59 - TOEMP Challenge #3 WIP

So, the third challenge in A Tale of Even More Painters is to either paint up a Special Character (plus retinue, if applicable) while writing up a data sheet for him/ her, or alternatively, to paint up a Fast Attack/ Special Unit with extra points being awarded for creative basing.

I decided to go with an Imperial Guard Cadian Armored Sentinel. I could've chosen to paint up a Space Marine Captain with Command Squad, but at this point, I'm so sick of basecoating red that I thought, for sanity's sake, it was best to move on to another color scheme for the time being. The Sentinel is going to be exciting to do for a couple of reasons:

1) It's the first vehicle I'll ever be assembling and painting.

2) I love decorative bases, so this challenge is right up my alley.

3) It's been almost 2 months since I've added anything to my Imperial Guard army.

I've included some work in progress pics of what I have in mind for the Sentinel. Basically, it's a mini-diorama depicting the Sentinel about to crash through the front lines of a Chaos Space Marine defensive position. At the moment, only the Sentinel has been glued to the base. I'll be painting it up first before I add the fence and the Khorne Bezerker. The fence comes from a Chaos Rhino, I believe. I think it's part of the Rhino's dozer blade. I'll very likely also be adding rocks and rubble and shrubbery and such stuff as finishing touches.

I honestly can't wait to start painting this sucker up. Hopefully, under the deadline (Sept. 6th) as well.

Leia Mais…

58 - Update on TOEMP Challenge #2 Entry

Here I present to you my official Challenge #2 submission. Not a big difference from the original entry in post 56, but a bit more characterful, in my opinion.

Since I had 2 days or so until the end of the official deadline (August 27), I decided to revisit my Blood Ravens Terminators. I was always disappointed with how uniform the Black Reach Terminators looked - pretty much every Termie was armed in exactly the same way and posed in exactly the same position. Due to this, the painting process for these 4 models was a bit boring. (Add in the sheer drudgery of trying to achieve a decent level of coverage of red paint over black primer, and the monotony became almost intolerable.) So, I rummaged through my bits boxes and stumbled upon some Chaos Terminator doodads that I thought might just do the trick of personalizing my Terminators just a little bit. I also took the time to go over some rough spots with more paint (primarily the helmets to achieve a brighter white than I had earlier) as well as give the heraldic shields near their left shoulder pads a Devlan Mud wash to add a little bit of depth. (Thanks, Gregory, for the catch and the tip on that one!)

Some might say that adding Chaos bits to Loyalist Marines goes against the fluff, and I can understand that point of view. However, if one reads the Blood Ravens fluff closely, one will notice that this particular Chapter of Space Marines has very close and ominous ties to the forces of Chaos. For instance, out of all of the Space Marine Chapters, the Blood Ravens are the ones most at ease with employing psykers - they have a higher percentage of Librarians within their ranks than other Chapters. There is also the 5th Company of the Blood Ravens (known as the "Fated Fifth") which disappeared into the Warp, the rumor being that they were corrupted by a renegade Librarian within their midsts. Now, the current members of the 5th Company wear badges of penitence and shame upon their armor, although the reasons for doing so are never spoken of. Finally, there are many hinted at connections between the Blood Ravens and corrupted legions such as the Word Bearers and the Thousand Sons. Thus, I think it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for the Blood Ravens to festoon their armor with "Chaos-y" regalia - not out of an attempt at becoming Chaos, but more due to the Chapter's willingness to dance with the dark side. Plus, at the end of the day, the spikes I added to the Terminators are just spikes, right? I purposefully avoided anything that might be too Chaos-influenced (like symbols of the Four Powers or the Chaos Undivided star or trophies that used actual Space Marine heads or body parts, etc.). Why would it be considered beyond the pale for elite fighters such as these to decorate themselves with icons that might strike fear into the hearts of their enemies?

Because of this new submission, my Points Total for Challenge #2 is now:

Foot Sloggers - 10 points
Lenses/ Eyes - 5 Points
Meet Deadline - 2 points

For a total of 17 points.

As usual, click here for more pics.

UPDATE: I was just informed by 73rd that models on 40mm bases count as 2 pts. per model, so the total points for my Blood Ravens Terminators just went up by 5! Woot! The original post was edited to reflect this change.

Leia Mais…

57 - TOEMP Challenge #2 Is Complete!

