Nevelon wrote: I’m glad my progress helps. One of the reasons I started this blog was to represent the silent hobbiest out there. We see a lot of high end work, and a lot of new players, but not a lot of the average joe. I’m not Golden Demon level, but I thin my paints. I couldn’t finish a model in the time it took me to write this (like some posters), but I get layers down. It’s OK to paint at your own pace and level. Solid, table-top work at a steady pace is what I am for. And if I can do it, anyone can.
I'm one of those new (returning) players, and having experienced painters like you and LDP take time to comment on my novice work has been a huge encouragement too. Tabletop standard varies, and yours is very good.
Stormwall wrote:I'm surprised you got into Primaris Marines but, it's nice to see your take on them. I'm really digging the new vehicles you did.
I might have grumbled about the lore, but I don’t think I said anything against the models. Little curious why you’d be surprised. I am their target market. An old grognard who has most of everything that was already released. Need new shinies. Of course, I was content to buy the old stuff and would have preferred they put the same effort into recutting old stuff. But I’ll take the new. Won’t be the first time I held my nose at bad fluff for cool minis. Or even bad minis (I really need to build those Cents I got one of these days)
ZergSmasher wrote:Wraithguard looks good, Nev! Are you in fact going to use the curved flight stands for your Inceptors (sorry if you already said above)?
At this point, yes. I want to use something else, but the month is getting away from me, so I’m going down the path of least resistance. I can always re-base them later if they keep snapping off. My question on them is now an oder of operations. Do I glue the stem to the marine, let that set, and then glue to the base? Or glue the stem to the base, then the whole thing to the marine. Using plastic glue, as it’s a more durable bond, but takes time to set. My first thought was (marine + stem) + base -> rocks/flock.
Brother Castor wrote:
Nevelon wrote: I’m glad my progress helps. One of the reasons I started this blog was to represent the silent hobbiest out there. We see a lot of high end work, and a lot of new players, but not a lot of the average joe. I’m not Golden Demon level, but I thin my paints. I couldn’t finish a model in the time it took me to write this (like some posters), but I get layers down. It’s OK to paint at your own pace and level. Solid, table-top work at a steady pace is what I am for. And if I can do it, anyone can.
I'm one of those new (returning) players, and having experienced painters like you and LDP take time to comment on my novice work has been a huge encouragement too. Tabletop standard varies, and yours is very good.
Glad I can help.
OK, a little progress:
Got the black and silver drybrush down on the packs, they need the second blue then the wash. Forgot that I needed the blood red coat on the trim, so did that. One of the 2nd blue coats done. Need to pick up the pace, as I like to leave a lot of dry time for these final steps.
I was surprised cause I figured since you already have such a large chapter if you didn't like the lore you might skip it. Some of my buddies have done that.
But, I get your point about them being some really nice models. I had some grumbles over the lore too but, I really like the new models as well and I finally caved and got a Primaris Marine. I love the larger surfaces to paint.
Stormwall wrote: I was surprised cause I figured since you already have such a large chapter if you didn't like the lore you might skip it. Some of my buddies have done that.
But, I get your point about them being some really nice models. I had some grumbles over the lore too but, I really like the new models as well and I finally caved and got a Primaris Marine. I love the larger surfaces to paint.
The thing is, I like painting Ultramarines. And I’m not building to a goal. The more models on the shelf, the more options I have when putting a list together. So while the primaris are mostly lateral shifts from stuff I already have, they are more tools in the box. And I’m a sucker for shiny model syndrome as much as the next guy. I’d rather paint something new then another <blank>. I’m not going in full scale on them. I honestly don’t see myself getting more for my Ultras, barring maybe a squad of reivers. I do think if (ok, lets be honest, when) I add more to my Deathwatch, it will probably be strongly primaris focused.
Quick progress report before work:
Packs are washed and ready for highlighting. Inceptors in 3 steps. One washed, one with his second blue coat, and one with just the base blue. Did a little more work on the maul that I missed with the camera.
Fun half weekend with The Boy. Tasked him with reading/building a kill team for next time I have him (2 weeks). Played a game of War of The Ring, where even as Gondor was under siege, and the fellowship was exposed on the slopes of Mt. Doom, evil snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by leaving Moria and Dol Guldur undefended, allowing the Elves to sweep in for a Free People military victory. That’ll teach The Boy to keep an eye on all victory conditions, not just the ones he’s pursuing.
Have a great week all. Hopefully I’ll be showing a lot of progress. Month is almost over, and I want to get these guys to my finished standard, not just a good enough to call it done one.
I didn’t want to mix up squads too much, so kept it to just scouts/intercessors.
Edit: All the blue wash done. Nothing but cleanup, edgeing, decals, and bases left.
The fun thing was watching that last sentence come together in real time.
All the blue wash done. Nothing but cleanup and edgeing left. All the blue wash done. Nothing but cleanup and edgeing, and bases left. All the blue wash done. Nothing but cleanup and edgeing, decals, and bases left. All the blue wash done. Nothing but cleanup and edgeing, decals, and bases, and a fanatical dedication to the Emperor left.
OK, so really am in the final stretch, but still a number of things need to happen.
I like simple and elegant for the core craftworld units, and bright and flamboyant for the aspects. Makes for a nice blend.
Quick pre-work update: Packs glued on, rocks/tufts/stands glued to bases. Flock, decals and mounting left.
And grocery shopping and cake baking. Lots of crap to get done tonight. Still optimistic.
Quick edit: Almost done. Bases are finished, just need to dry. Decals are on. The only thing left is to attach the inceptors to the bases and take pictures.
Those bases are not fun. I have a feeling one of them (the flying forward one) is going to snap off. Not a solid bond. The other two seem OK for now.
Next month is “Pick up the Pace” and I’m thinking jetbikes. I think my goal for the month is going to be 3 bikes, and at least two more scytheguard. Lots of filthy xenos, I know. Might try to fit in some Ultra, but I want to get the squads done. I also want to get more built for the winter. September is really my window for that. One thing that will slow me down is I need a new pot of the red I use for my Eldar. Need to get on that quick. Hopefully this weekend.
With August done, it’s time for the competition mid year shot:
Volume seems decent. 2x5, 2x3, 2x1. Good mix of full squads, light ones, and singles. Variety is excellent. While half the entries are marines, all of them are different paint schemes. Quality is a little spotty. Not that fond of how Tippy turned out, the scouts and marauders are old sculpts and it shows. I really like the WL, and both the Salamanders and Inceptors are solid work.
Thinking about building the second 5 man Deathwatch Intercessor squad. From a 40k POV, they are going to be stock with the basic bolt rifle, one AGL, and a power sword on the sarge. Now I want to duel build them for Kill Team, so here is my thoughts.
From a modeling POV, I’m going to slap some extra pouches, maybe a melta bomb on the demo guy. Coms will get the wrist communicator bit, maybe one of the sensor backpacks from the DW vet kit. Sniper will be built with the stlker bolt rife, even though I’m just counting it as a basic one. I think I have a bi-pod bit kicking around I might stick under the barrel.
Edit: Finished painting the maul arm. 10/12 spare bits done for the year. Also put together watch captain Artemis.
Digging the round up shot. I like Space Marines as much as the next guy, but since Eldar are Numer One Love, I would have to say the Wraithlord is my favorite.
I agree. While I’m also fond of the JP Lt. I did, I think the WL is the best thing I’ve done so far this year.
Also in the news, cleaning mold lines off intercessors and glueing sub-assemblies. There is a limit to how much I can do in one sitting, but I hope to get the squad built over the long weekend.
Edit: As I drink my coffee and plan my day, I had another thought about the intercessor kill team. I’ve got the one basic guy there, what do I want to do with him? Looking at the specialists they can be, the two I’m not using are combat and veteran. If I want a combat, I could poach the Space Wolf from the other squad I built. Which leaves the vet. So I think I’m going to make the last guy a blacksheild, and maybe toss a few extra trinkets on him. Primaris might be the new guys on the block, but he’s seen things you would not believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion, c-beams glittering in the night... You know the story.
<clippity clip clip>
OK, everyone is mostly clipped. I need to pick out a sword arm for the sarge. He needs to have a right handed sword, as the slung rifle is in use by the comms guy, and I don’t feel like doing a lot of carving. Should be as simple as taking one of the pointing arms and just chopping. I would have liked to have used the xenophase sword, but that probably isn’t happening. I might also try my hand at a barrel extender for the sniper.
Update to the roster, now that shoulderpads have been allocated.
Sarge, bolt rifle, power sword Leader Novamarine
Gunner, bolt rifle, AGLdemo Imperial Fist
Intercessor, bolt rifle, sniper Ravenguard
intercessor, bolt rifle, coms Ultramarine
intercessor, bolt rifle (not-Veteran, but built that way) Blackshield
99 points
I’m going a little more cliche with the chapter allocation here. I might swap the fist and the ravenguard. While still a little archetypical, they still call to the chapter’s strengths. Rather the the siege aspect of the IF, he’d focus on bolter marksmanship. And instead of the quiet sniper, the RG would focus on the guerrilla disruption his chapter is known for. I’ll probably finalize my decision when it comes time to paint them.
Here is the first. Backpack swap for a DV vet one with the sensor grubbins on it. He’s also got a scroll case hanging off the back of his belt for orders. Seeing him now, I realized I forgot to add on an old RT electronic gizmo to his belt, I’ll see if there is space.
Went to the FLGS yesterday for a quick pickup. Pot of Khorne red and another paint handle. Having two fits my painting pace/workflow a lot better.
2nd marine done. Blackshield Veteran. He’s seen some action. Mysterious brother with battered armor, a knife carved from a giant claw, a book full of names, and unparalleled mastery in felling giant xenos-beasts.
That’s it for intercessors to build for now. From a Deathwatch POV, I need to re-shoulder another intceptor (probably the sarge as well) and maybe work up a watch master. Plus the normal vets and dread. OK, so more then I thought at the start of this paragraph.
And I should get some paint down one of these days. New month and all. But not tonight.
Got some paint down. One layer, but it’s a start, and the only way things get finished eventually. Going to try to get these guys done quickly, but am not sure how plausible that it. Back has been acting up a bit, not fond of long stints at the bench. Spare bit for the month is the extra TLcat.
Need to build more to prep for winter. But not looking forward to mold lines. Sigh.
Still need the controls done, and another red coat or 3. Lenses and spirit stones on the riders. And grey edge them as well. Plus black line the bikes. But happy with my progress for the day.
Bikes are basically done. They need their black stripe and decals. Riders need their grey edges. Waiting for coats to dry, then I’ll get on that.
Over in another thread someone was asking how to model 2xSBs plus the HK on the rhino. I mocked up this guy to see if it would work:
I think I’ll clean him up and glue him together. Needs a few more parts (shoulder pad, grips on the SB) but should be fun. Useful for when playing power levels and there is no reason besides WYSWYG not to stack all the upgrades on the tanks.
Edit: Waiting for stripes to dry, then tape comes off for touch ups.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
And done. Already moved two more WG down to the active area. Shelf is looking very red, I need to get some marines up soon. The repulsor is the only thing keeping the Ultras from being hopelessly outclassed.
Trying to keep the pace up a little bit. In an ideal world I’d polish off the rest of the squad by the end of the month. These two guys I want to make sure finish at the very least. Just rough basecoats started, but that’s how it works. One layer at a time.
Not that it shows much change in the picture, but all the basecoats are down.
To do: Some drybrushing (brighter silver on the gun) Black wash on gun Technical paints (BftBG on the gems, blue/green mix on the soul rune) A spot of red touch ups, and another coat or two for smooth heads Second black coat Grey edgeing. Fabric highlights. Baseing.
Sounds like a lot, but once I sit down shouldn’t take too long. The grey is the part that will take the longest, mostly because I don’t like doing it, so will procrastinate. At least I’m honest with myself, which is the first step towards improvement.
Cleaning up a hatch gunner for a HK/SB combo. I think I might pause the Deathwatch building to clean up the Wave Serpent I’ve got. My army could use it.
How do you put 2xSBs and a HK on a rhino when you only have 2 hatches? Give the driver a ML.
Edit: Bases painted and tufts and rocks glued down. I’ll flock them tomorrow. Put the last two on the bench and slapped the first black coat on them. Aiming to finish the squad by month’s end.
Automatically Appended Next Post: And done.
3/5ths of the way there. First guy there to show how squad coherency is going. Probably did the edgeing a little bolder on the last two. Close enough.
Ahoy! Just wanted to wish you all a glorious Talk Like a Pirate day. Drink some rum, have some spaghetti and meatballs, praise the FSM, and relax! Maybe get some painting in.
No pics, but I got the first red down on the last two WG. Plugging away. Layer a day and they will be done before I know it.
It’s not sexy, but sometimes production work finishing up a squad is what you need to do. All the basecoats should be down on these guys. Red needs a fair bit of touchup, but that’s why I call them sloppy basecoats.
youwashock wrote: Gotta figure any progress is good progress. Even little steps keep up the momentum. At least that is what I tell myself.
Yup. Layer a day keeps the grey hordes away!
So I got The Boy for the weekend. His homework was to read the KT rulebook and assemble and bring a team. He kinda skimmed it, and just packed his minis. I’ll take that, I guess. We sat down and worked out a KT for him to play:
I think I’ve got an edge in firepower, and not sure on durability, We’ve both got 7 models, I have one more wound then he does. He bulked out his team with Tacs, while I’m using scouts. Should be interesting, once he wakes up. Slug boy gotta slug. Can’t really expect a 12 year old to wake up before the crack of noon.
Automatically Appended Next Post: So, playing the basic mission. Split the table across the long edge, rolled to play for the cache, which was the objective in his deployment zone, under the hill. Set up:
My scout sarge and HB gunner are shooting from the windows, with the grenadier supporting from the ruins while the rest of my force lines up to move up the center. His CC guys pair up on the hill, while his tacs cover the objective and the rest of his force anchors the other flank.
I go first. I move up my center force, he advances a little and shuffles around to the flank. Pretty much everyone is obscured, and at long range. Lots of misses. I think I might have plinked a wound off his sniper.
Turn two I again get initiative. Too far to charge, I move up to the hill. He charges his CC guys into my scout and combat sarge. I use the strike first tactic to try to swing before I get cut down, but he does as well on his leader and wins the roll off. However, his vet sarge only puts one wound on the sarge, and gets cut down in return. The shotgunner takes a flesh wound at his combat sarges hand. 4A with a power sword is some pretty mean stuff, but cold dice are cold. Some other light shooting, mostly ineffectual IIRC. He can’t roll to hit, but can’t fail armor saves.
End of 2:
Turn 3 he wins initiative. Which is not actually that useful some times. He doesn’t do a whole lot of movement. My shotgunner falls back towards the lander, joined by my combat sarge (who charged one of the tacs down there). My leader moves out to get a better range and angle while the intercessors move around to get clear shots at his sarge. Between misses and good saves his sarge lives; he lost a wound. The shotgunner gets mowed down in a crossfire, and my combat sarge guts a tac and consolidates into the other two.
Turn 4 he wins initiative again. Charges my intercessors, falls back from by CC sarge. My sarge re-charges his tacs. I ready my backfield for shooting (did a lot of that) Not a lot of shooting happens, he wounds one of the intercessors. I slap flesh wounds on both his tacs. I use the fight again tactic, and wiff completely. He’s got enough guys OOA and with flesh wounds that he needs to make a break check, which he fails. None of his guys fail their test to be shaken though.
Turn 5, last round. I think he won init again. He falls back form CC, one tac to the objective, the other up the hill. His flanking force pulls back to make sure they can see the objective. I fall back from CC with my intercessors to get in range of the objective, my sarge charges his tac there as well.
Shooting I finally put down his CC sarge and his coms guy on the side. I fail to kill his tac on the objective, but I’ve got 3 boots to his 1.
Victory Ultramarines!
Thoughts:
All the -1s to hit add up a lot. My thought of a backfield support squad did some damage, but not a huge amount. It didn’t help that I needed to go to him.
While in 40k shotguns are roughly equivalent to bolters, I was disappointed in KT. The -1 at long range and a 12” range is pretty brutal.
Combat intercessor sergeants with power swords are mean.
Bolt rifles are cash. Good range is relevant, -1 AP is nice. Without cover giving a save bonus, even power armor can fail with a little prompting.
OK, need to get dinner on the table, so enough post game thoughts for now. Hope everyone is having a good weekend.
Glad to see you gave it a whirl. Scouts with rifles are good as they ignore the long range penalty. The missions can be very variable and some can stitch you up, don't be afraid to house rule them.
Kill Team seems like a good way for your son to be able to use the models he paints, even if he paints too few to use in a regular game of 40k. Plus it lets you guys have a fun game without having to take the time for a full 40k game. Thanks for posting the report!
I keep on fiddling around with lists. So many options, and not easy to fit into 100 points. Looking forward to more games.
Some paint:
Should be basically done bar the grey edges and basing. Almost table ready.
Next month is going to focus on undead for the assorted competitions. I think my background project is going to get a deathwatch squad done. It will help with the xenos balance of the YTD shelf.
youwashock wrote: Classic Mordheim buildings and LotR bookends as terrain? I love it!
I work with what I have. I do need to do some repairs to the Mordheim buildings. I think I’ve got a few in parts somewhere. My terrain feels a little stretched on a full sized table, but does OK ok a KT one.
Just to keep up my layer a day goal, I put the green on the bases of the WG yesterday. Still need to grey line them, but I really need a block of time and the right attitude for that.
RandyMcStab wrote: Nice to see the Eldar skipping through the flowers. Coming on well.
Well, Eldar have been skipping though the meadows while humanity was still learning not to eat rocks. And would continue to do if if the Imperium would leave their maiden worlds alone. But the filthy monkeys have come to pollute our fair gems with their presence, so actions need to be taken.
So to protect our delicate flowers, We’ll resort to necromancy and soul-rending weaponry. Seems fair. Enter the scytheguard.
The last two members of the squad:
Not 100% on the highlights, but it is what it is.
And the whole squad:
Ready to be the much needed anvil upon which my foes will break. So nice to have something not T3 in my army.
ZergSmasher wrote: Nice work on those Wraithguard. I've always like the Eldar Wraith constructs, from these guys on up to the Wraithknight. They have a really cool look.
I’ll agree to that. Besides the grav tanks, they are my favorite sculpts. I have mixed feeling about the Wraithknight though. Like the model, but it’s rule went from “I’d feel dirty fielding it” to “I’d feel REALLY dirty fielding it” and then ended up as “Hot Garbage”. OK, that last one’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I do think they are a bit overpriced. There is also my knee-jerk dislike of apoc units in 40k and the large price tag that have kept me from picking one up.
youwashock wrote: Wraithknight is an awesome model. Would be cool to see you take one on. Just sayin'. Unit of WG turned out sweet.
I’d like to see my take on one as well. But in the calculus of the hobby budget, I can’t justify the ~$100 for something that would be mostly a painting project due to bad rules. If I was to sink that kind of cash into my Eldar, it would probably be for some bikes and High Elf knights to kitbash into shining spears. Or at least one more WS and a box of DAs. Hmm. Maybe I should see of my FLGS still has that old battleforce collecting dust. KT means I actually could use some guardian bodies to work into specialists. Although now that I think of it, if I’m adding value from them, the Wake the Dead box starts to look a little better. Still a lot of stuff I’m so-so on for that price point.
Speaking of budgets and what I need, it’s almost October, time for a Q3 summery. First, the YTD shot:
Looking very Eldar up in here. Not that the Imperials are not represented, especially if we recall that the rows of penny in the back are there to stand in for the 10 man Salamander sternguard squad that went to The Boy. 45 models painted. 7 more for my 1-a-week goal (doable) or 13 more for my paint more then I buy goal (also doable, assuming I don’t buy more) If I fall back on my model equivalent math (bikes=2, vehicles=4) then I’ve got my 52, still a little shy of the paint more goal. But I’ve been using real numbers for a bit now, so lets not fall back on cheating. Overall quite happy with the quality and diversity of the stuff I’ve done this year.
