NOW its the Pic Update!

Well I couldnt wait any longer and its already been a few hours since I handled the GS, plus I was careful with the movement of the minis.

Anyway, here are the two pics:




Above is the WIP of the Robed AotL Vet Sgt. Now, yes, the robes look a lil flat, but thats ok, as that was the intent. The General idea was to lay down the basic look of the robes (and get a few creases into it) and then build up from that. The pic unfortunately doesnt do it justice, and it does look a bit better when NOT viewed through a camera. Hopefully within the next day or so ill start to add in some of the folds into the bottom section of the robes before i start work on the torso bit and the hood. Otherwise, its coming out quite nicely and isnt as 'bulky' as ive seen some folk do robes.



Next is the Nid test scheme WITH the WIP work on the Hormagaunt head. For some weird reason, the head doesnt look THAT big normally, but oh well. However, its going ok, although originally before I did the most recent GS work, the head almost looked like the OOP Ravener (in terms of the back). All i did the last time was make the back look more like a sausage. Scheme wise, is pretty much going to be what is shown above (with a bit more care on the black washes). However, there IS some differences between the two. One has some more muted Cold Grey highlights (with fresh Cold Grey done over them) while the other is Cold Grey highlights and I THINK some quick Stonewall Grey highlights. Personally, im thinking im going to stick with the cold grey highlights, but keep the muted and fresh ones going. Oddly enough, it doesnt look too bad, and sure, its not exactly what i wanted, it isnt too bad at all. The non carapace sections also got some highlights, but i think in future ill keep them as muted cold grey highlights and keep the more 'bright' grey highlights for carapace only. That way there is some distinction between the two and doesnt overly brighten up the mini with excessive grey highlights.


In other news, did some more painting here and there, and did some partial assembly of the 'pack leader'. All that is left on him is his Axe arm (and axe), head, backpack and lil dagger. So far its looking quite good and im quite pleased. Also started slapping on some Sombre Grey onto the arm components of another hunter, which is one of the magnet hunters (Power Fist arm/Regular Close Combat Weapon). So far, doing well, and the legs on that Hunter have already been done. Taking a wee bit of care with the torso section as its got a lil pelt on the bottom of the torso, so im hoping to paint that up first before glueing the torso to the body and finishing the painting. So with a bit of minor luck, might have two more hunters done by the end of the week bringing my total up to 5. As for the Thousand Sons mini, its still getting the undercoat treatment but im hoping to get onto the base coat within the next day or so, although, i might start on the trims first before doing the base coat, so i can freely do the black wash over the metal without upsetting the base coat. Plus, luckily enough, Chaos parts arent as detailed as marine parts, so black lining wont be too difficult to do (for a change).

I probably wont do any more updates for today, although i will continue painting and leave any news for tomorrow, unless i so happen to finish a grey hunter (unlikely, but not impossible).




-TAS

No Pic Update!! (Yet)...

The reason for this not being a pic update is simple: At this very moment, im letting some GS stuff do some curing. Thus, the pics of the Nid scheme will have to wait for another few hours, or at the least til tomorrow to allow the GS full curing. Reason why is:

1. After the first batch of GS work, I actually put the Hormagaunt head on one of the random test nid bodies and though, hey, why dont I take the GS WIP AND Color test pic at the same time?

2. I started on the first phase of the Robes, and wow, it isnt looking half bad. Although the robes look a bit "flat", this is only the first part of the robe work. So ill also take a pic of that for the AotL board. Fortunately enough, thanks to the fact of actual GS application to the mini itself, there are some creases forming up, and im going to try and "push" the front and rear robe section a bit more to get a few more folds if I can and end it there. The rest of the work will involve using thin strands of GS to create the upper folds once the GS has cured.


On a minor note, I also patched up the TS base a tad bit, so the mini doesnt look so bad when he is standing. However, on a disappointing note, I forgot about the Nid base, and no work was done on that, so that will have to wait til NEXT time. However, since I need to do the scout bases later, I might do some early work on the base then to bulk it up slightly and do the lil odds and ends and final GS work on the base later. Plus I need an imprint of the Hormagaunt foot for eventual glueing later on, since I cut the hormagaunt free from its lil plastic slot section.

Otherwise, thats about it, the GS work is doing well, showing A LOT of pleasing results. If I knew GS work was this "easy" I would have finished my Angelus model ages ago.. well.. maybe...

I'll get those pics ASAP, however in the mean time I will do some more painting, so I may do an update later on.





-TAS

Wow, ANOTHER Mini Update!

I post more daily than Erwin does.. Perhaps I should rename my blog the Daily Realm of 40K and GW :P

Anyway, Im just going to do this as a run down list of each army, or else ill get lost.


Space Wolves:

Slowly progressing on the "pack leader" model. So far, so good, although painting Sombre Grey is starting to bore me just a WEE bit. Hopefully by the end of next week, ill have another Grey Hunter done, which means COMPLETION OF THE GREY HUNTER JANUARY GOAL! Also started slapping some Sombre Grey on another Hunter, so yeah, things are getting there. Did a bit more work on the scouts, and covered up the lil 'slits' in the bases (I wanted to use up some of the "slut-a-bases" as i bought a bag worth. The holes for pins have been drilled in all 6 scouts, so ill probably within the next day or two, putty up the bases before i start posing the legs so i know what im working with. Also did some minor clean up and cutting up work on my future Battle Leader, although I need to do some plastic moving, so Im going to try out this hot water and bending trick and see if I can move the cape for the Battle Leader without damaging the plastic too much. Otherwise, thats about it.

Tyranids:

Having done a great deal, although I know I want to bend the Hormagaunt tail slightly, so ill do that at the same time I try bending the Battle Leader's Cape. Probably going to try and do some more GS work tonight and patch up the head and do some minor work on the base to give it some basic bulk and slowly build in the details. Otherwise, thats about it on that end.

Angels of the Lion:

The actual idea was to NOT touch these guys til the release of the codex, but after the renewed activity at the AotL forum, I guess I had to join along. The Vet Sgt model has been assembled (head, torso and legs) and the legs have been repositioned slightly and fixed up with GS. Tonight, if i do end up doing GS work, ill start on the first phase of the robes (which should be interesting). I havent a clue HOW its going to turn out, so im keeping my fingers crossed. Otherwise, thats about it, since I am trying to keep this army fairly minimized throughout the year.

