Air Support

Back to my Dark Angels. I always paint in squads or pairs. This way I always complete an entire unit at a time, or, if one is good, two are better, philosophy. Besides, I would prefer similar vehicles or units to appear uniform. Painting two vehicles at a time gets them out quicker. I paint them at the same time, get a similar effect on both, and usually can complete them faster than working on them one at a time. 

This time I added one of each flyer for the Ravenwing. I painted them similar to the box version with the wing patterns, but the tail section got the changes. 

The cockpit and pilot were painted first, black with a grey dry brushing, as I was feeling lazy. That, and it's very difficult to see inside clearly. Although, all the panels were painted as well. Looking carefully, you can see the panels have some action on them..

As for the aircraft, to start, I just sprayed the aircraft a light grey, Celestra Grey for the Dark Talon and Ulthuan Grey for the Nephilim. For the bomber, I then added a light outline of where I wanted the Lightning effect to be. That was then added with short streaks of white, that's all. The fighter, after the grey was laid down, I then used a very thin spray of fenris grey to get the blue. Afterwards on both, I then masked off the 'feathers' and the painted tail, and covered them in black. One thing I did do more of, was to use the glazes more. The blue on the stasis chamber was a couple layers of the blue glaze. It tended to pool in the crevices and left the center not as dark. The emulations of the box pictures extended to the bomb. Definitely not the same, but you can see the similarities. I will work on this more. 

                                     

The bases required extra effort. To ensure a good bond, I glued the clear stand to the base first. The clear plastic was then covered with tamiya tape and the base was loaded up with debris and sand to my regular standards. With the stands complete covered, the bases were primed black and painted using my regular steps. The stands were still taped up when I hit them with the gloss/matt sprays, then it was removed. The bases still need some static grass of sorts to give it more layers. 

With them complete, I still haven't used them. I'm getting more into the mode of a happy painter than avid gamer. Though when I do play, I know my armies look good!

Leman Russ Punishers

In order to create space in my backlogged inventory, I have been working on the many kits that I have accumulated over the years. I am now working on some Russ kits I got back when Apocalypse came out. GW had a great deal on a three Russ squadron for $100 or so. Sucker me, I picked it up even though I didn't have an Imperia... Astra Militarum army. Anyway, these kits are for other variants that I will post in the near future. What I have finished recently are a pair of Punishers.

Everybody was in to the Executioner with its plasma cannons. I thought the Punisher was getting neglected. Besides what help the Militarum more than multiple shots, besides twin-linked? These have been sitting on my shelves for a couple of years before I grabbed them and put them together.

I went for a bit of Urban camo for these guys. They were primed black as usual, then Mechanicus Standard Grey. I added a touch of a lighter grey and hit the larger plates and sprayed vertical lines down the side for some pre-weathering. I then added some irregular shapes cut out from my Tamiya tape. Administratum Grey was then used. A touch of Pallid flesh (now Wyche Flesh) was added and again hit large open areas and added vertical stripes again, but trying to hit the same stripes I used for the darker grey to enhance the effect. It's difficult to see the result as it's quite subtle. Then decals, base colors, a coat of gloss spray, then the weathering. 

Just as for the Macharius, I followed many of the tips from the Forge World book.

Red-Tailed Mustang

A good friend of mine, who is also a World War Two buff, really likes the North American P-51 Mustang.

 For his birthday, I decided to put one together for him. I gave myself a week to complete it. I haven't done an historic model for some time, so this was a challenge of sorts. I grabbed a Tamiya kit. I always remembered Tamiya to be of high quality way back when. 

First off, it came out pretty good, not knowing. All the yellow and red was airbrushed, along with the green. The kit came with decals for the yellow stripes and red nose, sans propeller. I decided it was best to paint most everything, as trying to match a decal color will most likely not work. The yellow was eyeballed. The red nose, I just cut out the decal and made a stencil with some Tamiya tape.  The tail was taped off also. All the interior work was done by hand, cockpit, wheel wells, etc. I also didn't have a basic Olive drab for the nose. Probably came out too light to be accurate. I probably should have used a brighter/lighter silver, but I'm pleased with the overall result. 

After researching some photos online, I must say the model has some flaws. The kit is more of a beginner package with basic colors listed for the cockpit interior    2-1 yellow-green for example. The landing light inside the wheel well seems quite large too. The landing gear also seemed more fragile than most. 

Decal-wise, the wing insignia had to go over an airspeed indicator on the bottom and a raised slot on the top. I can't say I succeeded with the top, the most visible. I wasn't thinking ahead, didn't realize, and tried to muscle it on there, failed. Fortunately, GW Midnight Blue appears to be a great match for the USAAF insignia blue! The bottom, I knew about and slit the round part about a 1/4" and slid that around the indicator before pressing out the bubbles. I was disappointed it didn't come with kill markings though. 

What I did like was the pre-cut masks for the canopy that was included, bonus! Prevents unnecessary cuts onto the clear plastic. The instructions gave nice diagrams for parts placement and pre-construction painting. It was a nice easy model to assemble. I would rate it 7 out of 10 with 5-6 being average. 

Macharius Vulcan

I am trying to stick to a schedule of completing a unit per week. Since I finished the Dark Vengeance models, I've been focusing on building the items I already have in house. I am sticking to a moratorium of no purchasing until I clean out many of the shelves/boxes I have of unfinished kits. The Macharius Vulcan was ordered a few years ago and has been sitting around sitting in bubble wrap for some time. Since I've gathered more confidence in my weathering abilities, I figured let's go ahead and pop this guy out, and try a few things. 

For the size and detail, the model itself came in just a few pieces with the body being a top and bottom. The sides/tracks were separate parts and the turret was one piece as well. The extra fiddly parts were the twin-linked heavy stubber (three parts), the two exhaust pipes, three pieces for each sponson (flamer or heavy bolter or stubbers), engine cover, two cupola covers, and the extra tracks sitting at the back of the tank. Being resin, there was some warped spots with the stubber a bit crooked (still), and the chassis itself. I soaked the entire body into very hot water and fit it together until it cooled. It went together quite easily afterward. 

I wanted to stick to a basic grey. Using my airbrush, over a black primer, I sprayed Mechanicus Standard Grey, then added a touch of Fortress Grey, then a light flesh color. I tried to follow the steps utilized in the Forge World Masterclass's Earthshaker Emplacement. I then painted basic colors onto any metal parts or items of such, weathered it, and sealed with a gloss coat. An oil wash was then used and dragged down the side of the tank or blended on the horizontal surfaces with a brush using thinner. Since the vehicle was sealed, the original paint is protected from the thinner and the gloss really helps the oil paint to spread freely over the model. 

The main thing to practice with weathering is to do it in layers. Complete a layer, let it dry, then add another layer, and maybe another if desired. A single step of weathering can have a good effect, but if you were to add another and another layer, you then get a more realistic look and feel to the vehicle. Much like I stress the three layer effect of painting, base-shade-highlight, you want to follow multiple layers with vehicles and tanks too. Part of this was accomplished with the lightening of the base colors during the original airbrushing. The sponge effect was used to add paint chips and the weathering with oil paints and pastels over the top of that. 

Finishing a tank of this size and detail to this level really encourages me. I experimented with more weathering. Future floor wax was used to get an oily effect as well. What you really want to accomplish with each kit is to try a new technique or work on a difficult one to push and increase your abilities. With what I gained here, I plan to bring out and build my three Baneblade variants I've been sitting on since not too long after Apocalypse first came out. But first, I have to finish my Command Squads...

Arvus Lighter

I've been dabbling with the idea of FFGs Dark Heresy RPG. If/when I start, I want a flyer to be used for theatrical effect. Unfortunately, Forge World no longer makes the Aquila Lander. This would have gone great with the crashed lander terrain. So I settled for the next best thing, the Arvus Lighter. This is a simple little flyer with no weapons of any kind. It's basically a flying truck. I painted mine up with a bit of dash with arrows on the wings. I also painted up the pilots helmet to resemble my own that I painted this past December. 

I used Astronomicon/Administratum Grey as the base. A drop of white for the panels all over a black primer. Trying to leave the panel lines dark. Charadon Granite/Dryad Bark was sponged on for wear spots. Oil washes was used extensively inside and out. It is so much easier with oil washes to get much if the weathering going. Give it a try at least once.  

On the vehicle, I pretty much had everything pinned, the wings to the engines, engines to the fuselage, fuselage halves together, and rear landing legs to the body. I used large paper clips for the pins, no little ones this time. Overall it went together fairly nice. There was some warped items, but utilizing hot water, I was able to get a desired shape. 

Vindicators

I've had a pair of Vindicators sitting in boxes for a few years. Now that I'm trying to stick to a unit a week, I decided to paint them both up simultaneously. Technically it'll be two units, but I know it's cheating. The two new ones are the plastic kits. I have an original Forgeworld from about ten years ago. So these will make for a Linebreaker Squadron in Apocalypse, if it's still an option. Anyway, here they are.

And for comparison, here is the Forgeworld version. There really aren't many changes. It's mostly a straight port over from resin to plastic.

