"Khurasan Ogre Beetle (SciFi 15mm)" Topic

A while back Jon of Khurasan Miniatures showed some 3D renderings of a big new bio-weapon for his Parasachnid range. The model was sculpted by Mark Mondragon using Zbrush and all I can say is that he did a wonderful job for the first time using the software! Now, the reason for this post, I arrived home after a day at the office and a two hour drive home in traffic to find an envelope from Khurasan Miniatures. Now, while that is not unusual, I could not remember ordering anything and had no idea what was inside. When the package was opened, I found a very large bug and a nice note from Jon asking me for my thoughts. Well, my thoughts were "OMG! This is great! How am I going to Paint it!" After a number of months painting machines and the standard SciFi stuff, the chance to do something organic was just the thing I needed (maybe not on a Thursday night when I had to work in the morning, but that's the breaks). My wife saw me huddled across the kitchen counter playing with whatever was in the envelope, and after learning I had not ordered something "else", she looked at the object of my attention and was not pleased. Did I mention she does not like bugs, REALLY does not like bugs? Well, she was very happy when my bug and I disappeared into the basement to write Jon a thank you know and provide feedback on the new critter (both of which I did). After finally eating dinner and getting our parrots put to bed, I once again returned to study the new critter.

First, I must say that this is one of the cleanest 3D printed models I have seen. The only one better I have is the Rebel Titan HAMR suits and the difference is negligible. Actually in the case of the Ogre Beetle the very fine lines of the printing process add a vey organic texture to the model. I think this is part the direction the parts were printed in and second due the very curvaceous form of the Beetle (most CAD minis are very angular in appearance). The parts were all cast very well; with the only real issue the resin injection point on the bottom back of the Beetle's main body. I spent a little time and used my various files to smooth the location and then re-carved the segmentations that had been partially obscured and cleaned up the back edge of the shell. Not too hard, just needed a little patience, but the right files help a lot. Since the body was resin and the legs and lower jaw were white metal, it drastically reduced the weight of the Beetle while also allowing the heavier leg's weight to balance the model. Due to the legs offering balance, I was able to raise one in the air with the mini still being very stable. Best of all, Jon had asked here on TMP if we wanted Resin, Metal or the combination and he listened when the general cry was for the resin body and metal parts. Thanks Jon. In regard to the legs, they fit flawlessly into ball joints in the body and did not require any pinning. At this point, it was getting late, but I could not stop.

I decided to spray prime my beastie with an almond color and while that dried I took a spin across the net for Beetle pictures. I never found one I really liked, but saw a few ideas. Now, at this point you need to know that my wife had strongly suggested the "bug" needed to be painted in such a way as to stand out (preferably in Red or Blue like my Spug walkers). This as you know was a mistake because it drove me to the other extreme as I decided to see how realistic I could make it. Now some of the ideas I used would work better for an actual bug in my back yard than for a massive BioTank, but that has never stopped me before. When the primer was dry I started with a very thinned down green paint on the tops of the legs. I added multiple lays of the paint, pulling it down toward the bottom of the leg and darkening it a little as I worked. I did the head in the same manner. Next I moved to the back shell case. It looked like a Walnut to me, so I painted it to look like one. I used a few thin coats of brown with some thin black stripes. Next was the shell on the main body. I outlined all the plates with a thin brown and pulled some of the color up onto the plates. I then added a yellow wash that added a little warmth to the Almond primer showing through between the brown. Now I needed to do some details. I added patches of thin brown paint to the top joint of the legs and some details in the head. This was followed by some black dots on the legs and stripes on the shell of the main body. Now I needed to hit the fine details, organic pink colors in the plasma/venom/acid sprayer and the mouth to break up the earth tones and add contrast. Some black teeth and red eyes (all four pairs) finished things off. The whole model got a nice coat of GW Brown wash and a seal of Testors Dullcoat. Overall, it came out a little darker than originally planned, but I am happy with the final look.

