Not so good....

Looks like I wont be able to do the pics *sighs* stupid Windows 98 and its bad combination with drivers!!! So it looks like it might have to wait til the weekend as Ill probably need to get the stuff out of the Digicam box and get the drivers installed on this pc before I can get the pics across. Man, I miss plug n play stuff...

I had a look at the mini again last night, and the grey is starting to grow on Me. Just looking at it now, I dont think the black robes will be really that good, as it seems to give the mini a sense of incompleteness about it. However, Ill do up the face and a few metal areas and then get a few more pics and y'all can see how it looks with light grey armor and black robes.

Definitely looks like we could be going the dark red robes route for sure, and loosely from memory, I think it will still go well with the Order Im planning, since I believe I am using a heart shape symbol, so I think the dark red will be a natural choice for robes.

Thats about it for today, if I do any more painting, Ill report it, but in terms of pics, cant do much about that just yet.




-TAS

Good News and Bad News....

Whats the good news you say? Well I slapped on both another coat of Cold Grey and the Stone Wall Grey coat onto the mini and well, it turned out ok. I do have pics of it, but Ill explain that situation in a moment. Although the grey didnt overly "hit" me, I suspect its due to the fact the model is no where NEAR finished. I'm thinking Im going to need to do things like the head, metal areas and bolter to give it a bit more of a "completed" feel before hiting the robes and hopefully it will feel alot better then.

As for the pics and the BAD news. My laptop actually died on me, apparently my OS managed to get corrupted and well.. yeah... However, there is still a way to save it, but obviously it means accessing the previous SoB in progress pics isnt as easy as it looks (suddenly wish I uploaded each pic individually). However, I do still have paintshop pro on this computer, so hopefully all I need to do is hook up my digital camera to the computer (pray it doesnt spend half a year finding drivers) and get the pics across. Might d/l the last progress pic and just whack the other two into that one, since thats the best I can do for a comparison.

Been keeping an eye on a nifty lil SoB conversion thread on the B&C started by Legacy40K. Suffice to say, Im very impressed and wouldnt mind trying something like that for my own. Sure it means needing to get guardians galore, but ehhh, the idea behind it has been very promising and if I had more time, Id pull out the GS and give it a try too.

Anyway, keep an eye out on this space, hopefully Ill have a pic post up in a few mins time, if not, at least sometime on the weekend.



-TAS

Lil Mini Post...

So Im kinda bored at "work" atm, so I thought I would do a mini post to help pass some of the time away. Havent done the dry brush later of Cold Grey to the test SoB model yet, but hopefully I'll get that done tonight without any problems. Shouldnt take too long either being a dry brush, plus Im just adding a bit of color again to that black wash, so it shouldnt take too long at all. If the paint dries and I have enough time, Might even do a dry brush of the stone wall grey too, and then I can see how "off" my photoshop grey and actual grey were. I suspect it will be a bit, as the photoshop grey has a slight purple tint to it, so it looks like Lavender.

Picked up the latest WD and well, Im actually tempted to get some of the BT plastics once they are released. A fair few pieces would be very handy for My Angels of the Lion army, and being plastic, it will be very easy to remove any existing BT symbols and do whatever from there. Otherwise, there wasnt alot of interesting stuff, the main decent 40K segment in it aside from the BT preview stuff was probably the Nemesis Kill Teams which looked pretty interesting.

Anyway, thats about it. Hopefully tonight Ill have another post and happy snap of the next stage on the SoB painting. Im HOPING Tobias will find that post again and do a vote on the robe color before I get up to that part :P




-TAS

Next stage...

And here is the next stage in the SoB test mini. I ran over the armor with a black wash and although it looks like a "mess" I think it helped clean up alot of the initial black lining. I still have the black areas I left out, in addition to some muted cold grey tones which really helps alot. I think My next stages will involve a quick dry brush of the Cold Grey again, and after that a heavy dry brush of the Stonewall Grey and I believe that will be the armor done. Once the armor is done, Ill create a new step by step picture so its all in the one and from that will be off to debating robe colors and finishing anything else. So far its turning out ok, so here is hoping to further positive results.



Read the entry for more details =)




-TAS

Added the Cold Grey Basecoat...

Had someone told me EARLIER that the SoB minis were a pain to paint, I probably would NOT have considered them as an army. Anyway, the cold grey base coat has been applied and ugh, Im thinking I may need to tweak My painting strategy with these models, cos conventional painting (for me) isnt as effective due to the greater detail etc. But in the end it was done, and yes I will do a happy snap. Im considering I might move to a more heavy dry brush method than actual painting persay, but we'll see how things go. Since it IS my first Sob model, things may get easier with practice etc. I may do a quick black wash over it to get back some of the shading areas, before proceeding with the stone wall grey coat, plus I know not to use alot of pain in comparison to painting marine armor, since there is less to paint. The robe contest is going ok, I guess once the last grey coat is done, Ill have an idea of what grey and black robes look like for a start. Heh, NOW i see why alot of SoB players stick to black armor, its SOOO much easier!! Snap will come up in a lil bit and Ill do it from the black undercoat pic to the current look of it now. And to think I was complaining when I was black lining with marines. Painting wont look as good as my newer wolves, but Im hoping some washes will help bring out some of the shadows etc out since black lining is not easy with these models without having to shift down to a smaller brush (which may be a good idea, but may take double the time to paint). Looking forward to painting the robes since they should be ALOT easier for sure.

Thats about it, Ill get the pic up asap.

*EDIT*

Here is the pic:



After seeing the pic, Im definitely thinking of doing that black wash over it (it doesnt look THAT bad normally). Lil blurry with the pic this time around, but oh well. Next pic will probably be after a black wash and then it will be onto the next phase with the stone wall grey, which shouldnt be too bad since I'll want to keep some of the black lining and muted cold grey tones in the armor (well thats the plan anyway). We'll see how things go, since doing the black wash wont take very long at all. Might be another pic update within the next day or so. And if anyone was wondering, YES the bolter has been drilled out.


-TAS

Beginnings of the SoB

That would be beginnings paint wise...

So here is a pic of the mini Im working on, thought I would do it in a semi stage by stage bit for some weird reason. I decided to use the flash on the camera this time, and surprisingly enough, I got some good results from it, except in the pic with the black undercoat, as it looks a bit too flashy. Cleaning it up was a pain, and I still saw some mold lines on the mini after I put the undercoat on, but oh well.... Next stage is to do the base coat of Cold Grey (Codex Grey for you Citadel users). Im debating if I want to start black lining already, or if I should paint it completely and 'black line' with the Cold Grey. I had a look at the test marine I did, and it still looked ok, so I may do the black lining method as I usually do, plus the Cold Grey is an intermediate step in any case, as I dont want to apply Stone Wall Grey (Fortress Grey I believe) straight over a black undercoat as it may dark it by a few shades.

In other blog news, as you can tell, I've gone on a mad fury and added a whole heap of links ranging from Blogs, to Websites, to Forum boards and what not. I'll probably add more in time. It's quite handy having this lil blog. Anyway, continue to vote as well if you havent (remember 3 model PREFERENTIAL system). In the next few days, Ill tally up the current votes and put them up to see how things go. Once the below mini gets her armor done, I'll probably take it to the B&C for additional decisions pertaining to the robe color. Might try and do some of the details as well, but we'll see how things go. Here is hoping this aint a waste of a model.


Read the Above text as always, well the relevant part to the pic anyway.




-TAS

SoB Color Tests!!!

Well here they are... SEVERAL color tests for robe colors using photoshop.. After this, man, if I ever play Fantasy, I swear, the colors from tonight will make Me want to do a Bretonnian army *shrugs*.

So this is what YOU need to do.... Cast a vote (just by adding a comment, cos I aint making no fancy poll for it) and say which number you like (1, 1.1, 3, 3.2, 4, 4.2, 5 and 6). You will notice there is no '2' as that was the blue armor SoB from the LAST vote. Im going to assume things are relatively easy to understand, but for those that are weird in the head:

1 and 1.1: One is a darker red, the other is a lighter red.

3 and 3.2: Light Green vs Dark Green

4 and 4.2: Light Blue vs Dark Blue

5: Orange (Main, it makes Me think Halloween and pumpkins already).

6: Yellow (whoever suggested yellow should be shot).

Another thing that irritates me, I swear I paint better in photoshop than I do normally, as the robes didnt turn out all too bad. Personally, I dont know which one to go for, I can only think of Bretonnians at the moment...

