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Cardboard bridge has come out beautifully. Love the bold colours - a much more interesting pallet than the completely muted stuff you often see. Really like the fluff for the stilt walkers soo, really fitting for a grimdark kind of planet - I can picture the John blanche art!

Edit: quoting your post for the rollover

 kestral wrote:
And here are some street scenes:





The world of Rossak, on which the city of Pentegrad stands, is a world of deep oceans and small rocky continents, which has been a crossroads of the galaxy for millions of years. It possesses three moons which create complex tidal systems. Penetgrad, built upon pre-human blocks of massive stone, possesses an elaborate system of canals. At times the tides fill them with torrents of water that clean away all filth and pollution. At others they sit stagnant, or drain away completely leaving tainted pools of heavy metals in which dwell species from a dozen worlds. Through them stalk the stiltwalkers. They swath themsleves in layers, both for protection and to hide frequent mutations. At times they salvage debris, or sift for metals. Here one fishes for Cadmium Crab, a toxic delicacy trapped in certain pools by receding water. Despite the high rate of mutations, stiltwalkers are a respected community in the city, who take their place with pride in the various processions. Once each year the chief of their tribe portrays the doomed Primarch Angron who liberated Rossak during the great crusade from a cabal of aquatic Xenos....

Thanks! Still planning on doing a Messengers guild based on your bladerunner figures, but with more puff and slash.

Things I want to do someday:

Put together a DIY galaxy of everyone's creative projects as a sort of travelouge - like Port Imperial, my Pentegrad, custom marine chapters, space hulks, etc. using the splash pictures and fluff people have created. It would be tremendously inspirational I think. Sort of an extension of the official universe. With clickable planets.

Do a Space Slann group. I really like the lizard men in fantasy - use the current Slann as a starting point, but with lots of custom sculpting and lobotomized humans.

Get on that expanded universe immediately! Seriously that sounds awesome

 kestral wrote:
Thanks! Still planning on doing a Messengers guild based on your bladerunner figures, but with more puff and slash.

Things I want to do someday:

Put together a DIY galaxy of everyone's creative projects as a sort of travelouge - like Port Imperial, my Pentegrad, custom marine chapters, space hulks, etc. using the splash pictures and fluff people have created. It would be tremendously inspirational I think. Sort of an extension of the official universe. With clickable planets.

Do a Space Slann group. I really like the lizard men in fantasy - use the current Slann as a starting point, but with lots of custom sculpting and lobotomized humans.

That sounds utterly awesome! I'd gladly contribute my various creations to it

Hey, there's some great stuff here! Nice work, Kestral! I especially like your gladiators

I too have a deep interest for civilian life in the grim darkness of 40k (even 30k, too). I'm a sculptor myself, and have been meaning to sculpt some sic-fi civilians for a personal project. Out of interest, what civilian characters would you like to see produced that you perhaps can't get the models for right now?

Kurnost wrote:
Get on that expanded universe immediately! Seriously that sounds awesome

My web skills would need to improve a fair amount (although I'd like to get better), and there might be some IP issues. Wouldn't want to do a big project only to get a C&D letter in the middle of it. Perhaps it could be done as a system of links to forum pages in a standard format. It would be great as a resource for RPGs I think.


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 Ynneadwraith wrote:

That sounds utterly awesome! I'd gladly contribute my various creations to it

Your stuff is super sweet - I'd love to bring all the great stuff you can find by hunting through various blogs and forums into one easily accessed page of awesome. Sort of a travelogue perhaps, or a gazetteer.


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 chilledmonkeybrains wrote:
Hey, there's some great stuff here! Nice work, Kestral! I especially like your gladiators

I too have a deep interest for civilian life in the grim darkness of 40k (even 30k, too). I'm a sculptor myself, and have been meaning to sculpt some sic-fi civilians for a personal project. Out of interest, what civilian characters would you like to see produced that you perhaps can't get the models for right now?

Thanks Brains!

There are a few things I went looking for and came up empty. There was a request for more servitors in the Victoria Miniatures thread which made me think there's lots of space for more interesting servitors - like what about a Rickshaw servitor? Or melee armed bodyguard servitors in fancy dress. Those could probably be done with conversions, but they mostly tend to be kind of clunky. Are there no thin servitors?

I also searched to no end for some generic overall type factory workers. Really just a torso and legs would be great, especially if it came in a couple of sizes and had females too. I will probably wind up doing mine from sailors if I ever get around to it.

Miners and hazmat types was kind of a need, but the new genestealer cult guys cover that pretty well.

Something that would be awesome and really need custom sculpt would be 40K themed figures based on less commonly shown styles of dress and ornamentation. I like how 40K draws on lots of recognizable Terran cultures and tropes - makes it more accessable. I'd really love to do an imperial noble/inquisitor based on this kind of look with some aquilas and skulls and tech bits:

Thanks man! Likewise!