Thousand Sons:

GS work is done (all I did was patch up the leg). Up to the undercoating stage, which i swear, is NEVER easy on metal, so next time, Im so slapping on some primer before painting the black on. Should be an interesting break from all the Sombre Grey of the Wolves.

Other Armies:

Squat all!!!



So im about to hit half way through Jan, and so far, the goals are still roughly on target. Ill try and get some pics later on of the current looking Nid paint scheme, and stick to that. Only thing I really need to control for future reference is black wash strength, but thats about it really. The EC design work might get a bit behind, but I have started on a few pages of designs, its just that none of them are really "filled up".

So thats the update done, check back in later as I should have some pics of the Nids done.




-TAS

Mini Update!

Well I said I was going to do some GS work, and I did!! I patched up the small gaps in the Thousand Sons Marines leg, and the lil gap in the AotL Vet Sgt I am working on. Also started the first section of the Nid head work (rear section). Im just letting the GS cure a tad bit so i can do some minor details on the leg bits (mainly the TS dude). In any case, things went well, made enough GS to last the three bits and was alot easier to use than the milliput I was using previously. Helps to order like HEAPS of GS from overseas cos there is probably enough GS there to convert more than the armies I own. Next GS wave will consist of more Nid head work (the front section) and the first phase of sculpting my own robes (this is a big leap for me, even though I did manage back in the day do a complete GS DA Angel icon on a dread knee pad). Im hoping to start doing the pinning of the Wolf Scout legs in the next few days, although I want to use something a tad bit THINNER than wire from a paper clip as they become hell-ish to bend into the desired angle. Then, ill throw them into the next GS lot, so the next GS work I guess would probably be done early next week (to allow full curing of the GS now). Also hoping to do some minor design art on some 'Nid bases. Although I have ideas in mind, I want to know how much will be GS and how much will be other raw materials i have at my disposal. Since im looking at the type of 'hive' base that are featured in the Alien movies, it shouldnt be TOO difficult, and looking at HR Giger art should prove to be more than useful.

If this GS works out really well, which so far it seems to be, I might use the remaining milliput for snow bases only (as they dont need to be extremely textured etc) and use the proper GS for everything else. I might end up using the GS as well for my Nid bases, which will probably see alot of it being used, but I have maybe a good metre plus some of the stuff? and I only used a SMALL amount for the work I just did, so it shouldnt be too bad. By early next week, I can probably throw the Thousand Son Marine onto the painting line and get him done up and see how well that turns out.

Funnily enough, its interesting to see how much work im actually doing with the B&C currently down, heh. Anyway, thus far im quite happy with the progress that has been made for this month. A lil bit behind, but ive still got over half a month left. Later on, i might take pics of the current Nid paint scheme. Although it isnt exactly what I wanted, it will probably have to do, as the size of the model doesnt exactly allow me to use a pure black chrome look without killing half the looks of the model, although its still looking ok, and im pretty sure ill try to stick to some 'dark highlights' as oxymoronic as that sounds to try and keep that nice dark look (and without having to mix paints).

Anyway, I think ive let the GS cure just enough, time to add in some minor details and voila.



-TAS

Picture time!!

As i promised in my 100th post, this post will be a bit of a photo-whore entry. Took snaps of the completed Grey Hunter and Battle Sister, and a quick pic of the WIP Thousand Son.

So without further disruption, here are the pics with associated blurps....


The WIP Thousand Son.. Nothing major atm, basic conversion wise all I did was reposition the legs so he would be standing on the pile of rocks. I might add a bit more rocks so his foot is a bit more level, but it isnt too bad. Also filed down random bits of icons here and there, as for some reason, I dont think the Thousand Sons should have all the pointy features on their armor (but thats me). All that really needs to be done now is to patch up the leg section and maybe add some minor trim features back into the armor again. The latter isnt too important, but we'll see how things go.




Next up is the COMPLETED Battle Sister. The base isnt too bad (although next time Ill use craft glue over super glue). I like how its a predominant grey look, as it seems to bring out the more 'gothic' look to the mini. Otherwise, the mini itself is as shown previously, the base is the only new change.




Lastly, the Grey Hunter... Two pics are shown, one being a comparison of the initial WIP of it (as lame as it looks) compared to its final look. The last pic is the obligatory all angles pic. Heh, after looking at some of the pics, the paint job looks a tad bit messy in some areas, but oh well... If i spent making each mini look PERFECT, well, lets just say, if still be painting my second grey hunter.



Later this week I might take a pic of the first Tyranid Gaunt being done up, with all its magnetized goodnews (excluding biomorphs). Since my Devourer and Spine Fleets are still in early design, other than weapon biomorphs, nothing has been really written down. I should also TRY and finish off the paint scheme tests as well since that isnt alot of hassle. But thats pretty much it!





-TAS

100th Post!!! BOOYEAH!!

And here it is, the 100th blog post!! Heh, and still got about 9 more days to go before the big 1 year birthday of the blog.

So as a minor celebration, Id like to say I have FINISHED the test Battle Sister. The base came out looking pretty ok, and im quite happy with it (perfect for city fight). So ill post pics tomorrow for sure.

I also finished another Grey Hunter bringing my total of complete Grey Hunters up to THREE. Sure, im still a fair way away from getting the squad done, but im getting there. Next few days i suspect will be covering black undercoating and perhaps alot of sombre grey nights, but other than that all is going well.

Didnt end up going to the 40K meet up today, as I was dead tired (havent been sleeping well the past few nights). Mind you, it wasnt all that a fantastic of a snooze either, but oh well. Im debating how to do up the Nid base, as I want to try and use some of the bits that I have, but I am trying to save bits for a Devourer and Spinefist based hive fleets (crazy i know). In any case, Ill probably do a bit more modelling tonight (do some more work on the wolf scouts perhaps) and MAYBE free some more Hormagaunts from the sprue as well so I can do some mass work on them rather than one at a time as that will NOT be fun at all....

Might try to aim to do some GS work this week ('Nids and lone Thousand Son) so I can get that out of the way and get ont to the painting aspect.

Check back tomorrow (well later today I guess) and i should have pics up for the completed Sister and Grey Hunter.



-TAS

1 more to go!!

And here is the 99th blog entry.. Wow... I was planning something for the 100th post, but since I wont have the time, ill save it for the 1 year birthday of my blog which is Jan 18th.

