GD PHLOG- 4 DAYS TO GO!!!!

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**Malika2**

Looking very cool so far! Don't forget to add that steeringwheel/controller to the thing. Can't wait to see what you would do with the sail!

Too bad it's a one of a kind thing, I'd love to see a model like that cast by the way!

**abhorsen950**

Im loving the necron lord
the paint job is great
Smashing Job

**warhound123**

cheers guys!

Good to be back! Yes, I thought that the photos would be slightly disappointing, especially of the lord:-(

I can assure you that the metallics are actually smoother than my little girls bum, and the green lighting is a lot sharper- and I have another 2-4 night to finish them yet!;-)

The DE piece, I think I need to explain a little further...
As mentioned, it is very WIP, and has been thrown together as a mock up ie, the rocks/ scenery are loosly in position, the blue tack holding it together was on the melt (it is ROASTING in the uk right now) SO to address, think of the scenery in a 'V' formation coming up from the plinth and the skiff flying smack bang through the middle with a slight tilt down towards the viewer, allowing a closer look at the pilot.
In answer to the point about the lance- with the sail on (missing in shot), it doesn't come out further than the front of the gun barrell (in fact about a 3rd back), but I do have a very nice tiny little splinter pistol on hand incase I/ you guys really decide that you don't like it- I will try and get some shots up later to compare- also I think that shots sans scenery will help people get a better idea of what is going on with the vehicle itself.
Regards to further develoments, there will trophy spikes sporadically based around the back of the platform, in a crown of thorns stylee and the control method will be a bio- mechanical umbilical that plugs into his spine!

It isnt clear in the shots, but between the top and lower parts of the rear plinth is a giger split of tubes and pipes in an organic style and this will be further textured when I sculpt the 'molusc' plate over the top (I like the idea that eldar are 'mushroom' related, while Deldar are crustacean related (see eldrtich and gothic for details). I see this vehcile as very much a 'tortured wraithbone' construct, that is semi- sentient and with the umbilcal linking into the oval behind him (which will contain liquid like a blood pool), will err into organic engineering territory;-)

more shots later!!!

cheers
W

**CMDante**

Good to see you back at it again mate and some nice progress to boot!

That really sucks about the rotten luck you've been having lately but hopefully things are on the up again now.

Looking forward to some more shots of the DE. I know what you mean about the heat, its totally killing my hobby motivation at the moment!

Cheers,

Dante

**Flachzange**

I dont find them disappointing at all.
Looks promising and Im looking forward to more. Good to see you back

**Callousness**

that jet bike made my jaw drop I wish I could model...

**Battle Brother Loken**

Holy............

being a Necron player
i must bow to you sir
you have done our lord justice beyond comprehension

**warhound123**

right, these shots should hopefully address/ inform on some of the explanation given above.

The stance of the rider here is very relaxed, as I think it balances the weight of the lance with the length. I am still trying to decide what pose to have him in:

relaxed as shown.
Lance pointed more purposefully.
Splinter pistol levelled at some ones head as he comes around the ruins
other?

The helmet is just something that I knocked up about a year ago when I saw the first piccy of the DE. It could be held in his hand as indicated, to suggest an air of arrogance and that this is post battle, but I do like the idea that this will be a full on 'snapshot' of him hurtling through the terrain trying to outflank the enemies tanks- therefore his pose will need to be more dynamic (knees bent more etc) I do like the flow that his hair gives and there will be numerous chains with cruel hooks and barbs trailing off the back of the platform to further emphasise this.

You may note the wonderful skull pool within the platform and umbilical cord that he controls the craft with. There will be more organic fine tubes running around the main coil to represent tendrils entering his spine and when it is finally finished, there will be resin 'blood' poured into the pit to make it gorey!;-)

The styrene work is just to form out the main shell areas, and will be hacked back before a massive puttying is started.

I think that's it for now?

cheers

W

**typhus**

It looks like 2 face lol

**Malika2**

Is it just me or does the helmet look a bit too big?

