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Ah, I remember the day a long time ago (the day before yesterday) when I realized that airbrushes need compressors. I know that sounds like I'm an idiot, but, anyways, I swore to myself I would not use an airbrush ever. Doing this with a brush is awesome, Jah. That's my inspiration of the day (or week).

@Zambro: thanks, bud...
to be honest, it doesn't take that long...
in fact, this is going quicker that my single mini painting, as there is a lot less really fine detail to worry about...
i just grab a bigger brush, and go crazy on the basecoat...
everything else is just like painting an infantry model...

@lliu: glad i can show that painting can stay simple, and still look awesome...
i'm sure i'll get a compressor someday, and hook up the airbrush i've had sitting around for twenty years, but not yet...

here is a quick update of the weapons for the Land Raider...
they are almost ready for assembly...
a couple of parts, like the Heavy Bolters, still need a bit of clean-up on the black after the heavy rust wash...
then all the orange will get a wash of Vallejo Smoke to tone it down a bit...
then a sponging of P3 Pig Iron for the chipped paint, and everything will get glued together...
by tomorrow nights session, the super glue will be well dry, and ready for touch-ups...



tomorrow night i will finish up the Tyranid Hunter symbols, and both tanks will be ready for varnish...
then it is on to finishing the Stormraven, and deciding which tank the client wants next...

thanks for looking, and taking the time to comment...
i always appreciate it...

cheers
jah

hey Dakka...

it's Throwback Thursday again, already...
that week sure flew by...

this week i have my first ever "display quality" commission from back in 2010...
The Butcher from Privateer Press, from the Khador faction for Warmachine...
this is the 2010 alternate sculpt of this character, and in my opinion, the coolest version of his four different versions...

the brief from the client was to take the studio scheme to the next level...
i pushed my red further than ever before, and got to use a display plinth for the first time...
doing the frost spreading out from his feet was a fun experiment...







thanks for looking...
i'm off to finish freehanding the Tyranid Hunter symbol on the Stalker and Land Raider now...

cheers
jah

hey Dakka...

the Land Raider is all put together...
since i took this photo, i have toned down the mud with a darker brown so it doesn't look so much like the rust, finished the lenses and lights, and got about half way through painting the Tyranid Hunter symbols...



now that I have the paint scheme figured out, the rest of the vehicles should go a lot faster...
i will have to remember to take some step-by-step pics for the next tank i put together...

tonight i will put some finishing touches on this Land Raider, and the Stalker, and then get back to work on the Stormraven...

have a great weekend, everyone...

cheers
jah

Looks great, I look forward to seeing some more angles and more tanks!

What's a tyranid hunter symbol? Will you do some of the new Tyranid models like the Toxicrene, Maleceptor, Tyrannocyte, Sporocyst, and Mucolid Spore? I really like those new models and want to see them painted.

Great work on the Butcher! Love how you did his face. One of my favourite PP models and I agree; the best incarnation of the character imo.

Great work as always! The metal parts on the butcher look awesome! And the complete weathering looks so "harmonious".
Really looking forward for the hunter symbols! Keep up the great work

Interesting take on the Ultramarine vehicles. They definitely look like they've been to hell and back.

thanks, guys...

@lliu: the Tyranid Hunter symbol is a Warrior head, with a gladius through it...
you can see it sculpted onto the Ultramarines Hunter Veteran models...
i don't think i will be painting any Nids, aside from a few trophy parts i will add to some of the vehicles, but who knows...
anything could happen...

@Boba Fett: thanks...
being a display model, getting that harmonious look was very important...
seen as how it is just meant to sit in a cabinet to be admired, the paintjob had better achieve that...

here is the first finished tanks...
i went with a very angular style on the Tyranid Hunters symbol, to make it easier to recreate across all of the vehicles...

the majority of the tanks will be a bit less beat up, but i wanted to throw everything at this first one, to see what works well, and what can be trimmed from the process...
the darker blue was at the client's request, and the orange rust was a good way to give it some visual impact rather quickly...
the metal scratches on the edges are also a simple way to speed up the process, but make it so the eye does not read the lack of edge highlights...
the whole idea is to come up with a quick process for painting an army...







as i said, there will be much less of the damage on flat surfaces for the rest of the vehicles, but the style will not change...
i am happy with the rust, battered symbols, and scratched edges, so that will be the main feature of the weathering on the rest of the army...

thanks for looking, and taking the time to comment....

cheers
jah

The Serfs that were supposed to maintain those tanks will be shot. I agree it looks more like rust than mud on the land raider.

