30K Wolves, Finishing what we started

[Dantay VI]

Basically I cheated a wee bit.

 

I drew the design out on some masking tape and stuck it doen on the model. I then gid the black with highlights on one half and did the red with a wash of drakehof nightshade.

 

Word from the wise, never use blak as a shade on red. Use blue it looks a lot better and more realistic.

 

I then promptly forgot to do the highlights on the red because I wanted to see if the stencil had worked using tape. Bugger!!

 

However the outline was done, which I could then use as a guide for painting. The internal parts were freehanded based on a drawing, so I blocked in the grey on the wolves (?) and did highlights

 

To help wih steady hands,I recommend on biger pieces using a non-stick mat and holding it down gently, or stick it to something you can hold comfortably in your hand, a lot of guys use cork, like from wine bottles or woode ends from curtain rails etc, whatever you can hold comfortably in your hand. Latly make sure you have decent light to work in.. Makes a whole world of difference..

 

Top tip 2 for the day.. Lacking a very small detail brush, use a cocktail stick, or if that too fiddly, I used a mechanical pencil with a really thin lead.

 

Doing the wolf first meant I could use the wall colours to tidy up the mistakes and splotches.

 

Around the edges of the walls I did a thin line of dark brown, this set the boundary for doing the gold chain and gave the gold something to contrast against. I used the pencil to do the circles and a line to join them (links)

 

The I drew in the windows and highlighted the walls....

 

Types a lot easier than it paints....

 

Top tip 3: Do not use household masking tape, it'll rip the paint right off even when varnished. This has been a fun experiment for me and I highly recommend the Tamiya masking tape..

 

Hope that helps :)

[Flint13]

Ugh... those stylized wolves...

 

WHY you so FINE?!

 

... I'm not jealous... :P

[Dantay VI]

Coming from you Flint, I'll take that as a compliment

If I want this done before I go home on the 23rd I am going to have to get my skates on a bit!!

And I ma getting the itch to paint something grey too.

Am wondering if I should keep the groin and chest plates plain red or black.... Or do some more painting on it and finish it next trip.

Definitely got a plan for that carapace though!!

[Brother Excedis]

Thanks a yon for the tips! I'll have to write them down somewhere. Another quick question if you don't mind. What do you use for a varnish or "protective coat" so the paint doesn't rub off without interfering with the paint job or adding that god awful sheen (to places that dont need it)?

 

Thanks for the help and excellent progress.

[Pearson73]

Looking great so far!

[Dantay VI]

Thanks Pearson 73, I am a wee bit chuffed with it myself.

 

Brother Excedis: I am using Windsor & Newtons Matte acrylic varnish on my model to keep the shine to a minimum.

 

Truth be told it was a wee bit of an experiment as I have no hobby store within an hour of me which stocks model paints etc, so I bought it because it was cheap and if it didn't work , well it wouldnt hace cost me too much.

 

There are a large number of companies out there who do good matte varnishes also, like army painter I think... If you get a spray varnish though make sure to cover any clear sections first as the varnish can sometimes mess them up.

 

As an aside if using decals, put down some mattes varnish first (or Lahmian medium as it is pretty close to matt varnish) apply decal and then when the decal is dry go over it with the varnish. Helps the decal stay in place and also takes the glossy shine off of it so it looks more natural.

[Dantay VI]

Hey guys, sorry it has been a few days... Work has been manic and I have felt more like building than painting just now.

 

I am also in Augustus B'Raas new challenge and I have been challenged to finish building and to paint my praetor by March 23rd!!

 

So I will show the Praetor later, as I have made a few changes to him, but I have also been working on something else.

 

My recon team. 3 of them I am really chuffed with, 2 of them are a bit meh! I would appreciate ideas on how to make them stand out a bit more...

 

Any hoo pictures

 

I'd appreciate your thoughts.... Especially on the last 2 recon guys..

 

Thanks for looking.

 

[Combat_Vet]

I really think they "fit the bill" as they are. Recon carry the world on their shoulders, literally

Having a marine or two in the squad that are slightly different may add flavor to the squad as well as allow you to show the "age" of the marines as well.

[Pearson73]

Nice use of extra equipment - gives them the look of seasoned veterans, especially with the heads.

