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This month the topic was: Glow Up - Paint an updated sculpt of an older model (lots of choices there)-- bonus if you paint the older one as well. Alternatively, start with a low level character, and convert or kitbash a more experienced version. Maybe something like an old Ral Partha three-stage character, of a Frostgrave wizard and apprentice, as they're basically the same in game. If you want to be more literal, something featuring OSL or other lighting effects. If you want to go meta, paint or re-paint something you have done previously, to show off how much you've improved as a hobbyist.

As always, you're free to hand out as many votes as you like, and for any entry you feel deserves recognition, based on anything from technical proficiency or model choice, a neat conversion or a cool take on the theme, or anything else! You're also very welcome to leave some feedback here for the entrants, and many of the images click through to the Dakka gallery if you'd like to give out a vote or two there as well.

Mothsniper – Reaper Dwarves


Daia T'Nara - Lieutenant Tycho


Captain Brown - Harlequin Warlocks


Leopold Helveine - Gir-Immaru the Beholder


Olthannon – Kâhl Grombrindal


youwashock - Dredds


Llamahead - Plasmonic Lifeforms


inmygravenimage - Gates of Valhalla Bosses


halfling84 - Female Custodes


theCrowe - The MoleTroll


JoshInJapan - Kaela Mensha Khaine


Vejut - Fire Elemental


Turaxa - Deathwatch Space Marine


Lovejoy - Kroxigor


Pursuit Of Happiness - Dreadnought


Nevelon – Terminator


Geifer - HeroQuest Barbarian:


KidCthulhu - Dr. Febris, Plague Doctors Guildmaster


CancelledApocalypse – Plasma Support Squad


Maharg – Dragon Ogre


Midget Gems - "Night Watch"


Mr Nobody - Ghazghkull


Gulgog TufToof - Gnot Tank


Poll will run for 5 days. Let me know if anything is wrong.

These stood out the most to me to say something about it:

mothsniper: I love the lighting effects, the rough paintstyle is something I'm using for my current (footslogger) entry too, its like van gogh painting.

lovejoy: SUperb scales and skin.. well and everything.. the jewelry is done so well it makes me think about the (new) oldworld boxart of tomb kings for some reason, heck these kroxis deserve to be boxart. Give GW a call.

KidCthulhu: lots of tiny bits on that doctor's chest, hope your eyes didn't tear up too much from painting nano-garlic, the glass, especially in the lantern looks real to me, very impressive.

nevelon: you didn't photoshop the lighting on those plasmaow-ups did you? pretty solid troopers.

midget gems: it looks artsy and tells a story like a picture says a thousand words, you kitbashed a lot to get the poses? The detail on every prop is eyecatching too.

Mothsniper - Really awesome OSL, the Dwarves are lovely miniatures and your painting really brings them to life.

Daia T'Nara - Tycho looks fantastic, really cool retro vibe. Also I love his little red booties.

Captain Brown - Such lovely colours, really gaudy and works wonders on these classic minis.

Leopold Helveine - Nice work, the contrasting colours for the eye really give a pop to it.

youwashock - Love the double Dredds, nice and vibrant.

Llamahead - Great work on these critters, very weird and wonderful!

inmygravenimage - the big ice giant in particular is brilliant, proper centrepiece. The lil vikings are nice and clean.

halfling84 - Great work on the gold armour, good shading.

theCrowe - "oh, they have a mole troll" Lovely conversion, really like the pink nose.

JoshInJapan - Beautiful work Josh, the headdress is fantastic, lovely OSL work there as well from the blade.

Vejut - Nice realistic fire effect, again good choice with the eye to make a pop of contrasting colour.

Turaxa - Lovely clean mini Turaxa, nice work!

Lovejoy - I know you've had a tough month, you should be really proud of what you achieved because this a fantastic paint job on these two. Lovely transitions in the scales, the bronze halberd blade is fab as well.

Pursuit Of Happiness - A scuffed and battered dread, looks great! The lava base is excellent.

Nevelon - Nice one on the Terminator Nev, definitely a glow up mini.

Geifer - Great work on the skin tone, showing off them big muscles!

