i wish they had a like button on here so i could like the above comment... I'm also sell an imperial guard army (items separately) on ebay... it's due to start on Tuesday so I'll put a link up for those who are interested...
it includes: a forgeworld cadian command squad, 4 10 man infantry squads... my bane wolf i entered for GD 2009. my sentinel (not the awesome one from GD 2010) and a converted officer...
shipping to the US will be about £8 to £10 for all items combined so that's $14 to $17 by my reckoning.. oh and don't pay until i invoice you with the correct shipping charges though i don't mind you paying £7 a piece
uk shipping is £2.50 + 20p for each additional item... so about £4.00 for the whole lot
all items start at 99p apart from the banewolf which starts at £30
Sure Chris. Never know the utility of things. The one video on line that taught me the most about using my airbrush on vehicles was showing work on a WWII tank... not a GW model.
Its your thread, I honestly do not hink we will care as long as you are not breaking any rules in the process, besides some updates from you are always outstanding.
Hi everybody! finally got some pics of the progress on the tank. the Plan is to do a diorama based on the German Ardennes Offensive of Winter '44 if any of you have seen Band of Brothers, the Bastogne episode is set during the Ardennes Offensive when it was cut off by the German advance. so there'll be plenty of snow A bit of history: there was only one Heavy tank division fielded in the offensive due to the steep hilly terrain and narrow roads. the Division SS-Pz.Abt. 501 (SS heavy panzer division 501) Consisted of 45 Tiger II heavy tanks armed with an 88mm and had a front Armour thickness of 180mm.
Most of the Tanks were abandoned or knocked out around Christmas '44 but it isn't known what happened to Tiger 304 which is the subject of the diorama. I have assumed it it was still in action on the 24th of December 1944. the diorama will depict tiger 304 stopped on one of the narrow roads in the Ardennes while the a recon panzer officer discusses what is up ahead with the tank commander. meanwhile a couple Volksgrenadiers advance off the road into the surrounding woodland.
if you are interested in any more of the history of SS-Pz.Abt. 501 in the ardennes, this site is where i did my research: http://www.ss501panzer.com/index.htm
the hull during construction
the model is complete including etched brass engine grills.
the tiger, painted and weathering started.
i decided to paint over some of the worst chips as if the crew had hastily touched up a couple of spots before going back into action.
the diorama base.
one of the trees i made for the diorama base and offered up in place. if people would like a tutorial to make these trees i shall make one, just shout.. note they look good but they are quite flimsy so not the best for games tables but great for Dioramas
the first assembled Volksgernadier with a super detailed resin head.
the bits and bobs so far laid out on the dining table
the tank crew are from alpine miniatures and are resin (i didn't paint these)
and there we go! i look forward to hearing your comments
Welcome back and thanks for bringing your lovely pictures to show. Wow, what a set of models. I always wonder about spending large sums on models, but when you take your time and do them justice like this, I can totally see the price justification
The tank tracks are great and I love the numbers on the turret, are those hand painted?
I'd also be interested how you got the twigs to attach to the trunk section of your tree, so if you do make a tutorial, that part is of interest.
Good work and keep us updated on the troops especially, can't wait to see what you do with the faces and uniforms
i'll get some stuff up about the tree over the weekend. the numbers are good quality transfers, though, unfortunately they were the wrong colour so i carefully painted over then in the correct yellow and turquoise markings of SS-Pz.Abt. 501.
The tracks were a bit of a pain in all honesty to assemble as every link was separate and they had to be build fast and put on before the glue fully set. but on the other hand, you can't get more authentic tracks than these really
they were weathered with a wash of browny orange over a black undercoat, then when that had dried a fairly watery mix of weathering powders and brown paints was applied..
And I love the colours in the camo. Whats with the bits of track on the turret? Is that a researched detail? Seems a bit mad, but I know damn all about tanks so there you go!
Hi everyone, unfortunately i was asked to work on Saturday so i haven't had time to do the tree tutorial, though i have done a bit more on the tank and have plenty of new pictures
here are a couple of pictures of the whole tank.
@ Newt-Of-Death, there are little hooks on the side of the turret for track links to be hung on, many allied tanks are seen covered with spare bits of track while german taks didn't carry quite as many spares:
some period photos
a canadian sherman firefly festooned with spare tracks (and Dutch families)
Detail Shots
the front machine gun
wear and tear around the left hatch, possibly to much?
the right hatch and periscopes
a bit of a mess caused by too much GW ink :O
the engine deck with plenty of oil and grease stains
yup, a bit of graphite and some mithril silver and boltgun metal here and there on the tracks and for where the tank has been hit
oops i din't put the battle damage pics up, here they are:
side
front
note these two did not penetrate oh if your wondering why some of the track guards are missing, it's because they used to fall off and were often discarded at the side of the road, many period photos of tigers in action so some, and in some cases, all the track guards missing..
Good point imperial monkey, i hadn't noticed really , i think a couple of chips over them wouldn't go amiss and maybe i'll lighten them up to make the paint look slightly bleached.
Newt-Of-Death wrote:
Whats with the bits of track on the turret? Is that a researched detail? Seems a bit mad, but I know damn all about tanks so there you go!
