How to base a Titan?

A question, rather than an answer.. or a tutorial.. but also, my WIP take on basing for a titan.

It’s been a bit quiet on the blog the last couple of weeks, blame work, a combination of an external examiner for my HE program and an end of year show for my 100+ Games students means I didn't get much time.

I did however pick away at this problem.. I didn't feel I could start building ZZzz’s Titan until I had the base sorted, because that speaks both to pose and to security of attachment, he had already said he didn't want anything too ornate, or los blocking, and that it often looks daft when a model is carrying a huge amount of scenery with it everywhere it goes.

I however couldn't just slap a model of this scale and magnificence on a flocked green bit of hardboard, so here’s my WIP take on getting it right.

I include the Elysian for scale :)

There's a single small structure in the top left corner, and the rest depicts a road intersection. the streetlights will have osl, and they will be better embedded in the surface.

Ive a lot of putty work to do to tidy and seal edges and to enhance the rubble piles.

 

The big flat area of wall here will get some imperial propaganda posters in scale, and I am toying with the idea of finding or scratch building a suitable scale civilian vehicle to be a wreck, possibly even underfoot.

Here’s some of the development.

Once I had the idea in my head, i sketched it onto the formed hardboard sheet, and started to make the main structural elements.

the embossed brickwork is scribed onto peeled foam core with a pencil and blade.

 

the flagstones are a mix of poster board and cereal box

you can see the foam core structure in the back and the double height poster board kerbstones

       

A liberal coating of PVA and ballast makes a reasonable tarmac analogue

So there we have it so far. still in progress, but I think, showing direction, I may add some signs of corruption to the city as I must bear in mind that this work and this titan are under the influence of the red god!

I might get some more bits done over the weekend, as its my birthday, so along with having a sneaky day off today, I’m at liberty for the weekend too :)

and a few short weeks remain before the holidays, which seem to get shorter every year.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and feel free to offer comment on the direction of this odd base.. a base for a titan!

Forge World Lucius Pattern Warhound Titan Project

Not mine, sadly, but still going to be a pleasure to work on.

I’m not sure at what point “I’d be glad to help you with that” turned into “I’ll be glad to build paint and convert that for you” but such is the persuasive power of Zzzzz ( Zzzz can be found blogging over at Devos IV)– whose titan this is.

Not much hobby done this weekend however as the garage was beyond 2in need of attention” and looked like even your average ork Mekboy would throw up his hands exclaiming “I cant wurk in dis!”

So I present for your delectation an unboxing video, showing you just how many bitz you get in one of these kits.

I need to order a few bits, such as magnets and so on, and I must also mention that this Titan is also going to have some conversion and customisation work done, see Zzzz likes the Lucius pattern… and the titan is for his traitor guard.. so it needs to be made to have “fallen”

I’ll be talking about and showing some of the ideas in that directio0n on here as we go through, I'd also appreciate any advice or tips form anyone who has built one of these suckers, so i can avoid any pitfalls that might exist.

Content for this project will appear on both blogs from time to time, so keep your eyes peeled!

Long Fang Squad and a Wolf Scout Test

Been quiet for a while, I know. Had very little time to myself what with work being crazy at the moment, and my laptop being stolen and a whole host of other issues I wont bore you with.
I did however get some building done this weekend, and a few weeks ago took the plunge into CMON. more on that later.
I decided I was lacking long range fireepower, and the cheapest way to get that for wolves, is long fangs. I had to ponder where to get missile launchers, and which ones to use, and just as I was pondering this, lo and behold, Forge World issue this pack which is perfect, and fits in with the idea that Long Fangs are some of the oldest marines in the chapter.
I also fancy using the melta/flamers on my blood claws, just cos they look cool.
So here’s the Squad.
 
