DEI GRECI

Tar'Akoona the Fiery (1)

2011-09-21T14:13:00.004+02:00

Hello,
as promised here is the first part of the step-by-step of the Tar'Akoona diorama.

Just as the Summer Heat Contest was announced I tinkered with the idea of building a dragon for my nephew Florian, as he expressed interest in the new Forgeworld dragon as a birthday gift.
Since the theme of the contest was a perfect fit, I decided to give it a go.
Had I known how much work it will be, I probably would've simply pulled my credit card and ordered the Forgeworld dragon *lol*

So I started off by creating a very simple wire frame of the dragon.

Then I started to add some mass with Milliput.

And added the "fingers" to the wings.

More Milliput directly onto the wire to ensure the following FIMO would stick.

While the Milliput dried I started to sculpt the dragons head.

Later I applied and baked the first layers of FIMO.

When I mounted the head for the first time together with the fleshed out body I started to doubt.

The head was too big :(

While digesting the idea that I had to re-create the head, I also had to begin with the gate house I had planned for the diorama.

I had already some Hirst Arts molds, so I started to pour plaster and create the neccessary bricks.

Once I had enough I started to build the gatehouse.

I mounted them on cardboard to ensure they line up nicely and also have a solid base while the PVA cured.

In the meantime I also experimented on the "old" dragons head how to flesh it out and get the dragons skin onto it.

The basic gate takes shape.

Then I added the first side.

And also mounted a little statue on the inside of the gate.

Here you can see the basic fitting of the different items together with the start of the new head.

From the beginning I always tried to keep all items in balance, so I wouldn't have to permanently mount the dragon, but i rahter could be used without the gatehouse too.

The first rough claws and spikes.

The upper side of the head is finished.

Then I worked on the other side of the gatehouse. already damaged by the dragon.

Creating the wings skin was an adventure. I rolled the Milliput out thin onto some plastic wrap, let it set for 30 minutes and then mount it onto the wire.

While the skin cured I worked some more on the new dragon head.

After the basic shape was complete I added some smoother layers of super fine Milliput, as well as pre-formed teeth of ProCreate.

Here you can see the first wing. As you can also see at the white areas, some sections of the original skin broke off and I had to repair them with Milliput

But the result together with the new head wasry promising!

... tbc tomorrow.

Tar'Akoona the Fiery (2)

2011-09-21T11:14:00.040+02:00

...continued from previous post
Here you can see that the head isn't permanently mounted and while curing it is seperated by some plastic foil.

Once I was satisfied with the shape and size of the head, I began to apply the ProCreate skin.

I did it in small patches and then let them cure - simply to prevent me from touching and messing up a part of the skin I had already done.

But with curing time of 1-2 hours per patch, this was really a time sink!

With some of the left-over PC I created the flames for the mouth.

Also not permanently mounted.

Then I started with the body skin. The idea was to have normal skin on the head, hands and feet, and then let it fade into larger "plates".

I wanted it to look like cinder floating on liquid lava.

The first section of this skin I really applied little piece by little piece.

Later I changed the technique to apply a large flat patch of skin and then carve out the deep lava lines - this was faster, but still took a lot of time.

Here is the fading of the skin to cinder at the neck...

While these pieces cured I started to work on the gate.

Actually this is really the only piece of plasticard I used for this diorama.

I carved the wood structure with my usual scribing tool (that I also used on the bridge of the HERCULES diorama).

With rivets.

And mounted in position - view from the inside of the castle.

And outside view.

Some more details on the gatehouse and Tar'Akoona leaning over - note both wings are now completed, but still very rough.

Supporting pillar and arch.

The central road into the courtyard.

With some plaster, stones and sand I created the landscape outside the walls.

The 4 co-actors in place.

The dude in the front is subject to Tar'Akoonas fiery attention and is trying to protect himself by holding his shield over his head :)

This guy was already subject to the dragons breath.

Then I started to work on the spikes. Since I knew they wouldn't be very stable if I just glued them on, I had to pin them - but first I had to drill holes into them - best without drilling holes into my finger.

Here are the first spikes mounted.

To ensure they look right, I lined them up in matching pairs

before mounting them along the spine.

Once the spikes were mounted I was able to apply the skin here too.

By now the dragon weigths over 2 kg (4 pounds).

But he looks great!

Close up of the focus scene.

And final shots before priming.

After priming!

The wings look great - IMHO

As first paint the dragon received a dry brush of Boltgun Metal and a wash of Badab Black.

Once the first wash of Badab Black was dried he recieved another wash of Baal Red, giving him a nice redish shine.

Then I painted the deep lines with Scab Red.

Then a thinner line of Blood Red.

Even thinner a mix of Blood Red and Blazing Orange.

The same colors went into the mouth - with the darker colors on the outside and getting brighter towards the inside.

Blazing Orange and Golden Yellow.

The lava begins to glow.

I can tell you, painting all these thin lines while holding a 2+ kg dragon in your hand gets really tiring.

But the result is worth it!

The spikes were painted in Tin Bizz and highlighted with Brazen Brass (I think).

Finally another go with airbrush around the lines to give it the proper glow.

The teeth still need some clean up, but the eyes look good.

Some very small spots with Sunburst Yellow and even a 1:1 mix of Sunburst Yellow and Skull White.

One of my favourite shots.

Here the glow effect is visible to its full advantage. I addition you can see the scars are all done with Bronze.

Whoooosh!

This was a far as I got to submit it to the contest and also present it to Florian for his Birthday (with the promise to complete it soon).

But I have to admit I was so exhausted after this 1 1/2 month marathon, that I haven't touched it yet and rather played World of Tanks...*shame on me*

But now that it's getting colder I can feel the urge to complete him kreeping back in :)

I hope you like the Tar'Akoona Diorama :)
Cheers

Klaus

And we have a winner!

2011-09-21T11:10:00.003+02:00

Last night the "Summer Heat Contest" voting closed and now it is official.

With 23 out of 60 votes my entry won the contest.

:)
I'm a proud little bugger
:)
I will post a step-by-step soon.
Cheers
Klaus

Summer Heat Contest voting is open

2011-09-01T12:21:00.002+02:00

Hey guys,
if you're interested and have a user at the WIP forum, you can take a look at the Summer Heat contest entries and the voting:
http://z11.invisionfree.com/Work_In_Progress/index.php?showtopic=17634

Guess which one's mine?
:)
Cheers
Klaus

Update

2011-08-22T11:52:00.004+02:00

Just to let you know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth :)

As I previously wrote, I'm working on my entry to the WIP Summer Heat contest (deadline 31. Aug), and I can't post any images of it...

So here are two random pics of my sculpting breaks playing World of Tanks...and what Teddy thinks about it :)

Hasta la vista - I'll be back!
Promised :)
Cheers
Klaus

Dust Tactics Starter Pack (3)

2011-08-10T14:20:00.005+02:00

Thanks for all your comments.

Okidus asked about the scale of the models and if they'd fit into 40K.
Well here's a shot with a Kasrkin Sergeant.

With an AT-43 Medic

A DKoK Banner Bearer

And a Tales of War pilot.

Standard IG Sergeant (I appologize for the crappy paint job, this was one of my first IG minis)

So all-in-all not too bad.

