On the Workbench [May] - Marines and stuff...

 

Hello and welcome back! While puttering away on the Death Korps of Krieg heavy weapon squad, I have been assembling various other nice-to-haves for my 40K Dark Angels collection.  Here we have a Gladiator Valiant tank.

It was just a stock build with some Dark Angels bling added on, but will paint up nice. Next I added five more assault intercessors with jump packs to bring an initial squad of five to full strength.

Then out of the blue I chose to assembled the 'Corsair Voidscarred' kill team. You just never know when those evil Xenos are going to make an appearance...

All joking aside though, these are fantastic Aeldari models. Very characterful models, I thought.  I mounted mine on 32mm Sector Mechanicus bases I had in the bin.  Larger than the 25mm bases they come with, but more interesting (and stable) for kill team games.

Not done with the building itch, I also put together an Acastus Knight Porphyrion I picked up on eBay by mistake (I can't count apparently...). And then two Acastus Knights Asterius. The heat sinks (?!) are left off the weapons for future painting.

I have these knights in resin already in my Adeptus Titanicus collection.  However after some thought I felt it might be nice to have a couple for Legions Imperialis to support the Mechanicum. And of course that meant I needed some Cerastus Knights Atrapos.

The Questoris Knights box is still awaiting assembly to fill out the household. Though I haven't decided just what household that will be. It will likely be something other than House Taranis which I chose for my Adeptus Titanicus collection (not that I've put paint on any but a couple Questoris knights there yet...). It will be nice to have a different paint scheme to work on for the experience.

So anyway, that's what I've been working on from late April into May while not painting. I very much enjoy the process of snipping, cleaning and assembling the models - probably more than painting them if I'm being honest.  I'm definitely more deliberate these days as to what I assemble, but it's still hard to keep up. :)

For me, the goal is to hobby in general, not arrive at any specific set of painted miniatures.  Assembly for me is every bit as important as the painting, Maybe because I grew up with loads of unpainted green plastic army men?? At least I matured past lighting them on fire with loads of plastic cement and detonating them with firecrackers. The flamer dudes always got the upper hand in my games as a kid...
 

Cheers and Happy Gaming!!

Oh, So Many Knights - WIP

 

In my over abundance of enthusiasm for Adeptus Titanicus, I decided to complete assembly of some recent kits sitting on the shelf. The goal was to pull together a full family shot of what I have so far.  These knights represent my House Taranis force in support of my two Triumverate legios, Ignatum and Tempestus.  As Horus's betrayal unfolded, legios and knight houses found themselves divided on both sides, often based on which crusade fleets they were attached to at the time fo the heresy.

In my collection, Legio Tempestus may serve Horus in actions against Legio Ignatum.  Rather than collect and paint two separate knight households to support the two legios, I'm going to collect just one household, House Taranis.  House Taranis served on both sides of the Horus Heresy, such that those most loyal to the Mechanicum and the Emperor began to replace the traditional blue with Mechanicum red - the color use currently in the 41st millenium.  I will represent this by painting my collection in a mix of the traditional blue/white for those loyal to Horus and the newer red/white for those remaining loyal to the Imperium. 

Then during games where my Legios are in conflict, I'll use the red/white models with Legio Ignatum and the blue/white models with Legio Tempestus.  In a large game, why not use all of my collection as Loyalists?  I am purposefully NOT using any Horus iconography on my Legio Tempestus titans so I can use them to represent a battle group still loyal to the Imperium. My Legio Tempestus battlegroup has only recently turned to horus, or perhaps fights on not yet aware that Horus has turned traitor.

On deck to be built were a few recent Forgeworld resin kits.  These Questoris Knights Magaera were the first to get assembled. So cute at this scale! They are reasonably easy to assemble, but watch out for some delicate, fiddly bits.  Resin can be so brittle.

The next to build were the Questoris Knights Styrix, basically the same model as the Magaera with different arms.

These Cerastus Knights Atrapos were the last to be completed.  Now we're getting bigger, but still so cute next to the larger titans.  These were very easy to assemble, quite straight forward. And with these three kits built, I had nothing left in the to-do pile for Adeptus Titanicus knights. The final family shot is at the top of the post. 28 knights ready to serve either legio of the Triumverate in my collection, bound by ancient Martian oaths.

I won't get to painting these for a while yet.  I have one Warmaster, one Warlord, and two Warhounds ahead of them in the AT painting queue so far. But at least these knights are assembled and playable for my games - which I hope to have a few more of as the immediate risks of Covid wane.

