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da waaagh orkz wrote:
Have not checked this thread for a while now. Looking good so far, glad to see you have followed my avivce about the external gubbins. What would look really good would to be to get a space marine dreadnought and stick a bunch of random wires and stuff on it to make it look extensively modified or something. Still waiting to see what you will do for orks though.

Thanks da waaagh.
'twas a good idea.
Oh yeah, what vehicles and tech I get my hands on in time will receive modifications of the useful and not so useful natures (as it should be for a mad scientist).
Orks will appear eventually, I'm holding off a little so as to build up a larger collection of bitz as orks seem to lend themselves to many crazy conversions. I will try to make up for the wait with as much crazyness as possible.


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Woooop! 2nd page...


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New army recruits! The first of the Eldar are complete.

I started with the heavy weapon platform and the pair of guardians that come with it.
I didn't modify the guardians as I wanted to see what they looked like in the flesh (plastic) before deciding what I can change on the remaining guardians (there is another 8 to play with, so plenty of opportunity to chop and change things).

That said, these 2 have ended up in a very relaxed pose...

Citizen! I want YOU!

The (Mad) Scientist has also had a fiddle with the heavy weapon platform...

The chap on the left was captured from the Alaitoc craftword and the chap on the right from Iyanden.
I thought the reversal of the blue / yellow worked nice as a pair.
That brings me to the platform. You may recognise the colour scheme from a certain famous racing livery (I thought about adding some Eldar runes that would look like the word gulf, but bottled it as I don't think my freehand would have let me).


I attempted some ambitious OSL on the Star Cannon (let me know what you think)
I also made it look like The Scientist had bodged the extra missile launcher on top with metal plates and chains.
I also added some dust and dirt and wear and scratches to the platform.
Would like to know what people think of all this so I can improve for future models.

The business end of the missile launcher is painted with a new paint I got recently, Humbrol Metalcote. Paint it on and let it dry, then polish it and it comes up shiny like whichever metal it represents (polished steel in this case).
Doesn't show well on the above pics, but does here:


And this shows the underside of the platform, as presented by the guardians


Enjoy and let me know what you think.

I think your models are great. Maybe you could expirement with a more dirty color sceem for some of your models- just a thought.

da waaagh orkz wrote:
I think your models are great. Maybe you could expirement with a more dirty color sceem for some of your models- just a thought.

Thanks again.

The thought was, with the platform, was that it is hovering and doesn't move that quickly. So wouldn't get all that dirty.
But other vehicles, that are in contact with the ground (e.g. war walker) and/or move quicker (e.g. waveserpent) would be and will be dirtier when I get round to them.

As a special treat for reaching page 2, I shall post a wip post... I realise however, that:
a) page 2 isn't much to celebrate (it is actually just an excuse)
b) wip isn't much of a treat next to finished models (you have had some finished models already anyway)
c) you will find that little work has actually progressed for this wip (maybe it should be planning in progress)


and on that note.
What you are about to see is to become the Dire Avenger Exarch of the box. So will have the flag etc...

The thought is that, as an expert in fighting, the Exarch model should represent his excellent skills. So I want him poised on one leg ready to do battle and not standing sedentary as the model does from the box.

This leads to a few questions:
First of all, what shall I have him poised on?
I've had a few ideas; A skull, A marine helmet, Tree stump, Concrete bollard, Big rock, Sign post or Fence post.
Any thoughts or ideas will be appreciated. It'll need to be something solid, as I have plans to pin his foot to said object and I want it to look as if some skill is required to remain on said object.

The pictures should show where I'm planning on chopping the bent leg, in order to have it bent more and make it look as if he's ballanced and not about to fall over as he does now. Do people agree with the plan or have advice to pull this off?

Hey, we like to see wips around here Who wants to look at all that painted stuff anyway

I'd say the cuts need (kneed ) to be either side of the knee - there's natural lines to cut through there. You might be able to get away with just the lower cut - but the upper cut should be below that strap - your line shows it above the strap, which would probably end up looking like his thich was bent, and then his knee.