One could probably designate them inhabitants of a low-gravity world. They are slimmer and a tad taller than the standard IG dudes - not as blocky.

Here are some shots with standard IG Lasguns

Again the 40K stuff looks bulkier, but otherwise, I think it would work.

Red commented: "Would be a heck of a lot cheaper to use them than buy plastic cadian/catachan IG models"

When I read this I thought "No that's not true, the Dust stuff is just as expensive if not even more expensive"

But then I looked at the GW sites and DUST site...

DUST Battle Grenadiers (5ea) = 19.95$ or 11.99.-€ (Amazon)

DUST Recon Grenadiers (5ea) = 14.95$ or 7.99.-€ (Amazon)

DUST Laser Grenadiers (5ea) = 14.95 or 13.99.-€ (Amazon)

compared to

WH40K Cadians (10ea) = 29.- $ or 22.75.-€

So unless you take the Battle Grenadiers, 10 DUST minis would be cheaper than 10 GW Cadians

Looking at the Walkers, you can get

DUST Axis Walker (1ea) = 24.95$ or 11,70.-€ (Amazon)

WH40K Sentinel (1ea) = 30.- $ or 25.-€

But I think one could also compare the DUST Walkers more with the Russ' of 40K and then its

WH40K Leman Russ (1ea) = 49.50 $ or 39.- €

So it is really true, the DUST models would be cheaper than the 40K models, but again in several respects they are less flexible. But with a good mix of bits from 40K you can get a nice, diversified strike force for less money.

I hope this was helpful to you guys :)
Cheers

Klaus

Dust Tactics Starter Pack (2)

2011-08-09T14:06:00.005+02:00

Thanks for the feedback.
Seems as if there's a lot of interest in Dust, but little experience yet.
So I decided to take a deeper look together with you :)

As Atriedes already stated, the rules seem simple, easy and fun. The "fluff" is very unique, and despite WWII and the Nazis, it is far-fetched enough that noone needs to feel uneasy about them.

So let's take a look at the miniatures.
This is the German Hero Sigrid von Thaler. The pose is really cool, the amount of detail just right. The gun may be a bit "over-the-top", but compared to WH40K it's modest.

This here is a standard German trooper.
The pose looks awkward and the rifle is bent. According to the forum it is rather easy to re-shape it, by using a hair dryer and then dip it in cold water. The Arms itself can also use some re-arrangement, so it will look a bit more realistic.

This German Grenadier with the Panzerschreck and he seems to love his weapon much :)
It will be easy to cut off the head and re-attach it porperly, looking forward. And it looks as if the Schreck needs a bit of re-shaping too.

A German Panzerfaust gunner.
Together with the legs, the pose looks very wrong.
For him I will try to use another set of legs and then see how I can re-arrange the arms and the head to make a plausable pose.

Here is one of the German Laser Grenadiers, with the heavy laser.
The sculpt is really good, and the pose captures the heavy weapon properly.

This is the Feldwebel of the Battle Grenadiers, carrying a Panzerfaust.
I really like the pose even though the sculpt is a little rough on the right hand and the pointing arm shows some mold lines. But nothing major.

The same pose is also used on the Feldwebel of the Recon Grenadiers. Here the mold line is stronger and the finger crooked, but the sculpt of the right hand is better.

All in all, I'd say the German minis are very good and can easily be modified.

So how are the Allied minis?
First off, I'm disappointed at the three Sergeants. Same pose, same glove, and the way he's holding his weapon...

Also some of the poses really strike me odd.

But I'm sure with some cutting and maybe Greenstuff one can make good poses out of them.

They just require some extra work to look really good, or on par with the Germans.

But what really ticks me off is the Allied Hero.
CPT Joseph Brown.

The pose is simply stupid and his waist looks like he has some serious weight issues.
American Love Handles for the win!

I'm really not sure how to fix him, especially as I'm not quite sure how to get a good pose with the arms provided...

Oh well.

Again, nothing serious, nothing that can't be fixed with a knife, glue and some Greenstuff. They just need some extra work to look on par with the Germans.

So for new players or less handycrafty players it may be more trouble.

But lets take a look at the really sexy stuff.

The Walkers!

What strikes me odd, is that they already have some decals on them. I don't think anyone will use these models unpainted, will you?
This is the German walker (sans weapons) and can be used for the Ludwig or the Luther configuration. Nice crisp details and tough, industrial looking.

The body is rotatable at the waist,

as well as the elveation can be altered. But the legs are fixed in position. On the base as well as at the joints.

But I already looked at the connections and the joints itself can be "freed", just the pistons need to be removed and replaced by new plasticard ones to get different poses. With some experience you can get some nice poses out of those two babies! Maybe altering the close combat claw of the one configuration to look more like a Dreadnought claw...but other than that, really nice.
I really look forward to work on them.

The Allied walkers are a different story.

As you can see they have a completely different leg layout, and then simply a tanks chassis and turret (M4 Sherman) is slapped onto it.

But OK, that's a matter of taste :)

However, the hull of the walker can only be elevated downwards...?!?

and only the turret is rotatable.

So the Allied walkers aren't even half as sexy looking and are very less modifyable. It will be really hard to get any cool poses - especially as those legs don't make any sense to me. I simply can't figure (yet) how they should work :)

I think the minis of this Starter Pack are really good. Less flexible than multi-part plastic kits, but still easy to modify, or good enough to be used out of the box. I would (so far) rate the German minis better than the Allied ones, especially the walkers.

Unwrapped: Dust Tactics Starter Pack

2011-08-08T13:59:00.003+02:00

After reading several favourable posts in the various forums I visit, I decided to order the current DUST: Tactics started pack (before the newer, smaller one is released later this year).
I was very surprised by the size and weight of the pack - it ranges in the same league as Space Hulk for that matter.
(Please excuse the quality of the images, I quickly took them during lunch)

So what's in the box?

Dust Tactics includes:

One platoon of allies, comprised of 2 walkers, 15 soldiers, and Captain Joseph Brown.
One platoon of the axis, comprised of 2 walkers, 15 soldiers, and Colonel Sigred Von Thaler
4 Ammo Crates and Two Tank Traps
9 two-sided Cardboard Terrain Tiles
12 Unit Cards (6 allied and 6 axis)
12 custom dice
18 two-sided Terrain Squares
Rulebook
Quick-start rules
"Blue Thunder" campaign scenario booklet

Here you can see the soldiers, the tank traps and ammo crates as well as the dice, unit cards, terrain cards and the rules.

Here are the 4 walkers that are included.

The Infantry consists of 2 pieces and the level of detail is simply great. The plastic is softer than GW stuff.

Also incuded is a small comic.

The rules - you can download the updated Core Rules (containg already the rules updates from the 2 add-ons) for free at Fantasy Flight Games

The Battle Book contains the scenarios.

A Quick Start Card is also included.

Terrain Tiles

The front side contains pavement and the back contains Ice, frozen ground.

These are the terrain squares, adding feature to the terrain.

And finally the Unit Cards containing all the info needed for each unit.

It all looks great.

Quality is really superb and the rules look quite simply and fun.

I will provide some more info as I get deeper into the product and maybe I'll do some modding :)
But I'll definately keep you posted on the painting.

