Showing posts with label I Hate Right Hands. Show all posts

Yes, finally the 303rd. They sat on the shelf comfortably for a while now, so it's about time to show my last veteran squad.


A word of warning. I have applied matt varnish to them, as I have done with all the Guard minis... Except this time it didn't want to be matt. After two coats, I gave up. Funnily enough, I varnished the metal Rune Priest with the same varnish and there was no gloss at all.

These are... slightly glossy. I was quite annoyed, but thankfuly it doesn't show that much.

They still look quite good I guess and I would be really happy with them if not that accident. Especially since they were the first Guardsmen I painted since quite a while... But enough me ranting, pictures!

Three standard poses. I really ran out of original ideas after two squads. Since they looked slightly bland with just rebreathers (and shotguns) as their main unique points, I decided to add a couple of litanies, 302nd style.

Run-by-shotgun-in-the-face, Mr. Sir I Have A Tactical Map For you and Charge'em! men.

And another three. Glasses with rebreathers look awesome. And I could use the standard sergeant head again and it isn't so obvious, thanks to the reabreather! Only in the middle I noticed the ammo case contains lasgun batteries and they've got shotguns. Oops. So I had to paint it differently.

Finally the sarge himself. A tough guy, with a little aristocratic look in him. He needs no pansy rebreather. Or a helm, for that matter.

So, what do you think? This is the last veteran squad I'll ever be making, so it's more-or-less the official end of the long-standing IHRH series. Wow, it took a while!

And a little something, that doesn't warrant it's own post. 302nd's new Chimera

Those new Chimeras are nice, but there's like, nowhere to put stowage on. I guess it's good, since I'm running low on the remnants of the old Accessory Sprues...



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What is this? A new post?! Cannot be! Yes, it can! I found my camera, found its charger and finally found some time to post something. There's an exam session going on here right now, but once it's over, expect a flow of posts, both about Guard and the Wolves (And not just regular SW models, you'll see...). But first, the tutorial I promised a while back!

Truth to be said, this one is quite simple and short, however I think someone might find it useful. It is part of IHRH series as it's focusing on IG veterans, once more! This time, how to make your very own strapped weapons, just like the single lasgun available both in FW upgrade pack and the Cadian CS. Without further ado, let's begin!

You're going to need:

• A lasgun arm (even if you're not doing a lasgun!), one of those "wide" ones, like below

• The weapon itself
• A little bit of green stuff

The first step is to cut out the lasgun, like shown below. It's easier to first cut out the weapon leaving the butt and cut it out later.

Be careful not to damage the trigger finger! Now, take the weapon you want to fit. The picture shows a lasgun, and I'll go through with it, being the most popular weapon people will attach. My veteran however, is getting a shotgun.


Now you need to cut off a little bit of the back of the shoulder. The picture perhaps doesn't show exactly how, but it'll be clearer with the next.


Now attach the lasgun to the gap you've made. It is important to have the lasgun at the same level, or below, as the part of the arm that's attached to the model, else you will have problems attaching the arm. Make sure the lasgun "sinks" a little bit into the shoulder.


That's how it looks, with a shotgun, glued to the model. Glue yours too, it's very hard to do the next step without that!


Now roll a single strap from the green stuff and cut it in half.


Take one half and attach it first to the butt of the weapon (or wherever you feel it's best, but that's how FW has done it). You can make a small cut on it there, which, when painted metal, will server as a sort of a clasp. Then attach the other end just below the extended finger. That's why it was important not to damage it! Be extra careful now, we want a smooth strap there, no cuts!

Do the same with the other half, but instead attach it above. If you are having problems attaching a smooth strap to the hand, use a little bit of superglue to make it stick, rather then pressing hard with your knife, tool, whatever.

And that's it! Simple, eh? This is how a finished and almost-painted model looks like:

And that's it! I hope you liked it and will find it useful. The IHRH column on the right will be updated for easy navigation to the article.