What’s on deck: Primed pile: Built, waiting for nice weather: **EDIT** Today was nice out, these guys are all primed. To be built: No picture here, as the Pile of Shame is to large to be encompassed by a camera. But here is the short list of things on my to build list. Eldar, in order of priority: Wave Serpent CC Wraithlord Wraithblades w/axes 2x Warwalkers (2x farseers on foot, low priority build, one straight, see if I can make a spiritseer from the other one)
Deathwatch: Ven dread 2 inceptors converted for DI easy build 10 PA vets. Priority to well geared ones, especially frag cannons convert a watchmaster, probably from the BoP Space Wolf with a spear made from GK bits.
Ultra/Salamander/DW unsure: Gravis captain - I barely want the one in the primed pile, much less a second one; might build and paint for The Boy. 5 Hellblasters - I got a squad already. Probably good enough to include a second squad for the boys in blue. But could also go DW, or again be painted as a gift for The Boy. 5 DI intercessors - Might try to convert into KT specialists for Ultras, or just build stock. Centurions - Will join the Ultras someday. I was always “meh” on the models, but they grew on me enough that the very good rules prompted the purchase. Now the rules suck, so the motivation is gone.
Ideally I’d build 2-4 more things before winter hits.
Want to buy: There are always more things I need. And they keep on producing new, shinier things. 3 man full aggressor box - To join the DW, geared with bolters. 10 man reiver squad - 5 for Ultras (knives and grapnels) and 5 for DW (mixed) Scout bikers (still want to flesh out my squad) WS - I love grav tanks, and one of the core concepts of my armor is not getting mud on your boots. I’ve got one built, and one on sprue, but adding a 3rd would let me fully mechanize a respectable army. Dire avengers -good troops, want to build more exarch options, KT specialists On the KT note, I could use another box of guardians and intercessors to make into more specialists. DW kill team Cassius box - more justifiable now that I’m building a DW army, lots of cool sculpts in there. Terrain Battlemat (undecided on arctic or grassland)
What’s on deck for the rest of the year: Next month I’m going to try to paint all 3 of the nighthaunt heroes. By the end of the year I want to paint up at least one of the 5 man DW intercessor squads. Depending what the November contest is, I might do them for that, or December’s wildcard slot. Or just as a background project. That leaves space for one more project. I’d like to get a vehicle or Guiliman out of the primed pile and onto the table, but I think that might be too much to ask for the holiday season. Especially as I think October is going to be tight with the undead. I’d like it to be Ultramarines. Maybe I’ll finish up some scraps of squads from the pile; I’ve got a few scouts, and more intercessors, plus the old LotD counts-as I built. When reviewing the pile, my eye caught on the Primaris captain, so I might take that as a sign to do him. A lot depends on what I can build and prime.
Long term I think I’m going to retire my “Get my Eldar army to a larger level, 2 more full squads minimum, aiming to be more comfortable at 2k” goal. I’ve got 500+ points sitting on the YTD shelf right now. Next year I think it’s going to be “Bring Deathwatch to battalion strength (2xHQ, 3xTroops). I’ve got 1 HQ (librarian) and one troop (veteran squad) already, and plan on having another troop done by year’s end. While not a particularly adventurous goal, I want to replace the Eldar one with something
Next month (aka tomorrow) I’m going to start in on these guys:
I want them to fit in to my modern undead scheme. The primary colors are bone, black, dark-steel, red, with blue for ghost effects.
Examples of stuff painted this decade:
Spoiler:
How much do I want to make these guys (as heroes/HQs) stand out? The guy on the horse is easy, the other two might just blend in with the rank and file nighthaunts.
Speaking of which, lets step back a bit.
For all the normal spooks, I’m planning black-washed steel for armor and weapons, black robes which are going to be tapered to blue wisps. Fairly similar to the studio army, but probably not taking it as far to white on the etherial effects.
Mr. Padlock I was thinking of going red. Basically he’s be done the same way I did Manfred’s cape. Iron armor, but bronze locks/keys.
Mr. Lantern would get the same treatment. One thing I was thinking about for him would be to do the smoke from the lantern in an etherial green, to help him stand out.
Now the Dark Knight gets a few different treatments. The horse has strips of skin that are ghosting off. So that’s black horse to blue ghost transition (like what I’m planning for the rank & file) Horse bone gets my normal bone treatment. The rider defiantly gets the red to blue cloak treatment. His skin gets the blue. This should tie in nicely as a inverted scheme from the hexwraiths (who are black riders on red clad horses)
I guess my main question is weather or not to go red/black on the “foot” HQs. Do their accouterments stand out on their own to distinguish them from the R&F? If I go green flame on the lantern, that will make him stick out. Lock guy might blend a bit, but he’s got distinctive gear.
Thoughts? Not just on them but on the rider as well.
If I don’t keep track of my to-do list, I tend to forget stuff. I should probably do a more thorough reckoning of the pile of shame. Things have been lost there.
I’ll have to review how I did Manfred’s cloak. I think I mostly did it via overlapping washes, but there might have been a little wet blending to start it off.
Some progress for the morning:
Everything done and magnetized except the chin turret. On my list of things to do today is hit the hardware store and look of small metal disks I could put under the nose to stick magnets to. If I can find something, I can retro-fit all my old tanks as well. Right now that’s a major roadblock for WYSWYG options for the tanks.
I've had good luck with magnet-to-magnet, although it does create polarity management issues. The magnets are cheap enough and powerful even when spaces call for small options. Any reason you're looking at magnet-to-metal?
MacPhail wrote: I've had good luck with magnet-to-magnet, although it does create polarity management issues. The magnets are cheap enough and powerful even when spaces call for small options. Any reason you're looking at magnet-to-metal?
Mostly becasue the work to retrofit older stuff that the hulls are already sealed. For new constuction, I could just glue some supports or greenstuff a back for the magnet to sit on. But the largest magnet I have is 3mm, so I can’t just glue a disk over the whole. I guess I could order larger magnets. But I figured if I could find a metal bit I could just glue, it would be easy.
Picked up some thumbtacks at the store. They had a white plastic cover, that made them a little too big. Take that off, they slot perfectly.
This is exactly what I was looking to be able to do. Quick, easy, no muss, no fuss. And I co go back to the older hulls and just stick them on.
Done with the basecoats. Of course, this guy is primarily a wash built paintjob. Smoke gets a green ink, turquoise from the ghost up into the cloak, plus the arms. Brown for the bronze, black wash and/or ink for the armor/robes.
Then highlights, maybe a second wash to blend transitions on the robes, baseing etc.
And a quick first pass of some washes. Still need the black, but as that’s going on in layers, need some dry time.
RandyMcStab wrote: Yes I'd knock it back a smidge, coming on nicely though.
What chapter is that Space Marine from? He looks a bit skinny.
One problem with washes is that due to their more organic nature, it’s hard to tell exactly how they will look once done. One concern about going back to the goblin green is that it may blend too much with the base. Kinda wish I had a more minty/pastel green in paint selection. I could just mix some up, but that sounds like effort.
He’s for my Eldar army, obviously. They are well know for their foul xenos necromancy. But yah, he could use a sandwich.
Got the boy for the long weekend (and took time off today from work to make it a long weekend). Player a game of KT yesterday. He used the same list as last time, I swapped out the HB for a ML, gave my sarge a sniper rifle instead of a bolter, and dropped the shotgunner for points.
Rolled up capture prisoners for the mission. Interesting thing with points. I was low (94 points IIRC) which gave me a major advantage. I was going to win ties. Having more long range firepower, I was content to sit on my hill and ready my troops to blast him while he approached. As the only way to score VP was to take guys out of action while close, he had to come to me. The game also runs short, with the end check coming after turn 4. He probably should have been more aggressive, as he only got his combat guy into CC on the last turn. Didn’t help that I was making retrograde tactical repositions to keep the range open.
So victory for the Ultras. We tallied up XP and kept rosters, so this will be an ongoing saga.
Happy Thanksgiving to our neighbors to the north. I’m all about cultural appropriation if there is food involved, so am doing turkey, stuffing, and while not all the trimmings, a few of them. You have my permission to celebrate again in November and borrow some Thanks from us in return.
I think Thanksgiving is a much better holiday then Columbus day (or Indigenous People’s day, depending how you roll) Not just for the food (which is one thing to be thankful for) but it’s good to take stock of all the good things in your like you do have, and be thankful of. Not just the bounty on the table (which not everyone has) or the friends and family (again, not universal). But be thankful of all things great and small in your life. It’s easy to focus on the negative, but once you start looking at all the things that are good and positive, you will be surprised how many there are. The silver linings probably outnumber the clouds.
Automatically Appended Next Post: KT take 2,
3 objectives, I’m defending them. Same lists. Again, I hold the hill and he needs to come to me. Scouting phase is pretty relevant, as I booby trap all 3 buildings. He plays more aggressively this time, both his CC guys make the hill. He only manages to cut down one of my intercessors, before I finish them off. Without much chance of taking the objectives, he withdraws before the bitter end. We both had a few guys level up, so lists are going to be interesting next time we play.
Managed to sneak in a few coats of paint.
Back to the goblin green smoke, will drybrush later. Also black ink on the robes. Darkened and smoothed them out a bit. Pretty happy with the guy as he stands. Or floats, whatever.
Did a light elf grey drybrush over most of the lantern guy. Looks pretty good. Blackrimmed the base, he just needs tufts and flock. Will grab a pic in some better light. Put the first blacks down on the other two.
Package in the mail today. 200 2mm magnets from a company called umagnets. Based in china, but seem legit. $10 for 200, and a large chunk of that was shipping. Took a month, but they got here. Seem a little longer then the ones I thought were 2x2mm. Shouldn’t be an issue for the most part. They said they are N42, no way to check. Part of me keeps asking “Is this too good to be true”. I assume I’m just paying wholesale prices for something I normally buy at a hobby markup.
Got some layers down. Plugging away. As I put brush to the horse, I’m rethinking my thoughts. I might do the horse bone in blue, like the rider/spooks. Not sold either way, thoughts?
Should be a quiet weekend, we’ll see how far I get. I want to do more building then painting, but who knows what motivation will allow.
Grey and rainy out, not helping. I’m generally in a funk this time of year anyway. Go-go seasonal depression! Bad news from work. They are rearranging some of the perks/benefits. One of the things that’s getting dropped is the giftcards from the vitality health program. These were the primary funding for a lot of my hobby purchases; I cashed out $400 in Amazon cards this year. I (finally) got my annual merit raise review last week, which corporate had pushed back from it’s normal spring timeframe. While I’m getting a moderate raise, it’s basically being canceled by the change in the vitality program. What this means for the Blog will probably be a slow down in new stuff. While my finances remain stable, the loss of my guilt-free source of income will hamper incoming supplies. There are other avenues of income; I should look into cashing out some of the reward points on my credit card (also Amazon). But the fact that my “fun” budget is going to be coming out of general funds means it’s going to be competing directly with things like dinner/drinks with friends and other expenses earmarked for keeping me sane.
Oh well, life progresses onward.
Hope everyone has a nice weekend.
--Nev
Edit: Some guns for the knife-ears. Thinking about Eldar in Kill Team, I might want more options for the weapon platform. Figured I’d do up pairs, just in case I want to use them on a WS for 40k. And more bright lances, can never have enough AV firepower. Added some under-nose/bike cannons, because they are generally just better then the twin cats.
Automatically Appended Next Post: And just because there has been quite enough xenos up in this blog of late:
Coming together nicely.
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I love the dread kits. So iconic, so fun to build.
Scratchbuilt the ML.
Started with one of the gun arms from the Ven Dread kit. Obviously it’s going on backwards. Took a hobby saw and cut the grubbins that were the back of the arm off for a flush surface. Was careful not to mangle the hose.
The ML bit is from the old Ravenwing accessory sprue, for making typhoon land speeders. Trimmed the mounting pegs off the back, otherwise stock.
Back vent from same sprue. There was a bit that stuck out to the side, that got cut off. The vent itself was just a hair too wide, so I filed it down a little. Mounted at an angle, so the bottom is flush with the bottom of the arm.
There was a gap behind the ML mount that needed something. I used a spare bit from the back of the stormtalon gunpod. Had to be slightly trimmed to fit.
Someone might have spent a little too much time in the howling banshee shrines before her death.
She’s a little shorter then the fire support WL due to her stance. But sometimes you just need to charge across the battlefield and cave open tanks with a sword almost as tall as you are.
I probably should have carved the kneepad off when I was repositioning the leg. Moved it down and done most of the GS fill behind it. But every time I take a knife/saw to something increases the odds of me mangling it beyond fixing. So I just left it as-is.
I love the new Wraithlord pose you've got there! I definitely feel you on the hobby doldrums; I haven't been blogging on Dakka for a while due to lack of comments in my thread and RL personal drama making me depressed, although I have been getting some models painted. I look forward to seeing how your undead stuff turns out, as you've done some of your best work on those in the past!
Wow, that went together fast. Looks great, too. That reverse grip on the sword is a fantastic choice. You can just see the point carving a rut in the ground as she sprints up and slashes across to spell ruin for some poor mon'keigh.
I didn’t quite capture the pose I was looking for. I wanted to lead with the arm cannon, like she was shooting at her target, looking down the gun as she ran towards it. It’s a little down and to the side. If I was braver (and more picky) I could have cut off the shoulderpad to angle it up to give more range of motion to the arm. It looked to be an easy mod, I just didn’t want to bother.
I think I got the feel of the sword arm , but am not 100% on it. She’s trailing that arm as she runs, but is ready to snap the blade up and around when she makes contact.
I almost put some ribbons on her to help with the sense of motion, but figured she’s got enough of that, and the odds of them just snapping off were high. I did add a horse-hair plume though.
Just put the brown wash on these guys. Getting there. But still a lot of washes and inks left to go.
Ah, the good old flat goblin green. I miss basing like that. So much easier, even if it isn't the best looking. Now where did I put those rose tinted sunglasses?
CREEEEEEEEED wrote: Ah, the good old flat goblin green. I miss basing like that. So much easier, even if it isn't the best looking. Now where did I put those rose tinted sunglasses?
To be fair, I started baseing with goblin green and flock when it was in vouge and trendy.
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Done. I’ll break out the lightbox for the final glamor shots later.
youwashock wrote:That spectral horseman is the bomb. Seeing your models makes me nostalgic for my old Vampire Counts army.
It’s the flock and goblin green, isn’t it. Nothing brings out nostalgia like goblin green.
RandyMcStab wrote:These guys are looking good, Firehawks chapter I assume?
Fun fact: Bolters used to have the same stat line as crossbows. Skeletons used to be able to take crossbows, but none came on the sprues. Bolters are easy to find, crossbows were not. I’ve got a stick of bolter shooting skeletons somewhere on the back of the shelf.
Probably a BA successor, Soul Drinkers are good possibility.
With all the tricks they’ve learned from the Nighthault line, I’d love to see GW make a new LotD kit. Gothic spectral grimdark.
Have The Boy this weekend, got a game in. Full 40k, not KT this time.
Pointy eared gits:
Vs. Salamanders (in blue)
Mission is the one objective each one, He goes first.
Start:
He deploys poorly. While all clumped together in cover, he’s getting in his own way. That said, he gets first blood by killing my wraithlord; one of these days he’ll get to do something. He also savages the guardian squad. If I’m going to start them on the table, they need to be larger then 10 guys, or camping in the way back.
I respond by blowing all but two wounds off his SR, and moving my WS full of fun right next to his hill. Bikes move to the center.
Turn two he drops almost all his fire into the WS, eventually killing it. He makes a bit of a blunder by overcharging his hellblasters and shooting at something with a -2 hit modifier. 4/5s of the squad overheats and dies. His honour guard and jump captain maul my bikers, but fail to eliminate them. I think his snipers plink 3 wounds off my farseer this turn. Ouch.
Things get ugly on my turn. CH blows up the pred, which explodes handing out d3 mortal wounds to a large swath of guys. I finish off the raven, and maim everyone left on the hill in the shooting phase. Bikes flee CC and head over to the other side of the table. Scytheguard pile into CC, because why not, but don’t get a whole lot done there.
The carnage:
His captain hops in the razorback and they take off towards the other side of the table, abandoning the dregs of the primaris to the tender mercies of the necromantic constructs. His remaining HG and JP captain head towards the Nightspinner and the objective. Shooting is light, but the razor blows a chunk off the spinner.
I doom and reveal the scouts, having had quite enough of their crap. The remaining bike and the seer polish them off (with some hot dice). Scytheguard finish clearing the hill. His captain and guard get cought in a brutal crossfire and perish. I blow almost all the wounds off the razor.
Top of turn 4 he’s got a 5 man tac squad and a wounded captain in a razor that’s in it’s third damage bracket. We evaluate his chances of victory, and decide to just call it. While he’s got first blood, I’ve got boots on both objectives, linebreaker, and warlord. He’s out of position, and I’ve still got a ton of firepower on the table.
Victory to the foul xenos.
Fresh paint report: Wraithlord continues to eat firepower and die on the first turn. Eventually he’ll get to do something. Probably when I finish painting the other one, so she’ll die first instead. Bikes did the bike thing. Mostly flit around and make sure they were closer to the enemy then the jetseer. Still, blasting doomed targets with massed shuricain fire is always fun. Guardians started in the open and did as well as could be expected. Poorly. Scytheguard lived up to the hype. The WS did the job getting them close, and they did the rest. The one thing holding them back was they were splitting fire over 3 different squads, so the d3 shots made allocating fire rough. But they owned that hill.
Edit: No pics, finished a KT game. Another victory for me. Gunline is strong. With guys leveling up, I think we’ll go to 110 next time.
Well the fact that your Wraithlord absorbs so much fire means that fire is not directed at toughness 3 Eldar. So think of it as a good thing.
Mine survives every battle as I have been using it as a large weapons platform guarding the Dark Reapers.
Question: "Salamanders (in blue)?" Heresy.
I know it eats fire that could be spent elsewhere, but I’d like to actually do something with it once or twice. Distraction carnifax is fine though. Although with what they did this game, the scytheguard in the WS might take priority next time. Target priority has never been his strong point.
The Boy is (very slowly) painting his own Salamander army. Until that gets finished enough to field, he uses my Ultras, but counts-as Salamanders with their CT. He uses his own guys for KT, but the fact that he’s been spending a lot of time building and painting HQs kinda hampers him there. He needs to buckle down and crank out some more troops, but he tends to flit between active projects.
Some of the building were starting to fall apart, so hit the bench for some glue. While I was at it, I dug out the scraps of buildings that didn’t survive well, and patched them together as best I could. I think I still have one more still un punched, but would have to figure out how it went together. Content adding 3 more buildings to the roster. Happy little ruined village now.
Edit: Just put the first black coat down on two deathwatch
I have only once had my Wraithlord fall in a battle. My Blood Angels friend hates the thing and tends to either ignore it completely (and then it smashes into his lines and destroys them while taking out vehicles with its Bright Lances) or sends everything he has at it, bogging down his entire army. The one time he took it down was in turn four in which he had it surrounded by Sanguinary Guard, a Dreadnought, Lemartes, and a host of Death Company, and this was after he had shot at the Wriathlord for a few turns. A Wraithlord with Farseer support is a mean thing. To spook my friend I somtimes suggest I might bring all three of my Wraithlords next time (of course I wouldn't!).
Nice to see your battle reports, Nev. What buildings are those? Edit: nevermind, the line of text right above the pictures tells me. I assure you I can read.
I should probably point out the damage/threat assessment of various Eldar units to The Boy. Would probably help with WL survival. Although the rest of my army might vaporize.
