For Corax! A Raven Guard progress log...

[ShinyRhino]

First, and introduction...

I've been an Ultramarine player since the end of 4th Edition. I've spun all around the codex, and was the local expert on bike armies for all of 5th Edition. I had a blog on B&C for quite a while, up until the most recent Big Crash. I've grown bored with running bikes under the new White Scars rules, and while Ultramarines are my first love, I've always wanted to play Raven Guard as well. This thread will serve as a chronicle of my foray into Raven Guard (alongside my regular blog, Thin Your Paint!).

I decided to start with a small Scout Squad to break into the one Troop requirement for Allied Detachments. I have a total of ten Scout models available, half in bitz and half from one of the first box sets I ever bought from my FLGS (if not THE first). I wanted my Raven Guard models to be radically posed, with lots of movement and different stances. Then I ran into the reality of the Scout kits. They're pretty terrible! The torsos barely fit on the legs due to the pistol holsters sticking up too far, and the legs are almost all posed in the same manner. Unfortunately, I am not good enough with Green Stuff sculpting to be able to cut and repose these legs. Instead, I decided my Scouts would rely on their arms to convey action. I do have to note that these images illustrate the models as they were when I took them. After I'd uploaded them to Photobucket, I decided I hated some of them with a passion, and went to my desk and tore some of them apart and swapped things around. That being said, here's how the models started out:

For this first guy, I chose the grenade-throwing arm from the Scout Bike kit and swapped in an old, Third Edition Space Marine combat blade for the chainsword that originally came on this arm. I tore this guy apart, because I didn't like having both arms spread wide like that. It looked like he was trying to kill you with hugs.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip02_zps8350d328.jpg

The second Scout was intended to serve as the squad's Sergeant with a powerfist and shotgun. I figured that because you can't get bonus attacks for a pistol with a powerfist, the shotgun would be an ideal pre-charge weapon for him. The shotgun is from the Scout Bike kit, and the powerfist is from the Cadian Command Squad, grafted onto the pistol arm from the Scout Bike (I am cannibalizing all the arms from my Scout Bike kits because they come with two handlebar-holding arms, and none of the weapon arms add anything to the model). I'd originally wanted to put a regular bare Marine head on all my Scout Sergeants, but discovered that it was really hard to do. Many of the bare heads are out of proportion with the Scout heads, meaning you have a big potato head on there even after cutting down the neck. So I compromised and put the fancy optic-wearing head on there. The more I looked at this model, the more I hated the posing of the powerfist. He suffers from Scout Hug Syndrome, just like the prior model. I ripped both this guy's arms off and haven't replaced them yet.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip03_zpse584ac6b.jpg

These next two are stock models with basic assembly. The shotgunner uses a pair of legs from the Speeder Storm kit, which is a treasure trove of torso and arm options, but for legs. I've seen people use the passengers from the kit on bases in a variety of crazy poses, and they all make me laugh. I got these parts from a bits lot I purchased, I sold my Speeder Storm a while back in my pre-Tyranid kit purge. No regrets though. I ripped the knife arm off the pistol/blade Scout, as I don't like the massive combat blades on Scouts. They're just absurd for anyone but Templars. Other Chapters' Scouts are sneaky bastards who infiltrate behind enemy lines and sabotage, assassinate, or relay intel. How are you supposed to slit a sentry's throat with a two-foot-long blade? You couldn't even draw a blade that big in close confines!

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip04_zpsca0ed40e.jpg

I solved the blade problem with this next Scout, who is my favorite. I sliced off his overlarge combat blade and saved it in my bitz box. I have plans for all the blades I remove. Then I got out a regular Space Marine combat blade and grafted it in place. I think it looks far more proportional. In addition, I grabbed a Catachan knife/canteen belt gear bit and removed the canteen. I then sliced the hilt off the scabbard and hollowed it out a bit. You can just barely see it on his left hip, just above the knife blade. Those Catachan knives are perfectly sized for Marines. It looks like the blade he's wielding would actually fit in the scabbard! This Scout and the shotgunner were the only two to survive the arm-ripping, and the shotgunner only survived because it was too hard to get the shotgun arms off.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip01_zps0d6aa9dd.jpg

I'm very excited by this project, despite the pitfalls of the Scout kits. Honestly, I initially rushed some of the models I eventually disassembled, and had tried to use as many loose bitz as I could before cracking into my intact Scout Squad box. It's a mistake I'm remedying. Despite the horrible leg poses, you can actually do quite a bit with the Scout kits by swapping out blades, mixing arms, and cutting and rotating wrists.

