Just noticed that I really need to sort out the left hand of the plasma gunner- the part that is still chainsword hilt needs to be squared off to match the carry handle of the gun itself.

On a further note, I will be purchasing some more FW Elysian special weapons for my veterans. I may even make use of the bipods.

I have a free weekend so I'm going to try and get the first Chimera painted and the second one built. Will also get the first of the LRBTs painted up in the new scheme too.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
So it's still a bit rough but I started on another Vet:



Filed the sleeves down to make the arms bare, kept the left cuff in place and added a piece of plasticard rod to make a watch. Need to finish the scarf and add a slung lasgun however I'm not sure if I should do it over the right shoulder or across his back? Also, how do I make the sling? I've got really thin plasticard OR I could use some thin foil from a puree tube...

Thin plasticard may work but the foil will be more workable, you could GS it in, but you can also use a thin strip of damp card, it will flex and end up that bit thicker. I think I would go with over the right shoulder resting on his hip at the back.

I have seen some DKoK minis on here from yeeeeears ago where a dude used plasticard and made them look like leather '08 pattern slings (as seen on 1903 Springfields/M1 Garands). They looked, quite frankly, amazing. I will give the plasticard a go since I have a tonne of the stuff kicking about in 0.25mm and 0.5mm sheets. If that doesn't work, I'll try the foil.

I did fail miserably to get anything done at the weekend besides strip the paint from an OOP Cadian Command Squad and prime one of my LRBTs. I will have to build another Punisher variant though as my second attempt at getting the snow/mud effect off has ruined it irrecoverably :(

My hobby woes continue...

I've had good success with Halfords grey primer: used it on my Chimera and LRBT without any problems and it provided a good base to work on.

Cut to yesterday when I decided to prime my Kasrkin (after painstakingly stripping the previous paint from them). Sprayed them outside in a fairly normal ambient temperature and left them in the dining room. Came back to find they had gone all grainy! Argh! The other times I've sprayed stuff I'd left it by the radiator to dry. It was so cold in the dining room that the buggers crystallised... Started stripping them again last night.

I swear that the more hobby I try and get done, the worse it turns out. Including some of the GS work that I did to my commander and the plasma gun breaking off their respective models.

Did a bit of painting today. Finally managed to get the Kasrkin primed and thought I'd apply the old scheme I used on my Marines to the Guard:



I actually think I prefer it on the Guard! Once this fella is done, I'll continue batch painting the rest of the Squad. Tried to keep the colour fairly close with the exception obviously being the ORANGE on the shoulder pad.

That is looking amazing bud, really nice work.

Cheers Cam. Lenses on the masks will be kept black as will the guns. Might do a bit of OSL on him too.

I've also realised that I hate blacking out...

Looks really great!

White is hard to paint, you've done a great job/

Well if anyone knows that white is hard to paint, it's you Zambro! Cheers buddy! I actually managed to get this dude finished today: for me to get a fig done in under two days is something unheard of!

I'm having a bit of a 'mare at the moment with my sodding airbrush... I've got the paint at a nice consistency and the opessure set so that the coverage is good etc. The problem is that the paint is drying at a rate that requires me to take the nozzle assembly off and wipe the needle every couple of minutes. Anyhoo, I'll just have to persevere...

So I've started batch painting the Kasrkin, which means that I'll hopefully have five done by the weekend! Maybe.

Finished besides the base:

Very nice there mate! Loving the colour scheme and the weathering on the armour is pretty effective! The wee helmet light is a nice touch also!

Will be pretty awesome to see a squad load of these together!

Cheers buddy I'm batch painting the rest so shouldn't take me too long to get them done. I was hoping to get them done this weekend but alas, my painting area was being used to assemble wedding invitations (apparently they took priority over my toy soldiers, *sniff*).

Need to nip that in the bud!

JK I take it congrats are in order soon?

Looking forward to seeing these, looking brilliant.

Outrageous!!

Congrats though...

Thanks chaps. Yeah we're getting hitched in October this year so it's full-steam ahead in terms of planning!

Invitations have all gone out now so I'll have the desk all to myself this weekend. I'm away with work this week so haven't been able to bring my airbrush, paints or models with me to paint. Have done the armour on five and the fatigues on another five, will hopefully get them finished!

I have managed to snag a couple more Kasrkin troopers with special weapons: one plasma and one melta gunner apiece courtesy of a nice chap from this very forum. This should mean that the squad will actually cause some damage to light vehicles/armour instead of lightly grilling people...

In terms of additional updates: I have zip. I should have brought the plastic kits with me because at least then I could have glued the zoggin' things together. Ah well, hindsight eh?

I have actually determined that I'm going to bin the current method of making MBTs. I have seen a much better way of doing it in a style which reflects the current aesthetic of the Mini-Macharius but also lets me make use of the LRBT turret and side sponsons: essentially a set-back Leman Russ! Should be much less time-consuming and require less messing about with angles.

So I've been off work for the past couple of days with a case of the flu/Bubonic Plague/Nurgle's Rot and today decided to try some productivity. Behold! Batch painting in progress:







I was a backpack short for my Kasrkin so decided to cut up a vox caster set to make it look more like a PRC unit. I'll be using this design for my other squads too.

Man, I really love the Kasrkin models. Great job!

Thank you Zambro, they are probably among my favourite GW sculpts of all time (even if they are metal and have some now quite obvious mould lines!).

I'm up to the time-consuming part of washing all of the small gaps between armour panels and highlighting now...

Nice work on the back pack, they are looking very nice.

Cheers Cam

I might try and pick up some more of these as I've seen some cool hotshot volley gun conversions that I may replicate. The plan is to have some Valkyrie/Vendetta mounted Kasrkin rampaging about in the opponent's backfield popping rear-armour and support units.

First attempt at a non-caucasian skin tone...

Looks spot on to me.

Cheers Cam. Don't know why I thought it would be any different to painting white skin! Think there was a danger of taking the highlights too far. Anyhoo, might see if I cn get more done to them today and next week.

