A. Mechanicus... Darkly

[Subtle Discord]

+++ External Vox ∙ "The fault in your motivation impulses is obvious; you have far too much grey matter for your required duties. Unnecessary compulsions for self-preservation can easily be alleviated with the correct procedure." +++

[Subtle Discord]

*In a dim basement somewhere in southern Canada a man can be found hugging his computer monitor... just as his wife comes down to ask him something...*
 
"It's not what it looks like."
 
Wheee! B&C is back!
 

+++ Completion Quotas ∙ On Target +++ Magnetic Coupling Solution ∙ Successful +++ Coupling Assemblies ∙ Complete +++ General Assembly ∙ Ongoing..." +++
 
One little, two little, three little Onagers! Still unable to find the right mix of time and motivation to get more paint on plastic, I've stayed focused on prep and assembling of the final models that will make up my starting AdMech list. More ramblings n' stuff... soon'ish...

[Magos Takatus]

Good work. That's going to be a substantial chunk addded to your army.

[Vel'Cona]

*In a dim basement somewhere in southern Canada a man can be found hugging his computer monitor... just as his wife comes down to ask him something...*

 

"It's not what it looks like."

 

[Subtle Discord]

[Clingy]

I live in hope that one day your catalog is available on shapeways or similar site

 

Love the work you do , keep at it

[Ulfast]

I love your work and really hope that soon we can buy them. Specially like the dragoons :)

[Subtle Discord]

Thanks for the positive feedback. While the Mechanicus components are currently just smaller personal projects to test Servitor Solus with some more challenging forms I have every plan to release these as kits in the near future. The plan is to work on these kits in the background as I get the initial kits done for the studio and as those starting projects get complete I'll start considering Adeptus/Dark Mechanicus and Xenos. The idea is to have several components ready to go as a group of kits to be released together rather than releasing things here-and-there in a piecemeal fashion. Stay tuned, much more arriving in the coming weeks, months, and years.

[Clingy]

[Magos Takatus]

Those weapon mounts on the Kastellans are amazing. It always bugged me that the guns didn't really resemble the ones on the Onager very much. I also like that your replacement head looks inspired by the Omnispex. Part of me wishes GW designed them like this to start with. I actually quite like the retro style the designers went with, but I think I like your ideas better.

[Subtle Discord]

+++ Comm-Link ∙ Active +++ Authentication Protocols ∙ Accepted +++ Data Downlink ∙ Ongoing… +++ Operational Status ∙ Standby… +++

 

[Clingy]

I do so enjoy the blue

[Subtle Discord]

Several months of no painting finally made me snap over the holidays as CA 2018 finally pushed me over the edge. I didn’t even pick it up but my digital codex got updated with the new points and I had already planned on changing my current list from 1,850 to 2,000 so the more points the better! Since I’ve I’ve been collecting AdMech for several years building up to this project I’ve got some more units waiting in the wings and now a few of them can get pushed on to the main stage. Always a glutton for punishment, I’ve added another 20 bodies to the list with another unit of Vanguard with three Plasma Calivers and a unit of Infiltrators with Taser Goads and Flechette Blasters; I’ve got an idea… let's paint a Dominus, an Enginseer, the Vanguard, the Infiltrators, and a unit of Dragoons all at the same time! What a great idea! *Subtle’s nose begins to bleed profusely*

 

Hey look! It’s a Dominus (and his subsequent parts)… on a stick. I wonder what flavour he is? Silly question, naturally he’s Dominus flavor.

 

Errr… so yeah, I’ve got the preliminary colours and cleanup done and I’m just getting started on working up the highlights. Since they’re singular models I decided to focus on the Dominus and Enginseer first but I haven’t gotten as far with Mr. tall, dark, and hunched bio-mechanical monstrosity here. Eager to see a proper HQ finished to put out at the front of the current army progress, I can’t wait to get back to work on him this weekend.

 

 If I’m going to add 20 more bodies to the list I’m committed to getting them up to speed quickly so I can get my attention back to the big stompy stuff.

 

Mostly blocked in and cleaned up both of these squads are going to be getting their wash treatment very soon. Beyond the fact that they’re actually assembled and to this point this quickly (which for me is actually saying something) there’s not much to see here yet. Expect to see these squads get finished up before I move back to the bigger models. *Eyes the Onagers* Soon…

 

One of my favourite models in GW’s entire line, the act of building and painting a Dragoon/Ironstrider really does try to make you hate it.