Done a tad bit more painting, but nothing really OUT there.... Just need to do some touch ups on the grey hunter (mainly his back pack) and that will be another one done. The sad thing is, all it needs is the metal areas done up and thats pretty much it. Blu-tac'd another Hunter to my lil kinder 'eggs' for painting, so the Space Wolves are going ok. Might do some more work on cleaning up the Wolf Scouts tonight since Im more in the modelling state of mind than painting. Cleaned up a Hormagaunt last night from the new gaunt box. Not sure how extensive ill go with the GS work, I know I obviously want to alter the head of course, but Im debating if I want to add the 'dorsal horns'. Sure I want it themed appropriately, but I dont want it to be spitting imitations of the Aliens. Plus I swear 'Nid plastics align up horribly when put together. Although I havent glued anything yet, I just did the dry run and I swear its full of mini spaces where pieces go together (and yes I did put the RIGHT pieces together). Also still debating what to do about the Ravener head. I do have a spare Warriors head floating around, and Im wondering if I want to use that OR stick with the old style Ravener head as the base for the head. Also annoyed I cant get that other rending claw for it, but I dunno, I might have another look at the random bits I have and assess how much GS work would be needed to make it look like the right arm (and not a left arm).

Should be doing some work on my EC this weekend at the lil get together we are having on sunday, although alot of it will be modelling based, as I dont feel like bringing all my paints with me. Might also do some minor work on my TS this week as well, since I have aimed to complete a single mini. Although alot of the modelling will be done in one go. Not sure how Im going to model them, as I dont want to keep using the static pose over and over. Guess I could try and model some random form of bolter butchery, but that be about it.

Also undercoated up the Battle Sisters base, so that shouldnt take too much work to finish up either. I might head back to that later tonight since it will be majority a grey base, although not as light as the Power Armor for the Sisters, as I would like color variation.

Lastly, just for the sake of argument, I also put together some pre finish and post finished pics, for the last Grey Hunter that was finish and the SoB. Im more impressed with the latter, as the initial paint concept for the Sisters was done in Photoshop. And although the armor looks more like a lavender, it still wasnt a bad approximation of what I had in mind. I also scanned one of my EC design pages, but Ill post that as a pic later on, although I guess I could do it now and be all lazy about it.....





So that is the EC design stuff... The sketches are pretty so-so, but Im not out to make fully detailed images, merely rough guides.



And there is the Comparison pic as well.. Although the Grey Hunter isnt anything major, I do like the comparison pic for the battle Sister. The scary thing is, that I almost paint better in Photoshop, if not actually do!

Anyway, thats this entry done!





-TAS

98th Post (First of 2006)

So here is a NEW year (again), and this blog is still happily motoring on. In about 18 days time, my blog will be 1 year old, so I still have plenty of time to pass the 100 post count :P

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable end of 2005 celebration, I know I did (well it wasnt TOO bad) and I had some fun, had some drinks and didnt wake up with a hang over...

Anyway.. enough about that... What will 2006 bring for my armies??

Dark Angels/Angels of the Lion
After seeing a thread at warseer(?) any and all work on these guys are suspended til the end of this year for when the new codex gets released. GW have already started producing concept art for the DA, and dang, the images are FINALLY lining up with our background, although GW DID go the route of making the DA plasma happy... Nonetheless, I will still do some concept art of my own and see if I can still have some of my models up to par with the new stuff coming out, as I dont want too much of a horrid 'edition' gap in the army. So until the end of the year, there wont be alot of DA related stuff coming out, unless I know I can execute it well and have it up to par with the new 4th ed material.

Space Wolves (and 13th Company)
Although I dread the release of the 4th Ed material as my wolves will probably look funny and weird, this aside, these folk WILL continue as planned. Since I have made it a point to convert them more, the eventual 4th ed SW release HOPEFULLY wont hit my minis too hard. So as long as I keep converting them up, they should be fine. As for the 13th Co, they will be heavily converted, using Chaos Warriors as the base model. So when the 4th ed stuff come out, I can probably still be quite happy that the army looks quite unique and varied enough to stay within the artistic limits that GW will come out with. When will these guys get started? Well since my DA/AotL are on the back burner, this will give me a bit more time to work on these folk.

Emperor's Children
With attention on armies this year changing, Im hoping to go back to basics with the EC. Although the initial stuff IS ok, things after my SW work, have made the EC look pretty basic and boring. Thus, I am hoping to redo my EC army, and make them up to the level i had intended them to be at. With that in mind, ill probably start doing up some new design artwork to really get alot of my ideas down onto paper and start creating models to tailor to those images.

Thousand Sons
Unlike my EC, Im quite happy with the general look of the TS. Although I am being very selective with bits and what icons are and are not on the mini, overall conversion to these guys will be relatively minimal. Thus I hope to see a bit of a start in my TS over the upcoming months.

Sisters of Battle
Given that these are all friggin pewter minis, converting wont exactly be easy as pie. However, with my view on basing, Im quite certain I can still give these models a bit of personality, and with some minor conversions, do ok. Given that the color scheme has been finalized, I do hope to get more of these girls done over the year.

Tyranids
My newest army, which thus far has probably got the EASIEST paint scheme of all my armies. The only thing to keep in mind is that highlighitng WILL be key to bring out these minis. Converting wise, this army will be a challenge as I am going for a specific visual theme, which will be accomplished by both the look of the mini itself AND the way the mini has been based to add for more 'psychological fear'. I suspect these guys will be a slow mover, but I hope to see some decent work come mid-year.



Man.. I have too many armies... Will I start anymore in 2006? I would hope not... Started enough in 2005 as it is.... Although I dont like forcing myself to, I also want to bring back my monthly goal system, as it was some what rewarding when I actually FINISHED one... So with that in mind:

January 2006 Goals:

- Completion of Tyranid Paint Scheme
- Completion of TWO more Grey Hunters (minimum)
- Completion of model clean up for my Wolf Scouts
- Completion of first Battle Sister mini (base remaining).
- TWO pages of Design art for the Emperor's Children
- Completion of first Thousand Sons mini



Doesnt seem like a big list, but for me, that list WILL take a good month to plow through..

But that is it ladies and gents, the gauntlet has been laid down for 2006, time to get to work!




-TAS

97th Post (The last of 2005)....

Well thats it ladies and gents, another year over and out... So with that in mind, Happy New Years to all. Have fun, stay safe and thats about it really....

