8/8/14: Finished: The Independent Characters' House Hawkshroud Knight Titan

Hey folks!

As promised, more pictures of what I've been working on the last couple of weeks (for those of you who DONT follow my Facebook and Twitter!). For those of you who don't know, I've been a sponsor of The Independent Characters for nearly three years now. They're easily the best 40k gaming podcast available right now, and the fact they're over 100 episodes now proves that! On episode 104, Carl mentioned he had a Knight Titan sitting in a box and needed to get some paint on it! I dropped him an email and, soon after, the Knight was sitting in my studio instead! Enough chatter though, lets show it off!
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The Scheme is a modified Hawkshroud scheme with a Howling Griffons scheme and insignia. GW doesn't make the decals for the griffin shoulderpad anymore, so it was up to some trick freehanding work to get it done!

And Carl's completed Knight in all its glory!

The yellow turned out really nicely. It was based with brown and grey to create initial shading, then sprayed white. Once the white was dry, it was sprayed with yellow to get the smooth look you see here!

The freehanded griffin symbol! I'm incredibly happy with how this turned out, as was Carl! 

The decal work really makes these models, as it breaks up the huge tracts of color and adds detail.

The Berserker helmets were added to tie into Carl's World Eaters army!

You can see the metallics were tinted purple to tie back into the yellow and red. Thats Color Theory folks!

And both guns are magnetized for total optimization!

I had a lot of fun with this one, so much that I may do a Hawkshroud Knight for my own personal collection next, but we'll see!

Alrighty, next up is a Nurgle Daemons showcase, as well as more Knights and some Necrons! Stay tuned!

Granesh

6/12/14: Finished: Legio Ursas Alaska-themed Warhound Titan

Howdy folks!

This last month has been a lot of fun, getting to play with all these Forge World super heavy titans! As soon as I wrapped up the first Warhound, I got another commission to do a second! This one was open to my artistic interpretation, so I played around with some schemes and colors, until I realized my client was from Alaska. This is a model his entire group is going to use, so I figured I'd do something personal yet generic, if that makes sense! The client also wants a little fluff, so....

++Accessing files++
++Mechanicus Forge Worlds++
...Ursas...Accessing
++Location: Ultima Segmentus
++Sector: Nephilim Sector
++Designation: Forge World

     Ursas was founded towards the end of the Age of Terra, and was populated by a mix of colonial settlers and Martian technosavants. Ursas revolves slowly around a dying red giant, and thus most of the planet is tundra-lands, glacial moraines, and large boreal forests. The colonists soon discovered the planet was rich in metallic elements, and the glacial icecaps and tundra plains allowed for a quick growth in population and a flourishing trading economy. By the end of the Age of Technology, numerous Xenos invasions and pirate attacks had turned the planet into a technological bastion in the region, their abundant mineral and financial wealth supplying themselves and the surrounding planets with advanced weapons, armor, and wargear. When the Great Crusade arrived, the Priests of Mars were pleased to find a technological haven on Ursas, and quickly set to work to improve their new Forge World. Numerous flamer and melta STCs were recovered from the planet, and soon Ursas became a Forge World to rival even Gryphonne IV or Stygis. Recently, advances from the Tau Empire; namely the cadres of the renegade Farsight, has drawn the forces of Ursas back to their home system. Raids from Chaos pirate fleets and tendrils from Hive Fleet Leviathan have also continued to keep their forces nearby. 

Forge World Ursas draws its heraldry from two sources. When colonists landed on Ursas, they encountered lots of wildlife, but none as dangerous as the large black bears that inhabited the boreal forests that veined across the landscape. Although many were eradicated in the ensuing conquest, many were taken in as pets and aides for physical labor. With the arrival of the Mechanicus, the bears were given bionic limbs and cybernetic implants to strengthen and fortify their already monstrous physique. The heraldry of Ursas reflects that. The other side, an ancient Terran constellation, represents the guidance and aide that Ursas gave to her allies throughout her history, much as the constellation helped Terran settlers, both on Terra and throughout the galaxy.

Presented here is Arctos, a Mars Class Warhound Titan, during the Azulian Crusade. The Crusade halted the advance of Farsight Enclave forces into Ursan space.

The model is being shipped in pieces, though the guns are magnetized and the carapace removes to reveal the crew inside!

