Undead: Final Update

Here are the promised photographs of the fully painted Vampire Counts army.

3000 points.

Nine Vargheists, painted by client.

Necromancers and Vampires, painted by client.

Close up of the converted sorcerers.

Crypt Ghouls, painted by client.

Grave Guard, painted by client.

Corpse Cart, painted by client.

Skeletal Knights, painted by client.

Zombies, painted by client.  You can see the Titan Forge Bases the client has chosen for stand in bases to bulk up the units of zombies in these photos.  The smallish unit here is extra zombies, fodder for raising.

Zombies, painted by Xi.

Skeletons, painted by Xi.

There it is, roughly six weeks of work and a total of 350 or so models.

Cheers,

-Xi

Undead Advance!

A long off put update to the Undead Project I've undertaken for a client.  So far the count stands at 65 Zombies and 30 Skeletons, all from Mantic's Kings of War line.  Here are some shots of the updated progress.

Here is the sample model my client painted up for me to follow.  When we first started this project, he gave me a copy of his paint recipes, as well as painted models so I could see what I was trying to match...

I need to get better pictures.  Here are five finished Skeletons.  My client was very happy with the uniformity in his undead so far.

Better shot of the same five.  I finished these ones to see exactly where I was with the matching and to see how long it takes to knock out a group.  I find the time taken with a batch of minis scales accordingly.

One of the nice bonuses that comes included on the Mantic frames is this chunk of viscera and spinal column, which can help get more zombies out of the box than you bargained for.  My client is using a few things to stack his zombie count for the units, these bodies the least extreme.

Here is the latest finished batch of 15.  The bases still need finished: drybrushing, edges painted, and static grass application.

Next up on the agenda for the Undead Project is 30 more Zombies.  After that, we'll see what the client has in store.  On my personal agenda is a 3.5 D&D campaign, and I'm still working on my Adeptus Mechanicus Marine force.

Cheers,
Xi

Deathwatch Challenge

So I was bouncing around out in the 40k blogosphere, and hit up Excommunicate Tratoris's post about the Badab Deathwatch Project.  'Pretty cool,' I thought, following the links from his neck of the net to the source of the competition: TFP: The Badab Project.

These guys are running an awesome conpetition where you can throw your hat into a mini conversion/panting contest with the bonus of being able to donate the model to a group squad that will then go up for charity.  I don't know yet what charity it will be, and will find out and let you all know.  The charity is for the Marie Curie Cure for Cancer.  Competitions are always a great way to get the creativeness flowing.  I love this one especially since it makes use of one of my favorite aspects of 40k, the Deathwatch.

Stay tuned for updates.

-Xi

Games Workshop's (relatively) New Paints

...or more specifically, the pots they come in.

I have a small bitch about this, and that is that all, and I mean ALL of the new paint ought to have come in the new pots with the stupid security features/ I don't even know what to call the stupid tab in the back that I had to cut half off of the Caledor Sky pot...

The pots are a mix of the '06 pots for the regular paints which suck; and the '12 pots, which suck worse.  I nearly tore my nail off when my thumb slipped while trying to open the damn thing.  The problem isn't the stupid tabs or the security things, its the lack of consistency.  If every new pot I opened had the things to contend with, then I may not have forgotten so soon.  But since the relaunched paints have come around, the Caledor Sky and the Liquid Green Stuff have been the only ones with these new features.  I'd like to cast my vote for a return of the '03 pots, the black flip lids/twist offs.  These were so bloody amazing...

Ah, well.  May as well wish for dropper pots, like nearly all the other decent paint comes in.
/rant

Okay, now that the ranting is done, how do I feel about the new paints themselves?  Well, as stated in a previous blog post, the recommended replacement for Shadow Grey is The Fang, and its not even close.  But that is to be expected in a new formulation of paints.  As for the important parts, these paints cover well. The Base and Layer paints both seem to go on smoother than the old Foundation paints and layer colours.  The texture may be worth it for some people.  That really depends on your basing style.  The only issue I have with them is that there doesn't seem to be much mileage in the small pots of texture paint, especially since the paint wants to dry around the texture in the mouth of the pot.  The Drybrush Medium, Washes, and Glazes I haven't tried yet.  Maybe for Crimbo, I'll get one of these...

Cheers,
-Xi

Some Blogs I Follow

Here are a few of the blogs I follow, and what they are up to...

Ten Inch Template, with an awesome Vraksian Bloodthirster.

One of the ongoing projects that I've been following is the amazing 'Aliens' themed Tyranid army.

James Wappel Miniature Painting with some amazing Inquisitorial Stormtroopers, old and new.

I love the mix of old and new models.  As I've stated before, the 3rd ed Imperial Stormtroopers are some of my all time favorite models for 40k.

Legion 9 Studios with some Space Wolves Terminators WIP.

Some great looking models on this blog...

And finally, The Beard Bunker, which is an excellent all around hobby blog, in my opinion.

Knights from an article about expanding an Empire force.

Cheers,
-Xi

Tech Marine Sergeant

I present the first figure of my Allies Contingent, Brother Magos Rickard.  The base of the figure is the Tech Marine that came with the 3rd ed Command Squad box.  I removed the arm that held the signature cog toothed axe, and added the chainblade arm from the Puppetswar.eu Mechanical Implants and Weapons pack.  The cog axe was saved for another project, of course.  Here is a picture of this guy while getting painted.  I must beg forgiveness in advance, right now the only available camera is a cell phone camera.

The model got a base coat of Mechrite Red, followed by a coat of Devlin Mud wash.  Once dry, a heavy drybrush of Blood Red was applied, followed by a coat of Baal Red wash.  I should mention that I cut all my washes with a few drops of Future floor wax, which you can learn all about here.  It really is amazing.

The reverse side.  The next step was to pick out all the metallic detail that I wanted with Chainmail, and then that washed with black ink, and drybrushed with Mithril Silver.  The select bits of gold on the figure were first painted with Scorched Brown, then Burnished Gold with a wash of Delvan Mud.  The highlight was applied with Shining Gold.  The exposed cabled were then pained with Kommando Khaki, and washed with Delvan Mud.  The skin of the face was last.  While I got close to what I wanted, its not quite there.  I based the area with Kommando Khaki, then washed it with Baal Red.  I then drybrushed the area with a 1:1 Kommando Khaki to Rotting Flesh.  Finally, the eye and mouth were given a dash of Delvan Mud.  That wash seems to have been the star here...

Here is the completed figure.  Brother Magos Rickard, armed with a bolt pistol and a chainsword.  Soon to be added is his Servo Arm.  He will lead a Tactical Squad.  I will be adding some different Heavy Support options to this group, mostly since the conversion possibilities are so broad.  I have some plans for heavy combat servitors that count as Terminators.

Cheers,
-Xi

Cadian Stormtroopers

These guys have been in progress on and off since earlier this year.  I've finally got the first five completed.  The squad is a mix of the old Mark Bedford stormtroopers, the Forgeworld Hostile Environment Cadians, and a few kitbashed pieces.

Base colours done, now onto the details.  The grenades were repainted a more suitable colour shortly after this.

Moving through the ruins of another Imperial world...

There are terrain updates coming soon.

Cheers,
-Xi