So a wee update on the hobby front: I'm away with work again this week so while that means no painting, it also means that I have lots of spare time in the evenings for assembling the rest of my infantry models! Woot!

It has dawned on me that while the shemaghs/scarves are cool, getting them small enough to enable the lasgun arms to join together properly is a bit of a pain. Suffice to say, only a small number of the Vets will get them as they will have arm combinations out to either side of their torsos.

Also: I hate blacking out weapons and eyes when I've just taken ages to airbrush WHITE armour...

'Member this guy? Pepperidge Farm remembers...










Was considering dusting off the Marine project to use as an allied force with my Guard. Would be easy to write them in since they both share a colour palette!

I don't remember him, but he looks great.

Done a bit of sculpting tonight since I'm away with work in a Premier Inn for the week... Lighting is crap and so is the sculpting/photography!

Excellent work especially under the conditions.

Love that marine, his cloak is an eye catcher.

Cheers Cam! Decided that the plasma and melta gunners in the squads will not have rolled up sleeves (given the heat involved with such weapons!) so I've only got the sleeves on another three to do for the first squad.

I've got Friday off so I'm going to finish painting the Chimera and get this first squad primed.

Didn't get nearly as much done today as I wanted but I did get the grass cut and do all the washing. In addition, after some gentle arm-twisting, my mate persuaded me to repaint my Marines as Raptors: "reasonable" Marines who use tactics and give a crap about civilians...

Should be a cool force and I think you can do it justice. You also get cool FW doors for Rhinos and Raiders.

edit: Any plans to do a Lias Issodon model (IA9 Chapter Master)?

Hey whaley, yeah I have plans to make a Lias Issodon using the Armillus Dynat mini

That is not what I would have guessed for a base model. His backpack is perfect, but the rest seems strange. I would have thought Garro as a perfect start. He's got a unique looking bolter and a cool ass sword already.

A-ha! Well I have something cunnin' in mind for the Armillus mini: get rid of the Alpha stuff (obviously) and make a custom bolter with a ginormious suppressor, a stock and some kind telescopic sight...

Nice work on the marine.

Sounds like anew intriguing conversion. Looking forward to seeing it.

EDC

Some awesome stuff in here Elnibbus, the camo on the marine a couple of pages ago is outstanding, and the Kasrkin too, the white works so well for bringing out all the lovely weathering youve been doing. Cant wait to see what you are going to do with these raptors!

*Sigh*...





Not sure I like the sword :/

That is one fantastic looking unit bud, really great work. Colours are excellent.

Thanks Cam. Pretty rubbish photos but they're getting there. Have decided to do the Hellguns in metallics and dull them down a load: will show you ehat I mean...

Also, red/purple glaze on the sword?

Awesome looking unit so far.

EDC

Cheers EDC. Hoping to have a usable force ready for when 8th drops...

Think I may have messed up the sword a little...

They are looking really nice, as for the sword, whilst the perfectionist in me understands what you mean, I still think its really good, I think the white horizontal lines towards the bottom are the ones that aren't quite right, if you glaze over them a couple of times to soften them I think it will be great, maybe just the bottom three or so.

Distractions are awesome, aren't they?

I mean I haven't plucked up the courage to weather my Thunderbolt but in the meantime...

At last......

Fantastic work on the faces, only trouble is you did such a brilliant job on the first two, old snake eyes there stands out a bit. still better than anything I can do.

Agreed- painting faces is my bête noir at the moment- a skill I'd really like to develop to a slightly higher plane than the rudimentary stuff I can do now. Really, really good work!

They looking great! Cool to see some more work from you.

Camkierhi wrote:At last......

Fantastic work on the faces, only trouble is you did such a brilliant job on the first two, old snake eyes there stands out a bit. still better than anything I can do.

Haha! Thanks Cam. Would you believe it that Ol' Snake Een was the first one I did? Probably... I'll go back and sort out his lower eye lids before I finish them.

Meer_Cat wrote:Agreed- painting faces is my bête noir at the moment- a skill I'd really like to develop to a slightly higher plane than the rudimentary stuff I can do now. Really, really good work!

Practice makes perfect, or so they say. I was asked how I paint eyes and the best I could come up with was "paint a white dot then a smaller black one".

lipsdapips wrote:They looking great! Cool to see some more work from you.

Cheers! I've got a few of these on the go at the moment with another bunch waiting to be assembled with additional sculpting: will turn some of the mechanical hands into mittens.

Then it's onto the bases!

Need a bit on input here folks - bases.

I'd quite like to be able to use my Vulture and Thunderbolt with my Elysians and my other IG units, so what to do about the bases? My Elysians are already on urban style bases which look pretty good with their scheme but I'm not sure that my other Guard will look good on that type of base. I had thought of doing them on snowy forest bases (like my ooooooold DKOK, since they share the same colour scheme).

What say you?

Put snow on the urban bases maybe?

So I've done a bit of modification work to an OOP METAL Commissar to turn him into a Company or Platoon Commander (since actual Commissars now officially blow). Always liked the model but have altered the pistol a wee bit to have an ejection port and replaced the riding crop with a knife.







Still got a way to go yet,thinking of replacing the head with the one from the FW Cadian upgrade kit (the one with the peaked cap)...

Got the and holding the knife finished.



Somehow, I'm really happy with how it has turned out. What worries me now is that I tend to be happy with a sculpt and then make an absolute mess of the paint job.

We'll just have to wait and see!

Nice, that's some very neat sculpting on those fingers.

Cheers Paradigm. Was thinking about replacing his head with another one from a FW upgrade kit...

Brilliant work on the hand, and what is wrong with his head? Unless he is duplicated.

Nothing especially wrong with the head Cam, just feel that I should do some more covering to make him mind (if that makes sense). Or should I quit while I'm ahead...?

Personally I love that model, so I'd leave it as is. But i think that it would look good with a headswap and it would be more 'yours'.

You know I think I'll just leave the head on it but I may try and slim his face down a bit...

