AJ's gaming world

NMM - The true star of the super bowl

2012-02-06T09:54:00.001Z

Despite a glittering half-time show, excellent cheerleading displays, many fabulous advert breaks and a host of great (and not so great) plays, for me the winner of this years Super bowl has to be the grounds keepers. Managing to apply this...

To This...

To create this...

Its a simply stunning piece of work and has inspired me to keep on trucking with Non metallic metals. It acts as a very good example of how NMM is achieved. I think I will be keeping this picture close at hand in future whilst painting up my Bretonian knights.

Praetorian / Dress uniform IG torsos

2012-01-26T14:01:00.000Z

Recently I seen, loved and placed an order for ten Imperial guard dress uniform torsos from Col. Gravis. I have long admired his imperial guard force made up of the wonderful (and sadly missed) praetorians. In the last few years, he has become rather adept at sculpting and has started to produce a few bits and pieces of his own, aswell as some sculpts from secret weapon miniatures. Here are a few links to some of his work.

His Blog: colgravis.blogspot.com/
Rough rider kits and dress uniform torsos: colgravis.blogspot.com/p/praetorian-roughriders-for-sale
And some of his work for secret weapon miniatures: secretweaponminiatures.com

Well I couldn't walk past those excellent dress uniform torsos. So I immediately ordered a set and they arrived very promptly (I think it was two days, I ordered them on Wednesday night, they were dispatched on the Thursday morning and I had them by Friday afternoon).

Here's what I found upon opening them...

I tried them on a set of Cadian legs. Here is a simple comparison shot with a Cadian torso. So far the torso is only blu tacked in place.

The fit works fine and the sculpt works well next to the standard legs. the height is good too. However, I wanted to do something a little special with these dress torsos, as I think the Cadian legs are a little unrefined next to the lovely dress top. So I decided to have a go at converting Cadian combat pants into dress trousers. Here is a picture of my attempt so far...

The first thing I wanted to do was remove the bottom of the jacket and replace it with a more fitting tunic. I think I may have made this a little too thin, however I wanted to add another layer of detail, so I will pad it out then.

I wanted the bottom of the trouser leg to sit over the top of the boot and I wanted a dress stripe down the seam. I have made this quite wide to match the Irish Guards style of dress uniform.

A rear shot, showing off the trouser legs sitting over the boot. I do think the tunic needs to be a little broader to match the belt line of the torso.

And finally a comparison shot with the torso on cadian legs. the torso on my converted dress uniform legs, and a standard Cadian legs.

In conclusion, I am very pleased with my purchase. A very reasonable £7 for a set of ten torsos. A wonderful sculpt and even a great casting job. All ten torsos are very high quality with only the tiniest hint of a mould line.

A great buy. Cant wait to get this squad up and running!!!

Lasgun conversions Part 5- Lasgun to Hotshot Laspistol

2012-01-22T15:57:00.000Z

I had originally planned to do a lasgun to plasmagun tutorial for part five, however I have been having difficulty tracking dwon the parts I have used for this conversion in the past, so i decided to move ahead and do the lasgun to hotshot laspistol conversion.

This one is quite simple to do and can use either the Cadian or the Catachan plastic lasgun.

Starting by cleaning down the weapons, I have marked out on the picture below the areas that we will need to remove.

On the catachan pattern lasgun (top), we need to remove most of the barrel and the stock. Then simply scrape or file off the imperial symbol. On the Cadian pattern lasgun (bottom) we simply scrape off the imperial symbol and remove the weapon casing. As you can see the stock has already been removed in this picture, and it also needs to be removed.

You will need to keep a hold of the muzzle at the end of the weapon, so be careful when removing this from the end of the barrel.

You should end up with something like this...

Once we have this cleaned up we can move onto further cutting down the weapon. Next we have to remove the middle section as indicated in the picture below, cutting along the red lines and removing the highlighted area.

We are then left with something like this...

At this point I simply glued the weapon together and replaced the standard lasgun clip with a boltgun clip. This isn't necessary, however I think it adds a bit of punch to the weapons looks.

Next up we need to add a little bit of detail to the stock plate. On the Kasr-kin models, this is done with two small disks, so that is what we will replicate here.

We will use a length of rod roughly 1.5mm in circumference and a length of tube about double that.

Cut a small disk from each, roughly 1.5mm each.

And then glue them on the end. First the small one...

And then the larger one.

At this point the weapon just needs some trimming and filing before adding a little green stuff into the gaps.

...And once that's complete you should be ready for painting.

Dominion Day V @Arkham- Awesome freehand banner!!!

2012-01-20T21:43:00.002Z

Well just a tiny post about one of the most awesome freehand banners I have seen up close. I am still trying to find the name of the artist, and I will find it, but he also had an absolutely gorgeous Imperial guard Valhallan force, which won best army on the day. Without further ado then, here it is...

A simply stunning piece I am sure you will all agree. I hope to see more of this gentleman's work in the future!

Cadian style rough riders- Painted

2012-01-15T13:29:00.000Z

As promised, here are the painted pictures of the rough riders. This was a unit I had rarely considered playing until last weekend and I have to say I am regretting the lack of play that they have seen. A brilliant counter attacking unit, that can also be used to create a speed bump, forcing units into combat before hitting your gun line. They are great fun to play with and add some decent mobility to the imperial guard force.

The squad so far. I do plan on increasing the squad size to the maximum of ten. I would also like to convert my own version of mogul Kamir, although I like the idea of him being on a chariot. As you can see I have painted this squad up in 40th corps colours. I thought it was more fitting to have the cavalry look almost ceremonial.

The squad sergeant. Probably my favourite model in the squad.

Well somebodies going to get shot when riding on horseback in a gun war. Guess it had to be this guy. For the blood I mixed Baal red ink and Devlan mud.

Quite pleased with how the banner turned out, although I rushed the white a little and I would like to do a little bit of freehand when I get the time.

And the rest of the squad....

Another tournament coming up on the 4th February, so I think Im going to try and get some more of these guys finished for it. Thats all for now. Sorry if the colour in the pictures is a little off, but the lighting in my room is pretty poor. Might have to get up a little earlier to catch the good morning sun. :)

Converted Sanctioned Psykers Painted

2012-01-10T00:10:00.000Z

Well as you may know, I have been working on a squad of sanctioned psykers recently. I had used a combination of Bretonian bowmen heads, Empire wizard and Corpse Cart driver body and arms and the odd bit of plasticard, green stuff and guitar string to achieve my aims.

My concept had been to base the squad on the odd looking collection of beings highlighted below in the Imperial Guard codex cover art.

With a few tournaments on the horizon (the first of which was on Saturday past) I was in a bit of a hurry to paint this squad up. I didn't get time to do an overseer, so I had to use my penal sergeant as a stand in (which worked quite well). Here is the squad I ended up with.

The mix of empire wizard and corpse cart driver pieces really adds a nice mixture of movement withing the squads.

This was one of my favourite ones to build. It is based on the corpse cart driver, with a inquisitors servo skull attached to guitar string and even some GW barbed wire (which used out of context can simply look like inter-coiled wiring).

This set of poses shows how a simple change of direction of the head can change the pose of the model. Both use the same bodies and arms, but have heads looking out in different directions. For the paper scroll I used a Ork Trukk part (used to created the tow cable on the front of the truck) and green stuffed a ream of paper. The head is from the Bretonian errant knights sprue.

The hood on the servoskull wielding Psyker was my first attempt at green-stuffing such a garment, and I was quite pleased with the result.

These two psykers were given Bretonian Peasant bowmen heads. They were probably the most rushed conversions as time was getting slim.

Another favourite of mine. I think this guy looks like the most superior of the squad and is probably under the cloak the least human. This was my second greenstuffed hood and I was very pleased with my progress. I really like the blue trim and I might find a way to sneak in some extra colour to the squad when I am painting the overseer.

At the tournament they where a real asset, killing half a squad of stern guard with a large blast in one game, and making a squad of seraphim run away for a turn in another game. I would have to say that they are a worth while investment. With their help I managed 7th place out of 32 (my best result yet!).

One final thing, thanks to all the guys at Arkham and to Johnny (not forgetting Dale) for providing another excellent tournament. Keeps getting better and better guys. Looking forward to the next tournament at the end of February!

Rough Riders, Psyker battle squads and finalised highlander list

2012-01-05T20:53:00.000Z

So with Dominion Day 5 fast approaching, I have been getting geared up.. mainly sorting out the rough rider squad and Psyker battle squad I included in the list. You may remember ages ago I picked up some empire wizard and Grave cart bitz to create my psykers from... if you don't the post about it can be found HERE. here is how the squad was coming along before today.

A group shot. Im going to use the old company command squad senior officer model as a stand in overseer.

This is one of my favourite conversions for the Psyker battle squad. I wanted them to have a real Adeptus Mechanicus look to them.

Some more of the squad. I think this picture shows the diversity of the empire wizard kit quite well..

Been green stuffing like crazy today with these guys. And the 6 rough riders are ready to get primed and painted. They are sitting like so...

Here is a group shot of the first six. I do plan on another four, but I have something special lined up for the squad weapons.

The sergeant has got his arms back. The sabre is taken from a kasr kin sergeant. One of the coolest power sword models ever produced in my opinion.

And the pistol guy has got his pistol back. this time taken from a Baneblade Commander.

And so onto the final list I have chosen. I listened carefully to the advice I had received on the last list, and you will notice that I have made a few minor tweaks. Nothing massive, as I had to rely on the models I had ready mostly, but some nice quirky different things I've slipped in there.

Company Command Squad
with lascannon = 70pts

Guardsman Marbo= 65pts

Psyker battle squad
6 psykers =80pts

Infantry platoon-

Platoon command squad
4 x flamers =50pts

Infantry squad- grenade launcher , Autocannon = 65pts

Infantry squad- grenade launcher , Heavy bolter
+commissar w/ power weapon =110pts

Veteran squad
3 meltaguns =100

Rough Rider squad
Sergeant with melta bombs
5 x Rough riders = 70pts

Vendetta Gunship = 130pts

Ordnance Battery- Griffon =75pts

Leman Russ Demolisher
Hull heavy bolter
Sponson heavy bolters =185

Total=1000

That is all for now. Will try and post up some finished pics early tomorrow.

Rough Rider banner made from plasticard. Part 1

2011-12-29T10:53:00.000Z

Well work continues on my rough riders. I'm a bit of a sucker for banners and standards, so I thought a rough riders upright lance (be careful of the people you say that phrase to) would be a great place for a flag.

I thought Id post up some work in progress shots, of this guy, just so you can see the whole process.

I stated by looking at the model and measuring and sketching a shape and outline for the banner on some .5mm plasticard.

I then cut out the desired shape and added a very thin edge of plasticard along the outside of the banner, about 2mm in width. This was to act as a sort of sandbox or any detail work I would either convert or paint onto the banner.

Using blu-tac, I tried out the pieces on the model.

There where some small joins to be covered in the outer edge of the banner, and some sanding sown to be done, so I applied liquid green stuff to any gaps or joins, left to dry and then sanded down the whole banner with a wet and dry sponge.

Then I looked for inspiration...

After a quick sketch and some cutting, I was left with this...

I made a duplicate by tracing around the outer edges and then tested the pieces on the banner to make sure it looked all right.

I drilled into the eye marks a little (only enough to create an indent) and proceeded to bend the plasticard to make it look like it was fluttering in the wind. Then I glued it onto the model.

I used a similar technique when building my Ogryn's banner...

Next time, a bit more sculpting and then to paint.

Lasgun conversions Part 4- Lasgun to shotgun

2011-12-27T13:33:00.000Z

So far in this series I have concentrated on converting the lasgun into other lasgun variants including the hot shot lasgun and the las carbine. Now I plan on looking at the other weapons the humble lasgun can be modified to become. So we shall start off with the most common swap in the codex, the shotgun.