I'd love to hear a story of 'The Imperium's first tourist' travelling around writing a travel guide to various places. Especially if the eponymous tourist has a Twoflower-like naivety to them

Hah! That would be pretty funny. Shape changing Alien? I was thinking of Talislantia or the flavor text in the Sheila Calpurnia books. Or some kind of rogue trade or pilgrim's guide.


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I've actually made some progress in painting, trying to clear the paint shelf for new things. Right now I'm thinking space ships actually. But here's what I've finished:




Close ups on the Car - rather pleased with it. This year will be known as my "Thunderhawk blue" stage by my biographers. That color can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned.





Here is the Gear House and it's keeper:





Handsome devil. Might repaint him as an old man. Need more old men.

With some of his friends:





Checking out a car. I am quite pleased with CP models figures and hope to patronize them again. The detail is plentiful and more thought out than, for example, the stuff on Black Cat figures, but not crazed like some of the modern figs. I am going to do water effects on their bases I think. They work down on the docks, so lots of puddles there, right?



Low end part time local gladiators without access to fancy gear, vat grown muscle, or plastic surgery. I gave the big guy a farmers tan so that A) he'd be more like me, and B) it would emphasize he has a day job.
I also gave him my space marine colors. I like playing up the cult of the Astartes among the common people.







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Note to self - need this guy for the Arena:

Lovely guys and dolls, nice work, car looks amazing, and gear house is really great.

Had a look at that mini company, they have lots of nice models.

The potbellied gladiator is my new favorite in this thread. He might not have much going for him, but i like him anyhow

Really loved the Black Plague models for that a huge variety in body shapes and fantasy styles. Far more than you usually see.

 amazingturtles wrote:
The potbellied gladiator is my new favorite in this thread. He might not have much going for him, but i like him anyhow

Well, he is about 9 feet tall in 28mm... so that is something.

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 chilledmonkeybrains wrote:
Hey, there's some great stuff here! Nice work, Kestral! I especially like your gladiators

I too have a deep interest for civilian life in the grim darkness of 40k (even 30k, too). I'm a sculptor myself, and have been meaning to sculpt some sic-fi civilians for a personal project. Out of interest, what civilian characters would you like to see produced that you perhaps can't get the models for right now?

Thanks Brains!

There are a few things I went looking for and came up empty. There was a request for more servitors in the Victoria Miniatures thread which made me think there's lots of space for more interesting servitors - like what about a Rickshaw servitor? Or melee armed bodyguard servitors in fancy dress. Those could probably be done with conversions, but they mostly tend to be kind of clunky. Are there no thin servitors?

I also searched to no end for some generic overall type factory workers. Really just a torso and legs would be great, especially if it came in a couple of sizes and had females too. I will probably wind up doing mine from sailors if I ever get around to it.

Miners and hazmat types was kind of a need, but the new genestealer cult guys cover that pretty well.

Something that would be awesome and really need custom sculpt would be 40K themed figures based on less commonly shown styles of dress and ornamentation. I like how 40K draws on lots of recognizable Terran cultures and tropes - makes it more accessable. I'd really love to do an imperial noble/inquisitor based on this kind of look with some aquilas and skulls and tech bits:

Can't believe I didn't comment on the grimdark African tribesmen!

That's an utterly stunning idea. That sort of slightly bizarre body modification fits in sooo nicely with the whole Grimdark 40k thing, and the idea of incorporating non-Western cultural ideas into 40k is one that really appeals to me

I love that gear house, the different rust and corrosion patterns are fantastic.

Nice, great work on the keep house and keeper (and his friends)

EDC

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
I love that gear house, the different rust and corrosion patterns are fantastic.

It is not hard to do - I think I will do more metal buildings to contrast with my rather staid grey concrete ruins and blue grey buildings. The only trick is coming up with enough surface detail to make the ink useful.

Rogue trader Kickstarter sounds great - I look forward to seeing it. Any teasers?

 kestral wrote:


Rogue trader Kickstarter sounds great - I look forward to seeing it. Any teasers?

Haha, not yet. It's a case of slowly working on it in the background whilst I do the jobs that pay the bills. I'll probably post some more WIP pics on my MOTU Dakka blog at some point...

Admiring my civilian vehicle fleet (and this isn't even all of it - soon I will be able to do traffic jams!)



I've been bitten by the Gladiator bug, so maybe spaceships will wait. I'd like to have a small gladiator army at some point - something like:

2-3 leader characters
1 Medic
Maybe 20 or so gladiators broken out by style. I want to keep some of the Roman influence, while at the same time adapting 40K themes. For example, there could be a type of fighter who wears armor vaguely resembling a space marine's, but without tech.
5 or so bikers or cavalry for some speed. Is it wrong that I want to use these guys from Ramshackle games?

