Joining the 21st Century

 

I had a fiddle with some settings today and have set it up so that future blog posts will be reblogged on both facebook and twitter. (links below)

http://www.facebook.com/ExcommunicateTraitoris

https://twitter.com/Karitas19

 

I don’t know how many of you reading this might be interested in such things (answers on a postcard please) but it was fairly painless to set up, and If I put in a wee bit of effort to add a few people on there, it might get the readership up.

I’m closing in on 400 subscribers, that’s a huge deal for me. I started doing this as a way to shout into the dark about what I was doing and it’s given so much back to me.

Any suggestions for something to do to celebrate finding 400 people will be considered :)

I feel slightly odd saying that, as this blog isn't like a lot of the high readership blogs out there, I don't do commissions or have a company or product to promote, nor do I do “news” and use that to attract advertising revenue, in point of fact this blog hasn't earned me a penny. and at about 10k views a month it probably never will, bit I digress and that isn't why I do this.

I blog because it gives me a forum to share my hobby a way to help people out form time to time and a place to have an adult conversation.. like a good pub, rather then the thumping screaming nightclubs that the forums can be.

On that note, anyone with any requests for tutorials or demos/articles, I’d love to hear them.. I’m even open to a Q&A.. the reason I say that is because a great deal of what I do and how I work is already documented here in tutorial form.. I’m a bit at a loss as to what yo demo for you that I havent already shown you…

Maybe a tutorial page to bring it all together.. hm.. let me know what you want to read from me.. it would help.

So yeah, here we are adding a few more ways to read the blog.

I might even get a smrt phone…

 

As always thanks for reading,, even if this one is a bit of a ramble…

coming up soon, a few space wolves vehicles, more work on the titan, some TWC finally and maybe a vid of a finecast Thunderfire cannon… just need to get all of those finished and off the bench into the display case……

Space Wolf Allies

What? oh, C’mon.. the chance to add a few new models? of course I am thinking about allies.

I started with models I already had.

Imperial Guard

I have a fairly large guard army, and the cheapness of the stuff.. for the firepower you get.. it’s just wrong. example, two veteran units, primaris Psyker and two vendattas… sure you could bump those up to three and still be inside the forge org for allies.. but wait..In the heavy slot you could add three leman russ MBT’s.. or three Hydras… and a psyker battle squad in the elite slot.. wow.

Add some cheap enginseers to help out your vehicles and backfield shooters…

And we haven't even discussed artillery. this codex is the ultimate for power gamer mining outside of the GK it’ presents an awful lot of options.

But.

My guard are painted in desert colours.

And my wolves have snow bases.

that, right there.. I can’t do that. Maybe somewhere down the line I’ll add some vostroyans or vallhallans.. or model up some housecarls.. but nope, wont be using guard right now.

Grey Knights

No.

I have an old Inquisition army, that’s how this blog started and why it’s called what it is, a radical inquisitor… but I cant bring myself to play from the fromagerie that is the GK codex.. and I know that sounds rich coming from a guy with wolves and guard.. but there it is..

also, GK aren't battle brothers with wolves.

Maybe later.

Space Marines

Here’s a nice option, and one of the two I intend to explore.

Battle brothers, check, able to still model them as Space Wolves and therefore keep using the models in the core army.. check..

So..

Fast, Scoring, T5, shooty and survivable in assault.. awesome. also opens up the stormtalon, a much needed anti air unit for the Space Wolves.. space marine captain with relic blade, sgt with fist, MM attack bike and a Meltagun and flamer in the squad..

I still have a spare vanilla biker so I can still run the unit as swiftclaw if I swap him out for a special.

Only question is whether to use Khan.. with the cap added to the squad and the talon escorting that’s a decent blob to come in from outflank…

Blood Angels

More battle brothers.

 

Let’s first consider a cheap option I already have the models for. I mean sure, we can talk about death company in stormravens modelled as wulfen, and we might have to go there.. but for now, lets look at:

Assault squads, x2 5 man, melta or flamer, led by a libby.

can still model them as wolves, can still use them as sky claws and rune priest..

and two of my favourite words.. fast.. scoring…

sure I could run a single squad and combat squad them.. I could do that twice and get twenty of these blokes on the boards.. but this is a decent start..

