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gobert wrote:Good to see the rats back! I have to agree that your quality seems to be edging upwards of late. There’s been some really great models, I can’t wait to see the whole year in review pic

Many thanks gobert! It took some time, but the group shot can be seen below!

Viterbi wrote:Those astra rodentia minis are already something to look forward to in 2021, the shoulder pads already look very cool!

Cheers Viterbi! They're coming along, slowly but surely.

Fifty wrote:Love those Astra Rodentia - they are cute as hell, in a bad way!
That Crow dude is amazing though. Great warband centrepiece model.

Hehe! Thanks Fifty! Yeah, let's see if I'll complete the Corvus Cabal. I pretty much bought the box for the big guy, and the rest for conversion fodder, but I have enjoyed painting them so they might actually end up as a whole warband. Eventually..

amazingturtles wrote:The crows look excellent. I'm raven about them!

Thank you very much turtles!

IGtR= wrote:Fantastic little gross rat-men! Whilst my inner Black Templar wants to purge them, I look forward to seeing more in 2021
Thanks for sharing

Much appreciated IGtR! Heh, I'm planning on painting a Black Templar or two this year, hopefully they'll play nice with the rat-folk. They're both faithful(ish) servants of the Emperor, in the end! Might have to put them on separate display shelves, just to be sure..

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Okay, time for the retrospect! Due to my minis being in two different apartments and being away from my own computer and Photoshop during the holidays I'm a bit late with this post. But better late than never, let's look back at what I managed to paint in 2020. Here's the lot:


As per last year, sorry for the image quality - my photography setup is still not ideal for big group photos..

All together they're 32 models. Quite a bit less than than I imagined I'd paint a year ago, but I'm again very happy with each and every model. And all my painted models still fit in my display cabinet! Just barely though, I think this year I've got to start moving some of the older ones to storage.

Here's a list of all the models above:
-Lieutenant Varras
-The Farstriders (3 models)
-Preacher with Eviscerator
-Uriah Jacobus, Protector of the Faith
-Poxwalkers (3 models)
-More Poxwalkers (3 models)
-Ork Boyz (3 models)
-SM Scout Squad (5 models)
-Bloodstoker and Bloodsecrator (2 models)
-Termagant
-Corvus Cabalist
-SM Bikers (2 models)
-SCE Lord-Relictor
-Mollog's Mob (4 models)
-Shrike Talon

As you can see, last year I painted mostly single models or very small groups of models. The only project with more than three models was the Scout Squad, and that was only five as well. 2021 might see a change here, as I intend to work on the Indomitus box during the year, but we'll see how it goes. Honestly, I've enjoyed painting single minis a lot, and I've certainly painted my best work this year, at least technically speaking. Picking a favorite is difficult, but I guess the top three would be Mollog and the two priests. The Ork Boyz and the Cabalists are up there too, though, and the Sentinel from 2019 still gives these guys a good run for the money among my favorite models!

Speaking of the Sentinel, my one regret for last year was that I didn't finish any new models for my Astra Rodentia. Whereas all my other armies/collections (Space Marines, Underworlds, Orks, Blades of Khorne, Stormcast Eternals) received some new models, and I started working on a few new collections as well (Imperial Cult, Nurgle, Tyranids, Warcry), the space rats didn't get any finished models in 2020. But as I showed you in my last post, the two ratmen I built last year are now on the painting desk and should be my first finished models of 2021!

So what happened with my Hobby Bingo? Unfortunately, as in 2019, I failed to score any bingos. It was a bit of a shame as it would've been rather easy to "sculpt something on a model" and "scratch-build a piece of scenery", but alas, somehow it just didn't come to be. Maybe this year though! I did complete one more square than previously, so it wasn't all bad. I'll keep trying this year!

Finally, thanks to everyone who has checked out this plog or has stuck around for longer, and especially to those who have taken the time to leave a comment!

That’s a great group shot and you’re right to e proud of each and everyone. I agree with you that Mollog is the standout, but the preachers have inspired a few models in my collection and one or two others’ i might expect. I look forward to more quality minis this year, especially to see what you do for the Indomitus box

The shrike talon is looking superb and it's definitely up there as a model I'd like to paint.

