After reading over the Imperial Armour 9 book I decided that one of my next armies was going to be the Astral Claws, and I had the pre-release Lugft Huron model from Games Day UK. So I ordered some of the Forge World Space Marine Mk armor sets, and the weapons to go with them. And since the IA9 book has an army list for the "Tyrants Legion", I'm going to be using that as the basis for my army. As it allows a mix of Space Marine & Imperial Guard for an army list. So I also ordered a Vulture with Twin Linked Punisher Cannons for the Tyrants Legion for the IG side of things.
Also while I was at Games Day they had the pre-release of the Red Scorpions Librarian Sevrin Loth and his Honour Guard, which I bought while there. And after reading over his rules in IA9 I'm very excited to get a game in with the rules. And the models them self are just amazing in their details, and the one good thing about the model for Sevrin Loth is that there is only one Red Scorpion icon that I've found so far. So I might have to get another model at some point for use in a Salamanders Army with maybe the same rules as Sevrin Loth. This will be geared more towards a theme army for the Salamanders Series of Books by Nick Kyme. But that is on down the road after I finishes the series of books, which I picked up the pre-release of Firedrake at Games Day & had Nick Kyme sign if for me.
I also ordered some Ork items for a future army, and the other two weapons for my Warhound Titan that I need to start working on here soon too. Hopefully my Forge World order will be coming over here this coming week, and I'll try and get some pictures up once I get the items but work might get in the way of that soon.
Also I'm working on my entry for the Freebootaz Toys for Tots 2010 Armies eBay auctions, which I have a set of Ultramarine Rhino Doors coming soon I hope. Then I have to finish painting up the Ultramarine Rhino, my friend Jon is working on the Tactical Squad to go with the Rhino. I can't wait to see what he does for them, but life might step in that he can't get around to painting the Ultra's. Which I understand due to his situation at the moment, and family comes first before miniatures. So I've started on a backup plan of my own just incase, I started painting up another of the Tactical Squads that I have sitting around. So at the moment if Jon doesn't get his Tactical Squad painted, then I'll have mine and the Rhino that I've painted ready to go. And if Jon does get his Tactical Squad complete in time, then I'll have them and the Rhino I painted and will go ahead and put another Rhino together to go with the Tactical Squad I painted. Since I think I can get a Rhino (that I have laying around put together) painted up in a weekend easily, as I've put together and primed and base coated the first one in the past 24 hours.
So we will see how it goes, as the Toys for Tots stuff needs finished before any of my stuff gets started (maybe).
Sunday, October 10, 2010
It's been awhile
So I kind of slacked off on the Posts on the lead up to the Geek Nation Tour on Sept 23rd to Oct 1st, but I was able to get the Salamanders to a decent level of completeness right before I left for the tour. And I plan on taking the Tactical Squads back apart from their bases and doing some more details on both the bases & the Tacticals. The vehicles still need hard line details and some touch ups on them too, and decals on the drop pod.
So about the Tour, the tour was a great time with some awesome people. We all meet up in Toronto and flew out the nite of Sept 23rd, then we landed in England at around 11AM on Sept 24th. Then proceeded to London to our hotel at the Hilton Metropole, and was given the rest of the day to explore London and then meet back at the hotel for dinner. I took the rest of the day up to dinner to get some sleep since I had not sleep for about 27 hours up to that point. On Sept 25th there was two different tour options for the day; either the Military Tour of London, or the Geek Tour of London. I went on the Geek Tour of London; which we went to comic book shops, game stores, and one really nice model store with R/C stuff and scale model kits. Then we went to a Curry House for dinner as a group, boy was that a bad idea. The food was alright, as I had never had Curry before that. There really wasn't that much served up during the dinner, then the check for the dinner came to the table. Holy Crap! was the expression from just about everyone, cause the meal cost about $50 US. That will more then likely be the last time the tour will go to that Curry House.
After that we left for Birmingham for the evening, and then on Sept 26th we went to Games Day UK. Which after being there I can say that I'm not sure if I would go to another Games Day anywhere. It was good to see all of the sites, displays, and get some pre-release items; but the show as a whole was poorly run by GW. The only smart group there was the Black Library section, as they were well organized and had people controlling the lines for their products and to get the main authors to sign books. The worst group there had to be the Forge World sales area, there was zero organization to the area for the whole day. They had people just pile in front of their tables and then push to the front of the lines, then once you got your order you have to go stand in the chaos to pay for your order. And they did have a pre-order area, but it was just as big of a mess as the regular order area. I did learn one thing for the next time if I go to a Games Day, enter the Golden Daemon competition and you get in an hour earlier then everyone else. And if there is a line to get into the Games Day and there is space beside the line, then just move up there cause the organizers are going to do that anyways. So would I go back? Not unless they have something that really interests me, and even then I would enter the Golden Daemon to get early access. And they Photoshop all the pictures they take anyways for the Golden Daemon, what a big let down that was to see going on right there in front of everyone.
We all then went back to the hotel and some of the guys got in a makeshift game of 40K on some tables in the lounge area beside the bar of the hotel. So that was a fun nite, and I got to quickly go over my Imperial Armour 9: Badab Wars Part One book. Sept 27th we went to Bovington Tank Museum, which was really good. I wished that we would of had some more time there to explore everything, and we found out that if we would of called ahead we could of took a tour of their restoration area for the tanks. But what I really wanted to do was get to either drive one of the tanks, or ride in one of the tanks. But they only had four days a year where people get to drive or ride in the tanks, and the next one was I think at the end of October. But I will definitely go back to Bovington Tank Museum, and hopefully get to drive one around too. After that we went to our hotel in Bournemouth and then a group of us went out to a pub in the town. During our time at the pub we realized that it was my birthday, so all of the sudden I had two more pints sitting in front of me on top of the three that I had already drank. After that we walked down to the sea side and the beach area, then we walked back to the hotel where there was more games going on.
Then on Sept 28th we went to Corfe Castle, which was really great. I will go back to this Corfe Castle town at some point for sure, it is a really great little town. And the Castle was amazing, if only it had not been destroyed it would of been even more amazing today. We had a guided tour of the castle, and the tour guide was really good. After we finished that tour we went to the Miniature Village & Castle / Cafe for lunch, again I could of spent more time in the town due to all of the shops and sites to see. After that we went to Nottingham for the evening, where we went and had dinner at "Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem" which was built in 1189 AD in Nottingham.
This place is really interesting and the food was really good too, but there was more going on that nite then just food. We had some visitors that came out to the dinner; there was Alan & Michael Perry of Perry Historical Miniatures, Alessio Cavatore of previous Games Workshop and now Mantic Games rules writer, Ronnie from Mantic Games, John Stallard & Steve Morgan of Warlord Games, I think I seen Nick Kyme there for a few minutes (author of the Salamanders Series of novels), and I think two guys from Unseen Lerker magazine too (not really sure). So that evening I spent most of my time at the dinner listening to Michael Perry talk, as he was sitting beside of me at the table. And then I wandered over to see if I could find Nick Kyme, but he had already left if he was there. So next up was Alessio Cavatore, I wandered into the conversation he was having with another guy on our tour. Right before I left to go get another pint I asked Alessio if he was going to stop by Warhammer World tomorrow, he laughed and said that he didn't think that was going to be a good idea. I told him that he could just be a normal gamer getting in some games, he didn't buy it. Then went the "Trip" was closing a group of us went over to another pub in the town. Alan Perry went with us, and I think the two guys from Unseen Lerker too but they sat at another table with Romeo. Our group grabbed a table and again I was sitting beside Alan Perry this time, and listened to him talk about everything. Then when that pub closed at 2AM we went back to the hotel, which there was a two games going on at the hotel just starting to finish up.
