Terrain: Fences Complete

I said I was going to dig into the pile of unfinished projects over the weekend, and I have. These fences were featured in my fifth blog post, and seem to be the oldest unfinished project I have that isn't in deep freeze. The pieces needed sand added to them before they'll be ready for paint. They've been waiting for some time for this last step to be done... about time then.

Since there are eight of these segments to get painted, I decided that I wanted to paint the bases one step at a time. The above photos depict the each stage of the operation. They were based with black craft paint, then given a layer of Blue Slate Grey. Drybrush layers of Graveyard Earth and Seal Grey followed, then a wash of Devlan Mud. Drybrush layers followed again, Seal Grey then Bleached Bone. Finally, the edge was given a layer of Seal Grey.

I learned after painting the bases and taking on the metallics of the fence itself that I had done my work backward. Trying to keep black wash from flowing down and ruin the base was a pain in the ass, and one I don't want to repeat.

The good commissar was there at the beginning so I thought it fitting he be here for the scale shot at the end.

There is no good reason for pieces to go unfinished for over two years, especially considering all the free time I find myself burning doing nothing productive (it seems). This sort of thing still happens, though. I remember once I cleaned off my hobby area and found a whole box of Space Marines... Shit gets away from you sometimes. Therefore I pledge to have fewer unfinished projects just laying about for no reason... I'm looking at you, Mek Workshop.

Cheers!

CJ

Terrain: Medium Objective

Cleaning up the desk and I found a small bit of hardboard I had cut for something or other so I decided to whip something up. A ruined corner was quickly assembled. I added a pile of jerry cans from the Tamiya kit I get my oil drums from, and a Mad Robot grenade launcher. I think it needs some graffiti as well...

I painted the piece to match the base style I'm using on the Abhumans and my Inq28 models. Over the weekend I plan to complete some other pieces I've had languishing in the land of half finished projects. Stay tuned to see what comes of this new motivation.

And now for something completely different...

Ronnie Gamble, the gentleman who runs the excellent Eye of Error, is running a Kickstarter for custom decals. I'm instantly hooked just on the bitchin' posters that come of a 35$ pledge. That's a no-brainer for this hobbyist; two sheets of custom decals for my guard army and the aforementioned posters. Two sheets is enough for two platoons of unit markings, maybe three, and a sheet for vehicle patterns or whatever else I decide on.

bitchin' Kickstarter rewards

And finally, when I posted lamenting my many distractions (poor me, right? pfft) I forgot the most distracting of them all...

My girlfriend got a cat to call her own, Harry Potter Dresden Houdini... you can guess which of those I added. He's a fuzzy little shit, and I'm constantly surprised the other cats haven't ended him yet. Snow is infinitely patient with the playful kitten, and Deacon keeps him at bay with carefully applied swats. And hisses.

That's it for tonight. I'll have more terrain finished over the weekend.

Cheers,

CJ

Breaking! MRM Caipari Urban Shocktroops

Coming soon from Mad Robot Miniatures. I've gotten a sneak peek of these models and man oh man I can not wait to get my hands on a squad... or platoon... :D

Cheers,

CJ

Too Many Distractions...

Not a lot of work getting done around here since the heat is sapping the energy right outta me. Hopefully it will break soon (yeah, right!) but in the mean time, I've been falling victim to digital distraction.

Sense8

If you subscribe to Netflix and haven't watched this yet, do it. Especially if you're a fan of acifi and/or anime. The Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski deliver in a huge way with this new show. Ignore the critics bullshit for now, since they all seem pretty polarized in love it or leave it mode.

Terraria 1.3

What can I say that I haven't yet about Terraria? Not much. The big (final?) update is due out in the next few days, which adds a new game mode, and more of everything else: biomes, items, NPCs, and mounts.

Payday 2: Golden Grin Casino

Day two goes live in 2:25:00 or so, so pay attention! The Dentist is sending the crew to Vegas to recover something valuable of his... so I've been practicing the stealthy arts with my big stupid techforcer. Shadow Raid so many failures.... UGG!

The heat coupled with the fact that I screwed up painting on the Stygies VIII Skitarii means my I haven't really been feeling paint. Combined with the goal I've set to not outpace my painting with assembly just because it's fun... I'm working on getting back to it.

Cheers,

CJ

Inq28: The Huntsman's Sweeps and Keepers 001

I decided with Island of Blood being pulled from shelves in anticipation of Age of Sigmar and 9th Edition Warhammer Fantasy, I ought to get my hands on these two Skaven scum (VALTEN LIVES or did we retcon that, too?) for conversion purposes.

I clipped the Warplock Engineer's blade and replaced it with a Sicarian blade. The head is from the same source. The area behind the hood has been extended with greenstuff, and the gap between the pack and ratman likewise filled. The feet have been chopped and clipped and will be meant to be bionic.

The Moulder got a Skitarii head and a screen from an Ironstrider. Again, the gaps were filled with GS. This guy had some fur to carve off, and I'm working on covering the spots with more robe.

These guys will henceforth be called 'The Jawas'. Here are the monstrosities they herd...

I got the Wraiths in trade and they were converted to a nice go, but I couldn't leave well enough alone... so I pried out the skulls and tore out the arms and mixed em up a bit. They will be getting Ruststalker heads, and I'm trying to decide if they need bolters as well. These guys might just be Scyllax Guardian-Automata that survived on a forge world, locked in a vault until the right heretical secrets might have opened it.

I like that idea...

Cheers,

CJ

Inq28 Update

Just a quick update here, I realized I'd not posted since last week. I've been working on the Inq28 stuff pretty steadily. Above are a set of servo skulls for Inquisitor Magos Heiloran or his agents to deploy.

