Dread needs a little more details, and a lot of clean up. Plus all the other parts. Might not make it by the end of the month. I’ll be AFK next week, so just have the rest of this one to polish it off. Pressing to get the RTB01s done, which shouldn’t be an issue, as they just need some touch ups and bases/decals.
Sisters are actually progressing nicely. Need a little cleanup and some washes. Hooded robes means minimal face work, which helps a lot.
Random marine gets random colors when the right pot is open. He’ll get there.
Not shown but one varghest done being built. Not a bad model, but the head just is not the best connection. Two more to go. After that, blood knights.
Tommygun1918 wrote: Your sisters are looking good. I was not familiar with the Vargheist, needed to do a search.
It does looks interesting to paint.
They are a little off my vision of the army. For the most part, we have the noble vampire lord leading his loyal troops in a well organized fashion. Just a normal human army. They just happen to be already dead. I try to keep the inhuman oddities to a minimum. These guys I think are going to fill the niche that my old carrion did. Hang out on the fringes of the army, and let loose in the enemies’s backfield to wreck havok.
I suspect they are going to be painted like the meat-head thug version of these:
Spoiler:
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Beakies down, ready to base. Second vamp clipped. Making progress.
Thanks guys. I’ve made some good progress, will try to get some WIP shots later.
So if you missed out on the preview, it was probably one of the better ones they have done.
Krieg look awesome, but not my jam.
Old World Empire would probably hit me solid in the nostalgia if that was my thing. They were never popular in my area in the 5-6th WHFB, but one of my friends collected them, so some familiarity there.
Orruks are a minimal codex type release. Nice for those who need them, which is not me.
Gloomspite GIts. These guys are just awesome. My friend Phil played a (almost) pure gobbo army back in the day, so I have a lot of fondness for them. Not just the night goblins, but wolf riders. These guys look like a lot of fun. Not enough to get me to pick up another AoS army, but I might grab one as a painting project. Just to see Ublick ride again...
HH stuff is fine I guess. Never a fan of the dorito dread. More tanks and the shuttle.
And then just one more thing...
ELDAR
like all of it.
After the 9th dump of new kits I was honestly just expecting maybe one squad of aspects and a PL. Really just a codex+character phone it in. And would have been OK with that. But this should be the last of the finecast out of the line. Barring a few named characters who I think are range-rotated out. And Karandras who’s absence is notable since we just got plastic scorps.
We suspected new FD as we had the leaked PL.
But hawks and their lord, Spiders and theirs, and Asurmen as well? Our cup runneth over!
Now, I have squads of hawks, spider, and dragons already. I don’t need another squad of each. But I would like them. And all the PLs. If there was a discount box with a 5 man squad of each of the new kits I’d be hard pressed not to grab it. All of these kits look to be faithful modern plastic versions of the classics we love. Ironically, the new Spider PL is a bit of the odd one out, as she never had a flat, mostly static 2nd ed metal model to be based off of. So she’s got a lot of the modern swirly gak and dynamic posing. Which is not a bad thing. They still did a great job.
Depending on how things are boxed and bundled, we are probably going to see some or all of these eventually. But as I suspect GW is going to price them stupidly, it might be a slow trickle in. Rumors of a new CP might see the spiders, and we can keep our fingers crossed for a megaforce at the end of next year.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Flappy feral vampires done being spawned
I’m AFK right now, but due to the miracle of snapping some WIP pics before I left, here is an update:
Inks are down on the dread. He needs his edge highlights, another coat of white on the knee, and a gloss coat on his lenses. Plus base and decals.
Intercessor is at the cleanup blue stage.
Sisters are probably ready for washes, but will need a bit of cleanup after.
Random bits need cleanup blue then inks, and the MM needs to be heat weathered and some details picked out. Knife and shoulder pad need a lot more colors based.
Better pic of the RTB01’s. Still need decals and base. If I die on the highway driving home, this will be my final entry pic.
If everything goes to schedule, I’ll be home late Sat, and be able to polish off as much as I can on Sunday. Getting the bases and decals done doesn’t take a lot of time. I’d like to get the dread done at the same time, which is why I put it off. He may or may not get done in time.
I have successfully made it home. Barely. Had to detour around some lake effect weather that shut down part of the highway. And got stuck on some ice on the bottom of the driveway pulling into it, needed help to get unstuck. Need to clear that out today. But first, it’s December, and time for the return of the Advent calendar! This time we will be covering the last 3 years of painting. It was a bit of a stretch to get the 2 dozen entries, I think next time I might wait for 4 years of content to choose from.
Day one:
Spoiler:
So this guy might be my favorite captain out of all the ones I’ve painted. I should photoshop him a santa hat so he can go back to being my avatar for December. He’ll be back in Jan regardless. The fist/plasma gear option is a classic, but first came to the primaris world via a limited edition mini. Which I missed out on getting. But I’m fully capable of kit bashing, and have a pretty good bits box. Not that it took a lot for him. He’s mostly from the bladeguard vet kit. Few spare shoulderpads, fist from the assault intercessor kit. Head from somewhere. Might be more, I forget. I could go back and check, his build should be in the blog somewhere. I really like the pose on him. He’s braced to pop something with the pistol, but ready to crush some skulls. Healthy amount of bling for a marine of his rank. Pleased by the paintjob. Last time I looked at the rules, I think it might be better to go with other gear options these days, but that’s a fickle chimera to chase. He’s on the company shelf, and has replaced my prior primaris captain to lead the reborn 3rd.
As I need to spend a chunk of the day dealing with the driveway I don’t think the dread is going to get done, so I’ll just finish off the RTB01s for the month. And start in on the Barbgaunts for December. I’ll get a proof pic in a few.
So when the 9th ed Eldar codex dropped with all the cool new sculps, I grabbed a few. One of the big things keeping me from expanding my army was the lack of plastics. The autarch was the first of those I got around to painting. Pretty happy with how he turned out, especially the edge highlights. He might also be the first infantry in the craftworld to get magnets. Some of the seers can swap blades and spears, but those are just dry-fit. Weapon platforms and vehicles do have mags.
My Eldar were largely supplanted as my secondary army by the Tyranids, but the have not been forgoten. The still plug along in the background, getting a few models a year.
Time is fake. Also, I like the advent calendar idea, but I don't feel like stealing it. You've got a solid history of cool paintjobs to draw on, and I look forward to seeing which you choose to feature each day.
I'm really liking the red and black color scheme on that Eldar, it has a very feudal Japanese feel to it.
Also, I don't remember the RTB01s having such skinny legs.
I think I have one Sargent left somewhere.
ZergSmasher wrote:Time is fake. Also, I like the advent calendar idea, but I don't feel like stealing it. You've got a solid history of cool paintjobs to draw on, and I look forward to seeing which you choose to feature each day.
I forget where I got the idea from. Advent calendars are not a new thing, but the idea to use them as a retrospective tool kind of is. The first one is easy, as you can pull from your entire collection and not worry about duplicates. I’m doin a 3 year period here, so about a third for each. And want to hit each of my projects with at least one mini. The rest is just ones with cool stories and interesting history. You should give it a try sometime, it’s kinda fun. Easier if you plan it out ahead of time.
youwashock wrote:I love that mini. The warp pack + reaper launcher is a great look.
I feel the same. It’s not like the other options look bad, but I think that combo works best. Visually at least. My Eldar have not hit the table in a bit.
Tommygun1918 wrote:I'm really liking the red and black color scheme on that Eldar, it has a very feudal Japanese feel to it.
Also, I don't remember the RTB01s having such skinny legs.
I think I have one Sargent left somewhere.
Not every Eldar has the Japanese vibe, but the ones that do have it in the right way. It’s a cool look. RTB01s have chunky calves and pencil thighs. They average out to normal legs.
Day 3:
Spoiler:
When shall we three meet again? My nids are composed of 3 main waves. There is some crazy old lead that was in a collection that came to me via my old BiL. There are new purchases started when I kicked the army off as a lockdown project, and there is the stuff from my friend Ben who gave me his army before moving to Colorado. These gals are from that last batch. Probably. The modern plastic might have been from the old CP I bought right before I got them, but there was also a NOS tyrant in the drop. I also have a RT unbuilt in the stuff from my BIL (but she still slumbers in parts). The RT sister is no stranger to my workbench. Back sometime around 4-5th edition he needed help getting her together. I don’t recall if I used pins, or just GS and glue. Whatever I did it worked, as she’s still in one piece. The middle sister is hard to photograph, very all over the place. And made of metal (and a chunk of it) the 3rd ed Nids had an odd look about them. They broke from some of the early design elements, but I feel that the overall army look hadn’t been finalized yet. Much prefer the look of the new bugs. Although I should amend that, as they are pushing things out again with 10th, and some things I’m still not sure on.
So I picked this guy up at the store opening of the local GW. He might be the first limited edition mini I’ve been able to get. Prior to the new GW opening (which is a quick walk from my old apartment, and opened shortly after I moved. Grumble) the nearest one was like 4 hours away. He is also the first “modern” terminator for my 40k Ultras. I did get some of the 30k sets, but my normal terminators are all old and metal. He’s got a lot going on. Being the modern redo of the classic sculpt, I wanted to have some callbacks. Such as the RT marking on the shoulder, and an attempt to freehand the old heraldry on his tilting shield. Overall pretty happy with how he turned out. While not quite up to scale with the new modern terminators, he’s a lot closer then the old metal, and will serve when I need a captain for the elite vets. At some point the whole 1st company is going to come together, and he’ll be at the head.
youwashock wrote: I thought it was pretty cool that they did that modern update for the original Terminator Captain. Bummer that it was limited.
Same. I always love it when they hit the old nostalgia mine and re-do classic models. Especially ones I own. I’ve got quite a few side-by-side glow up pics kicking around my gallery.
Like this one:
I suspect that he’ll probably never make it back i to print. He’s a little underscale to the modern guys, and there are other TDA captains out there. Maybe a MTO. I’m just glad I got him.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Day 5:
Spoiler:
The Parasite of Mortrex I think is the fist “new” mini in my nid collection. Not in the sense that I purchased it first, as even from the start it’s been a mix of old lead and new on sprue plastic bought at the FLGS. But the parasite was a new mini released with the first codex that dropped since I started the army. So not just picking up old boxes with minis from 4-5th edition. It also nicely filled a gap in my army structure. The goal is to have a small/medium/large nid for all the roles. The PoM nicely slotted between the flyrant and the gargoyles for the winged beasities. Of ccourse, we also now have the winged prime, but that came later.
From a painting PoV nothing too groundbreaking here. Just my stock ‘Nid scheme banged out on another mini. I do like the wings. It’s a good example of what you can do just with more layers of contrast paints. The membrane is the same paint as the rest of the skin, just 2 coats instead of one.
Assault intercessors. Kind of a niche unit. While there have been times I fielded assault marines on foot, it was rare. And these guys are in the same boat, but without the flamers. Of course, I don’t have the jump version, and they are aggressively priced with built in wound re-rolls. Not that I get much time on the table these days, which is another thing I need to work on. Still, very cool models that are a nice expression of my basic Ultra’s scheme. And an important part of a balanced battle company.
I'm enjoying seeing your advent. The Autarch looks great, I've quite often looked at the 2 Autarch sets available to try and work out what can be bashed together. I think the new Eldar models will tempt me quite significantly.
Zambro wrote: I'm enjoying seeing your advent. The Autarch looks great, I've quite often looked at the 2 Autarch sets available to try and work out what can be bashed together. I think the new Eldar models will tempt me quite significantly.
Great to see you again, welcome back. What are you painting these days? You getting into the Old World? Going to resurrect your blog? It’s been napping for ~6 years? Should be well reseted.
Looking at the sprue pics the autarchs should be fully compatible? The arms at least are all flat to torso connections and the head is the same look as the rest of the range. I only have the new guy to verify, not the winged one. Who, while I would not mind owning, will probably never pick up unless he’s in a bundle. Mechanically he’s got the same rules as the guy with the spider pack. Which was nice. GW was pulling their “No Model, No rules” BS when the new guy dropped, but the cover art of the codex was showing an illegal loadout, and the WarCom guys were talking about kit compatibility. And as much as I like the level of detail that differentiates the spider pack and hawk wings, realistically they boil down to “DS and move fast” so for the sake of reducing datasheet bloat and redundancy, I’m OK with them being rolled together.
I do still need to make a bike autarch. Looking forward to all the new shinny knife-ears on the horizon.
Day 7:
Spoiler:
So done with the 2022 part of the advent-retrospective, and on to ’23. This chonky lad is the first thing from the Leviathan box to cross the bench. And actually did it in short order, considering the normal lag between when I buy, build, and paint models. While some of the 10th ed pushfits were fussy to build, he went together real easy. I had no idea how big the new dreads were until I built him. They are massive. I prefer TAC dread builds with a gun and fist, but do occasionally enjoy the missile arm. So this guy’s gear is something I can get behind. None of those random stubbers they are trying to cram on things. He fills a vital role of adding dread support to the new company. At some point I’ll need to get him a brother or 2.
youwashock wrote: I agree that stubbers look out of place on Space Marine kits. Leave those for the mere humans and heretics. Again, nice Dread!
One thing I like about the simplification of 10th is that the Repulsor’s little guns were all wadded into “Repulsor defensive array” so I don’t need to feel bad about not putting on the free stubber. But the mandatory inclusion on the brutalis dread for the top mount will probably prevent me from ever picking it up. Despite my general desire to have 3 dreads for the company, one CC, one shooty, and one TAC. The basic redemptor dread can at least have the AA missile mount, which bothers me less.
[ The Swarmlord
With the supply dump from my friend Ben, after I had just picked up the Nid CP at the time, I ended up with far more tyrants than I needed. Both my plastic winged/foot ones were magnetized. I’d not the kind of person who’s going to spam flyrants just because they are the only thing holding the army up (was that 6th? 7th? I know it was a time before I joined the swarm). I could have just maged up 4 bonesabers and called it a day. But I had a spare, so why not just glue one together? One major advantage of glue is you can get the angle just right. With magnets you need to worry about compatibility and mount points and stuff. Here I was more able to worry about the flow of the model.
The swarmlord is not the top of the food chain any more. Not that he ever really was, as there were FW titans, but he was the big dog in the codex. Not that I’m likely to get the new guys, as I don’t like how they look. So he gets to head up my swarm. At least the foot part.
I’m quite fond of contrast paints. They are replacing my old inks as they dry out. One of those is the old chestnut ink, which I used to warm up my golds. Now I use Guiliman flesh. Which I aslo use on parchment, skin, bone, robes, and many more things. So this guy was particularly interesting because all the elements on the reliquary/robes used it. And I didn’t just want him to be a uniform lump of brown. So I probably spent a bit more time on highlighting then I normally do. It was worth it. Quite happy with how he turned out. While not Dark Angels, I do like the occasional robed marine.
While the Nids have largely pushed the Eldar to the back of the painting queue, a few still manage to sneak across the bench each year. These rangers were painted for the 100th monthly painting challenge. Damn, we’ve been doing this for a long time. I wanted to do something that matched an entry from the first year, and the rangers were one of the options with a direct update in the pile of shame. They hold up their side of the scout exchange program, wearing the colors of the Ultra’s bases, where the Imperials have stopped holding up their side. Which is actually a good thing for the rangers here, as they benefited from advances in arctic camo gained from painting phobos marines. They are a mix of desaturated tones and bright colors. Grey armor not black, and pale leathers. But also still bright red helmets, shining golds and silvers, and orange cables. One of my running jokes is that I do camo like Hollywood makes movies based on real-life events. You can tell what it’s supposed to be, but with more car crashes and explosions. At the end of the day these are game pieces, so need to look cool and be functional. And camo when it works makes minis look like random undefined lumps. Who get lost on the table and forgotten about. Even with spots of color to help them stand out over the years I’ve missed shooting phases aplenty due to forgetting about scouts tucked away in a corner somewhere.
In painting news the first barbgaunt is just about done with paint. I need to grab a new pic as I put in a little extra work since the last one I posted in the comp thread. The other 4 are done with their base grey seer coat, awaiting purple.
Given the time I’ve been at this I should be a lot better then I am, but have made progress in my painting quality.
Day 11:
Spoiler:
So these feral vamp things are the first of the Cursed City box to get paint. Since they were already hopping vampires I went with a white haired witch theme for the hair, which I think I’ll keep with for all the vamps in my rebooted soulblight. Given the edition cycle and how quick I paint, it might not be ready this edition, but undead has always been my fantasy army of choice, and the soulblight are more to my liking then the nighthaunt. Nothing against the spooks, but it’s hard to say “no” to the leeches. Undead Bretonians was my theme for 5th ed WHFB, and they will ride again.
As models these were OK. The CC pushfits were surprisingly good, but there are a few places where the details blends a bit. Armor? Strap? Skin? Who knows! Looking at the picture here again I could not tell you what or where, but I remember the thought from when I was painting them.
I should get more undead across the bench. As other projects start to wind down, I should do more with them. We’ll see what the future holds.
Paint progress was just getting the purple on one more nid last night. Slow week painting; I’m flexing an extra half hour onto each of my days so I can bail early Friday to go pick up The Boy from college, and it’s playing havoc with my energy levels.
Warboss_Waaazag wrote: You are making incredible progress, Nev. Proud of you. Also, lol at "hopping vampires". That's the best description of these models I've seen.
I don’t know how much credit I should put in it, but there is a card from the Shadowfist CCG called “Hopping Vampire”. Which implies that it’s a common for of getting around for the vampires in the far east, which play by a different set of rules as western vampires.
I’ve also seen these vamps referred to as parkour vamps, which also fits.
So my 30k project just kinda lost steam and died. A big part of that is with 10th a lot of the units lost their 40k rules to legends. Which I totally get. The marine range is already bloated, and did not need all the extra units. Not that they were all broken or anything, but you toss that many things together, you will get broken combos, and the percent of things at the top end of the power curve gets larger in absolute terms. But part of what motivates me to paint is the hypothetical battlefield at the end, where minis see play. The thought of me getting a 30k game in was sketchy at best, and removing the 40k option just put a stake in it. (Yes I know legends units are still legal, but I generally build lists for blind pickup games, so want to keep it open)
These guys were some of the oldest things in the primed pile, so got tagged for paint as part of an effort to cull the old out of it. They are the back half of the squad, nothing fancy. I did freehand the destroyer symbol, which I did a better job on then the fist 5.
Eventually I’ll finish up the 30k stuff. It might just take a few editions.
W00t for more Sisters. The Triumph gets ever closer to completion.
I have had a hard time resisting all the vampire stuff that has been released, especially the crazy Strigoi guys (my bloodline of choice back in the day). But, my fantasy days are behind me, and there's just too much else to do. Good job on the parkour gang.
I’m slowly getting more enamored by fantasy. GW’s come a long way since I was last into WHFB in 5th. I’ve been slowly dabbling, but might start to devote more time to it.
I’m doubting my ability to get the Triumph done by the end of the year, but would like to. But I also don’t want to rush it. 2 more gals after these two, who admitadly are getting close to finished.
Day 13:
Spoiler:
Hungry? Nom nom nom..
One thing about big bugs, is that they bother me a lot less than vehicles to paint. Same as the little guys, just use a bigger brush. Not a bad ETB kit, only shows in a few places. Although IIRC I did have to break out the GS a little for some gaps. The smoke on the vents pushes me to 13 paints used for the army. If I count base details that might go up another one or two pots. But the vast bulk of them are 9 pots, no mixing. I should really do a “How Nev paints ‘Nids” write up. This guy has almost as many paints used on the base, but that’s partly down to the Ultramarine arm he’s eating and the rebar/concrete rubble. First use of the blue contrast paint on a marine here.
