Another Leman Russ... (UPDATE 12 July 2007)

[misterjustin]

After painting so many tanks on commission I decided it would be fun to paint one to a display quality for myself. I have no idea why I thought this would be fun but it\'s too late to turn back now.

At this stage I have only completed the first of at least three highlights on the red. No highlights on the black yet. I am also going to try and remove and replace the lettering on the front -- it seemed straight at the time. Oops.

Still a long, long way to go - including a display base. I intend to have the plow beaking apart a barrier on a tiered wooden base. The model will be removable for possible game play. Right now I\'d say I am no more than 5% complete. That\'s five, not fifty.

Good thing I have other projects -- this one is going to drive me nuts before I\'m finished.

 

[Dragonsreach]

A \"different\" colour scheme.
At the moment the red still looks a little shiney as if there is a high proportion of ink in the mix. However the lines where the change of shape occurs look rather good.
I\'d suggest that the highlights on the red don\'t need to go very high with the shadowlining you\'ve got already.

 

[misterjustin]

@Dragonsreach: Thanks for the feedback. I actually got the idea for the scheme from the Cadian flag in the IG codex. Thus the intent to put this tank in the 0*1 regiment -- the colour guard first regiment.

The shine is, in fact, flesh wash over most of the model. Matte finish will help a lot -- so will all of the weathering, chipping, etc.

I don\'t plan on taking the highlights much higher than in this update. A tiny, tiny touch of pure \"Bloody Red\" on the extreme highpoints... maybe.

Still a long, long way to go on this one -- and a lot of cleanup that needs to be done before the current state of it doesn\'t make me sad.

After doing the stripe I decided that I would freehand a pair of Imperial wings -- one on each side, obviously -- a plan I hope to avoid in the future.

So coming along but probably not much past 6% at this point. How can that be? The wings have at least 2 more colors, probably 4 layers, before they\'re done... not counting the 2 layers of cleanup on the red around them. The black still needs cleanup and highlighting... and I haven\'t even started in on the weathering. Or the base.

Oi. Time to stop thinking about how much I still have to finish!

 

[Dragonsreach]

Hi Misterjustin: Can I make a suggestion.
The White Stripe is going to be very difficult. Try taking a set of Compass(es) {Dividers} and using them to create a straight line set, in which to work. It sounds fiddly (and probably will be) but might make your job easier in the long run. It\'s either that or lots of small sections of masking tape to get a proper straight edge.

And I have to say that the Imperial Eagle Freehand, even though only partialy completed, is impressive for the neatness.

 

[misterjustin]

@Dragonsreach: While I always (ALWAYS!) appreciate advice I have to admit I\'m a bit confused this time around. The white stripe is already on there.

I had thought it was simply a matter of cleaning up the black side of the stripe -- are you suggesting that I\'m overlooking something obvious? Goodness knows I have been known to.

Thanks for the praise on the wings. Pain. In. The. Tuchas! I got the lighter gray and first layer of white on last night. I still need to clean them up and now I\'m wishing I\'d outlined them in black - ah well.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by misterjustin
@Dragonsreach: While I always (ALWAYS!) appreciate advice I have to admit I\'m a bit confused this time around. The white stripe is already on there.

I had thought it was simply a matter of cleaning up the black side of the stripe -- are you suggesting that I\'m overlooking something obvious? Goodness knows I have been known to.
Just had another look at it (put the reading glasses on to be safe ) as I originally thought that the turret stripe was wandering a little. Now I\'m not so sure. It could be that what I took to be a slight wander is in fact a distortion caused by the multiple ridges that the stripe is going over.
I\'m pretty sure that the glacis plate stripe needs to be tidied up, as it looks slightly wider at the top than at the bottom, hence my suggestion.

