Painting Squad Symbols On A Rhino

I’ve always fancied squad markings on the top hatch of Rhino’s.  I’m not entirely sure why, but they’ve always seems fitting.  So naturally that what I want to do with my Rhino’s.  The unfortunate reality is that I can’t free hand paint worth a damn.  Here’s one solution that I came up with, it’s probably not new, but it works really well.

Scotch Tape is a great thing…

Here I masked off the area in the shape of a tactical squads arrow.  I made sure that the very inner edges were pressed flat to keep any paint from running underneath.  If you try this you can tell that you have good adhesion when the tape is nearly transparent.  Since I wanted my arrow to be white, in this step I filled in the area with Codex Grey.

 I used Fortress Grey in this step to help make it easier to paint on the white.

I forgot to take a picture in between painting on the white and this step, but I’m sure you’ll be able to fill in the blank.  After painting on the white I pealed the tape back to nice crisp lines.  Sadly I also discovered that my arrow was slightly off.  So I again used some Scotch Tape were I needed to make corrections.

Here’s my WIP Rhino with the hatch.  Overall it came out pretty nice.  While doing this though I had a stroke of madness and thought up a crazy idea for the second Rhino.  Which may end up being repeated here depending on how well it turns out, but you’ll have to check back after the holidays to see.  ;)

Happy Holidays everyone.  Cheers!

Titanicus by Dan Abnett

I finished reading Titanicus and I have to say that this book is incredible.  It’s due for re release in paperback soon so I strongly suggest buying it.  Surely I am not the first person to give this book rave reviews and I hope I’m not the last.

Titanicus is actually my first Black Library purchase and a fine one I have to admit.  This book has single handedly sunk its claws into my imagination and thrusted me into all that is grim and dark and magnificent in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.  For the first time ever I’m more than just fascinated by the Warhammer 40,000 universe and its stories.  For the first time I want to know more, I want to read more and I can give my thanks to Dan Abnett for that.

Titanicus is the book that I will forever compare future Black Library books to and I honestly think the bar is set high.

The Tyranid Force

I completed assembly of my Tyranids…

 

It’s the core of the army, I’ll of course add to it as I see fit.  Maybe some more Carnifex’s and/or Zoanthrope’s.  Perhaps a Trygon or nine.  The army will lay dormant until I get my hands on the new codex, but afterwards it’s straight to paint and then the tabletop.

Righty the Ravener from my last post is making another appearance.  I gave him just the tiniest bit of a face lift with the addition of extended carapace bitz on his shoulders.  I think it adds a lot to the model for being such a simple addition.

That’s all I have for now.  I’m off to assemble the new Fortress of Redemption, which by the way is absolutely massive and gorgeous.  It’s definitely a must-see model.  Cheers!

The Great Ravener Dilemma of 2009

So in my massive box set of Tyranids that I purchased there were three Ravener’s.  One of which had no right arms.  GW was very gracious in replacing my model, but that still left me with a Ravener with no right arms.  Poor guy was almost discarded, but I dug through the accumulated Tyranid bitz and found a solution…

I came across the left over rending claw arms from the warrior sprue as well as the scything talons not used on the Genestealers.  Problem solved…

Normally Ravener’s have six arms and if they have rending claws, they are the middle pair of arms.  I had to improvise here.  The Genestealer scything talons are far too small to be the primary set of arms and the warrior rending claws are slightly bigger than the normal Ravener ones.  By flipping them I feel I maintained cohesiveness.  As for the third set of arms… I don’t have anything else that really works so I’ll just fill the holes with some green stuff.

Back In The Saddle

It’s been awhile, but now that the thunderstorm looming over my head is finally gone I can get some hobby done and some blog posts up.  If you’re wondering where I’ve been… I’ve been dealing with a preverbal shit-storm of bad fortune.

To sum it up as quickly as I can… Both the wife piece and myself wrecked both of our cars two weeks apart, no one was injured.  She needed to buy a new vehicle because hers was deemed totaled. I then bought a new one because I wanted to.  Thanksgiving came and went, much travelling was done.  After the holidays the wife piece and I both became ill.  Thankfully none of that H1N1 crap going around.  A month later we’re well and I’m back in the saddle and ready to go.

I just finished up my one set of Urban Barricades after leaving them only primed for months.  I kept them simple, but made sure to do enough that they wouldn’t be bland.  Each piece was first primed black and then given a base coat of Chardon Granite by means of heavy over brushing.