 

If you thought it was fiddly to build, just wait, it’s just as fiddly to paint! And despite it all, I want to build like… nine more! Such an awesome model. Still far from finished, they’ve at least got a good start, and it’s only three of them, how hard can it be, really? *Eye twitch*

 

Here’s a close-up shot of some of the custom 3D printed components that I did for these Dragoons, for anyone who might be interested.

 

One layer of primer and one layer of Vallejo Magic Blue is all that’s on the parts in the above image. The large flat areas were sanded with a 600 grit soft sanding stick but none of the trim or lettering was sanded because it was just too hard to even try. Since they’re only 20 microns thick/tall any layering or stepping from the printing process that might be noticeable before paint all but vanish once it’s on. Simply marvellous. Solus, if you weren’t an electrified appliance filled with toxic chemicals I think I’d kiss you; but since that is the case… fist bump? *Nods* Fist bump.

 

To close some image of the over-the-top Enginseer who’s just about done his preliminary paint job. Mmmm… loving… the… blue.

 

I still need to do a few more highlights here-and-there and a bit of cleanup in a few spots but for the most part, this little kit-bash can be called done for now. As with the rest at this point, there is still decals and weathering in the future but I want to do those as a cohesive process on most of the starting army at once. He was intended to be used for another purpose, and then 8th happened, so he’s a bit over equipped now that he’s back to being a lowly Enginseer again. He’s a 30 point pushover, but he’s a badass looking 30 point pushover.

 

 

Ok, as always, thanks for looking, reading, and liking. Input, feedback, inquiries, and general hobby related ramblings are always welcome. Any overlooked comments warranting a reply will get one with my next update.

[Magos Takatus]

I can get behind your opinions on the Dragoon/Ironstriders, I love the model but they were a real pain to work on. I need more than one though so I guess I'll have more to paint eventually. I think you're doing a fantastic job. I couldn't work on that many projects at once so well done on not being overwhelmed by it. That magic blue you use is gorgeous and it looks great on the custom parts.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Excellent paint applications on the models. I especially like the Tech-Priest Enginseer.

[Spiritual Liege]

They look great. You inspired me to paint my own Skitarii kill team in blue robes with green lights.

[Subtle Discord]

Damn the weakness of this vessel of organic flesh! Again, I find myself sympathizing with Mechanicus logic and the idea of replacing and/or enhancing the fragile bodily tissues that we are confined to. A moderate injury has tossed a crimp in my studio work the last few weeks and wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could just remove and replace the ‘defective’ hand with something useful?

 

At the end of last year my household took in a new cat and he’s easily the largest feline we’ve ever owned. Oakley has had a bit of rough life so when he arrived he was rather aggressive but it’s nothing we haven’t dealt with over the years. A combination of firm-but-fair boundaries (using isolation as a primary punishment when required) and lots of unconditional affection will transform most aggressive animals into well-adjusted pets. However, it’s a process that takes time and it’s not perfect.

 

Long story short, after being with us for a few months and making great progress Oakley had a bit of a relapse and my attempts to coax him out of a room were met an unexpected attack and he gave me a deep bite on the outside edge of my hand near the wrist and he’s a big cat so he got me good; three of the fangs got nothing but soft fatty tissue but the fourth manage to get right in the tendon for the pinky finger and managed to hit a nerve and/or nick the tendon or something because damn it’s messed my hand up for several weeks. To add to the injury Grandpa’ Nurgle decided he’d add his blessings and naturally within a day it got infected and that even resisted the first round of antibiotics.

 

After two days of (mostly) solitary confinement and several more of giving him the cold shoulder Oakley and I are on good terms again.  He really is a nice cat and I don’t hold it against him, he’s still adjusting and continues to mellow. But damn, for two weeks I lost my strength grip and could barely make a tight fist and I still can’t twist anything without pain so it’s stopping me from casting since I can’t properly close the pressure chambers. You’d never think you use your pinky finger that much until its injured and you discover that it’s involved in lots of lifting and manipulating actions. Seriously cat, my hands are important to me, I really don’t need them damaged.

 

However, I was spared my precision grip so I was able to hold a paintbrush so that’s what I’ve been doing damn it! 

 

∙ Finally, something looming dark and bio-mechanical to stand at the front of the small throng of troops I’ve got going.

 

I’m quite satisfied with how he’s turning out and I’m particularly happy with the glow effect I managed to pull off on the Eradication Ray. I’ve completely fallen in love with the Transparent Vallejo paints I picked up a while back for doing really light staining of surfaces perfect for quick OSL colour build up that’s nice and subtle. It works well thinned with water and I also like adding a bit to some GW glaze to create nice bright stain with a little more body.

