Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I'm building a Tempestus Aquilon Squad for Kill Team and I keep looking at the Beret wearing commander head, and thinking, yes, she does look badass, but how practical would this be?

Don't worry, we sent in the best of the best. The team can see in the dark, communicate quietly and wear masks that filter out the worst toxins any atmosphere can throw at them.. except for the squad leader. She wears a beret.

Do you prefer your troops to be kitted out more realistically in full kit, or do you prefer the more dramatic bare-headed commander look?

As much as I hate painting faces (especially eyes) having squad leaders easy to pick out on the tabletop is nice.

I probably go 50/50.

When I first saw the Tempestus Aquilons Kill-Team I loved the idea of swapping out their full face rebreather helmets for the Beret(painted red of course) even though I cannot paint a good face to save my life. Sadly I was informed when I bought the box of them that unlike the Tempestus Scions who have a whole squad of Berets, the Aquilons only have 3 so it put paid to that idea.
For every thing else I try not to go with unhelmed options unless I have to, faces always seem to go awry for me.

I can't paint faces at all. That's probably why I play Imperial Knights (without Canis Rex).

But I remember in 3rd Edition, some wacky scenarios that hindered models with skin showing.

FYI. Contrast paints make faces a lot easier. Don’t help with the eyes though.

Those damn eyes…

For me it depends a lot on the context. In 40k, I find it silly to wear terminator armor, aka the best personal armor in the galaxy, and not wear a matching helmet. The thing about Warhammer is that leaders have a way of being blinged up all the way to eleven. So there's rarely any doubt who's in charge even without the handy bare head to help with identification.

Star Wars Shatterpoint on the other hand is a game that revolves around named characters with a few generics on the side. Depending on the uniform, there may not be much to tell a named character apart from a similarly equipped trooper. So I prefer bare heads here since they make the character recognizable.

 Nevelon wrote:
FYI. Contrast paints make faces a lot easier. Don’t help with the eyes though.

Those damn eyes…

At the risk of sounding like a serial killer, the remedy for accusing eyes is a knife.

The great thing about acrylics is that dry doesn't mean cured. So if you give the base paint of your eyes a day to fully harden, you can then take excess paint away from the next layer with a knife without doing damage to the underlying paint (provided you don't use an especially sharp knife. I have a old, slightly dulled blade for that purpose). That can really help with precision, especially when your hands shake as badly as mine do.

It's also a handy way to help with freehands of all kind.

I forgot all about the nightmare of eyes. I think everyone in Scion-land can wear goggles or a face mask of some sort.

Except for the Commissars...

I wonder if anyone knows how to greenstuff aviator sunglasses onto a Commissar.

I just use Copplestone sculpted RT Commissars with shades

 Quixote wrote:
I wonder if anyone knows how to greenstuff aviator sunglasses onto a Commissar.

Without knowing if you have any experience, here's a simple two step method:

1. Put two small balls of green stuff over the eyes and push them flat. Shape each to match the glasses you have in mind and cut away excess around the edges if there is any.

2. Once your sculpted bits are cured, you connect these with a tiny bit of green stuff over the nose. You'll probably want to start with a slightly thicker bit and cut excess away, since at that size green stuff will adhere easier if there is more material. Likewise, run two bits of green stuff from the sides to the ears.

If you want, and have a fine enough tool and feel bold enough, you can end part 1 by lightly running your tool just inside the edges of your glass pieces to sculpt a frame. Otherwise you would just paint on the frame around the glass, which is no different than edge highlighting and should be just as achievable.

 Geifer wrote:

 Quixote wrote:
I wonder if anyone knows how to greenstuff aviator sunglasses onto a Commissar.

Without knowing if you have any experience, here's a simple two step method:

1. Put two small balls of green stuff over the eyes and push them flat. Shape each to match the glasses you have in mind and cut away excess around the edges if there is any.

2. Once your sculpted bits are cured, you connect these with a tiny bit of green stuff over the nose. You'll probably want to start with a slightly thicker bit and cut excess away, since at that size green stuff will adhere easier if there is more material. Likewise, run two bits of green stuff from the sides to the ears.

If you want, and have a fine enough tool and feel bold enough, you can end part 1 by lightly running your tool just inside the edges of your glass pieces to sculpt a frame. Otherwise you would just paint on the frame around the glass, which is no different than edge highlighting and should be just as achievable.

Thank you. My attempts to replace boring Commissar's head have not gone well, he's strangley put together.

Hopefully this will alow me to make him stand out and fit in with my AirCav Weathermen.