The GreyWolves [Imperial Guard Urban Fighters] PIC HEAVY!!!!

ok here is some of my new Imperial Guard Urban fighters. The Greywolves!!!!!! Please understand this is my FIRST attempt at doing camo scheme. I was inspired by Kiwi's work.
Ogryn: Grimshaw " Hell's Janitor"


Sniper: Zane " Death's Herald" [Special Character]



Captain: Maddock " Hell's Gate Keeper"




Lieutenant:




Lieutenant:




Sergeants: Kane and Able






Heavy Weapon Specialist:




Heavy Weapon Specialist:




Guardsman: Radar " Hell's Seer"




Medic: Higgins " Hell's Nurse"




Guardsman:








ok that's the lot would have had two more pics of the last Guardsman but the batteries ran out on the camera. Also bloody Firefox crashed when I had 75% of the pics loaded and I lost the lot so this is attempt two to get this post done and now that it has I am off enjoy.

Cheers
LGW

Top notch - absolutely love the Ogryn (nice and old school) and that is an immense base for the sniper special character. I like the blue tinge to the urabn camo - works very well. Welcome to the urban fighters fold!

Cheers Laney

AGGGGHHHH!!! I had a model by model observation... lost it. So here is the short version.

EXCELLENT WORK! It shows that you are converting and painting like mad, your skills are getting sharper and sharper. Feel proud... you pulled the camo like a season veteran!

The models are VERY good. My only real critique is the Sniper's base. It is cool and all, but unplayable. That model 'comes with his own terrain and Cover Save'! Ha!

On criticism so you keep raising the bar...
1) Drill the barrel of the guns. This is a personal peep of mine... nothing major, but the models do look better... more realistic and takes 30 seconds to do! It is the easiest 'upgrade' you could ever do... and they get upgraded from toys to deadly guns!!

2) Eyes are the Windows to the Soul. This is a major one... but do not hesitate! The observer always goes for the eyes, to insure that the subject (model) is real... if everything looks real, and there are no eyes the illusion is broken. Sure, table top (5 feet away) doesn't require eyes, but we are trying to raise the bar! Not hard... it is like learning to driving a car... you think is the hardest thing in the world, until you pass the test. Then it comes as a second nature... and then you feel silly when you figure out that there are millions of people who can drive. At first the models will looked a likke spooked but then you get the hand og the technique. Practice, practice, practice! There are a lots of tutorials... but the trick is brush control. If you practice doing eyes, then everything else will be easy... so start early!

3) Shades & highlighting. Your over all technique is based on wash/inks with some drybrushing. This is great... as a matter of fact, I base my style on that too. For your vext evolution, try minimal highlighting. Don't go overboard... this is about 'less is more'. For example... if your next model has a 'leather bag', paint it bestial brown and wash it brown (as you normally do)... then when is dry, take leather brown in a small brush and paint the edges... use the brush's side (rather than the tip) for better control. This will make the bag to have a defined edge (lighter color) with great depth (wash). It works great with black boots... paint black, wash black (yes, it makes a difference!) then highlight key points with fortress grey (you seem to have plenty of that one!) As you get confident, your own instinct will 'demand' of you to highligh something else. I know it is also a hard technique, but you need to learn it someday! See DeafNala's models... he is a true Master of this technique, and that is why his pieces are Golden Daemon quality (hands down!) Also Laney uses such technique, and you know how good his stuff is... amazing. Again, don't expect to try it once and be a master... just practice!

Well... that is basically what I got. Your models are REALLY good... no major stuff. My comments are for your next batch, so you keep improving. Slowly but steadily... you are a natural, when it comes to paint. I can't wait to see your next work!

What Mordheimer said... No but he put it well

Another thing I'd like to ad though, it really suites the miniatures that you have kept such a small pallet of colours, brings out the militaristic nature of them.


I assume you are using GW's washes, I would say sometimes it is being applied too generously, especially on the metals and faces.


Great conversions all over as well, my favourite is your medic.

Keep up the good work, and like Mordheimer said, challenge yourself, you can be big

thx guys.

Mord: I'll drill the gun barrels today. as for the eyes I'll do a test fig first before I try on the IG. hate doing eyes [infact never do them. let the ink do a "fake" job]....

I have tried the painting technique before and its nice but not one I have done much on. I sort of do it with the flesh.

Painted the skin a dark coffee colour then inked with brown. picked the muscles out with skin tone, then used cream with the very tops of the muscles picked out with white. Then I used a thinned down brown ink wash over the skin. [Re: that's how the Ogryn got done]

I am painting up my Orks at the moment so they will be next. Slaanesh after them followed by the Eldar...

this was a fun project and the minis look better in person but I'll give the eyes ago [wish me luck]

Cheers
LGW

On eyes... paint the area BLACK... then put a dot on each corner. It works... and avoids the look.

