Slow Week

I took the small sections of time I had this past week to do some basecoats and jazz on some things.

I painted some skintones (natural and non) on my gryph charger thingies:

The darker one only has one layer of Rakarth Flesh, it got another coat later.  The other one has two layers and a wash layer I didn't like so later I added a layer of VMC Ger. Camo Beige.

I like this color a lot.  It looks like lion coloring.

I did a couple layers of The Fang and had some left on the pallet so I put a couple layers on a troll.

Then I added different levels of VMC Off-White and did dry-brushing in multiple levels.

Then I added a glaze of VMC Dark Sea Blue to the scale and some VMC Uniform Green on his loin cloth.

I am very poor at dry-brushing, guess I need more practice.

Painting Up Some More Stormcast... Areas

I got more peices for my Stormcast Army.  I want to get them done sometime this winter so I painting the up  when I have time.  This weekend I painted a lot of armor with my black metallic mix that I made back when I started this army.

Some of the metallic blob:

To break up the metal monotony I painted some of the red trim and cloth:

I put some paint on some birdies too:

I intended to do some wet blending but I didn't have time.  Having the underneath colors could help when I get around to blending... I think.

When I get it all painted I'll have 54 AoS figures I think.

Just For Fun

Last weekend was Underworld Cup and that was the last BB tournament I plan on attending this year.  I intended on moving my focus to This is Not Test, I've only played one game with one warband and I'm hooked.

All that being said I decided to throw some paint on a Gryphcharger because I have some ideas running through my head.  I decided to try painting a Rakarth Flesh base and tint it with Reikland Fleshshade.

Ok.  I don't know how I feel about it.  I think the shade needs to be thinned out a bit.  This took way too long to look like junk so I've got some thinking to do before I go any farther.

I think I'll do another recess shade then drybrush up the muscles.  I also need to pick a color for the feathers.  I'm leaning toward a reddish brown

Depending on if I like how it turns out, that will determine how I move forward with the others.  I'm not sure if I'll finish this guy up or move to my TNT stuff. 

More Building

This week I was able to complete 16 more models (+3 for the mounts).


4 Vanguard Hunters and 1 Prime:

2 Vanguard Paladins and 1 Prime, and their mounts:

Mounts (kept separate for painting)

Riders

8 Wild West Exodus models:

Might be a TNT warband

Next up, base prep and prime time!

Test Passed & Build Time

A while ago, I posted regarding a test game of This is Not a Test.  Long story short, it was a blast and I have about a billion terrain ideas.  More on that in the future, but for now it's build time.

In the weeks since Chaos Cup, I have been working to get stuff built.  I want to get quite a few models built so that I can get a lot primed before the weather turns cold.  So far I've built 17 models.

8 standard Judicators and 2 Primes:

Neave Blacktalon:

2 standard Raptors and 1 Prime:

3 Aetherwings:

The next lot to build will be 5 Vanguard Hunters, 3 Vanguard Paladins and their mounts, and 8 Wild West Exodus models I won in a raffle at Chaos Cup 2017.

Introducing: Sons of Callous

Sons of Callous:



Sarkis on Kostya (Lord Celestant on Dracoth):



Sephtis (Lord Relictor):



Azad, Dror, Lirim, Dermot, Raghid (Liberators):

Adlai, Zidkijah, Melich (Prosecutors with Celestial Hammers):



Paints used:

Armor - Dark Metal (VMC Black, VMC Dark Sea Blue, VMC Gunmetal, 2:1:1)
Accents - VMC Hull Red
Hammers - VMC Gold, Citadel Scorched Brown 3:1
Bolts - Citadel Rackarth Flesh
Weapon Handles - VMC Hull Red
Metal Weapons - Citadel Chainmail
Wings - Citadel Rackarth Flesh
Leather - VMC Hull Red
Script Things - VMC G.C. Beige WWII
Washes - Nuln Oil, Reikland Flesh, Agrax Earth, The Fang
Bone - VMC G.C. Beige WWII
Dracoth Skin - VMC Dark Sea Blue

I haven't sealed them yet as I think I'll want to add/change some stuff. But they're ready for Saturday.

