Raging Storm

 Last night I pretty much finished up the Emperor's Guard in Terminator Armor. I added the snow to really make him look like he was marching along in it. I feel it really came out looking good! I had a bunch of other ideas I could add but I ended up thinking ok he's good enough... but last night as I sat there I was thinking maybe I should go that bit farther and make him one of the guys I enter into the Nova painting contest. We'll see, either way I think he came out the way I wanted.

 He has the look of being out in the weather and taking care of business!.. I may add a little more snow on him but I wanted to sit back and really think about it. No rush so don't want to do something and hate it haha...

 I really wanted him to look wind swept and I think this is my favorite angle for him , it really gives the look of a guy trudging through the snow. I didn't want it to be too much but figured the wind would blow most of the snow off, the recesses being the place where it would stick. I needed to show it on him a little so it didn't just stand out and look crazy but didn't want to go overboard.

I will probably only use the full on snow treatment on him, I don't think they will all need it. Just looks cool and to me adding more realism.

Below is basically him from start to finish. I started him a good while ago.. nice to have to all finished up .. Amble on my brother..

Fan out,..

My Aleph models are almost complete. Last night I worked on detailing them a bit and got most of the little details out of the way. The models are very detailed but also very smaller compared to Games Workshop models. But that does mix it up and makes you paint a little differently.

I wanted the blues to really pop so I blended in multiple levels of color. I would apply a layer then mix in more white and apply another. Going all the way to almost white. I painted her face and tried to give it a good bit of details, eyes, lipstick and hair.

I added metal highlights as well, I wanted to keep them dark as you wouldn't want to stand out too much but since I when with the blue white colors I figured it didn't really matter and just wanted them to look cool.

They all need a little more shadow details as well as a good once over for missing details. All and all I think they are coming along looking pretty cool. I don't know when I'll be able to get in another game of Infinity but is cool that they are almost done. I do really want to paint the chick on the bike so she's getting closer. But I do have a ton of stuff going on and registration opens for Nova this weekend. I need to lock down what I'm going to play in and lock in a 3rd for the Trios.. WHoot.

It's Heresy!

I didn't really get anything painting last night as I was working on background info for a game of Dark Heresy I'm setting up. If you aren't familiar with Dark Heresy, check it out. My friends and I have been playing a game of Rifts and one night after a gaming session we went out to eat and the conversation led to 40k and roleplaying it. I mentioned I played DH a few years ago and it was actually pretty fun. It's a brutal RPG and you really have to think about your actions because you can easily be destroyed.

I went to the comic shop last night and picked up the Game Master's Kit for running the game. The quick reference shield is a pretty handy help. When I got back I started to make up the movers and shakers in the world and how the players will interact. So far looks like we'll have between 5 to 8 people playing, a pretty large group for DH. If they stick with it I think they will be facing some serious foes, Chaos Marines and some Daemons .. haha... Whoots. ..

After each game I hope to do a conclusion write up and I'll probably post them up ..

Whoa.. someone needs a shower

 The rest of the posse all dirtied up. I got the rest of the guys all oiled up .. whoa that doesn't sound good! haha... but anyway. I worked on getting all of the oil work done on the mostly Dev guys I've been working on and they are pretty much ready to move onto detail and clean up. Again I went pretty heavy on them making them really look like they've been in the middle of it bringing some pain to the traitor. I also texture based the guys that were missing it, they are getting close to finished and it shouldn't take too much longer.

I really need to get some BPs done for the Dusk Wolves haha.. I was going to use the old style JPs but I think I'm going to magnet them up so they can be either. I'll also probably paint the JPs metallic so I can swap out some Blood Angels as well 8)

 He Needs some more details on the Axe and I'll be adding in some blood spatter as well..

 Walks up, throws his combat blade in the ground. Never know if you'll be in CC and need that quick draw..  When I was making these guys up I was thinking about what a veteran might really do.

 The Sarge really needs some BP love. I'm not sure how I want to paint it haha..

 Most of the Dev's will get a lot more details added to their weapons. I want to add other metals in to mix it up. I want their armor to look mucked up but they would take good care of their weapons.

 The Las Rear section is also something I'm thinking on. I'd like to make it look like an energy chamber of some sort.

 Dakka Dakka ..

 Another Dev ready for CC if it comes to that ..

I'm really liking these new guys and they are making me want to go back and touch up some of the other DW things haha.. Mainly the Land Raider that is almost complete. I think I'm going to clear that and start getting it all mucked up as well. Overall a very big departure from how I paint my Eldar and I think that really mixes it up for me. Nice to have a change here and there so it doesn't getting old..

Mired down in Muck..

This weekend I got to do some of the oil work. I Mucked up the Emperors Guard with Hammer and I'm really happy with where he's going. Now that I have most of the muck applied I'm going to start working on all the detail and finishing work then I'll go back and apply another light mud layer. I worked a good bit on the cloak and I think its really coming out looking worn and battered. Though now as I'm sitting here thinking about it I wish I would have made a few holes which might still be happening. But it probably doesn't need it..

 The shield is going to need a good bit of work still as does the hammer. I think I'll be playing around with ideas for it as I want it to have the same style on the Wraithknight's blade. There's a Eldar helmet on the base and since it's my own guys I'm going more with they are buddies and he's going in for revenge for a fallen comrade. No contentions between my little dude men... 8)
Before Muck..

 After Muck..

Before Muck..

 After Muck..

Before Muck..

 After Muck..

To make the muck look realistic you really have to pay attention to how you apply it. Think about where the muck would splash, where it would stick and where it would rub off. That's what will really make the difference. You'll also want to use a lot of different techniques of how i'ts applied, I'll brush some on, I'll rub some on with my fingers and I'll then dab it on very heavy. You can take a Q Tip swab and pull some of the cotton out of it and dab over places and it will give you a good breakup of stipple. It really does take some time but if you do it all right it will come out looking awesome... I think mine looks decent but there is a ton more that could be done!