Cheers

Klaus

Summer Heat Contest update

2011-07-29T11:05:00.003+02:00

While the weather here in Germany is everything but hot I'm working on my contest piece for the WIP competition nevertheless.
I put myself on a pretty tight schedule and want to complete the actual build by August 1st., so I'll have enough time for a good paintjob. I think I can make this deadline, eventhough there's still a lot to do.
You may be surprised to read it, but so far I have not used a single piece of plasticard :)

I've used about 1.5 kg of plaster, about 6 packs of FIMO, 2 packs of standard Milliput, 1 pack of fine Milliput, and half a pack of ProCreate greenstuff - and about 1 meter of wire...

As said, this project is VERY different from what I've done so far, but it will still fit into the GW/Warhammer environment...
Well, enough teasing and chit chat, I have to go back to work :)
Cheers
Klaus

Switching to secret mode again :)

2011-07-19T12:06:00.004+02:00

Unfortunately (for you) the W.I.P. forum is conducting another contest.

http://z11.invisionfree.com/Work_In_Progress/index.php?showtopic=17567

New ‘Summer Heat’ competition.

The new competition to keep all you conversion, scratch building and gaming addicts active these next months is this – Summer Heat.

A fairly open brief on this competition to allow entries from all games and all levels. We want to see your finest heavy support option ready to set the worlds afire! The hotter, the better!

We will accept conversions, scratchbuilds or straight out of the box builds in any scale. Any race/army accepted and encouraged and any rules system!

1) All entries due by 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time (GMT-8) on the 08/31/11 (August 31st, 2011).

2) All entries must be submitted with ONE 700x700 max photo (you may make it a collage, you may also send more, but only one will be posted) Any entries not fitting that criteria will NOT be entered (if there is time left you may fix and resend it)

3) All entries will be submitted to "The Contest Guy" (the contest guy may be one of several people, whoever is running that contest, or perhaps multiple people if deemed needed)

4) All judges ruling is final.

5) Voting will begin shortly after the 31st, and will last for approx 2 weeks

Time to get working.

Since the WIP contest rules don't allow any progress updates I will have to do my build secretly.
I have a "big" idea (again), but it's something completely different from what I did so far.
I'll log everthing with the camera and once the competition is over I'll post all the images and details.
Sorry for the "absence" - maybe I'll post some "covered" & cencored images :)
Cheers
Klaus

HERCULES (15)

2011-07-15T11:03:00.003+02:00

Thanks :)
Well I worked on the crew, but since I had some camera issues a lot of images are lost :(

This was the status with the base colors applied.

And here most of the washing and weathering was completed and first pigments applied.

This is the current status.

The pieces blend in together nicely.

But one or two details still need attention...

What do you think?
Cheers

Klaus

HERCULES (14)

2011-07-11T13:16:00.007+02:00

Thanks guys,
your feedback and suggestions are essential :)

I added scorch marks to the muzzles with the airbrush.

Then some soot stains from the flamers as well as detailing the lenses (Thanks Salamndr for pointing them out).

On the other side I also added a repair patch with several Purity Seals ... simply because this is the "dark side" of the diorama, and I was too lazy to do another Elric mural :-P

After these last details I gathered my pigments.

The first go looks very chaotic and too much, but after I applied a coat of spirit and another coat of flat varnish with the airbrush it looks a lot better.

I also added a stip of dust around the lower parts of the hull, the wheels and the tracks.

Of course this "travel dust" is also on the front hull.

The turret also received some dusting - it creates some very nice effects around the hatches, sights etc.

After the "dusting" I gathered the little extras like rucksacks, bags, canvas, water cans, Jerry Cans, ammo boxes, ect. and began to paint them.

While working with these small pieces I'm really thankful for the medical gloves :)

Once the extras were painted, washed and dusted I mounted them into their positions.

And with this the Elric itself is completed.

Now I need to start on the crew and their hatches. They (including the Ground Guide) will wear the navy blue uniforms with silver ornaments, while the "surveyor" and officer at the side of the bridge will receive the Dencara disruptive pattern uniform.

Thanks for your time and I hope you liked todays update :)
Cheers

Klaus

HERCULES (13)

2011-07-06T10:19:00.008+02:00

Thank you TheInnerGeek :)
These comments keep the motor running :D

Luckily Vintersorg at the WIP forum (who already helped me out with some slogans on the ZEUS), pointed out that I made a mistake in one of the slogans.
Emperatorus is absolute nonsense and should be Imperator.
*sigh*
So, I repainted parts of the scroll.

And while the red paint dried, I started with the Elric mural.
Here you can see the pencil sketch.

The first colors,

and the final image.

From a distance it looks pretty good - I think.

In the meantime I repaired the scroll as good as possible and it is now ready for the corrected slogan.

Better :)

Well, get a last look of the "prestine" HERCULES, as now the weathering will begin.

First a wash of deluted dark brown (a mix of Scorched Brown and Chaos Black, deluted ~20:1)

Here you can also see the vehicle markings I added. It identifies the vehicle as Alpha Company vehicle 66 (usually the company commander), 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, XIX Dencara Guards Division.

Then the sides received an additional wash of deluted black.

SPONGE TIME!
Since the HERCULES is a real workhorse on Dencara, and the XIX Guards are in constant battle against the Orks (and now also Nids), it's been a while since the "Elric" has seen a good service workshop, or even a paint bucket.

For the chipped paint I used a mix of (Vallejo Game Color) Dark Flesh and Black, which I applied with a sponge.

After all the sponge weathering, I added some more details with a brush.

And since several readers pointed out the "drooping guns", I finally glued them in place :)

Then all the lenses and lights received their details.

Unless you spot anything missing, I will start (hopefully) tonight with some pigments, adding dust and dried mud.

Let me know if you spot anything and what you think.

Thanks

Klaus

HERCULES (12)

2011-07-04T10:58:00.007+02:00

Thanks for your comments :)

It's been a busy weekend and I accomplished quite a bit.
First the tracks were re-painted black and then received a lot of rust spots, using Vermin Brown.

After that I used the same color as I did for the road to fill the main areas of the tracks.

Then a dark brown wash to smoothen the colors.

Next I prepared the forward banner - using Red Gore as dark base color, darkened with Scorched Brown and highlighted with Blood Red.

For the Battalion marking on the side of the hull I used the liquid masking film from Vallejo.

Simply apply it with a brush, let it dry and then you can spray or brush the color over it.

Once everything is dry, it's easy to peel or rub it off.

Pretty much the same effect as salt.

On Saturday the tracks were completed with Boltgun Metal and a Badab Black wash. After that I added the front slogan:
"Post me, Nihil Est!" - "After (beyond) me, there's nothing"
I think this is a nice slogan for a vehicle that's about to run you over :-D

With the hull pretty much completed I turned my attention to the turret. Adding color to the cabeling and the signs.

Jasevx on Ammobunker asked for a comparison shot with a Baneblade. But since I don't posess a Bane, the ZEUS and a Chimera need to suffice :)

Despite being dwarfed by the ZEUS, it still dwarfes the Chimera nicely.

The turret also received some red banners, as well as a parchment colored name scroll.

The next slogan:
"Emperatorus Vincit Omnia!" - The Emperor always wins.

and "Terror Belli, Decus Pacis" - Terror in War, Adornment in Piece"

And finally the name of the tank:
Elric - a tip of the hat to Michael Moorcocks Elric of Melniboné one incarnation of the Eternal Champion.

