Old Stuff Day 2019

It's old stuff day 2019. A few years ago now warhammer39999 wanted to join a movement to rediscover lost gems from the world of hobby blogs. To choose one of your own blogposts that your most proud of, or may not have got the attention it deserved or any thing that may warrant some necromantic blogpost bothering. On top of that you were to share blogposts from other bloggers which you thought deserved the same spotlight of attention before they were returned to their dark nightmare infested slumbers.

Here's some great posts from other bloggers [apologies to the many great bloggers out there I haven't included, you do sterling work too, these are just the ones I was reminded to remember over the last 12 months]:

The ever awesome Alex fitted out his garage as a gaming and hobby space. If you want to see how to do that sort of conversion then go check it out. I think there's only three parts but the results are brilliant

http://fromthefang.blogspot.com/2016/12/gaming-garagetm-conversion-part-2.html

The Mandulian Chapel hasn't posted in 4 years so this is prime Old Stuff fodder as folk may not have come across the blog, it had some good stuff. This Swamp Board by Grubnards was particularly impressive, here's the first post
http://synaps3.blogspot.com/2014/04/swamp-board-genesis.html
The rest of the posts can be accessed here: http://synaps3.blogspot.com/search/label/Swamp%20Terrain 

Shameless of me but this is Iapedus post about building terrain in which he made some of my print & play templates. I'd never seen so much of it used in one space and the clever approach to print it on card and have bases they could slot into - allowing it all to be folded up to ensure maximising space was genius.
https://languormanagement.wordpress.com/2017/10/04/build-it-and-they-will-come/

This Spanish [with English version] hobby blog has some additional scenery resources here, well worth checking out. 
http://www.toposolitario.es/workshop/index_scenery.html

Not so 'old' but Tangible Day has a great post on 'Focus Stacking for better miniature photos'. It's a long read and requires some extra skill and effort but if you want to take you miniature photos to the next level then you'll need to put the hard miles in - go check it out.
https://tangibleday.com/2018/12/04/focus-stacking-for-better-miniature-photos-how-to/

I'm not sure if I've posted this before on Old Stuff Day, but it's worth it again anyway. Mr Pink and his insanely good Sector Imperialis basing, to be honest anything on his site is worth a look.
http://www.modernsynthesist.com/2016/11/sector-imperialis-easy-urban-basing.html

And what of the Old Stuff Day instigator himself - Warhammer 39,999? In 2016 I managed to [unknowingly] convince him to buy a Gormiti Fire Mountain Playset to turn into a Tyranid Bastion. As far as I can tell this was the last update, he'll tell me if I'm wrong, but if I'm not it needs finishing Dude! I will add in his first post on the subject he wrote these words'Typically I reserve my 40k stuff for my blog, preferring to wall off my facebook profile due to nerdshame, but Dwez brings out the best in me'... 
https://warhammer39999.wordpress.com/2016/06/13/tyranid-bastion-progress-green-stuff-and-gubbinz/

And lastly the Godfather of Hobby Blogging, to which I still owe so much, even though he doesn't post any more - Ron From the Warp - still a treasure trove of hobby goodness we should all routinely visit first to answer a question - 'how do you make a greenstuff cloak?' Like this!
http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-sculpt-greenstuff-cloaks-and.html

And what of my own posts?

How about post numero uno? 25th October 2010, that's as old as I get and it kind of sets up my history and is a jumping off point to read my entire blog from start to finish... if you're a sadist, mind.
https://www.40kaddict.uk/2010/10/ive-really-fallen-of-wagon-now.html

And you could follow that up with a post I did a couple of months after that when I thought I'd exhausted my content but actually set out my basic blog manifesto
https://www.40kaddict.uk/2010/12/whats-in-blog.html

More recently I moved all [well, almost all ;) ] my hobby into '40kaddict towers' or the 'man-cave'. I still can't believe the effort I put into it and what I got out of it, especially having finally painted the back room last year so we now have a dining room. Not only do I have a room for my hobby the extra 'nice' room in my house has been great for family dinners and most likely added value to the house. That has definitely offset the £1200-£1400 it cost to do, and when a Warlord Titan costs nearly that it almost feels like a bargain! It certainly gets more use than a Titan would. An absolute no brainer and theres step-by-step pics of how I went about fitting it out in subsequent posts [in case Alex's garage was too fancy].
https://www.40kaddict.uk/2015/07/40kaddict-towers-man-cave-has-arrived.html

You may or may not have noticed but I have a milestone approaching, just over 2 years ago I made my first million...
https://www.40kaddict.uk/2016/11/1-million.html

Birthday hobby goodness - pics from Manchester GW Battle of the Brush

In the past I've tried to give away things on my birthday, usually a free terrain template but with everything going on I really haven't had time. Obviously it's a day with mixed feelings for me with past events but I've got to give my fellow hobbyists something right?

Well, my local GW [Manchester Arndale] is doing a monthly painting challenge and I decided to include Ser Ellenbogen as my vehicle/monster entry. I'll be trying to include something every month from now on, although luckily it doesn't have to have been painted that month [I can't keep up with that kind of schedule]. Anyway, I took some pics of the entries [as well as other items instore] and thought I'd share as the level of skill and effort on display was really high. You never know, I may even come back at some point and add some painfully obvious captions 😉 I will just say the first three are the 'winners' for this month [the 4th one was also nominated for it's efforts], there is a competitive element.