The door in this barricade was first painted with Camo Green and then given a liberal coating of Devlan Mud.  The rusty grate was done using the technique described in this months White Dwarf.  (Painting The Coach Inn p.86)  I started with with a base coat of Dark Flesh, then stippled on some Bestial Brown followed by a tiny bit of Blazing Orange.  I have to admit the new GW Stippling Brush was the VIP here.  I’ve used old worn out, cut off brushes to stipple before, but the new GW brush is designed for the technique and really does do a better job.

On this barricade you can see the lite dry brushing of Graveyard Earth around the very bottom to give the effect of dust and dirt being kicked up onto the wall.

  The gold on this was done very simply by dry brushing on Shinning Gold followed by a highlight of Chainmail and washed with Devlan Mud.

Take note to the fallen statue in front.  To make this barricade have bit more personality I focused on making the statue a lighter color.  I started with a base coat of Dessert Yellow followed by a highlight of Bleached Bone and then finished it by painting a small amount of Devlan Mud into the deepest recesses.

Here’s another example of the rust technique.  This one would have been pretty boring without some additional contrasting colors in the mix.

Lastly the wrecked bike.  The gold is done exactly as described above, but the body of the bike started with a base of Modian Blue, washed with Badab Black and then highlighted with Mordian Blue.

That’s all for now.  Thanks for stopping.  Cheers!

New Army Sheet, The Best One Yet

First I want to thank everyone who has downloaded my other army sheets and also thank those who gave feedback on them.  I’ve listened to your comments and emails and have revised my most popular army sheet to give it what the community has asked for.

What has changed?  There are now four HQ rows for all you Space Wolves players and with the Imperial Guard now being able to field more tanks than ever before, I upped the vehicle section to nine rows.  Additionally some non Imperial players wanted a sheet that was a little more Xenos friendly.  So I changed the background to the most neutral Warhammer 40,000 image I could think of… The 5th Edition Rulebook cover.

This sheet still has all of the great features of the previous one: Automatic text sizing,  fully sequential form fields, automatic points totaling, files savable using Adobe Reader and all on an intuitive and dare I say attractive layout.

Follow the jump to download my newest army sheet…

- Army Sheet Download -

You can see all of my other army sheets and downloads by clicking… here.

Enjoy and thanks for stopping.  Cheers!

Slightly Revamped Tyranid Color Schemes I & II

I made some minor adjustments to each of the color schemes.  Archetype I (brown shell) got some Bubonic Brown highlights to accent its other wise bland look and feel.  Archetype II (green shell) got some Skull White dry brushing on the fleshy bitz and some more Devlan Mud shading on the shell.  I believe the addition of more Devlan Mud wash to the green shell would resolve any issues of it being too bright on larger models.  All hail the Devlan Mud.

Once the new codex hits I’m going to start my personal Iron Painter challenge so I think this is as far as I’ll take either scheme.  Now all I have to do is make a decision which one I like best.

Tyranid Color Scheme Archetype II

Here is my second choice of color schemes to use for my Tyranid army.  I like scheme one because it uses very natural, contrasting colors.  I like scheme two because it’s brighter, still has a strong contrast, but is less natural.  I’m conflicted which to go with.  Perhaps I need to devise a 3rd scheme.

Archetype II

GW Skull White primer > Painted the shell Snot Green > Gryphonne Sepia wash the entire model > Paint Devlan Mud into the recess of the shell and the deepest recess of the body > Chaos Black with a Codex Grey highlight on the fangs > Finally a little Graveyard Earth on the base.

It’s another simple scheme that’s very easy to achieve.  Let me know what you think of this scheme and which you like best; scheme one (dark brown shell) or scheme two (green shell).

Thanks for reading.  Cheers!

Tyranid Color Scheme Archetype I

I chose to test my color scheme on a single ripper.  It didn’t come out exactly as planned, but none the less I like the results.  The shell was supposed to be brown with a yellowish hue, not brown with a red hue.  I’ll need to do another test with a different base color and see how that goes.

Archetype I

GW Skull White primer > Painted the shell Scorched Brown > Gryphonne Sepia wash over the whole model > Devlan Mud was into the recesses of the shell > Chaos Black on the claws followed by a high light of Codex Grey > Lastly the little base was done with Graveyard Earth

The scheme is meant to be as easy as possible while yielding good table top results as I plan on doing a sort of Iron Painter chalange.  Next I think I’ll try a green shell with a whiter body.

Comments, criticisms and suggestions are more than welcome.

R.I.P. Frosty The Snow Marine 8/09 – 10/09

This post is dedicated in loving memory of Frosty the Snow Marine.  May the emperor bless.  “We had some good times ‘ol buddy, I’ll miss ya.”

