Wednesday 10 January 2018

Deathwatch To Done! pt1

I took a shedload [literally, I was in the shed] of pictures of the Deathwatch so I've spread it over three posts over the next three days.


These were a real challenge as each model has so much detail on, far more than a standard Deathwatch Marine, so I was glad to finally get them done.


I'm pleased with the result, a little shocked how busy they all are when the over-riding image of the Deathwatch is black, a silver arm and one coloured shoulder pad.


I threw in a lot of extra colours, which might have been a mistake, maybe I'll find out when I eventually paint up the other set.


I've still to play a game of Deathwatch Overkill with both the completed Kill Team and the Hybrids, I think it'll look fantastic when I do.


I'm just going to let the following shots speak for themselves until the individual model views.







A tale of two pairs of eyes - Ortan Cassius = hate [too much eye shadow], Jensus Natorian = love [its either ethereal glow or crazy Ultimate Warrior make-up, regardless I think it's awesome]


I hate the belted kilts on models, I can never paint them well at all. Dubious purple lizard skin on the Salamander.


Love the Raven Guard, again the eyes on the Blood Angel are dubious. This time no heavy outline but the pupils stand out weird. I tried blue irises but it just didn't work. They're far from bad but just look odd.


Dark Angel came out alright, Power Swords are always an issue. Drenn Redblade however, I'm embarrassed to admit, is my favourite and he's a Space Wolf. It was such a happy accident to actually paint his Chainsword red, the official painted model isn't. I keep forgetting all the names so to paint it red and find out he's called Redblade just made it even more special.


Ennox Sorrlock and Rodricus Grytt. I was pleased with Ennox's skintone, just a little different to fit with the Iron Hands, didn't do his eye but I'm happy with it nontheless. Rodricus came out OK too.


Lastly Jetek Suberei.


He's actually missing some red weathering powder on the wheels for the Ferron dust kicked up by his travels. I'll have to remember when I do my next lot of Ravenwing


Some elements really worked on this guy, some look a little messy but he was the model I was least looking forward to as bikes can be so depressing.


So the success despite the morale check is worth far more than it should be, and for that reason - Great Big Gamboge Stamp of Approval! More pictures to follow, individual front, side and back profiles, then some phone shots.


Monday 8 January 2018

'nids part 235 - Genestealer Cult Sentinels To Done!

The problem with taking my To Done! pics all at once is the order of completion gets messed up. I suppose if I publish them in the correct order it solves that issue but I can't be bothered ha, ha! The Sentinels were completed after the upcoming Deathwatch but they just fit better in my schedule to showcase them now.


You may recall I picked these up off ebay, two for £18.


Granted I was missing a heavy flamer and some of the canopy but I cut the remains of the canopy off so it was open-topped and I'll pick up a flamer eventually when I do a bits purchase.


I also rebased them with a set of 60mm bases from bases4war.com. I still think they're the best value resin bases on the market, they take a week or so for delivery but the quality and price, not to mention FREE UK shipping [explaining the delivery] makes them well worth it.


I threw on some Martian Ironearth after the undercoat to get the cracked flaky paint and wanted to make them really weathered. I could have gone a whole lot more rusty and decrepit, maybe next time.

I absolutely love this model. I know it's quite an old one and there were at least 2 versions prior to this but I think it's great and it was so easy to paint.


After all the intricacies of the Deathwatch it was so nice to just crack on with these, the yellow was wasy to do and the grunge meant any mistakes were obscured without any guilt.



I also hope to get some armoured variants at some point. I'm pretty sure these will end up getting trashed first turn in most games, most things that get deployed ahead of the bulk of your army usually do but I love how they fit into a Cult army.

Are they Imperial Guard or construction/mining vehicles? Who knows but I love 'em.

The Flamers too are the obvious choice given you don't suffer the -1 to Hit for being Heavy and moving with them.

The Chainsaw might pointless as it might be optimistic they ever get into assault and the Cult have much better options in that field but I can't help feeling its naked without some combat weapon.


The Turq pilot was also a triumph, and vaguely reminiscent of the Rebel Alliance.



Lastly some phone shots.



And there we go. They might not have been noted as the keystone models of my Cult Armies on Parade board but for me they were vital in selling the theme of the Cult assaulting a storage facility. So a Great Big Gamboge Stamp of Approval heads my way :)


Friday 5 January 2018

Deathwatch/wing - Librarianism To Done!

