Blackstone Fortress - Amallyn Shadowguide Big Build - TO DONE!

Afternoon #warmongers I've built my second character for #blackstonefortress Amallyn Shadowguide [#paintingwarhammer]. Now I'd normally feel bad about including this as a 'build' they are afterall 'easy-build' - she comes in 2 parts! But I was compelled by a vision to put her on a step and it was a number of days cogitating about how to achieve the vision that brought us to this point.

The step was made out of a used plasticard gift voucher

And the back of a 25mm slotta-base to raise her up a little more. Some Milliput to smooth it altogether and triads of plastic to help obfuscate joins between the three basing elements [base > slotta > plasticard].

So despite the easy build nature this was a good week of contemplation and avoidance before I got it done. It was a stretch despite the simplicity so I get my Big Build Galactic Stamp of Approval

And it's kind of based too, I mean not painted base which is the true criteria but... that will come at the end.

Sector Mechanicus Galvanic Servohaulers - Big Build - TO DONE!

Afternoon #warmongers if you were unaware Hachette Partworks brought out a new Age of Sigmar weekly mag - issue 1 of which included 10 Night Haunt Chainrasps and 3 Stormcast dudes [and dudettes], dice, ruler and a 'battlefield' all for £2.99 as a loss leader. Now I don't play AoS but even I had to try and pick up one of those to play around with. While I was in the Smith's in the Manchester Arndale on the week of release, they did not have any, but they did have an issue of Warhammer Conquest with just the Galvanic Servohauler Crane sprue for £7.99 so I picked that up instead.

My wife picked up a copy of Mortal Realms in my local Smith's and the following week when I went back to the Arndale they had issue 2 and a [much] earlier issue of Conquest with the sprue for the smaller Galvanic Servohaulers and the crane carriage, but for just £6 [on offer]!

Well it was rude not to pick it up - with both sprues combined £14 for what is £30 retail! If I get them painted up they'll look pretty cool on my next Armies on Parade - which will be my Knights and possibly Ad Mech.

With some time over a weekend I built and primed them black with a red oxide zenithal base. I'll be adding a load of stippled brown and orange in places and ultimately sponge on yellow and weather similar to my Imperial Knight base.

I've just noticed the official model for this smaller servo-hauler has the claw pointing backwards, why did I not figure that out? Meanwhile none of the tracks are glued in place yet so I can get to the stuff behind. I don't need everything perfect but I need to match at least some of the grunge behind because it'll just about be visible through the tracks.

A totally unnecessary diversion from all my other projects and despite the battered nature of the weathering they'll no doubt occupy far more time than they should... BUT I think one of my motivators at the moment is doing different things. Granted I've done the weatherimg on the Knight's base already but its about exploring that further - embedding those skills.

Recently I've felt genuine progress in my painting thanks to doing different things [not nids or Dark Angels]. So allocating time to explore variety could be beneficial in the long run. I get my Big Build Galactic Stamp of Approval regardless.

March 2nd is Old Stuff Day

Afternoon #warmongers, just a heads up March 2nd is #OldStuffDay A few years ago now warhammer39999 wanted to join a movement to rediscover lost gems from the world of hobby blogs and it's still going strong today. To choose one or more of your own blogposts that you're 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 are to share blogposts from other bloggers which you think deserves the same spotlight of attention before they're returned to their dark nightmare infested slumbers.

So if you have a blog don't forget to root through your old posts and rediscover those hidden gems. Feel free to use the Old Stuff Day poster by Firstkeeper from DeviantArt.

Whats on my palette?

Bless me #warmongers for I have sinned, it's been over 5 months since my last confession! I've known exactly what I needed to paint so it didn't really require an overview to keep track.

When last I confessed I had these 6 items on my palette:

1. Genestealer Abberants
2. Genestealer Iconward
3. Genestealer familiars
4. Blood Bowl Humans
5. Callidus Assassin
6. Extra Knight weapons

Of which you can see only 1 of them has been done. In fact the Genestealer elements only got the  barest of attention, it at all and the assassin and weapons none. I still have an Abberant to do some sculpting on so there doesn't seem much point to progress any of the others with that figure not even out of the starting blocks. I'm looking at a way to do that outside of my evening hobby time though which might get it over the Big Build finish line.

I've finished my Blood Bowl Ogre, but that gave me time to finish off the Middenheim Marauders turn counters

I'll pop a TO DONE! post up soon for these, but then I'm free again [sort of].

So, my thinking is I should really crack on with my Deathwing Knights. They've been too long on hiatus, sitting taunting me. I also have their ride - a Land Raider Redeemer, that I think I should throw on some shades/texture at least, just to move it on [not that I've personally ever actually put paint on it, it came like this].

However, I have the Manchester Battle of the Brush to deal with:

February - Big Model - Dark Angel Redemptor Dreadnought

March - Character - Blood Bowl Ogre

April - Squad - Blood Bowl Team

May - Big Model - Land Raider? 

June - Character - ?

July - Squad - Deathwing Knights

As you can see I have a decent amount of time to get the Land Raider and Knights done, typically the Characters are my weak spot, but the stuff I've painted recently at least covers me for a few months. I do have another Blackstone Fortress model - Amallyn Shadowguide that may fill that gap.

Not to mention a load of Blood Bowl balls, long overdue Imperial Knight weapons and additional basecoats on those various Tyranids.

Blood Bowl - Human Team Original Middenheim Marauders - Flocking Hell! - TO DONE! again...

Afternoon #warmongers and although I finished #paintingwarhammer #bloodbowl team. I did decide to add flock to the bases. I'd contemplated it, thought it'd lose the effort I'd already done in the brown bases and asked online after creating a test base. Ultimately I went for it and I'm so glad I did.

It's like the verdigris weathering on my brassy bronze. As much as I love the metal effect [but hate doing it] and it looks great, as soon as you add the turquoise it just makes it better. It requires a leap of faith every time and adding flock was the same, particularly as I don't use it on any other bases.

But it works so well with the red and black and although I had some mixed feelings about the team the flock has levelled them up. So much so I'll probably do the elf team too, they could do with some love 💖

I did all these in a lunch break at work, there are only the coins still to do.

Turn and re-roll markers.

I feel perhaps I should have added a little more rust on the players, something I only decided to add to the ogre, but my Orc team will definitely have that as a feature so perhaps not. The rust is Ryza Rust, but thinned down as a wash - one way to get the effect of weathering powders without the powder and issues getting it to set.

These were the markers before flocking.

Which is nice but I spent so much time looking at the test piece below that I knew I would get so much more joy out of them flocked than left plain.

The test base, I really need to sort out all the balls as well.

So, a Big Build Basing Galactic Stamp of Approval. 

 And a Hobby Season Big Galactic Stamp of Approval, again because why not? I may not get as many models painted this year and it's the best stamp yet so I want to get the best value I can out of it!

'nids part 274 - Tyranid Warrior Termagants, Rippers and Carnifex head - basecoats

Afternoon #warmongers and I've been #paintingwarhammer on some outstanding Tyranid models. Outstanding in the sense they need to be painted, not so much they are 'amazing'. I have these 5 Devgaunts, some made from Hormagaunt 'chassis'.

I know this isn't exactly quality content but what I wanted to showcase just how bad my basecoats start off. Coincidentally Marc over at Old School Gaming did a similar post on his Iron Snakes, but I think my Tyranid are in a much worse state initially.

I had undercoated these red, but with hindsight I should have done them Bone colour, like I used to. It's much easier to cut in the red elements. I had started carefully doing the Bonewhite but after one ad a half models completely lost patience and just splashed on a load of paint expecting to pick out the red areas much as I used to do the 'liver' wash that I originally used to do.

Now if I'd done a Skeleton Bone prime, and then masked off the base and done that Red Oxide, I could have saved myself a bit of effort. Or perhaps, primed red and zenithal bone?

Whilst I was at it I threw on some Bonewhite on the 4 bases of Rippers hanging around.

I was a little more cautious on these, mainly to ensure the Red Planet BASE! was retained. All of these Tyranids will keep sitting on the shelf. Every now and again I'll add another step in the painting process until I reach the tipping point whereby a small push would get them done, should a window open up to focus on them. 

I had these Carnifex heads knocking around for a while so it made sense to get their first basecoat on too. All my nid bits are now ready for Bahama Blue on the chitin, but also cutting in that red for the fleshy parts where necessary.

With my Blood Bowl Ogre done and getting through these while I also finish off my Middenheim Marauders turn counters and a few Blood Bowl balls it's about time to take stock of what's on my palette, so expect an update next.

Blood Bowl - Human Team Original Middenheim Marauders - Ogre - TO DONE!

Afternoon #warmongers and I've finished #paintingwarhammer #bloodbowl Ogre. Since I started back in the hobby nine years ago I've had some improvement in my painting skill. I can clearly see the change from those first Tyranids to what I do now.

Despite certain elements being rougher they are better. My Dark Angels have progressed too, but as I've painted less understandably the improvement has been less noticeable. However, because I delayed doing them for so long maybe they are just being painted at the same level thanks to my Tyranid painting experience.

Anyway, thanks to expanding the variety of things I paint - Underwolrd's warbands and Blood Bowl teams I have noticed I've 'levelled-up'. Ylthari's Guardians was a big step up and I think this is another one.

This is Bo, the 'Box', my Blood Bowl Ogre. When I painted his face I just thought of the 'Face of Bo' not that he looks like the Face of Bo but it just sprang to mind. However, Bo was too hard for him to spell and he can't count so the Middenheim Marauders gave him the X identifier and couple dwith his name he got the Box nickname.

He's sponsored by Orcidas, hence the three stripes on his paints, inverted on the other side [pictured above].

I think the rust stains sold it to me, just some extra tone to elevate it. That is I think the thing I need to hold onto the most. I try and add texture and underpainting to what I do, adding in additional tones on top will just enhance everything.

His face is definitely the part I'm most proud of - a departure for me, still far from perfect but for just an hour, or so, work I'm well chuffed.

I did try and tweak the pupil on the right, as we look at it. It's better but still gozzy. I can also so some random red splodges on his team badge, I didn't fix them as they almost look like it's worn off, which fits the weathering. Teeth could have been a little less basic but nevermind.

Now to decide if I'm going to apply some flock. I may do my Elven team first as a grass pitch makes more sense for them. I also need to finish the balls, turn markers and coins.

Till then here's my Big Galactic Stamp of Approval for being a good boy!