584th Krieg Update: Chimera, Hellhound & Infantry

The Artemia pattern Hellhound is starting to come together. I applied and sanded the decals then did the first round of weathering. I might add more chipping, otherwise pigments are next.

This is the finished Chimera conversion. I'm not entirely sold on the Predator turret but think I'll get it painted before I decide. Unless someone points out a detail I missed I'll move on to modeling battle damage next.

These are the first three infantry test models. They're not finished but I figured they were ready for some feedback.

Next up - back to the mortar team, I think.

Krieg Mortar Team

The base will be finished with pigments and all of the models and bits need to be weathered to match - but I have to stop for the day and thought I'd throw up some pics.

Should I add "wet" snow to the finished base?

I'm a big fan of modeling snow. I'd like to put my Krieg in snow but I'm wondering if folks out there think it will take away from the models.

I'd make it very wet looking snow to blend in with the mud, of course, but...

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Artemia Pattern Hellhound

I've always wanted to paint one of the Artmia Pattern Hellhound models from Forge World. When I added a Hellhound to my army list this month I finally had the excuse I was looking for. Of course my list calls for a pintle stubber... and I forgot that this model can't take one. Oops.

Anyway, on with the show:

The model was washed and then primed with Krylon white primer. After that dried I painted the model black using Games Workshop "Chaos Black" and an airbrush.

The fuel tank was airbrushed GW "Dark Flesh" and then splatter sprayed with "Desert Yellow." This will form the basis for the rust later.

The tracks were taped to avoid painting them grey. In this pic you can also see a set of "Runic Mountain" bases that got rejected -- I won't ship a base with that many bubbles on the bottom :)

The model was base coated GW "Codex Grey" and then painted "Fortress Grey" from the top and 45* on each side. Lastly a spot of "Elf Flesh" was added to the "Fortress Grey" paint to create panel highlighting on the top.

The fuel bay was based GW "Desert Yellow" and then a mix of "Commando Khaki" and "Bleached Bone." I did this to help the fuel bay, which is largely hidden by the fuel tank, stand out a bit and add some additional visual interest.

Using hairspray and salt to mask the rust colours I painted the fuel tank in the same greys as the body of the vehicle. I weathered the top of the fuel tank, where it would be banged during refilling, very heavily. The right photo shows the section closest to the body of the vehicle where it would corrode but receive very little additional damage.

The base coated model with fuel tank in place.

The fuel bay was weathered with sponge applied chipping, oils and pigments. As a final step I mixed up some "oil" and ran it into the bay from the top corners to simulate runoff from refilling the fuel tank. It is, of course, almost entirely hidden once the fuel tank is in place... but it was fun to do anyway.

Unfortunately I forgot to order my Krieg transfer sheet so this is where I'm going to have to stop the model for awhile. Before I move on to anything else I need to get the decals in place. Oops.

My total painting time at this stage is a little more than 2 hours, possibly creeping up on 3.

Feedback is ALWAYS welcome and questions will be answered.

Forge World Executioner - Color Test 01

This isn't the Executioner. This is one of several Leman Russ that I have laying about. I decided to pull a couple of them out of my army transport bag and start doing some color tests.

On this first I like the recipe but think I applied the second highlight much too heavily. Much, much too heavily. I'm going to set this one aside for my weathering workshop on Friday and get another one ready to spray later this week.

I won't let paint touch the Executioner until I'm happy with a color test though. Nope, no sir. Not gonna happen.

Forge World Executioner - Clean-up Time

I just couldn't stop myself from doing a bit more work on this today. I still need to finish the restraints on the pioneer kit and do a bit of clean-up but otherwise, barring any feedback from the online community, I think it's time to set the model aside and move on to the base.

A friend is sending me some of the FW Krieg decals to help with the finishing touches and I'm going to test the paint scheme on... something prior to putting this thing in the same room as my airbrush. I'm sure I can dig up a tank from one of my boxes.

And now... back to my Vostroyans!

Forge World Executioner - Detailing Nearly Finished!!!

The starboard side brass rail for the skirt needs to be smoothed but at least it's cut, folded and attached.

