28mm BMP-2 and a New Camera Debuts!

Two things - I finished painting the very cool BMP-2 I got from Conscript Greg some time ago. Thanks man! Secondly, the 5MP HP camera that I've been using for many years have finally been replaced with a new Nikon S6500. So I've taken this opportunity to try out the new camera in the photobooth.

These pictures are raw, straight from the camera to the screen. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the new camera. It's a 16MP model and features a very large (for me) 3" screen, wi-fi upload capability and HD video. Should be cool for those YouTube videos I like to post from time to time.

On to the model - it's a 1/56 BMP-2 from Sloppy Jalopy. Moderately easy to assemble but did require some greenstuff work and minor surgery to make the track guards fit. The canvas shroud around the gunbarrel is greenstuff too. I added the aerials out of wire - but I'm not sure I placed them correctly!

The vehicle was basecoated Mechanicus Standard Grey and camo added with Catachan Green. The grey was highlighted with Codex Grey and Catachan Green/Camo Green mix. Chipping was added with Fortress Grey for contrast and decals from a random kit added. The whole thing was washed with Badab Black and weathered with powders. Lenses were painted with a gem technique and gloss coated.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It's nice for the Chemical Commies to finally have a ride. Now I'll have to get to that Hind that's been awaiting paint for awhile...

One last shot from the new camera - it's the Zvezda KV-2 that I blogged about a week or so ago. Amazing what a difference a camera and the photobooth make, eh?

Astro Winnipeg 2013 Army Showcase

Last weekend, February 23-24, I played at my second tournament of the 2012-13 season, Astronomi-con Winnipeg 2013. There were players from out of town (props to Mike and Jeff from Minot, N.D., and to Jim from Toronto) plus several new locals.

Christian, Keith and Mike put on yet another great Warhammer 40,000 tournament; this is the 13th time they have run the Winnipeg event. The organizational skills to do this 4 times a year (in Winnipeg, Vancouver, Toronto and Dallas, TX) is mind-boggling. I ran an event several years ago (anyone remember Necron-omicon, a.k.a. "Dave-con"). Though well received, it exhausted me and I haven't run a 40K event since. Kudos to the Astro T.O.'s!

Here are some of the armies that caught my eye during the weekend. My apologies; I did not get photos of as many people's armies as I wanted.

(Remember to click on the images for larger sized pictures.)


MarioR's superb Space Wolves, seen on the hanger deck of their Space Marine strike cruiser:



Mario's Storm Eagle (heavily converted from a Storm Raven, with many added details), sitting on its scratch built launching cradle:



Mario's Space Wolf Terminators and Rune Priest:



Mario's Grey Hunters, and their drop pods:



Mario's Dreadnoughts, and their drop pods:



Rear view of Mario's display board (he intends to build an entire modular game table in this fashion):



RyanK's Chaos Space Marines, led by Abbadon himself:



MikeE's Nurgle Chaos Space Marines:

 

Mike's Chaos Daemon:



One of Mike's two Chaos Blight Drones:



AlexB's Orks; every model is either completely scratch built (e.g., all the helicopters) or heavily converted:



Alex' Boss in Mega Armour:



Alex' air wing:



Alex' ground pounders:



Alex' lit up destroyed vehicle markers:



Sean's Necrons:



Jordan's Orks:



MikeK's Dark Eldar (yes, the white picket fence is a counts-as Aegis Defense Line):



Black Templars:



Imperial Guard:



CharlesJ's Crimson Fists Space Marines with Blood Angels allies:



GregR's Salamanders Space Marines:



JimB's Dark Eldar:



BrockJ's Tyranids (all the models very heavily converted):



Brock's Mycetic Spore is made from a cut up Nerf football!



J.P.'s beautiful Night Lords Chaos Space Marines:



J.P.'s Heldrake flyer:



J.P.'s Chaos Sorceror (note the good use of on-figure light sourcing):



KevinN's Tiger Space Marines:



DamianC's Dark Eldar:



FabioF's Chaos Space Marines with Necron allies :



Space Marines:



Lance's Space Marines:




RodM's Tau Empire:



Rods' Broadside Battlesuits standing behind a Defense Line and anti-aircraft gun (the Broadsides are from Forge World, the defense line is scratch built from balsa wood, the gun converted from spare parts):



Rod's Hammerhead Gunship and Tetra Scout Speeders (the Tetras and the Hammerhead's TL Plasma Cannon turret are from Forge World) :



DanS's disturbing Tyranid Mycetic Spore (also made from a Nerf football):



DaveV's (that's me) Eldar Swordwind (yeah, that's 6 tank hulls and a Wraithlord in 1500 points):




