The Conclave

Afternoon all,

I haven't done this for a while, but figured I'd start a modelling blog for my current project - which is to add a couple of new members to my Rogue Trader's team.  Currently the warband has the following members;
- Rogue Trader Entym Hydronus (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t286/kaled100/hydronus.jpg)
- Captain Olver Dominey IX - Commander of the Hydronus Household Guard (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t286/kaled100/dominey.jpg)
- Sergei Mentat - Servitor Savant (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t286/kaled100/mentat.jpg)
- Isobel Johanna - Astropath (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t286/kaled100/astropath.jpg)
- Unnamed Navigator (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t286/kaled100/navigator.jpg)
The two new additions are going to be Captain Jessamyn Rae*, Mistress of the 'Pride of Hydronus', and Explorator Zyl Vuric of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

The idea for Vuric came about when I was working on the Navigator - I dropped the furry part of the Crime Lord's cloak into my box of heads and when I pulled it out I accidentally picked up Gruss's head as well.  I was then struck with the idea that an Explorator wearing a big furry cloak could look very cool.  I've been through my bits box and gathered together these bits;

As most of you will no doubt have noticed, there's a definite lack of body parts there so I guess I'm going to have to sculpt that.  At the moment I'm not sure what he's going to be wearing - so any suggestions on that front would be appreciated.  He may just end up wearing robes, but I'm not yet decided.

As for weapons, he'll probably have either an Omnisian Axe, or I might give him an alien pistol instead.  For his left arm I'm considering an idea someone mentioned on the 'Clave a while ago - five slender mechadendrites that lock together to form an arm and hand, or which can disentangle themselves to access machinery or be used in combat as an electro-flail.  If I do decide to go down this route it'll mean making an arm out of guitar wire, probably with BFG antenna as the fingers.

For Captain Jessamyn Rae, I've bought Pegaso's Nokjagerin (http://www.pegasomodels.com/productdetails_en.asp?id=841).  The plan is to sculpt on a few more clothes and give her a hellpistol, sheathed sword, and a coiled neural whip hanging from her belt.  I really love her hat - it was one of the things I liked best about the original model, however I've decided it has to go (though expect me to build a model around it in future!).  Instead she'll be wearing a bicorne.  For that I bought a pack of heads from Historex, however I'm not sure if I'll use one of those or sculpt my own.

Again, I raided my bits box and found out the following parts;

Now I'm not sure where to start.  I guess I'll start cleaning up some of the mould lines and building a framework for the Explorator's body.  Expect an update in the next few days...

- Dave


* Some of you may recognise the name as being one I already used on this (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t286/kaled100/jessamyn.jpg) model, well just after Christmas I reworked that model - I'd never been happy with her head and sword, so I replaced them with parts from Sevorina and she has joined my Ordo Sicarius warband as another of Red Queen's operatives.  I still really liked the name however and decided to re-use it for the Captain of Hydronus's ship.

I can't wait to see what you come up with out of those bits.

Excited to see how this plog comes out as you actually have some follow-through  ;)

So far there isn't much progress to report - I've made bases for the two of them to match the bases for the rest of the warband and have cleaned up a load of mould lines.

I'm stillhaving difficulty figuring out what the Explorator's body should look like. I'm kinda tempted to build him a bionic leg, but if he's wearing robes then most of it would be hidden.

My girlfriend says to watch "space truckers" and make your new bionic guy like the bad guy (played by Charles Dance)  ;D

Don't think I've seen Space Truckers - and if I have I don't remember Charles Dance in it.  Do you have a picture?  I couldn't find a good one.  I did find a few pictures of these (http://www.scifimoviepage.com/images/trucker.jpg) guys - no idea who they are, but they look pretty cool.

Not much progress to report so far.  So far I've just pinned her to her base and pinned her torso to her legs.  Now that's done she'll be easier to handle, so I'll start sculpting her top.  I think my plan is try and sculpt something with detail down the front a bit like this (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_j2inx4BzJbs/Sy1_PJ6tqsI/AAAAAAAAAz4/RcvWG2y8nMM/s400/debutante_military_jacket.jpg), and it'll probably have a keyhole cut-out like this (http://www.honourwholesale.com/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/r/sr1093_b_2_.jpg) to show off some cleavage.


