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Even though you are not completely happy with the wyches, I think they came out nicely. Still loving the bone coloref weapons, in which I fell in love during my first browse on your thread. If I remember correctly, I mentioned them in my first post here too. I understand the feeling of trying to finish a sunit of "not so fun to paint" - models.

The effect on that turret is ace!

For the fluff I vote option one. Fallen eldar, or ones mutated by chaos, is something that wakes my interest. Slaaneshi guardian conversions are something I've been toying around in my mind, but having so many different ideas and no real purpose where to use them I've never started crafting. As a finnish metalhead, I already have a theme album for all stuff that is chaos, even though I don't yet have any chaotic armies. Anyway, it would be cool to see something like that.

If you decide to go with the dinosaurs, that's a really cool path too!

Thanks for stopping by gobert! Glad you like the poker chips, I'm dying to work on some bigger bases to show off what I have in mind! I have the paints ordered for the SoH, it'll be fun to try a new shade of green.

Thanks for the input Cap, the larger bases definitely aid that look.

Cheers Ezki, as time has passed I'm a bit happier with them, they look nice sitting beside my Kabalites and Archon. It's a good weight off my chest to have them finished.

Fluff wise, it's 2 to 1 for Crone World vs Exodite World. Thinking more about the options, I'd mentioned Drakespawn as the dinosaurs for Exodite Knights. The plus with Exodites is that I can use them in the same army as my Craftworld and Drukhari, but with Chaos Eldar, they'd probably have to be their own self contained force. As Ezki mentioned, Slaaneshi Guardians are a go to in terms of making a civilian population. A mirror to Exodite Knights could be mounted Eldar on Seekers. The Sylvaneth, specifically the grunts, while a force of order could be painted to be sufficiently twisted wraithbone.

No real updates on the P&M side of things recently, there's been some family stuff going on and I've been packing for a move as I've managed to get a job as a Geologist! So I'm moving back to London, if anyone is around and wants a game, give me a shout! My paints have finally turned up at the LGS, so I'll finally be able to make a start on the currently primed SoH Reavers. It'll be tight to get my models painted up in time for the painting challenge, but I'll give it my best shot!

Congrats on the job!

That's great that you got a job as a geologist, congratulations!

Congrats on the job.

Cheers,

CB

Hey all,

First of all, an extremely sheepish hello from me, I've not properly updated this log since the middle of February and I've already used the packing for work as an excuse and I've no real excuse for this hiatus other then being lazy and tired! I haven't been painting or modelling but this past week I've sat down and I've been tinkering away with what I'm going to be painting for this month's painting challenge but before I got any painting done I needed to decide what I wanted to paint for the "Art of War". No surprised I have a bunch of aspect warriors for this and I'll be going for a Fire Dragon exarch that got rescued from eBay. I am debating doing multiple aspect warriors for this as I think it'd be cool represent multiple different aspects (or arts) of war.

Since moving away from all my models and the pile of shame, I brought along my Sons of Horus which subsequently got broken on the journey over and I also don't have a compressor to continue airbrushing those. I brought my War Walkers, which will be done in the next few weeks, and I brought over my Fire Dragons, Swooping Hawks and Warp Spiders, as they're all pretty different and I won't get bored painting them. I have also managed to find 10 metal Howling Banshees on eBay for a reasonable price so there's another Aspect to add to the Swordwind. Totally just ignored my 2019 resolution with that one...

The positives of being away means I have to get creative with my basing now that I don't have my go to sand. I discovered (or rather saw someone else use it) some structure paste from Flying Tiger for 3 quid a tub. They come in a range of textures so I bought a smooth one and a rougher one to see how they go. I've tried it out to base an entire model as well as use it as filler where the sand hasn't covered parts of bases.
The pots are a decent size, and for what I'm using it for, it seems to be decent value.


Here it is on the base of a swooping hawk and below that is where I've covered up gaps where sand hasn't covered the bases of my warp spiders and fire dragons:






I'll make sure to paint up an example to show off what the paste actually looks like tomorrow.

Thanks for reading as usual, and hopefully I'll have more frequent updates. Thanks to those who congratulated me on the job, things are going pretty well so far and it's nice to finally be part of the working world.

-TH

It's good to see you back Tyranid Horde, and no worries you don't need to feel obligated to keep us entertained, all of us just want a break to do other stuff even from such an enjoyable hobby. Good luck with the contest, and I'm curious to see how the paste looks painted.

Good to see you back, yours is always one of the blogs I keep an eye out for. Sorry I missed the initial chance to congratulate you on the job, but I'll do so now - congrats!

Was the 2019 resolution by any chance to avoid buying models or to stay off ebay? Because I went with something similar, and have also utterly failed at it. It's not so bad building up the pile so long as you keep chipping away at it...

Welcome back Tyranid Horde.

I have been doing terrain while my painting comp models sit unfinished.

Lets get back to working on them.

Cheers,

CB

Glad to have you back!
Hobby breaks happen and sometimes they last longer than we initially thought.
Don't sweat it, we'll be here. I too have been a bit lazy on my modelling for a while now...

That modelling paste looks really handy. Have never seen those in any of my local hobby stores.
Looking forward to see how it looks painted!

Thank you all for your support, it means a lot, even if I'm becoming more infrequent with my posts!

So hello everyone,

I'm back again with another update, almost a month after the last one and progress is a little slow but it's more than March's attempt at getting through my pile of shame.

I think I'll start with what I've actually completed first and then move onto what I'm working on. To start with, I've actually completed an entry for the Unofficial Painting Challenge for the first time since December's Open Round as the previous entries I'd chosen were not what I wanted to paint. So as it was the theme "Art of War" some Fire Dragons were apt for the choice. Then I thought doing one of each aspect would be an even better idea, letting me complete a bunch of models at once! Needless to say, I failed in that task down to pure laziness but I finished the Fire Dragon exarch at least and I'm reasonably proud of him. I wanted to go for an old school colour scheme but I spent an evening after basecoating the model and went with whatever I felt like. Tell me what you think of him as I'll be moving onto the rest of the squad this month. Also, it's not super obvious, but the structure paste was used on the base for some parts and the effect of it is subtle but I think it helps make the base look less like painted sand.

Sleeping Wyvern Shrine Exarch:






I was debating starting a separate blog for this but seeing as I can barely keep this one up to date I'll do it here. I bought Blackstone Fortress at the start of April and I spent a lot of time cleaning, assembling and priming them and I'd like to keep a log of my progress as I go through the box-set. My aims with Blackstone is to collect all the expansions for the series as they come out and paint them in a way that reflects the artwork more so that what 'Eavy Metal have done with the models as they're quite bright and garish. I don't want to go down the path of Blanchitsu but muted tones and a darker theme is a little more apt for a darker corner of the galaxy.
Here's an artsy shot that got uploaded to my instagram (shameless plug, it's in my signature):


I decided to start with the basic grunts first and alternate with the heroes as I go along. I began with the Ur-Ghuls, which in my opinion don't make much sense in Blackstone but I'll go with it and it's good to see a more accessible option to them instead of the finecast model. As I said, the model is going off artwork and not the bright blue that GW have decided on. I'm trying to get the hang of painting up the bases and they'll be refined more in later models but they're okay for now. Let me know what you think:



Now, onto actual progress I've made. Practically none, but small steps and I'm getting more motivated as time goes on to paint a bit more. The Fire Dragons are slowly getting painted up and I had to abandon trying to paint them all as the painting challenge deadline loomed but here they are, a far cry from finished but they're enjoyable nonetheless. As I mentioned for the Exarch, feedback is greatly appreciated on these guys, especially on the greys I've used to compliment the orange and yellow. I feel like going for bone (which I was intending on doing) might have been too much with the weapon also being a bone colour.


Onto some Blackstone progress! I've been working on the Spindle Drones since finishing the Ur-Ghuls and once again I'm going for a darker, more sinister feel to them as depicted in the artwork. I've used some paste to break up the monotony of flat bases and I sanded the bases to make them flatter. I think it makes a nice effect and hopefully it'll look good painted up. The drones are going to be a light grey but with stark shadows as I want them to appear like they're floating through the gloom of the Fortress, which means I'm going to try some OSL on the lenses! They're very basic right now but suggestions are warmly welcomed!