Also.. I could run a Baal pred…… assault cannons are going to rule this edition, I can feel it :)

 

Heres the quick libby conversion I put together wile considering this.

Deathwing

The last viable option in my mind, and still a bit out there as Dark Angels aren't battle brothers..

 

Worthy of consideration I believe because cheap, scoring hammernators are going to be everywhere this edition, and one of the best counters.. is more cheap, scoring hammernators.. :)

This one doesn't open up much though, and while the scoring part is nice, wolf guard are still a viable option. Its a nice idea, but I like speeeed….

So the Space marine and Blood angel codices will be the ones I explore..

I haven't included templars not least because I don't know the codex well, but moreover because I feel the above offers better options than anything that codex could offer.

so let me know your thoughts, am I derranged? am I heading for trouble modelling my allies the same as my core army? should I consider GK codex options?

What units should I consider acquiring and modelling next? a Space Wolves Baal pred? more bikers? Wulfen in a stormraven?

I’m just full of questions today, huh? :)

How to base a Titan?

A question, rather than an answer.. or a tutorial.. but also, my WIP take on basing for a titan.

It’s been a bit quiet on the blog the last couple of weeks, blame work, a combination of an external examiner for my HE program and an end of year show for my 100+ Games students means I didn't get much time.

I did however pick away at this problem.. I didn't feel I could start building ZZzz’s Titan until I had the base sorted, because that speaks both to pose and to security of attachment, he had already said he didn't want anything too ornate, or los blocking, and that it often looks daft when a model is carrying a huge amount of scenery with it everywhere it goes.

I however couldn't just slap a model of this scale and magnificence on a flocked green bit of hardboard, so here’s my WIP take on getting it right.

I include the Elysian for scale :)

There's a single small structure in the top left corner, and the rest depicts a road intersection. the streetlights will have osl, and they will be better embedded in the surface.

Ive a lot of putty work to do to tidy and seal edges and to enhance the rubble piles.

 

The big flat area of wall here will get some imperial propaganda posters in scale, and I am toying with the idea of finding or scratch building a suitable scale civilian vehicle to be a wreck, possibly even underfoot.

Here’s some of the development.

Once I had the idea in my head, i sketched it onto the formed hardboard sheet, and started to make the main structural elements.

the embossed brickwork is scribed onto peeled foam core with a pencil and blade.

 

the flagstones are a mix of poster board and cereal box

you can see the foam core structure in the back and the double height poster board kerbstones

       

A liberal coating of PVA and ballast makes a reasonable tarmac analogue

So there we have it so far. still in progress, but I think, showing direction, I may add some signs of corruption to the city as I must bear in mind that this work and this titan are under the influence of the red god!

I might get some more bits done over the weekend, as its my birthday, so along with having a sneaky day off today, I’m at liberty for the weekend too :)

and a few short weeks remain before the holidays, which seem to get shorter every year.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and feel free to offer comment on the direction of this odd base.. a base for a titan!

A question about Bran Redmaw

 

Oh and .. KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

Yeah, so a week after my typing “I did think about using a nice dynamic sculpt like Khan as the basis of this, but ya know, he’s mail order only.. and metal” they go and release a finecast. dammit. never mind, I’m committed now.

So I was doing some GS groundwork, I put in the shape of his loincloth (fur to follow) and started on his beard.. with the intention of adding flowing hair..

But he’s been sat on my desk a week now as a baldie, and I'm not sure if it’s not the way to go..

here’s a black and white close up, so the green isn't distracting

So whaddya think? Is Bran Redmaw Bald? or do I carry on with hair?

New Banner?

I’m considering changing the banner above.. it doesn't reflect my main in development armies anymore, and on what is becoming a very busy blog, I feel I need something a little more simple,

I knocked this up earlier, and wanted to garner any thoughts from you. which you prefer, pointers for development, imagery, typography colour/b&w etc etc..

It’s a characterful leader(ish) type from each of my 40k armies… and should tone in with the BG colour of the site.

I’d like to hear your thoughts..

Brushes.. What’s the Diff?

My recent post about brush sizes made me think and so I ordered a few brushes….

