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Woo! Just received my Cataphractii Terminators and my Forgeworld Mk2/4 Apothecaries. I LOVE the sculpts of these models and plan on adding the apothecary in MK4 armor to my PA command group and the Cataphractii will form the command squad for Belial. I love the idea of veterans of the chapter in truly ancient relics on the battlefield.


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... and as I inspect them, one of the lightning claws as a snapped claw. Damn it!

Ok, started working on the next model in my painting carousel. This is Interrogator Chaplain Seraphicus from the LE Dark Vengeance boxed set.

Primered with standard Krylon black. Set with pins for assembly later (though I'm already sorry that I put the front/back halves of the torso together). I'm still considering dumping the base he came with as it is just... bad.

I've finished the green on the back of the coat. It's a four stage highlight gradulally moving up to a very light green mix. The front of the robe/cloak are going to be a standard deathwing bone color. Changing up my coloring again (I was really, really happy with the bone color I got on the Rhino fixerupper) and I'm going with a Zandri Dust base, a Serpia wash, then layering highlights of Ushabti Bone, Screaming Skull, and then a touch of white mixed in. The pictures below were taking just as the Sepia wash finished drying.

I'll be doing a 3 stage highlight on the black armor. (1:1 Black/Macragge Blue, Altdorf Blue, then Calgar Blue final)

My GF just gave me Winsor and Newton sable brushes for my birthday. Hopefully this does nothing but add to the quality of what I've been posting. The Chaplain is nearly done, but I've been sick as a dog all week so that's really slowed me down.

I completed my Seraphicus mini, the LE Chaplain from Dark Vengeance. I think I've done a better job on the robing this time around and made much more subtle highlighting for the black armor.

The reason that there are three black rosary beads on his Crozius are to represent Fallen that he's "redeemed".

That Chaplain is sweet, really well done, and you did a sterling job on that Rhino, reclamation. I'm subscribing to this thread, can't wait to see how the rest come out, keep up the good work.

 Sir Samuel Buca wrote:
That Chaplain is sweet, really well done, and you did a sterling job on that Rhino, reclamation. I'm subscribing to this thread, can't wait to see how the rest come out, keep up the good work.

Thanks. I'm hoping that I don't disappoint. Next up on the painting carousel is my Ravenwing bike squadron. I've got the three from Dark Vengeance which will be my sergeant, a plasma gunner, and a normal biker. I've also purchased a 3 man boxed Ravenwing bike squadron and I'll be making the rest of the six man squadron with that. I'll be making a second plasma gunner and I have a ooooooooooooooooooooooooooold 2nd edition attack bike (the sidecar and gunner are white metal!). I've got some extra Ravenwing bits (gunshield, back mounted feather thing, etc) and I'll be gussying it up.

With two plasma gunners in the squad I'm thinking Multi-melta over Heavy Bolter.

Time for a quick update:

Moving on to my next project which is a Ravenwing bike squadron. I have the three bikes from Dark Vengeance (and I very, very much regret pre assembling them now), and they're going to be the toughest to paint. The next is a Ravenwing 3 bike boxed set. Finally I have two older assault bikes from the original 1996-2000 lifespan of the old 40K blue boxes. Sidecars are metal and I plan on make one a Multi-Melta and the other a Heavy Bolter so I can swap between them. I need to dig up bases for them as they used to come without them.

Here's a pic of model prep. Still partway through cleaning the older models.



As of this writing I've also completed cleaning and filing down the metal bits.

I also really, really need to find a place to store my completed minis. Time to figure out the going rate on Battle Foam.

As an aside I got a Land Raider for my birthday. That'll go with my Cataphractii Terminators as their battle taxi. I'm thinking Deathwing Bone for the Land Raider.

Long time since my last update. Here's what I've been up to aside from being swamped by RL due to the Holidays.

I broke my Dec '12 vow to complete my bike squadron. It's due to vastly underestimating how much time it would take to complete it due to how i had it set up. A couple lessons learned and I'll go into what I've got, initially planned, and where I'm at now.

