Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Dead Zone

 I mentioned a week or so ago I wanted to get my Ghost army done and I've been playing around with the look of their head/shell/dome whatever you want to call it. I wanted to give it the same look as my Wraithknight,.. energy trapped inside a transparent/lucent shell of some sort. The Wraithknight's is using a blue blend so I figured I'd see what just a purple blend would look like. It would just blend into the head coloring so it might look cool.
 And this is what it came out looking like.. I sprayed it and thought it was just too muted and blended into the paint. So I free handed a pattern on the front to show there was something in there. I used Titanium White with some pearl added to give it an iridescent look.
 I like the pattern on the front but not sure I like the coloring..  it just blends in too much and I want that section to stand out a bit more. I don't think it looks too bad just not what I want it to look like.
 So I moved over to blue and right away I was liking it more.. it stands out and shows that something is happening. I tried it two ways .. on this guys I started with the white and then blended the blues into it. I also sprayed a few wisps on the sides which I think might be a little too big. So I'll probably need to bring them down some..
 But over all I think it looks good..
 On the other guy I went with the blues first then blended in a lighter blue then white and back with the light blue mix I had made. I might have to add some more purple to the top of his head but I think it's giving the look I was shooting for. I might try a freehand design with the blue coloring and see how that looks, the single wisp looks cool but a little design might also add a little something to it. I'll be giving that a shot too..
Once I get that figured out I'll be working on getting these guys done and then start on the 15 I have waiting to be put together and painted..  I keep meaning to finish up some Blood Angels but my Eldar still keep calling my name haha..

Monday, September 29, 2014

Photo Op..

 I've told a few people I'd take some decent pictures of the display board and the army on it so this weekend I actually got around to it. My Son's birthday party was this weekend so I've been super busy and haven't gotten to do much hobby wise. I also have some other projects that are getting started .. I'll talk about those hopefully sooner then later..

But anyway .. I've also been wanting to update the Eldar page with the new display board so I figure this was the prefect time to.
 These armies in these pics are close to my Nova Armies though I have added some other stuff, I had to put the new Falcon in there haha..

Revenant needed to get some love ..
 I think down the road I'm going to make a background up for taking full army shots. I hate seeing the walls and surroundings when taking a group shot like this. I placed some black foam board in the back to help with the tight shots and to block the light coming into the window.

 I'm really happy with the way it came out .. the display is what I had pictured and had drawn out on paper. There are a few things I'll be adding and modifying this year but I don't see myself making a whole new display board. I really don't think I need to 8)..
 I want to remake the center vane and add some lighting to it, I also want to add either side platforms or vanes.. I'll probably start playing around with that this winter at some point.

And the full cabinet, it was a huge success, I was originally a bit nervous about it but it was as helpful as I thought it was going to be. So I can honestly say I'd recommend using/making one!

Friday, September 26, 2014

Armed to the Teeth...

The Falcon is done for now, there are a few things I'll be adding to it down the road but for now I'm going to let it sit for awhile.
 I finished up the underslung guns and the windscreens. I don't usually glue them in, since I paint the cockpit I want to be able to see them.
 I finished up the gems and added some of the other details in.
Put a little more detail into the vents and energy..
 Went with a Secret Weapon base instead of the standard clear GW base.
 The back still needs some details done to the controls but that can wait till later.
 I think it came out pretty decent..


 The Secret Weapon base all painted up..
 Here is the comparison of the new Falcon to the first one I ever painted haha.. Just to remind me how old it was the scatter laser broke off when I picked it up. 8\ .. I had repainted this one at least 5 times trying to find the color scheme I liked.. funny looking back at it..

 I just started looking at the other ones and thinking about all the stuff that's going to be going into the complete repaint. Sheesh,...

