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First of, I'd like to sum up those threads I've made about this project across this forum:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/205585.page - Army list and discussions about setup
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/205549.page - First thread, about tactics and setup

In short, I've fallen in love with the Desert Wars concept, and specifically the Tallarns of 40k. Sadly, their style of play wasn't exactly what
I was looking for, so I decided to start an army with a similar concept, using Tallarn metal models as a base. That idea quickly went down
the tube, as I figure I'd have to sell my left kidney in order to afford an entire army of those. So, I considered converting cadian plastics.
The idea was to give them a 'arabic-like' headdress and desert camoflage, and take it from there.

I finally got started working on this project this evening, and for a green stuff-virgin like myself, my biggest fear was modelling the headdress
of each and every one of my infantry. So I got to work, and mutilated a few of my old Catachanians in the process. Some of them really look
bad now While I originally wanted to do a headdress similar to that used by Tallarn metals (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keffiyeh), I quickly
decided that this is way beyond my GS skills at this point. One option though, was to go with another style, shown in this picture here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Thomas_Edward_Lawrence-Lawrence_of_Arabia.JPG . This wasn't nearly as hard, so this was the way to go:



Unfortunatley my webcam isn't that good at taking stills, but I'm working on getting a better camera to take these shots. The parts I use come from
mainly three sources:

- Heads from both Empire State troops and Catachan plastics; the reason for this is simple, they look nifty, and often have little or no headgear. An
example of this can be seen on the trooper at the front, the beared one
- Cadian plastics
- Green stuff

Colouring for now (since I forgot to get new paints when I was at GW the other day)
- Armoured pieces: Snakebite leather
- Fatigues: Kommando Khaki (not painted yet)
- Keffiyeh: Skull white, with markings depending on the unit
- Skin: Bronzed flesh (not painted yet)
- Weapon: undecided

That's it for now, next post will probably be when these four models are painted fully and based.

Upcoming models for this force:
- Sentinel
- Lieutenant (Tallarn metal)
- Plasma gunners
- Heavy weapon teams
- Leman Russes
- Rough riders (Tallarns of Lizardmen cold ones)
- Imperial Guard Land speeder (could be, not sure about this one)

Well, that's it for me for now

al-Majid Agandhjin bin Ahfal al-Rashid

Cool idea and the models look nice. But I think the tank should have more details painted. Right now it looks like it has about 2 different colors for the whole model.

The tank has only two colours on it at this time, simply because the other ones I wanted to use had dried up over the three years
they've been sitting in a box in my basement I bought new paints today, so next time I update, there will be more colours on
both the soldiers and the tank

al-Majid Agandhjin bin Ahfal al-Rashid

Time for an update. I've gotten around to picking up the paints I needed, and now have some models that show the basic colouring I'll be using.

These models are still WIPs, as there's still detailing, shading etc. to be done.


This if the first sergeant (an old cadian lieutenant) and four infantrymen. The tank in the back is a WIP, as I've never tried painting camo stripes before. That takes time!


Same as above, just a wee bit darker


These shots are to show off the basic idea I've had for my infantrymen, and their uniform. The head's from an Empire State Trooper (that kit that was impossible to put together)


Same as above, different angle


Same as above, yet another angle

I'm really happy about how the keffiyeh turned out. Apart from filling the odd gap now and then, these are my first attempts at green stuff-modeling.

Still to come:
- Even more infantrymen
- Sentinel
- Lieutenant (Tallarn metal)
- Plasma gunners
- Heavy weapon teams
- Leman Russes
- Rough riders (Tallarns of Lizardmen cold ones)
- Imperial Guard Land speeder (could be, not sure about this one)

al-Majid Agandhjin bin Ahfal al-Rashid

What are you using to base your models? It seems woefully out of scale with the models. I would suggest finding an alternate basing material that is more in scale with the figures.

This type of sand works well. It's expensive though. You can also find stuff outside that works rather well. I would suggest looking around for a fine sand/gravel mix.

grey_death wrote:What are you using to base your models?

It's a combination of small rock chips (I think) and bark that I bought from a GW shop some 4-5 years ago. I've previously used it on my Sisters of Battle Order 'Ordo Valkyrii', though in smaller amounts. While I don't feel that it's as 'out of scale' as you seem to, I can see how the large amount I tossed up on these guardsmen might seem a bit excessive. I'll use less on the upcoming ones, and see how that looks. Though for the look of a 'barren, rocky wasteland,' I think they look great as 'gravel'

Progress report:

I've converted and started painting an additional 10 guardsmen, which are about half-way finished at this point. Trying out a few new styles for the keffiyeh, we'll see how they look when they are painted. No pictures this time, I'm afraid.