1) I made the mistake of pre-assembling the foundation of the squadron, the three Dark Vengeance bikers. HUGE mistake due to all the hidden details. This was when I was just trying to get the set together so I could play quickie games. These may be my worst models in the entire squadron. It also made priming a bitch as I had to touch up numerous bare plastic spots. I still find a little periodically. There's going to be a massive black cleanup in one of my upcoming stages.

2) I had two 2nd Edition Attack bikes (metal sidecars!) and cleanup/prep on them was just a pain in the butt. I have not modeled metal in several years and this was a harsh wakeup call to why I prefer plastic. They're heavy, not so well cast, and generally took up a lot of time.
2a) As an aside it was a nice comparison on the quality of GW plastic. The newer bikes (brand new Ravenwing bike squad box set to fill out the squadron) compared to the 2nd Edition bikes was like a vast gulf. The details are much sharper and the plastic pieces fit together much more smoothly.

3) I am now sick of Leadbelcher. Dear Christ, if I never see that color again... but I will, because it's the Boltgun Metal of the current line.

4) Anyways... This is eight total bikes i'm painting. Two of them are attack bikes. It's the equivalent of about 20-25 foot troops. There is a LOT of plastic and metal to cover. The two attack bikes will have different weapons so I can switch them out. The squadron itself will have two plasma guns as their special weapons (to match the one that came with the DV box set).

Here are current in progress pictures:

The full squadron in my workspace:


The current state of the individual bikes. Coming alone nicely, IMO. I need to highlight armor and the chrome. Seats are completely done.


Color test on the shields for the front of the bikes. Still not sure which.


Closeup of the (metal) Heavy Bolter for the attack bike. Drilling out the barrel was very painful with just a pin vise and a cheap Ryobi drill bit. I don't own a dremel. The multimelta behind it was also drilled out.

Finally. Finally. Finally. Finally done.

Ravenwing squadron is complete. After a brief scare with the varnish turning white, the Ravenwing squadron is completed and looking pretty good for tabletop quality.

There are two attack bikes so I can switch out when I want. I had two old plastic/metal hybrid bikes that were from 1996-98 and decided to go ahead and assemble and build them as part of the squad. The rider of the heavy bolter bike is TERRIBLY cast. I put the better one on the multi melta bike as that is likely the one to be on the table most of the time. I did a mild conversion on the extra plasma gunner, plus the obligatory wheelie.

Here are the shots of it:

New project is now in progress. Currently working on a Rhino with swappable hatch/turret that allows me to turn it into a Twin-Linked Lascannon Razorback. This will largely be used for command squads so I want it to look nice. I've completed the interior and just need to close the hull up so that it is all one model. Here's what I've painted so far:

The Razorback is complete!

I had ANOTHER major varnish SNAFU. I ended up hastily repainting the back end, but the varnish did go on too thick and there's a couple spots here and there where you can see some thickness to it. Oh well. At this point, after having freaked out majorly over it and then had an emergency four hour repainting session, I'm done worrying. It's good enough, but flawed.

For the weathering I made sure to hit the edges of all the deployment ramps with some mud effects. I accidentally got some on the chapter symbols, then I thought about it and realized 'yeah, those would get messy slapping down into the mud' and left them as they ended up.

I also added a quicky alternate roof so it can be hot swapped into being a Rhino. If I get another Whirlwind turret, it can also act as that.








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Oh... and for what's next?



How's this for a teaser?

Ok, I've begun work on the test model for the Deathwing Cataphracti just to make sure I have the schema that I want to use for the assembly line down properly. This isn't going to be a proper squad, but veterans interspersed through my other squads to show that there are a few of these venerable suits in operation with the Unforgiven chapters.

I've mostly finished the armor itself, though I'm debating a very thin Ushabti Bone wash to help blend the highlights together. The gold is at the first stage. I'll get a heavy highlight, a Nuln Oil wash, then rehighlighting. Weapons will be Khorne Red highlighted up.

