Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

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Nicanor
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#31 Post by Nicanor »

I am also wanting to see more of this project. The green stuff work is great. All my effort at sculpting usually turns into something even tzeentch wouldn't appreciate
Vermis
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#32 Post by Vermis »

Imagine my surprise when I found this thread near the top of the board after... two years!? Woah.

Sorry that I've been away, and that I've nothing to show for it. Six spearmen and six sisters really took more effort than I anticipated, just to remove the fishy bits and tone them down, and it intimidated me against any more. Not to mention I'd then have to figure out how to kitbash a few white lions with... something (blood bowl wood elves?) to make a couple of decent units; try to scrape a lot of detail off dragon princes to make some lion knights; etc. etc.
At the same time I thought, what am I doing this for? What does all this effort go towards? All my gaming opportunities dried up and there are none on the horizon. I could convert these up and then what? They'd sit in a box gathering dust. It really put a dampener on things. (I think I have undiagnosed depression that really kills my enthusiasm for anything. This is just one aspect. Not to bring anyone down or anything...)

But I've been hanging about in online spaces with guys who don't game, just build, convert and paint minis for the love of it. It's eased my mind a bit. (Only they do it with tyranids, not elves) For those difficult conversions I might look and see if anyone's 3D printing white lions or good silver helms. I find painting multiple minis to be even more tedious than sculpting, but the proliferation of opaque 'acrylic gouache' paints and Contrast imitators (Vallejo Xpress catches my eye) gives me a little encouragement in that regard. I even went ahead and bought one of those leaf punches that I wanted to decorate these elf bases with. (The other got lost in the post, but no biggy)

I can't say I'll have anything to show off very soon, or that I won't give up in a funk from time to time, but things might start moving again.
Vermis
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#33 Post by Vermis »

I tell a lie, I'm back with pics already. Although these are older images that I never got around to showing off here.

The Sisters were finished!
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Vermis
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#34 Post by Vermis »

One more.
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Also, once upon a time, I took the Galaxy Tab S-Pen for a whirl. Sketched up a rough idea of what my Chracian Prince could look like. I don't know if some of these details would survive.
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Also, I haven't left comments yet, but I've been looking through most of the high elf threads here, checking up what's been happening in the meantime. Really nice to see everyone's models and armies progressing so well.
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#35 Post by SpellArcher »

Vermis wrote: Tue Feb 21, 2023 7:19 pm Imagine my surprise when I found this thread near the top of the board after... two years!? Woah.
It doesn't seem that long Vermis, welcome back.

:)
Vermis wrote: Tue Feb 21, 2023 7:19 pm But I've been hanging about in online spaces with guys who don't game, just build, convert and paint minis for the love of it. It's eased my mind a bit.
Motivation is key!
Vermis wrote: Tue Feb 21, 2023 8:02 pm The Sisters were finished!
Just really nice.
Vermis wrote: Tue Feb 21, 2023 8:07 pm Also, once upon a time, I took the Galaxy Tab S-Pen for a whirl. Sketched up a rough idea of what my Chracian Prince could look like.
This is excellent, great to have tools like that.
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Prince of Spires
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#36 Post by Prince of Spires »

I love them. They're really nice and it shows how small changes can give great results in making a unit look unique.

And I feel your pain in not finding opponents to play against. It makes the hobby similar to building diorama's or model trains. It's motivating if you have battles coming up. But already sharing progress online with like-minded people helps.

