And so begins the 4th annual rotation of the Dakka Unofficial Painting Challenge, so welcome, everyone! As is tradition, we're kicking off the year with the theme Space Marines, because let's face it, we've all got one lying around somewhere! For the unfamiliar, this painting challenge is a friendly affair open to any Dakka members, whether you're winning Golden Demons or just painting Demons gold! The more you enter, the more points you accrue based on a public vote, and these are tracked in a League Table over the course of the year.
As mentioned, this month's theme is Space Marines, though you can interpret that however you like. In the past we've had entries such as Tyranid monstrosities laying waste to the Astartes on their base, Orks under cover in looted Power Armour, and all manner of creative takes on the theme. At the most basic level, so long as it's in space and can be called a Marine, it's good to go!
How To Enter
- You may enter up to 5 MODELS as a SINGLE ENTRY, and are permitted one entry per member per month. If you enter multiple models, they should ideally be related in some way, such as part of the same squad, unit or scene if you are doing a diorama
- You MUST post a 'proof' picture of your entry in the thread of the state it was in before you started working on it; this must be either unassembled, unpainted, primed or coated a single colour. Entries that do not submit a valid Proof Picture will not be eligible for voting.
- After this, you may post WIP pictures in this thread and your own if you wish, and on completing the entry, you may post up to 6 final pictures IN THIS THREAD that will then be used for voting. Please note that pictures in a montage or collage picture will be considered individual images for this purpose, so while these types of presentation are certainly acceptable, please keep the image limit in mind when compiling them. For example, a collage of 5 images and one separate image would count as your 6 picture allowance.
So What Do I Win?
- Points... and points mean... bragging rights for the next month! Following the vote, points will be awarded to every entrant. This year, the Points you receive will be equal to the Percentage of Votes your entry receives in the final Voting thread; if you get 10%, you get 10 points, if you get 6% you get 6 points, so on and so forth.
These points will be used to form a league table, which will be updated month on month as the results come in.
How Long Do I Have?
This challenge begins 1st of March and will end at midnight GMT on the 31st of March. After this, I shall compile the finished entries into a new thread, and voting will run for 5 days.
Aah, pity, this month is truly incompatible with my focus in AoS. I wish the best of luck to everyone and hope to see some pretty space marines at the end of the month. It's snake girls for me
TheDraconicLord wrote: Aah, pity, this month is truly incompatible with my focus in AoS. I wish the best of luck to everyone and hope to see some pretty space marines at the end of the month. It's snake girls for me
A Terminator Squad,will be ultramarines,again will probably be a late finish for me many things to do this month,but i enjoy these challenges to much to not try regardless of time.
My classes in school have finally quieted down, so I might be able to squeak a model in there this month. I'll be painting my Primaris Librarian. I already started the apothecary, unfortunately.
I have to many things in my painting queue that could apply, here, it's difficult to make a choice...
-Grey Knights, but I've painted grey knights for this challenge recently...
-Deathwatch, but it's the same, Although I have an old-timey metal dread that could be cool that I want to use as a chaplain dread...
-Word Bearers, here I have another old-timey metal dread, and quite a bit of marines...
-Alpha Legion, I still have a lot to paint in that army, from a pair of rhinos to a squad of tacticals, through a squad of termies, a primus medicae, or a squad of Heavy Volkites...
-Thousand sons, I have a 30k ahriman and a 40k ahriman that I've been meaning to paint for a while...
-30k Blackshields, marines, assault dudes, breachers, missile launchers...
I guess i'll take a day or two to think about all of this before I commit to something....
Inquisitor Lord Bane wrote: My classes in school have finally quieted down, so I might be able to squeak a model in there this month. I'll be painting my Primaris Librarian. I already started the apothecary, unfortunately.
(Hes the one on the left )
Spoiler:
If that’s just a base coat on your apothecary I think you should be good to go with him too.
Inquisitor Lord Bane wrote: My classes in school have finally quieted down, so I might be able to squeak a model in there this month. I'll be painting my Primaris Librarian. I already started the apothecary, unfortunately.
(Hes the one on the left )
Spoiler:
If that’s just a base coat on your apothecary I think you should be good to go with him too.
Nah, he actually has blue and such on him as well, I just haven't updated my P&M blog in ages.
Now, I have the arms painted (they're magnetized, so I didn't order any more weapons) so I don't know if that matters. I did just glue together and prime the legs for this guy...so that's further than I got last month!
I think I will paint something of a Death Guard variety from the Dark Imperium boxset this month. Proof pics will be coming up when the snow dies off and I can get outside to get all of my undercoating stuff!
I can't afford to take the time to paint anything that's not going with me to Adepticon, so my list of possible models grows thin. Would a Chaos Rhino be okay since it's driven by a (Chaos) Space Marine?
Edit: Scratch that, I think I may throw in Abaddon as my entry. I'll put up a proof pic soonish.
Elbows wrote: Ah, I just re-read the OP...didn't realize it had to be a proper Space Marine, I may not do the Leviathan.
The whole schtick of dreadnoughts is that they are honoured fallen Space Marines, put to service after they are grievously wounded...
Any dread is, at least in my book, as proper a space marine as it gets...
To back paradigm up, Bjorn The Fell Handed is the oldest living Space Marine, having served with Leman Russ during the heresy. He is of course, a dreadnought.
I'm in.
I still have 2 boxes of TacMarines with Droppod laying around.
And because everyone around me only plays Primaris and I don't think Doppods are used in 8th, I have nearly no reason to build and paint any of these.
Yeah, to clarify, Dreadnoughts, Tanks, other vehicles, Terminators, Scouts, Primaris, all of that counts alongside the more creative interpretations and basic Marines.
In that case I might actually enter this month. I don't feel like painting actual space marines, but I do want to paint a hellbrute. That said I have to paint a 75mm horse before that so I don't know if I'll manage to finish both.
Alrighty, I decided to dust off my hobby hiatus. I dont think I've entered a competition like this since back in 2014 or so. Here is my proof for the competition, converted chaos marine with an undercoated base.
Wonder if I'll be able to find the time to paint him with my busy work schedule
Hello. We are...ahem... I am a legitimate Mek Marine *koff koff* Techmarine. A legitimate Techmarine. Obviously I am not two Grots in a trenchcoat with a cardboard helmet...
I'm entering a totally normal Predator tank
Last year I went off on a massive tangent and started creating my own SM chapter, name I ended up picking was "Knights Sanguine" then I found out that chapter already existed but there was no info on them presumed lost so I keep the name and carried on the background fluff writing, this feels like a perfect opportunity do paint a few models for that chapter.
I need to figure out his robes. I find the standard cream color they show on the box to be boring, but I'm not 100% on red, even though he is a Crimson Fist. Anyone else have ideas?
Lord Bane: I'm terribad at color selection, but if you keep the robes towards the darker side, something like vallejo hull red as base (or possibly shade with another mid-dark red as base), highlighting up to only very sparse blood red/violet red highlights, and blend between, I'd think it'd work. Sorry for not using the GW equivalents, I'm like two line refreshes behind on their names. All the better painters feel free to tell me I'm forgetting tone contrast or something.
Edit: I suppose an alternate would be to go full gaudy:blue red yellow triad scheme, with the yellow provided by metallic gold, but that might be even worse advice.
Right...there's entirely too many loyalists in here! - Death to the false emperor!
I'm entering some plague marines...I've just finished building a 7-man box of them, so I guess I'll paint them all and pick my 5 favourites at the end ...bloody lovely kit...granted, they are very monopose, with a couple of different build variants for each model, but the detail and character on them is gorgeous
Making progress on my entry:
Abaddon is actually pretty fun to paint (for a resin model). Still a couple more base colors to add, but he's coming together quickly.
I'm experiencing a little problem.
I've blocked in the green and black on my entry, so that's all good, but I want to weather them at the end.
I've tried various things (on some old tacticals and assault marines) , like using a sponge to put on dark brown, it looked crap, sponging on a mix of grey and black to then highlight as battle damage, according to the recent tip on dakka. Looked crap the moment the sponge touched the armour. I tried painting some grey/black on, but it looked bad, even when highlighted. I ended up doing a green/black mix, painting that on, and highlighting the underside of that. It's the best out of all of them but it still looks pretty bad. Some pictures of the final product are attached.
Well I have been enjoying these challenges, but I am fresh out of GW space marines around the house.
So I'll enter my Intruder, from the Nomads in Infinity. In the Infinity fluff, he's an elite, armored warrior who lives on a spaceship. Sounds like a space marine to me!
kavika0311 wrote:I’ll be doing two seperate entries. They’ll both be 5 man devastator Squads though.
I'm afraid the rules only permit one entry per person, so please choose one or the other. You can mix and match between the squads if you like, but you are not allowed multiple entries or more than 5 models in a single entry.
Rybrook wrote:How can one enter the comp?
The full rules are in the first post of this thread, but in short, post a picture of your model/models unpainted/primed, paint it, post the final pics here and that's it!
kavika0311 wrote:I’ll be doing two seperate entries. They’ll both be 5 man devastator Squads though.
I'm afraid the rules only permit one entry per person, so please choose one or the other. You can mix and match between the squads if you like, but you are not allowed multiple entries or more than 5 models in a single entry.
If only I’d read the very clear rules in the first post. Lol. Easy day, I’ll just pick the best of the ten.
I actually worked on my stupid Leviathan. This one is warped and annoying...but I made genuine progress painting and even assembling some of it. I may take pics later. I debated dropping out as I was not looking forward to painting this second dread, but now I've got some of the bad stuff out of the way, I might actually finish it.
This is just a test fit so besides the usual stuff (removing mold lines, gap filling, masking cuts etc), I also have plans to:
- make a "smoke/exhaust" pillar from cut up yellow sponges (or is there a better way?)
- add some small bits to the gun to make it look a little less top heavy. Yeah, that sounds strange.....
- turn that gun arm so it will point a little more upwards
- remove some icons: parts used show icons from the Blood Angels (jump pack), Dracothian Guard (wrist armour) and I believe Sigmar Prosecutors
- not sure what to do with the "scrolls" on his hip. Already cut some off.
Thanks man, I was daunted about using the washes but it seemed ok.
Its one thing I have to do or at least try, the auspex, the eyes and mouth. If I had a lighter skin tone I'd have left the eyes
I changed the first pic, cant believe how grainy the iphone7 is.
I dug up this guy. He's in a pretty bad shape, but repriming him would be too much of a hassle. Not really expecting to win this month anyway, but I want to at least enter so I can say I entered every month at the ned of the year.
WIP shot. Two guys in front just need their bolters and baseing. Guys in back are still a few colors shy of their basecoats being done, then the washes/drybrushing/etc.
Here's my proof pic for the month. I'm going to paint this guy:
Here's a WIP of where I am with him so for. Not done much on him yet. I've not really painted this way before, but I'm trying to sketch out where the light should be. I've read some interesting articles on painting black armour, and I'm trying to put them into practice. This photo tells me I need to go quite a bit brighter, I think.
I seem to have temporarily reached a critical level of can't-be-arsed, in regards to even priming my plague marines, and it's already basically halfway through the month...so I think they're kinda back on the shelf, this month at least
anyway, sod it...I just got a second hand land raider off ebay delivered today, and the thought of just getting to slap some paint on that big lump almost has me something resembling motivated again for some reason...hmm...so what do you lot think, does a land raider work for this theme?...I mean, it's going to be transporting some sort of marines (either plague marines or blightlord terminators, most likely)...and there's kind of a marine there in the top hatch...
and well, it's second-hand, so it's been painted...but I'll be doing a full death guard-style repaint of the thing...so not a speck of the current colour scheme will be left showing new proof:
This challange inspired me so much, that I nearly finished two other projects.
