Ok...SO!

It's been a long while since I've even touched my warhammer figures, and even longer since I've played the game. As of
January this year, I have dug back into it, once again as a forefront hobby. Sad to say I just paint and convert now, the actual
playing doesn't interest me anymore . However! That is irrelevant, as I love the rest of it! haha

All the time though, the Tau have been my love child.

For those who wish to see the small army/ style of said army, from 'back in the day', you can follow the link below.
For I am only going to be posting my recent stuff.

'Said link' --- http://pbckt.com/sl.2xY

Now, moving forward!
Some things to be noted:
- at the moment I have only my primaries for paint, some which are years old and not the best quality (black/wht/r/b/y), and nothing for moulding putty, other than some JB Weld for gap filling.
I am currently waiting on a ballin large shipment from GW, waiting too long though haha.
- as well, my photography skills are largely lacking and I am working on them
- keep in mind I just picked painting/modelling back up after approx. a 7 year hiatus.

Enough talk let the pics roll! (many pics for many angles, let me know if it's too many)

First 2010 project - Out of suit O'Shovah paired with a Farsight Cadre XV-8( possible use as O'shovah himself, or a bodygaurd)


















Alrighty, and now for my current WIP while I impatiently and insatiably wait on my mail orders!

I tore apart my old xv-88, and started tossing things together.... the aim is for a sort of hexagonal carbon fibre armor system look, with electrical interference from scarring, as well as a large piece of shrapnel from letting a rhino have it with the good ol' railguns.
To be honest, I am not completely satisfied with the hexagonal work, but I kept with it, as it's my first painted armor design, not to mention the time consumption!

WIP - - 2nd project 2010 --- XV-88























Probably get the other arm/gun finished tonight @_@.

Any kind of suggestion or comment is more than welcome!

So much tasty goodness in here I hardly know where to start...

First, the Farsight suit is very nice. I particulary like the changes you've made to his shield generator. Also, I wouldn't have thought to use the hunter-killer sensor the way you did on the shoulder, but it looks very good. I also particularly like the dismounted Farsight's backpack. What did you use as a base for that? I don't recognize the part. Or did you just sculpt it out of pure win?

I also like the broadside very much - the hex armour is a very nice effect and one I haven't seen before on Tau suits. It must have taken forever! I think the head is particularly effective - did you sculpt that or use a piece from a toy or something? Again I don't recognize a part in there. The only thing that I hesitate on is the shrapnel on the back. For me, it throws the piece off. I found myself looking at it and thinking, "That's weird, what is it? Oh yeah, shrapnel. But why is it on his back?"

But all together that's some great work. I've seen the Tau/Necron thing done before but rarely this effectively. You've merged the components together in a way that feels very cohesive, rather than just sticking necron parts onto suits.

Can't wait to see more of that broadside! Please post progress as you are able so we can gawk at it.

Thanks for the 1up!

I can totally see where you are coming from regarding the piece of shrapnel. However
it was an afterthought to the overall design, as I liked the idea of shrapnel, and I actually used it to
cover upsome area to save time on hexagon work haha. I came up with the possible premise that
he couldve blown up a tank at forefront and quickly turned thus shoulder to defend agaisnt the spray.
I agree it is a little out of place looking though.

As for O'shovah's backpack I cut the pack from the tau tank commander figure and just
added some tubing from a guass cannon.

The xv-88 helm is a combination of an xv-8 helm, and a target lock, filed together. As well as
pieces from drone antenna arrays and the bottoms of boltguns.

Unfortunately I was too lazy to get more done tonight, but tomorrow is another day!
Cheers and goodnight.

The helm on your second suit reminds me of a vorlon helmet. nice job.

Great, great work here mall3us!!!

Your suits and paint job really have a District 13 look. Did you draw inspiration from that film?

The work you have started on the Broadside is inspiring and although I'm more 'clean looking Tau' kinda' guy, this type of work always makes me want to do some 'bashing up'!

Looking forward to more updates.

Rus'el

I remember seeeing your farsight WIP in a previous thread, now it just looks stunning, the xv8 is also really well done although I second the notion of asking where the head was from.

Rus'el, I think you might mean District 9.
Its a mistake I've made in the past myself so I thought I'd point it out
I can definatly see the influence on the models too though.
Man that battlesuit was awesome

Back on the models topic however.
I really like the subdued colour scheme you've gone for, as it is helping in a great way
to make the orange parts, and the blue battle damage stand out.
On another note, I'm a big fan of your intricate hand-painted hexagonal mesh armour.
It's something that I would never dream of attempting, and you've pulled it off exceptionally.

I'd also like to pass on praise for the O'Shovah on foot model.
It looks almosts identical in pose to the drawing from the Codex I assume it's based on,
and the paintwork on the sword is stellar, and is made even more impressive given the
large hiatus from 40K.

Looking forward to more output from you Mall3us!

Fi'rios

Oops!? Yeah you're right. I must have got confused between District 9 and Precinct 13 (Assault On).

Thanks for pointing it out.

No worries
I hadn't actually thought about Precinct 13
The one that catches me out is the french parkour film District 13...

Anyway, sorry to go off topic!
*Resumes oggling at awesome O'Shovah model*

Fi'rios

Thanks for all the support guys, I've got a little bit more done tonight, including some shots of my plans for the legs - - please give me your thoughts on the legs! Also, I'm totally wracked for any idea on a decent pose, I prefer something action like, but I'm having difficulties visualizing one with these different legs

PS. bought a new 000 size brush, shiz is so cash.

