Results from the 2017/18 Hobby Season

Image Courtesy of 40kaddict.blogspot.com

Time to wrap up to the 2017/18 Hobby Season and take stock of what got done and what got dropped on the floor.  To be fair, I'm going to talk about what got DONE.  I never expected to complete the laundry list of items I laid out as possible projects for this season; there was so much!  First let's look at a couple unexpected distractions...

Custodes...what started as an amusement when the first models appeared turned into a passion when the new 8th edition Codex dropped.  Now I am closer to having a fully painted force of Custodes than I am with any other army, even my Dark Angels which I've owned for decades!

Imperial Knights!  I did not expect the release of new models (Armiger pattern knights) and this certainly altered the original to-do list as I had not had any knight work planned.  The new Armigers and a new 8th edition codex inspired me to choose a House Taranis army project for my knights, most of which had been in boxes until the codex released.  Now, not only do I have two completed Armiger Warglaives,  but also four Questoris knights and two Armiger Helverins built, primed, and ready for paint.  And I have a Cerastus Knight Castigator washed and ready for assembly as well.  I would *love* to complete this knight house in 2018/219.

New Deathwatch codex...now with more Primaris marines!  This significant change to the codex caused a drop in painting productivity while I built two full 10 man squads of Primaris Deathwatch.

The last major distraction was the release of the new 40K: Kill Team game.  I simply can't make the time to play many full 40K games these days.  I hope to make Kill Team a game that can be played on free evenings and something that will replace Shadow Wars; a game that just didn't live up to my expectations.  The end of 2017/2018 finds me with five assembled kill teams leading into the new Hobby Season. I have dropped my Shadow Wars projects in favor of completing my new kill teams.

Now lets look at what I was able to complete in pictures.

What a great way to start off the season...I LOVE this model! I couldn't be more psyched with the results I managed.

DreadTober 2017 was a great project.  I have taken part in DreadTober for a couple years and very much enjoy the challenge and the community spirit. It was great to put this Grand Master on the paint table and get him DONE. I think this year will see something new for the Custodes come DreadTober...

Following on the inspiration from painting the Grand Master, it was time to finish another Grey Knights character.

Lots of Custodes this season.  I really dig painting them! Three projects and 11 models completed.

Squaduary 2018 was another fun blog community project.  I took the opportunity to complete my first 10-man Dark Angels squad in QUITE some time, the Primaris Hellblasters. Fun to paint and effective on the table.

Some mobility for the Deathwatch.  I had fun painting the xenos blade. I really wish I could love painting black as much as gold...

This guy was probably my favorite project of the season, just edging out the Deathwatch Watch Master.  I love the pose and the results.

"Don't forget me!" A Grey Knights Brotherhood Champion. A pocket character for the Grey knights as I try to bang out five for the season. nothing special, but a great looking character all the same.

 

Where did these come from?  Really.  I was caught totally off guard here, never expecting new kits for the Knights. Fun to build, fun to paint!  My House Taranis collection was born.

More mobility for the Deathwatch.  I'm starting to settle in on painting the black armor.  My line highlighting has improved and I look forward to digging deeper to complete a kill team for the next season.

I realized as I finished this model and began writing the blog posts that I used the same head as the Deathwatch Librarian above.  This wouldn't have been so interested except I ended up painting them back to back despite having built the Brother Captain roughly ten months prior to assembling the Deathwatch Librarian. I had no idea I'd even have a jump pack Librarian for the Deathwatch, nor that I'd be painting them both so close together.  Anyway, made me chuckle. At least they are both in very different poses and looking different directions.

And last but not least, I finished Grand Master Voldus!

So there they are...roughly 14 projects for the seasons and a total of  32 models painted, sealed and DONE.  Wow. A major record for me.  I'm still all over the place with my projects, so the likelihood of having a single complete army done is slight.  The year has reinforced in me the notion that I am a hobbyist first and a gamer second at this point. No worries.

For 2018/2019 I'll likely aim for a few completed kill teams.  Perhaps I'll get a completed House Taranis army...and I expect some more Custodes.  I can already field a couple fully painted detachments so that's something, right? Heh.

What a fun and rewarding season.  I hope you have had success with your own projects over the past 12 months.  Now onward to the next Hobby Season.  The Long War continues...

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Grey Knights Grand Master Voldus - TO DONE

I finished!  As it turns out, I managed to get in the time I needed to finish Voldus before the end of the month.  So I'll happily notch him off on the DONE list for the season; my last project to be completed.  I started off the final session by looking at the head, and tackling the eyes, which I had been putting off.

I had already shaded the recesses of the eyes with Nuln Oil, so I carefully...ever so carefully, painted in the whites of the eyes using P3 Menoth White Highlight.  I didn't want to use a bright white, like GW whit scar, because I didn't want the eyes to pop unrealistically. Next, a small vertical line of GW Abaddon Black.  I'd like to say I did this all in one pass.  The left eye did make it in one pass, but I repainted the right eye five or six times before I was happy.  Still not perfect, but I got it to where I could live with it.