Moving on from that, my Banshees arrived in the post and the primejob they game with wasn't great so I reckon they'll be getting reprimed before any paint hits them. I based them with pure paste and gave their bases some texture as I went along. I think I may choose the Banshee exarch for this month's "To The Death" themed painting challenge. I won't enter more than one model this time...



And my destruction of my hobby resolution continues in earnest as I've picked up the OOP Necromunda Farseer Yrthrian Mardawn and her retinue of Fire Dragon bodyguards, who are a completely different sculpt from the other models! I don't think these are recasts, but I may be wrong, I haven't identified any obvious mistakes or miscasts on these. They're very narrow but pretty funky models! I got these pretty inexpensively on eBay as I see they're pretty pricey in other auctions online (£50-£70).



Thanks for reading!

-TH

Wheee. Another delver into the mysteries of the Fortress. Really nice start with the ur ghouls. The base effect looks great.

For the spindles, if you're going dark with a bit of lens OSL I would recommend doing a bit of uplighting from the floor as well. I'm going to try that on my Mallex, just as soon as I manage to get back on the painting pony

Loving the Eldar stuff. Especially pleased to see the NecroSeer. That's one that so rarely gets painted. Ur-ghuls are looking real good, too.

Great job on the dragon exarch, he looks really good, looking forward to seeing him with all his mates! The Ur Ghuls look like a really nice and dark start. Seeing Flinty and now yours are tempting me towards the Blackstone Fortress, it looks a really nice kit which you’re doing credit to!

I wouldn’t fret about your progress, my last unit took about 25 years to complete! Keep em coming!

Cheers Flinty! Your blog and a few tutorials I've seen on Youtube has made me decide to bite the bullet on the set considering it's going to be a continuously updated game and not just a one off like Dreadfleet. Definitely going to be uplighting now, didn't even think of it!

Thanks youwashock! I can honestly say I've never seen many paint these sculpts outside of the original studio model. I'm not sure what scheme I'll go for, whether to keep her as Saim-hann or go for my own Craftworld for consistency's sake.

Thank you gobert! Aiming to get the dragons done soon but in the meantime, get Blackstone! I'd be interested to see what you'd do with yours!

No photos right now, but I'm going back to my War Walkers as my local shop has a mechanised themed painting competition and there seems to be no restrictions on what I can enter so that squadron will do!

 Tyranid Horde wrote:
And my destruction of my hobby resolution continues in earnest as I've picked up the OOP Necromunda Farseer Yrthrian Mardawn and her retinue of Fire Dragon bodyguards, who are a completely different sculpt from the other models! I don't think these are recasts, but I may be wrong, I haven't identified any obvious mistakes or miscasts on these. They're very narrow but pretty funky models! I got these pretty inexpensively on eBay as I see they're pretty pricey in other auctions online (£50-£70).

Tyranid Horde,

A couple of points...

1) Bad Tyranid Horde...increasing the backlog of unpainted models can lead to delays in completing the models you already have.
2) Tyranid Horde scores on the OOP Necromunda Farseer Yrthrian Mardawn

Necromunda had several interesting models that only were on the shelves for a short time, like the Steel Legion sniper model. Great find with the Farseer and congrats that you found it for less than the going rate.

Cheers,

CB

Ooh, another Blackstone project! And a very nice start with the ghouls! Your rendition of the BSF bases is one of the better ones I've seen, the blue lines seem to be positively glowing!

And while I'm not an Eldar man, I got to say that you've got some cool Fire Dragons. The paint scheme is appropriately fiery!

Nice start on the blackstone fortress stuff, the Urguls are great. Really good fiery orange on the fire dragon too, can't wait to see the squad finished and what you come up with for BSF

Good job with the Exarch! Nailed the scheme.

Way to start working on the blackstone fortress models, top notch!

I love the howling banshee models. Looking forward to see what you do with them

*tap tap* Is this on?

Hello all!

It's been 5 months since I've last updated this blog and it's mostly my fault for not doing so! I've also been spending a lot more of my evenings playing 40k rather than just talking about it so that's something too!

With this update I think I'll go for a big one rather than spread it out over a few updates as I've been up to a good bit in my absence from blogging.

