Finished Imperial Navy Thunderbolt!

Finally, it's finished! Here are some photos, I'll have to take some better ones when I get the chance and add a few of the newer additions to the gallery.

Lt. Corvus "Rook" - 219 Squadron Praetorian Navy

Enjoy!



























Thanks for following and all the help along the way in getting this finished!

More WIP Thunderbolt

Hey everyone, welcome to another WIP Thunderbolt post. Hopefully I will have it finished in the next week as I have finalised what all the freehand will be so it's just a matter of painting it now.

Apologies for a post with few words, but the pictures say plenty and it'll give me more time for painting!

The following free hands are my initial outlines and will be detailed and neatened up as soon as I get the chance.



The callsign for the pilot is "Rook" and consequently the Rook chess piece is his logo. The pilot himself is Lt. Corvus.



I'm thinking the 219 could be the squadron.



In keeping with the chess theme his helmet is black and white checks. The same patter is on both sides of the nose.



The shield logo has a small IV in the top right hand corner and the shield has a lightning bolt motif. This is the squadron badge perhaps or campaign badge or something like that. The marks on the cockpit are kill markings



The base has been properly textures and has relief so it isn't just sat on a fat piece of ground. I think it looks much better.



The corpse has been weathered and burnt and I'm also much happier with the red and khaki now too.



A good view of the uneven ground and skeletal grimace of the unfortunate crewman.









I can't wait to get this finished! Thanks for looking and all of  your comments up till now, I really appreciate the input!

White Scars Biker Conversions

A sneak peak of a new project (fear not the Praetorians stop for no man and this will be running along side) I've started working on... A White Scars army!



The idea is a Mongol style white scar with a little Japanese influence with the banners. The two normals have the first stage of the banner done, next I will add some relief and detail to it.



There is plenty of green stuff to be done. I've done a few bits on the riders where I've started pelts and need to sculpt the fur on them. The leader will also get fur on those robes so they don't look quite so monastic.



My favourite part is the chains on the front where I've put tails, teeth/claws, little medallions and skulls on them. Anything ravenwing has been removed and hopefully when I've finished converting they will be fully white scarified!

Stay tuned for more updates on these guys in the coming weeks.

More WIP Thunderbolt

Greetings everyone

Another picture heavy post with a few more updates on the thunderbolt. I'm managing to get 30 mins here and an hour there. Enough to do a few bits and bobs but not enough time to really get to grips with some of the larger tasks remaining.

Lets kick off with the plane and some new weathering I've been experimenting with.



On the left wing I've had a go at adding some subtle rust and in addition to my usual weathering (bone colour, black then silver) I've tried out the sponge technique with some very dark brown and really like the variety it gives me.



I've also freehand painted a grey eagle that will get painted white in the end and have started sketching a design on the engine cowl. That will be the pilot/plane name/image which will contain a laurel wreath but other than that I'm not sure yet!

Here is a picture of the underside of the plane



It's pretty plain at the moment but I've started weathering the left wing with rust and the sponge technique. With regards any marking on the underside I think it will remain blank though if anyone has any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them.

Clean side



Dirty side



This is the first time trying out a lot of techniques on this so I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts!

Now on to the base, I've painted the basics but am not quite happy with it yet. I'm not sure what exactly but it needs something else.



I've had a good go at wrecking an old Leman Russ (a previous comment mentioned space wolves leman russ' and funnily enough this was a space wolves leman russ that was canabalised for the gun for my exterminator!)



I've gone for a pretty non offensive grey rusted paint job. But am now thinking perhaps its a bit to dull.



There is a corpse that wasn't luck in escaping the wreckage who I've given red and khaki fatigues. I'm not sure why and I'm also not sure it works.



I'm thinking perhaps I need to build up more sand to give the land around the tank some relief.



Please tell me your thoughts on this base and what I should change I would be very interested and eager to hear them! Also I intended to paint the dad guardsman rather burnt but am a little unsure about how to go about painting a burnt corpse.

Hopefully in my next post I can have this blighter almost finished.

Thanks for looking please let me know your thoughts!

Praetorian Thunderbolt WIP

Here are a few more photos of the WIP Thunderbolt for my army. Latest bits to be completed are the pilot and cockpit (except his helmet which will match the name/picture on the side of the plane).



The above shows how it is shaping up, the left wing is partly weathered (was testing out my usual method on the plane to see how it worked on such large flat areas) and I've started to draft some free hand. Some bits are pencilled and the 219 (no method behind choice of numbers other than it fits the panel well) is draft painted to be neatened and angled properly.



Here is a quick sketch I used to get my bearings with some freehand on the plane. The shield motif is going  to feature on the side of the nose and the Aces motif was a possible design for the side. I'm thinking the plane/pilot callsign will need to be something lion based to tie it to the rest of the army though.



A look at the underbelly of the plane. Its a light grey/blue colour which looks a bit flat in this picture but should really look the part when weathered.



This is the base with part of a wrecked leman russ on it. The plastic rod for the flying stand fits in the hole in middle. This should be fun to paint as I can try all sorts of rust and burnt out tank effect, what colour or regiment it belonged too are yet to be decided though (suggestions are very welcome!)



Here is the Thunderbolt on its stand which makes it sit 12" or so above the leman russ. It is also banking to one side so the different colour on the underside is visible.



Here we have the cockpit his instruments. The dials on the right are all painted like gems, the left two are red and white and are the altimeter and another similar thing while the screen in the middle is his targeting display. The plane is banked appropriately so that line is the horizon and the red targeting reticules are incoming threats. The photos look okay but sadly don't so it justice.



Last but not least is a photo of the pilot himself. I decided to go for something different from the rest of my army and gave him a blue jump suit with brown and bone coloured gloves and other bits. The helmet and visor will be done when the call sign is decided upon.

Right, that's your lot for the time being. I hope you like what you see so far, I'd be really grateful for any feedback or suggestions. In particular with regards to weathering a plane, I'm thinking it needs to be quite streaky, the call sign and motif, and just thoughts in general.

Cheers!