KidCthulhu - Sneaking in at the last, great work! The robes have a lot of nice depth too them.

CancelledApocalypse - Really awesome set of minis, the OSL is superbly done, nice and crisp.

Maharg Great dragon ogre, the purple is lovely and bright. Skin looks very realistic.

Midget Gems - Absolutely lovely diorama, really nice work here.

Mr Nobody - Two lovely Ghazghkulls. I really like that you kept to the styles of the mini. One with the retro look and one with the darker look of 3rd edition.

Gulgog TufToof - Great grot tank! Really like the dags and the checkers.


Well done everyone, great set of minis. Good luck!

Thanks @Olthannon!

I was unable to stop myself giving everyone a vote (except myself, of course). There was so much good stuff this month! Well done everyone!

My absolute favourites were Lovejoy's beautifully coloured Kroxigor, Maharg's smartly painted Dragon Ogre, Midget Gems' impressive diorama, Mothsniper's well lit dwarves and Mr Nobody's beautiful glowing green Ghazghkulls.

Maharg's Dragon Ogre looks great, like something from the 80's He-man cartoon

 Leopold Helveine wrote:
geifer: lots of tiny bits on that doctor's chest, hope your eyes didn't tear up too much from painting nano-garlic, the glass, especially in the lantern looks real to me, very impressive.

I think you have me and KidCthulhu mixed up. Both our models are doctors and easy to confuse, but it sounds like you wanted to comment on the bacteriologist, not the surgeon.

 Olthannon wrote:
Geifer - Great work on the skin tone, showing off them big muscles!

Thanks. It was good fun to paint a bit of tanned skin again. I haven't done that in ages.

 Geifer wrote:

 Leopold Helveine wrote:
geifer: lots of tiny bits on that doctor's chest, hope your eyes didn't tear up too much from painting nano-garlic, the glass, especially in the lantern looks real to me, very impressive.

I think you have me and KidCthulhu mixed up. Both our models are doctors and easy to confuse, but it sounds like you wanted to comment on the bacteriologist, not the surgeon.

Aghhh you're right, don't know how that got mixed up ;+;

I'm afraid I gave you the vote meant for him aswell then, eep!
(not that your entry doesn't deserve love but you know)

Thanks, Olthannon! The rune on the helmet took a lot of trial and error, and even now I only see flaws, so it's quite gratifying that people like how it turned out.

Lots of great models again this month. Lots to look at, admire, and emulate in the future.

Mothsniper: Lovely OSL, especially the subtle blue on the dude in the center. I like you're modification on the staff, as well. What really stands out for me, though, is the visible brush strokes. That's a very painterly effect, and it really makes the models stand out.

Daia T'Nara : You're approach to the yellow-- leaving it mostly ochre and puching the highlights-- is quite an effective approach to a difficult color.

Captain Brown: It's always nice to see classic Harlequin colors. I really admire the diamond pattern-- I can never get mine to be symettrical, so I just never do it.

Leopold Helvine: It's kind of a shock to see you paint something organic instead of your insane (in a good way!) Orky models. The red fleshy parts where the tentacles meet the main body are disturbing, which is also a good thing.

Olthannon: I like the blue as the through color on the weapons. How did he get up on that rock in the middle of the lava?

youwashock: Those are some eye-poppingly bright Dredds, just like you would see on the streets of Megacity 1.

More comments when I have time to post. Great work all around!

Thanks, Olthannon and JoshInJapan!

Congrats on another round, everybody!

 JoshInJapan wrote:


Leopold Helvine: It's kind of a shock to see you paint something organic instead of your insane (in a good way!) Orky models. The red fleshy parts where the tentacles meet the main body are disturbing, which is also a good thing.

More comments when I have time to post. Great work all around!

Hey thank you, the reddish parts are meant as the -glow up- from the lava basing hope that wasn't unclear on the model.
I like painting different types of materials, and styles! Often mixing up such to seperate armies. Also in terms of how much gloss or no varnish I use etc.

Kind regards!
-Leo/Daniel.

