# Driller's Grim Armies



## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

Hello ladies and gents, welcome to my humble showcase of 40k figures of all kind. I've started painting one and a half year ago, and I've yet to play a single game, but I'm certainly planning to.

So without further ado, here are some space wolves and the beginning of an inquisitorial retinue.

*Two wolfguards* - in my WIP space wolf army all the figures will be without helmets, thus giving them even more personality 










*Two grey hunters*










*Inquisitor Frankenstein with Demonhost* (A Helldorado Figure with a Heresy Miniatures head + a Malifaux Enslaved Nephilim)


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## Iraqiel (May 21, 2008)

G'day, welcome to the forum! Your painting is very good, and the miniatures you've put up are excellent. I really look forward to seeing some more!


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## SwedeMarine (Jun 3, 2013)

Welcome and good work on your wolfies. Is this all you have at the moment or are you in the process of building it up?


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## Jacobite (Jan 26, 2007)

Nice use of some of the Chaos Parts on those SW Termies and good GS. I've considered using that Helldorado mini as an =I= as well but the shoulder pads put me off a bit, how easy do you think they would be to remove?


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## fatmantis (Jun 26, 2009)

nice...love to see more


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

Jacobite said:


> Nice use of some of the Chaos Parts on those SW Termies and good GS. I've considered using that Helldorado mini as an =I= as well but the shoulder pads put me off a bit, how easy do you think they would be to remove?


It would be difficult, but not too difficult. In the blister, the arms are seperate from the torse, so you have place to maneuver  On the other hand the figure is made of very sturdy metal.


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

SwedeMarine said:


> Welcome and good work on your wolfies. Is this all you have at the moment or are you in the process of building it up?


Yeah, I'm still at the beginning. Now that you mention it... 

Here is a small update featuring the enemy (I'm doing a Space Wolves army, an Inquisitorial retinue and a Plague Marine army simultaneously. The only armies I have 100% finished are the Dark Angels and Crimson Slaughter forces from the DV boxset, which will act as allies to the bigger Space Wolf and Plague Marine armies, respectively.)


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## SwedeMarine (Jun 3, 2013)

Very impressive work on the Plauge Marines. Best ones i have seen to be Honest. Have a cookie.


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

SwedeMarine said:


> Very impressive work on the Plauge Marines. Best ones i have seen to be Honest. Have a cookie.


Thanks man, high praise indeed!  And a deliciuos cookie.

I think plague marines are usually painted in a way too sterile manner, and the end product is not at all as described in the fluff. I think this is how an ideal plague marine looks like http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121002010847/warhammer40k/images/7/7b/Afflicted.jpg

So on top of the paintjob I used the old UHU trick + Tamiya clear yellow (the best pus! ) + the new nurgle rot and other stuff. On another forum (NOT on DAkka and NOT on B&C) I was told "to learn to thin my paints" becuase the way my plague marines look. The paints I used were very much thinned of course, but there were a lot of additional techniques used to make them to look like this, which could make the wrong impression.

I think they look friggin awesome  The photos are a bit too bright, in real life the figures are a little darker.


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

Couple of new guys, gooey and not gooey 

First, a Nurgle Chaos Lord, a marine, a Herald of Nurgle proxy and plague zombies


































and another inquisitor, Inquisitor Zadori of Ordo Xenos


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## SwedeMarine (Jun 3, 2013)

Hppy with all of the models except for the last one. Would definetly fit in a fantasy setting but its not 40K enough. But it is a very well painted mini. Chaos lord is outstanding. (great use of the technical paints.)


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## revolantis (Jun 27, 2013)

Great work! I find it really impressive, especially considering you have only been painting for a year and a half! I love your Nurgly guys. They are very characterful and you definitely have the gooey look nailed.

By the way, what model is the Herald proxy based on? Looks like it would make a great Plague Ogryn for a renegade guard/cultist army.


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## Saintspirit (Jul 31, 2013)

I agree with revolantis; those Plague marines of various kinds sure look disgusting. Not sure though what I should say about that last Inquisitor - I partially think as Swedemarine, that it would fit better in whfb, but at the same time the Inq. (maybe not Ordo malleus) fit pretty well with a tone of baroque or similar.


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

revolantis said:


> Great work! I find it really impressive, especially considering you have only been painting for a year and a half! I love your Nurgly guys. They are very characterful and you definitely have the gooey look nailed.
> 
> By the way, what model is the Herald proxy based on? Looks like it would make a great Plague Ogryn for a renegade guard/cultist army.



