Blood Ravens Landraider COMPLETED

In a shocking moment of "this blog ain't dead yet" i managed to finished the large and time consuming Landraider for my Blood Raven Army. And here it is: 

He is one sexy beast, right? With a new codex out I'm tempted by some Centurions, so maybe they'll be here next (in a few months!) 

Blood Ravens IronClad Dreadnaught: COMPLETED

Been quiet on here, hasn't it? Thats real life for you. On the plus side, this:

Glowing Axes!

Still need a clean-up pass but I thought i'd have a crack at some strong OSL on the squad's sergeant, who has a Power Axe and a Plasma gun. Not totally sold on the execution, but I don't think it's too bad for a first attempt! 

And Another One!

And the squad expands with this guy. The effect is slightly spoiled by the fact he fell apart during painting (stupid crappy plastic glue!) and his pose is now a little "skippy". All the other Marines will mock his gait, but  its not his fault the Emperor made him that way. 

On the other hand, I'm pleased with the Chainsword. I now need to think of another two unique "looks" for the remaining two chainsword-wielders in the squad. 

Blood Ravens Assault Marine

Guess What? It turns out my window sill works really well for taking pictures with the new camera.

Some days you finish something and you think "yeah, I'm really pleased with him." Yesterday was one of those days. 

Nerfed!

So, due to exams and holiday the painting has taken a bit of a backseat, but after a conversation with my eldest, i did paint modify the paint job on this guy. He's clearly not enjoying the effects of rule changes.

Blood Raven Stormraven COMPLETED.

Well, this was a long job, and now it's done. As promised, a gallery of shots from my Blood Raven Stormraven, the largest vehicle I've yet painted. Comments, as ever, appreciated.

Ready for Embarkation (once I've painted some Assault Marines!)

Blood Ravens Stormraven Progress Report 4

If I have learned nothing else on this project, it's that large vehicle are an absolute bastard to photograph. But for now....

I really can't wait to get this thundering across the battlefield. I'll get a proper gallery set up, once I work out how to take some decent pictures...! 

Storm Raven Progress Report 3: Assembly

Well, the damn thing is finally completely put together. BEHOLD!

Obviously there is still a substantial amount of work to do. The brown areas are marking out where the bone colour sections are going to go, and there is a ton of touch of work to do before I start weathering it. Oh, and then i need to do all the weathering on it.

Slightly annoyingly, the turret is a really tight fit and wouldn't go on with the guns attached, so I have to pry them off again and reattach after the turret was in place. Its an odd design quirk in a set that goes together very nicely otherwise.... 

Storm Raven Progress Report 2

So, work progresses on the Storm Raven. Now its assembled the scale of it really becomes apparent, but in fairness to it I think it looks a lot less clunky in the flesh than in many of the pictures you see. Sure, it's not a graceful or elegant thing, but what Imperial vehicle is?

Anyway, current pics under the cut.

Stormraven Progress Report 1

So, i've been busy painting the interior of the Stormraven. Like many interiors, much of it won't ever be seen, but if the doors are open, (ie when its on a shelf) some of it will be so you pretty much have to do it all. I always think its a shame to see Flyers with the canopies painted over, for instance, no matter how much that paint-over can be. So, progress - with the interior painted we got this far:

Raven Mad!

So, now I've got my Chaplain painted he needs something to ride around in, which means I've finally got started on my Storm Raven. So far, it looks like this:

Which isn't going to terrify many enemies of the Imperium. All I've done so far is spray the whole thing Army Painter Dragon Red as a base, then re-base in black the areas that are going to be different colours. As you can see I've assembled the wings and attached the Hurricane Bolters to the main hull, but until the interior is painted thats as far as assembly is going to get.

Speaking of the interior, sticking on the Hurricane Bolters highlighted a problem I didn't expect. There is a quite a nicely detailed cargo hold, and fore- and aft-doors you that hinge open for display. Not being one of those "glue everything shut" guys, it would be nice to see it. But with the Bolters fitted the door way just leads to the interior of the weapon assembly, and looks really, really, ugly. Also, it's right next to the rear hatch, so anyone looking in would certainly see it.

But, a solution!

These are the external doors with the prongs and hinges removed, attached over the internal door holes. What I've added to them is purity seals and combat honours - its the sort of thing that adorn most SM vehicles but you're not going to stick them on the outside of an airframe and expect them to stay attached. And right next to the rear hatch? Sounds perfect for a quick prayer as the Marines leap out the back door to combat.

So, next job is to get the interior painted up. 

Blood Ravens Chaplain COMPLETED

Ah, the long weekend. As well as mulling over how to approach the Storm Raven, I painted this guy.

Really, really pleased with him. Will crack out the lightbox and do some showcase shots soon. 

Well, I finally got tired of painting Judge Dredd figures, so it's time to reinforce my Blood Ravens. 

Zooooooooom! 

Citi-Def COMPLETED

After comming around to a completely different scheme for my Citi-Def I've had a flurry of activity on them, finishing all the full squad and building up some of the additional details. I present them, completed!