 Leopold Helveine wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:


Leopold Helvine: It's kind of a shock to see you paint something organic instead of your insane (in a good way!) Orky models. The red fleshy parts where the tentacles meet the main body are disturbing, which is also a good thing.

More comments when I have time to post. Great work all around!

Hey thank you, the reddish parts are meant as the -glow up- from the lava basing hope that wasn't unclear on the model.
I like painting different types of materials, and styles! Often mixing up such to seperate armies. Also in terms of how much gloss or no varnish I use etc.

Kind regards!
-Leo/Daniel.

The red didn't look like reflected light to me, just the gross underbelly. That said, I like the effect.

More comments!

Llamahead: You frequently share your weird, hand-sculpted models, and they are always delightful. The hot-glue dudes are simple and effective.

inmygravenimage: The middle-sized Frost Giant is a classic-- right out of the Monster Manual. I love the giant ice-dude-- I don't think I've ever tried something that is made of ice, and you may have inspired me to dig into my Northern Alliance set from Vanguard to give it a go.

halfling84: These models are thiq! I wonder if the armor would benefit from some stronger shading. As it is, all the golds sort of run together, obscuring the details a bit.

theCrowe: Another cool sculpt! I think the green skin would stand out against the grey fur more with at least one more layer of highlighting, though.

me: This model was more challenging to paint than I'd imagined. I think I pulled off the molten interior well enough, but the reflected light on the edges of the armor is kind of hit-or-miss. The NMM bronze took forever, as I just couldn't figure out where the light source should be-- internal or external. I am proud of the alien cactus, though.

Vejut: Great work on the flames. The eyes were a little jarring at first, but now I like the effect a lot-- they give the viewer a place to focus on the model.

Turaxa: This is quite a glow up-- your work has become much cleaner over the months. I wonder if the black armor couldn't stand some brighter highlights, to sell the shine, as it were.

Lovejoy: I love your choice of blues and browns-- did you base the colors on a real life reptile?

Pursuit of Happiness: Your dread looks like it's seen some action. The weathering seems a little haphazard-- maybe fewer, but larger, patches of wear would work better? Your lava base turned out quite nicely.

Nevelon: I continue to be amazed at how consistent you are with your Ultramarines.

More comments when I find time to sit and type.

Leopold Helveine wrote:lovejoy: SUperb scales and skin.. well and everything.. the jewelry is done so well it makes me think about the (new) oldworld boxart of tomb kings for some reason, heck these kroxis deserve to be boxart. Give GW a call.

Thank you! Much appreciated.

Olthannon wrote:Lovejoy - I know you've had a tough month, you should be really proud of what you achieved because this a fantastic paint job on these two. Lovely transitions in the scales, the bronze halberd blade is fab as well.

Cheers - metals are something I always struggle with, but I was pretty happy with the way that blade came out!

JoshInJapan wrote:Lovejoy: I love your choice of blues and browns-- did you base the colors on a real life reptile?

No, I just went with colours I thought would look OK sat next to my Stormcast minis, as they'll end up on the tabletop as allies. But if I'd been thinking logically, Googling actual reptiles would have made a lot of sense! I'll have to remember that for when I paint the carnosaur.

OK, comments:
Mothsniper - the dwarfs have come up really well! The various OSL bits are great, and that sword looks lovely!

Daia T'Nara - this is really cool! A proper update to a classic character, and the shine on the armour is really nice.

Captain Brown - classic Rogue Trader vibes from these; they'd fit right in to old WD 'Eavy metal!

Leopold Helveine - really like the colour scheme on this, it all works really well. I especially like the mouth in that colour!

Olthannon - great conversion work, and the axehead and plasma pistol glow are lovely!

youwashock - the yellows are really good, and the visor reflections; the've both come up really well. And I'd forgotten how tiny those old Citadel Judges were!

Llamahead - these are brilliant! In a way, it's a shame the 'glow' theme meant you had to paint them, because the 'raw' versions have a real alien grossness to them.

inmygravenimage - that titan has a really great glow effect to him; you've really captured the 'lit from within' look.

halfling84 - great metalwork here; that gold looks really nicely aged!

theCrowe - death from below! A mole troll is a terrifying idea... great conversion!

