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Gah! Posting on a tablet is painful sometimes. I was thinking embossed shields would be better if you wanted to try out some freehand on them

@Viterbi: I'm only a mere decade older than them myself .

@monkeytroll: Freehand on the embossed shields? Surely freehand on the plain shields would be easier? Or are you trying to make my life harder? Of course, I could break out the greenstuff and "emboss" the plain shields myself...

@Everyone: You've convinced me. I'm going full retro with square bases. Pictures hopefully tomorrow.

Catchya,
Arakasi

Errr....can I blame that on autocorrect too

I'll allow it .


With the decision to go completely old skool with square bases, I went back to my old Chaos Warriors and Chaos Thugs to think about positioning.

My conclusion? I think the slotta-base ones are a trap that my younger self easily fell into. The main problem would appear to be the ones that will look like they are peering off... over there - if placed on the diagonal. That would be the two on the right above. But, if I have them face slightly off centre, it appears to work - and works for the others as well. So a new plan formed...


First, I marked a common gaze point on four non slotta bases (just using white paint.) This is one quarter in from the right, or approximately 6mm.


I then did my best attempt to line up the miniature face direction with this mark, whilst also attempting to keep the miniature centred on the base. I marked the end of the tags in each case.


My reminder for later that I used the 1.6mm drill bit to...


...drill holes inside the tag marks.


Then drill along the line, using my steel rule as a guide. Halve and halve again until no spots are left.


Then use my hobby knife to cut out the slot.


Finally use my file to straighten everything out. I had to use my hobby knife to extend the ends as well. (Just scrape back and forth.)


And you end up with the above. If you are lucky, on your first try. I ended up having three goes at Cedric - the first was too far to his left, the second to far to his right (in spoilers below.) Best bit? No holes to fill!
Now I have the shield dilemma.


Gladstone with the smallest embossed shield, in the correct orientation, front and top. I really think this is too big .


Gladstone with the smallest embossed shield, in the incorrect orientation, front and top. The shield would fit better this way... still too big I think .


Gladstone with the narrow plain shield, in the correct orientation, front and top. Not very impressive.


Gladstone with the curved plain shield, in the correct orientation, front and top. Maybe...


Cedric with the long wide curved plain shield, in the correct orientation, front and side. Maybe...


Cedric with the plain shield, in the correct orientation, side. Maybe...

I'm starting to think, prompted by attempting to comprehend monkeytroll's ipad mutterings, to go with the curved plain shields and attempt my own greenstuff embossing. To that end, I went looking for what Chaos symbols and icons I might have available to me...


Chaos Terminator shoulder pads, Chaos Terminator Lord shoulder pads and bits.

The Powerfist icon looks promising, as does the leg. I could see the shoulder pad icons being better suited to shorter/wider shields - but they would still work.

Thoughts?

Catchya,
Arakasi

I do like the plain curved shields, but I agree that some details would suit them. I've actually often felt that chaos power armor greaves have some of the most interesting detail-work. I think it would be a good candidate. For the shoulderpads, I wonder if the curve of them would make it a bit tricky to apply, although I suppose you could try and flatten the mold after you remove the pad but before it cures. I only recently tried experimenting with greenstuff molding, and it was surprisingly forgiving.

Err...that's exactly what I was trying to suggest....honest and


A classic take on the plain shields is to chop the face off a suitable head and use that as the decoration. Skulls being an obvious choice, but screaming faces, demon or orc heads, maybe even a CSM head for that old-school anachronistic look?

@Don Qui Hotep: Unfortunately, I don't have any Chaos Power Armour. (Actually, I might, I have Dark Vengeance, and as it happens, Dark Imperium as well, so I need to go check that out now...). We'll see how my first attempts below pan out...

@monkeytroll: But that would use up valuable bits! If the press moulds below don't turn out, I'll probably have to give it serious consideration though...


Officially entered round 62 of the Dakka Painting Challenge with these guys.


Press moulds of Chaos icons. Left four above are trimmed / cleaned up.


Press moulds in action. Have to wait until tomorrow night to see how successful (or otherwise) they were. Tried a different method with some left over green stuff and the leg piece.

Catchya,
Arakasi

See, that'll be because my first instinct is always to reach for the knife and

Well, you created a nice selection of moulds for future use. Let's see how the first one goes...

Hopefully you have better luck than my press moulds, I got the green stuff stuck in the mould more oil and more/less waiting next time I guess

@monkeytroll: I'm trying new things . See results below...

@gobert: I'm using bee balm stolen from my wife, applied with a base brush. I think what I was looking for was a wax or wax like substance rather than oil - but apparently I never wrote down why... I've let both the moulds and the icons wait 24 hours before touching them.


Success!


The shield icons needed cleaning up, and ended up coming away from the shields - but they kept the curve. Not a bad thing, as I didn't manage to line them up perfectly. A bit of superglue and presto!

Catchya,
Arakasi

Nice work with the moulds, shields are looking great!

