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This stuff:

https://youtu.be/F6aVcqXqPrI

http://gravengames.co.uk/making-molds-with-oyumaru-instant-mold/

Yeah, that's the stuff. Mine is pink, though, to keep my son from claiming it for himself.

Cool, it's great stuff that I should do more with.

Instamold is a little tricker to work with than I originally thought. I'm on my third try for one of the parts I need to fabricate. Hopefully it works this time. In the meanwhile:



This is, of course, the first Treeman made under the Marauder imprint. Originally, he was painted in lush browns and greens, not unlike the studio paint job in White Dwarf. This time, I decided to go with more natural colors. I went with these pale browns and greys based on the trees in our yard. The brown is Ceramcoat chocolate brown and Army painter monster brown, the greys are the same chocolate brown and Army painter ash grey. The patches of lichen and moss are AP army green highlighted with AP necrotic flesh, washed with GW sepia ink. The mushrooms on his raised arm are based on mushrooms that grow on trees here. The direction they are growing in imply that this guy pretty much never lowers that arm. Speaking of which: "Hi, John!" (exactly one Dakkaite will get that reference).




And here's the other one. Following everyone's advice, I invested in some grass and flower tufts. One of the sets I ordered was the Fuschia Bushes you see here. They are much to big to use on human- or cavalry-sized models, but they fill these bases nicely. It's hard to believe that these guys were originally on 40mm square bases. These 60mm rounds work much better, I think. As always, a group shot:


with one of my son's assembled-but-not-yet-painted Marines for scale. Both of these treemen are pewter, making them potentially dangerous weapons. The limited palette made them quick to paint, despite their size.

I'm still planning on doing the chariots next, but I have to get those missing pieces replaced before I can start in earnest. As always, comments, criticism, flattery and validation are most welcome.

Really sweet work on these two. Classic models that I'm not sure have been bettered (to me, anyway) and seriously top-tier work on the colours and finish. The tufts and basing foliage really add that extra complimentary level to them as well. If I were to do mine again today, I'd go for colours like yours here. I think I only have one of them finished, though, so maybe...

Those are excellent treemen. They really do look alive...for a tree.

Azazelx wrote:Really sweet work on these two. Classic models that I'm not sure have been bettered (to me, anyway) and seriously top-tier work on the colours and finish. The tufts and basing foliage really add that extra complimentary level to them as well. If I were to do mine again today, I'd go for colours like yours here. I think I only have one of them finished, though, so maybe...

Thanks. I would enjoy seeing your take on these models. Also, thanks for your advice re:tufts. I admit that I was resistant at first, as I find highly-decorated bases distracting at best, and downright ugly in a lot of cases. That's one reason I dislike the vocal mulitbasers playing Kings of War. These little tufts-- grass and flower-- really do add a little something to the models.

Theophony wrote:Those are excellent treemen. They really do look alive...for a tree.

Thanks. I was a little surprised at just how drab most trees are in the real world, but I'm pleased with the results on these models.

Wicked work on rhe tree men. The natural bark cokours look realky good. Very realistic.

EDC

Ah, nice! The original Marauder treeman was a real revelation when it was released, compared to the previous dim-witted looking model.

And the natural colours you have used, and the variation thereof have led to a brilliant effect - Really great stuff

Fantastic work on the tree men, they look completely natural and real, believable. And the tufts look great too, nice touch.

I have had some success with the moulding clay and doing it similarly to a two part mould, in lego. Not sure which parts you are after, one other trick is to warm the GS up in hot water first, makes it more pliable. Apologies if I am telling you how to suck eggs here. Another option I have had success with is epoxy resin, if you don't want to go the whole hog and get resin off the net, Just a pack from the pound store will do for a few parts.

 JoshInJapan wrote:

Azazelx wrote:Really sweet work on these two. Classic models that I'm not sure have been bettered (to me, anyway) and seriously top-tier work on the colours and finish. The tufts and basing foliage really add that extra complimentary level to them as well. If I were to do mine again today, I'd go for colours like yours here. I think I only have one of them finished, though, so maybe...

Thanks. I would enjoy seeing your take on these models. Also, thanks for your advice re:tufts. I admit that I was resistant at first, as I find highly-decorated bases distracting at best, and downright ugly in a lot of cases. That's one reason I dislike the vocal mulitbasers playing Kings of War. These little tufts-- grass and flower-- really do add a little something to the models.

Yeah, it took me a long time to get past adding anything more than a slight amount of flock to a base, and even now I don't like too much added. I'm okay with rare exceptions to my own, such as when it's helping tell a story or add a setting (like on the Brass Bull or Talos), but I think things like tufts are good for adding a setting without going overboard.