I’ve been using Windsor and Newton series 7 brushes for about ten years. sure I use cheapo synthetic brushes for suicide missions and as dry brushes and stipplers etc, but any “proper” painting has been with the W&N.

You’ll see also from an earlier post that I’ve been using size 0 as my “goto” size, with smaller for more detail. and if you read that post you'll see I went up to a size 1.

This change, and subsequent improvement in my painting, even if it’s only “feel” has led me to re-examine my other “known truths”

You see it was a “known truth” to me that size 0 was the best for basing and general use.

I decided to question my choice of manufacturer and subsequently ordered a 1 and 00 from both DaVinci and Raphael.

the first thing you’ll notice is the size diff.. now there isn't an industry standard for the brush sizing among different manufacturers. you can see this here. (scale is CM)

 

(top to bottom, Cheap synthetic, Da Vinci, Raphael, W&N series 7)

You can see there's not a lot in it.

The Raphael range is noticeably much larger for the “same” sizing. the davinci is the smallest of the four, and the girth as well as bristle length varies. you can see that all three sable brushes have decent tips, but the synthetic is hooking.

The 00 again show large variance, with the raphael noticably larger.

(top to bottom, Davinci, W&N, Raphael)

in fact when we put the Raphael 00 next to a da Vinci 1…

And when you start using these brushes you notice further differences.

The larger Raphael has a very soft tip, with good spring. it’s long hairs and good flexibility reward a firm controlled use of quite wet paint. my only criticism is that the tip on the 00 isn't as crisp as the others. my conclusion – excellent base and wash brushes, good for all painting if you use the juices technique and use with dilute paint for best performance.

W&N I've used for a long time, and can be considered my baseline. it’s hard to fault these brushes. if you overload them of course they will splay at the tip, and they need to be looked after, but they have good firm spring and hold fluid very well.  the substantial feel of the heavily lacquered handle is something the other brushes don't match as well, and as a result it feels the best constructed of the three.

da vinci brushes seem very comparable to the W&N in both size and feel. as above they feel a little lighter and less substantial through the handle but the bristles are good quality, hold paint well and hold their tips well.

baseline cheap synthetic. utterly horrid. hooking at the tip after 1 use, splaying with minimal water on the bristles. ugh.

Basically, any of the three ranges will reward you, they are all good quality brushes with noticeable differences in size, and between the W&N/Davinci little difference in feel, whereas the Raphael does give you something different. which you choose, would I think be down to personal preference.

I think I’ll be using the Raphael's when I work wet more often, and the more solid brushes for thicker pigments and smaller details.

The Bolter Colour Heresy

Eep.

I didn't expect that.

Seems lots of people while they like my wolf guard definitely think that the storm bolter should be a different colour.

So many in fact that it gets it’s own post.

Now, I did make the decision for a reason, and I’m going to try to explain, not to convince you all that I’m right, but so that we can have reasoned debate on the subject and so that you all have the information that I’m working from.

In my mind there are three possible colours that a Wolf Guard bolter could be, Yellow, Red or Black.

Yellow

I decided against using yellow because I was worried that with me using nmm gold it might be “read” as more gold, but badly done.. also the colour doesn't appear anywhere else on the model. now I could remedy that as wolf guard pack markings are yellow and black, so I could get some in, but that NMM/Yellow clash fear is still there

Red

This colour really isn't anywhere on the model, and it would be adding another, model that doesn't really “fit” in the scheme, you see gold and blue are complimentary, they work well together, red really doesn't fit in that picture in my mind.

Black

And black. which would make sense, he has a black shoulder pad, it wouldn't clash colour wise.. but.

I’m using NMM for the metals, including the silver. so I’d have to not highlight or blend the black at all, or run the risk again that it would look like more metal.. so its have to just have an edge highlight, and I was worried that basic pant might throw off what I was trying to achieve with the model.

I tried it on my grey hunters, and I'm not sure how successful it is..

On this guy it works because of the gold border, not sure how well it works without it..

So there are some mock ups and a catalogue of my worries about the different possibilities.

In the face of them I went with armour-colour, as a last question on top of those other points..

Do you think it needs to be another colour because you think it would look better, or simply because they usually are?

