Imperial Knight - Armigers in manufactorum pt.1 - reposing the legs

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity I've been #buildingWarhammer on my Imperial Knight Armigers and the first thing is magnets obviously, but with that done it's reposing the legs. Now I do not look forward to this and although I love the results for the first armiger I went with my crude score the joints, then bend and snap approach. 

I trim off the back of the hip hose-rings are the back. This helps the leg fit at an angle. Then the gap is filled with greenstuff, which is crudely sculpted to look like it's got ridges light the other side of the hose ring. When it's painted you won't notice. I also use piece of sprue to hold the torso in place, cutting a notch in the hole to make a 'lock and key' fitting.

The pistons on the inside of the thighs were drilled out and had metal pins added. Holes were drilled into the inside of the legs to receive the pins. This will make it stronger. However, it can be tough getting the hinge pieces to fit in the groove around the groin. I crudely hacked at the connector until it fit. It won't be noticeable when it's painted.

Adding a gun shield to the Thermal Lance

I also decided to create a gun-shield for the Thermal Lance, using a Questoris Ion Shield. I drew a lien down the centre, put the gun in the middle, marked off the centre for each lance barrel and then drilled a hole. Getting bigger each time.

And bigger, until I stopped at 5.5mm and joined them up. However, I think 6 mm is perhaps the better size. 

So it could get over the lozenge shaped barrel mount. There's some gaps to fill around it but not bad fitting in the end.

In some respects I still prefer the profile without the shield, but I wanted more variety and to give the Armigers more character. 

I prepped the other shield too, same process and results. 

Reposing the legs on a running Armiger

Here I decided to do the better job on the legs - removing the hind joint whole. It is best to do this when the leg is still in right and left halves. It's harder to do and digging into the joint with a scalpel is not without risk. I found a way to do it that is relatively safe and videoed it but haven't done the edit yet. Once done you take the six pieces, join the halves together so you can pose the three pieces as one leg.

This means you can compress the leg as much as possible. I removed the pipe at the back, drilled holes in the connectors and used guitar string to replace the pipework. I would go onto trim the peg at the ankle ball so I would have more options in positioning the foot.

This foot is only resting on the front toe, with the back toes contracted. This mean you could see underneath. I used a nail to help pin the front toe. Filled the other toes with green stuff, then rolled out a thin piece to cover the bottom of the toe. Trimmed to fit the profile.

Then I used car body repair mesh to create a tread pattern - pressing it into the green stuff, after dampening it a bit.

The second toe got done too. I had to do this three more times on the other foot..

This leg has no reposing on it - it's full tilt but it was so low I added the little piece of slate under it's foot to add a little more height. It also meant the pin in the foot is not just going into cork. I sued tile grout to blend around the stone, so it looked like it was coming out of the ground.

Testing the position of the legs. I use a pin going through holes in the legs, the hole in the hip joints al the way through to the other leg.

You can bend the pin a bit to get more direction in the hips.

The foot will need to be fully contracted before I glue it in place.

And that's it. I'll upload the video at some point and next it's basing these two, ready for some good priming weather.

Dark Angels - Deathwing Knights and Terminators - Bone highlights 2

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity I've been #PaintingWarhammer on my Deathwing slow but steady. I know the blog hasn't been active but I've struggled to fit in hobby time. It's not the usual post-Christmas malaise. My eldest is home permanently so we're continuing our nightly TV viewing and it's hard to fit in the Deathwing, when they're not the easiest to paint in the first place. And with limited progress on the hobby there's even less motivation for the blog, which is a shame as I really wish I was posting more often.

But I've got half the 2nd highlights done here. I may have done a bit more of the cream than I usually do, which makes the process slower and in some places the results aren't great. 

All fixable and I'm far from disappointed but it doesn't help with keeping motivated.

You can see the variety in the butt plates here, the middle one in particular went too far. But I can easily hide that with some tribal markings.

Here we are with the remaining upper half of the highlights. Still to do the shoulder pad on the shield arms, but want them glued in place so they're highlighted correctly.