They only need some glue and they are done.
And both were on my desk for a year now....
My entry for this month only needs a nice looking base now and it's done too.
I tried something new, wet blending for the first time.... the result is okay, I think.
You will see soon
feltmonkey wrote: Are you going to strip it or just prime over the top?
seems to just be black primer with some red, bronze and silver painted on...so I'm just painting straight over it - I'm doing it death guard style anyway, so if there winds up being any bad-looking bits of paint around it, I'll just work that into heavy weathering
Tim 121RVC wrote: I'm not exactly familiar with the 40K realm, so I'm not sure what to call this other than Sigmarine:
Hey all, sorry for posting this again. I'm just looking for some C&C on my conversion attempt.
- I want to make a "smoke/exhaust" pillar from cut up yellow sponges or is there a better way?
- not sure what to do with the "scrolls" on his hip. Already cut some off or should I cut them off completely? Or make a nice edge and leave them in half?
- any other things I can improve? (mold lines are to be removed, gaps will be filled and some bits + a bandolier will be added to the gun)
Yes, I know in the end it's my model and I should make it the way I like it. I certainly will, but I'm kinda new to this business and I'm open to any tips and suggestions with my little experience.
Not looking for praises or glorification.
Tim 121RVC wrote: I'm not exactly familiar with the 40K realm, so I'm not sure what to call this other than Sigmarine:
Hey all, sorry for posting this again. I'm just looking for some C&C on my conversion attempt.
- I want to make a "smoke/exhaust" pillar from cut up yellow sponges or is there a better way?
- not sure what to do with the "scrolls" on his hip. Already cut some off or should I cut them off completely? Or make a nice edge and leave them in half?
- any other things I can improve? (mold lines are to be removed, gaps will be filled and some bits + a bandolier will be added to the gun)
Yes, I know in the end it's my model and I should make it the way I like it. I certainly will, but I'm kinda new to this business and I'm open to any tips and suggestions with my little experience.
Not looking for praises or glorification.
sponges would probably work for the smoke...either skewer and superglue several large chunks onto the wire, then roughly sculpt it by cutting bits off until it looks "right"...or buy a cheap blender (not one you intend to use for food prep later ), and blend some sponge into chunky crumbs, mix with pva glue, and shape the mixture onto the wire...either of those methods would probably work.
the scroll...I think you could leave that on, if you want to, that is...hmm...a blob of greenstuff at the top of it, made to look like the wax seal on a purity seal could really make it work for 40k though
and well, you asked for it ...the side of the jump pack needs that gap filled in...and the gun really needs something...I think it might just be too long, I'd say break off the light grey part...then either cut off the part of the gun attached to the top of the hand, and just glue the light grey part on top of his hand there, or, if you really want to keep the decorative part for the back of the gun, maybe cut about 5mm off the back of the light grey gun part, and glue it back on, so that it isn't as long...a pair of magazines under the gun could help a lot too...right now it's just too long and plain I think
Nice work Elbows, I like that you have angled him to give a sense of forward motion and your weathering is very good again.
Aw cheers KD, Likewise you have done some rather excellent work over the challenges (and in your photo gallery ) close for me to choose between the sneaky diorama and the never tell me the odds entry as your best one
Welcome to the challenge Gooey and good luck
I'm sure however you paint it it will be great Zobo, your entries normally are.
...and the gun really needs something...I think it might just be too long, I'd say break off the light grey part...then either cut off the part of the gun attached to the top of the hand, and just glue the light grey part on top of his hand there, or, if you really want to keep the decorative part for the back of the gun, maybe cut about 5mm off the back of the light grey gun part, and glue it back on, so that it isn't as long...a pair of magazines under the gun could help a lot too...right now it's just too long and plain I think
Yep to me the gun is out of proportion and doesn't look right, assault guys need to aim and fire quickly, that would be very hard to hold steady with 1 hand and use in a close quarters fight. I'd cut it back so its similar to below. You have done well to get the 2 halves of the chainsword lined up. Overall its a pretty good looking model just need to sort the gun out.
Have started to run out of time again! Bloody life...
Anyhow, this librarian is one of my favourite Space Marine models, so I'm going to enter him.
I have also wanted to paint some Khorne for a while now, so I might also do the converted guy on the left...but then again, maybe I'll do my Lord of Contagion that's been sitting in the box...
Anyhoo, here is proof...
Eh, since I am painting Space Marine Scouts, might as well throw my hat into the ring.
These are my Iron Hands Battle Pilgrims. I glued a small sprue segment between the legs and the torso to avoid the squat profile of the base Scouts. I also kitbashed Skitarii parts in place of the thick legs and comically oversized heads. Had to sculpt the thighs and midsection of these guys; there are 15 in total, and this is just one squad.
Based them on 25mm HDF and primed them using a black gesso thinned 15% with distilled water and with a few drops of matte black paint. So it's very, very black. I intend to paint a thinned VMC Gunmetal Gray as a base layer to get that metallic black armor. I then plan to paint VMC Silver on any area that I can find an excuse to do so, maybe some VMC Brass as well.
Well, I’m feeling pretty discouraged. Half-way through the month already and I am still cleaning mould lines off of my tactical squad. I haven’t even started looking at magnetising things. There is no chance at all that I will finish painting these guys this month.
You dont have to finish them all by the end of the month, you could just paint 1. but honestly if you put in like an hour a day you'll defo get them finished, im sure you'll pull it off!
those are pretty funky looking bases too, where'd you get them?
STG wrote: You dont have to finish them all by the end of the month, you could just paint 1. but honestly if you put in like an hour a day you'll defo get them finished, im sure you'll pull it off!
those are pretty funky looking bases too, where'd you get them?
Thanks for the vote of confidence! I’ve been putting in 15-60 minutes a day. But with all the pieces in the tac squad, it’s slow going... why oh why didn’t I decide to get back into wh40k with something smaller, like some aggressors, or even a scout squad?
