Something New: Some Death Guard

For your perusal, here are two of the test models I am working on to base my new 30k Death Guard army off of. I am going for a somewhat cleaner look, though I am not keeping it quite clean and crisp by using some Sepia and Earthshade washes.

Hatchway designs for my Zone Mortalis Caverns

So I needed to design some simple cardboard hatchways to use on my new Zone Mortalis board. Using paint, I sketched up a basic design, such as the one above.

I found some textures of metal on Google, and experimented with a couple different combinations.

Now I have a variety of hatch types, and I will start slotting them into the board. I have a system planned where I recycle old sprue to make the slots, glueing them directly into the board. I will post another update once I have a working hatchway to show you! Next, I'll have to make some destroyed or burnt out versions of these hatches for destroyed ones!

Teun Tries Terrain: -Easy- Zone Mortalis Board - Caverns (Part 4)

As the end of this side project nears completion, you can really start to see the caverns take shape!

But first: How I got here! I used scrap from the carving of the tunnels to bulk the board up a little higher.

Then, I enlisted the aid of my girlfriend to help me paper mache the entire thing. Then I sealed it with PVA glue brushed on over the top!

I used toothpicks, and hot glue, to make some creepy rock formations inside the cave... I also used some screen and a few straws to make a nifty pipe and industrial area.

Lastly, I sprayed the entire board with spraypaint, after leaving it overnight to dry. I put black primer on first, then dusted it with a ruddy brown color I had left over.

I still have some details to finish up on. I plan on adding bulkhead/hatchways at strategic locations in the caverns. I also want to flesh out a few more industrial areas. However, you can see that the basic layout and shape of the tunnels has now been completed! I am very excited that I can begin to use this board for Zone Mortalis games in the future.

Kitbash Corner: Techmarine Bike with Conversion Beamer

I am in the very early stages of kitbashing a Techmarine on a Bike with a Conversion Beamer (duh, I said that in the title, huh?).

This is why it's good to save your extra bits. With enough bits knocking around in my box, I was able to piece together a fairly convincing servo arm and Conversion Beamer. Basically all I did was cut the fins off a rocket and the tip of a Lascannon, and put the rocket shaft in line with the Lascannon barrel. Looks fairly convincing. A few bobs and bits and he was ready to go! I just need to get a good solid coat of primer on it and it'll all look fine.

Here's a few other angles:

I am making up a custom front shield (since the old one is MIA) and filing off the rest of the Ravenwing iconography. After that, it should be pretty much wrapped up!

First of the Gorgons

My hammerbearer is done and painted. I may go back and add more extreme highlights later but I have a lot to paint so speed was more important at this point.

Weekend update: Building a Legion (Part 2)

Finally finished! I ran into a problem when constructing my sisters squad... I found that two of the swords were bent on the sprue! I was mad at first but I decided I could make it work, so I just swapped two of the swords for a couple of flamers. I really hope that they can mix and match weapons in 30k when their rules get released, otherwise I'll be needing another BoP box...

I also made a Support squad of Meltaguns (the especially sharp eyed will notice one of them is a plasmagun in the back... that's because I needed to make one for my other support squad, and I have a meltagun guy in mk IV to replace him).

Lastly, I made a second Heavy Support Squad of Heavy Bolters. I kept the sergeant without the heavy weapon so I could also use it as a devastator squad in 40k if need arises. I finished off the box by making the remaining 10 Legionnaires.

So, out of this box, I now have a total of 20 Legionnaires, 5 Support Squadmembers, 5 Heavy Support Squadmembers, 5 Gorgon terminators, 5 spear-wielding Custodes, and a sisters squad with 2 flamers.

Now I have a pretty solid 30k force, that also can be used in 40k. I am pretty pleased with how my Iron Hands are progressing! Now I just have to paint it all.... -___-

Weekend update: Building a Legion

Today went slower than I hoped... these new kits are pretty complicated! More pieces meant more drying/curing time, so today I got done the 2 characters, the Custodes, 10 Legionnaires, and 5 "Gorgon" Terminators. Tomorrow I hope to finish putting the set together. I still have 20 Legionnaires, and some Sisters. Should be fun!

Prospero Preorder Swag

After waiting patiently for so long, I can finally start putting together my MkIII armor! I am very excited for this. For preordering, I got some extra loot in the form of pins depicting the characters in the box, as well as a couple special dice, and even some art cards from the set. Anything free is good, right?

Well I know how I am spending my weekend. See you on the other side!

A Break from the Normal

Taking a break from Iron Hands and terrain projects, I took a little bit of time last night to work on some traitors I had sitting on my backlog for a while. It was very relaxing. I should paint traitors more often...   ;)

Teun Tries Terrain: -Easy- Zone Mortalis Board - Caverns (Part 2)

Ok, I have to change the title...

