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VOTE For the winner of the 40th Unofficial Painting Challenge: Blades in the Dark  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
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Poll
Which entries are your favourites?
Nevelon 2% [ 5 ]
ZoBo 5% [ 16 ]
Porphyrius 6% [ 18 ]
ChaosDad 2% [ 6 ]
Midget Gems 5% [ 14 ]
ZergSmasher 2% [ 5 ]
Bantha_Beast 4% [ 12 ]
lipsdapips 7% [ 22 ]
Chris56 10% [ 29 ]
CREEEEEEED 1% [ 4 ]
vejut 1% [ 2 ]
SirOllox 4% [ 11 ]
Modock 15% [ 46 ]
Paradigm 8% [ 23 ]
Rybrook 1% [ 3 ]
JustALittleOrkish 1% [ 2 ]
Kustomer D 1% [ 4 ]
Tim121RVC 5% [ 16 ]
Snail22 1% [ 3 ]
Power Elephant 6% [ 17 ]
Gulgog Tuftoof 2% [ 5 ]
craggy 1% [ 3 ]
suzuteo 1% [ 3 ]
Jadenim 4% [ 11 ]
Feltmonkey 7% [ 22 ]
Total Votes : 302
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Made in gb
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





UK

It's that time again! Last month, entrants to the challenge were tasked with the theme 'Blades in the Dark', painting up stealthy killers, ambush predators, merciless assassins and undercover agents. We've got a wide range of entries this time, and there can be only one winner!

As always, feel free to vote for as many entries as you like and for any reason they catch your eye, be that the quality of paintwork, interpretation of the theme, the effort on show or anything else. You are also encouraged to leave some feedback for the entrants, be that in the form of a comment here or a vote in their gallery pages!

Without further ado, the entrants:


Nevelon: Ultramarines Scout Squad
Spoiler:




ZoBo: Night Lords Veteran
Spoiler:













Porphyrius: Captain Shrike, Raven Guard Chapter
Spoiler:









ChaosDad: Blood Bowl Goblins
Spoiler:







Midget Gems: Gaunt’s Ghosts Bragg and Mkoll
Spoiler:





ZergSmasher: Dark Angels Scouts
Spoiler:






Bantha_Beast: Vindicare Assassins
Spoiler:












lipsdapips: Sergeant Telion
Spoiler:








Chris56: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Spoiler:











CREEEEEEED: Raptors Scout Sergeant
Spoiler:










vejut: Bird Warrior
Spoiler:







SirOllox: Imperial Guard Snipers
Spoiler:




Modock: Heldred, Drēaguth Thain
Spoiler:









Paradigm: Predators
Spoiler:





Rybrook: Ultramarines Chaplain
Spoiler:





JustALittleOrkish: Ghosts
Spoiler:









Kustomer D: Commander Shadowsun
Spoiler:








Tim121RVC: Savage Orc
Spoiler:




Snail22: Deathwing Terminators
Spoiler:




Power Elephant: Tau Drone
Spoiler:






Gulgog Tuftoof: Elf Rogue
Spoiler:











craggy: Blood Angels Death Company
Spoiler:










suzuteo: Mephiston
Spoiler:




Jadenim: Dark Elf Assassin
Spoiler:









Feltmonkey: Super Dungeon Explore Warden
Spoiler:








[url=https://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/957599-Super%20Dungeon%20Explore.html][/url


 
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut





Nottingham

Voted for Modock, beautiful entry. Great entries all round though.

Have a look at my P&M blog - currently working on Sons of Horus

Have a look at my 3d Printed Mierce Miniatures

Previous projects
30k Iron Warriors (11k+)
Full first company Crimson Fists
Zone Mortalis (unfinished)
Classic high elf bloodbowl team 
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut






In a Trayzn pokeball

0 for 60. Feels bad man. I'll vote later.

 JohnHwangDD wrote:
The hobby is actually hating GW.
 iGuy91 wrote:
You love the T-Rex. Its both a hero and a Villain in the first two movies. It is the "king" of dinosaurs. Its the best. You love your T-rex.
Then comes along the frakking Spinosaurus who kills the T-rex, and the movie says "LOVE THIS NOW! HE IS BETTER" But...in your heart, you love the T-rex, who shouldn't have lost to no stupid Spinosaurus. So you hate the movie. And refuse to love the Spinosaurus because it is a hamfisted attempt at taking what you loved, making it TREX +++ and trying to sell you it.
 Elbows wrote:
You know what's better than a psychic phase? A psychic phase which asks customers to buy more miniatures...
the_scotsman wrote:
Dae think the company behind such names as deathwatch death guard deathskullz death marks death korps deathleaper death jester might be bad at naming?
 