Like the idea for the pose - would look good with the sword held over his head - blade side up, point aiming towards his foe (I know what I mean )

 monkeytroll wrote:
Hey, we like to see wips around here Who wants to look at all that painted stuff anyway

I'd say the cuts need (kneed ) to be either side of the knee - there's natural lines to cut through there. You might be able to get away with just the lower cut - but the upper cut should be below that strap - your line shows it above the strap, which would probably end up looking like his thich was bent, and then his knee.

Like the idea for the pose - would look good with the sword held over his head - blade side up, point aiming towards his foe (I know what I mean )

Thanks MT, Yeah I have discovered that 2 cuts work better while chopping up another Dire Avenger for practice.
Yeah, that strap was one of the things I was wondering about, glad you mentioned it The only reason I was thinking above the strap was that it had dangling ends that I would have to cut through if I cut below it. Oh well, I'll rebuild them when I do the rest of the knee (No point being lazy really).

I (think) I see what you mean about the arms, ready to stab downwards? We shall see, might be tricky with the staff/halberd/pike (whatever it's called) thing he has. It's all held together with a certain blue coloured self-adhesive putty at the mo, so not set in stone yet.

I meant that the length of the blade was still horizontal...meh, this is still a crap description.


http://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDodu416JQ9VsABvlNBQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fuk.images.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dtai%2Bchi%2Bsabre%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D59&w=349&h=200&imgurl=www.okinawa-shaolin.com%2Fimage%2FSUON%2Fkea_tcc_dao.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.okinawa-shaolin.com%2F&size=48+KB&name=%3Cb%3Etai+chi+sabre+%3C%2Fb%3Eyang+chengfu&p=tai+chi+sabre&oid=10dc67b4de01eda17af7cea0af9b33e5&fr2=piv-web&fr=&tt=%253Cb%253Etai%2Bchi%2Bsabre%2B%253C%252Fb%253Eyang%2Bchengfu&b=31&ni=72&no=59&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=10v702u6v&sigb=12toaskcp&sigi=11igf0hl4&.crumb=atBCCsFiDtb

try that ungainly chunk of a link

Or http://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDodu62KJQPR4AN1RNBQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fuk.images.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dtai%2Bchi%2Bsabre%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D136&w=333&h=291&imgurl=www.key-arts.co.uk%2Farchive%2Fimages%2Fmartial%2F44.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.key-arts.co.uk%2Farchive%2F7.htm&size=24.1+KB&name=%3Cb%3ETAI+CHI+%3C%2Fb%3EBROADSWORD+PART+3&p=tai+chi+sabre&oid=673a19f35382958de57ccc3da3c1773d&fr2=piv-web&fr=&tt=%253Cb%253ETAI%2BCHI%2B%253C%252Fb%253EBROADSWORD%2BPART%2B3&b=121&ni=72&no=136&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=117ubs0b3&sigb=12u93bh2q&sigi=11g5pmm27&.crumb=atBCCsFiDtb

Not quite what I was looking for, but similar enough - that sabre in front pose is seen in a lot of sabre forms, with some variations on the other hand and the floating foot - may not be what you're after, just one of the things that popped into my head when I saw the foot position you were going for.

Ah ha, I see what you mean. Will have to see how ballanced he looks once I've done the leg.

And talking of legs, that 2nd link is very close to what I'm aiming for.

Ta.

Oh yeah, might not work at all with the actual mini, just the fact that you wanted a balanced, ready for action martial look made me think of those two stances in particular.

And I think Tai Chi suits space elves

He should have his sword over his head about to dice another eldar on the ground(
(if possible). It amuses me to see two of the same race killing each other . Also he should have a bunch of wires running down from the back of his head to as computer on his back or something similar.

da waaagh orkz wrote:
He should have his sword over his head about to dice another eldar on the ground(
(if possible). It amuses me to see two of the same race killing each other . Also he should have a bunch of wires running down from the back of his head to as computer on his back or something similar.

