tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60664371455385976132024-03-14T01:28:32.746-04:00A Host of Word BearersChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-60218286648505179422018-11-13T22:03:00.002-05:002018-11-13T22:03:47.076-05:00Time for a refresh of sorts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello all,<br />
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Things have always been good here, and you all have helped make it that way, however I have started a new blog <a href="https://40k-chaos.blogspot.com/">here</a>. The first post there pretty much sums it up, but I haven't really felt connected to this blog mostly from my own of perception of Chaos as I've changed over the years. Granted, GW has put Chaos on a bit of a roller coaster in a design sense over the years. Ah... 3.5... *ahem*<br />
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Instead of changing everything here, I felt it was easier to start over with the experience of blogging that I have now. Slim it down a bit, cut out the things that aren't around anymore or I don't do. Basically my entire life is starting over... I left teaching Uni after 7 years to start my own glassblowing studio, we also moved from the city to a smaller town on 3 acres of land. My life is sort of upside down at the moment. Utter Chaos even. š<br />
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Hopefully the new content will be more engaging, and have a little something for everyone. Modeling, painting, AND gaming. Even though I will probably get some game mechanic things wrong there, like I keep wanting to Advance Renegade Trait Raptors/Warp Talons after they DS... and you can't do that anymore, at the least you'll know what not to do. š <br />
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You are more than welcome to come along for the new ride. <br />
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Thanks for all your time with me here. <br />
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Hopefully I'll see you over there.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-51112853175115462662018-11-11T16:35:00.002-05:002018-11-11T16:36:44.114-05:00Splitting paint schemes<div style="text-align: center;">
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So I like to play a mix of shooty elements with some harder hitting assault units. 20 strong Chaos Cultists x 2 around a Dark Apostle with the Burning Brand of Skallathrax has been a favorite of mine since it could be a thing. This tactic now works better with 30 strong units and Abaddon. I also love some Khorne Berserkers, Warp Talons, Raptors, and even bikes to an extant but not as much as some other players. Especially since only infantry can make it up different floors of a building, Raptors and Warp Talons are even more important I think.</div>
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What does this have to do with splitting my paint schemes you ask?</div>
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Well since 7th started the detachment craze and 8th doubled down on it I've decided I am going split my very large, and still mostly unpainted, Chaos force into separate Legions. Black Legion for the shooty elements, Renegades/Emperor's Children for the close combat aspect*. Renegades for the move/advance/charge and Emperor's Children for at the always strikes first in CC hilarity. Some of the things you can combine with CSM Slaanesh marked sorcerers; such as Delightful Agonies - 5+FNP basically; and Slaanesh Demons loci/powers - Hysterical Frenzy for the extra "Fight phase" and the Loci for Emperor's Children demon units made me realize how flexible I could make my collection. I also wanted something that could work with my Slaanesh Demons as well since this are the only demons I have.</div>
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"...but Chris... thats like, 3 legions still..."</div>
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Not Exactly.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zqbwAQsITro/W-gqwZwfoGI/AAAAAAAABPY/Q0auU74eysUm1Iq7t-NMtbREjz0yHF9mwCLcBGAs/s1600/150px-Flawless_Host_Heraldry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="125" data-original-width="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zqbwAQsITro/W-gqwZwfoGI/AAAAAAAABPY/Q0auU74eysUm1Iq7t-NMtbREjz0yHF9mwCLcBGAs/s1600/150px-Flawless_Host_Heraldry.jpg" /></a></div>
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The scheme I decided on for my Slaanesh based marines is The Flawless Host. I looked for a long time for different Slaanesh war bands that were not based on a predominately black color scheme. I wanted something that would offer a break from painting Black Legion, and even my Slaanesh Demons as well. This did lead to some of the more strange paint schemes I've seen, a lot of images popped up from the 6th edition codex, and that the entire concept of not painting all the banding on CSM power armor metallic was a eye opening experience. Now depending on what you read, and where you're reading it from, The Flawless Host has a couple of different paths. One is the renegade chapter of Space Marines, the Shining Blades. The other is an offshoot warband of the Emperor's Children that was entirely wiped out. So either way I can make this work.</div>
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Now where to start?</div>
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This where the Internet helped out. So the image on the top popped up when I was initially searching for references, and I remembered this painting guide from back in the day. WAY back in the day. Or at least what feels way back. The image on the bottom? No where to be found, and finding this exact guide on <a href="https://www.warhammerdigital.com/all-products/40k-slaanesh-painting.html">Warhammer Digital's </a>website and seeing it was "out of stock" was <i>slightly</i> defeating**. So I turned to Twitter/The Warp, and put out the call for this long lost tome of knowledge. The Abyss answered. Someone had the exact page I needed and sent a screen cap. Now it's not that I couldn't figure out how to paint it from the paint list alone, but knowing the actual order of operations helped a ton. Now I could see it, and modify it where needed.</div>
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First step. Find a better primer***. I'm all for priming black, and have done this forever. However it felt counter intuitive to prime a model such a dark color and then bring it back up to such a lighter color. Unfortunately GW does not have a Rakarth Flesh primer can. I would but all of them they did, since Rakarth is slowly becoming on of my favorite colors to work with. Enter Rust-Oleum Specialty Camouflage spray paint. It has a matte finish, and is one value darker then Rakarth flesh, AND is anywhere to ~$3.50-$5.99(~2.7-4.62GBP & ~3.09-5.28Euro). It's so cheap. Since I also live in an area of the United States where hunting is big, rural Ohio, it's also practically everywhere. Like anything that isn't an actual primer, take it slow, and build up thin layers. I've been able to prime Raptors with this, and haven't lost any of the detail.</div>
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That was the most significant change I've done to GW's process. I pretty much follow the recipe and embellish it here and there. I don't use black. I only highlight armor plates to a lighter purple while leaving the banding the darker color. I've added some small gold accents here and there. All the small hoses are a brighter blue(Sotek Green, highlighted with Lothern Blue), and all cloth is pastel-ish green(Syabrite Green). All leather bits are Vallejo Game Color Beastly Brown. All armor joints, larger hoses, horns, and frag grenades are Eshin Grey. Im trying to play up that aspect of Slaanesh with selective garish colors and bright metals while keep the rest of the model fairly neutral so those pastels pop. The 2nd test model worked out well enough for me to move forward with priming the CC Raptor unit, Jump Pack Sorc, and Jump Pack Lord for this scheme. To be honest the scheme has been a fun to figure out, and a little inspiring as well. By inspiring I mean I want to paint now, which hasn't happened in awhile.</div>
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Here's the current order of operations, the Sybarite Green is not on there since I just added it to the scheme yesterday... that being said, I have a tendency to jump all over a model and base coat and wash one section and then move a different part. I'm just not a batch painter... maybe 3 models tops. I realized this after the 2nd test model took about 6 hours to complete. Granted some of that was problem solving, and further refining but still... </div>
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So heres the 1st test model. Everything was really rough, mostly because I didn't have any smaller brushes than a medium layer, and didn't have my bifocals either.<br />
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Heres the 2nd test model. Now with smaller brushes and bifocals! It came out well, and the flames came out really crisp, I'm actually quite happy with them. Now I might try and use some more tribal inspired or hot rod inspired flames like I used to draw when I worked at the tattoo studio in my 20s. I also freehanded the chapter symbol. It wasn't a terrible experience, however I've already gotten the supplies needed to print out my own water slide transfers and just need to actually print them now. That will be it's own adventure.<br />
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Here's the WIP magnetized Jump Lord, now with new Sybarite Green! This also after about 4 hours, maybe 5 but it really only felt like 4 hours. 4 1/2? Started at about 10am, went to GW around 12-12:15 had lunch and ordered Blackstone Fortress, went back and painted until about 5:30-6. You know how it goes, as you do more of the thing the faster you get and the less you have to think about it. You can also see the tonal difference between the primer and the Rakarth that I had mentioned earlier, since that is bare primer on the base.<br />
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Right now I have him kitted out as a Lord(reroll 1s to hit), Renegade trait(advance then charge), Mark of Slaanesh, Lightning Claws(reroll wounds), Intoxicating Elixir(+1 Attack and 1+ Strength) Exalted Champion Warlord Trait(+1 attack)... so 6, Str 5 attacks at -2 AP, ideally buffed by a Sorcerer with Diabolic Strength(7 attacks at Strength 7), WHILE buffing a 10 man CC Raptor unit for the rerolls, AND that Raptor unit was buffed by Delightful Agonies(5+ FNP). In my head this looks/performs awesome... but will probably be shot off the table/crippled before doing anything seriously fun. š It has the whole "dangerous enough to be a threat and shouldn't be ignored" vibe going on, I would like to back this up with 2, 5 man Raptor squads with flamers, maybe a 6 strong bike squad too. Which with this scheme... those might look fantastic.<br />
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Anyway, thanks for stopping by and if you have any questions let me know.<br />
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Cheers.</div>
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*I know, I know.. nothing beats World Eater Berserkers for total mulching of enemy units. To be honest though, I'm kind of over them.<br />
**I did contact them by email, and there was nothing they could do... understandable, it is an old guide... but how exactly does an digital item go out of stock?<br />
*** I did try GW's Zandri Dust base spray... it was just way too yellow in tone and got too far away front the flesh tone of the armor that I currently like.</div>
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Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-69907845641608843242018-07-24T22:23:00.001-04:002018-07-25T06:55:53.156-04:00Convert your models<div><img id="id_bb7d_7c4a_d14c_2ce9" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-75XQZmCqkqI/W1ffLQ-FqkI/AAAAAAAABOA/uks_-Q1WlooQRRpeO9AACpbNMxUvN7VGgCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 385px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><br><br>So thereās a thing that happens with models for just about any gaming system. You start with your game of choice and after awhile you start to browse the Internet for existing alternative models... you might want to field multiples of the same unit, or your looking at models you might get for the future. Thatās when you see it. A model that fits what you thought the model should look like in your head... but itās completely converted.</div><div><br></div><div>But you want something similar.</div><div><br></div><div>So go for it.</div><div><br></div><div>Yes it can be a daunting endeavor, even downright intimidating in some cases. But you will have that unique piece for your army and the satisfaction modifying an exsisting unit better than what was released.</div><div><br></div><div>To be completely, 100%, honest itās why I collect Chaos to begin with... all the conversion possibilities.</div><div><br></div><div>Start out small. Head swaps can do wonders. You can completely change how a model looks just by swapping the head out. Looks at the Genestealer Cult upgrade sprue as an example. Regular Cadia bodies with different heads and sometimes a few items of bling to show who they really are. Simple. Effective. Easy to do since GW provides the kit to do it. Maybe take those heads and swap out a few for your Chaos Cultists and use a little liquid green stuff to smooth out the head ridges. Or scrape the ridges off with a slightly dull blade. Still a simple conversion, but requires a little extra cutting on the Cultists. There are several companies out there that make replacement heads of all types for your army too... Maxi Mini and Puppetwars have a ton of alternative heads and other bits, and they are just 2 companies out there. I use Maxi Mini Fallen Legionnaire heads for head swaps on my Renegade Guard/Cultists and I love the look. It gives them a serious Blood Pact vibe, especially when used on Scion bodies.</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_a1dd_7706_15f4_bc7c" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-umqsTEflb94/W1ffL_HyFgI/AAAAAAAABOE/ZaJ-EdLiK_kaQqeGKBIli-JIWN8AUS7pACHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 385px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><br><br></div><div><br></div><div>Just something like that can breath new life into your collection while making it completely yours.</div><div><br></div><div>But thatās just the beginning, and really was a lead in to this part... which is a personal favorite of mine...</div><div><br></div><div><b><i>Use Age of Sigmar(AoS) models in your 40k collection.</i></b></div><div><br></div><div>Now, I had already done something similar to this with my Warpsmith made from a Carin Wraith. A lot of people have used that model to some really truly stunning effects. Go look, youāll find some truly amazing things... use Inq28 if you need a little help to find stuff. š In fact the major players for converting models before AoS was the Carin Wraith, plastic Necromancer, Nurgle Lord with axe, Banshee, and Dark Elf wizard. I have all of those models in my Inquistor warband. I even used Witch Elves for my Death Cult Assassins. They are still super good for converting, they didnāt disappear like some models did with AoS.</div><div><br></div><div>Anyway...</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_56cc_f3c6_fd7c_6c1e" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1Sh74yLBjOA/W1ffLY9pa0I/AAAAAAAABN4/V5ejjdVVjFAaukbfJpxibMud04jEyafJgCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 307px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><br>The very first model I converted from AoS to 40k was the Stormcast Eternal that came free in whatever issue of White Dwarf ages ago. I clipped the hammer off and replaced it with a Grey Knight falchion; added some purity seals and few bits and bobs for the belt; scraped the hammer off the shield... I still need to find an =][= symbol for it; and I had a Crusader for my Inquisition side project. It practically built itself. Thatās sort of the point. Certain models from the AoS line are just asking... maybe even begging... to be brought over to 40k.</div><div><br></div><div>Now the next model I tried this with was the Slaughter Priest. It was a horrible conversion and died on the table. Same deal, I got it from the White Dwarf it came with. I mean, it wasnāt my system of choice so there was no way I was going to actually buy AoS models. Yet.</div><div><br></div><div>That changed with trying to find a good replacement for Khorne Berserkers, which have to be the king of durpy models in 40k right now. The AoS Blood Warriors are a truly amazing kit in terms of detail and size. They look like the rage swollen killers theyāre supposed to be. A few minor changes and you can have way better Berserkers for your army than the super outdated kit GW is still selling. I mean all they really have to do is open the Blood Warrior CAD file and add armored greaves for the feet and a mounting point for the backpack and have a new kit that would just be printing them money. So for this type of conversion, thereās several kits to get Blood Warriors from. I used the push-fits from the starter box, and the 10 count box kit as well(with a little searching on eBay you could probably still find those Blood Warrior push fits for a decent price). You just need to think about where to cut with the push-fits. A lot of the time your not cutting the entire arm off, just at the elbow. Use a little green stuff to make a mounting point for the backpack and you have better Berserkers for your army. If youāre using the box set, which I recommend since itās less work, you just need to put a small tab of plastic in the socket of the torso. After that just use regular CSM arms for your weapons of choice. Since your using regular marine arms, that means your using marine shoulder pads so the backpack can be directly glued to the torso, no mounting point needed.</div><div><br></div><div>*As a side note, I would suggest Raptor arms for these since those chainswords are particularly brutal looking.</div><div>**As another side note, I have seen more extensive conversions where people have chopped the leges to attach armored greaves and thatās just too much work for me... I have no problem with Berserkers in leather boots.</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_23f1_df23_f279_3a79" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-khQA0I3UpYo/W1ffLe2nEpI/AAAAAAAABN8/_d0OmD1qXpEmMT3OB-lBrzQvFSew51z7QCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 385px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"></div><div><img id="id_fc26_20ce_3b4f_1d26" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kd4jcbJwyJE/W1ffL5ZVN4I/AAAAAAAABOI/cBO_U03A5ngR4icUJ7n1ay6AUIAUMSrrgCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 307px; height: auto; margin: 4px auto; display: block;"><br><img id="id_86ae_7cb2_a16d_16bb" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VlSlF5cBq4M/W1ffMIl1k9I/AAAAAAAABOM/ruKBJwWMWbME8_ofGBhdw0O-MjyVWAIXQCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 307px; height: auto; margin: 4px auto; display: block;"><br><img id="id_9200_5fdb_80cf_e86b" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Qa04IG4ca4w/W1ffMi8tZ6I/AAAAAAAABOQ/29TKyAxjjkQGHNzx1JtfTEajZBPjvRr9gCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 307px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><br>Which brings me to the next darlings of the AoS range, the new Nighthaunts. Seriously... if you collect AdMech or make Dark Mech stuff and havenāt thought about using these models for a basis you REALLY need to reconsider. Itās a bunch of robed figures, floating around with skulls for heads. If that doesnāt scream AdMech I donāt know what else does exactly. So Iāll give you an example of what I mean. This past weekend the model āThe Craven Kingā was finally available to pick up. Great model. Good size. Lots of flowing robe action. I was smitten with it as soon as I saw it and wanted to try to something with it. I mean... look at it! So I ordered two, sometimes my ideas donāt go as planned so I wanted a back up, and if everything went ok Iād just make the extra as itās supposed to be at some point.</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_4ab7_1a52_6c29_4dcc" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gq6Zp8I1zng/W1ffNouClVI/AAAAAAAABOY/KR2UAgcDMNEjMfyibaANH13PbSmMbL2PwCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 385px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">So being a Chaos player the question was what to turn it into and then it hit me... that needed to be a Hellwright on Dark Abeyant from the FW Index! Add some AdMech and Chaos bits and it would work. I knew it would work. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Ok... I was PRETTY SURE it would work but thereās always that doubt, yeah?</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><img id="id_6c7_a9af_c563_c9d4" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QaXX4tf63-s/W1ffNqjLaLI/AAAAAAAABOU/45W_gDQMbMYkRmqZ08zGgq2jlquss2nrgCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 307px; height: auto; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;"><br><br>And so far it has worked. It still has a long way to go as far as being complete, but itās definitely well on its way. The Warpfire lance is almost finished and ready to be mounted in one of the side ghosts. The void cutter, which I believe is just the warp version of a lascutter, Iām still figuring out, and I have to figure out a way to put an axe in his hand. Add some more tendrils for Mechadendrites, a little green stuff to tie it all together and itāll be finished.</div><div><br></div><div>So donāt be afraid to modify your models for a unique army thatās yours. And look through the AoS range for even more ideas, and unique models for those ideas. Thereās so many new and updated models there itās kind of ridiculous, and youād be doing yourself a disservice by not checking it out. I mean I love the new Nighthaunt range. Itās so dynamic in motion, while also being very minimal. The next idea I had from that range was using the Glaivewraith Stalkers as the basis for my Dark Mechanicus Kill Team. Once stock is in again anyway. š<br><br></div><div><br><br><br></div><div><br></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-23817809716862294962018-06-18T13:10:00.001-04:002018-06-19T08:08:41.443-04:00Long time, no see...<img id="id_9c4e_d2e4_4455_879b" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6BsdAb7o0Wg/WyfndCPzx9I/AAAAAAAABMc/k8HydrtuM2MXgFPP_h5yrl3dUA1MWBOHgCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 334px; height: auto;"><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Yeah, itās been over a year.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Life happens and this blog was one of the first things to go on the ānot right nowā pile. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">However...</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Thatās not to say I havenāt been active in my hobby. I have been. Just not here. I have still been building, painting slowly, and gaming on a fairly regular basis. I have been posting more to Twitter(@40kChris) and I recently started Instagramming(@40kChris2) over this last year. I believe itās primarily due to the immediacy of those formats. Work on a project, snap a few pics, write a blurb, send it off. Done. Where blogging feels very deliberate, and calculated by comparison. Itās not a bad format and I have recently been thinking getting back into it primarily for the breadth of an article that can do so much more than a tweet or Instagram entry can.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">As such, I think if Iām going to do this then Iāll need a restart. That just feels like the right thing to do since my goals and outlooks have changed since the beginning of this endeavor. A new name and a new format that cover all the aspects of the hobby Iāve gotten into since I havenāt been blogging. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Switching fully to Black Legion from the Word Bearers. I mean, at least Abaddon is doing something other than fuming in some tower someplace in the Eye. Also, ADBās Black Legion novel are nothing short of inspiring. I like where they are going with it and like that idea of desperate brotherhood. If you havenāt read <i>Talon of Horus</i> go do that, and then go get <i>Black Legion</i> next. Wonderful books and rich with imagery. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Slimming down my collections. Which is still sort of laughable. Iām only have Slaanesh Demons now and they total about 3,900 points. I started counting my built CSMs and had to stop around 7,000 points and that did not include anything from FW Renegades & Heretics. šš. I did get some units bulked up because that seems to be the way to go with units like Possessed and Berserkers in 8th. Given that Iād like to focus more on painting and less on building for awhile.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><img id="id_e560_8a00_f18c_7d1" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LXkVvHD8iIM/Wyfndl-JAoI/AAAAAAAABMg/dUZ1qq-CtSMTPlWc4fmiWaMvT0m4yfGjQCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 357px; height: auto;"></div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Speaking of painting, I have recently moved all my GW paints to 17ml dropper bottles. Thatās included 5 pots of the really old GW inks that are OOP. No more dried out pots for me! I have also started using Vallejo Gamecolor. So far the combination of the two seems to be a good palette for my forces. I have most of my schemes worked out and I just need to get priming. For that I had just acquired a mobile spray booth with its own exhaust fan and tube to vent fumes outside. This should help getting models primed in less than ideal conditions like high humidity, which is the case right now, or winter. Itās also lit up with LEDs so you can see what your priming, but this also turns it into a makeshift photo booth. Itās a wonderful little thing. </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><img id="id_251d_90d3_36d0_6bee" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2ig3Tjbh7mA/Wyfndh1hYNI/AAAAAAAABMo/VYZdQlGcf2IQ4Tf9X1_PUytMKHY7ToSJACHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 357px; height: auto;"><br><br><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">That is just one facet of reorganizing my hobby area. Since we have moved I have a lot more hobby space now than I had before. So building a game table is a serious consideration. On casters to move it around and have terrain storage underneath.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Just more things for consideration. Maybe even a batrep or two if I can swing it.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Thanks for being here over all this time, you probably even forgot this was here, but having the blog is way more fun with all of you. If anything changes Iāll let you know here since Iāll need to keep this blog alive for a little bit. Maybe even import this blog to a new name?</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);">Hereās a Hellforged Leviathan I recently finished, enjoy!! As you can see itās based off the plastic Redemptor, the full kit not the easy-to-build, and it was a super fun build. It practically built its self. There were also a lot of firsts on it... first freehand work, oil washes, A LOT of Technical paints, pencils, etc. If you have any questions about anything I did just ask, I do love have discussions with you guys.</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span></div><div><img id="id_aeb9_36fa_f737_cda8" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-upL9zJBK9rY/Wyfndh7AUiI/AAAAAAAABMk/jTmoZ6VxHXIgz-Qb2vjEmSurVRvntYMFACHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 406px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_de54_3f92_2c18_a76b" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bYSruiVyyKg/WyfndwIIGKI/AAAAAAAABMw/4Hglh5dnjS8fDrUc3XgLUUPGWSTf_CzgwCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 399px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_6a34_dbe6_61d8_78d4" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vngXMYs_5zE/Wyfnd5Y_agI/AAAAAAAABMs/iaWcdqL9FBwNU3w9KVANXGdLOiZBx0KvgCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 393px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_a32e_816c_be7d_c993" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KyXxerKvDV8/WyfneU0PBxI/AAAAAAAABM8/J7vGi4nYgtAC4jcrcxWGi4V9lrlCpGYWgCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 393px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_896f_8e66_a5b3_9b5e" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-b6yxHPb7_HE/WyfneTm7hUI/AAAAAAAABM4/d1WjL0Y9etwVBcaAr1P73wqxFLJ2JEqpgCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 393px; height: auto;"><br><br><img id="id_1e62_3cb2_bd2e_57d4" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kniFXVjW6jY/WyfneTduN4I/AAAAAAAABM0/mef6fboVricCiODdbbmWOwLd5JASMPF8wCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br><br><span style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"><br></span><br> </div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-86572441095552757942017-02-19T10:53:00.001-05:002017-02-19T12:51:54.793-05:00So about that Kickstarter...On May 11th of 2014, a Kickstarter by a company named Creature Caster was successfully funded, and by successfully funded I mean the funding goal was absolutely crushed. The target goal was $30,000 Canadian... the final total amount raised was $324,511 Canadian with 1,487 backers. For a Kickstarter, that was a phenomenal campaign. Now, this is where the disclaimer comes in...<div><br></div><div>This is primarily about the models I received. Not how Creature Caster ran their campaign after funding. Nor is this about how Jeremy did, or did not, handle things. If you're curious as to what I'm referring to, I'm sure a quick search will yield results. I do know there was a lengthy post over on Dakka, but you could also just read the comments at Creature Caster KS page as well. Kickstarters can be risky, almost everyone knows someone who got burned by one. My wife and kid are still waiting for anything from the Scary Godmother KS and that happened when my kid was still interested in Scary Godmother... 5-6 years ago now. Anyway...</div><div><br></div><div>The things I will be focusing on are the actual models I received. This was a Silver bundle of two models, the Spider and Vulture demons. As you can imagine these would be alternatives for a Keeper of Secrets and a Lord of Change respectively. I received my box last week but waited until yesterday, February 18th, to actually unpack them. This was my semi-annual hobby day with my buddy Dave. Which I'll also expand some of the content here on the blog to showcase some of his Mechanicum, both 30 and 40k varieties. He has some crazy conversions and the world needs to know damn it!</div><div><br></div><div>First thing, the models were bubble packed in a cardboard box. There were also two bonus minis in the box, however these were loose and not in anything. So before I even opened the box I was a little apprehensive about it's contents since I could hear rattling from the box. After opening the box I was relieved to see the models I ordered were somewhat protected. The bonus minis are not really worth mentioning as they seem to be after thoughts and rushed in their design. They were a nice gesture but not really anything special.</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_548b_2ab3_32b4_86c8" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2UL-E3qEoMo/WKm_XBuHuKI/AAAAAAAABKY/Zotk2tvN9WI/%25255BUNSET%25255D.png" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 349px; height: auto; margin: 4px;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div>Much to my relief, all the pieces were there for both models. Not only the base parts to complete the mini but all the stretch goals of extra parts were there as well. </div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_bee0_1601_ab61_6326" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eNUavevf_AQ/WKm_TWr3DvI/AAAAAAAABKI/Tc5-nydw-3Q/%25255BUNSET%25255D.png" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 402px; height: auto; margin: 4px;"> </div><div><br></div><div>The casting quality was... ok. Several pieces had mold slips and so I'm going to have to back in and do quite a bit of sanding/back filling/scraping on these models. Especially the Spider Demon since a lot of her is very smooth those mold lines are particularly noticeable. It was the hands on both models that suffered the most from this, the fingers are going to need a fair amount of work to look good.