Heresy Era Mechanicum - Zhao Arkkad Cybernetica force complete!

With NOVA bearing down on me, I had to take stock of what remains to be done - As I'd been working on the Castellax recently (who are pulling double duty in both the Thousand Sons and Mechanicum forces) I figured I ought to pull out the rest of the Zhao Arkkad force and get all the waterslides, glossy faceplates and so forth complete. Once that was done it turns out the whole Cybernetica contingent is ready to go!

1500 points doesn't go very far in a Cybernetica force! This army will form half of the team game force, and will take the field alongside 1500 points of Thousand Sons. Should be good times! They're currently hanging out on a very cool gaming tray made by the inestimable Zab over at Almost Perftec.

I wanted to do something a little different for the Archmagos Dominus, and dug up an old "Telepathica Emancipator" model from the Tempus Fugitives days. I kind of like the "canopic jar" look, I'm envisioning the Magos as being a mummified husk inside (or perhaps it's just sacs of organs)...

Quite happy with how the Castellax Achea turned out - the transfer sheets from Forge World included a couple rather cool banners, and I really dug this one in particular. Added a little touch of the wyrdlight green to help tie them in to the rest of the Thousand Sons force, as they are controlled via a psychic link.

Nothing really new with the Thallax, they were pretty much done already and just needed their faceplates given a going-over with the brush-on gloss varnish.

Similarly the Vorax just got the shiny eye treatment, and the addition of a small Thousand Sons nova in white. Helps to tie them in with the rest of the force, all of whom have the white nova on one shoulder or another. Still my favorite of the new robot re-imaginings from FW, I adore these models (fiddly though they are to assemble)!

The big guy got a similar large transfer on his shoulder as a callback to the imagery on the Castellax banner, and the shiny faceplate treatment. They're all ready to be packed up for transit to the event!

While I was about it I updated the Thousand Sons painting chart. Very close to the finish line now! Trying very hard to stay focused on this project so I don't have to worry about models for NOVA, but have been entertaining thoughts of which project to pick up next - Both the Genestealer Cult and Dark Eldar/Harlequins appeal as a way to dip my toes into 8th edition (which I still haven't had a chance to play), but on the other hand I do really want to start that Sons of Horus army... Decisions, decisions!

NOVA Open Charitable Foundation Army - Thallax ready to go!

Turns out the deadline for the models for the NOVA Charity army is sooner than expected, luckily I was near the finish line when I got the word!

Really dig the basing color scheme that was provided, definitely going to be revisiting the recipe again on some future project. The Secret Weapon bases that were provided were top notch as usual and really cool!

The recipe called for a verdigris brass which I hadn't really tried before, but I was eager to give it a shot. mixed up a little green and brown wash which worked reasonably well. Always a bit scary trying new things, but Marc put together a rather in-depth guide to his process. It's fun to break out of the usual recipe/technique rut, and I've really enjoyed that aspect of participating in the charity painting. Getting them boxed up and in the mail tomorrow to join their robotic brethren!

I'll post up the pics of the full armies and details on how to get in on the auction once the forces muster over the next few weeks!

NOVA Open Charitable Foundation Army - Thallax painting continues!

Been a rather busy week with work and concerts (both Primus and Jethro Tull played at Red Rocks over the last week, two of my favorite bands playing at one of the most beautiful places in Colorado), so less brush time that I prefer. That said, I did get a little more work done on the two Thallax units for the NOVA Open Charity Auction.

Got the yellow laid in, added some cog-tooth patterning on the shoulders, and worked on the verdigris brass. Definitely starting to come together now!

NOVA Open Charitable Foundation Army - Thallax painting begins!

With the days slipping by toward NOVA, it is high time I got off my duff and start painting up the two Thallax cohorts intended for inclusion in the NOVA 2017 charitable auctions!

Nothing too fancy just yet, just laid in the underpinning metals and got the red armor plates on. We've been provided a painting guide for paint recipes but otherwise have been given fairly free rein on the details. A goodly chunk of the metallics will be getting some further verdigris bronze sections, and we'll get some greens and blues in there as well on various cables and coils!

As a bit of a nod to the Heresy Sons of Horus charity army also up for grabs, I thought it could be amusing to have one of the Thallaxi be holding up a trophy helmet. Rather liked how the sea green turned out, which is dangerous.

