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The FW book is really useful, it's taught me all sorts of new techniques. I'd certainly recommend it; the only downside is that a lot of the techniques require an airbrush which can be quite an expensive purchase.

I just got both the book and an airbrush. My Guard tanks are waiting patiently for me to figure out how to work it...lol

For those that decide to buy an airbrush, based on what you see from the Lost Hobbits work and the techniques found in the Forgeworld Masterclass book, please spend a little extra and get a good airbrush ( = NOT the GW Airbrush ).

I was new to the concept of airbrushing and bought a GW Airbrush and I almost stopped because it was a very poor experience. I decided to press through and bought a dual-action (controls paint and airflow much better) airbrush from my local hobby store that specializes in military modeling and trains, as well as a air compressor, and it was like night and day, where the quality and usability of the one I bought at the hobby store was way better. I also recommend getting an air compressor and avoiding using the "propellant" cans.

The propellant cans get cold fast, which reduces the air pressure, so you have to swap between two or more cans. Then the cost of these "propellant" cans adds up fast if you do a lot of base boating of vehicles, that if you just save up for an $80-$100 USD Air Compressor (that is much better at regulating air pressure) you will be a lot happier and over time actually spend less money.

As mentioned, it can be a slightly costly for the initial investment.. figure around $250 for the airbrush, compressor, and extra mixing pots. Also realize that once you get an airbrush you end up going through more paint since now you paint more so that cost goes up to.

Back on topic though..

@Lost Hobbit - Great work with everything, the extra details on the new Chimera are great and inspiring. I look forward to the next posts.

i am in love with a lot of stuff i am seeing here. will you marry me?

@Nurgleboy77: I bought my airbrush based on the FW book too. It took me a while to figure it out but once I'd got it working it was great. I'm really looking forward to learning more techniques but I'm pretty happy with how my first airbrushed model worked out.

@Absolute Blue: I totally agree with you. I was considering the GW spray gun but bad reviews put me off. I'm so glad that I invested in a decent airbrush and compressor.

I'm glad you like the new chimera, I'm really trying to expand my skills on this projects.

@ChaosBubbles: aww...I'm flattered!

Here's a quick update to show my progress on the troops. So far all of them are basecoated and shaded and I've begun work on one renegade to get the colours right before batch painting the rest. I'd rather correct mistakes on one model than on ten. Here is my inspiration:

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/File:Vraksian_Renegade_Militia1.jpg

And some pictures of my first renegade:

Ok I didn't read every post on this thread but I got a tip for you: Cut some spikes (to get individual spikes) from chaos accessory frame and glue them randomly over some area of your insanely cool tanks. (I can post some pics if you like)

I've been lurking this for a while but I thought I'd actually comment for once.

Well done on everything so far, the realism you've achieved with your painting is fantastic. Consider me envious.

(Vraksian Militia FTW!)

Very nice,even though it's still in the basecoat stage i like where this is going.Keep up the good work,post more soon.

@illuknissa: I am deliberately avoiding the spikey OTT appearance of the usual chaos vehicles in favour of a more realistic look.

The first renegade is ready for action. I'm happy with the way he turned out (after some initial reservations) and I'm going to paint the rest in a similar way. The fatigues will remain the same colour on each model in order to maintain a consistent look. Details such as armour plates and gasmasks/hoods will vary to add variety and make them look a bit less uniform than their imperial counterparts.





Here you can see a choas star painted in blood on the trooper's arm in order to match the pic from the Imperial Armour book (also available on Lexicanum: http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/File:Vraksian_Renegade_Militia1.jpg) and to add a spot of colour:





When I come to base the squad I will add dust/mud to the boots using pigments in order to match the bases. I was thinking of ash wastes to reflect the fact that Vraks is an inert volcano planet. Something along the lines of Brother Argos's Steel Legion (which are excellent!).

Hopefully now that I have established a colour scheme that I like (at last!) the rest will be quicker to paint. I plan on batch painting the rest in small groups of 3-4 models at a time.

He looks very nice.I like the more gritty realistic look you have gone for.Very nice,I am sure the entire squad will look very impressive.