Because of photobucket's recent actions, I'm finding it really hard to find my Treeman photos, since they were taken quite awhile ago. I may take some new ones if I have to. Anyway, here's a Reaper Bones treeman thingy from 2014. It's still decent, but much more "brown" than I'd do today. Probably.

https://azazelx.com/2014/02/01/treeman-aka-reaper-bones-77184-spirit-of-the-forest-speedpaint/

Painting realistic bark is one of those things that seems like it should be easy but actually takes a lot of thought. You've nailed it here though. When I started playing WFB my regular opponent played Wood Elves, and he had this treeman I think. Was the star of many battles.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Just checking through everything i missed this year. Wow, you've been productive. I think we have pretty similar interests because large chunks of my to do list seem similar to yours.
Elric Elves were really cool and moody sculpts, and they looked awesome as a group.
Those Wood Elves really tickled my nostalgia. My friend definitely had a few of those guys.
Nice to see your DS Orcs as well - very different style to mine but looking good.
Oathsworn minis are the stand out minis from what you've done, I'm going to go and buy some based on your paint jobs.
Frostgrave Gnolls are on my to do list, and I really like your solution to the head gap issue. I reckon mine are gonna look a lot like yours when they're done.

You got a hell of a lot done last year, I'm jealous!

evildrcheese wrote:Wicked work on rhe tree men. The natural bark cokours look realky good. Very realistic.

EDC

Thanks, doc. I am both happy and amazed that I pulled it off.

Slinky wrote:Ah, nice! The original Marauder treeman was a real revelation when it was released, compared to the previous dim-witted looking model.

And the natural colours you have used, and the variation thereof have led to a brilliant effect - Really great stuff

It definitely added a bit of brutality to my otherwise permed-and-made-up Hair Metal elves back in the day.

Camkierhi wrote:Fantastic work on the tree men, they look completely natural and real, believable. And the tufts look great too, nice touch.

I have had some success with the moulding clay and doing it similarly to a two part mould, in lego. Not sure which parts you are after, one other trick is to warm the GS up in hot water first, makes it more pliable. Apologies if I am telling you how to suck eggs here. Another option I have had success with is epoxy resin, if you don't want to go the whole hog and get resin off the net, Just a pack from the pound store will do for a few parts.

I only need to recreate two parts (which is to say, one of each of the side walls), so Instamold and kneadatite will be enough. I have managed to get one part to come out well enough to use, and the other is curing as I type this. I'll share photos tomorrow.

Azazelx wrote:

 JoshInJapan wrote:

Azazelx wrote:Really sweet work on these two. Classic models that I'm not sure have been bettered (to me, anyway) and seriously top-tier work on the colours and finish. The tufts and basing foliage really add that extra complimentary level to them as well. If I were to do mine again today, I'd go for colours like yours here. I think I only have one of them finished, though, so maybe...

Thanks. I would enjoy seeing your take on these models. Also, thanks for your advice re:tufts. I admit that I was resistant at first, as I find highly-decorated bases distracting at best, and downright ugly in a lot of cases. That's one reason I dislike the vocal mulitbasers playing Kings of War. These little tufts-- grass and flower-- really do add a little something to the models.

Yeah, it took me a long time to get past adding anything more than a slight amount of flock to a base, and even now I don't like too much added. I'm okay with rare exceptions to my own, such as when it's helping tell a story or add a setting (like on the Brass Bull or Talos), but I think things like tufts are good for adding a setting without going overboard.

Because of photobucket's recent actions, I'm finding it really hard to find my Treeman photos, since they were taken quite awhile ago. I may take some new ones if I have to. Anyway, here's a Reaper Bones treeman thingy from 2014. It's still decent, but much more "brown" than I'd do today. Probably.

https://azazelx.com/2014/02/01/treeman-aka-reaper-bones-77184-spirit-of-the-forest-speedpaint/

That guy came with the Earth Elemental in Bones 1, right? I think I have him in a box somewhere. I may have to pull him out to make a trio.

Da Boss wrote:Painting realistic bark is one of those things that seems like it should be easy but actually takes a lot of thought. You've nailed it here though. When I started playing WFB my regular opponent played Wood Elves, and he had this treeman I think. Was the star of many battles.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Just checking through everything i missed this year. Wow, you've been productive. I think we have pretty similar interests because large chunks of my to do list seem similar to yours.
Elric Elves were really cool and moody sculpts, and they looked awesome as a group.
Those Wood Elves really tickled my nostalgia. My friend definitely had a few of those guys.
Nice to see your DS Orcs as well - very different style to mine but looking good.
Oathsworn minis are the stand out minis from what you've done, I'm going to go and buy some based on your paint jobs.
Frostgrave Gnolls are on my to do list, and I really like your solution to the head gap issue. I reckon mine are gonna look a lot like yours when they're done.

You got a hell of a lot done last year, I'm jealous!

Thanks. The treemen were the stars of many a battle back in the day. They didn't always do the most damage, but they certainly distracted my opponent.

2016 was super-productive, but I'm not sure I can match my numbers this year. I'll keep trying.

You work at a prodigious rate. With great results. The Treemen do not disappoint. Such awesome models.

 youwashock wrote:
You work at a prodigious rate. With great results. The Treemen do not disappoint. Such awesome models.