I have always liked veteran squads toting shotguns, but early on I decided that the more bulky space marine scout weapons just didn't suit. I wanted something that looked good, fitted with both the Cadian and Catachan arms and was quick to build. So here is what I ended up with...

We start as always with the lasgun. In this case the Cadian Standard short pattern lasgun manufactured on Kantrael (operating in the nineteen megathule range!:) )

Once the lasgun is clean of flash and mold lines, its time to begin our cuts. the picture below marks in red any area that needs to be removed. To take them off I either use clippers to take of the bulk of the material and then file down the rest, or use a sharp hobby knife to scrape the excess detail off.

The area marked in purple will stay, but is simply shaped using a hobby knife to blend the contours of the weapon together.

Once all these cuts have been made you will be left with something like this...

Then take a sharp hobby knife and make a cut along the top of the weapon casing, this doesnt have to be too deep or too neat, just try and make it as straight as possible, stopping and starting if needed.

Then using a broader tool (I use a sculpting tool or wax carver, but one leg of hobby clippers can do the same job if you are careful) scrape along this line until you have a large dent in the top of the weapon casing. Try and keep this as straight as possible, but don't worry about neatness too much.

you should end up with something like this....

As you can see, my cut wasn't too neat, but if you are worried about tidiness, you can simply scrape a sharp hobby knife along the sides of the groove to clean off any rough bits. Then its time to add the barrel. I use a thin plastic rod, about 1/16th of an inch or 1.5mm in diameter.

This sits into the groove along the top of the weapons casing.

Then simply cut the rod to the length you require and glue it in creating the barrel.

Using the same rod, measure up a smaller piece and add it under the first barrel.

And there you have it, a quick and simple shotgun.

Here are some more painted examples of the shotgun on my veteran squad.

Highlander rules- 1000pt Imperial Guard

2011-12-21T23:06:00.000Z

Well coming up very soon is another marvellous 40k tournament at Arkham gaming centre. At the moment I'm toying with a few lists. I ideally want to get a balance of a decent list and some quirky units that I have never really used, to give me the excuse to paint them up!

For those unfamiliar with the highlander rule, it is this...

No unit (or dedicated transport) may be duplicated in the army. Yes, even troops! The only exception is for units that only have one troops choice such as Sisters of Battle or Black Templars, who may duplicate their troop choices once.

Sounds like – If an army contains different variants of a unit type, then you may include only 1 variant in your army. So only one Landraider whether it’s a Godhammer, Redeemer or Crusader, only one Dreadnought, whether it is Venerable, Furioso, Ironclad, Librarian or whatever. Etc etc.

Vehicle Squadrons are restricted to one model per unit.

IG Infantry Platoons are restricted to 1 PCS, 2 Infantry Squads, 0-1 HWS, 0-1 SWS, 0-1 Conscripts.

So with these restrictions in mind, here is the list I am considering for the tournament.

CCS- Lascannon -70

Psyker battle squad- 6 psykers -70

in chimera- Multi laser+heavy flamer -55

Marbo -65

veteran squad- Lascannon -90

platoon command squad- 3 flamers and krak grenades -50

Infantry squad- autocannon and flamer -65

with Commissar -35

Vendetta- 3 TL Lascannon -130

Leman Russ- Battle tank, Hull heavy bolter -150

Griffon Mortar -75

I have played a few practice games with a similar list to below, (minus rough riders and with more ratlings) and it has received mixed results, three wins and three losses. Hopefully with a few more games I can hone this list.

Any suggestions, comments and critique would be welcome!

Green stuff Industries

2011-12-20T09:07:00.001Z

Just a quick post today. I was cruising the blogosphere and spotted this little gem on Dark future Games.

Looks like a great little tool. Always love something that makes green stuffing that little bit easier and quicker.
I will hopefully be investing in one of these, no more messing about with guitar wire for me!

Check out the video tutorial HERE and check out the Green stuff Industries blog HERE

Looking forward to seeing more products from this company!

Cadian style Rough Riders

2011-12-06T22:09:00.001Z

Above is my first attempt at Photoshop. It is a picture of the first (and so far only) rough rider I painted. I had converted ten rough riders back in 2003 and never quite got them finished off. So I have today dug them out from the bowels of my bitz box and started dusting them off. Here is the current (rather sorry) state of my remaining seven rough riders.

As you can see they are pretty banged up. But I will talk you through them one by one. I wanted them to each have a unique feeling.

This one is quite standard really, just trotting along.

and a side pic of the same one.

This guy is going to be the squad standard bearer. No rules for it, just a cool looking centre piece in my opinion.

This unfortunate fellow has been shot mid charge.he will be clutching the wound and dropping his laspistol.

The squad sergeant, he will have a power cavalry saber raised in the air and a pointing hand.

This trooper is on the charge, lance pointed down.

And finally, the broken remains of the photo shopped rough rider. I hope to restore him to his former self.

I also plan to build a flamer rough rider for this squad, but plenty of repairs to undertake first.

That is all for now. I have got a busy week ahead, so may not get much time for an update for a while. I do however have the pictures ready for the next instalment of the Lasgun conversions series and have managed a bit more work on the knights of the realm, so watch this space!

Lasgun conversions- Part 3

2011-12-01T10:23:00.001Z

In this instalment we will be looking at a cut down version of the lasgun- the las carbine. I use this weapon for my veteran squads to help distinguish them from regular troopers. All that you need is a Cadian pattern lasgun, a few different thickness's of plastic rod and a sharp knife and modelling file. So onto the tutorial...

An Example of the rod sizes you will need.

So the areas in red above are areas that will need trimmed off. Its not clear in this picture, but the top mounted sight needs to be cleaned flat as well. Its much easier to see where to cut in the next picture...

With the eagle removed, the front barrel and the top sight gone, we need to cut roughly five mm off the end of the gun casing, like so...

Then remove the area marked in red by making a straight cut through the gun along the pink line.

You should end up with something like this...

At this point I like to add a slight chamfer (or diagonal) along the edge of the weapon casing, to smooth the lines a little bit, and make it easier for guardsmen hands to hold the weapon.

I simply scrape a sharp knife along the edge of the casing until I get a smooth level line. Then I remove the grip detail on the weapons' stock and drill a hole in the front of the weapon for the barrels to go.

The barrel is going to be made out of two short pieces of plastic rod. The thinner of the two rods will be glued to the casing, placed in the hole I have drilled. The thicker piece will be glued on the end of the smaller piece, as weapons muzzle.

And in the end it should look something like...

Here are a few examples of the weapon on my veterans...

Above I have added the scope, the tutorial for which can be found HERE

Assault on Arkham- Autumn Annihilation: Army Profile Blood Angel Space Marines

2011-11-28T22:45:00.001Z

Here is a stunning Space Marine force that was in action this weekend at Autumn Annihilation. I first came across this Army at Q-con earlier this year when it stomped all over my Mech guard. At Q-Con his force was quite a bit different, favouring the vanilla marines and six land speeders with dual heavy bolters. This list has been based on the blood angels and includes two Baal predators. The three riflemen dreads remain. :)

With a clean, coherent paint scheme and a tight colour pallet, this army was in the running for best painted, but was just pipped to the post by Tom's Orks.

So here are some close ups of this wonderful force...

Assault on Arkham: Autumn Annihilation Results

2011-11-27T22:37:00.001Z

Another fine weekends gaming and this time I never rolled a dice once. helping out rather than playing really give me the time to talk to more of the players and learn a lot more about the game. By game five I was really dying to move some miniatures and roll some dice, but I learned a lot from Johnny and Dale. Hopefully I learnt enough to run a decent tournament myself soon...watch this space.

So the Winners (and Losers) at Assault on Arkham- Autumn Annihilation...

Best Army- Tom O'Reilly

A well deserved win for Tom in this category, especially after the hard work getting his buggies ready!

Check out Toms Orks HERE on his blog

Third Place- Gary McNeill

A nice guy and one of the regular members of Arkham, Gary fought well throughout the weekend. His Grey knights will surely need to polish the heretic gore from there consecrated armour.

Second Place- Paul Quigley

Showing off his best BOSS pose, Paul used a vicious Venom based Dark Eldar to splinter cannon the opposition. I'm not sure there will be many Slaves to be found among the bloody pulp of his foes.

First Place- Scott Waring

A infamous face on the 40k scene, Scott death rolled his way to victory with his mighty, battle wagon borne Orks.

Best Sportsman (and Last Place)- Jordan Black

Despite coming home in last place, Jordan (Crazy) won many battles for man. Showing us that pink with leopard print can work together and that no beard can escape the wrath of a mayonnaise laden subway sandwich.

Good luck to Jordan and all the guys at Lisburn gaming club with their Horus Heresy campaign. I would love to get in on this action!

Bloodiest Battle- Orks Vs Guard (Scott Waring and James Jennings)

As it should be, the Orks and Guard tore shreds out of each other. James runs a blog all about the virtues of Blob guard. He even has me converted to the cause... well almost. Check out his blog HERE. I will be doing a separate article on this at a later stage.

And finally all the results from the Assault on Arkham- Autumn Annihilation

Well done to everyone involved. Another great tournament. Hope to see you all next time at Winter Of War!!!

Lasgun conversions- Part 2 (scopes)

2011-11-22T18:26:00.001Z

Well in this, the second instalment of the lasgun conversions series, I will be looking at an imperial issue scope for the trusty old lasgun.

All that is required for this build is two different lengths of plastic rod (or a paper clip) and a length of very thin plastic tubing that can fit the smallest sized rod inside it, like so...

And so we begin with the smallest rod. I use one with a diameter of about half a millimetre or so. Then I cut two short segments, roughly about three millimetres each. These are then glued into a T shape...

This componant will form the base of our scope. We then need to cut two segments of the tubing, both with one flat end and one diagonal end, Like so...

We then glue one on at a time. If one section ends up longer than the other, the shorter piece will be the eyepiece.

Allow the glue to dry completely before adding the second side. This can be extremely fiddly without the glued pieces moving around.

Once both ends are on, take the smallest rod again and add little lengths in the gap between the eyepiece and the lens...

Again giving the whole piece plenty of time to dry, add another section of this rod in the same place on the other side, and on top.

Then add a small disc of the widest rod to the very top of the scope, like so...

If at this point you find the stem of the scope too long, simply trim or clip it off, and then the scope is ready to be added to a rifle...

A Catachan Lasrifle...

A Cadian rifle...

or even a lasrifle of your own design...

This trooper is holding the Vastadtian pattern las-carbine favoured by Vastadtian Veterans. We will be looking at this lasgun in the next tutorial...

Well that's all for this time folks. Any questions or queries, or even suggestions for improvements, please share in the comments below!

Lasgun Conversions- Part 1

2011-11-14T22:37:00.001Z

The ubiquitous lasgun, the most recognisable and standard weapon of the imperial guard. Yet, produced on a million different worlds, its not as standard as you may think.

This is the first in a series of tutorials, aimed at creating unique looking lasguns, how to produce the different variants (e.g. hot shot las, long las) and add accessories like grip handle or under slung launchers. Later in the series we will even look into how to create special weapons like meltas or plasmas from the humble lasgun.

First up, I thought I would show you my Vastadtian pattern heavy lasrifle. These weapons are used on my storm troopers as hotshot lasguns. For this conversion you will require one Cadian lasgun, one standard space marine boltgun, some plastic rod and a little bit of plasticard, probably about a millimetre thick.

So we begin with the Cadian Lasrifle...

All the areas marked red need to be removed. The sight comes off with a little trimming and filing and the magazine comes off with a simple snip of the clippers. The underside of the lasrifle needs to be smoothed to as flat a surface as you can, in order to ensure a smooth join with the grip.

You should end up with something like this...

You may find it a little easier to clean the lasgun with the barrel sliced off neatly like I have done above.

Next up the boltgun...

This time all the areas marked in red are the areas we want to keep. to do this, first take off the magazine.

Then slice off the barrel and bayonet lug to create a flat front. Its then just a matter of cutting the rest of the magazine port off and carefully removing the grip from the main weapon case...

