Federation Commander

OK, so my long time nemesis Rick has demanded on said thread (http://www.starfleetgames.com/federatio ... php?t=1354) that I post some pictures of my lousy Klingons. Well, here they be. Pardon the picture quality (sorry for the glare) my set-up is pretty ghetto. Plus the painting isn't my best effort, but it gets the job done.

First up is the fleet so far. It's basically all the stuff that was left over in some Border box he bought. I was getting tired of Romulan tactics (gasp) and decided to pick up the sabre and try out the Klinks. Turns out they're a blast to play. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Romulans (way too much), but I dig the flexibility of the Klingons.



I've always seen the Klingon vessels as either a Dark Panzer Grey or Dark Green in my mind. (C'mon, they're totally Space Germans) Green is coming someday, but for now the grey was up to bat. The first couple of ships ended up being awfully dark and dirty because I took the whole battle damage thing too far. I figured the Klingons aren't taking their D5s to car washes or anything. (Seeing as how they can barely control the smoke and fires that seem to always be present on their dank and smokey bridges.) Here's a D5 and a "weathered" D5 side by side.



The weathering consisted of darker layers of paint blobs and some more metallic chipping, followed by another coat if ink. The result is a busticated worn cruiser that's seen some action on the borders. Next'll be a pair of D5Ws - also in clean and weathered forms.



As to the dark red stripes on the ships. I dunno. There's so much flat space on the wings there that I couldn't just leave it alone. So I took a cue from the movies I suppose and painted on some wing-esque type shapes on the...well, wings. Then I kept going with that while my brush was still wet and added more tribal type shapes onto the ships. Blocky, angular shapes that taper in places. Simple, but efficient. Below is a D7 and 2E4s.



The D7 had lots of flat empty space, so I filled it with the theme I had going on. The E4s were a little tricky as the flat space was much smaller, but I managed to get the red designs on there in some fashion. Again, one is weathered and one is clean. I needs another D7 to make a weathered version, though I think any further ships (D5D!) will take on the dark green theme I wanna do, because I'm tired of grey right now. Lastly I have a shot of the ships from the side to show off some of the lights I dabbed onto the hull. Plus it shows off the neato bases I picked up from Litko.



A word on the bases: All you kids fluent in Klingon - save your breath. The names of these ships are meaningless. I just threw some syllables together that sounded gutteral and Klingony. So I can yell the name during the game with conviction!

These are absolutely beautiful. I too like dark klingons, but those wing details are awesome. Well done.

Aha! Here there be Klingons! Ty...like I told you before...they look freakin' great!
Sweet dark grey color scheme and the nod to the Bird Of Prey on the wings is an
excellent touch.

And dude...those bases look sweet! Even better than I thought they would when
you set them against the hexes. They stand out something fierce!

Nice work!

The color scheme is fantastic! I like the red stripes, it gives your fleet a menacing theme. Overall, they look very TMP style.

Can't wait to see your Romulans.

I like the strips and tribal pattern markings. Very distinct and super-clean edges - you must have a really steady hand (I assumed they were decals until I finished reading your post).

Those stands are awesome. I didn't know Litko would custom etch until today. Oh well, too late for my collection.

Time for djdood to have a new collection with custom engraved stands?

I love the stripes, they look extra war-like! It's nice to have a bit of individuality and creativeness within your squadron, and definately do the odd ship in green because: a) it's nice to have individuality between your ships and; b) well, it just looks plain awesome on a Klingon! As djdood pointed out above, you have extra clean edges there - very well done indeed, especially on the parts where it tapers away to a point as these bits are always difficult to paint.

Beautiful.

Q'apla'H!!

Interesting take on the Klingons. My first few Klingons were painted Panzer Gray... but I just didn't like the way teh details refused to "pop" for me, so they all went into the "Dip" and were subsequently repainted in their current pewter gray colors.

I also like the geometric panels. Those are a nice touch. I'd hate to have to do that to all my Klingons, but they do look good.

Will: I spoke to the Litko rep while at Origins. I had considered getting stands for my minis... til I found out how much it would cost to rebase all of them - never mind the etching.
Then I talked to the guys at Ninja Magic about magnetic stands... Oh Boy! Even with the bulk discount, the stands would have cost me more then the entire trip to Origins did

Thanks for all the kind words about the ships. I'm almost inspired to get moving on the pile of Romulans I have lined up. See how that goes...