A couple of brutes/monsters, maybe a beast handler and pack.
This guy for heavy support!


I took a crack at painting some I have, but I was using Reapers Flesh tone triads - and I gotta say, so far Meh is the word. I loved the idea of a premixed set, but I just don't like the shades they chose.

Urban Mammoth has a lovely range that is very convenient for those of us that want something else than those old Cadians. I cannot but approve !

M.

Metropolis/Urban War/Void has some great models but I've had trouble with their multipart metals getting them to hold together.

A shame really because their stuff is gorgeous.

Love the urban war stuff. Oddly there is something going on with their range - there are figures I know they have that I can't find for sale.

Dark Age has some great offerings in the Gladiator line:













Sadly, all very expensive. Bronze age miniatures also has a cool new site - with greatly increased prices. : (

I have enough gladiators already to start painting - question is, what scheme?

Gladiators wear red - classic, khornate, doesn't show the blood.
Gladiators wear white - unexpected, shows the blood.
Gladiators wear metal and leather colors - classic, works more metals into the project.
Gladiators wear heraldric colors - shows association with noble houses, but makes them less recognizable and unified. Fits the quasi fantasy feel I like, but army lacks coherent theme.
Most gladiators don't wear all that much anyway...

Any votes?

Light brown leather, classic, shows blood, Maybe with one splash of color to show their house loyalty?

IE a few get a yellow glove, a few more a green loin cloth etc.

Bronze. You need to use bronze.

M.

I like Kid_kyoto's suggestion of combining small dashes of heraldry with a more unified theme (personally think the white has potential!) Would allow for a lot of personalisation for each individual whilst still keeping them cohesive.

A wee word of warning about Ramshackle - I've purchased quite a large order from them in the past and the cast quality was dire. Brittle, unworkable resin covered in thick mould agent and riddled with bubbles and overflow. A lot of them weren't even rescuable due to overflowed resin in high detail areas. It was several years ago to be fair and they may have cleaned up since, but something to think about before ordering...

Thanks for the tip - I have heard mixed things about Ramshackle casting, but I'd probably take the chance just because I like what the guy is doing. Someday.

Bronze is certainly in for gladiators, and I have painted some small heraldry on one already if it comes to that. Hmmm. See what the figures wind up looking like as a group I suppose. I've painted one in Reaper tanned flesh and red already but didn't care for it.

Image number 997:

Tibetan themed 40K buildings. Paper patterns by 40kaddict blog - great stuff. The domes will light up and I'm adding some skull beads. Sort of an inquistiional fortress to form the backdrop to more detailed terrain I think.

Odd - double post.

I just found this blog and read the whole thing from the start (it took me a couple of days!) and I have to say this is great stuff. So much inspiration here. Thanks for sharing all thus goid stuff and all the ideas and sources of models.

Of course not everything appeals to everyone when you have such an amazing variety of stuff here, but the Brethren really stood out to me as an exciting, interesting concept with cool models and flavor.

Keep it coming! The creativity here is inspiring.


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And I would love if you could somehow start collecting and linking the best 40k fluff and flavor blogs together. That will really inspire me to continue to develop the non-combat side of our campaign in order to be a worthy addition!

I think everyone involved would get a kick out of it if you created a unique traveler/guide-writer. He/she/it would need an interesting voice/perspective and, of course, his own model! People would love to see what he wrote about their planet. Very original idea! And very inclusive, too. People will find it very cool to see that their creation gets tied in to others' creations and the bigger universe and the community here.

Well thanks Riddle!

A traveller (or small group?) to frame the whole thing seems like a great idea, and certainly a bespoke model seems appropriate. Who would they be though? Rogue Trader? Some eternal pilgrim? A hapless bureaucrat? Who can travel everywhere in the 40K galaxy? When it comes to writing their commentary, I have to say my choice would be Dakka's Number one Fluff Generator (for my money anyway) - Kid Kyoto! Although it might be better to spread it out over several people (and thus several characters?)

Format wise you'd have to come up with what kind of content would be suitable and what wouldn't. Locations and Characters not included in the "official" lore? Not sure how to articulate that. I was thinking you would't want say, ultramarines, but maybe you would. If someone has a great Ultramar diaorama or their Ultras shown exploring an alien world, why not include it I guess?

I'd say you'd want pictures with fully painted terrain and models with some kind of backdrop/photoshop. Doesn't have to be "Professional" (no judgements on people's modeling/painting), but does have to be your best Finished work, with a link to blogs or forum threads by the creator where more information could be included. A limited amount of background text.

Then you need a way of bringing it together - big clickable galaxy map/searchable database, plus a form that people could fill out to submit content. To be practical the form would need to translate directly to the page without much work.

The IP angle has to be considered too, though there seem to be plenty of experts on that around. : )

It will have to wait at least a little while though, because I'm on a huge gladiator kick at the moment. Pictures soon!