'nids part 26 - DiY Mycetic Spore pt4.

In the end I couldn't wait to get the white undercoat and Wilko's offering wasn't great value so I just went and used my Red Oxide Primer on the Spore. I figured if any of it showed through on the Bonewhite bits it would add to the texture, I'm only going to coat the stuff in Gryphonne Sepia anyway!

I also picked up a craft acrylic paint from the Range as a Bonewhite substitute. With two Plasma Hatchers to paint as well I didn't want to use tonnes of my best acrylic paint on something 'disposable'. I picked up a colour called 'Latte', it was a choice between that and 'Linen'. Linen was lighter and more yellow, latte had a bit more of a fleshy tint to it with Bonewhite somewhere inbetween. With the washes in place I didn't think it would really matter too much but I thought it better to go with the darker shade.

The Latte paint has a very Matt finish so I wouldn't be recommending it on detail work but it had really decent coverage on the Red Oxide Primer, as you can see. Blue chitinous plates ready for washing and the tentacles just need the liver colour added for their correct tone before washing. All this without a new pot of Devlan Mud in sight, how will I manage?

The base has had it's Red Planet base coat of Vermilion and a wash of Badab Black. Next up a Vermilion dry brush and the remaining colours. I can't believe the pace this is picking up. After so long in 'gestation' I'm really getting down to this and reinvigorated to boot. Of course I know the reason why, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise as I've already observed this sensation before. Everything is progressing because I know exactly what I'm doing and the naturalistic elements means I can get away with mistakes. The Dark Angels slog is taking longer because I don't have a complete plan of action and mistakes on the man-made armour just look like mistakes. Not to mention the 'history' I have with the Emperor's finest. Never fear I'll get there in the end with my other tasks.

Ebay sales I don't regret - Epic bits and bobs

What we have here are some more bits and bobs I got rid of, partly to fund a digital camera that's since broken but you can't have everything. My recollection of all things Imperial Guard Artillery wise may be a bit off so please forgive any mistakes. GW initially released these models/rules without any clear indication that they would be Imperial Guard only. I just saw they had good stats and that 'yep, I'll have some of them'. So you have the four mortars on the left which had awesome firrepower and the three manticores [?] on the right, I loved their little spotty targetting spheres. Additionally there are three Gorgons, I think there are the two original style when it was a mine sweeper/layer and then the revised version that was the more chunky design aesthetic Epic went down, with less detail. This version was bigger, but still not big enough in my opinion to transport the many guardsmen this claimed to do. Also my Baneblade and a stack of plastic guardsmen sprues, mainly the beasatmen figures.

This lot was my moles and termites. If I recall correctly I also had the super heavy sized boring transport [I forget the name] but it was not in this auction and I'm not sure if I've sold it or it's still knocking around my parents attic, where I did most of my painting. Also you'll find my Squat Zepplin and these were all painted in the same colour as my original squats from way back when. look you can even see the Jack o'lantern symbol on that hatchway! I also gave away the Imperial Guard assault stand and a lone Rough Rider as a freebie, hey that's make me bid on it!

Just a little reminder of my orignal squat color scheme.

DiY Whirlwinds

Back when White Dwarf showed how to make stuff from junk they came up with the Whirlwind upgrade to the Rhino Transport. All you needed were a couple of Rhino hatches, some stowage boxes, plasticard and a 40mm base. Below is a slightly modified version that I made using a couple of model robot kit bits and aluminium mesh.

You should be able to make out on the last picture the plug and socket system I made to make the Whirlwind swappable. A plastic shield and some other plastic component did the job and the Dark Angel Rhino had a round base with a corresponding socket for it to attach to.

Here's the standard version with the stowage boxes on the sides and handles as pipes

Wire mesh on the top for variety and some mounting card 'chads' hole punched out for slightly more interesting back to the Whilrwind. Lastly the Dark Angels Rhino I mentioned before with the round base with a corresponding socket for the Whirlwind to attach to.

Look Around You! - Real world inspiration 2

More things that inspire me on a daily basis. On my way home in Manchester I pass this construction site on Great Ancoats Street. I think funding has stopped on it which is why most of the steel work has started to rust. Strangely though I was sure the safety netting was orange at some point last year, maybe it was replaced by this yellow stuff. Anyway there are some lovely colours and textures here to inspire your next construction.

I'm very keen on the idea of all this open space. I'm looking into producing a similar floor plate that can be stacked to make a building of any height. Original sketches wanted to mirror the current Hex aesthetic of buildings on Ferron Proxima but I want to do some structures that are more 'city-like' with a regular block structure. If I plan it right I could make the lift blocks in the centre have the same footplate as my modular plug socket, in which case that will mean the top floor could have any of the pre-existing plugs slotted in if wanted.