This is the plasma gunner and will "count as" a Plasma Cannoneer with Chainfist.

I have enogh that I will be making two Lightning Claw terminators (more for looks than how good they perform) and then I will be constructing stormshields out of plasticard to make two TH/SS terminators and finally one will have a combi-bolter(count as storm bolter) and power sword and act as a veteran Sergeant.

Any feedback on the Deathwing job? Could really use some and it would be vastly appreciated.

I like the Cataphractii so far, but the scheme looks a little Death Guard to me, maybe brighten the gold a little, or use some brighter colours on the straps?
But, it's your models, and they're not finished, it looks good though, keep it up.

I prefer apple pie.

 Sir Samuel Buca wrote:
I like the Cataphractii so far, but the scheme looks a little Death Guard to me, maybe brighten the gold a little, or use some brighter colours on the straps?
But, it's your models, and they're not finished, it looks good though, keep it up.

I prefer apple pie.

Thanks for the feedback.

I think I'll pass a thin wash of Screaming Skull over it. Should lighten the entire model and allow the highlights to flow together a bit better. The gold is just the base and I'll be hitting it up with a lighter shade of gold and then hitting the very tips of it with a light silver color to look like polished reflections of light.

Ok, here's the progress I've gotten so far:

1) I washed and highlighted the gold
2) I painted the leather Caliban green and then highlighted up and washed it with green (tried Waywatcher Green glaze -- not impressed -- but it did do its job on the kneepads, where I put it to give it a 'so dark green it's black' feel to the knees.)
3) Did the plasma coils, and rest of the plasma "cannon".
4) Highlighted red up two levels and then washed it with a thinned version of the base red.
5) Washed the bone armor plates with a thinned screaming skull from GW.
6) Did cleanup on mistakes on the model.
7) You can't see it but I painted the power generator and the back leg armor plates in Leadbelcher and then washed with black and then re-highlighted in Leadbelcher. I wanted a heavy, armored feeling to the model. Bottom of the feet are done the same way.

Aside from the base, I'm ready to assemble him.

And here we go, the Cataphractii is complete.

This is the initial test model of six total. Feedback is very desired on this. There are a couple errors I didn't spot until digital photo closeups, so I've corrected most, just didn't go back and retake the photos. If you see anything PLEASE point it out anyways, as I may have missed something.

Thanks to my GF, the most beautiful woman in the world, who was able to get them in focus when I couldn't. I suck at digital photography.

Ok, starting full work on the Cataphractii Terminators. These will be disbursed throughout my various terminator squads, so that's why there's not a lot of cohesion to their weapon selection.

I will be assembling:
1 Standard Sergeant Configuration (CombiBolter "counts as" Storm Bolter, with Power Sword)
2 Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield Terminators
2 Lightning Claw Terminators (because the claws just look cool and I want to paint them)

One of the TH/SS Terminators has been magnetized with a rare earth magnet in the top of his body. I cut the banner from one of the Deathwing Command Squad boxes I have (haven't started prepping them yet) and got it read. I used a razor saw to level the bottom and attached the magnet. The magnets, btw, are 1/8th of an inch by 1/16th. I used a Ryobi brand 1/8th drill bit (actually a touch wider than the magnet, which was perfect) to drill the hole in the top. It just barely fit into my P3 brand Pin Vise.

The reason I did this (for fluff's sake) is that I wanted someone that would be trusted with the most ancient of chapter relics (the armor) to also be worthy of carrying one of the sacred standards into battle. It seemed to feel right for me story wise.

For the Storm Shields, I am going to cut plasticard into kite shields and glue various icons on them. For the hands I used hands from old 2nd Edition era plastic marine arms and trimmed them down and pinned them to the right arms. Just about everything on these models is/will be pinned. Weapons to wrists, shoulders to torso, etc.