I'll share the revised models next time, once I've updated all of them.

[deathspectersgt7]

A Good Start. was wondering when you would do RG.

[ShinyRhino]

A Good Start. was wondering when you would do RG.

Thanks. I was waiting until I was done some Ultra projects and laid my grubby mitts on some 32mm bases.

[FlamingDeth]

Scouts sure are a little bit fiddly, unfortunately. Every set of arms is splayed out like that and without cutting and reposing there's not a whole lot that can be done about it. Sounds like you're putting thought into doing what you can though, which is a good step!

[ShinyRhino]

I have updated Raven Guard Scout models to share! After ripping some o the previous incarnations apart and reassembling, here's what I have:

 

The first model is the shotgunner, who is unchanged from last time. I just took a slightly better picture.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip05_zpsac9d9480.jpg

 

Second model now has a swapped combat blade and is throwing a grenade. The blade arm is a reclaimed bit. Stripped of a previous owner's sloppy Templars paint job.

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip06_zps9ba9bcdd.jpg
 

The third Scout is unchanged, but here's a better picture.

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip07_zps824ec831.jpg
 

Scout number four is the only model I left with the Scout Hug Syndrome, as it actually works in this pose. Pistol extended for a shot, with the swapped combat blade ready for a followup stab.

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip08_zps014cd16d.jpg
 

The Sergeant is unfinished, but he is the most ambitious model in the squad. I removed his powerfist entirely, replacing it with a pistol. I then gave him a WHFB scabbarded sword to serve as either a combat blade or a power sword as I see fit in my lists.

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip09_zps16f6468f.jpg
 

I'd thought about bitz-buying the hands from the Sniper box, intended to graft the hand holding a scope onto a spare arm. But I decided to be more daring and pose him with his hand resting on the sword's pommel. I grabbed another reclaimed arm from the same lot of models, and started cutting. I sliced off the forearm at the end of the armor section, and separated the shoulder pad from the bulk of the bicep. I then carved away the fingers from the hand, and bored a slight depression in the palm area. Using plastic glue, I attached the shoulder to the torso and the palm to the pommel and got this:
 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip10_zpsf3424eab.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip11_zps8e1a0e32.jpg
 

The next step is to build the core section of the arm/elbow with Brown Stuff. I just need a rigid center on which to add Green Stuff for the final cloth details. After that is done and set, I'll tackle the fingers.

 

I have no idea what to do for basing. I've got 32mm bases, but am not sure what sort of landscape to put on them. My Ultramarines are on very basic painted and drybrushed sand with little decorative items (skulls, rocks, broken gear) and green static grass. I can't see these guys on the same bases, but I can't decide between a ruined Gothic temple/rubble theme, an overgrown Aztec-style jungle, or a windswept, sandy desert with scoured sandstone. Any suggestions?

[ShinyRhino]

Just a smallish update today. I spent a little time working on the Sergeant, roughing out the shapes of his hand and arm.

First I got the fingers laid out, and a small wad of Brown Stuff pushed into place for the general structure of his arm/elbow. I like this better than a wire skeleton, as I know I can just rip it out of there if I really hate it.

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip12_zps1bb0be90.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip14_zps3f28f415.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip13_zps2de975c3.jpg

 

As you can see, really rough work, but I got the general shapes and dimensions in there. Then I started work on the arm/sleeve/elbow/whatever with Green Stuff, as it flows better than Brown Stuff. Brown Stuff is spectacular stuff, but it gets a little grainy when worked too much, and it's intended for sharp lines and sandable edges, instead of folds and curves.

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip15_zps01c94c78.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip16_zps9557cb9c.jpg

 

This is where the Sergeant sits as of now. I need to go back in and file his fingers smooth and then patch any low areas with GS. The one thing that's really bugging me is the side-on view of the arm. In the picture immediately above this text, the elbow and bicep area look fine. But in the side-on shot, you can see that the arm looks a little...puffy. There's an unnatural angle to the area right behind the forearm cuff of the gauntlet.

 

Can anyone suggest a fix for this? It sort of looks like I need to point the gauntlet upward more or something. I can't quite figure out what the problem is, and how to fix it.