So yeah, you know your duty now, SO GO DO IT!!! *snickers*



Read the entry for more weird ass Bretonnian inducing fears and terrors...... *shakes head in disgust*

*EDIT*

Lets see if I can add in the last color test:



There it is folks. Ill be deleting the seperate post for this one, so here is a color test with BLACK. Otherwise, y'all know what to do.


-TAS

Did a lil bit of painting...

Went back to the SoB color test, and suffice to say, I'm dropping the blue concept completely. Tried a few more blue colors and it isnt doing what I want really, so Im going to drop the concept. Although, I must admit, I like the new darker blue for the Ultramarines, as I did try a UM Blue color and yeah, I dont see how they managed to use that blue for so long. So I can safely say, Im using the light grey for the armor, I just need to figure out what color I am using for the robes (Light Red vs Dark Red or Other). Now I need to find a random mini that has some robed areas so I can do some paint trials on that.

Was going to do some 'Nid trials as well, but the bits and pieces of Gaunts that I have arent very useful since I cant even put them onto a base!! Then again, they are from a random 'Nid bits box I bought off ebay, so what can one expect I guess. Not sure whats going to happen there, but I may have to try something semi elaborate eg Pin it to the base and then try that. Not sure how Im going to achive the metal look, I have a few ideas, but Id like to see how they work out first before actually trying them.

Touched a few Hunters as well, and oh boy, gonna need a wee bit of time for My black lining technique to come back. Wasnt too crash hot on some areas, but I havent done it in a few months, so its fair enough. I'll see how things go, I may/may not have anything finished by the end of the week (doubt I will) but I'll keep at it.

Otherwise, thats about it for this entry. Nice to see my blog getting activity again for sure. May even try and do monthly goals again to get me semi encouraged to paint more etc.

*EDIT*
Thought Id do a small edit to this post rather than starting a new one. Anyone got any ideas of what would go well with grey armor for robes? Im already thinking of red in mind, and maybe even black, although Id prefer to get off the both of these since the Sisters already have several Orders with red or black robes. Yellow/orange was a suggested color, but Im not a fan of those colors to be honest. Any ideas WOULD be nice.



-TAS

*Confusion*

It is a pain in the backside when you take a break, come back to the hobby, and then, of all things, to be confused at what you were doing. Thank GOODNESS I made the blog!! Going to go do some constructive work in a tick, not sure what exactly, but it will be SOMETHING constructive to say the least. I might try to finish the SoB color test or work on my hunters, not sure which.

I printed out pics of the finished EC marines I did so I can do some quick sketches/drawings of the next revision, should be interesting and when they are finished, I'll scan the images and put them up on the blog, so everyone can see my crazy thoughts. So each page will be full of all sorts of ideas, scribbles etc.

In other blog related news, Ive turned on the word verification, that way, no more unwanted spam. Of course, it means there is another step to the replying process, so sorry for that, but Ive seen enough spam come through my blog as it is. Plus its useless comments anyway, so why bother.

Thats about it really, I may post later on depending if I do any constructive while at the painting desk etc.



-TAS

Minor Pic Update

As promised, here is a pic update. I would have uploaded the pic to My blog, but it wouldnt let Me, so I just put it onto photobucket. The painting wasnt too bad, they havent been touched since however. The base in the front however is "complete" (except the actual snow parts). The rear Grey Hunters are all at various stages here and there, with another 4 undercoated and at various stages.

Enjoy the pic. I might do another pic update in the next few days, as I wanna start on the concept art for the V2 incarnation of My EC marines.

Paint in Progress Grey Hunters



-TAS

Another Minor Update

The clean up started yesterday, so My chair for My desk is clear of the pile high of 40K books and what nots. Of course I looked at My shelf with WDs, Codicies and what not and realised it needs to move, as its making the shelf sag. So I'll have to find a way around that in some stage and time. the only thing about moving it is that I like where they are as its convenient (only a turn away from My painting desk). So decisions, decisions indeed.

I have returned to EC.net, B&C and the AotL forum boards and good grief, I didnt bother to read half the posts as there were TOO many...... I about blew My brains out looking through the forums. But I am back nonetheless.

As for a pic update, if I have time tonight and remember to, Ill get a few snaps of the SW minis I was working on til I stopped.

Thats about it, check back in and I'll see if I have a pic update.


-TAS

Bit of an Update

Thought I would make a quick update on things (plus I'm at "work" atm, and cant be stuffed doing anything else right at this very moment).

Still been a while since I last picked up a brush, but that happens I guess, but I havent been dead from the hobby. Finished reading the last Inquisitor War Trilogy book - Chaos Child last week, and well, I found it a tad bit disappointing really. The first two books had sufficient momentum to keep going and the build up was great, but come the final book, things started to get a lil boring. Started reading Space Wolf this week though, and so far, its been very interesting, although the novel is mainly based about the beginnings of Ragnar (from what I can tell, and Ive read up to over half the book already) it has been very interesting and attention grabbing. This weekend, Im going to TRY and clean up the 40K section of My room a bit, get those stacks of WDs, Codicies and what not off My chair and put them into My shelf, which I KNOW cant handle that stack, which means I need a new shelf of sorts. So I suspect this weekend will bring a bit of re-arrangements to My room (yet again). I'll TRY and get something done, but I doubt it, although after seeing a Showcase Word Bearers army in WD, Im tempted to start re-designing some of My EC marines (especially since I found out how BETTER I am at modelling and painting with My Wolves). Alas, see how time goes, if anything, I may go through the bits box again and get bits and pieces out again.

Otherwise, thats about it as always. Although, Tobias, any idea when the BT codex comes out? I'd imagine the next few months, as I havent seen it as a Pre-Release in WD yet.




-TAS

I am Back!!!!!!!



*Insert lengthy maniacal laughter*




-TAS

New codex

I picked up the new Tyranid codex today, and it aint too bad, alot easier to use than the last codex which had things everywhere...

The only thing im not entirely sure on, do creatures have a limit on biomorphs? The last codex made it clear they did, but this codex (from my multipe quick reads) doesnt seem to mention anything (that ive yet to notice).


-TAS

PS Ill post a more useful post later on.

Did a LIL bit of work again.

Wasnt anything too major. Just did a few touch ups of black here and there and played around with a thousand son mini (bits wise). I could have done some more painting, but my hands were feeling a bit shaky, so i thought id just do some modelling work.

Cerebalos has "challenged" me to a Thousand Sons painting competition. Basically its a Rubric vs Rubric contest and to see who has the better painting abilities. I suspect he will win, but who knows. He's already said its supposed to be a 'straight from the box' rubric, so im a lil muffed as i was hoping to convert my Sons slightly. They wont be major conversions, compared to say my Wolves or Emperor's Children, just the filing off of a few chaos icons here and there, reposition some legs and that be about it. Still debating what type of base i want for my Sons as well. I know for my Angels of the Lion, im going the 'traditional' green base, my Wolves have a snow base and my Sisters will have a tiled base. Im thinking an ash waste base for my Sons, but im not sure what ill do for my Emperor's Children.

Guess that leaves things there for the time being.


-TAS

Wow, I did some painting!

Before i forget - Tobias, on the main login screen for blogger, in the area that says Username and password stuff, above the password box there is a lil '?' for "forgot pw" i assume (given what the link said). You might want to try it out ;-)

So back to the painting front, slapped on some Sombre Grey coats onto a few pairs of arms and a set of legs, so things are going back to normal again. Stuck that backpack piece to a grey hunter, so all that needs finishing is his arm/bolter piece, his right shoulder pad and his eyes. I doubt ill be able to finish him in the next few days, but we'll see how things go. I was tempted to work on my third Sisters of Battle color test, but ill leave that for the time being.

So thats the good news =)


-TAS

I've taken up the Brush once more!

Sure, it was only for about 5 mins, but ive gone back to painting again! Feels weird painting again after my lil time off, but im sure ill get back into the swing of things in no time. Didnt do alot, just patched up a grey hunters back pack and that was it. I would have done a bit more, but i need to get my facts straight again. Not sure if i want to take a break from the painting (again) and go back to modelling a bit, or try and paint. Either way, i am BACK in business!

I need to go back over some old posts, particularly ones around when i started my Thousand Sons and Sister of Battle color tests, as im not sure what paints i used. I have a faint idea, but i want to reconfirm things, as i believe i have bought new paints since.

I'll see what i can do about pictures, might get one up later this weekend as things will settle down a bit.


