The art of 40k - More Gary Harrod

In the second of my posts about my favorite 40k artists I've only gone and stumbled across a few more pictures by Gary Harrod so I thought I'd share these before going on to my next fave artist. So here's the pic that blew me away the most [the one I described in my original post]. They all click much bigger than my usual fair, so enjoy.

Next up are three images from the Deathwing, Space Hulk expansion rules. Like I said the stark highlights and shadows literally jump off the page compared to the rest of the illustrations and I think when you add in the two pictures I already found you can begin to see the awesomeness of Gary's work. I love this terminator, just look at the amount of light coming from his gun, you can imagine having your retinas scorched by that after image!

Here too, the psychic battle between genestealer and presumably Deathwing Librarian. Taking into account most of the GW rulebooks at this time were monotone, with pure black and white and where grey was needed the dots in the halftone pattern were employed to give the required grey it was Gary's extensive use of black and white that made his drawings stand out most, like I say they leap from the page.

Lastly, what i think is the weakest of the three images in execution but possibly the image which holds more menace and anticipation thanks to the unsuspecting marine about to experience 'death from above' not the other way round as their usual motto states.

Oh, and the two previous pics to see Gary's work I've discovered so far as a set.

Get your Dose

WARNING, this is not really 40k related so please don't panic but it's better than nothing.

Some may recall my post in September regarding the video for the music from the recently released Space Marine video game. I got to showcase some of the work my Facebook buddy, Sam Hayles. Well he's only gone and updated his Portfolio website. On it you can see his awesome CD cover designs for the likes of Earthtone 9 and Monstter:

Also his excellent playing card designs:

His work is really cool and potentially inspirational for those who are creative and if you're painting figures then yes, that means you. Additionally you can purchase some of his artworks [currently featured in the TV show Hollyoaks of all places?!], sticker packs, t-shirts and even a mug at the DOSEprodSHOP. Check out his stuff, he's a really cool dude.



Deathwing Progress

That aim to produce a years worth of content has been a bit of a killer. I hoped to still have plenty of content to share with you but Dawn of War, the new kitchen and the slow progress on any Dark Angel material has brought the blog to a standstill pretty much, or it will do. I still want to keep up with blogging and my painting but a number of other projects really need priority, not least an update to my Kendo Club's website. What's frustrating is my desire to do 40k/hobby stuff  is still very much there, I just don't have the motivation to translate that desire to action... still here's an update on the Deathwing.

As you can see they all now have Ferron Crux Terminatus, although I think they need a Devlan Mud wash to bring out more contrast.

I've also added the bronze items, still need to do another highlight, then Devlan Mud and Badab Black to bring back the shadows and I'm going to do some Turquoise for a bit of verdigris patina which should age the weapons nicely, though I'm concerned it'll be a colour too far. Still to debate the use of Dark Angels green anywhere, it's questions like these that are delaying progress.

Eye lenses will be green, I think [?], but there's targetting lenses, all the odd rivets and bolts etc. the whole thing is just building into a chore to get even the smallest detail resolved. I'm happy with the Bonewhite but the battle damage will be another risk, which stalls that too.

On top of this I worked out I could have scratchbuilt an assault cannon from my Ravenwing upgrade sprue, which would have been useful and so would a Cyclone Missile launcher, which I could also make from the upgrades, or try to use the launcher from my Drop Pod.

G.O.D. knows what I'm going to do for the Sergeants Power Sword. I really want to progress with these but I'm spending ages on them. They're by no means Golden Demon, but I'm taking more care on them than the nids and the slow decision making is hampering progress from the beginning. Which obviously slows down the blog. Anyway, progress is progress, we'll get there in the end.

Apologies for the colours in the pics, night shots again in the garage. Hopefully I'll get some better ones at the next update.

Flufftastic - Ferron Proxima and the 'Caffeine Wars'

As I was writing my last STC post for the 'Ruined Caffeine Plaza Market' things kidn of got out of hand. A lot of ideas surfaced, fluff-wise for Ferron Proxima, far more than one post deserved and it would have taken away from the fact a new STC had been found! So I decided to split the fluff and create another new series 'flufftastic'. I've a couple of ideas of how this is going to go to bring Ferron Proxima to life but the very process of writing things down can build a rich tapestry and exciting new options arise, for example who knew there are a couple of sister planets - Ferron Ultima and Ferron Minima? So I give you my first efforts [although there's plenty of fluff already been written in the blog], 'The Caffeine Wars'

