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Sunday, August 22, 2010

Indy 40K: Tutorial - Heralds of Ultramar


Indy 40K is at it again today. I've always heard that painting yellow is one of the harder things to do on a model. Let's just say he makes this look easy. The highlighting on the Aquila is very impressive. I can't wait for more of these to get done. Keep up the great work Wienas!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Dawn of War II Retribution Announced

I have to say the idea sounds really cool. I've loved the first two sets of this game and loved the Original DoW and it's expansions. For someone who's working on building his army, games like this can really help my creative process. Especially with the color pallets and army editors. Should be interesting to see the updates come out on this one over the next few months. I wonder if the Tau will be the new army?

BoLS posted the following release from THQ on Wednesday:









New multi-race expansion coming for the critically acclaimed RTS from Relic Entertainment

Taking place years after the events in Dawn of War II: Chaos RisingTM, this title allows players to choose their perspective with the first multiple-race single player campaign in the Dawn of War II series. The first race to be revealed is the savage Orks, but no matter which race is chosen players will be taken on an epic journey through each story arc, revealing the answers to many questions left open in previous Dawn of War titles.

As well as the single player campaign, RetributionTM will feature new multiplayer units, maps and an entire new playable faction when it ships.

Jeff Lydell, Producer of Dawn of War II - Retribution commented: “We all love the Blood Ravens here at Relic Entertainment, but there are also a lot of fans of the other races and armies out there so we decided that Retribution should allow the player the freedom to experience the campaign from the perspective they select.”

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution is scheduled to be released for Windows PC in the first quarter of 2011.

About Retribution
It is ten years since the events of Chaos Rising and Sub-Sector Aurelia has been in a constant state of warfare with the Imperium struggling to retain control. The apparent betrayal of the chapter by Gabriel Angelos and his Space Marines has shaken the Blood Ravens and now the Imperial forces are beset on all sides by hostile aliens. Retribution allows the player to select the race of their choosing in a battle to determine the very survival or destruction of the entire sector.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

WeeMen: Land Raider Terminus 'Invictus'



The Land Raider Terminus 'Invictus' is brought to by the guys over at Weemen. They've really gone above and beyond to trick this baby out. It would be amazing for an Apocalypse battle. I stumbled upon this sight the other night and think their work is spot on. I hope the rest of you like it as much.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Indy 40K: Tutorial - Angels of Vengeance


Indy 40k is at it again. This time he's taken on the Angels of Vengeance. Quite a feat I might say. The highlighting of an all black model seems extremely difficult, but his shading is amazingly life like. Just another great job, which by now I've come to expect.  I can't wait for the next model.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Last Chance for Little Boy Blues Renaissance Marines - The Hogs of War - 40k Conversions and Tactics


I posted about the sale of this army a little while ago and it looks like it just sold on E-Bay for $3,750. In all honesty I think it was worth every penny.

For more details head over to The Hogs of War.

This is definitely an inspiration to get my butt painting and really work on my technique. It would probably take me years of painting to get this good, but it's a really worthy goal.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Indy 40K: Tutorial - Praetors of Orpheus


Project Space Marine marches on, this one is a beauty. Great job with the yellow and the base Indy 40k picked out is pretty sweet.

If you haven't added this blog to favorites or blogroll yet, you need to do so ASAP. These models only keep getting better!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

On Second Thought.....



I'd like to take a second and thank Weinas from Indy 40k for sending the PDF over to me.  It's given me a lot to think about.

I really like the Salamanders from a Fluff perspective, and as I've stated before that's really important to me, but I don't like the color scheme that most people use.  I believe it's too dark.  I however really like this image form Nick Kyme's first book of the Salamander series.



The Green, instead of being drab and dark really pops out.  Going with a Salamander army would also allow me to do some really neat things with my Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield Terminators.

At this point I'm just kicking the idea around.

I just finished the last Soul Drinkers novel and I'm pretty sure unless the next installment turns them around, I just can't justify the investment of time into an army I don't connect with.  Though ironically Hellforged did turn me on to the idea of creating a Necron force at some point.