Quite a tragic hero, but one of my favourites reads of "long, long ago and far away" times :)

Maybe I can find a good spot for an image on the HERCULES...

I hope you like todays update and thanks for your time.

Let me know what you think.

Cheers

Klaus

HERCULES (11)

2011-07-01T10:45:00.008+02:00

With the mostly positive feedback I continued with the Dencara pattern and base coated the turret,

and applied the Ocre (Vallejo Air 033) lines.

I repeated this also for the main gun.

Then I sprayed the inner lines with Caoba (VA 036).

On the diorama this is now looking pretty good.

Another part of the Dencara pattern are some very light and some very dark spots. For this I used my hole-punch and created a stencil to spray the dots (VA Light Brown 027) onto the tank.

However, I think the dots are to big and too blurry (due to the thinkness of the stencil)

So I went back and applied the light dots with a brush :)

And then I had to repeat it with a dark color (Vallejo Game Color "Smokey Ink - 068).

Even though its just a few little dots, I think it makes a huge difference.

*CHEESE*

Looking good, don't you think?

So now all the detials (tools, lights, guns, sights etc.) and then the weathering and damaging can start.

I hope you like it.

Cheers

Klaus

HERCULES (10)

2011-06-30T12:20:00.004+02:00

Thanks guys,

Last night I tried to continue with the current paint pattern, and added the 3rd color...
Looks horrible!
Absolutely not what I wanted...

After fiddeling around for a while I decided to start anew with the standard Dencara disruptive pattern.
For this I applied a new coat of Terracotta color.

Then I used Ocre to make the base pattern.

this already looks a lot better on the diorama, don't you think?

Next I sprayed the inner lines with Mahagoni.

This is as far as I got last night...

There's still some inner lines to do and then a lot of cleanup.

As well as the turret and gun still needs to be done.

So what do you think?
Is this the better pattern?
Cheers

Klaus

HERCULES (9)

2011-06-29T11:39:00.004+02:00

Thanks everyone,
I really appreciate your support.
@GunGrave - yes, I was busy, but since it was a national holiday on Thursday in Germany I had a 4-day weekend, with a lot of time :)

Well, some of you voiced concerns about the aerial recognition flag I have planned, so I figured I'd give it a try and see if I have to change plans.
First I transferred my rough design with a pencil.

Then I started the eagle and the outside with Scab Red

Next was the inner disk in white. As you can see the plan was to have a thick black border.

But since it didn't turn out the way I expected it, I decided to omit the black border and fill the disk completely with white.

I like th eway it looks on the tank :)

Still a lot of detailing and shading,

but a good start I think.

As menitoned I plan to pain the HERCULES in a WWII 3-color German Ambush pattern.
So I gave it a base coat of dark yellow and then the first pattern with mahagoni - using Vallejo Air colors.

Only 2 colors so far, but it looks promising...

But on the bridge/diorama itself, it looks VERY yellow, don't you think?

I'm a bit disappointed...

So now I have to decide if I change the whole color scheme to a more red-ish base color, or if I keep it as it is, apply the 3rd color (a lighter brown, as a green wouldn't make sense on Dencara, would it?), and then see if the application of red dust and pigments, as well as some dirt will help to harmonize the colors better.
What do you guys think?
Continue and hope for red dust and dirt, or try something more red, like this here:

Please let me know what you think.
Cheers
Klaus

HERCULES (8)

2011-06-27T12:16:00.013+02:00

Hello and thanks :)
Well, since the last update I pretty much completed the build.
I added some damage to the HERCULES.

And then I decided to add a little extra to the atmosphere...some bugs :)

Another little detail will be some roadsigns, like these 4 finger boards,

or this damaged sign with the name of the bridge.

And this completes the actual build.

So on Friday I primed everything.

Looks like the Lilly cat is quite exhausted form all the helping :)

Primed and ready to rock!
Since I'm not 100% sure yet how I will do the HERC, I decided to start with the terrain first, and adjust the HERC to it.

According to the fluff for the Dencara system the landscape is rather Marsian.
As you can see, I already left the area under the bridge considerably darker than the rest.

Then I worked on the lava, starting with Scab Red.

Then Blood Red,

next a 1:1 mix of Blood Red and Blazing Orange,

Blazing Orange

then 2 mixes of Blazing Orange and Golden Yellow

Golden Yellow pure,

Then Sunburst Yellow,

and finally a mix of Sunburst Yellow and Skull White.

Then I added a little "shine" to the surrounding rocks.

With the lava complete I gave the bridge its base color.

as well as the road.

The roads ornaments received a Terracotta coating.

and the bridge recieved some more details.

Then it was time to begin with the road signs. Here is the name sign in its "pristine" state,

and then battered and torn in the gore.

The finger boards.

In case you can't read them, they point to:
XANTHIUM - the capitol of Dencara 5,
SERENA CITY - a larger outpost of the Scarabs
XANTH SACE PORT - the major space port outside of the capitol
KOETTING HEIGHTS - the end of the "habitable" area and the begining of the hot, rocky deserts (with a tip of the hat to the very patient Lord General Gordon).

With the terrain pretty much completed I started on my very first Tyranid ever.
I decided to try a "waspy" paint scheme with mainly black and yellow.

I think it will be pretty good.

I hope you like it.
Thanks for your time and I look forward to your feedback.
Cheers
Klaus

Scribing Tutorial

2011-06-24T14:40:00.001+02:00

As promised, here is a little tutorial on how to scribe plaster with ornaments and runes for diorama bases:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYUn32_7_MM

Please let me know what you think, if and where to improve.

Promote if you like :)
Cheers

klaus

HERCULES (7)

2011-06-22T11:09:00.008+02:00

Hey guys,
as many of you asked, I'm preparing a little tutorial on the plaster and cobblestone stuff.
Here you can see the basic mold I'm using for it, as well as the ready-to-use plaster.

It's relatively thick,

but can easily be spread,

and smoothened with wettened tools. Now it needs to cure and then I'll do a tut on how I scribe the symbols and cobblestones into it.

While the plaster cures - normally about 24 hrs -I cleaned some old minis that I had soaked in "Simple Green" for a while - mostly kneeling legs.

Due to feedback from one of the forums I decided to re-position the turret.

It's now more centered on the hull.

With some of the cleaned bits I built another officer,

and a surveyor, that monitors the bridge while the HERCULES crosses it. Both still need some cleanup and GS work.

The diorama nears completion.

But especially the right side of the diorama needs a better, straight corner. So I prepared a basic mold and poured some plaster (this is a different plaster, it's thinner and cures faster)

After it cured and I removed the mold, this looks pretty neat.

After I added some structure it fully integrates into the diorama.

As mentioned, I planned to put up a statue on the bridge mouth.
Late last year I experimented with some 40K characters built in 1:35 scale. I never really got far, but the one commissar was complete enough that I could make a mold and pour it in resin.
Then I added a lot of damage, so it looks like an ancient statue,

and mounted it on the bridge.

Well, going back to the inspiring image,

this pretty much completes the diorama.
The HERCULES still needs about 30 tracks (which I'm currently casting), but other than that, I think it's done.
Please take a look and let me know if there's anything missing...

