Showing posts with label scratchbuilt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scratchbuilt. Show all posts

Wednesday 6 July 2022

'nids part 337 - Modern Synthesist's Tyranid Barricade - TO DONE!

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity I've been #PaintingWarhammer on Mr Pink, aka The Modern Synthesist's Tyranid Barricade. And this was just another evening's work to get it done. There were a lot of striations on the chitin plates, that middle one in particular, but otherwise it was eerily familiar.


As I was painting the edges it almost felt exactly the same as my own efforts. As each paint stroke went on I could almost feel the process of the sculpt, which brought back those first-hand memories of sculpting my own Tyranid defence lines.


I explored some additional redness to the bonewhite on the inside. Watered down Vallejo Extra Opaque [I know it's a contradiction to water it down] Heavy Red does an amazing job of adding that raw soreness to the interior. It looks like the bio-organic growth is painfully rupturing through the ground and the additional tones make it more interesting too.


The tiny little dots inside some of the furrows are a really nice touch. Adding the odd highlight to them to stand out, as if they are seeding spores - it's a nice touch. The Barricades are not just defensive structures, but also organisms to further xenoform the planet they've infested.


It's been an absolute joy to turn this round so quickly. To Take Mr Pink's model blend it with my hive fleet and further expend my on repertoire in how I paint my nids.


It's made me think again about scratchbuilding. I really need to think about my next effort - the Tyranid Promethium relay pipes. My priorities are all my Ravenwing and Death Guard to do for #ArmiesOnParade but once that's out of the way I should explore the joys of scratchbuilding again.


So, here's my Great Big BLESSED VERDIGRIS Stamps of Approval! 

Monday 4 July 2022

'nids part 336 - Modern Synthesist's Tyranid Barricade - Base, Prime and Basecoat

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity I've been #PaintingWarhammer, you may or may not recall a year or so ago that Mr Pink, aka The Modern Synthesist sent me a gift. I was so inspired by his Tyranid Barricades back in the day I took a leap of faith and sculpted my own, with no prior experience. Following that I made Tyranid Bastion, Capillary Towers that would form a Skyshield Landing Pad and eventually my Tyranid Void Shield Generator.

My inspiration by him was something he wanted to reward and so he sent me this resin cast of one of his barricade as well as a couple of his original sculpts. I revered these items, but the cast felt like it should be more. It wasn't enough to remain in the slightly dodgy black primer it was languishing it. It deserved to be taken into the Hive Fleet and become part of my own army. I mentioned this to Mr Pink and he was perfectly happy to take it further, it was mine to do with as I wished.
It took a while to both build the confidence to do this and find a spot, but with the Halflings done why not just throw in some Tyranid. So I'd added sand to the base, to match my army and then primed it Red Oxide... That's when I discovered the original  Black Primer was even worse than it's finish portrayed. I don't know it was an enamel primer, but it reacted badly with the Halfords primer and blistered and puckered like fingers that had been in the bath too long.
This quick side project was rapidly deteriorating. So I swiftly decided to strip the worst of the effected areas with acetone free nail varnish remover and then primed it again as you see here. I then Red Planet BASEd the edges.

Bahama Blue Craft Acrylic on the chitin plates, you can see it's still wet!


Bonewhite on the inside and I picked out some of the guitar wire ripping in Khorne Red.


A sepia wash, followed by an Army Painter Strong Tone Wash to give the blue depth.


And on the inside too. I think this was just an evening's work and I'm already onto highlights - good progress.


Here's my Great Big Big Build Base BLESSED VERDIGRIS Stamp of Approval.



Wednesday 9 June 2021

Inspiration is a chain

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity in July 2012 we were just getting 40k 6th edition. I'd fallen off the hobby wagon a couple of years earlier. The painting aspect was progressing - I was happy with my results and being productive. I'd also started a blog, designed my own terrain templates and built some of my own Imperial terrain but I wanted to do more. Combining my first major success - conversion of a Tyranid Carnifex to Tervigon and 6th edition's new found love of fortifications and it was potential Tyranid structures that caught my imagination. I searched all over the place, well Google did most of the heavy lifting and I came across these by Mr. Pink [a.k.a. Modern Synthesist]. The idea of using fruit pots as a base for more organic alien walls was genius. I have an A-level in Art, had specialised in sculpture and clay, I could find a way to mold some of these out of Milliput.


