City Casting

Chaos Space Marines: Deathguard Plague Marine Rhino

Hello once again!  today i have a little treat of an update.  All those deathguard minis I've been painting up no longer have to foot slog it from one side of the table to the other.  Here i have a rhino converted for the deathguard faction of my chaos space marine army painted similarly to the model i used in the death guard plague marine painting tutorial i posted awhile back.  Painting a large boxy model like this can sometimes be a challenge with all the flat surface area on the model.  I find the best method of painting tanks like the rhino is develop a theme over the model and use a large brush, work on the big areas to begin with and then pick out the detail later.

Here are some pics

I've decided to use a light natural mint green paint (knarloc green highlighted to dehneb stone) for the armour plates and shading with purple wash, then painting the depressions with chardonite granite and a sort of faded pestilent pattern.  The detail on the side door was hand sculpted to symbolise that this in fact is a deathguard rhino.  a few details have yet to be picked out.  Weathering was achieved by stippling scorched earth paint with a spare piece of foam that you find packaged with the blister packs of your minis.  Other areas were drybrushed to achieve the appearance of soot. Each of the bolts were picked out by a dot of devlan mud which was trailed downwards.  all the metal areas received a coat of scorched brown before being painted with dwarf bronze and mythril silver.

Here's the other side of the tank panted the same way, along with another deathguard mini i also painted last night.  This gives a rough idea of scale as well.

Here is a detailed shot of the Crewman on the top of the Rhino manning the Pintle mounted combi-flamer.  I used some left over shoulder pads and a head from a old kit i had.  The shoulder pads are forgeworld resin, and the head is a metal piece from the old plague marine havocs boxed set (plague marines with assault weapons.)

Here is one of my favorite parts of this model, the exposed brain of the gunner! So cool!

I'm looking forward to getting this out on the table some time soon.

Plague Tower: Progress Log 5 (Casting of the Front)

So here are the first pictures of the plague tower shot with actual scenery, I thought with the addition of the front panel it was time to add some colour around the model, to get a look at what exactly it might look like on the playing field.

The front panel was originally sculpted in plasticine on a cardboard backing to get the general shape of what you see here.  the original was then cast in plaster to make a mold from which the plasticine was removed.  The front panel was then cast in resin from the plaster mold.  After the resin had cured over night the plaster mold was broken off the resin positive, leaving a archaeological dig worth of cleaning to do to remove the left over plaster stuck to the resin. The cleaning still continues!

Here is a side view with models placed on the walkways for scale.  Note that the sides of the front panel still need to be treated with green stuff to get that stretched skin look.  Also of note here are the wheels on this side which received a wooden texture look.

For a greater idea of scale of this thing, i've set it next to the imperial bastion.

There is still a great deal of work left to go into this model however it's shaping up nicely,  I'm waiting for some green stuff i ordered to come in the mail (with the help of the ever reliable Amy) before i get to work on the hardcore details and resurfacing of the front.

Plague Tower: Progress Log 4

Plague Tower: Progress Log 3

So, a lot has progressed since last i posted pictures, primarily the siding has been completed on both sides of the tank, a whole ton of rivets have been glued into place and some conveniently sized pieces of tubing have also been adhered to the front.  Things are really starting to take shape.

Another major detail that was completed was the embelishment of the side "pus tank" made from the living nature water bottle, bands have been glued around it to make it look more industrial and less little critter, and an access hatch has been glued onto the top.

Now moving to the back, you can see the detail of the rear upper hatch, which now has been added, detailing on that piece is a work in progress.

Here's an overall view of the rough plague mortar assembly...

and it's loading hatch...

overall the front looks really bland and there is still a ton of work left to do on this model, but each day is one step closer.

Plague Tower: Progress Log 2

After some further design work, i've decided what to do with the other side of this monsterous construct.  First lets take a look at the back.  I've installed some rhino doors that were extra from a predator i once bought.

after some work on the side paneling, i've finally managed to finish the wood planks along the sides, as well as adding some more armour plates for the hut supports which i will install later.

Here is a picture of the fitting for the "Pus Tank" that will occupy the majority of the other side of the model.  This was actually made by heating up a metal pipe and running it through the center of both circular disks.

