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I’m going to try to paint this Cargo-8 Ridgehauler. Who knows if I’ll have enough time?

I finally finished all these wheels on mammoth tank. the wheels and suspension are painted because later it would be hard to access all the details. The iring part is done, now it is time for the fun

Some great looking entries here.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing that Hive Tyrant being painted! I bought SM2 30 mins before the steam Black Friday deal ended (my willpower didn't quite hold out). No regrets though - I'm loving killing bugs and kind of want to paint SMs...

Update on my entry - the ground is done.



Debating on skin colour. Current front runners are red and albino. We'll see what paint ends up on the brush.

 Zambro wrote:
Some great looking entries here.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing that Hive Tyrant being painted! I bought SM2 30 mins before the steam Black Friday deal ended (my willpower didn't quite hold out). No regrets though - I'm loving killing bugs and kind of want to paint SMs...

Update on my entry - the ground is done.



Debating on skin colour. Current front runners are red and albino. We'll see what paint ends up on the brush.

I thought SM2 was a wonderfully punchy game and the atmosphere and art direction was pulled off with genuine panache and enthusiasm. Just a damn good time is how I’d describe it. Not really a big video game player but I am so glad I checked it out.

After aggravating my back problem putting some (much bigger than I would have liked) steels in place yesterday I have decided to take a day off today… which means I can get to work on the skin of ‘The Atrocity’. I’m aiming for the same general colour scheme as the game but an overall more ‘gritty’ vibe. Selecting the right colours for certain parts is proving more challenging than I at first thought but it will reach a point where I stop procrastinating and just go for it.

I think one of the most challenging things is going to be giving the impression of texture to the skin. Surprisingly the model has huge areas on the arms and legs that are relatively smooth and free of real detail. I have something in mind to tackle that problem though.

Anyhoo, looking forward to seeing what you do with that awesome looking beast too!

Finally done with the tedious basecoat, and starting to have some fun. I'm being super messy with the shading - partly because I'm going for a 'been fighting non-stop since the Heresy' look, mostly to cover up how half-assed the basecoat is. I think for future vehicles I'll go find a spraycan that's the right colour for whatever chapter they're going to be.

My tank has no color yet, but at least it is assembled and the preshading is completed. It doesn't look as "cartoonish" as I expected, but the second "turret" looks a little out of place

I'm in, last two minis from the Kill Team box set I bought back in 2018. Take that pile of shame!

Course, now I have to get them painted in the busiest month of the year.

It’s a busy month, get what you can across the finish line.

--



So I thought I was done. No eyes, so just skip the final detail pass? Forgot the teeth. Back on the painnting handle. And now that I know what I want to do, the other 4.

Also looks the the brain parasite has it’s own claws. Not sure if I want to pick those out in red or not. Not a fan of that part of the model anyway.

 Nevelon wrote:
Also looks the the brain parasite has it’s own claws. Not sure if I want to pick those out in red or not. Not a fan of that part of the model anyway.

I think the area could use a touch of color to break it up a little. Maybe go with a dark red like the main creature's front claw so as not to draw too much attention to it.

Nevelon wrote:
So I thought I was done. No eyes, so just skip the final detail pass? Forgot the teeth. Back on the painnting handle. And now that I know what I want to do, the other 4.

Also looks the the brain parasite has it’s own claws. Not sure if I want to pick those out in red or not. Not a fan of that part of the model anyway.

Maybe grab some of that mid purple tone you have, throw in a touch of white, get down to a fairly watery mix and put a faint line from a third down each of the vents right up to the top (staying within the mid tone). That would add an extra zing to the carapace?

Looking nice though mate

Afterthought: If I was to add that line of lighter purple on the vents I would reduce the length of it on the final two vents (at the rear) to three mil or so…

Geifer wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:
Also looks the the brain parasite has it’s own claws. Not sure if I want to pick those out in red or not. Not a fan of that part of the model anyway.

I think the area could use a touch of color to break it up a little. Maybe go with a dark red like the main creature's front claw so as not to draw too much attention to it.

Right now it’s just the base red. I normally put a layer of Nuln oil on top of that for the rest of the hoof/claw/guns. Might just leave these at the base, so they are a little softer. Also notice that the little slug has eyes, so put the yellow on them. Most of my nids get a vertical black slit cat’s eye. But small guys like rippers don’t. These eyes are more bulging like a frog, and not recessed into sockets as normal.