It is very well done, but IMHO it is more for traitor legions than Ultramarines , i always thought of them of spit-polishing their equipment to perfection. (even in a warzone)

Looks great to me. When you've been holding off giant alien bugs for about 60 days straight, there's no time for cleaning equipment!

thanks, guys...

@Jehan-reznor: i completely agree with you, and wrote almost the exact same thing in my Facebook post yesterday, but the customer gets what the customer wants...
my job is to bring the client's vision to life...

@Paradigm: i also want to get the idea across that the planets that the Tyranids have invaded are very corrosive environments, where the very air is trying to destroy things..

here is the Land Raider, in all its beat-up glory...
yesterday i talked about the choices i made with the weathering, so today i want to share a bit about the actual color scheme...
all of the weapons will be painted black, to represent the righteous vengeance of the Chaplain's arsenal...
the Ultramarines symbol will always be on a blue background, representing the colors of the Chapter...
the Tyranid Hunter symbol will always be on a black background, to represent that this is Chaplain Cassius' personal army...







thanks for looking...
i hope you like it...

cheers
jah

That is one beat-up Land Raider. Nice freehand, and effective weathering, jah, but it goes a wee bit too far for my liking - having said that, and as you've already pointed out, that's the customer's call, not mine.

whistle... That IS one very beat up land raider. How many are you going to paint?

@Dysartes: i agree, i did take it a bit too far...
i don't usually paint with this style, and went a little crazy...
i toned it down a bit on the Land Raider compared to the Stalker, and will be dialing it back even more on the other tanks, while still sticking to the basic look i have committed to on these first two vehicles...

@lliu: i'm not sure if there will be any more Land Raiders, but there are many more tanks and flyers to come...

it is Throwback Thursday again...
today i am winding the clock back to 2009, and sharing my first attempt at battle damage...
this the White Scars 3rd Company Captain, Kor'sarro Khan...
i learned a lot on this paintjob, especially where the chipping is concerned...
the main mistake on this mini was making the white armor so bright that i couldn't highlight the chips, leaving them a bit flat...
next time i try this scheme, i will stop at a light grey, so i can actually highlight the white armor...







thanks for looking...
i hope you are all enjoying the little Throwback Thursday interludes...

cheers
jah

In my opinion, that guy is an awesome little mini! Will you be doing any Dark Angels, or Necrons?

thanks, lliu...
he was fun to paint...
i actually enjoy painting white, even though most people find it a chore...
i don't know if i will ever get hired to paint a Necron, but i have a Lord i have been toying around with for years, trying to make him look ceramic, like the most modern kitchen knives...
i'm sure i will eventually get around to a Dark Angel, since Marines are my favorite...

i'm not quite ready to show the Stormraven yet, so here is a little look at my new paint journal...
GW sent this out with the last order for the Ultramarines commission...
i'm not going to argue with a free Nagash notebook...
it is definitely an improvement over the loose sheets of paper i have kept my notes on for years now...

i needed to work out the freehand design for the vehicles...
the actual Tyranid Hunter Veteran models have a more organic looking Tyranid Warrior head on their shoulder pads, but i wanted something that would be a little bit easier to draw on a lot of vehicles, and keep it symetrical...
this is pretty stylized, maybe even a bit too much, but the customer is cool with it...

first i did a little sketch to get a feel for what i didn't like, and then a line drawing of the next idea, which i did like...
a little graffiti style 'Nid...




it's one thing to make a little sketch in a book, but it is a whole other ball game when you go to fit the ideas in to space you have on a mini, and deal with the tiny size...
i find freehand to be the hardest part of mini painting, and always have to psych myself up when it comes time execute it...
i do enjoy the challenge, though...

thanks for looking...

cheers
jah

hey Dakka...

here is the start of the first Stormraven...
at this point i am cleaning up all of the blue (P3 Exile Blue) and black (P3 Thamar Black)...
after everything is tidied up, i will tone down the orange rust (P3 Khador Red Highlight) with a heavy wash of Vallejo Smoke...
then it will be ready for decals, freehand, and battle damage...





thanks for looking...

cheers
jah

Nice job on the white scar, do white scars have terminator armor? i always thought they rather would use a bike than make use of slow armor.