This guy might be my favorite mini from the last 3 years. Probably the top of his year. (note to self: don’t forget to pick out the top 3 of this year when doing the year-end summery) Fairly simple conversion from the push-fit TDA captain. Head swap, hand swap for the weapon, re-angled one arm (which required cutting off a tilting shield) The hard part was finding a good staff topper for the crozius. Even in a world where GW is downplaying the modeling side of the hobby we can still make things our own. I was kind of “meh” on the captain I used as a base. He was just standing around yelling. Defiantly not a fan of the new official TDA chaplain. He’s just so bland and basic; feels like a sarge with a special paintjob. But this guy? Love him.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Sisters need some edge work on the black and whites, but only a little bit. Besides that, basically done. Barbs got their reds. Still 2 more that are just sitting in their basecoat grey seer, but getting there. Month is only like half over. Decent progress!
Glued grips on the last 2 sisters. Lot of details on these two. But it will get done, as long as I keep putting layers down.
Lathe Biosas wrote: Wow, that took a lot of patience to complete! It came out great.
Not done yet! Been plugging away at this since June as a background project. I should be able to do the last 2 sisters in 2 weeks. Would really like to get it done in time. But also want to do it right.
Zambro wrote: I'm enjoying seeing your advent. The Autarch looks great, I've quite often looked at the 2 Autarch sets available to try and work out what can be bashed together. I think the new Eldar models will tempt me quite significantly.
Great to see you again, welcome back. What are you painting these days? You getting into the Old World? Going to resurrect your blog? It’s been napping for ~6 years? Should be well reseted.
Looking at the sprue pics the autarchs should be fully compatible? ...
It's good to be back - seeing you still chugging away is reassuring and comforting. It hits me right in the nostalgia of my peak forum use time, and height of my hobbying (I started that blog over 11 years ago!). I have been increasingly tempted to resurrect that blog over the past few weeks...
I'm still playing The Ninth Age. I really enjoy it, RnF Fantasy Battles are great. TOW has tempted me (I have bought some Warriors, but yet to put them together...), but the game doesn't tempt me. It's not a great rules system, and compared to T9A it doesn't even compete. I've been playing T9A for years, I'm on Team Wales for the ETC and have gone to it twice before. Monday we should find out where next years' ETC is hosted - it's looking like Spain, where I'll get my 3rd cap for Wales. The game is fun to play, but the people bring me back every time. They are more than just 'gaming friends'. I play a faction called Saurian Ancients, which are essentially Lizardmen. Big dinos and very magical - monsters and magic, the best part of fantasy! I do dabble with Kill Team on the side. I find it quite fun and non-committal.
I'm sure the description on the GW website says the two Autarch boxes are fully compatible. I just checked, it does.
Your Eldar Rangers are really striking. I really like them - thanks for resharing, they're awesome!
It's good to be back - seeing you still chugging away is reassuring and comforting. It hits me right in the nostalgia of my peak forum use time, and height of my hobbying (I started that blog over 11 years ago!). I have been increasingly tempted to resurrect that blog over the past few weeks...
I'm still playing The Ninth Age. I really enjoy it, RnF Fantasy Battles are great. TOW has tempted me (I have bought some Warriors, but yet to put them together...), but the game doesn't tempt me. It's not a great rules system, and compared to T9A it doesn't even compete. I've been playing T9A for years, I'm on Team Wales for the ETC and have gone to it twice before. Monday we should find out where next years' ETC is hosted - it's looking like Spain, where I'll get my 3rd cap for Wales. The game is fun to play, but the people bring me back every time. They are more than just 'gaming friends'. I play a faction called Saurian Ancients, which are essentially Lizardmen. Big dinos and very magical - monsters and magic, the best part of fantasy! I do dabble with Kill Team on the side. I find it quite fun and non-committal.
I'm sure the description on the GW website says the two Autarch boxes are fully compatible. I just checked, it does.
Your Eldar Rangers are really striking. I really like them - thanks for resharing, they're awesome!
A solid community does make a huge difference. Back in the late 90s, early 00’s I was one of the core regulars at the FLGS. Helped grow the games, community, store, etc. Sadly those days are behind me. I’ve become so intermittent that I don’t really feel like I belong at any of the local stores now. I know that would change if I just started showing up. Just so much going on these days, and so little energy.
I remember when AoS first dropped and the schism it caused. It’s not a bad game, but it wasn’t WHFB. More of a fantasy skirmish, not a rank and flank. It just feels different to be wheeling blocks of troops around. GW’s strength has always been it’s minis and its presence, not its rules. T9A is more based on the last WHFB 8th edition, while TOW is more like retorhammer older editions IIRC. Just by getting away from GW’s forced rules cycle should do a game wonders.
--
Where did this month go?
Day 15:
Spoiler:
So the lictor came to me a little broken, not that you would know it was missing the flesh hooks at a glance. A closer examination reveals the slots on the chest where they should be. But with everything going on, you don’t miss them. He is also the first of the line of stealth vanguard nids, with an alternate camo paint scheme that differs from the rest of the hivefleet. Same paints, just a different application. Thinned them way down with water and encouraged splotchy pooling. Which is something I normally try to avoid with washes. Claws, eyes, and maw are all done with the normal intensity. Because real camo is boring. I like the effect, but it takes a lot more time and effort to do. For an army that’s intended to be painted quick and dirty to a tabletop standard, it’s a bit much. Still, not a lot of minis in the range need the treatment. I might grab some of the new plastic lictors some day, who knows.
The command squad is dead, long live the command squad! (not pictured is the ancient, who was done previously). So one of my issue when putting together a primaris battle company was the lack of the command squad. Elements of it had crossed the rubicon in the form of a few characters, but the squad had not. This vexed my codex-adherent Ultramarine nature. Thankfully, these guys dropped. Well, not these guys specifically, but a new box of minis, so we got the rules back. (Nothing against the kit, I just had most of it already) The champion is a push-fit! MTO I had picked up not that long before the new champ dropped. The other two were poached from sternguard. (Who needed to be replanced, one with the free mini of the month, the other with a kitbashed intercessor).
These guys finished the character/command element of the company. Although I’d like to replace at least one of the Lts, as they are both the 8th ed starter ones. I should be less then 20 models away from finishing the company. As odd as it sounds, I’m kinda willing to wait until 11th to see what we get before buying more boxes. Although I do need a JP assault squad at the very least.
In painting news, the last 2 are ready for reds. I also put the base grey on the sisters.
Not sure I’ll get much painting done tonight, as we got a bunch of snow dumped on us I’ll need to clear after work. But I might be able to get some layers down over lunch.
Edit: got the black on the sister’s robes on my morning break.
So these guys were kind of fun to paint. One of the reasons I got the CC box was just to add a lot of different stuff to the primed pile. Most of which could find it’s way into a soulblight list, but a lot that’s just there for the variety. I spend a lot of time just executing paint schemes. It’s one thing about painting armies; lot of same-ness. It’s good to mix things up, either with side projects, or units in your army that break the pattern. These guys are a bit of both.
With the nighthaunt winding down, the soulblight are on the rise. Expect to see more of them over the next few years.
In painting progress the barbs have their reds and are ready for the black wash. Sisters got their golds down. Sloppy progress but another step done. I also decided these two are wearing red robes under their overcoats, little hint peeking out to give them a plash of color. I’ll grab a pic next time at the bench.
Edit
Edit2:
FInished off painting the barbs, off the handles and ready for flocks and rocks. Moved 4 termagants down to take their place, basedcoated 2 with Grey Seer.
Can you ever have enough chaplains? I think not. They are a friendly reminder that marines are not just sci-fi taccticool operators, but hypnoindoctrinated warrior monk zealots. Welcome to the Grimdark, where enough anger and hatred will give combat buffs to you and your squad. Bikes are always finicky. While not vehicles, they are pretty big, and it’s easy to get worn out just with painting everything. The modern bikes also have the build issue. Leave in parts so you can get a brush everywhere? Or fully assemble to deal with the gaps and mold lines? The old bikes you could leave the rider off, and that solved like 95% of the issue. This one, less so. Anyway, despite knowing there are parts that need more paint (which you can't see, but I know are there) this guy turned out pretty good. While I’ll probably never get the full matrix of HQ options like I did for the firstborn, I enjoy having a biker in my collection. When this model first came out I knew I’d get him eventually. He’s just that cool. And while no White Scar, he does have a group of outriders to hang with.
It's good to be back - seeing you still chugging away is reassuring and comforting. It hits me right in the nostalgia of my peak forum use time, and height of my hobbying (I started that blog over 11 years ago!). I have been increasingly tempted to resurrect that blog over the past few weeks...
I'm still playing The Ninth Age. I really enjoy it, RnF Fantasy Battles are great. TOW has tempted me (I have bought some Warriors, but yet to put them together...), but the game doesn't tempt me. It's not a great rules system, and compared to T9A it doesn't even compete. I've been playing T9A for years, I'm on Team Wales for the ETC and have gone to it twice before. Monday we should find out where next years' ETC is hosted - it's looking like Spain, where I'll get my 3rd cap for Wales. The game is fun to play, but the people bring me back every time. They are more than just 'gaming friends'. I play a faction called Saurian Ancients, which are essentially Lizardmen. Big dinos and very magical - monsters and magic, the best part of fantasy! I do dabble with Kill Team on the side. I find it quite fun and non-committal.
I'm sure the description on the GW website says the two Autarch boxes are fully compatible. I just checked, it does.
Your Eldar Rangers are really striking. I really like them - thanks for resharing, they're awesome!
A solid community does make a huge difference. Back in the late 90s, early 00’s I was one of the core regulars at the FLGS. Helped grow the games, community, store, etc. Sadly those days are behind me. I’ve become so intermittent that I don’t really feel like I belong at any of the local stores now. I know that would change if I just started showing up. Just so much going on these days, and so little energy.
I remember when AoS first dropped and the schism it caused. It’s not a bad game, but it wasn’t WHFB. More of a fantasy skirmish, not a rank and flank. It just feels different to be wheeling blocks of troops around. GW’s strength has always been it’s minis and its presence, not its rules. T9A is more based on the last WHFB 8th edition, while TOW is more like retorhammer older editions IIRC. Just by getting away from GW’s forced rules cycle should do a game wonders.
Yeah, I feel that. I have a similar situation here where I was very involved with a LGS and part of the club, but then moved away and bounced around for a while with no fixed gaming club. In the last 6 months I've settled, and there are a few clubs near me. I just need to go to them, instead of lurking in their chats...
Solid dedication to plugging away at the advent. The Primaris bikes (and Chaplain model in particular) are cool. If only my White Scars still existed...
Did you get rid of your scars? Shame, they were pretty cool. I remember you switching over to Fists, but didn’t remember is you just kept the WS on ice while you built up the new guys. Those were the days when how you were painted made a difference.
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Quick WIP. Glued some rocks and tufts down over lunch, and did the browns on the sisters.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Done. These guys check a lot of boxes. Monthly comp. Combat patrol. More Nids. On a larger scale, they are small artillery bugs, so fill that slot in the hive fleet.
They should be the last guys needed for the CP. I should get new termagants done, but the old guys can fill in for now.
These boots are made for walking...
Not a huge fan of war walkers, but I got 2 as part of bundles. They are a massive PITA to paint. If you ever need to, leave them in parts. He was languishing in the primed pile, and got painted as part of my “Do the 3 oldest minis this year” initiative. I should probably do the math for that for 2025, as that’s a decent goal to have. Once I flaten the curve and get rid of the really old stuff I might drop it. Outside the painting part, it’s not a bad model. Fun to build, easy to mag. I didn’t paint a lot of Eldar this year, just it and some spare arms. I suspect next year will be a lot better for them. Lots of new kits dropping. And as the nids are winding down, they may spin up to take the secondary army spot back. Or the soulblight might. It will be interesting to see what actually happens.
Wow, just chugging along, Nev. Making great progress. Knowinng nothing about the Triumph model, I thought the sister carrying the platter of rose petals was actually carrying a pizza into battle. Which I thought was pretty hardcore to begin with. The close up did worlds of good for my brains.
Warboss_Waaazag wrote: Wow, just chugging along, Nev. Making great progress. Knowinng nothing about the Triumph model, I thought the sister carrying the platter of rose petals was actually carrying a pizza into battle. Which I thought was pretty hardcore to begin with. The close up did worlds of good for my brains.
Hahaha. Well they say an army marches on it’s stomach. Now I kinda want to convert a sister victular, delivering the holy pie to the needy…
And because I was thinking about combat patrols, here are all the once I can field. Although I should check and see if they added more when I wasn’t looking.
youwashock wrote: That's a cool spread of pics. Lots of good work on display. The War Walker is real good, too.
I think I did a better job on my older one, although there is not that much difference. Better pose on the old guy IMHO.
Wip:
Got a few layers down before it got too late. Sisters got their blue hoses and brown washes. Probably touch up the black and then do the armor wash. Got the purple down on the new nids. Marines need to get a move on.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Day 20:
Spoiler:
Some days it’s good to be the poster boys. Here we have a marine slathered in nid bits. While most chapters these day have an excuse to be fighting the bugs, it’s going to look out of place on a lot of them. But Ultramarines? Particularly those who paint and collect the 3rd company: Scourge of Xenos? It’s just another day in the office. I do feel a little bad for the other guys. At least it’s not the 6/7th starters where the marines were chapter locked to DA. But it’s also not 9th, where all the necron bits were optional on bases.
He does stand out a little, as most of my marines are parade ground clean, and he’s obviously been in the field a while. I do enjoy how he turned out. Some of the push fir shows up, as he’s a pretty complex model. Lot of fun details on him.
Yeah, the White Scars went... I have huge regrets on selling everything I worked on. But that's another story. A few years ago I told myself that I'll make an effort to keep everything I do from here on out. So far so good on that front (4 boxes of Dark Elves that live in the Garage that haven't seen the light of day in a while, plus everything in the house).
I like your combat patrol pics. I'm particularly taken by the White Ultras. Great scheme on them!
Zambro wrote: Yeah, the White Scars went... I have huge regrets on selling everything I worked on. But that's another story. A few years ago I told myself that I'll make an effort to keep everything I do from here on out. So far so good on that front (4 boxes of Dark Elves that live in the Garage that haven't seen the light of day in a while, plus everything in the house).
I like your combat patrol pics. I'm particularly taken by the White Ultras. Great scheme on them!
There are a lot of legitimate reasons to part with armies, but it’s normally followed by regret. We pout so much time, love, and effort into them. But you need to do what you need to do at the time. I’ve been lucky I’ve not been in a situation where I needed to part with my old stuff. Even if I probably should.
It was a tough call on the phobos marines how to paint them. Blue? Woodlands camo to match the scouts? Arctic camo to match their bases? I went with the snow, and do not regret it. Especially the robes on the HQs, which I think came out particularly well. When I get around to painting my new scouts I’ll have to decide if they will maintain the scout exchange program and keep their green.
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Day 21:
Spoiler:
So for October I made a push to get the bulk of my nighthaunt done. And shockingly, was successful. Painted 20 ghosties in the month. Which when you consider my stated pace is 1-a-week, is kinda crazy. I do average closer to 5-6 minis a month, not 4, but still, 20 is off the curve. Like my tryanids, fiarly simple, yet effective paint scheme helps a lot. Mostly based on washes. And I actually want sloppy uneven paint/transitions on them. I think it sells the whole phasing in/out of reality thing. But not in a smooth way; they are bleeding into the world from the other side, irreguarly seeping in and out in swirls and drops. I caught the vibe I was looking for on Manfred’s cloak, and have been chasing that high ever since.
There are a handful of haunts left in the primed pile, but only a few kitbashed guys to bring the last of the soul wars box up to fieldable strength. Once they are done there are no active plans to add more models to the force. But I have enjoyed painting them, so who knows what the future may bring.
Here is their spearhead, which was part of the impetus to get everyone done:
I don’t have the specific HQ required, but this guy gets the point across. And I’m not paying single mini prices just to get the one character I’d technically need for a secondary army on a specific game mode for a system I hardly play.
In painting news, started cleaning up the blacks on the sisters yesterday.
Marine progress. Got the blue wash down on the trooper. Touch up and edgeing next for both him and the dread
Gaunts got their flesh. Next is reds
Sisters got a lot done. Armor wash, which will also go on the incense. Then some cleanup and edge work.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Day 22:
Spoiler:
Von Ryan’s Leapers. While the nid camo was fine for a one off model, this was trying to put it on a squad. I still managed to get all 3 done in time, but it’s not the quick and dirty batch painting of the rest of the army. These guys were really not fun to build. “Easy” to build pushfits, but less on the easy. While the pegs did have some shape to them, finding the right angle was rough. They were snug enough to hold tight, which is good. But you needed to put some force behind them to get them in. And if the angle was wrong, risked bending the plastic. And with those arms sticking out everywhere, getting the right vector on the force used was not a simple thing.
Compared to prior years this one was a bit light on nids. I’ve got a bucket of little gaunts left to paint, in a few flavors, but not a lot of big stuff left. Probably more than I can push through in a year. There are a couple of kits I’d like to grab, so it’s not the end of the swarm.
Syro_ wrote: It was fun seeing all those combat patrols.
It’s odd coming at them from the wrong side. They are obviously “buy this box, get playing” but what about established players with existing collections? Some were easy. The marine and nid ones that came from the leviathan box were just a mater of getting the requisite minis painted. (No small task).
I kinda lucked into the phobos one. But it’s based on the old shadowspear/start collection from a few years back.
I’ve got some gaps in my collection of Eldar, but none were hit by this selection of units. I did need to paint up some scatter lasers for it though.
SoB is their launch box plus a rhino.
Now there are more CPs, not just marines but also more nid and SoB ones, based on other boxes. Can’t field those.
I do like the fact that I have options. Potentially if I was trying to get someone into the game it’s nice to have options for the intro mode of the game.
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Put the reds on the gaunts and washes on the sisters. Nids will need the rubble on their base done, then blackwash. Sisters need cleanup and edges. Marines need edges. I should build something as well.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Honor the fallen. Triumph will need a final pass to check if I missed anything, then formal pictures.
Triumph looks ace from here, Nev. And I agree about having multiple combat patrols, although I think AoS does it better with their Spearheads. I've got three of those (Kruleboyz, Stormcast Eternals, and recently Lumineth Realm-lords) to really give me some options for their Spearhead game type. If I can grab myself a box of Vanquishers I'll have four Spearheads, as I would then have what I need for the Yndrasta one.
Literally! I was worried I’d not finish in time, but made it. Took half the year, but made it...
ZergSmasher wrote:Triumph looks ace from here, Nev. And I agree about having multiple combat patrols, although I think AoS does it better with their Spearheads. I've got three of those (Kruleboyz, Stormcast Eternals, and recently Lumineth Realm-lords) to really give me some options for their Spearhead game type. If I can grab myself a box of Vanquishers I'll have four Spearheads, as I would then have what I need for the Yndrasta one.
I’ve basically for the Nighthaunt one (with a single counts-as) And picked up the Soulblight one. I’ve not bothered to check if I could fake some of the other ones (probably just chaos) with my ancient 5-6th edition collection. Once the holidays cool off I really need to head down to the FLGS and try to get a game in. The rules look like fun.
Syro_ wrote:That's cool, I've wanted to try building the combat patrols rather than only buy the new boxes as well.
One perk of being older then dirt who’s been slowly growing his collection for a few decades. I think my Eldar all date from 6th in this pic, but I could have used models from back in 3rd to field a legal CP.
