Walls fail! Fists do not!

[Brother Pheidias]

Chapter Master turned out fabulously. Mr. Rex is very nicely done.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Impressive work on Lord Inquisitor Rex.

[Inquisitor Engel]

Thanks guys! Feels good to have him out of the way! 

 

Next up are some kitbashed Templar Brethren. I felt it'd be better if they had MkIV+ armour being the elite of the elite, and the Phalanx Warders (one day!) would end up with MKII and III. 

[hushrong]

Looks very well done, my friend!

 

Really looking forward to seeing some Templar Brethren!

[Inquisitor Engel]

Thanks all! 

 

Doing my first test for the Templar Brethren. Experimental MK7 battle plate, born in the forges of the Imperial Palace, for the defence of Terra. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/l2X22os.png

 

Painting yellow cloth is messy and I dislike the process, but I think it works. The black spray toasted a little detail in the eagle on the gorget, but I'll accept it.

Edited February 18, 2017 by Inquisitor Engel

[Dosjetka]

Neat concept. How many Templar Brethren are you going to be painting and will they all have MK VII?

[Inquisitor Engel]

Neat concept. How many Templar Brethren are you going to be painting and will they all have MK VII?

 

Just five, to kind of round out the list and say "yeah I have a unit of those." 

 

My Fists army has a fair amount of VI and IV in it, but the bulk of it is MKVII, so if I ever do crank it out for HH games, the idea that it's a Siege of Terra army makes a lot more sense. I have Sigismun and Pollux as well (Siggy is further back, Pollux is yet to be done). 

 

On checking out the parts for the Phalanx Warders, I may give them MKIII legs and MKIV the rest. The MKIV legs look way too skinny for a "repel boarders" type of unit, but their helmets and shoulder pads look the bees' knees.

[Dosjetka]

Right, gotcha. Thanks for taking the time to explain. :tu: Yes, I guess it does make sense for them to have MK VII if they're supposed to be at Terra during the siege.

 

Anyway, looking forward to the next update!

 

P.S. If you're looking for motivation to paint Imperial Fists, this might interest you. :)

[Inquisitor Engel]

Right, gotcha. Thanks for taking the time to explain. Yes, I guess it does make sense for them to have MK VII if they're supposed to be at Terra during the siege.

 

Anyway, looking forward to the next update!

 

P.S. If you're looking for motivation to paint Imperial Fists, this might interest you.

 

That could be a nice start... Nice name for the thread as well. ;) 

 

Finished this guy - 

 

 

Went for gold swords for them, as it seemed pretty fitting for their status, and contrasted nicely with the black without going overboard on the silver metallics. 

 

Currently working on this cocky dude, about to start on the helmet. Legs are from a Grey Knight Justicar, chest and helmet from the Sternguard Veterans. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/mSjARl3.png

 

Unfortunately, I'm heading in 3 days in Milwaukee for a wedding, followed by a week in San Francisco at GDC for work. I'll get a couple of evenings between the two trips, so hopefully I can get the guy above done and start on the next one. From the 17th to the 21st I'm in Vegas again for work, so I may have to just max out a weekend.

 

I'll pick a solid model or two for the expansion and see what happens. Still got Pollux, a Storm Raven to do as well. 

[lionofjudah]

Looking great and I'm going to follow along and add a few mkvii suits to my VIIth as well!:) I've not painted a newer mk suit in like 10k years;)

I've found that hotel painting while biz traveling helps alleviate the stress and boredom of being on the road- couple of figures with a limited paint palette (the valejo dropper bottles don't take up much room at all in your TSA approved zip lock bag) and 2 or 3 brushes make for hours of relaxation.

Plus, updates with exotic locale backgrounds help everyone else out

[Inquisitor Engel]

Okay! They're ready for some decals to finish them off. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/w1BjWfQ.jpg

 

I really need Armillus Dynat's tabard for the middle guy. Haven't found anything else that will really work for that pose. Anyone wanna help me out? I'll pay! 

 

The Sergeant I'm pretty pleased with. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/1muOBTy.jpg

 

The Solarite Gauntlet is Retributor Gold with a Sepia wash and silver trim. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/LZmErRj.jpg

 

And no one is ever going to see it... 

