Awesome conversion. This will add to the knights usefulness in the 8th edition.

Very cool, Gits.

For the barrel end:
Get the next size tube that fits inside the barrel (cannon liner) cut about 1/2 inch long..
Get a bolt or tap that is just tight and screw in, scoring the plastic to get "riffling".

I would suggest cutting a taper/chamfer to the outer edge tip of the gun (you need to break off that sharp bit).
I think adding those three little bits of card will be a cool look.
An homage to the quake missile launcher:


Insert the "rifled" tube into the barrel, just leave a tiny bit sticking out (whatever looks right to you).

I figure this mod is the easiest kind without unduly messing with the model.

Very cool, I'll see if I can find an insert.

The one issue with that battlecannon is something that I see on almost every single scratchbuild cannon- especially on Ork vehicles.

The barrel walls are much too skinny. Quick fix is to roll/find a skinnier tube (only a little skinnier) for the inner diameter, and make a 'front plate' on it- all hollow, like. A more involved fix would be to wrap a full solid tube of paper or whatever and insert it in.

But yeah, very cool, and if you thicken the barrel inner walls a little, it'll look a lot better.

Heya gits! good to see your still plogging along...I had an ad mech question...I'm starting up an ad mech force this edition and I was wondering what your thoughts were on the rust stalkers or the infiltrators...do you have a preference? or do you rule of cool that what you take. I'm getting a box and undecided as to what to build them as. but the starting for is the get started box an additional box of rangers and the rust stalker box.... don't know how well it will preform but I think it'll be fun. I would like to hear your thoughts though.

Hi alabama!

Thanks for checking in. I know it doesn't seem like I've been doing much this summer but I've been playing like a maniac. Have been having a ball playing low point values in the local progressive league.

Infiltrators. Infiltrators. Infiltrators.

I run both types, but in my opinion the tazergoads are a bit better.

Battle Cannon looks great!

EDC

Thanks for the thoughts. I have yet to play a game. Been kinda out of the loop. But this edition seems to flow better so I thought I'd stick my head back in the water to have a go. Glad to hear you been getting games in though

The reason infiltrators are so key has far less to do with their combat effectiveness and more to do with the fact they can infiltrate. That means 1st turn charges, grabbing rearward objectives, blunting an assault or forcing your opponent to divert resources somewhere they'd rather not to deal with an incursion. They aren't bad mind you... but it's their role that's key, rather than their stats.

I keep forgetting to take pics of the final battle cannon. I added thickness to the barrel as well as soot. It looks really good now. I keep hoping I'll use it in a battle & can give you some action shots, but all the games I've been playing lately have far too small a point value for that.

Great job on the cannon addition. Fits the aesthetic well.

Just had a thought, not as feedback but if I don't mention it it'll be lost to time; the gun shield could have been cog-shaped rather than square. That would look cool.
Now, if no one else does it, you can all remind me when I come to build one.

You know Dr H... I probably have a resin or metal cog somewhere that I could have used for that... just didn't think about it. I don't think I'm going to change it now though. It looks decent enough as it is & I like the imperial eagle on the gun. It's an excellent idea though. Thank you.

Poor Gits, he builds a beautiful gun conversion and we all love it. Except the barrel, the tip of the barrel and the shield. Nice colour though. Not quite Nerdy, but it will do in a pinch.

Really just joking about. I think it is a great addition, and will be a blast in game!

I like the square shield, and it's cog-like edging.
The cog was just an idea I had while looking at it. If I don't write these ideas down, or share them, when I think of them they are forgotten.

Finally got a photo for you guys.

Fantastic, do not want to be on the receiving end of that. Totally convincing scratch work. Nice one bud.

The forgeworld would be proud . Even if you did stray from STC.

Looks good! wouldn't pick it if I didn't know! when is it's first blooding?

Thanks guys. I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

I'm not sure when it'll finally see the field. The league is just reaching 1000 points, so I don't expect to field it there. Have a 1500 point tournament this weekend but the list restrictions make it a bit impractical to run... though I could work it in if I really wanted to. I am anxious to see how it works.

Looks totally boss. Great job.

Looks good Gits the thickness is a definite improvement.

It looks good Gitz, question though from the angel I can't tell but it looks like the soot just sort of BLAM its there...

Does it blend out or not?

Ha!
The barrel looks thick enough to be used as a combat weapon baton... I like it!
I agree that the "soot" looks almost a masked and painted area rather than a gradient.
It may be just the angle of view doing that.
The overall model is awesome.
Makes me hesitant to critique much when the result is far greater than my efforts... for now.

I tried my best to blend it over the metal, I'll take another look at it. Thanks guts!

For soot on guns and exhausts, I tend to use dry-brushing of the black. The nature of DBing gives a nice sooty look to the finished product.

Good job on the gun, Gits'. Looks great.

Agreed. blending the black in or metal out would do it.

I do like the smaller and different shield. Nice personal touch.

A few shots from a local tournament last Saturday... supposed to be fluffy so everyone had backed off the strength of their lists a bit (1500 pts). Fun day, even though I didn't do so well (1-2). Nerdfest's army did win the painting competition through.


My display of Nerdy's work. Actually it's Cam's display of Nerdy's work. Don't I do anything for myself any more??










First game against Eldar was just kind of a long-range shooting match which I eventually won, so not much in the way of interesting photos.




Second game vs. Nids where I surprisingly got shot to pieces long before I got run over.










Last game vs. orks where I was run over hand hacked to pieces by regular boyz.

That's a sweet knight, Gits. Hope you get to field him soon. If I could be so bold as to offer a suggestion, I would recommend lightly painting some of those bushes. The color they come in seems kind of flat for such a large bush (yeah I said it), It looks just like a green blob next to a smaller, red blob.
Of course, that could just be the photo washing some of it out.

I can do that. Perhaps I should tone down the red bush rather than brightening the green one?

probably.

the color of the green doesn't bother me as much as it just looks flat.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Probably.

The color of the green doesn't bother me as much as it just looks flat.

Well, you're right. It's just a natural lichen so it is a consistent color throughout. I have an idea how to dress it up a bit that is consistent with the rest of the base though.

Wow that is a really sharp looking display, Gits
The event looks like it was a lot of fun!


Knight looks solid, too. The thicker barrel was the way to go. Do agree with Moltar on hitting the bushes with a little shade. Just for that extra depth because the bushes are so large.

Yeah, that knight looks great!

Looks like you are settling down and enjoying the game much more.

That looks like a near perfect day, (3-0 would have obviously been better) but looks like 3 great games, plenty of action.

Grats on the painting win, Nerdy strikes again.

Some cool pics from tge tournament. Looks like you had a good day.

EDC

I need to go back to sorting out ways to project power across the battlefield. Good Lord gun-lines are boring to run. I don't know how Tau players could stand them for all those years.

Oh, did a really quick re-paint of a Vindicare that I picked up used. For some reason they'd painted his jump suit bright red. I just threw him together for the tournament. I'll touch up some of his details and finish the basing before I set him aside.

Nice addition. I think he need a dot of color in the eyes. draw your attention there. Other wise it on the suppressor.

I think red eyes would really set it off nicely (and go with your beautiful AD Mech). That model always makes me laugh, I used to call mine 'The Compensator'.

Happy Birthday Bud! To the man whom will soon need a room to just display his 'Best Painted' awards. Our Leader of the Wardens.

Happy Birthday also to the Man who keeps us all grounded... The Infamous Whale Music Himself.

May on this day you both get what you want, and deserve. Best wishes!

Happy birthday bud, Prezzies in the post.

And best wishes and happy birthday to Whale music also.

Happy Birthday!

I feel like you guys are cheating. Cam might actually have the right day, damn time zones. But Happy Birthday to you as well Pat, and Art too I guess.

Yes, happy birthday to us all! I even took Thrs and Fri off so I could spend time with my kids and make sure my slightly broken wife stays off her feet!

Worked on some orks tonight. First unit of Red Skull Kommandos is nearly done and began the creation of the jump packs for my storm boys.

Happy birthday Warden-dudes!

Happy B-Day.

I'll be looking for inspiration from your orks as I'm working on some Bloodbowl orcs and I've never really bothered with them before.

Happy Birthday Gitz!

Thank you everyone!

Finished up my Red Skull Kommandoz... first unit anyway. They aren't fancy... but they'll do the job. At least to me the pic looks blurry, but if you zoom in on it it's fine.

Smashing stuff. Skin tones especially !

Happy Warden's Day, Gits!


Kommandos look awesome- loooooving the red warpaint!
Ya know , you really do make me miss my orks.....

At last, proper models. Nice work.

Hey Gits, hope you have/had a great birthday! :-) did you get any plastic presents? perhaps Orks? are you progressing back into the Waaaagfh!!?

No, no presents. But my eldest cleaned the boat for me (which was amazing) and my wife took us all out for a fancy dinner.

I'm working on the second unit of Red Skull Kommandoz if that counts.

Happy belated birthday to whoever has had a birthday recently...

Nice Orksess.

Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes, I had a great day!


Well, I'm inordinately proud of these for a bunch of badly painted miniatures. Guess I just like to find new purposes for old plastic. Red Skull Kommandoz are done. First step in the reconstitution of the old ork army (well, second step of you count the Morkanaut that Cam made for me). Sorry for the quality of the pic, new box and I don't have any photo software on it yet.