In addition to the infantrymen, I'm working on the camo pattern for my basic Russ (Battlecannon, lascannon). Picture of that will be around as well, once I'm satisfied enough to show it without being embarrsed

Still to come:
- Even more infantrymen
- Sentinel
- Lieutenant (Tallarn metal)
- Plasma gunners
- Heavy weapon teams
- Leman Russes
- Rough riders (Tallarns of Lizardmen cold ones)
- Imperial Guard Land speeder (could be, not sure about this one)

al-Majid Agandhjin bin Ahfal al-Rashid

I would actually like to see the creative process for your camo scheme personally. I just went through a camo scheme issue myself recently over in my Grey Death Chapter WIP thread. It's always nice to get some feedback from the community to help guide your hand through some of the rougher spots.

As to your basing style, I think the gravel itself would work out fine, but you need to really break it up with some finer sand/dirt to really make it feel more believable. Having all the rocks at his feet stacked up around their ankles and each about the size of the models fingers, really is hurting the composition as a whole. Mix some fine sand into the pot and you should come out the better for it.

I like the tank a lot more now. Sorry that I didn't realize that you just required the new paints. I should have figured it out as it was in your first post. sry.
Also I don't know what you think of this idea but the lasguns would look really cool with a wood design. Kind of like AK47s to show that they're very durable and for use in the desert or anywhere for that matter.
Just my 2 cents
Keep the cool convershuns comin.

Grey_death: I had a look at your camo scheme 'issue,' and I'm not really sure we're after the same thing. Mine is simply alot more basic patterning, mostly for tanks as my soldiers' camo comes from the colouring of their clothing.

As for basing, I picked up a box of fine-grained modelling sand a few days back. Haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but from what I can see a combination of the two will give a more realistic look. Thanks for the pointer

Snorkle: Tank's coming along, but not really that much updated from last time. As for the lashnikov 47's, consider your idea yoinked! I'm trying out a few different colours to see, more to come later

al-Majid Agandhjin bin Ahfal al-Rashid

Progress report

Christmas is coming up, and sadly I haven't had the chance to finish as much of the force as I would have wanted.
In fact, nothing is finished. Paint scheme is giving me some trouble, and there are still models enroute via mail.
But for now, I present to you these webcam-stills to give you an impression of how the force will look when it's finished



Group shot. Sadly something went wrong with the focus, and it didn't get any better no matter how many times I tried.

Front left: Infantry squad A (missing plasma gunner, tallarn veteran sergeant w/bolter)
Front right: Infantry squad B (missing plasma gunner, tallarn veteran sergeant w/bolter)
Mid-back: Command squad
Back corners: Sentinels



This is the Command squad heavy weapon team. I made it modular, so I'll be able to swap between lascannon and
autocannon. After much back and forth, I decided to mount both guardsmen on individual bases, which as you can
see fit on the larger 'weapon base.'



The rest of the command squad. The junior officer is an old cadian lieutenant. I tried inking his armour to see what happened.
As you can see, bad idea. It kinda looks like he's wearing wooden armour.



Infantry squad A. I'll be fielding two identical squads, see the army list below for details. (Missing sergeant and plasma gunner)



Infantry squad B. Same as with squad A, sergeant and plasma gunner is missing



My two sentinels. They will be fielded seperatly. I'm a bit back and forth about either fielding them with autocannons, or
multilasers and extra armour. Most likely, I'll end up with autocannons.



Just to show off the different kinds of bitz I use. From left to right, the heads are: Catachan, Empire, Catachan, Empire.
The far right one also has a 'stoker' (?) from an old Empire Cannon set converted into a missile. Turned out a tad too long,
but I like it none the less.