[Dantay VI]

Sorry for taking so long, like I said at the start I will be a bit cyclical on here as I tend to not be online when I am off work and at home.

As I work offshore, I get a lot of free time to model and paint, but when I get home it is family time.

I kinda owe it to the missus as she takes care of business and works full time when I am not around, so doing my bit and giving her a break is the least I can do. Besides me and the wee man usually have a lot of catching up to do

I had an idea to do a little bit of prose to got with the models I was working on and as I have gotten the first few done its time to see how it goes. Feel free to criticise or give pointers, as this is pretty new to me.

The idea was to build up a strike force to take part in the Korianna campaign, but as that is not really happening now, it will be more of a stand-alone piece, but with references to Korianna.

So here is part one of hopefully many

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img540/7443/MBdhcp.jpg

The beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?

In the flames Fafnir encountered old memories, which until recently he remembered with fondness. Now they were like ashes in his mouth.

Allowing his thoughts to wander, his mind cast itself back to Fenris. To a simpler time, before this internecine war broke out between brothers and once brothers.

Fafnir Vol'kyr

Out on the ice… by the fire rested Fafnir & Keldane. They were in the midst of a hunt, looking to take down a great white-maned wolf, which had been terrorising the people of Asaheim and had even dared to attack the Aett itself.

Some said it was more than a wolf, others that it was a daemon of Hel taken of a feral aspect… One thing was for certain, it had to be taken down.

Sounds like just the task for Keldane… One of his many trials, maybe this one might actually see his thread cut… thought Fafnir

Fafnir started to flense some meat from the legbone of a grox that he had bloodily taken down earlier in the day. Keldane had asked why the need to kill the beast, but Fafnir so far hadn’t responded… Keldane was a bad star, an ill-omen. Nobody who waked the ice with him seemed to come back… As far as Fafnir was concerned the less he had to do with Keldane the better… Maybe this way his wyrd wouldn't infect Fafnir’s and they might make it through the hunt.

Let Keldane think the wolves an ignorant bunch of mjod swilling, hog feasting heathens, he will see through that illusion soon enough…

He hacked at the meat with one knife, he put strips of it on the end of the other and placed it over the fire… The flames sizzled and popped as the fat and blood fell away from the flesh and melted into the fire, adding a new aroma to the thick smoke.

“Why are you looking into the firelight Fafnir? It will destroy your night vision you know” came Keldanes sibilant voice.

Fafnir ignored him. Always questions he thought.. Why this? Why that? Why, why, why? Always followed by a statement of fact… He is like an oversized mewling child, what did I do wrong to be saddled with him? Thought Fafnir.

As Keldane opened his mouth to ask another question, Fafnir raised his hand and gestured silence. In a low rumbling voice Fafnir spoke.

“For the love of the AllFather, would you please stop with these incessant questions. Your ceaseless yapping is giving me a headache…Look at you in your midnight armour with your fancy lightning bolts and your fancy words. You think you are so much smarter than I, but I am interested to know. What you have learned from today on the ice?”

As Fafnir glared at Keldane from across the fire, Keldane sneered back.

“I have learned that you are a messy killer and a messier eater Fafnir of Fyth” replied Keldane “Look at your face, you should be named Bloodmane. Why have we stopped here, when we should be tracking this beast? Then we could At least go back to the Fang, get some real food and out of this biting cold?”

“Hmmph, so not much has penetrated that hard Nostraman head of yours then?” muttered Fafnir “Maybe a story to pass the time?”

Fafnir's shield

“A Fenrisian saga from the venerated Fafnir, I can hardly wait”

The flames crackled and after a moment or two Fafnir sighed & broke the uneasy silence.

“One spring day, a fox was prowling through the woods, looking for prey. He comes across a squirrel looking for nuts on the forest floor”

“What is it with Wolves and their stories of animals.. Don’t you have any women?” sniped Keldane with a malicious grin

“Silence whelp” growled Fafnir as he cuffed Keldane across the side of the head. “Listen & you might just learn something"

"The fox tried to catch the little squirrel, but it darted away and climbed up a tree branch and to safety.

