Welcome to the 19th round of the League of Extraordinary Riveters Terrain Competition. "Let it Flow!"
Welcome, one and all, to the 19th round of the League of Extraordinary Riveters Terrain contest.
For those who have not taken part before, this is a competition about terrain building (as you may have gathered from the title), but it is not strictly limited to pure terrain, dioramas that can be used as table top terrain are allowed (see rules below). To get a feel for how these competitions run and what to expect you may wish look at the previous rounds, linked below.
Each round has a “theme” or other defining attribute(s) that must in some way be applied to the your terrain project, to compete with other modellers for that most prestigious of prizes, membership into The League of Extraordinary Riveters [LoER].
The competition is open to everyone registered on Dakka Dakka, all are welcome to enter regardless of ability, etc.
The main aim of these competitions is to encourage gamers and model-makers alike to go that extra mile when building terrain that can be used for playing your preferred tabletop wargame (or similar pastime - for example, a board game playing piece would be acceptable). Those taking part can expect to receive ideas, inspiration, encouragement and feedback from each other, and at the end each of the participants is "rewarded" with a new piece of terrain for their own use (that's the thing you just built).
The winner of each round hosts the next round, and the cycle continues.
The theme, limitations, rules, judging and prizes are all the responsibility of the host, although he or she can get help from others for some of those things...
For those who are returning once again to compete a most sincere and heartfelt welcome back!
This round's theme is "Let it Flow".
I want you to interpret this in any way you see fit, but I will be impressed by any interesting, unusual and original interpretation thereof. The main idea is liquid, I want to see flowing liquid. In the last round I experimented with this a little, and I think it is something everyone should try. Bonus goes to unusual material use, but you can use water effect products if you want to. It does not have to be water, any "liquid" will do.
You can be in any scale or any system you like. Ideally, your first WIP photo should what you bits and pieces you are starting with, but I'm aware these things evolve organically. Also, it's about being innovative with what you have lying about or can scavenge - but using a kit part for a totally different purpose, or on a different scale, will also be rewarded.
I like to see how people build their models, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this. So please post as many WIP shots as you can. This can achieve more than just keeping me happy (and you want to do that anyway ): Regular posts in this thread will keep it in the public eye and will allow more people to find this contest. Also, if you post WIP shots, others can give you feedback and ideas before it's too late to change it (this will only help you as a participant and we all learn something new).
However, FINAL pictures should not be shown here. This is important for motivation, we are all our own worst critics, and seeing someone's brilliant work should not put us off but it can. I can't stop you posting in your own threads, but please not in here. PM me with the pictures / links instead when they are ready.
One last note on photographs. Please put as much effort into taking photos of your finished model as you have building it. Poorly lit, out-of-focus, blurred, and low resolution photos can harm your chances in any competition. Remember, If I can't see it in the photo, I can't judge it. Only you can hold the model in your hands and turn it around to see everything. Make sure everything you want me to see is in the photos. Thank you.
Rules:. 1: Talk about fight club the Competition. Tell everyone. Post it in your blogs. Add the banner to your signature.
HTML code for the banner.....
{url=http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/693487.page]{img]http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/11/8/429237_md-.jpg{/img]{/url]
change all the "{" to "["
It should look and work like this one:
2: Must be completed by the deadline. And when I say "must", I mean "about". There is a fair amount of leeway given in these contests but assume there will be no extensions and we'll cross any problems when it arises.
The Deadline is 11 weeks which makes it midnight BST 28th August Which I believe is 19:00 EST or 16:00 PST!
But anything on that night through to midday will be accepted so that those of you living in the past can keep going until bed time.
3: Your piece should be scratch-built or heavily converted. Model kit parts can be used, especially if used in an unusual way, but you will get more points for something you sculpt yourself, so keep that in mind. Unconventional parts are highly recommended in addition to those you will be using as part of this competition.
4: Your model should be a piece of terrain or a diorama that can be used for gaming purposes. It cannot be a playable model in itself (a crashed tank must stay crashed), but removable models (people) are fine.
5: Any scale, any setting and any gaming system are welcome. A nice mixture of fantasy, sci-fi, historical, or modern will make this contest all the more interesting. If you don't play a game, that's fine too; just make a display piece, but keep rule 4 in mind.
6: The women are right, size doesn't matter. You can make as small or as large a model as you want. Bear in mind the time-scale and don't bite off more than you can chew. We've all made that mistake!
7: Final Entry: Six or more photos of your final entry, showing top, front, both sides, back and all the important parts - not to be posted in this thread. PM me with links to your galleries, albums, etc. As I said above, please take the time to take the best photos that you can.
Together with your photos, I would like a statement of the items (a photo would be ideal) that you used. This is not a must, but would be helpful.
Feel free to include some fluff or an explanation of the model/setting to allow the rest of us to fully appreciate your work.
8: AMBITION: Push yourself. Try something new! Always wanted to use leds? Go for it! Fancied weathering powders? Here's your chance! I'll be looking at your galleries for previous work, entries etc. I want everyone to feel that their best has a fair shot at this. This is very important, I did not expect to win the last round because most peoples work was such great work and many had pushed themselves way more than I did, so this will have a lot more wait for me this round. Another words it might not be the BEST model that wins, but the one that has shown themselves to have pushed that envelope.
9: Not so much a rule, but it wouldn't be the League of Extraordinary Riveters if there are no rivets. This also means similar small details are highly valued (rivets are the best example of this level of detailing).
10: Sprue. Find a use for the often discarded wonder material and bonus points will be yours.
11. Small bonus for being small, I have repeatedly seen amazing large pieces being made, and am guilty myself of such, however so many fall by the way side because the thing grows arms and legs and runs away with time. So a small bonus will be awarded to those who can give me a piece on a CD or less. This is not a hard and fast rule. See Rule #6 for size matters.
12. THE RULE OF COOL trumps all.
If you are unsure of anything just ask away.
Judging: Modelling: 45 points total. (10 points) Skill and Techniques - No mould lines, gaps or rough edges (that are not meant to be rough). Show that you know the difference between a hobby knife and a spatula.
(5 points) Originality - You could have built anything, what did you choose?
(10 points) Materials - Choice of Ordinary items (ease of use / ambition / originality). Scratch-building Vs. recycled materials parts.
(5 points) Little details - Rivets, eggs, and other small details that add realism to the piece.
(5 points) The wonder material - Use of Sprue in is own right not just as a hidden support structure. Good, new and original use of sprue.
(10 points) Design - How well was the idea translated to the model? Layout of the piece; artistically and for playability. Well thought out design for the setting. Does the build fit the theme?
Painting: 40 points total.
(10 points) Between the lines - Crisp and clean paintwork. No slips or brushstrokes. Good
(5 points) Simple but effective - Use of basic techniques (washes, dry-brushing, layering etc.) to a high level. coverage of both the basecoat and final layers.
(10 points) Skill and Techniques - Use of advanced painting techniques such as blending, shading, OSL, weathering, edge highlighting, freehand, etc... And their execution.
(10points ) Final product - How does the piece look overall in all its glory.
Bonuses: 15 points total.
(10 points) Coolness: Rule of Cool is always in effect.
(5 points) Ambition: How far have you pushed yourself as a modeller and painter? Is this your usual standard, or have you tried new techniques, processes - or just played it safe?
(5 points) Size bonus: If you can keep it under a CD in base size, you could get a "little" bonus.
100 points total.
Yes, there is more emphasis on modelling than painting. And Ambition points are there becuase I want to reward folk who go the extra mile on this.
Prizes: 1st Prize.
Membership to the League of Extraordinary Riveters as top prize. You will be allowed to fly the League's banner and be recognised as a modeller devoted to Rivets.
Also a commission piece of terrain to your specification, made by me, or a mystery box prize
People's choice: As voted for by your fellow Dakkanauts.
Warm feelings inside and the bragging rights that your peers love your work.
And...
Anyone who completes a model for this competition can receive a full, detailed critique of your piece, written by me. No, really! This will highlight the good points and the parts I feel need work. I will give advice as to how I would improve the model and suggestions for alternatives. This is purely my opinions and is part of how I judge the pieces. It can be posted in this thread for all to see and learn from, or by PM if you want to see it first.
Judges:
Camkierhi
Inmygravenimage and DrH will be joining the judges circle for this round. Tough crowd guys and dolls.
Competitors
TerrainWalker
Anvildude
Viktor von Domm
Guildenstern
Tinker
Strohkopf
=Angel=
xXWeaponPrimeXx
KINGPIN54
So, go to it people. Get extraordinarily building!
Indeed, that was quick....probably some dam broken down here... Count me in, I'm honour bound to be a part of this...tho I have currently no idea what to do......
Do not count me in. You know what always happens. But I will watch with interest and if I make something suitable within the timeframe I'll add it properly with WIPs. But no promises.
That Aside...it would amuse me to enter a cargo container labeled 'the spice' just to be cheeky
Still in a 'can't be ar$ed' mood I'm sorry to say, especially with several weeks of the 2016 European Championship to be played out (bad result for England tonight, but Wales played so well to dig out the win and Payet's goal for France was just sublime)
I have been wanting to participate in one of these for almost a year. I just finished getting my workshop unpacked in my new home and plan to build an entry. I know it is cliche given the theme, but I have wanted to build a modular sewer board that will work for D&D and maybe Warmachine as I add panels down the road. Looking forward to being back in the hobby!
I would like to TRY and join. But I will be going to GenCon and such and might not be able to get an entry done in time.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Dr H wrote: I was going to make a "Let it go" joke, but TerrainWalker got in early with something much better than I would have come up with.
His is good, but when you change the lyric to flow and then sing the chorus, it just sounds like someone who REALLY has to go to the bathroom something fierce.
You know what three year olds really really really really really really reallllllllllllllllllllllllllly love?
Yeah. Singing Frozen stuff.
Anyway.... so, fine Cam demands an update
I think I've got an idea where to get the elephants I want, the turtle will probably be a simple toy, but the elephants I'm going to go check out cheap ceramic type sets, salt n pepper shakers, decor whatever. I'm hoping I can get a couple and paint a 'starscape' type image on them, like they're reflecting the universe around them.