Next we have a train crane at Appley Bridge Station where I get my train to Manchester. The rust and deterioration on this thing is fascinating. I'm still trying to work out if the whiter bits below are white or in fact the same yellow faded by the sun.

Some interesting grime streaks as well. Not sure how this would translate to Ferron Proxima green chlorophyl does not exist on the planet. Yellow and white are the colours of most of the foliage on the planet and the sky is yellow, did I never mention that?

Another shot of the crane and two weigh bridges. There is a company alongside the station that constructs weigh bridges for transport and this area alongside the tracks is a storage place both for bridges that are to be refurbished and those that are under construction.

I'm particularly fond of the colouring and patination on this. It's not too apparent the side pits are a lot darker than they appear, almost black, especially when wet.

Another close up and an I-beam of steal that the local Banksy-Wannabe has left his mark on. Nice pitted rust effect. What I'm thinking though is how I would love to do some Iron Warriors that used these colours, although I'd probably rename them Ferron Barbarians, only appropriate don't you think? Only to play around with mind, although I don't really need to add any fun jobs when my to do list hasn't shrunk yet.

I have this as a starting point. Obviously I need a sword or banner to replace the one I've taken off and to remove the Khorne symbol but it might nice when I get chance to take this challenge. On top of that I have a few of the Space Crusade Chaos Space Marines to play with if I wanted something more than the one fella. We'll just have to see...

Last set of shots from a recent visit to Liverpool and some of the Verdigris on show on the many statues in the City. I really think my attempt probably needed Bonewhite to mix with the Turquoise than just white but we'll continue with our current efforts for uniformity. Interestingly, if you can just make out, is the way the Verdigris is much stronger on one side of the statue than the other. Clearly the elements are battering it from the left more than the right. Not sure if that would translate to a model as it might just seem odd without the prior knowledge that this does happen in nature.

WFB - Halfling Champion on Giant Scorpion

As mentioned in my post about my Empire Halflings I had a Halfling Champion mounted on a Giant Scorpion and here it is, minus the Champions tooth pick lance and the a couple of the Scorpion's legs, eek! His seat is made out of a shield with Milliput padding and conversely his shield is also made of Milliput.

His legs were bent/snapped at the waist so he could sit properly. I'm not entirely sure where the Halfling was going to pick up such a ride but it was a cool miniature. Incidentally I did also have a Citadel Giant Trantula miniature from way back when, I think it too had a number of limbs removed, what is it with this obsession with amputation?

BloodBowl endzones

It's been a long time since I mentioned BloodBowl mainly because I haven't done anything with it. I have finished dipping the figures in Dettol so I do have a complete Skaven and Elf team with a mixed Skaven/Goblin/Orc/Chaos Dwarf Mongrel Horde, half a Dwarf team and half a halfling side. This was why I prepared these Endzones back when I initially fell of the wagon.




Skaven/Goblin/Orc/Chaos Dwarf Mongrel Horde

My original mixed race good team - Elves/Dwarves/Halfling/Treeman

Dwarves

Elves

Skaven

I made two endzones for my Halfling teams, I'd struggled for quite a while to come up with a good name and like buses two came along at once. I do prefer the Hamshire Hogfeathers name but the Porkbelly Stuffers, typographically speaking, looks a whole lot better. I also tried two types of helmet - the full pork crackling with cloves and a sliced ham. I was happier with the crackling. I need to photograph what I'd painted so far on these as they are very cute - Pink uniforms with crackling shoulder-pads.


Halfling/Treeman

Halfling/Treeman



So, it's another list of items to add to my 'To Do List'. They should be easy to get done as a quick splash of paint will suffice, when will I find the time though?



'nids part 25 - DiY Mycetic Spore pt3.

Immediately you should notice in these pics that Ferron Proxima has had a bit of snow fall. Well not exactly the case, it's just with the run up to the new kitchen certain things have had to go into storage and that's one of them. I may print an A3 sheet just for quick snaps but in the mean time we'll have to make do with this. Moving on, I've used my Terracota coloured Milliput to sculpt some Chitinous plates for the Mycetic Spore.

It's been a considerably long time since I've used Milliput and I recall I hate the stuff on my hands. The chemical reaction makes it hot and it sticks inside all your finger prints so my Mother-in-law kindly got some rubber gloves for this, which have also come in handy when I've been cleaning miniatures. So the Milliput was simply flattened out, I tried a mini rolling pin but it just stuck to it. I used a pair of scissors to cut the rough shape then stuck it onto my Pot Pourri thing and smoothed it with a bit of water, adding marks into the edges with a sculpting tool. Some of the smaller plates on the tentacles aren't so great and I'm sure with a bit more effort, or practice this would have been even better. As it is I think it'll do the job nicely and I thin kthe paint scheme will enhance it further.

