Monday 1 June 2015

Chaos grav-attack !



Alright, some things get in our way sometimes... when I moved (back in December 2013) to the house  I'm living in right now (and am about to leave), the first model I started with was the dreaded chaos grav-attack.

Being of the obsessive kind, I knew I wanted my grav-attack to look like the original glorious grav-attack designed by Rick Priestley :

Picture from Solegend
And that meant starting on a deodorant stick base.
I first started incorporating some newish chaos tank bits to it to find "the look" I wanted like in a classic "pimp my ride" episode


And then realised I'd need to tune it a lot more to make it properly Rogue trader chaotic :


After some labial adjustements, I was left with a choice for the exhausts and I just couldn't find the right way to place them :


Huuum, no, this is not the look I want :


After considering some other options :


I asked the community on the oldhammer forum for some help on the matter and Suber from Oldschool workshop found the right idea I should have had long ago :


On top of that I was advised by Jonah from Meandering shades to try and add weird textures by adding a tiny drop of superglue on top of a bigger drop of PVA glue. the result is excellent and enables you to create excellent pustules, sores and scabs depending on how you apply the 2 basic components.


I shamelessly salvaged IKEA pen parts to make the reactors and the left overs even enbaled me to make another iconic Rogue trader figure...
The parts were roughly blended with the basic structure with green stuff and I prayed painting would make all of this look nice.

Painting wise, I cannot say I really enjoyed the process, I do not fancy painting huge pieces like this and the main mistake I did was to leave such vast areas of plain textures. If you look closely at Rick's example above, you'll see he cleverly drew trompe l'oeil to suggest more texture and parts than the deo stick as for real. I thought adding my little textures here and there with some added weathering would do the trick but the balance is not good to me.

The only fancy trick I tried on this one was to paint some oxydation on the exhausts and though they tend to lack contrast, I'm pretty happy with the result.


Just to tie the model a little more with the original setting, I replaced the former chaos marine head with a proper RTB01 beakie head. I just added some spinal shape on its beak edge to gove it a more organic look and to paint it like bone to make it properly sinister.


While I was in the cheap tricks zone, I threw some "blood for the blood god" GW technical paint in all the wounds I could find and added some liquid water on the eye and gum. I've always dreaded painting eyes on 28 mm models but I can tell you painting big ones on a chaos tank is not particularly easier (guess you can't decide to be like Fraser "God" Gray just like that).



This all means there are plenty of other things I could have done better with tis one but in all honesty, all I wanted was to finish it before moving home (again) for symbolic reasons and to be sure to have it ready for Bring Out Your Lead (the Oldhammer Week-End in Newark this summer) and the Deathrace game in which it will run.

Oh and finishing that vehicle makes me able to (mentally) cross one line in this :


Worth the effort I suppose...

EDIT :

After giving Conrad's advice a thought (see comments below), here are a couple of tunes I could use to accompany the grav-attack :

Proper oldschool metal for starters :


But maybe older classics like that one could also do :



But I'd also suggest something else for more laid-back moments with proper oldschool ZZ top :


I hope you'll find your pleasure with either of those, I know I do with both ^^

52 comments:

  1. bit of a simple comment, but this is awesome!
    liking the mix of old and new.

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    1. Cheers Jess', part of the purist in me would have loved to go full retro with this one but in the end it seems to me the very purpose of it is to use anything at hand. Rick used what he had at hand at the time so I did just the same. I wouldn't want to use vintage paints/parts/techniques only just for the sake of it really !

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  2. JB,

    It is a wonderful piece of work. Tremendously evocative of 80s era Heavy Metal. Well done - I hope it has a suitable fearsome profile.

    The trick is now to pick an appropriately metal piece of entrance music for it, so that you can play it on your phone whenever it comes onto the table? Any ideas?

    Best,

    Conrad

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    1. You're absolutely right Conrad ! After giving it a thought I thought some early Morbid Angel (see the edit above) would be suitable but I'm pretty sure with a bit more time someone could have found better but these are the ones that come to me right now.
      The profile looks like a better landspeeder which looks about right to me.

      Now I have to see how it dwells on the table...

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  3. Great work JB, Deathrace 40k is going to be a lot if fun I hope. It's going to look great for certain.

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    1. Indeed, with the crazy ideas around, I suspect it could be just as great a time as the GoMo game was last year. Could it be otherwise with such great people around a table ? ;)

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  4. Hehe, great model!
    Really great idea and execution - even better! :D

    Demi

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    1. Well in all hinesty the execution is not the best around and I used a lot of shortcuts here and there to save time and energy.It's done though and I hope I'll be able to field it amongst my other renegade at some point.