What will the future bring? First it's going to be the Numerical Methods test and Assembler Languages exam. Wish me luck!

But afterwards, there's one tutorial for Space Wolf players, a lot of new HQs for that, some tactical rambling... For the Guard there's Psyker Chimera, the 303rd and myself considering getting one of those new Leman Russ kits. See you soon!



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At last, here it is. After fighting a battle with the Chaos God of Internets that denied me access to it, I finally managed to break through and write this post. I know there are a few of you, oh dear readers, who waited for this, so without more delay - the 302nd Veteran Squad of 42nd Cadian!


As usual, starting with a group shot. Or two.




As you can see, the squad is totting melta guns. It also has a distinct lack of purity seals compared to the 301st. The reason for that is actually quite simple. I ran out of them, but ordered more from a bits store. I really like the look of SM purity seals on guardsmen, so didn't quite make my own. However when the order arrived it got misplaced. It was done together witha friend of mine and he left it in our local store for me to pick up.. And apparently it got lost with the load of stuff they have out there.

With the lack of purity seals I decided that it might even be for the better. I will come up with some other feature and each squad will have it's own distinctive element! Have I achieved my goal? You decide, when you watch further closeup shots after clicking below.


Here is the sarge. Not a sergeant, sarge. Just look at his expression. I just love that head (coming from the Cadian Command Squad sprue) with the cigar. I just wish I made him modular, so that he could hold a Power Fist instead of that pistol. *cough* Oh well.



The special weapon... specialists. Three meltagunners. The left one you should be already familiar with and the right one is the metal Cadian meltagunner. The one in the middle is a little homage to the 301st and certain plasma gunner. Only he has a bigger knife!



And the "regular" vets. There always has to be one kneeling, eh? The middle vet wasn't always a veteran actually. He was originally meant to act as a guardsman in a Platoon Command Squad, but since the loadout of that squad changed significantly he was suddenly unemployed. I though not to waste the model with FW parts and after small repaint (covering hte gold pieces pretty much) he's a veteran now. If only I hadn't ruined his face, sigh! The right one might be least inspiring of the vets, but take a look at his pistol! Did you know that, according to The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer, each guardsman is equipped with an auto pistol? It would be quite fun to have that in-game, though I suppose that'd make us mini-marines.



And the last three. The left one is my all-time favourite, another excellent head from the Cadian CS. It's not as detailed as the bare head from the FW pack, but still looks mighty fine. The middle vet is funny. It's a first time I finally got to use that las-carbine you get on vehicle accessory sprue. Ironically, I always assumed it's a pistol and tried to use it as such with no luck. Only recently I've seen what exactly does the Steel Legion carry. I think it fits rather well, hes wounded so can't carry a regular lasgun, but a shorter, more compact carbine fits just right in one hand! And lastly the vet on the right, who is something of a squad medic. I wish vets could take medics, maybe as one of their doctrines (the cost is even the same). Perhaps it wouldn't be that good, but it'd definitely have a cool feel about it. Still, it's impossible, so he doesn't really do anything special game-wise, but he's just carrying a medic backpack and has fancy bags and equipment.



And that's it. I wodner if you caught the "defining feature". Perhaps not, as it did end up less obvious than I though. Still, it's the litanies written over their armour and weapons, kind of SM-esque. It does look quite good, but doesn't stand out like the Purity Seals.

Now, I am actually slowly making the 303rd. They're going to have much better "defining feature", very obvious. What is it? You will find out...

I could end here, but I though it'd be fun to throw in one more pic, since I've made this gaming table and all. Here is the 302nd on the battlefield! I wish I could show you their dedicated transport, but sadly I do not have that Chimera yet. I'll be sure to post it once I get it.


And that's it for 302nd. As goodbye words, here's a sneak peak of the next update.


And what I'm currently working on.

As always, thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your comments!

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Time for the final installement in the I Hate Right Hands series! This time I'll simply show you how to paint the 42nd Badlands color scheme along with stage-by-stage pictures and some tricks regarding painting in general.

Let's start with the general pointers on painting. Just a few basic things I'm sure most of you know already, but it never hurts to repeat those.

• When undercoating remember to stir the can well beforehand. Also remember the weather influences how the paint will behave. Never do it when there's too high (or too low) humidity! Also keep an eye out on atmospheric pressure, as it might also influence it. The last factor is obviously temperature, below zero doesn't really work too well, melting sun doesn't help either. Additionaly make sure models are free from stains. If they're metal it might be a good idea to throw them into solvent liquid to clear off the grease that might've gathered on them.
  
• Remember to water down your paints. Fancy sites like cmon will tell you that they have to be the consistency of milk. I don't really know when are they so I just take a brushful of water or two and mix it with the paint either on the palette or on the paint lid and it works for me. Keep in mind you probably shouldn't use the water from whatever container you use to clear the brush, especially if you painted with a metallic paint before!
• As for metallic paints I tend to replace water in the jar right away after I finish using them. Professionals speak of having to separate jars, which works as well. I hate getting those tiny metal flakes into other paints by accident!
• Take care of your brushes and they'll serve you for long. Never let the paint get into the area where the fiber are joint. Remember to always wash the brush throughoutly. It's a good idea to use an old brush to move paints from pot onto the mixing palette instead of the good one. Same goes for drybrushing. Apparently washing them in some hair shampoo from time to time is a good thing, but I've only tried it once so far and can't really say what are the results just yet.

I guess those do it. And now I present to you the 42nd Cadian Badland fatigues color scheme! When I paint my minis I always break the process down into a couple of stages, which are basically the basecoat of a given color and then its highlits. You will find the stages explained at the bottom of the post, which is also a summary of the painting, which is much easier to read and look at, once you know the deal. And now, the tutorial itself!


Start off by priming the model black

Fatigues.
First start with applying a basecoat of Graveyard Earth. I use several very thin layers of it, to get a good coverage, while at the same time not obscuring the details. Then highlight nearly everything, but the most receeded areas with Desert Yellow. Continue highlighting, leaving some of Desert Yellow, with a 50:50 mix of Desert Yellow and Bleached Bone. I'll remind you of paints being thinned down - if you do that it will look way better. Finally pick up the most outstanding areas with pure Bleached Bone.

Armour
Apply a basecoat of Scorched Brown. The make a mix of 70:30 Scorched Brown and Graveyard Earth and apply highlits to the edges of the armour. You can make that "edge" wider, since the color should be very similar to the basecoat and the next highlight - 30:70 Scorched Brown and Graveyard Earth mix should be thinner than the previous. I also apply these highlights on top of the helm. Afterwards apply the final highlight of Graveyard Earth, myself however I only apply it from one direction, to imitate sunlight.

Brown Leather
Previously this was done after the metallics, but I've learned it's much better in that order, since it's hard not to paint on the tiny metal buttons on the leather items. First paint a basecoat of Bestial Brown. Then wash it with Ogryn Flesh and, once it has dried out, Devlan Mud. Once upon a time I did it with Flesh Wash, sadly it is no longer produced. Both generate slightly different effects, but both look good. Finally, apply highlights of Bestial Brown onto outstanding elements.

"Green"
"Green" covers all green things on the model. On th eregular guardsmen it was just his canteen, but vets also have cloth rugs and grenades. It's easy to paint, start with a basecoat of Catachan Green. Then make a mix of Catachan Green and add very little Rotting Flesh. It will lighten the color up a lot, careful! Highlight with that mix and then add another small ammount of Rotting Flesh to the mix and use that to apply second highlight. The values given at the end might be off, I always do that roughly.

White cloth
And you got me, there's no white cloth on this model and not on any of the 4 vets that are unpainted. But since this mark on the backpack is supposed to be white and it's painted exactly the same... Here it is: Basecoat of Adeptus Battlegrey and highlight of Skull White. Yep, that's it. Be warned though, you will most likely need several layers of Skull White to get a good coverage!

Metal
Another thing made trivial with Citadel Washes. Basecoat with Boltgn Metal, wash with Badab Black and highlight with Chainmail. That's it!

Skin
Now the most detailed part. First apply a few thin coats of Dwarf Flesh to get a good coverage, afterwards wash with Ogryn Flesh. Paint the eye sockets Chaos Black. Then paint on them with Skull White, while at the same time picking up teeth. The paint the pupils with Chaos Black. Once you're done with the eyes, higlight the face with Dwarf Flesh, which you can also use to paint eyelids and cover up any mistakes there. Lastly apply a final highlight of a 70:30 Dwarf Flesh and Elf Flesh mix.



Details
The model is nearly done, now's the time for the fine details. Each one is painted differently as the details are myriad of things including the aquilas everywhere, the squad/Cadian markings, knife handles and also purity seals and glasses (which are absent on that particular model). There isn't really much to it and all the steps are described in the later breakdown part of the article.
The only thing not there is the meltagun muzzle. I painted it drybrushing Bestial Brown onto it, washing with Ogryn Flesh and then drybrushing Chaos Black. Ron over at FtW had a short article on that too, check it out!

Base
Sadly I have no shots on that. The lightning apparead so bad in the shots it just ruined the color completely and the pcitures were rendered unusable. But it's not a hard thing. First read this tutorial on cmon about making the bases. It does include a painting guide as well, though I paint it slightly differently. First a basecoat of Graveyard Earth. Then a wash of Vallejo Smoke INk was supposed to come, but I was unable to find Vallejo paints anywhere... After consulting a bit I made my own wash - it's a mix of Scorched Brown and a little Chaos Black made into ink using this method. After it dries out, drybrush it with Bubonic Brown (Desert Yellow works fine too!) then Bleached Bone and afterwards drybrush the edges of stones with Skull White. Finally, add some foilage and voila! You're done.

Black leather
Basically this is the step where you repaint the areas which you wished to remain black that you accidentaly overpainted in one of the previous steps. This includes primarly boots, as they tend to get messy after drybrushing the base. Additionaly I highlight the boots a little with Adeptus Battlegrey, but nothing too extensive.


And that's it! Here we have a finished mini.

The only thing left is to varnish it. (Well, technically the mini in the pictures is still missing foaliage, I know!)

• Fatigues
  Basecoat: Graveyard Earth
  Highlights: Desert Yellow, 50:50 Desert Yellow/Bleached Bone, Bleached Bone
  
• Armour
  Basecoat: Scorched Brown
  Highlights: 70:30 Scorched Brown/Graveyard Earth, 30:70 Scorched Brown/Graveyard Earth, Graveyard Earth
• White cloth
  Basecoat: Adeptus Battlegrey
  Highlights: Skull White
  
• Brown leather
  Basecoat: Bestial Brown
  Highlights: Ogryn Flesh wash, Devlan Mud wash, Bestial Brown
  
• "Green"
  Basecoat: Catachan Green
  Highlights: 80:20 Catachan Green/Rotting Flesh, 70:30 Catachan Green/Rotting Flesh
  
• Metal
  Basecoat: Boltgun Metal
  Highlights: Badab Black wash, Chainmail
  
• Flesh
  Basecoat: Dwarf Flesh
  Highlights: Ogryn Flesh wash, Dwarf Flesh, 70:30 Dwarf Flesh/Elf Flesh
  Eyes: Chaos Black, Skull White, Chaos Black
  
• Details
  Aquilas
  Colors used: Graveyard Earth, Desert Yellow, Bleached Bone
  Knife Handle
  Colors used: Catachan Green, Rotting Flesh
  Purity Seals - Seal
  Colors used: Red Gore, Baal Red wash, Blood Red
  Purity Seals - Parchment
  Colors used: multiple higlights of Snakebite Leather going into Bleached Bone
  Glasses
  Colors used: Regal Blue, multiple highlights up til 50:50 Regal Blue\Skull White
  