So as I've already alluded to, i'm a right saddo. As such, I have made a grimdark MG42...





Still need to sort out the sights, add a pistol grip and "guttrommel" ammo drum to the left hand side.

Love it. Looking great. The sight on those is a simple iron plate/pin isn't it? Going to have to look up which ammo feed you mean, seen these with drums and box fed. If it is the box, hole bunch of heavy bolter box feeds to choose from.

Hi Cam, the guttrommel was a drum and contained a 50 round belt of ammunition (essentially an "assault drum", not to be confused with a magazine as it had no spring or follower).



They also used belts fed from a box suspended from the pintle mount:



The drum is by far the easier option!

Just a suggestion. Look at the cap on some superglue, has that cone effect and the texture might be close.

Cam, I went ahead and made this without knowing of your suggestion...







What say you? Sights are made from a small strip of plasticard and bits of a staple. Drum is made from 5 different bits of plasticard. Added the takedown lever on the right hand side (seen most clearly in top pic) but need to hand a vertical piece to the cocking handle.

Excellent work. Looks spot on bud.

That MG42 looks awesome man! Honestly one of the coolest looking guns in my opinion.

Thanks chaps, now I just need to build another three to mount on my LRBTs when I get them. Obviously one of them will be a Knight Commander Pask in a Punisher/Executioner, with the man himself up top in the cupola.

For now though, I have a long weekend of constructing infantry. The joy...

So I actually attached the MG to one of my Chimeras, meaning I actually have to build another 5 (if every tank is going to have one...):



I also decided to throw down some paint on my Company Commander:







I'm particularly pleased with his boots...

I agree! A really subtle richness coming out of those boots my friend. Great work so far. With the paint coming down I am also getting more sold on the knife he's holding behind his back.

Cheers lipsdapips. The boots were something of an experiment: I'd seen a guide on how to paint leather boots on a 200mm scale model and thought I'd have a bash. Involves lots and lots of washes to get that sheen. Could have done with adding more black to the base mix first but hey-ho!

After some advice from a GD winner, I'm going to revisit the file in the coat with some blue as a complimentary colour and to add some interest to an otherwise bland look.

The knife was an attempt at replicating the cloak-and-dagger look of the Tempestor Prime. I tried to make it look like a Fairbairn-Sykes/trench type fighting knife. I figured while officers in the Guard may appear to be squishy to other races in the setting, they are in actual fact more than willing to stick it up 'em!

Well work continues on the company commander, stayed up until 3am this morning painting his coat though I'm not sure what good it's done!





Also made a couple more MG42s...

Coat is looking great, and MG's are awesome.

Inspiring, keep it up!

Those mg’s are pretty awesome,

Cheers chaps. What colour should I paint the casting on the bolt pistol? I'm thinking black?

Excellent work.

I would go with black or military green.

I'd say black, with maybe a graphite burnishing?

I thinking I'll go with black for the bolt pistol, or a really dark gun metal grey. I fancy trying to get a blued effect but I have no idea where I should start...

So fellow nerds, geeks and general social recluses...

It's payday tomorrow! Yaaaaaaay! This means I will have a wad of cash to blow on some plastic crack and my flavour of choice this month is Leman Russ Battle Tanks. Specifically, 3 normal LRBTs and one magnetised as a Pask Executioner/Punisher variant.

With that in mind, I'm going to ask for opinions on stowage: I've found some good resin kits for tents/bedrolls/packs but what scale should I opt for? 1:35 or 1:48?

I personally mix it up using 1/48 and 1/35, the 1/35 works well for W40K with the heroic scaling, (big hands and all that.) I really like the Tamiya stuff. I was very lucky and a friend was clearing out a pile of old kits and threw it all my way.

Looking forward to the Russ extravaganza, got a soft spot for them myself.

Thanks Cam, I'm looking forward to getting to grips with the "new" Russ kit (I haven't had a Russ since about 2007). I'm looking to add additional detail like lights/grab handles/cable hooks etc.

I could probably actually make my own stowage (have done in the past) and have a way of "cheating" that may be quite effective.

I may have gone a bit made and ordered some 1:35 scale brass slings and buckles to detail my lasrifles...

So people, I have ordered a couple Leman Russ Battle Tanks and was wondering if I should bother doing ball-turret style MGs for the hull mounted Heavy Bolter/Lascannon? I was thinking either that or mimicking the Mars Alpha style from Forgeworld (which I actually think will be much easier to achieve).

Anyhoo, I am hoping to have some hobby updates this evening to share with everyone although I did have a setback on the officer front: I noticed a mold line that I hadn't filled/filed so I had to address that and file down the coat :(

I would go for the FW style front gun. The ball mounted MG might not have enough detail for 40k, and would'nt entirely fit with the boxy feel of the Leman Russ

I'll go with the flat slope style.

And I know it may seem stupid to say it but 1:35 scale slings are bloody tiny!

Tiny, good luck.

Thanks Cam, if they prove to look to small, I may just use them as straps on the tank stowage.

How did you get the effect where it looks like the chimera has been welded at the seams? looks awesome

 STG wrote:
How did you get the effect where it looks like the chimera has been welded at the seams? looks awesome

Hey dude, I used a soldering iron

As for the officer, I've made a little progress on his face and started on his gloves too:





Now at this point I feel I should confess that its like to enter into GD at some point and this due is going to be my first try (hence why it's taking me longer than usual to paint him). I've been getting advice from Filip Haking who won silver last year with his Imperial vs Tyranid battle scene (it's amazing) but think I of open the floor to more people. So, what color should I paint the armour? Despite the fact that the lining of the coat is red, I've been trying to make the model as cold as possible, hence the grey skin tones/rosy cheeks.

I was thinking a silver/brass colour?

You can make either cold, but I think brass would contrast better to the rest of the model, whereas silver would possibly blend in. It all depends how you do it.

Bud, go for it. That face is looking wonderful.

I am torn on the breastplate:
Gloss black with the details in brass.
Chrome playing again with the details in brass.