 

Proper pics with decals probably this weekend. Mass Effect is eating up a lot of my time right now...

Edited March 30, 2017 by Inquisitor Engel

[Dosjetka]

Those Fists look good, as usual. :tu:

 

I don't have the piece you're looking for right now but if I do, I'll let you know.

[Inquisitor Engel]

Thanks all!

 

Minor update - Instead of finishing and sealing the Templars, I decided to craft my own tabard for the walking guy. He just stood out too much. Apparently Dynat's CAPE is separate, but his tabard is not so.... Yeah. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/XQ6W7VY.jpg

 

The "buckle" is from the leather strips tabard from Betrayal at Calth, with all the extra bits you don't see cut off. 

 

The tabard itself is from the SM Bike sprue, with some very precise cutting and sanding to give it some more folds and texture without going overboard. Not quite the same style as the rest of the squad, but serviceable. 

 

Still in the process of painting it, obviously. 

[Inquisitor Engel]

At last, here they are, done and dusted (and sealed). 

 

http://i.imgur.com/eeQxZnB.jpg

 

I'm really pleased with how they turned out. The tabard on the last guy isn't my favourite, but it turned out okay and still ties him to the rest of the squad. The gold weapons I think really helped break up the silver/white/black dominance of the model and bring some more weight to the gold/yellow. 

 

I actually made this a 5-shot panorama, taking a shot with manual focus on each model, and then using Photoshop's photomerge tool to blend them together. I quite like it. A 2 second timer is enough to remove the slight tilt from shutter button pressure. 

 

 

With their Captain! I can tell the difference between the detail on a character series model and the other resin bits I got. Sigismund's fist details were WAY easier to paint. Still, I think they mesh okay. 

 

I also finished the captain, with a little help on the freehand golden fist (know your limits!). I'm very pleased with how everything turned out, from the shield, to the sword, to the gold, to the details I added over time. I know it's taken me bloody ages to do, but I'm REALLY glad I took my time. 

 

 

I ended up reshading the black one I had painted on the with some white paint and using a decal, as I had the perfect size decal. 

 

 

The golden fist on the inside is way better than I could have done, and works perfectly with the shape of the cape.

 

 

And yeah, still really pleased with the shield. ;) 

 

 

Next on the plate is a Night Lord's Terror Squad, then it's on to the Storm Raven. I've found Vallejo Air gold yellow is a great match for the old citadel black-cap Golden Yellow, so I'll be doing a quick test this weekend I hope. 

[Bob Hunk]

Excellent work, the finished Templars and Sigismund look amazing! B)

[Inquisitor Engel]

Cheers Bob!

 

Thanks all! 

 

Feeling motivational this Saturday!

 

There's a ton of beautiful minis around here that get a ton of attention, and there are some who come here purely for inspiration and aren't comfortable posting their stuff (I know I'm intimidated sometimes!). I came across some pics of my Ultramarines from 2004 and just thought I'd share a comparison to what I did late last year.

 

http://i.imgur.com/lGJmcX2.png

 

Never stop trying to improve, never turn down criticism and never take it personally. Learn and grow. That is all. Keep sharing everyone!

[Sagentus]

Lovely stuff here. Really liking the golden fist, i like that it's a toned down gold and not to in your face. The shield and Cape are outstanding.

 

Really liking the comparison with your old model, it goes to show that with time, patients and practice you will get better and achieve the quality you have :-)

[Inquisitor Engel]

Cheers Sargentus!

 

Mild distraction - I got bit by the Custodes bug a tiny bit... 

 

I'm constantly frustrated by FW putting out rules and no models, and I dediced I wanted Solarite Gauntlets on a unit of Sentinels, so it was off to eBay for some bits. Still some cleaning, touch ups, and some press detail casting to do, but I'm very satisfied with how these Tartaros power fists fit as Solarite Gauntlets for my Custodes Sentinel Squad.

 

http://i.imgur.com/J2TPQ1V.jpg

 

One guy kept his sword. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/4vQgEGO.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/Z4Ax9ui.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/kCxA7Ho.jpg

 

This guy is going to have the unit's Vexila. Now I just need a left-handed alternate vexila option. I looked at Age of Sigmar, but didn't see anything. 

