Space Wolf Scout (Art Monday)

 This week we have a Space Wolf Scout. This piece was published in Inquisitor Magazine #14. 

I still like this one a lot despite some personal criticisms I have with it. Keen eyes (and maybe even old ones at that) will notice that he is based off of the old Warhammer 40,000 1st edition/ Advanced Space Crusade Space Marine Scout models. Up until 3rd edition Space Wolf Scouts were young and brash and not the grizzled loners they are today. I can't recall if the runes on the side of his bolt pistol ment anything or not, but I think they were just randomly done. 

Shokk Attack! (Art Mondays)

 This is another unpublished piece. I really like this one, but I have always adored snotlings; Such vicious little buggers. But I adored the original Shock Attack Gun results charts from the Rogue Trader era 'Ere We Go hardcover book even more! That was an absolute experience to roll up those results (especially for the victims!).

Here a bunch of them are swarming a Space Marine. This particular Space Marine is an old school Space Wolf with the original Space Wolves icon. I have always liked that design as it has more of a sci-fi vibe to me. I still use it onbmost of my original (first born) Space Wolves. Not sure why he seems to have the jump pack straps but no jump pack...maybe I thought it just looked cool? 

Wolfpriest Jorvik Blacktooth (Part 2)

Wolfpruest Jorvik Blacktooth.

With a pause in my art duties, and a slight Spring break for myself, I took a few moments to try to complete a few things in my painting queue that wouldn't take too much work to finish. One such model was Wolfpriest Jorvik Blacktooth which I started on, and nearly finished, last summer (see Part 1). I do not know what fizzled out the momentum I had going on this guy, but I suspect it as something to do with getting a job with a long commute.

"Dude, where's my Eldar trophies

I didn't take any stage-by-stage pics for these final steps as I was primarily focused on just finishing him up. That said I can tell you a few things that I know I haven't covered elsewhere. The interior of his cloak was painted by first applying a basecoat of Mournfang Brown. Next I added a layer of Zandri Dust. I then glazed it with Agrax Earthshade followed by another glaze of a mixture of six parts water to one part Carrosburg Crimson. This last mixture made for the subtlest of hues, but I like how it turned out.

I applied a decal on his left pauldron, and I would like to note that if really is less challenging if you put the backpack on after you apply the decals to your Marines. Trust me.

One he was done it was time to take him out for his natural lighting glamor shot. Expect to see him soon in the Space Wolves gallery and in the Neverness Rogues gallery. And with hope, in a battle report!

My first completed model of 2020! Yay!

It is nice to finally have a completed model for 2020. I have a few more I hope to get done soon, but in the meanwhile I literally have to get back to the drawing board!

Intercessors of Fenris (Part 6)

My attention returns now to the second squad of Intercessors that I started some time back. In the last post of this series,  Intercessors Part 5,  you can see the completed models of the first squad. Or were they the second? The first Primaris models I built, back in Intercessors-of-Fenris-part-1, are the miniatures featured in this post. Somehow I got the other ones done first, but if you hang around on this blog long enough you'll see that this is typical of me...

"Don't look, but there's a Dreadnought behind us..."

Here is a pic taken back in Novemer of 2018. Only the bases and the armor's basecoats were done. I had dabbled on them somewhere in between because they ended up with Fire Dragon Orange for their yellow basecoats and Khorne Red for their Red basecoats on their respective pauldrons.

Shadow Grey Basecoats. 

After too much neglect I felt the urge to work on them a bit more. Adding Russ Grey for a midcoat on the armor I was eager to get them done so I pushed on.

Russ Grey Midcoats.

Next I used Space Wolf Grey as the third layer, which gives them a nice frosty look. I critically low on this color and I am desperately searching for an analog for this color...I curse myself for not buying more of this when I had the chance, but then I simply never foresaw that color being discontinued after being around for over two decades.

Space Wolves Grey coat. 

Running out of time, and with attention needed on my 2-D pursuits, I have reached a stopping point. One of the things I am pondering in the interim is the small shield on this guy's arm. I like it a lot and I want to do something different on it. I may stick a decal on it, but due to it's size my options are limited. Maybe just the pack marking color or a personal heraldry? Not sure, but I am willing to entertain any ideas you lot might have, so feel free to leave me a comment.

Sorry, "YOUR AD HERE" has been vetoed already.

Hopefully there will be another update sooner than later!

