I finished this squad of Chaos Bikers a very long time ago. The only thing that kept me from taking shots of the unit was that I didn’t have the meltaguns painted yet – they’re magnetized. So, I finally got the meltaguns painted – like a year later, and decided it was time I took some shots of the finished unit.
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Biker Gallery
Just tabletop quality painting on these guys.
Some Ramblings on Snow
I got the left Biker (camera left) used a long time ago. He was very derpy. Put together with rubber cement, and seriously abused, he was in rough shape. I fixed him up as best I could, and with it all painted I think he fits in just fine.
It was also that biker that inspired the snow on the tires. There were some serious issues with the front wheel, so I thought I’d hide it with snow. The first technique I tried, the GW Mountain Snow technical paint, I wasn’t really happy with. It was just too grainy.
I then found this stuff at AC Moore, a chain craft store in the US.
At the time when I first finished these bikes, I was using snow flock for the bases. So, I wasn’t using the snow technique that you now see on their bases, which of course I redid to hide the snow flock.
Anyway, I didn’t have a convincing method for snow on the tires at the time, and so I got that snow paste. It worked, it doesn’t look bad, and I can live with it. The latest Biker squad I did uses a different method for snow on the tires, but those finished shots will come next week.
Live and Learn
That’s always the thing with basing, or this hobby in general. You get better, find more convincing techniques, and struggle with the thought of updating models you did earlier. I’m not one to repaint old models, but when it comes to basing you have to keep some consistency. Right now I have models with four different snow basing techniques. I’m slowly, as I find free time (hahahaha!), updating them all to my current technique, which I’m really happy with.
Sorry about the rambling. This this unit has gone through various experiments to reach this point, and I felt like unloading.
I love painting miniatures and teaching people how to paint. I also really love blogging, so I've combined those two passions here.
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Did you install winter tires on the bikes?
Afraid not. They’re hard to come by in the warp, and the prices are insane if you find any.
Looking good chief.
Danke.
really cool effect!
Definitely adds a level of realism, which is key to basing I think.
You nailed the snow effect. Great job.
Thanks.
I think they look very good. Snow is hard to get a good result with, it’s so easy to overdo it (which I tend to do) so this is very interesting to read about, I’m looking forward to the next part.
I really like your color choice for the Lightning Claw, fits perfectly with the rest giving some contrast.
Thank you. The guys like to make fun of me for my “pink” power weapons, but Chaos isn’t afraid to wear pink!
I think I have as many basing styles as I do armies, well more sine my Iron Warriors have about four generations of attempts! Yeah some day maybe I’ll rebase them all in a mad flurry of an extended weekend (probably not)
The snow looks good and the paste seems like it worked well for you. The bikers look awesome too, their color works really well against the snow base.
The paste worked, but it’s a bit too clean I felt. Snow on tires is sloppy and messy.
The snow basing was something I put a lot of thought into before starting the army. The contrast was a consideration for sure. The other was what snow represents to a lot of people: peace, happiness, virginity, and having is perverted with Chaos.