Frosty met his demise in the green abyss a.k.a.  Simple Green.

I have to say that this stuff has done it again.  Another successful Simple Green story to add to the pile.  I left my frosted tactical squad soak for a little more than 24 hours, pulled them out and got busy scrubbing them with an old tooth brush.  About 98% of the paint came off.  Good enough for most I’d assume, but I’m a perfectionist so back into the green abyss they went for another 24 hours.  After the second dip and scrubbing I was much happier with the results.  You can see below that the primer was left almost wholly unscathed, the plastic completely unharmed and the paint 99.9% gone.

The squad is ready for paint once more, but this time will not be subject to the horrors of GW’s Purity Seal.  Instead I have two cans of Testors Dullcote on standby.

Aside from this I haven’t been able to accomplish much.  I’ve been in Florida this past week on business.  I have however managed to get my Hive Tyrant and my super exclusive closed claw Lictor assembled.  I want another Hive Tyrant, but I will most definitely be waiting for the new plastic kit.  Why?  Three reasons: 1. It’s plastic. 2. Wings.  3. It’s plastic… The metal kit is a slutty whore and pushed my patients to the limit.

Until next post, thanks for stopping.  Cheers!

Gearing Up For Tyranids

Not to long ago I stumbled across a deal that I couldn’t ignore.  An unopened 1000 point Tyranid army box for $200.00.  With the new codex coming in just a few months I’d be a fool to have not snatched it up… right?

I’m not sure how old the box set is, but it’s one that I’ve never seen before.  I think it may be from the early days of 4th edition.

Contents: (1) Hive Tyrant, (1) Zoanthrope, (16) Gaunts, (16) Hormagaunts, (4) Ripper Swarms, (6) Warriors, (8) Genestealers, (3) Raveners, (1) Lictor and the current Tyranid codex.

I think the only additions I’ll make are another Hive Tyrant, winged of course.  Three Carnifex’s, and some treasures that are sure to come with the release of the new codex.  Dare I say… Trygon?

This brings me to three armies that I have back logged to do, the others being my Ultramarines and my Imperial Guard.  I think I need a break from life to catch up on these.

The Mega Post… Moonscape Finished

I finished up my first set of Moonscape craters tonight.  I have to say… The results are better than anticipated.

I wanted these to match my Realm of Battle Gameboard so I opted for the blasted dirt look rather than the gray up heaved bed-rock scheme.  The colours are those used in the Citadel Scenery Pack and the edges were textured using the Vallejo Black Lava.  Here’s a picture of them sitting on my desk after being primed.  The Black Lava does a nice job to cover up those horrid and unsightly flat edges.

After priming them black I used the Citadel spray gun and applied on a nice even coat of brown over the whole crater.  I then used a large flat drybrush to make the black blast area in the center and then drybrushed Ochre brown over the outer edges.  Finally I applied Devlan Mud wash to the deepest crevasses.

Here are some other projects that I am slowly working on.  Three tanks for my Space Marine army.  I’ve not done much other than prime them and use the spray gun to give them a coat of Mechrite Red, but it’s a start.

My most recently painted Space Marine squad got their decals and were designated tactical squad no. 10.

I assembled my Shrine of the Aquila.  Honestly, I had forgotten I bought the thing.  I was under the bed pulling out some paints and such for the Moonscape and there it was.  I’ll most likely paint it up to match the picture on the box, but somehow tie it in to the rest of my buildings.  The Shrine is HUGE…  Frosty the Snow Marine gives you size comparison.

 

Well, I’m afraid that’s all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.  Cheers!  :)

The Golden Aquila Rating System

I've posted a few product reviews where I summarize the product with a rating measured in golden Aquila's. The ratings are from zero to five and go in half Aquila increments. I figured it would be nice of me to offer the images I use for download. This way anyone who would like to make reviews of anything pertaining to the 40K universe can do so in style. ;)

- Download The Golden Aquila Rating System -

Magnetized Predator Sponsons

I magnetized the sponsons on my Predator about a week ago.  I finished assembling it and then primed it black before realizing that I had not made a blog post about it.  It’s a bit late to really give a proper walk through, but better late then never I suppose.  My apologies if this all seems a bit confusing.

Fortunately magnetizing Predator sponsons is probably one of the easiest things to magnetize as there’s very little modification needed and no drilling necessary.

I started by clipping the off the flat extension that goes into the gun right below the block portion.  A 1/8” magnet fits perfectly onto its surface.