And here's the list:

Junior Command Squad - 82 points
- Lascannon
- Vox caster
- Surveyour
- 'Light infantry' doctrine

Infantry squad A - 109 points
- Vox caster
- Missile launcher
- Plasma gun
- Veteran sergeant w/Bolter, Surveyour
- 'Light infantry' doctrine

Infantry squad B - 109 points
- same as Infantry squad A

Sentinel A - 50 points
- Autocannon

Sentinel B - 50 points
- Autocannon

Total points: 400

Weapons: 1x Lascannon, 2x Missile Launchers, 2x plasma guns, 2x autocannons, 2 bolters and 18 lasguns

That's it for now. I'll not be doing anything with these until the beginning of January, as I'm going on vacation. So until then,
have fun, be nice and have a great holiday! (In the name of the Emperor, of course. We're not heretics, after all *shifty eyes*)

You know, I'd love to dip these guys, think it would really bring out the flesh and add some depth everything in general - though on the flipside it would make the browns even more brown, which may or may not be good ...

Anyway keep up the work, digging the modeled on arab-y details.

- Salvage

I'm glad to know I could help with your paint scheme. I'm tempted to get some guard to try out wood myself.
I really like your conversions. And your Army is pretty cool in the group picture.
Is the commander's weapon a shotgun or what? It looks like a spas12 or something to me but I couldn't find anything in your army list.

Thanks for the enthusiasm lads!

Boss_Salvage wrote:You know, I'd love to dip these guys, think it would really bring out the flesh and add some depth everything in general - though on the flipside it would make the browns even more brown, which may or may not be good ...

I almost got pounced by a GW employee the other day, when I mentioned someone had suggested I try and dip some of my models
Shading and other techniques used for bringing out details and similar is something I've never been any good at, so with these I haven't
really tried yet. I imagine I'll paint them all up to game standard (the 400 points that is), and then have a go at it.

Snorkle wrote:Is the commander's weapon a shotgun or what? It looks like a spas12 or something to me but I couldn't find anything in your army list.

That's a mistake on my part. I never intended for this chap to be used, so I didn't do any conversion work on him. He carries a shotgun by default. Now that
I've decided I'll use him as a Junior officer (once I sort out that wooden armour of his) I'll have to do some work on that weapon. Bolter or lasgun coming up

al-Majid Agandhjin bin Ahfal al-Rashid

Ooh Ooh. Give him a knife like lawrence had in the movie. He could be holding it up to the sky and looking at it while blood dripped down his arm and off the knife to the ground.
That would be such an awesome pose.

Back again with a progress report. No pictures this time, I'm afraid

Back from vacation, and GW still doesn't think it's a good idea to have the models I've ordered ready. That makes 3,5 weeks and running... Hopefully they'll be here in a few days, so I can have them ready for my first game with this force next sunday.

At this point, all the basic troopers are finished, based and ready for...

Boss_Salvage wrote:You know, I'd love to dip these guys, think it would really bring out the flesh and add some depth everything in general - though on the flipside it would make the browns even more brown, which may or may not be good ...
- Salvage

Salvage, you and others have me convinced. After a random trip to my FLGS (not the GW one) I came across a danish company (www.thearmypainter.com) that makes tubs and such for dipping. I had a look at some of the example models in the shop, and after browsing through their website, I'm convinced it has to be tried. Not because I don't like painting, but because I'm never satisfied with the results i get when shading. I've ordered a tub of 'soft tone', and next update will have pictures of the result.

In other news:
I've gotten hold of one of the 'purple worms' from D&D miniatures, which will eventually be used to represent my daemonhosts/summoned greater daemons. More on this at a later date.

Edit:
As much for my own interest as anybody elses, I decided to type up a list of things I'd like to be part of this force at some point in the future. Just to give you a feel of where it's going.

- Command HQ: I know I'll be using the 'newest' Cadian commander for this, the rest is not decided upon

- 2x Infantry Platoons: The core of my force will be Command HQ and 2 Infantry platoons. Lots of Guardsmen to paint/convert, but then again I'm not a big fan of Armoured Fists. I'll grab what Tallarns I can get my hands on, and either mix them in with the converted ones, or use them as seperate squads

- Sentinels: I've got two so far, one's finished, the other waiting to be painted. Really happy with how the first one turned out.

- Rough riders: As mentioned in a seperate thread in the P&M forum, I'll be using Tallarn riders on Lizardmen cold ones. I'd like to have 12 of these (2x6), and as their price is fairly high, I'll get them a few at a time, or perhaps quicker if I get those cheap ones of eBay.