Remove the raised areas to the back of the grip, and trim the grip down to fit the lasgun...

Then simply glue all the parts together...

At this point you may wish to greenstuff little bits here and there to smooth it all together, however I generally dont bother as I like the modular look of the weapon. Now its just a matter of adding the handle to the top, and a small piece of rod below the barrel.

Now its just a matter of getting it on a miniature. As you can see, the process can work even when using the lasguns with the arms already attached. Just make sure that you replace the hand that usually holds the grip.

I would love to see any conversions others have made for their lasguns. I think it is a great way of personalising your troops.

Next time I will have a tutorial for creating scopes...

Hydra Templates and tutorial- Part 2 (Gun Platform)

2011-10-25T01:15:00.002+01:00

So welcome to part two. This tutorial will be working on the platform section of the gun shield. It has been said that the gun platform is not needed, and I would say that this is a valid argument. However I think the platform really completes the gun. Here is a stand alone picture of the platform...

Without the gun

And with the gun

So first up, here are the templates.

An improvement on my first attempt, but still not perfect. I think the best bet is to build these into a downloadable PDF which will be perfectly scaled, but that will be for another day.

So as always we start by cutting out the pieces (I deleted this pic from the memory card by accident, but I'm sure you get the idea!).

Then it is important to test fit the base, ensuring that it clears the other portions of the vehicle, giving the gun 360 degrees arc of fire.

Then we attach Section C to both part A's, like so...

Once this is sturdy, add this component to the base, leaving seven millimetres from the slot to the triangular struts of each section A.

We can now add both of the B sections to the sides of each section A.

Add them to where section A cuts in towards the join to section C. Here is an upside down pic for a better view...

This is the main structure of the platform completed. It is important at this point to once again test fit the platform before adding detail.

This is where it can become very tight...

From here it is simply a matter of adding detail to the platform, Here are a couple more photos to show you what I added to finish the piece platform.

I added textured plasticard to the walkways, and added small of cuts of plasticard between the steps to seal off the joins. I also bent a paperclip to act as a handrail, however this has been quite badly damaged and the supporting pillars have snapped off. I will have to repair this before gluing the platform back onto the vehicle.

I will do a tutorial on detailing with textured plasticard soon, including where to get it and how best to use it.

That's all for now, hopefully this will be of some use to some of you. If anyone uses these templates or tutorials, please send me pics and I will stick them up on the blog here (only with your permission of course!)

Any problems with the templates please let me know and I will try my best to help.

Hydra Gun shield Templates and tutorial part 1

2011-10-20T16:06:00.000+01:00

Recently I have received requests for more information on the Flak gun platforms I have produced for the Half Tracks I am using.

Dave Taylor has produced templates for the wonderful trucks which I have based my designs off. More information on these can be found on his blog HERE

For this part of the tutorial we will be focusing on the forward, gun shield part of the hydra flak guns platform as seen below.

Without gun...

With Gun...

I must note at this point that I have never made templates for any of my scratch builds before, so please be aware that they may not be perfect. I also had to rely on a bit of a poor scan job. I will update the templates as soon as possible with more accurate and clear images. Here they are...for what they are worth...

Promise I will update these ASAP

As you can see above, there is a line which represents an inch, this will hopefully help with scale when they are printed off.

I used .75mm plasticard for the all the components except for the base which I used 1mm plasticard.

The first thing to do is to cut out all the pieces.

First up then, I cut out the components.

Then Starting with the base I build up the first side one piece at a time. I use Revel Contacta professional for this, as it has a fine nozzle for applying glue. I always use poly cement first as it allows a little wiggle room when piecing things together, then add super glue later if you want extra rigidity.

Part two goes on quite easily, however do make sure that you hold the parts together for a tight fit, as any gaps might make part three difficult to fit.

Part three sits on top. This is where a little touch of super glue will come in handy once you have pressed the parts together with the poly cement.

Then its just a matter of repeating in reverse on the other side...

At this point you may find that the joins are a little rough due to the odd angles. For this I simply file down any overlaps. I use a wet and dry sanding sponge, as it is very fine, leaving virtually no visible scratches on the smooth plasticard surface.

Then it is time to add the gun. The Aegis flak gun does need a little bit of prep. I remove some of the lower detail so that the gun shield can simply slot into place around the gun mount. Hopefully you can see where I have done that in the pictures below...

Then its time to test fit your Gun shield...

From here you can go nuts with detail. I added part of the Rhino interior and a set of gauges from the Ork Trukk sprue, as well as some textured plasticard for the flooring to mine. Then simply gave the shield a coat of paint.

Next time we will work on the rear platform which is attached to the rear of the gun.

Any questions or comments, particularly if something is unclear or missing, please let me know.

Imperial Guard Veterans with meltaguns and lasguns

2011-10-10T09:18:00.001+01:00

Sgt. Loklan gives his orders to his squad before battle.

As promised, here is my second melta vets squad armed with lasguns. As you can see, I have used the same scout legs, however the torsos and arms are much more heavily armoured. I wanted the two squads to have quite a distinctive look, both from the Infantry platoons and indeed from each other, so I left the shoulder pads on these guys. I also converted the lasguns to look much more light weight.

The Meltaguns in this squad are cut down flamers with added space marine meltagun ends.

Sgt. Loklan- I originally had him painted in 40th corps colours, but he wasn't getting much game time as my hardened veterans for that army was all grenade launchers, and didn't really fit.

I converted the scopes from little bits of plasticard tubing. I wanted them to look bulkier, but shorted than the space marine M41 targetter.

The grunts- I have just realised when taking this picture, that I haven't Painted the visors on these guys. D'Oh!

That is all for now, but I have got a little bit more work done on my to do list, so I will hopefully have an update on my progress in the next day or two!

Imperial Guard Veterans with shotguns and meltaguns

2011-10-08T09:27:00.000+01:00

Squad McPherson prepare for battle

After having a scour through the blog, I noticed that I hadn't even uploaded pics of the Veteran squads I had prepared for Q-con. I had built two squads, one with Shotguns and meltaguns and one with lasguns and meltaguns.
I was particularly pleased with how these squads turned out. I used plastic scout legs, Cadian and Catachan torsos and cut down and modified lasguns. I will post a short tutorial on how I made the shotguns sometime soon. The backpacks are from the Catachan and Cadian heavy weapons teams and command squad boxes.

The shotgun squad has a more scout feel to it with less bulky body armour and more exposed flesh. The lasgun squad I made look a little heavier. Here are some more pics of the shotgun squad.

The squad meltagunnesr are made from a variety of bitz. One is a space marine meltagun and some flamer arms with the shoulder pads cut down, another is a cut down combi melta, with the bolter bit taken off, and the last one is simply a catachan command squad meltagun with some greenstuffed sleeves.

I was very pleased with how the sleeves look. its a simple conversion, but I think its a great look for the more casual guardsman.

Sgt McPherson of the 40th corps. This is the second model I have produced for this sergeant. I posted the original one HERE. I ran a competition on 40konline for the original model I made of this character asking for people to name him. Then everyone on the board voted for the favourite name (which was Sgt McPherson obviously) and the winner received the original model.

In the end though, I enjoyed making the original so much that I had to have one in my own army. Who better to lead a squad of Shotgun vets.

Some pictures of the grunts here. As you can see I used bitz from all over the place to produce this squad. I don't think there is a guard plastic infantry kit that isn't used in this squad. I've even got a few empire and space marine scout heads mixed in. I'll post up the second squad soon. In the mean time I will be continuing work on my Hobby To Do List!

Bretonnian Knights and To Do list

2011-10-06T10:06:00.000+01:00

Well over the last few months my hobby has taken a bit of a back seat, whilst I've been trying to settle back in at home and save up a bit of cash, but its time for me to get back on the wagon.

I've slowly been working away at the Bretonian knights of the realm unit. So far its going well, but quite a bit of work still to go on these guys. I always find Cavalry far more time consuming than infantry. Here is a few pictures of how I'm getting on.

And on to my To Do List. The last time I did this it was very successful and really helped focus my mind on projects I really needed to finish. This was one of the main reasons I started blogging and I am glad to be getting back to it know that things have calmed down again in real life. I like to keep my to do list short, as too much stuff on there and I feel swamped and never finish anything. So here it is, my top five To DO hobby projects...

1. Finish Bretonian Knights of the realm- Pretty self explanatory this one.

2. Paint the full platoon for 5th company, based on tester model- I never got round to doing the platoon for my supply company. I had done a test model but ran out of time for the tournaments and had to use a platoon from my 40th Corps Guard army.

3. Finish the Gun shields for my Hydras- Again, due to a rush at tournament time, my second squadron of hydras never received the gun shields for the flak cannons. Something I need to address.

4. Add Crew and troop Dioramas to the Troop trucks- Something I have wanted to do for a while was to add more mini diorama style elements to the troop bays of my trucks like this one here

5. Complete the plasticard Warhound Titan- A project I started a few months ago, but never got round to finishing off. There is still a lot of work to do in this one, but I think it will be worthwhile when its done.

Well That is the list as it stands. I will update the list as I report my progress on here.

Vesen Campaign: Battle report- Part 2

2011-10-02T03:34:00.001+01:00

Commissar Bilk Rallies his troops as the Ork Mech assault reaches the guard lines.

On the same day as Part 1 we played a second game. This time the points limit was 750pts. I had chosen a 750pt all Infantry list and my opponent tom had chosen an all mechanised Ork force.

And so the battle continues...

As Various pre offensive raids return from the seek and destroy missions, one such raiding party ran into an Ork detachment moving along the Sectung line. After several days of being pursued by the Orks, the imperial forces, headed by Lt. Fenzter, finally decided to make its stand against the Ork horde at cross roads 692. The Imperials dug in, using the penal troops cohort to raise defensive barriers as the Platoon squads sighted up.

Clanking could be heard on the horizon. With each passing minute the noise drew closer and men's nerves began to fray. Only the stern leadership of Commissar Bilk, chief Commissar to the Vastadtian regiment could maintain discipline.

Finally the Imperials caught sight of the trudging machines that had harried them for three nights. 8 War walkers of varying design made their way up the highway towards the dug in guardsmen. Bilk ordered the men to stand firm. A sudden quite covered the crossroads as both sides sighted up...

Deployment for the Battle of Crossroads 692

The Imperial Guard opened up with there shots as soon as the targets moved into range. One of the Killa Kans on the northern flank was hit and destroyed despite the interference of the shield. Although the sniper squad could not draw a bead on them, the Vastadtian forces knew from the disruption field, that at least one Mekboy was present. The lascannon in Lt. Dervant squad hit the largest of the dreadnoughts on the northern flank, but despite swaying heavily on its feet the armoured beast remained alive.

As the Kans began to speed up towards imperial lines they opened up with their fearsome Grotzoomas cannons and took out 7 imperial guardsmen, including Lt. Dervant.

Commissar bilk strode towards the defenses of the western flank, ordering the penal legion forward, in the hope that they would at least hold the kans at bay for long enough to give the missile teams time to sight up.

The penal legion outflank the Killa Kans, in the hope that they may sell their lives to hold off the advance a little longer.

As Commissar Bilk barks orders the Sniper teams look for vulnerable portions of the war machines, firing at vision slits and hydrolic lines. Finding a lucky gap in the Dreadnoughts armour, the snipers stun the dreadnought on the west flank, forcing it to stumble backwards, and failing to open up with its massive flame thrower.

With the enemy almost at his firing line, Lt. Fenzter Moves his men into position, firing everything they have got before the metal tidal wave descends upon them. One more Killa Kan is Wrecked, slumping forward on its hips, smoke billowing from the vision hatch.

The hail of grotzoomas continues to pummel the imperial defences and 6 more guardsmen are killed. The Penal troops engage three of the walkers, but are slowly crushed to death, despite valiant attempts to climb, club and bayonet the armoured giants.