 
 
There’s still some clean up to do and some gap filling. I might embellish more if I feel they need it after another look., but essentially they are built. I went with 4ML and a Plasma, and gave the leader a plasma pistol.
should cover it :)

This guy was built as a test, and while he holds up, the posing is a tad static, I blame the terrible scout legs, and promise to do better with the next ones :)

On the cool mini topic, I’ve posted some of my guys over there and been pleased to see I’m getting 7’s mostly. that's good, it reflects that I’ve got work to do, but that I’m a bit above tabletop quality.
http://coolminiornot.com/artist/Karitas#
Take a look if you like.
In one thread a poster suggested I take a WiP and post that for feedback. I might just do that, and try to follow the process on here too.
I’m thinking this guy would make a nice start, what do you all think?

 
I’ve put about 90 minutes into the skin and face so far, so he’s just started :)
he needs a lot of smoothing and final highlight, then colour choice and work for his clothes etc.
We’ll see if I get any feedback on the CMON forums :)

Miniature Photography, Massive Voodoo style

So my bulbs arrived :)
I now have lovely cold daylight all over my painting area, even in the dead of night. It’s amazing, I mean – I’ve used daylight bulbs for years, but these fluorescents are sooo bright compared to the old incandescent bulbs.
I’ve taken some pictures with the photo set up suggested by Roman at Massive Voodoo, Its incredibly simple.
Here’s how it looks (photographed from my phone)
 
You see I use my painting desk, and use the two cheap Ikea lamps with good anglepoise arms, and those shiny new bulbs. the glowy white thing is the (also cheap) ikea plastic bin suggested by Roman. The camera, obviously is on a tripod, and set to a 2 second delay (so that my clumsy paws can’t shake the camera, as I wont be touching it when the shutter goes off)

In this closer view you can see some of the interior. I set my white balance manually, and in hindsight that might not have been the perfect thing to do. with the lights this close the white paper I used was a little bright, and the pictures are a tiny bit warm, – shocking as the scene is so cold.
Dave, who commented on my previous post is right to observe that the contrast shift in my current background image is too severe, I’ll print a new one when I’m next able.
anyway, enough procrastination, here are some of the shots taken now that this set up is in effect -
(BIIG pictures all the way this post, as we are celebrating the imagery)
 
Using the same miniatures as other recent experiments, hopefully you can see the difference.
In this guy, some of the details are much clearer, unfortunately some of the rougher areas are also much much clearer :)
    
Chalk this one up as a win however – a lot of the work I’d done on him that just wasn't visible at all in previous photos can be seen now (also, mistakes too :p)

And again, the work is clearer. Whether this is a good thing or not remains to be seen :)
so there we have my photo experiments, I think they've improved, at least to the point where you can see more clearly what I’m trying to do with these more recent figures. I leave you to judge the levels of success for yourselves now that you can see :)
Thanks again for reading!

Games day figure

Not mine, but a friends. which of course means I’ve had it sat here for nearly a year and hadn’t painted it for him.
I’ve rectified that now.
 

I’m still having a devilish difficult time photographing these more complex pieces so as to do justice to them. tomorrow I’m off to Ikea for a dustbin, like Roman suggests to see if that helps any.
I painted him with no metallics at all and have him mounted on a simple rock outcrop. i deliberately left his slottatab intact so that if the owner decides to sell him, the new owner will have a totally intact games day mini to do what he wants with.
This is another figure that taught me a lot, especially about light sources and reflections,, now I know it wont win a demon, not even close, but if each one of these guys helps me to improve I will feel better :) There's a lot on him I’m proud of, and some thing I know could be better. Like I said the photos really dont do justice. I’ll work on that.
In other news, my order of paints from SnM stuff arrived today, I must say Sean there was very helpful and the stuff arrived really promptly. I think I just found a new supplier :) Anyway with those here, I feel about ready to take on that wolf I’ve built, so expect to see him in a few days.
Thanks for reading, and for being patient with me while I paint some, frankly, odd stuff. for this blog at least.

I finished another squad..

