WZR: Commander Dr. Diana

Ok, quick update on Warzone Resurrection! Below is the lovely Commander Dr. Diana miniature (which I have reviewed before) painted. I've got to say that painting this lady turned out to be quite a difficult task; I hardly ever paint anything outside the 40k range, and the WZR models are both more detailed and realistic than 40k models, which made me rather unsure about the paintjob. in the end, I had to experiment. The result is not too good, but it have teached me a lot.

I have chosen to do my Cybertronic in a grey scheme with black and blue details, but since Diana is a doctor, I have used white instead to accompany the grey. I wanted to make the coat look like if it was made of latex or nylon, so wash was used only lightly. While the white part turned out pretty good, the gray is a letdown... If I could paint this again from scratch, I'd make the whole coat white now.

To enforce the latex feel of the coat, I have painted it with gloss varnish ('Ardcoat). Unfortunately, the result is not as glossy as I hoped for, and it makes the grey look rather bad. I was thinking about some "weathering" such as adding dried blood to the tools and/or coat, but in the end, I think it would have make the model look too busy and perhaps silly. This is not an Ork afterall.

The base was an experiment as well. Since the model was supplied with a rather large base, I wasn't exactly sure what to do with it - so I cannibalized a plastic kitchen strainer and used the mesh to create the base, along with some dirt and random bits... Voilá, the base looks rather good for a post-apocalyptic setting. At least something went right with this model!

Overall, the dirty look the model has was a bad choice, I should have gone with a cleaner style, perhaps with a different color scheme, too. The miniature looks just fine on the tabletop, but as a showcase, it doesn't work.

One final note regarding the model. The resin WZR uses is rather soft when it comes to small, long parts such as gun barrels. Ofcourse, the tiny gun barrel on this model have snipped off... Luckily enough, the pistol still looks alright.

Alaitoc Guardians

Wow, is it really July already?!

I had this squad painted for a while now, but it took me some time to get decided on the Weapon Platform - especially in regards to the marble effect. I've decided to use stippling only on the shield and frontal panels to make the vehicle bit more interesting. Kudos to my girlfriend for help with that! The decorations are a mix of old and new decals, I still don't feel confident enough to freehand Eldar runes.

Assembling these guys was quite fun. Sure, the Guardians box is old and the mould lines are ever-present, but the models can be assembled in various poses and the kit has plenty of interesting bits such as various antennae, targeters, grenades and spare clips. There are two shields available for the platform, and the box includes each of its pontential weapons. For more variety, try kitbashing with the Dire Avengers box - for example, the model below has a one-hand shuriken from the Dire Avengers exarch.

I planned to do some squad markings for the Guardians, but in the end I've decided against it - at least until I get another squad. My idea was to choose squad colors and paint them on either on kneepads or the antennae on back. I've also left the Guardian helmets free of the Guardian symbol; the reason for this is that I have actually seen only few Guardian models with it - even the Games Workshop showoff models don't have it! And I'm not even sure it would look any better.

The bases were done in similar way as with my Dire Avengers - various bits of plasticard and frames painted to resemble Eldar ruins, painted with Eldar symbols and sticking out of Stirland Mud texture.

By the way, I've tested the unit few times and I rather like it, even though the lack of a proper armour save is really annoying! I guess these guys will mostly camp at base around an objective, which is why I armed the platform with a Bright Lance. The low rate of fire makes it rather unreliable, though. Maybe I should switch to a Starcannon or Shuriken Catapult?

Genesis Chapter Predator: Wallpaper

Is this a filler post? Yep, I guess it is... sort of. But sometimes even filler posts can be inspiring, right? I sure hope this wallpaper-sized picture of my Genesis Chapter Predator is one of those. Kudos to my friend Vojta for taking this sexy picture.

 In too deep, against all odds brothers!

Edit 2019: So, it has been five years since I shared this picture, and it hasn't aged well with its puny 1280w resolution. Therefore, please enjoy the new reuploaded wallpaper in 1600 width resolution above. There is also a 1920 width version available at my deviantart page for download. Cheers!

