My Face Is My Shield!

[bazazatron]

What ho!

This is my attempt to stop lurking in the shadows after another unintentional break from the hobby has come to an end. This is mainly going to be whatever random thing I'm working on at the moment as I have a bad case of wandering eye when it comes to miniatures. Way back in the misty mists I was scratch building some Adepta Sororitas, on it went, and on, and on.. seemingly without end, then some life happened and they fell by the wayside.

I was a bit burned out from all the greenstuffing of the past so I just wanted to paint some things without a ton of converting and started a Genestealer Cult Kill Team called 'The Hooded Claw' (an extra mark for guessing the reference).

Then plastic Sisters were announced and as they were always my favourites I got myself suitably distracted and bought an Amelia Novena to start working on an updated colour scheme.

So here she is, painted up in the colours of my homebrew order, The Order of the Forgotten Vow, and renamed to Sister Sledge. She still needs the base doing so hopefully I can crack on with that tonight, though I'm not using the supplied one as I want to her to be a part of the impending box set so I don't want her to look like she's dragging a massive plinth around wherever she's off burning witches and the like.

And also the Cult chaps, as why not.

After the base I've a Canoness Veridyan to muddle through, though it looks like a bit of a swine to put together nicely, resin isn't my favourite.. And I'm on a parts hunt for a Inquisitor/Rogue Trader conversion as I can't stay away from greenstuff for too long apparently, so roll on the Sister's release as the distraction is building!

Pleasant days all!

Edited October 27, 2019 by bazazatron

[Mazer Rackham]

Nice for three reasons:

 

Excellent post title

Excellent painting

Excellent Thunderbirds reference

 

You're in.

 

MR.

[Ketzer]

The Sister looks wonderful!

There is only one little detail that somewhat itches in my eye and that is the color of the purity seal. Personally I would have chosen a color that offers more contrast - maybe the same red as in the loincloth?

But I guess that is just personal taste.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Sister Sledge looks AWESOME! How will you decorate her base?

[Kolgrim DeathHowl]

Sister looks amazing! The cults guys look stunning as well! Nice to see some sisters in the mix on the WIP thread.

[Dwango]

Sister Sledge is amazing. I'm loving the detail on her face! (Also I love the name! Although I feel she should have a hammer lol.)

 

I thought i knew the reference but couldn't think of it. Is it Thunderbirds or a reference to wacky races?

[jaxom]

I, I just love the scarves. "Does everyone have their scarf? I don't want another Cult Ambush ruined by sniffles and sneezes!"

[bazazatron]

What ho!

The answer to the reference is.... The Perils of Penelope Pitstop. Though now I'm wishing I'd gone for the cooler Thunderbirds reference, ah well.

@Mazer Rackham - Too kind, and thank you!

@Ketzer - Cheers! I was tempted to go for red purity seals but I spotted a pot of purple out of the corner of my eye so I thought I'd try something a bit different, though I might use red in the future. It depends on which coloured wax has been supplied by the Departmento Munitorum that year!

@Bjorn Firewalker - Thanks! I'm going to go with an urban base them, a bit like on the cultists except more in depth, hopefully.

@Kolgrim DeathHowl - Cheers!

@Dwango - Thanks! I'm quite happy with her face, it's always the most nerve wracking bit to paint so I'm just glad she doesn't look cross eyed

@Jaxom - Haha! I modelled the leader with one first then thought sod it, why not give them all scarves. I like to imagine the Patriarch happily sitting on his chair knitting with all 4 of his arms! I've two more on the go, though one looks like more of a cravat so at least he's dressed for an Edwardian picnic.

Onwards to things!

I got some work done on her base the other day. After a bit of trial and error I made a street corner and cut out some thin card to give it a vaguely gothic feel. Pin heads for rivets and a skull from a clearly heretical soul who's received the Emperor's justice.

I've always liked this season so I'm going to try and go for an Autumnal feel, I bought a hole punch thing that punches out tiny leaves from actual leaves, so I've been out scouring the local park for nice colours. It might look rubbish but we'll hope for the best and see how it goes!

[Kolgrim DeathHowl]

Looks cool!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job on the base. Is it meant to be the ruins of a cathedral?

[Markus_]

Exquisite painting!

[TechType]

The colourscheme you've gone for with Sister Sledge is spot on, IMHO. Lovely work on the black, in particular.

 

Great work on the hybrids as well, it's a very well balanced scheme - just like the sister. Will we see an entire SoB army from you?

[bazazatron]

@Kolgrim DeatHowl - Cheers!

@Bjorn Firewalker - That's the look that feels appropriate, I could have gone with the plainer paving like on the cultists but I think Sisters deserve a bit more attention. I've got a half built scratch build of an Imperial shrine knocking about waiting for finishing so I'll do it match and give them something to fight around.

@Markus - Thank you!

@TechType - Cheers! I'd love to have an army painted of anything but I'm not very fast with the brush so I get distracted and flit around different things. I'm planning to nab the box next month and I'm hoping to use this thread as a means to keep me on track for once (though the occasional diversion won't do any harm).

Time has been scarce this week but her base is finally done. I wasn't happy with the card detailing, it didn't take paint very well as I forgot to seal it with some pva, that and they seemed too blunt edged and chunky. So I tore them off and cut some new archy bits out of a piece of blister pack, much better. Now for a horribly lit photo as I had to take it under my lamp at night, it made the colours and highlights a bit harsh but you get the idea.

I'll take a proper picture in the morning light after the necessary nightly unconsciousness! Then onwards to Canoness Veridyan, who I'm not sure about as models go, her details are a bit vague in places but I'll know better when she's got some undercoat on her. I need to soak her standard issue bent resin power sword in hot water to get it back on the straight and narrow, so we'll see how that goes.