5 Blood Ravens Terminators coming right atcha! Some definite problems with them, but overall, I'm satisfied, not least because I managed to beat the deadline by about 2 days. In all honesty, I have to admit that I started to lose interest in painting up these Terminators about a day ago and was kind of just rushing through the finishing touches. Thus, they have plenty of issues I'm unhappy with - for instance, some of their helmets aren't as uniformly white as I'd like; I didn't really feel like properly bringing the Opaque Red basecoat back up after the wash step; and I hardly did any highlighting at all.

The most glaring things missing from the models are the freehand Chapter symbols and heraldic markings I originally wanted to paint onto the right shoulder pads and the small shields near the left shoulder pads. I did try to freehand the Blood Ravens symbol onto one shoulder pad, but again, the result was so horrifying, I had to get rid of it. I had to admit to myself that at this point in my hobby-life, I have zero ability to freehand. I can barely draw a circle with pencil on a blank piece of paper as it is. I'm going to have to practice freehanding more before giving it another go; in the meantime, I'm going to buy me some water transfer paper and just go with decals.

One more thing - I keep telling myself that when I'm painting a model that's primarily red, I will not prime it in Black. Unfortunately, I forgot my own reminder with these terminators. I think part of the loss of interest I experienced with these models was how frustrating it was getting proper coverage with red acrylic paint over a black undercoat. I think 75% of my time painting these models involved layer after layer of red basecoating. Very boring. Very monotonous. I probably won't prime in white when painting Blood Ravens since their red is more on the dark end of the spectrum. I think I'll experiment with just priming them red from the get-go and see how that works.

Okay, let's tally up the points for these fellows:

5 Foot Sloggers = 5 points
5 Lenses/ Eyes = 5 points
Meeting Deadline = 1 point
Beating Deadline by at least 24 hours = 2 points

So 13 total points (unless I give the freehanding another try hehe). Can't wait for Challenge #3!

Click here for more pics of the Terminators.

Leia Mais…

56 - TOEMP Challenge #2 WIP (Blood Ravens Terminators)

Since we received our details for the second challenge 3 days ago, I've progressed rather nicely on my Terminator Squad. The pic on the left shows 2 Terminators from the 5 man squad practically nearing completion. The Termie on the far left is more advanced than the Termie on the right, but both are almost done. A few more basecoats, washes, highlights, and then fancying up the bases a bit are all that's left, really. I have to say, the Terminators have been a bit monotonous. I dunno. Their poses aren't all that different, their battlegear are almost identical, etc. etc. Even standard Space Marines have more customizability. Of course, these are the Termies from the Black Reach set, so lack of customization should be expected. And, yes, I could've performed a few conversions on them myself (such as cut a Termie or two in half and pose their torsos in a different direction), but I was being lazy. I do want to try freehanding the Blood Ravens Chapter logo onto their left shoulder pads and some heraldry onto the small shields near their right shoulders, so that will hopefully boost up the interest level a bit. Or boost up the frustration level considering how abominable my last attempt at freehanding (the banner on the Sternguard conversion) turned out.

The pic to the right presents the 3 remaining Terminators I have left to paint - 2 standard shooty Termies with the Terminator Sergeant in the center. The Terminator Sergeant looks fun, if a bit intimidating. I think I'll either do him next (just to break up the monotony) or save him for last. I'm afraid that if I save him for last, I'll end up rushing to make the deadline, but the advantages of doing him last is that I'll be able to commit all of my painting mistakes on the standard Termies and thus apply the hard-earned wisdom on doing the best job on the Sergeant.

So, 6 days left to essentially paint 3 Terminators. No sweat!

Leia Mais…

55 - Snakebite Clan Orks 2,505 Points Army List

My submission for the TOEMP Challenge #2 is coming along nicely. I've decided to paint up a 5 man squad of Blood Ravens Terminators (the shooty kind that came in the Black Reach set). I would've liked to continue building on my Ork army, but it turns out I don't have any Ork Elite or Heavy choices in my current collection! (I've decided to use the 5 Nobz - at least 2 of them - which came with the Black Reach set as leaders for my Ork Boyz mobs, plus 5 Nobz doesn't quite reach the 125 pts. minimum for challenge #2.) Since I've also committed myself to building up a Blood Ravens army, painting up the Terminators works just as well. As an aside - the intended purpose of the TOEMP to get the participating bloggers up and working on their backlogs has been a splendid success, at least for me. I don't think I've ever painted this many models in such a short time before. Before I know it, I'll be able to buy new models again! (Don't think I've forgotten about my committment to the Painting Points system either!)