 

He’s still not quite done this first preliminary paint job since now that he’s assembled I need to go and add some OSL effects in a few logical locations and there are still a few final details I want to finish and/or get right. The glass globe on top, in particular, is something that I’m still trying to pull off; I want it to look like it filled with swirling/roiling smoke or vapours rather than a liquid and it’s close but not quite there yet. Not to mention I’m still not sure of the best way to pull off glass effects so I’m nervous I’ll muck it up once I get it to a point I’m happy with. Oh well, it’s not like I can stop now.

 

∙ I had planned on getting to these later but I’m happy to add some more close combat bite to the list if GW is going to give me the points to work with.

 

Happy to paint something that isn’t a Vanguard I’ve had no problem getting down to work on the Infiltrators and they’re very close to finished their preliminary paint job in these images. Figuring they weren’t holding weapons across their torsos like other models I glued the arms in place for the painting and if I had to do it again I think I’d keep them separate and assemble after; like too many models in the AdMech line there’s just so many nooks-and-crannies at odd angles that minimizing what you have to deal with is a good thing. I still want to add a few electrical spark effects on the ends of the Taser Goads, but beyond that, these are pretty much done, for now.

 

∙ The original plan was to have two Plasma Caliver Vanguard squads but they were toned down to Arc Rifles to trim some points.

 

But now Plasma’s back on the menu and I can take another full squad of Calivers and even keep the original Arc Rifle squad in the list for more bodies to push into the midfield. I guess it’s a good thing my pile-of-shame was up to the task of quickly filling the gap GW was so kind to provide. While I’m happy to have more points to work with I’m glad I’m close to caught back up by getting these new additions finished. The end was in sight and then GW just had to go and add to the workload. It’s a good thing I’m so taken with the Mechanicus line so it’s not too difficult to be forced to paint some more for a list.

 

Ok, it’ll be a few more days and then I’ll get back to casting to get some more stock back on the shelves, and then I’ll turn my focus on getting another round of new kits prepped for production. I still have a few more kits I need to get done for the Rhino and Predator before I get to work on the Land Raider and start reverse engineering the Storm Raven. And those who are keeping an eye on the Mechanicus bits, don’t worry, I’ll be turning my gaze to the Onager soon and then I want to start looking at the Armiger and Knight kits; once I’m at that point I’ll start considering how they’ll all come together to create the starting of a line for Mechanicus.

 

Thanks as always for reading. More to come. Stay tuned.

[Magos Takatus]

Sorry to hear your cat mistook your hand for dinner, hope things get better in that regard (both your hand and the cat's temperment). As usual, great work on the Skitarii. Your Dominus is coming along nicely, the conversion work is subtle but effective. I hear you loud and clear on the desire to keep the various parts separate for as long as possible before fixing them in place. I think I stuck the gun arm on the Sicarans in place and left the melee arm off as a compromise, but I can't recall for certain, since I built my squad in two separate shifts.

Edited March 7, 2019 by Flame Boy

[Subtle Discord]

Random hobby tangent! More important projects and duties? Bah! I’ve got a random kit-bash idea that demands my attention!

∙ I wanted a few more Arc Rifles for some small Ranger squads but I ran out; however, being an unsanctioned and unconventional Forge World I devised a counts-as solution.

 

I wasn’t keen on the idea of buying more Arc Rifles as bits for a 4 point piece of wargear, so I think this is a good compromise and they even look pretty good, if I do say so myself. If there’s one thing I’ve got now that I’ve built an AdMech army, it’s a ton of leftover arms and a bunch of Arc Pistols that had no other use. I’m going to see if I can bash an upgrade to their backpacks using some leftover Electro Priest bits to reinforce the concept.

[Vel'Cona]

Pretty cool conversion!  I like how you didn't just swap the arms and call it a day, but went to the trouble to pose them in "realistic" stances so as to increase the guns-akimbo effect.  Nice work :)

[Magos Takatus]

I really like the dual Arc guys. As Vel'Cona says, the poses seem to have come out quite natural. Very nice.