-TAS

May seems to be a Maintenance Month....

The good news is my chair is back to being that... a chair! Sorted out my boxes and everything so they are neatly shelved away after i made some space for them. However i wish i had a smaller box for the Rhino from the Space Wolves Battleforce, as that box takes up ALOT of space. None the less, the chair is back, my boxes are shelved away and in easy access when i need them, so all i need to do now is fix up the painting table again and ill be back in business. Ill try and finalise that tonight, that way i can paint and work on my thesis between stages, thus in theory it can keep my brain relatively active, yet at the same time give me something to do when i need a break that is still mentally stimulating.

Had a look through my Emperor's Children bits box and i think i still have enough bits of everything to do version 2 incarnations of my previous completed squads. Its a shame in some cases as some of the older models looked VERY nice. However, in light of my abilities to convert models, i will go back and do them the way they SHOULD have been done. Although the conversions wont be overly extensive, there wont be alot of this "i glued everything together" look about them. Do leg repositionings here and there, arms etc, however i will be using the exact same pieces as i used in the previous models, so here is hoping not only will they look better converted, the paintjob will look ALOT nicer as well.

Thats about this post done with, as i said, May has been more of a maintenance month more than anything else.


-TAS

Still working on space issues

About 99% of my stuff is now back in my room, with the actual desk looking more set up than anything else. Still have some stuff to do here and there on the desk, but at least everything is there. The interesting thing is, i STILL need to get all those boxes sorted out, as they are right smack on my chair for the work station. Sure, i can easily pull up my other chair, but its still a 4' tower worth of boxes i still need to move (and still keep them sorted by armies). I would slip them into my shelves, alas, my shelves dont exactly have the room to spare in the first case! I have a few ideas here and there, but i'll need time to carry them out.

Also for some weird ass reason, im getting a calling to go BACK to my Emperor's Children army, go figure... Fortunately its more of a modelling thing than painting, as i do recall quite clearly how annoying those damn trims were!

I miss the dining table, back then i HAD space!


-TAS

The Great Exodus has begun!!

As the title suggests, ive started moving ALL my 40K related materials OFF the dining table and back into my room. Suffice to say, when i stack all the boxes/bits boxes together, it makes for one rather large tower. If it was all one army, i would so cringe, however since its 5-6 it isnt too bad. Ive also placed my larger mini tower into my lil painting station, so it goes well. All i need to do is give the other side a bit of a clean so i can get my lamp and other mini tower to the other side. As for the actual boxes, heck knows where i am putting them. Had i more shelf space, id probably slip them in there, alas that is FAR from the case. I've already got one shelf full with my BL stuff, WDs and other 40K stuff.

Didnt snap a pic today, so i may try again tomorrow. Could snap one later tonight if im really up to it, so wait and see i guess.

Otherwise, thats about it, slowly getting back into the 40K thing again so hopefully by the end of the week ill be back to my hour per day painting routine.



-TAS

I'm still alive ^_^

Greetings!!

Yeah, I am still alive and kicking, not really motivated as of late (possibly linked to that big green book, called my thesis). None the less, it is now May and ugh, here comes the "monthly" goals, which, not surprisingly have been with me for the past 6 months already.

I actually had a peak at my minis earlier today, i miss painting them (oddly enough) alot of them are looking quite nice. If i can be unlazy enough tomorrow, ill take a pic of what i think is worthy and post the pic.

Goal wise:

- Finish FOUR more Grey Hunters (Yeah, not aiming that high)
- Complete my 3rd Sisters of Battle Color test
- Complete my Thousand Sons color test

It isnt THAT bad a list, and i will be moving my paint set up within the next few days, so that will help facilitate painting as the painting desk will only be app 7 feet behind me. Of course the downside is moving like 5 armies worth of boxes into a smaller area is not going to be easy at all.

In more happier news, i got my box of Sisters Repentia the other week (for about $20 cheaper than buying them from GW, thank Ebay).

So thats me for this post, ill see what i can do about that pic for everyone since its been a while since ive gone anything.


-TAS

Still doing baby steps, painting wise.

Yet again, i did minimal painting work tonight. So there is now a chance, Duregar will paint up a few Cadian squads before i finish half the grey hunter pack. One hunter is still slowly progressing onwards, and all that needs to be done for him is his bolter arm + bolter, right shoulder pad, minor touch ups on his backpack and his eyes. All of which can/could be done in one sitting if i get enough time to do so. But as i always say, we'll see how it goes.

Later on in the week, im thinking of re-creating my links section, so its a bit more organised and done in a category-like style. At this point in time, ill probably be adding in 4 new links (two image hosting, two web-comics).

Hopefully ill have some more pleasing news for tomorrow.


-TAS

Still Slowly Progressing.....

I'm still making slow progress on the hunters, with one nearing about 80% completeness. Should be able to whack on his backpack and shoulder pad tomorrow, and maybe even his head. However, i MAY leave the head til i attach the other arm, which is probably a few hours more work, but it shouldnt be too bad at all. Definitely be the end of next week ill have TWO Grey Hunters completed, so i am getting there.

As for my Sisters, i started up a third color test, because i found a blue that was around the lightness of what i was wanting, but i fear it may be TOO light. However, im going to try it out, but i suspect im sticking with the light grey scheme for sure. If i can find a suitable sister, i may start up a proper Sisters paint test in the next week or so.

Thats about it really...



-TAS

Just a lil Update

Nothing major to report, just did a lil bit of painting here and there. Did some painting on a helm'd head, but i dunno, im not liking it, but maybe its just me and the fact the eyes and metal areas havent been done yet. But we'll see how things go with that. Didnt really end up finishing anything, although tomorrow i suspect ill get maybe 85% of another grey hunter done and we'll see how things go with the others.

Just for everyones interest i HAVE settled down on my posting "frenzy" on the B&C, now that i feel sufficiently caught up in things.

Ive been suggested by Duregar to send my single Grey Hunter into the PC&A, and im still in a yay/nay concept about it. If i do move it, i want to try and get the thunderwolf great company decal on and maybe add his name to the side of his base (this is debatable, as alot of people nay to this practice). Duregar also suggested to do it in the typical runic fashion, which i probably will do, but as i said, im not sure if it will enhance the model, or make it drop down a few notches.

No pics tonight, as you got a few the other night and there isnt anything that important to really take a picture of.

Til tomorrow!



-TAS

Random Musing from B&C

Heh, so here is a random pic of my day at the B&C. I thought it was quite memorable, as i dont think ive ever had that many posts in one go. So yeah, have a look at the pic and you'll see why. I COULD have gone higher, but i thought id stop while the going was good.


Random Musing from the B&C


-TAS

Time for some new pics!

Here we are folks, a new pic of my current Paint in Progress Grey Hunters. There are two more grey hunters not shown, as i have some touching up to do to those two. The third hunter from the left will probably be the next mini to be completed. But we'll see how things go. Not looking too bad in my books, i actually kinda like what i have done. So, slowly but surely things are getting there, hopefully by the end of next week we'll see some more pleasant results. I'm still hoping (now that its half way through April) i will still finish half the pack of Grey Hunters, as i hoped to do for my April goals. Of course i would like to finish more, but i dont want to aim TOO high.



Current Paint in Progress Grey Hunters


-TAS

What Y'all been waiting for!

Here it is gentlemen, the first completed Grey Hunter in ALL his glory!! Overall, i am impressed with the paintjob, although i believe i may need to do some highlights here and there. Other work that needs to be done is the finishing of the base and the attachment of the Thunderwolf symbol on his left shoulder pad. Otherwise, he is pretty much ready for the table. I think the only things i would try to do different for future Hunters is the left shoulder pad, and perhaps i should have stuck to doing black lining for it. Otherwise, thats him. I'll assign him a name within the next few days (just need to go through my Space Wolves notepad). And if anyone asks, his bolter IS drilled out!



Completed Grey Hunter (Name Unknown)


-TAS

Ugh, work + 40K = NOTHING!!!

If you thought last night's pure undercoat thing was bad, tonight is worse as i didn't get ANYTHING done >.< However, in THEORY tonight shall be the last extended day of work and it will be back to normal day time hours for me. This is a good thing of course, as when im not at work, or eating at home, im actually sleeping....

So tomorrow, i am hoping to get some more work done as well take a few snaps, although bare in mind, it MAY not happen, as my body re-adjusts to actually being able to be at home at 2AM.


-TAS

Undercoating night.

I had a quick check of the batteries in the Digicam and i do still get a charge going, but not a full charge, so ugh, heck knows how long its going to take for a full battery charge. However, ill try and take some pics again tomorrow night and keep going until the batteries "die" and take it from there.

As the title says tonight was an undercoat night. Would have done more, but im pulling alot of work shifts here and there, so most of my time NOT involved with work is trying to get a moments peace OR sleeping. None the less, on top of the previous base coated three grey hunters, i now have three new grey hunters out on the production line. Also undercoated some odds and ends for one grey hunter, so things are progressing nicely, although i would love a bit more time to do some more painting.

Modelling wise, havent done much, if any at all, as i am rather focused on trying to get these grey hunters done. Hopefully ill get one, maybe two grey hunters do a 75% completed level come the early weekend, but we'll see how things go.

Tomorrow i will get pics of some sort, as ive noticed my front page of my blog is almost pure text.



-TAS

Success!!!!!

My FIRST Grey Hunter has been completed! Other than the thunderwolf symbol and the snow, paint wise, the model is completed. However, the batteries are STILL charging, so heck knows when the first pic of this Grey Hunter will be done. I guess that gives me some extra time to assign his name, which i will write underneath his base (not on the side). Tomorrow i suspect will be more of a undercoat and basecoat night more than anything else and i will TRY and get a pic of this grey hunter. So one down, nine more to go. Although i have that sad feeling, i wont have half the pack done by the middle of the month, i could stand to get two very close, as arms, shoulder pads, shoulder pads and helm'd heads arent too difficult to do.

So yeah, GO ME! ^_^


-TAS

Slightly Concerned.

A few minutes ago i had a quick check of my battery charger and low and behold, the darn red light is STILL ON!! So, those pics i promised for tonight, may not happen, as im not willing to take the batteries til i see the green light on the charger. Of course in saying that, the light probably just switched to green knowing my "luck" for today.

In other news, picked up a few odds and ends off ebay (so much for controlled spluring) one of which was Ragnar's Claw, for a nice price. So, im only missing ONE Space Wolves Novel, although trying to find 'Soul Drinker' and these Blood Angels ones will probably take a bit more determination.

Other than that, we'll see how things go. Im still determined to finish that grey hunter, as i need something to keep me awake and functioning due to a lack of sleep and the fact i have to pop into work at 2AM.... Thank goodness its almost over.


-TAS

Victory is within my grasp!!

I am a literal DAY away from completing my first grey hunter!! I would have taken a picture tonight, alas my batteries DID die, and my rechargable ones are still charing (think i need to give them 16 hours or so). What do i have left on this single grey hunter? Simple.. Just his right shoulder pad (mainly the pelt and red stripe) and i have a red stripe to paint on his right knee pad. Once that is done, he is FINISHED!! Assuming the rechargable batteries are charged up tomorrow, y'all will get pics!!

Other Grey Hunters are slowly progressing now, but not as much as that single one as i was aiming really hard to have it done tonight. But its almost complete ^_^

A new Grey Hunter has hit the painting line, as im sure more will follow after the completion of this single hunter. Even managed to paint his hair in the EXACT way i wanted it, so all thanks to the vallejo paint range there. Great Company wise, i will probably stick to the thunderwolf marking, as i dont trust my free hand what so ever! Plus, the 2nd edition codex says its a lucky marking, so yeah, i think ill side with luck. Plus it takes me so long as it is to churn out minis, so why not go with the pre-made decals.

It is unfortunate no pics could be taken, but at least the next time i take pics, the mini will be in its finished glory and added to my photobucket (all profile view). Heck knows if ill finish any more by the end of the week, but we'll see how things go.

So stay tuned in tomorrow, as you'll see a completed mini in all its glory!!


-TAS

Didn't get as much done as i wanted

Before y'all yell at me, i DID do the GS work i wanted to do today, although in my traditionalistic fashion, i made too MUCH GS, however this situation was quickly corrected and i started laying down some snow work on 6 bases for my Blood Claws, so yeah, its great that im playing Wolves at times. So i fixed up the last few models that had some join issues as well as did up the markings. Although, i just realised i wanted to do some bolter work *groans* oh well, ill just paint runes on i guess to make life simplier, or else ill be playing with these hunters til next year. But so far, things are good, although the pack markings are a lil iffy on some models, mainly due to the fact i had already done the horrid looking wolf pelts on them previously. So note for future reference, doing pack markings BEFORE adding on wolf pelts. Did a tad bit more painting, not alot to be honest. Started the flesh work on one hunters head, as well as did up his shoulder pad. As well as do a bit more paint work on the bases. On the note of the shoulder pad, since i am planning to place the thunderwolf sign on top of a ghost grey pad, should i have bothered to black line the pad with the sombre grey? Or wait til i do hit the wolf grey/ghost grey scheme and do the lining in then? I thought it might be a bit of a transition jump in paint color, so i may go back and remove the sombre 'black line' and do it when i hit the next step. Actually, i was thinking about it, and i may actually NOT go with the thunderwolf and try a more stylized symbol for something else.

Also picked up a black ink and an EXPENSIVE empty paint pot for my orange ink (since it was in the old bottle). None the less, with the GS work now completed, its pretty much full steam ahead on these Grey Hunters now and i hope tomorrow, ill be very close to hitting a completed stage on ONE of them as well as progress well on a few others.



-TAS

Still keeping the minor update theme going.

Once again i did a lil bit more work on the Wolves, so ill be a nice person and get some pics sometime this weekend, so some of you can "oogle" my work. I didnt do a whole lot tonight, but its still a wee bit to keep me on track. Got some more stuff onto the production line for undercoating etc, so im happy.

Had a lil splurge tonight 40K wise, bought me some new paints and inks as well as FOUR black library books, namely: Space Wolf, Grey Hunter, The Bleeding Chalice and Crimson Tears. Oddly enough, i only found out tonight that Crimson Tears is the 3rd book to the whole Soul Drinkers series, so i was impressed. Need to find the first book though, as i wont be reading those until i have the first one. Also wanna see if i can pick up the other two Space Wolves series as well.

So that pretty much wraps this post up.....


-TAS

Another minor Space Wolves Update

Once again, i am posting yet another minor Space Wolves update. Although i only painted for under an hour (bought some DVDs tonight) i THINK i have two body sections done, adding the total to THREE body sections completed. The other torso i suspect will be completed within the next few days, as i need to just add some final touches to the large wolf pelt and then i can get underway on the remaining torso segements: belt and chest eagle. This weekend i am also going to try and get some GS work done so i can get started on the remaining 6 odd grey hunters. I also believe i have some purity seals to carefully remove, but other than that, progress is going well. Since its only the 7th of April, im still hopeful for a single completed grey hunter by the end of the month, especially if i get this GS work done this weekend. The only thing that "bothers" me is that i havent decided if i want to have a color for the Great Company shoulder pad. Since im using the thunderwolf as my great company marking, i dont necassarily "need" to do a shoulder pad color. However any ideas/suggestions would be nice. Other than that, there isnt that much to report.

Before i forget, in addition to my "mad" DVD splurge (3 DVDs for $70) i also picked up some rechargable batteries for my Digicam, so never again shall their be pauses in images, unless i come out and say NO images!!

As always, check in again tomorrow to see what new work ive done and hopefully there will be some rejoicing about more completed paint stages.



-TAS

Minor Wolves Update

I like trying out all these fonts, although some of them dont look as good as others. As the title suggets, this is just a short Space Wolves update.

Did a lil bit of painting work, and as i told Rico, it was more of a "pelt night" more than anything else and i think most of the paints i used were all in the brown area. Going ok thus far, still got lil bits and pieces to go, but i hope by the end of this week, at least by the early weekend, ill have four torsos finished. I suspect the "pack leader" will need a bit more work, as im still deciding what color to paint his lil "belt" area. But we'll see how things go. I know for a fact ill get more done between now and then for sure, just remains to be seen what and how much.

I also played around with my future Wolf Guard Battle Leader which will be utilising Chaos Warrior parts. Basically i wanted to try and decrease the use of the Warrior parts and make the mini more 40K lookin' than fantasy. Got a few ideas and could even stand to create two marines out of one warrior. Still need to figure out how to make my Battle Leader stand out from what will be my future 13th Company though.

Otherwise, thats it for today, check back again tomorrow, as im sure ill have an update of some sort.


-TAS

Blog Changes

After seeing Arjan's blog and realising what i needed to do, i added in a small links section on the right toolbar. Got some links two other blog sites, two forums and my own photobucket to make things slightly easier for everyone.