For the rest of it, I'm searching for my copy of Cohen the Barbarian's book, The Last Hero? I think anyway I seem to recall it had a map in it.
@guildenstern thatvs sounding like a really good idea!
I'm still sorting theough ideas. Maybe this will be the time i fogure out how to do a proper rippled water with the little refractions on the river/sea floor...or maybe something more mundane..we'll see!
well count me in again!!! very cool idea! will be sure to trie to do something with some sprue in this context, sorry been few and far between but tech deprived @ the moment, be sure to submit some proofs soon, good luck to all ! and let your imagination FLOW!! hahHAHA( NOT THE lol TYPE)
xXWeaponPrimeXx, You don't know if you don't try... And notice that Cam' has an extra rule that rewards small pieces, and smaller means (slightly) less time involved.
You know what three year olds really really really really really really reallllllllllllllllllllllllllly love?
Yeah. Singing Frozen stuff.
Look at it this way, every time you now hear that song, you'll think of us.
...For the rest of it, I'm searching for my copy of Cohen the Barbarian's book, The Last Hero? I think anyway I seem to recall it had a map in it.
It is The Last Hero. Just had a flick through it, there is a partial map, but also quite a few good angle of A'tuin. The internet will no doubt furnish you with many pictures also.
Da blood grows cold on da choppa tonight
Not a humie...to be seen
A orkdom of oksolation and it looks like im da BOSS!
Da WAAAAAGH!is howlin'
Like da screaming squig inside
Couldnt kill dem all mork knows I tried
Dont let dem in dont let dem see be da good boss you always have to be
Krump dont deal dont let dem go
Well now dey go
Ere we go!Ere we go!cant hold dem back any more
Ere we go!Ere we go!
Charge and krump da door!
I dont care,who were going to krump
Let da Waaaaagh!rage on
Da dakka never bothered me anyway
Its orky how some dakka can make every thing seem WAAAAAGH!
da gits dat once kontrolled me
Are krumped by da WAAAAAGH!
Its time to see what I can kill
To test da stompas and break new
Lots of fight lots of WAAAAGH!
And dakka for meeeeee....
Ere we go!Ere we go!
I am one with da gods and WAAAAGH!
Ere we go! Ere we go!
Youll neva see me die
Here I stand,and here I'll stay
Let da WAAAAAGH! Rage on
My dakka flurries through the air into da gitz
My shoota is shooting spiky bitz all around!
And one WAAAAAGH! kill fings like an orky Blast.
Were goin back armeggedon isnt in da past
ERE WE Go!ERE WE GO!
And Ill krump like an entire WAAAAAGH!
ERE WE GO!ERE WE GO!
Dat perfect world is gone
Ere I stand in da sight of gork...
Let da WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!! Rage on!
Der dakka never bothered me anyway.
I wanted to start experimenting with the look I want to go for so I started a small "test piece". Plus I have never tried to use water effects, but I have watched a ton of YouTube videos so I should be good to go!
I read some awesome tutorials about water effects....it "boils" down to the curing time...since the water effect will most likely be the last addition to any piece we should be watchful about the time frame here as a good water effect can take about a month to fully cure from what I've read....tho I don't have any first hand experience in that field....will link if interested exists the tutorials here as the guy also writes about alternatives like ova based water effects and so on...
Alright, preliminary idea: an ork/ orge /similar creature forge. It's in the process of casting a big ass weapon of some type. I'll have to figure out how to paint molten metal as i've never done that...but learning is the point right?
Only problem is i have 15-20 pieces on the calendar before that . Timmmeeeeeee....
It's a glass furnace tho iirc, (someone on another minature FB group took it, I believe it was, for reference for everyone) but the metal stick shows the heat nicely!
Yeah, I've been searching for images of iron or glass or what have you - the best I've found for the transition is this:
Also need to scavenge my Orky weapons bit box for a suitable weapon that would be cast. - now that I think of it, I also need to go through my ork box and sell some! haha, I have maybe 200 I don't use
However, from a quick google, painting the molten metal is the easy part; it generally looks a uniform yellow/orange.
The trick is in painting the surroundings to show that it is hot and not just a yellow liquid.
Careful blending from white to yellow to orange to red to black/metal and maybe a little OSL about the hot metal would be key.
I think a LOT of OSL would be the key. One of the distinguishing features of hot metal is that it actually puts out light, as opposed to just reflecting it, so anything that doesn't show that output of photons will look flat, I think.
Automatically Appended Next Post: It has the range of colors and shows the glow. I agree that OSL is a must, but I've never pulled it off well so that'll be fun haha. Lots of new techniques here!
Hello! I am working now in wh40k game table, and really want to make smt with water on it, so why not to particapate in such conest?
Is not late to join?
that guy has some nice tutorials and step by step articles...
somehow water effects still make me feel edgy and resin and silicone are not really my cup of tea...but i know where i stand with pva
tbh I really really dislike using PVA as water effects
It shrinks when you use it, which can cause problems, I prefer the clear resin so I can add tints to them etc. I can see where at least if you want roiling, oxygen filled water a PVA would work out. Though the drying time is an issue. Or maybe that's just where I am, if it's too thick it doesn't seem to cure well.
the water effects and resins seem to dry better for me, and give more options.
OK, first time here. Here goes.
I saw the terrain in the dark elder promotional image below and instantly wanted a platform like that.
My friends came round for killteam campaign games, but one was missing and the other had to bail early, so I opened my bits box and we started to make terrain. I was aiming for the platform but I've also had a broken computer fan for ages clogging up my terrain bits, so I decided we'd include that too.
I used IKEA cardboard honeycomb for the main mass and we had to elevate it with cardboard to the height of the fan to make it flush. This put it taller than the city of death bits so after I glued them in place I put some coffee stirrers on top to get a nice edge.
Our campaign has a subterranean ruined city which is home to warring tribes of scavengers. This was a recruiting ground for a dead Chapter, whose fortress orbits the airless world.
Airflow and the systems which still cleanse and produce breathable air are major concerns in the lightless city.
The competition specifies liquid though, and I'd expect these bottomless shafts to have taken on a ritual significance to the underworlders and feature in their executions.
The ruined corner is rubbled up with PVA porridge. I mixed PVA with oats until I got a crumbly rubble. Dries slowly but rock hard. Into this I've pushed some shaped sprue as burst pipes which will also flow.
Drying times, ah well thin layers, a heat lamp, a hair dryer and a fan (air flow is the key). Can get a coat on every hour easy, of course the village lights dim a bit every time I start to model, but hey this is important stuff.
I experimented with clear silicone sealant in the last round, and would highly recommend it, cured over night and great effects.
But each of you to there own. Keep plugging away folks.
curiously i just sealed in a toilet throne the other day with white silicone...so i actually would try this now...we need to be open for new materials and new tech^^
the only problem I have had with clear silicon sealant is I didn't use all of mine up and it didn't reseal well (apparently the old stick a nail in the caulking tube trick wasn't enough) :( so it turned all hard after I used some lol
I let mine just clog up by its own accord...then I removed the plug that had formed and all was good...and my grandpa always told me to use a screw instead of a nail...
Anvildude wrote: @Angel- to be fair, Air is a fluid, even if it isn't Liquid. I feel like it ought to count.
That's kind, but the OP did specify that he'd like to see liquid. I'll have burst pipes and for the main feature- some sort of gibbet over the fan, where they chainsword open their prisoners/criminals to let their blood flow down the shaft to appease the machine that circulates the air.
Then they probably let the drained corpses fall into the blades and be torn asunder.
Imagine several bodies strung up over the blades, their blood flowing steadily into the blades to be flung around and pulled down into the shaft.
Anvildude wrote: @Angel- to be fair, Air is a fluid, even if it isn't Liquid. I feel like it ought to count.
That's kind, but the OP did specify that he'd like to see liquid. I'll have burst pipes and for the main feature- some sort of gibbet over the fan, where they chainsword open their prisoners/criminals to let their blood flow down the shaft to appease the machine that circulates the air.
Then they probably let the drained corpses fall into the blades and be torn asunder.
Imagine several bodies strung up over the blades, their blood flowing steadily into the blades to be flung around and pulled down into the shaft.
And of course I immediately started thinking about the smell from the rotting body parts and blood circulating through the whole city...yuck lol.
i will be attempting some lava flow, consisting of a crater or pool of lava with the lava flowing out of some areas. preliminary sketches to follow as soon as i have the concept refined.
Great to hear your in Kingpin54, love the ideas you have.
@ Guildenstern, firstly, for the few pounds extra it costs, buy quality. Secondly get the nozzles with the screw on caps. Failing that use a large screw, not a nail.
Great to see a buzz around here, I was a bit worried with the topic this time round, but great to see people having a go, and that is what it is all about.
@Camherki I think liquids in general is a great category to get most people out of their comfort zone and help us all learn something new or refine a skill.
Definitely a good choice! I know I'm nervous about it coming out well haha
@Guildenstern Silicone based stuff usually uses atmospheric moisture along with acetic acid (that's why it smells like vinegar) to cure. So for those of us living in humid climates you REALLY have to make it almost airtight. That being said, Usually a plug of cured silicone forms in the opening and that's ass far as it makes it...seems weird that much more would cure. I've only seen that after 4+months. eh. who knows. We need a chemist in here!
From what I can see on the internet (as in, I don't know this off the top of my head), the moisture in the air kick-starts the curing reaction in condensation cure silicone (other types are available and therefore react differently). This means once it's unsealed and exposed to water it will start to react and will continue to react. However, the more water it's exposed to the faster it will cure; so resealing it / keeping it in a dry environment will extend it's useful life. Heat will also speed up the reaction, so cool is also good to maintain shelf-life.
As for the plug forming and no more reacting; in addition to the above, it's possible that if the plug is separate from the bulk of the uncured silicone and once the moisture has been used up the only way the rest will cure is if it comes in contact with the plug (think of it as self-catalysed) or more moisture gets in.
it could be I just had a bad tube as well I suppose
I tend to just try to use it all up at once now when I do use it lol
Yeah I know I should have used a screw, easier to get them out for one thing =/ but didn't have one to hand
anyway good information!