   
Made in us
Grim Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain






A Protoss colony world

Pretty great set of entries yet again. I'm not going to take time to comment on everyone this time around (partly because it's getting late here), but here are my 5 votes for this month:
Porphyrius: I love how clean the color is on that model. Very well done!
Bantha_Beast: Assassins are very appropriate for the theme, and you did a great job on them.
Chris_56: That diorama turned out awesome! Cowabunga!
Modock: Yet another awesome entry from you. The model itself is interesting to start with, and your paintwork really makes it great.
Paradigm: I just couldn't resist giving you a vote, being as I love Predators. You made them look awesome!

Everyone should feel pretty happy with their work this month. I certainly am; my entry was a blast to work on (I just love old metal models). Special shout out as always to Paradigm for taking the time to organize and run these challenges. See you all in the "Might Makes Right" challenge!

My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/1/23, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~15000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Adeptus Custodes: ~1900 | Imperial Knights: ~2000 | Sisters of Battle: ~3500 | Leagues of Votann: ~1200 | Tyranids: ~2600 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2023: 40 | Total models painted in 2024: 12 | Current main painting project: Dark Angels
 Mr_Rose wrote:
Who doesn’t love crazy mutant squawk-puppies? Eh? Nobody, that’s who.
 
   
Made in be
Jealous that Horus is Warmaster






Brussels, Belgium

This month's entries are all quite good, but Modock's work stands above the rest for me...

Congratulations to all!

Work in progress p&m blog :
United Colors of Chaos , Relating my ongoing battle with grey plastic...
2022 hobby running tally: bought: 71, built: 45, painted: 17, games played: 3
10000pts 4000pts 5000pts 1500pts  
   
Made in hr
Dakka Veteran





Croatia

My votes went to chris, para and Modock. Voted in the gallery too.

   
Made in nl
Regular Dakkanaut





The Netherlands, Europe

ZoBo: All the skulls are a bit overkill IMO, but still a cool figure though. Nice work on the lightning bolts and the art below the base really sells the theme. Lovely 80's art!
Porphyrius: Great work on the white, very smooth. I like the blue in the exhausts as well.
ChaosDad: The purple one is my favorite, that's a sweet model.
Midget Gems: I believe I love everything about these guys: the camo, the tattoos, the bases, the brutal gun on the right one....
ZergSmasher: I can hear that one in the middle scream "By the power of Gray......."
lipsdapips: I don't know much about 40K, but is this guy some kind of veteran? He sure looks like one. That red lens is just perfectly painted.
Chris56: What's not to like about this? Allright, Raphael's weapons are too big and Leo's swords too short. Everything else is eyecandy!
CREEEEEEED: Another He-Man pose, can't go wrong with that.
SirOllox: Convincing camo, you can tell that by the way it blends with the rest of his surroundings.
Modock: I'd buy that instantly.
Paradigm: As a kid from the 80's these immediately got a vote. Cool, especially the left one.
Rybrook: Nice! Please take your pics on a blank background next time, your paintwork deserves that.
Snail22: Your models are begging for more attention. Please provide us more pics from different angles next round!
Power Elephant: Awesome paint details, those fence shadows on the model. Even a more impressive feature is that they're also visible in the green sewer water.
Jadenim: A well chosen model, very true to the theme.
Feltmonkey: I like your guy better than the game version. The cartoon eyes are terrific.


 
   
Made in gb
Blood Angel Terminator with Lightning Claws





Cloud City, Bespin

Advice taken I did find this mini very hard to photograph, I have since printed some backgrounds that should work.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Straight out if the pot, bang it on. What else is there to know?
 DV8 wrote:
Blood Angels Furioso Dreadnought should also be double-fisted.
 
   
Made in us
Stabbin' Skarboy






Ok, will try to give brief comments on all entries; this is meant to be constructive as the purpose of this challenge is for all of us to improve as painters. As usual, if I can click on your image and go straight to the Dakka gallery, then you got a gallery vote, too.