Great round up of minis, all are very impressive and I'm with you regarding Mollog, really great work on him.

Such a nice group shot, really cool seeing all the different color schemes. My favorites are still the mad preacher and the Astra Militarum officer.

Fantastic group glamour shot, and I look forward to seeing what 2021 brings!

Thanks for sharing

Fantastic work as always!
So many great models that it's hard to pick a favorite.

You seem to improve with every model you paint and each time they bring something new and cool to look at.

Hopefully you have a productive and a hobby filled 2021!

gobert wrote:That’s a great group shot and you’re right to e proud of each and everyone. I agree with you that Mollog is the standout, but the preachers have inspired a few models in my collection and one or two others’ i might expect. I look forward to more quality minis this year, especially to see what you do for the Indomitus box

Thanks a lot gobert! It means a lot to me to hear that I've inspired someone's work with my own.
See my humble beginning on the Indomitus journey below!

Tyranid Horde wrote:The shrike talon is looking superb and it's definitely up there as a model I'd like to paint.
Great round up of minis, all are very impressive and I'm with you regarding Mollog, really great work on him.

Cheers! If you end up getting your hands on a Shrike Talon, I'd like to see your take on him! A great piece to have in anyone's collection.

Viterbi wrote:Such a nice group shot, really cool seeing all the different color schemes. My favorites are still the mad preacher and the Astra Militarum officer.

Much appreciated Viterbi! I enjoy the colors as well. Lot's of reds, oranges and warm browns in 2020, hmm...

IGtR= wrote:Fantastic group glamour shot, and I look forward to seeing what 2021 brings!
Thanks for sharing

My pleasure! Thanks IGtR!

Ezki wrote:Fantastic work as always!
So many great models that it's hard to pick a favorite.
You seem to improve with every model you paint and each time they bring something new and cool to look at.
Hopefully you have a productive and a hobby filled 2021!

Thank you very much Ezki! Trying at least one new thing with each painting project has kinda been one of my goals. As well as trying to speed up my painting. Well, it seems I've succeeded in one of them, and colossally failed in the other.
Fingers crossed! You too!

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I started my hobby year 2021 by assembling a big bunch of Necrons from the Indomitus box. This was my holiday project - I was on the move and decided that I wouldn't bring my paints with me and instead concentrate on building and priming some models.



As you can see, I got all of the 20 warriors done, as well as their 6 scarab swarms. They're all built pretty much according to instructions, the only modification I did was to clip off the blades from the gauss rifles. I've never liked them visually, or even conceptually, and there'll be less to paint. Win-win! Finally, I also assembled one of the characters, the Plasmancer. Señor Skorpekh is cool and all, but for my money this floating dude is the coolest Necron model in the box!

My goal was to base these too and as mentioned, to prime them. As they're going to be basecoated with steel paint, I decided to buy the very expensive Leadbelcher spray and save myself some time. Unfortunately, my FLGS didn't have it in stock so the priming had to be put on hold. As I didn't have to hurry to prime the models, I left the basing undone as well. I'll continue working on these guys in a month, during my winter holiday.



But even if I didn't get the 'crons based, I did work on some bases! I made six new industrial style bases for my future Astra Rodentia models. Overall, I'm really happy with them, especially the two in the middle. Starting to get into real scratchbuilding territory! The bases might've used some more wires and maybe a bit of sand, but I ran out of time, and they're now primed (still have my black can). I'll probably add some texture during painting..

Okay, now to finish the pair of rats so that the bases will have something to stand on them! And obviously to paint the bases too..

Very nice bases.

Man, those bases look great. Can’t wait to see the Necrons all painted up too

Great work on the bases, I’m torn on how I want to base my Scythes and Necrons and thought about doing something similar as I’m tired of the blasted earth effects and crystals I see all over Necron bases. I thought a space station or facility corridor and deck plates like you have which reminded me of an old blog on here with great designs done by Brother Argos. Sadly he stopped posting after some medical issues many years ago. His work might give you some inspiration.