So that's it for my adventure with tiny knights.  Next up, we'll return to Blackstone Fortress with an update on Janus Draik.

Stay safe out there.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

On the Workbench [September] - Warlord-Sinister Psi-Titan and Cerastus Knights

 

This month on the work bench I have a parcel of Cerastus knights completed.  I had a box of Knight-Lancers on the shelves to support Legio Ignatum.  Then the new four knight box was released with the missing two patterns, Knight-Acheron and Knight-Castigator.  So I found some time to get them all built and ready for priming the next time I fire up the compressor.  These knights are fun to build and it is truly amazing to me how they digitally shrink down the 28mm models to AT scale, maintaining ALL the detail.

The two Knight-Lancers and one each of the Knight Acheron and Knight-Castigator will go to support Legio Ignatum, while the remaining Acheron and Castigator go to support Legio Tempestus (I guess I should say Tempestor!).  With Tempestus being put more in the traitor camp in AT these days, I'll pick a new knight household that fought along side them in the campaigns with Horus.  I'll continue to paint the loyal knights as House Taranis to support Legio Ignatum.  I figure that will allow me to play them with loyal Tempestus when needed but still have a traitor house to play along side traitor Tempestor titans. 

This plan also allows me to bring in a new paint scheme to flex the hobby muscles on as well.

But you didn't come here to see knights.  The other accomplishment on the work bench this month is a new Warlord-Sinister Psi-Titan!

He looks a bit sad with his head rolling about on the workbench, but it's a cool model despite only having a few tweaks to the basic Warlord chassis. He's shown here with the default weapons, but everything is magnetized.  The new Sistramanus Tenebrae comes with the standard shoulder that the other Forge World weapons come with, including the same magnet socket.  This arm doesn't need to be magnetized since a Warlord-Sinister Psi-Titan is only allowed the Sistramanus Tenebrae for a left arm weapon (in fact it's known as the Left Hand of Darkness), but anything can change, so I advocate magnetizing everything when it comes to weapons.

The new Sistramanus Tenebrae

With the weapons magnetized, I can easily use the Psi-Titan to stand in as a normal Warlord when needed for a game, even if the paint scheme is unusual. :) It's always good to have options. And at the moment I have collected and built quite a collection.

All of the non-primed, non-painted weaponry was built last month or as part of this Warlord-Sinister build.  I've earmarked a few options for the Sinister's right arm and carapace, but the rest is claimed by either Legio Tempestus/or or Legio Ignatum.

Ciricrux Anima

Here's a closeup of the carapace add on for Psi-Titans.  This device focuses and channels the Titan's psychic might. And I love the new head with no "eyes".  This really carries the notion of the titan's crew using the warp to sense its enemies rather than relying on traditional sensors and ocular devices.

The base is a work in process.  Nothing is glued down at this point.  I started to arrange bits of cork only to be sure the titan would ultimately stand on it correctly. One thing about the warlord kit is the pose-ability of the legs.  I worked through whether this titan would be stomping on anything, climbing or descending terrain, etc. by using various bits of cork to prop up one leg or the other.  In the end, I settled on a simple striding pose, similar to the Legio Ignatum Warlord I completed for #MonsterMarch4 last year.

I'm working towards the sheer weight of the titan fracturing the Martian crust in some unstable area of the planet as it strides forward to punish the Emperor's enemies. Regardless, the legs are the most dynamic part of the model so its beneficial to look at how to bring some motion to the otherwise static looking war engine.

So, with that little build out of the way it is time to get back to painting.  I expect to leave this model for #MonsterMarch5, in 2021, sadly.  I am already committed to building and painting the HH DA Leviathan Dreadnought for DreadTober and I have the entire Indomitus marine set to paint up as Dark Angels by the end of 2020 (a side challenge with a buddy whom I gave the Necron half to).  So at this point I have just a couple weeks of September to do anything with, and I might be best served cracking on with the Dark Angels Primaris marines. If I finish early, I'll be in a better position than if I'm late in December with the holidays trying to get things wrapped up.

But no worries.  This mighty Psi-Titan will get painted this season, along with the Reaver and two Warhounds I have built for Legio Ignatum. In fact, I'd like to hit the Reaver in January so we'll see. Everything turns on how quickly I can paint up the 23 Indomitus marines.  Doesn't sound like much, but with a good half of them characters or character class models, I want to put the time in to do a good job.  This won't be a speed painting competition.  This will be the start to my new Dark Angels force and I want it to look good! I've chosen to put aside further progress on the classic marines to go all in on the Primaris models.  This comes as a complete turnaround to my prior stance, but the fluff moves on and so will I.