The only differences are the screen in the back is now deeper, the gun now pivots up/down and the extra armor where the lights sit. Although, my colors are different. Since GW stopped making Dark Angels Green I've moved on to Army Painter's Angel Green that I like quite a bit. Comparison shot

Deathwing

As I was painting up the Dark Vengeance set, I got to thinking of adding to my Dark Angels more.

Now, I have all but a squad of Deathwing Knights and a Command Squad to complete my Deathwing. Currently, I have three complete squads of terminators with two accompanying Landraiders. 

To make the terminators easier, I sprayed them in three layers, a primer of black, a layer of Baneblade Brown at an downward angle, and then a final coat of Ushtabi/bleached bone (of which I have plenty) from a higher angle.

This style of painting allowed for more of a natural shadowing to take place. The next step was a dry brush with Vallejo game color Bonewhite and a final highlight of GW Screaming Skull. I used a brown Micron pen for the crevices   I'm all about the quick and easy way. From there it's just standard gun colors or whatever details added on afterwards. 

The Landraiders were done in a similar fashion as the termies. The only difference is when spraying on the bleached bone, I ensured that I got a good coat on all the big flat spaces, the tops, the panels on the sides, doors. As you use an airbrush, you don not always get a big spray that covers everything like the cans do. It's a much smaller area that can leave for some of the previous layer to show through. This greatly enhances the shadowing effect. These too were dry brushed just like the termies, just no highlighting or use of micron pen. Then a Glosscoat, decals applied, another Glosscoat to seal the decals, then the weathering. Using the sponge effect, I first added a few spots of Vallejo Ivory for superficial chips. I then switched to GW Charadon Granite/Dryad Bark for deeper chips, trying to overlay the previous layer in spots to give depth. Just like the Chimeras, I broke out the oil paints and applied Van Dyke Brown then softened with thinner and pulled the brush down along the sides to give a rusty rain look. 

Oh yeah, the interior was painted completely before construction. 

That gives me about 2000pts in Deathwing alone before adding HQs. Possibly the smallest army you can field outside of Greyknights. 

Mordheim Campaign Starter

I mentioned that I would post some links to assist in running your own Mordheim Campaign. Here are the simple answers, the links:

The Rules for Mordheim
The Mordheimer's Campaign Aid 
Along with tons of other downloads at the same site, here.
And a great Mordheim Forum with which to interact with others at Tom's Boring Mordheim Forum.

Now those are great places to start. There quite a few more that I am sure you can search for and find. The biggest hurdle for everyone when it comes to Mordheim is terrain. If you are lucky and have the money, then you can buy quite a bit from sites on the internet, such as:

4Ground
MBA
WorldWorks Games
Hirst Arts
of course Games Workshop

Other wise you may have to make your own:
TerraGenesis
Works in Progress
Really all you need is some poster board and a good knife. Design some walls, cut them out, glue them down, and paint it up. This is really the best way as you can create some great terrain this way.
Need inspiration? Gidian Gelande and his their Mordheim table...AWESOME!!

You really do not have to go so far at first. Build up your collection over time. Have a building party at your house or your local gaming store. Even better, see if the store would be interested in hosting. What you really want to do is get the rules down, so the games will flow better. Run a few games, get your feet wet, hash out ideas, and think about what extra warbands could be used in a campaign.

The most difficult part is getting other players involved. This is an old game. This is not the latest version of Warmachine or Infinity. The system is very forgiving and it's easy to get started. Just buy a box of generic warriors from what ever race you want to play, and you have most of your starting war band right there. You can split the cost with a friend, as there's usually more than enough for a single band in a box. Admittedly, some of the figures are not as customizable as they used to be. You may have to be creative in modeling a great weapon, a bow, or other bit. Remember you can always substitute or even use Elmer's Poster Tack, found at your local grocery store/office store, to attach other weapons and items with.

A bit of background on my part, I created the first campaign set back in 2003 and have used it several times since. I posted it online at various forums for others to use. There really wasn't anything out there like it then. Each time it gets tweaked a little bit. The Mordheimer's Campaign Aid was the latest version. The biggest change to that was the actual Mordheim map.

This map is much nicer than the one I created. He really did a great job. I searched for old world maps that would be conducive to editing, i.e. quick fixes due to laziness and/or lack of Photoshop ability, and used a map for the city of Arnhem, famous from the Second World War.

Feel free to use any or all of the links provided. Grab some friends and get started. Visit and use Tom's Boring Mordheim Forum. Just be sure to post pictures. We all like to see pictures. Most of all, if you find this post helpful, have questions, or find it to be utter nonsense, let me know.

Ravenwing Stencil

I was painting up some Ravenwing speeders and wanted to do something extra for the flying base. I could add some texture or sand to the base, but Sammael's speeder should have a bit more. So I added the ravenwing symbol to the base.

