WIP Space Hulk Terminators and CAT (2)

Continuing on from the last WIP post, the Terminators (and CAT, not shown) have had the first pass zenithal highlights applied and the bases blacked. The reason for blacking the bases is to provide a point of contrast against the basecoat zenithal work so it can be judged if it's enough or not.
You'll notice that these appear a little desaturated - this is intentional as it allows the colour to be deepened rather than overdone by the subsequent shading and highlighting passes that are done by hand. The two sergeants and the Librarian will have a lot more work done on them at this stage than the other Terminators as the client has specified that these characters are to be done to competition standard.

WIP Space Hulk Terminators and CAT (1)

Clients have given feedback suggesting that the blog is a good place for Work-in-Progress information - rather than cluttering up the 'Gallery' tag which will be used for complete jobs, the 'Works in Progress' tag can be used to see what's been worked on, when.

It should be noted that Work in Progress pictures are not necessarily indicative of the final quality of the pieces, nor are they intended as a step-by-step how to - for those you should check out the 'Tutorials' tag. Not every commission may have Work in Progress updates here on the blog.

My current commission is a set of Space Hulk Terminators, and their CAT. The CAT has had its antenna extended using a piece of paperclip wire, and the Terminators themselves have been rebased onto 40mm bases with some assorted bitz on there. Use of bitz in this manner is free on commissions - I'll happily use what I have to hand if I think it will add to the model. In this case as the client has requested a jungle theme I want to give the impression that something old and forgotten is buried in the Jungle. A bit like 'Lost' then.

So, here are today's pictures:

Old-school Marauder Treeman

This is an old Marauder Treeman, released in 1993 and sculpted by Aly & Trish Morrison. I still have a memory of seeing this advertised (or perhaps used) as Durthu, but the evidence speaks agaist that. As the saying goes 'I've had a sleep since then'. Total time taken around 7 hours, including basework. As usual, click the image for a larger view.

Applying Waterslide Decals Step-by-Step Tutorial

A tutorial covering the application of waterslide decals is now available by clicking here or on the image above.

Imperial Fists Assault Sergeant

Here's the sergeant with the custom decals I designed on - there is no freehand whatsoever on the model, which is very rare for me. Click the image above for a larger view. This model is from my own personal collection (not a commission piece). There are actually 16 decals on this single miniature - can you spot them all?

I'll be putting together a short .pdf tutorial over the next few days to cover the techniques used in applying the decals.

WCM Decal Sheets Available on Commissions

As my current commission is waiting on an order from GW, I've had a couple of days to work on something interesting (my Imperial Fists Killteam). As is usually the case I've decided to go overboard on markings and the result is this decal sheet for Imperial Fists Space Marines. Click the image above for a larger view.

Note that for the forseeable future I will not able to print white, or white-backed decals, so in some instance helper decals (similar to the blank circles in the image) are provided. These should be applied first, and then carefully painted with the appropriate colour before applying the second decal over the top. I'll be putting a tutorial together over the next few days. There is also obviously the option of using the standard GW decals with the unit markings from this sheet, or Forgeworld's excellent decals. These are home-printed decals, and as such will have some limitations that industrially screen-printed decals do not - I wouldn't recommend these if you struggle with 'ordinary' decals. I've been advised not to offer these for general sale, so I'm limiting their sale to being part of a commission job only - ie the decals are to be used on the models commissioned.

Follow up and variant sheets will be done over the next few weeks- a more varied set of unit type emblems, a Crimson Fist decal Sheet, a Blood Angel decal sheet for each of the main Battle Companies, after that, I'm open to suggestion.

Maz

Unknown Sculpt Space Wolves

A squad of Space Wolves sculpted by someone else (not Scibor according to him), painted to tabletop level. Note for costing purposes these counted as heavy infantry. I had to make a few fixes to the sculpts prior to painting, notably tidying up the weapon hafts and fixing proportions on some of the arms (where it was possible). The Sergeant also has a guitar string cable added to his power fist.

Edit: 22-Dec-2010: Scibor posted a comment a few days ago on CoolMiniOrNot stating that these miniatures were not sculpted or converted by him. To avoid any confusion I've editted this post accordingly. Please ignore the original page title.

Click the images for a larger view.

White Dwarf Subscriber Model (2009) NMM

My local GW store (Warhammer World) was running a painting competition for the White Dwarf Subscriber minis today, so over the past couple of days I pushed out this little chap (about 12 hours work). To break from the gritty stuff I'm doing on commission at the moment and to show that I can handle clean, vibrant jobs too, I decided to run with the NMM (non-metallic metals) technique, which is very unusual for me. I think it came out quite well. And I got first place in the competition. Out of a field of one - nobody else entered! Oh well, it won me a box of Dragon Princes for Warhammer, so can't grumble!

