WoC Update - Let your freak flag fly (WiP)

After choosing Nurgle as my glorious patron for the upcoming tournament, I sat down and decided to at least finish painting the Standard Bearer for my warriors unit.  After sitting in my army case for several years now, I felt I could at least make an effort to get them painted.  With the musician already done and the Champion well on the way to completion, getting a fully painted command group seemed like a reasonable goal to have.  Besides, they would look totally awesome once they were completed.

WoC Update - Ridden Hard and put away wet

So it turns out that the Centaur idea I was toying around with the other week has taken on a life of it's own, resulting in a pair of the humanoid-quadrupeds being assembled.  Hopefully this will add to the fluff surrounding the unit, acting as scouts and messengers for the huntsmen, whilst also working to flush out the bigger critters so that Bessie can do his thing.  In gameplay terms, these models will act as mini-fillers, taking the place of two individual warriors each.  The creation of a viable (some might say breeding) pair of mini-fillers will mirror the effect I've attempted to produce in my other units of chaos warriors.  Of all my conversion projects, this one has to be the most complicated that I've ever attempted.  The real skill of course, is making it look good...

WoC Update - Touched (inappropriately) by Nurgle

With the imminent demise of 8th Edition (and the Old World, but we don't like to talk about that one...), my local gaming group has decided to hold a Farewell Tournament for 8th Edition in May.  As soon as I heard about the tourney I had two choices - take a fully painted Tzeentch list or try out an army list that is totally different and would have absolutely no chance I getting painted in time.  Guess which route I took?  As a result, I've taken the opportunity to put some paint on my Nurgle units to see if I can't make at least some progress on what has turned out to be a stalled army project.

Salamander Update: Legion Praetor Deployed

 When I first started playing Heresy-Era games, it quickly became apparent to me just how awesome the Legion Praetors were; particularly for the 18^th Legion.  Clad in Artificer Armour and with access to some of the more esoteric entries in the Legio Armoury, they could be tailored to do any duty you required – from the basic linesman to the full-blown juggernought.  With the right combination of gear, there is little that a Praetor fears on the battlefield (and that’s before you even begin looking at the ‘Rites of War’ they offer).

Salamanders Update - Accessories are your friend!! (a sequel)

Hey-ho all, just a short article today (though short is a relative term at this blog) about a line of 3rd party bits that I've found to be really useful while working on my Salamanders.  While there are two distinct companies I'm using at the moment, I thought I'd just focus on one for starters.

Hobby Update - Mandatory New Year's post incoming

So as I sit here, I'm perusing my blog feed, catching up on the adventures and progression of a myraid of projects / undertakings from a vast swathe of gamers, painters and all-round awesome people and in the process I'm reading my fair share of 'New Year' posts and as a result I'm feeling inspired to improve my own offerings to the peoples of the Internet after a pretty dismal effort during 2014.  Last year was a travesty solely due to a lack of drive on my part to actually sit down and transform my poorly-written notes into something legible and when I did, I never found the time to take the pictures necessary to make the article more like something that has the potential for entertainment and not some giant wall of text (think I failed on that one anyway, but hey-ho, that's just the way it is I guess).  But that's what these types of articles are for really - granting everyone a clean slate, a fresh opportunity to transcribe a more positive future for oneself.

Salamander Update - Tempered by the Anvil

Yay!! My Space Marines have a new codex!! By now I'm sure the majority of you have listened to various podcasts and read numerous blogs reviewing the new Space Marine 'dex.  I know I have, which is why I avoid doing them like the plague.  Why read my ramblings when there are countless others who do it far better than I ever could.  Rather, i wanted to update you in my latest batch of models and the progress I've made thereof.  

WoC Update - Panic Level Over 9000!!!!!

When you're just over a week from a Tournament and you still haven't finished painting... hell, when you haven't even finished ASSEMBLING your army, you know things aren't going to plan.  To be fair, I've been operating in a heightened state of hobby awareness for about a fortnight now, ever since a mate so kindly reminded me that Trickster's Blade was going to kick off in three weeks (players pack can be downloaded here).  Ever the hobby optimist, my reaction I feel was pretty fitting for the time:

Salamander Update - Another Deathwatch Vet

A small article for a small update.  Some of you may remember the Sternguard Veteran I began work on earlier this year.  Work unfortunately was halted however mere inches from the finish line after I discovered I was woefully short a Deathwatch Shoulder pad.  Ever the optimist, I decided to wait until I'd purchased another set before getting the miniature finished.  Fast forward a month or two and he'd still not been completed, nor had the conversion pack been purchased.  So I did what anyone else would have done in my position....

