WIP: More DV Cultist Conversions

Remember how I hate duplicate sculpts? Well, my quiet rage drove me to convert every other cultist in my DV starter set.

I really had no choice with all the great cultist conversions I had seen recently. So let's dive in and see what I ended up with after dipping into the 'ol bitz boxes...

Run Down & WIP: Alpha Legion and DV Duplicate Minis

He needs a name...Oh! I know - Alpharius  ;)

Here is my entry for the STC contest assembled. At this point the base still needs to be finished and he needs a matte coat and some water effects on his eye lenses, but for now this gives you a good idea of the conversion and painting. Now after my last post I had a few requests for a run down of how this mini was painted so I thought I would do that today to balance out all the bare plastic later in the post...

WIP: STC Contest Entry Continued

The inspiration .

Welcome back. Lets jump right in shall we? Above is a really close idea of what I wanted my Alpha Legion to look like. Well, maybe a bit more corrupted since they are traitors.  Guess what? I got really close!

WIP: Standard Template Construct Contest Entry

Image/IP Copyright to Games Workshop PLC.

So I needed a break from all the GS and conversion work I put into making my Dark Vengeance Dark Angels into Angels of Redemption. Then I saw that the guys over at Standard Template Construct are running a contest during the month of November. The prize is a chance at one of two $50 gift certificates to Secret Weapon Miniatures. I should mention there is also another contest happening related to the aforementioned contest over at The Chaos Manifesto. Contest contest contest contest, contest :) Anyway, the plan was to buy the mini above and build it straight out of the box and paint it up.  Then I saw this in November's White Dwarf...

Same copyright as above.

Hey now! That could make a great Alpha Legion paint scheme with a little tweaking because I really do like them and I'm still smarting from how my Alpha Legion test model turned out. Another side note; From The Warp has a great Alpha Legion Tutorial up right now, so check that out too (Ron, get out of my head man - you are seriously freaking me out!). I already had my bitz box out and I hadn't put away my sculpting supplies yet so I thought: Let's follow the rabbit down the rabbit hole here...

WIP: DV Angels Of Redemption GS work, ugh.

Before we get into the WIPs I promised a brief review of Vallejo Matte varnish that I never got around to last post. Sorry about that. Above you can see the before and after images side by side for a few of the test minis I did for my DV paint schemes. Krylon Matte is out due to inconsistent frosting issues and Vallejo Acrylic Matte is in. I applied the Vallejo with a brush and diluted it at a ratio of 5:2 varnish to water.  I applied 2 thin coats with about 45 minutes of dry time between each coat. The reason is that if you apply it too thick it can get a bit cloudy because the main ingredient in matte is talc; so thinning it and doing multiple coats keeps it from getting cloudy, drying with brush strokes and gives you more control. I may try air brushing it on in the future, but for now I like the full control brushing it on gives me.  Verdict: I highly recommend Vallejo Matte.

Now onto the WIP...