... no not the Ork Battle Wagon!
Captain Consistent I am not. Yet again it's been far too long since I blogged, and frankly since I hobbied.
This time I have a defense; 14 months ago I headed back to school to retrain. Those of you that know me personally know that I'd been in academia, either as a researcher or an administrator for about 20 years. Once that came to an end I chose to go back to school.
I retrained as a Gas Turbine technician, and last summer graduated near the top of my class. In October I was fortunate enough to get hired into a company expanding from Montreal into Vancouver (I'm in Montreal training as I write this). Now with some stability and a pay check I'm back at the hobby!
Friday was the traditional (not for liking, just traditional!) panic registration for AdeptiCon, to secure the events you want, and the registration level you desire.
This year was no different from past ones; server crashes, huge lags, and items getting dropped from your cart before you had chance to pay for them!
Drama aside.... I got the Horus Heresy events I wanted! The singles tournament, a Zone Mortalis event, and the HH Grudge Match on the final day. I'm REALLY happy to be going back to AdeptiCon after missing it in 2017.
It's going to be awesome!
The next day my plan initiated; I had a Forgeworld "wish list" sitting there, goading me... I pulled the trigger and ordered an entire Horus Heresy Blood Angels army - 2500pts. Thank goodness I've been paid extra while training away from home...
So, hopefully in about 2 weeks I'll have an "army" to share with you.
Well, a large stack of resin in boxes...
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Weathering in Style - Pt3
It has been a week since my last post, but I've not been slacking on the painting part..
After letting the model sit for the night I went back and beat up the top layer some more. I felt it was lacking damage - lol!
I also went into the larger areas and added some more SWM rust:
Then the fun began!
After a coating with gloss varnish (allowed to dry overnight), I started with oils.
Black, blue and brown oil paint was added in small dots, and then streaked down the model. This adds depth and tone to the overly bright metallic finish. It is a very messy process, but it is the one stage I enjoy the most.
Once that had dried, the next stage was adding pigments to simulate rust build up. I used the SWM powders of course! Four rust powders, and the Violet powder were used.
The violet is quite important as it add a certain patina to the finished result.
This process is very experimental and you need to play with the powders as you go along.
I also used the Exhaust Black on the exhausts (...).
Final stage was to seal with a matte varnish.
This picture has the body complete; the tracks need some highlighting, and the wheels (which I'll comment on next time) are in progress. You'll also note I added a dozer blade.
After letting the model sit for the night I went back and beat up the top layer some more. I felt it was lacking damage - lol!
I also went into the larger areas and added some more SWM rust:
Then the fun began!
After a coating with gloss varnish (allowed to dry overnight), I started with oils.
Black, blue and brown oil paint was added in small dots, and then streaked down the model. This adds depth and tone to the overly bright metallic finish. It is a very messy process, but it is the one stage I enjoy the most.
Once that had dried, the next stage was adding pigments to simulate rust build up. I used the SWM powders of course! Four rust powders, and the Violet powder were used.
The violet is quite important as it add a certain patina to the finished result.
This process is very experimental and you need to play with the powders as you go along.
I also used the Exhaust Black on the exhausts (...).
Final stage was to seal with a matte varnish.
This picture has the body complete; the tracks need some highlighting, and the wheels (which I'll comment on next time) are in progress. You'll also note I added a dozer blade.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Weathering in Style - Pt2
After the night drying, it was time to put the base colours down. This is where I give a little something of my idea away.
My long time intent was to build an ork army that were obsessed with Iron Warriors; this is essentially the test model. Best part is, if I don't like it, it'll be fine; its metallic, and its orks!
First layer was Vallejo Model Air Gun Metal, followed by VMA Steel on higher points. It did this as the washes I'll be applying later will darken it up quite a bit.
I've had a few questions about airbrushing; the usual "how much do you dilute your paints?", "which brand of paint?", and "what pressure do you use?"
There really is only one answer to these questions; "yes" :).
Jokes aside, airbrushing is a very personal technique. This is what works for me:
then the work started...
Using light scratches to open up the paint, I applied water, and started rubbing with cotton buds.
At this point I'm always the least happy with the model; the base coat is too bright, and the scratches are too cartoonish. The next part will remedy that.
