15 Shades of Grey, A new start.... with Primaris,

[Dantay VI]

Speaking of Knights, got the carapace done (ish) last night.

 

Click on the images to enlarge... too early in the morning and Photobucket is hating me just now

 

Did the serpent pretty similar to the shoulder and leg plates, but a few things are concerning me.

 

1. I tried highlighting black like I highlighted the red and it looks pretty patchy

2. The red of the dragon was done in the same style as the red on the other side of the carapace. Again it looks patch. I know what irt is supposed to be, but would someone else, or would it just look like a red blob? Would I have been better saving loads of time and just dong a flat red with minimal highlighting of the serpent design?

 

Feeling like crap, this cough/cold is really kicking my arse.

 

Any and all thoughts are welcome

[Dantay VI]

Tried some freehand.

You can see a little of the previous attempt with a stencil below it which I really didn't like. Sometimes breaking out the pencil and paints can be far more rewarding, if more time intensive... Felt like I had gotten back something I was missing when I did the freehand, so I am a wee bit proud of that.

 

I think I nailed it.

 

About 80% done on the Knight. A lot of mistakes, but I have learned ready for my Knight Castigator

 

My only concern is that I wanted this to be really dark & brooding. I am not sure if I have achieved that.

I still have to finish off the gold with a few more layers which will hopefully make it less brassy.

 

It is not a traitor Knight, it is Imperial/ Freeblade but neither did I want it to look overly Imperial, hence no aquila's. Have I managed to achieve that effect or is it too red & brassy like a big Khorne-y warrior?

[FenrisWolf]

It does have a Khorne feel to it. I think silver instead of gold/brass would have eliminated that. But when you look closer, it is less Chaos-y. So I think you've done an excellent job.

 

Your paint work is excellent and so is the free-handing! It's awesome work!

[Vykryl]

It may be a more Chaos color scheme but the designs and heraldry are not Chaos designs or symbols. Sir Danth said Knights should have black or red armour to appear more intimidating ;) You used both. I believe he will be quite happy with his ride.

 

Too bad about Kindle not letting me share that book with you. Once you read Sir Danth's background you may be thinking about this being a Chaosy knight even more. I will find a way to get his story to you.

Edited April 26, 2015 by Vykryl

[Dantay VI]

Hi FenrisWolf, long tie no see, how are things with you?

I hope you are doing well!

 

Yeah I considered steel or silver, but given the fact the chassis is metal, I wanted a conrast. Deep reds and steel are close to Word Bearer or Admech colours. I think maybe I went too brassy with the gold and I am going to have to explore maybe making it less yellow somehow. Possibly switching to sepia from flesh wash could help out.

 

I will put more "steel" in to the flame cannon as I just did the trim on the reaper sword in gold :p

 

I'll also try some whiter gold in the trim too... Either that or go for a really aged dark bronze colour?.

 

 

Hey Vykryl: It was a pity about the book. and hopefully yes the red and black will come off as suitablyintimidating, which is what I wanted for the Knight

I am considering to put something like this either on thecrotch guard or in the blank space down the centre of teh carapace.As it will be used for 30K and for 40K I am trying to out and out put an aquila on the Knight, but this may look suitably Imperial?

 

[Rift Blade]

If it matters Dantay, take the shield from the top one & replace the circle ion the bottom one with it. My 2 cents.

[FenrisWolf]

I concur with Rift Blade. 

 

Things are well here.  Splitting hobby time three ways with 40k, X-wing, and GURPS. Did a 40k 2500 point tourney last weekend and got Best Sportsman. 

 

Most of my models are now bisected and have their initial color coat on them. Heck of a lot of work to get back to the color of the plastic sprue!

[Vykryl]

Let's see if this works and if I remember the order.

Your Fellblade looks menacing and as beautiful as a machine of destruction can be :D

http://s1206.photobucket.com/user/dantay_xv/media/20150801_002736.jpg.html

Some knotwork on the turret and a knotwork wolf on either side coupled with some red and black designs. I'm not sure what you could add as the tank has some style while still looking all business. Not as flashy as the Sicaran but much more menacing and grim looking. I do have 3 more patterns I found that are maybes.

Odin's Ravens, knot work aquila?

Eye of Odin, the All Father watching over?

You said you wanted to ty the knotwork on the turret to the chassis. Maybe this on the 2 raised plates above the sponsons?

