Legion Rising

[JeffTibbetts]

Stoked to see you painting up that plasma globe kit. I wanna see a video of it in action! 

[Augustus b'Raass]

Stoked to see you painting up that plasma globe kit. I wanna see a video of it in action!

 

This. Plus demands.

[Subtle Discord]

+++ Initialize Plasma Reaction? ∙ Y/N +++ Command Input ∙ Y +++_+++ Status ∙ Ignighting Plasma Reaction +++_+++ Initialize Void Field? Y/N +++

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Impressive work.

[Augustus b'Raass]

Not good enough. The demand was a video. :p

 

 

;)

[Eldrick Shadowblade]

Awesome! I got one in the box I need to put together one of these days! Looks fantastic!

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

[Subtle Discord]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. There's still a bit more work to do, but I couldn't help myself, assembled it, and figured a picture was in order.

 

I was going to reply to some comments and I do have plans to make a video as requested, but there seems to be some malicious scrap-code at work and many areas in my city are without landline internet. The horror! I swear it's similar to losing a part of your brain function.

 

Oh well, I guess that's a sign that I should paint some more.

[Bryan Blaire]

The plasma generator looks amazing! That would be such a great addition to a Mechanicus table!

[Subtle Discord]

+++ Initialize Void Field? ∙ Y/N +++ Command Input ∙ Y +++_+++ Void Field ∙ Active +++ Plasma Raction ∙ Stable +++ Containment Field ∙ Nominal +++

+++ Command downlink received. +++ Downtime overdue. +++ Priority - Seek maintenance bay interface. +++ Rejuvenation subroutines activated. +++ Further data uplink to follow maintainance rites. +++

[JeffTibbetts]

Have you done much to promote this yet? Honestly this should be huge on Reddit but I don't want to post it and have you not be able to keep up with orders. 

 

THIS SHOULD BE HUGE! You should be selling them like hotcakes. What hobbyist in their right mind wouldn't want one of these on their table? 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Have you done much to promote this yet? Honestly this should be huge on Reddit but I don't want to post it and have you not be able to keep up with orders.

 

THIS SHOULD BE HUGE! You should be selling them like hotcakes. What hobbyist in their right mind wouldn't want one of these on their table?

Those whose financial state forced them to choose between getting this (admittedly AWESOME-looking) void field generator, or some new Forge World model with game-breaking stats and special rules. Edited February 14, 2018 by Bjorn Firewalker

[Midnightmare]

That.....is.....beautiful....

 

*wipes (manly) tear*

[Brother Casman]

Oooh, nice! I should really paint mine.

[Subtle Discord]

Ok, ahead of my planned content including reply, I think I'll try to pull off a M-M-M-M-MultiQuote!!
 

I don't think it clashes or is disconcerting at all, it's almost nicely organic really, especially the plasma calivers - the line of those almost reminds me of Virginia bluebell flowers. I think it looks nice, I was just wondering what the reason was for not using the contrasting/complimenting orange. The cold-centric scheme is a good reason to me!

Look forward to seeing more (especially since I'm still trying to settle on my own scheme for my Mechanicus forces).

I really like all your model add-ons, and I really like your "MkII" design for the Land Raider.

Edit: Damn Autocorrect

Hey now, don't you dare be reasonable or well thought out! I must overthink and be too serious and/or mildly critical about everything damnit! Lest I lose my eccentric charm... *ponders*... charm? Yes, I'll go with charm.
 

I'm liking what you are doing very much:tu: The green blends very well with the blue and stands out nicely. I must say it's a color combination I never thought of for the AdMech, but it works very well. Very unique and very bold. Nicely done sir!

Thanks! After painting Black Legion for years, unique and bold are exactly what I was aiming for. I am anything but conventional in more ways than one, so it seems only fitting that my army to reflects that.
 

Stoked to see you painting up that plasma globe kit. I wanna see a video of it in action!

Not good enough. The demand was a video.

I did a short video of it before it was finished, but it's a bit of a challenge to display it in the thread how I would like. It's very vertical and so it doesn't cooperate all that well with the horizontal format that is usually expected by most hosting sites. I got a good video that's nice and large so you can really see it all nicely, but it's vertical in orientation and gets shrunk to a horizontal window by youtube. Imgur and Vimeo can present it in the vertical format but they don't want to embed into the thread like I was hoping I could do.
 
Now that it's finished I'll make another video and figure out how to get it into the thread in some way.
 