I had one issue with this stage. For whatever reason, some of the SWM acrylics I put down on the primer came up. I may not have allowed enough time for the Gun Metal to dry fully before starting the removal.
Nice thing is, I can go in and stipple some more paint on later!
If I get to that stage today, I'll post an update.
My long time intent was to build an ork army that were obsessed with Iron Warriors; this is essentially the test model. Best part is, if I don't like it, it'll be fine; its metallic, and its orks!
First layer was Vallejo Model Air Gun Metal, followed by VMA Steel on higher points. It did this as the washes I'll be applying later will darken it up quite a bit.
I've had a few questions about airbrushing; the usual "how much do you dilute your paints?", "which brand of paint?", and "what pressure do you use?"
There really is only one answer to these questions; "yes" :).
Jokes aside, airbrushing is a very personal technique. This is what works for me:
- Harder & Steenbeck Infinity
- 0.15mm needle (for pretty much everything...)
- 10-12 psi, though I'll go up to 15-20 for metallics
- dilute paints with 8% isopropyl alcohol
- paints used are Badger Minitaire, Vallejo Model Colour, Vallejo Model Air, P3, FW Airbrush paints, Scale75... and I guess we can now add Secret Weapon Miniatures!
then the work started...
Using light scratches to open up the paint, I applied water, and started rubbing with cotton buds.
At this point I'm always the least happy with the model; the base coat is too bright, and the scratches are too cartoonish. The next part will remedy that.
I had one issue with this stage. For whatever reason, some of the SWM acrylics I put down on the primer came up. I may not have allowed enough time for the Gun Metal to dry fully before starting the removal.
Nice thing is, I can go in and stipple some more paint on later!
If I get to that stage today, I'll post an update.
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Weathering in Style - Pt1
Hey all!
It has been a while - hit a bit of a painting funk late last year, and then got into intense mode with AdeptiCon 2016 prep.
The event was amazing as usual, but I'll post more about that later.
This post is about weathering - specifically a new line of Weathering Acrylic paints just released by our friend misterjustin at Secret Weapon Miniatures.
I've grabbed an old model, from a much delayed project, to try them out on, and of course I'm going to share my personal vision on a few of their many possible uses.
This Ork Battlewagon had a red and blue paint job - so I hit it with some rattle-can Rust-Red primer - which cost all of $3! The wheels and turrets were popped off first.
Then I started it with the SWM Weathering Acrylics. I have to say I've got a whole new respect for Reaper (who produced the paints for SWM); their pigments are phenomenal quality, and the medium always seems perfect.
I pushed these through my airbrush, so they needed diluting. Quite a lot too - lots of pigment packed in there. I have to give these paints an A* rating, just from the first set I've used. And I have to give big props to Justin; these are the rust colours that you troll through other lines to find single examples of, or spend ages trying to mix.
I don't have a colour-by-colour series, but they went on in the following order:
Chipping medium - light on the panels, heavy on the working surfaces - was then sprayed on. This is drying overnight.
Tomorrow I'll be doing some masking and starting the base colouring.
Stay tuned!
It has been a while - hit a bit of a painting funk late last year, and then got into intense mode with AdeptiCon 2016 prep.
The event was amazing as usual, but I'll post more about that later.
This post is about weathering - specifically a new line of Weathering Acrylic paints just released by our friend misterjustin at Secret Weapon Miniatures.
I've grabbed an old model, from a much delayed project, to try them out on, and of course I'm going to share my personal vision on a few of their many possible uses.
This Ork Battlewagon had a red and blue paint job - so I hit it with some rattle-can Rust-Red primer - which cost all of $3! The wheels and turrets were popped off first.
Then I started it with the SWM Weathering Acrylics. I have to say I've got a whole new respect for Reaper (who produced the paints for SWM); their pigments are phenomenal quality, and the medium always seems perfect.
I pushed these through my airbrush, so they needed diluting. Quite a lot too - lots of pigment packed in there. I have to give these paints an A* rating, just from the first set I've used. And I have to give big props to Justin; these are the rust colours that you troll through other lines to find single examples of, or spend ages trying to mix.