And finally a picture with the "pus tank" installed to give an idea of the overall look.  The "pus tank" is made of a small "living habitat" small animal water bottle that i had hanging around collecting dust.

Plague Tower: Progress Log

Back again with some updates on exactly how this plague tower is coming together.  First i decided to finish bulking out the frame with the "hut" protrusions that are found on the exterior of the tower.  I wanted to avoid any unnessessary extra work, specifically putting these things on after i complete the siding, so it's best to get them on and over with.

Here's a second look at the shape of the structure.

Using a thick plastic card i've outlined the various areas on the model with the large metal strips that can be found in the concept sketch, these just break up the model visually.

This stage was the beginning of what will be the fiddly work on this project, i've cut out pannels of normal thickness plasticard and glued it to the sides in a mixed up fashion as to make the thing look a little ramshackle, once again a lot of this is done to visually break up the model.  All the areas that are still bare will be covered in the wooden looking siding instead the armour plates will only cover the front of the model, making it look more bulky towards the front.  You can also stee that i've started removing the top of the card that is to bee the corrugated roofing.

Here i've gone through the meticulous task of putting rivets on the sides of each armour plate, i've also started with putting the wooden siding on the areas that are still bare.  It's slowly coming along.

Well thats it for now till i get some more done.

Plague Tower Concept and Frame

So this is the plan, build a plague tower of Nurgle.  The Plague tower of Nurgle is a super heavy vehicle brought over to games of Apocalypse 40k, from an old epic Warhammer 40k Model.  The idea is that it is a plague infested tower on wheels the sports a Heavy Mortar, two Demolisher Cannons protruding from the demonic faces stretched over the front like skin and at the bottom, the very bizzare and disgusting plague cannon which fires huge gouts of sludge from the many plague vats that surround the vehicle like blisters.  Oh and did i mention it transports 30 models and has 6 structure points?

So after spending some time looking at the old epic model i did up a concept sketch of what i would want a plague tower of nurgle to look like.   I decided to keep much of the same shape and concept of the original model however I decided to place more scaffolding around the outside of the contraption, complete with decks and crew compartments.  I really want this thing to look like a plagued rotting construct. 

So this is the initial mock up of the tower done in cardboard with some models on it for size refference.  This is the tower part of the model that will sit on the chassis.  Thanks to pizza pizza for supplying the card.  At this moment it doesn't look like much, but hey use some imagination.

Here's a second picture of the great box that will be the nurgle tower!

Battle Sister Test Mini

In general i'm fairly happy with how the model turned out.  It will definitely blend in well with all of the bone coloured robes and Terminator armour of the rest of the army.  Still i'm not 100% sure on this one, it might take some time to grow on me we'll see how it goes.  The light colours on this model take more time than i would like to paint, with little room for error.  Questions and Comments as usual are more than welcome, thanks.

Battle Sister Concept

After coming across a cool program (which can be found here), I've run through the test colours as to what i want my battle sisters to look like when they're finished.  As i haven't seen anyone paint these models in this manner i thought i would throw it out there and see if anyone had any criticism to throw my way.  What do you think?

Chaos Space Marines: Deathguard Plague Marine Painting Tutorial

After some searching for a colour scheme and not being too happy with what I’ve found on the net, I’ve decided to create a tutorial on how to paint death guard my way.  It isn’t the only way to paint these models of coarse, the myriad of detail on these models allow for endless possibility when choosing a sickly pallet suitable for these abominations.  As always, all mixes are approximate in this tutorial, and you should feel free to adjust amounts and substitute colours where you wish.

As usual, any picture within the tutorial can be clicked on to bring up a larger version of the same picture.  Questions and Comments are more than welcome as are suggestions on how to make these tutorials better in any way.  For the most part I’m going to cover not just the painting of the model but also some tips that I find useful when painting these models and a few things that ran through my mind during the process.  Enjoy!

