Putty Purity Seals

I've continued with the putty work, and I'm starting to get more comfortable with it. Now that I've started making my own purity seals, I find that I actually prefer to using plastic or resin ones that are rigid. I like the one on the right here, combining a Forge World brass eagle as the "seal", pressed and glued over two sculpted papers.



This one is my favorite so far though. The way it hangs straight towards the ground once it passes over the edge of the pauldron makes it look natural. I think all of these are going to paint up great, and I definitely plan on sculpting my own purity seals for ALL of the Word Bearers I do. Each one is getting at least two, so I've got a lot ahead of me... :)

Pre Heresy Word Bearer Test Model Done

A post, at long last.

I spent the first part of the day working on a street barricade terrain piece, and ended up making all the wonderfully sculpted sandbags look like poo with my inept paint job. So, frustrated, I put that work aside for the time being and worked on another long neglected project. I'm glad I did, for I finally finished my very first Pre Heresy Word Bearer Space Marine. I'm happy with how he came out, so now I've got a decision to make as to whether to continue doing something with this, or returning to another project like Beastmen or Flesh Tearers.



Here's a closeup shot of the two areas on this model that I sculpted myself. As you may or may not recall, a while back I sculpted my first ever shoulder pad icon. If you're interested in seeing the "before", check the post out here. Well, I made a mold of said sculpting job, and the painted pad you see here is the final result. I'm actually quite happy with this, seeing it all painted. It really does look like a flame springing from the pages of an open book. In case you didn't know, this was the Legion icon of the Word Bearers when they were still loyal. A friend of mine is working on a new version of the shoulder pad that I'm guessing will look a lot better, but I have to say that if that falls through, I could certainly live with my own home-brewed efforts.

The other bit of sculpting you can see in this shot is the Greek-style hair crest. This model is the sergeant for an assault squad, so I thought I'd spruce the ForgeWorld resin head up a bit with a nice horse hair crest. For a DIY effort, I'm happy with it. I'll repeat this sculpting for any other squad sergeants in the future.



Here's a shot from the model's right side. I actually got one of the thick GW decals to adhere properly to the shoulder pad- much rejoicing! I took a sponge with some black paint and dabbed on the decal a bit to distress it.



Finally, here's a closeup of the jump pack. The pack itself is from Chapterhouse Studios. They look great, and are reasonably priced. I gave them a simple paint job to match the armor, and used a little MIG Black Smoke to soot up the lower pack of the pack.

I like how this guy turned out, so we'll see what happens. In the meantime, it's back to the hobby room...

Test Model Progress

I'm trying to paint this model with no airbrush, no pigments, and no materials (other than paint and brushes of course) that are not found in the Open Fire box. I had hoped that it would look sexy enough with just the dark yellow undercoat, but methinks this StuG doesn't pop enough. I'll entertain thoughts on this, but keep in mind the StuG...

A) Has to look good
B) Cannot require difficult to master painting methods

No small task, but nonetheless necessary if this video is going to serve as an introductory primer to the Flames of War hobby.

Hmmm...

Starting Next FoW Video Project

Well, after finishing up some work tonight, I did a little cleaning up around the hobby room and decided on my next Flames of War video project. I'm going to do an introductory "painting primer" for those new to painting Flames of War tanks, featuring the Shermans and StuGs that we include in our "Open Fire" starter set. No airbrush, no pigments, and nothing else that a budding Flames of War hobbyist might not have kicking around the house. Just some clean, simple paint jobs that can be done quickly, with an introduction into simple weathering and detailing. Tomorrow night I'll shoot the StuG and maybe even the Sherman as well.

I've also got a 40K project for the upcoming "Kindred" tournament that I'm itching to start, but I'm still waiting on models and bits to show up. Hurry up postman...!

Better SU00 Pics

A friend of mine the US asked me to post up some higher quality shots of the SU100 I painted for a Battlefront tutorial video, so here they be! In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, follow this link and check it out for yourself:

SU-100 Painting Tutorial

I've got projects piling up, so it's really time to get my head out of my ass and start painting and blogging again...