I found a simple Ravenwing symbol online and added several of them to a word doc and printed out a page. I tested it out by taping it to a plastic top and cut out the shape with a sharp exacto knife. An example can be seen below.

It came out a bit fuzzy as the paint was able to get under the paper. So I then laid down a couple strips of 18mm Tamiya tape onto a ceramic tile and cut the symbol out onto that. I then transferred it to the bottom of the clear base. I could have just as easy used a cutting board instead of the tile. Here you can see what was cut out and tape that was used. 

Spraying the base white first puts the symbol onto the base. As you want to see the symbol coming up through the base, you must do this first. It's opposite of what is normally done, ie. spraying a design into a finished product. The top of the base was masked off and then black was sprayed onto the rest of the base. Give the finished bottom of the base a coat or two of gloss coat to protect it from the scraping it'll receive as it's moved across the tabletop. 

You could do the same for others too such as Battle Fleet Gothic, assault troops, Tau Drones, or anything else using a flying stand. 

Side Tracked

I got a bit off hobby last week. I had a track day planned for Roebling Road in Savannah, GA and wanted to paint up my helmet. I'm tired of the basic black, white, or silver. So, I attempted to paint mine up similar to my car color.

If you ever plan to do this to a helmet, YOU MUST mask everywhere the spray may get to the liner. Else, the spray will eat away the styrofoam liner rendering the helmet useless. 

Starting with my silver Stilo Rally Helmet, I sanded it down, masked off the rubber trim and padding, and primed it white. Letting it sit overnight I then used Tamiya 3/4" masking tape. I lined up three rows and marked it every 3/4" with a vertical line. I very carefully laid each one down onto the helmet, beginning with the middle piece as shown. The Tamiya tape is the savior here. It is just tacky enough to stick, but not too much where it will peel the paint off.

Using a flexible metal ruler, I carefully cut the tape along the vertical lines I made and removed every other piece. After that step, I sprayed it black, added an extra 1/2" piece of tape to the sides and masked it all. 

That is when I proceeded to paint the helmet the main color. Using Tamiyas Racing Blue spray cans, I went through 3 of them to get a thorough coat. 

I let that sit untouched for an hour before removing the centerline of tape that you can see at the top of the helmet above. 

To protect the helmet, I gave it acouple coats of Testors Gloss and then several more coats of Krylon Polyurethane to protect it. Word of caution with the Krylon spray: you must be careful to not let it build up, it must be thin even layers. Otherwise, the colors underneath will yellow. Nice if you want something to look antique, not if you want a sharp white. 

The final outcome. Once I precut the masking tape away from the helmet, there was still some spots where you can see the white primer. This can be fixed with a slight black edging to blend it with the rubber border. I should have done this a month ago, not three days prior. It came out nice and many thought I used a sticker for the checkerboard.

Oh yeah, here's my ride!

Updates: Dark Vengeance

So what have I been doing? I have decided to take it upon myself and completely paint all the models in the Dark Vengeance set. I've been sitting on it since it came out. Here are some quick picks of the results.

I went for the Emperor's Children scheme. The back of the Champion was done with glazes over a white base. An experiment that came out fine. The Chaos forces just have so much detail to them that I really enjoyed painting them... What does that mean for my 'All Imperial' forces?

And with the Dreadnought, I decided to go the hard way and put more skin on it. He's the one that came out the best.

With the Dark Angels, I used the standard Dark Angels Green. I still had a bit left. The Caliban green just isn't right. I even went out and got a quart of what was remaining matched so I can still add onto my force. The only change I made was to use one of my old backpacks for the Sgt. This way I can give him a matching banner stating what squad he is with.

I did have issues withe Terminators in that they do not match what I currently have. The newer ones are lighter. They still came out good, but there is a slight difference when compared to my originals from 2005. The way I did these was with an old can of Bone White then highlighted with Vallejo bone white and ivory. Much easier than, the same spray, wash, repaint, and then highlight. I'm all about the quickest, most effective way to completion.

The Bikes are completed too. Although, I had to add to the three that it came with. I'll post pics of those in the next update.

Mordheim...

So what ever happened to the campaign? Well, it was tight just to get the eight weeks in. Real life interrupted and more important things got in the way. 

It was planned to get another six weeks in. Since then I think we have all met up again three to four times since late July. The overall winner went to the Wolves of Winter, Christina's Middenheimers. So that's that. 

Maybe, this Spring, I will run a Vampire Campaign based on Mordheim rules. The rules can be found here: The Vampire Hunters

The best part is the campaign is cooperative. The GM runs the undead with the players working to defeat the bad guys. 

Soon I will post what I've been up to the last few months. 

Thanks.