I was able to get the Nighthaunnt spearhead up to speed with just 2 unit boxes. If I put my mind to it I could probably do the same for the other chapter specific ones (that don’t use actual chapter locked units) If I took a step back from WYSWYG, I could actually get a couple of those. I own an impulsor and could do one of the BA ones, but my agressors don’t have the flamers. One of the DA ones I’ve got the wrong get on my captain, but otherwise fine.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Day 23:
Spoiler:
Modern terminators have been on my wish list for a long time. While I did get some each of the 30k models, they lacked the rules and gear of the modern ones. So I kept on plugging away with my old RT era lead. The hobby budget always has better things to do then replace perfectly serviceable models. Especially when the kits were not RT old, were quite dated. But with the leviathan box, that all changed. New terminators. New TDA characters. New scale creep! So I got some. Not just the ETBs in the starter, but a full kit. And will get more once they release the assault version (whenever that happens)
These guys took a long time to cross the workbench. Slow an purposeful. Started for the June comp, but the last guy finished in November. In addition to my generally low levels of motivation this year, they have a lot of details. All the tubes/pistons/whatevers on their legs I actually pick out in silver, which adds a ton of cleanup and edge work. Hopefully the next 5 will go smoother.
(Click to see at full size in the gallery)
The Triumph, in all it’s glory. This was a bear to paint. It’s basically 7 HQ level characters on a scenic base, plus some extra whistles and bells. I started it for the summer blockbuster challenge, but only managed the core sarcophagus, cherubs, and lead sister done in time. In 3 months. Slowly got the rest done in the last half of the year. I didn’t want to rush it, it needed to be done right.
I’ve been painting the SoB since they came out. The first time, back in late 2nd. They were not mine, but my friend Phil’s. He was a gamer, but less of a hobbiest. (although he did a little from time to time, mostly building). I painted about half his army, the rest were odds and ends secondhand or commissioned from other sources. I used to have a 4 a week goal, which I often missed, but tried for. But for some of those years I was either single, or a stay at home dad. Still painted over 100 models over the years. His interest in 40k waxed and waned more then mine, but some of that is the neglect that GW showed the SoB. Still, we got a lot of games in, either doubles tournaments, or grand battles with his cousins when they were in town for holidays. Phill passed away in October 4 ’22. He would have been 53 next Sunday. I inherited a lot of his gaming stuff, including his SoB. Painting up the Triumph seemed a fitting tribute.
There are still some random SoB things in the pile of shame. I’d have to dig for them. I can’t say this will be the last to cross the bench, I might grab something odd from the depths. And I would kind of like to paint the saint as a project. But this will serve as a capstone centerpiece for now.
Gaunts are almost done. They got the cleanup pass with the grey seer to cover the spillage, so next step is to go over that with the flesh wash and base the little biters. And then get off my tail and finish the dread and marine. After they are clear I think I’ll pause painting until the new year, and focus on building, cleaning up the workbench, and year end summaries.
Merry Christmas Eve. Hang those stockings with care, and hope that Santa leaves you something nice under the tree.
Some good progress yesterday. Nids are ready for flock. Marine needs his base blacked, decals and flock. Dread got all his blue washes, needs edge work. Started to heat weather the MM.
Was hoping to get more done, but I’ll take it.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Lunch and breaks today were productive. Everyone ready for flock, marines need decals.
youwashock wrote: Gettin' the work done. Melta barrels looking good!
I should get a better purple to use for heat weathering. Done though.
And that’s a wrap for the year in paint.
I’ll spend the rest of the year doing things like putting magnets in bases, woolgathering/retrospectives, and maybe painting some spare bits. But that’s the year in minis. I’ll get the breakdown and glamor shots of those who need them in the next few days.
youwashock wrote: Impressive pile of minis! Not a bad year, at all. And the SH is already dressed for NYE.
I don’t know why I put the little bowler hat on him, I should go back and see if I mentioned it in my blog. But he’s a dapper little flyer.
The end of the year really came together. This is from Nov 5th:
Ton of late entries as I finished up assorted projects. If you roll back another month, none of the nighthaunt were there. Summer progress was pretty bad for the Q3 report.
Halftime was pretty thin back in June, but mostly on track.
March and first quarter was not the best, but not actually behind schedule
So most of year was barely on track for my 1-a-week goal, which is about 2/3rds to 1/2 of what I should actually be doing. 52 minis is the bare minimum, but 75-100 is more what I should actually be cranking out. The last couple months put me from min to expected.
JoshInJapan wrote: That's an impressive final count, especially considering the high quality of your paint jobs.
Thank you for the praise. I still think I’ve got a bit to go to get to “high” quality. I feel I deliver a solid middle of the road, with occasional brushes with quality.
So let’s take a look at where we ended up:
At the start of the year I wrote:Here are my New Year’s resolutions:
1 Paint 8 members for the primaris battle company 8/8
2 Paint at least 24 Tyranids, and strive to keep them PoS neutral. 24/24
3 Paint more than I buy. 70/20
4 Paint at least 3 units that have been in the primed pile/Pile of Shame for 3+ years 3/3
5 Update my blog at least once a week, and maintain a consistent pace of work (1 mini a week).
6 Paint at least two units for 4 different factions. 7/8
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.
8 Paint models to be able to field the SM/Nid combat patrols. 14/14 bonus spearhead
1 - So I did this one.
3x Ultramarine 3rd Co. Company Heroes - 72 points
3x Ultramarine 3rd Co. Aggressors - 120 points
2x Ultramarine 3rd Co. Intercessor - 32points
Technically the Gravis Captain has the red trim, but as I’ve already got 2 other primaris captains for the company, not counting him for the goal. Still,made the goal. Will need to do a state of the company to figure out what I still need to do.
2 - 2 dozen bugs: check.
3x Tyranid Von Ryan’s Leapers -75 points
11xTyranid Termagants - 66 points
2x Tyranid Warriors - 44 points
3x Tyranid Ripper swarms - 60 points
5x Tryanid Barbgaunts - 55 points
I’ll have to doublecheck, but I think this is also the last of the pre-leviathan nids in the primed pile. So good volume, and clearing out the old
3 - OK, so there is some flaky math here, but I’m still OK. I don’t count gifts, including when I spend giftcards that cover most of the purchase. But even if I count those, lets see... 13 nighthaunts, 29 soulblights, probably something I’m forgetting. But still under the 70 painted. It’s a win.
4 - Stormhawk, War Walker, and Librarian were my oldest, and got finished.
5 - Free square. OK, not really, as it does take a bit of effort to keep the pace and update the blog. But making it happen.
6- OK, more fuzzy math time. I’ve got this flagged as 7/8. Some of that is the wording. I didn’t want to just let one-off minis count towards my diversity goal. The idea behind the 2 units for 4 factions was to push to get more secondary army project move forward. Plus the diversity thing. Nids, like 5 units of those. Painted a whole mess of nighthaunt. Ultramarines: check. Soulblight/serephon/SoB/Eldar all just got a solo model. Now I am considering 30k legion UMs seperate from the 40k side. As I need more motivation to get them done. The dread and 3 RTB01s could count there, but the beakies are not really a unit. I could also use fuzzy math annd count the Triumph as more then one. It’s basically 7+ HQ models all stuck on a diorama base. I’ve got enough “pretty close” excuses to round this one up to a win.
7 - Comp is still running strong. Still at 100% completion rate. This is at the stupid dedication level I should add to my resume to prove that I can stick with things and maintain a constant level of output.
8 - Yes, with the added stretch goal of the Nighthaunt spearhead.
So that’s green across the board. All wins. Sure, 6 was a little fuzzy, but we’ll call that a clean sweep. I’ll need to make them a little harder for next year. All of them will remain largely the same, although I’ll tweak some of the numbers. I’ll have to see how many more marines I need for the company, and pledge at least half of that. 24 more nids is probably about half of what I have left, so not a bad call. Really tempted to focus fire them down for a month, like I did in October with the spooks. I could probably push 2 dozen across the bench in a month, as long as I didn’t have vacation and not much else was going on in my life. I also need a replacement for 8, with another general focus on things I need to push harder on.
I also need to go out and game. That is no longer on my goal list, but was at one time. And I think needs to come back.
That’s enough rambling for now. I need to start taking pictures and finding room for everyone on the main shelves.
Hey, you did better than me for sure (not that this is a competition). You fairly consistently put out quality work, and honestly you keep up with your blog way better than I do. You got a pretty good variety of stuff done too. Now I need to first, finish the stormcast boys I'm currently working on, and then do my own year end review (hard to believe it's been a year since the last one!).
ZergSmasher wrote: Hey, you did better than me for sure (not that this is a competition). You fairly consistently put out quality work, and honestly you keep up with your blog way better than I do. You got a pretty good variety of stuff done too. Now I need to first, finish the stormcast boys I'm currently working on, and then do my own year end review (hard to believe it's been a year since the last one!).
The years do slip by with alarming frequency. Hard to keep up some times...
Ultramarines - 25 models - 1,149 points
Tryranids - 24 models - 300 points
Eldar - 1 model - 110 points
Undead - 22 models - 522 points
SoB - 1 model - 250 points
Other - 1 model - 17 points
Total for 2024 - 74 models - 2,348 points.
Heh. Always good to doublecheck my math. Forgot to add the RTB01s to the list, and someone was never added to the total, so it’s actually 74 models this year, not the 70 I thought. Pretty close to a 3 way tie for model count, with the Ultras, Nids, and Undead all with similar model counts. But on points the Ultras have a comfortable dominance on the “who would win” if a fight broke out on the YTD shelf.
I feel like a slow painter, but I’m not as bad as I think I am. Compiled all these and added them to the first post. mostly so if I need to track down when I did something it would be easier.
Spoiler:
OK, so time to start looking forward a bit. Let’s check up on the company.
I have all the command elements at this point. It might be nice to have a Lt. that didn’t come out of the Dark Imperium box, but they will do.
I have one dread. I’d like at least one more.
Heavy Support is also finished. I’ve got 10 hellblasters, 5 infernus, 3 each agressors, suppressors, eradicators. On sprue I have 5 more infernus and hellblasters. So more then finished.
Fast Attack is looking OK. I’ve got 10 assault intercessors on foot, 3 each of outriders and inceptors. I just ordered (with holiday gift card) a 5 man box of Jump intercessors.
Battleline is where the work needs to happen. I’m currently at 42/60 troopers. I have 3 more from the KT squad in the primed pile, ready for paint. 15 more to go. I have bodies on sprue for 8 more. I also have 2 pushfit assault intercessors that might be able to serve with a little knife work. I’d also like 5 more heavies, so I have 10 of them total.
Primed: 3x intercessors (KT)
To build: 8x intercessors 5x JP assault intercessors
To buy 5x heavy intercessors 2x intercessors 1x redemptor dread
So that’s a total of 24 models that need to be finished. The question is how I want to pace things out. I think I could wrap this in 2 years. I can do 12 a year. Of course, this year was touch and go to get 8 done. And just more rank and file intercessors are not exactly high motivation to get across the bench. But that’s what goal are for. To help push forward.
Here are my New Year’s resolutions: 1 Paint 12 members for the primaris battle company 0/12 2 Paint at least 24 Tyranids, and strive to keep them PoS neutral. 0/24 3 Paint more than I buy. 0/0 4 Paint at least 3 units that have been in the primed pile/Pile of Shame for 3+ years 5 Update my blog at least once a week, and maintain a consistent pace of work (1 mini a week). 6 Paint at least two units for 4 different factions. 0/8 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. 8 Paint a tank. 0/1 9 Get more games in. At least 6. 0/6
1 - This will take me halfway to being finished. 2 - Quick count puts 56 nids in the primed pile. Again, goal is about halfway. 3 - A classic goal for a reason. On my to-buy list is a bunch of Eldar, and maybe some on the marines needed for the company. But who knows what shiny models the future holds. 4 - I think this is the cents, DAs, and a random scout. As a stretch goal I’l like to finish all the minis from the 8th and 9th starters. 5 - Kinda a free cell, but I want to keep it on the books. I would like to hit closer to 75 minis done. 6 - I could dither on the wording, but will leave it like this. Between Eldar, Ultras, Trynaids, and Soulblight I should get this one easy. 7 - Also kinda a free space. Still keeping it because it’s important. 8 - I finished my CPs/Spearheads. I could list the soulblight one here, but I want to call out my lack of painting tanks. I’ve got a couple primed, and a few more to build. I hate doing them, but need to get them done. 9 - I need a kick in the pants to get to the FLGS and roll some dice. Onto the list. Putting a number on it. 6 is once every other month. I should be able to manage that. I should be able to do a lot better, but let’s start somewhere.
Updated first post. Archived the old one here
Spoiler:
Here are my New Year’s resolutions: 1 Paint 8 members for the primaris battle company 8/8 2 Paint at least 24 Tyranids, and strive to keep them PoS neutral. 24/24 3 Paint more than I buy. 74/20 4 Paint at least 3 units that have been in the primed pile/Pile of Shame for 3+ years 3/3 5 Update my blog at least once a week, and maintain a consistent pace of work (1 mini a week). 6 Paint at least two units for 4 different factions. 7/8 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. 8 Paint models to be able to field the SM/Nid combat patrols. 14/14 bonus spearhead
Automatically Appended Next Post: OK, what’s on the radar?
Painting:
12 marines:
3 of the remaining KT.
5 basic intercessors (to be built)
5 JP assault intercessors (same)
24 Tyranids
mostly flavors of gaunts. I’ve got 3 kinds: neurogaunts, hormogaunts, termagants. I’ve also got the big brain tryant and his 2 little buddies and a few ripper swarms. Nothing fancy, but should go quick.
3 centurions. Bought them at the tail end of 6th? I think. Not a huge fan of them, and they got their rules nerfed before I finished building them. Be glad to get them out of the pile.
5 Dire Avengers. I’ve got them on my spreadsheet as old. Like picked them up in 2018, primed them in ’20. They need paint. Gotta make room for the new guys.
I’ve got a scout with a comically large sniper rife he stole from an eliminator. I think he’s one of the old guys in the pile, but might be confusing him with some other scouts. No real reason to get him painted with the rules being what they are these days, but originally I needed him so I could do a full 10 man sniper squad.
1 tank. I’ve got a spartan, gladiator, and a sicarian waiting. One of those.
That’s 46 things.
Add 2 things for the soulblight, and another eldar unit and that should get to the 52 min goal and cover all my bases. I suspect that there will be more new Eldar on top of that, and probably more undead as well.
Happy holidays Nev. I hope they have been / are going well.
I enjoy reading your end of year consolidation posts. It really hammers home goal setting and a slow and steady mindset. I have a week left of my 3 weeks off, and I've not hit any of the goals I set - I'll take a page out of your book, refocus, and get on with it.
I'm impressed with the end of year picture. That's a lot of models, and a good variety. I love the 'Nids you posted on Christmas day, you've made contrast paints work so well on them. The SoB diorama is cool, too. I'm really out of touch with the current 40k line of minis. It looks to be a big job, but you've tackled it well.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you produce in 2025. You're so close to having a Company, I can't wait for you to finish it off and see them all ranked up and ready.
Thanks guys. I should say that again. You, the readers, are all an important part of this blog. Knowing that there are people out there following helps keep me motivated and posting, which fuels the painting. I’m used to disappointing myself, but hate to let others down. Even if it’s just a “good job” post, it helps. But I also appreciate and more in depth questions, advice, and critiques. I might not take advice, there are a lot of reasons I do what I do, but always good to hear them. That’s how we grow.
I’ve been reminded I never picked out my top models for the year. Again, probably should have had this thought while everything was laid out on the table.
Kind of an odd choice, as there is not a lot going on with them. And they were irritating as heck to assemble. But when I eye scanned across the pile, it got caught on all the swirly bits with a sense of fondness. I just like these guys.
Chaplains. They are always at the top of my list. Love these guys. Bike chap is no exception.
This really was a triumph. Lot of work went into it, and a lot of quality results came out. Glad to have it finished at a level I’m happy with.
--
OK, on to 2025.
Jump chaplain is going to be my entry for the comp this month. I should move one of the cents down to the monster handle, as they are big based and I need to get them painted. The question is what to put on the other handles? I think on the the KT intercessors and a few gaunts. Just to keep goals moving across the table.
Happy New Year everyone. Take something for the hangover and remember to hydrate. We’ve got a long year ahead of us, lets get off on the right foot!
I've seen the Spirit Hosts used in multiple ways - as intended, stand in for other minis, and unit fillers in RnF. And painted the full spectrum of blues, green, fire red, and even a purple that sticks in my memory. Very versatile minis, and definitely eye catching.
Tommygun1918 wrote:Nothing says grim dark like a Chappy.
Them and dreadnoughts are peak 40k
inmygravenimage wrote:Given how awful spirit hosts are to build, I applaud you!
They were a nightmare.
OK, let’s get this show on the road.
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Zambro wrote: I've seen the Spirit Hosts used in multiple ways - as intended, stand in for other minis, and unit fillers in RnF. And painted the full spectrum of blues, green, fire red, and even a purple that sticks in my memory. Very versatile minis, and definitely eye catching.
You posted while I was responding,
They are good spooks, and I could see a lot of other uses for them. I’ve had my eye on them since I picked up Manfred. He’s got a few on his base. The new AoS and spearhead made me pull the tigger on getting a box.
So open play CP down at the FLGS. Packed 5, played two.
Game one Ultras vs. Necrons. I focus fire down his doomstalker, and pivot to his warrior blob, but his destroyers just chewed their way through my army. Lost this one like 27 to 35 or something like that.
Game two, Nids vs. Custodes. He plays coy on a flank, I sweep across the table tagging objectives. End up in a big messy fight in between where his two units started. His lead squad piles in just as everything else finally dies. He’s got one unit left and is way behind on points, concedes.
This is the first time out in 10th for everyone, and first time on the table for most.
Terminators were crunchy. Shooting was not bad, not many got a chance to swing in CC. Librarian leading them for sustained hits seemed like a good idea. Lib did respectable himself. Captain was beat-stick like. Was not expecting wonders out of him, but he got some work done. Infernus marines lit things on fire. Was expecting a little more from them. I should have used more strats to leverage stuff. Overall everyone held up well.
Nids vs. Custodes was an exercise in “how many ones can you roll” Ultra elite vs swarmy horde. Gaunts actually got some hits in due to volume. But the VRLs, psychophage, and the flying prime all hit pretty damn hard. Lot of attacks all over the place. Which when everything was wounding on 5s and 6s, was needed.
Clipped the jump packs for the intercessors, need to clean those. And the rest of the marines, but they were an easy sub assembly that needed to be done, and is the same for all.
Syro_ wrote: Looks like a fun time with those Combat Patrols, Nev. Thanks for sharing.
They are doing spearhead this upcoming weekend. Spend my lunch break putting magnets on nighthaunt so they can ride down to the FLGS. Because like the grave, no foam can hold them. Got about half done.
Forgot to get a start pic, but here is the end. Ghosts vs. trees. I bum rushed his treelord with half my army first turn, and put it down in quick order. After that is was trying to grab objectives and chop them all down. Which I did with some success. It was a close game, but I was scoring about one more point then him every turn, so victory Nighthaunt! BoooOOoooooOOo Yah!
Also picked up the mini of the month, which is a striking scorpion. THey are doing a painting comp to get them done in a week, so I’m going to see what I can do. Need to actually decide on a scheme now. I asked an got the OK to just use one of my primed ones, so Idon’t need to worry about building and priming the new guy.
Potential ideas:
Black undersuit, or match the armor
Solid colors, or camo
If camo, only on armor plates, or undersuit as well?
Forest camo, or infiltrator exchange to arctic? (pretty set on green, but willing to hear arguments)
Lathe Biosas wrote: Have you thought maybe doing an urban camo? It'll be different from everyone else's.