And the comparison of the old look and the new look.. it was clean but needed to be blended a lot more .. I'll be blending in the color accents like I did with the Falcon.. Prism = Red, Wave Serpent = Bone, Falcon = Purple, Night Spinner = Green

I'm probably going to wait a little bit before I start though..  haha

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Who doesn't like sweets?

 I finished up Candy and started working on some of the other Malifaux models that I need to wrap up. I added some more blending to her and cleaned up some of the details. I worked on her face a little more and smoothed out some of the skin tones on her. Still not 100% happy with her face but it is what it is..
 I added in some white ruffles to her top and blended the dress a little more. There wasn't too much left to do with her..
 Since I was working with skin tones and really wasn't going to be at the table for long I figured I would just work down the line on models that needed their skin tones touched up. Once being Pandora..
 I smoothed out her leg, chest, hands and face but I still need to add in the fine details for her eyes and eyebrows. There is some over painted areas of green on her eyes that is bugging me. Hope it doesn't lead to another Candy situation haha..  I think their faces look ok but not great. Candy is small so maybe that's whats bugging me.
 I also need to finish the leather and box for Pandora plus the energy which I want to look like what makes up her ghosties..

Another on of the models I blended her skin tones. I want to get these outcasts does as soon as I finish Pandora and her crew ..

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Underslung Magneto

If you didn't know there is a plastic base underneath it you'd think it was actually floating! 
I mentioned a few days ago that I was going to add the undeslung gun magneting process. Wow what a sentence ..  with made up words and everything 8) ..  Well here it is, nothing too hard .. it's a pretty simple process. I even played around with the process of adding the bottom/base magnet to make it a little better. 

What you'll need: 
The Falcon
Magnets
Sheet metal (or you can use plasticard/cardstock)
Tools (mostly a drill and snips)

 You'll want to measure the area in from of the pilot's seat, this will be where you place the piece of sheet metal. You want to make sure the piece will not interfere with the assembly of the upper and lower half of the Falcon's body.

 Glue the piece of sheet metal over the gun mounting hole. If you don't use sheet metal and just want to use plastic card you can. You would then need to glue another magnet on top of the plastic card (the same side with the pilot). The magnets will still work there magic through the plastic card but you want a smooth even base.
 Next trim off the mount (looks like a plus symbol), this will make the gun mount smooth to mess up with the bottom of the Falcon.
 You will want to use a taller magnet that will be the same thickness as the plus you cut off the mount. This will reach the metal and also fit smoothly to the bottom. Allowing you to easy turn the gun or swap it
Here it is attached .. I haven't added the guns yet as I need to finish painting them. But that's basically it for the underslung gun .. not too tough.

The displayboard and cart worked great at Nova but the Serpents and Prism bounced around a bit. I switched over my tanks awhile back but since they were built I didn't have much access to the insides. But with the Falcon apart I figured I'd look for a better way instead of just adding the magnets to the bottom of the tank. Greg and I were talking about it and I think he mentioned mounting it inside. With this one open I figured I'd give it a try. So I glued a larger sheet metal to the floor of the hold after I had drilled the hole.
I used a Dremel to widen the hole so the magnet would fit but very snug. Then glued the piece of metal in.
Trim the small insert of the stem so you can mount the magnet.
Try to make sure the stem is perfectly straight. After it's initially glued add a few more applications of glue. Those magnets can pull it off easily.

Once it's all said and done, attach it all together .. and mount the base. With it being snug and in the body of the Falcon it moves around very little. So seems to be the way to go if you don't mind a bit more work. And it gives a better look when the magnets are flush and mostly hidden.

I hope that helps and I answered a few of the questions that have come in regarding it. If there are any more just let me know.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

It's a major award..

 Today was crazy busy so I didn't get to post what I had planned. When I got home a package was waiting for me... Our Plaques came in from Nova! .. whoot ..
 I told Greg I'd post up a pic when it came in so here it be ..  big props to my team on the hard work!

The Good The Bad The Hungry pics provided by Greg! 8) Thanks again man..