Battle Force Challenge Update - FAILURE

Yep. I failed. I thought I could finish my all infantry Deathwing force by the end of June. As it turns out, I had really over-committed myself this time. I did however manage to get the majority of it done, and in all fairness this is more than a 1500 point army! I still need to base coat the flesh and gold areas before I can seal them with gloss varnish and attempt to oil wash them. Here are a few photos of where the army is at today. Maybe this weekend I can get the final base coats finished and get my defense line primed.

Group Shot 1 - Knights, Command Squad, & Sargent Terminators

Group Shot 2 - HQ's, Assualt, Shooty, & Magnetized Terminators

Magnetized Weapons - 5 Terminators are magnetized for weapon options

Converted Belial - Same model from my original Ultra-wing army

Converted Librarian & Chaplain

 I also have been buying a few things here and there for future projects. I picked up one of the larger bits bags from Spikey Bits and just before GW stopped allowing bits to be sold I picked up one of the final huge bags from The War Store. Out of both of these purchases I got a complete Land Raider, 3 Chaos Bikers, a Hellbrute, several plasma cannons and lascannons! Definitely these bits bags were worth the money!

WIP: Death Guard Plague Marines

Hey all, back again to show a couple of things I've been working on. There have been rumors and speculation that a few of us here at the Istvaanians will be doing another Tale of Gamers style league soon to get our armies done and some games in. My army of choice at the moment is my all nurgle CSM army with demonic allies.


I recently went all out and got hold of a few FW Death Guard upgrade kits, along with some Mk II and III heresy era legs and Maxmini biohazard backpacks. I'm pretty pleased with the results-- they all work together and give a cohesive look to the models. These have been primered white and given an airbrushed basecoat of old style Gretchin Green foundation paint.

 

This is my WIP Chaos Lord. He carries the Burning Brand of Skalathrax, modeled as a Nurgle toxin cannon with a fuel tank backpack (known at the gaming table as the Goop Gun). The base model is the chaos lord from Dark Vengeance. He obviously has a ways to go, but I like how he is shaping up. As usual, let me know what you think.

-- Boltergeist

Blast from the Past: Typhus conversion; TLAC/ML Hellbrute

Hey all, just a quick post here to show you what I've been messing with lately. First up is a Typhus conversion based on the RT era Chaos Lord model. It's a bit small now, but I've always liked it.

The arms are from the plastic chaos lord kit-- the scythe is the sorcerer's staff topped with a zombie scythe blade, yet again topped with the pick weapon from the whfb chaos knights. The back banner is one from the plastic plaguebearers, as is the hand holding the severed heads. He still needs some gaps filled and obviously a paintjob, but with the new arms and the height added from the base I'm pretty happy with it.

I've also been tinkering with the hellbrute model. I like the detail and the pose, but the weapon loadout isn't all that useful to me. Plus, I like to avoid using straight out-of-the-box models when I can help it.

The autocannon was made with plastic tubing; pretty straightforward there. I removed the fist arm at the joint and added a Havoc launcher. I had to trim down the plate that goes on the back of the fist, but it fits on there well as the top of the missile launcher. I replaced the normal face with an eyeball from the chaos spawn kit to help the pose make sense.


Thanks for reading, talk to you soon.

--Boltergeist

Dark Vengeance Librarian Conversion and More!

Well, my new photo booth came in this afternoon and I finally got a chance to sit down and try it out. I've still got some more playing around to do with the lights, but already my photos are 1000 times better than before. Here are a few random miniatures, including some from my Iron Hands Commission and my Battle Force Challenge Orks.

Easy Conversion From The Dark Vengeance Librarian

Ork Trukk Conversion

Big Mek Conversion

Mad Dok Grotsnik

A Few W.I.P. Shots From My Iron Hands Commission

Black Legion test paint

Hey all, back again with a quick update. Over the weekend I tried a test paint scheme for my new improved Black Legion. As everyone probably knows, black is easy to paint but hard to paint well. I personally don't care for the extreme edge highlight techniques you usually see on GW models, so thought I'd go for a different approach.

I wanted the black to become the backdrop for the other elements on the model, particularly the gold. After priming black (of course) I began by drybrushing the armor areas with metallic black. This keeps the black from becoming too tinted with blue or grey, while also adding a degree of luster to the plates and allowing the edges to catch the light.

One thing I've found over the years is that it works best to drybrush in a single consistent direction. You are trying to highlight when drybrushing, so you want the upraised areas to catch the paint, not the bottom. I see a lot of people use a back-and-forth motion and it can ruin the effect you want.

I tried a new technique on the gold, and I'm pretty pleased with the results so far. I basecoated with old Calthan Brown, then did a messy highlight with new Averland Yellow. I then went back over it with a layer of new Auric Armour Gold. The gold covers well by itself, but I found that the colors underneath show through and add a good bit of depth to it.

 With that done, I went back with Devlan Mud to pick out the rivets, skulls, and so on. Finally I used a thin edge highlight of Reaper Buckskin Pale as the final highlight. While not a metallic it blends in well and really helps it pop.

I'm still not 100% sold on the black and will probably keep experimenting, but I'm happy with the gold for now. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!


-- Boltergeist

More mutants sighted

Mutant with crab arm

Hey all, I thought I'd post up a few WIP shots from my growing force of mutants... Sorry for occasional blur and color issues; I took the pics quickly but I think you'll get the idea.

The theme of the army is that the warband seeks out the favor of the chaos gods, and sees mutation as proof of that favor. So, each member has various 'gifts' of greater or lesser usefulness. I always liked the old Realm of Chaos books' view that the gods are so alien there is nothing methodical or meaningful about what is granted to their followers-- mutations or other gifts that make the bearer unstoppable or completely disabled are one and the same.

Mutant with spider carapace and arms

Marine with Autocannon

Marine with spiky appendage and melded helmet

Mutant with demonic face and claw. Made from a Rogue Trader chaos marine and current bits.

It amuses me that he's licking his bolter.

My favorite so far-- this marine is bordering on becoming a spawn.

He has to support himself with his sword as he struggles to fire his weapon appendage.

He still needs a good bit of green stuff, but I'm happy with the pose.

Thanks all! More to come...
-- B.

Spidey the Wonder Mutant!

Hey all, just a quick post to prove we're still alive over here at the Istvaanians! I'm really pleased with the new allies options with 6th edition, as well as the impending arrival of the new chaos codex. With that in mind the Black Legion is off the shelf and back in production.

I made this guy a long long time ago, but he amuses me every time I look at him. I've always liked the mutation aspect of chaos, so this marine has gained the dubious 'gift' of the face of a spider. The head is the body of an old Warhammer Quest spider with the legs removed, and the cuts covered with GS fur. A pin holds it in place, and more GS for a neck. Quick, simple, and funny (to me, anyway).

Since his recovery from the warp I've replaced his shoulderpad with a proper metal Legion one, and his standard base with one from Dragon Forge Design.

Thanks all!
-- B.