DarkVen's Octavia Obscura [30.04.2017]

[Biohazard]

Love the fluff! Looking forward to Saturday.

[DarkVen]

Biohazard

Many thanks, Bio! Your comment actually made me speed up the process a little bit, so here we go...

AVE DOMINUS NOX, ladies and gentlemen!

Oh, how I love this old design of raptors, when they still were the birds of prey. I just adore the sculpt, they look menacing yet somewhat elegant - the treat the current chaos model range lacks in a way in my humble opinion. So no wonder that it actually took me 2,5 months (sic!), as I wanted to paint them as good as it was actually possible for me. Here are the close-ups of each member of the squad:

So I have written some thoughts in my blog on the result (but in Russian) and I'd like to share my overall opinion in brief with you guys.

1. These are almost full-metall (with the exception of the bolt-pistol with the horn and one of the meltaguns). They were bought about 6 or 7 years ago, back when no one knew about things like finecast and such. So this squad is as old school as it gets. It had its downsides though - painting metal miniatures is such a pain in the - I had to repaint the edges all the time, which consumed a good chunk of the time spent.

2. This design might appear outdated, but this is a false impression. Of course, these could've been painted without any major attention to detailing and still look impressive (which I find highly advantageous), but the models issue a good challenge if you want to. I've limited my efforts to lightnings, OSL and extreme highlights, but there is much, much more to be explored I assure you.

3. I haven't painted a squad as a whole in a long time, which had it's influence on both the time spent and the result. As I've said before, I've spent about 2,5 months painting them, uncluding the repainting job of the awful start I had back in the day with them. At the same time, speeding up the process and the squad-painting approach blended the attention to every single model, so I believe that, in case I would've painted them separately, they could've turned out a bit better than they are.

Still, I am very, very happy with the result. Now I finally have original old school raptors that are painted much better than a good chunk of my collection - what more a NL player could probably wish for?

Aaand just not to double up posts count, I'll post my first prepared miniatures for the Call of Chaos competition this year:

A winged daemon prince:

And a sorcerer:

You'd probably expect me to enter with my converted models, but I had to abandon that idea, since the time is a great factor now and I'm not even sure if I'll manage to finish all the things I've mentioned in time. Obliterators, Chosen and Defiler will be properly converted still though.

Anyways, let me know, what you think guys!

I'll try to keep up with more frequent updates.

Cheers,

DV.

[KrautScientist]

You've done a fantastic job on the old skool Raptors! I appreciate the versatility of the new plastic Raptors, but I've also found a new appreciation for the Bird of Prey design of the old models after reading the Night Lords trilogy (the animalistic angle makes much more sense the way ADB portrays it). That being said, I think the converted/scratchbuilt Raptors of yours you potsed earlier in the thread are even cooler, because they really have the best of both world so to speak. Anyway, ecellent painting!

 

Really love the Daemon Prince as well: The Defiler facemask is a great fit, and I love what you've done with the reposed legs and the Maulerfiend armour plates!

 

Keep up the amazing work, mate! :)

[DarkVen]

Thank you Kraut! Well, I'm leaning towards that bird-of-prey kinda vibe actually (like I always was I think). I'm thinking about building a flock of raptors (10-men unit) in a distant future, taking more of an old school-approach. Less mutated, more elegant. Because these ones are just one of my favourites in War40k ever.

 

Also thank you on the comment about the DP! I considered I'd need a winged daemon prince sooner or later, before I'd actually be able to assemble raptor-DP, so I bought one... and now this kit turned out to be just in time for me to have the opportunity not to fail the CoC competition this year. I wanted it to be a bit more detailed and converted, but after all the consideration I decided to stick with the "less is more" idea and to countervail it's simplicity with some nice paint job.

[Vairocanum]

Awesome Raptors! I like the extra armor you've given the daemon prince, almost didn't notice at first cause it was so natural.

[DarkVen]

Thank you Vairocanum!

Yes indeed, those plates from the Forgefiend kit have found their place. They seem to be very subtle yet right addition to the model if it is to be assembled as an exalted CSM.

[Midnightmare]

Your Raptors are really quite awesome Ven, massive kudos!

[DarkVen]

Thank you! Well I tried to make them as good as I could. Also tried the new recipe for bronze/brass trims and such. Might stick with it later on.

[DarkVen]

AVE DOMINUS NOX, ladies and gents.

Hey guys. It's been a while since my last update – to be fair, I went to a hospital for almost two months, without any possibility to do my stuff with miniatures obviously. The only thing I was able to do is to take failure-badge after failing CoC, but I guess I wouldn't have completed it either way... I am still recovering now, but broken was my body, not the spirit. A man always remembers his debts. Thus shall I continue my timeless and always inconstant efforts to convert and to paint...

First of all, let me look back at what has been made the last year:

13 models in total – not much obviously, yet there were some notable milestones.