A  view of my Autarch, Fire Storm, and Wraithlord (Note that the Autarch is a slight conversion of a Hasslefree Miniatures space elf; it garnered a lucky Best in Show at last year's annual Manitoba Model Soldier Society Show and Competition. The Fire Storm's gatling laser turret is from Forge World):



 ***

My army list is as follows:


Asurmen's Academy: The Return of Ancient Days

HQ: Autarch (with Death Spinner; Warlord Power = The Dust of a Thousand Suns)

Troops: 5 Dire Avengers (riding inside the Fire Storm AAA tank)

Troops: 8 Dire Avengers
Wave Serpent transport, TL Scatter Lasers

Troops: 8 Dire Avengers
Wave Serpent, TL Scatter Lasers

Elite: 5 Fire Dragons
Wave Serpent, TL Shuriken Cannons

Elite: 5 Fire Dragons
Wave Serpent, Shuriken Cannon + TL Shuriken Cannons

Fast Attack: 4 Warp Spiders
Warp Spider Exarch, Death Spinner x2

Heavy Support: Fire Storm anti-aircraft artillery tank

Heavy Support: Warp Hunter artillery tank

Heavy Support: Wraithlord , Wraithblade + Bright Lance

Total Roster Cost: 1499 points

This army is themed around high mobility and massed firepower; only the Wraithlord has any close combat capability at all. The Autarch's power allows infantry within 12" to roll an extra dice in difficult terrain, and allows all friendly units within 12" to automatically pass dangerous terrain tests; this was an extremely useful power that became crucial on a few occasions throughout the weekend.

Astro has brought back a Composition score. Under their rules, this army scored the lowest Comp of the entire field (scoring 14 out of a possible 20 points). In part, this reflects upon my choices (that is indeed a lot of tank hulls), but this also is a function of the aged Codex: Eldar. Many of the point values are out of whack with the current codices (i.e., too high to be justified; there's a reason I don't field tooled up Avenger Exarchs any more), and several Eldar powers or items of wargear are useless under the current 6th edition of the WH40K rules. I note that, yet again, I was the only player fielding a Craftworld Eldar force.

Comp was used in part to seed each player's first game of the weekend. In the event, I was matched up with Mario and his Space Wolves. Mario is a gentleman and a scholar, so I certainly had no complaints.

Battle reports for each of my 6 games are posted here.

Hasslefree Miniatures Space Elf

(Click the photos for larger images.)

As readers of the blog can easily guess, I am heavily into space elves. However, such pointy-eared freaks are not limited to Games Workshop. Hasslefree Miniatures has a very nice one in their 28mm scale line: HFS001 Ieuan.

The sculptor, Kev White, sculpts with great skill, having a very good sense of anatomy and stance. This figure radiates a real sense of power.

After cleaning up the figure, I added a plastic gem to its chest, cut from a GW Dire Avenger accessory, and I modified the stance slightly to take into account the slightly sloping resin base I got from Dragon Forge Design's Lost Empires line. I pinned the fig to the base using brass rod into the left leg.

The figure was primed black, and zenithal highlights were airbrushed in with flat white.

The face, gemstone and bio-weapon were undercoated in various acrylics and layered in thin glazes of artists' oil paints. The figure's face has a lot of character, and oils allow me to bring that out.



The hair and bodysuit/armour received multiple layers of Citadel washes. The white of the zenithal highlighting really shines through, making areas like the shoulders and calves pop.





The base also received Citadel washes. As with all my figs, I added some felt to the bottom of the base.





I am using the figure as a Fire Dragon Exarch armed with a Dragon's Breath Flamer. It is not usable in "official" Games Workshop events, but that may be less of an issue now in North America, since GW is no longer supporting their Tournament Circuit nor the 'Ard Boyz tournament series.

(From what I hear on the grapevine, Ed Spettigue is gone from GW. He was the organizer of these events. I had a great time at last year's Throne of Skulls torunament in Las Vegas, NV. It was well organized, and we players were treated very well, what with the included meals, open bar in the gaming hall, and the like. The biggest hobby events, like Adepticon, are all run now as independents.)

I've already used the figure in one game. Contrary to my usual experience, this newly painted fig survived the battle!

In addition to Hasslefree, there's several other companies making figures that are eminently usable in Warhammer and Warhammer 40K games. Examples include Raging Heroes, Scibor Miniatures, Avatars of War, and Chapter House Studios. They offer unique alternatives for heroes or specialists, or to fill gaps when GW doesn't manufacture a model for a unit listed in their codices.

For these photos I used an OPTEX Portable Studio and Lighting Kit, the same make and model that Conscript Dallas purchased awhile ago. I reccommend it highly.