The Last of the penal Legionares are cut down, selling their lives dearly to give the defenders time to rally.

The Ork Vehicles Made it to hand to hand combat, locking each guardsman in a fight for survival. All seemed hopeless, yet the Imperial guard held fast, struggling with all their might.

Many troopers where tore up by the hands of the Killa cans, yet Bilk, striding forward faced down two alone. Dodging a poorly concocted strike, bilk lunged with his power fist and knocked the ripping claw off its mount, before colliding into the loose faceplate of the second, smashing the driver through his controls.

Bilk and his men stand firm.

The Killa Kans reach assault.

With two more of their precious contraptions destroyed by "Dat Hoomie wi da Silva 'And" The Orks Decided to fall back and regroup, giving Commissar Bilk, and the few remaining troops the opportunity to get clear.

The battle was over, however the Guard offensive was just gathering momentum...

All in all, this was a fantastic days gaming. I am really looking forward to playing the third game we have had planned for this campaign arc, this time the battle gets a little bigger still, going up to the 1000 point mark.

Vesen Campaign continues- Battle reports:Part 1

2011-09-29T02:08:00.000+01:00

Lt Hindt dismounts his stricken Armoured Car to clear the attackers with his flamer squad.

Some of you may remember the first campaign day I posted about here

Well following on from these battles we continued to play out another few missions from the story. We played two more games, one 500pt mission and one 750pt mission.

With the Orks held on the Sectung line and forces stalemated over a long winter, the imperial guard prepared to once again go on the offensive.

This time, fearing another ill timed counter from the Orks, the imperials, now under the direct command of Brigadier General Parak, devised a strategy of probing raids. Troops from the battle hardened and highly versatile 32nd Vastadtian regiment where ordered to puncture Ork lines, seek out opportunistic targets and recon enemy positions before breaking back through to imperial lines with whatever information was available. These missions where high risk, however, where successful, proved very valuable to the imperial cause on Vesen.

The first game we played was based on a scaled up Kill team mission from the fan made game. Basically 500pts of imperial guard, returning from one of the afore mentioned raids had to smash through Ork lines, escaping with whatever information they had gleaned from the enemy. Each player had a corner of the 4X4 table like so...

The Imperial forces were as follows

Company command squad in Centaur

Platoon command squad with Chimera

Infantry squad in chimera X2

sly marbro

Ork Forces included

3X Kannon

30 Boys with Nob and Power Claw

The Imperials opened the battle, opening fire on the Kannon positions and gunning their engines towards the Ork lines. Planning to puncture a hole in the Ork defences, Captain Sperick ordered his Light Centaur transport to find cover in the trees on the south east of the battlefield.

The crude Ork Defence lines and trenches would be treacherous for the Half tracked troop transports, so he hoped his forces could flank the mobbing green skins.

Blue Platoon held the centre and moved up, leaving only second squad behind, in the hope that they could bring their heavy weapons to bare on the dug in Kannon. Firing was exchanged but neither managed to inflict serious damage apart from one Kannon exposed on the north west of the battle field being decommissioned by some well place autocannon shells.

In the early stages of the battle, the Orks held firm, moving forward slightly, but continuing to block the path of the oncoming Vastadtian vehicles

The Ork Kannon sight up as Imperial Troop Transports come into view over the horizon.

By the middle of the battle (Turn Three) Imperial and Ork forces were face to face and it was then that captain Sperick ordered his mission operative to go live. Detonating a munition charge deep beneath the Ork emplacement, the blast ripped through half a dozen Orks and disorientated the Orks left flank. Lt Hindt ordered his chimera forward, letting rip with his squad flamers on the milling Ork mob. With the Mob reduced to under half their numbers the Ork left flank looked like it was going to crumble, however, the remaining Orks held their ground and counter-charged the now exposed mission specialist and the vulnerable command chimera.

The mission specialist was cut down by brutal combat, however the chimera survived, although the crew found it a struggle to get away. In order to protect the Vehicle the command squad dismounted and flamed the remaining Orks. Their glory however was short lived as blistering fire from the second Ork mob, quickly wiped them out.

Despite the loses Captain Sperick presses the advantage and orders his remaining forces to push towards the gap in the Ork Lines. Spotting his Chance, Captain Sperick is the first to tank shock his way free of the battlefield, pushing right through the Ork lines.

The troop truck containing first squad risk the mounds of rubble and corpses to escape through the gaping hole in the Ork line to their north, quickly followed by Lt Hindt's now empty armoured car.

The rear guard now had to run the gauntlet, pushing through the gaps which where now tightly closing.

The rearguard Troop truck prepares to begin its escape as Ork forces press forward.

The troop transport lurched forward along the road, pushing through barricades and slewing round craters. Ork shots and claws raked the side of the truck as it eventually made its escape, suffering only damage to its hull mounted weaponry.

This was a great game from start to finish, and we both had a lot of fun playing it. Most of the mission components we made up as we went along, but all in all we kept up the ethos of a real battle. What would the troopers have done, how would they have reacted to the changing tactics.

Next time an Ork Kan wall goes against an all infantry guard force holding a strategically important cross roads....

Valkyrie Down

2011-09-24T00:46:00.005+01:00

'Ave a Go Annie- downed during a routine training flight...

The Title and picture say it all really. Whilst continuing the never ending unpacking process I (foolishly) decided to move my Valkyries to a 'safer' location. In transit I slipped on the ever growing pile of rubble being sorted and dropped this doomed aircraft.

At this point I would like to mention that I own 5 Valkyries, three of which are currently completely built and painted. One of these is an original Forge World Variant purchased in 2003. Can anyone tell where I might be going with this?!?

There is a silver lining to this cloud. I was never able to get a good picture of the pilots "Top Gun" style helmets with the canopies glued in place.

I must also say at this point, that this isn't the first time this particular model has been smashed up. Indeed it is the third time. I guess some models are pretty damned unlucky. if anyone has a tale of miniature woe, please share!

The first time was shortly after I had originally bought and painted the model at warhammer world. My brother was driving me home from the Club in my home town when he was cut up and had to break and swerve, throwing the Valkyrie which was carefully nestled in the rear seat forward and onto the floor.

After this incident I had been introduced to Epoxy resin. Nothing would destroy my precious Valkyrie now I thought as I placed the newly refurbished Valkyrie on my bedside table...

...nothing except a force of nature with four paws, a wagging tail and a drooling jaw will destroy my Valkyrie now I was forced to rethink a few hours later...

And so a few years passed and the much maligned Valkyrie sat and gathered dust, until replacement tail booms started to be made and sold in plastic. A year after starting uni (2009) and my Valkyrie was back in action, later converted to hold the three twin linked lascannon needed to upgrade to a Vendetta.

And tonight I must finally take the blame for destroying what I created.

So what do I do now? Do I rebuild? Do I cut my loses and break up the vehicle for parts? Do I bury it in the garden and hold a small memorial in its honour? Tell me what you think.

Also, do you have any stories of unlucky models?

That's all for now. Next post I hope to bring news of creation rather than destruction :).

Famous Faces of the Vastadtian 32nd - Part 2

2011-09-22T11:18:00.000+01:00

The 40th Corps badge in use during the battle for Medusa, the campaign which saw the formalisation of the 40th corps.

So continuing on from Part 1, today's instalment will include the Ecclesiarchy, the Commissariat and Adeptus Mechanicus figures that are part of the Vastadtian regiments make up.

Commissar Bilk

One of the few non- Vastadtians in the regiment, Bilk has earned the respect, loyalty and awe of the Vastadtian troopers. Many myths surround Bilk; his single handed dual with a gargantuan squiggoth, besting an Iron Warriors commander in single deadly combat and fighting off a renegade space marine army with only a handful of troops. Whatever the truth, Commissar Bilk remains the backbone of discipline throughout the regiment.

Missionary Zelick

A man of few words, Zelick is revered among the Vastadtian. A guard veteran, even in retirement he continues to follow the Imperial war machine through the stars. On the eve of battle he can regularly be found sitting with a gathering of soldiers, leading songs and chants to the emperor.

Preacher Mahann

Where Missionary Zelick is quiet and sombre, Preacher Mahann is bombastic and colourful. Whilst his Master Zelick has natural presence Mahann has the fervent energy inspired by his faith. He regularly takes the field with the 3rd company.

Adept Confenti

This relatively young adept leads the Adeptus Mechanicus elements of the 32nd Vastadtian and presides over the many machine charges within the regiment. Little is known about the Adept, although he is regularly treated with suspicion by the men, who fail to understand the ways of the Mechanicus. Despite this they appreciate the support the adept provides, and welcome his presence on the battlefield.

Once again that's all for now. The next instalment is likely to include the Adeptus Psykana, as well as some individual squad leaders who are worthy of note.

Famous Faces of the Vastadtian 32nd- Part 1

2011-09-21T18:45:00.001+01:00

Urgluk- Banner bearer of the 40th Corps Abhuman Auxilia- Attached to the 32nd Vastadtian forces

As many of you may know, my Imperial Guard regiment is called the Vastadtian 32nd. I wanted to start making an account of the background I have built up for this battle hardened unit over the last 8 years.

Vastadt is a Vault world, lying to the galactic south of Cadia. It is designated as a Vault world, Storing the vast material wealth of many families, guilds and indeed planetary governments across the entire sub sector. This responsibility has natuarally made the Vastadtians suspicious of new comers and strangers, yet fiercely loyal and stubborn.

The regiment actually made up of two smaller units; the 1000 man strong Vastadtian 32nd Infantry Battalion and the 7th Vastadtian Armoured Korps. The combined arms element of the Vastadtian 32nd is allowed (however begrudgingly) by the Imperial Munitorium due to both the relatively small size of the regiment, and the autonomy of the missions that it often is called upon to fight. It is only every 4th regiment raised on Vastadt that is formed in this way, as these regiments are formed from the motorised elite PDF and security forces, rather than conscripted from the masses.

These regiments leave Vastadt trained to operate on long range missions independently, allowing them to fulfil any battlefield role.
First company in the regiment is the heavy infantry and is (traditionally) the regimental commanders company.

Second company is the scout company.

3rd and 4th are the main battle companies and 5th company is the support/supply company.

The armoured corps consists of three main battle tank companies, a scout company, a superheavy company and an artillery company. The armoured corps also maintains the regiments motorpool of chimeras and engineering vehicles.

I will delve deeper into the structure of the regiment in another post, but for now, I wish to show you some of the famous (or Infamous) faces of the Vastadtian 32nd. We'll start with the company commanders.

Captain Sperick

The newly promoted commander of fourth company. This company is currently attached to the defence of the 40th Corps, acting as honour Guard for the command base, The Dodecahedron. This company contains the fearsome stairguard who are the internal security forces of the 40th Corps.

Sperick was a fledgling Lt. in the 4th company during the horizon campaign. Following the blunders (some would say cowerdice) of Major Dewalth (then 4th company commander), Sperick rallied the 4th company around his platoon banner in order to counter an Ork assault and recapture the ground they had lost.

With Major Dewalth posted back to command staff in disgrace, Brigadier General Parak (commander of the 32nd Vastadtian and the 88th Brigade, 40th Corps) promoted the young Lt. to commander of the 4th company.

Major Dewalth

Major Dewalth began his career in guard intelligence. He spent most of his early years at 40th Corps HQ working tirelessly to improve cogitator relays and vox signal recognition. A favourite of one of the senior Generals, he was posted to field command in order to "achieve glory and respect of the men, worthy of his status". However after a disastrous opening to the Horizon campaign, his field command ability was quickly brought into question. Despite calls for his court martial (and eventual execution), Parak, supported by Commissar Bilk, redeployed Dewalth to support staff. In this position he has excelled, fighting for the Emperor not through skill at arms, but through his own methodical research skills. He occasionally is called upon to take the field in the role of Master of Ordnance.

Major Eklan

Major Eklan is one of the most experienced field commanders in the 32nd Vastadtian. It often is seen as a slight to his character that he was overlooked for command of 4th company, and instead received command of 5th company- Supply. At first the then captain Eklan was enraged, however shortly after his appointment, Parak invited him to high command.

