On the Workbench [September] - Scatter Terrain and Objectives

Taking a break from painting projects, I took some time to relax and knock out some more scatter terrain and objectives that could be used in 40K, Necromunda, or Kill team.  There is something satisfying in putting together these little piles of equipment.

I had collected the bits for these pallets and other gear some time ago and had them waiting in a bin for quite some time.  It felt great to get them out and build them into something useful at last.  I put together three pieces; one large one staged on an unused Imperial Knight base, and two more on 60mm dreadnought bases.

And the last piece...

These pieces will get a coat of primer then head onto the painting queue.  I'm in no rush to get them painted.  I use pieces like this when I need a break from other projects.  Pain tin small terrain like this is a different experience from painting characters, squads and other minis.  It allows me to continue to put work in my fundamental skills while also relaxing and taking it easy.

Next up on the workbench will be some shots of my assembled Kill Team terrain.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

2018/19 Hobby Season To-Do List

Image Courtesy of www.40kaddict.uk

It is time to join the 2018/19 Hobby Season with 40kaddict.  This is the second season I've formally taken part in and I'm looking forward to earning my stamps!

[UPDATED: 09/06/2018]

My To Do List for the 2018/19 season:

Adeptus Custodes

• Captain-General Trajann Valoris
• Shield Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike
• Custodian Guard with Halberd (1 more model)
• Custodian Wardens (9 total, 1 w/Vexilla)
• Allarus Custodian Shield Captain
• Allarus Custodians (5 total, 1 w/Vexilla)
• Vertus Praetors (3)

Adeptus Mechanicus

• Kill Team

Dark Angels

• Dark Angels Kill Team

Deathwatch

• Deathwatch Kill Team
• 10 veterans w/storm bolters
• 10 model primaris kill team 1
• 10 model primaris kill team 2
• 10 veterans
• 2 terminators
• 5 vanguard veterans
• 3 bikes
• 2 transports

Genestealer Cult

• Kill Team

Grey Knights

• Grey Knight Kill Team
• 10 model Strike squad
• 10 model Terminator squad
• 5 model Purifier squad
• 5 model Interceptor squad
• 2 Dreadknights
• 2 transports

Heretic Astartes (?!)

• Kill Team "The Fallen"
• Chaos models from Execution Force boxed game (primed)

House Taranis

• Armiger Helverins (2)
• Questoris Knight Paladin
• Questoris Knight Warden
• Questoris Knight Gallant
• Questoris Knight Crusader
• Cerastus Knight Castigator
• Join Titan Owner's Club with a completed banner

Imperial Guard

• Complete Death Korps of Krieg Baneblade

Terrain

• Kill Team Sector Mechanicus terrain
• Kill Team Sector Imperialis terrain

Items in italics are given priority.  Bonus items listed below are reserved for those distractions that may get completed despite the list. 

Bonus!

• Titanicus Warlord Titan
• Titanicus Reavers Titans
• Titanicus Warhound Titans
• Assassins (primed)

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

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!