Since posting will be a bit sporadic due to my focusing on meeting the deadline for Challenge #2 (August 27), I'm going to put up a few army lists over the next week or so just to keep the blog active. So, without further ado, in honor of the 8 Orks I painted up for Challenge #1, here's my Ork army list.

Snakebite Clan Army List - 2,505 Points

Legend:
Completed
Work In Progress
Assembled
On Sprue
Not Owned

HQ - 200 pts.
Warboss attached to Nobz (Elite choice) mounted in a Battlewagon
- power klaw, shoota/ skorcha, boss pole, 'eavy armor

Big Mek
- kustom force field, cybork body, boss pole

Elites - 745 pts.
Nobz (10)
- stikk bombz, 4 big choppas, power klaw, 'eavy armor, Waaagh! banner, Painboy

Lootas (10)

Kommandos (10)
- 2 burnas, Boss Snikrot

Troops - 990 pts.
Ork Boyz (20) x 3
- big shoota, rokkit launcha, Nob w/ big choppa, 'eavy armor, bosspole

Nobz (10)
- stikkbombz, 4 big choppas, power klaw, 'eavy armor, Waaagh! banner, Painboy
- Trukk w/ red paint job, reinforced ram

Deff Dread
- close combat weapon, kustom mega-blasta, armor plates

Fast Attack - 365 pts.
Warbikers (3) x 2
- Nob w/ power klaw, boss pole

Deff Koptas (3)
- 3 twin-linked rokkit launchas

Heavy Support - 200 pts.
Battlewagon
- killkannon, 'ard case, grot riggers, armor plates, wreckin'ball, 2 big shootas

To get to 2,000 pts., minus:
- Deff Koptas
- Deff Dread
- 1 Warbikers Mob
- 5 Kommandos
- wreckin' ball, grot riggers from Battlewagon

Leia Mais…

54 - TOEMP Challenge #1 Completed!

Well, I really tried to get this challenge in under the deadline. I had the final 4 Ork models fully basecoated and sitting on my painting table, waiting for me to get home from work. All I had left to do was shading, highlighting, and basing. After dinner and spending some time watching the teevee with the missus, I headed on over to my painting table and got started on finishing the first TOEMP challenge. I thought I'd be able to get these last 3 stages done on each of the remaining 4 models that night because in my experience, the basecoating was the most time/ labor intensive part of the whole process. The shading, highlighting, basing stages were more just polishing up techniques. What I totally forgot to factor in was the time I had to spend waiting for the ink wash or the glue to dry! Because of that, I missed the first deadline by 1 day. I had all of the models washed and based last night, but finished up the highlighting and the photography this morning.

So, here they are - 8 Snakebite Clan Orkz in about 4 days time (for a total of roughly 8-10 hours of actual painting). We have a Nob with a big choppa and 'eavy armor (I didn't have time to put the bosspole on his back), a Big Shoota Boy, and 6 rank and file Boyz all armed with sluggas and choppas. The stage I really skimped on doing was the highlighting stage. At most, I gave each Ork a drybrush across the upraised textures of their skin with Christmas Green lightened with a mix of White. Had I not been under the pressure of a deadline, I probably would have taken the time to highlight more bits and bobs (like their weapons and pants and buckles). Overall, though, I'm pretty happy with them. Putting the last touches on the 4 Orks this morning felt really good. Taking photos of the 8 of them together felt even better. I now officially have a 10 Ork mob at my disposal (counting the first 2 Ork Boyz I painted months ago)!

The challenge was really fun, despite coming during my busiest work week in the summer. By Monday, I had just finished 10 straight days of teaching summer entrance test preparation workshops at a local community college. Still, the painting challenge allowed me to unwind every night in between grading practice tests. So, bring on the next challenge! Keep me motivated!

BTW, this is just a quick post to get my results up. I'll edit this post with a link to my Picasa gallery later in the day after I snap more individual pictures of the Orks.

EDIT: Here's the link to the Ork gallery with more pictures of the Ork Boyz from the TOEMP Challenge #1.

Leia Mais…

53 - 4 Ork Boyz Done! 4 More to Go! 2 Days Left! (TOEMP Update)

Just a quick update on the status of my TOEMP challenge #1. The 4 Ork Boyz I posted about yesterday have officially been completed - shaded with washes, highlighted (although not as much as I've recently been doing, solely due to time constraints), and based.

