Showcase: Warp Spiders

Just to prove that the blog isn't dead, it's time for some new posts, this time from my growing Eldar army :)
First up is my Warp Spiders squad, including my converted exarch. The five of them were good fun to paint; I've always enjoyed painting red, and as that is the main colour for this particular Aspect, it was a bit of a treat.
The colour scheme starts with Mechrite Red, which is then layered up through Scab Red to Blood Red. Edge highlights were added in Blazing Orange, then the armour was washed in a mix of Baal Red and Devlan Mud. The weapon muzzles were painted in Dark Angels Green, slowly blended up through Snot Green to 50/50 Snot Green and Skull White. A final spot of Skull White was put in the centre of each section; this was then washed quite heavily with Thrakka Green wash, leaving the weapon looking like it is glowing.
To make the squad stand out a little, I decided to paint an individual 'spider web' pattern onto each of their jump packs in Skull White. The trick to this is combining a steady hand with properly thinned paint; too thin, and the white won't cover properly, too thick and it looks like the spiders drew the motiffs on in crayon! If you want to try something like this, I would suggest following the advice seen in a recent White Dwarf. Mark out roughly where you want the pattern to go, or even draw it out on paper before you start.
I did none of the above, of course, but then I didn't get the title FlashGit for nothing :) I hope to add more spiders to the squad at some future date, but for now, the squad looks nice as it is, methinks.
~MyBlueOblivion

Showcase: Chapter Master Lazerian

This is one of my older projects, an Imperial Fists Chapter Master. Lazerian was done as a commission piece, one of several done for the Tempus Fugitives 'Age of Apostacy' campaign weekend a few years back. The Fugitives were operating out of our local GW at the time (a few of them still are), and when the campaign weekend went into its planning stages it was decided that they wanted a set of special character models that could be used at different points during the weekend. Some of the veterans at the store were asked if they would like to model and paint these characters, and I was lucky enough to be asked to do two of them; Chapter Master Lazerian, of the Imperial Fists chapter, and Gaius Walkenen, commander of the Dimmamar PDF... I may post pics of him at a later date.
As a base for the model, I used the gorgeous Captain Lysander model... it's one of those hero models that's just a joy to paint. To the basic kit I added a banner and power fist from the plastic terminator kit, and a ForgeWorld rhino door (with appropriate logo, obviously!).
Now, this was painted in the pre-foundation paints era, so approaching the yellow armour was something of a challenge for me (it's not an easy colour, I wanted it to look as good as possible). I tried a technique I found in GW's How To Paint Citadel Miniatures... basically, you water down the paint with ink instead of water. This allows you to thin the paint, while not losing any of the pigmentation. I started with Golden Yellow, mixed with red and yellow inks, before highlighting with first Golden Yellow/Yellow Ink, then Sunburst Yellow/Yellow Ink. Bleached Bone was added for the later highlight stages.
The marble effect on the shield is tricky, but with practice has become one of my signiature painting effects. I start with Fortress Grey, then paint over this in four or five stages, adding more Skull White with each layer, until the mix is almost pure Skull White... start with thick bands, leaving thinner stripes of Fortress Grey in between, then highlight each of those thicker segments of colour in increasingly narrow strips (if that makes sense?). Once that's done, I add very thin 'veins', running in roughly the same direction as the striping; these are a mixture of Fortress Grey and Enchanted Blue. Finally, a very thin glaze of Skull White is applied to the whole surface. There are probably much easier ways, but it works for me!
Enjoy the pics, any and all comments are welcome!
~MyBlueOblivion

Dark Elf showcase: Black Dragon

Hi guys!
Here we have another showcase article from Virus' extensive Dark Elf army, this time a converted Lord on Black Dragon.
When the latest edition of High Elf dragon kit hit the shelves, Virus couldn't help himself... he just had to have one. And, in typical FlashGitz style, he's converted the kit extensively. The pics here (the only legible ones from the batch we took - ~Blue) show the work done quite well, we think.
Every part of this comes from the original kit; that is to say, nothing extra was added to make it more 'Dark Elf'-ish. The pillar of rock that the beast is perched on was the first thing to get changed, with expert application of a hobby saw and some green stuff for filler. The dragon itself was then repositioned; every 1/2 inch or so the main body was cut, from neck to tail. The body was bent forward to the desired position, then the gaps were filled, again with green stuff.
The a standard cigarette lighter was used to heat the wings, allowing them to bent inward and into a more 'swooping' position; be very careful if you try to do this kind of thing at home. Fire's dangerous to start with, and plastic will melt very quickly if you get it too hot!
Virus used parts from the Dragon Mage and Lord segments of the kit to make his rider, cutting and changing axe to make it look more menacing. Then, he used spare bits to make the dead Swordmaster on the base... very grim indeed.
On the painting front, Virus decided to go with a dark blue colour, rather than the more traditional black/grey that GW tends to go with... nonetheless, the finished article is striking, and looks terrific on the tabletop. Virus doesn't use it very often, preferring to use a Lord either on a Cold One or a chariot, and instead only rolls out the dragon for larger games.
Hope you enjoy the pics... more coming soon!
~The FlashGitz