As to painting sharp lines, it's certainly a matter of steady hands but also a matter of planning. You can be as sloppy as you like if you paint smart. For instance, the wing designs were put on rather hastily. BUT, then I went back with the original grey hull color and sharpened those lines right up. Half of painting is determined by planning in my opinion. Or, it's just my Romulan instincts to plan everything out before committing a single brushstroke.

And if anyone out there wants to get serious about painting, start with your supplies. Pick up a Windsor Newton Series 7 brush. It'll set you back a few bucks, but they rule. Changed my painting ability completely. It's almost like cheating.

On the subject of bases. Yeah Litko will set you back a few bones. But if you're gonna do something, might as well do it right, ya know? Think about all the unpainted metal you probably have lying about. Did you really need those 8 Kzintis? They coulda been sweet bases for your Feds. Just sayin'. It's all one's perspective I suppose.

Plus the Litko guys are really nice and will work with your requests. For instance, I wanted to be sure that any future bases I pick up from them would match what I currently have. So they set up a file for me with the font type and size that they used noted. All I have to do is mention it in the order and my bases'll match up no problem.

I know Litko is a small operation, making this kind of personalization possible. Such customer service should really be the hallmark of small operations. At least ones that want to succeed. Basically, hooray etched bases! Not for everyone, but they're for me.

And Richard Craig Smith, thanks for dropping my name.

Haha! Not a problem!

Cloaky_McCloak wrote:As to painting sharp lines, it's certainly a matter of steady hands but also a matter of planning. You can be as sloppy as you like if you paint smart. For instance, the wing designs were put on rather hastily. BUT, then I went back with the original grey hull color and sharpened those lines right up. Half of painting is determined by planning in my opinion. Or, it's just my Romulan instincts to plan everything out before committing a single brushstroke.

Steady hands are a benefit, but knowing what you're going to do before the brush touches the mini is the best thing you can do.
Unfortunately , with the multi-color and blending paint schemes I tend to use, it's a bit difficult to go back with the original hull color and touch up ragged edges.

Cloaky_McCloak wrote:And if anyone out there wants to get serious about painting, start with your supplies. Pick up a Windsor Newton Series 7 brush. It'll set you back a few bucks, but they rule. Changed my painting ability completely. It's almost like cheating.

I only use Windsor-Newton brushes. I have about three different sizes I like, so I have one of each for painting with now... plus a spare of each one hanging on the pegboard over my work desk. that way, I never have to use a damaged brush. I just toss it and grab the spare. And you're right, using a good brush makes it almost easy to do the rest.

Cloaky_McCloak wrote:On the subject of bases. Yeah Litko will set you back a few bones. But if you're gonna do something, might as well do it right, ya know? Think about all the unpainted metal you probably have lying about. Did you really need those 8 Kzintis? They coulda been sweet bases for your Feds. Just sayin'. It's all one's perspective I suppose.

hmmm... unpainted metal. I think there may be about 200 or 250 lying around... but just getting bases for the 500+ that are painted was prohibitively expensive.

These are great! I'm about to start my Klingons and was wondering what to do with all that empty space too. I may give that a try. Not sure it will work in red with my color scheme, but I might give it a try with some other color.

The weathering also looks great. I always imagined Klingons having more rugged ships as compared to the Feds and the Romulans. Don't know why, maybe that's the dark interior lighting so prevalent on their ships in TMP.

Thanks. Glad to be of some inspiration. Dig around the internet or tattoo sites (be wary...) for some tribal design ideas. Or check out some of the wacky Klink symbols on tactical screen in some of the movies - they're mostly simple geometric symbols and such.

Yeah, the darkened Klingon interior shots from TMP make me laugh all the time. There's always something apparently on fire in a corner somewhere causing all this ridiculous smoke. And they can only afford tiny, red 20 watt bulbs to light the place, if at all. Then there's the possibility of some ravenous space mutant dog tethered to the Comm Chair that gets in everyone's way. It's a wonder they manage to get anything done, let alone fire weapons and digest tactical data.

Given the disrepair/chaos of the interior, it's highly doubtful they'd bother to ever clean off the hull. I'm thinking they'd actually go all Ravager from Firefly and strap bodies and junk to the hull. Though they'd lose their trophies at Warp speeds. So sad...

Basically, Klingons are Awesome.

I think they are very beautiful and and the bees knees.

Q'apla'h!

That is beautiful work!!!! Good Job!!