Spare track links were often carried in this fashion by crews on both sides of the war. Allied forces tended to do it more than axis, perhaps for the extra armor (made even more efficient by the gap between the track and the hull which would thwart shaped charges), but also because some tank designs were notorious for throwing tracks. German crews likely didn't feel the need to go overboard on the spare track like some allied crews tended to, but this can be attributed to the superiority both in the thickness of the armor on German tanks, and to their superior use of sloping (Tiger I excuded... they hadn't learned that lesson when it was designed, but its 10cm thick steel glacis plate on the front made up for it.)
Hi all as you may have seen in the gallery I've got some more pictures up of the diorama. I'm really pleased with the groundwork, the snow effect came out really nicely.
a couple of shots of the dio from different angles. i'm rather pleased with how it's looking
a couple of shots of the ground work.. the grass is just grass clumps for dioramas from Fredericus Rex (http://www.fredericus-rex.de/shop2010/Green-Line-scenery/Tufts-of-grass/) though i bought them on ebay. all other plants are just dried plants and twigs i picked up in my garden and on walks in the countryside, apart from a couple of miniature oak leaves which i also bought.
the frozen stream was a bit of an accident really. it started off as a water stream but the water effect kinda went wrong, so, i decided to pour wax over it and it turned out looking rather nice
Figures
the tank commander.. unfortunately the picture quality is a bit poor.. apparently the trousers (according to a history boff) are not the right pattern camo for this campaign.. my response was that he was borrowing them off his friend after he got a hole in his first pair.
The figures are beautiful, then of course we've all come to expect that from you. What I'd like to comment on is the superb quality of the base. The winter scene you have set is truly incredible. The overall design, the attention to the smallest detail... really amazing. You can tell by looking at it that it was a recent, wet snow. Still clinging in some cases to the fine branches and twigs.
I love the directional snow on the lower part of the tree, as if a light wind was moving the snow onto the bark where it stayed... wonderful touch. I don't see the same effect on the other tree though...
The tangled mass of slash and shrubs on the opposite side of the creek is perfect.
The tank commander looks like he stepped out of a MovieTone news reel.
Absolutely stunning! The snowy landscape looks incredibly realistic. What did you use for snow effect, is it some kind of miracle product out there, or is it a combination of techniques and skills?
I love it! Such a great and realistic looking base, not to mention the detail on the figures and the tank.
And even though the Splinter patter Trousers the tank commander is wearing weren't generally issued at that time, the German Army's supply chain was so effed up at this point he would have grabbed whatever he could.
here is the snow product on ebay.. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MODELMATES-SNOW-EFFECT-WEATHERING-SPRAY-200ml-NEW-_W0QQitemZ310288368587QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=229222684601&rvr_id=229222684601&cguid=19ae3b2c12e0a47a43f4d0d4fe180746#ht_3015wt_905 it's awesome stuff, you just point and spray really from the direction the snow falls. it has a soft-ish waxy texture and you can push a figures feet into it to create footprint.. i sprinkled a little bit of baking soda over the top for good measure. the only issue with the spray snow is don't leave the finished base in the sun. IT WILL MELT! but yeah great stuff really.. as to one tree having more snow than the other. i sprayed the base before i put on the second tree and had enough left to spray the tree.. that was until my dad decided to experiment with it.. after which there wasn't all that much left so out came the trusty baking soda
I've uploaded the pictures of my work over the last couple of days.. more figures and better pictures
here is the tank commander. i've put the scall 88mm shell next to him so you can see just how large the rounds this tank fired really were!
mucky snow on the road.
the tank commander again. the second picture shows the recon officer offered up in position. He's explaining to the commander what enemy units are lying up ahead.. or something along those lines.
The Volksgrenadier sergeant leads his men into the surrounding woodland (there will be some more troops following behind eventually) the gun strap is just a strip of thick foil cut carefully with some scissors.
i added this tow cable the other day, is there a little to much snow on the front of the tank?
the diorama as a whole from various angles
the second Volksgrenadier in Autumn Oak camouflage. the combats and jacket were reversible for fighting in winter in various conditions. one side was white and the other Oak leaf camouflage. i decided to mix and match for this guy mainly as the camo's a good challenge to paint. if you're a mad painter it'd look good on some imperial guard i tried to give him a tired look as if he's been fighting for a long time without a break. The Germans fighting in the Ardennes, as far as my limited history knowledge allows, were a mix a raw recruits and hard veterans some of whom had fought in Poland and on the eastern front.
That's all for now, thanks for the feedback and sorry for the lack of 40k
Thats all i can say, apart from the fact that the B&W pic looks astounding, apart from the slightly unrealistic look to the sculpting on the guy, it looks real!!
My one question is why are there un-spent 88 rounds on the engine deck? Surely no panzer crew would store them there, for fear of them taking a hit and damaging the engine. Spent rounds would make sense, since the loader would be likely to toss them out the hatch in the rear of the turret when he had a chance, but live ones don't make sense.
My Bad, I just put the 88mm rounds there so i wouldn't loose them, they won't be there when it's finished, though i was thinking of getting one or two ammunition cases to leave on the engine deck, that doesn't seem to uncommon from period photo and other peoples' models.