The middle building is actually from the 6th? edition WHFB starter box (Empire vs. Orcs). The only reason I know this is that the getting started pamphlet with instructions on how to build it was in the box with my buildings.
Just to prove I’m still working:
Deathwatch moving along, and a War Walker getting put together.
Almost done building the walker. The gun mounts are not glued yet. I just glued the torso to the legs and wanted to make sure that was set before tweaking the angles of the mounts. Magnetized, as I have no clue what to gear them with. ShurCans seem a nice fit, as assault weapons work with their zippy nature. But I generally have a lot of those anyway. But I’ve got a lot of AV firepower on my tanks. Oh well, magnets mean I don’t need to care.
Getting layers down on the DW. Just browns left for basecoats, then it’s off to washes, dryrushes, and edges.
Put the brown layer on the DW. Hopefully get more done on them today.
The to-prime pile was a little Eldar heavy, so I built some reinforcements for the DW.
Old one there for comparison. Carving the shoulder pad off of the marine was not hard, but the raised rim means that you can only have the arm in the down position. Not wanting two identical guys, I carved the mounting brace off the other arm so it could pivot freely. Need to be a little careful, as the backpack is right there and prone to interfere with some angles. As I’m only planning for two fortis kill teams, these guys should fill my inceptor needs for a while. Eventually I might build the sarge, just so I can field them solo. Or add another guy to a killteam.
Need to build some old marine vets. Need heavy weapons and stombolter/chiansword guys. Plus a vanguard. Not sure what to give him. Probably just whatever looks cool. Might try for a 2x chainsword build.
youwashock wrote: That pic makes it look like the two DW guys are chasing off the Walker. I like it.
Run xenos, RUN!
Heh.
Boys got some more paint on them this morning.
Almost ready for the second coat of black, then it’s just grey edges. And I should probably dig out their chapter shoulder pads and do those as well.
Spent a little more time thinking about the vanguard for the DW vet squad. I was contemplating 2x chainswords. Free upgrade, he’s mostly there for the special rule. But on review of options, I’m thinking maybe gunslinging pair bolt pistols. Thoughts? I’m really open to anything at this point.
Doing something similar to your War Walker in my Eldar log...just a little older and a bit heavier.
Death Watch are coming along.
Cheers,
CB
I do like the old nothing but force field walkers, but the new ones aren’t bad. Good luck building that one.
youwashock wrote:Really like the parts combo on the DW with the sword.
I vote gunslinger. He aims with his eye, shoots with is mind, kills with his heart. And explosive bullets.
Of my intercessors sarges with swords, I think he rates 3 out of 4. I really like the pose on the first one I made for my Ultras, and prefer the build on the other deathwatch sarge. Still, I do like him and he’s coming together nicely.
Basically at the grey edges, touch ups, bases, and chapter shoulder pads.
Part of me wants to gunslinger with fancy pistols. But special ammo and cost make bolt pistols quite attractive. Of course, my destroyer project ate a ton of my spares. We’ll have to see what the bits box has to offer. I also need to scrap up a ton of chainswords for SB/chainsword vets. I’d just hang them off the back of belts, but the DW torsos come with combat knives there already. And the backpacks don’t lent themselves well to mounting there. Have to poke around.
Almost there. Done with the edges. One thing I’m still on the fence on is the RG shoulder pad. Straight black didn’t appeal to me. Went with grey. I’m thinking I might go red. It’s the color RG vets use on their non-chapter shoulder, and a little spot of color would do him some good. Thoughts?
Primaris is coming along nicely. Artemis is going much slower. His running pose makes getting to the detail on his legs a little irritating, and I’m just not as enthused as painting him as the Ultra. Still, getting there.
Got some amazon gift cards for my birthday, so will be picking up a few things from my wants list. Feeling old though. Edit: Just ordered a box of aggressors.
Vote. If you live in the US, hit the polls and make your voice be heard. It’s what separates us from dictatorships. Democracy might not be perfect, but it’s better than the alternatives. And it requires participation.
At a certain point you get enough Captains to have them as basic Marines or Sergeants, making your Chapter Masters the new Captains. Amazing DW there Nev.
Liking those DW. It's the destiny of all long term SM players to end up with loads of captains, I'm about to start No.4 and that doesn't include my 'retired' old RT/2nd era army.
I fully intend of getting a Chapter's worth of Captains in my Primaris army. One for each Company, and maybe making some auxillary "Captains" who might fill other roles (Chapter Champion, Chief Apothecary, Master of Sanctity, Master of the Forge, etc etc)
Stormwall wrote:At a certain point you get enough Captains to have them as basic Marines or Sergeants, making your Chapter Masters the new Captains. Amazing DW there Nev.
I’ve got 11 painted at the moment, not counting the dread. Only one CM though. Still more then a chapter’s worth. These 3 on the bench, one more in the primed pile, and another unbuilt add at least 5 more.
lipsdapips wrote:If there are more captains than tactical marines on your paint desk, then everything is as it should be *
*lipsdapips may be a source who represents biased interests
It’s been a while since I painted a tactical marine. Once you have a full battle company on the shelf, there isn’t a whole lot of reason to paint more bolter brothers. That said I still have a pile of RTB01 guys that are stripped and primed waiting for the brush.
RandyMcStab wrote:Liking those DW. It's the destiny of all long term SM players to end up with loads of captains, I'm about to start No.4 and that doesn't include my 'retired' old RT/2nd era army.
If I count old retired guys, I think I can add a pair of old BA captains to the count. I’m glad they are doing a lot of special lieutenants these days; I’ve got more then enough captains. Of course I’m already up to 4 Lts, but I did have a bit of a head start over most of the 40k community.
Sgt_Smudge wrote:I fully intend of getting a Chapter's worth of Captains in my Primaris army. One for each Company, and maybe making some auxillary "Captains" who might fill other roles (Chapter Champion, Chief Apothecary, Master of Sanctity, Master of the Forge, etc etc)
Can never have enough Captains!
Nope, you can never have too many! Each of the company captains does have a secondary hat they wear, like master of the fleet/arsenal/etc. Might be hard to represent that with just primaris captains though. Not that you couldn’t model them up, but they have so few wargear options. Relics could help.
A little painting progress:
No pics, but I put the second blue down on the ultra, and touched up the reds a bit. Did the beige base of the purity seals/ribbons on both. Plugging away.
ListenToMeWarriors wrote: Man I loved painting Artemis, but I get where the constant black armour on Deathwatch marines could make for slow progress.
As it is I love your painting of Deathwatch armour, great stuff.
Just a lot of fiddly details on Artemis. Going back for the second black coat is going to be less then fun. And then my ever favorite, the highlighting. But overall I’m enjoying the Deathwatch.
More progress, pic this time:
Ultra is almost there. He needs his highlights, the red on his cape, and a little touchup on the Ultra shoulder pad. Plus assembly and baseing.
Artemis is getting there. Cape needs a few more layers and then some shadeing, Second black, highlights, and assembly.
Salamander need to be started once those guys get off the paint handles.
Slow down? You do realize the month is just about half over? I’m actually on track for my 1-a-week goal for the month. Need to catch up a little as I’m going to visit my folks for Thanksgiving and will lose most of a week.
Put the first coat of green down on the Salamander and moved the DW sniper down to the bench. I should probably put some thought into what I want to enter next month.
Great Work Nev, the powers swords especially are looking good.
I started reading your blog from the beginning (not finished yet) but thought I'd post to say what a great blog you have here and keep up the good work sharing you models with us
Gitsplitta wrote:Nice work Nev. Don't slow down. I need my Nev-candy every morning.
Every morning? Guess I need to pick up the pace with my updates!
Midget Gems wrote:Great Work Nev, the powers swords especially are looking good.
I started reading your blog from the beginning (not finished yet) but thought I'd post to say what a great blog you have here and keep up the good work sharing you models with us
While not the longest running blog here by quite a bit, I have been at this for some time at this point. May 2013? Crap, I have been busy. Or at least documenting myself being lazy. Glad to have you reading. If you have any questions about previous things in the blog, feel free to ask. I tend to ramble and wander.
Power swords are mostly just the green soulstone paint over silver. I think sometimes I nulan oil, or start with leadbelcher and highlight runefang before the green. Depends on my mood, the specific sword, what paint pot I have open, and if I remember.
Some basecoats start going down:
I finished basing the other two captains. They bring me up to 52 minis painted this year, so that’s officially my one-a-week goal.
No pic, but I put the silvers down on the guys. Plodding onwards to victory.
In other news, the box of aggressors I ordered came in. I think I also forgot to mention that The Boy got me a box of Dire Avengers for my birthday. So while there are now 8 more models in the house, they don’t count against my paint more then I buy goal. The primaris were from a gift card from my folks to get myself something, calling them a gift.
We are supposed to get half a foot or thereabouts of snow overnight, so I think the prime pile is not going to get any smaller until spring thaws. Still planning on getting some building done.
Your Artemis and Ultramarine are looking great and I'm looking forward to the rest of your captains! Been quietly following your blog and thought I'd chip in, some really cool models you've done (I'm a fan of your wraithlord).
Know the feeling about the prime pile, my opportunity to prime everything for winter left as soon as November hit.
I'll chime in on the priming thing too. I've got a few more models I'd like to prime, but the weather here in Missouri has already gotten very winterlike. Complete with snow. Hopefully tomorrow it'll be warm enough and not too much wind so I can get some last minute priming jobs done.
Artemis is a cool model and you are doing well on it so far; ditto for the Ultrasmurf. I look forward to seeing them complete.
I’m quite fond of the wraithlords myself. Not sure if you re talking about the recently painted one (which I think turned out well) or the stabby one, which I’m quite pleased with the results of also.
Sometimes we get a window in late fall where we can sneak the rattle can out one last time. I remember building the Betrayal at Calth box thinking I’d have to wait until spring, and being pleasantly surprised at one clear day mid-November. But I don’t think we’ll get that around here this year. I should have enough stuff stockpiled to make it through the darkness though. Might get a little patchy at the end, but that might be motivation to get some stuff that’s been loitering around the back of the bench finished.
I should really do one of the marine vehicles that’s been sitting idle for a while. Maybe for the December open contest.
I should also do a formal survey of the primed pile now that it’s fixed for the year.
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ZergSmasher wrote: I'll chime in on the priming thing too. I've got a few more models I'd like to prime, but the weather here in Missouri has already gotten very winterlike. Complete with snow. Hopefully tomorrow it'll be warm enough and not too much wind so I can get some last minute priming jobs done.
Artemis is a cool model and you are doing well on it so far; ditto for the Ultrasmurf. I look forward to seeing them complete.
You posted while I was typing.
I did take a pic of them based, but figured it wasn’t different enough to bother uploading. But since you asked:
Inevitable_Faith wrote:Looking great Nev, I'm especially enthralled by the power sword on the DW character, it looks great.
The soulstone paints are a godsend for power weapons, lenses, gems, and the occasional soulstone. They do a lot of the work themselves, for good results.
ZergSmasher wrote:Guess I wasn't paying attention earlier. They look great Nev, you should be proud!
I’m pretty proud of the Ultra captain (and not ashamed of Atremis, just not as proud). I’d have to take a survey of the YTD shelf, but the Primaris cap is probably one of the top 3 things I’m happiest with this year. Jump LT, Wraithlord, and the nighthaunt knight are the other top contenders.
I was even thinking next time I need to update my avatar to get a couple more organs implanted and pick up a suit of Mk. X primaris armor. Heresy, I know. Maybe when I hit 15,000 posts. Pretty verbose for a quiet guy.
Deathwatch is ready for his second black coat. Minor screw up on the shoulder pad, I forgot that the inner circle needs to be white. Luckily yellow is not a hard color to cover.
Salamander is getting there. Brown wash drying. He’ll need another green coat. Going with a brighter green layer, rather then a wash this time. We’ll see how it ends up looking. Started the red on the cape. That will take a few layers. I also forgot it had detail on the corner, will need to go back for that. Black needs another round, highlights, etc. Not nearly as close to being done as the deathwatch.
I’m a little sad she missed the prime window. Oh well, spring will be here eventually.
Some good painting progress over the weekend.
Sniper is done, Just waiting for flock.
Salamander is almost done. Need to greyline the backpack, assemble, final touch-ups, and base. Not that it shoes much in the pic, but I just highlighted the cloak.
Started the DW vet.
This is going to be the last progress report for a few days. Heading down to KY to visit the folks for T-day. While I’m not flying down until Wed, tomorrow is probably going to be a mess making sure The Boy and I are good to go. I’ll be on the internet, but just phone posting, which is kinda a PITA for longer works.
I’d like to thank everyone for being with me here on Dakka and following my blog. Your input and advice helps make me a better painter, your presence reading helps keep me motivated. Sometimes it’s hard to find the bright spots in life, but while I’ve not met most of you in person, you are friends online and supportive in my hobby. That means a lot. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in life lately, and you have helped me stay rooted throughout. Thank you again.
We all love you on here Nev, Keep getting at 'em. We'll be here waiting with baited breath for your next boys in blue (or green, or black, or the strangely pointy eared ones).
Cheers, Loving the green on the Sally.
Digging the progress Nev, really liking that green you did, it's flashy without being gaudy. Great work. Thank you for sharing your stuff with us Nev and I'm glad that in some small way we can band together as a community to prop eachother up. There's too much in the world that tries to tear us down, it's nice to have friends (online or otherwise) to be there to give us a boost.
How many layers of Warpstone Green did you need, Nevelon? I learned that it is quite a pain in the back side to get good coverage with that particular paint. Very nice models, by the way! Love Artemis.
OK, back from vacation and getting to work finishing off the Salamander. Greylined his backpack, blued it on, and started the base. Once the first glue is completely dry, it will get a second, diluted layer of glue, then some nulan oil. He’ll also need a transfer for that shoulderpad.
Since he’s off the stand, I moved the Ultra com officer up there. Once those two guys are done, that will be the 5 man core of a Kill Team. Also moved a TLHB mount to the fore to get some paint. That should wrap up my last “bit” for the year.
I’m pumped for the news from last weekend. While I’m not 100% behind old marines being upgraded to primaris, the new Calgar is a good looking sculpt, and his HG are looking cool themselves. I just hope I don’t have to buy a triumvirate of junk to get them. Or they are boing sold for some stupid amount. As what I read says they are scheduled for a Dec. release, I suspect we’ll find out soon.
Edit: Just put the wash on the base. Decal tonight. That should wrap up the captains.
3 captains, 3 marks of armor, 3 chapters. Fun little project to see how many different things I can cram into one month. And can you ever have too many captains on the shelf? I think not!
Very nice collection of Captains there! I don't have any Captains myself, but I do have a couple of painted Company Masters and I'll get around to painting some Wolf Lords eventually.
ZergSmasher wrote:Very nice collection of Captains there! I don't have any Captains myself, but I do have a couple of painted Company Masters and I'll get around to painting some Wolf Lords eventually.
You non codex compliment and your funny names!
Tyranid Horde wrote:Great looking triple crown of captains, even tempting me to pick up a Primaris Captain for myself!
Honestly, the main thing holding me back from getting him sooner was the price. I’m not shelling out $35 bucks for another captain, who is only a marginal upgrade to the ones on the shelf. But The Boy got him for me for Father’s Day. And he is a really nice model. I look forward to the day I get another one in some army bundle; my Deathwatch could use a captain of his stature. Or just one to kitbash with some different gear.
Captain Brown wrote:Damnation...now my Guard Command Section and Junior Officer is not going to get any votes. :(
Very nice work Nevelon.
Cheers,
CB
Heh, I’d not worry about me stealing your votes. Normally I’m hanging out at the bottom of the pack, just a vote or two away from the bottom. I like my entry this month, but it’s more of the same style of work I’ve been cranking out for the life of the competition, so I expect it to poll appropriately. You did a good job on yours, and I think it represents the theme better then mine. You should do fine
youwashock wrote:A nicely painted trio. Can't decide which Primaris I like more, Gravis or regular.
For me it’s no contest; the Ultra. And not just due to the chapter bias. It might not show in the pics, but you can tell that the gravis is EZ-Build from the starter. Some of the detail is a little soft, like the chains/hanging bits. In a full kit those would be separate and more distinct. He’s also got a weird pose, and comes across as a little tubby. And too be honest, the level of detail on him is more apropriate for a sarge, not a captain.
The normal captain has a lot of sharp detail, is standing tall and proud, and radiates a sense of calm menace. One of my favorite models this year I’ve done.
No pic, but I put a few more coats down on the deathwatch. Should be getting close to done of the basecoating.
Well, it’s December. Everyone braced and ready for the holidays?
A couple of years ago someone brought up the idea of an advent calendar. So I’m going to try to post every day up until Christmas with a pic of something from my collection. Under spoiler tabs, so you get to open the little door. Some pics are just going to be recycled from my gallery, but I do plan on breaking out the lightbox and getting some shots of minis that I don’t think have been showcased like they deserve.
Spoiler:
Long time readers will recognize this guy from my first avatar here on Dakka, although I used a crappier picture. Looking at him now, I know I could do a much better job, but at the time I was quite proud of him. And he still holds up OK. Ultra-zoom is not kind to him. He also holds a special place as one of the early RT officers, the Lt. Commander, a rank no longer in use. Basically second in command of the chapter. He was also the first specific model outside of RTB01 marines allocated to my Ultramarines. Before him all metal minis were Blood Angels.
Some WIP:
Getting there on the basecoats. Probably time to start in on the washes and drybrushing.
Time to stop procrastinating. He’s been languishing on the back of the bench for longer then he deserves. Time for Guilliman to get some paint. He’ll be my entry into the open category this month.
Good luck this month, I find setting yourself deadlines works wonders for getting those long neglected projects finished off
How are you planning on painting the primarch? (I'm not going to embarrass myself by trying to spell his name..) I always thought the GW paintjob was too heavy on the gold and hides the fact that it is actually a very nice looking model.
I was thinking of using my normal process, but he does have a ton of gold work on him. Might make sense to start there. I’ll take a closer look tomorrow.
Sword will be yellow with normal flames. I’ll figure out how I will actually paint it later.
Base will be grey rubble. World eater for the chaos marine.
It'll be cool to check in and see what you post every day for Advent! As for G-man, have fun with him! I certainly enjoyed painting mine; he is the first and only Ultramarine I've ever painted. If you want a good way to paint his sword, Duncan did a very good tutorial on how to make it look good.
I’ll have to look up how he does it. But it probably requires a steadier hand and 8 more pots of paint then I have available.
Day 2:
Spoiler:
If you thought this was just going to be old stuff, sorry, some new things will show up that I’m proud of. Also, not everything may be mine. OK, just this one.
The Boy has been painting for a bit now. This is not his first work, his last, or even what he considers his best. But it is the one he is most proud of. He really like the way he got the pose, and how the paint came out. After I took the pictures and did the collage, he sent it to his grandfather, who at first didn’t believe that he was the one who painted it, it looked so good. (As an aside, I’m always shocked at how impressed non-painters are with even table-top level paintjobs). It is also his first entry into the painting comp. I think he might try again this month, but first he needs to find where the cats have hidden his black paint.
The Boy helped me sift through my collections looking for entries this month. About half of them are going to need new pics. Some have been seen before, but as part of group shots, and without history. I’ll break out the lightbox and get them; luckily I can just use the ones that do have pics first. While there is a little organization to what shows up when, I’ve very fast and loose here.
One reason I didn’t want to paint him for the comp was that I didn’t want to be rushed. But as you say, there is never a good time. Might as well just get to work.
The Boy is going to try to enter some Reivers. We’ll see id he can find the time to slap some paint down on them.
Got a game in, KT. He wanted to try out the reivers, so I brought some Eldar. Both taking a break from the campaign lists we have been working on. Pretty crushing victory for me.
