Second Post of the Year!!!

Last post I was apologising for a 3 month gap in posting. This time its a 7 month gap 😅

So, a concise update is in order. In all honesty, I've only really been productive in the last couple of months, getting a large chunk of my primaris marines painted up as well as making the decision to sell off my AdMech and Custodes. I thoroughly enjoy the hobby and gaming aspects of marines but the same can't be said for the departing forces.

You therefore might expect me to make a post about sci-fi post-human warrior monks but instead I'm making one about fantasy post-human warrior monks.

Fuck the Everchosen! I break his back, make him humble!

Behold the Secret Project! I've always liked the stormcast aesthetic, especially as they've become more svelte in the past two editions.

Bases are from Fenris, left over from an older project that never came to fruition but now happily in use. The above pictures showcase a few of the headswaps I implemented. In order from Top to bottom : Frostgrave Wizards II, Victrix Dacians, Fireforge Scandinavian Infantry, Stormcast Praetors and finally, a Sisters of Battle head.

The two castigators at the bottom I've modelled heroically posing on convenient rocks; the models are originally from Underworlds and thus had heavily sculpted bases that didn't suit the look I was going for. 

(p.s. I started writing this post on 25/09/2022 and have finally finished it on 16/10/2022 😬. Fine form as usual)

I have been busy ...

 A very belated happy new year 2022!

My laziness strikes again and it's getting on 3 months since I last posted. Perhaps the variety of plans I had for the year has led to me procrastinating, combined with mandatory inactivity over the festive season, leading to a drought in enthusiasm. I had wanted to get some of my old metal Mordor orcs painted by the end of the year to celebrate the release of The Fellowship of the Ring and the accompanying model line but that never came to fruition. My realisation that I didn't start collecting the SBG until 2002 put paid to that anniversary idea easily. As I type, they sit undercoated to my left and will be finished this year. I plan on playing the first, generic learning scenario presented in the rulebook so require some Men of Gondor as well.

I can happily report that I have finally experienced some productivity as I've shifted gear into finally assembling my dream Space Marine army of many years in the planning. I bought a Assault Intercessor squad with high hopes of some mild kitbashing, only to be disappointed by how limited they really are. Or at least to my sensibilities. I then started kitbashing a Tactical squad to try and perk me up and it worked like a dream! As refined and dynamic as the Primaris kits are, they seriously lack the modular, Lego like quality of the Firstborn kits. I used 5-6 boxes for the squad, supplemented by plenty of bits packs from Forgeworld and Other  sources. I won't continue with my lyrical waxing as I don't have any decent accompanying photos but will post a wip. 

Van Saar Multi-Melta on a marine

Whilst perusing for bits on eBay, I noticed the Necromunda Van Saar heavy weapons and the shoulder mounted nature of them reminded me of the old 2nd edition devastator weapons. Thus intrigued I ordered one! It turns out unsurprisingly that weapons made for standard humans are a tad too small for post-humans, regardless of GW scale problems. I had to trim away the pad and padding from the shoulder rest to get it to fit on top of the marine pauldron. the chainsword arm I chose for the weapon arm turned out to be too short for the stubby weapon. I will need to remedy this with green stuff and maybe some plasticard. Lore wise, I'm fine with the small size of the weapon as I prefer my Tactical squads to have more compact and easier to carry heavy weapons. Plus, Necromunda is a recruitment planet for the Imperial Fists, whom my Abominators are a successor of. My hazy explanation is that it is perhaps a gift from the parent chapter or an oddity picked up on a joint visit to the planet. Van Saar weapons are  high tech but notorious for their radiation leakage so I'll use that to explain away its small stature compared to it's stats. Marines should be immune to such levels of radiation anyway, right? Just to make sure, the techmarines will slap a few purity seals on it and maybe issue the 'lucky' marine with a specialised helmet.

Lastly, some time last year I bought a small quantity of acetone based nail polish remover to try and remedy this poor gummed up fellow:

Cursed Image

I got him in a trade with a friend nigh on 20 years ago; no idea what I gave in return but I suspect I was hoodwinked 😁 As you may be able to see, much of the detail, especially on the chest is covered in a thick layer of superglue that is hard to remove even with the traditional freezer method. I left him in there with 2 other models and kind of forget about them for a few months. Only yesterday did I take them out.

The Result

It worked! (Apart from the paint removal, which was dismal). The glue had acquired a slightly gummy texture and was easy to pick off, especially in nooks and crannies such as male/female joints for weapon hands par example. I've now thrown in my ancient Ahriman for the same treatment.

The next victim

That's all. Hopefully I'll be posting with the same regularity I exhibited last year.