[sockwithaticket]

Anyone endeavoring to make the current (awful) scouts work has my interest and support. Job's a good 'un so far.

[deathspectersgt7]

!!!

[jpwyrm]

Definitely some good conversion work here! Good job!

Will be watching this closely...

[ShinyRhino]

Thanks, all.

Anyone have any opinions on the Sergeant's arm? Does it look puffy to anyone else, or is it just my stubborn nature not letting me overlook it?

[ShinyRhino]

Another small update. I've primed the models, considering the modeling done. I was debating holding off until I decided upon a base theme, because normally I attach models to bases after they're painted using small strips of plasticard to mark foot position and then gluing sand and objects around those strips. That typically involves tracing around feet with a colored pencil, etc. But for my Raven Guard, I decided to try a different basing method. I'll be doing a ruined city base style, with very large, slab-style pavers and tumbled debris. I don't need to deal with strips of card and pregluing for that.

Anyhow, I have started on the skin for these guys. As many of you may know, Raven Guard have pale, paper-white skin. They don't go full-on alabaster until some time after geneseed implantation. It's perfectly normal for Scouts to have pinkish skin. So, I decided all of mine would be "rookie" Scouts with pinkish skin. This not only provides me the chance to work different skin techniques into the army, but also delays the need to figure out how to paint the more mature Marines' skin.
To start, I applied a bunch of thin layers of Reaper Master Series Fair Shadow. This is the darkest color in the Fair Skin triad (Reaper sells their Master Series paints in three-color sets, for those not in-the-know). It took anywhere from 3-5 coats per model. You can see here what only a few coats looks like, leaving a bit of grey tone on the flatter areas of the face.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip17_zpsxc5oxy7f.jpg

 

Once that was dry, I applied a very thin wash of Ogryn Flesh to the whole face. I put a bunch of Ogryn Flesh on my palette, and then thinned it out with Winsor and Newton Acrylic Flow Improver. This gives a pinkish hue in the recesses. If you don't dilute the wash, it just stains the light skin color a reddish color. You can do that, and just come back up to the Fair Shadow color, but it's a bit of a waste of time and effort, and you can end up with very stark pink lines around the edges and in the facial creases.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip18_zpsvgikt4yt.jpg

 

At this point I stopped for the night to let the washes dry thoroughly. If you keep poking at them you end up softening and removing the paint underneath, and repairing the holes can be a pain depending on how many layers you damaged. The next step will be to touch up any overly pink areas with more Fair Shadow, and then move on to the next color, MSP Fair Skin, and then highlights of Fair Highlight, which is nearly white.

 

I have no idea how I'm going to paint these guys' eyes. The eyeballs are so poorly defined on the models once you've primed and painted them, that it's really tough to paint them so they don't look wide-eyed and fearful, or cross eyed. I know HOW to paint eyes, just not on Marine faces.

 

[ShinyRhino]

I've made some good progress on my Raven Guard Scouts, but unfortunately I did a really poor job of documenting the process. So, this post is more of a photo dump with words. With that warning out there, here are some pictures:

 

I continued working on the skin from the prior posts. After the thinned down Ogryn Flesh wash, I went back to Fair Shadow, then to Fair Skin, and a final touch of Fair Highlight. After those were try, I spot-touched again with Ogryn Flesh wash, thinned to an almost transparent look. Unfortunately, I am far too lazy to set up my light rig for WIP shots, so the whole effect is washed out by my bright painting light.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip19_zpsteaxcark.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip20_zpshwawu0ec.jpg

 

After the skin was done, I put a coat of Brown Liner on the hair of each Scout. Reaper's MSP "liner" colors are near-black shades that were designed for dark-lining fantasy gaming models that have alot of material transitions. Honestly, I think it's a technique that's dying in the wake of easy washes that pick out detail with much less effort. But, I still have the Grey, Brown, and Blue versions, and the Brown Liner makes a nice base for dark hair. I'll go back later and lightly add lines to insinuate the hair texture. Basically, you rapidly paint a series of pencil-thin lines in the direction of the hair "flow" and then lightly wash over them to dull them down some. Depending on your monitor settings, you can see the difference between pure black of the primer and the brownish black of the liner paint.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip21_zpsnhzmuk79.jpg

 

The next step was the cloth, which I base coated using MSP Shadowed Stone.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip22_zpsvhrqiiou.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip23_zpsprtmkvdp.jpg

 

I then applied a liberal wash of Badab Black to darken things down. This picture also shows the rudimentary eyes painted in. I am terrible with eyes, which is a bit of an obstacle for a Scout-heavy force!