I've also cut down Gruss's head and started fixing it in position on the Crime Lord's furry collar - it still needs a fair bit of work to re-sculpt his hood - that's about it for the Explorator.

I think they mean this guy Dave not the super killer robots


http://www.flickr.com/photos/theskyeisfalling/5019857636/in/photostream/  (http://www.flickr.com/photos/theskyeisfalling/5019857636/in/photostream/)

Yeah, that's better than the pics I found - I couldn't find a decent one showing his torso & legs though.

Looking promising so far Kaled.  The torso seems a bit small in proportion to the legs at the moment, but with clothing added it'll probably look better (normally does by the time you're finished). 

Gruss in a fur coat seems like it'll be very creepy.  Which, of course, is good.

Looking good. I look forward to seeing more on them, the legs look very dynamic.

I think the reason the torso looks small is partly her lack of clothing, but also because her shoulders and collar bones are covered by her cloak, which is a separate part.

Looking forward to seeing how these turn out. I like the slightly archaic militaristic feel this warband has, and the new girl fits right in.

The new mechanicus character looks interesting - I'm intrigued to see how he develops as I don't have a feel for how he'll turn out yet.

This is prob the best torso shot I can find

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theskyeisfalling/5019254205/

Quote from: axiom on January 25, 2011, 10:27:38 PM
The new mechanicus character looks interesting - I'm intrigued to see how he develops as I don't have a feel for how he'll turn out yet.

I am too, I don't yet have a feel for him either - I've been looking around for inspiration, but so far nothing has 'clicked' as being just right.  I have had an idea for a bionic leg, but as for his torso & clothing I don't really know...

I've long loved that mini, but the way you're taking it looks fantastic, Dave.  Can't wait to see how she turns out.

R.

It's really not the best photo, but I've started sculpting her top - the buttons are from a press-mould I did of the ones on Covenant's coat.

I don't have any new photos to show - the things I've done since the last update are all preparation of parts or minor changes not worth showing yet.

I have decided to add another model to the group - I've always wanted a mechanical grinning Cheshire cat and a while ago I got hold of the one from Tales of War's Alice (http://www.taleofwar.com/shop/product.php?id_product=73) (thanks again Gav!).  The idea is that he'll become the mechanical grinning ship's cat.  I plan to drill out one of his eyes and have it hanging loose on wires, and maybe gouge a hole or two in his body to reveal cables etc underneath.

I was also thinking if I add any more members to the warband some good additions might be a Sister Famulous and a Missionary (I've been reading Blood of Martyrs), so if anyone has model suggestions for a woman in formal dress and a priest then let me know.

Work has been really busy recently, so progress has been slower than hoped - however I hope to find time this weekend to sit down and start work on the Explorator's body.

- Dave

Yesterday I made a bit of progress on the Explorator.  I spent quite a bit of time building his bionic leg - his foot was the base of an IG mortar, his lower leg was part of an autocannon (I think) and his upper leg is part of a Tau battlesuit.  I then added a plasticard kneecap and some cabling.

After that, I bulked out his body and will probably start sculpting his leg next.  The idea is that will be pretty similar to the sort of thing I did on the legs of my Demiurg (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t286/kaled100/demiurg.jpg).


I also started work on his bionic arm.  The idea is it's five slender mechadendrites that coil together to form an arm and hand.  Next I plan to make a hand out of BFG antennas and then somehow attach that to the end of the arm.  Chance are I'll sculpt the connection between hand and arm rather than try to bend the wires into position.

Looks promising. Is that green stuff or milliput you're using to bulk out the body?

I love that leg and i'm really looking forward to seeing the progress on this model, I'm keen to see how the warband progress's

Oh! I was expecting the Explorator to be the female, with the furs and tech-priest head on that female body.

Slightly disappointed, but mollified by the expectation of two new minis.

I've started getting my band together for the IGT, now, so I may have to start a new thread myself, tomorrow...

R.

Morning all,

I'm going to work on these two some more this afternoon, but first I thought I'd post an update.

I've been working on the Explorator's leg - he's going to be wearing a three-quarter length coat, probably  edged with a cog-tooth pattern, so that will cover up some of the messy areas around his groin.


I've also done a bit of work on the Captain - I've started sculpting her holster, and have been working on her arms.  I decided not to use the ones from the original model so am going to adapt ones from Damien Bloodhound instead as they're already fairly slender and I'll file them down a little.  Hopefully you should get to see pictures of those soon.

I've also been working on weapons and the Explorator's arm.  I've built the Captain's neural whip, sword and hellpistol.  My first attempt at the hellpistol used Von Castellan's as a base and I think it looks really good (in case anyone was wondering, the cables attach in front of the handle).  Unfortunately it's too big for this model, so I had a second go using Jaxon's pistol as the base - this one turned out pretty well too, so I'm not too disappointed.  (The cables attach through the handle.)  The neural whip turned out well I think, but I'm not so happy with the sword so I may revisit that.


The Explorator's arm is not completed, but I think it's working well so far - I've got the cables into about the right position so I just need to join them up with some greenstuff.

Interesting approach on the bionic arm.  I look forward to seeing how they turn out.

R.

Nice looking set of weapons. The bionic arm looks really interesting, although one aesthetic problem you may face is the slenderness of it against the bulk of the rest of the Explorator.

The arm isn't so slender - in fact it's deliberately over-sized, partly for the reason you mention, and partly because I wanted it to be obvious it's not really an arm, but a collection of mechadendrites acting as an arm.

The Explorator is bulky - I'm actually finding it difficult to fill out the Crime Lord's cloak.  I keep getting the proportions wrong, his body has to be a lot wider than normal in order to fit the cloak and not leave a massive gap at either side of his body, as well as between his back and the cloak.  It's getting there, butis going pretty slowly.

in the Inquisitor Sketchbook theres a drawing of a noble woman with a massive cloak that's held up by servo skulls

That's not a bad idea. The cloak is obviously sculpted to hang over his arms and shoulders, but if I'm still having issues I could probably resculpt it a little to be held up by a couple of servo-skulls.

I must say I like your version of the Von Castellan's pistol it looks like a really meaty weapon perfect for a threatening character I may have to steal that design

Quote from: Necris on February 07, 2011, 04:40:45 PM
I must say I like your version of the Von Castellan's pistol it looks like a really meaty weapon perfect for a threatening character I may have to steal that design

I've already stolen it!

I'm glad people like the pistol - I was really happy with it, especially as I have a few of Von Castellan's pistol sitting unused in my bits box.  And now that I look at it again, by simply removing the barrel and making a couple of other small changes it could be made into a very cool stubber.

I think that Von Castelaan's pistol would make a great stubber if you removed most of the barrel (leave about 1mm of the cylinder, and drill it out,) and removed the sideways magazine.

I made it into a twin-mag stubber by chopping of the barrel, giving it a big thick flash hider or long barrel or something, and two 28mm bolter magazines at different angles. I wanted three, but it looked really awkward. Its in the hands of the red-armoured Inquisitor in my WIP thread.

I've been doing a bit more work on these two...

First up is the Explorator - I forgot to take a photo after doing the lower half of his coat, but now I've stuck his body and cloak together, including his left arm.  The next job is to start his right arm and to detail his chest - either that, or to build his axe and mechadendrites.


I've started on the girl's head and hat.  I had to make a few adjustments to it as the bicorne was worn sideways on the original model and I wanted it fore and aft.  It needs a bit of tidying up, but 'm really happy with how it looks - more characters should have hats!


Also, she now has arms - I kept the pose of the original, but used Bloodhound's arms instead.  Her right arm is attached to her cloak, her left to her body.  I haven't yet joined her cloak and body, but that'll be the next job and then I can fill the gaps and it'll be time to add the rest of her equipment to her belt.  I'm really not happy with her sword, so will re-work that as well.

And now I can see where the inspiration for this model came from!

R.

I haven't passed comment on this thread yet, but I guess that's common fare for me in the P&M section.

I love what you're doing with Jessamyn - it's a fantastic model to start with, but yet you're still finding ways to improve upon it. I may well have to take inspiration from her somewhere down the line...

The Explorator is also turning out well for what is quite a tough combination. Personally, I'd probably have elected for a model with more of a paunch, but that's not very AdMech (doubtless, they have technology that siphons off excess fats to maintain the efficiency of their already "frail" organic parts*).
*i.e. Liposuction.

It has just occurred to me another solution would have been a not so bulky Tech Priest, but with a mess of mechadendrites curving out of his back, holding the coat up and giving it its size, sort of an unintentional framework for it. It's perhaps too late for you to use the idea, but I think I like the concept, so I may well make a Techpriest like that myself.

Also, I believe I shall have to run an event at some point, and give you a chance to get some of the wonderful models you've been making over the last year on the table so we can admire them in person.

Both models are looking great Dave. What are your plans for the Explorator's right arm?

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure other than he'll be carrying an axe. I might make it similar to his left leg and his coat would be a tabbard. Or his coat might stay a coat and it'll just be a simple sleeve.

Last night I started adding tubes to his torso - I'd never been sure exactly what his chest was going to look like, but now it's going to have a control panel in the centre with tubes running around the sides of his torso to whatever is on his back, plus the tube running to his mouth - some sort of fancy atmosphere filter/processor perhaps...

And only now do I realise that I've put the tubes running around his back in the exact place his mechadendrites were meant to attach. Oh well, sure I'll find space to attach them...

If I get chance I'll post pics later so you can see what I'm talking about.

I like what I can see but you seem to have a wee bit of a bandwidth problem :(

the bandwidth problem is because Warseer have used the advert for the IGT straight out of Daves photobucket instead of rehosting it themselves. Every single time someone has gone to the Warseer homepage it has eaten into Daves bandwidth allocation.

Yay how clever of them!

It's my fault - I told them to use that image. Originally they used one on the DM site but that (and the number of downloads of the Briefing Pack) caused the DM site to exceed it's bandwidth, so I changed to use the Photobucket copy. Not sure why it's had so much traffic this month though as it wasn't a problem last month.

Looks like I  need to find yet another home for it...

try weebly for some of your photos

My quota on Photobucket resets tomorrow so normal service will be resumed then...

If we had a like button I'd be pressing it. I'm glad we don't but the sentiment stands.

Dave i dont use my photobucket so if you need something hosting i dont mind putting it up there or even just giving you access to it let me know if it becomes a problem again and im happy to help

Just a very quick update to show progress from this week while my Photobucket was dead.

As you can see I've added the cable to the Captain's hellpistol leading to a power pack on her belt and I've attached her head.  The main jobs left on her are to build a new scabbard for her sword and to attach it and her neural whip to her belt.  I also realise I've forgotten to add her shield generator to her left arm - something I meant to do before attaching her arm...

I've added quite a bit of detail to the Explorator's torso - the cabling to his chest and packs etc to his belt.  I still haven't built his right arm, axe or mechadendrites though.

Finally, I assembled the ship's cat - to show that he's mechanical he now has one eye popping out of it's socket, some cables and springs poking out his back and a few patches where he's been repaired in the past.

Any and all comments are welcome.

- Dave

The cat looks like a nightmare. In a good way.

Looking forward to seeing these progress even further. Nice crisp detailing so far. As to the shield generator I can relate to forgetting to stick to a plan when assembling minis!

The Explorator may not have an arm yet, but he does have an axe - and mechadendrites.


Also, I've now made the blood sacrifice, a necessary step in building any good model - a drill bit snapped and I drilled a pretty deep hole in my finger tip.   :(

- Dave

What gauge of wire is that? I may go get myself some...

Hope the finger's ok! Blood for the Hobby Gods!

nice use of the FW technical drone part. the group is coming along really well, although I'm yet to be convinced about that cat...

Quote from: DapperAnarchist on March 05, 2011, 07:44:19 PM
What gauge of wire is that? I may go get myself some...

Apparently it's an A string from a bass guitar.  I bought a set of cheap bass guitar strings off eBay - very useful.

Dave i love your work my one niggle is that the explorator is a very big model but from the pictures does not really have much of a stomach and i just expect him to have abit more of a paunch would it be possible to have a side on shot.  I do however love the axe it looks rather brutal.

Awesome axe. Where is the hand from?

I really like the mechadendrites too.

So, they're basically finished - not sure when I'll start painting, but I'll share pics when I do.  The Captain now has a shield generator and I've attached her neural whip and the new scabbard to her waist.  About the only change to the Explorator is his right arm which I'm not entirely happy with but I think it'll be okay once it's painted.

Quote from: kierkegaard on March 06, 2011, 07:45:40 PM
Awesome axe. Where is the hand from?

Which one?  The right hand is from Sgt Stone, the left is a set of antennas from a BFG Cruiser stuck together and bent a little to look like fingers and a thumb.

