| The Stormraven Gunship |
Posted by Ron![]() Image from All Things 40k by Master Darksol We all know it's out there now, but what does it look like? For me, this cartoon will forever symbolize the vehicle. It makes me laugh every time I see it. But on a modeling note... Maybe Games Workshop have some art for it, maybe not. If there is artwork, I'm sure someone will be able to reproduce it faithfully given enough money and skill. I've heard from people who've seen the Blood Angels Codex that there is no image for it in the new book. If Forge World puts out a model, that will help some of us, but what about the rest of us? What about us rank and file players who want something suitable to use to represent this new Space Marine vehicle in our armies? We've seen what's been used to represent drop pods before, I wonder what we'll see for this. ![]() Coming from the Star Wars toy collection, this thing was used to transport Republic Troops into battle in Episode II. If I had to imagine what the Stormraven Gunship might look like (not knowing anything else about the model), this is the one vehicle that fits the bill for me. ![]() Image from Warseer This thing popped up a while ago and was rumored to be part up the upcoming Imperial Armour 8 book from Forge World. Definitely looks cool, but we won't know it's exact purpose until the book comes out and even then, this guy might not even be in there. So what's the average gamer to do? ![]() Image from Games Workshop Is this the answer? Will this become the basis for most Stormraven Gunship conversions out there? Priced like a Land Raider but with lots of work still left to do to it, is it even a viable option? - Ron If you've got any ideas, spell it out in a comment and include a link if you've got one... I'll be adding more pics to this as people do. |
| A Painting Quiz: Putting it all together |
Posted by Ron![]() Space Marine Chapters poster by Games Workshop If you've been following this so far, you took the quiz, read the explanantions and now you're wondering what's the point of all this? The previous post had two more pictures with questions at the bottom. For those who still aren't sure, here are those answers: 1. Four fingers.But let me ask you this, if the image shows no fingers at all, but a row of bumps and what looks like a wrench, how do you get four fingers? You just know, right? Our brain fills in the gaps of missing information. It looks like a hand, we recognise it as a hand and we assign it everything we know that goes with 'hand.' That means four fingers, a thumb, etc. 2. A horse.This one is even better. All you have is a shape (stylised at best) to go from. No color, no icons... but you still come up with a horse. How many horses do you know of that only have two legs, no eyes, and one ear? That's all that the 'horse' we 'see' in the image. But we still get horse as our answer. The human brain tries to figure out what something is based on what it knows and recognises. You don't have to show us the whole thing for our brains to figure it out. We are able to fill in the blanks and come to a fairly accurate guess. It's how you got Genestealer and Ultramarine dreadnought as answers in the quiz. Same thing goes for 40k. We know the history and background of the game and we are able to figure out what things are based on their shape, color and indentifying marks. Our brain does the rest. Now... depending on how much of the background you know will determine how well you are at determining what some of the more obscure things are. But, we all know the basic background of the game, even if we don't play every single army ourselves. But how does this relate to painting? Simple. Because we know that people brains try to 'fill in the blanks,' we can apply this to our painting and give people information that their brain can use to make the leap to exactly what we want them to. ![]() My Deathwing troops are the perfect example. Let's look at why they work as it relates to the painting aspect. I get the bonus for the correct shape, but it's the painting that tells you exactly what Chapter they are. In reality, there is no white or even bone color on these guys. In fact, they are just primed with light grey and washed with Devlan Mud. But here's the key, they are light in overall appearance and I've added a single tan highlight on the edges of their armour. This combination (the light overall look and the tan lightlight) is all it takes for viewers to look at them and immediately make the jump to 'Deathwing...' based on what most people know abuot the 40k universe. Add in the single shoulder pad icon (that isn't even exact, but a close approximation) and it's all a viewer needs to be sure. And what does this get me? Good question. It gets me all the associated baggage that comes with 'Deathwing.' Because people recognise my army, they immediately think about everything they know about Deathwing and put that on my army. Thinking things like, those Terminators are going to be tough to crack, Deathwing are the toughest in the Imperium, those are the most senior and experienced members of the Dark Angles, etc... When they (their brains) make the jump because they recognise the army, they immeditely 'fill in the gaps' with everything else they know about them. ![]() Image from Games Workshop And it goes on... Space Wolves are another good example. What does it take to say 'Space Wolves' to a viewer? Grey armour with some variation of red, yellow and black markings that resemble what we all think we know about Space Wolves? Do that and all of a sudden, you'll find people recognise your force and bring all their Space Wolf fears to the table when playing you. Do you need 40 shades of grey and blue and black all blended together with intricate detailed symbols painted on each shoulder? Blood Angels will be another example... paint them blue and they won't have the same effect. But paint them red, add 'blood drop' type imagery and all of a sudden, you've got Blood Angels and all the close combat ferocity associated with them. Do you need to have a base color of XYZ, highlighted up through 80 shades of red and then blended together to get some complex Blood Angels red formula? No. Find the essential characteristics, include those and you'll hit the mark every time. ![]() Ultimately, my Librarian failed (at being recognised as a Deathwing Librarian to your average player) because while I had the shape, my color was off and I had no icons to help the viewer figure out where the model belonged once they couldn't figure out the color and their brain couldn't match it with anything they already knew to jump to. But the idea works for any army. Unless you're doing some strange 'counts-as' force, have obscure conversions, or have picked a completely unknown paint scheme, you'll already have the shape associated with your army. If you can figure out what it takes (as it relates to painting)for the viewer to look at your army and jump to the conclusion you want, you'll get all the added benefits of the model's rich background when people face off against you. Regardless of how accurate it may or may not be. - Ron |