State of the Blog Address

Here we are, a quarter of the way through the year 2012.  The blog has been through some changes, but I have been through much bigger changes away from the blog.  A new place of residence kept me away from the paints for a while, but ultimately enabled me to have a dedicated place for the hobby.  I have been able to complete my first conversion.  I was even able to really look into how I present my models overall.  But, I must say that I have an even bigger change coming... 

The Basis of an Army and Delusions of Grandeur

Well, well, well.  What do you know.  I might actually have a playable army in the coming weeks.  Go figure.  All it took was...

...not letting myself get carried away with my goals for the future.

Pathfinder

I promised an update on a Pathfinder I was working on.  Here it is.

He is the first in the squad, so he's the guide for the rest of them.  But what did I do and why did I do it?  Let's jump in.

First (Minor) Conversion

I had bought some Green Stuff a while back and wanted to practice using it somehow.  I wanted to start by filling in gaps on some models, but never really got around to doing it.  Thus, I decided to use it on a FireWarrior conversion.  Specifically, I wanted to simply use it to adjust an arm position in order to adjust the look a bit. 

The model in question was this guy:

Bases and Setting the Tone

I was originally going to update the previous post with images of the updated bases on my models, but, after performing the updates, I realized that I was stepping into a much larger world I had long forgotten about.  After experiencing something for the first time all over again, I wanted to share a bit about that experience .

Adding Some Grass

I took some time from unpacking and getting furniture back together to start adding more details to those Fire Warrior bases.  First up for updating was the Fire Warrior walking along the broken wall. The details in that one are the best out of all of them, but I felt it could still use a little spicing up. 

Tweaking Bases

Well, I wanted to do some updating to the bases on the Fire Warriors.  The camouflage on the Fire Warriors certainly did work with the bases as they were, but they did such a good job of blending in that under low light they hardly looked painted. I aimed to fix that...

Devilfish: Preview of What is to Come

I put the Devilfish on the base for a preview of the finished product.  I was pleasantly surprised to see my work coming together.  The camouflage on the transport meshes well with the scenery on the base.

Well, here is a picture.  I'll let it talk.

If I can get an entire army looking like this, I'll be doing alright.  Still need to finish up this Devilfish, though.

Devilfishin'

I'm also trying to finish up the Devilfish troop transport.  I have the underside and starboard side left to complete.

I am going to have to make sure that the mud on the 'fish's landing gear matches that of the bases now that I've actally done a few.

Back to Painting

I finally got back to painting last night and decided to start finishing up the crisis suit.  I was trying to think of different ways to add distinction to the jetpacks on the crisis suit.  While running ideas through my head, two major points came to mind:

1.) I was imagining this force as using experimental digital camouflage, since such a camo scheme is not typical Tau design.

2.) The weapons and jetpacks for the Crisis suits are made as removable and interchangeable.

That's when it hit me... 

Crisis: Continued

Well, I've been taking it easy this past week, so I haven't done much.  Spending time with my wife and daughter has given me a nice break.

What I have done is map out my color scheme on the crisis suit I started.

It gives a good idea of where I am headed with it.  The most notable thing I want to point out is that I blacked-out the outer portions of the torso.  I think it takes away the boxy look and makes it look more agile and threatening.

Again.  I'll add more pics as I finish the camouflage.

Starting the First Crisis Suit

Well, I felt it time to start on a one of the Crisis Battlesuits to change things up and finally see what one would look like under my paint scheme.

The first thing that I've done differently than the other models from my friend's army, is that I didn't strip the paint off this model.  It was mostly still black, so I decided to just go along with it as if that were my base coat.

I decided to go with a cross between the Fire Warrior and vehicle paint schemes I had already outlined.  The overall look of the Fire warrior is the primary aspect I want to go for... black base, with dark "boots," digital camouflage armor, yellow markings, and red lenses/lights/etc.  But, the battlesuits are a median of sorts between the infantry and the vehicles, so I wanted to carry over something from what I had outlined on the devilfish as well.  As you can see in earlier pictures on this blog, the plates down the center of the vehicle forgo the digi-camo treatment for a solid color.  I decided this would be the perfect element to bring over for the Crisis 'suits.  I also decided to use the color surrounding the Devilfish's engine intake on the 'suits as well.

