Warp Spiders WIP

Merry Christmas all. I finally finished three more Warp Spiders in the same scheme as my test model. So I am at 2/3 painted. My goal is to have the squad done by 2014! All I have left is one normal trooper and the exarch. Truth be told, I am not wild about this particular sculpt. It isn't terrible, but it is blocky and static, two things I do not think of when I think of Warp Spiders. Even still, I think they turned out pretty well. I am very thankful to Brian Haler for hooking me up with these guys.

I was able to land a side gig consulting this holiday season which freed up a little extra cash. I have that Eldar holiday bundle sitting down at my LGS so, after the Warp Spiders are complete, this blog will be overrun with the dead for a little bit.

Here's to hoping I post here on time this year!

Thanks for reading,
T

Warp Spider Test Model

I suck at visualizing color schemes. Like, I am sure it is some kind of actual disability. When ever anyone tells me the colors they are thinking of, my mind immediately jumps to what ever professional sports team has said colors in their uniforms. If you tell me your army is green and yellow, and I don't see it, I assume you are fielding the Greenbay Packers. Another side effect is that I can't paint a squad until I have fully realized one model. So, that is what this guy is.

This guy put up a fight. It took me a long time, and a lot of being slowed by analysis to the point of just freezing and not doing anything. That is super absurd in light of the fact that I didn't even have to devise the scheme, since I ripped this straight for the Eldar book. Even still, I liked what I saw, and wanted to get close, though not actually duplicate it.

I was not, and am not still, looking forward to the freehand on this model and his future squad mates. The symbol on the forehead isn't bad, but the warp packs will be daunting. That being said, the end result is nice, and I don't want just big black packs with nothing to draw the eye.

What was a lot of fun was the gun. I had a good time figuring out how to make it "glow".

Hopefully I will be showing the rest of the squad soon.

Thanks for reading,
T

Spirit Seeress

Had a lot of fun with this one.

Really simple conversion. Just the Everqueen with a staff and head swap. I really liked the idea of her being a Spirit Seer instead of a Farseer because of her bare feet. I like the image of her walking amidst the war torn terrain and feeling, physically and psychically,everything.

I think she may have to replace Nightspear as my second HQ choice, as Illic has proved to be no where near worth the 140 points he costs. His model will always be present, just as an especially dynamic Ranger. Maybe if there is FAQ ruling on his Infiltrate ability, so it is no longer debatable as to whether or not he can bring a squad with him, that he may be worth that hefty price tag. In the mean time the Seeress will make a nice edition to my mind bullet throwing seers. He is a Hogwart's class photo.

How does your local area treat Illic's infiltration ability? What do you think of Spirit Seers?

Thanks for reading,
T

Display Board

With The Brawl closing in, one of the final things needed was a display board. Well I suppose it wasn't needed, but it is worth Appearance points, or a point, or something. I have never really made a display board before, so this would be my first foray into the display board world. Also, I am a crap carpenter. I can't draw a straight line with a straight edge, let alone cut straight. And I don't have an extensive tool collection either. Pretty much just my hobby tools, a tool set we got for our wedding, and like, a screw gun.

What I wanted in a display board was pretty much a place to hold my army as I moved from table to table, as well as that giant friggin tome that is the rule book. I have seen people make shelves or drawers in their display board, and I wanted to do something like that. But alas, limited tools and crap carpentry skills were going to be an obstacle. Cue MacGyver music.

This is where I started. A letter basket, a pice of beveled bass wood, some dark stain, and Gorilla glue. All said and done like $36 in supplies. Though the letter basket in the picture is actually to replace the one I had one my desk at work.

After acquiring my supplies, the first thing I did was tape off the edges of the bass wood that would serve as my display board. After that I covered the top of the display board with white glue mixed with water, then dumped concrete aggregate on top. After the white glue and water mix dried, I shook the excess concrete aggregate from the board and painted on a base layer. Between the glue and the paint, I figured the aggregate would be affixed well enough that I could do other work.

Next, I took the letter box from my desk and gorilla glued it to the bottom of the display board. What I forgot to do was stain the bottom of the display board, so there is that. I had to go in and paint around the the letter box after the fact. Even still, after setting the letter box how I wanted it, I piled a moderately heavy box on top. I let it sit over night to really solidify the bond between the display board and the box. The next morning I tested it...

So far so good.

After the stress test it was just a matter of dry brushing and washing the top of the display board to make it match the basing on my miniatures.

Lastly, a little stain on the sides, and once that dried some static grass for the display board.

And there ya go. The letter box serves as legs for the display board and a handy place to hold the tome of 40k, army lists, and a codex. As with anything, if I made another I would do things differently, mainly I would get a bigger board, as displaying my brawl army on this makes for a pretty crowded house.