If you want to keep the green you can use that as the accent and make him shades of grey.
I had not thought of going urban.
Right now I have my rangers in arctic. Besides them, my Eldar are on green flocked bases. I guess the war walkers and WLs are on “craftworld urban” wraithbone city bases. Witch is the light beige that obvious eldar ruins are done in. Besides them, rocks are grey.
Going green/grey/black would get something similar to that image, but I think I’d go with a goblin green over the glowing bright one.
Lathe Biosas wrote: Have you thought maybe doing an urban camo? It'll be different from everyone else's.
If you want to keep the green you can use that as the accent and make him shades of grey.
I had not thought of going urban.
Right now I have my rangers in arctic. Besides them, my Eldar are on green flocked bases. I guess the war walkers and WLs are on “craftworld urban” wraithbone city bases. Witch is the light beige that obvious eldar ruins are done in. Besides them, rocks are grey.
Going green/grey/black would get something similar to that image, but I think I’d go with a goblin green over the glowing bright one.
Yeah, that's probably a good idea to reign the green in a little, but this was the closest image to what I was trying to explain.
What colors are scorpions in nature? That would be my first inclination. I have a unit of Striking Scorpions in browns and tans in a box somewhere, and I always preferred to field them instead of their brothers in the green armor.
I would definitely go with some kind of green camo, as Striking Scorpions are usually green in most box art and stuff I've seen. That way you keep the shrine color and yet still have your own flair on it. I do like Lathe Biosas' suggestion of urban camo.
JoshInJapan wrote:What colors are scorpions in nature? That would be my first inclination. I have a unit of Striking Scorpions in browns and tans in a box somewhere, and I always preferred to field them instead of their brothers in the green armor.
Mostly browns I think? Nothing even vaguely close to the aspect colors. I did give half a thought to a desert camo, but it would not match with anything else in my collection. Ok, that’s not entirely true. But the chaos marauders and clan mechs are not exactly seeing a lot of play, and not with the Eldar.
ZergSmasher wrote:I would definitely go with some kind of green camo, as Striking Scorpions are usually green in most box art and stuff I've seen. That way you keep the shrine color and yet still have your own flair on it. I do like Lathe Biosas' suggestion of urban camo.
I gave the test guy a solid coat of goblin green. We’ll work up from there.
Good luck with the Scorpions - I'm looking at my Scorpion KT and having the same thoughts at you about how it gets painted... I'll wait and see yours for some inspiration.
Gun/sword are silver, will get a black wash, then highlights with a brighter silver
Ribbon is red.
Leather/straps are brown.
golds will get the same brown wash as normal.
Eyes/soulstones will get the gloss green. Other gems will get other gloss coats (red or blue, maybe green)
Tubes are blue.
So for the scorpion parts, there are still options.
Head hair/bangle things. I was thinking either a bright yellow, or a beige. The yellow would give the model some pop, a sandy beige would fit better with the stealth/camo.
Do I bother doing anything with the ridges? They are going to get buried in the camo anyway...
And then the question of what shades to use for the camo.
In other news the gaunts are ready for their clean up pass. Assault intercessor sarge is getting built. Put mags in him and his primary arms (fist and plasma)
I like that light green theme! You could work into it even further, by shading towards fluo green on the highlights for example. Very insectian..
Personally I always liked Eldari weapons to have non-metallic colours, that also gives them further distinction from filthy monkeigh stuff. But these are just ideas for you to consider, you do you
tauist wrote: I like that light green theme! You could work into it even further, by shading towards fluo green on the highlights for example. Very insectian..
Personally I always liked Eldari weapons to have non-metallic colours, that also gives them further distinction from filthy monkeigh stuff. But these are just ideas for you to consider, you do you
Part of my attempt to keep my Eldar army looking like a coherent force is to keep some elements uniform. That’s why all ribbons are red; it’s the main color. So even if the aspect has it’s own scheme, they all share that. Same with how the guns are painted etc.
If I was starting from scratch, i might go with a more matte organic wraithbone for everything, reserving metallics for jewelry etc. But unless I want to repaint a lot of stuff (hint: I don’t) I’m stuck keeping things uniform.
Not a bad idea, just not one that fits with my collection.
Tommygun1918 wrote: Nice, it looks like you may be going for a retro paint job on that striking scorpion.
Anything that starts with Goblin Green is intrinsically retro. It is the color of nostalgia. But once I put camo on, it should look a bit less retro. Got the brown wash on, next up is the black.
Gaunts should be basically done, Need to give them a quick check and pop them off the handles. Pus some work on the chaplain, not really happy with the helmet and the sculpted detail on the shoulder is looking rough. But plugging along.
Finished the jump sarge over on the build side, on to the rest of the squad. Not many options, but one of them needs a plasma pistol.
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Dawnstone grey
mornfang brown
abadon black.
I think he needs more pop. Put a basic beige on the tassels, but think I might go yellow. Also need to hit the gems and lenses which might help.
ZergSmasher wrote: That actually looks great; it really breaks up the contours of the model, which is the whole point of camouflage!
It’s the point of real camouflage, but makes for dull minis. Hence my philosophy of the hollywood approach. You can tell what it’s based on, but with more explosions and car crashes. Was thinking maybe give the undersuit a layer of (thinned?) nuln oil to add some contrast?
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Gems and yellow.
Not the black base rim will help ground it a little. Still feels a little off, not sure if I still want to darken bits…
Yeah, pushing the undersuit darker will look good, I think. Maybe paint the mandiblasters a different color to draw more attention to the face. I like how the camo has gone, though, and how the blue and yellow bits stand out.
Just hit the whole thing with nuln oil. It started as a targeted wash, but I thought with all the detail on the armor, might as well slather the whole thing down. We’ll see how it looks when it dries. Will need to re-gloss and probably bump some highlihhts.
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And might be done? Can always pop him back on the handle
The question is what?
New black knight/mounted wights. I just built 5 of the old ones, and it looks like these are just a refreshed modern kit. Would not turn them away, but do I need them? Unsure.
Foot wights. Yah, I need a box of 10. Do I need 20? Less sure.
New mounted wight lord/king. Looks nice, but I like the current one better. Who I just ordered, as if he’s replaced by the new, that’s a big loss. But the new model can be built as a lord or king. So if I get one, he can be the lord.
Vamp on zombie dragon? I like it, but Manfred is my big centerpiece. Do I need another?
Vamp on skeleton steed? Absolutely must have. Nevelon the betrayer will ride again!
New skeletons? Do I need more? Probably not. OK, maybe at least 10 more modern ones that don’t suck.
The launch box is 5 knights, 20 foot wights, and the mounted wight lord. Plus book/cards/etc. Not bad. But I’m fuzzy on the volume of foot, and if I even need the new mounted. Price point will tell.
New spearhead is 5 mounted, 10 foot wights, 20 skeletons, and a foot wight lord. Now I could technically field that with just picking up the foot wights/lord. But if I want to get the new foot wights is this going to be a better deal then the launch box?
Do I just resign myself that by the time I get this painted it’s going to be sometime in AoS 5th edition and not bother with the rules? They will make up a chunk of the value in the launch box.
Things that are happening:
Mounted wight lord (ordered)
Mounted vampire of steed (will get)
Then either:
Launch box
Wight lord on foot
Skeleton box
Or:
Spearhead box
Battletome?
Mounted wight lord?
Price and availability will determine a bit of what happens.
Scorpion looks ace. Nuln oil does the trick. I shall be stealing for my Endor Commandos. As for undead... buy it all. Because, you will. But spearhead, tome , mounted lord.
Dropped the scorp off at the FLGS to hang for a week and get votes for a Mini of the month painting comp. Not expecting much, but we’ll see.
Plugging along. Not happy with the chap, but need to push through. Cent just needs attention. The 2 nids just got the blackwash, eyes/teeth/tounges and base details are next.
3/5 of the assault intercessors are built. Clipped #4.
I had forgot that the old soulblight spearhead had 20 skeletons in it. Which will bring me up to 40 guys on round bases. This is a major strike against the new spearhead, as half the box is going to end up being excessive. The new “budget” option would be a box of the new foot wights and foot lord to allow me to field the new spearhead.
Edit: Posted this over in a thread about tools. Here are some of the things that make the hobby happen around here: OK, snapped a quick pic of what I’ve gathered over a lifetime of hobbying. This is not required to start. You can see compared to the previous pic where I upgraded in the last decade-ish.
Cutting mat. I just used to use the cardboard back of a notepad. The red handled pliers have smooth rounded jaws. So if you need to use them to squeeze a mini, they don’t leave tooth marks. Also used for opening paint pots. Little storage boxes to hold flock, rocks, and other basing supplies. I like a palette with rectangular sides for mixing flock into a paste. Your traditional round dimples make it hard with the tools I use. Foam from an old blister pack serves instead of a sponge for decal work. I was told you should not just float decals in water to get them to come off their backer, but place them on a wet sponge and let them soak though. Shame they don’t use blister packs anymore. I use them when clipping squads as little containers to keep everyone seperate. Also as paint palettes. and flocking before I got the nice rectangle palette. So useful. Microsol/set, liquid GS. normal GS. Green stuff will go stale. I was using some that was 20+ years, and it was murder to mix. Got a fresh stick, much better. Pin vice, assorted drill bits. for gun barrels, support pinning, and magnets. Sticky/poster tack is usefull for holding small bits when painting, or holding minis together to check poses before glueing. Exacto knife, extra blades. I keep an old broken dull one around as a helpful tool, used it before I got the palette knife for spreading flock around. I prefer fine nosed angled tweezers over the classic ones. It’s one of those times where you can just use what you have kicking around, but spending a few bucks just makes things easier. Old toothbrush for cleaning shaving off minis when doing mold lines. Old crappy brushes. The while handled tesotrs brush is when I need to put PVA on bases for flock. Brown one is for microsol/set and decals. Palette knife for spreading flock. If I was buying a new one, I’d get one with a narrower diamond shape. Micro files. Less needed if you just work with plastic, but still sometimes helpful for cleaning tight curves and spots. And metal. Glue. Super (I like the brush applicator) plastic (get the needle tip, so nice) PVA (baseing work) Water cups. I use 2. One for cleaning brushes, one just with clean water I drop out with the straw to thin paints. Painters tape. I use this for hazard stripes, Eldar bike/tank chevrons, and such. They make other options if you need to do more masking tricks Painting handle. I’ve got 5 normal and one big. Needed? Nope. Do I love them and have trouble without? Yes. Magnets. I find 2mm x2mm works for most things, but have an assortment of sizes. Paint rack. I have 2 of these. Sold for nail polish, but works for us. Lots of options out there. Light/magnifyier. You can see the base here. I’m old and my eyes are not what they were. But good light painting is important.
Lathe Biosas wrote:I love how the Scorpion came out!
For some reason, I really like the pink flowers on the base. It Works.
I hope you win.
Thanks.
I recently got new flowers from GSW. Like the tear off kind a lot better then the tufts.
Tommygun1918 wrote:Is your desk that neat when no one is looking?
It’s not even clean now! I wanted a new tools shot so pushed stuff aside and laid everything out nice. I’ll shove everything aside when I need to do more actual work.
blockade23 wrote:Where do you get your replacement drill bits? I've not had much luck locally as I'd like.
Reasonably priced even. Might be able to find it with a discount to get it even cheeper. I know a few non-GW stores localy carry AP stuff, so if it’s not on the shelf, your FLGS might be able to order it. Or Amazon.
Your Scorpion came out looking really great. I liked it before the wash, but the wash is effective.
I actually think it would have been fine without the wash once you finished the base. Too me, it seemed too 'bright' but when you step back and look at it as a whole mini, a lot of that was coming from the white (and bright green) base. The colour on your 'bright' scorpion might look great on your finished base. On your next scorpion, it could be interesting to leave the Nuln wash until after the basing - then you can do a side-by-side picture comparison to see if the brightness of the base was impacting how bright the overall model looked.
I’d be worried that the wash would soak into the flocks and mess things up. Not a bad idea though.
Some progress. Nids almost done. Need a little purple touch up, and a toxic gland on the base of one.
Chaplain got his black touch up. Need to correct a few spots, edge, amd do more on the skull helm.
Built the 4th JP intercessor. One more. Then maybe some undead to build.
So Eldar on pre-order next week. I don’t need everything, but i pretty much want everything. The question is order. And if they do a new CP. Might just start with the codex. Still plenty of knife ears on deck to paint. But a phoenix lord or two might show up. Heh. I love how when I typed that last line the predictive text added the “or two” as a suggestion. It knows me so well.
Scorp turned out pretty good, it should do well in your store comp. And in the Dakka comp too, I should think. I dunno, I've seen a lot of nice minis get passed over in there for some reason. Maybe it's just hard to stand out when everyone is doing so well.
You've got a pretty decent collection of hobby supplies there. I wonder if I should post a picture of mine, too. It's mostly the same type of stuff, but there are differences. I'm glad you're able to get use out of your magnifying light. I went and did a stupid with mine and got one that clamps to a desk, but I don't have a desk that it'll actually clamp to! I should have gotten a floor stand one. Maybe I'll eventually have a dedicated hobby desk someday instead of just my computer desk. Someday...
I guess I could change up my Dakka comp to be the scorp, as he’s the free mini of the month. But was planning on the chaplain. We (collectively) paint to a very high standard here in our comp. I’m not surprised by my general middling placing.
Having a dedicated hobby space is real nice. I’m spoiled for room myself, but remember the days cramped over my computer desk with the keyboard pushed aside.
Chap and nids based and off to the YTD shelf. I’ll grab pics later.
Dug around the bits box to get the aspect shrines. Looks like some squads are going to get once per game abilities that need them. So I’ll clean those up. And try to figure out what to do for the old metal squads.
Eldar leaks are starting to come in. Some mixed feelings. Glad I didn’t put together a jetbike autarch, as he’s gone. Lots of movement buffs. Still fragile elf bits. Will be interesting to get the whole picture.
youwashock wrote: Digging the Chaplain a lot. Wish he had a plasma pistol, for looks, but you still game and I don't know if that is even an option, anymore.
Pretty sure it isn't, sadly. I have the exclusive DA Interrogator-Chaplain from the limited edition Dark Vengeance and he has a plasma pistol, but sadly chappies can't take them anymore. It sucks.
Chappy looks great, Nev! Nids turned out pretty good too.
Tommygun1918 wrote:In the grim dark future, there is only chappies.
The chaplain looks great, but I also have authoritarian ecclesiastical issues.
Chaplains are pure, distilled 40k. Gotta love them
youwashock wrote:Digging the Chaplain a lot. Wish he had a plasma pistol, for looks, but you still game and I don't know if that is even an option, anymore.
Right now the only reason there is even a jump chaplain is the BA have a firstborn model. So technically I could give him a plasma pistol, as the datasheet has tons of legacy options. But the primaris ones they have released tend to stick with a crozius and absolver bolt pistols. So to (hopefully) future proof the mini, I stuck with the basics. Anyway, what more do you need then zeal, faith in the Emperor, a beat-stick badge of office, and a pistol that shoots heavy bolter shells?
Took his formal shots over lunch, will probably do the collage over dinner tonight. Or some other time this weekend.
youwashock wrote: Digging the Chaplain a lot. Wish he had a plasma pistol, for looks, but you still game and I don't know if that is even an option, anymore.
Pretty sure it isn't, sadly. I have the exclusive DA Interrogator-Chaplain from the limited edition Dark Vengeance and he has a plasma pistol, but sadly chappies can't take them anymore. It sucks.
Chappy looks great, Nev! Nids turned out pretty good too.
You posted while I was. Thanks. The JP kept options, but only due to wacky model history. Not something to plan on lasting.
Shrineing up the place in prep of the new codex. Started clipping skeletons. The sprues have bits for a champ and standard bearer, but no musician. Remembering that they are getting a new kit I checked the LVO pic, but don’t see one there, so probably safe to assemble as-is. I think I have some musicy bits kicking around I could have used. But hopefully safe and future proof.
Cleaned up the purple on the nids. Getting paint down.
Same eyes I use for the rest of my marines. He’s just naturally sinister.
Not a fan of the shrines getting rules. I get that they are nice to remember once per game abilities, but clutter up the table. Things like ammo runts/cherubs that looks like they could actually keep up on the battlefield are one thing, but shrines? And it’s not even. Shining spears didn’t get one in their kit, so no rules. Rangers get a little shrine, but no rules. No consistency.
So I’ve read the leaked datasheets/detachments for the Eldar. And now I’m mulling over my wants and needs over my Sunday coffee. “Needs” of course being in the context of the hobby,
Going to grab the codex. I might pick it up at the FLGS to help support them and keep their doors open. Plus eliminate the lag of ordering online.
Fire dragons: I have a squad, with a spare exarch. One with a firepike, the other with a exarch fusion gun. Getting the new kit would let me build the axe option, and field 2 squads. There are a lot of things out there that could use a fusion gun to the face, so doubling up on these guys is not a bad call. The ones I have are finecast, so while a crappy material, new sculpts. On the fence.
Fuegan: I like the way he looks, and he brings a lot to the party. Adding 6” to melta range will let the firepike get the bonus, or if using the grotmass tank detachment’s cloudstrike 6” DS strat, the whole squad. Tasty. Leaning towards “yes” but while the dragons can do fun tricks with him, they don’t really need the support. So it would be harder to justify him in lists.
Swooping hawks: My hawks are old and metal. While fine for the time, plastics are better suited for this aspect, letting them take wing better. Thematically, one of the better aspects for my army; no mud on these guy’s boots. Of the new aspects, these guys probably top the list.
Baharroth: Looks cool (although is 3rd out of 4 of the new PLs), on theme for my army, and brings a LOT to his squad. The ability to pop up and down on the table is real nice for getting them where they need to be. High probability of actually being put into lists.
Warp Spiders: I’ve got a squad of old metals. Exarch with paired spinners and powerblades. While on foot, these guys get a pass for my army theme due to flickerjump shenanigans. That said, I’ve never felt that I needed to field 2 squads before. They have always been a supportive extra. They will be needed in the new CP, but I can use my old ones. On the list of things I’d like, but low. (which honestly can be said about a lot of things in the Eldar range)
Lhykhis: Honestly, my least favorite of the new PL models. But I still like her; it’s a high bar. Rules are kinda bonkers. Strong shooting, blends in CC, slaps a nice debuff on things she shoots, lets her and her squad charge after the 24” flickerjump. I have a feeling we’ll see her a lot on the table. Solid “maybe”
Asurmen: He dosen’t get new aspects, but I’ve already got 2 squads. And one more (slightly damaged) one I could build for exarch options. But he does look very cool. And brings a lot to his squad. In addition to his shooting/chopping, he lets his squad take a normal move after shooting. With no caveat about embarking. As this happens in the shooting phase, it’s not the same phase as they disembarked. I’m sure you can see the shenanigans. My Falcons have traditionally had a FD squad in one and a DA squad in the other. Very tempting to get the PLs and stick them in the 6th seat of each.
Old Stuff? I still want a squad of storm guardians, and an avatar would look great as a centerpeice. But nothing is screaming out as “Buy me NOW!”
So now that’s I’ve rambled on and my coffee is cold, am I any closer to making up my mind? Honestly, I want everything and will probably pick them up in time. Nothing in this wave is not on the “want” list. Which is impressive and says a lot about the quality. But I’m not dropping $400+ on a bunch of space elves all at once.
Wave one will be the codex and probably Fuegan or Asuman at the FLGS on release day.
The one I don’t get will probably be a retail therapy/ gift card use drop at some point.
Wave 2 will be a squad of hawks and their PL dropping in together. I’d like to clear some of the old Eldar out of the PoS before adding them. They can be a reward for clearing the decks of Eldar. Which right now is like 15 infantry and 6 bikes.
