Volgon's Homebrew Kill Team - Painting my First Mini

[Firedrake Cordova]

Some really nice conversions there! I really like the terminator. 

[Volgon]

7 hours ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

Some really nice conversions there! I really like the terminator. 

 

Thanks Firedrake, the Leviathan Captain is a really wonderful sculpt. Great scaling and doesn't take much to make it your own!

[Volgon]

Here's a trio of conversions to round out a proxy 5 man Sword Brethren squad:

 

Pretty happy with them overall. Havoc shin plates are a great way to add some renegade flair to loyalist bodies. Not fully complete, need to work on finishing little details, finalizing backpacks or trophies, mold lines etc.

[Volgon]

Hey all, been a while since I've posted an update but still tinkering away. Starting final assembly, mold line removal, a little bit at a time. I've got the 3 Gunners completed so far:

 

Melta Gunner:

Spoiler

 

Plasma Gunner:

Spoiler

 

Flamer Gunner:

Spoiler

 

I'm particularly happy about the Melta and Plasma gunners, I think they just look neat. Let me know what you think!

[Firedrake Cordova]

Very nicely done.  

 

The replacement helmets definitely add something to the model

[Volgon]

16 hours ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

Very nicely done.  

 

The replacement helmets definitely add something to the model

 

Thanks! At this point I have so many skull helmets I've collected trying to find the perfect ones for each mini. It's taken a while but has been worth it.

[Volgon]

Another day, more prepping completed. This time it's the heavy gunner trio, and I am so pleased with how they came out. Barring the leaders I think these 3 are my favorite conversions I've done.

 

Reaper Chaincannon

This was an idea I had that didn't evolve a ton from the initial iteration. I posted him last year and he really didn't change much. I knew I wanted to use the Havoc Champion body (it's a really great base for conversions) and I knew I wanted him to be big. The chaincannon is a super simple conversion of a Chaos Terminator Autocannon arm with the barrels removed and replaced with the Chaincannon barrel from the Legionary upgrade sprue. Altogether a fairly simple conversion but one I like a lot.

Spoiler

 

Missile Launcher

Oh boy, I went through so many iterations of the Missile gunner. For along time I really wanted to use all 5 of the bodies from the Havoc kit. I only had 1 body not used (you can see him on the last post of page 2) but I hate the static nature of it. One conversion I took particular inspiration from is ShivaTheTraitor's Red Corsairs Missile Launcher using a de-Nurgled Plague Marine. For a bit I considered going the same route but felt that was a bit of a cop out. I took things into my own hands and took the two aspects I really like from the Havoc kits (the front torso with the gorget/bevor and the hip armor plates) and was able to splice them onto a normal Legionary body with a similar pose to Shiva's as a bit of an homage. This guy turned from being a creative block to a top 2-3 conversion. I just love the attitude/personality it gives off.

Spoiler

 

Heavy Bolter

Another conversion similar to the Chaincannon that hasn't changed much from overall scope. I posted him before and got some good feedback about the gun. I ended up taking a leap of faith and went whole hog on customizing this Heavy Bolter. It's a melta rifle from the Eradicators as the base, a Chaos Havoc Heavy Bolter barrel and ejection port, the ballistic shield and metal bar thingy from Company Heroes, an ammo belt from the Flash Gitz kit, and, for good measure, a Heresy Bayonet (because why not?).

Spoiler

 

Let me know what you guys think!

Edited March 1 by Volgon

[Firedrake Cordova]

Nice work. The extra bits really do make them - the heads are all very menacing

[Volgon]

On 3/2/2024 at 2:38 AM, Firedrake Cordova said:

Nice work. The extra bits really do make them - the heads are all very menacing

 

Cheers, menacing is what I'm going for!

 

5 specialists prepped

Anointed:

An old mini I made very early in this project, he never changed much because I thought the conversion completely fit the concept I was going for. For lore reasons, I keep warp corruption to zero, but I wanted there to be at least one guy that shows that dabbling with sorcery/the warp always has consequences. Since this warband is meant to have a lich/skeletal motif, I thought the perfect type of corruption would be rampant bone growth. The lightning claw is from the Warp Talons kit and the claws are very reminiscent of what you would think giant bone claws (ala Wolverine) would look like.

