Heavy Hitter

Hey! Just another quick update.

My Iron Clad Dread WIP:

Finally an Update

No time to really talk about them but here are some WIP marines.

First up a Plasma command squad. Still lots of weathering, bases and decals to do.

Below is a melta equiped tactical squad.

More as I finished them, I have to get the majority of this force painted in the next two weeks.

Marines? YES!

So far I have posted Eldar stuff. Well, now my gaming ADD has flared up. I've picked up the marines again. Chapter: Iron Hands. Really, this is a painting blog, and black and silver are not too impressive. Unlike the Eldar, which have somewhat more color, these marines are pretty bland. I don't mind that, I like painting them so far and am quite happy with the results. The difference is I don't see these being as striking as the others. Above is a venerable dread.

Here is a Captain in TDA. The method behind the black, which I admit I am still figuring out, is simple. Prime Black, highlight edges with dark grey, then go back over that selectively with a lighter grey. Final touches in white and you are done.

Both this and the Ven Dread have servo skulls. While I don't plan on every model having them, I wanted a couple to be poking around. The Ven Dread's are just for effect, this one represents the Captain's Iron Halo. I wanted the skulls to be laboratory cleaned, not typical wargame-bone. I painted them bone first (GW Bleached Bone) Then White and BB, then I covered all of that with a very thin layer of a light blue and grey mix. Next a Devlan Mud wash. Finally another thin layer or two of white.

The captain here has Lightning claws, power weapons, but I left them metallic. Not sure why, they just felt right that way. I applied a blue wash to them to give them a silvery sheen.

I don't necessarily like the red wax seals on the scrolls, I thought about glossy black for a less traditional look, but the scheme is so colorless, I left them. The scrolls are super easy, BB from above, 2 thin coats, Devlan Mud x2, quick dry brush of 50/50 white and BB.

Last is a WIP Sgt with Power sword and plasma pistol. Again, still working out the black armor kinks and all of these are awaiting some decal transfers so they are technically not done, even if the painting is. Also, another head on shot of the dread.

HQ and Friends

Last time the HQ a Farseer had some unfinished bodyguards in the form of warlocks. Well, the full squad has been finished, based and varnished. I am happy with the overall quality, but I think that I could have done a better job after learning on these models what I wanted the group to look like. Click on all the photos for closer looks.

Here is a close up of one of the warlocks. I think this is one of the best figs in the game and by far my favorite in the line. The pose is excellent! The scheme here, like last week, is a gray cloak. I used Adeptus Battlegrey Foundation paint for, well, the foundation. Then, I covered the entire cloak with Fortress Grey. Then a thick wash of Badab Black. Next, and all of these were watered down, I built up shadows with the A.B.F from above, all the way to almost white. The Metals are simple; Bolt Gun with Mithril Silver highlights and Devlan Mud wash, followed by minor highlights of M. Silver where needed. The Rune Armor is Bleached Bone, as is the base which got the D. M. wash as well.
All Runes and the sword were a build up of Chaos Black to, fittingly, Warlock Purple. White was gradually mixed in straight W.P. to lighten it up to the highlight coloring. The eyes were a single dab of a lightened W.P. I wanted to try to give the sword an energy effect. I rate this at 75% success over all with 100% first attempt success.


Here is the final squad. I plan on increasing the number to between 7 and 10 in the long run, but I needed a minimum of 5 for now.




Here is a preview for next post. I don't I will have all 5 done this week, but here is what they will look like when I am finished. I know they aren't all colorful and flamboyant but I think they look pretty good. Better than the original palette which was all black with no metalics. Thoughts?

Intro

Welcome. This is a blog about painting Warhammer miniatures. I wanted to create this to do two things. First, share my work with other hobby enthusiasts. Secondly, use this to motivate me to finishing some of the items I have started. I am hoping that 1 will move 2 along as well. I have two 40K armies, Eldar and Space Marines. (I am starting a Fantasy army as well, but until that is in full swing I will leave it from this blog.) Carrying on, I will admit my fondness for marines has wavered over the last few months and I am still learning how to play with the Eldar. However, one of the items that has increased my interest in the latter is finding a color pallet that I am excited about. I have done that and hope that my execution of painting will live up to my expressions as I see them with these toy soldiers. First I will start my favorite models in the line: Eldar Psykers. Farseers and especially Warlocks. My army plans are typically heavy with these chaps and I think their design is the best one out of a very well crafted line of miniatures. To the right is my first completed Farseer. I went with white armor to separate him as the HQ choice. The other accent colors are the same across the majority of the army so this will give you a solid base on what to expect.

Next we come to a Warlock. Eldar are typically painted in very flamboyant schemes by many players and I detest that treatment. When reading their fluff or background, they are described as a race of beings that are constantly fighting for survival, not so much domination or power. To me that sounds like practical colors for military actions would be prevalent. I know using practical in a description about imaginary aliens in an alternate universe is a stretch, but I can only step so far into that world, being from this one and all. You can see black armor, the hardest color to properly use, not because of application, but highlight. Even when it is properly painted, and I am not claiming mine is, black still lacks the ump that the majority of the other colors lend to the figures. Still, that is what I chose and I am quite happy with the results. The cloaks are grey, a very uniform grey, that is the main choice for everything in the army. It is plain, and not very flashy, but then again, I don't really think that it would be appropriate otherwise. The purple or pink colors that are here are the only real color actually and since they are reserved focal points on the models, I think that their sparsity emphasizes them more than say a model covered in a similar vibrant color. The traditional bone colors are used as well, not only on the model's other armor but on the base, to hopefully tie them all together. Silver or a derivation there of is the metallic.

I have a long way to go and my skills are no where near where I would like for them to be. That being said, first on the list is to finish out this squad of Warlocks. I will try to post some WIP pictures to show the various stages. Once this unit is complete, down to the base, I will work on the next one and so on until I have each unit completed before moving on. Speaking of WIP, here is the rest of the squad:

Tell me what you think! Click on the images for closer views. Please bear with my while I figure out the format for this thing.