Sept 29th was Warhammer World from a little before 10AM to 11PM (normally Bugman's Pub closes at 10PM on Wednesdays). So I started a game of 40k, but was pulled away to get a guided tour of the Miniatures Hall at Warhammer World before we started playing. We were allowed to have the guide take one miniature from the cases for close up pictures, and then we were allowed to hold the Slayer Sword for the Golden Daemon competition. After that we went back down and finished our game, which lead to me conceding at the start of my forth turn with no Tactical Squads on the board. And I had my squad of Vulkan & Terminators left on the board and way out of position to contest either of the two objectives. After that we had lunch at the Warhammer World Restaurant, then I went back and wandered around watching some games going on. Then around 3PM a few of us went over to Warlord Games offices and metal casting area in Nottingham. John from Warlord lead us around on a tour of their area, and we were shown how the casting process is done for Pewter figures. Then we were lead to their offices and had a Q&A session with them on their products and the future of Warlord Games. We then checked to see if we could get a tour of Mantic Games, but they were already closed for the day and it was going to take longer to get over there. So we went back to Warhammer World, where I went and placed my Forge World order. We then had dinner at the Restaurant again, and then I went back and watched some games and talked with other on the tour. Then at 10PM we transferred to Bugman's Pub and had a few more pints, then went back to the hotel for the evening and went to the bar at the hotel for some more discussion.
Sept 30th we left the hotel that morning and stopped at Maelstrom Games, the place was in the process of remodel but it will be a really great place when complete. I believe the next tour over to the UK there is plans to have a tournament at Maelstrom Games. Then once we got to London we had the rest of the day for what ever we wanted, I was starting to feel the bug that was being passed around on the tour so I went and had a nap. We then had a goodbye meet at the sports bar of the Hilton Metropole that evening. Then in the morning of Oct 1st we got up and left for the airport to fly out, very early in the morning. We flew out at about 11AM from England, and arrived in Toronto at about 3PM. Then my flight wasn't until 1PM the next day, so me and Hyde from Columbus Ohio got a hotel room there at the airport in Toronto. Which we finally crashed for the day at about 8PM, and didn't awake till 8AM on Oct 2nd which helped get back into the swing of the time zone.
Overall it was a great trip, and I would like to go back and do the trip again for sure. With maybe a few changes for the next one, mainly get a roommate for the trip that does not snore like a chainsaw at full blast.
So about the Tour, the tour was a great time with some awesome people. We all meet up in Toronto and flew out the nite of Sept 23rd, then we landed in England at around 11AM on Sept 24th. Then proceeded to London to our hotel at the Hilton Metropole, and was given the rest of the day to explore London and then meet back at the hotel for dinner. I took the rest of the day up to dinner to get some sleep since I had not sleep for about 27 hours up to that point. On Sept 25th there was two different tour options for the day; either the Military Tour of London, or the Geek Tour of London. I went on the Geek Tour of London; which we went to comic book shops, game stores, and one really nice model store with R/C stuff and scale model kits. Then we went to a Curry House for dinner as a group, boy was that a bad idea. The food was alright, as I had never had Curry before that. There really wasn't that much served up during the dinner, then the check for the dinner came to the table. Holy Crap! was the expression from just about everyone, cause the meal cost about $50 US. That will more then likely be the last time the tour will go to that Curry House.
After that we left for Birmingham for the evening, and then on Sept 26th we went to Games Day UK. Which after being there I can say that I'm not sure if I would go to another Games Day anywhere. It was good to see all of the sites, displays, and get some pre-release items; but the show as a whole was poorly run by GW. The only smart group there was the Black Library section, as they were well organized and had people controlling the lines for their products and to get the main authors to sign books. The worst group there had to be the Forge World sales area, there was zero organization to the area for the whole day. They had people just pile in front of their tables and then push to the front of the lines, then once you got your order you have to go stand in the chaos to pay for your order. And they did have a pre-order area, but it was just as big of a mess as the regular order area. I did learn one thing for the next time if I go to a Games Day, enter the Golden Daemon competition and you get in an hour earlier then everyone else. And if there is a line to get into the Games Day and there is space beside the line, then just move up there cause the organizers are going to do that anyways. So would I go back? Not unless they have something that really interests me, and even then I would enter the Golden Daemon to get early access. And they Photoshop all the pictures they take anyways for the Golden Daemon, what a big let down that was to see going on right there in front of everyone.
We all then went back to the hotel and some of the guys got in a makeshift game of 40K on some tables in the lounge area beside the bar of the hotel. So that was a fun nite, and I got to quickly go over my Imperial Armour 9: Badab Wars Part One book. Sept 27th we went to Bovington Tank Museum, which was really good. I wished that we would of had some more time there to explore everything, and we found out that if we would of called ahead we could of took a tour of their restoration area for the tanks. But what I really wanted to do was get to either drive one of the tanks, or ride in one of the tanks. But they only had four days a year where people get to drive or ride in the tanks, and the next one was I think at the end of October. But I will definitely go back to Bovington Tank Museum, and hopefully get to drive one around too. After that we went to our hotel in Bournemouth and then a group of us went out to a pub in the town. During our time at the pub we realized that it was my birthday, so all of the sudden I had two more pints sitting in front of me on top of the three that I had already drank. After that we walked down to the sea side and the beach area, then we walked back to the hotel where there was more games going on.
Then on Sept 28th we went to Corfe Castle, which was really great. I will go back to this Corfe Castle town at some point for sure, it is a really great little town. And the Castle was amazing, if only it had not been destroyed it would of been even more amazing today. We had a guided tour of the castle, and the tour guide was really good. After we finished that tour we went to the Miniature Village & Castle / Cafe for lunch, again I could of spent more time in the town due to all of the shops and sites to see. After that we went to Nottingham for the evening, where we went and had dinner at "Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem" which was built in 1189 AD in Nottingham.
This place is really interesting and the food was really good too, but there was more going on that nite then just food. We had some visitors that came out to the dinner; there was Alan & Michael Perry of Perry Historical Miniatures, Alessio Cavatore of previous Games Workshop and now Mantic Games rules writer, Ronnie from Mantic Games, John Stallard & Steve Morgan of Warlord Games, I think I seen Nick Kyme there for a few minutes (author of the Salamanders Series of novels), and I think two guys from Unseen Lerker magazine too (not really sure). So that evening I spent most of my time at the dinner listening to Michael Perry talk, as he was sitting beside of me at the table. And then I wandered over to see if I could find Nick Kyme, but he had already left if he was there. So next up was Alessio Cavatore, I wandered into the conversation he was having with another guy on our tour. Right before I left to go get another pint I asked Alessio if he was going to stop by Warhammer World tomorrow, he laughed and said that he didn't think that was going to be a good idea. I told him that he could just be a normal gamer getting in some games, he didn't buy it. Then went the "Trip" was closing a group of us went over to another pub in the town. Alan Perry went with us, and I think the two guys from Unseen Lerker too but they sat at another table with Romeo. Our group grabbed a table and again I was sitting beside Alan Perry this time, and listened to him talk about everything. Then when that pub closed at 2AM we went back to the hotel, which there was a two games going on at the hotel just starting to finish up.
