Pages

Year End Wrap Up

Thursday, December 30, 2010

It's been a good end to 2010 hobby-wise: after 12 long years we finally saw the Dark Eldar range refreshed (excellent job too!); I actually managed to free up a little time to get back into the hobby and recently picked up some new tools/supplies that should help keep me on track going into the new year. I'm really happy with the amount of progress that's been made in a relatively short amount of time and amidst the holiday frenzy. So here's where things stand, for the moment.

I finally made up my mind and decided to try out a design scheme for the bases. I wanted to have a nice contrast between the base color and the mostly chaos black armored Raven Guard. I also wanted to incorporate some textured elements on the base without adding too much complexity to the entire basing process for the squad. Here's some new shots of the "almost completed" Terminator Sergeant:


For the base, I used one layer of foundation paint (Khemri Brown) then glued some of Citadel's dead grass:


You can view more pictures of this guy here. I've posted some new photos in each of the galleries and have more on the way, so stay tuned. I was able to prime several 'on deck' projects today and am really excited to finish up these terminators so we can move on to some bigger and better things. Here's one more anyway:


Happy New Year!

Quick Update & What's On Deck

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

I finished painting the primary colors (black, white, red, bleached bone, boltgun metal, bronze for bullets, flesh for Sgt.) on the 10-man Raven Guard Terminator squad -- still need to finish the bases and go back over for a little fine detail work. I'm also going to add an older Terminator Librarian model to the mix and repaint him while I'm finishing up the other elite comrades. I'll have some new photos posted soon.

On deck, waiting to be painted following the Terminator squad, is this custom shooty ML dreadnought:
This is the AoBR dreadnought with a spare TL Lascannon right arm and a custom built Missile launcher left arm, pieced together from a Typhoon missile launcher and two perpendicularly attached hunter-killer missiles. I chopped off the DccW from the original kit left arm (this one fits snugly without glue and also allows the arm to be rotated and still provide enough tension to position the arm/gun at any angle). I was trying to represent both frag & krak missile options; don't worry Internet, I know only Ironclads can take HK's ;)

I'll get some close-ups posted soon, but for now here's a quick view of what a twist of the arm can do:


Here's side and top views:


This was actually the 6th dreadnought I recently built for a Master of the Forge list. I'll have a painting table feature for each of these mech warriors coming soon, as well as the leader who enables up to 6 dreads and is one of my favorite conversions... the MotF on Bike!

Greetings

Saturday, December 18, 2010

I started playing 40k in 1997 just as the games’ 2nd edition was transitioning to 3rd. Over the years I’ve built up a decent collection of miniatures, but sadly have never had the time to fully paint them all. I was never an especially good painter and certainly was never fast at assembly line painting before. However, I have learned a few of the basic/necessary techniques such as drybrushing, layering, etc. But my goal here is to have a nice quality paint job from a tabletop-distance view. Not going for something to necessarily compete for a Golden Demon, but at least have my playable force up to a minimum, *mostly* painted standard.

My first task is to finish off my Raven Guard themed Space Marine army -- I can’t just leave my first trusty force undone and start on a new army, like the Dark Eldar (even though they’re the primary motivation driving me to finish the marines and a big reason I decided to do this blog! More on these guys later, but for now let’s just say I was one of those people patiently waiting years for the DE refresh/re-release, and I cannot wait to dive into painting the recently released models; my next 40k project).


The intent of this site is to motivate and remind myself that painting even a little bit here and there whenever I can get a few minutes really does add up. I couldn’t believe how quickly this 10 man Terminator squad (see gallery) started coming together. I’ll have a more focused write up on them when they’re completed. Of course, playing with a fully painted army enhances the entire game experience for everyone, even spectators. For me, painting and coming up with my own custom conversions have been some of the most enjoyable aspects of the hobby, beyond the facets of the actual game. It’s finding the time that’s the limiting factor for me. I’m going to try to periodically update this site with the latest from my 40k projects I’m currently working on as they make their way across my painting table and onto the tabletop.