Primetime

The long weekend afforded me sometime to catch up.

Primed:

Basecoat & Assembled:

I'm happy with how he's turning out.  More gold accents make him stand out from the rest of the squad.  Now to finish him.  The dracoth's tail and the arm that will hold the shield came off during painting.  I'll put those back on in the final stage.  I was hoping to be finished by now but I'm close.  I should have the table ready version ready very shortly.

If At First You Don't Succeed...

When I built the dracoth for my Stormcast I messed it up about as bad as I could.  I've put off fixing it and painting it but now we have a firm date so I need to get it done.

I watched a painting how-to where they left the lord and the mount separate so I figured I'd do that.  Then when I tried to dry-fit the pieces and they didn't come together right.  My solution to this is to give the lord some longer legs.  His lower legs are sculpted on the mount.  So, I glued some sprue pieces on the legs.

Then I put greenstuff around those and shaped them:

Building, Sculpting, Fixing... not my strong suit.

Now dry-fit round two.

Pressed into GS to give me guidance for final assembly.

I'm also going to model a shield onto the unit.  I needed to flatten an area on his left arm. I won't mount the shield until the end.

Lord Celestant on Stick, also his shield is in the background.

Hopefully if a few year's time I can look back on this and see that my sculpting and filling is much, much better.

Next step prime.

Practice... We Talkin' 'Bout Practice..?

Randroid and I have been able to get together to play practice games for the AoS campaign we're going to be involved with at the beginning of June.  I'm learning a ton, both about my warband and about how to play this game.  Randroid has tried out multiple builds since he has more experience with the game than I do.  And I've stuck with one build and tried out different strategies.  Some with good success, some leading to a quick death.  His group isn't fully finished yet but he at least has basecoats on each of his minis, this makes my Lord Castellant on Dracoth stick out like a sore thumb.

I got too caught up to remember to take photos.  I wish I had.  So, next time I'll take some; I promise.

As for painting the rest of the warband, I feel like I'm close to having the other nine done.  I need to finish their base and some touch-up then they'll be don.  I had grand ideas of how the army would look but my mind is a much better painter than my hand.  This coming weekend is a holiday weekend here, so I'd like to get the whole shooting match done this coming weekend.

I cleaned up my work space again so I'm re-motivated to paint, which is very good since I have to get it done.  Hopefully I'll have more pictures soon to keep track of what to do.

But How Strong is the Shield? - Part 2

More stages on the shields from a while ago guess I didn't post it

Insignia Hammer:  Vallejo Flat Brown (undercoat), Vallejo Gold (core), Citadel Dryad Bark (shading), Citadel Runefang Steel (highlight).

Insignia Lightening:  Citadel Rakarth Flesh (core), Citadel The Fang (shading), Vallejo Off-white (highlight).

But How Strong is the Shield? - Part 1

Possibly my favorite feature of the Liberators are their shields.  I wanted to make these shields appear used so they needed to have damage and all that.  I used a hobby knife to add some deep grooves and depended on paint to do the rest.  The back sides were painted black with gold trim, I left it dark because that part will likely be in the shadows or unseen.

Main shield:  Vallejo Black, Vallejo Black/Grey - 3:1 (core), Vallejo Black glaze (shading), Vallejo Black/Grey added to base at different levels (highlight).

Main Sheild Part

Armor part:  Vallejo Hull Red (core), Carb. Crimson (shading), Vallejo Carmine Red added to base at different levels (highlight).

Added Reds

Much more to do but this is what I have so far.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

I was able to squeak in a bit more time over the weekend and yesterday.  We are experiencing unheard weather for February so I've been spending more time outside.  60's in February in Michigan?  I got the rest of my armor and shading based.  Monday I dry-brushed over the base and shade to bring back some of the shine.

Front guys have been dry-brushed

Hopefully I'll have more time soon.