Space Wolf Primaris Reivers (Part 2)

This trio is finally done! (I know you can only see two in the top pic, but trust me here...) Moving on from Part-1 was a slow undertaking. I dabbled on them a bit while painting the Stormhawk Interceptor but it wasn't until I finished with that model that I really gave these guys the proper attention.

The Space Wolf Grey stage. 

In April I replaced my old cutting mat with a new one by The Army Painter. The pics Ibhave been taking have been more interesting however it's not a self healing mat and it's already taking damage from the brutality that I inflict on surfaces while I build models. I will likely have to replace it soon.

Also in May our dog died. I bought a miniature of a wolf that I am going to paint as a homage to her, and this pic shows what the mini looks like next to one of these guys. (More on this in a future a post).

"You're about to piss, aren't you?"

Deciding on how to paint this guy's hair was an interesting challenge. I painted in FoltArt English Mustard before giving it a Brown Ink wash.

English Mustard hair.

After that I dry brushed on Mournfang Brow, highlighted with Averland Sunrise and glazed with Agrax Earthshade.

Hair by Chapter Serfs.

 I used Averland Sunrise for the banding on the wire that's on the back of his left arm.

Decals fun time. So using the technique I talked about in Stormhawk Interceptor Part 7 however that technique was done on flat surfaces for the most part. Marine pauldrons on the other hand...*sigh* ...these things are just a pain in the ass. I had to combine that technique with my previous method using Microset. After a few complications I got the decals finished.

A few touch-ups and some grass clumps, and these guys were indeed finished.

And, despite the cloudiness, it wasn't raining for a change, so out we went for some location shots.

Scout'n about.

Against the psychic attack fungi of Unicoius Prime.

What's next for these guys? I am tempted to expand them up to a 5 man team just so I can use them in 40k games, but for now they will likely see action in games of Kill Team if at all. If that happens I will do a Part 3. But this particular trio is now finished.

Wolf Priest Jorvik Blacktooth (Part 1)

Wolf Priest Jorvik Blacktooth has existed in my lore for a long time now, usually appearing as a correspondent. And those letters are usually in response to some treachery performed by Da Masta Cheef (a very treacherous fellow indeed). But he has yet to appear on the tabletop or even have a model to represent him. Well, we now have a solution for that!

Current WIP level.

This is the rather rare limited edition Wolf Priest model released in 2002. I believe he was a Games Day promo model. He was only released in metal. It took me ages to find this miniature at a sane price, and two years ago I did. But I have only recently got around to painting him.

Here he is primed black with a base coat on his base.

Primed.

And here he is with most of his base coats:

Mostly base coated. 

And here he is, in his base coated state, leading his Space Wolves to victory! Well, at this stage he is directing more than leading, but a leader never-the-less!

"Don't blame me, it's 8th edition!"

And here he is once again, truly leading now by making the decisive shot of the game that killed the enemy Farseer/Courier. Not too shabby for a first game, and being only base coated!

"This is how we Kill xenos boys..."

 Obviously with a show like that he need more paint, so to the front of the queue he went!

Brown base coats and a bit of blue.

I kind of went back and forth in these early stages of trying to decide how to paint his various wolf skulls. At one point I was just going to make them a metallic gold, but with so much stuff on this guy already picked out to be that color, I decided some contrast was necessary.

Brown base coats applied! 

So I followed the examples I have seen of this model online and went with making the winged skulls a bone color.

"I've gotta bone ta pick with youse." 

And this is as far as I have gotten on this guy so far. He is a far trickier miniature to paint than one would think, as I keep realizing more details as I progress. But so far I am pleased.

Kill the Courier

+++++++++++++++DATE ++++++++++++++++REF ++++++++TRANSMITTED +++++++++++++++++TO ++++++++++++SUBJECT +++++++++++LOCATION +++++++++++++SECTOR ++++++AUTHORIZATION ++++++++++++THOUGHT

3394819.M41 Inq/045678506/BI Wolf Priest Jorvik Blacktooth Wolf Lord Sven Axegrinder Campaign Update from Segmentum Warzones Segmentum Obscurus Tri-Cinci Sub, Hobbytown Secundus LETUS05.61.CLA Knowledge causes confusion. We must retrieve the artifact, the water bowl of Freki,the foul xenos scum stole it five years ago and have escaped our vengeance since that time. They must be brought to heel and the artifact must be retrieved at all cost. Lord Grimnar has added the following message to assure the importance of this mission:   "Extreme prejudice is sanctioned and encouraged.  YOU ARE EXPENDABLE, THE WATER BOWL IS NOT. -LG"

