Ace does a Thing - ETL 2016 - Vow 1 Completed!

[Dragonlover]

I didn't find with my Havocs that I even needed to wash off any mold release stuff. Pretty impressed with the Anvil stuff.

 

And on the brush debate, I used an Army Painter Insane Detail, which was pretty pointy once I put a dab of water on it.

 

Dragonlover

[Brother Argent]

Was wondering when you would FINALLY venture into the PC&A forums Ace.  Good to see I didn't have to wait another five years...

[Ace Debonair]

Ooh, more replies.

Dragonlover:

Anvil's stuff is pretty good. To be fair, of the 10 or so sets of legs I bought, only one had any oil at all on it, and even then not much.

Also the mould lines are pretty carefully placed and generally hard enough to see that I don't even feel the urge to trim 'em.

SP:

I actually figured it might be another month or so before you turned up to comment, so fair game.

And yeah, I kinda wish I'd done this a long time ago.

Forte:

I'll try not to disappoint, then!

That said, on with the show!

So I went back and did a bit more detailing and trimming of mould lines and what-have-you on Caemund.

Notably, I went back and drybrushed his cape again:

Then painted the Black Watch cross on his gun and muddied the whole thing up a bit more:

Then fixed his rascally yellow eyebrow. There's still, on the photo, a tiny bit of yellow that I literally cannot see on the model.

I'm gonna consider that close enough for the time being, because if I paint his face once more I might go mad.

Now comes the fun wall-of-text part.

So as I lamented earlier, Providence is a cruel beast, and I had no spare more legs for my loyalists, since I've already painted all my Anvil stuff in Chaos colours.

Still, since I have more than enough Chaos bits going begging, there's room for me to start on an Aspiring Champion type fella. Happy Days!

So far, so good. I've got all the bits and am painting away happily, when I run into another small issue.

I wanted to give this man a brown cape, because brown capes are the best capes. At least, for these guys. Red looks a little out of place on them, and blue is not to be contemplated.

I also wanted to do some more mud effects, because that was fun and easy and I have to see how it looks on one of my usual colour schemes.

Then I realised, I have exactly one brown paint.

Graveyard Earth is a great brown to have, but doing the cape that colour and mud effects in the same colour is a short walk to pointlessness.

Still, that didn't stop me from painting most of a chaos marine:

I know, I know, they look like cut-price Black Legion with naff shoulders.

I'd picked the colours WAY before I'd seen any of the official Chaos factions' ones though, so they're here to stay.

I invite you to notice, right at the top, a chaos warrior hat so no eye lenses on this guy. Again, the legs, cape and shoulderpad with the bronze trim are all Anvil stuff. I pinched most of Caemund's gear from my 'traitor bits' stockpile.

Now, the savvy gamers amongst you probably realise I've picked a pretty naff setup, going with a chainsword and plasma pistol.

The thing is, I only have my nephew to game with, and neither of us actually have much interest in the game proper, so we tend to do boardgames based loosely off of the mighty Space Crusade.

Therefore I'm deliberately doing two plasma pistol / chainsword champions so as to give his powersword-wielding sergeant something to splat in a melee, because I'm a kind-hearted soul. Also if he wants to play the bad guys for a mission, my power-mace Sergeant won't even have to change gears.

I'm almost done blabbing everyone to death, but I'm going to finish with two more modelling questions, for anyone interested enough to answer them.

Question the first:

I've been using black washes to add more depth to other colours, but this doesn't exactly work so well on a black base colour. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to give basic black a bit more character?

Question the second:

Modelling mud effects is fun, easy and awesome. But my nephew's marines are in the snow, rather than mud and rocks. What sort of weathering effects, if any, could be done to marines in the snow?

EDIT:

So it's impossible to see any of the bits where I actually trimmed the mould lines on Caemund.

I promise it happened, though! I was totally there when it did!

EDIT EDIT:

And there's a bit on his head I completely failed to trim, in fact.

How very vexing. Oh well, something else to do while I wait for the other brown paints and stuff to get here.

[Forté]

Ok...firstly...wow. I've seen sub assembly and now I've seen no assembly. Holding those parts while painting must be a nightmare. At least glue the torso together and work out the pose. Then glue the torso to the legs. Maybe even have the shoulder pads glued to the arms too.

 

As for mud, I'll leave that to someone else as I rarely weather my models currently.

 

Now, onto the black question. You can start with a very dark grey and wash with black but the way most do it is start with the black base coat and highlight to give definition. No shading needed as you can't get any darker.

