The past month has seen very little in the way of exciting painting for me. I have actually been putting the finishing touches on a 1,850 point Blood Angels army of my own.
I'm nearly at the end of the queue and will have a large Death Korps of Krieg commission coming up shortly. I am also sculpting bases as quickly as I can -- such as the one in the bottom right of this photo collection.
More images of the army are available in the photostream - just click through.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Dragon 06
Six months. I had this project on my desk for six months. It's unforgivable, really.
It is, however, finally finished.
In the end I wound up having to buy a second Dragon after I seriously botched part of the conversion. Buying that second box, however, allowed me to do three separate riders instead of magnetic head and arm swaps. I'm really happy with the freedom this gave me to make each of the riders unique.
On the Prince, with the shield, I'm quite pleased with the shield itself and how his face came out. He looks very serious and maybe just a little grumpy.
The one with the magma sword is the Dragon Mage. I used the armored body from the second box to make him look more warrior-ish. I'm quite pleased with how the sword came out. This is the client's favorite rider.
On the the Arch Mage, with the staff, I'm very, very happy with the red cloth. It looks decent in the photos but incredible in person. My ability to take photos of plastic army men is still lacking, I'm afraid.
As for the dragon itself... well, I really like it but it was SUPPOSED to come out much more green. As I applied successive washes and highlights, however, it became more and more blue. It has such a dept and range in the blue that I didn't bother to correct it though. With the yellow/green scales it all worked out.
And now it gets shipped off to its owner.
It is, however, finally finished.
In the end I wound up having to buy a second Dragon after I seriously botched part of the conversion. Buying that second box, however, allowed me to do three separate riders instead of magnetic head and arm swaps. I'm really happy with the freedom this gave me to make each of the riders unique.
On the Prince, with the shield, I'm quite pleased with the shield itself and how his face came out. He looks very serious and maybe just a little grumpy.
The one with the magma sword is the Dragon Mage. I used the armored body from the second box to make him look more warrior-ish. I'm quite pleased with how the sword came out. This is the client's favorite rider.
On the the Arch Mage, with the staff, I'm very, very happy with the red cloth. It looks decent in the photos but incredible in person. My ability to take photos of plastic army men is still lacking, I'm afraid.
As for the dragon itself... well, I really like it but it was SUPPOSED to come out much more green. As I applied successive washes and highlights, however, it became more and more blue. It has such a dept and range in the blue that I didn't bother to correct it though. With the yellow/green scales it all worked out.
And now it gets shipped off to its owner.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Commissar Tank 05
While going through photos for the blog update I realized that I'd never posted the final of this guy. The Commissar tank was the last holdout for my Armored Company and has been finished since July. Oops.
I'm quite pleased with this one and he is easily my favorite. Unfortunately on the gaming table he has been completely and entirely useless. Ah well.
The side armor is from the SoB Exorcist. The cannon is a Baneblade Vanquisher Cannon mounted on a Demolisher barrel. The Commissar himself is one of the new metal models with his legs snipped off.
I'm quite pleased with this one and he is easily my favorite. Unfortunately on the gaming table he has been completely and entirely useless. Ah well.
The side armor is from the SoB Exorcist. The cannon is a Baneblade Vanquisher Cannon mounted on a Demolisher barrel. The Commissar himself is one of the new metal models with his legs snipped off.
Baneblade Update 02
Long time no update, I know. I always do less painting in the summer and things were particularly crazy this year. Right now I'm getting through the last of the commissions I'm going to take for awhile -- including two of these bad boys.
Both Baneblades were painted in the same style I do my own Armored Company in which makes it a nice preview of things to come. The model itself is a real treat to play and incredibly detailed. My thanks go out to GW for producing more CAD generated models.
Both Baneblades were painted in the same style I do my own Armored Company in which makes it a nice preview of things to come. The model itself is a real treat to play and incredibly detailed. My thanks go out to GW for producing more CAD generated models.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Slaanesh Terminator Lord 03
I've made only a little bit of progress since I took this shot. The suckers on the end of the lash have their basecoat and primer... otherwise I've been too busy to paint.
The banner was accomplished using a decoupage technique and thus isn't actually freehand. I will be reusing the technique just about as often as I can. I only had to use some putty to smooth out the edges where the paper was still higher than the banner. With a different banner it wouldn't have been an issue.
I have decided not to give the cape additional highlights. I will let the base colour and shading stand alone -- at least until the rest of the model is completely finished. At the moment I really think that the darker colour does a good job of framing the model.