Anyway, on a more happy note, I did get to replace the Soul Drinker novel with something and bought me a box of Gaunts. In hindsight, I wish I got the Dryads instead, but oh well... Can never have too many Gaunts, and the Dryads can wait, which means, my AotL go back on the back burner for a few more months (which isnt bad, esp if the DA codex is indeed the next codex out).

Also picked up some random items: A glue gun (for the nice slime effect for my nids), a few containers (one for storing army bits, another for flock materials). So, that is pretty much my last 2005 'haul' I guess.. Wont be one in 2006 for a wee while (maybe Feb-ish). I also back tracked some of my older archives and it looks like I still have approximately 18 days before my blog is actually one year old.. Soo.. Im sure ill hit the 100th post by that time (100 posts in a year, aint too bad :P).

Tonight I hope to get those gaunt bits washed, go to a friends lil 'party' tonight for a bit and tomorrow, I shall do the official 2006 'resolution' thread relating to all matters GW etc etc...

Otherwise, enjoy the end of the year folks, see you in 2006!!



-TAS

96th Post!!

It would have been nice to do my 100th post prior to the end of the year, but oh well... Nonetheless, I am still doing well.. Although 100 posts over a year? Seems a lil low *shrugs* maybe thats because Im more used to B&C posting standards. Anyway.... Havent done alot of painting in the last few days, but Ill try and do some later tonight, see how close I can get to finishing another model before 2006... I have, however been doing some random modelling/mold line removal on random bits here and there. I know Ive cleaned up another Wolf Scout bits (main body sections anyway) and I did some work on a Thousand Sons mini as well. Might put some parts together and start painting that dude up, then I can have heck knows how many armies at the painting stage going all at once!!

Anyway... did a lil spree today I guess, picked up my lay-by'd Liber Chaotica Compilation.. Aint too bad, gonna have to take off the lil book sleeve (as that is getting annoying) but Im quite happy with it... Sure the cost of that was pretty much the price as two LCs put together, but oh well... Least I have the Khorne segment and the special Undivided section.

Got two more vallejo paints (Silver and Chainmail) as pre-planning for my nids. Plus if and when I go back to my EC, those will help out for trims.

Bought two BL novels, one being Dues Encarmine (so I now have the whole set) and my boo-boo purchase of.. SOUL DRINKER!! So yeah, Im gonna have to go and see if i can return that or get store credit, as ive already got Soul Drinker and dont need another copy... I also picked up the first volume of the Horus Heresy artbooks for $15 off as it was apparently 'damaged' stock. Now I must admit, the other copy that was there, was in pretty bad shape (well one of the corners was pretty creased up), the copy I grabbed wasnt too bad, minor creases in the book in the bottom corner, otherwise its in pretty a-ok shape. So at the cheaper rate, I sure as hell aint complaining about the creases... Of course I would love to get Vols 2 and 3 now, but that could take some time. Also managed to pick up the lil book sized version of the Graphic Novel Daemonifuge. Was quite happy with that since I missed the comic sized version of it and it has been an interesting, yet confusing read. Also got me a few ideas for half my armies out of it.

In the end, I am quite happy with what I got, although the actual idea of the trip was to either buy or lay by a 4th Ed version of the Tyranid Battleforce.... Also saw some random lil 'mini' boxes with a few figures here n there for armies in Fantasy and 40K. Essentially its like 2-3 models (on average) for like $20 AUD. Naturally I laughed as 1. the SM Combat Squad is $30 for 5, the Chaos Warriors box is $50 for about 12 odd... So im like.. Bloody GW, trying to bleed MORE money out of us... Although convenient, HECK NO at those prices.. Also need to pick up my WD, so I might do that early next week.. Apparently the new BT sprue box is coming out soon, which I might grab on its own so I can play around with the bits... Also had a quick look at the Zoanthrope and the good news is that it does have the type of head I am after for my Hive Tyrant/Queen model.. the downside is that the tip of the head is attached to alot of other random bits of pewter... It'll be a bit of a shame to have to spend $26 odd dollars for the head component, but oh well... Stinks that we dont have bits order here as Id just get the friggin head part...

Well thats my lil update/rant over and done with. Ill post a reply with the potential good/bad news about the Soul Drinker Issue.. Debating if I wanna run away with the store credit (if I get one) OR if I do get the money back... if I should pick up a small box of something.... I could get a box of gaunts as I will probably need a second box worth, battleforce or not... That way Ill have some 'Nids to work with to keep me entertained while i work on everything else... Might pick up a box of the Dryads perhaps since I want to use them for a mix of bits for my AotL and potential plastic Daemonettes... So yeah.. options... >.<




-TAS

T-minus 5 and counting!!

Getting closer to 100 posts!! In any case, Ive set my 'nids a tad bit back, since I wont have much to work with once these color tests are finished (except a single ravener, if I can ever get some rending claws from SOMEWHERE). I just managed to finished completely a second grey hunter and did some more black undercoats on some new stuff, so in the next day or so I'll probably do some base coating with those. Heck, I might get another model done up within the next week if the base coating process goes well (since the main central section is done). All that needs to be done on that particular hunter is the arm sections (including shoulder pads) and the backpack. Still need to work on the Battle Sister's basing, since that will probably have to go back to the GS, and unlike my Space Wolves bases, needs to be some what flat.. if not ALOT flat, since Im going with a tiled look. I could save myself some hassle and just cut the Sister off from her lil 'slot' segment, patch up the feet and glue her down normally, so we'll see how things go. If that works as well as it sounds like in theory, then I wont need to go down the GS route, which will save alot more time and hassle.

Also did some modelling on my future wolf scouts, well a single scout anyway, and my goodness, making my own scouts is NOT fun... Thank goodness, my 'Dark Angels' scouts will be alot more regular looking.

Otherwise, thats about it for this entry. Ill add a pic (or two) of the completed minis, either in a few minutes time OR later today/tomorrow. And after recalling the dreaded experience with the 'Nid pics, Ill probably combine BOTH pics into one pic and post it here (since I dont feel like using my 96th post as a pic only post)!!


*EDIT*

Here is the pic I promised of both the Space Wolves Grey Hunter and Sisters of Battle Battle Sister... The Hunter looks ok in the pic (been a good pic), the Sister, well the pic was good, but the paint work in some areas (especially the face) still needs some more work. Ill probably let that model fly, but for future models, try and take a bit more care in doing the face etc.








-TAS

The 94th Post!!!