First of all, I've painted all the cult characters for my collection, which was the first achievement for me to get in 2016. I am pretty satisfied with the paint job, yet right after I was done GW released the new versions of Khârn and Ahriman, which I absolutely adore... of well, I think I'll buy and paint them some time soon just for my collection. But these timeless classics will always have their honorable place in my army and can always find a spot on the table.

Next achievement was my first big project – the Warsmith under the alias of "Tarantula". For me personally it was a comeback to conversion table of some sorts, not only literally, but more of a spiritual kind. I consider this miniature to be the creator and the engineer behind all the new stuff to come, which will consist of various conversions, my personal interpretations of the classic GW's designs and other heretech. At the same time, it was a new step for me: the conversion itself barely has any solid parts which were not cut, sculpted or modified in any way to fit the leading "vibe" of that particular character.

And the third thing was, in fact, the classic metal raptor squad. I've already payed homage to the sculpt of these, and the only thing I could do was to give them the best paint job I could. It took it's time – somewhat two months to be exact, which indirectly influenced my productivity the last year. But I don't regret it, as these ones have one of the finest paintjobs in my army, if I say so myself. Another positive thing is, I've remembered how to paint the entire squads of models, tried a few new painting recipies which I consider now to use further and in the end the overall quality of my work just got a level higher.

And – to some more reminescence. Here is a shot of my entire painted collection so far, starting way back in 2011:

According to the last codex (which I believe is of the 6^th edition) it is 110 models which sum up into 5724 points in total. Now there are obviously much more efficient hobbyists out there, and I cannot say I've used every opportunity to do stuff in the recent 5+ years. I also believe that this is not the most brilliant collection of all, all in terms of gaming, fluff and models. Yet it is the greatest achievement of my work and as downsides, it has it's own upsides – it is fully-converted and has it's fair share of tales to tell. Now I consider it to be somewhat a starting point from where I am going to go in future.

I also brought something relatively new – concepts of my coming Obliterator cult:

Now.

I have a few "debts" quote-unquote which I want to finish first. I remember one of my old vows (a believe to Brother Jim) about compiling a full tutorial on how I paint Night Lords, which I'm going to work on when I get to the daemon prince – so, around April I hope have it done and posted.

The next project after obliterators will be something very special: a unit of chosen ones. Honestly I can't wait to share my ideas with you guys (and I already have with some of you ), but it'll have to wait until I finish oblits, so I don't get off the tracks here.

As of this blog, I will try to be more consistent and frequent with updates: more WIPs, more paintjobs, more fluff, some sneak-peeks here and there. I myself love to read consistent and frequently updated threads with nice finished products, so I'll try to turn this into one this year.

Cheers,

DV

[Nemac Vradon]

Your army is phenomenal DarkVen! So much work on each and every model is truly inspiring :)

 

Nemac

[Biohazard]

Some great updates there buddy. Sorry to hear you were in hospital. Hope you're on the mend now.

 

One of the stand outs in your collection is the IW Defiler, I love that face mask.

 

From those concept sketches you have me really excited to see your Obliterators. :tu:

[DarkVen]

Nemac Vradon

Thank you Nemac! I must admit that your log is always nice to follow also and it is one of many that keep me inspired, so keep up with good work too!

 

Biohazard

Thank you for your kind words Bio. Well, I think I'm ready to continue now. I hope at least.

As for Obliterators - I will try not to fail you!

[ElDuderino]

Good luck with getting better, hope your amazing work on your army can be of some help, i find it a good way to clear ones mind.

[DarkVen]

Thank you man, I will admit, working on miniatures is becalming indeed, as some form of meditation.

But now I have a thing or two kept ready for posting, to have some handicap just in case.

[Isengrin]

Sorry to hear that buddy, I hope you're doing better now. After I've had the unfortunate pleasure of a long hospital visit myself just a short while ago, I definitely agree that doing some hobby work is a great outlet.

Alright, you got a couple nice picture there. Your entire army looks great, but I can't get around the fact that your warpsmith outshines all the other models around him. He's just so extremely well painted and most of all a marvelous conversion. It really shows your progress over the last few years. Also, your production in 2016 proves once again the proverb of quality over quantity to be true, and I can't wait to see what you'll do next with obliterators and chosen.

All the best for your recovery.

[Vairocanum]

Glad you're out of the hospital, hope you have a speedy recovery. Looking forward to seeing the obliterators and chosen. 

[KrautScientist]

First of all, let me say I was really sorry to hear about your prolonged stay at the hospital! All the best to you and get well soon!

 

Regarding your latest update, there have been some very impressive Night Lords armies over the last couple of years, but yours still ranks among my favourites, both for the lush paintjobs as well as the sheer amount of customisation on the models. Those few photos already make me wonder "How'd he do that?" in a dozen places ;) In addition to the Night Lords, that Iron Warriors Defiler is so cool -- what a wonderfully, workmanlike look! A perfect fit for the IV Legion!

 

Keep up the amazing work, mate! :)

[DarkVen]

Thank you for all your replies guys! I feel better now, so I might just continue my efforts as I finish my exams.

