Hobby Diary 06/11/2016

Lee:

Hobby wise this hasn't been a particularly eventful week. It has mostly comprised preparing projects for the rest of the month and re-jiggling my projects. It is irritating when you have a plan but new things shove the items you had wanted to get done out of the way. 

Preparation wise this week I constructed a 500pt Scourge fleet. I enjoyed putting these models together. Even though all the Scourge ships have the same basic hull the additional parts really do set them apart, at least as far as the frigates are concerned. My fleet is mostly frigates organised into Groups that have specific purposes with a light cruiser along to provide a bit of heavier firepower. Now that I have had a chance to read through the fleet list it is easier to recognise the ships as their individual classes instead of a succession of weirdly shaped vessels. I'll discuss my fleet when Allan and I get our first game in, I don't want to tip him off to my plan.

I intend to spray all these ships metal with silver along the tips of the protrusions. Over this I will apply washes. Then once these are dry I will pick out the detail traditionally. I will be paying particular attention to the unique parts of each ship so I can easily identify them on the board. Rather than go for the usual purple and greens that the display fleet are painted I will be looking at sea creatures for inspiration.

I was disappointed that I did not find Khalida during a search of my carry cases but determined to complete a Warhammer Fantasy model this month I chose a Tomb King instead, with a Scarab Swarm base as an optimistic hanger on that may also get done at the same time. This is going to follow the same method as the Liche Priest from last month, paint the gold, skin and bandages then brown wash the lot and then highlight and pick out the details.

The thing I made the most progress on this month was my Sicaran. As a main Word Bearer unit this is painted red but with charcoal black sections echoing the shoulder pads of my Astartes. I am making good progress so far and hope to be done by the end of next week though you know how it is with plans and reality matching up.

The first project that looks like it will be completed this month is my random Emperor's Children. The Emperor's Children for 40K are one of my oldest armies and I have quite a bit painted. This model found its way to the window sill when I was unpacking and was left behind so that when I started to paint it was to hand. Wanting to expand on this army rather than junk it I have painted this Marine as a test bed for my newer scheme. The main change is changing the banding from the same blue as the weapons to green. I think it works and will make sure that any new or touched up units match this guy. As it stands there are just a couple of details to finish and then to base and he is done.

As far as November's plan goes below are the changes. 

Definite

Word Bearers Sicaran

Emperor's Children Marine

Queen Khalida Tomb King

Planned

Scourge ships

Squats

Warrior Nation Braves

Khalida is out and the Tomb King is in and the Squats have been relegated to the sidelines to make room for five Warrior Nation Braves for Wild West Exodus. I have all the paints I need now to do justice to their skin so these will be my test bed. I had intended only to paint one but there is a new hobby challenge beginning on the Wild West Exodus Facebook groups and the minimum requirement for month one is five Hired Hands. Whether they get completed or not really depends on how long the Sicaran takes but if I keep up the pace I have set thus far then I should meet my deadline.

AL:

Like Lee, i have had a pretty quiet week comparatively after last week's mad rush. It's mostly been back to watching Star Trek Voyager while building cultists. I did get my UCM fleet undercoated though, ready for the airbrush, i've undercoated them black and i'll drybrush them with grey and white in an attempt to pre-highlight them before I give them the base coat. It's all a bit experimental at this stage. Still, i'm looking forward to getting them done and of all things, Call of Duty Infinite Warfare has been a major influence with the ships in that game being rather well realised and giving me a few ideas for my UCM. 

So like I said, in the meantime i've been adding to the ranks of the Cultists, i've actually finished all my Overkill sprues and though I have a box of neophytes (which are to be assembled with all the options and intermixed with my normal squads, it's been the Cadians that i have been working on this week. 

So one of the main things i have realised of late is that the Hybrids are FAR superior to the Cadian models. OK there are ten years between them but you can see every single one of those years when comparing kits. The Cadians are crude, oddly proportioned with massive mouldlines (thank the Emperor - Beloved by all - for the mould line remover tool) and just don't go that well together. Well overdue an upgrade i would say! After spending as much time cleaning the model as it took to assemble a dozen cultists I started to assemble them. I wanted to try to improve the way they looked a bit and in all honesty the removal of Aquilas and addition of cult bits and heads only goes so far with that. I'll be painting them quite drab so that they don't stand out too much compared to the much more interesting cultist models.

I managed to get three complete squads of ten and with a bit of creative hacking have tried to vary the models up a bit with backpacks and the like though i have to confess i am not absolutely happy with them, it doesn't help that the superior Command kit has a lot of options that the cultists just CAN'T use like powerfist and plasma and melta guns. This variety would have improved the models considerably. Stupid Codex. 

Oh well, never mind, I moved onto the heavy weapon squads, a little bitz order a few weeks ago meant I was in a position to utilise more of the heavy weapons than normal and indeed I actually seem to have all options available which is handy. I do like getting the most out of my kits. The main place I had to be creative was with the missile launchers, they needed a bit of cutting to make them a bit shorter so they look like they could be fired without the need of the tripod. I think i've just about managed that. 