**warhound123**

yes, I agree, but for representation, I think it works well;-)

If it is likes, then I will resculpt one to fit the bill;-)

cheers
W

**Moloch**

warhound123 wrote:shjhdaswhefajnvf.sndf;akjsfakjd'm';lkasfdkj........ and back in the room!

Hi guys,

Yes I am back! Having spent the past few weeks stessing about exams, getting burgled and all my course work and prep getting nicked (web design course) the night before my exam and then this week having my little girl get chicken pox, painting a FW cobra for commission and then the paint falling off ****** resin- it has been an interesting time!

Oh and my camera got nicked, so I am having to rely on phone pics:-(

You do have my deepest sympahies, especially about that bothersome cobra comission....

As much as I liked the Necron Lord, I just love that Dark Eldar piece. Some very nice thinking behind it and I can see where The Gothic and the Eldritch had it`s influences. The helm is fine and actually quite close to what the wip studio Dark Eldar might look.

**warhound123**

OK, guys!

SO, after a bit of a hiatus (mainly due to RL grrrr!) and thankfully achieving the ATT winner status (I cannot wait to get my avatar!!!!- thanks Tael and everyone who voted for me!!

) I am now ready to turn my attention back to the GooD work of the main event!

To be honest nothing has been done at all on the skiff or the Necron lord, but these will be completed! I have decided to not show the final pics until they are done and dusted as I am happy with the direction that they are going. I will post them pre GD though to give you an insight and also to get any last minute critique;-P
So thats 40k Single and 40k Vehicle done (well I wish;-) and so onto 40k Monster!!

Now this may disappoint some of you, it will hopefully excite others... The diorama "black pod down" is not going to happen (booooo I hear you cry!)

I WILL be using one of my suits though! (YAAAAAY!)

After this initial conversation with my long suffering friend Zac, it has been decided that I can enter 40k monster and get away with turning it into a minor diorama. I am curious to hear your thoughts on the conversation/s and the images for influence.......

(this is a fragmented and re-arranged conversation taken across the planets time lines and re-jiggled to make some semblance or order)...

The Description: (BRB)
The XV-76 space able suit with "ablative intergrated interface armour"- described in a way to imply 'weapon system' akin to target arrays etc- also seems to be beyond test status.
The big question still stands:

Satellite function?
OR
Space walker repair suit?
OR
Boarding suit (breaching weaponry etc)?

Satellite type activity is known to be provided by advanced drones, and the way that they are written about indicates that while subservient to the manta/ other that they were delivered from, they are quite 'intelligent' designs. Therefore a 'suit' spy is irrelevant.- Gutted as I really liked the idea of my own personal 'Soundwave'.

Ship to ship action (which is the only reason/ time for having a Tau suit) is normally taken by remoras and Barracudas. They also have boarding torpedo's. Therefore, what is the role that the XV-76 takes?

1: External ship repair?- Although I would imagine this duty taken up by Drones ( R2-D2's being popped out the hatches quicker than tic-tac's from a PEZ dispenser!;-) hahaha

2: Breaching duties?- I imagine that when enemy armour is at its heaviest or deep insertion is needed, there are some Kor/Fio suits designed to do just that.
Heavy armour, footclamps, heavy fusion weaponry (possibly bastardising the missile pods from my XV-88 sculpt?) I imagine having the suit stood on the hull of an imperial cruiser at a 65 degree angle which is anchored to the 40mm base that I am allowed for that category possible, looking 'out to space', having just melted the hatch (so easy to model too!)- in fact most of this suit could be based off my 88 upgrade?

3: sub- fighter interference. Supporting the main 'Korforce', these suits are armoured to take out enemy boarding tubes, scuttle thunderhawks etc. Therefore going with the 'big-gun' idea could work;-P and would look more like the deepstrike suit that got me so hot yesterday (in fact it is my background at home and work now;-)
What weaponry and armour would it have? an Ion cannon? would it just be a XV88 with thrusters for legs? I want it to stand out very much from normal suits (inc my own) hence I will use the CCTV head as per the pic last night. In terms of extra armour (which is the main point of this excersise), why not the disks? What would you recommend?

