Tale of 40k Gamers - Ryan #2

So I had fun Tuesday night remembering what it was like to clip lots of plastic from sprues then tidy up the mold lines.

I hate filing off mold lines

Compared with dealing with the starter kit in which every model is about 4 pieces total - much easier!

Heroes, big cannon and dread arms

Then last night spent some time getting bases ready with magnets (I like to move my stuff around on metal trays), and preparing for next step.

Pledge starting to come together

Now I have assembled 10 Tactical Marines - 5 from the previous standard tactical kit (top photo), a few recycles, and a few from the dark vengeance kit. Armaments include a plasma cannon, plasma gun, plasma pistol sergeant (sensing a theme here?) and boltguns. The sergeant got a wristorectomy and now has the option of chainsword or power sword with some 3mm magnets. Finally I felt like I needed a 2IC in case of combat squadding, so I repurposed a black reach sergeant and gave him a bolt gun instead of a chainsword.

Alongside them is a venerable dreadnought and all his arms (now with magnetised base), and a sweet sweet terminator captain/company master from the dark vengeance kit. Not a big fan of his base kit so thinking he may get a shield or a hammer somewhere along the line but for now I don't have the bits to make this happen.

On to painting next!

Painting - Finished Dark Angel Deathwing Land Raider Crusader

This afternoon I put the final touches on the Deathwing Land Raider Crusader. 

The recipient of the tank is very happy with the final product and there has already been talk of a second one to join it, though that can wait until after I get a couple things done for myself.  For now this gets packed up safely along with a techmarine and some L&P chocolate for swift transit across the Tasman to Sydney.

The next project on the painting station is a kitbashed Mortis Engine for my Vampire Counts army to join the official one I already have.

Painting - WIP DA Deathwing Land Raider Crusader

I haven't posted any painting updates in a while but that doesn't mean I haven't been putting paint on plastic.  In between work, gaming, husbandly duties, helping with my Sister's Wedding and a lot of distracting GTA V I have been working on this Land Raider for a good mate.

My friend wanted a Deathwing Land Raider Crusader with some chapter images on it.  So after applying the base coat - thank you army painter spray range - and going around all the rivets and line work with agrax earthshade, then looking at it for a couple weeks I got to work on the freehand.  I used the Company and Sacred standards from the Codex as a basis.  I worked up the Chapter Banner image on the left and the Fortitude image on the right with a partial Deathwing Standard image on the front.

After those images were sorted I felt the need to restrict myself less.  After skimming over the previous and current codices I found a couple images of Imperial cherubs I liked and began painting them in a more relaxed manner as if I was painting on paper or a canvas.  This is the part of freehand work I like the most, not having to worry if it lines up right or is in the right ratio. Its just getting a hopefully cool looking image on the miniature.  Luckily I sent my mate a pic of the images at an earlier stage and he loved it. 

Next I painted very thin lines with thinned Scorch Brown then used Pallid Wych flesh to give an edge to these painted cracks and fracture points.  Seeing as the top right felt a little bit empty I then painted the traditional Dark Angel robed figure in the space.

I have now just started some weathering on the hull and some real work on the weapons.  Some careful sponging of Scorched Brown on the hull edges is all I have managed so far but I intend to add some streaks from the rivets with weathering powders and scorch marks around vents and the engine.  This is all between heists with Franklin, Michael and Trevor of course.

Painting - Horus Heresy WIP & Dark Angel Terminator

So I'm working on not one Horus Heresy force for Tale of X Gamers but two!

With my own Mark IV Raven Guard in the works I also have Cody's Mark III Ultramarines on the painting tray.

First off my Raven Guard have had a base of Adeptus battlegrey with 3 washes of Nuln Oil to create a dull matt black finish. Highlighting, battle damage and some weathering have followed with a freehand Legion symbol to finish the painting off. The Raven Guard will all be based on the Secret Weapon line of blasted wetlands bases, suits the image in my head of the Raven Guard on the run from the Traitor Legions.

Cody saw a marine I painted in the new Thunderhawk blue and liked that it was a little different from the standard look of the Ultramarines. I have yet to add Legion symbols and unit markings but this is a good example of what the initial unit should look like, not all will have the gold face plated though. The gold is from a balthasar gold base, layered with auric gold then washes and highlighting to final effect. Cody has some Urban ruin bases coming so his forces will be scouring the ruins of Calth and other Ultramar worlds fighting Word Bearers and World Eater forces.

Finally I have finished a Terminator from Dark Vengeance, I really like these models and the new Dark Angel codex so once the Horus Heresy units are complete I'll do some more work on them. Not being a fan of the traditional dark green or bone white I took inspiration from the cover of the HH book Fallen Angels. The battered metal look with worn gold trim and personal script will be the look for this force. Also a neutral enough scheme if I want to mix and match with the Blood Angel codex giving me options for the Angelic marine army. This Terminator is on a Secret Weapon ruined temple base.

I'll post more pictures once the units are complete

Black Marines and Dark Marines?

With a busy Christmas over workwise and my wife having taken over use of the xbox and the new games 'we' got, its time to get focused back on some hobby projects.

I received my little box o goodness from Forge World today containing the 10 sets of mark IV armour and a pack of Umbra pattern bolters. Now these are of course for the Horus Heresy project and should be destined to be Raven Guard in the process of having the crap kicked out of them by Traitor forces, who I might add seem all the rage with other participants of the project... poor outnumbered loyalists...

Well in addition to this we have the new Dark Angel codex being released in less than a fortnight and fingers crossed, it has some competitive punch from Mr Skaven/Ogre Kingdom Vetock. Now I know some other vocal NZ gamers do not like the new DA range but I frakkin love it. The look is similar to what I was working towards with Cody's Grey Knights with personal heraldry and extra details on the armour. The new DA kits can take this to another level of gothic 'space knight' imagery.

I have the very nice DA models from Dark Vengeance and have used them in the narrative campaign but now I have some little choices to make. I would have prefered to paint the Dark Angels in a preheresy colour scheme as I dont like the traditional dark green at all. However as I was going to play Raven Guard for 30k I dont want to be working on 2 black marine armies. Looking at successor chapters I like the Guardians of the Convenant the most, however I will darken the metal armour considerably similar the Grey Knights I have already worked on.

So do I paint my DA as Guardians of the Convenant and stay with ninja Raven Guard for Horus Heresy or roll it all into one and have a combined pre heresy Dark Angel force good for both systems? I do think they can both function fine as seperate armies and the Raven Guard can always be a vanilla marine army for 40k.