For Sale - Golden Demon Finalist Dreadnought etc.

Due to the client being unable to settle the balance on this commission the models above are for sale. I'm looking for sensible offers coming in at above £750, plus shipping. These represent around 200 hours' work, so you're getting a real bargain at that price. The two dreadnoughts are to competition standard, and the Sicarius is to my tabletop character standard.

Contact me via email with offers. I reserve the right to close the sale when offers have stopped coming in, or at any other time I see fit. I'll inform buyers of whether they've been outbid or not.

Deathwatch Black Templar

A very rare use of OSL (object source lighting) for me. It's generally not an effect I feel has any requirement on a tabletop miniature, but in this case I wanted to liven up the plain black of the Deathwatch / Templar uniform. The Deathwatch insignia and extended shoulder pad rim are sculpted from greenstuff and plasticard. The right arm is a modified Dark Angels Veteran's arm. The backpack is also a DA Veteran piece, and the helmet is from the Black Templars upgrade set. As usual, click the image for a larger view.

Ultramarines Captain Sicarius

A pretty quick job, this Sicarius as it's to 'premium tabletop' level, rather than the competition grade work done for the dreadnoughts forming the rest of this commission. As usual, click the image for a larger version. A zenital coat was applied with the airbrush for both the blue and the banner, topped with hand painted details. The lining of the cloak is based on a very ancient pot of Citadel 'Ghoul Grey' I found lurking in the bottom of my 'greens' box... lovely colour, I must find a modern equivalent...

George Dellapina's Ork Gargant Assembly Site

This set is now SOLD.

The set consists of six separately based terrain pieces, mounted on 6mm MDF, all painted to an incredibly high standard. Click the images for larger versions as usual.

There is an extremely high level of detail throughout the pieces - with various tools and equipment lying around. Every raised platform has an appropriate ladder to reach it so the whole set 'makes sense'. Little toadstools are present on the bases of many of the pieces to give the set that fungal ork look.

George is now available for commissions and is particularly interested in taking on scratch build and sculpting projects and can be contacted through this site. High end painting jobs are also considered. If you like his style, drop us an email.

Ultramarine Chaplain Dreadnought 'Pullo'

The counterpart to the Golden Demon finalist 'Vorenus' is this Chaplain Dreadnought. I ran with blended highlights on the blue and black on this rather than using the airbrush for zenithal work. The gold recipe is identical, as is the design of the urban base. The latin freehand does roughly translate, although I took a few liberties with wording to get a nice fit on the model. All in all, pretty pleased with this, and I feel it's up to the standard of the other.

Dreadnought 'Vorenus' gets a pin...

So at Golden Demon today, Vorenus made the cut and scored me a finalist's pin, which I'm pretty pleased with considering it's my first entry in. The Ork Mek and Wood Elf Sorceress didn't make the cut, but as they were extremely fast jobs, I'm not that surprised. The standard of entries was pretty high this year, so I feel pretty good. Oh, and he was also chosen as one of the images for the Games Workshop homepage - check out the Golden Demon Live section...

Ork Mekboy

A big mek done as a quick entry for Golden Demon. About a week's work. Quite pleased with the blending on the red, and the skin tones on the face. This is the first Ork I've painted in about 12 years... I really enjoyed it, full of character and fun...

Wood Elf Sorceress

A very quick job as I rush to put together more entries for this year's Golden Demon competition. Total time taken around 14 hours over 2 days. It's a fairly ugly miniature, but I wanted to do something that wasn't Warhammer 40,000 related and that was different from a Space Marine!
Golden Daemon time is tricky for me - do I push on with commissions (some I was hoping to hand over at the show) which could involve rushing a piece or do I paint up some personal miniatures and see what I can do. Luckily I have a partner which saves making up my own mind, so I'm taking the opportunity to vary what I'm taking to the show. The engraved plaque was done at Joblot Trophies in Mapperley, Nottingham. I can't recommend them enough if you need some work doing, and they were happy enough to work on the brass sheet I provided.

Ultramarines Venerable Dreadnought 'Vorenus'

My Golden Demon entry for this year. Also, my first ever entry into a major painting competition.

The total time taken to paint this model is around 3 1/2 weeks, equating to around 100 hours of working time, including cleanup and assembly. Click the above image for a larger version.

Edit: This model made the cut at the UK Golden Demon and secured me a finalists' pin.