I don't have a colour-by-colour series, but they went on in the following order:
- Rust Shadow - this is quite green, so it went into areas where I wanted the darkest, oldest rust to be represented.
- Old Rust - this went over the Shadow, to add some purple/brown depth, and into panel recesses.
- Brown Rust
- Red Rust
- Orange Rust - these last three went on in a random-ish pattern, trying to break up the surface features, whilst trying to keep the lighter ones near the top.
Chipping medium - light on the panels, heavy on the working surfaces - was then sprayed on. This is drying overnight.
Tomorrow I'll be doing some masking and starting the base colouring.
Stay tuned!
Saturday, August 1, 2015
an oldie...
Found this picture (I still have the model boxed away).
From the original box set, using one of the "official" paint schemes from the WD poster.
From the original box set, using one of the "official" paint schemes from the WD poster.
Friday, June 26, 2015
OFCC Team tourney - Pt1 - Knight.
A few of you may recall me talking about this event previously.
The OFCC (Ordo Fanaticus Club Challenge) tourney is one of the PNW's premier events.
I've attended a number of times (I've actually lost count!), and had a really good time each one. I've also had some success there, being on one Overall Champion team, and one team that won the Best Sportsmanship award (which is named after, and dedicated to the to the memory of, one of the event founders - Marshall Johnson).
This year the event has been sweetened by the inclusion on the ITC list for 2015.
The organizers have also added an Open event, and a few Friday mini-tourneys. Sadly I can't attend these on Friday as I'll be returning from France a couple of days beforehand, and will be relying on my other Club's team Captain, Chris Jones, to drive me down to Vancouver, WA.
Whilst the 40K team event is well populated this year (21 teams of 4), it looks like the uncertainty around 9th edition Fantasy, and the mess that End Times made, that the WHFB side will be a little sparse this year - 9 teams last time I looked.
40K has not been without its controversies; the Head of Gaming (HoG) has removed all formal composition this year, so unbound armies, experimental rules, and multiple formations are allowed. The only caveat being that the army, an team's armies as a whole, need to be in the spirit of the event.
Sitting on whats' known as the "list Review Committee" has been quite educational about different region's perspectives on army builds; and I have a whole new respect for the HoG - I've not run a tourney since 5e!
My team does not have a theme this year (it was "death" last year), but as we are all taking Knights, from one source or another (including GK Dreadknights), I'm going with "Knights; F**k Yeah!"
I'm running the World Eaters that I took to AdeptiCon (they are almost finished...), with the addition of.... a Knight!
This is the Questoris Knight Styrix; probably the crappiest of the Knights!
It is not quite complete... but FW does not yet do decals for its Knightly Houses, and I don't have enough time to get custom ones done.
When I build out the Ad Mech side of my collection I'll add them.
The OFCC (Ordo Fanaticus Club Challenge) tourney is one of the PNW's premier events.
I've attended a number of times (I've actually lost count!), and had a really good time each one. I've also had some success there, being on one Overall Champion team, and one team that won the Best Sportsmanship award (which is named after, and dedicated to the to the memory of, one of the event founders - Marshall Johnson).
This year the event has been sweetened by the inclusion on the ITC list for 2015.
The organizers have also added an Open event, and a few Friday mini-tourneys. Sadly I can't attend these on Friday as I'll be returning from France a couple of days beforehand, and will be relying on my other Club's team Captain, Chris Jones, to drive me down to Vancouver, WA.
Whilst the 40K team event is well populated this year (21 teams of 4), it looks like the uncertainty around 9th edition Fantasy, and the mess that End Times made, that the WHFB side will be a little sparse this year - 9 teams last time I looked.
40K has not been without its controversies; the Head of Gaming (HoG) has removed all formal composition this year, so unbound armies, experimental rules, and multiple formations are allowed. The only caveat being that the army, an team's armies as a whole, need to be in the spirit of the event.
Sitting on whats' known as the "list Review Committee" has been quite educational about different region's perspectives on army builds; and I have a whole new respect for the HoG - I've not run a tourney since 5e!
My team does not have a theme this year (it was "death" last year), but as we are all taking Knights, from one source or another (including GK Dreadknights), I'm going with "Knights; F**k Yeah!"
