Diary of the Dead

[Ratty]

Started putting together my Redchapel Gang today which will be my second master to go with Kirai. He'll probably be borrowing Jack Daw and mates to go with him. I do like the idea of.

Seamus with 2 extra Soulstones

Jack Daw

Hanged

Grave Spirit

2 x Belle

Sybelle

I especially like the idea linking the Grave Spirit to the Hanged for double terrifying fun and a extremely tough Hanged.

For the Bases I've decided to go with Sewer bases as they can look quite fun.

The bases are mainly made with greenstuff but I have used paper clips to make the grilling. I first clipped the center out of Sybelle's tag, then I glued her in place with enough of a gap for the flagstones. I cut some bits of paperclip to the right size and then glued them into place. I then rolled out a sausage of greenstuff and coiled it around the clips. Using a Clay shaper I nudged it out from the center until I had an even circle. I then flattened the top outwards till it was the right depth and used a knife to cut away the excess greenstuff. I left it a while and then used a pin to delineate the separate stones. After about 3 hours I came back and used a clayshaper to flatten down a new layer of greenstuff around the grating. Again I left it about 30 mins and then started adding the lines between the stones.

[Ratty]

The stalk for the umbrella on one of the Belles is very very thin. I found it was buckling under the lightest of touches. I therefore decided it needed to be replaced. I clipped it away both sides of the hand, then I clipped away the tips of the fingers to reveal the palm. I then got a fine hobby drill and drilled down through the thumb and forefinger. After this was done I go a paperclip cut it to the right size and glued it in place. I found the pommel of a Graveguard great sword that looked about the right size. I clipped it off and drilled a small hole so I could attach it firmly to the stem of the umbrella. Lastly I got a small amount of greenstuff and using a pin re-sculpted the missing fingers.

The base was made by drilling holes into the base with a drill to house rods cut again from paper clips. I then built a U shaped wall behind the grating with greenstuft. When this was dry I bulked up the main platform using Milliput and pushed some plastic tubing. I picked up some texture plasticard from www.barrule.com I used a £1 coin as a template to cut a platform the right size. Using a knife I added notches to the edge of the platform and then glued it in place. I then made the ledge with a sausage of greenstuff, pushed it into shape with a clayshaper and then delineated with a pin again. afterwards I added the outside wall and detailed it again with a pin.

[Ratty]

Seamus' base is made more or less the same way. The wooden planking is from the GW flagipants (it has a book I cut away on the other side).

[Ratty]

Though it's hard to see the main flooring is wooden planking.

This is really easy to make. Just put a layer of greenstuff and then set to it with a pin. Lay down deep lines inbetwinx the planks and then after about 30 min put some lighter lining in for the wood grain.

[Ratty]

There is nothing much to say which I haven't said before. The plastic piping can be picked up from most model shops.

I use a mixture of PVA glue and old fashioned flock (you know the granular stuff not the fiberous one) It is really good for adding areas of soil or mud to the model.

[thetang22]

Definitely some inspiring bases. Now lets get some paint slapped on those suckers!

[oozeboss]

Basing makes minis imo, and I appreciate not only your inevitably superior vision and execution, but also your generosity in discussing your methods.

Yet again, great work Ratty.

[Ratty]

Definitely some inspiring bases. Now lets get some paint slapped on those suckers!

You might need to wait a little while on that. I have 2 Gaki I should really get finished or they will sit unpainted forever. I wanted to get these ones at least in a playable condition as I'm playing against a mate on Friday. It's his first game and I didn't want to jump my Kirai crew on him, my normal opposition get confused with all the moving around of models by one another. I don't want to scare him off. Seamus though tough is at least a bit more understandable.

Though I have sprayed them and then went over then twice to a thin coat of black paint. I will probably give them all a dry brush of Charadon Granite -> Khemri Brown. Though I don't use much drybrushing when painting I always find it nice to get down a coat at the beginning as it makes it easier to see all the detail.

[Ratty]

Oh Dear had to lose the green in my Sig as it has too many characters again.. I get the feeling the purple will go next. Please Mods allow me to have a longer sig

[Ratty]

As I said the first thing I do is give them a drybrush with Charadon Granite and Khemri Brown so I can see what I'm doing. After this I added a undercoat to the skin. These days I use Valejo Brown Sand for this. It is a nice colour and it goes on very smooth. I find this allows me to get a better look at the model and the areas of it.

First I started to work on Sybelle. I undercoated the white under clothes with Valejo Iraquian Sand, and gave it a high light with Pale Sand, after this I gave it a wash with GW Gryphonne Sepia. Then I highlighted up again with Pale Sand, then a Pale Sand/Skull White mix and finally with Skull White. Then another wash of Gryhonne Sepia, after this I gave it another highlight of Pale/Sand/Skull White mix and then a highlight of Skull white on the very edges and the curve of the breasts.

