Necromunda - The Brotherhood of the Argent Spiral resurfaces!

In the wake of all the World Eaters semi-monochomatic armor, I felt the need to break out some different colors. Right around the same time GW released the most recent wave of Genestealer Cult models which are all amazing - Though I have no intention of doing a full-on 40k army of 'em, I had to paint 'em, and what better way to justify a bunch of character models than by working them into a new Genestealer Cult gang for Necromunda?

Following Adepticon I'm planning on running a Necromunda campaign for a group of friends, and have been working up a number of miscellaneous bad guys, critters, monsters and mutants for use in special scenarios, and one of the 'storylines' I have planned is a cult uprising which the various players can attempt to stop (or align with, depending on how things play out). Should be fun!

Definitely went a little more colorful on these guys than recent projects, and varied somewhat from my usual 'three colors' idea. Blue and yellow always set off nicely against each other, while the red and white offer up a separate contrast (and the red sets off against the blue and yellow as well). Most of the red cloaks/coats will be getting a spiral motif (hence the cult name) in white/silver, which whould hopefully look pretty neat!

Still a ways to go, but they're well on the path!

40k Genestealer Cult - Brotherhood of the Argent Spiral Complete!

Managed to sneak by the GW shop after work this afternoon and got a couple army pics taken!

When I think 'horde army' I generally think of the Orks, but Emperor save me if the Genestealer cult doesn't do horde as well! Since the models are generally painted and placed into battlefoam trays and shelved in the Closet of Doom I honestly had no conception of how many there actually were in the end, models just kept coming out of the trays and spreading out across the table!

Overall, I have to say that despite the fact that there was a year-long hiatus between when the army began and ended, it was definitely a blast to both build and paint! I've been doing a lot of monotone and subdued marines of late, so the brightly contrasting colors were quite refreshing! I'm really happy with the skintones in particular, with the purestrains being very purple, and lightening up to near-human tones throughout the generations.

Couple more semi-closeups, which mostly go to highlight that I'm not a particularly steady-handed photographer. While they are a riot of colors I think that they hang together well - hard to go wrong with blue and yellow as strong contrasting colors, and the little splashes of red and the white armor pop as well.

Of course you gotta have a little spreadsheet porn - It's deeply satisfying to turn the last boxes green! The force underwent a lot of changes from the beginning of the project to the end - notably an entire edition change, so there was a shuffle to make it 8th-compatible. In the end it worked out as a fairly full Battalion detachment, and a Vanguard detachment mostly consisting of purestrain 'stealers, and a Leman Russ, because why wouldn't you? On the up side the army has already been earmarked for sale, which means there's some incoming funds for future projects!

Now to ponder what to put in front of the painting servitor next. With Necromunda right around the corner I don't necessarily want to commit to anything major. Just something bite-sized to pass the time until release weekend and getting my mitts on the new plastics! Hmmm...

40k Genestealer Cult - A tidal wave of cultists...

When last we left the action, the skintones made it on to all of the models and I was figuring out the appropriate way to parcel them out into smaller batches. Then things went horribly, horribly wrong...

After getting the first 16 models' yellow basecoats on, I figured since I already had them laid out it couldn't hurt to just press on and do them all. I'd parcel them out after that and press on...

Well, maybe just finish off the yellow highlights and lay on the white basecoat for the armor, since theyll both need to get a hit of Seraphim Sepia at the same time anyway...

A wash step? Better do them all at once so they match, would hate to get the wrong level of shading on sub-batches after all.

At this point the madness had settled in and I figured heck, since I've gotten this far I may as well press on. The remaining stuff to be done is all little detail that won't take too long per model, right?