The banner was accomplished using a decoupage technique and thus isn't actually freehand. I will be reusing the technique just about as often as I can. I only had to use some putty to smooth out the edges where the paper was still higher than the banner. With a different banner it wouldn't have been an issue.
I have decided not to give the cape additional highlights. I will let the base colour and shading stand alone -- at least until the rest of the model is completely finished. At the moment I really think that the darker colour does a good job of framing the model.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Slaanesh Terminator Lord 01
While planning my Ork army I decided to let the Relic News Community Forum folks decide which of my abandoned projects I should get back to first -- this one took an early and decisive lead.
Given that this is a command unit dedicated to Slaanesh, the Chaos force of pleasure, I decided I wanted to stay well away from "typical" Chaos colours. Since pink is usually used for Slaanesh I went for a pink and light green primary palette with a vibrant fuscia/purple accent. I used white for all of the trim to help reinforce the washed out, bright colour palette.
The pink/white scheme will also be carried over to a banner on his back, taken from the WFB Slaanesh Champion, with a white background and a pink Daemonette.
This has been a great project for blending practice as I go from such dark shades to pure white highlights on the bulk of the model. I also really enjoy the extraneous Chaos details in these models.
Given that this is a command unit dedicated to Slaanesh, the Chaos force of pleasure, I decided I wanted to stay well away from "typical" Chaos colours. Since pink is usually used for Slaanesh I went for a pink and light green primary palette with a vibrant fuscia/purple accent. I used white for all of the trim to help reinforce the washed out, bright colour palette.
The pink/white scheme will also be carried over to a banner on his back, taken from the WFB Slaanesh Champion, with a white background and a pink Daemonette.
This has been a great project for blending practice as I go from such dark shades to pure white highlights on the bulk of the model. I also really enjoy the extraneous Chaos details in these models.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
EC Dread Redo 01
This model was the first major conversion I'd ever done. I finished painting it in November of 2006 with an uninspiring mix of drybrushing and ink washes. I really like the model itself, however, and kept thinking about making another one.
When I couldn't offload this thing via eBay I decided to go ahead and simply repaint it. This time with a much more inspiring mix of glazes and subtle blending.
The arm shown here is probably 50% complete at this stage and I won't be working on it again for awhile as there are too many projects on my plate. Even though my camera makes the blending look a bit sharp I'm pleased with the result -- and the actual model looks quite a bit better.
I didn't find anything in the blog for this project but here is a link to the original work:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/misterjustin/299231642/
When I couldn't offload this thing via eBay I decided to go ahead and simply repaint it. This time with a much more inspiring mix of glazes and subtle blending.
The arm shown here is probably 50% complete at this stage and I won't be working on it again for awhile as there are too many projects on my plate. Even though my camera makes the blending look a bit sharp I'm pleased with the result -- and the actual model looks quite a bit better.
I didn't find anything in the blog for this project but here is a link to the original work:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/misterjustin/299231642/
Warbiker 01
With the Armored Company nearly finished (I only need to weather the Commissar tank now) and a couple of games under my belt I decided it was time to put together a "legal" army.
My favorite choices have always been Imperial Guard and Orks. With rumors continuing about major changes for Imperial Guard, complete with new models and codex, I decided it was time to pick up some Ork models and do some paint tests.
This is the first of my Ork Warbiker test models. Once again all of the paints are straight out of the pot with no colour mixing except on the skin.
Overall I'm pretty pleased with the result and I'm very happy with the new Ork models. I do hope to bring out some of my twenty year old Rogue Trader Orks though... just for kicks.
My favorite choices have always been Imperial Guard and Orks. With rumors continuing about major changes for Imperial Guard, complete with new models and codex, I decided it was time to pick up some Ork models and do some paint tests.
This is the first of my Ork Warbiker test models. Once again all of the paints are straight out of the pot with no colour mixing except on the skin.
Overall I'm pretty pleased with the result and I'm very happy with the new Ork models. I do hope to bring out some of my twenty year old Rogue Trader Orks though... just for kicks.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Armored Company 04
I still have a bit of finishing work to do, and dozer blade hiding in an unpacked box, but otherwise all nine tanks in the armored company are more or less... finished. Actually, honestly finished.
As much as I've enjoyed the project it will be really nice to set it aside for awhile and paint something else.
Better photos will be coming shortly. I simply felt the need to get *something* online to show that I had really completed the project prior to April 1.
Now I just need to figure out what to do with them all.
As much as I've enjoyed the project it will be really nice to set it aside for awhile and paint something else.
Better photos will be coming shortly. I simply felt the need to get *something* online to show that I had really completed the project prior to April 1.