Nevelon - I like that there are more colors on these guys than your usual marines. The use of camo is good, and they have an early 40k feel to them which is pretty cool. I would have toned down the yellow gun straps, but that's just me.
Zobo - Great job on the base, and an early 40k feel to this mini, too. The highlights and lightning on the model take the paintjob to another level.
Porphyrius - Good contrast and nice clean lines. I also like the use of different colors on the detail bits like the hand grenade.
ChaosDad - The time spent on the leader is obvious, the other three maybe could have used a little more attention? These are characterful and well executed, though.
Midget Gems - Did you sculpt those bases? Very atmospheric, they really place the mini in the forest/jungle setting.
Zergsmasher - These guys are ready for the tabletop, they'll make a nice addition to any army. You could easily take these further though, with some highlights, washes, etc.
Bantha_Beast - I can't think of anything but Cobra from GI Joe when I look at these guys (which is a good thing, I was a huge fan when I was a kid).
lipsdapips - Clean lines and a lot of attention to detail (the camo cloak is pretty awesome, too). This was one of my favorite entries this month.
Chris56 - Beautiful shading, and I love the background, too!
CREEEEEEED - He looks like he could almost qualify for the 3 color maximum challenge, but there's so many shades of the base colors that it's easy to differentiate the different parts of the mini. Nicely done.
Vejut - Cool mini, but since the wings are such a major component, I think they could use a wash or highlight or something to make them stand out a bit more. Nice clean lines though, and I suspect that thing's pretty small.
SirOllox - I get the feeling that these are painted really well and the photos somehow don't do them justice. Not enough contrast maybe?
Modock - Holy Man! Blades in the Dark indeed!
Paradigm - The quality you achieve in the amount of time it takes you to paint minis never ceases to amaze me. It would take me a month each to even come close to these.
Rybrook - I think it's cool that he's all black except for the Ultramarines shoulder pad, nice use of color there. The background will help, and think about cropping your images to capture just the mini and not too much background stuff.
JustALittleOrkish - These are well painted but I would add a little bit of detail to the faces to make them "come alive" more.
Kustomer D - I'm not normally a Tau fan, but this guy looks pretty badass.
Tim121RVC - Really just a solid paintjob. I like the highlights, skintones, base, etc.
Snail22 - Nice paintjob, my only gripe is I would have used a slightly different color for the base to separate it from the red on the mini. Maybe a rock or two on the base also to add a little interest.
Power Elephant - Very atmospheric, painting those lines must have been a pain. I like that you scratchbuilt the scene around the model.
Gulgog Tuftoof - I'll post a full debrief on this one on my painting blog when I get time, hopefully this weekend.
Craggy - These are ready for the tabletop, but it's a lot of plain black space. A little highlighting would go a long way to making these look really good.
Suzuteo - Same as above (Craggy)
Jadenim - Nice clean paintjob; don't really know what else to say.
Feltmonkey - So much character in this mini! Love the eyes and the blends on the cloth and skin, really well done.

Great job to everyone who finished!



All Orks, All Da Zoggin' TIme. 'Cause Da Rest of You Gitz is Just Muckin' About, Waitin' ta Get Krumped.
My Painting Blog: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/689629.page  
   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran




I didn't vote for it but the shadows on that Tau drone are amazing!!
   
Made in gb
[DCM]
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'





Bedford

Thank you for the comments Tim and Gulgog, Sadly I didn't sculpt the bases or I probably make a living doing it. They are Forest and Jungle Micro Arts bases
https://shop.microartstudio.com/en/179-bases

Haven't done this for a few months so wanted to comment on everyones entries

Nevelon - Nice Camo on the legs and good basing

ZoBo - Awesome over the top model, looking at it makes me feel it should be a poster for a heavy metal band. the lightening affect on the armour is brilliant.

Porphyrius - Nice crisp colours, and the details on the jump pack make it stand out very well.

ChaosDad - Fun entry the purple has come out really well.

Midget Gems - Forgot to turn a light on so the colour is a little off on the photos and I also missed painting a few small bits but realised to late. 4 Tanith models completed in 2 years good work

ZergSmasher - You do the classic colours very well, the gun scopes have a nice bit of detail on.

Bantha_Beast - Great colour to the suits and I really like how you have picked out the bands in red on the left guy.

lipsdapips - After listening to some audiobooks I have a soft spot for Sergeant Telion. I like the detail you have managed to get on his face and beard.

Chris56 - one if not the best entry for me this month, love the highlighting and also all the little details like the glow on the barrels, pizza box Awesome display piece.