Well, that worked well

Those molds seemed to work really well!
Looking good so far.

Great job on the moulds, I’ll be trying again with more oil and being more patient. Might have to see if there is any Vaseline or similar I can pinch if that doesn’t work... my wife and kids have mountains of lip balm so that’ll probably work too!

Oh and great idea on marking up their bases so they have a common focal point, genius!

Congrats on successful mold-making! It's great how a relatively recent chaos sculpt still fits the aesthetics of these older baddies.

Thanks everyone.

Quick update - Chaos guys have been cleaned up. I forgot how painful cleaning up metal models was. On the plus side, I'm not modifying them...

Next dilemma - bases - again. Given the need for a darker colour to contrast the white armour, and as some may have dark brown leather boots, I'm leaning towards a dusty red/brown over a muddy dark brown. Thinking Martian Ironearth - if I can acquire some. I also have various grades of sand, flock, Middenland Tufts, skulls and watch parts. Of course, I only need to deal with what needs to go down before undercoating at the moment - but that needs some thought on the final composition!

Catchya,
Arakasi

Local hobby shop is a) still open, and b) well stocked - so I shouldn't have any supply issues this month - yay! So I bring back one of the rainbow technicolour boarz for...


Adventures in Martian Ironearth (with a side quest of Balthasar Gold).


Two layer of Abaddon Black (half of the side burn armour plate), Mephiston Red and Averland Sunset. The armour plate is to test whether the base colour makes a difference under Balthasar Gold. The left red, yellow and grey (Mechanicus Standard Grey primer) will be gloss varnished before applying Martian Ironearth. The right won't.


As above, but four layers.


As above but with a fifth and final layer.


First layer of Balthasar Gold. Coverage (or lack of) is more obvious on the black side. Gloss varnished the left set of base colours.


Second layer of Balthasar Gold.


Third and final layer of Balthasar Gold. I can't tell the difference. Conclusion - I don't need to apply a black under layer.


Thick layer of Martian Ironearth. Applied with my old Sculpting Tool (in first picture) because a) it looks like a texture tool, b) I don't want to spend AU$14 on a GW texture tool and c) I couldn't find one anyway . Results tomorrow.


Super glued the Chaos Warriors (and Marauder) to their bases. Added a couple of minor details. I'm hoping the Martian Ironearth experiment works out above, in which case I should be able to prime from here. I think I'll experiment with the Middenland Tufts on the rainbow technicolour boar as well.

Catchya,
Arakasi

Adventures in Martian Ironearth - continued!


First thick layer of Martian Ironearth, dried. You can see the underlying colour showing through. So far, no difference between the glossed (left) or non glossed (right) base colours - although this was more about avoiding flaking that I had heard about. The Mephiston Red base colour looks pretty good by itself. The Averland Sunset was preparation for an attempted lava look (more to come). The Mechanicus Standard Grey was just to see if I needed a base colour (I think the answer is a resounding yes).


Again, wary of flaking, I've gloss varnished the top half.


Given how the red turned out, I thought it would be worthwhile trying a black - so I added a thick layer to a Chaos Black undercoated boar.


Drying over black. Also, preparation (Averland Sunset) for another idea.


Over the Chaos Black undercoat, the Martian Ironearth appears to be lifting. This was an older spray paint, I wonder if that is the cause?


Wash of Carroburg Crimson over the original test. This was the next step of the lava test, although it doesn't look bad over the red either.


Expecting painting individual bits to be hard / frustrating - this is Martian Ironearth applied thickly and mixed with two drops of Chaos Black over the Averland Sunset I prepared earlier. It sort of went more a dark brown (reminds me of Scorched Brown).


The aforementioned hard / frustrating attempt to paint the raised areas for the lava effect. I could do this. I probably don't want to though.


Abaddon Black drybrush, mainly over the untouched grey base colour areas. Doesn't look too bad. Will it make filling the raised areas easier?


A bit. Not enough.


While I'm here, I decided to try out one of my Middenland Tufts. Apart from being a little out of place on cracked earth / lava, it applied well and I can't see any edges - so win.


Here you can see the Martian Ironearth mixed with Chaos Black drying, showing the Averland Sunset underneath - promising. I've also prepared three other experiments - Jokaero Orange, Averland Sunset and Armageddon Dust. The first two are to try a new technique with different base colours. The last is a test for mixing Middenland Tufts on a flat base, transitioning to lava cracked earth via Armageddon dust painted black...


Here I've applied Martian Ironearth thickly over the Jokaero Orange and Averland Sunset, then smoothed out Chaos Black over the top of that.


Here you can see the dried Martian Ironearth mixed with Chaos Black over Averland Sunset - not bad. I expect it needs a Carroburg Crimson wash. You can also see the Chaos Black over Martian Ironearth over Averland Sunset starting to dry - giving a glossy black on top, hints of red Martian Ironearth underneath and slivers of the Averland Sunset base - promising...


