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Skitarii and CultMech WIP - First Dragoon nearly finished


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I've had mixed results making my own decals.  I find it's typically easier with larger ones but the smaller I go (and more detailed) the tougher it gets.  I think yours looks pretty good, though!  Just hope it's not going to be too tough to keep up this level of detail throughout the army!

Yeah, I've been trying pretty hard to choose techniques that were faster than my usual. For instance there's only one level of edge highlighting on anything. Most bits are base, wash and then one highlight. The metal takes a bit more time but it's worth it. So yeah, I think I can keep it going for a whole army. My next task is all 3 Sydonian Dragoons, hopefully, so that will be a good test of more batch-based methods. 

Why thank you, Mr. Skelter. I've got one through most of the wash stage at this point so I'll have more pics coming soon. They have an interesting mix of the different colors in the scheme and they're ripe for some nice weathering, so I think I'm really going to enjoy finishing them off. I really, really wish I had assembled these myself because they're really hard to paint fully assembled. Just leaving the legs and rider off would have made a world of difference. Ah well. I did get them really cheap so I can't complain too much. 

  • 4 weeks later...

Okay. Dropping a quick pic dump here. I got the first one mostly finished, but there are still some things to do, obviously. Have a look.

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And I also took a pic of the lightning arcs since they were out of focus for the other pics.

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Thoughts? Comments and critiques? The other two are in the works so get your feedback in now. :D

Once again, great painting! I really do love your static discharge effect.

 

I'm not a huge fan of the pose, to be honest. I like what you're trying to convey - throwing its weight into the charge - but it looks to me like it's stumbling. I think if the left leg was brought forward or tucked up closer to the hips, it would look more natural.

I'm not a huge fan of the pose, to be honest. I like what you're trying to convey - throwing its weight into the charge - but it looks to me like it's stumbling. I think if the left leg was brought forward or tucked up closer to the hips, it would look more natural.

I love your work, Jeff, but I have to agree with this. Is it too late to try a re-pose? huh.png

Once again, great painting! I really do love your static discharge effect.

I'm not a huge fan of the pose, to be honest. I like what you're trying to convey - throwing its weight into the charge - but it looks to me like it's stumbling. I think if the left leg was brought forward or tucked up closer to the hips, it would look more natural.

I'm not a huge fan of the pose, to be honest. I like what you're trying to convey - throwing its weight into the charge - but it looks to me like it's stumbling. I think if the left leg was brought forward or tucked up closer to the hips, it would look more natural.

I love your work, Jeff, but I have to agree with this. Is it too late to try a re-pose? huh.png

Haha! Yes it's too late for a repose! Just teasing... But seriously I'm okay with it. I actually did bring it up farther by cutting and splicing on a different leg. That leg has three pieces now between the upper thigh, lower leg joint and then bottom starting at the pistons. The real problem is that I can't really bring it forward any further without the foot touching the ground and that will ruin the effect. The other option was to give it less of a lunge, but then there's no easy way to get the lance into position and frankly, it didn't look nearly as dynamic. It's basically the exact same thing people thought about the Khârn the Betrayer model.

There are also some real limitations because of the way the model is designed, and also because I purchased them already-assembled. I had to literally tear and hack them apart to even do this much, which is not really the way I prefer to work. That said, the pose no longer bothers me at all. Maybe part of it is the fact that photos don't capture the angles well, but between the hip rotation, the gimp's arms in front, and the head and lance focused on one point it 'reads' quite clearly to me as a lunge. I can totally understand some folks seeing it as a stumble because frankly I was right there with you at first.

I think adjusting his leg the little bit I did was worth the considerable effort (you can still see the earlier version on the first part of this thread). Any further effort would require reworking of the knee joint, including the piston, and it's just not worth it to me. Especially now that it's painted. Bringing the knee forward more could look like an awesome power charge, but maybe I'll save that for the next kit I actually purchase on the sprue. That would make it far less intimidating to convert. I really, really like this kit so I'd absolutely enjoy building more of them. I would love to see 6 of them on the field, but they're pretty dang pricey.

A lot of realistic poses look awkward in isolation, looking like they are dancing, stumbling etc. The trick is to put them in a context and see how the pose looks. So take a pic with a victim in the right spot about to get hit by that lance, i've got a good feeling it will suddenly bring that pose to life.

 

 

I would love to see 6 of them on the field, but they're pretty dang pricey. 

 

...You really think that the Dragoons are pricey with their 45 points a pop? >_> Six of them will cost you 270 points, which is still 20 points less than a Kastelan Robot Maniple.

I would love to see 6 of them on the field, but they're pretty dang pricey.

...You really think that the Dragoons are pricey with their 45 points a pop? >_> Six of them will cost you 270 points, which is still 20 points less than a Kastelan Robot Maniple.

He's talking money pricey... which for their points costs on the table top gets painful quick confused.gif

Yes. Money pricey. I should note here that I rarely ever get a game in, so the models are much more important to me. The kit's really pretty expensive for what it is, but I like it enough that I'm sure I'll pick some up since I didn't really get to assemble these ones.

Yes. Money pricey. I should note here that I rarely ever get a game in, so the models are much more important to me. The kit's really pretty expensive for what it is, but I like it enough that I'm sure I'll pick some up since I didn't really get to assemble these ones.

I absolutely love the idea of getting a maxed-out unit of Dragoons on the table, but it's the price tag that makes me shy away from the very concept. It's a shame too, because I love the models. sleep.png

In either case, I do love the lightning effect JT and I look forward to seeing the entire unit done!

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