Time for some visual conformation of what I am doing.  Here is a picture of what I started last night. 

As you can see, I am working my way up the battlesuit from its feet.  I styled it just like the Fire Warrior. You can also see where I outlined the chest with the solid color application down the center. Once the digital pattern surrounds it, I believe it will be a good transition between the Fire Warriors and the Tau vehicles in my cadre.

I will report back when I've finished the Battlesuit and upload some pics as well!

Five for Fighting

I’m now up to five Fire Warriors. 

If you are wondering why it’s taking me so long to get through these guys, it is because it takes me a few hours to do each of them.  That may seem crazy, but I like to take my time with such things.  Patience IS a virtue you know!

As you can see, the new guy is walking through the mud past a broken wall.

I think it might be time to add some guys with pulse carbines.  What say you?

3rd Base

Here are pics of the next base I made.  I added some rusted rebar in a broken wall and mud on the ground to make it different from the others.

 

So, do you like it? Is it too different from the rest? A welcome differentiation? Let me know.

The Three Amigos

So, I went ahead and added the antennas to the helmets and have the three Fire Warriors I have completed thus far ready for combat.Take a look!

As you can also tell, I updated the bases on the first two to match the third.

Like always, comments and questions are welcome!

Three's Company...

Well, I mentioned that I put a Fire Warrior on that first base I made. Well, here's the first baseman (Ha! A baseball joke! ...And I don't even like baseball. :\ ).

A dynamic fellow indeed.  He's weighted on his back foot, looking up the top's of the surrounding buildings... or what's left of them.  His gun may be in a non-active position, but that left hand is definitely reaching to meet it or at the very least is ready to support it if the need to return fire arises.

If you're wondering where the antenna normally on the right-hand side of his helmet is... well, its not on yet as I need to add it.  I want to get everything else finished on each fire warrior before I pull the antenna off the sprue, as they are easily lost otherwise.

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This guy is going to hold a special significance for me.  Why?  Well, he is the first 40K model that is entirely my own.  I bought the box, cut him from the sprue, carved the materials for his base, glued him together, and painted it all.  It's original me. 

I am forever grateful to my friend for sending me his Tau models to get me started (and I have many more of them yet to paint).  Those models hold a different meaning for me.  One that exemplifies friendship and comradery.

But, this model is the first in something unique. The first of my personal creations.  When it is all said and done, I can say this is where I stood on my own and started the journey.

That's Not A Knife...

Well, the other Fire Warrior from my friend's collection that still remained intact with all of its gear was screaming at me to be painted.  So, to take a break from the painstaking monotony that is the digi-camo on the 'fish, I obliged.

The Fire Warrior in question was obviously what my friend had intended as the leader of the Fire Warrior team - what with his Bonding Knife and all.  So I thought it would be neat to bring his experience to the table (pun definitely intended).  He definitely fits the part, braving battle without a helmet!!!

The thing I really wanted to do with a team leader was make it distinct from the rest of its kin.  Fortunately, my friend already beat me to the punch.  He had built this guy with the helmet-less visage of a Tau warrior, which, to be honest, is nothing spectacular in an of itself... I mean... it is an option provided straight out of the box.  But, what was unique was that he had taken a helmet and placed it underneath the warrior's backpack as if it was hanging there ready to be grabbed and slid on his head.  I love this little added detail my amigo placed. and wanted to add to the figure's uniqueness.

I added to the models distinction by adding colored areas to its armor to give the illusion of pulling rank.  This guy is a leader and everyone should see it, right?  Since this army'sdistinctive color is yellow, I added yellow to the shield on the left shoulder, and on the visor on the helmet.

I also went ahead and based this guy and his unit buddy I painted back a year ago.

To base them, I used Fine Cinders ballast from Woodland Scenics for the dark, bare ground and Course Gray ballast for the rocks/rubble.  I am definitely going to expand on the basing techniques, but these guys were already o bases and I didn't want to remove them.  I bought a box of fire warriors recently, and I'll have some more detailed bases with what looks like city rubble... afterall, this is an urban Tau cadre.

Well, that's it for now.  Questions? Comments?  Leave them below!!!