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip24_zpsrl79xici.jpg

 

After the wash was done, I went back to Shadowed Stone, then rough highlights with Stone Grey, and then very thin and sparing highlights of Weathered Stone, as it's a very light grey compared with the others. I tried a strong highlight initially, but it made it look like the model was wearing pants made of Siberian Tiger skin, lol.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip25_zpslaazkwle.jpg

 

I am now at the hard armor stage, to which I applied a basecoat of MSP Grey Liner. As you can see, it's a near-black grey color, and it makes a great base for black armor. If I'd started with pure black as a basecoat, there's only one direction to go...up. Highlights only. But by starting with Grey Liner, I can go both directions, up and down. I'll apply a wash of Badab Black, and then highlight upward with a mix of Grey Liner and Shadowed Stone, then refined highlights with Shadowed Stone and maybe Stone Grey.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip26_zpsdlzparjo.jpg

 

Progress has been nice and steady on these models, but I'm stumped on the next step, the chest decoration. GW likes to paint Raven Guard with a lot of white on them. I've never been a big fan of that idea. Why put a ton of white on a Marine whose specialty is ambush and infiltration? Sort of gives away your position, you know? I cannot decide if the chest decoration should be a light grey, a dark grey like the pants and arms, or a silver metal color. What color do you think would fit? Keep in mind that my gun casings and frag grenades will be Caliban Green, kraks will be red, and pouches will all be a dark brown with silver fasteners and buckles. There will be NO gold on these models.

 

What color would you paint the chest decorations, keeping in mind the above and the fact that whatever color I choose will also carry over to the power armored models?

[ShinyRhino]

My progress on these Scouts is still slow, but it has ramped up quite a bit. I've had to accept the fact that I am simply flat out terrible at step-by-step updates. I'll have to content myself with incremental updates. So, here are some incremental updates!

 

In my last post, I had applied the basecoat of Grey Liner to all of the armor parts. The next step was to wash it all down with Badab Black. You can see the wash is still wet in this image:

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip27_zpspg1vknq9.jpg

 

It doesn't bring the armor all the way back down to pure black, but definitely provides some darkening effect. After the wash was dry, I went back and applied edge highlights with Shadowed Stone, and then ever so slight touches of Stone Grey (those are Reaper MSP colors). Next was the pouches/holsters/straps. The color below is MSP Ruddy Leather, washed with Devlan Mud, and then brought back up a bit to Ruddy Leather, and a very light touch of Leather Brown on all the panels. Then, I hit the chest armor with plain grey, and then white. The grey is lost in this image because of the bright light. It didn't look quite right in the end, so I eventually washed it in thinned Badab Black and went back with the white again.

You can also see in the shot below that the chest armor is messy, especially at the left side of the skull, lower right wing, and the right side pouch lids. I'll go back and touch all those areas later. I like to do my cleanup all in one go at the end.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip28_zpsr430do5z.jpg

 

The next step was metals.The shot bleow is blurry and a bit of a poor example because the Marine only has a knife. I just applied Leadbelcher to everything, washed with Badab Black, then touched it all with Ironbreaker. The exception is the flats of all the combat blades. I left those dark, and applied brighter metal colors to all the cutting edges. It's a neat contrast effect.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip29_zpsi6amx0cw.jpg

 

I also started working on the bases for the models. Because every model will be on a 30mm base, and I had to bitz-buy the ten bases I have, I wanted to try making castable bases. However, my big problem with resin bases is that you only have so many designs. If you buy one of the beautiful sets from Secret Weapon or Dragon Forge Design, you're limited to the 10 or so bases they have. I didn't want to be limited in that way, so I decided to try casting "minimum detail" bases. Instead of adding all the sand, rock, and other decoration on the master base, I am just building the basic floor section and adding all the sand and deco to each cast afterward. That way I have a quick, easy startup but a lot of individuality in the end.