Big ask on the chrome, SEMNMMNMNMMMNN(whatever it is.) is crazy good if you can manage it, and is popular lately.

Here is Januine resent work....
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/1530/660442.page#9849171

Good luck whatever you go for, behind you all the way bud.

CREEEEEEEEED wrote:You can make either cold, but I think brass would contrast better to the rest of the model, whereas silver would possibly blend in. It all depends how you do it.

Very true, I've decided to go with brass and highlight up to rune fang (as below).

Camkierhi wrote:Bud, go for it. That face is looking wonderful.

I am torn on the breastplate:
Gloss black with the details in brass.
Chrome playing again with the details in brass.

Big ask on the chrome, SEMNMMNMNMMMNN(whatever it is.) is crazy good if you can manage it, and is popular lately.

Here is Januine resent work....
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/1530/660442.page#9849171

Good luck whatever you go for, behind you all the way bud.

Cheers buddy, appreciate that

Here's where I am so far...

Entering GD? woah man thats awesome. you planning on just entering the model on its own as part of a diorama?

personally i'd do silver but idk anything about warmness or whatever, just think it'd look cool. lol

 STG wrote:
Entering GD? woah man thats awesome. you planning on just entering the model on its own as part of a diorama?

personally i'd do silver but idk anything about warmness or whatever, just think it'd look cool. lol

Yeah man, maybe in May? Dunno, slightly confused about how many classics, fests and such are on a year...

Anyway, the cuirass is coming along: Might add a touch of red to the right hand side of it to show a reflection from the lining of the coat? Will go over it with Runefang Steel and glaze it accordingly.

Confession time: the etched brass skins are an absolute nightmare and really do need the use of a magnifying lamp or other such device in their assembly. As such, I am not going to be using them but instead will use good old plasticard!

In other news, the LRBTs I ordered are adrift in the Empyrean somewhere due to the inclement weather we have had recently. I have however, made a little progress with the infantry weapons and have been pairing up arms. I will probably add scarves to some of the torsos and continue to spot mittens over the bionic hands.

Commissar is looking real good! I like the idea of the red reflecting on the breastplate, the only thing to keep in mind is that for that effect to look good, you'll need to make the rest of the metal very shiny and smooth. otherwise it'll look off.

 Paradigm wrote:
Commissar is looking real good! I like the idea of the red reflecting on the breastplate, the only thing to keep in mind is that for that effect to look good, you'll need to make the rest of the metal very shiny and smooth. otherwise it'll look off.

Cheers! I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the cuirass now... I mean, I may just use some red glazing in the shaded areas. I was going off of a tutorial by 5th Dimension painting on True Metallic Metal and the effects you can achieve by adding in greens, blues, reds etc (link to the tutorial: http://5-th-dimension.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/painting-true-metal.html)

An image of the kind of thing I'm looking at is below (from the tutorial linked above and NOT MINE)

Evening all!

So I've been working away on getting more infantry assembled and I really like the way the mittens are turning out:







I also sculpted a German style ski cap onto one of the sergeants:



Haven't done any more work on the officer yet one been umming and arring over what to mount him on: I was initially thinking forest theme (which is what the rest of my guard will be on) but then I thought if this is going to be a competition piece, it doesn't have to match. Then it clicked: urban scene, boltl pistol firing out of a shattered window. I'll say that the inspiration came from this piece while trawling tinterwebz:

Brilliant sculpting. Love the look of the guns to. That hat takes the biscuit though.

yea man like, everyone has loads of those cadian sergeant heads, really stands out and looks great with that funky hat on!

Cheers both!

Ben a bit slow recently BUT I have a couple LRBTs waiting for me at the post office depot AND my Pask turned up. I have started making ladder rungs and tie-downs for the tanks (just bent wire/paper clips) among some other bits and bobs.

Plan is to magnetise some of the weapon options for the tanks so I can switch out between punisher, plasma and battle canons. Speaking of battle canons: I'm doing away with the hilariously oversized and stupid looking ones in the kit and fitting some new ones which are more appropriately sized...

Update, woop!

Decided to start on the LRBTs while the bases for my infantry dried (and I want in the mood for painting). Have done some modifications (what a surprise) but think they'll look better for it when grouped together:

Bit more done:

Nice work on those mods to the Russ, they add a great deal of character.

Excellent work! The Emperor is proud.

Thanks people.

I'm hoping to have this one and the Command Tank with Pask built by the end of the week, then I can start painting them and the Chimeras at the weekend.

Thinking about using this scheme: (Courtest of TamiyaUSA)

Internal sponson work:

Dude that sposon upgrade is awesome! always thought russ' could go from very average to very awesome with just a small amount of extra something. you've gone way far and it keeps getting better. will be following keenly!

Thanks STG. It's by no means an original idea (I was inspired by Philip Spence of Beyond The Tabletop and his internal sponson) but I chose to make it more partly resemble the Malcador sponsons. As such, it'll have two vision slots: one either side of the gun (which will obviously be magnetised )

It took me about an hour or so of fiddling with the measurements but I reckon it won't take me long to knock out four tanks' worth of sponsons. The hardest bit was cutting the side out of the tank unit! I still need to remove the middle hub for one of the idler wheels and make the vision slots.

That is superb work, really brilliant.

Thank you Cam.

Hoping to get the vision slits and the other done too. I reckon for the slits I'll just do a small rectangular frame and paint the middle to resemble glass (so black).

Stay tuned...

Pintle heavy stubber in place, just need to sort out a new handle for the turret hatch and then it's time for paint! I've also started on Pask which I hope to get built tomorrow.

Love your work on the leman russes. They have so much more character than the stock kit.

Afternoon all...

So my hobby productivity has been somewhat lack-lustre of late, given visitations from the familial units, Easter and other more important things have come and gone. However, I started making headway with the second of my Leman Russ tanks yesterday but all painting is on hold, well, at least with a brush: my Winsor and Newton Series 7s (which I have had for 6/7 years) finally gave up the ghost the other day and in the bin they went. Sad (MAD) times.