Maybe at some point I'll get it all figured out, but until then I promise to keep you posted.


Friday, August 6, 2010

Renaissance Marines 4sale! - The Hogs of War - 40k Conversions and Tactics



I couldn't help but post this pic from The Hogs of War. They are selling a Renaissance Marine army. Take a look and see the full army in all it's glory. I'm scared to see what gets painted up next?!?!?!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Indy 40K: Tutorial - White Templars





If you're looking for a great conversation on how to properly paint white, look no further than our friends over at Indy 40K.

The comment section has been extremely helpful. Jump in if you have some tips of your own to add.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The Weekend Painter: Whirlwind!



The Weekend Painter has have one of the coolest Eagle Warrior Whirlwind's I've seen in a while. A halved color scheme on one of these is extremely impressive.

I really like how the gunner offsets the scheme.  I may have to try something like this out.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Indy 40K: Tutorial - Dark Sons


Another great tutorial is up over at INDY 40K.

I just can't get enough of the idea of Project Space Marine. Create an entire army composed of warriors from individual chapters, without making them all Deathwatch. This will look great on the table. Very interested to see what will happen with vehicles and Terminators. Should be fun to keep up with.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

From the Warp: Storm Wardens final drawing


Image from Fantasy Flight Games








For those of you interested in the Storm Wardens Project you follow the action on Jawaballs Live! on Sunday.



It's been an amazing project to follow and the winner of the army will be really lucky.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Indy 40K



If you haven't gotten the chance already you should head over to Indy 40K and check out Project Space Marine. It's a pretty cool concept to say the least. This may even help me choose a chapter. I'll keep you posted.

Monday, July 19, 2010

So I'm lying here, just staring at the ceiling tiles.

So I'm lying here, just staring at the ceiling tiles.

and I'm thinking about what to think about.

Just listening and relistening to Smiley Smile,

and I'm wondering if this is some kind of creative drought


I've hit a bump in the road so to speak.  Since I last posted I've added an Assault Squad and an Assault Terminator Squad to my force, but I've made no progress in building my army.

I was really psyched when I picked out the Soul Drinkers.  Their color scheme was perfect for me. Purple and Gold remind me of my college days and Green has always been my favorite color.  And then it happened.....I started to read the novels.  I'm on the fourth novel and though they are great reads, they are unfortunately turning me off to building a Soul Drinkers army.  I want an army that I can get behind.  An army that I can believe in.  The Soul Drinkers just seem like a cop out.  Oh we don't like the Imperium, so screw off, but we'll still fight for the Emperor.  I guess it just reminds me of too many things and people in real life.  WH40K should allow you to escape from this exact mentality of I can have my cake and eat it too.  I want an army that stands up for all that's good.  And yet I've sworn to never make an Ultra Marines army.  Now that's a decision I may regret.

With the advantages of building a Space Wolves or Blood Angels army, the only upside to a vanilla Space Marine army is the variety of armies out there.  To say the least I'm a little bummed.  Looks like I'm right back at my original Conundrum.........

Maybe I'll break through my creative drought while I'm lying in bed, like Brian Wilson did.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Simple Green to the Rescue!


Hive Zero has a couple of great posts up on the use of Simple Green.


Maybe I should scrap the Super Clean and move on to Simple Green?  Check out the results!

I have to say I'm really very impressed.  And you have to admit that a Chaos Dread upside down in a beaker looks pretty cool.  Right?

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Rub-a-dub-dub Space Marines in the Tub

Where to begin.........


I started with 60 pieces to clean and I have 18 left.  Next time I'll try Simple Green.



Hopefully by this time next week I'll be ready to attempt re-priming.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Time for a Soak?

I'm closing in on a week of soaking my Marines and I wonder if I'll ever get the primer off of them.  I've probably spent close to 3 hours scrubbing so far.  I have 20 Marines, 20 backpacks and 20 weapons soaking.  At this rate  I'll have them all cleaned up sometime around Christmas!  At least the Super Clean isn't showing an wear on the models so it looks like time is on my side.