For white lions, they can be found online in second hand shops ebay (especially the UK one) has plenty of Warhammer models, though some people charge ridiculous amounts. Also, be wary of shipping charges. Some people charge $20 in shipping for a single $5 model... I've also had good experiences in the past with https://www.whtreasury.com/ They're a secondhand shop for all things GW. They have some WL available at the moment: https://www.whtreasury.com/warhammer-fa ... -chrace-5/ If you're collecting it's a matter of keeping an eye on things. Sometimes you come across a great deal (if you really pay attention, you can come across so many great deals that you'll have more models to paint than time to paint them...)
For Nagarythe: Come to the dark side.
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Icarion
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#37 Post by Icarion »

Holy smokes, you´re really a Pro regarding greenstuff! =D>
Do you have tutorial videos or something similar?
Caledor for life!
Vermis
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#38 Post by Vermis »

Thanks all, much appreciated. :)
Prince of Spires wrote: Fri Feb 24, 2023 4:03 pm For white lions, they can be found online in second hand shops ebay (especially the UK one) has plenty of Warhammer models, though some people charge ridiculous amounts. Also, be wary of shipping charges. Some people charge $20 in shipping for a single $5 model... I've also had good experiences in the past with https://www.whtreasury.com/ They're a secondhand shop for all things GW. They have some WL available at the moment: https://www.whtreasury.com/warhammer-fa ... -chrace-5/
Ebay prices are what made me panic and consider converting blood bowl minis!
Thanks for the link. Funny thing is, I also had someone point out a 3d print seller who was offering exact copies of those metal minis! I couldn't understand how he got away with it.

I quite like the look of the lion guard offered by Last Sword, TBH.

https://lastsword.com/producto/lion-gua ... chment-12/

Their swan knights might be my best bet for silver helm proxies:

https://lastsword.com/producto/miniatur ... anknights/

... though there are a number of bits I'd swap or leave out. Maybe kitbash with the handful of white lion bits I saved, or see how this guy's bits fit:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Elfhead3D? ... 1009726053

I like those archers, too. :)

And I found a guy digitally sculpting really nice 10mm proxies. Tempting me to dust off my half-painted Warmaster army and add to it.

https://www.patreon.com/forestdragon/posts

Going to be honest, I was wary of all this digital sculpting and printing stuff at first, but all these things make me consider buying a little resin printer.
Icarion wrote: Fri Feb 24, 2023 4:43 pm Holy smokes, you´re really a Pro regarding greenstuff! =D>
Do you have tutorial videos or something similar?
Thanks! 8) I had a small webforum myself, but that's long gone. Nothing else really, I'm afraid, apart from a few random bits on my instagram account.

https://instagram.com/vyrmis123?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM=

My top tips are: if you don't use a putty other than green stuff, at least mix some other putty into green stuff; and if you can't mix another putty into green stuff, at least mix more yellow into it. Also: look at my wax carver spotter's guide on insta. ;) (If instagram's a no-no, let me know and I'll post something up here)

There's also this guy, who's one of the tyranid converters I mentioned. His sculpting tutorial videos are pretty good. I could never bring myself to spread nivea cream on everything, though. :lol:

https://youtube.com/@ModernSynthesist
Vermis
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#39 Post by Vermis »

Half an update. Quarter update. I know I said I could go buy some Last Sword lion guard instead of messing and stressing with blood bowl elves, but I had another look at the Elfheim Eagles on the GW site and...
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SpellArcher
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#40 Post by SpellArcher »

Vermis wrote: Fri Mar 03, 2023 5:56 pm I know I said I could go buy some Last Sword lion guard instead of messing and stressing with blood bowl elves, but I had another look at the Elfheim Eagles on the GW site and...
Famous last words...

:lol:

Oh and they look great!
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Prince of Spires
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#41 Post by Prince of Spires »

The Last Sword miniatures look amazing. And they seem like great guys (they dropped by on the forum here when they ran their kickstarter campaign), though that's not immediately a reason to like mini's of course.
For Nagarythe: Come to the dark side.
PS: Bring cookies!

Check out my plog
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Check my writing blog for stories on the Prince of Spires and other pieces of fiction.
Vermis
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#42 Post by Vermis »

Thanks all!
Prince of Spires wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2023 12:25 pm The Last Sword miniatures look amazing. And they seem like great guys (they dropped by on the forum here when they ran their kickstarter campaign), though that's not immediately a reason to like mini's of course.
I still plan to use their knights. Well, the horses and rider legs, at least. They're very well done, just maybe not what my Ulthuan headcanon is.