Within a month I had started my own. The naivety of using greyboard as a base - convinced it wouldn't warp [it didn;t reall, I was very lucky]. The ingenuity of stapling the reversed pot between the two main pieces. The stupidity of using your own Aegis wall templates as the scale, when you'd got those sizes wrong and essentially built a defence line that was just too big and legally you would never be able to use all 4 long pieces! 😫


And they came out pretty cool, even if it was before I settled on my Red Planet BASE! showcase pics, enjoy the pleather!


But that gave me the confidence to go even further with my next build - Tyranid Bastion. Arguably my most difficult build ever, but at this stage I had no idea what was still to come.


I built 6 Capillary Towers with a secret agenda all along that nobody twigged.


I had a shadow project running all along - making a Tyranid Skyshield Landing Pad that slid into slots in the Capillary Towers to create the platform. It would even get fleshy walls too, eventually. Completed over 6 months on and off - testament to perseverance and patience.


I'd spend another 6 years [more off than on, obviously] realising another vision of a Tyranid Void Shield Generator. And I think it was this that kind of brought some of this full circle.


I'd repeatedly shared comments with Mr. Pink about his inspiration all those years ago and he also bought the Necron half of my Indomitus box, which I sent to Canada for a crazy new future at his hands. Shortly thereafter he messaged me to say he had something he wished to share with me, and eventually I received this in the post.


What treasures lie within?


Inspiration come home...


Yes indeed, one of the first casts of Mr Pink's alien barricades.


All primed and ready to go.


But that wasn't all...


How about the original sculpt as well, so I can see in detail how it was made in sections.


Using a mix of Apoxie sculpt and green stuff.


Additionally, there was an alien xenoforming pod. This one is slightly unfinished but I think the completed ones had LED tea lights in to glow with an alien light.  


As you can see part of it needs filling in and I may one day consider doing that and even painting them up, but for now I'm just overjoyed about the generosity.

 

Compared with my own efforts - a little taller and much more detail. There's even some guitar wire in there for extra alien ribbage.


The inside detail is amazing in comparison. I'd say I was just starting out, but I'd probably still do much the same nowadays anyway!


And comparing the xeno-pod with my own Quad-gun.


I'd probably start with a fruit pot like this second time around. Using a plastic cork resulted in the 'mushroom-esque' shape of mine, when a blob would have been better.


Mr Pink described this inspiration as a chain - linking us across an ocean. How he inspired me and how I may well be inspiring others. That's the greatest gift of the hobby - sharing what we do. Being brave enough to put it online. Not worrying if it follows any prescribed lore but scratching that creative itch in our brains - the vision you cannot just leave there. How you sketch it in a noteboook. Buy fruit pots and noodle bowls because you can turn then into bizarre alien constructs and when the dust [or slime] settles you look back at your creation and realise you made it, as well as painted it. You made it from scratch, from bits of rubbish, clay and string and all because you saw someone else do something similar. Have a think and see if you want to be part of this chain too.

Friday 19 February 2021

'nids 314 - Tyranid Void Shield Generator part 15

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've finished #paintingwarhammer my #Scratchbuilt #Tyranid Void Shield Generator. All that's left is some white background shots, for those that like them, first a 360 spin


And static shots...


Not a lot to say really, as the highlights 2 post is very similar pics.


However, I was trying to add links to all 15 parts of my build and add them to my tutorials and showcase pages.


But I discovered that somewhere along the line I got my numbering convention mixed and there were 9 posts prior to these 15 that featured the VSG build.


So, 24 posts in total! That's more than the Skyshield and its 6 capillary towers and walls!


Rather than go through renumbering them all I've split it into 2 chapters in the Tutorials page, not that there's a reason for where the chapter break came in.


Anyway, it's done now, so just enjoy the rest of the pics.

 


 



Tyranid Void Shield Generator Chapter 1. part 1. | part 2. | part 3. | part 4. | part 5. | part 6. | part 7. | part 8. | part 9. |

Tyranid Void Shield Generator Chapter 2. part 1. | part 2. | part 3. | part 4. | part 5. | part 6. | part 7. | part 8. part 9. | part 10. | part 11. | part 12. | part 13. | part 14. | part 15. |