Dark Angels - Ravenwing - TO DONE!

First up my Ravenwing Command Squad, we're still technically 7th Edition so that's a Ravenwing Champion, Standard Bearer and Apothecary, I think one of them becomes an 'Ancient' in 8th.

Goodness knows if these unit still exists in the new 'index', with so much information now available I'm purposefully not buying Imperium 1 as I want to just get my head round the nids and the game before I tackle what's happened to the Dark Angels.

I was disappointed to discover my Tamiya Clear Orange X-26 has started to congeal, so I couldn't paint displays as I would normally but no bother X-27 came to the rescue instead.

The Standard turned out much better than I expected.

Sadly not a close up of his Sword of Caliban but the Champion came out alright too.

Elements of the Apothecary disturb me greatly. I flip-flop between liking the white and great disappointment. The vials turned out OK in the end but it's the triple helix and how it interacts with the surrounding weathered brass that leaves me cold

The banner came out OK, mainly because I bottled writing Ravenwing on the third scroll and wrote Caliban instead ;) I think the diamond pattern came out OK in the end too.

Not to mention the chubby Aquila on the top pennant.

Can you spot what's missing here? Weathering powder on the tyres - mainly because this was the last to be complete I weathered all the others as a group before I finished and varnished the Apothecary.

Ravenwing Black Knights.

The Knight on the left may well need a back pack ornament at some point. I only realised I'd used fancy back packs on the other three too late. Funnily it does have a hole pre-drilled in the top to take a pin to secure it on, I must have forgotten. If he ever does anything noteworthy I'll honour him.

Still not convinced on the headlamp OSL but I think first glance and en masse it's OK, it just doesn't stand stand scrutiny.

All the Knights together.

Knights and the Ravenwing Bike Squad.

Obviously it would have been nice to see these and my existing six bikes, the Land Speeders and Dark Talon.

Sadly I didn't take those pics it was very much just trying to record these 13.

Bike Squad on their own.

Wheelie!

Not sure why this guy has the AdMech shoulder pad

Particularly as the 'techmarine' head is used on the left here. No rhyme or reason but I may well use those bits to make a proper Techmarine on bike further down the line.

Months of work and I appreciate your patience just as I know you appreciate how much of a mammoth task this turned out to be for me. The bike squad have been on my table for just over six years, there's an early post than this with the bike bases I bought. The Ravenwing Knights are virtual newbies with just over a year in production. It's been an incredible slog to push through all the difficulties they've presented, overcoming those challenges inherent in bikes, the issues with black, with the way I do metallics and painting 13 at once so I really do deserve this Big Purple Stamp of Approval!

Dark Angels - Ravenwing - just checking in

You'll have seen things were quiet last week, I was supposed to be in Majorca for a family holiday but for one reason or another we had to cancel. Luckily we'll get our money back but I still took the week off and I was actually able to finish the Ravenwing, so this is the last updat before the 'to done'. As you can see the Knights were first up but the Apothecary and the standard bearer would be the last to be finished thanks to the extra effort involved with all the other details on the model.

And Sergeant Adam.

Not sure why I took these, perhaps to illustrate the freehand text, not that its particularly good ;)

Once again trying to capture the warpaint on his face and just a hint of the power sword.

OK, so not much to share but I'm just checking in again and setting up the full reveal later this week.

Dark Angels - Ravenwing - Hobby nest and basing

Rob from 30kplus40k shared the horrors of his workspace the other day so I also felt the need to reveal just how cluttered the man cave has got in this panoramic shot of over 180°. This is what happens when you get so wrapped up in a project that everything else goes to wrack and ruin. I really can't wait until the Ravenwing are done and I can tidy this place up. Part of me can feel that will power and motivation draining away as I reach the end, to be fair to myself though I have been pulling 12:30 finishes to get them moved forwards so it's understandable that fatigue is starting to be a factor.

My last effort involved basing the six standard bikers. Five of these were mounted on the daemonscape1 bases I bought just over six years ago! The remaining bike was on a Secret Weapon Miniatures base that was most similar to the other five. You may also note the original Dark Vengeance Ravenwing model on the far left that I'm using for reference. The newer bike's highlights are a fraction lighter but otherwise it's a pretty good match I feel. My previous reservations about just how large my palette of colours had got are slightly relieved here as I think they look reasonably narrow in tones, the Knights might be another thing though...

I think there's still a little work I need to do on the headlamps, as well as Bonewhite chippings on the bases. As you can see the OSL on the headlamps is dubious in the least but it does match the original one for the most part, so at least they're consistently bad across the group. Also some of the angles I've base them on are a bit annoying. I wanted them to look slightly dynamic, how the Dark Vengeance bikes are posed but the drilling and pins on these haven't always produced the desired effect. I did do one of the plasma dudes wheelying though so there is definitely one that's cool ;)

This is Brother Adam the 'dandy Huntsman'. We went to see Adam Ant the other week, he's not my bag really, my wife was a childhood fan though and it was a Christmas or Anniversary present I'd got for her. I'd wanted to do some more warpaint on a helmetless model and this seemed like the easiest/most appropriate option. I'm not sure it was the best choice of model as the hood obscures things so it's not immediately obviosu what's going on but doing this justifies me not painting the eyes, so it had to happen. Ultimately it's not rubbish so I'll take it.