[deathspectersgt7]

I use  either a gray armour wash or a blue wash over my Black.

[Madwolf Shadowmane]

I follow the recommendations in the "How to paint Citadel miniatures".  Grey with nuln oil wash and then two stage highlights with lighter shades of grey.  Examples are in my signature.  Nice to see your influence expanding beyond the Liber. 

[Rune_Priest_Rhapsody]

Rhapsody:

If you meant the legs on my mini up at the top, those aren't actually termi legs. They're these bad boys:

http://www.anvilindustry.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=77_96&product_id=70

I thought they where these:

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/The_Horus_Heresy/Legiones_Astartes/Space_Marine_Legion_Army_List/LEGION_ELITES/Legion_Terminator_Squad/LEGION_TARTAROS_TERMINATORS.html

 

Good luck with the weathering!! I'm horrible at it too. I tried it a couple of times, and found it was a little past my skill level. But I am sure you will pull it off!!

 

I also use a blue wash when painting on black, especially since it fits into my scheme. And as for snow basing: The GW stuff is too fiberish for my taste. I use simple craft glue and baking soda and powder (mixed 4:1) for my snow. But don't quote me as the main source on making it, look on the site and or the internet for other suggestions!!

Good luck!!
 

End of Line

 

 

 

[Aqui]

Nice to see you in the WIP Ace!

I'm just wondering if we'll ever get to see any DIY Chapters eventually

[Ace Debonair]

Forte:

I plan the pose out in my head beforehand, mostly. In the case of the trickier ones I actually cheat a little and get a relative to help m hold all the relevant bits together as a dry run.

Gluing bits together before painting is, in my admittedly mediocre experience, the quickest way for me to make a million mistakes per part.

Painting each bit separately works pretty well for me, so I'm not about to fix what isn't metaphorically broken just yet. The above pieces didn't even take two hours to do, although I'll happily admit there's still a lot to be done!

Also, guess who entirely forgot to order any grey when he was looking at paints before?

Deathspectersgt7:

Grey or blue, eh?

I just happen to have some very fine blues that might just do the trick.

And since the story so far of this thread has been me leaping into doing new stuff I guess I can always give it a try!

Madwolf:

Those are some sweet minis, man.

Really, really kicking myself for forgetting to order grey.

It occurs that a similar effect might be achieved with some very dark blues, though. Another thing to try!

Rhapsody:

Sorry if I've dashed your hopes there! I'm an OK converter but Termi legs to regular ones is a bit beyond me.

...Especially since I haven't actually got any working green stuff any more.

Your idea with the snow is a sound one. I'll also have another perusal of the ol' tutorial sections and see what arcane knowledge can be gleaned from it.

Aquilanus:

In a word, yes.

But not necessarily any of the ones I've written about.

At least, for now. I'm very, very short on bitz for anything other than chaos marines and my Deathwing Terminators, who are getting used for my actual DIY chapter.

One day when I have more cash and the bits shops I use have restocked the stuff I want, I might, possibly, if the browns I've ordered are any good, consider making a Stonebound. Or an Infinity Knight, maybe. Red Lords are less likely because they're visually almost identical to my nephew's lot and painting them up would be a bit redundant. Steel Dragons are right out for now, and the Sons of =][=DELETED=][= require a turquoise I completely forgot to order.

In a similar vein, my Chaos Warband doesn't really have a name. I call them the Cheat-Mode-Easy-Marines because their scheme is as easy to paint as I could make it.

Except for the orange. Orange is the devil. I've done up to eight coats of the darn stuff before now and have never, ever had it come out anything like smooth.

On the other hand I've grown sort of attached to the mottled effect on all my Warband's shoulders. Especially on the newest project, where washing over the whole lot with black makes it look not only intentional, but like the shoulder armour has seen the worst of the fighting.

So, I've got some tutorial reading to do! Hopefully I'll get the new paints by Monday and I can crack on with making this chaos marine look acceptable!

[Forté]

Vallejo Model Colour does a really good Black Grey if you're going the shading route.

[Ace Debonair]

I'll look into that next time I'm getting paints.

First I'm gonna try the blue wash / blue highlights approach and see how it looks.

[geektom]

I'll look into that next time I'm getting paints.

 

First I'm gonna try the blue wash / blue highlights approach and see how it looks.^_^

I used purple on my Chaplin if you want to see how it looks.