Sept 29th was Warhammer World from a little before 10AM to 11PM (normally Bugman's Pub closes at 10PM on Wednesdays). So I started a game of 40k, but was pulled away to get a guided tour of the Miniatures Hall at Warhammer World before we started playing. We were allowed to have the guide take one miniature from the cases for close up pictures, and then we were allowed to hold the Slayer Sword for the Golden Daemon competition. After that we went back down and finished our game, which lead to me conceding at the start of my forth turn with no Tactical Squads on the board. And I had my squad of Vulkan & Terminators left on the board and way out of position to contest either of the two objectives. After that we had lunch at the Warhammer World Restaurant, then I went back and wandered around watching some games going on. Then around 3PM a few of us went over to Warlord Games offices and metal casting area in Nottingham. John from Warlord lead us around on a tour of their area, and we were shown how the casting process is done for Pewter figures. Then we were lead to their offices and had a Q&A session with them on their products and the future of Warlord Games. We then checked to see if we could get a tour of Mantic Games, but they were already closed for the day and it was going to take longer to get over there. So we went back to Warhammer World, where I went and placed my Forge World order. We then had dinner at the Restaurant again, and then I went back and watched some games and talked with other on the tour. Then at 10PM we transferred to Bugman's Pub and had a few more pints, then went back to the hotel for the evening and went to the bar at the hotel for some more discussion.
Sept 30th we left the hotel that morning and stopped at Maelstrom Games, the place was in the process of remodel but it will be a really great place when complete. I believe the next tour over to the UK there is plans to have a tournament at Maelstrom Games. Then once we got to London we had the rest of the day for what ever we wanted, I was starting to feel the bug that was being passed around on the tour so I went and had a nap. We then had a goodbye meet at the sports bar of the Hilton Metropole that evening. Then in the morning of Oct 1st we got up and left for the airport to fly out, very early in the morning. We flew out at about 11AM from England, and arrived in Toronto at about 3PM. Then my flight wasn't until 1PM the next day, so me and Hyde from Columbus Ohio got a hotel room there at the airport in Toronto. Which we finally crashed for the day at about 8PM, and didn't awake till 8AM on Oct 2nd which helped get back into the swing of the time zone.
Overall it was a great trip, and I would like to go back and do the trip again for sure. With maybe a few changes for the next one, mainly get a roommate for the trip that does not snore like a chainsaw at full blast.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Salamanders Tactical Squads Update
Progress has been slow to say the least, as the Air Conditioning went out in the house two weeks ago now. So it's been way to hot to work on anything that would involve paint, and I really don't have any comfortable hobby setup at the apartment I'm renting for at work. But this weekend I was able to get the temps in the house to an alright point, and worked on my Salamanders Tactical Squads for my 1,500 point army. I was able to get the decals placed on the shoulder pads yesterday, and worked on painting some special weapons for the Tactical Squads. Then today waiting for the laundry to finish I put together the Marines with their Bolters & Flamers.
Now for what still needs to happen to them: Clean up some details on the ends of the Bolters since I had just cut them off the barrel end of the sprues. Need to seal the decals on the shoulder pads with gloss and then give them a shot of matte. Finish the ends of the two flamers & one Multi-Melta to make them look like the others that I've already completed. Work on the Dark Arts Lava Bases finally, I've been dragging my feet on them as I was wanting to use the airbrush to see if it went faster. And put the backpacks on the guys to round out this stage of the Tactical Squads. I will come back and work on highlights on them after I get back from the Geek Nation Tour to England & the UK Games Day coming up.
Salamanders Second Company First, Second, & Third Squads
Salamanders First Squad
Salamanders Second Squad
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Dragon Warriors Daemon Prince #2
First off I'm sorry I got distracted while working on the Plastic Daemon Prince and watching a movie at the same time. So I glued the torso together before taking a picture, but let me tell you it is super simple to magnetize the wings on your plastic daemon prince models. I used an 1/16" drill bit and drilled into the socket the wing base studs go into on the back of the torso. Then from the inside of the torso piece I used a 1/8" drill bit to drill out for my magnet, which there really is not a lot of plastic right there either. So I decided to add 3d Finish Nails as pins into the stubs on the wing bases. This added more length to the studs so the magnets would actually rest inside the torso on the surface of the plastic for the most part. I Super Glued the magnets down with the wings inserted into the torso so that the pins held the magnets in place til the glue dried. The wings hold in very well with the 1/8" dia. x 1/32" magnets and the Finish Nail pins, I'm able to hold the model with the wings towards the floor and shake it without the wings falling off.
The arms were a little more complicated then I expected, but I finally came up with a plan of attack. For the DDP's left arm there is a good socket that the arms go into, so that was simple to figure out. Drill the pilot hole so that it is in the center of this socket, then use the 1/8" drill bit for the final holes. Glue the magnets in place so that they are just inside the plastic, this gave me an decent bond for the arm. I then glued the shoulder pad on with just a little bit of plastic glue at the very bottom of the pad, this way it wouldn't glue the arm to the torso. For the right side that was a little more challenging then the left side, but I finally seen who to go at it. There is a flat area where the arm & torso join on the right side at the top of the joint, I was able to drill the holes and place the magnets in that area. Again it's not as good of a hold as the wing magnets, but the arms stay on unless you get rough with the model. Then all you have to do is put the arm back on if you pull it off.
So that was it for now on the plastic & metal Dragon Daemon Princes, I've got more GS work to do to both of them. But I think that will have to wait till after the Geek Nation Tour in September. More pictures of this and the other Daemon Prince can be found on my Photobucket Album for them, see link in first post or on the side bar for the recent uploads link.
The arms were a little more complicated then I expected, but I finally came up with a plan of attack. For the DDP's left arm there is a good socket that the arms go into, so that was simple to figure out. Drill the pilot hole so that it is in the center of this socket, then use the 1/8" drill bit for the final holes. Glue the magnets in place so that they are just inside the plastic, this gave me an decent bond for the arm. I then glued the shoulder pad on with just a little bit of plastic glue at the very bottom of the pad, this way it wouldn't glue the arm to the torso. For the right side that was a little more challenging then the left side, but I finally seen who to go at it. There is a flat area where the arm & torso join on the right side at the top of the joint, I was able to drill the holes and place the magnets in that area. Again it's not as good of a hold as the wing magnets, but the arms stay on unless you get rough with the model. Then all you have to do is put the arm back on if you pull it off.
So that was it for now on the plastic & metal Dragon Daemon Princes, I've got more GS work to do to both of them. But I think that will have to wait till after the Geek Nation Tour in September. More pictures of this and the other Daemon Prince can be found on my Photobucket Album for them, see link in first post or on the side bar for the recent uploads link.
Right Torso Magnet & Neck Detail
Wing Pins & Arm Magnets
Dragon Daemon Prince in Pieces
Dragon Warriors Daemon Prince
And what looks to be flipping the bird, but the pointer finger does not curl up.
And what looks to be flipping the bird, but the pointer finger does not curl up.
Dragon Warriors - WIP
I had the idea to do a Dragon Warriors CSM army after reading Salamander from the Black Library. And after looking into the Lexicanum entry for them & reading the Salamander I figured I would try and do some sort of scales on their armor. I never really progressed to far with the scales on the armor idea, but I started working on a Daemon Prince conversion for the army. Even thought the references that I've found don't suggest they have a Daemon Prince that is warped into a Dragon form, but it sounded cool to me. I also had inspiration from the last Grey Knight series book Hammer of Daemons, which had a Chaos guy that was a Dragon in Armor that sounded like a Daemon Prince.
So with those to go off of I got a metal GW Daemon Prince and some other bits to convert this Dragon Daemon Prince (DDP from here on out). I started off JB Welding the torso together, and pinning the hands together and JB Welding them into the arms too. For the head of the DDP I bought a Dark Elf Cold One bits from the Warstore, which the head bit is separate from the torso bit. So I cut all of the reigns from the head, but left the collar part around the neck. I was going to use that collar as the start of the suit the marines wear, and this would cover the joint between the head and the torso too. I used my Dremel to cut down some of the neck area of the torso so that the head could sit back into the torso without having to cut down any of the plastic neck on the Cold One. Then I joined the head and the torso together and used some Green Stuff to form up to the collar of the neck.
