits of brown paint, which shouldn't be necessary.

In the spoiler tag is the previous image of just the base that Warp Angels was asking about, for reference:


*** if you guys have suggestions to keeping modelling sand/debris/material on the base and not chipping off the glue, I'd love to hear it! I've tried watering down PVA glue and then placing it ontop of the already glued-down debris, and it works, but ends up taking much longer, and often creates a very smooth surface that ends up looking unnatural.

Been working with rotating .gifs today. Doing so gave me some REALLY good ideas that I'm excited to work on. More on that a little later.

This one isn't even half as good as the final versions (which I'm like 75% done with -- of 4 models)

I think you'd need multiple layers of PVA and sand for a more natural look. I make paper mache with PVA glue and tissue paper to act as natural terrain base before placing a thin layer of sand. That way it looks far more natural and organic.


Your models look delightful. I wish I could paint half as well as that. I'm sure I'll get there someday!

@Know No Pear: That's a really good idea. I will most certainly try this very soon -- thanks!

Okay, now to spam some images. First off, here's one of the Grand Masters that is Dakka-linked so that my blog will actually have a thumbnail (since the forums only use dakka-linked photos it seems):


Okay, now that that's out of the way, who wants to see some rotating .gifs!?









Making you dizzy, huh? Normally I won't post 4 rotating gifs at a time, but just this one time...

There are also more details, still images of all the models above in my Dakka Dakka gallery:
Grey Knights: http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-49323-20134_Grey%20Knights.html
Blood Angels: http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-49323-20135_Blood%20Angels.html

Questions, comments, critiques?

Wow how do you do the spinning GIFs?

Very nice painting throughout. Sub'd for future pretties.

Thanks Dr H

@Vivster: I wrote it out elsewhere, I'll paste it here:

They are created from my standard method of taking photos. The Grey Knights gifs are about 23 photos/frames each, and the Blood Angel is about 40 photos.

The work was compounded by the fact I take pictures with really low light, so the exposures were pretty long — about 2-3 seconds each. I used a rotating tray with a circular-cut foam board as the surface, and would spin it about an inch to half an inch err, I spin it about 12 degrees between each photo. I find a good setting to configure my camera with completely manual and unchanged settings (low ISO, low Fstop, low shutter speed — low light) and set it on manual focus. That way all the photos will be exposed the same way, and you will get every part of the model in focus at some point or another. After I have the rotated photos taken, I used a grey and white card and place it in the scene so that I get proper color calibration: This would be an example — I only need one photo and I can calibrate all other photos according to this one.

Then I just had to get into the Photoshop groove and piece them all together. I made a few shortcuts and got it down to where I can create the gif itself in a matter of minutes. The photos take a little more time. I plan on making a circular piece of landscape to place the models in while doing these rotational photosessions.

I painted a Nurgle Herald as a gift for a Warhammer friend.

The colors used were based on the rest of his army. I ended up using a lot of different glazes to get the skin gradations and other fleshiness. I'm quite happy with it! I need to paint more organic minis.



and of course a giffy:

A little taste of what's to come. Elysian Drop Troop in snow pattern colors (not pictured: snow).



Please tell me if these .gifs are just totally over the top and if I should stop it. (lol)

Nah they are definitely a good way to se the paint job. Thanks for posting that, i hadn't realized how cool the Elysian models actually looked!

Good job. I like the visor. Gifs are fine, good way to show off a model.

Keep them going round and round.
I'm loving It!

The .gifs are great. Brilliant way of showing 360 degrees of the models you produce, can't wait to see more

Young Logan

Thanks guys! The GIFs seem to be OK.

A full squad of the Elysians will be done shortly -- just need to do some edge highlighting and try out some snow basing effects. Afterwards I'll be working on simultaneously: a "materials" tutorial of sorts, personal Beastmen army, and the complete Wall of Martyrs.

I'm also thinking of sculpting some scenery to place in scene of the GIFs -- like a large crater that would be visible, but not obstructive for the photos. Anyway, less talk more doing!

And the finished squad:





[Copypasta from my site:] Something I haven’t worked on before. I absolutely love these models — great poses, proportions and lots of detail. Scared me to work on at first, but they really came together once I got a good painting scheme down. Client decided color scheme basics (Thunderhawk Blue, Administratum Grey, Runefang Steel, Orange), and I decided on the application and look, mood, and weathering. I added a Nuln Oil wash after the initial basecoat of colors (grey, blue, darker silver), and then went over all the areas with the original basecoat colors, and then a highlight on the blue. I decided on Charadon Granite (Stormvermin Fur) for the pack details, and then highlighted it with the color mixed with Administratum Grey.

Many of the techniques I used are very similar to and recommended by GW’s ‘Eavy Metal team. Once I started trying out their ideas their paint divisions (Layer 1, Layer 2) made a lot more sense. Thunderhawk Blue and Administratum Grey are super thinned, but it enforces better painting techniques (more thin applications, ability to make multiple passes to achieve a “glaze” effect).







Got a couple more squads like this in the que!

The rotating gif of the unit is very cinematic, me likes!

Awesome paint job as usual

I spent so long trying to find shortcuts to painting things faster and more unique -- at least 2 years -- and now I'm using GW's 'Eavy Metal endorsed style (no shortcuts, besides airbrush primer/basecoat). gak, what happened? I'd have to say, the true difference in amateur and master painting is in planning. I don't think I'm a master by any means, but I think I found the topic of my next Tutorial.

Thanks Selvaggio! Deff Dread is (kinda) next! Maybe. Probably.

Loving the Elysians! The Gifs are great, I really like them. How do you put one together? I also know exactly what you mean about fast painting, I am finding the airbrush to be a massive help in mass painting but you still have to finish off all the detail with a brush.

Oh my god... almost done:




@Reaper Man 2020: Thanks! http://www.warandpaint.com/2013/06/360-rotating-gifs/ has some info on how I did the .gifs and photography. And yes, airbrushes are still *very* useful, but for only about 10-20% of the painting.

Yeaahhh.... feels good man.

Impressive!

What about the yellow deff?

What about the yellow deff?

Well, I was moving some PVC piping and knocked over a cup of hobby sponges (yeah, like the least heavy thing in my room) which landed on the yellow deff and knocked him clean off the one leg he's standing on. He's... basecoated. You might not see him for a few more weeks. :(
The main reason I'm putting him off is because I was going to take photos while working on him to make a tutorial, and I really don't like having a huge tripod leering over me while I paint. >:-(

No problem, just teasing, still love your stuff

Next full squad of Elysians:


-

Lookin' good. Lookin' real good. Still loving your snow theme and color scheme. That orange plasma pops so nicely.

BAM! Here's a Draigo:

Very crisp paint job on him. Excellent job on the cloth.

Thanks Moltar. I'd have a witty Space Ghost quote, but I haven't seen the show in about 10 years (unfortunately).

No one has.

LOL. it's a tragedy.

More Apocalypse scenery:

-

-

-
magnetised the gun-switching -- holding the camera trigger in one hand. :-\

Those look really good, Johnny! Still love the gifs.

Very nicely painted. I like the subtle grubbiness of them.

Something a little different:

I was requisitioned to attempt a custom Kayvaan Shrike model. I am not using any Raven Guard or Shrike parts to complete the model. Lightning claws have been made from scratch (a little time consuming! But I like them), and I got really good at drawing and sculpting the Raven Guard icon. I should really make another shoulder pad and mold/cast it for batches. I even invented a new way of sculpting relief, but I'm going to keep it on the lowdown until I can try it again (hint: it involves transfer sheets).





WIP lightning claw (before I added the other details)

Sneak peak at a Dread that'll be finished in a day or two. I'm working on two at a time... and they look sweet. Very black.


And an update of Shrike. Sculpting is finished and painting should be a breeze. Astorath's wings are going to be placed on the jump pack, but I wanted to paint them separately first.

1 Dreadnought:



Black?
: Black,
Drybrush white,
Black + Blue + very thinned,
Re-detail the highlights.

Oooo Very nice keep it up, looks amazing!

That is a piece of work right there. Love seeing your paints keep it up.

Thanks Iron-Encore, Nafarious! Next up:

Nice Dreads! The pops of yellow and red look really good against the dominant black.

Wow! I love your painting techniques!
Absolutely awesome, consider me subscribed!

