Merry Christmas!

Here’s hoping Santa and his little Gretchin bring you all you hoped for and you can spend the day in safety in the embrace of your loved ones…

And if you are Old enough to remember these chaps…

then you’re in good company.

 

Updates soon hopefully, with a Game….. and maybe what the elves brought me..

Merry Christmas!

Ragnar Blackmane Conversion

One of the things I’ve been kindof focussed on is Getting a full, tricked out squad of Blood claws and attendants across the field and into someone’s face.

My Christmas break will see the arrival of a Storm wing, and I can already Feel a Storm eagle wending it’s way form Nottingham, so I felt it was time to make someone to lead this flying nutbag squad, Hence, Ragnar.

  

The Great Hunt of Thror Wyrdeye

There are stories among the brothers of the Space Wolves, this ancient Chapter which retains much of the memory of the Legion it once was. the stories are that every few centuries a rune priest will be chosen by Russ.

Servitors

These were lovely models to paint, dead happy with them too, feel like I’m shaking off the rust from my absence. I went with metallics again because they are intended to accompany the Techmarine/Iron Priest form last week, but kept the neutral enough they could one day help out the Inquisition with their investigations.

TechMarine / Iron Preist

 

New Technical paints tested.

Our hapless volunteers, three members of my old Middenhiem Mordheim Warband, and a spare base.. with a layer of Codex Grey on it.

Grey Hunter Squad and Wolfguard

Of Bran Redmaw’s Great Company

Yeah, these guys are a group of five with MM and Power sword, accompanied by a Wolf Guard with a Combi melta and Powerfist. They ride about in an Assault cannon Razorback and generally make life hard for people.

Storm Wing!

Ohyes.

I was actually wrestling with whether to purchase this set just for use in apoc, or whether to go for the Storm Eagle..

this:

http://www.blacklibrary.com/games-workshop-digital-editions/Dataslate-Adeptus-Astartes-Storm-Wing.html

Pretty much means i can use this with my wolves, so that makes me quite happy. I just have one unanswered question.. could troops from the main detachment ride in this? start the game in this? once my ipad has power i will seek the answer….

oh, Also means i could put a force with three stormtalons on the field. while still keeping wolves as my main. shiny.

If i do this, I'll actually photograph my conversion this time :)

A Thunderfire Cannon and a Mistake..

I’ll tell you what the mistake is at the end of the post, for now, let me show you the Cannon..

Build to be the “heavy” choice in my Allies force org, SM codex, but still painted SW as My army here is a great hunt, using a few different wolf lords etc.. I figure one of those wolf lords can be an SM codex choice..

Tau Riptide

I might need you to be a bit gentle with me, cos i’m feeling quite rusty, and there are a few things here i’m not happy with, but then my pictures are always extremely close and high rez and totally unforgiving :)

I need to thank the owner of this model, cos doing this form start to finish, starting with him with me, and finishing it off later, has properly got me fired up about painting again. I think mainly because i have a LOT in progress, and I've been picking at bits here and there, and doing things by the squad or putting batches together, and its made the accomplishment a long time coming.

This model went together so well, the new CAD designed kits just get better and better.

 

Colours were chosen to fit in with the army, which i hope this will, and that i haven't strayed too far.

A model this size deserves a few close ups, even if they do show some of the shaky work :)

  

And the secondary weapon systems are magnetised so that things can be tried out :)

Well there you have  it, and actual post with pictures, – wonders will never cease.

I’ve some pictures of ww2 reinforcements that didn't get posted, and a AAR in note form here somewhere, I'm also working on things i have of other peoples that i feel guilty for having had for so long and not finished. you know who you are.

there are some wolves on the block too, – I'm hoping to “finish” the wolves before guard or orks get a new codex and models, cos that could be uguly :)

StormTalon Conversion

Seems the internet is full of those, cos apparently, like me, not many people like the “stubbyness” of the original.

I used a little plasticard and putty, but mostly the original parts in the kit. All I did, was alter the stuff I didn't like.

for me, the tail was too short, so I took the tail section of the end of the fuselage and rebuilt it as an add-on to the end, rather than being above and below it. if you have one, you can see the three tail section pieces in their new position.