Deadcember

 ... or a belated Spooktober.

I've finally gotten around to both making another post and finishing some minis. I intended to finish these skellies for October but that turned into November and then a post never materialised. The miniatures themselves were finished in late 2020 with my previous skellies but awaited suitable shields.

Skeleton Elite Guard afaik

These were purchased from Black Tree Designs a few years back and are now sadly OOP. I was under the impression that they're ex-Harlequin and sculpted by Kev Adams but I'm now not so sure. They're nowhere to be found on the Lost Minis Wiki and I don't fancy prising my two unpainted ones off their bases to confirm some particulars.

With regards to painting; same scheme as the previous lot with a mix of metallics and contrast. The right most one in the above picture has his scale mail painted as tarnished bronze, which happens to be close in colour to the green I've used. Oh well 🤷

The left individual in the above picture has red hair; I was inspired by the Osterby Man to do so. The shields themselves are 3D prints from ebay. Unfortunately they were covered in artefacts but seeing as they are modelled damaged anyway, I wasn't overly fussed. On another unfortunate note, the Wyldwood brown contrast I used has come had almost black and I will perhaps give them a re-touch in the future.

Doormat to Good Enough in Less Than a Day

On a whim, I recently purchased a Rogue Trader inspired Techmarine fan sculpt from ye_alchemist on ebay, sculpted by James Sheriff. The model is 32mm and is somewhere in between more recent firstborn and primaris marines in size, whilst retaining 80's design cues.

A size comparison of Astartes

Many more motivated and productive hobbyists tally what they've completed against what they've bought, so with that in mind I decided to complete the model in under a day. This plan was almost scuppered by the fact that the model doesn't come with a backpack and the modern ones I have in abundance don't fit due to the increased size of the 'jet' vents meshing with the pauldrons. 

On the excellent Rogue Heresy blog (which inspired me to buy it and furthermore has a much nicer paint job), they appear to have used a metal RT era backpack, which is a tad prohibitive for me. Luckily, I had some Spellcrow Space Knights backpacks to hand, which fit nicely.

It's a nice sculpt all in all; I particularly like his dinky hammer which is no doubt used in all manner of percussive rituals. The only details that are a little off are the lack of detail on his boots and the design of the bolt pistol, both no doubt due to 'certain' reasons. It acted as a useful model to try out a scheme for a specialist; the bare metal legs and torso of a standard marine replaced with that callings sacred colour, in this case martian red for a techmarine.

 As the title implies, I painted him to a 'good enough' standard; one of the things I like about space marines is that they can look good with even a simple paint job. Eventually I will add more details, such as finishing the dial on his watch and adding markings. On the battlefield, I may field him as a Rapier Carrier crew, if I can acquire one cheaply that is.

He was such fun to work on that he's inspired me to carry on work with the rest of my marines and I shall hopefully have a whopping 20 more done by months end. 🤞

Skitarii Advent

 At long last I have completed a squad of dubious legality for my Forgeworld Velchans Prime. They've been sitting around at a nigh finished state for months and I've finally completed them, barring unit markings/transfers and highlighting.

Skitarii Rangers

For the scheme I was inspired somewhat by the German M1910 uniform as depicted in Youjo Senki. It doesn't quite translate onto skitarii uniforms but I hope to replicate the dark green with red trim elsewhere across the force. I'm using Lupercal Green as I had a pot to spare, which is a happy coincidence 😏.

I say the squad is of dubious legality as the weapon loadout is no longer doable in 9th edition as well as the fact that there are a few third party heads in there. They're cultist gas mask heads from Anvil Industry. In the lore, or at least my interpretation of it, skitarii are furnished with a hodge-podge of whatever bionics and equipment the techpriests have to hand. I therefore wanted to try and add a bit of variety and alas, these heads were the only ones that I could find that looked similar. Not sure I entirely like them with hindsight but they add interest nonetheless. 

On a side tangent, my plans for the skitarii vanguard were even more grandiose; different heads, bodies and legs entirely! I'm not really a fan of the two squads from one kit design ethos GW have developed, especially when it came to my latent idea of what skitarii should look like. Ultimately, I couldn't find anything to my liking and it was yet another form of procrastination so I eventually settled for the bog standard look, which I do like in fairness. In an ideal world, I'd 3D sculpt compatible parts to give variety but that's a bit of a pipe dream.

Back on topic, this is my first time using Valhallan Blizzard and I must say I'm quite impressed. It's consistency somewhat reminds me of marshmallow Fluff spread and it can be applied quite realistically. I also used some old school flock rather than faff around with tufts and such. Hopefully it will go some way towards tying my army together visually with those of my Imperial allies.