Quote from: Stormgrad on March 06, 2011, 02:02:40 PM
my one niggle is that the explorator is a very big model but from the pictures does not really have much of a stomach and i just expect him to have abit more of a paunch would it be possible to have a side on shot.

A side on shot wouldn't show you much - between his cloak and the gubbins on his belt etc you can't really see his stomach.  He doesn't have a paunch, and deliberately not because I didn't want him to resemble the Crime Lord.  He is pretty broad and fairly short, and I figure he has equipment strapped to his back adding to his bulk.  Still, he's not exactly my best sculpting - I found it very difficult to sculpt a body that would fill out the Crime Lord's cloak.

Looking good.  the explorator is a slightly odd shape, but then he's so augmented that this isn't so much of an issue.  Like how the left arm's come together.

The captain certainly strikes a dashing pose in the finest naval tradition.

I think that the explorator's right arm looks great - I really like the segmented armour you have used on the (presumably) organic limbs.

I also really like the captain (you're right, we need more hatted characters. That use of the Bodyguard's sword is great. Where did the rest of the scabbard come from?

I'm seriously loving the Captain and her hat, wonderful model. Feels almost edge chronicles, sky piratey.

Quote from: kierkegaard on March 07, 2011, 11:04:32 PM
Where did the rest of the scabbard come from?

It's just a length of 2mm thick plasticard filed to shape and wrapped with three strips of thin plasticard. The eagle is there to suggest she spent some time in the Imperial Navy before joining the Rogue Trader's ship.

It's well worth buying a sheet of 2mm plasticard as it's perfect for making weapons - it's what I used for the Explorator's axe blade.

As usual you came out with such great models.
I love the hat on the captain, I am making a female rogue trader as well and I got stuck on her hair witch I wanted to do like the female captain on the Rogue Trader RPG book.
You might have changed my mind, now I have to decide if I wanna buy them or sculpt it myself  :-\

Cracking stuff as usual Dave! I'll echo all the comments about the Captain, she's full of character and I can't wait to see her painted. I like the explorator too, although I'm not sold on his axe. Have you tried making the teeth of the axe cog-shaped rather than jagged?

I'm also very interested to see what you do with the ship's cat..

The axe head is based on an illustration of an Omnissian Axe in one of the Dark Heresy books. I did a few sketches of a cog shaped one, but in the end decided I liked the DH version best.

Okay, I know it's been a while but I have been busy and I've got a few updates to show you.

First up is Numbers, the grinning mechanical ship's cat.  He prowls the decks of the ship hunting out vermin and occasionally accompanies Captain Rae on missions - he's in need of a few repairs, but has a vicious bite.  In game terms he's going to be represented using a variation on the cyber-mastiff rules, but slightly temperamental and prone to wandering off.


Next is Explorator Zyl Vuric.  I forget who it was who posted pictures of a blue tech-priest, but I always liked the idea so borrowed it for this guy.  It worked out rather well as it fits in with the rest of the warband and gives the impression he's 'gone native' - that his loyalty is now as much to House Hydronus as it is to his masters in the Mechanicus.


Finally there's Captain Jessamyn Rae, MIstress of the 'Pride of Hydronus'.  I was feeling rather rusty when it came to painting the Explorator but by the time I got to Rae I was back into the swing of it and I think she turned out rather well.


Anyway, that's it for now - I hope you like them.  My next project is to paint my Tau Water and Air Caste and their three drones.  I also think I need to arrange a few games - after watching you lot play at the IGT and having just finished these models I'm really in the mood to give them a whirl on the table.

- Dave

That cat is just too creepy  :).  Zyl's come out looking a bit lopsided, like his mechanical leg isn't quite long enough.  Adds a little bit of grit to the model's feel - bionics can easily come across as too slick and somehow not quite imperial in their look..  Liking the darker colour scheme too, very nice.

Captain Jessalyn looks great, and black cloth can be tricky to paint effectively.

Love the cat! Is that from the Alice in wonderland figure I assume? Very characterful bunch who look fantastic

Quote from: Kaled on April 09, 2011, 12:10:19 PMI think she turned out rather well.

and the award for forum understatement of the year goes to, drumroll please, KALED!

She looks incredible. Great job on the face in particular. Look very real.