 

Spoiler

 

Balefire Acolyte:

One of my favorite conversions I've done, this guy is basically 100% homebrew. My GS skills are supremely limited but I attempted to sculpt what is meant to look like flames or soul energy getting pulled backwards.

Spoiler

 

Butcher:

Another OG miniature I have posted before, just showing off what is essentially the final build. Trying to evoke major swag vibes from this guy.

Spoiler

 

Icon Bearer

I've had the Zhufor banner pole for years and I finally got to use it! Posted this guy very early on in the project, hasn't changed much except for the head and chainsword placement. I broke part of the banner pole (which I knew was an almost certainty) and almost had a breakdown because of it, but was (somehow) able to pin it to the backpack despite how small the working area was.

Spoiler

 

Shrivetalon

Hasn't really changed since the last time I posted him. Big fan of everything about this guy.

Spoiler

 

Edited March 11 by Volgon

[Firedrake Cordova]

They look great, but the Shrivetalon and Annointed are my favourites  

[Volgon]

30 minutes ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

They look great, but the Shrivetalon and Annointed are my favourites  

 

I do especially like the Shrivetalon, I used Primaris Sword Brethren armor as the base and I really like how it (along with Chaos Havocs) have that large collar/bevor. Really bulks out the armor.

[Dr_Ruminahui]

These guys are all great - you should really consider sharing them in the heretic astartes and/or kill team forums as well.

[Volgon]

On 4/3/2024 at 6:33 PM, Dr_Ruminahui said:

These guys are all great - you should really consider sharing them in the heretic astartes and/or kill team forums as well.

 

Thanks! I had considered it but I wasn't sure the etiquette of opening another thread about the same topic in a different section of the forum.

 

I wasn't planning on posting anything yet but I have a lot of Leaders specifically for the Kill Team and then other members of the command echelon prepped so I figured why not. Let's start with my pride and joy, this is the Archlich, leader of the warband, starting with his 32mm base version (he functions as a Legionary Chosen for Kill Team):

Spoiler

 

I also have a 60mm base for other games (would use him as either a Helbrecht or Abaddon proxy depending on army) and display:

Spoiler

 

And then here is the full scene:

Spoiler

 

I consider this guy my magnum opus, I absolutely love everything about it. I am especially proud of the sword and the victim on the larger base. The image I'm trying to evoke here is a life/soul drain spell which I think I have captured pretty well. It's not magnetized yet but I have some coming in so will happen soon.

 

Let's see what else, I put together an Abaddon proxy cause I've really been wanting a Terminator character for a while. I posted one earlier in the thread but it didn't really do it for me, but this iteration I like a lot:

Spoiler

 

I'm not sold on the legs; it's not really the pose I'm looking for, but everything waist and up I really like. I considered new Belial's legs (during assembly they seemed like they wouldn't fit well without a lot of modification) or the legs from the Sons of Horus terminator praetor (already using pieces of it).

 

Next up is an Aspiring Champion with a Power Fist + Plasma Pistol:

Spoiler

 

This was an evolution of a guy previously posted. I much prefer this version even though it looks basically identical in silhouette to the new Endryd Haar! When I saw his reveal I had a bit of a sigh but the pose is very evocative so I can't blame GW for using it.

 

Next I've got a Chaplain/Dark Apostle:

Spoiler

 

Yet another guy that was posted before but got a major glow up. Not part of the Kill Team itself but a background HQ character for the warband. Pretty proud of the work I put in on him.

 

Part of this next mini was posted as a jump lord conversion but I repurposed it for a Warband/Chapter Champion:

Spoiler

 

I wanted to make a bodyguard second in command for the warband's lord. I bought a box of Sigmar Chaos Warriors just to get that shield! Trying to evoke a bit of a Roman duellist/champion/ vibe with the crested helm and banner poles.

 

This guy has been posted in a previous iteration before. Worked on him a bit more and he will function as a Visionary leader for the new Nemesis Claw (if I ever get around to bashing one up for that kill team).

Spoiler

 

I waited AGES for Nightmare to release so I could get my hands on that Nostraman Chainsword but it just never happened so I had to make my own. It's Bryce the Slice's chainsword from Blood Bowl which I tried to modify by removing as much of the flame effects as I could.