I've also been creative with the hybrid bits. I used Overkill models to utilise as many bits of the sprues as possible and have turned basic Acolytes to make Metamamorphs and a standard bearer. Though the models needed a fair bit of cutting, the conversion is actually fairly simple and I think i have got away with it. 

So that's the cult mostly done! The tanks are yet to do and another box of Neophytes, and i have a commissar from the start collecting box to get creative with - probably double up as another Primus. Oh, and the rest of the Cadian Command, OK the cult is not quite as done as I thought, good thing that we are only on season 3 of Voyager. 

I did also construct a glass cabinet to display my Star Wars Armada fleets, that counts as hobby right? 

Still, i'm casting my mind to other things, (i'm like a hobby magpie) and whilst I try to resist the lure of the wavering post Trump election dollar making a Kickstarter very tempting i'm thinking about what is next. I really want to finish those three busts i started, it shouldn't take too long, a couple of evening sessions maybe, in between i can do my UCM and 30k Ultramarines. As you will see from the picture i have the ventilated spraying station all set up so next time I hope to have much more than just construction done... 

Hobby diary 16/10/16

Lee:

I’ve been hobbying quite a bit lately. Now I am fully settled in my new house the airbrush is permanently set up in the Lee room. All I can use it for right now is base coating but I have a few things I want to try in the future. Clear coating metals, gradients, shading. I have projects lined up aplenty.

Since unpacking everything I have successfully completed a couple of single miniatures. The first was the Deathwatch Watchmaster. As far as 40K goes I have never been much of a loyalist, preferring to side with Chaos or the Xeno but there is an allure to having a small elite force of Space Marines that do not require many units to ally with my Dark Angels or Space Wolves (didn’t I just say I don’t much go for the Imperium?).

The Watchmaster is a lovely model. The sculpting is superb and the pose stoic. I used a base from Secret Weapon to mount him on, a 32mm Ruined Temple base. This design looks good without being covered in too much detail. I wanted the model to be the focus for the eye. I painted it with a base of charadon granite dry brushed with shadow grey then over that a drybrush of Incubi Darkness and a final highlight drybrush of Sybarite Green. The recessed patterns were painted gold. This looks like an alien temple with colours that complement the predominantly black miniature.

My Watchmaster is a Space Wolf Grey Hunter. He has had his time as an impetuous Blood Claw and is on his way to becoming a Long Fang. He still has the passion of the hunt but is considered in his approach, best utilising the varied skills of his brothers to eliminate the Xenos.

The second model I completed was Watch Captain Artemis from Death Masque. He was painted similarly to my Watchmaster and I have been keeping a log of my paints (a new thing for me) so I can paint the rest of the Deathwatch models I have the same when I come back to them. The next model I will be painting is the Corvus Blackstar, a beautifully sleek craft which being mostly black should not take too long to paint once I begin.

The third miniature I have painted was a Tomb Kings Liche Priest. When I got wind that the Tomb Kings were being discontinued I immediately bought up what I could find. This was the Tomb Priest, a couple of Sphinxes and a couple of boxes of Sepulchral Stalkers. The Liche Priest is painted similarly to the units I have already painted for my Tomb Kings force except for the skin as none of my models currently have any. Rather than do it pale as the official miniature is painted I went for a darker tone similar to how real mummies look. I’m quite pleased with the result. I need to put together a 1,000-point force to guide what I paint next after Queen Khalida but the only units I do not have are a Bone Giant and most of the special characters.

These are just the tip of the lead pile though. I still have 30 Deathwing Terminators part painted on my table. I am half way through a random Emperor’s Children model and though I am still awaiting my Dropfleet Commander pledge to arrive Hawk gave me some miniatures to keep me busy. On top of that Allen wants us to paint a unit of our Horus Heresy armies a month.

We are halfway through the month at the time of writing but rather than pick an easy choice like a single character I have gone for five of the Ashen Circle. These guys are one of the Word Bearers’ unique units. They are jump pack infantry whose purpose is to eradicate enemy culture, learning and faith. On the battlefield, they would hunt down those that inspired hope and courage in the enemy force and burn them to ashes then after the battle do the same to the libraries and heretical churches of the foe. Now turned to Chaos they do the same with the heroes and truth of the Imperium.
The official models are painted in the slate grey of the old Word Bearer’s livery but my force has turned from the Emperor’s light already so they will have their post Istvaan livery. Rather than paint them red I will be painting them the same deep grey I painted Zardu Layak with the cthonian runes etched onto their armour glowing with internal heat. Each model is armed with a hand flamer and an axe rake. The hand flamers may only be strength 3 but that is a lot of templates. I have 20 of these models to paint in all so my full squads will be doing a lot of damage.

The Axe rake used by the Ashen Circle is a weapon not used by any other unit. It is a tool as much as a weapon being used to latch onto and haul down graven idols. In game, it is a +1 AP6 hand weapon that causes enemy units falling back to do so at -1”. Upgrade wise there isn’t much to change on the regular squad load out. I switched out one of the hand flamers for an inferno pistol for that extra punch and the axe rake on the champion for a power axe which I have represented with a mutation from the Chaos Space Marine Possessed sprue to show the Iconoclast is favoured.
As of the time of writing these models have received their base coat and I will be making a proper start on the detail at the next sitting. Having a think about next month I am tempted to name one of the units in Fall of Prospero as my choice but as I was looking for my Ashen circle earlier I came across my Sicaran and Deredeo Dreadnought so who knows.

AL:

Like Lee i have also moved home, albeit much more recently. The last thing I painted before I moved was this Necron Tomb Spider:

As you can see i'm going for a swampcron force and have a lot of ideas for the army. I have been using the Forgeworld Masterclass books and their wealth of information including using oil paints and floor polish to gain an aged and decrepit look. The model itself was sprayed with Halfords silver paint. Halfords do a very wide  range of shades and i'm not entirely sure i picked the right one but ill improvise. The whole model was then given a wash of a mix of black and burnt umber oil paints, liberally diluted with white spirit. Make sure that the area is suitably ventilated! the fumes are intense! The advantage of using oil paint is that you can manipulate the wash for a lot longer and a lot more easily while it dries. The disadvantage is that it takes ages to dry and reeks while it does so.

A quick drybrush of Boltgun Metal (yes i mostly still use old Citadel colours) and then another more carefully applied thicker burnt umber wash and it was done. Well the metal bits were. I had decided in advance i wanted a glossy dark green marble effect for the carapace to counteract the murky metal. This was achieved by using Vallejo Scaly Green mixed with a bit of black and then effectively producing a marble pattern adding VERY old Jade Green on top. After i was happy with the marble effect (more or less) i then used consecutive glazes of scaly green mixed with floor polish. This gives a lovely smooth glossy effect.

The swamp stuff itself was actually something of a challenge. i ended up using a mix of normal and static flock mixed with a lot of PVA glue and then gloss varnish once dried. I'm still not totally happy but it will do for now. Bigger models will use Spaghum moss that i use for my animals enclosures. Still, it's hard to say when ill get back to the swampcrons....

As GW have gone release crazy! Since i painted this Tomb Spider they have released Death Masque. (always fancied Harlequins so nabbed two boxes of that) and the Genestealer Cult which i had to have as well! I'm now drowning in armies, still mostly on sprue and with The Burning Of Prospero on the horizon this isn't going to change anytime soon as the XIII legion will soon be receiving all sorts of reinforcements!

So I have arranged with Lee that we will have to crack on with our Heresy armies and paint at least one thing a month. Problem is i haven't got anywhere near deciding on a colour scheme and i'm using the airbush, no way i'm manually painting all that. My painting desk is in the same room as my vast collection of exotic pets so i picked up a ventilated airbrush booth from Ebay and you can look forwards to seeing much more soon with any luck. Once i finally work out how i'm going to paint them. I have some catching up to do as Lee has already completed a few of his treacherous whoreson Word Bearers.

So as I have just moved and the vast majority of my stuff is still inaccessible or still on sprue i grabbed what was to hand to ease myself back into painting. In this case it was the busts from the Fantasy Flight game Relic. I only managed a couple of painting sessions this week, hope to improve on that in coming weeks.

First up was the Callidus, This was simplicity itself. Spray black (Halfords again) then highlight the black with P3 Coal Black, a black wash to tie it in a bit and repeat. The hair was Mephiston Red mixed with Scaly Green (I no longer darken bright colours with black) and then successive coats adding more Mephiston Red. The eyes were very thin layers of Scaly Green building up towards the bottom of the lens

I then turned my attention to the Ultramarine. I'd tried zenithal highlighting but it turns out that is difficult with spray cans. Ill revisit the technique with my airbrush. A simple coat of Vallejo Prussian Blue did the armour colour but then I noticed something interesting. The game has him as a Captain but he has the tactical symbol on his shoulder pad. Sod it, im doing him as a sergeant and red helm it shall be. I put him to one side for now though.

Picked up the ratling sniper instead. This is a nice model. Sadly i didn't make a note of what colours I used for all the model and I used too many to remember them all. I have recently downloaded an app that will help me with this, i'll be reviewing that separately at some point. You can likely work it out from the pics. I did use a tan brown rather than a flesh colour for the face though, I wanted it to look a bit more abhuman like, I used a wash of red around the nose and eyes to keep a little warmth in there though. He's almost finished and has actually turned out alright. I look forward to getting them all done. However, i have to accept the reality that i have actual ARMIES to assemble and paint so I think i'll have to treat myself to painting one of these busts inbetween units or something. The main thing was to get painting again and that mission has been accomplished. I'm looking forwards to getting a lot more done.

See you next week!