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/331718.page#2189363

Great bases, always a fan of scratch built industrial bases, they're unique and you can do so much to tell a story with that style of basing, even if it's an extra bit of work.

EDIT: Thanks to Theopony for that blog, I'll be using that for some of my own inspiration!

Lovely bases, always fun seeing those before there's color on it.

Nice bases!

Shame you could not get that paint, but good that you were not in a hurry. Looking forward to see some progress on the Necrons. Should be interesting with your awesome metallic work!

Bases are looking cool too! All the details bring so much more to the models.

Thank you everyone so much for the kind comments!

Theophony wrote:Great work on the bases, I’m torn on how I want to base my Scythes and Necrons and thought about doing something similar as I’m tired of the blasted earth effects and crystals I see all over Necron bases. I thought a space station or facility corridor and deck plates like you have which reminded me of an old blog on here with great designs done by Brother Argos. Sadly he stopped posting after some medical issues many years ago. His work might give you some inspiration.
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/331718.page#2189363

Heh, my Necrons will be getting the old sandy wasteland bases. Maybe red earth this time? But if I built each of them one of these industrial ones, they'd never get finished
And wow, that link is great! I browsed through it all and it definitely gave me some ideas! Have to try those "hole-in-the-floor" designs at some point.. Although a 25mm base might be a bit too small for them.

Ezki wrote:Shame you could not get that paint, but good that you were not in a hurry. Looking forward to see some progress on the Necrons. Should be interesting with your awesome metallic work!
Bases are looking cool too! All the details bring so much more to the models.

Well, if I had gotten the paint, then I would've been in a hurry to base the models for spraying, but without the can there wasn't any rush! I'll try again in a week, when I have my winter break. Might end up priming black and brush painting, as the LB spray stock hasn't improved...

---

Okay, the first model of the year is finished and it's not even March! Sigh.. But here he is, a standard bearer (/fanatic) for my Astra Rodentia! (The other rat seen in the WIP photo before Christmas is also almost finished, just needs his radio pack - I decided I wasn't happy with the hanging handset and am going to change it up. In some way...)



He's been a long time coming, as I built the model nearly a year ago! I guess a big part of why he took so long to get painted was the banner. I had to come up with some kind of a color scheme, something to write on the parchments and then figure out how to do something like NMM on the symbols. The original idea was to also put on a graffiti-style text on top of the design ("Gutter Runners") to show that these rats have taken some other regiment's standard and made it their own, but I kinda shot myself in the foot with my chosen color scheme. I couldn't use yellow, white or red for the lettering, as it would've gotten lost and I didn't want to introduce any further colors like blue, green or pink to the model. Oh well, maybe I'll get to realize this idea on some other model.



On the whole I'm pretty happy with how the flag came out. The left side of the flag seems to be a bit lighter, I went a bit overboard with the dirt splattering on left side, and I clearly need a lot more practice with NMM, but as a whole I think the banner looks nice.

As for the rest of the model, there wasn't much that was different from the other Astra Rodentia I painted before. I painted on some wood grain to the banner pole, which was more successful on the left side, and glazed Skrag Brown on the yellow hazard stripes, which looks really nice. One new trick I tried with this model was to use a brush and a toothpick for the splatter effects, rather than a toothbrush and my thumb. Much more accurate! I also used AK's Ultra Matte Varnish on all the non-metallic areas. It can be used with a brush straight from the bottle and works really well. Maybe a little too well for my liking..

Okay, so new year and a new bingo card! Maybe this is the year to complete at least one bingo? We'll see. I count this model for the "technique you haven't mastered".



As a bonus, I though I'd show you the finished bases that I've made for upcoming Astra Rodentia reinforcements. There's the six bases I showed unpainted in the last post and a seventh one (with the T-pipeline and chain) that I built and painted ages ago for my last couple of rats. I'm pretty happy with most of these - the only one giving me pause is the one with the knife. The floor ended up looking too messy - not an unlikely scenario in the real world, but I'd like a little more definition. I might end up repainting it before using it.

