Dark Angels - Drop Pod[s], The final push

The final push and I couldn;t not do the company marking in each fin. That's the thing about 'freehand' even when it's not perfect you can still see the effort involved and it makes it al worthwhile.

Each circle was stamped on in black with the end of a plastic pencil tube. I then quartered it, filled it with black and then Bonewhite. Some green highlights outside and in, then Soft Tone shading the bone, final highlight and a Dark Reaper highlight on the black. All a little too much but happy with the results, imperfections and all.

It's almost cartoony, which I really quite like, the company '5' looks a little anaemic in comparisson though.

5s were finished off on pod 2 [the one on the right] and all the damage was applied - sponging Rhinox Hide, Gun Metal and then Strong Tone wash.

Essentially these are complete, just need to varnish and Tamiya Clear and I can do the To Done pics. Really chuffed to have got these completed, I've even put them both in my Birthday Bash list just for giggles.

Dark Angels - Ravenwing Dark Shroud part 2

Havingspotted the gaping holes in the jets I knew I couldn't live with them unless they were filled like the Jetfighter. I got some DAS air drying clay, balled it up, dampened it and plugged each nacelle

I used the cap off a Polycement tube to get the initial concave shape and then the end of a paintbrush , dipped in water to smoothe the interior.

I smoothed the inside out with a plastic plunegr from one of the kids Ibuprofen syringe tubes [whatever is to hand]. The fact is DAS is not an adhesive, like Milliput, but it doesn't need to be. I just needed to plug the hole and hopefully friction will keep it there.

With hindsight I could have used the spare Dark Talon jets inside, or got some Drop Pod Retro Boosters would have looked cool as it would have matched the four on the rear.

I also spent soem time stripping the bikes subsequently when separating one of the Ravenwing banners so I could reposition it standing upright it shot off into the man cave. Hopefully I'll discover it's hiding place at some point.

As you can see the stripping went really well, I was using a 59p Acetone FREE nail polish remover from Home & Bargain. it took just minutes to strip them, so no leaving them to bathe for months like Dettol.

In fact, I even did a video to show how quick and easy it is:

Dark Angels - Drop Pod[s], Pod 2 playing catch up

Another quick one, you see, I can paint those holes neatly [or at least neater]. I've pretty, much brought the pod up to the weathering stage now.

Having done all the holes and door edges I also stamped the mumbers on the fins and found a pencil tube to stamp a circle for the company symbol. I've also updated all the markings on the door ready for the final white highlights.

Holes were roughed up, just need two more orange edge highlights, a Soft Tone wash and then all the gun metal bits for scratches.

Progress is swift [unfortunately I appreciate the pics don't really show just how much I've done - caught up in the moment, sorry] with just one more update and then I can get them varnished alongside my completed Genestealer Cult.

What's on my palette?

Bless me readers for I have sinned, it's been nearly 3 months so it's long overdue, although some of this has been covered in recent posts having it altogether will help me take stock and potentially make me stick to the plan.

 

After a period of intense productivity at the beginning of the Hobby Season I was hit with the traditional festive blues and it wasn't until the middle of January before things took off and I was able to get back into the grrove. Since then I've managed to crack on with a number of things, get a number of the Genestealer Cult done, unnecessary but they were the 'pilot light' to some of my other projects. There's only the Magus and Primus to complete and then they can all be varnished at once.

The rest of the hybrids can remain in stasis as they're actually a distraction at the moment.

Which is why I was slighlty relieved that Ben borrowed Blood Bowl, taking the temptation to paint both teams with him. I'm itching to do them but I need to prioritise my time.

Which is why the Drop Pods finally got the attention they deserve. Pod 1 is almost complete, just some additional markings to do. Pod 2 needs some highlights, details, weathering and markings. Both need varnishing but I'll be so pleased when they're in the bag.

Meanwhile I actually got to add some metallics to the Deathwing Knights. These are also a distraction, in a way. Ravenwing should be a priority, I foresee them being far more in use than their Deathwing bretheren but I actually painted these easy bits in my lunch break so I feel less guilty about it. Reds next, second metal highlights and then washes and probably back into hiatus.

Which was going to leave me with a nice hole that I would take some time over the Assault Squad as my secondary task and look to do some other bits.

Unfortunately this thing turned up and I suddenly worked out how I could fit it in my Double Trouble 2 list. Now that would mean not taking the newly painted Drop Pods and monopolising all my time between now and then. I know how slowly things progress, particularly my Dark Angels of any hue. It's feasible and I'll at least get it done for my Great Build stamps but the recent completion of projects has given me some breathing space and that's incredibly welcome at the moment.

