Been meaning to post a progress thread for a few days now, but since the end of the month has crept up on me i thought i'd best do something now :)
I've been a bit lax again this month. I've managed to get a few colours on almost everything, but haven't actually managed to finish much.
New additions for this month were:
-5 Lightning claw Termies
-a Scout with missile launcher for the Scout squad
I've got around 24 points left over that i was thinking of spending on equipment for squad sergeants, but i've not decided exactly what yet
As for painting progress: i've been able to finish the scout squad now all but the new missile launcher model, and the Thunderhammer Termies are done except for the mud, but that'll be a 20minute job, tops.
The vindicator and second rhino have been built and painted grey, as have the Lightning claw Termies, and i've almost finished the bodywork of the objective
I've currently got most of what isn't finished on me painting table, and since i'm off work this next week i'm hoping to get most of it done and out of the way
I've also been able to finish the fluff for my Master of the Forge that was meant for month 3. I'd got some material jotted down at the time, but didn't manage to finalise it. Work was so slow yesterday however, i was able to straighten it out to a level i'm reasonably happy with :)
here goes:
The Space Sharks are unusual in that at any one time they have several brother marines holding position of Master of the Forge. The exact number varies over time and is dictated by the level of activity of the chapter as a whole, but due to the relatively large amounts of dreadnoughts and heavy equipment held by the chapter it is a necessary deviation from the codex astartes. Despite serving with the Space Sharks for over one hundred years, Anui Purotu is one of the youngest ever to hold the position of Master of the Forge.
His technical expertise as been proven again and again in action. During the siege of Ephras VI he alone kept the cities ancient air-defence network operational for 72 hours without rest, keeping the marauding fighter-bombers at bay and allowing imperial forces to evacuate in safety. On the fields of Gedrin Prime, his repairs kept the Land raider 'Leviathan' running after three consecutive hits by titan-class weaponry, allowing the vehicle to continue its advance and break through chaos lines.
As a final test before acceptance as a Master, Purotu was given the task of restoring 'Pe'elua', one of the oldest and most venerated of the chapters weapons. Dating back to before the heresy, Pe'elua combines the mobility of a bike and the ancient power of a conversion beamer. It had lain dormant for centuries, believed irrepairable after recieving serious damage in battle.
Purotu locked himself in his forge chamber, spurning sustenance of any kind. After 7 days the roar of the engine was sounded from behind the locked door. Since that day and his ascention to Master, Purotu has been granted custodianship of the bike, and proudly rides it into battle allowing it to once again bring swift beath to the Emperors foes
I hate creative writing >.<
As a final note, i've played my first game in the 40k tourney, and my next one is due wednesday.
First round was against Jo's Orks. It ended in a draw as we ran out of time, but i managed to learn a lot about my forces capabilities in the time, as well as re-learn a lot of rules.
Terminators are awesome as a roadblock. I deployed them as my front line due to a lack of cover for the rest of the force, and they shrugged off pretty much anything that came their way. The thunderhammers especially, I threw them at anything in range that looked like it had a powerclaw and they came out each time barely scratched. They suffered a bit when they got swamped by a massive boyz mob due to lack of attacks, but otherwise performed better than i could have hoped for. Likewise, the lightning claws tore apart infantry like a dream, i managed to take out a dethkopter squad in one round of combat.
Plasmacannons work well against pretty much everything. Monkey hated them, now i think Jo might too :) they weren't too effective against trukks, but i was only really using them once i'd run out of melta weapons. Against her nobz mob though, 2 plasmacannon shots a turn pretty much decimated them. it wasn't strong enough to cause instant death, but i was taking wounds off at least 2-3 a turn.
Rules mistakes and a silly decision or two on my part cost me the win i think (losing my vindicator before my first turn didn't help either :P), but i learnt a lot and had fun, and thats what counts :)
Gonna go get more black spray today so i can finish undercoating stuff, then its time to do more greenstuff work on my objective. I'm gonna finish it this week for sure!
Sunday, 1 November 2009
Monday, 5 October 2009
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; Month 3, looking at month 4
After what i thought was a promising start to month 3, i then proceeded to do feck-all on this project >.< I was slightly preoccupied by the clubs Flames Of War tourney and a weekend away (first near-to-proper holiday in years), and messing around with gundam kits ate up a fair bit of time too. No real excuses really, but they're all i've got right now :P
Moon was asking for progress pictures to mark the end of (the extended) month 3, so here they are. First, The Good:
My infantry are the only things i've really got close to tabletop standard. stil lots to do and i'm only just properly thinking about basing them, but take a closer look at the squad on the left....
Look! Weathering! Proper chapter markings!
I'm so pleased with these guys its untrue, did the extra work over the last couple of evenings and even though its kind of rushed they've turned out much better than i'd hoped. The face was done a bit quick too, but its better than any of the others i've done on helmetless marines. Just realised i've not photographed the side with the facial tattoos, but nevermind.
Need to remember to keep the mud/dust on the arms a bit tighter for the next patch, should have kept it limited to just hands and elbows but i went a bit mad
Next, The Bad:
Not done any work on the rhino since i basecoated and washed it, and the way i was transporting it means its now needing some repairs too. Not touched the captain either as i'm still not too pleased with some bits of the conversion and the bionic arm.
