Dakka Dakka Daz

WiP Sanguinary Priests & Blood Rodeo

2010-12-20T10:24:00.006+10:00

Hi guys,

Due to some flak I have been receiving for playing a mech army with my gaming group I have decided to build and play a Crimson Fist assault based jumper and biker army - using the Blood Angel Codex. The army list I am using is Kirby’s Blood Rodeo from the blog 3++ is the new black – I just loved the style of the army and want to give it a go. The army list is as follows:

2000 Pts - Blood Angels Roster - Blood Rodeo

HQ: Librarian (1#, 135 pts)
1 Librarian @ 135 pts (Blood Lance; The Sanguine Sword)
1 ...in Power Armour (Space Marine Bike; Bolt Pistol; Force Weapon;)

HQ: Librarian (135 pts)
1 Librarian (Blood Lance; The Sanguine Sword)
1 ...in Power Armour (Space Marine Bike; Bolt Pistol; Force Weapon;)

Elite: Sanguinary Priest (3x Priests, 255 pts)
1 Sanguinary Priest in Power Armour (Jump Pack; Lightning Claw;)
1 Sanguinary Priest in Power Armour (Jump Pack; Lightning Claw;)
1 Sanguinary Priest in Power Armour (Jump Pack;)

Elite: Terminator Assault Squad (225 pts)
4 Terminator with Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield
1 Sergeant (Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield)

Troops: Assault Squad (245 pts)
9 Assault Squad (Bolt Pistol x7; Chainsword x7; Meltagun x2;)
1 Sergeant (Hand Flamer x1; Power Fist x1)

Troops: Assault Squad (245 pts)
9 Assault Squad (Bolt Pistol x7; Chainsword x7; Meltagun x2;)
1 Sergeant (Hand Flamer x1; Power Fist x1)

Troops: Assault Squad (140 pts)
4 Assault Squad (Meltagun;)
1 Sergeant (Unit Melta Bombs; Hand Flamer x1; Infernus Pistol x1;)

Fast Attack: Bike Squad (310 pts)
7 Bike Squad (Meltagun x2;)
1 Attack Bike (Multi-Melta;)
1 Sergeant (Power Fist;)

Fast Attack: Bike Squad (310 pts)
7 Bike Squad (Meltagun x2;)
1 Attack Bike (Multi-Melta;)
1 Sergeant (Power Fist;)

Total Roster Cost: 2000

Now before some people out there squeal - don't bother. As you may know I am all for using a marine army in a number of incarnations as there is so much cross over and I am not about to buy a new fleet of Rhino's or Bikes just to paint them another colour. GW gets enough money out of me. :)

So I have been madly building assault marines and have just finished my three Sanguinary Priests to use in the army. I first saw this style of Sanguinary Priest on the Painting Corps blog who found it on The Standard Template Construct. I loved this little kit bash so had a go at making my own versions from various SM box sets.

Anyway, here they are:

I am now working on building the Librarians on bikes before moving onto finishing the bike squads.

I have been in a bit of a hobby rut for the past few weeks so I am going to build as much up as I can while I am on a bit of a roll - I just hope the bits I have ordered come through before the Christmas break.

Back in the Country!

2010-11-06T22:38:00.002+10:00

Hi guys,

Just to let you know that I am back in Australia after a 7 week holiday in Europe; so once I am over the jetlag I will be hitting the paintbrush again with a vengeance as I am pumped.

I got to spend some time at Warhammer World and visited a stack of GW stores all over Europe so I want to hit everything while the motivation is cooking.

Librarian Progress - More WiP

2010-08-29T20:52:00.003+10:00

Hi guys,

Got a little more done on the Librarian. I ended up removing the giant book on top of his shoulders as it was just looking a bit too chunky, so I swapped it for something smaller.

Here are a few more WiP photos.

GW Whats New Today - I am in it today!!!

2010-08-26T09:05:00.005+10:00

Hi Guys,

I am really excited by this so I wanted to share.

I entered my Ork Watch Tower into the new Games Workshop Competition "The Great Gameboard Giveaway", and had it published in the GW "Whats New Today". My cat Dala is also there (if you click on the picture).

Here is the link:
GW LINKY HERE

Some more pictures (including WiP) can be found on my blog here - BLOG LINKY HERE.

Anyway I am just over the moon on this one. It will be very cool if I can win something but I am just really happy to make it onto the corporate website. Now I am going to have to crank out some more terrain. :)

In other news - I will be heading to England soon and will be spending a couple days in Nottingham. Needless to say I will be spending at least a day (or two) at Warhammer World. I will take plenty of photos and if you live over that way and want to have a pint at Bugmans - feel free to drop me a line.

Cheers

Librarian Progress - More WiP - Face done

2010-08-12T09:55:00.004+10:00

Hi guys,

I have been working on the Librarian over the past few days and made some progress.

I am really happy how his face has turned out and slowly working on the other details. I am trying to cover all the details and get them to pre final highlights stage. I went with the librarian yellow on the front of the tunic - as per the codex but decided to go with the red on the back side of the tunic.

I will have a go at some basic free hand detailing to put something on the edges of the red parts of the tunic. Probably just a basic border detail to help break it up.

Initially I really hated painting this model. I guess it is probably due to the amount of detail over the figure but he is starting to grow on me and I am starting to enjoy painting him.

He is still a fair way off but I wanted to share what I have been doing.

On a side note - I will probably not be entering him in at the local painting competition at GW Brisbane. I need to confirm this with the manager - however I have had a few 'discussions' with the staff and now I am lead to believe I will have either purchase a $22 figure in store or have a receipt of one to enter the comp. I explained to the staff member that there is absolutely no mention of this in the flyer (and proceeded to show the staff member said flyer) and they said that I would not be able to enter. I also explained that a mate of mine was planning on entering in the FW Renegade Psyker model - but without a receipt it's a no go.

Anyway...without going on a rant I told them kindly that if that's they way it is they can stick it up their bum in not so many words. The discussions I had with the manager was that these little painting comps were to help foster some community within the store and get gamers excited about the hobby side of things - but again GW turns it into another opportunity to gouge customers...and frankly I can't be bothered pandering to that. Their loss I guess. Anyway - more updates to follow soon.

GW Brisbane Mini-Deamon: Librarian Progress - Vallejo Primer

2010-08-02T11:11:00.003+10:00

Hi Guys,

I finally got to try out the Vallejo Grey Primer through the airbrush yesterday. Since the Librarian model will painted a much brighter blue than the rest of my Crimson Fists I thought it was a great time to have a go at using a non-black undercoat. This is a huge change for me as I have never used anything but a black undercoat for 15+ years.

Here is a quick picture of the Librarian with the grey primer applied.

I am really happy with the result and I think you will agree it came out quite nicely - as primers go. :)

Now just a tiny review of the Vallejo Grey Primer.

Before I used the primer I added a small clear plastic bead to use as an agitator (like I do for most of my paints - especially the Vallejo paints) to help mix the primer fully.
On the instructions it says it can be put straight through an airbrush with out any thinning required. This was in fact true, however in my experience I noticed I had much more success at higher pressures (of around 35psi) with the primer as it seemed to start to block up the airbrush at the sub 30psi pressure. I was worried it would have a powdering texture as It didn't come out quite as smooth as I was expecting but as you can see from the photo - it worked perfectly.

I think next time I will see how it reacts with a slight thinning agent (like Windex) as I am hoping it will help with flow a little bit. Either that or increase the pressure above 35psi again.

Overall I am really impressed with the Vallejo Grey Primer and would recommend you to give it a go. I have had a lot of bad luck of late with spray cans so I have started to explore other products that I can use through my airbrush - mainly for that extra layer of control. I will let you know how I go with the Vallejo Black Primer when I do some more regular marines.

Musings: More Pre-Heresy Forge World Armour Variants

2010-07-31T23:59:00.006+10:00

I am sure Forge World want me to be broke. At this rate...I will be.

Now this models are exciting. These casts look very great and I am looking forward to what else these guys will be putting out.

Its been a long time coming and I just hope they keep releasing more models that can be used for a pre-heresy force. I am really hoping Forge World release Close Combat arms to go with the Mk III.

And after seeing the Mk III armour...I find this. AWESOME!
Its the old school style missile launchers. This really brings back memories of the old RT plastics. :)

I think some World Eaters will be coming sooner than expected at this rate. :)

GW Brisbane Mini-Deamon: Librarian Build Progress

2010-07-29T22:34:00.005+10:00

Hi guys,

I just wanted to post some quick pictures on what I achieved tonight. The Force Spear is just 'blu-tacced' on so please excuse the excess stuff sticking out of the joint.

