#MonsterMarch7 - Week 3

 It's the little things...Greetings and welcome back!  This post completes week three of #MonsterMarch7 for me.  I say the little things, because it may not seem like I did much work of the past week compared to what I shared for week two progress. In truth, much work has been done to the display base.

The base is almost entirely done...if such a piece is ever truly done.  I could go on enhancing things for an age it seems.  There's is quite a bit going on.  During the week I highlighted all of the blue armor as well as the red icons. The last marine standing had his pistol finally painted and a host of other bits were addressed all over the base. Oh, and of course the bare head of the fallen marine at The Lion's feet.

There is A LOT of flayed flesh which was also painted through the final layers from highlights to shading, to additional highlights, to pin washes on the sewn bits. I chose a darker, "fresher" look, I guess.  Not sure if I'll lighten it up more before I'm done.  Some days I like it as is, others I don't.  Isn't that the way sometimes?

I'll spend the final week completing The Lion.  I sorta got too involved in the base, but I am really enjoying the results so it seems worth it. The Lion needs highlights and some other bits and bobs, but thankfully he's pretty far along.  I shouldn't have too much stress trying to finish at this point.  Oh - I am not so sure I'll get to the bare head...we'll see if I can leave a session or two towards the end of the week for that.

For now, here's a quick post (I almost forgot to post entirely this week!), and I'll get back to the brushes.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

#MonsterMarch7 - Week 2

 

Greetings and welcome back. Today I'm sharing progress from week two of my #MonsterMarch7 project.  I completed enough details on The Lion to assemble the remaining parts that I had left detached for painting.

That's the pistol hidden on his left side. It appears to be a fancy plasma pistol, so I painted it up as one. With the model assembled, I decided there was enough happening with the base that I better get started on it and not leave it for the final week as I would typically do with a base.  The base here is really a standalone model/diorama in its own right with TONS going on.

I made up a Night Lords paint scheme using Proacryl colors from Monument Hobbies, following the Forge World studio paint job. I think it works!  I have yet to paint on some lightning, so look for that in week three.

Lots of skin and some gory bits to paint, including a head with the top half sliced off.  I looked up real brain images on google (?!) and used that as a sort of reference here. Also a severed leg stump in the first base photo above. ick.  But a fun challenge none-the-less.

I haven't attached this fellow yet, but he also got paint as I worked on the base.  I wanted to be sure I was being consistent with both colors and techniques.  These poor Night Lords are pocked all over from various types of projectiles and energy beams.  I only put blood/flesh at the bottom of the craters that appeared to be penetrating wounds.  This fellow has a lot of close calls, but that arm doesn't look good.

I've only started on the flesh draped about the armor of these traitors. Some highlighting and such will hopefully leave things looking a little less plastic and tarp-like.

This little bit connects the I Legion Primarch to the display base, hiding the rim of the gaming base and tying the whole diorama together.  It fits tightly enough that I have painted it and can use it to assemble the model when displayed int he cabinet.  Some crafty magnet work would have made it all more stable, but it fits snugly enough that the whole assembly can be moved around with a little care.

And here are all the pieces disassembled in one place. That's a fair amount of progress in a week so I'm quite pleased with how things went. Off screen is The Lion's bare head still primed and otherwise untouched.  I'll probably leave that for the final week as a fun exercise.  It seems to me I'll have this project otherwise completed by the end of week three. Both The Lion and the display base pieces have more work to be done, despite their current totally table ready appearance - but its very close!

Here's a shout out to the whole field of MonsterMarchers out there...best of luck with your projects!! Click the link to see how all of the great projects are going.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

#MonsterMarch7 - Week 1

 

As I come out of the first week of #MonsterMarch7, The Lion is starting to take shape. Many of the base colors have been applied and even some shading in spots.  I'm taking my time with the project and despite that things are moving along well.  I have a very detail base full of dead and dying Night Lords to paint so I can't dawdle too much here.