The nice thing about this scheme is that it means the figures will work for almost any 28mm skirmish game, so I expect they'll get a bit more action. I've tried to keep the colour schemes to a limited colour palette too, so greens and browns and metallic, as a reflection of the more limited range you get in older comic art.

Anyhow, just waiting for my StormRaven order to arrive, and then I'll be on with that, the biggest vehicle I've done to date. 

Starting Over..!

You remember when I said I was happy with the citi-def scheme? Well I got back from a weekend away and decided that I wasn't. I hated it. I tweaked it a bit on a couple of other figures, then tweaked it a lot, and finally just repainted the whole squad over and started again. This time I've gone for a more "realistic" Forest Camo pattern, which is essentially a series of grey, black and green splodges with a green wash to blend it all down and make it look "camoflaguely". For something done in anger - or at least a bad case of the grumps - it's turned out OK in the cold light of day.

Heavy Weapon Guy Again. 

Twin Pistols. You won't hit anything, but you'll look cool (not) doing it. 

Bazooka Trooper. This shot looks like she's just swapped her arm for the weapon. 

6th Edition Lessons...

I've got to admit i've struggled to paint the last week or so. I just don't seem to be able to get something done with the Citi-Def that I'm happy with. I don't think it's the models, which are nice, characterful sculpts, and I'm still fond of the colour scheme, but I there's definitely something I'm just not engaging with at the moment. I've really enjoyed doing the Judges, but maybe I just need to move onto something else for a bit.

Zooooom! 

On the plus side, me and eldest offspring had our first game of 6th Edition recently, which was great fun. With both sides "full up" at 1500 points each, it was a busy fight over 5 objectives and he just - just - pipped me when the game ended on Turn 5. Given that his Orks are made up of units he thinks are cool, and mine are made up of units i've bought to paint, a certain mis-match is inevitable, but even so we had a good time and learned a lot about the new edition.

Flyers are fun, aren't they? We only have one between us, my StormTalon, but it was a disruptive little monster, especially against smaller squads it could force into morale checks. It only ever looked vunerable the turn I slowed it down to make some turns, whereupon it drew a lot of fire, and I suspect in future I may just leave it zooming on and off the board merrily carving up any squad unfortunate to be underneath it.

My other big lesson was the Power Klaw Nobs (one of the new additions) are horrific agents of death limited only by what they can reach. Ouch ouch ouch, was my general experience of being assaulted by them. Now he wants a Battlewagon to put them in. I'm comming to the conclusion that the Orks may be a good "starter" race for younger players, as whilst not the most straightforward to play, they are excitingly random, you get to roll lots and lots of dice, and there is a generally cheerfully violent tone to them that seems to appeal.

Old Dublo Castle sets make for great impromtu terrain. 

Although maybe that's just us...! 

Colour Test for Citi-Def

Citi-Def are the National Guard of Mega-City One, a cross between an organised Peoples Militia and gun-toting lunatics with access to high-grade firepower. They're often portrayed as the halpless cannon-fodder of whatever crisis is engulfing the city at the time. Naturally I wanted a daft, cartoony scheme for them, which would be unique to their particular Hab-Block. This guy is the test figure for my Cit-Def force (although they'd also be good for Necromunda or the like), a resolute defender of Howard Overman Block. 

I should be able to production-line these guys through once i'm happy with them, as they're not that complex a figure, and after that I expect to go back to my Blood Ravens. I'm actually quite close to a half-way decent 1500 point force, although if -as the rumours indicate - the StormBrick becomes available to Vanilla Marines, I'll have to get myself one, just for the fun of painting it. 

Justice On a Roll!

This is the last of my Justice Department figures, a Lawmaster (and Judge). I've tried - with moderate success - to create a OSL effect around the headlights, which isn't brilliant, but is passable. Its all about creeping up that Learning Curve, right?

Continued Judge-ing

This weeks Judge Dredd Miniatures Game figure is the capable and awesome Judge Giant (jnr, I presume)

I'm really enjoying these figures, they're a nice change of pace from the Blood Ravens. That said with all the rumours going around about the StormRaven becoming open to Vanilla Chapters, I may have to get me one. 

I'm Walter! Try Me!

So, we continue our Judge Dredd Miniatures painting adventure. Currently managing about one a week, although after I've finished the couple I'm in the middle of, I've got a bunch of citi-def to do, and they should be easier to production line. Anyhow, this week it's Dredd's "favorite" house-robot, Walter the Wobot.

there is definitely something weird about taking a metal miniature, cleaning it, base coating it, and then painting it to look all-metal again...

The Dead Shall Rise!

So, the Judge Dredd figures contine to roll off the painting the table. This lovely lady is a Zombie Master, and also my first serious attempt at doing dramatic lighting on a figure. When the base is done she should look lit from underneath, as well as the green spectral effect on her hands and eyes.

Its not perfect, but I'm pretty pleased with her, and picking up a decent base should really top her off. Comments, as ever, appreciated. 

I Am The Law!

10 days into 2013 already, and I'm pushing on with the Judge Dredd figures. Here is the Man Himself.

The only thing left to do is the Base, but i think I'm going to pick up resin bases for these guys to mount him on at a later date (he's not glued to this base, its just holding him in place for painting.