The crater base had a coating of sharp sand to tie it in with the rest of the nid bases, the tentacles look a bit too long but as they have a range of 6 inches they're probably a bit short. MOst ikportantly it's progress and on something I am less familiar with which automatically puts it in the difficult job list and so now it's out of the way it's down to painting it. I'mm going to give it a coat of PVA and then I need some white primer. Thankfully, eurocarparts has some white and red oxide Simoniz stock back in, at £3.98 for 500ml with free postage it's the best offer I've found online. However, I'll be in Southport at the weekend and see if I can find any cheaper at the Range or Wilkinsons.

Helsreach - a review

My last book review of Descent of Angels came off particularly disappointed, despite it being an OK book. Saying that my nine year old has just finished it so maybe I should ask his opinion...

Helsreach (Space Marine Battles) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden is more like it. For a start off it's got a map in it. Who doesn't love a book with a map? In actual fact it's got three full colour glossy page maps in it, which is great, but to be honest I'd have been happier with half a dozen black and white maps that showed a little more turn-by-turn action in the Battle of Helsreach. Lets face it a lot of Black Library readers are gamers and they like Battle Reports. If you're going to produce a line of books that catalogue some of the most oft discussed battles in 40k lore why not treat them in a similar fashion? That said they are nicely rendered and you can pick out some of what's going on where but it just would make more sense to have it tied in that little bit more.

Anyway, first up I have to say I love the cover [but obviously I also hate it, this is me after all]. The bold choice to use white on a number of Black Library releases really does make them stand out, particularly against the Horus Heresy novels. The picture is also well executed, which makes it one of those front cover turners, y'know where you're reading and you keep turning to the front cover to see if you're at that bit yet. Only there's one snag, Chaplain Grimaldus [the main character] has just been made Reclusiarch of the Templars and has taken the helmet of his mentor, it's a Chaplain's helmet and we all know what one of those looks like, in fact it's described in the pages:

'I’m stepping closer to the dying alien even as I speak, looking down through my skulled mask,'

Now the figure itself isn't especially 'skull like' but it's a bit more so than the cover

so why does it just look like standard Marine issue helmet? A minor annoyance,  it's only really going to upset us geeks, but it's mentioned more than a few times so it does grate on my nerves a little.

Other than that this is a great book. I'm thinking that these Space Marine Battle books may be a better read than the Horus Heresy ones They're not stuck with a massive story arc that can only be chipped away at and therefore not always deliver a story with a 'beginning', 'middle' and 'end'. Overall I came away with a big appreciation for the Templars. In some respects they're the 'knightly' Space Marine Chapter the Dark Angels should be. I remember a while back coming across this GW article on Black Templar Iconography and think it's be really fun just to plaster your figures with battle tokens and purity seals. If I hadn't gone down the Dark Angel route I may well have defected.

Saying all that they are pompous sods! I think it's cool that you get to see the difference between Chapters, there's some interesting exchanges between the Black Templars and Salamanders and their differences are quite interesting and you can easily understand their viewpoints, it's only really Grimaldus's own self reflection where you feel like slapping him, which I think is either his response or what he receives. But you can't help remember some times that whatever they say they are still a second founding chapter. You can't be too cocky about your purpose and ideals when you're not even a Chapter from the original Legions.

So I will definitely be looking to pick up The Purging of Kadillus (Space Marine Battles) as it focuses on the Dark Angels though I'm not entirely convinced that the Veteran Scout Sergeant and cocky company Captain storyline is something I care for. Meanwhile I will continue on with Ravenor: The Omnibus.

Terrain is everything - Hail the Omnissiah an old STC is found!

Further discoveries on Ferron Proxima have revealed another STC. Originally construction of  Hex Tower 2 were halted by the AdMech Servitor Team Epsilon as there were incomplete and contained corrupt sections of the STC. Using the latest quantum codifiers of Mathematorium Secundus, Team Epsilon were able to substitute pre-existing 'InGen pattern' code into the program matrix to complete the full STC.

These Hex Tower's are now being positioned at strategic locations throughout the Ferron Proxima heartlands. The raised observation position and defensive properties make them ideal lookout posts in the outland regions known for it's regular Xenos sightings. Given the discovery that Ferron Proxima was originally devoid of many hills and high ground, these lookout posts were another option instead of  Vulcan Plateaus due to their ease of construction. Quite often these towers are pre-fabricated and bolted onto a laid rockcrete foundation by bulk lifters. This has meant a rapid deployment of outposts across the Xenos hot spots in the outlands since it's rediscovery.