Raced the weather today to try and get them all done in time to catch the warm part of the day and get them sealed. It was a closely-run race, but once I got done the temps had started to fall for the day. Rather than risk crashing and burning at the finish line by a potentially frosty finish on the sealant step, I called it a win as-is and will come back to seal 'em once it's a little warmer! All told the progress shown in these pics took place over about 12 hours over the last 6 days (with 8 of those over the past weekend). Felt good to get them all done, and while this is truly a stupid number to do at one time, the models themselves are so interesting and full of detail and variance it wasn't quite as horrible an experience as I'd feared. I probably won't tackle a batch this big any time soon but was interesting to set a high-water mark for me!

Hoping to get them taken over to the local GW in the next couple days to get a family photo of the whole Cult of the Argent Spiral...

40k Genestealer Cult - How many is too many to batch paint?

Quick hit this morning - After what I felt was a very productive run with the Sons of Horus, I thought I'd take a little breather and work on another project for a bit. I had started a Genestealer Cult army a while back that had sort of stalled out and as some of my fellow blogger buddies over at Confessions of a 40k Addict and St Andrews Wargaming have been doing such cool work on their own cults recently I pulled down the remaining minis to see what needed to be done, and got stuck in over the weekend!

Forty-six. Forty-six at once is TOO MANY. The painting servitor's cogitator nearly melted down from the repetition of doing all the skin tones on the remaining models, and in order to keep it functioning further work on the project will be broken down in to two somewhat-smaller batches. I'll be doing the 3rd generation hybrids as one batch of 17 and have laid in the chitin on them, after which they'll be taken to completion before I assault the final batch of 4th generation cultists. There's 29 of them, may the Emperor have mercy on me...

On the up side, once they're done the whole bloody army will be complete and I can get 'em up on the auction block! ...Which will hopefully be enough to pay for the therapy painting all of them will require me to undergo. Heh.

40k Genestealer Cult - Leman Russ Exterminator painted!

Got a fair bit of painting time in today and finished off the Leman Russ Exterminator! Carried the colors through from the Acolytes with the blue, white and yellow, and it turned out pretty well I think...

 

Added in some stripes on the dozer blade to match those on the Rockgrinders, and laid in some further vehicle identifier stripes on the front of the side armour. Went with the bright blue-white halogen lamps to match the Rockgrinders as well (again, my usual yellow headlamps would get lost in all the other yellow bits).

 

The turret weapons are magnetized so it can also be run as a Vanquisher should some more anti-tank firepower be needed. Tried out the dirty white recipe used on the Acolyte's armor on the tank crew's fatigues to help tie them together. After that it got some sponge weathering on various edges to dirty it up and it's good to go!

May bounce back over to the Imperial Fists next and reward myself for all this painting with some build time!

40k Genestealer Cult - Leman Russ Exterminator painting begins!

We've been having some sub-zero temperatures over the last few days so no sealant possibility for the recent terminators. So, bouncing back over to the Cult for a bit! Rather than doing yet another batch of infantry (oof) I figured it was time to have a little fun and make a start on one of the tanks for the force...

 

The intent is to have the brood brothers to be a PDF force, using older variants of the military vehicles. As a callback to the color of the carapaces on the Purestrains, I'm going with blue tanks (the guardsmen will have fatigues in the white similar to the armour of the hybrids and blue armour) which may be a bit of an unusual choice when seen on its own but hopefully it'll look cool laid out with the army as a whole. We'll see!

40k Genestealer Cult - Doting Throng Acolytes painted!

Down with the plague today (a blessing from Grandfather Nurgle no doubt), but managed to get the Acolytes for the Doting Throng completed and sealed, taking advantage of the brief break in the cold weather. Twenty-three more models down, meaning I've now (albeit barely) passed the halfway point with the army. Oof!

I'd built enough models to allow them to be run as two units but for the purposes of the 2500 point force they'll be run as one 20-strong unit of claws, teeth and hand flamers!

As should come as no surprise to anyone, I did pick up a few of the new Thousand Sons plastics (primarily to cannibalize for use with the Heresy models) and couldn't help but assemble Magnus the Red. Once I had him put together I think a better moniker would be Magnus the Huge! He goes on the shelf for now however, next up is some more work on the Imperial Fists terminator squad as a little break from the unending tide of Genestealer cultists...