I wanted a broad stone paver design as the underlying detail, and then I can add sand and vegetation over top of it. To that end, I got out a bunch of scrap plasticard I had squirreled away, and used a rotary paper cutter to score it into 1"x1" squares. I will then carve the edges of each square a little to look like chiseled and worn stone, and arrange them on the bases. It's a technique I stole and modified from Grubnards at the Mandulian Chapel.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutbase01_zpsej0s9hkr.jpg

 

By altering the location of the four stone corners on each base, and then rotating the eventual casts by any of 360 degrees, I figure I can produce an unlimited number of similar-yet-unique bases from five or ten masters.
 

[ShinyRhino]

More solid progress on my Raven Guard Scout squad. In fact, all of the painting on them is now done! Here is a final WIP shot of painting on one of the models:

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip30_zps5bkzjpey.jpg

 

This was the addition of Caliban Green on the gun casings. I really like this color here, as it breaks up the sea of black. It'll be even more apparent on power armored Marines, since those guys will have no grey pants to break things up. I'll need to rely on pouches, grenades, and gun casings to break up the black and silver.

 

An example of a couple final shots:
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip31_zpsxzonobov.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip32_zpsqapu4sto.jpg
 

I really like the Caliban Green on the shotgun. I forget what the green I used for the edge highlights was, but it was a Reaper MSP paint.

 

I also made some serious progress on my base masters for casting. I took all of the 1" squares of plasticard I'd cut out, and carved a rough bevel into each edge. When I had four squares, I'd slather the base in plastic glue and randomly stick the first square on the base. Then it was a matter of sticking the other three on as well, pressing very firmly, and then  letting them dry.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutbase02_zpszvh830xy.jpg
 

Once the glue was fully cured (wait at least 24 hours), I flipped the base over, and used my X-Acto knife to score the plasticard around the top of the base. You have to be careful not to slice off pieces of the base itself while you trace around, and also be careful that you don't press so hard that you break the knife blade. One or two passes around are plenty, and it doesn't need to be perfect. It all gets cleaned up at the next step. Once the pieces are scored around the base top, you can just snap the plastic off of the base. Don't throw out the pieces you snapped off!

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutbase03_zpse0yqvuk8.jpg
 

It's not really visible in this picture, but the next step is to go around the newly-snapped card and carve bevels into it in the same way you did when making the squares in the first place. Again, be careful not to slive the black plastic of the base and take the opportunity to cut away any glue drips that got onto the black plastic. It'll reduce the amount of filing you'll do on the final casts.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutbase04_zpsd8djq5es.jpg
 

Now, for the second base, take those pieces you snapped off and use them to make another pattern. I like to randomly select one, glue it down, and then arrange the other scraps based on its position. It keeps things reasonably random. I don't want all of my bases to be perfectly lined up with the center of the stone seam in the center. That'd be pretty boring.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutbase05_zpstglbpxob.jpg
 

I repeated this process until I'd made five base masters, and since then I've made three more. I stopped at a total of eight because I only had ten bases to work with, and wanted to save a couple for backups, plus I wanted to save some of my card squares to make some 40mm bases for Terminators someday (Raven Guard actually do use Terminators, not just Assault Marines and Scouts!).

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutbase06_zpsh5sr7fci.jpg
 

The next step is to check for any fine seams under the stone squares that the silicone for the mold might get into, seal them up with glue, and then get to casting.

[deathspectersgt7]

Nice touch on the Bases.

[ShinyRhino]

Nice touch on the Bases.

 

Thanks. Hopefully they turn out the way I'm hoping they will. I've cast various things in pewter and resin, but always with two-part molds. I've never used an open-faced, one-part mold.

[That Guy Matt]

Looking good. I think you've done a good job of Raven Guard skin. The bases are looking cool too.

[ShinyRhino]

Looking good. I think you've done a good job of Raven Guard skin. The bases are looking cool too.

 

Thanks, man. Do you think it'll look odd to have the power armored Sergeants have more ashen skin, with grey tone to it?

[ShinyRhino]

Here's a series of images that show my progress on the Raven Guard Scouts.

 

This image is washed out and terrible, but you can see the glossiness of the varnish I added to the shoulder pads. I'm told it's a key step in laying a foundation for decals, so I applied it to the shoulders of every model.