As STG said swap the full squad for just one man if it helps, I've done that before when I thought I could get a certain number done in a month but time and RL have conspired against me so I've just dropped it down to 1 model. At least that way you get something done and a sense of achievement. The whole point of the challenge is to get people painting and enjoying the hobby so its a lot better to finish 1 guy and enjoy it then struggle through 10 and feel its a chore.
Hope you mange to get some of them finished, from the bits they look like they will be some pretty cool models regardless of how many you'll get done.
I got another two hours painting done and then gave up and watched pyrion cast inhouse DOTA. Good times.
Being realistic the captain is probably the only guy who's gonna get done. I must have spend 2.5 hours on highlighting the armour alone.
CREEEEEEEEED wrote: I got another two hours painting done and then gave up and watched pyrion cast inhouse DOTA. Good times.
Being realistic the captain is probably the only guy who's gonna get done. I must have spend 2.5 hours on highlighting the armour alone.
I like it so far! I'm looking forward to working on my Tartaros termies, once I get some more etched brass for my Raven Guard.
I'm in this month with Cato Sicarius, the guy who, since I started back in early 5th ed, was always 'the' Space Marine to me. The model was second hand so I had to replace a few bits (head, pistol arm, backpack) but on the whole I think it's seamless enough and still recognisable. Not 100% satisfied with the paintjob but at this point I've been staring at it for about 2 weeks trying to find things to tweak, so I think I need to call him done (or at least put him out there for feedback.
Funny how this proves what I've always suspected... every time I paint Ultramarines I end up doing an entirely different colour! I painted this guy just a week or so before Cato, and his armour is an entirely different shade!
I went to do the highlights for the black today and realised, with shock, that when my mum packed up all my stuff in a fit of 'you shouldn't be painting you should be working for your A-Levels!!' that she'd knocked the cap of my Abaddon Black slightly open. Half an hour and half a pot of Lahmian Medium later and I'd rectified the almost solid issue pretty well. Anyway I got the eshin grey layer down and cleaned up the overspill of leadbecher. I also experimented on a bike with adding fenrisian grey to the highlighting continuum. I thought it was quite good. Plus joke's on her, I'm not painting very much at all, I'm devouring anime at a worrying rate.
I'm usually very bad when it comes to posting WIP pics. I always forget. I've got a couple here though, and hopefully you'll like them and be able to offer some feedback on the direction my space marine is taking.
This one is from last week, with the highlights sketched out a bit more, and brightened from the previous pic.
Inbetween then and now I've not had much time for painting, due to work and injury crisis (my kid, the one who loves the treeman, fell and cut his hand, resulting in a trip to A&E with a long wait, and then another trip the next day to have his hand stitched under general anaesthetic after another long wait. He's fine now, it's healing up very well, and he got a new lego set out of it. ) I've used some glazes with thinned artists ink to add a bit of turquoise, which doesn't really show up in the pictures, and a more satin, less matte finish, and to refine the highlights. I've also blocked in a couple more areas, but it's really the armour I'd like some feedback on. What do you guys think? Black is hard! I've never worked in this way before. I've read a bunch of guides, and I'm trying out the methods from there. It's interesting, but I really have no idea what I'm doing. No change there, then.
I think I might need to re-apply the brightest highlights, as the glazes seem to have toned them down a bit. I might have to check if it's just the photo that's making it look like that. The highlighting on his left foot isn't very good either. I did a very quick job on the non-metallic-metal on the chain around his waist, and that seems to be okay, which is good because I'm no good at nmm at all.
feltmonkey wrote: What do you guys think? Black is hard! I've never worked in this way before. I've read a bunch of guides, and I'm trying out the methods from there. It's interesting, but I really have no idea what I'm doing. No change there, then.
I think I might need to re-apply the brightest highlights, as the glazes seem to have toned them down a bit. I might have to check if it's just the photo that's making it look like that. The highlighting on his left foot isn't very good either. I did a very quick job on the non-metallic-metal on the chain around his waist, and that seems to be okay, which is good because I'm no good at nmm at all.
Any thoughts or advice?
I think it looks great as is, although as you can probably tell from mine, if I were painting it I'd highlight all the way up to white, but there's no reason you would. The highlights definitely look more subdued in the second photo.
feltmonkey wrote: Inbetween then and now I've not had much time for painting, due to work and injury crisis (my kid, the one who loves the treeman, fell and cut his hand, resulting in a trip to A&E with a long wait, and then another trip the next day to have his hand stitched under general anaesthetic after another long wait. He's fine now, it's healing up very well, and he got a new lego set out of it. )
Funny, when I was 6 I accidentally hit my mum in the face with a golf club, started crying (from shock, obviously I was fine) and ended up with a new lego set.
I think it looks great as is, although as you can probably tell from mine, if I were painting it I'd highlight all the way up to white, but there's no reason you would. The highlights definitely look more subdued in the second photo.
Yeah, I think I might add a few almost-white spots on the upper areas of the armour. Cheers, Creeeeeeed.
Funny, when I was 6 I accidentally hit my mum in the face with a golf club, started crying (from shock, obviously I was fine) and ended up with a new lego set.
Does this make you wonder what you would have got if she had accidentally hit you with the golf club?
So, somewhat belatedly, my proof pic for the month:
Decided to try doing an Infinity Tiger Soldier, in digital camo patterned after the Chinese marines.
It....reaaaaally didn't come out well.
Where I'm at now. Just gotta figure out what to do for a base on it, and we'll be done, which is good because I'm very meh on him and my other options, and I've got IRL stuff that's going to eat the rest of the month...
Left all the icons instead of removing them. I guess he's a mash-up Sigmarine, been part of different Space Marine chapters. Still wearing their icons honoring those chapters. (Is that plausible? I'm not familiar with all the SM background stories....)
Changed the gun (thanks again for the tip!), just have to sand off one sharp edge on the ammo belt. Overall it looked a bit "boring" so i added that one "signet parchment". Do you guys think it's in the right place? Or would it be better to glue it on the side of the ammo box?