I repositioned the weapons as the original was way too nose heavy.. the guns went back into the body more, with the carriage rebuilt and the feet moved off, away from being placed on the ball jointed gun. *ahem*

The rocket pods went under the wing.. as they wouldn't be direct fire anyway I figured that they'd be on a slightly vectoring wingtip wouldn't matter..  the vehicle got a space wolf pilot and icon too. stay tuned for my thoughts on allies to see why ;)

So there you have it, my take on the StormTalon I prefer the lines Ive adjusted it to here, but I’ sure there are lots of opinions out there, so please feel free to share.

While you ponder, here are some more pics.

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Other bloggers aren’t cannibals*

*Mostly. (not a guarantee,excommunicate traitoris takes no responsibility for other bloggers who choose to visit with people who may or may not be cannibals)

last weekend I jetted off down a very wet M42 to meet with a few fellow bloggers and roll some dice. Zzzzzz was our gracious host, also in attendance were Admiral Drax (who I found out was at the same uni at the same time as me, for a year. bloody odd place this world.) and Sovietspace who has a new, beautifully painted nurgle army led by an evil thing I'd never seen fielded before.

I took some pictures, but my blackberrycrappycam and the lighting did not aid me in my reportage.

The day saw Drax and I on the side of the imperium, while Zzzzzz and Sov took on the more disloyal side of the fence.

Zzzzzz’s own blog already has a lovely account of the combat patrol we played, in which Drax’s guard gunline climbed out of the trenches and walked slowly towards the enemy, strangely prevailing almost totally unsupported for three turns until my air cavalry arrived in the proverbial nick of time. (actually, probably a bit late, but hey )

We then played a crazy apoc game which saw scores of valks, tanks and light armour, and no less than three super heavies (two Baneblades and a Stormlord)

It was really good to meet everyone and to get some gaming in, I don't do enough of it.

Rest assured these pictures don't do it justice.

Nurgle Demon Prince Sculpt Step by step

Okay, I took step by step pics of the Critter as I worked on it, I’m going to post these with some commentary in the hope that it helps someone, or is at the least useful.
I wont call this a tutorial, because I feel it’s more a record of what was done, rather than a guide as to how to, but I’m more than happy to answer any questions arising from this post.


The raw ingredients as it were. Two arms, a torso front and a head from the DP box. Leftovers from a friend's build.



 
Step one was to create an armature for the legs I would build and mix some putty, Here I am using magic sculp from sylmasta.com It’s a good product, softer than GS buit sets rock hard, it blends with water and works like softer, finer milliput. (man that read like an advert, I swear I’m not on commission)

I really roughly block out the shape and pose of the legs and at this stage I attached the loincloth I found in the DP box.


Once all this was set, I started in with GS to define the parts more, trying to rough out the shapes for armour plates. the legs needed to feel like 40k legs, as the only part I had from the box for 40k were the mutated backpack vents.


 
While this cures I start on the weapons, giving the axe a blade from a sentinel, and making it look as much like a scythe as I can. also I make a tube from evergreen plastics (available at all good local hobby stores ;) ) and decide then to “borrow” the forge world idea for the DP as a thing that spews unpleasant fluids.



A more pronounced tummy is blocked in, and a rough back formed, with an barrel embedded in it. at this stage also the parts I intended to use for the rest of the model were impressed into the still wet upper body to provide guides later


 


While this sets up  the base is given a little detail


 


I sculpt some lower legs




Then I test fit the parts so fat with blu tak

The lower legs receive some additional sculpted detailing and the feet are given some form.
Additional bitz are added, such as the guitar wire and the second barrel, rivet heads also help out the kneepad.
At this point I also add the intestines, formed from sausages of GS and attached to the model.

Once this is all set, holes are excavated and will later be resculpted to look like wounds or fissures. additional guitar wire tubes are added.

 
I didn't like the original head so at this point I sculpted another, using a pin head to try and create faceted eyes.


Some of the limbs are added and worked in with Greenstuff
The arm got the pin vice and guitar wire treatment, in order to provide a link between the barrel of goo on his back and the nozzle in his arm. additionally, saggy fluid filled puss sacks are sculpted on to provide interest and painting opportunities later.
This is also the stage during which the surface of the stomach is added over the protruding intestines, giving an appearance of a ruptured stomach.
    
The process is repeated on the other side, pinning and gluing the arm then seating it with GS sculpt and finally adding some pus sack details to tie everything in.
That’s pretty much the state he is in at the moment. once I have some distance I will return to him for detail and finishing then move to paint.
Hope you found the post interesting, if not useful and as always, Thanks for Reading.