Finally, the Space Wolves get a (sorta) rematch against these foul xenos! Da Masta Cheef and I arranged this game shortly after the last one when I reminded him of the time his Eldar soundly defeated my Space Wolves back in 5th edition. Since that time he has sold off a lot his Eldar, both the Exodites and Corsairs, leaving only a scattering of each. I agreed to let him use some of mine to fill in the gaps. I lent him Fire Dragons, Swooping Hawks and Dark Reapers.

This game was one of many firsts! Most importantly it was the first time using Da Cheef's new awesome convertible gaming table (a.k.a. The Jasper). It was my first time using Space Wolves in 8th ed, and my first time using a few units with them. Such as the Intercessors, Stormhawk, and a Wolf Priest (it's true, in the decades I have played this game, I have never used a generic Wolf Priest). It was Cheef's first time using many of the Eldar units in this game as well.

Once again we used the Open War cards, pulling the  'long way' deployment and Kill the Courier as a mission. Note that I pulled out form the deck any of the missions that didn't have some sort of specific objective to fight over. The Twist card that we pulled (Double or Nothing) resulted in us not having any twists.

Open War!

After choosing our zones, we set up our forces on The Jasper. Clearly the Xenos scum, having traded the sacred Space Wolf artifact, the Water Bowl of Freki, many times over, were about to pass on the artifact to another group. Now the Space Wolves have cornered a band of Corsairs who have been joined by a detachment of Craftworld Eldar, no doubt sending the artifact to it's final intended, and debauch, destination. The Eldar Courier was identified as the Farseer. The Eldar have selected my Rune Priest as the Courier for the Space Wolves. What twisted vision did that Farseer see to select the Rune Priest as his target is not known at this time, only that the xenos sought his demise.

Eldar set-up. 

Our set ups were fairly straight forward,  with the scenery some what sparse there was still plenty of defensive positions to take advantage of.

Space Wolf Set-Up. 

TURN ONE

The Eldar advance. They fired a lot shots at the Space Wolves, but only one of the Sons of Russ was eliminated.

The Eldar are coming!

Space Wolves Turn One, and they did not take the loss of Brother Banebreath too well! The counter attack was intense, with the Eldar taking considerable losses, but it was the Stormhawk Interceptor that truly brought the thunder. I knew this thing has potential for fire power but damn! We were not expecting it to be this impressive! It destroyed a unit of Corsairs and a Dire Avenger unit! Cheef was livid at this thing and was determined to bring it down.

The wall of bullets is spat out by the Stormhawk.

TURN TWO

The Eldar counter attacked, killing a few Space Wolves with shooting. The Autarch on Jetbike (it only looks like a griffin) charged into the Stormhawk. he didn't knock it out of the sky like he intended too but he did get it down to 6 wounds remaining.

Bonzi!!!

Space Wolves Turn Two

Smoking but still aggressive, the Stromhawk turned it's attention towards the Vyper. After the 1st round, we expected this to be an ugly event, but no, the Vyper not only absorbed everything the Stormhawk threw at it, but managed to survive with 2 Wounds remaining!

The Vyper's escape!

In my 2nd Turn Movement phase my Drop Pod appeared, and out sprang my 2nd Grey Hunters squad who killed off the Dark Reapers.

Drop Pod assault!

The Intercessors charged into a Guardian unit while the Wolf Priest and the remaining Grey Hunters charges the Autarch.

Charge!

The Autarach was unharmed due to his invulnerable saves and would fly off in his his next Movement phase.

TURN 3, and the Autarch charged the Interceptor again, which by this point had been reduced down to 4 Wounds. The Autarch finished it off, and Interceptor bits rained down onto the field.

The last of the Corsairs killed off the entire 2nd Squad of Grey Hunters with shooting. Clearly they were getting too close to the Courier!

The Autrach in his glory. 

The Intercessors gunned down the Autarch on Jet Bike/Griffen, ending his reign of air supremacy.

TURN 4

Meanwhile the 2nd Autarch and a Squad of Dire Avengers was hunting down my Rune Priest, who, along with the Long Fangs, had just all but finished off a FIre Dragon squad (the Exarch still lived!). After failing to Wound him they charged him.