It was during this pompous ceremony that Parak and Eklan sat on the service access ramp, swigging a bottle of finest Jolique, allowing parak to explain the true reason behind the Captains appointment to fifth.

Parak reasoned that the 32nd Vastadtian, with its small numbers couldn't afford to have a lazy supply company. He needed a fighting company that could also ensure a secure supply line. A high value target like a supply convoy needed protecting, and the manpower wasn't available to babysit it.So Eklans task was to whip the company into shape, and that is exactly what he did. Despite being one of the smaller companies, the supply company now houses some of the regiments most disciplined battle troops, ready to fight through roadblock and ambush, ensuring the main battle companies are kept supplied.

Captain Pluskat

Captain Pluskat is the younger brother of Col. Pluskat (commander of the 7th Vastadtian Armoured). Captain Pluskat commands the 3rd company of the Vastadtian. he has fought as commander of the third from the regiments founding and has fought in every theatre of war the regiment has taken part in. His most celebrated victory came on Vesen, where he lead a detachment of his company, 4th company and elements of 7th Armoured to victory, holding a vital installation despite repeated onslaughts from over whelming numbers of ork, chaos and even piratical Eldar whilst being blasted by orbital weapons. In the Heat of battle captain Pluskat managed to personally slay the chaos overlord.

It must be noted that there are two 32nd Vastadtian company commanders not present. The first is the first company commander- Mknight. The other is second company commander, and commander of the 32nd Vastadtian Infantry Battalion Col. Damek

The main reason they aren't pictured above is that I currently don't have models for them. I will update this later when I have them.

Thats all for now. I will continue this series in part two with the commissariat, eclisiarchy and the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Autocannon conversion

2011-09-06T09:28:00.001+01:00

Here is the Autocannon team I built for the Arkham tournament last month. I had shown my original progress of this piece, but unfortunately I failed to get any more in progress shots. This weapon is based off the work of Le Mediko- a fabulous converter and painter who has been a massive inspiration to me. His work can be found on warseer.com and on the Work In Progress forums.

Anyway, here are some more shots of the finished piece. As you can see, this one is in the livery of the 40th Corps, however, I am planning three more for my current support company.

Gold NMM with foundation paints

2011-09-02T08:35:00.000+01:00

Since taking this picture I have done a bit more work on my knights of the realm unit, and I have to say I am pleased with the result over the whole unit. It was difficult choosing the colours at first. Lots of tutorials use oranges, but I wanted an old burnished gold look. Once I had seen tau sept Ochre lying in my paint box though, I knew I had to try it. The great thing about the foundation range is that it holds a lot of water.

Here's the layers I used.

Calthan Brown as a base
Layer of Calthan brown and tau sept ochre (1:1 ratio)
Highlight of Tau sept ochre
Highlight of Tau sept Ochre and Iyanden Darksun (1:1 ratio)
Highlight of Iyanden Darksun
Highlight of Iyanden Darksun and white (1:1 ratio)
White was added to the extremities of where the light was reflecting.

I will admit its far from perfect, I think I still have a long way to go in refining this technique, but for now the result is passable.

It was always one of my ambitions to finish up the Bretonians without the use of metallic paints, and after a good session yesterday on the boat home, I have realised this is going to extend painting time enormously. However, as a learning tool I think this will be invaluable to my hobby career.

I will get some pics up of the whole unit soon. but please tell me what you think of the NMM. All c&c welcome.

Assault on Arkham- Best Army

2011-08-25T14:23:00.000+01:00

It’s hard to find words to describe a well put together Nurgle Army. You can’t call it nice or beautiful or anything like that, but you can’t say it’s hideous or repellent despite the intent. So I suppose the only way to do this is to say that the winner of best army at Assault on Arkham was Hideously Nice.

The best army winner at Arkham was a very cool Nurgle army. I love the ethos behind this army and the use of wood elf and tree man and even Ent bitz is simply inspired. Stuart, the proud owner of this fantastic army, created this army almost out of necessity.

With the desire for a new army and without the huge bank loan needed for a new force these days, he scavenged and raided all his available resources and crafted this cracking force. He has still found the room for the odd nice forge world buy (as we all like to do from time to time), but has largely done this army on a shoe string budget.

I think this is exactly the kind of ingenuity that we as gamers should be starting to look at given the current economical climate, price hikes and general shortage of funds everywhere.

The copious use of green stuff and the general excellence of the conversions show on this army, binding together all that is great about the hobbying side of our hobby.

As yet, over the two tournaments we have both played we have yet to meet on the table top, but I am really looking forward to fighting this force. Unfortunately my photography skills hardly do justice to the army, but hopefully the ingenuity and quality of the work shine through my over-exposed attempts at pictures.

There were several other very nice armies at Arkham gaming centre for this tournament. Michaels Death Wing where very nice, Toms Orks were looking sharp as always and the Eldar and Darragh's Grey Knights also looked pretty cool to name but a few. However it was a deserved win in the end for this very creative Nurgle Army. Well done Stuart!

Assault on Arkham- The Games

2011-08-24T11:11:00.000+01:00

Guess who won?!? The answer may be surprising!

A few weeks back, Arkham Gaming Centre in Gleno, Northern Ireland held a two day tournament and what a fantastic weekend was had by all.

The tables looked great, the atmosphere was brilliant and I achieved my first top ten finish, coming in at eighth place.

The Missions for all five games had a primary and secondary objective as well as allowing tournament points for victory point difference. This made the scores reflect the true nature of how the battle is going. Often (especially with Imperial Guard in kill point missions) the game will seem pretty much neck and neck, but the kill points are unfavourably against the imperial guard.

The list I took can be seen HERE

Day 1

My first game, (dawn of war, capture and control primary, seize ground secondary) I was paired off against a grey knight player with 6 Psyfleman dreadnaughts. This was a potentially scary army and allowed to alpha-strike, could have been potentially devastating. I managed to out range two of the psyflemen by placing all of my army bar one squad of hydras on the opposite flank (Also so all my melta vets and vendettas could hit Mordrak’s squad). The picture above sums up the game (and indeed the whole weekend) quite nicely. Those psyflemen are scary, but with so many points invested in them and Mordrak, there was little on the field in terms of scoring units. Truthfully, I think I went after the psyflemen a bit too much, leaving the two lonely strike squads in razorback untouched until too late. Meaning I couldn’t know him off his home objective in time.

Despite his cruel army list, my opponent Darragh was one of the nicest guys to play. He had also magnetized and painted his whole Grey knight army with style. The game ended with the primary and secondary mission a draw, but I just pulled ahead on victory points.

The three red dots are the long fang deployments. The shoe boxes were counted as big orange bunkers, +2 to hit. :)

Game two I faced off against a space wolf army. The mission was Annihilation primary, capture and control secondary with spearhead deployment.

I knew this was going to be a tough one. Thunder wolf cavalry, 3 squads of long fangs, a few squads in razorbacks and some wolf scouts made this list quite daunting. Surprisingly with spearhead deployment, my opponent deployed two squads of his long fangs at the extreme corner of his own deployment zone. Everything else he pushed up as far as it would go up the field. I deployed out of reach of the two squads of long fangs, knowing they would have to move for at least two turns to get range.

In his first turn he pushed forward, knocking out two vendettas with split fire from the one long fang unit in range. I lost a chimera as well, due to some shoddy deployment on my part which exposed side armour to his razorbacks.

The thunder wolf cavalry went down pretty much first turn to my manticore, with only the lord surviving, and I took out a razorback and 2 marines with the same manticore shot.

Apart from this my first turn firepower was rather ineffective, I did drop the second razor back and managed to kill another marine, but with his long fangs on top of a bunker, I failed to kill any.

Turn two and his long fangs where now in range, next turn I would feel their full firepower. He managed to bring in his wolf scouts right at my manticore’s backside. I kept fire on his troops, killing the last remaining razorback, a couple of marines, and the scouts that had taken out my manticore.

By turn 5 most of my vehicles where wrecks. All but one squad of my troops were still alive and kicking, but he had bunkered his forces into terrain to hold his objective, as every time he had tried to advance, my meltagunners had simply destroyed anything that got too close.

The game ended here, with me losing out on Kill points, drawing on capture and control and I was just slightly behind on kill points. The truth is I was a little too afraid of the Thunder Wolves, and perhaps not afraid enough of the Long Fangs.

Game three was against my friend Michael (pitched battle, Seize ground primary and Annihilation secondary). His Death wing are fantastic looking and severely scary on the tabletop. The mission was pretty much Ideal (although I stood little chance of a Kill point win). The table wasn’t exactly perfect, but seizing the initiative went a long way to helping me knock out two of his vindicators and a couple of land speeders early on.

The main problem I had was that even with killing a decent amount of terminators, I couldn’t get rid of any more than one complete squad. In fact, even getting a squad down to half strength proved difficult. Eventually, I ran out of steam and the death wing pinned me to the wall. I lost both the Annihilation and seize ground missions and scraped away with a draw in victory points.

Michael played well and despite some early bad luck he played very well.

Day 2

I had it all to do at this point. I was currently sitting in 18^th Place (four from bottom). I needed at least a win or so to pull me into mid pack. Unfortunately I only got pictures of the boards from day 1.

Game four and my first opponent of the day was Eldar. The mission was Annihilation with a secondary mission of seize ground. Deployment was Dawn of war.

Probably my worst mission type, given my twenty kill points but the early turns went well for me. I managed to take out his pathfinders with 4 flamers delivered by vendetta. He did sneak a few moves on me though; outflanking war walkers and 3+ saves from his jet bikes allowed him to hold the left field objective. His dire Avengers in heavy cover held the right objective until my chimeras with heavy flamers turned up and his avatar chomped nicely through my melta vets.

The whole game came down to one roll though. If the game ended in turn five, I would have lost by one kill point and suffered a defeat in the seize ground objective as well.

Luckily it kept going for one more turn and I was able to take out three more kill points, knock him off the third objective to draw the secondary mission and pull slightly ahead on victory points.

So going into game 5 I had one clear win, one sort of draw and two losses. Not bad, given my usual tournament record.

And then I got paired up with the Psyfleman dread grey knights again...

I was very nervous going into this game. Mission was pitched battle, capture and control primary and Annihilation secondary. We both knew each other’s surprises and he won the dice roll for choice of turn. Surprisingly he let me go first. He said it was because he had gone first in all his other games and it felt wrong to do this the whole tournament. This is probably what helped me do quite well in this game, as given a turn to try and hit his psyflemen, I knocked out two in the first turn and stopped another three from firing. His troops where in reserve and he held mordrak back this time, fearing my meltagunners.

By turn five I was ahead on kill points with five out of six psyflemen destroyed and the final one had no weapons. Only then I remembered that the main mission was capture and control. I started a headlong dash to move my meltagunners in range of his final troop choice resting on his home objective. If the game hadn’t lasted the full two extra turns, I doubt I would have taken him off his objective, but luckily I got my meltas there on time and hit the final strike squad with everything I had.

So I finished up the day with a decisive victory, but also with a great game against a great opponent. We will definitely be having another grudge match soon I’m sure!

Conclusions- Well I think my list held its own. My only issue that I have is controlling the mid field, as I have a lot of long range and short range weapons, but there seems to be that awkward turn where I have run out of long range firepower and my short range stuff is just not quite reaching. I did make some silly mistakes, but overall I think my game has become tighter over the two tournaments I have played this summer.

I think guard are a little more effective at 1750 than 1500 with that extra 250 buying a few more aces up your sleeve.

A great weekend and a great set of games! Thank you Arkham and Thank you Johnny (tournament organiser extraordinaire!

Paintball + Tank = WIN!