SONS of ORAR wrote:My Bad, I just put the 88mm rounds there so i wouldn't loose them, they won't be there when it's finished, though i was thinking of getting one or two ammunition cases to leave on the engine deck, that doesn't seem to uncommon from period photo and other peoples' models.
Empty wooden cases were commonly left back there, especially if the crew had to reload the vehicle quickly at an ammo dump. Since the ammunition loading hatch was at the very rear of the turret, the usual procedure was to pass the rounds up onto the engine deck while still in the box, remove them from the box there and hand them through the hatch to the loader, who would stow them. Since the engine deck was where the rounds were removed from the wooden crates on the engine deck it would make sense that the engine deck would be where they remained, had the crew been in a hurry or just didn't care.
It was also common for the loader to just toss empty casings out the hatch when he had a chance when the vehicle was not in combat. They would just rest on the engine deck until they rolled off for whatever reason.
However, it was also common for crews to keep one or two empty casings in the tank, for use in the event of a crew member needing to relieve themselves. As you can imagine, there were no such "facilities" in the cramped interior of the tank, so they made do with what they had.
So several kudos, and several gripes . The tank in and of itself is well done especially compared to the live ones I have seen back when I did WW2 reenacting. Biggest complant though for it is the tow strap as the way it sits is too unnatural and really throws off the whole front end of the piece. If you had it hooked to something along the side and up through the front that would work a ton better for it. As it stands when you do historical pieces such as these practicality has to come into play and the way it sits now would never be as it would get caught up with the turret.
On the great side of things I think how you did the base is top notch as you didn't just cover everything in snow but instead had local foilage poping through and did a great job working that in. The colors on the actual men are a little flat and I think if you push the recesses a little more and the facial highlights you will have an outstanding piece. Also for the tank crew gent with the pants don't forget to add in the little verticle lines all over the place as it was an oak A pattern I believe, but any of the patterns had that. Cheers mate I hope the insite helped some as you have a great looking piece there that with a little more will be an amazing looking piece.
empchild, great productive feedback as always! you've hit bang on it, i thought it looked a bit odd in that position though i wasn't sure, i'll get it sorted ASAP i had one other problem with it, which has hence been sorted which is good .. As to the figures, the splinter pattern does have a couple of lines on but they're so fine they look a bit silly on a 1/35 mini. if it was 120mm I'd definitely put them on.
here's a splinter pattern coat (yes i know they weren't issued on this campaign) as you can see the lines are a tad fine to paint.
as to the faces, i know what you mean they could have a bit more definition, obviously not as much as a space marine who's been fighting for centuries.. i think the flesh on the tank commander is about perfect but on the other's it's a tad messy
@ steeds of war: you deserve respect for your dedication i'm glad you liked it
@ Nowlan : thanks very much for the historical info, it's really useful i'm going to do a Russian summer diorama at some point involving a KV1 heavy tank around june 1941 so if you know anything about them it would be much appreciated.
KV1 tank
Chris
Automatically Appended Next Post: oh and here is (i think) a period photo modified with colour of the autumn oak leaf camo
Solid mate. I wish I still was a reenactor because I would post pics of all of my uniforms for you. I used to have about 10 different German out fits of this camo you are using.
My knowledge of the red army is rather limited in comparison, but if you have any questions I'll give it a shot.
One thing to keep in mind with them though, is that their troops were almost always under-equipped. While they were able to turn out the various PPSH variants in large numbers (Due to it being mostly stamped metal), they still couldn't produce enough for the sheer volume of conscripts they had. Just to give you an idea of their supply issues.
Nowlan wrote:My knowledge of the red army is rather limited in comparison, but if you have any questions I'll give it a shot.
One thing to keep in mind with them though, is that their troops were almost always under-equipped. While they were able to turn out the various PPSH variants in large numbers (Due to it being mostly stamped metal), they still couldn't produce enough for the sheer volume of conscripts they had. Just to give you an idea of their supply issues.
Actually, that depends on what time period you are looking at. By the time the Reds had made it to Poland nearly all of their conscripts were properly equipped. It began to change after Little Saturn (the operation to liberate Stalingrad)
But any time before Stalingrad, then yes many were under-equipped.
Hi all I've started a golden demon piece for this year but there won't be any pictures up of it for a bit.. i want to keep the air of mystery.. all i'm gonna say is that it's going to be on a funk-a-licious base
i have also started on another figure for the diorama and there will be pictures of him up in the next week
[youtube][/youtube]
oh and i found this video of what i believe to be the last working tiger 2 sorry it's a bit small, i wasn't sure how to make it larger :/
I'm looking at the early war period around 1941 so i guess if i have any troops about they'll be under-equipped.. if i do this diorama it would be set in early summer with a beautiful field with wild flowers, silver birch trees etc. and right in the middle of this tranquil scene will be a gurt big tank.. (for you people who are not from the west of England gurt is just means great or big)
I really love the Diorama, great all round piece. I'm not that up on historical accuracy but I suppose it is the hazard of doing historical pieces that you might make a few errors, I really don't think it matters for me. It really invokes a great feeling of winter and harsh conditions.