I love this Sylvaneth army, almost makes me wish I had one... I won't though!

Imperial Knights - House Corvus Twins in manufactorum pt13. Heroes of the hour.

Having been inspired to name my Knights after the surgeons who saved my son's life I finally put paint to the chest plates. Ser Ellenbogen and Lady Pettorini, much better than I thought I could freehand.

And the pipework that will be covered up by the chest plates. I really wish these could be more visible but it says a lot I'll hide it all to recognise, however trivially, the efforts of those surgeons.

And more pipework to be obscured.

And verdigris. Once again it's just Army Painter Hydra Turquoise thinned with water, blotchy in some places but that's what happens when you 'batch' two knights at once.

The line between red and cream/white on the ion shield didn't work for me so I did a quick cog pattern freehand, still not perfect but better. With the knights mostly done it was time to bring the weapons up to scratch - so many of them, my patience was flagging.

And then I threw this spanner in the works - yellow/black chevrons on some of the options [I've done 3 battle cannon barrels now]. Starting with orange...

Then Iyanden Dark Sun.

While everything else was Vemilion highlights.

Until eventually it was a mass of bits awaiting varnish or glow FX.

Something about the Gallant base was still 'empty' so I figured a wrecked banner might balance it out and I had an old one doing nothing.

I then distressed it further. This will be some kind of Nurgle affiliate. I've asked Liam if he'd paint it as he has a Nurgle army and it keeps it connected to our group, but it has to be Nurgle as testament to these Knights conquring the disease. I'll get it to him at some point to paint up.

Meanwhile I added some paint on the generators. This will be coated with Tamiya Clear Red X-27 so it's just underpainting to suggest some internals.

I also blobbed on some highlights in the eyes.

 These will be covered up, not just by the faceplates but the Tamiya Clear Orange X-26. Sad really, there are some nicely painterly splodges I really like that have since been lost :(

And next the joys of glow FX and varnish...

Imperial Knights - House Corvus Twins in Manufactorum
Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |

Imperial Knights - House Corvus Twins in manufactorum pt12. "Weather 'tis nobler in the mind..."

Battle damage and weathering is the next step and I'm painting this on in some fashion that pretends to be random/natural but is probably not random/un-natural. But it's the way I've done it on all the Knights so at least it's consistent.

And I've mixed the shoulder pads up in these, the studded and white cog band go on the one above, thanks to me mixing up the Metallica decal, the white one was also supposed to go above and the black Meatllica on this one to match the black cog band, it's so confusing !

I stippled on more Rhinox Hide onto the dome, having also sponged Valejo Sun Yellow in places to make it brighter. However I've not so much gone the other way but made the whole thing a little too contrived.

The yellow was very much a halo round the base of the dome and a little too uniform.

So I sponged on some more Iyanden Sun and Sun Yellow on one facing, which gave me enough room to stipple on a big number, which I did roughly on the four compass points [although very faint where it's rusty.

Still a fair bit to do on the base, but the bone white chips got done when I had some spare paint on my palette.

I wanted to do something on the knee, but also didn't so I just added a skull badge. I've said before I don't like to add honours the Knights have not earned, making decals difficult after battle damage. But this is a campaign badge - a skull to honour my son's surgery! You'll also note those torso ball joints have been stripped back to bare plastic. I tried to keep them painted but they just won't. It doesn't matter so much, they'll never be seen.

Yellow rails...

Again, it's very difficult to convey just how fulfilled this makes me feel. The simple decision to go with yellow rails instead of what I'd normally have done - bronze. I mean it is SOOO busy looking, your eyes are drawn all over the place but it speaks to me like few models have, I can't wait for them to be complete.

The AdMech cog studs also got painted. Such a simple kitbash and I was unsure about its execution.

But it's come out really well and I'm so glad I did it.

While I was at it I added some damage to the Gatling Cannon and Carapace Launcher from my first Knight too.

Face plates also got weathered and all the bonewhite areas were highlighted along with the name scrolls on the chest plate. The Knight Gauntlet also got damage and I applied some darker turquoise on the bronze in places where the previous verdigris effect had thinned the paint so much it had 'split' and left it white in the recesses.

Lots more still to do but this was a big milestone as the damage requires effort, control, patience and actual creative artistry. The upcoming verdigris and glow effects actually require less skill but they're the final hurdles... except for all the weapons that still need doing!

We did it! Radiotherapy at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre for my hero was done and dusted last Friday. Slightly anti-climactic after everything but hopefully that's it. He has an MRI scan due in 3 months but we're not supposed to put too much focus on that as the radiation will have done all sorts - this is the baseline, the new normal. Our consultant said if everything was 'normal' that would be 'abnormal'. So we're looking more to the 6 and 9 month scans to give us an idea of the efficacy of the treatment... a long way still to go as this will be the next 5 years.

Anyway, it's done and we can't thank Sarah [the Radiologist], Dr Thorpe and all the other staff at Clatterbridge enough for their excellent support and care. We'll be following all our treatment up at Alder Hey again with Dr Howell, who was in last weeks episode of Hospital, available on the iPlayer for the next 2 months. You'll also get to see Miss Pettorini, who did the amazing brain surgery on Oscar, also do amazing work on children's spines. Go check it out these people are awesome.

Now, back to some sort of normality...

Imperial Knights - House Corvus Twins in Manufactorum
Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |