Manufactorum Container No.2

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer Manufactorum Containers. Having varnished the yellow and black container I thought I'd continue with an easy red one.

It's effectively just the same as my Imperial Knights, but also a preparation for more of my building colour scheme.

It's just some Vermillion art acrylic drybushed highlights. Trying to keep out of the corroded areas.

It was very easy but it does make me question adding orange rust in the corroded areas as currently the contrast is working really well and I don't want to muddy things up, so to speak.

I went through some debate with myself on whether the centre stripe would be Stonewall Grey or Bonewhite. 

But you can see I decided to paint the inside Bonewhite. I masked off the outer and used my Army Painter Skeleton Bone spray on the inside. Naturally I wasn't too fussed about getting all the way to the back as it would be darker.

I then thinned down some of my Burnt Umber art acrylic with Lahmian Medium and it mad a great wash. I think it's sufficient not to even require any further highlights inside.

But that decision meant the centre stripe would be bone, to match the inner. 

Burnt Umber splodges and mottling were used to add texture and weathering, I love this paint.

Again, it works really well with the darker rust, so I worry a bit about potentially adding any orange that might dilute the effect so far.

And I added a BIG flippin' number.

Proof , once again, that BIG flippin' numbers make everything cooler.

I had a spare stencil from my own Future Containers which worked OK stippled on and then I neatened it up with the brush, again avoiding some of the rust.

The bone worked so well with the rust I have begun to question whether my white and orange container should be bone and orange.

So at this stage I decided to pause a little bit.

This was to give me time to think things through on how to progress my two remaining containers. In the mean time I looked a bit at some of my other buildings. I'd done a bit on my Sector Imperialis terrain as it was effectively the same colours as here but decided to move my TT combat terrain forward so I can address some of it's remaining colour choices..

Manufactorum Container No.1 Almost TO DONE!

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer Manufactorum Containers. Naturally the thing I thought I just fly through has taken a little longer, even with some of the shortcuts I've taken.

But, I've really enjoyed doing it. I applied the Vallejo Rust Model Wash, mixed with Secret Weapon Rust Orange weathering pigments. It got a bit unrealistic in places so I tried toning it down with sepia wash, which worked.

I did forget that ultimately the matt varnish will tone this down even further but this stage is pre-varnish but effectively completed as I wanted to capture it at this 'save point'.

You can see where I've added numbers and how challenging it is to fit round some of the rust and weathering.

Oopsy. Here's where I stuffed up the number 7 stencil and had it too far away from the 2. It is quite annoying but I don't want to go back into it so it'll just have to be imperfect.

Some decals on the centre panel too. I chose to replicate those used on my Hapag Lloyd containers. These were from the old vehicle decal sheet. A quick sepia wash over the top helped them blend in.

However, the skull in the black diamond - it didn't register with me you wouldn't see the black diamond, or that there are skulls embossed in the centre of each panel making the warning symbol somewhat redundant.

It doesn't really matter though, it just adds a little bit more detail and texture to it. The control panel and servo skull got finished off too and all the buttons will get Tamiya Clear once it's varnished. The lights above and below the door will also get a coat.

At some point I'll have to do the Storm Bolters that go on the top but I'm really pleased with weathering. It is far from the recommended process - salt of hairspray technique but I think it works really well and was a lot of fun to play around with.

The more I try the more I'll experiment and maybe one day get even more realistic. This is effectively complete but I add a Great Big BLESSED VERDIGRIS Stamp of Approval when all three are done and varnished. For now I may just take advantage of my Great Big BLESSED VERDIGRIS Minor Stamp of Approval! I don't usually get to use it so any excuse.

Manufactorum Container No.1

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer Manufactorum Containers. First up was this yellow one, hoping to capitalise on my yellow and black chevrons on my Armiger Helverin I thought this might be straightforward.

A number of successive stippled coats of my Gamboge art acrylic, trying to leave some of the rusted areas still in place.

I used the Instar IV-16 yellow as a highlight on the Helverins, but I'm going to ignore that for speed and to see the effect on this.

The plan is to just highlight with VGC sun yellow. Removing a step from the process may make my plan to paint my Mechanicum terrain in yellow that much easier.

The plan is to paint the central bit black, but I'm definitely liking the red stripe too. It might be nice to do one in those colours in the future - of course that means more containers to buy when I have no real purpose for them!

And with the black stripe done. 

I added a bit more Gamboge in places and also some light highlights of Sun Yellow.

Naturally I want to add a big number somewhere and I'm not sure about some decals too.

But, the excessive rusting is making it a little difficult of where I can position these embellishments.

Hopefully, I'll find a way to add them that works for me.

Of course that decision making so is likely to slow things down as I mentally process what I want to achieve and how I go about doing it.

I will be adding some weathering next - rust effects etc.

I also need to pick out the details on the control console and it's servo skull.

Pleased with how it's going anyway.

So much so that I've actually started on the red and white one too, but will share those pics in a future post.

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.