I have no aversion to removing the legs and trading them for tech or thrusters. I think that given the 40mm base size, I would like it to be along the line of what I described above, OR the suit has just exited a hatch on the Tau starship and so have an oval cut from a tube so that one end is stuck to the base and the top curve comes around over the top of the suit so that the suit sits in the concave (if that makes sense?) OR it is free hanging, much like a gunplas entry- all about the model and represents it just hanging in mid-space. Think all those display models on hobbylink japan;-)

I too like the penultimate pic, and yes it would need stripping right down! Thing to bare in mind is that this has got to be an almost straight kit bash so as to save time, keep it in the tau balance and recognisable. http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/viewthread.php?tid=31703 totally sums it up in my mind?;-)

Any ideas for specific parts?

In a consequent skype chat, we then nailed down the more final ideas for the design and purpose of the suit (which then led to the dio idea being born): ZAC agreed that Idea@2 was by far the best as it tied more into the fluff and ability

XV88 suit- my upgraded suit with canisters made from burst cannons (stealth), the missile pods would be turned into "Fusion Hammers" with possible piping to the generator on the back. The ankles and feet will be uparmoured to create the effect of electromagnetic clamps and also directional thrusters/ gyro stabilisers added to bulk the lower half up. He will be stood on a angled piece of scenery as though in mid-space having competed his work....

Onto the ref pics:

So, I hope that this all makes sense and gets you excited? Any fluff general out there, please feel free to correct/ add to the theory behind the XV-76 design, but please bare in mind that this is a modelling blog and so massive theoretical debates can be left at the door- keep it concise people

Thanks for visiting!

W

Automatically Appended Next Post:
Hey guys,

so another productive evening last night with a merry little text debate between Zac and myself and a wodge of bluetack!
Before I go onto the pictures, I also wanted to hail Migsula from Dakka Dakka. His work on the TWAR system (a race of his own design and devising) has been incredibly influential over the years not just for his concepts but use of bits and execution! I also really like the colour scheme here....
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/175638.page

So, below, you will see various mock ups as Zac and I argued the toss about canister vs vent placement mainly, but overall the feel that this piece is going to take. Key things to point out:
Yes it is a blue tack arm- this will be swapped out.
The Fusion hammers will be scratch built enlarged fusion blaster plug-ins for the ends of the missile pods- unless anyone has any better ideas?
The ablative armour across the torso will be scalloped out so that it sits closer to the main bulk, but also will overlap like petals (sort of indicated as is)

Let me know what you favourite version is? Zac has been petitioning for the canisters to be at the waist, out 45degrees to the back- I quite like them at the top- what do you think?
And indeed any other suggestions- ideas?

VERSION 1:

VERSION 2 (WITHOUT FLECHETTE LAUNCHERS)

VERSION 3- OUT TO THE SIDES TOP

VERSION 4 OUT TO THE SIDES- WAIST

EDIT: I forgot to say that in addition, this suit will have 2 manipulator arms, taken from the Marine devastator back pack mounted into the chest (yes it is a total Appleseed rip, but god love Shirow and his designs!)

So which version do people like?

cheers
W

**Malika2**

I'm really diging the idea of a big tau space battlesuit!

**LunaHound**

Say hello to the looted version of Gundam Tau suit lol

**petelee**

But Warhound, XV-7's would be smaller that XV-8's! Oh no!

**smiling Assassin**

Looking wordlessly beautiful so far.

Every piece has so much character, it's almost leaking. I love the DE Artillery, the crewman is particularly brilliant. I can't wait to see these puppies painted.

How did I miss this?! I particularly remember a fantastic discussion we had about Blackpod down a while ago.

sA

**warhound123**

Ok,
so after being on hols last week (wedding and Cornwall- my friends there think my Avatar is the spit of me: Tael!:-P) and not getting much done, I came back with an itchy finger trigger painter thang going on, and also the sheer realisation that I have just over 4 weeks to get my stuff done!

