Tomb Raiders (6)

Hi guys,

finally!

The damn cold had me longer in its fangs than I ever expected plus there's some family stuff I have to sort out, regarding the "seriousness" of the hobby.

But at least the Tomb Raiders diorama is picking up speed again.

As mentioned, the Dutch postal service somehow wasn't able to send a small envelop with Scarabs to me, so I had to "create" some myself. Took a few days, but at least I got all the Scarabs I wanted...

Here you can see all the Scarabs assembled - scurrying :)

 

All actors on stage

 

and ready for priming.

 

But then, really last minute, the Scarabs from Chelnov arrived, so I was able to replace my "created" ones against the originals.

 

My desk after priming - everything set to start the big adventure :D

 

I started with the Temple in a dark beige and the mural on the back wall.

 

Still very early, but it looks promising I think.

 

So what do you think so far?

I will place most parts in the shadows - only lighted by the OSL effects of the Scarabs and some Muzzle flashes. The statues will also have some green light effects around the cracks, where the Necrons "peel" out.

And the "throne" will be in a ray of relative bright daylight.

I look forward to your comments, feedback and suggestions.

Cheers

Klaus

Update

Sorry guys,
I'm still a bit sick, so I haven't done much.
The Dutch post failed to deliver the 26 Scarabs that Chelnov sent me, so I have to create/sculpt/cast some Scarabs quickly.

While there's nothing new to report from me, here's a project I'd like to sahre with you guys:

Art Book by Roman and Raffa

The boys from Massive Voodoo have a nice crowdfunding project - check it out.
I did support :)
Cheers
Klaus

Tomb Raiders (5) Operation “Ultima Preces”

Today only a small fluff update on the diorama setting for Tomb Raiders:

The Legend of Ka’An and Operation “Ultima Preces”


It is believed that one of the key missions of the Officium –censored- (OX) is the rescue and collection of sacred items for the Emperor. Rumors indicate that the final goal of this treasure hunt is the resurrection and revival of the Emperors body, freeing him from the Golden Throne and enabling him to truly rule his empire and crushing his enemies with his strides.

A key instrument in this project seems to be the Space Marine chapter of the Crimson Guardians. Their Supreme Grand Master Geller is unrivaled in his loyalty to the Emperor and the OX and under his regime the chapter of the Crimson Guardians was forged into a ruthlessly effective fighting machine combined with the best researchers and archeologists of the whole Imperium. Their success in discovering and recovering some of the most valued and venerated items seems to be beyond belief. Chief Librarian Zastavus who has access to even the darkest and most secret archives on Terra and Mars, as well as the chapters own secret archives on –censored- which are rumored to rival even the Inquisitions secret archives is captivated by the legend of Ka’An and follows its implementation with complete single-mindedness.

According to this legend he who can gather the 13 sacred items of the Ka’An and can combine them in a complicated rite of utter complexity will gain the power to heal and revive any corpus, be it merely human or even divine, and bring it eternal youth and vitality.

So he and the Supreme Grand Master send their companies on the hunt for these items time and again.

No exact reports are known outside the Officium –censored- and the chapter’s headquarters, but it is believed that the Crimson Guardians are rather successful and more than half the items are recovered and safely harbored on –censored-.

Recent events and encounters seem to indicate that at least one other race is aware of the legend of Ka’An and also seeks to rein its power. If these rumors are to be believed then the Silent King himself ordered a large group of his Triarch Praetorians to hunt for the 13 items of Ka’an. For him, the Silent King, the completion of the ritual would grant him the power to free his people from the C’tan curse and while maintaining their eternal lives they would regain their souls and become the real Necrontyr again.

So the treasure hunt of the Officium –censored- has now become a race with Szarekh and his Praetorians and maybe even with the C’tan, hoping to be freed from their shards. Chief Librarian Zastavus has called his forces to Operation “Ultima Preces” in which they are to find the remaining artifacts at even greater speed.

