A Long Absence...

Crikey! It has been several years since I have touched this blog at all. The demise of Google+ and the rise of easier-to-access and easier-to-be-noticed social media platforms has somewhat put the kibosh upon this particular blog. Until now, I suppose. I'm hoping that perhaps I will just chronicle my ongoing painting ventures here, for posterity, and if anybody sees and/or enjoys it, then well bully for them!

So, what have I been up to since I finished that Razorback? Hmmmm... Well, I re-re-did my Blood Angels, I suppose! Insomuch as I re-based a fair amount of them to 32mm bases. I also added a load of characters to their ranks and even, latterly (because, of course, the previous post PRE-DATES Dark Imperium!) some Primaris Marines! GASP! So let's start with those guys in red...

Dreadnoughts, Troops, Elites, Characters and Vehicles all received some love as a part of my big push to get these guys finished off. My big aim was to get the army generally finished, so that I could pick up units here and there to play with as mini-projects. And I achieved that, I think.

I had a lot of fun with the Blood Angels as a whole. Previously, I had avoided models with overwhelming amounts of detail on them (which is hard with a Blood Angel army), but when I got stuck in it was lots of fun! This, however, was the beginning of my journey into the realms of taking-too-long-with-models land.

I am pretty envious of painters and hobbyists who are able to say "Right! I'm just gonna paint these dudes to a tabletop standard and just razz through them all." My backlog of models is such that I would dearly love to be able to be able to do this - even just to get them to basecoat stage.

I did end up selling off a large portion of the old army that I had. I came to the conclusion that I would never field the army in full, and thus I would never feel the benefit of them. In turn, I used these monies to fund new projects (more on them in posts to come!) and I relieved myself of the burden of an ENORMOUS to-do list.

I ticked off a number of boxes in terms of characters - Librarians, Chaplains, Apothecaries and Captains - so hopefully that will give me a whole range of different options whenever I decide to dust them off and get them onto the tabletop.

Vehicles, as well: my Land Raider, here; some Rhinos/Razorbacks and even my Stormraven and  Drop Pods got shiny new paintjobs! Hurray!

By the end of it, I was able to assemble a whole range of different detachments. A regular Battalion Detachment using the whole Troops and HQ combo, but also a couple of Vanguard Detachments - one to represent my Sternguard and Vanguard Veterans, and another to shine the spotlight on my Death Company.

Speaking of which, I then had the opportunity to paint up this Land Raider Achilles - an item I acquired in a Facebook trade many years ago, and which previously had been painted up as a Thousand Sons tank. Still haven't used it, mind, and this was a couple of years ago, now....

But great fun was had. Conversions were made, experiments were partaken of with painting techniques, new backgrounds were established... It was lots of fun. And this army is probably my finest 40K achievement to date.

For now, though, it lies dormant within the confines of a generously-sized KR Case. All 5000pts of it. Just waiting to be woken from stasis to fight on in the name of the Emperor.

THE EMPEROR PROTECTS!

Blood Angels: Tactical Marines #2

Here are some more Blood Angels Tactical Marines for you, pilfered from the Betrayal At Calth box. As with their predecessors, these chaps are well-weathered and battle-damaged.

The glazed blood drop is the recurring motif for my army, and will be the motif of my Successor Chapter, the Scions Of Sanguinius.

For the Plasma Gun, I used a different technique to usual, and used layers of grey with a Biel-Tan Green wash over them for the power coil. it works pretty well, I think, and complements the lenses on the helmet.

Ditto below with the blood drop motif...

I have taken the time whilst doing up my Tactical Squad to revisit my kitbashed Captain that I did a while ago. I repainted his angel wings black, and made the gold colours bolder and less brassy. Once again, I think it works pretty well, and it ties him in with the grunts.

Previously, the blood drops were purple, as well, so revisiting him allowed me to bring that in line with everything else, as well.

Blood Angels: Tactical Marines

Bonjour! Long time, no see! It has been a long time since I posted anything here, which has been down to a number of different factors - a mini-Primarch, a trip to Japan and Christmas have been the major ones - but I am finally trying to get back into my hobby groove by revamping my Scions Of Sanguinius Second Company.

Whilst the Veterans of the First Company (or some of them, at least) featured last year, and are crisp and shiny, these guys will be a lot more rough around the edges, and will all be encased in venerable MkIV Power Armour (courtesy of the BaC box set and some Blood Angel Upgrade Packs).

I have continued using the Vallejo Fire Red as a base colour, with Citadel Jokaero Orange for highlights. This time, though, I have decided to water down my Agrax Earthshade so that it doesn't overpower the miniature.

I really like the BaC Tactical Marine set. The details are crisp and clear, and the reinforcements on some of the greaves and shoulder pads is reminiscent of the Rogue Trader era stuff. I approve.