I'm painting several of the parts off the model so I can get to everything and do a good job.  The cape is mostly complete.  I'll look at more highlights once it's attached and I can get a look at the whole model assembled.

The backpack needs highlighting, but that also may wait for assembly.  not need to highlight the hidden bits that aren't catching the light anyway!

The Iron Halo is roughed in and has had some shading, though that is washed out in the pic.

This bit of critter paw needed to be painted off the model.  The whole cape/backpack/paw business is a bit fussy.  I hope to be able to get everything fit right in the end. It's not trivial to get all the pieces to fit right as they largely interlock in a specific way. If once piece doesn't sit right, the whole assembly looks off.

Ah the proud helm.  This pic was taken before the eye lenses were painted in. I still have the non-helmeted head to pain yet. Below, we have all the pieces together in one photo.  Solid progress so far!

I'm keeping largely to the Forge World studio art using the paint recipe for the rest of my First Legion force.  Well...That's not entirely true as I've switched to Proacryl exclusively here. I need to update the recipe page with the (mostly) compatible colors. But the intent is to clearly match the rest of the painted models I have in the collection.

More progress next week and I'll hopefully have everything assembled and highlights well under way.  I have more metal trim and a few other bits and bobs to get through before reaching that point however.

Check out Path of an Outcast to see more terrific MonsterMarch projects.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

#MonsterMarch7 - the pledge

 

Welcome to March....which means #MonsterMarch7! This year I will paint a monster from the Horus Heresy which took place 10,000 before the events of Warhammer 40,000.

Lion El'Jonson was the primarch of the First Legion, the Emperor's Dark Angels. After the events on Terra that cast the primarchs into the warp and scattered them across the galaxy, the Lion was found on the planet Caliban and given the First legion to command.

The Forge World model is simply loaded with details and will make a truly ambition project for MonsterMarch. The Lion can be removed from the display base for gaming purposes. So this is going to be like two painting projects in one.  It is difficult to make out all the details in the picture above, but the Lion stands over many fallen Night Lord space marines, with one about to shoot him with a volkite charger.

So if you are interested in following the fun, check back periodically throughout the month of March to see the progress. For more on MonsterMarch, do check out Path of an Outcast where there will be posts showcasing the work of all participants.  It should be a great month of hobby!

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Squaduary 2023 - TO DONE

 

Greetings and welcome back.  Squaduary 2023 has come to and end for me.  I ran it right up to the final hour posting completed pics to Instagram at around 23:45, EST. I'm pretty happy with the results and I think I'm primed and ready for #MonsterMarch7, where I'll tackle The Lion at long last. For now I'll take a breath and celebrate another completion for this hobby season and the Squaduary tradition.

After the break I have a few close ups of the knights.  It was late when I took the photos and a few were blurry where I rushed, so I'll have to take new ones at some point. These were very fun to paint and look great on the table.  It's a fun themed unit for the Dark Angels and I look forward to fielding them one day.

As always, thanks for following the journey and I hope my Lion work for #MonsterMarch7 doesn't disappoint. The primarchs of the Horus Heresy were indeed monsters of their age...

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Squaduary 2023 - Week 3 Status

 

More progress on the knights! February is rapidly running out but I made good progress over the past week.  The knights are starting to come alive now.  There is just SO much going on here. As can be seen in the pics, I have painted enough to attach the capes and tilting shields.  I have one more piece to attach to the squad leader, once his face is completed.

The plasma weapons got the blue coils effect.  It's a fun spot color on these otherwise black/red/white/silver models.

The capes attached well and look good.  highlights and additional details will come as I work over the whole models in the reaming time I have for the challenge. 

The blade hilts got 'blinged' up with some gems. The blades themselves got a simple dark blue wash.  I'll probably do something else there with highlights. But man, those black bases!  I've gotta leave time to paint those up.  I think I can pull everything in by the end of the 28th - but it will be a close run thing.  For only five models, there is a ton to paint here.  I hope to breath more life into the project with highlights as we're a bit drab here right now.