I'm feeling a strong call of the Waaaaaaghh. The boys look like a good motley crew all together.

I miss seeing your boyz, glad to see them coming out of storage!

It's nice to be working on my orks again. I have some bigger projects that I'd like to do eventually but the first priority for me is getting the two units of Red Skulls and one or two units of Storm Boyz (30 figs total) ready to go. After that, I can start working on some more exciting projects.

I'm actually a few boys short for the next project, so I'll be building/ painting 4-5 slugga-boyz and continuing to work on their rokkits. The rokkits will be very simple... sections of tube with GS nose-cones (already done). Will be adding fins next, then finally inserting a long pin at an angle into the rokkit, the other end of which will be inserted into the back of the slugga boy to make them convertible (either sluggas or storms).

I really like the way you did your Burna boys. The various red masks really come off looking good.

Thanks. The burna-boys are actually all my work and I did take my time with them.

 Gitsplitta wrote:
Thanks. The burna-boys are actually all my work and I did take my time with them.

It definitely paid off. I especially like the one with the goggle-mask with the big eye sockets. Very characterful.

Roll-Over

Good job on the Orkses. Nice mix of colours.

So pretty, makes me want to cry. The most magical words known to mankind...Gits Painting Orks...

Considering they are a hogg-pogg of boys they really work well together, really nice unit.

Thanks Cam & Dr H. The next unit will be all my own work. Granted rather basic... but at least they're mine.

@Gits - happy belated birthday =)

and some awesome looking orks there ^_^ Feelin da waaagh feelin da waaaagh!

Got a package today. More astounding work from everyone's favorite Camkiehri...

This side I was expecting...


This side, I was not...


Simply gobsmacked... you are amazing Cam. Thank you.

He is a legend among men.

Damn, I didn't realize how big that was! Great work Cam!

Fantastic looking board Cam!

That's an amazing looking Gits! offset by the board nicely, it really brings out his eyes!

fantastic stuff Cam you've done a wonderful job!

 nerdfest09 wrote:
That's an amazing looking Gits! offset by the board nicely, it really brings out his eyes!

fantastic stuff Cam you've done a wonderful job!

Just sad he didn't send it to you. We would of had another boudoir photo set

It is a spectacular piece.. some awards will be won for sure!

Absolutely amazing CAM!

That board is awesome.... nice work Cam!

Hi gang, back.

First they tried to drown us by sinking our boat, then they tried to burn us out by lighting our cabin on fire... and finally they tried to feed us to wolves. But NO! The Gitsplitta's SURVIVED VACATION! Who knew northern Minnesota was it's own death world? I feel like we've passed some kind of initiation ritual for a space marine chapter.

I've got 3 high-priority projects to work on at the moment. Ork storm boyz, IG conscripts for my AdMech, and getting the Deus Ex pinned & magnetized so she can be used. That's what you should be seeing soon.

Hope you are joking! (On one of the three, at least!)

Good to see you made it back, and ready for hobbying!

Actually, not joking.

1) Leaky hull plug meant that my boat was slowly sinking all week (but never quite went under due to abundance of foam in the hull and the ballast pump, which eventually died). While this isn't really life-threatening... it did foreshadow what was to come.
2) Our cabin caught on fire. Luckily we were in it at the time and had notified resort owner within a few minutes of it starting (thanks to the swift feet of Thing 1). Brother-in-law (trained fire-fighter) shut off gas & electric & they gathered extinguishers from several cabins before opening the door to an externally accessed utility room where the water heater was busily setting fire to things.
3) The new cabin they moved us to was right in the middle of where multiple wolves had been spotted coming into the resort at night for over a week... to the point where they actually had to have U.S. Gov't trappers come in a set snares to catch the wolves as they were presenting a direct threat to people (especially kids) who wander the beach & paths between cabins and the lodge at night.

However, the last night we were there sitting around a fire on the beach in front of my B-in-law's cabin... and we heard the wolves howling all around us (at a safe enough distance to really enjoy the novelty of it). That was cool. We have tons of coyotes around our place, but had never heard a real wolf howl in person before.

Bloody hellfire mate. Glad y'all are ok.

Quite an adventure Gitz, glad you made it home safely, You did not tell us though how the fishing was.

We had more fish than we knew what to do with... literally. That's not counting all the small ones we tossed back.

Really glad you made it through. Obviously not ideal, but one heck of a bunch of memories.

Welcome back!

Sounds like you had an interesting time away. Perhaps you could use the extra fish to keep the wolves fed and happy

And now you are ready to visit Australia.

 nerdfest09 wrote:
And now you are ready to visit Australia.

LOL!

Wow...
As an Eagle Scout who has camped in Northern Minnesota a lot, you guys did well.
Sometime I'll have to tell you the story about trying to take casts of bear tracks... I'll just say that the bears had different ideas.

Cam, once again... your work is amazing.

Hey, happy birthday! (belatedly so, but I've been away for a while. )

So the Waaaagh!'s making a return, eh? I shall look forward to more on this.

@Sigur: Nice to have to back my friend. Yep, orks will be making a return. Next two weeks will be unexpectedly tough to get anything done as my parents are visiting for both weekends... so it's work-clean house-sleep, rinse and repeat followed by visit-visit-visit on the weekends. Doesn't leave much time for hobbying.

At least it wasn't a "boring" holiday... don't get that kind of excitement in Skegness (for example).

Damn Gits, wolves? Sounds like a hell of a trip!

Holy dude, pyromaniac wolves sabotaging your boat and breaking into your place .....I may have skipped every other word while reading , but I'm glad you escaped with a good story to tell .

Well, the karmic wheel turned and I had a really enjoyable game with Yellowbeard tonight. Unfortunately pretty one-sided but then it was his first game of 8th and my 30-40th. Still, it was intended as a teaching game and to that end I think it went very well. He made only one tactical mistake that I could see and by the end of the game he was rolling right along as if he'd been playing 8th for months and contemplating changes to his list for our next outing.

I don't get to see Yellowbeard much so frankly had the results been completely reversed, it still would have been a wonderful evening. Solar_lion took some pics so perhaps they'll make it onto Dakka somewhere.

Finally got a couple of games in over the last couple of days. Got run over by a nasty Khorne list Monday but fared better last night vs. orks. Was able to try using IG conscripts as a screen for the first time thanks to Cam. They worked out far better than I expected. Just need to do a bit of list tweaking and I think I'll be good to go.

Did a bit of re-painting on the commissar. With a bit of luck I should finish him up tonight. First time I've had a brush in hand in a long while.

Great to hear your having fun games, wouldn't mind a couple pics to go with it mind you, look forward to seeing the work on the commissar.

Problem with my newly reinvigorated local group is that there are only about 4 of us with painted armies, and one of those is an old one of mine.... i.e. most of the time I'm playing against bare plastic. Doesn't make for very interesting photos.

Well I know a guy who can turn bare plastic into a work of art in short order ;-)

Shameless...

 Gitsplitta wrote:
Shameless...

So you've seen the pics he's taken of himself and didn't realize that before

Hi gang! Yes, I have an actual update for you. Several really. First, proof I have been painting. Here's a nearly-done WIP of my commissar. His eyes need work and I'll pick up some highlights on the edges, aside from that I think he's pretty much done. I know he's not really exciting, but I don't stress too much over re-paints. Just want to make them look good enough to field.




I'll have some nice photos from two different recent battles. I don't think I have enough good shots for bull battle reports, but I'll give some text/context with each one so you know what's going on.

See ya!

Like the facial hair!

It's... alive! Nice sword too.

Thanks Anpu, it's my first experiment with same.

@Graven: It's an old sword that has been repurposed. Stupidly big for him but I'm too lazy to paint up a new one. Hope to finish cleaning him up tonight.

Good to see some paint flowing at the Gitz studio again.

Wonderful to see you back in the painting saddle

He looks good. Even without the storm coat he has that feel of a nasty bugger ready to shoot deserters.

Looking Damn Good Gits!

Thanks guys, I've enjoyed painting him. Not the typical long-coated commissar but he'll do.


I promised you some battle shots & am finally in a position to accommodate. These are from a game last week with Solar_lion. Fun game. His army really had me worried but some bad dice luck on his part pushed things in my direction by the end.


I think we were playing 1750 points? My AdMech & allies vs his Lamenters. It was the basic variation of a maelstrom game. Six objectives, etc. I've been experimenting with some conscripts as a screen (2 units of 20) and a commissar. Also added a couple of other oddball units because I had the points. No canticles though as the formation is mixed. Got my T-wolf cavalry out for the first time since I bought it (painted) years ago. Nice to see them on the table.




Nice thing about the conscripts is that I can stretch them across a large section of the table, allowing me to move freely behind them and prevent any possibility of getting mugged from behind by deep strikers or infiltrators, or having my important shooting units bogged down on T1 in assault. You can see my tech priest dominus and Greyfax hiding from the snipers behind the building (upper right). Unfortunately I'd deployed my commissar too early and the Lamenters scouts had perfect shots at him.




SL brought some heavy guns this time. Pair of dreads with rather multi-melta looking las-cannons.




Did I mention heavy guns?