Stay tuned for a look at the forces of the other side. It's coming soon, I promise.

Cheers,

CJ

Inq28: The Catachan Hunter 001

As I worked on the first batch of Skitarii/Scion bashed henchmen for Inquisitor Magos Heiloran to lead around the galaxy, I started thinking of uses for the rest of the kits. One piece that kept coming to the fore of my brainstorming was the Transuranic Arquebus. After looking through my bits box I decided I wanted a hunter to carry the sniper weapon.

A stormtrooper hunter would be perfect to carry the sniper rifle. I got to work on the model and he came together quite quickly.

Looking good so far... but he'll need a support for that weapon.

What is this, WFB?

The supplied support wasn't going to cut it. The feel I'm looking for overall is a bit more dynamic that that thing suggests... so I had to modify it a bit.

See what I mean? The hunter is moving as he stalks his prey, or herds the Inquisitor Magos's quarry to its end. To affect that sense of motion I embedded the end of the gun support in a servo skull. The skull helps keep the rifle locked in for the hunter. Powerful targeting optics in the skull and scope combine to make for a extremely stable platform for the hunter to offer support fire from.

Now that basic assembly is done, he is ready for details and greenstuff; then paint and basing. I also think he needs a hound. More on that later.

Cheers,

CJ

Lazy Friday Evening with Macharius

I'm sitting on the stoop reading the Angel of Fire in the cool June breeze (that won't last...) and with $2 in my hand. I'm enjoying the opening of the Macharian Crusade and waiting for the corn lady to come by. Good times. It's not the first ear I've had this season but its close. The corn lady brings fresh sweet corn then coats it in mayo, Parmesan cheese, and chili powder. This stuff is delicious.

I should probably be working on some models or terrain but its too nice out. I'll have to come inside eventually to post this.. until then I'm killing time with the remaining crewmen of the Indomitable and one of my favorite Imperial commanders.

Cheers,

CJ

Hobby Stage

While finishing up the mercenary henchman of Inquisitor-Magos Heiloran, I decided that I wanted a stage of sorts to take photos of completed models. I've been using Necromunda bulkheads as a background so far. Adding a deck of foamcore and card seemed like a simple enough solution.

As mentioned above I used foamcore and cereal packet card to make the deck, securing the pieces of card with PVA glue. Once all the squares were dry I built up piles of sand around the edges and also built up a little prop to help hide base rims.

The completed stage. Sorry, I once again forgot to take photos of the painting process. I painted the whole thing with black craft paint, then brown iron oxide craft paint, then drybrushed with gunmetal metal. Wash with Agrax Earthshade and black wash, drybrush metal again, then a heavy splash of mud wash. The sand is finished in the same manor of the 'Orks' I'm working on.

One of the things I realized about this little project is that I'll need a bigger prop to hide bases of multiple models or larger models. The above shows Luka Genadiyevich and the 'prop', see what I mean? That little thing isn't gonna do shit to hide a 40mm base... but I can use this stage setting for some more atmospheric mini photos.

Cheers!

CJ

Inq28: The Mercenary from Belis Corona

The mercenary is done. Considering the most difficult thing on this model was adding the sheathed hellgun, that he is finished first isn't too surprising.

Luka Genadiyevich was recruited by Inquisitor-Magos Heiloran on the expansive orbital dockyards of BELIS CORONA. Genadiyevich scored a kill shot on a bounty head who also happened to be a drawing a bead on Heiloran.

 Genadiyevich ended up on station at the BELIS CORONA dockyards after chasing another bounty there. A freak accident caused Luka's original bounty to be crushed to death by a misfunction in the control linkage of a servitor-crane. The mercenary was on the beach, so to speak, and so found temporary work chasing station bounties and providing guard duty for secure holds. He was waiting around to spend his slush on a trip to somewhere away from the endless war of The Eye.

The man had been hive scum, one of a gang recruited to put off agents in pursuit of Inquisitor Renne. Unfortunately for the wayward magos, the hiver had ended up with a bounty hanging over him for trying to run some racket or another. On the fringes of The Eye, that sort of nonsense wasn't tolerated. Grift was kept to the established channels on the station, and Genadiyevich had tracked the gang scum to their ambush. Inquisitor Heiloran and his interrogator made a quick finish of the close-in work, and by the Emperor's serendipity the Mercenary foiled the gang's attack. Inquisitor-Magos Heiloran negotiated the mercenary to a place on his team shortly after, before departing the station in pursuit of Lord Renne. Their departure coincided with a rash of deaths among the dregs of the station population.

The mercenary is armed with the 40k equivalent of the dirty love child of Sam Fisher's FN-2000 and Jean Starwind's Caster gun; it shoots all kinda cool shit. Genadiyevich is also armed with a hellgun. Both weaponns he picked up on his adventures in the Calixis Sector. I painted them both red in homage to GW's red era. both my first SM and IG codex heavily featured red gun casings... not to mention the original How to Paint Citadel Miniatures book. The rest of his colouring is inspired from the colours that used to be on the cap of one of the all time shittiest beers ever, Corona. One caught my eye in 2005 and I have wanted to use the colour combination on a model ever since.

The palette got a bit dry, so I topped it up and the paints came right back.

I did use the wet palette in painting this model, and the base. I learned that if you're gonna drybrush, just drib out the paint onto the dry palette since the wet palette thins it just a bit too much for effective drybrishing... go figure. I thought this might be the case but oh well, now I know for sure. I have heard ominous warnings about putting metallics on the wet palette so I haven't bothered to try. When it comes to washes I can't imagine putting any ink on the wet palette. It does seem like a useful tool so far. I can't wait to try it out batch painting.

Cheers!

CJ