Task Force Umbra - a Raven Guard 5th company WIP

[golfdeltafoxtrot]

I prefer pads with the icons molded to them.

And my basing is super simple. Vallejo green brown with a sand/gravel mix glued over top of it. It will go well with the desert themed gaming surface I'll be building soon.

Moulded pads are slightly harder to come by in the UK, most of the Shapeways-type stuff becomes prohibitively expensive.

Basing will be my next step, going to use cork for a tarmac-type effect.

Managed to get some shots of my transfers this morning. The shoulder pads took three goes with Microsol but the squad numbers only took one after I left the Microset to dry a little longer. Hopefully my transfer printer paper will arrive today so I can get to work on the chapter badges over the weekend.

[golfdeltafoxtrot]

Work has continued over the last couple of days, though not as much as I’d hoped. My decal paper still hasn’t arrived - the seller quoted 4-14 days for delivery and today is day 14, so if it doesn’t arrive today they’ll be getting a sternly worded email.

However, I have got my bases done and I’m pretty pleased with the results. I bought a sheet of thin cork from a craft shop, superglued it to the bases, and trimmed round it with clippers to make a neat roundish edge.

Painting them was really easy.

Primed with Army Painter Matt Black, drybrushed with Eshin Grey, Dawnstone, Celestra Grey and Ulthuan Grey. Road markings were added with two thin coats of Averland Sunset.

[golfdeltafoxtrot]

Back at it after a week and a bit away, and with my transfer paper finally in hand things can continue.



White transfer paper from Amazon, a decal layout from here on B&C and three coats of spray varnish later I’m ready to get these applied and finish off my tactical squad.

I also got building some units that I hope to be able to pledge to ETL while my varnish was drying.



The Reivers are awesome to look at, but the limited range of poses is disappointing. I did a few pistol and knife swap arounds to try and limit having lots of the same pose. The Aggressor was much more satisfying to build, so hopefully if the transfers go on well tonight I’ll get the other two done while they’re drying.

[golfdeltafoxtrot]

Got my chapter badge decals down yesterday and considering I printed them out on my elderly inkjet then cut them out by hand I’m pretty happy with how they turned out. I’ve done some painting of white edges where they weren’t perfectly cut, but it looks like I might need to go over a few once more.

And aside from a spray varnish (which I haven’t been able to do this week because it won’t stop raining) my Tactical Squad is complete!

Proudly presenting Squad 3, 5th Company.

Comments, advice, and criticism are all welcome. I’m really grateful for the support everyone has shown to this relapsed hobbyist.

Now to ponder my next moves for ETL.

[Shadow Captain Vyper]

3rd Squad, 5th Company is looking sharp!

 

I love the loadout and the monochromatic scheme.

 

My only suggestion would be: I would love to see you apply a different technique for the eye lenses to get them to pop. Either by having a base/layer/highlight or by giving the gemstone technical paints a try (if you have them).

 

I thinking making the eye lenses pop would really make a difference since you're 5th Co and black is your shoulder trim.

[golfdeltafoxtrot]

3rd Squad, 5th Company is looking sharp!

 

I love the loadout and the monochromatic scheme.

 

My only suggestion would be: I would love to see you apply a different technique for the eye lenses to get them to pop. Either by having a base/layer/highlight or by giving the gemstone technical paints a try (if you have them).

 

I thinking making the eye lenses pop would really make a difference since you're 5th Co and black is your shoulder trim.

Thanks dude.

 

I tried that with the lenses, they’re based with Khorne Red and highlighted with Wild Rider Red, but my painting skills aren’t great so they’re not as sharply distinguished as I’d like. They also don’t come out well in the photos, which is another excuse.

 

I’m going to pick up a finer brush and try a little harder for my next shot.

[duz_]

The blood for the blood god (?) Technical is great for red shiney lenses and goes on like paint ;)

[golfdeltafoxtrot]

Now with added ETL!

I’ve made a pretty small vow to start with - don’t want to drop the ball and cut the completion rate in my first ETL. So I’ve started with a sniper scout squad and a librarian, hopefully I’ll be able to improve my skills with the scouts’ camo cloaks and by trying a crystal weapon effect on the librarian’s force glaive.

[golfdeltafoxtrot]

ETL update time.

Progress has been good so far, the family were out of town this past weekend so I got a good few hours of painting done in front of the telly.

I’m really happy with how my librarian is going. The eyes are a bit easier now I’ve bought a new detail brush, and although the blue of the shoulder pad isn’t as smooth as I’d like I’m happy with the shade. The force glaive is coming on well, but it’s my first time working with Lahmian Medium and the colour isn’t as flat as I’d like - it probably needs more mixing to make sure the paint and the medium are smoother next time.

