KSC-3I Koschei / Kamakura's Hussars

[Cazaril]

This is the last of my workbench babies (miniatures that have sat unfinished for about 5 years) and was to be the last of my CSO submission packet.

As we move around the Inner Sphere, last and usually considered least of the 5 main houses, is the Capellan Confederation / House Liao. Even though I have no personal love for House Liao, I still wanted to do something nice to represent them... I know I had done green with the Proserpina Hussars, but I thought the dark greens of Kamakura's unit scheme would be a good addition.

The 'Mech represents the only miniature I actually bought for doing my submission (the others were "previously experienced" and usually required some kind of repair), and in some ways was a pleasure to work with something right out of the box. Early on I also made the decision not to modify the miniature much, and left it in the standard pose. I did however add a little greble in the form of a tapered half-round piece to act as shoulder socket to the right arm, and a little tapered piece added to the base of the antenna.

Overall, I was very happy with this miniature as I finished painting it... The different shades of green may not have blended as nicely as I would have liked, but the banding didn't detract so much that I was worried about it... My problem, I thought, was going to come from the final highlight color... I couldn't find the green I was looking for, as either it was too bright, or it was almost undetectable. I decided to go subtle and proceeded to finish the mini, although I got a little lax with a color even I could barely see. Then I sealed it and discovered where my problem truly lay... All the nice color shift that I had done, flattened out to what looks almost a single color. Worse yet, the subtle green highlights I added, lit up like a neon sign. Not only did it become entirely too bright, it then showed off exactly how lax I had been in completing my highlights... Needless to say, if this miniature had been headed to CSO, I'd have had to start over. But since it isn't, it lands in the "good enough" pile and go put up on my shelf.

Anyway, on to the mini.





For those of you whose eye is drawn to that multi-colored spot at the base of the Koschei's feet, that is a hot spring modeled on the Morning Glory pool in the Yellowstone Upper Geyser Basin of the United States.



If I was ever to attempt another of Kamakura's Hussars, my plan was to have them dotted on each of the subsequent mini's bases. As if the whole world they were on had them everywhere, as opposed to just that one here on earth (as least only one that I know of).

Finally, a little recap of all five Mechs I had planned to submit, going around the Inner Sphere.

Davion - Robinson Battle Academy - HNT-151 Hornet



Kurita - 1st Proserpina Hussars - LNC-25-02 Lancelot



Steiner - 23rd Arcturan Guards - HCT-3F Hatchetman



Marik - 9th Marik Guards - AWS-8T Awesome



Liao - Kamakura's Hussars - KSC-3I Koschei



Even though they never got used for what they were originally intended, I still ended up with 5 pieces that I am proud of (even with all the little flaws that maybe only I notice or even care about)...

And now, on to something else.

Caz

[Daryk]

Excellent summary of five beautiful pieces!  :thumbsup:

[00Dawg]

Oh, what could have been...

Are the neon green highlights a bit much?  Only in a couple of places. 

They are indeed all beautiful pieces.

[Sartris]

damn, that lancelot

[jimdigris]

 :thumbsup:

[Valkerie]

Eye popping work as always Caz! :o  And the group as a whole would be a worthy entry into the halls of CSO.

Where are you headed from here?  Whatever it is, I look forward to seeing it. :thumbsup: 8)

[Nav_Alpha]

Some beautiful work there!

[agen2]

Very nice. 8)

[Cazaril]

Where are you headed from here?

I'm assuming you are asking about my final comment "And now, on to something else"... That was in reference to the CSO packet that never was project being completed... As I said back in the first of the posts (for the Hornet I believe), I quit painting because the stress of knowing I needed to finish the packet was so overwhelming I quit painting all together just to avoid it. And as I've also previously said, this isn't on/about CSO, but about my ability to paint when I feel pressured. It is the same pressure I feel when I take a commission, which is why I quit taking any kind of them. So unless CSO wishes to use my catalog of posted material as basis for accepting me into their ranks, the idea of joining for me is dead. And I'll not hold my breath on that happening.

So what is next? Well, more of the same, hopefully something exciting.

By now my painting has fallen into what I hope is a pretty consistent level of quality (Oh sure, if you look at some of the Mini of a Fortnight posts , you'll see stuff that may not measure up to what I hope people have come to expect, but most of that stuff is from the early 90's). So more of the same there... Where I hope to show people something exciting is the re-posing and bashing. Whether it is something like my recent reimaged Marauder or my reposed 9th Marik Phoenix Hawk, I hope people enjoy what I've done with them, and maybe get inspired to try something themselves. We can never have too many cool looking minis to help attract people to our hobby.

Caz

[avon1985]

WOW! Very Sweet! :thumbsup: