Gitsplitta Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 @Messor: Thanks mate! Appreciate it! Hello all, sorry for being so long away. Decided I needed a vacation from my marines as I've been hammering away at them for a couple of years now and they were starting to get a bit stale. So... I painted orks, nids, necrons... and spent time away from painting all-together. Now I'm refreshed and ready to hit the paint pots again for the greater glory of the Emperor & the Mantis Warriors. I really painted only one marine all summer, and this fairly early on. A Fire Hawk for my Inquisitional squad (hard to explain... not really deathwatch, just troops on loan under the watchful eye of the Inquisition). A fun project though. http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/5/27/370601_sm-Fire%20Hawk,%20Space%20Marines,%20Warhammer%2040,000.jpg I just started working on marines for this year's Adepticon army. Luckily there aren't too many so I can enjoy the process. First up, a couple of sternguard with plasma cannons. That's an original plastic beakie with a FW plasma cannon and backpack. The right hand has been swapped for one that fits the gun better. Not a bad little conversion all things considered. http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/11/10/429862_sm-Beakie,%20Mantis%20Warrior,%20Plasma%20Cannon,%20Space%20Marines,%20Sternguard,%20Tranquility%20Camo.jpg I had a lot of coaching on the OSL, and while there's still a long way to go... I finally think I'm making progress on my technique. Hopefully the updates will come more regularly now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqui Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Welcome back Gits! I love the Plasma Cannons' OSL! Recently, after my parents gave my brother and I an ultimatum to clear their attic of all the stuff we had as kids, I found a lot of RTB01 minis that a friend had given me years ago (and I forgot about), painted as BA and DA...badly unfortunately. I'll be stripping them eventually and re-painting them as Rainbow Warriors. Your thread has been quite an inspiration for me (I have a soft spot for Rogue Trader Era models and paint schemes - Mantis Warriors being one of them :lol: ), so thanks for sharing :wub: Gotta love old skool! :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitsplitta Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 That's great to hear Aquilanus, thanks for the kind words. I'll be looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Not too many people take on these old minis now-a-days, but when they do... something good usually happens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kierdale Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Beautiful work! That OSL is very impressive. I remember that left arm. That one and the similar pose in the original IG box both had hands like mittens! What's up next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitsplitta Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 I'm working on a marine for a friend. He wanted one of my vanguard (dual, hinged chainswords) in tranquility camo... that has gone over to chaos. This presented challenges on several levels because he doesn't like Mk VI armor, but it doesn't fit my idea of the chapter history that they'd just return from their 100-year crusade only to have members bailing to the dark powers. So, I cooked up a regular Mk-VII marine for him which will have some fairly subtle chaos effects (as if it's rather soon after his conversion and the physical manifestations haven't become too extreme yet). So far, it's going really well. It's kind of a fun break for me because I don't get to work with regular Mk-VII marines. The basic marine is finished... now I just need to add the special effects. Hoping to get it finished up some time this week. Keep your eyes peeled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGPO Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Outstanding work as always mate. Any chance I could beg for your recipe on the plasma cannon coils? I'm working on some of those at the moment myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzy-xc Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 This thread is fulla win. Those original beakie marines with FW plasma cannons blew me away! Just awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagicMan Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Nice to see this thread again! I love the OSL on the plasma cannon marines. Its probably some of the best i've seen, tbh. It doesn't go too far and bathe the entire model in death-rays, and it looks like its actually glowing. Very awesome. Big fan of your Mantis Warriors in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EgoDraconumNigrorum Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 I've never really been a fan of the Space Bugs, but your force is actually quite amazing! The two tone green armour effect is very cool! - EgoDraconumNigrorum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitsplitta Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Thanks guys, I'm really glad to be back on B&C and painting my marines again. Your comments are very encouraging, which always helps when I'm burning the midnight oil on a fig! :) I've always struggled with OSL & needed a lot of coaching from a friend who's a very good painter to get those Plasma Cannons looking right. They still aren't quite right, but the last modifications he suggested I decided not to do because I didn't want to risk ruining the figure by random over-spray. The technique is hard to explain because I still haven't mastered it and I'm not sure I understand it fully. In essence... the coil was painted with a dark blue to begin with. Then I *should* have done the first layer of glow in a lighter blue (rather than the darker one that I chose), then blended the center up to white. The idea is 2 shades of difference between the white and the outside of the glow... my problem is I have a bit too much difference and essentially have a dark blue glow when it really should be the lighter blue (but not the white). If I figure it out... I'll post a mini tut. The original glow was done with an airbrush, but I "fixed" it (i.e. brought up the center color to white) wet blending with a brush. I you're good enough, you can get the whole thing in one go with the air brush. Here's the finished vanguard. Brother Duciss, fallen Vanguard and former defender of the Mantis Warrior home world of Tranquility. He used to faithfully serve the causes of the Emperor of Man... but now serves only the Ruinous Powers. The chaos influence is supposed to be subtle... as if the change is just beginning. A careful look will reveal that some