I got the Terminators up to the same level as the rest and have so far left them to concentrate on stuff i've had for longer. The Master of the Forge i had left half converted for ages as i wans't sure what to add to the conversion, but i've since added a few more bits and started painting purely so that i don't just leave it and forget about it. Still wish i'd done more detailing to the marine himself, but i know if i did i wouldn't have got paint on him this side of Christmas :)
Also, as the Master of ther Forge is my month 3 special/themed character i've got a background for him in note form somewhere. I'm aiming to have that cleared up and posted here as soon as possible
Finally, The Ugly:
Can't believe i've left the dread this long - it was a month 2 target :( Think i've mainly been leaving him as i feel i should do more greenstuff detailing, and i'm still more than a little apprehensive to do anything like that due to my inexperience with it.
The Rhino was squeezed into month 3's points total and took me very slightly over points, but not knowing if this was ok until halfway through the month meant i couldn't do a whole lot to it.
Likewise, the Vindicator was also a month 3 addition but not being able to afford it meant i couldn't actually buy it until this weekend. Still need to collect it from Ross before i can do anything with it too
Also, as an extra note, i still haven't finished my month 2 objective. In a classic case of me seeing a basic task and overcomplicating it, i decided to make an ambushed/destroyed imperial staff car containing either an injured officer or something else of value.
I immediately went and made careful plans and made sure everthing was to scale, and started cutting plasticard.
I then discovered i hadn't a clue where i was going to get suitable wheels for the thing and found some of the pieces i needed to make weren't going to be as easy as i thought either. And with base included, rather than fitting the 60mm diameter i had started with, it would need to be based on something the size of a CD >.<
Needless to say its gonna take me a while yet. i was going to do the seats next, but that requires greenstuff.......
Looking forward to month 4, we haven't actually been told the targets yet other than that gaming performance will add a lot to it. I haven't played too many of the other participants yet so i'm looking forward to that As for additional modelling, i'll be using my Space Sharks in the clubs 40k tourney starting in the next few weeks and as i'm needing to bulk the force out to 1750pts some of this probably make its way into month 4 too. I will be recycling the test models i'd built prior to starting The Tale, but the other stuff i'm making for it may well get included in month 4 as new additions. It'll be stuff i'd be using anyway, and it'll mean i can still concentrate on finishing some of the backlog too.
As a recap, and also so i know i've listed it somewhere, the current armylist for the end of month 3 is as follows:
Captain-
Powerweapon, meltabombs -120
Master of the Forge-
Bike, Conversion Beamer -155
5 Scouts-
Sniper rifles, Camo cloaks -90
10 Tactical Marines-
Combi-plasma, Plasmacannon, Meltagun -190
Rhino -35
10 Tactical Marines-
Powerfist, Multimelta, Meltagun -200
Rhino -35
Dreadnought -105
5 Assault Terminators-
all with Thunderhammer, Stormshield -200
Vindicator -115
Total -- 1245pts
Moon was asking for progress pictures to mark the end of (the extended) month 3, so here they are. First, The Good:
My infantry are the only things i've really got close to tabletop standard. stil lots to do and i'm only just properly thinking about basing them, but take a closer look at the squad on the left....
Look! Weathering! Proper chapter markings!
I'm so pleased with these guys its untrue, did the extra work over the last couple of evenings and even though its kind of rushed they've turned out much better than i'd hoped. The face was done a bit quick too, but its better than any of the others i've done on helmetless marines. Just realised i've not photographed the side with the facial tattoos, but nevermind.
Need to remember to keep the mud/dust on the arms a bit tighter for the next patch, should have kept it limited to just hands and elbows but i went a bit mad
Next, The Bad:
Not done any work on the rhino since i basecoated and washed it, and the way i was transporting it means its now needing some repairs too. Not touched the captain either as i'm still not too pleased with some bits of the conversion and the bionic arm.
I got the Terminators up to the same level as the rest and have so far left them to concentrate on stuff i've had for longer. The Master of the Forge i had left half converted for ages as i wans't sure what to add to the conversion, but i've since added a few more bits and started painting purely so that i don't just leave it and forget about it. Still wish i'd done more detailing to the marine himself, but i know if i did i wouldn't have got paint on him this side of Christmas :)
Also, as the Master of ther Forge is my month 3 special/themed character i've got a background for him in note form somewhere. I'm aiming to have that cleared up and posted here as soon as possible
Finally, The Ugly:
Can't believe i've left the dread this long - it was a month 2 target :( Think i've mainly been leaving him as i feel i should do more greenstuff detailing, and i'm still more than a little apprehensive to do anything like that due to my inexperience with it.
The Rhino was squeezed into month 3's points total and took me very slightly over points, but not knowing if this was ok until halfway through the month meant i couldn't do a whole lot to it.
Likewise, the Vindicator was also a month 3 addition but not being able to afford it meant i couldn't actually buy it until this weekend. Still need to collect it from Ross before i can do anything with it too
Also, as an extra note, i still haven't finished my month 2 objective. In a classic case of me seeing a basic task and overcomplicating it, i decided to make an ambushed/destroyed imperial staff car containing either an injured officer or something else of value.
I immediately went and made careful plans and made sure everthing was to scale, and started cutting plasticard.
I then discovered i hadn't a clue where i was going to get suitable wheels for the thing and found some of the pieces i needed to make weren't going to be as easy as i thought either. And with base included, rather than fitting the 60mm diameter i had started with, it would need to be based on something the size of a CD >.<
Needless to say its gonna take me a while yet. i was going to do the seats next, but that requires greenstuff.......