Thanks

Klaus

HERCULES (6)

2011-06-20T11:04:00.000+02:00

Hello all,

well progress was a bit slower now, as I had to wait for some pieces to cure.

Nevertheless I have a lot of images again :)

This is the beginning of the bridge, with the first cobblestone details scribed into it.

As intended, a narrow fit.

Next I started with the base work for the gorge.

And this is how it shall look together.

So I applied the plaster, added another support for the bridge, as well as two large pieces at the mouth of the bridge. Maybe I will add two statues there...

Here I added some structure to most of the plaster.

The side walls for the bridge, and some small debris.

On Staurday my order for plastic pipes finally arrived!

Time to build two "Super-Vanqishers"

With strips of plasicard I added some details to the gun tubes.

To do so, I glued the start of the strip to the barrel,

and then wraped (and glued) it around until a sufficient diameter is achieved.

Nice :)

As said:
SIZE MATTERS!

Details applied.

Then the next round of plaster was cured and I could work on the rear part of the bridge and the road.

This is as far as I got. The brdige itself is still removable for painting. I still have to add some debris and rubble.

As mentioned I'm thinking about adding a statue...

I hope you like it :)
Cheers

Klaus

Da Green Knaits!

2011-06-16T14:45:00.000+02:00

Hello all,

as promised I will give you today an update on my entry for the "Line Breaker Contest" at WIP.

Here you can see the contest image I submitted :)

Green Knaits?
Well these days everybody is talking about Grey Knights, so the Orks need to counter somehow, don't they :)

In this rear shot you can also see the pillbox I built.

Unfortunately I couldn't complete the diorama by the time of the deadline, so some of the intended pieces are either missing, or at least not properly painted.

Here are some WIP shots for the first Knait, the one with the Seizmik 'ammer

The basic body is pretty simple, but it was always balanced, so it could always stand by itself.

The first fist.

And here you can already see the final posture.

Da 'ead with nice Jaws

Feet added.

Da Shield

Burna!

Coming together

Size comparison with the old Waaaaargh Boss.

Tank for the burna and exhausts.

The 'ammerhead is bigger than a standard trooper :)

Size matters!

And da completed Knait!

I hope you like it.

Tomorrow I will post WIPs of the second Knait.

Cheers

Klaus

HERCULES (5)

2011-06-15T11:42:00.004+02:00

Thanks guys :)

Atreides127 raised a good point: How do I plan to paint the HERCULES?
Actually I have no real idea yet. I'm tempted between a ZEUS style or a camouflage pattern. Even though I have no idea about a camo pattern either.
What would you guys suggest?
Post some ideas and I will add a Poll for you all to vote :)

@Courtneyhollyoake - Yes, actually the angles of the track skirts are too strong for the tracks to really smoothly move around - I realized that as I mounted the tracks :(

@Oni Akki - oh yes, I will make sure that the tank will fit the bridge (incl. the Sponsons), but I will make sure it is a narrow fit, so that the ground guide is really in order :)

Well, todays update is relatively small.
I continued with the remaining rivets. Here you can see the completed side,

and the completed top.

Next was the GS action for the commander. As mentioned previously he received a scarf to make up for the raised head. But I also gave him some headphones and a nice moustache.

This will be the ground guides head.

While the driver doesn't seem to be too happy with the ground guides instructions :-P

That's all for today.

Most likely I will post something completely different tomorrow ... :)

Tease, teas, tease

Cheers

Klaus

HERCULES (4)

2011-06-14T13:11:00.014+02:00

Hey guys,
thanks for the feedback - it keeps the motor running.

I continued the build by adding details to the turret. Here you can see the pencil sketch on the turret...

...and then the plasticard version of it.

Then I started to add the first rivets.

Next was the cargo basket on the sides of the turret.

As you can see it's wide enough to fit a canister or one of those cargo boxes.

Then some railing.

I think it gives the turret a very nice outline and the extra width balances it with the large and high hull.

And finally some extra armour plates to the baskets.

With the turret complete I decided the next step would be to add the first tracks, so I can add the track covers.

Here you can see the tracks I had casted so far.

After cleanup and seperation into the two motives (one has the winged skull and one has the aquila).

Then I mounted the first 4 sections on each side,

as well as 3 sections on the rear.

This gave me enough to start with the supporting walls for the track covers.

The track covers are relatively thin (.5mm), but the forward section pretty much resembles the ZEUS track cover.

Then I decided for the sake of the diorama topic to actually add the driver. So I removed the closed casted hatch and replaced it with an open hatch and an crew exposed driver.

He can now interact with the ground guide :)

I also added smoke discharges on the forward hull as well as the turret. Currently the ones on the turret are open, while the hull ones are closed.

What do you think? Should I keep them open?

Then I added more details like headlights, hooks, tow cable, ect.

Next I soaked some tissue in a water:PVA mix to create some rolled-up canvas as well as an aerial recognition flag on the turret rear.

For ease of painting and the continuation of the build, the flag is removable.

Then it was time to create some rivets...boring work.

I'm about 50% done with the rivets.

But I really like the look of the HERCULES.

And here's a first sketchy mock-up of the diorama.

As you can see it will be a very narrow cobblestone bridge with high side walls leading over a steep gorge with lava.

So what do you think?
I hope you like it :)
Cheers

Klaus

HERCULES (3)

2011-06-11T17:43:00.021+02:00

BEWARE! 80+ images

Since my wife is out of town for a few days, I have 100% hobby time :)
So, the first casts are done

and I mounted them on the HERCULES.

Then I started to build out the sponsons, using the Macharius pattern sponsons.
Relative easy build with Flamers.

I even added a small vision slit.

Then I worked on the track skirts and the actual track guides.

So you can see there's now a rim around the top.

Then I drew out the layout of the track skirts, with access hatches and armour plates.

And transfered the design to plasticard.

Te access hatches,

and the armour plates.

And repeated it on the other side.

Next up was the rear section.
For this I cut the additional side walls.

Which would be mounted like this.

Since I had something special in mind I needed 4 of these panels.

And a central section with a ramp and a small vision slit :)

So this is how the rear will look like.

For the rear section I planed some exhaust grills.

Looking OK.

but not quite right...

So I took them back off :(

This time I did a different design, using the complete width of the panel and adding a small access hatch on top of the grill.

That's a lot better!

Next was a ventilation cover.

Actually really simple.
First I build a frame with 3mm wide plasticard strips.

And then I used some moscito screening :)

Glued it down,

and built a cover of 5mm wide plasticard.

Quick and very effective.

Then it was time to design the turret.
I want to have a commander hatch in the rear center and two hatches for the two loaders - remember the HERC will get twin cannons.

I have to admit it will be a relative modern design turret.

but I think it will look good (hopefully - fingers crossed).

I started out with the 15mm high sides

and placed the second section of the turret on it.

Then 10mm high spacers.

and finally the roof section.

What do you think?

Since I liked the look of the basic turret, I started to build out the rear and sides.

but again, a lot of putty was needed *blush*

This morning I sanded it off and smoothened the lines.

Then I built the angeled front section

again with the assistance of some tape

and considerable amounts of putty.

Here you can see the gun mount.