      Thanks a lot.

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  5. Excellent idea, conversion and paint job :D

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    1. Cheers, I'd pobably say Silly idea, hazardous conversion and careless painting but you make it sound better !

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  6. That's a great bit of modelling! I thought you might have gone with Bolt Thrower's 'World Eater' for the entrance music though. ;)

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    1. Well , there were many songs to pick from and Bolt thrower would (should?) have been a very good choice.

      I'm afraid there no big feat of modelling here (especially when in front of someone like you) but it was fun for the most part and I can tell it didn't cost much ! (which is always a good point)

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  7. I think you're being a bit harsh on yourself. I love it, has a lot of character :)

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    1. Well, he's just not up to my expectations but he'll do for what he's meant for without a doubt.

      Cheers Jonah ;)

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  8. Well done for getting it finished pal! Can't wait to blast out of the sky!

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    1. Considering it should have been finished for BOYL2014 it's a good thing to have this one out of the way !
      We'll see how he fares in the deathrace amongst all the other wackos !

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  9. Replies
    1. Believe me Paul, I was so ashamed to have taken more than a year for this one I almost considered not blogging it !
      At least it's up and ready for BOYL to play its parts along other people's rides.

      Thanks mate.

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  10. Effing fantastic JB, I'm seriously impressed by the painting of the eye.
    The rust and weathering is top notch also, really well done.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I had to closely look at examples of painted eyes before attempting this one. I'm glad to have toned down the base white before hand since it would have looked too bright otherwise.
      Trust me, he weathering is not very good but more a very awkward and rapid sponging of brown and leadbelcher (should have thrown some washes on top of that maybe or try some pigments).
      The real funny thing is that it took me like 2 hours to finish a model that had seated half finished for a year or so...
      I guess one must not underestimate the power of procrastination !

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    2. Nay, like Stygian said I think you're being a bit harsh on yourself here-if you're anything like me you're your own worst critic though, so I understand.
      As for not underestimating the power of procrastination, truer words have never been spoken.
      Many a time I've "hit the wall" and left a mini for ages, only to pick it up way down the road and finish it off in no time with no hassle.
      I need to find a reason to try and paint an eye somewhere now, haha- as an aside I always wanted one of those rings with a glass eye in them.

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    3. I May be in a négative mindset about myself right now, I guesd as You Say we're or own worst critics. Getting stuff finished though is very rewarding so I'll keep grinding ;)

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  11. Just brilliant! This summer's US Oldhammer event is having a deodorant vehicle building session, so this is great inspiration!

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    1. Wow, that's interesting, this one is pretty straight forward but adding shampoo, soap, deodarant and all kinds of plastic containers really can summon incredible vehicles/robots/scenery forth. I really hop we can a full report on wat will come out of this workshop !

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  12. Like others have already said JB, don't be too hard on yourself. It looks great!

    If anything, I reckon if you repositioned it to sit level & closer to the ground it may improve it? The posture looks a little awkward ATM IMHO.

    Regarding the weathering, of you've already vanished it then you could go nuts with it. If you just use pigments & you're not happy with the results they you can wash it off?

    But these two points are only minor & my own personal tastes. You should feel proud JB, my kitbashing has dragged a bit of late, so don't feel bad about the "late" finish date.

    I love that eye, very 80's Chaos vibe :) The intake & the engine pods look ace too!

    Well done JB :)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. The position Is a consequence of the poor balance since I didn't think about center of gravity beforehand... I placed him like This so That it takes less space and feels a little mire dynamic, but Is a weird pose indeed : D
      maybe I'll try and touch him up but I have other business to take care before That.
      thanks a lot ;)

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  13. I've got to say JB, that this particular grav-attack tank smells pretty fresh! I understand that you perhaps feel a bit self-critical, but I think the overall impression of the finished model is fantastic. You've got a lovely nod to the old school Priestly original, but with some very neat sculpting, kit-basing and lovely painting. The 'face' in particular is just perfect - that glistening mouth and single daemonic eye are very eye-catching.

    I can't wait to see your grav-attack shark in real life!

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    1. Ah you're all too kind ! I know I'm focusing on details That don't work instead if enjoying the whole which does its part, I've learnt a lot on This one and I'll be able to put all That to use..
      thanks a lot for the kind words You all they're greatly appreciated !

