Slaanesh Terminator Lord & Chaos Decimator, Puppeteer's Commission Plog - Vol' 4

[Decadent_Puppeteer]

I have been asked to paint up a Chaos Terminator Lord and a Forgeworld Decimator. The models are to match the clients army, and he's given me two models to use as a guide:





The Terminator is assembled and ready to go:



More to follow...

[Decadent_Puppeteer]

A little update of the Chaos Lord. He is almost done; just the final highlights here and there and a bit of neatening up to be done on the base.











Fortunately my local gaming store had exactly the same flock as the guide models! I think I need to make the tufts smaller though...










I've tried to replicate the guide models as best I can and think he's pretty much there. The pink isn't an exact match so I'm waiting to hear back from the client to see if he's content with it. I may need to lighten up the cloak as well as I think he wanted it brighter. We shall see...

[Capraviridae]

Looking good and tidy there, the purple bits really make the black model more lively. Did you use the new GW range of pinks? From the pictures it seems that it has quite a different hue than the example models, somewhat darker overall. Personally I like your purple/pink more, but of course the customer has the final say. Did the customer want the Tyranid skull on the character's shoulder to be painted like that? If not, I'd like it more if it were coloured more distinctly from the character itself. Maybe keep the crest colour as it is, but change the skin colour to bone or something like that. It would make it jump out more.

[Decadent_Puppeteer]

Thank you, I really like the colour too. I think the only reason he might not is because it's a little different to the original models. I'm unsure on the colours he had used before so it was a mission trying to get a match. In the end I used Citadel Warlock Purple, then a highlight of 1:1 mix of Wpurple and Vallejo Pink, then a 2:1:1 mix of Vallejo Pink - Citadel Warlock Purple - Citadel Elf Flesh, then a final highlight of the Vallejo Pink.

I completely agree regarding the tyranid head. I built up layers of Baal Red on top of Ceramite White hoping it would eventually darken to a sticky red but it's still too pink!

[Mioumboy]

Love your model so far, very neat and clean.

The main difference I get from the photo between the sample model and yours, is that the sample have slighly more striking highlight. Maybe if you could give one more highlight on yours you could match it better. From a glance I would say some bleached bone mixed with you final highlight might be good.

[Decadent_Puppeteer]

@Mioumboy: Thanks. You could well be onto something there, however I've since received an email from Gavin saying that he's happy, so I'm not going to add any more.

@Capraviridae: That goes for the Tyranid colours too. As I said, I'm not pleased with the colour; but as the saying goes: "if it ain't broke, don't make more work for yourself and potentially make it worse!"

I have added the finishing touches to the model but I may not be able to do updates until mid July as I am moving into a new flat shortly.

[Capraviridae]

Sure, the Tyranid skull is in no way bad looking and especially the crest looks great! Adding to Mioumboy's comment, you could also try to just paint the fine highlights with pure white and then use the new red Glaze. I'm not sure how pink it would be, but I have used this technique with green Glaze and been quite happy with the results. And I know you said that customer is happy and I'm not saying that you SHOULD do extra work, but just threw some suggestions for the future jobs. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the next photos so keep 'em coming (as soon as you can find your camera from the moving boxes, that is)!

[Decadent_Puppeteer]

Thanks for the pointer, it's always useful to read those sort of comments. Oh and I have kept my camera and a few bits in a box to one side labelled 'useful' just in case!

The Terminator's been finished for a while now and I had a spare few minutes so I thought I'd post a quick update.












Gavin is very pleased with the pictures and so it is just a case of waiting to hear about the Decimator. I don't know when the next update will be but hopefully it won't be for too long.

[Jimmy]

Whilst I do think it looks awesome what about lifting it slightly by filling in the eyes on the Dark Angels helmet (can't tell if this is done from the last update or not?) and the storm bolter looks awfully boring. There is a lot of details on the weapon that can be picked out and coloured up and I think it would really add the the model.

Now the spectacular parts:

- Purple/Pink highlights are awesome
- Base is very simple yet striking
- Shading is great
- Love the blood effect on the nid head
- Cloak is my favourite part of the model

[Decadent_Puppeteer]

My partner and I are finally settled into our new flat, and now I can focus on getting back into a routine again!

Thanks for the comments and kind words, Jimmy.
I no longer have the model I'm afraid. Gavin wanted it back to play some games with it! I can't disagree with your comments on improving the look of the Bolter, but there has to be some element of balance when doing paid work on a mini. It's just one of those things that comes with the territory; because I'm not painting to a Golden Daemon standard (someday maybe!) there are often bits that could be embellished. Gavin specified the level of quality and was more than satisfied with the results. That's what I have to remind myself: if I'm doing what I've been asked, and the client is happy then I can't fuss too much.

Also, it does match the bolter on the Raptor test model so I think it will fit in with the rest of Gavin's force, which is just as important.

The reason for the Marine's eyes looking faded is down to a little idea of mine that a Marine's eyes generate a little spot of light, and so if he's dead, the eyes look dimmed. That's just a personal preference I guess.

But enough talk about a puny Chaos Lord! Look what I have...



I've finally got my hands on the Forge World Decimator. Can't wait to paint this thing! More to follow....

[Capraviridae]

Grrrreat to have you back! Haha, even those Chaos Marines look like they saw the monstrosity even in pieces and unpainted and they are all like "f*ck, we're outta here!" Must be some awesome model, indeed.

[Decadent_Puppeteer]

Thanks! Lol, yeah, I didn't notice that at first!

The beast is coming along nicely:





...but I've hit a snag on what colours to use. Check out the video and let me know what you all think (question's about halfway in)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLbBG0lVCao

[Capraviridae]

I'd like to see some rust on it, so the second from the left (Warplock Bronze?) gets my vote. Also, I think it would look really cool if some of the tube thingies at the back would have some glowing liquid circulating inside them, maybe green or turquoise.

[Decadent_Puppeteer]

@Capraviridae: I don't think I'm going to include rust as such but I did go for warplock bronze in the end. I really like the idea of some green on the tubing so I will probably end up doing that (thank you). There are a lot of wires as well as tubing so plenty of opportunity to get some spots of colour in there.

Here it is so far:






It's very much a WIP at the moment and there's plenty of work to be done still so keep your eyes peeled for more updates...

[Decadent_Puppeteer]

The Decimator is finished! Sorry it's taken me a while to post; struggled to find the time to get online recently but here are the pics:






















I decided against the liquid idea in the end and just painted wires. It came down to how much time I wanted to spend on the model. Whilst it's arguably a missed opportunity to have a go at something that would've looked cool, I need to be realistic with my time.

In the end I'm happy with how he looks and Gavin was really pleased with the results. It's not until I see them up close that I really appreciate how awesome the Forge World kits are. That thing was a joy to paint.

If you would like to know what I used for the pink then click the link (second half of the video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il7thA9cNXU&feature=plcp

Hope you like!

Stay tuned for some interlopers from a craftworld...

[Capraviridae]

Really cool, I like the mixture of brand new (the black upper parts) and worn out (the weaponry), in my mind it has this interesting mixture of clean and dirty that the purple just enhances. I like the tubings too, they are simple but bring plenty to the model. The purple face decorations are just amazing.

The actual face, on the other hand, could be a bit more striking. The orange eyes are really cool, but you cannot really see them even a bit further away. It's not bad the way it is, though.

Huge thanks for posting these pictures, it's really nice to see your commissions! Keep 'em coming!