Teun Tries Terrain: Easy  FREAKING HARD Zone Mortalis Board - Caverns (Part 2)

That's better. So, many hours and blisters later, I carved out the tunnels from half of the board by hand. 

I didn't take pictures after this point, but I hotglued pieces that I carved out onto the top of the board's remaining walls, to bulk them up higher. The plan is to use paper mache and plaster to texture the walls after, but I need to make a trip to the store first before I can do that.

I'm tired. I'm going to sleep now, nighty-night!

Teun Tries Terrain: Easy Zone Mortalis Board - Caverns (Part 1)

So I have been thinking about making a Zone Mortalis board pretty much ever since Betrayal at Calth came out. I wanted to try out some 30k without needing all the Forgeworld toys that would bankrupt me... and ZM games are a perfect way to ease into it, I figured. Well, fast forward to now, when I have bought enough darn toys to play full sized 30k games anyway. However, a lot of new people are starting up with it, now that Burning of Prospero is a thing.

A local guy is trying to get a 30k ZM league going, to get more people hooked on 30k. It got me thinking about how I never got around to making the board I wanted.

Unable to sleep last night for unrelated reasons, I started brainstorming. Papercraft bulkheads and walls? Doable, but kind of cheap for my tastes. Plaster mold kits? That would work, but it also could get super heavy and expensive, not to mention taking a really long time.

So I started thinking about alternative ways to make a board. The description of ZM battles mentioned caves, tunnels, etc. That sounded easy... It is harder to mess up an organic shape!

I drew up some quick plans and hit the sack, being 2 or 3 in the morning.

Today I went to the hardware store and bought a sheet of 2 inch thick "rigid foam insulation" board, 2 feet by 8 feet long.

I had to cut it in half to fit it in the truck, which turned out to work perfectly. I had brought a tape measure and a pencil with me, so I bought a utility knife with the board and cut it in half as evenly as I could by scouring both sides as deeply as I could with the knife before breaking it off.

When I got home, by far the hardest part so far was to recreate the plans I had drawn:

Drawing the outlines in marker, I found it hard to erase mistakes and get it right. So I had to go back over it with brown craft paint to be more sure of the areas I had marked out:

Now, I designed it to be used in two configurations (hopefully giving it a little more usefulness without making it a pain to use). I planned the way it is pictured, where each side joins up in a large center room with two passageways on either side. Alternatively, each piece of the board can be flipped around, making a second configuration of the tunnels and rooms.

I think I did ok. Using a Dreadnought to test the width of the corridors, I realize I may have planned it a bit narrow. So I will have to widen them when I start carving. But for now I have a much better idea of how it will look. Line of sight will further be broken up when I add hatchways and stalagmites. Should be a fun project!

Stay tuned if you want to see how this project develops! I hope to have it done by this Saturday... just in time for the Burning of Prospero set to arrive!

I Like My Assault Cannons Well Done

Worked on my Dreadnought a bit, and tried out a new "hot barrel" effect on the assault cannon. I think it came out well.

Watch Sergeant Morghulai: Former White Scar Vanguard Veteran

Watch Sergeant Morghulai

Although many tithed White Scars utilize motorized bikes, Morghulai has always been more skilled with a Jump Pack. Falling from the skies like a fearsome cyberhawk, this sergeant of the 1st Watch Company leads the vanguard in attacks that shock and awe his foes.

Watch Captain Karrus: Former Iron Father of Clan Kaargul

Did some work today on getting the method down for my Deathwatch marines. The blue tint is working well for me, and this captain was a good example of the pop it can bring to my models.

Here is the fluff behind my Watch Captain:

"Watch Captain Karrus, formerly an Iron Father of the Iron Hands' Clan Kaargul, most notable for his work improving the the output of his Clan's Razorback engine spirits, is now tithed to the Watch Fortress Doomhold (sister to Watch Fortress Doombreak). Captain Karrus now lends his expertise in mechanized warfare to his new Ordos brothers, calculating the most efficient means of combating their Xenos foes with all the speed and terribleness of the legendary Storm Raisers of his Clan's heritage."

The best part about a Deathwatch army? A little goes a long way. Since they are comparatively expensive vs. most other armies' troops, painting a few Deathwatch models completes a sizable chunk of your army's point values. This Captain is not the biggest points investment, but he takes up about 10 percent, which makes me quite a bit ahead!

Proof of Concept: Blue-Tinted Black Power Armor

Late last night I made a run to the game store before they closed. I picked up some colors that I was suspicously missing, such as Kantor Blue and Leadbelcher. (Weird that I didn't have those, right?) With those, I managed to get a test model for my blue-tinted Deathwatch.