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip33_zpsd1cm1nxb.jpg

 

Once that was dry, I started applying decals. I used Micro Sol and Micro Set to get them nicely adhered. The first I applied didn't go very well, as I mixed up the order of the solutions. You want Set, then Sol. Set makes the area tacky so the decal "sets" in place, and then you use Sol to soften the decal to conform to the shape of the piece. It's a SOL-vent. After I figured that out, the remaining decals went quick and easy.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutswip34_zps2l1cgdsm.jpg

 

 

I used the Forgeworld decal sheet for Raven Guard, which is absolutely fantastic. I'd say you could probably do an entire army with a single sheet.

 

I then set the models aside after giving them a quick blast of Dullcote to lock down the decals, and proceeded to work on making a mold for my custom paver/flagstone bases. I dug out a very old canister of mold silicone. I'd had the kit for something like two or three years, and the canister was half full. When I went to use it, I realized it was probably no good because the silicone was very thick and goopy. Proper silicone is thick but flows easily. Being the cheapskate I am, I figured I would give it a shot anyways and mixed up a batch.

Turns out I was right, the stuff was too far gone. It refused to cure after three full days. Uncured mold silicone is just about impossible to remove from anything, so I had to throw the mold box, the acrylic sheet I'd glued it to, as well as four master bases in the trash. Here's a pic of the whole disaster before it went in the trash. The bases sticking out of the top were actually pulled free from the hot glue I'd used to fix them to the acrylic sheet because of the air bubbles underneath!

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutbase07_zpsdttr7xnz.jpg

 

 

I thought about giving up on making a mold, as I wasn't sure I wanted to spend more money on more silicone. But, I gave in and bought more. This time I bought Alumilite Quick Set, where in the past I'd used High Strength 2. The Quick Set cures more rigid and less squishy. HS2 is more for one-piece molds with big undercuts, while Quick Set is for two-piece molds and one-piece molds with no undercuts.

 

I got my shipment in less than a week, and poured a mold over four of my masters. The result? Success!

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutbase09_zpszqcmpnix.jpg

 

One thing I'm a big fan of when I make molds is recycling. In the past, I'd saved small spills and sections of cured silicone and added them to my new molds. Silicone cures solidly to old silicone, which is why you need mold release agent when making two-piece molds. But I wasn't sure if Quick Set would bond to HS2, so I didn't include any recycled chunks in the master mold. Instead, I sliced off a couple pieces of an old HS2 mold and put them in the bottom of some plastic cups. I poured the leftover Quick Set into the cups to see what would happen. Turns out they bond nicely! I can now use chunks of old molds to save volume when pouring new molds. I even added these two little experiments to my pile of old silicone for chopping up and inclusion in new molds down the road.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutbase08_zpsox02j7fl.jpg

 

My first pour into the new mold wasn't great, but it wasn't a total failure. Below you'll see four bases. The top right contains a lot of unmixed resin, while the top left contains a little less. I didn't spend long enough stirring the bottom of the cup. The two casts on the bottom came out perfectly, as they were the first ones poured from the cup.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutbase10_zpsjejstngo.jpg

 

 

 After another mix and pour, I had six usable bases and two failures. Here are the five for the Scouts:

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutbase11_zpsuy3b92ao.jpg

 

Because pure, flat bases are boring, I got out my tubs of sand and small rock and added some to each base to make them look like small rubble piles.

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutbase12_zpsjdiohp9w.jpg

 

 

These will then be primed white and painted a stone grey color. You'll notice the bottom left base has a small notch out of the largest tile section, at the bottom. That was an air bubble from the casting that I carved the edges of to make it look like wear or damage. You don't have to worry too much about bubbles on bases of this style, since you can just cover them up with sand and rock, or expand them into cracks or damage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[deathspectersgt7]

NICE UPDATE!!!!

[ShinyRhino]

And now for the finished models...

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutsfinal01_zpsneeagjvy.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutsfinal02_zpsyif51ymv.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutsfinal03_zpsavealm4j.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutsfinal04_zps4482c3ox.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutsfinal05_zpsgle8vdvt.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutsfinal06_zps3lzu4e0u.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutsfinal07_zpsqllbvvt7.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutsfinal08_zpsdtg3yd8j.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutsfinal09_zpsgaagnfqb.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutsfinal10_zps4i11csxc.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutsfinal11_zpsrfwuwdme.jpg

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/goalie20/Warhammer%2040K/Blog%20Content/rgscoutsfinal12_zps40o4prdv.jpg