For the tail I just cut off the tail from the Cold One where it connects to the Cold One torso. Then I drew the outline of the area I would have to cut out of the back of the torso on the DDP, and used my Dremel to remove the metal from that area. Added some GS in the hole and stuck the tail on, this makes to tail look like it burst from the armor on the DDP. I JB Welded the arms on and the shoulder pads and the legs to the torso. Work of advise on the JB Weld is to take your time and try and do one part at a time, as the normal JB Weld takes some time to setup. I tried to put both arms on the torso at the same time with JB Weld, that was a pain in the butt for sure. I finally got the to work and had to use some temporary items to hold the arms on, same with the shoulder pads but I used some Blue Tac to hold these light items in place. I have tried JB Kwik before but I didn't think the bond was very good, and I was able to peel it off metal parts like it was tape. I still need to do some GS work to where the arm and torso meets to smooth out the transition between them.
The wings on the DDP are Ultraforge Daemon Wings, and I'm still working on them for the most part. I put pins in the bases of the wings and drilled holes for the pins in the torso. I built up the area on the back of the torso with GS, then pushed the wings into the pin holes and made imprints of the wing bases. Then I worked the GS from there to form a basic area for the wings to mount to. I tried to add magnets to hold the wings in place but that failed at that point cause they were under the GS and didn't have a good enough grip to hold the wings in place. I'm still working on figuring out if I want to make this DDP's wings permanent or removable, since a foam tray to hold him with wings on would take up a lot of space. But I might go ahead an go permanent on this one and use it for at home or local gaming, and then the all plastic DDP that I'll be working on soon will be able to break down into a small space (all magnetic).
I'm going to start working on the all plastic Daemon Prince this weekend and hope to get some pictures of it as I work on the magnetization of the kit. Until then here is two pics of the metal DDP, and you can find more views of him and some older WIP photos in this Photobucket Album. Comments & Suggestions are always welcome, and any ideas on the scales on armor would be appreciated too. I've got a few ideas on the armor that I'll post on here at some point down the road.
So with those to go off of I got a metal GW Daemon Prince and some other bits to convert this Dragon Daemon Prince (DDP from here on out). I started off JB Welding the torso together, and pinning the hands together and JB Welding them into the arms too. For the head of the DDP I bought a Dark Elf Cold One bits from the Warstore, which the head bit is separate from the torso bit. So I cut all of the reigns from the head, but left the collar part around the neck. I was going to use that collar as the start of the suit the marines wear, and this would cover the joint between the head and the torso too. I used my Dremel to cut down some of the neck area of the torso so that the head could sit back into the torso without having to cut down any of the plastic neck on the Cold One. Then I joined the head and the torso together and used some Green Stuff to form up to the collar of the neck.
For the tail I just cut off the tail from the Cold One where it connects to the Cold One torso. Then I drew the outline of the area I would have to cut out of the back of the torso on the DDP, and used my Dremel to remove the metal from that area. Added some GS in the hole and stuck the tail on, this makes to tail look like it burst from the armor on the DDP. I JB Welded the arms on and the shoulder pads and the legs to the torso. Work of advise on the JB Weld is to take your time and try and do one part at a time, as the normal JB Weld takes some time to setup. I tried to put both arms on the torso at the same time with JB Weld, that was a pain in the butt for sure. I finally got the to work and had to use some temporary items to hold the arms on, same with the shoulder pads but I used some Blue Tac to hold these light items in place. I have tried JB Kwik before but I didn't think the bond was very good, and I was able to peel it off metal parts like it was tape. I still need to do some GS work to where the arm and torso meets to smooth out the transition between them.
The wings on the DDP are Ultraforge Daemon Wings, and I'm still working on them for the most part. I put pins in the bases of the wings and drilled holes for the pins in the torso. I built up the area on the back of the torso with GS, then pushed the wings into the pin holes and made imprints of the wing bases. Then I worked the GS from there to form a basic area for the wings to mount to. I tried to add magnets to hold the wings in place but that failed at that point cause they were under the GS and didn't have a good enough grip to hold the wings in place. I'm still working on figuring out if I want to make this DDP's wings permanent or removable, since a foam tray to hold him with wings on would take up a lot of space. But I might go ahead an go permanent on this one and use it for at home or local gaming, and then the all plastic DDP that I'll be working on soon will be able to break down into a small space (all magnetic).
I'm going to start working on the all plastic Daemon Prince this weekend and hope to get some pictures of it as I work on the magnetization of the kit. Until then here is two pics of the metal DDP, and you can find more views of him and some older WIP photos in this Photobucket Album. Comments & Suggestions are always welcome, and any ideas on the scales on armor would be appreciated too. I've got a few ideas on the armor that I'll post on here at some point down the road.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Updates on Salamanders
It's been a while since I posted anything and that is mainly due to being on the road with work at the moment. I don't have a laptop to take with me to work on posts while on the road, and Blogger is blocked at work & I have not cell signal there either. So it has to wait until the weekends when I'm home, and normally that is when I'm working on painting stuff and converting.
The Salamander's Army is slowly getting closer to being finished for a 1,500 point battle. I've got a few more details & decals on the rest of the Tactical Marines and they will be complete other then their Dark Arts Miniatures - Lava Bases. Then I have to finish their Rhino Transports, which are almost done other then a little paint and some decals. The Land Raider Redeemer has some more touch up paint left and then decals and it will be ready. The Drop Pod needs to be repainted with the lighter green and then all the details picked out again, then some decals and it should be done. Oh and Vulkan He'Stan is complete other then his Lava Base, some maybe I'll get those Lava Bases done during this week and next weekend and get his pictures up. And they will be ready to go into my new BattleFoam - PACK 432 with it's custom cut foam for both 1,500 points worth of Salamanders & Space Wolves with room for a Blood Bowl Team or two.
The Salamander's Army is slowly getting closer to being finished for a 1,500 point battle. I've got a few more details & decals on the rest of the Tactical Marines and they will be complete other then their Dark Arts Miniatures - Lava Bases. Then I have to finish their Rhino Transports, which are almost done other then a little paint and some decals. The Land Raider Redeemer has some more touch up paint left and then decals and it will be ready. The Drop Pod needs to be repainted with the lighter green and then all the details picked out again, then some decals and it should be done. Oh and Vulkan He'Stan is complete other then his Lava Base, some maybe I'll get those Lava Bases done during this week and next weekend and get his pictures up. And they will be ready to go into my new BattleFoam - PACK 432 with it's custom cut foam for both 1,500 points worth of Salamanders & Space Wolves with room for a Blood Bowl Team or two.
Space Wolves
And some of them are magnetic too.
I've been working on Space Wolves lists for awhile since the Codex came out, and I've settled on a few different load outs. But the problem I ran into is that there is a lot of great options and I didn't want to be stuck with a model that had a single purpose. Like a Grey Hunter with a Bolter in hand or hands depending on what parts you use, or a Wolf Guard with a Power Sword and a Bolt Pistol. I had looked at making Space Marines with magnetic arms for my Salamanders Sternguard, but figured that was a waste at the time & dropped the Sternguard from my lists due to points. But now with the Space Wolves & possibly my future Blood Angels the magnetic arms is looking like the way to go, this will give me flexibility with a limited amount of miniatures.
So I drilled holes in the torso where the arms attach normally, and then drill a hole in the arm in the same area for the magnets. As for magnets I'm using 1/8" dia. x 1/32" for the arms & torso, just have to make sure I don't glue the wrong side down. Only one arm was done with a reversed poles so far, so I'll have one special model later down the road. And on the Space Wolves two hand weapons I've used 1/16" dia. x 1/32" magnets in the hands and the wrists connects. I still need to setup some arms holding bolters in both hands, and some special weapons like meltaguns & plasma guns. And do some conversions on Terminator Storm Bolters to make them work for Wolf Guard Storm Bolters in Power Armor instead of Terminator Armor.
