Painting - Werebear

This Werebear and human form are from Mierce Miniatures.  I got them as part of a Kickstarter a couple years ago and since passed them on.

The new owner Adam intends it for Mordheim and affiliated to Kislev.

He chose the polar bear look, so I went for an assortment of colours to contrast with the fur without being too harsh.

The Werebear is mounted on a 40mm sculpted base, so you can get a idea of its size.  Below is the big chap in his human form which I colour matched to match.  Based on a 25mm base with freehand stonework.

 Now back to the Knight.

Painting - WIP 40k Imperial Knight - torso

Over the weekend I made more progress on my Ultramarine affiliated Imperial Knight(any suggestions for appropriate names?).

After finishing the main carapace I started in the torso.  Washes of Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade were applied to engine parts and the superstructure.  I painted some of the machine housing, cowling, faceplate and shield in the same thunderhawk blue and weathered to match the top.

The exhaust vents and heat sinks were painted in balthazar gold then retributor gold.  Washes for oil streaks were added and small touches of verdigris.

I will have to remedy the mold line on the back of main exhaust :/

For the house shield, after looking through a few relevant books then shuffling through many unused transfer sheets I went with a mechanicum cog and an Ultramarine symbol which perfectly fit.  I sent Jake and Ryan some pictures and Jake from boyopaints suggested toning down the bold white if the transfers.  I carefully painted over them in gold, pallid flesh then white and it does fit in better with the freehand.  I then finished it off with the marbling effect and weathering.

Painting - WIP ok it's an Imperial Knight

Following up on last nights shoulder guard I applied some weathering to the main carapace armour.  This has been a clean thunderhawk blue to a balthazar gold trim.  It had looked to factory new for my liking so I added layers of Retributor gold and washes to the armour trim.

I added a combination of weathering powders, washes and sponge chipping to the main blue sections.  After seeing how the shoulder had turned out I needed to do more.  I flipped through FW Horus Heresy V, looking at the Ultramarine Honour Guard and roughly replicated an eagle from there.

First a rough layout in brown, then a neater layer in gold.

After this I layered Pallid Wych Flesh, White and some fine black linework.  I then re-weathered some of the recesses.

Looking at the Honour Guard's Shields, they are depicted as marble so taking inspiration I painted a few fine lines with Incubi Darkness then edged them with Fenris Grey to give the impression of a little depth.

Carapace complete!

Painting - a little WIP

I have other things on my painting table at the moment.  A were bear and it's human warrior form, a Sorcerer of Tzeentch and a deviant beast Ryan acquired.  But tonight I thought I'd try something I had in mind hobby wise.

I painted a medium brown base coat then applied Agrellan Earth to the main surface of the shoulder guard.  Once dry and the cracks had formed I carefully drybrushed Pallid Wych Flesh then began some freehand work.

I painted the pattern along the bottom of the guard then in layers of brown and gold painted the laurel.  The gold blended in with the trim too much so I added a layer of white.  Using the same techniques I did half the Ultramarine symbol and numeral for their Legion.  Some fine black lines were added to better outline the freehand.

Then I painting the half Aquila.  I shaded the retributor gold on the trim with black and green washes and started the scratches on the edges.  There is no hurry to have this done in its entirety so it might be a case of working on sections between the miniatures for other people.  Anyway I hope you like what you see so far.

40K Daemons of Chaos - Dark Mechanicus Exalted Flamer #2

The second Dark Mechanicus Exalted Flamer is complete.

This fine fellow was built mainly from the Chaos Spawn kit with a Crypt Horror head and a massive Ork Mek Flamer.

I painted it using the same techniques as the previous one.  It involves a lot of Pallid wych Flesh, washes, glazes and Blood for the Blood God technical paint.  With the large areas of skin to paint I really got the hang on the scheme.  Painting spots and moles onto the skin breaks up the larger patches nicely.

Yesterday he joined the rest of my proposed Daemon list on the table.  I hosted a practice day for some local gamers including John from stumpy heaven.  Everyone was able to get two games in and I think it proved valuable for all.