Paints You Will Need

Chardonite Granite

Knarloc Green

Rotting Flesh

Skull white

Bleached Bone

Scorched Brown

Mythril Silver or Chainmail

Laviathan Purple Wash

Baal Red Wash

Devlan Mud Wash

Bedab Black Wash

Warlock purple

 Step One: After cleaning and assembling the model prime the model black with short controlled bursts to the front, back, sides and top of the model, allowing each coat to dry before applying another.  This allows for better coverage of the model opposed to trying to prime the model in a single attempt.  After the model has completely dried, I’ve gone over its entirety in Chardonite Granite with a large brush.  I’ve found that if you slightly water down the paint at this stage it allows for greater flow into all the crevices that you might miss otherwise.  One part water to every four parts paint should be enough to achieve this.

 Step Two: After the Chardonite Granite Basecoat has completely dried, apply knarloc Green to the entire model leaving the Chardonite Granite visible in only the deepest recesses.  At this stage your model will look as if it were a sculpted green with shadows in deeper areas such as the folds in the flesh, bullet holes, eye sockets, etc.

 Step Three: Over the following steps we’re going to apply highlights to the general surface area of the model, this applies to anywhere you would like to appear green on the finished models.  To get the best results, use the flat side of your brush and stroke perpendicular to the bristles along the detail of the model.  The first highlight consists of three parts Knarloc Green, to one part Rotting Flesh.  This first highlight will cover the majority of the surface area on the model, paying particular attention to any areas of exposed flesh, which will be highlighted to a near white over this process.

Step Four: Now with a mix of two parts Gnarloc Green to one part Rotting Flesh, pick out the surface areas that are most likely to receive light on the model. Once again use the same brushing technique as described in step three to ensure smooth coverage.  Continue  to over highlight the fleshy areas and skin on the head as these areas will receive one further highlight from the rest of the armour.

 Step Five: With a more selective highlight paint the raised areas and edges from Step four with a mix of one part Gnarloc Green to One part Rotting Flesh.

Step Six: Pick out hard detail and raised edges with a mix of on part Gnarloc Green to Two parts Rotting flesh.  At this point the majority of the highlights have been completed

 Step Seven: With a mix of one part rotting flesh and one part skull white pick out the final detail of the fleshy areas and  head, giving them an almost white hue.

 Step Eight: Using Laviathan Purple trace the recesses in the armour making sure to have a controlled flow from your brush preventing accidental coverage or pooling.  This is one of the steps that allows for more artistic freedom in the painting of the model so experiment with various amounts of wash in different areas, you can even try using weathering techniques to “bruise” the armour a bit.  The purple will really contrast with the green so use this to give a visual break between the various plates of armour.

Step Nine: After the purple wash has been allowed to completely dry, paint all the trim on the armour, any metallic parts and any wooden parts with Scorched Brown.  This will further add contrast to the model “framing” the light green that makes up the majority of the model’s colour.

 Step Ten: Paint any Tubing or hosing in Fenris Grey.  This may look at little out of place at the moment, it will receive a coat of Bedab Black wash later in the tutorial shading it amply.

Step Eleven: Lightly drybrush all metallic parts of the model with Chainmail or Mythril Silver.  Focus on areas of the model that would see a lot of wear such as the edges of the knees and hard edges of the shoulder pads.

 Step Twelve: Paint all areas of bone Bleached Bone,  in this case I’ve also painted the raisted edges of the gunstock with bleached bone as well to accentuate the wood grain.

 Step Thirteen: Give an liberal wash of Devlin Mud to all areas of bone, wood and metal.  This will take the bright edge off the metal and deepen the shadows in the bone and wood.

Step Fourteen: Sparingly apply Baal Red Wash to the model in the recesses of fleshy areas on the model. Use this wash to make areas look swollen and blistered, over use of this wash will detract from the overall scheme.

Step Fifteen: After allowing the Devlin Mud Wash to dry completely Go over all areas of Metal and Tubing with Bedab Black Wash.  This will further shade and reduce the lustre of the metalilic paint.

 Step Sixteen: Details! Brighten up the metal a bit by applying Mythril Silver to studs and sharp edges on the model.  The eye was then painted by applying a dot of warlock purple then highlighted up towards the center to a near white.

And there you have it another Plague Marine ready for the Tabletop!