JoshInJapan - really like this one! The metals and the heat especially are really well done.

Vejut - the dark fire contrasted with the blue glow for the face is a brilliant idea, and it looks great!

Turaxa - really cool to see a Deathswatch marine updated to Primaris! The proportions are just so much better.

Pursuit Of Happiness - the lava effect is really well done, and I really like the chipping/weathering on the armour plates too.

Nevelon - I really like that snow base! That's something on my list to try; I had a go many years back, but it looked rubbish. Yours looks great!

Geifer - classic Conan look to this guy! The skin's really nicely done.

KidCthulhu - the lantern glow's really well done, and having it reflect in the eye lenses is a great touch!

CancelledApocalypse - the edge highlightling is clean and precise, and the plasma coil glow is spot on.

Maharg - the ogre flesh is great, and the overall colour choices give him a really Chaotic feel!

Midget Gems - great composition, really well laid out. And the eyes under the arch are brilliant!

Mr Nobody - the 'early' Ghaz looks amazing! Classic Rogue Trader look, but pushed to 11!

Gulgog TufToof - checks, chips, red paint and dirt; you've covered all the bases! Paint and build both look great.


cheers,
Michael

Thanks, Lovejoy!

 Lovejoy wrote:
CancelledApocalypse - the edge highlightling is clean and precise, and the plasma coil glow is spot on.

Thanks Lovejoy! I'm always amazed how well you use colour and texture on your models, I wish I was even half as good as you. I have a desert themed exodite dragon knight to paint, I wish I could see your process so I could shamelessly copy it!

Thanks for the comment, Lovejoy! As with everything I enter in these comps, all I see are the flaws, but it was a great learning exercise.

Guess who has the 'rona! On the downside, I feel feverish and gross, but on the upside, I can write more comments!

Geifer: That's a very brown model. I commend you for keeping it in these earthtones, befitting his barbarianess. I remember a time in my hobby life when I couldn't paint something like that without a flash of color somewhere.

KidCthulhu: I like the dark, moody palette you chose. It really makes the potions, lantern, and eyes pop.

CancelledApocalypse: It's really hard to pull off an entirely black model, but you did it. I agree with all the other commenters that the plasma coils are spectacular. You might want to know the snow off their greaves, though.

Maharg: I do love me some DragonOgres. The skin tones are top notch, and I like the red scales, as well.

Midget Gems: What a cool diorama! There is so much to look at! The red eyes in the archway are ace, but I think my favorite detail is the dude taking a nap on the crates.

Mr Nobody: You did a great job on that updated Ghazghkull sculpt-- very RT/2E, but with much more advacned techniques that one sees in photos from that era. I wish the lighting were better so I could make out all the details, though.

Gulgog TufToof: What a cute little model! I'm quite impressed at how regular your checks are-- that must have been quite a chore at this scale.

It looks like the winners are pretty much decided, but as far as I'm concerned, everything here is top notch! Onward and upward, I say!

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Guess who has the 'rona! On the downside, I feel feverish and gross, but on the upside, I can write more comments!

Get well soon!

 Lovejoy wrote:
Geifer - classic Conan look to this guy! The skin's really nicely done.

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Geifer: That's a very brown model. I commend you for keeping it in these earthtones, befitting his barbarianess. I remember a time in my hobby life when I couldn't paint something like that without a flash of color somewhere.

Thanks, guys. I painted a lot of flashy models in the recent past, and there may be yet more to come this year. It was a welcome break to paint a subdued model for a change.

 CancelledApocalypse wrote:
Thanks Lovejoy! I'm always amazed how well you use colour and texture on your models, I wish I was even half as good as you. I have a desert themed exodite dragon knight to paint, I wish I could see your process so I could shamelessly copy it!

For these guys, it was a black undercoat, followed by a heavy drybrush of Vallejo Chocolate Brown, with a lighter drybrush of Vallejo Pale Sand.

