Roll-Call: Aug 7 looms

Well it's July 30 today and I've a butt-load of models left to do.

Work has been at its busy best, so I've been straining somewhat to get stuff up and running for the big game.

Here's a big list of stuff I have done/need to get done:

Company Command

Chimera APC

Platoon Command

Chimera APC

Infantry Squad with Missile Launcher and Grenade Launcher

Infantry Squad with Missile Launcher and Grenade Launcher

Infantry Squad with Autocannon and Grenade Launcher

Infantry Squad with Autocannon and Grenade Launcher

Veteran Squad with Lascannon and 2 Plasma Guns

10 Penal Legion

5 Ogryns with Bone 'ead

2 Scout Sentinels with Missile Launchers and Hunter Seeker Missiles

Armoured Sentinel with Lascannon

Hellhound Firethrower

Leman Russ, 3 Heavy Bolters

Leman Russ, 3 Heavy Bolters

Leman Russ, 3 Heavy Bolters

Manticore Missile Launcher

Deathstrike Missile Launcher

Shadowsword

Red items are work in progress, green ones are ready to roll.

There's so much to do I've decided to clear the last of my leave and get it all done next week, so hopefully I'll be really productive then.

Although it looks like an awful lot of stuff to clear in a matter of one week, I haven't been completely idle...

The Manticore just needs its missiles finished, the Ogryns need camo pants and the Sentinels need pilots adding.

That leaves a truly scary number of infantry squaddies that need doing though... somewhere in the region of 25+.

It'll be an uphill battle for sure, but painting challenges are only fun if there's a modicum of stress involved, so it's all for the good.

Plus once this lot is done, it's just a Marauder Destroyer, a Vendetta, a Demolisher and 40 squaddies before it's Leviathan time!

On that note, I have requisitioned my as yet unassembled Chaos Baneblade for one half of the Leviathan's tracks. I guess I'll just have to pick something else shiny for Sardaris and his spiky chaotic friends to flaunt around, next to their Brass Scorpion of course.

I've also picked up a Shrine of the Aquila and found a suitably Macrocannon-esque aquarium filter nozzle to use as the gun barrel, as well as tons of Cities of Death railing bits to use, courtesy of the gaming group guys.

The Shrine of the Aquila is perfect for the front of the Leviathan I have to say. It's huge, and very very detailed.

It promises to be absolutely spectacular once done!

I (heart) painting sessions

Just goes to show that beer + all-nighters do bring the results.

Here are some painting updates for the Ogryns.

First up, surprise surprise - White undercoat layer, not black:



I spritzed on the flesh after that with ma airbrush. Blocked in the colours in leather, granite and scorched brown. And a smidge of black for the boots:



The next step saw the washes and first stage highlights. Badab black for the flesh, followed by a clean-up coat of Elf Flesh for the pasty skintone. Everything else gets its first highlights - lighter grey and brown. Metal gets the Badab Black as well.



So that's the story so far. Not bad for a night's work eh?

Yes boss SIR!

The flu struck over the first half of this week, and for once it wasn't even the World Cup (A colleague asked me over MSN if my disappearance was due to soccer action. I blankly replied 'who won?').

Anyway, there's nothing like two days cooped up at home to get stuff done up.

So here's a bunch of pics of my freshly converted Ogryns, in the same vein as the test model I did up about a year ago now:



First up is my original test model, with a few added tweaks. I'd decided that his ripper gun was somewhat too long and tapering at the end for an Ogryn weapon, so I cut the autocannon back further to give it an ugly pug-nosed snout. Also, I gave everyone's shoulder pad an Imperial eagle (never can have too much eagle), as well as a strap to actually hold the silly thing on.

Honestly, it's not as if the thing confers any real protection, it just reminds the other soldiers the huge smelly monsters are on their side for once. Also, it makes the models look a little more 40K, something that helps them blend in with all the more realistic stuff in the force (like super tanks and giant lasers).