Therefore the XV-76 has gone the way of the XV3 and the XP-vista........

HOWever, that does not mean that I have given up on my beautiful suits, no, but I have had to come back simpler (booooo :sad: )

Therefore, lets go back in time to that day when we first opened the MK1 codex and saw the picture of the 3 suits side by side, all JSJ going off in your face with a cheeky slap of multi-weapon options and a splash of "ooh, what's that little gadget do?"

Yes, folks, I have decided to combine my re-imagining with the force of great iconic Tau artwork to produce what you will see below. Taking what I think are the best aspects of the artwork and general suit design, chucked some detailing onto my kit and et 'voila!

Apart from redoing the foot tred and detailing the missile pod vents (it counts as one MP- not SM for those who might say "too many hard points";-) I think it is ready for spraying- what do you guys think?

cheers
W

**warhound123**

Ok world- here I am from the depths of my pit, and the sweat blood and anguish are still drowning me!

NECRON
First up, we have the necron lord. You will see that the corpse has been completely finished now, with resplendent braiding etc etc, but I have decided that while I like the colour of the outer cloak- it does not sit with the composition at all. Therefore the outer cloak will become black tonight.
The original idea had been to make the setting a snow/ frost one, however, the blues interfere with the green and silvers of the lord and so the base/ setting will become a desert one. Nothing over the top, but dust gathering in corners and swirling around him, I think will make the setting work. It also means that the whole piece will be based around 4 colours: Green, yellow(mustard), black and a spot colour of red. Normally you should work within a 3 colour base, but as there is a foreign element, this will allow for the additional colour. The silvers and Golds are neutral and so will tie the others together. Having the blue at the moment is just too much. What do you guys think to the base? It is not finished by any means, but the construction I think is good enough to support it, and the plinth arrangement itself is strategic, as while a 40mm base would be allowable, by funelling the width down, detracts the eye from the true base diameter.

XV-8.2
As I have said before, because of the nature of airbrushing, the differences in each stage are more subtle than normal and so, to the uneducated, it may appear that I have done not a lot to the suit... they would be right

Actually, that is not so much the case. The pods have been finished, all marking placements are down, lenses touched up, 1/2 of black>grey highlighting has been achieved, shoulder pad highlighted and a few other bits and bobs. To be fair it is only now after 48 hours away from the piece that I can see the true path to completion, am comfortable with the pallet and have slightly changed the pose (preferred?) This really will be a the last thing to be done, as I want to nail this one! To point out also, highlighting and simultaneously shading a pre-airgunned area is incredibly laborious- easy, but laborious! It only takes 3 colours, but making sure that all areas are smooth transitions that match the original sprayed camo and take on zenithal highlights is a head ache! Anyway, onto the shots!

The puppet master of Mordheim
This piece has been around for a while- it actually got disqualified a few years ago, as they thought it was a Rackham model!!!?? As I pointed out to Alan Merrett (chief judge) in a hour long debate, if you are going to make a call on subject matter, at least know your subject matter!! (Rackham and Mordheim are very similar in styling- is it my fault that GW ripped them off? :crafty: ) He then published (at least in the uk) a 3 page editorial mirroring our debate- good to know I got through to them;-)
Fantasy single entry.

Please forgive the photos, I will edit them during the course of the day so that they are upright etc;-)

So, any thoughts, comments, slating will be appreciated!?

cheers
Ws

**warhound123**

warhound123 wrote:Ok,

So after having a clear up from the suit workload and digging out all my little trays of ongoing projects, digging around on Deviant Art and then getting very excited about too many ideas in my head, I decided that my GD (UK 2009) blog should be restarted with a view to:

1: To decide out of lots of WIP's, which entries to go for.
2: To get the forums input on what is popular in terms of colour choices, modelling style and context, which will hopefully push the entries further towards being a winner!
3: To divulge some of the techniques and processes I go through in order to win a coveted trophy!