I actually had my first go at using green stuff tonight (SHOCK HORROR!) for both the Force Spear and Storm Shield arms.

I used a bit on the Storm Shield to slot in a little bit of thick guitar wire to form the join from the piping under the librarians left wrist to the wire cluster below the hand on the shield...you really can't see it so you will have to take my word on it until it is painted. I felt I had to connect it somehow as it looked a bit odd with a gap in that position.

I am still in two minds whether or not to include the big book standard on top of his shoulders at this stage as I normally steer away from banner poles and the like.

Anyway...he is starting to take shape.

Any thoughts or criticisms are welcome.

Cheers,

Agama

GW Brisbane Mini-Deamon Painting Competition

2010-07-28T22:07:00.004+10:00

I was in the Brisbane City GW Store yesterday and they will be doing a monthly mini Golden Deamon each month over the next few months.

I spoke to the manager (Marshall) and there are a couple of reasons for it...
Apparently one of them is that Golden Deamon categories are changing and chunking down a layer (i.e. Cavalry are now included in the single model category) so Marshall thought it would be a great idea to get the local gamers to try their hand at each of the categories each month.

The Brisbane City store will be having a Deamon oriented one for August (due to the new releases I guess) and then will be looking at the various GD categories. The intention is to have a few to be entered into the next big show form the store entries and generally foster some more ‘community’ interaction.

This is great, as I have been suggesting a monthly painting/conversion competition for some time to the manager for no other reason to help give me an incentive. Yes it is a bit selfish...but you get that. :)

Anyway here are the details from the flyer:

Brisbane Mini-Demon
Paint any Deamon or Demon-Slayer model this month to enter this month’s mini-demon.
Your entry can be a single model from either Warhammer or Warhammer 40,000.

Entries must be in by 10pm Saturday 28th August

Anyway I have 4 weeks to get my entry in.

It has been a long time personal goal of mine to actually enter one. Heck I would be over the moon just to make it to round 2!!!

For the August entry I was thinking of entering in a Terminator Librarian with Storm Shield and Force-spear (made from a DA power sword and cut down Force Staff). He will also have to have his Terminator Armour Helmet somewhere on his person as well. I was going to remove the head and place a helmet in...but I do like painting faces as well.

Here is the super early picture of him with the bits I intend on using.

I will keep you posted on the progress.

WiP: Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield Squad & The Thunder Bubble Army List

2010-07-25T21:57:00.014+10:00

Hi Guys,

I got stuck into my Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield squad over the weekend. Well... I got some done but need to place another order to Forge World for some more Crimson Fist Terminator Shoulder pads. Anyway, here is a picture of what I got done. This squad will be the next unit I will paint up and finish right through to completion, as I need to get them onto the table top as soon as I can.

I decided to pin the Storm Shield arms so I can take them off later to make life a bit easier when it comes to paint them. I still need to make three more terminators up for the squad, and work on the bases of the completed ones to add debris (pipes/metal etc) to make them fit a bit better with Sergeant from Space Hulk - Sergeant Gideon.

I magnetised the base for Sergeant Gideon so I can use him for both Space Hulk and 40k. He will still need a bit of 'sand' on the base yet but I have added some plates, guitar wire, pipes and a few bits from the GW Basing Kit for detail. Here is a picture of the base separated.

My plan is to get all the Space Hulk Terminators done this way...but well...you know me...as fast as a wounded sloth. I really love the Space Hulk Terminators and want to include them in my Crimson Fist army. I will be removing some of the Blood Angels bits and bobs, but I decided to leave Gideon's details on. I will just paint the 'blood drops' as 'tear drops' or something. Either way...the model is great and I want to see him in play more often rather than just in Space Hulk. I figure he can lead the other combat squad in my army.

I have been a bit scatter-brained of late with my modelling & painting (or lack there of) so I gave myself some focus. I want to get my version of the Thunder Bubble Army finished before I go overseas in 8 weeks. Its a bit of an ask but I can try anyway. This is the list I plan on building and running for a bit.

2000 Pts - Space Marines Roster - Thunder Bubble

HQ: Space Marine Librarian (100 pts)
1 Space Marine Librarian (Null Zone; The Gate of Infinity)
1 ...in Power Armour (Bolt Pistol; Force Weapon)

Elite: Terminator Assault Squad (400 pts)
9 Terminator Assault Squad @ 400 pts (Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield x9;)
1 Sergeant (Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield x1;)

Elite: Dreadnought (125 pts)
1 Dreadnought (Twin Linked Autocannon; Twin Linked Autocannon)

Elite: Dreadnought (125 pts)
1 Dreadnought (Twin Linked Autocannon; Twin Linked Autocannon)

Troops: Tactical Squad (175 pts)
4 Tactical Squad (Bolter x4;)
1 Sergeant (Combi-Flamer x1;)
1 Razorback (Lascannon and TL Plasmagun)

Troops: Tactical Squad (170 pts)
4 Tactical Squad (Bolter x4;)
1 Sergeant (Bolter; Melta Bombs;)
1 Razorback (Lascannon and TL Plasmagun)

Troops: Tactical Squad (165 pts)
4 Tactical Squad (Bolter x4;)
1 Sergeant (Bolter;)
1 Razorback (Unit Lascannon and TL Plasmagun)

Troops: Tactical Squad (165 pts)
4 Tactical Squad (Bolter x4;)
1 Sergeant (Bolter;)
1 Razorback (Unit Lascannon and TL Plasmagun)

Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (140 pts)
2 Land Speeder Squadron (Multi-Melta x2; Heavy Flamer x2;)

Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (90 pts)
1 Land Speeder Squadron (Unit Heavy Bolter x1; Typhoon Missile Launcher x1;)

Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (90 pts)
1 Land Speeder Squadron (Unit Heavy Bolter x1; Typhoon Missile Launcher x1;)

Heavy Support: Predator (85 pts)
1 Predator (Autocannon; Heavy Bolter (each side))

Heavy Support: Predator (85 pts)
1 Predator (Autocannon; Heavy Bolter (each side))

Heavy Support: Predator (85 pts)
1 Predator (Autocannon; Heavy Bolter (each side))

This is a list that I have put together with some help from Kirby over at 3++ is the New Black. Kirby's version of the Thunder Bubble list (LINKY) packs AC/Las Predators but I am still in love with my Dakka Predators (and need more parts to make Las Predators anyway). My local play group consists of Orks and Tyranids so the extra anti-personal fire power helps.

Previously I was running a Crusader and only 5 TH/SS Terminators but Kirby and the other guys on his blog did have a good point about one rock unit being easy to counter... so now I have a 3++ screen in front of my gun line. I hope it will run a bit better now. I just need to get some games in to see how it goes. At least with the Librarian I can gate them around if I need to get somewhere in a hurry. :)

Anyway, that's what I got done this weekend. Just thought I would share. :)

PS - I edited the blog as I noticed I let a few grammar errors. Sorry guys.

Musings: Forge World Pre-Heresy Armour, World Eaters & Angron

2010-07-23T09:56:00.009+10:00

I am sure many of you have already seen the recent Forge World newsletters; but I really wanted to say that I am soooo excited about glimpses of Pre-Heresy Armour.

I have really wanted to do a Pre-Heresy Marine army for quite some time and have been slowly stockpiling bits (resin rivets, helmets, chests etc) to make up some Mk IV & V armour. But with the glimpses we have seen so far it might be a far cry easier time wise to wait it out to see what goodies Forge World release. Now we know that the next Imperial Armour book wont be a Heresy or 30k based one (*sad panda*) but overall I don’t really care if I can get the bits to make some sweet looking pre-heresy at a reasonable price (Forge World reasonable price – lol – its like black tar heroin).

Time is something I am short of all the time – hence why I am so slow at doing things.

If you haven’t already seen them here is a picture of the Mk V helmet:

And one of the Mk III Helmet

Personally I have wanted to do small Pre-Heresy World Eater army (using the new Blood Angel Codex) and have even picked up one of the Ronin Primarch models to represent Angron himself. I also figure doing World Eaters would be a great excuse for me to develop my painting skills as I am forced to paint White on a large scale – something that I have always steered away from – that and yellow!

I figure to represent Angron on the table I will use him as a counts as Librarian Mephiston. Now before you groan here me out. Mephistons stats are pretty much the same as Angron as a Daemon Prince and his ‘Psychic Powers’ can be represented by physical traits for a primarch easily – especially one that is a bit crazy like Angron and full of rage.