XvArcanevX wrote:

Nevelon wrote:
So I thought I was done. No eyes, so just skip the final detail pass? Forgot the teeth. Back on the painnting handle. And now that I know what I want to do, the other 4.

Also looks the the brain parasite has it’s own claws. Not sure if I want to pick those out in red or not. Not a fan of that part of the model anyway.

Maybe grab some of that mid purple tone you have, throw in a touch of white, get down to a fairly watery mix and put a faint line from a third down each of the vents right up to the top (staying within the mid tone). That would add an extra zing to the carapace?

Looking nice though mate

Afterthought: If I was to add that line of lighter purple on the vents I would reduce the length of it on the final two vents (at the rear) to three mil or so…

One thing about my nids is that they are designed for paint speed and efficiency. All the purple? Just bang out of the pot shyesh purple contrast paint. The closest I come to mixing paint is diluting the contrast for some applications. Mostly for the stealth bugs, but I also water down the red to use for exposed brains, like on this guy. The whole army is straight from the pot, and only like a dozen paints.

At some point I do plan on going back over everyone and doing a little edge higlighting, an/or pick out some of the vents. But at the start of the project I set myself the goal of first getting them to a decent table-top standard. I knew if I pushed too hard to get them to a higher standard, they would never be a playable army. I’m not a particularly quick painter, and a proper swarm requires carpets of little gribbles.

While I appreciate your advice, that level of detail is beyond the scope of the project at this time. But I’ll put a pin in it for later. Thank you!

 Nevelon wrote:

Geifer wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:
Also looks the the brain parasite has it’s own claws. Not sure if I want to pick those out in red or not. Not a fan of that part of the model anyway.

I think the area could use a touch of color to break it up a little. Maybe go with a dark red like the main creature's front claw so as not to draw too much attention to it.

Right now it’s just the base red. I normally put a layer of Nuln oil on top of that for the rest of the hoof/claw/guns. Might just leave these at the base, so they are a little softer. Also notice that the little slug has eyes, so put the yellow on them. Most of my nids get a vertical black slit cat’s eye. But small guys like rippers don’t. These eyes are more bulging like a frog, and not recessed into sockets as normal.

I think it looks better this way. It's not a bad thought keeping the base color if you put it like that.

I'd still introduce a wash around the edge of the claws to delineate them from the parts underneath, not the least because you wash the rest of the model and get that effect everywhere else. It's not a lot of work on small bits like that, but adds depth and definition and brings it in line with the rest of the model.

 Geifer wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:

Geifer wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:
Also looks the the brain parasite has it’s own claws. Not sure if I want to pick those out in red or not. Not a fan of that part of the model anyway.

I think the area could use a touch of color to break it up a little. Maybe go with a dark red like the main creature's front claw so as not to draw too much attention to it.

Right now it’s just the base red. I normally put a layer of Nuln oil on top of that for the rest of the hoof/claw/guns. Might just leave these at the base, so they are a little softer. Also notice that the little slug has eyes, so put the yellow on them. Most of my nids get a vertical black slit cat’s eye. But small guys like rippers don’t. These eyes are more bulging like a frog, and not recessed into sockets as normal.

I think it looks better this way. It's not a bad thought keeping the base color if you put it like that.

I'd still introduce a wash around the edge of the claws to delineate them from the parts underneath, not the least because you wash the rest of the model and get that effect everywhere else. It's not a lot of work on small bits like that, but adds depth and definition and brings it in line with the rest of the model.

You are probably right. I’ll hit it with the wash next time I’m at the bench

Nevelon wrote:
One thing about my nids is that they are designed for paint speed and efficiency. All the purple? Just bang out of the pot shyesh purple contrast paint. The closest I come to mixing paint is diluting the contrast for some applications. Mostly for the stealth bugs, but I also water down the red to use for exposed brains, like on this guy. The whole army is straight from the pot, and only like a dozen paints.

At some point I do plan on going back over everyone and doing a little edge higlighting, an/or pick out some of the vents. But at the start of the project I set myself the goal of first getting them to a decent table-top standard. I knew if I pushed too hard to get them to a higher standard, they would never be a playable army. I’m not a particularly quick painter, and a proper swarm requires carpets of little gribbles.