Hopefully i will do a painting update tonight for everyone and see how things go there. Otherwise, thats it from me.




-TAS

Space Wolves Update

So blogger is being WEIRD atm with all these damn errors, but my SoB post came through in the end (2-3 hrs later).

So here we have the wolves. As you can see the chests have been done, sadly in gold, but oh well. Btw, the marine on the far right is only blu-tac'd as im workin' on his pelt atm. You can see ive done the "lining" of it, but i need to do the fur section before i glue it onto the mini itself. The chest "eagles" look so-so, although i think i might do a wash over them again, as it looks like i just fully painted them, but in real life there IS a distinction of the wing segments. Hopefully if all goes well, these four hunters (as you see them now) will have all their bits and pieces done as the Sisters test colors are now completed. So basically i just have my half a grey hunter pack and the thousand sons mini to complete for this month and ill actually be doing well. The only downside that i can forsee atm is that i wont be hittin the hobby shop til friday evening, so the far right hunter may not be completed as i wont have the paints/inks i want (hence why i did gold "eagles"). Also, i wont be taking any pics til the end of the week, as i need to get new batteries for the cam as i kinda almost killed them doing these two pics (think i mentioned this in the SoB update). Otherwise, thats it from me for today.


Read Above as always.


-TAS

Latest SoB Update

Thought id try a different font today. So here is the Sisters of Battle tests yet again. Pics are ALOT better this time around as i think i know what was wrong the last time, so they are alot more true to color, although the paintjob does look better in real life. Im definitely thinking im sticking to the grey for sure, as the blue isn't too crash hot, unless i mixed colors to get it lighter, but im not ready to do that yet. Im probably going to leave the test minis there, since the main objective has been achieved. In saying that, it means i have ACCOMPLISED one of my set goals for April!! Although, this doesnt mean im moving into painting my Sisters now, it does mean that the scheme is a bit more confirmed. I also did some highlights with both Skull White (GW) and Ghost Grey (Vallejo) Im thinking ill stick to the white highlights, as the ghost grey had a slight tint of blue to it. Although we will see. I'd have to paint something in full ghost grey to confirm if the blue tint is there, but otherwise, the grey seems sorted out and that WILL be the grey i will use for my sisters.


Read Above.


-TAS

Second Space Wolves update

Still have no idea why the images are more yellow. Not much has changed here, so i did a lil bit of metal work on the chainsword and the bases. The torso to the guy on the left IS being worked on, so dont worry. After the pelt is done, ill hopefully be able to glue it into the base and continue work from there.

Before i forget, here is the FINISHED test colors for my Sisters of Battle, well the basecoats anyway. Im quite happy with them paint wise, although it is a bit rough in some areas, for about 45 mins work on each (i noted the time i started and finished on the second model) it wasnt too bad. All done with ONE brush and i still managed to pull of some black lining here and there. The pic isnt going to do them justice too much, although im definitely leaning towards the grey over the blue. As someone said earlier, they seem too Ultramarine like (when they were using the lighter blue color). But overall, i am happy with the result. I'll probably play with the chest eagles in the colors i would use for the Fleur de Lys and maybe ill do something about the purity seals and the metal areas here and there. Otherwise, its done in my books, as it was the base coat i was interested in. I also noticed, more particularly with the blue, that in some areas, the previous base coat comes out, and sure it may make it messy, in a way i like it as it gives the armor some form of "texture".

Enjoy the some what crappy pic, and remember to keep voting for the SoB schemes. Since its equal for the grey color, i MAY go with both schemes and use the variations in the red robes as a way of marking out Sisters eg Standard Battle Sister and (Veteran) Sister Superiors.

SoB Color Test Pic


Read Above for more info.



-TAS

First Space Wolves Update for today.

I have NO idea why the pics came out more yellow than white, but i may suspect my camera may be dying (battery wise). So those are the two "random" Grey Hunters that now sport a finished base coat. Yeah, the black lining isnt great in some areas, but c'mon, im still getting there! Would have done some work on the chest areas, but i want to acquire an orange ink (if i can find one, since it's now discontinued). Other than that, yes they are slowly getting there.


Read above stuff for more info as always.



-TAS

Im still trucking!!

Topic by topic post yet again!!

Space Wolves
So those last two grey hunters (legs + torso) have been completed, base coat wise. So surprisingly enough, i think i am doing quite well. Did some metal work here and there, so come tomorrow, i think i might start work on those chest section of those two 'random grey hunters'. At this stage, im thinking i should REALLY assign them names, cos yeah, ive got 10 names picked out for my grey hunters, i just havent written them yet, and i know people dont always find it asthetically pleasing seeing names written on the side of bases, so im going to write mine underneath the base! Although i would prefer the side of the base in nice fancy lettering, but im not that crash hot at painting. None the less, my Grey Hunters are proceeding quite well and for the first time ever i MAY complete the goal of having half my grey hunters completed by the end of this month. I didnt grab a pic tonight, so it will have to wait til later on in the week. If you are lucky, you'll see something tomorrow, so keep your fingers crossed.

Sisters of Battle
I continued on with the test colors, specifically the grey one, given how the poll is going (GO VOTE YOU LAZY BASTARDS! :P). What scared me is that within ONE hour i manged to apply the light grey coat (Wolf Grey) to a pre-assembled model, minus the arms and still have it looking semi-decent. Now admittedly it does look more 'painterly' but it aint too bad, even managed to do some form of black lining without having to resort to using my extra detail brush. Doesnt look too bad, looks more like an off white, but that may suit well, since the Sisters like to use predominantly black, red and white. Im not in the debate whether to skip the Cold grey coat and just apply the wolf grey straight over the black undercoat (may end up looking a tad bit darker) or keep the Cold Grey. It doesnt look too bad to be honest (Black undercoat -> Cold Grey -> Wolf Grey) and some of the Cold Grey does still come through in some areas. Now if i was being excessively evil, i could have just done a complete Cold Grey Basecoat followed by the Wolf Grey and used the Cold Grey for more of a 'Grey Lining' technique. Why do i say this? Well if this was a standard marine i was painting, the Cold Grey would be a waste as it would be covered up completely. Pics of this marine will come soon, and now i wish i had a better pic of it with the Cold Grey coat, but oh well. For the sake of argument, the only thing left to do really is the Chest (which will be done in white, just like i plan to do with the Fleur de Lys) and any other tid bits i feel worth of wanting to do. I just wonder if Fortress Grey turns out just as light. Also debating whether to do White highlights or Ghostly Grey, although im leaning towards the latter, but i WILL do half and half highlights to see which one is better. If everyone behaves, i may get a pic of it tomorrow (in addition to some Space Wolves) just to keep everyone happy.

Miscellaneous
Well, i havent touched my Thousand Sons test mini in a while, mainly cos the Sisters test color work has been a bit higher on the priority (somehow). Hoping to visit the hobby store this week to pick up some new paints and maybe a new brush. Trying to RESIST the urge to by a box, but after reading a thread on the B&C, it kinda makes me want to splurge a lil.

Keep watchin' as always!



-TAS

A Poll!!!!

Taking some advice from Vash and moving it to the next level, i bring to you a PAINTING POLL!!

Since the color scheme of my Sisters is still in MUCH doubt, ive worked on some images in paintshop pro and came up with the following image:

Sisters of Battle Poll!!

You have FOUR choices: '1', '1.1', '2' and '?'

Now for the clarifications:

- 1.1 differs from 1 in that there is lighter robes. Otherwise, the armor color is the same.
- '?' is basically meaning back to the drawing board i go. If you feel the first three schemes arent very nice, suggest some ideas alterations and i can get back to you on those ones. I am preferring to avoid the major current Order colors, as well as things like Dark Grey, Purple, Dark Green, Blue-Grey, Dark Blue as i dont want to repeat main colors on two different armies. Admittedly, '2' isnt as light as i would like it to be, but its just a visual guess, its not like i can upload my Vallejo and GW paint collections into Paintshop pro for more true to color colors.

PLEASE vote. Just leave a comment in this post. I will be VERY hurt if you dont vote!! I'll hopefully announce the results within the next few days :)



-TAS

Had a lil bit of a think.