Leviathan Genestealers

Genestealers... The ultimate Tyranid shock troopers. I have to admit that while I got annoyed by assembling (and weighting) Hormagaunts pretty quick, working on Genestealers keeps feeling good. The models are pretty large (for basic troops, anyway) and they look menacing - they stay true to the creepy idea of a Tyranid/Human hybrid, which can be seen on many of the model's features (such as head or spine). Sweet!

 

I actually painted these before my Warriors and it shows. I paint Tyranid fleshy parts with Ceramite White, Screaming Skull and Carroburg Crimson, since I want my Leviathan to have more "blood" than the Games Workshop studio army; but I still need to find the right balance between the "clean" and "dirty" look. The originally grey-painted bases were redone lately in dark green and decorated with grass and plants, consistent with the jungle look I went for with my Warriors.

I feel like I could do more for these poor bastards (sorry, hybrids), but I have way too little time and way too many unpainted models waiting! I'm looking forward to working on more Genestealers though, and comparing them to these. A Broodlord conversion might be a fun project...

Good old Tyranid Warriors... and a converted Prime!

I always liked Tyranid Warriors - there is something about these creatures that screams both "ferocious beasts" and "intelligent alien menace" at the same time. As soon as I heard the rumours of a new Tyranid Warrior kit, I went and bought the old one... Why? I expected the new kit to cost more and not include any Rippers (since Rippers are not included in most of the new Tyranid kits). Turns out I was right on both accounts (though the price rise is justified by the quality of the new kit).

Painting these monsters was a lot of fun, since they are a nice compromise between the small horde models that make you feel like a copying machine, and the larger bugs that are fun but difficult and time-consuming to paint. The models look nearly the same as the new kit, though I find the lack of optional bits... disturbing. I prefer the old biocannons more though - in the new kit, the Barbed Strangler looks nearly the same as Stranglethorn Cannon. Here, it is pretty much unique.

The choice of weapons in the old kit is lacking as well, though in 6th edition environment, shooting is the way to go anyway - so I armed them with Deathspitters and a Barbed Strangler. I like the idea of ranged bioweapons, for me it's something that makes Tyranids different from other science fiction staple aliens, and that really hints at their alien intelligence. My favorite part about bioweapons are the eyes - I mean, those living rifles have real eyes on them, how cool is that?

Since I got two kits, I have also converted a Tyranid Prime - note the options for that were very limited in the old kit; the new one wins here hands down. I have given it a pair of Rending Claws, Adrenaline Glands and a very special head, which I converted using the tentacled head from the Genestealer kit. To make it stand out more, I've built it on a higher base, and added some worm-like Tyranid creatures under it - I know they don't look exactly great, since I don't work with green stuff a lot, but they still add some atmosphere!

The result looks almost Lictor-like; I guess I could even proxy it as one. I planned to play the creature with Regeneration, but since the 6th edition codex opens up so many new options, I'm not decided yet - the huge claws could work well as the Maw-Claws of Thyrax, and the head conversion could represent the Ymgarl Factor or even the infamous Norn Crown. Regarding the claws, I should have probably go for a ranged weapon - but these claws look so much cooler!

Since there is not much of difference between all the warriors (in the old kit, anyway), I tried to make them unique through basing. I've scrapped my idea of a nearly consumed death world and instead went with a contrasting, dark green jungle theme. Static grass, aquarist plants and even pieces of sponge were used, as well as my original Ripper-like worms, made of green stuff and termagant shoulderpads.

Finally, here is the back view of the pack. I've worked on these models over few months (in fact, the first Warrior was done one year ago), and the way I paint their chitin slowly changed - the barbed strangler model (right one on the picture under) and the Prime being the newest examples. I'm trying to improve, though I still see the Tyranids as a challenge to my skills.

In summary, the old models certainly lacked close combat options as well as customizible bits, though their design still looks fresh, and they had the added bonus of having Rippers included in the kit (still got to paint these little beasts). I had much fun working on these four, and building the Prime was truly a challenge. Now I'm still wondering how I should build the two Warriors left - thinking about boosting the Warrior unit with two more deathspitters, or building one with a venom cannon (to variate him with the Strangler one), or use the Prime as a standard Warrior in another pack of three Warriors (perhaps close-combat oriented). Options - there are so many of them! Guess that's the beautiful thing about Warhammer.