Anyhoo, I have a free weekend so, weather dependent, I'll be able to FINALLY prime my LRBTs and get them airbrushed.

DGTSYB.

I think I'm being thick but I don't understand the acronym Cam!

Sorry

Damn
Good
To
See
You
Boy

Internet cooke to whoever gets it.

Ah yes, I get it now!

Also: Armageddon.

Hi folks!

Been dragging my heels a bit of late but have had a lot on. Weather has been changeable to say the least which has impacted somewhat on my ability to get things primed.

I have also abandoned the Elysians and made a swap for some Mk.IV power armoured marines which will be Imperial Fists of the Horus Heresy - a lot of my friends are big HH players and they have eventually convinced me to get a Zone Mortalis force together. Being realistic, it's the only time I think I will play (I can't see myself visiting a GW and playing 8th Ed). So the Guard are on the back burner while I sort out the marines.

I have:

19 Mk.IV marines
10 Tartaros Terminators
1 Limited Edition Praetor in Tartaros Armour (got him for an absolute steal, new on sprue for £14 fiddy!)

However, I need to make room for additional stuff and as such, the Vulture and Thunderbolt are up for grabs (see the Dakka Swap Shop if you want a bargain).

Peace.

Welcome to the VIIth Legion. Fists are a solid choice for ZM scale battles.

Sorry to see you getting rid of the thunderbolt and vulture.

You do know you can use the thunderbolt in a legion army right? You wouldn't need to repaint it either.

Thanks OMN.

I know I could keep the Thunderbolt but I dunno...

Got my Army Painter spray through the post yesterday and I have to say I'm not particularly impressed: it's left a fairly textured pattern on the models (not quite grainy, just blobby). I'm confident it isn't user error (I've been doing this almost 20 years).

Anyway, I've primed 18 marines using this tin in one go but I may do the other stuff one at a time in case it persists.

How's this for a rough'n'ready Imperial Fist?





Honestly, it isn't going to win any competitions but a whole squad of them together will look good from 3 feet away...

From my own observations, and a few others I've seen recently, the Army Painter rattlecans have gone waaaaaaaaay down in quality, which is very sad.

Sounds like humidity imo.

Looks good. Still need to trill out the gun barrel and paint the vents back.
Oh and pick up some decals, the FW ones are amazing but they are a little short on the fist legion symbol, I've nearly run out, serves me right for running an army of grunts I guess.

Cheers. Yeah I noticed that none of the gun barrels have been drilled after priming all 18 of the squad (I got them in a swap). You are correct OMN, I need to paint the vents.

Will attempt to get a load busted out this week. Then I can start the Terminators.

Exciting to see you on some 30k fists! I'm a fan of the scheme and if it's efficient, then all the better!

Cheers LDP.

I saw the scheme done by Mengel Miniatures and thought I'd give it a bash. It's taking some getting used to as it requires the liberal application of Lamenters Yellow glaze:

1. Army Painter Skeleton Bone Primer
2. Agrax Earthshade wash in all of the panel lines
3. Edge highlight of white (White Scare or equivalent - I use VMA White)
4. Lamenters Yellow splooshed over it
5. Details/weathering
6. Profit


Mengel does some extra glazing and highlighting but I'm just trying to get the Mk.IV dudes smashed out. I will spend more time on the Terminators and obviously take pains to make the characters look good.

But the Mk.IVs? They're there to die.

Sounds good, looks good, what more can you ask for? Looking forward to seeing the squad all together and how the scheme looks on the Terminators.

Thanks youwashock. I'm not that great at using glazes and so it has a tendency to pool slightly and leave other areas looking washed out. I'm just glad that the trend is to have marines look incredibly battle damaged (which I quite like anyway) as it hides all manner of sins!

Stopping by the PO Depot on my way home to pick up the Limited Ed Praetor Tribune I won off ebay. Assembling him will be my motivation to get the Tac Squad painted.

Just a quick pic to show you all that I'm still alive and making progress with my Fists:



Almost half way through the Bolter squad...

Looking good. Going to very cool when they are done.

Awesome work, great finish to these.

Afternoon all!

So again, I'm just checking in to say that I am still alive and I actually did something hobby related yesterday: I undercoated all of my Tartaros Terminators and continued with the panel lining stage of the power/terminator armour.

A friend of mine is starting a Mechanicum army to go along with his Militia list so we are going to build our armies together as an incentive.

We're going to do a Centurion list so we only need one HQ and one Troops choice as a basis: I've already got a Praetor, 10 Terminators and 15+ Marines so I have a bit of a head start.

I am thinking of changing the method of painting though... I'm not sure the method I have been using for infantry will work so well on vehicles: what say you?

I've entered the Dakka Painting Challenge for August with five Tartaros Terminators from the above batch of 10 (the ones with ranged weaponry will be the entry).

Have changed the scheme as the Army Painter Skeleton Bone spray is, in my opinion, utter garbage. GeeDub's Averland Sunset on the other hand is awesome.

 Elnibbus wrote:
How's this for a rough'n'ready Imperial Fist?

Spoiler:

Very cool, indeed.

Bummer about the AP spray. Looks like the replacement is doing a fine job. Looking forward to seeing them done.

Bit of progress! Was too blody hot to paint today, I doubt even using a wet palette would have improved things... Anyway, this is pretty much how the Terminators will look.







Decided to free-hand the symbols since I'm just weathering over them anyway. Guns are going to be gunmetal, so Ironbreaker with heavy washes of Nuln Oil and Agrax and then drybrushed Ironbreaker again (yet to finish).

Awesome! That deep, almost ochre yellow with the heavy weathering looks amazing!

Thanks Paradigm. I think the lighting helps dull it down somewhat but it is a much better colour than the lemony yellow I had before! Trying to go for a more Caterpillar/JCB industrial yellow for the armour rather than making them look like canaries...