[Subtle Discord]

++
+++++++++++
+++++
Comm-Link ∙ Active
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+++
Motivation Subroutines ∙ Recalibrating…
+++++++
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Information Exchange ∙ Update
++++++
Asset Allocation Audit ∙ Complete
Resource Provision ∙ Updated
Operational Capacity ∙ Increased
+++++++++
++
Display Data-Log…
Atrum Laboris’ 3rd Artisan Legion ∙ Disciples of the First Word +++ 1st War Cohort +++ Elements of ∙ 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Triarii Maniples +++
+++++
Preliminary Production Queue ∙ Revised Status Update
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+++++++++
+ Void Shield Generator ∙ Initial Paintjob Complete
+ Skitarii Rangers x10 (TA x2) ∙ Initial Paintjob Complete
+ Skitarii Vanguard x10 (Caliver x3) ∙ Initial Paintjob Complete
+ Skitarii Vanguard x10 (Caliver x3) ∙ Initial Paintjob Complete
+ Skitarii Vanguard x10 (Arc x3) ∙ Initial Paintjob Complete
+ Skitarii Vanguard x10 (Arc x3) ∙ Initial Paintjob Complete
+ Sicarian Infiltrators x10 (FB + Goad x10) ∙ Initial Paintjob Complete
+ Tech-Priest Dominus (E. Ray) ∙ Initial Paintjob Complete
+ Tech-Priest Enginseer ∙ Initial Paintjob Complete
+ Sydonian Dragoons x3 ∙ Initial Paintjob Complete
+ Tech-Priest Dominus (Volkite) ∙ Assembly and Prime Complete
+ Cybernetica Datasmith ∙ Assembly Ongoing…
+ Kastelan Robots x2 ∙ Assembly Ongoing…
+ Onager x3 ∙ Assembly Ongoing…
+ Awaiting Further Production Allocation…
++++
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Data Downlink… Complete
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Displaying Data File ∙ Onscreen
+++
+++++++++

Sigh… do I ever hate winter. Despite being a night person who stays up late most of the time, the diminished daylight, combined with the cold, usually drives me into such a funk; yeah I say up late and sleep in, but the sun setting at 5:30 in the evening? Nope, my psyche simply struggles with that. Injuring my hand sure didn’t help and despite it finally being healed I’m finding it difficult to get my motivation up and back at it in the studio. It’s only a matter of time now, but it’s frustrating to be dragging like this and it’s hard to put a finger on just why I’m procrastinating beyond the time of year and the weather.

However, if I’m going to be delinquent in some of my studio duties for a bit while I get some new wind in my sails, I figured the least I could do is be productive with painting my current projects. My armies are going to tie into the studio in the future, after all, and I suspect it won’t hurt my motivation to get out of the house and actually throwing some dice. But, that can only happen if I get the damn thing done, so it’s not really a bad thing if I permit myself to get distracted with some painting, is it? Yeah… yeah! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.


∙ Given the progress of getting the Troop elements are essentially done, I figured it was a good time to take a group photo.


∙ Since everything is magnetized for transportation and already attached to sheets of steel, it’s not like it was too hard to get them all together for the shot.

The newer units I’ve been working on lately still need one more round of small details and touch-ups; the odd missing highlight, a few spots that need a bit of OSL work, some final clean-up in a few places, and some dry-brushing to finish a few bases. But for this update, I’m calling them finished with their preliminary paintjob. With all this rank-and-file complete to this point creating the center of the force it’s hard to believe the end is really coming into sight. That’s not to say there aren’t still a few more things that will be added to this collection in the future, but for now, the first 2,000 points are actually in the home stretch, and then it’s only a matter of adding some select units to provide some options and variety.


∙ As with the other Vanguard squads I did a little kit-bashing to make the Alpha and wargear operator unique.


∙ The Vanguard advance; in robes of blue two-by-two. Try to hide; the Omnispex says they’ll find you!

If GW is going to give the points, I’m happy to add another squad of Plasma toting Vanguard to the list. Combined with the original Plasma Vanguard and the new Infiltrators that were also recently added, I think I’ve got a nice blob of threat that I can teleport and infiltrate right where they can cause the most disruption to my future opponents.


∙ In Atrum Laboris, you don’t fry the chickens. The chickens are the ones that fry you!



∙ A nice close-up image to show some of the custom components that are added to these Dragoons.

I’m very pleased with how all of the 3D printed bits turned out; not only do they add a bit of custom look to the models but they’re also small experiments that were successful. The armour plates are nice proof-of-concepts for parts that will have very subtle concave or convex surfaces, and the small scale details in the arms really showcase that Servitor Solus is more than up to the task of creating components with high enough quality that they blend right in once they’re painted. But now that I look at it, I think the Phosphor Serpenta could use a bit more black to break up the silver a bit.