 

In closing, the titans and knights are stowed and the work bench is clean for now until I set to building the First Legion Leviathan in DreadTober. Next up, we'll be back to painting.  Most liekly it'll be Dark Angels Primaris marines.  I have a lonely squad of Hellblasters waiting for some brothers to battle with...

Stay safe out there.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Jewel of July: House Taranis Cerastus Knight-Castigator - week 4 - TO DONE

Welcome to week four of the Jewel of July challenge.  As expected, I was able to finish off the Cerastus Knight-Castigator.  It stands proud, leading my growing collection of House Taranis knights.  I have five more built and primed waiting forlornly for more paint.  For now, I'll be content to put the big seal o' DONE on this model.

After applying a good coat of lacquer to the whole model, I brushed on some weathering powders soaked in pigment fixer. When that was dry, I dropped a little water effects in the deepest craters and holes on the base.  I don't use water effects much, so I decided this base offered a good opportunity to give 'em a go.

Otherwise, the decals were finished and additional highlights added prior to the coat of lacquer going on.  Here is how the Knight-Castigator turned out.  I'm pleased with the result.  I do favor a cleaner look than some, but I think the knight still stands tall and proud regardless of its lack of weathering and battle damage.

Ready to bring the Omnissiah's Justice to Heretic and Xenos alike.

The big guns never tire...

A good shot of the 10 - 20 seconds of ammo available for the bullet hose.

Crackling power sword ready to cleave something in two...

Our Baron seated in his comfy chair, watching the battle play out on thrice blessed displays.

So that puts and end to the Jewel of July challenge for me.  I hope everyone isn't now burnt out on Knight-Castigator WIP picks.  Moving on, I'll start painting Dark Angels - either 30k or some new 40k Primaris.  I'm torn as I have the backlog of 30K models built, primed and ready - but I also got my Indomitus box and so have some really great new 40k Primaris to paint in Dark Angels livery.

I also have two Legio Ignatum Warhound Titans for Adeptus Titanicus waiting for some paint.  I do love painting tiny titans.

You'll have to check back next week to see what I move forward, I'm afraid.

Stay safe out there.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Jewel of July: House Taranis Cerastus Knight-Castigator WIP - week 3

Hello, and welcome to week three of my Jewel of July project, a Cerastus Knight-Castigator for House Taranis.  During week three, I recognized that I needed to stop stalling and paint in the white stripes on the carapace that would designate this knight as being piloted by a House Taranis baron. This process involved masking out the stripes, painting them with white scar using an airbrush, adding a coat of lacquer, adding the panel shading to match the rest of the carapace (I should have done the stripes before all the shading), then cleaning things up.

I added the red highlights and some steel edge highlights on the armor panels.  I need to make another pass at highlights, but things are coming along. I painted in the Mechanicum symbol and added color to the "skylight" on the top hatch.  Then it was time for decals...

I'm going to do more on the Baron's banner.  He needs lots of accolades and what not for his long years of service. But things are coming along.  Also - I don't know why I used the steels trim on the banner.  It has to go.  I think I'll use black, the same as the back of the banner to go along with the black/white House Taranis motif.

Typical top down shot to see what the Knight looks like with it's iconography.  I'm going to add some little Mechanicum techie symbols to jazz things up a bit.

I added a House Taranis icon on the ammo loader for a bit of interest from this side of the model and break up the large flat red panel.

All assembled and standing proudly on its base.  I have all the major iconography applied.  I'm going back in with another pass to fill out the banner and add some interesting little bits.  These large Mechanicum models are gran for decals and adding lots of interesting images.

I'll definitely get this model done for the challenge.  Having made great progress early on, I have slowed down a bit to work on some other side projects (like assembling the AT Warhounds).  It helps to avoid burnout when working on large models.

I hoep everyone's summer is going well.  Stay safe out there.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Jewel of July: House Taranis Cerastus Knight-Castigator WIP - week 2

Welcome to Jewel of July week two.  Since last week, I put some time into the Castigator's eyes (seen above) and attached the rest of the armor to the chest and shoulders.  He's now fully assembled, though the waist has not been glued yet to make it easier to paint.

Taking a break from painting the Knight, I spent some time with the base this week. I'm following the paint recipe for House Taranis so this base will compliment the Knight Paladin and the two Armigers I've already painted for House Taranis.  In the pic above, the washes are still drying.  I like to apply washes for the base as a wet blend like this to prevent a splotchy outcome. With the two GW greens merging with the Agrax I get a range of shades when things are all dry that make the surface of the ground look a bit more interesting.