The flora and fauna on Ferron Proxima has always had a profound effect on how settlers and natives interacted with their environment. Unlike Caliban with it's mass of ancient woodlands [before it was destroyed] Ferron Proxima is a much more barren, desert like environment, rich in iron deposits, basking under sulphur skies. Many plants have had to evolve to cope with such a hardy environment. One of these is the Ferron Bindweed (Fallopia ferrousica). Ferron Bindweed is a species of flowering plant in the Bindweed family known by several common names, including Ferron vine, Guarana fleeceflower, Caliban fleecevine, Caffeine lace vine. It is native to Ferron Proxima and it can be found growing wild in parts of the Heartlands and has been bio-engineered for crop reasons. It is grown for its seed-laced vines, and is extremely fast-growing plant that has the capacity to become an invasive speces by spreading beyond its intended limits.

The Bindweed seed is an effective stimulant: it contains about twice the caffeine found in coffee beans (about 2–4.5% caffeine in Bindweed seeds compared to 1–2% for coffee beans). As with other plants producing caffeine, the high concentration of caffeine is a defensive toxin that repels pathogens from the berry and its seeds.These seeds plays an important role in the native cultures. According to a myth attributed to the Bear Claw tribe, Bindweesd's domestication originated with a deity killing a beloved village child. To console the villagers, a more benevolent god plucked the left eye from the child and planted it in the forest, resulting in the wild variety of Bindweed. The god then plucked the right eye from the child and planted it in the village, giving rise to domesticated Bindweed. The fact that the Bindweed seeds were in fact bio-engineered to deliver a purer and more refined fruit by the early settlers had been lost for millenia, although the tribal tales, passed down from shaman to shaman, remain to this day.

The natives would make a tea by shelling, washing and drying the seeds, followed by pounding them into a fine powder. The powder is kneaded into a dough and then shaped into cylinders. This product is known as Bindweed bread, which would be grated and then immersed into hot water along with sugar. This highly potent 'caffeine' brew has become renowned among the subsector and over time Ferron Proxima became awash with competing franchises.

Caffeine shops, plazas and markets are a massive part of Ferron life, including Ferron Proxima, Ferron Ultima and Ferron Minima [although the sister planets produce their own Ferron Bindweed it is not of such high quality as Proxima Bindweed seeds so a huge export operation accounts for a good portion of Proxima's GDC]. Caffeine joints sprung up across the planet, the sudden increase of consumption and competition even raised questions among the Inquisition as to whether the Bindweed seeds were at worst warp tainted or at the very least addictive. Declassified documents pertaining to the Caffeine Wars of 4541942.M40 show close examination of the gene-structure by Inquisatorial MechAdepts revealed discrete but recognizable STC matrix components. This led the Inquisition to publicly close their investigation but privately they approached each franchise with a mandate to claim compensation on behalf of the Emperor and the Adeptus Mechanicus for the use of  STC technology in their brew. Forced to capitulate to these new 'tithes' the cartels pressed harder to expand and compete against each other to cover the new expenses. 

Competition grew to the point where open warfare in the 'caffeine plazas' between franchises took place, with some franchises stepping up their protection by employing mercenaries and off-world gangers. Much like gang warfare in many of the Hive's sectorwide the 'caffeine loyalists' would band together to assault rival franchises, bringing new meaning to the term 'hostile takeover'. Regardless of the victor the battlefields were the caffeine plazas, the terraces awash with blood, spilled beans and latte foam. Many of these ruined plazas have long been abandoned, as it's not good for business to associate with the lowest point in 'barrista history'. Many independent retailers were obliterated including some large franchises, as well as renowned 'caffeine dynasties' dating back to the early settlers, who learned of the properties of the Bindweed and shared 'tea' with the Bear Claw Tribe. Since the cessation of all attacks in 4541947.M40 Starforts Caffeine has remained dominant in the Ferron market but Codex Coffee waits in the wings, plotting and vying for another chance to take control...

A dreadful idea?

It's been a long while but I popped into  a GW the other day. Not that I particularly care about the new game we've all heard about - Dreadfleet, there was however one aspect I was keen to see first hand. I'm talking about the printed fabric play-mat that comes with it. I had in my head an idea of the material I thought it would be but because I can't actually describe what that was lets just say I was surprised at the actual finished product. At this point I must apologise for not actually taking any pictures at the time, one of the staffers was keen to get me playing the game and I really only had enough time to look at it and all the cabinets and high-tail it back to work, so all the pics below are from the GW website.