You can also see the three red tribal stripes on the stabilising vent on the back pack. Three have these markings, in case I want a unit of three. The other three have markings on their right shin pads. Alternatively I take any upto six with the straight back banner to identify as a unit.

Mounting the seven Black Knights/Command squad next...

Dark Angels - Ravenwing - Banner Up!

One of the extra elements I have to do for the Ravenwing is their banner. So far I think I've done a half decent job although I'm dubious about my ability to render some of the fine details, particularly that rather scrappy diamond pattern.

The colours are suitably high contrast and vibrant, which is a shame as I like the earthy tones on the shaded scroll work but my own painting style won't allow me to leave it as such.

And so I've added the highlights and pseudo-fabric texture. Not looking forward to rendering text in here, recent efforts have not been what I consider a success.

Which is why I'm rather envious of David MacLellan's banner on the Hobby Season facebook group.

The rest of my efforts have been directed at bringing the Plasma coils online. Two sets of OSL highlights here.

Yellow is going on next and then white, which seems like I'm adding yet more contrast and colours to the mix.

You can also pick out the green on black effect on the Ravenwing Champions Blade of Caliban. Another element I'm pleased with but question whether I should have chosen a different colour as the palette on these just keeps expanding

As much as I'm happy with the Plasma effects part of me wishes I'd stopped even earlier at the pre-verdigris stage below. The palette was considerably more simple but the addition of the Verdigris, again something that works in itself  has taken it from a limited palette to a riot of colour

And I've since added in the red headlamps and glow which is another level of colours again. I've also managed to match the opacity of the original Ravenwing bikes I painted, y'know the ones I wasn't 100% [probably not even 50%] happy with.

I'm sure they'll look great in the pictures and en masse once complete, an that is one of the rules not to pass judgement until they're complete but I can definitely see an alternate reality of Ravenwing where I stopped sooner, less is more deal. As it stands I've gone for more is more! Still, it's all consistent so we'll see how it turns out, they're nearly done now, here's what's left:

1. Various targeting lenses

In addition individual models will need:

• Apothecary - vials, tubes, symbols
• Banner bearer - banner... oh my lord

And then the 'finishing' bits:

• finish the bases
• bonewhite chips
• Khorne Red/Heavy Red edges
• Mount the models [some drilling involved here]

• Matt varnish
• Tamiya Clear
• Weathering powders
• Gloss varnish [where needed]

A freebie - Wound Markers MK-IV - 8th Edition compliant

It would appear that keeping track of wounds is going to be a meaty task in 8th Edition with the likes of Imperial Knights having more than 20 and the large Tyranids a dozen or more. As much as everyone seems to think that's still feasible with dice, who really wants a D20 sat next to their model? I mean at least with D6s in 7th you could purchase some unobtrusive little ones [not that anyone did], D20s are big beggars and it'll just look downright odd.

Of course I immediately saw that my own markers were slightly lacking, insomuch as although they went up to 10 [thank you Doom of Malan'tai, we still miss you], they needed a few more to meet the bounty of wounds set to be given up to our big vehicles and monsters. I'd also seen plenty of folk clamouring for a solution so I thought I better step up and fix that uncertainty so we can think about the rest of the sky that's falling - like GW making massive new marines, 'cos it's not like the community hasn't been crying out for true-scale, how dare they give us what we wanted?!

Anyway, I added in new markers up to 30, or actually it'll be counting down now, which I'll have to get used to, excuse me while I write some long-winded scathing rant to GW about how the fact I'm now forced to count wounds down and how it's ruined my life! I digress. 

I've also done them in a variety of colours, either to match your faction, or to have a range to choose from to attach to different models so they don't get mixed up. So I've got:

• Red - original and best - ideal for Khorne and Blood Angels
• Pale Blue - Tzeentch
• Yellow - Imperial Fists?
• Green - Nurgle, Necrons or Salamanders
• Pink - Slaanesh or Emperor's Children
• Brown - Nurgle, Astra Militarum
• Yellow and red - More Imperial Fists?
• Black and Red - Khorne, Black Templars, Ravenwing, Raven Guard

 

Usual step-by-step to make:

1. Print
2. Apply double sided tape to back
3. Stick to mounting card
4. Carefully apply sellotape to top if you want them pseudo-laminated
5. Cut out with craft knife/scalpel
6. Amaze your friends and enemies with these counters
7. Tell them to visit www.40kaddict.uk for their own free markers.
   
   So if you want them you can download the .pdf here:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B97Rk-BalgZbNEJwNnpIV3FyaGc

Choose what suits you best. Obviously when 8th hits these may end up being impractical, goodness knows how to store them all so it'll be easy to find the specific number you need. It may well be that laminated datasheets with dry wipe pens used on wound trackers will be the most practical way to keep account of how damaged someone is. But that's still not as easy for your opponent to see how wounded a model is as a marker, yes even a dice, right next to that model. 

I know some have suggested rotating wheels, similar to the old Titan void shields or the discs for X-Wing but they seem too big. Alternatively there are these handy knitting/crochet counters that folk are raving about. Potentially they could be a good idea, again for me it reall depends on size.

Then there's the other option I once saw of putting small elastic bands on the model but again that suffers from 'counting down' issue I'd always railed against and therfore counted up. If we're to count down remaining wounds, as you will HAVE to do in 8th, your Imperial Knight is going to have to begin the game with twenty odd elastic 'looms' festooning it's Adamantium hide like its at Spring Break before the game even starts!