One of the tricks SL did with his build was to field 2 full units of scout snipers. This really had me worried as my characters are pretty important to how my army functions. The scouts did their job... took out my commissar at the beginning of turn 1. I thought the game was over at that point.




Here you see SL's vanguard unit (1 of 4 DSing units) making it's charge into my conscripts. Unfortunately for SL, they were the only unit to make their first turn charge and they took two casualties in the process. They would slowly whittle down my guardsmen... but my boys held for longer than I thought (given the obliterated commissar).




Here's my right flank. While these marines didn't make their charge they did eventually chew up this squad. Unfortunately it took them long enough to do so that they couldn't really do too much afterwards.




Unfortunately for the Lamenter warlord (chappy) and the other vanguard unit, they were within charge range of my doggies.




Chaplain Kibble got et, as did the remaining vanguard.




I had to deal with the scouts. Luckily I had an assassin who kept them busy long enough for the T-wolves to finish them off later.




On the other side the job went to my infiltrators, who handled their task with the efficiency you'd expect from a bunch of killer cyborgs.




Last turn: SL's wounded knight vs. most of my AdMech "core" which was still in decent shape. It was a fun game and attrition & dice luck in assaults played a huge part. Thanks SL!
The most embarrassing thing about this game was that in a Maelstrom game... three opportunities to score every turn PLUS the tertiaries... the final score was 3:1. *sigh*

I love your batreps. Almost enough to make me want to play 40k again! Almost...

I love the batreps too , the length of time it took to play a game was always a struggle for me, so I live vicariously through you all and still get a game in (by reading it in 10 minutes) from time to time.

Great batrep and photos there mate. I also like the Commissar. Is his name Commissar Chambers by any chance?

Awesome! I do enjoy your reps Gits, they're light on the technical stuff but easy and fun to read and follow not only do we get to see your cool armies but Solar's is looking sweet too! he does need a Termie squad though .......

Very cool bat rep Gitz, good pics and well painted armies.

Well, I've had games end early by tabling or some such... but never by a gas leak. Luckily all is good, no one or thing harmed, leak identified. Exciting for a few minutes there though.

Great looking battle report. I learned in my last game (my gaming buddies and I are really green to 8th) how nasty snipers are. There we are kicking off the game and my opponent perusing his scouts weapons exclaims "hey Sniper Rifles can pick out characters...." All of a sudden my Farseers go running for cover the whole game.

Great batrep, shame about the gas, stop feeding the kids beans will help. Commissar looks good.

Small project for today... converting 5 guardsmen with flamers (which I can't use) into something more resembling the 30k adsecularis covenant that I'm using for one of my conscript units. These won't look close... but I'm hoping if I paint the right they'll blend in enough with the other 20 models that it won't be too obnoxious. All I did here was remove the flamer tips and add regular barrels.

Thanks for the bat rep, always good to see nicely painted armies having a go at each other!

Neat project on those Guard reinforcements too, will surely be a nice addittion to your force!

Thanks for the battle Write up

I can finally show off what I've been working on... though for some reason my camera (phone) did not take decent photos.

I decided I wanted to increase my conscript screens from 20 to 25 figures. That meant coming up with 5 more 30k adsecularis covenant. I didn't really want to go through the hassle of ordering them so I thought I'd try and convert some spare guard flamers. I think they turned out OK considering. They're a little short but I can't do anything about that. Unfortunately I made the gun barrels too short, but I was doing it from memory so I just guessed wrong.

I'm just trying to make them blend into the group as much as possible. You can see the pic for yourself and decide how well I did.

They look very similar Gitz, no one is going to jump up and point them out. Well I might....

The look just fine, and blend in well: just a slight gun Mark difference.

And, if it ever really bothered you for, you know, reasons, you can go back to them and just cut before the noozles and extend the barrels out. But no need, imho.

rollover

I think you've done a great job! especially with the blending in of the colour scheme on them! makes them certainly look part of the squad without standing out as an add on! good work on your behalf :-)

Thanks Nerdy, means a lot coming from you considering you're the artist on the AC. Did my best to match your colors and style... even put bright silver scratches on the metal plates like you did! I'm working on properly basing the entire squad now. That'll help tie them together too.

Honestly? I had to LOOK. So, yes. You're 100% a-ok.

Looks like a great job bud, spot on to me.

More goodness from Gits!

Thanks guys. Am currently working on basing them all up. Have 10 more to do. Busy around the house so it's difficult to find time to work on them.

Good job. Look the part to me.
Variety is good, I like variety.

 Gitsplitta wrote:
I can finally show off what I've been working on... though for some reason my camera (phone) did not take decent photos.

I decided I wanted to increase my conscript screens from 20 to 25 figures. That meant coming up with 5 more 30k adsecularis covenant. I didn't really want to go through the hassle of ordering them so I thought I'd try and convert some spare guard flamers. I think they turned out OK considering. They're a little short but I can't do anything about that. Unfortunately I made the gun barrels too short, but I was doing it from memory so I just guessed wrong.

I'm just trying to make them blend into the group as much as possible. You can see the pic for yourself and decide how well I did.

Your adsec look fantastic, and blend in rather well. I look forward to seeing more gits.

Thanks FGM & Dr H!

Ask and ye shall receive!


Had a bit of a row with my eldest last week (Necrons). Not really enough pics for a battle report of any sort, but I'll do my best. Played on my newest mat & with the SM terrain that I still haven't painted. The battle takes place within a Mars forge (not on Mars... just Mars faction) where a reaver titan is being built so the parts are scattered about in their various assembly areas. A previously unknown Necron vault becomes active nearby and a war of the machines ensues!

The AdMech begin around the leg assembly, while the Necrons approach from the NE (upper right). Please note that the make-up of the army makes no sense what-so-ever given the scenario. I was playing with my list, so I have IG conscripts, Mantis Warrior scouts & a captain and a group of T-wolf cav. Perhaps they were alerted to the Necron awakening and sent out a plea for anyone in the area to help, perhaps they were on a tour of the facility... who knows. In any case...




Here's a side shot showing the sneaky Necrons. Thing 1 has been painting a bunch of his figures lately. I think he's got the gold done on at least 3 units. Nice to see him working and enthusiastic again.




A small group of rangers took up position on a small storage enclosure.




The Mantis Warrior snipers perched on a large pump house hoping to get some shots at the Necron leaders..




Necron elements started appearing all over the place and they quickly enveloped the staunch Imperial defenders. The conscripts took the brunt of the early damage. The T-wolves shot down the left flank and caused some chaos before ultimately succumbing to the Necron assault troops (who were amazing... killing everything in their path). You can just see one of two units of skitarii infiltrators that appeared deep into the Necron deployment zone at the top of the photo. They were hoping to take out some warriors and a cryptek (which they did) and draw the assault troops (sorry, can't remember the name... staff guys with jump packs) away from the main AdMech forces.




On my right a monolith appeared and brought in a unit of warriors... things were looking grim.




The infiltrators and last two T-wolves meet up after dispatching their initial targets.




By game's end, the core of the AdMech army was still in tact, but al the forward elements had been wiped out. The Necrons were in the same boat. It had been a bloodbath! We were both certain that the other had won, but when the points were calculated... it was a stalemate! The Necrons withdrew to gather their strength from their slowly awakening tomb in preparation for another assault. The AdMech contemplated what they would do to fend off the next determined attack... likely larger and better organized.

Nice!
Isn't that the terrain that Thing #1 was going to paint for you? Let him know that his work on the Necrons looks really good!
It's great to see that balanced lists make balanced (but bloody) games.

Thanks Anpu. Actually he's the one that built it all. It's my job to paint it up.

Lovely `mech hangar (Or Knight) you have there. Where did you buy it?

M.

Thanks for posting the bat rep Gitz, I always enjoy them. Thing ones Crons are looking good, Damos titan in pieces about the table made me laugh but it did make for some great terrain.

@Miguelsan: I got it from a kickstarter a couple of years back, though they're selling them regularly now. Most were based on the original DoW video game, though the stairs and tank installations (which I love) are from a different company. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the company right now. Perhaps if Solar_lion stops by he'll remember.

@Yorkright: LOL! Actually it's mostly put together right now. I just need to order the magnets so I can get the arms on and order a couple of extra dune crawler bases to make it a bit more stable. I'm working with one of the local guys to have some lighting effects added. Nothing that will interfere with any of Nerdy's painting.... something that I hope will accentuate it (and something I've never seen done on any other titan).


Thing 1 and I have a plan. We're going to put together a campaign between his Necrons and my AdMech focusing on the fight for this Manufactorum. He's in charge of making up the campaign. I've really missed the campaign that Yorkright and I had going on as it was some of the best gaming I've ever had... so perhaps Thing 1 and I can catch some of that spark. I'm really looking forward to this as it'll give us a chance to do something fun together in what will be his last year at home (next year he's off to college). I'm hoping to do all kinds of fun, interesting things with unusual battles and terrain, including using some corridors and such that we picked up a while ago. I'll probably also use this as an excuse to get some of this cool terrain painted up. Planning on doing decent battle reports for everything.

Stay tuned!

Good-looking minis, mate! And even better to see 'm in action!

That's a snazzy looking board there.

Bonus mini-batrep!

Solar Lion and I a couple of weeks ago. The last of a series of conflicts between his Lamenters and my AdMech. For those you may see this later, this is a pre-codex game. The battle takes place in a remote area around a couple of imperial ruins which used to garrison the gap between the hills.

