Carcharodons Astra: A Space Sharks Log

[Gorman]

Cheers for the comments guys. I've actually done loads more on the army since I last updated - I really must post pictures for regularly on my log! My painting blog (see my signature) has lots more pictures of the army.

On the scout, I'm probably shelving him for a while as there is no room in my current list for scouts. I toyed with painting up a Landspeeder Storm, but as units coming in from reserve can't assault the same turn anymore it sort of nerfs the concept... Might return to the idea later though, and will bear in mind the comments about the camouflage. Agreed that the use of similar colours makes the model a bit bland looking.

I will try to get an army shot soon - I actually played with the army for the first time yesterday (it is now almost finished; only got a handful of infantry left to do). Sadly I lost to some pesky Space Wolves, but it is all a learning curve!

[Gorman]

Right, managed to find time to update my Photobucket, and so here are photos of my most recent progress on this army...

I decided to include a Storm Talon, as I think it looks good in Space Sharks colours. It is manned by a Techmarine, and the decals are from Forgeworld. The base is from a third party manufacturer I found on Ebay...







A shot of the cockpit interior, with the pilot:



And the undercarriage, showing the FW decals and some white accents - I decided to use limited white to mirror the infantry scheme:



Comments and criticisms appreciated as always, and as before check out my commissions blog for more shots

[Siph]

Love the Talon, I painted my Relictors one and thought it looked good in Grey, I may paint the second one with more Black after seeing this. Like the accent White panels underneath, nice touch.

[Gorman]

Love the Talon, I painted my Relictors one and thought it looked good in Grey, I may paint the second one with more Black after seeing this. Like the accent White panels underneath, nice touch.

Cheers Siph. It mimics the lower panel of the Space Marine infantry helmets, which are also in white.

Managed to photograph my first Land Raider for the army as well. No conversion work on this one, just some moderate weathering and further use of the FW decals.







For the gunner, I wanted to have a splash of colour and toyed with having a techmarine crewman. However, I thought that the red was a bit extreme and decided to go with a crewman without a helmet. I used the Anvil Industry head bits, which fit in very nicely with the FW early armour marks.



Next will be more Marines, and then another Land Raider - just waiting for the weather to improve so I can get some decent pictures.

[Jericho]

You missed a perfect opportunity to fully counter-shade the Stormtalon like a great white. So sad

Lol just kidding, looks great as always. The weathering is nice and well balanced, nothing too unrealistic. I've been reading over my IA Masterclass books and will be looking forward to trying out some techniques in the coming weeks once I'm done with painting Raven Guard for a tournament this weekend. Next up is my drop pod, and I'm struggling to resist weathering it instead of just painting all the psychotically sharp edge hilights.

[Black Adder]

Sorry to bother but your work deserve to be improved

I really think you have to pay more attention to decals because, as now, they are working against the quality of the models... you can clearly see that borders are visible and simply come out too much. Maybe use some products for decals is the way or you are just using not enough water, I don't know.

The other thing is a bit of personal taste but anyway... this part could be more reasonable if darkened, metal making it look more like engine parts or smth like that if you know what you mean but, as i said personal taste. Great work again anyway because you really put much time and quality in these models and it's clear. GJ

[Gorman]

Cheers for feedback guys.

Jericho - I did think about that but found the idea of white on a larger model to be daunting... My current idea is to do a librarian model in mainly white, and call him "The Great White"... The Sevrin Loth model might be a good starting point.

Black Adder - appreciate your constructive criticism. The decals are a constant source of annoyance.... I always do a gloss coat to start, then use MicroSet as a base. Then I use MicroSet to soften the decal, before sealing it with matte varnish. Those are the only steps I can think of doing... I always trim off excess decal film as well. I've found that Forge World decals have the worst "filming" effect, and that is especially the case with the larger decals. I used some Flesh Tearers decals a while back and they were even worse than these Space Sharks ones....! Any other tips on using decals would be appreciated.

On the exhaust vent on the roof, I think I might go back and use some weathering soot powder to darken it up. I've tried to do this on all vents, exhausts etc but didn't want to over-weather the model.

[Black Adder]

I can't help much I'm sorry. If you used Micro enhancers already then i have no more suggestions. When it comes to vehicles the surfaces are bigger and generally the common water is enough because of the space available. It must be the FW's Achilles heel then...