So we draw closer and closer to 100.... In any case, this is more of an 'Ideas' page for the 'Niddies. Took MANY screen caps of Alien stuff from Alien, Aliens, Alien3, Alien: Ressurrection AND Aliens vs Predator to get a butt load of ideas (almost 100MB worth of bmp pics). Also had a talk with my resident 'Nid expert Arjan and tossed around a few ideas as well. So I'll TRY and run through these ideas..

Hive Tyrant aka Queen

- Thinking Ill be needing some of the old 3rd Ed Tyrant bits, namely the head, for her crown section. Another idea is to use the Zoanthrope head as well for the basis. The only DOWNSIDE is that both I believe have 'grinning' looks, which is ok, but Im not sure if I want a grinning Queen or a mouth open Queen with her inner mouth shooting out. Havent a clue how Im going to do the crown yet, as the 3rd ed Tyrant has a small crown. Hrmm, maybe I should invest in some thin plasticard and GS my own grown....

- An idea after browsing Warpshadow was to also use the carnifex as a base and then build up the Queen from that. Although the only downside is, the Carnifex body is rather 'chunky' and the Queen isnt exactly a 'beefy' character.

*EDIT*
- Possible use of the Extended Carapace Biomorph for added protection.
- Extension of Crown using GS (using plasticard as a basis for crown).

Tyrant Guard aka Royal Guard

- Pretty straight forward, although I might try and do some minor conversions on these dudes (other than the head) so they look a tad bit different.

Warrior Brood aka Warrior Drones(?)

- Heh, still working on the naming convention >.< style="font-weight: bold;">

*EDIT*
- Extended Carpace


Genestealers aka Soldier Drones(?)

- Once again, naming will be interesting... I had a look on Warpshadow and saw some interesting conversions, namely one that only utilized ONE set of arms (and not two). An interesting idea for sure, especially since I dont want to overload on the biomorphs for these guys.


*EDIT*

- Extended Carapace (again!!)
- Scything Talons Biomorph

Hormagaunt Brood aka Worker Drones(?)

- Naming as always.. But it seems quite ok thus far. These dudes like the other stuff will get the head treatment. Probably thinking about doing up some stuff with their bases to give some added appearance and hopefully make them alot more terrifying.

*EDIT*

- Toxin Sacs OR Adrenal Gland (I)....

Ripper Swarm aka Eggs, Face Huggers and Chest Bursters

- Nothing too difficult here, although alot of my ideas have come in for these guys. Eggs, are pretty self explanetory, although Id prefer not to be rolling out eggs from GS by hand, so Im trying to think of a suitable 'round' object that I can layer GS over. Also thinking about having the occasional egg that is some what translucent so you can see the face hugger inside.

- Face Huggers wise, two ideas thus far. One is an idea off from Hive Fleet Moloch, utilizing an adrenal gland with an added tail and legs (using random parts of weapons, and genestealer hands). Another idea, especially focusing on the 'sac' areas is to use on of the current bio-weapons (i know what it looks like, not sure WHAT it is, although after checking, I think its the barbed strangler). The only downside to this one is the sacs from the weapon looked rather large, so Id either use them to make a 'super face hugger' OR cut the sac in half (which didnt look too good) and then use that on perhaps an adrenal gland 'body'.

- Chest Bursters are easy.. use the Ripper body and flatten the chitin chrest and thats about it...

Ravener Brood aka ???

- Havent got an 'Alien' name for this brood yet, but the head idea applies for this set. Also considering using warriors to convert up these babies.

Carnifex aka ???

- HECK KNOWS what Ill be calling these dudes... Keeping the Carnifex options at a minimal (although I listed alot of biomorphs that suited). Since Rending claws are some what a mute point on a Monstrous Creature, any carnifex will be decked out with two pairs of scything talons, although the crushing claws IS tempting... May make these arms modular for the sake of argument. Otherwise, not alot of other stuff.. Adrenal Gland for WS, and the possibility of the mace or scythe tail. Although after watching Aliens and Aliens vs Predator, leaning towards the mace tail (but with a bladed end) since the Queen only really used her tail as a 'stabbing' weapon.

*EDIT*

- Possible use of Extended Carapace


Notes

- Trying to keep biomorphs to a minium where I can, without being TOO basic... Obviously being Alien themed, I know these guys will be prone to being shot to hell, and I can understand that, so Im not trying to go improving saving throws too often, cos they just get shot up regardless.

- Basing wise Im looking at making it like a 'nest' base with the base being covered in random coils and stuff like a nest would look like, as well as try and apply that weird 'resin' look. Only downside is, my options arent too great for either the resin effect or mucous effect... One option is to use craft glue, but the consistency issue comes to mind. I thought about mixing it with liquid super glue, which MAY work.. On the super glue note, I could get like paste super glue and pray that works. Other options are also to use epoxy resin, but that could be more hassle than its worth. Was also thinking if there was a way to HARDEN KY Jelly (guessing mixing glue into it would work). Since KY Jelly was the primary substance to make the slime/drool effect in Aliens.

*EDIT*

- I had a review of some of the weapons, at least the SM weapons and thinking about what other armies I go against and there isnt a BIG need to give the Extended Carpace Biomorph to Carnies and Tyrants due to a minimal amount of AP3 weaponry. Although there is a large amount of potential AP2 weaponry, going down to a 2+ save isnt any better than staying at a 3+. So Ill review the other armies (Necrons, Eldar, Imperial Guard, Chaos and Tau) to see what else needs to be done.


Thats about it for my 'Design Notes' for my 'Nid army. Any ideas/suggestions will be greatly appreciated and SOMEONE remind me to save this entry as a txt/doc file. Cos I would love to be able to easily access my notes, unlike my SoB notes which are buried in heck knows how many posts...




-TAS

7 more to go!! (Pics Galore Update)

Bah.. next time Im whacking ALL the pics into one huge ass pic cos it was NOT fun editing 4 odd posts just to get the pics into the right post... Anyway... Here are the latest pics of the 'Nid tests... Pics are still a lil iffy (alot better than the first batch of 6 though). Im guessing if I had alot better equipment (eg a lightbox) and wasnt working with such dark colors it wouldnt be too bad.. Since there are 4 pics, Ill do my lil 'rant' about each at the label.


