MBA++Blood Angels 5th Company - into the Leviathan's maw

[Majkhel]

Back to the new Forum with some newly-painted mainis ;)
First,  another MM Eradicator:


I'ts another conversion I did using a MM from a firstborn Devastator. In this case the idea was to keep the low grip on the gun. However due to larger chest section of the Eraidcator, original MM was too short so I had to make it longer. But then maiking a MM bigger is all good in my book

Spoiler

The body is one of the Indomitus ETB Eradicators.
Also I tried dry pigments for the first time and obviously overdid it :P

Edited June 27, 2022 by Majkhel

[Majkhel]

It seems there is a limit of pictures' size per post now, so I'm throwing next mini to a separate one.
This time a second-hand sniper Eliminator I rescued. Really had fun with the camo scheme and camouflage-activation effects :)



I have developed a new camouflage and improved black armor scheme compared to my existing Eliminators. Will update my older snipers to this new standard at one point. 
I'm doing a las-fusil Eliminator (also second-hand rescue job) to practice bothe camo and camo-activation recipe. 

Also on my desk is the new Kratos tank. It's a beast to build... almost done with the assembly apart from some weapon options I still need to magnetize. And then embellishments - not easy as the structure is super-busy.
Cheers! :D

Edited June 27, 2022 by Majkhel

[MasterOfAardvarks]

Nice glowy effect! The Eradicator looks cool too, all that burnt metal looks like he's been working hard.

[Majkhel]

Cheers MasterofAardvarks! Thanks and welcome to the thread 

The las-fusil Eliminator just got completed and photographed:

I'm getting more confident with the camo, activation glow and pigments (managed to put a little less and 2 colors this time. It's still a pain when I try to apply the varnish by brusg though as it gets clumped together and starts to flow).
Had some fun with the greenish marble too. Nothing fancy just to make a general impression of it. Didn't really care for thatextra blending or thin lines. It's just a regular guy to be played after all. Still it was a nice excersise. 

Also did a picture of the assembled Kratos:

That's seriously 2 days of building... And still not every weapon option is magnetized (for sponsons, those funny ancillary turrets and top-hatch weapons). And almost no embellishments added yet.
In terms of height, it's not much taller than the Sicaran. It is longer and broader though.

I think the design is not entirely consistent and well thought through. Definitely the front of the hull has too much going on. So much in fact it's almost orky in my opinion. Makes Primaris vehicles almost plain in comparison  And it has some areas that I already see will be a pain to paint.
But it also has some reaaally big guns 

Edited June 27, 2022 by Majkhel

[Paladin777]

The transitioning effect on those cloaks is amazing!!!!! 

Edited June 27, 2022 by Paladin777
Proofreading

[Majkhel]

Thanks Paladin!
It's a really simple idea and execution is also not hard.
I had so much fun with it that I actually documented each step on that second guy and have just assembled a simple guide in the tutorial section of the forum 

Feel free to steal, use or modify 

 

[Xenith]

On 6/25/2022 at 9:37 PM, Majkhel said:

It seems there is a limit of pictures' size per post now, so I'm throwing next mini to a separate one.
 

Still getting to grips with the new software, bt I think the size limit is 'per' upload event - I got blocked from uploading 3 images to a single post in one go, but it let me add two at once, then the last one on it's own.

On 6/25/2022 at 9:27 PM, Majkhel said:

Back to the new Forum with some newly-painted mainis ;)
First,  another MM Eradicator:


 

This guy's sublime, you've really got to grips on the weathering - those hazards on the gun in particular - is that flecked dryad bark? One criticism is the knees, in particular the personal heraldry, they're pretty bright and unweathered compared to the rest and it's slightly jarring. Maybe even an agrax wash over the top would blend the left knee in?

[Majkhel]

Thanks Xenith!
Hazard striping is just yellow and black. Yellow does have a touch of brown in the lower parts though so that must be the impression of Dryad Bark. Because yellow paints are yellow paints in terms of application, I always put couple of layers building the color up and the first one often has some brown added to the mix. It pays off during the weathering later on.

Aaand you are right with the kneepads  It's my mistake of often leaving the heraldry for the last when I'm often spent in terms of creativity. The right one is actually shaded a bit, but it got lost during picture processing. There is no excuse for the left one though. I've actually got a suggestion in my painting group that the marine is displaying some form of tolerance support with those rainbowy colors . So yes I definitely need to go back and weather them a down a bit.