I then cut a little piece of 1/8” thick plasticard to fill in the gap where the extension would have gone into the guns and glued another 1/8” magnet, centered on top of what was the hole.  I chipped away some of the primer so you can see the magnet a bit better and if you look closely you can see the outline of the plasticard piece around it.

Doing it this way still allows for 180 degrees of rotation.  It does however, prevent the gun from pointing up or down, but really, just how important is it that the gun be able to point up or down?  In my opinion… It’s not important at all.

Using the 1/8” magnets was perfect because it placed the guns at almost the exact same height as the non modified part.

 

I did have the turret magnetized also, but it was rather flimsy so I’ll not bother going into detail how I did it.  After some consideration I decided to just glue the twin-link lascannon into place.  Honestly, I can not see myself ever using the autocannon and should I some day decide to… There’s always ‘counts as’.

Thanks for stopping by.  Cheers!

Battle Foam Space Hulk Trays

I got my Space Hulk trays from Battle Foam tonight and as soon as I could I put them to use.  The trays fit very nicely into the Space Hulk box which I have to say is the nicest thing about them.

Model Tray – First, this tray is a must have for anyone that intends to paint the models.  The model tray amazingly is able to fit all 12 Terminators and 22 Genestealers albeit very snugly, but this is to be expected.  Trying to figure out what model goes where and how it fits can be a bit of a chore.  Battle Foam does give you a black & white print out of where things go, but it’s a Xerox copy and is a bit tough to interpret.  Once I figured it out I immediately took a picture with my cell phone so I’ll always have it handy, even if I travel to a friends house.  If you’re masochistic and  up for a puzzle challenge than you could try to figure it out on your own… Good luck if you try.

Some of the Genestealers at the very top stick up a bit, but nothing too bad.  Once the box top is on it doesn’t matter.

Game Tray – The game tray is just as much a puzzle as the model tray.  It took me a awhile to figure out how to arrange all of the pieces so that nothing came up to high and made the model tray stick out.  Once everything was in place I again took a picture so I’ll have an idea of how to put it all back in.  Oh yea, the larger than life Mission Status Display and books do not fit.  They’ll need to be placed either on the very top or in between the trays.

What to look out for – Because the model tray has such tight tolerances, the Genestealers claws snag the foam.  Over time I can see this being an issue as  the foam will get shredded.  The game tray (at least mine) had hair thin stands of glue all over the inner bottom portion where the corridor pieces go.  I didn’t think much of it at first, but amidst my fumbling around trying to make things fit I found pieces sticking together.  It was the glue and it did not come off, so be warned and be careful.

Conclusion – Despite the whole glue ordeal and knowing that eventually the Genestealers will not only tear the Terminators to bits, but also my model try… I give this product 3.5 Golden Aquila’s out of 5.

The New Tactical Squad - Finished

Alas I have brought my Space Marine army back to its full strength.  I completed the tactical squad that’s replacing what I’ve dubbed my ‘snow marines’.  Not familiar with that story?  Click here to check out Frosty and his friends.

I’ve decided that this squad isn’t going to directly replace the old one.  I don’t want them to share the same fate or be damned by relation.  This squad will be roman numeral X once I get the decals on.  “But Chris, the title of the post says ‘finished’.”  Ah, right you are and there’s a reason, all of which will be explained in a later blog post.

Without further rambling… On to the pictures.

Comments and criticism welcome.  Thanks for stopping.  Cheers!

The New Tactical Squad – Progress After the Mishap

I’m not one to do ‘progress’ posts of incomplete model, but it’s been awhile since I’ve made an honest hobby post.

If you follow my blog you will know that recently I ruined an entire ten man tactical squad using GW’s Purity Seal.  For those that missed that whole ordeal, you can read that post here… (clicky)  It was a hard lesson to learn and one that I’ll surely never repeat.

I’ve devoted all of my hobby time to painting up another tactical squad to bring my Space Marine army back up to full force.  The below pictures showcase their current state of completion.

 

In a way I’m actually happy that my last tactical squad got ruined.  It has allowed me to really focus on the hobby and reminded me just how much I really do enjoy it, even when things go wrong.

Keep an eye out for the squads completion and thanks for stopping by.  Cheers!

Motivational Post #5

The weak will always be led by the strong.  Where the strong cry out against fate, the weak bow their heads and succumb.  There are many who are weak and many are their temptations.  Despise the weak for they flock to the call of the Daemon and the Renegade.  Pity them not and scorn their cries of innocence – it is better that one hundred innocents fall before the wrath of the Emperor than one kneels before the Daemon.