I’m also pretty pleased with the scouts so far. The edge highlighting has gone better now I’ve had some practise, I’m happy with the touch of contrast the leather provides, and I’m really chuffed with how well the Splinter Cell-esque glowing optics on the heads and scopes have gone.

Things left to do include finishing the force glaive, finishing the camo cloaks, decals and bases. Shouldn’t be too long hopefully, then maybe time to think about a second vow.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The Scout and the Librarian look good. Is that an urban warfare camouflage on the Scout's cloak?

[golfdeltafoxtrot]

The Scout and the Librarian look good. Is that an urban warfare camouflage on the Scout's cloak?

Thanks dude.

 

It’s the beginning of it, yes. Needs some similarly angular black shapes, then shading and highlighting. I’m theming my army around the infiltration of an intact Imperial city, before it gets all ruined by warfare like you more commonly see with urban theming.

[NiceGuyAdi]

Looking good, GDF. Another little tip with eyes is a tiny dot of white toward the back of the lens. It really makes them pop. It's a touch nerve racking the first time you try, but really not that hard if you thin the paint a bit and don't overload the brush.

 

[edit] that camo effect on the scout cloaks is particularly nice.

[Race Bannon]

Did I miss where the Scout helmets came from?

[Pearson73]

Scouts' cloaks are looking good!

[golfdeltafoxtrot]

Thanks Fraters. I’m somewhat pleased with the camo cloaks so far. I pretty much just copied the Warhammer TV video to be honest, so I can’t claim any originality.

 

The white dot thing is on the agenda as soon as I get the time to acquire some white paint.

 

The heads are Anvil Industry’s Black Ops heads.

[Claws and Effect]

My only suggestion would be: I would love to see you apply a different technique for the eye lenses to get them to pop. Either by having a base/layer/highlight or by giving the gemstone technical paints a try (if you have them).

 

This.

 

I've switched to doing my eye lenses with Spiritstone Red over gold.

 

It looks pretty sharp and it's dead simple.

 

I like having the highlights on my models come from the actual light source in the room they are in, as opposed to arbitrarily deciding where the light is coming from. That's also why I don't edge highlight.

[Race Bannon]

I like having the highlights on my models come from the actual light source in the room they are in, as opposed to arbitrarily deciding where the light is coming from. That's also why I don't edge highlight.

This.

 

Been working for me since 198 ... for a long time now ^_^

[golfdeltafoxtrot]

I'm mainly doing these things to improve my skills. Before I started these guys I'd never thinned my paints, never edge highlighted, never really shaded (I tried with GW's old inks but they weren't so great).

 

I also realised that, as another first, once I get this ETL vow done it'll be the first time I've ever had a fully painted tabletop-legal army. Yeah it's only a Patrol Detachment, but it's a significant milestone for me.

[duz_]

Claim what you can! :tu:

My only fully painted army are my Scions with a whopping 35 models ;)

[golfdeltafoxtrot]

So I completed my ETL vow last night. Now I have a fully painted tabletop legal army for the first time since starting this hobby 20+ years ago.

Hopefully you can see where I took NiceGuyAdi’s advice to go with the dot of white on the lenses, it really does add another dimension.

I’m mostly happy with the force glaive. I tried to make it look like it’s made of some kind of psy-reactive crystal. It could be a bit tidier I think, mostly with the highlights, but I’m pleased with the gradient I got with the greens brightening towards the tip.

The scout squad I’m very pleased with. They were much more demanding to paint than the tactical squad, lots more details. The little spots of non-black/grey help to keep them visually interesting. I’m also pleased with the green glow from the optics, I’ll be doing that again.

The camo cloaks have mostly achieved what I was looking for. The highlighting is a little sloppy in places but I’m still working on that.

Now I need to think about a second vow. I’d like to try a vehicle. I’ve got a dreadnought fully assembled, and I’ve just bought a shiny new missile turret from Kromlech to put together a Whirlwind.

[Claws and Effect]

Scout cloaks look good.

 

I did tiger stripes on mine, mostly because I'm lazy and impatient.

[Race Bannon]

Scout cloaks look good.

 

I did tiger stripes on mine, mostly because I'm lazy and impatient.

Lulz, mine are just grey with a wash. I totally win lazy in these parts :lol:

[Dracos]

Uh ... I’m painting chunks of mine on the sprue and plan on dipping for a shading, so ... challenger lol

[Race Bannon]

Aw snap.

 

YOU IS LAZAH CHAMPEEN!

 

:lol:

[Dracos]

It gets worse lmao. I’ll post pics of how I’m painting the Intercessor arms and weapons. Later this week.

 

I do do dishes though lol.