Neon baubles

Whilst on the subject of Christmas baubles, but obviously not 40k related, this is what my son and I made. He painted all the paper balls. I got some metal craft rings, I think they're for lamp shades. Split them and then threaded the 'electrons' on. Then I drilled holes through the bauble, tied the rings together with fishing line and threaded them through the bauble. For added security I super-glued the knots on the rings.

It was actually really easy to do with only the knots being a bit fiddly. I think I also rebuilt it half way through as the idea I had in my head wasn't the easiest solution to build but I'm not sure what was in my mind at the time. Still, just thought I'd share this craft nonsense as the concept was more of what the Mad Mek would call my 'inner Mek' surfacing ;) You never know you could find a use for it.

Make your own Vortex template

I've not really had a need for a Vortex template before, but then the Ravenwing Dark Talon's Rift Cannon was upgraded to give the potential to create one so I suddenly had the urge to get one. Of course they're quite difficult to get hold of and on ebay they're going for about £15! So I wondered about alternative options. I still recall Ron From the Warp's awesome 'Wiffle ball' tutorial but funnily enough it was Rob's tutorial from warhammer 39999 that I remember most. But Wiffle balls don't seem to be easily available in the UK so I got to thinking about other 3" diameter objects

And I already had them! A while back I helped my son make a Neon atom for his physics class and the centre-piece containing the electrons, protons, neutrons [delete as appropriate science folk, I think the electrons are aound the outside?] was a clear plastic Christmas bauble. now I only needed one but my local art/craft store had a pack of 10 and they're just 4mm wider than a standard small blast so I thought I'd have a crack at making my own, so first up I cut off the hanging tab.

Now the difference with these is you can spray them on the inside to retain a super high gloss finish. So I covered my hands in a plastic bag and sprayed above the bauble with white, trying to ensure spots of paints dropped onto the bauble y'know for that spacy look.

And it came out alright, but while I was taking the pictures I missed the opportunity to drag some of the bigger spots with a cocktail stick for some weird warp lightning.

And therefore I sprayed some on some cardboard and tried to paint it on, with limited success and actually picked up some of the Red Oxide undercoat when the solvents managed to melt the primer on the spray box I was using. Still it was a first draft so I didn't mind so much.

I then did the same with the Red Oxide primer to add some nice colour tints to it, like gaseous nebulas and then it was a coat of black spray primer.

And I ended up with this! OK, it's not perfect but Ron took 12 attempts to get happy with his and Rob did three. As I only had the one coloured spray can and paused to take pictures inbetween I was a bit limited but for practically zero cost I'm chuffed with the results especially the high gloss finish, which is the advantage of spraying inside the bauble. Of course you can paint the outside too if you want a matt finish but that'll require a varnish to protect your handiwork.

I did actually put an LED candle inside to see if it would add an unearthly glow in the warp but it was a bit pants, and even worse in the dark as it shone through all the black spray like it wasn't even there!

Anyway, for a 5-10 minute job I'm pretty pleased with the results, so thought I'd share an alternative way to make the Vortex templates

Dark Angels - Scout Camo cloaks colours

Unfortunately [or fortunately depending on your point of view] I didn;t take anymore WiP pics after this. I actually did a few highlights on all the black polygons and then promptly painted all the black bits, green bits, metalics and eveything else but it just doesn't show up in the pics as progress so I didn't even bother.

However, the basis for the pattern is complete in these so you can get the jist until you see the finished article. For some reason though all I'm seeing is a fruit loaf or cake, filled with raisins and orange peel, which isn;t a bad thing I suppose.

I certainly don't think they've been ruined, far from it it's just the feeling I get from them is difficult to articulate thanks to this whole 'cake' motif I'm getting, cos I like cake. Still, I'm glad I did it as otherwise it'd just be some red cloaks. This isn't a new skill, because afterall I did do this 19-20 years ago but it has been something different to do which has made it fresh and exciting.

Hopefully I'll feel equally motivated and excited when I crank out the airbrush and have a pop at some of my tanks. I'll need a little practice first as the last time I used one was probably in '91/'92 at school and I'll tell you the amusing anecdote surrounding those airbrush lessons when I attempt to hone my talents as a little humility of my own might help temper the amusment I'll have at someone else's expense...

Dark Angels - Scout Camo cloak patterns

This was quite laborious, and I really started ot think this was a mistake part way through. Painting all these polygons took quite a while made more time consuming by making the shapes so small. The titan carapace shapes were about twice the size.

I did try and switch scales so it was quicker to do but somehow I still kept pretty much the same size which does make me feel happy that I was at least consistent and now the job is done it doesn;t matter so much how time-consuming the process was but at the time it was a little frustrating.

I'm pretty sure I could have left this right here, the effect is still pretty cool and you can still see the smooth highlights on the cloaks. However I'm not one to shirk from a plan so I'll be continuing on with the planned bonewhite and black polygons.

