Greatcoat Trenchers Finished!

Wow, I finally got this squad finished. I'm extremely happy with how they came out and I see this as the beginning of a long-term army project. I will do some Vickers-style heavy bolters and this might actually be the proper army for the GW version of the Leman Russ(maybe...). All of that, however, is far down the road. Here be some pics...

I will now move on to the task of going through all the incomplete builds and projects I have started but never finished. I will force myself to do this before I start one more new project.

Anyways, thanks for checking this out and please feel free to leave comments or criticisms.

The war goes on,
Hessler

The Greatcoat Mystery pt. 5

I've painted up one of the greatcoats just to test my color choices and I am happy with how it came out. Here is a pic...

Colors used are:

• Vallejo English Uniform
• Vallejo Khaki (webbing)
• Wargames Foundry Drab B (flak armor)
• Vallejo Black
• Vallejo Gunmetal
• Washes of Badab Black & Ogryn Flesh
  

It would appear that some of the colors have washed out thanks to my photo processing software. Overcast skies are not producing a great deal of sun right now so I had to make do with some lamps.

I do want to present these as dirty, muddy trenchers so highlighting will be minimal.

Anyways, thanks for looking and please leave me your comments and/or criticisms.

The war goes on,
Hessler

The Greatcoat Mystery pt. 4

Here is an update on my greatcoat squad. Not much to add here in terms of a comment. Some pics...

The sgt. head and weapons are from the Forge World Cadians w/respirators upgrade kit. Below are a few snaps to show the variations I got in the greatcoats.

That's it for now. Primer will be sprayed by tomorrow and I aim to get these painted over the weekend. C&C is welcomed.

The war goes on,
Hessler

The Greatcoat Mystery pt. 3

Just a quick update here. I finally finished my first test figure. I plopped a West Wind head on it and I am very satisfied...

Tell me what you think. I am back to the workstation to continue on with the rest of the squad.

The war goes on,
Hessler

The Greatcoat Mystery pt. 2

I worked through my apprehension this week concerning this foil/greatcoat project and decided to approach it from a different perspective. Instead of looking from an artistic point of view I have instead gone with the scientific approach.

First, the material in question...

After doing some preliminary measurements, I "deconstructed" the shape I needed and made a template from plasticard...

This allowed me a fair measure of consistent results...

For those who are thinking this material is too flimsy, allow me to demonstrate. Below is a piece to be used as a greatcoat, just like the ones shown above. It easily stands up to the weight of the figure. It is designed not to tear if dropped.

Before doing anything else with the metal, I trimmed down the legs. I start with the pockets and then move on to the bottom part of the tunic. NOTE: Please be careful when doing this kind of trimming. Most of you don't have my huge hands but it can still be dangerous when working with a sharp hobby knife. The result looks something like this...

After consulting some images I have gleaned off the internet, I tried my hand at some bends and curls and came up with this...

All in all, not too bad I think. I don't know if I want to get any deeper into the detailing for fear of getting frustrated again. I have been known to obsess over small details. Here is a comparison to everyone's new favorite greatcoat from the Cadian command kit...

The Cadian command piece does, in fact, stand a few mm taller than the standard Cadian trooper. Still, I think I am definitely on the right track. My biggest concern now is how to go about securing the coat to the legs. Superglue is about the only thing I can think of and it can get messy sometimes.

Any ideas out there? Let me know.

The war goes on,
Hessler

The Greatcoat Mystery

Here are a few hobby realities that I deal with every day...

1. I have no sculpting skills or patience to gain any
2. My giant hands make fine detail work a challenge, at best.
3. I am too poor to purchase Forge World models.

In light of these facts I have, nevertheless, found myself wanting to have some troops with greatcoats. In fact, almost every 40K related forum out there has at least 1 "plastic greatcoats" rumor thread, so I know I am not alone. In my constant search for some cost-effective alternative, I came upon an idea the other day that I was finally able to bring to life.

I went to my local hobby/craft store(here, it's Hobby Lobby) and purchased a 12" x 30" roll of soft aluminum.

After some persistent tinkering this afternoon, I believe I have achieved a result that will allow me my greatcoats, on a budget. Here is a picture of what I came up with...

I do realize there needs to be some fine tuning. This product is used in floral treatments and in embossing so it is very workable. My next step is to try and add some folds and details.

Please leave me your reactions and input and tell me if you have come up with a similar idea that you where happy with. I'm interested in what you readers think of the result and the potential.

The war goes on,
Hessler