Wednesday 5 September 2012

'nids part 51 / Terrain is everything - Tyranid Aegis Defence Line Pt3

Tyranid Aegis Defence Line update. Now I'm not 100% happy with the backs, they're OK and I'm hoping the painting will work better. My sculpting clearly has a bit to be desired. I wanted something a little similar to Mr_Pinks but obviously my success so far on sculpting was because I was doing something basic. This first attempt was a bit flat so for the next lot I added some rolled out tubes to be the 'ribs' on the back.


Essentially I covered the back with a flattened 1cm blob of Milliput. When I say 1cm I mean 1cm of each of the two parts, so really it's a 2cm blob. There's effectively 12 panels but you need a bit extra to bridge the gap in the doubles. Each strip of Milliput is 12-13cm so careful measuring in advance and saving bits to make the ribs is essential. Anyway as you can see the ribs on the right are much more pronounced, better but still not 100% happy though I'll live with it.


A close-up to show how 'bad' it really is  ;)


This is quite laborious actually, even more so than the fronts and getting my GW sculpting tool in place can be fiddly. I decided that I'd do them in halves. That way when I came to do the second half I wasn't holding onto the bit I'd already sculpted and was 'happy' with.


Some places it's not too bad, I still have to decide how I'm going to paint the backs. The fronts will definitely be blue but will I go for Bonewhite or the liver/Mechrite Red? The Bonewhite is easier and will show up more but the liver/Mechrite Red will be more fluffy and gory but may get lost on the red base.

Where possible I tried to do most of the join between the two panels, just because this is a tedious job and to try and make the Milliput go further.


All four doubles are half done.


And the last single still to do, five panels in total left.


5 comments:

  1. Looks organic and great! Can you specify the type of milliput you're using??

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  2. Looking great--I'm curious to find out how much time and cost you have involved in this product?

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  3. Ghostin the Milliput is the Terracotta version. I think it's only difference is the colour, in case you wish to repair terracotta pots it can do so without needing to paint. You can use the normal variety, I just prefer this though it makes no sense as I paint it anyway - pure whimsy ;)

    warhammer39999 good questions - the pots were nothing really as they are a byproduct of my son's hunger, ha, ha! I'm not sure what they cost but I only needed 4. The board was also bits I had left over. If you were to start from scratch you would need at least 3 packets of Milliput to create all '12' panels and enough for the quad gun too. Of course I already had a bit of a pack so only needed 2 packs which were £5.50. The cork for the quad gun was also a recycled item. So I've only shelled out the £5.50 on them altogether.

    Time wise its a bit more. I had it all straight in my head but it's since drifted off. I think the cutting of the pots was 45-60min, doing the bases, perhaps the same. Fronts of the panels was reasonably quick, maybe 5-10mins per panel [times twelve = 2 hours]. Backs were more like 15 mins per panel [times twelve = 3 hours]. Painting was relatively quick for basecoats and washes but the highlights were 15 mins per panel and the second set of highlights, which I thought would be quicker were in fact the same or perhaps up to 20 mins per panel so another 3-4 hours on top.

    So around 16 hours max, which I suppose the cost of my time would have been cheaper to buy an Aegis but then it wouldn't be the same. It's kept my busy and motivated for 2-3 weeks at least and the end results, despite the numerous times I'll be saying "not 100% what I wanted" will more than make up for the effort. More to come soon, my next post is another 'clearing of the decks' Warhammer World picture fest - nearly finished with them ;)

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  4. Thanks, that's exactly the sort of answer I was after. I'm assuming you're using the 4oz variety of milliput, which seems to retail here in the states for around $8 each. Luckily, my kid has also taken to the little dishes (of pears in his case, but they use the same containers), so there's no cost there, and I'm sure I have plenty of suitable basing materials.

    Still though, if I'm looking at $24 and 16(ish) hours of work, I think I'll be happier picking up the "First Contact" terrain you pointed out earlier. It would seem that their "Alien Hive Nest," is more than adequate to form a defense line, and costs $62. That's valuing my time at around $2.35 per hour. So it seems like a logical purchase.

    Of course, I really like how yours are turning out--so if you want me to pay you $2.35 per hour for a set, I'd gladly take yours over the Dark Art models. :)

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  5. Yes it's the 4oz variety. $8! That's a lot I guess its because it's coming from Wales. You get overpriced minis and epoxy putty we get overpriced Apple Macs the nature of import/export and different currencies. You could always try Apoxy Sculpt [I think] it seems to be the same stuff, but I think it's American and you can get larger tubs.

    Your other alternative is to do like Mr Pink and just make a single and a double then make a cast and do resin version which should be quicker but perhaps not cheaper. The bulk of the time spent was painting not making but time is relative and if like me you appreciate just the doing regardless of the ultimate cost then it's an enterprise worth undertaking.

    Otherwise I saw this blog - http://freshcoast40k.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/tyranid-aegis-defense-line-and-end-of.html#comment-form they bought the defence line I mentioned and added the Tyrannofex weapon. They mention stumbling across a blog suggesting it as an option, which sounds familiar but I don't know if it was me, but you can see it painted anyway.

    I'll let you know about the $2.35 an hour :)

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