More hobby progress, this time on the Paragon Blade of the Praetor Tribune:



Have since gone back to painting the Tartaros and I'm now in the process of blacking out the shoulder pads and weapons.

Awesome blade, man.

Thanks buddy. Bit more progress:

Praetor armour on the go. Will have more detail added using a brush (as shown, the scratches are applied and highlighted). Looks a bit more cartoon/box-art ish than the other Terminators but I kinda like it

That's lovely! Nothing wrong with putting a bit of extra effort/neatness into the centrepiece models, so yes it's a slightly different style but still one that's great to look at.

What are you using to get that lightest highlight? Off-white, or just a light yellow?

Thanks Paradigm

I'm using Dorn Yellow for the edge highlights and light scratches, highlighting the very lightest of parts with white (VMA White to be precise)

The base colour is Averland Sunset and the shadows are added using glazes of Skrag Brown. The deepest shadows have a touch of VMA German Camo Black Brown in with the Skrag amd I've used the same Black Brown to line the panels.

The fun part will be painting the black sections...

Whoa, that looks fantastic. Loving the effect on the Praetor. All in all, these boys are going to look like they have seen plenty of action.

Love it ! !

Thank you.

I'm I enjoying painting this dude, normally I dislike painting and prefer building but I'm liking trying out new techniques. And since I'm making this up as I go along, I thought I'd try my hand at black...

Great contrast.

That is really very nice and sharp. Good job.

Thank you chaps, I've got a bit more done to the leg and started all of the pipework (trying to get a vulcanised rubber look to it using a brown base highlighted through to light grey, applied in small strokes).

I was wondering about what colours to use on the helmet? I do like the aesthetic of the red helmet with white stripe but this is usually reserved for Veteran Sergeants and since this dude is a Praetor Tribune, should I just do it yellow?

Looking great so far. He does look funny without the front chest plate on though.

For helmet, what about white, white with red stripe, black, or black with red stripe?

Desperately trying to improve my painting abilities. Unfortunately black still kicks my arse.

Nice! Great work on the lenses and the chipping on the armour.

Thanks Paradigm. Still needs a bit of work... Got the other 4 in the first batch airbrushed and waiting for the edge highlighting and chipping. The most laborious part of these is painting the black weaponry but they are far more enjoyable than Space Marines (which I've decided I HATE doing).

Looks good to me, man. I like all the lights.

Thanks youwashock. Kinda going for a Dawn of War vibe on the lights while maintaining a quasi-realistic look.

At any rate, I started on the Plasma gun:



It's looking a bit grey, maybe?

You do know just how amazing these guys look right? They are breathtaking bud.

That's very kind of you to say so Cam, thank you.

Done a bit of NMM on the sergeant's sword today to break up the edge highlighting and painting black (will need to revise the hilt because it's garbage at the moment).

Bit more work done in between kitten wrangling...

Sarge is looking legit, but I have a feeling that plasma gunner is going to steal the show.

Cheers, speaking of plasma guns - progress is blue and glowy:

Very glowy, nice effect.

Cheers Cam. Not sure if I'll be able to pull off the OSL on the other parts: I suck at OSL...

Started my own version of Sigismund as I'm not overly keen on the FW version. Base is Armillus Dynat with Templar Brethren, Death Guard, Palatine Bladesand MkIV parts:















Sword is on the way in the form of the BT Emperor's Champion (because that sword is just lovely). Will be adding extra details in the form of scrolls/filigree to the greaves and pouches.

Seamless conversion, love it!

Thanks Paradigm. I was hoping to get something together for the January Bonds of Fellowship painting round by adding some Templar Brethren to accompany him...

Really nice work, smooth and nice pose, like that alot.

Ta very much Cam.

Having looked at the Iron Halo again, does it seem too high up on the backpack? Should I perhaps move it to that it's lower down/angle it so that it actually is a halo over the back of his head?

I'm hoping the Emperor's Champion will have arrived when I get home, then I can start on his right arm. Am planning on using the Emperor's Champion as a Templar Brethren dude with a Solarite Power Guantlet and Combat Shield...

Fantastic looking conversion. The halo may be a little high, but you might want to wait to change it until you have the sword in place. It may balance out the look.

Great work! May I ask how you manage to cut out all those little circles from plasticard for the rivets on the tank?

youwashock wrote:Fantastic looking conversion. The halo may be a little high, but you might want to wait to change it until you have the sword in place. It may balance out the look.

Agreed. It will require extra work as I have actually pinned the halo to the backpack. I think I may add two more spikes in the 8 and 4 O'clock positions...

Kroem wrote:Great work! May I ask how you manage to cut out all those little circles from plasticard for the rivets on the tank?

Thank you! I just use slices of styrene rod in various diameters. In order to get them all uniform, I actually give them a file or sand them once they are in situ. Hope that helps!

Did a bit of sculpting last night:





Definitely needs some fixing on both sides as they aren't quite the same (though I may have to concede that I'll never get them identical).

The emperor's champion turned up yesterday and I managed to swap the hand onto a Mk.4 wrist and flip the blade upside down so that the "Imperator Rex" faces up (because I'm sad).

Will get some pictures of it together when I get a bit further.

Those are nice touches you added on. Very similar too. I wouldn't worry if they aren't identical, you can't see both at the same time, right?

 Syro_ wrote:
Those are nice touches you added on. Very similar too. I wouldn't worry if they aren't identical, you can't see both at the same time, right?

A-ha! Yes, I suppose you're correct! I also appear to have exalted my own post as my thumbs have turned into mittens after a few beers... Derp.

Next thing is to add the little leaves/additional flourishes to each greave and tidy up the right arm.

 Elnibbus wrote:

Kroem wrote:Great work! May I ask how you manage to cut out all those little circles from plasticard for the rivets on the tank?

Thank you! I just use slices of styrene rod in various diameters. In order to get them all uniform, I actually give them a file or sand them once they are in situ. Hope that helps!

Cheers mate, that helps a lot. I didn't even realise those things existed!