If you're short on musical bits, fairly certain I've got some excess bretonnian ones bouncing about. But all you really need is a horn and you're golden.
I've got an active eldar army and am just getting the book and the swooping hawk Phoenix Lord. Made my own out of DE Scourges and they look shockingly close to what GW has created, although w/ bigger wings.
I'm in the same boat as you with the shrines. Just another token to keep track of that I have to paint up (quickly). I never even painted the ranger one, so maybe I'll just use that with my already existing squads or something.
blockade23 wrote: If you're short on musical bits, fairly certain I've got some excess bretonnian ones bouncing about. But all you really need is a horn and you're golden.
I've got an active eldar army and am just getting the book and the swooping hawk Phoenix Lord. Made my own out of DE Scourges and they look shockingly close to what GW has created, although w/ bigger wings.
I'm in the same boat as you with the shrines. Just another token to keep track of that I have to paint up (quickly). I never even painted the ranger one, so maybe I'll just use that with my already existing squads or something.
I’m pretty sure I don’t need the music bits. If it turns out they add them I’m pretty sure I can always cobble together an extra skeleton or two. Or just re-base an old guy to a round one. One issue, which I’m sure is partially intentional, with GW’s rules churn is you never know what the future holds. I’m not chasing that dragon with tertiary armies. I like to keep WYSWYG, but I’ve got limits.
Once I paint up the shrines I have I’ll be fine. Each aspect might not have the correct shrine, but the odds of me putting more then a half dozen squads of aspects down on the table in one list are low. We all are just one big happy family of the god of war and murder here, we can share. The hard part will be waiting until it’s good weather to break out the rattlecan. But they are just going to get a basecoat and a brown wash. Nothing fancy.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Paint down. Nids need black wash next. Wait, need any rubble on the base greyed first. Then blackwash. Marines are plugging along. I think the intercessor is done with his basecoats. Would like to get him done by the end of month to free up the handle.
First skelies built. 3 more clipped so far. Going by the book with swords for the first 10. While there are assigned arms, they are all flat connections, so the next 10 I might just build the bodies and clip random arms and see what happens. Or just build them with the assigned spears. Probably buld other things between the first and last 10 though. The vampire cav for one, maybe Eldar depending how fast I work.
The Chaplain looks great. The edging makes it pop - nice job on it!
I feel you on the Eldar models. Lots of cool and tempting models. But am I going to paint them any time soon? Probably not. Do I need them for games any time soon? Definitely not.
Zambro wrote: The Chaplain looks great. The edging makes it pop - nice job on it!
I feel you on the Eldar models. Lots of cool and tempting models. But am I going to paint them any time soon? Probably not. Do I need them for games any time soon? Definitely not.
The calculus of hobby acquisitions is odd. Wants/Needs/Desires are muddy.
I theoretically am an active 40k player. So I need to be able to put a viable list on the table. That said, I’m an irregular player with multiple armies and an established collection. I’m not playing in any competitive tournaments. I don’t need the latest hotness to crush my foes. There are times I “need” to get minis to play the current edition. Usually when something is critical to how I want to field my army. I’m no meta chaser, but there are times a new shiny will make an army just click. Or datasheets got juggled around and I need more bodies to field legal squads. Or something new like having the models for the combat patrol so I can play that way. Nothing in this release is a firm need. And I already have the squads. So it’s the argument that kept me using my old terminators for decades. Would the hobby budget be better spent on getting something new, instead of upgrading perfectly serviceable minis? That said, I’ve enjoyed the new terminators and am sure I’d enjoy the new aspects.
Wants? Shiny model syndrome is a heck of a thing. There are a lot of things I want, but time and money are not infinite. But I’m an adult, and if something would make me happy and I can keep the bills paid, why not? We are not being rational here. If I was thinking logically, about 9/10th of my collection would be up on eBay. Does it spark joy? It does. I have a collection of minis that stretch back to the start of the hobby. And seeing them sitting there collecting dust does make me happy. Even if they might never see the table. And having a variety of stuff in the Pile of Shame helps keep me busy and out of trouble. Does it make a lot of sense? From a certain PoV. I’m not just a player, but a painter and collector. If we take a step back form the needs of the game, and look at it from a painter’s view, why not? Sure, it might not get paint for a bit, but that can be said for so many other things. The fact that there is not a launch box has put a damper on what I’m going to pick up. With no savings on FOMO box sets, why jump and get things on release? Everything is general product. It will be around for a while. But I deserve a little treat from time to time, and why not a Phoenix Lord?
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Splashed some nuln oil around. Next up is eyes and teeth for the nids, and cleanup blue on the marine. Cleaned and glued the body on skeleton number 3.
I totally get what you're saying about wants/needs/desires. Thankfully in the upcoming releases there really isn't anything for me, so my wallet can rest easy for a bit (unless I decide to pick up existing stuff for my armies, and I'd love to have a High Elf Realms army for The Old World). I've been known to let my desires rule too often, and gotten myself into financial trouble on occasion. Adulting is hard sometimes and I often have to tell myself no when it comes to certain new stuff (like the recent Krieg box).
As for favorite of the new Phoenix Lords, I'd have to go with Baharroth. I'm tempted to pick that guy up just to paint! But, see my above statement about telling myself no.
Just catching up on all your posts, that camo scheme looks excellent, wish I had your brush skils, your figures really pop,,, my figures always seem to come out “flat” even with wash’s, dry brush and edge highlights,,,
ZergSmasher wrote:I totally get what you're saying about wants/needs/desires. Thankfully in the upcoming releases there really isn't anything for me, so my wallet can rest easy for a bit (unless I decide to pick up existing stuff for my armies, and I'd love to have a High Elf Realms army for The Old World). I've been known to let my desires rule too often, and gotten myself into financial trouble on occasion. Adulting is hard sometimes and I often have to tell myself no when it comes to certain new stuff (like the recent Krieg box).
As for favorite of the new Phoenix Lords, I'd have to go with Baharroth. I'm tempted to pick that guy up just to paint! But, see my above statement about telling myself no.
As odd as it sounds, I’m often too good with money. Years of being a stay at home dad in a single income house and a partner who was not the best with money made me crazy frugal. If it’s not load bearing or required, no reason to spend money on it. Buying things just to make me happy? Not in the budget. Now, I’m not rolling in dough, but I’m stable. I can afford treats. But sometimes I need to force myself. But no reason to go crazy
I think I’d rate (as models) the PLs as Fuegan, Asuman, Baharoth, Lahkhis. From a game play POV? Not sure, they all do some pretty nice things. It’s real hard to prioritize who to get first.
Alaricuk wrote:Just catching up on all your posts, that camo scheme looks excellent, wish I had your brush skils, your figures really pop,,, my figures always seem to come out “flat” even with wash’s, dry brush and edge highlights,,,
I blame my any apparent skill with the brush on the lack of good pics. I’m actually pretty sloppy. If your technical skills are not making your minis pop, it might be your palette. If you start with a muted scheme, it’s not going to pop on its own. Even on my camo minis I still include bold colors to help contrast. Real camo is boring; intentionally so.
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Nids got their details over lunch/breaks today. Next step is some cleanup pass and then re-wash the spots that need it. Built a few more skelies. I noticed that suprisingly a few had swords in their off hands. So I needed to make at least one double sword guy. Like the way he turned out. I’ll try to grab pics when I’m next at the bench.
Nids are done, got rocked and tufted. Waiting for flock.
Ordered some more boxes/magnets/metal. If the nighthaunt are going to be borrowing one, I need more. Plus the nids needed another one with more headroom.
Edit:
Put the cleanup blue on the intercessor and built 2 more skeletons over lunch.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Am I going to let a little thing like “the rules” stop me from modeling? I don’t think so.
With a musician. If they ever change the rules so I can have one, I’ve got one. And if anyone gives me crap, I’ll just point out that skeletons can’t actually play the horn, he just caries it out of tradition...
Flocked the nids, off to the YTD shelf with them. I should probably move some more down to the paint handles, still some time before next month starts...
Edit2:
Put the basecoat on two more hormagaunts this morning.
Added 2 more 9Ls to the collection and more magnets and metal. Originally I got A4 magnet sheets, which are 8x10. Turns out, the boxes are 8.5x12(ish). So this time I picked up standard sided 8.5x11, which were far more common. The metal sheets I got were 8x12 (by 1/32nd thick) I might have paid more then I needed, (a 4 pack was a little over $20). The sheetmetal I had picked up before was 2x3 feet and 50ish bucks. Plus I needed to get tin snips and cut it to size, which was a massive PITA. So the cost per box is roughly comparable, without the work and scratching my hands up. I should probably just be glueing the metal straight to the bottom of the boxes, save the cost of the magnetic sheets. I wish there was a mid sized box between the 4L and 9L that stacked nice with them. Some units like nid Warriors with arms up are just a little too tall for the low boxes. But I do have some tray that hang on the top of the boxes which while shallow, can hold rippers and gaunts; anything about an inch or less tall. I should figure out exactly how much headroom there is.
Anyway, now I’ve got boxes to drag everyone around, including the nighthaunt spearhead.
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In painting news put the black wash on the gaunts. Blue ink on the intercessor.
Clipped a few more bits on the vamp rider. Love the look of this kit so far.
Still need to do more work on the marine’s gun, but body is done and off the base. As are the pair of gaunts. Decks are clear for scorpions, which will be next month’s entry.
2 vamps down, the champ and the standard. 3 to go, “basic” guys. I think I’m going to do them all without helmets (I think there are the bits for that) all the better to feed.
Added 2 more 9Ls to the collection and more magnets and metal. Originally I got A4 magnet sheets, which are 8x10. Turns out, the boxes are 8.5x12(ish). So this time I picked up standard sided 8.5x11, which were far more common. The metal sheets I got were 8x12 (by 1/32nd thick) I might have paid more then I needed, (a 4 pack was a little over $20). The sheetmetal I had picked up before was 2x3 feet and 50ish bucks. Plus I needed to get tin snips and cut it to size, which was a massive PITA. So the cost per box is roughly comparable, without the work and scratching my hands up. I should probably just be glueing the metal straight to the bottom of the boxes, save the cost of the magnetic sheets. I wish there was a mid sized box between the 4L and 9L that stacked nice with them. Some units like nid Warriors with arms up are just a little too tall for the low boxes. But I do have some tray that hang on the top of the boxes which while shallow, can hold rippers and gaunts; anything about an inch or less tall. I should figure out exactly how much headroom there is.
Anyway, now I’ve got boxes to drag everyone around, including the nighthaunt spearhead.
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In painting news put the black wash on the gaunts. Blue ink on the intercessor.
Clipped a few more bits on the vamp rider. Love the look of this kit so far.
I know this wasn't the purpose of this picture, but it answered a question that's been simmering in the back of my brain for a long time.
OGRE! I recognized the font, and it all came flooding back to me. That was my first wargame.
Oh, and if you figure out how to make boxes made for magnetic model bases, I think you are sitting on an excellent business opportunity.
OGRE, Car Wars, Battletech and SFB all saw a lot of play back in the 80s, early 90s. I’d be hard pressed to say what my first wargame was. Complicated by the fuzzy lines of what separates board games from wargames. Risk? Axis and Allies?
There are a number of companies that make magnetic transport options. And tutorials for DIY ones. They are pretty simple to make. It’s not like I could upcharge based on my skill making them. If you are in the hobby, you can make your own. I do have a friend who works in the steel fabrication industry, so might be able to get stuff custom cut just right. But that’s a lot of work for a side hustle that probably is going to have lousy margins. It’s not a bad idea, but it’s a crowded market and easy to do yourself at my level.
Those Deathrattle-Skeletons are really nice. All the Age of Sigmar stuff is so good.
I'm very tempted to pick up some Cities of Sigmar minis to convert into inquisitors or those Freeguild Steelhelms into something for that new Trench crusade game.
This also reminds me, I need to look into magnetizing the bases for all my new minis.
AoS is rocking from a minis’ PoV. I keep on wanting to grab stuff for painting projects, but already have a lot going on.
So hit the FLGS to pick up my scorpion (I came solidly in the middle of the pack for votes) and the FMotM Clan rat. Who I’m not even going to try to paint in a week. Got a demo game in. New player, the GW guy had run him through a couple turns, but had to tend to the store. So I played a quick not-Combat Patrol game. No objectives, just death using starter rules to just get a feel of movement and attacks.
Victory for the new guy! My Ultras fought bravely, but ultimately were food for the swarm. Guy had fun, and is getting more comfortable with the rules, so while a tactical loss for me, a strategic win for the hobby.
These guys are done being built and off to the to-prime pile. Mostly done building the old wight king. Not a easy model to assemble. Trying to decide how many parts to leave him in for paint. The back with the cape blocks a lot, but includes half his shoulders.
Scorps are getting along. Greens and browns down.
Put rocks and tufts down on the 2 gaunts and the intercessor (who’s gun is also progressing.
No new pics of all that, as I’ve got guys replacing my furnace, so am a little blocked from my workbench.
Automatically Appended Next Post: The gaps on the shoulder needed work, so just glued.
Digging out parts to make a glave DA exarch. Found 2 more shrine looking bits.
Welp, I wasn’t planning on getting her, but the WSPL came home with me. I guess when the guy at the FLGS told me “We’re getting 2 of each new release” it was only dice, codex, squad boxes, and her. Not the planned order, but as I said before, I want basically everything in this release wave. It’s just a mater of priorities. I think I’m going to have to enforce some sort of PoS neutrality clause. No more elves until I clear out some of the backlog.
So right now I have the 5 scorps on deck getting paint (which I need to get a move on)
5 more scorps waiting (one actually needs to be primed, the free mini of the month guy)
5 Dire Avengers
3 Shroudrunners
3 Shining Spears
To build:
1 Farseer on foot
1 Old bike
1x Lhykhis (going to take a while before I remember that spelling)
The old stuff on sprue is likely to stay there for a while.
So I started reading the codex. Read through the background. I like that it’s like half mythology. Really sets the mood for the Eldar. Trying to digest the datasheets is hard. Not only do you have leaders to consider on how units work, but what detachment are you using? Because that changes everything. It does not help that my vision for my army is in the center of a venn diagram of like 3 of them. Bikes, tanks, and aspect warriors. There are also a lot of synergy buff/debuffs tossed into the army, sometimes in odd spots. Like if a War Walker tags you, everyone else who shoots that unit gets an extra point of AP. Or when a Vyper lands a hit, you suppress the target giving it -1 to hit until your next turn. One thing I’ve picked up in my years of wargaming is that it’s not the force adders that win games, but the multipliers. Not that you don’t need a few hammers, but the ability to leverage things to make all your units better is huge.
Looking at units in a vacuum when there is so much of this in the list is rough. You can take a look at something like the Night Spinner and think “this guy would cash out MEQ, but is only AP-1. But if you light up the target first with a WW and some shroudrunners, suddenly you have an extra pip of AP and ignore cover. I honestly want to print out a copy of everything and put up a red string conspiracy board with all the ways things interact. That would take a huge amount of work though. Flipping back and forth through the book theorycrafing it is.
It will give me something to do while I recover from clearing a foot of snow off the driveway. Enjoy your Sundays all.
It's been great catching up on what you've been up to in the last few weeks.
Those storage boxes are great. I have a load of them myself. Excellent for storage, and just as good for carting around RnF fantasy armies to events. And, (and this is a huge bonus), they make it harder for the partner to keep a track of how many minis I have. I only ever usually have 2 or 3 boxes out and on the go at any one time, the rest are stored in the loft. The partner only sees a box of minis - I'm not sure if she realises that 1) there are more boxes in the loft and 2) the minis in the box get rotated regularly. The 2-3 boxes are probably closer to 7-8...
The paint progress is great. I look forward to you starting to shift some of your Eldar. Seeing them getting painted is always good.
Zambro wrote: It's been great catching up on what you've been up to in the last few weeks.
Those storage boxes are great. I have a load of them myself. Excellent for storage, and just as good for carting around RnF fantasy armies to events. And, (and this is a huge bonus), they make it harder for the partner to keep a track of how many minis I have. I only ever usually have 2 or 3 boxes out and on the go at any one time, the rest are stored in the loft. The partner only sees a box of minis - I'm not sure if she realises that 1) there are more boxes in the loft and 2) the minis in the box get rotated regularly. The 2-3 boxes are probably closer to 7-8...
The paint progress is great. I look forward to you starting to shift some of your Eldar. Seeing them getting painted is always good.
Just remember to answer and direct inquires honestly. It’s one thing to not point out an issue, another to actively deceive. Relationships are built on trust and communication. Even the impression you are trying to pull one over could be harmful. But that’s enough unsolicited relationship advice for now.
So built this guy:
He came to me in parts, some of which I’m not sure matched, and with his right root snipped off. Hopefully he comes across as an exarch. Had to fudge the shimmersheld, and the head is just a basic DA one. Anyway, off to the to-prime pile.
Getting more layers down on the scorps.
Also the intercessor’s gun arm is almost done, just needs blue edges. And then assembly and a deal. Getting there.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Interesting build. I was a little worried when I opened the box, as the sprue had a bit of a curve to it. And the way kits go together these days, things need to line up just so. And this was no exception. But my worries were largely unfounded. I thought about leaving her in a few parts to paint, but decided to just glue everything. Some of that if I wanted to fix her to the web before the glue had fully set. That way I could be sure everything would line up correctly. For those interested, if you wanted to re-base her not with the swirly crap it would take some, but not a lot of knife work. Not just a snip, clip and done. There is swirly stuff lightly wrapped along the feet, web injectors, and butt plate. But mostly easy access, and smooth surfaces. The flesh arms have square pegs for alignment, but if you clipped those off would be easy or adjust. Spider arms on the backpack would be a little harder, the uppers more then the lowers.
She’s a unique character, so not a lot of reason to build 2. But if you wanted to, the kit could be modded with intermediate skills.
For those who don’t follow the comp, My JP chaplain got to share in 2nd place. My second podium finish in 10 years we’ve been at it. Also, if you don’t follow, go, get something entered. This month is “Suprise!” You’ve got 2 weeks left.
Speaking of which:
Should be done with the basecoats. Next is some touch up work, and the camo. Which doubles as touch up work.
Finished decal and bases on the 2 nids and the patiently waiting marine. They are off to the YTD shelf, which is actually looking pretty good for this time of year.
Brave man, fully assembling that spider-gal. That Exarch looks like his dancing days are far from over. Nice recovery. Given how the single scorpion turned out, I am very much looking forward to a group of them.
Part of the problem with the spider is how I would hold her to paint if not attached to her base? Also wanting to get everything in the right spot while there was still wiggle room before the glue set. Which was needed.
I’m still trying to wrap my brain around putting together an Eldar list. So many moving parts. Also the desire to keep a tight theme vs. including units for mechanical reasons. Like War Walkers. I picked them up by accident. They were part of a previous battleforce where even if I tossed them straight into the bin, I’d still be saving money. And now they hand out “Oh, I landed a shot on you? The rest of my army now gets an extra point of AP against you for the turn” Kinda crazy good. But they touch the ground. But are kinda advance scout-y. I have feeling on including them...
I should also survey my exarchs for wargear options. It looks like they did a fairly good job making them all situationally good.
I should also get to painting for the day. Done with coffee.
Hope everyone’s weekend is off to a good start!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Just did a quick survey on points, by plugging what I could into the 40k app. Eldar are about 4,060 points, and the Tyranids are 4,280. Painted, based ready for battle. Does not include the stuff on the YTD shelf. Also does not count legends models or guys I couldn’t get into squads. There was some rounding up/down for them. If I wanted to be more diligent I could math out the points per model and get a better count, but can’t be bothered.