I had the opportunity to catch up with some of my To Done! pics. Again a mixed bag of success on the photography, I've received some helpful comments, but if I'm going to rush through the picture taking process so I can get back to actually painting the figures then I have to be accept the results I get!


Most of these pics are actually off my phone anyway, so again there's not much to justify any complaints. The Space Hulk Librarian was on my To Do List, so it was nice to actually just tick it off - a 'quick win' that had taken a long time to get done ;)


I'm pretty happy with the glow effects too, some of the lightning could be better  but for the most part I think I did a good job.


Not entirely sure if I'll ever use him but if my Deathwing are deployed in force he'll probably be a HQ option I might take.


I was very crude with removing the Blood Angel references, perhaps too crude as they're still recognisable in some places but again the potential use out of the model is so limited it didn't warrant any more effort than I actually put into it.




Happy with the lettering on the pages though.


Job done, so I gets me the Great Big Gamboge Stamp of Approval. More to come as I finish writing up some of my other successes so far this season.


Wednesday 3 January 2018

Warhammer World GT3 Planning


I've mentioned a number of times about the upcoming Warhammer World 40k Grand Tournament in February. I'm still stuck trying to decide what to take and in discussions with a few people they've advocated taking the nids again. I've done some quick Pro/Con tables to help make the decision.

Pros Cons
  • More competitive
  • More familiar with their rules
  • Looks more striking on the table - painting competition
  • Taken every time to Warhammer World
  • Lots of baggage
  • Slow to play
Questions
  • Hive Fleet choice?
  • Do I take the skyshield? [Struggling to fit it in points-wise]
  • Do I take the Swarmlord?
  • Brigade or 2 battalions?

I tried to look at a Brigade for the extra Command Points but I think I make too many compromises to fit everything in. Two Battalions seem reasonable but there are a lot of variations within that. Do I take the Swarmlord, if so do I also take a Flyrant? I might be able to run 2 Trygons. I want the Tervigon and Termagants but I could try a Tyrannofex and I have the Carnifex too. Hive Guard are definitely in and Genestealers, Malanthrope a possibility and a Broodlord. The Skyshield is potentially worth it if I take the Tyrannofex and it looks so cool, but there are so many units I could take fitting in something quite static might not be the best choice. It does make the army stand out though...


Dark Angels and Imperial Knight

Pros Cons
  • Taking something new to Warhammer World
  • Reasonably effective at Blog Wars
  • Less figures - faster to play?
  • Less baggage
  • Comeptitively not great
  • Doesn't stand out as much on the table - painting competition
  • Unfamiliar with rules - slow to play
  • More still to paint
Questions
  • Land Speeders - Typhoon or can I get Dark Shroud done?
  • Switch to Cerastus Knight Lancer

Having removed the Apothecary from my Blog Wars list and the Codex points drops I have room for my Predator in my list, which I would definitely take if I can finish it in time, which is feasible. I'm less convinced about the Land Speeder Typhoon though, my Dark Shroud would be much better and buff the bikes but I don't hold out much chance of completing it in time. I've had people point to the faction's lack of competitiveness but I found them far more 'killy' than my nids at Blog Wars.

That said I didn't win a game and as Martin at Wargames advised am I 'aiming to win the tournament?' - 'No'. 'Do I aim to make top 30?' - 'No'. So the choice of armies is based on painting competition and do I think the Dark Angels are even worthy of a nomination? I honestly think they are but so far they don't seem to do as well as the nids, even though I think they're better painted.


I've still a lot to paint and decisions to make. The other fact is which I'd have fun playing most. The nids are easier but so much slower due to numbers. But unfamiliar rules make the Dark Angels slower to play than you'd expect


If I choose solely on aspiration for the painting competition then it should the nids with the Skyshield, but I want to give the Dark Angels their shot, which then turns everything on its head. I wouldn't mind if this was a circular argument but it's more an infinite loop folding back in on itself which is why I'm still painting both factions. Which reminds me of this:


UPDATE, some may have noticed the premature publication of this post yesterday and having rescheduled it for it's rightful publication today I had a night to sleep on it. I woke up this morning and it immediately popped into my head - I will take Tyranids! I smiled to myself nodded my head and went that's a relief I've decided. Then I suddenly got very sad I wasn't taking the Dark Angels, ha, ha. I'm so messed up! :) One might say I now know which I want to take - the Dark Angels but my subconscious was telling me otherwise...

So, 'nids or Dark Angels, what would you take? Maybe the consensus will sway me one way or the other...