I'm running the World Eaters that I took to AdeptiCon (they are almost finished...), with the addition of.... a Knight!
This is the Questoris Knight Styrix; probably the crappiest of the Knights!
It is not quite complete... but FW does not yet do decals for its Knightly Houses, and I don't have enough time to get custom ones done.
When I build out the Ad Mech side of my collection I'll add them.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Throwback Thursday... coz all the kids are doing it!
Well, yes they are, but I'm taking pictures of all my armies... all week long... for many weeks!
These are from my first 40k army. Bought from the Third Edition box set, which I bought on advance order from GW Canada, back in later 1998...
Ultimately they were my first tournament army, playing them at the Seattle GT in 1999.
I've has a long time affinity with the Marines Errant, always thinking of them as a "knightly" Chapter with parallels to Arthurian legend.
In the first picture is a RT era Chaplain... yep it is old, and it is original - I still have the blister with the rest of them in (at one time GW sold them in packs of THREE!). The Command Squad uses old Dark Angel Veteran cloaked models - again metal.
The Chapter Icons are hand painted... all of them...
The pictures were taken on a photo-backdrop from Hangar 18; I obviously chose one to contrast. These are fantastic vinyl printed sheets, which come in a variety of colours, and are very tolerant to handling. You can find them here; they are an excellent investment.
The bases are quite dated (not just in size) so they are going to be upgraded shorty across the whole army.
I'm using the Dragon Forge Design Ancient Ruins II bases that I got in their recent Kickstarter campaign.
These are from my first 40k army. Bought from the Third Edition box set, which I bought on advance order from GW Canada, back in later 1998...
Ultimately they were my first tournament army, playing them at the Seattle GT in 1999.
I've has a long time affinity with the Marines Errant, always thinking of them as a "knightly" Chapter with parallels to Arthurian legend.
In the first picture is a RT era Chaplain... yep it is old, and it is original - I still have the blister with the rest of them in (at one time GW sold them in packs of THREE!). The Command Squad uses old Dark Angel Veteran cloaked models - again metal.
The Chapter Icons are hand painted... all of them...
The pictures were taken on a photo-backdrop from Hangar 18; I obviously chose one to contrast. These are fantastic vinyl printed sheets, which come in a variety of colours, and are very tolerant to handling. You can find them here; they are an excellent investment.
The bases are quite dated (not just in size) so they are going to be upgraded shorty across the whole army.
I'm using the Dragon Forge Design Ancient Ruins II bases that I got in their recent Kickstarter campaign.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Road to AdeptiCon 2015 - Part 5 - Bases.
One of the joys of putting the army together was the bases.
Old gaming friend and talented hobbyist Alex Akers made some custom bases for my army. I talked about these in a previous blog post.
At the time of sculpting the largest base GW had in production was a 60mm, and the flying base came out as Alex was finishing the project. He did sculpt some, but I'm not sure what happened to the master model.
So with a flyer in my army I needed to get creative!
Some cork, some plasticard, some skulls (Secret Weapon Miniatures), pumice from Vallejo, metal from one of GW's basing sets, some mouse bones (yes, really) and about 20 minutes of work....
(The masking tape is there for the flight stand. Peels off nicely when all is dry.)
This sloppy mess:
After an overnight dry, and a drop of paint...
Making bases for large pieces is something I really enjoy, and I think it will be what pulls be towards military modelling a lot more.
Old gaming friend and talented hobbyist Alex Akers made some custom bases for my army. I talked about these in a previous blog post.
At the time of sculpting the largest base GW had in production was a 60mm, and the flying base came out as Alex was finishing the project. He did sculpt some, but I'm not sure what happened to the master model.
So with a flyer in my army I needed to get creative!
Some cork, some plasticard, some skulls (Secret Weapon Miniatures), pumice from Vallejo, metal from one of GW's basing sets, some mouse bones (yes, really) and about 20 minutes of work....
(The masking tape is there for the flight stand. Peels off nicely when all is dry.)
This sloppy mess:
After an overnight dry, and a drop of paint...
Making bases for large pieces is something I really enjoy, and I think it will be what pulls be towards military modelling a lot more.
Road to AdeptiCon 2015 - Part 4 - Marines
World Eaters Paint Scheme
I was wanting to keep this simple, ala the Forgeworld scheme.