Mid game shot, I forgot to take one early
Not doing a detailed report, but some thoughts:
Special ammo is nasty. Would have been a lot worse if 4/5th of his army weren’t just packing pistols.
Fusion guns advancing with scout specialist kills marines dead. Well, marine, singular, as vengeance was swift and effective. Still, when I’ve got 11 guys to his 5, I’ll do 1-to-1 swaps all day.
Nobody likes getting brightlanced to the face.
Eldar are still squishy in KT. Makes me appreciate how tough marines are.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Day 3
Spoiler:
Nevelon the Betrayer, Vampire Lord.
The theme of my Undead army was (is?) undead bretonians. They were almost always led into battle by Nev here, normally a stock vampire lord, but sometimes a special character, the Red Duke. His normal gear was something for an invuln, the crown of command, carstein ring, and a cheep magic sword, normally a +1 to hit one. The named character let him wear armor and still cast spells, but locked him into an expensive +3A sword. He cut a bloody swath through the old world (and the FLGSs in the area) leading the Wights of the Relm, a solid block of mounted wights. They might not have dome a whole lot of damage as backup, but could soak wounds like nobody’s business. Nev was the blender. I’d take the charge, hold, and then cut my way out. There were very few things that could stand toe-to-toe with a tricked out vampire lord, and fewer who could manage to kill him two times. Bretonians, the cheese shaped power army at the time, were especially vulnerable. They needed to kill you on the charge, and had a one shot magic item (tress of isulde (sp?)) that let their general do massive spike damage. But the wights could take the squads’s hit, and while Nev might get staked once by their general, the Ring let me stand back up. After that the bretonian was just a bloodbag on a pony.
Nevelon was based (loosely) on a character I played in a Rolemaster campaign. The premise was that all the players had sold our souls to a demon, and banded together to try to get them back. I played a fallen Paladin, who sold his soul to be the finest knight in my order. The demon arranged to have the whole order wiped out, so by default I was the best. I also got some magic items and a shapeshifting nightmare as a companion. Bum deal, but a fun fall/redemption story. No vampirism in the game, but I worked a number of the characters from that campaign into my undead and chaos armies.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Put the first blue down on RG. Probably should have base coated him in gold.
The Falcon. I own two, but this is the first, both date from late 2nd edition. Not the first eldar I own. I’ve got a selection of RT lead that were used when we played it more like an RPG to flesh out the rouge’s gallery. But the Falcon is the first model for my eldar army. I’ve always been a big fan of hover tanks/grav armor, and the flacon really is a prime example of one. Sleek, tough, deadly, elegant. Despite the kit being ancient at this point, it still holds up as a model. Shame the rules had played second fiddle to the wave serpent for pretty much it’s entire life. I painted this in my “black wash EVERYTHING” days, and it shows. I prefer the cleaner look of my modern eldar. But I’m in no rush to go back and re-do it.
Bonus fun fact: the first WD on the shelf is the one where it released.
youwashock wrote:Oh, what a day, what a lovely day that was. Such an awesome model, and you're right. It really hasn't started showing its age.
The mold is starting to show its age, but not the model. Detail is soft in spots, the sprues are horribly inefficient. But the model still rocks.
Master Azalle wrote:love the idea! Fantastic work!
Thanks.
Day 5
Spoiler:
On the back of the RT painting guide there were some blank banners that you could photocopy and paint. That same book also listed the Ultras as the 3rd chapter of the 1st founding. Lore hadn’t settled in to what we know today quite yet. This is the reason when it came time to reach for fielding a full battle company I went with the 3rd. That path started sometime mid 3rd edition. While I could claim to have had a finsihed company for a while, I was counting things like landspeeder pilots and a chunk of the assault marines were stuck on bikes, rather than their iconic jump packs. It was only in recent years, chronicled in this blog, that I finished it to an acceptable level.
Banner pole is a clipped bit of coat hanger. We work with what we have. Battle damage might technically be my first attempt at “weathering” if you can call it that. Not that it shows, but the red is testor's gloss enamel, which I still occasionally used for spot details even after I switched to acrylics. Might also be the first proto-squiggles I attempted. He’s got tactical squad markings on his shoulder, no idea why.
Really like how your advent calendar is shaping up. Nice to see some of your older models, especially the old marine and the falcon. I went through a phase of black wash everything on my entire Tyranid army, but with very little finesse about it, they don't look the best now.
Your boy's Salamander looks good and he should be rightly proud, it's a very dynamic model.
He’s actually made more progress on his entry this month than I have. I put a coat of blue down, and he’s almost done with basecoats. I’ve got a half day tomorrow and a quiet weekend, hoping for some good progress.
Anyway, on to Day 6
Spoiler:
When the march to a full company started, it needed a captain. I honestly forget who I used for a HQ before I got him, probably the Lt. Commander or Chaplain. I picked up the command squad box (which was full of awesome) sometime early 3rd, painted him up, and he took the job. At the time, SB/PS was a great combo. With the rapid fire rules being a lot harsher then they are now, assault 2 was significant. Power swords ignored all armor. Now, IIRC 3rd was a much better time to be fielding chaplains, but as a captain he was pretty good. Something that would not be the case until recently with 8th. After years of languishing SBs got a boost and a price cut, power swords as well. He works great as a low cost buff bot supporting a gunline You may note the backpack. He’s got a spare from the old Calgar. The banner was too tall for the one I was using for him, so I cut it off and re-glued it. It’s since snapped off and I never bothered to repair it. Banners are such a pain.
Started gilding Guiliman. Man he’s got a lot of bling. Finished his legs. Also put some black on the bolter for its basecoat. Put a few more layers on the TLHB that’s on the bench. Just the green for the lenses, then it’s drybrush time and the cleanup/wash stages
Day 7
Spoiler:
I’ve got some old IG on the shelf. a box of RT plastics, a metal squad, and some command elements. Probably not enough to field as an actual army, loyal 32 might be stretching it. Things like shoulder carried lascannons make it hard to judge. I know I had 2 tac, 1 assault, 1 support, and 1 command squad. Not sure how many ordinary Joe’s with lasguns in that.
Anyway, this guy might have been picked up purely for a painting project. I pretty sure I picked him up after I has resigned myself to not being able to field guard on the battlefield. But he was just so cool looking! He’s saturated in the 80’s action hero motif of the catchecans. Just oozing character. And I think he was one of my better paintjobs at the time, and still holds up pretty good. The grey camo fatigues are from the Necromundian 8th. More detail than the line troops, which were blob camo (and poorly done at that), this was multicolor tiger stripe. I’m not sure if he came before or after my scouts which also use the same style, probably around the same time. The mirrorshades might be another example of me dipping into my old gloss enamels for an accent color. You can tell I tried a brown wash to try to add some depth to the skin. This was a new technique at the time for me. Most of my old skins were just flat flesh-tones.
For early me, this guy pushed a lot of boundaries in painting, and turned out pretty good. For years when I looked at my collections and picked out my favorite work, he made the cut. I’ve built up large quantity of work at a higher quality these days, but he remains one of the early pieces that I am proud of how it all came together.
This month is zipping by. No surprise there, the holidays are like that. Need to pick up the pace, not just in painting, but holiday baking and shopping.
Day 8
Spoiler:
(someone needs to dust more)
People talk about tactical marines, and how they are not worth fielding, and all the other options. But it doesn’t feel like a marine list unless you’ve got some battle-brothers standing shoulder to shoulder, tapping out a nice bolter drill. Especially Ultramarines, where the humble tactical squad should be the backbone of the army. So I field them. In almost every list. And have done so for the last ~25 years. And when it comes time to pull a tac squad from the shelf and put it on the table, the honor of leading it goes to this guy. Sargent of the 3rd company’s 1st squad. This guy has been fighting for the Emperor longer than some you you have been alive. He has seen the tables at 7 different FLGS, plus basements, apartments, and homes beyond count. He and his squad have slain more foes than you’ve had hot breakfasts. And he doesn’t need any FOTM wargear or special rules. He’s got a bolter and a pair of binoculars he liberated from the RT orc sprue. His squad has a missile launcher and a flamer, a classic loadout from a more civilized time. He does not fear being replaced with primaris; he knows no fear! He has loyalty served since the dawn of time, and will continue to do so until every foul xenos, heretic, and traitor that taints this galaxy has been purged.
But eventually he would like to be promoted to veteran sergeant, and get the cross hatches on his helmet stipe.
OK, yesterday’s progress was mostly in cookies (2 batches done, 3 ready to bake as needed. Plus scones). But I did get some work in at the bench
Soooo much fiddly little details, but the gold is down. Real sloppy in places, will trim it back into place with the second blue coat; which will be a massive pain. TLHB just needs the wash at this point, and I need to polish off the last steps in the DW. Hopefully today.
Day 9
Spoiler:
Mounted wights used to be really good. T4, 3W, and they weren’t separate unit, just an upgrade to normal foot wights, So they ended up costing peanuts (a 2 point upgrade, rather then a 2x cost) Now, if they ever failed a break test the whole unit crumbled. But stick a vampire lord with a crown of command (Ld10, break tests were unmodified) and they were not going anywhere fast. Undead deathstar. The heroes in the front would turn anything they touched into a gore-smoothy, while the wights provided banner/rank bonuses, kept the guys up front from being targeted, and could occasionally put some wounds down.
This guy was from my centaur phase, and probably the best example. I had some light centaur cavalry for my undead, and some heavy chaos knights as well. He was a wight lord to lead the undead half. Simple head/torso swap with an armored skeleton and the mounted vampire’s steed. Simple, except we’re talking about metal here, so there was no such thing as a simple conversion. Every time the snips and files came out, you hoped you didn’t mangle things beyond repair. One of my earliest major conversions, and still very proud of the way he came out.
Can’t say I miss working with metal. I love old metal scuplts, but it was a pain to deal with. Better than resin, worse than plastic overall.
Some progress:
Not that it shows a lot from the pic, but the DW have their second black down and I just washed the silver. Greylines and touchups left for them. Guiliman got his purity seals down. I know, not much progress on him.
I finished off the TLHB, and get to check of one of my goals: Paint 12 bits.
We’ll see if I can get more done tonight. My normal every-other Sunday game might be getting scrubbed. Which would give me more time for another coat or two.
Chaplains. The red-headed stepchild of the HQs. But they were not always that way. This guy ruled the roost back in 3rd. His gear was built into his price, which was low, and the game was more CC friendly. Captains returned to prominence in 4th, Librarians from 5-7, and now back to captains in 8th. Now me being me, I’ve fielded him throughout, but only a pale shadow of his glories of 3rd.
I love this guy. He’s angry, he’s aggressive, and he hates you so much he gains special rules for him and everyone nearby. Along with dreadnoughts, chaplains really get the spirit of 40k across. With very few exceptions, chaplains are some of the best models in the marine range, and have been from the start. He’s magnetized, so I can swap out the JP/BP for a regular backpack and combi-flamer to field him as Cassius. Ironic, since the original 3rd edition Cassius was based on this model.
I’ve got multiple chaplains on the shelf, but this is The Chaplain. When you see me posting in Chaos blogs, or painting Eldar, it’s His angry gaze and disapproving scowl that follows me.
Think it's really cool that you've painted up your bits, it's something I never do because I haven't magnetised but it's a great idea going forward.
Love the theme of Chaplains, they're pretty much all cool models and I picked up the terminator chaplain ages ago but I don't know when I'll actually get round to painting him.
I feel you Nev, I still have quite a love affair with chaplains, and I'm in the process of collecting every named one for my own amusement. I too keep my foot Chaplain and Cassius around because I love them
Funnily enough, I actually have that Chaplain model, which I bought for my Dark Angels Battle Company (which I never actually got to field ). It's really cool, and is one example of why I love the older metal sculpts. They were just so characterful!
When the march to a full company started, it needed a captain. I honestly forget who I used for a HQ before I got him, probably the Lt. Commander or Chaplain. I picked up the command squad box (which was full of awesome) sometime early 3rd, painted him up, and he took the job. At the time, SB/PS was a great combo. With the rapid fire rules being a lot harsher then they are now, assault 2 was significant. Power swords ignored all armor. Now, IIRC 3rd was a much better time to be fielding chaplains, but as a captain he was pretty good. Something that would not be the case until recently with 8th. After years of languishing SBs got a boost and a price cut, power swords as well. He works great as a low cost buff bot supporting a gunline
You may note the backpack. He’s got a spare from the old Calgar. The banner was too tall for the one I was using for him, so I cut it off and re-glued it. It’s since snapped off and I never bothered to repair it. Banners are such a pain.
I love this model, and the awesome squad box he came with! A shameless plug for my plog here, I'm trying to recreate the captain and some other characters from that box with modern plastic bits.
Tyranid Horde wrote:Think it's really cool that you've painted up your bits, it's something I never do because I haven't magnetised but it's a great idea going forward.
Love the theme of Chaplains, they're pretty much all cool models and I picked up the terminator chaplain ages ago but I don't know when I'll actually get round to painting him.
I’m slowly working my way through the spare bits. Although I need to make more. It’s nice to have stuff when, for example, the new edition makes things like stombolters and power swords viable for sergeants.
AUGmaniac wrote:I feel you Nev, I still have quite a love affair with chaplains, and I'm in the process of collecting every named one for my own amusement. I too keep my foot Chaplain and Cassius around because I love them
Every chaplain? That’s a lot of rage and anger there. Good luck with that!
ZergSmasher wrote:Funnily enough, I actually have that Chaplain model, which I bought for my Dark Angels Battle Company (which I never actually got to field ). It's really cool, and is one example of why I love the older metal sculpts. They were just so characterful!
One thing about the old metals is that it’s possible to get a lot more flow and coherency out of the pose/sculpt then you can with multipart models.
mcmattila wrote:Great idea for an advent calendar, it has been fun following it! I like seeing old models and hearing their stories.
I love this model, and the awesome squad box he came with! A shameless plug for my plog here, I'm trying to recreate the captain and some other characters from that box with modern plastic bits.
And just to prove my last sentence wrong, is someone getting the same poses with mulipart plastics! Nice work on those guys, you can really tell their roots. Spoiler alert: Unless I change my mind last minute, at least one more marine from that box will show up this month. It was pretty much full of concentrated awesome.
Day 11 already? It’s like day 10, but one louder. Or a lot quieter as the case may be.
Spoiler:
These guys are part of my scout exchange program. They are lurking around the polar fortress of Macragge, keeping an eye on the Ultras, while their counterparts in the 10th company are defiling a verdant maiden world with their presence. The root cause of this is the fact that my scouts were originally painted in forest camo green before I had even though about basing. The reason for this is so I could use them in both my BA and Ultra armies. This was back in 2nd, where I hadn’t quite given up on the BA side yet. By the time I got to painting these guys (which was fairly recently) the base schemes for my armies were set. Rather than paint the rangers in green to match their army, I thought it would be fun to try my hand at arctic camo.
One thing about camouflage: when it works, it’s boring. That’s it’s job. Turning things into lumpy shapeless blobs your eye just glazes across. My philosophy is to paint camo like Hollywood makes movies based on real life events. You can tell what it’s supposed to be, but there are more car chases and explosions. That’s why I keep some bright accent colors and shiny buttons. Another thing to consider is army coherency. These guys might be in a different scheme then my normal Eldar paintjob, but many elements tie them together. The red ribbons can be found on everyone, from guardians to aspect warriors. All lenses are that green, all tubes that blue, all guns that silver. So while the core colors are opposite from normal, all the details mesh.
These guys were the nail that made me swear off finecast. Cleanup wasn’t terrible (that was the fire dragons) but it’s the bendy, wobbly nature. If they only lived on a climate controlled shelf, things might be fine. But in a case on a warm day put enough stress on the guns to bend them. One I snapped trying to fix and had to pin. I love these sculpts, would gladly use another squad for my army. but will never buy them until they get replaced with plastic. The same could be said for large chunks of the Eldar range.
I find it a little amusing that I think of anything I’ve done while I was blogging “recent”. But that encompasses over 5 years and 4 editions. OK, it was only the very tail end of 5th, but that still counts.
That bit where I said I was going to use this to showcase older stuff that didn’t get as much time in the sun? Not so much today. It’s Cpt. Fabian 3rd co., my modern magnetized foot captain, with the Teeth of Terra. You've seen him every time I post for the last couple years. One of my favorite models I’ve built and painted.
Two thing dropped at the same time to make him happen. A new assault marine box, and the UM accessory sprue. I know I jumped the gun when I built him. Those boxes came out before the full codex. I assumed that with AM being able to take eviserators, they would be added to the armory and captains could grab them. It’s not like that would be broken, they were basically two handed chainfists. But I had a vision of this guy running around, carving up tanks. Sadly, that was not to be. But we do get a relic chainsword, so all was not lost. He just carves up troops instead. ToT has always been a decent budget relic. Nice enough to get the job done, won’t break the bank.
I don’t have a chance to do it often, but the running legs from assault marines make for very dynamic characters. Shame they all get used for actual jump troops. But I love the sense of motion and purpose he has. While I use a lot of bare heads for leader types, I prefer helmets. Not just because they are easy to paint. With this one here I get a feel of focus, determination, and professionalism that a screaming head would not convey. He’s got a job, he knows what needs to be done, and is going to make it happen.
If you play Ultramarines, and don’t have the sprue with all the awesome bits, you are doing your army a disservice. So many cool bits there. Not as impressed with the Primaris version
This guy actually sees a lot of time on the table. Either The Boy or I choosing him to lead our army. He sometimes gets different gear, but the ToT is a solid staple, and has laid low many an enemy. I think it’s a toss up between him and my jump captain about who sees more battlefields these days.
I really like those scouts. Before I even read your blurb I thought to myself, "love how they blend in, but lots of accent and spot colurs also make them pop out. Best of both worlds."
So I don’t talk about my old chaos army a lot. They were my second WHFB army. It seemed like their rules and army structure was always getting shifted around. Some of that was edition changes, others were the retinue army book. Building an army was step one: take a HQ type, step two: take an equal (or more) amount of troops. Fluffy and fun, but made for weak lists that were hard to build. But in an edition often called “Herohammer” chaos was a solid choice. I mostly played Slaanesh. The whole “immune to psychology” thing at the time. There was a trend of my armies. I wanted my army to do what I told them to do. Sure, Khorn might be choppier, Nurgle tougher, and Tzeench nastier with the zapping. But I never have my Lord kited around the table by little sticks of chaff. Fun story there. Big 3x3 player game (Masters of Evil 2) the other guy has a super tricked out Khorne chaos lord in a chariot pulled by bloodcrushers. This is an immune to magic, first striking, frenzied blender, probably half his army points. I (with my undead army) summon a little stick of skeletons within his charge range and arc, but off to the side a bit. Frenzy boy must charge the closest target. Bone bits everywhere, he gets a VP for killing them. Repeat 2-3 times, until he’s sitting nose in the corner, totally out of the fight. Meanwhile, we are tabeling him and his allies. Anyway, back the the trend of me picking armies that don’t play with the psych rules. Undead, and slannesh at the time. But for similar reasons, Ultras. Back in 3rd, BA were basically marines +1, but you had to roll for every unit every turn to see if the moved towards the enemy. And might randomly loose guys to the death company at the start of the game. Random crap that was your army doing things you didn’t want. I wanted to win or loose based on me and my skills. I tried to eliminate as many variables as I could. I like our fickle little 6-sided friends, but try to mitigate their moody nature when I can.
This guy represents my rank and file of those days. Nothing spectacular. I think he’s the spare guy from the chariot kit with an arm swap for a sword. I just really like the pose he ended up with. He’s seen a lot of time on the D&D battlemat, either as a PC fighter type, or a mook. My chaos army is solidly in the middle of my blackwash everything phase. And I’m not talking about the modern, flow nice ones. These were more inks/glazes. Paint scheme is fairly simple. Boltgun metal, blue wash on some of the flat plates for accent (same wash as used on my Ultras), pick out a few details, blackwash.
