Monday 21 February 2022

#DeathGuard #KillTeam First Plague Marine

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer Death Guard Kill Team. Technically my #NewYearNewArmy I was hoping to do something #Blanchitsu, very grimdark, the opposite of my usual high contrast saturated style. My Blood Bowl Nurgle Rotspawn is the inspiration. So I did due diligence and actually went back to my WiP post to follow how it was done. Now I didn't quite follow it, but at least I looked at it. Rather than go straight to MP Cream, I added VGC Heavy Red to the fleshy bits. With hindsight I'll do more basecoat colours in future.


But I hadn't decided on the colour of his skin or horny bits at this stage so the benefits of the red wash on his face weren't capitalised on, next time though. I picked up Vallejo Game Effect Dry Rust for the armour banding.


It's a slightly browner Typhus Corrosion, which I think works really well. Originally I'd wanted to do the Death Guard armour as if it was stained concrete. There were some pillars in Manchester going into a canal that started black, at the base, and went through this green to tobacco yellow, that would have been cool. But I liked the idea their armour was some mottled bleached skin, that was somehow tough.


I decided on Death Guard green for his face and added more sepia washes and picked out the yellow buboes on any tentacles.


Purple and green washes in places, I was just trying add more grime and tones.


And yet MOAR washes, with Heavy Red in places and then AP  Strong and Dark Tones.


There was a little debate with myself about the plasma coils, it couldn't be blue - too pure. Orange is my Dark Angels colour and turned off it would just look like rust. Red, would be OK, but there was already red on the model and I didn't want to confuse things. I was left with two options - purple or green, I;d eventually choose green. 


Finally, MP Cream highlights come in and in some respects the increased contrast suddenly felt like a backward step. It certainly looks more 'painted' now but I think perhaps the previous step was closer to Blanchitsu style. 


Some rust and weathering powders to add and finish off the base but this is almost complete at this stage.


I had hoped this would be a quick process and aside from the red bits in the first pic was probably a couple of hours work, maybe less. That is quick for me, but it still feels longer than it should. Hopefully, it'll get quicker as I go along, I was decision making which is always time consuming. I think I will be painting these one at a time going forward. A little palette cleanser between jobs, but knowing me I'll end up batching them in some way. I've a TO DONE! post next for this, so perhaps more in depth observations on something very different for me.

Thursday 17 February 2022

'nids part 332 - Tyranid Warriors - chitin 2

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on my #Tyranid Warriors. I'm up to 20 painting sessions to get to this stage, which I'm sure you're aware of because these posts appear endless, sorry. 


In my defence, I'm a slow painter, this is a significant batch job [for me] and some folk like the nid content - so enjoy it while you can, there isn't too much xenos on the To Do List lined up after this.


Once again reminded of how I could do really fine striations on my Trygon but not here. I'm using an Army Painter Insane Detail brush for this. Now I know brush size isn't always an indicator of the ability to do a fine stroke.


As Henry South covered in his blog [yes this will be part of Old Stuff Day], a size 1 brush with a fine tip can do just as fine lines as one with four hairs. But for some reason I just can't get that working either way. At the risk of sounding like a bad workman blaming his tools I think it might be the paint itself. 


The DecoArt Crafters Acrylic is awesome, but it doesn't thin well. It dries quickly and has a slightly rubbery intermediate drying stage. This means I possibly press harder than I should, which splays the bristles more. Thinning with water doesn't give me the coverage I want.


So, I'll look at alternatives and play around with some things in the future. Maybe I need to invest in a new quality brush or two as well? It's funny though, because I've done really fine lines with the cheapest of Taklon brushes.


They just lose their point eventually and then there's no hope for them. I have the Master's Brush Soap and Vallejo brush restorer liquid, but even so I never feel I'm doing a decent enough job of cleaning them, or cleaning them too much!


I'm convinced my continuous cleaning is probably doing more harm than good...


Oh, the Spore Mine too, yeah those individual plates look proper chonky with their highlights.


