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Made in us
Grim Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain






A Protoss colony world

@Viterbi: Thank you!

@Nev: Thanks! The full Sisters kits are a real joy to work with; lots of options and extra bling to customize them with. As for the SFB stuff, I've been a fan since I was 14 years old (found Basic Set at a game shop that closed maybe a year later, if that), but I never have had anyone to play with besides my dad and my brother. So all I've ever been able to do with it is play monster scenarios or a couple of games where I played both sides just to try out some of the more exotic stuff (like my only outing with an Andromedan ship). And maybe Kzintis use that tractor beam trick, but the Gorns invented it. That's why they call it the "Gorn Anchor" after all.

One month later...

He still exists. Battle-scarred, war-weary, downtrodden, he soldiers on. Far behind now in his goal to paint 100 miniatures in the year, but he'll never give up no matter what the forces of evil in the world throw at him to try and keep him down...

Melodrama aside, I'm back. 2 failed monthly painting challenges later, I'm trying to get something entered in the one for May. That something is Sammael on his jetbike, Corvex. Here's where he's at right now:

Lots more work to do, and only half the month left to do it. Let's hope I don't have all the motivation drained from me like the previous couple of months.

Sammael is not the only member of the Dark Angels Ravenwing on my painting bench. I'm also working on some of the first Ravenwing models I obtained, trying to get them painted and done after years in the primed or WIP state. First, an Attack Bike:

Just the whites and metals done, so a long way to go still. Attack bikes are strong on the tabletop right now, especially Ravenwing ones, so I really want to get this thing done.
Next, the Ravenwing Bike Squad from my original copy of Dark Vengeance:

They've been sitting with a few colors blocked in for a while, so I finished up the whites on them (using Apothecary White contrast to give subtle shading which really helps pick out the feathers on the fairings and tail fins) and finished blocking in some other colors. Still work to be done but at least they are finally on their way to being done. I also rebased all of my bikes and put them on the current oval bases that bikers are on.

I also recently obtained a bunch of Ravenwing stuff from a friend of mine, plus a couple more Attack Bikes on eBay. Here's some of that stuff assembled:

Another Dark Vengeance Ravenwing squad, plus the two aforementioned Attack Bikes. I ran out of winged fairings and tail fins, so one of the Attack Bikes has plain parts on it, with a little flag I sculpted with "not-Greenstuff". Not pictured is yet another DV Ravenwing unit (bringing me to a total of four sets of those models) and an Outrider squad (making three units, a full "play set" in 40k).

I do want to get back to the SFB ships as they are really cool, but I'm finding less motivation as they are something that won't get a ton of use and will just take up shelf space. I almost wonder if I should buy (or make) a little curio cabinet thing to put them in, but that probably wouldn't be a good use of my money. One thing I did buy that should help A TON with my photography is a light box. My local Michael's had a sale on them and my sister-in-law (who works there) mentioned it to me, so I went ahead and got one. Hopefully it works well for me.

Well, that's all I have for now. Hopefully I'll have more to show in less than a month this time around.

My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/1/23, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~15000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Adeptus Custodes: ~1900 | Imperial Knights: ~2000 | Sisters of Battle: ~3500 | Leagues of Votann: ~1200 | Tyranids: ~2600 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2023: 40 | Total models painted in 2024: 7 | Current main painting project: Dark Angels
 Mr_Rose wrote:
Who doesn’t love crazy mutant squawk-puppies? Eh? Nobody, that’s who.
 
   
Made in us
Walking Dead Wraithlord






That's a lot of bikes.

This year hasn't been the best for productivity, for sure. Keep on pluggin'. Looking forward to pretty pics of the Ravenwing in the new light box.
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

I found a light box was really a game changer for me. Spending all the time and effort getting a mini painted, but not being able to show people what it’s really like because you take potato pictures. Frustrating. Once you get it set up and dialed in you should cycle your armies through it to get formal glamor shots.

I like the way bikes look, I like the way they play, but boy do I have problems painting them. Good luck getting those Ravenwing done. If you need more RW accessory bits, I have a chunk in my bits box.

