Antarius' CtA WiP Thread (Deathwatch and Tyranids)

[Antarius]

Now that the CtA is rolling, I thought I'd make a WiP thread, rather than clutter up the Stronghold threads with constant updates and yammering. I aim to update early and often to keep myself going and will be checking the thread regularly, so by all means ask any questions or give me any comments or feedback you might have and I'll be sure to answer, as well as glad of the motivation 

 

Anyway, here's the first progress pics of my Deathwatch vow. This is also going to be a 700ish army that I'll be playing on the 28th-29th of this month, so I hope to have them done by then, which might be a bit of a tall order, but otoh the deadline should provide additional motivation.
It's still early days, but I've gotten two layers of metal paint down (Vallejo Steel as basecoat and Citadel Ironbreaker overbrushed on top). Also, I've decided to do them halved with one side in their chapter colours instead of just the shoulderpad - it's going to be a lot of work but hopefully it'll pay dividends by a) looking cool and b) avoiding the potential pitfall of a lot of black armour looking a tad boring, as well as c) giving me the opportunity to paint some different chapter colours without having to do a full squad (or army).
So, I went ahead and gave those models that are from chapters I think would benefit from a white undercoat a spray of Wraithbone and then overbrushed them with AK Acrylic Offwhite, which should give me a nice foundation for most colours. I'm probably still going to curse myself for this decision down the road 

 

Edited June 16 by Antarius

[ZeroWolf]

That's certainly an interesting way to approach them (half of them being their original colour scheme that is). Are one of them going to be the howling griffins so you'd have to quarter that side? 

 

Jokes aside, looking forward to your progress, probably more so the Tyranids if I'm honest 

 

Incidentally, the wraithbone + white drybrush is how I start my nids, though in this case it was Colourforge's Wraithknight 

 

Good luck!

[Antarius]

6 minutes ago, ZeroWolf said:

That's certainly an interesting way to approach them (half of them being their original colour scheme that is). Are one of them going to be the howling griffins so you'd have to quarter that side? 

Oh yeah. At least one. Probably just the one guy in this batch, but he's my Watch Captain so I'm going to actually have to do it properly 
I am definitely not going to quarter his shoulderpad, though - unless it turns out I am stupid enough to attempt it, but we'll see...

I think there's probably one or two others that are going to be quartered too (or "triplered" I guess, since the one half will be black), but they'll be in less fiddly colours, so it shouldn't be quite as bad.
I know this sounds like hubris, but halves and quarters really aren't so bad. As long as you draw the lines quickly so they don't get too wavy, it doesn't matter too much if they're not perfectly straight. As long as they're there I think the eye/brain will see the effect more than the imperfect geometry - at least I hope so!

[ZeroWolf]

I've had minimal success when I've attempted it in the past, seems none of my brushes have that good a point on them anymore.

[Antarius]

26 minutes ago, ZeroWolf said:

I've had minimal success when I've attempted it in the past, seems none of my brushes have that good a point on them anymore.

It's a bit counterintuitive, but I find a big semi-flat brush is best. Then you "just" turn the mini over and draw the brush sidewards in a (relatively) brisk motion and you get an okay-to-good line. They're not all going to be perfect but it seems to work out alright so far :)

Edited June 16 by Antarius

[ZeroWolf]

I'll have to try that 

[Antarius]

Okay, so things are still proceeding at a reasonable pace. I am slightly apprehensive that it'll be a riot of colour with so many different chapter colours, but I'm sticking to my guns. Speaking of guns, I've decided to paint their guns grey/black instead of the traditional Deathwatch red, just so there'll be one less colour to take in.

Here's what I've done so far.

 

As you may/may not notice, the Queen has started work on the Ripper Swarms, but most of her hobby time today has been taken up by gap-filling on the flying Hive Tyrant, but she hasn't complained (too much), so it's still a happy hobby home (so far) :)

[ZeroWolf]

What chapter is the white marine from, can't quite see the badge.

[Antarius]

Just now, ZeroWolf said:

What chapter is the white marine from, can't quite see the badge.

He's a White Scar - I actually gave him a Space Wolf helmet because I figured the plume looked like one of those fox tails people hang on their mopeds 

[Antarius]

So, things are coming along quickly, perhaps deceptively so, as there is still a whole lot of work to be done on the chapter badges, details, faces, bases and so on.
Still, I'm happy with my progress, having got the basic chapter colours on everybody, except for the two Brazen Claws standing alone to the left.
Behind them, in the intercessor squad is a Templar who's not actually part of this vow, as I had already started on him before. Still, might as well get him done too, while we're at it :)
 

[ZeroWolf]

Looks like a fun colourful bunch  What are you doing about basing schemes?