You do great work Dantay. Remember to save some designs for future relics ;)

[Dantay VI]

The idea for the plates above the sponsons is a good idea.

 

I also like your eye of Odin... Could be a star too or a cross.

 

I think part of what was annoying me is that I think there is too much red. Mainly above the heavy bolters on the main body. The colour doesn't serve a purpose to me, might make it black or grey..

 

http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb456/dantay_xv/20150801_002814.jpg

 

I had also considered changing the colour of te old-school Space Wolves symbol on the turret top, but not sure, the gold seems okay.

 

http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb456/dantay_xv/20150731_203543.jpg

 

I am also thinking of adding a rune to each top hatch, 1 for commander and 1 for gunner

 

Lastly, get rid of most of the black around the wolf and make it grey... Just seems off somehow... 

 

http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb456/dantay_xv/20150801_002736_1.jpg

Edited August 3, 2015 by dantay_xv

[Vykryl]

I liked the little bits of red and black. Makes it look more menacing and ties it a little with the scheme on your knights.

 

Are the heavy bolters under the hatch on the hull under the right turret barrel? That hatch does seem to clash a bit as it's a different pattern. Add some black triangles between the rivets or take it back to the hull color? I have know idea really.

 

I hadn't noticed the Black outline on the Wolf's knotwork. It probably would look better the hull color so it matches the other knotwork better.

 

This particular tank design may get me to save up for a Forge World toy. Looks like a modern tank. Most Marine vehicles look like what WWI tanks where, dozer chassis with armour plating and some guns strapped on.

[Dantay VI]

Yes the Fellbkade is a nice kit and the twin heavy bolters are directly under the red circle.

 

I have started greying in te wolf, and I have also base coated my recon marines. Trying Agrax earthshade instead of my normal nuln oil wash to see what it looks like.

 

The Fellblade is an expensive kit and is also a Lord of War (just under 600 points), so unless you plan on big games, I would suggest getting a Sicaran at 135 points base, decent armour and sheer amount of firepower it carries. Plus the twin linked autocannons deny jink saves to flyers, its a sweet tank. Pllus I think it looks pretty cool too.

[Vykryl]

At some point I'm going to make a counts as Sicaran based on the BattleTech Sekhmet Tank. I can't get over that bullet catching hull design of the Sicaran. The Fellblade would make a great center piece though

[Dantay VI]

Let me know if you need measurements..

[marvmoogy]

Looking great, Dantay!!  Nice to see you back at it!

[Dantay VI]

Thanks Marv.

I replied to your email. Your Wolves are looking pretty spiffy :)

 

Started working on these guys, as I was on a bit of a vehicle overload recently...

 

Annoyed as the grey is a bit blotchy and not as neat as I wanted. Every time I get paint brush in hand something crops up and I get called away, so getting paint consistency the same each time, plus remembering ratios has been a pain. I'd rather just do it in one sitting.

 

Next up is skin tones... I have left the wolf panoply to a minimum as I want to see what FW does with their HH upgrade kits plus any characters or specialist units they might release, so I acn keep them unified. NOw I justned to work out packmrking and the like :)

[Dantay VI]

Got skin and face hair done.... Not sure if I like it, especially the blonde and brunette.

 

[Dantay VI]

Any ideas what camo scheme I should go with. I tried urban but the grey's got messy fast.

 

I know that is kinda the idea with camo, but nah... Looked like a 3 year old drooled paint all over them.

 

So yeah any ideas?

 

[Vykryl]

I used a highly frayed brush to do my scouts. Lightly touch the paint and lightly dab the cloak until you like the color balance. Think I painted a green base, dabbed grey, dabbed brown, dabbed green, agrax earthshade. I was looking for more of a redwood forest camo scheme. I was worried they would be bright but the earthshade toned it down and blended it together.

 

Guess it's base in lightest color, dab medium color, dab darkest color, dab lightest color, wash. What colors where you using?

[Dantay VI]

Might work, we will see...I was thinking urba/ winter as that is how I have based some of my models.

 

Might try a Fang black and white mix...

[Dantay VI]

 

Which looks best?

 

If anybody has ideas of different styles of camo, or improvements etc...  Please help :)

Edited August 9, 2015 by dantay_xv

[Vykryl]

I like the 1 on the left of the first pic

[FenrisWolf]

For camo with wolves I like the grey, black and grey-blue disruption camo common to the US Navy in WW2.

