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 Commander Cain wrote:
Looking awesome! Those bases are marvelous.

Thanks! I was pleasantly surprised by them myself. Can't wait to get them all painted up and tufted.

I ordered a pot of crackle medium yesterday, and looking forward to rebasing my marines on desert.

Your bases look great! Any advice on using the stuff? Also, how well do the models stick to it?

Biggest thing I found out was you have to do at least a coat of primer down for the crackle to stick to the base. Otherwise, the pieces break off.

I haven't attached any models yet, I do that after painting. I can't imagine it will be too big of an issue. I will pinning the model to the base, so that will help.

One pot has done all the bases you have seen and a few other test ones and has a little leftover. I have a whole unopened one just for my display board. I hope that is enough!

Got my Stonehorn rider ready with his harpoon launcher and additional harpoons strapped to his back. Also, got a nice (free) rugged-looking frame and a piece of wood to fit it. I have since primed it with a dusting of white primer and am testing a swatch of the crackle medium to make sure it sticks. Not sure exactly how much variance I am going to put into the terrain itself though. May be a bit bland, because it is my first board and because of the nature of movement trays being big flat plates. Wouldn't be a good idea to have hills and stuff only to make my Ogres sit funny.

Oh no... what have I gotten myself into now? Yup... adding some depth to my display boards with this. First go round with extruded polystyrene sheets. Got a little saw thing and am going to do a very simple job of hacking it into useful shapes and whatnot. For the Ogres, it will just be to have a fissure in the ground or some variance in the depths, since the theme is cracked earth desert wasteland. For the Carcharodons, it will give me two or three tiers of a city, with ramps and stuff, ideally and a road. We will see. For the Guard, I might do some dug in portions for my stuff, but that is WAY down the line.

And I got some more Ogres built up, ready to post onto cork like the others. Leaving the hands off for ease of painting (also like the others).

I am ordering another Battalion box, my Sabretusks, and my last pack of Movement trays on Monday afternoon. That is IT for my purchasing for the Ogres, barring some new, crazy release. Fingers crossed we get something epic for the End Times (doubtful).

Awww man those look fantastic. I've been a fan of the Ogres since their line came out. Not to mention those bases look the tits.

 KingCracker wrote:
Awww man those look fantastic. I've been a fan of the Ogres since their line came out. Not to mention those bases look the tits.

Thanks! They have been a dream army of mine for years. It feels so good being able to make them a reality. I have been enjoying it, though I do wish they would have expanded their line a bit. Having so few heads to choose from has made me get creative though. Going to need to start sculpting some facial hair soon, too, for variety. That should be a challenge.

Glad you like the bases. Going to be working on a display board for them soon, so that should be a big version of them. Can't wait to get that going next weekend.

I pretty thoroughly hate cork for basing nowadays. It has become quite old hat now. That being said, the blue foam board I got was too thick for this project, so I used it to bring some levels into the board. It will be entirely covered so as not to look anything like cork. Heh.

Also, I hate blue foam. It is a mess and I know I just need practice, but... ugh. I wanted to make some sort of stone-like ribs or something for this board, but I forgot just how HUGE Ogre units are and ran out of any reasonable space. As it is my first board, I need to not over do it. So, this is just two levels of cork on the standard wood base (primed white to hold the crackle medium) and some sand/ballast/water/glue applied to the edges of the cork to make it look like a split in the ground, basically. Going to apply the crackle medium tonight hopefully (or this weekend at the latest).

Small, non-visual update:

Had to order more crackle medium! Did too thin of a layer on the display board and the crackle on it is just too small overall. Going to add more dense patches of heavy crackle to make it fall more in line with my small bases. Plus, I ordered the last of my Ogres (Battalion, Sabretusks, trays) and needed to more crackle for their bases, too. Expect more progress when all that stuff arrives.

Carcharodons purchasing is almost done. Just need to get a LR Crusader/Redeemer sprue and they are basically done. With so many resin models, I need to spend probably half a day scrubbing them with soap. They are next on my agenda, though I do have a Dark Eldar commission starting sometime near the end of the year (a big one, too), so that of course takes priority when I get it.

Started getting some work done on the board. Wasn't entirely happy with the crackling, because it just went on too thin... but I ordered some more, just to layer up on it in some spots. Butcher is in the pic for scale reference.

