The Warhammer Models Thread III: A Brush With Death

[dsmiles]

Shame Ayiana is out of focus there, I like her colours. What did you use for the red?

It's Mechrite Red, washed with Baal Red, highlighted with a very thin coat of Blood Red. As much as I dislike Citadel/GW paints, their selection of reds is pretty decent.

EDIT: That out of focus thing happens to me a lot. I'm pretty bad at taking pictures (and I let DakkaDakka auto-adjust the colours, which is sometimes a mistake). Those are all taken from the same distance away with the same zoom setting. I honestly don't know what I'm doing wrong...

On the other hand, the pictures of Holt were all over the place (as far as distance from the mini goes), and they all came out pretty clear.

[Gruffard]

dsmiles, I find that if the main color of the mini is similar to the background some cameras don't do as well. Try putting her in front of a black or other dark colored thing.

On other notes. After picking up some Hordes Trollkin minis. I been looking for a good paint scheme. As I was bouncing around I found this paint scheme on the Impossible Dream Challenge article. LINKY. It is a mostly earth tone look to the trolls. Plus he says he used grass/moss flocking on the mini itself.

I done "skin" tones (base coat, ink, drybrushing to finish) for regular skin tones and ork/goblin green. Anyone tried doing it with browns? Any suggestions for it? All browns are fairly dark. I am worried after inking/washing a brown, it look dark and hide details. Also not sure on the color to drybrush or highlight with. Dunno if light brown would work, or go for some red or orange. Any suggestions to save time experimenting would be nice.

[dsmiles]

How dark do you want to go? For my Pirates of African ancestry, I use Citadel's Dark Flesh with a Badab Black wash.
Example: (Doc is pretty dark, I tested Scorched Brown with a black wash on him. You can barely make out his features in the photo.)

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Example: (Guy on the far left is dark-skinned, the middle one is more mid-range. Tanned Flesh with Ogryn Flesh wash.)

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Example: (Press Ganger on the right.)

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Example: (Front left Sea Dog.)

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Most of them are done with the aforementioned Dark Flesh/Badab Black combo.

[Gruffard]

I am looking for a rock golem look. (Helps most of the beast trolls have things that look like rocks in their skin) I am trying to get a look like the Troll is mad of clay or dirt that was animated. Probably going to do more of a dark/African skin tone for the trollkin (Regular guys for the peeps who don't know the faction), which I know how to do that.

[dsmiles]

I am looking for a rock golem look. (Helps most of the beast trolls have things that look like rocks in their skin) I am trying to get a look like the Troll is mad of clay or dirt that was animated. Probably going to do more of a dark/African skin tone for the trollkin (Regular guys for the peeps who don't know the faction), which I know how to do that.

Well, for my actual earth (on a base), I'll put the sand and/or stones down, paint it in Graveyard Earth (for regular dirt), wash it in Devlan Mud, and drybrush it in Graveyard Earth.

For mud, I'll just do a really heavy Devlan Mud wash right on the sand/rocks.

For stone, I'll paint Charadon Granite, Badab Black wash, and Adeptus Grey drybrush. That's the method I used to base my Drowtribution. Too bad I don't have any close-ups of their bases. If you want to take it one step further, I'd do an extreme drybrush with Codex Grey or Fortress Grey.

For sand, I'll just do a Gryphon Sepia wash on the sand, to give it some depth.

That should give you an idea of the earth tones that I use.

EDIT: On a completely unrelated note:
1. WTF is wrong with my Sorceress on Hellion mini?!?!? The last one went together so easily! This one won't stay glued for crap!
2. This Totem Hunter is going to take forever. For. Ev. Er.

[Gruffard]

Thanks for the suggestions. Will probably do some sand, some mud, some stone depending on the warbeast. I will try them out. Keep peeps updated. (might not get try to Sunday though it looks like.)

[dsmiles]

So, I'm starting to think I mixed the epoxy on Snapjaw's base incorrectly. The epoxy on the first Bull Snapper's base is curing more quickly. (Of course, I spilled it all friggin' over when I was mixing it, so my ratio may be off.)


EDIT: Speaking of the Bull Snapper and Snapjaw...

Bull Snapper:

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I have already fixed the paint on his head, and given him pupils.

Close-up photos of his base:

Snapjaw (Redux):

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Aaaaand let's get a couple of mug shots in:

EDIT (v2.0): I guess I lied.

Totem Hunter:

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And the base:

Now, keep in mind, the bases are photographed almost immediately after they're poured. That makes them more than a little shiny.

[dsmiles]

Well, double post time again. (See above post for some MOAR!)

Looks like I'm done painting for tonight. Here's what I've accomplished today:

Viktor Pendrake:

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Feralgeist:

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And a little base action:

EDIT: Yes, the Feralgeist glows in the dark.

Boomhowler Trollkin (For an IK game):

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Aaaaaand I've done the basecoat on the Arcantrik Force Generator (and started on Calaban):

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EDIT v2.0: You guys are killing me...I have a finished product, and nobody to show it to.