I believe I will take Kuffeh's suggestion in my previous TOEMP Update post and try to extend the choppa on my Black Reach Nob. With that minor conversion, I'll be able to reach the 75+ point threshhold for challenge #1 while shaving 2 models off my to-paint requirement. Now, this little strategery honestly has nothing to do with trying to "win" the challenge or anything quite so unseemly. The Ork army lists I've drawn up have always had the Nobs who lead my Ork Boyz mobs wielding big choppas - due to being a noob, however, I had assumed the Black Reach Nob models were already equipped with big choppas because their close combat weapons looked different (more elaborate) than your typical Ork Boy choppa, but after reading the Ork Codex more closely and searching the web a bit, it turns out big choppas are universally two-handed weapons.

Of course, at this point in the challenge - with 2 days left on the clock - I'm not going to complain too loudly about not having to paint an extra 2 Ork Boyz models hehe.

So, I've got the Nob, the Big Shoota Boy, and 2 remaining rank and file Ork Boyz left. They are primed and I will attempt to put down some basecoats tonight (at the very least, get the skin done). I'm wondering - is there a deadline on Monday for TOEMP submissions, 73rd (of Unforgiven Angels)?

Leia Mais…

52 - TOEMP Update

Well, the August 17th deadline is right around the corner, and I've been trying to fit in as much painting time as I can in between work and various social obligations. While it's definitely been a challenge, it has also been a great learning experience. For one, I realized just what a friggin' slow painter I am! I'm about ready to move into the shading, highlighting, and basing stage on the 4 Ork Boyz I started 4 days ago. All told, I've probably put in about 4-6 hours total on these 4 models, a much faster pace than I've managed before. Consequently, the paintjob is a little bit "messier" as well, but I'm pretty satisfied overall with the results.

Up next are the remaining 4 rank and file Ork Boyz. I'm hoping that they'll go much faster since I've learned a few things about speed from these first 4 Ork Boyz. Regardless, even if I manage to finish them in a day or so, that'll leave me with another day or so to finish up the Nob and the Big Shoota - highly unlikely, I'm afraid at this point. I've been toying with the idea of just doing 6 rank and file Boyz plus the Nob and Big Shoota for a combined 73 points (since I already have 2 painted Ork Boyz from earlier to round out this 10 model unit), but that leaves me 2 points short of the stated challenge of 75+ points. I guess I could consider the Choppa the Black Reach Nob I'm painting a counts-as Big Choppa, but I dunno if that would be kosher for this challenge? Better yet, does anyone know if the choppa the Assault on Black Reach Nob model is carrying can legally be considered a Big Choppa under the WYSIWYG rule?

Leia Mais…

51 - Unforgiven Angels "Tale of Even More Painters"

I've decided to participate in Unforgiven Angels "Tale of Even More Painters" (TOEMP) painting challenge. In a nutshell, it's a group of bloggers coming together to support and motivate each other to accomplish various painting goals within established deadlines. The deadlines are about 10 days apart (with the first one coming on August 17), and the challenges, I expect, will get progressively more difficult as things go along. While there are nominally "prizes" (e.g. digital trophies to be displayed on your blog for best all-around job done for a given challenge), I'm mostly interested in participating in TOEMP as a motivational tool. I've got quite a hefty backlog of miniatures sitting forlornly on their sprues, and I've promised myself, my wife, and my wallet that I'd forge my way through that backlog before purchasing any more miniatures. So, for all of you out there who have blogs and are looking for a motivational way to help you work through Miniature Backlog Syndrome, then I heartily suggest you join us in TOEMP! Together, we will conquer this mountain of textured and shaped plastic!

Now, let me give you a quick peek at what Challenge #1 entails for TOEMP:

Due August 17th, the bloggers committed to TOEMP must paint up at least 75 points worth of Warhammer 40k or Warhammer FB miniatures. (Epic 40k miniature painters must paint up at least 150 points worth.) The points are determined by the point cost of the models in their respective army books (i.e., not based on painting points). Thus, I've decided to make a dent in the Ork army I've been planning by painting up 85 points worth of Ork Boyz. In the most general language possible, this means 9 rank and file Ork Boyz with 1 big shoota between them and 1 Nob with 'eavy armor and a bosspole. (Hopefully that's vague enough to not get me into trouble.) For a more in-depth look at the rules and guidelines for Unforgiven Angels' TOEMP challenge, just click the link all the way at the beginning of this post and follow the instructions on that page.