Help me Prioritise

I have a few hobby tasks ahead of me in the next few days and I was considering tutorialising (if that’s a word) some or all of them.
I’m looking for a bit of input on which i should get done and uploaded first. I might even make a poll :)
I basically need to build a few guardsmen (to replace the test models from my earlier post)
I was considering doing a very basic build tutorial.
I need to paint a few, so was thinking about a tut for faces, and one for the camo I am using.
I also need to paint a few vehicles, and though there is a chimera tut on here, I’ve learned a lot since then, so might run through that.

Prioritise me

Aha, it worked, a poll :)
feel free to let me know as I said I’ll probably work on all of them, but prioritise the one that gets the most interest :)

100 posts, and some questions.

So this is the 100th post.
I didn't make a fuss when I passed the year of being back in the hobby milestone. Nor when I passed the year of blogging milestone, so why 100 posts.
Well I didn't really know with the previous markers what to do to “make a fuss”. I let 150 followers slip by uncommented too.
I see a lot of blogs doing giveaways, but I don't know what I’d give away, and what if the winner lives somewhere like Kuala Lumpur?
I suppose I've some things I could part with, or do.
I could offer to make a “winner” a guard character (orgryn excluded) in my own kitbashed style.. or make them a priest to my new template :)
I’ve enough bits to build someone a Mordheim warband or two.
I could put almost a greatsword regiment together, or almost an empire militia band (I've nicked a few bits but largely the boxes are intact) I might even be able to manage a marauder horseman unit.
but most of those are Fantasy units, and this blog is 90% 40k, so it wouldn't feel quite right I don't think.
So I guess the first question is.. what would you guys like me to do? anything? nothing? something I’ve suggested above? something you’ve thought of?
Obviously anything out of range of my current funds will have to be disregarded. I’d love to be able to offer up a baneblade but I don't earn that kind if cash:) but anything else will be given serious consideration. and if there's a few good ideas I’ll put up a poll.
I want to get this going quick though as the original intention was to give it away on my birthday (no, I’m not a hobbit) but I'll settle for as close to it as I can get.
the other part of the line of questioning is thus -
there are 155 people following this. that’s amazing, it tells me I must be doing something worth reading, BUT I’m sure there's stuff I can do better.
I want you to tell me.
help me make the next 100 posts more readable, more interesting.. just.. more. :)

En Guard!

I know, that’s not how it’s spelled.
First, an apology. It’s been a while since I posted the trukk, but the reason is not much has happened hobby wise.
Work became insane, with end of year marking going ballistic and preparations for the exhibition.
Summer arrived, meaning lots of work in the garden, and much sitting in the sun reading (Ravenor omnibus, worthy of words, but not till I’m done)
Also, Red Dead Redemption arrived. and I’m a big western fan.
I do have a few offerings however from the hobby frontline, and I also seek opinions.
I painted another Ork.


Yeah, only one, but I tried to capture it on film. I am having some issues with my webcam and interference form my desk lamp, so I need to fix that.
anyway I’ll try and get that footage sorted soon.
now, I seek opinions and the title of the post becomes clearer.
If you’ve been reading my blog a while you might remember this guy-
 
 
At the time I painted him I really wasn’t happy, with either the scheme or the terrible job I did on it. I even had trouble photographing him, cursed mini. so I left the guard alone a while as I was at a bit of a loss, but recently I dug out a few minis and tried a few test schemes, only two, but I was looking for some feedback from you for a direction.
the first of the new blood,
 
 
A desert/wasteland feel, on red earth similar to the Orks I’ve been doing, maybe there's some terrain for those in my future.
the second of the new blood,

 
 
A more woodland feel, something like the Action men I had as a child :)
So there you have the two new guys.
I’m looking for some help here, which direction do you prefer? please don't judge on the basis of the paint jobs, these are very quick rough jobs, the Urban/Winter look of the top guy is still in the running even, it’s more about colours, patterns etc, and I’d also love to hear any refinements, you know, “grey guy, but with darker armour” etc. I’ll try a couple out, and by the end of this have both a scheme and a rogues gallery of differently coloured IG I don't know what to do with :)
Anyway I hope that update amused you for a few minutes, and I promise I’ll try to do better :)