 

Nice work as always Dantay!  

[Dantay VI]

Thanks for the suggestions

 

Well trying camo was interesting.

I know it is supposed to lend into the background or hide the model, but still .... when you paint for things to look cool, you really need to shift your headspace.

 

Anyways, hope you like. Tried dabbing, but with so many curves and creases, it just didnt look right and I couldnt control the dabbing.

The tiger stripes were not too bad, but hard to get across on some of the modes as the cloak is barely there,

 

So I tried digital camo, which didnt work too well, but with a bit of dabbing, I hope looks like camo.

 

Went with Fang and white, over Administratum grey. Looks more naval than arctic, urban, but it will do, plus I am hoping the Fang will tie them to the Wolves of the future.

 

 

Let me know what you think!!

[FenrisWolf]

I think they're awesome!  Very much the look I would go for! Well done, sir!

[Dantay VI]

Thanks Fenriswolf, sorry for being slow n replying.

 

I am hoping to get the Recon marines done over the next 2 weeks, but I also have another wee side project. One which I am hoping the folks here can have a little input into, but also from his namesake Vykryl.

Its time to shake the cobwebs off of this little puppy. Work commences as soon as I get home on the 14th, so plenty of time to thrash out ideas.

 

With regards to the fluff. I wrote it a while back for Korianna, and I ran it past Flint13 who made some editorial changes. So a big thanks to Flint for this piece and for the inspiration which went with Fafnir, who was going to be the central part of my story.

 

The text is a WIP as is the model, so ideas or suggestions would be supremely welcome.

 

A Tale of 18 Hobbyists.

 

The beginning.

 

In the hold of the Scramaseax, mighty warship  of the Wolves, A figure clad in darkest black stepped from the shadows, into the firepits flickering light. Once all the wolves were gathered Vykryl, Wolf Priest to this band of warriors drew himself to his full height and began:

 

Brothers, you may wonder why you have been chosen. You may wonder why we are far from home. These are uncertain times and we do not yet know who deserves our trust. But we do know of one who has committed the greatest betrayal of all.

 

Russ himself has dispatched us, not as Hearthguard as we have told our kin, but as Vengeance Seekers, Now I may speak of why we have come. I may tell you of why we follow Fafnir Vol’kyr into a fight that wasn’t ours to begin with.

 

 

We are here to hunt down Keldane Blackfox, traitor and our once-brother.

 

 

Keldane came to the Wolves as part of an exchange. Kurze could see how isolated and insular his own legion was becoming. He petitioned his brother primarchs to accept emissaries from the Night Lords. Anything in an attempt to foster bonds of fellowship between his Legion and the others.

 

Most of the Nobler Legions refused Kurze’s request. They did not wish to pollute their ranks with the Night Haunters tainted sons. We know what the legions think we are, and we know what we really are. We are not of the noble sons like Guilliman, Sanguinius,  Dorn or Jonson’s benighted scions. We are the outcast, the barbarians, the savages… like Angron’s 12^th, Kurze’s 8^th, the Khan’s 5^th.

 

However some agreed to his request

 

 

Russ was one of the few….

 

 

Like Russ, Konrad Curze knew that sometimes justice had to be earned upon the point of a sword. Sometimes peace had to be bought with blood. Sometimes a populace has to fear us more than its masters before they can truly accept the enlightenment we were once brought. 

 

This is a lesson that Russ and Curze learned well. For are we not the animals in the dark? Animals whose howls bring terror to the hearts of our foes?.... We each bring our own brand of fear, as a weapon. The Rout, bestial wolves, and the Haunter’s, night cloaked stalkers…

 

We cannot know the mind of a Primarch, even though we are of their blood. Who knows why Russ listened to that hell-spawned wretch he once called brother. Maybe Russ tried to see the good in him? Maybe he thought a show of kinship might have helped curb some of his brother’s many excesses. Maybe Russ heard his brother’s plea for help and held out a hand in his own, feral way, hoping against hope to bring him back from the darkness that had been threatening to swallow Kurze whole.

 

Or maybe Russ, like Konrad, knew that they were all flawed. After Kurze’s secret, shared in confidence, was cruelly revealed by Fulgrim, the request of Kurze was a way to bring redemption for his son. Maybe our father was willing to offer him that chance.