[Antarius]

51 minutes ago, ZeroWolf said:

Looks like a fun colourful bunch  What are you doing about basing schemes?

I'm not 100% sure yet, but I think it's going to be either dark brown sand/rubble or some grey-brown cracked earth. The latter would match my Tyranids which would be thematic, whereas the former is sort of my default and tends to work well with most minis. In either case I think they're "neutral" enough that they won't be a distracting factor.

[Antarius]

Things are proceeding! Actually, I think we're at a point where I "just" need to do their guns, some minor details and touch-ups + their bases and I'd be happy to call them tabletop ready :)

[Antarius]

Okay, we're almost there now, just touch-ups and bases (and of course, all those annoying little details that you suddenly notice once you think you're done...)

 

[ZeroWolf]

Looks like a nice fighting force 

 

I also know exactly what you mean about those details, pound to a penny I'll find three of them waiting for me at the end 

[Antarius]

Okay, I'm calling them done now.

 

I'm pretty happy with them, all told. They did take more time than if I'd painted them up with just a shoulder pad from their original chapters, but this was pretty fun.

I could probably do more on the individual marine, but I'm aiming for tabletop ready and I think they're ok for that.

 

The bases will hopefully crackle, once they're dry but we'll see. I'm afraid I might have mixed in too much regular paint and it might have messed up the crackle effect, but then they'll just look like they're walking around in a barren wasteland which wouldn't be a total disaster either...

[Antarius]

Okay, so a short break from Deathwatch and on to the active Tyranid vow. Just starting out by brushing in some "ridgelines" (or whatever they're called) before layering the yellow on the carapaces.

Doing the bigger carapaces is still a bit of an unknown - I think they'll either end up all black with spots of colour or brown-yellow-spotted with a broad blackish "line" towards the middle, but we'll see.

The three Neurodudes with paint on them aren't actually part of the vow, as I'd gotten started on them in advance. But it makes sense to do them while doing the rest, so...

[ZeroWolf]

Looks like a nice colour scheme you got going on there with the nids.

 

I do wish the neurogaunts had a bit more use in the game other than excess wounds for the Neurotyrant

[Antarius]

17 hours ago, ZeroWolf said:

Looks like a nice colour scheme you got going on there with the nids.

 

I do wish the neurogaunts had a bit more use in the game other than excess wounds for the Neurotyrant

Thanks! I kinda like it myself - me and the Queen thought it up after a bit of tinkering, aiming for something more natural looking than the brighter, "cleaner" two-tone schemes that abound. At this point it's slightly more "codified" and along the lines of regular tyranid schemes than it was initially, but I still think it works pretty well.
I actually haven't played with them yet, so I have no idea if the Neurogaunts are any good; I just like their concept. They're a bit annoying to paint, though...

 

Anyway, here's my progress so far:

Edited June 22 by Antarius

[kabaakaba]

In my phone it looks like.. tigers?? Really natural look. Looks great.

[ZeroWolf]

Completely get the annoying to paint, I think it's due to them being small but still detailed. 

 

The Hive/Tyrant Guard look like they're coming along nicely. They're on my to get list, albeit quite a bit down on the list 

[Antarius]

Yeah, I think you're right - the Neurogaunts detail level is annoying, partly because it's not something that anyone is really gonna see anyway.

Now I've moved on to the carifexes, experimenting a bit with oil on top of acrylics to provide vibrancy and shading: 

[kabaakaba]

It's not a critic, just in my taste it's too gloss. But colours combination is amazing. IMHO it's need some matt varnish. But damn, colours are compliment each other.

[Antarius]

7 hours ago, kabaakaba said:

It's not a critic, just in my taste it's too gloss. But colours combination is amazing. IMHO it's need some matt varnish. But damn, colours are compliment each other.

Yeah, they do look somewhat glossy, but it's not nearly as much in real life as in the photos (I'm not sure why). In any case, I think I'll have to give them some varnish to protect them as the oil doesn't dry very fast, but we'll see :)

[Antarius]

Hmm, a slight setback as the Carnifexes had gotten way too orange compared to the rest of the army. So now I've stripped off the oil and given them a new, browner coat and they seem salvageable. A bit annoying, but if nothing else, it's a bit more experience working with oils. I'm still quite new to it, so it's probably all for the best.
 

The rest of the vow is coming along nicely. They're pictured here alongside a Mawloc that I'd gotten started on earlier - I did a colour test for the new oil colour I've put on the Carnifexes on its mandibles and stinger. I might finish it along with the rest of the vow, but I also might not, I guess time will tell...