CREEEEEEED - Nice blade on him, and it looks like you have done some stubble which has a good effect.

vejut - always an interesting model, where are they from?

SirOllox - The camo cloaks are really good on these guys and the bases are really cool.

Modock - You've knocked it out the park again, everything is just brillant on the model and ties in really well.

Paradigm - Another type of model/universe that really suits your style, nice bloody chaps

Rybrook - Nice work on the bone parts they look very good.

JustALittleOrkish - Its interesting you have managed to recreate the same ghostly effect with different colours. Well done

Kustomer D - Another cool model, I do like the gun and the base is a clever idea

Tim121RVC - Great work Tim. Nice pose, the base is awesome and works really well. You have done a good job highlighting the Orc skin.

Snail22 - A lot of blades on those guys, well done for getting 2 done.

Power Elephant - Another nice idea from you, very interesting and well executed

Gulgog Tuftoof - Its amazing when you realise its so small. Well done

craggy - Nicely done with some bold contrasting colours tey looks like a great and deadly squad

suzuteo - Cool take on Mephiston, would have irked to see more photos

Jadenim - When you zoom in on it you can see the nice detail you have added to the model. Good entry

Feltmonkey - Interesting little chap, the eyes are very good.

   
Made in gb
Dakka Veteran





United Kingdom

A great month, with loads of great entries and one in particular that is absolutely stunning. I'll keep the suspense going as you try to guess which one I'm talking about. No, it's not my own entry.

Nevelon - Really nice scouts. The camo pattern is excellent. I do find the completely white eyes a bit disconcerting though!

ZoBo - Good vibrant colourful old-school stuff on a model that is absurdly festooned with skulls. The 80s arcade cabinet name plate made me laugh.

Porphyrius - Quality stuff. Very sharp and neat, with some nicely-judged spot colours.

ChaosDad - I really like these. The blends and highlights on the purple cloak in particular are lovely.

Midget Gems - More subdued than your usual stuff, but very good. Some top quality detail work, on things like the tattoos and the camo pattern. The bases are also great. One thing I think would make them even better would be if you managed to get a bit more contrast into them, probably by deepening the shadows a bit, on the skin and clothes. Really good, characterful work nontheless.

ZergSmasher - Some more scouts, nice and neatly done. Kudos for doing freehand chapter symbols.

Bantha_Beast - Really good assassins. Painting a predominantly black miniature is always hard, so good idea to use the purple highlight colour on the suits and the red as a spot colour to add interest.

lipsdapips - More high-quality stuff. Brave to post such a big, zoomed-in picture! Good edge highlights and really great facial details.

Chris56 - Makes me crave pizza. Amazing to have turned cheap throwaway toys into something of such quality. Your painting is excellent, as always, and I love the humour, particularly in the graffiti.

CREEEEEEED - Scouts everywhere! Damn that face is good.

vejut - You always have such fun interesting miniatures. Your paintjob is very characterful. I bet all those feathers were a pain to deal with.

SirOllox - Scouts again! You've got a real style you're building up in your painting. Really dark, really muddy. Excellent work on the camo cloaks.

Modock - You guessed it - this is the entry I'm blown away by this month. Stellar stuff, Modock. I'm glad you were once again able to take the time to produce one of your special paintjobs. In fact, I think this might be my favorite thing of yours I've seen, edging out the Slaughterpriest. The rusty NMM looks fantastic. The use of colours is beautiful throughout. That technique of using loads of little dots really works on this model. Incredible work.

Paradigm - Excellent Predators. Really true to the source, and with added atmosphere.

Rybrook - Good stuff, very neat and clean. Great work on the freehand symbols.

JustALittleOrkish - Fun colourful ghosts, each one with nice shading and highlighting. You've kept the levels of highlighting consistent across the three colours, which is clever. I'm not sure I understand why they are three different colours, beyond wanting to make them look more fun. Perhaps they are different flavours of ghosts - Apple, Lemon, and Raspberry (for some reason raspberry sweets are always blue.)

Kustomer D - You've brought some real character to this model. There's something about the pose that seems to tell a story. I like the plasma-ey bit on the end of the gun, and the base is cool.

Tim121RVC - Great ork skin tones! I'm not sure about the positioning of that... bone... at the front of his loincloth though. If nothing else, if he falls over he's going to stab himself in the chin.