WoC Update - Khorney One-Liners

So it turns out that I absolutely cannot walk away from a bargain. especially when that bargain is Warhammer related.  I found a pair of old Chaos Chariots going for cheap and I decided that I just HAD to have them.  Chariots in the new book are quite amazing as a core choice, so I've decided that I should try and include at least 3 in my list.

WoC Update - Waiting on Command

Remember these guys??

These past few weeks have been a little slow on the painting front - my drive to paint has sadly diminished after the light-speed pace I set earlier in the year, returning to a more familiar setting.  While I'm disappointed my output has dropped, I'm glad the desire to paint didn't abandon me entirely.

WoC Update - The Restless Dead don't rest easy

What I was aiming to paint...

Well golly, it's been another fortnight between painting posts and I've got to admit, I'm making some pretty darn good progress here!  As my regular readers will know (any irregular readers can find out more here, here and here), I've been making the mot of my new-found drive to paint .  I'm very happy to say, this hasn't changed at all this week.... despite some interesting detours....

WoC Update - Warriors, Slaves and Marauders

Last week as I posted my last painting update I thought I'd be happy to get even one guy finished and a second one well on the way to being done.  This was not to be however, due to the unforeseeable and shocking event that I shall now relate...

Warriors of Chaos Update - Captivating!!

Wow, it's been a while since we've had one of these on my blog hasn't it?  With the release of the new Warriors of Chaos book, my square-basing desires have returned to me with a vengeance.  This week has seen me spend some time going back and adding more paint to my unit of Nurgle Warriors armed with 'Halberds'.  I have to say that the time has been well spent thus far, finishing not only another warrior, but also getting one of my 'mini-fillers' painted in the process.  These mini-fillers work really well as a small reward for finishing a handful of rank and file models, giving me a new pallet of colours to play while avoiding potential burnout. With these two done, I've started on another two warriors with the hope that working on them in tandem will hopefully increase my painting speed, getting them done in less time than if I was to paint them both separately

Salamander Update - Sternguard WIP

Since I last wrote about my painting progress, my latest addition to my Sternguard was as you see above.  Since then, he's progressed in leaps and bounds to the point where I can do no more for him until I can secure more Deathwatch shoulderpads.  While this is unfortunate, the remaining element will take little effort to paint once I have made the purchase and received the conversion pack.

Salamander Update - Preparing for the Apocalypse

This last week has been pretty much consumed by assembling miniatures for the upcoming Apocalypse game to round out the Vogen Campaign that I've been running for the past 3 months.  This has meant a great deal of time has been allocated towards getting the necessary marines built and ready to go.  Due to a fairly savage heat-wave that has consumed most of Australia, painting opportunities this week have been damn-near non-existent.  30 degrees celsius at midnight does not conducive painting weather make!!

Through some small miracle I've managed to build nearly all the mini's I need for this game assembled and ready for the table (though hopefully not too hard... don't want to break the little buggers now do we?).  After a reduction in points for my army, I was able to scale back the number of models I needed for the game by at least 1 or 2 Land Raiders.  I've included a couple of pictures to convey the (still sizable) scale of 2000 points of Space Marines.

For the most part, it's really just another 2000 point army in the end.  With the point restriction, I was unable to include any of the Apoc formations that suited my Fireborn (damn my lack of Thunderhammer / Storm Shield Terminators!!!). While this was unfortunate, it does mean that I can field more bodies on the table which is always good.  That said - in the realm of Apocalypse, I'm not sure if more bodies will make any difference; dinner-plate sized templates will frequently ruin your day and help you remove your beloved models by the handful.  Of the new additions, there are a couple of conversions which I feel are particularly cool, coming from my unit of Vanguard Veterans.

With all of this building going on, I'm not running dangerously low on Forgeworld Shoulderpads and am eagerly looking forward to February which will see a number of my colleagues and I make a collective order to Forgeworld.  In  addition to the mandatory pauldrons for Terminators and standard Marines alike, I'm hoping to pick up the Horus Heresy MK IV Power Weapon kit which will give me more than enough weapons to equip every character with something a little bit special.  Until then, I'll just have to be content with stripping and painting my first purchased model for the year - a Vindicare Assassin.

My first purchased mini for 2013.  Didn't even
make it a month :-)

Catch you all later,

Trev

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