Friday 5 February 2021

'nids 308 - Tyranid Void Shield Generator part 9

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on my #Tyranid Void Shield Generator. Some of these pics might seem repetitive but there are some subtle differences. This pic had a filter on, so all the dark areas are saturated and wet look, and my mate Liam says glossy finish doesn't work. I hope I can capture this in reality when it's finished.


This pic shows a more realistic representation of the colour of the fleshy bit around the central well.


The VSG as a whole, I got all the bone areas highlighted too.

 

As you can see the darker areas around the well have all flattened off with the paint drying. Hopefully the gloss varnish and Tamiya Clear Red X-27 will bring it back.


I also painted all the fleshy bulges Khorne Red, these will be highlighted as the Capillary Towers were, the lighter maroon colour standing out against the Vermillion.


Close up of the central well.


I also Painted the emitter stalk Khorne Red too.


The top edge of the fleshy fibres on the inner walls were also washed red so there was a raw blend to the bone on the outer.


All the fibres had more contrast added to the lower strands of each 'bundle'. I got some great contrast here, I hope the planned Tamiya Clear Red X-27 enhances it rather than neutralises it.

 

The gloss varnish will give me a starting point, then I can add the Tamiya Clear Red X-27 in a small area and if it doesn't appear to be working I'll not do the rest.


Khorne Red wash where the fleshy balls intersect with the bone, just like I did with the Adrenal Glands on the Tyrannofex.

 

I'm super chuffed with this at the moment. I had a good 2+ hour session to get to this stage and I can't believe the variety in the Vermillion/Pumpkin highlight versus the Vermillion/white highlights. I love how the Red Planet BASE! frames it all. What's left to do [although since I wrote this I can cross out the bits already done 😉]?
  • Red bits
  • Green little bits [the tiny balls on the red balls]
  • Big green ball
  • Green glow FX
  • Veins [pink]
  • Chitin highlight 1
  • Chitin highlight 2
  • Matt varnish
  • Gloss varnish
  • Tamiya Clear Red X-27 

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. | 

Wednesday 3 February 2021

Dark Angels - Ravenwing Talonmaster build 2

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #buildingwarhammer. Yes, I'm still at it. This is part of the reason I like building less than painting, because it's far more improvised. You can have a plan but often you end up thinking 'oh, I can do this instead'. Which means, on top of magnetising the assault cannons I decided to magnetise the rear doors so it can be a Typhoon too.







I got the gunner and pilot built, they'll be painted separately, they're just dry fitted at the moment, as is the upper cockpit. I want the undercoat to be able to get into all the nooks and crannies, which is why it's still blue, before I glue it into place.


It was quite the challenge to get these magnet holes in place. Thankfully the Typhoons and the hatches have a notch and socket, but even so, getting the bigger hole drilled in the centre was hard. I ended up having to drill a 3.5mm hole for the tiny 3mm magnets - 0.5mm tolerance for the glue and position.




First and foremost this is not the Typhoon Missile Launchers, it's the additional sensors/conversion field emitter. It seemed to make perfect sense to add the magnet to this for when it's the Talonmaster and cover the unsightly hole.


The hole on the other side...


Conveniently plugged by this honour badge. It was very much a rough guess where to put the magnet, as you can see above it wasn't in the centre of the door. So I needed to offset on the back of the badge and just hope it would appear centred when it was in place. And that my friends is a 'bullseyes' in my book [the big one on the front of the Land Speeder!].


But, as you can see, remove those items and it can be a Typhoon. This can join my other two, should I want a unit of 3. I won't magnetise the Heavy Bolters. Even if I use it as a Typhoon and it can't have Twin Heavy Bolters I'll just ignore the fact, it'll be armed with one, I'll run it as one.


However, I'm not sure of the benefit of running a 3rd Typhoon, rather than a Talonmaster, but the option is there.


I have to admit I really like the model. I know it doesn't fit very well, but I shaved down some pieces so it doesn't require too much squeezing to get it to fit properly. I can't wait until it's a whole piece, even if the crew and weapons will be separately painted, which will be fiddly and no doubt annoying. Next update and it'll be a finished Big Build. 

