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Made in us
Growlin' Guntrukk Driver with Killacannon







Crazy the befor and after. But it really does pop. Those female models are really cool. The standard bearer looked like it was wearing a hat at first. Then after looking at it some more in was the symbol on the flag. And like everyone else has said those mortars are excellent.

   
Made in us
Combat Jumping Rasyat





Palitine Il

I hear little Mortar-y voices whining out “Crew us! Crew ussss!”
   
Made in us
Posts with Authority





Boston-area [Watertown] Massachusetts

I REALLY want a set of those, now! Great job!

Falling down is the same as being hit by a planet — "I paint to the 20 foot rule, it saves a lot of time." -- Me
ddogwood wrote:People who feel the need to cheat at Warhammer deserve pity, not anger. I mean, how pathetic does your life have to be to make you feel like you need to cheat at your toy army soldiers game?
 
   
Made in gb
Mastering Non-Metallic Metal







Nice colour additions.

and good mortars too.

Mastodon: @DrH@warhammer.social
The army- ~2295 points (built).

* -=]_,=-eague Spruemeister General. * A (sprue) Hut tutorial *
Dsteingass - Dr. H..You are a role model for Internet Morality! // inmygravenimage - Dr H is a model to us all
Theophony - Sprue for the spruemeister, plastic for his plastic throne! // Shasolenzabi - Toilets, more complex than folks take time to think about!  
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

Thank you all for looking in- it was very tempting to embellish the guns more, but I'm trying to stick with a basically acceptable paint job so I can get onto the crew- and another whack at painting faces. I was thinking about building steps, or piling ammo crates, or even attaching a hoist to each gun for loading, as the top of the tube is over the head of your average guardsman. But the mortars are big enough- especially with the wheels- that they are going to be tight on a 60mm base. So I'm doing some minor modification to one crew figure to appear to be stretching up onto tip toe to get the round over the edge, preparatory to dropping. The other two bases will have the gunner adjusting the sight whilst the ammo cutter sets the fuse for one and the third actually firing (I have some ideas for simulating the flare and smoke that might work).

I very much appreciate all your comments and suggestions!

More follows soonest.

"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





USA

With the limited amount of hobby time we all have, it's always so tough to decide when to keep working on something and when to move on. The mortars look good. I like the sound of all the embellishments you were tempted to add, it must be tempting to make a gun emplacement display base for them with all those additions that the 60mm bases fit into, but I think your alterations to keep them "stand alone" are a good idea. I'm especially looking forward to how you pull off the tip toe ammo loader.

   
Made in gb
Gargantuan Great Squiggoth





Not where I should be

You are going from strength to strength here, wonderful going over the blog again. Fantastic work on the lady and the Mortars are brilliant, want some of those now. Must resist.




 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

Great to see you all over the comments sections again, Cam! And much appreciate you dropping in. I'm getting the crewman assembled for the mortars- and will have another try at painting the faces in detail. I comment from someone earlier reminded me that I wanted to try 'scenic basing' too- the guns and their prime movers on individual bases that sit into a larger base (which could also act as a sort of movement tray, I guess) to make the collective pieces into a vignette of a battery firing by gun (rather than in salvo).

I dug out my circle cutter, but we'll see which comes first: basing the mortars or the Empire of Men figures. It's been a while since I've been this excited about a 'present' coming in the mail- it's good for me.

More follows soonest!

"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in be
Liberated Grot Land Raida






Belgium

Looking good, you really turned those toys into models!

A Squeaky Waaagh!!

Camkhieri: "And another very cool thing, my phones predictive text actually gave me chicken as an option after typing robot, how cool is that."'

Meercat: "All eyes turned to the horizon and beheld, in lonely and menacing grandeur, the silhouette of a single Grot robot chicken; a portent of evil days to come."
From 'The Plucking of Gindoo Phlem' 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

Thanks, CK!

I've gotten all six crewmen assembled and primered tonight- barring the unexpected (No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!) I should be able to start basecoating tomorrow night.