With regards to the photo, I've seen something similar where people use book spreads as backdrops, in this case the creepy inside cover of a 9th edition codex. I have skimped out by using painting newspaper though rather than a faux ground surface. The photo is unfocussed and requires a bit more jiggery-pokery.

Terrain Musings

For the terrain that I intend to make, I want to take inspiration from aspects of the British landscape. In particular, what I have in mind is areas like the Brecon Beacons and similar remote and rugged landscapes, as well as old historic sites and ruins. These were a major fixture of my childhood holidays and I guess they've left an indelible mark on my imagination.

To that end, here is a sample of pictures I snapped on some recent excursions highlighting hedgerows, forests and the like. Both are a fixture of wargames terrain that I want to nail down with a realistic look. Pan scourer hedges and model railway trees have a certain charm, but I'm not painting my bases goblin green 😁

I imagine this was once a dry stone wall that has been left to collapse and later replaced with wire fencing, which has also seen better days. The stunted, shrub like trees also add to that wild and dilapidated feel. A 1" mound studded with stones and surmounted by a rickety fence and wiry trees would make some fine boundaries and chest high cover for miniatures.

A weathered and spindly hedge. You wonder how long these same features have existed in the landscape. Since enclosure acts at least perhaps? This looks like it would be fun to make out of twists of wire.

A wind blasted and decrepit shrub/tree, with bare ground beneath were animals take shelter. Such terraces and hillocks could also provide cover for miniatures. 

A tree perched by a boundary ditch; not sure if it was pollarded in the past or the off-shoot trunks are just a feature of that species. Trees aren't necessarily just a single straight trunk, something to bear in mind if you want a tad more variety.

A soft and springy layer of moss and lichen from a conifer plantation. Not even a century old and the area is covered in abundant growth. Building up the bases with small pants and flock can really create a vibrant look. 

A gentle, rocky stream. Usually, water terrain pieces are built with crossings in mind, to form chokepoints. With a shallow stream like this however, you could cross wherever. Double your movement to cross carefully or move normally but risk slipping (unless you're fleet-footed of course).

Ancient oaks from Croft Castle. Their chaotic trunks and many textures look like a fun modelling project. Perhaps a shrine has grown up around them or a beastie has made it their home. Historically, such features have also been important local meeting places.

I'm not sure if I have a certain type of landscape in mind; moorland perhaps, or if I'm really combining several different biomes. This only covers the natural features of course. I will cover my thoughts on ruined structures at a later date.

SPHESS MAHREENS!

Unsurprisingly, I have some space marines in my collection. My homebrew chapter is an Imperial Fists successor called the Abominators. I shall have to do a lore dump at some point, once I've condensed all my various ideas into something cogent. 

Space marines comprise a sizeable part of my plastic pile of shame; mostly firstborn as I want to go wild kitbashing them out of the various armour marks. I probably have enough to field a nearly full strength company but won't paint them as such. In reality, companies are rarely fielded en masse but are usually deployed across different warzones, aided by contingents from the support companies. The primaris that I do have will mostly be from said support companies, placed their when Cawl's reinforcements made contact, their firstborn colleagues rotated to the battleline companies.

Intercessors with a Lieutenant

Most of my primaris marines are from Dark Imperium and Shadowspear sets, with the above from the former. There is some kitbashing on the lieutenant and the sergeants but I wished I'd waited and combined the push fit intercessors with the multi-part kit, just for a tad more variety.

Lieutenant in the centre, Sergeants on the left & right

The two on the left were painted with a white undercoat, which led to a washed out finish. I tried out two washes, Athonian Camoshade and Biel-Tan Green respectively.  I think the Camoshade came out best so I might look into washing the other models armour the same.

Intercessors

They're enjoyable to paint and thus made a good test bed for my scheme. It came into being due to two factors: I like green and I like painting metallics. I was partly inspired by Darren Latham's Silver Skulls as well, from which I took the Leadbelcher and Nuln oil for the armour, as well as some ideas for markings. The green is Skarsnik Green and I think the paleness contrasts well with the metalics. Weapon casings are naturally the classic red from older editions.

Intercessor

I've painted them to my Good Enough™ standard but will eventually paint on the company markings, which will be on one of the knee pads and for primaris, the circular detail on their backpack. I should also really drill the barrels, although this feels me with dread as lining the drill up perfectly is finicky. I have also just realised, as I write, that I forgot to add snow. My friends have standardised their basing schemes to tie our disparate armies together and that includes snow. Curses! A task for another day.

I will be away for the next three weeks without access to minis and computer both so I won't be posting anything hobby related. I might post a ramble or some photos of my time in Wales but I won't make any promises 😄