Unfortunately I'm out of large diameter rods!
So I odered some new ones, but the actual gun barrel building now has to wait :(

But you get the idea of the turret and how it will work.

Before I'll add any details to the turret (I already have nightmares about the million of rivets to come) I started to work on the 3 hatches.
Initially I had planed to simply glue them on, but then I realized I have to cut the holes into the roof if I want to actually add crew members.

So here's the start of the first loader - you may remember this pose form the ZEUS :)

He'll be smoking a cigarette and lean onto the MG.

The second gunner will actually hold the MG properly, providing overwatch cover.

For the commanders hatch I added a special sighting and targeting device.

Maybe a special Xenos scanner?

I still have to do some GS around his neck, as I had to raise the head to properly position it with the hand.
Most likely he'll get a white scarf :)

And this is how the 3 will look together.

I hope you like the turret and thank you for taking the time to read through it all :)

C&C welcome and appreciated.

Cheers

Klaus

HERCULES (2)

2011-06-09T14:41:00.013+02:00

The HERCULES continues :)
Since I was quite satisfied with the basic hull, I started to dig through my bits box in search for wheels.
Some old Tamiya roadwheels from a 1:35 Hanomag and the drive sprocket from a Sherman, as well as some road wheels from a PzIV will make up the wheels for the HERC.

After I was pleased with the wheel arrangement I designed the outside of the tracks - the skirts?

And this is how it will look.

Next I mounted some spacers (2.3mm)

And here you can get a first impression on how this arrangement will lokk like.

Then I modified the existing wheels to fit the 2.3mm width of the tracks.

And after about an hour I had them all completed.

So I immediately mounted the wheels - patience is not one of my virtues :-P

Once the wheels were cured I also mounted the skirts.

And then competed the other side.

Then it was time to design the actual tracks.

I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted.

Here you can see them in comparison to the ZEUS' tracks.

With a bit of sanding and smoothening they worked like a charm.

So I added some details.

And this is how they will look on the HERCULES.

Obviously I won't build 50-80 of these manually.
So time to get out the molding kit.

Of course you can also use Lego - may be way cheaper too - but you have to always make sure you seal everything off.
Here I used ordinary kids clay.

My tried and trusted silicone. It is a real easy to work with 1:1 mix.

Not the cheapest, but IMHO the best when it comes to usability.

Simply mix it 1:1

Give it a minute to release all the air bubbles

And start applying a thin coat on the details,

and then pour everything into the casing.

After about 30 Minutes its cured. Here you can see that a little bit of silicone crawled beneath the track pieces.

So there will a bit of cleanup to do.

But actually it was a lot less than I anticipated.

Next it was time for the resin.

Again, my tried and true 1:1 mix from Rai-Ro.

For just these 4 tracks there is very little resin you need at a time, so there's considerable spare...

After an hour the resin is cured enough that you can release it from the mold.
Some air bubbles, but SWEET :)

Since I will always have some left over resin, I decided to do some more small pieces.

So I created an hatch, a vision plate, and a sight.

This time I don't want to use my silicone for the mold, but rather the new InstantMold from Cool Mini Or Not.

Simply heat it up in water

and then press it onto the piece you want to cast.

And a few minutes later you have a mold.

So with the next batch of resin I also poured those 3 new pieces.

Well, the actual cast has some issues and is not as accurate as it would have been with silicone

But it is a lot faster and cheaper

And for these pieces it is definately good enough.

So for small pieces with limited detail I can really recommend the InstantMold from CMoN.

I hope you liked todays update and maybe it has sparked your interest in trying it out yourself.

Cheers

Klaus

Hercules - Son of ZEUS

2011-06-08T17:04:00.007+02:00

While I was deciding on what to build for the Line Breaker Contest I consulted a lot of my old WWII books.
One of the images I stumbled across was this image showing the crossing of an emergency bridge with some Panzer IV's. And while I built something quite different for the contest the image stuck.

And you know me :)

So, despite having a lot of unfinished projects, I had to work on this new idea. So here's the first sketch of the situation and the resulting tank.

I think it will be somewhere in the Macharius or Baneblade range - the overall size will be 16cm wide and 22.5cm long.

The basic hull was built with the strong 1.5mm plasticard.

With a standard IG trooper for scale.

Height (without turret) will be around 6.5cm

The basic hull shape completed.

Then I fiddeled with the deck layout. As you can see the driver will be in the center and there will be two bow gunners with heavy Bolters to the left and right.

The turret will be mounted on an elevated platform (similar to the Banes).

Since my angle calculation really sucks I had to use a lot of putty to fill the gaps :-P

But with some sanding the rsult is to my satisfaction.

Next was the drivers compartment

again my angular calculation was everything but accurate :)

For the Bolters I used the sponson Bolters from a LR, but as you may see, I did cut the mounting mechanism down a bit.

The housing slowly takes shape.

And this is as far as I got with the Hercules.

What do you think?
C&C welcome and apreciated.

Cheers

Klaus

Line Breaker contest voting is open

2011-06-03T09:27:00.002+02:00

Hey guys,
you can take a look at the actual entries for the contest here:
Line Breaker Contest Voting
9 pretty outstanding entries.

I wonder if one of you can guess which of the entries is mine :)
Cheers
Klaus

Line Breaker update (2)

2011-05-30T13:46:00.004+02:00

Hello all,

well, not much I can show you, as the rules for the contest don't allow it.

Nevertheless, here you can see (not) the completed base as well as the first piece on it :)

And this is the rest that still needs to be painted...

Unfortunately I had promised my wife earlier this year, to renovate my hobby room exactly last week - which completely messed up my schedule for the competition.
But, here it is :)
My new airbrush area

and my new display area

Well, tonight is the final evening to paint things up :(

I won't be able to get everything finished, so it will be only 90% painted, but I think the model(s) itself will be "kick ass" and help me get at least some votes *fingerscrossed*

I will let you know when the vote is up so you can see all the entries (and guess which is mine)

Cheers

Klaus

Line Breaker update

2011-05-17T12:35:00.003+02:00

Hello,

as mentioned I'm participating in the Line Breaker competition and am not allowed to post any WIP's.
But to still show you some progress, I decided to show the mess on my desk *snikker*
This was the status on Thursday

Friday was even worse

Then on Saturday things got better, but first I had to make a million of rivets...

...and then I worked on the base.

And as of last night my desk looks like this:

So, the build phase is officially over and it's time for priming :)

I'm still pretty much on schedule, but my entry is big with lots of painting. Plenty of room for "effects", but I'm not sure if there's enough time, as my wife gave me a pretty busy schedule for next week *sigh*

I hope you like my rather uncommon update :)

Cheers

Klaus

Radio Check, over

2011-05-11T14:32:00.003+02:00

Thank you all!

Well, as mentioned I'm working on my entry for the Line Breaker Contest at WIP and to maintain anonymity for the voting (avoiding any unfair advantage due to reputation or personal feelings) the build must be conducted under complete "radio silence"...

But, since I don't want my readership to forget about me, I decided to conduct a weekly quick radio check, letting you know I'm still alive and working hard.

Here you can see how hard I work :)
My working area is a complete mess (the entry is hiding behind the folded desk lamp), but I'm about 45% through the build - wooohee! In time!
Cheers
Klaus

Stylish Blogger Award?