Looking forward to month 4, we haven't actually been told the targets yet other than that gaming performance will add a lot to it. I haven't played too many of the other participants yet so i'm looking forward to that As for additional modelling, i'll be using my Space Sharks in the clubs 40k tourney starting in the next few weeks and as i'm needing to bulk the force out to 1750pts some of this probably make its way into month 4 too. I will be recycling the test models i'd built prior to starting The Tale, but the other stuff i'm making for it may well get included in month 4 as new additions. It'll be stuff i'd be using anyway, and it'll mean i can still concentrate on finishing some of the backlog too.
As a recap, and also so i know i've listed it somewhere, the current armylist for the end of month 3 is as follows:
Captain-
Powerweapon, meltabombs -120
Master of the Forge-
Bike, Conversion Beamer -155
5 Scouts-
Sniper rifles, Camo cloaks -90
10 Tactical Marines-
Combi-plasma, Plasmacannon, Meltagun -190
Rhino -35
10 Tactical Marines-
Powerfist, Multimelta, Meltagun -200
Rhino -35
Dreadnought -105
5 Assault Terminators-
all with Thunderhammer, Stormshield -200
Vindicator -115
Total -- 1245pts
Sunday, 9 August 2009
Month 3
I've managed to get a reasonably early start this month, although i still haven't decided exactly what i'm taking.
New additions so far are a 5-man Assault Terminator squad armed with thunderhammers, and a Master of the Forge with Conversion Beamer on a Bike. Both of these choices fit well with the theme of the army and should be fairly effective too.
I've found i'm severely lacking in a close combat element, and even with my marines being fairly resilient i've lost out on most of the assaults they've been in. I needed something survivable that could deal a fair bit of damage too. I'd been wanting to include terminators in my force since the start and they seemed to fit this role perfectly, and the extra save the storm shields give them means they should even fare well against powerweapons.
I'm contemplating giving a locator beacon to one of the tactical squads too so i can drop termies straight on their position if they get in trouble :)
Nearly finished modelling them too, i've tried to treat them less like infantry and more like small vehicles, so i've put baggage rolls on rather than webbing and made some comms antennae for them. Not sure whether to stick more gear on them before modelling battle damage and painting
The bonus task for this month is to use one of the named characters from the codex, or use a vanilla HQ and create an name and fluff for them to fit in with our chosen force.
I couldn't find a named character that fit in with what i wanted to do. I had wanted to do a Master of the Forge to allow me access to more Dreadnoughts to fit the Space Sharks theme, and this seemed like a decent opportunity to do one. Looking over the weapon choices and the rulebook it became apparent i could move and fire with a conversion beamer by mounting it on a bike. Sensing an opportunity for an awesome looking model i decided to go for it
I managed to dig out a bike sprue minus the wheels, and since i could only rescue one of the wheels from elsewhere i decided to try and make a halftrack bike (due to the extra weight of the beamer it made sense too)
Still got to do a lot of work yet but i'm liking the look so far. I've also got to sort out the fluff and name to go with him, and i'm hoping to sort a backstory for the whole force too if i get the time
These new choices fill about 355pts, i'm still undecided about the rest. I'm contemplating either an Ironclad Dread or a Vindicator, but both of these require new purchases and i'm not sure i can afford them this month. Other possibilities are another Rhino, or possibly an Assault squad (i've recently found a full box set i didn't realise i had)
I've also tied down the idea enough to start on the objective (the one that should have been finished last month :P ) not done too much yet, but here's a preview
New additions so far are a 5-man Assault Terminator squad armed with thunderhammers, and a Master of the Forge with Conversion Beamer on a Bike. Both of these choices fit well with the theme of the army and should be fairly effective too.
I've found i'm severely lacking in a close combat element, and even with my marines being fairly resilient i've lost out on most of the assaults they've been in. I needed something survivable that could deal a fair bit of damage too. I'd been wanting to include terminators in my force since the start and they seemed to fit this role perfectly, and the extra save the storm shields give them means they should even fare well against powerweapons.
I'm contemplating giving a locator beacon to one of the tactical squads too so i can drop termies straight on their position if they get in trouble :)
Nearly finished modelling them too, i've tried to treat them less like infantry and more like small vehicles, so i've put baggage rolls on rather than webbing and made some comms antennae for them. Not sure whether to stick more gear on them before modelling battle damage and painting
The bonus task for this month is to use one of the named characters from the codex, or use a vanilla HQ and create an name and fluff for them to fit in with our chosen force.
I couldn't find a named character that fit in with what i wanted to do. I had wanted to do a Master of the Forge to allow me access to more Dreadnoughts to fit the Space Sharks theme, and this seemed like a decent opportunity to do one. Looking over the weapon choices and the rulebook it became apparent i could move and fire with a conversion beamer by mounting it on a bike. Sensing an opportunity for an awesome looking model i decided to go for it
I managed to dig out a bike sprue minus the wheels, and since i could only rescue one of the wheels from elsewhere i decided to try and make a halftrack bike (due to the extra weight of the beamer it made sense too)
Still got to do a lot of work yet but i'm liking the look so far. I've also got to sort out the fluff and name to go with him, and i'm hoping to sort a backstory for the whole force too if i get the time
These new choices fill about 355pts, i'm still undecided about the rest. I'm contemplating either an Ironclad Dread or a Vindicator, but both of these require new purchases and i'm not sure i can afford them this month. Other possibilities are another Rhino, or possibly an Assault squad (i've recently found a full box set i didn't realise i had)
I've also tied down the idea enough to start on the objective (the one that should have been finished last month :P ) not done too much yet, but here's a preview
Saturday, 25 July 2009
Month 1 roundup, plus Month 2 desperation...