Just did about 45 mins or so worth of painting, not that it really shows. For future reference, i am definitely NOT glueing torsos to legs, especially if there is a bit dangling in front of the crotch of the legs as it makes things rather DIFFICULT! That aside, i did some painting on the bases and im thinking, maybe the whole washes of wolf grey is the wrong way to go about it. After the last wash, i noticed the wolf grey actually "pools" in the recesses (ok, this i should know already). So instead of washing it, im thinking im going to paint it as normal and do a heavy wash with the Sombre Grey to get it to pool into the recesses and then touch up with the Wolf Grey, added by a quick dry brush of Ghostly Grey.

Aside from that, didnt do much as i was busy doing details on one grey hunter (as ive always said, black lining is a pain). Hoping to have those two recently started Grey Hunters done by the end of this weekend and maybe start on the next base coats on my Sisters of Battle test minis.


-TAS

Sisters of Battle Ideas

In between the whole deciding what paint scheme im going to choose and my other WIP armies, i was thinking about what i can do to convert the Sisters. Admitedly there isnt many models available for conversions, and my GS skills arent THAT crash hot. So in saying that, any models i wish to convert will be based on the Retributor models since they are the only ones that dont come with their arms attached. So here are my ideas:

- Simple change in Leg Postions. Will definitely require GS work afterwards.
- Some models CAN have weapon changes, notably the Sister who is priming her grenade with her mouth. Sister Superior models may be useable without too much hacking and slashing.
- Seraphim are potentially useful, although more work is needed there. If their legs can be repositioned and new arms looked for, they can be an excellent addition. I was looking at the artwork for the Sisters and a fair few do have a more gauntlet looking arm piece than the gloved look. This is good, as Marine arms could be used, although the scale may be an issue. Chaos Warrior arms were also a thought.
- Torso segment from the tank sprue is a possibility, once some arms and legs are acquired.
- For my Celestians, im going to go for a more hooded look, as well as the occasional Sabbart + Fleur de Lys helmed Celestian. Should be interesting for sure.

They are the ideas i have thought of, although none will be looked into just yet until i sort out the issue with the Paint Scheme. Ive been in contact with Vash on the B&C via PM and he suggested to do some more Paintshop images, which i will try and do. It isnt the best, but im just lookin' for an overall feel for the color scheme. So hopefully ill get some of those cranking by the end of today and may have a lil voting poll for what is good/bad/oh so very wrong and should be in a Slaanesh army etc etc.



-TAS

Sisters of Battle Pic Update

Yes i am aware these ARENT Sisters of Battle models, but i wasnt prepared to sacrifice two models to test out the color scheme. Unfortunately, this has probably been my WORST pic taken on the digicam since ive had it, so ill have to work on that next time. On the left we have a base coat of Cold Grey (definitely makes me want to do a Space Wolves 13th Co army) and the right is a test of Imperial Blue (Vallejo) as a basecoat. As i said, the pics arent doing the colors justice at all. You may also alot of the standard "care" i take went out the window in these two minis. This is not because my painting skills are "de-evolving" but i choose to be a bit more "painterly" with the paint application over being precise. Some of the black lining DID come out, but these two models are more for color testing and not technique testing. However, the next paint coats WILL be alot more precise, plus trying to black line with the GW standard brush AFTER the bristles have started to go "funny" isnt an easy task. But since i still intend to have another "basecoat" i wasnt too troubled by the lack of black lining. Obviously when i do the first battle sister mini, of course ill be alot more anal about the details etc. Not the best way to test the color scheme since it isnt even for the right mini, but as i said, i didnt feel like sacrificing minis. Granted, i could strip the mini that had the unwanted scheme, but that to me felt like a waste of time, money and paint. Days like this i wish there was an interactive Sisters paint program (much like the marine one) as that would make ALOT easier!


PIP pic of my Test color schemes for my Sisters of Battle. As always, ready the entry for more details.


-TAS

Space Wolves Grey Hunter Pic Update

Here is the latest pic of my Grey Hunters. As you can see, the Hunter in the middle is making good progress now. The two hunters on the left are also doing ok, as their base coat is still slowly being applied (damn desire to black line). Im a lil disappointed that the ruins on the far right base didnt come out looking a tad bit darker (looks better in R/L). Ive also started applying the Wolf Grey wash to the bases, although when i say wash, i literally mean it. The base edges are supposed to be in pure Wolf Grey (non washed) so ill have to touch that up next time. Would have done a bit more, but my eyes were going funny with the whole detail concept.

Im getting there :)


A new PIP pic of my Grey Hunters. Read main entry for more details.



-TAS

A more in-depth update!

As i promised previously, I was going to do a more in-depth update. So first off, i welcome Arjan to the whole blogging concept. Although more a Tyranid player, he still has some great stuff to show off, plus he does have that random beer marine that intrigues me.

Arjan's Blog

Now as for my April goals, well i know Duregar will find it awfully repeatitive, but hey, what can i say, im a SLOW painter!

April Goals
- HALF a squad of Grey Hunters
- Complete my Thousand Sons Test Mini
- Complete my Sisters of Battle color tests

The color tests for the sisters will be interesting, as it looks like i may need to look at more than just the armor color at this stage. However, the B&C is currently down, so i cant discuss with Vash some of my more recent ideas.

Now some of you are probably asking, where are the pictures? Here is my answer: NOT READY YET! :P I definitely have some time to do some painting tonight, so ill collect some pics after that. Havent thought about what pics ill be taking, but you'll get some teasers here and there for sure.

Keep watchin this space.



-TAS

A Quick Update on Things

I intend to do a more extensive update tonight, but im at work atm, and somewhat bored, so here is a SHORT update.

After being "made" to buy it, i finally bought Firewarrior at EB for $30. Not too bad, im quite happy with it at that price. Anyway, it (oddly enough) aint that bad a game, especially with the whole going around and shooting things dead concept. As a result, it is KINDA making me like those damn fish 'eads, so yeah, a lil peeved on that note. However if i was to start a Tau army, bah, GO THE HORDE CONCEPT!! None of this pish pash Battle Suit crap!!

Today is also the start of APRIL! Thus, i will post my April goals later today, although ill hint now, it will be somewhat repeatitive of LAST months goals.

I had a quick think about my Sisters again today, especially after some PMs with Vash from the B&C, and i was wondering, how about yellow robes? If done properly, yellow can be quite appealing and ive rarely seen yellow robes outside of WHFB.

And on my final note, i will post a link to Arjan's blog later on, since ive somewhat started a new craze amoungst the people.

Thats it for this update, check in later on, for a more extensive update and if everything is good, i MAY throw in some pictures!!


-TAS

Still doing minor updates

Ok, since i touched two of my armies, time to split my update into two categories for ease of reading etc etc.

Space Wolves

Did more work on the two minis that were previously bearing only their black undercoat (pic of thse two from AGES ago). So the base coating is going ok, more is getting done on a daily basis, so at this point in time, i have FOUR models actually in the proper painting process, and one base. Although, for future notice, im definitely going to be hesitant about glueing torsos to legs, especially if there are dangly parts in front of the crotch eg necklaces, wolf tails. Another lil "concern" that has come up is how i am going to proceed with the next paint later on the bases. Since im trying to go a light blue-grey color to complement the white snow, im thinking either a heavy dry brush on the bases in Wolf Grey OR a heavy wash of Wolf Grey. Obviously, in the end it probably doesnt matter as a good part of the base will be covered in snow, but obviously for the sake of painting i still want it to look good. Im leaning towards heavy washes, as i can build up some tone from that, so i can keep a faint Sombre grey coming up in areas of shadow, whilst higher peaks will be more of a pure Wolf Grey. However any ideas/suggestions would be great. Hoping to do a lil bit more work tonight and then i will take pictures, as im sure Tobias is just dying to see what im doing. So there is a SLIGHT hope that ill get some of these hunters soon prior to the middle of the year.

Sisters of Battle

As i DONT want to sacrifice any of my existing models to test schemes (despite the fact i know i COULD strip the paint) ive gone ahead and used two old space marine models as test paint dummies. I know it isnt the best, but 1) i wont be using the marines against, as they didnt go through the paint stripping all too well 2) i only really wanted their missle launchers and 3) i dont lose any of my precious SoB models. Both have been undercoated black, although a second thin wash will do them good. After that, it will be onto the base coats, one being Light Grey and one will be Light Blue. What colors am i going to use you ask? For the Light Grey, it will be VERY similar to painting my Wolves, in that i will use a basecoat of Sombre Grey, followed by Wolf Grey and lastly by Ghostly Grey. Yeah, i know its very Space Wolves like, but its still different enough in my books. Since i am doing THREE paint coats, i actually WONT be black lining these models, and will rely on the sombre grey and wolf grey coats as my form of shading. So i can be a bit more "sloppy" with these models. Although black lining would be nice, i dont see the point if im going to have a total of four layers of paint on the actual mini itself. So that will actually be a welcome change. However, we'll see how it goes, as i may be able to annhilate one of the steps in there, who knows.

