Squats or Space Dwarfs... In Space!

[Major_Gilbear]

I will be the first to admit that they aren't necessarily the best armed/equipped unit from a gaming perspective... but I don't game so it doesn't concern me too much.

Eh, when they look this good, the rule of cool trumps all else I think?

The only things that stand out a little* to me are both stylistic ones; the power fist looks more like a bionic hand (I think it's the fingers that do it) and the ammo pod on the side of the sniper rifle (doesn't really fit the rest of the rifle's design).


*very little.

[Elbows]

Gorgeous stuff, and I'm particularly fond of the VOTOMS approach to those walker thingies.

[Inso]

Cheers

With regard to the Eldar bits... these are still WIP so they will change. That said, I wanted a less buff power fist so the fingers are likely to stay as they are. This may not appeal to everyone but there will always be bits of my army that suffer that stigma

[Major_Gilbear]

I know what you mean with regards to the power fist sizes - they do look especially unwieldy on human-size and smaller models!

For the Eldar ammo bulb, maybe something a bit more cylindrical? Or perhaps a las-cell?

[Inso]

The original specs of a GW sniper rifle had a crystaline dart travelling down a laser. I thought the little bulb on the side would make a nice little container for poisoned crystaline darts (a bit like a paint ball gun hopper). I need to do a bit of work on the gun but I can't do it until the arms are finished (it may involve tubes and things... I haven't decided yet).

Everything is fluid so by the time it is finished, it may look totally different (changing the shape of the bulb is very simple) .

[Major_Gilbear]

The original specs of a GW sniper rifle had a crystaline dart travelling down a laser. I thought the little bulb on the side would make a nice little container for poisoned crystaline darts (a bit like a paint ball gun hopper).

Yes, I remember that - I think the current plastic Space Marine Scout rifles still have this detail on them too.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with, as this has been a really cool project so far.

[Inso]

The army list:

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d161/Inso/GW%20Squats/Armypaint1_zpsodmfpgri.png

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d161/Inso/GW%20Squats/Armypaint2_zps54idvbf6.png

[Inso]

I have now finished the commander:



...and will be moving onto the next member of the squad soon. I have also been working on the second primaris psyker/Beastman Jedi and have been preping some miniatures for paint (amongst other things). There is more information and pictures on my blog here:

http://insosworld.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/we-have-commander.html

[Mason]

Brilliant!
Love that power glove!
 

[Major_Gilbear]

Looks great, and I think the extra work on the power glove was definitely worth it!   

[Inso]

Looks great, and I think the extra work on the power glove was definitely worth it!   

Once you had mentioned the fingers being a bit thin, I had no cjoice but to change things because you were spot on ! I am also glad that I took your advice.

I have also removed the bulb from the sniper rifle... I think that he will be the next one to get the sculpting focus

[Andym]

Great stuff man! I'll say it again....you need to get some paint on these and do them justice!

[Inso]

Just 4 more miniatures to go and paint will start getting applied

[Inso]

Although I haven't been sculpting this week, I have dug out some spare Squats and... the painting has started:



All the information is here:

http://insosworld.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/the-start-of-next-phase.html

[Major_Gilbear]

Hmm, I think in some ways I prefer C, becuase he has the best contrast and will show up against the proposed green (olive drab?) weapons.

I think, for me, the issue the Squats have is that they are small and colour schmes need to be simple and striking to stand out well.

I would therefore be inclined to pick maybe three main colours overall; vest and hat, boots and gloves, and webbing and pouches. The guns can fit in with one of those three colours, or be a neutral colour like grey or black.

Therefore, what about something like:

- Khaki/light sand vest and helmets/hats
- Dark brown boots and gloves
- Mid-olive drab webbing and pouches.

Guns can then be olive drab, black, or dark grey. These colous provide good contrast, are balanced across the model, and still let you do things like bright ID circles, white or black helmet/weapon stripes, coloured or dark green glass visors, etc. without the overall scheme looking too messy.

Another good tip to help yo confirm a good army scheme is to greyscale the photo of your models - this will easily show you if your colour scheme has the right contrast, or if all the colours are tonally too similar to prove the contrast needed to look good on a tabletop (i.e., the different colours all look pretty much the same grey in the adjusted photo if you don't have enuogh contrast).