Then the bodies got a coat of thinned Vallejo Red Leather, and because it was thinned, letting the black/brown/sand show through, that was most of the shading sorted!
Then I highlighted using an ochre brown, followed by the same colour with white mixed in. I highlighted using short, rapid strokes of the brush, leaving little hash marks. I just like the texture it leaves!
Then I added some dots of black in places.

The back scales were painted with Vallejo Black-red, with some black mixed in. Then a layer of Black-red on the outer halves, and Vallejo Scarlet on the edges. Then I added lines of Ochre Brown for texture.
Then the shadows were given a layer of thinned Vallejo Light Turquoise, which I've found is really good for shading reds!

That's basically it. Pretty simple, but unfortunately it takes me ages!

Olthannon wrote:
Turaxa - Lovely clean mini Turaxa, nice work!

Thank you.

JoshInJapan wrote:
Turaxa: This is quite a glow up-- your work has become much cleaner over the months. I wonder if the black armor couldn't stand some brighter highlights, to sell the shine, as it were.

Thank you. I agree, I think the highlights need to be a bit lighter and sharper.

Lovejoy wrote:
Turaxa - really cool to see a Deathswatch marine updated to Primaris! The proportions are just so much better.

Thanks. He's actually a classic-style marine from the Space Marine Heroes blind box range, they have the same improved proportions as the primaris miniatures. You're right about the proportions though, it makes the sculpt less cluttered and much easier to paint. Nice crisp details too.

 Turaxa wrote:

JoshInJapan wrote:
Turaxa: This is quite a glow up-- your work has become much cleaner over the months. I wonder if the black armor couldn't stand some brighter highlights, to sell the shine, as it were.

Thank you. I agree, I think the highlights need to be a bit lighter and sharper.

That's what the next model is for, right? Apply what you've learned and get better.

Thanks. He's actually a classic-style marine from the Space Marine Heroes blind box range, they have the same improved proportions as the primaris miniatures. You're right about the proportions though, it makes the sculpt less cluttered and much easier to paint. Nice crisp details too.

I don't play 40K anymore, but I ended up getting a full box (i.e. one of each) of this set, and they are all cool models. Monopose, so not something to build a whole army of, but they make a pretty darn cool squad.

Thank you very much for the comments Leopold Helveine, Olthannon, CancelledApocalypse, Lovejoy, JoshInJapan. I'm glad you like the models/posses/composition of the picture.

On to some comments of my own

Mothsniper - Lovely Colours and OSL on your models, looks very smooth.
Daia T'Nara - Very nice shine to the armour
Captain Brown - Very colourful well done.
Leopold Helveine - very nice, it looks like its glowing slight which is cool.
Olthannon - fun model, beard is done well and nice addition of the Plasma
youwashock - Haven't seen those models in ages, very cool choice
Llamahead - Those are some very weird looking things, well done.
inmygravenimage - They look like huge models, and cool effect with the shading/highlights
halfling84 - I'm glad to see people taking on lore and more touchy subjects, I'm all for it
theCrowe - that is a very interesting looking mole troll. I didn't even know they were a thing lol
JoshInJapan - very nice work and you have made the cracks and armour glow nicely.
Vejut - Very well done, I like how you have added the colour transitions from orange to black for the flames.
Turaxa - good solid painting on your model.
Lovejoy - wonderful skin tones and blending on colours. great overall models.
Pursuit Of Happiness - Nice larva on the base and good weathering on the dread.
Nevelon - solid paint job nev and I can see some glowing eyes in there.
Geifer - good skin tone and leather work.
KidCthulhu - I really like that model, it opens up lots of questions and looks very purposeful
CancelledApocalypse - good painting and great OSL, not too over done which is nice
Maharg - great skin tones and shading, the overall effect is very nice to look at.
Midget Gems - I had fun with this project and I enjoyed it, its been sitting next to my desk while I've been at work and I'm quite proud of it.
Mr Nobody - looks like 2 very well painted Legends but very hard to see in that photo. A bigger pic on the spoiler tab would have got more votes I think
Gulgog TufToof - A lovely and deadly little grot tank, nice to see they are still getting some love.