Not entirely sure how happy I am with this, it feel like there should be some of the dark blue on the plates, rather than just in the cracks. Honestly, what difference does it make though? It's one Spore Mine!


I didn't even want to paint it, I never use them, it was just hanging around getting in the way. As long as it's 'good enough' it'll do.

Tuesday 15 February 2022

'nids part 331 - Tyranid Primes - chitin 2

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on these #Oldhammer Tyranid Warriors, which I kitbashed into Tyranid Primes and painted 11 or 12 years ago. 2nd chitin highlights is always a milestone, even if I do chitin first and bone afterwards.


But in this case, chitin second, then there isn't so much to do, probably 25-30% of the model left. That's still a lot, but that's only because some of the details can be time consuming even if they don't represent the bulk of the model.


The reds are not a standard recipe, I wing it each time, which is why things are varied but at least these will all be similar. Black claws and talons will take a while too, because it's black, obviously. But I think my 4 original Warriors I can salvage their blacks, they'll only need tidying up and gloss varnish again.


The highlights on the black might be a little different because of it, but it's such a small part of the model I don't think it'll be too noticeable.


Still to add all the veins to the Lashwhips as well, that should be fun, a little experimentation on my nids for a change...

Thursday 10 February 2022

'nids part 330 - Tyranid Primes - chitin 1

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on these #Oldhammer Tyranid Warriors, which I kitbashed into Tyranid Primes and painted 11 or 12 years ago. Turquoise on the chitin for the 'big' guys. It's taken me 5 sessions [nights] to get all this done and suspect that means another 5 nights to do the 2nd set of highlights.


It's both a blessing and a curse to work out timescales like this. It's good to know how long things take but when you think there's probably another week of just turquoise it feels daunting. 


However, I think that's at least 75% done then. Reds, black, little bits, FX and tweaking the bases should be another week on top. SO about a month in total on these updates.


That feels like a really long time but actually 9 Warriors and 2 Primes is s significant amount of an army, all things considered. It probably took me longer to do my 11 Macragge Tactical Marines!


So, pushing on. I know this is a lot of posts and may seem tedious but just feel lucky you're not the one compelled to record it all, as well as paint it! 😉


Tuesday 8 February 2022

'nids part 329 - Tyranid Warriors - chitin 1

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on my #Tyranid Warriors. Coming off the back of how tedious I was finding the bone I'm now onto the turquoise chitin plates. I did adopt an 'outlining approach though. This is where I do the outer edges - they're the easiest to do as you can quickly identify what needs to be painted. Then I'll do the inner ridges.


I then subdivide it again, similar to how a ruler breaks down centimetres, then half, then millimetres. With the striations getting a little smaller as you work your way in. It means they end up with a uniformity to their markings, which is slightly unnatural but I can live with having a system helping me through the process.


Having done all the outlines, the 'inlines' feel a little more manageable to do. Another chunk, was getting the tails done. Again this was a fairly simple part to paint so it didn't feel to much like a chore. 


With each model having somewhat of a headstart it felt a lot easier to do the rest of the model. The head was surprisingly time consuming but the top carapace plates took the longest, because that's where there's more freedom in how the striations form.


The legs are also fiddly trying to get the top top plate which is usually hidden under a Deathspitter or weapon arm.


And lets not forget the front shoulder plates and any bits on their weapons. It's really weird how chunky these paint strokes have become. First highlight isn't so much of a problem, there'll be thinner marks inside these ones. But I look back at my Trygon and see finer paint strokes and I can't understand why.


I don't know whether it's me and my cack-handed painting, the paint itself or my brushes. I have a very old sable brush that has quite a nice point to it but I'm not sure it holds its shape the more you paint with it. The same goes for a number of cheaper brushes.


It's a little frustrating. I'm also a little paranoid about my dots now. I love them, it was an inspired choice when I added them, originally to my first Trygon but first discussed on my kitbashed Tervigon. I think I shared a pic on Reddit once and had some guy claim the 'dot-thing' was a fashion trend, because the coconut crab theme had just surfaced and everyone was jumping on it.


