5888 replies to this topic

[Sagentus]

Another great model mate, really like the stance on this one, he looks like he's mid charge and about to shoulder barge someone before he takes a swipe with the LC's  

[Augustus b'Raass]

Yeah, it happened again. I started painting and got in the zone, and now I have no more cataphractii terminators to paint. Luckily tomorrow I'll get a new set of fie, so I can start on the squad with storm shields and thunder hammers. And it'll be HAMMER TIME

 

Anyway, without further ado, here's:

 

V Cataphractii Terminator Assault Squad

 

 

Veteran Sergeant - Chog'an Shan - deathspectresgt7

Despite being the only non-Terran of his squad, Veteran Sergeant Shan commands enormous respect among his peers. He has single-handedly saved all of their individual lives at one point or another in their long service record. Although all five veterans have served with each other and share a brotherhood stronger than plascrete, Shan's bond with brother Amn is the strongest. Both men have within them a sense of honour that goes far beyond that of the normal Astartes martial code. Where brother Amn's pride comes from his character, however, it is CHogán Shan's native planet's culture that is the source of his inner strength. Shan hails from Chicantar VII, a world brought into the ligth of the Imperium only 400 standard years ago. Shan was the first of the world'youth to ever be inducted into the chapter, after challenging a recruiting Chaplain to a fight to the death. He lost the fight, but was spared for his prowess and strength of will. He has served the Imperial Fists ever since, and is considered one of the oldest Astartes in the Chapter now. 

 

Battle Brother - Alric Brandt - Viarocanum

A devout worshipper of the Emperor from birth, brother Brandt has always worn quotes and liturgies of the Lectitio Divinatus on his armour, scribed by himself in his crude hand. His faith brings him strength and a focus during battle. His deeds as an assault marine of Third Company have been so exemplary, that he was granted a position in First Company at the young age of 58. He has come to be a source of inspiration to the whole of V Squad, and they often seek his council in spiritual matters. 

 

Battle Brother - Orlin Einhart - Guardian31 

Hailing from the very lowest strata of Imperial society, brother Einhart, as former hive ganger, has been adamant that his service with the Imperial Fists is for the good of Imperial society - in that all men are equal in the eyes of the God-Emperor of Mankind. He has reached out to many of his battle brother from different worlds and different backgrounds, always finding commonalities between them, which he interprets as evidence of his ideologies. He has been under scrutiny by the Chaplains and has been subjected to reintegrated psycho-indoctrination several times. His prowess as an assault specialist and the strong bond with his squad-brothers has as of yet prevented him from being transferred to a battle company.

 

Battle Brother - Brodus Amn - Olis 

Brother Amn quickly bonded with his battle brother in Fourth Company, brother Shan, with whom he served in the company's III Tactical Squad. Their bond was so strong that Shan refused a position in First Company until such time as his brother Amn was granted the same honour. A vindictive Astartes by nature, brother Amn refuses to yield in any challenge, be they a good-natured joke frmo his brothers, or a hostile stain on his honour from an enemy officer. 

 

Battle Brother - Ardus Boltula, Baronet of the Vistavanian Mountains - DuskRaider

The ninth son of a lower aristocrat of the Atlantik wastes, brother Boltula's formal rank in Terran society is recorded in his personnel archive, but never formally used by the chapter. His brothers though, do use it as a callsign. The reason for this is that Boltula was inducted into the chapter with his extremely sophisticated bionic eye, and he was quickly mocked for his aristocratic accent and high-society mannerisms, some of which he has not been able to shake off. Initially, he compensated for this mockery with ganger-like hairstyles and a facsimile of raw language, but he regained his composure when he discovered his aptitude with the lightning claw. Now, six decades later he is a respected and well-liked mamber of First Company. He has retained his hairstyle as a reminder of his younger self, and to allow the morale-improving mockery to continue.

 

Hope you like! Thanks for looking and for your feedback. 

 

Cheers! 

 

Replies:

 

@ Olis: It doesn't sound better when you repeat it. Yugh!

 

@ Atia: Go right ahead. Sharing is caring!

 

@ Sagentus: Ha! THat's kinda what I was going for. Glad you like him

Edited by Augustus b'Raass, 06 April 2017 - 09:50 PM.

[Olis]

I like that Amn and Shan are buddies.

 

@ Olis: It doesn't sound better when you repeat it. Yugh!

 

[deathspectersgt7]

The Squad looks Great !!!! And that Sgt .

[The Traitor]

Well, they do look great now that the squad is complete, your colour scheme really does favour masses! 

[Hrolf the Cunning]

Mr b'Raass, as a long time follower of your stuff I thought I'd finally comment. I'm amazed at how productive you seem to be and to a very high quality. Every few days you seem to have pumped out a new squad which is always impeccably modeled and painted. Any tips for maintaining productivity? 

