Salamander Commission

Recently I had a reader reach out to me about completing a commission piece. He wanted a Salamander Command Vehicle made and painted to match his existing army. At first I was apprehensive, knowing the amount of time it often takes me to complete a project. But we worked out the terms and I set to work. 

I already had two converted/scratch built Salamanders awaiting paint. I took my favorite of the two and set about making a few more tweaks. I made a spare link of tracks and attached it to the side of the hull using some lead foil. I also updated the antenna on the coms unit, opting for some needle and high tension model aircraft wire for strength.

I also removed and replaced the barrel on the pintel mounted cannon in favor of a metal one.

All the weapons were magnetized to allow for easy swapping depending on his preferred load-out.

The model was painted in Vallejo paints to match the scheme of his existing army. I started with a pre-shaded primer coat and then followed up with light coats of the base and high light colors he had provided making sure to let the primer shading show through. All the metallic parts were made by applying graphite over flat black. The red stripe was masked and painted and then it was time to start weathering.

Looking at pictures of his other tank I noted the level of wear on the vehicle and went for something in that ballpark. I applied a light layer of chipping in the areas of heaviest wear using the sponge technique. I then applied a coat of clear gloss. Atop the gloss I applied Tamyia Panel Line accent to all the panel lines and rivets. Were appropriate the panel liner was dragged downward with a brush. Elsewhere, extra wash was removed with a Q-Tip. Once I was satisfied with the level of weathering a mat finish was sprayed over the model. 

Gloss finishes were applied to the lenses and a fresh rubbing of graphite was applied to the metal bits. The gunner and commander received the same treatments as the Salamander.

I'm always open to the idea of commissions. Between work and raising an 8 month old I can't say I'll always say yes but I find this kind of work quite fun. It gives me a deadline I feel much more pressure to beat than my own arbitrary goals, and it gives me a reason to paint something outside of my norm, plus I don't have to find a place to store it afterwards! If you have a commission request feel free to shoot me an email and I'll get back to you with pricing.

Chaos Cultist to Ministorum Priest Conversion WIP

I bought the above pictured $10 set of Chaos Cultists with the intention of using them for some conversion work. Ultimately I wanted to make some primaris psykers and ministorum priests.

While not yet painted the below Ministorum Priest was created using the model pictured in the bottom left of the above photo. It took a great bit of chopping, green stuff, and bits, but here it is.

The robe, rope, censer, book and purity seals are all green stuff. The pole is styrene rod, the pointed bottom is cut from a disposable glue applicator the top is made from two Forgeworld Inquisition icons. The head is from Maxmini.

Commission - Imperial Fists Sicaran Battle Tank

As my first commision paint piece in a over a decade I took on a Warhammer 30K Space Marine Sicaran Battle Tank from Forgeworld. Unlike some of the 'forgery world' pieces I've worked on in the past, this model was in pretty decent shape. It had been previously assembled and painted but nothing a little Super Clean couldn't strip right off.

After striping it down to its component parts I had to do a little bit of straightening. The bottom hull section had to be straightened but other than that the rest of the pieces were pretty straight. Regardless I had to use quite a few clamps to hold it all together during the gluing process.

There was also a bit of putty work to be done but nothing too complex. The paint I used was a combination of Vallejo Air, Vallejo Model Paint, and Tamiya Acrylics. Chiping with the sponge technique weathered with oil washes.

 I love the rusty exhausts.

 The side sponsons have been magnetized for swapping.

The lenses were colored using Tamiya Clear Acrylics.

If you're interested in getting a piece completed let me know. I specialize in vehicles and typically work for trade.

Fellblade Rescue

This thing has been a royal pain in the ass but it is finally assembled and ready for paint. A while back my buddy Joe picked up a Fellblade from ebay (check out his blog to see his awesome commission painting). When it arrived it was clear to him that the glue bomb he had just received was a recast full of problems. He brought it to me to repair in exchange for some trade. 

I had to begin by disassembling it. There were major gaps, broken and missing pieces, warping, and nasty seam lines. Joe had picked up some 3rd party treads and forgeworld doors he wanted to use. In addition to the extra bits he wanted to add, we had to completely replace the bottom of the hull as well as the two interior side walls. While I didn't take any 'before' pictures I have detailed the steps I took below.

One of the many broken pieces was the .5mm lip around the sensors on the main turret. I trimmed of the broken portion and replaced it with styrene cut to shape and size.

These little brackets were missing from the model so I whipped some up out of styrene and apoxie sculpt. The rivets are from MENG. 

The turret itself had several chips and gaps in the edges. A bit of putty, a lot of sanding, and a coat of grey primer later and its as good as new. When working with putty it helps to apply a layer of primer after sanding to see the finished product. Followed up by subsequent sanding and primer seam lines an blemishes disappear.

Several of the steps were broken or chipped so I shaved off what was left of them and replaced them with styrene cut to shape and size.

The lascannons needed some serious straightening, nothing a dip in some hot water couldn't help. The sight rails also needed to be replaced. Don't ask me why unmanned weapons need sight rails but apparently in the 31st century they do.

One of the back tread covers was broken and a duplicate of the opposite side. It needed a great deal of putty work to rebuild.

The third party treads didn't fit at all and required modification of the undersides to fit. The forgeworld doors only required a gentle sanding to fit in place.

Considering where it started out I'm quite pleased with it and look forward to seeing what it looks like painted. Oh, and yes, that is a Sicarian Battle Tank in the background, but I'm saving that for another post.

WIP - Salamander Scout/Command Vehicle

After building an Imperial Guard Chimera using the Chapter House Studios six wheel kit I had a set of Chimera tracks left over. I used those tracks, a multitude of bits, and styrene stock to create my very own Salamander Scout/Command Vehicle. This will become part of my 8th Pardus Armoured Regiment, the heavy support for my Tanith 1st army. The following are pictures of my current work in progress prior to painting.

All of the weapons, the main gun, hull mounted weapon, pintle mounted weapon and a hunter killer missile (not shown) as well as the dozer blade have been magnetized.

I've always liked the look of a modified exhaust. This one was made from styrene and a Leman Russ exhaust.

Shown above with the autocannon option.