[WM] Stormwind Rails Against the Lead Mountain

[Stormwind]

Righto - I thought I'd put a post here otherwise I shall go mad and not do anything.  I am finally, FINALLY getting the courage to pick up a brush and try painting some models.

The sum total of GW or other models I have painted in my life can be summed up as:

A mishmash of awful attempts at painting some Epic ("Space Marine" as it was known then) age 5-7.
About 20 marines from Space Crusade and 2 of the first Rhino tanks when I was about 9.
2 "Spyrer" models for Necromunda and 5 Ratling snipers when I was 13.

And now at 26 I still feel like a kid, so please please be kind when I do do finish something and post it. x-D

I've been delayed by bad weather stopping me from spray-undercoating things but I finally got some black on some units.  The problem is  trying to go over every nook and cranny by hand with Chaos Black to make sure no bare metal shines through.  I am seriously considering hand varnishing them when they are done as they seem so vulnerable to knocks.  I am only really used to plastic, an exclusively metal system is a new experience for me.

One thing delaying me was figuring out how to paint them.  I saw others using lollipop sticks to glue them on for painting, found some in my local art shop and started glueing and scraping off flash and mould lines!

I had originally intended to paint them with a beach scheme, suggesting white sands of Ulthuan and united defenders marching out to face their foe.  However, fiddling with some of my colours, all I seemed able to produce was a pale fleshy colour, or something that looked like snow.  I changed my mind and experimented further.  I thought I'd try making the ground look like purple or blueish shale, a rocky beach but a magical pointy eared rocky tree hugger beach perhaps. =-P  So I tried Adeptus Battle Grey.  then a dilute Hawk Turquoise and badab black to wash - then when that dried a drybrush of space wolves grey.  It's not perfect but I think it'll do, especially for my first army!

For now, some pics of the most dispiriting manual tasks of fiddling with pinning eagles and my dragon, and the joy of the first parcel of elves arriving.

Soon I will get the Vallejo Grey Pumice I need to start preparing bases - that should be a confidence building task, fingers crossed!

[docdom]

I am happy that you start painting your first army. Your background sounds almost like mine. I painted only a few whfb minis as a teen and years later I am working on my third wm army. Hope to see as many armies from you and lots of pics.  Wish you luck.

[Guthwine]

Good luck with your first army. A very daunting task but well worth it!

Just a small hint from me, I personally dislike the lollipop sticks and just use a random (in my case oversized) piece of wood.  But it gives you a good and steady hold over the models and you can just repeat the same brush strokes over and over for the whole unit. (if the factory painting suits your style)
http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/2248/p1010167bu.jpg

For beach sand you could try desert yellow as a base with a bleached bone drybrush.

[Vermis]

That's a lot of elves!  Looking forward to your progress.

So I tried Adeptus Battle Grey.  then a dilute Hawk Turquoise and badab black to wash - then when that dried a drybrush of space wolves grey.  It's not perfect but I think it'll do, especially for my first army!

Sounds... interesting!  Any pics of that yet?

Just a small hint from me, I personally dislike the lollipop sticks and just use a random (in my case oversized) piece of wood.

I agree with that.  I've got some of my older models on lollipop sticks, but started sticking newer ones on oversized versions. (also from an art/craft shop)  Chunkier and easier to hold.
Though if you've already got the regular size, Stormwind, I'd recommend sticking one strip per stick.  Leaves plenty of room to grip either end.

[Lex]

Just a small hint from me, I personally dislike the lollipop sticks and just use a random (in my case oversized) piece of wood.

I agree with that.  I've got some of my older models on lollipop sticks, but started sticking newer ones on oversized versions. (also from an art/craft shop)  Chunkier and easier to hold.
Though if you've already got the regular size, Stormwind, I'd recommend sticking one strip per stick.  Leaves plenty of room to grip either end.

Raid Starbucks !! (they have those very nice LONG sticks) or a local DIY (they will give you sticks for paintstirring)

@ Stormwind...  I would go for a generic Bounty Beach sand (white decorator sand will work nicely !) and model the beachy bits  on your bigger character bases...

[Stormwind]

Thanks for the encouragement!

Oh dear, as you can see from these photos I already sued up a wholepack of lolly sticks glueing units!

Here is a close up shot with natural light thank goodness which shows the base of the reavers with the mentioned colouring.  I think I've given up on the lighter beach white / yellow / bone colour idea at this point.

Hurrah!  This pumice just came in the post.  The plan is to put that on the bases separately, spray and paint them separately then glue the strips of models onto the gaps I leave.  Not perfect but I think a fair game plan for my first army. =-P

[Stormwind]

An attempt to use the Vallejo Grey Pumice!

**Sorry for underwhelming post - I was trying to post last week and it kept giving me database errors after I'd typed out but not saved a bigger post. =-<

[Dave]

Those look like some rather stunty elves...

[Guthwine]

Never knew dwarfs had infiltrators.

Let me know how the pumice works for you. Always had trouble blending the bases into the ground, especially with archer strips.

[Stormwind]

*Redface*

They do look stunty, but there's some Phoenix Guard sneaking up behind them... ;-)

Oops, forgot to say, since the forum had eaten all my posts...

I have been going through the mechanical stuff of stripping and preparing a whole bunch of Dwarf Slayers and Dwarf Warriors, in the hopes of eventually having a starter army of Dwarves to face off against my Elves, so that I can turn up at the local gaming club and try to teach an interested party...

Also, I found that the advice on lollipop sticks is accurate here, and so my new idea is to base half my strips on the stands to begin with, paint them as they are they, THEN glue the ones on wood sticks on afterwards after they are painted.

That way, the pumice won't look so bad.  It's looking great so far... What I do is use a "dead" modelling knife blade to put it into place.

Today I've been experimenting,  using Astronomicon Grey as a base BEFORE putting on the ceramite white for robes, and using Deneb Stone on archer bows as a basecoat before Bleached Bone.  Also doing the slate colours on bases.

Let me say that the new GW Imperial Primer is great, it's working a lot better than Chaos Black for me at filling in the gaps and covering the surfaces of units that didn't get completely covered by the spraypaint.

[pw]

Your basing method is the same as mine, I find it works well. It is worth noting that it tends to shrink when drying so may need two coats (though you usually don't neet to), it's also worth knowing that it's pretty soft and can be cut with a knife when dry to if you put too much behind the front base you can trim it to fit very easily). I also don't like the lolly-stick approach and tend to stick strips to paint pots as I find them easier to hold.

Good luck with it all, I wish you the speed and focus that I lack as a painter!

[jchaos79]

Hey, the pic is a bit far to see the base well, but anyway.. Great pictures of space marines!
you draw so well.

Looking forward to see some paint in your figures and have fun

[David Wasilewski]

Very good!

Personally, I base my front line of figures, spray them black then dry brush with white before adding base colours/inks. The second rankers I just hold them with my fingers, have never bothered with the whole lolly pop stick thing?

I guess its what you're used to.

Dave

[Stormwind]

Just to add a couple of things - to show what I mean when I glue and base half the archers.  And the gaps I've left for the rear strip on infantry.

[jchaos79]

now I see, they gonna look fantastic!

great work