 

 

Ok, end of mega post! Hope everyone enjoys, feel free to comment!

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Those guys are all fantastically awesome!

 

And yes, no problem on B&C posting the same content in multiple forums - provided, of course, that the content is 40K related, constructive and appropriate to each forum it is posted in.  Your figures more than qualify for each of those - for at least the killteam and heretic marines forums, anyway.  Maybe not so much in Tau or the like, though. 

[Terminatorinhell]

I love the look of these guys especially the abbadon proxy and warband leader 

[ShadowCaptain]

Great stuff here. Poses are natural and each CM looks unique but tie together with the Icy Death Knight theme. Very cool. (See what I did there?). :)

[Volgon]

12 hours ago, Dr_Ruminahui said:

Those guys are all fantastically awesome!

 

And yes, no problem on B&C posting the same content in multiple forums - provided, of course, that the content is 40K related, constructive and appropriate to each forum it is posted in.  Your figures more than qualify for each of those - for at least the killteam and heretic marines forums, anyway.  Maybe not so much in Tau or the like, though. 

 

Thanks! Good to know about duplicate topics, I'll probably throw one up on those boards soon.

 

8 hours ago, Terminatorinhell said:

I love the look of these guys especially the abbadon proxy and warband leader 

 

Much appreciated, those two are in the running for my favorites as well (the warband leader for sure #1).

 

3 hours ago, ShadowCaptain said:

Great stuff here. Poses are natural and each CM looks unique but tie together with the Icy Death Knight theme. Very cool. (See what I did there?). :)

 

Cheers, you are spot on with the death knight theme as that heavily armored undead being is probably my favorite type of creature in fiction. That's a big reason I've given all of these characters skull helmets!

[Volgon]

After procrastinating, building, converting, and procrastinating some more, I've finally put paint to primer! I am starting from the ground floor; while I've consumed a ton of painting tutorials in the last ~3 years since I've returned to the hobby, I've never tried my hand at it until now. With that said, let's show what I have so far:

 

 

For my tester model, I went with a Shadowspear CSM without any converting (besides the helmet swap, so I could give my bone recipe a test). I cleaned him up but he was fully assembled as I wanted to test sub-assembling vs not. These are just base coats; no metallics were done (the shipment was delayed) and the only wash on the model is, again, on the skull helmet to test the color. I spent about I want to say I spent between 2.5-3 hours to get to this point. With all that said, here are some of my early lessons:

 

1) I might go with a black primer instead of grey just so it's easier to write off spots that are difficult to get to with a paint brush. I wanted to go with a grey primer to make the blue more vibrant as that's my focus color, but when I did a color test on some sprue, I pretty much couldn't notice a color difference between grey and black primer.

 

2) definitely sub assemble, the backpack is pretty annoying to do when it's glued on, same with the inner parts of the shin once glued to the base because the tabard is in the way. Also shoulderpad trim is gonna be difficult with the backpack.

 

3) I thought my paint was thinned pretty well but I think I may need to do it even more. I noticed during painting that I was losing detail in some areas: specifically the 3 vertical slits at the top of the gorget for the blue parts and the black seems like it may have a bit of texture as well (top of the helmet for example).

 

4) This applies to everyone, but it's damn hard to notice mistakes unless you looking at a zoomed in photo on your camera or PC, so don't be too hard on yourself! I thought my eye lenses were done fairly well until I zoomed in and noticed some overspill.

 

My plan is to do some weathering/chipping once the colors are done so I just have to trust the process. I really enjoy Cult of Paint's videos on youtube and they make heavy use of oil paints so I am going to give those a try. Have yet to decide between just pin washing the recesses (mostly to preserve the vibrant blue color which I really like) or an all over wash (which will filter the color but should add a nice Grimdark look and help in covering up any egregious painting errors).

 

Let me know what you think!

 

Edited April 23 by Volgon

[Firedrake Cordova]

It looks like you're off to a good start.  

 

On point #1, you could do an initial prime with black, and then zenithal over-spray it with grey (or white) - this would give you the lighter base for the blue, but also leave black in the shadows. Or you could paint the bits to be blue with a light grey before painting them blue?

 

On point # 3, is it possible you did thin the paint enough, but it started drying out on the pallet or brush? If that's the case, then using a wet pallet or adding drying retarder (e.g. Liquitex Slo Dri) might help, perhaps?