Snail22 - An aerial view of some terminators! They look good. A little black lining can go a long way to creating definition on a miniature, and you've used the technique very well.

Power Elephant - I really like the way you've done the shadows on the top of the drone. It really sells the idea that the drone is shiny and metallic. Great work! Most have been annoying to photograph as the wire mesh casts actual shadows across where your painted shadows are!

Gulgog Tuftoof - That's a nice Cadbury's purple cloak. A few other areas could do with a bit of definition, but the cloak is the star of the show.

craggy - Decent tabletop stuff, with some nice touches. The eye lenses are terrific!

suzuteo - I like the dark red tone on the armour. Everything is neat, and theres some good shading in there, particularly the transition on the chest. I feel that overall the mini could just use a few small highlights to lift it to the next level, but it looks good.

Jadenim - Really characterful work. You have to get the skintone right on this kind of model, and you've done a good job of it. I also really like the treestump she's crouching on.

feltmonkey - A bit uninspired, really. I don't think the colours are great, or that the model is particularly eye-catching. I tried to give it a cartoony feel, and I think that did work. There are just more interesting Super Dungeon Explore miniatures. In the end the eyes are the most important part of the whole miniature, and I think I did a decent job on them. Painting those big anime eyes is actually a bit easier than you might think though! It's really just a black circle with two overlapping U shapes at the bottom, with the top one a lighter shade of the bottom one.

Thanks to everyone who has voted for me or commented on my work, and of course congratulations to everyone who entered and finished a mini or minis this month.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2018/07/06 22:47:28


 
   
Made in gb
Dakka Veteran





thanks for the feedback folks!
@Gulgog TufToof - these were primed with Tamiya light grey and I actually did the very lightest pass of black I could to start off with, almost a wash, to try and keep the detail showing. I had to cover up a few spots after detail work, but for the most part in person they do have some definition on the black armour. The pics don't show it great (and the red is much darker than it is in person, at least on my screen) but you can see some cracks in the black on the jump packs and in a couple of places in the legs. After doing the red first I was very scared to obscure it too much and mess up with my dodgy brushwork though, so definitely could have done a bit better. They don't look how I'd like them to in these pictures. Do you have an specific suggestions on places I could have done better with highlights or particular techniques I should try next time? I've a few more batches of these guys to do and would like them to look better if I can,

@Midget Gems - thanks, I was really pleased with how clean the white came out over the grey primer. Definitely using that again! Gold on black is always going to look okay at least, and I used my usual cheat for any kind of gem type thing for the blood drops and vials, Tamiya Chrome Silver with Tamiya Clear Red over the top.

@feltmonkey - as with the blood drops it's Tamiya Chrome Silver on the lenses, then a coat or two of Waywatcher Green glaze. Been using the technique for BA eyes since getting back into the hobby last year but it really works on the DC, thanks for noticing. You mentioned "some nice touches" as well as the eyes, anything in particular I did right? Like I've said, I plan on at least another 10 or so of these type of dudes, so any help would be welcome!

Take a look at what I've been painting and modelling: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/725222.page 
   
Made in us
Grim Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain






A Protoss colony world

Tim 121RVC wrote:ZergSmasher: I can hear that one in the middle scream "By the power of Gray......."

Funnily enough, this is what I thought of when I first looked at this model! Glad I wasn't the only one.

Gulgog TufToof wrote:Zergsmasher - These guys are ready for the tabletop, they'll make a nice addition to any army. You could easily take these further though, with some highlights, washes, etc.

I actually did wash and highlight some parts, but it doesn't show that strongly in the pics. My highlights are usually pretty subtle, but maybe this means I need to make them a little less subtle. Thanks for the feedback!

Midget Gems wrote:ZergSmasher - You do the classic colours very well, the gun scopes have a nice bit of detail on.

Thanks! I really am happy with how the scope lenses turned out. It's one kind of detail I've gotten good at.

feltmonkey wrote:ZergSmasher - Some more scouts, nice and neatly done. Kudos for doing freehand chapter symbols.

Thanks! I did the freehand symbols out of necessity as much as anything, as Scout shoulder pads really won't take a full-size shoulder pad decal. I feel like I'm getting a little better at my freehand stuff, so it's good to hear other people like it.