I learned a lot about Resin safety, too. After the first day and starting to feel scratchiness as I breathed, I've purchased dust masks and keep the area ventilated. I also am vacuuming the floor regularly (after dusting the table clean so that the vacuum picks it up) with filtered vacuum. Better within a couple of hours. So now if I'm doing any kind of cut/sand/drilling on the resin models, I keep things clean.

I recommend this highly to EVERYONE.

Anyways, here's the squad, with all pieces I'll be painting separately pinned onto paperclips for ease of access. Instead of dowels (as I don't have enough) I've left the bodies on their resin blocks so that I can just clip them off after finishing.



Closeups of the banner with magnetization:



Strong enough to pick the model up:




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Shields for the TH/SS completed. Green stuff used to hold them onto the shield arms.

Ok, I've changed some major things in how I'm painting. I had a nice painting tutorial with a Privateer Silver winner in their painting Grandmasters (arranged by the local Press Ganger). So, I am committing blasphemy and applying what I learned to a GW product (though I have been looking sideways at my Menoth a lot lately -- might use them to take a break from the wall of upcoming terminators and Land Raider I have to do next).

1) Switched primers to DupliColor Sandable Black Primer
2) Switched most primary colors to P3 from Citadel
3) Added Vallejo Glaze Medium and Additional Water to most paints on my palette.

This has resulted in much, much thinner paint (I think I finally get the 'consistency of milk' references) and multiple layering required for most things. This has allowed for much better 'dry' blending (wet blending is still tough for me), which has contributed to a much smoother overall look.

So, with this armor, I did the following, moving further and further away from the crevasses with each layer:

1) Based with 'Jack Bone
2) Layered 1:1 'Jack Bone and Menoth White Base
3) Layered Menoth White Base
4) Layered 1:1 Menoth White Base:Menoth White Highlight
5) Layered 1:2 Menoth White Base: Menoth White Highlight
6) Highlighted with Menoth White Highlight
7) Shaded with 1:1 'Jack Bone:Citadel Dawnstone to add additional shading

Results are below the spoiler tag:

Quick update on my Cataphractii sergeant. Got the bases for all the metallics done. Base for the green leather done.

Mixed up a new wash for the metals. 1 part Beaten Purple (P3), 1 part Mournfang Brown, 1 part P3 Blue Ink, 1 part mixing medium, several parts water. Got a nice dark blue tint that I washed all the steel parts with aside from the feet.

Front:




Back:

This is a sick DA army. I love the black highlights, makes me wish I had gone with that kind of blue instead of the white-grey I'm using.

I still like the warmth of the first terminator trial, but both look awesome. I'm gonna have to keep checking for progress you've got some really cool stuff going on.

 GrimDork wrote:
This is a sick DA army. I love the black highlights, makes me wish I had gone with that kind of blue instead of the white-grey I'm using.

I still like the warmth of the first terminator trial, but both look awesome. I'm gonna have to keep checking for progress you've got some really cool stuff going on.

Thank you! The next set of black armor I'm going to try a more zenithal approach. I think I'll test a standard marine from the Dark Vengeance set (I have a spare set I swapped with a friend for Chaos). I want more of the blue black on the upper surfaces of the model, building up to the light blue on the edging. This will leave the pure black most pointing down and under the shoulderpads.

On a tank, the idea would be that most of the top of the model would have that as the true base of the model with the lower sections of the vehicle fading to true black.

First time trying a lot of new techniques. First freehand chapter symbol in ages.

New things I've done I haven't tried before (or it's been years):

1) Dry blending on armor and leather.
2) Freehand Chapter Symbol
3) Blonde Hair
4) Power Sword that's not just black, highlighted gray.






Spoilered below is my newly re-organized painting station. MUCH more room. It was absolutely covered in paint and stuff between myself and my GF's painting. Two $13 Sterlite drawer stations later and voila! Places for our paints and tools and bits.

Ooh I like the power sword. Its simple yet effective. Hair looks good, and the chapter symbol looks solid.

 GrimDork wrote:
Ooh I like the power sword. Its simple yet effective. Hair looks good, and the chapter symbol looks solid.

