Jord, I fully appreciate quality over quantity!

I am currently working on a Thousand sons Chaos marine army that take upwards of 6 hours per figure to paint.
This is all I have (actually I lie, since these photos were taken I have another aspiring sorcerer and 4 more rubrics painted up. Currently working on a Sorcerer HQ on Screamer) to show for the many, many hours of work so far, but I'd much rather see these models that twice the number painted to a mediocre standard!





Don't mean to try and steal your limelight or anything, just proving the point that quality of models (and yours are all top notch stuff) is far more important to me than quantity. and it is always a nice thing to be able to pour over a small force of brilliant figures!

On a more related note, I made this up from one of your pics (hope you don't mind) to see what your same weathering style would look like in a muted brown tone. I think it looks rather nice and from my experiments last night airbrushing graveyard earth over black undercoat proved, would be terribly easy to get the base coats on! (on another side note , I sprayed some mecharite red onto my girlfriend's nails too [sprays well!], nice colour for nail polish! was also good practice at painting the nail without overbrushing to much into the skin, interesting)


Gimp is a brilliant little tool, must learn how to use it properly... I was thinking something like this with an off white stripe down the middle.

Fourth step:



Now I get really friendly with Boltgun Metal. I begin by drybrushing areas where I want there to be a rough, chipped look (namely around plate panels and near the nose of the ship) and then go in and manually add in the "swishes" over the black "swishes." I do this all over the model, paying particular attention to the front of it, and how the intensity of the weathering on the front plays into the overall weathering of the rest of the ship, making sure I don't go overboard. If I do go overboard, a simple quick coat of Black/Badab Ink & Mechrite Red fixes it. Furthermore, if one area is "popping" too much as a result of the Boltgun Metal, I go over with several thinned coats of Black/Badab Ink to make them more subdued. I also do some fine line work by lining the edges of some panels with Boltgun Metal. Pretty much everything has gone over and had some weathering done to it at this point, minus the lenses and "exhaust" areas.

I also do my lenses now, after the weathering, so I am sure that nothing is covered with Boltgun Metal. I gotta have some clean areas to balance out the rough look, and I use my lens areas for that purpose of contrast. I start with a base coat of Dark Angels Green, then a 50/50 mix of Goblin Green & Dark Angels Green, then Goblin Green, then a final edge highlight of Scorpion Green. And of course the little dot of Skull White in the corner. After doing all these gems/lenses I've come to the sad conclusion that I really should have chosen Eldar as my army instead.

Some detail shots:






You make a really good point here, shadowwalker - not to mention some good looking models! I've always been about quality over quantity (ironically enough I also used to play Deathwing) but finding the right medium between the two is the challenge for me at this point; to find an easy-to-paint method for an army with good results, and a roll out a decent amount of them in a reasonable amount of time is what I am trying to aim for. I am also looking forward to the next update on your painting blog!

Last up is the Railgun and SMS Drones, then the base! Until next time,


-Jord

Nice little update there Jord, I like how much that battle damage come into it's own when you painting the silver.

Your point about reaching a balance between brilliance and practical paint times is a good one, probably one I should look into more with the Chaos boys, currently progress is very slow! Mind you I wouldn't want half an army to a lesser standard either!

I tried out my new toy the other night - an airbrush with compressor. just undercoated a Stealth suit and I have to say I can see this really saving time, even if only on base coats and tanks! I definitely thing you should look into one though for the base coats of your vehicles, I have brushed on base coats for a few rhino chassis and a land raider and I can tell you its not something I EVER (nor should need to now) want to do again!
Airbrush is remarkably easy to use, just water the paints or get a thinner of some kind (even Windex works apparently) and gives much much smoother results than is even possible with a brush (well unless you want to paint 20+ coats!)


Eagerly awaiting the next instalment, and really struggling here to not jump the gun and launch into the Tau army now!
After I paint 1000pts of Thousand sons I think I can maybe treat myself to a squad and tank or two...


Sam.

Sorry, don't laugh but are those 'special' basing stones or bog standard, back of the alley grit?

Why would anyone laugh? It's a valid question!

Each base is a 50/50 mix of Citadel modeling sand & small rock shards from the Citadel Basing Kit. The large rocks are also from the Citadel Basing kit. Hope that helps,


-Jord

You'd think that since a majority of the model is painted that updates would be quicker - but sadly not the truth in my case.





Today I finished the Railgun and turret, and did some cleaning up on the model as a whole. I added in some white letting above the side entrance/exit ports on the hull to add some more white on it, which it desperately needed so it doesn't look like a giant metal tomato. I added a little bit of weathering along the base of the turret on the hull to tie it together with the actual turret itself. In retrospect, I will probably need to tone down the overall weathering on the model by about 10-15%. It's a little much in my opinion. What do you all think?

There is still one final thing I need to do to pull the model in with the rest of my army. More a cheesy gimmick than anything else, but necessary nonetheless. Here's the deal. I liked the idea of putting pilot call signs from "Top Gun" on my vehicles, I thought it would be a geeky little easter egg if someone could actually read Tau and was looking at my models. Since my Piranha had "Maverick" and "Goose" written in Tau alongside the cockpit (ref: here) I figured I'd paint "Jester" in Tau somewhere on the hull - but I am still uncertain where, exactly. I was thinking on the hatch on the turret. Any suggestions?