The Good Left Undone

I got about 3 hours over the weekend, not straight, but that was unexpected.  My green stuff work is done on all but one model so I decided to work on basing.  I viewed a lot of Stormcast Externals online and decide to give them an astrogranite-like base.  The table I made last year has a rocky-type look to it and I figured they should look good on that.  I made up a slurry of fine grit and white glue and spread that across the bases.

Slurry

Globbed on then spread with a brush

When the glue dries it appears clear and the grit was held down very well.  At this point I primed the basic Liberators.  I used black gesso mixed with a touch of white paint to make a very dark grey brush on primer. Since it's too cold to spray prime reliably this is what I tried.  As for the results, I think I'll prime this way from now on.

Grit spread and dry and Gesso primed

As I stated previously, I finagle some more time than I thought.  Since I had the time I used it to start a test model.  Basecoats were blocked in and intial washes were done.  No detailing or highlighting was done hence the title.

Terrible photo but the scheme shows

The dark metallic armor was based with a mix I made from three colors: Vallejo Gunmetal Grey, Vallejo Black, and Vallejo Dark Sea Blue.  Roughly 2:1:1,  I made a lot of this mix and put it in an old pot.

Armor: Dark Metal
Shoulder Things: Vallejo Black/Grey
Hammer Head: Vallejo Gunmetal Grey
Citadel Nuln Oil Shade

Loin Cloth, Weapon Grip and Shoulder Edging: Vallejo Hull Red
Citadel Carb. Crimson Shade

Halo, Loin cloth scales, Accents: Vallejo Gold, Citadel Dryad Bark 2:1
Citadel Reikland Fleshshade

Script Cloth thingy: Vallejo German Camo WWII Beige
Citadel Agrax Earthshade

I think I'm happy with that start.  I might mix in black to the black grey to make it a bit darker on the shoulders and the scabard.  The main armor will brighten up a bit too after the highlighting so that might help it too.

You Can Shine All the Buttons on Your Green Shirt

I had 1 hour to work on modeling last night.  I wasted 15 minutes looking for the right brush to apply some liquid green stuff.

I haven't had much luck with LGS in the past so I took my time on this.  I filled very small gaps in the liberators' shoulder joints and by the end I found a method that worked for me.

I took a small glop of LGS on the tip of a brush and deposited it on the gap.  Then I cleaned the brush and used a towel to remove the excess water.  I then brushed over the deposit of LGS and that smoothed it out.  If there was too much after that, I cleaned up the excess with a wet brush and a paper towel.

After giving it some time to dry it looks as though I'll need to do another layer.  I also found some mold lines I missed, so I'll clean those up when I do the second layer.

Only in a World So Cold

The build is done!  I finally got the gluing and clipping and scraping done.  Here is a pic of the whole clan.

I used blue tack to attach the Lord to the Dracoth and the shields to the liberators just for the photo.

I thought the Lord Relictor was going to be the single toughest model to build but he was a piece of cake.  Then I tried the Dracoth.  He was not  I used mostly plastic cement for the build.  I heard it worked best if you let the cement go on the model for a couple of seconds before attaching the other side, which had cement too.  However this caused the little guide nubs to melt, so I had to guess how to join some parts.  I did dry fit everything before I glued it but still.  Hopefully, I learn from all the mistakes I made.

My next step is green stuff some weak points.  Then I'll use a hobby knife and do some damage.

Here's where the cold comes in, priming.  I'm doing some test with using gesso to prime so I can maybe prime inside.

My family has decided to make some changes in how certain rooms get used.  Now that the army building is done I need to get back to some work around the house so hobby time is going to be a bit harder to come by.  If I get free time I'll use it to play.  I'll be the "uses grey models" guy for a while.

On the Backpack Loaded Up with Things and Knickknack's Too

Backpacks on.

Last night, I put the backpacks on my Retributors.  Taking pictures helps me see where I need to do some more clean-up and future green stuff application.  

I also built the Prosecutor Prime but haven't attached the wings yet.  The last two models I need to build are the most difficult, but the end is near.

I've decided to try to finish these builds by Friday, so my post with a schedule is now void.  I'm still deciding a basing theme as well.  I'm going to search images and such, figure out what needs to happen before priming.