Really appreciate it when people go through and comment on everyone's entries. It's helpful for these challenges, as we are ultimately all here to hopefully improve our painting game, so any kind of constructive feedback helps.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/07/06 23:34:08


My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/1/23, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~15000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Adeptus Custodes: ~1900 | Imperial Knights: ~2000 | Sisters of Battle: ~3500 | Leagues of Votann: ~1200 | Tyranids: ~2600 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2023: 40 | Total models painted in 2024: 12 | Current main painting project: Dark Angels
 Mr_Rose wrote:
Who doesn’t love crazy mutant squawk-puppies? Eh? Nobody, that’s who.
 
   
Made in gb
Dakka Veteran





United Kingdom

craggy wrote:
thanks for the feedback folks!
@feltmonkey - as with the blood drops it's Tamiya Chrome Silver on the lenses, then a coat or two of Waywatcher Green glaze. Been using the technique for BA eyes since getting back into the hobby last year but it really works on the DC, thanks for noticing. You mentioned "some nice touches" as well as the eyes, anything in particular I did right? Like I've said, I plan on at least another 10 or so of these type of dudes, so any help would be welcome!


Yes, I also like the blood drops, and I like the choice of tones on the winged bits. The purity seal parchments are nice as well. Have you also done small bits of weathering around the edges of the jetpacks? That looks good. Black is tough, so small touches like that can help of you don't fancy trying to edge highlight it all. I do think your red areas could do with some highlighting, even if it's just very thin edge highlighting along the top edges on the guns and sword. Good luck painting the other 10! I hate batch painting - I've been stuck for over a month with 10 tactical marines, 10 Hellblasters, and 21 Star Wars Legion Stormtroopers on my table, with some of them moving at glacial pace towards completion.
   
Made in gb
Dakka Veteran





 feltmonkey wrote:
craggy wrote:
thanks for the feedback folks!
@feltmonkey - as with the blood drops it's Tamiya Chrome Silver on the lenses, then a coat or two of Waywatcher Green glaze. Been using the technique for BA eyes since getting back into the hobby last year but it really works on the DC, thanks for noticing. You mentioned "some nice touches" as well as the eyes, anything in particular I did right? Like I've said, I plan on at least another 10 or so of these type of dudes, so any help would be welcome!


Yes, I also like the blood drops, and I like the choice of tones on the winged bits. The purity seal parchments are nice as well. Have you also done small bits of weathering around the edges of the jetpacks? That looks good. Black is tough, so small touches like that can help of you don't fancy trying to edge highlight it all. I do think your red areas could do with some highlighting, even if it's just very thin edge highlighting along the top edges on the guns and sword. Good luck painting the other 10! I hate batch painting - I've been stuck for over a month with 10 tactical marines, 10 Hellblasters, and 21 Star Wars Legion Stormtroopers on my table, with some of them moving at glacial pace towards completion.


I did a little bit of weathering around the exhausts (?) of the jump packs, but I don't think that's visible in any of the pics in this thread. What I think you're seeing is there my very thin initial coat of black is letting the grey show through from underneath. I took Duncan's 2 thin coats to the extreme, mixing my initial coat of black to just thicker than a wash and then only trying to cover the largest centre parts of the armour with subsequent coats. The white was done with Vallejo Dead White over the light grey primer, Drakenhof Nightshade washes and further white highlights. A bit time consuming but not all that fancy. Did a wash of the blue over the black armour after the final coat but it barely made any difference. My Purity Seal parchment is generally done with the same basic technique every time but different mixes. I use a Vallejo Leather Brown, mix in their white, and do some Agrax Earthshade wash somewhere along the line. The red looks completely different on my screen than the models do in person, so that's maybe poor photography on my part or an issue with image compression and displays. It actually started out a very orangey red, and I had to tidy a few bits up, so used a more solid Vallejo red coat afterwards, then a light orange/red mix to highlight. It doesn't show at all in the pics and the whole shade is different. :(

as to painting and modelling the rest, see my other post on here about my BA. I've a lot to work with!


Take a look at what I've been painting and modelling: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/725222.page 
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

I like that there are more colors on these guys than your usual marines. The use of camo is good, and they have an early 40k feel to them which is pretty cool. I would have toned down the yellow gun straps, but that's just me.
---
Nice Camo on the legs and good basing
---
Really nice scouts. The camo pattern is excellent. I do find the completely white eyes a bit disconcerting though!

I blame my camera for some of this. Which I shouldn’t, and my photography is better then that. The gun straps should be a khaki/beige color, and not as yellow as it looks. Might just be the paint pot being on it’s last legs.