Wish me luck! I've got 8 days to paint up 10 models - a faster pace than I've ever managed. I obviously still want to maintain some level of quality but I really do want to try my best at meeting this deadline. I already have 4 Ork Boyz lined up at my workstation, and tonight, I will start basecoating their skin and maybe more.

Leia Mais…

50 - The Big 5-0!

It's been almost exactly 5 months since I started this blog, and more than 9 months since I picked up this hobby in earnest. I still remember the first 2 miniatures I painted - a metal Star Wars female smuggler figure which came with the Star Wars Galaxies Collector's Edition box which I've had in my possession for, oh, 6 years now, but never actually did anything with, and a plastic Lord Recluse figure which was packaged with the City of Villains game. At that time, I knew nothing about thinning paint, I had the brush control of an 8 year old boy loaded up on Jolt! cola, and techniques such as drybrushing or using ink washes to supply depth to the figures were foreign to me. Needless to say, those 2 figures were put out of their misery.

After those 2 kinda miniatures, the first legitimate miniatures I actually purchased were 2 Games Workshop Warhammer Fantasy Battle figures - an Empire Templar Grand Master of the Blazing Sun and a Sigmarite Warrior Priest. I bought both figures working under the assumption that I'd give this hobby a try by painting up some individual miniatures rather than to invest in a regiment box only to discover I really didn't have any interest and thus waste 10 or 20 figures as a result. Boy, was I wrong. For anybody out there who is curious about entering this hobby, but not sure how to start, let me advise you from experience - do not start your painting hobby with Special/ Independent Characters. They are designed and sculpted for more experienced painters. I almost drove myself insane trying to figure out how to properly paint all the fiddly bits and varied textures of the Templar Grand Master. The Warrior Priest was less intimidating, but I still had to make 5 or so attempts at painting him before I was even semi-satisfied in the result. The Grand Master, on the other hand, is still sitting unpainted on my workshelf after having gone into the Simple Green wash for the 4th time about 2-3 months ago. I'm almost convinced that had I started with, say, a simple Empire State Troops box, my early experiences with this hobby would be far less frustrating.

Well, after those first 2 disastrous attempts at Games Workshops figures, I decided to switch over to Reaper Miniatures for a couple of reasons - 1) since my painting skill was nowhere near the level required to properly paint those 2 Independent Characters, wasting GW level money on anymore figures (or even troop boxes) seemed irresponsible, and 2) Reaper's price point was right up my alley and I could buy 1 or 2 at a time rather than commit to 10-20 figures at a time. So, from early January to late February, I invested in about 20 Reaper Miniatures. At roughly $3 per figure, it seemed like a reasonable investment over the span of two months. For anyone interested in Reaper (which I highly suggest - they may not be Warhammer legal miniatures for table top gaming, but as hobby miniatures they are affordable and of an excellent quality), I'd suggest two on-line retailers for good service and excellent discounts - Miniature-Giant and Miniature Market.

This is not to say I did any better with Reaper Miniatures in terms of painting quality, but at least I wasn't feeling guilty about slapping on thick layers of paint on $15 figures. For me, Reaper's line of miniatures were my apprenticeship in this hobby. They allowed me to work on brush control and painting in thin layers, and because they're metal, allowed me to dunk them many, many times into Simple Green without fear of the cleaning solution melting or warping the figures.

The next step in my slow descent into the insanity of addiction in regards to little miniature figures was when I discovered the absolute steals and bargains one could find on eBay. Of course, eBay is far riskier than buying it from a dedicated retailer, and often in order to get the really, really good deals, you have to purchase the sprues without the box (in order to cut down on shipping, apparently), a careful and cautious approach to eBay has pretty much allowed me to to accumulate almost $2000 worth of miniatures at practically 50% the cost. Granted, because eBay offers so many bargains, I also ended up buying much more indiscriminately than I would have had I only had a 20%-30% discount available to me, so the amount saved was kind of rendered moot by the quantity purchased. As for eBay dealers who I've found to be excellent sellers with large inventories and A+ customer service, I'd recommend Discount Games Store, MacPac51, and Wizard Games (also known as Red Dragon Games). I'm sort of reluctant to give shout outs to these guys (especially the first two since they also offer free shipping!) because the last thing I want to do is have more people bidding on their auctions and thus lose out on some of the more incredible bargains available!