Hi everyone! I've got another mini painted and I've started to get the hang of painting that spotty German camouflage. i went for the spring oak leaf camo on his trousers as, I've noticed in some early colour photos it was used in the winter of '44 and it's a nice change from orange
Just a couple of shots from different angles i think that these two figures are among the nicest i've ever painted, even if they aren't quite the best the sculpted detail really is astounding
Very, very nice Chris. I get so used to looking at over-the-top 40k figures that I forget how nice realistic minis can look. Well done! The camo looks great and the wear on everything really gives it a realism that's hard to beat.
Yeah, SoO, those dudes look amazing. I voted on a few of your images, but wanted to let you know I think you've done a great job. The whole idea and setting you've created is a nice change of pace from SMs bounding through the air, yelling as they shoot at orks. As you said, "it's also nice just to see what else is out there to paint." I agree. It's too easy to get hooked on GW products and forget how great other mini's and models can look. Especially, when they're placed in such an elaborate, yet realistic scene. It really brings them to life. Of course your painting helped a lot too! Well, done, SoO, the faces, fatigues and camo all look great and the tank is just delicious.
Metallics are tricky. A gradient that would show up perfectly well with non-metallic paint can just disappear with metallics because of the inherent shine... or the can appear and disappear based on your viewpoint. I'm doing a land raider now for my eldest son in metal and even though the gradient (airbrushed) went from a very dark metallic to a very light one, you look at it now and you can hardly tell the difference at all... unless you just happen to catch it at the right angle. I've gone with things like deepening washes or off-color washes & edge highlights in order to reinforce the differences... but it's far from a perfect result.
DarkAngelsRK wrote:He's looking cool so far Chris. If you don't mind me asking, what chapter will he be?
I'm not sure.. i need ideas as to what colour the shoulder pads and helmet should be so if you have any ideas that would be great
Gitsplitta wrote:Metallics are tricky. A gradient that would show up perfectly well with non-metallic paint can just disappear with metallics because of the inherent shine... or the can appear and disappear based on your viewpoint. I'm doing a land raider now for my eldest son in metal and even though the gradient (airbrushed) went from a very dark metallic to a very light one, you look at it now and you can hardly tell the difference at all... unless you just happen to catch it at the right angle. I've gone with things like deepening washes or off-color washes & edge highlights in order to reinforce the differences... but it's far from a perfect result.
I know exactly what you mean! I've tried highlighting the areas which catch the light from above any working down the areas which don't but it's still very hard.. but a challenge is a good thing i've gone for washes of dark angels green and black and varying the amount of water and paint depending on where it is on the model.. apparently going right down to matt colours can work though i have yet to try this properly..
DarkAngelsRK wrote:He's looking cool so far Chris. If you don't mind me asking, what chapter will he be?
I'm not sure.. i need ideas as to what colour the shoulder pads and helmet should be so if you have any ideas that would be great
I would make him as if he were an oldschool Dark Angel with your own spin. One shoulder dark green with a red insignia, the other bone with black checkering. I think that would be awesome
SONS of ORAR wrote:I'm not sure.. i need ideas as to what colour the shoulder pads and helmet should be so if you have any ideas that would be great
You could go with Astral Claws?
That's a damn fine excuse to paint the FW Huron model. By the way, your WWII minis are phenomenal. The attention to detail really stands out. Good job, mate!
yay back to the 40k goodieness! WWII tanks are fun and all but nothing beats the sheer awesomeness of the blunt force trauma which is imperial space marines!!!
BoA.Raccoon wrote:Sorry, that's my way of expressing my loathing for people who are better than m- for pretty much everyone on this forum D:
You're awesome at painting, there you are
Be that as it may, I'd avoid that style of posting in the future - it almost led to some trouble for you, because without any history or explanation, it didn't look to friendly...
BoA.Raccoon wrote:Sorry, that's my way of expressing my loathing for people who are better than m- for pretty much everyone on this forum D:
You're awesome at painting, there you are
don't worry it all comes with practice and i took it in the right sense.. oh and if you want some painting help PM me and i'll give you some tips.. i may take some time to reply though as i'm not on here all that much..
The WWII figures are 1/35 scale or 54mm and are about 5 to 6cm high.. the heads are about the same size as GW heads but the body is more proportional as these are scale miniatures not war-gaming miniatures..
as to the terminator.. i've done the shoulder pads starting with tallarn flesh and working up to a mix of rotten flesh and white. the helmet is black with ice blue, glowing lenses and the robe is painted with a mix of black and tallarn flesh to tie it in with the shoulder pads and i'm thinking of maybe doing a little free hand..
SONS of ORAR wrote:
54mm so just a bit bigger than GW minis.. the heads are about the same size they just have more proportionate bodies.. they're about 5-6cm high
but models with the right proportions are the best.. if only there were true scale space marines and warhammer as a whole.. and anyway what you say won't make me paint more space marines if i don't want too
I love that diorama... any chance you'd do black and white pictures of it? I'm almost certain you could pass it for the actual reference pic... it's just that damn good.
And love the Terminator- is that still a Son of Orar? Or a brand new chapter? Either way, great weathering, OSL, and overall wartorn look.
the termi is looking nice but im having trouble really identifying the colors....
might also be the pictures though... if its done and you made a good pic im sure it ill look better
Sgt.Roadkill wrote:any chance you can give us a tutorial for how you did that hair. the rest of the greenstuff is amazing but i would love to be able to do that hair.