So, the challenge is this.
At each stage of this process, I will be asking for your input, with a poll feature to gauge peoples reactions. While I will keep the idea on track (and in keeping with my original idea) the whole thing is over to you guys!! (MODS can you give me POLL function?)

I want this to be a completely original concept, whereby I am essentially a puppet, but through open discussion, we can all learn and get some good ideas bouncing around. More importantly, it will make me work harder to get stuff completed on time!!!;-) and keep my desk clean and focussed!;-)

THE FIRST ROUND:
Now to choose the projects that I will concentrate on. I will list below the various works ongoing along side fresh new ideas that I would like you to choose from. By each idea will be the category that the piece will go into and a rough time estimate on how long each will take to complete. When voting, please remember that I can only have 1 entry in each category, so while you might love 2 x single miniature, you will need to sacrifice one for the other (this is the pain that I am going through now!)

Until I can organise with the mods to get a Poll facility, please feel free to free-post your votes!

40k Single

Genestealer Hybrid (3rd gen). 2 Weeks painting to do...

Necron Lord. 3 week build, 3 week painting. (with dead commissar being held up- thanks to Hokunin!)

Eldar wraithguard. 3 week build, 3 week painting. Multipose conversion styled closer to the wraithlord of today.

40K Squad

My Tau suits (x3) 3 weeks build- 4 weeks paint- 2 weeks on the basing. (these could be hyper based in a similar but simpler diorama setting previously described)

Pre- Heresy Death Guard squad- 7 guys with sorceror, pain merchant/ butcher and possesed 'fly marine', plus possible 3 guard conscripts.

40k Vehicle
Dark Eldar Artillary piece (thanks to Ignus Dei at Deviant art!!)- 1 month to sculpt (with 2 x crew) and 1 month 2 paint.

Eldar Autarch with Jet bike

40k Monster/ vehicle

XV88 Broadside (my own) with nice base- treading on rhino door- combat stance

Old one on dias (Slaan Mage priest) contemplating the universe. Think grumpy frog on a throne with pipe and lots of skulls around him in a dank cave- skin the colour abraham from Hellboy with Stargate style black granite architecture.

Eldar wraithguard- multipose conversion styled closer to the wraithlord of today.

Scratch build Tombspider- I dont like the current one and the Tomb Stalker just floats my boat! (based loosly on this one- not to scale!)

Duel
Battle at the Gate. Custode vs Worldeater on jetbikes at the emperors palace- VERY dynamic

Diorama
Blackpod down
(based on the discussion here; http://www.advancedtautactica.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=13275)

Open (this is scary for me, as only the studio staff tend to win and so I would be up against the BIG boys!;-)

Old one on dias (Slaan Mage priest) contemplating the universe
Eldar Autarch (as before but with more elaborate base)

I have a fair idea of what people will like/ want to see here, but it will be an interesting process none the less:-)

So, who's on board? (EDIT) I must point out that I am posting this here, at Warseer and also Dakka Dakka, so the results will be a combination of all 3 communities opinions. The reason being is that each forum has a very different way in which it critiques and also how opinions are shared. The result will be entries that are balanced as a result and hopefully therefore more likely to win!

Cheers

Wa'Rhound

(Full shots and other inspiration- here: http://s198.photobucket.com/albums/aa192/warhound_photo/)

**Cilithan**

Nice stuff all over, but Im really impressed with the Dark Eldar Skimmer project (although the Necron Lord is really great too). Intreaged to see more.

Thanks for the inspirational work.

Cilithan

**migsula**

Been such a gem this blog has - not sure where exactly are you in terms of process and which models you will be taking, but wish you the best of luck and looking forward to more and better pics!!

**warhound123**

Cheers Man!

I have really enjoyed the process (high's and low's) and while frustrated at my own lack of progress, 4 entries will suffice;-)

Any final critique?

Fingers crossed for Sunday!

cheers
W