Edit: there seems to be no limit when throwing links to pictures from the B&C Galleries fortunately and they get displayed as (if?) fully embedded in the posts. 

Edited June 27, 2022 by Majkhel

[Damon Nightman]

That camo is amazing! The transition is beautiful

[Majkhel]

6 hours ago, Brother Lemartes said:

That camo is amazing! The transition is beautiful

Thank you kindly! Happy to see you around again! 

[Majkhel]

I've been having a bit of a hard time with painting those last couple of weeks, but I managed to break it an get back to Kratos

Spoiler

 

The reason why I was able to break the lull is the Cathpractii Terminators' up-scaling project.
I bought a 10-man unit recently thanks to lower second-hand prices of those popping around after the HH starter box release and initially wanted just to assemble them as a way of getting back with the hobby after vacation. Once I started that I was immediately struck by their short torsos. And because I love the idea of making Terminators imposing and at least on par with Primaris in terms of height I thought there is no time like the present and jumped right into it.

Here are the results so far:



In terms of height I'm where I want to be. Matching the head level with that of Primaris Gravis units is easy enough. I also added some bulk to the sides of the chestplate (about a millimiter from each side) to better deliver the feel of the thickness of the Terminator plate. Also Cataphractii arms are unnecessarily short (same goes for Tartaros btw  ), so making the torsos wider made even more sense. 

As you can probably see already the waist area becomes an issue and I'm not jet sure how to address that. My most recent idea revolves around covering it cloth and binding it at the waist witch hobby chains cause I'm not that sure of my modelling skills in terms of making belts

Spoiler

First time ever sculpting cloth from GS-Milliput mix. I think it will look decent once painted and I'm pretty confident I'll be able to mask most shortcomings in the sculpt with painting.

Still need to figure out something for the back. I'm afraid I will not be able to avoid sculpting some new shape for the backplate. Or maybe some more cloth or short cape? We'll see how this goes, but I'm happy that the project put me again on the hobby tracks

Putting the Cataphractii together (with magnets in arms no less) and developing the up-scaling options was tasking if satisfying. I'm happy to have a little break from that painting Kratos while I wait for the ordered hobby chains to arrive. Then I'll come back to them with more options ready on hand.

Cheers!

[Majkhel]

Terminators project is parked for a moment and instead I pushed with painting a bit in order to at least keep my grey plastic stash in check. Also because plastic Leviathan got ordered
And so I'm very happy that I was able to complete the Kratos within 1 month time-frame despite it being such a beast to paint. Seriously, I think it has ALL the edges and almost all the rivets the designers could squeeze into the frame


 

Spoiler

I'm happy with the battle-damage. Have to say I got carried out a bit during this process and had to reign myself back and remove some of the more minute scars and chips because I was starting to loose the overall shape definition. And highlighting the edges got even more taxing because of that. Added more impact holes and an odd burn scar just to try it out. While I like the holes, I'm not certain that the burn on the turret's flank is clear enough. But it's not that bad either so it will stay.

Struggling with pigments a bit. I really want to have  mixed mud+dust effect but at the same time I want the effect preserved meaning sealed with varnish. But as soon as I add varnish, pigment gets activated and changes into paint creating pools. I've tried airbrush thinner as well, but results are similar. I seem to get more consistent results with drybrushing but I will continue trying.

Also I have to say that the rear of the tank could use some more love as well as the marine at the hatch. They were left for last and I clearly was a bit spent at that point after all the previous details (it should be said that much of which I have added myself  ).
I might revisit the rear at one point and add some decals or an odd purity seal perhaps to make it more interesting. I still have the extra weapon options to paint after all.

Cheers!

[Rhavien]

A beaty and a beast :) impressive as always. 

[MasterOfAardvarks]

Very ambitious conversion for the terminators, props where props are most definitely due.

I love the amount of artful embellishment you applied to the Kratos, that sort of tank suits it, breaking up the flats and reminding everyone that ten millenia is enough time to add all kinds of aftermarket mods. Definitely suits a Blood Angels vehicle.

[Majkhel]

Thanks guys!