For the Shear Tights. I used a mix of Vj Brown Sand/Vj Light Grey/GW Chaos Black, then highlighted it up adding more Brown Sand and Light Grey to the mix, then I started adding Vj Flat Flesh. I then gave it a wash of GW Badab Black and after that Gryphonne Sepia. then again highlighted up with a thin coat Vj Light Grey and Flat flesh. I probably did these last two steps 2 or 3 times until it looked nice and smooth, the trick being to highlight less each time.

For the gloves (which didn't come out well in the pic) I undercoated with a GW Liche Purple/GW Dark Flesh then highlighted with this mix with some Red Gore mixed in. Then Red Gore on it's own. the final highlight was Red Gore with Brown Sand mixed in. I then painted on a coat of GW Leviathan purple wash. when this was dry I painted a second coat into just the cracks.

[Ratty]

The Red and White is done in a very similar way to Sybelle. I'm planning to use a really limited palette, I'm wanting that old Hammer Horror style Gothic look, so I will mainly be using deep red, white and black across the crew. There may possibly be some pale green, we will see.

[Soundwave]

Looks very promising!

The bases are great stuff. I often find myself rushing bases, to my great agony later on, so bases are always impressing me.

[dafruk]

I've always tended to paint the figure in isolation first and then add the base afterwards. Partly because I used to not realise the true value of good basing and partly because my painting methods for bases tended to be a bit rougher thererefore I'd end up having to repaint feet.

I can really see the benefit of working out a good basing scheme up front and running that through the mini as you paint it rather than doing the two in isolation. It helps give those figures a lot more life on the painting table than mine ever do.

[N0rdicNinja]

Very inspiring work! =)

[Ratty]

With the 2nd Belle, I had to remove the parasol and put it onto a pin in a pin vice so I could get at it. I also had to put a base coat down on the hair because it's going to be a bit hard to get to once the parasol was attached.

For the Green I base coated with GW Gretchin Green. Gave it a wash with GW Thraka Green, Then highlighted up with a mix of GW Camo Green and Vj Pale Sand. Then I applied more Thraka Green to the recesses.

Also as you can see I blue tack the model to a paint pot I'm not going to use as it makes it easier to handle.

[Ratty]

[TimeLapse]

wow stunning so far, cant wait to see more!!!

[Ratty]

I'm getting so tempted to use this dude as my Bete Noir, I know it's nothing like the original model or even the same sex, but I think it would work with her rules and fit really well with the Redchapel gang.

[Shadeau Gorgon]

I'm getting so tempted to use this dude as my Bete Noir, I know it's nothing like the original model or even the same sex, but I think it would work with her rules and fit really well with the Redchapel gang.

What dude?

[Ratty]

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street... slicy slicy.

They had it in my LGS (behind the counter as the owner was going to paint it), should look good with Seamus and his belles.

[Shadeau Gorgon]

I love the model. I have one to paint on my workstation, but have not found a reason for it... I love Sweeney Todd.

Also, bete noire

, bête noire If you refer to someone or something as your bete noire, you mean that you have a particular dislike for them or that they annoy you a great deal.

So I think the girl to boy thing is AOKay!

[Ratty]

OK time for an update. Finished working on my Belles.

[Ratty]

The skin takes a little while to paint. I start on unliving skin by putting down a coat of Vj Brown Sand (GW Tallarn Flesh will do, but Vallejo works better). I then layered down a coat of Vj Brown Violet (GW alternative Dark Green + Snakebite Leather wash). Once that is dry I layer up with Vj Brown sand and Vj Light Grey with a little of the Vj Brown Violet mixed in (GW Dwarf Flesh + Codex works). I gradually replace the Vj Brown Sand with Vj Flat Flesh and remove the Vj Brown Violet from the mix (GW replace with Elf Flesh + Fortress Grey). Wash with GW Thraka Green mixed with GW Gryphonne Sepia. Once dry, highlight back up again with the Vj Flat Flesh - Vj Light Grey mix. Wash again with GW wash mix. Highlight again finishing with a spot highlight of Vj Green Grey (GW Rotting Flesh). Finally carefully add thin washes of GW Red Gore mixed with old GW Brown Ink into selected cracks and the eye sockets. I then added the eyes in with Vj Pale Sand (GW Bleached Bone) and then a final dot of GW Skull White.

[Ratty]

The bases are fairly easy to paint, the slabs are undercoated in GW Charadon Granite and then highlighted with either Vj Light Grey or GW Khemri Brown. After all the separate bits are painted a light coat of Brown ink is added.

[Ratty]

For the sewer sludge I used a bit of scatter foliage which I PVAd around the edge of the slime as Algae. I then mixed a tiny bit of Camo Green to some GW Water Effect (I know it's silly expensive but I've been using the same bottle for over 3 years and it's still not run out) The trick with water effect is lots of thin coats. Each Layer I added less and less Camo Green until I was using the Water Effect Pure. On the penultimate coat I added a tiny bit more scatter foliage, and while the last coat is still wet I added a couple of leaves to the top and painted thin coat of the effect to seal them.