Still kitbashing, moved on to chracian hunter scouts. (Sometimes I think my choice of provinces and themes is some kind of backdoor wood elf envy...) Slowed down for a few reasons. Rather than Vallejo Xpress, I'm stocking up on Liquitex inks and Golden high flow paints for washes and glazes. To facilitate that, I want to pull out my old airbrush for priming and maybe that zenithal lighting technique. My airbrush primer arrived today, but we're getting a blast of snow from the arctic circle at the mo, so spraying in the shed with the door open is maybe not optimal.
Also, I'm pretty rusty with mini painting, and I'm dipping a toe into art supplies that I'm not too familiar with. So rather than sacrifice full minis, I've started pressmoulding a lot of parts for paint tests:

Image

Image

My ancient apoxie sculpt - yellowed with age - doesn't want to cure so quickly anymore either, but this is something I can use it up on. I took to adding a grey milliput mix to boost it a bit.
The blue mould material is siligum, a kind of two-part silicone 'putty'. Mix it like green stuff and push your mouldable object in it before it hardens. I used up the last scrap of it, but now I want to duplicate some OOP bits for these hunters. #-o I need to buy some oyumaru, I think, and wait for that to come...

(The metal mini is 'Willow Greenivy' from Reaper. That figures in my plans, but... further down the road.)
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#43 Post by SpellArcher »

Vermis wrote: Thu Mar 09, 2023 9:26 pm Sometimes I think my choice of provinces and themes is some kind of backdoor wood elf envy...
I resolved this issue by collecting both High and Wood Elf armies. The problem of which to field remains of course...
Vermis wrote: Thu Mar 09, 2023 9:26 pm we're getting a blast of snow from the arctic circle at the mo, so spraying in the shed with the door open is maybe not optimal.
Mireadur of this forum once cheerfully referred to "this northern hell".

:)
Vermis wrote: Thu Mar 09, 2023 9:26 pm My ancient apoxie sculpt - yellowed with age - doesn't want to cure so quickly anymore either, but this is something I can use it up on. I took to adding a grey milliput mix to boost it a bit.
The blue mould material is siligum, a kind of two-part silicone 'putty'. Mix it like green stuff and push your mouldable object in it before it hardens. I used up the last scrap of it, but now I want to duplicate some OOP bits for these hunters. #-o I need to buy some oyumaru, I think, and wait for that to come...
I applaud your craft sir.
Vermis
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#44 Post by Vermis »

I keep feeling like I'm getting distracted from the main job, but thanks. :)

My new airbrush arrives tomorrow. Sounds like it's bringing another round of snow with it. I'm almost frightened of needing a new compressor too - what kind of weather is that going to cause? :lol:
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#45 Post by Prince of Spires »

SpellArcher wrote: Sat Mar 11, 2023 7:37 pm
Vermis wrote: Thu Mar 09, 2023 9:26 pm Sometimes I think my choice of provinces and themes is some kind of backdoor wood elf envy...
I resolved this issue by collecting both High and Wood Elf armies. The problem of which to field remains of course...
Just bring both and fight yourself. That even resolves the issue of needing to find an opponent ;)
Vermis wrote: Mon Mar 13, 2023 9:09 pm My new airbrush arrives tomorrow. Sounds like it's bringing another round of snow with it. I'm almost frightened of needing a new compressor too - what kind of weather is that going to cause?
It's probably a good thing that you're not ordering it in summer then. Snow in july would give all kinds of issues... :lol:
Vermis wrote: Thu Mar 09, 2023 9:26 pm The blue mould material is siligum, a kind of two-part silicone 'putty'. Mix it like green stuff and push your mouldable object in it before it hardens. I used up the last scrap of it, but now I want to duplicate some OOP bits for these hunters. I need to buy some oyumaru, I think, and wait for that to come...
There are also reusable mold making materials. I have sometimes seen it referred to as Blue Stuff (like: https://www.greenstuffworld.com/en/reus ... -bars.html). It's a kind of plastic (or similar at least), which becomes pliable at low temperatures. So you put it in hot water for a few minutes, create the mold and let it cool. It works pretty great for a lot of stuff, though I guess if you want extra fine details then it's not the best (though few things are).
For Nagarythe: Come to the dark side.
PS: Bring cookies!