I played John's Khorne Daemonkin list.  My Herald of Nurgle with Plague Drones were fantastic even taking out his D-Thirster in one round of combat.  The Exalted Flamers dealt with the Gorepack bikers as well so that gives me some counter to popular bike lists.  The result was a big win for me.

After lunch I played Wil's four Knight list.  I knew I would struggle against them but made moves to cause some damage.  Wil was familiar with what I could do and did not take the bait.  He did a lot of damage at range and even though a buffed Plague Drone unit took 1 Knight down in melee and seriously damaged another, stomps cleared the Daemons off quickly.  Wil got a clear win, I have had a good think about how to deal with super heavies and smart use of Daemonology  seems to be the answer.  We will see how it goes in practice.

One last Dark Mechanicus Flamer to go.

40k Daemons of Chaos - Dark Mech Exalted Flamer

For Maelstrom in four weeks time I am leaving the Eldar on the shelf - gasp!!! I am taking Daemons of Chaos instead.  I really like the formations in Curse of Fenris and the advantages of the Daemonic Incursion.

One of these formations requires Tzeentch Horrors and Exalted Flamers.  As I don't want multiple Burning Chariots (only source of Exalted Flamers) I thought I would build my own.  As I have been playing fun narrative games with a Heretek list it made sense to build some Dark Mechanicus monsters.

Going through my many bits I put this chap together.  The skull head is from Arcane Fulcrum terrain, body and barrel from an Ogre, vial and tentacle from a Dark Eldar Talos and the Flamer is from a Kataphron Destroyer.

I have two others on the painting table and three suitably large Lovecraft creatures already painted, so they should all look the part amongst hordes of Tzeentch Horrors on the tabletop.

Painting - 40k Daemons of Chaos - Plague Drones

Here we have my completed unit of Plague Drones which the previously seen Herald will take to the table with (c'mon GW give Heralds a Drone or Beast to ride).

I had previously started painting some of them in the more traditional green tinged necrotic flesh like the Plaguebearer riders have but after indulging in a lot of Bloodborne on PS4 last year, I took inspiration from the Bloodsucking beasts.

Where the skin is grey toned in the video game I went for a cold blue tone to contrast more with the riders and the blood bruised abdomen.

The abdomens were given a light spray of gory red with the airbrush then the exposed wounds were painted twice with the GW blood paint and a touch of Nurgle's Rot.

Painting - 40K Daemons of Chaos - Herald of Nurgle

Since finishing my initial Word Bearer pledge I thought it time to give my Daemon army some attention.

I had played a competitive Daemon army at the end of 8th edition Warhammer Fantasy but since it's demise the Daemons (and undead) have been languishing in the display cabinet.  So with the Curse of Fenris campaign book giving the Daemons some interesting formations I thought I'd get some ready for the table and round bases.

The Herald of Nurgle finally received a decent paint job.  It had been hastily made tabletop ready a couple years ago, though all that had been was a couple base colours and wash.  This time round I did it properly using layering, washes, glazes and technical paints to complete it.

With the variety of details over its rotting form, it was very enjoyable to paint.  I used careful line work and shading to break up what could have been flat segments of skin.

Next... Plague Drones

Delving into Malifaux - Neverborn starter set

Malifaux is a game I have been looking at since about 2010.  Back then I bought the rulebook, I loved the setting and themes but never played it.  Over the years I have watched games at tournaments between 40k rounds and even picked up a few miniatures if I saw a bargain.

Last year Wyrd Miniatures released the Malifaux 2 player starter set and about a month ago I finally bought it.  I have found the introduction rules and scenarios within the set a great way to learn the rules and it's one of the better starter sets in that regard.

In the set you get 8 miniatures, 4 Neverborn and 4 Guild.  All these have the mercenary trait so they can be hired by any crew which is a smart move.  You also get 2 Fate decks and 2 tape measures, so everything you need.  I have played it through a couple times with the other guys and we really like the mechanics.