[Inquisitor Engel]

Phew. 

 

It's taken me LONG time, but I've finally found a spray method that is a decent equivalence of my old method. 

 

It took some sacrifices though.

 

http://i.imgur.com/ehxKMAu.png

 

Left to right:

 

White undercoat, Tamiya PS-19, Vellejo Model Air Gold Yellow

White undercoat, Tamiya TS-34, Vellejo Model Air Gold Yellow

Grey undercoat, Tamiya PS-19, Vellejo Model Air Gold Yellow

Grey undercoat, Tamiya TS-34, Vellejo Model Air Gold Yellow

Straight up Vellejo Model Air Sun Yellow over plastic

White undercoat, Vellejo Model Sun Gold Yellow

Averland Sunset undercoat, Tamiya PS-19, Sun Yellow, Gold Yellow - This is where I THOUGHT I was close, but it's a bit too dark compared to the previous models.

Averland Sunset undercoat, Tamiya PS-19, Gold Yellow - This is it. I think. 

 

I THINK this is all correct, but Sun Yellow and Gold Yellow are very similar in the bottles, so I have to do another couple of tests to make sure everything is correct. Luckily I bought a tactical squad and got to have some fun assembling models specifically for their sacrifices to the paint god.

 

Ta-DA! 

 

http://i.imgur.com/ppym4l3.png

 

The new guy is a bit rough, but I was satisfied enough with the comparison that I wanted to see how he panned out with all the other colours. I chose to compare him to my 

 

I'm not a huge fan of GW's kits having the hand attached to the guns, but eh.

 

I ended up choosing method 8 because he appeared, at first blush, to be close to one of the old tactical sergeants. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/zAwWqFu.png

 

After painting him, it was clear the tactical sergeant, like many of my earlier models, was more yellow and less "gold/orangey yellow" so I compared him to the Emperor's Champion mini and he's a great fit. 

 

http://i.imgur.com/ivRNxTt.png

 

I think method 7 is close too, just a little too yellow yellow, but not quite gold enough to match the tactical guy. I'm in the right direction, but I think I need to lean more towards the gold/orangey yellow for vehicles to match the overall colour of the army. 

 

Pro-tip everyone: Just pick simple colours and don't go nuts. This has been a chore in and of itself. 

[hushrong]

Custodes with the solarite gauntlets look good.

 

Those sacrifices to the paint gods are looking to be worth it! The yellow is looking spot on!

[Inquisitor Engel]

Thanks Hushrong! 

 

I've done another test model and I'm super satisfied, so I'm completing this squad, then the next test is a Rhino. 

 

My frustration currently resides with GW's decision a few years ago to make the hands fused to bolters. Very frustrating to match. I much prefer the old method where you clipped the handle off the gun...

[Inquisitor Engel]

Phew what a ride this squad has been. 

 

 

Most of these were experiments to get consistent yellow that matches my 10 year old method. Most are now reasonably matchy (yay airbrush!) Yes, they're a lot more "golden" than most Fists you see nowadays, but I love it and it's mine. I keep trying to make a consistent panorama, but I've given up! If someone wants a fun photostitch/depth of field challenge the Photoshop hates, let me know! ;) 

 

 

The Sergeant was a bit of an accident, but he works. The MKVI marine with the black shoulder pad seems a bit of a workaround for the company markings, and I quite enjoy it.

 

 

The MKVIII guy blends in nicely, despite being probably most different at his base. The arms and shoulders were done from scratch which really helped. 

 

 

Love this guy in the middle.

 

I think I probably need to do some Night Lords next, but I might also go for a Rhino for this squad to see what it's like on a vehicle before I tackle the Storm Raven...

 

[Inquisitor Engel]

Further progress on a test vehicle. 

 

 

I like it. Kudos to GW on making this kit fully swappable with no extra work. Hunter or Stalker super easy! 

 

 

[Dosjetka]

They're looking good, Engel. :tu:

[Sagentus]

These all look great. The hunter/stalker is looking awesome, shame the rhino's dont generally have that front, looks pretty epic.