Seeing as month 2 is drawing to a close i should really be posting again on my progress :(
Month 1 didn't go so well. I managed to get everything to basic tabletop standard (3 colours) but no more than that. I even gave up painting the last couple in time as i was making so many mistakes in trying to hurry with them it really wasn't worth it
This month hasn't been looking too much better for progress, i've been so tied up with local events and busy with work i haven't had much time for painting
New choices for Month 2 were as follows:
-Dreadnaught, Multimelta + CCW
-5 marines to add to the existing squad of 5, plus a Meltagun, Multimelta and Powerfist for the unit
-Bolter/plasma combiweapon for the other squad sergeant
-Camocloaks for the scouts
-Taken meltabombs from a squad sergeant and moved to the Commander
--250pts total--
I've managed to play a lot more games this month, but am still to play Lex's Orks and Ross's Daemons. Most games have been against Monkeys Elfdar, and despite several losses i did manage a draw or two
The camo cloaks for the scouts seem to be a big improvement, they're a lot more survivable at range now but i'm still unsure of how best to utilise them, they get caught in assault a lot more than i'd like wherever i try putting them.
The Rhino has helped me out loads as well. i've been using it as a mobile bunker with the multimelta squad and its been surviving on its own through more than i would expect it to
Painting-wise i'm still behind this month. I'm still not finished with the troops from month 1, although the majority are almost at a stage where i could begin adding markings and weathering them properly. A lot of the marines still need heads doing, i'm needing to model fins on the helmets before painting and haven't had the time so far. Everything still needs basing as well, and i'm always unsure of how best to approach that.
Haven't touched the Dread yet as i want to do more detailing to it before i undercoat it, but i'm unsure as to exactly what, and althought i've got several ideas kicking around i've not started the objective either - not having nailed down proper theme or motivation for my army, i can't think of what they'd be most wanting to fight for :)
Month 1 didn't go so well. I managed to get everything to basic tabletop standard (3 colours) but no more than that. I even gave up painting the last couple in time as i was making so many mistakes in trying to hurry with them it really wasn't worth it
This month hasn't been looking too much better for progress, i've been so tied up with local events and busy with work i haven't had much time for painting
New choices for Month 2 were as follows:
-Dreadnaught, Multimelta + CCW
-5 marines to add to the existing squad of 5, plus a Meltagun, Multimelta and Powerfist for the unit
-Bolter/plasma combiweapon for the other squad sergeant
-Camocloaks for the scouts
-Taken meltabombs from a squad sergeant and moved to the Commander
--250pts total--
I've managed to play a lot more games this month, but am still to play Lex's Orks and Ross's Daemons. Most games have been against Monkeys Elfdar, and despite several losses i did manage a draw or two
The camo cloaks for the scouts seem to be a big improvement, they're a lot more survivable at range now but i'm still unsure of how best to utilise them, they get caught in assault a lot more than i'd like wherever i try putting them.
The Rhino has helped me out loads as well. i've been using it as a mobile bunker with the multimelta squad and its been surviving on its own through more than i would expect it to
Painting-wise i'm still behind this month. I'm still not finished with the troops from month 1, although the majority are almost at a stage where i could begin adding markings and weathering them properly. A lot of the marines still need heads doing, i'm needing to model fins on the helmets before painting and haven't had the time so far. Everything still needs basing as well, and i'm always unsure of how best to approach that.
Haven't touched the Dread yet as i want to do more detailing to it before i undercoat it, but i'm unsure as to exactly what, and althought i've got several ideas kicking around i've not started the objective either - not having nailed down proper theme or motivation for my army, i can't think of what they'd be most wanting to fight for :)
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Painty Progress
Bit later than promised, but the painting update is here :)
Been working on my first batch of 5 marines and 5 scouts, they're mostly finished now. Got a fair bit more to do on them but i think i'm going to leave them as they are for now and concentrate on getting everything else to the same level. Mostly minor detail work left to finish as well as weathering and the bases (definitely going to make an effort to do the bases as i'm a bugger for leaving bases plain)
I've been working on the step-by-step process guide Moon has asked for, i chose to paint a Black Reach marine as it'd be easier to show technique on than something with a more dynamic pose.
The way i've tacckled them so far is as follows:
1- After i'm happy with the modelling and i've carved enough dings and scratches into the armour the models are primed black. Helps to set an overall dark tone to start with and means if i miss anything it just looks like shading :D
2- Next comes a basecoat of Adeptus battlegrey. Being a foundation colour it spreads nicely when watered down slightly but still covers in one coat. I try to stick to just the armour but at this stage i don't try to be too neat
3- The chest eagle and any skull or other aquilla motifs are picked out in white, i try to stick to just the feathers on the eagles but again, doesn't need to be too neat. The backpack vents and bits of bolter not covered by casing are painted chainmail
4-Badab black wash over the whole model. Just one coat usually works fine, i try to do this quickly and use a big brush to avoid streaks. I left the gun off in this model as i was really pleased with how the chest eagle came out. Shame bits like these always get hidden by something afterwards :(
5- Detail work comes next, just did one shot as it'd just be lots of small things to show otherwise.