40k Genestealer Cult - The cult takes the field, and some more Acolytes painting...

Hope our American readers had a lovely Thanksgiving (and the rest of you had an agreeable Thursday)! The days leading up to the holiday were full of non-hobby duties, but I did manage to actually get a game in (GASP) over the following long weekend! No real battle report to relate and just a pair of pics as I got so into the game that I forgot to take any others. Guess that's the sign of an enjoyable game!

 

Threw down against a friend's Crimson Fists, and to my shame my army wasn't fully painted yet. We played with my favorite house rule "Suffer Not The Unpainted To Live" (painted models gain preferred enemy against unpainted models) which is always amusing. Mechanically, painted models SHOULD fight better! That said, the painted models I did have performed admirably, with the First Curse being an absolute buzzsaw of a unit. I actually felt a little dirty with how quickly they chewed through everything they touched. We were playing a Tactical Objectives type game, and the ability for the cult to redeploy willy-nilly meant they pounced on a number of objectives and when the dust settled had won the day. The shadow in the void draws ever closer...

Over the weekend I did feel re-invigorated to get some more cultists painted and banged out the basic colors for the next batch of Acolytes and the Cult Iconward, which make up a third of The Doting Throng. In addition are a spare Acolyte Leader and Cult Icon which will allow me to run them as a pair of 10-man squads instead of the mondo 20-man squad.

In other news, a couple boxes of Forge World goodness have arrived which has lit an additional fire under me to finish off the Genestealer Cult army. I've more or less decided that the models in the Burning of Prospero box don't particularly match the aesthetic of my current Thousand Sons army, and since I do want to build and paint the Custodes and Sisters of Silence (which obviously wouldn't ally with the boys in crimson) some sort of loyalist force was needed. Messing with the dirty yellow on the cult meant that it's time to reprise the Imperial Fists! Holding off on the Custodes/Sisters side until Inferno drops, but thought a tidy little 2000 point force would be reasonable. Going with the Pride of the Legion rite of war, and thought a little 1st Company veterans force would be a fun use for the new plastics (and a tiny model count after this horde nonsense)!

...Yes I absolutely needed to start another project, why do you ask? Heh.

40k Genestealer Cult - Rockgrinders complete!

Alternately, "Thank the Emperor, he'll finally stop banging on about the Rockgrinders!" Broke out the sponges and the washes and got the weathering in on the trucks, meaning the second formation of the force is now complete. Victory!

Sponged on Vallejo Charred Brown on various corners here and there, followed by a lighter sponging of Oily Steel. Once that dried the extreme sharp edges got a line highlight of silver and they're good to go! The headlamps got another pass in white to make them a bit brighter and halogen-esque, and the weapons got a bit of copper/gold detailing here and there so the gunmetal wasn't so stark.

The junk in the trunk is actually horribly be-clawed monstrosities ready to hurl dynamite into the ranks of their foes! All in all I really enjoyed painting these up, and I look forward to careening them around the tabletop soon!

Once I got them safely ensconced in their battlefoam trays for storage I figured I'd update the ol' painting chart! A fair few models done so far, but there's still a tidal wave of infantry to work through. Before I start in on The Doting Throng, I am going to take a brief jump back over to the Heresy side and finish up Ahriman and Fellhand though!

40k Genestealer Cult - Goliath Rockgrinder crew painted!

Now that the Rockgrinders are completed up to the pre-weathering stage, I wanted to knock out the crewmen. The Rockgrinders were a touch bi-chromatic but that was on purpose so the gunners would pop a bit...

