Dreadtober 2019 - Moar Metallics

#Dreadtober update and yet moar application of the metallics. This is the mid-season finale so to speak, whereby I apply the final set of highlights before I add a wash layer to grime it up a bit. I believe it's Valejo Game Color Gun Metal and Shining Gold [whatever they're in this intro set and still going strong after 9 years] sponged on for the texture.

It works particularly well on the hip joint. There are still areas I can't decide how to paint but I've no doubt my decision will crystallise green or bronze without delay when the time comes.

The weapons also got their highlights, I even had an Imperial Knight Icarus array that got a quick highlight. I will regret not pursuing the Deathwing Knights in parallel but that would dismiss my feelings that it would be too much to take on simultaneously and despite the metals being the same the application requires a different approach. The terminators are much smaller and need more care, whereas this thing is a beast and I can just slap it on and any issues can be covered up with battle damage. It's actually quite a freeing experience.

The sponging is so rough and ready but the shade wash will balance it all together. I'm sure red casings like the 'eavy metal studio army would be so pedestrian for me now. I considered having a bit of green on it but there's something about a Dread that I did with Brother Cask [shares link then realises there are no back shots 😔] whereby there is the green armour built over a metal skeleton, much like how Imperial Knights would be presented.

So I was already imagining the paint scheme years before I did Euronymous or knew Imperial Knights would be a thing.

It's also another aspect of my Darfk Angel scheme. I chose them way back when specifically because I didn't just want to paint green. The Deathwing colour scheme gave my bone too and then they canonised the Ravenwing black so I got a third option [not realising the havoc it would play with my future hobby mojo] and then the bronze which ties it all together, the verdigris not too dissimilar to the green but on a big model I can play around with the metallics even more. That way is mostly green from the front then metallics all on the back, like a surprise as it turns round.

Anyway, lot of fun, I'm really digging #Dreadtober 

Dreadtober 2019 - Metallics

#Dreadtober continues inexorably but as expected my progress is slow. In fairness this has nothing to do with the model or even the usually problematic brassy bronze. No it has been impacted both by the weather and general fatigue. Heavy rain has meant the garden has flooded and wading to the Man Cave in my wellies has often been sufficient to discourage me even attempting to crack on with my Dread. One night I braved the elements to get out there and slap on some Balthasar Gold on top of the Warplock Bronze.

Weapon options too. Originally I hoped to throw in my Deathwing Knights as well, as they are at the same stage but half an hour was just about as much as I could do before I felt it was time to go to bed. I've been monitoring my sleep again using Google Fit, I think I've made a little improvement in my sleep schedule. There are still the occasional late nights but I think they're more uncommon now. I've had some early nights too, which doesn't help the hobby obviously but should help me long-term.

Another night I got out to the shed and managed to sponge/stipple on some Retributor Gold. I'm a little uncertain on some areas of metallics but I'll continue on until they're all done and then decide if they should still be bronze or in fact green. I'll need to cover splodges anyway so it's no real hardship.

The guns are coming along too.

And the Fist, which I'd been rather impressed being black next to the green body but immediately decided I would not eventually keep it, but will quarter it so the fist is the 5th Company symbol. Really pleased that decision just came to me in a two step realisation. No doubts, no prevarication, just that looks cool, oh, or that would be cooler!

Another set of highlights to do, then shade washes to balance the colours.. This might then require some small highlights to sharpen things up and then it's some limited verdigris and on to the greens.

Dreadtober 2019 - A 'cheaters' guide...

Dreadtober begins next week and I have this Redemptor Dreadnought to do. Now it's supposed to be you build and paint your Dreadnought [or equivalent] in the month but I know my hobby pace and knew building it in advance was a minimum.

I also got it based, primed, base-coated and then painted the base [along with a lot of other models]. Now this took a significant amount of time to get to this stage, so I wouldn't have achieved this and potentially finish the model in month otherwise. At least now I have a fighting chance.

All the brassy bronze is the next priority [ I will start that on the 1st] and my prior brassy bronze exploits will reveal this can break me, so I need to hold strong and get all those bits metalled up so I can enjoy painting the greens! And we all know how much I love doing that - just a bit above Ravenwing... is there anything I actually like to paint? Sometimes I wonder why I put myself through all this if it's all so difficult, but we rise to the challenge and maybe that is the reason - the constant striving to overcome hobby inertia...

Dark Angels - Redemptor Dreadnought Big Build - TO DONE!

Building models alwaysfeels like a day job to me but most of my hobby time is at night. I'd got to the point where I needed to do his pose and that had to be the obligatory 'standing on something' that is all the rage. Of course that becomes fiddly, cutting plastic pegs off to allow joints to rotate, trying to old poses in place while poly-cement and super-glue dry, but somehow I managed it.

I have to admit I do like this dreadnought. When it was first revealed I wasn't fussed but having one it seemed churlish not to build it and it's deceptively bulky too. I was easilt convinced it was bigger than my Warglaives, but it's shorter - clearly the extra bulk adds a few inches in height.

To that end I may call him Brother Jacamo. His main weapon is just push fit but the others are glued in - 8 Storm Bolter shots seems the better fit than the Fragstorm

My only issue is the ball of the waist joint is almost out of the socket. Not sure if I need to disguise this somehow, possibly greenstuff ribbed tubing, as if it's a flexible joint, not a ball-joint.