For my Second Company, I am going to work on two basic five-man Tactical Squads to start off with, along with their dedicated transports (interchangeable Rhino/Razorbacks), and then pad that out with an Assault Squad and a Devastator Squad to form the spine of a Blooded Demi-Company.

I find that the Blood Angel Upgrade Packs have a LOT of treats in them for the price that they are pitched at. GW are onto a winner with those smaller packs (sub-£10) that allow you to add character to your force. I'd like to see the Space Wolf one.

Because I am integrating these guys into an existing force, I opted to mount them on 25mm bases, rather than 32mm bases. My opinion on the 32mm bases changes from week to week, but I find that 25mm bases are perfectly good enough for Tactical Marines.

I'm using Biel-Tan Green as a spot colour for the lenses on the Marines, which hopefully contrasts nicely with the Fire Red.

Ah! The nostalgia of old, MkIV power packs! These are eerily reminiscent of the power packs that the old plastic Plague Marines used to have.

Here my first two Marines are, in all their MkIV finery.

Space Wolves: Blood Claws Pt.2

RRRRRAAAAARGH! They are complete! The second batch of Blood Claws are now ready for battle, which means that all of my infantry are painted in anticipation of my showdown with the ruinous powers next weekend.

Here is my Wolf Guard Pack Leader, who looks more than a little like Windsor Davies from the Carry On films. Once again - as with my last WGPL, he is brandishing a Power Fist for a bit of added Oomph.

I cobbled this chap together a looooooooong time ago, and I can only assume I was trying to arm him with a Combi-Flamer or somesuch... I will be using him as a Flamer-wielding Blood Claw.

He's quite owlish, I think... His hair reminds me of Night Owl from Watchmen, which is not the coolest look, if truth be told.

Here's a gruff soul, wielding a Plasma Pistol. One of my favourite things about the new Space Wolf Codex is the ability to trick out even the smallest unit with a few special weapons. Blood Claws can swap one of their Bolt Pistols for a Plasma Pistol and still have a Special Weapon (such as a Flamer) in a squad of just five men. It means they can quickly get expensive, but they are a lot more effective.

Cheer up! It might never happen!

Tadaaaaa! Six completed Blood Claws. Now, onto my Venerable Dreadnought and a couple of Drop Pods...

Space Wolves: Blood Claws Pt.1

These guys are being bashed out pretty quickly, as I have an impending battle next week, and I need a small squad of them ready and raring for action. As such, they are a bit rough around the edges.

This particular pack will all have red 'paint' (or blood, read into it what you will) daubed across their eyes, as a mark of brotherhood, and in an attempt to ward off maleficarum.

These three all have the same hair colour, but I shall intersperse the rest of the squad with different colours for variety. It just made batch-painting them somewhat quicker.

By my relatively slow standards, I am whizzing through these Space Wolves, and they have come as a welcome change from the Blood Angels with whom I spent ages adhering to the GW-prescribed method.

This was a Blood Claw model I fashioned whilst the old 5th Edition Codex was still lurking around. Of course, they've jibbed off the Mark Of The Wulfen rule, so now he just looks rather out of place...

His head was part of a set from MaxMini - I'm still not entirely sure whether or not they have crossed the goof rubicon, but I kinda like them.

Three down, three to go...

Space Wolves: Grey Hunter #5

And lo! With my fifth Grey Hunter, I have completed my squad! (I did five last year, so these were just rounding them out). I now have ten Grey Hunters in total, and a Wolf Guard Pack Leader to lead them into battle.

This squad have been fun (and quick) to paint. I'm moving onto some Blood Claws next, inspired by the pace at which I can paint these guys at, to a decent standard.

Here they all are - ready for battle!

Space Wolves: Grey Hunter #4

This is just a brief post, as I power my way through the last couple of Grey Hunters on my list of things-to-do. This grizzled veteran is a common-or-garden Grunter, with a simple, trusty Bolter with which to deliver the Imperium from the threat of Xenos or Maleficarum.

Just one more to do, before I plunge into a small squad of Blood Claws, which will provide me with the necessary two Troops choices that will allow me to field a battle-forged army.

Space Wolves: Grey Hunter #2

Crumbs, it makes a right difference, not having to paint feathers onto things! I've been able to bash this chap out fairly swiftly after the first one, and I am revelling in the smaller amount of detail on these dudes. Unlike regular Tac Marines, they have some nice individual touches, but also unlike my Sternguard, they don't require crazy levels of attention to detail.

Grizzled, white-haired stalwarts are the name of the game in my Grey Hunter squads, so I am trying to steer away from the red hair and youthful exuberance. Instead, composure and judgement shall rule over these guys.

There is some detail to be found in the nooks and crannies of these guys, but it's fairly subtle. Hurray! Onto the next one, as I barrel along...