Let’s take a quick look.

Mephiston – 250pts
WS7 BS5 S6 T6 Wo5 I7 A4/5 Ld10 Sv2+

Equipment: Force Sword, Plasma Pistol, Frag & Krak, Artificer Armour, Psychic Hood
Special Rules: ATSKF, Fleet, Transfixing Gaze, Psyker

Psychic Powers:

The Sanguine Sword:
This power is used at the start of either player's Assault phase. The Librarian's close combat attacks are made at S10.

Unleash Rage:
This power is used at the start of either player's Assault phase. the Librarian and his unit have the Preferred Enemy special rule until the end of the turn.

Wings of Sanguinius:
This power is used in the Librarian's Movement phase and lasts for the rest of the turn. It allows the Librarian to move as if he had a jump pack. A Librarian riding a bike that uses this power moves as if he was riding a jet bike

Now…my rational:

Transfixing Gaze: He is a Primarch so he is damn scary – re-rolling to hits and wounds seems appropriate as someone cowers before him.

Sanguine Sword: He also is known to be a storm of rage and hence can channel that rage into raw strength – Hence S10.

Wings of Sanguinius: A little harder to justify…but again massive feats of strength. I figure it can be justified by him just leaping straight at the foe. He is an ex gladiator and doesn’t wear bulky armour like some primarchs

Now..for the force sword – again channelling his hate he twists the blade, cuts out the enemy’s heart with Gorechild…whatever really. Just represented by a psychic test in the game.

Psychic Hood: As we know – Khorne hates magic and later on he actually has a collar of Khorne. I justify this as the Khorne protecting his future champion with a 24” zone that can stop some magic/psychic force.

I hope it doesn’t look like too much of a stretch but Mephistons powers seem more ‘phyiscal’ representations of strength, rage and hate more than anything else. For a personal body guard I figure I can have a small unit of ‘counts as’ Sanquinary Guard follow him around. He can’t join the unit directly though because of his rules – but let’s face it…I think he would be easy to pick out in a force anyway. Given that he doesn’t have an invulnerable save and can’t hide in a unit - I think he is pretty balanced…at 250pts he can still just be gunned down pretty easy.

Anyway, the rest of the codex would be pretty cool to use as a World Eaters army since they can have lots of assault squads as troops (with and without jump packs) and Berserker Squads can be represented Death Company as well. Doing a themed army like this probably wont be winning any tournaments – but hey – it should look sweet on the table.

Prototype Thunder Cavalry Model Arrived!!

2010-07-21T20:56:00.006+10:00

Hi guys,

Well I got my prototype Thunder Lizard Cavalry model in the post today.
As discussed before, I am planning on using one of the Gamezone Predator Lizards as a 'counts as' Thunderwolf model for my Crimson Fist Army.

I quickly blu-tac'ed the figure together and used a set of the Ravenwing biker sergeant legs to quick a quick feel if it will work... and it will!!!

HUZZAH!!!

Here are a few photos with Sergeant Grimm to give you an idea of scale:

I really think it will be able to work.

Now the next question is do I use the robed legs (and that would mean robed chest as well) or just modify some regular biker legs. I had no intention of using the robes for the cav, but I am now leaning that way as it will make them stand out even more - besides riding a big ass raptor! - but I think it will actually look pretty nice.

Thankfully the Predator model has the rider as a completely separate piece. I was a little worried I would have to grind off some Dark Elf legs but it looks pretty straight forward to be honest.

The only other problem is that that the Gamezone model will need a bit of putty work as there will be some major gaps otherwise. I can live with that.

Overall I am really happy with the Predator model as a base as it is nicely detailed and looks very aggressive. I think the scale will be spot on for my marines. Let me know what you guys think?

PS - Here is a LINK to the painted predator pic I used from CMoN.

Deathwatch Kill Team - WiP - Sergeant and more marines

2010-07-20T15:49:00.008+10:00

Hi guys,

I got a few more marines completed now.

Here they are:

Crimson Fist Sergeant - Combi-Flamer / Powerfist

I was lucky to pick this games day sergeant off ebay and have been looking forward to having him done up for a Kill Team. Really looking forward to painting him up. Still thinking of a name.

I am happy with the combi-flamer. Its pretty hard to see in the picture but it is done in the same style as my previous attempt for Sergeant Grimm - LINKY

Blood Angel Marine - Combi-Melta

Here is my second attempt at a combi-melta.

Space Wolf Marine

Nothing special to write about...but I like this guy.

Wolf Brother Marine

I originally had this guy with a chain sword in his left hand but it looked a bit funny so I replaced it with an Auspex instead. I think it looks a bit better with the looking down pose.

Soul Drinker Marine

---
Well this rounds out the first five done. I am going to work on another five or so then attack them with paint.

Deathwatch Kill Team - Soul Drinker

2010-07-18T19:04:00.006+10:00

Hi guys,

Just a quick WiP photo of my Deathwatch Kill Team. I have built four so far, but I wanted to quickly share my Soul Drinker member armed with a Combi-Melta.

I am pretty happy with the combi-melta overall. He is the first of six to be armed with combi-melta's this way. Initially I was going to use the metal DW bolter as a base but unfortunately the metal bolters are about 1/3 thinner that the plastic ones so the melta part on top wouldn't fit as I intended. Oh well.

I have built up two DW bolter marines (Space Wolf and Wolf Brother) and a Sergeant (Crimson Fist) with a combi-flamer and powerfist. I will post some more WiP pictures soon once I got a combat squad done. I am in the middle of doing a Blood Angel with a combi-melta as well. I am trying to use as many 'embossed' pads as possible.

Other chapters I am thinking of adding will be:

- Black Templar
- Ultramarine (once I can find my embossed UM shoulder pad)
- Imperial Fist
- Flesh Tearer (with a chain axe as well)
- Silver Skulls or Mortis Legion

I plan on using the squad as a 'counts as' Sternguard unit in games and intend on building two full squads once I get some more bits. In the short term I will be using them in some local games as a "kill team" for skirmish games.

Heavy weapons wise, I want to do a marine running with a maybe a box fed heavy bolter (think scouts) to give it that suspensor feeling (from the old DW rules) and probably two heavy flamer marines.

I am two minds for the heavy flamers to be honest as I feel I may be better off with combi-flamers so I can still take advantage of special issue ammunition. I have to make at least one just for the cool factor though. :)

Musings: Had a slight problem this week

2010-07-12T16:44:00.002+10:00

Hi guys,

Just a quick one why I have been very quiet of late on the blog.

I just got out of hospital today after having my appendix removed from emergency surgery. Looks like I got it out just in time as it was ruptured and leaking - just before a full blown blow up. I have been in the hospital for a few days due to the extra risk of infection (from the leaking) while they pumped me full of antibiotics.

Anyway, a routine scheduled immunisation appointment with my GP (as my wife and I are going over to Europe soon) turned into me skipping the shot and being rushed to the emergency department.

I am on the mend now with three extra holes on my belly from the 'key hole' surgery. I don't think I will be at work this week, but I am hoping to knock over some painting if I can sit without too much pain. Got to play it by ear I guess.

Cheers!

Rant: CMoN Issue follow-up - its all sorted now

2010-07-12T16:25:00.008+10:00

Hi Guys,

Just a follow-up to my issue with CoolMiniOrNot. Chern Ann Ng from CMoN was able to sort out a refund for me and a credit for postage. Its probably the best that could be salvaged from an unfortunate turn of events.

Here is the email below:

From: chernann@coolminiornot.com
To:
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2010 00:20:16 -0400
Subject: RE: CoolMiniOrNot Inc.: New Order # xxxxxx

Hi Darrel,

First of all please accept my apologies for this screw up. I believe this happened just as we were transitioning shopping carts and this transaction was cancelled in error along with other test transactions.

I have refunded your transaction as the item is not in stock at currently. Please also accept this coupon for $9 which will defray the cost of shipping on your next purchase:

Best regards,
Chern Ann Ng
Director
CoolMiniOrNot Inc.

I do want to stress that CMoN did respond really quickly on this once I ran the issue up the flag so to speak (yeah yeah...aussies and their stupid metaphors). So, please order with them. My issue definitely looks like it was an isolated 'unlucky' issue. Overall I am very satisfied with the outcome overall.

On a side note CMoN will be organising to have Gamezone figures done in the US so they should be more readily available in the future from August on.

Rant: Thunder Lizard Cavalry hit a Snag

2010-07-06T14:39:00.006+10:00

I am annoyed...nay furious. A little like Mr Furious you could say.

