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I guess I would assume that the guys were in the razorback to begin with, got a turn of shooting before the assault which would kill the razorback (that is *if* I sat there an took the assault... assuming i need the objective I would), then shot & charged the following turn. That would change the equation as there would be one less terminator and one more marine at the beginning of the man-to-man assault.

I'm not suggesting it's a magic bullet... just that it has some capabilities.

Seriously, try the Lego guy Katana's. Would be prefect heroic scale.

@taff: I appreciate your insights... and yes, a power weapon is simpler... though I'm already up to my neck in combi-weapons with my sternguard so what's two more??

Monkeh wrote:On the whole tsuba thing, hatsumi school is a primarily ninjutsu school which deals in a completely different type of katana (ninja sword, straighter typically with either a much larger tsuba or none at all). All through my kobudo and kenjutsu training we were taught that tsuba's were typically made of a metal composite in some manner and were in use for glancing slashes and as gits pointed out defense based on parrying. They are definately functional and totally awesome aesthetically.. just to be sure.. the bulb design you mention, you mean something similar to this sunflower style guard Gits?

Yeah, that's the one!

Awsome idea on the power hamon.. if the hamon is much wider then you can have the power arcs/effects painted in there rather than the body of the blade, great idea!

I just had this image of the harmon seething and pulsing with energy... the sword itself would be traditional... but the "power" would be concentrated in the tempered edge (makes sense).

No tanks in my current army but my preference is definately the power weapon. As you mentioned, vs termy's or even tying up vehicles it's invaluable to reduce casualties or maybe even take some targets down with it. If it's an otherwise generic tac squad then the power weapon will help if being assaulted by non-squishy targets.. or even mega orks/warboss. That way even if the tank get's popped or you need to dash ahead for more targets you can just plant them in cover and they can protect themselves from assaults.

That was my idea... but I always like to question my assumptions to see if someone has a better idea.

Ramos Asura wrote:I have been working on plans for katanas, and I think I have a good design. Just need to implement it.

The tsuba is one part i had a question or two on-
Do you want it simple (similar to most Power swords) or with a bit more to it? I sketched up a crude design for a mantis-head tsuba, and another with an imperial eagle theme.
I could probably rig up some sort of kit that would give a choice of tsuba(s?), would you want that?

They would be of a similar (if not Identical) scale to the wakazashi, so those would also potentially have the ability for tsuba-swapping.

I think my idea is to keep things rather minimalist. A mantis head would be cool, but I think would get lost in translation. If you want to be creative, look at some traditional tsuba designs and make 3 or 4 simple shapes that can be swapped around so that each sword can be customized to it's owner.

As for naginata, I think a thin tube (brass or plastic) would be all you would need to turn a wakazashi/katana into a naginata with little difficulty. All that would be required after assembling the tube and sword is a counterweight of some type on the other end, depending on what sort of look you would want for that.

Good idea... add the tube, cut the blade down a bit so it's a little shorter, pommel and a bit of GS work and you're there! while I wouldn't want to make dozens of them for special characters or sergeants the extra attention would make each one unique and special.

Ah yes, and would you want sheathes (unsure of term) for the power-katana? Or even some form of kit to convert the empty sheathes into sheathed blades?

I think the power-katana should be unsheathed. It's the side arm wakizashi that I'd like to have sheathed so they can wear it (like Inushi does).

Gitsplitta wrote:I guess I would assume that the guys were in the razorback to begin with, got a turn of shooting before the assault which would kill the razorback (that is *if* I sat there an took the assault... assuming i need the objective I would), then shot & charged the following turn. That would change the equation as there would be one less terminator and one more marine at the beginning of the man-to-man assault.

I'm not suggesting it's a magic bullet... just that it has some capabilities.

Wouldn't it be the same, just longer and the RB dies?
Termi DS
Shoot RB (would DS at rear armor facing) Hit 5, glance 1, random result
RB shoots at termis (maybe) kills 1
4 shoot and assault RB, kill it.
5 marines assault 4 termis, still kill just 1 and loose 3 marines (likely)

Or are you thinking
termis DS
blah blah
Marines get out, hoping they are close enough to assault.
All shoot
Rines assault
1 more rine, same termis, maybe 1 more termi dead.
This would work if they were close enough.

Or if termis have a AC or CML, the chances of it surviving are lower.
Then no RB shots, no termi killed by shots, 5 v 5. Bad news for tac squad.

Yeah... well... so maybe not. Anyway, I'm committed so the point is moot. Will just make the best out of what I've got.

I love reading the talk you guys have been having on Tsuba, unluckily I know little of sword fighting outside of foil fencing which i guess some may say is more of a sport. In fencing the guard is very important not just for protecting your hand but also for a variety of moves which uses the guard to push enemy blades away so you can open up their chest and get the stab. Those are more complex moves.

I would also never give PW to any unit save assault heavy units, even then it would just be to a few models. I would go with PF, or combi-meltas/flamers. just my two cents. I like 5 man units in my lists but mostly since i play jump pack DoA list which needs lots of small units. In other SM lists I would have some large units and a few combat squads so that i can get some other static ML units for long range support and a few small units to support the large units.