Awesome! I got one in the box I need to put together one of these days! Looks fantastic!

Oooh, nice! I should really paint mine.

Dooo iiit! Granted, it is a large model and it'll take some time and effort, but I have yet to see one 'out in the wild' fully painted. So yeah, no pressure or anything, but...

 

The plasma generator looks amazing! That would be such a great addition to a Mechanicus table!

Thanks. Yep, that's the plan! I've got a great model for a Void Shield, so I might as well get it in my army, at least to start. If I find I'm not happy with how it performs during play it still makes an excellent terrain piece that will also look great in a future display case.
 

Have you done much to promote this yet? Honestly this should be huge on Reddit but I don't want to post it and have you not be able to keep up with orders. 
 
THIS SHOULD BE HUGE! You should be selling them like hotcakes. What hobbyist in their right mind wouldn't want one of these on their table?

I haven't been doing much promotion in general yet and as you say, for now, that's fine. That said, it's already got some good attention and I've sold several. It's also going to be showcased at a small convention who purchased several for table centerpieces and I sponsored the event by proving two to use as prizes.
 
I do need to be careful with this kit because it's still more challenging to produce than most kits; I'm still limited on how quickly I can invest in the plasma globes and they take some time to get to my studio. The moulds used to create this kit are also some of the largest I've produced (pushing my equipment to its limits) and I only have a single set to work with right now, so I can't cast them as quickly as I would like. More moulds are planned and I'll be ordering another batch of plasma globes in the near future. For now, I've got 2 on the shelf and I can produce 8 more.
 
I also recognize that needing parts of a GW Vengence Weapon Battery kit to complete the build is a bit of a 'barrier to entry' for people who would otherwise be more likely to get one. So I am going to 'complete' the kit at some point in the future with the last parts needed to make the entire tower. I like the concept of building with GW components so the model will blend in with the GW kits, but I've come to think changing it to a completely stand-alone kit makes more sense in the long run.
 

Impressive work.

That.....is.....beautiful....

*wipes (manly) tear*

Thanks! Yep, I think it's got a fair amount of geek appeal if I do say so myself. Screw those people who don't get this hobby, this is an absolutely awesome chunk of plastic, glass, and electronics. I'm so pleased with it I want to use it as a desk lamp, but I don't really have any room.

[Augustus b'Raass]

Hot damn I love that model - it looks SO badass! 

Gotta say the colour combination is a bit of a miss for me - the gold near the yellow hazard stripes combined with the blue sides and the purple plasma makes it looks a bit hotchpotch to me. I'd lose one fo those colours - preferably the either the gold or the hazard stripes (hazard stripes) as they clash with blue/purple on the colour wheel. Maybe some blueish miniatures next to it will do it more justice?

[Subtle Discord]

For this update, enjoy a three-course meal of content. First up, some horderves… 

 

I have no idea why Vimeo is willing to present it in the vertical format but refuses to embed the video any larger. If you’re interested, check the link below to see a full-size version.

 

 

Link to a much larger video - Arcis Pattern Shield Generator

 

This is by far the trickiest model I’ve ever had to photograph. Usually with miniatures you want to use lots of light and there’s no problem slowing the shutter speed so you can get a good depth of field (focus range) in the images. But in this case, too much light washes out the plasma effect and a slow shutter speed can’t catch the constantly moving plasma streams. The settings and conditions that are best for capturing the plasma effect are pretty much the exact opposite to what you’d normally want to use to best showcase miniatures in photos. *Sigh*

 

But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, on to the main course. A morsel for the mind I’m going to call the taming of the sponge. I’ve seen a few people mention from time-to-time that they can’t get results they like with the sponge technique to add a chipping weathered effect to a model. While not as authentic as doing multi-layered chipping techniques, I’ve found the sponge method is a good compromise to get excellent results that look very authentic and random with less effort than other processes. In fact, it’s so fast once you get the hang of it that you can quickly get carried away so restraint and bit of patients is a good thing when using this technique. However, I have found a few tips, tricks, and understanding helps the process considerably.

 

First up, do yourself a favor and pick up a set of clamping needle nose tweezers and behold the improvement in control over this technique.

I have long slender fingers and even I have trouble controlling a tiny chunk of ragged sponge dipped in paint as I try to dab it reasonably precisely on a tiny detail of a miniature. A simple set of this kind of tweezer lets you create a temporary paint brush with much more control and visibility as you work.