Believe it or not I don't have one single space marine mini...I'm gonna enter with these and I really need them painted.
If they don't count at least they will be done, well I hope so.
Left all the icons instead of removing them. I guess he's a mash-up Sigmarine, been part of different Space Marine chapters. Still wearing their icons honoring those chapters. (Is that plausible? I'm not familiar with all the SM background stories....)
Changed the gun (thanks again for the tip!), just have to sand off one sharp edge on the ammo belt. Overall it looked a bit "boring" so i added that one "signet parchment". Do you guys think it's in the right place? Or would it be better to glue it on the side of the ammo box?
A marine wouldn't be part of different chapters...but he might have been in the Deathwatch and could be wearing icons to honour those he's fought alongside.
The parchment can be any place you like. I like it where it is, adds more dynamism to the pose.
So, all finished. Its...really kinda embarassingly bad, but hey, at least the base looks kinda ok-ish? Not sure if the flattened shading makes it better or worse, as the yellow is actually washed with red, but that doesn't show up at all. Also kinda feeling now I look at it that I could have taken the yellow to the edges of the airbrake flaps while keeping the blue in the middle, but...done now. Annoyingly, the paint keeps trying to come off, may have to satin varnish it later.
Probably swap for better pics later this month, but for now:
I started to paint another terminator. I'm experimenting with trying to make it look like it is night time, so I'll submit it instead of the guy I already painted if it turns out good enough.
Vejut wrote: So, all finished. Its...really kinda embarassingly bad, but hey, at least the base looks kinda ok-ish? Not sure if the flattened shading makes it better or worse, as the yellow is actually washed with red, but that doesn't show up at all. Also kinda feeling now I look at it that I could have taken the yellow to the edges of the airbrake flaps while keeping the blue in the middle, but...done now. Annoyingly, the paint keeps trying to come off, may have to satin varnish it later. Probably swap for better pics later this month, but for now:
I’ve always found real camo on infantry models never looks as good as you’d think. Because it works. Instead of a distinct, identifiable, models, you end up with a blob of colors that’s hard to ID. Which is exactly what should be happening with camouflage. I paint camo like Hollywood makes movies based on real events. You can tell what it’s based on, but with more explosions and car chases. Paint accent colors in contrasting schemes. Make the lenses pop. Why not have bright tubes/wires and polished metal!. Sure, it might be an abject failure when trying to hide, but it makes the mini a lot more interesting and distinct. Minis tend to devolve into lumps of color at tabpletop distances without the help of effective camo.
I can tell you put a lot of work into that guy. I agree you should have been more bold with the yellow. It helps give your eyes a place to catch, to see the mini. Your gaze just kinda drifts across all the intricate camo work you did. I might also have gone back and brightened up the eyes, they get kinda lost.
Which means you did it well; but sometimes that’s not the best thing from a miniature POV.
Yeah, looks it, but I should also have thinned paints a bit more on those pattern blocks--very blobby. Tried countering the breakup of the outline with a purple ink in the creases and crevices, and IIRC a bit of blue ink as well, to provide shadows and darker borders so it resolved into plates a bit more, but really didn't do what I wanted. Next time I probably either enlarge the pattern, so its more "blocks of color", or find another scheme entirely.
This model was a test model for trying to learn how to paint a model to look like it is in a dark environment. I used two sources of light, a glowing green goo on the base of the model and a weak light comming at an angle from behind the model. Although I learned a lot and now have a much better idea on how I should do this in the future, there is no denying that I have completely failed in every aspect. I do, however think that the model I finished earlier is very uninspired, so I would like your oppinion. Which one do you like better? The uninspired, but okay model one, or the ambitious but poorly executed model 2? Which one should be my entry?
Model 1
Model 2
Finished model. The yellow glaze really was an improvised glaze from Yellow paint. If I'd do it over again I'd grab that Citadel glaze. I'm not a fan of painting line highlights even though they look great. This is a fine paint scheme and instructions to follow for painting an 1000 point army I'd say though.
After seeing some of these completed minis I am in awe of your guy's skills. I haven't painted in over ten years... And it really shows.
There is nothing special paint wise on my model. I do enjoy modeling them a little differently. The Redemptor is crushing one tyranid with his power fist, squishing another one under his right foot, and stepping on the tail of a ripper. I added some effect bits like muzzle flash, flying rocket, and falling shells. The green blood coming from the tyranids is actually glow in the dark color... Inspired by predator.
Let me know what you guys think. Please let me know how to improve my painting. Thanks for looking!
Dwro1234 wrote: After seeing some of these completed minis I am in awe of your guy's skills.
I feel the exact same way. I'm making a point to enter these competitions as they give me incentive to keep painting and work through the backlog, but at the same time seeing some of these models makes me embarrassed to show mine publicly!
Porphyrius, your conversion of the betrayal at Calth dark apostle is pretty sweet. Definitely a very unique look.
I am a little embarrassed myself posting my pics in the same thread as these others, hopefully I can get some points on how to get better from you guys.
Dwro1234 wrote: After seeing some of these completed minis I am in awe of your guy's skills. I haven't painted in over ten years... And it really shows.
There is nothing special paint wise on my model. I do enjoy modeling them a little differently. The Redemptor is crushing one tyranid with his power fist, squishing another one under his right foot, and stepping on the tail of a ripper. I added some effect bits like muzzle flash, flying rocket, and falling shells. The green blood coming from the tyranids is actually glow in the dark color... Inspired by predator.
Let me know what you guys think. Please let me know how to improve my painting. Thanks for looking!
A few more pics would be nice.
Overall solid work. Looks like all the paint is where it belongs. You might want to thin your paints a little more. It does look a bit flat, color wise. Especially with all those big surfaces. Edge highlighting, or putting wash in the crevices would help make it look more real. You could break up some of that space with decals a/o some free hand work.