Chaos almost came back from the dead to become my primary fantasy army. When I got the 8th ed WHFB book as a gift one year, I looked into what it would take to get my old armies up to snuff. Chaos seemed the more solid choice. I even got the army book. Never played that edition. But when AoS dropped, it seemed like everyone was playing chaos, so I gravitated back to Death. Don’t regret that choice, but it does mean my forces of chaos are collecting a lot of dust these days.
Chaplains. The red-headed stepchild of the HQs. But they were not always that way. This guy ruled the roost back in 3rd. His gear was built into his price, which was low, and the game was more CC friendly. Captains returned to prominence in 4th, Librarians from 5-7, and now back to captains in 8th. Now me being me, I’ve fielded him throughout, but only a pale shadow of his glories of 3rd.
I love this guy. He’s angry, he’s aggressive, and he hates you so much he gains special rules for him and everyone nearby. Along with dreadnoughts, chaplains really get the spirit of 40k across. With very few exceptions, chaplains are some of the best models in the marine range, and have been from the start. He’s magnetized, so I can swap out the JP/BP for a regular backpack and combi-flamer to field him as Cassius. Ironic, since the original 3rd edition Cassius was based on this model.
I’ve got multiple chaplains on the shelf, but this is The Chaplain. When you see me posting in Chaos blogs, or painting Eldar, it’s His angry gaze and disapproving scowl that follows me.
I loved Chaplains in 3rd Edition. For 10pts one and less Ld (I think) less than a basic, no equipment Captain you got a Chaplain with a power weapon and a 4+ save. It was an easy way to get a cheap and effective HQ. Especially in a Blood Angels army when more Chaplains = more Death Company.
I loved Chaplains in 3rd Edition. For 10pts one and less Ld (I think) less than a basic, no equipment Captain you got a Chaplain with a power weapon and a 4+ save. It was an easy way to get a cheap and effective HQ. Especially in a Blood Angels army when more Chaplains = more Death Company.
3rd left a solid impression on me. I played RT more like a RPG, and only caught the fringes of 2nd. But I played 3rd like nobody’s business. And it’s left a mark on how I think about the game. Chaplains being awesome is part of that. For most people these days, chaplains have always been that crappy HQ that’s in the codex that nobody uses. They don’t remember the glory...
Day 14
Spoiler:
We Ride for Macragge!
(alt pic)
It's my bike captain. One of the first things I did after selling my MtG cards at the start of this blog was to expand the bike element of my army. I’m neutral on them from the fluff. I prefer my marines in rhinos/pod, but every army needs a fast attack element, and bikes do that well. But mechanically, they were the hotness for a number of editions. There is a period of this blog I think of as “I can’t believe it’s not White Scars” due to me churning through all of them. (There is also a JP phase). Glad that’s over. Not that I disliked them, but the bikes are an old kit, and take just long enough to paint to get tedious. So it dragged slogging though them all.
He was born with the 6th edition drop of the new vet kits. I think the helmet is from the VV box, with the crest from the SG. Which frankly, makes him as a model. In my mental fluff, he fought alongside the White Scars for a campaign, and as a sign of brotherhood, he and the WS captain exchanged helmets at the end. The alt picture shows is so much better, but I’m really thrilled how that red tribal mark came out. All freehand with a fuzzy stick, yet straight and crisp.
The old RW battleforce was great for adding bikes to an army. And I still get occasional use out of the accessory sprues that came with it.
In painting news I made some slow progress on Guiliman. Put down the browns and reds for the purity seals, and a coat of white on the wires so the orange/yellow will show better. I also did the grey edges and assembly for the Coms guy, so he’s in the baseing phase now. Working a half day, and don’t pick up The Boy until 4, so will get some more work and hopefully some pics this afternoon.
For punches on the go! He’s still one one hand on the wheel, it’a all good.
Some progress pics, as promised:
Deathwatch intercessors almost done. Once the glue dries on the blackshield, he’ll get the black rim done on his base, then all 3 will get flocked. And that will wrap up the 5 intercessors from that KT.
Big G.
Just feels so sloppy. Really not enjoying painting him. So much overwrought detail. It’s kinda funny; The Boy has been encouraging me to paint him, and I was putting it off. But once I’m done, I’m going to have to field him. And then unseemly things are going to happen on the battlefield. He might regret prodding me to get him painted.
I should be mostly done with my holiday wrapping. Just waiting for one more thing in the mail. And almost done with the baking, just need to bake off and frost one batch of cookies, and make a holiday bread. So in theory I should be able to spend more time at the paintbench. in theory.
Hope everyone enjoys their weekends. Remember; time is running out!
Glad to see you chugging along with Bobby G and the DW. Is there any way to repost your cookie recipes again? I need some for a party at my FLGS Thanks!
AUGmaniac wrote: Glad to see you chugging along with Bobby G and the DW. Is there any way to repost your cookie recipes again? I need some for a party at my FLGS Thanks!
The only new one I made this year was bourbon balls, but replaced the booze with Fireball, as that’s what the kids are drinking these days (at least the ones I work with)
Spoiler:
1 cup crushed Vanilla Wafers
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts)
2 T. cocoa
2 T. corn syrup
1/4 cup bourbon.
Combine dry, add wet, roll into balls, then roll in sugar/chopped nuts/sprinkles. Will be sticky when rolling, refrigerate/keep sealed.
This is a photocopied card. Every time I made them they were almost too sticky to work with, so I added more dry ingredients to compensate. I wonder if it’s supposed to be teaspoons rather than tablespoons. Recipe is definitely a capital “T” though.
Also good with rum. I used Kraken black spiced rum last year
Day 15? Month is half over. I need to pick up the pace.
Spoiler:
I was going to just post the new WL, but thought I’s use the buddy pick for a little nostalgia.
It will also give me a chance to talk about materials. The old guy languished in a box for decades. He was beyond my skills to assemble and keep together. Look at those contact points, and remember that boy is metal. There is also not a lot of thickness to sink a pin into. And the joins are not snug. He’s no Hive Tyrant, but he’s pretty bad. Liberal use of greenstuff was the key here, and even that was touch and go. If I had to do it again, I’d just drill through both the limb and the joint, drive a pin in, and hide the damage.
I’ve always loved the Wraithlord. Not just because they were tough as nails back in 3rd. (the start of the “why is this not a vehicle” arguments) but the elegant death machine, striding across the battlefield, meting out destruction is a very cool, very alien image. Like the imperial dreadnought sums up the grimdark of the IoM with it’s blocky construction and disregard for individual life, (mortally wounded? no excuse, get into this weaponized coffin and get back to fighting!), so does the eldar equivalent. They are a desperate dying race that loathes the very concept, but they call the souls back of their revered heroes to fight again, out of necessity. And they do it with style.
I hate edge highlighting. I really do. But I do it these days. And it helps, and it looks good (at a distance). But it’s soooo fussy. The old guy I just drybrushed. Not the same.
Flocked the intercessors last night. Will grab a picture once slug-boy gets out of bed. That finishes the core of the first kill team, so they get their glamor shots. And being a KT, probably names and a little back story. We’ll see.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Let me introduce the brothers of Killteam Solari, the first of my two planned primaris fortis KTs.
Brother-Sergeant Vorn Solari is a charismatic young sergeant from the Novamarines. He has a quote from the Codex Astartes appropriate to any situation ready to inspire and encourage his squad to victory. A Veteran of the Indomitus Crusade, he is no stranger to the fight against Chaos. But he was seconded to the Deathwatch to gain knowledge against xenos threats. This will help round out his experiences on what is thought to be a fast track to captaincy.
While Sgt. Solari is the heart and spirit of the kill team, Brother Markus Apollon of the Ultramarines helps keep it running smoothly. As another devoted adherent of The Codex, he can anticipate the thoughts of his sergeant and help communicate that to the rest of the team while Solari is already tackling the next problem. Apollon is a solid member of the squad, always looking to make sure his brothers work efficently together, even at the cost of forgoing glory for himself.
The Vox-net is often filled with the dry humor of Brother Tor Markov of the Imperial fists. While he may remain apart from his brothers in a vantage point for overwatch, He always shares his joy in bringing the word of the Emperor to the Xenos, one well placed bolter round at a time.
While Brother Markov might remain motionless as he covers the squad, Brother Navaer Ordaris of the Ravenguard is never still. He is constantly moving ahead of the squad, checking for signs of the enemy or traps. As he moves, he will often place charges of his own, to ensure that any who try to follow the squad will meet with an untimely end.
Nobody know from what chapter Brother Galorr Namaat hails from, and he rarely discusses his past. The few clues he has let slip point to service on the eastern fringe, a fact reinforced by the tyranid claw knife he bears. In moments of quiet, he will read from an ancient book of names he carries with him at all time, a lost relic of his fallen chapter.
Back before the boys in blue, there was the red guys. They were my first chapter, due to the fact that their decals were included in the first RTB01 box. I think it was random. While I stripped a number of them recently to add to the Ultras, some I kept for nostalgia, or if I need an op force for something like the BaC game.
This guy might have been my first conversion ever. And all that was is the bolter and some fishing line. But I like that he turned out OK. I can’t pinpoint what the first 40k mini I painted was, but it would be one of his squad mates.
youwashock wrote: Such a great set. All the little bits and options. At the time it seemed limitless.
At the time it was. 2nd ed was a major step back, but 3rd came back swinging with the new marines.
Day 17
Spoiler:
Have I mentioned I have too many captains? As marine players we just can’t stop collecting/building them. So many options, so much character. It might turn into a slog painting rank and file, but the HQs are always fun.
Again, running legs are a good thing. This guy is angry at someone over there, and is on his way to put the hammer down. Quite happy with the wya his pose turned out, and thing I did a decent job painting him. He’s mostly Vanguard Vet parts. Despire my general dislike for bare heads, he needed an angry one, which is hard for a helmet (although some come close). And while frequently on the table, he never uses that gear in 8th. Sadly the days of paired weapons is gone. Luckily, he’s magnetized, and has a new toy He represents the not-BA phase of this blog. At one point I think I had 15+ jump guys in my primed pile. Assault marines, Vanguard, HQs. Fast moving and hard hitting. I’ve always believed that a well balanced list should have a t least one things from every force org slot. The early days of this blog gave me a lot of FA options.
Loving the Advents. The commentary is great. Some great memories too, I've a marine using those Orc binoculars as well. I love the DWKT, have they seen action yet? I'm nervous using my Primaris KT as there's only 6 guys, now you only have 5! I think they should have all been UM successors as well ;p
RandyMcStab wrote: Loving the Advents. The commentary is great. Some great memories too, I've a marine using those Orc binoculars as well. I love the DWKT, have they seen action yet? I'm nervous using my Primaris KT as there's only 6 guys, now you only have 5! I think they should have all been UM successors as well ;p
There will probably be more UM successors going forward. I’d rather not duplicate chapters, and statistically, that means a lot of the Ultra geneseed. They have not yet hit the table. Weekend just didn’t line up for a game when I had The Boy. However, last time we played he tried fielding a KT of reivers. While he did loose, his MVP was the one guy with the carbine. Special ammo is some really nasty stuff. I think one thing that we ignore about it in 40k is the ability to juggle range. In KT, being under half is a huge deal, as it gets rid of that -1 to hit. Sure, every casualty is going to hurt, but they should play the way marines feel. Just a few guys, tough and elite, hit like trucks. We’ll see how that pans out on the table.
Been trying to get a little paint down every day. Did a few tubes and wires, the laurels on the head, etc. Eventually I’ll get there.
Day 18, 1 week to go folks!
Spoiler:
While growing very slowly, Manfred is the face of my reborn, undead, army of Death. Hard hitting cavalry units just seem to pale to hordes of skeletons carpeting the battlefield. Can’t really fault that. When you build a list around a focused side aspect of an army, you risk it becoming non-viable. Sure, you might still be able to do it, but if you double down on a gimmick, don’t expect it to play well forever. My undead army was built for the hero-hammer age of 5th edition Undead is dead, long live Death!
But while my army construction and mechanics are still being hammered out, my painting is finding its stride. Manfred might be my top voted work from all the challenges I entered. The Zoat might have been close, but he got there on pure novelty and nostalgia. Manfred earned his votes the hard way. Large centerpiece model, topic was “Legendary” (Probably did better here then if I entered him in October), and frankly one of the best paintjobs I’ve ever hashed out. Using some new blending techniques to make for an amazing focal point of a cloak. He’s not just a one-off bit of luck either. I used what I learned from him and carried it forward. While they might not see the table a lot, I do enjoy my undead as a side project, and am having fun with them. Hopefully you will get to see more of them, and not just my October entries.
Even if he's my least favorite of the Mortarchs lore-wise, and def not my favorite looks wise (Arkhan FTW in both) I love your Mannfred. The contrast between the skulls and the black bones really sells that he's an undead commander.
DW can really bring the pain as a KT, especially frag cannon Heavy Specialists or Stalker Bolter Snipers. I've had them do huge amounts of work.
I’m enjoying KT, need to try out commander some time.
Put another layer on Guiliman. Hard to focus on him. I should really just start the washes and go back and find all the stuff I missed after. I should also get started on the base. Motivation is a little light. Not just at the workbench, but all around.
Day 19
Spoiler:
Honor Guard with relic blade As I struggle with this month’s entry, a look back at the first. We’re on the 46th! monthly challenge, but it has to start somewhere, and for me, it was this guy. He got no votes. But the first month was before we went to multi voting, everyone only got one. I’m sure if I entered him today I’d get my normal 3-4 votes in the “not dead last” position. I don’t take it personally. I do average, consistent work, but there are much better painters than me. I don’t think there was a lot of first time techniques on this guy, but he did incorporate a lot of new-ish things. Blending tabards, drilling barrels, (OK, he might be the first storm bolter I did) even basing were all new things at the time. Not yet edge highlighting, sword is basic silver. He’s not my old “basecoat and done” level, but not where I’m at today. One of the things the monthly challenge has done is helped push me forward as a painter. I’d recommend everyone give it a shot. It’s a fun, social way to help push yourself a bit.
Put the brown wash down on Roubute. Next step is to painstakingly do the second blue coat. Oh, and all the details I forgot. At least the few tubes/wires I just remembered.
Day 20
Spoiler:
I bet you didn’t know I had a small force of Wood Elves. I barely remember half the time. They have the gallery at the way bottom of my list. I don’t know how they’ve faired over the years, but when I was playing they were the forgotten elves. High/Dark was where it was at. But they has a lot of character, some neat tricks, and a bunch of cool models. The Waywatchers are what grabbed me. Camo ninja elves FTW. I had a few thoughts on how the army was going to grow. It was possible to do an all-fly army. Treemen and Dryads made for a fun “angry forest” list. I still have dozen or so of the wood monster metal dryads in a box somewhere unpainted. Glade guard were probably the best, most flexible, light calvary in the game. Their rank and file stuff kinda sucked, but if you wanted that, there were other flavors of elves that did it better. Wood Elves were the wacky tricks skirmish faction. Sadly, the army never found its legs and never got off the ground. They got a little farther then the DoW stuff I picked up. I don’t think I ever put them on the table for a game. I did manage a small foray with the primitive knife ears.
That's funny I had/have a WE army too. Spooky. Mine is mothballed and I didn't really play the later editions (started in 3rd), FB seemed to be worst for Codex Creep and crazy releases. Which is why they had to reboot it I think, that and the abomination of 8th.
I too played Wood Elves briefly. Always loved Treemen and the Jes Goodwin Wardancers. Picked up a bunch of minis cheap, painted a handful, played a couple games, moved on. Still have the trees and Wardancers, most of Skarloc and the boys, but they are just nostalgia collection stuff. Anything resembling an army is long gone.
From one tertiary army to another, Deathwatch. I had a hard time picking out a representative for the DW. I wanted to include at least one, to show the flag in my advent calendar, but who? As a reasonably new army, they don’t have a whole lot of history. The original core squad of vets was built so I could field them as sternguard if I didn’t want to mess with other rules. The librarian was painted for one of Git’s Mantis Warrior challenges. Mechanically he also gave me access to the divination line of powers. I think they hit the table one or twice like that, but not often. The Boy fielded them once as actual DW I like the Howling Griffon. It might just be the bright, clean and crisp colors on his shoulder that contrast with the black. Or the c-plas, which I think turned out well. Just when it came time to pick one out, he came to hand. I think eventually one of the intercessors might take the favorite spot. I’ve had a lot of fun building the kill teams. I’m already farther than I thought I’d be. It’s looking like the army is going to be two tricked out fortis kill teams, probably two-ish squads of vets, a dread, lib, Artemis, and a watch master. Where to go from there depends a lot on what’s going on in the hobby by the time I’m done building/painting what I have now.
No new paint down yesterday. Picked up The Boy after work. Today is our Christmas. So we’ll see what new toys are under the tree. And then place an order for what wasn’t there. Or trade with The Boy for stuff. He picked up the new battleforce for himself when it came out, and already had a box of reivers. So he said he’d be interested in parting with the spares. Does anyone else have family who buys big things for themselves right in the holiday season? My dad is notorious for it, and it looks like my son is as well. Me? With an early November birthday, I basically don’t buy anything for myself in the last quarter of the year. What kicks me is that I didn’t find out that he bought it until after I picked up a box of intercessors for him. If I had known, I’d have got him hellblasters. I should have caught on earlier when he was saying about it (multiple times) “Well, it’s nice that everything in there you could use duplicates of” I thought that was his greedy/optimistic self thinking he’d get two as gifts, or one and some spare squads. Oh well.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. Remember to relax and enjoy it. There is a lot of stress, but try to take it down a notch. Nobody needs that.
Cheers, --Nev
Update:
Little KT action. 2x5 man DW kill teams go at it. We spent a lot of time exchanging vengeance rounds. His CC guy rushed forward, while two held back to cover his advance, and the other two moved up while shooting. I handed out a lot of flesh wounds, was was unable to drop any of his guys. Meanwhile he locked up 2 of my guys in combat (even with a power sword sarge I couldn’t cut him down) and picked off the other 3. But at the end of turn 4 he failed his break test and the game ended. I held two objectives to his one, and squeak out a victory.
Overall we were both happy with out teams. 5 men is rough, but in a mirror match, not catastrophic. Would be interesting to see how it worked against other teams. I totally spaced on looking at the things Deathwatch could spend CPs on. Late game I looked, and some would have made a critical difference. Not like he was using them. Overall a fun game, and close to the wire.
He gave me 5 reivers for Christmas, so they will join the ranks of DW. In my blind box marine I got the ML guy, so he’ll join my Ultras eventually. The Boy got the generic bolter guy (brother castor?) Might stop by the store when dropping him off home to get another couple.
So we did stop on the way to drop him off and got two more marines (and a grey paint he needed). I told him if he got a dup, we’d swap. He did, so I gave him the bolt pistol/bolter dude I got. And when I originally bought them my thought was “one duplicate and it’s over” that will be all of series one for me. Fun concept, cool little impulse buy/stocking stuffer. But I’m not getting piles of commons looking for the captain.
Where we at? Day 22:
Spoiler:
I don’y know what it is about this guy, but I just like him. While not a bad job, he’s by no means one of my better paints. The sculpt is a cool one, despite having the classic metal “flat” pose issues. His on table performance has been sparse and mediocre. While other HQs have had their time in the sun, techmarines never really got their moment. Maybe for swapping FOC slots for dreads. These days after the CA18 adjustments he at least costs peanuts for a HQ slot.
At some point I should start my year end woolgathering. And, you know, maybe get some more point down. Nothing else going on here. Need more coffee before thinking though. Enjoy your weekends all --Nev
Edit: Got about half the 2nd blue coat down on BG. Started to work on an intercessor, as after I finish the big guy, I’ll be one model short of my paint more then I buy goal.