Hoping to have some work done, at least in planning stages, on my project this coming week. Need to get #2 son off to Philmont (boyscout camp thing) then I can start serious work ^_^
slightly unrelated to this, but related to terrain:
thinking about using MDF as a base for a larger board, due to lower cost. I have some 1X2's (boards) I'm going to use as a frame, but I'm wondering - do you think I should seal the MDF before starting to flock it etc? And would primer be good enough as a sealant in this regard? I don't normally use MDF directly for the terrain, even when I do use it as a base, I usually have something else on top.
Sealing it with a 50/50 mix of water /PVA is best option, it will soak up anything you put on it basically. Though I have heard of good results with Plastikote primer.
PVA is the general method. I've been experimenting with plastikote primer as cam mentioned, it does seem to work well though whether it saves time is another matter.
Hey guys, I'm fairly new to the blog but I'd love to hop in on the contest if I could. It seems like a ton of fun and you guys seem like a great crowd to work and get better with! Do I have to do anything besides post here to enter?
Welcome SpinteredShield, and that's you in.
Good luck.
All are welcome, and all have equal chance, regardless of experience and ability. We want you all...............to have fun that is, and start riveting.
@Dr H - if the container isn't compromised and there is an inherently watertight and airtight plug if cured ailicone, then how does the rest cure? Were you saying that contact with the cured was enough to catalyze the rest? Or maybe one of my premises is wrong haha.
@guildenstern I've only tried PVA + water but, like you said, there's usually something else on top of it..I'd be interested to hear if you come up with a better alternative!
@splinteredshield welcome! Would love to see what you are scheming for this - be sure to post lots of WiP photos!
The plan for 'harbour town' (unless I think of a better name!). This is to fit in with my other necromunda terrain (http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/692306.page ). I have just finished putting about a metre of wire into the cork to pin it stable!
I am terrified about the idea of pouring resin in, its going to be such a late stage in the piece it could all go so badly wrong!
TerrainWalker wrote: @Dr H - if the container isn't compromised and there is an inherently watertight and airtight plug if cured ailicone, then how does the rest cure? Were you saying that contact with the cured was enough to catalyze the rest? Or maybe one of my premises is wrong haha.
Yes, that is what I meant. From what I looked over in Wikipedia, the water starts the reaction by hydrolysing the first part of the silicone and this leaves an -OH group "spare" on that, which can then react with the next bit of silicone to form a cross-link between the polymer chains, which again has a "spare" -OH group on the end that reacts with the next bit, and so on in a chain reaction.
The more water there is available, the more cross-links start to form and the quicker the curing happens.
Only contact with a hydrolysing group, water (H2O) or a spare -OH on the cured silicone, will continue the reaction.
From what I can tell.
And other silicone varieties react in different ways.
Alright thanks so much for having me guys! I'm working up preliminary sketches right now, it's super ambitious but my hope is to be able to scale back if it ends up being too much work. This is my first time working with water effects, and I'm looking to use pouring medium to create the water. I know it'll take weeks to fully dry, but it should be clear enough for photos by project end and it'll fully cure looking great. Has anyone else used it or have better recommendations if it's not a good way to go?
@wtnind - If you take it slow and do shallow layers, you'll be ok =D it's not as bad as it sounds. Also, you win the thread cuz nuka cola ^_^
@SplinteredShield - Don't be afraid to be ambitious! I've found it keeps you involved in most projects longer, as they're more interesting, you learn more, and just overall have a better project at the end. Yes, you can bite off more than you can chew, but unless you push yourself you don't learn anything. All the projects I've done in my life I've found this to be true! Besides panick is a major leading component of inspiration ^_^ lol But seriously, be sure and ask if you need help, t here's really a lot of great guys here who know a lot and can probably come up with a solution if you get stuck
I may have to switch over to 'overcomplicated foundry' honestly. I don't think I could really get myself to do something as 'boring' as a simple sewer scene. Got the day off work tomorrow, so I think I'll try to get started on it either way.
Alright so here's my super rough sketch up of what I'm thinking. The basic premise will be a group of marines unwittingly releases the spring, activating ancient mechanisms that awaken the Necron tomb below. The waterfall is based around one in Rocky Mountain National Park, and I'm thinking between 12 and 18" tall. If I'm feeling like really pushing my comfort zone, I would love to run LEDs into the insignia on the rock face but I've also never worked with interior LEDs though I have some soldering experience. So yeah that's it so far, I'm hoping I can start actually sculpting in a couple weeks and get really rolling.
still thinking up an idea. but i am plannin on making something.
Edit: For rule 11. Build it on a single CD. I just might be able to do that. And ive got tons of the stuff the figures were attached to. Im getting a while hair up my tailpipe. I have one question.
Does the CD have to be in one piece? Can i cut it up and separate the parts of it with air? As long as my entire base is one CD?
I actually just finished a package of Cherub grape tomatoes, and realized that the packaging plastic is the perfect shape to form a little slag mound or small volcanic cone- so that'll be my first/practice run- I think my big job here is going to be in the painting, rather than the sculpting.
@ssisal, I guess that would kind of fit. CD is a size guide, does not have to be a CD. But if in the end your multiple pieces can sit on a cd your getting the bonus. And I think your talking about spru and that could get you even more bonus points.
Im still looking at a cd all broken down into components.. a ton of spru, a jumbo box of straws, 6 empty waterbottles, tons of rocks from the train track behind the house, and a few cardboard boxes that the various models came in.
Im thinking maybe a pump station or sorts, with the bottles to hold the fluid. its not going to be water. im thinking maybe a lava refinery of sorts.
Well I spent a few hours yesterday cleaning the basement finally. It's been almost 6 months if not longer since we had water damage down there and my stuff got flung all over. Between being a bit tired of painting zombies and having an itch to scratch(build), I think I've decided to join the competition.
So some of the pieces I have for this have been shown in my blog before and I had this idea a long time back, now I just need to modify it a little to include actual liquid showing. Anyway onto the parts.
First and foremost, most of the parts are recycled parts from work, work around the house and old project.
Item one is recycled out of the trash from the hospital I work at. They are shipping clamps that pop around the neck of newborn infant baby bottles. I found a couple about two years ago and had no idea where they came from, but now I figured it out and have snagged 8 of these babies .
The clamp parts (4 of them) fit 1" PVC pipe, and the space between the clamps on two sides can also accomadate a 1/2" O.D. pipe.
The next item is a packing part that goes inside of plastic window shutters. I salvaged about 20 of these when I put shutters on my house 2 years ago. I've used it on other projects, but now they will be a fixture on this project.
They stand 6" tall roughly and will support the structure I have planned.
Oh and a rough mock up of the main part of this project.
size comparison with some necromunda bulkheads.
The dark grey tube between the large white pvc pipes is just a place holder, it's the only piece I had that would fit it right now. It will most likely get removed all together, or be replaced with some wooden dowel rod.
size comparison with a dreamforge leviathan, a forgeworld dreadnought and a space marine for scale.
I really am going to try and make this a focal point on my table that I want to build, so we will see exactly how this turns out. also I need to figure out how the water effect will be shown. I think I'll create a saddle bracket to mount to one of the pipes and have it drop down to the ground and then have smaller pipes coming off of that. maybe with a broken smaller pipe to have the water come out of it.
Well picked up one of 2 boxes of secret weapon tablescapes clean urban tiles today.
Miniature market.com had them on clearance for 40% off ($51.40 after tax for me per box) instead of $79.99. These will become the base for my gaming table and at least 1 square(probably 2) will be the base for this competition for me (2square feet)
i am currently in the process oof making mater effects...kind of...
i am doing this old school, can´t do it any other way...now can i? so i started by making strands of something that later on is supposed to ook like streams of water...made from PVA and nylon string...over the course of half a week i poured small drops of pva over a hanging string of nylon and let it dry out so that it became clear (almost) again...and then some more...and then some more...i guess the better part of eight or ten glue application sessions went into this small string here:
and this is how it looks now dried out and almost clear...
now i need to make a puddle...( dirty minds from the gutter are not allowed to post)
This is that 'practice' bit that I'm a lot more enthusiastic about than I thought- though, re-reading the Rules, it won't be able to stand in as the primary entry, and will still be just 'practice'.
Sorry for potato quality- it's from my flip-phone, so yeah.
In case you can't tell, yet (I wouldn't blame you), it's going to be a crucible of molten iron, with slop and slag hardened around it as a sort of messy pile of lumpy metal. Carving the whole thing out of a lump of carving plaster that I molded in an old grape-tomato container.
I've got a jewelry commission going on, though, so probably not much progress for another week or so.
So before I begin, I was recently known aas Mad_eddy_13, however certian life changes led to my old computer buying the farm (and the passwords saved on it...)
So without further ado, My entry
An Imperial hive sump pumping station.
Its ready for spraypainting...
I know what you're thinking, "Spaypaint? Foam? Are you nuts?"
Well yes I am but...
Its a rather nice texture for aged concrete
Thats all for now but I'll do a bit of work this weekend
Good start Vik'. Look forward to where that goes. Maybe roughen up some of the PVA's surface / edges to make it even more water like.
Good re-use of a container as a mould, Anvil'. Keep carving.
Nice to see you back Tek, and nice idea. Would be cool if you could find a way to make the fan spin slower so it looks less like it's in a gale, even better if you could get it to change speed randomly to show gusting wind. Probably more effort (and electronics) than it's worth, but cool.
The artist formally known as Mad_eddy_13; Good start. Look forward to how the foam turns out when painted.
@ Dr H
Sorry, not possible with this type of fan.
For slower rotation it need lower voltage, but voltage for very slow rotation is too weak to start spin this fan.
I try 3V, 5V, 7V, 9V, 12V.
3V and lower -don't spin (high ressistance)
5V start spin and max rotation is ++ 400 rpm
7-12V higher speed of rotation, raise air flow and noise.
For nice looking rotation i must use transmission.(output about 10-50 rotation per minute)
But motor in this fan is located in proppeler.
I have in home few of this fan and want deprive it. Original idea was purification tower with only air flow, then i read again rules and see liquid.
Excellent progress everyone, pushing the boundaries of terrain again I see. All brilliant ideas, and all looking great.