We're playing a modified version of "the relic" which didn't really work out the way I'd hoped. The Lamenters should be going first but I blew a point on stealing the initiative for some stupid reason and actually succeeded. Here's my list... rather than spell it out for you, I just took a pic. Pretty standard for me pre-conscripts.




After deployment, things looked like this. SL had taken a very fast army with lots of assault capability. Generally that spells trouble for me.




Lamenters heavy tanks anchor down their left flank.




Snipers in the southern bunker draw a bead on Cawl.




The Lamenters advance along the southern (bottom) flank towards the lightly defended AdMech right.




Bikes move up to try and wrest control of the tech priest (relic). The ensuing gunfire and assault wipes out the infiltrators.




The AdMech left is threatened by more assault troops with air support.



Overall view of the battlefield.






In the center, the lamenters threaten the AdMech lines with multiple charges on a very thinned out screen.




Unfortunately only one of four charges lands home and the bikes in the center are wiped out by Mechanicus fire.




The noose closes, and Lamenters swarm the Mechanicus center.




The skitarii rangers are little more than meat sticks in the face of the marine assault.




As the battle rages, it's down to Cawl to step in and repel the mighty Lamenter assault. Dendrites whirring... he does what Cawl does best.... besides repair things... and... helping things shoot better.



Thanks for a great game SL. Sorry the scenario didn't work out.

Another great (actually two, I'm catching up late!) report, with awesome-looking armies on great tables.

Terrain and campaign plans along with Thing 1 sound amazing!

Good read mate, clear and concise!

Thanks for the batreps, always really great to see them all in action. Envious of the ability to actually play, but enjoy living vicariously through you. SL has a great looking force, looks so awesome with 2 great armies on the field, Thing 1's Necros are a nice force too, your a lucky boy.

Some hobby projects are exciting and sexy... some are not.

Spent the weekend basing up some of the models Nerdfest painted for my AdMech army so they look a bit more like they belong. Not exciting, but needed to be done and I'm happy with the results. I always want to do these beautiful models justice with good basing.

Great models. Nerdfest work is always stunning and the bases bring them together really well.

Its all about the base, bout the base. They look great Gitz .

Your basing skills are still far far superior. Looks fantastic Gits!

Yeah they really looks great, Gits!

Basing looks great on those models, and thanks for sharing the batreps, always enjoy reading how others battles go.

There are some things in life instantly recognisable, a Da Vinci drawing, a Faberge Egg, a Picasso, Nerdies miniature painting, and a Gitsplitta base. Inspiring and beautiful work, never boring.

 Camkierhi wrote:
There are some things in life instantly recognisable, a Da Vinci drawing, a Faberge Egg, a Picasso, Nerdies miniature painting, and a Gitsplitta base. Inspiring and beautiful work, never boring.

O.K that's funny! I agree though I can always spot a Gits' model with his basing, it's so different than normally seen!

I take a lot of pride in my basing as I think it can really have a major impact on the overall quality and impact of the piece. Thanks for noticing guys, means a lot.

My next project has been decided. I needed something that was a bit more interesting that the dozens of gribbly's I have to work on... so I'll be working on an ork Megadread that my sweetie got me for Christmas years ago. It looks like a complicated model so the build may take a while.

Does anyone have the ork rules from FW? I'm curious about what looks like good/bad weapon options. I have some extra weapons (specifically the lifta-droppa guns) and am wondering if they're any good in 8th.

In presented orderanks

Death Ray Designs is the terrain company that you and Thing 1 were playing on.

Thanks for the game. It was challenging. You have your army down.

Nice job on the basing. New additions for your Admech will only make your higher point list better.

Something Orky? Been awhile, do remember how to paint in the orky fashion?

Thanks SL!

@Yorkright: Well, we'll find out. Also going to challenge myself to add to my Halloween/Chaos army next month.

Nice work Gits. Those 3rd party heads improve the big bots massively!

@Regnak: Agreed. I've got two more bots and two more interesting 3rd party heads I picked up. I'll paint these last two myself... can't let Nerdfest have all the fun after all.

 Gitsplitta wrote:
@Regnak: Agreed. I've got two more bots and two more interesting 3rd party heads I picked up. I'll paint these last two myself... can't let Nerdfest have all the fun after all.

Well he is going on a vacation and getting married. So he is having "Fun" ....at least until the ring is on .

Two more heads like these? Or from another manufacturer?

Pretty sure I have both.... that is IF I can find them in the mess that is my studio.

Dammit! why can't I have all the fun?

First of two. Going to be a fun project!

Yeah, I'm always pleased to see a Gitsplitta base.

What are the little flower bunches again? (I'm sure it's been asked, I'll be sure to make a note of it this time)

Edit: Oo, hello ^ that looks cool.

Are those lubbers going to get shoulder mounted?

At last, now I am really looking forward to this.

Here come the checks... this is going to orksome.

Oh Yeah!

No, serious. Like, the Kool-aid man, "Oh, Yeah!" busting through the wall. You should paint him red.

FIRST OF TWO!?!?!?! Super cool!

Second build is almost done. Just the big gun left to do. I must admit to being pretty excited about these. They've been waiting a long time to get built and painted.

I've been using large pins to reinforce joints after they've been glued together. It's worked out really well so far and I think it'll make the models far less fiddly. I've also put them on flying bases (even though the models don't actually have an official base) which should make them much more stable less prone to breakage.

Thing 1 and I had a fantastic game last night in our ongoing Necron vs. AdMech campaign that he's created. Final score was 24-21 with both armies point values cut in half by the time the game ended (T7). A credit to his scenario designing skills that we were so close. Hopefully will have battle reports of the first two games for you shortly.

The best part of these models from my perspective is that the actual body is just a killa kan... so fluffily they'll fit in nicely with my grot-themed armies.

Really Excited to see you get to work on something big Gits!

Gork & Mork, ready for paint.

Glorkious!

Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum!

These should be good...

The godz iz gonna be pleased...

So as not to leave anything out... this was Thing 2's 40k birthday present. (he'll be painting this one himself)



I should have done a pinning tutorial while I was building it. Some of you (I'm looking at you Nerdy)... need some proper trainin' on pinning theory and techniques.

Meh! pinning...... o.k yes, maybe a little advice would help, I've just whacked them in where they need to go to glue solidly in the past.

Well, OK... since I complained about it... my thoughts on pinning.

1) If done properly with long enough pins, pins can replace magnets for interchangeable parts... however, that's not really what I'm going to address at this point.

2) Pins, if done correctly, can make a huge difference in stabilizing glued joints, especially those that carry load. There are a couple of things you need to keep in mind though.
- A good pinning job provides a considerable about of structural reinforcement through multiple pieces of a model, like rebar used in concrete. It holds things together when they may otherwise slip, sheer or crack apart.
- Tiny pins are only good for pinning tiny things (like bits of a human sized model). Anything bigger than this needs a larger diameter pin, so use your paperclips for holding papers and go out and buy some brass rod at your local hobby or hardware store.
- Short pins are only useful as registration marks (i.e. helping things to line up). You're main pins (structural support) need to be as long as you can get away with. As such, they vastly increase the surface area of the pin in contact with the model, making it stronger. Also vastly increases the surface area of the glue adhering the pin to the model with the same end result.


Unfortunately I'm not at home so I can't provide pictures at the moment, but we can use the nid model above as an example. The biggest load-bearing parts of that model are the knee joints below the plates. The knee was separated into two different model bits (thigh & lower leg). What I did was to glue the two pieces together and let dry overnight so the join was as strong as it could be, then I drilled two holes from the bottom of the knee up into the thigh... each hole was between 1/2 to 3/4" long. Pin size was substantial... 1/16" in diameter. I then put glue on the end of the pin and inserted it into the hole... gave it a bit to set, then with a flush-clipper clipped off the rest of the brass rod. Finally I gently filed off the excess of the rod sticking out of the hole until it matched the curve of the resin leg part. The scythed arms got the same treatment, laying a single pin from the outside of the shoulder deep into the body of the model. Whether I use two pins or one depends on how likely the part is to want to twist (needing two pins to hold it firm) or how much load I'm trying to support.

If you look at the megadreads... both the legs and arms are pinned to the body in this way (post gluing). The arm pins actually travel through 3 or 4 different model parts in order to support the whole structure. In that case, I'd pre-measure the pin once the hole was drilled, clip it to size & then push it in with a combination of my fingers & a tweezer. The pins are invisible and they'll add a lot of strength to those joints.

You know this may sound a bit stupid, but I hadn't considered adding a pin after the joint has been glued together. That is absolute genius. Definitely will be using that idea in the future.

That is brilliant!
I pinned the metal Necron Spyder's legs through the front. It ended up being over an inch to get through all that pewter with a single rod, and would have been a lot easier had it already been glued.

thanks guys, glad I could help. Of course I do normal pinning as well (drilling holes into both parts from inside the joint, but there are a surprising number of situations where the above method just works better.


Unfortunately my folks are in for the long weekend, so I don't think I'll get to do any painting until sometime next week. I CANT WAIT!!

to the pinning advice. Can't say more.

If you've ever had a problem with lining up a pre-pinned bit with a pre-drilled hole, pinning after attaching the bits makes it a non-issue.