As for the Light Blue, i am wanting to work up to an Enchanted Blue color, so im thinking ill have a base coat of Ultramarines blue and then move to Enchanted blue. In this case, i MAY black line, unless i can find a third paint color, so i can annhilate the need to black line. However, this will need a quick visit to the Vallejo AND GW paint wheels to see. Unfortunately, the light grey scheme will be tested in pure vallejo paints, whilst the blue will be back to the GW paints, as i havent got an extensive range of blues.

For the red robes, im thinking of using a "freebie" model from a WD from ages past. Some random Mordheim figure that was with the issue and since it has a cloak, it will work well as a test mini for the robes. Havent decided if the robes will be pure red inside and out, or if ill have an inside color and an outside color. Any thoughts on that would be greatly appreciated. I may have to pull in a small favor from Vash to give some assistance in the SoB area, as he seems quite knowledgable in the army given his work on the B&C.

Keep watchin this space and dont hesitate to post a comment or two. My goodness you people, SOO SOO LAZY!! How do you expect me to improve as a painter without advice/suggestions :P



-TAS

Another Minor Update

Did another few hours of painting today (didnt do any yesterday). Getting close to having a Hunter completed, as he now has BOTH his arms attached!! He is looking pretty ok actually, doesnt look too "wolfie" to me though, but im still far from finished, and he IS minus his head, shoulder pads and backpack, so that may add some extra flavor. Started undercoating a few more random parts here and there, but so far things are going ok. Didnt touch the test Thousand Sons mini again (sorry Avoghai) but we'll see how things go. It's a few more days til the end of March and i am still determined in finishing SOMETHING, just not sure what yet. In saying that, the new April Goals will be published in a few days time, although i suspect it will (yet again) revolve around my Grey Hunters, but i am making progress on them. Tomorrow might be a bit more of a putty day for me to sort out pack markings and fill in some gaps here and there so i can make more progress on these Hunters. Ill also take the time to remove any unwanted purity seals! Since ive never seen a purity seal on a Space Wolf before, and i believe there is some fluff justification for this as well. Which aint bad, the remains of the seals can go to my Sisters army. Might do a lil bit more work later on, but we'll see how things go, as i am expected to do some work AT work today since ive been lazy the past two days. I will probably get pics of what i have done tomorrow, just to see what easter break work i actually did. Otherwise, thats about it, although i may try and find some spare mini's (of the Space Marine variety) to test out my two sisters schemes, as i dont want to go wasting my own Sisters miniatures to test two different schemes. I know im sticking to dark red robes, so all i need to do is sort out the armor color (light grey vs light blue). Thank goodness Ultramarines are now a dark blue, as it wont seem too Ultramarine like to use a light blue. Although since its Enchanted Blue im looking at, it shouldnt be too bad. Keep watching this space as always.



-TAS

Did 2 Hours worth of painting this morning.

First off, i DIDNT get any pics, so dont ask :P However, if i do more work later today, i may get a new Paint in Progress shot of the minis. I didnt touch my Thousand Sons test mini (may do that later today), but i did focus more on my wolves. So what did i do today you ask? I went over those ruins on the bases again with a heavy dry brushing of Cold Grey and its looking alot better. Need to do a light dry brush with Stonewall Grey and that should be those ruins all sorted out. Started up on the metal areas on bits and pieces here and there with a nice dry brushing. Need to run over with a black wash to reduce some of the brightness and do a light dry brush of either Mithril Silver (GW) or Chainmail (GW). Otherwise, back to the Sombre Grey again. Finished up an arm for one of the Hunters, worked on a torso and started up on the two Hunters who were previously undercoated. At this stage i found out my standard brush (from GW) was starting to lose its ability to be of any painting use, so im going to have to try and get some new brushes tomorrow since places SHOULD be open on saturday. I thought it was relatively productive, especially for two hours. I'll see what i can do about pics later on, as im sure ill want to undercoat some new parts here and there and MAYBE ill get a hunter done by the end of the easter break. Then again, now that i think about it, ill get CLOSE to finishing a single hunter, as i know i want to do some quick GS work on the shoulder pad for pack markings, as i KNOW i dont have a steady enough hand to be painting markings on by free hand.

Keep watching this space, as im sure there will be a few updates for this easter break.


-TAS

As promised, here is a pic for the current work i have done on my Hunters. Not much work really, although i did touch up the bases a bit so the ruins arent so grey grey looking, although they look pretty darn black again. In the future, ill just use dry brush techniques to pick out the colors etc. The torso and the right arm havent been thrown in, sure they are undercoated, but i didnt feel like adding them in. The Wolf Pelt, i dunno, its ok i guess, but i think my technique needs some more work for future pelts and furs.

Since i took a few pics, im only showing one pic here (and im not adding it to my photobucket), however i did take two additional pics (one for Duregar and one for Avoghai), so you can probably guess what they are!

Here they are (as links):

PiP of my Thousand Son Marine

Digicam pic of my SW test Miniatures

Any imput would be nice on the PiP Thousand Sons and the Grey Hunters.


Latest PiP Shot of my Grey Hunters. Didn't include the Torso on the left Hunter, or the other arm for the Left Hunter. Further spiel, read above the pic.


-TAS

Ooops!

I believe i was supposed to have put up some new images, namely of the PiP for my Thousand Sons mini (now that i know how to go about it) and a new image for Duregar of my Space Wolves Test minis. However today was kinda all over the place, so it will have to wait til tomorrow when i suspect everything will be actually normal, i hope. Im also thinking ill do a new PiP shot of my current Grey Hunters as well, otherwise, thats about it really.

A short update, nothing too major.



-TAS

Random Comments...

After chatting with Tobias on MSN about some really random things... Here are two of the bigger highlights of the Conversation....

The truth of the two missing Legions
One of the two missing legions were very corrupt, to the point of CHEESE! Their Cheesy Primarch, Pete Haines attempted a up-rising against the Emperor, however due to the cheese his legion possessed, it took the combined power of the remaining 19 loyal legions to exterminate the Cheese Legion. As a result, one of the Legions in turn was eradticated, leaving the currently known 18 Space Marine 1st founding Legions. The incident was forever expunged and the two destroyed legions were to be forever held in secret, their disappearance to always be pondered about.

"Cheese for the Pete God, Blocks of Cheddar for his Throne"
- Chant of a Cheese Marine



-TAS

Urgh, horrible mini to paint!!

Im going to seperate things into armies for ease of writing stuff!

Space Wolves
Did some MINOR work here and there. Worked on the pelt for one Hunter, and ehh, it is so-so i guess. I guess i'm far from used to painting a pelt over a robe. Sure, it still looks ok, but at first glance, one could almost swear it was chainmail. So, its possible my sculpting of the pelt wasnt so crash hot to begin with. Alas, alot of my pelt work was PRIOR to the discovery of a short and quick sculpting guide for fur. Didn't do any of the metal work, as i dislike painting with metallic paints, but i guess ill do that within the next day or so. I also did a bit of a black wash over the ruins on the bases and it DID help. I think i might do a secondary black wash over that and then just dry brush with cold grey and a very light quick dry brush of stone wall grey. I did start undercoating some new parts, namely the arm of the Hunter whose body is actually done (well semi done) and the torso for the pair of legs. I'll probably try a different color for the pelt this time around, as i did go for a grey lookin pelt already. Im thinking if i do grey pelts again in the future, im just going to basecoat it completely with cold grey, do a black ink/wash and then dry brush with stonewall grey and ghost grey. Otherwise, that being said, the hunters are getting there.

Sisters of Battle
I had some more thought go into the color scheme and im thinking if i do the grey, it will definitely be a light grey of sorts. On the blue side of things, im thinking i might do a light blue, something along the lines of enchanted blue, assuming im not heavily using it for my Emperor's Children army, which i doubt i am. Of course, in saying that, its going to be difficult to do a paint test, as i dont want to waste models trying two schemes out, however doing the painting in say paint shop pro, isnt as reliable.