Nobody in my group really liked the Gorn. I learned about the anchor eating a face full of drones. And honestly forgot which race is was attributed to (but knew "Kzinti Anchor" sounded wrong). We played a lot with the tournament pack, which gives you balanced cruiser duels, but sometimes we did other ships. I generally went with the Hydrans or the Lyrans (or mixed in the LDR? forget the name of the sub-faction that got the best of both)

Painting something to collect dust does hurt on the motivation. I’ve pushed through a few projects like that, and had many more never get out of the built/primed pile because of it. For me, getting something onto the battlefield is a big motivator, and without that it is harder to find the energy to get to the paintbench. Keep plugging away, keep putting layers down. You will make it.

Good luck!

   
Made in us
Grim Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain






A Protoss colony world

@YWS: Thanks for the encouragement!

@Nev: I'll eventually go back and get some of my best pieces in the lightbox, at least. Probably won't do absolutely everything though. You're right about painting bikes, too. They look great when they're done and they're fun to play, but for whatever reason they are a major pain in the ass to paint. As for the SFB stuff, it's still on my to-do list, just kind of lower priority especially since I signed up for a big 40k tournament in August and I need to paint stuff for that. As always, thanks for the encouragement and helpful advice!

Sammael is done! Here are the glamor shots in the fancy new lightbox:



I'll have to work with the lightbox and my camera to determine optimal settings, but these will do as a first attempt. What my lightbox really lacks right now is front lighting, as all the lights are at the top and that can cause shade issues on the bottom of models. I'll have to think about that. I might experiment with other backdrops as well. It came with a white and a black backdrop, but others are available for this model of lightbox. As for the model itself, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Probably not my best work, but certainly not my worst, so I'm calling it a win!

I'm also pretty close to done with the Dark Vengeance bike squad:

Mostly just some highlights and small details left to do. It'll really be nice to have these painted, as they have been in my collection since very near the beginning of my 40k journey.

I'm also further along on the Attack Bike:

This model has been in my collection even longer than the above squad, so again it'll be nice to finally have it done. Plus Attack Bikes are really strong right now on the tabletop!

Next month's painting challenge theme is going to be Boots on the Ground. I'm spoiled for choices for this, so maybe I'll dig into my Lord of the Rings stuff or perhaps a few regular Battle Sisters. I'll have to think about what I want to do. Whatever I decide, you'll see it right here, so stay tuned!

My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/1/23, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~15000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Adeptus Custodes: ~1900 | Imperial Knights: ~2000 | Sisters of Battle: ~3500 | Leagues of Votann: ~1200 | Tyranids: ~2600 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2023: 40 | Total models painted in 2024: 7 | Current main painting project: Dark Angels
 Mr_Rose wrote:
Who doesn’t love crazy mutant squawk-puppies? Eh? Nobody, that’s who.
 
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut






Great work on Sammael, really cool mini and very clean whites. Good luck on getting everything ready for the tournament in August!
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

Nice entry and progress on the bikes.

For the lightbox, if yours is like mine, it’s a translucent white box with side lamps. (If not disregard advice) While the panels do a good job diffusing the light, they do not do a perfect one. They are not just homogenous squares of even light. There should be a hot spot where the light hits. By angling the lamp you should be able to move that spot around. I’ve found you generally want that in front of the mini, so place the subject towards the back, and the lamps pointing towards the front. You can also adjust it up or down, depending on camera angles. If you are shooting a low angle shot, that’s where you want the light coming from. If you just have the lights pointing at the center of the walls, it would be in shadow.

   
Made in us
Grim Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain






A Protoss colony world

@Viterbi: Thank you very much!

@Nev: Thanks! My lightbox is a ShotBox (We R Memory Keepers is the brand, and I got it at my local Michael's craft store), so it's a bit different from what you describe. Lighting-wise, it has two strips of LEDs at the top of it and that's it. The brightness is adjustable, at least, so maybe I just need to play with the settings of it and my camera. I kind of wish it had front lighting as well, and I believe there's an accessory available for the ShotBox that adds that (it's a bit that also is meant to hold a smartphone, so it might be tricky to use with my Polaroid camera).

