Mars Ascendant

[Heliomanes]

A quick couple of shots from part of my deployment zone today. Knight list versus knight list, so it was all done in two turns. He won by the results of a command point rerolled die. Fun times! Oh man, the second one turned out terribly blurry... Still, I find it pretty evocative, so I'll keep it in the post.

[DeStinyFiSh]

Where from is the Gallants Face Plate?

[Heliomanes]

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/gadgetsplus

I heartily recommend them. Great quality, fast shipping.

[Stray]

Who did you use for your Porphys base Helio? Did you scratch build it?

 

Linkage or suggestions would be wonderful if poss buddy - I'd like one for my own :)

[Marshal Reinhard]

Who did you use for your Porphys base Helio? Did you scratch build it?

 

Linkage or suggestions would be wonderful if poss buddy - I'd like one for my own

 

^ +1 for this. Where or how did you get/make that absolute monster base?

[Heliomanes]

Honestly, I just searched for "Porphyrion base" on ebay and bought the first one I found. I think it was this one;

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Warhammer-40k-30k-Warhound-porphyrion-titan-oval-base-11-x8/322951110114?epid=863674764&hash=item4b3162dde2:g:GdYAAOSwyYFaO-44

It's made out of MDF, so it's a bit fuzzy and it breaks easier than plastic, but it does the job well. Then I made a few dunes here and there with miliput, covered it in glue and sand, before adding some rocks, a green stuff oil spill, some converted support personell, and a dreadnought arm. Let me know if you want me to go into detail about anything :)

[Stray]

It looks great - I couldn't tell the difference between it and an official one after painting. The only reason I knew to even ask was purely because I know GW simply don't do bases in that size, so you've done an outstanding job.

 

I have to admit, I've long admired the dune effects you use on your bases. I've tried several times to create sand drifts and the like using various techniques (I love the idea of a desert themed force), but as yet haven't been happy with any I've produced.

 

If you could share how you do yours at some point, that'd be a really avid read for me! :D

[Clingy]

I'm glad you like them, gentlemen. I'll be sure to get some pics of the process when I put together some more models. The recipie is pretty simple though.

 

I add some miliput to the bases, and shape it to create some rough waves here and there. Then I cover the whole thing with sand and a few stones, and basecoat it.

 

The painting process is like this:

1. A basecoat mixed out of roughly 1/3 flat brown and 2/3 yellow. With a tiny bit of red in there if the brown you have available doesn't contain it.

2. A very light but thorough drybrush mixed out of 1/2 the mix from the step above and 1/2 pure yellow

3. As above.

4. A very light but covering drybrush mixed out of 1/2 the mix from the step above, and 1/2 pure white

5. A very light drybrush here and there out of pure white, mixed with the same, uncleaned brush from before.

 

So I think what makes it work is the gradual addition of different hues through the introduction of pure yellow and white, so that the base seems a bit more rich and complex than a pure gradient of brown to lighter browns. But that's just me speculating.

 

The mixing of paints is much easier when you use a wet palette. It's pretty easy to make out of a lunch box, some cotton and some cooking paper.

 

Hope this helps! Let me know if you want me to clarify something

Here ya go Stray.

 

This should get you started

[Stray]

\o/ Cheers both of you!

[Heliomanes]

Just a quick post to show you guys that I survived the move to my new home, and some of the stuff I'm working on. Will get some better pictures when they are finished.

[brother_b]

Awesome I've been waiting for an update. This does not disappoint. Let us know how those new hoplites do in batte. Everything looks ace.

[lionofjudah]

Those auto cannons are rad!! Nice work man

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Did you transplant the Redemptor Dreadnought's Gatling cannons onto those Armiger Knights' arms? The results look good, and "More dakka!" is rarely a bad idea.

[DeStinyFiSh]

Did you transplant the Redemptor Dreadnought's Gatling cannons onto those Armiger Knights' arms? The results look good, and "More dakka!" is rarely a bad idea.