2011-08-22T16:04:00.002+01:00

My Ride for the day: 10th August 2011

I must apologise for the long period of Absence, I’ve had quite a busy month. I was back in Ireland for the awesome Assault on Arkham Tournament (More on this later), My family came to stay with me in England for a few days, I have been looking for a job and I have been preparing to move back to Ireland for the time being.

Not much hobbying time then, but I did get to experience something very different this August...

For Christmas 2010 my very lovely parents got me a present that I didn’t even know existed....

Tank-balling! Basically you take a 4 tonne Trojan (or Bulldog, depends where you are from) armoured personnel carrier, mount a 40 millimetre compressed gas cannon turret which fires ping pong balls filled with water based paint and put over enthusiastic civilians in it.

This was one of the best days out I have ever had. The Place was Armourgeddon and included a tankballing arena, a tank driving track, some small arms and archery stuff as well as regular paintballing. They also had a rather sweet collection of armoured vehicles ranging from a WW2 Sexton (which they were about to restore), to a Humber Pig (which was used extensively in Northern Ireland during the troubles). They even had a T-55.

From a modelling point of view it was really great to see these vehicles up close. I got lots of inspiration from the day at Armourgeddon and a huge insight into how an armoured vehicle works. Before I honestly had very little knowledge on anything but the aesthetics. Now I have a better appreciation for how they move, how they feel, what a crew goes through and how little of the outside world you really can see.

For the Tank-balling Battle, I was in the loader position and I saw nothing of the battlefield, I had a periscope, but didn’t have time to use it as I frantically loaded, charged and fired the weapon.

Here are a few pictures of the museum tanks, unfortunately, the camera which had all the pictures of me in the tank was taken back to Ireland with my family, so I will get them uploaded later on in the month. I must say though, I do look incredibly silly in the Tank helmet.

Quad 50cal- Just so cool!

I Love these bull bars. I think my half tracks are going to get these as an upgrade!

Id really like to build some of these amphibious vehicles for my guard. I think they look amazing and I have always wanted to try a beach landing game!

The sexton- This was rather a lovely old girl, despite her condition, and I said I would come back when they had restored it. Id love to see this when its fixed up.

The mighty T-55. This thing was quite huge!

I have loads more pictures, but most might seem a little boring (close up on road wheels and rivet types anyone?!?). I haven't even posted pics of the artillery or Small arms they had on display either, but I think I will put these on my photobucket another time and link across to save some space.

Bitz and Bobz

2011-07-31T16:13:00.000+01:00

With the Assault on Arkham tournament only around the corner, my list has been submitted. There are a few units I still have to finish off before next Saturday. Namely...

1 Vendetta
1 Infantry Squad with Auto cannon
2 Hydra Flak Tanks
and 1 Melta gunner model to round off my third melta vets squad.

Most of the components are at home, so work will have to start in earnest tomorrow. However here's a few snaps of what I have managed in the mean time. I got started today with what I could, namely some scratch building.

This is the beginnings of a Auto cannon team, based off the work of Le Mediko over on Work In Progress and the Warseer forums. His guard army is very inspiring, and I have been dying to have a go at one of his impressive weapon platforms for a while. Once I get home and can measure it up against the autocannon, this project should be wound up in no time.

The most time consuming unit I will have to undertake this week will undoubtedly be the Hydra flak tanks. Luckily I have had the time this week to build up most of the plasticard components, so it should just be a matter of getting home and sticking them all on the Ork Trukk chassis. Still haven't managed to tackle the gun shields yet, which could cost me a few sleepless nights this week.

Here is a selection of what I have done (the most interesting bitz anyway, the rest is mostly just rectangles and squares).

3d modelling- Help or Hindrance

2011-07-28T14:05:00.000+01:00

If you have followed my blog or been on warseer.com or 40konline.com regularly, you will undoubtedly recognise this vehicle. Well below is my original sketched drawing and a 3d Mockup done on Googles freeware Sketch up.

Previously I have failed to see the benefit of 3d modelling to the scratch builder. So many times I have seen great hobbyists design a wondrously detailed project and rendered it in glorious 3d, only for the actual model never to get made.

It was often my opinion that instead of spending all that time slaving in front of a computer monitor that these great hobbyists could be sitting in a polystyrene cement fume fuelled orgy of plasticard, hammering out the real thing.

Recently however, I have become increasingly interested in open source software. There are some brilliant free packages out there. My personal favourites include Paint.Net, audition and even BattleScribe free roster software.

Only a week ago I rediscovered Google sketchup and I have to say, after trying it out, I think its rather brilliant. Compared to my original pencil and paper drawings, it has given me an exact scale copy which I can spin around, Measure exactly and tweak and shape the design in an instant.

My original drawings for my Hoplite Sentinel

A Practice on Google Sketchup

There are limitations of coarse...Detail takes quite a bit of time. Im sure this will speed up as I get used to the package, but for the moment at least the front light alone took me about 30mins to figure out and get right.

I have yet found a way where I can break apart and stick the pieces back together, something that as a scratchbuilder would be infinately useful.

And finally (as with real scratchbuilding) Curves are difficult to get right.

That said, as a basic and (relatively) easy to use package, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. In uture I think I will producing basic rough designs using this package.

Heres a few more pictures of the design. Still some details to work on...

1750 Guard list- Another possible list for Arkham Tournament (Mech!!!)

2011-07-24T14:08:00.000+01:00

A veteran squad advances with a squadron of cargo-8 troop carriers.

After listening to some advice (thanks Oink) and crunching the numbers, I have come to appreciate that doubling my number of vendettas, whilst fun, may not double my effectiveness.

I have decided to try out a slightly different list, bringing to the field an extra squad of melta vets and giving my objective campers a bit more fire-power with some points I had left over. Any advice would be well received, as this list isn't finalised yet. I have until next Saturday (30th July 2011) to submit the list for the tournament.

So here it is...

5th "Supply" Company, 32nd Vastadtian Fusiliers "Emperors Own"

Company command squad
2 meltaguns
1 laspistol and CCW
1Lasgun
company commander- plasma pistol and CCW

Officer of the Fleet

Mounted in Chimera

Blue Platoon

Platoon command squad

4 flamers

Lt. Laspistol + CCW (in Vendetta)

Blue 1- Infantry Squad- Flamer (in Vendetta)
Blue 2- Infantry Squad- Autocannon (in Chimera)
Special weapons squad -3 flamers(in Vendetta)

Veteran squad
Shotguns
3 meltaguns
(in Chimera)

Veteran squad
lasguns
3 meltaguns
(in Chimera)

Veteran squad
lasguns
3 meltaguns
(in Chimera)

Eagle 1 (codename- 'Ave a Go Annie) - Vendetta

Eagle 2 (codename- Big Bang Betty) - Vendetta

Eagle 3 (codename- Charming Charlie) - Vendetta

AA Battery 1- 2xHydra

AA Battery 2- 2xHydra

Vastadtian Special Rocket Detachment- Manticore Missile Launcher

1750 pts

Warhound Titan Early WIP

2011-07-22T16:54:00.000+01:00

I have had this project lying around from late 2009. But I had since shelved it in order to make my Imperial Guard force fit the current codex.

I recently re-discovered how far I'd got along and thought it a shame that these bitz have been kicking around gathering dust for close to 2 years. I also came across the right diameter of piping I need for the ankle, knee and hip joints, so I am all set to finish this project off over the coming months at home.

That's it for now. I will be posting up my final list for Assault on Arkham soon!

Scratch Built Manticore- Painted

2011-07-16T21:36:00.000+01:00

I was just having a look around the blog and realised I have yet to post up any finished pictures of my manticore. I am pleased with how this build went, although I do think the paint job was a little rushed so that I could be ready for q-con in time. I don't think I will have time to touch the paintwork up before Assault on Arkham, as I still have two complete hydras and a vendetta to complete for then.

During Q-con I found the manticore a little unpredictable, however I had been using it slightly wrong as I hadn't realised that it can minus its BS from the scatter if the target is in Line of Sight.

Despite this it did prove to be utterly devastating, and quite frequently I used it as an excellent diversion. A great unit I will definitely be keeping in the list.

I am particularly pleased with how well these two vehicles sit side by side, as they where created using the same sort of principles.

Still have to update pictures of the hardened veterans, but unfortunately I left these at home in Ireland, so they may need to wait until I go back in august.

1750 Guard list- possible list for Arkham Tournament (Mech!!!)

2011-07-12T13:30:00.000+01:00

5th "Supply" Company, 32nd Vastadtian Fusilleers "Emperors Own"

Company command squad
2 meltaguns
1 laspistol and CCW
1Lasgun
company commander- laspistol and CCW

Officer of the Fleet

Mounted in Chimera

Blue Platoon

Platoon command squad

4 flamers

Lt. laspistol+CCW (in Vendetta)

Blue 1- Infantry Squad- Flamer (in Vendetta)
Blue 2- Infantry Squad (in Chimera)

Veteran squad
Shotguns
3 meltaguns
(in Chimera)

Veteran squad
lasguns
3 meltaguns
(in Chimera)

Special weapons squad -3 flamers(in Vendetta)

Eagle 1 (codename- 'Ave a Go Annie)- Vendetta

Eagle 2 (codename- Big Bang Betty)- Vendetta

Eagle 3 (codename- Charming Charlie)

Eagle 4 (codename- Dainty Debra)

AA Battery 1- 2xHydra

AA Battery 2- 2xHydra

Vastadtian Special Rocket Detachment- Manticore Missile Launcher

1750 pts

This list has a serious amount of heavy fire, my only concern is making sure I have some troops left when the transports get popped. I know four vendettas is a push, but the fire power is very much welcome. Any ideas let me know!

Vendettas- 2 down 1 to go

2011-07-11T12:56:00.000+01:00

Well another one of the units that I have only recently fully tested at q-con is the vendetta. This has turned very quickly into one of my favourites. Ive built two now, and for the tournament at Arkham gaming centre next month, I'm planning to squeeze in another one.

During the game the Vendetta offers a massive amount of flexibility. The triple lascannon do tend to make them reasonably static, however if your lucky enough to have one alive late in game then they are great at grabbing or contesting that last minute objective.

There is also some debate over the best choice of unit to mount inside. A lot of people seem to be leaning towards melta vets. I personally like to keep my vets in chimeras and mount either special weapons squads, infantry squads or even a penal legion squad in them. My main reason for this is that it with no firepoints, my meltavets would have to get out to be effective, whereas, with a cheap squad inside them, I am enabling the vendetta to effectively become a scoring unit.

As for the conversion, if you have six spare lascannons lying around, then it is very simple to convert. I will do a small tutorial when I build my next one.

Im just writing up a provisional list for arkham, so I will upload it when its done.

converted troop trucks completed pictures

2011-07-05T00:44:00.000+01:00

Well my ambitious 3 at once attempt at the troop trucks was completed just in time for q-con. Luckily I managed to get them, the manticore, another vendetta and the veterans converted and painted in time for q-con. I was very lucky to walk away with best painted army, despite some excellent competition. heres some pics of the troop trucks, i will try to get more pictures of the other models up soon, aswell as a group shot to show how the army is progressing.

There is still a bit of detail to go on these. I still want to create a series of dioramas to mount in the troop bays, like i did with the first one, but for now they are at least game worthy.

With the prize of a 70 pound voucher for replay games shop in bangor, I was able to purchase another two ork trucks and two aegis defence boxes, so I plan on getting another two hydras converted soon, ready in time for another tournament in august.

scratch built manticore

2011-06-18T00:46:00.000+01:00

With the poor light and the veterans and truck pictures I took earlier coming out blurry, I thought I would show you what Ive spent this evening working on. I didnt want my manticore to be too different from the GW model, but I wanted to stay away from a tank and keep it more armoured car. I seen some cool flatbed trucks, but that required a spare trukk chassis i dont have and I fancied working on something a little different for now. Heres some WIP pics to show how the build has gone so far. Just waiting on the last couple of wheels to cure from the casting process.

So a longbodied version of the armoured car, I might use this style of chassis to produce some hellhounds further on down the line, aswell as some other forgeworld variant vehicles, possibly a trojan?!