Latest reports indicate that a large contingent of Crimson Guardians under Captain Erbas has landed at Corellian Base on Tiber together with a company of Sisters of the Golden Bolter. Maybe here, where a once large Imperial sanctuary was located, the Crimson Guardians can find the sacred Chalice of Lord Mathias von Schultz, one of the few remaining items of the legend of Ka’An.

But will they find it in time…?

:)
I know there will be plenty of logical gaps and holes larger than a barn door, but I hope you like it anyhow :)
Cheers Klaus

Tomb Raiders (4)

Hi all,

well as expected I did get a cold, and it hampered progress quite strong.

Nevertheless I dis make some progress.

It seems like the newest version of Disqus is preventing some of you to comment directly and so I have received a lot of feedback via email, or in the forums. I hope a better Disqus version will be available soon.

Anyhow, many comments stated that the Necrons were too few, and not "ambushy" enough. Like Rawsons comment:

The scene doesn't really have the ambush feel to me yet. What about a door in the corner (or a balcony on the side) with more necrons emerging? 4 necrons (even if 1 is a lord) and a lot of scarabs aren't really a match for 7 Crimson Guardians in terminator armor. 

So the idea is that the Necron Lord with the resurrection orb is awakening some more Necrons. To simulate this, I decided to place several statues in the scene, that are in various stages of "resurrection" :)

For this I'm using some old Tamiya tankers

 

Unfortunately the Necron range has a very limited offer of arms, so I have to experiment a bit.

 

In addition I had to remove some of the rubble again, to make room for those statues along the walls.

 

It looks a bit crowded now, but I hope that the darkness and light effects, that will pick out some members, while others remain in the shadows, will organize the scene better.

 

 

 

 

Damn!
My desk really is a mess after this :)

 

 

To make the statues look a bit more like stone I gave them a rough coat with a mix of deluded plaster, some PVA and fine sand.

 

 

Then I added some minor details to the Crimson Guardians.

 

So every Bolter now has a small light on top (taken from the Space Hulk Termies).

 

Even though this part of the scene will hardly be visible, I will add some greenstuff to make this Necron look like he's morphing out of the wall, thus surprising Brother Janus.

 

Which takes some mortal shots in return.

 

Then I positioned the first 12 Scarabs (hopefully another 24 are in the mail), looking like they exit the tomb.

And I placed the final vines and Liana's.

Some still taped in position till the PVA is cured.

 

 

So this is as far as I got - all that's still left are the remaining Scarabs and then I will start painting.

Also common feedback was "not to use the standard Boltgun pattern". To which I agree, and I will most likely try a porcelain, bone color pattern with lots of weathering, rust etc.

What do you think?

Cheers

Klaus

Tomb Raiders (3)

Thank you Ray :)

Looks as if I'm catching a cold, so despite having my first real hobby evening in over a week I got relatively little done :(

I started off with placing a lot of rubble on the base.

Which also enabled me to position the Apothecary Brother Chelnov higher, so he will be better visible later on.

 

Then I started with my first Necron.

Its also my first Finecast....

I have to say I'm not very much impressed - there is a lot of cleanup to do.

 

 

Since he got his head bowed down, the only logical position was really on top of the pillar - but I think he fits perfectly there.

 

Since this is my first Necron experience I'm still trying to get the feel for the models. They are pretty much stock (no Santa modifications) and I have to rely solely on the pose to give them something unique.

 

As you can see I will have one Deathmark shooting Brother Janus, another Deathmark is being shot and flung back by Brother Jaccus, and a Praetorian is emerging from the crypt.

 

This is a closer shot of the Praetorian.

 

Next I will add a bunch of Scarabs - some emerging from the crypt, some on and around the pillar with the Necron Lord, and a whole bunch (thanks to a generous offer by Chelnov) coming down the wall, emerging from behind the throne etc.

And then the remaining vines, plus some more rubble and debris.