Believe it or not, this is the 'rustic' looking 'Nid that had an inking of both black and flesh inks. The camera didnt pick up well on the effect, but you can see it in areas here and there. Guessing if my lighting was ALOT better and I wasnt relying on the camera flash, it could probably come out alot better. Otherwise, it aint a bad effect. Only downside is.. I think the pic muted out some of the 'chrome' effect, then again, maybe it didnt since the flash is catching on a few of the upper body surfaces. What will I do with this 'Nid? Not sure.. But I might keep this method of inking for brood differentiation or perhaps just for the occasional mini differentiation.


Well we all know this HAD to have been a Hormagaunt when it was in its fresh state, now its just the remains off. Anyway, this is the way Im looking at painting my 'Nids. The chrome effect is still there (might do a heavier drybrush and thinner inking). The highlights are with Cold Grey, and the talons and claws got a quick gunmetal (didnt want to highlight them too extremely, which is what Chainmail probably WOULD have done). Not sure if I wanted to wash over the highlights (which I did do on the Chitin areas, and followed up with a highlight of Stonewall grey). But otherwise, its looking quite nicely which leads us to the next picture........


I think this pic was the best of all the pics and did the rear of the gaunt some good. You can see the highlights better on the chitin areas and some of the ribbed areas here and there. Instead of going a standard 'line' highlight on the chitin, I "tried" to use a more thin line effect, like how its demonstrated on some models in the 'Nid codex. I think it came out ok. Although, ugh, wishing the chrome look didnt get so washed out (bad pun-ish?), as it looks like basic black. Which isnt true when comparing a pure black mini versus a black inked mini as the chrome effect comes through.


This is the poor ass mini that got highlighted with Chainmail, which is probably WHY in all the pics its really showing the metal effect quite clearly (looks worse in r/l). Ill probably ink over this mini, do the grey highlights, pick out the claw and teeth with gunmetal (and MAYBE a very LIGHT highlight of chainmail on the very edges) and try some 'mucous' effects on it with craft glue (if I can ever find that WD issue that covered it, I think it was a Carnifex modelling article). Alternatively I could use a hot glue gun, but that could be a tad bit too much trouble for what I want.


So there it is folks... Next time Ill put the pics ALL together, or NOT take so many pics. I'll probably focus on the Former Hormagaunt test and the Termagant test and do comparison pics later on.




-TAS

92nd Post....

Getting ever close to the 100th post!! In any case, this is a 'Nid update (yet again). Did some of the highlights etc on the minis and so far seen some good points and bad for some of them...


1. Black undercoat/Gunmetal Metal Drybrush/Black Ink/Chainmail highlights

BIG mistake on the chainmail highlights as that has diminished the dark metal effect I wanted. However, in the future ill probably only do additional metal highlights to areas like teeth, talons, tips of claws etc but the entire body can NOT be done in metal highlights. I guess its a good thing it is still in metal as I can recycle this mini by doing a black ink over it and taking it from there.

2. Black undercoat/Gunmetal Drybrush/Black Ink/Cold Grey Highlights/Thin Black Ink/Stonewall Grey Highlights

This one came out good, and I might continue this method to do some light highlights on the 'flesh' areas on the model (only did this on the chitin areas). So for future works, Ill probably do the cold grey highlights on the model itself (dry brush?), tone it down with an inking and then apply the stonewall grey highlights to the chitin areas. Talons, teeth etc will be done probably in the way I mentioned for method 1.

3. Black undercoat/Gunmetal Drybrush/Black Ink/Flesh Ink

Now this was just a simple play around with inks and in the end it gave a nice rustic/black chrome look which I quite like. Thinking about using this method to add a slight bit of variety to units.

Anyway, Ive still got one black undercoated 'Nid left and Ive just made two more 'Nids on sticks to probably do combinations of the above schemes and see how well they work together. After that, Ill be some what out of test 'Nids, however I THINK I have a 3rd Ed fresh Ravener somewhere, so I may find it useful as my first 'Nid model.


-TAS

91st Post....

As the title states, this is the 91st post for my blog. Will I see 100 by the end of the year? Will there be a fancy 100th post thing?? Who knows?!?!?!!!!

Anyway, did some work on the 'Nids (not painting wise) but notepad and pencil wise. Listed out all the biomorphs that would be useful for me to keep in line with my fluff etc. Listed out the units I would use (Hive Tyrant, Tyrant Guard, Warriors, Genestealers, Hormagaunts, Rippers, Raveners, Carnifex). Still deciding on the Genestealers though, but yeah that wasnt too bad a list to work with. Then I went through some options and did up a basic Hive Tyrant and Carnifex for about 100 pts... But yeah, its been fun and interesting thus far. The only issue that came up for me, so Im directing this question at Arjan is the biomorph 'Implant Attack'. It seems pretty handy, BUT when it comes to the second wound, is it ONLY for that single model, or do additional wounds infliced by implant attack get thrown around the unit?

Thats about it.. Might do that black wash in a lil while.. we'll see



-TAS

Tyranid Picture Update

On a completely unrelated note, this will be my 90th Blog post. Im wondering if I can hit the big 100 come the end of the year?

Anyway, I took a pic of the heavily drybrushed 'nids and well, the picture is misleading (and not in a bad way). For some uncanny reason, they look better in the pic than they do in real (they look perhaps TOO dry brushed in real). So yeah, here we go. Im also going to try and do that funky lil thing that Tobias did on his blog, cos I think it looks cool (I hope I dont lose clickibility though). If i do, Ill change the link or something..


Ok, so I managed to do the picture thing, but I get the feeling it wont be clickable *sighs*.

If not, Ill change it at a later date I guess for something a tad bit more clickable. But yeah, that image is misleading as they REALLY dont look THAT good!! Sadly enough, these pics are going to be the way i want my 'nids and table wise, they wont look anything like it. So yeah, we'll see how things go.


Anyway, thats it for this post. After I get some work done tonight, if I can still get some strength in me, Ill do up the black ink/wash phase.



-TAS

Tyranid Update!!

Heh, now there is a title I didnt think I would be using anytime soon. Anyway, of the four undercoated models, TWO have been just given a heavy dry brushing of gunmetal metal (vallejo) or for you primary citadel users thats boltgun metal. So far its looking good, although after this, I dont think i ever want to do a Necron army. Funnily enough, I think this is the first time that my gunmetal actually came out in a decent consistency (shame I was only doing a heavy dry brush). But yeah, so far I am happy with how they are turning out. The next stage on both will be the black wash to dull down the metal, and for some insane reason I suddenly want to try a model with a light black wash AND flesh/brown wash. Hrmm, now I know why I made 4 'Nids on a stick. Hopefully ill get the black wash done tomorrow and from there, each 'nid will go down its own line of 'evolution'.