But for a first mini after a long break you are doing fine. And don’t feel bad about posting your work. We have all levels of painters here, and accept them all. The guys at the top just act as inspirations and provide a source to tricks to steal for us little guys. Keep at it (and/or sell your soul to the ruinous powers) and eventually you can get there!
Dwro1234 wrote: Porphyrius, your conversion of the betrayal at Calth dark apostle is pretty sweet. Definitely a very unique look.
Thank you! I've also converted the cataphractii captain from that kit to have dual lightning claws. He'll be my first company captain (I'm working on building the entire first company), I hope to get him painted up soon.
Dwro1234 wrote: Porphyrius, your conversion of the betrayal at Calth dark apostle is pretty sweet. Definitely a very unique look.
Thank you! I've also converted the cataphractii captain from that kit to have dual lightning claws. He'll be my first company captain (I'm working on building the entire first company), I hope to get him painted up soon.
I really like your paint scheme, what did you use to trim and highlight? I ask because I always struggle when highlighting black based models.
The captain is almost finished, just the base, eyes and transfers left. I pre-shaded the crevices with nuln oil before putting on the all over agrax, which I didn't do with the primaris captain. If it's noticeable please tell me when I post the finished model.
Also, I have a packet of grass tufts I'd like to use. Do they need plastic glue, super glue, PVA? Do they stick themselves on? I've never used them before.
Dwro1234 wrote: Porphyrius, your conversion of the betrayal at Calth dark apostle is pretty sweet. Definitely a very unique look.
Thank you! I've also converted the cataphractii captain from that kit to have dual lightning claws. He'll be my first company captain (I'm working on building the entire first company), I hope to get him painted up soon.
I really like your paint scheme, what did you use to trim and highlight? I ask because I always struggle when highlighting black based models.
Thank you very much! The white parts of the trim are based with Dawnstone, followed by Ulthuan Grey. On this model there weren't really any areas large enough to bother with it, but on other models (like ones with white shoulder pads) I shade with nuln oil. Here's my apothecary, done entirely using that method (not the best picture, sorry): https://imgur.com/i1jhArs . I've also done some Vanguard Veterans with that method that I'm quite pleased with.
As for the black highlighting, I just use Dawnstone. I've toyed with starting with a darker grey first, but I'm just not sure that it would be worth the extra time and effort.
CREEEEEEEEED wrote: The captain is almost finished, just the base, eyes and transfers left. I pre-shaded the crevices with nuln oil before putting on the all over agrax, which I didn't do with the primaris captain. If it's noticeable please tell me when I post the finished model.
Also, I have a packet of grass tufts I'd like to use. Do they need plastic glue, super glue, PVA? Do they stick themselves on? I've never used them before.
If they are like the Army Painter ones that I use, PVA works well for the tufts. Super glue would probably also work, but seems excessive.
I've almost finished a kitbashed model I've been sitting on for a while. I originally wasn't interested in this month's theme but when I realised I had this guy lying in parts I realised it was a good motivation to actually finish him. Hopefully I can find time to get it done before the deadline.
Waiting on a jump pack in the post - can update the proof with it if needed? I just want to get him actually submitted here to give me a kick up the *** to finish him!
CREEEEEEED, I use the one glue I use for 90% of stuff like, that Elmer's Wood Glue Max.
I just put a drop on a palette and smear it nice and thin. Grab the tuft by the top, pull it off the sticky-back and set it in the very thin layer of glue - just enough to cover the paper bottom, then apply to the base.
You will need glue - they're only attached to the wax paper, and have little to no adhesive when removed.
Dwro1234 wrote: After seeing some of these completed minis I am in awe of your guy's skills.
I feel the exact same way. I'm making a point to enter these competitions as they give me incentive to keep painting and work through the backlog, but at the same time seeing some of these models makes me embarrassed to show mine publicly!
Hey, I know the feeling guys. This month wil be my third ever painted mini. I'm not good at painting, but I have fun doing it. I just see every painted mini as an experience process, I hope to learn from that process. Votes and comments from other members are a bonus.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Nice kitbash, Oppl!
I like the raven skull, really "completes" the overall look.
Done. When doing the layout I should have taken a more clustered squad shot, rather then the line. Would have made the layout better. Anyway, here are the final pics:
I had fun with these guys. Not much new from the last 5 I did, but a pleasant change of pace from my normal fare. But now that they are done, they can go off and join my son’s growing Salamander army. I’m sure I’ll see them again on the other side of the battlefield!
Here is the full squad, with their brothers from January’s entry.
Spoiler:
(spoilerd due to not being an entry pic for this month)
Should the vote thread for April be going up soon? I need to figure out what to paint next and don’t want to start on something I’d want to enter.
All the entries are looking great sofar, I have struggled with finding time and deciding on The scheme as I very rarely do any space marines.
@Tim don't worry about that everyone has different models or paint styles they are better at and it's all about trialing what you can do and practicing to build your skills, I have not painted in a long time, so I am having to practice/ re-learn things I remember being able to do a few years ago
Dwro1234 wrote: Porphyrius, your conversion of the betrayal at Calth dark apostle is pretty sweet. Definitely a very unique look.
I am a little embarrassed myself posting my pics in the same thread as these others, hopefully I can get some points on how to get better from you guys.
Dont be, I hadn't painted in 10 years and also the style and model I had chosen to paint shows.
This was my first time using water transfer and colour wash, the mini took me about 5hrs to complete with waiting time for the wash to dry
Yes that would be a fine looking army if you did all the 1000 points to that standard womprat49, good work
For a 10 year break you have done very well Dwro1234, you have modeled the dread crushing the nid well and the missle coming out the front looks cool. For improvement tips I would say:
- Thin your paints, they look a little think in some areas. Thining them will help keep all the detail and they will give a smother finish.
- Use washes, a wash will add a darker shadow to your painting in the riht places giving it a nice effect.
- Highlight the edges, using a lighter colour on the very edges will help define them and make the model stand out.