The plastic miniatures are highly detailed and of realistic proportions unlike the normal heroic scale of war games.   Pictured here is the Neverborn starter crew consisting of Angel Eyes, 2 Bloodwretches and the Scion of Black Blood.  I painted them to match the artwork on their cards.

For basing I put grey stuff into the recess and fit tiny ceramic bricks into a rough pattern leaving an area on each base clear.  Once the brick work was painted I did a dull green base coat in the clear area then 2 coats of Nurgle's Rot and a layer of gloss varnish.  Tufts, dead leaves and a bit of blood finished them off.  

I will finish the Guild miniatures next before working on my main crew, the Torch and the Blade Guild Crew set.  A very nice set to start playing full games with.  This has also lead to others in my gaming group buying crews for Resurectionists, Outcasts and Neverborn with a couple of the others eyeing up Gremlins.  So more to come.

Tale of 40K Gamers - Jake - Tyranids Initial Pedge complete

Here is the completed force from Jake's Get Started Tyranid box.

Jake has done brilliant work unifying his force.  The natural paint scheme has carried across all the models and the dismembered Ultramarines work as nice areas of spot colour to break up the browns.  He has really done an amazing job on these.

I saw some of these in person last night and I especially like how Jake has used some spare bio-morphs to make bugs on the bases as well.

You can see more in depth photos and descriptions on Jake's blog "Boyo Paints" in the sidebar.  Here is a direct link to his Hive Tyrant article.

Now that Jake and I have finished our first 400 points and a couple other participants are not too far behind, its time to think about what step 2 will be.

Tale of 40k Gamers -Glen #5 Word Bearers - Initial pledge complete

Here is the final unit of my initial 400 point pledge.  The Contemptor Dreadnought from the Betrayal at Calth set.

I painted it using the same methods I employed on the Marines but on a larger scale.  I added a lot of chipping using the sponge technique, along with freehand and some transfers it breaks up the flat red panels.

As it was a nice large model to paint I made up a simple custom base.  Just a GW building floor section, textured paint, slate and a skull.   I painted the floor panels in a turquoise blue tone to match the eye lenses on all the suits of armour then washed and weathered it to tone it down.

Now it's time to motivate a couple of the other guys to catch up a bit before moving to the next segment.  In the meantime there is always plenty to paint.  I may even do another initial 400 point pledge using the FW Heretic list.  They will go nicely alongside the Word Bearers.

...and here is the full starting group complete.  I have quite a collection of unpainted Chaos miniatures but if anyone has any suggestions for additions to the Defilers of Calth please share.

Tale of 40K Gamers - Sam #3 Flesh Tearers

After showing us his Scouts and Drop Pod, Sam has sent in another update!

Here in all their glory is his full ten man Flesh Tearer Tactical Squad.

Looking at the images you can see Sam has equipped them with Meltagun, Heavy flamer and a pair of inferno pistols on the sergeant.  I would think they will deploy via Drop Pod, combat squad out and be able to effectively engage two different units(well that's how I do it).

As with his other Flesh Tearers, Sam has based them all in a nice consistent manner which I think looks really good against the dark red and black of the armour.

 He has built them using parts from the Blood Angel Tactical Squad and Death Company sets.  I would recommend using these along with the Sanguinary Guard for anyone building Blood Angels or their successors.

Excellent work Sam, now you just have to learn the ways of 40K ;)

Tale of 40K Gamers - Sam #2 Flesh Tearers

We have an update from Sam.  He has sent these through and it shows some nice progress on his Drop Pod and squad of Sniper Scouts

I think the basing really nicely goes with these miniatures and will look good across the entire force.

Tale of 40K Gamers - Alex #1 Tau

Another participant in our little group project is Alex.  Over the last few years he has worked on Chaos Marines, Deathwing, Necrons and now Tau.(You can see the move to competitive play in the armies)

With GW's Get Started army boxes being such a good deal, Alex bought into Tau.  Taking inspiration from the Covenant in the Halo universe Alex has gone with a primary purple colour with blue light effects and they are looking good.

 Here is his first batch of Fire Warriors.