Per discussion with Doc H a while back, I've put a lot of effort into the 'story' each base (mortar and two crew) will tell. I'm hoping when I composite the individual stories into a vignette that they will have a synergy that tells a greater story. We'll see.

And I get to use my circle cutter and go 'I told you so' to my wife who complained that I would never use it at the time I bought it (several years now). Of course, that 'I told you so' will be the voice inside my head- after 14 years of marriage, I'm not a complete idiot!

More follows soonest!

"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in jp
[DCM]
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Japan

A story for each base? I don't think I've ever thought about doing that. I look forward to seeing this in action.

Now showing more Samurai Marines, Bad Squiddo Amazons, and an Oldhammer Chaos Thug!

Painting total as of 3/28/2024: 21 plus a set of modular spaceship terrain

Painting total for 2023: 79 plus 28 Battlemechs and a Dragon-Balrog

 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

Hi Josh: I'm not thinking of doing anything as elaborate as it may have sounded; what I'm looking for is a sense of why the crew are doing what they are doing, and what can be inferred about the action based on the fixtures and litter on and around the guns, and more broadly, around the vignette. One of the best pieces I've ever seen on DakkaDakka was a small vignette, showing a sniper and a counter-sniper in action. The sniper has all his spotting scope and other paraphernalia out and there are several signs that he's been denned up in this position for awhile- too long, as we find out, because the counter-sniper has worked his way around behind the sniper and is preparing his shot to remove the threat. There's even a crushed Coke can floating in the water, so this may not be a proper sniper at all, but rather a Designated Marksman (in some armies, literally the 'best shot in the platoon' told off to fire selectively at the heavy weapon, the radio, the guy with the best hat or the guy carrying the odd weapon. We find out a lot about what's going on just from the items placed in the scene- that's what I'm going for.

For tonight though, I've had another shot at doing faces: I'm seeing just how well I did at the same time y'all are, because things look very different between looking at them through my magnifier as I paint and when I take a close up photo- and having gone to the trouble to take the photo, tag, it, upload it, size it, copy the link and paste it into this response, by gum I'm going to post it!

Here's some shots:







Still a little bug-eyed- but better, I think. And I believe that the new tricks I'm trying are helping- I need to give it some more practice, but overall I'm more satisfied with these than most of the others I've done that I was really trying on (except for Ludmilla Karganova- I think that big eyed waif look is _good_ on her!).

Here's all six crewman a bit further back; they look like physically challenged guys trying to do tai-chi, but every pose had at least a modicum of thought put into it- (hopefully) they'll look more natural when they take their places on the guns.



As always, I value your honest, unadulterated, unexpurgated opinions, observations and advice. More follows soonest!

"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in jp
[DCM]
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Japan

Well, you're a better hobbyist than I am if you can do that. I can barely bring myself to stick tufts on bases, and it took me decades to get to this point. I hate basing...

Your faces look pretty good so far. The mold line on that guy in the first photo bugs me, though.

Now showing more Samurai Marines, Bad Squiddo Amazons, and an Oldhammer Chaos Thug!

Painting total as of 3/28/2024: 21 plus a set of modular spaceship terrain

Painting total for 2023: 79 plus 28 Battlemechs and a Dragon-Balrog

 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

Shoot- when I was doing all the scraping I thought that was where the two armor pieces came together- now you've pointed it ot, it bugs me too and I'll take care of it. Fortunately, I'm not so far along that it will hurt anything! I'm not planning to do a lot more to the faces- a little bit of highlights dry-brushing and maybe some sepia wash around the mouths- but I'm definitely open to suggestions. The two guys with DreamForge soft caps need some hair, too. This whole build was about the chance to try to faces- and especially eyes- more gooder!

Thanks Josh! More follows soonest

"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in be
Liberated Grot Land Raida






Belgium

Definitive improvement in the eye department! That's going to be a nice looking mortar unit once finished

A Squeaky Waaagh!!

Camkhieri: "And another very cool thing, my phones predictive text actually gave me chicken as an option after typing robot, how cool is that."'

Meercat: "All eyes turned to the horizon and beheld, in lonely and menacing grandeur, the silhouette of a single Grot robot chicken; a portent of evil days to come."
From 'The Plucking of Gindoo Phlem' 
   
Made in us
Posts with Authority





Boston-area [Watertown] Massachusetts

I absolutely love using the extra space on the weapon team bases to tell a story.

Falling down is the same as being hit by a planet — "I paint to the 20 foot rule, it saves a lot of time." -- Me
ddogwood wrote:People who feel the need to cheat at Warhammer deserve pity, not anger. I mean, how pathetic does your life have to be to make you feel like you need to cheat at your toy army soldiers game?
 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut




Wisconsin

Catching up on your stuff Meer, can I ask a favor if I send my stuff your way can you do the eyes for me? Mortars and crew are looking good, especially those eyes .
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

Appreciate the kind words York- but I've a ways to go before I'm happy. I've two new techniques I want to try, to see if one fits my "stand across the room and fling paint at things" style of art- we'll see what happens.

I'm particularly taken with a piece that is on the gallery home page right now, and shows up on the first page of the This Week section- I voted for all three picture angles immediately. It's the conversion for an Eldar Howling Banshees Avatar, in the pose of running and hurling a ludicrously large spear. The figure has tremendous animation and motion, and the simple color scheme emphasizes speed and fluid motion (to me, at least). But what really gets me is how well the face was painted- and especially the eyes. There is a look of intense concentration and controlled rage that I think is absolutely superb- exactly the look on my face (I'd like to imagine) when I'm about to throw a pig sticker through a heavily armored, bolter carrying, genetically enhanced Space Marine.

_That's_ my new gold standard! (I'll settle for bronze though).

Thanks for looking in!

"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

Just a quick update- although I've actually had several days in a row now of a) time to paint and b) the inclination to paint- a rare combination!

The crewmen for the mortars are coming along nicely. I had first decided to re-do the faces based on some more research/inspiration on the innerwebz, but then was able to talk myself off that particular ledge and leave well enough alone. I'm happy enough with what I have, and there is always 'next time' to try some new tricks.

I have also started working on the scenic base for the vignette for the mortar battery- I'm not going to mess about with the prime movers on this one, as I want a foreseeable end to the project and building three more tankettes, plus a couple of drivers, pushes the end date out further than I'd like (I have another project in mind already and am mad to get started).

But I did want to pass along my highest recommendation for this circle cutter thing that I picked up at the local arts and crafts store (Michaels, here in the US). It worked very well, and for a thicker material like the foam core board I'm using for the display (glued with Eileen's Tacky Glue to a hunk of 'For Sale' sign plastic) I found that I could score a line on one side, flip the board over and use the pin hole from the first cut as a pilot to run a cut on the backside and the whole circle popped out neat as you please.

Here's a couple of pics, with more to follow:





I've already trimmed the edges and corners to be more freeform and not square, but had already mopped on the glue and weighted the whole thing down with a ton of books when I started this entry.

My replacement 60mm bases haven't arrived yet, but that's okay, because I want to build them up when I have the crew and guns completed and ready to mount. Then some scenic terraining and bob's your uncle!

Thanks for looking in, and as always, your comments, observations, suggestions and constructive criticisms are most welcome.

More follows soonest.

"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





USA

I'm looking forward to see this scenic base when you finish, but now I'm also really curious what the next project is.

   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

Okay- getting close to wrapping this project up! The crewmen are finished, the extra gubbins for the bases are done, the mortars are modified and the individual bases as well as the vignette base are well underway.


First up, here's some shots of the vignette base: I used the circle cutter to shape the inserts for the individual mortar bases, rough shaped the whole thing to look less like a brick and be more free-form, beveled the edges with my X-acto knife (love me some dollar store foam board and a yard sale sign for my plastic pieces):








Next, I spray painted the whole thing a basic brownish color, then painted it with dilute white glue, liberally sprinkled on some dollar store sand and hit it with the brown spray paint again (both the vignette base and the individual bases- being careful not to get any glue or sand down in the recesses in the foam board):





The other project that got wrapped up tonight was building some more shipping tubes for the mortar ammunition- both opened and some still sealed. _Any_ artillery position from small, copany-level mortars up to eight inch self-propelleds will have a mountain of these things piled haphazardly about when a heavy fire mission comes down.