Hmm, not alot of room on the base for a whole body and something for him to stand on. Maybe a combination of the 2. Something to think about.

There is some pretty major augmentation coming up for some of the Eldar, but there is probably room for some cables etc...

Keep bringing new ideas, the more the merrier.

Wow, I love all the craziness associated with this. One could say... 'madness'! I particularly like the feel of "Eff you I paint what I want!" that everything has. You have some really fun paintjobs on the gaunts, that orange one with the black splotches is one of my favorites. You definitely save yourself from getting bored painting the same thing over and over again.

Keep up the madness! I'll certainly be following it.

Nice icon by the way!

 Chemical Cutthroat wrote:
Wow, I love all the craziness associated with this. One could say... 'madness'! I particularly like the feel of "Eff you I paint what I want!" that everything has. You have some really fun paintjobs on the gaunts, that orange one with the black splotches is one of my favorites. You definitely save yourself from getting bored painting the same thing over and over again.

Keep up the madness! I'll certainly be following it.

Nice icon by the way!

Thank you.
lol, it's easy to paint what you want if you have no idea of the implications of playing on the table with them...

That's the main aim. To keep painting fun.

Glad you like it and welcome aboard. I have been lurking on your infinity blog recently

You mean the laughing man icon? It's from Ghost in the Shell (one of my favorite anime and manga).

OK, a bit more wip for you interested persons.

These are only BluTacked at the mo, but I will be throwing milliput at the "basic" DAvenger in a bit.

One Dire Avenger, made to look like he's running between cover or something similar.
Just the one chopped leg. Oh and I had to chop off the skirt thing that was getting in the way of his newly positioned foot, will have to remake that as well...where's the milliput...

And the Exarch in a new pose (based on the link from Monkeytroll ).
What do people think?
Ignore the bit of sprue, that is just being used as a stand in for the upper section of the arm which is still attached to the rest of the arm.
Also, you may notice the ribbon of cloth that is molded from the elbow to the staff. That will need chopping off and replacing when I do the elbow (if I do this stance).

Ahh, my bad - I hadn't realised it was one of those halberd things rather than a sword (even though you did mention it ) - now I'm not so sure - maybe your original was better

lol.
On the one hand, I do like the new pose. Although I also liked the first pose.

On the other hand, it kinda looks like he's about to throw a javelin...
That's partly down to the fact I can't get the arm any higher due to the shoulder pad and partly due to the angle the hand is holding the shaft.

I do have the sword earmarked for one of the others, so maybe I could save that pose for him...

So here is the first Dire Avenger after rebuilding his leg and skirt.

I like the pose, that is fine.
I'm reasonably happy with the skirt, that is fine.
The knee however, has not gone well...

Had enough problems trying to get it on and in the right place and has now ended up... attached, but not the right shape and the lower leg is not in quite the right place

Still, learnt a few things. I think I may build knees in separate pieces with the correct angles and then glue together rather than trying to build in situ.

This chap may wait until I've had more practice, or may go straight back into the operating theater tomorrow for a new knee (might as well only up one model at a time).

The operation was a success, his knee looks better now and just needs a bit of tidying up once set and then I can revert to pictures with colour in (e.g. painting).

Amazing the miracles of modern medicine

Is that tentacle one of your comb experiments? Looks fine.

A lick of paint and it doesn't seem to show. Will see what people think once he's finished.

Ah yes it is. I've done a few and they may become tentacles or tubing depending on the outcome.

Hello Dr H. Just going to throw in my 2 pence.