Also, reviewing my earlier work made me decide on one thing. I wanted more Ogryns holding their weapons like actual rifles, and not like one handed pistols... Also, poses had to break away more from the original 'Ogre' look. So with these in mind, I converted two troopers to carry their guns two-handed:





Now, as anyone who's ever converted Ogres to Ogryns would tell you, this is something of a holy grail for Guard players. There's pretty extensive remodelling on their arm muscles, in order to get the models to break from their somewhat static original poses, with their arms held by their sides clutching weapons (appropriately enough, like angry diners when the food is late). Also, I had to build hands from scratch in order to get them to clutch their rifles properly.

Now this wasn't actually possible to do with every Ogryn, but I guess half of the rank-and-filers would be pretty good already. Besides, I realised that if you angled the hands a bit on these dudes, they actually started to look a little more wicked:



The other plus is that two-handed poses tend to be somewhat limited after a while (barrel up, barrel down) and tend to make Ogryns look like giant Ork shoota boyz, due to their chunkiness.

Anyway, I've saved the best for last, the Bone'ead - complete with giant chainsword:



This pose I do like a lot, since it makes him look as if he's imitating the poses of my squad sergeants. Adding the brain-enhancing circuitry to his head was also lots of fun. Hopefully he stands out enough now.

Originally he was supposed to be the only dude with an eagle on his shoulder pad, but I liked the look of it so much everyone got one. Hence the need for a suitably commanding pose.

Hope you like 'em!

With them through to to the painting stage, all my models intended for August's Apocalypse game are ready for painting at least.

It was a really big load off my chest to get these guys put together actually... Since I was uncertain how long these guys would take to convert, I was wondering if I'd complete my challenge in time.

Now I'm pretty certain I can finish =)

Plans for a very very very big tank

Many many years ago there was a game named Space Marine, better known to us today as Epic.

In that game the Imperial Guard had lots of tanks. Most of them are still with us today, but a few have mostly been forgotten (often for good reasons. They were ugly!).

But the true tank's tank, the one every tank wanted to be when they grew up, was known as the Leviathan.

These were supposed to be mobile command centres for the Imperial Guard, and are one of only two Praetorian-class command vehicles existing in the fluff.

They were also the largest vehicles allowed to the Imperial Guard, bearing in mind that Titans properly belong to the Titan Legions, and are not actually part of the Guard.

The Leviathan is an imposing thing, armed to the teeth with all sorts of blasty goodness, and capable of transporting men and tanks to war. (why transport another vehicle? why to increase their operational distance of course. might as well ask why there are aircraft carriers, silly.)

Such a tank would be huge, about double Baneblade length and twice as wide, judging by the Epic model.

In 40K scale, a Leviathan would be about 15 inches or so long. It would make a helluva sight on a game table.

The other tank, the Capitol Imperialis, would probably be the size of a bicycle on a gaming table, so the less said about that the better.

Anyway, I was thinking that the only way I would ever build myself a Leviathan, was if I were to cobble it together out of existing GW kits. I mean seriously, detailing all that flat surface area would make me go mad. I don't even want to think about how many rivets I'd need to cut. Existing kits would already have surface detail, saving me tons of time.

I mean it's a showpiece, but I don't want to kill myself doing it up. Plus, making it out of GW kits means that the final model will be structurally sound, at least the way I'm planning to go about it.

So here's the plan. I paint every last Imperial Guard model I own, before I allow myself to start on this monster. No guilt about incomplete stuff sitting around then. Bonus!

In the meantime here's a shopping list of parts I will need:
1 Shadowsword kit 54 pounds
1 Baneblade kit 54 pounds
1 set of extra Baneblade sponsons 15 pounds
3 Imperial Bastions 48.6 pounds
1 Shrine of the Aquila 18 pounds

Total: 189.6 pounds, or $379.20, based on 1:2 exchange rate.

Mad? Definitely. Fun? Definitely.

Gaming value? Who cares? It looks cool.

Plus it can always double as terrain. =p

Apocalypse Soon!

We're planning an Apocalypse game in August, and I'll be fighting with rather than against the Imperium for once.

In fact... It's the first time ever.

Something went awry along the way, and I've only ever collected evil armies... So this truly a first, despite having been playing dice games with little toy soldiers for over 17 years.

Aaaaanyway....

As part of that oncoming conflict, I'm mustering 2500 points to join the good fight (I'll never get used to the way that sounds...)