This wasn't his conversion I believe. I think it's just his favorite from another person.
Whew. When I saw the first of the pictures, I was getting ready for a "well, I guess he puts me to shame once again" with a feeling of familiarity. And then I saw that it wasn't one of yours. I'm glad I don't have that shame trip going right now (though I will whenever you post a new painted model up )
logg_frogg wrote:That model is a 2008 UK Golden Daemon winner guys lol
Freaking phenominal painjob, one of the best I have seen in years!
It would be really interesting to know how the matte finish on the GS before paint was accheived
I don't think it's GW green stuff, a lot of pro sculptors use other putties for sculpting, i find milliput is very good and i know the Superfine milliput is even nicer though i haven't tried it.. but yeah there other non GW green two part resins and it's my guess he used one of them
Oh and by the way i have now finished college so i may very well be posting more often
the sets of grass tufts and the like from these guys are absolutely fantastic, not only for dioramas but for basing.. the grass tuft packs are great, you get loads for the money.. i'd say enough for a whole army in a £4.70 pack and they're really tough.. plus you don't get static grass everywhere
plus another tank and figures to do another dio for a competition as the tiger one will be done very soon
SoO
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh and thank you all for the congrats the big day is in august when the results are released
and surprisingly i'm rather looking forward to it lol
Vitruvian XVII wrote:Hope your exams went ok dude! What uni you going to?
Very interested to see how good those flora look on a finished piece.
I'm doing an engineering course at Bath though i can do the first two years of the course at my college as it's linked with the uni so hopefully i'll be doing that. the facilities are pretty amazing, it's cheaper and there are some really good links with industry and potential sponsorship opportunities..
the whole thing.. a little over exposed but that'll be sorted when i take some proper pics with i nice background..
That's all the good pictures so far.. the sheet to keep the snow off the MG42 is a piece of tissue paper soaked in watered paint and PVA glue and carefully draped over and positioned without tearing it. the pine branches are just bits of moss i found while out and about and dried off in a dark cupboard (if you dry it in the sun it loses it's colour faster)
I Hope you all like it and there's more coming...
I was on eBay the other day.. not intending to buy anything and came across these two wonderful kits... which i proceeded to buy...
a german flampanzer III from gunze sangyo (1943)
and...
A Russian JS-2 which was used from, i believe, late 1943
Metsuri wrote:The finished diorama is just stunning. I'm still looking at the snow and wondering how it can look so realistic. The whole scene is excellent.
I still can't believe that most of the snow is just that stuff from a can that people spray christmas trees with.
I just posted this post in the finished work forum too
It's been WAY to long since I last posted on DakkaDakka or this thread! Ahhh the joys of a hectic life!
Anyhow, I recently finished a 1/35 scale (for all you war gamers out there the figure's about 56mm high) Joachim Peiper. The figure is resin and is made by a company called Alpine Miniatures who make some jaw-droppingly good realistic figures at a not to extortionate price. I panted him with a mix of Vallejo and GW paints, this is the first time I've used Vallejo paints for some high detail work and i am impressed
A little History: Joachim Peiper was a regimental Colonel in the German Waffen-SS during the second world war, the figure portrays him in the winter or 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge. i won't just copy out the Wikipedia article but if you'd like to read more it's at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Peiper
To the pictures!
a couple of shots from various angles. My aim was to practice on smooth blending, especially with flesh tones, and at the same time have an experiment with some camouflage.
A WIP shot
close ups of the base
As always all comments and questions are welcome! and feel free to rate the pictures
Rogue Wolves wrote:fantastic work here, how did you achive the winter base on that german?
i started the base as i do with all scenic bases i make: attach any soil, stones and other groundwork, undercoat black then airbrush in the desired colours. After painting add the foliage: i used a couple of grass tufts, the small dead weeds are little bits of dried plant root and the fallen leaves are dried silver birch seeds.. i then made a 'snow mixture' out or baking soda, pva glue and acrylic resin and applied this in clumps over the edges, once this was dry i added the figure and gave a light 'puff' of aerosol snow from above the figure. this gives the sprinkling of snow on the figures shoulders and on the base.
and there you have it! a snow base!
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Reaper Man 2020 wrote:Very nice! is it going to be in another diorama?
i'm not sure at the moment. i have limited space so i think i'm going to go with a scenic autumn base.. maybe with an accompanying figure
Vitruvian XVII wrote:Super realistic as usual Chris! Having fun back at home?!
haha yeah man lol, you? i was just thinking i could give you a game this week as i'm off work then i realised you're home haha.. February will be the best for me as i've got exams in January..
Hello you wonderful dakkarites! Alas more time has passed, but i have an update! with pictures! i've got a nice base together for the terminator which has come out rather nicely!
The Terminator offered up in position on the unpainted base
a couple of angles of the finished base with the termie
I'm really looking forward to finishing this guy! he's gonna look so awesome i'll be on when i can!
as always, comments and constructive criticism is welcome!
The Sons of Orar took to the field to battle the nids of Vitruvian XVII the game ended in a draw but it was good fun to get back into it after a to-long break! i believe he's going to post a battle report some time which i shall link in my next update.. I also have, as you may remember, a few more marines to paint which i may do soon to bolster the ranks
Just stunning SoO. There aren't many who can pull off a metallic based paint job... but somehow you've managed it beautifully. I love how the character of the metallics and non-metallics on the body and base compliment one another. Well played Sir!