The only thing really giving me rule of 3 issues were ripper swarms.
Kinda affraid to do the Ultras, as that is a lot more work.
Zambro wrote: It's been great catching up on what you've been up to in the last few weeks.
Those storage boxes are great. I have a load of them myself. Excellent for storage, and just as good for carting around RnF fantasy armies to events. And, (and this is a huge bonus), they make it harder for the partner to keep a track of how many minis I have. I only ever usually have 2 or 3 boxes out and on the go at any one time, the rest are stored in the loft. The partner only sees a box of minis - I'm not sure if she realises that 1) there are more boxes in the loft and 2) the minis in the box get rotated regularly. The 2-3 boxes are probably closer to 7-8...
The paint progress is great. I look forward to you starting to shift some of your Eldar. Seeing them getting painted is always good.
Just remember to answer and direct inquires honestly. It’s one thing to not point out an issue, another to actively deceive. Relationships are built on trust and communication. Even the impression you are trying to pull one over could be harmful. But that’s enough unsolicited relationship advice for now.
I was being somewhat facetious, but you are right. I went through a phase of having a "warhammer conversation of the day" with her, where I talk about my models / armies, lore, games, up coming events, etc. in the vague hope to generate a little bit of interest and get her to paint a model. It didn't materialise. Maybe a second attempt is in order.
It's awesome that the Chaplain landed in second - well done mate!
You're going to have to update your signature block too... You count 4k of Nids but your signature says 2k. You're all aboard the bug train now!
I was going to, but after I posted that I started to tally up the Ultras in the same way, but as the app doesn’t have legends, which make up a chunk of the shelf, I switched over to battlescribe. There was an issue updating the files, so I just used the old one. It bugged out and crashed, and I just gave up. Did not go back to update my sig, but just did it now. I should probably call the nids out by name, but for now they can live under assorted oddities.
So painting is going well. Just put down the black wash. Next step is to brighten up the gems and do some edging. The exarch will also need his ruin painted, but I knew the wash was going to pool around his feet, so it will need a cleanup pass first.
I should do more work on the cent. I did put some greys down on him the other days.
Thinking about what to build, and the PoS is actually a little on the thin side for grey plastic. Not that I don’t have a big old box of random stuff. And some stuff that was re-gifted to me from The Boy. I should probably slap together 5 intercessors for the company project. I’ve also got another 10 skeletons that need building, but the undead primed box is kinda packed, and the to-prime pile is also chock full of bones and bloodsuckers.
Edit: OK, Ultras in the app with a bit of counts-as is actually down to 14k. Napkin math on legends stuff is a little less then another thousand points. This is not counting stuff on the swap shelf (now in a drawer) or models that are retired in reserve status (like the 2nd ed tacs, Calgar in artificer armor, etc) So I’m just going to leave my sig at 16k+ as that’s probably a decent ballpark of the complete collection.
Man I'm jealous you got a hold of the Phoenix Lord - I wasn't able to grab one from GWs website or anywhere else for any amount of money that was even moderately reasonable. Everything is looking good. I Like the scorpion camo styling - looks a bit more like what they should be other than bright in your face green.
blockade23 wrote:Man I'm jealous you got a hold of the Phoenix Lord - I wasn't able to grab one from GWs website or anywhere else for any amount of money that was even moderately reasonable. Everything is looking good. I Like the scorpion camo styling - looks a bit more like what they should be other than bright in your face green.
I actually felt a little bad picking her up, as I knew a lot of other people out there coveted her a lot more then me, and she was lower down on my to-buy list. But If I’m dragging myself to be there when the door opens, i’m walking away with something shiny.
Bright emerald stealth troops never sat right with me either, hence the camo.
Lathe Biosas wrote:I think your camo scorpions are going to look great in the tabletop.
I have noticed your Centurions have once again vanished into the warp.
He’s there, just out of frame.
Tufts down, next up is flock and formal shots.
Moved the next 4 down to the handles, put green on 2 of them. While I’m on a roll and have time, might as well try to finish them up. I’ll need to revisit when the last guy gets primed, but as scorp number 11, he’s no rush.
I'm liking your approach to the Scorpions. Going with green camo keeps them close to classic Aspect colors without the eye-burning brightness of 2ed paintjobs.
Also, I'm intrigued by your approach to basing. I'm a white glue-and-sand guy, and I usually have the bases about 90% finished before I start painting the model. How do you keep flock and snow off the finished models?
That’s a wrap on the front half of the squad. Back half is plugging along.
And that’s also a wrap on my year 10 of the comp.
So mixed feeling for the year.
32 minis painted, which feels low, but is above average (30) Now for October I picked the best 5 out of like 20 models, which was good. But both July and August were supposed to be full squads and ended up with loners. Which is bad.
On a model per month I had a good mix. Typically the 1 model months are HQs/monsters/vehicles, but two of mine this year were just troopers. It happens.
Feels very marine heavy, but again, within statistical norms. This year was 8/12, where I average 61% Ultramarines. And only basic blue company marines and a pair of black chaplains. No scouts or phobos to at least pretend to have some variety. At least the 4 non-marine months were no repeats.
While the vote hasn’t started for Feb yet, overall I’ve polled pretty well. My JP chaplain got me a slice of silver, cut 3 ways. September was also a very strong showing. Which is a little odd, as I think the bike chap was my best month, with the nightguard and jump chap behind him in that order. We’ll see what the final standings look like, I might crack the top 10. (un)fortunately we have enough quality people entering regularly enough that my tactic of “just showing up every month” is not what it used to be.
Overall pretty happy with the year. Could be better, could be worse. The first half being 100% marines was not a good start, but I was able to mix things up at the end.
Automatically Appended Next Post: You guys posted while I was typing that wall of text.
JoshInJapan wrote:I'm liking your approach to the Scorpions. Going with green camo keeps them close to classic Aspect colors without the eye-burning brightness of 2ed paintjobs.
Also, I'm intrigued by your approach to basing. I'm a white glue-and-sand guy, and I usually have the bases about 90% finished before I start painting the model. How do you keep flock and snow off the finished models?
Black rim and put a base color down on top. That’s not really needed as it’s going to be covered, but sometimes it peeks out around grass tufts or rocks, so I like to have something that’s not going to clash
Rocks and tufts get glued down to the base next, regardless of what style of flock
For the grass:
I water down some PVA glue about 50:50 with water and then paint it over the base, trying to avoid getting it on the model. Then I swish the model though a tub of flock. After I make sure flock has touched every part of the base it needs to, I hold the model sideways and tap the base rapidly to knock the excess off. From a few angles. Basically drumming my fingers on it. Generally the flock just sticks to the glue, but not the model. If I do need to remove loose flock, I just use an old dry paintbrush to knock it off.
For snow:
Again, I start with a 50:50 mix of PVA and water, but I mix in the snow flock until I get a paste that’s a little runny, but still mostly firm. Nape would be the cooking term. This gets smeared around the base to make sure it at least touches everywhere I want it, and built up a bit if I want drifts. Then it’s the same swish through the tub of loose flock and knock the excess off. For whatever reason the snow clings better to the models then the grass, but I like the look of that. They are trudging though the winter, going to get some snow up on their legs. If it’s too much, again with the dry brush to knock it off. If I accidentally got some glue on the model, a wet brush is used to dilute the glue to uselessness and grab the clingy bits.
For rubble (Not that I do a lot of them, but SoB, Salamanders, and a few odds and ends:
Bases start fully blacked.
Straight PVA is applied to the base, and the mini is swished through the basalt. Bits might need to be gently pushed into place. Not as simple as the flock. Once that is completely dry, a 50:50 PVA/water mix is liberally applied to help seal down the rocks. I may apply a coat of Nuln oil afterwords? I honestly forget and might only do it sometimes. I’d have to dig for an answer.
youwashock wrote:Scorpion group looks very good. Bring on the glamor shots!
Tommygun1918 wrote: Nice collection, I think I missed the night guard one though.
Spoiler:
When they re-printed Cursed City as a MTO a while back I snapped up a copy. Took me a bit to get it all built and primed, but I’m actually getting some paint on them occasionally these days. Especially with me paying more attention to Age of Sigmar. There were so many fun minis in the box. And with the Nighhaunt laid to rest, it’s time to unearth the Soulblight.
Nice wrap-up for the monthly, too. You've got some great pieces in there. Maybe I should go back and look at my entries.
I’ll post a year end review thread for the comp next week, for people to share their retrospectives. It’s still a bit early in the month to start it. A lot of peple still working on the month’s entries.
Huh. Your approach to basing is pretty much 100% the opposite of mine. Do you leave a little space around the models' feet so as to avoid gluing flock on them? On models with a slotta tab, I leave them just a little higher than the surface of the base so I can glue the sand right up to their feet, so that they look like they're standing on the ground. I sometime have to Liefeld models that attach directly to the base because they look like they're sinking in quicksand if I'm not extra careful.
JoshInJapan wrote: Huh. Your approach to basing is pretty much 100% the opposite of mine. Do you leave a little space around the models' feet so as to avoid gluing flock on them? On models with a slotta tab, I leave them just a little higher than the surface of the base so I can glue the sand right up to their feet, so that they look like they're standing on the ground. I sometime have to Liefeld models that attach directly to the base because they look like they're sinking in quicksand if I'm not extra careful.
I'm having the exact opposite problem, as I'm trying to make Knights look like they are so heavy, they sink into the sand.
What I want to know, is how do you place those flowers and other bits of foliage on the base so neatly?
For both grass and snow I like the fact that it hides the feet a little. It does bother me a little on the rubble bases, as that goes down in a fairly thick layer, and the mini “sinks” deeper into it than realistically they should.
For many years I didn’t base at all. I just tidied up the bases with black paint and called it a day. At one point I did goblin green and flock my undead, but never consistently kept them based when I added more units. So when it came time to base, I needed a style that could be done to existing models. And I was not going to cut everyone of their bases. This style of flocking works with that, where painted sand would not. I know how messy I am. If I tried to paint sand on a finished mini, I’d slop everywhere. And the reverse. If I tried to paint a mini on a finished base, it would not stay finished and would need a lot of touch ups.
Tufts are applied with tweezers. I recommend a pair of angled tip long ones. Front and center in this pic:
Spoiler:
Pull the tuft off the sheet with the tweezers (for tear away sheets like the new flowers I use my fingers and then pick it up with the tweezers)
Put a dab of PVA glue on the bottom
Place on the base. Nudge around as needed; PVA gives you a lot of time to work.
I normally do that last step with the magnifier, but not always. I try to make sure everyone has enough rocks/tufts/flowers going on all over the base so it doesn’t feel empty.
Second batch of scorpions getting along. Just put the brown wash down. Next step will be a little touch up on the green, then camo. In an ideal world I’d like to get them done and off the handles today. We’ll see how optimistic that goal is.
Gitsplitta wrote: Great work on the Scorpions Nev! One of my all time favorite Eldar units/sculpts.
Thanks. That’s an interesting question. What is my favorite all time Eldar unit/sculpt? Was thinking a bit about this in the “what attracted you to your army” thread.
Falcon grav tank is way high on the list. It’s what got me to start them as an army, and not just as a random collection of minis as an OpFor for RT as a RPG.
I always like the rangers. Never got the real old metal ones, got the mid range in finecast, new plastics.
Pretty much all the seers, Warlocks, Farseers, on bike or foot. Of my collection I like the one with the staff.
Bikes got a major glow up over their previous versions. Big fan.
Of the aspects? A lot of the old ones suffered from the limitations of the time. While I love the old hawks and banshees, the flat metal poses did not do them any favors. I like the fluid motion of the new ones. Really sells the grace of the faction.
I do like the new scorpions, don’t get me wrong. But they are not in my top 5 favorite Eldar units.
--
Did some more touchups (missed a few gold bits) ready for camo
Gitsplitta wrote:That was one of the things I've always loved about the craft world eldar... something for everyone to spark their imagination.
Looking forward to more goodness!
The range is pretty diverse. Which is a good thing.
Lathe Biosas wrote:I noticed the Centurion made another appearance in the background.
What's that on his back?
Omniscope? I don’t think it has specific rules in 10th, but IIRC let the unit ignore cover. But I forget, and am too lazy to dig into the old codexes right now. Now it’s just fancy bling for the sarge.
--
Black wash down. Next step to to polish the gems and put some green and silver highlights down. Plus a few other odds and ends. But almost done.
youwashock wrote:Great job, Nev! Scorpions coming on strong!
Just need to be flocked and they are done.
blockade23 wrote:I love how you formatted your completed minis list - what program did you use for that?
Snow bases with the Ultramarines are so iconic and striking - I feel like that should be the default GW basing scheme for them.
I use a program called PhotoScape. It’s free (although you can pay to unlock more templates/features). Would recommend.
I think the fact that my Ultras are darker then normal helps make the snow look better. I do agree they are the best base for Ultras, but may be biased.
Edit: Put some base grey seer on 4 dire avengers. Going to try to contrast paint 90% of them and see how quick I can get them done.
Edit2: Scorpions are flocked and off to the YTD shelf. Not feeling up to detail work right now, which is where the DA will need to start, so no paint tonight.
Lathe Biosas wrote: I'm amazed at the speed in which you paint to such a high level. You will finish your army before I finish buying all the paints I need.
Finish an army? I understand the words individually, but together they don’t make any sense. There is only the long war vs the pile of shame and the lure of shiny models.
This year is actually off to a fast start. My nominal pace is one model a week, and I think I’ve doubled that. 22 I think so far this year.
ZergSmasher wrote: No army is ever finished, but you're making good progress on your space elves. The Scorpions turned out really great!
Of all my armies, they might be the ones with the most stuff I still want to add to them. Not just from this last wave (where I want everything) but the prior one as well.
Marines I don’t “need" anything. Obviously, that won’t stop me from adding more. And getting it to the full company will need another box or 3.
Tyranids are pretty set. I think the only thing I really covet for them is a box of zoenthropes. I’d have to review. Right now their goal is to clear the decks of all the backlog. Which I’m doing well on.
Fantasy is fuzzy. Not sure if I want to buy in past the spearhead level. And I’ve got enough stock to keep me in minis for a lot of Halloweens.
--
Put the brown and black washes on the DAs. Next step is a clean up pass, then the contrasts.
Lot of progress with the DA. Put the blue down yesterday, did some cleanup this morning, andd put the white on the helmets. Once that dries, they get the red for the crests, and the green for the eyes/soulstones. Few extra gems and touch ups and almost there. Put the first silver on the guns, they will be next.
Going to paint the indominus shield captain for this month, maybe a pair of BGVs. I’d also like to get the duel gun DA exarch done, just to fully clear that squad from the primed pile. And there are always more gaunts to paint. I want to leave a couple spots open on the painting handles to cycle some of them through as well.
Yup. Unless I decide to paint more in arctic camo that require bases. Which I don’t plan on. The shroudrunners, being ranger-based, will get painted white, but they are on transparent flight stands.
I had in the past tried to find white rocks for my Dire Avengers, and may try to continue this. I’ll also need to look at what flowers they had and try to match.
Forgot the gun arms had armbands, so working on those before the blue. Bodies are done, unless I decide to go back and highlight/brighten things up.
Moved the exarch down to start him while I’ve got them fresh in my mind. March is going to be the captain and a pair of BGV. I might risk the weather and prime the free mini of the month and do up a fire dragon. Not that I need more, but hey, free mini.
Edit: Went out into the garage with the FD, rattlecan was light, but hey, it’s only one mini. Single spritz and dry. Not sure if I feel like hitting the hardware store today for a fresh can. I need to head out to the area a week from tomorrow, might just hit it then.
Almost done. Popped them back up on the handles to do the last cleanup and highlights on the guns. Rocked and tufted. The only thing left now is I need to gloss the lenses on the scope (which I forgot about, just put the base green down on them) and to flock them once the glue on the rocks/tufts dries.
Based and done. Quick pick is a little blurry, I’ll get formal pics of them once I finish the exarch. Which now that I think about it I might push off until later this month or next. I have the one I just built who needs to be primed. I could do both at once. I think I will use the space to run a few pairs of gaunts across the bench while I wait.
Put the blue down on one of the BGVs over lunch. They need to hit the YTD shelf. I think for maybe the first time ever the Eldar have the advantage up there.
Yay! Back to Ultramarines. No more space elves for you.
EDIT: And Tyranids, didn't see those two guys. I'm going to blame my lack of glasses on that error... either that or they are sneaky vanguard organisms and they are doing their job of hiding from the dumb human.
Ultras should make up over 50% of what I paint. There is obviously some flex in that number, and they are off to a slow start. Actually, that’s not fair. It’s the Eldar that are off to a great start. Ultras are actually on pace.
So hit the FLGS for a pick up game. 1k points matched play. We were both new to matched games, so were figuring things out as we went.
His list was something like 10 man squads of hellblasters, terminators, and assault intercessors with a chaplain and a dread. Mine was a lot more mixed. Tacs in a rhino, aggressors w/ a captain and intercessors in a repulsor, shooty dread, scouts, and outriders.
Supply drop, deployment were one flank is a little closer then the next.
Not going to do a turn by turn. Points were pretty close throughout, but pretty much all my non-vehicles were dead at the bottom of the third round.
Take aways:
I thought there would be more action based secondaries. I had a total of one. We were using the pariah nexus deck. I included units like the scouts and the bikes so I’d have action monkey units, as people seemed to think they were needed. I thought with his giant blocks he’d have trouble. He did not.
Balistus dreads are subject to moody dice. He was often not shooting at the oathed target, and whiffed a lot. Might have just been my dice today.
Agressors hit like a truck, still kinda fragile.
Rhinos can still be irritating. charging into units, rolling around.
Tac squad took an action, shot some random shots, didn’t do a whole lot. But I got the RTB01s down in a game this edition, so that’s a win.
I need to remember to use more starts. especially with the captain giving a free one a round.
Bikes were not as impressive as I remember them. Might be the changes to the TL rules for the guns. Just not that many shots, and they never got into CC.
Scouts hid and did nothing most game. I wanted to keep them alive for actions they were never needed for.
Ballistus Dreads don't need to shoot the oath target to get rerolls normally; as long as the target has at least half of their health they get hit rerolls anyway. Now, if it was the wound rerolls you were failing, well, then oath wouldn't help you much there either (except maybe now that vanilla marines get +1 to wound against the oath target).
Normally I'd say tactical marines are kind of poopoo this edition, but for a friendly game, eh, bring 'em if you want. As far as action monkey units, they are more useful at higher points games. Also it sounds like maybe you just drew poor cards, which can and does happen sometimes. At lower points, often the strategy can be to just flatten the other guy's army before they do the same to you. Either way, nice to hear you managed to get a game, as I know you said you wanted to play a few more games this year.
Rerolls are nice and all, but if you dice don’t feel like going above a 2, not a huge help. Just failed on some clutch rolls.
One perk of him doing large units was armor of contempt was pretty much up on the thing I wanted to kill all the time. And I just didn’t bring the firepower. A lot of my list was trying to get new stuff to the table, support it, or include things for fluffy reasons. Like the RTB01 tac squad with the ML/F that’s been serving in every edition.
Next time I think I’ll work up a little tighter of a list. And probably remember to use more tricks. I used almost none of my detachment bonuses. He was playing with the BT one just becasue it was simple to remember. Not a bad idea for coming to grips with a new edition. Which sad as it is to say, was both of us.
Tyranid Horde wrote: The Eldar you've been working on are looking the part! I'm surprised you've not joined the protest group for this month's painting challenge
The thought did cross my mind. But while I recognize the protest, and the reasons behind it, I cannot join it. Not like I don’t have plenty of marines that need painting.