There are a number of details that I wanted to include from the outset. First I wanted the Tyranid trophy to be in Hive Fleet Behemoth colours (ie blue carapace, red skin), and to look aged. The red skin was eventually dropped as I felt it would detract from the red on the banner and other spot details (hips, head, ammo drums). It was important to have an ancient feel to the dreadnought, rather than the more utilitarian schemes I use for line troops, so copious freehand was employed all over the model, together with very careful hand painted chipping (as opposed to my normal sponge technique). I also wanted a feel of character to the dreadnought, so I chose a homeworld for him (Iax, an agricultural world) and included the wheatear motifs on the back and the latin phase on the back of the banner.

The brass plaque was done for me (several times to get it right) by an excellent little engraving place in Nottingham called Joblot Trophies. I can't recommend them enough for their dilligence and professionalism.

Click on the images below for larger versions.

Customising Predator Step-by-Step Tutorial

A step-by-step tutorial covering the customisation of the Space Marine Predator shown above is now available here. Please note that this tutorial doesn't cover paintwork, but the method used is almost identical to that used for the Sternguard in the previous tutorial. Topics that are covered include cleanup and preparation of both plastic and resin parts, magnetisation and a helpful guide to making repairs to shrunken resin components that may snap.

Please contact me if you spot any glaring mistakes, I hope it's found interesting and useful.

Secret Weapon Miniatures Discount

Having had a chat with Justin over at Secret Weapon Miniatures the other night, I'm pleased to announce that I can now offer a 15% discount on all Secret Weapon Miniatures products used as part of a commission! There are some great products available - head on over and have a look:

http://www.secretweaponminiatures.com/

Ultramarines Landspeeder Storm (occupied)

Another shot of the Landspeeder Storm, this time with the passengers on board. The scouts are secured to the vehicle mostly by pins, with the hanging passenger's pin being held in place by a magnet (which also holds the replacement handle for when the scout is not on board). The base is by Secret Weapon Miniatures, with some additional accessories added. Click the image above for a large multi-angle image.

Ultramarines Landspeeder Storm (empty)

A Landspeeder Storm, with the scouts disembarked. Note the ammo crate and binoculars. These occupy pin-holes which hold the passengers when they are attached. The base is by Secret Weapon Miniatures, with additional accessories. Click the image above for a larger, multi-angle image.

Ultramarines CQB Scouts

A squad of scouts equipped for close-quarters battle - shotguns and a converted 2nd edition power fist on the sergeant. The sergeant also has a greenstuff cloak. Everything else is pretty much stock, with the exception of some 1/48 Tamiya accessories used as stowed cloaks / sleeping bags on two of the scouts. Bases are from Secret Weapon Miniatures' Trenchworks range.

Ultramarines Assault Squad - 2nd Co, Squad VII

A ten-man Assault Squad is a really good way of giving an opponent a headache. Click the image above for a large image showing front and back shots of all 10 marines. Several nice conversions in this squad, notably the two marines with complete Eldar on their bases. Various Eldar and Imperial Guard parts have been used on the bases of some of the other marines. Secret Weapon Miniatures' Trenchworks bases have been used for basing - when a running assault marine is pinned to one of the trench edgings, it really helps give a sense of motion.

Ultramarines Assault Squad (preview)

I have a personal rule that only completely finished miniatures will be put up on this blog. The assault squad I'm working on as part of a commission of Ultramarines has a few interesting conversions that I'm quite proud of, so this is a sneak peak prior to a post with the full 10-man squad, which should be completed this week. I really wanted to show the marines in a state of carnage - I imagine chainswords to be fairly messy tools to work with. I'm pleased with the implied savagery, something that is usually associated with gore-soaked Khorne berzerkers and the like, as opposed to the paragons of humanity that the Ultramarines are often portrayed as.

The sergeant has the most 'technical' greenstuff work done to it, with winged skulls added to the jump pack, and bas-relief insignia on the pack and pauldrons. The soft join of the shoulder of the sword arm is also greenstuff. The Eldar on the base is made from a 2nd edition 2-part plastic guardian's legs, chopped up and gap-filled with greenstuff. The loincloth and gems are also greenstuff.

The flying marine has a resculpted right foot to replace the bent-toe foot of the Assault squad running legs. The legs are also pinned to the torso at a more extreme angle than could be achieved without pinning. The marine is supported by the chainsword, which was glued into a disc-cut slot in the Eldar's torso. Gore is a mix of debris from the cutting, greenstuff and Vallejo plastic putty.

The third marine is a very simple conversion, with more complex work on the Eldar. The Eldar's legs were modified to allow for a very strong backward lean, and the face was disc cut in a manner similar to the Eldar for the flying marine. Around the cut greenstuff was built up to where the chainsword would be, and smeared with a little vaseline. Another layer of greenstuff was applied to the chainsword and the whole was assembled prior to painting to smooth the join. Before the greenstuff set, the parts were separated in order to be able to paint.