Check out my plog
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Check my writing blog for stories on the Prince of Spires and other pieces of fiction.
Nicanor
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#46 Post by Nicanor »

Regarding the blue stuff: I've used it for space wolf terminator shoulders and I did some marine legs once but when I tried a heavy bolter.... eh. Too much detail I suppose. It did not go well.
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#47 Post by SpellArcher »

Prince of Spires wrote: Tue Mar 14, 2023 2:08 pm It's probably a good thing that you're not ordering it in summer then. Snow in july would give all kinds of issues...
Maybe painting tutorials should factor in weather conditions?

:)
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#48 Post by Vermis »

I think oyumaru is what gets relabelled in the west as 'blue stuff'. (I like how little they think of the average gamer's IQ that they have to name things 'colour stuff', never mind if it's a completely different product from a completely different source... :lol: ) I got some of the OG product, only it's more of a shade of chartreuse! I'm tidying up the first few bits for moulding, although my focus is more on the painting tests right now.

Some delays as Liquitex transparent burnt sienna ink is too transparent as an airbrushed basecoat. Also nobody told me that Liquitex inks reactivate - like the first run of Army Painter speedpaints - and that was why my white zenithal coats were lifting right off the black primer. :-& All this on top of twiddling different things on my airbrush and compressor to get the paint to come out, and come out smooth.

Oh well, fixes are made and I should have a string of pics tonight or tomorrow. Although I still have to begin the proper tests I feel like I've already learned a lot. The hard way.
One of my tests was to see how liquitex ink would wash with and without added acrylic medium, but just to keep things solid I think it'll have to be 'with'.

Nicanor: yeah, I'm getting a bit of that with those silicone putty moulds. Maybe there's an extra wrinkle to it, but it seems this method is more 'get the basic shape and tidy it up afterwards'.

Spellarcher: round here almost everything has to factor in the weather. :D Though I don't know about 'tutorial', I'm groping about blindly myself! But hopefully it'll be helpful to others, too.
Vermis
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#49 Post by Vermis »

Okay then. Apols if any of these are too big or oddly shaped, they're formatted for instagram.

My new airbrush. Really cheap Timbertech thing that a lot of 'it's pretty good for the price!' reviews. It does okay, as far as I know. I only ever had a terrible Testors Aztek thing before, so anything's a step up from that.
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First few tests black primed and white based, the bottom lot were given a zenithal.
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The burnt sienna ink didn't want to spray on in a nice, level, opaque layer...
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... so I tried brushing on Daler-Rowney Cryla burnt sienna, thinned with the ink.
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Why are you leaving me, titanium white? :(

But all layered up eventually, and given another zenithal layer.
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Now the real work begins.
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#50 Post by SpellArcher »

It does seem like a serious endeavour. Keep up the good work Vermis!
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Re: Hands Across The Annulii - Avelorn and Chrace

#51 Post by Prince of Spires »

Promissing start. I'm thinking that inks might be better done with a brush. I don't think the time savings will be as big with an airbrush on those. Inks are fairly fast to apply with a brush, especially if you're covering the whole model. Especially if you factor in setting up and cleaning the airbrush.

This is a reminder I should get mine out again sometime soon :)
For Nagarythe: Come to the dark side.
PS: Bring cookies!

Check out my plog
Painting progress, done/in progress/in box: 167/33/91

Check my writing blog for stories on the Prince of Spires and other pieces of fiction.
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