Calth: An Apologist and Doghouse True Scale Project Log

[apologist]

Cheers :)

Haven't ordered any of the Ultramarines parts. I'm not keen on the Praetorian set, as I don't like the ones with Y-shaped slits in the faceplate. They all look a bit narrow to me, too. The Suzerain set looks much more promising, so I'm looking forward to that being released. 

 

I wouldn't worry too much about uniformity (though quite happy to see more standard Contemptors from you! :)). It could always be a prototype or different sort of Dreadnought armour.

[Bob Hunk]

Great work on the Land Raider Apologist. I like the simple white stripe down the side; I'd be interested to hear how you achieved the weathering on the white if you have the time to pontificate. ;)

[apologist]

[...]if you have the time to pontificate.

Ah, you know me too well!

Never one to avoid the opportunity for a good pontificating; the white's a good example of just getting stuck in and adapting on the fly. It's also a salient lesson in the perils of not knowing when to stop!

Since the blue of the hull is fairly heavily variegated (i.e. there are variations in the hue rather than a flat blue), the white would look weird if it were clean. A good example of this is on the Rhino:

The white areas just jump out and look too bright and cartoony.

This presents the challenge of getting the markings looking similarly weathered and variegated. I was struggling with this, to be honest. Usually I'd switch out the white for a highly-tinted hue (probably a very light beige or blue) as in the detail here:

However, simply using an off-white paint wouldn't work for such large areas, as you'd end up with the area looking too clean compared to the rest of the hull.

In the end, I decided a whitewashed metal look was probably the best idea; to try and get that variegated look onto the white, and suggest that the surface was once nice and clean and flat, but is now covered with ingrained dirt and microtextures like pitting. Something like the whitewashed metal linked:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/3e/60/3b/3e603b8aafa94809e2f0d165e730d97f.jpg

To get something close to the effect, I mixed some Vallejo White with tiny touches of sepia ink, Vallejo orange and whatever the modern version of Scorched Brown it. A small, scrubby flat brush (¼in) was used to apply the mix to the stripes I wanted white. I worked with fairly long brushstrokes from the top of the area down to the bottom. The paint was dilute enough that a little of the underlying colour could still be seen. Once dry, I worked another layer over the top, using less paint so that the brush began to run out towards the bottom of each stroke.

More Vallejo white was then added to the mix and a third layer applied, using still less paint. This created a fading effect:

Below the Ultramarines symbol, you can see where the earlier layers gradually ran out, leaving small backruns which add an interesting effect. Note also that the area at the top is relatively clean and bright – this contrast is important to give the impression that the paintwork was all once clean and bright and that it has intentionally been painted to give a grungey effect; otherwise it simply looks like you haven't finished painting the area! The clean look is enhanced with a little subtle highlighting of edges in direct light.

The other side shows the gradated effect more clearly, though unfortunately I got carried away with some very dilute brown weathering washes which covered up most of the graduated effect (d'oh!). The downside of making things look grungey is that if you make a mistake like this, you've basically got to start again. In this case, I decided that a bit of extra dirt looked okay; so left it as-is.

So, the short answer is basically with repeated layers of an off-white mix, and you reduce the area covered with each successive layer, until the top (or area towards the light source) is distinctly brighter than the lower parts. You then highlight the top edges.

[apologist]

Land Raider

 

Nearly there now with the Land Raider. It's in a perfectly fieldable state now, but I'd like to add some more personalisation and detail. That'll take a bit of research (what goes on WWII-era tanks and similar, for inspiration). I've also decided that I'm going to base my tanks, to help set them within the world.

 

 

 

 

I'm pleased with how it's come out. I think I've managed to keep it quite unornamented and realistic while still having some interest. This has mainly come through use of tone and texture; I wanted to steer clear of really heavy weathering as being set on Calth, pre-boarding, this tank's supposed to be relatively fresh. Any damage is just from the immediate battle.

 

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Techniques

I used a pencil to add graphite metallics to recessed areas:

A very quick way of getting muted metallics that look great in real life; though the technqiue does benefit from sealing (a bit like weathering pigments, but with more control).

 

I've also created a marble tutorial on Death of a Rubricist, for those interested:

Part I: Theoretical

Part II:Practical

 

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Finally, heeeeere's Eddie

 

Deredeo CCIX

Accompanied by a representative of the Titan Legions, this Deredeo has non-standard face-plating. Perhaps a mark of honour?

[Slips]

Using the SoH Contemptor Head? Curious to see if it fits with the UM Scheme :p

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Weird, now I can see the pictures that previously showed broken to me.

 

http://i61.tinypic.com/9g8vgp.jpg

 

And that's fething amazing, Doghouse.