...I think it may be a foregone conclusion that I'll have to do a Sons of Horus army of my own once I get done with the Thousand Sons. I have always wanted to build and paint Horus, Abbadon and Loken after all!

Heresy Era Mechanicum - NOCF Charity Army 2017 kickoff!

It's very much early days yet, but the Nova Open Charitable Foundation raffle projects are getting rolling, and I was honored to be allowed to participate again this year! Among the various other items that will be going up for auction over the next six months are a couple Horus Heresy armies including a Sons of Horus force, and a Mechanicum cohort which are being painted up by some phenomenally talented artists. ...And me. Hah!

Naturally I volunteered for team Mechanicum, and will be painting up a couple units of Thallax. They're a little fiddly to assemble but I've started to get the hang of it, and you really can get some cool poses out of them!

Didn't want to just repeat the "get over here" pose with the second claw hand, so decided to go a bit more brutal and have him holding a damaged helmet. I'm planning on painting it up using the Sons of Horus recipe for the opposing army project, which should be fun!

...Of course, if I end up enjoying the sea green scheme I will undoubtedly be tempted to do a Sons of Horus army of my own. Nooooooo, my wallet!

Heresy Era Mechanicum - Robots rolling through the manufactorum...

Real Life(tm) has been kicking my butt recently, but there was time to put brush to model here and there as a way to unwind, so I fired up the painting servitor and got cracking!

The Thallax got painted up to the "Off the factory floor" stage prior to waterslides and weathering, thinking some hieroglyphics on the offhand shoulder would be a good way to go! Went with the brush-on gloss on the faceplates to give them a nice shine, though the lighting is a little poor to get the full effect in these in-progress shots.

Quite enjoyed painting the Thallax, so the Vorax were the next on deck - keep that momentum going! Just the antiqued gold/brass and laid in the basecoat for the red so far, but already liking how they're shaping up!

Since three models don't really make for much of a batch, the Thanatar got the same treatment. He's a beast - definitely glad I left him separated at the waist to facilitate painting! Got a whole mess of Thousand Sons basecoated in red, so expect a tidal wave of the Sons of Magnus in short order - Really excited to get stuck in with 'em, something a little different in store for the army this time around...

Heresy Era Mechanicum - The Flesh Is Weak!

The fallible flesh components of the painting servitor succumbed to the touch of Nurgle so I did a half day today - Between sneezing fits managed to get several nearly-built models constructed and even start laying in a little paint on a few models!

First up is the heavy hitter of the Cybernetica force, the Thanatar. Armed with a fearsome Hellex Plasma Wave mortar and Mauler Bolt Cannons, it's just a beast! I expect it to take a ton of fire, so it gets the Paragon of Metal special rule, granting it some much needed extra survivability!

Next were some of the most challenging models in the Mechanicum line to build in my opinion, but also the one whose look I enjoy most of all - The Vorax! A worthy re-imagining of the old Crusader robot, I love the insectile look and think they'll tie in nicely with the scarab motif of the Thousand Sons they'll be fighting alongside!

Finally, a bit of paint! As a departure from the normal gunmetal skeletal structure, the various bots of the Zhao Arkkad Cybernetica will be getting an antiqued gold/bronze color, which when tied together with the red armor plates and black weapon housings should give them a nice complimentary color scheme to the Thousand Sons as well. Just laying in the basecoats for the reds to get a feel for what panels I want to do, and of course at some point they're all going to get a hit of my usual blue as a spot color - should really make 'em pop!

Heresy Era Mechanicum - Zhao Arkkad Legio Cybernetica begins!

Wait! Put down the pitchforks and torches, it's technically part of the Thousand Sons project, I swear!

One of the things that I rather liked in the book A Thousand Sons were the Legio Cybernetica robots embedded with psycho-reactive crystal matrices, allowing Khalophis to direct them on the battlefield. Turns out the folks at FW liked that idea as well and worked that aspect into the rules, and showed off some rather cool Castellax variants at the recent Heresy Weekender. They are going to be a must-buy as soon as they're released!