 

Anyway back to my opinion of the mat. Well it actually looks like a big thick silk scarf. The pattern is vibrant and really detailed and I'm sure the weight of it is sufficient to keep it in place while gaming. It's even got a stitched edge to it to ensure it doesn't fray. My whole reason for checking it out is to raise the questions "What if this mat wasn't 5' x 3.5' and 6' x 4' instead? And what if it wasn't a sea-scape but a battlefield?" Is this something GW should be looking at? What would it be like for the next iteration of 40k to come with it's own battlefield included?

Granted GW might fear the cannibalization of it's Realm of Battle Game Boards but lets be realistic £155 is a lot of cash for a table-top, which you still have to paint yourself.

In actual fact GW is already aware of this which is why it already has a gaming mat for £18.50. Now I did have to do a bit of searching to rediscover this little gem but I think that's a decent price for what could be a new sideline in the GW market. Coincidentally it also seems to be roughly the price the Dreadfleet mats are selling for on ebay. I'm pretty sure these things would make quite a profit, even compared to the current play mat. I'm sure there are far more companies who can produce printed fabric sheets than sheets with flock glued on them. Having a multitude of fabric companies to secure a cheapest deal is more likely than couple of specialist model suppliers.

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?prodId=prod2060001

But the concept doesn't end there because if you can do one type of printed battlefield, 'Cityscape' for instance, you can probably do half a dozen -

• Chaos Waste
• Ice planet
• Desert
• Jungle
• Alien infestation
• Oh, and Red Planet!

Because, as we all know when given the choice GW often tries to sell us six products when one will do (£15 for 6 Vortex templates?!):  

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=&prodId=prod1250222a

I'm sure you actually need all 6 of those templates but it's sets a precedent that there could be half a dozen different battlefields on offer for those that just want to play, not interested in the hobby aspect and what better way than to include one in the next starter set? They could even add another £10-£20 to the base price and you'd probably find people amenable to the concept.

Of course I'm not going to hold my breath for such a thing, and you don't have to, you can always print out my FREE Ferron Proxima battlemat, either at a local high street printers or in tiled A4 sheets and piece it altogether on one big piece of MDF...

http://40kaddict.blogspot.com/2010/10/battlefield-mars.html

My mate in the news, AGAIN!

My mate Liam, he of the scratch built Warhound and Warlord, fame once again hits the headline. He and one of my other old gaming buddies Ben trotted off to Warhammer world for the Throne of Skulls doubles tournament. He came 54th out of 200 and Ben came 6th! So congratulations but Liam also got nominated for best painted army and here's why:

And here he is hiding at the back in the middle when he received his award

Well done Liam!

A year of living dangerously

In my life I've always had an obsessive nature, certain things have owned my attention, firstly Games Workshop but after university and a lack of gaming that died off. Then I found a new passion with my obsession for my favourite band Pitchshifter until they went on indefinite hiatus, there's only so long you can pine for a band in the hope they'll release new material. So my return to kendo took over and for a good few years I was happy until the catalogue of injuries made me think I'd have to give it all up [though that may still happen] and it opened the door, together with my son's interest, to my oldest obsession  and it was then that I realised it was more of an addiction.

So there we go, I've completed the task I set - to try and post at least every other day something 40k [or gaming]  related. There's been ups and downs and hopefully I've contributed to all the true hobbyists out there, not just the ones that GW co-opted the name to use for the people that buy their products, but the ones willing to build and convert and model because they see value in home made stuff. I never wanted to start a blog and then leave it after a few posts. I wanted to add to the community both with items to build on the cheap and old bits from my extensive collection and I think I've received enough positive feedback to know I've done that.

But don't worry, this is not the last of the blog, I will still be keeping my hand in, just not rigidly sticking to a post every other day. It may be longer between posts and there will still be good stuff to share with you all. I still have my Dark Angels to complete and I will post updates of those and the many other projects started on my 'To Do list', but not completed over the coming weeks and months.

With the pressures of life I don't need the added hardship of supplying content when I should in fact be doing the hobby, if you recall I'd had nearly a years head start on my son's 'nids before I took up the blogging side of things so maybe it's about time I built up some more stuff so I can have a better source of material further down the line. Thanks to all those that have stuck with me for year, I'll keep trying to give you something worthwhile but I hope you aren't disappointed with me 'cruising' along, for a while at least. Here's to year two and whatever it may bring.