Last up are the SMS Drones (I hate painting those lil' buggers) and the base, then I'll be done! I suspect the next update will be the last regarding the Hammerhead...


-Jord

Honestly, I don't think you need to tone it down at all. With all the action a HH sees, I think it would make sense to actually see more...maybe some battle damage (like the impact mark of a shell bouncing off the hull or something). Overall, I think it looks fantastic. This is one of my favorite threads.



IIRC, US Navy pilots have their call sign printed just below the cockpit canopy. Since I've always pictured a HH pilot to be seated in a position to be looking out of the forward lens (the wide, narrow one front, center), I would be tempted to put the name to the right and left of that.

Very clever, by the way. A very nice finishing touch.

Definitely don't tone down the weathering. It looks realistic and does an excellent job of setting your models apart from the plentiful cleanly-painted Tau out there.

Looking good, Jordtron!
I really like this force. It just seems to look 'right'. Every model has character, every one is different. this I think is a by-product of the weathering you've done. I agree with Revrandom and WLS, don't tone it down! It's a farsight force anyway, they actually need weathering, IMO. If you really want to take a bit off, The front of your railhead would be the only place that it would really work for me.
Really looking forward to seeing more of this force, so keep up th fantastic work!

Nice work mate, looks great with the head on and all! I have to echo everyone else's thoughts that the amount of weathering certainly does not need toning down. It looks great the way it is and I think it really suits the feel of this army. Besides, this is a hammerhead right, and what do people do to hammerheads? - Aim every available gun at them!

so, what is next on the painting slate?



Just in case this was directed towards me, and because it is a helpful hint anyway...
I use path gravel for all my larger stones on the bases of the Thousand sons, its the yellowish coloured stuff that you see all over the place (at least in Aus).
It is perfect because it has great texture at the right sort of scale and is soft for drilling as well, you could also use slate.
Certainly not a stupid question, IMO the only stupid question is the one that goes unasked...



So, Jordtron, where is that full force shot?

Sorry for the lack of response, I've been in the process of moving. Thanks for the volume of feedback, it has helped me tremendously.

Next up on the assembly line are the drones and base for the Hammerhead. After that, I think it's time to go back to rank & file and paint up my second squad of Fire Warriors. I feel like with two squads it will feel more like an "army" than a "combat patrol" force. Rather than paint each model individually, I'm going to be trying to do the squad as a whole this time around so I don't struggle with cohesiveness that arises when I paint each model individually. We'll see how that goes.

You make a good point shadowwalker. In the two games I've played with my Hammerhead already, people tend to light it up with any and all types of fire. I suppose the ends justify the means in this case. In comparison to my Piranha, it just looks like it has a moderate amount more weathering on the hull.

Next update should be in a day or so. Once I finish the Hammerhead I think it'll be time for a "family photo."


-Jord

Now *this* will be something seriously worth seeing. Is Great Aunt Lucy going to be in it?

(apologies, couldn''t resist it)

E.

Can't wait for that "family photo".

I really like the weathering effect.

Looking forward to the Family portrait Jord, what is next on the to-do list?

Despite what you may think I am NOT actually dead, just rather busy with my senior year at college and doing the never-ending job hunt.

I need to follow through and finish this bad boy up. It'd be silly not to now that I am so close. Anyways, I found myself with a large block of free time this weekend and have decided to finish the SMS Drones and Hammerhead base, so pictures should follow in the next couple days...


-Jord

Woohoo! He's alive! And by the way, you brainwashed my painting nerve, I was trying for a cool scheme so I just grabbed some random colours, and wouldn't you know it, the test fire warrior looks like one of yours, except for the blue lenses and messier painting

Here they are, as promised! I've discovered that group photography is decidedly much more difficult than photographing a single mini...

"Family Photo" Shot:


Random Group Shots:
















Enjoy!


-Jord

Jordtron :
Reminds me of my last family reunion, albeit with less weathering, less red, less plasma-firing weapons, less armour plating...

Very nice job on the group as a whole; I've been watching this from the beginning, and I'm excited of how this has turned out. What is next on the painting tray for you? Whatever it may be, I can't wait for the digitized-version of it to appear on my laptop's screen.

looking so awesome that it's sick. only got one question tough, in your firewarrior squad, why is it not the team leader (i guess the guy with the white helmet) who has the bonding knife, but a regular firewarrior? fix please so in tournaments and stuff you use the team leader as the leader.

Thanks for the feedback guys, I really do appreciate it.

SpartanTau - I am not sure what is next on the painting agenda. I think that after painting something so large (and this was the largest model I have ever painted) that whatever it is that I paint next will be something much smaller, and in greater quantity. I am hoping to do another squad of Fire Warriors since I have been getting a lot of questions regarding a tutorial on them, but I am halfway tempted to start painting my Stealth Suits. So we shall have to wait and see!

Imcrazy - You are totally right, I can't believe I overlooked that! I am not much of a tournament player, but I do want this army to be functional so that is something that I should look in to fixing. I will have to prime up a sword and sheath when I prep my next batch of models for painting. Thanks for the suggestion, I will probably be taking you up on that.


-Jord