Holy crap this stuff looks awesome! Can't wait to see that Shrike finished

Thanks for the complements guys!

And now some new stuff. Very large and unwieldy in a messy apartment, but they look great now that they are finished:



These photos are compilations, more detailed images can be found in my Dakka gallery (Scenery) or at my website: warandpaint.com







- Enjoy!

Nice work. You've definitely captured the feel of the 40k universe with that painting. Looks great.

Thanks Dr H, I think I seriously need to make a gameboard to photograph these things, that way I can add men pointing chainswords and hoards of xenos and really nail the atmosphere. Everything is too clean for me for now.

 Johnnyhorse wrote:
Thanks Dr H, I think I seriously need to make a gameboard to photograph these things, that way I can add men pointing chainswords and hoards of xenos and really nail the atmosphere. Everything is too clean for me for now.

Yes!!!!

I wanted to include a better photo of the detail I did on the cannon. I painted concentric silver circles and parallel lines on the cannon mount to imitate moving parts -- zoom in for detail:

Little touches like that make the difference. Good work.

Ooooh so close to being done. I'm taking a road trip for a day tomorrow, but I really want to paint this guy for about one more hour and then take some rotating gifs.

Wow, I totally forgot to post the finished Shrike on here!

Here he is:
(click for fullsize)



My best friend surprised me with a mechanized lazy susan. He used a development board (to be replaced with actual circuit soon), stepper motor, and a K’NEX wheel (to rotate the lazy susan), and a quick interface to change several settings. Now the gifs will be much smoother, although I haven't quite gotten the lighting setup the way I intend yet.

Shrike looks awesome! The white parts look really smooth.

Jeez that shrike looks fantastic. Another great build by JCA. And now your gifs will be even better woo hoo! What did you do for that base?

Saw him on Reddit, and upvoted there. I particularly like the raven on the studded pad.

 whalemusic360 wrote:
Saw him on Reddit, and upvoted there. I particularly like the raven on the studded pad.

I'm not allowed in that place anymore :( glad he posts here though

LOL, I'm sure you could just make another reddit username and rejoin. Or ask nicely. My biggst presence is on that site but I try to put my stuff on several different places, as is probably obvious now.

For the base I ended up sawing part of a Deff Dread Skorcha attachment diagonally and gluing it on, with some plastic tubing that I heated, bent and tore up a little. Then I used some greenstuff to sculpt some plant/tree limbs and some trunks that Shrike's other foot grasping. It's quite poetic if you ask me ;-). I also used a bit of this kit.

Oh yea I tried to ask nicely, he kindly told me to feth off again. It has been almost a full year. He just doesn't like me.

lovely work! The backpack, not sure if its kitbash or part of the actual kit, is really great. The blue is a perfect choice to break up the monochromatic palette, Cheers!
Bebop

I believe it is Astoraths backpack.

I love your work, you are very skilled. I'm especially impressed with the Elysian army. For me a good looking minature carry a simple paintjob much better than how an uninspiring model carries a great paintjob, if that makes any sense.

Awesome paintjobs here, especially that last shrike! You've really nailed the engine glow!
Also, the animated gifs are a very nice addition, it's a great way to showcase not only the paintjob but the model itself!

That is a reeeeally sweet looking model! The GIFs also give us a much more accurate look towards seeing the figure in person compared to photos. Great stuff! Keep it going

A belated thank you to lipsdapips, Coldsnap, Bonde, and bebopdrums -- your comments are very encouraging!

Here's one of the models I've been casually working on:


It's Old Zogwort, converted by another, painted by me.

I just found this, and I have to say that Shrike is looking badass. The slight difference in colour scheme and the externally mounted claws are awesome.

I never realised commission painting cost that much lol, I always thought its cheaper than that, but your models are some of the best quality models I seen around so probably worth the price.

You have some fantastic models here.

@Marthike: Are you referencing the prices on my webpage? FOr two hours of skilled labor (for one Space Marine, for example), I'm not sure how $25 is expensive.

Love that lightning!!

Wow that lightning effect is insane. You're incredible!

Thank you Q0rbin, Stoffer. I need to get on a project that really unleashes my freehand abilities.