Feralgeist (On a Swampy Base):

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Arcantrik Force Generator:

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[Zorg]

Hey D, stuff's looking good, but not really in a commenting mood for the same reason I'm not painting much lately.
Been having some issues with my vision and it's gotten really bad rather suddenly (as in anythign more than a foot away is out of focus) so painting is a very tiring, frustrating affair. And my computer is dying on top of that, so not much in the hobby zone right now.

Thoug I have inked the armour plates on the pahntom, just need to finish her base and a little more line highlighting.

[dsmiles]

Aww...I'm sorry, Zorg. I hope you get to feeling better.

[Zorg]

Thanks mate It's not too bad, optomertrist on Wednesday, new laptop should be here on Thursday.
I probably could do some painting, but I'm holding off to avoid any mistakes just in case... so I'm passing the time watching Godzilla movies

[Gruffard]

Hope you feel better Zorg. Mindless Monster Movies are good fun. Hopefully they will lift your spirits.

On the Arcantrik Force Generator, dsmiles, your overall dark paint scheme makes it hard to get all the details, but third and forth one show some good stuff. Looks good. What made you add the Yellow/gold joints? Don't remember that in your normal scheme.

[dsmiles]

What made you add the Yellow/gold joints? Don't remember that in your normal scheme.

All of my "important" minis (warcasters, unit leaders, solos, all of my cavalry, character 'jack) have some gold insignia or something else that stands out on them. I figured a battle engine fell in that category. The associated grunts don't, but the engine itself does.

EDIT: @Zorg: Ooooo...Godzilla movies...those would be good inspiration for my Gatormen...

[Gruffard]

All of my "important" minis (warcasters, unit leaders, solos, all of my cavalry, character 'jack) have some gold insignia or something else that stands out on them. I figured a battle engine fell in that category. The associated grunts don't, but the engine itself does.

Huh. Missed that.

Other news: Building Trollblood Champions.

[dsmiles]

My own update:

Finished Calaban (pics later).

Working on: Nyss Sorceress on Hellion, Ironback Spitter, and Croak Hunter.

EDIT: Okay, I lied. I'm going reeeeeaaaaallllyyy sllllloooooowwwww on the Nyss Sorceress. So slow that I'm almost moving backwards.

Thrullg: This has got to be the strangest model I've ever worked on.

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Ironback Spitter: You probably can't tell, but this is supposed to be patterned after a red-bellied eastern box turtle.

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Calaban, The Grave Walker:

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Croak Hunter: Again, you may not be able to see it, but this is supposed to look like a strawberry poison dart frog.

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[Renegade Paladin]

Are Catachan Guardsmen supposed to be much more annoying to put together than Cadians? I have to do cutting and conversion work just to get them holding their lasguns.

[Jair Barik]

The Thrullg looks very very nice dsmiles. Nice paint job and love what youve done with the eyes, no shininess either.

Definitely not the strangest mini though. I've been painting lots of Wyrd Miniatures lately and some of the stuff from them is.... pretty weird.

Teddy I find incredibly creepy.

Am sorely tempted to pick up Nekima just because the model looks so amazing, that said it looks a nightmare to assemble, I mean, it looks potentially even harder than the avatar of menoth what with those big metal wings.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Are Catachan Guardsmen supposed to be much more annoying to put together than Cadians? I have to do cutting and conversion work just to get them holding their lasguns.

They came out a year or so earlier, so maybe they had a differant design idea behind them.

[Eldan]

And they can't possibly be as annoying as Eldar Guardians, can they?

[CreganTur]

I've finished Sansa and the base. I ended up having to remove a couple of twigs from the tree to make room for her and because one obscured her from the front. It took some time to build up the snow on the tree and the ground, but once I added some grass tufts and a sprinkling of deak leaves the whole thing really came together.

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My Cadian commission is also finally done:

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For my next Darksword entry I'm using the Thief of Hearts figure. I decided that I wanted to capitalize on the movement of this piece and came up with the idea of her flying away from some ruins as she fires her bow. I cut up another section of the gothic building I used on my Kingdom Death preacher and worked on distressing it. There's still a lot of work left to do on it. I'll be adding rocks to the ground along with some sandy paste. I'll also be adding vines to the ruins so that they twine through the windows and up the structure. And thanks to some sturdy pinning she stays in place prett well.

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@Dsmiles
you're a painting machine! Your work is improving on these newer pieces, but I really think learning to add in more highlights and working on smoother blending will take your work to a whole new level.

[Jair Barik]

@CreganTur
Beautiful work as always but on the Thief of hearts I can't help but feel you will be better off using less of the ruin in the diorama. As it is now the model itself just appears to take up to little of the area. With your preacher that worked fine, he was at the centre of the diorama and the scenery occured around him but with this one it just looks like she is perched at the very top leaving the rest looking a little empty. It could well be that adding the vines will solve this problem but at the moment I can't help but feel it would be better off with either the ruin at about half the height it is at now or maybe a second smaller mini at the base of the ruins (like in the Cleric diorama where you used three figures).