Some WIP shots of the razorbacks. I don't care what anyone says... they represent a monumental step forward in my painting ability. Airbrush is getting more and more comfortable and my control is improving greatly. Tried the zenithal lighting effect on the rear hatch and it worked beautifully (though you can't really see all the angles from these shots). In future I think I need to start darker with my shading, but all-in-all I'm pretty happy. Tomorrow more hatches & maybe a start on the side doors.





Just couldn't quite quit... did some hatches and doors...

Wow!

Lookin' spectacular Gits!

Gitsplitta wrote:Some WIP shots of the razorbacks. I don't care what anyone says... they represent a monumental step forward in my painting ability. Airbrush is getting more and more comfortable and my control is improving greatly.

Spot on, you seem to be made for airbrushing! Excellent job, excellent blends, vibrant but appropriate coloring... I am getting an airbrush bug... been watching Lbursley vids and dreaming of a mini that wont take me 20+ hours to paint lol

Wow, very vibrant colours and nice contrasts. Good work!

Really nice bro, you definitely are getting the hang of that airbrush!

Thanks guys... it was fun... I wouldn't say "fast" but it got results I could never have attained otherwise. They're kind of a mish-mosh between true zenithal technique and just a dark to light gradient as I was experimenting as I went & the old rhino is a kind of complicated critter. I'm not sure whether to do the front if the other rhino with the two doors or the other big hatch. I'll paint both up and we'll see how they look. I'll probably do the smokestacks after that & finally to two turrets. Still a long way to go but I fee that I'm making good progress & that I'm learning a lot of new skills as I move forward.

Rather than the plastic hand rails (which always broke) I'm going to make mine out of brass wire. I'm also thinking about doing the Mantis Warrior chapter symbol on the side doors since they're nice and round. I'm still debating the merits and methods of that and it will probably be about the last thing I do for the tank.

The video series that I've found most helpful on youtube are done by ScaleModelMedic. One is painting an Imperial Tank and the other is using zenithal effects on a WW II Panzer. Of the two, I actually think the Panzer series is more useful though the 40k one is good as well.

Looks very nice Gits, i can already see an improvement in airbrush technique over Inushi.

If i may ask, what airbush ands compressor do you have? I've used our clubs one but have been pondering upgrading to a better quality airbrush that can do more than basecoat. Thanks. (I was looking at Iwata HP-C plus or Iwata Eclipse HP-CS)

I have a Paache Talon with the standard 0.038 needle, though I just ordered a 0.025 to help me with the small stuff (like painting marines). It only has a top cup/gravity feed... but I couldn't see painting more figures than that coup could hold paint at any one time, and I like to have my fingers forward on the brush & I thought a siphon feed would get in the way.

I got a good quality hobby compressor of the type you often see advertised with the aribrushes, but it's used and is having some issues. So I got frustrated last night and just hooked up the airbrush to an old air compressor out of my garage. Noisy as hell but it has a 3 gal tank so I run it for about 3 minutes, then shut it off and I'm good for probably 15-30 minutes of spraying. I'm actually thinking of hitting a couple of hardware stores over lunch and looking for a newer model... my poor garage tank has seen a lot of abuse. They're about 1/3 the price (or less) of the fancy airbrush compressors, have much larger tanks so you need to run them less frequently, and at least based on my experience last night... work perfectly well. And I do think the stream of air coming from the tank is a bit more steady than from my tankless compressor, even though my tankless model didn't have any trouble providing me with constant pressure. I haven't had any issues dialing the tank down to 10-20 psi & since my brush is made to run at 20-50 there's no issue there (it appears to work pretty well at 10-15 psi).

The big "epiphany" that occurred last night as I finally starting developing the muscle memory necessary to manipulate the 2-way valve in a way that gave me just enough air and just enough paint so as not completely hose down the figure, allowing me to make the gradients. It's been an interesting learning process and I do believe the "hose down" practice I got with the Necrons was instrumental in my becoming "friends" with my airbrush and getting a feel for it. Once you get the hang of it, it's amazing how precise the airbrush can be. I started out masking everything, and ended up only masking those things getting the zenithal effect (which is pretty much necessary). It's scary to think about what could be done with a needle that is almost half the size of the current one.

I must admit to being completely obsessed with my new-found toy now that I'm starting to get the hang of it. It's very hard to concentrate for the rest of the day as my mind is preoccupied with whatever the next step is or how I'm going to accomplish it. The three drop pods I have to do have gotten a lot less intimidating though... that's a good thing.

They still suck to put together, dont worry.

Yeah... but I bought 4 already put together. No insides (have the parts, just not installed)... but since they're going to be for dreads that won't matter. *snap*

And I still don't understand how 67% = B. Must be Chicago Public School System math or something...

Thanks Gits, i'll have to do a bit more looking yet!

Gitsplitta wrote:And I still don't understand how 67% = B. Must be Chicago Public School System math or something...

Sheesh... and I thoght a 75%=B was exciting when I found it (ah blessed grading curves).... I wanna class with THAT grading scale xD



Great looking Razorback, Gits. The only area I find kinda weird is that back hatch- Its brighter in the "shadows" than at the top.... Though to be honest Ive no clue how else to paint it.