Keeping an eye on this, very neat!

@Jehan-reznor: in the Codex, they have a White Scars Termie unit painted up...
i guess the deep strike puts them where they need to be...

@SBG: thanks, bud...

it's Throwback Thursday again...
since i showed off my first attempt at battle damage last week, i'll share my second attempt this time...
this is Logan Grimnar, from 2009, which was a year where my painting took a big leap forward...
working with more mixes for the transitions of my layers, and trying a few more advanced techniques...
it was fun to see how detailed i could make the chipped armor...







thanks for looking...
i hope you like it...

cheers
jah

Will the flying fish have magnetised weapons, jah, or just the one loadout?

Nice use of the P3 range, too - I wouldn't have thought of Exile Blue for Ultramarines.

@Dysartes: this Stormraven gets lascannons, missles, and hurricane bolters glued on...
not sure what the next one will have, probably assault cannon and multi-melta...
i like the darker blue, and the client requested a darker scheme anyway...
it reminds me of Dave Andrews' Ultras from WD a few years back...
i enjoy using P3 to create GW schemes, like using P3 Trollblood Highlight for the base of the Space Wolves scheme...

i got the blue and black cleaned up, and rust toned down on the Stormraven...
then i went crazy with a sponge and some P3 Pig Iron...
now it is time for decals, freehand, and then dirty streaks for the leading edges...
next i need to build the base, and paint the weapons...





thanks for looking...
i hope you like it...

cheers
jah

hey Dakka...

i got the base built for the Stormraven, and started with the paint...

this is the first time i've had the chance to use the bigger base...
it's nice to have a little more space to work with, and be able to get more vertical...
i like these ruined walls 40k walls...

there is a purple and green undertone to the rubble that the camera is not really picking up:(...
the green is concentrated around the plastic walls, and resin base toppers, that will be verdigrised bronze...
the purple and green are more noticeable in hand, and make for a much more pleasing look than just grey rubble...







thanks for looking...
i hope you like it...

cheers
jah

JAH, I hope you don't mind, but considering I'm basing my Space Marines with an "urban warfare" vibe, I'm totally copying your flyer base once I have a flyer of my own Looks damn good

Aye, nice work on the base, jah.

Simply great stuff as ever!

Fantastic base, Jah!
I can see some hints of the green tone in the pictures, but not so much the purple. I'm not an 'artist' or even a 'technical painter', so appologies if this is a silly question, but what does the green / purple tones add to the base? Why green and purple? And how did you decide to where to put the different tones?
I think the fact that you're unable to picture it properly makes it harder for me to understand the effect it gives.

Also, aren't you worried about the walls snapping off the base? There is only a thin join between the base and walls - I assume you did something more than just glue them?

thanks, guys...

@TheDraconicLord: steal away, mate, it's what i do, too...

@Zambro: the purple wash is very subtle, but is more visually interesting, and less harsh, than using straight black to shade the rubble...
the green is focused around the walls and broken pieces on the ground, to look like some of the verdigris has run off the bronze in the moist, Tyranid infested, atmosphere...
the next pics will give a better idea of what is going on, now that the base is done...
the walls are very sturdy, as the base of the walls is about a centimeter wide...
i just made sure to use new superglue, so the bond is strong...

Happy Thanksgiving, for those who celebrate the day...
i hope you all had a great day watching football, and stuffing your face...

since it is Thursday, here is a special edition of Thanksgiving Throwback Thursday (that's some nice alliteration)...
as this is a day to celebrate what we are thankful to have in our lives, i am thankful for clients that allow me to make cool new versions of old static characters...
this is my favorite piece out of my portfolio...
Blood Angels Death Company Tycho, from 2012, built from the Sanguinary Guard and Death Company boxes, with a bit of Greenstuff work to complete the look...
the pose is based on a really cool piece of Adrian Smith artwork...








thanks for looking...
i hope you like him...

cheers
jah