I wanted to do white and another color on this titan to reflect the snow base I was aiming for. Seeing as my client is from Alaska, I opted for blue and yellow to compliment it. The Big Dipper and North Star are the imagery on their State Flag, so its repeated several times across the model.

The yellow bands also allowed for some freehanding of the name.

The carapace was sprayed white. Then the yellow was applied. That was masked, then sprayed blue. Once dry, I went back into the yellow and chipped it with both brush and sponge weathering. It really adds detail to these sections of the model!

The erect bear heraldry of Forge World Ursas, backed by a golden sun. I added the bionics to keep the grimdark going on the model, and the purity seals add some extra detail!

The plasma blastgun is magnetized for future weapons, and the glow effect really gives that dangerous look we all know and love for plasma!

I also continued the glow onto the Vulkan Mega Bolter to show the reactors needed to power such a rapid-fire weapon!

The base features a wrecked Farsight Enclaves Devilfish, complete with freehanding on the top hatch showing Tau Propaganda. You can also see the two drones hovering around the titan's ankles, trying to defend their care to no avail. The drones also come off their flight stands for transport, storage, or for whenever my client decides to start Tau!

The Carapace, as stated, still comes off to reveal the crew on the inside. I continued the glow effect off the monitors onto the servitors.

Princeps Seward and his crew in all their glory!

Whew! I can't wait to do another Warhound Titan! Warhound Titan commissions are running $650 with scenic base, freehand, and all the extra parts I like to add to these titanic models, so if you're looking to get yours built and painted, now's the time to do so!

Next up are Necrons, Daemons, and terrain! 

Stay tuned!

Granesh

5/21/14: Finished: Legio Metalica/House Raven Titanicus Army

Howdy folks!

As you can see, I've been busy! Under three weeks to finish a commission like this is pretty good, methinks! I had a lot of fun working on an army like this. The commission, in total, was:

• 3 Imperial Knight Titans, done in House Raven scheme with magnetized guns
• 1 Warhound Titan, done in Legio Metalica Heraldry, with a Plasma Blastgun, Vulkan Megabolter, and 2 Turbo Laser Destructors

We opted for an urban theme on the bases; a mix of the Garden of Morr kit and the old Urban Barricades created this feel perfectly, some static grass, dusted black, added to the cemetery feel. Enough chitter chatter, more matter!

To add more character, the Knights were named after the Three Musketeers!

'Aramis' with Battle Cannon, above, and with Thermal Cannon below.

Love the decals on these kits, they add so much flavor and work so well!

'Athos'; he's the Seneschal of the group, hence the different helmet and larger striped carapace.

And 'Porthos', I opted to use checkers on the shoulderpads to add flavor.

And the big boy himself, 'Erasmus'. I had a ton of fun assembling and painting this beast; this is easily my favorite 40k model I've ever had the pleasure of doing! Shown here with the Plasma Blastgun and Vulkan Mega Bolter!

The Blastgun was done with a mix of airbrush work, washes, and, of course, some brushwork!

And a shot for scale next to some cultists!

You heretics probably want to run now...

Lots of open spaces allowed for a lot of freehand work and other little details. Here I added a freehand scroll with 'Erasmus'....

...while the right shinguard got an entire Legio Metalica emblem emblazoned on it! Legio Metalica translates to 'Iron Skulls' in Low Gothic, so I took the existing emblem and updated it!

The emblem was also repeated on the back carapace!

The other shinguard got a marbled eagle across it, again with 'Erasmus' written across the scrollwork.

The pilot, Princeps Dumas, has been fully painted, and the head carapace removes to show the entire interior. The crew was quickly painted, then airbrushed blue to show the extreme glow coming from the controls. 

Same thing with the servitors in the back, they were painted, then sprayed blue to give a glow effect.

Purity seals, purity seals, and hey! More purity seals!

The largest building in the Garden of Morr kit, a crypt, made the perfect embellishment to his base, as not only does it look good, but it makes him look even bigger!

I realized I forgot to get a picture of him with the Turbo Laser Destructors, so I'll get that up in a future post! While I'm sad to see this commission go, I've got another Warhound commission coming in soon, which will be a lot of fun!

Next up is terrain, terrain, and more terrain, along with the Obsidian Knight, and some daemons! Stay tuned!