Well, this about wraps up post number 50. I've noticed that traditionally, most blogs devote a retrospective to their 50th post, so here you have it. Post 51 will be coming fast on the heels of this one because I've decided to participate in a cooperative painter's contest that Admiral Drax blogged about and I want to tell you my plans for it! See you soon and thanks for visiting.

Leia Mais…

49 - Tau Empire Kroot Carnivore

I must say, this Kroot Carnivore model has been one of the most enjoyable miniatures I've painted thus far. It almost makes me want to collect a Tau Army, but since I've already committed to 3 for sure (IG, Loyalist SM, and Ork) based solely on the fact that I have the most of those 3 factions (primarily because of the Black Reach set), and I really, really want to paint up some Tyranids (which would make 4 armies), I don't think I'll have the resources to add a 5th 40k army. Or at least that's what my wife tells me. Well, "tell" probably doesn't quite capture the impending violence in her voice - "commands" is probably the better word!

Why was this model a blast to paint? Let me count the ways:

1) The large expanse of alien skin texture prompted me to experiment in glazing, or at least what I understand to be glazing. Basically, I basecoated Hippo Gray over a Black undercoat. I then added 2-3 layers of thinned Bridge Gray (a much lighter version of gray than Hippo Gray) over the basecoat before washing the whole thing in Asurmen Blue. I followed up by applying another 2-3 very watered down layers of light skin tone (almost Elf Flesh in color) across the elevated areas of the skin before washing it again with Ogryn Flesh. The final step was to take that same light skin tone and give it a light drybrush across the uppermost portions of the skin. The result is something I'm pretty happy with. The depth of the many layers of color playing across the rough textures of the model's skin doesn't quite show up in the photographs, but in person, it almost looks like the Kroot's skin is both incandescent and like worn leather all at the time same time.

2) I also tried out some blending techniques on the Kroot's crown of quills, and again, I like how it turned out. I first basecoated the quills with medium skin tone, washed it with Devlan Mud to deepen the shadows, then brought the skin tone back up. After that, I gave it another wash, this time liberally with Baal Red, and drybrushed Opaque Red along the tips before the wash dried. The wetness of the wash combined with the little bit of Opaque Red acrylic paint allowed me to create that blending effect along the quills.

3) Finally, the assorted bits and bobs that came on the Kroot sprue makes it very easy to personalize these guys. The Kroot fluff also lends itself to plenty of opportunities for conversion. In fact, since I no longer plan on making a full Chaos Space Marine army, I think I'll be incorporating some CSM bits into any future Kroot I assemble. Maybe a CSM shoulder pad here, a CSM chest piece there, etc. to reflect the scavenging/ mercenary ways of the Kroot.

Right now, I guess it's a toss-up between the Tyranids and the Tau Empire as my 4th 40k army. I have some Gaunt and Genestealer sprues laying around, so I'll paint one or two of them up while also painting up a Tau Fire Warrior, and then compare the level of enjoyment I had painting each army's rank and file troops before deciding for sure.

But what I really have lined up next are 3 miniatures I've been eyeing for awhile now - an Imperial Guard Platoon Command Squad Lieutenant, a Bretonnian Man-at-Arms, and a High Elf Spearman. They've all been partially assembled and primed. Stay tuned!

Please click here for more pics of the Kroot Carnivore.

Leia Mais…

48 - Skaven Plague Monk

Finally! A post about a finished miniature! This is part 3 of my also-rans series (i.e., the models which finished far behind in the tutorial poll to the Blood Ravens Sternguard) - a Skaven Plague Monk. A pleasure to paint, really, but a bit limited in terms of possibilities for creativity or for experimenting with different techniques. Pretty much a straight forward paint job - although at this point, I'm incorporating highlights much more into my regular painting regimen.

Zero conversions on this little guy - all of his parts are 100% from the Plague Monks sprue. I did drop him on the floor about 3/4s of the way through painting him (much cursing and frothing at the mouth ensued) which required me to glue his flail (or is that a plague censer?) back together about 1/4th of the way up the chain - note the mishapen section of plastic there. Good thing he's a Skaven Plague Monk. I can just explain that the unsightly bit is the result of the filth and rot that Plague Monks revel in, etc. etc.