Sorry for the lack of progress on da orkses... prolonged visit by the parents. Dad's 91 so I gotta take advantage of whatever time I have with him (though he's in pretty decent shape for an old fart). I plan on starting the painting tonight. Did fall things this weekend... pumpkin patch, grilled brats, watched lots of football (Way to go IA State, & Wiscsonsin! Bears... not so much.) Hopefully progress to show you tonight, though I don't think it'll be very exciting progress... still... needs to be done.

Bears fan? OMG I thought we were friends.

It just dawned on me that it's been about two years since I posted a P&M summary. Given that... I went through my various blogs (now just one) and grabbed some photos to share. Usually I include what others have done for me but there's been so much done by others on my behalf I think I'll make that a separate post.

Since about Nov. of 2015... this is what I've managed to accomplish.


Adeptus Mechanicus:

Some guardsmen flamers modified into 30k Mechanicum adsecularis covenant... used as conscripts for my 40k AdMech army.


Scratch-built a repeating battle cannon for Ramos' awesome knight.


A few rangers... have a bit more than this now.


Skitarii Infiltrators.



Made good progress on my void shield generator... does anyone play with these anymore?




Other Imperials:

First... for giggles... I put together a 7th Ed. legal 5000 pt. Mantis Warrior list. Here's what it looked like.


Amazingly... this is the only MW work I was able to find. A re-paint of a bunch of assault scouts.


Made some jakero out of monkey heads and some kids poseable toys.


Made a priest.


Quick-n-dirty vindicare.


Slightly less q&d callidus.


Couple of psychers... These are just simple re-paints of 30-year-old DnD figures... but they work nicely. Their 25mm size difference helps to sell the marines or AdMech as being extraordinary in size or bulk.




Fantasy:

Painted a carnosaur for a good friend's son's army. First fantasy model I've done in decades.



Terrain:

Thing-1 built a mass of laser cut terrain, most inspired by the DOW games.


Here's what it looks like on the table (along with a new river and some older pipelines). I might get it painted some day.


I cooked up some winter pieces to go with my winter mat.


Also picked up these awesome containers... some of which were custom made.



Warmachine/Hordes:

Put a little army together so Thing 1 would have something to destroy. The game isn't my cup of tea, but I'll probably paint a few more figs just so T1 and I can play from time to time. These aren't painted to a very high standard... just quick & dirty so I had something to field.







Halloween/Chaos Army:

Added some fun bits to my Halloween army.
Skeletons (cultists)


Plague banner for my plague bearers (zombies).


Gargoyles (chaos raptors)


Giant Bats (screamers)


Cthulhu (GUO or perhaps the big FW critter)


Headless Horseman (Skulltaker)


The army with it's painting awards.



30k Emperor's Children:

Started a 30k Emperor's Children army. Got lots and lots of coaching from Dakka luminaries.









Orks

Dipped my toes into the orky pond for the first time in years. Got two groups of red skull commandos done (minor re-paint of someone else's minis). I like the fact that they're visually distinct from the rest of my Bad Moons.



Adepticon

Went to a couple of Adepticons. Could fill pages with pics but I'll stick the just a few showing my with my "Badab War Campaign" first place medal (I'm on the right) and friends, many of whom are Dakkanaughts.


The ModBitz gang.


Solar_lion's awesome "Knight Fight".



That should catch everyone up.

As always, I want to thank you guys for sticking with me. I know this blog is a shadow of it's former self... but to me, that doesn't matter. The friends I've made on Dakka and the support I get from you is what matters. Thank you for letting me share my work, both the good and the "good enough". If I have achieved some level of expertise, it is due in no small part to the support and guidance from all of you! Thank you my friends.

Gits

Awe-inspiring.

Thanks for sharing your work with us Gitz, I can personally say you are one of the reasons why I push myself to become a better painter.

Nice to see your last couple of years of work in one place Gits Those emperor's Children are sweet!

To think this was started in 2010, and were in 2017 now, its such an epic thing to have something last this long (some T.V. shows don't last this long!)

Damn impressive work. Great retrospective.

Keep it up!

Wonderful and inspirational work. Thank you so much for sharing this with us mere mortals. Favourite for me is the Halloween army, such brilliance, such fun. Long may you continue.

Here is the promised megadread pic.

Base paint is black with a series of vary diffuse metallic dry brushes from black metallic, steel, slightly goldish light steel and finally bright aluminum. Overall heavy sepia wash followed by spot washes of blue, purple, green and red (a-la nerdfest09's technique). Really happy with the way it turned out. I'm almost tempted just to do a few details and leave it largely like this... but I don't think so. Want to get some bright colors and typical Bad Moon motifs in so it fits the army. OH, and rust, soot, oil, etc.

Good to see you back in the saddle.

That's looking damn sharp!! Yeah you could totally leave it as is and it'd be striking... but with the bad moon symbols... Yeeeeah! An amazing start to an epic paintjob

@youwashock! Thanks! Glad you think so.

Yorkright wrote: Thanks for sharing your work with us Gitz, I can personally say you are one of the reasons why I push myself to become a better painter.

That makes me feel very gratified. I love your painting. Keep up the great work.

BLACKHAND wrote:Nice to see your last couple of years of work in one place Gits Those emperor's Children are sweet!

So good to see you around my friend. Very glad to see that you're still out there. Thanks!

Knightley wrote:To think this was started in 2010, and were in 2017 now, its such an epic thing to have something last this long (some T.V. shows don't last this long!)

Pretty amazing that I've managed to keep people's interest for this long.

Nevelon wrote:Damn impressive work. Great retrospective. Keep it up!

Thanks Nev!

Camkierhi wrote:Wonderful and inspirational work. Thank you so much for sharing this with us mere mortals. Favourite for me is the Halloween army, such brilliance, such fun. Long may you continue.

Thanks Cam, means a lot coming from you. I think I might do something for the Halloween army once I'm done with the two mega dreads.

Ramos Asura wrote:That's looking damn sharp!! Yeah you could totally leave it as is and it'd be striking... but with the bad moon symbols... Yeeeeah! An amazing start to an epic paintjob

Thanks Ramos. I hope so. I have a need to do something good again. "Good enough" gets boring after a while.

I love the muted, subtle tones on the dread. Really works, quite surprising, but really effective.

Here are some slightly better photos of the dreads. Color is still off... but you get the idea. Stippled on a little of the verdigris technical paint for a bit of interest. Next I'll be adding some black washes in the deep recesses and shaded areas.

That is looking amazing bud. Really great start. Love the variation in colour, really gives the impression of the metal being from many sources and hammered and heated into what the mek wanted. Needs some Badmoon though. The grots would be busy with the paint on such epic machines. These guys are going to steal the show bud.

Nice! Less Gitsplitta, more like Grit-splitta!

Seriously cool work on the metallics, I hope even with the addition of some colour a lot of that will be showing through on the final paintjob, it's too awesome to cover up.

Good work on the color variations. Very nerdfest and Paradigm like. I think when you start putting on the yellow and other colors the work you are putting in now will really shine through.

holy balls Gitz. Wow your painting game is on point brother. Love the effects and the colors. Looks like a proper Waagh machine.

@Cam: It'll get there. Much as it's tempting to let things go because this portion of the paint job turned out much better than I thought... it does need some counter-points to the metallic foundation. A bit-o-bad moon will suit that role well.

@Paradigm: Thanks! I have to be careful not to lose sight of the forest for the trees. I want to add just enough color/painted plates to provide an interesting visual with the background metal... but not so much the model loses it continuity.

@WM: That's my hope exactly. Fingers crossed.

@MA: Thank you! Trying my best.


Well, took a night off to shoot some gribblys on Destiny 2. Having a night of Halloween activities tonight, but should be back at the painting desk tomorrow.

Nice work on the metals, Gits'. Looking great.

Great P&M summary up top, Gits!
Those mega dreads are looking beautiful! I love all the cool metallic tones peeking out.

Next steps done on the first MegaDread. Things like steel, copper, tips of shells and hydraulics (which for some reason are always orange in my painting universe). It's starting to come together. Color is a bit off I have to get my photo booth and normal editing software up and running). The hydraulics should be orangy red... not just red.

Looking good Gitz, the red piping is a nice contrast to the metals.

Thanks Yorkright. Yeah... it's just picking out some details here and there... but as good as the base metal looks, I think it needs some counterpoints. Once I get this far on the other one... then I'll dive back in on the next step. I *think* it's ready for the addition of some Bad Moon colors... but I've got a good bit of painting to do on the other one so I've got time to think in the mean time.

I actually really enjoy this step in any paint-job because there's no real thinking to be done. It's just all automatic. Very relaxing.

Awesome fatigued metal colors . They look like they really were all welded together by mushroom men. So is the orange of the hydraulics the color of your name on the board Cam made, because that would be another level of awesome I hadn’t noticed before.

Super cool, Gits. Can't wait for the Badmoon colors.

@Theo: Well, not on purpose... it's just my color (dirtied up a bit) for such things.
@Anpu: That makes two of us!


Just wanted to give a brief update. In spite of my lack of posting, I have been working on bringing the second mega dread up to the level of the first. I'm almost there now. I don't know that it's really worth posting a pic of the pair as you've already seen what they look like. When I complete the next phase one the first one, I'll post a pic.