Pouches are picked out in bestial brown, straps and gun grips in Scorched brown, then brown ink is put over all these. Cabling, suit seals and the bolter casing are painted black, eyes are filled in with black and then coloured with Regal Blue, any metal studs are picked out in black and then painted Chainmail, the battle damage and scratches on the armour are done the same. The helmet stripe is Red Gore
All ten models i've done are at this stage now, i've also done a quick urban camo scheme on the scouts. I haven't painted any flesh yet as i know this will take time, gonna leave that until everything has at least some colours on. I've had to make a list of all the things i want to finish so i can go back and get everyhting right :)
Still got 6 marines to build and another 4 to finish off, undercoated the Rhino interior tonight so i can do a quick job on that and get on with modelling the outside. I'm dead set on loading it down with gear and putting some comms antennae on it, so i know it'll take more time than i really have :( should be able to sort it within the first week of next month though, so i won't lose too many painting points
Also still need to nail down what model i want for my commander. I have found a Techmarine i'd modelled up for my Blood Angels that i may use, but i'm still not sure
Times running out! Need to get a move on and build everything in time for the TGC Birthday bash on the 27th - Monkey and his Elfdar will be waiting to face me now i've managed to get out of work early!
Been working on my first batch of 5 marines and 5 scouts, they're mostly finished now. Got a fair bit more to do on them but i think i'm going to leave them as they are for now and concentrate on getting everything else to the same level. Mostly minor detail work left to finish as well as weathering and the bases (definitely going to make an effort to do the bases as i'm a bugger for leaving bases plain)
I've been working on the step-by-step process guide Moon has asked for, i chose to paint a Black Reach marine as it'd be easier to show technique on than something with a more dynamic pose.
The way i've tacckled them so far is as follows:
1- After i'm happy with the modelling and i've carved enough dings and scratches into the armour the models are primed black. Helps to set an overall dark tone to start with and means if i miss anything it just looks like shading :D
2- Next comes a basecoat of Adeptus battlegrey. Being a foundation colour it spreads nicely when watered down slightly but still covers in one coat. I try to stick to just the armour but at this stage i don't try to be too neat
3- The chest eagle and any skull or other aquilla motifs are picked out in white, i try to stick to just the feathers on the eagles but again, doesn't need to be too neat. The backpack vents and bits of bolter not covered by casing are painted chainmail
4-Badab black wash over the whole model. Just one coat usually works fine, i try to do this quickly and use a big brush to avoid streaks. I left the gun off in this model as i was really pleased with how the chest eagle came out. Shame bits like these always get hidden by something afterwards :(
5- Detail work comes next, just did one shot as it'd just be lots of small things to show otherwise.
Pouches are picked out in bestial brown, straps and gun grips in Scorched brown, then brown ink is put over all these. Cabling, suit seals and the bolter casing are painted black, eyes are filled in with black and then coloured with Regal Blue, any metal studs are picked out in black and then painted Chainmail, the battle damage and scratches on the armour are done the same. The helmet stripe is Red Gore
All ten models i've done are at this stage now, i've also done a quick urban camo scheme on the scouts. I haven't painted any flesh yet as i know this will take time, gonna leave that until everything has at least some colours on. I've had to make a list of all the things i want to finish so i can go back and get everyhting right :)
Still got 6 marines to build and another 4 to finish off, undercoated the Rhino interior tonight so i can do a quick job on that and get on with modelling the outside. I'm dead set on loading it down with gear and putting some comms antennae on it, so i know it'll take more time than i really have :( should be able to sort it within the first week of next month though, so i won't lose too many painting points
Also still need to nail down what model i want for my commander. I have found a Techmarine i'd modelled up for my Blood Angels that i may use, but i'm still not sure
Times running out! Need to get a move on and build everything in time for the TGC Birthday bash on the 27th - Monkey and his Elfdar will be waiting to face me now i've managed to get out of work early!
Monday, 15 June 2009
Progress?
Ack, half the first month gone already!
Meant to post an update earlier than this, but i've been distracted by other things and awaiting my initial purchases.
I meant to follow in the style of the original White Dwarf articles and limit myself to £25 a month (would also help my wallet out too), but price changes since then put that idea out of the realms of feasibility. That and i got a bit carried away with looking at bitz sites, and ended up spending way more than i really should :(
Anyway, initial purchases went as follows:
-1x box Devastators
-1x box Sniper Scouts
-A buttload of Greenstuff
-£20 worth(!) of random bitz
Think i spent just over £50 in the end O.o
To be fair, i managed to pick up some very useful stuff in with the bitz order that i wouldn't normally have been able to. I want to get a Master of the Forge eventually, and to try and go with a bit of a Mechanicus theme i picked up some of the Ravenwing techmarine helmets and shoulderpads, and i also managed to get the Techmarine from the Thunderfire kit, albeit without the backpack as they were out of stock. Also got some cheap special weapons and a set of the excellent pouches from the Scouts sprues
Ordered these at the end of may, and due to delivery delays the box sets only arrived this morning. Handily enough, i've got the next week off work, so i'm hoping to get plenty of stuff done. Already put together the five scouts and most of a heavy weapons marine (the new plastics are awesome looking but a pain to put together, however i can bet the metals were even worse). Some of them still need some greenstuff work due to a conversion or two, but otherwise i hope to get some paint on them tomorrow.
I've started work on a Captain for the force too, but due to the fact i've still not decided on a final list i'm still unsure of exactly what i'll be taking.
For the moment, the list i'm roughly working towards is as follows:
Captain - bolter and power weapon -115
Tac Squad - 10 marines, meltagun and plasmacannon -180
Tac Squad - 5 marines, just bolters -90
Scout Squad - 5 scouts, sniper rifles -75
Drop Pod (undecided as to which squad to give it to) -35
---Total -495pts ----
Still unsure on a lot of things, the Captains weapons for starters. I really want to try out some of the funky weapons allowed by the new codex, but i don't want to gimp the rest of the force by giving him too much stuff that he won't get the use from. The auxiliary grenade launcher especially keeps drawing my eye, but i dunno if it'll ever get use apart from when i'm charging things, but then i run the risk of killing or breaking whatever i'm wanting to charge.
I could also:
-Change the drop pod for a rhino - means i don't have to convert up the pod and since i already have a rhino i don't need to buy anything. Also a rhino loooks better and i could make it look like a mobile command post. Thinking ahead, i could then use this as a Damocles command rhino in bigger games :)
-Get rid of the drop pod and give the Captain terminator armour and a powerfist. There's no real reason behind this other than me having played around and made a terminator i'm really happy with. Getting rid of the transport would seriously limit my mobility and means to counter-assault threats
-Cut out some of the marines and add some toys. Weapons for the Captain, gear for a sergeant, stealth cloaks for the scouts, there's lots of things i could throw in. I'm a bit reluctant to do this though as i prefer the weight of numbers i have currently, and if i start taking guys out of the 10-man squad i can't use the combat squads rule. i think i'd prefer to use this since it'd give me 2 mobile squads to take ground, and i could leave the scouts and plasmacannon squad to give covering fire
Hopefully gonna be able to get some paint out tomorrow, Moon has also requested we do a step-by-step painting thing showing our process, so i need to do this as soon as i have a suitable marine ready - most of them still need some kind of greenstuff or converting work
Should have some new pictures in a few days so i'll endeavour to update once i do.
Meant to post an update earlier than this, but i've been distracted by other things and awaiting my initial purchases.
I meant to follow in the style of the original White Dwarf articles and limit myself to £25 a month (would also help my wallet out too), but price changes since then put that idea out of the realms of feasibility. That and i got a bit carried away with looking at bitz sites, and ended up spending way more than i really should :(
Anyway, initial purchases went as follows:
-1x box Devastators
-1x box Sniper Scouts
-A buttload of Greenstuff
-£20 worth(!) of random bitz
Think i spent just over £50 in the end O.o
To be fair, i managed to pick up some very useful stuff in with the bitz order that i wouldn't normally have been able to. I want to get a Master of the Forge eventually, and to try and go with a bit of a Mechanicus theme i picked up some of the Ravenwing techmarine helmets and shoulderpads, and i also managed to get the Techmarine from the Thunderfire kit, albeit without the backpack as they were out of stock. Also got some cheap special weapons and a set of the excellent pouches from the Scouts sprues
Ordered these at the end of may, and due to delivery delays the box sets only arrived this morning. Handily enough, i've got the next week off work, so i'm hoping to get plenty of stuff done. Already put together the five scouts and most of a heavy weapons marine (the new plastics are awesome looking but a pain to put together, however i can bet the metals were even worse). Some of them still need some greenstuff work due to a conversion or two, but otherwise i hope to get some paint on them tomorrow.
I've started work on a Captain for the force too, but due to the fact i've still not decided on a final list i'm still unsure of exactly what i'll be taking.
For the moment, the list i'm roughly working towards is as follows:
Captain - bolter and power weapon -115
Tac Squad - 10 marines, meltagun and plasmacannon -180
Tac Squad - 5 marines, just bolters -90
Scout Squad - 5 scouts, sniper rifles -75
Drop Pod (undecided as to which squad to give it to) -35
---Total -495pts ----
Still unsure on a lot of things, the Captains weapons for starters. I really want to try out some of the funky weapons allowed by the new codex, but i don't want to gimp the rest of the force by giving him too much stuff that he won't get the use from. The auxiliary grenade launcher especially keeps drawing my eye, but i dunno if it'll ever get use apart from when i'm charging things, but then i run the risk of killing or breaking whatever i'm wanting to charge.
I could also:
-Change the drop pod for a rhino - means i don't have to convert up the pod and since i already have a rhino i don't need to buy anything. Also a rhino loooks better and i could make it look like a mobile command post. Thinking ahead, i could then use this as a Damocles command rhino in bigger games :)
-Get rid of the drop pod and give the Captain terminator armour and a powerfist. There's no real reason behind this other than me having played around and made a terminator i'm really happy with. Getting rid of the transport would seriously limit my mobility and means to counter-assault threats
-Cut out some of the marines and add some toys. Weapons for the Captain, gear for a sergeant, stealth cloaks for the scouts, there's lots of things i could throw in. I'm a bit reluctant to do this though as i prefer the weight of numbers i have currently, and if i start taking guys out of the 10-man squad i can't use the combat squads rule. i think i'd prefer to use this since it'd give me 2 mobile squads to take ground, and i could leave the scouts and plasmacannon squad to give covering fire
Hopefully gonna be able to get some paint out tomorrow, Moon has also requested we do a step-by-step painting thing showing our process, so i need to do this as soon as i have a suitable marine ready - most of them still need some kind of greenstuff or converting work
Should have some new pictures in a few days so i'll endeavour to update once i do.