So I did a bit more on Sigismund when I got in from work:









What are people's thoughts on the filigree stuff on his greaves?

Have got to do his right arm, some pouches and... Paint?

The filigree is my favorite part!

Looks spectacular. The added points on the halo were a good call, too.

Thank you both.

I have the right wrist to finish filling in and some pouches to sculpt and then he's pretty much done. The base requires some extra detail (like a helmet or some such) and some sand added before painting can commence.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Can I get an append up in heeyuh?







I also got distracted and tried some gold NMM:

Started painting Sigismund today, opted to go with black armour:

Off to a great start!

Bit of NMM on the leg sections:

Well you seem to have the knack of that!

Cheers Cam! Was thinking it looked a bit messy and, well, just brown...

Wow! That turned out great!

So I've been quiet on here recently BUT I haven't been idle...









I've got another 4 almost done with just the weathering and decals to do. I've also done some more on Sigismund, with only his head and base to finish:

Top stuff. Those sandstone bases are really neat, and Sigismund is looking great.

Quite looking forward to seeing Sig finished. Loving the highlights on the black.

Thanks both. Question is, do I bother painting the under side of the sword...?

Anyhoo, the next 5 Tartaros are ready for priming and will be completed as part of February's forum painting competition. Reckon I'll have to wait until Saturday though as its been kinda cold by the time I get home from work in the evenings.

I did plan to retrofit another 5 Tartaros with combi weapons but I've managed to lose the pack I bought at WHW: £15 wasted!

So, I've got another pack of them in my cart along with... Something else...

Ooohh...ominous.

Of course you should paint the bottom of the sword. If you don't it is the first thing that someone will pick it up and notice.

Yeah I kinda knew what the answer was to the sword (I was just trying to get away with less work!).

And it's my ominous sounding because I can't decide what my next purchase is going to be:

- Couple boxes of Mk. IV dudes
- Deredeo with Aiolos Launcher and Autocannons
- Leviathan with Grav Flux Bombard and Siege Claw
- Spartan

Leviathans are cool looking. You would paint it really well. Just throwing that out there.

 youwashock wrote:
Leviathans are cool looking. You would paint it really well. Just throwing that out there.

Well it's nice if you to say so, thanks! In fact, I took a trip to WHW today and bought a Leviathan with a siege claw and a grav flux bombard... I also got my other Terminators primed while the going was good (even if the wind tried to blow them all over the place).

Following on from my previous post, I've been trying to find examples where someone has put an unfortunate space marine under the foot of a dreadnought: I'm having trouble finding anything that looks half-decent.

I've got an image in my head off what I'd like to achieve but not sure if will look any good in practice: essentially, I think having a marine hald buried in the base would make sense, as a Leviathan will probably have enough force to crush power armour. It does mean that the rock/ground underneath is subject to cracking given the force involved.

Does anyone have any good examples of squished marines?

I think the best version of that would be to have some masonry or other debris built up around the foot/Marine. That gives you some height to sink the Marine parts into without having to cut into/beneath the base, and can hide any unseemly joins and/or spaces where actual parts can't fit (for instance, the end of an arm and an upper torso/head without having to have the full arm/shoulder pad in between, just cover than in rubble to hide the gap).

That's a good suggestion Paradigm, I'll have to give it a go and see what I come up with. In the meantime, I've finished my first five shield Tartaros:









Oh yeah, and Sigismund:

To quote Sgt. Apone: Absolutely badasses!

Cheers youwashock!

Next up on the job list is my entry for the forum's monthly painting competition: another 5 Tartaros Terminators with shields! I may even get started assembling the Leviathan too...

Excellent stuff as always. The termies have such a great sense of weight and presence to them.

If I were to be picky for a minute, however, I would suggest a final, extreme highlight on Siggy's NMM gold areas. It looks kind of weird to have that really stark blue highlight on the back, but no matching bright point on the gold. I'd maybe continue those highlight lines with a very bright off-white into white on the trim, just to keep the highlights consistent and make sure the NMM pops as much as the black areas.

That is just a technical nitpick though, so please do ignore me if you're happy with it!

Thanks Paradigm.

And you are entirely correct: the gold areas do need a final spot of light on them. I had intended the armour to be less BLOO but got a bit carried away... I shall address those bits as and when I get round to them (probably after I've done the other painting I have to do around the house this evening! Paint, paint, paint!)

ELLLLLNIBBBUUUUUUUSSSS!!! So good to see you back hobbying mate! and what a great re introduction for us :-) I am loving the clever way you approached the black, it looks fantastic!

NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRDDDDDDDY....

Yes indeed, the hiatus has ended and I'm fully locked into the Horus Heresy. Lots of my mates play it and are always going to WHW so thought I'd join the band wagon.

Gone done me some sculptin':


















Not sold on the hair yet. Front part could do with some fettling.

Hey, good to see you back. This is already shaping up nicely.

Cheers dude! Did a bit more tinkering around. Can't decide how long to make the haft of the tomahawk...

Rough start on resculpting the tabard...

Looking good. I think the haft length in the pics works. Not a hatchet, but not too much. What's the plan for painting?

'True' tomahawk hafts are shorter, as they were frequently used as a thrown weapon. But the haft you have looks GREAT, and I would not shorten it.

Aye, the haft of my own tomahawk is relatively short. I will keep the haft on the model as is since the axe head is actually quite big: making the haft shorter would look odd.

Agree the heft looks spot on at present.

Excellent work on the tabard.

Cheers Cam, I think the tabard could be a bit sharper, especially on the part that sags towards the top near the 'belt buckle'.

Sorry youwashock, I completely forgot about your question regarding paint! The plan was white armour with red and black markings (pretty much White Scar colours to be fair). Hoping that the additional details such as feathers etc will set him apart from the sons of the Khan!

I'm in need of a bit of inspiration on what else I can do to modify this dude to fit the theme I have chosen... A friend of mine suggested that I make a dream catcher Iron Halo which is a pretty cool idea given that they were intended to protect against evil spirits and what-not. Getting the aesthetic right will prove tricky though...