For his robe, I used Hippo Gray (which is a very dark gray - the first couple of layers barely stood out from the Black undercoat), washed it with Badab Black, brought it back up with more Hippo Gray, then highlighted it with Bridge Gray along the edges and upraised parts. The hood and mantle were done in Burnt Umber, washed with Badab Black, brought back up with Burnt Umber, then highlighted along the edges with Autumn Brown. His skin (face and hands) were done in Skintone then given a controlled wash with Devlan Mud. I wanted to achieve an animalistic color to the skin so I didn't bother to bring the stained basecolor back up with more Skintone. Finally, his weapons were basecoated with Bridge Gray, then given a very thin glaze (I believe that's the term - I watered down the acrylic paint to the point of wash consistency) or two of Red Iron Oxide in order to give it that rusted appearance. I finished it by washing it with Badab Black and highlighting it slightly with Bridge Gray.

For more pics of the little guy, click here.

Leia Mais…

47 - Blood Ravens 2,500 Points Army List

Still working on the Kroot Carnivore and the Skaven Plague Monk. I'm pretty much just highlighting them and putting the finishing touches here and there, then they'll be ready to be photographed. ETA a day or so.

Meanwhile...here's another army list! Again, I'm mostly doing this for housecleaning reasons - I tidied up the sidebar by removing the full army lists and instead replacing them with a linked Army Lists Archive. But the only way (as far as I know) to create a link is to actually publish a post on the blog. I realize I could've backdated the posts, but since my blog's been a little quiet while in the aftermath of the Sternguard tutorial, I figure might as well pick up the slack with some hobby related posts.

So, without further ado...

Blood Ravens Army List - 2500 points

Legend:

Completed
Work In Progress
Assembled
On Sprue
Not Owned

HQ - 445 pts.

Captain
- power sword, boltgun

- Razorback

Command Squad
- apothecary, company standard, champion, meltagun, plasma gun

Librarian (attached to Terminator Squad)

- terminator armor, stormbolter, Null Zone, the Avenger

Troops - 565 pts.

Tactical Squad (10)
- meltagun, multi-melta, sergeant w/ power fist

- Rhino

Tactical Squad (10)
- missile launcher, lascannon, sergeant w/ power weapon

- Rhino

Scout Squad (5)
- 4 sniper rifles, heavy bolter, camo cloaks

Elites - 595 pts.

Terminator Squad (5)
- assault cannon

- Drop Pod

Sternguard Veteran Squad (5)
- heavy bolter, plasma cannon, sergeant w/ power fist

Dreadnought

- heavy flamer, extra armor

- Drop Pod

Fast Attack - 450 pts.
Assault Squad (10)
- 2 flamers, sergeant w/ combat shield & lightning claw

Land Speeder Squadron (2)

Space Marine Bike Squad (3)

- sergeant w/ power weapon
- biker w/ meltagun

- biker w/ flamer

Heavy Support - 445 pts.
Land Raider
- multi-melta

Predator

Vindicator

- siege shield

To get to 2000 pts., minus:

- Predator

- Sternguard

- Drop Pods

- Land Speeders

- Scouts
- Flamer from Space Marine Bikers

Again, all comments, criticisms, advice, etc. are welcome.

Leia Mais…

46 - Imperial Guard Cadian 265th Regiment 2,500 Points Army List

Even though I don't see myself playing a game in the near future (due to work and family life conspiring to strip me of any free time other than the late-night painting/ hobby sessions I can scavenge up), I've found that drawing up army lists can be a productive thing for hobbyists for a couple of reasons:

1) An army list can serve as a very focused shopping list for hobbyists who find themselves buying kits and models without any kind of rhyme or reason (guilty as charged). Not only can that sort of buying habit be expensive but it can also result in miniatures languishing on sprues many months later because you honestly have no idea why you even bought them in the first place. But if those miniatures are part of an army you're constructing...well, that's your motivation right there.

2) An army list can help you build up momentum and maintain motivation for painting. Sometimes painting one miniature here, one miniature there can result in the desire to paint kind of petering out and dissipating. But if you're able to see a mob of 30 Ork Boyz slowly appearing before your eyes, or a full regiment of 20 Empire State Troops all resplendent in their colorful uniforms and heraldry lined up in neat blocks on your hobby shelf, the grandeur of it all might possibly make you want to add to it. In other words, using large, organized units of miniatures to get you motivated is like that social psychology experiment they ran many years back: when the researchers had just 1 or 2 people stop and start staring up at nothing in particular on a busy city street, none of the passing pedestrians bothered to see what they were staring at. But when the researchers had 5 or 10 people stop and stare up at the sky, suddenly almost every passing pedestrian would also stop and see what was going on. It's the power of numbers reaching a critical mass.