Here's the story so far... I hope to retake this photo a good many times, with hopefully more done each time. As of now, many models are half done, many are just stand-ins for proper models, and one is even er... a base.

It will get better I promise!

By the way... 2500 points buys quite a bit of Guard it seems.





yes, my blanket is pink.

Chaos Progress List

My first ever 40k collection!

And still not all done. sigh. Think I need to go lie down now :/



HQ
Daemon Prince ------------- done
Daemon Prince ------------- 95%
Daemon Prince
Chaos Lord -----------------done
Chaos Lord on Steed
Abaddon --------------------WIP - 80%
Greater Daemon ------------ WIP 70%

Troops
16 Noisemarines ------------ done
40 Chaos Marines ----------- 10 done
2 Chaos Rhinos -------------- done
10 Beserkers ------------------ WIP 20%

Fast Attack
6 Chaos Bikes

Elites
5 Chosen -------------------- done
6 Possessed ----------------- done
Chaos Dreadnought --------- done
5 Terminators

Heavy Support
Defiler------------------------done
Defiler ----------------------- WIP - 80%
Chaos Predator --------------- done
3 Obliterators ---------------- done
Land Raider ------------------ 95%

Apocalypse Assets
Brass Scorpion ---------------- WIP - 60%
Subjugator Titan --------------WIP - 30%

Ork Progress List

Ok erm this is the scary one.

HQ
Ork Warboss on foot ------------- done
Ork Warboss on foot
Ork Warboss on bike -------------done
Shokk Attack Gun Mek -----------done
Kustom Force Field Mek

Troops
150 Ork Boyz --------------------- 80 done
30 'ard Boyz ---------------------- WIP - 5%
10 Grots + Runtherd -------------- done
3 Trukks -------------------------- done

Elites
20 Nobz --------------------------- 8 done
10 Burnas

Fast Attack
20 Stormboyz
9 Deff Koptas ---------------------- 4 done
16 Warbikes ----------------------- 4 done
2 Wartrakks ------------------------WIP 5%
1 Warbuggy --------------------------done

Heavy Support
Looted Wagon --------------------- done
3 Battlewagons -------------------- 2 done
16 Lootas -------------------------- WIP - 40%
Big Gun Battery ------------------- WIP - 10%
2 Deff Dreads --------------------- 1 done
6 Killa Kans

Apocalypse Assets
Gargantuan Squiggoth ------------ Done
Stompa
Flakka Trukk ------------ WIP - 75%

Imperial Guard Progress List

Okayyy. Since this blog is really something to motivate me to get stuff finished, here's an exhaustive list of Imperial Guard models I own and have yet to do.

As some of you know, I own 3 Warhammer Fantasy armies and 3 Warhammer 40k armies.

To curb my somewhat... wanton purchasing habits with regards to toy soldiers, this is a limit I will religiously stick to. The only way I will collect a new force, is if an existing force gets sold. Since each of my collections has reached massive, or in the case of 40k, Apocalyptic(tm) proportions, this is very unlikely to happen.

Repeat to self: very unlikely to happen. *twitch*

Here's the list of models for my very smallest (points) 40k force, the Imperial Guard:

HQ
Company command squad ---------- WIP - 80%
Commisar Yarrick
Ministorum Priest -------------------done
Techpriest Enginseer + servitors ----- WIP - 10%

Troops
Platoon command squad ------------ done
Platoon command squad
80 Guardsmen --------------------- 40 done
10 Veterans ------------------------ WIP - 90%
10 Penal Legion -------------------- done
2 Chimeras ------------------------- done

Elites
5 Ogryns --------------------------- WIP - 90%
5 Psyker Battle Squad ---------------- done

Fast Attack
1 Vendetta Gunship----------------- done
2 Scout Sentinels ------------------- done
1 Armoured Sentinel --------------- done
1 Hellhound ------------------------ done
6 Rough Riders --------------------- WIP - 10%

Heavy Support
4 Leman Russ Tanks --------------- 3 done
1 Leman Russ Demolisher---------- 30% done
1 Deathstrike Missile/Basilisk ------ done
1 Manticore ------------------------ done

Apocalypse Assets
1 Shadowsword -------------------- done
1 Marauder Destroyer
1 Bombard ---------------------- 15% done
1 Leviathan-------------------------acquiring parts

A quick tally puts the figure at 4500 points... Not too bad I guess.