"We have you know Mon'Keigh!"

The Swooping  Hawks charged the Primaris Marines that had just finished off the Guardian, tying them up in melee.

Space Wolves Turn 4,

With the swirling Melee nearby, the two survivors of the 1st Grey Hunter Squad spotted the Farseer, and the Meltagunner took off all but one wound from the Farseer; leaving the Space Wolves only one wound away from victory! Naturally they charged the Farseer who managed to make all of his saves, yet failed to kill his attackers!

The Farseer (Courier) is wounded!

TURN 4, and we are running out of models! The Vindicator had been hunted down by the Vyper and the Fire Dragon Exarch they were  picking wounds off of it, and somehow it survived an assault with Melta Bombs, but it was down to only 2 Wounds!

Space Wolves Turn 4, and the Vindicator pretty much point-blank annihilated the Fire Dragon Exarch, thankfull that templates are no longer a thing! It then Turned it's attention to the Vyper, finishing it off with it's storm bolter.

The Vindicator, sticking it out to vanquish it's oppressors. 

Turn 5

The Farseer used Smite to kill off his Attackers! He then advanced himself to position of cover.

"I Smite thee!"

The Runepriest liked that idea and Smited the Autarch attacking him, kill him out right while the Dire Avengers continued to press the assault.

"I Smite thee!"

The Long Fangs, now out of targets, moved down to assist the Runepriest, who now only had one opponent.

We;re here to help boss!

Having bested the last of the Swooping Hawks in the Eldar Fight Phase, the Wolf Priest and surviving Primaris Marines found the hidden Farseer crouching in the ruins. With a blast from his Plasma Pistol, the Farseer's days as a Courier were no more, and the Water Bowl of Freki was retrieved!.

Victory!

That was a fast summary, and I know I left out a lot of details, but it was getting late and my memory is somewhat fractured and dependent upon these pics. But what a fight! In case it's not obvious, there was only one survivor in the Eldar army, and she was a Dire Avenger desperately trying to take out the Rune Priest, who was now down to just 3 Wounds himself. I like to think that the Runepriest and the Long Fangs took her as a prisoner. Likewise, Cheef likes to think that the Wolf Priest slagged the Water Bowl of Freki with that plasma blast...

It was a good, intense game! My MVP was easily the Stormhawk Interceptor due to it's first round introduction where it blew away two units! This thing has the potential to dish our a lot of death if the dice are hot! A definite honor mention for Wolf Priest Jorvik Blacktooth for staying alive, inspiring his troops (those re-rolls to hit are just divine!) and for the winning shot of the game. He definitely earns his pace in the hall of heroes!

Cheef's MVP was that Vyper, simply for the incredible amount of firepower it absorbed during the game!  it stood up the Stormhawk, survived and went on to pester my forces until it was eventually dealt with. It was very tough to kill! His Autarch on Jetbike (Griffin) was probably the 2nd place contender.

And that's a wrap, the Water Bowl of Freki has been recovered, and the Space Wolves have a prisoner! Will the Eldar attempt a rescue?

Stormhawk Interceptor (Part 8)

We left off in Part 7 with the main model done with only the base left to finish. After some distractions and whatever it was time get this thing finished.

Like I did for the flight stand on the Dakkajet, first I traced out the bottom of the flight stand onto the base using a Sharpie. Then after I had placed the objects onto the base, I used watered-down PVA glue to apply the grit, but I was careful to keep the grit outside of the pattern. After this I primed the base using Chaos Black. I built up the dirt colors using a series of craft paints until it was at a satisfactory level.

Done with the dirt.

Next I put my focus onto the collapsed Statuary. I decided to to make the ruined girders and support sections rusty and older looking.

Statuary before dust coat.

The statuary pieces were also painted up using craft paints, primarily the greys that I typically use for statues, rocks and Imperial Guard uniforms and tanks. I like that granite look I guess? I used Country Tan, the middle color of my ground palette to dirty up the statuary once the primary painting was completed.

Dust coat added.

After that, I affixed the clear flight stand to the base and set it aside to bond for a day.

Flight stand joined to base.

And finally I applied a few clumps of grass to sort of spice it up a bit.

Some grass tufts to top it off.

And with that, this thing was done.

Ta-da!

Working on storage/transport for it now, but I have decided that it wasn't "blog-worthy" to chronicle that endeavor.