Bell of Lost Souls Article Available.

Evening all,

The second part of my article on painting heavy armour (tanks) is now available on the BoLS website.

Article

There is a link to the first part of the article on that page if you missed it. As always thanks for continued support.

Steve

Dark Angels - Finished Rhino and Dreadnought

Evening all,

Taken a while to complete these bad boys as due to some health problems I have an essential tremor which plays havoc with brush work.

Hope you like

Steve

Dark Angels - WIP Rhino and Dreadnought II

Thought I'd show some progress pictures, taking a long time to paint these two. Basically, tracks, metallics and icons and they'll be done.

Dark Angels - WIP Rhino and Dreadnought

Thought I'd put up some pictures of the next things to come for the DA. Took a while to build as I am highly allergic to poly cement so need to take breaks. Also because flashing plastic kits is horrendous.

Pieces left off for ease during painting. Dread arms aren't glued on either. 

Watcher in the Dark statuette on top, not glued but pinned at the moment. DA pauldron and DA chest piece. The bare sector on the right hand next to the assault cannon will have a DA transfer weathered in, hence no symbols as yet. Note replaced pipe on underside of missile launcher, the ribbed cable suffered terribly when de-flashed.

Icon on top door, side door and at the front. 

Big thanks to Rictus for supplying the DA icons.

Steve

Dark Angels - Scout Squad Finished Pictures

Evening all, two updates in as many days. Must be a record.

I finished the DA scout squad. Hope you like...

Telion 'el Jonson...

Steve

Hobbit - Bilbo Baggins Painted - An experiment in painting

Afternoon all,

Well I've painted Bilbo Baggins, badly. Let me explain, a couple of months ago I purchased this;

Reading through it yesterday I decided to apply all the techniques mentioned in the book to painting Thorin's Company from the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey box set. With the intention being that through the learning curve of 14 miniatures I could eventually finish with a better standard of painting in general.
This will not impact on my army projects (DA + DKoK) as they use techniques otherwise.

So in terms of the model, several things jump out at me and thus will be rectified for the next model. These include the fact that the model is overall very dark. I attribute this to the fact I applied several layers of milk-thin paint rather than say a 25-50% paint/water ratio paint I usually use. I have clearly not applied enough of the layers so that whilst the finish is smooth, the colour is not homogenous enough and is impacted by the underlying black paint.

Brush technique; it is clear that whilst using very thin paint I am required to paint small areas repeatedly, for various reasons including an Essential Tremor I have been unable to reapply each layer with enough consistency that it has ended up looking patchy or unshapely.

One of my new year's resolutions was to be slightly less harsh on my own painting, and in that vain I will say I'm quite pleased with the red on the coat. I think with another highlight layer or two I'd be pleasantly surprised.

So, what's next then;

Well I have a set of 5 Space Marine Scouts to paint, which I intend to start this afternoon after lunch. These include a converted Telion and one of my favourite GW models ever made, which is a metal scout sniper reloading his weapon. I will make some lunch and listen to World at One and hopefully see you all again in the next day or two.

Steve

PS: I was reminded of this very very old video, of Leonard Nimoy singing a song about Bilbo Baggins...

The Hobbit; Terrain Painted Pictures

I did say I'd get some pictures up, so here they are. Due to me getting into trouble more often than not with Rictus I've made an effort to put up plenty pictures.

The Terrain all together.

Base for the Goblin Scribe's little sex swing thing.

The Goblin Scribe. I do like this chap. 

Goblin King's Throne

Caving trip went badly wrong.

Some of the detailing.

Hope you do like it, I'm quite pleased with it. Next up will be the goblins and the King. 

Steve

The Hobbit Ltd. Edition Review & New Games Workshop Paint Range Review

Evening all,

I was initially going to post these reviews alongside the update with the painted Hobbit Terrain. However I've had an eventful two weeks - in the first instance I got engaged to my girlfriend of 3 1/2yrs and in the second, I've picked up some nasty flu virus which has made the past three days utterly delightful and in the third, I got bitten by a dog (neither of our dogs I hasten to add). Both the latter events occurred mere hours after the engagement and I'm hoping it's not going to be the 'way of married life'...

So, apologies are due once again. I've got the terrain about 75% painted so hopefully you'll see them finished tomorrow or Wednesday.

