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Excellent work, and I like the skin tone. Gives him that un-natural look you are after.

bebopdrums2424 wrote:Sorry for my absence dr h. Things have been nutso. Incredible craftsmanship youve been up to this last month. This interior has taken on a life of its own! It looks incredibly detailed. Great updates

BB

Thanks BB. No worries.

Camkierhi wrote:Excellent work, and I like the skin tone. Gives him that un-natural look you are after.

Thanks, good to hear that from an Ork. As my first Ork, it was tricky to think of how to make him less green as I had nothing for him to be less green than...

The Driver is done (although a couple of little touch-ups are required that I've noticed...).
Here he is at all possible angles(it's even votable... ):

What do you think?

Now I have to think about the Gunner...
I've decided not to do a translucent colour, as he won't show up very well. So he may be a dark colour... don't know yet... Thoughts are welcome.

Does look brilliant. I think go really dark on the Nid, not sure though.

Nice work on the driver....maybe the nid should be a spooky, glowy, radioactive nid

Camkierhi wrote:Does look brilliant. I think go really dark on the Nid, not sure though.

Thanks. That is the direction I'm leaning at the moment.

monkeytroll wrote:Nice work on the driver....maybe the nid should be a spooky, glowy, radioactive nid

Thanks to you too. I did (briefly) think about doing it bio-luminescent, but that would require osl, and I haven't got the hang of that yet and would rather not practice on this model...

You should totally try he cockroach colored nids like black_adder is doing for the gunner . It might be hard since he's mounted inside already, but you can do it!

 Theophony wrote:
You should totally try he cockroach colored nids like black_adder is doing for the gunner . It might be hard since he's mounted inside already, but you can do it!

It's an interesting thought. Cockroaches like the dark and it is a nice scheme. But, thinking about it, I don't think it will contrast that much with the interior... hmm...

Tricky...

Driver looks astonishing with paint on him. Great job, doc!

Really nice skin on the driver, more how orks should look (if there was anything to compare a fictional bi-pedal fungus with a penchant for axes to).

I'm sure you'll think of something cool, 'nid schemes are nearly limitless.

Moltar wrote:Driver looks astonishing with paint on him. Great job, doc!

Thanks Moltar.

OneManNoodles wrote:Really nice skin on the driver, more how orks should look (if there was anything to compare a fictional bi-pedal fungus with a penchant for axes to).

Thanks Noodles. Yeah, I do want to go down a "more realistic" (less cartoony) route for the Ork skin tones (and all the other models really), much like I do with the modelling.

I was very much impressed by Nerdy's Ork skin (I know you're out there NF), that's why I was so interested in the tutorial of how it was done. Although I didn't exactly use it here, I will be.

I'm sure you'll think of something cool, 'nid schemes are nearly limitless.

And, weirdly, therein lies the problem. Too much freedom can also be a problem.
For all of you that has painted a Tyranid army, think of this; Imagine how difficult it is to think of one original scheme for your army. Completely original, not a variation of the "official" schemes. You can do pretty much any scheme you like, almost any colour combination is possible (so long as you stick to colour theory).

Then... imagine picking an original colour scheme for EACH individual tyranid model... The brain hurts after a while...

Anyway, something will appear eventually. In the mean time, while I consider the (endless) possibilities, I've started the first re-paint model.
First, AArgh, missed mould lines!!!
and then, Aargh, thick paint!!
then, the expected wavy highlights!
So, some sanding and then a re-basecoat. I'll update when he looks prettier (or I have a good idea for the Gunner).

Base the 'nid on a real world insect of some sort. Any really, a moth, for example, and there are plenty of others.

The 'jaundiced' orc looks much nicer than the goofy greens. Sorry orc lovers, but the current green for orcs is a bit 'disney-esque' to my eyes. Only suggestion I would have is some deeper shadings to contrast the orc from the interior somehow.

 Red Harvest wrote:
Base the 'nid on a real world insect of some sort. Any really, a moth, for example, and there are plenty of others.

The 'jaundiced' orc looks much nicer than the goofy greens. Sorry orc lovers, but the current green for orcs is a bit 'disney-esque' to my eyes. Only suggestion I would have is some deeper shadings to contrast the orc from the interior somehow.

Lo Red. Thanks.
Yeah, I have a whole folder full of potential 'nid schemes. I'm very much in favour of using real-life bugs etc. for the Tyranids. It's just a matter of finding one that fits...

Thanks, yeah I did notice that he was approaching the walls in colour. That's why I'm trying to avoid that for the Gunner as well.