Thanks  and It's a Malifaux figure called Killjoy. As for him being a Herald of Nurgle... I'm not sure that is his final rank in the army, mainly because even tho I paint passionately, I STILL DON'T KNOW HOT TO PLAY, so I don't even really know what the hell a Herald of Nurgle does


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

Saintspirit said:


> I agree with revolantis; those Plague marines of various kinds sure look disgusting. Not sure though what I should say about that last Inquisitor - I partially think as Swedemarine, that it would fit better in whfb, but at the same time the Inq. (maybe not Ordo malleus) fit pretty well with a tone of baroque or similar.


I agree that the figure is not 100% 40k (to say the least), maybe I should have done some converting on him - on the other hand he sort-of fits in if maybe one approaches the game with a Johnblanche-y, gothic-baroque-renessaince-whatever attitude


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## revolantis (Jun 27, 2013)

driller said:


> Thanks  and It's a Malifaux figure called Killjoy. As for him being a Herald of Nurgle... I'm not sure that is his final rank in the army, mainly because even tho I paint passionately, I STILL DON'T KNOW HOT TO PLAY, so I don't even really know what the hell a Herald of Nurgle does


Heh I know what you mean, I don't get to play as often as I'd like and I still haven't even once used my chaos daemons. From what I understand by reading the codex the herald can be very good at just boosting the abilities of your Plaguebearers. For instance if he is upgraded accordingly he can grant Feel no Pain to his entire unit! Very useful for holding objectives. I'm no tactical expert though so can't really offer any authority on recommending the ideal use for the model! The important thing is he looks fantastic


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## Iraqiel (May 21, 2008)

Still enjoying what you're sharing Driller, out of interest what is your painting background? You're remarkably good for someone just starting out a year or two ago!


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

Iraqiel said:


> Still enjoying what you're sharing Driller, out of interest what is your painting background? You're remarkably good for someone just starting out a year or two ago!


I have nothing in my background relating directly to painting, to be honest... I DID spent my childhood drawing, wanting to be a graphic artist, but I have become a professional writer instead  But I haven't painted anything back then. No, I'm just OCD enough to repaint the figures I'm not satisfied with like 5 times - this is what happened with the wolf guard, for example. And I only show you guys what I'm satisfied with.


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## Iraqiel (May 21, 2008)

Well, props to you for dedication and commitment!


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

Thanks 

In the last week or so I've been busy putting together ca. 3 dozen figures, which, I'm happy to say, are ready to be painted (wolves and nurgle both.)

Meanwhile I only took 1 photo, of the already photographed 2 finished wolf guards, because I wasn't satisfied with the angle of the previous pic. This one features their lumbering hulk-nature better  Click on the bar above the image for better resolution!


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

a new Wolfguard


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

Grey hunter sargeant. The frost sword is painted patchy on purpose: I wanted a *snow* sword,


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

crappy mobile photo of some WIP wolf guard conversions (the left guy still needs his green stuff fur cloak to look extra barbarian.)


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## Saintspirit (Jul 31, 2013)

Ah, I see you have used an axe from the Bestigor sprue - very good choice!

Question: the guy in the middle, what part is his right arm (the one he does not hold the mace in) based on?


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

Saintspirit said:


> Ah, I see you have used an axe from the Bestigor sprue - very good choice!
> 
> Question: the guy in the middle, what part is his right arm (the one he does not hold the mace in) based on?


Thats a fantasy ogre fist with a chaos terminator lord combi glued to the bottom of it


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

My Lone Wolf WIP. A desperate grey hunter from a squad vanquished long ago.


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

Unfortunately my dslr camera was not available for these photos below, so I had to use my crappy point-and-shoot. They did not turn out to be too bad, but they are not satisfactory either.

First up is my Lone Wolf. My painting style is kinda patchy, painterly to begin with, and the shitty camera somehow manages to over emphasise that. In real life the Lone WOlf is not this messy, but never the less, he is dirty and bloody, because he is the last remaining member of a squad snuffed out long ago. He is disturbed, and psychotic - also, his colors are somewhat darker than my usual wolves. This is my way of accentuating that he is from an even earlier time, than they are (because my main wolves are very 13th-ish)










And, as a sort-of-a-detour, here are my freshly finished figures for a planned DUngeon skirmish game, that will use the Cavern Crawl-rules.


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

A quick update.

A better photo of a grey hunter I have alredy shown you guys.









A wolfguard equipped with weapons salvaged from slaughtered chaos troops.









My WIP wolf lord (unfortunately his big ass fantasy bestigor axe is at a crappy angle)









and my WIP rune priest, with runic armor, runic axe and boltgun


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## Iraqiel (May 21, 2008)

You Sir make some extremely nice conversions indeed! I am very impressed with the composition and overall look, have you plugged these into the monthly conversion competition yet?