Nothing gets me going more than really crappy customer service.

Anyway, my Thunder Lizard ‘counts as’ Thunder Wolf Cav has hit a snag thanks to the kind folks over at the coolminiornot store. It appears that my recent order for the awesome gamezone lizard cav has been cancelled – and without a refund or any communication at all from the store. Awesome!

I have sent of a not so nice letter to the coolminiornot store asking for a ‘Please explain’ for the lack of communication before kicking off a dispute with the bank.

You see, here in Australia, we are kinda used to not receiving goods from most online stores for anything for three to six weeks. So, since it had been about seven weeks since I placed my order I was about to send coolminiornot an email for a status update. I checked out my account online and to my shock my order was actually cancelled! But it gets better…they didn’t even send me an email to tell me that my order was cancelled or even bother to process a refund. How very nice of the guys.

This is totally unacceptable from any company. Customer service is something I am particularly passionate about so this irks me on several levels.

Anyway, I actually want the model more than a refund as I want to use it as a prototype for my Thunder Cav. And if all goes well and the conversion turns out ok I was planning on ordering 10-12 of these guys – enough for at least two wolf lords, two iron priests and two units of four cav.

I will keep you posted on my ‘experience’.

Have you guys had any positive or negative experiences from the store at coolminiornot?

Hobby: Vallejo Primer

2010-07-06T11:22:00.004+10:00

Well after getting completely jacked off with crappy primer & undercoat sprays I have finally bitten the bullet and got some primer to run through my airbrush.

I picked up both Black and Grey Vallejo Primer to give it a whirl. I will be sticking to black primer for my Crimson Fist marines but will be shifting to grey for any new projects. The primer is ‘airbrush ready’ so should not need any thinning to use. It can also be brushed on as well.

I will let you know how it goes but at $15 for 60ml from a local hobby store - Hobbyrama it seemed reasonable if it works; especially given that it’s just over $30 for about 200ml. WIN!

I have read some mixed reviews on the product but I figure it can’t be worse then the issues I have had with the crappy GW sprays and other ones I have been trying to use. In fact I expect to see an improvement. Will keep you posted – it might even be time for my first review. :)

Daz's Airbrush Learning Curve - III

2010-06-27T22:16:00.005+10:00

Got the next stage done and applied a purple wash. Not 100% happy with it as it left a sort of film on the first few hulls.

The ones that look a little funny were from the first batch of Leviathan Purple I used so I am wondering if something was up with it. I was planning on weathering them anyway so it won't really matter too much.

The only thing I am tossing up at this moment is if I should do the whole hog on the weathering for the rhinos that's outlined in the Forge World Master Class book on not.

See how I go I guess as I don't know if the marine vehicles really lend to that or not.

Daz's Airbrush Learning Curve - II

2010-06-26T16:15:00.005+10:00

Well I have been putting it off for one reason or another... but I finally had a break in the weather and a bit of a high in the motivation!

Six Rhino hulls, four Razorback turrets, one whirlwind turret and a Multimelta Dreadnought all base coated with the airbrush. Huzzah!!

Phase two to begin tomorrow - starting to finish the paint jobs. Mind you...it will take a while as I am not quite sure on the scheme just yet.

Overall I found that for the Games Workshop Foundation paints, you need to cut it at about 1:1 or a bit over with Windex for it to flow nicely through the airbrush.

Didn't have a single blockage all day but I was running it at about 35psi.

Overall a nice WIN!

Musings: Narn Tau?

2010-06-25T21:22:00.012+10:00

Hi guys,

I am hoping to get a good session in with my airbrush this weekend since it has been a few weeks. Got no visitors and the weather is looking promising.

Anyway, in my usual wanderings of the blogosphere I came across The Tau of War. Its a really great little blog.

Anyway...what really caught my eye and was a 'OMGWTFIMUSTHAZIT!!!' moment was a angle on the Tau I have never thought of. Narn-Tau! Check out these Fire Warriors by Old Shatter Hands...

Old Shatter Hands also has a "How to" on his blog - Tau Ethereal Complete on how to paint these boys.

And here is another army shot I was looking at. I love the scheme.

Anyway, what I just loved about it was the Narn racial look (like G'Kar from Babylon 5). Anyway, I have never thought of Tau in that way and it appeals to me much more than the typical blue fish heads to the point I am going to order some Fire Warriors and think I will work on a small Tau force. :)

Here is another picture of the the bad boy again...

Even the Narn colour scheme on the ships looks great and I would be interested in having a go on the Tau tanks and/or battle suits.

Anyway...I just had to share as I was excited. :)

Project Mighty Morphin Power Land Raider - Extra Armour Complete

2010-06-10T22:11:00.008+10:00

Hi guys,

I got the new Forge World Extra Armour kit cleaned up, straightened and glued onto the Land Raider - and all with only one minor stab wound from the scalpel to show for it... :)

The next stage is figuring out how to mount on the Frag Assault Launchers and this will be ready for priming and painting.

I am thinking of cutting the Frag Assault Launchers down to a block of 2x2 instead of the usual 2x3 and fitting them into the recess of the front of the extra armour. I will see how it goes I guess.

Here are a couple pictures anyway.

I will keep you posted on the Frag Assault Launchers.

Forge World Customer Service is Awesome!

2010-06-08T16:07:00.006+10:00

Hi guys!

Well in two weeks after sending my email off to Forge World I had another set of extra armour for my Land Raider. Woot!

I am still in the process of cleaning it up and it will need minor straightening (completely normal) but when I compared it to my other kit it is very clear that the old one did shrink by a fair bit. I am really excited to get this baby finished so I can start the paint.

I am hoping to finish off the cleaning up tonight so I will post some pics once its all done. While I have been waiting for this kit I have managed to finish off two more fully magnetised Landspeeders, which takes me up to four now.

Once again...cheers Forge World for sorting this issue out!

Project Mighty Morphin Power Land Raider - Multi-melta turret complete

2010-05-25T07:52:00.003+10:00

Hello guys,

Just a few more progress shots of my magnetised Land Raider. While I am waiting for the Forge World parts I have continued working on the rest of the Land Raider.

I decided some time ago I was going to use the Forge World Multi-melta Razorback turret (I ordered it nearly a year ago – man I am slow) instead of the standard pintle mount multi-melta that the Land Raider kit comes with. I have just never been a fan of the tanks only anti-armour weapon being a pintle mount…it just doesn’t make sense to me.

It was very easy to fit and just needed a bit of a clean up around the rear hatch and a whole heap of drilling out with a dremel. I made a small template on paper of the turret base and traced around this template with a permanent marker. From there, I drilled a heap of holes about every mm apart on the inside of the traced area. This made it very easy to cut the remaining plastic out of the hull.

Unfortunately the turret hole does go over where the top plate glues to he inner track guards, so be careful with your drill bits if you have a go at this yourself as it would be easy to snap them off when you get to that side as the plastic is about three times as thick. Once the bulk of the plastic has been removed you just need to clean it up with the scalpel and some files.

Easy peasy. Overall I am very happy with the style of multi-melta turret. What do you think?

I also encountered another problem when gluing on the top plate of the hull.

I didn’t glue in the engine block as I want this for some scenery and I have glued the assault ramp together so I don’t need the interior detailing. However, when I glued the two side hulls to the font/bottom hull plates I use a stack of rubber bands and the like to hold it all together. Unfortunately this made the space where the top hull plate glues to the hull a bit too narrow.

I could make the hull fit and when I eventually got it on it was bent slightly along the middle. Anyway, I filed the sides of the top plate and the outer track guards on the side hulls to get it to fit better and disaster was averted. Whew… I was actually quite stressed that I completely balls it up.

While I am waiting on the Forge World Extra Armour kit to be sent I will finish off the Redeemer Flamestorm cannon sponsons and have them magnetised.

Forge World Rocks!!

2010-05-20T22:32:00.005+10:00

Hi guys,

Just a quick one. I got a response from one of the fine fellows over at Forge World tonight and they said that they will be sending me a replacement kit in the mail.

They agree it looks like the Extra Armour kit shrunk more than it should have as part of the cooling process of the resin.

Yet again, the crew at Forge World had been a pleasure to deal with in resolving any hiccups. One of the best out there for their customer service. :)

As soon as I get my hands on the new set expect to see some more updates.

Cheers!

Proto-type for Thunder-Lizard Cavalry Ordered

2010-05-19T21:03:00.005+10:00

Well I picked up one of the Gamezone Predators to have a go at doing a Crimson Fist 'Thunderwolf'. Here is the one I picked up from the CMoN Website.