Now I just need to figure out what to do with them all.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Command Tank 01
Here is the commander's tank, complete with the resin cast extra armor. It's nearly finished in this photo (and actually finished at this point).
The Commissar doesn't ride in this tank but I threw him in for a little extra flavor. I'm quite, quite pleased with the end result on this one.
The Commissar doesn't ride in this tank but I threw him in for a little extra flavor. I'm quite, quite pleased with the end result on this one.
Armored Company 03
The armored company has four standard Leman Russ -- and these are them. They're painted, detailed, weathered and sealed. Table top ready and good to go once I get the rest of the tanks finished.
Now that the extra armor is finished I should be able to get things rolling at a steady clip again.
Now that the extra armor is finished I should be able to get things rolling at a steady clip again.
Extra Armor 04
I'm finally happy with my extra armor sculpt. I have cast it in resin for personal use so that I don't have to re-create the damn thing every time.
Now that this set is finished I have several new ideas and learned a lot from my mistakes. All in all I'm rather pleased with the end result though -- especially when you see it on the finished tanks.
Now that this set is finished I have several new ideas and learned a lot from my mistakes. All in all I'm rather pleased with the end result though -- especially when you see it on the finished tanks.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Lysander 03
I should have learned, after the vomit comment, not to take desktop photos... but I simply couldn't resist.
I've been working on this guy while working on the tanks and he's nearly finished now. No new tricks or techniques, just a break from the tanks. I'm pleased with how he has come together.
I used blue to accent the hammer, shield and lamp so that I had a split colour compliment.
The gloss on his cape is there because I'd tried attaching a decal... which I promptly removed. It'll un-gloss once I finish sealing the whole model.
I also tried to make the lamp look like it had broken glass in it. I'm not entirely pleased with this effect but didn't want to go learning a new technique so I'll leave it.
I've been working on this guy while working on the tanks and he's nearly finished now. No new tricks or techniques, just a break from the tanks. I'm pleased with how he has come together.
I used blue to accent the hammer, shield and lamp so that I had a split colour compliment.
The gloss on his cape is there because I'd tried attaching a decal... which I promptly removed. It'll un-gloss once I finish sealing the whole model.
I also tried to make the lamp look like it had broken glass in it. I'm not entirely pleased with this effect but didn't want to go learning a new technique so I'll leave it.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Leman Russ A02
The first "finished" tank in the Armored Company.
There are still a couple of things I'm going to go back and do, such as add company number decals, but this is what the four Leman Russ tanks will look like.
All-in-all I'm quite pleased with the end result. I think that I managed a more realistic level of weathering that will work on any game table. As a coordinated army the whole thing should come together nicely.
There are still a couple of things I'm going to go back and do, such as add company number decals, but this is what the four Leman Russ tanks will look like.
All-in-all I'm quite pleased with the end result. I think that I managed a more realistic level of weathering that will work on any game table. As a coordinated army the whole thing should come together nicely.
Lysander 02
I decided to take a bit of a break from the monotony of painting nine tanks -- a big, yellow Space Marine seemed like the right answer.
I am quite pleased with the skin tones on this one -- although I still can't get a decent photo. At this point I actually have his left arm attached and will probably start in on his right arm tonight. I plan on finishing him before this weekend and then it's back to the tanks. The endless, endless tanks.
I am quite pleased with the skin tones on this one -- although I still can't get a decent photo. At this point I actually have his left arm attached and will probably start in on his right arm tonight. I plan on finishing him before this weekend and then it's back to the tanks. The endless, endless tanks.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Armored Company 02
Here's the first shot of the whole armored company together... and it's nearly finished.
Things left to complete at this point:
Extra Armor on the 5 variants
Dozer blades on the 5 variants
Vanquisher turret for the crazy tank conversion
And then they're ready for painting. I've started in on the flag, as you can see, but only while waiting for glue to dry.
Speaking of glue... do *not* spend a lot of time hovering over your Methyl Ethyl Ketone plastic cement. My head has stopped hurting but my left eye still twitches from time to time. Fun stuff. Here's hoping I never glue another tank tread...
Things left to complete at this point:
Extra Armor on the 5 variants
Dozer blades on the 5 variants
Vanquisher turret for the crazy tank conversion
And then they're ready for painting. I've started in on the flag, as you can see, but only while waiting for glue to dry.
Speaking of glue... do *not* spend a lot of time hovering over your Methyl Ethyl Ketone plastic cement. My head has stopped hurting but my left eye still twitches from time to time. Fun stuff. Here's hoping I never glue another tank tread...
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