Also, got a new wet palette, some more brushes (finally) and some Black Lava paste to try out on some bases in the future.

Got the display board frame stained up today. Hope to get it sanded and sealed up this week. Waiting on crackle medium and the rest of my Ogres to arrive before I can move onto the painting phase!

Small update!

So, I got the display board frame done. Just a simple wood frame for art I sanded, stained brown, then sanded again, and waxed to protect it (I do a lot of furniture distressing/refinishing, so I have this stuff on hand!). The board fits ...so-so. I will need to tack it down after it is finished. Waiting on my Crackle medium to ship, hoping it arrives around Nov 10th or so, so I can finish the base crackle coat and get to priming it up.





Also, I had worked up an alternate ...saddle? for my Mournfang. Not anyone special, just my constant need for some variety. I don't mind two of the four having the same, but a pair or pairs - no thanks! So now I have this!





I didn't use the in-between thingy because... it broke. Stupid thing. Happy accident though, because I think this is more in flavor with the look for Mournfang Cav anyhow!

The remnants of my army should be shipping tomorrow or the day after, so I am hoping they get here by the weekend. I will be assembling a whole slew more of Ironguts and Ogres! Plus, I have two Ironblasters left to assemble (don't want to!) and my Sabretusks to work on too.

Still in the "what the hell should I do about that Battle Standard?!" mode... but I am thinking about honestly linking some small plasticard plates with wire and maybe having dangling plate/scale/chain of various types and maybe (just maybe!) a skull or some such. We will see. I also need to try my hand at sculpting fetishes and stuff to added even more decoration to my Ogres and their gut-plates, etc.

This is going to be cool when it is finished. 2015?

That's quite a saddle.

 FeindusMaximus wrote:
This is going to be cool when it is finished. 2015?

Yea, I am not in the craziest hurry or anything. Been wanting an Ogre army for many years, so I want to take my time and get it right. My big hold-up right now is waiting on the next batch of models and the crackle. When I get that done, I can start getting them painted, which I want to do all at once for uniformity sake.

 Warboss_Waaazag wrote:
That's quite a saddle.

Right? Gives me some much needed variety for my riders. I am loving that GW had the Stonehorn saddle match the size/shape/fit of the Mournfang saddle.

Just got this from an awesome old toy / comic / junk kinda place and can't freaking wait to get him built and painted! Just a side amusement project, since I am a little burned out on my current projects (and still waiting on my stuff to arrive anyhow!).

Nothing crazy for this update. I was tidying up my desk area in the wake of the WiP display board and needed to get some Ironfists for the recently assembled Ogres. I am big on having as much variety as I can reasonably manage, so I did up a few non-standard Ironfists with existing ones. Just added new blade types or spikes or just shaved off existing ones to make them less obvious repeats.

I got the Crimson Fist set out and my wet palette, so next step is to lay in base colors for him and then start getting into the brush work. I feel like I will be a little rusty, but I should be starting that this weekend.

Last Battalion box for the Ogres! Just need Sabretusks and the army is entirely purchased.

Waiting for the crackle to dry, but I finally got it in the mail and put some gobs of it down so I get a more varied, thicker crackle. I will post a pic later after it fully dries.

So, realized that I had less than 2 weeks to complete the Charity model for the local "War for Tots" tournament and auction. So, had to get going on it and managed to put down base coats and get the base pretty far along. The Ork head is done, but my crap camera on my crap phone takes some crap pictures, so pardon the horrid blur. When I am done, I will get some light-box pics with a real camera. For now, we just must suffer a bit of blur and bad lighting. That being said, the 2nd round of crackle is all dry now and I took a reasonable close-up of it. It isn't all like that, but the variation makes it kinda nice. I need to do a sand/glue/water mix and put it into some of the crackles and stuff and then it is off to prime the thing before nailing it down to the frame before I paint it (going to cover the nail heads with tufts!).

Anyhow, more updates tomorrow if I can get some more work done. Also, back to working on some 40k fiction. Re-working and tweaking my "Tears of Krodha" story about the Tiger Claws Chapter's fate before their assimilation into the Astral Claws. Going to center it around their Chapter remnants, their Captain-turned-Master, the conflict with the Inquisition, their petition to save their Chapter and the inevitable denial therein, plus all the in-between time (battles, encounters with other forces, etc). Lofty goal of getting it up to novella-size, but we will see how I do. I admit, I am no writer, but I enjoy the craft and maybe some folks will humor me and give it a read.