While I appreciate your advice, that level of detail is beyond the scope of the project at this time. But I’ll put a pin in it for later. Thank you!

Yeah I hear ya. This is why it’s taken me nearly two years to get something akin to one army together… and I am still missing troops. I get too bogged down in the details to complete them in time.

I need to start to change that if I want my 40k stuff done…

 XvArcanevX wrote:

Nevelon wrote:
One thing about my nids is that they are designed for paint speed and efficiency. All the purple? Just bang out of the pot shyesh purple contrast paint. The closest I come to mixing paint is diluting the contrast for some applications. Mostly for the stealth bugs, but I also water down the red to use for exposed brains, like on this guy. The whole army is straight from the pot, and only like a dozen paints.

At some point I do plan on going back over everyone and doing a little edge higlighting, an/or pick out some of the vents. But at the start of the project I set myself the goal of first getting them to a decent table-top standard. I knew if I pushed too hard to get them to a higher standard, they would never be a playable army. I’m not a particularly quick painter, and a proper swarm requires carpets of little gribbles.

While I appreciate your advice, that level of detail is beyond the scope of the project at this time. But I’ll put a pin in it for later. Thank you!

Yeah I hear ya. This is why it’s taken me nearly two years to get something akin to one army together… and I am still missing troops. I get too bogged down in the details to complete them in time.

I need to start to change that if I want my 40k stuff done…

When I started my nids they were a tertiatry project. My Ultras are my primary, with Eldar being my seconday force. While the bugs might ave usurped the space elves, they very much started at a low level side project. And I am self aware enough to know my flaws. I will get things to like 95% done, and just not be able to muster the motivation for that last 5. Because it’s finicky detail work that never turns out how I’d like it. While I do occasionally get some nice sharp edge highlights, my eyes and hands are just not what they were 20 years ago. So it’s a frustrating step that I hate the results of. But even a bad application does improve the look of the mini, so I keep at it. If I needed that step on the nids? They would never get done. The glory that is contrast paints makes it less required. Sure, the results are not as good as if I took a fine brush and put some shading down and bumped some highlights up. But it does it in one quick sloppy step.

So at the start I knew I needed to put a cap on how much effort I was going to put in. I don’t put unpainted minis on the battlefield. So expectation management was the word of the day when I started the army. And you know what? It worked. I enjoy painting my nids a lot more then the other things crossing the bench. It’s all fun and happy steps. And the swarm has gotten pretty impressively large in the few years I’ve been working on it.

Nevelon/ wrote:

When I started my nids they were a tertiatry project. My Ultras are my primary, with Eldar being my seconday force. While the bugs might ave usurped the space elves, they very much started at a low level side project. And I am self aware enough to know my flaws. I will get things to like 95% done, and just not be able to muster the motivation for that last 5. Because it’s finicky detail work that never turns out how I’d like it. While I do occasionally get some nice sharp edge highlights, my eyes and hands are just not what they were 20 years ago. So it’s a frustrating step that I hate the results of. But even a bad application does improve the look of the mini, so I keep at it. If I needed that step on the nids? They would never get done. The glory that is contrast paints makes it less required. Sure, the results are not as good as if I took a fine brush and put some shading down and bumped some highlights up. But it does it in one quick sloppy step.

So at the start I knew I needed to put a cap on how much effort I was going to put in. I don’t put unpainted minis on the battlefield. So expectation management was the word of the day when I started the army. And you know what? It worked. I enjoy painting my nids a lot more then the other things crossing the bench. It’s all fun and happy steps. And the swarm has gotten pretty impressively large in the few years I’ve been working on it.

You make some great points here. Obsessing over tiny details and various painstaking techniques in order to highlight/shade/blend one or another area ‘just so’ might be someone’s idea of fun, but it certainly isn’t for everyone! Furthermore, as this monthly challenge demonstrates, not all completed models are striking on the basis of a smooth blend or hyper contrast finish. There’s so much that makes a mini a good job, and sometimes it is just a good clean use of contrast paints and a nice base.

Sometimes I look at some finished armies and, taken as a whole, I am just awestruck by how cool they look as units even though they might have been individually painted with very simple and quick techniques. Vince Venturella really hammers this point home in many of his vids and his army painting vlogs are testimony to what can be achieved with the mindset you are describing in this very post. It’s something I desperately need to force myself to do if I want to finish a couple of forces I already have ready to go. I was thinking I might select the Stormcast Eternal part of the Skaventide box for this very project. Sit down, pick say… eight paints… and commit to FINISHING the units in batches.

P.S. I say all this while I am painstakingly painting hyper thin lines on my Tyranid skin to the point I feel like putting my underpants on my head and embracing insanity.

I am debating entering these guys, as I decided to sculpt up some fire for my Elite Flametrooper Clone, which comes as part of the Good Soldiers Follow Orders pack for Shatterpoint:

Here's the dude himself

Very pleased with my sculpted flame. It's a paper clip in a __) shape mounted in the barrel, gs'd over.


And the rest:

Crosshairs, from Bad Batch S2. Only black on the model is Nato Black (which is actually just dark grey) on the cloth, everything else is greys and nightshade wash.

And the elite team. Need a better pic if entering them, but I'm tempted just to do the flametrooper and let him do his thing.
Oh, and made a couple of bits of scatter from the remnants of the Weapon X Bunker:

Thoughts?

Nice flame effect and OSL. Sure looks like something I'd vote for. But I also like the grey troopers so I don't know if my approval is saying much.

 Nevelon wrote:

One thing about my nids is that they are designed for paint speed and efficiency...

I'm the same with my nids, I want to get them painted as quickly as possible. Though, admittedly mine don't look as good as yours.

 Syro_ wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:

One thing about my nids is that they are designed for paint speed and efficiency...

I'm the same with my nids, I want to get them painted as quickly as possible. Though, admittedly mine don't look as good as yours.

Contrast paints do like 95% of the heavy lifting for my nids. Magic in little bottles, especially for organic models.

—

We are about a third of the way through the month, and there tends to be a lot packed in at the end of the year, so procrastinate accordingly!

Mammut tank is painted I could use darker shade of green, but I'll darken it a little more with weathering.

Lookin' good, guys!

I've been painting Christmas scenes on little canvasses to give as gifts this year, so I likely won't have anything to enter this year.

 KidCthulhu wrote:
Lookin' good, guys!

I've been painting Christmas scenes on little canvasses to give as gifts this year, so I likely won't have anything to enter this year.

How little we talking? This is the open round. You go small enough we might allow it…

 Nevelon wrote:

 KidCthulhu wrote:
Lookin' good, guys!

I've been painting Christmas scenes on little canvasses to give as gifts this year, so I likely won't have anything to enter this year.

How little we talking? This is the open round. You go small enough we might allow it…

You could add a little nativity scene to a space marine shoulder pad.

Edge highlighting finished (I had a chuckle at highlighting to make the shapes of the hull stand out after putting on camo to avoid exactly that) - one last look before it gets covered in ten thousand years' worth of grime and mud and chipped paint.

Real camo is boring. If it does its job, minis just end up looking like indistinct lumps. My goal with camo is give the impression of the theme, but still enough bright points and detail to make the mini stand out. and not be forgotten in the trees. Which has happened a number of times, even with the details. Sometimes to my advantage, others my opponents...

 Nevelon wrote:
How little we talking? This is the open round. You go small enough we might allow it…

They're like 4 inches by 4 inches but I didn't take any blank canvas proofs, so it's a moot issue

It's okay, don't worry about it. Non-wargamey snowmen paintings don't really belong here (except for maybe the one that's toy solder inspired)

 KidCthulhu wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:
How little we talking? This is the open round. You go small enough we might allow it…

They're like 4 inches by 4 inches but I didn't take any blank canvas proofs, so it's a moot issue

It's okay, don't worry about it. Non-wargamey snowmen paintings don't really belong here (except for maybe the one that's toy solder inspired)

Worth pointing out that four by four inches is smaller than the billboard I painted last year, and that counted just fine.

I'm going to try and work my way through this batch of Word Bearers for the slowly growing HH force... most of them are converted in some way, shape or form to show their faster descent into chaos when compared to other traitors. I'll end up picking the best couple to submit as a group

I had a game cancelled today, which turned into unexpected painting time. Quite happy with the progress on this one.