</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_7de6_f853_7cb0_6a64" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UksmMi89za0/WKm_UY_MtUI/AAAAAAAABKM/R7lTMEeZwto/%25255BUNSET%25255D.png" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 256px; height: auto;"> <img id="id_8100_eb4f_bdf0_dcf7" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fhOE87bN0f4/WKm_VgDyM5I/AAAAAAAABKQ/_-gQHlrMhcA/%25255BUNSET%25255D.png" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 331px; height: auto;"> <img id="id_e86f_f68d_3721_aaec" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HhN-dPYPwVM/WKm_WxekM2I/AAAAAAAABKU/KrqUtBkqYyE/%25255BUNSET%25255D.png" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 239px; height: auto;"> </div><div><br></div><div>Surprisingly there were little to no bubbles in the bodies, heads, arms, and legs of these models. So that is great. The pieces that seems to have the most, if not all the bubbles, were the wings for the Vulture Demon. Now, if you look closely you will the majority of the "bubbles" are along the edges of the feathers. This could be a sculpted detail to give that frayed look to the feathers once it's painted. Or, it was a really bad day for mixing resin. I'm still out on this. What's probably going on is both. Some of those bubbles/divots are probably there to represent the splaying of feathers. Makes sense for something that large flying through the air. The mold could have been detailed enough that so many air traps were an unforeseen complication. Regardless of what's actually happening I will have to go back through and and fill some of those holes. Or use a different set a of wings from the bits box.</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_c58_ea89_b97d_3950" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e-P32j3a9I4/WKm_YdLUXII/AAAAAAAABKg/z3Ebd6T7jvA/%25255BUNSET%25255D.png" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 418px; height: auto; margin: 4px;"> </div><div><br></div><div>This leads me to the next part of seemingly unfinished areas. Most of parts for these models fit together pretty seemlessly. They match up and the detail flows from one piece to the next rather well. This is especially so for the Vulture Demon. That thing is packed with flowing detail that goes from on part to another. Where it was glaringly lacking was on the Spider Demon, in particular where the head meets the neck. All that awesome texture along the spine and it just stops at the head. What? That's just bad from a craftsmanship stand point. Also, I believe those tubes going up from the jawline and behind the horns are supposed to be ears. I think. It's an odd detail and it's not really clear what it's supposed to be.</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_cb5e_1927_ed25_dcf4" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ba0O91WYsas/WKm_Xx9-h8I/AAAAAAAABKc/LpFdeejMo-8/%25255BUNSET%25255D.png" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 438px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div>There are some odd match ups as well. The area on both models that didn't really want to line up well was the completed model into the sculpted base that came with it. To their credit, Creature Caster tried to make it easy. They even had pegs on the feet so you didn't have to pin them separately. I'll probably have to do that anyway since there was a slight warping to the legs. They curved in just the slightest amount, a millimeter or two but that's enough to strain it. The sculpted details of the base also didn't quite match up as well. So the feet appear to be floating and I ended up having to cut the pegs off to get them to fit into the base at all. In hindsight, one could deepen the holes in the base and not have to cut the pegs down at all. Also, you can see the mold slip on the Vulture Demon base.</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_bd28_3b29_e469_b60f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yQbXswDJdtg/WKm_ZsukZ7I/AAAAAAAABKk/a39_Ihucvsg/%25255BUNSET%25255D.png" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 311px; height: auto;"> <img id="id_be94_5829_1ae5_45c7" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HLoczJvC9-w/WKm_aEFhgHI/AAAAAAAABKo/emNwtwGHc_0/%25255BUNSET%25255D.png" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 311px; height: auto;"> </div><div><br></div><div>The scale is nice. These are greater demons and their size reflects that. When compared to the a Knight they size up well.</div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_f2b7_e092_874b_76cd" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-v7SoAd1tMSc/WKm_aMxkIkI/AAAAAAAABKs/9jennfynlDE/%25255BUNSET%25255D.png" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 381px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><br></div><div>All of my greater Demon proxies/conversions are on the large oval base. That fits their size without making them super unwieldy to field.</div><div><br></div><div>In closing...</div><div><br></div><div>These are good models, not great but good. The detail is pretty crisp all over and there was actually little to no flashing. Although I'd almost prefer that over the molds slipping. To be honest, I've had both better and worse kits. I think with a little green stuff and some extra bits these will work well with my other greater demons as far as looks. I'm glad I got them, but I wasn't "OMG!!1!" when I was able to actually hold them. They're nice for the price, well the price at the time, and I don't know what they are charging to them now in the online store.</div><div><br></div><div>At the time, 3 years ago, these were cutting edge. I remember the excitement these generated when the first renders were making the rounds. Even in an "alpha" state they were amazing for the time. Bigger, and badder than GW's greater demons. Jeremy is an obviously talented artist, given that... I'm glad he's not solely running things anymore and wish him and the company smooth sailing from here.</div><div><br></div><div>This was before a lot things. Before the gaming world upset of Age of Sigmar and the death of WHF. The release of the plastic Bloodthirster, and now the Lord of Change. Both of which have upped the bar considerably for not only size, but also detail. Those kits are amazing. Technically you could say the Glottkin can be the plastic Great Unclean One, if you assemble him without his brothers attached. Which many people have done. That just leaves a new Keeper of Secrets, which we might just see with the Eldar about ready to throw down with Ynnead. </div><div><br></div><div>I think there was a lot of potential with these kits. Due to problems with the management of the KS and manufacturing problems there was a great window of opportunity that wasn't capitalized on. If they would have been able to turn things around in a year, not almost 3, they probaly would be one of the more successful mini companies out there today. We'll see how they fair in the future, and I wish them the best of luck.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-41114904085013550462016-09-27T07:41:00.000-04:002016-09-27T07:41:10.610-04:00Playing catch up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So remember that previous post about having a light summer and I was all excited about how much time I could have to work on my hobby...<br />
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Remember that?</div>
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Good times...</div>
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By good times, I mean it didn't happen at all. <br />
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Seemingly right after I had posted that, I got an email for a large commission that was pretty much impossible to turn down. The payout was very, VERY good. I'll put it to you this way, I could buy 16 Warlord Titans, with weapon arms, for the 5 weeks worth of constant work. That didn't stop all my hobby progress. It just reduced it to a glacial crawl on the weekends only.</div>
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What ended up happening was reduction of models I was barely using and a restructuring of units kept, if needed. So a lot of units went away... Berzerkers, Plague Marines, old Rhinos, Predators, my Chosen of Abaddon project, pairing down the Terminators from 15 to 6 and reclaiming magnets, metal Raptors, my old robed Word Bearers, etc. Bascially just trying to clean house, and get a handle on what I have to paint without having stacks of boxes and/or sprues staring at me. This also forced me to finish building units that I had started, like my Possessed. So I start doing this, and then this interesting stirring of the warp occurs... the rumors of the new supplement Traitor's Hate. That it has formations, vehicle squadrons, etc. <br />
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Figures. </div>
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This almost always seems to happen to me when I have a major shift in my hobby plans. The only reason this does happen is because my hobby time is limited and very slow, apart from building models. However, I now have a stable core of choices to pick from now and have been mostly using the Black Legion supplement as a blueprint for any units I wanted to add.</div>
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KhĆ¢rn</div>
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Abaddon</div>
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Cypher</div>
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Warpsmith,<i> I'll need 2 more I think...</i></div>
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3 Demon Princes, MoN with wings, MoT with Wings, MoS/MoK</div>
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Fully magnetized Lord in PA with almost all the options, working on a backpack swap next</div>
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5 Sorcerers, 2 with swords, 2 with staves, one in terminator armor with an axe</div>
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3 Dark Apostles, MoT and Brand, Unmarked, and Erebus... so he is probably next on the paint table, I mean, Erebus is a bad ass model</div>
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Unit of 7, Chosen for CC, 5 magnetized for weapon swaps, this includes a magnetized icon and special weapon</div>
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Unit of 6 metal, plasma Chosen</div>
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Unit of 6 plasma Chosen, need to magnetize for meltas and flamers </div>
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Unit of 3 Terminators X 2, combi-meltas and chain fists, magnetized </div>
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Unit of 5 Possessed X 2</div>
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<i>2 units of 5 CSM which have to be built for the formations, I'm toying with the idea of giving them Lascannons maybe ACs</i></div>
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Unit of 5 Raptors with meltas, Champ with a fist X 2, I'll probably take the fist off and just use melta bombs but I love the look of the fists...</div>
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10 Spawn</div>
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Unit of 5 Havocs with ACs X 2</div>
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Land Raider</div>
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Dreadclaw </div>
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3 Contemptors, 2 magnitized and 1 in progress </div>
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3 Contemptors, 2 magnitized and 1 in progress<br />
2 Renegade Knights, one conversion finished and the other still on sprue</div>
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1 Decimator, still PIP<br />
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So that's a lot to paint up, but at least it's all mostly built. This also gets me to a point to be able to run a few formations at once. Obviously from a power stand point, the Black Legion Cabal is fantastic. My biggest fear for Traitor's Hate was it would make the Cabal an almost auto-include, and the new powers pretty much sealed that deal. Despite they are reskinned powers from Angels of Death, those powers are still great for Chaos to get a hold of. A lot of the other formations I'm interested in running as well. For example... The Favored of Chaos, The Lost and the Damned, Raptor Talon, and Spawn are all formations I can run, or almost run with a few VERY select purchases.<br />
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I actually like this stuff, and I'm pretty excited by it.</div>
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No, not this type of boons farms... this is just bottled pain and suffering.</div>
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The biggest thing I'm actually excited about is the Black Crusade detachment because of the possibility to boons farm without having to be in a Challenge. Get a Lord, give him Gift, get a Dark Apostle(DA) in there somehow; probably from the Lost and the Damned formation maybe another CSM CAD, profit. The ability to roll on the boon table twice at the beginning of every turn, keep one OR both boons, and get rerolls from the DA can make a Lord go Super Saiyan pretty fast. Put that Lord in a, considered by many to be sub-optimal, close combat Chosen squad with an Icon and see what happens. So far a Lord with MoS, Black Mace and a Sigil, in a unit of MoS Chosen with 5 power mauls and an Icon of Excess for the FNP, add an DA or maybe a few Scorcerers with staves and put them in a Dreadclaw is a build I keep coming back to. I'll need to check the rules but I'm pretty sure you could take the FNP roll, since it's not considered a save, to get out of the Dreadclaw eating a squad mate, but again... I'm not sure, especially with the draft FAQ out. But back on track, a Lord with Gift and two turns of rolling on the Boon table... assuming he doesn't have some very unfortunate event beforehand, can give you the following results...</div>
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Gift roll - Reroll failed Armor saves</div>
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Turn 1 - Attacks have Instant Death</div>
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Demon Prince, DA reroll - Unworthy Offering</div>
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Turn 2 - Models in base-to-base contact take a S4, AP5 hit at Int step 1</div>
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Armor save is increased by 1<br />
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That's a pretty powerful Lord in a short amount of time. Now the size of the current Boon table is something you want to roll on for more options. I only say this because in my latest games I've been using the Eye of the Gods table from the Path to Glory warband supplement. Primarily for better boons and god specific marks. On that table, since it's so small, multiple rolls can be a little lack luster. Primarily since I still skip a boon I've already got, so you can lock out the list in pretty short order. For example getting boons on the Eye of the Gods table was as follows...<br />
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Turn 1 - Gain Fear<br />
Gain Demon, DA reroll - Reroll failed Armor saves<br />
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Turn 2 - Reroll failed Charges, including any unit the character is a part of<br />
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That was an uncommon example of really good rolls on such a short list of boons. However rerolling charges and having D6 Attacks on top of the demon weapon's D6, at Int 6 isn't anything to sneeze at. Yes, this particular model does become a fire magnet. However you can do this again to any model with the Champion of Chaos rule. So having another bruiser is a definite possibility. That model won't be as strong as quickly, but it could give you an edge before a Challenge.<br />
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Another thing with The Black Crusade detachment is getting Hatred:Armies of the Imperium. It also allows any unit that can take Veterans of the Long War (VotLW) to do so for free. This a great little flavor rule for running a Black Legion based Crusade, which is what I want to do. While it's not necessarily great on any unit that can take Veterans of the Long War, which is just Hatred:Space Marines, and most people take it for the LD bump anyway... it does make Cultists, Spawn, Helbrutes, Defilers, and Maulerfiends pack a little more punch in that first round of CC. I think that with Traitor's Hate, there will be more combos over time, this always seems to happen with any Chaos release. A vocal percentage of CSM players will not like it, and that's ok, but I think to completely write off certain parts is just being petty anymore.</div>