[Brother Argent]

As for weathering with snow I find a light drybrush of either a very light grey or white around the legs then drybrush over the lower sections (leaving some of the white uncovered above it) with a mud colour, simulating the snow brush off then the muddy ground underneath. Used to do it for my WHF Chaos Warriors and it worked pretty well. Well, I used to do two colours for their mud to represent dried mud then wet mud. And thinking about it now I may have done mud then drybrushed snow over the top... Its been a few years now... Consulting my inspiration images... Yep, mud first then light drybrush of snow colour over the top.

Oh and ouch... That earlier comment would hurt... it if wasn't true

[Ace Debonair]

Geektom:

That is one bodacious Chaplain, mon ami.

I totally have to try dark blue highlights now. Well, not right now because it's just struck midnight where I am, but soon. Very soon.

SP:

Yeah, well, I owed you one for the 'five years' comment.

I think we're even now, though, and to look on the bright side we're both ahead of schedule!

Mud and snow at the same time, eh?

An interesting idea. If only I had more spare legs to try that out on!

Having looked over the 'net for some weathering hints, it seems a light dusting of snow on the feet and bottom of anything near feet level is the commonly accepted thing to do.

Happy days, 'cause that's what we've been doing all along.

[Ace Debonair]

Quick update:

Tried out some dark blue highlights on my black stuff. The theory is definitely sound, but I think I need to work more on the practice.

Also re-started on my Deathwing stuff that I bought about this time last year. I struggled with all the details last time, so I got frustrated when I started making mistakes on them.

Man alive, what a difference using washes makes.

Basecoat in whatever approximate colour, black or dark blue wash and hey presto, magnificent feathered wings that look like I took a year or two intricately detailing.

I can't wait for the other browns to get here. There's a few other paints that I've seen used to great effect too, so I'm eager to get my mittens on them.

I've heard read great things about using Devlan Mud and it's recent replacement Agrax Earthshade to wash white armour with, so I figure I'll give it a go and see what happens.

[Adra'Melek]

I love washes. It hides many a sin for the impatient painter :)

 

I like the cloak. I don't really do weathering over leaving the base paints on the boots when I get splash (well I dry/over brush them but you know what I mean).

[Ace Debonair]

That's a technique I've used before, too.

Only in my case it was generally because I'd only notice I'd got brown all over their feet right at the end, so I'd go, 'eh, it's mud, it'll do'.

Deathwing's coming along slowly but surely.

Sorry about the lack of pics, but frankly right now it'd mostly be Deathwing sprues, sprayed white, so nothing you haven't seen before.

Hopefully my new paints get here tomorrow. Itching to finish that Chaos marine off.

[geektom]

That's a technique I've used before, too.

Only in my case it was generally because I'd only notice I'd got brown all over their feet right at the end, so I'd go, 'eh, it's mud, it'll do'.:D

 

 

Deathwing's coming along slowly but surely.

Sorry about the lack of pics, but frankly right now it'd mostly be Deathwing sprues, sprayed white, so nothing you haven't seen before.:sweat:

 

Hopefully my new paints get here tomorrow. Itching to finish that Chaos marine off.

Looking forward to it!

[Ace Debonair]

Update time!

Guess who got his new browns?

Of course since I didn't order any greys, my Chaos Marine is going to stay unassembled for the time being.

But on a more positive note, having tried an Agrax Earthshade wash on white armour, I can confirm that it looks pretty darn splendid. I haven't had time to do much more than test it on a chainfist, though.

My loyalists from this point forward are likely to be liberally doused in the stuff, although for completeness sake I need to remember to try it on some blue as well.

[Ace Debonair]

Update time!

This time with pics, too.

So, after getting these for my birthday last year, I thought waiting a year and two days was enough time before getting some paint on my Deathwing Terminators.

They're not put together yet, admittedly, but then this is a WIP forum, so that's par for the course.

Agrax Earthshade is my new favourite thing ever on white armour!

It adds so much detail in so little time that I genuinely feel bewildered at how fast I got through this whole squad.

Best thing about Agrax Earthshade? It works on all the colours I'm using for these guys. White, silver, blue, gold and purple. Is there no end to what it can do?

I both love and loathe those sweet tower shields though. I swear they must have taken an hour each out of necessity - so many details, such delicate brushwork required...

...But on the other hand, they look pretty good when they're done. Pretty darn good, in fact.

Quartering the background of them only sweetens the deal.

Also pictured, the mugs of my siblings, horrifyingly devoid of tea because GRIMDARK.

Thank you sloppy photography skills, I guess.

Next time should see the terminators assembled, and a bunch of info on the Chapter they represent.

Any thoughts, ideas, advice, mockery, criticism, approval, riddles, quotes from films, disapproval and other comments more than welcome.