Below is an intentionally distant shot of the head so you can see what it looks like normally when we aren't zoomed in.  Looks pretty face-like! :)  I was very pleased and decided to move on.  The head was attached to the model at last.

Once the head was attached, I attacked the remaining details, mostly on the weapons, which I'd left for last.  The base also got some spot washes of GW Athonian Camoshade and Carroburg Crimson. The base highlights were dry brushed on using P3 Menoth White Highlight.  The large book was cleaned up a bit, and I decided to go with gold details instead of the silver I started with to match the GW art. I added some scratches to the leather straps.

Now for the big ol' stamp of DONE for the Grand Master!

And now for the gallery shots of the finished Grand Master.

He's looking fierce!  Here's a man that can deal with a little chaos around the house...

I decided to mirror the diagonal red/white motif on the shoulder shield, to match the tilting shield on the left shoulder of the armor. The hammer got a lot of love, with the details finished off and highlighted.  I even attempted a few scratches on the brown leather. He's ready to beat face with that hammer, no doubt.

All-in-all, a great project and loads of fun to paint.  Also a very satisfying way to close out the season.  During 2018/19, it will be time to leave the characters and paint up a squad or two to grow the force.  I have loads assembled and primed silver already so this shouldn't bee too tough.  We'll see what Squaduary brings, though I expect a kill team may take precedence. 

Up next, I'll post a review of the 2017/18 season followed by a look ahead at the to-do list for the coming year of hobby love. So many good projects await and never mind that I'm doing my best to resist buying up a set of titans for Titanicus!  Ugh. I made a personal pledge that I have to complete House Taranis before I can paint titans...

So that's it for today.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

WIP: Grey Knights Characters - Part 5

Greetings!  Today I'm sharing progress on Grand Master Voldus.  So...much...detail.  I love this model.  The armor and main details are coming along here, but there's still a good deal of painting left to do.  I'm following the paint recipe with good results as well.  He should fit right in with the rest of the characters from this hobby season.  Voldus has the distinction of being my last project for the 2017/18 season. I'm pushing to get him done by the end of the month, but I have several family activities that will keep me away from the desk.

Pulling back, you get a better idea of the progress.  I am following the box art closely since he is a named character.  I feel he should look like he should look, right?  My shades and techniques may not match the Heavy Metal Team's (uh, yeah, no kidding!)  but I want to model to come read as Voldus to anyone who would recognize the character in the first place.  Hi is pretty new, so he's perhaps not as recognizable as the many other well known characters from the 40K 'verse.

Lots left to do on this side, but the armor is coming along.

I'm still lovin' the 360 degree detail.  He's just covered all over with interesting bits like this heavy book on a leather strap. I hope he'll be a stand out edition the the army, perhaps only slightly overshadowed by the Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight armor. 

Taking a break from the main model now, I put some color on the base. I am using Vallejo Chocolate Brown (70.872) and GW Agrax Earthshade. This will get highlighted and shaded a couple more times until I'm satisfied with the terrain.  I typically bring in some greens to hint at life clinging to or re-emerging form the blasted earth.

While things were drying between coats, I started work on the head, which has been attached via pin to a separate (bourbon) cork stand for painting. I think he's coming along nicely.  A bit grumpy looking perhaps.  I don't think this fella laughs much...

I am using my basic skin color recipe here (which is largely ad-hoc to begin with), consisting of a base coat of GW Kislev Flesh shaded with GW Reikland Fleshshade, with dabs of GW Druchii Violet and GW Carroburg Crimson around the eyes, cheeks and mouth.  The lips were painted with GW Wild Rider Red shaded with more Reikland Fleshshade.  Some GW Nuln Oil was dabbed in the eyes while I was shading the beard as well.  The beard is simply GW Eshin Grey highlighted with a lighter grey from an older GW paint line. After shading with Nuln Oil, the beard got a second highlight of Vallejo Game Color Wolf Grey (72.047), carefully drawn on from top to bottom to get more texture in the result.

The hardware got some color too with a light grey/blue on the hoses and everything shaded with more Nuln Oil.  The leather of the cap was painted with GW Steel Legion Drab and shaded with a couple coats of GW Agrax Earthshade.  I hit the service studs with Vallejo Oily Steel (70.865) and shaded them with a small amount of Agrax Earthshade. It's coming along well.  Gotta tackle those eyes and clean things up a bit next.  The head could be glued in at any point now.  I want to be sure I have the collar and psychic hood painted up to satisfaction before I do, though.

I have one more opportunity this week to finish him off before the hobby season ends.  I hope to complete Voldus then, but we'll see.  It's a great model and deserves care so I won't rush it to done. I hope you'll come back soon to check out the results.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Grey Knights Brother Captain - TO DONE

It's time to put the Brother Captain up.  I believe I reached all of the details...and after some rework, I arrived at eyes I can live with!  Yikes.  Not so good at eyes.

