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 STG wrote:
bases are looking slick! I'd be pretty happy with those blades, i'm sure you could do better but if i were you i would want to do something else as you have been doing the custodes for a long time now.

Thanks, you are right, I've been hitting them on and off between other projects for too long. I tend never to consider anything finished, I'm too much of a perfectionist, though I just move on once a better/newer project arises...I annoy myself with it haha!

Might fix that one blade and call it a day, after all, I've got a land raider to build/paint, a contemptor, a rhino to true-scale, a land speeder storm to convert and still at least 3 more tactical marines to finish! Quite the build queue.

Progress report! Land raider is on hold now until I buy an airbrush/compressor. I've finally got some work done on that contemptor dread though, and I'm pretty happy with how it's shaped up. Few more marines as well, only problem with this project is o have to do then in dribs and drabs as it's so much work per batch of marines. Next up, I'll be painting that dread, and then maybe I'll move on to the land speeder or an assault squad...we will see.

My contemptor is ready for paint!

Paint is on, it's a WIP still, got a bit more to do and I need to think of something imaginative for the base.

Cracking convertions mate ! Subbed !

Dude that contemptor dread is stunning! Conversions are awesome and the paint job is amazing too. The blends are smooth asf

The contemptor looks awesome! Great job man.

Thanks guys! Those blends were the bane of my life for a few days but it worked out alright in the end.

I'm mostly happy with the paintwork now, I will however do some OSL from the blade once I pick up some Lamian medium. I tried out sponging for the weathering alongside my normal method for cracks and highlights. I added some rust to the more major damage, as I wanted this guy to look really old. I am wary of doing too much though, especially when it takes so long to nail those damn blends. Needs basing and maybe a few touch ups, but here's the nearly finished article.

In other news I picked up some bits from Anvil Industries, helmets for my scouts (don't agree with bare heads) and a couple of character helmets, along with some awesome holographic/EOTech style sights they do. More projects shortly.

How do you blend out of curiosity

 STG wrote:
How do you blend out of curiosity

Right now, my method is by brush, I'd prefer airbrush but until I can afford one it's off the table.

My method: once base coated black, I paint about 2/3 down with a very thin coat of the darkest red( 3:1 khorne red:Mephiston red) I build up maybe 2 more layers of that, progressively moving further away from the black side.

Once dry I use nuln oil shade on the dark side, but not beyond 1/2 way. I use a finger/sponge/tissue to soften the edge on the red side before it dries.

I then build up more thin layers on the red side, from 2:1 to 1:1. I usually shade again, a little further into be red this time, again softening edge. (Another way is to paint the black on, and while it has a wet edge, wet the brush and dilute the blend side, dragging it further up)

The shade usually leaves a dull finish at its thickest, so I paint over the black with abbadon black. Then highlight. I use wild rider red at the red edge, then a mix of 1:1 wild rider:mephiston on the dark edge.

If happy, and once detail on, I use humbrol matt coat to level off the surface and give an even reduction in reflectivity to the whole surface.

The challenge is not getting tide lines with the paint. It may take a few goes. Best tip is to keep the paint quite wet, and a wet brush handy to move/ dilute the edge where necessary.

Hope that makes sense. I do think this would be easier with an airbrush but if that's not an option I hope this works out for you.

Awesome thanks dude

Very cool Contemptor here, mate!

Nice work on the Contemptor! Love the sword.

Since you're putting so much work into converting your marines, have you considered casting the modified legs and torsos to speed things up? It's not hard to get good results. Half a dozen different legs and torsos and mix them up to create still individual marines. 6 of each gives you 36 different combinations, and you can still modify from there. I'd mold the Blood Raven shoulder pads you made too.

Lovely Contemptor dude

Thanks guys!

Zillian, I haven't much experience with casting, I wouldn't rule it out but for now I'm on a bit of a budget so I will likely be continuing the slow and painstaking method until things pick up. Would be a nice way to amass a large force though, good idea.

On the bright side, I had a few bits for my birthday so more projects coming soon, and I may just wing it without an airbrush to paint those vehicles in my build queue too. More soon

Oooh. Can we get some Contemptor shots focussed on the sword? That's a nice effect there.

 lindsay40k wrote:
Oooh. Can we get some Contemptor shots focussed on the sword? That's a nice effect there.

Haha flattery will get you everywhere! Thank you. As requested, shots below. I've acquired some Lahmian medium now so will have a practice and may do some osl coming off that sword onto the contemptor also...could be a game changer.

