This weekend I spent a whole lotta time painting. I'm ready to pass out from this marathon quite pleased, and I think you'll see why:
Finished that Diresword Exarch.
Painted a twin Shuriken-Catapult Exarch while I was at it. :)
Finally got the hang of that snow basing. Starting with a white basecoat really helps. Also, after the snow-flakes are glued down, I followed up with another layer of watered down glue on top of the flakes. It ended up flattening it a bit and making it look like they're actually on snow instead of Splenda. ;P I painted 5 Tau in celebration of this.
My wife bought me this Big Mek for Christmas. I would always rave about him and show her pictures of him off the online store. He's got such character. I love this model.
I finished the paint-a-thon by making 10 lava bases, and painting up 10 Khorne Bloodletters. The hell-blade scheme is inspired by one of the pics from the Daemons Codex. There was a scheme that made the blade look like the heat was coming from the hilt and was inside the blade itself. It was a smouldering kind of look and I thought it perfectly captured what a "hell-blade" would look like.I got this look through a few steps. The blade was first based in Solar Macharius Orange, then some Skull White was put around the hilt and edges to lighten it up. I then coated the blade in Sunburst Yellow (GW's yellows are really weak, which is why I used Skull White first, so it would be a bright yellow). The blade should look very bright, and if you're going for a flame-scheme, this is a good place to stop. Next, I used Baal Red wash, keeping it away from the hilt and some edges, then coating the last 2/3 of the blade (you'll notice in the final pic, the end edges should be orange). This took a few layers to get it deep enough. Lastly a few layers of Badab Black along the flat of the blade, again keeping away from edges. Keep hitting it with the Badab Black until it's dark enough for your tastes.
The Daemons themselves were a quick process. The skin was Mechrite Red, followed by a heavy Blood Red drybrush, followed by a light Solar Macharius Orange drybrush, then a Devlan Mud wash.
Now, I'm basically the 40K posterboy for ADD, so it should strike you as significant that I assembly-lined a 10 man squad. I normally don't have the attention span for that kind of thing. I had read Ron's post a while back on FTW about how anyone can assembly line if you set aside the time specifically for it, do not allow yourself to be distracted, and stick to it. This finished unit is a testament to that... and also gives me a lot of hope given the imminent release of IG which I've pre-ordered like a typical GW-whore. ;) ... and I've also ordered some BFG, so you all will get to see that soon too. I certainly don't make it easy on myself, do I?
I've picked up a few more arms for my SM Terminator Captain. Double Thunderhammers! Woo!
The left hand was, of course, converted using a normal thunderhammer and a Termie powersword arm.Yeesh, what to paint next...
I like the double-shuricat Exarch. There's nothing that says "I AM BILLY BADASS" like duel-wielding the alien equivalent of SMGs.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing that really jumps out (not to minimize the paint jobs, as they are are quite good) is the fact that your Terminator Captain has HAIR. I'm used to either bald or helmets. I mean, i'm not sold on the gameplay value of double-hammer, but it LOOKS COOL, and that counts for something. The Dread shin pads (if that's what those are) are some imposing shoulder pads.
So much cool content, I don't know where to begin! I like the exarch - the vibrant colour scheme is very impressive indeed.
ReplyDeleteYou have been busy! The snow bases look awesome... shame they are covered in xeno scum.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, you have been busy! Good luck with your house hunting. We just moved into ours at the beginning of February. It's great feeling like you are going to be somewhere long enough to really set up your hobby space.
All very awesome.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with finding your new home.
@Raptor1313: I too am not used to hair on Space Marines ... but the expression on his face was just too awesome. I'm planning on making his hair good and gray. He's been in the fight a looooong time ;)
ReplyDeleteLast year I retired, my kids were grown up and had fled the nest so we decided to put our London commuter house on the market and buy in a more rural setting. The entiren western economy promptly collapsed.
ReplyDeleteJohn
So YOU were the cause of it all! Dammit, John! ;)
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty good stuff. The commander with hair is the exact double of the DoW2 Commander!
ReplyDeleteVery nice work all around. I think I may steal teh idea for your terminator's shoulderpads for my Terminator Captain. Those are dreadnought parts right?
ReplyDelete@Gavin: Now that I look at it, you're right. He does look like the commander. Though mine will be much older.
ReplyDelete@Gothmog: Yes, they're Dreadnought leg-plates. There are some better pics here. It should give you a better view of how their orientation. Feel free to steal it, I stole it myself ;)
Wow what a marathon weekend! Great stuff mate, I especially like the Tau bases. What do you use for the snow? It looks so realistic!
ReplyDelete@73rd: I use this stuff. Large carton for $11.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to use it, make sure you hit these steps:
1. base coat with white paint.
2. glue down some of the snow.
3. add watered down glue over the dried snow.
without that last step, it looks like he's standing in artificial sugar. Without that first step, the snow will look like the mush you see at the side of a road on a snowy day.