Topic: Looshkin's Everything Thread - Shroud Runners and Autarch

[Irisado]

Outstanding work on the Blightbringer.  The contrast of the royal purple with the vile green of the Deathguard is not only excellent use of colour, but also rather ironic when you consider how royal purple stands for all things lavish and resplendent.  The fact that it has been corrupted by the Blightbringer is very apt.

[magenb]

Putting the glow from the plasma onto the gun itself is a real nice touch too.

[Ynneadwraith]

No complaints from me! 100% Ynnead approved the whole added effect of the tentacles looking skin-toney is as opposed to when you see them in bright green or something like that. With yours it definitely looks like they're part of the Marine beneath which is what I really like

Absolutely love the rich copper tone you've got on the bell and trim. I've been looking for something good to highlight Warplock Bronze with and that looks just the ticket!

The little flashes of electric blue verdigris work really nicely as well all round top job!

[Blazinghand]

That Blightbringer looks amazing. The purple really pops and the model is a pleasure to look at.

[Looshkin]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments about the Blightbringer.

So. You know how I was worried all the detail on the Blightbringer would make the model look messy and cluttered? Looks like I was just getting ahead of myself and actually I needed to be worried about the Malignant Plaguecaster.

Seriously, I hate this sculpt...as such, I struggled to get interested painting it. It just has too much going on, too many features. The face is just weird and horrible to paint. The plague cloud is nice but...it just stops. If it came from his mouth, that'd work, but as is....nope. The cloak in the form of wings? Double nope.

Nope nope nope.


Why does the cloud stop with a straight edge? Just why?

I actually don't hate the rear view. It's the front of this mini that is just God-awful.


So yeah. I'm not happy with this guy, but I think that's because I never really wanted to paint him, so some of the work is sloppier than my other DG. Oh well. Can't all be Home Runs; you've got to hit a few singles to keep your average up.

I moved from that guy to 2 others that I wasn't looking forward to painting; the Geminae Superior from the Triumvirate set.

They're ok, but the faces aren't great at all. I need to replace my Pallid Which Flesh. It's not a good pot of paint. It left a granular texture on the skin. Me no happy. On top of that, unlike Cav, I found it really hard to find the definition of the eyes, so I must have repainted them about a dozen times. That's never a good thing. I like the armour and the cloth though, so it's not all a dead loss.

Also, the text on the parchment is...lacklustre:



Fortunately, I did somewhat enjoy finishing my work on these Pox Walkers. Lots of little touches, lots of textures...but not so much that anything overpowers the mini. I think that my favourite aspect of these minis is the 'vibrant but sickly vibe'. They're bursting with life...but not in a good way!



Hugs?


I also revisited the Battlescape terrain piece that I painted a number of years ago. I was fairly happy with how this was painted, but after I varnished the piece, it left it shiny. As such, I wanted to weather it a bit in order to dull it down somewhat. Also, sorry about the crappy lighting throughout this update...that's what comes from a ritzy Lightbox and taking photos in the middle of the night.


Well, some things from the past couple of weeks I'm not happy with, some I am. But how's about a few group shots to tie it all together:




So I only have 10 more Pox Walkers to work on. I may just spread those out though and work on them whilst addressing other projects.

I think I fancy some Blood Bowl next.

Maybe an Autarch.

Who knows...

[Orange]

"Can't all be Home Runs; you've got to hit a few singles to keep your average up."

Great analogy... one I should try to remember next plate appearance!
I have found one similar which says "the perfect is the enemy of the good"--it's better to have something finished and painted well than a masterpiece that you don't finish or even start. He's still painted very well though!

The pox walkers look great. The problem I see with a lot of nurgle models is that they do the decay a little too well, and the models look a little boring as there is nothing to focus your attention on. I think the red on your guys really makes them pop.

[Ynneadwraith]

Just read about you talking about not posting frequently so you make up for it with lots of content when you do and you're not wrong!

I've heard a lot of hate for the Plaguecaster sculpt. Usually when I see models like that I start thinking of how to chop them up to try and make them work, and it's pretty dire when I can't actually think of how I'd do it. Only other one I've come across is one particular daemonette model which is so ungainly I can't actually think of any way beyond chopping it at every joint to make it look graceful.

Not overly sure what you're on about with the final finish on the eyes there Loosh. Might have taken a few attempts, but they're better than any I've ever painted! Love the warpaint as well

Now, onto the best bit. Remember when you were talking about home runs? Absolutely love those Poxwalkers. They're so damn cool! Colour choices are perfect, from the sickly green to the faded pinks and verdigris-ed bronze. You're absolutely right about them being a great balance between lots of stuff going on and no one thing in particular being overpowering.

Great work!

[Saim-Dann]

Wow, Looshkin!
They all look amazing. You are far too hard on yourself, mate, with the eyes and the scripting and the skin tone and the home runs. They all look Micky Mouse to me. Agree with the plaguebringer.