More finished stuff to show! Finally polished off those Seraphim that have been sitting in a WIP state for a while now:



Far from my best work and I'm still fiddling around with learning to use the lightbox, but these will fit in well with the rest of my army. I'm not angling for a Golden Demon or anything with my Sororitas army; just a good tabletop army that will hopefully make an impression due to the unusual colors (still haven't really seen anyone else doing yellow and purple Sisters). The only problem is that in the upcoming codex Seraphim, particularly those with Inferno Pistols, just took a bit of a nerf bat to the kisser so these ladies might be doing shelf duty for the most part. We'll have to see.

I also finished the Attack Bike, so it can finally be added to the finished pile after 6+ years in my collection:


Decently happy with how this thing turned out. I think I missed a few mold lines here and there, but this is literally one of the first models I ever assembled so I didn't know as much as I know now. It should see regular play given that Attack Bikes are pretty strong in the meta.

I also decided to go with Battle Sisters as my Painting Challenge entry for June. Already got a fair amount done on them:

Contrast paint makes it quicker to get good coverage and shading, but it's less neat than traditional methods, I'm finding. Especially on the purple cloth, where if I don't keep after it the paint wants to pool in spots. I'm afraid to do multiple coats as I might go back to the original problem I had with Shyish purple; that it turns out looking way too dark (almost black, in fact). I really like it for skin tones, parchment, and hair though, and it gives a good enough look on the yellow armor as long as I don't put too much on at once, so I'm going to keep using it.

That's all for now. Hopefully I can crank out some more Ravenwing sooner rather than later, and maybe some Sisters stuff as well.

My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/1/23, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~15000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Adeptus Custodes: ~1900 | Imperial Knights: ~2000 | Sisters of Battle: ~3500 | Leagues of Votann: ~1200 | Tyranids: ~2600 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2023: 40 | Total models painted in 2024: 7 | Current main painting project: Dark Angels
 Mr_Rose wrote:
Who doesn’t love crazy mutant squawk-puppies? Eh? Nobody, that’s who.
 
   
Made in us
Bounding Dark Angels Assault Marine





Vegas Baby

Loving it!!

You're a braver man than I to take on so many different armies at once. Are you planning on a display for all these or are they just intimidatingly loitering on shelves?

   
Made in jp
[DCM]
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Japan

It's nice to see the return of the yellow sisters. That's a really neat color combo.

I have similar problems with lighting in my light box, and have found that a darker background makes a big difference, since the white doesn't overpower the comparatively darker colors.

Now showing more Samurai Marines, Bad Squiddo Amazons, and an Oldhammer Chaos Thug!

Painting total as of 3/28/2024: 21 plus a set of modular spaceship terrain

Painting total for 2023: 79 plus 28 Battlemechs and a Dragon-Balrog

 
   
Made in ca
Grisly Ghost Ark Driver






 JoshInJapan wrote:
It's nice to see the return of the yellow sisters. That's a really neat color combo.

I have similar problems with lighting in my light box, and have found that a darker background makes a big difference, since the white doesn't overpower the comparatively darker colors.


I can confirm this. I've switched to using dark backgrounds, the colours are far more visible there!

See what's on my painting table Now painting: Kruleboyz Gutrippaz 
   
Made in us
Walking Dead Wraithlord






Seraphim and Attack Bike looking good. And more Sisters on the way. Good stuff.
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut




Wisconsin

Sammy turned out great, and not sure why you dont think the sisters look good, that yellow will really stand out on the table top.
Have to agree with Josh and Gwyn a darker background will make them pop. Keep up the great work Zerg your painting is getting better and better.
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

It’s worth experimenting with backdrops. My lightbox came with 4 options.

Spoiler:




For me, I stuck with white. The darker ones made my camera do things with the light I wasn’t happy with. But some of that might be the colors of my models, etc.

With digital photography there is no real cost to just giving it a shot and see what happens. If your light setup didn’t come with backdrops, you can experiment with shirts/towels/fabric/whatever.