The Hobbit Ltd. Ed. Boxed Set Review

First up the price, a bit daunting at £75. But let’s look at it a little closer – for your money you get;

·      A condensed rulebook, which separately costs £50

·      Thorin’s Company; that’s 15 models in itself (13 Dwarves, Gandalf and Bilbo)

·      38 Goblins

·      Goblin King

·      Radagast Exclusive Model

·      An introductory booklet with quick reference rules pages

·      Rulers

·      Dice

·      Extensive Terrain

Now, bear in mind the following addenda, as to why I feel this is good value for money. The first is that Thorin’s Company, is as yet unavailable outside this box set. Second, Radagast exclusive model is interesting, and given the way the first film is I’m inclined to guess that Radagast will feature in one or both of the following films in some way. Third, whilst another (perhaps better) Goblin King is available, this one is not, it’s also plastic not Finecast....

What I’m saying is, this box set is unique in more than one way and I like that.

To the models, these are, without exception fantastic. Thorin’s Company do not suffer for being, for the most part, one piece models. The faces are discernibly the characters on screen in the film and the goblins are suitably rag-tag.

The terrain is great and is even suited to being a platform for painted models as well as a playable surface. It is incredibly detailed and lots of fun to paint.

Another thing I quite like about the kit is that it is, despite being a depiction from the film, it is also a depiction from the book, not one of the Jackson additions. Consider that they could have made the set based on perhaps the assault on Moria flashback or the fighting wargs from the trees from the film.

Whilst I am aware that the Hobbit franchise along with the GW Lord of the Rings franchise was sometimes looked down upon by 40k players and fantasy players I must say I’m extremely pleased with the kit. And it brings nostalgia for the original LotR boxed sets way back when.

Now, as someone who adored the film release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, I can see nothing I would change about the kit. As an avid Tolkien fan-boy with a more-than working knowledge of the ‘Tolkien-verse’ there are things I’d change. But that would be an extremely unfair way of assessing the kit and so I will not bring that up.

Review: The new Games Workshop Paint Range

Now, I shy away from change...

So, the new range is much larger than the old one. I say that in the knowledge that GW removed a lot of their colours running up to the changeover. But I do miss the familiar favourites of Space Wolves Grey and Dark Angels Green. That said, I like the new range. The new base colours have higher colour density (therefore the paint itself is thicker). This is fine as I thin my colours, it took me a few minutes to work out how much I’d thin the paint prior to use. And when I had thinned the paint I still got a good coverage on the model.

The paints are labeled ‘layer’. On the Games Workshop site they’re labeled ‘Layer 1’ ‘Layer 2’. They have the same thickness and colour density, but are labeled to show which is the next tone after the first. That’s fine but for an experienced painter this is unnecessary. For a beginner I think this would make the learning process far easier, for that I applaud Games Workshop.

I will not comment on the texture paints as I feel they’re unnecessary, saying that, I have bought one to try out and perhaps, just perhaps, it would make the younger less experienced hobbyist avoid paying money for GW sand, GW glue and a paint.

The shades are not much different to the older GW shades, they are fine for most, but I tend to avoid them as they come out overly matt and look funny on the model.  The glazes suffer, though not as severely, from the same problem. I much prefer adding a glaze medium (which GW have now produced) to a paint to do my glazes and shading.

Generally, the main issues with the range are the new names which is a new learning curve and the somewhat juggling effect of having to deal with different thicknesses of paint on the trot. Once the names are recognised it should be much easier. I would also like to add that among all the Games Workshop hate for prices (which I do not take part in, as models are a luxury product, not necessary to living) the paints have generally, not been to badly priced. When I joined the hobby back in 2001 (the outset of the Lord of the Rings models) the paints costed £1.50. They now cost £2.30. That’s about 6.6p a year, which I feel is a very reasonable growth in price.

So the intention with the new range is clearly to make painting easier and more accessible to younger or inexperienced people. Which is a laudable aim. For us more experienced painters we just need to tinker with our processes.

I do realize from my two reviews I may seem a GW ‘fanboy’. That’s not completely true, I would like to point out, I am willing and able to descry something I dislike. I do still feel rather discriminatory of Finecast products.

We will get back to more painted models in the next few days, as soon as I can shake off this plague.

Leman Russ Painted Pics

Evening all, apologies for my absence. It was my birthday last week then I was away in York over the weekend.