I would have chopped the cloud off myself so good on ya for giving it a go. Thanks for the tip on the transfers on my Wolves as well, mate. Will grab a tub on my next splurge... Be well!

[Dread]

I second everything said. My bring to the table is the rich gold on the sister. So smooth.

[Ynneadwraith]

Oh! Managed to gloss over the little diorama at the bottom of the post. Awesome!

[Cavalier]

What the hell is up with that Blightbringer? I've not seen a GW model look that bad in a long, long time. Something about the whole Death Guard release has seemed off to me. Like when they released the Dark Vengeance set they evolved the aesthetic... but with a lot of this Death Guard stuff it feels like its taken a step back to that more 90's look. I think you did an admirable job trying to make that mini work but jeez that is a terrible sculpt by todays standards.

But wow! Those Poxwalkers look amazing! What fantastic paint jobs you dropped on those dudes. The rust and red boils are just fantastic and the color choices on the clothing are excellent as well. What phenomenal minis and I just love the paint jobs.

Also the Gemenae look sweet as well. I love the purple rose on the one girl. Real nice touch. I hear you on finding those eyes... the sculpting on their faces is super shallow. I got lucky and nailed their eyes on this round, but the last set of them I did was a super struggle. Getting the brush under their bangs is a nightmare, especially on the girl facing left. If you dont get it the first time its gonna be tough. But all that said I still think yours came out very nice.

Also that battlescape terrain looks awesome. I REALLY want to get one of those... it'd really match my terrain. BTW is that a Dark Angels rhino or a Salamanders?

Anyway great update Loosh. Just great stuff all round horribly sculpted Blightbringer included if only for the paint job. And I vote AUTARCH! for the next project. We need some Alaitoc action here! lol 

[magenb]

As nice as it is to have trees with branches, it does make it rather painful to position models within the terrain, so you've made a great looking terrain piece that is actually functional, awesome job

[Looshkin]

I have found one similar which says "the perfect is the enemy of the good"--it's better to have something finished and painted well than a masterpiece that you don't finish or even start.

Absolutely. I always put off painting my Harlequins because, if I couldn't do the diamond pattern, why was I even trying? It meant that I had the models in boxes for years as I completely feared getting them wrong. Fear of failure...it was like I was painting like an English cricketer! The second I accepted that it wouldn't be perfect, but it would still be good was the second that I became brave enough too try...and we learn nothing without trying.

Anyway, thank you for your kind words, I'm particularly pleased you like the Poxwalkers!

I've heard a lot of hate for the Plaguecaster sculpt. Usually when I see models like that I start thinking of how to chop them up to try and make them work, and it's pretty dire when I can't actually think of how I'd do it. Only other one I've come across is one particular daemonette model which is so ungainly I can't actually think of any way beyond chopping it at every joint to make it look graceful.

Yeah...it's not good. I would totally have to change my style of painting to get a good result on that guy...and I'm not prepared to do that. It may look better than it does now, but it wouldn't fit into the force as a whole. As it only needs to look good from 3 feet away...well it can stay as it is.

Glad you liked everything else...even the mini diorama that I badly threw together!

Wow, Looshkin!
They all look amazing. You are far too hard on yourself, mate, with the eyes and the scripting and the skin tone and the home runs. They all look Micky Mouse to me. Agree with the plaguebringer.

I second everything said. My bring to the table is the rich gold on the sister. So smooth.

Cheers guys!

What the hell is up with that Plague Caster? I've not seen a GW model look that bad in a long, long time. Something about the whole Death Guard release has seemed off to me. Like when they released the Dark Vengeance set they evolved the aesthetic... but with a lot of this Death Guard stuff it feels like its taken a step back to that more 90's look. I think you did an admirable job trying to make that mini work but jeez that is a terrible sculpt by todays standards.

I've just amended your post to what I hope it should read. The Blight Bringer is the bell guy, the Plague Caster is the sorcerer. The bell guy is awesome. The Plague Caster is not!

See, I actually think that, for the most part, the redesign is terrific. I love the model range. There are a few Plague Marine heads that I'm not a fan of, but the way they've worked distortion and corrosion into the sculpt is brilliant. There are plenty of nice touches too, with pitting and defects worked to represent the 3 circle icon of Nurgle. I think the fly motif is largely well done.

I just think the Plague Caster is amphetamine parrot.

Really amphetamine parrot.

But wow! Those Poxwalkers look amazing! What fantastic paint jobs you dropped on those dudes. The rust and red boils are just fantastic and the color choices on the clothing are excellent as well. What phenomenal minis and I just love the paint jobs.

I'm not going to lie; when I first started painting the Pox Walkers, I didn't like them. You have to get them to the stage whereby the skin is washed and the boils painted before you start to like them. Before that, it seems like there's way too much detail again. Once those are painted though, it's a bit of cloth here, a weapon there. They become fun.