Tyranid Horde wrote: The Eldar you've been working on are looking the part! I'm surprised you've not joined the protest group for this month's painting challenge
The thought did cross my mind. But while I recognize the protest, and the reasons behind it, I cannot join it. Not like I don’t have plenty of marines that need painting.
And you have the best Ultramarines.
The snow bases look amazing with the blue.
Tyranid Horde wrote: The Eldar you've been working on are looking the part! I'm surprised you've not joined the protest group for this month's painting challenge
The thought did cross my mind. But while I recognize the protest, and the reasons behind it, I cannot join it. Not like I don’t have plenty of marines that need painting.
And you have the best Ultramarines.
The snow bases look amazing with the blue.
Thanks!
More paint going down slowly. the 2 gaunts are off to wait for their bases, 2 more started.
The first spraying of Spring is like Ground hog's Day.
If it works you're fine, but if it comes out rough or dimpled then it means six more weeks of Winter.
Tommygun1918 wrote: The first spraying of Spring is like Ground hog's Day. If it works you're fine, but if it comes out rough or dimpled then it means six more weeks of Winter.
If you’ve jinxed it, you go into the book of grudges.
Now I need to go check.
Edit: Looks clean. It was a new can of primer, so always a little extra worry
Lathe Biosas wrote: Looking at that picture made my back hurt, as I saw all the leaves on the ground... waiting to be raked.
My back has been acting up all week, pretty bad today. I was a slacker in the fall, didn’t rake them early. At this point they can wait until June when I start to mow. Even though today was in the high 50s, still a lot of snow that hasn’t melted yet.
So appropriate that the Amazon box you're using says Prime on it
I got lucky and managed to find a gap in the weather to get a few minis sprayed myself. Now it's really windy so I don't know how soon I'll get more done.
Lathe Biosas wrote: Looking at that picture made my back hurt, as I saw all the leaves on the ground... waiting to be raked.
My back has been acting up all week, pretty bad today. I was a slacker in the fall, didn’t rake them early. At this point they can wait until June when I start to mow. Even though today was in the high 50s, still a lot of snow that hasn’t melted yet.
I feel your pain. Except for the snow part. I flew south for the winter... and now live in the land of the Laughing Gull and the Fish Crow. (Imagine Nelson's laugh from the Simpsons mixed with a caw).
I hope you feel better. And just wait on the leaves, they'll eventually decompose.
ZergSmasher wrote:So appropriate that the Amazon box you're using says Prime on it
I got lucky and managed to find a gap in the weather to get a few minis sprayed myself. Now it's really windy so I don't know how soon I'll get more done.
Heh. Just following the instructions on the box! March is always hit or miss here. We often get a few good days, but often they have short windows where things are in the goldilocks zone.
Now I just need to find space in the primed pile for everyone. It’s a little cramped.
Lathe Biosas wrote: Looking at that picture made my back hurt, as I saw all the leaves on the ground... waiting to be raked.
My back has been acting up all week, pretty bad today. I was a slacker in the fall, didn’t rake them early. At this point they can wait until June when I start to mow. Even though today was in the high 50s, still a lot of snow that hasn’t melted yet.
I feel your pain. Except for the snow part. I flew south for the winter... and now live in the land of the Laughing Gull and the Fish Crow. (Imagine Nelson's laugh from the Simpsons mixed with a caw).
I hope you feel better. And just wait on the leaves, they'll eventually decompose.
There is something to be said for letting nature be nature. Letting them decompose gets some of the nutrients back into the soil instead of chemical fertilizer. Not that I’ve ever been huge on the Americana picture perfect green lawn, but I’m not even trying with this house. When I bought it 4 years ago the lawn was trash. Literally in places with dead trees, a rotting treehouse full of junk, and a stagnant broken pool. I've taken care of that, but there is a lot of sand and generally poor soil still kicking around. It’s not load bearing, so can be pushed off. At some point I need to have landscaping done, but as it’s probably going to require a truck full of topsoil and re-grading parts, it’s no time soon. Plus I’d want to have the deck re-done before that.
I keep seeing things like “bees winter in leaf piles and dead branches” and “no-mow May” so I’m doing all this for the pollinators. Not because I’m lazy, hate yard work, and don’t want to spend the money. The pollinators.
Every part of the world has their own weather issues. Here in the North East of the USA, it’s the snow. Long winters and ice storms, but hey generally no earthquakes, hurricanes or brutal humidity. At least for now. Every place has it’s pros and cons, mine just affect my ability to spray prime.
So hit the FLGS yesterday for AoS time. Played a game against someone who brought a 1k list, so we kinda faked it with my spearhead worth of nighhaunt. I ended up almost tabled at the end, with just 2 chainrasps left, but only one objective behind for the game. Pretty sure we got a lot of rules wrong. While I read the main rules once, I was more focused on the spearhead ones, which are pretty streamlined.
Might have gotten myself talked into a path to glory campaign. Need to find where the rules for those are.
Quixote wrote: I just noticed something - Who is the fellow on the front if your Space Marine's shield?
He looks too small to be a marine.
Also, what is Spearhead, is that like Combat Patrol for AoS?
He’s a bit folded up, but the relic bones of a marine. He’s got the implant plugs. I assume. Similar to the guy hanging up on the bladeguard ancient . The shield is stock from the indominus box. I think the only mod I did on the captain is the crest on his helmet.
Spearhead is similar to combat patrol, but a little more self contained. Same concept though. One box gets all you need to play an army, separate datasheets from the full game, in theory all the boxes are balanced against each other. It’s a fun entry point to the hobby.
Few more details done. Gaunts need the black lines on their eyes then touchups.
Also in the news, put magnets on all the non-spearhead nighthaunt in case I want to pack a normal list. My total modern collection should be 1,680 points, so a 1k list is doable. Or 1,500 if people play that.
Gaunts are tufted and ready for flock. Banged out 2 shrines quick, 2 more on on deck. Not sure if I want to do them in the same basic sandstone, or more of a white marble/alabaster. Thoughts?
You know, the thought of painting them to match squads didn’t even cross my mind before you two mentioned it. I was thinking more statues. So stone, or maybe bronze. Not matching the paint of the actual units at all.
Have you seen other people paint theirs to match squads?
Nevelon wrote: You know, the thought of painting them to match squads didn’t even cross my mind before you two mentioned it. I was thinking more statues. So stone, or maybe bronze. Not matching the paint of the actual units at all.
Have you seen other people paint theirs to match squads?
I saw this online and they used the same colors as the Dark Reapers in the shrine. Thought it looked pretty cool.
It looks like some are done in 2 tones, with a dark and a light shade, others just plain. Not a lot of consistency from GW here. But i think they are only accidentally in the DR’s colors.
WIP with some alternate takes on what I had in mind. Still need to flock the first one, but I plan on going hard on the overgrowth. Might even have some climb the statues
Brown wash down, next up is the cleanup on the blue.
Quixote wrote:I like the overgrown look of the shrines you are painting.
It's different than what I'm seeing other Eldar players do, and I like it.
I honestly have no clue what everyone else is doing with them. They were spare sprue bits until the 10th ed codex dropped. Never seen a lick of paint on them before anywhere.
4 done and off to the YTD shelf. This should be plenty for any reasonable game for now. I’m still going to do the rest, and they take very little time. But wanted the handle space for the exarchs.
Nozeminer wrote:I'm liking your take on the shield. Well done.
Thanks. Getting there.
Captain got his second blue cleanup. Ink wash is next. Then a ton of cleanup. Need to get the vets up to speed as well, they are at the cleanup blue stage.
ZergSmasher wrote: Marines are looking good, and I like how those little aspect shrines are turning out too.
Thanks. Hopefully I’ll get some good progress in today.
But decided to do a little bookkeeping this morning. With me being able to break out the rattlecan last week, let’s look at the primed pile and see what’s on deck:
Part 1:
Eldar:
4 aspect shrines
1 fire dragon
1 striking scorpion
1 Lhychis
3 shining spears
3 shroudrunners
The FD and SS were free minis of the month, and thus are not needed for squads. Low priority, except to just clear the decks and paint them while I’m rolling with an Eldar vibe. The bikes are things I actually want to put into lists, so a higher priority. Same with the PL.
30k
1 praetor
5 CTDA marines
5 Volkite troops
So when the 40k rules for a lot of the 30k stuff was dropped, it kinda sucked the wind out of my sails. I still have a chunk to build, and paint. I think I am going to try to do 2 units a year min, just to get them moving. It’s not that I dislike them, just other things are going on, and the odds of me getting them to the table are pretty low.
Odds and ends:
Assorted FMotM (Squat, swamp ork, arbites, CSM, Skaven, mini rhino)
Cursed City Heroes
2 deathwatch w/ SBs.
The free minis of the month are there for when I’m bored or more likely need something to cover a painting challenge. Probably the same with the CC heroes. The DW were an effort to kitbash more troops with stormbolters for getting a viable army to the table. That’s basically dead. Eventually they will get caught up in my paint the oldest things in the pile goal.
Marines:
2 3rd co. KT intercessors
5 3rd co JP intercessors
5 Terminators
10 Sternguard
10 new scouts
2 centurions
1 old scout
1 biologis
1 DW inceptor (should be over in the other box)
So these are the 40k Ultras on deck. All the 3rd co stuff should get done this year, as well the the old scout and cents to meet my goals. The other stuff I actually want to get done and to the table, so good odds of being snuck into challenges, or just painted on the side.
I’ve been working the gaunts across the spare painting handles as I work other projects. If we ever get a comp theme that fits them, I’ll probably try to flush out the box and do as many as I can in a month, similar to the nighthaunt last October. Until then, they are a great side project.
Undead
3 flappy feral vamps
1 fuzzy flappy feral vamp
5 blood knights
1 mounted wight king
5 black knights
4 cursed city named villeins
1 foot vamp
assorted rats, bats, cats, and other miscCC stuff
30 skeletons of assorted vintage and quality
10 zombies
3 nighthaunt grave stalkers
So a lot of dead stuff here. Priority is to get some of that soulblight up and out of there. I’m going to start up a path of glory campaign, and they will be needed. The mounted stuff especially. I can use legacy models as a counts-as for some of it, but they are off scale and on the wrong bases these days. And for a chunk of it, I don’t have a old world equivalent.
Not pictured:
Tanks: a Sparten, Sicarius, and Gladiator.
At least one of these is on the books this year as a goal. The primaris one could actually find a home in 40k lists, so is more probable. But all need paint. Hopefully before they get taged as part of my 3 oldest model goal.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Captain needs to dry and then get decaled/based. Just put the clean up blue on the cent, ink for him next. Still need to clean up the BGVs.
Realized the blood knights are going to need the large monster handle, so cent needs to get moving,
Someday you should update and post the Ultramarines on parade. I think it would be cool to see a sea of blue power armor in all its glory.
The last whole army pic I have is like 5 years old. I should get a new one. But it’s a lot of work.
Spoiler:
Edit:
Got a few more paints down over lunch. In good news my new progressive glasses don’t seem to be harming my paint. Stupid getting old and eyes wearing out…. Grumble grumble
It must be a pain to get all those models out... but they do look really cool.
Have you collected them to all be from one company?
It took a chunk of a Saturday morning with help from my son last time I did it. I don’t pull them all out except when moving, or for the grand army pics. When I put the Year’s new addition up they do get shuffled around, and sometimes I take parts out for focus groups. One of these weekends I’d like to break them all out again.
With only a handful of exceptions everyone who’s from a battle company is either unmarked, or wears the red of the 3rd company. 1st company vets and 10th company scouts have their own colors.
I didn’t paint shoulderpad rims for a while. The foundation of my army was RTB01 marines, who’s mk. VI armor didn’t have them. Sometime around late 3rd edition I started to push to get a full battle company. I chose the 3rd for an odd reason. In very early texts, the Ultras were the 3rd chapter of the 1st founding, and some of my old banners had that number on them. The chapter list in the back of the 3rd ed codex had them as slightly understrength, so a bit more accessible to collect. It took a while (sometime in 5th IIRC) before I finished the company, and I rejigged the lineup a few times. Early versions had the assault squads mixed up between JP/bikes/speeders.
Firstborn 3rd company, circa 2016:
Spoiler:
Some squads have been swapped out since then. They still hold a place of honor in the display shelf.
With 8th and the introduction of primaris, I’ve been slowly working on getting the company across the rubicon. I’m not sure when the madness took me and I decidded to do another battle company, but it did. I should be on track to get it finished in another year or two.
If I assembled the assorted spare marines and old stuff I could probably get close to another firstborn battle company. But they are not marked or organized as such.
In addition to line marines, I’ve extensive supplies of vets and scouts. Close enough to the point where if I wanted to push them up to 100 man full strength companies it would not be out of the relm of possibility.
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Cent done, ready for decals and bases. Both Exarchs down, ready for base. One BGV got his blues cleaned, other is up next, but my back is telling me to stop for the night.
Got the ink down on the cleaned BGV. started the cleanup, and he’ll need edgeing. Other guy still needs to be cleaned/inked.
Dire Avengers are flocked and off to the YTD shelf.
Cent and Cpt. are rocked and tufted, waiting for flock. And decals. I’d like to get both the BGVs ready before I hit that step.
Started work on the cent’s grav gun. Big guy kinda needs a weapon option.
So I stayed up and watched the Adeptecon preview. It was only an hour off for me, so 10-11. a little late, but not crazy.
Old World: Not my game. The Wood Elves do have a place in my heart, but not enough to get me into another game. Cathey stuff looks awesome. But not my jam.
Kill Team: Conflicted here. Death noodles! But I think the KT does not suit them. I am not a fan of most of the “specialist” options. I’d rather just have 5 warriors. which I might get. Nid terrain is cool looking, but I play at a store, not at home. Do I need it? Cog boys are cool. AdMech is not my army, but in the past servitors have had a place in marine armies backing up techmarines. This is not like the last KT box I picked up where I wanted both the scouts and scorps. Realistically I only “want” like a third of the box and am lukewarm on the rest. As I suspect the price point is going to be on the high side, probably a pass. But who knows. We’ll see how I feel when it comes out.
Spearhead/ GHB25. I like the game of spearhead I played. Do I need to buy a new board/book/cards/terrain? I did not get the impression that it was vastly different then the core SH game. Just new decks with new objectives/twists/etc. If I was playing so much that I was burning out on the two decks I have? Maybe. But honestly I don’t get to the table that much. Minor plus that it’s Undead focused, so thematically good for me. This is a maybe. Seeing that it’s probably going to be $65+ for it (judging by the current set) that’s a lot for a rules set that’s not going to be used a lot. 4 new box set spearheads for armies I don’t play, so pass.
The GHB is something I don’t want to pick up. If it’s needed to play at the FLGS I’ll consider it. I chafe enough at buying new rules every 3 years. Having an extra book every year on top of that to play? No thanks.
The new 40k mission deck is a lot of the same. I have no problems paying for minis. But rules and game aids with a crazy short useful life? Pass. Unless needed. If I was more active it would be a good way to keep things fresh. I’m not.
Chaos codexes? Look cool, good for them. All codex plus a model release. The WE and DG look fine and fit their armies. Not a fan of the 1ksons robots. Just look out of place in 40kIMHO. But I’m a loyalist, so what do I know. Not tempting me to the dark side today.
New crusade book returning to armageddon. Seeing that I’m potentially starting a crusade league this Sunday, something to keep an eye on. But again, rule books with short shelf lives do not thrill me.
GK is another codex plus model splash release. Upgrade sprue for the dreadknight which fixes none of it’s issues, still goofy. The whole army is looking real dated.
Space Wolves are looking real good. I’m a little concerned with stat inflation and marine++ syndrome. But the models are ace. And while it might be a little too early to tell for sure, it looks like they toned it back a bit. The only one who looks like he has a frost weapon is the runepriest, which I can get. Everyone else is just using normal marine kit. And while the headhunters have wolf pets, I’m OK with them having hunting buddies. Seeing less of the Wolfy McWolf, with his wulfhammer, on a giant wolf. But there is still time. Fingers crossed. Badass semi-feral space vikings are cool enough. they don’t need to go to 11. But what do I know, I’m just a Codex hugging Ultramarine.
So overall some real nice looking stuff, but mostly not for me. Might pick up the KT box. Might get the spearhead rules. But nothing is calling out to me as a “must have”
He goes first, runs everything up. What shooting he has is pretty irrelevent. Not sure if he shot at all, as even his longer range guns needed to advance to get to the top of the ruins
I respond by pushing the WS up, dumping the WG out and shooting everything into the 10 man blob of genestealers and broodlord in the forward ruins. The brood lord staggers away with a few wounds on him, the rest are purged. My dice were a little cold. I poured a LOT of pain into those guys.
He pushes up with the swarmlord +guard unit. I overwatch with the WG, but those guys are TOUGH. I hop back into my transport like the cheeky bastard I am. (That might have been when he shot me, I forget) He charges the WS with swarmy, and my vyper with his BL. Vyper manages to live, the WS does not, and explodes nicely scattering MWs all over the place.
I zip up the falcons and disgorge their contents. The falcons paint targets with their ShCannons, andd duse their main guns to sweep his shooters off the ruins. Mostly. One barb and a lone zoe remain. The DA do their job and unseemly things to termagaunts. The FDs kill the guard and start chipping away at the swarmlord. My Vyper falls back, I shoot the BL down. WG charge the big guy to pin him down, and while 3 fall, they do their job.
He’s getting real thin on the ground at this point. His shooting is anemic, chipping a couple wounds off a falcon, wounding a biker. In CC he finishes off the WG and consolidates into the FD.
The dragons feign a retreat, popping the strat to fall back and still shoot. I pour everything into the SL, and when almost all my guns are dry I look to the DA. They do not have the right tool for the job, but are chucking a ton of dice. Bunch of hit, pop the shine for a wound, get 2 more from 6’s. He needs to make all his saves, but fails one and goes down.
We call it at that point, as he’s got very little left on the table and I’d be able to mop up without issue.
Victory for the pointy eared gits!
As the first outing with the new book, everything is kinda fresh paint. Actual fresh paint was the DAs and the shrines, which both did very well.
Falcons were nice. Solid AV firepower. The RR wound buff was nice on the DA, redundant on the FDs.
Serpent did it’s job.
D-Scythes preformed OK? Some of that was poor rolling. 5d6 should look closer to 17-18 shots for the squad, not the 13 I got the first 2 times I clicked them off. But their mission was to hold the center and overwatch things that came near, and they did that.
Fire Dragons are MEAN. When shooting mosnters/vehicles they get full re-rolls. with melta guns. Big ouch.
Bikes are pretty soft. Thematic for my list though. They got some wounds in and added as an extra meat shield for the seer. 3 man squad is small enough to hide.
Vyper was OK? The debuff was kinda useful?
Seer did some work putting wounds down and debuffing things.
I only used the battle focus movement thing a few times. When everything already is flying and moving 14”, how much more do I need on a small map. Nice strats though, which is why I want with it over the grotmass armored one.
The Adepticon previews were ace. TOW stuff makes me happy, and hugely tempts me that way. Having been a long time player of Total War: Warhammer (clocking in with 763hrs over the 3 games), seeing Cathay walk out of the game and come to the table makes me very happy. They clearly did the designs etc. for the models when they designed the faction for the game. There are quite a few cool units in the game that don't feature on the table - it makes for good inspiration for kitbashing / conversions. Personally, I'd love to try the "Doom Knights of Tzeentch". They'd make really cool looking Chosen Knights - obviously Warriors of Chaos are the faction that tempt me back!