I've added tracks on hooks to the front as both stowage and extra armor. I will add weld lines to the hooks, do a bit more folding and then fill in the mold marks on the tracks.

The brass pannier has been reattached and squared a bit more. It will have jerry cans in it when the model is finished.

I still need to decide where to put a couple of lights... but that doesn't have to happen today.

Forge World Executioner

I had a couple of people ask me what the brass triangles on the side of the tank were for so I thought I'd post an early WIP shot of the side skirt armor. I say "early" because this is only about 50% completed... on one side.

I need to bring the back of the support rail up a bit to correct the lay of the bottom line. There will also be secondary supports where the holes in the center of each panel are... assuming I remembered to line them up correctly.

The side skirts are going to get covered in litany text from bow to stern and then appropriately weathered and chipped. I won't be attaching them permanently so that I can get to the tank itself.

Forge World Executioner

My brass panniers came in today and I wasted no time in getting one onto the Executioner!

Of course I also apparently wasted no time in making sure that the edges were square. I'll fix that.

The detail on the engine is from the panniers frame. The bits on the side are cut brass that will form the top half of the side skirt armor rail.

The panniers are, of course, a Secret Weapon product -- and you get EIGHT panniers in three sizes on the frame. Oh yes, I will have a use for these....

Forge World Executioner

I spent the weekend detailing this bad boy with the intention of finally entering something into the Games Day competition. Assuming I can justify the air fare expense I plan to make it out this year and take this, and possibly my Empire Steam Tank, with me.

I am processing a set of etched brass panniers that will go on the turret. Once those are on I'll look at adding a whip antenna. I'm also finishing the design of a set of etched brass side skirt armor I plan to add.

The model will be painted in the Krieg greys and then whitewashed for winter camo. I will add wall-to-wall litany text to the side skirt armor.

I plan to make a base of broken cobblestones and urban rubble and will, of course, give the whole thing in a generous coating of snow and mud. Lots of mud.

Commissioned Forge World Vulture - FINISHED!

Barring any changes, corrections or additional weathering requests from the client this bad boy is finally finished.

I'm very pleased with the overall result and will be re-using this yellow recipe on future projects. The shading really pops and allows for some decent weathering effects.

The cockpit is fully detailed although painted to a lower standard than the rest since it won't be visible through the black frosted glazing.

There are a couple of little things I might have done differently if this were my model. Namely more decoration on the wings - stripes or aquila wings most likely - and perhaps some checkers somewhere. I don't know why but this thing really screams out for some black/white checkers to me. Red/white checkers might work too.

Maybe I'll use this as inspiration for an Imperial Fist vehicle or a Bad Moons stompa...

Commissioned Forge World Vulture 01

I got back from a two week holiday on Monday and started work on a new commission.

The yellow recipe was painted with an airbrush using:

GW "Golden Yellow" (GY)
GY + VMC "Light Yellow" (LY) 2:1
GY + LY 1:1
LY

This was shaded with a glaze of GW "Dark Flesh" generously thinned and likewise applied with the airbrush. Preshading was done with a mix of black and GW "Dark Green" with just a tiny touch of the latter.

Photos were taken in natural, diffused light. Lack of shadows in the backgrounds gives an idea of how the shading/highlighting actually turned out. The last two images do a good job of showing the more subtle transitions.

Decals and the engine are next - weathering will come later.

Commissioned Krieg Command Vanquisher

I've been very busy with super secret projects - but wanted to get an update on the Krieg Command Vanquisher before I head out on a two week holiday.

I've picked out some of the detailing, applied an oil filter to the camo, some pencil weathering and otherwise gotten it ready to tackle the last touches. I probably have another two hours to go before I'll be happy to set this one aside. Vehicles like this are quick and fun and it only take a bit of weathering to make them stand out.

More to come....

Commissioned Krieg Army - Command Vanquisher

I haven't posted a lot of photos of the Krieg army - at least not WIP shots - so I decided to post the start of this Command Vanquisher.