[Caius_Karayan]

excellent work, been following for a while (in the shadows as any respectable raven guard would ) really inspiring, look forward to seeing more.

 

edit: spelling

Edited by Caius_Karayan, 07 April 2017 - 10:29 AM.

[gaurdian31]

These guys came out great. Love the background fluff for them as well. Can't wait to see the hammernators.

[KrautScientist]

An excellent looking squad! I really love the little touches that hint at their backstory (such as the aforementioned parchment). The "Baronet's" little fluff vignette was brilliant

[Chaplain Grey Raven]

How is it possible you keep churning out such high quality models in such a short time. It's almost damn witchcraft.

[Mechanist]

As many before me and possibly even myself have said I'm constantly amazed at the apeed you paint and quality of the work.

[Augustus b'Raass]

Thanks, everyone! Those cataphractii are truly a joy to paint, and I can't wait to start work on the next five. 

 

However, I only today ordered the five Imperial Fists storm shields from FW, so until they arrive, I'll start work on three Centurions. Because, you know, they're a great unit.

 

 

Wish me luck!
 

Replies:

 

@ Olis: Haha, glad you took that as intended - I forgot the smily. About AMn: did you notice I wrote in the one-word fluff hint you gave?

 

@ deathspectresgt7: I know right? Go figure - you were one of the first to name a marine in my Imperial Fists army, way back in November 2015. Sorry you had to wait so long. If you want something faster, go here and pick an empty slot - I'll promise I'll do that marine asap. 

 

@ The Traitor: What colour scheme doesn't favour masses?

 

@ Hrolf the Cunning: Hey buddy! Glad you commented in here. I'm happy you like my stuff - if you're inspired y it, leave a comment more often, if you will. It's what keeps me (and this thread) going. Your question is a bit difficult to answer, and needs some thought. If you want me to make a list of tips, let me know in a comment, and I'll be sure to do so. 

 

@ guardian31: HAMMER TIME is upon us. SOon.

 

@ Caius_Karayan: You Raven GUard lot, being all sneaky-like. GLad you like my stuff buddy. If it inspires you, let me know with a comment - it's what keeps me and this thread going.

 

@ KrautScientist: Hey, I'm glad you noticed. It's weird, but I actually think this squad could have used some more purity seals and stuff. Sadly, my supply is wearing thin, and a March 15 eBay purchase with about 100 different kinds of purity seal still hasn't arrived.... Thanks for liking the Baronet - it's based on my experiences working for my current employer You know what I mean, right?

 

@ GreyRavenC: I can't hep it, dude! I just keep rolling natural 20s on my speed-painting checks. As with my reply to Hrolf the Cunning's question, if you want me to make a list of tips that will increase productivity, let me know. If enough people want it, I'll give it some thought ad post an article or something.

 

@ Mechanist: Cheers, buddy! As with my reply to Hrolf the Cunning's question, if you want me to make a list of tips that will increase productivity, let me know. If enough people want it, I'll give it some thought ad post an article or something.

Edited by Augustus b'Raass, 07 April 2017 - 08:51 PM.

[Dragonlover]

I'd love tips on being quicker. I'm not exactly​ the slowest painter (mainly due to not putting 100% in to every paint job) but I watch you knock out a couple of thousand points in a week every ETL with mild envy.

Dragonlover

[gaurdian31]

I will also join the chorus for some tips and pointers. Your output of great minis is astounding.

[Kizzdougs]

Loving the Cataphractii! Looking forward to seeing what you do with the FW storm shields.

 

Centurions... really? ... ewwwww 

[Vairocanum]

WOW that Cataphractii squad looks beautiful! Wonderful fluff for all of them, love how you can make such unique back stories for each model! 

[malcharion]

Woaw buddy ! Those terminators are pretty ! I love your yellow.. really rich one that's nice !

Not a big fan of centurions but look forward to see how you will handle them

[Augustus b'Raass]

Alright, I’ve been asked by many of you over the course of this blog, but especially recently, how I paint so fast, and if I can share any tips. I find this a very difficult question – I know I'm relatively fast in my work, but I’ve never really thought about why. I’ve also gradually gotten better and better at qualitatively decent fast painting over the last couple of years. There’s no denying that I have a talent for speed painting - it's not just technique, tricks etc. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been a fast painter. I used to work for an independent retailer back in mid-to late the 90’s, and I cannot count the number of times I’ve been mock-fired by my faux-disgruntled employer, for having completed yet another squad of (Chaos) Space Marines, Necromunda Gang, or Blood Bowl Team.