Monday 1 February 2021

Dark Angels - Ravenwing Talonmaster build

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #buildingwarhammer. Actually, I was doing this prior to my Tyranid VSG post and after I finished the Nurgle players. Building can be a bit of chore for me sometimes, but occasionally I get the genuine urge to build. Now the original idea, as so many seem to do, was to put the Ravenwing upgrade cloaked guy in the driving seat; but, it just looked too goofy him half in, half out, in a seated pose. So I decided to throw my limited greenstuff skills at making a lower cloak


And I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the results. Sure, it looks like he's wearing an old folks blankey to keep the chill off, but I surprised myself.


There were two main pieces, rolled out and then placed in place. I used a silicon tipped sculpting tool to press it into place, conforming around his armour and adding some simple creases and fold in some places. Some additional bits were added at the back, it looks messy but I'm hoping when it's altogether you won't really be able to see them so it's not too bad.


I then decided to magnetise the guns, which is a bit odd considering the Talonmaster will almost be an auto-include when it's complete alongside the rest of my Ravenwing.


Why on earth would I do such a thing? To be honest I don't quite know, but better to do it now than kick myself about it later. On the plus side, the twin assault cannons now pivot a bit too, which will make pics more dynamic.


These are my head choices, both knightly helmets, but the robed one for the master.


There's a certain symmetry to it that will help distinguish them yet further from a standard Land Speeder


These sorts of builds amaze me sometimes. In pictures not a lot appears to have happened. And yet, the amount of mental effort to get to this point, the fact I've had this model for 3-4 years and only just got to this stage. Of course I haven't been thinking about it constantly but even the simplest things require significant effort to progress. I have to acknowledge to myself that even this is massive milestone!

Thursday 28 January 2021

'nids 307 - Tyranid Void Shield Generator part 8

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity this couple got married 21 year's ago today! You won't believe what they look like now! Yes it's my wedding anniversary and I'm celebrating by sharing my #Tyranid Void Shield Generator.

 

When we left it last I'd surged ahead with some basecoats and washes, then took a step back with adding in some extra veins and then my Nurgle trio took over thanks to that 'setback' of sorts. But with the trio complete I did what I'd planned to do and did my Red Planet BASE!


Thankfully it still matches after all these year's of execution [maybe not some of the original bases]. Hopefully when my last 3 tubes of Vermillion Artists Craft Acrylic runs out I can source some more... Anyway, I also threw on some Army Painter Bonewhite for the bone areas.


And drybrushed vermillion everywhere that was fleshy. I also did a Bloodletter glaze on the centre bit.


Not 100% convinced of this just yet, but I need to be patient and recall the Skyshield was equally challenging at this stage and it was only some blue and purple added that gave me some extra depth and dimension to it.


So, thankfully I had the good sense to go back to that post to help me prepare to get through this stage. ordinarily I'd have just not bothered. Why on earth should I leverage a decade of my own hobby content to make my current hobby challenges easier? I can be so silly sometimes. 


So I gets me this season's Great Big Granite Big Build Base Stamp of Approval.



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. | 


Tuesday 26 January 2021

Blood Bowl - Nurgle Team Trio - TO DONE!

Remember my trio of Nurgle #BloodBowl players? You won't believe what they look like now! Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've started using 'clickbait' titles in my tweets, because that's how human's speak now! 😖


Sadly I think the lights have flattened some of the highlights on the orange a bit.


The pants in particular have a bit more going on, but maybe it's a victim of the texture that's going on in the 'cream' parts...?


I'm 2/3rds done with these now. Just 4 players left. 3 Rotters and a Pastigor. I may do the Rotters as a group and the Pestigor on its own.


This Bloater was an exploration in pale skin. I added a little more sepia in places from the last shots. That's probably more tones than I was going for, perhaps a blue might have been more interesting to tie in with the purples but it's Nurgle, nothing is ever truly wrong.  

 

 I'm pretty pleased with it, even if all that work on his feet got covered up! I also added some tar goop in his hands, as if he'd picked some up when falling over.

 

Exploring diseased yellow skin, I may name him Colman, he's pretty mustard!

 

And switching the pustule on the back to white, so they're more like fungal growths seemed like the sensible thing to do.

 

I've already completed the twin of this one. As mentioned I was a little disappointed as he was supposed to be grey but I've somehow managed to copy his twin.

 

There's very little difference between the two. I'm not a fan of his face, and again my effort haven't quite captured the detail but I can trot out the same excuse - it's Nurgle!

 

Here's the team so far. Still need to come up with a name. Maybe find a way to tie it in to my son's condition, maybe with the PXA initials after the name, like PSG. 



And so I gets me this season's Great Big Granite Minor Stamp of Approval, because I can.