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With everything that Chaos has available to it currently... a CSM codex, Demon codex, Khorne Daemonkin codex, Black Legion supplement, Crimson Slaughter supplement, IA:13 not only for the CSM units but for the R&H lists as well, Siege of Vraks, Apocalypse, Traitor's Hate supplement, new psychic powers, and tactical objectives... there really shouldn't be any problem thinking of something that could work together. Do all the rules make sense, and interact well? No. Again, I think once a new CSM codex drops with some tweaks... point drops, some new rules maybe; like Stubborn, actual Cult lords, some new Demon weapons, etc... a lot more players will be happy. I don't see GW going to Legion rules ever again. They are pretty much making Chaos what is written for 40k. Lots of Cultists with their cruel masters and their Demon engines. I think they are almost there, they just need to inject some life into CSM to make them more like how they read... something to give a Space Marine pause, like some of the mechanics happening in Traitor's Hate. I'm patient, and I'm willing to see where the Black Crusade takes CSM. <br />
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It's exciting, and a little nerve wracking for my favorite faction, but more exciting than anything else.</div>
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Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-47908730332242092092016-04-18T07:27:00.001-04:002016-04-18T12:15:56.067-04:00Knight Progress v.2<div><img id="id_4b06_3ba2_6703_dde7" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YOa-6XlR5VQ/VxTEhPCjIsI/AAAAAAAABF4/QMZ65IU-qRQ/%25255BUNSET%25255D.png" alt="" title="" style="width: 445px; height: auto;"><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>I had a chance to finally push through and get the Knight about 98% finished. All that's really left is GS and a few more smaller details, and those deatials always take a bit. Over all though I'm quite pleased with how this turned out for being an extensive kit bash that I wasn't sure was going to work in the first place. I'll be the first to admit not all my projects work well, some have to be stopped before they spiral any further out of control. The tiny cultist is very tiny, but cultists are always tiny. I'm waiting for a better day, read not too busy, to take a better set of picture with more angles and a few size comparisons. It is smaller than a regular Knight. I'm ok with that, and my regular gaming buddy is ok with it, since this will now be the Knight for my Renegades and Heretics(R&H) force. But Chris... R&H can't take a Knight by themselves with out a Chaos Space Marine CAD. You would be right, until this week.<div><br></div><div><br></div><div>This week saw the wonderful preorder goodness of GW's latest brain child... Imperial Knight - Renegade. A game of Knights hunting each other with... wait for it... RULES FOR RENEGADE KNIGHTS FOR CHAOS. Someone(s) at GW has to be trolling (in the fishing sense) the Internet for ideas. This just seems too good of a coincidence. Granted, these rules come with a bundle of models that also happens to retail with a fairly good discount as well. So you do have to buy them, at first. I'm sure within a few days those rules will fall into a scanner somewhere and then spend the rest of it's days in some data gulag being ogled by the 40k masses. I mean, there's already been a leaked datasheet and a snippet about allies. The allies part looks like it reads "exactly like CSM", so that means Battle Brothers with Demons and R&H. For the Chaos community this is huge news. For the some of the places that don't allow Forgeworld(FW), and there are a few, rules for a Renegade Knight from GW is a godsend. Like I said before, they have to be watching.</div><div><br></div><div>This past Saturday was a model day for me, more on that later, but previous to this the rumors of this new GW game began to circulate. Then the pictures started. Once that happened I was determined to finish my Knight build. The real selling point for me was the box art, here was a box from GW with Knight that had a Chaos star on it shield. Sign me up. I did sign up by the way. My buddy Dave and I went halves on the box. He gets another Knight, his total will be at three, I get a Knight and rules to run my two without having to use Demon Knight rules from FW. These Renegade Knights can also double up on their weapon arms... meaning 2 battle cannons or 2 gatling cannons. Seriously, what's there not to love?</div><div><br></div><div>This whole Knight thing has me really excited is all. Usually, through out the school year, I can have a game day about every other weekend. My job keeps me busy and sometimes during the summer I get to travel, for sort of working vacations that last between 2-6 weeks at a time. <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I work at an arts university, and I teach glassblowing there and the summer work is usually being a teaching assistant at Pilchuck Glass School. </span>Well everything I applied to this summer... I didn't get. So this just freed up my summer in a big way. Working in a glass studio is a lot like owning a house. There's always something wrong with it. So I'll be doing maintenance on the school glass studio through out the summer, but only for 3-4 days out of the week. That leaves a lot of free time. So I want to try and get a lot of modeling projects like the Spartan finished up , built things painted, slim down the collection a bit, basically get my hobby life together.</div><div><br></div><div>This summer I'm going to try to do Bolter & Chainsword's annual ETL painting challenge as a way for me to get some support to get some stuff done. The hobby is like going to gym in a way, if you have other people to help out it's more fun and you're more likely to do it. For the ETL I'll be focusing primarily on my R&H and their big stuff. Maybe my Mierce Miniature greater demons as well. Since this is the first summer I will be home for the entire time, I want to get some paint down on some minis. </div><div><br></div><div>Thinning the herd is another big thing on my to do list. The Predators that have been sitting untouched for years, they should probably go. Half built Plague Marines from the FW upgrade kit? eBay those. It's just time to do this. Lately I've been noticing that I've been playing more R&H and Demons and less CSM. Some of that has to do with how I personally perceive Chaos as a faction. Almost every book I have read with large battles involving Chaos there's this screen of filth that's used for meats shields . That's kind of how I play. Lots of cannon fodder, and let Kharn roll up in a Khorne Chosen squad. Some of it has to do with the parent CSM book. It's way better than the last one, but still needs points drop across the board. This coming weekend I have a game, and it will be using the boon table from the Path to Glory supplement, released over Christmas I believe. Less bloat and god specific rewards, it should be fun. So a good long look at what I have been playing and what I haven't been playing to make some shelf space is in order.</div><div><br></div><div>I should also have enough time to go on a few fishing trips with my wife, it's one of the things I've missed the most working these past summers.</div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-50451425571679857332016-01-03T15:03:00.000-05:002016-01-04T10:02:19.079-05:00Warpsmith finished<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So there' a theme happening if you noticed... time to stop building and start A LOT of painting. Who am I kidding? I can't stop building but I can slow way down, and in that regard the Warpsmith is finished minus the static grass. It was a real pain to paint at times since it is whole with no subassemblies. Old school I guess, build it then paint it. The biggest thing I've learned, from the Sorc and this model, it have it mostly together but not all the way. Its makes things so much easier. Lesson learned, it took awhile but it stuck. Enough so that I haven't fully assembled my Havocs... legs, torso, backpack, gun arm, and gun are all together leaving the shoulder pads, and support arm off... so I should have an easier time getting to everything I want to reach.</div>
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Here's the final product. A few things to note, it is much larger than it needs to be. It sits on a 40mm base, and stands much taller than a marine. So game wise it's a sitting duck, but with a 2+ save it should be ok most of the time. Either way I didn't want a Finecast version of the Warpsmith because of the fragility of Finecast. I've had smaller diameter pieces just snap right off and didn't want to shell out $30(US) for something that could break easy. So all the tentacles are from a Necron Doomscythe and guitar string for strength and stability.</div>
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A lot of firsts on this model. First time using oil based rust effects. Loved that. It can have a nice subtle rust effect that can be built up and if you want to add some more orange to it's nothing to add water to a small amount of Ryza Rust and dab that in place. Used Nurgle's Rot for as well, and it's interesting but I don't see using it for anything else beyond what I've done here. Accents for seepage or tissue breakdown. The red was really simple, but so effective. It really was just using GWs paints... Mephiston Red for the base, first layer of Evil Sunz Scarlet with an edge highlight of Wild Rider Red. Layers were applied very thin, think translucent, to build up the color. Once that was all dry, a glaze of Bloodletter was put on the red to pull it all together and it came out great. Super pleased with how simple it was. The metal and skin were completely different stories however, and involved a lot of touch up and a few restarts. </div>
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At the time of this writing, I am currently finishing the base for one the Rapiers and I'd like to finish the other Rapier this evening. Another Hellblaster Volley Gun is on the way to finish out the battery at 3 strong. My beloved Auotcannon Havoc squad was rebuilt yesterday and a new Havoc unit built using Forgeworld's Legion Autocannon set I got forever ago. Love those guns, hate the ammo feeds. If you get them, plan on rebending the belts a few times to match up. Also if you want to use Chaos backpacks, you'll have to trim them down a little so the ammo boxes fit.</div>
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Nifty trick if you don't want to use your Betrayal at Calth heavy bolters as heavy bolters, just clip the barrel off and glue an auto cannon barrel on. Super easy conversion for a, IMHO, better gun.</div>
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So yeah, more painting and less building.</div>
Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-35987758624804425292015-12-28T16:03:00.002-05:002016-01-03T15:16:17.731-05:00Chaos Sorc finished up... finally.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A few of you may remember this picture from awhile back. It was from <a href="http://ahostofwordbearers.blogspot.com/search/label/Magnetized">a post</a> about using magnets and different heads as a way of showing Marks of Chaos on your models. Well, I finally was able to get this Sorcerer and all the heads painted this past weekend. So what we have is a Black Legion Chaos Sorcerer, the only Finecast model I wanted to get... ever, with a back pack and helmet from Forgeworld's Sons of Horus upgrade pack. All the other heads come from the Chaos Chariot kit. But enough with that technical mumbo jumbo, here's the mini...</div>
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So here's a similar shot as above but painted...</div>
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Chaos Undivided...</div>
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Mark of Nurgle...</div>
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Mark of Slaanesh...</div>
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and Mark of Tzeentch...</div>
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So one model with 4 very visual ways to represent the Marks it might have on the battlefield. Which is great for me because I kinda need WYSIWYG for my army so I remember what the thing does! For being a Fincast model, which I dislike for it's fragility over anything else, it was very characterful and had a good amount of detail without being over the top. All the bare heads used the recipes for my Demons so they would tie into each other visually. Except for there Tzeentch head, with that one the recipe came about from this model so I now have a nice, subtle, blue to work with for later. One of the details I did get into was the demon faced shoulder pad...</div>
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That one thing was a lot of fun to do and I will be using this same type of structure for any leering demon face on Chaos armor that isn't in the trim. Like on all the Dark Vengeance Chosen. This model was also upgraded to a 32 mm base using <a href="http://eccentricminiatures.com/accessories.html">Eccentric Miniatures</a> Size A Adaptor Ring. It just needed a very minimal amount of GS for the gaps but otherwise worked great. They are cast in polystyrene from 3D printed masters. You can see the printing detail once you get them, but after 3 thinned coats of paint on the rim you barely tell at all since the paint smoothed out the surface pretty well. The only thing I *might* go back into would be the rips/vents in the cabling with the same coloration I used on the demon tongue. Maybe. </div>
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What do you think, did it turn out ok?</div>
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<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-23281201610730045772015-11-26T20:29:00.001-05:002015-11-26T20:29:59.798-05:00Knight progress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Things have been moving along, a little slowly but still moving. The semester will be over in about 2 weeks and then it's time for Christmas break! Which this year has the ungodly length of ~6 weeks. In 5 years of teaching I've never seen a break that long, and I don't remember ever having a break that long as a student either. Anyway, with that large chunk of time I'm hoping to get the Knight finished and probably primed. Having multiple spray booths on campus is a huge plus during the winter. Not only do I want to finish the Knight in this time, but I'd also like to get my Chosen squads finished and magnetized with ranged weapon options. When I say ranged weapons, it's really just plasma and melta guns.<br />
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I think this is a doable amount of work in the time I have for break. On to the Knight...</div>
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Here it is looking about the right height. This puts it at just about 6 inches (~15 cm) which is about half an inch short for a standard Knight. So it's close. Close enough that a Knight base with some cork should put it right about where it needs to sit. <br />
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I started thinking about how I wanted the power plant to look, and proceeded to tac those exhaust pipes in a few different configurations before seeing this one kinda pop out at me. It just needed a few cuts and a little bit of filler plasticard and they looked great. Add a few bits, some Mechnicum bits from my buddy and that Ork tank on the bottom that I've had for years... YEARS... and it's finally getting used!, and it's a working engine on a condensed chassis. There will be some green stuff work to gap fill and plastic tubing to continue some of the hoses to finish the engine out. I know it has a very Warjack feel to it, and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing yet. I do know there's no way this will be the exact same size, I can get close but not exact. <br />
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Now the shoulder pads are a huge discrepancy. The standard Knight shoulders are really large, but the Maulerfiend top carapace plate is a decent replacement that I can use with a little modification. I don't know how exactly, but I'm thinking some plasticard fringe and trophies might do it, sort of mimicking the Cataphracti Terminator shoulders. We'll see how it goes. The rest of the armor plates have been getting the filigree shaved off and Choas brass etch is adorning those plates now along with the spikes the Chaos trim seems to love.</div>
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Right now this is where the build stands currently. I'm still kicking around about how to bulk out the middle effectively. Theres a lot of shocks left over from the Leviathan kit, some guitar string and demon bits and I might be in business. I also was able to splurge a bit and find the 15mm cannon, saw blade, and plasma cannon arms for this project. For some reason they were more difficult to find then I thought they'd be, and took much longer to find. But they got here about a week ago, so I'll be getting those together over break and getting some pictures of that. I know it looks a little weedy now, but I think once the armor and weapons are in place it'll look much better. The mutations are starting to creep in as well. In the photo below you can see some of the mechanical toes have been replaced with claws. There will be some more touches like that, but not a whole lot. I want more machine and less demon but not be have demon elements completely absent.<br />
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It's definitely a more streamlined Knight. If anyone has any ideas/suggestions... I'm all ears, let me know what you think, I always appreciate it!</div>
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So as I had stated in the previous post I wanted to work on the knight conversion this weekend. I was able to get a jump start on that yesterday. This is to be a combination of the 15 mm Dreamforge Leviathan Mortis and standard Knight legs and exhaust pipes with plastic tubing to help bulk it out. The legs were surprisingly easy to modify for bit more range of motion for posing. Cutting the knees apart, while the legs were still in halves, with a jeweler saw or coping saw took all of 5 minutes for all four halves. A really nice part was after some thinking, I was able to bulk out the hips with plastic tubing. Then clip the peg off the thighs, use successively larger bits for the holes and the thighs now fit snugly onto the new hips of the Leviathan. <br />
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The trickiest part was actually clipping down, and hollowing out, the ankles of the Knight lower legs to have the Levithan feet fit into them. Again, a Dremel tool was used and by going slow it was no problem to make spot for the feet to sit in. My Dremel is quickly becoming one of my favorite tools to use and I can recommend one enough for extensive conversions like this. I will probably have to clip a few more odd sections of piping/brackets off the feet for them to have a better range of motion. The ball socket of the Leviathan feet still move, but they look good and definitely have a Chaos Raptor like appearance to them. This is good because I imagine a fallen knight as being more feral looking than what Forgeworld has done with it so far. Additionally, I'll go back through and take off some of the regular embellishments on the trim to Chaosify it a bit more with extended points and teeth like the Chosen from Dark Vengeance. This really only applies to the thigh, knee, and lower leg armor plates though.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The hip tubing, I used a piece of plastic trim to make up for the difference in diameter of the inner and outer tubing and make them fit snugly together.</span></div>
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I <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">should be able to get time later today to get the torso built and dry fit with tubing to establish the height. The Leviathan feet already give it some additonal clearance, but ultimately I would like it be as close to a normal Knight in terms of size; as possible. Add a little more scenic of a base, and I think it won't be any problem at all to reach that goal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Now what I'm left to ponder is the idea and story of this model for my army. I thought about having it be a relic left over from House Devine, using a Naga motif to show the house before the unification with the Imperium, but I have also thought about taking it a little further and going full Slaanesh Subjugator with it as well. It wouldn't be to hard to make claws from Tyranid scything talons and the back guns would be a fun thing to build as well. Or, since the Mortis comes with a claw hand, get the other claw hand and have a single back cannon, since I'm leaning toward a Paladin anyway. Or just do a Gallant with the back mounted autocannon and then visually all the bases are covered. I know I'm still getting started with the the chassis, but it's starting to be more complete in my mind and that makes the build go faster.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">I'm excited to see where this will go in terms of a finished model, and it's all I can do to not blow off everything and work on it for the rest of the day and well into the night. But I want to help out with the the bronze pour at school and wrap up a few loose ends before the weekend to really get started on this later this evening.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><strike>*I'll edit the format once I'm home, I wish I could center the pictures on my iPad.*</strike></span></div>
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Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-54164355709982881512015-11-03T22:35:00.000-05:002015-11-03T22:35:11.821-05:00Resuming operations... well, blogging at least<br />
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So it's been awhile and it's mostly from life stuff cutting into the majority of my time. The job has kicked up a few notches mostly from a colleague and dear friend passing away last October. So, to say I've been busy would be an understatement. Running a glass studio is like owning a house, there's usually something wrong or you're just generally keeping it clean. Imagine your house with 40 kids/young adults... and the house is on fire... you get the picture.<br />
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However, I was always making some time for the hobby mostly as a way to keep me grounded through out the entire affair. This involved a lot of building and some painting, but mostly building. There was a lot of progress made on certain projects, new ones started, painting recipes tried out, and many; maybe too many; purchases.<br />
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The Leviathan Knight project is still alive and well. However due to the size of the 25mm kit I have decided to "upgrade" it to a Kytan demon-engine. This makes more sense for the scale of the beast and the torso and legs are attached and super glued in place as one unit now. So really there's mainly finishing/detail work on connections and the like. Hose connections, more wires, and many more skulls need to be added. Additionally the right pauldron will need to be studded to match the lower left leg armor. The middle has been bulked out so it looks less flimsy and more sturdy. To go with this kit I picked up a pair of Mauler Claws for a house-ruled, non-gun version at some point. It's a little pricey at 525 points but it is something you don't want getting to your line an making a mess.<br />
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I really enjoy the look of theLeviathan kit. To me, it looked superior in every way to the Imperial Knight. I'm not knocking GW's kit, my buddy has two and they are nice, it just never really appealed to me. That being said, I did go ahead and order a Mortis Leviathan for a Knight conversion. It is a little smaller but with some smart bit swaps I think I can bulk it out reasonably well. For example using the GW Knight legs but the Leviathan feet should give it an almost Chaos Raptor like appearance. The 15 mm scale is a little intimidating just because everything is so small but I think it is more than doable. I also plan on using plastic tubing to bulk out the middle and hips, iron work from the Chaos Warshirne kit for the shoulders and some Mechanicum bits for a more arcane feel overall. The idea is to make a Knight cheaper than the FW model with select replacements and bits box rummaging. It should be fun, and I'll probably start that this weekend.</div>
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A recent purchase was the Chaos Rapier Platforms from <a href="http://thedarkworks.bigcartel.com/">The Dark Works</a>. This gentleman does stellar work and they ship with magnets so you can change the guns out for any load out you want. Currently, he only has the conversion beamer(sold out) and ecto-plasma cannons but the auto cannon option should be coming soon. They look the part without any conversion work, which is fabulous.</div>
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I also backed <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/coolminiornot/the-others-7-sins/comments">The Others:7 Sins</a> on Kickstarter as way to bolster my demon models and cultists/renegades. At the time of this writing I believe they are still doing late pledges so don't wait too long or the pledge manager will be launched effectively closing any buying. The amount of miniatures you get for $100 US is simply staggering. They are at 30mm scale so a little bigger than but it shouldn't be too noticeable. Some of the add-ons are fantastic as well, check out the Apocalypse box for Demon Prince proxies and you'll see what I mean. The various other team boxes could be the basis for Inquisitor war bands as well. All around a super value for the money.</div>
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Well over a year in the waiting, the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jeremyglen/creature-caster-first-wave">Creature Caster KS</a> is finally gearing up for production and those demon miniatures are fantastic. If you haven't seen them yet you should really go over and take a look. The length of the wait is annoying but they will get to me eventually and I have enough keeping me busy until they show up. Which, once they do will put me at A LOT of Greater Demons counting the 4 models I got from <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mierceminiatures/banebeasts-mighty-monsters/description">Mierce Miniatures</a> this summer as well.</div>
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On the Forgeworld front, my buddy and I took advantage of the free shipping promo and I got the 40k Nurgle Sorcerer, Kor Pharon, and Erebus. I'm still figuring out what to do with Kor Pharon but Erebus is a stunning model and I have plans to turn him into the ultimate Dark Apostle. That Nurgle Sorcerer just needs a Palanquin and he will be all set. If you have the chance sometime I highly recommend a level 3 Nurgle Sorcerer on a Palanquin rolling on Biomancy with a demon weapon. He can become an untouchable killing machine, yes it's dependent on good Biomancy rolls but if you get them... heads WILL roll. <br />
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Using FW's lovely legion bits, I was also able to convert the CSM plastic champ and magnetize him with almost all the options. Super pleased with the whole mini, need to get him primed soon since we have a break in the weather this week. Again, the dremel made hollowing out the collar super easy for the resin head to fit. That thing has a made a bunch of modeling projects way easier.<br />
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For a side project I've started an Inquisitor Warband and have a ton of fun converting a rag tag group of ImperiL lap dogs.</div>
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As far as painting goes, I think I've finally found a way to paint my Black Legion well and quickly. This isn't my recipe, I found it online poking around B&C and was pointed <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.269588783180764.1073741838.255572917915684&type=3">here</a>, but it works wonderfully. Super easy to do too! The general recipe is as follows...</div>
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Prime black</div>
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Base coat Leadbelcher, I used the spray </div>
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Thinned black wash all over, allow to dry</div>
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Thinned sepia wash all over, allow to dry</div>
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Dry rush with Necron Compound</div>
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Detail Mithril Silver on the trim edges</div>
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Fill in armor plates with a mix of black and Lahmian Medium while being careful to avoid the trim, apply twice if needed.</div>
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This is general recipe which get them painted quickly. It works really well for the Dark Vengeance Chosen so the "normal" CSM go even faster. Then all the details, eyes and hoses in red, loin cloths in brown for leather, edge highlight armor plates with Incubi Darkness and then base.<br />
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The back-fill technique in full effect on a test mini</div>
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So a very sort of up and down summer as it were, but it feels good to be back, talk to you soon.</div>
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Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-76500409621434062682015-04-20T21:43:00.000-04:002015-04-20T21:44:00.814-04:00Painting Progress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ah, the lean mean grey machines</div>
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So after a dogs age... that Rogue Psyker Coven is finished. Ok, 99.99% finished, I still need to put some static grass on the bases. All the painting is finished though! All I have now is the picture I cobbled together with my iPhone, it's not the best picture though. My apologies. I did shoot a batch of pictures earlier today with my DSLR and a photo-cube, but I'm having trouble with manual focusing and depth-of-field issues. So those pictures were pretty terrible. Most likely due to older eyes. However, it did make me realize that I need a new camera with a nice autofocus that won't break the bank. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know, I appreciate the input.<br />
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So here's the unit...<br />
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Have a turn will you?</div>
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A little bloody, but seeing how they are being used to be conduits for the Warp that my Black Legionnaires exploit... it seemed fitting. In my mind, they were rounded up; festooned with Warp condensers and amplifiers with the resulting power surges melting their faces off when cursing/blasting what their masters point at. Speaking of coruscating Warp energies... when these guys get possessed in game, I'll attach a sigil in the base to mark which ones are possessed. Because last game was confusing trying to keep track of who was, or wasn't, possessed. If you're familiar with the illustrator Wayne Douglas Barlow's work <i><u>Inferno</u></i> you'll have an idea of how it will look. A demonic sigil as a halo right behind, or above, the head. Now I just need to get some white base paint, and I'll be all set to do the rogue-witch flesh. But before that guy, who is the big bad of my R&H, the Renegade Ogryns and their Hounds are ready to be finished. Ogryns are past the black out stage, Hounds still need it, but all the flash is done.</div>
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One of Mr. Barlow's illustrations... I love his work.</div>
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There was a lot of good little discoveries for this batch of minis. Namely... a good "leather", exposed bone, and unhealthy skin tone color recipes. Sometimes I just paint, other times I'm really trying to make sure that I can repeat a certain result so I document the entire process to make sure of that. Since these minis are the first lot of my R&H, I want to be able to repeat most of these results over the rest of the force. If anyone wants to know how a certain area was done, just ask. I don't mind sharing at all. </div>
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I have to admit in all my years of painting minis, I never thought that white primer would be so nice to work with. Prime white, do all the flesh tones with washes, black out everything else, and block in base colors. It's been a little labor intensive, but it's been an enjoyable process for me. I'm a very slow painter remember, but I really want to try that Spartan conversion... and I'm holding on to getting some painting done before I buy anything else. The back log has been big for a bit, I'd like to knock some units out for a change. </div>