Devilfish: Part Deux

I've finished painting one of the engine nacelles and I'm halfway through the first gun drone.  If your wondering why I'm doing those before I've finished the main body, I get distracted quickly.  : P  I half to freshen things up to keep my attention, especially with a very demanding project like handpainting this camouflage.  It also helps to give a good idea what the final project will look like, thus giving a visual destination of sorts.

Here are some pics:

I propped the engine up with bubble wrap as I will not actually glue it on until I have finished painting the side of the main body.  Fortunately, it gives a good idea of where the model is headed.  I have to say, after seeing most of that side of the devilfish painted, I am much happier with it.  It has definitely given me more focus.

Starting the Devilfish

I stripped as much paint off of these Tau models that my friend gave me as I can.  Thankfully, that has proven a worthwhile endeavor.  I've started painting the Devilfish and have a good portion of the base coloring completed and have started painting the camouflage.

My First 40K Figure

So, I promised some images of my the Fire Warrior I painted, which just so happens to be the first 40K model I have ever painetd, and the first model of any kind that I've painted in over 10 years.  I also made some reference to the words "urban," "digital," and "camo."

Well, here you go:

I think it turned out pretty well.  Not too bad for a guy with a decade of rust. 

So, how did I go about this paint job? Glad you asked.

I sprayed a black base onto the figure using Armory Black Primer. This gave it a nice, smooth coating to paint on, while also giving a nice foundation for the acrylic-based Games Workshop (GW) paints to cling to instead of potentially peeling off of the plastic. The next step was to paint the armor sections and weapon with Astronomican Grey, a GW foundation paint.
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At this point I would like to take an aside to mention the Foundation Paints. I must say that they are definitely worth the investment. They give a good coat of paint that can give a better base for different color paints. Because I used a black spray coat to base my model with, any regular paint would need several coats to truly come out as it should. But, the Foundation Paint covers the base with a single application, thus, enabling me to use my lighter colors with single applications. This is great in that you don’t have paint build up filling crevices and small details. The fewer coats you have on a model, the more physical details show through your paint job. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

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Once I laid down the Foundation paints, I covered the armor in its base tone of Fortress Grey. This is the lightest of my three grey-tones I was using in my camo scheme, thus it is the base-tone. (To further explain this decision, I’ll post a camo study here in the future.) The next step was to lay my darkest tone in the camouflage scheme. I used Adeptus Battlegrey for this tone. Yes, it is actually a foundation paint, but I liked its scale and contrast with the Fortress Grey. After stippling the dark-tone areas onto the armor (Using the tip of a fine-tipped brush, one-tap-at-a-time. Not the method of using a flayed-bristle brush for multiple, chaotic, less controlled touches… that is not true stippling, that is laziness for the sake of covering more area with less effort. Taking the time to stipple one at a time may be time consuming, but it looks so much better. Trust me. You'll be much more pleased with it.), I then stippled Codex Grey on for the mid-tone.

Once the camouflage pattern was completed, I re-painted the recesses with a with a fine-tipped brush using Adeptus Battlegrey. This gave them more definition, and put a little extra “pop” into the model.

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As another aside, I do not use black to paint recessed in a model. That is not the best option. It gives far too great of a contrast in your model than is necessary to convey a shadowy recess. If you want a more natural look to the shadowing, use the darkest tone of whatever color scheme you are using. Using this to fill in the recesses allows the recess to be itself. The dark tone will be further shaded by the recess, giving the appearance of an even darker tone. It is much more pleasing to the eye and can give that extra pop your model needs, while keeping it from looking like an outlined cartoon.

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For the garments under the armor, I put a coat of Chaos Black. I painted the “boots” and armor straps Adeptus Battlegrey. I then used the black GW Wash to cover the “boots.”

The weapon casing was painted Fortress Grey while the butt and trigger area were painted Adeptus Battlegrey. I used a base of Gore Red and a highlight of Blood Red on the helmet reticles, and various “glowing” areas of the weapon.

For the “jewels” in various places and Tau symbol on the shoulder plate, I used Sunburst Yellow to make the model stand out and not be completely camouflaged out.

As you can see, I have tried to give the armor a camouflage pattern that appears much like a digital pattern from a distance. Close up, as in these photos, it appears more as small blotches. This is fine, as most of the time, the soldier will be seen from afar anyway.

Let me know what you think!!!