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.

WIP - Ordos Xenos Valkyrie

My Ordos Xenos army was in need of a bit of transportation. Among other things, I chose a Valkyrie. Before I could get too far into the assembly or painting I had to complete the cockpit and crew bay first.

I began by priming the interior in black and followed that up with a heavy dry brushing of Army Painter gun metal. After that all had tried I applied a couple of coats of AK Interactive's Heavy Chipping fluid with my airbrush.

A coat of Tamiya Deck Tan was applied over that.

Using a damp stiff bristle brush I wore away the deck tan in areas of high wear.

After the details were painted I flowed it all up with an oil wash.

The cockpit was painted prior to being assembled.

More to come soon!

Ork Hunter

The first member of my Ordos Xenos Inquisitorial retinue is finished. I also took the time to complete a display base for him as I intend to take him around to the next round of model shows. He was created by combining some Victoria Miniatures legs with a Maxmini head and torso and Games Workshop arms, auto-gun, and scabbard along with a lot of green stuff.

I completed a couple of changes to him since my last post. Here you can see that he received a Mohawk. After some deliberation I also decided that he needed rolled up sleeves so I rolled out some green stuff and added those too.

After the sleeves had set,I put his pauldrons back in place and finished painting him using mostly Army Painter and Tamiya acrylics. 

I really wanted to create a nice display for this model but I didn't want him tied down to it. It was designed so that the 25mm base in the center would magnetize into the display but could be easily removed for game play.

I debated for a while about what type of base design I wanted, jungle, alien, industrial. Whatever it was it would have to applicable to the rest of my upcoming Ordo Xenos/Deathwatch Army. I finally settled on an industrial/ship deck theme which would apply well to a Space Hulk type feel. 

The display itself was crafted from a discarded dice box, some polystyrene and a casting of an Inquisition icon.

Not only is there a magnet on the top of the display, but also one inside so that the figure can be placed inside the safety of the dice box during transport.

The display was primed in black the top and the icon were dry brushed in a 1:1 mix of Army Painter gun metal and flat black. Army Painter and craft paints were used to finish out the icon. Gold and bronze were used for the 'I', Red and Valejo Hot Orange for the inside of the 'I', various off white craft paints for the skull, and a wash of soft tone to bring it all together.

The edge of the step was masked off and primed black again, and yellow hazard stripes were airbrushed on. Airbrush is the only way I've found to get a yellow worth a damn.

The hazard stripes were aged with a sponging of flat black and gun metal. After the display and base were done the figure was pined and added to the base.

Previous Posts

WIP - Catachan Ork Hunter

So Much Armor, So Little Time

The plastic crack addiction can get overwhelming at times. As I get part way through one project I can get board which sends me off on another tangent beginning new projects. 9 works-in-progress for my Pardus 8th Armored Regiment. Two Wyverns, my Ontos pattern Hydra, three Leman Russ, two Salamanders, and a Destroyer. I'd like to say that wrapping this up is my next project but with Modelzona only 2 weeks away, ScorpFest in January and ValleyCon in March I'll be hard pressed to get much work in on these as new projects are bound to pop up. 

My baby steps going forward are to complete the assembly of these nine, and at least get them all base coated in the Pardus scheme. 

Auction Ending - Leman Russ

Only three hours remain in the auction. Don't miss this deal on a fully painted Leman Russ.

For Sale - Catachan Leman Russ

I need to make way on my shelf for more of my Pardus 8th Armored Regiment so I am selling off my Leman Russ. It has a custom made barrel which can be swapped out for either a standard Battle Cannon, Punisher Gatling Cannon, or Demolisher Cannon. If interested stop by the listing on ebay and give it a look. I hope it finds a good home.

Previous Posts

Leman Russ Battle Tank

WIP - Leman Russ Battle Tank

Stormlord

I picked up the Baneblade kit late last year at the Modelzona competition in Mesa, AZ. I knew I wanted a lot of firepower so I opted for the Stormlord build and ordered a second pair of sponsons from Games Workshop. I built this as an addition to my Pardus 8th Armored regiment. 

I based out the model in the same Tamiya acrylics I've been using on all my Pardus armor. All the metallics were primed in black and brushed with graphite as outlined in this tutorial.

I wanted to make use of the rear deck. I stuffed five guardsmen in the back in various firing positions.

I wanted a couple of guys stepping up or taking a knee. To do this I cut one leg off a standing pair of legs and cut one off a kneeling pair and then swapped them. I cleaned up the edges with liquid greenstuff. It came out great!

I wanted the tank to have a real lived in feeling. To accomplish this I applied a bunch of bits to the model including a great deal of storage from Value Gear Details.

I also added a bunch of sandbags around the rear deck and top hatch. Laying down a layer of plastic wrap first allows you to work greenstuff into position but still remove it after it sets for painting.

Once all initial details were painted I applied a layer of shipping using the sponge technique, then applied a gloss layer before laying down decals.

After some oil washes a layer of dullcote was applied. That was followed up by additional weathering. The tracks were painted with GW Typhus Corrosion followed by another pass of graphite and a layer of Secret Weapon Miniature powders.

I sculpted the power cells directly into a Value Gear Details crate and made the spent power cells out of styrene.

The spent shell casings are piles of styrene rod cut to size.

I airbrushed some soot around each vent using a light coat of flat black.

Razor wire and rope helped to tie together the storage.

I added jewelry chain to the front and back tow hooks.

All weapons and sponsons, including the main vulcan cannon are removable for game play.

I pleased to say that the Stormlord took 1st in the Science Fiction Fantasy & Space, Fantasy All Scales and Types category. Considering it was painted with Tamiya paints it's fitting that this award was sponsored by Tamiya.