I wanted to differentiate them from my Iron Hands, and I thought going for a more bluish hue was a good way to do so. So I used the skills I learned with my Iron Hands to edge-highlight up a good test model.

This picture isn't the best (as the white backgrounds have a tendency to dull the models' colors in the photos) and I overcompensated a bit while editing the photo, but it's close.

I made a mistake on the bolter casing which I realized later, in which I toned down the highlight. But the rest of it is pretty spot on.

Makes for a good test model. I will be picking up new basing material here shortly, so we can see how it looks then!

Paint it Black - My Watch Begins

I am finally ready to reveal my secret weekend-project.

I enjoy a challenge, from the hobby perspective. I like taking methods that most people find hard, and tackling them head-on. For this reason, Deathwatch (and many forms of black power armor) have always fascinated me. People say that black power armor is really hard to get right... I have always wanted to master it.

Back in 2010, I had a new Iphone 4 (fancy, at the time). I wasn't very good at photographing miniatures with it, however. But I posted this:

http://teun135miniaturewargaming.blogspot.com/2010/10/finally-we-have-photos-again.html

It contained my first forays into black armor (aside from a handful of Black Legion models that I sold off):

It also was my first foray into free-handed Chapter symbols. I would later use these skills in a lot of my work.

I used these guys as my Sternguard Veterans in my normal Space Marine armies. I thought it was thematic and cool that they would be the elite of the elite, having access to special gear and ammunition.

I visited the idea again years later, when I bought my first new tactical squad box in years... I wanted to perfect my execution of black power armor.

I wrote this post: http://teun135miniaturewargaming.blogspot.com/2016/05/on-my-table-562016.html

I think I nailed it... these guys looked good and were some of my best work to date. Many times, I'd get comments on how crisp these guys looked.

I was hooked. I wanted to keep painting black power armor.

Then I started playing Iron Hands. I liked their Feel No Pain, and their dour pragmatism. Their calculating logic. Their superior use of armor and mechanized warfare.

So I looked into playing them in 30k. I dabbled in 30k but the necessity of Forgeworld models made the price point a bit steep for me, so I swung back into 40k with Iron Hands. When Angels of Death came out, I finally had a reason to go whole-hog into Iron Hands. I sped up my technique (sacrificing a little bit of the crispness for a huge increase in speed and uniformity) and managed to finish an ENTIRE ARMY to a high standard in the course of a scant few months! Anybody who knows me also knows that I typically do not work this fast.

Now, in 2016, they came out with Death Masque. A new starter set, containing Watch Captain Artemis and his merry band of xenos-killers. Coupled with a new Deathwatch Codex, I finally have the tools and the hobby practice to undergo my most ambitious hobby challenge: A complete Deathwatch army.

This weekend I took my first steps toward that goal. I bought, built, and even have started to paint; the makings of my first entirely-independent Deathwatch Black Spear Strike Force.

I bought a trio of Razorbacks, and with the contents of Death Masque, I should have a good start to my Black Spear Strike Force. I also added a few newly-converted HQ units (see top of post) and I still have a squad or two of regular tactical marines to assemble with their new Deathwatch shoulder pads.

It's going to be a long road. But I feel like I am ready. I look forward to the work ahead... I think the end result will be spectacular and worth every ounce of effort.

--Teun

Back in Service!

So it's been a short while since I posted anything. Partly due to lack of progress, partly due to lapsing my internet service and letting it go. I find it is pretty hard to actually write any posts on a goddamn Galaxy4. But now I got the internet hooked back up, and I have some backlog to catch you up on!

First up is my first batch of free-handed chapter symbols on my Iron Hands bros. I found I can only do about ten of these at a time because I spend just as much time attempting to correct my work and make it uniform as I do actually painting them. Any more than 10 in a day, even though they don't take terribly long to initially paint, would drive me mad.

Head here to see how I freehand my Iron Hand chapter symbol:

http://teun135miniaturewargaming.blogspot.com/2016/07/tutorial-painting-iron-hands-symbols.html

There will be much more to come as I figure out what I am behind on photographing, and post it up. Also, I have a super secret ultra project. The only hint I will give you is:

This weekend will be my WEEKEND OF DEATH AND DEATH LIKE THINGS.

Stay tuned, I am working on a fairly large chunk of hobby progress, and I hope to get as much of it done this weekend as possible!

On My Table: 09/07/2016

Made a proxy for a Warpsmith, since apparently a lot of the new Traitor's Hate formations use them. Good marketing by GW to get rid of overstocked models, probably.