Granesh

12/1/13: Finished: Alpha Legion Helbrute 'Lernaea'

Hey guys!

Happy December! Can't believe we're nearly done with 2013! Got some fun plans coming up in 2014, so stay tuned on the social medias, as well as here!

Its been a strange week! Last week and early this week, my girlfriend was in town, so that's dominated most of my time. I managed to clear my commission schedule though, so after she left, I had a little bit of a dilemma; what do I paint for myself! My Alpha Legion army is a constant WIP army, so I decided to do a little hack-and-slash and get my Helbrute converted and ready for the tabletop!

Here he is, in all his ugly glory! The markings on the base will be explained in the fluff later; I've wanted to go all out on this army, so not only are we going to see fluff, but a fully modelled display board as well!

The skintone on this model was the toughest part. Its a mix of Caliban Green and Pallid Wych Flesh, highlighted up to pure Pallid Wych Flesh. Mixing the color made the project a little tedious, but easily worth it in the end. The color sticks out perfectly and contrasts the dark turquoise of the armor.

Love the head on the model, though if I was going to do another, I'd probably throw a helmet on it. You can also see a minor mess-up on the waterslide transfer in this picture. Even the pros make the occasional mistake!

The detail on Lernaea's right arm plate. I opted for a quick hydra motif; I may go back in and play with it a bit, I'm only partially happy with it so far. Lernaea is the full name of the greek Hydra myth (the Lernaean Hydra fought Hercules, who bested it and completed his 2nd task), and I figured it was rather fitting!

I was aiming to have this bad boy finished by sunday, as I'm driving down to Farmington to pick up a new commission and play some 40k, and really wanted this guy to show off my paintwork. Its gonna be cool, my fully painted group playing on my fully painted terrain. I'll be sure to include some pictures!

Glad to have this project knocked out! I may do another one soon, but we'll see. I own 3 Helbrutes, and this is the only one I've assembled and painted. World Eaters, perhaps? Iron Warriors? Emperor's Children?! Next up is some more terrain for Good Games, the shop I'm visiting today (Wave One HERE), so expect pictures of the terrain again, as well as new pieces! Should have another Battleboard to do in that wave as well! Expecting Necrons and more Khador soon as well, so its going to be a busy December!

Stay tuned!

Granesh

10/26/13: Finished: Charity Cygnar Battlegroup

Hey guys!

So about a month ago, my good friend Magilla Gurilla came to me, looking for prizes for his charity 40k and Warmachine event. He was looking for something like a Dreadnought or some vouchers, but anything would do. Jump back to March, as the shop I manage was getting rid of our Warmachine stock, as it just didn't take off around here. Everything was 50% off, so I had to pick up some paints and a Battlegroup. I saw Cygnar, loved the look, picked them up, built them, then packed them away. I decided I'd rather see the group do something charitable than collect dust, so I set to work!

I opted for a simple-yet-effective scheme to allow someone to add to the group easily, yet still making these pieces stand out.

Really happy with the vent glow; its P3's Arcane Blue layered up to white.

Really happy with Stryker, but getting photos of his face is driving me nuts! I layered him up to Pallid Wych Flesh, so getting that color to photograph right has been a nightmare.

The Power Sword effect turned out perfectly!

The Lancer; I'm really happy with the checkers on the shield, and the glow effect turned out nicely on his shoulders.

The Charger; probably my least favorite Warjack, just not a lot of area for customization on him.

Big Bada Boom!

And the Ironclad! This guy was fun, pretty intimidating-looking model, but lots of space for weathering and freehand.

The Cygnar emblem on his top part is all freehanded; really adds some personality and effect to the model.

Stryker and his bodyguard of Jacks holding the Smells Like Watchtower from those crazy Menoth jerks!

So glad to be done with these, and I'll be even happier to see what they raise for charity. Speaking of charity, Extra Life 2013 is only a week out, so if you haven't supported the cause, swing on over to the page HERE and show your support! Anything is appreciated!

Alrighty, I'll be out of the studio this coming up week, visiting my girlfriend for Halloween, but expect tons of pictures of Extra Life the following Saturday/Sunday, and I'll be working hard on terrain and some IG stuff the week after! Stay tuned guys!

Granesh