$20USD + $9 postage to Oz, much better than the $12EUR + $42 postage !!! from direct. WTF?

Anyway, I saw this also on CMoN that I thought I would share as well (you will have to click on it or look at the link).

You can have a look at the thread on this one the following link:

http://coolminiornot.com/70962

Musings: Thunderwolf Cavalry Alternatives

2010-05-19T11:45:00.009+10:00

Hi Guys,

While I wait on a response from Forgeworld on my Landraider woes I have been thinking of other options for my marine army. I guess I am just in a mega build type of mood at the moment rather than paint mode. Anyway, I like the idea of being able to use my Crimson Fists as a 'counts as' any marine army as long as those 'special' units from other codexs are clearly WYSIWYG. For example, Death Company and Thunderwolf Cav are very specific units and should have their own specific special figures. I know some people will cry cheese etc…but to be honest; I pay enough for this hobby and cannot warrant re-purchasing core choices such as dreadnoughts, rhinos, razorbacks, landraiders, landspeeders, bolt gun armed marines, etc etc to basically have a different colour scheme. I guess I am of that school of thought of marines as a 5 in 1 codex. Anyway…moving on *steps of soap box*

I have been thinking of doing some Thunderwolf cav up in my Crimson Fist colours; but blue marines on wolves or that abomination of the Canis Wolfborn model make me die a little bit inside.
That got me thinking about using other mounts. I have seen a one of the guys on the blogs (3+ Save I think) using the Chaos Knights as which looked really sweet but I didn’t want to go that path if I can help it.

What I had in mind were Raptors!! I really enjoyed painting up the lizard scale cloak my Crimson Fist version of Vulkan, so I thought it has to be lizards of some kind.

Initially I was thinking of using the plastic cold-ones from Warhammer Fantasy which left the options of Dark Elves or Lizardmen. The lizardmen ones just look plain goofy to me.

The cold-ones look like they must get on board the short bus to go to school… so they are out. Now the Dark Elves.

Now these guys look mean. The only problem is the scale. I saw another fellow do a conversion on them and although they looked great, they looked like big armoured men riding into battle on a tiny pony.

The Lizardmen also had the carnisaur and I saw an awesome conversion with this on coolminiornot…but at $85 a pop it’s just not an option when I would like to have at least 10 of these guys.

So in a hunt around last night I found another mob: Gamezone Miniatures. Now they have a range of Dark elves riding massive cold ones. They are metal but I am pretty sure I can work with them and it’s a good excuse to get the greenstuff skills up. They cost about $12 Euros a pop so I was thinking of buying one for the hell of it and to give it a go. If nothing else, if it works out I can enter it in the next conversion comp. :)

Have a look at the guys below and let me know what you think. Do you think they could make convincing ‘counts as’ Thunderwolf Cav?

I reckon they look fearsome enough and the size looks much better but again, I need to see them in the flesh and actually mount a marine on one to be sure; but going by the standard cavalry base they are mounted on they look to be at least twice the size of the GW cold one options.

Project Mighty-Morphin Power Landraider - Hit a 'small' snag...

2010-05-17T22:26:00.005+10:00

Hi guys,

I seem to have hit a bit of a problem with the Forgeworld Extra Armour kit. After straightening all the pieces out and cleaning up most of kit I was dry fitting the large side armour pieces (after shaving off some rivets and what not so it would sit flush) and I uncovered a bit of a problem.

You see, I was kinda doing my head in why the sponson mount wasn't fitting very well. I shaved the insides, tried inserting the sponson while the whole piece was still hot and nothing was working. Next I tried one of the Forgeworld Fist doors...still no luck. A normal land raider door even seemed too big. Now I thought this was odd.

Anyway, as I was planning on being able to use the Landraider as a Terminus Landraider as well (the 5 Lascannon mount one) I grabbed one of my Predator side sponsons to see if they would fit and then I noticed the little cut outs that allow for that style of sponson were too small. Well...this is a problem.

Upon closer inspection (I will save you the photos) it appears that the two large side armour plates of the extra armour kit are a fraction too small.

I will send an email off to Forgeworld in the morning and I am hoping they can help (or better yet...replace them).

Has anyone else ever had major problems with this kit? I was really hoping to have this part done but it looks like it wont be happening for a while.

Project Mighty-Morphin Power Landraider - Inner Hull Magnets Complete

2010-05-17T10:50:00.007+10:00

Hi Guys,

Well my plans of airbrushing went to the void again this weekend. It was just too damn cold on the weekend and it looked like it was going to rain so I didn’t want to deal with the humidity as well. So I just whacked on some DVDs and sat down to build some kits while being all rugged up and hanging out with my cats. The painting had to wait again.

I finished off another razorback/rhino conversion (pictures to follow another day) that I wish I did for all my other razorbacks. A few cross beams inside the hull made from spare sprue, a few drilled holes and some strategically placed magnets and I have given myself some more options. Oh well, the benefits of hindsight huh?

Anyway, before I place another order off for some more toys before the impending GW Price rise hits I thought I would start working on my Landraider. I want to be able to use it (and all my land raiders) is a number of configurations. I purchased the Landraider Crusader/Redeemer kit some time ago and the extra Crusader/Redeemer sprue off the GW Site. I also purchased a Crimson Fist Forgeworld door set and the Forgeworld extra armour kit for this beast to fully pimp it out.

Now, I wanted to be able to swap between the redeemer and the crusader and I also wanted to be able to mount the side sponsons in different locations. Personally I love the looks of the sponson mounts to be at the rear but that is plain dumb with the flamestorm cannons since it would barely be able to shoot past its hull and need to be mounted to the front. Anway, without further ado… here is my progress so far.

I decided to place some plasticard in between the two side hull sections to be able to mount the magnets in the centre of each sponson mount. To give this piece the most amount of strength and physical contact to glue; I opted for a single large piece of plasticard with a few little nicks in the top and bottom to allow the small lugs on the kit for the normal inner doors.

Once this piece was glued to the inner side hull I glued the outer hull on and kept it all together with a ton of rubber bands.

Now, the only thing I didn’t really plan on was the distance between the hull magnets (if they are placed on the inside of the plasticard plate) and the sponson magnets. I don’t think there will be enough pull if the magnets are on the inside by the time the extra armour is placed on the hull and the magnet on the sponson. Oh well… I will see how I go; but I decided to place the magnets on the outer side of the plasticard. If they manage to come loose I will have to greenstuff them in a bit better but I have yet to have problems with the superglue giving out.

After the glue set for the magnets I placed on the tracks and the rear engine block and called it a night. I am hoping to attack it again today after work and will start working on the Forgeworld extra armour kit. Unfortunately, mine is pretty warped and will need some work to fit properly and I can’t seem to fit the sponsons through the openings either at this point when I was working on a bit last night. I think a fair bit of shaving on the inside may need to happen, but I am hoping I can make it work a bit better once they have been reshaped a bit from some hot water.

I will keep you posted.

Stronos Razorbacks - WiP

2010-05-07T14:20:00.006+10:00

Hi guys,

Just a short one to show my WiP version of the Stronos Razorbacks with the Lascannon & Twin-Linked Plasma Guns. There are a number of versions out there but this is the style I have opted for.

I cut one of lascannons right back past 'the coil' and tidy up the whole area. The plasma guns are also trimmed right down to suit.

Once I have the rhinos airbrushed (well...once I sort out the mix I need to use) these babies are next in line to be painted.

Just as a little side item to note. I haven't got the 2nd hatches on the hulls as I needed to order some parts due to using up the wrong part on my Dakka Predators. (oops!)

Daz's Airbrush Learning Curve - I

2010-04-27T14:10:00.006+10:00

Been quiet for a bit so I thought I might share my fun and games with the airbrush.

On my first run I used some VGC Scab red and mixed it roughly (probably more than 1-1) in a plastic cup and tipped it into the brush (only about to a third of the cup on the brush). No problems except for running out of paint quick smart and mixing again to finish one half of those modular hills.

Fast forward to Monday... I got all prepped to base coat two Rhinos and spent a good 40 minutes masking up the tracks (next time I won’t bother...I think I will just use some paper to have a moving mask and re-brush the over spray).

I extracted 7ml of Necron Abyss and 3.5ml of the Tamiya Acrylic Thinners using some oral syringes and put the mix into an empty Vallejo bottle. Mixed it up and finished prepping my work area. When I went to put some paint into the cup of the brush it came out OK for about two drops then it came out like a solidified clump mess. Basically like grease. I wasn't impressed - *Sad Panda*.

