Although, I haven't really noticed it (not that it's my blog), I think Arakasi could be on to something, simply with the time of year. It's still Summer and a lot of the dakkanauts aren't on their regular schedules. If they're off playing or partying they'd be less inclined to stop in and check on dakka. Especially, if they're on Summer vacations. I also think you had a big following of people watching and commenting along as you prepped for Adepticon. I don't necessarily think they stopped reading, but they may have stopped posting comments. You're also improving fairly rapidly and I think that a lot of users reserve their comments, since they don't have any critiques to give. I see a lot of people who dish out generic comments like "you should use washes to bring out depth" yet say nothing on some of the amazing minis you or others do. If they don't have any tips to give they don't compliment good work. I certainly don't think you're doing anything wrong or odd to lose followers.
Gits, keep up the pace, there is nothing wrong with it. We all know that there plenty of reasons why a blog slows down, and honestly the only one I see is just like a lack of time. Your minis are top notch, and the following you have gathered is testament.
Miss Dee wrote:Gitz, have you thought of getting some of the smaller thunderhawks and sit them of in the distance inbound?
I could, but that would only work for photographs... I'd want a scale Thunderhawk that I could put on the table (as a terrain piece if nothing else).
@Arakasi: Didn't think about the timing but you could be correct.
samwellfrm wrote:I feel like I've been very engaged in your blog, however less inclined to post. I feel that you have a good amount of devout followers who have kept up with your blog for a while now. Perhaps the drop in traffic comes from the newcomers to your blog that are too intimidated by its size to start reading it.
As far as the life of it, I see it accelerating. It wasn't that long ago when you were talking about starting another blog as you reached 100 pages.
Hmmm, interesting comments. Especially the last one. I'll take that into consideration.
dantay_xv wrote:You are also halfway through the Scottish summer hols and the start of the English/ rest of UK summer hols (which last 7 weeks give or take).
You're not losing your snap and this is still a great blog.
I do that too dante (don't repeat other's comments), so I get you. What's a "hol"? Holiday?
Moltar wrote:Although, I haven't really noticed it (not that it's my blog), I think Arakasi could be on to something, simply with the time of year. It's still Summer and a lot of the dakkanauts aren't on their regular schedules. If they're off playing or partying they'd be less inclined to stop in and check on dakka. Especially, if they're on Summer vacations. I also think you had a big following of people watching and commenting along as you prepped for Adepticon. I don't necessarily think they stopped reading, but they may have stopped posting comments. You're also improving fairly rapidly and I think that a lot of users reserve their comments, since they don't have any critiques to give. I see a lot of people who dish out generic comments like "you should use washes to bring out depth" yet say nothing on some of the amazing minis you or others do. If they don't have any tips to give they don't compliment good work. I certainly don't think you're doing anything wrong or odd to lose followers.
Another interesting point. I often start to post on other's blogs and then catch myself thinking "Well, that's obvious." or "That's my opinion but I'm not an expert." and don't post in the end. Because of the kind of blog this is, I never thing about anyone employing their self-edit function before posting.
Alfndrate wrote:Gits, keep up the pace, there is nothing wrong with it. We all know that there plenty of reasons why a blog slows down, and honestly the only one I see is just like a lack of time. Your minis are top notch, and the following you have gathered is testament.
Also stop fishing for sympathy jk
Thank you, you $#%&*! @#^&$!
Ralin Givens wrote:Wow...201 pages. I have to say I am loving that army shot
Glad it suits you Ralen, more to come.
OK, so no big changes needed so far, I can live with that. Still open to suggestion though.
Yes, hol - holidays. Also the past few months has seen many dakkanauts going through their exams too.
I would like more batreps, but that only comes with playing games with the MW's, your nid on nid stuff is best kept to your (son's) nid thread.
Also, have you noticed how many "new" people chime in saying they have read your whole thread 1-130/70/90/99. They wouldnt have stuck with it if it had bored them.
Or the MW armies that you have inspired?
This thread is cool, and the fact that it opened the door to seeing other modellers such as grey_death, majortom111, and many others is a bonus.... your thread is a veritable melting pot my friend.
i switch in from time to time and always fully well knowing that what i see and what i will be reading will be cool, interresting and not in any way forcing me to yawn....so don´t fear your mojo has left you!
what makes this blog a bit of a tough nut to follow tho is the amount of sheer text to read....that is a bit of an obstacle to read atm for me... thus i tend to look in when you do a summary.... this helps me a lot. but that is just me...honest.... there is absolutly no need for any change! your work is brilliant and i guess as many others have stated the summer takes it´s toll on every blog...holidays and poisoned rumor machine for or against GW and all the other dissatraction the recent weeks...and come to that the following weeks will draw attention a tad away from the hobby and thus also form your cool blog....come fall you will see the views and comments on your blog rise as hoped for...!
i hope we don´t loose such a dedicated hobbyist to burnout due to low responses!!!
I think that must answer a few questions Gits, I agree with some of the comments about not wanting to add another " awesome!" post to the pile... I mean your head is big enough already!
Also you may want to record the number of views before a post with pics and then after one, or maybe day by day, and I am sure you will see that while the blog may not get as many posts, its still getting plenty of hits.
Oh, and I know I have never said it but I love the way you are giving the entire Dakkasphere the finger in the picture with you eating corn
I'm not sure about other people, but every time I log on to the site it's to do a flying visit thanks to my workload. I always see the extra 5 pages or so that have appeared on your blog and put it to one side to read properly some time later... later never seems to come :(
I don't think you need to worry overly about changing the format of anything. I'm just behind on my reading and don't feel like just adding another "awesome!" post would be beneficial to you.
Commander Cain wrote:That picture of you eating the corn, I always imagined you would look more... Orkish, you don't even have green skin!
What you don't see is that I've just poured the last of my beer behind my left shoulder (notice precarious disposition of cup in my hand)... that orkish enough for you?
Ah Gits, you do make me laugh when you say stuff like that!
Not getting enough comments eh? I think it is up to people coming onto the blog (and this is all blogs I am talking about) and not leaving a comment behind even if they like what they see. I know that my own blog is notorious for this. Only last week I painted up an sexy new Officer of the fleet (new profile pic ) 78 views later and not a single comment Whenever I visit another persons blog I always leave a comment, small words of encouragement, suggestions or praise you get the idea.
Blame the people Gits, they grow lazy, while us veterans are often very sociable, we can not be everywhere at once!
I cant say ive seen a slowing of the blog either Gits to tell you the truth, it may just be the change in regular posters again (happens every now and again, seriously, check who is regularly posting every 50 pages or so and you will se what i mean). That combined with the 'summer' (grumble rain grumble) and exams and whatnot and that should account for the feeling my friend, trust me, you have nothing to worry about
I also try to hold back on my 'awesome' posts, but sometimes its just too much and i have to let loose. I dont really know what im talking about most of the time (P&M-wise at least) hence why i leave it till i have something expansive to say. Im sure im not the only one.
dantay_xv wrote:Yes, hol - holidays. Also the past few months has seen many dakkanauts going through their exams too. I would like more batreps, but that only comes with playing games with the MW's, your nid on nid stuff is best kept to your (son's) nid thread. Also, have you noticed how many "new" people chime in saying they have read your whole thread 1-130/70/90/99. They wouldnt have stuck with it if it had bored them. Or the MW armies that you have inspired? This thread is cool, and the fact that it opened the door to seeing other modellers such as grey_death, majortom111, and many others is a bonus.... your thread is a veritable melting pot my friend.
It's actually a shame that I haven't done batreps for some of my recent games as they kind of validate my current army concept (at least to some degree). They're just a tremendous amount of work to do and I'm not sure how much appeal there is on a P&M blog as I know a lot of folks who are really into building and painting don't play. I'll make a point of getting back to doing them again as it's often very educational for me to lay out my strategy in writing and be "confronted" with the results... good or bad.
I'm always astounded when someone has taken the time to read through the entire blog and I do love it when new people chime in. Not so long ago that was me... and you never know where the next awesome blog is going to come from. Today's newbie could be tomorrow's grey_death, Eggroll, MajorTom, etc.
Viktor von Domm wrote:i switch in from time to time and always fully well knowing that what i see and what i will be reading will be cool, interresting and not in any way forcing me to yawn....so don´t fear your mojo has left you! what makes this blog a bit of a tough nut to follow tho is the amount of sheer text to read....that is a bit of an obstacle to read atm for me... thus i tend to look in when you do a summary.... this helps me a lot. but that is just me...honest.... there is absolutly no need for any change! your work is brilliant and i guess as many others have stated the summer takes it´s toll on every blog...holidays and poisoned rumor machine for or against GW and all the other dissatraction the recent weeks...and come to that the following weeks will draw attention a tad away from the hobby and thus also form your cool blog....come fall you will see the views and comments on your blog rise as hoped for...!
i hope we don´t loose such a dedicated hobbyist to burnout due to low responses!!!
hope i could cheer you up a bit!
vik
Yeah vik, this blog started as a wall of text and has pretty much stayed that way. Sorry 'bout that, kind of the nature of the beast I'm afraid. While I'm very happy with the progress I've made as a painter and modeler, I'm not good enough to be able to just throw up shots of my work and have people fawn all over it. I've always thought that the interaction was part of what made this blog attractive... we all learn together as I go through my stuff. For good or ill that seems to require a lot of discussion.
Interestingly enough, I'm not really burnt out or bummed about the blog. Quite the contrary... it's gotten to 200 pages for a reason, probably a good one. But a wise friend taught me that even when things seem to be on an even keel it is good to ask what you're missing, what can be done better or what "inconvenient" issues have you been avoiding that you really need to address. While the drop in (posting) traffic is what spurred me to ask my question, the underlying motivation is really a desire to keep the blog healthy and vital .
Vezorek wrote:I've been following ur blog before i had an account, now i have one an i just wanna say:
NIFTY!
(first post ever!)
Ah, see? This is what I was talking about! Welcome Vezorek, glad you took the time to stop by and post! I'm very honored you picked this blog to start your dakka career.
BLACKHAND wrote:I think that must answer a few questions Gits, I agree with some of the comments about not wanting to add another " awesome!" post to the pile... I mean your head is big enough already! Also you may want to record the number of views before a post with pics and then after one, or maybe day by day, and I am sure you will see that while the blog may not get as many posts, its still getting plenty of hits. Oh, and I know I have never said it but I love the way you are giving the entire Dakkasphere the finger in the picture with you eating corn
LOL! I was waiting for someone to comment on that. I'll be honest, I haven't been keeping track of hits at all as I've always assumed that posts are the best indicator of weather people are really finding value in the blog or not. Given the responses I'm getting... it appears that is an erroneous assumption. I understand entirely about the "awesome!" posts. I do plenty of those myself and it always irks me. Not that I don't like complimenting people on great work... it just seems so vacuous. Especially with folks who's work is so far above mine, I always struggle to make intelligent commentary. Though, I really do try, at least once in a while. So rather than just saying "I love this piece." I ask myself... "What do I love about this piece?" and then write that in hopes of giving more useful feedback to the artist.
endtransmission wrote:I'm not sure about other people, but every time I log on to the site it's to do a flying visit thanks to my workload. I always see the extra 5 pages or so that have appeared on your blog and put it to one side to read properly some time later... later never seems to come :( I don't think you need to worry overly about changing the format of anything. I'm just behind on my reading and don't feel like just adding another "awesome!" post would be beneficial to you.
Understood completely endtrans... and while "awesome!" posts are nice (ego stroking)... I'd much rather have you, on rare occasion, when you have the time... consider what you see objectively and give me specific feedback on what you do or don't like or understand about a piece or technique (see above). So no problems my friend... just trying to keep you engaged.
Commander Cain wrote:Not getting enough comments eh? I think it is up to people coming onto the blog (and this is all blogs I am talking about) and not leaving a comment behind even if they like what they see. I know that my own blog is notorious for this. Only last week I painted up an sexy new Officer of the fleet (new profile pic ) 78 views later and not a single comment Whenever I visit another persons blog I always leave a comment, small words of encouragement, suggestions or praise you get the idea.
Blame the people Gits, they grow lazy, while us veterans are often very sociable, we can not be everywhere at once!
Wise words from Dr. Cain
(Heed young scallywags, heed...)
Wise words indeed. Am guilty of being lazy myself.
Revenent Reiko wrote:I cant say ive seen a slowing of the blog either Gits to tell you the truth, it may just be the change in regular posters again (happens every now and again, seriously, check who is regularly posting every 50 pages or so and you will se what i mean). That combined with the 'summer' (grumble rain grumble) and exams and whatnot and that should account for the feeling my friend, trust me, you have nothing to worry about
I also try to hold back on my 'awesome' posts, but sometimes its just too much and i have to let loose. I dont really know what im talking about most of the time (P&M-wise at least) hence why i leave it till i have something expansive to say. Im sure im not the only one.
I like that approach Reiko.
Well... thank you all. I do appreciate all the words of support and more importantly a reaffirmation that I'm still producing an interesting product. It's sometimes difficult from my end to judge how things are going. With the good natured ribbing I get about the size of the blog as well as the sometimes joke (in a nice way), sometimes serious compliments... sorting out what's of real value in the blog can be challenging. Obviously you need a certain amount of hubris to attempt something like this in the first place, but the internet is both a conduit and a barrier, at the same time facilitating and complicating communication. So occasionally... I need a bit of direct feedback from you guys as to the utility and direction of the blog to reassure myself that things are still on track. Much as I try to be deferential in my approach, I actually have a pretty strong personality and with some prodding (by way of compliments, etc) are just as likely to plow ahead like I know what I'm doing as anything. Thus here we are... with me trying to take a step back from my headlong rush to ask around and see if I'm rushing towards the right goal.
Next up... finish the bikes. More GMS. Maybe a battle report if I can sneak a game in.
Thanks for hangin' with me all this time. Lord only knows what the next 200 pages will bring. - Gits
Agreed with pretty much everyone else had to say, I certainly think the last 100 pages have gone much faster than the first 100, and generally there seems to be less commenting across the range of threads I keep an eye on atm. Just keep doing what you're doing as you do it. It works
Nice re-cap by the way, that seems a decent amount of work since the last.
So, last night I was going through old back isues of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Models, looking for a bit of inspiration when I came across what seemed to be some life size marines (This was in the Jan '96 issue). Nothing so unusual there, the previous issue had an article on the 'stealer skull, bolters and what nots done for a GW Inquisitorial display thing. Then I noticed the shoulder pads and had to take a pic to post here..
All I can tell you is that they were built by Steve Howarth and Rob Malos, and were finished with candy apple laquers over metallic paint.
I'm always reading what's going on, its one of the things I do everyday when I get back from work.
I don't post much as I don't feel the need to while others keep the blog moving, I usually only contribute on the finished models unless I have something to say that hasn't been mentioned on your WIP stuff.
As others have said a lot of people are on their hols at the moment or out doing summer things. I'm sure it will pick up when the nights draw in.
monkeytroll wrote:Agreed with pretty much everyone else had to say, I certainly think the last 100 pages have gone much faster than the first 100, and generally there seems to be less commenting across the range of threads I keep an eye on atm. Just keep doing what you're doing as you do it. It works
Nice re-cap by the way, that seems a decent amount of work since the last.
So, last night I was going through old back isues of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Models, looking for a bit of inspiration when I came across what seemed to be some life size marines (This was in the Jan '96 issue). Nothing so unusual there, the previous issue had an article on the 'stealer skull, bolters and what nots done for a GW Inquisitorial display thing. Then I noticed the shoulder pads and had to take a pic to post here..
All I can tell you is that they were built by Steve Howarth and Rob Malos, and were finished with candy apple laquers over metallic paint.
Pretty cool...
Here's what I found on Steve Horwath's company site "Model Miniatures" (models made for TV, film, etc)
These full size suits were to be worn by actors and were made for P.P.L in Wandsworth. Very much a team effort, but with Rob Malos and myself sacrificing a Christmas to finish the job. Vac formed 4mm thick ABS with 'Candy Apple' spray paint finish.
and on PPL
PPL IS THE MUSIC LICENSING COMPANY WHICH, ON BEHALF OF 45,000 PERFORMERS AND 5,750 RECORD COMPANIES, LICENSES THE USE OF RECORDED MUSIC IN THE UK. This enables TV and radio stations, online streaming services and hundreds of thousands of shops, pubs and others to use recorded music in their business.
Wandsworth is apparently a part of, or suburb of London, where the company says it is based... so I'll assume it's the right PPL (as I can find no other).
How two life-sized Mantis Warriors relates to either of these companies is beyond me. (other than the first obviously built them... but it's not what they do typically)
Yeah the pic came from an article on Steve Howarth's career in TV and film effects, but didn't mention the marines. I was wondering if they were the ones used in the Space Crusade TV ad, but that bit about PPL kind of throws that.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Actually, after watching the advert several times on youtube I'm confident that's a shot of the set. Theres no clear view of the chapter badge in the advert, but all the other details match, including the doorway. So Mantis Warriors were on the telly back in the early 90's
Now that we are being reminiscent I can remember when this blog started. I believe I am one of the first posts on this one. I have declined in my feedback over time, preferring to read and I think its amazing how far you have come. Longest blog I have been a part of. Congrats.
Ok, well first off, grats on having the biggest PM blog (at least currently alive), by more than double.
As for the fishing trip to lake sympathy (lolz), I would like to point out that I have a full page of unread threads in my subscribed thread list, if that gives you an idea of the time I'm currently spending on Dakka. I will from time to time, actually skip reading yours due to the speed in which it does grow. Opening dakka in the morning, or worse, after being away for a few days, makes this a crazy read. Finally, I ran out of synonyms for "cool", long, long ago
As someone who just read through your entire blog, I would have to agree with what everyone has said previously. That your blog does not need to change, but it would be nice to see some battle reports and see how you are doing with your army in terms of gaming. I also like your bike sergeant.
If you're worried about filling the blog itself with the battle reports, there's nothing stopping you putting the reports in the right part of the forum, with a link through from here for those that are interested?
someone should tell that poor scout that there is a meltabomb attached to the back...(actually I believe it's a mulit-melta power pack but that's not as funny)
Good stuff. 2 things worthy of further praise: grats on making that combat blade arm not look like it's at some hideously distorted angle, and, skin tone looks really excellent.
Thanks mate, I'm really happy with the way that blade turned out. Think it'll be a model for what I do from now on. The skin tone is good but it's clumsily executed, so hopefully with four more scouts to do I'll get better.
Lacking time to read through the whole 201pg blog (ekh Gads what a long blog you have) i am curiouse how many points you have total and what your end goal is. A full Chapter?
Right now with no computer there's no way to be sure, but I think I could easily field 2500 pts. I have no specific goal save to paint the units that represent the chapter as I see it. Also I plan to build two different eras, Badab era a d post crusade. I'll guess about 5000 pts Badab era & 3000 pts post-crusade.
There are summary posts all linked from the OP, you might check those out for a quick and dirty crash course.
While I appreciate the sentiment, as big as this blog may seem in the dakkasphere, it doesn't even register in the greater gaming world. The only "fame" or noteriety I'm ever going to get is going to come from you, my dear readers. (which is good enough for me)
I hope to be able to post a pic of the finished bike sergeant tomorrow. I just can't stop fiddling with him as I work on the rest. Since it may be some time before I can post regular updates again, I'm batch painting the rest of the bikes. I just do one color or one object at a time on all four bikes until I'm done.
The more I work with them, the more I love them.
Oh hey... Can someone post pics of the Badab era Space Shark paint schemes? Did they have a camo pattern? I'm thinking of the old RT patterns, or the stuff found in the compendium.
@ Git - Those marine costumes where used for a music film clip that featured in some editions of the space hulk game and again in the game Final Liberation by a group called D-Rok a GW licensed I think the
album was called either Let the Galaxy Burn or Oblivion. The Marine suits were made for motion and still promotions (comic book adds etc) in the UK, EUR, AUS and Asisa.
Here's a shot of the completed scout bike sergeant. Really like him. I think the unit is going to be spectacular.
I played shading games under the bike so there is a shadow. First shadow was done by shining a bright light directly above the bike and then putting delvan mud everywhere the actual shadow was, then a wash of badab black in the deepest shadows. the further into the shadow you get, the darker color the foliage, the further out towards the edge of the base, the lighter the foliage. Don't know if all that amounted to anything... but I gave it a shot.
That's awesome, Gits. Great job on the lightning bolts across the mini. I have a question about the squad. Are all the jetbikes at the same height off the ground? Or do they vary? I can't recall from the earlier pictures and for all I know you've changed them a bit. But are some riding higher than others or are they all about the same? I only ask because it looks as though, If he were to come across a slightly larger rock at full speed it could spell disaster. Still looks awesome, though.
Thanks dantay! I think that's just a standard army for the scout bike... but I'm certainly glad everyone likes it. It does have that "lining up for a shot" feel to it.
@Moltar: They're all over the place. I wanted to give the impression of a bunch of free spirits zooming across the battlefield, so I did one popping a wheelie, others zooming left or right, etc. Below is an early WIP. The squad should look great together. I assume that altitude control is one of those things they do as needed. Also, since I'm running these as bikes and not jet bikes... I didn't really want them to look as if they were flying... just zooming over the surface of the ground without wheels, though they can elevate if necessary.
Honestly Git, I am... not sold on these models. I can admit that the execution is up to your high standards, but the models feel awkward to me...
I guess it must be the jetbikes, I'm not thrilled by their look, to say the least... But well, it has that "old school" feel you keep imprinting to your MW, so I guess I'm the one who's wrong!
From a technical point of view, kudos for the blade highlight (you really mastered your airbrush uh?), the various freehands around (lightning, MW icon) & the shading below the jetbike... It really shows!
I see. I remembered the guy popping the wheelie, but wasn't sure about the others.
I know what Yggs means too. I don't think he's, "wrong," but to me, they're that lovable awkward that only early GW could produce and I think they'll look great with your other MWs.
Part of the issue for me which might be what you're responding to Yggs... is that I just can't get the figure that is made to be semi-reclining on a modern bike, to look right on a bike that is really a lean forward kind of bike. In my mind, the rider of these bikes should be in a 10-speed (OK, they don't make 10-speeds any more)... a racing bike (with ram's horn handle bars) pose... in a deep crouch, leaning over the bars with knees bent and the feet resting on those wings behind the driver.
Problem is the GW bikers are all in a sitting straight up, tricycle pose. I'm simply not able to do a major resculpt of the entire body (or frankly any part of it) to make the current figures fit the bike properly. (and frankly the original bikers didn't fit the bikes properly either)
So this is the best I can do or will *ever* be able to do. Since I've been sitting on these bikes for nearly 20 years... I'm just not willing to do it any more for a figure that I know will never be created or a modification that I know I'll never be able to make.
This is how I think it should look... more or less.
As with most of my figs I always seem to be messing with new techniques. Here we tried:
- continuing to refine the use of the airbrush to make good sword gradients. For some reason I don't like the extreme, reversing light to dark gradients (having done one, successfully I think) so this is an intermediate accommodation where the spine is a solid dark color and the blade goes from dark to light, with the actual cutting edge getting the white highlight. I like it because it sets the blade apart from the body of the weapon. Am anxious to try this with a normal (grey-scale) weapon. Guessing that he blade depth needs to be substantial to make this work. - first African-American face attempt & used the dakka "painting faces my way" tutorial. I think I did a poor job on the techniques expressed in the tutorial, but it's not horrible and you've got to start somewhere right? - putting a shadow on the base (already explained) - used my little micro pens to accentuate some of the lines of shadow at various places around the model. This is a little nerve wracking as when you first use the pen the lines are very dark (they fade a bit when they dry) and you think to yourself... "My God, I've just wrecked the model!" That didn't happen though and I'm quite pleased with the result. I didn't line every single shadow or seam, just the one's that needed a bit more definition.
This has also been quite the foray into OCD. Every time I look at it I feel the need to fiddle with it. The model's been finished no less than 6 times and it's only my busted computer that prevented me from putting up one or more of the earlier versions. The last thing that's bothering me is the need to put pennants or banners on the homing beacon which looks kind of naked just hanging out there. Will have to get in a proper GSing mood before I take that one on.
OOps, Ninja'd...
OH yeah Yggs, will continue working on it until it's done. Since I'm working on all of the 4 remaining bikes concurrently, updates might be sparse... but this remains my primary project for the time being. I'm all for lovably awkward... pretty much an autobiography there.
Gitsplitta wrote:- putting a shadow on the base (already explained)
Hot damn! I didn't even notice it at first, as it just seamed part of the lighting. but not that you pointed it out, it makes for a nice, subtle touch.
BTW, Bill from Reedsburg will be coming over to my house Wednesday night after work for a "hopefully" short 1000 point game as I teach him the basics of 5th edition. If you're in the area, your welcome to stop by .
@wyfox: Yeah, I guess what I didn't point out (about the shadows) is that the lighting for those pictures are coming from the sides more than above (actually about 35 degrees up on either side). So most of the shadow under the bike is artificial, though you can really only see the painted aspect of it in the top shot under the nose of the bike where it's thinnest & most exposed.
Unfortunately my next two weeks are pretty much booked. I have to work on the boat tonight... electrical system foul-ups. Hopefully nothing more than cleaning some connections and a battery charger can fix. Do you know what army he's got?
If you look back where I began the bikes I'd asked about African American skin tones and I think dantay pointed me to a CMON site on ethnic skin tones. No real instructions but they help you pick your colors. Then I followed the "Painting faces my way" tutorial here on dakka. Unfortunately since my computer died and I'm limited to my phone I can't give you direct links. Perhaps one of the other folks can help.
Hope these help... (not that you need it). As sketchy as my first attempt was, it would have been far worse without the help provided by these articles.
Green = top notch I really like the richness and blending to highlights you have going on!
Face = has nice depth which is unusual for dark skin (or perhaps all the ones I've seen have been lacking)
Cloth = nice deep shadows which is hard to get right (I'm still trying and would interested in how you do it)
the sword = looks mint!
The yellow on the should pad is crisp and smooth (I find yellow very hard to do kudos to you!)
The overall conversion is very very nice and I want one if I could find the place/money/fluff to include it in my army (currently only normal marine bikes converted into hover bikes fit the bill)
Well Knightly... you managed to singlehandedly raise my spirits for the day (not an easy job). Thank you!
There isn't much to the cloth, just the base color with a sepia wash, the some extra wash added into the deepest recesses with a brush to augment the shadows. Might have used delvan mud for the second wash.
Trick with yellow is to start by painting the undersurface white & then use a lot of thin layers over the top.
I think modern bikes could be converted rather nicely... remove the wheels and add something that looks like the hover pads from The Matrix. Would give really awesome options for OSL effects too!
Gitsplitta wrote:Well Knightly... you managed to singlehandedly raise my spirits for the day (not an easy job). Thank you!
There isn't much to the cloth, just the base color with a sepia wash, the some extra wash added into the deepest recesses with a brush to augment the shadows. Might have used delvan mud for the second wash.
Trick with yellow is to start by painting the undersurface white & then use a lot of thin layers over the top.
I think modern bikes could be converted rather nicely... remove the wheels and add something that looks like the hover pads from The Matrix. Would give really awesome options for OSL effects too!
Gits
You could use the thruster bits on the bottom of the drop pod kit for some level of "hover" bitz.
Sorry at work so had to take the pic from my gallery hence the code.
I did another one in a smaller crater but it keeps falling out, (and the doors dont open properly)
I always imagined them obliterating whatever they crashed into and making a suitable dent, I am debating about what to put into the adjacent crater when i finally get it painted ..... maybe water effects and some dead thing, but what kind of dead things???? .
i leave for a few weeks and all kinds of awesome pops outta this blog wth? any way love the biker i tried following that tut not one of my stronger forays but im getting there im actually excited for you to do normal blades cuase they will look sweet as pie and im pretty sure everyone loves pie. cuase i know i do.
@alabama: Thanks man... has been a pretty productive stretch here considering it's summer and there's lots of other things to do. I finally think I've landed on a blade painting style I like. I'm sure I'll tweak it over time, but for some reason the "flat" spine and "dynamic" blade really appeals to me.
@Matrim: Thank you sir! You should see plenty of both in upcoming updates.
@dantay: (Hint: look at my sig... there's an e-mail addy right there at the top for you.)
I want to apologize for the lack of substantive updates... this week and next I won't have much opportunity for painting & updating what with many summer activities with the family taking precedence (kids will be going back to school in two weeks) and having a dead computer. I hope to make steady progress on the rest of the bikes next week, but it may be the week after before I can post a pic. On a sad note, have to put my cat of 17 years down later today. He had kidney failure and we've spent two weeks trying to get him past his "crisis point" but we just cant... he's done. Kids said their goodbye's this morning. Crappy way to end the week.
Sorry to here about your cat Gits, I know how you feel. We had put our 13 year old tabby cat after it suffered from kidney failure, and it puts a real dampener on your spirits.
Anyway, the painting looks great as always, nice tones on the face and crisp details on the bike.
I have 3 "custom gits" sitting on my studio shelf all ready to be shipped... I just never remember to leave the darn house with them. Doesn't do me any good to finish my trades and never send the bloody things off!
Tough deal about Holly (the cat). He was my "consolation prize" from my then girlfriend who broke up with me but felt guilty about it & thought I needed a companion... he's been with me ever since. Funny thing is that ex-GF is now my wife! So she got stuck with the cat after all!
@GS: Thanks on both counts. It's the last kindness I can show him. It'll be tough on the kids, but we do still have two younger cats in the house that are "theirs" (as opposed to Holly which was more mine than the kids), so they'll bounce back.
Thats the same way as to how I endedu p with Archie, my ex-cat too.... except the cat was from my sister as she got it from her ex-hubby, only to find she was allergic to him so he kind of found his way to me.
I kind of decided no more pets as going through having him put to sleep was hard, I really hope your kids will be alright, although I am sure they will be okay over time, as will you and Mrs Gits.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Anyway back to modelling, now you got to make a bearded ryan reynold scout and a female scout (the hot girl with the ipod--other mp3 player are availbale..... and bow) to make up the blade trilogy bikers.
Actually, I'm kind of jazzed about the possibilities of turning my 3 original land speeders into a squad of attack bikes. Given the right circumstances they could work very nicely with the rest of my overall martial philosophy. I must think on this... and do some digging in the codex.
Yes it is very possible, just convert out the flamer to heavy bolter or multimelta, you could even attach 1 to your scout bikers (maybe not, codex needed here) but definitely attach 1 to regular bikes if you use them for added muscle.
Actually, the ones I have came with multi-meltas standard... so I don't think any conversion is necessary. Does anyone know what kind of bases attack bikes use? (probably none as they're free standing?)
These will need a base... what type would folks suggest? I'm thinking that a 40mm is too small and a dread base is too big... does someone out there make a 50mm base? Perhaps I could glue a couple of bike bases together or something like that.
Ideas anyone?? Something from another gaming system perhaps... or fantasy bases?
dantay_xv wrote:Thats the same way as to how I endedu p with Archie, my ex-cat too.... except the cat was from my sister as she got it from her ex-hubby, only to find she was allergic to him so he kind of found his way to me.
I kind of decided no more pets as going through having him put to sleep was hard, I really hope your kids will be alright, although I am sure they will be okay over time, as will you and Mrs Gits.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Anyway back to modelling, now you got to make a bearded ryan reynold scout and a female scout (the hot girl with the ipod--other mp3 player are availbale..... and bow) to make up the blade trilogy bikers.
People magazine could vote your model "sexiest model alive" if you did the Ryan Reynolds thing.
Sorry about the cat, losing pets is really hard, losing my dog really sucked so I know what your going through, but it all works out.
I did think that the bikers face looked a bit like the faces on that old Bitmap Brothers game speedball and speedball 2, if anyone is old enough to remember that far back, I had it on the amiga!
The kit doesn't come with a base (according to GW's website), so technically you're not required to have a base, but dantay is right, most people put them on the 60mm bases.
Maybe chapterhouse, maximini, or 1 of other great parts companies might be able to a 50mm base for you.
The alternative is to use a clear flying base or whatever they mount the current landspeeders on, which might mean cutting it short and drilling a bigger hole in the underside of your speederbike
Don't want a flying base as that's not their role in the army & don't want to confuse my opponents. A 60 mm base is fine... gives me more room to "play" with the base & do something interesting!
Thats true, 60mm bases are fine for my TWC as moerthings to run into but maybe not for bikes in assault.
However it does let you measure your range from the base so that little bit extra....... gosh darn you are just inside half range of my multimelta extra d6 on armour penetration ;D
I am sure you acn make something suitably scenic for the base.
Mounting it on a base gives you two options. If they play bases-only, you have a base. If they demand you measure from the weapon...you have the weapon!
Attack bikes don't come with bases, therefore, you are not "suppose" to base them. However, most players I know wouldn't give a rip as long as it wasn't "obviously" modeled for advantage. As you probably don't want your proxies falling all over themselves, my suggestion would be to create a base with the same footprint as the current attack bike and keep the model close to the ground.
As for measuring distance, it isn't a vehicle model, so measuring from the gun barrel doesn't apply. Though it does lack a base, so that does raise questions . Personally I have always seen it measured from the front of the attack bike (or the part of the bike closest to the enemy unit), not the weapon barrel. So I guess the way I've seen it played is that the footprint of the attack bike acts as the base (if that makes any sense).
My son has some normal attack bikes, I'll take a look at those. MM on my old ones are mounted at the rear, so being able to measure from the front of the bike model would be advantage enough, even if I did put them on a larger base.
Come to think about it, I think there is a flamer under the hull in front. I can easily paint it up like an air intake though so it won't get confused with a functional weapon.
Actually the bio-titan is fine... he's one of the two young ones. The old guy hasn't made it onto the gaming table (too far to walk I'm afraid... even before his last medical issue).
Yeah, I have to agree... those just made it to near the top of the que. Can someone with a dex tell me what 3 MM attack bikes run? (points-wise)
@ MrTau: When I finish the bikes I'll do a new group shot. Until then, this is pretty close to up-to-date... well, OK... not really, but it's the best I've got.
... and don't worry, I'm way too lazy to go through the whole thread too!
The army shot looks pretty impressive Gits. I love to look at this topic and the sheer volume of community posts is of epic proportions. I would love to see some terminators in Mantis colors some time.
ephrael wrote:The army shot looks pretty impressive Gits. I love to look at this topic and the sheer volume of community posts is of epic proportions. I would love to see some terminators in Mantis colors some time.
+1, to quote Barney Stinson, that would be "Legen...wait for it...Dary!!! LEGENDARY!!!"
Termies are in the "master plan" I'm just trying to focus on finishing my current army "theory" first. I know it's a long wait between squads but I started this project with a "no compromise" mentality which means progress is slow. I really appreciate everyone sticking with me all this time & ask that you dont give up on me quite yet.
Yes, termies will be a nice addition to the army, but I'm really looking forwards to seeing all of those flying bikes finished.
On a marginally related note, I have noticed a parallel between my time spent painting and yours. I have slowly been finishing a Black Templars army and surprisingly I'm also Painting some bikes (the boring ground based ones). I also seem to have the no compromise mentality, which means sooner or later I'll be painting a LRC I was given.
I think I'm going to be starting over... with my blood angels disappearing, it might be time to start my IG army... but I wanna improve my skills... so it be time for just some one offs. Sorta do the Eggroll thing, and just paint what interests me.
One of my friends is giving me an airbrush her dad gave her... good news: its free, bad news: its a sears airbrush from 1983 lol
@GS: problem with the "no compromise" approach is that it's kind of a trap for a lot more work... or at least slow progress. Advantage is you won't gave to worry about repainting later.
@blackclaw: Thanks! Glad you like them!
@Alf: guard? Guard??
Any airbrush is a ace to start... just start practicing(
Automatically Appended Next Post:
I did actually make some progress on the bikes yesterday... not mush mind you, but progress.
Gitsplitta wrote:@Alf: guard? Guard??
Any airbrush is a ace to start... just start practicing(
About a month ago, I picked up 1100 dollars of IG for like 300 bucks... And I'm not sure if you saw my thread in the mosh pit, but my university accidentally threw away my pistol case with my Blood Angels in it (sans my storm ravens and 10 assault marines).
So I'm thinking this might be the time to start working on those Guard (I also have a bunch of stuff coming from WarOne to finish off the army)...
Alfndrate wrote:And I'm not sure if you saw my thread in the mosh pit, but my university accidentally threw away my pistol case with my Blood Angels in it (sans my storm ravens and 10 assault marines).
So I'm thinking this might be the time to start working on those Guard (I also have a bunch of stuff coming from WarOne to finish off the army)...
I will support your Guard Efforts!
Also, Gits is correct. Slow and Steady wins the race...but you're slow. Which is why my plog has only turned over page #4.
Looking forward to more hot hot Mantis Warrior Action, Gits. Moar Batrepz! Moar Painting! Moar Tales of Woe!
@Gits: Yeah, although the only reason I took the 'No Comprimise' route was because I had done such a lousy job of my first Black Templars and I wanted to go and repaint them to a great standard before working in unpainted stuff (like the Bikes, EC, LRC, Initiate Sqaud). And then I have the joys of painting up a Zombie Dragon for a friend...
Here is the status of the bikes. They don't look like I've done much but I've actually worked my way though a number of colors and elements (metal, boots, pants, shirts, seats). Lots of the boring stuff. They'll look much more advanced once I get the belts, pouches and gloves done... though they won't really look done until I get the heads finished.
Also, for those of you clamoring for a whole-army shot... here you go!
...
OK, a little joke on my part. But I did get all my custom trays from Battlefoam and my entire army is indeed in there somewhere, with space for nearly everything that I think I'm going to paint in the future. At least now I can safely protect my hard work. Gave one of my old GW cases to Thing 1 so he can get all of his Doom Eagles safely put away.
Much to my surprise, Thing 1 wanted to play yesterday, so we whipped out two quick 500 point games (Mantis Warriors vs. Doom Eagles). I took pics so should get battle reports up soon.
Gits, idk if I can say I'm glad to see someone else get in on the Battlefoam action... I bought one for my Warmachine/Hordes models, and those bags can get filled fast... >_<
I was really happy with the army, up until this point, but the overall army shot has left me a little...underwhelmed. I mean, the color is all off, the composition is crap, and, in general, crappy. CRAPPY.
excellent work on the jet bikes! However, I'm not sure about the green skin.....just kidding!
Good call with the battlefoam, you've spent enough time on these minis that they need protection.
That was an interesting bat rep. I can't say I've ever had a battle like that. The closest I've come to a cat and mouse game was a horde of tyranids hiding behind a rock from my guard the whole time.
I've seen people posting about how they like to be able to post advice for people who are less experienced than they are. To remedy your longing, please post your wisdom in my blog! (link in signature)
I'll swing by sam, but I doubt you want my advice. At *local* tournaments I'm usually dead last or nearly so. I'm just not much of a general I'm afraid.
Yea but what you lack in Generaling you make up for in awesome models Gits. So you have the coolest army on the table, sides itsa game who cares if you win. I am usally last also but i still like playing.
i think it comes down to dices rolls and mine are more often than not bad to horrible. Either way i'd personally love to play a game against you if i lived closer.
Well, we'll call it a rain check then. Ever consider coming up to Chi-town in the spring for Adepticon? There's time and places for pick-up games there.
Both looked like really fun games. Cat and Mouse it may be but (unless I'm getting my things wrong) your boy seems to be getting better and better at tactics too. I think it was him who wouldn't finish playing a game because he had lost too many marines
Either way, what an unexpected bonus to be asked to play!
Thanks guys. I've passed you kind words on to him. I've set up a third game in the series to play with Thing 2. Might be a day or so before we play, but we'll get there.
Those are pretty spectacular! Problem is the heads you did for me are definitive... however... hmmm.... might be that these would be an appropriate replacements for the chaplain's skull helmets for my "late" MW force??
While I realize they can't stand up to my genius sculpting I thought they may be cool to scatter through your army to add to the Japanese theme that the "new" MW are supposed to have.
Mind you if you are only going to need a couple then it will probably be time to whip out the GS.
I did kind of like the idea of the flags on the backpacks, and since they are similar to the ones you built for the Doom Eagle termies it may be an idea you could steal for your sergeants?
Actually, they've got a variety of bits I'd really like to get my hands on, but being that they're in Poland I'd rather not make multiple orders (as it takes forever to get stuff from over there). I'd planned on both the helmets and back-packs, but probably just one set. I think I can do what I need to with than many. The sergeant idea has merit. Tough call as I don't want to get away from the insect theme too much, especially since you've made me such a wide variety of helmets... yet they would fit in quite nicely with everything else & the overall Japanese theme.
I should write and ask them when the cyber-samurai stuff is going to be available... they are expensive bits though... hate to think about what the final bill is going to be like.
Progress! (finally). Spent about 2/3 of my painting time finishing what I thought was already done. However, the other third did actually move the project forward. One more session and I'll take a pic.
Just the bikes. There's a painting competition coming up at our FLGS and I may enter them in the unit competition for fun.
Woke up very early this morning so I put in some time before I had to get ready for work. Made some decent headway for a change. One more evening and I should have most everything done save for the heads and final lining. Don't think I'll finish them this week as the weekend is pretty full of other activities... but I should get pretty close, which will be nice.
Have actually made a serious amount of progress on the bikes (which is good because the weekend looks pretty booked as far as painting opportunities go).
Heads, shoulder pads, lenses, insignia & bases to go. Made the pic humongous sized just to make you guys scroll left to right.
Note that the bike on the far right is actually different than the others. Kinda cool actually. No idea why. I'm getting very fond of accentuating shadows with the little micron pens... really helps things to stand out.
It would be a better illusion after I paint their hair black... ... but no, I think I'll paint them straight. Going to get lots of good practice on my skin tone and face painting techniques!
@Alf: Well, I wanted to mix up the poses a bit and really give the impression that these guys are kind of free spirits zooming around the battle field. Going to have to do some extra modeling on the bases of a couple to hide the pins. I could have gotten away with much thinner pins if I could find a good source but for now I think these will disappear enough once I get the basing done.
That has run through my mind more than once MissDee... good call. The guy with the best glasses is the sergeant. The rest just follow along on autopilot so seeing is optional!
Good progress made. Just heads, bases & shoulder insignia left to do. Though heads are no longer green & I may get more done tonight yet. Pics tomorrow.
OK my friends, here are the jet bikes as they stand. I've included the sergeant in there so you can see the progress when compaired to a completed model. I'm very happy with the way they're turning out, but I'm learning to hate them. Literally... every time I look at them I find some other little detail that needs to be dealt with. Hours of painting later... I see something else. Heads are done. Have shoulder pad insignia, boot soles, jet glow and bases yet to do. The whites of the eyes are very prominent, I may go in and thin those out a bit.
I'm starting to think I'll never be done with these.
Thanks guys... well, I'm always trying to push my painting skills... so hopefully they are an improvement over previous attempts. The big "new" thing for these models are the care and technique with which I've done the heads/skin. Kind of a synthesis of a couple of different techniques (which I've mentioned before). In general I'm really happy with the way the heads came out... I did "wash" the two bald heads with sepia because they skulls were featureless enough that they weren't very dynamic & I'm not sure I like the results (just made the redder)... however... slight differences in skin tone are entirely natural so I may just go back in and re-add some highlight tones & call it good.
These are every bit as "important" a project for me as say.. the sternguard or the vanguard as it utilizes very old, very special models that I've been hoarding for decades... so I am taking a lot of time with them. I hope to finish the painting on the figures this evening. The bases however present a bit of a problem. Not that I don't know how I want to handle them... but I don't actually have the materials I thought I had in order to finish them the way I want. I'll head out to my FLGS over lunch and keep my fingers crossed that they have what I need.