More soon!!!

Guard troop truck and converted veterans

2011-06-14T16:58:00.000+01:00

Well with my exams over and Q-con fast approaching (25.6.11) I will probably be updating progress thick and fast over the coming week or two.

With the list all but finalised I have got a fair amount to do, finishing off the trucks, the veterans squads, the battle psykers, the manticore and the two vendettas. But as luck would have it, I have a whole week to concentrate on tying up these loose ends.

First up, heres the progress on the trucks. I would like to add some more detail in the rear but with time limited I will be doing this after the tournement. Just got to get the tracks on and they are ready for painting.

Heres the truck commanders. I like to think of this guy below as the section commander, leading the logistics section of the troop trucks. Thats why he's got the peak cap and the map!

Ive had this guy below for ages. Only just got round to fitting him in somewhere. I gave him a set of cut down tank commander legs and he fitted like a glove.

This gunner is just a hodge podge of bitz really. I plan on giving him some rolled up sleaves.

As you can see these trucks have been equipt with heavy flamers rather than heavy bolters. Ive taken these from the sentinel sprue.

With stowage bits running short, ive had a good old rummage in my bitz boxes. I found some cracking parts from the old metal scout bikers, below one of the saddle bags is slung onto the side of the bonnet.

Also I have started work on the two veteran squads. One of these squads will have shotguns and one will have lasguns. Heres a couple of examples.

Thats all for now. I better get back to the workface and churn out some more veterans. Again apologies for the pics quality. Still saving for a new camera!

converted penal legion- painting begins

2011-06-02T22:03:00.001+01:00

With Q-Con fast approaching and my last exam this monday, its time to start cranking out the imperial guard. With the last bits of detail on the command squad done and the penal legion advancing, its starting to feel like im getting somewhere with the army.

Heres a few pics of the penaln legion as they stand. again apologies for the poor pics, lighting wasnt great today and my camera is slowly dying. I have begun saving for a new one, but will have to hang on for a while yet.

Boyz gotz stylez

2011-05-16T14:13:00.000+01:00

Well this thing has been doing the rounds, and I have to admit I was quite proud when I received a nod from Col. Gravis (Rob @ Col. Gravis Praetorian Imperial Guard).

Check out his blog HERE

So I thought I would just drum up a little post, firstly to say thank you, both to Rob and to everyone else who takes the time to view and comment on my little blog.

Then to cover the conditions for the award, which are...

- Thank and link back to the person giving you the award
- Share seven things about yourself
- Select some blogs who you think deserve this award
- Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award

Seven things about me-

1. I am a student currently finishing up my degree in events management and performance new media.

2. I write and perform in a comedy show in Belfast N. Ireland called Friday Night Therapy.

3. My first army for 40k was (surprise Surprise) Ultramarines, although I am a massive Guard Nut!

4. I work for a catering company when I am at home, and in a kids indoor play area when I am at uni in Chester.

5. I was adopted at birth and haven't got round to finding my birth family, although, I would very much like to meet them.

6. Im looking forward to moving home to Ireland, although there is still a lot of fun to be had in the next month.

7. I want to do an Ultramarines first company army based on the Deathwing list soon.

As for the bloggers that I want to nominate, most have already been nominated, and posted regarding the award, included are, klaus at Die Greci, Rob at Col. Gravis' Pretorian Blog, Ron at FTW, Dave Taylor at Dave Taylor Miniatures.

There are a couple I would like to reccommend, including Tom at Unite All Action and http://mikesmuddleofmodels.blogspot.com

Both these guys are very good friends of mine and produce top class miniatures.

Well thats enough talk for now, next time I will be back to the pictures.

1500pt Mech Guard list and Penal Legion Conversions

2011-05-14T22:39:00.000+01:00

I have been finalising my list over the last week, So far this is the list I will be building for the supply company. I wanted it to have some decent man power, have the feel of a convoy moving up the line, have a bit of top cover to protect it from aerial attack and be quite an effective all round mech list.

5th "Supply" Company, 32nd Vastadtian Fusilleers "Emperors Own".

Squad Eklan- Company command squad
2 meltaguns
1 laspistol and CCW
1Lasgun
Major Eklan (company commander)- Plasma pistol
Mounted in Chimera

Blue Platoon

Squad Hindt- Platoon command squad
1 flamer
3 Grenade launchers
Lt. Hindt- laspistol+CCW
Mounted in Chimera

Blue 1- Infantry Squad- Flamer (in Vendetta)
Blue 2- Infantry Squad- Flamer (in Chimera)

Squad McPherson- Veteran squad
Shotguns
3 meltaguns
(in Chimera)

Squad Loklan -Veteran squad
lasguns
3 meltaguns
(in Chimera)

Penal detatchment 009
Penal squad- (in Vendetta)

Eagle 1 (codename- 'Ave a Go Annie)- Vendetta
Eagle 2 (codename- Big Bang Betty)- Vendetta

Battle Pskyers Squad- Authorised under Overseer Doksain
6 Battle Pyskers (in Chimera)

AA Battery 1- 1st Gun- Righteous Vengeance (Hydra Flak Tank)
AA Battery 1- 2nd Gun- Furious Anger (Hydra Flak Tank)

Vastadtian Special Rocket Detachment- Manticore Missile Launcher

As you can see, I have decided to include a squad of penal troopers. Whilst not a great tournament choice, I feel they would be great fun and will provide a nice bit of colour for the force, as I intend to paint them in orange prison outfits.

I wanted the squad to look like they had been taken from the stockade, given a lasgun and pushed forward (I love the picture of them beside their entry on the codex).

I was considering the Idea of them being from RIP (retraining, Induction, Punishment) detail (see Gaunts Ghosts- Armour of contempt). I may still introduce this later on, but for now they are straight up bone fide criminals!

Heres a few quick snaps of the conversions so far. Still two team members to go.

The Brave Custodian- With shaeffers head and the forgeworld officer body he is drawing his pistol to threaten the no good scum bags to serve the Emperor..or Else.

My personal favourite. I converted this guy to represent the knife fighters special rule. I think he looks quite psychotic enough to be in the penal squad.

The old boys of the squad, i wanted these guys to look a bit worn. I have used the odd zombie head and even an empire free company head.

More troop trucks- and Hoard O'Bits Review

2011-05-10T14:19:00.000+01:00

Well as the title suggests, there are more supply convoy troop trucks being built. This time I will be batch producing three in a row. Its amazing how much time this has saved me already. Its taken about three evenings of work to get to this point with all three trucks, which is about the same time as it would take with just one. I am hoping to have the main build finished before GW Vets Night this Thursday at GW Chester.

And as promised a review of Hoard O'Bits- a marvelous shop I found on EBay. I have received another fantastic bits order from the guys at Hoard O'Bits. I have purchased from them many times and this morning just received my latest order. They are based in the US, but have always delivered to me promptly. Also, the packing is excellent, and all the parts are supplied in individual bags and sent in a neat little perspex case. They also sell from their own website now Here, but I have only used the EBay shop.

Here's a couple of pictures of my latest purchases which include- (4 Empire wizard bodies, 20 Cadian torsos, a sentinel heavy flamer and 18 Empire wizard arms- all of which came in at around $30/£20)

Pretorian Troop Truck- Build Complete!

2011-05-08T14:45:00.000+01:00

Well as it says on the tin... The pretorian troop truck is complete and will be dispatched to its new owner tomorrow morning. I hope he's happy with the finished product. Im very pleased with how solid this vehicle looks. I think it will fit with the theme nicely! Heres the pics....

Magnets and New Toys!

2011-05-04T08:22:00.000+01:00

Well here are two more trukks to go with the one I already have. These will be built into chimera stand ins like these LINKY!

Three more will give me enough for my 1000 pt list, however I will need two more on top of that to bring me up to 1500.

I have also replaced the broken hinge of the Hydra crew cab door with magnets. I had been given some little rare earth magnets by a friend about a year ago, and only just nfound them again, so I put them to some good use. Its very handy, and quite sturdy too.

Still needs a little paint, but otherwise Im pretty pleased with how they work. May have to get a few more and get magnetizing!

Company Command Squad

2011-04-29T20:32:00.001+01:00

With a few days off, and while still struggling for inspiration for the knights heraldry I decided to get the company command squad painted. Included is a company commander based off the old cadian lt., a master of ordnance based off the old griffon mortar and some meltagunners from the old command squad metal boxed set. I used a mix of the cadian and catachan command sprue to make a standard bearer. Paint wise, there is still some detail work to go, but Im quite pleased with the results so far. Im really enjoying the swamp turf I started using on the knights, so I added some to these models.

After messing around with vehicles for almost a whole year its really nice to get back to painting infantry again. Hopefully this bug will hold until I get a platoon and some veterans done.

Still to finish off the banner here. was possibly going to use a white and blue colour scheme as 3rd company uses white and red, and 4th company uses white and yellow.

The squad arrayed beside their transport.

Well with this unit nearing completion and my knights underway, Im almost ready to start a new hobby to do list. May have to treat myself to a special purchase for doing most of the current list.

Army Painter Swamp Tufts 6mm- Product review

2011-04-27T18:42:00.000+01:00

Well, whilst working on my knights I have been experimenting with a product i picked up a few months ago. As a basing tool the Army Painter Battlefields range is very good. I had admired the range for a while, but only managed to get my hands on it from a local stockist recently.

This was my first use of the swamp tufts and is surprisingly very easy to use. I thought it might be quite fiddly and expected the glue holding the tufts together to disintegrate, but the held up quite nicely and took a bit of punishment whilst I was moving them into place. Heres a few sample pictures...

If anything my only complaint is that they make the GW static grass look a little unrealistic, which means I may have a bit more work to do before I can call the knights bases finished.

All in all I strongly reccomend this product to people who want a little bit of static grass on an otherwise rock base.

In relation to the knights, Im pleased with how they are progressing. Still have a few more details to work out on the horses, such as heraldry on the barding and the gold icons, but I have managed to stay away from metallic paints so far, so I'm very pleased.

Centaur stand in painted

2011-04-25T21:57:00.002+01:00

After getting a little frustrated with the knights of the realm, I took a little time out to do a nice quick and simple unit, so that I could keep moving along with my hobby to do list. So here it is, the centaur stand in and trailer. This vehicle is basically a long bodied version of the Hoplite weapons carrier (see the hoplite label) and at the moment the only thing its missing is a name for such a varient. If anyone has any ideas, I would be greatful to hear them.

So my hobby to do list currently stands as follows:

~~Centaur stand in~~
Knights of the realm- Horses completed, still need heraldry and riders.
5th company command squad

Once I finish off the knights I will have a few more units to add to my list, currently sitting on the sidelines are more valkyries, a psyker battle squad, pegasus knights and a new veteran squad, but i think i will finish this list off before writing a new one.

Painted forgeworld valkyrie/vendetta

2011-04-24T10:59:00.000+01:00

I have taken some time off the blog over the last few weeks. I had to go home to ireland for ten days and it was jades birthday so spent some time this week with her and her family. While I was at home I grabbed a couple of snaps of my vendetta which was made using some plastic cadian lacannon heavy weapons and a severly banged up forgeworld resin valkyrie I have had for years.

When I had painted it up i had toyed with the idea of a black hawk down style force, although without using black as the main scheme for the vehicles. This lead me to installing two master snipers instead of heavy bolter door gunners. Its still an idea I might like to come back to, but for now I'll just post up some pics and leave it to rest a little while longer.

I will post up a simple tutorial about the vendetta gun conversions soon as they are quite simple.

Still working on the knights at the moment. Just finishing the horses, so wil post some pics of these up soon.

Centaur stand In

2011-04-04T13:53:00.002+01:00

This is an old model I built about three years ago but never managed to get painted, so I will be adding this to my to do list. The Centaur stand in is basically a lengthened version of my Hoplite tankette which I use as a sentinel stand in. Hopefully get this painted up soon.