@ Tek, instead of a switch put in a variable resister, (probably got the wrong thing, but anyways). I think it is absolutely brilliant and exceedingly cool as is bud. But if you have anything spare with a variable speed drive, steal the control knob bit. Should allow you to ramp up the voltage very slowly, so will overcome the resistance of the motor. Been a while since I played around with these things, but back in the day I was using these fans to operate ROV models.
@ Hotshot, looking fantastic, and agree texture is cool, also hardens it, just make sure you are doing this outside folks. That will be some nasty fumes.
@ Anvildude, A bubbling couldren will be fine, though if you want just carve a small spout and have some molten metal running fresh down the side. It is a great concept as is and brilliantly executed so far.
Fantastic everyone, so great to see you all getting it on here.
Looking brilliant. My only concern would be weight. Looks top heavy and you have a powerful fan on top! Must be a good chance it will topple over or take off around the room, LOL. I am sure you have that in hand.
I do love the way you manage to get so much detail into the Foam work, really great.
@Camkrierhi
Is very stable.
No problem with 2 fingers on one hand turn it on/off.
On full throtle you hear air flow, but windmill tower stay on place on glass surface.
Ok, I have some ideas for something involving sewer pipes and sludge pits for Necromunda. Anyone have any advice on how to model pouring liquid effectively?
i guess you should have a kind of "skeleton" for the pouring effect...i used some clear nylon string...any other clear stuff...even a strap of a plastic folder would do...and then onto the water effect...i posted a link on page one here where some guidance is given...
I finally figured out what I am doing, now that there is only a few weeks left.
Ill be making plasma generator out of the stuff you see in the photo..
CD base, bottles, sprews, tp roll. also have papertowel rolls and a few other bits and bobs im going to try and see what i can come up with. If nothing else can make objective markers too.
@ ssisal Never too late, quick effort and you can be looking at something special, that's what these things are all about. I like you choice of materials as well.
Well the race is on I guess, and at the moment we are a one horse race people, Tek has it in the bag at this moment in time, so lets see some action guys.
On this note, I do not want people dropping out. If it is a bit more time needed, due to everyone having a bit of a summer, we may look at giving you a bit more. So speak up guys.
Gonna go with the suggestion of using my crucible's crack to show the flow.
My biggest issue is that the only phone I have regular access to is a potato-quality flipphone camera. 'cause of that, I'm generally loathe to take pictures of stuff.
Would you all mind if I just did my final submission as a video instead? I got more stuff for that. Though I suppose I could see if the webcam has a photo option, or borrow a family member's camera stuff.
Anvildude, So long as it's good quality that'll be fine. Remember, if we can't see it, we can't judge it.
Don't leave us guessing if it's a bigfoot or a UFO in the video.
made some progress, got the cd's glued to the padding for the base. got the bottle cap glued to the top cd, just heading out the prime the "tanks" then head to bed. if its still light when i get up, ill take a couple WIP shots, if not ill do tomarrow morning before i go to bed. am a night owl.
Thats amazing news about being able to submit a video. I can do those soo much better then photos.
I can take two photos of the same minatures, both look good to me. But to someone else the non-croped whole bunch of extra stuff in background, out in the super bright sunlight about 20' away; looks better then a shot of just the mini in my hand. Id much much rather take a video if thats cool too.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also trimed a bunch of the sprews to work for beams.. and managed to put together 10 thunderwolf mounts and get them primed and washed, along with assembling the riders and figuring out their weapons, and totally forgetting about arms..
Also, remember that you don't have to do just one; you can submit both photos and video. They both have their pros and cons.
A shaky hand can still cause issues for both.
I do prefer photos, as I like to zoom right in and take my time to study everything that is shown.
So if you are thinking of making a video, make sure to not rush it, keep it steady, keep it slow. Make sure we get to see every angle; see the rules in the OP about photos showing all angles.
And we are still waiting for Camkierhi to share his thoughts. It's his round and he has final say.
Well, I do not mind video, I think Tek got it about right, couple pics and a nice demo video. As said, we need to see the details as you will get marked down otherwise. But a good quality video can be as good as a string of pics.
I do not want it to become a "thing" that videos are used for the competitions.
Love the entries I am seeing so far, however, it is awful quiet round here. Need to see some WIP shots, even if they are not very good. The main attraction for me about these competitions is that even if you do not finish you have shared in something, gained from seeing others ideas. One persons fail is another persons inspiration. So lets see some action peeps.
I dont plan things out, i get high and let the creative juices flow. I have no plan drawn up. but this is how i think it will go down, after painting the components.
The CD with the bottle cap will be the base.
Then the big water jug will screw into it upside down.
Then i will stack the other 5 cd's and their black padding (2cd's not included in the pictures but they look just the like the other four with the same foam padding they are secured to.
Then I will attach the Platform and Secondary Tank Housing to it.
Then I will attach the four Secondary tanks to the Housing Unit.
Then I will create a framework strong enough to support the weight of 10-20 metal scouts using the Support Beams 1 and Support Beams 2.
Then I will add some Dark Angel Iconography.
Then I will add some Battle Damage
Automatically Appended Next Post:
I want you to interpret this in any way you see fit, but I will be impressed by any interesting, unusual and original interpretation thereof. The main idea is liquid, I want to see flowing liquid. In the last round I experimented with this a little, and I think it is something everyone should try. Bonus goes to unusual material use, but you can use water effect products if you want to. It does not have to be water, any "liquid" will do.
It does not look like much but a bunch of junk at the moment.
I am basing my entire piece on this quote below.
"
Vaporization is an example of what's knows as a first-order phase transition. This means that there's a discontinuous jump in the properties of the material once a certain amount of heat has been put into it; when a liquid boils or evaporates, the density abruptly changes despite the temperature and pressure remaining nearly constant.
Ionization can be classified as a second-order phase transition. There's no sudden change in the properties of the material; instead, it becomes gradually more strongly ionized as the temperature increases.
In order to jump straight from a liquid to a plasma, you need to supply sufficient energy to remove the electrons from the atoms over a large enough volume that the material can be classified as a plasma (see my answer to this question for more details on what constitutes a plasma). The easiest way of doing this is with an extremely powerful, intense laser pulse. Some of the world's most powerful short-pulse lasers are capable of producing power densities of a billion trillion (1021) watts per square centimetre. The electric fields generated by these lasers are strong enough to rip electrons from the atoms in any material, be it solid, liquid or gas, in much less than a trillionth of a second. The material doesn't even get a chance to go through the normal solid-liquid-gas phase transitions; it's completely vaporized and ionized almost as soon as the laser pulse hits it.
So in answer to your question about converting a liquid straight to a plasma, it's possible as long as you have a big enough laser!
"
I will also be using every single spare las gun or cannon i have in my armour(bitboxes) to aim at the central core, to get the "water" inside hot enough to fill the top four tanks with plasma. I intend to fill them with different colors of plasma, (all four blacklight/bluelight colors i have atm blue, green, yellow, pink) so even if ya all dont like it, I still have something cool that i think is cool to put out one the table here for games, and leave in my garage that is lit all night either in blue or black lights so it will look amazing as a shelf piece while im out there.
It is far far larger then just a CD. Sorta. I will try my best to use the support beams in such a way that it stands upright and does not extend at the base, more then the cd size.
Due to weight and stability (my neighbor is a train yard) issues casued by excessive vibrations the location of the tanks may have to be swapped around or I have to extend the base off the CD size. I spent all night trying to just dryfit the tanks together.
I have every single brush i own coated in a thick layer of that masters brush cleaner as well.. They are all really beat up and ive only got 2 that are new/not damage due to me never learning proper brush control.
The amount of idiots guides to painting/tutorials out there on youtube is crazy. I didnt think about looking for anyting until recently someone pointed out i needed to thin the paints.. and take better care of the brushes.. while i was tinkering i watched hours of videos on how to's. very educational.
I have learned a thing! My phone is now bluetooth'd to my computer, meaning I'll have a much easier time transferring photos- means more potatoe-quality wip pics for you!
Carving is coming along. I'm really super digging this material and process, and I think I'll be using it for future projects as well.
This is the front of the cracked crucible- that blob of uncarved plaster on the front will be the rivulet of leaking metal. It's gonna be a delicate bit, so I'm trying to leave it as bulky as possible until I get to it.
Frontside
The back is rather smoother right now, and I'm starting to do a little undercut on it.
I got a question for you all, though. How do you think I ought to seal this? Will I need to? It's basic carving plaster, so I'm thinking a coat of PVA might work, but I'm wondering if just painting it would be alright as well.
As I've been playing about with "water" on my latest model I thought I'd share my findings here before it's too late to help anyone; I do have a full tutorial in the works, but by the time that's done (the model is still in progress at the moment) it really will be too late.
I tried out a few things I had to hand to see what produced a good water effect. These are my thoughts:
Nail polish - I have some nice deep blue stuff, and even though it produces a nice gloss finish, it's just too BLUE for water, and (even more importantly) is opaque; which just doesn't look like water. Could be sculpted as it dries though, allowing for the creation of waves etc.
Thick paint - The few pots of acrylic paint I have (those that know me, know I typically use Enamel paint), have become very thick. These are Revell Aqua color paints.
So I tried out the blue one, and it was thick enough to sculpt waves and ripples, but suffered the same problems as the nail polish; being opaque and too blue.
Paint and varnish mixture - To try and make a transparent "water" I mixed various quantities of paint (both enamel and acrylic, but not at the same time) and clear varnishes. While these did produce transparent coatings they were no longer thick enough to hold their shape. Paint being paint it'll shrink to a thin coating and would therefore take far too many layers to fill in where I wanted the water to fill.
Glaze medium - This is where a thick artist's medium comes in. I picked up some when I was experimenting with paint effects for my Wave Serpent (see my army blog for this).
The one I have is a Daler-Rowney Glaze medium (acrylic). This comes in both matt and gloss finishes, and while gloss would be preferable for water, I only had the matt flavour and thought I'd see if it'd work.
I mixed in tiny amounts of green (lower layer) and blue (all subsequent layers) and then spread this mixture over a blue basecoat.
I'm working on a very small scale so a deep blue is the look I'm after, for the larger scales you'll likely be working on, a lighter basecoat would probably be better (possibly even as far as white, letting the blue tint of the medium mixture add all the colour you need).