Anyway, I tried again using Isocol (rubbing alcohol) into a plastic cup at about 1:1 (another 3 ml of Necron Abyss) and the mix still quite thick and had little 'clumps' and chucks of Necron abyss. The GW Foundation really didn't like Isocol.

I got pretty annoyed at this and proceed to pack up and rip the masking tape off the tracks, just in case it got stuck (and taking off the undercoat to boot).

I have since found out that Tamiya Thinners reacts with GW Foundation by forming it into a solid. Apparently water and Windex is the go here. I am really feeling bummed out about the whole exercise right now and nearly just took to the tanks with a brush instead. However, I picked up two more pots of Necron Abyss and will give it another go on the coming weekend.

I will keep everyone posted.

More fun with Magnets - Landspeeder

2010-04-06T10:23:00.007+10:00

Hi guys,

Just another little post on what I have been working on over the Easter weekend. There are plenty of articles around the net on various ways of going ahead with this, however, one thing they have in common is building up the inside wall of the speeder.

One problem I encountered is that the side panels would slide up slightly so I added another little block of plasicard at the top of the interior mount to stop the sides sliding up too far.

Another little think I did differently is I magnetised the mount with the spot light as opposed to the entire assembly. The way I figure it, the spot light could stay even if there isn't another weapon mounted on it at the time. Hopefully it doesn't look too silly to people (feedback please...)

I decided to glue in a pin (from a paper clip) into the hips/chest of the marines so I can still get into the cockpit to paint the interior up. I know most people tend to paint it up then glue it all together, but in my experience that always ends in tears and I have to re-work bits due to glue and the like. Perhaps I am all thumbs or something.

When I start on Landspeeder No. 2 I will take more photos of the construction and put something together. I think my next one will be a lot better and no doubt I will find slightly better ways of doing things (much as I found with my predators).

If you have any tips or "lessons learned" I would love to hear them.

DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA!

2010-03-28T17:21:00.004+10:00

Finally got the three dakka predators put together. Fully magnetised just in case in the future I want to change things up.

Really looking forward to being able to field three of these baby's, and at 85pts a tank they are just too cheap to pass up.

Next.....painting them.

Sergeant Anto

2010-03-22T19:22:00.006+10:00

Hello All,

Been pretty quite on the blog front. Anyway, no excuses.... time for some pics. :)

Introducing Sergeant Anto.

I tried a new technique on the gems and the power axe that I have been reading about. This model has sat being mostly done for well over 6mths just because I just couldn't get the lightning on the axe quite right. It was just frustrating me so much. Overall I am very happy with him and especially the gems.

Apologies if the photos aren't the best as they were taken with my iPhone and I have felt bad for not submitting something for so long.

I have also recently just finished two packets of moonscapes and two lots of the GW modular hill so I will get some pics up of these very soon. Also in the works is a tutorial I have been working on. Its my little trip magnetising up a Predator.

As always C&C welcome.

Sergeant Grimm & Sergeant Segala

2010-02-11T18:17:00.007+10:00

Hi Guys,

Just thought I would share my new newest Sergeants for my Tactical Squads, Sergeant Grimm and Sergeant Segala.

I just finished reading Rynns World and just had to include some of the Sergeants out of the book in my force.

Sergeant Grimm has very minor conversion. It is my version of a combi-flamer. I like the small discrete look over the common bulkier look. I imagine it only has one shot so how much fuel does it really need. :)

And here are a few shots of Sergeant Segala.

As always, C&C welcome.

Introducing Vulkosi & Ancient Polux

2010-01-26T15:13:00.006+10:00

Hi guys,

I finished Vulkosi (counts as Vulkan) and Ancient Polux. All I need to do now varnish them and they are done!

Vulkosi had all the flames ground down (using a dremel) on the inside of the cape and chest. I also removed the Salamander chapter symbol from the belt and replaced it with the tiny fist from the FW Crimson Fist resin purity seal.

Apart from that he also has one of the new command squad conversion banner poles.

Overall I am very happy with him. This was my HQ challenge for the 2010 40k Radio Motivational.

I am not to sure on Ancient Polux's scratches....but I think it looks a bit better.

As usual C&C welcome. :)

Rifleman Dreadnough Update

2010-01-25T23:16:00.004+10:00

Hi guys,

Here is a quick update on my rifleman dreadnought. Unfortunately I haven't done anymore work since the GW store conversion comp, however I would say that he is about 90% finished. I wanted to use the servo skulls that come with the devastator squad box set somewhere in my army so I figured a long range dreadnought is an ideal place.

All that is left is a bit of battle damage and some paint chips / scratches and adding a little bit of grass to the base. Then he is off to be varnished. :)

Anyway, here are some pics of my WiP Rifleman Dreadnought.

C&C welcome.

Happy new year

2010-01-06T13:24:00.006+10:00

Hello everyone.

I hope everyone had a great break.

Just a quick update on things since Christmas.

I ended up winning the Brisbane City Store "Mad Doc Orky Klaw's Butcha Kimpetishun" for my Terminator Champion. The Rifleman dreadnought made it into the comp but a very nice Hive Tyrant took out the Vehicle/Monstrous Creature entry.

The dreadnought will now be getting his battle damage now. :)

I am also hoping to take part in the 40k Radio Painting Motivational this year so have been madly filing away at my Vulkan model to make him less Salamander like and more Crimson Fist like for the HQ choice.

Finally picked up the last bits and pieces to have a go at using paint additives, primarily flow improvers and drying retarders. One of the 40K Radios Freebootaz (Maldus) had a mix that I want to try out and I will report back on how it works out for me.

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-24T12:58:00.005+10:00

Hi Everyone,

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas (or Festivus....for the rest of us!).

Keep safe and have a great one!.

Deathwatch Terminator Champion 'Jurgon'

2009-12-20T21:26:00.008+10:00

Hi guys,

I am a bit behind my schedule so I think I am going to be hard pressed to get the dreadnought done on time, however, I have just finished my Deathwatch Terminator Champion.

I am happy with how he turned out and will have to get onto finishing off the rest of the terminator squad after Christmas. In the meantime he will be my 'counts as' Captain Lysander until I get the real figure painted up.

C&C welcome.

Another Butcha Kimpetishun Update

2009-12-12T20:26:00.005+10:00

Hi Guys,

Just another quick update on my Rifleman Dreadnought entry. I have finished the build and took these photos before taking it downstairs to be undercoated.

I really wanted to get his left leg up that little bit higher than normal so I cut up a Templar Land Raider door to give the model a little bit more movement.

Now its off to painting the Terminator Champion and the Dreadnought... will keep you posted.

Butcha Kimpetishun Update

2009-12-12T10:39:00.006+10:00

Hi guys,

Just a quick update on my Butcha entries.

Deathwatch Terminator Champion

I originally saw a very cool terminator captain conversion on BoLS of the Lamenters Chapter, that I really wanted to do (in my own way). So here he is... my Assault Terminator Sergent and Crimson Fist Chapter Champion. The cloak is just blu-tac'ed on as it would be impossible to paint this feel with it on.

I wanted him to be bare headed so I decided to model on a facial wound and a smashed helmet from one hell of an Ork choppa strike.

Rifleman Dreadnought

And here is the WiP Rifleman Dreadnought that I started late last night. The hard part is now done - magnetising the arms. :)
This isn't really going to be a 'conversion' in my books but I will badge him up as a Fist dreadnought and he can go in as my vehicle entry.

Ideas for Mad Doc Orky Klaw's Butcha Kimpetishun!

2009-12-04T10:21:00.009+10:00

Hello everyone!

I went down to the Brisbane City GW store and saw that they are doing the "Mad Doc Orky Klaw's Butcha Kimpetishun!" and I thought....what a great motivator for me to do some more of my fists. Unfortunately this will put a bit of a dent in my originally proposed schedule of finishing sergeants and the like.

Oh well.

There is three categories for the competition: Squad, Character, Vehicle; and I am hoping I can enter something into all three.

I would be interested in any feedback but this is what I am proposing.

Squad Entry - Sternguard Squad
5 man squad using the new Crimson fist and Deathwatch shoulder pads and the Black Templar crusader robed chests. I am planning on making the deathwatch bolters into combi-weapons for this squad.

I also have recently acquired a Gameday Sergent figure that I was planning on giving a deathwatch pad and combi-flamer. I also plan on making a Mk V Heresy Helmet (to go with his armour) to be attached to his hip.

Here is an image of the figure I am talking about. (I found this on the web...not my paint job but I cant remember where I found it).

