Slade's Brigade

[Gen. Slade]

Hey guys,

It has been a long time since I have been doing much with the hobby. School and a toddler have really slowed things down. However, since I am on a paid internship right now, I have had some time and money to burn and have gotten back into the hobby. I'm not cranking out new units, but some progress is better than none. So I have decided to start up a new detachment. Let me give you some background into what I am trying to accomplish.

First of all, I am not looking to make a lot of models really quickly. Right now, I don't really have anyone to play with, so I am focusing on the painting/modeling side of the hobby. I really want to improve, so feel free to lay on the advice (just try to keep it nice though...). I have decided to go for a different motif than I have in the past. I am going to be trying to make an Imperial Navy (or Astra Navalis as I like to call them) force. The idea is that I am going to try making anything from the crew, to civilians on board, to tactical defence forces, to attack aircraft (I am also thinking of working adeptus mechanicus in there somehow). I think this really could be a lot of fun, so I am excited to see where it will take me.

Now, without further ado, here are the first tidbits for your viewing pleasure.
(If you would like to see them on flickr, go here)

The squad




These guys are some crewmen who have armed themselves to repel a boarding party (or something like that). I decided to give them a Mordian kind of feel to show that they are not really supposed to be in a combat role, but they have shoulder plates without the tassels in order to show that they aren't of high rank. I also opted to give them garrison caps (like the one on the right in this picture) instead of the typical dress cap because I think they have a more "naval operations" feel (feel free to disagree, but I have already made the executive decision).





As I am sure you can guess, they aren't done yet; they haven't been painted. However, I wanted to get them up here since I have been slowly working on them for a few months now. They are mostly Victoria Lamb Tannenburg Fusiliers but I have traded out the arms with her shotgun arms and replaced the heads with bald heads.








Then came the fun part: my first time using green stuff! My first time ever using green stuff was making the bases. I learnt a few things (like not to use too much) and the results got quite a bit better as I went along. I don't think you can really see in the pictures, but the first base pretty much doubled in height because of how much green stuff I used By the end, I was pretty happy with how the bases were coming out. Next, I filled in all the bubbles (there were a few) and did some crease/ridge rework where the arms and torsos didn't quite line up. Last, but not least, I added the garrison caps. These too took a little bit of learning. You can tell that they all look slightly different in size and shape. I am sure that I will eventually get good at making them more consistent, but that will come with practice. Overall I would say that my first green stuff attempt was a success!













Below is the first base that I did. You can see how high the GS is.
















If you go to my Flickr album you can see more pictures. I haven't posted them all here just for the sake of space and time, but I think I got most of the good ones. Plus if you look on Flickr you can get larger/better quality images.

I hope to get some work done on them soon, but my progress tends to be slow, so don't expect too much too soon.

Let me know what you think! I look forward to hearing everyone's opinion!

[Gen. Slade]

P.S. If anyone has any advice for how to make the GS on the bases the same size as the base without having to cut it with a knife after it has dried, I am all ears! I found that cutting it left a rough look where you could see where the base ends and the GS begins. I need to find a way to improve that next time.

[mccaptain]

I would suggest getting some fine grade (finishing) sandpaper and using it to grind down the edges. That should get them smooth and flush. Then use liquid green stuff to plug any gaps.

[Walk]

Looking really good so far, I cant wait to see them painted up! What color scheme are you thinking?

[Trooper One-Nine-Seven-Four]

I do believe there is a member on the IGMB who sells resin cast bases with urban, rubble, etc. terrain features that look really spiffy... Anyone else remember who it is?

[Gen. Slade]

Right now I am going to go with a dark red and black colour scheme. But I am trying to figure out if I want to make their shoulder pads black or white. Making them white could add an interesting pop to the miniature. And I was thinking of making any type of military vehicle in white just to mix things up, so the white shoulder pads would kinda tie them together. So far I have one of them (the guys carrying the knife) half painted, so I will let you know how he works out when I finish him.

@trooper One-Nine-Seven-Four: I was looking at these space ship bases and was thinking of trying them. I am also thinking of making my own basius type of pad to make the GS base making a little easier. I will have to investigate all the options a little better next time before I make the next squad.

[3ff3ct]

Jul 13, 2015 19:40:00 GMT -5 Trooper One-Nine-Seven-Four said:

I do believe there is a member on the IGMB who sells resin cast bases with urban, rubble, etc. terrain features that look really spiffy... Anyone else remember who it is?

>Jim Carey in Liar Liar voice< It was meeeeeeeee! Send me a PM, I haven't done any in a long time due to family and work, although I'm off for Summer now