 

The tweezers will let you easily twist and turn the sponge as you work and you can ‘choke’ the sponge until it’s just a tiny tuft providing much more control working on small details.

 

Be sure to tear chunks of sponge off that will produce points, ridges, and edges that can provide a bit more precision to the technique. The sponge will always produce somewhat random blotches of ragged spots and that’s what you want, but this lets you have more control over where they go and how large they’ll be.

 

Try to find a selection of sponge of a few different densities to choose from to add further to the control you can have over the results.

 

The sponge pictured to the top is denser with more uniform bubbles. Simulated chips and scratches created with this sponge will be smaller and a bit more uniform. This is the type of sponge you want to use if you prefer a lighter speckling of chip marks on the edge of a model; dabbing most of the paint off of the sponge and applying a bit more pressure will tend to get that light chipping effect. Denser sponge is also stiffer so it provides a bit more control if you tear the sponge into the right shapes for your task and let the tweezers help.

 

The bottom chunk of sponge pictured is less dense and has much less uniform bubbles. This sponge will produce much larger simulated chips and flakes owing to the larger voids in the material. Combined with the softer nature of sponge like this a little more care is required. If you load too much paint and/or apply too much pressure with this sponge the spots can be very large. It’s always a good idea to keep a few pieces of primed sprew nearby so you can dab the sponge along an edge to test the results before you commit to a model. If the shapes that are being made don’t work for any reason just swap out the sponge in the tweezers and try again. A little practice will have you discover how you prefer the shape of the sponge to be.

 

With black I prefer to use silver with a black wash mottled over top for weathering but if I was going to do this with practically any other colour I’d likely use a dark grey and skip the wash.

 

I tend to start by placing a few larger simulated chips and flakes in key locations (read: corners and edges), fill it out with some smaller speckles, and then use a brush to unify and tweak the effect a little bit. Even with the added control, the tweezers provide the effect will still be somewhat random so a tiny bit of brushwork helps refine it a bit and tie it together.

 

The final tip I can provide for this technique is to thin the paint and mix in a little Future Floor Wax to lower the surface tension. This is the key trick to get the paint to apply nice and thin while still ‘clumping’ into the nice crackled and flaked shapes that make this process look reasonably authentic. Without the Future added in the paint wants to spread too much and is much harder to control and get a pleasing result.

 

Use the right tweezers. Use the right sponge. Use them the right way. Use a bit of Future Floor Wax in thinned paints. Rejoice with the improved control you’ll find attempting this kind of technique.

 

And now on to something for the sweet tooth…

 

I’ve never actually measured an official GW Void Shield model, but from my research, I think the footprint and height of the Arcis Generator are very similar.

I really wanted a ladder up to the battlements so that imposed some limits to how large it could be; large enough to put a small squad of snipers or heavy weapons but not much else.

Having a hexagram footprint it doesn’t really have a back so here’s the other side so you can see how the power switch and cord are treated.

“I said across her nose, not up her nose!” ~ Spaceballs ~ Extreme close-up! Because… why not?  Details and stuff. Ooooo… plasma!

 

I do wish the primer had gone on a little smoother in a few spots but that’s a minor complaint about a model that I’m quite pleased on several levels. Mmmm… progress. Me likey progress! It’s an interesting ‘unit’ to finish first for my Mechanicus army but it’s kinda’ fitting, really, if a bit unconventional. It’s going to make a great starting centerpiece for the rest of the army to build around. Speaking of which, an update for (mostly) finishing first Vanguard squad should be ready reasonably soon, but until then…

 

Perhaps I can tempt you with an after dinner mint? Come now, of course you would, it’s wafer thin.

 

Vanguard squads two and three (each toting 3x Arc Rifles) are stepping up on deck. Pictured here in mostly grey they’re already primed and ready to start painting once the first squad is finished. Now that I have a good lock on pretty much every process and technique I’ll be using on these models I hope to be able to focus on them and power through them reasonably quickly. I’ve got an itch to start on something bigger and/or more elaborate and these two squads are my main barrier.

[Augustus b'Raass]

 

Perhaps I can tempt you with an after dinner mint? Come now, of course you would, it’s wafer thin.

Bon apétit. ;)

 

It looks so good. I want one for sure. Question: does it work on socket power or batteries?

