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Hey all, thought that trying to maintain a P&M blog might help my motivation and on getting projects completed...! Usually have a few different things on the go and definitely go through swings of hobby productivity, so we'll see how this goes...

Two main areas of focus at present, Legions Imperialis and my first 40k project in a very long time - a Hive Fleet Kraken Tyranid horde.

For Legions I've recently finished (well almost) a Blood Angels force, next on the hobby bench are some House Taranis Knights to fight alongside my Legio Ignatum and a future Mechanicum force. I really like the Mechanicum style Cerastus, so took the hit to the wallet to combine the Atropos kit with normal Lancer and Acheron/Castigator kits to make Mechanicum pattern versions of the regular Cerastus knights. House Taranis are the OG Mechanicum house, so it seemed like a nice fit theme-wise and also nice to have something other than red to paint!






Then I have my Tyranids, these guys are going to be in a 3rd Ed style Kraken colour scheme with jungle-ish themed basing. Very much also inspired by the Fall of Malvolion short story (so yes, planning a few Lamenters once the Nids are done too) as well. 3 test models completed and now working on the first full batch of Termagants and then the other two Leapers.

Welcome! I had the same cunning planning for finishing my army, but I seem to keep getting distracted - not that that is a bad thing, but it’s the blog is a great way to keep it all documented!,

That’s a big troop of knights you have there! How big is your blood angel force and what titans will be supporting them?

The kraken colour scheme on the nids is looking really good, what else do you ave planned after the termagants and leapers? I’m looking forward to seeing them when they horde grow!

 JordySteve wrote:
Welcome! I had the same cunning planning for finishing my army, but I seem to keep getting distracted - not that that is a bad thing, but it’s the blog is a great way to keep it all documented!,

That’s a big troop of knights you have there! How big is your blood angel force and what titans will be supporting them?

The kraken colour scheme on the nids is looking really good, what else do you ave planned after the termagants and leaders? I’m looking forward to seeing them when they horde grow!

Thanks!

Yeah, there are another 4 Cerastus Atropos (built as intended ) not pictured too, plus some Knight Moriax... Blood Angels are just over 2k points worth, got some Auxilia and Mechanicum allies still to do though... I play Titanicus, so fairly well equipped in that regard - 3 Warlords, Reaver, Dire Wolf and 2 Warhounds for Legio Ignatum and 4 Legio Solaria Warhounds and some House Vyronni knights too... (was kind of inspired by the Mortis Siege of Terra book in that regard).

Thanks, have taken a slightly unconventional approach to painting the Nids (I think) and not 100% sure about how well it's going to work on the bigger Nids - have got a Screamer-Killer done, but not sure it looks that good. I'm red/green colour blind, so no idea how Was waiting to photograph it until I had the base done, just in case that helped. Not sure what it is, but just doesn't look as good to me as it does on the smaller models.



Need to actually finish the base with jungle plants/tufts, but otherwise this guy is finished.




In terms of other models, I've got my painting challenge models to do (below!) plus a fair sized horde I think... Got a Tyranid half of the Leviathan box (plus box, which is nice) from eBay, plus 20 hormagaunts, 2 Lictors, a second Screamer-Killer, Raveners, 2 3rd Ed metal Zoanthropes and a bunch of terrain (the new Kill Team stuff, plus some OG Forgeworld pieces...).









Automatically Appended Next Post:

Oh and actually finished the handful of bases of Blood Angels I still had to sort out (airbrushed the varnish at the same time as the Screamer-Killer).



5 bases and a bunch of spares for knight/titan bases and to mix into the Auxilia command when I get round to them!

Also undercoated the challenge beasties last night, but didn't bother to photograph that. Hopefully start on the first few steps of them later today.

So made a reasonable amount of progress on the main colours of my monthly challenge models over the weekend!

A possibly slightly unorthodox approach as the first few layers I do over the entire model, before doing some extra shading and highlights etc on the armour. I hope that this achieves the desired effect, but being colour blind it's always tricky to know for sure - particularly with the reds. The idea here is to do all the shading and highlights before the contrast red, hopefully to accentuate what the contrast paint will do, rather than doing any extra highlights on top of the contrast - the rationale being I would struggle to paint highlights on top of the contrast red (or struggle to know if I've messed them up!) and it's much easier to tidy up the bone and white highlights if I get them in the wrong place. As such though, I don't really know how well this approach as worked, so comments and advice are definitely much appreciated dear reader!