 

Point # 4 is definitely very true - modern cameras and lenses are very unforgiving!

[Volgon]

Thanks for always taking the time to reply Firedrake!

 

3 hours ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

On point #1, you could do an initial prime with black, and then zenithal over-spray it with grey (or white) - this would give you the lighter base for the blue, but also leave black in the shadows. Or you could paint the bits to be blue with a light grey before painting them blue?

 

Zenithal priming is something I had considered some time ago. What put me off was that it doesn't seem like the style of painting I'm going for receives much or any benefit from it. What I mean is that I'm just using normal thinned paints, and their opaqueness seems to mean that the zenithal is immediately lost. Were I painting primarily in glaze consistency, or with Contrasts, or an airbrush, I certainly would have done a zenithal, but I have never been able to find results that show it to be an effective tool for a "regular" painting style. If anyone has any photos or videos to the contrary I would love to see them, as I think it's a great technique to add volumes if they show through. I plan on doing a few more test models so that is something I can try myself to see if I get a different result.

 

3 hours ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

On point # 3, is it possible you did thin the paint enough, but it started drying out on the pallet or brush? If that's the case, then using a wet pallet or adding drying retarder (e.g. Liquitex Slo Dri) might help, perhaps?

 

I did actually use a wet palette, and the paints definitely weren't drying out on it. I think it was just user error. Thinning paint is something I constantly see questions about so it's just something I will have to work at. I don't think I'm far off so I am not too worried,

Edited April 24 by Volgon

[Firedrake Cordova]

That's fair enough on the zenithal priming, although I was more suggesting it on the assumption that it's likely that any areas that your brush struggles to get to would also be those that the light directional coat would miss (although I realise I phrased it poorly initially).

 

Fair enough if you think it was user-error on thinning the paint.  (I have had issues with paint drying in the brush before)

 

 

[Volgon]

Alrighty, just finished my first mini ever! Admittedly, I think there are some details that I could have done, but I really just wanted to finish and move on to the next project. Small steps, I'll get to them later. Here he is:

 

So, what takeaways do I have from the tester?

1. I loved the way the sponge chipping came out. My favorite panel for that is absolutely the butt plate. The angles and size of the piece make it super easy to get great looking chipping.
2. I was initially really discouraged with the oil wash. I found it annoying to clean up, and thought it muddled the chipping details I had already applied. Specifically I thought the oil wash made it hard to see any chipping details around the ankles/lower shin armor area. Also, as I did an all over wash, it toned down the vibrant blue a bit more than I wanted (admittedly they look fine in the natural light of the pics, it's just my room light where they will reside where they are darker than I want). Should I attempt an oil wash again, I may try to keep it closer to a recess wash than all over wash, possibly running my paint brush over the trim and allowing the overspill to form the shadows/pin washing.
3. I attempted some highlights on the black but it was difficult. Not necessarily a bad thing as I like the ragged/chipped highlight look. Next time I'm going to go in with a super small brush to see if that helps. I was using a size 0 but I have a size 000 which I will try. I skipped highlighting any of the other colors as I was really just ready to finish.
4. There was a delay so I didn't have my trim color available until today, so it gave me a week to ruminate on trim color. While this one is fine, I might just go with black. I originally was opposed to the look, but I primed and prepped a second tester, this time with a flat black primer instead of grey, and I REALLY like the way the very matte black trim looks opposed to the vibrant blue. My worry is that the scheme will look too monochromatic, primarily just blue and black, so I am going to have to make sure there are enough details I can pick out in other colors to make it not too overpowering.

That's about it, thanks for viewing!

[Firedrake Cordova]

If that's you're first ever mini, then I'd say you're off to a good start.

 

With regard to brushes, I'd recommend staying away from the 000 unless you're absolutely sure you need to use it. A good-quality size 0 should come to a fine point about as well as a 000, but also hold more paint/moisture - I've found paint dries on the brush very quickly, and it's also much easier to get paint near the ferrule due to the shortness of the bristles,

[YannTheMad]

That paint scheme seems quite hard to achieve, but good job so far ^^ I'm eager to see more

[Pearson73]

I really like the colour scheme, the blue pops without being too bright, and provides a good background for the chipping and weathering.