The final posts and pics will be up next week after the Squaduary challenge expires.  I hope to have some great light box pics of these fellow completed!

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Squaduary 2023 - Week 2 Status

 

And so the Inner Circle Knights Cenobium continue on a piece. Soooo much detail to cover.  I managed during week two to get all five knights to the sample place in terms of what is painted and what is not. I'm sort of batch painting, sort of not and it's making things difficult to keep track of.  But the models are coming along great, so there is that.

At this point, I am only blocking in base colors.  No shading or highlighting has been done, with the exception of the hoods and tabbards. I  shaded those when I shaded the cloaks (which are still waiting their time to get attached). So we don't have much contrast here which hides much of the detail.

I'll be away from the painting table for a few days of vacation, so week three will be short hobby-wise. I'm going to have to make quite a push to finish by the end of the month.

I have four swords and a bunch of little details like keys, books, rivets, and such to go before I lay down the shade.  Hopefully that fits into week three.  Week four is reserved for the bases and highlighting. Like I said, it's going to be a close run thing. sometimes projects are like that though, and it's OK. No lives are on the line here. 😁

Also posting a shout out to Siph at WeeMen who is painting up some more Relictors for a Squaduary challenge.

Hope to see you back here in a week.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Squaduary 2023 - Week 1 Status

 

Greetings, and welcome back for some Squaduary progress. These knights have tons of detail and it's going to take me the whole month to get them done properly, no doubt. I'm off to a slow start as it is, but progress is being made.

I started off with the cloaks.  The are ready to attach to the models now, once I get the bodies painted.  Pretty straight forward approach here to get started. Once the models are fully assembled, I may come back to adjust shading and highlights.  I didn't shoot pics of the underside, but it's a typical light bone/ivory shaded with the same mix of Agrax and glaze medium that I used on the outside of the cloaks.  I've started using a custom glaze medium (similar to GW lahmian medium) to thin Nuln oil and Agrax lately.  I feel the results easier to control and I end up less coffee staining, or just general 'muddying' of things. On these cloaks, I used glaze medium to thin Pro Acryl Bold Pyrrole Red then applied it in several layers concentrating most layers on the high points of the folds, and the least in the shadowy valleys.

After I got the cloaks to a good point, I started on the bodies. The model on the lower right is the title pic for this post and the most complete.  I'm batch painting, but occasionally I get into a groove and take off with one particular model rather that maintaining the batch.  In this case, I think I wanted to see where the colors I chose were going to take me before painting it on everything.  I'm using mostly Pro Acryl paints here which is not the original paint recipe.  Since these are elite warriors, it shouldn't look off if their colors don't match the rank and file exactly. But to be honest, I don't think they will stand out much at all as different from the rest of the collection. The Pro Acryl colors are matching up well. 

Lots left to do, but these Inner Circle Knights Cenobium are beginning to take shape. To see another Squaduary project in action check out weemen.blogspot.com. Until next week...

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the Workbench [January] - Custodes and a Primarch!

 

I forgot to post this prior to my Squaduary pledge, so we're in February now...but rest assured, these models were on the work bench in January!  A simple squad of five Adeptus/Legio Custodes warriors with Pyrithite Spears, they may get broken up and sprinkled about other Legio Custodes squads in games of Horus Heresy, Age of Darkness where individual Custodian guard models may take different weapons. I almost made this my Squaduary 2023 project, but i really need to keep going on the 1st Legion.

I had a couple nights left before February officially got under way, so I needed a filler project.  Why not build The Lion?!  It's about time I added the Primarch to my growing First Legion (Dark Angels) collection.

The helmeted and non-helmeted heads were both cool enough that I chose to magnetize them for an easy swap.  I like the helmeted head the most, but I wanted to try my hand at painting The Lion's noggin as well.

I went a little big on the magnets for a strong attraction (don't want the Lord to lose 'is 'ead, right?!), and lost a little bit of neck seal detail.  However, it doesn't show once in place.