PS Q0rbin, I f'n LOVE your Abyssal Silhouettes. I'm going to steal your idea with the scarved/bandana'd IG, and that Dreadnought is one of the all-time best I've seen.

These guys are fun:


Don't get dizzy now,

 Johnnyhorse wrote:
Thank you Q0rbin, Stoffer. I need to get on a project that really unleashes my freehand abilities.

PS Q0rbin, I f'n LOVE your Abyssal Silhouettes. I'm going to steal your idea with the scarved/bandana'd IG, and that Dreadnought is one of the all-time best I've seen.

These guys are fun:


Don't get dizzy now,

Thanks Johnny horse, haha just steal away.
Like your Battlefield inspiration on the elysian drop troops.

These are an awesome addition, Johnny! Q0rbin's right, BF3 all the way.

Yeah, it definitely does look BF3, but it really wasn't my intention! I didn't assemble the models, and I didn't (kind of) choose the colors, but I'm glad it happened BF3 is an awesome game so I'm OK.

I've got a few new Space Marines to show off, but I don't want to put it all together at this moment, so I'll just show you a work-in-progress of this Kabalite Warrior instead

"Amaranth" is one of my favorite colors and I've been wanting to paint DE like this since the new models were released. The gun is going to be a different color, among other things.

Here are the new Space Marines in all their glory:

Very nice. Rich colours.

Sons of Orar and CF's look great!

Working on now, [WIP]

Hard to paint a canopy on an opaque, three dimensional model! Not quite settled on the result. Critiques?

Sons of ORAR!!! Awesome work. One of my favorite chapters as well!
Cheers
BB

Thanks Bebopdrums -- I didn't see your comment until just now! Something about clean white and red just looks good.

Well, I'm working on 7 large models at once right now, so I haven't really taken any new photos in a long time. Here are a few of the things:



click for bigger view:






I'm only done with the Strongpoint above. But I am working on 2 Valkyries, 2 Firestorm Redoubts, the Salamander, and 2 Ork Bikers, and I just did a minor conversion to a Herald of Nurgle and will paint him soon.

Phew. Just finished painting two Firestorm Redoubts, quickly.

I also had a time-strapped, but successful photo session with some current models, check it out:

(view for fullsize)






And a few more things on their way soon.

Nice work.
Interesting way of doing the canopy.

A few more pieces I've been working on diligently....





I've finally learned the 'Eavy Metal style of painting Orks. Ork skin has always been one of those things I wanted to perfect ever since I started painting models and I'm pretty excited to have a confident game plan now. The bikers above aren't the best example; I have a shoota boy that is soon to be shown.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Thanks Dr H. I posted about it here: I'm actually going to change the canopy after some thinking. I'm going to do a reflective gold film effect. Similar to what some fighter jets use IRL.

How did you do the Ork bikes, I can see they are AOBR deff coptas, and Tau drones, but what did you use for the tires?

There's been some awesome work since I last checked in here, keep it coming. The Sons of Orar, Crimson Fists and the fortifications are all looking great. I love the attention to detail on the scenery.

Yes, there is a lot of detail in the scenery (too much, perhaps!). Thanks for checking back with me

@molonlabe2378: Yup, Deff Koptas, but not Tau Drones. The bikes were not converted by me; I am only painting them. From what I gather the wheel base is a wooden spool of some sort (as I discovered while sanding and filing them smooth) and the tires themselves are a rubber material with studs, wrapped around another cylinder that is glued to the wheel base. The Kopta parts are then used to attach the wheels to the main bike frame. It was one funky looking bike when I first received it!

I'm going to paint the tires to look like rubber, with metal studs. Should be cool!

 Johnnyhorse wrote:
Yes, there is a lot of detail in the scenery (too much, perhaps!). Thanks for checking back with me

@molonlabe2378: Yup, Deff Koptas, but not Tau Drones. The bikes were not converted by me; I am only painting them. From what I gather the wheel base is a wooden spool of some sort (as I discovered while sanding and filing them smooth) and the tires themselves are a rubber material with studs, wrapped around another cylinder that is glued to the wheel base. The Kopta parts are then used to attach the wheels to the main bike frame. It was one funky looking bike when I first received it!

I'm going to paint the tires to look like rubber, with metal studs. Should be cool!