Also I have an order coming from Scibor Miniatures for use with the Space Wolves. I have a War Bear without rider, one of their Celtic SF Warriors, and some Celtic Shoulder Pads. Go check out their site, as they are always adding new items to their existing lineup. Scibor Miniatures
Wolf Guard
Wolf Guard with Chainswords & Storm Bolters
Wolf Guard with Chainswords & Bolt Pistols, same three from above picture
Grey Hunters
Grey Hunters with Wolf Guard carrying Frost Axe
Long Fangs
Long Fangs with Squad Leader & Wolf Guard Terminator with Cyclone Missile Launcher
I've been working on Space Wolves lists for awhile since the Codex came out, and I've settled on a few different load outs. But the problem I ran into is that there is a lot of great options and I didn't want to be stuck with a model that had a single purpose. Like a Grey Hunter with a Bolter in hand or hands depending on what parts you use, or a Wolf Guard with a Power Sword and a Bolt Pistol. I had looked at making Space Marines with magnetic arms for my Salamanders Sternguard, but figured that was a waste at the time & dropped the Sternguard from my lists due to points. But now with the Space Wolves & possibly my future Blood Angels the magnetic arms is looking like the way to go, this will give me flexibility with a limited amount of miniatures.
So I drilled holes in the torso where the arms attach normally, and then drill a hole in the arm in the same area for the magnets. As for magnets I'm using 1/8" dia. x 1/32" for the arms & torso, just have to make sure I don't glue the wrong side down. Only one arm was done with a reversed poles so far, so I'll have one special model later down the road. And on the Space Wolves two hand weapons I've used 1/16" dia. x 1/32" magnets in the hands and the wrists connects. I still need to setup some arms holding bolters in both hands, and some special weapons like meltaguns & plasma guns. And do some conversions on Terminator Storm Bolters to make them work for Wolf Guard Storm Bolters in Power Armor instead of Terminator Armor.
Also I have an order coming from Scibor Miniatures for use with the Space Wolves. I have a War Bear without rider, one of their Celtic SF Warriors, and some Celtic Shoulder Pads. Go check out their site, as they are always adding new items to their existing lineup. Scibor Miniatures
Wolf Guard
Wolf Guard with Chainswords & Storm Bolters
Wolf Guard with Chainswords & Bolt Pistols, same three from above picture
Grey Hunters
Grey Hunters with Wolf Guard carrying Frost Axe
Long Fangs
Long Fangs with Squad Leader & Wolf Guard Terminator with Cyclone Missile Launcher
Little Bit of Chaos...
Well Chaos Blood Bowl Team that is.
I had posted before in "And a taste of things to come" that I was going to use some models from Privateer Press for my Chaos Team. Well part of that idea has failed, it's not a big part of the team as a whole but is a big part within the team. The model that I was going to use as a Minotaur from P3 is super sized compared to GW minis. So I think I'm going to go ahead with the Satyxis Raiders for Beastmen, the GW Chaos Warriors, and use the GW Minotaur that I put together instead of the P3 items.
As for the pure GW Chaos Team, well I have them put together and in their primer coat so far. I believe that I'll use the primer coat as the base color on the Beastmen, and give them some washes to accomplish what I want with them skin wise. I figure on using that same basic process for the Minotaur as him and the Beastmen will be about the same. The Warriors are going to be black armor with red and gold trim.
Sorry for the not so great lighting, but the primer was not showing up well either way & I'm in a hurry. As for when these guys will see a paint brush it's hard to tell really, as I'm still working on getting my Salamander's Army done for my end of September trip to the UK. So it will more then likely be after I get back from there, unless everything else decides to start painting them self. Don't figure that is going to happen.
I had posted before in "And a taste of things to come" that I was going to use some models from Privateer Press for my Chaos Team. Well part of that idea has failed, it's not a big part of the team as a whole but is a big part within the team. The model that I was going to use as a Minotaur from P3 is super sized compared to GW minis. So I think I'm going to go ahead with the Satyxis Raiders for Beastmen, the GW Chaos Warriors, and use the GW Minotaur that I put together instead of the P3 items.
As for the pure GW Chaos Team, well I have them put together and in their primer coat so far. I believe that I'll use the primer coat as the base color on the Beastmen, and give them some washes to accomplish what I want with them skin wise. I figure on using that same basic process for the Minotaur as him and the Beastmen will be about the same. The Warriors are going to be black armor with red and gold trim.
Sorry for the not so great lighting, but the primer was not showing up well either way & I'm in a hurry. As for when these guys will see a paint brush it's hard to tell really, as I'm still working on getting my Salamander's Army done for my end of September trip to the UK. So it will more then likely be after I get back from there, unless everything else decides to start painting them self. Don't figure that is going to happen.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Finished Ironclad of Salamander's 2nd Company
I finally completed the Ironclad for the Salamander's 2nd Company, decals are on & everything is sealed and ready to game with.
1st Squad of Salamander's 1st Company Assault Terminators
Well I have completed the Assault Terminators, well at least the first half of the squad. These are the 1st Squad of the 1st Company of the Salamander's Army. The only thing that I might add at some point is some squad numbers somewhere on the Terminators, just not sure where I'll add them.
3rd Squad of Salamander's 2nd Company Almost Finished
Here is some updates on my Salamanders Army. I was thinking that this Tactical Squad was complete minus the Multi-Melta, and then the decals dried and the flashing stuck out like a sore thumb. So now I have to touch up the decals on top of getting the Dark Arts Miniatures - Lava bases started. And finish painting the Multi-Melta guy for this squad, and work on the Meltagun & Plasma Gun guys for this squad.
And all three of the Tactical Squad Sergeants together.
Monday, May 24, 2010
The Dirty Ogre from the Humans Team
This guy will not take a bath, but he puts on a clean uniform every game. Some of the team mates are starting to think he has a mutation of "Foul Appearance", others know that he just needs a bath but they are too scared to tell him.
This guy was a quick and easy paint job, I figured he would be the best one to try and paint first from the human team. I tried some new things on this one; first was using an airbrush to do the base coat of red and the highlight on the Human Team, second was making my own washes per Awesomepaintjob.com how-to.
Here is the link to his you tube video of how to make the washes, I used the same materials as he did with the exception of the ink. I used a Liquitex Acrylic Ink that I found at a craft store that is the same in all respects to the ink he used. As I had a hard time finding the Ink he used at the local craft store, I ordered two of the Liquitex Inks from Dick Blick's website. All of my mixes were done by eye and not really measured out, except for the inks which I went by the drops.
Overall I think he has a suntanned & been playing in the dirt all day look to him.
This guy was a quick and easy paint job, I figured he would be the best one to try and paint first from the human team. I tried some new things on this one; first was using an airbrush to do the base coat of red and the highlight on the Human Team, second was making my own washes per Awesomepaintjob.com how-to.
Here is the link to his you tube video of how to make the washes, I used the same materials as he did with the exception of the ink. I used a Liquitex Acrylic Ink that I found at a craft store that is the same in all respects to the ink he used. As I had a hard time finding the Ink he used at the local craft store, I ordered two of the Liquitex Inks from Dick Blick's website. All of my mixes were done by eye and not really measured out, except for the inks which I went by the drops.
- My first wash was what I called "Rust" which was mix of: 20 drops "Red Oxide", 17 drops "Raw Umber", & 3 drops "Carbon Black". I used this wash on all of the metal areas of the Ogre.
- My second wash was "Dirt Water" which was straight 40 drops of "Raw Umber", this was applied to the skin & any where there was red on the Ogre.
- The third wash was "Darkness" (Thank you Dave Chappelle & Rick James) which was straight 40 drops of "Carbon Black", I used this wash on the chain mail areas & in the eye sockets of the Ogre. Boy did it work really well in the eye sockets, the up close pictures of the face look really good.