About the engine vents on the back, I would go back to it. Those are working engine parts and i assure you they attract a lot of heat & dirt. I strongly recommend you rework them with a heavy wash and leave the camo grey as just a "reminder" of its former color.

Instead the roof vents depend on personal preferences, really I don't think there a right way to do them. If we would be talking about an historical model we should know what are they for. In this case we can assume they are for ventilation for instance,even if in a vulnerable position, also could be some other type of engine exhaust. In each case how a chapter maintain/produce these pieces it's variable and it wouldn't be strange to discover the entire indent removable, so to me it's really up to you and how you imagine/like it. I would suggest you leave the paint AND the weathering for some more simple dirt. First of all it's an indent in the roof and should be dirty in the borders, at least a little; this is the "sure thing". The very vents could be painted in black and then metal because it's plausible they are easily removed for cleaning. You already did a good weathering work all around without falling for the "metal trap", so just some ideas buddy do as you please

[npow34]

I think your vehicles look ace. The decals look realy good in the pictures. I think these are some of the hardest things to pull off on models. But I think you have done a swell job. Great to see this army coming together.

[Saul Tarvitz]

I have to say that I really do think that your Carcharadons are absolutely fabulous! The grey is so beautifully smooth, how do you get it that way? I'm guessing the good old multiple thin layers really.

[Gorman]

Cheers dudes - comments appreciated!

On the grey - I must admit I did cheat a bit! I used a black undercoat, then sprayed the vehicles with Army Painter Uniform Grey. This is a nice grey with a rougher finish, which allows for nice drybrushing and takes Citadel paints well. After highlighting I then used the MIG weathering wash to tie all colours together.

[Saul Tarvitz]

Really? You did that with Army Painter? Then colour me impressed! I've tried them before and the high pigment content is gorgeous but I did find it difficult to work with consistently. Though due to my intense dislike of painting, compounded by my total lack of skill with a brush, I am currently considering using them again to do my DA tbh.

[TRIBUN]

Awesome work on such a rare army theme. Keep on.

[Gorman]

Really? You did that with Army Painter? Then colour me impressed! I've tried them before and the high pigment content is gorgeous but I did find it difficult to work with consistently. Though due to my intense dislike of painting, compounded by my total lack of skill with a brush, I am currently considering using them again to do my DA tbh.

I'd recommend the sprays actually. but as you say you do need to be careful with them because of the high pigment count. Quick, light, multiple passes with the can is the way to go: if you linger on the model, the paint will destroy the detail. They are ideal if you dopn't like painting though, as the base coat plus a quick wash would be enough to get your army on the table. I just used it as I liked the shade of gray, and didn't fancy using Codex Grey (or whatever it is called now!) on a model the size of a Land Raider!

[Hairy Norseman]

A cool looking force. Nice posing on the Dred.

That is the best looking Storm Talon I have ever seen.

HN

[Saul Tarvitz]

I'd recommend the sprays actually. but as you say you do need to be careful with them because of the high pigment count. Quick, light, multiple passes with the can is the way to go: if you linger on the model, the paint will destroy the detail. They are ideal if you dopn't like painting though, as the base coat plus a quick wash would be enough to get your army on the table. I just used it as I liked the shade of gray, and didn't fancy using Codex Grey (or whatever it is called now!) on a model the size of a Land Raider!

Yeah I can totally understand that, good way of avoiding brush marks on it too! I think I'll have to give Army Painter another shot then, especially seeing as how good that Raider looks.

[Siph]

My Relictors use Uniform Grey Army Painter spray too, It is a perfect match for the old Codex Grey.

Love the Landraider, nice use of accent colours again, I'm getting ideas again for more Relictor goodness.... oh dear.

[DarkMark]

Great work fella. I reckon the sarg looks a little like he's tripping over that piping rather than charging thought. I see you've used some yellow, but have you considered dark pink too? As soon as a shark opens it's mouth, apart from the teeth, that's about the only colour you see. Could add a bit more spice and interest to a traditionally dull colour. Love the raider, but it's screaming for freehand somewhere.

Have you tried the new Lahmian medium for fixing decals? I've been playing with it, and it should work well. If it doesn't you can just the rest of the pot for fixing pigments, removing gloss from washes etc. Worth a couple of quid I reckon.