<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-69792323662473396212015-03-01T17:17:00.002-05:002015-03-02T17:00:17.197-05:00Real quick Dreadclaw update... come fly with me...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday ended up being a really good day for hobby time as I was able to pretty much finish the Dreadclaw minus some bling.</div>
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As you can see there's a lot more plasticard from last time. Basically it was really simple to trim a piece down to fit where the pods retro-thrusters would normally go. I just traced the outline of the bottom on to the plastic, and then cut it a little big at first after measuring how much to trim off. Then trim and check, trim and check, yadda, yadda. The door for the bottom is from the old-old Rhino kits before the current version. I also sawed out some replacement fins for the top out of some really thick plasticard, and the template I made earlier worked like a charm. Add some tubes, stick some claws and tentacles in a few of those tubes for the Demonic Possession rule, some teeth-like protrusions... and presto. One, mostly, finished Dreadclaw!</div>
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But then there was the whole thing about getting it onto a flying stand...</div>
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If you do a lot of modeling and don't have one of these, I really recommend that you get one. This one was a little bit more expensive. It's variable speed which came in handy, but the thing to remember is as long as you can change out bits you'll be fine. This made cutting the hole for the flying stand go so much easier and faster. By faster I mean about 40 minutes or so. Doing it before hand, you know... before finishing the model, probably would've been better. If I make another, now I know.</div>
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I ended up using the flying stand from my Heldrake to pencil out where I wanted to start cutting/drilling/modifying. I had a 1/8" wide, ball cutting bit chucked into the Dremel and used short stokes to work the entire "cross". One thing I should mention. I did use both halves of the door for the finished model, as I wanted something sturdy and more rigid. This actually helps with the flying stand since you have more material to actually rest the pod on the stand with. I had gone through the first layer of the door, taking my time, and checking the top of the stand to the hole often to see where it was and where it wasn't lining up. Put the pod on the stand, and it was way too tippy as the area the stand rested in was just too shallow. Only about 1/4" in depth. So it was a simple matter of going through the inner part of the door, just like before. Once both halves of the door were cut in, I switched bits to a 1/8" cylinder cutting bit. This allowed me to really shave off just a little bit of plastic at a time on both halves of the door at the same time. Again going slow, and not pushing really hard either.</div>
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There you have it, now my Dreadclaw can go into flying mode...</div>
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Or hover mode!</div>
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Now if I could just get a flying stand ordered, most places... including GW... seem to be out at the moment!</div>
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<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-76924937209996035842015-02-26T23:16:00.000-05:002015-02-26T23:27:39.920-05:00IA:13 continues to inspire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6rkfaKDkvK4/VO_lJcDecpI/AAAAAAAAA70/-cv5k5AIsqo/s1600/Ldreadclaw5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6rkfaKDkvK4/VO_lJcDecpI/AAAAAAAAA70/-cv5k5AIsqo/s1600/Ldreadclaw5.jpg" height="272" width="320" /></a></div>
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Image from Forgeworld </div>
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Well, what about those Dreadclaws?! Seriously, an assault craft that is a dedicated transport for CSM or Chosen? Sign. Me. Up. This little baby gives me some flexibility on the battlefield while not competing for those all important Fast Attack slots... if those are really even a thing anymore. Anyway... liking the rules, loving the concept, and not to happy with the FW pricing. At 57 Pounds Sterling, that's ~$88 before the shipping. Now I do love FW, I did get the collectors edition of IA:13, but thats a lot for something slightly larger than a normal stock GW Drop Pod. So... I go looking for "dreadclaw conversion" and find this nifty article over at <a href="http://darkfuturegaming.blogspot.com/2010/10/diy-cheap-chaos-dreadclaws-part-1.html">Dark Future Games</a> that pretty much summed up what I wanted. Exactly. Their tutorial is spot on, and a fantastic start. For my own Dreadclaw I pretty much followed it to the letter, but then I started looking at the all the other conversions as well. They were all pretty much the same. Make the pod, flip the fins. Except I don't like how the fins look after they get flipped. The fins look to splayed out, like they buckled a bit when they made impact and thats why they look a little "splayed". Well, how could I change that and make a bunch of extra work in the process? Simple! Try and find the correct angle to flip the tips inward to look more like the Dreadclaw. I think I got it to work out pretty well, let me know what you think.</div>
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Basically follow Dark Future Gaming's tut for the main hull assembly, and where to clip the fins initially. After that, you're done. Prime and paint! It doesn't look bad at all really. However, if you want to spice it up a bit... then please continue on.<br />
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So what it really comes down to is two cuts, sawing actually, and some spacing material. Old sprue could do it as well, I just happen to have some plasticard from ancient days around to chop up. Start with the yellow line first in the photo above. Use the orange area of the stabilizer tip to find the approximate length you will need to for the end of the second cut. Finally follow the blue line to make the second cut. You may want to trim some of the servo arms for the fin off to make sawing easier. Repeat x 5.</div>
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Then all you have to do is flip the stabilizer tip and glue. Again, if you wanted to, you could stop right here and call it a day. I added some spacing to help raise the whole pod a bit, and I even added tips from the "dozer" blade on the CSM Vehicle Sprue to jack it up a little more. I wanted infantry models to be able to fit underneath it, so I needed it to be taller.</div>
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Fins at dry fit.</div>
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So there we have it. This, to me, feels more like a Dreadclaw and I'm waiting on some bits to come to finish it up. There's only a few more things to get planned out. Adding some more stabilizer fins back to the top, and how to do the flying stand for it as well.</div>
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So here's the Photoshop mock up, and then the actual template for the construction of the top stabilizer fins. </div>
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All in all, this has been a fun project and I *might* do another one. My personal philosophy is that one might be good but a pair is better, but that's not always the case. One of the best unit analysis posts for the Dreadclaw is <a href="http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/302184-tactical-imperial-armour-13-the-lost-the-damned/">here</a>. It's especially malisteen's post, #16, that really lays it out to not think of the Dreadclaw as a drop pod but more like a stripped down Storm Raven. Great post.</div>
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That's it for now until those bits get here and I have a chance to wrap this project up and put it on the very large "to paint" shelf.</div>
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<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-47343989950756654352014-11-28T09:10:00.000-05:002014-11-28T19:30:34.409-05:00What IA:13 has done to me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well then, unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months... and I know I almost have been... then this lovely tome came out. I am referring to <a href="https://www.blogger.com/" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span id="goog_1859316994"></span>Imperial Armor 13, War Machines of the Lost and the Damned.</a> I'm not going to review this, since a lot of folks have put stock into several of the units in the book already. Adam over at <a href="http://www.thediceabide.com/">The Dice Abide</a> has some thoughtful analysis of the book and I agree with most of it, plus... I don't really have time for actual reviews as much. He also has some tactical articles as well, he really has done an exhaustive overview so if you haven't gotten the book yet then I suggest you check out his thoughts on it. This post, like all of them really, focuses on how does this book "effect me/my army?". Which, truth be told, I think that thought process goes for a lot of the gamers out there when something new comes out. I can tell you this much, with the Renegades and Heretics(R&H) army list inside this book. I will never use Cultists from the Chaos Space Marine(CSM) Codex again. Why? Because it's too much fun, that's why. That alone has been the biggest addition to my army... Battle Brother Traitor Guard are back since they were taken away with the new Ally Matrix in 7th. They really are the rabble and refuse of the Imperium and super cheap points wise for everything you get. I mean, it <i>almost</i> feels dirty they have so many options.</div>
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So I did, of course, make one major purchase and it was the Cadian Defense Force for ~$160 at my FLGS <a href="http://www.wargames.com/store/645/columbus/guard-tower">The Guardtower</a> here in Columbus. Now please keep in mind, I already have 2 squads of 30 Cultists with auto-guns, and another 20 with auto-pistols and close combat weapon(CCW). So I just added a whole lot of bodies, a few tanks, and a Heavy Weapons Team(HWT) and super bulked out my R&H options. (Incidentally I also found out with this purchase of The Guardtower's lifetime discount plan... this purchase put me over spending $1,000 at their lovely establishment and as such I now receive 10% off all my purchases store wide. Pretty cool AND terrifying at the same time.) So now that I have all these bodies to choose from, and with the bodies I already have, what kind of unwashed horde do I want to build? Why, a witch coven of course! When going through R&H one of the first things to jump out at me was the Primaris Rogue-Witch for an HQ. That unit can be upgraded to Psychic Mastery 2 and take Malefic, it also unlocks the Rogue Psyker Coven as an Elites Choice when they are normally an HQ choice. Such a great place to start, a witch coven and all those they hold sway over... I'm really excited for this long term project, I've also resigned myself that all my projects are long term. I just really need to put in more painting days than modeling days to balance it all out.</div>
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So... no self respecting cult wouldn't be gunned down without a charismatic/terrifying leader shoving them forward or promising to feed them to the demons if they don't go. So here is the WIP of my Rogue-Witch HQ. He's based off of the Warhammer Fantasy Chaos Sorcerer Lord. Awesome model, it has the Carin Wraith and Nurgle Chaos Lord potential of being versatile enough for a lot of different projects. However, it needed some sprucing up to feel right. It started with scraping out the gorget to be able to fit a different head in and replacing the arms. This head is from the Cadian Command sprue, and the arms are from the Empire Flagellant box. The clawed hand is from a Ghoul and really sets off the whole "Imma sumOnen DEE-MUNZZ!!1!" vibe. It also makes him appear a little warp touched but not completely mutated. Sprinkle on some assorted gubbins of Wrack(LOVELY kit!) vanes, and vials and some pouches and he's mostly finished. I'm still thinking about the positioning of the right arm, and haven't found the right weapon yet.</div>
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So when the plastic Wracks came out, I bought 2 boxes. It has so many little bits and bobs it is easily on of my favorite kits. To be honest this was the first unit I built and this unit helped set the tone for the Rogue-Witch above. I wanted the idea of these guys to be that they were barely in control of the Warp surging through them, or that something very nasty had been bound to them. That it had wasted their bodies away while giving them an unnatural vigor. So these guys started out as Wracks with the torsos carefully clipped and then Ghoul torsos put on. For the heads I used the left over masks from the Carin Wraith sprue. All that was needed was some green stuff to fill some gaps and round out the heads. Possibly add some eyes. Add some vials, vanes, and that little light from the Scion backpacks that I had clip off to make them look like the escaped lab animals I was envisioning. They came out horrific and perfect. The only thing I'm still trying to figure out for them is a way to mark them when they become possessed. Currently I'm thinking of some type of peg or token that goes into the base to mark them as having ascended their mortal coil.</div>
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Now, every leader needs some thugs to make sure everyone stays "in line", so enter the Enforcer Cadre. Think Commissar but having no qualms about executions at all, or dosing the masses with combat drugs to whip them into a frenzy before the charge. I've seen a lot of people use the Scion kit to great effect and I figured for my Enforcers it would be perfect. These conversions were really simple. Defile/remove the Imperial iconography, head swaps, and nick/gouge to taste. The heads come from <a href="http://maxmini.eu/conversion-bits/head-swaps/fallen-legionnaire-heads-bits">Maximini,</a> which have a number of conversion bits available. I'll be using these heads for the members of the Command Squad as well to help mark them out on the field.</div>
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So I also got an Ageis Line as well and have started to Chaosify it with any spare time that has popped up. This helps feed my auto-cannon fetish that Havoc Squads have started. I DO love me some auto-cannons.</div>
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I did have a chance to play a 750 point game a few weeks ago. For that amount of points you can bring 50 bodies, a plasmacutioner, an auto-cannon HWT, 5 rogue psychers, and a few Enforcers. That my friends is gross. I can see the appeal of massed bodies with massive firepower now. Something that bog standard CSMs could sort of do, but not as well. Rogue Psykers are pretty good, they have a Invul Save, but their powers are really something. Creeping Terror is great, sure it reduces Initiative to 1... which is nothing to sneeze at... but the great part is making effected units only able to Snap Shot. I shut down my buddies Sicaran for that game, yes he did bring a Sicaran to a 750 pt game, and that was great. Now the only real downside to the Rogue Psker powers is the range. They're all at the 12" range. So yeah, it's risky, but no risk... no reward.</div>
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Since starting this I have ordered some bits. This will help convert my Ogryns, there was a box on clearance form a different shop in town so that was an immediate purchase. Make another auto-cannon HWT since I already had the actual auto-cannons from a previous bits order. Shoulder pads from Chaos Marauders and Dreamforge Stormtroopers to mark units on the field since they can be so large. All in all, I just made a lot more work for myself... thanks Forgeworld for making an irresistible book with all sorts of goodies! No, that wasn't sarcastic. Much.</div>
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Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-17232554049933183902014-07-14T17:23:00.000-04:002014-07-14T18:05:37.853-04:00One down, 11 more to go<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I did manage to get at least one Giant Chaos Spawn finished yesterday, and the other one isn't that far behind. To finish the other one I need to base coat all the spikes/teeth, and start highlighting the mouth, spikes, and gashes. Pick out the pustules with Sunburst Yellow, yes... I still have it and it's thick but still good, and then dot them with white. Then finally paint the base Steel Legion Drab with a Bleached Bone dry brush. Not a whole lot left for that guy really.</div>