Thousand Sons
OH MY GOODNESS!!! So i started painting up the test mini and urgh, it has been the worst model i have painted in heck knows how long. The extreme "detail" of the mini makes it difficult to paint it, and even then, im confused on some areas. A note to Avoghai if you read this, the current Thousand Sons i know have a set of 'ridged' arms, how do you go about painting these? Do you just paint the high ridge areas with the standard blue and leave the deep trench areas in shadow? Or something else entirely??

Black lining this particular model hasnt been good, so it will probably be of a lower standard of painting for me, especially when compared to my new Wolves. However, i did get alot done, the only sad thing is, i think i am using the wrong blue, as it looks like it could be Night Lords marine than a Thousand Sons. However, IF that is the case, i can buy a new lighter blue and use that, and use the current base coat as a shading coat for some areas, since the black lining isnt working very well for me on this mini.

I didnt get a pic of the Thousand Sons mini (Sorry Avoghai) or the work i did on the Wolves (sorry Tobias) but i will get a new pic within the next day or two. I'll probably post them as links rather than actual images in my blog, as i can only seem to be able to load a single image per entry (although i have yet to confirm this concept). I think the next painting session i have, ill just focus more on my wolves and let that Thousand Son get coated in a few days worth of dust (bad pun) as im not ready to start working on him again. With the easter break coming up (although sadly enough, i WILL be at work for most of it, but fortunately not full on days) ill try and get some more work done and maybe attempt to finish a single Hunter.




-TAS

New Update (Just for Tobias)

Here you go Tobias, an update JUST for you :P The only stuff that has changed in this pic from the last pic is that i have completed the base coating on the left marine. Doesnt look too bad actually. Next stages are to work on his torso area and his wolf pelt. The marine on the right only has his torso blu tac'd on, as it would have been a pain to paint the pelt given how close it is to parts of the base without screwing it up completely. So my Hunters are FINALLY taking shape and form. The black lining isnt too bad, although the arm for the marine on the left has some really poor black lining here and there. The bases (ruins) need more work. After discussing with Tobias, im probably going to go over them with a black ink and then dry brush cold grey (vallejo) followed by stonewall grey (vallejo). Hopefully that will make it look alot more pleasing. Alas, i need to purchase a bottle of black ink (GW) as im not up for making an ink out of my own black paint. I cant think of anything else to add at this point in time.

As for the sisters front, still in thought about that, although im thinking i might do a light grey for the armour (not lavender as my photobucket test images may show). There were a few other colors i thought about, like turquoise, but i think the light grey might be nice. It's a shame i dont have any spare sisters models to use for test purposes, so the first one has to be dead perfect *groans*.

Before i forget, the concept of blogging has caught on, and Tobias now has one, here is the link (assuming i can link it right):

Tobias's Blog

If it doesnt work, ill just edit or put it in again at a later date with the actual address.


New pic of my Grey Hunters (just for Tobias). Here you can see the finished stages of the base coat of the marine on the left. The marine on the right has his torso blu-tac'd on for the image. You can also see the work done on the bases, but that needs to be redone with some black inking and dry brushing. For more details, read the stuff BEFORE this pic! This will also be placed on my photobucket account as well.



-TAS

Did some more Touching Up

I did a bit more work on that Grey Hunter from the previous image, so it doesnt look as black in some areas as it did before. I think i have done as much as i can on my fine detail brush and need to move into the finer detail brush. Then from that, i can start painting up the pelt and torso area. I also started painting up the 'rubble' parts on some bases, however im a bit lost on how to paint it so it looks 'realistic' and rubble like. It was originally undercoated in Black and i just painted over it in Cold Grey (Vallejo). I'm thinking i might try a black ink over the rubble, to pick out some of the details (if any) and then perhaps dry brush from there on. There was a technique in the How to Paint Citadel Miniatures, and if i recall correctly was detailing a dabbing? technique and that may help me give the rubble some form of texture, particularly on the small flat parts. I didnt take a pic (sorry Duregar) but i'll see how things go. It's a shame i dont have a proper bottle of black ink.

I also had a the weird thoughts of actually (sadly) making up pre-mixed paint pots. Not sure if i'd use my Vallejo paints or Citadel ones, but we shall see. The main thought that brought this about was the fact highlighting Sombre Grey (Vallejo) with Wolf Grey (Vallejo) isnt a good idea, as Wolf Grey is ALOT brighter.

Any ideas on either above points be great, as well as a few ideas for my Sisters army be terrific too. And yes, i am aware that only ONE person is currently reading this blog, but ill get around to that eventually.

Keep watchin this space, as i suspect there will be an update tomorrow.



-TAS

Just to make Duregar Happy!!

Here you go Duregar, a pic of what i am currently working on. As you can tell, im a horribly slow painter!! However, if you look carefully at the far left legs, you may see WHY im taking so long. The marine second from the left is still in progress, as i need to use my fine detail brush to get at some of the areas. That marine is also sportin' one of the pelts i made from putty, so it will be interesting to see how that turns out. You can also see the beginnings of my snow bases, but they are far from completed. I did do about 30mins worth of work tonight (ok, maybe saying it was "30 mins worth" is a bit of an overstatement). None the less, some work WAS made tonight. I think i might start picking out some of the rubble with more traditional grey colors within the next few days. And keep painting up the patches on the guy who is semi base coated. The two on the far right can wait a bit, but they will get their turn eventually. Im actually surprised that i managed to get the pic to look alot better in Paint Shop Pro by playing with the Brightness/Contrast to really brighten up the pic. I'll also give whoever guesses the owner of the stray legs right, 5 points :P (Hint: Check my Photobucket account).

Im also in the process of rethinking my Sisters of Battle colors. Although i was thinking grey armor, with the new Wolves army, im less convinced that is the right way to go. The only down side is that it doesnt leave me with much options. With my Dark Angels, Thousand Sons, Emperor's Children and Space Wolves armies, ive already used 95% of the available color palettes available. I think i havent touched yellow, but i dont think i will, not for my Sisters. Im trying to avoid the standard schemes used in the more commonly known Sisters Orders, thus no black, silver, red or white. Sure, im using red robes, but that works with my Sisters Order, plus i rarely paint red robes. I could try a light blue shade, but im not sure. I just wish there was an easy flash painting guide for sisters available like the Space Marines one, as it would make life so much more easier. Currently, i just go painting a Sisters pic image to test color schemes. In the end, i dont think im anywhere near closer to determining a final color scheme for my sisters.

However, i will end my rant there and pick it up next time.



A Paint in Progress pic of my Space Wolves. You'll see that im trying to do the whole black lining thing again (Far Left Legs). Im sure ill add some stuff by editing the post through blogger!




-TAS

Did a WEE bit of work.

I managed to do about maybe 45 minutes worth of painting tonight. Just touched up some harder to paint areas on a set of legs and did some painting on another Grey Hunter. At this point in time, black lining is a HUGE pain in the backside, but im slowly motoring i guess. I would take pictures, but i dont think its really necessary at this point in time. Might be able to get the random set of legs done within the next few days if i really put some effort into it, that way i can blue-tac the model together and take a picture of it for the whole world to see.

Im also still trying to figure out how im going to handle the test Thousand Sons mini. Since its an old skool mini, its a bit tricky in some areas, so i think a bit of a study of the minis in the Chaos codex is in order at least. However, it is only a test mini so it doesnt need to be exactly how i paint it. This is case with my Space wolves, as the detail on the current minis has been a pain to deal with, compared to the simple marines of the paint set.

Hopefully ill have another mini update tomorrow.



-TAS

Pre-Paint pic of my Thousand Sons Test Mini

So here we go, as i promised, a pic of the test mini being used for my Thousand Sons. I wont be going too outlandish with the scheme and it will actually be the nice traditional colors (thought i'd paint one army in tradiational colors). The pic of the mini with its undercoat was rather dark, so i didnt put it to the blog, but i will post the address of my Thousand Sons gallery at photobucket. On the note of photobucket, whoa, i finally come back and now its got the new function of being able to link back to a blogging program, so im rather impressed to be honest.

Goals for March, umm, from what i can think of, here they are:

March Goals

- Paint up Test Thousand Sons Mini
- Continue painting/converting Space Wolves Grey Hunters

Thats about it really. I suspect ill do other things, but those are the ones i want to aim for this month!

Keep watching this space!!!




-TAS





*EDIT*

Doh, had to edit the post cos Photobucket made it look REAL weird with the formatting. I also forgot to put the link to my photobucket (Thousand Sons Section)

http://photobucket.com/albums/v299/Angelus01/Thousand%20Sons/