Mordheimer wrote:

On eyes... paint the area BLACK... then put a dot on each corner. It works... and avoids the look.

dam nervious doing it thats for sure.

Just drilled the grenade launcher, heavy stubber, Captain Maddocks hell-pistols, and the Ogryns ripper gun.But for the life of me can't figure out how to get the las-guns drilled my drill bit just doesn't go that small.

also tried to do the Snipers rifle but its so thin I only made a small mark will see if the ink will bring it out when I touch it up.

Cheers
LGW

If it small... a black dot will work for the illusion!

Another neat little trick with eyes is to avoid using pure white at all costs, this will make the eyes look starring or insane, bleach bone is usually a much better choice.

Also you can practice on a piece of pater first, make little eyes with stencils and try to make good eyes, personally I have never done this, but it can be a really good way to learn.

Oh and number 1, thin the paints down, this is SO important when doing the eyes, especially as you are properly going to be doing them over a few times.

Give it a whirl! and before you know it you'll be doing incredible eyes

VonHagel wrote:

Another neat little trick with eyes is to avoid using pure white at all costs, this will make the eyes look starring or insane, bleach bone is usually a much better choice.

Also you can practice on a piece of pater first, make little eyes with stencils and try to make good eyes, personally I have never done this, but it can be a really good way to learn.

Oh and number 1, thin the paints down, this is SO important when doing the eyes, especially as you are properly going to be doing them over a few times.

Give it a whirl! and before you know it you'll be doing incredible eyes

I grabbed one of the shot gun guards and have applied the black sections into the eye socket wasn't to bad to do. But made difficult due to an issue I have with my eyes. seems when I was young the docs didn't pick up the fact that my eyes can not focus together. seperately they work perfectly fine but when asked to look together at something it gets a bit blurring and hard to define. [hence why I failed the drivers licence eye test when I went to renew it. I had to go get my eyes tested. the guy there told me about my issue and here i was lead to believe when I was 15 I had a lazy left eye but no its not the case.]

I enjoy my modeling but it can give me head aches.....
Will try an dot the eyes soon and post a pic for your ammusment....

Cheers
LGW

Sorry to heard about your eyes, that has got the be the most important thing when painting, I hope there is a solution for you.

As for me I can't concentrate on painting or modelling for long at the same time, which can be immensely frustrating when I'm on a good streak, guess what I'm trying to say is it's not uncommon for people to have circumstances making it more difficult for them to enjoy our hobby, but you just have to do what you can, when you can, and if you do enough, results will come.

VonHagel wrote:

Sorry to heard about your eyes, that has got the be the most important thing when painting, I hope there is a solution for you.

As for me I can't concentrate on painting or modelling for long at the same time, which can be immensely frustrating when I'm on a good streak, guess what I'm trying to say is it's not uncommon for people to have circumstances making it more difficult for them to enjoy our hobby, but you just have to do what you can, when you can, and if you do enough, results will come.

no luck with fixing it if they had picked it up before I was 7 then it could have been....

I keep on trying some days are great the fig comes out the way I want it and I am really happy other days I feel like chucking the mini into a vat of acid to hide the crap paint job.

but since coming to my conversions are working out great and I am trying new painting styles and techniques.... its all GOOD!!!!

cheers
LGW

well looking at your models again I must say they have a lot of character, I really like your devastator backpacks for the guardsmen, looks amazing, and many of your poses are making them really stand out and come out into their own.

A damn shame with your eyes mate, damn shame, I think it's really cool you still paint and model in spite of it.

Kick back, open a brew, and enjoy the experience. (though drinking and painting don't always mix with the best results.. which is lucky really haha)

VonHagel wrote:

well looking at your models again I must say they have a lot of character, I really like your devastator backpacks for the guardsmen, looks amazing, and many of your poses are making them really stand out and come out into their own.

A damn shame with your eyes mate, damn shame, I think it's really cool you still paint and model in spite of it.

Kick back, open a brew, and enjoy the experience. (though drinking and painting don't always mix with the best results.. which is lucky really haha)

lol I can see a comercial promoting "don't drink and paint, you need your eyes."

I enjoy doing the conversions alot [though again there are days when it just won't work and I get really frustrated and then there the days it works out.]

like my Cyber-mastiffs that was my first day off from night shift no sleep for 24 hours and it worked.....[seems I do alot of my creating when I am sleep deprived] mmmmmm

Cheers
LGW

Gotta try he bone white for the eyes! I do paint my eyes the 'hard way'... white first, then dot the iris THEN paint the top and bottom liner (not black, but a darker flesh tone), so to remove the look. They tend to look very natural... but I practice a LOT.

