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A bit of hunting around up in the loft this morning has had me stumped as to where I’ve stashed away some of my old 40K miniatures and vehicles. I know I’ve got a few more vehicles somewhere!:hmmm:

 

I did come across these.

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Part of my first ‘Space Wolves’ army made and painted back in 1987 by a sixteen year old me. I was slightly tempted to strip and redo them, but I’ll leave them as they are as a memento of my teens.:D

 

A bit more done on the Dreadnought. I’ve used a wash of Citadel ‘Nuln Oil’ on the metallic parts, and started to paint in the various details.

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I’m still in two minds as to whether to do the ‘edge highlighting’ because (a) I’m not that good at it, (b) I’ve never done it on my ‘normal’ models, and (c) I still don’t think I like the look of it.

 

Mart

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Mart, I think you're looking at trying to place value on a journey versus it's destination. I'd base my decision on what's more important to me.

 

It's fun to try new techniques. If you're painting the Dread for the sheer enjoyment of the act, then by all means try edge highlighting, it'll be a blast! If the journey is what you enjoy, then risking the model not quite working out the way you'd like is a small price to pay.

 

However, if you're doing this for the satisfaction of a well finished model, you risk a lot going away from the methods you know will deliver the visual result you're after. If the destination matters, it makes sense to follow roads that you're sure will get you there. Your vehicle and robot models have a superb finish and a recognisable, individual style. I'm keen to see how they'd look on a Dreadnought.

 

I think your decision should come down to what you'd enjoy more- trying something different, enjoying the possibility that it might all go horribly wrong, or applying all the skills you've acquired to craft the best possible result.

 

Good luck either way! 🙂

Edited by Mike
Removing unnecessary photo quote from the post above.
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Gosh, what a wonderful reply @oileanach, and a simple ‘like’ or ‘thanks’ really doesn’t do it justice.

 

1 hour ago, oileanach said:

If you're painting the Dread for the sheer enjoyment of the act, then by all means try edge highlighting, it'll be a blast!

:thumbsup2:

Cheers Mate! You’ve convinced me, and I’ll probably go down this road. Every model I’ve ever made has been for the enjoyment value, some never crossed the finish line, some ended up at the back of the shelf, but all have been a mix of enjoyment and learning. It’s always been a fun hobby for me, and the simple act of sitting down and concentrating on a square foot of workbench for a few hours now and then has an almost cathartic effect on me.

 

The weird thing is that most of the time I don’t really care for my finished result. Many of the models I’ve made over the years have been almost instantly forgotten once they’ve been plonked on the shelf (other than the occasional cleaning/dusting), or as you put it, it’s the journey not the destination that I value and enjoy.

 

New techniques and playing around are part of that enjoyment, earlier in the thread I wrote that “this could all go horribly wrong” as I slapped water and salt all over it (I’ve used that technique before, but the results can be entirely random!). It turned out reasonably ok, but I learnt that I should have crushed the salt up slightly finer to achieve the look that I envisioned. Not a problem, I had a bit of fun and I’ll work with the result I got, and remember for next time.

 

Although I’m painting these up to (hopefully) look good in my eyes, they’re still all gaming figures little more than chess pieces, and I’ll need to find a happy medium between ‘time spent’ and ‘result’ if I’m ever going to paint up an entire army of them. The plan is to eventually have roughly 100 Marines plus a few vehicles. Hmmm, I can see my ‘normal’ modelling going on the back burner for quite some time!:lol:

 

I wrote in the first post that I’ve never really considered myself a figure painter, so this entire adventure is one big learning curve for me, new techniques and all!

 

Mart

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1 hour ago, GMK said:

Out of curiosity, how deep/high are your figure bases?

The plain black ones I’ve used in the past are bog standard Games Workshop bases, the smaller size ones for the Marines are 4mm high and the larger base that I’ll use for the Dreadnought is 5mm high. The newer bases from GWs ‘Sector Imperialis’ base set with moulded on details are about 5mm.

 

Mart

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19 hours ago, GMK said:

Thanks! Now I can scale a base for my big fella. 

You’ll need to decide whether you want the old style classic 25mm round base or the newer 32mm base for your Big Geezer.

 

Space Marines used to be based on the 25mm round ones, but are now sold with 32mm ones. I’ve decided to rebase all my old figures to 32mm purely due to aesthetics.

Measurements for the old style are 25mm diameter base, 22mm diameter top and 3.3mm high. The new ones are 32mm base, 29mm top and are 4mm high.

 

Mart

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Thanks! I’m going to mock them up with paper & see which works best. The problem I have is that I don’t know how much bigger than a gaming miniature this’ll be. How high/tall are your generic marines? 28mm? 33mm?

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That blue is looking really good. I used to hate the look of edge highlighting but I'm totally in love with it now. It's daft! I'd also say it's like most fashionable techniques, in that it's all about increasing the perception of contrast and sharpness at the expense of just about everything else - so there are good reasons not to do it :)

 

FWIW it can work well with chipping applied over the top, as it breaks up the edge and stops it from looking excessively tidy.

 

Love the old-school Space Wolfs by the way, I'm glad you've chosen to keep them as a memento of the time!