I’m quite fond of how the tiger stripe look comes out on these guys. Pretty easy to do, which is a major plus.

There are colors in the eyes, not just white. I’ll blame the lighting, but still hate eyes.

Thanks for the votes and feedback!

   
Made in us
Stabbin' Skarboy






I'm glad to have sparked some discussion.

Getting good photos is equally as demanding as painting a good mini; I definitely feel the pain of all who are still struggling with this because sometimes even the best work I've done picking out details gets lost in the pictures.

@Craggy: Very little in this world appears truly black. Once you've done the black as you describe, I would either edge highlight every black panel with grey, or mix a very dark grey (basically black with the slightest touch of white) and cover over everything except the darkest recesses.

@Zerg: at this scale, subtlety often gets lost. It's generally better to exaggerate for effect (but do so subtly if that's possible?)

@Nevelon: I blame my photography for everything. These are some nice minis.

As I mentioned, this is meant to be constructive; I think everyone has put in some fantastic entries, and I've seen the bar raised in this competition every month. It has made me critical of my own painting because I now want to consistently improve the way I have seen other entrants do. Entering these competitions with a desire towards improvement makes good painters great and great painters legendary!

I have updated the plog with my own painting process this month if anyone's interested: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/60/689629.page#10054448

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/07/07 06:26:49


All Orks, All Da Zoggin' TIme. 'Cause Da Rest of You Gitz is Just Muckin' About, Waitin' ta Get Krumped.
My Painting Blog: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/689629.page  
   
Made in gb
[DCM]
Fireknife Shas'el





Leicester

@ZergSmasher, it sounds like damning with faint praise, but your scouts were my “also ran” this month, didn’t quite grab me enough for a vote, but an excellent tabletop quality. If I turned up to face an army painted to that quality I’d be well chuffed*.

*British for “pleasantly surprised and impressed”.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, @feltmonkey, is it weird that I also think the tree trunk is the best part of my work this month?!

I think I made a mistake using the white background, maybe should have gone for the black to help the balance. Thanks for the kind comments as always guys. Oh and Para, of course.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/07/07 07:53:30


DS:80+S+GM+B+I+Pw40k08D+A++WD355R+T(M)DM+
 Zed wrote:
*All statements reflect my opinion at this moment. if some sort of pretty new model gets released (or if I change my mind at random) I reserve the right to jump on any bandwagon at will.
 
   
Made in us
Utilizing Careful Highlighting





Gulgog TufToof-- The wings are actually washed and drybrushed, just not contrastingly enough I think, and the quicky photo didn't help. You can actually even kinda see the light banding of black wash I put on the underside of them in the wide angle photo if you're looking for it. You're probably still right though--thinking i should have wrapped that orange fore-wing area around to the tops too. Base is a standard 25mm round, for scale.

Midget gems-- wish i could take credit, but that one and most of what I've painted this year is all pretty much stock Oathsworn Miniatures, from their badgers and burrows line. They are pretty cool models though, I will agree.

Feltmonkey-- As i noted above, actually wasn't much to them- base, watered ink wash, and i think one broad and one targeted drybrush.

One of these days, really ought to do a full comment like those, because they're usually helpful feedback. Always feels a bit presumptuous for me to do one though, because most of the people entering are much better painters than me, this time included, and I'm kinda flying by seat of the pants.
   
Made in gb
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





UK

Thanks for all the comments on the Preds, they were a blast to do.

My votes this month go to:

Porphyrius: A great update on Shrike, and lovely clean paintwork.

Bantha_Beast: Love the subdued, stealthy tones on there.

Modock: Because of course!

Power Elephant: Not always a fan of your style, but that is a really neat little vignette!

Zerg, CREEEED and Nevelon: SM scouts are hard models to make look good, and I think all three of you managed that here!

 
   
Made in gb
Dakka Veteran





United Kingdom

 Jadenim wrote:

Also, @feltmonkey, is it weird that I also think the tree trunk is the best part of my work this month?!



It's a great treetrunk, to be fair.
   
Made in au
Three Color Minimum






Melbourne, Australia

Some really great entries this month!
Voted a couple of days ago but only now have time for a brief comment...
So...
I loved Zobo's old school Night Lord - what a great scene;
Lipsadips' clean and characterful Sergeant Tellion;
Gulgog's elven rogue - a great job on a truly miniature miniature;
Paradigm's fantastic Predators - your style really brings out the best in these models;
Feltmonkey's super clean, super dungeon explore - awesome eyes; and of course,
Modock's Heldred - a masterclass in contrast, man. The textures, light and dark, warm and cool tones really make this mini shine - truly impressive.