For a compressor, I can recommend (at least for the time being) the Paasche D500SR. It ran me 125 or so, but came with the regulator and trap. Also its ridiculously quiet- my computer is even louder! Only thing I could wish for is a holding tank, but thus far its never had a problem giving me 20 PSI constantly.
Though for sheer value, the hardware compressor will prolly be far cheaper, just louder. I think you need to make sure you have an oil filter or something if you use those in addition to the water trap. I could be wrong- just going off of vague memory.

Well, the theory there I think is that you have more light reflecting (towards the viewer) off the bottom of the plate than the top. It's kind of an optical illusion but I have seen photographs of real vehicles where you can see it. Really though, it's a method for accentuating the individual panels and that trapezoidal hatch was just too perfectly shaped not to try it out!

So that back hatch was just experimenting with the technique as much as anything. I will probably go back in and decrease the shade of the highlight so it's not so much lighter... imagine some light coming in from behind the overhang of the tank and just catching that ramp edge a bit...

I see, I see.... Iiiinteresting. Im lookin forward to this.

woah that airbrushing is awesome! great job!

Thanks Grundz!

In the U.S., Sears carries some very nice little 2-3 gallon, oil free compressors for under $100.00, and they're Craftsman so the warranty is outstanding. I just picked a nice little one up with nailer for only $80. Since I own a house the nail gun is a nice little addition and the compressor itself is more than capable of handling airbrush duty. Looking forward to firing it up tonight & giving it it's trial run!

Monkeh wrote:On the whole tsuba thing, hatsumi school is a primarily ninjutsu school which deals in a completely different type of katana (ninja sword, straighter typically with either a much larger tsuba or none at all). All through my kobudo and kenjutsu

well most swords lack a tsuba (my boken has one). and Kobudo and Kenjutsu are art forms made after the 1600 bujinkan (which the school of hatsumi teaches) consists of 10 schools of which 3 are ninjitsu schools. the famely of hatsumi is a ninjitsu famely (there is the difference). the sword you mean is a ninjato. a sword the size of a wakasashi in the sjajha of a katana. the extra space is used too store sand , dust, kajana pepper powder or poison.

Git i hope you dont mind the pointless discusions if you do than please say so and i will stop.

i love your stuff

Naah fatty, that's OK... it's sort of relevant, and entertaining for the OP so that makes it relevant. Just keep the discussions civil so we don't start a row over minutia.

Way to butter me up by-the-way.... LOL!

razorback looking great!

The Razorback is looking superb. you've really got the transitions spot on.

That is excellent.
Ooh! aah!

If I were you, I would adorn this with mantis warriors symbols and purity seals, then make it transport either Inushi or your HQ.

Thanks guys!
Inushi is going to Ice Angel, so he'll have to bum his own ride.

I'm trying to figure out how to do 3-D chapter symbols for it, either GS or plasticard... my current vote is plasticard. I will give it purity seals & litany banners as well wire hand rails and antennae. Might do some weathering eventually, but I have a lot to do for the tournament so I may put that off until such time as the entire army is painted up.

There will be progress tonight of some sort... the other doors, maybe even the basic shading on the side doors and beginning work on the turrets. I'm going to try and pin the hatches on the gunners turrets so they can be opened or closed, but we'll have to see about that.

One of Les' first videos on youtube was how to make 3d insignia with an oven baked clay. I'll grab the link for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Inwholv3UYY

Nice work on the airbrushing Gits! I'm following closely as I plan to get one in the not too distant future, I'm glad to see you're having some great results! Can't wait to see your next brushed marine.

Fatty - Most boken lack a tsuba aside from the occasional one. Most swords definately do not. The only exception to the standard katana in Japanese swordsmanship is the cane sword.. which again isnt overly traditional.
Please keep in mind the ninjato isnt officially an actual weapon, it was popularised by movies and there is virtually no historical evidence of it's use. The only proponent of the sword actually existing is Dr. Hatsumi and the bujinkan school of ninjutsu arts. Not only that, it's most common feature was an oversized square tsuba, followed by it's straight blade.

Kenjutsu is simply the study of Japanese swordplay (not necassaarily katana's, this also includes but is not limited to juijitsu used at the time for unarmed combat) and predates the ninjutsu arts as well as the hatsumi family. But you are correct that in it's most common interpretation (as an art in and of itself) has only been formalised in the last couple of hundred years and as such the ninjutsu schools predate the official art but in that sense the 'ninjutsu' practiced today as an art is extremely recent in adaptation. Traditional ninjutsu weaponry (around the period of formation under the togakureryu in the early 1000's and onwards until the advent of the katana and subsequently the adapted 'ninja sword' (which is still a smaller katana slightly larger than a wak) in the 14th century) were little more than improvised weaponry, adapted odachi and nodachi and chinese weaponry brought over by the monks at the time.

History lesson out of the way (I obviously love discussion, both lengthy and pointless), both the original katana's as well as modern interpretations are well known for using tsuba. It's possible in practice that given your background in your country they're less common however.. as far as the Japanese are concerned they're integral parts of the sword.