Post production stuff can also help a lot. There are tools for free (I use PhotoScape). With my current light setup, I don’t need to white balance anymore, but that’s a step that helps a LOT. Plus the ability to make composite pictures is nice.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/06/12 12:07:43


   
Made in us
Grim Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain






A Protoss colony world

@Eeps: Thanks! I actually used to have even more armies; I sold off my Tau and Chaos collections. And for now most of the models are on shelves, many of them glaring at me waiting for paint, while occasionally they get rotated to my army bag for games.

@Josh: Thanks! I've been pretty happy with the scheme, and I think my execution is slowly improving. I'll probably try a dark background next time and see what I get.

@Gwyn: Thanks for the feedback.

@YWS: Thanks!

@York: Thank you! It's not that I don't think the sisters look good; it's that I think they could look even better. I know I'm my own worst critic sometimes.

@Nev: As always, thanks for the advice. I actually have started using Photoscape a couple of months ago, and it really makes a difference. And like you, once I started with the lightbox I haven't had to really adjust the white balance. I'm still trying to figure out the composite stuff on Photoscape; half the time it feels like I'm fighting the program and it doesn't want to do what I want it to do (refuses to load one of my photos, etc.).

More progress has been made on the Battle Sisters:

Basically all of the Contrast colors are down, plus the other colors are blocked in. Still need to tidy up a couple of small areas, then shade and highlight the non-Contrast areas. And, of course, the bases.

And speaking of Sisters, over this weekend I've hit both of my FLGS's and picked up a decent little supply drop for my Adepta Sororitas:

New codex, plus one of each of the new kits (and I doubled up on Sacresants so I can make a full unit of 10), and a Rhino (which brings me up to 3 in my Sisters army). The Rhino will be the 14th Rhino hull I've built in my 40k career. I can probably build it with my eyes closed at this point. Really looking forward to painting all these new units, as they are really awesome models.

My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/1/23, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~15000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Adeptus Custodes: ~1900 | Imperial Knights: ~2000 | Sisters of Battle: ~3500 | Leagues of Votann: ~1200 | Tyranids: ~2600 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2023: 40 | Total models painted in 2024: 7 | Current main painting project: Dark Angels
 Mr_Rose wrote:
Who doesn’t love crazy mutant squawk-puppies? Eh? Nobody, that’s who.
 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Japan

 ZergSmasher wrote:
The Rhino will be the 14th Rhino hull I've built in my 40k career. I can probably build it with my eyes closed at this point.


Please do this, and post plenty of WIP photos. I'd love to see what sort of non-Euclidean creation you end up with!

Now showing more Samurai Marines, Bad Squiddo Amazons, and an Oldhammer Chaos Thug!

Painting total as of 3/28/2024: 21 plus a set of modular spaceship terrain

Painting total for 2023: 79 plus 28 Battlemechs and a Dragon-Balrog

 
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

That’s an impressive supply drop! Looking forward to seeing them painted.

   
Made in us
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





Affton, MO. USA

Nice work on the Ladies in Yellow , They can sub in for Imperial Fists anytime .

Good haul as well.

As for Rhinos... I'm at least neck and neck with you there on the modern Rhinos, but I had almost as many Mark I rhinos to that count at one point. That's without all the razorbacks, predators and Whirlwinds counted in there. THe original ones could easily be done blindfolded and turn out just about as good as having your eyes open due to the bad kit designs.

LOL, Theo your mind is an amazing place, never change.-camkierhi 9/19/13
I cant believe theo is right.. damn. -comradepanda 9/26/13
None of the strange ideas we had about you involved your sexual orientation..........-Monkeytroll 12/10/13

I'd put you on ignore for that comment, if I could...Alpharius 2/11/14 
   
Made in us
Grim Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain






A Protoss colony world

@Josh: Eh, no. But, I probably won't even look at the instructions because I've got them memorized.

@Nev: Yeah, it's going to be fun! Now I just need a window in the weather to get some priming done.