But I'm OK with the results even if they're still less consistent than I'd normally prefer.

And the rest of the Terminators have got done too - just in time for many of them to be excised from the Codex, or so I believe. 

Good job I didn't put a Cyclone Missile Launcher on one of these. A common load out gone from the Codex.

I think the Apothecary and Champion have gone also, but again I remind myself I was never going to play with them anyway!

They're just figures I needed to paint and poses I wanted to create.

Lots still to do, just about half-way through the spreadsheet but the hardest parts done so far I think.

I even decided to do the bare heads and I was really pleased with the results, that is until I looked at the close-ups - they look shocking. 

Which is a shame as they look great from a gaming distance. I was genuinely chuffed and then gutted when I saw their squints and patchwork skintones.

I mean I love seeing a brushstroke but these just look like blobs in places.

I'll get over it once they're in place but it's a little disheartening as I was convinced these were some of the best faces I'd done, only to realise I was way off the mark. 

Nevermind.

Dark Angels - Deathwing Knights and Terminators - Bone highlights

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity and a happy new year to you all! I've been #PaintingWarhammer on my Deathwing. I last worked on these 'properly' in July, before that I'd started them in February last year! Of course, they're now all being updated with new bigger Terminators, but much smaller maces.

I still prefer these in design. Hopefully, when I do get round to making the new terminators if I just glue them to the base, no bits of slate, the scale difference might not be too noticeable.

So this is the first set of Skelton Bone highlights, the most laborious and tedious aspect of the painting and it's not even 25% of the tasks I have to do! But it feels great to have got them past this point. 

There are so many bits that still need doing, but nothing as demoralising as this set of highlights. It's all the detail bits and some might be fiddly [especially those banners] but they will make interesting challenges.

It's just getting the bone done then it's the greens, reds, greys and blessed verdigris and everything else is just detail work.

And that bit is really fun, because all the embellishments, like the eye lenses, blade effects, plasma glow and tribal markings just make the figures so much more interesting.

It's the personality that I'm adding and once these are all done I'll be satisfied with my Hobby Season, whatever else may come.

Hobby Spends 2024 [so far] and an absolute bargain!

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity y'know how I spent a fair bit on the hobby in 2023 and said I would be frugal for 2024...

Yeah, I've already started the new year off with a couple of significant purchases. With Adeptus Titanicus MIA, I went with some other big robots - Armigers. Now, I may prefer the bigger ones but it's undeniable the smaller ones are more useful and versatile - specifically in smaller games. Should I ever play 10th again having 6 Armigers would add that extra level of choice. Now I did consider getting an Acheron as well at this point, but common sense prevailed. Also, I'd been given £40 in Christmas money, so they were practically paid for completely.

Now, before Christmas I'd seen some suggestions that the new HeroQuest was half price on Amazon. This was not true. However, Zavvi had it for just £47.99 [down from £107.99]. Now I thought if I got some Christmas money I would get it, but come boxing day it was no longer available, just some of the expansions. Well, fate intervened and I wasn't buying a game I may never play, even if it was an absolute bargain. 

Except, just the other day it popped up as available again so I ordered it. Now if you too think it's a bargain, or want to get any of the expansions, which are up to 50% off, then please consider using my referral link: https://www.zavvi.com/referrals.list?applyCode=DAVE-R2NU I make £3 for every referral using DAVE-R2NU and you get an additional 10% off, so HeroQuest would be just £43.19 [plus £2 p+p]! Hopefully I may get round to playing it, maybe it's something I can play with my youngest. But even so it's an absolute bargain!