I am planning to enter them in a local painting competition at said FLGS. They usually have one or more GD level painters enter so I have no illusions of winning, however it would be a fun way of showing them off & perhaps getting some useful feedback. They are however... unique. That may count for something.
I finished a neat little eldar-themed objective marker this weekend when I needed a break from painting the bikes. Unfortunately I forgot to take a pic. Will try and remember tonight.
Yeah, but I already have Wesley Snipes in the middle... though he does look like Wesley snipes from Demolition Man. Perhaps I should make him a bleached blond?
The bikes are looking really cool Gits its always the little bits that take the longest. The heads are really well done, the bald one on the left is my favourite.
I think I'm going to try for one of those when I have marine without a helmet that has his whole head intact.
Mmm, I like them, quite a bit, but overall aesthetically I think you may have been better served mixing the skin types up throughout your force. It almost makes skin color a topic of conversation just because of the distribution throughout the unit... I.e - 'why are your biker scouts black' or 'why are your devastators asian?'
Not that it should inherently be an uncomfortable thing to talk about, but it could be. Granted I haven't gone back and read every single post, so I hope I am not bringing up something you have already covered!
That being said, very nice job on them so far, the base is looking very nice too -
Good observation Tom, the answer is that I've done this on purpose. My MWs recruit their bikers from hive bike gangs which have essentially all black membership. Because they were a "hidden" source of recruits not from the MW home world, they provided the only source of fresh recruits during the MW exile.
There are other blacks amongst the ranks, but I've only painted two without helmets on.. Telion and a sergeant, so they just haven't been evident.
It's interesting, I am glad you did it, and worked in the fluff. I have always found it odd that there was such a lack of ethnic diversity in 40k, it is always striking and interesting to see people use different skin colors and looks.
Well, aside from 3 more shoulder insignia, the painting of the bikes proper is done. Now I'm beginning to work on the bases, which will be quite challenging. I'll probably hold off on any more pics until they're finished unless someone is interested in seeing how I did the bases... in which case I'll post the WIP pics after I debut the finished models. It's not that complicated though (just tedious) so I think you guys could figure it out for yourselves.
In the nonce... here's a quick side project I did when I needed a break from the bikes. I got this little objective grouping of eldar bits on a 25mm base from... someone. Can't remember now... So, I put the 25mm base on my standard 40mm base, then used GS to mound the whole thing to make for a clean transition. A little airbrushing, a little basing magic... and viola! A second objective marker for my eldar (or an eldar objective for other armies' scenarios).
This marker will figure prominently in the next two 500 pt Mantis Warrior battles with my kids... so I figure it's legit to post it here.
Gitsplitta wrote:I think my wife has something planned. Money's really tight right now so it won't be much.
Did I miss something, does this mean an upcoming B'day?
Its Labor Day (at least in the states) and it means that everyone (for the most part) gets Monday off. I however get to celebrate my parent's wedding anniversary 40 long years man...
Well, we were going to hang out with my brother-in-law and his family (which is fun) but have decided to to a top-to-bottom fall house cleaning and yard preparation. Fits with the "Labor Day" idea nicely I think. Though I hope to get the boat out at least once over the weekend. I've got a lot of wood to cut and split if we're going to be able to use our fireplace over the winter... that alone should keep me busy.
Made some good progress on the models this morning. The bikes are now completely done and I've started working on the bases. Rocks are added to cover some of the pins, GS added to fill in the gaps for the pins in the rocks & painting of rocks has begun. I expect to have the flocking down & perhaps washed by tonight.
Two group shots, a beauty shot of the Sgt, and at least two shots of each biker. Put them in some poses. There, yeah. Hold it! Work the camera, baby! Yeah! Yeah! The camera loves you!
Thanks guys! Yeah, I thought a little thruster glow on the rocks (as well as a healthy coat of black wash underneath to represent scorched ground) would be appropriate.
Glad I got them done. Today might be my last chance to post pics for a few days (Tuesday probably).
MajorTom11 wrote:Mmm, I like them, quite a bit, but overall aesthetically I think you may have been better served mixing the skin types up throughout your force. It almost makes skin color a topic of conversation just because of the distribution throughout the unit... I.e - 'why are your biker scouts black' or 'why are your devastators asian?'
Not that it should inherently be an uncomfortable thing to talk about, but it could be. Granted I haven't gone back and read every single post, so I hope I am not bringing up something you have already covered!
That being said, very nice job on them so far, the base is looking very nice too -
As a matter of interest (in case you didn't already know) the Salamanders chapter are all black (but like really literally black) - something to do with their home world I think, and oddly, they all have red eyes.
I want to answer each of you individually but I've been away from my computer for most of the day (last two posts were from my phone) and on my way back to work I got rear-ended... so my evening will be filled with reems of official paperwork and it's already past the time when I would normally leave for the day.
I want to thank everyone for your kind words... especially those of you I haven't heard from in a while. Couple of special notes...
@shingouki: Thanks and I LOVE your sig (one of my favorite moves!)
@EC: Hey man, good to have you back! Thank you!
@Foolish: Thank you sir!
@Cain: These are much too "minimalist" for modern GW. They worked great with the scouts though... the scouts are not as bulky as regular marines (even though they're tall) so it makes for a decent looking model. Also helped to find some really interesting and well made heads. Hope you find some of the jet bikes though... love to see more out there (graven did some jet bikes too, check them out in his gallery!)
Just wait 'till you see the attack bikes! They'll fit with these guys perfectly. And I have the parts for a second squad of scout bikes (eventually) too!
Geez, Gits, those Jet bikers look utterly stunning! I'm really glad to see you were fully capable of working in those dark skin tones. The all came out great, bud. Now, I'm really looking forward to those attack bikes.
@MT: LOL! Thank's my friend! @crimsonmicc: Very witty and topical too! @Moltar: Glad you like them! The attack bikes will just be the original land speeders but they'll be based like these are (i.e. pinned low to the ground). I'm toying with the idea of replacing the original beakie heads with something more interesting (and fluffy given the precedent that these set). Have to dig them out and take a look at the figs to see how much surgery would be involved...
The bikes look amazing gits...scout foreman isnt doin a wheel what you cant see is the grill with burgers cooking in the engine wash....yea salamanders have pure black skin and glowing red eyes cuz of the radiation on thier planet alters thier geneseed purely asthetic thou
Well, my guys aren't salamanders, just mixed race of African derivation. (here I'd call them African Americans but in context that is a meaningless distinction)
I hope you have good luck finding the bikes, they're rare and usually expensive... Though perhaps not too bad when compared to regular bikes. Good thing is you really only need 4 or 5 bikes to get the best scout config.
If you keep looking I think they can be had for less than that, but I rarely see very many up for sale at the same time. I got these from the store at the time they were originally offered luckily. Though I did trade for another set a few years after that.
Hi Gits, man! have you done a good job or what! love 'em dude seriously such a nice paintjob, and i'm especially blown away by the African American skin tones and looks you've managed to convey with each one! great work, all your hard work has definitely paid off with the army!
I'd say it's 38 thousand years past saying these people are from african derivation. Perhaps they were picked up on a world that has two suns, and the people have adapted to have more melanin as a result of the intense uv radiation? I'd say that makes more sense in context, because I'm certain that over the 38 thousand years until the 41st millenium, all of the races will have mixed together, and there would be almost no identifiable gene strain from any continent on earth.
Thanks Nerdy. High praise indeed given the quality of work you've been turning out as of late. I'm really happy with the skin tones and now that I'm more comfortable with them I'll start salting them into the rest of my force. Though I do like the look of a squad with a dedicated racial identity (non-caucasion). Especially with the fluff to back it up.
All right you lucky buggers... for those of you who have been long suffering and clamoring for a whole army shot... your time has FINALLY come! I actually have been thinking of adding my Mantis Warriors to the Army Profile section of dakka as kind of a short cut for those not interested in the process but who are interested in seeing the finished product... especially now that I have a cohesive 2700 pt army (though there is still more to do). So I took a decent picture of each squad and then one of everything assembled. When I get all the pics sorted out I'll begin work on the article.
So, for your entertainment... I present you with my Mantis Warriors at 2700 pts (give or take, depending on war gear). I can field the whole thing in one shot minus one HQ as it all fits within the FOC, and the next two MW projects (LS Storms and Attack Bikes) will still fit within the constraints of a single army.
Since this represents my Badab era army, the only figure with Mk-7 armor is the chapter master (Pedro in the center there). Everything else is as original as I can get it. I also have not included my GMS squads are they are specific to my post-Crusade era army (which is largely still unformed). There are still plenty of other painted models, but they aren't painted up to my current standard so I've left them out for now. Hopefully, most will get stripped and re-painted so they can take their place amongst the brethren.
Two of the dreads can be fielded as heavies if I take the MoTF, which is how I can bring the whole thing in under a single FOC.
Sorry for the duplication, had to upload the photo as an attachment rather than as normal in order to avoid the auto-append function but then I can edit the image like normal. So I've added a normal image above the "attached" image which can be manipulated, viewed and voted on as normal.
Below is the attached image... double click on it and you'll see it in a quite large format (or at least that's how it appears on my screen).
Thanks guys. You know I've never been much for whole-army shots as you can't really see much of anything... but it was good to get everything set out in one batch and see where I've come. Add in all the necrons, orks & nids (not to mention Doom Eagle touch-ups) and that's an appreciable amount of painting in just a couple of years. Anyway, I needed a break from painting after finishing the bikes so this looked like a worth while endeavor.
Good stuff. What points value are you planning on getting to? or are you just going to keep going until you have a whole legion that no one will ever be able to take on?! (this is my dream for my army - a huge legion that I need a whole room of display cabinets for!)
Looking nice,a very coherent force! Always nice to see the old stuff put to good use, my old 2nd ed. Nurgle predator has been languishing in the mini cabinet for ages...
In answer to your question monkeyh, I don't have a specific point total I'm going for, rather I have certain units and a certain tactical synergy that I'd like to create. Grated when 6th edition comes out it'll shoot that part to hell... but them's the brakes. I have a ton of models yet to paint... enough vehicles for a fully mechanized force, dozens of troops, etc. Once I get my FA slots filled & my sternguard up to full strength, I'll slow down a bit on the early army and concentrate on the later version, which even though it's the same chapter will have a quite different look to it (at least parts of it).
Nature of the beast I'm afraid. It's a buisness & they have to create "need" in the marketplace somehow. Also shaking the rules up once in a while keeps switching up the army dominance and reinvigorates the meta game. It's not just a ploy for more money (though I admit that's the easy excuse), it's how they've kept the same game going and growing for over two decades.
yeah, like the time that i bought that squad of immortals... $14 for each one and i bought 8... not as bad as those bikers though...that one is in pounds!!!
As I image a number of you know... the big "do" this spring was that I took my Mantis Warriors, along with Solar Lion's Lamenters, Ice Angel's Tiger Claws and his buddy Steve's Executioners to Adepticon to field our 4-man team The Wardens of the Maelstrom.
Now for reasons that are beyond anyone's control... we're down two men (Ice and Steve) *and* our alternate (whalemusic360). Which brings me to the following announcement.
The Wardens of the Maelstrom are looking for a few good men (or women)... well... two actually... to complete our 4-person team for Adepticon in 2012. Solar_Lion and I would like to stay with the Badab War theme... mainly because neither of us have the luxury of time or money to generate an entirely new army at the standard we want to build/paint to for such a big event.
I can think of several thematic options to serve as a basis for forming a team around our two chapters. From best to worst theme-wise they are...
1.The other two rebel armies (Tiger Claws & Executioners) so we basically have the same general team as least year (army list can differ of course... I'm just suggesting the chapters)
2.Two of the "loyal" chapters so we could field a team of two opposing sides during the Badab War. Off-hand I don't know all the chapters involved... some that come to mind are the Fire Hawks, Son's of Medusa, Space Sharks, Minotaurs and Red Scorpions... there are others and we're open to any of them... though the principal opponents of our two chapters would be cool.
3. The two principle enemies of the Lamenters and Mantis Warriors immediately after the Badab war (i.e. tyranids and Red Corsairs).
4. Pick two potential enemies from "the maelstrom" and present it as a pre-Badab War team (could be anyone nearly... dark eldar, pirate orks, chaos, rebel guard).
If you think you, or you and a friend might be interested in joining us in Chicago next spring, please send an e-mail to my dakka e-mail account (in my sig). Please do not respond on this thread. Let me know what you've thinking & we'll go from there.
In doing so, keep the following in mind:
- we'd like teammates who's painting and modeling skills compliment our own
- our priorities (in order of importance) are: having fun, fielding a fine looking & cohesive force, playing well
- it takes a lot of work to get ready for Adepticon, make sure you know what your getting yourself in to
I'm just gauging interest at this point so contacting me is NOT a commitment on your part... just seeing if anyone's interested. Questions are welcome (please PM). The reason I'm asking you to e-mail interest rather than PM is that PMs are too easy to lose track of... however questions can be answered by PM. Contact Ice if you are curious about what Solar and I are like as teammates.
Thanks, and again... please don't respond on this thread.... I'm just making the announcement here because I know a lot of folks will see it here.
Gitsplitta wrote:I'm just gauging interest at this point so contacting me is NOT a commitment on your part... just seeing if anyone's interested. Questions are welcome (please PM). The reason I'm asking you to e-mail interest rather than PM is that PMs are too easy to lose track of... however questions can be answered by PM. Contact Ice if you are curious about what Solar and I are like as teammates.
Yes! Please contact me so I can tell you how terr.... ummm, AWESOME they are! lol
No seriously, it is unfortunate that I can not make it this year but I hope the team continues and the dakka community comes to the rescue. I won't be at Adepticon for 2012 but I will still be helping the team with random other things. As for Git, other then him having the plague when we were gaming together he was great fun, all though much quieter then you'd expect. All of our games were a blast and much closer then our record shows. On top of all of that Adepticon itself was really cool. Lots of gamers, cool terrain, amazing painting, and forgeworld was there! It was a blast. On top of that, you also get to battle along side with the famed Mantis Warriors! You think the pictures are cool! They are even cooler in person. I actually found that in person they are more unbelievable then the pictures. How much sense does that make?
Loads more good stuff on here since i last checked it out and i am really loving that group shot.
Those Jetbikes are looking awsome too, i have not seen any of those for a while.
I finally got time to restart painting my Mantis warriors at the weekend, il take some photos soon.
I have not painted for ten years or more and i am having real trouble doing the chapter badges, gonna have to get practising i think i am.
Damn, sorry to hear about Ice, Steve, and Whale. Hopefully someone will be able to help you out Gits (and SL). Unfortunately i cant help, being on the other side of the Pond doesnt help, but im also nowhere near your standards...
Great work on the bikes, they look awesome, and the army shot all together is a thing of pure beauty!
@Matrim: Thanks! Yeah, this blog can sneak up on you if you're not careful.
@vent: You're going to be there? Excellent!! Really look forward to meeting you. We'll have to do lunch (or something).
@polari: No problem polari. I appreciate the sentiment though. Perhaps another time.
@Rayvon: Very much looking forward to seeing what you do with them. Even after all this time and "publicity" (my blog and the IA books) I've only seen one or two other MW armies. I understand about coming back from a long break... did so myself a few years back. It's like riding a bike...
@Reiko: Yeah... the ocean thing is kind of an issue. Can't "mail it in" unfortunately!
No work last night, got tied up in a cub scout business meeting and for once managed to sleep soundly all night. I'll take that last bit as a good thing. Hope to do some building tonight... keep your fingers crossed.
Gitsplitta@Reiko wrote:: Yeah... the ocean thing is kind of an issue. Can't "mail it in" unfortunately!
Haha!
No work last night, got tied up in a cub scout business meeting and for once managed to sleep soundly all night. I'll take that last bit as a good thing. Hope to do some building tonight... keep your fingers crossed.
@dantay: Thanks for the link. I have seen those. What I was originally looking for were power katanas/wakazashis. I have a good supply of normal katana that I got from a historical wargaming outfit that are much, much cheaper... especially since I plan to use them as combat blades as opposed to primary weapons.
@endtrans: I appreciate that, and you'd be welcome. I'm hampered by the fact that many of my best gaming friends live on another part of the planet, and those that are in the US have screwed-up priorities...
I think we'll be all-right. Planning on making a decision next week as we have some good candidates. The positions are still open though if anyone else is interested in throwing their hat into the ring.
No progress last night (sorry Reiko) save lining up my gretchin army with all the spiffy new grots painted by Ifalna, and posting a pic of that... too busy watching the game. TGIF! (Thank God Its Football) Tonight I have a game with wyomingfox and his Tau army. Never faced Tau in all the years I've been playing so I've no idea what to expect... a butt kicking perhaps? I tried to convince him to field the space pope on principal... but he doesn't have him. (shucks!) He does have lots of super shooty machines, super stabby kroot and super cheaty rules. I'll do a battle report if I remember to take pics.
I'd have volunteered as well but the ocean is my mortal enemy. And with regards to Tau? Your list is strong due to how quickly it moves and can deploy to key locations. It'll be interesting but I've always found Tau really suffer when things get into assault range. Even kroot are a bit lacklustre and 3+ armies are just painful for them to deal with.
Myself and Arakasi did contemplate trying to make it over next year, but my hobby budget wouldn't really stretch to international flights next year, though they were more reasonable than I assumed. Possibly 2013 though...
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DarkStarSabre wrote:I'd have volunteered as well but the ocean is my mortal enemy. And with regards to Tau? Your list is strong due to how quickly it moves and can deploy to key locations. It'll be interesting but I've always found Tau really suffer when things get into assault range. Even kroot are a bit lacklustre and 3+ armies are just painful for them to deal with.