WIP. Second coat of blue down on the legs. Slow going detail work. So much detail work... Started the base. Intercessor plugging along. Probably should have done more clean up on him. Looks like I forgot to drill his bolt rifle and his shoulder pads could have used a recarving. Oh well.
Ready for the penultimate picture for Advent? Day 23
Spoiler:
It’s a warp spider. Bet you weren’t expecting that. But there is a lot going on with this guy. The first is a seasonally appropriate origin story. He was a gift. I was at the FLGS chatting with someone with a very nice old eldar army, and mentioned that I had fragments of a similar vintage forming the core of mine. But due to the changes in the rules, and the way minis were sold, the 4 spider I had had would probably never see the table. He said he had a spare, reached into his box, and gave me one. Would not accept anything in return, didn’t need anything. So weeks later, one of the guys in looking to get into GKs, and bemoaning the lack of HQs. I’ve got the guy who came with Guiliman, who I’m never going to paint. I pay it forward. He asks if I need anything, and I tell him about the spider, and to pay it forward when he can. Helping fellow hobbyists, making the world a better place.
Now I’m pretty sure this is the one I got. When I painted him, I also re-touched my three old guys and painted the exarch. I don’t want to spend a lot of time re-working old minis, but when only half the squad has paint on them, and it’s from pots that ran dry a decade and change ago, something needs to be done. The swooping hawks got the same treatment. I’m happy that when I had to pick this guy out of the lineup, it was not easy to do.
Well, this was a fun little project. But all good things must come to an end, and it’s Christmas eve. So here is the final day:
Spoiler:
I’m a big fan of the new primaris captain. Not a fan of the price for a mono-pose single mini, but he was a Father’s Day gift from The Boy. Which is part of his charm for me. Overall I think I did a solid job painting him. I particularly like the cape with the lining. I’ve done red fabric, I’ve done tan fabric, this was both. Really sorta sums up the different techniques I’ve been developing over the years. Little sad that he and his fellows didn’t garner more votes last month, but that’s the competitive scene we paint in.
Expect to be seeing more of this guy. When the holiday season is over, I think he’s going to replace my avatar when the Santa hat comes off.Probably a variation of that lower left picture. Just love that gaze. Going to mess around with the depth of field options on my camera to try to get the sword in focus as well. If not I might just crop it a bit tighter.
The evolution of an avatar:
I really like the motion of this picture.
I’ll hit the workbench to see how I’m doing once the morning coffee wears off. To jittery for detail work. Although I could probably slop some paint around on the base or work on the intercessor. I’d like to be done with BG by the end of tomorrow. I think that’s a doable goal.
Fun little trip down memory lane on your advent stuff. Kinda wish I'd done the same thing. Maybe next year, huh? Roboute Guilliman is coming along nicely, too. I had a lot of fun painting mine, although it might be the single hardest paintjob I've ever attempted (even more so than Mortarion was). Looking forward to how he turns out for you. Have yourself a merry Christmas!
Nevelon wrote:So we did stop on the way to drop him off and got two more marines (and a grey paint he needed). I told him if he got a dup, we’d swap. He did, so I gave him the bolt pistol/bolter dude I got. And when I originally bought them my thought was “one duplicate and it’s over” that will be all of series one for me. Fun concept, cool little impulse buy/stocking stuffer. But I’m not getting piles of commons looking for the captain.
Where we at? Day 22:
Spoiler:
I don’y know what it is about this guy, but I just like him. While not a bad job, he’s by no means one of my better paints. The sculpt is a cool one, despite having the classic metal “flat” pose issues. His on table performance has been sparse and mediocre. While other HQs have had their time in the sun, techmarines never really got their moment. Maybe for swapping FOC slots for dreads. These days after the CA18 adjustments he at least costs peanuts for a HQ slot.
I've been waiting for this guy! It was a bit weird seeing him, as I could have sworn that the model was pointing to the right, I thought that you had mirrored the image Turns out that my memory just failed me, might be because nowadays it's always firearms on the right, ccw on left. I don't have the current rules, can you still use him? Or is the current bulky armor with the clown helmet still a power armor?
Nevelon wrote:Well, this was a fun little project. But all good things must come to an end, and it’s Christmas eve. So here is the final day:
Spoiler:
I’m a big fan of the new primaris captain. Not a fan of the price for a mono-pose single mini, but he was a Father’s Day gift from The Boy. Which is part of his charm for me. Overall I think I did a solid job painting him. I particularly like the cape with the lining. I’ve done red fabric, I’ve done tan fabric, this was both. Really sorta sums up the different techniques I’ve been developing over the years. Little sad that he and his fellows didn’t garner more votes last month, but that’s the competitive scene we paint in.
Expect to be seeing more of this guy. When the holiday season is over, I think he’s going to replace my avatar when the Santa hat comes off.Probably a variation of that lower left picture. Just love that gaze. Going to mess around with the depth of field options on my camera to try to get the sword in focus as well. If not I might just crop it a bit tighter.
The evolution of an avatar:
I really like the motion of this picture.
Great job on that captain, the eye and the lantern especially! If you want to get everything in focus in a picture, you just need to crank up the f-value, and/or take the picture from farther up.
The Advent thing was a lot of fun. Not sure I’d do it again. Part of it was picking the high points of my years in the hobby, Not necessarily the best painted, but the bits of history. That said, there is a lot more history sitting on the shelf, and some of my choices were just representatives of larger themes that could be illustrated with others. If you want to do it yourselves, give it a shot! My one suggestions would be to make a list at the start and work from that. Knowing that that the bulk of what I was going to show was Ultras I made sure to space them out. There was also some shuffling around. When I took pics for everyone who didn’t have one the BA was fuzzy, so he got pushed back until I broke out the lightbox again. I also miscounted, so some got cut last minute.
I think that techmarine is the most playable he’s been in decades. 8th was pretty kind to him, and the CA18 price drops helped him out. He’s 50 points. Sure, the 11 points to put the full harness on him is probably not a bad idea, but he’s not too shabby as-is. And if his primary job is to sit back and slap patches on dreads while filling a HQ slot, do you need to spend more points for close range toys?
I used to know more about photography. My senior year of high school I was on the yearbook committee and shot photos with an old fully manual camera and developed my film myself. Talk about dead skills! Now it’s a mater of remembering what the terms mean and how to find out how to get my point and click to do it.
Some progress:
Body is just about done. I glued him to the base last night, so I can do touch-ups without rubbing paint off. Head and halo are done, will need to be glued on and then possibly touched up. And then the flaming sword. Need a plan for that. Probably trawl around the internet looking for ideas. Base yellow/white with orange/red flames will probably be my default if I can’t figure out anything that looks good.
Still have to decide if I’m going to glob snow on the base. That can be a last second thing.
Hope everyone is surrounded by friends and loved ones. Have a merry Christmas!
AUGmaniac wrote: Our good friend Duncan has a video for it, I'll link in a bit.
Also, Merry Christmas Nev, thanks for a wonderful plog as it is every year.
I watched the vid, and am trying it now. Done with the reds, once they dry will progress to the orange.
I don’t have the patience for detail like this either, I’m just really stubborn and persistent. Or I hate myself.
FLAME ON!
OK, I tried Duncan’s tutorial with the paints on hand. Considering they all cover for crap, they probably work like layer paints. I was not happy with the transitions and blending though, so I just hit most of the sword with a yellow glaze. One that dries, I’ll go back and pick out the white a little again.
End is in sight.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Done. Just need to decide if I’m going to snow up the base a bit. Opinions?
Also put the second blue down on the intercessor. I’ll give him his blue wash later. Maybe today. Then just highlights and decals for him.
The glaze helped out a lot IMHO on the sword. Hope it doesn’t melt the snow:
As always, a nice bit of of white really helps set of the blue of the Ultras. He’s basically done. I think I might give the rim another pass of black just to smooth it out a bit.
Also, put the blue wash down on the Intercessor. Just edging, clean up, and basing left to go on him.
After that, I think I’m just building stuff for the rest of the year.
Edit: Calling the Big Guy done. Will do pics later this week. Did the edges on the intercessor. He just needs final assembly, basing and decals. I figure I can do that over the next few days, and do all the pics this weekend.
Again, thanks for all the kind words guys. Means a lot to have you out there following my blog.
So here is the last guy across the line for 2018. Putting up the brushes for the rest of the year.
Assuming I don’t buy anything in the next few days, he lets me say I actually painted more than I bought. Well, tied, technically, but that’s not counting all the spare bits. So I’m chalking that one up to a win.
I’ll start crunching the year end numbers soonish. I suspect that due to the CA18 price drops I’m going to add a chunk of points to my collection, and end up with a total lower then last year. Will be fun to see how that works out.
The Boy brought over his Salamander Sternguard I gave him for my year end shots, but still has the captain at home. I should be able to have him bring it this weekend for a full shelf shot. Then the fun of clearing off the YTD shelf and integrating it into general population.
So that’s 2,219 points of 40k, and 418 of fantasy, for a total of 2,637 points. The pre-CA1840k total was 2,336 for a roughly 5% drop in the YTD shelf. 58 models. This does not count the spare guns and bits I painted up.
To nobody’s surprise, Ultramarines are the largest chunk of points painted. Interestingly, they do make up less than half the points painted, and only roughly a quarter of the model count. The two big ticket items (BG and the repulsor) really inflate the points despite the low volume. Eldar outnumber them, but the guardian chaff helps there.
Last year was 64 minis painted ~2,456 points. Points didn’t count the crashed lander or the pirate. So slightly higher points, slightly lower count this year. Painting more elite stuff will do that.
Grabbing pics of everything is on the list for the weekend, so expect a photo dump soonish. Hope everyone enjoys their weekend
Probably going to do a bit of posting today, so this might get long. First, some old news.
Over the weekend The Boy and I got a game in. He wanted me to paint Guilliman, he gets to pay the price.
2k lists, seize and hold. (each of us have one objective, plus secondaries. A rupulser full of fun and a rhino with the classics move up, while RG holds the fort with a 4xLC pred, TFC, and the hellblasters. Disruption units to taste.
SR full of choppy, LR full of shooting (sternguard), assorted support and camping units.
Deploy I go first.
I drift the repulsor slightly forward to keep it in RG aura, rhino moves forward as do the scouts. Most of my AV fire pours into the SR, Putting some wounds on it, but nothing critical. All the anti infantry going into evaporating his dev squad. First blood. My scouts start tangling with his tac squad. I just want to keep things messy over there until the rhino gets up.
He retaliates by popping the popping the repulsor. I love the thing, but it’s not as tough as it looks. At least with the point drop it’s not as bad when it dies. His snipers pink a couple of wounds off RG.
End of 2:
I drop the inceptors and the Lt. behind the LR. Rhino moves up, but the tacs remain embarked. I fell the SR and shoot almost all the wounds off the LR. I charge the tank with my inceptors, and even get a free MW in due to their silly rule. Lt fails the charge.
His captain hits my scouts like a ton of bricks. He falls the LR out of combat, disembarks the sternguard, shoots my inceptors down, and leaves the Lt. with one wound remaining. His Vindicare assassin shows up, takes his shot at RG, and is poorly disappointed. Big guy is not infantry. He blows up the rhino, but does it in CC, so the tacs manage to escape the blender.
(Sorry didn’t take any more pics)
My Lt. moves over towards the hill with his objective, as do the tacs. I start moving up the intercessors and primaris HQs, making a run for his hill.
The rest of the game is me trying unsuccessfully trying to take him off his objective, while my firebase deletes stuff. He’s got enough firepower left to chew up what I’m sending over. He spends his time doing just that. The one thing that could have tipped the balance was his VV sarge with a power fist and a SS making a break for linebreaker. If the game had ended after turn 5, he would have pulled out a tie after the sarge shrugged off a round of TFC fire during his final sprint to the end zone. But we end up going to 6, his luck doesn’t hold, and I take the win.
Fresh paint report: RG: Nothing ever got close enough to stab. He took some shots with the hand, which did some damage. But the re-roll aura. Mmmmm. The hellbalsters got some use, but were mostly plinking long range fire. but the TFC and the pred really enjoyed it. Inceptors: Didn’t get a real workout, but got some shots in. I probably should have dropped them close to his objective and worked to clear the hill there. But I wanted to neutralize his firebase. Jump Lt. Did the LT. thing with his aura, stabbed a few guys. Can’t complain. Primaris Lt.s were sort of also-rans. They supported the intercessors, but didn’t add much. I took them because I wanted to take as much fresh paint as I could. Primaris captain: some light shooting, a lot of running, nothing much. Stuff happens when your ride gets blown up turn one. Assorted new scouts were basically wasted disrupting his flank. While I think The Boy fielded it once, I think this was my first time out with the TFC in 8th. Not that it’s fresh paint, but I wanted to give it a shout out for the new rules. Points were respectable for the firepower it handed out. Not needing LoS was nice, the gunner patched up the pred a little, re-rolls helped a TON. Turned it into a death factory.
I’m not sure if my assassin has ever actually hit the table. If he did it was back in 3rd. Targets were an issue for him. Not a good showing, the scout snipers put more wounds on RG than he did. The sternguard shot up my guys who landed backfield, and put a lot of hurt on my advancing forces. He needs to remember his buffs and potential stratagems; they could have been a lot worse. Gravis captain lumbered down and butchered my scouts who were tangling up his tac squad. Might not have earned his points back, but he helped anchor that flank. His intercessors held his hill well. One thing of note was he was counts-as experimenting with a power fist on the sarge. Especially on a salamander with a re-roll, that has a lot of potential. A bit overkill on the one wound left Lt. who came over to play, but a nice option.
The 2018 goals were: 1 Finish painting the odds and ends from my friend's SOB army that I worked on. Just a handfull of arcoflagelents, spare immolater weapons, some IGHQs. Hard Fail 2 Paint more then I buy. 58/58 Win! 3 Paint At least 12 spare bits. I've magetized a number of things, painted the primary set up, but never get around to doing the other options. 12/12 Another vicorry 4 Try to get more games in. Optimally 24, with at least some being AoS. 19/24 calling this a soft fail. Last year I got in 27 games. Being farther from my preferred FLGS hurts a lot here. 5 Update my blog at least once a week, and maintain a consistent pace of work (1 mini a week). Going strong 6 Get my Eldar army to a larger level, 2 more full squads minimum, aiming to be more comfortable at 2k. Done! The CA18 point drops make this a little close, but still a win 7 Enter and finish an entry every month for the painting challenge. If the monthly challenge stops, enter at least one comp in the year. In addition, paint something odd from the back of the bench a/o try out a new technique every month. Calling this one good. While I might not have cleared as much backlog, or pushed new skills as far as I’d like, solid progress was made on both.
5/2 this year. Not bad. 5/1/1 if I’m being kind about getting games in. I hardly got out to the FLGS at all. My only non-floorhammer vs. The Boy game was the AoS2 launch. I need to get out more. That said, I’ve been actually getting in a decent number of board game nights in with friends, so while not 40k, that helps. In theory this is the year of plastic sisters. I need to dust off the old pile and clean that out. Maybe I can knock the first goal off this year. Or at least claim a partial.
Next year we mostly recycle again. 1 Finish painting the odds and ends from my friend's SOB army that I worked on. Just a handfull of arcoflagelents, spare immolater weapons, some IGHQs. 2 Paint more then I buy. 3 Paint At least 12 spare bits. I've magetized a number of things, painted the primary set up, but never get around to doing the other options. 4 Try to get more games in. Optimally 24, with at least some being AoS. 5 Update my blog at least once a week, and maintain a consistent pace of work (1 mini a week). 6 Get my Deathwatch army to a larger level, 2 more full squads minimum, aiming to field an allied battalion (2HQ, 3Troops) and 1,000 points. 7 Enter and finish an entry every month for the painting challenge. If the monthly challenge stops, enter at least one comp in the year. In addition, paint something odd from the back of the bench a/o try out a new technique. 8 Buy, build, and/or paint at least one piece of terrain.
1-5 remain unchanged. 3 might be a little rough, as a lot of the bits I need are already done. Still quite a backstock. Deathwatch take over from Eldar in 7. Frankly, I might finish that by the end of the month. Tightened up the wording on 7. The new technique/back of the bench every month was a little optimistic. Plus I’m running out of new techniques I can try (and keep my armies looking uniform). As I play more floorhammer, I’m feeling the need for some new terrain. I’m thinking of picking up a playmat or two, and building up a pair of themed tables. One will be a frozen Imperial refining outpost, the other an overgrown Eldar maiden world. Long term to get both up an running, but it’s not going to happen unless I start.
I’ll add more inventory and concrete plans later. Need to grab some food and put another layer down. Started painting the second DWKT for the monthly competition. Already got the fist black down on two guys.
Edit: Part 2, where we look forward to the New Year.
Here is the section from last year, with comments.
Spoiler:
So lets take a quick inventory of what’s primed. It’s a larger pile then I can get through in a year, and will be added to. But a baseline is nice to have.
Quick count is at 76 things. Although the volume of bits is impressive.
Before I start to survey the pile of shame, some thoughts on what’s at the top of the to-do list from the primed selection. One of the Eldar bike squads needs to happen. My goal is two new painted squads, but honestly the WL/WG are probably going to be those. I do want to make some inroads into the backstock though. done The salamanders need to be done by the end of March. Goal is to have them finished for The Boy’s birthday. done The Hunter is tentatively my Feb painting project.nope. Due to moving, did the Lt.s instead. From a “I’d like to see them on the table” POV, the JP LT, Guiliman, and the repulsor are all on the short list for paint. All Painted
The Pile of Shame: I’m not doing a full inventory. That way lies madness. Stuff most likely to see life:
The rest of my DI box(es). 5 more hellblasters, 2x3 of the jump guys, 2 gravis captains (one at least) 7 intercessors Hellblasters, 1 grav, 5 intercessors, 1 jump sarge still on sprue. 3 inceptors built and painted, 2 built. 1 grav built and painted, 2 intercesors built, one painted 5 scouts (probably mostly shotguns, with a new sarge) Built and painted the sarge and a pair of shotgunners, couple guys still on sprue Centurions. No idea how to build them in 8th.[color]red]nope. Point drop help, maybe this year[/color] The new SC:Eldar box. With the WG/WL being at the top of the list, and the seer and the walker being lower down. WL/WG built painted, WW, built More Undead. 5 more hexwraiths, more skeletons. nope Cypher, as a 30k Moritat gunslinger HQ. nope I think I’ve got about 15-20 assorted power armor bodies I could work with. Mix of Mk III, IV, and modern. No major projects in mind. Had some 30k thoughts, but those are back burnered. nope, might joing the Deahwatch I’ve got JPs for the destroyers that need cleanup and magnets. nope I’ve got parts to make 2 apothecaries. One was going to be on a bike, the other JP (for 30k). With bike apoths only in the index, I’m a bit wary of building new legacy models. Might do it anyway. nope
Things on my to-buy list Wave Serpent. At least 1. bought and built Another SC:Eldar box. Would solve my dithering on how to build things.bought and built the WL
Scout bikers. I’ve always liked them, and 8th has been kind to them. Spare bits would also be useful for building the 5 normal scouts I have already.nope Another Razorback? Pred? Primaris HQs? I’m honestly running out of things I need/covet. Doubling up on things I only have 1 of is sotra where I’m at.nope
More skeletons. The goal is to be able to put down 3x40 man blocks. Not quite there (but close)nope Zombie Dragon. Right now I’m using my old WE dragon, but the actual model is quite nice (and plastic!)nope 50mm bases to convert random old minis into spirit hosts.nope
And of course, all the new shiny things that come out over the year. The only things that I consider “new” is the Nighthaunts (and to a lesser extent the blind box marines, but Santa bought those). Other than that, new minis was a pair of SC boxes (Eldar, Deathwatch), 10 intercessors. OK, there are a few more, but those get classed as “gifts” even if one was self-purchased w/ a birthday gift card. Aggressors, Dire Avengers, Primaris captain, 5 reivers. But I don’t think any of those were new this year.