Live and learn. This will be great for the end of the month, and I had fun doing it. The effect, for the effort, pays off. Outside of a lot of waiting for things to dry, the process was simple and fast.

What do you think? What do you use to display your army at tournaments?

Thanks for reading,
T

Rawr!

This extended weekend I had the extreme pleasure of playing two incredibly cool players, leading beautifully painted armies. Sadly, I only thought to snap pics of one, because I fail. While both Brian, and Magnus play different armies, it was cool because the spirit of their armies was very similar.

Brian ran a wagon and truk'ed up KoS list. It was fantastic, and nostalgic in its appearance and feel. Just bright red vehicles and yellow flames everywhere. He got first turn, motored all the vehicles forward. I had a one turn to open up his well, everything. I didn't, his boys got out, Waaarrghhh, and I slowly got caught up in the green tide. Brilliant!

Against Magnus (Those stunning space wolves in the pics are his, better pics at his blog.) I gave him first turn. And down came the pods and Greyhunters! I once again found myself in a situation where I had one round of shooting, and if I didn't get what needed to get dead dead, then I was in for a world of hurt. The elves got it done this time, although we never did get the Landraiders dead. Another awesome game, creating a feel on the table that closely mirrored what I have read about in the 40k universe.

Two totally enjoyable games with very different outcomes. Thanks so much to both Magnus and Brain! I will take pics of Brian's orks next time, as they are really quite cool.

Thanks for reading,
T

Illic Nightspear

So, I kinda had no choice but to have this guy. He is a special character for Alaitoc, and the uber ranger at that. I fell in love with Alaitoc back in the days of the Ranger Disruption Table. And not because of the rules, though they sure didn't suck, but because I loved the idea of the scout/sniper, and an army of them was like christmas.

This model was pretty straight forward to paint. I painted him up in the color scheme of my other rangers so he fit in. Although I tried to make his coat a little more elaborate. I am still pretty rusty in a lot of areas, but this guys was a lot of fun as return. I will be fielding him a lot, rules be damned! Not that I think he sucks or anything, I am just saying, he will be present. That being said, I will likely not upgrade my rangers to pathfinders very often. If Illic joins normal rangers they get Stealth and Shrouding, so I will take the cheaper points values and better cover save over everyone making precise shots.

Here is a quick shot of Illic with his rangers.

Would you run pathfinders vs. rangers? What do you think of my base vs the sculpted base he is normally on?

Thanks for reading,
T

Objective Markers, Thanks Magnus Wood!

Quickie. Awhile back my buddy Magnus gave me some miscasts of some club objective markers he was selling. He cast them out of resin, but that is about all I know about where they came from. They have our game club logo, and look bad ass, so they got some paint. Can't wait to slap these down at the The Brawl.

What are you all using for objectives? Making your own? Servo skulls that were released with this edition?

Thanks for reading,
T

Alaitoc Warlock

Finished up this warlock last night. He had been sitting around for awhile, as I got it when I got the Farseer I painted almost a year ago. I am not wild about the Finecast products, but I have heard they are getting better. There may be some truth to that, as the first Finecast model I got that didn't irritate me was Nightspear. He is far and away better than the Finecast Swooping Hawks. The thought of them threatens to launch me into a vitriol-feuled diatribe on crap-tastic Finecast kits, but that is not what we are here to talk about.

This guy was pretty straight forward. I am always a little gun shy of light colors like yellow and white, and this guy had an ample supply of both. That being said, it wasn't so bad. The new GW line has a slew of light grays, whites, and off-whites. Though I have yet to find it exactly, I sure there is a solid build among the aforementioned. The yellow I am not as sold on. There is something about the old Golden Yellow, maybe because it has just been my go-to yellow for so long, that I was missing on this guy. However, I do appreciate that the Flash Gitz Yellow is less lemony in color than Bad Moon Yellow was.

As far as the model, it is not one of my favorite warlock sculpts. With the rules change to witch blades I am not sure about singing spears, so this was the only warlock I had that was carrying a witch blade. I always thought the way this guy was holding his witchblade was goofy, more, "Check out my sword brah," than "Engarde!" Also it makes the model kind of hell to store. I don't mean to sound all negative, even the least cool Warlock is a pretty great model. I really like the fur mantle he has, though with my version painted blue I kinda feel like he is wearing Cookie Monster's pelt. In addition, I really like the art piece I think the model was made after.

I tried a glowing effect around his eyes, which you can kind of see below. Pic isn't great because I still can't figure out how to take good close up pics with my wife's new camera. I think I will go with a little more Lhamian Medium next time to thin the Temple Guard Blue, and then apply the glow in a few more thin coats.


What about you, Distinguished 44 (Followers)? What do you think of the Warlock model? What build are you using for your whites? Wanna beat the dead Finecast quality horse? Do you happen to know how to work my wife's camera. Sound off in the comments.

Thanks for reading,
T