• Base
  Basecoat: Graveyard Earth
  Highlights: "Smoke Ink" wash, Bubonic Brown, Desert Yellow, Skull White
  Smoke Ink = 80:20 Scorched Brown/Chaos Black
  
• Black leather
  Basecoat: Chaos Black
  Highlights: Adeptus Battlegrey

And this concludes the IHRH series, thanks for staying with me for its duration and reading! No doubt there will be other tutorials on painting and modelling in the future, written as I get the ideas. I am already considering an additional IHRH article though, part 5.5. I suppose you can guess what it will be about. Also, if you have any requests regarding the series, go ahead and say them, I'll be more than glad to write about the thing you're interested in!

And a quick shot of the next thing to do. And no, it's not the book, I've read it already. I'll probably scribble something about it too, but let me just tell you it is awesome. I loved every bit of it! Also the table building log will continue tomorrow. It was way too hot to work today and only in the later afternoon I bought more glue along with som means to link the parts... but more on that soon!




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As part of the I Hate Right Hands series I present to you... the first veteran squad of the 42nd Cadian 3rd Company! These have been all made using tips from my articles and I though it's a good idea to include it in the series, so that readers get a chance to see how all those tips turn out in the end. So let's get to business, but let me just tell you that I don't think I've ever before been so proud of minis I painted...

Without further ado! The squad 301 itself leaving safety of its fine ride to engage the enemy!


That's to wet you appetite. Click below for more pictures!


One more groupshot of the 301:


And now onto individual models. First, I present to you the three plasma gunners. Do you know those minis sat on the shelf and went into battle for an entire year unpainted? They were one of the first things I've made.



The next three. The one on the right belongs to the original bunch of real year-old vets. The original idea was to head the clips hanging on a belt going through his torso, but it didn't really work out, so he ended up having a lot of clips on his belt.. But who knows maybe I'll use this idea one day! I really like the one on the left though, very dynamic. Apparently he's the only vet with no purity seals whatsoever, I wonder how I missed that! The middle one was the one I liked the least and wasn't too happy with him when I had finished him. I'm glad I didn't try to redo him though as he turned out really well.



And the last three. The middle one is my favourite hands down. I love the way he turned out, but I guess that's Forgeworld charm. The left one is quite antique as well, belonging originally to the second plasma-bomb-vet-kamikaze-squad. I have no idea where does this head come from, I got it along lots of other bits. It's probably some WFB knight or something. Fits great though!
The right one is a real tough guy. The sculpted glasses add quite some charm and I'm really happy with him.



Finally the sarge! Apologies for the shadows, I only noticed them now, oops! The sarge had some serious rework put into him into the assembly stage. I love his face, yet again a credit to Forgeworld awesomeness. I really wish they produced more Cadian infantry! At first I was going to make the plasma pistol glow different color (red) but in the end decided it would bleed into the purity seals color or stand out too much in a silly way.


But in reality the plasma pistol is a thing of previous codex. Nowadays I most likely won't field sergeants that way, so a solution was made! Still he's going to sit around with the plasma as it looks more interesting, at least in my opinion.


Now some closeups, that some of you (Hi, Drax!) seem to like a lot, on the sarge himself!

And on my very favourite vet. Did you say there's casting for new Terminator somewhere nearby?


And lastly, their Chimera APC! Finished just today. It doesn't have a camo pattern, yes. If you check the codex it seems the Chimeras are painted differently so I went with tha... Okay. Okay! I was lazy. But it still turned out much better than I though, even though it seems more white than other vehicles. I suppose part of that is the airbrush I used for the first time to get the basecoat on it.




This Chimera is just a sneak peak of what's to come. As the second one I currently have, which is dedicated to the regimental command squad has something special...

And that's it for tonight. I'd love to hear your opinions!


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