I added the medium mixture in thin(ish) coats and allowed to cure fully before adding the next coat. I found in one of my tests that if I added the next layer before the previous had fully cleared, that layer never cleared, leaving it cloudy at a depth.
Even so, it would take several hours, to overnight, to clear fully. Thinner coats are quicker, but you need more coats...
At this stage, after basecoat, green layer, 3 blue layers, and one gloss varnish coat (as I'm using a matt medium), it looks like this:
Notice that it's still cloudy at the bottom right of this photo.
This will then need some white details adding for breaking water of waves and ripples, and a final gloss coat.
And so, minus the boats and a painted harbour, this is how it was done:
This is for small scale water, really small, you may think that your miniature gaming pieces are small, but that's just peanuts to this...
The scale you are working at is important for the colour of the water.
At very small scales, such as this*, the water will appear quite blue.
At smaller and smaller scales (that is 1:a smaller number, e.g. 1:56, 1:48, 1:12...), the water will be more and more colourless.
*I've not yet worked out the scale of this model, but when a car is only just over a millimetre you know it's small.
1. The base area, modelled with tissue/PVA, was painted with a dark blue then highlighted with a light blue.
This is just a base coat which lends it's colour to the finished water (as it will be transparent), and the highlighting is just to give a little variation in tone.
2. This is all that I used to create the water:
A glaze medium, this is the bulk of what will become the water. A gloss finish would be ideal, but I only had a matt variety to hand. Therefore the finished water needed a gloss varnish.
You want something that will cure with very little shrinkage (unlike paint) and will be transparent. Look for mediums rather than varnishes.
Acrylic paint, as the medium was acrylic these needed to match so that they could be mixed. Both green and blue (see later).
Something to mix in, and my universal poking device (a blunt scalpel).
These last photos show the relative quantities of medium to paint (see the tiny dot on the tip of the blade), and the final colour of the mixture; a very slight tint to an otherwise white medium.
3. The mixture was spread over the water area.
The first pass was with a green mixture to give the final water a slight greenness; adding to the variety in tone.
You will also notice that it’s applied unevenly, this helps to give swirls in the finished water.
Once dry you have a slightly green, transparent coat over the blue base.
It’s important to make each layer reasonably thin as they will dry quicker.
And it’s important to let each layer fully cure before adding the next, or you may end up with a cloudy lower layer.
4. Three progressively smoother coats of blue-tinted medium were then spread over the water area.
Each time I made sure to keep the edges where the “water” met the land, neat.
Removing excess “water” after it has cured leads to unsightly differences in the surface of the water.
I continued to tidy the edges as the medium cured, as it was often too “wet” at first.
A wet brush did help initially to smooth out the parts that didn't behave when poked with my poking device.
Areas that were further out to “sea” were modelled with waves, while inside the harbour it was kept relatively smooth.
5. The final touches was to add patches of larger waves outside the harbour and at the beach.
The ripples and waves stand out much more once coated with a gloss varnish (as seen here).
6. The last thing to do was add some white highlights, via dry-brushing, to the peaks of the largest waves, and one last gloss varnish.
Getting the translucency to show up in photos is tricky, and I've not found a particularly good way to do this yet.
Hope that proves interesting and/or useful to someone.
Tek Thornison wrote: Strange situlation. What happen with all others, who join competition?
Just finished up today, I'd have done more WIP photos but I have literally just sat down today for a marathon session finshing it off after no work for a month lol. I haven't linked the gallery because the OP says 'FINAL pictures should not be shown here.'
Totally forgot about this contest :/ Did a speed build in a couple of hours just now and am waiting on the PVA to dry. should be able to paint tomorrow night after work.
Ended up doing an entirely different build than my original idea, so the liquid I'll be modelling is BLOOOOOD. anyone tinted WS water effects before? that's all I have on hand at the moment. I'll try some test blobs tonight using acrylics and inks and such to see what works out. if anyone has tinted before let me know!
Oh, or resin maybe? I have some, but it's not clear resin, so don't know how that'd work...
If the water effects and paints/inks are water-based then they should mix fine.
Obviously a test is always worth it.
You will also need less paint than you will expect, although blood is (thicker) more opaque than water anyway, so more paint will be needed for that.
Resin would likely need compatible colouration stuff. Certain paints may affect the curing of the resin.
Probably not worth it for non-clear resin, that little bit of transparency makes all the difference to liquids in model form.
Welp my original concept just isn't coming together. Sadly. I really want to do justice to Pratchett's world, as he is my favorite author. Anyway putting it on the backburner maybe my sculpting skills will be up to it someday =/
Meanwhile, I needed a piece of terrain for Malifaux anyways so I started throwing this together yesterday. Good little western theme water barrel/rain catcher.
Anyway:
^^ making use of Dr H's excellent making wood planks idea (again)
put some coffee stirrers around a couple of lids to make the barrel. Added plasticard to make the copper band holding them together.
slightly blurry pic of whole thing, with the ladder (sprue and toothpicks)
I think I will need another day or two for painting and getting final pictures. Got the sculpting part of things done, though, and I'm going to give it a final once-over tonight, then do a couple coats of PVA.
It's so nice to see people making use of any part of that tutorial.
Guildenstern wrote:Welp my original concept just isn't coming together. Sadly. I really want to do justice to Pratchett's world, as he is my favorite author. Anyway putting it on the backburner maybe my sculpting skills will be up to it someday =/
Practice practice practice. Sculpting skills don't come from nothing. Good luck and I hope to see it one day.
Keep up the good work with the new piece.
Good carving Anvildude. I'll leave it to Cam' to decide on the extension (it's his round after all). But I can say to everyone, if you have a problem with an extension being added, now's the time to voice it.
Keep it up people. One last push. The end is in sight...
It has been very quiet here. Great to see we have people working on it. And if there are no objection I will extend to next weekend Sunday midnight. But that is a definite deadline.
Please make sure you voice an opinion if you have one. You can post here or PM me.
Fantastic work so far only a short list of entries at the moment, so all to play for.
It has been very quiet here. Great to see we have people working on it. And if there are no objection I will extend to next weekend Sunday midnight. But that is a definite deadline.
Please make sure you voice an opinion if you have one. You can post here or PM me.
Fantastic work so far only a short list of entries at the moment, so all to play for.
Next Sunday would be amazing - it's all done, but the water is still curing
uploading my entry... all finished and pleasing in my eye but i am game for waiting till next weekend...would be a shame to have a bad looking entry just for not cured through water effects... so yeah...fr some more time
Here's where I stand, just a basic ash waste pumping station, maybe its a key access point behind enemy lines, maybe its keeping a valueable bunker water free, or maybe they have it and that is reason enough, regardless, its a good place for a proper last stand...
As you can see, it is drying around the edges, just needs time and a hot day...
And I really get carried away with that silly Blood for the Blood God paint...
I got distracted with a few things. While i have the tanks mostly done.. i havnt started cutting up the sprew to build the support beams. Working on that once my tea finishes brewing.
should still be able to reach the goal of end of month.
I'd be happy for the extension. Like I said, just need it for the painting (I'm not really a miniatures painter, that's definitely going to be my weakest area, I think) and in order to source a decent camera for the final pictures.
Here are the WiP shots of my tiny baby contribution to the competition:
Had to screw the poles to the base to make it sturdy enough. spikey bits carved from sprue (woo!) the rest is boring old bits.
Chained the vat to the poles with some tiny chains I pulled from a model ship. brackets for the chains are guitar wire (specifically the low E string :p)
Apologies for the phone pictures. I got my real camera back from a loan for the final shots
Thank you all for participating, fantastic work all round.
The main aim is always for you to have a go and maybe do something you have not before. Well you all did that. Excellent work. People I would request you look through there galleries and place a couple votes for these brilliant works, it is always an encouragement and kind of nice to promote the League.
Now to the hard bit, judging, I will collect my fellow judges thoughts and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
And to keep you all busy while you wait (and the judges slack off on the job), I think it'll be useful for everyone if we have a discussion on the various techniques used to create your chosen fluids.
What did you use and how did you use it?
What did you like about your technique?
What would you change for next time?
Any useful tips you found out and would like to share with the community?
Dr H wrote: And to keep you all busy while you wait (and the judges slack off on the job), I think it'll be useful for everyone if we have a discussion on the various techniques used to create your chosen fluids.
What did you use and how did you use it?
What did you like about your technique?
What would you change for next time?
Any useful tips you found out and would like to share with the community?
I like that you can really emulate wild water, and that it doesn't shrink, just a really great product overall, and a tube will last quite a while
I have only one complaint, and that is the fact it needs hot, dry conditions to cure probably, I ended up putting my entry in front of an electric heater after nearly a week of waiting for it clear up
Tips, don't use nice sculpting tools on it, it's a bitch to clean off, toothpicks and similar objects are best, also, for long drops use a piece of plastic wrap as a base, otherwise it will collapse...
Both Water Effects and Realistic Water are water based, so you can tint them with gw paints and get some fun effects
For mine I used clear resin which stank to high heaven and came in 2 parts (a big bottle of liquid and a small bottle of hardner). I mixed it with Tamia Clear Green paint and Tamia Clear Blue paint. I did it in 2 pours with a plasticard edge to prevent the liquid running off. It was very thick and so didnt leak too much which was good as I'd feared it might.
For the waterfall from the pipe I used Vallejo Water Texture 'transparent water' which I put on plasticard then peeled off and painted with Tamia Clear Green again.
On mine, what you see is pretty much what you get. I just sculpted everything out of the plaster blank I'd cast. I wouldn't do this with water or other more transparent liquids, but I figured that for molten metal, which is opaque (if glowy), it wouldn't be an issue.
I'm rather happy with the paint job, as well. I'm not really a painter, and so I think this is just about the most comprehensive job so far. I'm rather happy with how the little bit of osl turned out. One thing I did which I don't see a lot of painters do with glowy stuff, is that I used lowlighting as well as highlighting to make it look brighter than it actually is.
Good thoughts, Hotshot. Thin layers, I've found, are good for reducing the wait. But whether that saves time in the long run I don't know... Sounds like an experiment is called for.
Good to hear about so many different products. Nice to see the resin worked out, wtnind.
Don't know if you don't try, TerrainWalker. Thin layers again, are a good way to avoid shrinkage of things like glue. Avoids the large dip in the middle as each layer only shrinks a little bit, but will require many more layers than dedicated water effects or mediums like I used. Yeah, water effects are usually made to avoid bubbles, so it's good to know that if you want something there is a method.
Anvil'; Yep, another unique solution to the problem. Didn't say it had to be transparent fluid.
Oh, and by the by, mine's smaller than a CD. I don't know if you'll want some proof pics, but I can provide them if need be.
Paint-wise- I just use basic Applebarrel paints, and mix from primary colors. A habit since I've taken college-level painting classes where we weren't allowed pre-mixed colors.
Anvildude wrote:Oh, and by the by, mine's smaller than a CD. I don't know if you'll want some proof pics, but I can provide them if need be.
It's as if you were reading my mind... or reading my messages to Cam'... I'm watching you Anvil'.
A scale shot is always useful.
Paint-wise- I just use basic Applebarrel paints, and mix from primary colors. A habit since I've taken college-level painting classes where we weren't allowed pre-mixed colors.
"Painting's not my strong suit"..."college-level painting classes"... Where's my shifty eye Orkmoticon.
So tell us, how do you mix bronze from primary colours?
TerrainWalker wrote:@dr. H yep, thin layers would have done the trick I imagine i think I'll join you in sticking to my water effects as well for the most part
I'll have more thoughts in my critiques after the results.
What I used is not sold as water effects, it's a glaze medium. It just happens to cure transparent and not shrink. Probably find that most of these things are all the same stuff. Trade secrets just keep us from finding the vital ingredient.
@Anvil props on the OSL. That's my weakest painting skill so I always admire those who can pull it off.
Yeah, I've still not found my way to a satisfactory OSL method myself.
Indeed it would be good to have scale shots of all the entries. They can be posted here if you like. Not fully necessary but would be very much appreciated.
HAH! No, the bronze was an old GW paint pot I had lying around, highlighted with some GW gold. The sheen on the spilt mess was also a GW metallic, drybrushed on.
For the OSL- well, a lot of it was just the scale of the piece- it's big enough that it's easy to paint. The other half is using an old brush that I don't care about too much, and 'drybrushing' thin, runny paint, stroking from the brighter to the dimmer. Layer that from darkest colors to lightest, and remember that the brush still is laying down and spreading around paint even when it seems dry.
The painting class was large-scale oil painting, and portrature/still lifes, rather than model painting. Very, very different skills, I can tell you.
Scale shot incoming.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Alright, scale pic added to gallery.
apple barrel (or similiar brand) makes a bronze, Dr H
re: water effects - I tried to use some Vallejo still water (inside the barrel incase it's not obvious). This was meant to be a simple replacement project for my original idea. Of course, no plan ever survives contact with the enemy! The still water itself is an excellent item, don't get me wrong. I had issues retaining it :( my barrel was not as water proofed as it needed to be :( So it pretty much mostly leaked out. Twice. Sigh.
I painted and sealed the inside of the area with matte varnish, and waited two days to attempt the liquid. One reason I painted the 'water' so brightly was it was meant to be under a deeper layer of still water, which would have made it look less bright, and it would have (theoretically) given it more depth (the painting). Anyway, obviously that didn't quite work, sadly.
Before I poured the still water, I taped off the barrel with painters tape, so's not to remove my paint job. And duct taped around that. This has worked for me in the past. But somehow it still managed to leak out, mostly.
Getting a good seal on whatever you're trying ot use water effects in, especially if it's made up of pourous materials itself, that seems to be a real trick from what I've seen.
@Dr H - ah, I misread before. And yes "proprietary formulae" is what they all say :p larger companies like modge podge will give out their MSDS sheets which helps some. Just tell them you need it for your binder to meet safety regs
@Cam - scale shot will be over to you in a little while
Anvildude wrote: The painting class was large-scale oil painting, and portrature/still lifes, rather than model painting. Very, very different skills, I can tell you.
I'm totally down with that. A is as good as a . Say no more. Say no more.
in other words; I know what you mean.
Ta for the picture.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Guilden': Maybe try blu-tack (poster tack) to seal gaps like that. It's useful stuff for masking camo' patterns too.
TW: Ah yes, MSDS. I even know "how" to read those too. Not to mention understanding proper chemical names. I'll have to look into it.
Polymer Acrylic Emulsion. Used in glazing compounds, matte mediums, any and all acrylic paints... looks milky and dries clear. Ever wonder why acrylic paints darken when they dry?
Only good for surface effects though. For good deep water effects a 2 part epoxy is the way to go.
Delta Ceramcoat makes a nicer quality paint than apple barrel, in my experience. Plus a fair number of their paints have proper names ( phthalo blue, burnt siena) instead of the phony made up names found on some brands.
I ought to see if I can't find that Apple Barrel bronze.
I don't know if it's just that I don't pay too much attention, or if my models aren't ever on display or what, but I don' t think there's much of a difference between different craft paints- sure, one might fade faster than another, or have different wear patterns, but if you're doing quick-n-dirty that's not a problem, and if you're being careful with the model, then that shouldn't become a problem either.
And I can get a 16 oz tube of Apple Barrel Red for 1/5 the cost of a tiny 2 oz pot of "Bloodthirster Spittle" or whatever.
pigment quality/percentage! it's like raw milk vs. skim "milk
Practically speaking, the difference you'll notice is coverage - evenness and number of coats. Try coating something dark in cheap yellow then a quality yellow for a test.
That being said, I use craft acrylics for terrain with the exceptions of metallics and inks/washes. Just too expensive to paint using hobby/artist acrylics and people already gripe enough about cost as is :p
Speaking of paint quality, if you don't have a problem achieving what you want to achieve with the paint you use, then you don't need to spend more for a "better" paint.
However, if you are trying out a new painting technique and can't get it right, no matter what you do and how closely you follow the tutorials... it might not be you, it might be the paints.
Well, replace "how closely you follow the tutorials" with "can't seem to replicate your reference photos or photos of other's models" and it's still true.
The implication is that other people can achieve something with their paint that you can't. It might not be a problem with your hand, it might be that your paints can't do what you want.
Personally, I find tutorials useful. But rarely end up following them exactly. Use them as a starting point and then find what works for you.
zammerak wrote: When is the next one? I have been away far too long and feel like I need to compete again!
We're in the process of judging this round, so when the results are announced the winner may take a little while to set up the next round and then it's all go again. Soon.
Heres a scale shot of my piece in full 360... I got this camera on Thursday so it's all a bit new to me hah. I tried to edit out the lightbox with a starfield but Flickr wouldnt recognise it as 360 at that point. Maybe it needs the edge pixels to match up 100% or theres some image tags that paint.net is dropping or something. Ah well.
I chucked in a couple of dumpsters I worked on for necromunda into the background to break up the horizon a bit.
*just tried to load up the 360 view on my Windows Phone and it went ballistic lol looked crazy. Guess the guys at Yahoo are still working on that bit. But you should be able to drag the view around like a terrible dystopian low-res Google Earth.
I will emphasise that this round was the most difficult to judge that I have been involved with.
Every piece had something I really liked, judging and scoring threw up many curve-balls before we came to a decision. We were tested just as much as the contestants this round, and I'd like to publicly congratulate Camkierhi on producing a round of this contest that challenged us all.
It was great to see so many different approaches and techniques used to match the theme.
Thank you all for taking part.
And, as Cam' mentioned, it's customary for me to share my detailed critiques with the owners of the judged pieces.
Let me know if you would like to see my critiques and whether it be in this thread (so that everyone may learn something), or via PM (so you can cry to yourself at my harsh judgement ).
I like all your terrain, Tek. I look forward to seeing what you come up with for next round.
And, if Cam' hasn't mentioned it yet, you can now fly the LoER banner in your Sig'. Welcome to the League.
To all others, if you finished or not, there's always next time.
And so, to critiques.
Most of you have either let me know, or have been fine with public showing before. The only one I'm not sure on is Hotshot; let me know.
I'll start with my usual disclaimer for anyone that hasn't seen my critiques before:
These notes are what I write during the judging process. They let me focus and pick out all the important elements of each model so that I can score the piece accurately.
I will therefore be picking out each and every fault that I see. Do not be disheartened if it seems a long list.
I will also point out items that I like. So it's not all bad.
And in all cases I'll try and offer advice to what could have been changed or added to raise the score of the model.
Sometimes it may not be something to improve, it may just be an alternative to think about.
Now, I'm not a bad modeller. But I'm also not the best of the best. These are my opinions, you can feel free to disagree and/or discuss any and all points. I may not always give the best option, I can only advise on what I know, and I don't know everything...yet.
Also, with mild dyslexia, some of my comments may appear blunter/harsher than intended. No offence meant.
I hope these help.
In no particular order (well actually they are pretty much alphabetical as that's how I went through them).
Anvildude:
Spoiler:
Carving an entire model from the top down (rather than building it up from parts) is a very different approach to what is usually seen in the modelling world. I take my hat off to you for this. It's a different way of thinking and requires entirely different plans of attack.
I like that you carved out under the crucible to distinguish it from the base, but it would also have been good to do the same (to a lesser extent) where the crucible meets the metal stands. More difficult as you have to keep both sides of the "gap" clean and straight, and therefore would have given you many more points.
The roughness of the concrete bases is a good contrast to the relative (while not perfect) smoothness of the rest of the model.
Equally the contrast of the straight lines of the crucible and it's stands to the molten/solidified spilled material is good.
The idea and overall design is good; especially considering the constraints of the shape you started with to carve from.
However, I wouldn't be me if I didn't have some pointers about realism.
And it's mainly about the spill.
For the crucible to be tipped for normal operation, none of the brown should be there. This means that all the brown is from the spill. However, there is far more volume of material that has spilt from the crucible than has been lost from the crucible, and while some could be explained as it had spilt while being filled, someone would have soon stopped pouring once the leak started.
Also, for it to have flowed all the way under the crucible, it would have had to have been molten for much longer than is apparent from the painting (only the immediate spilling material is glowing and therefore molten).
A couple of things that you could have done.
I understand why you left the plaster all the way underneath, and I wouldn't say to remove any more.