Thanks kindly. The secret to my speed is lowered standards and lots of shortcuts.

Normally, I'm loathe to show WIP photos, but the chariots are taking much much longer than I had anticipated. In particular, these parts took far too long to complete:


Only one of my Elven Attack Chariots is complete. The other consists of parts that a friend found for me in a Bitz Box at GW headquarters in Maryland many years ago (Hi, John!). It came with none of the crew, only two horses, and neither of the side walls. When I first assembled and painted it, I made replacement parts out of Sculpy, but they were ugly. For these, I used kneadatite and instamold. It took me several tries to get it right, which means about one day per attempt. The secret turns out to be using enough putty to get the flash you see here-- otherwise not every detail gets molded. Anyway, after some cleanup, I have these:



There are a lot more gaps and ill-fitting parts than I remembered, so the next step will be to get those filled in. After that, painting. I think I will try to do them with a wood grain pattern to fit in with all the elves I've been doing. That will take forever, but it's not like I have to rush, what with my never actually playing anymore .

A request to everyone reading this: The front and side pieces are all covered with divots. What do you think those are supposed to be? Worn leather? Knotty wood? Some sort of mysterious elf secretion? I really have no idea.

I think they are supposed to be like a wicker mesh on the sides. From my understanding ancient Celtic chariots didn't have solid floors but mesh type floors that cushioned the rider and made it smoother to shoot from.

Wicker mesh? Whoever sculpted this must not have ever seen mesh in any form. Well, that would be easy enough to paint.

 JoshInJapan wrote:

cygnnus wrote: I think the naturalistic color palette is working a charm on the wood elves and, yeah, the horses look much better now. Can't wait to see how you can punch up the bases with the silflor-type stuff.

Valete,

JohnS

It's like the end of an era, isn't it? Also, don't get your hope up too high re: tufts. It's mostly just a matter of sticking them on the otherwise finished bases.

When are you going to paint something?

When are you and Bruce going on your next skiing trip?

Valete,

JohnS

Together? Probably never. Would it count if our trips are at the same time, but to different places? Or how about if I just say we're going skiing, for the placebo effect?

 JoshInJapan wrote:
Together? Probably never. Would it count if our trips are at the same time, but to different places? Or how about if I just say we're going skiing, for the placebo effect?

But the placebo effect doesn't work as well if you are expecting it.

Honestly haven't painted much in a long time. My motivator for years was the grand tourney, but with that gone, not so much. For now, I'm painting vicariously through you..

btw, I just missed out on another trip to Japan... maybe next year.

Valete,

JohnS

But what if I tell you we are going skiing, but don't tell you it's not true. You'd fall for that, wouldn't you?

Shame you couldn't make it. If/When you do come next, we'll have to throw down some Frostgrave or Deadzone or something. The last time you visited, Gene was more than a little disappointed we weren't gaming 24/7.

The divots could be an attempt to do a hammered finish, so maybe a bronze or copper paneling, though Theo is probably correct, as wicker would fit the theme better.

A google image search trying to find the original photos resulted in one where the sides were just white with some metal picked out, but I am not sure if that really is the original photo or not...

'ere 'dis






Seems to be the original.

http://www.solegends.com/citads1987a/198704f/fly8704f-MD4ElvenAttackChariot-01.htm
http://www.solegends.com/citads1987a/198704f/fly8704f-01.htm

Yeah, that's the one

I actually quite like it like that...

That's the color scheme I used when I painted these for the first time, but I don't think the white would fit in well with all the emblandened (that's a word, right?) I've been doing recently. I think I'll treat the divots as wickerwork of some sort.

The chariots are on hole temporarily. A friend asked me to paint the models for Scythe (the boardgame), and I'm cranking those out this week. Also, the chariots fit together horribly and will require a lot of putty work to patch all the gaps, meaning I need to find time to go to the hobby shop in the next day or two.

About ten days ago (shortly after I last posted), A friend asked me to paint the models that came with Scythe. The chariots were proving to be more frustrating than I remembered, so I said yes as a way to take a little break. Here are the results:






The base game comes with five factions, each led by a hero and their pet. I tried to match their outfits to their faction colors, but opted to do spot colors on the Soviet and Polish characters. The models are closer to 20mm than 25/28, and being board game plastic, their faces are somewhat blobby. They look good at arms length, though, so I have no real complaints. Each faction also comes with five identical mecha:



Lots of drybrushing and glazing on these. Here's everything together:



This was a fun little project, and now that I've finished, I feel ready to tackle the chariots. I should have something to share in a day or two. As always, cricitism, feedback, flattery and validation are encouraged and welcome.

I've not heard of Scythe before.

The paintjobs on those characters are really good, though - I bet your friend is very happy! The tiger in particular is brilliantly lifelike and I love the (Prussian?) guy with the wolf.

Bravo!

Those are very cool indeed, Josh. I certainly wouldn't have taken those figures to be 20mm by looking at your painting - they look "full" size. Great work.

awesome job dude

love the tiger in particular