I tried to point out this wasn't that scheme [although sometimes I wish it was] and I'd been doing dots for years just to fill in empty space [mainly] on the carapace. They weren't having any of it though, apparently 'dots were a fad, that would eventually fall out of fashion and then I'd be stuck with this scheme'.


How they couldn't grasp that I'd never done it to be fashionable, so whether it was on trend or not was completely irrelevant. What was I going to do? Repaint my entire army [he says, repainting 9 Warriors... 😝]. And yet it still irks me that they planted that seed of doubt about something that I'm particularly proud I chose to do. However great this community is there are so many that suck big time. The world might be a better place if folk just remembered to follow Wheaton's Law.


Thursday 3 February 2022

'nids part 328 - Tyranid Warriors - bone 2

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on my #Tyranid Warriors. These were highlighted over 3 and a bit painting sessions [evenings] this is becoming quite the undertaking now. 


I've been keeping a record of my sessions, this is 9 sessions, not including build, prime, base, basecoat and washes. I'm definitely up to the task but the 9 Warriors and 2 Primes as a batch feels a little too much.


I think it drains too much motivation. It's like feathering the accelerator when you're driving - just enough gas to keep your momentum, rather than having to put your foot down and it drains your tank. 


It's frustrating because I have bags of desire to get all of these projects done, I just can't progress quick enough so I can consistently tick things off. That frustration can make things feel overwhelming with so much still to do, which then makes me want to take a break.


 Now, I know a lot of people advocate that if the hobby feels like work or a chore then it's not fun and you should stop doing it. Occasionally I agree, but also if I take a break I still have to come back to these at a later point and everything else has just been delayed that much more.


That said, with the bone complete it's turquoise next, then reds and blacks and finally all the details like teeth, eyes, random pink bits. Hopefully those won't be as time consuming as the bone and chitin as they take up less of the model.


Also, when I come to do the black highlights I'll be jumping back onto my Talonmaster to complete those bits too.


I just think it's handy to paint those things at the same time, just kicking myself I didn't get my Ravenwing Attack Bikes to that stage too, but then if I had all these Warriors would have been delayed to fit them in.


The funny thing is I actually have more time to paint at the moment, I'm just finding more things to do like playing Company of Heroes, after I finished Space Marine. That's one of the reasons I stopped computer games, because it wasn't that productive and then threw myself at the hobby. Now I'm using that distraction a way to not burn out, which is a help, but as explained, is also a hindrance. Nevermind, 'progress is progress'!


Tuesday 1 February 2022

'nids part 327 - Tyranid Primes - bone 2

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on these #Oldhammer Tyranid Warriors, which I kitbashed into Tyranid Primes and painted 11 or 12 years ago. I'm probably going to set my OCD off now, chronologically I did the 2nd bone highlights on the Primes, after the Warriors [next blogpost] but for some reason I want to post these first.


As you can see they are very pale, compared to what their original paint scheme was. You might just be able to see a subtle retention of that on the legs. I didn't go over the top with the second shading of strong tone, so they have more of a sepia tint lower down.


However, I probably do go over the top with the 2nd bone highlights, there's perhaps more of that shading and 1st highlight I could retain but I may get carried away. 


I don't know if they appear overly pale because the turquoise hasn't gone on. It presents as such a huge contrast with the dark blue. I'm comparing them to my most recent Warrior from last year and they appear no more pale, but the chitin does make him balanced a bit more.


Anyway, I was lucky these two highlights, alongside a Warrior were completed in one painting session, That was a slight speed increase on the first highlights - less thinking as I'd already laid down the areas perhaps. Maybe if I'd done less highlights second time around I could have boxed them off even quicker? I'm pleased with what I've done, but yet again I query how much I'm obscuring with my final highlight being too much. It doesn't matter really, they're going to be a marked improvement from their original scheme.