[ranulf the revenant]

These miniatures are a joy to look at. I love these colours! The base looks really good as well

[bazazatron]

@ranulf the revenant - Thank you!

Right'o, here she is all based up and ready to sit on the shelf until one day in the distant future I manage to have enough done to actually play a game!

I've started to put together Veridyan, I'm not going to attach the tiny servo skull as the cast isn't particularly great, that and I think it looks a bit rubbish. I'm not going to be using her as the named character anyway so I'll model something else on her backpack to fill the spot. She's also a very flat sculpt in comparison to the Sledge here, it's very reminiscent of mid 90s lead posing but we'll see what a lick of paint does to improve my opinion!

[betrayer41]

@ranulf the revenant - Thank you!

Right'o, here she is all based up and ready to sit on the shelf until one day in the distant future I manage to have enough done to actually play a game!

I've started to put together Veridyan, I'm not going to attach the tiny servo skull as the cast isn't particularly great, that and I think it looks a bit rubbish. I'm not going to be using her as the named character anyway so I'll model something else on her backpack to fill the spot. She's also a very flat sculpt in comparison to the Sledge here, it's very reminiscent of mid 90s lead posing but we'll see what a lick of paint does to improve my opinion!

Bruh....that's stunning

[QuarterPounder]

Wow - that is fantastic. Where did you get the fall leaves from?

[Kolgrim DeathHowl]

Looks wonderful! The base came out really great!

[bazazatron]

What ho, fine citizens of Holy Terra.

Hurgh, Sister Mary Clarence has taken ages just to get to this stage and I'm not even particularly happy with how she's going, but by the Nine I'd had enough of stripping the paint off whenever I found yet another sneaky bit of mold line or bubble damage and doing the whole thing again. That and some of the cast details are as vague and unfocused as my Grandad telling a story about what he had for dinner yesterday. So truly my first and last finecast, which is a shame as I wasn't expecting this model to be such a motivational struggle. The photos got a bit washed out but I'll take better ones when she's done.

@QuarterPounder - Cheers! I got the leaves from actual Autumn leaves. I bought a leaf shaped hole punch thing from Greenstuff World and went at them with it. It's weird making tiny leaves from actual leaves but if you smash them up a bit they do the job really nicely.

@Kolgrim DeathHowl - Ta! I'm still happy with it a month later, though dreading now having to do it to the whole box but onwards and upwards!

Edited December 10, 2019 by bazazatron

[Master Umbra]

Absolutely amazing stuff man. You are not rusty at all - your painting is creamy as hell. May I ask you what's your recipe for blue on your GSC troops (not that I will be able to replicate it, as your skill is far superior than mine)? Regarding the last model, I adore what you're doing, especially regarding the skin tone! 

[AstralPanda]

The sisters are stunningly well done - very sharp and realistic. Good show! I am envious of the genestealer cultists, mine haven't quite come out like I wanted so they are benched for now... they will no doubt be back. Is it freehand, the symbols you have added to the tabards? If so I am totally struck dumb - the symbols are incredibly crisp. Is there any advice for that sort of sharp edged freehand please? I tend to get in a muddle with freehand stuff. Thanks in advance!

[DaBoiKyknos]

Nice stuff here, I particulary like the purple scarfs in the genestealers. Great painting, overall! Edited December 11, 2019 by Kyknos of Athena

[Kolgrim DeathHowl]

Excellent painting so far, armor looks really great!!

[bazazatron]

What ho!

I meant to post a bit earlier, but work deadlines, life and all the usual gumph.... Anyhoo, this lady is finally ready for basing. She's been a bit of a struggle and there's some bits I'm not happy with and others that I tried some different methods on than I usually would so I'm pleased enough with the result given I was really losing interest by the end. I don't know what it's been about this model but now I can finally dive into that Sisters box that I had to hide from sight so I wouldn't bail out on finishing her!

I'm thinking I might add candles to whole army as they're not too fiddly to sculpt, though I don't think purple will be the way to go in the future. Maybe actual off white candle colour or a paler shade of red, but for a first one it'll do. I tried a different way of painting the armour for her back pack. Base coating and highlighting first then adding the layers of shading afterwards. I quite like the effect so that's something to refine on the next one.

Saying that, to break the monotony I was starting to feel with this one, I dug around in my box of old figures from way back in the day and forgot I have a load of these old boys knocking about in various states of disrepair. I've always had a soft spot for the old Guard miniatures so I thought I'd give them a coat of paint as a side project!

I've enough for a kill team of guard from a particularly high grav world of disproportionate humans...

@Umbre Lynx -

Cheers! This one has been less a labour of love, just a labour, but almost there. Yeah of course, the recipe is: Base coat with Vallejo Turquoise, then wash liberally with a thinned down mixture of Vallejo Black and Imperial Blue. Then highlight it back up with the turquoise. Lighten the turquoise by adding some Vallejo Bone White for the edge highlights. Then work back into some of the recesses with the wash again wherever you think necessary!

@Astral Panda -

Thank you! There's freehand on the first sister, this new one it's all sculpted on which is definitely easier! I'm no expert on the matter, I've just painted a lot of fleur de lys in my time so I'm not sure how I'd fair with anything else! I'd say keep it simple to begin with and work on maintaining a steady hand, practice on spare shoulder pads and the like. Don't worry about making mistakes as you can always neaten up the edges afterwards. I do art for a living and it's just like that that, you'll do a load of things that you'll hate and then suddenly something will click into place and you'll be flying!

@Kyknos of Athena -

Thank you very much!

@Kolgrim DeathHowl -

Cheers! She has hurt my brain!

Edited December 18, 2019 by bazazatron

[DaBoiKyknos]

That old guardsman looks a bit comical (with his big head and feet) but already promising!