And he looks regal as always with his helmet off. Though I think the helmeted head ends up sitting better on his shoulders after the magnet treatment.

So back on the shelf go those models until some future time when the muse strikes. Time to get on with the Inner Circle Knights Cenobium and my personal Squaduary 2023 challenge!

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Squaduary 2023 - the Pledge!

 

Greetings, and welcome to Squaduary 2023.  The inspiration comes from a community challenge that is no longer running.  However, I have valued the opportunity to put a stake in the ground and say with certainty that at least ONE squad from my collection will be painted each year. 😆 So it is that I have continued to challenge myself to paint a squad of some sort each February.

This year, I'll paint up these five Inner Circle Knights Cenobium from Forge World for the Horus Heresy Age of Darkness game.  They are a specialized, terminator armored elite choice for the Dark Angels legion. I primed these guys shortly after receiving them in the mail, then sat on the project for a bit...maybe a year or more?  yikes...

I did start to base coat the cloaks and symbols before moving on like the hobby butterfly I am. But that still leaves me most of the work to do which qualifies for my loose set of personal rules for the challenge. So that's what we'll have on the painting table for February. I hope the shift away from tiny planes is a pleasant change. If I do well with these and get my 28mm painting mojo back, then I might just tackle this before the winter is done...

 

Cheers and Happy Squaduary!

Aeronautica Imperialis Wrath of Angels Planes - To DONE

 

Greetings and welcome back.  Today, I'm sharing the completion of the 11 planes from the Aeronautica Imperialis Wrath of Angels box set.  There are six Asuryani aircraft (red) and five Adeptus Astartes aircraft (green/black) in the set.  These models are great fun to paint, although the build detail causes some gamers to pause.  For game pieces, these offer a hobby challenge that can't be avoided prior to the game.

So, another big ol' stamp of DONE for this project.  I'm psyched to have completed all three Aeronautica Imperialis box sets. Regular visitors will know that I stray about from game-to-game, faction-to-faction, project-to-project within the 40k universe and rarely complete and entire collection of anything.  Instead I steadily build on my collections over time without much regard to specific completions unless there is cause.  In this case, I have a group of friend interested in the game, so I was motivated to kick out some planes in short order - fortunately they are comparatively easy to paint vs some other project I take on (like tiny titans...).

I shared completed pics of the Asuryani aircraft already, so here are the completed Adeptus Astartes aircraft from the set. They are from the Dark Angels chapter and represent Storm Eagles from the 5th Company and Xiphon interceptors from the 2nd Company (Ravenwing).

With the Storm Eagles, the company badge is on the left nose section and the aircraft number is on the right.  It would be fun to get more detailed with squadron numbers et. al.  However, I chose to keep things simple for these game pieces.  The Dark Angels chapter symbol is proudly displayed on the side doors.

Here's a couple front and rear shots for the details.  Click through the smaller images above to get to the full size pics.

The Ravenwing Xiphon Interceptors bear the company badge on the wings and the chapter symbol on the left side of the tail to coincide with the same placement of that badge on the marines' left shoulder pads.  The right side of the tail bears the vehicle number similar to the Storm Eagles.

More front and rear shots for those who like to get a look at all the details.  And of course, everything sits safe and snug in the box using Battle Foam's excellent custom trays. Since I choose to glue in my flight stems to the base for stability and ease of game play, I buy the foam trays that accommodate that.  I can't say enough good things about the Battle Foam insert trays.  It's great to repurpose the game boxes while keeping the painted miniatures from getting wrecked.

That's all I have to show for this project; completed on time so that I may now move into Squaduary where I'll work on a....squad!  I'm really torn between sticking with Aeronautica Imperials, so I can paint another SQUADron, or returning to the Age of Darkness to paint a SQUAD of first legion Dark Angels.  Either way, there is plenty to paint.  I've probably begun boring my followers to tears with tiny planes, so I'm leaning towards more marines.  Leave a comment if you have a preference!

As always, best of luck with your own projects.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!