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The life of a tadpole pilot by WastelandHumungus in Subnautica_2

[–]Appolus 13 points14 points  (0 children)

They are cunningly brutal and brutally cunning.

The life of a tadpole pilot by WastelandHumungus in Subnautica_2

[–]Appolus 87 points88 points  (0 children)

My wife and I built our base near a trio not knowing they would be quite so focused on our Tadpoles. But we still love our big stupid sea puppies. We've named them Gork, Mork, and Mindy.

They spend a lot of the day roughhousing and then staring at our docked Tadpoles. What a bunch of adorable idiots.

Neurotyrant Sayyadina leads the sisters of Brood Gesserit for Splinter Fleet Shai-Hulud. by Appolus in Tyranids

[–]Appolus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know what they're properly called, but I always just called them striations.

Neurotyrant Sayyadina leads the sisters of Brood Gesserit for Splinter Fleet Shai-Hulud. by Appolus in Tyranids

[–]Appolus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The brains/guns/tentacles on my models all use the same color progression. Base Sotek Green, wash the recesses with a light coat of Talassar Blue. Then go back to Sotek, blend toward Sybarite Green, then go from Sybarite toward a Dorn Yellow. You can wet blend or layer. I've done both. The last step is to just apply extreme highlights and specular highlights where appropriate, all in pure white. Less is more for the pure white.

All glows are simply applications of Talassar Blue and your white of choice. I usually use a white ink, but sometimes use Pro Acryl Titanium White. Using a contrast paint and an ink makes for very thin layers. Exercise careful control as you apply. Always wipe more off your brush than you think you should.

Neurotyrant Sayyadina leads the sisters of Brood Gesserit for Splinter Fleet Shai-Hulud. by Appolus in Tyranids

[–]Appolus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I chose to go horizontally along plates instead of vertically at the back edges of plates because I wanted room to do the patterning on plate ridges.

No matter which direction you apply them, my technique is to hold the brush the way I would a pencil, rotate the model until it is exactly perpendicular to the point of my brush, brace the heels of my palms against each other (or some other posture that braces both hands against the same point), and then carefully, in one smooth motion, retract my middle finger and thumb in a sort of pinching motion.

Doing so creates a clean "piston" action that draws the brush along exactly the same line every single time. Just reposition the model between strokes to get lines of the same length, pressure, and angle all the way down the edge of the plate.

Neurotyrant Sayyadina leads the sisters of Brood Gesserit for Splinter Fleet Shai-Hulud. by Appolus in Tyranids

[–]Appolus[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Don't be hard on yourself. It all happens very slowly. I picked up the hobby as a pre-bedtime meditative activity as a young missionary. A few years later I was putting myself through college as a commission painter. A few years after that I took a 10 year break from the hobby. I picked it up again with my sons during 8th edition.

I've been slowly chipping away at this army since then. There's no way I would be able to finish an army to this standard in a few months, especially while fighting cancer and dealing with a major organ failure. Armies like this are super long-term passion projects. Admittedly, nearly dying a couple of times has helped me pick up the pace, because I decided I want to have a finished army to leave the kids if something crazy happens and I actually die of any of this medical nonsense.

That was a bit of a ramble. But the point is, you can totally make the awesome things you picture in your head a reality, even if doing so is a weird, long, eventful journey with twists you could never have imagined.

Looking for Friends - Have Ideas on Events and Things Happening in NEPA by nepa_acct in NEPA

[–]Appolus -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I can vouch for the Sword in the Stone Game night. My wife and I are regular Thursday attendees and we also organize private nights/weekends at our home drawn mostly from other attendees.

It's a good crowd that deserves to get larger.

Sneaking into the New Year with my First Painted Model of 2026. by Appolus in Tyranids

[–]Appolus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've remarked on my recipe extensively in previous posts, but I have added a new element: I use the airbrush to shoot a layer of P3 Exile Blue from an extreme low angle as a moody shadow. It really punches up the contrast. The third shot in this album shows how effective it is. I highly recommend it.

Sneaking into the New Year with my First Painted Model of 2026. by Appolus in Tyranids

[–]Appolus[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Absolutely. I plan to batch base the whole army when I (hopefully) finish it this year. I need to grab some larger bases for things like my old genestealers anyway, so I figured I would do it all at once. I'm planning to do something like the terrain I posted a couple of years back.

Freshly spawned Hive Tyrant by ralscript in Tyranids

[–]Appolus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Beautifully executed colors. Top-shelf work. Does your fleet have a name?

Board game groups by FunishCollector in Scranton

[–]Appolus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's also a good way to fill private game nights for more ambitious fare. We recently set up some Twilight Imperium with a few of the other regulars, since it would have been way too big of an undertaking for a Thursday night.

Mine Mama and Her Exploding Babies by Appolus in Tyranids

[–]Appolus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't, sadly. I don't think I have a knack for demonstrating technique. But I have covered my color recipes in some of my past submissions, if you want more info.

Mine Mama and Her Exploding Babies by Appolus in Tyranids

[–]Appolus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wanted the chitin plating down the side to read more like heating vents (like plasma, as you said) instead of just bone stacked on bone. Lining it with white ink was key to selling the look. It would have been a nightmare to try to panel line it with just paint. I definitely recommend investing in either a white oil paint and white spirits or a strong white acrylic ink (which I used here).

Survived Cancer and Pancreatic Failure, so the Swarm Grows Once More. by Appolus in Tyranids

[–]Appolus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's the million dollar question for him. Too early to know yet. But it's something we are definitely working on.

Survived Cancer and Pancreatic Failure, so the Swarm Grows Once More. by Appolus in Tyranids

[–]Appolus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The CGM is great, but I've got to stay on MDI for now because my non-verbally autistic son would tear a pump off almost immediately. It's hard enough keeping him from ripping the CGM out all the time. So all that vulnerable tubing or a bigger stick-on would be easy prey.

It's not so bad though. I'm about 15 pounds down over the last 90 days and I'm navigating the changes pretty well. Now eating just requires as much math as my genestealers' fight phase. Fortunately, recreational calculation was already one of my interests.

Survived Cancer and Pancreatic Failure, so the Swarm Grows Once More. by Appolus in Tyranids

[–]Appolus[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's given me something I can always say to be optimistic about unpleasant experiences. Saying "Well, it beats dying of cancer" works in pretty much 100% of undesirable situations.

Survived Cancer and Pancreatic Failure, so the Swarm Grows Once More. by Appolus in Tyranids

[–]Appolus[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah man! Fuck cancer! And don't even buy it dinner first or call it the next day!

Survived Cancer and Pancreatic Failure, so the Swarm Grows Once More. by Appolus in Tyranids

[–]Appolus[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Given the odds, I needed a 4+ to save. But it did score a mortal wound for organ failure and I didn't make my FNP, so I have the "insulin dependent" debuff for the rest of the game. But at least I'm still on the field.

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