Chaos Space Marines: Dark Apostle

This Dark Apostle is basically the Chaos Space Marine equivalent of a Chaplain: the man whose responsibility it is to rile up the troops and get them motivated for WAR!

I really like this model, but it is a perfect example of both the best and worst of Finecast.  On the one hand, some of the details are superb, and the light nature of the medium allow sculptors to include features such as the flowing scrolls; on the other, some of the details and edges get a bit too sharp, and some of the finer points of the model are really brittle. I had to use superglue for repairs on more than one occasion.

Nevertheless, I feel that the finished product is a pleasing one - I just have to be super-careful with storing him, now!

Here are some work-in-progress shots of him, to show how the model came in a number of different pieces.

The scrolls were my favourite part - I spent quite a bit of time doing the detailing using thinned down paints and inks.  Hopefully, I don't break it anytime soon!  He is probably my most fragile model in my whole collection.

Chaos Space Marines: Kharn The Betrayer

Here's Kharn - another one of the named characters in the Chaos Space Marines Codex.  He was quite a lot of fun to paint, although you may notice the slight bendiness of his axe.

Of course, this is once again a result of Games Workshop using a resin that they have trademarked as Finecast.  It can render high-quality detailing, but it is extremely delicate and bends like a bugger if you apply the lightest pressure to it. Bah! The Librarian I did not so long ago really suffered from BFS (Bendy Finecast Syndrome), as did an Eldar Ranger that I shall post on here soon. So annoying...

Chaos Space Marines: Lucius The Eternal

For ages, Lucius sat, unused, in my CSM box - mostly because he looked a bit tricky to paint, and his STUPID Finecast sword had bent in a way that made him look as threatening as a poached egg.

In the end though, I got him out after reading the first few books of the Horus Heresy series - I was inspired by his general bastardness on Istvaan to paint him up.  As part of that though, the sword had to go.  Instead, I carefully subsituted it with a Nemesis Force Falchion, which was about the same length, style and girth.

In the end, I was pretty pleased with the results.  He was tricky, and he took quite a long time... but it was worth it.

Eldar: Ranger

Here's another filthy Xeno! Purge the alien! This Eldar Ranger is one of a small squad of outriders for my Eldar army - designed to observe the enemy and infiltrate behind their lines.

Of course, he's made of bloody Finecast, isn't he?  So, already, his rifle is starting to warp and bend.  The Finecast resin is truly frustrating, and now surely obsolete, given GW's improved plastic casting methods.

I really like the Ranger models... I'm not sure how useful they will be these days, though, considering how many weapons ignore cover. Bah!