Primer - Krylon White:
First wash with Vallejo Grey Wash:
Zenithal airbrush to smooth out the wash - Vallejo Model Air White:
(no picture).
FW Wash "recipe":
Three coats of Vallejo Model Air White, at about a 45 degree angle:
GW Boltgun metal:
Flat back wash:
Backpack added:
Shoulder pads:
Based:
Final Squad picture:
I've not had enough time to do full weathering on the units, but I will be adding chipping to everything, and some significant paint damage to the vehicles.
The army has been a absolute blast to paint; less than 3 months from start to finish (nothing like having a hard deadline). I learned a lot about both modelling with resin, which surprised me considering how many years I've been doing it, and how to airbrush. Airbrushing is now my new "hobby" passion - it is such a powerful tool to have in your kit.
I'll be adding to the HH force with units from other Legions, aiming to use signature units such as a Breacher Squad in Sons of Horus colours, and heavy weapons as Iron Warriors. The World Eaters will get a Contemptor Dreadnought at some point, only because there is a cool one in the first HH book, and I have a slot for one in my Battle Foam tray..
More pictures to follow, some shots from AdeptiCon I'm sure.
If you are there, come by the Friendly on Friday - that's where this army will be playing!
I was wanting to keep this simple, ala the Forgeworld scheme.
Primer - Krylon White:
First wash with Vallejo Grey Wash:
Zenithal airbrush to smooth out the wash - Vallejo Model Air White:
(no picture).
FW Wash "recipe":
Three coats of Vallejo Model Air White, at about a 45 degree angle:
GW Boltgun metal:
Flat back wash:
Backpack added:
Shoulder pads:
Based:
Final Squad picture:
I've not had enough time to do full weathering on the units, but I will be adding chipping to everything, and some significant paint damage to the vehicles.
The army has been a absolute blast to paint; less than 3 months from start to finish (nothing like having a hard deadline). I learned a lot about both modelling with resin, which surprised me considering how many years I've been doing it, and how to airbrush. Airbrushing is now my new "hobby" passion - it is such a powerful tool to have in your kit.
I'll be adding to the HH force with units from other Legions, aiming to use signature units such as a Breacher Squad in Sons of Horus colours, and heavy weapons as Iron Warriors. The World Eaters will get a Contemptor Dreadnought at some point, only because there is a cool one in the first HH book, and I have a slot for one in my Battle Foam tray..
More pictures to follow, some shots from AdeptiCon I'm sure.
If you are there, come by the Friendly on Friday - that's where this army will be playing!
Road to AdeptiCon 2015 - Part 3
With travel only a few days away, many AdeptiCon attendees, myself included, are in the final push to get armies painted, Crystal Brush entries perfected and probably clothes packed.
I'll post my World Eaters WIP page once I've headed south (and then east).
Looking forward to catching up with old friends, making new ones, and 4 days of silliness!
I'll post my World Eaters WIP page once I've headed south (and then east).
Looking forward to catching up with old friends, making new ones, and 4 days of silliness!
Thursday, January 8, 2015
an interlude.
Whilst I write drafts of my AdeptiCon progress... whilst actually preping for the event... I've been playing in a couple of events.
On January 1st we had a tourney at our local store, titled "No Rest for the Weary". Yes, some people were hung over, but as a) I have kids, and b) I'm old, I was not one of them - I was in bed by 11pm!
It was a fun event with no soft scores, but some limitations on composition (no SH, LoW, smaller fortifications only...).
Some how I managed to go 3-0, and lost out on overall by one point (I tied my secondary objective in the final game and got zero battle points for it.... grrr..).
It was a really good event, and the turn out bodes well of a revitalization of year round, small, tourney events in the Metro Vancouver area.
Next up is Vancouver's first Highlander event, for which I suggested the name of "Toss Yer Caber" (it is being run by a Scot..) which stuck.
I have a hankering to play my Space Wolves - for the first time with the new codex.
Since 7e came out I've been somewhat skeptical about the psychic phase, hell I've historically avoided magic in Warhammer for many years. But with the Wolves I had an idea.