I was concerned that as they'll be sharing the yellow color on their fatigues that they'd end up getting lost in the general yellowness of the vehicles, so didn't include much in the way of white on the trucks themselves. Keeping the crew separate for painting proved to be a good idea, there's all sorts of challenging angles that I wouldn't have been able to get to with a brush had they been assembled in situ (I'm usually guilty of getting overexcited and building the models completely in one go without thinking of the consequences in later painting stages).

Moment of truth time came with their installation on the trucks. Well pleased with how they turned out! All that remains to do is pick out a few more details on them here and there that have become apparent, then a touch of the ol' sponge weathering over the next few evenings!

While I was about it I snapped a quick pic of my painting 'cheat sheet' for the force. I tend to put one of these together for any big project that is going to span a few months. It allows me to go back and re-create the scheme on models later on in the project and be sure they'll match up. Also allows me the ability to delve back into earlier projects and recall particular color results that I liked and re-use them - The yellow recipe is the one that I'd used on the Imperial Fists a while back and rather enjoyed. Plans are afoot to revisit that project again over the next few months...

40k Genestealer Cult - Goliath Rockgrinders nearly complete, and some Heresy!

Got some brush time in today and have the Rockgrinders more or less up to the "Fresh off the factory floor" stage, where I'll generally give the models an initial sealant pass in preparation for waterslide transfers and weathering.

After all the re-blacking was complete most of it was immediately given the oily metal treatment. It definitely helped give the vehicles a sense of depth as well. I couldn't do my usual yellow headlamps scheme what with the vehicles themselves being yellow, so went for an ice blue lenses look instead. Not 100% sold on it, but it works from a strict color theory perspective...

I did up the tarpaulins on the rear in a blue to match the chitin of the 'stealers, rather happy with how it turned out, and it is a sufficiently different color from the lamps and power cables. Next up is finding some good industrial-style transfers and give 'em some sponge weathering and they'll be good to go!

In other news, I naturally got my hands on a couple of the Prospero box sets, and started laying in the first few colors on Ahriman and Geigor Fellhand. Gotta keep one foot in the Heresy after all!

40k Genestealer Cult - Demolition Claw Acolytes and Aberrants complete(ish)!

Working on the Rockgrinders gave me a little breather from the Infantry, but figured I'd take advantage of the warm afternoon after work to finish them off and get them sealed!

Rather pleased with how they've turned out, though I think I need to go back in and do all the pipes on the bases in a far brighter yellow and add hazard stripes. As they stand they're a bit too samey with the scabrous yellow on the trousers. What worked well on the Purestrain bases works slightly less so here...

The Aberrants got the same treatment, and need the same follow-on base treatment, but still I'm quite happy with 'em and am looking forward to getting the force painted enough to warrant a game with 'em!

Spent a little time going over the Rockgrinders and re-blacking in all of the bits intended to be metallic or rubber. Doing so is a bit tedious, but does help the models snap into focus! Really digging how they're coming along, and has me giving more and more thought towards using the plastic Mk.III marines from the recently-released Battle for Prospero box set to make some Imperial Fists to accompany the Custodes and Sisters of Silence. After the fun with this yellow I think it's a foregone conclusion that's what's going to happen!

sldkhf

40k Genestealer Cult - Demolition Claw Rockgrinders painting begins!

Tonka tough! I knew from the outset that I wanted to paint up the rockgrinders in the ubiquitous construction vehicle yellow suitable to their industrial/miner background. So that meant busting out the tank brushes and going to town with the yellow! I kept these models in a fair few pieces to facilitate painting, I'm going to focus on the vehicles themselves for now, then attack the crew separately.

My current yellow recipe starts off with a basecoat of Vallejo Scrofulous Brown which is a similar shade to Tausept Ochre - a nice yellow-brown that lays over black reasonably well. Still takes a couple coats but I left it a little patchy here and there to give them some depth as the further colors get laid in.

They were next given a heavy drybrush of Vallejo Golden Yellow, and then a light drybrush of GW Flash Gitz yellow - the bright overhead lights tend to wash that out a little in the pictures, however.