So stage one (after a grey and then white spray primer) is all over Agros Dune - in retrospect Skeleton Horde would probably be better starting point.



Everything then gets a heavy drybrush of Ushabti Bone and a light drybrush of Screaming Skull.



And that is the skin basically complete...! I then put a black wash (Nuln Oil) over the armour plate areas.



The armour then gets a drybrush of Screaming Skull and ProAcryl Bright Ivory (the the below photo is before the Ivory).



Then I do some edge highlights with ProAcryl White.



That is then covered with Flesh Tearer Red contrast, to complete the armour colour.




Next will be some detail colouring and then varnish/basing. A little unsure how to paint all the "brain" bits (tried a few test colours in the tiny flying brains), any recommendations for that?

Looking good mate. Can't wait to see some knight progress!

 ingtaer wrote:
Looking good mate. Can't wait to see some knight progress!

Thanks! Knights will probably be a little while, as I'm trying to get enough Nids done to be able to play some games of 3rd Ed or OPR before the end of January... But I'll hopefully be starting on them soon!

Meanwhile I've focused on getting the Red Terror done as part of the Dakka monthly challenge, didn't have time to get the rest done particularly as I haven't worked out a way of doing the brains that I like yet. Took a few extra pictures of the Red Terror with my Lamenters test marine (it's all Fall of Malvolion inspired) - they'll be the next project after the House Taranis so this was just a bit of fun.

Think I've hit upon a method for the bug brains... It's a layer of Aethermatic blue contrast and then a thin coat of Plyar Glacier on top. How do you think it looks?

Nice braaaaaains...
And overall scheme are looks good.

The brains look great, the colour works really well.

I like you paint scheme, seems nice and simple, although I’ve never used the contrast paints before but you seem to get great results and it speeds up the process quite well!

Your red terror is looking good what else do you need to do on him? (Nice check work on the lamentor!)

kabaakaba wrote:Nice braaaaaains...
And overall scheme are looks good.

JordySteve wrote:The brains look great, the colour works really well.

I like you paint scheme, seems nice and simple, although I’ve never used the contrast paints before but you seem to get great results and it speeds up the process quite well!

Your red terror is looking good what else do you need to do on him? (Nice check work on the lamentor!)

Thanks both! Pleased that the brains look alright.

@Jordy, thanks the contrast paints really do help - I think a little bit of time pre shading and highlighting helps too. Red Terror is basically done, just might add a few more jungle plants to the base, but I also have some Dirty Down Snot which I'd like to use to add some 'ick' to the Nids, but I'm a little afraid to start in case I mess it up. And I can't really take any credit for the check work - it's a decal!

+++

The big brain boys are now just ready to varnish, so going to finish them up and then focus on some gaunts for a bit, so that I've got some of the mass of these done.

In between going to be starting on House Taranis with some Atropos too, just to add a bit of variety that doesn't involve painting red for a change. Annoyingly I broke the banner on my lead Atropos trying to bend it a little, so need to fix that if I can.

Great job on the Norn Emissary.

Those tiny titans look grand.

Brains look good. Nice contrast with the skin/armor. Watch out for zombies.

ShadowsAndDust wrote:Great job on the Norn Emissary.

blockade23 wrote:Those tiny titans look grand.

Nevelon wrote:Brains look good. Nice contrast with the skin/armor. Watch out for zombies.

Thanks all!

Actually had a decent bit of hobbying time this weekend, so finished up the first unit of gaunts and varnished them along with the big bugs. Maybe have gone slightly overboard with the array of tufts and stuff I've got to make up the jungle bases... mostly normal green tufts of various sizes and different jungle plants, plus some 'alien' blue tufts and fly traps (all from Gamers Grass) to suggest the Nids effect on the flora... But does it looks cohesive enough or too much variety? I'm also a little unsure how much to put on the Norn and Sceamer-Killer bases as its a lot of a space to fill!