 

W

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21 hours ago, GMK said:

How high/tall are your generic marines? 28mm? 33mm?

I’ve measured up a few of them and came out at an average of 32mm high from bottom of foot to top of helmet. The GW plastic Marines all have a slightly squatting pose unlike your Big Fella, so I’d probably add a millimetre or two to match your pose.

 

Had a go at the edge highlighting malarkey.

XDDgyNm.jpg

 

Not too bad a result, but I definitely need a bit more practice at it. Cheers again to @Will Vale for suggesting using acrylic inks, I mixed a bit of Liquitex neutral grey ink with some of my base colour of Vallejo 091 to get a light blue. The thinner ink/paint is much easier to go along the edges than paint alone.

 

Mart

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I’ve made a start on the bases for the Marines. Games Workshops ‘Sector Imperialis’ 32mm round bases and ‘Sector Mechanicus’ 32mm industrial bases, and a larger 65mm base for the Dreadnought.

I added a few bits and bobs to tart them up, wire, tubing, sand and a few nuts, bolts and screws from a spectacle repair kit. A couple of the skulls from Games Workshops ‘Skulls’ boxset* were added here and there for extra Grim Darkness.

sICLA0N.jpg

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Sprayed with a tin of Poundland Matt black car spray which came out more of a satin finish and is fairly ‘hot’ etching itself into the plastic quite nicely to act as a primer.

 

 

Mart

*The irony of Games Workshop releasing a box of skulls is not lost on me.:lol:

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Stynylrez white sprayed from above concentrating mainly in the centre of the bases.

IpOQKYp.jpg

 

Initial coat of wash on certain features to colour them up a bit, followed by a liberal sloshing of various darker washes all over.

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I’m now at a stage where I can start painting in various details to make them stand out a bit, but I think I’ll refrain from using a metallic drybrush as I quite like the look I have already.

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I still need to add some more rust washes and pigments as I’m trying to go for a Martian rusty and grubby industrial feel in the hope that the orange/rust colours will complement the blue of the armour on the Marines.

 

Mart

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Bases look great, your additions work well and make them a bit more unique. I've just bought a box of these for some Killteam models and will be attempting something similar (eventually!)

 

W

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Cheers Will but I do feel like a bit of a fraud, as much like the heads I painted earlier it’s the washes that do all the work and it feels like cheating!:lol:

 

I really must use these Citadel washes more often in my normal modelling, and I’d recommend them to any modeller of any genre.

I’ve got a set of the Vallejo acrylic washes which I’d hoped would be similar to the Citadel ones, but they’re nowhere near as good. The Citadel ones dry with no tide lines whatsoever, the only downside being that unlike oil washes they’re permanent once dry.

 

Mart

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  • 2 weeks later...

I hit a stumbling block when it came to applying the decals onto the shoulder pads of the Marines.

 

Although the Games Workshop decals are commendably thin, the shoulder pads themselves are curved enough to be a right pain in the bum getting them to snuggle down without creasing.

Micro Set and Sol were used using a damp cotton bud to roll and stretch the decals into shape and after a few choice swear words, I had a reasonably snug finish. To get rid of some of the more obstinate creases I brought out the big guns and used some Daco decal solution to surprisingly little effect.

 

As a last resort I dug out a bottle of Vallejo alcohol based ‘Decal Medium’ which I had dismissed as useless in the past. The effects were a bit of a shock, as it looks like the Vallejo solution has apparently melted the decal carrier film and left a matt finish over the decals. Or it could just be that the matt finish has hidden any remaining creases. Either way, Result!:D

 

OLQ8HXr.jpg

QrB7Lkk.jpg

 

Mart

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Vallejo, you say? :hmmm: I have a hankering for Raven Guard. My RG transfers just won't co-operate with anything I've used so far- I usually resort to cutting the excess off the transfer, which helps a bit, but the result still doesn't bear up under close inspection. Might have to send some biz SnM's way! :D

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On 8/13/2018 at 8:20 PM, GMK said:

Thanks! I’m going to mock them up with paper & see which works best. The problem I have is that I don’t know how much bigger than a gaming miniature this’ll be. How high/tall are your generic marines? 28mm? 33mm?

And FYI the newer Primerus Marine I have just painted is 38mm from base of foot to top of his helmet.

 

Decal looking good and the bases are fantastic.

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On 9/10/2018 at 2:15 AM, oileanach said:

My RG transfers just won't co-operate

I’m really not sure what’s going on with the Vallejo Decal Medium? It seems to work wonderfully on the GW decals I’m using, but I’ve tried it out in the past on Airfix decals with little effect (probably just an error between my chair and the workbench?).

 

Nowadays, it would seem that unless you’re doing Ultramarines, GW have you by the short and curlies when it comes to doing other chapters markings. Fortunately, I’ve still got a few of the older decal sheets with Crimson Fist markings and I’ve started playing around with some blank decal paper to print off more if needed. Just my luck that Forgeworld no longer have their Crimson Fist decal sheet available.:(

(Forgeworld is the name for GW’s in-house (£££) aftermarket bits and bobs https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-GB/FW-Home)

 

 

On 9/10/2018 at 10:00 AM, rockpopandchips said:

And FYI the newer Primerus Marine I have just painted is 38mm from base of foot to top of his helmet.