 

Isengrin

Thanks! Well, aside Obliterators and Chosen I will also focus on some of my unpainted models and squadsm such as a Dreadnought, a terminator squad and a Daemon Prince. These will be the first to be finished and just then I'll go to the Obliterators.

 

Vairocanum

Thank you! Sadly though, Obliterators will have to wait just a bit more, because I also want to try out an another army which I was secretly collecting for a few years. And now it is the time to start building and converting something new...

 

KrautScientist

Many thanks Kraut! 

I think I will be in peace with my slow pace and do small additions to my collection now, with the main focus on the nice well-thought-out squads like Chosen. I hope only to get better.

[DarkVen]

AVE DOMINUS NOX, ladies and gentlemen!

 

I was making some progress with my unfinished stuff, such as Chaos Dreadnought. I've assmebled few additional options for it, just before I start finishing the paintjob:

 

And with a bit more traditional loadout options on the miniature itself:

 

Let me know what you think! Comments and criticism are always welcomed here in this thread :)

 

Cheers,

DV

[Nemac Vradon]

That just exudes menace and I love the detail on the base. Is it the Venerable Dreadnought you used as a base?

 

Nemac 

[DarkVen]

For the body, yes, with the adiition of some plasticard, csm and vampire counts bits. For the hands I used various bits from different dreadnought boxes: dccw and base for the autocannon is from furioso kit, plasma and lascannon is from vendred kit, and the rocket launcher is from standard dreadnought kit.

[Vairocanum]

It's always great to see your precise plasticard work, my favorite is the plasma cannon arm. Looking forward to seeing more!

[DarkVen]

Vairocanum

Thank you! I'm hoping to get them painted in a few weeks (long time, I know, but knowing my efficiency...)

Anyways, AVE DOMINUS NOX, ladies and gentlemen!

---AЯCHIVE ACCESS: granted---

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---IИITIALIИG AЯCHIVE EИTЯY: 2---

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Now that I'm at the verge of creating another unit of Obliterators, I thought I could revisit these guys:

Assembled back in the day when I had little to no Heavy Support units, this was my first attempt to deviate from the original concept of terminators made of meat'n'guns Obliterators are. And now I'm confident enough to say this attempt was a miserable failure. The miniatures look partially messy and rushed, some of the detailing is rough and doesn't stand up even to my first marines (say, the trim on their legs). This may be explained due to little time I had to build them, but it would be just a blind evasion. In the end, the work done always serves me as a harsh reminder: do not convert something complex before having clear understanding of what the result should look like.

Yet along with poor decisions they've had their share of nice ideas implemented. First and foremost being ornaments/heads on their backs instead of plain vents covered in meat - I've carefully used that idea when I was drawing my new Obliterators. The other idea include usage of bones and limitation of mutated flesh on the miniatures, which I also find somewhat nice.

As for the tales of war, these guys don't have much to tell to be honest. Mainly because I haven't fielded them that much, and one should always expect some really heavy support coming from them, so it is hard to pick something outstanding. This doesn't mean they have a short kill count - quite the contrary: they've handled a unit of autocannon havocs, a Land Raider and also aided in sending a Lord of Change back to Warp in the latest game I've played, all in three turns, and that is not counting other games were they've performed fairly decent to say the least. Yet soon they shall have their remastered cousins, so maybe my Obliterators will get a few stories to tell in the future.

Sadly, no new stuff for now guys. I wish I could satisfy you with something fresh, but I'm away from my conversion station for a week or two. But according to my expectations I'll return in a week, and have a decent battle report with me.

Anyways, I'll post an update as soon as I'll be able to work on the miniatures again

Cheers,

DV

[Nemac Vradon]

 

Assembled back in the day when I had little to no Heavy Support units, this was my first attempt to deviate from the original concept of terminators made of meat'n'guns Obliterators are. And now I'm confident enough to say this attempt was a miserable failure. The miniatures look partially messy and rushed, some of the detailing is rough and doesn't stand up even to my first marines (say, the trim on their legs). This may be explained due to little time I had to build them, but it would be just a blind evasion. In the end, the work done always serves me as a harsh reminder: do not convert something complex before having clear understanding of what the result should look like.

 

Yet along with poor decisions they've had their share of nice ideas implemented. First and foremost being ornaments/heads on their backs instead of plain vents covered in meat - I've carefully used that idea when I was drawing my new Obliterators. The other idea include usage of bones and limitation of mutated flesh on the miniatures, which I also find somewhat nice.

 

 

I think you are a little hard on yourself here. I really like them, the guy with the Raptor helmet is my favourite because of the way he holds the cannon and as you mentioned the use of the defiler masks on their backs instead of vents and flesh is very eye catching. My one small issue with them is the ornate vehicle head/gargoyle thing used on one of the knee pads, other then that I think they are pretty great.

 

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for your new Obliterators :)

 

Nemac

[DarkVen]

Thank you Nemac I share your preference of the one with the raptor helmet, he looks best of them all also.