Also finally picked up one of the TTCombat "Chroma" kits, as the retro vibe had a lot of appeal. Thought it would be a quick little project, but took a bit longer than anticipated to be honest - a lot of wiggle room in all the joins made it a bit of a frustrating build compared to most mdf buildings I've assembled. But the final look is pretty good for the cost of it in fairness, though a little bit smaller than you might want if you were to use with modern sized GW models... I probably won't be getting any more of these, but it is nice to have the one in the display cabinet for a bit of retro appeal. Moved some of my old original Dark Angels (from many years ago) up a shelf to try and defend the bunker from Hive Fleet Kraken...!

What a nice nids. Could you tell where this big leafs on bases come from? And basing in general looks pretty good. Feels like I need to put more effort into it .

 kabaakaba wrote:
What a nice nids. Could you tell where this big leafs on bases come from? And basing in general looks pretty good. Feels like I need to put more effort into it .

Thanks! All the plants are from Gamers Grass: https://gamersgrass.com/product-category/laser-plants/

Don't know how easy they are to find in the US, but over here most LGSs carry their products now.

The Norn brain bug looks great, the blue brain stands out really well. And I like the little “alien” additions to your bases, they work well, I do t think you have too much on them, just give the gaunts a little extra cover for skulking through! Very nice!

What’s next on the nid pile to get completed?

 JordySteve wrote:
The Norn brain bug looks great, the blue brain stands out really well. And I like the little “alien” additions to your bases, they work well, I do t think you have too much on them, just give the gaunts a little extra cover for skulking through! Very nice!

What’s next on the nid pile to get completed?

Thanks! Finished the Norn and the Screamer-Killer (pics below!), how does their basing look? Was a bit unsure about how far to go filling up all the empty space, wondering if I could do with some larger/taller jungle bits to mix in on these size models?

Then have a bit of a pile of Nids to work through tbh... Just primed the next 10 termagants, then on sprue have another 10 termagants, 20 hormagaunts, a biovore, two old metal Zoanthropes, an old Malenthrope, the rest of the Leviathan stuff and a second Screamer-Killer. Oh and a load of Nid terrain - the KT plastics and some very old FW capillary towers (genuine ones that have been swapped back and forth between me and my cousin a few times, without being finished, since they were purchased many many moons ago!), should maybe get some photos of those before I start on them...!

Gorgeous work on the big bugs Pious. Seconding the love for the bases, they elevate these dudes rather than distract. Some taller foliage might be interesting, especially for something like lictors.

Looking forward to seeing the terrain painted up! You don't see a lot of nid themed terrain.

Both the Norm and the screamer killer look great. The bases are spot on, and complement the models rather than distracting from them. Can’t wait to see what is next, and you’ll have to plan an army shot when you get the next batch of bugs completed!

They're looks really great. And basing compliments them. What's your recipe for carapace?

tzurk wrote:Gorgeous work on the big bugs Pious. Seconding the love for the bases, they elevate these dudes rather than distract. Some taller foliage might be interesting, especially for something like lictors.

Looking forward to seeing the terrain painted up! You don't see a lot of nid themed terrain.

Thanks! Lictors are in the paint queue, so will have a think about where to get some taller foliage. Yeah I'm quite lucky that we've been sat on the old FW terrain for so long, pretty hard to get hold today otherwise! The new plastic terrain from the Kill Team release is nice, but quite small in comparison.

JordySteve wrote:Both the Norm and the screamer killer look great. The bases are spot on, and complement the models rather than distracting from them. Can’t wait to see what is next, and you’ll have to plan an army shot when you get the next batch of bugs completed!

Thanks Jordy! Not sure I have the space at home for a proper army shot once I start getting the swarm expanded...!

kabaakaba wrote:They're looks really great. And basing compliments them. What's your recipe for carapace?

Cheers! Carapace is Flesh Tearer Red contrast, but with layers of shading/drybrushing of bone and white underneath to hopefully accentuate the contrast effect. This post has a kind of step by step illustration that hopefully makes sense!

Been a bit busy with work and volunteering lately, so haven't had a huge amount of hobby time. Got a few bits undercoated ready to go and the next batch after built - which I've put the old FW capillary towers in just to show the size of them!