Of course, that just means I am going to have to do an entire army of allied Mechanicum, right? There is a method to the madness - At NOVA 2017 there's a 1500 point-per-person team event, and a friend of mine who is attending and I are doing a bit of a collaboration. He'll been helping me out with the airbrushing of the metallics, and I'll be doing all the traditional brushwork and modelling. On the up side, with the recent sale of the previous incarnation of the Thousand Sons I was able to add in pretty much all of the models for the force in the recent order - all that remains are the yet-to-be-released Castellax, which I sincerely hope will be made available in time for the event...

I did spend a little time assembling the two Thallax cohorts, I really dig these models and was looking forward to building 'em. Next up on deck is the Belisarius Cawl model, who I think will make for an excellent Archmagos Dominus. He's about half built at this point, but is all in sections to facilitate painting - managed to restrain myself from building it all only to find it becomes nigh-impossible to paint fully assembled!

When all is said and done the whole force will be 15 models, which should hopefully make it reasonably easy to build, paint and (above all) transport to the event!

Adeptus Mechanicus - Thanatar painting complete

Managed to sneak in an hour or painting last night and snapped some pics this evening after I got home. Thanatar ready for deployment!

  

Not a whole lot of change from the previous post, got the shading on the gold and blue, managed to get the sealant on in a break in the surprisingly rainy weather, then applied the gloss coat to the faceplate. I'm thinking that it needs a little battle damage/weathering, now that I'm looking at it. I do like the 'fresh off the factory floor' look though - the tech priests would endeavor to keep their charges in peak condition, after all!

Pulled out all the Castellax and Thallax for a little Legio Cybernetica family portrait - quite pleased with how they all tie together!

Adeptus Mechanicus - Thallax Cohort painted

Before diving into a bout of mercenary painting, I wanted to do something for the Ad-Mech as it was the popular choice on the poll - the Thallax Cohort fit the bill nicely!

While I absolutely love the brass scheme that Dave Taylor did, I wanted to tie them in with the rest of my Ad-Mech army which meant they got a predominantly red treatment. I did add in a touch of the brass on the lightning guns, the various pistons and the jump jet nozzles, and with a bit of blue as a spot color here and there, they were good to go!

 

On the right shoulder I added in some roman numerals, while the left shoulder got a cog-tooth motif - which is pretty much requisite for the Ad-mech! I'm definitely looking forward to the upcoming FW Heresy books as they expand the army list options, expect to see more of the cog-boys in the future!

Back from GenCon!

Just got back from a long weekend out in Indy at GenCon - Great times, fun games, old friends, waaaaay too much to eat and drink. It was glorious! It was also, as always, insanely crowded:

That's the line to get into the dealer's hall on the second day. I didn't make it to the first day's initial opening but I'm reliably told they were stacked three deep and rappelling in from the ceiling as well. Speaking of the dealer's room, this turned out to be a very, very expensive trip for me. First up, I swung by the Fantasy Flight booth to pick up some of the new X-Wing miniatures as a gift for for my buddy Dave, and with malice aforethought and devious designs upon the contents of my wallet they had put the racks of 40K:RP books right next to the checkout line. Ended up picking up a couple Rogue Trader books that I hadn't seen, both of which appear to be chock full of good GM's stuff. Though not found at the FFG booth, I also scored a copy of The Imperial Truth at the Black Library table, apparently it was a limited release that I wasn't aware of, but it sounds fantastic!

The line for the FFG booth was insane, with literally hundreds of people in line waiting for hours. Next up was a pass through the Catalyst Games booth where I picked up the new rulebook for Shadowrun, of which I managed to play several games over the weekend in the Living campaign. My buddy Dave is kicking off a local campaign soon as well. Should be a hoot!

Then came the brutal stop. I'd placed a reservation for some stuff from Forge World and they brought it to the con. Sharp stabbing sensation in the wallet!
 

 

First up is the Macharius Omega - the plasma blastgun variant of the standard Macharius, which I thought would go well with the plasma-heavy theme I have going with the 7th at the moment (Executioner, plasma vets, plasma cannons on the Sentinels, etc.).

Next up was an offering to the Omnissiah - a bundle pack of Thallax Cohort, for a unit of 9 of 'em. I was joking with Dave that I was initially surprised by how few parts comprised the Omega, and again by how MANY made up the Thallax!

...But then there was an incident.

I was joking with my friends out there that there was a problem with going to the Forge World booth, namely that once I went to pick up my order I would then actually BE AT THE FORGEWORLD BOOTH.

It can't be all that bad, right..?

...Dammit.


More pics to come!