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Bummer Gits, hopefully you can get it looking good before the tournament without too much trouble.

Gits, congrats on getting your blog mentioned on the homepage (I mean besides the P&M bit, this is a permanent resident there )

Gitsplitta wrote:

Cjsuner wrote:hehe, it is kinda funny to me, how you have over a 100 pages in the blog, for only 12 and a half compleated models xD
lookin good so far!

Now, now... there are more than that...

Lessee...

10 sternguard (2 have been given away)
20 repainted scouts
2 repainted dreadnoughts
1 venerable dread
1 iron clad dread
2 razorbacks
1 Pedro Kantor counts-as
1 Telion counts-as
1 trooper (Brother Six)
1 chaos mantis warrior, Brother Benedictus (part of GMS)
1 modern mantis warrior, Brother Inushi (part of GMS)

Things that add to the blog but I did not paint myself:
10 GMS marines for my Inquisitional Squad
3 objective markers (one made by me)
3 reader created mantis warriors

So that's 42 models that I've painted myself and 15 models painted by others towards the cause or in emulation of it...
OH, and well over a dozen unique sculpts done by readers specifically for the Mantis Warriors & a custom shoulder pad commissioned from a merchant.

Not bad for less than a year. Averages less than 2 pages per model.

...

OH, and one ork nob pretending to be a Mantis Warrior!!

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Oh, sorry, i did not releize that, i just saw the picture on the last page (i have not been foloowing this all the way)
My bad

No, please don't apologize!!

It was really good for me to go through and do that because frankly to ME it seems like I've had 116 models for 12 figures too!!

Really Cjsuner, you did me a favor... I feel much better about myself now. Thank you!

Gits

Well, I'd say last night was a success except for one thing. The masking tape (Tamaya) that was supposed to protect the paint job ended up severely damaging it in certain areas. The spots (look at the two right wings, just above the yellow) were right at an intermediate point in a gradient... God only knows how I'm going to fix that.

So here's the next WIP... other than the decals and some edge highlighting (which may not happen for a few weeks) these are basically done. Bare bones but they match the rest of the army. If I can come back to them later and give them more detail I will, but if not at least they are consistent with the rest of the force. I opted for a shot in the context of the rest of the army so you could see how well it fits in, which given my time constraints is the primary measure by which I will judge these models.



I did learn some valuable lessons though and expect the other two pods to paint up much easier. Yellow panels first (no masking), then varnish the yellow, then mask off the yellow, paint the whole thing green and do the gradients, finally hand paint the metal bits. This should minimize my need for masking off areas which is very time consuming and give much more reliable results.

Gitsplitta wrote:Well, I'd say last night was a success except for one thing. The masking tape (Tamaya) that was supposed to protect the paint job ended up severely damaging it in certain areas. The spots (look at the two right wings, just above the yellow) were right at an intermediate point in a gradient... God only knows how I'm going to fix that.

Easy fix Git! Battle Damage! Lots of battle damage.

I was just going to say the exact same thing!!

Looks good and the main thing, coherent!

Although i cant help but feel the yellow is a bit flat.

Yeah... actually I think the scorch marks would take care of it pretty well, it's just a matter of time. Looking at the photo above, I think I'm going to paint the rims around the projecting bits around the lower wing vents red, like the edging around the grills on the razorbacks. It would be a nice touch of color and would tie the pods to the other vehicles nicely.

That's actually why I wanted to post this "in context" picture... lets me look at things more objectively so I can make better decisions about my time.

@Vit: I agree, the edge highlighting should take care of that... though I may do a whiter blend on the leading edges with my smallest needle. Will probably do something similar on the top of the wings as well.


Aw heck.... so this isn't done! But, I think I made some good progress & should be able to get a decent result. How long it will take is the question.

That would be a good touch, i agree.

Do a melta burn on one wing and scarring on the other. Your dreadnoughts are battered and display their wounds with pride, why shouldn't your pods be? And you can have a lot of fun working out where the melta burned through, calculating the angle and having just a little residual heat each side. Maybe make it a defence laser, just clipped the pod and they were remarkably lucky to land safely after that!

The yellow looks great and the pod, though slightly marred, is not a write off or anything

Yellow seems much more stark on the pod then anywhere else, are you going to tone it down at all or worry about that in a post-adepticon world?

BG: good idea, but not until later These will not be up to the same standard as the rest of the army... just trying to make them done enough to fit in well.

WM: I'm hoping that lining the gaps with sepia wash, a lighter yellow general highlight and and edge highlight will help. We shall see.

I also hope to get my home computer back up and running again, which will allow for better pictoral updates. I may stop trying to paint fast and just drop my final standard and paint well up to it... that may help this whole process flow more smoothly and give a better final result.

Pod looks good despite the scarring, but as said above: it's in places that can easily be painted to look damaged!

The pod looks ok to me.

It seems odd that your vehicles have that distinctly airbrushed look that your dudes and dreads do not share. This gives it a bit of a disjointed feeling. I suspect that this will resolve it self when you add a bit more detail on them.

Hey Gits, looking good man, it's a shame about the masking tape. But as has been said a bit of battle damage and jobs a good un!

The red will be a nice touch as well, especially as you say to tie in with the razorbacks.

crimsonmicc wrote:It seems odd that your vehicles have that distinctly airbrushed look that your dudes and dreads do not share. This gives it a bit of a disjointed feeling. I suspect that this will resolve it self when you add a bit more detail on them.

