Monday 11 April 2016

'nids part 196 - Deathwatch Overkill

Shortly after Throne of Skulls the Amazon marketplace price for Deathwatch Overkill stabilised and I was able to pick it up for £87.62 [supplied by Wayland Games] but I had a shedload of Amazon vouchers so it only set me back about £16 overall. Quite often Amazon Vouchers are given as gifts so it's handy to find an option on getting a good deal and make the best of use of them and not feel guilty about hobby purchases.


I'd really like to play the game but really want to have the models painted first!


One thing I have noticed, is that the mould lines are quite pronounced on the sprue. It's not as bad as the Genestealer sprues from my Deathstorm, they were shocking but that was presumably an old mold. This however, is a modern mold, and so much of GWs plastics now requires minimal effort to clean, apart from sprue removal. However this was surprising and as there are identical sprues it's not a one-off as they're both similarly affected, although they could have been molded concurrently. It's certainly nothing worth complaining about but I would be interested in knowing if anyone else noticed this.


So, having made savings on the box I then went and blew them on some resin bases. I'd figured that making some rubble bases like my current cultists would be too time consuming [although I may regret the disparity in styles eventually]


I also noted that models I'd seen at GW poly-cement glued to the bases had their feet melt a little bit. I wanted these to stand on top so I looked into the various manufacturers and opted for bases4war due to the great value and range of all sizes in their battlefield debris range. Ben is using their Dragons Causeway range for his Skitarii but I also like the Hive range. Regardless you really do get a lot of bases for your buck and the casting is great and they've been belt sanded afterwards so are perfectly flat.


Of course the time saved not making my own is now completely wasted as I have to mill out flat areas to mount the hybrids, which is messy and time consuming and obviously costly [despite the great value] compared with using the supplied bases and my own basing materials. Not to mention that milling the bases means they're now sunk in the dirt instead of standing atop as was my initial beef with the models! Still, I wanted to try it and these models do deserve quality bases and hopefully I can still make them match my other bases, which is the challenge.

16 comments:

  1. Grabbed a right bargain there then! What is the detail like on the nids in the box? I've noticed a real upturn in the level of detail in new plastic kits from GW (Skitarii being one of the earlier ones I happened to notice this on) and I wonder if more pronounced mould lines is just the price we will pay for more detailed plastic maybe. I haven't seen every new kit up close so I don't know if it's some or all. Either way I look forward to seeing these painted in your usual style!

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    1. There's loads of detail, I think the price we pay is that often the designs are quite 'cubist'. Look at recent Orks and Ogryns and you'll see what I mean. A lot of the designs are quite 'square' in shape, presumably to allow easier molding.

      For the most part many of the modern plastic mold lines are hidden. The Dark Vengeance models are really great in doing that and these aren't bad really, it's just a misregister in places and surprising given the current high standards.

      It'll be a while yet before these get the attention they deserve, I've only 9 based and undercoated out of about 37!

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  2. I saw a few of these in person at adepticon. What a nice kit! Excited to see them all done in your style!!!

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    1. Aberrants are one of the first I've made up as they're going to be quite a challenge in employing my hive colours, the recognised transition between xeno and human hybrid generational complexions alongside my multi-ethnic world. How am I going to cope!

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  3. I was aware that I was cleaning mould lines, but don't remember them being bad... I'll check when I'm back up north.

    I'm loving those bases, that's what slowing me down (that and my Space Hulk Redux project)... The extra bits on the bases of some of the minis would fit in with the rubble feel, but the game boards are very much industrial walkways, so I'm trying to marry the two together.

    With your hybrids, could you sit them on on top of the base, then add an extra bit of astrogranite or similar to fill the gaps?

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    1. The original plan was to add little strips of plasticard and then PVA/rubble around them but that's why the though of it was becoming like a chore. I don't mind so much if the bases don't match the OVerkill board, as they'll get far more use on Ferron Proxima than the underhive.

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  4. Yep the mould lines are a pain in the butt more so when they run into ridges, but the models themselves are great & good value as well.

    I look forward to seen how you paint these up Dave, I four of the marines done but have stopped for now, I have to do the marines first as it's the only way I can be sure I'll paint them.

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    1. There's no way they'll be done this hobby season, may have to be a goal for the next one but hopefully I'll have cleared the decks with some of my current goals, ha, ha, as if!

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  5. Man, I really want to see those minis once you paint them!! :)

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    1. Me too, but it'll be a long while off just yet :(

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  6. Nice buy! One of my mates has got it, I think we might be playing it tomorrow evening at club. Thou I ingaine it's going to be unpainted!

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    1. I may be having a game soon, with a mix of unpainted and some of my current kitbashed cultists.

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  7. Good luck with the bases mate, that's the kind of problem I've faced before and I still sit on the fence every time. More often-than-not I resort to using my own materials, resulting in a growing collection of awesome, unused, bases I have ordered from various companies. I am a bit jealous of the deal you got, but not the painting you have to do!

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    1. Well I had to give resin bases a go at some point. I;ve had a couple for the odd character here and there but this is a significant group and although they won't match completely I think there's no harm in that, not all areas of ground are the same.

      Yeah, lots to do but when will it ever stop? Never, so might as well just crack on.

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  8. I just assembled my Cult models. I split the box with a friend who wanted the Marines. Sadly I will not be painting mine for a bit because I have some other projects I want to finish first. That will give me some time to think about the colours for the clothing. I am having a tough time thinking about what will go well with my Tyranid scheme.

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    1. Indeed the colour schemes are a challenge but it's important to remember that although folk talk about colour theory and complimentary colours so you can balance how your models look - people don't always think like that!

      Your models will wear clashing colours and clothing that doesn't match just because colour theory exists doesn't mean your models follow it and they're alien hybrids anyway, Emperor knows what they thing or even if they see in the same colour spectrum.

      Of course that doesn;t necessarily make your models look any better as individuals or a group but it should help resolve doubts about colour schemes and choices. At least that's what I'm going to keep telling mysel that is ;)

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