Here's a pic of one of my WIP Broadsides. I was quite pleased with how his pose turned out, he's kind of trudging his way forward to redeploy:


I think this sort of pose would work really well with your own Broadside. It would look as if he is wading through the wreckage of an enemy vehicle, trying to get clear of the carnage. Also the positioning of the Rail-guns would lend themselves to this pose.


Your brushes look like the ones I use; Cotman watercolour Brushes by Winsor & Newton. They're great, especially due to the fact that you can get very, very fine sizes, like my 0000:

Sorry to Black cat you.

Rus'el

Mall3us:

Great thread, and thanks for your efforts. If I may make just one small request though: just keep an eye on the focussing when you're taking the pictures. Some of them are a little fuzzy, which detracts from an otherwise great WIP thread. It also makes it a bit difficult for people to see clearly what you've done, especially if you're asking them for help/C&C.

Taking the picture from a little bit further away and using the Aperture Priority setting can help with depth of field (the distance between two points which is in focus). You can then edit the picture to crop it a little before you post it, thus still getting your "close-up" but with better focussing.

E.

a few more updates on the legs, I've slapped together something a little easier to pose together, as I am getting tired with the ends of the model
tbh

As well, I changed the right arm for some more dynamics, and finished the missle pod - -











eiglepulper - I've been using my digital camera (Sony Cybershot 7.2megapix - nothing special) and have not seen any kind of Aperture Priority Setting. All there is, is a macro utility.

I tried looking up Sony Cybershot, and even specifying 7.2 megapixel there is a wide range of models. If you have one with a dial that selects the mode, turn the dial to "A" for the aperture setting. You can then adjust the F number with the jog dial (under your right thumb). A smaller number means only what you aim at will be in focus. A larger number means the entire picture will be in focus.

If you don't have a dial with an "A" setting, check out the different modes. The macro setting you mentioned is usually a picture of a flower. There is a mode called "Portrait" that is the silhouette of a person, just head and shoulders, and I find that cranks the F number down and achieves the same effect.

If you post the exact model of camera, I could be more specific, but hopefully that helps.

right then, the actual model is a DSC - W80.

Appreciate the help!

As far as options I can see, there is no A, and only a specifically designated "twilight" portrait option.

thanks

The Farsight battlesuit is really good, the dynamic pose looks the part and the colours compliment it. What you have done to his shield just makes me wish I had farsight now. I like what you did to the weapon, especially on the underside of it, with the pipes.
The none battlesuit farsight is awesome as well, his stance and the fact he his holding his blade just speaks volumes to me. Is it possible that their is chaos corruption in that blade? The backpack looks good as well, again, it is the pipes that do it for me. Just out of curiosity what is the pilot for, objective marker?

I have to say the Broadside looks liek time well spent, the hexagons on the armour give it a mysterious future look while the lightening? Electricity? Around the damaged areas really bringing that feeling out while making it slightly lighter. The piece of Rhino was a brilliant touch, that will teach the Spacemarines to come to close! Overall I think it is looking like it will be an awesome model.
I am not sure about the head though, it just doesn't seem, right.

That Broadside is looking absolutely amazing and that Farsight is perfect. Really well done!

I totally support dynamic Broadsides, so I suggest that you give Rus'el's idea a shot. I always feel like Broadside should look like they are bracing themselves before firing or moving into position. What exactly did you use for the legs? I'm not sure how much I like the antenna sticking out from the chest, but I think that is because it is so long. Can in be shortened? The head is my absolute favorite though; I will totally be stealing that design!

Great job on the painting as well. It really gives it a nice look. Well done!

OK, I found a couple of things to try.

The first would be the Soft Snap mode:




Also, the "P" mode is where you can specify settings manually.




Once you are in that mode, there are 2 focus settings that might be of use, Center Focus and Spot Focus:





Now, with all of the modes, you don't necessarily need to be right up against what you are shooting. Don't be afraid to take a couple of steps back and use the optical zoom to fill the frame with your model. The more distance you have between your subject and the stuff behind will help too, since the background will be more out of focus and help highlight your subject.

Finally, if you look at your pictures of your Farsight versus the Broadside, having that that white background helped quite a bit. And you might consider twin-linking your light sources, to help reduce shadows.

As for the models themselves...I am really digging the Farsight. The look on his face standing there with that big blade just gives off the aura of someone you don't want to mess with. And the heads on the suits are very unique, but very appropriate. Do you model them yourself from green stuff, or get them somewhere else?

FINISHIO!

Apart from the base, I've finally got the xv-88 done, and as a bonus, I updated my paint set!!!

bonus pic of the 'Table of Creation'


and on to the completed suit...












I experimented some with my light sources, bought a cheap daylight bulb to try it out. You can see the difference in the pictures -- some were taken with just the daylight bulb, and others with both that, and a regular desk lamp.

Broadside looks fantastic! You really did a great job in making a very unique suit while still keeping with existing Tau designs.

I am currently trying to copy the head design you did for the Broadside, but I am having some trouble. How do you attach the normal XV8 helm to the Multitracker? The rest is self explanatory, but if you could show what you cut or how you glued it I'd greatly appreciate it.