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  14. Fantastic stuff, great to see someone with your skill set scratch building vehicles.
    I really like the vehicle positioning, it reminds me of the reaver planetside scene from Serenity; it says: were here were getting to point b, we don't care what may be careened into on the way because we are dead hard and will execute all who dare to stand before us.
    The paintjob is quite good but I see what you mean about large surface areas on the model, if I ever get the jam to tackle the deoderdestroyer I will use a ladies stick for this very reason.
    Good luck, may you crush all in the name of the ruinous powers.

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    1. I do like the pose for the dynamism it brings (the model is horribly flat without it) but it does look weird for a gaming piece. we'll see on the day along alll the other members.
      The large flat areas seem odd to me because I used small models techniques when I should have used other means to treat them. I did learn a lot on how things behave when you up teh scale and I'll put that to use soon as I really feel like painting some of my 54mm inquisitor models. Maybe a feminine version of the deo could be the answer too you're right !

      Thanks a lot !

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  15. Awesome! I remember this one! It's great seeing it finished, you really made an outstanding work here, it's really scary and dreadful. Top notch!

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    1. Cheers Suber !
      Seeing the response on this one, I think I'll consider finishing other models from the back log ! I'll have to make a group shot of the whole army now that I even have vehicles !

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  16. This turned out great. Awesome stuff JB!!!

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    1. Cheers buddy, this guy and the Bloodthister before have really kicked my interest in my chaos renegades and they'll be a top priority for the year to come !

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  17. Such an ingenious use of daily material, perfect scale, perfect redesign and perfect look. All in all an awesome take on a nice vehicle. I particularly love the mouth and teeth. :)

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    1. Cheers ! The great thing is that such projects don't cost much as it's basically just repurposing of everyday objects with bits you have lying around, so you don't have excuses for not trying !
      I'll try and have fun that way on some other projects of the sort.

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    2. Well, I don't know if I'll find some use to my deo sticks but I'll definitely look around for more 'repurposing' of everyday objects.

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    3. There's actually tons of stuff to repurpose. I've found some cardboard packages that will make perfect terrain pieces when I take the time to paint them up !

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  18. Wow, this looks a bit good! Very inspiring, so much so that I've just ordered and scavenged for some bits to make my own vehicle for the Deathrace; I've just got the green light to attend BoYL and have some serious work to do in preparation. Great work JB.

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    1. Well considering you have forst class imagination for conversions, I'm sure we will have some pretty amazing vehicles on the line ! Glad to share a game with you and with many others I couldn't play with last time !

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  19. Oh yeah!! Incredible! And I love how it appears both happy and cute, and creepy and scary at the same time! Also, Deep Purple's Highway Star comes to mind.

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    1. It definitely has some cuteness among other things... I'm actually wondering if I didn't just model a baby grav-attack... just think about what the parents will be like !
      Deep Purple should have come to mind too of course, I was a bit confused when I searched answers to the theme tune question...

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  20. I need to ensure I check your blog every day I think so I don't take three days to comment on such awesomeness. Really great model and scratch built to boot. I love the mouth grill and the eye and the pustules are perfect. The large areas with no texture are fine, not everything in covered in details.

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    1. Cheers Erny, even while checking my blog feed everyday, I still manage to miss good posts on week ends and you were going to race against that marine fresh monstrosity in a couple of months anyway ;)
      Your motorised ork truk is going to be quite something too and given the players around, I'm expecting no less than tremendous fun.
      People seem to like the result more than I do so I'm starting to consider it with a more forgiving eye.

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  21. Fantastic scratchbuilding. Praiseworthy result. Well done.

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    1. Cheers, far more praise than effort on this one to be honest but I guess it looks the part. Can't wait to field it in the table top now !

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  22. That is really really great. Your armpit scratchbuild is many times better than the original. You've got me wanting to make tanks out of my old lady's shampoo bottles.

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    1. Well working on some more exotic shaped containers seems really fun, maybe I'll see about making some civilian vehicles for rogue trader.
      Have a go at it, it's cheap and fun !

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  23. Là tu transcendes, ma grande ! Bravo !

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    1. Grand merci ! Comme les sculpteurs qui savent voir la forme cachée dans la pierre ou le bois, il faut écouter son tube de deo ;)

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  24. Superbe idée ton véhicule est bien chaoteux à souhait avec cette petite touche old school!

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    1. Merci, je t'avoue que je suis toujours surpris par l'accueil qu'on fait çà cette horreur mais c'est vrai que ca a été un projet super marrant ! Pouvoir jouer avec ensuite tait juste la cerise sur le gâteau !

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