[dsmiles]

The Thrullg looks very very nice dsmiles. Nice paint job and love what youve done with the eyes, no shininess either.

Thanks. (I've learned to take the photos before I apply the varnish. They come out better.)

Definitely not the strangest mini though. I've been painting lots of Wyrd Miniatures lately and some of the stuff from them is.... pretty weird.

Teddy I find incredibly creepy.

Am sorely tempted to pick up Nekima just because the model looks so amazing, that said it looks a nightmare to assemble, I mean, it looks potentially even harder than the avatar of menoth what with those big metal wings.

I've started to pick up some Wyrd minis (not to play Malifaux, just for DnD). I recently bought Perdita and the three-pack of Ronin.

AWESOMENESS

As always, your work is awesome, CT. That Thief of Hearts looks like it'll turn out great.

@Dsmiles
you're a painting machine! Your work is improving on these newer pieces, but I really think learning to add in more highlights and working on smoother blending will take your work to a whole new level.

Thanks. I'm trying to add more highlights, but I haven't worked my way up to blending yet. The best I've got in my arsenal at the moment is drybrushing while the lower layer is still tacky. It's almost blending.

[Jair Barik]

Seem to recall seeing a conversion of Perdita that had her riding a velociraptor...

[dsmiles]

Seem to recall seeing a conversion of Perdita that had her riding a velociraptor...

...
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AWESOME!

[Jair Barik]

http://wyrd-games.net/forum/showthread.php?t=20901
Don't think any of it is actually the official model, her hair just looks much too short.

If you have seen the gremlin model Ophelia Lacroix you might notice a similarity between her and Perdita, that is intentional the Gremlin imitates her to try and be more succesful.

EDIT: Kay reading through that thread the dinosaur with gunslinger is a model called 'Ruby' by studio McVey

[dsmiles]

http://wyrd-games.net/forum/showthread.php?t=20901
Don't think any of it is actually the official model, her hair just looks much too short.

If you have seen the gremlin model Ophelia Lacroix you might notice a similarity between her and Perdita, that is intentional the Gremlin imitates her to try and be more succesful.

EDIT: Kay reading through that thread the dinosaur with gunslinger is a model called 'Ruby' by studio McVey

Yeah, that's definitely not Perdita. Perdita's hat is flat-brimmed. I've seen Ophelia. I almost bought her box. You can never have enough goblins with guns.

[Gruffard]

The Thrullg looks very very nice dsmiles. Nice paint job and love what youve done with the eyes, no shininess either.

Definitely not the strangest mini though. I've been painting lots of Wyrd Miniatures lately and some of the stuff from them is.... pretty weird.

Teddy I find incredibly creepy.

Am sorely tempted to pick up Nekima just because the model looks so amazing, that said it looks a nightmare to assemble, I mean, it looks potentially even harder than the avatar of menoth what with those big metal wings.

Local player at my shop painted his Teddies to look Carebears with gore and guts hanging from their mouth... Yea Creepy minis. I have a Nekima on order. Will tell you how annoying it is to build.

@CreganTur: Your work is impressive as always.

@dsmiles: The tacky blending is blending. Its the quick and dirty way, but it is a blending technique. Your work is improving greatly, you passed me long time ago. And I remember suggesting color mixing to get your shiny black when you first started. Scary fast improvement.

[dsmiles]

I have a Nekima on order. Will tell you how annoying it is to build.

@dsmiles: The tacky blending is blending. Its the quick and dirty way, but it is a blending technique. Your work is improving greatly, you passed me long time ago. And I remember suggesting color mixing to get your shiny black when you first started. Scary fast improvement.

Thanks.
The tacky blending is what I did on the thrullg and the flames for my nightmare riders. There's also a lot of drybrushing on the thrullg.
As far as "scary fast improvement goes, I tend to listen to those I consider more well-versed than myself, in whatever it is I'm trying to do. (It's a side effect of my specific job in the military.)

I'd like to know, too, how annoying Nemika is to build. I almost bought her yesterday when I bought Perdita and the Ronin.

[Jair Barik]

Well I have assembled a set of 3 WHFB terradons before and they were a nightmare, at the moment I am trying to assemble a Shikome which is a bit like Nekima on a much smaller scale and that is proving hard enough. Looking at nekima I think a strong adhesive, drill and brass rods is likely the way to go. Teddy is a single piece of metal so very simple as are a lot of the minis I have got from Wyrd. Lord Chompy bits came in 5 parts (main body, the two smaller arms, tail and upper jaw) but assembled really easily.

[dsmiles]

Yeah, you should try a Cryx Deathjack sometime. I've seen them. They're 30+ pieces.

(I was also tempted to buy Lord Chompybits, just because of the name. )