Salamander Update - WIP Sternguard

As part of my desire to get my first demi-squad of Sternguard completed, I spent this week making slow progress on the fourth member of the squad.  The sad part is, that the legs and torso were already painted when I started. Delving into my small collection of 'Heresy-era' resin armour pieces, I cleaned up and painted the arms before attaching them to the already painted torso.  In keeping with my idea for the design of the squad, I've armed the fellow with a combi-plasma.

While my level of progress isn't as I'd like it to be, I'm happy with the quality of my work thus far. I've run into a small issue insofar as I've run out of Deathwatch shoulder pads.  Hopefully this will only prove to be a temporary setback, as GW kindly continues to stock the upgrade kit I need to continue building Deathwatch Vets.  Until the kit arrives, I'll just continue to paint the marine as normal.

Catch you all later.

Trev

Terrain Tuesday - Factory based and Fortified

Contrary to my previous post regarding the ineffectual use of spare time during my holidays, I have actually managed to be quite productive these last few days.  In a burst of sugar-fuelled terrain progress,  not only did I manage to base the Manufactorum, but I was also inspired enough to fortify the ground floor as well.  As per my usual basing process, I've used sand and PVA to create a durable base that will not only be easy to paint (i.e dry-brush) but is also hard-wearing and capable of enduring the rigours of gameplay.  And lets be honest here, if it can survive multiple games with my local opponents, it's damn-near indestructible.

While I was working on the base, I decided it would be a good idea to add some sand to the second level as well.  I mean, if you're going to get dirt all over the ground floor, some of it must make it to the upper floors right?  That is, unless you have a servitor whose sole function is to move through shattered buildings sweeping dirt etc off the upper levels only.  Hmmmm, might have to save that idea for a modelling project later down the road...

With the base sanded and sealed, I was pretty much ready to call it a day... until a flash of inspiration struck.  Gathering together a random collection of materials I've been collecting (white-out frames, pen components, even pieces from a double-sided tape dispenser!), I hobbled together a make-shift barricade before cementing it all in place with a generous serving of modelling paste and PVA.  As you can see, the finished product makes a very effective barricade that even an Ork would be impressed with.

With the barricade in place, I'm considering adding some extra details to the upper levels to simulate additional built-up of debris and detritus.  The modelling paste is great for quickly adding bulk to any surface (organic or otherwise) and I think I'll be using more of it in the future.

Catch you all later

Trev

Salamander Update – Vel’cona Completed!

This week was a very productive one in regards to the hobby.  Not only have I managed to finally finish the Hab Block terrain piece, but I've also finally completed my newest Librarian conversion.  As I mentioned previously, this model will represent Master Librarian Vel’cona for the purposes of ‘Forging a Narrative’ in my games.  Rules-wise, I'll be using a Forgeworld special character by the name of Magister Sevrin Loth, whose rules can be found in Imperial Armour 9 – The Badab War Part 1.

Before...

After!!!

With Vel’cona completed, I'm at a slight loss as to what project I should move onto next.  I'm inclined to continue my work on the Sternguard Veterans, if only to finish the first 5.  Or perhaps I'll continue my work on the unit filler for my Warriors of Chaos army.  More than likely I'll do a bit of both (hmmmm.... sensing a theme here).  With this guy finished, my resolution tracker looks a bit like this:

Miniatures Purchased: 8
Miniatures Painted: 42
Points of Painted Salamanders: 700 pts

Catch you all later

Trev

Terrain Tuesday – Hab-Block Completed

My second Tuesday and my second blog post.  This certainly bodes well for the future of this series.  After feeling inspired last week, I managed to make some great progress towards getting the terrain piece completed.  Settling in front of the TV, I applied the basecoat for all the sandbags.  The sandbags and the rest of the building was given a coat of Army Painter Strong Tone.  Best Devlan Mud replacement ever.  Using my airbrush, I have the entire building a watered down coat of the stuff before adding more as necessary using a brush. 

With the wash applied, I've decided to call the building done.  While there’s so much more I’d like to add, I need to draw the line somewhere otherwise I'll never finish it.  With the Hab-Block finally painted, I'm free to move onto my next project, though I'm still deciding between the Adeptus Mechanicus building or the Adeptus Arbites HQ.  Who knows?  I might decide to work on both as yet.

Catch you all later,

Trev 

Salamander Update - Vel'cona Pt 2

Holidays are an ironic time for me hobby-wise.  Whenever I take time off, I always picture myself spending hours at my painting table, plugging away at the many (and varied) projects that require my attention.  But the reality usually in the complete opposite.  I seem to do everything BUT painting.  Hell, I've only just started looking at Twitter again after a two-week hiatus.  The ironic this is once I return to work, I find myself browsing the twitter feed and mentally allocated time to paint during the week.  All the evidence seem to indicate that holidays are detrimental to my hobby!!

How he looked last time we saw him...

Since the last article, I've dedicated a good bit of time getting the detail work completed on the Librarian's right side.  Pauldron, arm and force axe have all received some attention and for the most part, I'm quite happy with the results.  The shoulder pad was feeling a little flat with only the sculpted detail, but I think the free-hand flames help add an extra bit of detail to detract from the black background.  I've had to repaint the halt of the force axe, because I wasn't happy with the first paint job I did.  I'm much happier with it this time around.

Nest on my list is to do the backpack before I do the face.  I've got an idea for the face that I would dearly like to try, though I want to get back into the painting groove before I try it out.

Catch you all later.

Trev

Terrain Tuesday - Hab Block Update #terraintuesday

I thought I 'd take the opportunity to add another article series to my current repertoire after being inspired by the twitter trend #terraintuesday that a number of Wargamers around the world contribute to.  By doing so, I'm hoping it will allow me to continue making progress on my various terrain projects I have on the go.

First off the rank is my long-running Hab Block.  This is a project I've been working on for some time now and have finally gotten around to putting paint on the building and its surrounding base.  The building was base-coated with grey priming spray before adding successive highlights with a lighter spray and multiple layers of dry-brushing.  Following a suggestion made in a White Dwarf, I've applied the highlights in a circular pattern in an attempt to minimise the 'streaking' pattern that comes from dry-brushing over large surfaces.

The next stage of the project was to paint the base of the building.  I've used a generic dark brown paint called 'Burnt Umber' as a base colour before applying successive dry-brush layers of Bubonic Brown and Bleached Bone to match not only the bases of my Salamanders, but also follows the colouring of my 40K table.  As a means of enhancing the 'ruined' feel of the building, I've also added a light dry-brush of both Bubonic Brown and Bleached Bone across the majority of the building.

With the majority of the work completed, I can move on towards getting the details painted.  The barricades will provide a great opportunity for adding some moderate detail work before the wash is applied.

Catch you all later,

Trev