Wednesday 19 February 2014

'nids part 128 - Spawning yet more Termagants

More fun at the Gaunt fayre - 10 more Termagants are on the go. The good thing was I started them while I was completing the first set of 10. This meant they were all base coated and ready to go alongside the six Spore Mines after I did the Red Planet Basing.

 

 I find the positioning of the Adrenal Glands quite amusing. It's like a cat that's got something stuck on it's tail - they don't know what it is and can't see it but they know something is behind them and it just sends them running hell for leather in the opposite direction. I've also positioned the glands so that five are pointing forwards and five are pointing backwards. It's a small distinction but it might be sufficient to keep track of the units should I spawn small numbers.


As much as I like the Red Planet Basing, the finishing touch - the Bonewhite chips are always a little frustrating. Finding the right bit of sand to paint can be annoying, especially if I've screwed up the sand mix and there really aren't enough medium sized stones to pick out individually. It's quiet a laborious task that on the face of it doesn't result in a lot of painting which in turn feels like a waste but the end result can often take a poorly executed Red Planet Base and make it decent. It has to be done, I just don't relish doing it.


The six spore mines include two metal ones, thankfully they're a bit more upright than the Macragge versions so add a little more variety to the cluster. I'm starting to really love them, not in a gaming sense [although they seem effective in some cases] just the pictures of them in the Codex. I quite like the idea of scratchbuilding some Meiotic Spores too. The rules are bit dated but I'm there's some scope with the way the new Spore Mines work for them to be effective.



And aside from the varnishes I managed to finish these guys up. I'd estimated 8-10 nights work, given how I operate but  I think I halved that with a concerted effort.


The previous 10 had Mechrite Red edges but the finish wasn't quite right, one of my legacy pots has a bit of a satin finish so I went back to my Army Painter Heavy Red.


Army painter Heavy red isn't quite as opaque as the old Citadel Foundation and requires two coats but it does give the required finish and colour. However, the Army Painter Anti-Shine may be the dodgy culprit so I'll be a little more wary when I seal these, starting with the Spore Mines.


You may also notice in the back of that shot my Dark Vengeance Deathwing. I've got those based and base coated too. As and when I do a specific colour on the Termagants and I felt I had the time and wherewithal I added that colour to the Deathwing so a little bit more was done. It means I get a head start on them for when I commit in earnest and it also breaks up the monotony of the Gaunts. Additionally out of shot is the 'Great Maw' head for the currently untouched £24 Tervigon. With the Gaunts finished I will be focusing on this and the Skyshield Walls next.


Meanwhile I prepped a new travel box. Once again a £1.59 craft box is covered in laminate flooring underlay. I can get 18 gaunts in here, shame it's not an even 20 but aside from the hour or so to make, it seems like a bargain. I'd been looking at getting a KR Multicase or Tyrant Army Figure Case, there didn't seem much in it but when I looked at Battlefoam noticed they do trays in a cardboard box.


So I actually went in search of archive storage boxes that would fit the other foam trays which are considerably cheaper than Battlefoam. I actually found two options that would have been ideally sized for the cheaper Tyant foam trays but as you can see from this link I'd have to spend £24 [not including postage] and I'd end up with 10 boxes! The other option was around £13 and a ba better fit but postage for orders under £100 was £7.99 so just as uneconomical! Sadly this is a non-standard box size  so there were few other option and I only need 1 or 2 at the most.

Now admittedly that makes the boxes £2.40 each and I could fit 7-8 trays in it at £4.50 each. I did think I could perhaps sell the remaining boxes on ebay for other gamers to do the same. I even thought about making a quick spray mask and 40k addict 'branding' them. Then I realised I couldn't be bothered so I may as well continue on with the craft boxes ;) They're a little bulkier but considerably more durable and can't be beaten on the price.


But hopefully I've given some extra ideas to folk,should they find themselves in a position where a group of mates can bulk purchase the boxes for the trays, which I'm not in a position to do, feel free borrow the idea.

4 comments:

  1. So why spawn 10 more? I find myself doing the same thing now, but because I had originally made units of 20 (+2 webs), and now I need 30 to make a complete squad.

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  2. Mind doing a tutorial on how you made the cover art for your box? I'd like to do that for all my bit boxes :)

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    1. There's nothhing to it really, I just did an image search for Tyranid desktop wallpapers. Any 'large' image will do although the first one that comes up is near enough the same one I used.

      Then I made sure it was the same size as the empty space on my box, unfortunatels there's a little indent that it sits in otherwise I'd have covered the entire front.

      Then I add double sided film to the back. We have a big roll about 2' in width, we've had it for decades, but you could replace it with strips of double sided tape. This could be strips along the edges and an X across the middle to try and reduce bubbles.

      Alternatively print it out on A4 sticky labels and then attach to your box of choice.

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  3. The kr multicase cases I've got can fit in a huge amount of figures, about 150. if bits are cut out then bigger models can be put in. Pluck trays can be bought as well for tervigons etc. Bargain £22 each from troll trader on fleabay

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