The new Marines do make the old classic ones look a bit on the dumpy side.:lol:

 

 

Other than applying some squad markings to a few of the lads, I’ve got very little done. They still need tidying up and edge highlighting, as well as some wear and tear weathering.

mNuj5bM.jpg

"Get on the ready line, Marines, get some today! Get on the ready line! Move it out! Move it out, goddammit! Get hot! "

 

I have however been hitting ebay for some spare parts to dress up the remaining figures in the stash, as well as adding some reinforcements in the form of some of the older armour equipped ‘Heresy Mark IV’ Marines to perhaps use as the veteran first squad.:hmmm:

 

 

I’ve still got this silly idea of making a full ‘Battle Company’ of a hundred Marines. Mostly using the smaller classic Marines, but with a few of the newer larger Primaris ones mixed in. Not sure if this’ll fit in with the background of the Crimson Fists or not? (The established GW history has most of the Crimson Fists being wiped out during an Ork invasion of their homeworld.)

 

The normal (Codex Astartes:pipe: ) layout of a Battle Company consists of ten squads of ten Marines, plus a command squad and troop carriers. Squads 1 to 6 are ‘Tactical’ Battleline squads consisting of a Sergeant and nine troops. Squads 7 and 8 are Close Combat Squads equipped with jump packs and close combat weapons. Squads 9 and 10 are the heavy weapon Fire Support Squads. I’ll also slot in a couple of scout squads and of course the bikes that I’ve already started on.

I’d better clear some space on a shelf for that lot!:D

 

Mart

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

Disengage warp drive and prepare for real space transition in….

3

2

1…

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Yet again, I’ve spent very little time over the past few months actually modelling. Although, I’ve certainly not stopped buying various bits and bobs off ebay and the occasional splurge on the GW website £££:blush:. What had started as an exercise to finish off old unmade figures and vehicles has ended in adding even more stuff to an ever growing pile of shiny new GW plastic crack!

 ‘It’s not an addiction, I can give it up at any time!’:D

 

There were a few times when my workbench looked like an abattoir with various body parts strewn around.

uTASbkZ.jpg?1

 

I bit the bullet and finally decided to go for a battle force at the time of the ‘Declates Crusade’ which involved both the Crimson Fists and the Black Templars working together in mixed squads.

“Both his gauntlets were crimson; he’d served time in the Crusade Company among the best of the best, and on the knee of his armour, a Black Templar cross was proudly displayed. The Declates Crusade, when the Templars and the Fists broke ranks to fight in mixed units, was a point of great honour for both Chapters.” ‘One Hate’ by Aaron Dembski-Bowden (one of the better Games Workshop authors IMHO).

 

The Black Templars are another one of my favourite Marine Chapters. Even amongst hate filled xenophobic genetically modified super soldiers, they take some beating. ‘No Pity, No Remorse, No Fear!’ (They even chain their weapons to their wrists!) Adding a few Templars to my force of Crimson Fists allows me to use up some of my old bits of plastic, and will add some variety to an otherwise dark blue army.

 

The GW Templars upgrade set and some MkIII Marine armour gives a nice look of ‘Knightly Crusaders’ compared to the relatively cleaner look of the Crimson Fists. Some of the poses are a bit goofy looking, but I had fun mixing the different parts from various kits. The GW kits are fairly well designed allowing you to use components from different sets to achieve the look you want.

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Undercoated with my new best friend – Hycote matt (well, matt-ish) black.

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On the down side, by doing a ‘Declates Crusade’ force I won’t be able to mix in any of the newer larger Primaris Marines. The established GW back story time-line would have this as being the equivalent of having an F-35 JSF flying in the Battle of Britain! On the plus side, the Declates Crusade was fought against the Orks! And gives me a wonderful excuse to model some Orky goodness for the Marines to fight against. WAAARGH!:clap2:

cn26UC9.jpg

 

I’ve got a few days off over Christmas, so I’ll continue rescuing some of my old (and new) GW paints and transferring them to dropper bottles, and hopefully actually get some proper painting done!

W4aMM07.jpg

 

For any 40K aficionados reading: I’m assuming that Declates occurred before the Rynn’s World incident when the Chapter was still at full strength and if/when I ever play the actual game again the Templar element of the force will just use standard Crimson Fist rules rather than Templar ones.

 

Mart

Pu1CSBk.png

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  • 4 months later...
16 hours ago, DalekCheese said:

Done any ‘Orky Goodness’? (Waaagh!)

:blush:

Nope!

I’ve absolutely not seen tons of Orky stuff in this Imperial Sector recently; I believe they’re all on the planet Vigilus on a massive Speedwaaagh! Being led by Krooldakka.

 

bkdA0zy.jpg?1

 

Neither have I spent what little modelling time I have sticking together and converting lots of the little buggers!

 

YH5muwP.jpg?1

 

RvfBi87.jpg

 

:D

Mart

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