@Theo: Thanks! I kind of figured that my Rhino count might be rookie numbers to any 40k veteran. In case you're curious, my 14 includes: 1 Rhino, 4 Razorbacks, 1 Predator, 1 Whirlwind, 4 Chaos Rhinos, 1 old-style Sororitas Rhino/Immolator, 2 current Sororitas Rhinos. I also have one of the newer Exorcists, but it's not based on the classic Rhino kit even if the aesthetic is the same, so it doesn't count.

Little bit of progress, but not a lot. The Battle Sisters are getting close to done. Here's where they are at:

Mostly just a few highlights left, mainly on the metallics. Then I need to texture and finish the bases.

I'm also nearly done with that old-school Rhino:

Just minor details left to finish on this metal box. I'm pretty happy with it so far.

At this point I'm actually wavering a bit on which army I'll take to that tournament in August. I was mainly thinking of bringing the Dark Angels, but now I'm actually considering bringing the Sisters instead. I'm working on both, but I need to pick up the pace if I want to have either army ready in time. Just 2 months to go!

My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/1/23, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~15000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Adeptus Custodes: ~1900 | Imperial Knights: ~2000 | Sisters of Battle: ~3500 | Leagues of Votann: ~1200 | Tyranids: ~2600 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2023: 40 | Total models painted in 2024: 7 | Current main painting project: Dark Angels
 Mr_Rose wrote:
Who doesn’t love crazy mutant squawk-puppies? Eh? Nobody, that’s who.
 
   
Made in jp
[DCM]
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Japan

I still really like your bright yellow Sisters. It's a bold choice, and it works so well.

The Rhino looks good-- the little spot highlights on the viewports are nice touch.

Now showing more Samurai Marines, Bad Squiddo Amazons, and an Oldhammer Chaos Thug!

Painting total as of 3/28/2024: 21 plus a set of modular spaceship terrain

Painting total for 2023: 79 plus 28 Battlemechs and a Dragon-Balrog

 
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut






Nice additions you got for the sisters. I only sprang for one box of Sacresants and the codex (the latter still MIA and desperately awaited ) and I'm excited to see you tackle all the new minis.
Great work getting the BSS along, hope you can decide, which army to take in August. I would err towards sisters
   
Made in us
Grim Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain






A Protoss colony world

@Josh: Thank you very much!

@Viterbi: Thanks! The new models were simply too cool to pass up, so I went ahead and got all of them (would have eventually picked them all up anyway, most likely). I'll probably still get at least a couple more boxes of Sacresants so that I can run a few of them with the maces. As for August, while I'm tempted to do the Sisters, I'm starting to lean back towards the Dark Angels. Lot less models to paint that way. But I'm not 100% decided, so we'll see.

I finished those Battle Sisters, and none too soon for the painting challenge. Here are the final pics:



Nothing amazing, but these will fit in well with the rest of my army. I decided to try the black backdrop for my lightbox to do these photos, and I think I'll be using it for all of my Sisters pics from now on. Really brings out the purple, I think.

The Rhino is nearly done. No new WIP photo, but I hope to have final pics of it in the next few days. Then maybe I'll gather everything I've painted so far for my Sisters and do an army shot or two.

And now for something sort of different. I recently finished assembling my Paragon Warsuits, delayed somewhat by having to order more magnets for them. I took some extra pics of them in order to do a short tutorial on how to magnetize the suits to use all the options (although I did not make the melee weapons swappable):

The reason I didn't do the melee weapons is that they are attached by some very thin pieces, and even with thin magnets there would be visible gaps, which I considered unacceptable (and not worth the risk of damaging the pieces beyond repair). All magnets used were 1/16 x 1/16" cylindrical neodymium magnets, obtained from K&J Magnetics. 30 total magnets are needed for the unit.