Cant wait too see the next step in the process

Here's the Shoota Boy I briefly mentioned. Super fun to paint, especially since I'm 95% happy with the skin. Time to move on to more interesting models! (Nobz?)



I used this as a helpful reference: http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m220143a_Ork_Warboss_Painting_Masterclass

Looks like a good start to a full WWAAGH!

Yeah, I've been wanting to make an Ork and IG renegade force for a while. Lots of Catachan bits mixed with ramshackle vehicles and a lot of Nobz. Almost Mad Max style, but not quite. I can imagine it looking incredible.

I almost forgot that I took 40 sequential photos of this guy:



I should have a ton of stuff to show off pretty soon. So many backed up projects at once!

A few work in progresses that I can show off:

click for fullsize -- not Dakka linked
Non metallic Gold using a custom batch of colors. The rest of the model is not even close to finished:


And a converted Herald of Nurgle that I've just begun:

Looking really crisp and tidy even at this early stage. Gold looks great.

The Ork is nice too.

Thanks Doc! I almost finished the Captain today, but I had more pressing commissions to work on -- ones long overdue!

PS. If anyone is wondering about the gold, it's: Snakebite Leather/Lugganoth Orange; black wash; Zameti Desert; Yellow; Dorn Yellow. Red for reflections

I've had this guy in the works for more than a couple months. Maybe I'll finish him soon-ish:

Star Phantoms


And the current progress of the new Blood Angels Captain, hope you like:


While I was working on the Captain, I dropped the sword piece and didn't realize until much later that my cat had been gnawing on it. That's a first:

Damn cats. I really like the Star Phantom. You managed to pull off the skull mouth thing, gives him an extra mean look.

Yeah, I saw the helmet design in the Imperial Armour books and had to have a go at it. I think I still need to clean it up a little bit and make it look more like a skull, but I worked on it roughly 4 different times to get it to look right

I think you've done it well (well enough that I noticed). I've never seen it attempted before, would love to see a kill team done in the IA style.

I'm starting a White Scars force if I can scrounge up enough time. I've got 9 more scouts assembled and primed, ready to detail up.
The idea will be to use a very heavy Scout base (like 4 squads of scouts, infiltrated in middle of board), and a 10-man Scout Bike Squad (combat squaded probably), and an HQ of a Biker Captain with Honor Guard (bikes). With army-wide Hit & Run, I'd use the infiltrated scouts to harass (with HBs, MLs, Sniper Rifles (at back), and mainly Boltguns) and lure enemies into the center of the board. Then they can use Hit & Run and retreat as soon as they are charged, miring the enemies and using the H&R move (3D6"!) to rapidly redeploy at the end of the enemy Assault Phase. Bike force will, with supreme mobility, point-blank TL Bolter the enemies and then charge for Str5 Hammer of Wrath, H&R'ing if desired, or bogged down. Maybe throw in some Land Speeder Storms as well, as they got majorly buffed in the new codex.
It sounds like a really fun army, perhaps a little annoying, but at least it's not entirely made up of bikes. -- Maybe only half the points.

If it wasn't obvious, the idea is derived from Genghis Khan's famous hit, run and ambush tactics.

Here's the first test subject:

Can't really comment on the army (being a non-player at present), but the chap looks nice.

When I get a little more familiar with the models and the colors I'll try out some Khan inspired mustaches

lol. Yeah, do it.

Here's some Photoshopped hair action:


Yes, it looks goofy as all hell, but...

I kind of like it

Decided to finally touch up the last of the details on my Salamander:





In retrospect I should have used more yellow for the highlights, but oh well.

I bow before your painting skill, the smooth colors and crisp edges....... Fantastic Work! When i grow up can i be like you??

so Subbed

Looking good, and a nice skin tone for a Salamander.

lol, Coyote. Just follow your dreams and never give up!

Thanks Dr H

How you get details like that on to such a tiny thing is staggering. You really are a master of painting!

A little tease for ya'll



I guess it's not really a tease if it's 50 different frames

More to come.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Well, more photos and some explanation in the showcase forum: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/582316.page

Simply stunning.
Well done, please more pics of your Elysian Drop Troop Army.