Also the Gemenae look sweet as well. I love the purple rose on the one girl. Real nice touch. I hear you on finding those eyes... the sculpting on their faces is super shallow. I got lucky and nailed their eyes on this round, but the last set of them I did was a super struggle. Getting the brush under their bangs is a nightmare, especially on the girl facing left. If you dont get it the first time its gonna be tough. But all that said I still think yours came out very nice.

I'm seriously considering painting all of my minis to completion...except for faces. I then package them up and send them over to you to do your thing.

I also seriously need to invest in a couple of 'Face' brushes. Super fine for the eyes...and maybe not clogged up with other paint because I'm terrible at having the discipline to wash my brushed correctly!!

Also that battlescape terrain looks awesome. I REALLY want to get one of those... it'd really match my terrain. BTW is that a Dark Angels rhino or a Salamanders?

Cheers man. As I said, it was an older piece that I painted, but it looked good before and I'm even happier with where I got it to. The tank is a Dark Angels Rhino. I painted it that way to match my Bro's DAs. It just looks a little more vibrant in the photos due to the lighting problems I'm facing at the moment.

Anyway great update Loosh. Just great stuff all round horribly sculpted Blightbringer included if only for the paint job. And I vote AUTARCH! for the next project. We need some Alaitoc action here! lol 

You may just get your wish. I really want to start on my Alaitoc again. But I also have 2 Blood Bowl teams to paint up...especially given the fact that there's another team out this weekend. I don't want to get too far behind!

Anyway, thanks as always for you critiques and kind words, means a lot that you put so much effort into replying to my posts!

As nice as it is to have trees with branches, it does make it rather painful to position models within the terrain, so you've made a great looking terrain piece that is actually functional, awesome job

I'd love to take credit, but I really can't! It is the Games Workshop 40k Battlescape that was released a few years ago. It's a great bit of kit. No leaves allowed.

That's all for now. I'll have some more updates later this week I hope. Thanks for stopping by everybody!

[SeekingOne]

Great update, enjoyed the group shots

I love how you handled the bursting cloud on the Malignant Plaguecaster. What paints did you use?

[Looshkin]

Great update, enjoyed the group shots

I love how you handled the bursting cloud on the Malignant Plaguecaster. What paints did you use?

Thanks Seekingone. For all of the plague cloud effects/censor smoke effects, I based the area with Celestra Grey. I then washed the area with a thinned Coelia Greenshade. Following that, I did a Celestra Grey dry brush. I honestly can't remember if I took the Dry brush one shade lighter or not. I think the effect is better displayed on the Lord of Contagion.

Thanks for checking in!

Ok. So I've been quiet for a long while! Sorry!

I had intended to ride the hobby wave through Christmas and get loads done. Unfortunately, one the last couple of months I got a couple of Colds that totally wiped me out. Combine that with a somewhat busy work schedule, a hectic festive period and being old, knackered and having a 2 year old...well it all got the better of me.

I managed to get back into the swing of things in January though, so hopefully this will kick on to be a productive 2018.

I mentioned that I might get back to my Eldar (to the excitement of Cav), but that I may work on some Blood Bowl figures.

Good news Cav! I base coated an Eldar Autarch! Wooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

But yeah, I worked on the Blood Bowl Humans. Sorry Cav. 

I had been meaning to get round to these guys sooner, but I'm really pleased that when I did get to starting them, I didn't rush the project at all...mainly because they're loosely painted in my team's colours (Not quite they're more Blue/Green than Aqua). So instead of the Miami Dolphins....

...Introducing the Marienburg Dour Fins!

Yup. I'm all about the bad punny type names...




I didn't really like the Human Linemen sculpts when I began this process, but as the paint has gone on, I'm actually really impressed by how great they are for really showing off your team's colour scheme. The open stances lend themselves to that very nicely. Also, because of the number of armour panels and things, it allows you to have bare metal on some, team colours on others...it shows off the ramshackle nature of Blood Bowl.

Blitzers; love these guys:

I numbered them 5 and 4 in homage to my favourite player since I've watched the game; Zach Thomas (No.54 for the Dolphins). I'll have to incorporate his name into theirs somehow.

Famed for his quick release, No.13, Daniel Constantine Von Marienburg, barely gets sacked and his passing rivals that of Elven teams:

Maybe I could call the other passer Greasy Robert or something (After Bob Griese, twice Super Bowl Champion)...


Facing off in very poorly lit conditions against the New Ork Giants:


So there you go! Another of the Blood Bowl teams finished. I have still got to do the Ogre for the Dour Fins, but I really need to prioritise another project for the next couple of weeks.

'What project?' I hear you fail to ask.