[TheOneTrueZon]

 

This is by far the trickiest model I’ve ever had to photograph. Usually with miniatures you want to use lots of light and there’s no problem slowing the shutter speed so you can get a good depth of field (focus range) in the images. But in this case, too much light washes out the plasma effect and a slow shutter speed can’t catch the constantly moving plasma streams. The settings and conditions that are best for capturing the plasma effect are pretty much the exact opposite to what you’d normally want to use to best showcase miniatures in photos. *Sigh*

 

Ah yes, that IS quite a nut to crack. There is a couple simple solutions to this, however none of them are in-camera and will require Photoshop or After Effects. Basically you do two exposures for the still or video image. One for the structure (high shutter speed, low ISO, lots of light), another for the plasma effect (lower shutter speed, high ISO, not so much light) and then you composite them together with a quick matte. Since the image isn't moving and the plasma sphere is a nice uniform shape, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to create a matte and combine the two. It's a hack & slash way to create an HDR (high dynamic range) type image without having a fancy pants camera.

Edited February 15, 2018 by TheOneTrueZon

[JeffTibbetts]

 

 

This is by far the trickiest model I’ve ever had to photograph. Usually with miniatures you want to use lots of light and there’s no problem slowing the shutter speed so you can get a good depth of field (focus range) in the images. But in this case, too much light washes out the plasma effect and a slow shutter speed can’t catch the constantly moving plasma streams. The settings and conditions that are best for capturing the plasma effect are pretty much the exact opposite to what you’d normally want to use to best showcase miniatures in photos. *Sigh*

 

Ah yes, that IS quite a nut to crack. There is a couple simple solutions to this, however none of them are in-camera and will require Photoshop or After Effects. Basically you do two exposures for the still or video image. One for the structure (high shutter speed, low ISO, lots of light), another for the plasma effect (lower shutter speed, high ISO, not so much light) and then you composite them together with a quick matte. Since the image isn't moving and the plasma sphere is a nice uniform shape, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to create a matte and combine the two. It's a hack & slash way to create an HDR (high dynamic range) type image without having a fancy pants camera.

 

 

I did a similar thing when photographing my Imperial Knight, as the closeup shots I was going for meant the various other bits would be out of focus. I ended up using a tripod and taking 4 or 5 shots with varying focus (though in my case I tried to keep the exposure settings mostly the same) and then composited them together in Photoshop. There's actually a built-in tool for this and I'm fairly certain it could be used in Subtle's case as well, though for the life of me I can't remember the name of the tool. I can try to find it if you're interested, though. 

[Subtle Discord]

Hot damn I love that model - it looks SO badass! 

 

Gotta say the colour combination is a bit of a miss for me - the gold near the yellow hazard stripes combined with the blue sides and the purple plasma makes it looks a bit hotchpotch to me. I'd lose one fo those colours - preferably the either the gold or the hazard stripes (hazard stripes) as they clash with blue/purple on the colour wheel. Maybe some blueish miniatures next to it will do it more justice?

 

 

Perhaps I can tempt you with an after dinner mint? Come now, of course you would, it’s wafer thin.

Bon apétit.

 

It looks so good. I want one for sure. Question: does it work on socket power or batteries?

 

*Clunk* "Oh dear. I have trodden in monsieur's bucket."

 

If I'm using my current Mechanicus scheme as a guide then it's the gold elements, in my opinion, that are the issue. I'm not completely happy with them but I started painting this well before I had completely established the colour pallet I was going to use with my Mechanicus. Blue works well with gold and with yellow, but I'm still not completely sold on all the gold elements. The plasma effect leaning more towards a pinkish-purple instead of more towards red also doesn't help - red also works well with blue; I wish I could get a more exotic plasma effect but it's the one part/colour that can't change. :) I was contemplating making a few cosmetic changes and your comment has me considering it even more now. Hummm...

 

I'm careful to get plasma globes that work on external power (~5v, so any USB port or common power converter) and also with 4x AAA batteries. Depending on how good the batteries are the plasma effect can lower a bit but it will run for 5-6 hours on fully charged batteries and it won't fade as it goes along, the effect stays steady and it simply stops working altogether once the batteries are depleted. I'm also tempted to try creating my own battery compartment part that would let it accept 4x AA batteries in an effort to get a longer life. 5 hours is good for a game, but not for a daylong session, but swapping the batteries is always an option. A USB battery pack on a short cord is also another good option, especially if you disguise it as another bit of terrain. 