And I’ll be honest I wasn’t happy.
Well, that’s not right, the paint job is my usual solid tabletop, the squad is done.
but that was the problem. I think the sentinel made me realise that some of the joy of painting had been substituted for the joy of completion.
I’ll be honest I don't get to play often, so I’m primarily a modeller and painter. and recently I think I've been painting more like a player, if that makes any sense to anyone, I’ve been painting sometimes 10 guys at once, so I can get a unit done.
Don’t get me wrong, I do take pleasure in that but I’m not really learning anything from it. so I decided it was time to mix it up.
To get back on track, challenge myself, learn, improve.
I dove into the bitz box, found a full model I could build, and set about making a model on a more display oriented stand, from an army I don't have, simply for the challenge and joy of painting him.
This is the result so far.

 
(I had to photograph him differently than usual, yellow didn't like being on the blue)
I know I wont win a demon with him, that’s not what this was about – it was about taking my time with 1 model, doing some things I never do and challenging myself.
This model taught me a lot. NMM – i never do this, and learned a lot by trying it. wasn't that successful but the next one will be better. the yellow, some parts of the model are beautifully smooth blends, other parts look more like a dogs arse. the red, highlighting red, ugh. but still some of it was really good, some not so much. and his face. I wish I’d used a different one as the sculpt has issues, but that's what you get when you try to make a display model from spare parts.
I’m really glad I did this, and will be doing a lot more like it. It will allow me to explore different armies without building a whole list and buying a ton of models for a start. I have enough armies. in fact I should probably sell a few, but I really enjoyed this, and felt like I learned something so will be doing more.
now I know you are probably thinking “where's the chapter badge”, well I am going to do one, but I wanted to practice first. I’ve done one practice pad, and it’s got some issues, so I want to do a few more before I commit it to the model, but rest assured I will finish him.

That’s the practice pad.
Well that’s it. A bit of a change for me. don’t get me wrong I'll still post tutorials and work on armies, but I’m just giving you due notice I’m going to be trying this kind of thing too :)
Because I want to be a better painter. and modeller. I’d like, ultimately, to be able to enter a painting competition and have a chance of winning. to that end, any comments, criticism or help is gratefully received, and as always..
Thanks for reading!

Works in Progress

Unusual for me I know. I usually try to post either finished tutorials or finished minis but in the interest of trying to keep people interested I'm trying to post a little more regularly.

I've four guys actively on the go at the moment, that is in the crosshairs and actively receiving paint. three of my GK conversions and one model for a freind.

The GK are giving my a slight issue. I'm taking more time over them than the first two, and working hard to improve the paint, as I have the modelling too. and while I am very happy with the way they are going... they are a smidge darker than the other two.

I think I'll live with it, but I know it's going to bug me a little every time I look at them.

anyway heres the brother captain;

a squad member;

and the last guy;

they still need a whole heap of detail and highlight, but i'm pleased so far with the grey, the glds etc. I think the eyes really pop, and the darker tone does a nice job of draing you to the BC's face. still cant quite get the smoothness I want though.

this last model is very WiP, about the only thing close to done on him is the armour, but I'm taking my time as it's for a freind who went to GD :)

There we are, WiPs galore. I hope to have these guys finished by the end of the weekend (the GK at least) but work is going crazy at the moment, so don't count on it.

Grey Knight Bodge paint test

I decided it was time to try slinging some paint around these Grey Knight analogs I'd bodged together, Starting from grey primer, not white as would be my preference for these guys I simply layered on a mix of vallejo greys and punctuated with some metallics.

He's not silver.

Nor is he perfect by any stretch, some of the work is very rough, But i'm aiming for tabletop here, I'll have a good number of these to do.

The paint also showed up a few areas where I was slap dash with my GS, that's something I'm not proud of and will look to rectify with the rest of the unit.

The base is a bit more elaborate than I would normally do for a tabletop mini, but I like it, I liked it so much I've done one for each of the guys I've kitbashed so far.


Also today I decided to "finish" and mount the two DKOK i had been working on, Mainly because I had lost interest in the and If i didnt do it, it would never happen.

They arent finihsed to the degree i wanted, because i simply havent put in the time as I said, I lost interest. but they are "done" :)

Next is either more paint on the other PAGK's or raiding the cupboard for cereal packets to give the termies another go.

Thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear anytihng you have to say.