Maybe my Marines will soak up some of the Purple and make it easier to paint?  If only I could get so lucky!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Meltdown Prime

So my first priming event was unsuccessful.

In a way I'm glad.  You always hear the first time is always the hardest, well it's true.

In order to fix my mistake I'm now soaking my Marines in a Tupperware tub filled with Super Clean!!!


They've soaked for a day but need a little more time.  I couldn't find a hard bristle brush at Wally World so I ended up with a medium bristle.  I tried scrubbing for about a half hour on two pieces with mixed results.  I'm thinking that density difference in the brushes makes a big difference!  I'll give it another run tomorrow tonight and we'll see what happens.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Prime Time Priming!


So I finally caught a break in the weather this afternoon!!!!!  And priming quickly commenced.




For my first attempt at it I was pretty impressed with my results.  I definitely learned a lot!  A few got powdery and I'll have to figure out how to fix them.  Should I sand them down or just rub the powder off and add a second coat of primer?  Guess I'll wing it unless anyone has a suggestion?


While I was working on the weapons and backpacks a storm sprung up and I had to rush so I'll have to refinish some of those as well.  At least when I get the priming done I can get serious about painting and I wont have to worry about the weather.  The joys of having four walls and a roof!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Rainy Days


Well so far weather has been my biggest obstacle in priming my army.  If it's not raining it's been way to humid for me to get up the courage to attempt it.  I'm hoping things will clear up by this weekend so I can get down to work.

In the meantime I've been playing Dawn of War II and I must say some of the new elements are a lot of fun.

I've always considered myself a Space Marine type of guy but some of the game modes have caused me to reconsider this stance.  I played as a Nid tonight and really enjoyed it.



I was afraid I'd feel dirty, but low and behold I feel untouched by the filth of the Warp.  Wonders never cease.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Current Army List

OK so here's what I've got so far:

1 Chaplain
1 Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer
1 Terminator Squad
1 Space Marine Bike
1 Dreadnought
2 10 man Tactical Squads
1 Space Marine with Plasma Gun

So my questions are these:

How many total points does my army have now?  ( I still don't have a Codex, CHG was out this weekend)

What do I need to fill the gaps?

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Soul Drinkers


So I've made a decision on my army.  I'm going full bore with the Soul Drinkers.  I'll probably add a Death Watch Squad at some point to help keep an eye on things.  The above depiction is the color scheme I've decided on.  I think it's rather flashy if I don't say so myself.  I wanted to do something out of the norm and I think I've accomplished that.

Now I've got a lot of work to do, but I'm really looking forward to it.  I think I've got a good start to my army list, I just need to flesh it out.  I'll post everything I have so far in the coming days and I hope to get some feedback on what I might be lacking.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

The Work Begins!!!

Just got finished gluing my Marines to their bases.  Went pretty good for my first time.  Had a couple of expansion cracks, but I guess that's to be expected from a Newb.  In and hour I'll be ready to take everything outside and start priming!  Assuming the weather holds up of course.

I'm looking forward to this part the most.  This way I at least feel like I'm accomplishing something.  Since my Marines are 2nd Edition they are posing some interesting road blocks when it comes to painting.  My squads hands are literally attached to their guns, unlike the new models where the bolter is completely separate from the Marine.

I have also noticed that these Marines all have scabbarded swords and pistol holders on their bodies.  I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to approach painting those.  Should be interesting and I'll keep you posted.  I'll also let the cat fully out of the bag later on with which Chapter I've chosen to go with.  Stay tuned!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Deathwatch Idea

As I said I've been toying with the idea of making a Deathwatch army.  The idea being that my guys can come from an Astartes Chapter, the only difference is that their chapter insignia would be on their left Pauldron.  GW sells a bitz kit for the conversion of the right Pauldron, though it's a bit pricey for what you get coming it at $25 plus shipping, though you do get new heads and guns.  Unfortunately I doubt those extra heads and guns would work with my Marines due to their age.

