Friday 5 September 2014

'nids part 151 - Project Z?! Another mystery project

Just a quick one. Project Z was one of my mystery projects on my Hobby Season To Do List, but what is Project Z - well, it's a mystery! The funny thing is that although these very early magnetizing shots reveal very little no doubt there will be some who know or can deduce what this is.


To be honest it shouldn't be difficult to work out but where is the fun in that ;) I had not intended to touch Project Z until well after Armies on Parade but given the inability to do that scale of modelling but the possibility to do this amount I thought I'd get it out of the way. Latest news on AoP is that according to my local GW the new rules suggest a board is no longer necessary/part of the rules. It's the army itself that will be paraded and should fit on a 2'x2' board but the board is not necessary...


Anyway, as you can see some pinning is also going on, I had a nasty moment were I dry fit some of the magnets and despite being careful still managed to mix the magnetic poles up! Lucky some drilling and digging about with pliers got them out.


This one also manages to bare no relation to it's counterparts but so far the various parts seem snug and strong enough. I'm debating why I'm doing this, it may well be sheer madness to undertake such a magnetising project but I can always Milliput it should everything go horribly wrong.


There are in fact a couple of perfectly valid common sense reasons to magnetise but I'll get into that later on as and when the scope of Project Z is revealed. Just an interesting note that the blue paint was used to try and indicate where to drill and has combined with the super glue. This was all over my fingers and somehow I didn't bond them together. However right in the midst of all this my new phone turned up. Can you imagine the monumental self control required to not open such a thing because of the mess that needed to be tidied up first and to ensure I didn't bond Bahama Blue paint permanently to my One+ One!

This is what I call an upgrade!

Thursday 4 September 2014

The 2014/15 Hobby Season Alumni Update.


I just got a new entry for the Hobby Season 2014/15 To Do Lists so I've updated the Alumni post and I'll duplicate my overview here for Mr Tardy ;)


Liam Ainscough http://bluewarpstudios.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/the-201415-hobby-season-alumni.html
Liam arrives late to the party, which reminds me of the Throne of Skulls before last when we arrived to pick him up only to find him playing his game console, still better than Scott last time, he was still working and sat in his underpants! He's been on holiday though, so we'll let him off. He's got a massive list of 17 items but some of the individual items alone could fill an entire To Do List. I do feel a little guilty as he's taken the Armies On Parade challenge I set him to heart but reports suggest AoP, though active, which I thought wouldn't happen, will be scaled down. No National Competition and there's no requirement to create a board, just that your army will fit on a 2'x2'. So he's spent good money and time building something he didn't need to. Still it'll look good no doubt and I can't wait to see what he comes up with, so go check his list and offer up your support.

Wednesday 3 September 2014

Dark Angels - Techmarine - TO DONE!

This is almost embarrassing, just a few days into my Hobby Season and I've completed something and already it's 'off list'. If I'm honest it was mainly done in 2013/14 season and in actual fact was completed 4 days before the new season rolled over but due to the unique way the blog is scheduled it'll get the 2014/15 stamp. 


It's also a bit weird because this guy seems to have appeared from nowhere. He's only really been seen here. What's happened is that after a Red Oxide undercoat and assorted washes and Vermilion drybrushes his armour has pretty much painted itself. Whatever I did it just happened organically so there was little to indicate when I should take interim pics.


When I finished the Devastator squad I looked at the Dark Vengeance Tactical Squad and was slightly disheartened at the 10 marines that needed to be green and this red fella just called out to me. All I needed to do was get to a point where is backpack was ready to go on and I could tackle the metal elements. The build/paint order got messed up and I had to do a number of separate sets of bronzing and red armour but over the course of two or three days during the loft conversion he got complete.


I did have a bit of a disaster near the end where I big blob of VerniDas gloss varnish went all over his face, instead of the tiny dot in his bionic eye! Must remember - use a cocktail stick in future. Thankfully a second coating of Anti-Shine solved that.


I'm a little concerned that the yellow pipes seem to have the same level of highlighting as the plasma glow from his backpack, or Power Field Generator as I'll probably run it. Also the Chapter symbol is a bit wonky, or perhaps it's a bit 'tribal' the wings are rustic at the least and that sword blade is more like a kipper tie but I like it. He has few litanies, just the dots on his Dark Angel shoulder pad and these are meant to be written out as 'binary cant' - his Astartes oaths written in the language of the Ad-Mech.


I didn't want any other markings as he's already a bit busy. I added more Bronze/Verdigris in the joints because when it was all red it was a bit dull but it certainly 'punctuates' the red... a lot!


The glow effect isn't quite as successful as the Dark Vengeance Plasma but I'm happy with it


Even trying to cast the OSL onto the servo arms, it's a bit hit and miss but overall I'm really chuffed. This is an awesome model and relatively cheap for what he brings. Even if you don't take the Servo Harness this model rocks. 