To access the full STC please point your Cogitators here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B97Rk-BalgZbYWQzNjIwZTMtODdjNC00OWNjLTk1OWQtYWVmZjRjMzgyOTI5/view?resourcekey=0-hYhgbTNXrzJnrVTjqPcpMw

This STC will be uploaded to the full Ferron Proxima STC library shortly. You can access the database here:

http://40kaddict.blogspot.com/2011/02/terrain-is-everything-standard-template.html

Look Around You! - Real world inspiration

Recently Brian at A Gentleman's Ones completed four massive gaming tables to help out with the Heroes Of Armageddon charity endeavour. What's more he detailed how he came up with the design for the tables and more importantly what local Chicago references he was inspired by that were built into the Hive and Wastelands that formed the table. It's truly awesome work, a great team effort and a worthy cause, so take a look.

Now I'm not jumping on the band wagon regarding real world inspiration blog posts, I've been thinking for quite a while about the things that are smacking me on the noggin on a daily basis that just want to be recreated in red rockcrete for little 28mm future space battles. The thing is I tend to have an obsessive nature, when I get interested in something I embrace it whole. In much the same way when you buy a new car and all you can ever see thereafter are the same make I'm like an exocet interest seeking missile, homing in on those things that take my fancy. Of course when you extrapolate that to include architecture, but not like some famous landmark but just a bit of concrete, well sometimes it's a bit of visual overload...

Anyway, here's a bit of inspo, up first some concrete foundation casts. These now form part of the base of a local shopping outlet South of the Car Park that inspired the step in the Vulcan Plateau. Equally these cast buttresses inspired the look and feel of the hill and a future version will reflect this aesthetic more so.

Back in February I attended the funeral for one of my son's Godparents on the coach back we stopped in Truro to pick up more passengers and this was the roof of one of the bus shelters and this heavily verdigris-ed roof was useful inspiration for my Honoured Imperium's Matt Black: Former hero of the Imperium. Obviously he's a bit more vibrant, the picture isn't a true reflection of his colours and maybe using Bonewhite might have matched the tone a bit better but it was useful source material nontheless.

Next up are some as yet unproductive forms of inspiration seen on my walk to the station. As we know 40k Ruins always look like this:

But in actual fact most multi-storey building are constructed with a central lift-shaft core Like these three tower cores being constructed in Manchester. Most of the surrounding building is steel frame girders. And yet this simple box-like constructure with multiple access points [read fire points] seems to be grossly under-represented on the battle field. Just imagine the possibility of a multi storey core with numerous corner and side pieces that represent the outer edges of the demolished structure, so much scope... Whether I have the time or inclination to capitalise on this remains to be seen.

Nearby is this car park. Aside from the glass panes on the building which would make an interesting alternative to the usual stone structures in 40k, I know they refer to it as 'grim-dark' but there would be still plenty of worlds that have access to some form of transparent building materials. It's the wire mesh stairway that interests me more. Granny Grating may not necessarily be the best material for recreating this, the gauge of the mesh is a bit too thick but a simple frame out of foamcard with a mesh up against it would be relatively  quick to produce.

I'd do away with the curves though. You may not be aware but Ferron Proxima shuns the use of curves, it's an architectural anomaly. Sure they are used in arches and some access ports but cylindrical buildings are unheard of. This apparently goes back to the time Governor Sub-Sector Pringle (locally known as 'the Mad Popper') and his sector wide purge on all things cylindrical. It was only through intervention by the Dark Angels Second Founding Chapter - the Angels of Vengeance that the desecration was stopped. The Governor was removed from office without any explanation. Years of random architectural destruction halted in one surgical strike. What happened, or where the Governor now resides is a mystery but rumours, whispered behind closed doors, that he now resides in a secured vault in 'The Rock' persist to this day.

Lastly, for the time-being. here's another building, strangely enough from the other view it looks very much like the 40k Bastion model, but I was struck by the waterfall-esque cascading roofs on the back. Plenty of scope for some tarnished copper panels with plenty of fire ports. Again, maybe not something that may eventually see light on the battlefield but it 'speaks to me' visually on a daily basis.

So if you're in the terrain game you need to keep your eyes open, bits and bobs can spring up and be just as exciting to bring forth into creation as painting the latest figure. In fact I'm getting more pleasure and reward from this kind of enterprise than the figures themselves, and if you hadn't noticed Ferron Proxima is benefiting from this no end!