I love Space Marine month - it makes me want to start a new SM force...well, actually five new SM forces!
Love all the small modeling touches on your dread, Drwo1234 and the Shrike conversion, Oppl. Nice colour fade on your swords, too, MG.
Anyhoo, almost done on the librarian, so here is a proof for the Lord of Contagion...
Thank you guys for all of the positive comments and the compliments for the modelling. And thank you guys for the advice and links.
About the advice given:
I have given the recesses a nuln oil wash to add the shading. Some areas I had to do it twice to get an effect.
The first layer was old paint. I will definitely dilute my paints a little with water from now on and just do 2-3 thin coats to avoid obstructing details. Good advice there thank you.
I dont think I will do the highlights on this model. I think I will keep him this way, kind of as a gauge to see if I get better
I went a little crazy and ordered some things. Later this week I will have a blood angels vanguard to build with 2x death company dread, 1 Furioso, and one librarian dread (so technically 4x the same box). I also have an air brush set coming in the mail, and I can't wait to play around with that.
Now I can only hope that next month's challenge will be dreadnought related. I am thinking about using orks as the casualties for the blood angel models.
So, I wasn’t sure that I was going to get time (or motivation!) this month, but I finally found a bit of both yesterday and with Easter weekend coming up, I should be able to finish these guys:
eh, Para...just noticed you've got me down twice in the OP...I changed my entry from plague marines to a land raider a while back, but it looks like you've just put the land raider entry up without getting rid of the plague marine one...mind getting rid of my plague marine doppleganger?
...actually, I should have my finished pics up sometime in the next couple of days, so it could probably just wait till then really
OK folks, here's my entry. Not achieved what I wanted but I'm off on holiday today so time to stop!
This is Brother Leofrith of the Grey Knights, last survivor of his squad. He's designed more for Inq28 than 40k, and is roughly true scale (last pic shows a size comparison with my Inquisitor).
Gonna have to cancel my entry not done any painting in a while,far too busy to find the time lately,maybe next month!
Will be sure to vote though as usual so you all get a vote.
Here are a few WIP pics of my space marine. I've not got much left to do on him now, but I'm at that stage where I'm worried that anything I do will ruin it.
On my last WIP, I had sketched in the highlights, then done some glazes over the top, which had dulled the highlights quite a lot. So I reapplied the highlights next, as well as blocking in a few more basecoats on some areas.
Next, I started work on the cloak, which will hopefully have a textured look at it. Lots of chicken-scratch lines.
Then the gold areas. I've only really painted gold nmm once before, with mixed results. Hopefully this is a bit better.
And finally (up until now) the sword.
I've actually painted the chapter symbol on his shoulder as well, but I need to do a little bit of touching up on it, which is filling me with cold dread. A botched bit of freehand could ruin the whole model.
There's a good chance this won't get done - but as I have Good Friday to paint... who knows...? Proof: (I forgot to photo before slapping on a few test-coats)
I went ahead and painted a third deathwing terminator thinking that I would use what I learned from the last one and submit him if he turned out good enough. And turn out good enough (at least in my eyes) he did, I think I really managed to sell the idea that this space marine is standing in the dead of night, but there's just one problem... I completely forgot to take a proof picture before I started painting and I only just now realised it
I'll allow it! Given that it's a clear progression from your last couple, I know you didn't paint it months ago, which is what the Proof rules are meant to present. Very atmospheric effect.
@feltmonkey: Looking good man, it's one of those entries that I can already tell a ton of time and effort has gone into, and once it all comes together it'll be well worth it! Can't wait to see it finished!
Paradigm wrote: I'll allow it! Given that it's a clear progression from your last couple, I know you didn't paint it months ago, which is what the Proof rules are meant to present. Very atmospheric effect.
Got the eyes done as well as the transfers, just the base left. I also need to figure out how to take pictures that don't need to be opened in the gallery and zoomed in on to come into focus.
Ninja edit: I like how he is, but I feel he could do with something more. I'm thinking of putting a little blood for the blood god on the fist, but I don't want to then ruin a model I was otherwise fine with. Should I or should I not?
CREEEEEEEEED wrote: Got the eyes done as well as the transfers, just the base left. I also need to figure out how to take pictures that don't need to be opened in the gallery and zoomed in on to come into focus.
Ninja edit: I like how he is, but I feel he could do with something more. I'm thinking of putting a little blood for the blood god on the fist, but I don't want to then ruin a model I was otherwise fine with. Should I or should I not?
he's definitely looking good, but he is very green, specifically the lower half...I'm not sure if blood on the fist would really be the way to go though...maybe a few more little spots of dark steel or something? like maybe the rivets, part of the belt buckle, and the little pins holding the foot-flap panels at the bottom of his legs?...just a little something to break up all the flat green and give it a bit more visual interest.
...or not, up to you, as I said, he is looking pretty good as-is
These guys are pretty much finished now. They’re 9th Company Devastators so their trim color is blue too. I thought about a lighter blue but liked how these looked more.
Here is my finished entry.
I only painted one of the two possible miniatures, the primaris captain.
On this miniature I tried wet blending for the first time, the result is not perfect, but I think it will do.
This miniature is not as strong weathered as my entry last month, so it looks a little bit more clean.
I also gave the black templar sign a try and painted it free hand. I hate free hand painting signs, I am not really good at it.
The black templar sign is not very difficult, it is only a cross, but I find it hard to get the right symmetry.
All in all I am quiet satisfied with the outcome of the miniature.
Okay! I have to finish up a couple of days early as I am about to head off for Easter.
In the end, I thought I would just throw all three marines (one nurgle, one khorne and one blood angel) in as a kind of loose 'marine soup'.
I had thought of calling the set 'A pain in the axe' but thought better of it...
I apologise for the blurriness of the group shots: they are clear until I upload them - I must be doing something dakka doesn't like...
If you zoom in, the blur goes away - I don't really know why...