Showcase: Plague Hulk

Making the Plague Hulk:

I started the Plague Hulk by asking myself, "what have I got myself into here?" It's just such a mad project. Without any further thought, I got on with the deed at hand.
I started by looking at the modelling instructions for the Soul Grinder. When I'd finished laughing, I hit upon the idea of Green Stuff all the way (you can see what effect this project has had on my dwindling sanity!). I started assembling the Plague Hulk by following the basic frame work of the Soul Grinder... and hold on to your hats, 'cause it gets bumpy from here on in. The first thing that I did was put the front claws from the Defiler kit onto the front of the Plague Hulk, as this is one of the major changes from the Soul Grinder. I then started to assemble the rot cannon, and quickly found myself thinking "what on earth can I use?" I say this because my Death Guard Army is now so large, I just did not want to repeat myself (sorry fellow FlashGitz, I'm not boasting, honest guys).
I decided to use the antenna from the Planet Strike Bastion box set... yes, you heard me right, the antenna! I then cut off the end of the antenna and reversed it, making a rather good gun barrel. I then lowered the head of the Plague Hulk and changed the horns on the model, so it was more in line with a Nurgle theme, resulting in the model having custom 'rhino horns'.
After all this, I had a Plague Hulk with so many holes in it you could call it swiss cheese. So I rolled out the Green Stuff. I set about filling the holes, bulking out the model and enlarging the stomach, complete with split hide and intestines spilling out. After all this, I still thought the Plague Hulk was looking too clean. So out came my trusty files; after hours filing away, the model was starting to look a little more worn, so heading in the right direction. The final stage was my ace card: Copydex. I coated the entire Plague Hulk in Copydex. After the Copydex went clear (but not dry), I went over the model with an old brush, roughing up the Plague Hulk even more and making the metal look warped, rotten and decayed. I was now satisfied with the Hulk. What came next was the real challenge, painting...


Painting the Plague Hulk:

I started by undercoating the Plague Hulk in Chaos Black. I then went about dry-brushing the model first with Red Gore, then Blood Red, before building up through layers of Fiery Orange and then Blazing Orange. Next came a light coat of Boltgun Metal, followed by a mixed wash of Brown and Black Ink. After the ink had dried, I gave the model a light drybrush of Chainmail, before another light wash of Brown Ink.
I then went over the claws, painting them a rusty metal colour acheived by mixing Chainmail and Scorched Brown, as well as a little Chaos Black. I then went over a lot of the rents and dents in the armour, making them look like weeping sores or red rust with varying shades of red. After that I went over the pipes, first in Chaos black, then these were highlighted in Codex Grey. With the main bulk of the Plague Hulk finished, the time had come to take on the Daemon half!!
I began by painting the flesh of the Plague Hulk with Cameo Green, highlighted with Rotten Flesh. I then went over the model in a mixed wash of Brown and Black Ink. The next stage was to go over the flesh in Dwarf Flesh and then Elf Flesh. The flesh was again given a light coat of Cameo Green, followed by a dry-brushing of Bleached Bone. The cuts in the flesh were painted Red Gore mixed with Blood Red, then given another Brown/Black Ink wash. The last details on the flesh were the eyes and teeth, picked out in red and Bleached Bone, and that finished the body of the Plague Hulk.
The last thing to paint was the sword, which I went over with Dark Angels Green, highlighted with with Snot Green, then dry-brushed in Bleached Bone. The sword was then given a light wash of Thrakka Green, then after the wash was dry another coat of Bleached Bone was used.

With that the Plague Hulk was finished. After being matt varnished, the Plague Hulk was given a coat of Bright Varnish on the flesh and weapons, and all over the cuts, as well as around the rents and dents.

And with that the project came to an end. It was most enjoyable, and I must say I'm happy with the finished result. Next up for me is a 40K project to end all others that I've done (and that is saying something (lol)):- a Chaos REAVER TITAN!!!! Yes, a REAVER!!!!! Of course, when this project starts, the FlashGitz will be on hand with a blow by blow account of the REAVER!!! (Stop yelling Reaver! - ~Blue) project. Until then, happy modelling and gaming.
~Virus

Dark Elf showcase: War Hydra

Hey folks!
This is the first in a series of showcase articles, each displaying parts of the FlashGitz' armies. First up is Virus and his Dark Elf army for Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
Phil has been collecting Dark Elves on and off for several years. Its most recent incarnation has grown beyond anything that has preceded it; at last count, it weighed in at just over six thousand points, and that's not counting special characters and magic items!
In typical style for Virus, many of the units in the force are at least partly converted. The example shown here is just one of three War Hydras; he has two of the older models, and one from the newer release. The model has had some of its heads repositioned by careful application of a hobby saw, a little brute force and some green stuff. The creature has also been mounted on a crest of slate, and the end result is quite striking.
The handlers have also been converted, one of them now carrying a pair of whips. The 'anime'-like hair colour is something of a recurring theme amongst the army, and the colours range in places from the mint green seen here, to blue, to pink. When asked why he went in that particular direction, Virus simply gave the answer: "Why not?" It looks good arrayed on the battlefield, however, and at the end of the day what more could you want?
~MyBlueOblivion