Thanks Canis. I need to make a page or edit the Dakka showcase thread and just dump all the Elysian stuff there so it's all in one place.

For the meantime, you can check out my website's section on the Elysian:
Infantry: link
or Vehicles: link

Building up some infantry. These three were "test" figures for painting White Scars. I built the Captain as a potential stand in for Kor'Sarro Khan and his pistol can be swapped out with a Plasma pistol (for a regular Captain).

Oh my god, it's done:


ugh, that image compression!

A few more photos with a few of my models thrown in:

Good job. All looking great.

Thanks Dr. H,

I had a little fun in Photoshop last night. I think I'll share:



Not very 40K or Warhammer esque, but I thought it's pretty neat. The glowing dots around the model are actually defective pixels in my camera that were enhanced by some of the effects I performed.

Really nice buildings, I love the choice of colours

That terrain is great, johnny! Glad to see you wrap it up

I'm working on a fully magnetized Grey Knights Land Raider along with a few other things. I sketched this up so that I can keep track of the orientation of the magnets I use; for future reference.

Dakka's compression kills this image so I'm linking from imgur




I don't really see it as actually useful for anyone now, but I will expand upon it and use it for future demonstrations of magnetizing tanks probably! Plus it was fun to draw.

I was always a bit troubled by the photos I took of the first Blood Angels Captain. It was actually the very first model I tried the animated .gif method with, and for that reason a lot of the camera settings and lighting were not ideal. Now I get a second shot I switched the wings around so that they are a bit more dynamic looking, and adjusted the sword arm to a more natural position (it’s a two handed sword, and he’s using one hand to shoot).

Paint: The red armor is pretty much just Vallejo Model Air – Scarlet Red, with several washes and details of black to create volume and shading. All of the gold is non-metallic gold, and the silver is just metallic silver. Wings are Steel Legion Drab, Karnak Stone, Bone.

Conversion: The wings are from The Sanguinor model by GW, with most of the other bits from the Sanguinary Guard box, with a converted sword (normally it’s held with two hands in an even odder pose).



A little photoshopping, but nothing to get in the way of the paintjob

In fact, almost all of the effects I added only pertain to outside the model by design. It is a temporary solution until I can get some scenery in the shots.

I'm not sure others are big fans of the effects, I only got a 6.3 rating on CoolMiniOrNot -- wow what a way to ruin my day! I'm not sure if it's genuinely a bad photo/model or if people are just jealous jerks there.

I love your painting style - I am subbing Your colors and effects are very rich and deep on all of your figures. I try to get similar effects but am only a nooblet. Do you ever airbrush your figurines?

The only time I airbrush is at the very beginning -- priming and basecoating, sometimes zenithal highlights to get shadows going -- and at the end for varnishing. It depends a lot on the project. For the Captain model it was pretty much just basecoating and varnishing.

I think the 6.3 is mostly based on the strangeness of the model's pose and the very weird power field effect on the sword, it just sort of ruins the excellent paint job.

 BrotherOfBone wrote:
I think the 6.3 is mostly based on the strangeness of the model's pose and the very weird power field effect on the sword, it just sort of ruins the excellent paint job.

I don't think the the "weird power field effect" ruins the model at all. In fact, that is part of what makes it unique... not to mention it's pretty much how power swords are described in the fluff:

When its power cell is activated, the blade becomes sheathed in a lethal haze of a disruptive energy field.

I think that everyone is used to the overplayed Nemesis force weapon effect that is used on every power weapon out there (I'm guilty of overusing it myself). I think it's nice to see someone do it differently for once.


Also, take the ratings on CMoN with a grain of salt; I've seen absolutely phenomenal work with low scores right next to lesser quality work done by more "popular" painters.

@ScootyPuffJr: At CMoN it's a lot of of popularity mixed with "special effects". I try to make things flashy in different ways from others, but sometimes that isn't popular. I like a challenge though.

Yeah I'm often guilty of relying a lot of ignorant artistic licensing when I'm painting Warhammer models, but I did look up power weapons to get the effects to be somewhat sensible. There's so many different ways people paint them that it's hard to tell what they actually *are*. Actually, I'm about to paint another force -not power- sword in a few minutes -- trying something new again. Thanks for the comment!