One thing to do could have been to make the crucible's supports look like they can be raised up. This allows you to say that the bulk of what is below the crucible is old, occasional spills that don't get in the way of tipping it.
Either some futuristic pistons in the sides of the stands to show they can raise up, or leaving the tops of them open (rather than the peg in a hole you have) and adding some hook-on points to the crucible to show that it can be lifted out of the stands and this is just a "resting place".
And/or carving the bottom of the crucible into more of a curve, to show it has a domed bottom (it looks a bit more of a flat bottom currently), would also allow for it to be tipped without being raised. Crucibles also tend to have domed bottoms anyway as the curved surface is better to avoiding stuff stuck in the corner.
Also, when painting the spill, make more of it still orange/red hot to show it's still hot enough to flow under the crucible. Additionally, painting yellow/orange cracks about the spill (even to the extremes) to show that it's only the surface that has cooled and therefore it can still creep along.
As to the rest of the painting, the grey streaks on the outside of the crucible are actually a good definition of simple but effective.
The concrete is ok, but would be improved with a second/third pass of a lighter grey dry-brush. There's also some grey on the brown spill, and some brass on the concrete.
And that brings us to the molten material.
Inside the crucible, it's very effective. The hot spots are good, as is the distribution of the cooled surface.
At first I was going to say that the black areas could do with more 3D detailing, but after a bit of research I retract that thought as reality shows that you do just get flat black areas.
I like that you have it lighter by the crack as that is what happens with a flow.
The OSL inside the crucible is actually quite effective in it's subtlety, as the majority black surface would be mostly dim. Your photo at the angle that doesn't show the inside does give the impression of a glow from inside.
Outside, the OSL is not quite as effective, and looks more like a stain rather than a glow. It could do with being brighter nearer to the pouring fluid to really sell the effect. With a black surface, you have a perfect condition to really sell OSL (which doesn't work well on lighter surfaces). Good attempt. I'd like to give more advice on OSL, but I've not really pulled it off satisfactorily myself, so I'll say go and have a look at how Klaus does his OSL.
And finally, something to take forward, and something that'll help with OSL, is to practice on your blending; red/orange/yellow are actually really good colours to practice blending with as the poor coverage that often plaques those of us that want a solid coat of those colours helps when blending them together. Use more layers/steps in the blend with mixtures of the orange, orange/yellow, orange/more yellow, yellow... and you'll get there.
Nice take on the theme, and good carving.
Guildenstern (I'm fairly sure you're ok with public critique):
Spoiler:
Wood and rusty metal, two of my favourite things in models. Made with sprue, and we all know my feelings about sprue.
Anyway, where to start.
Good effort on the sprue wood texture. I see you've added texture to the ends of some of the pieces, but a little roughing of all of them would be a good thing to keep in mind. I sometimes cut little 'V's out of the ends and sometimes just scratch or poke with something sharp. Also, removing (or softening the edges of) the raised plastic that results from the scratching can help with the look of the wood.
The ladder is good. Clearly a quick job, from salvaged materials, by someone that just wanted a ladder asap and didn't worry about who might fall off it.
As well as Anvildude, you also made me do some research. I'm unsure if the rungs of the ladder are wood (as the material they are made from) or metal (to match the uprights). I checked that the orange of rust can bleed onto wood, and it can. And, as it turns out, a metal ladder can be made with wooden rungs; although rarer than the alternative. So I'll go with this.
The spacing of the rungs is not bad. it can be tempting to model a ladder with larger spaces than make sense in reality. But for the width it's a good spacing, even if it's a bit chunky (that just adds to the lazy builder from before). Realistic ladders at these scales are really flimsy, so chunkier are better for gaming.
The tower's frame is a nice use of sprue. Keeping the roughness adds to the ramshackle appearance. But it could have done with a triangle or two to make it appear stronger. It looks a bit too much like it may fall over.
The sandy base is... sandy. The shapes and swirls do help to break up the surface. I think the sand a crept up the legs a little too far, but better than not at all. The plants are nicely distributed.
The water storage at the top is good. The bands maybe could have had some rivets though.
Good variation in the water and good finish. It's a bit too blue for the scale though. As you said, with deeper water effects on top it may have finished better. I nearly commented about the gaps and possible leaks, but it appears you have learnt that lesson the hard way.
You could have added some patches (metal plates etc.) to the gaps to help with the leaky look and real-life issues with the water effects.
However, when you can't see the water, the whole model is a bit too brown. I could have done with something with a splash of colour on to liven it up; some graffiti or posters, a flag, etc.
Also, the plants could have done with a bit more variation in colour. Doesn't have to involve green, as that doesn't seem to fit the setting, just some variation or patches of brown to "bone".
The painting though, is good. The rusty metal is nice and the wood has some nice variations, and it's good that the platform is a different colour/wood from the "tank".
Good job, especially considering you started on one model and then changed to this part way through.
Tek Thornison (you've been on the receiving end of my feedback before):
Spoiler:
And Tek returns with another lovely design. I do like the clean lines and the gentle curve of the tower's legs. I would have liked some more smaller details though (there's a distinct lack of rivets on something constructed of metal, or even modelled welds).
I like how you incorporated the battery, it's wires and the switch into the model, rather than hiding them completely. Making a windmill with a working fan is a good choice too. I like the steps up to the switch to make it an in-universe lever, and I can forgive the slightly scale-breaking size of it (there's not a lot that can be done about it really), but I feel that some added details about there would help; I just don't know what. The lever looks lonely.
The base is nice. Good scattering and variety in the plants (perhaps only helped by some brown or "bone" dry-brushing of some patches).
The mud is good, nice texture. Maybe could do with an occasional large rock to break up the surface and add variety amongst the plants (that do a good job of breaking up the surface themselves).
The tower is a nice colour. Good depth and variety of tones. But really calls out for something to add a touch of contrasting colour above the green on the base. A sign or two, some graffiti, warning markings (don't go beyond this line unless you want to be chopped up), painting the wires a contrasting colour, whatever fits your setting.
Even, a flag to show wind direction. Made from something light, like tissue paper, so that it actually flaps in the fan's breeze would have been cool. Not very durable, but cool.
Lastly, the water. Is really good. Shows the flow nicely; especially from the pipe. Maybe only missing some splashes where it meets the ground, but otherwise great.
Terrain Walker:
Spoiler:
Nice piece. Different in that chaos-y / Ork-y way.
Good design. Has enough of a story to say this has a purpose (what that purpose is, is on a need to know basis).
The base is very nice. The mud looks like it should, and the placement of the rocks (which look like rocks) gives the impression they have been placed on purpose in-universe. Good variation in tones. Only thing I would add is maybe a couple of small tufts of grass growing between a couple of rocks.
Wooden poles are nice. I like the addition of the notches in them.
The string is just about different enough in colour from the wood. But only just.
The metal bits are a nice use of sprue and good way to make use of the shapes, and good on you for adding a rivet/bolt to be holding the cross-pieces to the wooden poles.
Skulls add to the flavour of the piece.
Good use of chains, although one (where the blood is leaking out) doesn't quite seem taught enough at the bottom; a minor niggle.
I'm not sure what the white is on one of the other chains where it meets the central rock thing; it looks like glue that's not been tidied up. Could have done with tidying (if it is just glue), or something to cover it up and give it an identity (like another splash of blood). Difficult to tell from the photo.
And that brings us to the suspended rock. Looks like rock. Nice addition of the metal bands (with rivets).
The blood is red, check. I was going to knock a point off for the bubbles, but you mentioned that you liked the effect. The shrinkage is a problem though. We've already talked about it, but the high meniscus around the edges does spoil the fluid effect.
We've already mentioned adding the glue mixture you used in multiple thin layers, but other things that can be done is to keep an eye on the "liquid" as it dries and as the shrinkage becomes apparent to poke the meniscus down to the level of the liquid (I did this on my CD City too). This avoids the "bowl" effect. Also, painting the raised edges of the "blood" in a dried blood brown colour would give the impression that the high meniscus is old blood, congealed to the sides and therefore not part of the liquid that has shrunk; would probably need roughing up a little though.
And one last thing, not a critique, you could have added a drip to the spilt blood trail. This can be done with a short length of clear thread (or similar material) and running your water effects mixture of choice down it to form a drop at the end. This is sometimes over-done on models that are swinging axes and the like, but a subtle drop in this case would be a nice touch.
Good job. Nice painting.
Vik' (You're always happy with feedback):
Spoiler:
A fun piece with lots to look at. Good effort.
The base is nice (my Mum even commented that she liked it). Good job on the bricks and I like that you have the larger slabs on one side to make it less uniform. A couple of things; Some sand, brushed into the gaps would really add to the realism (the gaps just look a little too deep). And plants (because you'll all think I'm ill if I don't mention plantlife); just a couple of tufts of grass growing out the cracks.
Nice job on the skip. Good build; could almost be mistaken for a bought resin cast (although there is one wonky bit). Good effort on the painting; grubby, worn paint. Patches of rust. All good. Ironically, I think the graffiti could be a little neater/sharper. Or even add some paint runs from the lower edge of some letters and drips on the ground to emphasise the sloppy nature of the graffiti artist. Study Cam's tutorial and you can take it to the next level.
There's a nice selection of junk inside.
The rusty metal is pretty good. Look at adding some more colours to your rust layers and try a wet surface to help the blobs of paint to bleed out a little, softening their edges.
The planks of wood are very good. Nice work on painting the grain. But why someone would throw out such nice pieces of wood, I don't know. Maybe beat them up a little, splinter the ends, crack the middle, or add some chipped/worn paint to them.
The bricks are pretty effective. Add some texture to them by putting the wooden pieces in a bag, with some rocks, and chuck it about the place. and/or add a little fine sand to the paint for them to give them that rough, brick-y texture.
Good job building the hydrant. Works really well. Could do with some (more) highlights on the red to pick out the edges.
The water is reasonably good. The cloudiness highlights the downside of using PVA, if you want clear water. However, with the pressure and turbidity of the water squirting from a hydrant, it works. Adding some white dry-brushing and maybe roughing up the surface beforehand would show the spray of water (in this case) better. The pooling on the ground is good as is.
And then we have the ex-zombie dog. Being that it no longer looks like a zombie means you did a good job with the GS (would have liked to have seen wip of what you had to start with and what you did to fix it). The colouring is good. Maybe could have had another lighter highlight and been slightly less shiny.