You should leave said the squirrel a wolf is coming…

To which the fox replied. I am not afraid of the wolf little squirrel. You only have one plan to escape, and will not always succeed, but I am a fox. The most intelligent of animals and I have a thousand ways in which I can escape from the wolf”

“I always did like foxes, such cunning little creatures” said Keldane, eyes gleaming in the firelight

“Then you had better be fast, said the squirrel for here he comes…. The fox looked around and considered how best to escape the wolf, but it was too late, before he could make up his mind what to do, the wolf had caught him and made him his supper. When the wolf left, the squirrel climbed down from the tree and escaped”

“Stupid fox” sneered Keldane

“I thought you liked foxes” said Fafnir with a smirk “Maybe that will be your name, Blackfox. With your midnight armour. Besides you are much too small to be a true wolf”

“Stupid story then”

“But what does the story teach you?”

“Besides that squirrels can outclimb wolves and foxes?”

“Now you are being facetious” retorted Fafnir “Yes I know words which consist of more than 2 syllables, we aren’t all complete savages”

Keldane gave Fafnir an incredulous look as he continued.

“It teaches that sometimes 1 simple plan can be better than having a thousand elaborate plans, and often simplest is best”

“Like you, you mean? Sniffing like a dog at the outpost and thrashing in the snow with that beast like a wild canine all smeared in blood. The stupidly easy to follow drunken tracks you left behind us.That wolf thing could easily……” Keldane's voice trailed off as comprehension dawned on him.

“Easily what Keldane?" whispered Fafnir with a feral grin.

“It could track us here”.

“Exactly” replied Fafnir with a triumphant tone. “All that grubbing about at the outpost, I was checking its spoor, its fur the scents it left behind, its tracks. All things a good hunter should be able to do. Intelligence is the first thing you gather about your enemy before you strike”

“And what did you find out?” Keldane asked despite himself

“It is no ordinary beast and what we hunt here, you can never speak of outside of our great company, if we survive the night. It is a revenant. A ghost of what may come to pass. What we hunt is a wulfen, part man part beast and a lot more besides. I have learned that the wulfen is sick, it is weak and it is hungry. It must also have been truly desperate or suicidal to have directly attacked the Aett”

“If it is sick and weak, why not go out and hunt it down?” Asked Keldane

“Because it is still part man and I would see it die an honourable death, not like a trapped & cornered beast” spat Fafnir. "You forget that this wulfen was once like us and as such deserves our respect. The messy kill, makes it look like me and the animal are stricken, easy kills. He will smell the blood on the air and be attracted to it. So rather than chasing him over the ice for days on end, we lure him here and take him down. He can die with honour in battle”

“Or we die screaming” deadpanned Keldane

“Or there is that”

“Why Fafnir, was that an attempt at a joke? You know of all the Wolves I think I might actually grow to like you” smiled Keldane in a tone whih was not completely insincere.

“I bet you said that to all the others who went out on these quests and had their threads cut” said Fafnir trying not to smile despite himself.

“No, just you… So let’s see if we can break this wyrd thing of yours and try to get us both back alive eh?”

A hand rested on Fafnirs shoulder breaking his reverie.

Starkadr

“It is time to hunt Fafnir, Vykryl calls. Are you ready?”

As Starkadr walked away to join the pack, Fafnir slowly rose from his haunches. He unclipped his cloak & white maned pelt from his armour and tossed them on the fire.

Starkadrs shield design.....

“Our friendship is ashes, like this pelt of the wulfen we took down together on our first hunt, now I must take you down, like the beast you have become. You are my brother no more. I have been sent with my brothers to watch over the 13th and ensure their loyaly. But I know you are here and by the Allfather I will find you”.

With that he turned his back to the flames and stalked away to meet with Vykryl and to face his brothers....

To be continued.

[Combat_Vet]

The marines look great.

 

I think I liked the story the best though. It takes us back and shows a glimpse of the time when marines had "personality" and their war was far more personal. It wasn't simply "I have been ordered to do this" or "you are a heretic", but far more "what have you done against me".

 

Top notch work all around.

[helterskelter]

Aww damn and I so hoped they could genuinely be friends and they've gotta kill each other? That's gona be a duke and a half!