 

 

 

 

This is by far the trickiest model I’ve ever had to photograph. Usually with miniatures you want to use lots of light and there’s no problem slowing the shutter speed so you can get a good depth of field (focus range) in the images. But in this case, too much light washes out the plasma effect and a slow shutter speed can’t catch the constantly moving plasma streams. The settings and conditions that are best for capturing the plasma effect are pretty much the exact opposite to what you’d normally want to use to best showcase miniatures in photos. *Sigh*

 

Ah yes, that IS quite a nut to crack. There is a couple simple solutions to this, however none of them are in-camera and will require Photoshop or After Effects. Basically you do two exposures for the still or video image. One for the structure (high shutter speed, low ISO, lots of light), another for the plasma effect (lower shutter speed, high ISO, not so much light) and then you composite them together with a quick matte. Since the image isn't moving and the plasma sphere is a nice uniform shape, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to create a matte and combine the two. It's a hack & slash way to create an HDR (high dynamic range) type image without having a fancy pants camera.

 

You see, this is why I like posting and sharing information. You get great feedback. Someone over on Dakka brought up this exact idea, so thank you as well for making me think of this. It's not a concept that I should have overlooked since 'in situation' images with products that are nothing more than 3D models is a strong way to present a design proposal, I don't know why I didn't think of this. I managed to get good results with a bit of trial-and-error but I may do this when I take future photos for the studio.

 

 

 

 

This is by far the trickiest model I’ve ever had to photograph. Usually with miniatures you want to use lots of light and there’s no problem slowing the shutter speed so you can get a good depth of field (focus range) in the images. But in this case, too much light washes out the plasma effect and a slow shutter speed can’t catch the constantly moving plasma streams. The settings and conditions that are best for capturing the plasma effect are pretty much the exact opposite to what you’d normally want to use to best showcase miniatures in photos. *Sigh*

 

Ah yes, that IS quite a nut to crack. There is a couple simple solutions to this, however none of them are in-camera and will require Photoshop or After Effects. Basically you do two exposures for the still or video image. One for the structure (high shutter speed, low ISO, lots of light), another for the plasma effect (lower shutter speed, high ISO, not so much light) and then you composite them together with a quick matte. Since the image isn't moving and the plasma sphere is a nice uniform shape, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to create a matte and combine the two. It's a hack & slash way to create an HDR (high dynamic range) type image without having a fancy pants camera.

 

 

I did a similar thing when photographing my Imperial Knight, as the closeup shots I was going for meant the various other bits would be out of focus. I ended up using a tripod and taking 4 or 5 shots with varying focus (though in my case I tried to keep the exposure settings mostly the same) and then composited them together in Photoshop. There's actually a built-in tool for this and I'm fairly certain it could be used in Subtle's case as well, though for the life of me I can't remember the name of the tool. I can try to find it if you're interested, though. 

 

This is why I like Canon, or at least the models that I have used over the years. Even with many of their consumer-focused point-and-shoot models, Canon offers a Manual mode that lets you control the ISO, F-stop, and shutter speed. It's not nearly as intuitive as shooting with a 35mm DSLR but it offers all of the control over the depth of filed and light levels that you need to get the best of both worlds if you have a tripod. Sometimes I get lazy and switch to Auto so I can shoot handheld or if I want to use the short focus range, but the Manual mode like what's on a Canon is a minimum requirement for me personally.

[DuskRaider]

By the Gods, that's amazing! It's really really tempting me...

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Good tut on the sponge chipping and I can't believe I never thought of using locking tweezers (or a hemostat). 

 

Also, OMG, 2 big hints to the Mr. Creosote sketch and no one got it? FOR SHAME!

 

[Augustus b'Raass]

Hi Subtle, yeah I get that - the gold with the heavy verdigris weathering clashes the most with your Mechanicus scheme. I don't mind the purple-instead-of-red that much myself, so I feel like a change from gold to steel colour like the rest of the thing would work the most (and is alspo, incidentally, the least troublesome! )

@ BCK: I thought you were leaving the forum, you old fart! ;) 

Hidden Content

Good tut on the sponge chipping and I can't believe I never thought of using locking tweezers (or a hemostat). 

 

Also, OMG, 2 big hints to the Mr. Creosote sketch and no one got it? FOR SHAME!

 

Wut? Your eyesight must be waning! :p Literally the first comment after Subtle's post.

 

 

Perhaps I can tempt you with an after dinner mint? Come now, of course you would, it’s wafer thin.

Bon apétit.

Please take this how it was meant, with extreme tongue-in-cheekiness.  

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

I said I was burnt out on 40k so my thread would probably go dormant and I wouldn't be around as much.