The HH books, in particular the Prospero arc, have hinted at the Wolves' belief that their powers are not warp driven but is "earth magic" from Fenris. This I can embrace. To this end I have been toying with the idea of the Malefic Powers, specifically the summoning of daemons; or in the case of Space Wolves "Spirits of Fenris".
The whole project took about 5 hours.
Here is my "Greater Daemon of Fenris". Built from a WE Treeman (obviously!). I'll run it as a Bloodthirster.
Snow, which is melting - done with Secret Weapon Miniatures product, represents the recent arrival from Fenris. The Snowy Owl... well, he is the psychic link!
And of course, where the big guy goes, little ones will too.
Hopefully I'll get to use these next month - but not against loyal space marines...
I'll post how it went.
On January 1st we had a tourney at our local store, titled "No Rest for the Weary". Yes, some people were hung over, but as a) I have kids, and b) I'm old, I was not one of them - I was in bed by 11pm!
It was a fun event with no soft scores, but some limitations on composition (no SH, LoW, smaller fortifications only...).
Some how I managed to go 3-0, and lost out on overall by one point (I tied my secondary objective in the final game and got zero battle points for it.... grrr..).
It was a really good event, and the turn out bodes well of a revitalization of year round, small, tourney events in the Metro Vancouver area.
Next up is Vancouver's first Highlander event, for which I suggested the name of "Toss Yer Caber" (it is being run by a Scot..) which stuck.
I have a hankering to play my Space Wolves - for the first time with the new codex.
Since 7e came out I've been somewhat skeptical about the psychic phase, hell I've historically avoided magic in Warhammer for many years. But with the Wolves I had an idea.
The HH books, in particular the Prospero arc, have hinted at the Wolves' belief that their powers are not warp driven but is "earth magic" from Fenris. This I can embrace. To this end I have been toying with the idea of the Malefic Powers, specifically the summoning of daemons; or in the case of Space Wolves "Spirits of Fenris".
The whole project took about 5 hours.
Here is my "Greater Daemon of Fenris". Built from a WE Treeman (obviously!). I'll run it as a Bloodthirster.
Pretty basic paint-job, using Minitaire paints, airbrushed and layered on. A wash of Army Painter strong tone added depth.
Snow, which is melting - done with Secret Weapon Miniatures product, represents the recent arrival from Fenris. The Snowy Owl... well, he is the psychic link!
And of course, where the big guy goes, little ones will too.
Hopefully I'll get to use these next month - but not against loyal space marines...
I'll post how it went.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Road to AdeptiCon 2015 - Part 2 - Delay
We've has a bit of a cold snap here in the Lower Mainland since Friday - it has barely been near freezing and we've been as low as -12C.
Consequently I've not been able to prime the bases.
I'm taking the "down time" to build marines. Though I have a bit of a dilemma whether to run them as Space Marines, or Chaos Space Marines, for the AdeptiCon events I'm playing in.
Luckily at this point I don't have to firm up my choice, as the models and list I have can switch between either.
Consequently I've not been able to prime the bases.
I'm taking the "down time" to build marines. Though I have a bit of a dilemma whether to run them as Space Marines, or Chaos Space Marines, for the AdeptiCon events I'm playing in.
Luckily at this point I don't have to firm up my choice, as the models and list I have can switch between either.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Road to AdeptiCon 2015 - Part 1(b) - Bases
As I posted on Monday I successfully survived AdeptiCon... well the registration portion - which is no mean feat unto itself!
Now, with a mere 113 days until the event (112 until I fly), it is time to get on with the project.
A couple of years ago a group of us were going to play in the team event. It was the first year after the Forgeworld Heresy books had been announced, so we decided to go with a 40k 30K-Heresy theme.
Unfortunately one of the team fell ill quite early on in the process, so it was dropped.
I still have all the models, so for 2015 I'll be completing the army. And by completing I mean starting!
For the event one of the guys sculpted and cast vast quantities of Istvaan themed bases for us.
So today's update is base prep.
Stage one - wash! I use Simple Green (which is a good degreaser). I can't stress this enough - wash your models. This is especially true for resin models which have a demolding compound on them from casting. It also applies to metal models which often have a powder releasing agent, as well as plastic sprues which may have oil from the steel/aluminium dies.
The number of times that I read about bad primer reactions, or paints flaking off later on is astonishing. This simple step can dramatically help reduce the fail rate of primer/paint adhesion.
The other one is using the right (and an actual) primer. But that is for next time!
Now, with a mere 113 days until the event (112 until I fly), it is time to get on with the project.
A couple of years ago a group of us were going to play in the team event. It was the first year after the Forgeworld Heresy books had been announced, so we decided to go with a 40k 30K-Heresy theme.
Unfortunately one of the team fell ill quite early on in the process, so it was dropped.
I still have all the models, so for 2015 I'll be completing the army. And by completing I mean starting!
For the event one of the guys sculpted and cast vast quantities of Istvaan themed bases for us.
So today's update is base prep.
Stage one - wash! I use Simple Green (which is a good degreaser). I can't stress this enough - wash your models. This is especially true for resin models which have a demolding compound on them from casting. It also applies to metal models which often have a powder releasing agent, as well as plastic sprues which may have oil from the steel/aluminium dies.
The number of times that I read about bad primer reactions, or paints flaking off later on is astonishing. This simple step can dramatically help reduce the fail rate of primer/paint adhesion.
The other one is using the right (and an actual) primer. But that is for next time!
Monday, November 24, 2014
AdeptiCon 2015
So today was "that" day, THE day for North American Gamers... AdeptiCon Registration
(queue mood drums).
Yep, at 6pm PST, me and about 1000 (literally) other gamers logged on to the new (and vastly improved) webcart and attempted to register for our desired events.
After 20 minutes of "ogodthisissoslowdon'tyoudaretimeoutonmewherethefuckaremyclassesandwhyismyzonemortaliseventsoldoutwhenIhadaspot"
I was registered. Phew!
Now begins the countdown - only 114 days until AdeptiCon 2015 and I have an army to build and paint.
I'll be sharing.
(queue mood drums).
Yep, at 6pm PST, me and about 1000 (literally) other gamers logged on to the new (and vastly improved) webcart and attempted to register for our desired events.
After 20 minutes of "ogodthisissoslowdon'tyoudaretimeoutonmewherethefuckaremyclassesandwhyismyzonemortaliseventsoldoutwhenIhadaspot"
I was registered. Phew!
Now begins the countdown - only 114 days until AdeptiCon 2015 and I have an army to build and paint.
I'll be sharing.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Staying Organized
Like many of you I get distracted... ::squirrel::
Forgeworld comes out with a new model (shiney!), or a new codex is published and the obligatory new stuff that comes along with it catches your attention.
This is probably why I have 15 armies for 40k that exceed 2000 points - painted...
So when it comes to the "crunch" how can we keep on top of the priority projects and keep the "squirrels" out of sight?
Recently a few of us have taken to using KanbanFlow tables. These work on the principles of Lean management. Fundamentally they are a visualization tool of your work; allowing to keep track of progress, and in the case of the paid version track efficiency.
I, of course, use the free tool.
This is my current chart. The "abandoned projects" column was a recent addition... bloody Space Wolves Codex.
I colour code by army, or in the case Yellow, generic hobby stuff.
This tool has been very useful to me, especially for the recent Deathwatch project. It is also nice to see your units "march" across the columns!
Off to wash the latest purchase... Mr S.Loth!
Forgeworld comes out with a new model (shiney!), or a new codex is published and the obligatory new stuff that comes along with it catches your attention.
This is probably why I have 15 armies for 40k that exceed 2000 points - painted...
So when it comes to the "crunch" how can we keep on top of the priority projects and keep the "squirrels" out of sight?
Recently a few of us have taken to using KanbanFlow tables. These work on the principles of Lean management. Fundamentally they are a visualization tool of your work; allowing to keep track of progress, and in the case of the paid version track efficiency.
I, of course, use the free tool.
This is my current chart. The "abandoned projects" column was a recent addition... bloody Space Wolves Codex.
I colour code by army, or in the case Yellow, generic hobby stuff.
This tool has been very useful to me, especially for the recent Deathwatch project. It is also nice to see your units "march" across the columns!
Off to wash the latest purchase... Mr S.Loth!