[Majkhel]

Finished 3 Las-Fusil Eliminators in the scheme. Pretty happy with them. However now I'll need to update 2 existing Sniper teams at one point 
I think I managed to keep a balance between the covert-ops feel and the undeniably flashy Blood Angels armour style. I added some odd blood drops and even personal heraldry markings on the knee-pads, but kept the colors subdued.

Spoiler

 

[Majkhel]

Hobby Butterfly  jumped to Terminators.
Got hobby-chains I ordered and found some options for buckles/fasteners

The one on the left is an attempt to make only the armor bulkier. Not exactly what i imagined but it will probably stay like that. Clothes for the rest though.

And here is what I imagined for the back plates:

[Jolemai]

Have you changed your paints or your style lately? It's definitely gone darker/grittier.

[Majkhel]

On 8/25/2022 at 12:24 PM, Jolemai said:

Have you changed your paints or your style lately? It's definitely gone darker/grittier.

My painting style has definitely evolved and I am adding quite a lot of battle damage. However I also changed the way I do pictures now and probably that is the main reason for the darker hues.

I'm using the same camera on my not that new Samsung, but I changed the settings a bit (better focus with lower ISO setting) and probably more importantly, I'm also doing some corrections in GIMP before I upload them here (exposure and curves mostly).

Overall red hue on my minis is more or less the same. Shades' hue can vary a bit from model to model, but final highlight for the surfaces (not edges though as those get a lot more yellow and white) is still Dark Vermillion (Vallejo's Evil Sunz Scarlet equivalent). 

I have a plan to make new pictures of older models at one point of time. We'll see how they look in new camera settings and next to newer models 

Edited August 26, 2022 by Majkhel

[Majkhel]

Found some hobby time during the weekend and managed to complete the putty-works as well as some embellishments and bases.

Picture:

And a grey-scale size comparison to a Heavy intercessor:

I think I managed to retain the feel of weight and might that Cataphractii have. Obviously it's a little bit of a cheating to increase the base's height but I feel no remorse here  Also because even without that their heads would end up around the same level.

I'm thinking on adding something to the Sergeant's top of the hood to further distinguish him. An icon of sorts? Or maybe a back-banner? Need to do some dry-fitting to see how it looks.

So now they are built, they definitely moved to the top of my to-paint list for September 

[Majkhel]

Just a small exclamation: whoever got the idea of sculpting eye-lenses inside Cataphractii visors should go and talk to Khorne...  

[Majkhel]

First of my upgraded Cataphractii is ready to walk the fields of battle - Venerable Brother Sergeant Spietato

 

Spoiler

Sarge went first as he is the most ornate one and gave better opportunities to try out various color options and how to balance them. I think he came out balanced enough. Lots of black (on the cloth especially it masks a lot of my sculpting shortcomings  ) coupled with dark but intense red and yellow with an odd splash of turquoise works consistently well for me. I tried also purple on a single blood drop on his right hand, but I think I could have added a bit more more of magenta there.  Also I see now that edge-highlights on the bolter's casing could have been more pronounced and that helmet's grille is merging too much with the visor's glow.

But overall I'm really pleased with how he turned out

Next up is the Heavy Weapon operator. plan is to complete the whole squad by end of the month.

[Majkhel]

Heavy weapon specialist this time:

 

Spoiler

 

Soooo, I'm not overly happy with the putty-work on him, but his model was the first one and an important step in the the whole upscaling project. As such, I chose to leave him as he is. Sculpting robes and throwing chains around their waists is a great way of masking imperfections in the upscaling. However it does has some merit that a flamer-wielding guy does not have fancy robe on

Here is a shot with the Sarge that got an extra claw painted as well:

[MasterOfAardvarks]

Those lightning claws look awesome, and those custom tabards add a lot to the Cataphractii, it should really come as standard in the kit. 

 

I really love the capacitor bit on the Eliminator's fusils. I can almost hear the charging noise of the Spartan Laser from Halo just by looking at them. With the decloaking effect, it almost looks like they have to decloak to handle the power requirements, which is very immersive.

[Majkhel]

Thank you kindly!
 

2 hours ago, MasterOfAardvarks said:

I really love the capacitor bit on the Eliminator's fusils. I can almost hear the charging noise of the Spartan Laser from Halo just by looking at them. With the decloaking effect, it almost looks like they have to decloak to handle the power requirements, which is very immersive.

That's an awesome idea!!