- First I primed the whole model with Krylon Ultra-Flat Khaki Camo, and then airbrushed Vallejo Game Color (VGC from now on in the post) Gory Red on the pants and helmet.
- Then I highlighted this with an airbrush of VGC Bloody Red. Which this is the point that I figured out I messed up and should of used VGC Scarlett Red as the base red & then airbrush highlight with Gory Red then an hard edge detail with Bloody Red. Oh well that is how the Blood Angels will be done in due time, and I didn't feel like repainting the whole team at this point.
- I hit all of the metal areas with Reaper Master Series (RMS from now on in the post) Blackened Steel, which I had to give a second coat on some areas as they were thin and rubbing off with the touch of a finger.
- After that I applied the "Rust" wash to the metal areas, and then once that was dry I highlighted the raised rivets & spikes with RMS Tarnished Steel.
- The skin was a misstep in the wrong direction, as I started with paint VGC Beasty Brown I really didn't like the look of the skin color that was headed to. So then I switched to RMS Khaki Shadow to bring it back to where I started but just a hair darker then the Krylon Khaki.
- To this I then applied the "Dirt Water" wash, as I was going to highlight over this with the rest of the RMS Khaki Triad. But once the wash was applied I really liked the effects of it on the skin areas, so I decided that was good enough for the Ogre. I'll more then likely do more of the Khaki Triad highlights on the other human miniatures faces, since they clean up before a game.
- On the Leather areas I applied VGC Charred Brown, and then a coat of VGC Beasty Brown leaving Charred Brown in the recesses of the leather.
- Next I highlighted with VGC Plague Brown, but there is a big color difference between the Beasty Brown & Plague Brown. So I mixed the two colors into about a 1:1 ratio by eye, and that was the final highlight for the leather.
- To blend all the leather together I applied the "Dirt Water" wash which brought all the colors together.
Overall I think he has a suntanned & been playing in the dirt all day look to him.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
And a taste of things to come
Just to top off the posting spree tonite, I ordered some miniatures today from the Warstore to make a new team or two. I say "or two" cause I figure on making one that looks really nice, and might be painted by a good painter as I don't think I can get the quality I want with my skills at the moment (but I'll try first). The second of the same team will be a legal GW team so if I wanted to use them in an official GW Tournament or a Tournament that only allow GW miniatures for some reason.
Both teams are going to be Chaos Teams, but the first one is going to have a fun name to go with the really great miniatures. The name of the first team will be the "Beauties & the Beasts" and will be made up of the following miniatures:
Both teams are going to be Chaos Teams, but the first one is going to have a fun name to go with the really great miniatures. The name of the first team will be the "Beauties & the Beasts" and will be made up of the following miniatures:
- Beastmen will be Cryx: Satyxis Raiders for the beauties side of things.
- Chaos Warriors will be the GW plastic Chaos Warriors box from WFB range as the beasts.
- And the Minotaur will be a Circle Orboros: Gnarlhorn Satyr as the real beast (at least by looks).
- Beastmen will be GW WFB Beastmen Gor Herd plastic box.
- Chaos Warriors will still be GW plastic Chaos Warriors box from WFB range, 12 Warriors to a box and 4 Warriors per team. So I'll have four warriors left over for something else.
- And the Minotaur will more then likely be from the GW Beastmen Minotaurs plastic box from WFB. As I really don't like the look of the GW Blood Bowl Minotaur miniature, and I'm not to happy with the Beastmen Minotaurs in plastic but they will do for a simple tournament legal team.
Human & Ogre Team Updates
Human Team:
So I didn't like how the test run of the red base color was going on the first Lineman of my Human Team with the black primer. So I switched to a Khaki primer and did the base coat of red with my airbrush, everything worked out much better this time around I think. I have been busy with my Salamander's Army as of late so progress on the Humans & Ogre Teams is slow. But I am looking forward to making some progress this weekend as I'm waiting on some items to finish the Salamander squad with, so I'll use that down time for the Humans & Ogres. I figure the next step is to do the next highlight of red on the armor, and then come in with the flesh base color for everyone.
An interesting effect from the airbrush is that if you click on the second picture & look close on the Human Team's Ogre it looks like there is blood splatter on his skin from the over spray. I don't really know if I can get the same effect again once the miniatures are fully detailed out and almost finished, but I'll try. Also I have one more lineman & two more blitzers from another good eBay seller that I have stripped the paint from and have primer to match the rest of the team, I still need to lay down the base coat of red for these guys this weekend. They were not included in the below pictures by the way.
Ogre Team:
Again based on the above red test I decided to change the primer color on this team too. As I'm still kind of unsure what the team color I want for these guys is going to be just yet. At least these are easier to see the details on then the first WIP post on the Ogre Team.
So I didn't like how the test run of the red base color was going on the first Lineman of my Human Team with the black primer. So I switched to a Khaki primer and did the base coat of red with my airbrush, everything worked out much better this time around I think. I have been busy with my Salamander's Army as of late so progress on the Humans & Ogre Teams is slow. But I am looking forward to making some progress this weekend as I'm waiting on some items to finish the Salamander squad with, so I'll use that down time for the Humans & Ogres. I figure the next step is to do the next highlight of red on the armor, and then come in with the flesh base color for everyone.
An interesting effect from the airbrush is that if you click on the second picture & look close on the Human Team's Ogre it looks like there is blood splatter on his skin from the over spray. I don't really know if I can get the same effect again once the miniatures are fully detailed out and almost finished, but I'll try. Also I have one more lineman & two more blitzers from another good eBay seller that I have stripped the paint from and have primer to match the rest of the team, I still need to lay down the base coat of red for these guys this weekend. They were not included in the below pictures by the way.
Ogre Team:
Again based on the above red test I decided to change the primer color on this team too. As I'm still kind of unsure what the team color I want for these guys is going to be just yet. At least these are easier to see the details on then the first WIP post on the Ogre Team.
Rant on eBay seller troubles
Start of rant:
I have one set of Forgeworld Salamander's Rhino Doors from an eBay seller that I paid for on 4/28/10 that I have not received yet. And to make things worse the seller actually sent the wrong item to me "supposedly", that I have to send onto the person that actually purchased this lost item. And in turn that person is supposed to mail my Salamander's Doors to me, and the seller is supposed to reimburse us for the shipping.
The seller has not been very helpful on this, and is trying to say that I'm stealing the incorrect item that he messed up on. I think it's supposed to be a Legion of the Damned model or something that was "supposedly" sent to me by mistake, which I could careless for as I just want my Forgeworld doors to finish my Salamander's army. The tracking number from the Postal system is just saying that shipping info was received, but nothing on any progress of the item at this time online. The person at my local Post Office said that their system showed that the item had been processed at the sellers Post Office but didn't show anything after that. I've asked if the seller has filed a claim with the Post Office for the missing package, but I've yet to get a response back from him on if he did or not. Good thing I've already started an Inquiry email with USPS about the lost item with the tracking number that I was provided, but I have yet to here anything from them either.
Here is the string of messages that were sent out & my reply's to them:
The seller's first email to me 5/9/10:
My reply to him that same day:
Here is his reply on 5/14/10:
What a moron, "I know you have them because the label indicated the weight so they were shipped to you."? What the heck is he smoking, yeah the label might show the weight of the package but the tracking number that isn't tracking a darn thing shows that there is a problem.
My reply back to him that day:
My email to the seller on 5/15/10:
My email to the seller on 5/17/10:
And My email to the seller on 5/19/10:
(I took out his name and city in Virginia for his benefit on here.)
And still no reply back from the seller on what he is doing to get this resolved. I might have to just take a quick weekend trip down to Virginia and take him up on his threat and see how far he will go with this "and I will go out of my way to resolve this by ANY means necessary."