What's less impressive is the fact that this is also not very painted... But that will change (goddammit).

This will be a 'living' list BTW, so I fully intend to add further stuff (and hopefully move stuff to the master 'done' pile), so check back to this post for updates!

And now for something completely different.

I have to say, ork models are heck of a lot of fun to paint.

You can do them as simple as you like, or detail the hell of them, which suits me just fine.

I started out doing the models as quickly as I could, since I wanted to get in games with them as soon as possible.

Before long though, I found myself dotting every rivet, perfecting every hazard line... The hours stretched away into the distance, but really, I was enjoying every minute of the painting experience.

What gives?

There's something innately fun to paint about these guys. I suppose it's all in the exaggeration and chunky details that set them apart.

As I write this I'm keenly aware that I'm resting my feet against boxes containing hundreds of the damn things... But more so than any other army in my collection, I think I'm most likely to finish this lot.

Weird huh?

These mechs were made for walkin'

Sentinels!

Easily half the reason to play Guard. Clompy chikken-legged goodness!

Star Wars ripoff? Sure. Still cool? Oh my yes.

When you set these on the table, you have to make clomp! clomp! clomp! noises...

This here's the armoured version... Or rather my version of the armoured version. The roof was er... missing (curse you previous owner!) so I had to fashion one out of... card of all things.

It was all I had on me at the time, and since I figured the roof'd take no strain, I went ahead and sealed it up.

Also, Sentinels didn't come with plastic big guns back in the day, so this one's a trimmed-down heavy weapon team lascannon.

I abhor composite (metal + plastic) models like the plague, since they have a tendency to be unbalanced and fall over a lot. Hard to look cool when you're face down on the table... So I put together this one.

Also the lightweight gun on it meant I could use a smaller magnet to 'tiap' it on. Bonus!

A few good men

Here come the poor bloody infantry.

Now in a world where even bionic supermen in suits made from the same material as tank armour struggle to survive, there's just one word to describe men who wear camo pyjamas to war.

Forced.

Not so my brave men of the Imperium, oh no.

These guys want to fight, and are armed for the task.

My little planet's a decent one you see - Hyperion IV is a mining world, and the rich ore seams mean ample raw material to actually kit my men in armour (armoured pyjamas but still!)

I used Sentinel heads to sculpt and cast up these new heads, and after much fumbling around with very noxious chemicals (shortening my life by years, no doubt) I had about 150 of the little things.

Here's the first squad:





And because the missile launcher guys are inexplicably shy in the picture above, here they are again:



And the man with a plan, the gent who pays the rent, the old fart who plays the part:



Just a few tweaks to bring across the man the Colonel really is. I made him older for starters, adding some nice long whiskers. Also added a lanyard and some more bling to his uniform.

Think about the kind of guy we've got here. He's just come back from campaign fighting aliens on some godforsaken corner of the crappy universe, come home for tea and medals... and finds Chaos people are in his house, eating his snacks and watching his TV.

I dunno how you'd be in that position, but I'd be pissed.

Workhorse of the Imperium

What's an Imperial Guard army without it's tanks? Themed, that's what.

The Leman Russ is a kit that's aged rather less well than I'd like... But they're pretty iconic (i.e. blockily recognizable) for all that.

This is assembled as a basic bare bones Russ. The hull and sponson heavy bolters are magnetised and can be swapped out for heavier armaments, but for now they do sterling service in putting out the volume of medium-high strength shots.

The turret can be taken off, as can the barrel of the battle cannon.

As an extra whimsy I've also magnetized the top hatch. No pics to show you how this works yet, but when I do up some tank commanders (as well as a better version of the awful Pask model...), this will allow me to designate command tanks in formations for Apocalypse and Spearhead games.

There are three of these guys done to factory-finished level, with a Leman Russ Demolisher in the works.







The more observant among you might even spot the extra detailing work I added to bulk up the turret and rid myself of that terribly smooth panel on the side.

Tell the men the cavalry's arrived!