Something completely different...

One word of advice first. When getting your first airbrush (because you are considering buying one unless you already have one) don't get the most expensive one straight away.

An example of why is the bottom airbrush. I got it a year ago, it was my first foray into airbrushing if you don't consider the week I had at art school back in 1996. I really didn't know how they worked. Why things sometimes didn't work and well... it got a bit smashed up. Impatience is a virtue... or so I've heard.

So, after almost completely messing up my Evolution I decided that it was time to either buy replacement parts or get myself a new one. I settled for the latter and bought me the fance Harder & Steenbeck Evolution INFINITY. Just taste that little word... I N F I N I T Y !

The difference in price isn't really that much between the two. But the difference in fit and finish is like... comparing a Skoda to a BMW or something like that.

So... the completely different part?

A Dragon Models PzKpfw. IV Ausf. G!

All this playing of World of Tanks (which is what I do when I really should finish the Stompa) made me wanna try and paint and build a "real" model. It's got 740 parts, photo-etched stuff and god knows what more.

I have just opened the box, taken a look at the various sprues (and shuddered a little when I saw the three sprues containing track links) and put it on the shelf. This one is for when I have less work and not an Aporkalypse to be preparing for.

Here's the list I'm taking to the Aporkalypse. For you list-dudes. It's nothing special. It's more of a "I want a Stompa and I want kanz... "-list.

APORKALYPSO

Formation: Dred Mob

Deff Dread Dreadnought CCW x4

Killer Kans x3 Dreadnought CCW; Grotzooka x3; 

Killer Kans x3 Dreadnought CCW; Rokkit Launcha x3

Killer Kans x3 Dreadnought CCW; Grotzooka x2; Rokkit Launcha x1

Stompa Big Shoota (x2); Deth Kannon w/ co-ax Supa-Gatler; Supa-Rokkit (x3); Supa-scorcha; Titan CCW; Twin Linked Big Shoota; Big Shoota.

HQ: Big Mek Mek's Tools; Kustom Force Field; Choppa;

Troops: 25 Boyz; Shootas; Big Shoota x2;

1x Boyz Nob Bosspole; Slugga; Power Klaw

Troops: 25 Boyz; Shootas; Big Shoota x2;

1x Boyz Nob Bosspole; Slugga; Power Klaw

Troops: 20 Boyz; Sluggas & Choppas

1x Boyz Nob Bosspole; Slugga; Power Klaw

Troops: 20 Boyz; Sluggas & Choppas

1x Boyz Nob Bosspole; Slugga; Power Klaw

Weighing in at 1997 points or something like that. The KFF is mostly just to give them cover while they slug along the field. And to give cover to any Kanz that has to be more than 12" away from the Stompa. :)

Review: Vallejo Black Lava

Together with the Malifaux stuff I recieved earlier I also got this jar of "Black Lava" from Vallejo.

After reading about basing with this stuff on The Pit of Oni I got kinda intrigued. Basing minis is kinda messy and you always end up with a ton of sand everywhere. Something I'm not too fond of since the cats already make my apartment feel like a gravel pitch.

The jar of lava!

It's made up of some sort of PVA based paint (that's essentially what manufacturers call "acrylics") & small beads / sand. Vallejo says:

Gritty black paste of natural stone and pigment, can be textured and built up and mixed with other mediums.

So I opened it up, picked a 25mm base from GW and slathered on some of the paste with a large brush. I also added two of the "stones" from Games Workshops 40K basing kit (Medium basing slate) and one small slate from the Gale Force 9 range directly onto the paste to see if it would stick. After about 30 minutes under the lamp it was dry to the touch and the stones felt like they were glued on. So it was just a matter of adding paint to it and it was done!

Colors used. Finished base on top of the protective lid from the jar.

As you can see from the picture. The lava dries glossy. Nothing to worry about since the paint dries kinda matte and you'd put on some varnish to protect your minis anyways.

There was no problem with the stones coming off, even though I was pretty aggressive with the drybrushing. So unless you're doing something really scenic with your bases you can skip the glue. Another bonus is that there were no sand coming off, something that usually happens even though you add another layer of watered down PVA to seal the sand.

It's black, which means you can drybrush on top of it. No more need for priming, putting on a basecoat, washing it and then drybrush. And the granules are small enough to feel realistic with 28 – 32 mm "heroic" figures. And you could add some rougher grit if you like to break it up a little.

I'd totally rate this product a 2+ with re-roll. There are more uses for it than just bases. You could use it for a first layer of "mud" or represent rusty parts on vehicles. Paint it on scenery, like walls and buildings, to give it a bit of a rough surface since GW discontinued the Rough Coat spray. Or you could build it up in layers for more scenic bases. The possibilities are endless!!! (Almost ;))