Thanks for the praise on the wings. Pain. In. The. Tuchas! I got the lighter gray and first layer of white on last night. I still need to clean them up and now I\'m wishing I\'d outlined them in black - ah well.
Cautious use of a fibre tipped pen or very careful painting. If you are going to do the Black line I\'d like to suggest that you only do the lower edges of the \'Feathers\'.
I\'m not much of a painter for tanks. Having said that I have two Exorcists to do for my SOB army as well as \"bearding it up\" with a couple of extra Immolators to be used as transports.

 

[DaN]

Different

Castigate the non-conformist!!!
THIS IS A NON CODEX PATTERN!!!

You shall be burnt as a witch!

RAAAAA etc etc etc

Looking good - like the wings

 

[OrkyDave]

A very cool colourscheme, and when you explained the inspiration behind it coming from the cadian standard, i feel it would fit very well as a command tank.

I would have to agree with Dragonsreach about the thickness of the white stripe as it does go thicker near the top of the [insert technical tank name] front slopey bit next to the lascannon.

I think he is also suggesting to use the compass as a measuring device to ensure that the thickness of the line is always consistent (ie the gap you set between the two points of the compass)

Love the imperial eagle freehand, will be interesting watching this piece develop.

 

[misterjustin]

I haven\'t had much time to really get in to this one again -- but yesterday and this morning I decided to jump in on the display base. I\'m hoping this will inspire me to get the model finished. It will also make it easier to do weathering and snow as I can do it all at one time -- including piling some up in front of where the plow will rest, in front of the wheels, etc.

I will also use snow to disguise the putty I used to make the tread marks.

At this point I am also debating putting a Cadian on the base somewhere -- maybe the tank commander that comes with the model, with binoculars and the waving arm? Dunno yet.

Feedback is, as always, much appreciated.

 

[Thecadian]

really nice base there.Where did you get the wooden base from??

james

 

[misterjustin]

Originally posted by Thecadian
really nice base there.Where did you get the wooden base from??

US craft store Michael\'s -- www.michaels.com -- I picked up several sizes for less than $1 each.

I also have a 4\" round base I plan on using with a Black Templar dreadnought -- and a 4\" square base I\'m going to use for a LotR model my wife asked me to paint for her. I used another of the 5\"x7\" bases for the dragon display I posted awhile back.

 

[Bignastyshark]

Sand Bags

I love the colour for this tank,

now just where did you get those sand bags from??

Did you make em out of milliput?

Cheers Iain.

 

[misterjustin]

Sculpey, actually. I covered the wood base in foil, sculpted the bags and lay them out, then did strips to put the tank treads in. Finally I removed the foil, baked the Sculpey, and glued it all in place. Much cheaper and easier to work with.

 

[OrkyDave]

Love the base, and I am nicking that idea!!!

 

[misterjustin]

I finally had an opportunity to put some time in to the Leman Russ project again. In this case I based all of the gun barrels in a gunmetal blue;added the Cadian gate iconography to the front of the tank; and completed the highlighting and first round of details on the turret.

I also managed to get a GIANT RED FINGERPRINT on the finished black side of the turret. I will correct this when I go back in to highlight and detail the body.

The turret took about two hours to get from the base colour to the current state. I expect to put in another hour before I decide it\'s finally finished... not counting the application of snow when the model is finished.

It\'s likely to be awhile before I come back to this one, however, as the next commission models just arrived.

 

[OrkyDave]

Do\'h !ignore your e-mail matey!!!

This is looking cool, I love the battle damage, how was this done? It may just be me, but it looks better on the black half tha red

 

[electrolito 77]

looking good sir... bring the red up to a couple more highlights to give the model a bit more depth...

 

[misterjustin]

The first of the Cadian guards for the display base is finished. I started with the tank commander that came with the model and I\'m pretty pleased with the result.

Now that the model is starting to come together I no longer plan on keeping the \"CADIA\" text on the dozer blade. I will probably strip this and replace it with the Cadian flag or similar iconography.

 

[Thecadian]

I agree with you about the dozer blade. What about doing sore yellow/black warning stripes on it??

good work
james

 

[electrolito 77]

or some freaking grots being scraped off the dirt...lol