Thank you. I do hate how the camera adds a dozen flaws I never saw with my eyeballs.

I know I didn't go with a warmer armor, but it is a touch darker in person. It really is hard not to make it reflect with light which is why I've been avoiding flash in much of my photos as it washes out soooo badly.

The sword I'm tentatively happy with with one caveat: I wish I'd started a touch lower on the blade with the light colors. I dry blended the way up the blade and it looks too much like just the tip is bright (and the edges). Alternatively, it is a vast improvement on previous attempts. So I'll definitely be evolving it. When I do my two Lightning Claw Cataphracts, they will both be using the same color scheme on the claws themselves.

Many of the pics have been 'removed' I think (or is it just me)...

Lovely models and great painting. We should swap pics since I started only about 5 months back with the Dark Vengeance DA army as well...

 dominiquekee wrote:
Many of the pics have been 'removed' I think (or is it just me)...

Lovely models and great painting. We should swap pics since I started only about 5 months back with the Dark Vengeance DA army as well...

Thank you. The reason that they're "missing" is due to Photobucket. I have reorganized and re-linked them into the Original Post under the spoiler tags. It would take forever to edit every post in the thread since most are my own.

And, also, time for an update. Today I worked on getting basecoating down on the remaining four Cataphractii Terminators. 2 Lightning Claw terminators and 2 converted Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield terminators. One of which has also been converted (as seen in a previous post) to be my magnetized banner bearer.

What you'll see is just many, many, many layers of 'Jack Bone. Also, one of the terminators had a major gouge in the side of his armor above the shoulder. I didn't notice it util the primer made it stand out. I had puttied them all up with green stuff but apparently this one was imperfect in the initial repair. A touch of super glue, some 1000 grain sandpaper and it is smooth again.

Check below for the progress:

Quick daily update:

Finished basecoating all armor plating with 'Jack Bone from the P3 line.

Pulled out the Caliban Green and added lots of Vallejo Glaze Medium to it to get it flowing properly. Coated the base edges and backs of the banner in that color. Won't show up well on this photo, but it's meant to be dark:

Finally. I've stayed up until near 3am getting this done and finished as I was so close to complete I could taste it. So I've sacrificed a lot of sleep to get this project done. It was a lot of fun, hard at a few points, and there were some colossal messups here and there but I powered through them. I thought I'd post it here first, get some feedback (followed by some sleep).

The entire squad (will typically be broken up amongst other squads as center piece models):




Banner Bearer with magnetized Deathwing banner (taken from the new Deathwing command squad box):



Banner Bearer's damaged shoulderpad -- This one is my fault. During cleanup and prep I started going waaaaay too fast with flush cutter and tore a chunk out. I had no spares, so... I decided to try some battle damage. This is my first attempt at using weathering powders (took some soot colored powder on q-tip and mashed it into the broken area, then highlighted the metal with P3 Pig Iron.



Plasticard Storm Shields:



Additional TH/SS terminator:



The Lightning Claw twins:




It was a lot of work, a lot of fun, and I definitely learned a lot about modeling and painting in going from the original one I started on to the final product. Sitting here on the desk next to me I think they look pretty good. I will definitely be looking at reducing the number of layers needed in the armor in future Deathwing models. It took a loooooooong time. Doing four of them in assembly line took about 15 hours. That's waaaaay too long. I did reduce the amount of time necessary to do the bases down to about 10-15 minutes each.

The banner is one of the things I'm most proud of. Surprisingly, that's my very first attempt at a fire effect.

Got some really slick terminators there

They look good, I like the power weapons--the glow is obvious but not too in-your-face. It also pops right out against the bone armor.

I think you've done a pretty good job with your storm shields. They might look a little better if they had more of a curve to better match the way the armor is done, but I still like them. Maybe some guitar-string power cables or something, there's just a lot of flat space on 'em.

Really nice terminators I'll have to check back in sometime to see what else you're working on.