The primed pile is looking pretty thin. This last year I was pretty good about building->priming->painting. Not a lot of stuff that’s not listed from last year. A handful of Deathwatch mostly.
Stuff on the shortlist to build/paint this year:
Finish building the SC:Eldar boxes. That’s the other WW, a squad of axe WG, and at least one of the seers. Build the DA box, with at least half an eye on some specialists for KT. Paint the WS, at least one other unit.
Finish building the primaris for 2 full Fortis kill teams. That’s going to be the agressors and reivers for now. Build at least 10 PA vets. These guys are going to have an eye for crunch. SB/SS or chainsword vets to fill out squads, heavy weapons, at least one VV, probably two. Kitbash a watchmaster Paint the Ven Dread, at least 10 brothers.
Build, prime, and paint an undead unit for October.
Paint at least one of the UM vehicles that’s been sitting in the pile for too long now. Buy and paint Calgar and his Victrix HG.
Potential buys: Same undead stuff as last year. Some skeletons, zombie dragon, ghost bases Calgar, scout bikes for Ultras. Maybe a few intercessors for sarge options and to kitbash optional gear captains (powerfist/plas pistol) Don’t really need a whole lot. Some Hellblasters to add some heat to the kill teams. Maybe a few more intercessors. KT Cassius for fun. Maybe a razor or another dread.
youwashock wrote: You have to admire this level of planning and dedication. Bravo.
If I didn’t put some effort into goals and summaries, I’d never get anything done.
Copying some lists from the front page before I give do the yearly reset.
Resolutions are a couple of posts back, I’ll not repeat them.
Money spent on the hobby: $406.50
Spoiler:
SC: Eldar $72.25 -Gift Cards-
2x Paint Handle $16
KR Kaiser 2 w/1 KRU of foam (other box went to The Boy) $110
Sold 5 Custodes from BoP. -$20
10 man intercessors $54.50 -Gift Cards-
Nighthaunt side of AoS box $50
SC: Deathwatch $78.00
Superglue $2.50
3x Paint $12
Thumbtacks for magnetization project $1.25
200x 2mm magnets $10
New x-acto blades $10
Games played: 17/0/2 (Green are vs. The Boy. Wanted to track them)
Spoiler:
Ultramarines vs. Salamanders, Win
Eldar vs. Salamanders, Win
Ultramarines vs. Salamanders, Win
Ultramarines vs. Salamanders, Loss
Eldar vs. Salamanders, Win
Ultramarines vs. Salamanders, Win
Eldar vs. Salamanders, Win
Ultramarines vs. Salamanders, Win
Ultramarines vs. Salamanders, Loss
Death vs. Order, Win
Eldar vs. Salamanders, Win
Kill Team: Ultramarines vs. Salamanders, Win
Kill Team: Ultramarines vs. Salamanders, Win
Kill Team: Ultramarines vs. Salamanders, Win
Eldar vs. Salamanders, Win
Kill Team: Ultramarines vs. Salamanders, Win
Kill Team: Eldar vs. Salamanders, Win
Kill Team: Deathwatch vs. Deathwatch, Win
Ultramarines vs. Salamanders, Win
As it’s the new year, I’ve taken off the santa hat and updated the avatar. Might do a closer crop, I just wanted to get this up quick before we got to far into the year. I also need to pick out my top 5 models for the year. Probably should have done that before I reshelved everything.
Automatically Appended Next Post: OK, top 5. Let's try this. From most favorite down.
Primaris Captain
Knight of Shrouds
Wraithlord
JP Lt.
Now here is where we run into trouble. Those 4 are above the threshold of “I’m really happy with the way he turned out, like the mini a lot” Below that is “I did a good job on this one, solid work I can be proud of” The sytheguard, all the members of the Deathwatch squad, and the lantern ghost all sit here. I don’t know if I could pick out members of those squads to hold above the others. Rather then have a massive tie for 5th, I think I’m just going to call it a top 4 list this year.
Very nice work for the year. I'd say you did pretty well. You got in plenty of games with your son, too, so that's always nice I'm sure. Hopefully he starts winning more of them soon; I always root for him when you post your little battle reports!
Been putting a layer down mostly every day this week. Plugging along at a decent pace. Might try to finish them up today and start on the next pair. Goal is to bang out all 5 guys in the KT for the competition.
Need to get some more building done. Not sure where to start.
Placed an order for Calgar. He’ll show up someday soon-ish.
Given some thought on how I want to do terrain. I think I’m initially going to go with a snow table. I’ve had my eye on an arctic 6x4 mat for a while now, might pull the trigger and pick it up. There is a cool doublesided one out there, with grasslands on the back, but once you factor in shipping from Europe, it’s a little cost prohibitive. The one I’m looking at it is on Amazon, has free shipping, much better.
So my thought was to do a frozen ruin/refinery/outpost. So what do I need? Obviously it’s not going to happen overnight. This is probably going to be a multi-year project as I slowly add things. From a game POV, I need at least one nice LoS blocker, probably some hills, and a few batches of cover.
Now for the tricky parts. I don’t want to spend a huge amount of cash, so bundle deals are a good thing. I still have a chunk of gift cards on Amazon, so things I can grab there have priority. Things like the KT starter might be good for the ruins, but I don’t really need the guys in the box. Something like the SMKT box looks a little better, as I could put 5 more reivers to use as well as the stacks. Something like that, plus another similar kit for more refinery parts (and pipes) would help give the outpost its purpose. Some ruins would flesh out the outpost and add needed cover for game play. Maybe some containers and some woods. A sheet of insulation foam could be turned into hills and ice crystal formations. The just-leaked GSC drill/gantry would make a great focal point for the table.
Thoughts, opinions, advice?
Automatically Appended Next Post: Some Deathwatch planning:
I have the following DW shoulder pads: 5 TDA 12 reg. PA pads (one is not a full pad, but close enough from the GK kit) 11 Mk. 8 pads from the DW kit itself.
Most of the Mk. 8 pads are still on full DW vet sprues from the SC box.
TDA pads: 3 agressors (have kit) 1 inceptor (last from the DI box) 1 unclaimed
Reg pads: 5 reivers (have kit) 2 Vanguard Vets (have JPs, will kitbash from spare bodies) 5 Mk. III stormbolter/chainsword vets (SBs from the BaC capheracti terminators)
If I use the TDA pad somewhere, that frees up one more PA pad. I do have an unbuilt bike still on sprue. That might take the last of the pads. Fallback, shoot, charge does sound saucy and fun.
Other thoughts that might be more long-term.
I’ve got a lot of spare MLs kicking around. Building a DWDev squad might not be a bad idea. I kinda like the idea of combat squadding 3 bikes and 2 VV off to roam around and kill things while the sarge and the MLs sit back and shoot stuff. That would require more bikes. And more shoulder pads to make another 10 guys.
A JP captain would give me a re-roll bubble to drop down with teleported squads. Or a TDA captain.
So long term things to buy: another accessory sprue 3 bike box AM/VV box? I really like the running legs. This could provide parts for a DWJP captain, the DWVV, and 2 more characters, either for DW or my Ultras. Not required, but could be fun. 5 hellblasters to add some forward AV to the foris KTs.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Next step is the second black pass, then the edges and highlights. Plus a bit more work on the chapter pads. But I’ve had enough painting for one day, time for an adult beverage and a movie.
I did move the aggressors over to the workspace. Going to start getting them together. Good project for the morning when I’m drinking my coffee and don’t want to do detail work.
Finished the grey on the AGL guy. So he’s waiting to be based, and probably a double-check pass to see if I missed anything.
1st Agressor is built. Left the chapter pad off for easy painting. Plus, as there is a decent chance I’m going to be freehanding on it, the ability to swap for a clean slate.
Moved the knife weilding BT down to the ready position. Will start slapping paint down him next.
youwashock wrote:Oh, sweet. Looking forward to seeing how your DW scheme looks on that Aggressor.
Sometimes the same scheme changes due to the model. These guys have more armor plates and a little more bling than the basic guys. Will be interesting. Going to be a while, I need to wait until spring to prime.
Crimson_ wrote:Really cool Deathwatch! I like 'em
I’m quite fond of them myself. With the exception of all the grey edges, which I hate doing but look nice. Going to be a lot of Deathwatch this year, I suspect they will outnumber the Ultras across the paintbench.
Productive weekend. These guys are ready for the grey lining. Just the Space Wolf left for the squad and the month’s not half over.
Also built another aggressor. One more to go, but two was what I need short term. I’ll still probably do the last guy now so I can clip the spare bits off the sprue and tidy away everything. After that I think I’ll build some DW vets with some fancy toys.
Sorry guys, I’ve been bad. I hate the edgeing, and it’s been keeping me away from the bench. Plus odd chores and the like. I’ll try to get one done tomorrow. If I can get one off the handle, I can start the last guy in the squad. I also have Monday off, so hopefully a long weekend will make for some solid progress.
The postman left me a present today:
So starts the pile of shame additions for 2019. And as I havn’t based and formally finished the first two deathwatch, that puts me at 0/3 for my paint more than I buy goal.
You might not like the grey edging, but you’ve got it down pat.
You may have said it before, but what primer do you use? Is it the Corax white? Looks very smooth and solid, I never have good experience with primers, but I have not tried the Corax yet.
Theophony wrote: You might not like the grey edging, but you’ve got it down pat.
You may have said it before, but what primer do you use? Is it the Corax white? Looks very smooth and solid, I never have good experience with primers, but I have not tried the Corax yet.
Nothing so fancy. Rustolium from Home Despot. Old pic, probably a few cans ago, but the same stuff I’ve been using since I had a bad run with the Armory brand.
Just finished the assembly on the Flesh Tearer, did the grey this afternoon. He’s awaiting the final pass for touch ups, then to be based with the rest of the squad. Space Wold is progressing with his basecoats. Last aggressor is clipped and cleaned, and partially assembled. Mostly just the arms and gunbelts left.
Hope everyone enjoys their weekend. If your weather is anything like mine, be careful on the roads out there. We’re supposed to be getting a foot of snow overnight and another foot tomorrow. Glad I don’t need to be anywhere until work Tuesday morning.
Finished building the aggressors
Chapter pads left off for painting. The “sarge” was built using only some of the parts that should denote him. Mostly just the torso. So if I do field them alone as a squad, he’s in charge, but most of the time he’s just another one of the guys. DW are allowed a little extra bling being vets and all. The shoulder pad is generic enough I’m going to pick some random colors and pretend it’s a chapter badge, and not sarge’s markings.
SW is almost done with basecoats. Next is drybrush and the washes.
As I have one handle free I’m wondering what I should move to the paint station. Part of me thinks I should leave it empty for a bit to focus on building. The other part thinks I should move some back burner stuff down just to keep things moving. Like the RTB01 bolter boys that have been sitting around. Or actually dredge up where the SoB stuff is hiding. That would probably the responsible thing to do.
SW just got his second black coat. Touch-ups and grey left. Probably go over the whole squad to check for spots I’ve missed.
Cargar built. Two major parts for painting, plus the head and gunbelts. I’l probably do the Victrix guard next. But think I need to time resting before heading back to the bench.
Dug up two arco-flagelenets to work on. Once the DW is off the stand, they will be next.
Nice work on the DW. I wonder if I should Primarisise the DW box I have?
I'll be interested to see how Primarneus turns out not sure about that model, has potential iand s less over blinged than the Terminator version. Where you thinking helmet on or off? Something about the Deus ex machina thing (like all the Primaris lore) annoys me though. Calgar, 2nd only to the Primarch himself in achievement, has to 'improve' himself? And he just has to have a few Primaris smoothies and he wakes up 2' taller?
Yah, I’m not happy with the fluff. Space Marines have been doing fine for 10k some-odd years. Sure primaris might be better/stronger/faster than old school ones, but is it worth risking the centuries of experience Calgar had for an edge? The procedure was very risky per bits I’ve picked up (haven’t read any new novels). I understand that Calgar was having a bit of a “why am I here” moment. With the primarch back, why does he need a chapter master?
But the model is cool, the rules are good, and he’s plastic. I was planning on the helmet, but might clean and prime the other head as well. As much as I hate painting flesh, I do think HQs stand out better with bare heads.
Anyway, some paint:
All done bar the bases. Put the black rims on those who needed them, next step is the white top and glueing down rocks and tufts. Probably won’t flock them today, but that doesn’t take that long.
Killteam Zephyr. Specializing in lighting strikes and rapid redeployments, as befits his White Scar heritage, Brother-Sergeant Zephyr has forged his kill team into an aggressive blade, ready to cut the heart out of the xenos.
Eventually I might get around to naming everyone in the team, but they are really more designed for use in 40k, not KT. Their battle-brothers over in Killteam Solari are the guys specd for that job. Although the BT or Fleshtearer could take on the combat specialty, and the Wolf would make a good scout, two roles I didn’t build for in that killteam. With the exception of the Brazen Claw, the squad is composed of aggressive, in your face chapters. So they get the auto bolt rifles and get to charge up the battlefield. Eventually they will get the back half of the squad in the form of some aggressors, inceptors, and reivers in some combination.
Grey edges are always a pain. Getting better at them, but still not a fan of the actual process. Shoulderpads should add more color to the squad. One problems is that two of my chapters (BT, FT) are basically black and white, the Brazen Claw is fairly subdued, and I already use a bit of red as an accent color. Space Wolf gets to get some yellow on, with a bit from the WS as well. As I branch out into adding more to the squad, I need to brighten things up a bit.
Of the squad I’m most proud of how the sarge came out. Fun to build, and I think I did a decent job on him.
First guys done for the year. 3/5 bought/painted. So far, so good.
The cluster pic is an artifact of the format. It’s characterful, but doesn’t showcase the minis as well as I’d like. But the competition restricts us to 6 pictures, and I like keeping everything in a neat square. The program I use (PhotoScape X) only has so many templates available, especially if you are using the free version like I am. There just aren’t any good ways to have one long pic where I can have the squad lined up and still have individual shots.
I’d like to have the back half of the squad built and ready for spring. Agressors are done, just need to build the reivers, and maybe that last inceptor.
Besides the edgeing, I’m having fun with these guys. And frankly I’m edgeing everything these days, so it’s not just them.
Technically getting this squad done lets me field a battalion of DW. 2x5 man intercessors, my old vet squad, Artemis, and my librarian. Still a bit of work to get it up to 1,000 points, but I think that’s going to be my primary focus for the year.
It will be interesting as I progress to see what I can do with the sculpted pads. Some have multiple chapters that can be done easy, others, not so much.
But I could do something like carve the box off the white scars pad and add some other detail to the lightning bolt. Or shave the blood drop off the flesh tearer and add something to the center there. Ad hoc some successors out of what we get.
Well, I came to check in on Deathwatch, and they look fantastic. Your black method is tedious, but very effective... and I love the pose on Sgt. Zephyr.
But in checking on them I realized I'd missed some of Advent, so all the way back I went. So many great classic models! The cigar chomping Guard Officer was a favorite of mine, probably one of my first well-painted models from my later teen years. I wish I'd kept him.
And bourbon balls! My Dad's signature holiday cookie. I took a box to the staff room at the ski lodge where I worked as a snowboarding instructor and left them with a note saying they were pretty strong and should be left until after work. They were gone by the time the first group of lessons rolled out at 9am and I saw instructors munching them our of their pockets all morning.
MacPhail wrote: Well, I came to check in on Deathwatch, and they look fantastic. Your black method is tedious, but very effective... and I love the pose on Sgt. Zephyr.
But in checking on them I realized I'd missed some of Advent, so all the way back I went. So many great classic models! The cigar chomping Guard Officer was a favorite of mine, probably one of my first well-painted models from my later teen years. I wish I'd kept him.
And bourbon balls! My Dad's signature holiday cookie. I took a box to the staff room at the ski lodge where I worked as a snowboarding instructor and left them with a note saying they were pretty strong and should be left until after work. They were gone by the time the first group of lessons rolled out at 9am and I saw instructors munching them our of their pockets all morning.
This blog has it all.
I endeavor to keep a high quality level blogging. Glad you enjoy it!
On the bourbon balls, they might seem really strong, but at least my recipe has 1/4 cup of bourbon across about 2 dozen balls. So even if you scarfed back an entire batch in under an hour, you still probably are not going to be legacy drunk. YMMV depending on the proof of the booze used; break out the bonded and things could get fun fast.
Some hobby progress this morning. Not much, but I did clip the victrix guard off the sprues and tried some dry fitting. Normally I like to leave the cloaks off for painting, but I don’t think that can happen here. Due to the way the arms are draped and the way things fit together, these guys are going to have to be either fully assembled, or left almost entirely in parts. If left in parts, there would probably be a lot of ugly seems. So fully assembled it will be. Will make painting a bit tricky, but there is the old adage that if you can’t get a brush there, you can’t see it anyway.
Just updated my battlescribe roster for my collection: 13,147 roughly in Ultras, 617 in Deathwatch, 3,179 in Eldar
Nevelon wrote: On the bourbon balls, they might seem really strong, but at least my recipe has 1/4 cup of bourbon across about 2 dozen balls. So even if you scarfed back an entire batch in under an hour, you still probably are not going to be legacy drunk. YMMV depending on the proof of the booze used; break out the bonded and things could get fun fast.
Living in Colorado, everything dries out while you work... model paint, cookie dough, etc. So my solution is that as the dough gets too crumbly to roll into balls, I keep splashing more and more booze from the bottle into the batch just to keep it workable. Things do get fun... just keep them away from the kids.
Nevelon wrote: On the bourbon balls, they might seem really strong, but at least my recipe has 1/4 cup of bourbon across about 2 dozen balls. So even if you scarfed back an entire batch in under an hour, you still probably are not going to be legacy drunk. YMMV depending on the proof of the booze used; break out the bonded and things could get fun fast.
Living in Colorado, everything dries out while you work... model paint, cookie dough, etc. So my solution is that as the dough gets too crumbly to roll into balls, I keep splashing more and more booze from the bottle into the batch just to keep it workable. Things do get fun... just keep them away from the kids.
Interesting, the recipe I have starts too wet and I need to add more dry ingredients to make it workable. Mind sharing yours?
Some hobby progress from yesterday: Finished up tweedledum and tweedledee and added them to the to-prime pile. While they look cool, not happy with the models. The parts that make up the arms/cloaks were not integrated well. Sometimes they have to have the cape in bits, but the joins are in a fold, or along a smooth part, so the seem is either hidden or easy to clean. Not here. Big right angle joins along rippled fabric. Hopefully cleaned them up enough that they will not be noticeable. Also the shoulder trim suffered from bad angles and no undercuts in plastic, so soft transitions needed to be sharpened up a touch.
Nice mix of stuff in the pile. Probably not a lot more Ultras going to be joining, but more DW and Eldar. We’ll see how big it gets before the rattle can comes out in spring.
Edit: Update: Just clipped the reivers off the sprue and got them ready for cleaning. Going with bare heads and carbines for the lot of them. Need to think of something to help the sage stand out enough if I want to field them alone, but not so much that he can blend in if I’m just fleshing out squads. Might just be a few extra purity seals.
Whenever I look at a group of minis in a pic, I think “who would win?” Normally just those big displays they splash in the codexes/WDs, but seeing the disparate minis in the pile triggered it. All 3 factions in the prime pile there are pretty evenly matched, point wise. Both the Eldar and DW are just shy of 300 points, while Calgar and the boys are a little light at 264. That’s assuming the Eldar don’t dig into the box there and pull out some of the spare heavy weapons to upgrade their shurican cannons. Getting a bit of a rock/paper/scissor feel from the matchup. The eldar have the speed to keep the range open, but nothing but shurican cannons to use there. The DW ven dread will open them up at distance. The agressors have enough dakka to bury Calgar, but if he gets to punch, things die. The WL’s CC is in big solid chunks, which Calgar is good at soaking.