Speaking of paint. While I still absolutely adore these models, they truly are a challenge and trial to paint. I’m glad that my scheme is straightforward because even this was much trickier than I was expecting. I really like to avoid handling miniatures that I’m painting until they’re done and have at least one layer of varnish on them. The sweat and oils from your hands are counterproductive, corners and edges wear away, and if you painting with a lot of metallics like I am here metal flecks will start shedding and getting everywhere. But this damn model is just legs, hoses, rails, and numerous nooks-and-crannies to deal with everywhere, you have little choice but to handle it like crazy as you deal with it all. I’m happy to have a nice solid unit of three now that they’re this far along, but they’ve got me looking forward to doing something that’s not so stroke inducing.

Ok. Thanks for looking. Thanks for reading. Comments, questions, or musings are always welcome. I have absolutely no idea what’s going to be in my next update; maybe some more paint, maybe a build, maybe something digital, or maybe something printed. Stay tuned. The motivation has been waning a bit lately but it’s time it starts to wax once again.

[Magos Takatus]

Great work with the custom parts, they are indistinguishable from the rest of the kit and they look stylish. I know what you mean about painting them. It's been a while since I had one on the hobby table but I remember it being a right pain and yes, I did have problems with handling it.

 

You have some nice army shots there. May I ask how you keep the entire picture in focus? I haven't figured that out with my own group pics so I end up with a couple of focal models and the rest tend to blur into the background. Regardless, seeing a large chunk of your army together must be a motivating factor? I hope you get your hobby mojo back soon.

[Clingy]

[Subtle Discord]

First up, thanks to everyone who took the time to give positive feedback and encouragement. Still many hours of work ahead of me to get the list ready for the table but I think it's safe to say I'm well past the halfway point. The Omnissiah guides my blade and brush inspiring me to remain resolute in my efforts to reach my goal.
 

Pretty cool conversion!  I like how you didn't just swap the arms and call it a day, but went to the trouble to pose them in "realistic" stances so as to increase the guns-akimbo effect.  Nice work

I really like the dual Arc guys. As Vel'Cona says, the poses seem to have come out quite natural. Very nice.

Thanks! Yeah, there was quite a bit of switching-and-swapping to find the right stances to match the right combination of arms. Ultimately they turned out better than I expected so I'm more than happy. Once I started digging through the bits boxes and pulling out various arms I quickly discovered that I had more options than I thought at first. Each arm is actually unique and I'm a sucker for variety so that quells my hobby-OCD nicely.
 

Great work with the custom parts, they are indistinguishable from the rest of the kit and they look stylish. I know what you mean about painting them. It's been a while since I had one on the hobby table but I remember it being a right pain and yes, I did have problems with handling it.
 
You have some nice army shots there. May I ask how you keep the entire picture in focus? I haven't figured that out with my own group pics so I end up with a couple of focal models and the rest tend to blur into the background. Regardless, seeing a large chunk of your army together must be a motivating factor? I hope you get your hobby mojo back soon.

Yeah, the Dragoon kit really is one of those mixed blessings from the Omnissiah. They're an excellent unit in the codex and an easy include in a list, but the cost of the models and the challenge to build and paint them really does test just how badly you want them in your force. I'd like to build a few Ballistarii to occupy some Elite slots but I think I'll procrastinate on those for a while after finishing these three.
 
Right now I've got no problem keeping my hobby mojo, in fact, it's too much of a lure to distraction for me. What I need to get back in gear is my studio mojo but it's just so tempting to build and paint now that my AdMech is turning the final corner. It's all good. The studio finances are in order, the groundwork is progressing, the days are getting longer and in theory, spring is just around the corner so I'll find my stride soon enough.
 
Do a search for 'Depth of Field' if you want a deeper explanation of exactly what's going on, but I'll try to give a condensed explanation that hopefully makes sense for miniature photography.
 

 
You control the Depth of Field (DoF) with the aperture of the camera; a small aperture (Large F-Stop*) = long DoF, a large aperture (Small F-Stop*) = short DoF. The catch is, this also controls how much light gets into the camera. The small aperture that gives you a nice long DoF also lets very little light into the camera. To counter this you need to add as much light as you can to the subject and slow down the shutter speed so it lets more light it. However, a slow shutter speed means that the camera needs to be very steady when taking the pictures so you will need to brace the camera if you're holding it or better yet use a tripod or stand of some sort.
 
If you're using a smartphone as your camera it's possible to find apps that can give you some control over these settings but don't be intimidated by any of the terminologies. It might seem a bit confusing at first but it's only two settings you're adjusting so it shouldn't take much experimenting to figure out what's going on.
 
* - F-Stop is the photography term for the aperture setting. The simple rule is large F-Stop = large DoF, but that means a small aperture.