Hobby Spends 2023

Afternoon #warhamfam and #warhammercommunity Following on from previous year's spending record I've kept another log for 2023 [and will do so for 2024]. The final figure of just under £621 represents a significant increase on last years gross spend of £287, clearly more than double! And there was me expecting to not buy much. However, I had saved up some Christmas money and I had a cash leaving gift from colleagues my old job that I specifically earmarked for  40k10th edition and to go towards the Lion and the Norn Emissary. That's helped subsidise my spend on the hobby by £196, bringing it down to £425 which is around £32.50 a month. Here's the breakdown:

Yeah, that's a lot of money and a lot of figure purchases, some of which I've no idea about when or even if I'll get round to painting. 10th Edition is underwhelming and I'm beginning to question why I'm investing so much money and time in painting figures I will not use. So much for my 40k addiction! With hindsight I should have realised my prediction of being frugal was misplaced, knowing full well I had money burning a hole in my pocket and rumours of a new edition on the way. I did hint at the possibility with the new nids etc. but I should have known better

It's also worth noting the WarhammerFest tickets. Ordinarily that would have just been one for me at £20, but I took Oscar as well and then Paula agreed to come so triple what I'd have paid otherwise. I wouldn't have had it any other way but it was unexpected and significantly more. Will all this stop me buying more figures? Of course not. Even 12 months on I'm still thinking about a couple more Armigers and with Legion Imperialis the new Epic boxset I think the Adeptus Titanicus starter set may begin to disappear off shelves, and by the looks of it it's already on back order. So if I want the added value in that box of giant freaking robots I may have already missed the boat. But as I said in December I haven't even played AT yet and I can't imagine playing soon. So why am I even thinking about it? 

On the plus side I probably have some Christmas money and also a Google Adsense payment about to mature so that will subsidise whatever potential big purchase in 2024. I could get those Armigers and maybe even a Cerastus Acheron, if the titans are gone. I doubt I'll get anything from the new Dark Angels incoming. I've plenty space marines from Leviathan I can have a go at. Fingers crossed 2024 is frugal.

HAPPY X-MAS

Good morning #WarHamFam and #warhammercommunity  and a merry X-Mas from Professor Egon Seuss and the rest of the Magos on Ferron Proxima. Additional felicitations from the guys and gals at the Vulcan Institute of Techno-Archaeology. May all your X-mas wishes be plastic [or resin]. 

In case you're not X-mas orientated please accept the following good wishes:

#ArmiesOnParade2023 - Parade Day @ Warhammer Wigan

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity it was #ArmiesOnParade last month and I was busy celebrating Liam's 50th birthday so couldn't get to Warhammer Liverpool. However, Warhamer Wigan was hosting Parade Day the following week, so it would be rude not to attend? I had my 4 #BloodBowl teams, a scratchbuilt Megabowl 7's pitch and I'd even had time to add a little crowd backdrop, thanks to some fussy AI prompts.

Here's a video of the board, although you've seen it already you can see the backdrop a bit more.

So here are some of the other entries. This great Tyranid board, which understandably I love.

If I recall correctly I think this won the 40k category.

It's so annoying to see this miniature close-up as I want one, just can't justify getting one or the silly price-tag on it.

Screamer Killers do look cool

And I love the effect on the wings of this Tyranid Prime.

I think this Word Bearer's army won the overall prize.

It was really well don with lots of little details. 

The lave weaponry was most effective.

Another Tyranid army, almost Behemoth but brighter.

And not just figures from Leviathan, we have a Tyrannofex too!

This was the only entry in the Young Bloods category, but well deserved.

A small diorama, but we love it regardless.

And another Chaos Space Marine army, which next to the Word Bearers made some interesting comparisons between the same figures used in each Parade. 

And my Parade. I was the only Best of the Rest so inevitably got that certificate but it was just great to be instore on the day. 

Interestingly the Wigan manager had been in charge of the Southport store before it closed.

I didn't recall her, but she did remember my Tyranid Parades.

We had some really good discussion about AoP and she was very much supportive of the event, even if it was a bit quiet on the day.

As an early Christmas present if anyone wants the backdrop you can have it. It's set up for an A4 sheet. You'll need to print 2 of these on sticky labels. Add all 4 bits and it should make a 2 foot strip. Repeat and you have a corner backdrop. I stuck them on 1cm up from the bottom of the board, so the pitch-side adverts pitch-side, not buried in the ground.

Lastly, some pics from the store displays. Worth noting this means in my decade of parades, I've paraded at Warhammer/GW stores in Southport, Manchester, Liverpool and now Wigan.