The fact is this already took up most of a session that could have been spent really cracking on with Pod 2. I'd visualised all I was going to achieve on it throughout the day and despite making this, the fact I didn't complete the planned progress on the pod has irked me greatly.

So, pods, Genestealer Cult, then busy myself with other things [which may mean fewer blog posts for a bit] while casually progressing Dark Shroud and Assault Squad.

Dark Angels - Ravenwing Dark Shroud part 1

I managed to pick up this Land Speeder Dark Shroud for £30 on ebay. It really is the missing link to make my Ravenwing that much more effective. I'll probably magnetise it too [following for the Limey's guide]. I don't see much chance of using the Vengeance but it doesn't hurt. I pointed out it would fit into my Double Trouble list which prompted it making it to this stage part of me wants to crack on with it to completion but I need to be sensible and get stuff done and try to keep my plans on track. It can't take priority, as much as I'd like it to. I know that flies in the face of 'going with the flow' but other things need attention.

What is annoying though is the jets - because those holes really won't give me opportunity to paint them properly.

If you recall I had the same problem with my Ravenwing Nephilim Jetfighter/Dark Talon and had to plug them with tissue and DAS air drying clay. Doing it at that stage was a nightmare and I mentally noted it would have been so much easier during the build stage, before the intakes at the front went on.

With that in mind I'll probably have to fill them in now so I can create a similar jet effect as below.

Meanwhile, I picked these up for £15 too. It was a bargain I couldn't turn down even though I've enough grey tide to face already. Hopefully this will fill out my Ravenwing alongside the 6 completed bikes 6 other bikes in progress and 7 Black Knights.

I can foresee a few more Land Speeders down the line but hopefully won't need to buy anything else until these are all painted, but first they need stripping and then I have to decide if they're armed appropriately...

Dark Angels - Deathwing Knights - METAL!

Quick post. These guys just really don't fit into my schedule but I wanted to crack on with them somehow. Luckily they're just base coats so I thought I could find some time in my lunch just to add some Warplock Bronze.

 It is incredibly untidy, I'm hoping it'll all get neatened up as I go along.

 Reds next on all the Ferron stone Crux Terminatus and their Storm Shields.

I also did these two guys and then it'll be the next highlights on the bronze and washes.

They'll probably go into hiatus again after that but I just need to keep chipping away at them so one day I look up and realise I've reached the home straight without realising

Then it should be a simple push and they'll be done.

The 'Eavy Metal Storm Shieldsfeature grey stone work behind they warrior monk relief. I'll obviously be doing them Ferron Red, but all the wings and the warrior monk on the shield will be picked out in the standard colours. It'll be a bit of a departure for me, I could have just as easily done it all weathered bronze. Bronzing it would have been the sensible choice and helped reduce the palette of colours for consistency but this way is the challenge and they deserve a little extra effort too.

Moving on...

Dark Angels - Drop Pod[s], Pod 1 numbering

Despite feeling confident to leave pod 1 well enough alone I felt the urge to add numbers. The original plan was awesome massive numbers on the door but I threw that idea out the window when the chapter markings looked alright as is. So instead it was numbers on the top fins, but how to make them consistent? Decals were the obvious choice but aside from not having enough vehicle decals to do all five fins I know I can paint that gothic swirly number 5, it's just it tends not to be consistent size wise. So I created a tiny stencil [without the line up the middle]. It took me two goes to cut it out of paper without destroying it.

I managed to do all five of the fins but you can see by the last pic [actually the 5th fin] it was becoming less effective. I'm not sure if this was due to application or dampness in the stencil but I definitely could have taken it down a notch so I didn't go quite as rough as it turned out.

But not to worry, because with the 5 in place I easily neatened it up, which was the plan all along. Ordinarily I'd have pencilled it in first but again it;s about being consistent. I also went round with some Caliban Green on the edge to neaten up any overspill.

Not the same 5 but each number did have subsequent pure white highlights. The end result is consistent across all the fins but hindsight I think it would look much better as a white circle with green 5 in the middle, although I'm sure the 5 would have to be smaller for it to fit and I doubt the stencil would be possible at such scale, extremely difficult to cut at the least.

Anyway, this is what I used, cutting out the five on the top row, although the actually fin shape and measurements are not correct so I had to fudge it a bit in positioning.
 I now have to decide if I'm doing the company symbol on the opposite side of each fin, by which I mean I have [annoyingly] decided to paint the company symbol, I just need a circle stamp on it at the correct size before I then fill it in.

Meanwhile Pod 2 got some love with the door edges orange in just two coats. I now need to do some extra shading and final green highlights.