Steve

EDIT - quick bonus pic. York Minster from the top of the new ferris wheel (taken through a glass window) - quite proud I went up, as someone afraid of flying and afraid of heights...

DKoK - Converted DKoK Leman Russ

Evening all,

Well, Tinners, a fellow blogger - Tinners' Warseer Blog - sent me one of his converted Chimera-Russes last week, which was awfully kind of him.

Here's how it arrived;

As you can see, an excellent conversion and an equally good paintjob. However, two things are problematic with it. The first being that this model was of course converted and built to fit in someone elses army, not mine, same with the paintjob. The second issue being, due to the first problem, the tank isn't armed for my army.

Brief interlude: I was informed a little while back that I can't use my superheavy vehicles in my force until I have reached 2500pts in the force with non-superheavies etc. Yes, I know very little of the 'game'*.

Thus, I have made a few additions to the vehicle in order to fit it into my army, but I did want to stick to the way the vehicle was in some ways, such as the fact that I love how much of the shape of the vehicle is defined by the stowage and camo-netting.

Double length bedroll added to right hand trackside. Heavy stubber  on cupola. Coaxial lascannon added. 

New cupola fitted, to fit with the cupolas I have on my other vehicles

Empty shell casing used to 'hold down' the camouflage nets.

Painting will commence shortly...

Steve

* - By the 'Game' I mean 40k, not Neil Strausses horseshit with the same name.

I am a complete nob.

Well, I happen to love the new Hobbit movie and have seen it about 4 times. However, yesterday, as my partner was off work we took the new dog to the vets then stopped in the pub on the way home, unfortunately for me, alcohol and a swollen bank account are a bad mix. Suffice to say my 'swollen' bank account has been lanced, like a boil on the arse.

Now quite frankly, I am kicking myself, for two reasons, the first being that I ordered from GW direct, and not another store - I'd have saved about £34 if I had. Secondly, that I spent rather a lot.

Seeing as the Radagast model comes with Sebastien the Hedgehog, a tiny addition to the overall thing, I clearly in my drunken stupor justified the spend to myself with 'he comes with a hedgehog'. So, yes, I'm clearly an utter nob.

I would like to add that I'm pleased to have gotten the words 'swollen', 'nob', 'lanced' and 'hedgehog' into this post. I have as such put labels accordingly, someone with a rather niche fetish will get a boring google search result at some point in the future.

Yours Nobbly

Steve

Mucho Problemo

Well I have some bad news, I came home from uni to find my new dog (seen below) had chewed up my Terminator Squad something lethal. I would like to add that I did have them 'out of reach' on a table, which he had clearly knocked over and chewed them like little treats.

So, whilst I mourn the loss, I think I may have to start a new unit whilst I think of something else.

I think he knew he'd done something wrong. Or, you know, didn't care, I do hope my dog isn't a Nihilist.

Git.

Steve

Delays Delays

I really must apologise for my lack of updates recently.

In the first instance, university term started again today, and in the second, well, we have a new addition to the family...

I have however been working on things as best I can. I currently have a Deathwing squad on my desk, half painted, and I purchased the new DW command squad on Saturday... Well, I say I purchased it, my mother did, whilst on a trip to York.

I have also placed a GW order for;

Scouts with Sniper Rifles
 - I also have an old metal scout with sniper rifle, that I've had for years, I kept it, it's been in nitromors more times than I bear count but it's simply one of the best models GW have produced, so you'll see a squad of six before long.
Rhino
DA Codex
Telion - he's in finecast, lovely model, I'll carve off and replace the the Omega symbology and make him into an aged DA scout.

I should have a fairly strong army before long, my aim is to have them close to completion by April for a few games with my friends.

So again, I must apologise but hope you'll keep watching my blog.

Steve

WIP Deathwing

Well thought I'd better put something up. I know this fickle world....

Lost a bit of the depth, but cba sorting out all the lighting atm. He is just one of 5 I'm working on atm.

Very pleased with them so far. Stay tuned for the finished products.

Steve

Dark Angels 2 - Tac Squad complete

Evening all, well the other 5 chaps are painted. This makes 10 men (Tac squad done). I think next I shall paint the Deathwing members as I have no black spray, but do have some white and can perhaps do them with white spray.

Steve