Mordheimer wrote:

Gotta try he bone white for the eyes! I do paint my eyes the 'hard way'... white first, then dot the iris THEN paint the top and bottom liner (not black, but a darker flesh tone), so to remove the look. They tend to look very natural... but I practice a LOT.

I have done the black line and now ready to add the dot...

do I put a small off white dot on either side of the eye or is it just one dot in the location where he is looking towards?

Cheers
LGW

Great urban camo !
After seeing a G.W. article where they used blue for urban camo I tried to steer clear of it bur your manage to pull it off.
That base for the sniper is insane you definitely are getting inventive with your basing.
The hellgun conversions are great! Where did you get the back packs?
Just one little critique would be that I'm not so keen on the green shoulder pad especially as you did such a great job on the camo.
I find it easier to paint the whites of eyes first and the the pupil but maybe that's just me.
I now have to resist painting the kaskrin edward kindly gave me urban, I had so much fun painting my prisoner and now this , it's going to be hard.

Kiwi wrote:

Great urban camo !
After seeing a G.W. article where they used blue for urban camo I tried to steer clear of it bur your manage to pull it off.
That base for the sniper is insane you definitely are getting inventive with your basing.
The hellgun conversions are great! Where did you get the back packs?
Just one little critique would be that I'm not so keen on the green shoulder pad especially as you did such a great job on the camo.
I find it easier to paint the whites of eyes first and the the pupil but maybe that's just me.
I now have to resist painting the kaskrin edward kindly gave me urban, I had so much fun painting my prisoner and now this , it's going to be hard.

The green is to do with the fluff I am writing for them.Orginally they had been the Timber wolves. But when their planet was invaded by Orks and a Renegade group of PDF they had to come out of the forests and head to the hive cities where they learnt the hard way of doing battle in confined spaces, streets and buildings.

The green is to remind them of where they have come from. plus it makes the camo paint scheme stand out even more. my wife doesn't like the green either but I actually do now at first I didn't. But I am not changing the fluff even if it might be for the best.

the back packs are from the Space marine heavy plasma weapon back pack. it was an interesting time trying to get it to fit. the rest of the plasma cannon was made into a burna for my Ork squad.

I painted the black over the gaurdsman eyes then tried to do dots on either side so as to make the black paint look like the pupil but my hands weren't steady and the cream colour i used covered over most of the black. funny thing is now the guy has a black ring around the cream colour all i need to do now is put in a pupil.

what colour is used? black,blue,green????

as for the sniper base it was again just pure dam luck that I found stuff and then started to "Tinker" around and it sort of fitted together in the end. [alot of trial and ERROR]

Cheers
LGW

Black, the iris is almost always black.

I have seen some painting blue or brown, and then making a black dot inside of that.... but let's not get ahead of ourselves

show us how it's done!

oh and Mord, I usually paint it black first, then apply off white in the shape of the eye, then make the dot, then redo the other eye, then redo the first eye, then it's usually to my liking! haha

VonHagel wrote:

Black, the iris is almost always black.

I have seen some painting blue or brown, and then making a black dot inside of that.... but let's not get ahead of ourselves

show us how it's done!

oh and Mord, I usually paint it black first, then apply off white in the shape of the eye, then make the dot, then redo the other eye, then redo the first eye, then it's usually to my liking! haha

ok going to go and try the black dot now hope it works... if its ok and I can find some batteries for the camera will post a pic.

Cheers
LGW

It's not that I don't like it as such, it's just it looked a bit out of place next to the urban camo but with the fluff it makes sense.

Sorry I missed this. I love the blue camo.

Da Bank wrote:

Sorry I missed this. I love the blue camo.

thx for the comment means alot to my poor painting skills...

cheers
LGW

Just like to say - I hate painting eyes (Just look at Comisar DeMartins dodgy eyes! - which is why so many of my models wear glasses, eye patches, bionic eyes, full helmets. At least then I can avoid the eyes pointing in different ways. A mounted magnifying glass might make the process a little easier (one with clips to hold the model) (mine is still in a box waiting for me to unpack it).

Highlighting was mentioned a while back on this thread (I've only just caught up) and the best way I know to get a sharp highlight is where possible use very little paint on the brush and use the edge (rather than the tip), which provides much greater control (there are places its not possible to do this) and brace your hands together to keep them steady.

Cheers Laney

02laney wrote:

Just like to say - I hate painting eyes (Just look at Comisar DeMartins dodgy eyes! - which is why so many of my models wear glasses, eye patches, bionic eyes, full helmets.

hehehe... FREE helmets for everyone at the UK!!! HA!