- Tanks: For now, I have my mind set on three Leman Russeses: one regular with only a lascannon, and two Executioners with FW plasma turrets and 3x heavy bolters. Why? Because Tallarns like plasma, and so do I

- Stormblade superheavy tank: I'm not sure why I list it, but at some point in the future, I'd like to own one. If I get it, I'll have the figure in my avatar riding in it

- Ordo Malleus Inquisitor: Background is still being typed up, but this force is turning more and more towards the heretic side. The rules for DH inqusitors will be used to represent a 'Priest' of some kind. Why? So I can field:

- Daemonhosts: Just for fun, I'll try and get three of these. They'll be represented by the 'purple worm' miniatures from the D&D line, painted to look more sandy. (Yes, I like Frank Herbert's Dune)

That's the ideas I have for now. Feel free to pipe in with any ideas you might have

al-Majid Agandhjin bin Ahfal al-Rashid

Agandhjin wrote:
Salvage, you and others have me convinced. After a random trip to my FLGS (not the GW one) I came across a danish company (www.thearmypainter.com) that makes tubs and such for dipping. I had a look at some of the example models in the shop, and after browsing through their website, I'm convinced it has to be tried. Not because I don't like painting, but because I'm never satisfied with the results i get when shading. I've ordered a tub of 'soft tone', and next update will have pictures of the result.

Alright! Good luck with the dipping, it's quite a trip when you get your first model properly dipped up and all nice and shaded and such. There's some trial and error involved of course, and you have some options on how to actually dip your models. And there are other things to keep in mind - contrasting colors work best, don't put very alike shades next to each other (they tend to blur together with the dip), etc.

Here's a very useful thread you ought to read if you haven't already: Dipping Figures: The Ultimate Guide

- Salvage

Contrasting colours might be a problem. Here's what I've got so far:



*The miniature was primed using chaos black

Keffiyeh: Bleached bone/Skull White - Chaos black band
Flak armour: Bestial Brown/Snakebite Leather x2
Fatigues: Graveyard Earth/Kommando Khaki x2
Boots: Bestial Brown/Snakebite Leather x2
Skin: Bronzed Flesh x2
Weapon: Bestial Brown/Drybrushed Boltgun metal - Boltgun metal details

I deliberatly used colours that don't contrast each other that much, given that it's supposed to act like
camoflague. It might not show as well on the photos, but on the models itself there's a clear distinction.

Package is still in the mail, so we'll just have to wait and see.

al-Majid Agandhjin bin Ahfal al-Rashid

Scene 1:

Setting: meeting room at the local community centre. Lots of chairs in a circle, filled with different people. One of them stands up

Agandhjin: *coughs* Hi, I'm... Agandhjin... and I dip my minis.
Everybody else: Hello Agandhjin!


Well then, I'm a dipper. Sadly, my camera won't do this technique much justice, but after dipping my first 16 guardsmen, I can't think of anything else to say besides: this rocks!
The colours worked out well, not much fading/blending between the similar ones. And with the added level of shading, models went from tabletop to tabletop ++. Only real issue was the fact that I had to clean the keffiyehs after dipping, as having them turn light brown wasn't really what I had in mind. Once the models have fully dried, I'll toss up a picture or two.

On another note, today I finally got word that my 'mail order' order from England had gone missing in the mail (along with a box containing a bunch of other orders. Suffice to say, there were alot of annoyed gamers, not to mention staff at the local GW today, who had to do alot of orders all over again, not to mention potenially waiting another couple of weeks. For me, this means that my patrol force won't really be finished until that order arrives, as it contains the two plasma gunners and veteran sergeants I need for it.
So until then, I'll toss up a few pictures of what I'm working on at the moment, besides dipping and priming the heavy weapon teams/crews:



Firstly, some simple conversion I've done. These will be included in my command squads, to make them stand out from the rank-and-file. The middle one might turn into my 'counts as' Vindicare assassin, should I decide to make my force traitor (which is quite likely at this point) On his left is an assault sergeant w/bandaged wrist, the one on the right is a heavy weapon spotter/command squad veteran/tactician



Same as above, from the back. I figured the com-set on the sniper would be some sort of 'satelite uplink,' to justify his increased accuracy when he acts as an assassin.




Keeping with the desert/Frank Herbert's 'Dune' theme, I came across this worm from the D&D line, which will be my daemonhost once it's been primed and painted. The primer's drying up at the moment, looking forward to working on it The sentinel and trooper (undipped) are included for scaling purposes

A comment on D&D minies

I'm not sure what I expected when I bought the worm. I knew it was prepainted, coated and whatnot. Not to mention, it was real cheap (close to £4). But as you might see from the pictures, you get what you pay for. Shoddy paintjob, clearly visible joints. Sufficient to say, green stuff and a new paintjob is a must for any of these models. On the plus size, the base size is roughly equal to the sentinel one.