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It's not easy being greenish.</div>
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Now the smaller guys I ran into a slight problem... I changed the color recipe I normally use for my Nurgle paint schemes. I adde some Reikland Fleshshade to the wash mix, and didn't realize how strong of a color it is. As a result, it gave a definite brown tone to the smaller Spawn. Which kinda derailed me working on them at first, but the more I look at them the more I'm ok with it. Since Spawn are supposed to be failed human champions of Chaos the color shift actually makes more sense to me. So for these guys the process is a little more involved since they're still at the beginning of their paint job. They still need Bloodletter Glaze around some of the more radical pseudopodia, then Lamenter Yellow glaze on and around the red. Basecoat the two mechanical arms in Boltgun, wash them with Agrax, and start rusting them out. I'll also use some of the Nurgle's Rot technical paint where the metal and flesh meet for a more infected look.</div>
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But, without further ado... the star of the show...</div>
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I apologize for the current angle of the camera, I need to remake my photo setup to get some better pictures, this is the best I can do at them moment. One thing I really enjoyed about this model was using Blood for the Bloodgod. For realistic blood effects, it worked great. I also found if you thin it a little and put it in a deeper crevasse, or pockmark, and then lightly drag your brush downward you can get a great "weeping sore" effect from it. Now I'm wondering if I add some Typhus Corrosion if I can get more of a "gore" effect on weapons, since the greenish tint of the Corrosion should neutralize the red of the Blood a bit and make it darker. I'll just have to try it at some point.</div>
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See, I can paint stuff too... not just build model after model. ;-)</div>
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<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-85261754363632090232014-07-10T07:15:00.000-04:002014-07-10T07:24:49.845-04:00Tide of filth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So when the Chaos codex first dropped people were raving about Nurgle Spawn and how tough they are, and I have to agree with that. Shortly after I was able to secure some eBay deals to boost my one Spwan, a hold over from the days when they were followers (i.e. equipment), to 10. They are an excellent tar pit unit, and can actually kill things sometimes. Since I let my buddy use his Forgeworld all the time, I started thinking about using some Chaos units after I got the new Imperial Armor Apocalypse book, and the first thing that jumped out at me was the Giant Chaos Spawn. </div>
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I was able to use one of these creatures my last game, and it is a beast. S6, T6, and a 4+ save make it pretty durable and it has the chance of getting a 2+ Feel No Pain to add to it's survivability. It also has D6+2 Attacks with Rage. Which means that on the charge this thing can put out 11 S6 at AP2 since it's a Monstrous Creature (...or maybe only 10, I believe that now with 7th no stat can go beyond 10 but I need to double check). It also has the ability to give a S6, AP -, hit to models in base to base at Initiative step 10. It can also reduce the Initiative of models in base to base by -2. What makes this thing not crazy over-powered is that the powers it has access to (the FNP; the I10 hit; and the -2 I) are all rolled for on a D3 once the creature is in close combat, furthermore, unlike normal Spawn it is not a Beast so it lumbers around like normal Infantry. Still... that is a awesome set of abilities!</div>
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Normally I don't buy that much Forgeworld at all, but when they were running free shipping last holiday season that actually made these cheaper than a plastic Slaughterbrute or Hellpit Abomination. Both of which I have seen used a proxies for a Giant Chaos Spawn. So I got two. I slightly converted one, I gave it more tongues so i could tell the two apart on the battlefield. Yesterday I was able to finish attaching limbs to all the little ones, do a double check to make sure all the mold lines were gone, counterweight them to make them less tippy, and finally prime all those gribblies.</div>
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Last night, and this morning, I was able to get the first colors down. Since they are fleshy and not power armor, I decided to prime them white and mostly use washes to paint them. I'll be using a variant of my Nurgle recipe since that's the mark I always give them. Khorne doesn't give them anything extra since they already have Rage. Slaanesh makes them I4, so meh. Tzeentch gives them a 6++ which isn't that great, but I guess it's better than nothing? <br />
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Anyway I'm excited to get these guys going, and should have them done hopefully by early next week given work and all. During which I hope to get the Sorc from last post primed black along with my Dark Mechanicus Warpsmith AND...<br />
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This awesome Bloodslaughterer of Khorne!!</div>
Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-222276555427941132014-07-07T18:50:00.000-04:002014-07-07T18:50:17.649-04:00Marks of Chaos, continued<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So the last post was a way to really just have a visual representation of the Mark of Chaos you put on a unit. This can work, until your Champ is taken out. Where the magnetic head swap really comes in to light is for individual character models... such as a Sorcerer.<br />
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So this is the new-ish Chaos Sorcerer in Finecast with a selection of heads from the Fantasy Chaos Chariot sprue to represent the Marks of Nurgle, Tzeentch, and Slaanesh. The process is the same as last time for placing the magnets. What differs here is drilling down into the chest to make a space for the necks on the heads. </div>
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Start with a small hole and take your time finding the center of that neck in the chest; I've drawn light pencil lines to cross in middle to start the pilot hole. Since you're putting in the neck "cup" of a standard Marine torso, take your time and go slow and use gradually bigger drill bits to remove the material. I used a new Exacto blade to get the starter hole as precise as I could, then an 1/8" drill bit, and a 5/32" after that. The final drill bit size I used was 3/16" (~5mm), and then only barely. Finecast is a dream to work with, but so soft it's <b>real</b> easy to over work.</div>
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While I was at it, I also decided to magnetize one more head, a Sons of Horus head from Forgeworld, to represent no mark. So with a character, this technique can help you remember what you put on the guy as well as only having to build one model. So now I have a versatile model that can play several different ways. All I need to do now is possibly make another one and entertain the same idea with a Chaos Lord as well. </div>
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As the cost of the hobby keeps going up, it's a way for me to diversify my army without having to invest too heavily (or at all) in acquiring new models.</div>
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<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-77575391512586845742014-04-26T18:57:00.002-04:002014-04-26T19:34:49.274-04:00(Mostly) Super easy Marks of ChaosSo I have this thing anymore where I need to have 90% of my model WYSIWYG just so I can remember what the unit has. For some units this is easy, Noise Marines for example, for other units like CSM with a mark and no icon it's a little more tough. Now there are a few ways to mark a unit visually, paint is the most obvious and the easiest...<br />
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Can I do that?<br />
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Nope, not me apparently.<br />
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However I did think of way to mark a unit as having a specific Mark of Chaos... magnetize the head of the champion. Since I like collecting fantasy Chaos kits for conversions I end up having a quite a few spare heads laying around. Well, now they have a purpose.<br />
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So what we have here is a Sons of Horus squad leader body from Forgeworld, with four different heads to show the mark for the unit. The Tzeentch, Nurgle, and Slaanesh heads are from the fantasy Forsaken kit, while the Khorne head is from the Skullcrushers kit. All this takes is 5 to 6 1/16" rare earth magnets, a 1/16" inch drill bit, superglue, and a permanent marker like a Sharpie. Then you just follow along like so...</div>
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1.) Drill a small hole into the gorget area of the torso first and install your first magnet, you'll probably want something non-magnetic, like brass or plastic rod, to help push the magnet into the hole. You want it to be flush with the cup of the neck socket/gorget, not buried under it. These are tiny magnets and you want them to be close to each other to hold the head in place.</div>
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2.) Next find the polarity of a new magnet with magnet in the gorget... they'll stick, not push each other apart. Now mark the surface of the side that connects with the gorget magnet with the permanent marker. While that dries you can drill out the hole in the neck of the head. Take your time here, it's probably also a good idea to dry fit the head to get en idea of where you want the magnet in the neck as this will determine the angle/pitch of the head and just like before you want it flush with the plastic, not buried in the neck. I would also strongly recommend starting a pilot hole in the neck so the drill bit doesn't wander.</div>
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3.) Dab a little bit of superglue into the neck, take your marked magnet off the stack and then insert it into the hole... marker side out. This why you marked it in the first place, so if you drop or fumble the magnet a bit... you will always know which side has the correct polarity. Use a paper towel to shove the magnet as far into the hole as possible while twisting it to make sure the superglue doesn't stick to the paper towel and bingo... you just magnetized a head.</div>
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Repeat steps 1-3 for additional heads... or use slightly bigger magnets for other things like arms, or vehicle swap outs.</div>
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I like magnetizing certain units. Units like Chosen, can be a pain to magnetize because they have so many options. Same with Havocs. Special weapons in most CSM unit? Fine, it's only 2 models. Same goes for Raptors, and Bikes to a certain extent. Being able to configure a unit in several different ways really appeals to me, and it uses some of my bits in my bits box up at the same time.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">*If anyone wants I can do some more photos of the process and edit this post for better visuals.*</span></div>
<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-46731143911736438152014-04-20T12:35:00.001-04:002014-04-20T12:37:02.194-04:00Go get some greater demons...Well, this seems to be the year of third party models/bits from other people beyond the big GW. <a href="http://www.anvilindustry.co.uk/">Anvil Industries</a>, <a href="http://www.manticgames.com/home.html">Mantic</a>, and <a href="http://dreamforge-games.com/">Dreamforge</a> are all producing top quality stuff I would be proud to have in my collection. In fact, a lot of the stuff coming out is a nice way to really customize and personalize your army to be pretty much a unique force on the table top. KrautScientist over on <a href="https://eternalhunt.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/arent-you-a-little-tall-for-a-stormtrooper-a-first-hands-on-with-the-tempestus-scions-and-more/">Eternal Hunt</a> has a few articles, link to the first, about how the new Scion kit from GW is a good base for all sorts of modeling goodness. So as technology progresses, and 3-D modeling becomes standard I think we will see more "not-GW" models being produced at a faster rate. I work at an art college, we have a fabrication lab on campus, 3-D modeling software (<a href="http://pixologic.com/sculptris/">Sculptris</a>) is on every campus computer AND you can download for free as well. The students are already producing some good first efforts... so a few people with more experience will make GW quality, or better.<br />
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Now I'm not knocking GW, I feel A LOT of the quality of their models has skyrocketed, and they are producing some top quality stuff. That skyrocketing model detail has also brought some skyrocketing model prices as well. I'm not bagging on them for their pricing either... if I don't like it, I'll quit buying... from them. With all that being said, I'm sure they will take notice of this, if they haven't already.<br />
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Va va va vooom! ;-)</div>
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<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jeremyglen/creature-caster-first-wave">https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jeremyglen/creature-caster-first-wave</a></div>
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These minis, if they can be called minis, are amazing. If they look anything like the the computer sculpts then sign me up. Actually, doesn't matter... I already pledged. I'm planning on getting the mini pictured above since I'm not a fan of GW's Lord of Change. This will do nicely however. <a href="http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Chaos/DAEMONS_AND__BEASTS?filter_reset=1">Is it Apoc sized</a>? I don't think so, but I believe the 6" mark places it right around Imperial Knight size which totally works. Size issues aside, personally I'll always err on the side of a larger model so no arguments really spring up, these feel like Greater Demons should and for a decent price as well.<br />
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I think if you're a self-respecting Chaos player then you may want to go and take a look at this Kickstarter. You'll probably like what you see and may want to pledge. If you don't want to pledge then sit back and see how far it goes... it only went live yesterday and they are already completely funded.<br />
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This should be fun.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-51432295722186764592014-04-06T22:29:00.000-04:002014-04-06T22:29:06.625-04:00Something is stirring...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
These were taken shortly before communication was lost with the scouts sent in to investigate rumors of cult activity in a abandoned hab-block. There were no traces of the team left whatsoever. One building had sustained damage that was previously unrecorded prior to this incident, and small amounts of blood were found at the scene. </div>
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One thing to especially note is the angle of the pictslates, these were taken from a second story window... so the subjects are rather large. It is speculated that they are some type of unknown Knight, possibly even a Warhound variant not seen since the <strike>Heresy</strike>. The corruption is evident, and any resemblance to the machines of the God-Emperor they had, has long been tainted and twisted into something far worse than the nightmares of man.</div>
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Astartes and Inquisitorial support requested</div>