Here are my thoughts on the next steps... I don't want to overdo the paint on the next step as I think it'll ruin the overall effect of Nerdfest's excellent metal technique. I've decided to concentrate the orky/bad moon colors in very specific areas that I don't think will ruin this. I'll re-post the pic below so you can easily envision what I'm thinking about.

I'm going to paint the gob as a stylized ork gob. Teeth will be whitish and the jaw below green... probably leave the bottom strip metallic so it connects to the rest of the model.

The yellow will go on the chest and abdominal plates directly below the gob and on the shoulders... either entirely or on specific plates (not sure which yet... will have to see how the center looks). All colors will be appropriately dingy so they match the feel of the rest of the piece. Also there are some of the hydraulics that are perfect for Bad Moon coloration (yellow with black triangles) but these are small and there's only a couple on each model. There are some triangular plates on the feet (not the toes) that I'll also do, probably in black. They won't be really obvious, but it's a touch I'd like to do.

A little more progress... teef on da gobs & cast checkerboards on the side of the eye-slots. Think I'm going to be done painting these sooner than I though. Now just looking for a way to put small touches of yellow so they fit the army... otherwise I'd probably stop right now. Do need to either re-paint or remove the standard on the right dread though. Colors are all wrong.

Looking fantastic, I would maybe loose the green on the standard, in favour of maybe black or checkerboard. Really love the teeth, just beautiful work sir.

I agree with Cam, checks, or maybe red, on the standard. Spots of colour generally are working well for this.

I also agree, checkerboard would be good. And the definitely need some more yellow to sell them as part of your army. Right now they are just generic orcs.

So much inspiration there, Gits. Thank you.

Thanks for the input guys. Checkerboard on the jaw of the standard is a great idea. The yellow will have to be re-painted as well. It's just too bright. Am questioning both Cam and Nerdy on how they do their muted yellows as that's much closer to what I want on these. I think I'll also use some of the oily black wash on the orange hydraulics to make them a bit less pristine. Spots of color are good, but they need to be consistent with the rest of the model.

The model needs yellow... but only in very careful amounts. Just enough to make it look a part of the army. Not a spot more.


To help illustrate the yellow issue, here's a photo of my kans and dreads. Nerdy painted those on the left, I did the ones on the right. Mine are brighter... warmer. Especially in-person there's an obvious difference. Nerdy's are muted, mine are screaming.




Here's the army I'm shooting for. All of this (including Cam's custom made morkanaut), 2 HQs, 30 sluggas and two groups of grots. I'm thinking of niggling around to either increase the command points (only 1 in this build), or abandon the infantry and trade it all for a squiggoth... even though theyr'll be no points to put anything IN the squiggoth! This photo really points out the need for the yellow on the megadreads... but I'm thinking of just a few, key, highly visible areas. Shoulder pads, gun shield (plate right behind the barrel), perhaps something on the stacks?? Not sure. In any case I'm looking for the maximum yellow impact with the minimum of actual yellow on the model.

Nice work and nice collection.

I like the variety of colours and tones, especially for an Ork army. But you are well aware of my army concept preferences.

For muted colours I find the addition of an equally toned grey to the original colour gives it the muted finish.
Unlike adding white that lightens and washes out a colour, an equal brightness/tone grey just "dilutes" the colour without changing it's brightness, although you can choose greys to slightly change the brightness to change the look or to help with shading and highlighting.

Agreed, definitely needs yellow panels to tie in with your army!

@Dr H: Normally, I don't worry about color variation as I figure these vehicles are being constantly built and repaired and orks/grots aren't going to be picky about their yellow. HOWEVER... because of the tone of the background paint (metals), my normal bright yellow just doesn't look good... so I'm looking for something a bit more muted.

Thanks for the suggestion... I'll add it to my bag of useful painting knowledge and will do some experimentation.

No prob's. If you've not done it before it can be tricky to choose the right grey to match the tone of a specific colour by eye.

You want the final mixture to be just as bright (or dark) as the original colour. You may not need as bright a grey to match yellow as you may expect... or vice versa... Experimentation and experience helps for the future.

Also, don't start with a 1:1 mixture. Add a little grey at a time and test the look of the mixture.

Thank you sir, I really appreciate it. I'll give it a try next time I sit down to paint.

That's one hell of a photodump, mate - amazing stuff!

I'm also loving the weatherbeaten and coloured metals on those megedreads. I've got a trio of Kans that I really need to try and emulate that on. Do you have a tutorial for those (or can you point me to one by Nerdy or Cam?)

Also - pinning through a glued joint. You know, I'd never actually thought of that, and I've been doing this for quite awhile. It's so bloody obvious now that you point it out - thank you!

Hey Azazelx, Thanks! I'm pretty sure Nerdy did one at one time, but I'm not sure where to find it. You should ask him. My only additions were to add a sepia wash step to make it all look a little more fatigued and using the gloss black wash to give the piece a dirty, oily look.

I think adding yellow to the shoulder pads and gun shields would be a good idea, the shoulder pads stand out most from the tabletop view, there might even be enough space to freehand a bad moon

Wow, those Megadreads are looking fantastic. Love what you've done with the metal.

Thank you Gir and insaniak!

Just wanted to post since I hadn't made any progress. Came home from an errand on Saturday night to see that my wife and kids had ripped up half of the kitchen floor. This would be an issue except that we're hosting a big Halloween party for Thing 1's friends and families next weekend and the floor replacement process requires multiple steps with down-time for the drying of various substances in-between... so my next opportunity to paint may not be until the week of Halloween (next week). I was hoping to get some work done on my Halloween army before the holiday, but I think if I get the two mekadreads done by then I'll call it a major victory. I'll do something for the Halloween army after.

 Gitsplitta wrote:
... Came home from an errand on Saturday night to see that my wife and kids had ripped up half of the kitchen floor...

You should keep a close eye on them then. No telling what they might get up to in the future.

@Dr H: Yeah, no kidding...

Good news to report is that the kitchen is done. We still have to put everything back into all the cabinets we had to move out, but I'm really proud of my family. Everyone pitched in and played a big role in getting the job done, especially Thing 1 who made it his personal project. I was down with a cold Wed. PM & Thursday so Thing 1 & the Mrs. did the tiling themselves and did a fantastic job. I don't see having time to paint much until after the party on Sunday... but I'm ready and rearing to go!

I wish I knew you did flooring, would have called you up a few years ago when we put in wooden floors.

Your dread mob looks great and I would love to have a go against them with my deathguard sometime, or my eldar, or my blood angels. I really need a gaming night.

You've got that kid trained damn well, mate. I struggle to get mine to take out the rubbish.

Nice to see the Ork Kan army played again!

Thanks SL. Had a fun game with it last night (first ork battle of 8th) vs some sisters. I did take some pics but unfortunately left my phone at home. Will try to share some later. Close game.

Pics, or it didn't happen!

I'll get them for you...

Synopsis:

I always make really fancy, interesting tables and this one included an oblique line of buildings along a road... this effectively really made my life difficult and it put a choke point across the middle of the table that my walkers had to file through, one at a time (through 3 gaps). Made for a great looking table, but kinda stabbed myself in the foot with my creativity in setting up the table.

Morkanaut and mekadreads are good. They've got enough wounds that they're tough to completely nullify. The weapons are reasonably effective. They look cool together too.

Deff Dreads are decent. I'd take them again, no problem.

Kans are bad... I know they don't cost much but for all that they're bad anyway. The guns don't do a lot so you're relying on your PK, which only hits on a 5 because it's a grot at the helm. I'm glad my kans are all bought and painted already, otherwise I doubt I'd bother with them.

The squiggoth sucks, which is a shame.


I think in the next iteration of this list I'll drop the kans and squiggoth and add grot tanks of various shapes and sizes and another Deff Dread.... We'll see how that goes.

I'll get them for you...

I'll wait. Patiently.

...

Got them already?

I always make really fancy, interesting tables...

I know. That's why I asked for pics,

Is it later yet? OK, I'll keep waiting...

And now?

and add grot tanks of various shapes and sizes...

Here's to hoping that means what I think it means, . Best news of the week, I've been waiting to see some paint on certain Grot tanks for a long time...

Any pics now?

OK, I'll shut up.

Shame to hear about kans, love the models and the concept of them. Terrain is meant to be troublesome, can't wait to see pics.

Sorry guys, managed to lose my phone some time on Thursday night. Still looking so no pics yet. Here's hoping...

@Lt: Indeed you have. I haven't rectified that... but I will. Just primed them up!

Yikes, here's hoping that nobody took the phone and started doing shenannigans.

No matter what the rules are like (they'll be the exact opposite again anyway as soon as the next codex is released), i really dig your Kans. Love the subtle variation within the colour scheme.

Took the orks out again last night. Kept the big scary bits and added some sensible boys. Friend had another ork army, also with a mix of stuff. Game was fun and close though I did get just totally disgusted with poor dice rolling and some really stupid mistakes (like... forgetting how assault works now and making HUGE tactical errors as a result). No idea where that came from... I've logged well over 40 games of 8th so I know the rules. *sigh* Also had two maelstrom cards that were DOA with no way to get rid of them, so was limited to getting one maelstrom point per turn. (they were technically achievable, but there was no way I'd ever get them)

Got a new phone though and the upgrade to the camera is significant. Not only detail but the software for handling color and light have clearly been improved. Unfortunately I don't have any end-game shots as I was really aggrevated by then (not at my opponent... at the universe).