Looks fantastic! I love that driver, his skin is wickedly done! :-) the muted skin tone really adds to the whole model, almost as if he's paler due to lack of sunlight if he's wired into the rhino?

Haha In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only Windows Looks fantastic!

No Mac, no linux too!

nerdfest09 wrote:Looks fantastic! I love that driver, his skin is wickedly done! :-) the muted skin tone really adds to the whole model, almost as if he's paler due to lack of sunlight if he's wired into the rhino?

Thanks NF. High praise from the one I stole borrowed the skin tone ideas from.
That is exactly the idea behind it.

dsteingass wrote:Haha In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only Windows Looks fantastic!

Thanks Dave.
The future just wouldn't be as grim or dark without windows...

Camkierhi wrote:No Mac, no linux too!

Not in the Imperium. Those at the top don't want the average nobody tinkering with the equipment (let windows do all the work/thinking for you).
The Eldar are probably the Apple users; Pretty looking and no way to change the batteries.
and the Tau (being the most tech' savvy) are probably the Linux users...

No update yet, been busy elsewhere.
Tidying the garage shaped space on the side of the house, which is mostly filled with my stuff that won't cram into my room inside the house .
I only went in looking for a box... Found a few useful things thought.

You don't need to be tech savvy to use linux. You just have to have tried Vista pre service pack 1

But in a World without Walls ('cuz they are all ruins) who needs Windows?

Sent from my laptop running Linux Mint 16.

Lol, Red.
I skipped Vista and went from xp to 7 and I'm not interested in 8.
I've always thought that, one day, I would install at least a dual boot with Linux, but have never got round to it.

Well Doc, you can run most Linux distributions from USB flash drives. If you have a USB 3.0 it can be as speedy as any windows set-up from the hard drive. No need to partition and dual boot. And surf the web without fear of malware, most of it anyway. It's less than 1/2 an hour to get up and running.

 Red Harvest wrote:
Well Doc, you can run most Linux distributions from USB flash drives. If you have a USB 3.0 it can be as speedy as any windows set-up from the hard drive. No need to partition and dual boot. And surf the web without fear of malware, most of it anyway. It's less than 1/2 an hour to get up and running.

Thanks. My new motherboard does actually have USB 3.0. I may look into it.

So, the first of the re-paints has been done. There was more work required than I expected and I could have done more (could have even completely stripped him and re-painted from scratch) but this will do... for now...
Tactical marine number 1 (he now even has his number on his knee):
Before and after shots (I got pretty close to the same angle)

Other than general tidying, I've made the shading and highlighting on the armour more subtle,
The scrolls were all redone with a layer of "bone" and a wash of brown, then a dry-brush of white and re-squiggled.
The transfers were all re-done (and I got to try out my new micro-sol/micro-set, still need some practice with this).
The added transfer on the backpack is from an AH-64 Apache kit.
The gold had a wash of brown and was re-highlighted.
and the mould lines between his legs and over the top of the backpack were removed.

and here's all the angles:

Not quite up to my best standard, but let me know what you think.

I think I have an idea for the Gunner. I will look into this tomorrow.

No love for number 1? Oh well, here's the gunner, need thoughts...

So, his base colour is a dark purple. He's actually had three layers of progressively lighter purple (and it's more apparent in the photo than in real life ).
But I can't leave him monotone, but what to use...

I'm thinking a dark red (as indicated by the blue arrows), either as a feathering on the edges of the carapace, or just as edge highlights. Both will be partially blended in to the base purple.

Also, the soft parts (indicated by green arrows), I think could do with being a different colour. But what? Dark blue? (I'm trying to keep him largely dark, so no bright colours...)

And the claws etc... Probably the same as the carapace...

Oh, and yellow eyes. (The one thing that will be bright)

Thoughts, opinions, ideas...

No.....no love for no.1...he's a smurf after all


Good restoration work - a definite improvement, as I'm sure you can see yourself


Red feathered into the carapace works for me....and claws a similar shade, maybe with a bit more( or slightly brighter) red on them than the carapace?

I know you want to keep it dark, but if you use dark blue for the soft tissue I'd be worried that it wouldn't be all that visible a difference considering his position inside a vehicle....

Maybe switch it over, blue on carapace and red tissue...although red soft tissue is maybe a bit too 'standard' for your tastes

Ah gunner nid is a problem colors wise?

 monkeytroll wrote:
No.....no love for no.1...he's a smurf after all


Good restoration work - a definite improvement, as I'm sure you can see yourself

Smurfs need love too.


Thanks. I was quite surprised at how shoddy it was before. I almost don't want to look closely at any of the others for fear of what I might find under the magnifying glass...