Isn't the information age so wonderful (at least for me) that I get to post this rant about a crap eBay seller. The information age is not so wonderful for the seller though, as I already know his full name and address, so showing up at the front door is no problem. And I've seen his pictures on the web, so I know what he looks like too. Bad times for him if I get a little more angry about this situation, a good weekend vacation might be in order.
I have one set of Forgeworld Salamander's Rhino Doors from an eBay seller that I paid for on 4/28/10 that I have not received yet. And to make things worse the seller actually sent the wrong item to me "supposedly", that I have to send onto the person that actually purchased this lost item. And in turn that person is supposed to mail my Salamander's Doors to me, and the seller is supposed to reimburse us for the shipping.
The seller has not been very helpful on this, and is trying to say that I'm stealing the incorrect item that he messed up on. I think it's supposed to be a Legion of the Damned model or something that was "supposedly" sent to me by mistake, which I could careless for as I just want my Forgeworld doors to finish my Salamander's army. The tracking number from the Postal system is just saying that shipping info was received, but nothing on any progress of the item at this time online. The person at my local Post Office said that their system showed that the item had been processed at the sellers Post Office but didn't show anything after that. I've asked if the seller has filed a claim with the Post Office for the missing package, but I've yet to get a response back from him on if he did or not. Good thing I've already started an Inquiry email with USPS about the lost item with the tracking number that I was provided, but I have yet to here anything from them either.
Here is the string of messages that were sent out & my reply's to them:
The seller's first email to me 5/9/10:
Hey i think there was a mix up in packages. You got the LoTD that was supposed to go to another buyer. Can I send you his address and some money to get it to him please? Msg me back ASAP
My reply to him that same day:
Yeah no problem, I have not received the package yet. But as soon as I do I'll get it back out to them ASAP.
Here is his reply on 5/14/10:
I haven't heard back from you about the LotD you received in error. I know you have them because the label indicated the weight so they were shipped to you. Now please message me back so I can arrange for them to get to their owner. I do not take kindly to shenanigans, and I will go out of my way to resolve this by ANY means necessary.
What a moron, "I know you have them because the label indicated the weight so they were shipped to you."? What the heck is he smoking, yeah the label might show the weight of the package but the tracking number that isn't tracking a darn thing shows that there is a problem.
My reply back to him that day:
As of last nite I have not received a package from you yet, with the incorrect item in it. I too don't like shenanigans, or threats. I have tired to check the tracking number that eBay shows but it only says "Status: Electronic Shipping Info Received" nothing about in-route or delivered to address. So you might want to check that you sent it to the correct place. I would like to get this mess resolved & the items that I bought to me and the incorrect item to the person that ordered it. As I said before let me know where it is supposed to be sent to, and once I get it I'll get it out to that person ASAP. We can deal with the cost of shipping after the fact, as long as all parties are made whole afterwords.
Thanks,
James
My email to the seller on 5/15/10:
Still no package in the mail, come Monday I'm going to the Post Office to see if they can help at all on the Tracking Number for this item.
My email to the seller on 5/17/10:
Still no package in the mail today, and the Post Office closed before the mail arrived at my place. So in the morning I'll call them from work to see if they can help find where it is.
And My email to the seller on 5/19/10:
***,
I have contacted my local post office and they have not seen this package yet, and they looked at the Tracking Number and said that it showed that was either at the *********, VA post office or had left the post office on 4/30/10. They didn't show any info after that, have you filed a claim with the Post Office yet for a lost item on this yet? Please let me know what you are doing to resolve this issue.
Thanks,
James C.
(I took out his name and city in Virginia for his benefit on here.)
And still no reply back from the seller on what he is doing to get this resolved. I might have to just take a quick weekend trip down to Virginia and take him up on his threat and see how far he will go with this "and I will go out of my way to resolve this by ANY means necessary."
Isn't the information age so wonderful (at least for me) that I get to post this rant about a crap eBay seller. The information age is not so wonderful for the seller though, as I already know his full name and address, so showing up at the front door is no problem. And I've seen his pictures on the web, so I know what he looks like too. Bad times for him if I get a little more angry about this situation, a good weekend vacation might be in order.
Third Squad of Salamander's Second Company - WIP
Well I'm getting closer to having one full squad completed for my Salamander Army. I need to go back and fix the yellow on these guys, as there is cracks in the yellow like it was some bad paint or something. I have ordered some better yellow paint today so that will get fixed this next week or so. And I ordered some Micro Set & Micro Solve for decals, that way the Salamander decals will look their best (cause I hate decals). So hopefully a good weekend of detail painting and some work next week and I'll have a squad finished.
As for the rest of the army I've got some more detail work to do on my Thunder Hammer Terminators and put the decals on them too. I had started to use the ABoR Space Marines for the other two squads to flesh out my now 1,500 point army list (points change for the trip in September). But I really don't like the look of the ABoR marines beside the regular plastic box marines, so I'm putting together two new Tactical Squads. Also this way I'll be able to paint the details behind the weapons that I would normally glue in place before I prime the models. As for vehicles I've bought some Salamander's Forgeworld Rhino Doors off eBay, two sets should be hear by this weekend or early next week. I have another set of Salamander doors from eBay but there is problem with the shipment from the seller, see the next Blog Post for that rant.
So here is the Third Squads pictures.
And all three sergeants for the 1,500 pt army.
As for the rest of the army I've got some more detail work to do on my Thunder Hammer Terminators and put the decals on them too. I had started to use the ABoR Space Marines for the other two squads to flesh out my now 1,500 point army list (points change for the trip in September). But I really don't like the look of the ABoR marines beside the regular plastic box marines, so I'm putting together two new Tactical Squads. Also this way I'll be able to paint the details behind the weapons that I would normally glue in place before I prime the models. As for vehicles I've bought some Salamander's Forgeworld Rhino Doors off eBay, two sets should be hear by this weekend or early next week. I have another set of Salamander doors from eBay but there is problem with the shipment from the seller, see the next Blog Post for that rant.
So here is the Third Squads pictures.
And all three sergeants for the 1,500 pt army.
Wood Elves Blood Bowl Team - WIP
Out with the old paint job...
So I had bought the Wood Elves Blood Bowl team about eight or nine years ago now, which were some of first minis that I painted. I finally figured out which box these guys were packed away in and examined the quality of paint job I did, man is it bad & thank goodness that I've improved over the years. I still not the best paint in the world, but I can do an ok table top paint job. So my first task was to get the paint off the team, and while I was at it I was going to test two different paint strippers to compare the results. Half the team was put into Simple Green cleaner, while the other half was stripped with Mostenbocker's Lift-Off 5 from Wal-Mart. The Simple Green half soaked for five days and then took me 2 hours & 15 minutes to finish stripping. The Lift-Off 5 half took me 1 hour & 30 minutes to finish stripping.
Here is the overall process that I used for the Simple Green:
Now for the steps for the Lift-Off 5:
I have also used the Lift-Off 5 to clean off resin items of both paint and mold release, it worked very well on the resin and didn't hurt anything. Also on plastic miniatures this stuff is a must if you use Krylon spray paint with the Fusion in it, as Simple Green will not even make a dent in this paint. I've used the Lift-Off 5 on some Rhino tanks off eBay, some ABoR Space Marines that I didn't like the paint I used on them, and some Blood Bowl Human Team figures that I bought off eBay with no damage to the plastic or resin.
Here is the pictures of the before and after with the Lift-Off 5 paint stripper. Never took any pics of the Simple Green one's but they look the same for the most part just a little more paint in recesses on the Simple Green one's.