The fantastic battle report! courtesy of Vitruvian XVII
Vitruvian XVII wrote:Hi guys,
Me and SONS of ORAR (henceforth SoO) got together on the weekend to play a game of 40k.
SoO hadn’t play in a long time and it had been almost a year for me, so we just had a fun game to loosen the joints and blow out some of the cobwebs. SoO only had 1400pts so I got out a bunch of nids to that value and we got our game on.
Sons of Orar [Unsurprisingly played by SONS of ORAR]
- Chapter Master [Terminator Armour, Power Sword, Storm Bolter, Digital Weapons]
- Chaplain [Terminator Armour, Digital Weapons]
- Terminators (5) [Heavy Flamer]
- Venerable Dreadnought [Plasma Cannon, Heavy Flamer]
- Venerable Dreadnought [Plasma Cannon, Heavy Flamer]
- Tactical Squad B (10) [Storm Bolter, Plasma gun, Plasma cannon]
- Tactical Squad A (10) [Power Fist, Plasma Pistol, Flamer, Heavy Bolter]
- Assault Squad [Power Weapon, 3 Plasma Pistols, Flamer]
Hive Fleet Goliath [Played by [user ]Vitruvian XVII[/user], otherwise known as Me or I]
Points Size – 1400pts
Deployment Type – Dawn of War
Mission – Capture and Control (2 objectives).
Deployment
Objectives:
The Imperial Eagle (Yellow) is SoO’s objective, whilst my spawning nest sits on the left of the pic, circled in purple.
SoO deploys first. He places his Chaplain centrally with Squad B overlooking the Eagle, with commanding fire lanes and a chance for a mad last minute dash. Squad A deploys to the left, with an eye on the Hive Nest objective, yet wary of the board edge. (After I graciously told SoO that stealers could and would outflank… )
I deployed with my Prime out of site, and the Hormagaunts right on the edge of my zone, 18” from and directly facing Tac Squad A. Here’s hoping for a couple of lucky diff terrain and fleet rolls for a first turn charge…
Turn 1
SoO’s Dreads move up in between the Chappy’s building and Squad B’s building. The Chapter Master follows the Chaplain and they have a tactical conference within the small ruin.
SoO’s Dreads open fire on the Hormagaunts but terrible scatter rolls see only a few dead gaunts. Squad A follow the lead of their interred brethren, and add a few more kills with the heavy bolter and the few bolters that were within range.
A good start but not near enough to stem the tide…..
I start by running my hormagaunts as fast as their taloned little feet will carry them. Difficult terrain is rolled, and with the aid of Move through Cover the Tyranids easily move 6”.
The Prime moves up in their wake, taking care to hug cover.
Elsewhere the Doom of Malantai enters the battlefield, intent on filling the black void within it on none other than the Emperor’s Finest. Its coterie of two Zoanthropes move to flank it.
The Trygon twins enter on my extreme left, hoping to circle towards squad B and catch them unawares.
Everything runs in the shooting phase, with the majority moving intolerably slowly, with the exception of the Hormagaunts who skitter forward another 6”, this time courtesy of skittering leap.
The Hormagaunts prove why they are feared across the length and breadth of the Imperium, as they launch themselves at Tactical Squad A…….
….. With lightning fast reflexes, the gaunts tear into the battle brothers, and by the time the flurry of limbs has stilled 3 hallowed brothers lay rent on the ground. The marines respond but can only fell 3 gaunts in response to such ferocity…..
Turns 2 & 3
The battle brothers aboard the Strike Cruiser, Aegon’s Wrath, show their worth, and with coordination borne only by the training of centuries, a squad of marines in fabled Tactical Dreadnought Armour follow their hulking mechanical counterparts, as a Thunderhawk Gunship deploys an Assault Combat Squad into the heart of the Tyranid lines.
The remainder of the Sons Of Orar shooting targets the Tyranid Prime, in an attempt to weaken the Synapse Network. However, the advanced tyranid leader beast is not easily bested, and the cover it snuck behind took the brunt of the flak.
The assault marines must have had a hard landing, for they do nothing to the zoanthropes, save notifying them of their presence.
Squad A continue to get wittled down by the agile gaunts, with 3 more marines falling for the loss of another 3 gaunts. The numbers may be even, but the quality of a Space Marine makes each loss hard to bear, while the gaunts seem numberless even now.
The Tyranid turn begins with a squad of genestealers arriving, with timing to rival the Astartes, on the left flank. Tactical Squad A look severely embattled.
The Prime moves up to keep the hormagaunts in its synapse web, whilst the zoanthropes, overseen by the Doom, turn to make a mock of the Assault marines who so brazenly assaulted them. The Trygon pair head straight for Squad B yet again.
In the shooting phase the stealers roll a 1 for their fleet, and must content themselves with watching the hormagaunts chase down the survivors of squad A who tried to withdraw.
The Sons of Orar turn 3 begins with Chapter Master Alavaan Rothenius once more calling upon Aegon’s Wrath, this time for an orbital bombardment. Unfortunately the brothers aboard the Cruiser are unable to meet expectations, and the lance strike drifts harmlessly from its intended target of the genestealers.