Chaos Black over Martian Ironearth over Averland Sunset drying - you can see more of the Averland Sunset base showing through. May still need a Carroburg Crimson wash. Is this saying lava to you?


Same deal over Jokaero Orange. I think the Averland Sunset is winning.


Finally, as I'm now confident I can work out something for the Chaos Warriors (and Marauder) bases, these bad boys have been undercoated.

Stay tuned for the next episode of "Adventures in Martian Ironearth" .

Catchya,
Arakasi

Good set of tests.

For lava I'm feeling the drybrush of black, or the averland > ironearth > black work best.

You should look for Tim Holtz Distress crackle paint if it's available over there - great product, wide range of colours, cheaper than GW. You could also try painting pva glue over a base colour, then a colour on top of that before it dries - however brush application can be tricky for that.

That is dedicated testing! Excited to see your bases on these marauders.

Again, thanks for showing your process of experimentation! It's great to watch people thinking through hobby problems. My vote for best lava effect is abaddon black drybrush over ironearth over averland sunset, although that produces a more cinematic effect rather than a naturalistic one, so grains of salt.

Cool detailed experiments. I think monkey troll is right about the Averland then black dry brush being the best most lava looking choice.

Thanks for the feedback peoples. I find it interesting that the consensus so far is for the Averland Sunset > Martian Ironearth > Black drybrush. This one comes out quite red still. My personal leaning is towards the Averland Sunset > Martian Ironearth > Black. It looks perhaps too black and glossy above - it hasn't completely dried (and cracked) in that last image, so maybe the next episode might change your mind?

@monkeytroll: I'll have a look for Tim Holtz Distress crackle paint, although it and the PVA are probably too late for this round of experimentation...

Adventures in Martian Ironearth: Episode 3.

The Averland Sunset / Jokaero Orange > Martian Ironearth > Black finally dried, from above and from the side.


With a Carroburg Crimson wash over the Martian Ironearth / Black mix, as well as the Averland Sunset and Jokaero Orange bases. I mght want to more carefully target the gaps in the final piece, which might be helped by a gloss varnish over the top first too...


As above, one side of each drybrushed with Mephiston Red, the other side drybrushed with Eshin Grey then Adminstratum Grey.

A bit rough, but as I said above, I'm leaning towards the Averland Sunset > Martian Ironearth > Black, but with the Carroburg Crimson wash and drybrushed with Eshin Grey then Adminstratum Grey.

I may need to do a final side by side test of these last two contenders... (the other being the black dry brush you all like).

Meanwhile, progress has also started on the Chaos Warriors and Marauder (progress to here in spoiler):
Catchya,
Arakasi

I'm evenly split between drybrush and paint, either works.

With the crimson wash I'm not sure if you do need to be careful in targeting the cracks. Having a subtle red note to some of the black velocity the cooking down lava look to my mind. It might not be photo-realistic, but it works to the eye and brain.

Edit - forgot to mention the warriors. They're mentioned now.

I'm evenly split on the crimson wash being targetted or not . I guess I'll see how I feel later, or actually run that final experiment.


Going over the Raarth Flesh and Bugman's Glow with more of the same after their washes. Drybrushing Retributor Armour, Auric Armour Gold and Stormhost Silver over the washed Retributor Armour. With that I can start moving out to the next pieces - the leather straps around Lunkop's shins and making a start on the Rakarth Flesh base on Gladstone and Cedric.

I could have gone Seraphim Sepia wash on Zarygor's armour, but thought I'd go darker with the Agrax Earthshade. I wanted to make sure the contrast was there, and also figured Chaos Warriors wouldn't be keeping their armour immaculate either. I won't really know if I regret that decision until I layer up the armour...

I'm focusing on getting Gladstone and Cedric's armour done now - so I can do all of the armour together, and also to make sure the gold isn't overpowering. I guess I should finish Lunkop's skin and mace so I can do his at the same time too...

Thank you for looking.

Catchya,
Arakasi

I think it's good progress mate. Keep at it!

Nice start, the sculpts are really characterful and it's good seeing them come to life.

Thank you Gitsplitta and Viterbi.

Vote For The Winner of the 61st Dakka Painting Challenge: Space Marines is now up - 36 entrants - quantity and quality - go check them out!

Catchya,
Arakasi

"Hello, my name is Lunkop Banesmite. I sleep in my golden chainmail briefs and booties so that I am ready to deal with home invaders at a moments notice."

So, the skin, leather straps, mace and boot bottoms are supposed to be complete, while the boot tops and briefs have just had their wash of Reikland Fleshade, pending drybrushes of Retributor Armour, Auric Armour Gold and Stormhost Silver. Once that is done I can concentrate on the armour - along with the other warriors.

I may need to redo the leather straps .

Catchya,
Arakasi

Solid gold boots, I love it What's wrong with the leather straps, they look fine to me. Maybe a little brighter highlight, but that's something I normally don't do myself.