Set-up:








Bottom of T1... I charge the morkanaut, then forget to attack him with my guaranteed (first) assault... Tom then interrupts and attacks first, reducing my mecha-dread to 5 wounds and rendering him useless except as a bomb when it is later destroyed. At least it blew up.




I didn't realize that you could only cast one of each power (other than smite) in a single turn... so my second big mob and psycher with "da jump" just wandered around trying to stay near objectives. They were eventually eaten by the morkanaut, having accomplished nothing.


Boyz and characters mug my gorkanaut and kill it. It doesn't blow up.




The mob of 30 sluggas that was successfully moved by "da jump" fails epically and is destroyed by 5 bikers. The bikes were eventually taken out by the surviving meka-dread. The meka-dread went on to assault a unit of 10 gretchin and killed exactly one. Yes... one.


I think I failed 6 of 7 (9") charges... and that's including re-rolls for 'ere we go and using 2 command points.

I love ork versus ork games. It's easy to root for the winner.

Thanks for sharing Gitz, Cams morkanaught is very cool and I didn't realize how big those mega dreads were. What are they in points?

Land Raider... a smidge over 250. I think they're overpriced but not so badly that I won't play them.


Fiddled with the army a bit. No major changes really, just character shuffling. Think I'm going to paint up Mad Dok Grotsnick and add him to the frey. Also my original "Gitsplitta" figure is getting tossed in for good measure!

Wonderful to see the boys in action. Thanks for the batrep, the boys obviously missed Gitsplitta for some directions.

Shame about the phone, but always a silver lining, new pics are good.

@Cam: Everyone loved your morkanaut Cam... it was the star of my army by far! Thanks again... it's fantastic!

Wouldn't mind a side by side with a proper one just for size comparison, have been a bit worried about that. Interesting how you both had them in the battle. How do they stand up game wise?

Very well actually. It and the two meka-dreads were the only things to make the cut from my stompy army to this mixed, more competitive one.

Next time I get a chance, I'll get you a pic.

Gits are you and Thing 2 coming to Apoc Luck next Saturday, November 18. We are needing some more turnout

Will we see the Artistic Reaver?

Waaaaaagh! great shots on the S8 Gits, lots you can do with it I took my favorite wedding photo on my own. your game looked like a blast even if it gave you the S@%ts

@wyfox: Sorry, gun deer opener. The youngest and I will be freezing our you-know-what's off in a tree somewhere.

@SL: Reaver is still in the process of electrification. Will post when ready.

@nerdy: Fun game... just very frustrating.

Tks for the rep,good read and beautiful armies and table!

Sorry it was tough, guess some times the dice do not play along!

Amazingly I managed to get signed up for Adepticon this year.... I mean actual events! Resorted to using my wife's laptop and my phone as a hot spot... that seemed to solve my connectivity issues.

Solar_lion and I coordinated our schedules for the weekend. I've got both boys coming with me this year so I had to register 3 people and juggle events.


Thursday: Arrive, get settled, shop... then have two evening events... a titanicus event so I can trot out Damo's beautiful Reaver and the "car wars" event for whomever isn't interested in watching the titan game.

Friday: Gentleman's Doubles - Both SL and I have spots here... we'll each take a "Thing" and spend the day getting our butts handed to us by more competitive guys... but that's OK. As long as the armies are pretty and I know what I'm getting into, I'm fine. Looks like SL & Thing 2 will be doing Nids, Thing 1 and I will issue fourth the "rise of the machines" (Necrons/AdMech). They gave no details on most of the events I looked at, so we're just flying blind... but I'm sure we'll sort it out.

Saturday: We left Saturday open for SL's unofficial "Knight Fight" event, some SFB amongst "the gang" and pick-up 40k games, not to mention demos, etc.. If any of you are going to Adepticon and would like to get in a game with me... this is the day to do it. Please feel free to give me a holler by PM and we'll make it happen.

Sunday: Late breakfast, noodle around, then head for home. Probably could squeeze in a pick-up game here too since I'll be driving.


Not a lot scheduled I guess given the 4 day event, but I see so many friends that I won't see again until the next time they come to Adepticon that I just cant book myself solid. Gotta leave time for my friends don't-cha-know.

You are quite lucky Gitz, I have heard it can be hard to get all the events you want. I may sneak in on Saturday, what time does SL titan fight usually start?

I really enjoyed the AT event last year. If either of the boys like it, when I come in 2019 I can bring the Warhound for them to use.

@Yorkright: Usually start? He's held it once. I'm not sure we can draw any long-term predictions based on a one-time event. I'd guess later afternoon or evening though. SL said that Ramos is bring his porphyrion... guess that means I'll have to paint up mine. At least this should be the only thing I have to paint this year which will be quite a relief. I am quite reluctant to give up my lancer though, he kicked butt last year. Perhaps one of my boys will take up the gauntlet.

Things fill up quickly for sure... and some "events" are only for 4 people... which seems like a waste of bandwidth to list as a public event. Heck, even SL's unofficial event was able to handle a dozen people or so... and that was just the first experimental run.

@WM: SL & I are thinking that the boys will run our two Reavers under his watchful eye & I'll go play the other event. If they like it... I'm sure one of them would take you up on your generous offer.

Rock and roll, Gits!

Happy Thnksgiving to all you americian Wardens. Thought I'd post here since I know most of you follow gits religiously.

For those Wardens playing in the Knight Fight. Sat night is the planned time. I as your generous host will provide dinner ( pizza )

Most Likely will be using the 8th ed rules with the exception of the turn sequence. We'll be using the card system we use last year.

Most of you should have your own knights but in case I am mistaken, let me know.

Lookng forward to seeing you all so get painting and putting together your pick up lists so you can keep Gits playing.

SL, Can I get a copy of your Knight fight rules, and your thoughts on making it exciting/fun? Thanks!

--B.

Regarding AdeptiCon - I'll be bringing Shadespire, with painted models for each warband, and looking to teach people the game in the evenings. I really enjoyed getting to play Silver Tower with moonpie, Ice Angel, and Thing 1 last year, and I'd like to return the favor . It's fast, easy to learn, and quite fun!

Looking forward to seeing you lot there

SL's Knight Fight was really fun last year. The fact that he pulled it off with so many people at the table was especially admirable. I'm really looking forward to this year.

@RiTides: Both Things should be there this year, so I'm sure you'll find some willing participants.

 Solar_lion wrote:
Happy Thnksgiving to all you americian Wardens. Thought I'd post here since I know most of you follow gits religiously.

For those Wardens playing in the Knight Fight. Sat night is the planned time. I as your generous host will provide dinner ( pizza )

Most Likely will be using the 8th ed rules with the exception of the turn sequence. We'll be using the card system we use last year.

Most of you should have your own knights but in case I am mistaken, let me know.

Lookng forward to seeing you all so get painting and putting together your pick up lists so you can keep Gits playing.

I lack a gimp knight


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 RiTides wrote:
Regarding AdeptiCon - I'll be bringing Shadespire, with painted models for each warband, and looking to teach people the game in the evenings. I really enjoyed getting to play Silver Tower with moonpie, Ice Angel, and Thing 1 last year, and I'd like to return the favor . It's fast, easy to learn, and quite fun!

Looking forward to seeing you lot there

My agenda for the week

Thursday: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM Warhammer 40K Apocalypse
Friday: 4:30 PM - 10:00 PM Freehand Don't Panic (Francesco Farabi)
Saturday: 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM How to Sculpt Folds and Cloaks (Valentin Zak)
Saturday: 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM Inhuman Skin: The Joys of Monster Painting (Michelle Blastenbrei)
Sunday: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Learn a New Painting Technique: Layering (Elizabeth Beckley)

So pretty open . Sadly not a lot of Apoc events open to Tau/Tyranid generals.

Guess were leaving real early Thursday morning!

WF.. make sure you make time to get a game of 40K in against Git. It's expected!

Had a brutal game with Eiluj the Farseer last night. By the time it was over both the Eldar and AdMech forces were in tatters. We used the open war cards which was interesting, but I guess not quite as interesting as I'd hoped (perhaps it was just our draw). Grabbed a few pics on the phone for yet another mini-bat rep. I apologize if the pics aren't quite up to spec... I didn't have a chance to edit them, just uploaded them directly.

The forces face one another across a wind-swept battlefield, one that had seen use before.




The Eldar war host was aligned for battle. I just loved Eiluj's army choice... so old-school.




Snipers waited in the wings to pick off AdMech commanders.




I've forgotten the name of these FW guys... but they're really cool.




Eldar war host from the other angle.



There seems to be a dispute over whose week it is at the time-share cottage.




The AdMech left looks a bit thin after withering fire into the conscripts and an exploding Kastellan scatters wounds all around.




Eventually the screen is removed and a major scrum ensues. Both warlords are killed in successive phases.




Near game's end, a badly mangled AdMech force manages to do just enough to wipe out the wraith guard unit threatening an objective (and frankly, everything else) for an AdMech victory. All praise the Omnissiah!

Great looking table and armies, I have to admit my jealousy of not getting to game any more with my local mates. Keep em coming Gitz, I live my gaming life vicariously through you.