Friday, September 5, 2014
Deathwatch Marines
I've had this project on my table for about 3 years. In that time two versions of 40k have been born, and two Space Marine Codexes have also popped up. Sadly the Inquisitional codexes have gotten crappier, with less "canon" being followed, and more game play emphasis creeping in.
Also in that time, my club-mate Nick has built and played with his Deathwatch army quite a few times!
Well now it is my turn...
With the Ordo Fanaticus Club Challenge just a few weeks away (literally), A-Club Overachievers will be representing again. We'll talk more about our theme after the tourney, but I'm anticipating a fun team event in Portland.
My idea is to go with a Iron Hands themed list, that is fast and hard hitting.
In the Deathwatch, Marines are recruited from many chapters, and are lead by a Captain. That Captain's background often dictates the tactics the squads employ (DW Marines are usually deployed in small highly specialized units, but for the tourney these guys are responding en masse to a larger threat). As you can tell from the pictures I have used shoulder pads from just about every (loyalist!) chapter that FW and GW has produced them for. I have also used a couple of 3rd-party pads to represent chapters I have an affinity with.
(please forgive the poor photo quality. With my lens in the mail to Canon I had to resort to my iPhone which lacks the depth of field capacity, and was attached to my slightly shaky hands!)
My commander; converted from a FW Praetor, the Command backpack, the Storm-shield from the Games Day Boarding Marine a few years ago, and a terminator fist to attach the shield to the chopped (oh, it hurt cutting that gun off!) arm.
Troops are basic marine squads, led by Iron Hands sergeants.
I'm using Sternguard Vets in Drop pods, with Heavy Flamers and plenty of combi-weapons!
Heavy support comes from the Thunderfire Cannon, which I have learned to love in game play almost as much as I hated putting the horrible thing together!
There are also two Deathstorm drop pods (which were actually the inspiration for the army).
Fast Attack comes from Stormtalons and a Land Speeder.
As you can tell, I have gone with a resin base, using the fantastic Wastelands ranges from Dragon Forge Design. The Stormtalons are mounted on a flying kit (mount under the flyer and rod), and DFD will drill out the base to take the plexiglass rod.
As OFCC is a team event, with theme encouraged, we have done special objective markers....
... but you'll have to wait until after the event!
Hope you enjoy the images. Feel free to drop comments and ask questions.
Also in that time, my club-mate Nick has built and played with his Deathwatch army quite a few times!
Well now it is my turn...
With the Ordo Fanaticus Club Challenge just a few weeks away (literally), A-Club Overachievers will be representing again. We'll talk more about our theme after the tourney, but I'm anticipating a fun team event in Portland.
My idea is to go with a Iron Hands themed list, that is fast and hard hitting.
In the Deathwatch, Marines are recruited from many chapters, and are lead by a Captain. That Captain's background often dictates the tactics the squads employ (DW Marines are usually deployed in small highly specialized units, but for the tourney these guys are responding en masse to a larger threat). As you can tell from the pictures I have used shoulder pads from just about every (loyalist!) chapter that FW and GW has produced them for. I have also used a couple of 3rd-party pads to represent chapters I have an affinity with.
(please forgive the poor photo quality. With my lens in the mail to Canon I had to resort to my iPhone which lacks the depth of field capacity, and was attached to my slightly shaky hands!)
My commander; converted from a FW Praetor, the Command backpack, the Storm-shield from the Games Day Boarding Marine a few years ago, and a terminator fist to attach the shield to the chopped (oh, it hurt cutting that gun off!) arm.
Troops are basic marine squads, led by Iron Hands sergeants.
Heavy support comes from the Thunderfire Cannon, which I have learned to love in game play almost as much as I hated putting the horrible thing together!
There are also two Deathstorm drop pods (which were actually the inspiration for the army).
Fast Attack comes from Stormtalons and a Land Speeder.
As you can tell, I have gone with a resin base, using the fantastic Wastelands ranges from Dragon Forge Design. The Stormtalons are mounted on a flying kit (mount under the flyer and rod), and DFD will drill out the base to take the plexiglass rod.
As OFCC is a team event, with theme encouraged, we have done special objective markers....
... but you'll have to wait until after the event!
Hope you enjoy the images. Feel free to drop comments and ask questions.
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