'nids part 213 - Genestealer cult - Aberrants - TO DONE!

Last of my Genestealer Cult successes so far. As you can see some pretty harsh shadows from the sun on these, that's why two lights help even them out. Still they're not too bad in showcasing what I painted.

Not 100% sure why these snuck into my painting schedule. Obviously there had been a diversion from the Drop Pods when I was finding them a 'challenge'. I think perhaps because they were only a batch of 4 and with less detail than the Brood Coven they got a head start as something I could just crack on with to feel like I was gettign somewhere.

Reconciling my ethnically diverse residents of Ferron Proxima with my Hive Fleet Gorgon was always going to be a challenge.

Moreso because of the way they suggest as the hybrids get newer the Genestealer appearance becomes less... Forget that I just did some bits flesh and the other bits nids. Still think I could have added a Free Radical Collective logo on his tabard.

The blue Aberrant was the gamble. I had tried a few when I converted my Dark Vengeance Cultists but I realised this would be a much harder sell. I still wanted that Rogue Trooper feel but this is mixed up DNA where the standard colouration of the Chitin armour has somehow got mixed in with the melanin of the skin.

The science is clearly sound, but I htink it worked in the end and even the chitin spine ridges manage to be sufficiently different fromt he skin to stand out. The red/pruple shading in the recesses helped with this.

I also wanted a dark skinned Aberrant, again for diversity - the Dark Angel recruits from Ferron Proxima are all dark skinned afterall. It was also an opportunity to try different things,

And some of it is much more than I hoped for but I think there's still alot more I can improve. Duncan advises using the Violet wash to make richer shading on dark skinned people [or things] I might need to try it but investing in a wash I'm only going to use once in a while feels like overkill [Deathwatch Overkill?].

The 'Caucassian' Abberrants actually use my Vallejo Bronzed flesh colour so aren't as pale skinned as both my Magus and Primus. 

Should I do the other four Aberrants that gives me scope for even more variety but I'm still not sure on what I'll do.

Here we go with the new light box setup. It was a bit of a snap shot, which is why it's a little blurred in places or the focus isn;t quite right. The colours are OK, perhaps a little too much contrast, even for my liking.

So there's still room to experiment and improve my photography I may have to do some more comparison shots of white and Ferron backgrounds of the same models

The one disappointment with these was the power weapons, the glows in the coils were OK, it's the 'lightning' effecton the hammers and picks that just didn't work, hence why I tried to cover most of them with Tamiya Clear Red X-27 blood spatter.

Overall though I can live with it because they're done, I got to do things differently, they don't look bad and best of all they're complete which is why I get the Big Purple Stamp of Approval!

'nids part 212 - Genestealer cult - Brood Coven - MOAR SHOTS.

And tthe next plethora of shots of the Brood Coven, once again Camera 360 managing to capture quality that perhaps it shouldn't ought'a.

They make a nice little family unit.

I'd also played around with my light box and a white background. As much as I am a fan of high-contrast saturated images there's something not-quite-right about this but it's not too bad.

Although I was struggling to find the right white balance on the Patriarch.

However, the Ferron background just worked. You'd think some much red/orange would have a detrimental impact on the colour shift of the image but I think this is pretty accurate.

Slightly darker and desaturated here but I keep trying.

The sad reality is that these pics are much more representative of the model and put it into context with the Red Planet BASE! on the red planet mat. These are just the sort of pictures I'd be happy to share with White Dwarf and hopefully finally get into their hallowed pages but I have a sneaking suspicion that without a white background they wouldnlt be considered. It's much easier to cut them out froma  plain background, although I'd happily do clipping paths for these if they wanted.

Still, I'll send some of them in and give it a shot again.

Such a great pose on this Magus.

Some more experiments with the light box, less successful ones I might add. Looks like I was using my digital camera, hence the desaturated colours.

This was why I felt compelled to wait until I had some more light as I know the digital camera can take nice pics it's just here they weren't.

I've also picked up a new bulb for the light box since these were taken, a daylight 11W LED bulb that's 1500 Lumens. Hopefully that should help make better pictures.

I probably need two of the them as the second bulb is still a 60W incandessant which has a warm yellow tinge to it. I did a bit of staged photography at uni, with three point lighting. I think it's probably overkill on miniatures, certainly doesn't seem to need more than two according to GWs phtography guide.

However the two light sources might benefit from being the same wattage and luminosity that way they cancel each other out and reduce the chances of casting shadows.

I've the four Abberrants to showcase next, I took some pictures under the new light box setup so we'll see if the higher powered lights make things better or worse...

'nids part 211 - Genestealer cult - Brood Coven - TO DONE!

As you may recall, when I was struggling with my Drop Pods I was seeking solace in the Hive, or more accurately the Cult and managed to get the Brood Coven done.

Interestingly I hadn;t quite realised what I'd been achieving and while the Primus, Familiars and Patriarch progressed apace the Magus was languishing in a primed state.

When I realised the Coven formation could be achieved with minimal effort a concerted push brought him up to spec in short order.

The Patriarch hisself.

I mounted him on the oval base so he can match my Spawn of Cryptus, I also added in Dark Angel helmets to tie them in with my own Dark Angels and begin showing their conflicts.

The Primus.

Free Radical Collective symbols on his cloak are OK, could have probably doen a few more to make it even more 'culty'.

The Bonesword came out really well, I tried to copy the style of my Swarmlord Bonesabres. It's been a long while since I did them but luckily the green glow effect hides any inconsistencies.

The Magus.

The full Free Radical Collective logo is far more effective here...

and here.

Still not sure on hsi mouth/teeth. I struggled repeatedly to do this and this seemed right, certainly the best attempt. His teeth aren't meant to be perfect so in that respect they work but it still looks odd in a way I can't put my finger on.

Familiars - once again with a Dark Angel helm. I feel like it needs litany script on it but there just isn't enough space.

Side/back view so you can see orange shading on the cloth, those resin bases look alright don't they!

Although I might feel mighty entitled to more than the one Big Purple Stamp of Approval I'll just do the one. These were 4 out of 8 sub-bullets painting the Deathwatch Stealers.