FINALLY some real updates. Nothing crazy good, but... progress.

First up, I used the Mournfang Great Weapons to make some for my Ironguts. Being as my tribe is the Ironskins, I am going emphasis on metal weaponry. Clubs and stuff are fine in small numbers, but I needed not only more metal, but more diversity. I can't stand a bland, out-of-the-box army (usually). Also, some more crackle bases for them. Used some instamold to get some nice fiddly bits to add to my gutplates, too, by just copying textures from other gutplates or other bits. So, now I will have loads of metal additions for my dudes.

Furthermore, working on a Cerastus Knight-Lancer. Got it all cleaned up and going to assemble this weekend, ideally. I need to put more time on that charity model first, though.

However, I did do the base, since I had my sand/ballast out and had already made a mess... so why not? Tried out two cork types on the base so the top layer is more like an asphault texture and the second layer more like rocky concrete with pipes and stuff. On top is broken flooring. So, the idea here is ruined city block - the idea being that my urban sprawl can cover a lot of diversity, so I can do all my 40k bases similar, but still be diverse. Should prove good, since I have three 40k armies to work on (Sharks, Cadians, and Knights).

Anyhow! One big dilemma, still, is the whole "House Raven or House Taranis" issue I am having (provided FW doesn't drop new awesome one out there), but I am leaning HEAVY towards Taranis.

Pic of the Cerastus base primed and a close-up of the primed display board.

So, for more than a while I was hoping to trade out for or get a sprue for the Crusader/Redeemer bits I needed for my Godhammer, to make it useful. No joke, I found them when I was cleaning my studio today. That is ...sad. Really sad, but hey, who am I to complain? Saves me like $30.

Also, got the Cerastus tacked together to see how it will look. It is all still in sub-assemblies for ease of painting. After looking through the new Horus Heresy book from Forge World and not exactly being thrilled with the new Houses they offer, I am leaning now heavier and heavier towards Taranis. Would suit me for both 30k and 40k, since they are the OG of Knights, so I doubt they have changed much in heraldry and whatnot.

On a note for that Cerastus - I magnetized the torso to the legs, so I can turn it as well as transport it easier. I also magnetized the ...elbow? The part that rotates left and right (not the shoulder joint, I am gluing that part!). Anyhow, pics below.

As for that Crimson Fist - I am going to work on him tonight, probably. I got a 4-day weekend next week, so provided he isn't done tonight, he will be by this time next week.

The awesome folks at Battlefoam are having their usual Black Friday sale, so I had to grab a case for the Carcharodons and a case for the Ironskin Tribe. Now I can start painting them! Yes, I really was waiting on cases so they don't get all messed up just sitting out in my studio area.

Also, Sabretusks finally arrived. Thanks to the folks as Dicehead games for getting them to me when they became available. Failcast stuff is flighty, but I got their 25% off sale price, so I couldn't complain!

Got this guy done. Better pics, if I can manage.

This model is for the Charity Auction portion of the 5th Annual "War for Tots" tournament at Hit Point Hobbies in Aberdeen, NC. Hopefully, it fetches a fair amount, as all the proceeds from the auction go to Toys-for-Tots.

Slightly better pictars... though seriously, I need a better photo booth. C'est la vie. Hope it nets the charity a bunch of money!

Annnnnnnnnnd more Ogre progress!

Got some more Ironguts and Ogres at partial build stage. Got some Sabertusk bases built and ready to prime. Made some more customized Ironfists, too.

That is it for this (long) weekend. Back to work, class, and gym starting tomorrow. More updates may trickle in, especially this weekend.

Finally got them put together and some gaps filled. Liquid greenstuff is a lifesaver.

The "War for Tots" charity tournament and auction was a big success. I was there for the auction, since I contributed and it overall the auction pulled in over $1000! The tournament cleared about $1000 or more, so the Toys-for-Tots are getting a pretty fat check this year (double the previous year).

Here are some shots of the auction items donated (with my Crimson Fist present!)

Also, a local NC 40k player sent me some Witch Hunter decals for free! That was awesome of him and they will be going onto the Avenger Strike Fighter commission I will be doing soon for a Sisters of Battle army.