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Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-13050635520096979712014-02-21T21:45:00.001-05:002014-02-21T21:45:59.134-05:00Knight MadnessI'm a university adjunct professor, and as such my posting is erratic... but damn... you'd have to be dead to not know about the impending gaming Viagra called Imperial Knights.<br />
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The best Knight ever.</div>
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Ok, sooooooo... Imperial Knights seem to have won over the Internet, and not in a small way either. This seems to be a kit that GW has nailed for it's collecting AND gaming bases. A huge kit, loads of detail, what looks like not over the top rules... now lets just see about the Freeblade option. That's what has me curious. Can I take the Obsidian Knight, haha GW I see what you did there, and use it for my Black Legion? Now that, that right there would make me be a happy little warmonger. There is a catch though...<br />
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I don't really like the model personally. Like a lot of projects I get into, this will be a conversion and it will be extensive.<br />
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I love this thing.</div>
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So onto the madness. So yeah, I don't really care for the GW Knight. Sue me. What I do like, is <a href="http://dreamforge-games.com/collections/everything/products/leviathan-crusader">Dreamforge's Leviathan</a>. The 28mm scale version of the Leviathan is 8.5 inches (~22 cm) tall, that puts it at just over a 1/2 inch (~1.25 cm) taller than the official GW Knight. Usually, the Leviathan goes for $120 US, only $20 less than the GW kit. HOWEVER, Dreamforge is running a sale until the 28th of February... that $120 Leviathan is now $75... $75... OMG it's ONLY $75 RIGHT NOW! <br />
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I'll let that sink in a bit. </div>
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So for $75, plus shipping, you get a Knight sized model that has swappable weapon arms. Add in a "battle cannon" and you just made a Knight Paladin for $100. I normally don't do this kind of product placement but that is just to good to pass up. I'll probably do a review and size comparison when it gets here. <br />
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Boom Boom... ya dig?</div>
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Now, like all the other conversion projects I have going on, this will eat up bits... this is good, as I have way too many bits just sitting around. In the picture of the Leviathan there are two small barrels just under the shoulder plates in the front, some barrel extensions and there we have the heavy stubbers. I have plenty of Chaos icons and banners from both 40k and Fantasy to banner it out proper. Add some plasticard trim, GS the joints on the trim, and add some points to it... the armor plating is done. How far to take the head is a good question. Keep it semi meched out or start the famous Chaos organics? Probably looking at FW Chaos Titans will be helpful to see what they kept and what they mutated from the inferior loyalist version.<br />
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Now another question is how far do I modify the sword? Do I go extensive and make a chain blade? Or go REALLY extensive and make it a more organic blade? That's my problem with models like this, they are so awesome for being just detailed enough to stand on their own but really shine if you put some thought into them.<br />
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Hopefully this bad boy will be in my hands around spring break! (fingers crossed)<br />
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<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-12913464984439270622014-01-07T23:42:00.003-05:002014-01-07T23:46:58.118-05:00Dark Mechanicus inspired Warpsmith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The previous article dealt with what I had been working on for a while, these next few articles will detail some of projects more in concept and execution.<br />
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So, it is an established fact that I love converting. This is a pretty safe statement. I think I actually like it more than the painting because it's more of a challenge to me. If it doesn't look right to begin with, no amount of paint is going to fix it. Like any other canvas... it needs to be put together well, primed, and then finally painted upon. Which got me thinking about some of the other choices in the Chaos 'Dex, and how I would go about incorporating them into my own force. <br />
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This all started with the Warpsmith. It has spread to other types of models as well. I remember the War Smiths for Iron Warriors and the Dark Apostles for Word Bearers and their rules to their respective factions. Fast forward to today. Now I get the design ideal that Chaos is moving toward, or has moved toward, mixed units/cults per warband. I just don't agree with them(GW) too much in regards to some of the characters... like the Warpsmith and Dark Apostle. These, I feel, should have been left for an appropriate Supplement/Dataslate and not shoe horned into the main book. But here they are! So how do I make them fit into my force? Why convert them of course!<br />
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To be very honest I really love the idea of the Warpsmith. Who doesn't love BS 5 on ANY gun, or the Eye of Night from the Black Legion supplement, no one that's who! I just hate the model, and not because of it's design but because of its material. I'd rather jam a hot poker someplace than try and work with that stuff again. I don't like the springy nature of Finecast, the mix has sometimes been to brittle so finer pieces has snapped as well... just from cleaning before assembly. I've had enough negative experiences to outweigh the good ones. So there were some things that had to be in place before starting my Warpsmith...<br />
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1. Needs to be plastic. Just because it's such a nice material to work with, it's durable, temperature resistant, did I mention it's nice to work with? ;-)<br />
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2. How about NOT a marine? I have seen some very cool Warpsmith conversions using several different types of Chaos Marines, but then this little memory came bubbling to the surface. The Dark Mechanicus. Now if you think there are a lot of Warpsmith conversion, which there are, try Googling "dark mechanicus conversions". There is some wicked stuff out there, and people using all sorts of bits from all sorts of kits. The community, as always, has been very inspirational.<br />
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3. Since it wasn't going to be a marine, it was sorta scary. It was a big jump for me to go from the bulky, 2-3 ton killing machines to something more foreign. Not only in design, but in construction as well. <br />
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So there was a lot of sitting there, picking up bits and holding them in place, with some "oh no way.." or "yes, that's it!" It took 3-4 hours to build. As always, lately, it was from the bits box with some plastic tubing and guitar string for hoses. But as I get older, I did just turn 41, I need to have the standard gear on the model. It is WYSIWYG but for me that's a necessity so I can remember what the damn thing does! So you can see the meltagun nozzle, the flamer tip, the power axe, the tentacles for the mechatendrils as well. The only thing not directly modeled is the bolt pistol. Now, it does stand a little on the tall side as it's *almost* as tall as a stock Demon Prince. It is also on a 40mm base, since there was no way is was going to sit on a 25mm base. So it's a bigger target, with 2+... ok, I'll deal because of the rule of cool. Which, seems to be driving force behind most of my conversions or armies for that matter.<br />
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Anyway, that is my Warpsmith. This will continue with the Dark Apostle, Cypher, Be'lakor, the rest of the CSM super friends ... Typhus, Ahriman, Lucius, Fabius, Huron, and Kharn will all get the same type of treatment eventually. <br />
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The Dark Apostle will be an interesting challenge as well, I want to try and make it like the Discords from the Word Bearer Ominbus from Anthony Reynolds. When I say "make it like", I mean inspired by to a certain extent. A floating speaker grille with tentacles is the base. The tricky part is in the crozius and bolt pistol, how to put them into the overall design of the model and make it look like that's how it's supposed to be. <br />
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Anyway, that will be up soon, and I'll also post the failure for the first try.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6066437145538597613.post-42339498920240881902014-01-02T22:32:00.000-05:002014-01-03T05:46:30.778-05:00Busy, busy, busy...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, it's been awhile since the last post. That's ok, it's been a busy school year. A freshman design class and a beginning glass survey class can keep you on your toes. But enough of that, right now I'm vacation... it started on the 13 of December and goes until the 13th of January. About a full month off and it's consisted of doing some glass work, assisting in the hot shop, and some model/game time. A fair amount of model time actually. Since we last talked there have been quite a few projects that have come up. Some of them even finished or at least closer to being finished.<br>
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So without further ado, here's a quick list of things that I have been up to. This list is by no means exhaustive. I may have forgotten something here or there but this is the gist of my hobby work for about the past 3 months or so.<br>
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(I also realized I had been posting to twitter much more frequently than anywhere else, and that's another reason that I've been slow to post here. If however you can't wait for blog posts, and you have a twitter account, then search for 40kChris and that's me.)<br>
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One thing I will do is break this down into smaller posts of content. So an additional 8-10 posts in the future! It's much easier for me to post several smaller things, and manage all those resources... like photos, color recipes, etc... than an epic post that no one finished because TL;DR.<br>
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1. A Dark Mechnicus inspired Warp Smith for my Black Legion. Turned out way better than I had thought.<br>
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2. A failed attempt at a Discord based Dark apostle for my Black Legion. I think I might have it figured out though, so I need to try this again.<br>
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3. Purchased the Be'lakor Dataslate... wow... need to get a plastic demon prince and convert one up with the Manticore wings I have. He'll be a proper size and have different wings to mark him out on the battlefield.<br>
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4. The rebuilding of a hand-me-down Land Raider for Abaddon. A buddy of mine has several Land Raiders. He was discarding one, so I snagged it. It was the all around heavy flamer chassis, some Simple Green soaking and reconstruction later (I didn't have LR doors so I had to beef up some Rhino doors to fit) and it's done!<br>
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5. Purchase of Escalation and Stronghold... and flipping out a little, but in a good way. Gods I want to get a Stormlord to have 20 frothing Berzerkers assault out of that... but I get the Lord of Skulls for CSMs and Demons. Yay. I'll think about it, but that Slaanesh Demon Lord from Forgeworld is looking REALLY tempting.<br>
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6. Completion of Abby's Chosen and primed black. I'll start on these guys once the blocks of Demons I have now are done... which is really soon actually. (See no.s 9 & 10)<br>
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7. Purchased Kill Team rules and have decided to make a Chaos Cultist Command, based off of one elites choice from the Inquisition Codex. i.e. Jokero as a demon machine, Chaos knight as a crusader, etc. It will be the perfect little modeling project to take a break from the other stuff... like life. I'm also treating this as a bits box challenge, in that I'm not buying anything else beyond what I already own to do this project. So there will be some recognizable bits but a lot is going to be on the crazy side.<br>
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8. Purchased the Cypher Dataslate... woah... need to rummage through my bits box and build him. Yes, my Chosen with Hit and Run, Infiltrate, and Know no Fear? Yes, please!<br>
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9. Primed a 10 strong unit of Demonettes, 10 Bloodletters, 10 Plaguebearers, 3 Nurgling bases, 3 flamers, and a Lord of Change in white and used washes and glazes extensively for coloration. Something I really don't do... ever, I always primed with black pretty much up until now. This was really fun and challenging in that it was like working on my watercolors all over again. It does have a delicate sensibility of color that priming with black just doesn't have. I won't use it for everything, like my Black Legion,<strike> but I'll use it for my Spawn (10), Beasts of Nurgle (2 with 2 more to build), Seekers (5 with 5 more to build),and Exalted Seeker Chariots (1 with 1 more to build) as well.</strike> Basically I'll be using a white primer for anything even remotely close to skin in anyway, shape, or form. It's been much easier to work with, and the color ends up being more vibrant as well.<br>
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10. Being able to complete 10 Plaguebearers, 3 Nurgling bases, 10 Bloodletters, and 9 Demonettes, all within a weeks time to a better than tabletop quality. It's rough, but I can do it. So now I know I can paint a unit within a short amount of time... so no more excuses. :-) This also allowed me to finalize color recipes for all my Demons based off of their respective god, since the recipe is recorded I can go back to it anytime and repeat the same colors for a consistent effect across the army regardless of new unit acquisition.<br>
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Or is it?</div>
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In the midst of this there was some discussion of where the game (of 40k) as whole is going, and how it was impacting our local games. I'm not going to get into what needs to stay and what needs to go, there are enough of those articles out there already. Both positive and negative, which leads to the next thing.<br>
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The community has been galvanized like crazy, and at worst it will be an interesting ride. One thing I personally find amusing is that for a long time the 40k community clamored for options. Choices. More flexibility. Now that GW is rolling out Codices faster than a puppy mill, and more options have been built in with Forgeworld, Escalation, Stronghold, and Dataslate characters/formations... we are so spoiled for choices right now it's ALMOST disgusting. Now I say "almost" with some trepidation. The game of 40k is, ultimately, what WE make of it. We have the power to play how we want and with what we like. I think I have to agree that this is almost a Golden Age of 40k upon us. There are simply too many ways to play any more that you may never know what you're going to face at all. I know for sure the Be'lakor and Cypher Dataslate are making me look at my CSM/Demons differently.<br>
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I guess the point is that I think we can make it so casuals and tourney goers can live together peacefully by making sure to follow "The Most Important Rule" and respect what that means for others. With Codices coming out at such a high rate, the "meta" seems to flop back and forth, roll around, hit itself, and finally settle on the newest book being broken as all get out. Yesterday it was Farsight Bombs, today it's Revenant Titans, tomorrow it will probably be some Tyranid gribbly that "breaks the game" for being too Ć¼ber.<br>
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Can't we all just get along... in 40k?Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10464307806196697162noreply@blogger.com0