But, I need your help now.
As mentioned I'm new to the Necrons, so I'd like to get your feedback on them. What do you think, do they fit, how do they look, is my combination of weapons OK, poses, positions, improvements, any fancy modifications or poses?
Also paint schemes!
Any idea besides the standard? I will use green light effects for them, that's for sure, but what about the rest? As mentioned, the scene itself will be relatively dark, the Crimson Guardians will be red and black, the energy weapons most likely standard blue-ish and the Necron light effects will be green.

Thanks guys!

Cheers

Klaus

Tomb Raiders (2)

Hi all,

the last week was very busy at work plus a lot of private things to do, so work on the Tomb Raiders diorama was very slow.

While building I thought a bit about the fluff behind the scene and couldn't really get anything useful with Tyranids. So I changed the setting a bit and it will be Necrons instead.

Also I exchanged the Imps against my Crimson Guardians.

 

As you can see, the temple changed slightly too. There is now a opening in the floor, leading down to a seperate crypt.

 

Plus a broken pillar on the front corner that will set a visual border to the diorama. I will add a painted background for the large opening.

 

I will add lots of rubble and many vines, but the actual temple build is now completed.

And here we have the first casuality :)

This is Brother Janus receiving a mortal hit.    

 

Just as Brother Erbas reaches down to grab the sacred chalice the Necrons attack.   

 

There will be Scarabs attacking from the top, coming down the wall, there will be one or two Necrons emerging from the crypt (which shoot Brother Janus), and there will be another Necron on the broken pillar.

 

As you can see I use Grey Knights for my Crimson Guardians.
This time the Crimson Guardians are on a active relic hunt ala Indiana Jones or Lara Croft, trying to recover the sacred chalice of Lord Mathias von Schultz on Tiber. This will then tie in to the "Bying Time" diorama where Brother Bertan and Sister Emilia will do the final sacrifice and hold back the attacking Necrons at the Corellian Base, while the rest of the party makes their escape, with the sacred chalice in their posession :)

 

 

 

Here is a close of Brother Erbas reaching for the Chalice as the carnage starts.

 

So, what do you think?

Suggestions, improvements?

Thank you for your time, I hope you enjoyed todays update and I look forward to your feedack.

Cheers

Klaus

Tomb Raider (1) and Temple Bases

Hi guys,

thanks for your feedback.

So it looks as if the PONOS and AKTROS would be worth getting produced.

Still details to be settled, but I'm sure we'll get that squared away and I can start building the new masters for both models.

In the meantime I started with the new project "Tomb Raider". 

As mentioned it will be in a dark, hidden, old temple in a jungle, involving some flashlights, muzzle flashes and Tyranids.

For the temple I used the broken cast of a madonna I had at home.

Of course I had to modify it to make it more 40K-ish, but some Inquisition ][, a tear and an eye patch did the trick :)

 

I casted a lot of bricks and floor tiles using my Hirst Arts molds and Stewalin. 

 

While setting things up I decided to finally use the dead Spacie from Space Hulk as a central piece of the temple.

I think this will work nicely :)

 

And to make it more jungle like, I strated to sculpt some first vines. 

I will see how these work out on the temple wall and then decide if I do more.

 

Since I had a lot of left-over material I also decided to take a quick dive into base building.

So I created a set of 23 temple based bases.

10 Terminator size, 10 trooper size and 3 HW size:

 

Some closer shots

 

 

And here are the first cast results:

 

On these first cast is still some residue, but I'm quite happy with them :)

Well, that's all for today.

THank you for your time reading and I hope you enjoyed todays update. I look forward to your replies and feedback.

Cheers

Klaus

PONOS MkII ?

Hey guys,

While in between projects (more further down*) I'm in contact with a "3rd party" manufacturer based in UK (small, independend, relatively new), looking into the creation of a multi-piece resin kit for a PONOS and a small version of the HERCULES.
The idea is that both vehicles use the same track section.
While the PONOS could be done pretty identical to its current version, the HERC will be a complete new design.
So here's your chance to influence the project!
A) would you be interested in such a kit?
B) what would be your "threshold" for the price?
C) any improvements you'd like to suggest for the PONOS?