3) Army lists are just fun to put together and as a result, the very act of doing something fun that's hobby related helps to maintain your interest in the hobby as a whole.

Now with the preamble out of the way, here is the Imperial Guard Army List I've been messing around with for the past couple of months. Rather than keeping it posted up on the sidebar, taking up space and cluttering the page, I'm going to publish it as a post, and then create a nice, tidy link on the sidebar instead. In the future, all of my army lists will be done this way, and the sidebar will thus contain a collection of links to army lists rather than the entire lists. Of course, publishing them as posts isn't purely for housekeeping purposes. As a novice to the wargaming aspects of the hobby, I welcome comments and criticisms. In the event I do eventually play games with my armies, having them be fun to use (as opposed to poorly put together) would be great.

Imperial Guard Army List - 2,502 Points

Legend:

Completed

Work In Progress

Assembled

On Sprue

Not Owned

HQ - 372 pts.

Company Command Squad

- Colonel w/ bolt pistol, medi-pack, Regimental Standard, vox-caster, plasma gun, Bodyguard, Officer of the Fleet, Astropath

- Chimera w/ camo netting and hunter-killer missile

Lord Commissar attached to Veteran Squad

- power fist and carapace armor

Elites - 305 pts.

Ratlings (5)

Storm Trooper Squad (10)

- Sergeant w/ power weapon, flamer, meltagun

Guardsman Marbo

Troops - 740 pts.

Platoon Command Squad

- Lieutenant w/ power weapon, Platoon Standard, vox-caster, autocannon team

Infantry Squad (10)

- flamer, vox-caster, missile launcher team

Infantry Squad (10)

- grenade launcher, vox-caster, heavy bolter team

Infantry Squad (10)

- meltagun, vox-caster, mortar team

Infantry Squad (10)

- grenade launcher, vox-caster, autocannon team

Heavy Weapons Squad (3)

- 2 lascannon teams, heavy bolter team

Veteran Squad (10)

- Gunnery Sergeant Harker, vox-caster w/ shotgun, demolitions charge w/ shotgun, meltagun, heavy flamer, sniper rifle, lascannon team

- Chimera w/ heavy stubber, dozer blade

Fast Attack - 438pts.

Armoured Sentinels (2)

- heavy flamer w/ hunter-killer missile, searchlight, smoke launchers and camo netting

- plasma cannon w/ hunter-killer missile, searchlight, and smoke launchers

Devil Dog
- searchlight, smoke launchers and storm bolter

Valkyrie
- lascannon

- heavy bolters on sponsons

Heavy Support - 645 pts.

Leman Russ Battle Tank

- multi-meltas on sponsons and pintle-mounted heavy stubber

Leman Russ Demolisher

- heavy flamers on sponsons, pintle-mounted storm bolter and dozer blade

Basilisks (2)

Again, any comments, criticisms, tips, advice, etc. are heartily welcomed, although it should be obvious from my list that I'm not out to create the hardest army possible. After all, only 3 of my infantry units are mounted in Chimeras, so I'm clearly not pursuing the all-mechanization strategy that seems to be very popular out on the interwebs. Also, if there's a more streamlined way for posting army lists, please tell me. I know that it's verboten to post unit/ upgrade costs on a point by point basis, but I'm unclear as to whether or not there are other protocols for posting army lists.

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45 - In The Meantime...A Painting FAQ

Well, it looks like that Sternguard tutorial kind of took a lot out of me. I've been painting still, but a bit more slowly than a week ago. I do have 2 miniatures (the Kroot Auxiliary and the Skaven Plague Monk) almost ready to be photographed and posted about, but for now, they're both probably still a couple of days away. So, in the meantime, I'll provide a link to a Painting FAQ that I found very helpful when I first started with this hobby. It was compiled way back in 1995 (is it possible that 1995 was almost 15 years ago?) by Brenda Klein from apparently months of discussions on the rec.games.miniatures usenet forum, so some of the tips, tricks, and advice might be outdated, but in my opinion it's still very worthwhile as an introductory source for new and intermediate painters. When I first started painting miniatures, I honestly had no idea what was meant by terms like "washes" or "drybrushing" (let alone how to do them!), and more often than not, most tutorials tended to assume that a person would be familiar with them, and as a result would give only the most cursory of definitions about those techniques. Thus simple, straightforward FAQs like the one Ms. Klein compiled were invaluable in helping me understand the foundations of this hobby at a time when annoying obstacles and frustrations might've made me abandon it.

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