I did have a Rogue Trader Techmarine that my mate Liam gave me a Zinge Industries Robotic Servo Arm for. I was super keen to get on with the conversion until the 'no 3rd party parts' rule came up for Warhammer World, which prompted this purchase.


I'll still go ahead with my old guy at some point, but until then this will fulfil my Techmarine needs. Hopefully I'll share that with you, the Techmarine needs to be stripped as its currently metallic green! Just of note is the Auspex on this guy, it turned out a bit pants, but at least some Tamiya Clear Orange X-26 and coating of Vernidas helped salvage it, as with all the other lenses.


If I'm honest I wish I'd got the one with the helmet as it's bad a$$ but we make do with what we've got.


And thus I get the first deserved/undeserved [you choose] off list red stamp of approval for 2014/15. Fact is I'll be completing a lot started in the previous season so, as Dr Sheldon Cooper B.S., M.S., M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D. once said "Cathedra mea, regulae meae. That's Latin for 'my chair, my rules'". Hope you enjoyed the pics at least :) another 70 to 100pts at least for the Dark Angels.

Monday 1 September 2014

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

Saturday 30 August 2014

The 2014/15 Hobby Season Alumni


When I invited folk to join in with my Hobby Season To do List I was heartened to see people get behind the spirit of it and so I only think it right and proper to point you in the direction of their own lists so we can see what they'll be doing this year. Good luck to everyone, I've high hopes for this year, even if my own goals have taken an immediate knock with my Armies on Parade board being affected by the home improvements taking place.

So, check these to Do Lists out:

Marc van Holst http://oldschoolg4m1ng.blogspot.com.au/
Marc has created a proper list, it looks like its on papyrus, it's nearly the hobby equivalent of Ross from Friends' laminated list, it's very cool! There's lots of interesting things on there and is also looking to add both Tyranids and Dark Angels to his collection this Hobby Season. there's also some interesting Iron Snakes which I'll look forward to seeing progress, or not, there's no pressure ;)

Gregg Hess http://www.feedyournerd.com/greggles-tabletop
Gregg is heading to the NOVA Open right now so is phoning his list in [what a trooper]. That also happens to be number one on the list which I endorse as quick wins are great for feeling like you're getting somewhere. Small victories are victories nontheless! I also like his eagerness to just compete in a painting competition. Here's his list, which will no doubt be enshrined on his blog when he returns from To Do item number 1 and he'll get a red stamp of approval too!

My list for 2014/2015

1. Attend a tabletop event. (Doing right this second)
2. Enter a painting competition even if I don't have a chance of winning (capital palette tommorrow!)
3. Paint my mega dread
4. Paint my gorkanaught
5. Paint my warboss biker
6. Paint the mek and painboy
7. Paint ten sternguard and a drop pod (black templars)
8. Paint and magnetize 10 vanguard vets which will double as assault marines or honor guard.
9. Paint a sicaran battle tank (templars)
10. Finish painting my half painted crusaders.
11. Paint and build another stormtalon.
12. Rehighlight my other Templar tanks!

Frank O'Donnell http://ifitwasntforone.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/a-year-in-hobby-challenge.html
Frank could have written a list that would a take a lifetime but wisely decided to edit it down to just 4 items, but that belies the items involved, 1300pts of Sisters of Battle and that should conveniently bring him round to Armies on Parade next year, if only he had a display for it - how about an Anphelion base - well that's on his list too! check out the other two items on his blog, they're both ambitious too.

The Mad Mek http://madmekworkshop.blogspot.com/2014/08/201415-hobby-season-orkz-rool.html
A crazy load of Orks are on the Mad Meks To Do List so much so that he's wisely chunked 100 Slugga Boyz into 4 batches/to do items. Glad to see that people are making their list work for them not making it them work for it. And also with a Gorkanaught already nearly done that's on the list it's another quick win amongst the 16 outlined. I can confirm that this hangover from a previous season is more than valid, we do not dismiss successes just because the bulk of the work was done in the previous season. This time next year we will celebrate everything we have completed but also our work to date, missing targets it's not an issue. We celebrate the positive, to feel good about the hobby and maintain motivation and mojo. We do not look at it negatively because if it isn't fun then what's the point?

Andrew Dart http://battle-brothers.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/a-day-of-to-dos.html
Once again I'm overjoyed at the variety and the little tweaks that have been made by Andrew to make the list his own. I especially like how he proposes to celebrate, I think that's definitely something I will suggest as an additional reward next year! Of course you can all still celebrate with a tipple of your own choice now, or even a non-alcoholic beverage should you feel inclined :)

I also really like the way he's been broader with his goals - finding more local players is a really nice one. I'm lucky in that I have a few guys I can game with that fits the available time I have to play but if I hadn't gone to my local game club in the first place I'd have missed out on meeting new people, entering a couple of tournaments and gaining one game buddy in PeteB who I game with on a regular basis. So I think that's a really cool goal and I can't wait to see the Red Stamps start appearing on Andrew's blog.


Benjamin Brun http://blackycreationsandpainting.blogspot.fr/2014/08/to-do-list-season-20142015.html
Benjamin has another massive list [in French!] and I can see some common elements with the Mad Mek's own list so I'm not about suggest there may be a competitive element to be had from these to green skinned hobbyists but I'm sure these Orky generals are above that sort of thing. I also like the way he's added in the Space Wolves, Ultramarines and Black Legion as supplementary tasks to insert between the green tide to add variety and maintain momentum when he gets bored of all the Orky goodness... or is it badness? Fantastic To Do list.

Liam Ainscough http://bluewarpstudios.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/the-201415-hobby-season-alumni.html
Liam arrives late to the party, which reminds me of the Throne of Skulls before last when we arrived to pick him up only to find him playing his game console, still better than Scott last time, he was still working and sat in his underpants! He's been on holiday though, so we'll let him off. He's got a massive list of 17 items but some of the indidual items could fill and entire To Do List. I do feel a little guilty as he's taken the Armies On Parade challenge I set him to heart but reports suggest AoP, though active, which I thought wouldn't happen, wilol be scaled down. No National Competition and there's no requirement to create a board, just that your army will fit on a 2'x2'. So eh's spent good money and time building something he didn't need to. Still it'll look good no doubt and I can't wait to see what he come up with, so go check his list.

Roemer http://roemersworkshop.wordpress.com/2014/09/25/unfinished-business-and-model-frenzy/
Roemer has jumped on board, it's never too late, and has a mighty list of things to do. Even if it's wholly impractical making your list at least puts down on paper [even digital paper] just how big the scale of your addiction/hobby tasks is/are. There's an awful lot of Chaos things on the list so if the dark gods are your bark it'll be well worth keeping an eye on his progress. Additionally he's included elements to do on his blog, which I too have done in the past, it's all hobby, it's all good. Have a look, see what you think.

Thanks once again for joining in, hopefully it'll be great for you, I've got a lot out of it each year which is why I tried to make it appealing. You guys are pioneers, thanks for entering into the spirit of it. I remember when I first took part in Old Stuff Day, suggested by Rob at Warhammer 39,999, that's always been something to look forward to and I've been glad to take part ever since. I really hope that you'll have the same feeling a year from now. Like I say I'll probably review the season on the 26th of August with the new season 2015/16 starting on the 28th again. Good luck.

Thursday 28 August 2014

To Do List 2014/15

How have we done this last year? Well a damn sight better than any other year. If I haven't done everything on my list, and I haven't, it's not for want of doing nothing at all. But I'm getting ahead of myself, lets just get on with what I did from the list:

A Dark Angels tactical squad!!! Actual Dark Angels that were on my To Do List actually got painted! Forget the rest of the achievements, lets not actually there's loads of them, but this is monumental. Brother Cask, my Dreadnought also joined the fight after three years in the fabricatorium and I also got my Dark Vengeance Librarian completed too. So I have a HQ, two troops [if I combat squad the Tacticals] and two Elites in my Dark Angel force [including the already complete AoBR Deathwing squad].


I even managed to get Avro Vulcan to publish the plans to the Vent Tower and finished painting it.


I prepared an extra set of Tyranid defence walls but never got round to learning how to make a mould and cast some spares :(


I also got the Capillary Towers completed and that obviously led onto bigger and better things.


And stop press! - Dark Angels Devastator Squad!


More importantly what of the things not on that list:
  • Project Y - The Skyshield Landing Pad
  • A whole slew of extra Termagants [and some Spore Mines too!]
  • A Tervigon! Something I said I would never paint again and enjoyed doing it too
  • The four Horsemen of the Ferron Apocalypse:
    • A Lictor
    • A Zoanthrope
    • A Venomthrope
    • A Carnifex, with enough magnetized bits to run it as a Dakkafex, or use those bits on the Great Maw as a Tyrannofex and run the Carnifex as Old One Eye - so many options it was worth the effort.
  • 11 Genestealers too!
  • A 'not a Pyrovore', where the hell did that come from?
  • An Epic Reaver Titan
  • 10 Dark Vengeance Chaos Cultists
  • All my Print & Play terrain, which I think more than makes up for the lack of progress on the Inqusitorial Vault
  • I also finished off the metal Hive Tyrant's spare weapons and wings [a hangover from 2012/13 but still a tick]
  • A lickle baby Watcher in the Dark!
  • And many, many other bits and pieces that were started this year:
    • 10 Dark Vengeance Chaos Cultists converted to Genestealer Cultists
    • Dark Angel Aegis Defence Line
    • Battle for Macragge crashed Aquila Lander
    • Two new Ferron Fire Fir trees
Not too shabby, I think I can live with that kind of trade off against planned targets not met. I also won my local Armies on Parade [just missing last years To Do List deadline] and best painted army at the Scythe and Teacup Tournament, Blog Wars 6 and Throne of Skulls [did I mention that], so going 'off piste' wasn't exactly without reward, of which some was actually cold, hard cash!