Love the banner and the ratman that's holding it! I think the dirt and mud splatter looks good and not overdone, it's always a bit grimy in the grim dark future!

Nailed those bases as well.

If I was an Abhuman, I'd be more careful carrying banners with 8-pointed stars on them It's a beautiful banner though, so I can't really fault'em!

Great bases, and I don't think the knife-base is overdone.

I must say I find working on separate bases very relaxing and rewarding, perhaps more so than the miniatures themselves! Do you find similar?

Thanks for sharing

That is a very snazzy banner!

Great work on Ratty Banner guy, he’s certainly been worth the wait. The glaze on the hazard stripes works really well as does the nmm on the banner

Banner rat is magnificent, great job!

Oof, almost two months since last post... Thanks for all the kind comments everyone and sorry for not replying earlier. This year my focus seems to have been elsewhere (work and another hobby), and I haven't painted all that much. But more on that later!

Tyranid Horde wrote:Love the banner and the ratman that's holding it! I think the dirt and mud splatter looks good and not overdone, it's always a bit grimy in the grim dark future!
Nailed those bases as well.

Thanks man, I'm glad you like it!

Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll wrote:If I was an Abhuman, I'd be more careful carrying banners with 8-pointed stars on them It's a beautiful banner though, so I can't really fault'em!

Haha, you might be right! It's a thin line between dedication to the Emperor and heresy...

IGtR= wrote:Great bases, and I don't think the knife-base is overdone.
I must say I find working on separate bases very relaxing and rewarding, perhaps more so than the miniatures themselves! Do you find similar?
Thanks for sharing

Thanks! Yeah, I have similar feelings. At least on "normal" bases (not some elaborate diorama ones) everything is easy to get to and you don't have to stress about being neat and accurate. The reason why I don't do it with all y models is that I want to have flat contact points for my models to stand on. So if I'm doing a largely sandy base, I'm gluing down the model first. I don't want it to be "hovering" over a large grain of sand. But these industrial themed ones are perfect for painting separately!

aku-chan wrote:That is a very snazzy banner!

Cheers!

gobert wrote:Great work on Ratty Banner guy, he’s certainly been worth the wait. The glaze on the hazard stripes works really well as does the nmm on the banner

Much appreciated!

Viterbi wrote:Banner rat is magnificent, great job!

Thank you very much!

---

Okay, so long time no paint. I was pretty much out of the hobby loop for more than a month, but I've been getting back on track during the last week or two. Here's a Vox-caster for my Astra Rodentia, finished way back on my winter break. I'll try to make another post tomorrow(-ish) for my current WIP project...



As I said in my last post, finishing this guy was delayed because I didn't like my original scratch-built handset on the vox-pack. So I pulled it out and replaced it with one from a Skitarii backpack. I was instantly much happier with this one, I think mostly because the "connector" between the pack and the cable. And the much more detailed handset doesn't hurt either!



Painting-wise, there's not really much to talk about - very much the same process as with the rest of the rats. I'm chuffed with the white checkers on his orange cowl, I did those one square at a time without the help of a grid. And I meant to paint the vox-pack's speaker as brass, but should've gone with a more yellow, golden color as now it ended up looking like rusty steel. No matter though, looks alright!



Now that I'm starting have quite a collection of these Astra Rodentia (almost a full squad's worth, hehe!), I thought I'd take a groupshot of them. Even with their mishmash of colors and equipment, I think they look like a cohesive group! For future models, I think I need some more guys with brown/gray armor, so that the sniper and vox-caster won't look like they're special..

Wooooow!!!!, mind blown, amazing work, extremely talented.

Those space rats are great! Love the colours and weathering.

Rats looking fab and a great rag-tag little squad going on

Thanks for sharing

Really digging the group shot. And love all the different cloth colors with their scarves (?). Looks a bit, like they raided a washing line along the way

A stellar return and that group shot is awesome!

Awesome rats, can't wait to see more!

That is a wonderful collection!
These guys really ought to be an official kit!

Oh wow, these are great! I like how they still look like legit Imperial troops while being gruesome ratmen at the same time, very 40k.