Anyhow, good luck to all. I look forward to seeing everyone's entries and see you all in 'Agents of Chaos'!
And he's done, I ended up having to use uhu glue because there's no pva in the house.
Also, here's the two captains side by side, I preshaded all the crevices of this months captain before going all over with agrax, the primaris just received agrax all over. Is there any noticeable difference?
Finished my entry the other day, finally got the photos uploaded here. My completed entry - a Primaris-based custom Chapter Master Shrike of the Raven Guard...
Here's the final pics of my completed entry for the month. Angels of Vengeance Primaris Captain.
I have a Dark Angels army (which never sees any action) but I wanted to try painting black armour this month, so I painted him as a Captain from the Angels of Vengeance, a Dark Angels successor chapter. Their thing is that even by Dark Angels standards they are stubborn and single-minded. They never retreat, to the point of stupidity, and they refuse to take into account their allies strategies, which has lead to them being shunned by many other Imperial forces. I like that they've got a bit of character to them.
Painting him was weirdly non-stressful. Primaris marines are a joy to paint, with their large armour panels and heroic poses. I did some research and read a few guides on painting black armour, and nicked many ideas from them. I don't think we should be ashamed of using guides, by the way. It's a good way of learning from the very best. Anyway, most of what I wanted to do on him, I did without too much trouble, for some reason. Normally it's a bit of a battle painting anything, but this guy co-operated. The armour is supposed to have a bit of a satiny sheen, and was painted with a mixture of turquiose paint and black writing ink. To highlight, I just added white to this in many, many stages, right up to almost white. I tried to put a different texture on the cloak. The colour palette for the cloak is very similar to the armour, and I used the armour basecoat (mixed with ivory) to make it. The texture is there to create a bit of contrast. Also, I learned that you should highlight the deepest recesses of a cloak, as these would also catch the light! The gold and the other small metallic areas are non-metallic metal, which I've not done much of before. My previous attempts at the technique have had... mixed results. Judge for yourself whether this is succesful. I can't tell anymore. The chapter symbol is freehand, and again, I'm not sure if it's sharp enough or symetrical enough. I considered weathering it, but I have gone for a brand new, unweathered look for the rest of the armour so it would have looked strange. I did try to shade and highlight it a bit to tie it in with the rest of the model.
feltmonkey wrote: I don't think we should be ashamed of using guides, by the way. It's a good way of learning from the very best.
If it weren't for the original citadel painting book and now warhammer TV I'd still just be colouring armour panels and calling it a day there.
feltmonkey wrote: The gold and the other small metallic areas are non-metallic metal, which I've not done much of before. My previous attempts at the technique have had... mixed results. Judge for yourself whether this is succesful.
Yes, it's very good from where I'm looking.
feltmonkey wrote: The chapter symbol is freehand, and again, I'm not sure if it's sharp enough or symetrical enough.
Hmm, too many lackeys of the False Emperor around here, I'd better balance it out a little. Here's my finished Abaddon the Despoiler model, finally finished with painting after taking a break to go to Adepticon:
I'm happy with how he turned out. I decided to try a different background this time, as the white kind of washes out my colors in my photos. Problem is, the brighter colors on the model look too bright now. Not sure what to do, the camera is set on the lowest light setting.
Everyone else's entries are shaping up beautifully, so it should be a great start to the new painting challenge season!
Oh look it's failbaddon who had to crash one of only two Blackstone fortresses in existence into Cadia to win. What a loser. CADIA STANDS! CREED LIVES!
CREEEEEEEEED wrote: Oh look it's failbaddon who had to crash one of only two Blackstone fortresses in existence into Cadia to win. What a loser. CADIA STANDS! CREED LIVES!
Sure there were only two blackstone fortresses in existence, but there was also only one Cadia
I'm going to have to slide under the door, Indiana Jones-style, with this late entry...
So here is my entry: one of my Deathwatch captains. He's Captain Hieronumus of the Blood Angels.
Now I still have a few hours to paint him... I have the impression that it's not going to be my best paint job ever, but I have to stick with my resolution to get something in every month...
Great Work on highlighting the Black Felt, and I am a fan of your scratchy technique to give cloth some texture.
I'm impressed Choas Dad you managed to get that all done in 1 day.
Tim 121RVC well done on your conversion, it looks pretty cool and the jet effect is quite striking. A wonderful model to have made.
My entry went ok, got to the last few days of the month and realised I still had loads to do then yesterday evening had to take the smallest child to A&E (very odd one, one of my wife's hairs had wrapped around her 3rd toe and cut of the circulation so it had swollen to twice its normal size and the hair had cut into the skin, wanted to be sure I had got the hair out and she wasn't going to lose the toe......) so I've rushed the last bit really and didn't have time for weathering or battle damage. Looking at the pics now I've missed a few bits, like eyeballs and the studs on some of the armour but I'm happy with the colour scheme in general for the troops.
Calling things to a close now, as I don't think anyone else specifically requested a brief extension.
Some really superb work over the last couple of pages, especially that Captain from Feltmonkey. Simply outstanding work, one of my favourite entries in recent months and I don't even really like that model most of the time!
Sorry about being late, I was gone for the weekend and forgot to post before I left. Unfortunately I didn't get to completely finish my librarian, but I'm not about to not submit again. This is a learning experiance for me as well as motivation, so I'm always down for C&C.
I was trying to got for this obsidian blade with red glow that I've seen before, but I need to work on my shading from black to red.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh, snap, I just saw that Para called a close to it earlier.
dukeofbeer wrote: Great to see more infinity minis painted this month @Vejut and @Modock - they came out great!
Thanks, mate!
I'm fascinated by their quality and sculpts.The game is also very tactical, I love it. I'm surprised how underrepresented Infinity is here on Dakkadakka.
Nice touch with skull on the Intruder's helmet, dukeofbeer.
)
<Hides his Eldar army> 
has to be at least ten years old
not done any painting in a while,far too busy to find the time lately,maybe next month!