 I am pleased with the results and he matches well with the rest of the characters despite being done close to a year after the first.  With this model, I learned that I need some discipline around working on other things while in the middle of such a detailed model.  It was challenging to pickup where I left off an this caused some delays and contributed to a general lack of excitement when sitting down again to finish the project.

Anyway...here is my big seal of DONE for the model and then some gallery shots of how he turned out.

Thanks for following along on my hobby odyssey.  Grand Master Voldus got some attention and I'll have a post up with him early next week.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

WIP: Grey Knights Characters - Part 4

Progress on the Brother Captain grinds ever onward.  More details get paint, the highlights have begun to appear, and the base finally gets some paint as shown below. Oh, and I repainted the eyes black in preparation to try again at some decent eyes on this guy.  I didn't get to it this session, but it'll happen soon.

The base gets a base coat and shade.

The base I highlighted the blacks, though I see now as I post that I forgot about the left pauldron shield.  Next some highlights of the cape and loincloth with P3 Menoth White Base over prior coats of GW Agrax Earthshade.  This will get another highlight of P3 Menoth White Highlight during a the next (dare I say final?) session.  The daemon skull on the base also got similar highlights. The lenses on the armor got some love with GW Wild Rider Red with a GW Agrax Earthshade wash.  I dabbed soe Wilder Rider red back on as a highlight after the wash dried. The Shrine also got some touch up and the sword getting more paint and other details cleaned up.

As I worked more on the halberd; the powered blade got some love.  I chose the same process as I used on the Custodian Guard, as demonstrated by Duncan on Warhammer TV.  You can see the first coat of GW Sotek Green gogin on in the photo above. I like the look.  It is striking and reads as a power blade without being too showy and overwhelming the model.  I would love to step up my game and paint on the cracking energy...we'll see...this look, to me, is far better than what things look like after I paint any kind of crackle.

Here's a shot of the other side of the halberd.  Some Vallejo silver highlights have been applied to the gold details.

And finally a look at how the cape is coming along. I cleaned up the skulls in the shrine while I had the Menoth White Base out. The red trim was highlighted with some GW Wild Rider Red.  Over all this has turned out a rust color that was not my original intent.  I'm living with it for now.

The model is nearing completion.  My "all-over-everywhere" approach to painting leaves me challenged when it comes to completing a project like this, especially when I've put it aside several times for various other things like building kill teams. :)  Without a methodology to guide where I'm at with various details (what highlights were none, which weren't...what details did I not get paint on??), I struggle wrapping things up.  I think this going to cost me completing Voldus before the end of the month...but it's not over yet!!

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

On the Workbench [August] - Kill Teams!

The new Warhammer 40K: Kill Team  game looks to be a fun variation for fielding our Warhammer 40K miniatures.  Shadow Wars: Armageddon was headed in the right direction, in my opinion, but the rules weren't quite right.  I look forward to trying it out!  I know the 29th Zetic Tigers will make an appearance at some point.

Today, I'm putting up a bonus workbench post for August.  While I should be focused on completing my Grey Knight characters, I just couldn't help raiding the hobby shelves and bits boxes to build up a few Kill Teams based on my own various armies of the Imperium.  First off, I completed the Genestealer Cult and Adeptus Mechanicus kill teams from the boxed set, with add-ons...

Ad Mech with Infiltrator and a Ruststalker Princepts

GSC with Genestealers and  Metamorph Leader

I made a decision to base my kill teams on Sector Mechanicus bases for flavor.  For one thing, I really don't like 25mm bases after now getting used to 30mm. And my usual earthy basing just didn't fit the Kill Team boards.  I thought goign after resin bases might be just too over the top and I realized there were enough bases in the GW kit to do my teams and more.  So everyone gets themed bases...well, except the Dark Angels for now.

Finally found a use for left over sprues of Grey Knight strike teams.

Ad a box of Deathwatch Veterans laying about.  Oh wait, they were supposed to be converted up for the storm bolter kill team.  Ah well...

The Dark Angel Sergeant had his plasma pistol replaced with a bolt rifle. He's already on a themed base, so I haven't' decided whether to base this team to go with the rest of my Dark Angels, or put them on the Sector Mechanicus bases like the rest.  This is a pretty eclectic team as well, and I'm least confident that they will remain the same after playing a few games.

SO that's five teams completed over the weekend.  I enjoy the look and feel of the killzone boards; and they match up on the Imperial Sector sides for larger games.  I thought that was cool, so I picked up the Sector Mechanicus kill zone for the board and extra terrain.  Some variation to the game with the special rules for the killzone as well. The board is shown off with some of my primed terrain in the title pic above.

This will all be fun for games of Necromunda as well as Kill Zone, I think.

Ok; now it's time to get back to painting Grey Knight characters!  To be fair, I didn't abandon that project entirely.  Here's a shot of the base work getting done on the Brother Captain.  I'm also trying out a new GW model grip I picked up.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!