That's my experience of Tau as well. Get in close, quickly. The only things to be wary of are the tanks and the hide-and-seek battlesuits with flamers
Watch out for their guns, basic troop weapons have 30" range.
Stingwings are ap3 assault weapons I think too.
Watch out for pathfinders markerlighting your vehicles (if he uses them)
Hug cover move fast, protect your transports and get in their face, or drop pod attack them, hopefully you can kill enough in gunfire when you drop that the resultant counter attack will not sting too much, then hit em with a good uppercut
ChocolateGork wrote:Priority in that order- Broadsides, Crisis, Pathfinders, Hammerheads, Pirahnas, Devilfish, Firewarriors, Kroot.
Let's list the Priorities.
AP2, long range - Lascannons a go-go.
AP3, fast, medium range - Krak Missiles, Melta Weapons, Lascannons a go-go. Plasma goes nice too.
AP1, long range - only a few per squad. Other than that - Markerlight nuisance. Deadly when combined with the above. - Assault them. Or sneeze on them. Don't forget how hit allocation works. Chance to kill them off with cheap rapid fire.
AP1, long range. - suffers from being a tank. Shake it til the cows come home and it stops being a threat.
AP3, medium range, fast - suffers from being a vehicle. Low armour. Shake or wreck.
No AP but can transport things - crack open like a pinata.
Long range - squishy in combat. Squishy in combat to things like gaunts and IG. Says it all really.
More deadly in combat - but no armour penetrating abilities. If spotted in woods, set on fire and smile.
Gitsplitta wrote:No progress last night (sorry Reiko) save lining up my gretchin army with all the spiffy new grots painted by Ifalna, and posting a pic of that... too busy watching the game. TGIF! (Thank God Its Football) Tonight I have a game with wyomingfox and his Tau army. Never faced Tau in all the years I've been playing so I've no idea what to expect... a butt kicking perhaps? I tried to convince him to field the space pope on principal... but he doesn't have him. (shucks!) He does have lots of super shooty machines, super stabby kroot and super cheaty rules. I'll do a battle report if I remember to take pics.
Aww, special mention And apologies for my aparently abysmal quote control...
Good luck in your game, as said above, get stuck in (although Crisis suits can and will suprise you in CC every now and again. Its the whole 'IG guardsman killing a Terminator' scenario, it doesnt happen often, but when it does it sucks!), and rout the lot of them!
EDIT: my friends Tau really hated my Furioso when we played, Drop podded directly behind a WarFish, one heavy flamer, one meltaguin later, no more WarFish, no more FWs And they had literally nothing that could touch it in HtH either, it was brutal.
Broadsides: AP2, long range - Lascannons a go-go.
Crisis Battlesuits: AP3, fast, medium range - Krak Missiles, Melta Weapons, Lascannons a go-go. Plasma goes nice too.
Pathfinders: AP1, long range - only a few per squad. Other than that - Markerlight nuisance. Deadly when combined with the above. - Assault them. Or sneeze on them. Don't forget how hit allocation works. Chance to kill them off with cheap rapid fire.
Hammerheads: AP1, long range. - suffers from being a tank. Shake it til the cows come home and it stops being a threat.
Pirahnas: AP3, medium range, fast - suffers from being a vehicle. Low armour. Shake or wreck.
Devilfish: No AP but can transport things - crack open like a pinata.
Firewarriors: Long range - squishy in combat. Squishy in combat to things like gaunts and IG. Says it all really.
Kroot: More deadly in combat - but no armour penetrating abilities. If spotted in woods, set on fire and smile.
So, it looks like damn near everything will make Swiss cheese out of my armor and vehicles... all the way down to the 6th priority!! No saving throws for me.
very cool looking army THe bikers are insanely cool and your approach to vehicles is very personal....new to the post and the forum but ill be watching your log for inspiration keep it coming please!!!
So, it looks like damn near everything will make Swiss cheese out of my armor and vehicles... all the way down to the 6th priority!! No saving throws for me.
Actually, not so much. They're BS 3 for the most part with limited twin linking or rerolls, unlike an IG army with its orders.
Ask any Eldar player about the differences in performance between a Wave Serpent (twin linked, BS3), a Falcon (BS3) and a Fire Prism (BS4).
Most Eldar players I know utterly loathe the fact the Falcon is BS3. A mainline, BS3 tank is quite shoddy so the fact most of what you'll be facing is BS3 is a relief. The Crisis suits are BS4 but the Broadsides are not. A good idea if you get lucky is to obliterate any Pathfinders from the word go. Suddenly there's a lack of markerlights for everything else to use - as if a normal squad leader uses it the rest of the squad have to shoot at the same target. You can seriously mess him up that way.
oh yes i plan on making myself known through mass compliments Quick question, how did you link you p log into your signature, ive tried to do that except its the literal link, not something clickable. apologes for off topic question
bebopdrums2424 wrote:oh yes i plan on making myself known through mass compliments Quick question, how did you link you p log into your signature, ive tried to do that except its the literal link, not something clickable. apologes for off topic question
Oh yeah, that's a neat trick....
1. add a URL using the URL button, which will appear as [ URL ] (I've added spaces in there so it doesn't actually put the link in here) 2. remove the back bracket and replace it with a = 3. add the link to the url and add the back bracket back in. 4. type in whatever text you want 5. and in the closeing URL from the button [ /URL ].
Or you can just copy this into your sig... (cool stuff by-the-way... consider me subscribed) View my Catachan P&M Blog
Revenent Reiko wrote:Just a thought, I dont think ive ever seen a Piranha hit anything, ever......at least not with its fusion guns....
also, beware SMS ignore cover (i think).
SMS ignore cover if you are not "in cover"...area terrain and special abilities that always grant cover are not affected. Slightly better than Hive Guard whose cover ignoring abiility doesn't extend to units "adjacent to" (ie touching) cover.
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Gitsplitta wrote:I run marines... don't need to bloody cover.... or camo... or... intelligence.
Lol, atleast if you are in cover you can take a cover save when he hits and tries to wound rather than go meh, I am dead... so ru, hide shoot, run, hide, shoot, run, hide, shoot, run club the enemy hope not to be stuck in the open on your assault phase, polish them off in theirs etc etc
Automatically Appended Next Post: Smart missile systems only have a 24" range
Bein a tau player i suggest movin everything across ASAP for 1500 pts he has alot of options actually but your basic firewarriors bs 3 with a str 5 ap5 30" rapid fire weapon, knowing hes going against marines im bettin a few crisis suits with plasma rifles (str6 ap2 rapid fire 24") and prolly missile pods (str7 ap4 assault 36") try to drop as close to his hammerheads and broadsides to get rid of those str10 ap1 72" rail guns...kroot are squishy but have a load of attacks o yea and crisis suit tactics are usually move in unload everything and move away which is a healoggers but not a problem for fast moving units
Thought I'd share this one image with you (my fav from the game).
My Iron Clad singlehandedly taking on the Tau army. If you look closely you can see the libby hiding behind him in a vain attempt to survive for one more round.
No, both the Libby and the Iron Clad ultimately died. The Libby in the next shooting phase and the Iron Clad 2-3 turns later... but not until the dread had taken out a squad of battle suits and a hammerhead... so that was OK. Before he died, the Libby was instrumental in helping to route two Fire Warrior squads off the table, so he earned his kibble for the day too. Considering the horrendous circumstances of the battle (from my perspective), they both did fine. The Libby would have been more effective if I'd remembered to change his psychic powers to something that actually would be useful vs. Tau rather than my standard anti-marine package. My fault, not his.
Coming... have a lot to do around the house and a half-dozen football games to watch. I did just "sequence" the photos from the game so I can use them to write up the report. I'll have it to you sometime today, I promise.
We had a fun time. At various times during the game both of us were certain that we were toast... but we kept playing and pendulum never failed to swing in the opposite direction. I will withhold letting you know the final results until the battle report though. Safe to say that we both got our pound of flesh out of each other's army.
On a side note... wyomingfox's Tau are almost all painted and are very pretty. That always greatly increases the enjoyment I get out of a battle, regardless of the final standings.
) let alone Dakka.
I'll be honest, I haven't been keeping track of hits at all as I've always assumed that posts are the best indicator of weather people are really finding value in the blog or not. Given the responses I'm getting... it appears that is an erroneous assumption. I understand entirely about the "awesome!" posts. I do plenty of those myself and it always irks me. Not that I don't like complimenting people on great work... it just seems so vacuous. Especially with folks who's work is so far above mine, I always struggle to make intelligent commentary. Though, I really do try, at least once in a while. So rather than just saying "I love this piece." I ask myself... "What do I love about this piece?" and then write that in hopes of giving more useful feedback to the artist.
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OK, a little joke on my part. But I did get all my custom trays from Battlefoam and my entire army is indeed in there somewhere, with space for nearly everything that I think I'm going to paint in the future. At least now I can safely protect my hard work. Gave one of my old 