Eldar are difficult to paint, but you have done well with those two guardians. I see highlights and shadows and careful blending. But I will have to stick the knife in and twist it about a bit and say I wasn't so impressed by the grav platform - the OSL is messy and appears darker than the surrounding areas. It should be lighter (difficult considering the surrounding areas are white). But then OSL is always tricky for those of us without airbrushes (damn them and their cheating spray guns!) so don't give up! Maybe next time try it on a darker background and then it will look more like light.

 weetyskemian44 wrote:
Hello Dr H. Just going to throw in my 2 pence.

Eldar are difficult to paint, but you have done well with those two guardians. I see highlights and shadows and careful blending. But I will have to stick the knife in and twist it about a bit and say I wasn't so impressed by the grav platform - the OSL is messy and appears darker than the surrounding areas. It should be lighter (difficult considering the surrounding areas are white). But then OSL is always tricky for those of us without airbrushes (damn them and their cheating spray guns!) so don't give up! Maybe next time try it on a darker background and then it will look more like light.

Thanks weety.
If it's just the OSL then it's ok. I wasn't overly happy with it and wanted to see what people thought of it.
Is it just on the white where it looks wrong? I'll have a look at tidying it up and lightening it a shade or two.
Do you have any tips for pulling off OSL without an airbrush?

Well when I do OSL (and thats not very often admittedly) I delicately brush the area I want to be bright with white and then wash over it with the colour I want using a watered down pigment or a wash paint, and the white under the wash gives the colour a brightness.


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Or you could try just mixing the colour you want with white untill you get a pastel shade which will work almost as well if carefully applied.

On with the cables I say . If you screw up a leg just make some sort of bionic replacement (just like a mad doctor/scientist would do). Well that's what I'd do at least. Looking great.

Thanks Weety, we shall see how it turns out.

Thanks da waaagh. Cables are planned and it's funny you should mention bionic replacements, as that is also planned, if you notice the random bits and pieces in the foreground of the latest pics, early stages yet.

Update time! And it's in colour!

Dire Avenger number 4 (it is the first one, but he's 4 on my list) is completed.


I'm quite happy how the knee has turned out. Even though I broke it off during painting again, but it's glued on and I'm not gonna touch it again.


I even changed the direction of the targeter as with this pose it was looking at the side of his head and I didn't think that it would be much use like that.


I'm not overly happy with his skirt, but I know how to make it better for the next one.


And here he is as I envisioned him, jumping out from behind a huge pot of glue...er... cover.

As always, let me know what you think.

OK people, I've tidied and lightened the OSL on the heavy weapon platform...
I tried to blend and feather the edges of the "light" a little but it doesn't seem to show all that much in the pics.





Do we think it is any better?

*Work in Progress*
or more acurately "work so far"...

The Exarch's leg was chopped at the hip, knee (above and below) and ankle (the foot was cut away from the armour).
The knee was then fixed in position with small bits of "set" milliput and glue.
The hip was then rebuilt to attach the leg to and the leg was then glued on once set.
The gaps were then filled. The foot was rebuilt in a similar way to the knee.

The ribbon just above the knee that was the focus of "where shall I cut?" ended up being mostly cut through, and so was removed and then rebuilt from milliput. I also rebuilt the belt as a large portion was missing where the hip was built.
I tried to make the replacement for the ribbon with some wire, but it prooved difficult to attach to the leg (and I probably would have broken the leg many times while trying to attach it) and so it became something to attach to the halberd to show some movement.

A bit of tidying up and then he'll be painted.


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Voting is still open as to what he may be standing/balancing on...

That latest photo of the grav platform is a little bright (takes off sunglasses). Hard to tell.

Ha ha, yeah I suppose it is. I'll see what I can do about it. *looks for something darker to use as a background*

Believe it or not they're some of the darker shots I managed at the time...


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OK, so ever so slightly better pics of the heavy weapon platform...



The pics are even auto-adjusted. I think the problem is the missile launcher is painted with gloss white (to make it look shiny and new) and so doesn't photograph well.