We miss you too Yorkright. *sniffle*

It's nice to see these miniatures in their natural habitat. I only tend to see them on shelves.

 Solar_lion wrote:
Happy Thnksgiving to all you americian Wardens. Thought I'd post here since I know most of you follow gits religiously.

For those Wardens playing in the Knight Fight. Sat night is the planned time. I as your generous host will provide dinner ( pizza )

Most Likely will be using the 8th ed rules with the exception of the turn sequence. We'll be using the card system we use last year.

Most of you should have your own knights but in case I am mistaken, let me know.

Lookng forward to seeing you all so get painting and putting together your pick up lists so you can keep Gits playing.

Hey guys. Unfortunately, my wife's dog got injured and I just payed a $6500 unbudgeted vet bill. As such I am having to be cutting some 2018 expenses and sadly will have to forgo Adepticon.

Sad to not have you with us this year wyfox, but I understand. Pets become part of the family and you just can't say "nope, too expensive... let it die". You do right by your lady... we'll send pics and good wishes.

Nice to see a battle report Gits, I'm having a bit of withdrawl myself since moving house. I need to get on finding a club locally. Both armies looked great, everything painted aswell which is an achievement in itself.

Looks and sounds great. Whenever I read one of your bat-reps it reminds me of what I loved about 40k, and why I almost think about getting back into it. Almost

 Gitsplitta wrote:
Sad to not have you with us this year wyfox, but I understand. Pets become part of the family and you just can't say "nope, too expensive... let it die". You do right by your lady... we'll send pics and good wishes.

Thanks man!

Had an interesting evening of gaming last night. Was introduced to BFG for the first time. I have always been notoriously poor a space ship battle games, I imagine this one will be no different. However... it's a component in a 30k campaign that a friend is running so I'll give it a go. Got 4 cruisers of my own to build and paint. Should be fun. In any case we just got a couple of turns in. Ships are all Lee's... I was just trying to learn the rules.




Played a nasty Tau army last night. 9 heavy-weapon-laden characters and a ton of drones with a few fire warriors for giggles. I was going to get crushed.
This, 9 times... plus lots of extras.




A bunch of Tau commanders jump my knight. He survives the ambush & then takes retribution by shooting, assaulting and eventually blowing up his enemies (meaning the knight blew up and took most of them with him).




In the end (turn 4) my opponent yielded the field as he only had one small squad of fire warriors left and aside from the knight... nothing of consequence on my side had died. I'm still not quite sure how it happened, but I'll happily take the victory.


Little bit different army for me. I gave up some units I really rely on (infiltrators) and some heavy fire-power to add a knight to the list. So I lost my ability to deploy anywhere... but the dune crawlers and knight are both pretty fast and can move and fire without hindrance. This list was also made pre-CA... so I'll have an extra 50 points or so to fiddle with from now on.

I like this army. I miss the infiltrators, but it's got a really good balance of anti-tank vs. anti infantry shots (which is why I was able to work my way through all the drones shielding the Tau commanders with reasonable efficiency. Lots of vanguard (25) and rangers (8) for screening and with Cawl... I can usually get them cover and/or an LD re-roll. I'm also fielding only 3 robots, so I don't feel like I'm pushing that particular cheese button too hard. I think it'd be fun to play at a bit higher point value so I could add the infiltrators back in... but we all have to make our choices about what we field, that's what makes it interesting.

Thanks for posting your report Gitz.

Not much of a report. I got "lost" in the game and forgot to take pictures. Besides... two "stand back and shoot" armies do not make the most interesting photos for a battle report.

Like the look of BFG. Never managed to get any games (or models for that matter). I really like the idea of a combined game campaign.

We did one with Man 'O War and Warhammer years ago, I miiss that game.....

Well done against the Tau, they can throw out a lot of nasty tricks, especially with tooled up Suits running all over the place.

I absolutely love BFG. I ran a campaign for it back in the day. It's great as it doesn't require a whole lot of models to get started. Mostly what I found was that there would be a brutal initial exchange at nearly point blank and then both players spend the rest the game trying to turn around and get into an okay position to fire.

Well, I just got the last of the 4 cruisers I ordered. I'll be painting them AdMech for the campaign. There is a special AdMech battleship that the rules were published for but it was never produced and I don't think there's anything close for conversion. Looking forward to getting the cruisers put together and painted though.

I think I might have pushed plastic around once for BFG. I’ve got some small fleets collecting dust. There is an iPad app that’s a fairly loyal port of the rules that I’ve enjoyed playing.

I really like the concept of slow, ponderous fleet games. A lot of space games focus on zippy little fighters and the like. While not bad, they just don’t scratch the same itch. Nice to see BFG getting some love.

Merry Christmas my friends, and a joyous new year to you all!

I actually did a little painting over the last few days. Some ripper swarms and short (objective-sized) towers for Thing 2, and a "stargate" for Thing 1's Necrons. Not fancy paint jobs, very basic. But they'll look good enough on the table.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays. Getting any games in, or just a little painting?

Thanks guys, games this week, yes!

Merry Xmas you old dakkasaurus you!

Merry Christmas every one, especially the Gits house, hope santa was good.

Happy holidays!

Looky, I did something! Only 1 more ship to paint to complete my little BFG Mechanicum task force for an upcoming 30k campaign (the BFG is an accompanying side-bar for anyone who wants to participate). These were fun to paint! I wouldn't want to do them by the dozen though.

They look great Gitz, close up shows all the little details you picked out. I need a new brush do that fine of work.

Wow... nice work!

Yorkright wrote: They look great Gitz, close up shows all the little details you picked out. I need a new brush do that fine of work.

Yeah, it's funny how out-of-focus the main pic looks but when you zoom into the pic it the gallery it's not as bad.

Anpu-adom wrote:Wow... nice work!

Thanks!

All done!

They are looking beautiful! Regal and lush. Ah how I miss the games of old...

I thought I'd post a year-end review. These are always interesting for me, especially in years like this one when I haven't felt particularly productive. Always surprises me how much I still manage to get done. From January of last year then...

Did some trees for my winter table.


Tweaked an old D&D figure to be an astropath.


Made progress on a beautiful display that Cam made for me. Still a long way to go.


Painted a Ministorum priest.


Played Apoc.


Hung out with friends and fellow Dakkanauts at Adepticon.


EC Deredeo. Will probably do some more work on this model down the pike.


Got these awesome shipping containers from Ironheart Studios, many of my favorite SciFi movies are represented here.


EC Leviathan dread. (thanks again Major_Tom for lots of coaching)


EC Captain on bike.


Painted up some toys to be my Jokero.


Got an amazing gift from Cam.


The amazing gift came in an amazing box!


A life-long dream came true thanks to Nerdfest09.


Got my EC Sicaran to the point where it's playable.


EC Contemptor. Needs a gun switch-out and some detailing, but it's playable.


Fiddled around with my two Dragoons so they could be converted to Ballistari.


Touched up some old boyz into honest-to-Gork Red-Skull Kommandos.


Scratch-built a battle cannon for one of my knights.


Converted some flamer guardsmen into adsecularis covenant.


Made good progress on a pair of Mekadreads... finishing these up is probably my next project.


Painted a small BFG Mechanicum fleet.


All-in-all not a bad year. There's a half-dozen quick & dirty projects I didn't bother to post as well.

2018?
Well, I've learned not to set unreasonable goals. I want to finish up my incomplete projects and focus on getting some of the larger models I've got painted. There will be orks, EC and even some Mantis Warriors... with terrain too, just for giggles.


Thanks for all your support my friends. Can't thank you enough!
Gits

Looks like you did some nice stuff in 2017! And Cam's work never ceases to amaze me as well... I'll be lurking around to see what you'll be cooking up in 2018

Happy New year Gits, hope it goes in a positive direction for you and the family! :-) and if those BFG ships are an indication you're heading into the atmosphere with awesomeness already! I love the colours and how and where you applied them it makes them look just like the images I have seen and the ones I create in my mind (not ALL the images I create in my mind though)

That looks like a pretty good year after all. BFG gear is looking very promising.

Wishing you and your family a fantastic year ahead bud.

As always your blog and progress is a great inspiration and community for all the world weary painter, gamers and modellers to stop by and have a chat.

Looking forward to what you get up to in 2018.

Happy New Year. Impressive array of stuff from 2017. Looking forward to see what’s next.

Thanks so very much guys. Can't tell you how much I value your support and comments.

My gaming "resolution" for 2018 is to be more consistent with my painting efforts. Hopefully bring some more traffic back to the blog as I value new voices and keeping the rest of you more entertained.

To go along with that, I'll start working on those two ork mekadreads tonight. See if I can't get them sorted out properly to join the boyz in combat on a regular basis.

Any thoughts to retiring this thread and starting a new one? It may be intimidating for newer people to jump in.

I hadn't honestly. After just shutting down all my other threads to focus on one central one... the idea of then shutting down that one hadn't occurred to me. I'd assumed that lack of traffic was simply due to a lack of productivity on my part. Didn't think that the thread's sheer size would be putting people off. Hmmm.

I doubt it is the only reason traffic has been lower, but were I a new user I would not even try to get into a beast like this.

It's a valid observation... I'll have to think on it.

Never stopped me :S. I just filter the post.