I made these by cutting lengths of appropriately sized styrene tubing (some got two cuts, with one being only folded back to represent the tube being opened and the round removed) and punching out the largest sized diameter chad for the adjustable punch that I had- I think it came out 1/4". Then you just dip the end of the tube in some tacky glue, slide the punch chad onto the end, and Bb's your uncle: closed end shipping tubes:










As you can see, I didn't worry too much about getting the discs firmly seated into the tubes. For one thing, in real life these tubes get the crap beaten out of them- after being removed from ammo boxes- as they get ripped open and kicked around as the ammo cutters get to work. For another, the edges and creases will catch a grey wash right nice after the tubes are base coated flat black- nice contrast for the highlights.


What remains is to mount the mortars and crew, add some detailing mud and rocks to the bases, add some gubbins and then the fire effects. I hope to have this wrapped up in a few days, because I'm very excited to get onto the next project. The Empire of Men figures are now not shipping until the end of the month- so I figure I have time to get another eye-candy piece done.


Thanks for looking in, and your constructive criticism, suggestions and observations are always welcome.

More follows soonest!


"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





USA

Like I've said before, I love how you apply real life experience to your modelling to make piece that just feel right and realistic. Nice work with the circle cutter, I love me some dollar store foam core too (I bought two sheets yesterday). I wondering, I usually peal the paper off of the top side of the foam core when working with it, as I've has it fall off later in the project. Plus my blades hang up on the paper when I'm beveling. How's it working for you? Also, I'm loving the ammo tubes, I'm hoping to see haphazard mounds of them on on near your display base. Maybe as scatter terrain?

   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

Hey Syro- thanks for checking in!

To tell you the truth, I haven't worked with foam core much, still having fun learning what it can do, and it never occurred to me to peel the top layer of paper off- there's a good idea! 90 degree cuts on this project were no problem, but 45 degree cuts were very rough and scaly- which is really what I wanted- rough stoney look. I can see where loosing the paper on top would allow for finer cuts and more detail- something new to try!

The lot of shipping tubes I've made are all for using on the bigger vignette base, to help fill the empty areas up- mounds are exactly what I had I in mind. I also hadn't thought about making some scatter pieces- but I can saw up some more perfectly good styrene and give that a go too, another good idea! It really doesn't take long for those things to pile up- kicking them out of the way gets to be a real habit.

I reckon I should have mentioned that after putting the diluted white glue on the bases and then dumping the sand on, and then letting it dry and sweeping the excess sand away, before I hit it with the spray can paint I spritzed the bases with hair spray to help 'fix' the sand in place, any that might not have gotten enough glue. I let that dry and then painted and the paint itself also helps stick everything down, but it's the hair spray that keeps the loose sand from flying off from the spray can. Hand pumped bottle of Pantene, also from the dollar store. Read that tip here on DakkaDakka too.


All youse guys teach me a lot!

"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in jp
[DCM]
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Japan

I like how this project is going so far. Your explanation of shipping tubes really clarified your Narrative Basing idea. I'll have to add that to my arsenal.

Do dollar stores in your area carry foamboard? It's like foamcore without the paper, and it's readily avaiable in 100-yen stores here. I use that now because peeling paper off foam is just too much of a hassle for me.

Now showing more Samurai Marines, Bad Squiddo Amazons, and an Oldhammer Chaos Thug!

Painting total as of 3/28/2024: 21 plus a set of modular spaceship terrain

Painting total for 2023: 79 plus 28 Battlemechs and a Dragon-Balrog

 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

I'll have to check if the dollar stores here carry normal foam board- but I don't think the ones near me do. I'd prefer it, because I have to be careful with the paper covered stuff when applying the dilute white glue to stick down sand and grass and such- too much and the board warps!