[Flint13]

“What is it with Wolves and their stories of animals.. Don’t you have any women?”

That sentiment is so Nostraman, it hurts. I am finding room to put this in my signature. Some how, some way.

Spectacular work, buddy!

[The_Chaplain]

Going back just a bit to your recon marines-- maybe adding some hanging rune stones, wolf tail talismans, etc. to the shoulders or leg greaves would add some more character to those last 2 models you aren't so pleased with?

 

Great stories though in your recent post, that's for sure.  

[Dosjetka]

Those Cataphractii...

 

(I'm going to use a word I don't often use and which causes me to cringe when I see it, but I can't find any other appropriate word right now so...)

 

Those Cataphractii are dope. Please continue, good sir.

[Dantay VI]

Hey Dosjetka.... Glad you like the cataphractii.

 

Hopefully the dopeness can continue, as there are quite a few more in the pipeline. Thank you for the praise :)

 

Hi Chaplain. Yeah the recon marines are a nice kit, and they will make a really nice addition. I had been purposefully avoiding dangly things and tails a they would interfere with the stealth part of their job, Mybe some pelts might work though, the skin and fur acting as a barrier between hard metal objects to stop them clinking together :)

 

I reposed one, but the other, we will see.... I am no Rune priest but i an envision a dremel in his future

 

 

200plus. Glad you like the recon marines too, they do quite literally have the weight of worlds on their shoulders

 

Helter Skelter, hopefully it will be a duke and a half. Hel hath no fury like a wolf betrayed :D

 

To everyone I would like to say a big thanks for liking the story. I mentioned before that it was part of the Korianna project 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/295723-shadows-in-the-storm-the-siege-of-korrianna-forge/

A big shout-out to Flinty 

 

Hopefully soon there will be more to come....

 

As for now, does anyone know how to paint rose gold??

I want to try something a bit different with the axe.

 

 

I was trying to get a little icy blue glow on the axe but didn't work out.... Will have to keep experimenting

 

[Dantay VI]

Axe done bar the gemstone

 

 

What colour to do the handle?

[The_Chaplain]

Dantay-- have you looked at scale 75 paint? One of their paints in the, I want to say steel and alchemy sets is a blued metal. They might have a rose gold as well

[Dantay VI]

I will take a look into it, a bit miffed GW stopped their metallic paints though, would make life a lot easier :)

 

This is entered into Augustus B'Rass and also the Space Wolves very own arena of painting combat!!

 

First Captain and former Legion Master of the Vlka Fenryka, Lord Gunn of Onn Company.

 

Very PIP and sweating a bit hoping my matte varnish doesnt leave a shiny sheen :s

 

Dong a Valknut design on his cloak, now to do the highlights on black and its done I can do a very basic paint job on his hind-side and then tack it in place and sculpt up the fur at the back :)

 

Lemme know what you think!!

[The_Chaplain]

Looks good to me brother.

[Combat_Vet]

Looks great

[Dantay VI]

Thanks 200Plus and The Chaplain.

 

Got chatting as part of the SW painting challenge and ended up offering to do a tutorial on painting Space Wolves grey.

 

Its not stellar, but I think its alright

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/304588-painting-space-wolves-grey-the-taylor-way/

 

I wouldn't mind some honest feedback though. Is it alright? Where can I improve? Is it helpful? Are there other things you would like to see?

 

Thanks for your time...

 

 

Wow the old meatals, do look a bit diddy these days don't they??

[Dantay VI]

For my storm shields, I use coins and on the back I like to paint them like a wooden shield. I have been asked how I did my wood effect.

I am trying my hand at writing tutorials, not cos I want to be showy or "all look at me, super artist" or anyhting. I believe you only get out as much as you put in. Folks have helped me and in turn I would like to help back.

I'd appreciate some honest feedback though, such as what I could do to improve them (besides, do better painting )

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/296905-15-shades-of-grey-p-12-bitter-betrayal-1st-time-writing/?p=3977669

In other news, the Praetor progresses very slowly.

Going to try and crack the metals and golds tonight.

[deathspectersgt7]

He looks Grizzly, nice Axe by the way.

[helterskelter]

I'm really very fond of that axe