Well, if you remember, every year, my GW does a Secret Santa. The first year, I pulled out the Zombie Dragon that I had put into the Secret Santa. Yup. Picked out my own entry, despite there being something like 32 entries. I turned him into this:



So last year, there were something like 20 entries. Again, I picked out the Treelord that I had put in. (If you're wondering, the boxes are wrapped up, then a raffle ticket is attached. When it comes time to pick a prezzie, you pick out a random raffle ticket and the matching ticket is the gift you get to keep...so there is no way of deliberately trying to get a specific gift!).

I turned that Secret Santa into:



So this year, they upped the Gift cost to £50 so that everyone could do a Start Collecting box. If you put in AoS, you could only draw AoS. If you put in 40k, you got 40k.

There were 6 AoS gifts, 9 40k.

I was the 3rd person to draw from the 40k side of things. Matt, the Store manager called me up to draw out a raffle ticket. I stayed where I was in the shop and said 'You draw it Matt, it doesn't really matter, it's going to be the Skitarii box that I put in anyway...'

Well. Wasn't I wrong.

It wasn't the gift that I put in...oh no. Yup. it was the Skitarii. Of course it was the Skitarii.

A 1 in 9 chance and I got my own gift again. 3 years running. A 1 in 5760 chance.

I need to go and buy a lottery ticket!



Well, we have a painting Comp on 10 Feb. So I need to paint up the 12 minis in the box. Thank God I didn't get totally caught up painting a Blood Bowl team and didn't only leave myself 2 weeks to paint.

Oh. Hang on.

I've made a start, but it's a slow start...hopefully I'll pick up the pace and get it all done in time!

Some base colours and a bit of a wash on the metal...but lots and lots to do!


Thanks for stopping by guys! Really appreciate you trawling through the wall of pictures and text that I post. Hopefully I'll be able to make more regular updates from now on.

[Saim-Dann]

G'day Looshkin!
Glad your feeling better, mate. You have been busy though. Really enjoyed going through this post. Like the, as you say, ramshackle of the Blood Bowl players. The first four photos with the different angles looked like that training exercise I've seen in movies. The one where they're in that pose, shuffling their feet and all turning 45 degrees.

Yup! You're definitely going to have to buy a lotto ticket for your next secret Santa. Nice job on last years. Looking forward to seeing how the Skitarii turns out. We know you'll do an amazing job.

Good to see you back, Looshkin. Stella first posting for 2018... Be well!!     

[magenb]

A 1 in 9 chance and I got my own gift again. 3 years running. A 1 in 5760 chance.

I need to go and buy a lottery ticket!

You'll probably just win your money back lol.

[Dread]

Wow Looshkin this is great. I know how the cold thing is, had the flu 3 times since Christmas myself. Glad you're up and running again.

Funny, last year my friends got me a skaven team. Haven't played yet but new season about to start at store. Another friend got me both rule books and the skaven/dwarf stadium. You think they want me to play? Started painting last night.

Sold my Skits so you keep on trucking.

Enjoyed your wall everything is looking great.

Back to my Runewars game, which also has my brushes going now. Tourney on the 10th of February.

Until next time, keep 'em rolling.

[Cavalier]

Absolutely brilliant work Loosh. So glad to see you back in the threads bud. I absolutley love the Blood Bowl team. The name, the colors its all fantastic. Those shades of yellow and blue are just amazing. Perfect color choices, perfect execution. Just love it.

Off to a hot start on those Skitarii too. Man what are the odds on drawing your present 3x in a row? Oh yeah you gaves us those odds... lol... regardless its ridiculous and awesome at the same time! They are actually a ton of fun to paint. You can make them as super detailed or as simple as you want. I think Scorpion82 did a great job of finding that middle ground... and I'm sure you'll absolutely love them as you get on with the project.

Still can't wait to see some more Eldar, but I'm actually really stoked to see Skitarii and what choices you make in terms of putting an army together. Anyway great to see you back bud. Keep us posted and keep rocking!

[Alienscar]

Thanks for stopping by guys! Really appreciate you trawling through the wall of pictures and text that I post.

Always a pleasure and never a trawl to paraphrase a well known saying Looshkin. I always appreciate the time and effort you put into each of your posts and I like the little recap of your previous Secret Santa comps that you included in this post.

Your Blood Bowl team looks brilliant in your chosen colours and I like the way you have moved the yellow and blue colours around to add a little variety.

The Skitarii though are my favourite of this post. Even though you say you have got some work to complete on them they already look fantastic. From my point of view it is impressive how smooth all the paint you have applied looks.

I can't wait to see the Dominus as it is one of the models produced by GW that I really like.

Combine that with a somewhat busy work schedule, a hectic festive period and being old, knackered

 

Oh yeah on the subject of being old and knackered according to the site stats it was your birthday on the 16th so a belated happy birthday to you Looshkin.