Above, the washes are dry and I have applied a heavy dry brush over the whole base,  The sand bags were painted using a supper heavy dry brushing.   The barrel was painted liberally all over with GW Typhus Corrosion and then dabbed with the GW Ryza Rust while the Typhus was still wet.  A used a little GW Nihilakh Oxide on the shells. Vallejo Brass picks out the name plaque nicely. 

As noted, the pilot for this Knight is Baron Harkon and the knight has been named Gladius Martis (Sword of Mars)...cause big sword, right? :)  I find it best not to over think this stuff.  As I worked on the base, I thought it would be fun to continue what I started with the Knight Paladin and use some bits from the Death Korps of Krieg as a nod to 262Krieg.  I painted up a melta gun and a couple mines and glued them down.  

Here is how things will look with the knight standing on the base.Simple, so as not to detract from the knight itself, but still interesting enough to tell a short story of its own, I hope.

So that is where I have gotten to by the end of week two of Jewel of July; well on my way to completion.  I'll get some decals and highlighting on this beast and then we'll see where we are at.

Stay safe out there.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Jewel of July: House Taranis Cerastus Knight-Castigator WIP - week 1b

As I sail through week one of the Jewel of July painting challenge, I'm making great progress on the Knight-Castigator.  Washes are down, and even some highlights have gone onto the legs (dry-brushing). The legs are fully assembled now, with armor plates and banner attached.

I decided to take a break from the mundane and put some work into the sword last night.  I took inspiration from the old Duncan GW method for Custodes power weapons and combined it with an approach from Spikey Bits, though using standard brushes and not air brushing the crackling energy. 

The body details are almost done.  I have to complete the work on the chest cabling so I can attach the armor. Some bits can be seen in the pic below.  Apparently, I didn't capture any images that illustrate the bony details any better.

The Castigator bolt cannon is coming along well. What a bullet hose that thing looks like. Yikes. Here is the bucket of bullets.  Seems like about 30 - 45 seconds worth of ammo for that cannon unless it has a seriously slow rate of fire...

So as week one of the Jewel of July passes on, we're looking in a great position to complete this model during the challenge.  Which means I'll have to look for the next thing to complete, since the challenge is about completing projects. Heh, but I shouldn't get ahead of myself.  There is a lot of work yet to do, including the untouched base.

Best of luck for all the other challenges out there. Stay safe.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Jewel of July: House Taranis Cerastus Knight-Castigator WIP - week 1

Greetings.  This week I kick off a new community challenge Jewel of July with a Cerastus Knight-Castigator, painted in the livery of House Taranis. I bought this model a couple years back and finally built is last year.  It has since sat waiting for a paint job (although I had at least painted it's interior before setting it aside). So this model was a good pick for a challenge on completing projects.

I started out air brushing the panels and main skeleton of the Castigator according to my House Taranis paint recipe (see recipe tabs above). The one change I made was using ScaleColor  Black Metal (SC-63) for the skeleton instead of starting with a steel dry brush over the primer.  This brightens the model a bit, but still offers a nice contrast to the chrome and steel accents that follow. I started using the black Metal with the Adeptus Titanicus Titans and I like it a lot.

After masking and air brushing the various colors, I got started on the legs.  Vallejo Chrome was used on the piston shafts and Vallejo Steel was used on the armor panel trim.  Vallejo Dark Rubber was applied to the flexible joints where the legs join the hips. All of this will be shaded soon and that will help things look more defined.

We're only six days in, but there has been solid progress so far. I hope this will be a fierce looking knight to lead my House Taranis force.

Not much to see from the back yet, but still a good illustration of all the great detail on this model.

I plan to leave the carapace loose (probably magnetized) so I can get in to see the great detail on the optional pilot cockpit kit that I added when building the model. As I recall, this was available separately from Forge World.  Not sure if it is an option anymore, but I felt it was well worth the extra money at the time

.

The pilot is keeping tabs on the fight, tracking both allied and enemy engines. I pre-painted the cockpit before assembly and so had a jump start on that bit of painting going into this challenge.

That's where I'm at so far.  Check back towards the end of the week for more progress. I'm trying to keep up my regular two-post-per-week cadence, but I'll fill in a post or two on other projects no doubt as the month moves on.

Best wishes for all of the other Jewel of July challengers out there.

Stay safe.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!