I didn't realise you almost had 2 battle companies. I mean, it makes sense now you've said it, but crikey, that's a lot of models! A 5 year old Army picture is dated... I would also advocate for an updated picture. But it is a huge faff to get it all out - probably worth planning in advance, and ringfencing a day to do it.
Nice work in the Eldar game. Glad to see their putting the hurt out. I have Eldar on my mind currently, and I think my next impulse buy will be something pointy-eared...
I think the last formal tally had around 500 marines. And that was a bit ago. A lot of that is assorted HQs that are redundant or not part of a company. But the fact that I can put like half a chapter down is a little insane.
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Off to the YTD shelf. Need to get formal pics for the comp.
Moved the last of the shrines to the handles to paint in the scrap time. Got the first layers down on them.
This should wrap up the last if the Indomunus box. I know I have some Dark Vengeance stuff still kicking around (at least one inceptor) but as I swapped box halves for a double dose of that, can’t make too much of a fuss. Still should get that last guy done.
Lathe Biosas wrote:Excellent work on getting the Centurion Sergeant completed! (and those other guys too )
I was wondering, do you have the named special characters (ie Ventris) in your army, or do you enjoy painting your own guys?
Yes? I’m not sure how many have updated rules or are legends, but I have either official models or counts-as for a number of special characters. But I generally prefer my own guys. But sometimes the rules make it worth it to play the specials.
Quixote wrote:I was looking at the picture of your battle and I was wondering what the large CD sized markers are for, are those your objectives?
Yup. There is a 40mm center for the objective, and the whole circle is the control radius so you don’t need to measure it out. No idea where the store got these, but they have a stack for use on their tables. The Adepticon reveals showed that GW will be putting out their own soon.
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So went down to the store again today for Path of Glory. Was fun, I lost. But it was a learning experience. I may write up more later.
One of these days (probably sooner rather than later) I need to do a tally of how many Dark Angels I've got. Far too few, particularly of the older ones, are painted, but I wonder how much percentage of the chapter I could field. Probably not as many as you!
Also, good job finishing up Indomitus. Welcome to the club! Now we need a pic of the whole Indomitus half all together, kind of like how I did mine (hopefully you can compose yours better than I did, mine was pretty rough and ready lol).
ZergSmasher wrote: One of these days (probably sooner rather than later) I need to do a tally of how many Dark Angels I've got. Far too few, particularly of the older ones, are painted, but I wonder how much percentage of the chapter I could field. Probably not as many as you!
Also, good job finishing up Indomitus. Welcome to the club! Now we need a pic of the whole Indomitus half all together, kind of like how I did mine (hopefully you can compose yours better than I did, mine was pretty rough and ready lol).
I thought of doing it, and still might. But there are a few complications. I took half the assault intercessors and gave them bolt rifles. Add to the group? I did later pick up the full box of them so have the numbers I need. Trying to remember what else I did. A lot of cosmetic mods.
That big guy on the far right (a Crusader?) has been in the background of a lot of photos for a long time now. It must be nice to have finally finished him.
JoshInJapan wrote: That big guy on the far right (a Crusader?) has been in the background of a lot of photos for a long time now. It must be nice to have finally finished him.
Centurion. And yes, glad he’s done. He’s a model I bought primarily for the rules, and those changed. So he (and his 2 buddies) have been lingering in the Pile of Shame for far too long. The rest of his squad might take a while to get paint, as I’m going to need the monster handle for the mounted wight lord and the blood knights.
So going to see how long it takes to paint the vamp. She’s 90% platemail, so should go fast. Going to experiment with how I do it. Results will be applied to the blood knights. Going to start with ledbelcher (done). Then I’m going to drybrush with a brighter silver. Then glaze the whole suit of armor with the red contrast paint. Should make for a nice metallic red. Depending how bright that ends up, might slather the whole model in nuln oil.
Might also put a little brown wash on the hair bats. Hair will be white. Mace and sheild will get gold trim. Dragon emblem on the shield will be red.
Lathe Biosas wrote: I noticed that you tend to prime white across the board. Is there a reason for that color choice?
Ease?
While I have on occasion primed black, it’s been a long time. When I still painted chaos warriors for WHFB in 5th/6th edition in the late 90s early 00’s long time. I’ve been using a white rattlecan for a very long time. Prior to that good old pots of Smelly Primer.
GW paints, especially their old range, covered for crap. So putting them over a dark base? Nightmare. I’ve also had bad experiences color matching spray paints and brush ons. So I figure it’s just easier to start everything off on a white base. It’s easier to darken stuff down then brighten up.
Amd by just doing everything the same, lets me just batch stuff whenever the pile get big enough to break out the can.
Nevelon wrote: ...But the fact that I can put like half a chapter down is a little insane...
That took me a minute to process. That is utterly bananas. A testament to your dedication to the Ultramarines.
Slowly add to something for pushing 3 decades, and it starts piling up.
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Vamping up the place.
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Vamp is kicking right along. Next step is the white contrast on her hair, flesh tone, pick out red eyes and white fangs. Attach the shield and do a little touch up. Tuft and flock. Not going to be finished tonight, but not much more.
Shrines done.
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So it’s the end of March. Time for the Q1 report.
Here are my New Year’s resolutions:
1 Paint 12 members for the primaris battle company 1/12
2 Paint at least 24 Tyranids, and strive to keep them PoS neutral. 14/24
3 Paint more than I buy. 44/2
4 Paint at least 3 units that have been in the primed pile/Pile of Shame for 3+ years
5 Update my blog at least once a week, and maintain a consistent pace of work (1 mini a week).
6 Paint at least two units for 4 different factions. 4/8
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.
8 Paint a tank. 0/1
9 Get more games in. At least 6. 7/6
1 - Only one 3rd co marine so far. The cent does not count despite his red trim. He’s a firstborn. Behind. That said if I can get a 5 man squad done buy Q2, I’m back on track.
2 - Halfway to my goal a quarter of the way through the year. Solid start, which I’ll need. I think I’m going to replace the gaunts with skeletons for my spare handle projects for a bit.
3 - Well ahead of the game here. Considering when Soulblight drops I’m probably grabbing at least a dozen minis, this is a good thing.
4 - Got a cent done, so good? Did I say “unit” in the goal? yes I did. Probably should have just kept it as “mini”. Might retcon that. My monster handle is going to be holding the mounted wight king and the blood knights for a bit.
5 - I’m a good blogger, and have 44/52 models done for the year. At this rate I’ll over triple my goal. I’d normally laugh here, but it might not be that crazy. Sure, it will be mostly skeletons and gaunts, but I could probably get 80 bits of chaff across the bench and still paint some main events. No promises. But I’m guessing this is going to be a high volume year.
6 - Right now I’ve got Eldar and Ultras done. Although the marines are a pair of HQs. Nids are not quite there, as the different flavors of gaunts don’t squad up nice. I’m hoping to get at least 2 units for Soulblight done by the end of April. This one is well ahead of schedule, and should be finished before Q2. This year is actually looking to be fairly well balanced. The Eldar got off to a strong start, but the marines caught up with a bunch of high-value elite/HQs. Undead are going to rise up from the grave and make a play for it. Will be interesting to see the year end tallies.
7 - Yup. Plugging reliably away.
8 - Nope. But as this is a only need one thing, not worried. Can’t put it off forever though.
9 - OK, maybe I should have set a higher goal. Just started a Path of Glory campaign. And will also pack a crusade list. That should be an every Sunday event.
So overall well ahead of the plan. Looking closer to a Q2 report then a Q1. Still, need to make sure I get some marines painted. I need to do at least 2x5 man squads. And only have one built. Plus I’d like to get some 1st and 10th co minis painted in addition to the 3rd’s.
You're making good progress. I look forward to seeing you tackle the new Soulblight stuff. Were you going to get that army set box? It seems like a good way to get plenty of the new minis and get the army book too, for cheaper than buying them separately.
ZergSmasher wrote: You're making good progress. I look forward to seeing you tackle the new Soulblight stuff. Were you going to get that army set box? It seems like a good way to get plenty of the new minis and get the army book too, for cheaper than buying them separately.
The launch box is:
Wight king
5 black knights
20 grave guard.
Army book.
I have the old/new wight king and knights. So don’t need more. And while I want a box of the grave guard, I don’t need 2. So when I only want 1/4 of the box. Not really worth it. Now if one showed up on my doorstep, I’d paint it. But not spending the cash. I’ll wait for the general release.
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I’m not going to go whole hog on flowers for the rest of the army. But there is a LOT of space on that base. And I liked the contrast of the undead abomination that is a vampire surrounded by vibrant signs of life.
First 5 skellies almost there. I want to pick up a black contrast paint to hit their shields with (not that you can see from this angle) and they need to be based. Wight King needs his golds warmed up, then a dunk in the Nuln Oil. He’ll get a round of highlights after that, which the poor fooslogers don’t get.
I did the black rims on the finished guys and the base red on the fresh batch.
Starting to get leaks on the new Soulblight book. Looks like a chunk of the cursed city stuff is gone. Characters on their own sprue get to stay, but some of the unique units are gone. Like the hulking zombie bodyguards and parkour vampires I had painted. Sigh.
I’ve not seen anything that’s going to make me do any drastic changes to how I want to build the army. But I’ve not really digested it yet. Or have enough play experience to judge really.
So good progress today. These guys need a good couple clean up passes, then will be ready for the dunk in the blackwash.
Just wanted to post a palette for posterity.
Prime white. Bone is Grey Seer Robes/greatcoats/uniforms are Khorne Red. Armor is leadbelcher, as are swords and spear tips. Straps (on vambraces/greaves, as well as a thick pair on the back holding the breastplate on) Zandri Dust Spear shafts, shield insides are Mournfang Brown (not pictured) Sword hilts and odd jewelry is Shining Gold. Basic guys do not get the brown wash I normal use on it (but characters will) Whole model gets a Nuln Oil wash. Eye sockets get drops of Blood Angels Red in the back.
I intend to get a pot of Templar Black contrast and go over the front of the shields. We’ll see how that looks, plan on picking up the paint tomorrow.
These are rank and file troopers. I’m not going to go over them and re-highlight or anything. I want them grungy and dull.
Rocks and tufts down. Next up is flock and they are done.
Clipped 5 intercessors. These will be the back half of a squad, nothing fancy.
Edit: Just put the black wash on the second stick of 5 skeletons. Did them in like a day. They still need eyes and bases, but zoom!
Also flocked the first batch and the Wight King. So they can join the Vamp Lord on the YTD shelf. And if lucky, on the table tomorrow.
He bum rushed forward , but only his heros made it into combat. And his dice were not kind. My Vamp lived through the giant monster with guy on it, and my skeletons held the line vs. his priest thing. My turn I piled in and carved them up. He got some hits in, including killing my Wight King. Next turn he rolls up with the rest of his army, does some damage, but not enough when he’s outnumbered like 2-1 at this point. I start rolling him up, and he sees how this is going to play out and withdraws. I collect a good number or embershards which I need to figure out how to spend.
Victory Soulblight!
Same list as last time, but the vamp, WK, and 10 skeletons were all fresh paint. I did cheat a little on half the skeletons, as they still need their bases finished. Vamp did better this game. But not diving headfirst into a chaos lord helps. Not that facing down a ghoul king on a terrorgeist is much better. But thank to the PtG path she’s on (duelist) which makes her immune to crits. The Wight could have used that, as he ate a crit for 6 MWs. Ouch.
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While I was down there I picked up a wight king on foot (will need for the spearhead) and a pot of Black Templar contrast. Plus a FMotM Krieger.
This is more of a very dark grey. The other black contrast (Black Legion) looks to be more of an opaque ink. I hate that half the contrast paints have different characteristics. It’s almost like 2 lines sharing the same name/bottles. I like how it works on the hair/fur. I also used it on the shield. I was hoping that it would be thin enough to let the metalwork to not be tinted too bad, but that was not the case. I tried it first, didn’t like it and saved with by drybrushing the silver back on. The skeleton’s shield is me working the paint into the recesses. It’s a bit finicky, but not too bad. And if I slop a little, no big deal. They are all Nuln Oiled anyway, so it blends. But I like how it gives them a little more depth.
So another batch of skeletons off waiting for flock. Another Vargeist as well. Building the wight king on foot was interesting. Not a bad kit, but a few issues. One of which is the rebase. They want you to cut the rim off the 20mm base and just glue it onto the 32. Really GW? This prompted my to fire up the 3D printer for the first time in a while. Which was fun, as I needed to re-learn how to feed the filament, as it had snapped. Print was not perfect, but close enough. Also while cleaning mold lines I dropped my hobby knife and stabbed my leg. Bleeding stopped with just a band aid, but be careful guys. And remember a falling knife has no handle. My reflex of closing my legs to catch dropped objects actually slapped the knife into me. Not fun.
Slow progress building marines.
Skeleton batch 4 crossing the bench. These are the last of the good ones for now. I still have the old crappy looking ones left in the primed pile. I might push to include them in this run, as there is almost no motivation to get them done otherwise. But I’d also really like to get started on the black knights. Who might also need printed base extenders. Same with the mounted wight king, now that I think about it. It’s not like I’m going to tournaments, but doing the extenders before the flock would be easier.
I saw a pair of ghostly hands holding a cell phone...
And there was no head!
The nighthaunt are in a different box.
I try not to make sure my face is out of frame in pictures as to not compromise the witness protection program. I’d rather not uproot and move again.
JoshInJapan wrote:Your getting the undead finished at lighting speed, which seems inconsistent with a shambling horde...
Danse macabre my friend. It’s all shambling hordes until the magic starts flowing, and then you’ve got a whole mess of skeletons in your face.
I think getting the black knights done by the end of the month might be doable. We’ll see. It helps that I’m mostly between video games ATM, and am not binging any shows. So a lot of free time for paint. Plus the desire to get it on the table for the Path to Glory games. That’s a big motivator. I’ve been making it down to the FLGS every weekend. Helps.
That’s me done, all caught up, it was one hell of a read and just looking forward to what comes next. I’m impressed at all of it, your speed, dedication and the quality of what you do. It’s great seeing how things have progressed and developed, how new armies have been introduced, but old favourites have remained. It’s strange how it slightly mirrors my collecting and modelling hobby, marines to elder and then onward, but that’s probably more GW fault!
My personal favourite was the advent calendars, although I like the arctic camo that you have going on - completely different to what I’ve seen before on marines - and might need to nick that for at least one squad of scouts, although not sure I will do it justice. And after the pizza comment about the triumph I am never going to be able to look at it the same way again!
JordySteve wrote:That’s me done, all caught up, it was one hell of a read and just looking forward to what comes next. I’m impressed at all of it, your speed, dedication and the quality of what you do. It’s great seeing how things have progressed and developed, how new armies have been introduced, but old favourites have remained. It’s strange how it slightly mirrors my collecting and modelling hobby, marines to elder and then onward, but that’s probably more GW fault!
My personal favourite was the advent calendars, although I like the arctic camo that you have going on - completely different to what I’ve seen before on marines - and might need to nick that for at least one squad of scouts, although not sure I will do it justice. And after the pizza comment about the triumph I am never going to be able to look at it the same way again!
I can’t believe you read the whole blog. It’s stupidly long at this point.
I don’t think of myself as a fast painter, but I guess I am compared to some. What I am is consistent. While I do still have periods of booms and busts, I maintain a solid pace of work, week after week, month after month, year after year.
Eldar are a natural second army to marines. You go from slow, tough, generalist to fast fragile specialists. Much different playstyle. And from painting monochrome power armor to the rainbow of aspect warriors.
The advent calendars are a lot of fun to do. Great little showcases amd retrospectives.
I’m quite fond and proud of the arctic camo. It’s not terribly hard, but looks great. Also very forgiving.
Tommygun1918 wrote:I think my favorite out of the last batch are those big bats.
Creepy cool.
They are giant buff semi-feral vampires. Very similar role to the lithe jumpy vamps. They are tougher, don’t hit quite as hard, amd have different movement tricks. At some point I might actually get some giant bats (and wolves) as mobility is something the army classically struggles with. So some quick scout units to pin/harass things amd set my hammers up for a charge is needed.
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Making good progress. Almost done with the reds on the black knights, and the blood knight should be almost ready for his final wash. Which is bot going to be the total dunk of the skeletons, but the horse needs it. I’ll try to grab a pick later.
Marine bodies are done being built. Need to clip, drill, and get the guns and arms done.
Zambro wrote: That's a lot of skellies done! Great effort in plugging away at them.
I've never played AoS, but appreciate the game pictures. Its always good to get some dice rolling in. Is there a big AoS scene where you are?
To be honest, I’m not really sure. I’m keeping to the GW store these days, but I know there are multiple other FLGS in the area. Who may have a larger crowd. But there are enough peeps to get some games in, but not such a big crowd to be daunting. Also the small size and available space keeps to smaller games. Which is good for my back, schedule, and anxiety.
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Not a huge fan of the horses having skull faces and otherwise mostly normal bodies. Besides that, enjoying the blood knights. Getting there on the first one.
I forgot that the store was going to be closed today. I might have dome something silly and grabbed the launch box for the soulblight. Working on the old black knights has highlighted that they are not the best looking minis out there. Seen some pics of the new ones, and they are pretty classy. Still don’t want half the box and it would not be worth it. But a little retail therepy might be nice... I can be responsible and patient though.
Happy Easter and/or 420 Day. Just don’t smoke the Easter grass.
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Nothing on deck for the day, let’s do something crazy. Time to muster the boys. And dust the china cabinet. It’s real bad in there.
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Now to get everything back. And sort through the rest of the pics.
Automatically Appended Next Post: For those counting, 510 models. Another 48 in the primed pile, and a few dozen still to be built. Also about 3.5 hours of my life shuffling models.
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Still need to download the rest off my camera, but these are from my phone.
I'd love to do pics like that of my Dark Angels. I don't have as big of a table as you do though. But then I also don't have as many painted minis as you either. It's pretty satisfying seeing a whole painted army like that though, isn't it?
ZergSmasher wrote:I'd love to do pics like that of my Dark Angels. I don't have as big of a table as you do though. But then I also don't have as many painted minis as you either. It's pretty satisfying seeing a whole painted army like that though, isn't it?
There is more space on the 4x6 mat, need more Ultras. Was a little bitter sweet at times, with the old legends models who will probably not see the table again. Standing watch eternal on the shelf.
JordySteve wrote:Wow - that’s an impressive collection! It looks fantastic!
The only thing I really need to ask about it all - why the bowler hat!?!?
Need to dress up for the formal pics?
It might be that the offset optic on the cockpit reminds me of a monocle. Or a ransom sense of whimsy. Or excessive gin consumption (the source of the hat, thought I don’t buy that brand much these days) But at this point it’s his hat. I’m not glueing it on, but it stays with him.
There are still close to 500 needing names, but I can fire up a RNG for the rest.
Bowler is on the Stormhawk.
Company is mostly the 3rd, both pre and post primaris, with large parts of the 1st and 10th. Plus some 30k legion stuff, which I really need to get back to working on.
Next blood knight getting paint, blacks are going slow.
And because I have no self control (and deserve nice things) I just ordered the Soulblight launch box. Available with a discount, and cashed in all my reward points. The fact that I want the new knights and might actually want 20 foot wights (they are real good on the table) pushed me over the edge. Plus using the guilt-free bonus points, my actual out of pocket is more like $80. Which is easier to justify.
So other things on my wish list is a unit of bats and wolves, and the new mounted vamp when he drops. Maybe the terrain and spells, but more fuzzy on those. I like the concept of the undead critters screening the flanks, but the feral vamps might be able to do that job. We’ll see how the whole army list looks.
I should have gotten a floor stand one. Maybe I'll eventually have a dedicated hobby desk someday instead of just my computer desk. Someday...