When the Dreadnoughts turned their Plasma cannons on the Tyranid Prime not even the will of the Hive Mind could stop them from atomising the xenos creature, cover or no.
The rest of the Astarte shooting targeted the hormagaunts, destroying the creatures down to but 2 hormagaunts, who promptly fled for the nearest synapse creature.
Thankfully for the tyranids one of the Zoanthropes had pushed forward whilst its brethren dealt with the Assault Marines. It channelled the Hive Mind, and directed the hormagaunts to consume the Chaplain. The Hormaguants made contact, but both parties proved unable to land a blow.
The rest of the Tyranid forces moved and ran pitifully slowly forwards.
Turn 4
With the Chaplain facing such measly foes, and sure to defeat them, the rest of the Sons of Orar army turned its attention on the nearest threat, the genestealers. With hallowed plasma, purifying flame, and plain old bolter shells, the sons of Gulliman left only the Broodlord alive, who scurried fast towards the Hive Nest, intent on rousing a new brood to battle….
Meanwhile the chaplain suffered a grievous wound, not even the rosaries could protect him, in t=return he left just 1 hormagaunt alive.
The other squad of genestealers arrived and moved to threaten the Terminator squad, who now formed an honour guard for their Chapter Master.
The two zoanthropes moved forward, gathering the hive minds psychic power as they went. Their gently levitating bodies seemed to glow blue as the energies increased. Suddenly one of the zoanthropes recoiled as if struck and a gash open in its side. The other zoanthrope was more fortunate, and released a bright beam of psychic energy. It struck one of the dreadnoughts in the undercarriage and with a hiss and clank the machine settled, unable to move.
The trygons both advanced, forcing the Sons of Orar to take the Imperial Eagle should they want to beat back the invading horde.
Turn 5
The terminators and their charges decided the time was now, and with the remaining mobile dreadnought, and Tactical Squad B they surrounded the Trygon atop the desecrated shrine.
The Tactical Marines trusted to their brothers, and ran around the snake like tail of the beast to lay a claim to the Eagle, they planted their feet, and took cover as a hail of plasma and bolter shells whizzed overhead to hit the monstrous creature.
Unbelievably it still stood, prompting the mobile dreadnought to charge valiantly, though it had no hope of besting the creature. As the massive scythe like talons of the Trygon ripped apart the adamantine shell like so much paper, the venerable hero managed to wrench its head off with a great heave of its huge power claw.
The Marines gave thanks to their brother’s sacrifice and prepared to face the Doom of Malantai who was fast approaching
And so the Zoanthropes converged on the Imperial Eagle. As the Terminators watched on helplessly the brave soldiers of the Imperium were sturck time and again by psychic blasts of xenos energy……
……More and more brothers fell, and yet the Emperor was clearly smiling upon them for as the smoke cleared, a few yet lived.
As the fog of war lifted both sides beat a tactical retreat, to return stronger than before and crush their foes.
And so the final game looked like this:
You can see the surviving tactical marines claiming the objective, and up at the top the broodlord hissing defiance before it slunk away down the foetid depths of the Hive Nest.
So yeah it was a draw!
Both me and SoO had a great time, and reckon we’ll do it again very soon
Hope you enjoyed reading the batrep, you better had, never realised how much effort goes into one of these things! Lol;
Vitruvian XVII wrote:Well i believe Sons or orar spent a drunken night in a car, and when he woke up that was all he had in his car to bring with him.......
I could be wrong though
Hehe, for some reason I see a shadowy figure, with a paintbrush on his ear sleeping in a subcompact that has a license saying SoO
So glad your back on here Chriss.
Your Sons Of Orar army is my favorite loyalist army i have seen. Simply great work. Good to see it out on the field of battle too. That was an unexpected pleasure. I really feel you when you say you have been in the thick of school. I just finished up my BS degree. Its hard to get anything done when you have no personal time and lots of assignments piling up. You'll get through it.
Great to see you back!
Keep at the school thing dude. I just graduated yesterday. It takes a lot of work and it really cuts into the time that you have available to work on important stuff like the hobby, but when your done with school, so many doors will open for you. Cant wait to see what you have been up too.
he SoO your army was featured in whats new today again. they made a rerun of there favorite army's. great job man and good luck on those school thingy's
Ok guys a little later than i would have liked after photo upload problems but i have returned with an update..
Woop Woop!!
ok first of all i have finally finished that terminator i have been working on for ages and ages!! i had a play around with the base and added a puff of that aerosol snow effect i used on the tiger diorama to give it a frosty feel as if it had just started snowing below is a bit of eye candy for you.. oh, and those of you who have iphones get the Pro 645 camera app.. it is a bit heavy on battery but the pictures you can get with it are fantastic!!
i am currently working on a couple of other projects, the first of which is another WWII diorama of a soviet IS-2 tank. this is another challenge with the aim of some more hyper realistic ground work there are still after figures to add..
and now a few edited pics
the scene depicts an IS-2 advancing through an eastern European village that has recently been captured by soviet forces. the soviet guardsmen relax after the fight but as the tank passes the shed the commander notices something suspicious (a couple of German soldiers hiding inside) he stops the tank and goes to discuss what he has seen with the sergeant of the resting guardsmen.. the German soldier will be positioned peaking over the window sill armed with a panzerfaust.. all hell might be about to break loose..
i'm currently painting a 1/35 german, either as a single mini or for a diorama, i am yet undecided.
i have started on a 1/350 scale modern Russian corvette with extensive brass etch parts. see the helicopter and paintpot for scale
and last of all i have a few Sons of Orar on the go:
as always all comments are welcome and thanks for looking
if you feel like rating any of my pictures it'd be much appreciated
Having seen that termy in person i can safely say it looks freaking amazing, the base is great too, very nice.
