Fetterkey wrote:

Moltar wrote:By coming on here and bashing the work, you really aren't contributing anything.

Except telling the poster where they should focus their efforts if they want to continue to improve? To be honest, I think the models shown here look noticeably substandard relative to other "GT-level" armies thanks to their modeling. This is, after all, the Painting and Modeling forum, and I don't see why I should give someone a free pass on modeling because their painting is nice.

Moltar wrote:Saying things like, " ...blandest, dumbest poses possible," doesn't really offer the OP and criticism to go off and learn from, it just puts him down.

Okay, I'll be more specific:

-The Tactical Marines are in very generic poses. Just having every model in a squad hold their gun across their chest and look down the barrel is rather boring, regardless of what angle you tilt the torso at. All three squads here could be markedly improved if some of the models were converted further to be in more interesting and diverse poses. For instance, one common thing to do is to use the "supporting weapon hand" to hold an Auspex, to use chainsword hands to hold a knife, etc. Varying the poses in this way makes the squad a lot more interesting.

If this is too much work, the squads could still be improved by grouping all models of a like type together to add more character to each one. For instance, all the running legs could be assigned to one unit (along with the appropriate Sergeant), with the other two squads modeled as stationary and providing support fire. You could even convert the Missile Launcher model in the running/advancing squad to be held in one hand, with the other holding a bolt pistol-- this would be a cool and dramatic conversion that would break up some of the monotony of the models as they stand. Grouping the models based on their basing might also help, though personally I would also rebase the various models that are standing in a tilted fashion-- this IMO rarely (if ever) looks good or realistic.

The Sergeants could also use some love. As it stands they all have weird and contrived-looking poses, perhaps because of the Apothecary arms that they need to equip. While these do limit the poses that a Sergeant can use, other non-Apothecary arms would be much better. For instance, the Sergeant with the bionics and the Sergeant with the power sword are holding their weapons across their bodies in an unrealistic and odd-looking way, which only draws attention to the fact that they seem to be using the same "aiming bolter" arms that are featured on every other Tactical Marine in the army. I'm not familiar with the exact arms being used, so there might be some reason for this-- they might for be the only arms easily available for Mk. IV armor or something-- but even a small amount of reposing work or conversion work using normal arms would go a long, long way here. The power sword Sergeant also has an Mk. V/VI studded shoulder pad without the studs painted, which looks like an oversight.

-The Terminators are fine, no complaints there. In fact, the Terminators are my favorite unit in the army by far.

-The Thunderfire Cannon gunner strikes me as really lacking. First off, the default Thunderfire Cannon gunner is a better sculpt than Armenneus Valthex. That being said, using the default gunner's arms would radically improve the pose and appearance of this model. The normal Thunderfire Cannon gunner looks like he is controlling a gun remotely-- this guy looks like he is striking a pose, and not a very cool one at that. The gunner has also been modeled with a FW combi-flamer, which, while certainly cool, is illegal in game and therefore non-WYSIWYG. Giving him a plain bolt pistol would be better, or one of the "old style" bolt pistols that comes in the same kit that his bionic arm and combi-flamer are sourced from. Further, his servo-harness is posed weirdly and IMO looks inferior to the normal sculpt, especially with the bizarre positioning of the flamer.

-The gun shields on the sides of the Thunderfire itself have been glued on backwards, and the recoil compensators do not look to be flush with the barrel of the gun and have visible mold lines. The bottom barrel of the gun appears to be deformed or damaged on its right side. The Mechanicus icons on the sides of the gun would look substantially better if painted with the standard divided skull motif. There are also visible mold lines on various elements of the ruined building attached to the Thunderfire's display base, though as the base is not something that would be used in game that's probably fine.

-The Contemptor Dreadnoughts both have very bland poses. One of them is standing with its arms at its sides and lowered, which really diminishes from the intimidation factor that a model like this one can exert. The other has its arms splayed out to each side and is looking right down the middle in a weird "come at me bro" posture. The highlights on the center lines of the Contemptors' torsos look sloppy.

-The vehicles appear to be modeled using a mix of the pre-heresy Rhino and Repressor kits. While unique, this runs into serious problems. First off, the æsthetics of the Repressor are markedly different from those of the Rhino, and the vehicles look like a very mixed bag as a result, especially since the paint job if anything highlights the discrepancy. Second, the Repressor is not a Space Marine vehicle and looks out of place in a Space Marine army. Third, the position of the Repressor top hatch makes it difficult to actually use the vehicle as a Rhino, since it is substantially different than the Rhino hatch, which is important when determining fire points. Lastly, all the storm bolter turrets look to have been misassembled, so their hatches aren't entirely closed or even lined up correctly, which IMO looks extremely sloppy and really hurts the overall æsthetics of the model.

-The Land Raider looks cool-- no real complaints there, other than that having the guns in the forward position generally makes more sense. Both positions are acceptable though, and that's just a matter of tastes and preferences.

-No comments on the Lucius-pattern Drop Pods.

Fetterkey wrote: Some criticism which was quite rightly pointed out to be negative and unhelpful. They replied by qualifying their criticism with a well reasoned post, outlining what they thought were areas in the modelling of the army that could stand to be improved and even offering suggestions as to how it could be done, liberally sprinkling the post with the term IMO to let the OP know that it was their own opinion, as modelling and painting is such a subjective thing.

Next Level wrote:Thanks for the compliments. Critisizm is welcomed as well, anything i can learn to better meet the expectations of my clients is pretty much all that matters.