Doc H is a master at 'telling the little story' when he builds and bases a piece. You see a crumpled Coke can or cigarette pack in a corner and know the driver was enjoying a drink or a smoke on one of his runs. Or there's a corner peeling off a packing crate and you know the item has been out in the weather for awhile. The little story isn't what's in the crate, where it's going or who's waiting for it- it's that it has been in transit (or storage) for some time, long enough for a corner to start peeling apart.

That's what I'm going to be trying for with the each of the mortars and the then the battery together- a lot of little stories. We all do it when we add detail to our pieces, whether it's rocks, or a certain kind or style of weathering- there's a reason why things are the way they are.

It's like scratchbuilding or customizing a vehicle. When we put some thought into how things would look as if we had to swing around inside that tank, the tank looks a lot more realistic. When you consider armament hard points, fuel storage, ammo handling, personal gear, crew gear, special equipment and trophies, the vehicle will shape its own story as each of these is realistically added to the whole.

Except for Orks and Grots- for them you can add dakka all day long and it looks realistic!

I'm working on getting better at telling the story- I'br got the rest of my life to get it right and I'm enjoying the ride so far. Can't thank all y'all enough for the encouragement, the interest and the education you've all given me.


More follows soonest!

"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in us
Posts with Authority





Boston-area [Watertown] Massachusetts

Stackin' tubes.

Giant image behind spoiler tag, or click here:

http://www.defensivecarry.com/forum/attachments/off-topic-humor-discussion/126247d1459793813-120mm-mortar-ammo-cans-hires_130713-z-mg787-014a.jpg

Spoiler:

Falling down is the same as being hit by a planet — "I paint to the 20 foot rule, it saves a lot of time." -- Me
ddogwood wrote:People who feel the need to cheat at Warhammer deserve pity, not anger. I mean, how pathetic does your life have to be to make you feel like you need to cheat at your toy army soldiers game?
 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

Briancj- those are _exactly_ what I'm talking about! I crewed a 4.2 inch (107mm) mortar at one point in my nefarious career; these look to be the new 120mm. When you draw ammo you have to bust open the tubes, rig the vanes to add or subtract propellent bags, lay your charge chest out and possibly even fix the fuses in their cavities (timed air, point detonating or delayed detonating). In training, every tube has to be accounted for and returned; in combat, we tended to toss them out of the way. If there was time afterwards we collected them back up, but policing them up was not high on our list of priorities!

I tried for a look something like this on the Phaethon Ammo Hauler build, but I painted the tubes the dun, brownish color that was too close to the base texture colors- they looked dirty, but kind of blended in. This time it's black, baby- all the way!

That's a terrific picture- thanks for posting it!

"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in us
Krazed Killa Kan





USA

Wow, that picture looks just like what you're making Meer_Cat. Nice find Brian, and nice build Meer_Cat!

   
Made in us
Posts with Authority





Boston-area [Watertown] Massachusetts

Well, I *AM* a guard player. And have friends in low places. So I knew what to Google-fu for.

Falling down is the same as being hit by a planet — "I paint to the 20 foot rule, it saves a lot of time." -- Me
ddogwood wrote:People who feel the need to cheat at Warhammer deserve pity, not anger. I mean, how pathetic does your life have to be to make you feel like you need to cheat at your toy army soldiers game?
 
   
Made in gb
Mastering Non-Metallic Metal







 Meer_Cat wrote:
...Doc H is a master at 'telling the little story' when he builds and bases a piece...
*bows humbly*

Good job on the basing and I like your thinking.

Mastodon: @DrH@warhammer.social
The army- ~2295 points (built).

* -=]_,=-eague Spruemeister General. * A (sprue) Hut tutorial *
Dsteingass - Dr. H..You are a role model for Internet Morality! // inmygravenimage - Dr H is a model to us all
Theophony - Sprue for the spruemeister, plastic for his plastic throne! // Shasolenzabi - Toilets, more complex than folks take time to think about!  
   
 
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