 

But I do want to help you guys finish your miniatures, so I have thought about it, and I quickly realized that I’ve unknowingly implemented all kinds of practices that all save time. Bear in mind that this is just what I do – I’m not saying this is the only or the best way. This is just a list of things that I do that I now realize increase the speed at which I paint. Take a look:

 

 GET A ROOM

I have a man cave. There, I said it. But yeah, half of a (small) room in my house is dedicated to the hobby – I have a permanent table on which all my stuff sits – ready to go for a painting session. I can start painting whenever I want to when I’m home, so that I don’t waste time setting stuff up. I used to have to set stuff up, which always took ten minutes or so. Same with packing it up. That’s twenty minutes wasted every time I wanted to paint. Time I can now dedicate to the actual hobby. I showed my setup earlier in this post.

 

 AIRBRUSH

I’m sorry to have to start with this, but I cannot deny it: an airbrush saves a LOT of time – and money (yes, it is a pricy investment, but ultimately it will pay itself back in both time saved and money spent). here's why:

• Basing miniatures is super-fast – and cheaper. You guys have seen my Imperial Fists force - it's almost 5000 points strong now. I think I’ve used only eight pots of Averland Sunset on the entire force.
• Shading miniatures is super-fast. Basing and shading a squad of five marines takes me literally no more than five minutes. From there, all I have to do is details. This gives me more time to focus on thse details – and it saves time painting base paints, which is boring – and thus prevents me from not painting out of boredom.
• Primering my miniatures is easier and faster. Missed a spot with your aerosol spray can primer? No problem – just spray on some Vallejo airbrush basecoat. No more going back outside to get spot you missed in the dark.
• Spraying Gloss Varnish over the base paints increases the surface tension of the miniature, which in turn improves the capillary action of washes.
• Spraying my finished miniatures with a Varnish (I use a 1:1 mix of Satin and Gloss Varnish) gives them a very nice sheen (not too matt, not too glossy) which looks great and neatly finishes the miniature. It also removes all the ugly sheen from GW Gloss Washes.
• For me, painting faces is impossible without an airbrush.
• Some say airbrushing wastes paint, but in my experience the contrary is true. All the paints I regularly spray, I’ve transfered into 50mm dropper bottles and thinned with a Vallejo Flow Improver and Vallejo Airbrush Medium. One pot of GW Base paint lasts me a looong time.
• I clean my airbrush quickly too, thanks to a life hack. What I do is I have a bucket of water next to my paint station. Each time I’m done with a colour, I just dip my airbrush into the water and rise the paint out with an old brush. I then only have to spray a bit of airbrush cleaner though the nozzle, and done! This saves time and, again, money, as I use far less airbush cleaner. Here's my airbrush cleaning setup (note the hairdryer and dremmel tool close by and plugged in as well - always be saving time):

 

 SUB ASSEMBLIES & PREPARING YOUR MINIATURES FOR PAINT

I build all my space marine miniatures in the same four sub-assemblies 1x legs, body and backpack, 2x weapon, arm, and shoulder pad, 1x head. I then drill 1mm holes in all of them (in the feet for the legs, in the neck upward for the head, and in the shoulder joints fort he arms). I then mount those sub-assemblies on 1mm paperclips, and mount those on champagne corks I collected over an X amount of time (where X is long enough for you to not think me an snobby alcoholic). I also drill holes in the shoulder joints of the space marines. This takes a bit of time and effort. But that effort is paid back threefold:

1. Because they are all mounted on corks, it is super easy to get primer in everywhere, without dirtying my fingers.
2. Similarly, because they are all mounted and assembled in separate parts, I can reach all areas of the miniature, which saves time and effort in itself.
3. When I’m done painting, I can use those same paper clip mountings as pins. That’s right, I pin all my arms to the bodies, and the legs to the bases. None of my miniatures are actually glued to their bases, and they can all be removed from them easily. Here's what I mean:

 

 

 BASE PAINTING, VARNISH, and WASHES

I use washes not only to create colour gradients, but also as a quick-and-easy way to define recesses and blackline the surfaces to define borders between miniatures. This works better on newer GW miniatures, though, as the detail is sharper.  

1. First, I paint all base paints on first. So GW Averland Sunset (including the shade, which I efficiently achieve by mixing the extant GW Averland Sunet in my airbrush a couple droplets of VMA Hull Red) with the airbrush, and Retributor Gold, Green, and Leadbelcher with a #3 brush – nice and quick!
2. Second, I spray the whole miniature with Gloss Varnish.
3. I then apply all washes. I use the GW Gloss variants – this is important, because these gloss washes in combination with the high surface tension of the gloss varnish creates a very strong capillary effect. The wash gets sucked from your brush, right into all recesses! It’s super easy and doesn’t spill, mostly. And even if it does spill, it is very easy to clean up without a trace thanks to the gloss varnish. Washing a miniature like this is very easy, takes very little effort, has a great effect, and is fast!
4. I then move on to all the base paints that need edge highlighting, like black, white and blue. Because all edges and recesses are now shaded due to the washes, they have in fact already been blacklined. This means that I can be a little sloppy here – the washes cover up those mistakes.
5. I use a hairdryer to dry those washes. This also keeps me from applying too thick - because thick washes will splotch if you blow too hard on it (for example with a hairdryer), but thin coats dry super fast with a hairdryer, meaning I can apply multiple coats if I have to, without waiting for the paint to dry. This saves (a lot) of time.

 

 VALLEJO FLOW IMPROVER

This stuff changed my life. It is intended to improve the flow of paint in your airbrush – which it does wonderfully. But it is also an awesome drying retarder. Whenever I need to paint thin lines (edge highlighting, eye lenses, lightning on my Night Lords, etc), I mix a little bit of this stuff into the paint. This ensures that it flows off my brush wonderfully, and also keeps the paint on my pallet from drying out quickly. I can’t imagine not using this stuff anymore – it makes painting details and edge highlights so easy!

 

 

 TRANSFERS

Transfers take some practice to get right, but once you’re comfortable with them, they add a lot to your miniatures. I highly recommend getting Micro Sol and Micro Set bottles, as well as, again, Gloss Varnish. I made an extensive tutorial how I use transfers here.

 

 

 TOOLS & PRODUCTS

Investing in the right tools and products, and taking care of them, has been invaluable to me. I don’t have the most expensive stuff by far, by the way. For example, I use GW brushes and those of Model Engineering – not the best by far, but not bad either! I clean after every paint session using water and a block of shaving cream. Most brushes last me up to a year. Also, the 1mm drill I use are cobalt coated - which is rock hard. This makes it very easy to drill out gun barrels. Check out aliesxpress or your local DIY-store to find cobalt coated drill bits.

 

I also have dedicated clippers, tweezers, and the like. These are all one-time investments, so there’s no reason not to buy them. Of course they cost money, but they will all contribute to an efficient – and thus cost effective – way of turning your -expensive in their own right- plastic and resin into awesome painted miniaturesHere’s a picture of my tools:

 

Here’s a picture of all the products I use besides paint. These will all last a long time and are actually cheaper by volume than smaller pots. As I paint fast, I need a lot. It also saves time because I only have to go to a store once in a while, intead of every week. (not that that stops me ) 

 

I hope this helps anyone with speeding up their painting.

 

I'll add to this post when I think of other things, and link to this post in the OP of this thread. BTW: the OP of this thread has a lot of additional how-to's. 

 

Replies:

@ Dragonlover: LoL. A couple thousand points a week is a bit of an exaggeration, no? Perhaps that one week when I painted that Daemon Lord of Tzeentch, which costs 999 points. I hope the above helps!

 

@ guardian31: Cheers, buddy - I hope the above helps!

 

@ kizzdougs: I know right? Not the nicest-looking of models, but SO good in the game.   I'll do my best to make something cool of them. Like changing those fugly helmets with those of the Venerable Dreadnought.

 

@ Viarocanum: Cheers, buddy! I can tell you that creating the stories is a uge inspiration, and in large part inspired itself by the names everyone gives these models. If you like to join in (again), here's a list of (un)named miniatures! 

 

@ malcharion: Thanks for the vote of confidence! 

Edited by Augustus b'Raass, 23 January 2018 - 09:14 AM.

[deathspectersgt7]

NIce . Since I'am 57 and old fashion I still like my brush  . I tried a gun but it was to fiddley for me .

[Augustus b'Raass]

NIce . Since I'am 57 and old fashion I still like my brush  . I tried a gun but it was to fiddley for me .

Dude, my fingers are sausages. Besides, I guarantee a triple zero brush is more fiddly than an airbrush. Have you ever tried one?

[deathspectersgt7]

No but have used a 2/0 for painting 15mm Napoleonics . I have piano fingers but pay with chainsaws and the like . and even with glasses I had issues so it is a learning curve  and I don't have alot of time on the clock Time and age are playing dirty tricks on me  .

[The Traitor]

Thanks a lot for the tips! I'm now one step closer to buying an airbrush...

[Dragonlover]

It may be an exaggeration, but it's what it feels like when I'm on my seventh marine of the week and you're on your third squad! Good set of tips though, I basically employ all of them except the airbrush stuff. I've never had the ability to keep one permanently set up, so it's always felt like too much faff to start using one.

Dragonlover

Edited by Dragonlover, 09 April 2017 - 06:35 AM.

[Sagentus]

Great tips here. Really wish I had 'a room' and the money for an airbrush. But a man can dream and maybe one day I will :-) there are plenty of other tips I'll be using, need to get me more tools for converting and moulding green stuff:-D

Edited by Sagentus, 09 April 2017 - 07:25 AM.

[hushrong]

Terminators look fantastic! Definitely digging the motion they have. Especially on Chog'an and Brodus.