One 'Nid will receive a mithril-like (perhaps even chainmail) highlight and that will be it for the mini. I have a sneaking suspiscion it wont look as well as it sounds, but we'll see (also depends how well the black inking/washing works).

The second 'Nid will go down a more grey-based highlighting, particularly on the armor plating (chitin I believe is the more technical term), leaving the more 'fleshy' areas to remain in their gunmetal state.

Once both are done, the Chitin areas (at a minimum) will receive a varnish coat and we'll see how the others go.

But thats about it. Sadly enough, if I actually had converted nid parts ready, this could be the FASTED army I have painted in the 6 odd years I have been in this hobby.

Anyway, I need some zZzZz's since my biological clock has been inversed (?) or is it reversed? I lean towards inversed.. But yeah.. Sleep time now, hopefully ill get the ink/wash done tomorrow and I may have designed another scheme or two pending the progress of the current two.



-TAS

Combi Post (With Images!)

As I said earlier I was going to get pics, so HERE THEY ARE!! Both are fairly explanetory, but as always Ill do a run down....

First image is the random Tyranid bits that Ill be using for my color tests. Still thinking about whats going to happen post black undercoat, but prepared 4 models, so Im hoping they will be sufficient.

The second pic is the body wise completed sister (and a pretty decent pic as well). Im glad I took pics in stages as the pic for the Black vs Red arguement can begin anew. Actually the red didnt come out too badly to be honest, although a slight change in future paint applications will be nice to get a bit more 'depth' into it. Otherwise, Im quite happy with the result. Plus the flash didnt overdo the image either, was quite 'perfect' unlike the 'nid picture which is still fuzzy in some areas. Just need to finish up the backpack and that will be the first test mini done for the Sisters (and first completed mini).

That pretty much wraps this one up!







-TAS

Update ye say!??!?!

Yes, I am alive and yes, I do on the rare occasion update things.... That and the last entry had 21 replies, so I thought I would start a new 'thread'.

Anyway, I finally did that paint concept again and started on the red robes for my Sister, and well, thus far the one thing I have learn is 1. Dont paint the whole damn thing until you cant see some of those 'recesses' on the front of the robe. Otherwise its turning out ok, although the highlights I am CERTAIN wont turn out too fantastic on camera, but they look ok thus far. Need one more highlight and that will be done and all Ill have to do is touch up the lil Ecclesiarchy symbol on the robe, do the links and that will be the body part done (havent even TOUCHED the packback yet).

I also prep'd up some 'Nids for my future Alien themed army. Got 4 models prep'd up and just glued either sprue or a cocktail stick to them, stuck them on a base and that was it. For some reason the cocktail 'Nid is some what amusing, but I think that is just me.

I'll aim to get some pics done tomorrow and take it from there really. Just bare in mind the 'Nids wont be undercoated, since I want to give the glue some time to really bond tight (I don't want to have a random gant/gaunt falling off its (reminds me of that TSOLAR strip about the gargoyles).

So thats about it for this round, hopefully there will be a small update tomorrow.



-TAS

Mini Update

I finally bought the paints from the Vallejo range that I wanted, so I have one more red and two browns (equivalent of Bestial Brown and Bubonic Brown). Also picked up the BT codex and two BL books (the first novel for the Soul Drinkers trilogy and the second book in the Blood Angels set). Was quite happy with that, plus the price was quite nice as they seem to have dropped a tad bit, plus through in my 10% off, so it was nice.

Hopefully Ill get that SoB model done up (eventually). Thats about it... Short update really.




-TAS

An SoB Update

I have to admit, that stupid laptop issue really muddled me up when it came to the pics. I had 5 pics, two of which I didnt use in the end as they looked over exposed so I kept these 3. As you can tell there is a progression of the paint work on the mini up to its current state. And NO it isnt finished as I will be doing the red robes, although black doesnt look too bad. Will hopefully pick up the paint this week, since the shop was closed today. Doesnt look too bad for my first SoB model. I should also REALLY try to finish another Grey Hunter, especially after I had to redo his shoulder pad cos I forgot the color scheme.

Dawn of War wise, it aint a bad game, up to Mission 4 or 5 now, and damn, I swear those orks know no limit! Playing as marines aint bad. Plus dreadnoughts REALLY kick alot of ass! Damn those assault cannons can really lay out some damage! Although for some weird ass reason I wouldnt mind a skirmish play to see what the Chaos and Eldar sides are like.

Anyway, Im gonna do some other stuff then head to bed, as I feel tired!



Progression of an SoB Model


-TAS

TO WARRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!

Although I havent set up the digicam for the latop again OR done any painting, I did install DoW and well, it works pretty ok. Havent played it fully yet, but I might give it a go later tonight.

Otherwise, things are slowly getting back on track...

This will probably be the shortest entry Ive done in My entire life...



-TAS

It's Back!!

Got the laptop back today, and the bill wasnt as bad as I thought it was going to be (which is good). Running through the folders and slowly re-installing programs and moving My old files over and yeah, it gets a bit ugly at times, particularly with the folders as I lost 50% of My hard drive (which is app 27 Gigs worth of material).

So far things are going ok, with the occasional "oh gawd" and few other moans and bitches.

Unfortunately I did lose a substantial part of My 40K folders, so My step by step Sister is going to be a lil weird, but Ill try and get those pics done up asap. But yeah, so far things are going ok, Im not too insane just yet (thank goodness).

Otherwise, keep watching, and Ill try and get some pretty pictures, well, when I get photoshop or paintshoppro re-installed....

*Shakes head bitterly*




-TAS

A new project.

I'm still at a loss as to why I started it, but Ive started work on a 6 man Wolf Scout pack, using the 'Build a Better Scout' guide from prophet miniatures site. Suffice to say, it isnt an easy job to do, and ive got lil trays FULL of random bits here and there. Havent done any of the cutting parts, but yeah, this should be an interesting lil project for sure. Wont be any WIP pics for a while, unless you want to see the trays full of random bits in them. Although I do need to go back to the codex again and see if I can give the scouts a flamer as well, at which case Ill give them meltabombs, so we'll see how things go.

With that in mind, havent done much painting since the last time, but since Im heading to bed now, I might try and do a few more coats of paint onto that random shoulder pad (fix up the black lining yet again).

Otherwise thats about it. For some reason im not multi-tasking sitting at this computer and doing some modelling, which of course will suck when my laptop comes home. So ill have to try and make a wee bit of space on my desk to do some of this side project stuff. Also tempted to maybe get 5 AotL marines done up, if not at least a paint test to see how I fair with the colors. I may model up one marine and take it from there, but the modelling wont be anything too major, since the basing will be a more jungle based base.

Thats about it, check back in a few days and see if any new stuff come up. If Im lucky the laptop will be back tomorrow so I can actually post some PICTURES again!



-TAS

She's done.. well.. almost...

It's actually quite annoying when I cant post WIP pics cos Ive got a whole heap sitting on my cam atm, and Im actually losing track of what pic is what! Nonetheless, Aside from the robe areas, the mini is done. I'll probably wait til after the robes are done before I do a high light of her armor, and I still have the back pack to do as well. I also did a bit more work on a few bits and pieces of grey hunters here and there. Was doing some shoulder pad work, and good grief Im getting sloppy. Suffice to say, I think for future reference Im going to have to mix and match fine detail work with full on large blocks of undercoating so my eyes get a quick break. In terms of my laptop, the hard drive in actually died, so HOPEFULLY Ill get it back on saturday after they install a new 80Gig hard drive in (gawd Im not looking forward to seeing the price for this repair job).

At this rate I may have another Grey Hunter completed by the weekend, who knows at this point in time. Ive got to just do a quick wash and highlight on the bolter, finish up the shoulder pad, do some of the helmet areas and do the lil accessories and that will be that guy done. Assuming Im clever enough to get bits done like pelts and colors used etc at the right times, it could actually be done by then. Ill probably paint up some purity seals for the SoB mini I did to give her a tad bit more character since the models arent exactly easy to convert.

Otherwise thats about it. Guess its back to browse over the B&C and stuff before bed time (whenever that will be).




-TAS

Almost done the lil things...

Other than the fact I need to buy a few new paints before I can finish the robes on the SoB mini, the lil things are almost completed. Just need to give a highlight to the pouches on her waist, pick out the rivets on her armor and a quick highlight of the bolter casing and that'll be it. After that Ill TRY and pick up those paints this week so I can get the robes done on the weekend. Once the lil bits are done, Ill take another pic and that can do with the other horde of pics yet to be put up.

As for the status of my laptop, a lil setback occured, so Im expecting a call tomorrow about it (well today since its after 3am). So here is hoping for tomorrow (and hopefully I wont get charged for 4 hrs worth of labor).

Did a few more sketches of the V2 EC marines, and it aint too bad... But otherwise, been a lil slow on the 40K stuff this week. I should try and finish up one of my grey hunters, but Ive been saying that for a LONG ass time.

In other news, Im going to try and step up my work on My AotL (in light of some interesting, well, "discussions" persay at the B&C). Naturally, Ill start with a color test and work My way from that, but Ill still try and do some minor conversions to it to make it look less RAF. Very tempted to get a box of Dryads, that way I can use bits and pieces of them for basing My AotL and perhaps use them to make some new Daemonette models as well. Well there is a $50 investment again >.< Well, $45 since I have My 10% discount back again. And I wont layby them either since it would be a waste.

Anyway, off to do a quick Bubonic Brown highlight and then get some ZzZ's






-TAS

Bit more progress...

Did a tad bit more work on the SoB mini, mainly the metal areas here and there with a wash afterwards. Just need to touch up those areas a bit more and I can finish off the waist accessories (grenades, pouches). After that will just be the main robes to sort out and the lil icons that are hanging off from those.

Also did some metal work on the bolters for a few grey hunters. I really need to get off my lazy backside and finish another hunter (since there isnt a whole lot left to do). Just need to confirm with my photobucket account which bits go with which guy and that will be about it.

Been doing a few sketches of concept art for my V2 EC marines. Isnt going too bad, looking alot better than the current V1 incarnations in some areas. Of course Im hitting the point of having all my ideas caught between all the pieces of paper, so on one particular page I have quick sketches of the Chaos Warrior Helmets, and Im sure on another page Ill have various CC weapons etc. Need to try and do some more mutation work, since its still quite 'plain' looking in some aspects.

Otherwise, thats about it. Taking the laptop for its repair job today, so should get that back by the end of the week I hope. Depending how these sketches go, I may/may not get one or two pages scanned and uploaded to My blog. Some of them arent too fantastic (still never liked drawing figures) but they are suitable enough to get a pictorial version of my ideas.

Hopefully get some pics up by the end of this week.



-TAS

Getting There...

Did a bit more work on the test mini and it aint looking too bad, although MY GOODNESS, painting the face (mainly the eyes and lips) was NOT an easy task at all. However, from a distance it doesnt look TOO bad. So the head has now been done (needs a bit more work, but thats coming from the person that hates painting flesh). The Fleur dy lys as well as the Inquisition symbol have been painted in a very "boring" white. For future reference I may use different colors (eg golds) to bring them out, but I dont want to bring out too many colors into the palette, plus the white still sufficient stands out and it doesnt feel like a giant leap. The more I look at the mini, the more I think black would not have been a good idea for robe colors at all as the black seems to almost be a black hole. All thats left now are the bolter, robe areas, metal bits and the waist accessories which isnt too bad. In addition the backpack needs to be done, so I might start work on that soon as well. The mini doesnt look too bad, the black lining helps give it a bit of life, where as the flat and full painting style I had 6 years ago, probably wouldnt have looked nice on the mini at all. Ill probably do a bit more work before taking the next pic, although I probably wont start the robes just yet as I want to stock up on a few vallejo paints which I would have done today, but my palm pilot lost the doc file I had listing My vallejo paints.

In other news, I put the huge ass Liber Chaotica Compilation on lay by (mmm 3 month layby) which is great. Will make a nice lil Christmas present if I havent collected it before then. Not too bad for $100, considering I bought the three seperate Libers at about $50 each. At least this time around Ill have the Khorne section, plus the special Undivided section as well. Thinking I might resort to laybying future stuff as well, that way I can buy in bulk and spread the payment over the 3 months.

Otherwise thats about it at this point in time, once the bulk of this Sister is out of the way, I may turn My attention back to My Wolves (still got the grey hunter pack to finish) and try and do some modelling on the side for either my Thousand Sons or Angels of the Lion armies.




-TAS

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