of the camo florets are animating and coming alive. (This can be difficult to see in 2-D but about half the florets have leaves that are turning into tentacles.) http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/11/27/435314_md-Gms,%20Mantis%20Warrior,%20Space%20Marines,%20Tranquility%20Camo,%20Vanguard,%20Warhammer%2040,000.jpg I'm calling this the "final" pic but there are a couple of places where there's a little GS showing through and I'll add OSL to the jets of the jump pack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Willy Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Looks like he has a giant switch blade hehe, joking aside like the mantis hand chainswords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitsplitta Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Not a bad observation KWilly. I wanted something mantis-like for my vanguard and this hinged arrangement seems to fit the bill. This is the 4th experiment with sword designs of this type and it's the first time I've actually been satisfied with the result. I could never get the hinge right... but adding the cover to the back blade seems to have done the trick. It's just paper saturated in glue to give it some stiffness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Willy Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 You need to do one doing that weird little mantis booty dance they do when they fighting hehe. Maybe drop the cover on the straightened blade a little bit doesn't quite match the other blade but just a little inconsistency hidden by the baddassery of the whole thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotsa_terminators Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 All your marines are great, but those Mantis-arm-chainswords are awesome. One of the most original, and true to mythos conversions I've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EgoDraconumNigrorum Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Luvin' the mantis arm chainswords ;) - EgoDraconumNigrorum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitsplitta Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 Thanks guys. I will eventually get around to making myself a full vanguard unit of these guys... so far all the models I've done have been trades with friends. That being said, all that practice has allowed me to refine the design to the point where I'm pretty happy with it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitsplitta Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 One more shot of the chaos guy. I cleaned him up a bit and added the OSL to his jump pack. Since I do a lot of these trade marines I decided to start "signing" them (such as it is). If noting else it'll help folks remember who they got their MW from. :) http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/12/5/437969_sm-Gms,%20Mantis%20Warrior,%20Space%20Marines,%20Tranquility%20Camo,%20Vanguard,%20Warhammer%2040,000.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagicMan Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Hah, awesome. I used to have a pet praying mantis, so i love those chainswords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitsplitta Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Finished the Aegis Defense Wall for my Mantis Warriors. I have detailed photos of each section if you want to see some detail. The backs all have posters and graffiti. The fronts have the MW badge alternating with a warning message. http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/12/31/447766_sm-Aegis%20Defense%20Line,%20Fortifications,%20Mantis%20Warriors,%20Warhammer%2040,000.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kierdale Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Definitely want detailed images! That looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitsplitta Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 Sure thing! (sorry for the picture dump) http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/12/31/447764_sm-Aegis%20Defense%20Line,%20Fortifications,%20Mantis%20Warriors,%20Warhammer%2040,000.jpg http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/12/31/447765_sm-Aegis%20Defense%20Line,%20Fortifications,%20Mantis%20Warriors,%20Warhammer%2040,000.jpg http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/12/31/447636_sm-Aegis%20Defense%20Line,%20Fortification,%20Warhammer%2040,000.jpg http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/12/29/446582_sm-Aegis%20Defense%20Line,%20Fortification,%20Poster,%20Warhammer%2040,000.jpg http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/12/22/444327_sm-Aegis%20Defense%20Line,%20Fortifications,%20Warhammer%2040,000.jpg http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/12/15/441191_sm-Adl,%20Warhammer%2040,000.jpg http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/12/12/440278_sm-Aegis%20Defense%20Line,%20Fortifications,%20Warhammer%2040,000.jpg http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/12/12/440247_sm-Aegis%20Defense%20Line,%20Fortification,%20Warhammer%2040,000.jpg Obviously, the detail shots were taken before I'd added the details to the front of the large pieces. My idea is that while these walls were put up by the Mantis Warriors, they're most manned by IG or home defense forces... thus the posters and graffiti. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqui Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 "Keep calm and die swiftly" - awesome sauce! :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lachdannan Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Wow, really like that Aegis wall. I was wandering how to do my own, and you've certainly given me some ideas! Really liked the posters and graffiti. Did you just make them on the computer and print them out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biohazard Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 The Graffiti and posters on that wall are awesome! Brilliant work Gits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitsplitta Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 Thanks guys. Actually, my only contribution to the posters was to find them, copy them very high res & put them on one sheet at a uniform size (1" tall each). That way they can be easily scaled to whatever size you want them to be. Here's my master poster page at 400 pix/inch. Thanks to all those who made them... http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/12/29/446526_sm-Poster,%20Propeganda,%20Terrain.jpg If you guys find or have any more... please send me the links. I'll add them to the master. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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