The squad will be as follows:

Sergent - Power Fist + Combi-Flamer
Trooper 2 & 3 - Combi-Melta with deathwatch bolters
Troober 4 - Combi-Flamer with deathwatch bolter
Trooper 5 - Heavy Flamer (using the terminator Heavy Flamer

Character Entry - Terminator Champion

For this model I was going to use the chaos lord in terminator armour and remove as much of the chaos iconography as possible. Give him a thunder hammer and stormshield and go from there. I love the pose on this figure as it is so dynamic. I am tossing up still leaving the shoulder trophy racks and attaching some Ork heads (since they hate them so much).

I would like to also have be bare headed with a facial wound from perhaps an ork cleaver and have his damaged/shattered helmet attached to the hip or on the ground. He will also have the Forgeworld Crimson Fist terminator Sergent shoulder pads since they are so snazzy. In the long term he will just be my Terminator Sergent (giving him the red helmet with a white stripe) but will also be used as my stand in terminator captain. :)

Hopefully I will be able to sneak in some magnets into the shoulders so I can swap out the thunderhammer/stormshield combo with Chaos lightning claws.

Vehicle Entry - 'Rifleman' Dreadnought

This will be really simple and perhaps a little lame....but I don't care. :P
Using a regular marine dreadnought with two twin-linked autocannon arms (from Forgeworld again) with Crimson Fist iconography. Very simple but this is more of a painting challenge than a conversion competition to me to crank out some nice models.
The arms will be magnetised as well for other weapon load outs.

I am not sure if I will make the date but I am sure going to try. Will keep you posted on any work in progress.

Some support for the Crimson Fists

2009-12-01T21:35:00.013+10:00

Hello Everyone,

It has been slow going for the past month or so due to other commitments (and a wee bit too much Bloodbowl on the PC). So, since the weekend, I have been making a point of getting in at least a hour or so painting each night and would you believe it.... I am making some headway on my Crimson Fists.

I also saw that GW has released some of the CF shoulder pad bitz so I will have to pick some of these up...well at least the HQ ones anyway. If anyone has actually bought these yet I would be interested to hear if they the correct size this time (unlike the last batch).

Anyway, here are a couple pictures of what I have completed since the weekend.

First up I have a pair of Heavy Bolter marines to give my tactical squads some much needed anti-infantry since I am playing against orks on a regular basis.

Next up I have my Plasma Gunner marine. I gave him the high collared chest plate as I figure he needs as much protection from plasma gun mishaps as possible. :)

Since taking the picture I have decided to paint on some gloss varnish onto the plasma gun coil to make it more 'plasma-like' in my minds eye anyway.

Here we have is the Meltagun marine. I recently bought myself the Imperial Armour - Model Masterclass Volume One and have been trying out some of the suggestions for heat stress. For the melta gun and plasma gun barrel, I ended up using a number of purple and sepia washes finishing up with a black wash. Overall, I am pretty happy with the result.

Lastly, I have finished off two more regular bolter marines. Nothing fancy, but I am chipping away at them.

I am now working on doing a number of sergeant figures with various options (power fists, combi-weapons, etc) and adding a Heavy Plasma Gun marine.

Will keep you posted (hopefully a bit more regularly).

Some more Crimson Fist WiP

2009-11-09T21:05:00.004+10:00

Just a quick little update on the progress of my weapon upgrades for my Fists.

You can see in the close up of the marines in various stages of completion. Hopefully I will be take some photos from start to finish to share the technique (if anyone is interested). I originally saw the painting style on the WargamerAU forums by a great fellow called Stu (Fingolfin on the forums) who I recently had the pleasure of meeting at Gencon 2009.

Anyway, its not a big update but I wanted to share. :)

Crimson Fist Update

2009-10-28T17:03:00.013+10:00

Hello everyone,

Things are moving ever so slowly on the painting front (probably best described as moving at the speed of a drunken sloth...). However, I recently took a few photos of what I have done.

Here are my 'Army' shots to date:

First Squad (Assault on Black Reach Tactical squad)

Second Squad (Battle for Macragge Tactical squad)

Sergeant's

I have decided to go with the codex style of having the red helmets for the sergeants. The red is the same dark red as the fists.

Personally I am not a fan of the bare headed sergeants so I decided to attach a painted helmet on the hip of each of the sergeants and I hope to do the same thing for all the various officers as I work my way through the figures.

Right now I am finishing off two heavy bolter marines and a melta gunner, and have a plasma gunner and two more tactical marines just waiting for their final matt varnish finish.

I will try to have more regular updates unlike the time between my previous updates.

Some new scenery

2009-10-08T19:27:00.010+10:00

Hi guys,

I have been a bit slack with the updates for the past few weeks. Anyway, I thought I would share some of the recent scenery additions.

The first is an old rhino that I weathered and damaged. I inherited this old RT days rhino that was very badly beat up and was painted in a horrible oil based very thick paint job. Its not the best but overall I am pretty happy with it.

The second piece of scenery is another CNC Workshop kit. A friend gave me two of the kits (thanks Pauly).

Next Scenery Project - Ork Outpost

2009-09-03T17:01:00.009+10:00

Hi guys,

Just a quick one to share. I just got two CNC Sand buildings (CNC Workshop Sand Series) to add to the start of my Ork camp (the tower was the first bit).

The two models I got are the Crows Nest....

...and the Gunner's Platform.

I am unsure on how I will go about painting them yet. I am tempted to do a dark red (think scab red)/clay-ish look to them with metal plates put on it. To be honest....not really sure yet. But it will be a Deathskull Clan Outpost so perhaps a blue is the answer. Any ideas?

Props to my mate Matt for picking these up for me. Cheers buddy. :)

Also...in case anyone was wondering you will probably see my cats in various pictures as they like to 'help' me whenever I am doing anything 40k.

New Scenery for Rynn's World - Ork Tower and Rocks

2009-09-02T16:44:00.017+10:00

Over the past week or so I have been working on some new scenery for my table I have decided to call "Rynn's World".

The Ork Tower was originally a CNC Workshop Watchtower that I modified to be a very old water tank tower that some orks have decided to take over.

Here are some WIP pictures of the ork tower:

I ran into very few problems while putting this together. However, I was very unhappy when I found a bulk of my rivets that I spent several hours making from slicing plasicard rod fell off when they where touched. I used "plastic glue" that didn't really take. Oh well...lesson learned. I found that using PVA glue seemed to fix this problem nicely.

The "original" parts of the tower were painted to look heavily rusted. My thoughts were that the orks found the tower and proceeded to make it a "Good 'Un" by adding lots of armour plates and other gubbins like spikes and razor wire.

The plates were made from the lid of a plastic ice cream container.
The spikes were made from bits of sprue and the razor wire is actually the brass etched Forgeworld Razore Wire. Personally I loved the wire and plan on using it for more of my Ork buildings.

The rocks took no time to put together and paint. These were actually very light slate rocks that I found on my driveway. I thought they were a great size for the table top, so here they are. :)

Well that's about it for the moment.

Building a gaming table – Part Three

2009-08-25T13:58:00.008+10:00

Hello everyone! Here we are for the last part of building your own gaming table; painting it!

This part is very straight forward but I thought I would share my experiences.

Regardless on how you wish to paint the board I would suggest making a stop at your local paint shop or hardware store to colour match your chosen scheme. You can go in with a swatch of each colour on a piece of clean white paper. However; I found out that to get the best results go in with your actual paint pots and the store will be able to scan the wet paint to match the colours correctly.

For the reddish colour of my board, I purchased sample pots matching the following colours:

2x Scab Red (base coat)
1x Blood Red (first dry brush highlight)
1x Rotting Flesh (second dry brush highlight)
1x Blazing Orange (third dry brush highlight)

I had to purchase two sample pots of the Scab Red to have the required coverage as a base coat.

Before I started on my base coat I gave the entire board a coat of black primer. In this case I used a spray for convenience.

Painting the board is just like painting a piece of scenery (just much bigger obviously), with one big difference being that the brush is bigger. After the base coat is applied and dry we can get to the dry brushing if you are happy with the coverage. In my case I had to apply two coats. Drying will take much longer with the paint from the sample pots, but this is a fair trade-off for the cost savings in paint.

For the dry brushing I found that the best brush to use was actually a cheapish makeup rouge brush. Once I had wiped off the right amount of paint off this brush; it gave me just the right coverage and great control. I thoroughly recommend using one.

I got mine with a heap of other smaller makeup (aka dry brushing) brushes for a few dollars at the local pharmacy.