So I had bought the Wood Elves Blood Bowl team about eight or nine years ago now, which were some of first minis that I painted. I finally figured out which box these guys were packed away in and examined the quality of paint job I did, man is it bad & thank goodness that I've improved over the years. I still not the best paint in the world, but I can do an ok table top paint job. So my first task was to get the paint off the team, and while I was at it I was going to test two different paint strippers to compare the results. Half the team was put into Simple Green cleaner, while the other half was stripped with Mostenbocker's Lift-Off 5 from Wal-Mart. The Simple Green half soaked for five days and then took me 2 hours & 15 minutes to finish stripping. The Lift-Off 5 half took me 1 hour & 30 minutes to finish stripping.
Here is the overall process that I used for the Simple Green:
- Soak miniatures in Simple Green for five days, that is the best duration to get results I think with Simple Green.
- Start scrubbing miniatures (after soak) with a battery powered scrub brush (wheel detailer I think).
- Then once they are for the most part clean go back with a pick and get the paint stuck in the recesses of the miniatures.
- Take and make up a sink full of Dawn dish soap and wash the miniatures again, scrubbing with a brush to make sure all paint & Simple Green is cleaned off.
- Rinse the miniatures off with running water really well and let dry before re-primer of the miniatures.
Now for the steps for the Lift-Off 5:
- Spray miniatures with Lift-Off 5 in a small plastic tub or bowl to catch the Lift-Off 5 in. This doesn't have to be a heavy soak if you have the bowl to let the miniatures set in while you work on scrubbing each one.
- Let the Lift-Off 5 set on the miniature for about 5 to 10 minutes before you start scrubbing.
- Again I used the battery powered scrubber on these guys (actually did these one's before the Simple Green half).
- Then once they are for the most part clean go back with a pick and get the paint stuck in the recesses of the miniatures.
- Take and make up a sink full of Dawn dish soap and wash the miniatures again, scrubbing with a brush to make sure all paint & Lift-Off 5 is cleaned off.
- Rinse the miniatures off with running water really well and let dry before re-primer of the miniatures.
I have also used the Lift-Off 5 to clean off resin items of both paint and mold release, it worked very well on the resin and didn't hurt anything. Also on plastic miniatures this stuff is a must if you use Krylon spray paint with the Fusion in it, as Simple Green will not even make a dent in this paint. I've used the Lift-Off 5 on some Rhino tanks off eBay, some ABoR Space Marines that I didn't like the paint I used on them, and some Blood Bowl Human Team figures that I bought off eBay with no damage to the plastic or resin.
Here is the pictures of the before and after with the Lift-Off 5 paint stripper. Never took any pics of the Simple Green one's but they look the same for the most part just a little more paint in recesses on the Simple Green one's.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Human Team - WIP
Here is the beginnings of a simple Human Team for League, Tournament, or One-Off match play. I've just used the basic Human Team from the latest Blood Bowl box set, since I like the look of these models and cause I like plastic more then metal mini's. The basic set has six Lineman, two Throwers, two Catchers, & two Blitzers in the box. I have added an Ogre model that I've put together from the extra parts from my Ogre Team, and I plan on adding two more Blitzers & two more Lineman soon as the items come in from my eBay purchase from this evening.
I started with priming the mini's with Ultra Flat Black and then trying to paint one Lineman with red paint to see how that was going to work, it didn't work to well as it takes way to many layers to get the base red up where I want it (lazy painter). So I'm going to use Ultra Flat Khaki primer on them as soon as it gets nice outside to prime them again. The Khaki should make the red base color easier, and make the faces easier too. I can always go in and paint the black areas back in over the Khaki (shoes). The colors for the team are going to be Blood Red & Bleached Bone (GW Colors) like the Blood Raven's of 40k, and the team symbol I'm going to use on the chest plates is the Red Scorpion from Forge World. I've got a whole sheet of the Vraks Decals from Forge World, and I should have some numbers coming soon from Impact Miniatures to put on the bases.
Here is the Linemen for the team so far
And the Catchers, Blitzers, Throwers, & Ogre so far.
What next?
Well re-primer the mini's, make some Turn/Re-roll/Score markers with the Forge World resin Red Scorpion symbols, and a team banner pole of some type.
I started with priming the mini's with Ultra Flat Black and then trying to paint one Lineman with red paint to see how that was going to work, it didn't work to well as it takes way to many layers to get the base red up where I want it (lazy painter). So I'm going to use Ultra Flat Khaki primer on them as soon as it gets nice outside to prime them again. The Khaki should make the red base color easier, and make the faces easier too. I can always go in and paint the black areas back in over the Khaki (shoes). The colors for the team are going to be Blood Red & Bleached Bone (GW Colors) like the Blood Raven's of 40k, and the team symbol I'm going to use on the chest plates is the Red Scorpion from Forge World. I've got a whole sheet of the Vraks Decals from Forge World, and I should have some numbers coming soon from Impact Miniatures to put on the bases.
Here is the Linemen for the team so far
And the Catchers, Blitzers, Throwers, & Ogre so far.
What next?
Well re-primer the mini's, make some Turn/Re-roll/Score markers with the Forge World resin Red Scorpion symbols, and a team banner pole of some type.
Ogre Team - League Team WIP
Well so far I've put together all of the Ogres for a League type of team. I figure there is five Ogres and six Snotlings along with two re-rolls & four fan factor should get them started. I know it's going to be risky and a pain in the butt if Bone-Head pops up a lot, this is a have fun and bash the crap out of the other teams list. I also put together three Ogres to act as Skill Boosted Ogres after the seasons get going good, mainly to tell the different Ogres apart on the pitch. To achieve this I've cut out six gut-plates of the same design and put magnets on the back of them, once I get the numbers from Impact Miniatures I'll put them in the center of the gut-plates.
I have a thrower type Ogre with a cannon with ball stuck in the end of it, a catcher with a Trap in hand and looks like he is yelling for the ball, & then another guy that looks like he is about to put the trap into a player (could be another catcher too).
Here is the starting Ogres with comparison size wise to a Human Lineman & Ork 'Ard Boy (Black Orc).
Closer Detail of the starting Ogres
For the heck of it
And just because it was to funny to not use, the Ogre Kingdoms Battalion box came with some random Gnoblers which I'm using as the Snotlings for the team. There was one of the Snotlings that stands out to me, I figure on using it for a Strength Boost Snotling or Two Headed Snotling.
Whats left to do
Now I just need a nice day outside so I can get these guys in Khaki Primer and then the painting can start. I figure on team colors of either red or maybe dark green white maybe white strips on the pants, and go with a light skin color for the Ogres & Snotlings. And I'm going to name the team the Ogreton Man-eaters, the good thing about the magnetic gut-plates is that I can get another set of 6 of the Great Maw Champion Gut-plates to make them look like the team banner pole I have.
I have a thrower type Ogre with a cannon with ball stuck in the end of it, a catcher with a Trap in hand and looks like he is yelling for the ball, & then another guy that looks like he is about to put the trap into a player (could be another catcher too).
Here is the starting Ogres with comparison size wise to a Human Lineman & Ork 'Ard Boy (Black Orc).
Closer Detail of the starting Ogres
For the heck of it
And just because it was to funny to not use, the Ogre Kingdoms Battalion box came with some random Gnoblers which I'm using as the Snotlings for the team. There was one of the Snotlings that stands out to me, I figure on using it for a Strength Boost Snotling or Two Headed Snotling.
Whats left to do
Now I just need a nice day outside so I can get these guys in Khaki Primer and then the painting can start. I figure on team colors of either red or maybe dark green white maybe white strips on the pants, and go with a light skin color for the Ogres & Snotlings. And I'm going to name the team the Ogreton Man-eaters, the good thing about the magnetic gut-plates is that I can get another set of 6 of the Great Maw Champion Gut-plates to make them look like the team banner pole I have.
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