 But my previous suggestion of putting the Ravenwing Relic [rope things] on his back might distract the eye from this and I removed two of the rivets where it was to attach.

And it would fit thusly.

Or more accuratley, unfortunately I've only gone and lost that piece, Now theres one on ebay for £3, all the bits sites are out of stock or a full Ravenwing upgrade sprue is £9 direct from GW... I really don't need to make a decision just yet, perhaps I'll find it.

The plan is to base and undercoat this and then leave it for Dreadtober. I know you're supposed to build and paint throughout the month but it's still a stretch for me just to paint the darn thing so a headstart will give me the best chance of completing it. My Imperial Knights were last years effort, with my hope to finish building them both but due to Oscar's illness I couldn't face the hobby for a good couple of weeks, which is what it took in November to get them 'built'.  Still this is TO DONE!

 I builds it, I gets the badge!

Armies on Parade board 2016

I have in my 18 draft blog posts one article about Armies on Parade that has been completed for nearly a year and I still can't decide if I want to post it. But I have decided that I may feel differently about the situation after tomorrow, so instead I thought I'd share my test layout for my board.

As you can see it's pretty much all my completed Dark Angels and their Knightly allies, I even included the crashed Aquila Lander.

The two bastions are a bit OTT, it perhaps might look better as a scene with just the one and the two knights in each corner but I can't bring myself to drop them now.

I'll be popping along tonight to set up as tomorrow I can only go later on in the day, presumably when all the voting has taken place.

I did see a post on GW Bolton's Facebook page that showed their winners trophies, AND entrant pin-badges! Which I think is a really nice touch for those that are taking part. Fingers crossed they're happening everywhere.

Part of me is really excited, I hope it can be a good day and exorcise the event for me and it to be an enjoyable experience. Any aspiration other than that is just the elusive bronze medal but I know I've done a grand job this time.

Everything on the board is new to AoP, the only hangover from previous years is the backdrop, the board itself is one of my Realm of Battle tiles [though I doubt folk would notice the difference].

I even included the old skool assault marines I rebased for Battle Brothers, why not?

Round about here I remembered to add the Techmarine!

So there we go, if you're parading tomorrow I hope you have a good one, all the best.

Dark Angels - 5th Company Ferron Task Force Deployment

I now have 760pts of Dark Angels complete and despite the creative problems from the beginning with Dark Angels green I think I've managed to create a cohesive force. There's all sorts going on colour wise but I think overall they've managed to at least be consistently coloured.

I'm still not digging the Librarians and Sergeant's loin cloth chapter symbol. I may repaint the Sergeant's loin cloth as a quartered company badge, in the mean time I'll suck it up.

Thankfully the Tacticals and Devastators match up nicely.

And they even fit in well with Brother Cask.

And the little Watcher too takes a place of honour amongst my 'green wing'.

Together with the Deathwing they make a compelling force.

A subtle difference in the colours of the bases but I think that's to do with the later adoption of my Pumpkin highlight which I can easily add just a little to the older bases to make them current. At least the bronze patina and reds, both on the models and base edges tie the remaining colour elements together in this force.

Still not happy with his green loin cloth and lack of markings on the scroll on his chest. I'm thinking of making his heraldry badge pure white [or a 'field of silver' as it's officially known, I think] with some more extra markings on

Just what is that Sergeant pointing at? I never realised until now how daft that pose was.

Decent sized Storm Bolter barrels!

Oh yeah, the new missile launchers have so much character...

Cask needs his name on his shin guard. I have a fine technical pen but when I added Army Painter Anti Shine to seal it it did the opposite and made the archive ink run! I wonder if I should have had a glow effect on Casks vision slit? And you can also see the vagaries of Army painter Anti-shine in that Cask's base edges are super matt, while some of the other bases are almost satin. I may whip over the edge with another coat of Vallejo Extra Opaque Heavy Red. I've said before, it is in no way similar in opacity to the old Mechrite Red but three or four coats and it has a gorgeous richness that Mechrite never had.

 Now I basecoat the edges with Mechrite, for coverage and then add the Heavy Red. My various pots of Mechrite have weird properties too, some are matt as my original pot was, some are glossy. I think this is down to them needing a proper mix which unfortunately given the dwindling supplies makes that harder to achieve, hence why I now Mechrite and then Heavy Red.

So, next up is the Dark Vengeance Tactical Squad, that's at the green highlights stage. Its laborious but I've found my cack-handed attempts at wet blending relatively simple. I can get one or two highlighted a night and then it's all the fun elements of adding details. I'm not sure why I've got these on my To Do list, they're not even part of my basic Army List. But they look cool and green wing is both interesting and less offensive to me [creatively] than the Ravenwing. 

I've also got my Dark Vengeance Deathwing on the go and I'm up to the same point - main armour highlights, only Bonewhite this time, not Caliban Green. Again, not something I can afford in my list but having ten terminators gives me options, I just need to decide who gets the Cyclone Missile Launcher - on e of these guys or one of the less dynamic but more in need of making them look individual Assault on Black Reach termies...?

Then it's Ravenwing :( and also a look at some transports which thankfully are on both my lists, or at least some of them are ;) I can't believe I'm actually getting some of these done