[Forté]

Bits are looking good so far.

[Ace Debonair]

Forte:

Cheers, matey.

Must have taken about twelve hours to do the whole squad - most of which was spent fixing my heavy-handed, extra clumsy mistakes.

Anyhow, Update time!

WARNING - Really pic heavy!

Check it out, ladies and gents - one fully painted and assembled squad of Terminators.

These are, without doubt, the best minis I've ever painted. The shields are my favourite things I've ever done, even if they must have taken an hour so apiece to get right.

And I did promise some context as to who and what these terminators are, so here comes the detail.

The Chapter is called the White Hawks, hailing from the highly mountainous world of Talhon. The Chapter was created as part of the 18th Founding, and is part of a project called the Iron Circle - a band of Chapters created in the 18th Founding with the explicit mission to encircle and protect an area of space by the borders of Segmenta Sol and Obscurus that suffers frequent warp storms and is a common target of traitor warbands. Some speculate that there may be some connection between this area, called the Glastheim Rift, and the Eye of Terror or other hellish places, although this seems highly unlikely.

The White Hawks are sons of Guilliman, and come from a world of mountains and valleys. The tech level of Talhon is pretty medieval, men in armour and close combat weapons being the primary method of attack or defence. A startling variety of creatures live in the wild lands of Talhon, most of them dangerous. Humans live mostly in one of several heavily fortified cities, encircled by thick stone walls and defended night and day against attack by the biggest and hungriest creatures.

As yet, flight is undiscovered by the natives of Talhon, but they have hundreds of stories of the Champions of the Solar Emperor from millennia ago, who could turn aside blades with their bare skin and were capable of flight. This carries over into the White Hawks, who use wing motifs pretty liberally as a sign of their connection to the Emperor and the heroes of long ago.

The chapter also uses the emblem of a broken sword as a common insignia. On Talhon there is considered great honour in beating your enemy so badly that your weapon breaks upon him, again a feature in many ancient stories and legends of Talhon. The White Hawks use the sign as both a badge of honour and a warning. It's broadly a visual symbol equivalent to saying 'I am not to be messed with', or 'Don't make me come over there'.

The White Hawks deviate from the codex slightly, in that they only have nine Companies. The first four are the battle companies, the latter four are the reserve companies. Contrary to the teachings of the codex, the reserve companies always have at least one squad each of tactical, assault and devastator marines, so that if called upon to do battle, the company retains some of the Battle Companies' flexibility. Each of the reserve companies keeps it's own small cadre of scouts, usually recruits taken from Talhon but sometimes from other worlds when the opportunity arises.

The ninth company is the Veteran Company, and almost never serves as a whole company, instead operating as smaller squads alongside other companies as per the Codex. Because the Veteran Company is almost never fielded as a whole, it is placed after the companies which remain intact, another nod to Talhonic traditions.

These terminators in particular are Squad Reigns of the 9th Company, veterans of a thousand battles and infamous even among the 9th as a squad who does not suffer enemy action lightly. Their leader, Sergeant Reigns, is the one armed with the heavy flail. Reigns is considered a paragon of Talhonic nobility, being both a shrewd thinker and a decisive leader.

So, with all that out of the way, who wants some close-ups?

Also, here's a closer look at the shields, since I'm super proud of them.

[Monstra Sumus]

Big up the Kit-Kat massive. 

 

Also, you should be proud dude, they are very tidy! 

[Adra'Melek]

When you said Deathguard I thought you meant painted as Deathguard and I was wondering whether I should say they should be bone not white...glad I actually read the piece :) Looking snazzy.  I think the white with bits of blue and red works well.

 

Any further plans for the bases or leaving them as is?

[Ace Debonair]

Big up the Kit-Kat massive.

Also, you should be proud dude, they are very tidy!

KitKats are the Emperor's Finest snacks.

Also, cheers.

When you said Deathguard I thought you meant painted as Deathguard and I was wondering whether I should say they should be bone not white...glad I actually read the piece Looking snazzy. I think the white with bits of blue and red works well.

Any further plans for the bases or leaving them as is?

Actually, I said Deathwing... I think. Either way I certainly didn't tell the entire truth, did I?

The red is actually a shade of purple, although I appreciate the shoulders look a lot more red on the pictures, for some reason.

Bases... well, I'm probably going to go with the old fashioned 'cover it with tiny rocks' method to tie it in with the rest of the White Hawks I've done.

And with my Chaos stuff out of action until we next order some paints, I think the next step is actually buying some new loyalist stuff. I'd better plan out what else I need!