Loving the tank diorama too, you're really getting to be a dab hand with the vegetation! It looks incredibly realistic, that b&w pic could be a photo!
Finally, jesus thats a small helicpoter! What colour are you thinking of for the ship? Some ultra-modern dilgital/disruptive camo would look ace! You know, the kind with the really wacky colours but that actually work great as camo.
Good to see youre back in the driving seat again
Oh and tell those new assault marines to be wary of zoanthropes.....
Your base work is just so inspiring SOO. I mean the figures are beautiful, but you'd kind of expect that.... The time and effort you put into the bases really shines though and makes the job you do on the figures all that much more notable.
the ship is going to be a challenge i'll stick to the official colour scheme for this on (naval grey) and put ot on a nice water base.. the swedish navy ships have some really funky camouflage paterns so i may do one of them at some point. here is a picture of the finished unpainted ship (not mine) so you can get an idea of all the fiddly brass bits lol
thanks for the complements guys! really glad you like the stuff
ok so i found a LOTR model of Cirdan of The Havens this evening.. although he was my finest painted model when i was 14ish he had seen better days, so with much regret i stripped him and started over again.
i under-coated him white then applied base colours to work from.. here he is at present:
i've made a start on the face, i think my practice on the scale WWII figures may help with smoothness and tone..
Yes!!!!
He is Alive!!!!!!!
Great to see you back in full swing SoO, I have also been having a real crack at WW2 era stuff. I find the models have so much more character than the usual 40k or fantasy stuff.
As I said before great to see your stuff back on DAKKA!!
Great to see some updates! I really like that ship with all the brass detail, the WWII diorama as usual is awesome, looking forward to seeing that finished. Not so keen on the LOTR model but he is still a wip at this point so I will reserve judgement. The terminator by the way came out really well and the spattering of snow really works!
Keep up the good work!
the ship is going to be a challenge i'll stick to the official colour scheme for this on (naval grey) and put ot on a nice water base.. the swedish navy ships have some really funky camouflage paterns so i may do one of them at some point. here is a picture of the finished unpainted ship (not mine) so you can get an idea of all the fiddly brass bits lol
Still amazing work. I love the tank and termi. where did you get that boat kit?
after successive fails at updating and uploading pictures and damaging my car i am here with a quick update on the LOTR figure!
but first a few replies
Still amazing work. I love the tank and termi. where did you get that boat kit?
i got the boat along with 3 others from a colleague who i helped with some mini painting. he's very much into his model boats and has family in china (the home of cheap model kits) he bought the kits over there with the plan of selling them here.. i think they retail at £40 to £50 here i think.. this sight sells them: http://www.hobbyeasy.com/en/category/SHP/SH35MW/maker/ORA.html
my modelling budget is limited after this: hit a 10 inch curb and bent wishbones, axle, connecting rods and bent the wheel.. not to mention the bumper.. my first quote was £900 so will be doing it with a family friend who's a mechanic.
now the elf..
rather pleased with how he's coming along, what are your thoughts??
as always, comments and constructive criticism are welcome
fatty wrote:i love your skin works man and that clothe just sweet
Rogue Wolves wrote:the cloth is blended nicely, and i really like the look on his face! this guy is ace
thanks guys, if i have time i'll try ad get a face tutorial up for you
Vitruvian XVII wrote:Hope you're alright after that Chris! Looks nasty, wtf did you do!
Cirdans looking smooth, still in awe of your work on faces.
Cheers mate, it was in the college car park which was embarrassing, it was about 5:15 in the evening and i was driving from one car park to another to drop in my last piece of coursework and was undecided whether i should go round the one way the right way or wrong way. i decided to go the right way and in so doing had to turn a corner, so i put my foot on the brake, alas it slipped of onto the gas.. and ZOOOOOM!!! BANG!!!! straight into the curb.. it would have been fine if it was normal sized.. unfortunately it was one of the really big ones so yeah basically all the suspension and drive parts for that wheel are bent.. i was fine.. it was only about 15mph but that's enough to cause some damage to the car..
anyway.. i've just had a crack at some free hand on the sash:
the lighting isnt particularly good and a bit of tidying may be needed but what do you think??
I like the freehand. You do marvelous work Chris, Keep up the good work.
Also.
Keep up with the school work. I just finished my degree and am finding my way in the job market. Its just one of those things that you have to do.
though i don't mind you paying £7 a piece
A bit of history: there was only one Heavy tank division fielded in the offensive due to the steep hilly terrain and narrow roads. the Division 
, i think a couple of chips over them wouldn't go amiss and maybe i'll lighten them up to make the paint look slightly bleached.
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