2011-05-06T15:18:00.004+02:00

Thanks to Chris aka Admiral Drax I'm pleased to note that my blog has been nominated as 'stylish' – never thought it could be stylish but I’m proud never the less –
Thank You!
When I first saw this award cropping up in the blogger sphere I thought of it as a chain mail virus, but hey, The Stylish Blogger Award is like a pat on the back from one of your peers for a job well done.
So I’m more than happy to accept it and “carry the torch” to my peers.

There are four 'rules':

-- Thank and link back to the person giving you the award (see above)
-- Share seven things about yourself
-- Select 10-15 blogs who you think deserve this award
-- Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award

Seven things about me? Let’s see if I can find anything interesting…

1.) I was born in 1965 and my favorite album is “Crimson Idol” by WASP.
2.) After school I started an apprenticeship as photographer, but I never completed it. From 1984 to 1994 I worked for the US Army in Germany as “maneuver instructor” of the locally stationed Armored Brigade, working in the local training area and on the firing ranges with MILES – Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System.
4.) While I was working for the US Army I took correspondence courses studying graphic design and graduated as a graphic designer. Since then, (17 years!) I work for a software company in the marketing department leading a team of 19 talents spamming the business world with our newsletters and emails.
5.) During my Army and early marketing years I did a lot of airbrushing and was pretty successful. I was commissioned for airbrush wall paintings (i.e. in Jeans Shops), painted helmets, and even some advertisement and packaging artworks. In the late 90’s I gave it all up and just now I start to pick the airbrush back up.
6.) Before getting into the 40K and miniature hobby I used to play a tactical wargame called ASL – Advanced Squad Leader – a WWII wargame with extremely nice hexagon grid maps, cardboard counters, very detailed and complicated rules for almost 20 years.
7.) Even though I build and paint a lot of 40K stuff, I never played one match :)

And that’s why my blog only contains stuff about the building and painting, but never playing.

Now that you know a bit about me, let me tell you a bit about the blogs I enjoy.
Well, actually my blog subscription list contains 196 blogs, from ++From the Warp++ to “Yours in a White Wine Sauce”!
Since part of the award is to nominate other blogs for the award I initially went through my subscription list, and ended up with 28 excellent blogs, but I'm going to choose just 15 other blogs (in alphabetical order) that I think really deserve the award.

Definitely top deserver and outside of ANY ranking is From the Warp – Ron Saikowski’s network of blogs. We all remember how shocked we were when he announced the temporary pause of FTW – I’m mighty glad he’s back :)
But now, the real list:
1. Guardsman Guide to Glory – GunGraves modeling blog with Elysians, Kriegs, and even ‘Nids.
2. Admiral Drax – Even though Chris already received the award and was the one nominating Dei Greci I think he is an integral part of my daily reads :)
3. All things 40K – Great minis and a lot of Step-by-step painting.
4. Bestienmeister – Chris is a stunning painter – ‘nuff said!
5. Col. Gravis Praetorians – Praetorians, self sculpted Pith helmets and Praetorian Orgryns!
6. Corvus Miniatures – not stricktly 40K, but superb – I also follow him on Facebook
7. Dante’s Inferno – Excellent sculpts and painting can’t get enough studying his work.
8. Dave Taylor Miniatures – Nothing I need to say :)
9. Excommunicate Traitoris – Karitas’ WIPs and Tutorials are an absolute must
10. John’s Toy Soldiers – A real gentleman with a broad spectrum of interests and a respected author.
11. Les Bursley’s Blog – Awesome Paint Job – the name is program.
12. Massive Voodoo – The Jungle Crew! Check out their site and study all their material – come back when you close your yaws ;-)
13. Mordian 7th – Adeptus Mechanicus!
14. Painting Mum – Ana’s bilingual blog is a true source of inspiration
15. Trulls Fantastische Welten – a German blog – probably the best terrain builder around!

Obviously there are a lot more blogs that do deserve the award and the attention, but my list is already too long…however... I really HAVE to mention HEROES OF ARMAGEDDON! The collaborative army build charity drawing supporting Doctors Without Borders!

Again, thanks for the award and I’m gladly passing the torch to you guys.
Cheers
Klaus

Nighthawk (10) and "Line Breaker Contest"

2011-05-04T11:24:00.004+02:00

Hello guys,
thanks for your feedback :)

@Marcin:

Hello Marcin,
thanks for taking your time digging through all of my
brabbeling :)
I hope you can enjoy it and find some pieces inspirational to
you.
In regards to the STRIX, yes it has many parents - main inspiration was
the Bf 110 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bf110)
and Me 210 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_210),
but also the AR-240 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ar_240)
and the A-26 Invader (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_A-26_Invader)
had their share.
Cheers
Klaus

Well, in the meantime I did a bit of painting - even though not as much as I hoped.

Here the base colors for the coveralls, leather jacket, webbing ect are applied.

And this is as far as I got.

First highlights on the webbing, fur, coveralls and the leather.

Actually I'm pretty pleased with the look so far.

Unfortunately for this project, but very fortunate for me, my favourite forum WORK IN PROGRESS is having another competition:

This is such a cool competiton!

+++++ BARRAGE INCOMING +++++

New ‘Line Breaker’ competition.

The new competition to keep all you conversion, scratch building and gaming addicts
active this Spring is this – Line Breakers and Bunker Busters.

A fairly open brief on this competition to allow entries from all games and all levels.
We want to see your finest spearhead to break through the enemy's defensive
lines. Everything designed for routing enemy positions regardless of game
system, from bombards and sappers to siege engines and battering rams.

We will accept conversions, scratchbuilds or straight out of the box
builds in any scale. Any race/army accepted and encouraged and any rules system!

Since the competitions at WIP are really anonymus I won't be able to post any updates and progress images of it.

But I'm really excited - I think I have a cool idea and am working on the concept right now. It will be quite a bit of work, but I hope a lot of fun :)

So please bear with me and accept my appologies for the scheduled "radio silence" while I work on my LINE BREAKER entry.

Cheers

Klaus

Nighthawk (9)

2011-04-27T12:29:00.006+02:00

Hello everyone,
thanks for your comments and suggestions on the smoke issue for an image.
I will try it with Photoshop first, and if I can't get a decent result with it, I'll try some of the other suggestions, like cotton, dry ice, water vaporizer ect.

After the last update one user in the WIP forum pointed out that the original platform for the STRIX was too small (too narrow), now that the armament is attached to the wings.
So I decided to build a new elevator for the scene.

It now looks like an elevator on the outside of the "ship" - be that a real ship or an airship aircraft carrier.

Here you can see some first details I added.

Now the STRIX, navigator, and pilot have their new positions.

And this is the image I'd like to take with the smoke (once everything is completed).

More details to the ships front.

Next I masked off the cockpit and prepped everything for priming.

And here is the crew, ready for painting :)

I hope you like it.

Thanks for reading, C&C welcome.

Cheers

Klaus

Smoke for a photo?