Otherwise I have been working on my Taranis Atropos, but a little reluctant to take WIP photos of those as they aren't looking great at the moment. I don't what it is, but having the white armour panels I find tricky to work with and just find it looks really messy until a bit more progress is made. There was also one which I broke the banner on, managed to find some tiny chain to try and fix it - was super fiddly but got there in the end. Plus now a bunch of nicely epic-scaled chain to use for future projects, though not entirely sure what...!

So decided I should take a shot of where the Knights are so far. I think I also struggle with with the haphazardness of trying to do them all distinct with different arrangement of the panel colours.

Need to get a paint to add some bronze/copper detailing on the weapons. Then just a few little bits to tidy up, decals and streaking grime time! Soon hopefully, then back to more Nids before I tackle the rest of the Taranis Mechanicum Knights...

While my boys hate your bugs with a passion we do have to commend your skills. They look amazing.
As everyone already mentioned, the bases are awesome and do contrast with the nids in a very elegant and natural way !

On a side joke note, you display the verdoyant plains of noble Sotha and lush Miral on your bases as they were before the bugs came.
I display the rubble and barren rock they left on my Scythes of the Emperor bases !
I find it really cool somehow.

Keep up the amazing work mate !

SarpedonofSotha wrote:
While my boys hate your bugs with a passion we do have to commend your skills. They look amazing.
As everyone already mentioned, the bases are awesome and do contrast with the nids in a very elegant and natural way !

On a side joke note, you display the verdoyant plains of noble Sotha and lush Miral on your bases as they were before the bugs came.
I display the rubble and barren rock they left on my Scythes of the Emperor bases !
I find it really cool somehow.

Keep up the amazing work mate !

Thanks!

Haha, that is a cool comparison - I really should try and fit some dead marines into my basing then too...!


Also, finally finished up the 3 Cerastus Atropos. The fourth will get painted up with the other knights, but back to more Nids now! Going to start on the pile of primed stuff next.

Yay knights! Looking really nice mate! Did you mask the lines or freehand them?

 ingtaer wrote:
Yay knights! Looking really nice mate! Did you mask the lines or freehand them?

Thanks! Oh I always mask the lines, no way I could freehand that! Plenty more knights to follow haha, though trying to intersperse them in with the Nids.

I did start building some Moriax to go with them though, hadn't realised quite how dinky they were until now though! First one here with some big buddies for scale...



Whilst the Taranis Knights and Kraken Nids are my two main projects for the moment, the current painting challenge seemed like a good opportunity to get these guys finished up (they go well with the Knights anyhow!), a Dire Wolf and Reaver which will be for Legio Solaria. Not entirely sure why I abandoned these part way through (literally half way through painting the dire wolf), but hopefully can get the mojo to finish these off now! Reaver needs barrels drilled before getting undercoated, intending to get it to the same stage as the Dire Wolf and finish the final steps in tandem.

More stompy stuff! Not sure why you abandoned the Wolf either, looks fantastic.

I was amazed by the size of the Armigers too, printed a bunch in multi pieces and after assembly thought I had made a horrible mistake, but nope, tiny little guys!

The knights are looking good, but really fascinated by the dire wolf armour, how did you manage to get it like that, I really like it!

ingtaer wrote:More stompy stuff! Not sure why you abandoned the Wolf either, looks fantastic.

I was amazed by the size of the Armigers too, printed a bunch in multi pieces and after assembly thought I had made a horrible mistake, but nope, tiny little guys!

Thanks, just sometimes if I end up having little hobby time for a while I lose the mojo for a project and can find it hard to get back. Similarly, not had much time lately to actually make any real progress but still intending to get these done asap!

JordySteve wrote:The knights are looking good, but really fascinated by the dire wolf armour, how did you manage to get it like that, I really like it!

Thanks! It's not finished, quite a few layers of green to add - I've been following the goonhammer paint guide for these guys:

https://www.goonhammer.com/warlord-wednesdays-legion-focus-legio-solaria/

The only difference is that I've been using some specific stippling brushes rather than sponges, just as I've never got on particularly well with sponging as a technique tbh.

This is one of my finished Solaria Warhounds which is how it should end up!