Once all the dry brushing was done I gave the board a final coat of Scab Red (my base coat) around all the outside edges. I felt this just gave the board a nice clean appearance as I got a little bit of paint from dry brushing onto the sides.

To help protect the paint work on the gaming board I also bought a litre of both gloss and matt Wattyl Estapol. For all my modelling and painting projects, I try to give the item a nice coat of gloss (for longer lasting wear and tear) and a final coat of matt (to take away the glossy look).
Once the Estapol was dry I screwed in two rubber feet on both the long edges of the board to protect the edges when stored.

And that’s it!

In conclusion I am really happy I went ahead with this project (despite the nay sayer’s) as I now have a dedicated gaming board that is a little bit different and is matched exactly to my 40k armies (Crimson Fists and Orks). I really wanted to have a board that gave that Mars / Red Earth / Aussie Outback feel and I am really happy with the result.

In the event I want to play on a green battlefield….well…I have the traditional dark green sheet for this (until I build my ‘grassy table’ that is).

All that there is left to do now is finish some more scenery in the same basing scheme.

Thanks for reading the articles and I hope they were of some use for you.

Until next time….

Building a gaming table – Part Two

2009-08-24T10:51:00.017+10:00

G’day guys and gals. Here it is as promised, part two of my three part series of building your own games table. Part one consisted of putting together the frame and table top. In this section I will go over the steps I took to texture the entire table.

Tools:
2” Brush
Drill
Sand paper
‘Bag less’ Vacuum cleaner OR Dustpan and Brush

Material:
Fine, medium & coarse ballast
Fine sand
PVA glue
Spray sealer/vanish
Large Plastic screw top container
Large ice cream container or mixing bowl
Small bucket of water

First off you will need to prepare a few items. Personally I made a mix of ballast for the overall texture from four (4) grades of materials. I used very fine beach sand (that was washed and “cooked”) and three grades (fine, medium and coarse) of ballast from Woodland Scenics.

I mixed all the ballast and sand in the ratios 4:4:4:1 of fine ballast, medium ballast, coarse ballast and fine sand in a large ice cream container. I found this mix to be fantastic in giving the entire table a more realistic variable texture.

To speed up the process of applying the ballast to the table I would suggest making a shaker (This was my wife’s idea). It will drastically speed up the whole process of texturing 32’ of table in this case, but will also greatly reduce how much ballast you will burn through.

To make the shaker I took an old (and clean) fridge fruit container (SPC Breaky Fruits) and then drilled a large number of holes into the lid. The more the merrier.
I found to get the consistency right for the shaker I had to add about twice as many holes as I did on my first attempt. Use the sand paper to clean up the holes drilled into the lid before adding your ballast to the container.

Now with the ballast and shaker ready we have all we need to get started!

1) Pour some PVA glue onto your table and spread the glue around in an area of approximately 1’x 1’. We dipped out brush into the bucket of water each time to help spread the PVA glue around. Don’t be afraid to add more PVA if required.

2) Using the shaker, liberally cover the PVA with ballast. With two people you can work as a team to minimise the amount of time the PVA has to dry before applying more PVA to another area. (Thanks Matt for helping!). Don’t get stressed about the amount of ballast you end up using as you will reclaim a significant amount back once the glue dries.

3) Work around the entire table then leave it all to dry. Personally I let my table sit for about 8 or so hours.

4) Once the glue is well and truly dry either use a dustpan and brush or, if you have one, use a ‘bag less’ vacuum cleaner to recover any excess ballast. I used a wide and soft head on the vacuum cleaner and gently worked my way around the table to reclaim all that expensive ballast mix. Personally I reclaimed about half of all my ballast.

5) You will probably have a number of thin patches or areas you missed completely on your first pass with the ballast. Just water down some PVA glue slightly and hit these areas again with the shaker. Again, leave it to dry and reclaim the excess ballast again. This will allow you to see if there are any other patches.

6) Hopefully by this stage you have got a great coverage of ballast, if not just repeat step 5 until your happy with the converge.

7) I used a spray sealer/vanish to help hold the ballast down and stop it lifting when I go to paint the table with a brush later. Leave this to dry.

Step seven isn’t critical but I tend to do this on a miniature scale with watered down PVA glue as I hate it when the ballast lifts leaving an ugly unpainted section on the base.

I also find by doing this I reduce the amount of paint wastage due to the ballast absorbing the moisture from the paint. If you do use spray, make sure you spray in a ventilated area and try to use a mask.

Here is a final close up of the texture.

We are now ready to paint!

Building a gaming table – Part One

2009-08-20T15:02:00.013+10:00

After spending too much time tossing around with the idea of buying myself the Citadel Realm of Battle board I thought to myself…”bugger spending that much money on a board” and set to work on building my own. I decided to go for the classic 8’x 4’ from my old gaming days instead of the standard 6’x 4’.

While I was building this board my wife decided to take some photos as I was working so I thought I should put together some basic instructions on how I built my board. Sure, it might not be the perfect way of building one and I may ramble on a bit…..but here it goes. I will break the build, texture and painting into different parts.

Tools:
Saw, drill, screw driver, clamps, tape measure

Materials:
7x 40mm x 20mm strips of timber:
5x 1200mm (4 ft) long
2x 2400mm (8 ft) long

4 x MDF panels: 1200mm x 600mm x 6mm thick

PVA Glue (wood glue)
Wood screws

Instructions:

1) Find a large area to work in. The frame is large and relatively flimsy until it is near completion. Also, make sure you inspect all your timber and mdf. I found out halfway through my build that one sheet of mdf and some timber was too short. Very frustrating.

2) Measure and cut the small strips of timber as they will need to fit inside the frame. In my case my long strips of timber were 18mm wide so I cut exactly 36mm from the end of each of my short strips.

3) Due to having slightly different heights in the timber I purchased (the long strips were 40mm high and the small ones were 36mm high) also had to ensure that all my strips were flat on the same edge. To help with this I made sure that wrote a “right side up” arrow on each strip.

4) Using the timber strips I proceeded to build a basic wooden frame to support the mdf panels. The strips were drilled and screwed together, making a 8 ft x 4 ft frame. The strips were spaced evenly to allow the mdf sheets to sit from the end edge to approximately the middle of an internal support strip.

5) Apply PVA glue to the topmost edges of the timber strips and place the mdf panels onto the frame. Once you are happy with the position of the panels, use a number of clamps to hold the panel in place until the PVA glue dries.

6) I recommend using an old damp rag to remove any excess PVA glue from the joins.

7) Once the PVA glue is dry, drill and screw in a few screws through the mdf panels into the long edges of the frame to give the table that little bit extra support. (I personally added 4 screws per panel – 2 on each side)

So that’s it for part one. Please provide any feedback if something isn’t clear enough (this is my first instructional type thing)

Model & Scenery Points System

2009-08-20T14:17:00.007+10:00

In order to motivate myself to actually complete projects I give each model and piece of scenery a score based upon it's size. I first saw this on several FTW blogs so after a little tracking down I found out it originally came from LonePilgrim . All the credit is his I decided to break my ‘points system’ up into two scores as I like to spend a fair bit of time on scenery projects (which is why my painting has suffered..hehehe). The scoring system I will be using is as follows:

Model Points

Infantry = 1 point
Large infantry, cavalry, and bikes = 2 points
Monsters or Dreadnoughts = 5 points
Vehicles = 10 points
Superheavy vehicles = 20 points
Custom Banner = 1 point
Custom conversion = same points

Scenery Points

Tiny projects = 1 point
(i.e. 20mm base objectives, single trees)
Small projects = 2 points
(i.e. 40mm base objectives, small rock clumps)
Medium projects = 5 points
(i.e. between 40mm to CD sized)
Large projects = 10 points
(i.e. average detailed buildings, wrecked vehicle)
Massive projects = 20 points
(i.e. complicated and large buildings, ruined cathedral)
New games tables = 10 points
(i.e. 10 points per 2'x 2' section)

'ere we go 'ere we go 'ere we go

2009-08-19T19:16:00.002+10:00

Well... here I am.... TA DA!

I decided to get my butt into gear and start to get things going for my own 40k blog.

Over the past few months I have been following various 40k blogs (mostly part of the FTW blogging group) but the biggest influence and inspiration has come from blog "++ From the Warp ++" after I read a really good article on keeping the motivation up on painting the great unpainted mass of plastic staring at me.

The article is located here:
Get motivated, stay motivated and finish your army!

I hope that you may find something that may take your interest in the various painting and modeling projects I (and my mates) am working on.

More updates will follow shortly…..