2011-04-20T11:59:00.002+02:00

Hello everyone,

for the NIGHTHAWK I'd like to create a photo like this

Any idea how to create the smoke?
Since I'm an ex-cigarette smoker, using cigarette smoke won't be an option.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Klaus

Nighthawk (8)

2011-04-18T11:58:00.008+02:00

Thanks guys :)
I must admit it is fun to be back on this project and I realized over the weekend, from some angles the NIGHTHAWK looks really stunning :)
In regards to mass-production I must say, there are currently too many angles and small pieces to be really suitable for mass produciton. But when I started the project I did have a second NIGHTHAWK - already lifting off from the deck of the ATHENA - in mind. So I *may* look into improving the design and make it easier to "template-ize" ... we'll see.

Over the last view days I continued with Amilia and the Navigator.

Here you can see her shiny new belt buckle :)

The Navigator got some fur on the sleeve and nice knee pads.

The new tigh armor on Amelia.

And finally the knee pads.

The Navigator received several straps and belts, cables for the mechanical arm.

A fur collar and boots.

Now these two are complete.

So now it's time to think about a nice paint scheme for the STRIX. For this I looked into my old and trusted "Complete book of World War II Combat Aircraft".

As you can see from my hand, that's a mightly large volume ;-)

This is one design I fancy. Pretty simple, but IMHO with a nice effect.

Or I may go for the night fighter/interceptor pattern and use the "Black Widow" as base.

Would also be a nice twist with the female pilot to have a black widow, as well as a nice "Lady in the Dark" slogan on it, wouldn' it?

Also I like this little symbol on the fuselage of this Japanese Kawasaki plane...

I may steal it :)

Well, speaking of books.

My copy of the CMON Annual 2009 finally arrived.

It is a great book with many very talented artists in it.

And I have to admit I'm mighty proud to be part :)

So, you can find me, or rather the ZEUS, on page 80 :)

It is really a nice book with some excellent pieces in it.

Thanks for reading.

As usual C&C welcome and apreciated.

Cheers

Klaus

Project Nighthawk (7)

2011-04-15T14:43:00.008+02:00

Thanks guys :) I realize I sounded quite like whining about the CMON voting.

It wasn't intended. To me it's just a mystery how some of the scoring happens :)

I put the image in, with my initial rating of 8, and after the first 25 votes it dropped to 6.5. So there must have been quite some very low votes...but that's CMON for you :)

In the meantime I had a short visit from my nephew Florian, and we chatted a bit, looked at some of the models, complete and incomplete.

And I realized, there are quite some nice projects not yet finished.

While it's still not the ATHENA, I think I'm getting closer *wink*

So I decided to give the STRIX another go. First I mounted the Punisher Cannons and the AA-Missiles, as well as adding some details to the wing joints.

And then I figured, for a proper diorama I need some pilots, don't I?

And looking at my old ideas and scetches, I had a female pilot planned.

So I used some old Dark Eldar bits, and mixed them with IG bits.

This will be the gunner, with an artificial eye and mechanical arm.

This is after the first round of Greenstuff on Monday.

And four days later she looks like this:

Still a lot to do.

A bit Amelia Earhart :)

The gunner also received a proper mechanical hand to his arm.

I hope you like it :)

Cheers

Klaus

300th post!

2011-04-11T10:44:00.011+02:00

Wow! My 300th post here :) Thank you all for sticking around and reading, commenting, enjoying (hopefully), and helping. It's nice to have you all around (279 readers is a lot more than I ever wished for too) Well, this week I was able to finish the "Kill Shot" piece. I added the final paint pieces and details.

And then it was time for some more pigments.

When using pigments I apply them with a large and dry brush.

I simply brush the powder to the spots I want them to be.

I add the diferent color pigments, sometime mixing them.

And then I use spitit to fixate the pigments. Usually I use the same brush, dip it in the spirit,

and then I carefully apply the spirit.

Here's how it looked after the spirit was dried.

While some of the other effects and matte finish cured, I prepared my little light box.

And started to shoot away :)

This is not twice the same image - the focus changed :)

I really like how the OSL turned out.

Some details.

I'm not quite sure, but the guys as CMON don't like it - for a while it was at 6.5, which is IMHO not justified. It is surely not a 10, but 6.5!?!

Oh well, sometime I just can't figure how some dudes vote. It has OSL, it has NMM, a unique setting, a dynamic pose...*sigh*... at least it is at 7.1 now...

I hope you guys like it more :) Cheers

klaus

Kill Shot

2011-04-08T11:17:00.008+02:00

Hello my fellow readers, despite the excellent weather I had some time to work on the "Kill Shot". However, my first actions weren't very sucessfull, actually they were almost desasterous... While painting, I droped the mini, and then ran over it with the chair, breaking the leg at one of the pinned connections...

After I glued it back on, the shining areas from the glue were quite obvious and I had to cover the areas back up and re-paint them.

Luckily the paints were still in good shape on the wet palette, so that went rather fast.

Then I started to add some lighting effects to the power cable.

And some OSL effects around it.

It's a bit hard to see, but I'm very pleased with the result.

Then I started to work on the Muzzle Flash.

The first color was Blazing Orange,

Then (while the Orange was still wet) I added a 1:1 mix of Golden Yellow and Blazing Orange.

After that some pure Golden Yellow (also while the other colors were still wet).

Next was a 1:1 mix of Sunburst and Golden Yellow.

Then pure Sunburst Yellow.

And finally a 1:1 mix of Skull White and Sunburst Yellow, plus some OSL shine effects on the Bolter and scope.

On the diorama I also added some OSL shine effects to the ground and the wall.

There are still some details to do and pigments to add, but the main work is done. The contest deadline is on the 22nd, so I have plenty of time to finish it all up :) I hope you like it.

Cheers

Klaus

Kill Shot

2011-04-06T14:46:00.004+02:00

Hello all, just a small update today. I worked some more on the Deathwatch Marine for the Kill Shot diorama. I started to work on his face as well as the base for the NMM gold eagle on the chest.

And some hours later the golden chest eagle in NMM.

I'm quite pleased,

Even though, I think I will add a bit more shadow to some areas of the eagle.
Cheers
klaus

CMoN Annual 2009

2011-04-04T12:23:00.004+02:00

Hey guys, looks as if my ZEUS made it into the new CMoN Annual :) I don't have a copy yet (odered on Friday) but looking at the video it seems the ZEUS got a complete page :) I'm really excited! Cheers klaus

DEI GRECI

Tar'Akoona the Fiery (1)

Tar'Akoona the Fiery (2)

And we have a winner!

Summer Heat Contest voting is open

Update

Dust Tactics Starter Pack (3)

Dust Tactics Starter Pack (2)

Unwrapped: Dust Tactics Starter Pack

Summer Heat Contest update

Switching to secret mode again :)

HERCULES (15)

HERCULES (14)

HERCULES (13)

HERCULES (12)

HERCULES (11)

HERCULES (10)

HERCULES (9)

HERCULES (8)

Scribing Tutorial

HERCULES (7)

HERCULES (6)

Da Green Knaits!

HERCULES (5)

HERCULES (4)

HERCULES (3)

HERCULES (2)

Hercules - Son of ZEUS

Line Breaker contest voting is open

Line Breaker update (2)

Line Breaker update

Radio Check, over

Stylish Blogger Award?

Nighthawk (10) and "Line Breaker Contest"

Nighthawk (9)

Smoke for a photo?

Nighthawk (8)

Project Nighthawk (7)

300th post!

Kill Shot

Recommended reading

Kill Shot

CMoN Annual 2009