My latest project, the Stormraven I got for my birthday! I've been wondering how to convert these vehicles for a little while, since no official doors/chapter upgrade parts exist for the Blood Ravens. On the contemptor, you'll notice the chapter raven on the front, which I cut freehand. While I was lucky to get that looking ok, I wanted more consistent pieces, and since I don't have a laser cutter knocking around, I've made a plan.

I copied the logo into paint, made a few different sizes and then printed it. I then cut a few out, and used pva glue to fix the logos to plasticard.
Now the fun part, using a scalpel I cut out the raven as evenly as possible, being extra careful not to cut the head off (that bit's pretty weak).

I then peeled off the paper, tidied them up and glued them to the Stormraven. More coming for the rest of my vehicle builds soon. I used a blob of green stuff to make the blood drop and add a bit more dimension. Pics below.

Bit more on the flyer, got some red on there to start my blending process, and painted up that cockpit and tech marine. For some reason I wasn't a big fan of the turret on top, so I've converted it to be more like a tank turret, Predator tank style.

Also, looking from above I couldn't see anything that said Blood Ravens, so I've cut out another large raven and halved it, one for each wing. Foolishly I glued it down before remembering to cut along the panel recesses, so I had to wing it to find those and cut to shape.

My other intended conversion for this is to do something about those hurricane bolters, which if they were to fire would foul on the frontmost jets. I was considering a turret mounted under the wings, or perhaps to extend the sponsons out. It could be a lot of work, but now I've seen it I probably can't let it go.

Here's some progress on the paint job, been working hard on the wet blends with very thin layers of both red and black. I've found that a good helping of GWs Lahmian Medium makes the paint thinner and easier to blend. It's by no means perfect, and I had originally intended to use an airbrush for the vehicles, but I think I'm making it work.

Very brave to attempt blending on a model that size without an airbrush, looks very slick though!

 STG wrote:
Very brave to attempt blending on a model that size without an airbrush, looks very slick though!

Thanks STG! I'm not sure if it's brave or stupid, but as I've lost my old airbrush and can't afford one right now, I suppose I'd better muster some skill. More to come soon, hope it turns out well.

Looks great for all brush work !

If you want nit picking criticism it might look super sexy if you did the individual panels from light to dark instead of the whole wing etc. but to be honest it looks great as is !

 Big H wrote:
Looks great for all brush work !

If you want nit picking criticism it might look super sexy if you did the individual panels from light to dark instead of the whole wing etc. but to be honest it looks great as is !

Thanks! I do actually agree and I had debated going that way with the individual panels, but I talked myself out of it in favour of the larger scale shading. To be honest, it might have been easier to get the blend on, as smaller surfaces show the lines less. Hoping that once the detail and matte varnish go on it will even out a little more. No further this week as I've been practically living at work. More in the next week or so I'm sure though.

Great bunch of models, dark and moody. But that Contemptor, woa dude... it's awesome.

 Meph wrote:
Great bunch of models, dark and moody. But that Contemptor, woa dude... it's awesome.

Thanks Meph! I really enjoyed the contemptor, it practically evolved and developed itself as I was building it. Would definitely do another one, though it probably wouldn't fit in fluff-wise given how rare they should be in 40k. Stay tuned, more to come when I get the work/life balance back.

I've taken a little break from the big ol' flying brick and went back to some Reivers and an intercessor that I started back in August. I had a bit of an experiment and internal debate about the size of these guys, after building up the reivers initially I actually decided that I would accept primaris for the gift it really is...truescale (or near as dammit) straight outta the box. So my first Reivers are a couple MM taller but nobody will notice :/

Still a WIP, reds done and highlighted, black is blended and ready for highlights.

> upscaling Primaris
> nobody will notice
You're making me glad I put my Chaos Terminators on heroic bases

They are looking good, Reivers are my favourite
Primaris to date.

 lindsay40k wrote:
> upscaling Primaris
> nobody will notice
You're making me glad I put my Chaos Terminators on heroic bases

Spoiler:

They are looking good, Reivers are my favourite
Primaris to date.

Thanks, by the way, I like those heroic bases...I got similar resin bases on eBay for a steal. I decided in future not to upscale the primaris, which in a way is a relief, the new minis have so many curves and intricate details that it becomes harder to do it neatly. Reivers are nearly finished, so back to the Stormraven shortly. Pics soon.

3x Reivers done. Really enjoyed these and that was just the push fit (not that I built them that way). I'll be adding a full squad to my wish list. Quite pleased with my freehand assault designation on the pads, even if they aren't quite square. Not sure about the company marking on the Sgt though, on second thoughts I'm not certain a primaris sgt would have been a 1st company vet. (I can repaint that)
Pics below.