For the shoulder weapons, all you need to do is drill a hole in each shoulder right where the little indentation is that the weapon normally seats in. To make this easier, do this early in the assembly, before putting the decoration on the top of the shoulder assembly. Then, insert the magnet in the hole (of course!); you may not even need glue to hold it in place (most of mine stayed in without any glue). On the weapon pieces themselves, you can assemble the weapons, then cut off the tabs. You will then need to drill a hole in the middle of where the tab used to be and put your magnet in there. Watch those polarities though; I imagine having to fix them would be a real pain in the ass. Here are pics of the seated magnets in the shoulders and weapons on one of the suits:

For the main weapons, it's important to do most of the assembly before adding the magnets. Getting the arm that holds the gun in position can be a pain, but it is important that it is lined up correctly in order to have the hoses on the guns able to attach. Once the arm is in place, fit an assembled gun to the end of the arm. It should stay there by friction. Once it is in place, take the matching power/fuel cell and glue the hoses on it to the ones on the gun, holding the part in place on the back of the suit while the glue dries. Repeat this for each gun. Once the glue is dry, you can slip the entire assembly back off the arm. Install a magnet in the back of the suit where the power cell goes, and a matching magnet in the cell itself. Technically you could perhaps skip these magnets and just let the gun stay on the arm by friction, but I did the magnets for stability and so the weapon would be less likely to fall off during a game. Here are pics of the seated magnets, showing where they should be placed:

As can be seen it is relatively easy to magnetize these models, and well worth it to save you having to buy another kit to use different weapons.

The July painting challenge theme is Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself, so I'll probably be entering one or more of my Nazgul from my Middle-earth collection. That'll be a nice change of pace from all this power armor.


My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/1/23, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~15000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Adeptus Custodes: ~1900 | Imperial Knights: ~2000 | Sisters of Battle: ~3500 | Leagues of Votann: ~1200 | Tyranids: ~2600 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2023: 40 | Total models painted in 2024: 7 | Current main painting project: Dark Angels
 Mr_Rose wrote:
Who doesn’t love crazy mutant squawk-puppies? Eh? Nobody, that’s who.
 
   
Made in eu
[DCM]
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Japan

Nice work on the Sisters. The dark background makes a world of difference in the photographs-- the shading on both the yellow and the purple show up really well.

Thanks for the magnetizing tutorial. I don't do a lot of magnetizing, so I don't get much chance to improve my skills. Your advice will be quite helpful.

Now showing more Samurai Marines, Bad Squiddo Amazons, and an Oldhammer Chaos Thug!

Painting total as of 3/28/2024: 21 plus a set of modular spaceship terrain

Painting total for 2023: 79 plus 28 Battlemechs and a Dragon-Balrog

 
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

Black backdrops working well. Nice looking sisters.

I think some Nazgul are exactly what needs to happen for the comp. It looks like a lot of people are having trouble with the theme, but they fit it exceptionally well.

   
Made in us
Grim Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain






A Protoss colony world

@Josh: Thanks! Glad I could help with the magnetizing; I posted it because I know other people might be new to magnetizing and/or not know a good way to do it for those specific models. My own (small) way of giving back to the community for all the helpful advice I've gotten over the years.

@Nev: Thank you! When I saw that theme for the comp, Nazgul just seemed to be the best choice for it. I only hope they turn out well enough to actually get noticed.

First off, let's just say that big things are coming in my hobby life very soon. But I'll go over that at the end of this post. For now, feast your eyes on my newly-finished Sororitas Rhino:



Pretty happy with how this metal bawks turned out. The old-school kit certainly had some differences compared with the current Sororitas Rhino offering, in part because it was a dual kit that could also make an Immolator. I have all the Immolator bits and I have done some work on them, but they aren't done quite yet. As I've said previously, I'll probably only ever run this as an Immolator in casual games because Immolators suck in game and it doesn't have the right dimensions or the hull-mounted Heavy Bolter like the current Immolator does.

I've also gotten started on the first Nazgul, just as a test for the method that I found on YouTube:

Not a lot to see yet, and the blurry photo doesn't help (sorry! ), but I've gotten the basecoats and shading down, and started on the highlights (mainly just laid the base color back down on the non-recessed parts). I'll be using progressively lighter colors to build up highlights and really bring out the texture of the cloth, then I'll highlight the metallics. This particular model is metal and came with a mounted Nazgul (who is also in the comp); I do also have a resin version of this same model, but I wanted to paint the old metal one.