Good luck everyone (ill update the league table after this vote is announced)

Time for some winners!


In third place with 24 votes CancelledApocalypse's support squad brings the literal glow of hot plasma to the battlefield.




Mothsniper’s Reaper Dwarves illuminate their way to second with 26.







And from the old goofy grinning metals to the new towering wrecking ball, Lovejoy shows us how Kroxigor evolve, taking the gold with 32 votes!














--

I know I say this every month, but amazing work from everyone who entered, not just those on the podium. Lots of great interpretation on the theme this month, with some great paintjobs.

Thanks for the kind comments everyone, well done to the winners. Everyone did some amazing work this month!

And of course thanks Nev for your hard work.

 Lovejoy wrote:

 CancelledApocalypse wrote:
Thanks Lovejoy! I'm always amazed how well you use colour and texture on your models, I wish I was even half as good as you. I have a desert themed exodite dragon knight to paint, I wish I could see your process so I could shamelessly copy it!

For these guys, it was a black undercoat, followed by a heavy drybrush of Vallejo Chocolate Brown, with a lighter drybrush of Vallejo Pale Sand.

Then the bodies got a coat of thinned Vallejo Red Leather, and because it was thinned, letting the black/brown/sand show through, that was most of the shading sorted!
Then I highlighted using an ochre brown, followed by the same colour with white mixed in. I highlighted using short, rapid strokes of the brush, leaving little hash marks. I just like the texture it leaves!
Then I added some dots of black in places.

The back scales were painted with Vallejo Black-red, with some black mixed in. Then a layer of Black-red on the outer halves, and Vallejo Scarlet on the edges. Then I added lines of Ochre Brown for texture.
Then the shadows were given a layer of thinned Vallejo Light Turquoise, which I've found is really good for shading reds!

That's basically it. Pretty simple, but unfortunately it takes me ages!

Thanks for that! I might give that process a go, though I'll have to substitute most of the paints...

Well done everyone and thanks to Nev for all the hard work and to everyone who took the time to comment!

Great work everybody. More nice painting against the army of the unpainted.

Congratulations to the winners.

Thank you Nevelon for carrying on the tradition and doing all the heavy lifting.

Appreciate the folks who comment on all the submissions.

Cheers,

CB

Congrats to the winners!

Good job, everyone, for getting that work done.

Congrats to the winners and thanks for the comments & votes. It looks like I tied for 5th and that's a first for me

Congrats CancelledApocalypse, Mothsniper, Lovejoy for the podium finishes and also to Lovejoy for winning 3 in a row

League table now updated

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/732117.page#9481149

Nevelon wrote:And from the old goofy grinning metals to the new towering wrecking ball, Lovejoy shows us how Kroxigor evolve, taking the gold with 32 votes!

Midget Gems wrote:Congrats CancelledApocalypse, Mothsniper, Lovejoy for the podium finishes and also to Lovejoy for winning 3 in a row

Thanks for all the votes, everyone! Much appreciated. The standard was really high this month - so many cool paintjobs!
And thank you Nevelon, for doing the work and taking the time out to actually run the thing!
And to Midget Gems for doing the table!

I'm hoping to get something entered this month, but things are a bit crazy here with family stuff at the moment. So it's possible I may have to drop out again for a bit. But I'll do my best to get some footsloggers done!

Thanks again,
Michael

Congratulations to the winners.

 Midget Gems wrote:
Geifer - good skin tone and leather work.

Thank you.

Congrats to the winners, thanks as always to Nevelon, and Olthannon, JoshInJapan, Lovejoy and Midget Gems for the comments. I'm very pleased with how 'Tycho' turned out, in spite of my not really planning where the NMM reflections were going to go (besides taking a glance at the mini under lights when I'd just put the contrast paint on and it was still shiny and wet - and then forgetting most of it), and consequently repainting a few sections until it felt right to look at.

That said, ever since Pariah Press noted that the 'Blood Angels Commander' miniature had been featured in the old Combat Cards, where he'd been named as Lt Cmdr Chavez, I've been wondering if I dare risk making a mess of his head by adding a bionic eye and repainting his hair white...