I think the only way to decide this is to add more models until one side has a decisive advantage.
A whole lot of stuff I’m “meh” on painting. Started to put some basecoats on the blenders. I had started years ago and lost interest. Going to finish this time. Although they might get knocked off the painting handles to make room for the LotD counts-as. I painted the other 2 guys in the squad years ago, time to polish them off. The rules have changed since I built them, so it’s not even a legal load-out anyway. As a cherry on top, I put the wrong gun on the sarge. It’s a regular grav gun, not a combi-grav. Magnetized, so not a big deal. Also not a huge fan of the paint job I went with. But I needed them to look distinct enough from the rest of my Ultras so I didn’t confuse them. As LotD, they don’t get the Chapter tactics, or auras/etc these days.
I tried to clean up the rievers while playing some Civ earlier this week, but the light at my computer desk sucks, and I’d have to find a free plug of a lamp and space to clamp it. So that stalled out. Maybe today.
youwashock wrote:The chaps with the shields are quite intriguing.
RandyMcStab wrote:Is that an Ork plasma cannon of old?
Heresy!
Yup. It’s a relic alright. I needed a decent over the shoulder heavy weapon, and didn’t have a lot of options. I should probably stick a purity seal on it to make sure it’s OK.
I’m almost afraid to dig back into the depths of the blog to figure out when I built them. At the time I would have preferred a MM, but didn’t have the bits. I should also think about how to field them in modern 40k. I put enough magnets in them for weapon swaps, so LotD might still be viable. Or DW or company vets. Dirt cheep SSs is very tempting, and they have them.
I still need to finish stripping some of my old ones. The motivation to get them prepped for 30k just kind of withered away. Still enjoy getting them to the field when I can. Like yesterday.
vs.
A relic servo-skull emerges from a webway gate, two forces rush to claim it.
Go!
He gets first turn, I fail to seize. His long range fire drop my ven dread and kills some sternguard.
I think I kill a guy or two, and carve a little less than half the wounds off the repulsor. Not the best response.
Salamanders storm the hill, and lay hands on the prize. My Ironclad get destroyed, and I think a few other random guys. Maybe some wounds off the pred.
I pour more fire into the repulsor, and bring it down to 6 wounds; still the middle bracket, but getting close. My terminators, jump captain, and tac squad deploy on the flank of the hill and shoot parts of it clear. The tacticals rush into CC to finish the job, but the new arrivals fail their long charges.
His turn 3 is spent mostly butchering the tacs, and bouncing shots off of hard targets.
My turn 3 starts with me putting the last wounds on the replusor, and having it blow up cataclysmically, shredding everything on the hill. My remaining fire sweeps up the survivors.
(as with most games, the exact timing of the turns tends to blend together, that might have been turn 4)
The later part of the game involves our more-or-less intact firebases sweeping the hill clear as we send in boots to try to grab the objective.
At the bottom of 5, I would have won.
But we go another turn.
He has a lot of targets, but a lot of firepower and an intact intercessor squad coming up the hill. He blows up my rhino, but lacks the firepower to finish off my scout squad or techmarine. The intercessors multi-charge to end it with swords and knives. The tech goes down under weight of attacks, and one scout falls, but the scout sarge holds. One of the intercessors joins the emperor, but the remaining troops consolidate on the scout, grabbing the objective in the process. There is no way the sarge can cut his way out of that mess in time, so he falls back and I hope I can shoot them clear. No luck. Game ends turn 6, Victory Salamanders.
Fresh paint:
The Boy ran the repulsor with all the Lascannons. I’d just been running it dakka. Sure, it was 300 points, but I think it made those back. Some cold dice on my part helped it live an extra turn.
We were playing the beta bolter rule. I think it served the camping sternguard well, don’t know if anyone else benefited much. My intercessors a little, the SBs on tanks. In a SM vs. SM fight, any gains are going to be roughly equal.
He was fielding my DW intercessors are vanilla w/bolt rifles. That said, Kill Team Zephyr won the day by storming the webway portal and claiming the prize. Not bad for their first outing.
Looked like a good game! I've yet to give the new bolter rule a try in a game, I wonder how good it could be if you geared up a list specifically for it and what codex could make most use out of it.
The bolter rule doesn’t increase your max firepower, just lets you project it better. Honestly, I’m so used to operating in rapid fire range it’s almost a non-issue. Helps camping squads, and when you kill your primary target putting fire on secondaries.
Some progress:
Every time I pick up the brush I see a spot I missed. Lots of going back and forth on these guys. I’d say I’m done with the basecoats and am on to the washes/drybrushes (done with them, actually) but I missed at least one beige spot, and then the metallic blue on the backpacks never got done. Plus the 3rd guy and the guns.
I’ll probably go dark next week (not that I’ve been posting a lot this one). Going on vacation, and internet might be spotty. Even if I do have it, I should be spending time with family. Definitely no painting progress. And once I get back it’s going to be a mad sprint to finish these guys for the competition. Short month and all that.
I’m back. And the month is almost over. Put down the last of the basecoats on those two, and the green wash on the grenades. Next step is another blue and black coats.
I’ll try to grab some more pics after I get some more paint down. Right now I’m staggering around sorting stuff out from my trip while being a hurting unit from a bad allergic reaction from sunscreen. I figure if I alternate paint and laundry I should be able to make a productive day out of it.
While I have seen many battle reports with Marines versus Marines...it is only the battle between you and your son where I see two forces painted in such a similar pattern/colour.
While I have seen many battle reports with Marines versus Marines...it is only the battle between you and your son where I see two forces painted in such a similar pattern/colour.
Cheers,
CB
I keep pushing him to paint more, but he likes building better, and would rather vegetate watching stuff than paint. He’s got some time management issues. I’d love for him to be able to field an army of his own painted stuff, but until then he borrows half my army. Sometimes his units make guest appearances. One of the perks of having a 13k+ point collection is the ability to put multiple viable armies down. Sometimes we do fight over who gets what, as there are a number of unique things in my collection. I should just start defaulting all those to “Me” If he wants a jump captain, he can paint his own to field.
So some paint:
These guys are almost done. Basing is next, and touching up any spots I missed. Started putting layers down on the last guy and the guns. Don’t know what will be finished in time; hopefully I can get them all done. I’ve got a lot of other crap going on this week, so time will tell. Also need to pick out some marines for next month.
Ok, finished with the comp for the month.
Not happy with them, but they are done.
Full squad:
And with that, we finish up a year of the comp.
Spoilerd due to size:
Spoiler:
While ending on a low note, I’m quite happy overall.
Lower volume than previously. Only hit the full 5 model cap 3 times, 6 entries at three, and 3 singletons. That said, two of those 3x months (Oct, Nov) were triple characters, so not just squad filler. And 2/3rds of the singletons were centerpiece models, the last being a technical challenge.
Highest ranked in the polls was the Nighthaunt, with the Killteam being my second best work. I’ll agree with that Overall I think a higher quality of work from the year before. Still a few phoned in entries, a chunk of solid table-top production work, and a nice spread of actual quality.
Diversity was way up. Huge range of subjects. Even those from the same army were different enough that the scheme was not identical.
From a new technique POV, not a lot, but a few things. Guiliman’s flaming sword was the first time I’ve actually tried to follow an online tutorial, even if I did mod it a little at the end. The Nighthaunt were a refinement of my undead spectral technique I started on Manfred the year before. Getting that set before I start cranking out more spooks (which I should get back to).
But on to year 5(!)
The last of my primed intercessor squads. Still 5 more DI to build.
Great work this year Nev, I've said it before but I really like your Nighthaunt Heros, the colours you have really work well together and the ethereal blue comes out really well.
You are very generous lending your army out, good you still get a game though
I’d really like The Boy to get more paint on his own stuff, if just so he can start fielding more of his own units. As long as he can freely use my stuff that’s one less drive to finish painting. I know one of my main motivations for getting paint on stuff is so I can get it to the table and start purging the foes of mankind. I should also really head to the local store and try to get games in there. Just no motivation to drive an hour each way on a workday to get games in at the FLGS I was frequenting.
I think I might build some more nighthaunts next. Got to make sure I’ve got a squad on deck for next October. But I also want to build more deathwatch. Decisions, decisions...
Speaking of which, some progress:
Got back to cleaning up and building the reivers. 3 cleaned and in the process of being build, 2 more just clipped. The intercessors should be done with the wash/drybrush stage. Need their second blue and a solid cleanup pass.
I’m a bit torn on the Shadowspear box. Zero interest in the chaos side. On the marine side, it’s still a lot of hit/miss. Librarian is awesome. Captain is not bad, LT is not doing anything for me. The rules on the Cpt/Lt. are pretty lame. Some simple gear swaps would help a lot, but GW’s rules are against that these days. Snipers look very nice, would grab those in a heartbeat. Not really feeling the suppressors. I saw a mock up photoshop of an intercessor with a jump pack and the autocannon arms that looked much better than the actual models. I figure I could probably kitbash some ACs out of HBs and some plastic tubes. Infiltrators are not bad. I like their rules, seem like a nice scout supplement. Models look fine.
But at that price point, is there enough to justify the box? I’d basically be picking it up for the Librarian, snipers, and the infiltrators. Even if I could find someone to split the box with, that’s a hard sell for the budget. Might actually have to break my rule about not visiting e-bay and see if I can get the bits I need for something reasonable. Or just wait/hope that full multipart kits come out and just grab those.
I’m sure full modular sets will come out soon (6months or so), so far I’ve stayed away from 40K for a few years, and even this box is not bringing me back. I’d be in for the Chaos side, but budget wise I know that’s a slippery slope and I’d be dropping hundreds down that hole.
Does your old FLGS have a list of players? If so maybe some of them are closer to you than the store and you could meet up at a house or somewhere. Just an idea.
Can't justify Shadowspear, myself. Chaos isn't for me anymore, and the Marines would just be more guys in the unpainted pile. I don't work fast enough to add that many models at once. Theo is most likely correct. Wait for separate kits.
I know there are players in the area, just hard to get out of my rut, be social, and find a game. It’s an issue, largely my fault. At heart I’m an introverted hermit.
Some progress from this weekend:
Reivers built. No helmets. While they might look cool on chaplains, not a fan of the skull faced helms here. Going helmetless with make them easier to pick out of a squad of intercessors. I think the new phobos armor marines killed my desire to grab some more of these guys for my Ultras. Unless reivers get some major buffs, their narrow niche is rapidly dwindling.
Not a lot of paint, the marines are still waiting for their second blue coat.
Second blue coats down and a few more details picked out for the two WIP marines. Also built the two blind pack marines I got.
Slow progress, but it’s there.
Also picked up some more frozen tufts
Automatically Appended Next Post: Edit:
So I have some reward points through work to burn, which can be spent for Amazon cards. Different program then before, and unlikely to be a steady stream. But I’ve been thinking about getting myself a 3d printer. A friend of mine recommended a Creality Ender 3 Pro. They run around $250, which while pricy is not out of my range. Anyone have any experience with them?
The sort of things I want to print are:
Terrain. Ruins, pipes, tanks, etc.
Shoulderpads. I’d love to be able to so some salamander ones for The Boy.
Icons. Stick to the side of tanks to liven them up a bit
Weapon options. Power axes, storm bolters, shields, etc.
Turret options. Things like a whirlwind turret, or fire prisms.
Considering the cost of filling a table with GW terrain, I could probably justify the price on that alone. I’m in no rush to pull the trigger and pick one up, but it’s on my radar. And grabbing one would open up a lot of doors. It is however a big unknown.
Nevelon wrote: I know there are players in the area, just hard to get out of my rut, be social, and find a game. It’s an issue, largely my fault. At heart I’m an introverted hermit.
I feel you, I'm much the same!
Regarding the 3D printer, I've heard and seen good things about Anycubic Photon (no experience with printing myself). It looks to be more expensive than the Ender 3, but I think it could work well for shoulder pads, icons and other small details. Luke Towan at Youtube uses it for his diorama details, which are pretty insane! Though I hear it stinks pretty bad..
Regarding the 3D printer, I've heard and seen good things about Anycubic Photon (no experience with printing myself). It looks to be more expensive than the Ender 3, but I think it could work well for shoulder pads, icons and other small details. Luke Towan at Youtube uses it for his diorama details, which are pretty insane! Though I hear it stinks pretty bad..
From what I hear the resin based printers are probably better for mini work, but also require goopy chemicals, more cleanup and waste, smell bad, and are more expensive both to buy and run. As an entry level thing, I want to stick with a filament based printer. Thanks for the recommendation though.
Hobby update:
Put the blue wash down on the two intercessors. Next step is edges and touch-ups. Also clipped bits for 4 DW vets, 1 infernus HB, 3x frag cannons. Add some teeth to my old vet squad.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Just need the final assembly and bases done. Put the first blue down on the last guy. One down, three to go for the DW heavies.
I'm also very much the same on not getting out and playing games - I'm happy just sitting in my cave and painting. I've been invited to a gaming session next weekend by some folks I work with which I suppose is a decent way to get jolted out of the rut.
Regarding the 3D printer, I've heard and seen good things about Anycubic Photon (no experience with printing myself). It looks to be more expensive than the Ender 3, but I think it could work well for shoulder pads, icons and other small details. Luke Towan at Youtube uses it for his diorama details, which are pretty insane! Though I hear it stinks pretty bad..
From what I hear the resin based printers are probably better for mini work, but also require goopy chemicals, more cleanup and waste, smell bad, and are more expensive both to buy and run. As an entry level thing, I want to stick with a filament based printer. Thanks for the recommendation though.
I agree with this too. I just bought myself a 3d printer this weekend, and even though I know resin printers like the Photon will produce the best results for miniatures and mini components, I didn't want to jump into vats of resin for my first printer. I picked up the Anycubic i3 Mega since it got very good reviews, there was an offer on and I also figured that if I had a good experience with the brand it would give me more confidence in buying the Photon. So far I've only run a few test prints with the reel of PLA that came in the box, and I've been impressed. The assembly was minimal, pretty much just plug and play, and it's a sturdy well built machine. Just took a couple of minutes adjusting and levelling the bed, then started printing the test file. It worked fine first time, and since then I've printed a few small terrain bits I found on Thingiverse - a stack of barrels which I've printed in a couple of different layer heights just to get a feel for how the different layer heights come out in an actual print, and a set of walls so I can try out different post-processing methods.
I was trying to decide for a while whether to take the plunge or not, because I had the idea in my head that it would be a pain to set up, calibrate and troubleshoot, but I've not had any issues so far. No doubt some will arise in time, but it's been a good first few days.
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On the minis, yeah I'm not really into the skull faced helms on the Reivers. Problem is, I like all my models to wear helmets! If I ever build any I may have to substitute helmets from other kits.
The more I think about printers the more things I think I could do with it. Getting very tempted. Latest idea was to print bits to turn a spare farseer into a spritseer. Just need to really print up a staff head, although the back thing would be good as well.
Painting progress:
Almost done with the basecoats (and did the drybrush already) just need the red down. Other guys still waiting for decals and base work.
Good progress on the range of models you've got going. I'm tempted my Shadowspear myself for the Chaos stuff but the phobos pattern armour just doesn't do it for me outside of the snipers.
Tyranid Horde wrote:Good progress on the range of models you've got going. I'm tempted my Shadowspear myself for the Chaos stuff but the phobos pattern armour just doesn't do it for me outside of the snipers.
The thing that gets me, is that if I wait for kits to be available, a) they might never come out, and b) they’ll probably charge $30 for that librarian, and I refuse to pay that price for a single character model. But nothing in the box strikes me as a must-have tactically, so I’ll wait and take my chances.
Captain Brown wrote:Nevelon,
Your painting challenge marines are looking good, I have stalled on mine.
Cheers,
CB
We still have half a third of the month left, plenty of time! (I need to pick up the pace a bit, where did the month go!)
No pic, but I just put the last wash down on my remaining marine. Next step is the second blue, then the blue wash. After that, final touch ups, decals and bases.
Ready for the decals, then the flock. Plugging away at the DW heavies. The feel a little same-y, I might have the hits the bits box for a few extras to liven them up a bit. Models are already a bit busy, so might be rough to find a spot for something custom.
youwashock wrote: I had not noticed you had put a sword on the one chap. It looks quite cool.
For 4 points on a 3A model, how could I not?
Of the 4 intersessor sergeants I’ve built so far, all have swords. The 2 Ultras from the DI set have simple hand swaps from the old ravenwing accessory sprue, One of the DW has an VV relic blade, and the other DW has a whole arm from a tarterous terminator. The last DI sarge I have (still on sprue) will probably get a powerfist.
I’m quite fonds of how all of them turned out. I’ll be sure to get them together for a group shot once this one is done.
Speaking of which, finished decals and glued down tufts and rocks. Next step is to smear some flock around, but I need to allow plenty of time for the rocks to set. Might be this evening; we’ll see.
Listen up you primitive xenos, this is my boom-stick!
Special ammo can do a lot of things. But sometimes you need something with a little more kick. Enter these guys. 3 frag cannons for either cracking open tanks, or templates of doom, and one HB/HF for use in MW shenanigans. And purging. I hope when they re-do the SoB they give them infernus HBs. Seems the sort of thing that would turn them on.
Need to figure out what to build next. I should probably scrape some mold lines off some Nighthaunts to get them ready for October, but no real rush for that. Always more Eldar, Ultras, and Deathwatch that need some love as well. Thoughts?
Automatically Appended Next Post: Still need to smooth and work on the joins, but that needs to happen after the glue has completely set.
But here is what will be my top voted entry in this year’s comp (judging from prior Death entries) some spooks:
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Same base sarge as the guy I just painted. But instead of a hand swap for a sword, he got a whole new powerfist arm and a head swap.
The sarge was a little tricky to put together. One was finding a nice fist. That one is from the Mk. IV tacs in the BaC box. Seemed a bit more in scale for primaris. The next was posing. The helmet on his hip gets in the way of a lot of angles. I could have the fist with forward, up, or back. With the gun pose and motion of the figure, back seemed best. I probably could have adjusted the gun; he probably could have worked well with a gun pointing up, fist forward pose. Real easy to mod this sage though, as his arms and shoulders are separate from the torso, so it’s just a mater of finding suitable replacements.
DW are going to get a lot of punch once the rattlecan comes out. Heavy weapons, aggressors, and the dread. Plus some reivers and an inceptor. And that’s just the build stuff.
But next in the build queue is the second War Walker. I figured I’m going to want to field them as a pair, might as well get him built. Started clipping and glueing.
Finished with those 3. That brings my second Ultra squad up to a fieldable 5 man. I took a squad pic, but my photo program decided to choke somewhere in the download after telling the camera to erase them. I’ll grab some pics of all of them together sometime.
Speaking of the powerfist sarge above, here are his peers:
My favorite remains the Ultra with his sword out to the side. I think Sgt. Zepher, the White Scar takes second. Sgt. Solaris, the Novamarine takes third, with the new guy bringing up the rear. But I don’t dislike anyone; I think they are all solid works. Assuming I don’t screw up too bad, I think the powerfist sarge might be able to take second place. If I really knock him out of the park, he could upset my favorite. But that will take some work.
Glad I can help.
We sat down and worked out a 
I do need to do some repairs to the Mordheim buildings. I think I’ve got a few in parts somewhere. My terrain feels a little stretched on a full sized table, but does OK ok a 
Glad to have you reading. If you have any questions about previous things in the blog, feel free to ask. I tend to ramble and wander. 
). It's really cool, and is one example of why I love the older metal sculpts. They were just so characterful!
Started the base. Intercessor plugging along. Probably should have done more clean up on him. Looks like I forgot to drill his bolt rifle and his shoulder pads could have used a recarving. Oh well.