It's "flow" onto the skip is pretty good where it's pooling. The jet that's coming out of the dog, let's just say I'm surprised it's not taken off yet. slightly thinner would have worked better.
Good job.
wtnind:
Spoiler:
Nice looking piece. Fair amount of things going on.
The wood is nice (would have been more points if it had been scratch-built). Good variation in tones. I'm not really sold on the bleached edges though; it's a bit too stark a contrast and too uniform about the outer edge.
If it's due to splashes of the "water", then it'd be a lot more random and splashed about, also with possible trails where it's been walked about.
If it's due to gasses given off by the "water", then it'd also show up around the holes and possibly between some of the planks.
In both those cases it'd be less apparent on the upper platform.
If it's just to show aging of the wood, drying out on the exposed edges, it would be much more subtle and again would show up around the holes and edges of individual planks (to a lesser extent).
It is nicely blended, just a touch too stark for me.
The scattered bones would benefit from a brown wash for shading and a lighter highlight or two. Or a black/grey wash and white highlights to show older, bleached bones.
I like the netting/mesh. Good job on adding the strips and rivets and the red cross.
The scene inside is good. Don't really get a great view of the doctor himself to say much. The table looks good with the OSL and blood, and the lighting widget looks suitably 40K.
The fire on top is nice, light works well with the cotton wool.
I really like the collapsed chimney. Looks great. Nicely painted. I like the chipped and crumbling exterior. As I said to Vik, the bricks could do with some added texture by roughing them up a little.
I know you planned to add more to the wooden platform and I'll suggest some things.
Storage; piles of boxes, a locker, etc. would give it a more settled/permanent look.
Some way to get on to the platform; I'm sure no one would want to wade out to it through the pretty green "water". Either a walkway/some planks from the rocks to the platform, or somewhere that looks obviously like a boat can be moored up, or even a boat (tricky to add now the water is on).
Perhaps somewhere for the doctor to rest occasionally; a bed/sleeping bag/mattress or some chairs and a table. More furniture basically.
Good use of cork for the rocks. Always an effective method. I like that you blended them out to the far corner, but I do always wonder where these layers of rock come from when I see piles like this. It's not a natural formation. The individual pieces could do with a bit more blending together (like you have to the corner of the base) to show the layers emerging from the ground, rather than looking like they have been piled up. There's also a couple of unnatural straight edges I can spot.
However, this can be made to work if you sell it with an in-universe excuse; the layers of rock have been placed there on purpose. But you need to show this in the model; maybe have more unnatural straight edges, add some "chalk" markings to show they've been measured and cut. Some track marks from a JCB-alike, or even add the digger/bulldozer. Or just a collection of men-at-work props such as spades and hard hats.
The colours and tones of the rocky ground is nice too. Good variation.
The piece of wall, advert board, and glowing wires/pipes. are painted nicely, good colours and weathering. What they lack is a purpose, the wall and wires in particular (an advert board can pop up anywhere).
I'm all for added details to a model, but I like them to have a reason to be there, not just added for the sake of it.
The advert is fine, I like that. But how old is it? It's clearly since the Emp'or, but that still spans ~10000 years or so. Your doctor doesn't really look the Imperial type (I could be wrong), so it's not really advertising to him or his clientele. Maybe someone would have defaced it in the intervening years; a bit of graffiti maybe. Not absolutely necessary, just an option.
The wall is a bit conspicuous in it's presence without any "friends". It could do with some story to tell why it's there. You could show this by adding some more scattered chunks about; maybe even mixing them in with the earlier piled rocks and workmen I mentioned. Having some near the water pipe (which I'll come to in a bit) in the other corner to link them together. Something to show that the fancy buildings have fallen and been replaced with green "water" and wooden shacks (the defaced adverts also add to this).
Then there's the green, glowing wires/pipes. The OSL is nicely done. But why is it there? Where's it come from and where's it going? Why does it snake out of the piled (or natural) rocks? What does it do? It really needs a purpose, and the fact it's glowing so brightly means it sticks out on the model, grabs attention, but only leaves questions.
Possible uses; maybe add some jury-rigged wires to it, leading to the wooden shack as if the doctor has dug up the wire (would need to show the digging) and has tapped into it to power his surgery.
And now, the water pipe. Good job on the aged brass. There's a nice variation in the base brass colour with darker patches and dusty patches. Don't get too carried away with the verdigris paint though, it doesn't have to be all over. You are nearly there, it's only a few spots where a little less would be more; e.g. the outer side, Eagle thing, halfway up; above the lower wing, the paint has bled a little too high. Verdigris tends to form strongest in sheltered spots, under, not over something.
Also, does the whole tube and everything on the tube have to be brass? This is more important than the Verdigris, as making select items not brass will lessen the impact of all the green-y-grey-ness. The Eagles could have been golden, the hatch could have been steel, and the fan and it's housing could have been any colour. These would have all helped (with the poster I see you added) to break up the mass of brass.
And it looks like you forgot to paint the support post, it's still black with the spray of the underwater area on it. This would have been ideal to paint to match the scrap of wall on the other corner of the base to tie these together, as mentioned earlier.
The flow of "water" coming out the pipe is good and the bulk "water" is very nice (My Mum liked it too). The painting under it works very well and the bubbles, while not ideal for all circumstances, works for this setting. Vibrations/tapping on the base of the model can help get bubbles out of poured resins like this, should you want to do something with less bubbles next time.
Probably could have done with a bit more splash where the flow meets the surface, possibly with some highlighting dry-brushed on to show off the texture and show the splash.
Thanks DrH. I do feel we all benefit from this. Please remember folks, due to the really high standards you are modelling at, we have to be quite critical. This was a really tough round on us judges, your entries where all of such a good standard and so diverse. Thank you all for a great round. Now lets get talking.
Also Tek Dr H is quite correct, please wear your badge of honor with pride, you are now officially a member of the League.
Next round is upto you.
And on that one, I want to challenge the League here, as the next round is No. 20 I would like to see a good turn out. Calling all League members. Time to step up. Distinct lack of Rivets in this last round. We need to show them how this is done.
Thanks a ton for the critique. I might go in and do a little of the painting fixes- and maybe even, if I'm feeling squirrely, carve out the tops of the supports and round the bottom of the crucible like you mentioned. One of the benefits of this medium, I think.
Definitely looking forwards to the next comp, as well. Maybe one of these days I'll manage to win one!
first...congratz Tek...well deserved! i am a fool for everything mechanic on the table so a working windmill is scoring highly here with me^^
i am expecting a cool theme... i am currently without ideas for new projects and i am in the mood to work on something... so spur on my inspiration!
cam! thanks for such a cool theme and for keeping the comp thread rolling! the theme was a very good choice and for my part i could/ should have done way more and better but instead i mostly lingered in my comfort zone...
and doc? full marks on all accounts on the critique...indeed, i stayed too much in my comfort zone...i wasn´t really in the mood to start working with caulking material or heaven forbids with resin...PVA on my part...and true... that stream from the wee doggy is mighty^^...and of course...weed and fillings for the gaps....but at the end i very much was rushing the job...(one should have thought that by now i should have learned a lesson or two here...)
as for the dog in z´mode...i can post pics for the original look...i simply added a crude amount of GS and spread it and then added fur marks...(and i am such a bad painter...the gaps in-between painting sessions always hampper my learning curve....)
Anvildude wrote:Thanks a ton for the critique. I might go in and do a little of the painting fixes- and maybe even, if I'm feeling squirrely, carve out the tops of the supports and round the bottom of the crucible like you mentioned. One of the benefits of this medium, I think.
Definitely looking forwards to the next comp, as well. Maybe one of these days I'll manage to win one!
Not a problem.
Being able to further refine the model is certainly an advantage of carving a model. Though don't get caught up in limiting yourself to only carving all the time; It's good to use it as an exercise as limits do bring out the best in an artist. But combinations of carving and sculpting (adding more material, rather than removing material) can produce good results also.
Would be great to see my feedback acted upon in such a direct way.
Keep trying, keep pushing, keep improving, and you'll be there one day.
TerrainWalker wrote:Good notes Doc Looking forward to the next one. Hopefully It'll be a good one like cam said!
No prob', TW.
Viktor von Domm wrote:...and doc? full marks on all accounts on the critique...indeed, i stayed too much in my comfort zone...i wasn´t really in the mood to start working with caulking material or heaven forbids with resin...PVA on my part...and true... that stream from the wee doggy is mighty^^...and of course...weed and fillings for the gaps....but at the end i very much was rushing the job...(one should have thought that by now i should have learned a lesson or two here...)
as for the dog in z´mode...i can post pics for the original look...i simply added a crude amount of GS and spread it and then added fur marks...(and i am such a bad painter...the gaps in-between painting sessions always hampper my learning curve....)
No worries, Vik'. There were a few of you that didn't have the time to do all that I "added". I do appreciate that, when time is short things have to be cut. But there would be no feedback if I took that into account.
Sometimes, cutting out ideas and focusing on fewer things done well, can be better than adding more things.
But this can also mean that you are left with little to show; "what's there is nice, but there could be more stuff...".
Balance in all things.
I'd like to see the wip for the dog, just out of interest.
You're not a "bad" painter, no one's a "bad" painter... well, within reason... no one's a "bad" artist, and what we are discussing here is art. Art is about representing something that's in your head and translating that into something you can show to someone else, that they then interpret their own way. There's no "wrong" answer.
Baby steps, we each learn at our own rate and that is always going to be impacted by the time we have to devote on that. One thing at a time, you will improve.
Another key skill that everyone can learn is how to deal with "errors". What to do when something doesn't work out the way you expected.
It's ok knowing the theory of wet-blending, for example, but it's more useful to know what to do when a blend doesn't work out.
How to save it, or how to cover it, or how to make the most of something... they can all save the time that may be involved in starting again.
You'll notice a great deal of my feedback is based on this way of thinking. I rarely say "redo this with that method", it's mostly "try adding this method to what you are already doing".
): Regular posts in this thread will keep it in the public eye and will allow more people to find this contest. Also, if you post 
...
dirty minds from the gutter are not allowed to post
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