I did manage to complete my Howling Banshee Exarch for the painting challenge and the rest of the ladies are still in progress and coupled with Psychic Awakening they might get done sooner rather than later. It's a shame their rules are still a bit pants but here's the Exarch below. I spent a lot of time on here but I'm unlikely to spend as much time on the squad as I did with her and I think the rules have a bearing on how fast I paint things!



Contrast paints came out and I spent a couple of hours with one of the free models from my local GW. It was a lot of fun to slap paint onto a model without much care but the one thick coat ethos isn't the best thing to do if you want a good looking army by the end.


As it's been a few months since they came out, a lot of the hype has died down and I have to say the high pigment count and the ease of painting with contrast has me using some contrast paints more than traditional paints for things like fur, leather and more. The Blackstone Rogue psykers I painted got their jacket trim and furs painted with contrast and I think it's given them quite a nice effect!



I did make some progress on the Blackstone stuff, but a lot of them fell to the wayside a bit as I focused on playing games and painting up my Eldar for games in the Bad Moon League, which is a series of games that takes place in Bad Moon Cafe in London. I've painted up the Spindle Drones and I've made a start to the Eldar Ranger but much to my dismay her sniper rifle is so thin and spindly that it has snapped multiple times. Not much of a game piece honestly. I do plan on getting the Ambull and Escalation Expansions at some point but I need to finish the base set first!

I haven't painted a huge amount of models since May, but I've been working on my techniques or learning brand new ones so I can become more of an all round painter and find my own style. Faces are one of things I've generally veered away from and a lot of Blackstone models unsurprisingly have faces. I picked up a Knight Incantor model for £5 from GW's intro to Sigmar magazine and tried out blending and glazing on what is a pretty good face to practise on. I also wanted to try out painting eyes, which is something I hadn't tried either. Below is a before and after showing the progression from half done to a finished face.



Following on from "TH learns faces", I was on holiday in Italy and they'd just released Conquest over there. Never seeming to turn down a bargain, I picked up a copy of issue 1 to try out some of the Intercessors. I watched a video on colour theory and rather than shade a colour with a darker shade of said colour, working in a different darker colour for the recesses gives a visual differentiation and tricks the eye into seeing a darker version of the same colour. I applied this to an Intercessor painted in the Salamander Chapter scheme and shaded the greens with purple to see how that worked out. He's still a work in progress but working with relatively simple cylinders and spheres was really refreshing and helped me practise my blending. I was also inspired by beboppaints' mantis warriors so attempted something similar. By no means as good, but I'm content with my progress



Finally, I also got round to getting a compressor for my airbrush and with that, I made a start to some of the Exodites I'd gotten using a gift voucher my lovely gf got me for my birthday. I spent the past two weeks rushing to get them tabletop ready but I should be finishing them this week/weekend. Here are some WIPs starting from the basic kitbash to where most of them are currently:
Dragon Knight (counts-as Shining Spear Exarch)


Batch airbrushing:


Some detail work and contrast over dark reaper and grey:




On the table:


I have some more stuff in the works but for now, that's enough of a wall! I'll have some close ups of the units I've painted so far soon as I've not had the time with the tournament that I played in at the weekend. I came 11th out of 72 players and even got best Asuryani player!

Cheers again and hopefully I'll update this thread a bit more!

-TH

Hey, welcome back!

Love seeing those Exodites on the table. The Banshee looks awesome, and the Stormcast guy, too.

Very nice work on the Exodites Tyranid Horde.

Cheers,

CB

Welcome back TH! Looks like you’ve produced some good stuff in the time you’ve been away! The salamander looks really great, I would not have thought you’d used a purple for the shadows! Might have to read in to this theory!

The Rogue psykers looks great, did you use your airbrush for the glowing eyes or some other technique?

Thank you all for the kind welcome backs! I'll hopefully have some photos up tomorrow of the finished Exodite Knights as they need to be done for the Dakka Painting Challenge!

@gobert the eyes and cheeks were painted with a brush and brought up to white for their eyeballs to show energy radiating from them. Just a bit of layering got a pretty effective result!

Welcome back! That's quite an update. it's great that you're getting to play 40k so often