I'm also quite relieved that the scouts have an increased BS now and can be part of that demi-company so it's a cheap ob-sec scoring unit, ones we're short of now Sammael, Azreal and Belial don't unlock Deathwing and Ravenwing as troops :(

Anyway, it's nice to have options so I can always rock out my old Space Crusade scouts should I need some more ;)

Dark Angels - Scout Camo cloaks

I spent most of last week on the scouts, you'll be pleased to know they're finished now, I'll get chance to do their completed pics this weekend. In the mean time most of my WiP pictures are of their camo cloaks I'll be posting these over the next few days with the big reveal of the finished models next week as progress on the Tac squad will be slow going. Anyway I did my usual highlighting procedure for the cloaks, matching how I do the highlighting for the Red Planet base, these are supposed to match the surroundings afterall.

Funnily enough the vermilion texture on the cloaks didn't catch as much as I thought it would with the highlights, but no bother because I'll be adding my own Ferron Camo pattern. I'm actually a little worried as these came out really well and I haven't attempted this technique in about 19 years and not on cloaks! I really don't want to screw up what's turned out quite nice.

However, I will be repeating the urban camo effect I did on my War Griffons titan carapace. As you can see the majority is just basic grey with a slightly stippled effect and then random shapes with some lighter and some darker.

I'll be adjusting it slightly so the lighter shapes will all be bonewhite [obviously] and they'll be smaller polygons, to better represent the Wraithbone chips on the Surface of Ferron Proxima. Then I will do the darker polygons as black, just for some variety. I think a darker red wouldn;t show up as much so hopefully the extreme will work.

Cabinet models at Manchester GW

Nipped into GW to pick up a Knight base the other week and took a few photos of the models that interested me in the display cabinet. There was this green and orange Maleceptor which made me actually like the model, not enough to buy one obviously! The rules just don't appeal to me, I just can't bank on the randomness of the 'Psychic Phase' [aka the disappointment phase] so investing in this both in £s and pts especially when this is smaller than but more expensive than a Tervigon to buy.

The same painter also put together a Spawn of Cryptus which was equally nice.

But this conversion of the Spawn was really clever, utilising it as a base for a Tyranid Prime!

Had to get this fella on 'film' for you all as I knew it was such a killer idea, shame the kitbash is probably more expensive than the standard option.I suppose it does allow you to keep the three Warrior brood intact without sacrificing a model to become a Prime though and if you don't run Genestealers then maybe the spawn would be redundant anyway and the Deathstorm box does provide all the bits to achieve this.

Lastly some of the nice new AdMech models, I certainly prefer the Cult Mechanicus theme and kits than the Skitarii. I remember reading that Skitarii were more 'techno-barbarians' than the steampunk we seem to have gotten. So I'd definitely go cult first if I was going to invest in another army [which I'm not] and then if I wanted Skitarii I'd do some crazy conversions from Warhammer Fantasy models, that's if they still exist in the near future!

I thought I'd share this too, it's the 'shed' I'll be getting in a few weeks to move my hobby into, although mine will be 10' x 6'. It's an expensive to do, but it will free up our back room to become a dining room and more importantly remove my 'crap' from the house

And just to ensure this does go ahead [well the deposit has been paid so it better had] the wife encouraged me with this for Father's Day

Dark Angels - Scouts, Jetfighters and MOAR

See, I AM painting them! For some reason the Scouts are calling to me I think it's the camo cloaks and the plan I have to paint them. Of course they have to be red so I'm introducing yet more to the colours in my Dark Angels mix! As I needed to tip my last order from Element Games* [see below] over the £80 for free delivery threshold I also got some Martian Earth technical paint and some Khorne Red base - which I believe is the closest to Mechrite Red and not that Mephiston they tried to foist on me when the new range came out. So I had a quick go on the cloaks and I'm impressed. It seems a lot thinner than the old Foundation paint but went on very opaque. It did dry a little less so but I can live with that.

I then drybush/wetbushed the cloaks with my Vermilion craft acrylic. Even when dry this became a little tacky to touch but it did add a subtle texture I hoped to benefit from in subsequent highlights. This is going to be a lot fun as it's all rooted in the Ferron Proxima theme so I'm loving the opportunity to do my Ferron camo pattern, regardless of the not inconsiderable effort involved.

Sadly the Milliput cloak is a bit out of place amongst the plastic counterparts but hopefully it'll be less conspicuous once complete.

And my Jetfighter is starting to come together. I want it magnetised so I can try both flyers and looking at the leaks I want to try both flyers! However, the cockpit/canopy situation is a bit fussy. I was debating the colour of the canopy, originally it was going to be Tamiya Clear Orange X-26 but I think introducing orange into my Ravenwing may be a mistake so will go with Tamiya Clear Red X-27. I've sprayed the internals of the cockpit Red Oxide and washed it, I won't have to do a great deal inside as most of the colours will be obscured by the canopy colour.

Although it would be nice to see the result before sticking it in I'm not so sure that's possible as there are still two extra pieces that enclose the canopy to glue in places which actually makes the canopy impossible to open - sounds like typical AdMech design principles!

This is what arrived from Element Games - my missing Ravenwing Command Squad/Knights box.

And my Google AdSense funded Imperial Knight Warden and two pots of paint. OOH I'm gonna have me some fun!

* Incidentally when I ordered from element games I got some loyalty points and a code so you can get double 'Element Crystals' (Store Credit). My referral code is DAV910.

• If you feel the urge to use it on any order I'll receive extra Element Crystals to my account, but
• You receive DOUBLE Element Crystals too, so everyone wins! 

All you have to do is enter the code above at the end of the checkout stage, or not, it's up to you.