As for the big news, it's two things. First, thanks to an eBay score and GW tempting me too much with the new box set, I'll be starting collecting and playing Warhammer: Age of Sigmar. I found a great lot of Stormcast Eternals, including their half of the Dominion box set and a bunch of NIB kits as well as plenty of loose minis, and I'm finally taking the plunge. Right now I'm already trying to think of a clever color scheme for the models, as I want them to be visually striking and not just the same old blue and gold ones you see in all the box art. I might go with something to homage some video game or movie, or perhaps try to do a fantasy version of my beloved Dark Angels from 40k. I'm certainly open to suggestions if anyone thinks of something clever I could do with them paintwise.

The other big news: thanks to the extreme generosity of a friend of mine, I have inherited an AnyCubic Photon S 3D printer. My friend is moving at the end of this month and won't have room in his new house for it (he has like 3 other 3D printers), so he wanted to give it to someone who would make good use of it, hence why he gave it to me. I still need to come up with a washing/curing station and some actual resin for it before I can actually make use of it, but I'm excited to join the 3D printing club and look forward to making some cool stuff.

Anyways, that's all I've got for now. Next time I post I should have some Ravenwing bikes to show, and the promised "army so far" shot of my painted Sisters, and hopefully more progress on the Nazgul.

My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/1/23, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~15000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Adeptus Custodes: ~1900 | Imperial Knights: ~2000 | Sisters of Battle: ~3500 | Leagues of Votann: ~1200 | Tyranids: ~2600 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2023: 40 | Total models painted in 2024: 7 | Current main painting project: Dark Angels
 Mr_Rose wrote:
Who doesn’t love crazy mutant squawk-puppies? Eh? Nobody, that’s who.
 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut




Wisconsin

That is one gorgeous looking Rhino Zerg! Yellows look nice and smooth, can’t wait to see the army.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/07/11 20:18:14


 
   
Made in us
Walking Dead Wraithlord






Very exciting things happening here. Latest Sisters and their funky fresh ride look great. Looking forward to yellow mech suits. Also to the possibility of Dark Angel Sigmarines. Nice scores there with the printer and AoS.
   
Made in jp
[DCM]
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Japan

The yellow on the Rhino came out super smooth. It must have taken a lot of patience to get it that clean.

Now showing more Samurai Marines, Bad Squiddo Amazons, and an Oldhammer Chaos Thug!

Painting total as of 3/28/2024: 21 plus a set of modular spaceship terrain

Painting total for 2023: 79 plus 28 Battlemechs and a Dragon-Balrog

 
   
Made in us
Grim Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain






A Protoss colony world

@York: Thanks! I'm pretty happy with how it ended up looking, and I've gotten several compliments on it (including several at that tournament I talked about in earlier posts).

@YWS: Thanks!

@Josh: It did take a couple of coats, but one thing that made it a LOT easier was starting with a Wraithbone undercoat (same color I use for Contrast paints).

After 2 months, I'm finally back. I've gotten a ton of hobbying done, but I've been either too busy, too tired, or too burned out to take any pics or add anything to this blog. Indeed, this post isn't going to be comprehensive. I'll just hit some of the highlights and perhaps in my next one there'll be another picture dump. Anywho, here goes...

So, those of you who have followed this blog may recall that I had a tournament to prepare for in August. I ended up taking my Sisters army to it, and that decision was made with just over two weeks to spare. Meaning that I had to paint almost 60 models in two weeks. It took a truly herculean effort, but by God I got it done, at least well enough to meet the painting requirements for the event. The following photo is one I took of my army before the first game of the event:

Everything there is painted to a level that I consider to be finished, if only to a low-medium tabletop standard, with the exceptions of the Mortifiers, one of the Rhinos, and Morvenn Vahl. Those five models were hastily basecoated the day before the event. I almost needed to bring a "Wet Paint" sign to put next to my army! The eagle-eyed viewers among you might have noticed my forum signature showing my 2021 model count going up over that two weeks; this is why. I even painted a couple of models that aren't part of this army (extra models from these units that I wanted to paint at the same time, such as a couple more Repentia and a Cherub). In total, I think I finished like 58 models and got the five vehicles basecoated; while I was psyched to get it all done, it has left me very, very burnt out and I actually haven't painted anything since (meaning those Ravenwing bikes from before are still sitting here unfinished ). Still, the army got several compliments for the unusual color scheme, and comments about me being brave for painting the models yellow. All I had to say was that Contrast paints are amazing; the yellow really is much easier with the contrast version, and contrast paints were the only way I could get that many models painted in such a short time. I ended up finishing the event with 2 wins, 2 losses, and a tie, so I feel like I did pretty well given my lack of experience with 9th edition and the fact that my previous tournament outing was at the end of 2019.

When I wasn't busy banging out Sisters models, I was fiddling around with my 3D printer. I've printed a decent variety of things, and I've decided to show them off here. Photo dump incoming:

First, here are a couple of Spartan-themed Space Marine characters, whose files I got from the friend who gave me the printer (not sure where he got the files):

In addition to these, I have files for an Outrider squad that are mounted on mechanical horses instead of bikes. Haven't printed any of those, and I'm not sure I will considering I don't think I'd actually use them. I only printed these characters to try out the printer (these are the first models I printed).

Next, here's a Ravenwing Attack Bike that I found a set of free .STL files for:

I'll probably print a few more of these, as I like the look of the model. The supports were a pain in the butt to remove because there were so many of them (the files for the model were presupported), but I think it's worth it compared to going out and buying more of the official GW Attack Bike models.

Here we have a couple of Terminator models.

The one on the right is from a set of "built your own not-Terminator" files that my friend gave me. Has a somewhat different look from the official models. The one on the left is something I'm not sure how the author has gotten away with given GW's current IP crackdown; it comes from another set of mix-and-match files to build your own Deathwing squad (complete with DA iconography). I was very pleased to find that set for free, as there are several body variants and basically all the weapon options. The models aren't as fancy as the actual ones from the GW kit, but they'll do the job. I'm sure I'll print more of them as needed.

Here are some of my favorite models I've printed, from a Patreon I've signed up to follow:

The guy calls himself Ghamak, and the models (which he's done 3 waves of and is now done with) are what he calls the "Red Sisters". Basically Soviet-themed Sisters of Battle. The ones I've printed here are a couple of not-Sacresants and a not-Repentia (I've printed all of the Repentia poses, but I haven't put the heads on the others). I was considering using these models for a mixed-Order list to make the two Orders visually distinct, but unfortunately the scale is a bit bigger on these compared to the official models, so it would take quite a bit of work to actually make it happen (basically I'd have to rescale the models and then do my own supports for them, and I'm not sure it's worth the time). Here's another Red Sisters model I printed:

This one is a counts-as Mortifier, and it is WAY off scale, like 50% bigger than an actual Mortifier. And scaling it down wouldn't work very well as it would make the girl inside look tiny. It's still a cool, well-designed model. Even if the scale is off, I'll probably print the not-Celestine and not-Morvenn Vahl from the Red Sisters range as they both are cool models.

Finally, here's a Dark Angels Relic Contemptor:

This is probably my best find as far as .STL files go. Had to pay a little bit for it, but since Volkite Contemptor are so strong in the current meta it was well worth it (especially with FW prices being what they are!).

That's all for now, folks. Next time I will probably do some individual shots of some of the Sisters units. None of them are probably worth doing in the lightbox, but I still think I should give everyone a better look than just that army shot above.

My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/1/23, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~15000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Adeptus Custodes: ~1900 | Imperial Knights: ~2000 | Sisters of Battle: ~3500 | Leagues of Votann: ~1200 | Tyranids: ~2600 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2023: 40 | Total models painted in 2024: 7 | Current main painting project: Dark Angels
 Mr_Rose wrote:
Who doesn’t love crazy mutant squawk-puppies? Eh? Nobody, that’s who.
 
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

That’s a lot of progress!

Interesting to see things come off the printer. So many options out there.

   
Made in ca
Fixture of Dakka





Surrey, BC - Canada

Sisters look good ZergSmasher.

Cheers,

CB

   
 
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