Since there's a lot of resin involved, I will try to shrink the PONOS by about 10% - not much really - and instead of solid blocks it will rather be many pieces and open sections.
For the track sections I will try to have Sponsons build (either only for the tank, or for both vehicles), the tracks itself will be a re-build, without the GW-Skulls and Aquila's but rather new, unique insignia.
The tank will be renamed AKTROS and will shrink down considerably. It will no longer be a heavy, but rather a medium tank. It will still have the sponsons, probably still both hull mounted weapon stations (currently Bolter), and a completely new turret.

So, what do you think?
Please comment and suggest! I look forward to your feedback.

*New project?
Yeah :)
After the completion of the SSD diorama I was doing some non-hobby stuff for my family. During this I had an idea that would best work with the title "Tomb Raider" - but not in the direction of Necrons - or "Indiana Jones".
The currenty (still very fuzzy idea) involves an old, hidden temple in the jungle, probably at night, or in a cave, a troop of IG soldiers, maybe accompanied by a Terminator or a Dread, lots of Flashlights and a surprise attack by some Nids.
In a nutshell, more OSL, more cinematic effects :)

Please use the Disqus comment function to provide me with feedback, suggestiosn, ideas on the PONOS and AKTROS.
Thanks

Klaus

Swift, Silent & Deadly (2)

Thanks guys!

I really appreciate your feedback.

One suggestion I got was that at least one of the troopers needed a knife, to make a connection with the dead Ork in the background.

However, since all of them already had their rifles in hand, and it is sooo damn hard to find good IG arms without a rifle attached, I decided to rather give the central trooper a knife sticking in the ground in front of him.

  

 Not the best solution, but it'll suffice....

The next feedback comment were the magazines.
And I agree, the quick solution I had in place doesn't do the scene justice, so I decided to make my own magazines from scratch.

First I mounted 3 groups of 5 "cartridges" on a small strip of .25mm plasticard.

Then I cut some even thinner strips and mounted them as sides.

 

 

And finally some extremely thin strips on top...

 

Plus some strips at the bottom across...

 

And finally some base, to close it all off.

 

 

What a tiny, fidgety work, but I think it was worth the effort.

 

And with this, the build was complete!

Hurray, not it was time to gather the colors.

 

I used the airbrush to apply the first coats of green.

 

Applying the color from top down - zenithal?.

 

With only 4 shades of green,

 

I got this far :)

 

Already looks promising....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next I applied a wash of Badab Black to work out some of the outlines and recesses.

 

Looking at my reference photos, all red and brown colors are extremely dark, while the metal items are rather bright in color.

 

After about 9hrs of painting I got this result:

 

 

 

 

Actually the photos don't do it justice, but it is very hard to get good photos.

 

 

 

 

But I think you get the idea :)

 

I am actually pleased of the result.

 

So here is its new home in the cabinet

 

In good company :)

Tonight I will try to get some better photos...

In the meantime, you may watch the video I uploaded to Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXXigxTThGU

So, what's next?

Hmm, I'm really not sure :)

1. I could obviously continue with the ATHENA, incorporating the lights.
2. I could complete the Can Opener, finishing the paint job 

or I have some potential new projects

1. The workshop - a kind of humorous scene
2. Beach Landing - building another PONOS, this time in an amphibious assault
3. Taking a Break - a completely new scenic diorama, involving a pilot (not sure if walker of aircraft) taking a break in front of a real background...
4. Deadly Team - building a group (4 or 5) "Heavy Jaegers" with the experimental armor, as used in the Can Opener
5. Excavation - also a more scenic diorama involving some archaeologists digging up a wreck of an old vehicle, tank, or the like

Most of these new projects are so far only vague ideas, I did some preliminary Internet research and have some foggy thoughts on how to realize them.
So, what do you think?
Cheers
Klaus