Here's a little Background from the Lexicanum on the Deathwatch:


Rather than following the standard Codex Astartes organization, the Space Marines themselves are drawn from many different chapters. These chapters have sworn sacred oaths to raise a unit of Space Marines specifically for this task. The warriors are then gathered together to fight where and when they are needed.
Giant fortresses orbit desolate worlds at the edge of the galaxy, keeping constant vigil over possible xenos forces. There are also several secret bases spread throughout the Imperium, which provide a launch site for their crusades.
The warriors who fight are given the honour of painting their armour black (to show their service to the Emperor), while leaving one shoulder pad with the original insignia of the Chapter from which the marine came. Although the armour is painted black, it is never all painted black as this action would dishonour the armour's Machine Spirit. They also are equipped with a new shoulder pad with the symbol of Deathwatch onto their other side. Once in the employ of the Deathwatch, there is no set length of time for service, rather it is as long as the commander deems necessary. Each Space Marine may serve a discrete amount of time, or for the duration of a mission, which may be a number of years. Once the mission is complete, the Space Marine is allowed to return to his chapter, under an oath of silence, as their honour has been fulfilled.
The orders of the Deathwatch are not merely the cleansing of xenos cultures. They also include the recovery and study of alien devices and artifacts. Sometimes it is necessary to use a weapon against the enemy who created it, although this is not taken lightly. The Deathwatch are constantly vigilant for sabotage, or to advise if it is truly safe to use a weapon of xenos origin. The Adeptus Mechanicus are always on the lookout for alien technology; the C'tan Phase Sword, used by the Callidus assassin was recovered from a Necron tomb world and successfully integrated into the arsenal of the Imperium.
Usually, a Deathwatch team is led by an Inquisitor, but in extreme circumstances, a Deathwatch Captain or Librarian may take command of the unit. Their word is law, and can requisition anything they desire to get the job done. They are the best armed and trained units in the Imperium. They might be deployed in areas where conventional methods are insufficient or if the troops available are not properly equipped or trained for the task. The presence of a Deathwatch team is always welcomed, even though they are feared by all those who know of them.

Again I'm just toying with some ideas, but this one is definitely gaining steam.  The Lexicanum mentions that the rules for playing as a Deathwatch Army can be found in Chapter Approved 2003.  Would anyone out there by chance have this book or access to it so that I might find out if they have a special set of rules????

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Time To Finally Begin.....





I first purchased this set in 1996 so needless to say it's gathered some dust.  I'd just gotten my first car and had girls on the brain so this hobby quickly fell by the wayside.  Over the years I've pulled out these boxes and thought to myself that at the very least I should put the models together and give them a couple of coats of paint.  That however didn't seem to be enough, to motivate me.  I even went so far once to buy new paint because the original pots had dried up.  And yet today they still sit unpainted.


I've played both Dawn of War PC games and needless to say it invigorated my Machine Spirit.  Now I've never had a hobby or even painted anything so this should be an interesting undertaking.  I've been asking a lot of questions at my local Hobby Town and been reading a lot of Blogs, mostly The Hogs of War, From the Warp, All Things 40k, Arcadia Prime and BOLS Wargames News.

Trying learn everything you can from scratch is a bit daunting so I thought I'd undertake this blog to not only show my progress but to prod myself into finishing my army.

There are two things that have truly kept me from getting started.  What Chapter to choose and how the heck to make them look good.  The first question I still haven't answered and as for the second I've decided I don't care.  Anything I do is going to look better than grey plastic.

I've run several ideas through my head but haven't been able to settle on any of them.  I like the Ultra Marines and Salamanders.  The Soul Drinkers just sound like fun.  Then there's the Grey Knights or the Angels of Darkness.  I also really like the idea of making an entire Deathwatch Army, seems like the best of all worlds.  Though I'm definitely open to suggestions.

Here are my Space Marines as I begin to embark on my journey.  Today I've filed the sprue's off of each piece.  Definitely tedious, but oddly rewarding.  Next I'll get down to gluing and priming.  This probably wont be a fast process between family life and a full and part time job, but I think this is just what the doctor ordered.

Feel free to let me know what you think.  Once I get these painted I would like to get involved in the local gaming community so I need to also figure out what other  units will fit in well with what I have.