That's it for now

al-Majid Agandhjin bin Ahfal al-Rashid

Cool Sandworm. Will you model a Muad'Dib to go with Lawrence(the tank commander)?

I like the sentinel. It looks very nicely done.

Appriciate the compliment, snorkle. Working on the sentinel was a new experience for me, as I haven't really done alot of vehicle painting.
It's a simple chaos black primer/Graveyard Earth + Kommando Khaki/drybrush Boltgun metal job. Simple, efficient and fun way to make a
vehicle appear to have been out in a sandstorm or two. (Word of advice, never prime your vehicles using regular paints and brushes. There
are quicker and cheaper ways to go loco)

As for the Paul/Usul/Muad'dib, that's still an open question. It would be fun to do some sort of 'fanatic' riding it, which could represent the
human 'vessel' of the daemonhost. Not sure what model I'd use for that, though. The Tallarn rough riders seem the obvious choice, but
as I'll be using them for my rough riders on cold ones, I'd like to have something a bit different. Perhaps some of the Harad riders from
the LOTR range. After all, that's where I'll be getting my Death Cult Assassins from:



More to come in that regard later on

al-Majid Agandhjin bin Ahfal al-Rashid (closer and closer to the Traitor side with each passing day)

Be sure to remove the bow from the models hand before making your death cult assassins.

P.S. Come to the traitor side... Just read my sig for another reason

you know the lotr stuff is a bit smaller right?

usernamesareannoying wrote:you know the lotr stuff is a bit smaller right?

I've heard and seen that it's a bit smaller, yes. Though that hadn't occured to me when I thought of using those. Is the difference in scale so much that it is incompatible? What if one modifies the bases a bit, so they stand a bit taller?

al-Majid Agandhjin bin Ahfal al-Rashid

Well, it's about time I got some better quality pictures of my newly dipped ones up, so a friend of mine took a picture of my lieutenant.



He's from the first batch of minis I dipped, and I must say I'm really happy with the results

al-Majid Agandhjin bin Ahfal al-Rashid

Solid! Metal and skin have dipped-out particularly nice

Well done, and the purple worm is impressively gigantic!

- Salvage

Looks very nice.
Looks like I'll have to try dipping(peer pressure).

There are worse things you can do than try dipping, Snorkle. Might be your thing, might not be. I for one
was quite sceptical before I tried it. But after seeing how it improved on my work, I'm not turning back.
Well, at least not on these brown-toned minis at least.

On another note, seems GW decided to fork me over once again. The delivery I've been waiting for since
the beginning of December still hasn't gotten here. So last week, they decided to do the order all over again.
I figured what the heck, and made a new order at the same time. THAT ONE arrived today, with still no word
on the old one. So while it prevents me from finishing up my 400p patrol force (which is still missing two
veteran sergeants and two plasma gunners) it allowed me to start working on some of the conversions that
will be included in my army when it starts moving towards 1000/1500 points. So from now on, instead of putting
up what models I want to include in the future, I'll be tossing up a short list of minis I have, that I'm working on.

Upcoming thingies:
- Command HQ (Converted Cadian commander)
- Tallarns with demo charges (autocannon loaders, and please no comments about politics on this one )
- Inquisitor (Redemptor priest)
- 2x Tallarn Rough riders on Cold ones (who will also stand in for 'Muties' in the odd Gorkamorka game)
- Another sentinel
- Daemonhost (Sandworm)
- 2x Leman Russes

That's it for now then

al-Majid Agandhjin bin Ahfal al-Rashid

Yeah I want to try it but I don't know what to use in Switzerland.
Sorry for getting of track

snorkle wrote:Yeah I want to try it but I don't know what to use in Switzerland.
Sorry for getting of track

Don't worry about it

Since the stuff from 'The Army painter' is the only thing I've tried, I can't speak for anything else.
But if you check out their webpage, you'll see that there are stores in both Germany and Austria
that carry their products. Not that I know anything about Swiss import regulations (what with you
being outside the EU and so on. Incidently, Norway is as well ) I'm sure some of them ship to
other countries. Don't know about prices and such, but it's surely worth a gander, now isn't it?

al-Majid Agandhjin bin Ahfal al-Rashid