I can see painting on the horizon.

... A Slow Hand

I had a small amount of time last night so I did some building because my tools were out already.  Here is my progress from last night.

The Retributors still need their backpack things.  I was clipping and cleaning them up when I needed to go to bed.

Geez, I'm not good with assembly.  I get very frustrated with my lack of coordination but after short burst of anger I relax and remember just to go slow.

Three more models to go and I'll have the force built.  Of course they are the three most involved models but hey 15 down 3 to go there's light at the end of the tunnel.  Maybe I wont take that break I was thinking about and get this stuff done.

I Push My Fingers into My...

*Clip

*Cut

*Scrape

*Glue 

Repeat

*Clip

*Cut

*Scrape

*Glue 

Repeat

How do you folks do it?  This is the first time I've assembled this level and amount of the plastic crack, and it is crazy time consuming.  I'm just building the Stormcast half of the starter box and it is taking forever.  I've worked on them for about 4 hours (not in a row), and I've put together all ten Liberators (minus the shields), 2 of the Prosecutors (minus the wings), and 90% of the Retributors.  I don't intend to leave the wings off but I have to find the perfect time to try to attach them.  I'm a bit shaky.  

I think I'll finish up building the final Prosecutor, the wings, and the Retributors.  Then I'm going to do the extra prep before priming; green stuff, damage, cleaning.

I think I'm going to take a break from building after that.  Painting is much, much more fun for me and I need to keep interest.  I have some Blood Bowl teams in desperate need of being finished and my long forgotten Mordheim warband needs some attention too.3

I haven't had much luck with schedules but I'm going to try some deadlines.

General:  Fridays Post Updates other posts as I see fit. 

Feb 3:  Finish current Stormcast build.

Feb 10:  Blood Bowl touch ups.

Feb 17:  Build Relictor

Feb 24:  Mordheim touch ups

Got A Letter in the Mail

Opened it up, sure enough, they we were arm in arm again.

The box came today.  Guess I need to do some building, cleaning, and fixing.  Then I can wash them and prime.  This is not my favorite task but it has to be done.  I was able to practice my color options on some other models I had.

I opened up the box to see what I got.  I knew what was in it but it was still fun to check it out.

Okay so I'm building the Stormcast so I think I'll start with the "standard" unit, the liberators.

I've watched a few painting videos and it appears that the best option is the leave the shields off  to have better access to the models.    

Here is the first set of builds, minus shields:

1st 4 Liberators

Notes from build:

1. Halo thingies are super fiddle-ly
2. Mold lines

Next:

1. Green stuff
2. Damage with hobby knife
3. Clean
4. Prime

Been a Long Time

My last post was over 4 months ago?  What have I been doing?  Not painting that's for sure.  The last four months have been a bit of a gut punch, but life happens to everyone.  OK, here's to now.

In that time Randroid finally got me to play some AoS... shockingly (not really) I had fun.  So naturally, I needed to pick a faction.  I went into it trying to find the group with the models I like most.  The image I had in my head didn't fit anything I saw on the GW website.  I thought the Khorne models seemed the best of what I saw but the fluff didn't suit me.  I didn't care for the human models as much and I don't like the "cone-head" elf stuff.  But digging through I found some dark elf and wood elf models that didn't have the cones, so I started there.  I use extremely rudimentary graphic skills to edit color options on pictures of the models.  This helped me find a color scheme I liked.  Then I added some Sylvaneth characters and some Stormcast stuff.  I had an army plan!  Then I looked into price and synergy and my idea went up in a cloud of smoke.  They wouldn't work together well without adding other pieces I didn't care for and the price was climbing.

In reflecting on that scenario I was looking for other cheaper ideas.  I stumbled across a picture of a Stormcast Eternal painted in a scheme very close to the one in my head. I didn't are for the golden blob I saw in other pics but these caught my eye.  Also them being in the starter set made them a good price option too.  So that settled it.  I'm gonna be Stormcast.

Here are some of my quick ideas for the faction.  

Lord C

Dray

Wing 1

Wing 2

Ax