[apologist]

Using the SoH Contemptor Head? Curious to see if it fits with the UM Scheme

Yes, that's right – good occulobes. For the record, I'm curious myself to see if it works!

WIP Captain Teutona

I had a bit of a change of heart with the officer, so I've swapped his head, added a cape, and altered the greenstuff in the torso. I think he's looking a lot better for the change.

I also put some paint on Lieutenant Pullo:

[Commissar Molotov]

I feel as though your Captain seems a little lacking compared to some of the other figures you've created, though I'm not convinced I could put my figure exactly on it. The closest I can say is that he isn't regal enough? I'm not sure. Perhaps some more photographs might help to give us a clearer view of the model? 

 

http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd464/INQ28/Suzerain_zps4xwbpxfl.png

 

The new Suzerain bits hold promise for you - the backpacks particularly, along with the shields and axes - I look forward to your truescale version! Perhaps a small unit links up with the 190th in the chaos of war... 

[apologist]

Coo, that was a bit of a break! I've had a little segue into Iron Warriors with my Officia Monstrosa project, but the Ultramarines have been ticking along. Here's the latest Contemptor, who is at a gaming-ready stage. I'll probably go back to add some more honorifics and an heraldic shield before I declare him finished:

 

 

 

One more to go and that's the Talon completed.

[Doghouse]

Really nice stuff mate, the lumbering feel you have got with these guys is really nice.

 

I will be updating soon, real life has been seriously getting in the way of things but I am now in overdrive with a new version of my truescale marines that I am really pleased with. Got a production line going right now and thanks to BaC I am able to do this so much cheaper.

 

Going all MK4 this time but it just looks so much better than my mk2 and I have managed to capture the uniform feel that has been niggling at me. What I will do though is still go with the regular Contemptor models so that they match yours.

[apologist]

Great to hear, and hope you're doing well mate. Sorry to have been so quiet recently – busy busy...

 

You should definitely use the big fella, too – perhaps as a Lucifer Siege Dreadnought?

[apologist]

More Dreadnoughts:

Contemptor

 

 

Deredeo

 

 

...and a size comparison, in case it's useful. Without the rocket launcher (I think I might go for an atomantic pavaise), the Deredeo is about the same height as the Contemptor.

[Thousand Eyes]

Stunning work from the pair of you. I don't know how you can afford the parts to experiment with to get these results. Was I wrong or did some of the terminator bodies look printed earlier on?

 

I was never sure about arming dreadnoughts with twin linked heavy bolters, but the rule of cool does apply to those.

[apologist]

Busy busy...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Talon complete

 

The new boy

As with the one I painted yesterday, this one is complete, but I'll likely come back for some further honorifics. For the moment, however, he's ready for a game against Lucifer216 next weekend.

 

 

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Deredeo

Dere; an archaic term, meaning 'harm' or 'destruction'; the Deredeo class support Dreadnought– or 'God of Damage' – is aptly named. 

 

 

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...and a final shot of all the Dreadnoughts in the army (so far, at least!)

 

 

Stunning work from the pair of you. I don't know how you can afford the parts to experiment with to get these results. Was I wrong or did some of the terminator bodies look printed earlier on?

 

I was never sure about arming dreadnoughts with twin linked heavy bolters, but the rule of cool does apply to those.

 

I've had various version of the torsos I sculpted cast-up, which may be why some look printed?

Regarding the expense, there's no getting away from the fact this can be an expensive hobby. That said, I don't think so-called 'true-scale' marines need be ruinous. In fact, I've written a tutorial to that same effect on Death of a Rubricist  (the link will take you to the first part), which is all based around a single box of Terminators.

 

As to the heavy bolters, the PCRC will attest to my love of heavy repeating machine guns! As you say, far from the best in-game weapon, but useful in their place, cheap, and I think they're the best-looking of all the Contemptor weaponry.

[Thousand Eyes]

Have no fear I have followed your blog for a long while, it is linked into mine so I don't miss updates :)

 

A single box of terminators is fine until you look at the sheer amount of true scaled tactical marines you have and start multiplying the cost. I suppose we each approach the game in different ways, yours looks wonderful though.

 

I wouldn't dream of suggesting the heavy bolters don't look good on those guys. There is a reason why my Forgefiend has hades autocannons and my havocs will have more autocannons. We may not be orks but we do like our dakka.

[Doghouse]

Very nice stuff mate. I have some serious catching up to do here but but those look really nice.

Hopefully you should be seeing some big updates now that I have finally perfected what I am trying to achieve.

This is a completely new approach to me that finally captures what I am trying to achieve for my truescale marines. It is MK4 so my favourite armour variant and because of the new plastics I can at long last achieve my goal relatively quickly and cheaply. The proportions are more like what I have been hoping to achieve all along and I am much more comfortable with these guys as they feel about right to me.