Thanks Deff Dread.

The second renegade is now finished:

Is he the vox caster?

Anywho very nice again,how big will this army be?

I never did know what the device the second Militiaman is carrying, I always assumed it was either a vox or a demolition charge.

Either way, both are painted very well as to be expected. The bloody symbol is also very good. Kudos for using the artwork as inspiration.

I like it, good start!
I might just have to grab that master class book for myself. Just something else to make me crazy

Great looking colors. The vox caster is just plain awesome!

Mister Feral wrote:I never did know what the device the second Militiaman is carrying, I always assumed it was either a vox or a demolition charge.

I hope it isn't a demo charge, because he has lots of tubes going from it to his headgear. not a good thing to have your head attached to an explosive device!

Beautiful Renegade Scum you have there, Hobbit. Now let's see an army of them! lol

I have managed to get some more work done on the renegades. First up is the chimera; I've fastened down the tow cable using small strips of brass.



Detail:



The various sub-assemblies of the chimera ready to be primed:



I also managed to get some more work done on the infantry. Sorry about the quality of the pictures, I'm struggling to get the lighting right.






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A couple of close ups of the second guardsman. You can see my attempts at freehand on the shoulder pads in a bit more detail here:

Wonderful work as always Hobbit!

I really love the work on those traitor infantry! Great colour pallate!

Nice. On the vehicles: I see what you mean about the texture on the decals, which is really nice (the etchings are otherwise so smooth). Looks very chaos.

On the renegade troopers: very nice shades and color. I love your palette.

This army continues to display a high level of craftsmanship and a very evocative texture. Well done.

Thanks for the kind words guys. They're not quite an army yet but they're getting there (slowly).

Another quick update on the chimera. After priming it black I airbrushed it codex grey. I then masked off certain areas to create camo stripes and airbrushed the tank desert yellow. This is how it looks at the moment:







More soon...

lookin hot so far i really dig how it is coming along .

Oh great, another bloody Chimera to make me jealous

'Slowly' is how Guard forces are made up Great stuff so far though

Looking really good! Are you going to be shading the Chimera? I'm just imagining some great washing and weathering.

Although it might seem like a lot of guys to paint, an army of models at this quality will look fantastic on the tabletop!

Cheers
Dave

Thanks for the encouragement, Dave. I plan on painting the chimera like the other one earlier in this thread (p.2), it's really just basecoated at this stage. I will endeavour to post step-by-step pics as I progress.

The Lost Hobbit wrote:Thanks for the encouragement, Dave. I plan on painting the chimera like the other one earlier in this thread (p.2), it's really just basecoated at this stage. I will endeavour to post step-by-step pics as I progress.

Facepalm moment (d'oh)

Of course you'll do it the same way, I just spaced. That will look great, as will a step-by-step.

Cheers
Dave

Some more progress on the chimera. First I lightly drybrushed the whole model with dheneb stone in order to pick out the highlights. This also served to help tie the two colours together.



Now it looks like a brand, shiny new tank straight off the factory floor, not at all like a well used battle tank. Time for some weathering: I sponged codex grey onto the desert yellow parts to represent paint chips. Deeps chips down to the metal of the hull were then sponged on using a mix of scorched brown and chaos black. I concentrated on those areas that would be the most worn such as edges, moving parts and hatches.







More soon...


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I've been making steady progress on the chimera this afternoon. The tank was given a coat of purity seal and then panel lines were picked out with thinned burnt umber oil paint, this really adds depth and definition to the model. The varnish allows the oils to flow over the surface with ease. Working with oils also has the advantage that mistakes can be corrected using a cotton bud and some white spirits. Once this was dry I decided to use a technique from the FW masterclass book that I didn't try on the last chimera; I mixed some MIG standard rust with burnt umber and white spirit and flicked this onto the model. I then blobbed on some white spirits which difussed the pigment over the surface giving it a much more realistic rust effect.









And the tank commander. "Don't worry sir, he's 'armless" (sorry):



I love this model and seeing it painted on the FW website was one of my big inspirations on this project so it's nice to have my own version.