The model was put together by the client - Niroe if you're on Boot Camp or WIP - and the conversion work is his. I did a little bit of quick work on the seams for the double track guards but it's still a bit visible.

All three colors on the tank came out of Krylon spray cans - the camo colours tan, green and brown. From here I'll add a filter wash to blend things a bit and then drybrush. The work on this one should be reasonably quick.



More Krieg under the label...

Finished Arvus Lighter Commission

I painted this model for Niroe - usually found on the Boot Camp and WIP forums - using the oil methods over a Krylon grey primer base. I used a bit of Tamiya XF-62 "Olive Drab" on the cockpit and one panel on each wing.

The engines got a bit of powder weathering to get the blue heat effect. I drybrushed the exhaust Boltgun and then Bronze before adding another blue wash.

The decals were weathered with sandpaper -- remember, before you use sandpaper on a decal it's gloss, decal, gloss and then sandpaper. If you're going to do additional weathering, like the dot oil method I used, an additional matte coat is applied first.

And unless Niroe wants to see something changed this one is finished and it's time to move on. Next up... probably another tank.

Commissar 01

Commissar 01
Originally uploaded by misterjustin

This is a Forge World "Death Korps of Krieg Commissar" I'm doing on commission. He is mounted on one of my resin display bases.

The colours were client specific but I asked to practice my NMM on this one. Except for the basket on his sword I'm pleased with the results. At this stage he's roughly 50% completed.

The model itself has been a pleasure to paint. I'm likely to get one of these for myself.

Bill-Macharius02

Bill-Macharius02
Originally uploaded by misterjustin

Niroe (aka Bill N.) has commissioned an almost all Forge World Krieg army. This behemoth, a Macharius Super Heavy Tank, is getting the full treatment. Well, nearly.

I didn't break out the airbrush on this one but I did do some salt chipping and a three colour camo using masking putty. It's off to a good start at 2:07 into the project.

More to come....

Centaur A04

Centaur A04
Originally uploaded by misterjustin

For those that might recognize him from Boot Camp and related forums, I do a lot of painting for Niroe. He has the enviable ability to afford really silly quantities of Forge World models. I've painted a Thunderbolt, Marauder... well, a lot of models all told.

Now he's sent me the start of his all Krieg army. They're being painted to a lower standard than I usually do on commission these days -- but I couldn't say no to him or the project.

Without further ado I present the work in progress on the first batch - a Centaur and crew in flecktarn camo:

Commission Thunderbolt Finished

This long time project is finally finished, packed and out in the mail to Niroe. Although I started his Valkyrie first I still have that one on the table - it should also be finished this week.

Although the snow wound up a bit thicker than I had intended I'm still pleased with the base on this one. The model uses more rare earth magnets to attach to the base.

This was also the first time I'd put my trust in to decals and tried the gloss coat/decal/gloss coat/paint method that I have recommended to so many others. Turns out it works just fine... which I suppose I knew. I simply hate applying decals.

There are a lot of detail shots for this guy floating around and I'll see what I can do about putting together some better composite images.

An early update on the Thunderbolt project.

I am quite pleased with how the split urban camo scheme worked out - although I think that the snow on the base is a bit thick.

There is still a lot of work to be done, of course. I'll add all of the detailing, weathering, chipping, wind streaking along the wings... some techniques that I've never applied before. This project has been a real pleasure and I intend to re-use the base idea for every future flyer.

Flyer Display Stand for Forge World Thunderbolt

Materials:

Wooden Base - craft store
3/4" x 10" square acrylic rod - plastics shop
Glue, gravel and base materials
1/2" rare earth magnets - K & J Magnetics
Two part plastic to anything epoxy

I measured the base to find the center and simply epoxied the bejebbus out of the rod. I added two of the 1/2" magnets to the top using the same epoxy and one of them to the bottom of the Thunderbolt.

After the epoxy was dried (I waited 10 minutes) I went back in with my gravel and debris.

I was hoping that the magnets would be just strong enough to allow me to lift the entire display, base and all, by the flyer. It's not. It's strong enough to survive the customary bumps that come with life on a shelf.