 

They are from Shapeways

https://www.shapeways.com/product/6MLJCN5SS/mini-knight-rotary-gun-right-side?optionId=65467364&li=marketplace

[Dracos]

What technique do you use to distress the guns from overheating. I like your version than what I’ve seen on spikey bitz.

[walter h]

They are more impressive than the GW,style. The weathering is awesome,and the color scheme perfect. Grim and dark.

[Heliomanes]

Oh man, you guys are too nice. Greatly appreciated.


The barrels are pretty easy, to be honest. You just need the following washes; seraphim sepia, agrax earthshade, some purple wash and a blue wash. I also use some black and some leadbelcher, and that's pretty much it.

Before starting, you should have painted the metals properly. I usually use leadbelcher, a black wash, then drybrush leadbelcher or even add some silvery highlights or damage stripes here and there. This is important because we are painting with washes, so whatever is under will show through.

1: First you apply the seraphim sepia on one end of the barrel, and the purple wash somewhere around halfway down the barrel. I've tried to make a quick and dumb guide in MS paint. Let the washes dry completely before going on to step 2.




2. Next, you apply agrax earthshade between the two already applied blobs of color. Make sure to let it overlap a little on both ends. This will create a gradient effect. Do the same with the blue wash from the purple part and towards the end of the barrel.




3. I usually water down a little black paint and put it on the end of the barrel.

4. Finally, I do a very, very light drybrush of leadbelcher across the whole thing to help tie it together and tone down the strong coloration of the washes we've used.


Sometimes you can get a glossy, varnishy effect from your washes. This can be ok when you want it to look like oil spills and the likes, but doesn't really add to what we are trying to do here. You can fix this quite easily by painting on some watered down matte varnish on the area. When it dries, the glossy, unnatural look will be gone.

[brother_b]

That's a great little description there. Well done.

[Heliomanes]

Just another quick proof of life update.

I've been painting up some of the models from the Kill Team box set - which is fantastic for the value you get. Terrain, rules, models +++ I decided on keeping the genestealer cultists and paint them up as an infected band of rebellious miners and manufactorum workers.

I also got a foldable gaming table, with a gaming mat and some terrain recently, so I have plenty of stuff to keep me busy.

On another note; 20 secutarii hoplites, 10 more vanguard and 10 more rangers are aaaalmost finished, but I want to get the lights and rust done before getting more pictures done.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job on the Genestealer Cultists and their battlefield.

[brother_b]

Excellent! I was considering orange or red and grey for my GSC. Yours look wonderful so I like that color scheme! Keep up the great work.

[Heliomanes]

Testing out this 100 point kill team in a few hours. Wish me luck!

Leader: Ruststalker princeps

Zealot: Infiltrator princeps w taser and flechettes
Comms: Ranger with Omnispex
Heavy: Vanguard with Plasma caliver

Sicarian infiltrator w taser and flechettes
Ranger with transuranic arquebus
Vanguard with enhanced data-tether

It is pretty elite and low model count, but seems to have some fun synergies. It's my first match in this game system, so I'm really excited about trying it out.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Your Kill Team models are well done.

[Prot]

They look good. I wish you good luck. I’ve had a lot of difficulty with AdMech in KT.

[Heliomanes]

Thanks guys. What have you been playing with in Kill Team so far, Prot?

Ended up playing two matches against a pretty balanced Death Guard list. First one I pretty much shot all of them to death before they got to do much, the other one was just as one sided, but resulting in a total loss on my end. Fun times! The ruleset seems really fun. Love the mix of turn based stuff and activation based gameplay.

The two Princeps did fine, but the regular infiltrator has too few attacks to really matter much. He's out. 

The ranger comms specialist with an omnispex was fantastic. Being able to double buff the gun you need from turn to turn gives us a lot of flexibility, especially when you add in Canticles. Those buffs, and the fact that we can get a lot of Skitarii heavy gunners seem like our largest strengths. But they seem to really need some Sicaran support to hold off melee units and score objectives.