The to do list now looks like this...

5th company command squad
Bretonnian Knights of the Realm
40th corps Centaur and trailer

40th Corps Advisors-one more off the list!

2011-03-30T21:17:00.000+01:00

My to do list is coming along well. I have completed the Praetorian troop truck (final pictures will be up soon) and I celebrated by breaking out the paints for the 40th Corps Advisor project I've been working on for (Shock Horror) nearly a year. Above you can see the Officer of the fleet and the Commissar I will be dispatching to many members of the 40konline.com Imperial Guard forum. This is my favourite online Guard forum. The whole community are fantastic and the site is well ordered.

Please check it out HERE. New recruits are always welcome. Onto the other pics...

The 40th Corps is the name of the online chain of command over on the 40konline.com Guard forum. All the officers (senior members) are organised into a chain of command at brigade, divisional and Corps levels. It adds real depth and sense of ownership to the community and is certainly open to anyone who posts regularly and well. It used to be a bit elitist, but all that has changed and there is very much a spirit of camaraderie.

I'm really pleased with how the models turned out, glad to get them finished, and I hope the Guys on the forum like them too!

Finally, here is how the to do list stands now...

~~Praetorian troop truck~~
~~Hydras~~
~~40th Corps Advisors~~
5th company command squad
Bretonnian Knights of the Realm

Three down, two to go!

Levers and handles!

2011-03-25T23:02:00.001Z

Mr. Esty asked me recently how the levers and handles I use for my trucks are built. Above is an example of the type of hatch which i will make in this tutorial.

Its a very simple tutorial and uses up lots of off cuts of plasticard, so its usefull if you have some scraps lying around. I cant throw any plasticard out, much to my families dismay!

So first here is the list of tools and materials i used.

1 sharp craft knife, 1 pair of pliers with wire stripping cababilities, 1 pencil, 1 file, revel proffessional polystrene cement (its very accurate for this kind of detail), 1 pair of clippers, super glue, a metal ruler, a wet and dry pad, some thin rod (1mm and .5mm diameter), an offcut of plasticard and a paperclip. Not pictured is a pin vice, you will also need one of those, I just couldnt find mine when I took the snap.

I started by ruling out the shape I needed for the hatch on the offcut of plasticard.

Then I simply cut it out, and with a file rounded the edges. I also used the wet and dry pad to make it extra smooth.

Then I measured the plastic rod up to make a hinge where the hatch would be attached from.

As you can see I did this by putting the thin rod close to the hatch and simply guessing how long I would need the hinge and how much rod I would need. It also helps to tape or bluetack the rod down whilst making the marks, making the process a bit less fiddly.

Next I simply cut a groove into the back of the hatch for the rod to fit.

And glued it in place

As you can see above I have drawn where I want the opening lever to go. Now onto building the lever...

Firts up, I grab another scrap of Plasticard with a straight edge. This doesnt need to be a big pice, just enough to cut a very thin strip, about 1mm thick from.

Then I take the thin offcut and hold it at then ends between my finger and thumb.

I then roll it back and forth until there is a natural curve in the middle which is retained when I let go. Nothing very precise about this action as you can see

Then I simply cut out as much of the curved area as I need, hoever keep the other offcuts close at hand as they will be used.

Its just a matter of gluing the curved bit into place in the corner of the hatch.

Then simply add the two offcuts on either side of the curved bit, pointing straight towards the centre. These may need cut down, depending on how long they are, they usually need to be about 3 mm or so.

Now we begin work on the actual lever itself. This is done using the two thicknesses of rod.

You will need to cut two section of the 1m diameter rod. one to the length of about 3 or 4mm. The other only about 0.5mm (like a rivet)

Then cut 5 lengths of the .5mm diameter rod. One around 2 or 3mm, the rest about 0.5mm (to be used as rivets.

We then glue these into place. Starting with the long section of 1mm rod. This goes into the top left hand corner of the semicircle as so...

Then we add the longest section of 0.5mm rod directly on the bottom of this. (apologies for the pictures, my camera screen is cracked and its a bit difficult to tell wether the macro is on or not.)

Then we add the 1mm rod rivet directly below the thin rod. As a rough guide this should be around halfway across the hatch.

The four final rivets are simply added to the four corners of the hatch.

Then we move onto the handle at the front of the hatch. We take the paperclip and bend it out straight.

Then we strip a good portion of the plastic coating off the wire.

and then we bend a small U shape in the paperclip.

After this is clipped off, lay it down beside were you would like it to be positioned and make two pencil marks where you would like the holes. Then simply drill the holes with a pin vice.

I would usually drop it into place and glue the handle in place from the underneath, using super glue.

And Voila. One completed hatch. I have previously used green stuff to produce the rods needed, and this works quite well...

...As demonstrated on the truck above

I hope this has been useful, I find this process quite fulfilling as it is usually done after all the major bodywork has been done to a model, and this detail just makes the vehicles come alive. If anyone has any other ideas, I would love to hear them too!

Hydra heavy bolter crewmen completed.

2011-03-22T18:24:00.000Z

Well the hydras take one step closer to completion. The heavy bolter gunners are finished. Just the main gunner and commander of each vehicle to finish now.

Heres some updated pics of the hydras as they stand.

More pictures of these can be found under the hydras label.

Cant decide what to finish next. I think Im might get the 40th corps advisors out of the way and then crack on with the knights, leaving just the company command squad. Ive also got a few tutorials coming in the next few weeks.

Pretorian troop truck, almost done!

2011-03-19T16:30:00.000Z

Well the troop truck is almost finished and ready to be sent off. Just got to attatch the wheels and track components and its ready to go. I'll be sad to see this go, but its been a great (if lengthy) build.

The weapons are to be mounted by the new owner, so Ive left room for them in the open weapon port at the front and on top of the roof.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh! Unite all Action has arrived!

2011-03-08T21:32:00.000Z

A few posts ago, I included some pictures of my friends. Well one of these friends, and also my most hated tabletop adversary, Tom, has started up a blog of his own.

Unite All Action's (Tom's) Blog!

Expect to see many Greenskins in this blog, alongside some amazing terrain (including a massive Ork Fort, and a rather spectacular Bloodbowl pitch).

Enjoy!!!

details, mere details...

2011-03-03T11:00:00.001Z

Well I have been using the pretorian truck to give me a diversion from essay writing. So far, Ive done a bit more work on the tracks. Still a long way to go here though, and Ive begun detail work. For now Ive roughly penciled on the detail im going to be building.

As you can see in the pictures below there are a couple of choices of grill, but in the end, the true owner went for the grill above. Good choice, I think it fits well with the theme.

Thats all for now. Hopefully have more done very soon. Also, 40konline have just posted an artillery competition. sounds like perfect time to get my hydras finished off. Good incentives to get this vehicle and my hydras finished in time.
More very soon!

All Knight Long

2011-02-28T13:03:00.002Z

I know I know, enough of the bad knight puns, but thinking up titles can be tricky.

Anyway, I have managed to finally finish the 9 man Knights of the Realm unit and they are ready to go for painting. Heres some update pics of the knights ready to be sprayed.

Im very pleased with the bases in particular, but to get the horses to fit together, I had to reposition the odd tail.
However, these will now have to be put on hold as I am hoping to get the Pretorian troop truck finished off before the end of the week. Its taken me way too long already. Its a tall ask, but if I am careful with my uni work this weekend I should get a decent amount of hobby time.

I was sent these tracks to try and get some inspiraton for the rear track units, and I have to say, they are quite nice pieces. The resin is stong and its a quite nicely put together bit, just a shame they didnt fit the troop tuck.

Ive started to build the road wheels. I will be using two large road wheels cut from lengths of plastic tube, filled with modelling putty and then layered over the top with plasticard and greenstuff details. So far I have only just started. filling the tube with putty. once this is done, I will start building the detail on the road wheels and the tracks built around them. Plenty more work to do.

More very soon!

40th Corps Vehicle Scheme

2011-02-18T15:56:00.000Z

Well, this is my final tutorial for now. I have a few more I want to post up at a later date, namely shotgun tutorials, hotshot lasgun tutorials and the Hydra gun shield tutorial and templates, but those will have to wait, at least until I get some more uni work and a few of my WIP units awaiting completion.

Heres a pic of what the vehicle will look like

First off I started with a demolisher sprayed black

For the best examples I'll use the flank pics... like so

Then I dry brushed on a heavy layer of shadow grey. Its important at this level that the drybrushing is quite smooth and even. Dont worry too much if it gets into the recesses becuase this will prevent the shading looking too stark.

should look quite blue at this point.

Then I drybrushed on codex grey. Again making sure that the drybrushing was even. I paint the turret un attached but you may find that the colour is more even when you paint it together.

And finally I added a slightly lighter drybrush of Fortress grey. The fortress grey was worked into the higher points of the tanks so that lower parts like the track beds stayed quite heavily in shadow. Like so...

Anywhoo... Time to add some blue. Ive done this by inorperating Imperial armour inspired stripes on the hull.

I added these stripes like so.

As you can see they arent very neat. This process isnt hard because neatness is not as important as you might think! Simply layer the lines until you are happy and then fill them in! I started with a base coat of regal blue.
Voila

Then I jumped straight to enchanted blue. This time I just stayed inside the line of the regal blue to give a natuarlly dark boundery between the colours. I just drybrushed the colour on in a straight line.

Then I just added a little bit of white to the enchanted blue. You could use simply a lighter blue, like ultramarines blue or lightning bolt blue (Im not sure if they still produce this one actually). I didnt have a lighter blue. Doh!

Then again just added a little more white to the enchanted blue to create the top highlight colour, I drybrushed this on quite lightly. Always remember to keep that dark edge as this is what make the line look straight even if it isnt really!

Then I applied a layer of heavily watered down blue ink. Make sure its watered down at least 3:1 or it will spoil youre highlights!

And heres how the whole tank looks at the moment

As you can see I added some blue to the turret in the same fasion. The turret follows precisely the same principles.
OK.next up. Tracks and other metal parts and the white stripes.

Basically to start with I covered all the metal parts in a layer of tin bitz. No real style to this I simply slapped it on. This will give the metal a worn burnished iron look.

Then, mix a of black and bolgun metal simply drybrushed over the top. You can pick out some of the rased areas with a light layer of bolgun metal, but generally I like to keep my metals quite dulled down. Its all personally preferance on that matter!

Well thats the metall done. Nice and quick. The white. Started off simply by layering on a heavy coat of codex grey.

Then a good drybrush of fortress grey.

It starts to get technical here as the drybrushing needs to be quite light as you add more white into the fortress grey (Probably about a equal mix of white to start out with). You should end up with something like...

Then the final highlight of white. To add this layer, simply water down the white, and make small verticle lines withthe brush until you acheive an even looking white.

Well thats what Ive got done so far and heres how we are looking!

The weapons. As with the infantry I went for green weapon casing and metalic muzzles. I basically painted it all catachan green and the line highlighted them with goblin green. This is the gun with the highlights and all (was in a hurry and deleted the before/ after shot. Doh!)

Then I simply painted the aquilas codex grey and highlighted them white and also neatly painted the barrels boltgun metal.

Then I started work on the weathering. My favourite bit. I've started to look into pigments and other types of weathering, but this is so far my favourite simple weathering technique.
This is a shot with no weathering

I lined in the creases and edges with brown ink first of all to give it that oily look.

Then around the outskirts of the brown ink line, I added a line of orange ink which I wiped away with a tissue so it would only leave a thin ressidue. To finish it off I also ran a little bit of chainmail into the dents in the hull, to show paint and metal sheer. It look like this when done.

And so with a few more details like white aquilas and boltgun metal in the bullet holes, the tank is pretty much done.

Heres some shots of the other vehicles I have used this scheme for.

Well. Thats all for now.

I have a few more knights finished as of last night ready to get undercoated, and want to get cracking on the Pretorian troop truck. I would like to have that vehicle finished by the end of next week and send it off to its new owner.