I love this group. The cat is brilliant. Glad I looked at the alternative angles. I like your AdMech guy too; I'm so used to them looking like the all have the exact proportions of Delphan Gruss... A welcome change here.

I also want to play soon. Its been far too long.

I had been looking forward to seeing these for quite a while. Now that they have arrived, I think that they have exceeded my expectations. Fantastic. Simply fantastic. As usual...

I love the muted colours - everything looks so natural. The hat and cloak on the Captain and the clothes on the Explorator are particularly excellent.

The modelling and characterful converting are also top notch. I think that the eye that protrudes from the cyber-cat's head, the bionic hand on the Explorator and the Captain's hat are all excellent touches.

I'm still not a fan of the cat. Nice paintjob though.
Captain Rae and the Explorator are fantastic though, the Captain is especially gorgeous, the model came together really well.

I like the cat, it looks menacing while remaining funny. The tech-priest is something different from what you normally see but he looks good, he looks mysterious and inhuman, like a tech priest should.

And the captain, just wow, her whole feel is great, perfect for someone like her.

Glad you all like them.

Quote from: Myriad on April 09, 2011, 12:20:01 PM
Zyl's come out looking a bit lopsided, like his mechanical leg isn't quite long enough.

Yeah, I think that's about right. I thought it gave him a slightly piratical look - sort of a high tech peg-leg.

Quote from: Shannow on April 09, 2011, 12:20:32 PM
Love the cat! Is that from the Alice in wonderland figure I assume?

Yes, it comes from a Tale of War miniature that Gav bought and traded with me. I always wanted a 40k Chesire Cat and this one was just so perfect - he's really sinister looking and I'm glad I decided to have one eye springing out. I wasn't certain about that idea until I painted the eye and it just fit.

You must have put a lot of time and love into this warband. Very nice conversions and brilliant paint job.  8)

ahemm  :o, I believe jessamyn is one of the most beautifully painted female character i have seen on this forum.
If I were a GM in a game involving her I would certainly look for the article about feelings in the 40k.

It could go like this " Ok, you failed a Ld roll so all your henchmen fall in love with the enemy captain, if they fail a Wp test they start drooling as well"  ;D ;D ;D ;D

My sincere compliments, I regret not living in England so I could have the chance to play against you.


Oh and by the way that cat needs to get "fixed", spring is coming  ;D

The Explorator's absolutely brilliant.

I'm quite taken aback at how much you've managed to do with what I would've assumed was a very restrictive base, since the cloak requires a stocky build and a fairly square stance.

The cat's creepy as all heck, but I think it's only the great paintjob that ties it into the rest of the warband - it just doesn't look quite mechanical enough to me. Or maybe not ragged enough. A little smooth and cartoony, as the base model obviously is.

The captain was a great spot for a conversion, especially as the whole regal styling of the model lends itself so well to captaincy.
And, as everybody's said, great job with the pistol.

I feel I have to say something in recognition of these, but as with many of your threads, I don't think I've got anything either sufficiently unique (everyone else has already said it) or constructive (my painting skills are teh sux) as to be truly worth ratcheting up my post count by another notch.

But for the sake of being an even more obsessive post-troll (not really): *Insert assorted compliments and praises here.*

Quote from: MarcoSkoll on April 12, 2011, 12:47:15 AM
I feel I have to say something in recognition of these, but as with many of your threads, I don't think I've got anything either sufficiently unique (everyone else has already said it) or constructive (my painting skills are teh sux) as to be truly worth ratcheting up my post count by another notch.

I often find myself in a similar boat. If I can't bring something constructive to a conversation/discussion such as this one, I'll normally just sit in silent admiration.

But since these models are especially nice, I think I'll break my trend.

The paintjob has certainly gone a long way to improve the tech-priest's aesthetic appeal, and the details you've worked into the lenses of his sensor array mechandrite are especially nice. The contrast between the light colours of his collar and various accoutrements, and the dark colours of his clothing is nicely executed, and helps to visually break up the model, and yet bind it together with a nicely cohesive pallate. So, in other words, well done.

However, I think the captain really does win the Charlie-Sheen wincake in this instance. The paintjob on the face is simply superb, and certainly draws attention away from her considerable assets.... Which is a great achievement.

Anyway, the short version is that you've done a great job on these. :D