Cogent observation. Actually two of the sternguard have been airbrushed, you just cant see it as the models are so busy. You are essentially correct however in that it's the relative lack of detail on some of the airbrushed pieces that makes them stand out stylistically. I will eventually correct that, but I doubt I'll have the opportunity to do so before April 1st. Once that deadline passes, I can revisit all of these if I want and bring the up to specs.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the sternguard and associated dreads are hyper-detailed because of the camo pattern... so I'm sure that adds to the disparity. Which is fine to a degree as there is supposed to be a significant difference in appearance between the standard pattern and tranquility pattern paint schemes. I think some simple edge chipping and ground weathering would go a long way in bringing the vehicles into focus as a better match for the tranquility detachment. If I can do it in time, I will certainly attempt it, but they will never be as busy looking as their yellow brethren.

I think Perplexiti is referring to the gradient paintwork on your tanks and pod compared to the subtle shading/highlights that we're used to on figures. The two different painting styles do stand apart from each other when placed together like that.

Understood, but their are gradients on some of the sternguard and one of the dreadnoughts as well, you just can see it as such because of the other detail... which is the point I was trying to make. It's the big bare areas on the other vehicles that makes the disparity in painting techniques so glaring.

Really, the only figure that could show a gradient that doesn't already have one is the venerable dread... but it's so busy you'd probably never notice it even if I did it that way.

That's true enough but I don't think it overly detracts from anything.

I also think that the key thing to remember here is that, personal preferences aside, you have a complete pod within the theme. Is it completed? Even if everyone had said "it's done, move on" I suspect you would have gone back to it! Maybe the lesson is that if you are going to do the yellow first you may do the highlighting at that point, before the green. Having said that I don't know how long high lighting the yellow will take so your the best judge given your time restraints.

Speaking of time restraints - you feeling the pressure yet? Is the shopping list starting to include energy bars and drinks yet, lol. Seriously though I hope you finish with enough time for you to sit back and enjoy what you've accomplished.

In general... I'm kind of melting down mentally.

I'm sure that my problems in finishing this model are directly related to the fact that I see time slipping away and I have so much to paint... much less all the other things associated with the event. I will do one or two minor things to this pod... paint the others to match & then move on. No time for anything else. What kills me is that I started this project months ago, and it still came down to this. I'm just hoping I have enough time to get the MoTF built and painted to the same standard as the other infantry... especially since he's still kind of a nebulous concept rather than just assembling and painting a standard figure.

I will enjoy myself once I'm there and can no longer do anything except ride it out... till then... don't ask.

relax take it easy. maybe its best to give the brush the night off? sometimes a break is the best way too get something done faster. if the presure is to big than take of some presure off. if painting becomes a burden lift it and re-read your 117 page tread to find some strenght and get back at it tommorow.

Well, finally got the internet up and running at home again thanks to my buddy the computer god.

I've decided I'm just going to paint the pods till I'm satisfied with them... screw it. They won't be pushed as far as the other figures but I'll paint them 'till their done. Time or no time.

Update:
Have decided to work on multiple things at once in order to keep myself entertained and hopefully move the process along more quickly.

Tonight:
1. Applying a careful sepia wash to yellow panels on pod. This is a slow process as, in order to get it to pool correctly I have to do 1 panel at a time.
2. Cleaned up and primed other two pods, will get base yellow sprayed on the appropriate places tonight.
3. Tidy'd up the first batch of marines that WM360 built for me so they're ready for priming.

That's a decent night's work.

Well Gits...I've spent the last few days going over your entire blog and I really want to say what an incredibly fantastic job you've done.
One can honestly see that yours is a labor of love and it truly a treat to see each new entry into your army.
Keep up the amazing work Gits.

Thanks my friend, I really appreciate that!

Gitsplitta wrote:1. Applying a careful sepia wash to yellow panels on pod. This is a slow process as, in order to get it to pool correctly I have to do 1 panel at a time.

Add Gloss Varnish - at least 1:1 - it should take care of your pooling problem (and if not - give you time to fix it!) thereby speeding up this "slow process". This hint was brought to you by the FW Tank Masterclass...

Thanks Arakasi, I'll give that a shot. Up-side is this has made a BIG difference in the look of the yellow. Much more in-line with the sternguard yellow now though not so much with the yellow on the razorbacks (as that was never washed).

I'll get another step along in the process and provide pics of each some time today. Taking the boys to the kid's game at our FLGS this evening so with a little luck I'll get a game or two in myself while I'm there.

Gitsplitta wrote:Understood, but their are gradients on some of the sternguard and one of the dreadnoughts as well, you just can see it as such because of the other detail... which is the point I was trying to make. It's the big bare areas on the other vehicles that makes the disparity in painting techniques so glaring

Ah, sorry. My brain wasn't in gear properly last night... :/

Good luck with the looming deadline. I think you've made the right call moving on with the other pods. The one you have looks great as it is and if you have the time after everything else, you can come back and do more later (either before or after the deadline).

Actually, since I decided to just say the heck with it and proceed at my own pace... things are going much better. Washing the yellow panels on the pods made a HUGE difference, and I washed the yellow on the turrets of the razorbacks so they'd match. I'm juggling a variety of projects today, they're all the kinds of things that need a lot of drying time in-between stages, so I just move from project to project. Hope to have something substantial to show tonight on all three projects.

Hey Gits, I finally started painting the Dark Mechanicus Marine for you. Can you please check out my blog (it's in my sig). I've got a bit of a conundrum: use two more chainswords two make Mantis like chainsword arms or keep the two of them for the trade to you. It's your call.

I like the yellow in the drop pod but I think it'll lookbetter when I see pics of it washed.