The last step of the evening was to give 'em all a nice wash with Seraphim Sepia which blends the highlights in a bit and gives the color a bit more depth in the nooks and crannies. These will be left to dry overnight (they're still a bit wet in the picture), then I'll give them some spot pin-washes to accentuate a few areas, and perhaps another light drybrush with the Flash Gitz yellow to help the edges pop a bit more. Once that's done the next step is the tedious re-blacking of all the areas I slopped yellow on to in the drybrushing stages! In the end they're going to get some nice sponge weathering/chipping, and I have a feeling it's going to really look neat against the brighter yellow. So far so good!

40k Genestealer Cult - Demolition Claw Acolytes and Aberrants continue...

Quick hit today, got some decent brush time in over the last couple days and laid in the base colors on the cloth and armour on the first batch of Acolytes and the Aberrants - they're starting to come into focus!

I knew I wanted to do a slightly different scheme from the last go-around and settled on a yellow cloth and white armour. Went with some red spot colors on them as well to tie in with the reds on the Purestrains.

Pressed on with the Aberrants as well, this pic shows the oily metallic rather well. Got a few more colors to go on the models themselves, then it's just a matter of finishing off the bases. So far so good!

40k Genestealer Cult - Demolition Claw Acolyte Hybrids painting begins!

Pressing onward with the cult, and moving down through the generations! Now that the purestrains and patriarch are complete I figured I've jump on the 1st and 2nd generation hybrids. While I initially thought I'd just try and bang out all of them at once, I realized that would have been 38 which is way too many to batch paint even for my trusty painting servitor. Instead I decided to stick with the "One detachment at a time" method and pulled out just the 15 hybrids that comprise the infantry portion of the Demolition Claw. I absolutely adore the bomb-chuckers, and added a couple hand-flamers to each unit to dissuade any chargers. I really look forward to them rampaging around the battlefield wreathed in flames and explosions!

Much like the last go-around the skin tones will get lighter and more human as they work their way through the generations. The Acolytes are still fairly purple-y but far lighter than the skin on the purestrains - the miner-style Neophytes will be a step lighter than this, while the pdf brood brothers will be getting an almost human normal skin tone, with just a hint of the purple cast to them (at least that's the plan)!

While I was about it I figured I may as well knock out the four Aberrants as they're broadly of the same generation and get the same skin tones. I really dig these sculpts, they're just chock full of personality. Not sure how effective they'll prove to be on the tabletop with just the four of 'em, but at the very least they'll be a little speedbump!

In other news the Burning of Prospero boxes that I've ordered are scheduled for delivery today, so I'll be hard-pressed to not go haring off back into heresy mode soon...

40k Genestealer Cult - The First Curse complete!

Been a rather busy week but I have managed to sneak in a little brush time here and there and the First Curse rears its chitinous head!

There's actually a few more than 20 'stealers in the bunch, but figured I may as well paint 'em all up at once, for those times when I may want to run a couple smaller packs. Went with some yellow accents on the eyes and bases to help tie them in with the yellow to come on the hybrids, and went with the Space Hulk standard Blood Angels terminators, as the red gives a nice contrasting pop to the models. One detachment done!

In other news I sold off the Deathwatch almost immediately after the previous weekend's Armies on Parade event (must get those pics uploaded) and with the British Pound exchange being so favorable I couldn't help but place a good sized Forge World order to take advantage of both the exchange rate and the free shipping. For the most part the box of joy contained several (albeit non-photoworthy) special- and heavy weapon squad upgrade kits, a couple sheets of the lovely new Thousand Sons transfers, and or course I had to pad out the order with something big, right? A Knight Lancer it is! It'll be part of the Forge World Zhao-Arkkad force that will be accompanying the Thousand Sons once the Inferno book is released, but for now the bits got a good scrub & soak and are now drying on the counter. Looking forward to building it!