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Phototime
Got my camera up and running, so i'm back with pictures!
Realised after taking these that i really should have dusted the models before taking them, also that i should have touched them up a hell of a lot after putting the last coat of wash on them, and kept the paler fleshtone from the test miniature i did :(
Nevermind, all things i can take into account when i start doing the force properly!
Anyway, the following are a few examples from the ten or so models i've already attempted painting. you can see the black marks where i've started the battle damage, but haven't done anything else with it
This one shows the rebreather tubes i'm hoping to model onto my marines, its just guitar wire and plasticard. Still need to have a play with it though 'cos it doesn't allow much room for the model to have a helmet as well, and i need to see if greenstuffing the connection to the collar would be better than plasticard . You can also see the Maori-like facial tattoos i've been trying to do. This ones the best i've done, its tricky finding shapes that still look recognisable at such a small scale
This chap has the helmet fin. Was quite pleased with this until i took these photos >.<
Again, hoping to model this on most of my marines, wasn't amazingly difficult and it makes them look instantly different from other marines. He also shows some of the pose modifications i've been trying, to make him look a little more realistic, trying to make him look like he's advancing with the bolter held slightly down from the firing position
I'll leave it at that since the other photos i've got are pants, and don't really show what i'm trying to accomplish.
Should have started the project by next post - its payday in a few days so that will see me making the first new purchases (if any) towards the new force. I may even have sorted out an army list to work towards if i'm lucky - still have very little idea of what to take!
Realised after taking these that i really should have dusted the models before taking them, also that i should have touched them up a hell of a lot after putting the last coat of wash on them, and kept the paler fleshtone from the test miniature i did :(
Nevermind, all things i can take into account when i start doing the force properly!
Anyway, the following are a few examples from the ten or so models i've already attempted painting. you can see the black marks where i've started the battle damage, but haven't done anything else with it
This one shows the rebreather tubes i'm hoping to model onto my marines, its just guitar wire and plasticard. Still need to have a play with it though 'cos it doesn't allow much room for the model to have a helmet as well, and i need to see if greenstuffing the connection to the collar would be better than plasticard . You can also see the Maori-like facial tattoos i've been trying to do. This ones the best i've done, its tricky finding shapes that still look recognisable at such a small scale
This chap has the helmet fin. Was quite pleased with this until i took these photos >.<
Again, hoping to model this on most of my marines, wasn't amazingly difficult and it makes them look instantly different from other marines. He also shows some of the pose modifications i've been trying, to make him look a little more realistic, trying to make him look like he's advancing with the bolter held slightly down from the firing position
I'll leave it at that since the other photos i've got are pants, and don't really show what i'm trying to accomplish.
Should have started the project by next post - its payday in a few days so that will see me making the first new purchases (if any) towards the new force. I may even have sorted out an army list to work towards if i'm lucky - still have very little idea of what to take!
Saturday, 23 May 2009
Sharks!
Right, so i've gone and signed up for the TCG Tale of 6 Gamers, and somehow i've figured out how to operate this blog thing to record it all :) Hopefully i'll be updating this fairly frequently with progress as the project continues on
My chosen force are Space Marines of the Space Sharks chapter, one of the less fortunately named official chapters out there (I think only the Rainbow Warriors are worse off!)
For the uninitiated, the Space Sharks are a chapter that took part in the Babab War on the loyalist side. There was a brief section about them in one of the original Rogue Trader books that documented the conflict, but other than that there's very little official fluff regarding them. What is known is that they have access to large amounts of Terminator armour and Dreadnoughts, and prefer drop pod assaults.
I first thought about doing a force of the Sharks when the current marine codex came out - I wanted to have a play with some of the funky new rules and new toys, but i was loath to run my Blood Angels using it as it wouldn't sit right with me using the wrong codex :P
That meant it was time for a new chapter, but i wasn't about to do something totally serious. After thinking through a couple of ideas i settled on Space Sharks as they had great potential for silliness (i remembered seeing First edition marines with sharks teeth painted on the beaky helmets), but after a quick flick through the net that all changed: I came across this blog on Bolter & Chainsword with a lot of fan-made new fluff and these illustrations and i got really inspired. Maori space marines! Wasn't too impressed with a lot of the ideas the blog dude was throwing around, as he seems to have taken the aquatic idea way too far, but some of the small ideas (use of some of the space marine organs and abilities) were very cool, and i loved the use of Maori tattoos and hawaiian mythology for the populations they recruit from (Hawaiian mythology has a buttload of sharks in, great to read) Also liked the idea of Boarding actions being a speciality, and this lead to thinking about urban combat with the heavy use of Dreads and Terminators
I'd been wanting to try weathering on marines for a long time too, and i figured dark grey marines outfitted for urban combat and with more practical/realistic posing and equipment would look excellent with weathered armour
I'm hoping this project will give me the motivation to get a sizeable, and more importantly, workable force. I've not done too many so far, but i'm impressed with the ones i have. They're still not finished either, i still haven't had the nerve to try out any degree of weathering for fear of wrecking them, but there's already bulletholes and scrapes moddeled on and waiting
Pictures of these will have to come later, haven't got a working camera right now :(
I'm intending to use a lot of equipment and webbing on my marines, and to try and put rebreather tubes and helmet fins on as many as possible. I also want to emphasize the heavy-equipment aspect of dreads and especially terminators, treating them more as small vehicles than large infantry. With that in mind i'm gonna try to model them with loads of baggage and rolled up camo sheets hanging off them, and also put comms gear and antennas on pretty much everything
In preparation for kick-off at the start of june i've made a rough inventory of what marine bitz i have kicking around, and so far it stands as follows;
-Complete black reach set, including 5 termies, 10 marines, commander, dread
-2x rhinos
-2x land raiders(!)
