I had another chance to paint the new version of Harad command group (the previous one can be found here). The sculpts are very nice and the amount of details is also pretty large. Nothing too fancy here but overall I'm pleased with the result. I also finished painting Suladan - the old version. The new one (kiteman) is pretty terrible in my opinion. I particularly like the dynamic pose of horse and the mask. The pictures are not top notch quality as winter's still in full swing here and days are grey so good lighting is a pipe dream. The Serpent rider is a final touch in this batch of minis. I've nearly completed my commission, only one mini remaining - mounted Saruman. I've pretty much finished it so I'll be posting an update soon. I'm currently on a sick leave so I should get a chance to do some work on my own projects (I mean Cryx :) so stay tuned for more. Cheers, Viruk
I've been quite busy recently. End of the semester is a pretty hectic time at school. All the red tape, PTA meetings, students 'waking up' and trying to fight for better grades at the last minute... I could go on. Anyway, the point is that I haven't done too much serious painting since the last post on the blog. I plan to catch up with my painting this weekend but before that here's something that all Fallout fans will enjoy. A low budget, short fan-production which still manages to incorporate some of the classic twisted Fallout-like humor into it. Check it out and share it with more people and double thumbs up for the creators.
Mordor orcs that is. I've already painted quite a few of these and it seems that there are always some more coming. I generally like minis from GW's LoTR range as the scale, realistic proportions of bodies and the quality of the sculpts are very good. The metal versions of orcs are definitely among my favorites here. The show the character of these guys very well, i.e. randomly chosen rags as clothes, cumbersome weapons and armors and ugly facial features. Even though not all of them are different as night and day from one another but still, there's a great variety of poses and looks. I haven't really experimented too much here and used my good ol' color scheme that features mainly dark shades of grey, brown, and red. I used some more variety on the skin tones. I like how the "human" skin tone looks on orcs, makes them look very savage. The ones with bows are the finest of Mordor archery. The orc trackers are used by many gamers but somehow these were the first minis of this type I've painted. I will have many more in the next commission. The sculpts are really great, which is not one can think after seeing their pic in the GW catalogue... It seems to me that bright colors and this type of highlights doen't suit them at all. Anyway, the orcs are finished and the only minis remaining to be painted from the current commission are members of the Harad command, mounted Saruman and old version of Suladan. I still need to get rid of the paint from this one (not my effort, got this one already painted) as it seems the nicest mini to be painted from the remaining ones. I like it much more than the new version (the kite-man)... On a side note, you might have noticed that the quality of the pics has slightly improved (at least in my humble opinion). I've started using a 'handheld twilight' option in my camera (Sony DSC HX1). I noticed that while using it, the camera processes the pictures so that in the end they look a bit better. Now, I would have never thought of switching from the previously preferred macro solution had my wife not pointed out this option to me :) Well, since this is a Mordor-oriented post my obvious choice for some related music has to be Summoning - an Austrian black metal band. Many people don't think it's music at all but I still listen to it from time to time. Their music and lyrics are inspired by Tolkien's work to a great degree. I like their style as they incorporate lots of drums and keyboards, which creates a nice atmosphere. Mind you, I'm not a big fan of Jackson's movies (I guess the first one was OK, but the second and the third part were pretty bad in my opinion) so the clip in the background does not reflect my preferences, it's about the music really.
A couple of days ago Reaper announced the release of a new series of paints called "Master Series Paints HD High-Density". According to the producer, their main characteristics are high-density pigments and excellent flow properties. Of course they're also water soluble and non-toxic. So basically we get something like Citadel Foundation paints. However, these are sold in dropper bottles, which is a huge advantage over the GW's paints. And if that wasn't enough, there are 38 unique colors in the range.
I've been using some Reaper paints for a while now and I have to admit that both their metallics and regular colors are great. The triad system (3 shades of color), the flow properties and excellent coverage are things that make using them very efficient. I will definitely buy at least a few paints from the new range to check them out. So far none of the paints from Reaper has ever disappointed me so I'm really looking forward to getting them. Hope some people find this piece of news interesting. Just to finish off, here's one from one of the bands I used to listen to a lot a while ago.
Another part of Ultramarines force done this week is First of Rhinos. I decided to make it very dirty, stained and rusted just to give it more worn effect of tank armour in comparison to SM power armour. One turret is detachable so you can easily swap equipment. Also top hatch has got added hindges to make it work. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do the same with side doors in this model. I tried something but it didn't work and proper idea I came with later was impossible to apply at such moment. It's not bad for roughly two days paintwork ;) Now let's move on to Land Raiders.
For the music here I'd like to present a piece from HBO's Generation Kill. Marines rendition of Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus. It's my immidiate association with Rhino due to it's connection with HUMMVE :)
Last day of 2010 brought pictures of new Blood Angels Dread and Stormraven but it slipped under my radar until BoLS pointed it out . Anyway we have 4 decent pics of Furioso Dreadnought. Quality of parts seems to match those of Sanguinary Guard. The ability to choose between three sarcophagous is very nice addition. Also that hudge halabard power weapon alongside with somewhat of psychic hood , tells us that fearsome Librarian Dread is on board.
Taking my love for Librarian minis of SM and of big guns, I will try to lay my hands of this set :)
Well after one of the most productive days of last month I might say I'm back in bussines. Sunday got the best of me and after one crazy painting marathon I managed to finish 3 of 6 commissioned bikes. Done accordingly to requests o client I think they pulled of really nice. I decided not to give them usual matte paint in order to make them look more like bikes really are, chromed and shiny, of course before I put some dust on them :) Funny trick was to make changable weapons on gunner seat. As it was my first try with magnets I think it's not bad. Next on the agenda I have that Rhino that needs a bit cleaning up after dose of washes and stuff, but the request is to make him more tank-like so stained, dirty
and chipped off ;)
I really need to take break from that commission stuff and paint something just to relax, cause lately I'm seeing to much atutomatism in my painting which results in dropping quality ;/ Maybe I'll work on something for LotR :D Also I need to print out some backgrounds and bring camera from home, cause those pics done with Xperia,well...they're not bad for WiP let's just say that ;)
As for usual music corner, the only piece that comes ot my mind when talking about bikes (As you can probably guess from title of post) :
I'm currently on a sick leave so I should get a chance to do some work on my own projects (I mean Cryx :) so stay tuned for more.