Red feathered into the carapace works for me....and claws a similar shade, maybe with a bit more( or slightly brighter) red on them than the carapace?

Yeah, makes sense.

I know you want to keep it dark, but if you use dark blue for the soft tissue I'd be worried that it wouldn't be all that visible a difference considering his position inside a vehicle....

Yeah, that was my thought too, and that's why I haven't just gone ahead and done it. I could make it lighter, but then would it look odd with the little bits lighter than the large areas (they are usually darker)?

Maybe switch it over, blue on carapace and red tissue...although red soft tissue is maybe a bit too 'standard' for your tastes

Also makes sense. Would avoid the claws looking "bloody" by making them blue, and makes the soft parts look more vulnerable my making them red...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 shasolenzabi wrote:
Ah gunner nid is a problem colors wise?

Aye, that he is. Just want him to contrast with the light, tank interior, but not just be a black mass.

Well SM1 looks better. We have seen your commission work so you up against it, you set a high standard recently.

Gunny, well I personally would go OTT on the highlights because when finished he will be in a dark hole, but only hint at colours generally. I like the idea of red fleshy bits and blue hard bits, but that is very standard fair. However, if you hint at it being red, but have extreme contrast on your highlights, in the end he will stand out enough. I hope that makes sense.

TBH we know it will look amazing anyway, so go for it.

I like the red feathering, but don't forget that th Orc will probably help him with some chalk kill marks on top of the carapace, maybe in a yellow chalk color , or different chalk colors denoting different kills. Yellow for infantry, white for tanks etc. as for the claws how about fading to green. Took the kids to the zoo yesterday and saw some lovely colors on animals where the blue green fade was nice.

Camkierhi wrote:Well SM1 looks better. We have seen your commission work so you up against it, you set a high standard recently.

Thanks. Yeah, he has shown how far I have come with painting these models from when I started mid-2012. Also how much slower; originally, Tac #1 was painted over the course of a day. Now, just the touching up took 2 days...

Gunny, well I personally would go OTT on the highlights because when finished he will be in a dark hole, but only hint at colours generally. I like the idea of red fleshy bits and blue hard bits, but that is very standard fair. However, if you hint at it being red, but have extreme contrast on your highlights, in the end he will stand out enough. I hope that makes sense.

TBH we know it will look amazing anyway, so go for it.

Yeah, maybe I'll do the highlights with the same sort of contrast you use on gems; mostly dark and then bright only where the light really catches it. I'll give it a go later.

Theophony wrote:I like the red feathering, but don't forget that th Orc will probably help him with some chalk kill marks on top of the carapace, maybe in a yellow chalk color , or different chalk colors denoting different kills. Yellow for infantry, white for tanks etc. as for the claws how about fading to green. Took the kids to the zoo yesterday and saw some lovely colors on animals where the blue green fade was nice.

Ha. That's assuming the Driver is not in competition with the Gunner to see if he can run the target over before it can be shot...
Will see how it looks. Thanks Theo.

Red for the nails and claws.

But you knew, of course, that *I* would say that

Would the good "mad" scientist want them competing or working together as a well oiled team? I can see friendly competition, but I would think he would have them in better control than the driver jinking just so he gets to run over an opponent while causing the. Gunner to miss wide. I would think that they get carrots if they cooperate, or the stick if they don't play nice.

Red Harvest wrote:Red for the nails and claws.

But you knew, of course, that *I* would say that

Ha. I'll leave the claws 'til last and see what works for them best.

I've added red to the soft parts with quite a dilute paint to get it to go into the grooves and leave the raised parts darker. Still needs some more work. I will add some blue to the edges and see how it looks... Watch this space.

Theophony wrote:Would the good "mad" scientist want them competing or working together as a well oiled team? I can see friendly competition, but I would think he would have them in better control than the driver jinking just so he gets to run over an opponent while causing the. Gunner to miss wide. I would think that they get carrots if they cooperate, or the stick if they don't play nice.

Well it's all about causing as much destruction as possible. The Scientist's aim is to reverse the trend of civilisations creating too much order (by building things, for example). Whether by working together or by competing, the pairing will be "optimised" to remove order and replace it with as much chaos (destruction = smaller pieces = more permutations in their arrangement = higher entropy = more chaos).

What's most likely is that the gunner will focus on targets far away and anything nearby will be run over... I was thinking more "competing" for targets, rather than points/carrots(squigs/biomass).

Maybe I'll give it a rule that if something is close enough, the Driver will try to run it over... That could be fun.