-enough random marine legs and torsos for around 15 marines-
one extra black reach terminator sergeant
-5 unbuilt assault marines (and around 10 extra jump packs, for some reason)
-around 15-20 old blood angels i could tear to pieces
On top of this, i've got at least 15 marines built and undercoated that were allocated to my Blood Angel force. I'm tempted to change these over to Sharks, especially some of the better conversions (otherwise they're not likely to see the light of day!)
I'm probably not going to use all the things i have available (very unlikely i'll use the landraiders especially) but they're there if i need them
Plans for the first month? The target is to make a 4-500pt force with the basic requirements of 1 HQ and 2 Troops choices minimum, so i'm probably going to use up the marines i already have to make a tactical squad. I may get some scouts as they could be useful in smaller games, and i'm tempted to invest in some devastators as i really don't have any heavy weapon marines, and seeing how cheap they are to tactical squads now it'd be best to exploit that
Watch this space!
My chosen force are Space Marines of the Space Sharks chapter, one of the less fortunately named official chapters out there (I think only the Rainbow Warriors are worse off!)
For the uninitiated, the Space Sharks are a chapter that took part in the Babab War on the loyalist side. There was a brief section about them in one of the original Rogue Trader books that documented the conflict, but other than that there's very little official fluff regarding them. What is known is that they have access to large amounts of Terminator armour and Dreadnoughts, and prefer drop pod assaults.
I first thought about doing a force of the Sharks when the current marine codex came out - I wanted to have a play with some of the funky new rules and new toys, but i was loath to run my Blood Angels using it as it wouldn't sit right with me using the wrong codex :P
That meant it was time for a new chapter, but i wasn't about to do something totally serious. After thinking through a couple of ideas i settled on Space Sharks as they had great potential for silliness (i remembered seeing First edition marines with sharks teeth painted on the beaky helmets), but after a quick flick through the net that all changed: I came across this blog on Bolter & Chainsword with a lot of fan-made new fluff and these illustrations and i got really inspired. Maori space marines! Wasn't too impressed with a lot of the ideas the blog dude was throwing around, as he seems to have taken the aquatic idea way too far, but some of the small ideas (use of some of the space marine organs and abilities) were very cool, and i loved the use of Maori tattoos and hawaiian mythology for the populations they recruit from (Hawaiian mythology has a buttload of sharks in, great to read) Also liked the idea of Boarding actions being a speciality, and this lead to thinking about urban combat with the heavy use of Dreads and Terminators
I'd been wanting to try weathering on marines for a long time too, and i figured dark grey marines outfitted for urban combat and with more practical/realistic posing and equipment would look excellent with weathered armour
I'm hoping this project will give me the motivation to get a sizeable, and more importantly, workable force. I've not done too many so far, but i'm impressed with the ones i have. They're still not finished either, i still haven't had the nerve to try out any degree of weathering for fear of wrecking them, but there's already bulletholes and scrapes moddeled on and waiting
Pictures of these will have to come later, haven't got a working camera right now :(
I'm intending to use a lot of equipment and webbing on my marines, and to try and put rebreather tubes and helmet fins on as many as possible. I also want to emphasize the heavy-equipment aspect of dreads and especially terminators, treating them more as small vehicles than large infantry. With that in mind i'm gonna try to model them with loads of baggage and rolled up camo sheets hanging off them, and also put comms gear and antennas on pretty much everything
In preparation for kick-off at the start of june i've made a rough inventory of what marine bitz i have kicking around, and so far it stands as follows;
-Complete black reach set, including 5 termies, 10 marines, commander, dread
-2x rhinos
-2x land raiders(!)
-enough random marine legs and torsos for around 15 marines-
one extra black reach terminator sergeant
-5 unbuilt assault marines (and around 10 extra jump packs, for some reason)
-around 15-20 old blood angels i could tear to pieces
On top of this, i've got at least 15 marines built and undercoated that were allocated to my Blood Angel force. I'm tempted to change these over to Sharks, especially some of the better conversions (otherwise they're not likely to see the light of day!)
I'm probably not going to use all the things i have available (very unlikely i'll use the landraiders especially) but they're there if i need them
Plans for the first month? The target is to make a 4-500pt force with the basic requirements of 1 HQ and 2 Troops choices minimum, so i'm probably going to use up the marines i already have to make a tactical squad. I may get some scouts as they could be useful in smaller games, and i'm tempted to invest in some devastators as i really don't have any heavy weapon marines, and seeing how cheap they are to tactical squads now it'd be best to exploit that
Watch this space!
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