I've also been sculpting some feathers to adorn the tomahawk and for a cord around his gorget.

Any other suggestions? Don't want to go bonkers...

Bear claw necklace? Any sort of animal totem items, really. Bones, claws, icons.

Decided to stick a feather on the haft of the hawk. Looks alright in place. Just needs to have the binding sculpted over and it'll be alright.



Next up is to sculpt a tooth/claw necklace as youwashock suggested.

Looking forward to seeing this complete, it's a really unique aesthetic to go for on Marines (especially since Deathwing abandoned it) and the conversion/sculpting is looking great so far.

Thanks Paradigm. It certainly is an unusual aesthetic, just hope I can do it justice!

I decided against any additional gubbinz and to let the paint job do the talking. However, I've managed to lose the plunger spring in my airbrush while cleaning it so I'll have to wait until the new one I ordered is delivered :(

Looking blooming great bud.

Cheers Cam! I've started painting his head but unfortunately I can't take good pictures of it for love nor money! I might have to borrow the wife's DSLR and try (or better yet, borrow the wife since she knows the sorcery of taking decent photos).

I'm hoping that he'll be done by the deadline of the monthly Dakka painting competition but finishing on time all depends on when the replacement spring for my airbrush turns up (it got dispatched today, so Tuesday maybe?).

I had planned on doing some tricky nonsense involving a bloody hand print on his armour, as if someone had attempted to stop him from dismembering them. Or something. I'd like to do a Killteam of these dudes so adding elements to tell a story really appeals to me.

I'm also wondering if I should have sculpted some extra details on him instead of rushing to get him painted...

Ah well, such is life!

Having a deadline plus tentative plans for more all means it should be ok to not go all in on this guy, detail-wise. But I am going to want a bear-claw necklace next time...

 youwashock wrote:
Having a deadline plus tentative plans for more all means it should be ok to not go all in on this guy, detail-wise. But I am going to want a bear-claw necklace next time...

Well, I could sculpt something while waiting for the airbrush parts to arrive... Just because it's you...

Huzzah!

Managed to get the replacement part for my airbrush through the post so got some paint down:









I'm just making it up as I go along...

Fantastic start on the paint.

Subscribed. Nice job on the Amulius conversion. I like how you sculpted the head. I'm working on an Amulius conversion myself for my custom chapter and chickened out on getting a totally unique head as I don't have the sculpting skills myself.

Thanks both! I've been getting some more paint down this evening but I think I'll have to stop before my eyes fall me completely...



Can't get a decent image of his face but it's done. Just working on the leather areas at the moment before I move onto the symbols and other fiddly bits (oh aye, and his left arm!).

He's rocking one stern gaze. Looking great so far. Awesome textures.

Cheers dude. He's coming along slowly but surely though I don't think I'll have home finished by tomorrow unfortunately (and therefore not eligible for the painting comp :(). Still, here's where I left him this evening:





Something funny has happened with the colour of the pictures though...

 Elnibbus wrote:
Cheers dude. He's coming along slowly but surely though I don't think I'll have home finished by tomorrow unfortunately (and therefore not eligible for the painting comp :().

Slowly? I've only been following the thread for a day or two and you've made alot of progress.

Still, here's where I left him this evening:

Spoiler:

Something funny has happened with the colour of the pictures though...

I like the chips/weathering you've added to the model. Regardless of whether you make the monthly painting competition deadline (that's how I found your pic/thread), you'll still have a very nice model in a few days.

Hmmmm. Looks like they have a warmer cast for some reason. Still looks good. The Mark X armor has great lines. Fingers crossed for a finish at the 11th hour.

Well, I failed miserably at getting the Primaris fished for the competition. But, now that there isn't any pressure on, I can get him finished at a more leisurely pace and hourly do a better job than I otherwise would have achieved.

Updates to follow...

Also, I'm eyeing up some Vanguard sprues on ebay which aren't that ridiculous in price. I really like the new Primaris dudes but those Suppressors will need to be modified to make them less, eh, lame.

This is all my friend's fault...

Hey! Welcome back!

Loving that blade and the Dread is looking stompariffic.

Thanks youwashock.

I've decided I'd like to do some freehand on the sarcophagus so I've been sketching out an idea...

Got a bit more done on the Leviathan.





Not sure I've got it in me to paint the freehand on the sarcophagus. Phosphex warheads will eventually be a light green colour to resemble white phosphorus rounds.

Bit more...



Have ordered some scenic bases for the Leviathan and Terminator.

Looks very good. Great pose.

Done.

Awesome looking bot, but that base is a star all on its own. Love the leaves and the tucked-away skulls.

Beautiful Leviathan there Elnibbus.

Cheers,

CB

Thanks folks. Terminator is next to be done, halberd and metallics then the base.

Never enough skulls.

Started on the jump Praetor this evening:

Nice. First pic totally makes me think of The Homelander.

Haha! I had to Google that as I've never seen The Boys (got a lot of different TV shows to catch up on).

Still can't decide if he's going to be predominantly gold or red (was thinking maybe red, black shoulder pads and gold trim like the Terminator). Or I paint him in TMM gold.

Gold, gold, gold!

--Brian

 Briancj wrote:
Gold, gold, gold!

--Brian

Sorry to disappoint, but I went with red...

Rich. Loving the shadows.

That's a beautiful start.

Started the wings just to break things up a bit...



Also tried painting the bottle on his hip:

Better and better. Lovely work.

Disappointed in the no gold, but the red is looking aces!

--B.

Cheers both.

I painted the sword blade and started on the rest of it:



Could do with some more glazes to smooth the transitions but it's ok.

That's a beauty. This guy is going to turn some heads.

Thanks

Made some more progress so he now has a head (and I couldn't resist attaching the sword):





Went for a pale skin tone as Blood Angels are supposed to be *fabulous vampires*. Blonde hair because.

And fin...











Quite pleased with how he turned out. Pictures were taken by my awesome wife

Majestic.