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

Thanks very much! I will, when its finished


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## Saintspirit (Jul 31, 2013)

I dig; the bestigor box is a great source of axes, is it not?


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

here is the finished runepriest. photo is a bit too bright, so his head is not this yellow at all


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

Saintspirit said:


> I dig; the bestigor box is a great source of axes, is it not?


ooooh yes


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

Since I wasn't entirely satisfied with that last photo - and the miniature - I did some repainting on the runepriest, and also took IMHO better quality pics.


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## Kreuger (Aug 30, 2010)

You have made some impressive work for a new painter. I think you're aptly demonstrating a good eye for design, color, and composition. And clearly you know your way around your camera.

Your models look good but I think with a few changes to your process they could be even better. The dry brushing is too heavy and textured in my opinion. And many of the directly painted highlights are too heavy handed.

When dry brushing try to use a large brush and keep the paint somewhat wet. E.g. a "wet" dry brush. It will help blend large areas and get rid of the extraneous texture.

When painting edge highlights try using the side of your regular our detail brush to only touch the raised edges. Ensure your brush isn't loaded with the highlight color.

Practice those and you'll see even better results.

Keep up the good work!


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

Thanks for the advice! Yes, the drybrushing is heavy, but it is on purpose - I try to give the wolves a kind of very, very rough, barbarian look.

I don't really like the clean look on space wolves, and this splotchy, rough textured look suits me perfectly. I would never do this if I'd paint Deathwing Terminators, for example.

The highlights... well... your critique is perfectly justified there.  But I'd lie if I'd say I'll be careful with them in future. I think the technique has to suit the astethic, and in this case, I think it does.


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## Kreuger (Aug 30, 2010)

Glad to be of help. =)

Don't mistake aesthetics for technique though. Appropriate aesthetics can vary but our technique can always improve.

I don't know you well enough to make this distinction, and you seem to be working hard to tune up your technique and learn, but everyone I have known personally to make a comparison between evolving (or weak) technique and "but I meant to do that" was full of BS.

Creating heavy-handed dry-brush texture on the smooth plates of space marine armor never looks good. It always looks like poor technique. And it always looks like poor technique because the size of the texture is out of scale with the texture of the rest of the model. (compare the rhythm of the wolf pelts to the rhythm of the striations from dry brushing)

Thick paint striations on a 28 or 30 mm miniature would appear as large stripes and blotches on a real sized person.

It CAN work in other contexts, for example the spatters of dried blood on the weapons of warriors who pay no attention to the quality of their gear. (though I'm also suspicious of too much splattery gore as it is usually also poorly done) 

It can also work on some rock formations.


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

I promise you it's not arrogance talking - I genuienly don't want to lose the stoney texture look of the armor. Never the less, I will at least try the wetbrushing, it's just wetbrushing even if applied carefully gives a much smoother finish, and then, what I want goes out the window... But I don't want to repeat myself.


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## Kreuger (Aug 30, 2010)

Hey, fair enough. May your brush always land on target and your washes never run.


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

Kreuger said:


> Hey, fair enough. May your brush always land on target and your washes never run.


Thank you 

In a couple of weeks I plan to re-paint my Dark Vengeance figures (I had a friend of mine paint them back when DV came out - he is a figure painter with years of experience, but I'm not really satisfied with the way he painted them, and to be honest, I think I'm a better painter now than he is. Now THIS is arrogance!  ) Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to show you my clean style as well, thus proving that the SWolves are painted this rough on purpose


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

couple of new plague zombies


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## Iraqiel (May 21, 2008)

Brains...

The one clutching a baby is a fairly horrific model. The bearded one also looks a bit out of place in his country looking outfit. Perhaps introduce a few more bloodstains and dirt patches to blend him with the theme?


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

I know he is not exactly "grimdark", but he is kind of a joke  He has blood on him, at the two places that iron rod or something goes in and out of him, its just that the photo is not too great.


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## torealis (Dec 27, 2006)

Wow. That is grimdark.


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

After a long hiatus, I'd like to present to you guys a couple of new figures (the first 2) and repaints (the last 2). It drove my crazy to find the right color for the armour of my space wolves, but I think I have finally found it...


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## driller (Jul 26, 2013)

after some repainting, head-swaps and whatnot, here are the first 4 wolves I'm actually satisfied with + a disgruntled Chaos Lord (40k-ified, with backpack and a bolter (strapped to his waist with his own gut) You can't see it because of his axe...


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