Sorry I’ve been so quiet people! I’ve been fairly busy these last few weeks and I’ve had little time to post.
I’ll be making that up today!
First is the final piece to my friend Dave’s commission; Inquisitor Karamazov. Years ago a good friend of mine Jeff painted this piece for his guard army. I hated that model then and I hate it still.
For clarification it’s not the model or it’s design I hate, it’s the excessive detail that gives me fits. This bastard has over 30 purity seals! Seriously?
Anyway, Dave knew that this model would give me fits and gave me all the time in the world to get him done. He then proceeded to use him on me in a game upon delivery. Jerk…
I received 2 additional units commissions from Dave, but they’ll have to wait a while, I’ve a Necron army to finish for NOVA! (More on this below)
After finishing Dave’s commission, I took a swing at the new scythe kit for the ‘Crons. I have to tell you, this was the EASIEST kit to put together. It’s like it was designed for the paint-then-assemble method that I use for this scheme.
And here’s the best part, the portal/Doom gun fit snugly in place with no need for magnets. So sweet.
Now if only those bases I ordered from Dragon Forge last night would arrive today so I can finish his base…
Finally, it’s time I stopped mucking around and geared up for NOVA. With my local hobby shop closed, I’m going to focus on getting this army and it’s display finished for NOVA.
It seems like, in the two weeks since the new Space Marine Stormtalon has come out, everybody’s got a conversion; whether that be an attack helicoptor, mechanised walker, or just a kitbash to make it look slightly less goofy.
After recently finishing the Forge World Stormeagle, which is in and of itself a phenomenal kit, I found myself in possession of a whole box worth of leftover Stormraven bits with which to repurpose the Stormtalon.
It didn’t take long to realize that the single biggest problem was the overall length, or lack thereof, of the Stormtalon’s fuselage. The tail boom was far too short and wound up giving the box-standard build a very compressed, almost cartoonish appearance.
I can only imagine that this was as a result of aesthetic limitations, rather than technical ones, since both the Ork Bommer and Necron Doomscythe are satisfyingly massive. Matters weren’t helped by the conspicuously underslung assault cannon turret and the weapon pods to either side. It would require a trip to the drawing board, for sure!
The first order of business was to tighten up the profile. Although the overall appearance is of a gunship, the Stormtalon is indisputably written as a dogfighter and it desperately needed to look more agile. This was accomplished by cutting down the turret and slinging the assault cannons directly under the chin, whilst simultaneously swapping the position of the wings, now canards, and missile pods.
In retrospect, I don’t think that swapping those components was strictly necessary, but it I’m satisfied with the outcome. If I had it to do over again, I may have tried to omit the wings, entirely, but the molded-on hardpoints on either side of the cockpit would then need to be cut down and smoothed over, instead.
The biggest change is to the tail boom, which was cut down at the panel line and removed, entirely. In its place is almost the entire tail from the aforementioned, orphan Stormraven, with some slight modifications to fit. The shape of the tail isn’t an exact match and, unfortunately, does give the appearance of having come from a significantly larger aircraft – but, on the whole, I’d say that it gives the Stormtalon just the right amount of displacement. If I had it to do over again, I’d probably spend more time trying to tie it more cleanly into the fuselage.
Also worth pointing out are the landing gear, originally integrated into the turret housing, now give the appearance of extending directly from the fuselage. I think this tends to be a bit more believable, since from an engineering perspective you’d want them tied in directly to the airframe. Having them come off the turret just seems silly, since it would effectively be supporting the weight of the entire aircraft when it’s on the ground – and, for that matter, how would it land after suffering a Weapon Destroyed result?
It’s fair to say that it’s the weakest of all three new flyers, this month, but that being said, I’m pretty pleased with the Stormtalon. Aesthetic considerations aside, t’s a well-engineered kit that fits together well out of the box. The studio has clearly learned a number of valuable lessons from its predecessors, the Valkyrie, Stormraven and Razorwing and has incorporated these lessons into the sprue.
Here’s the first of 3 Spiders I own. I really like the 60x100mm base I decided to mount them on. It really suits them. At least it does to me.
I also made a tutorial on painting my Thokt theme using this mini. I will work on drafting a video on how I did my immortals Les Bursley (Awesome Paint Job) style.
I have heard the masses crying out for a tutorial on how I painted my Necrons. Ask and ye shall receive! I just hope this makes sense…
Get this stuff!
Seriously, get this stuff!
First let’s talk primer. I started miniature painting about 14 years ago, and most of that time was using GW’s primer. At first GW’s line of primer and paints were varied and reasonably priced, but somewhere along the line they got this wild notion that they could charge whatever they wanted. So over the years I’ve watched their primer creep from $5 to $15.75 a can. What the hell is in it? Magic? My favorite part is how they claim their primer has been engineered to work with their line of paints. WTF?
I was brought to the light from a friend in a local Hobby Shop of the existence of an alternative and I’ve never looked back. Enter Krylon spray paints.
This stuff is amazing. Not only does it bind to both plastic and metal, but also it goes on flat. This is the most matte paint I have ever used, and it works perfectly for all my projects. It’s also $4 a can.
Here we have a spray paint that is both reasonably priced, durable as hell, and can be found almost EVERYWHERE. Did I mention it comes in 6 colors? And this is just scratching the surface of the products that Krylon produces. My Dark Eldar scheme uses their Fusion line.
Get this stuff.
Now that I’m done ranting let’s get down to business! I decided to use a Canoptek Spider for this tutorial so you can see the techniques I used on a larger canvas.
Paints used
Miniature Color Palatte:
VMC Black (70950) – Citadel Abaddon Black
VMC White (70951) – Citadel White Scar
VMC Sky Grey (70989) – Citadel Dawnstone
VMC Ivory (70918) – Citadel Ushabti Bone & White Scar
VGC Magic Blue (72021) – Citadel Kantor Blue
Base Color Palatte:
Citadel Scorched Brown (Rhinox Hide)
Citadel Calthan Brown (Mournfang Brown)
Citadel Dheneb Stone (Rakarth Flesh)
Step Zero
Step Zero
Step Zero – A nice even coat of primer. Make sure it’s not too humid outside so you don’t get that powered sand effect on your minis. I haven’t had that problem with the Krylon spray paints very often, but it can happen. Be carefull.
Step IStep II
Step III
Step I – I targeted all the glowing bits; cables, eyes, orbs, and leg joints with VGC Magic Blue. You can also use Citadel Enchanted Blue (Caledor Sky) as alternative. Don’t’ worry about staying within the lines. We’ll clean up later.
Step II – 1/1 mix of VMC White and VGC Magic Blue. Don’t completely cover up the previous shade. Leave a little behind for depth.
Step III – 10/1 mix of VMC White and VGC Magic Blue. I’m guesstimating here on the ratio as I normally just eyeball it. Just put some white down on your palate and add a slight tip-full of the blue. The aim is for a very pale white-blue. Mostly white.
Step IV
Step V
Step IV – Dheneb Stone for contrast. I use this color sparingly to break up the scheme. It usually takes 2-3 coats for full coverage over black. Make sure your paints are well diluted so you don’t lose detail.
Step V – Clean up phase. VMC Black was used to clean up my lines. I chose this black specifically because it is has a very matte finish, which syncs well with the flatness of the Krylon primer. You don’t have to use VMC paint here, but you will loose the effect if your paint is of a gloss or even satin finish.
Now for the step I assume everyone is looking for:
Step VI
Step VII
Step IV & VII – Edge highlights. VMC Sky Grey was painted onto all the hard edges of the model using the side, not the tip, of my brush. You’ll need a light touch to keep the line uniform but that’s it. Again, make sure your paints are well diluted so it goes on smoothly. You may need to apply two coats incase the line is not sharp. This technique is so easy you’ll kick yourself when you try it.
Step VIIIStep IX
Step X
Step VIII – Highlight all the hard edges of the mini. The mandibles were a little finicky, but just focus on the edges. Clean up with black as needed. The inner ring under the back plate was highlighted using the brush tip. That’s a tricky spot so use a light hand and again, clean up with black as needed.
Step IX – Adding detail. I went back and added some more glowing blue effects on the spots I felt could use some detail. Just reapply steps I-III as needed.
Step X – Edge highlight using VMC Ivory on Dheneb plates. Line highlight were added to the edges of the detail on the abdomen as needed.
And there you have it! My Tkokt paint scheme.
I try to create a video for this scheme. I will try to emulate Les Bursley’s brilliant tutorial style if I can. I’ve never made a video tutorial before so give me a little time to make sure I get it right.
I hope you found this helpful. Please leave me feedback so I can polish this tutorial for when I move to video.
Here are 2 additional models I’ve done for this project.
First, the Tomb Blade kit is a bit of a pain to put together. The crescent body requires 3 clamps to hold it together while gluing as the frames have warped somewhat on the sprue. This equates to about one body every hour, as I only own 3 clamps. I’ll pick up some extra clamps and finish building the unit this week.
Assembly aside, I like the way it turned out. When my thin acrylic rod arrives from Amazon, I’ll make some custom bases for the unit.
A Destroyer Lord. I have no idea when I’ll use this guy as I’ve come to love Crypteks way too much in game, but it just didn’t feel right not having one in a Necron army.
He’s a kit-bash from the Command Barge, Triarch Praetorian, and Destroyer kits. I used the wrist mounted Res-Orb design again and mounted him on one of my 40x60mm bases.
I’ll tell you what, I am so damn happy I made those bases for myself. Having a wide variety of base designs has really improved the look of this army.
So I’ve been trying to conceptualize my display tray for this Thokt project. After finishing that badass crystal formation on the Triarch Stalker base, I’ve had a mind to make it flat yet rocky.
Here are my questions
1. Should I stick to this crystal style?
Or should I branch out to other crystal formations? I’m thinking no as it would make the terrain around the army look too chaotic. The geometric fluorite crystals and the spire-like quartz crystals don’t match in my mind.
2. Since there are only two fluorite crystal formations available from Armorcast, the largest of the pair was used for the stalker; I can’t spam the same pair of rocks all over my display. I’ve been trying to find a viable alternative ‘stone’ to fill in the space. That said, what is your opinion on this base?
Here it is again next to the fluorite structure. I’m thinking this could work but additional eyes are always helpful.
3. I was brainstorming on additional detail I could add to the display and came up with this:
This is just a small fissure to see how the colors would interact. I would be scaling this up for the display. While it’s not bad, I don’t think it works. What do you guys/gals think?
4. Lastly, I’ve built the three Spiders I intend to include in my display. I made a trio of 60mm bases to mount them on, but there’s a problem;
Unacceptable!
Their Canoptek asses hang off the back!
I’ve been debating on basing them on a 60x100mm round. Since the spiders are packaged with flying bases (not a fan), I figure I can base them on anything I want as long as it’s not smaller.
I think it looks good! Since the spiders are oblong, this base style fits them perfectly. What’s the consensus?
Let me know what you all think! Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!
I’ve been working on this project, but lax in my content posting. Sorry about that people!
So the new kits have been out for 2 weeks now and man are they awesome! I’ve been having a blast with these new models while I try to pin down what I want to bring to NOVA (That’s right, I’m going this year!)
Here’s part 1 of the new stuff!
The new wraith kit is amazing. Not only do these new models look good, they aren’t that hard to build. My only complaint is they kind of look like giant robotic prawn. They will be a joy to paint when I complete the unit.
And then we have this beauty. The Stalker is hands down my favorite kit out of the necron line so far. Mike suggested I mount it on a 150mm round base from Dragon Forge, and it was a brilliant suggestion. I added a resin fluorite mound from Armorcast and painted it in my army colors.
I’ll likely be getting another of these this weekend…
That’s all I have for now. The WIPs of the Spiders and Tomb Blades will be posted shortly.
I had a build-a-thon with some friends this weekend and here’s what I made:
I’m really fond of this Cryptek design, I can’t wait to see them painted.
I also hammered out a new Overlord to replace the resin one that broke. I like this style even more then the first. While I enjoy painting Res Orbs, the concept of physically carrying them around on the battlefield did not work for me. I spotted this design on CMoN (Cool Mini or Not) last week and had to steal it. A wrist mounted Res Orb, made from a whittled down voidblade, is much more functional for swinging around a Warscythe.
I’m going to start on the Stalker this week. Shouldn’t be hard to finish.
Here’s some more Thokt goodies I’ve finished this week. I have to say I grow fonder of this paint scheme with each mini finished.
First up, I’ve finished 8 more immortals. That’s 12 done out of the 32 I have built. Not bad, but still quite a bit to do.
Next up I finished the Deathmark unit I started a while back. They not only look good finished, but these bastards really can pack a punch on the tabletop. That is before they are blasted off of the table by returning fire…
Next the Overlord I was picking at. After several weeks looking at him I thing I’ll be leaving the rusted color on him to add a serious distinction between him and the standard foot troops. The warm colors of the rust really stand out as a nice contrast.
Finally here’s a Heavy Destroyer conversion I’ve had sitting around for the about a month. I really was not to fond of how the tesla cannon (A. Barge kit) looked attached to the destroyer chassis. Friends at the store I frequent liked it and told me it would come together after it was painted, and I’d be damned if they weren’t right! I love the look of this thing!
That’s all for now. I need to build some more Crypteks. Can’t have enough of those! I’ll also fashion a new Overlord from the A-Barge/Praetorian kits. The Finecast one I had broke last weekend. (>_<)
I won’t be making anymore Finecast purchases.
More to come as I progress.
Shawn G. (SoI)
Sorry for my silence lately. A combination of work and school over the last few weeks has cut into my hobby time. Here’s what I’ve been picking busy with.
First, I finally finished my Doomsday Ark. I really like this kit. I thing it’s the largest 40k model I’ve ever worked on and next to the Tomb Stalker the most complex. That said, this will likely be the last Ark I work on for a LONG while.
Next, I’ve been replicating my Tomb Spider replacements. They look good as a collective. I will probably end up keeping them unless GW releases a multiple model PLASTIC kit. A nice multi-model plastic kit that makes Spiders or Wraiths would be damn sweet. Screw Finecast. Seriously…
Finally I’ve been cranking out scarabs like mad. The initial batch looks good painted. 5 down, 35 to go…
I’ll be focusing on my troops for a while. It’s best to get the irritating repetitive stuff out of the way so you can enjoy the single sexy units.