I also managed to overcome a lack of hobby mojo and develop strategies to motivate myself. In particular my Hobby Matrix post task. It may not have set the 40k blogosphere alight but it was a concept I had to get out of my head and down on the blog. It's not a cure-all and there have still been moments of lacklustre motivation in the hobby over the year, but it has helped. Not to mention the many comments left by those faithful followers of the blog, your support has been a massive motivation to keep going and has contributed directly to my most sustained period of hobby activity. Even in those periods where I wasn't feeling productive I was building a model here, magnetizing a model there. It all adds to the end result.
 
So, where do I go now? I'll be still trying to tackle some of my hangovers but I will be mothballing some, putting them away as right now they are not a priority at all
  1. Bloodbowl Elves [I only have a little to finish off so they stay, but I need to do a tree man too]
  2. Dark Angel - Drop Pod
  3. Dark Angel - Land Speeder Typhoons
  4. Dark Angel - Dark Vengeance Tactical Squad
  5. Dark Angel - Dark Vengeance Deathwing
  6. Dark Angel - Chaplain
  7. Dark Angel - Azrael
  8. Dark Angel - Ravenwing bike squad
  9. 60mm Dreadnought crater
But with these new ones added/expanded:
  1. Project Z?! Another mystery project ;)
  2. Try to get a fully functioning Dark Angel force [1500pts]
  3. Battle for Macragge crashed Aquila Lander [finish off]
  4. Tyranid Bastion Crater
  5. Genestealer Cultists.
  6. Armies on Parade board - Project X?
  7. Project Ω??!! And yet another mystery project ;)
Mothballed:
  1. Complete pot pourri vegetation [and blog posts for that matter!]
  2. STC Inquisitorial Vault
  3. STC Athena plateau
So a much reduced list, originally when I first started compiling this post there were only six new items but I've since made inroads on both new and old lists so it was only right I think bigger. There are some quick wins alongside some very broad targets and big projects, not to mention the - 'what the flip'? mystery projects Z and Ω [to be revealed after AoP]. No doubt there'll also be many ad-hoc projects added that aren't on the list, as I've done so this year.

Of course my new number 6 is a massive undertaking, one I've been reluctant to get going but clearly something popular amongst those who read the blog. However, as I recently pointed out with our loft conversion going ahead sooner than we thought it means I'll really struggle to fit in doing this, with the garage where I hoped to work being used for storage and access. We'll see how things go, there's a lot involved, it will pay so many dividends, thanks to the modular nature, but still a lot of unfamiliar ground to tread which is always slow going. Fingers crossed I get to do it but it's very much in the balance and home life obviously has to take priority for the immediate future.


Hopefully some of you will join me today at the start of the new 2014/15 hobby season with your own To Do List. Good luck with it, remember it's a guide, not a directive. It gives you something to aspire to and aim for, a simple measure to see if you've succeeded in doing something. When the hobby funk settles in it can help shine light on your malaise. When you're in the zone and painting something 'off-list' who cares, it's something hobby related. Good luck.


I'll be utilising both Big Red Stamps, the 40k Addict one for the items on list and the generic for off list but feel free to use them and if you're taking part put a link in the comments section and I'll make a post up tomorrow with them all in so can see who's game :)

Wednesday 27 August 2014

The 2014/15 Hobby Season - MOAR Red Stamps of Approval

I always try to accommodate suggestions from those following the blog and Andrew Dart from http://battle-brothers.blogspot.com/ asked for some Red Stamps of Approval that were for Major and Minor achievements. Personally I won't be entering into categorising my own hobby exploits as it's almost like undertaking a Painting Points System. However, by asking people for the hobby blogging community to join in and make their hobby season their own then if Andrew wants them, by the Omnissiah I'll help him measure his progress with them. 

So, I give you the very 'minor' amended 'Major' projects Red Stamp of Approval 


And the 'major' amended 'Minor' projects Red Stamp of Approval.


If you want to measure your success like Andrew then feel free to download and add them to your 'To Done' blogpsosts as and when they happen. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow and seeing what 2014/15 Hobby Season To Do Lists turn up. If it does at least one thing for you it's saves you thinking of what to write in you blog post tomorrow.


Oh, and just in case you need them, here are the previous versions of the 2014/15 Hobby Season Red Stamps of Approval, both branded and unbranded