Ultimately the goal is 100 Astartes which is extremely doable right now. I have sixty on the go right now but will be working on 20 at a time for now then will do a group shot.

This is the first very rough test model, I've literally just splashed some paint on him and stuck the transfers on. I'll go back and clean him up later but it has swung me in favour of doing Word Bearers now.

http://i65.tinypic.com/24e8806.jpg

Scale shot next with the old MKII models I was playing around with. I was toying with Emperor's Children which I may go back to at some point. The sigmarite arms are perfect for MkII truescale btw.

http://i64.tinypic.com/2uhs8sp.jpg

http://i67.tinypic.com/2eankf6.jpg

I've got 60 of these on the go at the moment thanks to getting hold of two sets of BaC, I'm just churning them out at the moment then will go back over them and clean up the holes and missing bits.

http://i64.tinypic.com/ndpmhd.jpg

Lastly started on a Praetor using bits from the BaC chaplain.

http://i64.tinypic.com/2w6drnn.jpg

[SalvationOfReason]

Nice production line you have going on there. I'm jealous.

The WB red is nice, I like the more maroon approach vs the dark scarlet. Keep it up ^^

[Doghouse]

Thanks mate. :)

 

I must admit it was the GW Word Bearers that swung me to going with them. Something I have always wanted to do is make a truescale Heresy character so I am making the praetor into Kurtha Sed which I think will be really cool. I am tempted to make Erebus too but that is a project for another day.              

[Doghouse]

Just a quick update, working on a couple of test models so still in major need of a clean up but I wanted to show that I have been making some serious progress on these guys.

Originally I was going to go with the Twisted Rune chapter but they get wiped out at Calth which kind of limits them to one use which is not something I want for an army involving this much work as you can imagine.

So instead I think I will go with the Graven Star Chapter as they do survive, well some of them do, or maybe a mix of survivors from several chapters. I'm working mainly on the red at the moment so haven't really touched things like the eye lenses or any specific details. I normally paint the icons myself but I want to go with transfers as much as possible to make them much more uniformed which is something I think is important to give a mass produced feel.

 

http://i63.tinypic.com/zj6jax.jpg

 

 

This guy will be the Dark Apostle, I did plan on making him the character from BaC but to be honest I have no idea if he survives the battle so will play it safe going with a "based on" model instead. I'm still plotting out the cloak the moment so have not really started working in the folds of the fabric. He will eventually be based on the ship decking that I am making for the guys above but for now I am focusing on the sculpting.

 

 

http://i65.tinypic.com/i6gjdt.jpg

[Daemon2027]

They look really good. I've been dabbling with some truescale Word Bearers based off the Gal Vorkbak and blade slave models, although they are a little to Chaosy for the heresy imo their size is useful.

[Doghouse]

Thanks mate. :)

 

Nice one, always good to see others trying to make these guys. I did look at those as well, the scale is pretty good as a starting point but like you say there is a lot of work involved to get them to look like regular marines. They would be perfect for a truescale serrated sun chapter though.

[Daemon2027]

Or just chaos marines in general. I do like what Apologist managed to to make out of the gal vorbak not sure if he ever painted then though. Do you have plans to make truescale gal vorbak, or is chapter free of that sort of thing?

[apologist]

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Awesome! These are looking great, mate – and psyked to see the Word Bearers rear their heads again

The proportions are absolutely fantastic; and the overall effect really captures the feel of the Epic battlefield. There's a lovely sense of uniformity without them looking identical.

Have you had a chance to read Know No Fear? There's quite a bit set of spaceships, so the bases will look great for that.

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I do like what Apologist managed to to make out of the gal vorbak not sure if he ever painted then though

Ta! I only ever finished this chap:

[Doghouse]

Cheers guys :)

 

The Hydra: I'm not certain at the moment. For now the general plan is just churn out as much as possible to catch up with Ed. I do have those models so may give it a bash once I have the core in place.

 

Apologist: Mate that guy looks amazing! I did listen to the audio book I think a while ago and do remember the space conflict and tanks falling from the skies.

I'm in two minds about the bases on these guys. Part of me has always wanted to do ship decking as a base but the other part of me is looking at all the marines, knights, dreadnoughts, guard and ad mech I'd have to do in the same style and is thinking yikes! Once I get a proper model done then I can see how it goes, ideally I want to churn these out as quickly as possible so we can get planning on a meet up.

The proportions have turned out well on these guys, this is the first incarnation of truescaling where I look at them and am happy with the finished look. I imagine you get the same thing where you look back at stuff and think how can I do push this further?

[Dantay VI]

Base your models on clear perspex discs, then you never have to worry about the scenery they stride on ever again ;)