Considering that on the same day it arrived, I completely painted the mini and evern posted a set of pictures to Jon, I would say that the mini more than met my expectations and got a major two thumbs up approval. Getting up in the morning for work was not fun, but I survived and no one was harmed in the process. Hope you like the pictures and the review. Jon says it will be a few more weeks before the Ogre Beetle will be available on the website, so start saving your pennies now!

Oh, as normal for me, there are a LOT of pictures and comparison shots so you can see how this bad boy will fit in with your current toys. Even added 28mm stuff!

Link to pictures: link

Link to 3D rendering: link

Jeff

It looks real, you've painted some really cool minis, but this is my fav of your work. Really a cool model too.

Fantastic

On my list of must haves I hope the Paraschnids become a full bown Starship Troopers army.

Wow! Marvelous job!

Glad you all like it, I had fun painting it and look forward to getting a few more when they come out to try some other color ideas. Maybe a few my wife would approve of more . . .

Since someone normally asks what colors I used, I thought I would add a list before I clean up the mess around the painting table and forget what I used. This is also a nice reference for me if I need to remember how I painted the critter in case I decide to do another one.

Colors and how they were used:
1. Krylon 53511 Satin Almond Indoor/Outdoor Spray Paint – Primed the entire model.
2. Vallejo 833 SS Cm. Bright Green – watered down as the primary green color. Added in layers to generate some variation in the green. Legs and head.
3. Vallejo 894 Russian Green – Added in a tiny amount to the 833 SS Cm. Bright Green to darken the final few layers of green. Legs and head.
4. Vallejo 983 Flat Earth – Brown used in various thicknesses (thinned using water working from very thin to thicker amounts ad I added layers) to add brown coloration to the miniature.
5. Vallejo Game Color 5 Bald Moon Yellow – Thinned and used as a wash on the plates of the back carapace to add some warmth to the Almond color showing between the brown lines.
6. Vallejo 70821 German C. Beige – Used on the outside edge of the feet and on the bottom back section of the beetle underneath.
7. Vallejo 837 Pale Sand – Used to fix errors on the Almond primer color.
8. Vallejo 950 Black – Used for all black coloration on the mini. Leg dots, carapace stripes, head stripes, tips of the legs/feet and teeth.
9. Vallejo Game Color 13 Squid Pink – Used in several thicknesses inside the mouth and in the opening of the plasma/acid/poison sprayer in the top carapace above the head. Added a very little Pale Sand and German C. Beige to the thinned pink in paces to tone it down.
10. Vallejo 908 Carmine Red – Eyes and a few details in the mouth and back sprayer.
11. Citadel Washes Devlan Mud – Used over the whole mini prior to adding varnish.
12. Testor's Dullcoat – Used to add a matte varnish o the mini, but for some reason was not as flat as expected. may be due to high humidity.
13. Vallejo 510 Gloss Varnish – Used to add a little sparkle and wetness to eyes, mouth, teeth, and Back sprayer. I also had a problem with the paint rubbing off the tips of the feet, so I covered them in a thick rubbery gloss coat followed by a satin coat to protect the paint better.
14. Vallejo 522 Satin Varnish – Used on the feet for more protection and to kill the high gloss look. I also used it around parts of the mouth and back sprayer where I wanted it less shinny than the full gloss varnish.

Forgot to mention above that Tom of MiniatureReview has pictures of the unpainted Ogre Beetle you can look over.

Link: link

Jeff

WOW. That thing is a double dose of hellacool on a stick. Super paint job too.

Agreed, beautiful paint job.

Absolutely a fantastic paint job! You improve on my sculpting :) The end product looks great!

Nice work! Glad you like the model.

Should be available in about a week or so.

Oh, my. Now I've got to find a reason to get it for Starship Troopers!

As above I-94. Bob as I understand it Dave is going to be doing some new German letter sets out this summer.

Not sure what that post is starting with "As above I-94", but it's not mine . . . . .

Jeff

Great writeup Jeff. Now if I only had all those paints.