I also loved Powerelephant, Porphyrius, Tim121, CREEEEED, Jadenim and bantha-beast's stuff this month as well.

Thanks to those who voted and gave nice comments for my turtles!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/07/08 09:49:25


Skirr and Skiver, Fancyman of Cornwall and Best Friend of your Mother's. 
   
Made in si
Camouflaged Zero






Wov, thanks guys for all the comments and votes, really grateful for every single one!

I'm pleased how Heldred turned out. Also I did some changes to the camera settings and these pictures are the closest to the real deal, happy about that.


OK, let's get to the votes.
Porphyrius - clean, smooth and effective paint job. The offwhite is well done.

Bantha_Beast - I really like the dark blue grey and I think it goes extremely well with these guys. I wish the pictures were bigger.

Chris56 - awesome entry mate! You nailed it with the theme. The brown turtle shells and green skin with the bluish shadows are spot on.
The vivid colors of the graffiti makes it more believable and really is...breathtaking!

Paradigm - these guys are perfect for blades in the dark and your style fits like a glove. I like how you did the freehand differently on each model
which makes them more unique.

Tim121RVC - a screaming savage orc isn't very effective at killing in the night... Joking aside a cool entry from you. The orc is well done and
I like the dynamic pose! Good job on the base as well.

Feltmonkey - a cute little chap. It's hard to paint a mini miniature like him and make it stand out, but you did it. So close up and still looks great.
I'm sure the eyes were quite hard to do, being so small. Anyways they are stellar!


Thanks to Para for running these challenges and to MG for the work on the chart!

Bye and out.


   
Made in us
Bounding Assault Marine





Baltimore, MD

Thank you all very much for the votes and comments! I love these competitions; they keep me moving on my backlog and inspire me to do better each month. I’m honored that so many of you liked my Shrike!

2500 pts Raven Guard, painted 
   
Made in au
Wicked Ghast





Australia

Thanks for the feedback Gulgog TufToof, Midget Gems and Felt Monkey.
 feltmonkey wrote:

JustALittleOrkish - I'm not sure I understand why they are three different colours, beyond wanting to make them look more fun. Perhaps they are different flavours of ghosts - Apple, Lemon, and Raspberry (for some reason raspberry sweets are always blue.


I picked 3 different colours because I wanted to test the difference between washes, glazes and inks. The green is an old Orc Flesh Wash, the blue is Guilliman Blue Glaze and the yellow is Yellow Ink. I found that the glaze is best for auto shading and the ink was best for colour saturation. The wash was in-between.

Blue sweets are always the best.

Nothing to see here, move along mortal.  
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

 JustALittleOrkish wrote:
Thanks for the feedback Gulgog TufToof, Midget Gems and Felt Monkey.
 feltmonkey wrote:

JustALittleOrkish - I'm not sure I understand why they are three different colours, beyond wanting to make them look more fun. Perhaps they are different flavours of ghosts - Apple, Lemon, and Raspberry (for some reason raspberry sweets are always blue.


I picked 3 different colours because I wanted to test the difference between washes, glazes and inks. The green is an old Orc Flesh Wash, the blue is Guilliman Blue Glaze and the yellow is Yellow Ink. I found that the glaze is best for auto shading and the ink was best for colour saturation. The wash was in-between.

Blue sweets are always the best.


It’s worth noting that the old washes behave more like inks. I’m not sure how old you are talking, but I still use a number of vintage paints, and they behave quite differently then modern washes.

   
Made in gb
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





UK

Winners!

In third place (thanks guys), Paradigm's trio of Predators!



In second, Chris56's take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:







And in first with a whopping 46 Votes, 15% of the total votes cast, Modock's inspiring Heldred, in my opinion one of the finest models the challenge has ever seen:








Congrats to all who finished! See you all next month!

 
   
Made in gb
Dakka Veteran





United Kingdom

Congratulations guys! Very worthy winners indeed!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/07/09 21:34:17


 
   
Made in gb
[DCM]
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'





Bedford

Congrats Para, Chris and Modock, awesome stuff

I'll get the table updated over the weekend probably.

   
 
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