My meltagun marine...

[Gabekun]

Well, I was hoping to get a solid 6.5 with this figure ( a step closer to my 7.0 goal), but it is doing kind of poorly at only 6.2. I thought that personally, it was better than my last attempt (which is at 6.4).

The blue has 4-5 layers of highlights, while the grey has 3, and the black has 2...

Any advice, comments or suggestioned would be welcome.


Meltagunner Marine ( #56883 )

Also, please look at a closeup of the head here:

I\'m quite happy with the eyes, as they were my first attempt at complex gem style marine eyes (or for that matter, my first attempt at a gem!)

thanks in advance for any comments or votes..

 

[CtanSupportGroup]

This will be shorter than before, sorry.

This is a nice miniature, but there are somethings which can be improved.

I assume that you\'ve read the article about painting gems from GW.

It could be the phtograph, but the eye looks a bit too dark.

I\'d suggest doing a very thin line of Fiery orange right at the bottom of it, which would bring out the contrast and make the gem look that bit more shiny.

Another thing is the helmet itself, again I don\'t know if it\'s the picture, but there isn\'t any defining contrast which makes the miniature stand out and heightens the contrast, like the eye.

I\'d suggest doing an extra highlight around the edges of the helmet, in a lighter grey.

This, coupled with the eye, will make the figure look a lot more dramatic and will draw in those good votes.

Good luck and keep going!

Note- Looking at the full picture, the eye does seem to be quite dark. The blue, though, is very well done; perhaps adding the same amount of detail to the helmet will help make it stand out that bit more.

 

[supervike]

its a solid 7!

Great layering technique or not, unless there is some \'dramatic\' highlights, voting seems to suffer....I know because I am in search of the elusive number myself!

I think you have done a great job. Nice smooth blends, the eye looks good in the close-up (maybe that should have been included in your posted pic) I give it a solid 7.

 

[finn17]

Hmmm..

Your biggest problem (and asset) is that it is a Space Marine. These really have to be something special to attract high votes because there are so many around. Having said that, there are the SM fans around who tend to give inflated scores to SMs. I guess it all balances out in the end.

I also have to disagree with my friend Super. I don\'t think this is a 7. I gave it a 6 because I went and looked for it and spent more time studying it than I normally would have, if I had just come across it in the normal course of browsing when, I would probably have given it a 5. Not because I feel I am particularly harsh but simply because it doesn\'t have that \'something extra\' to make it stand out from the crowd, the silver looks in need of a wash to tone it down and I feel that more effort could have gone into the base.

 

[frenchkid]

Well I\'d have to agree with finn in saying that there is nothing that makes this mini stand out. It\'s seems a bit dull. But I would definetly give it a 6 (6,5 actually) since it\'s neat and highlited/shaded, maybe a bit more contrast on the grey would help. good luck

 

[Gabekun]

Thanks for the honest comments/votes. If there\'s only one thing I appreciate most, it\'s honesty. And for the most part, I have to agree on all of the negative things.. the red on the eyes is a bit dark, but that was more for realism (I see space marine eyes as just lenses, that don\'t really \"glow\"). The helmet itself did turn out a bit dull and unexciting... I am still struggling with the concepts of highlighting grey and black.

I am satisfied with any vote that is above 5, because as I am really still starting out (this being only my 9th completed mini), I am not aiming for golden demon/showcase quality figures, but would also like my army to be above the average \"tabletop\" (which it is, locally... almost every army at my LGS uses the \"dip in paint can\" technique... only a small army of necrons seems to be painted to a decent quality)

but once again... thanks. I will try to improve on the things mentioned here.

-G

 

[CtanSupportGroup]

Originally posted by Gabekun
Thanks for the honest comments/votes. If there\'s only one thing I appreciate most, it\'s honesty. And for the most part, I have to agree on all of the negative things.. the red on the eyes is a bit dark, but that was more for realism (I see space marine eyes as just lenses, that don\'t really \"glow\").

I\'d rather have honesty too.

LOL! I know what you mean about them \'glowing\'- I\'ve recently been trying it out, but I don\'t have any Scab Red, so I\'d to improvise, and it worked for me.

But I agree, especially the eyes on the the Iron Hands- they look very good if you get a chance to see them.

 

[G-nome]

I have recently been doing red orc eyes (not the same I know ) by simply painting the black undercoated eye red then going over it in a light colour i think bone or bubonic brown and then going over with a thin red, this gives you a nice bright colour. Or you could just undercoat the eye white.

As to the rest of the fig....purely as regards the picture I would be tempted to dump the middle shot as it does the head no favours although the gun is well shown.
Now painting...I think you need to go a wee bit lighter on the highlights. Not much mind, just to say \"We are hilights we are here!\" At the moment they seem to be hiding a little selfconciously. The head definately needs more highlighting, in the closeup there doesnt seem to much at all.
Also if I could suggest a little more blending into the highlights maybe a very thin paint over the boundary to smooth it over a little.
Probably the bit that sticks out to me is the base. It looks like you have just glued gravel to it and doesnt look painted. If you PVA over it a couple of layers to really hold the stuff on then undercoat it when you do the rest of the model then drybrush it I think it will look much better. I also like the green rims of the bases better than black but thats a personal choice.
Over all I like it and a whole army of these will certainly look very nice. Above average gaming quality I suspect (certainly round my neck of the woods) You got the hang of highlighting and the gem eye is sound and I like the gun. Hope this is helpful.

 

[vincegamer]

IMHO since the trim on the shoulders, legs and backpack is all done in metalic silvertones I think the head would improve if it were also done in metalic silvertones instead of grey.
Alternately of course you could do the trim in grey, but I like metalics. Either way I prefer consistency.
That said, it would probably not raise the score. You\'d have to add some markings on the shoulders and possibly on the legs just to give some kick to the big boring blue areas.

 

[Gabekun]

Thanks for the suggestions and advice. In regards to the base, my army\'s fluff has them based on an ash-world, so I was kinda going for the broken-up rock look.. and it can also double as urban if needed.

The silver helmet is actually a good idea, so I may experiment with that.

 

[Trevor]

Looks good for a rank and file. Take the highlights up higher, by putting thin lines of a light colour on the edges of the armour plates. The blue is the best bit, keep that up and you\'ll be doing well.

I would have used more of a contrasting colour on the details to make the mini \"pop\", yellow or red is good for a mostly blue marine.

 

[vincegamer]

Originally posted by Gabekun
The silver helmet is actually a good idea, so I may experiment with that.

If you do that, I suggest adding GW blue ink to the silver. It did well on my Dallas Cowboy.