Models of the week

Yet another week has passed and I have managed to get some more models done. This time it is the last of the Skitarii vanguard, the Alpha and a Kataphron. Even though I feel like I have no time for hobby stuff I actually manage to get somethings done which is very pleasing. All in all there is not much to say about these two, the color palette is the same as on the rest of my mechanicum stuff, so it is just the same recipe. I must say that I kind of like the Katapron, initially I did not like the idea of the mechanicum using tracked vehicles, in my opinion they should all be walkers, that being said I really like the model and the level of detail. Sadly the mono-pose character of the models make painting more a bit of a bore. GW really needs to learn how to make multi pose models and still retain the level of details. I understand that it is easier to sculpt a complete model, were the parts only need to fit one pose, but for re-build-ability it is better with multi part kits with interchangeable parts.

I have also started to put some GS down on Varangian. Here the trick is to go slow and only do a few pieces at a time. Both so that you don't put your fingers on the things you just sculpted, but also to not over do it in one go. Less is more, you have to find the balance. And then off course it is always good to do multi layering with GS as it is much easier to get a good level of detail and depth that way.

Progress report

This week has like many other gone to fast. I have however managed to get some things done. It was the last week with the 3D printer so I some time printing duplicates of the knights interiors, some parts for Opus Magna and a crown for Varangian. The crown then got some plastic teeth cut form plasticard. But that is not all, I also assembled the last of the Skitarii that I painted over the last couple of trips away from home, and I managed to paint two models in one session, a Custodian and a Dark Angel. So all in all a productive week, at least compared to a lot of other weeks.

Varangian neck chain

Time is flying but sadly my progress with Varangian is not. It is a quest of patience as I need to let my ideas mature. This week I wanted to add a neck chain, hanging between the side armor plates below the head. I have always had the idea to add something like this, either as sculpted emblems on the armor or as a physical chain. But I was not sure exactly how to do this. So it has been bouncing around in my head for a while. Then I came up with the idea that I wanted to try to print something more complex with the 3D printer and also challenge my self a bit with what I can do in CAD. So I decided to make a chain, much like order's chains, with some massive plates held together with links, and to make it as one piece. So after a few hours in front of the PC and a few more hours in the printer I have a fully functioning chain, made all in one piece. I have also added a stand in for another idea that I have, to add a throne crown to the head. None of the pieces shown will be used but it gives a hint of what to expect. I am also thinking about skipping the neck armor and mount something else in the void. This way the head will be the center piece of a circular opening instead of being hidden beneath layers of armor. This gives it a more aggressive look in my opinion.

Once again I have tried my hand at painting Space Wolves. And it seams that what ever I do they turn blue. I have been painting Space Wolves since before there were any chapter specific models. My first versions were really dark blue, dry brushed up  to something reminiscent of a blue gray using the "The Fang" and "Fernrisian Grey" or what ever they were named in the 90ths. Not surprisingly they turned up blue. Then later on I tried to paint a darker scheme, using black ink instead of the blue and adding in some "Dawn Stone" and "Administratum Grey", but still ended up with a blue grey color. So when I bought the prospero box I decided that I would paint the charters up as what they are instead of doing some home brewed paint scheme. The models are far to nice to do that. So this time I decided to skip out on the blue gray "Space Wolves" colors and just stick to, Dawn stone, Administratum, white scar and nuln oil. These are pure grays, in a black and white grey scale, so they should yield a slate grey pre heresy color. And it still looks blue grey. Butting the different models next to each other reveal almost no difference...  so what ever I try I end up with blue grey Space Wolves.

Varangian WIP

I finally got some time with my Titan over the weekend. Managed to glue on the arm studs (still needs pinning) even though it almost ended in disaster as one of them came off before the glue cured. Luckily it came almost completely off so I could remove it, without damaging the model, and re-glue it. I am also playing around with magnetization of the major shields. I am not happy with how they are sitting as I can not quite manage to get the magnets to connect correctly to the iron washers on the shields. Then I also got to address one of the more stupid things with the model, the toe plates. I can not understand their function. In any real application they would be broken of the moment the titan stepped into some rubble as they are just hanging from the foot ring and would get caught as the titan set its foot down . I am not relay sure what they are protecting either as the steel in the foot ring would be much thicker than these any way, and there is noting beneath them that seams worth protecting otherwise. As it is they will just act as ramps for any infantry, leading up into the vulnerable pistons of the foot. Well as a nod to the old turtle backs I decided that they might actually look good as some pendants hanging form the underside of the main shoulder carapace. Sadly one of the few things I did not get doublets of with this kit was the toe plates, so there are only 8 and one would need 10 to make it with the same distances both back and front. Instead I decided to try to put a pair of main shields on the edges at the back as I have two set (one form each head). To hold everything in place I whipped up some holders in CAD and printed them, taking advantage of the 3D printer I have on lone. Talking about 3D printing, the air intakes I made earlier really fits the titan and helps bring the back up over the head, giving it a more aggressive look. I am also thinking about adding some armor around the lower back area were the entrance platform is. I got some extra biceps guards that I might use, but I need to add the rib armor first and see how they would connect and if it would look any good. Well all in all it is shaping up and I might actually get the torso built to Christmas. Then I can spend the holidays assembling the legs and making the base.

Custodes and Sister of silence

I just picked up the Burning of Prospero box and just had to build and paint a Custodes and Sister of silence. These are insanely detailed models and great fun to paint. If this is the future of plastics I will not miss resin at all. I went for a bit of an unconventional color scheme as I thought that just making them pure gold would look a bit flat. So instead I went for my trusted recipe of worn white metal as a base and then painted the shoulder pads, graves and plates in gold. It still looks like an golden armor but you can also see the under laying layers. I am pretty happy with these, especially as I painted them at the same time in about four hours, which for me is a bit of speed painting.

General WIP, knights, warlord and cult mechanicus

This week has been very hectic with me spending the whole week away from home. But I have managed to squeeze some hobby time in. Mostly I have raced to do as much as possible with the 3D printer as I will have to give it up soon. One thing was to re-do the cockpit for the knights. This time I did it as a one piece to get a better fit bet ween the components. Sadly I managed to get some of the measurements wrong when I re-did it. First I managed to get the height of the dividing wall wrong so it did not fit into the knight torso, and I also managed to get the seat to narrow so the pilot did not fit. After some remodeling and quite a lot of swearing (as I had not set up the model for this kind of editing) I managed to fix these two things, just to realize that I also managed to place the dashboard to far back, so the pilot still wont get into the seat, which means one more, and this time really substantial re-modeling again. But at least I now have the basic form down, and if I only can get the front right I might call it on this one and print a few for the future.








One other thing I tested was to make some air intakes for my warlord. It almost looks like the model is missing something on the front of the cooling ducts on the back. The small round air intakes look a bit small, and when examining the model one can actually see that there are some cross-members extruding from the air intakes that are ending with a chamfer that actually lines up to a plane. So by adding some flat pieces to the sides one can get a nice fit to them. As I noted before, printing flat surfaces are not a good idea with the 3D printer as they turn up striped. So I decided to just print the borders for some intake covers and then glue them onto some smooth plasicard. I think this turned out very nice and I like the look of the cooling ridges with these air intake covers. Just need to print another set and make me a second one.



I have also been fielding around with some green stuff on the insides, mostly filling in gapes etc so there is not much to see at the moment. I have also worked a little on the weapon servitors, were they are getting attached to some wires etc.

Doing all these things in a short time is actually quite stressful, so to relax I painted a mechanicum electro priest. So all in all I have not done much but a little on many things.

When putting models next to the War Lord torso one realizes that it is actually not much bigger than a standard building.