 

 

Whatever may, shortly after Russ agreed, Kurze sent us his emissary. He sent us Keldane… The Blackfox.

 

Keldane wasn’t of the pack. He was almost instantly rejected by those of Fyf. But as it was Russ’ decree, none could gainsay him. His word is law and to break his law is death. Even though our instincts railed against this… intruder, we stayed our hands in early retribution. How I now regret that I did not forfeit my life to rid us of the curse that was to come.

 

So as one, we set out make Keldane leave, either by choice or on the red ice.

We made sure that Keldane drew the most arduous and dangerous of tasks from within Fyf. It wasn’t his wyrd to die in some mis-begotten challenge, for he was a bad star and so he kept returning when better men did not. How he managed this, none know, but he earned his name on the ice. We called him Blackfox for his heart was darker than the Nostraman night, and his mind as clever and cunning as the mountain vulpine…

 

Eventually he forced his way into the pack, for none could doubt his arm, or, unbelievably, his loyalty to the company. This was how the thread of Blackfox became intertwined with that of Great Fafnir Vol’kyr.

 

Fafnir was a menhir of a man, as broad as he was tall. He was quiet and brooding. Many thought him touched by Lokyar, that he would be inducted into the scouts, however this was not to pass. In time, whether through cursed luck or no, he was to become the reluctant warden of the Blackfox. What started out as wariness, verging on outright hostility, eventually became a grudging respect and finally a friendship forged in battle.

 

Fafnir came to rely on Keldane’s insights and cunning, Blackfox on Fafnir’s skill of the hunt. They often embarked onto the ice together to run down beasts and game. As time went on Fafnir became more gregarious , more likeable and so his standing within the company grew., With Fafnir’s star on the ascendancy, so too did Keldane begin to have more of an influence on the affairs of the company. He eventually even gained a grudging acceptance as a brother of Fyf. While Fafnir learned from Blackfox and became a central figure within the company, so too did Keldane learn from Fafnir. Who knows what secrets he may have gleaned, but his skills as a hunter grew to rival that of any of the Rout.

 

Then even outside of the hunt, they became almost inseparable. They were mirror images of one another in almost every sense, often found in company and always fighting back to back amongst the thickest of foes.

 

But alas the mirror was cracked, the reflection of Fafnir in Blackfox was twisted and flawed. Such was the pride of the Wolves that we did not see it until it was too late. When Keldane left, he took with him all the skills learned on the ice. He allowed Kurze’s twisted heart to poison that which we had taught him. Gone was the honour, gone was the pride, gone was the Keldane we knew and called once called brother.

 

 

Keldane became the Night Haunters pre-eminent hunter. Not of Ork or Eldar or of beast. No, he broke his bonds of loyalty and became the hunter of his own kin.

 

 

The betrayal of the Blackfox hit Fafnir hard, as only such base treachery could… It drove him to the edge of sanity and we almost lost him to the Wulfen, such was his pain. Now we hunt, for it is not Fafnir’s shame alone to bear. Blackfox made fools of us all and so he must be made to pay. Keldane may believe he is the perfect hunter, but it was us who taught him and it will be us to bring him low. We may be old dogs, but we never give up all our tricks!

 

So brothers, finish your mjod. Go now to prepare your arms and armour. Tonight we go to hunt one who was once of our own. We have tracked Keldane Once-Brother, to Korianna and it is time to make this hunter, become the hunted. We shall run him to ground.

 

And if we have to kill every whore-son Night Lord & traitor that stands in our path, in order to get to that piece of skitja we once taught and trusted then so much the better…

 

We do this deed for Fafnir!!

 

 

For my monthly vow, I introduce Vykryl. Not sure if he will be run as a Centurion type or another Praetor. He is in essence a Wolf Priest, but I am not sure if Chaplains or an HQ of that type exist in 30K.

I'll need to pore over the books and come back with points for the model. Needs a lot of work and I will not get to him until mid-month atleast, so Fingers crossed I can get him done.

 

I am hoping that as the months go on,I can add to the story a little and also make it linked.

 

Thanks for looking and reading. And if you bump into Flint Thank her too.

 

While not strictly part of this, here is the link to Fafnir   Enjoy

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/303437-a-30k-wolves-wip-recon/?p=3970364

Edited September 1, 2015 by dantay_xv