Rust and the city

Day 10: 3 more plague marines built

2012-03-02T17:43:00.000-08:00

I've mostly finished the sculpting on another three plague marines. I tried to sculpt them to fit in with the Forge World Death Guard models. I added two resin shoulder pads to tie them in and sculpted the belly guards to fit the bloated aesthetic. I am pleased with the bulk of these models. I think they look suitably intimidating to fit in with the Death Guard. I carried over a few themes from the other models that I am planning to carry through the army (fungus chimneys, bloated stomach armour, tentacles, metal tabard, cables).

Beaky.

Ol' Three Eyes

Braindead. Carrying a melta.

I've also started assembling and sculpting a few terminators. I have the Forge World Death Guard terminator torsos. The legs I have here are from Grey Knights. I have some more terminator bits and pieces coming to build a solid contingent of them. All of the terminators will be magnetized so I can swap weapons around.

Bye for now!

Day 8: Death Guard Champion conversion

2012-02-29T19:43:00.000-08:00

Considering the goals I set to paint this army fast, you really would have expected faster progress than this... I thought Death Guard would make a good quick army as I would have less conversions to do. I guess I've gotten a bit carried away with adding detail and so assembly is taking me a long time. Here is an update of the progress I am slowly making.

Here is a champion with power fist. Torso is from the Forge World Death Guard kit. I added some tentacles, cables, and a metal tabard and extra armour on the legs from plasticard. It is hard to see in the picture, but I also added some fungus vents at the top of the backpack (the white really washes out in photos).

The tentacles will be a bit of a theme with the force. I am hoping to make them not too over the top though.

The cable is from Dragon Forge.

I also sculpted some more torsos to fit in with the Forge World torsos. I am hoping to make a press mold of the one in the center to save some time on future models...

I am quite fond of this one. I recently started using Gale Force 9 green stuff as it is way cheaper. It seems a little easier to smooth. I like it.

Here is a picture of the colour scheme I am planning to use. Specifically, the rust and eyes. I am still undecided on how to paint the green. This model is still not finished.

Mostly because I don't want to paint the wood.

Thanks for visiting. Check back soon as I hope to have this squad assembled and painted soon(ish). I am still waiting for some more pewter cables to arrive. Once they do I will be able to finish the plague marine squad. Welcome to colonel schofer, our newest member! Hasta proxima!

Day 2: Death Guard Dreadnought conversion

2012-02-23T15:34:00.000-08:00

Today is day two of my goal to finish 1,500 points of death guard in about 40 days. I have finished converting I have decided that my force will be themed after the Apostles of Contagion, a death guard splinter war band, during the Siege of Vraks.

The first model I have finished converting is a dreadnought with close combat weapon and multi-melta. The model is based on the AoBR dreadnought. I did a lot of sculpting and tried some new techniques to bring this model closer to my vision. I decided to convert this model so that it looked like the dreadnought was possessed by disease and fungus and other organic matter and that it was exploding through the shell of the dreadnought in places.

The close combat weapon was made with crudely carved sprue and greenstuff.

The tentacles around the multimelta are my favourite bits just now. I know it is over the top, but I really wanted to try sculpting some crazier things for this army.

I melted the leg guard a little and added some details to the lower part of the chasis. You can see the nurgle icons on the left leg here. Unfortunately they are obscured by the base.

My other favourite bit. I made fungus bits on top using plasticard rods, greenstuff, and a candle.

Here you can see where I melted the back panel. Kind of matches the armour on the forgeworld nugle dreadnoughts.

The bases for this army will all be trench themed. I made each sandbag out of milliput. I originally planned to resin cast this base (hence the amount of work put into it) but I couldn't find a casting kit at Michael's and I don't really want to order one. I can easily recreate it another time though.

More coming soon!

Come back soon for more updates. I will assemble 7 death guard plague marines and then I will spray and paint the plague marines and dreadnought in one go. Then I will do the same with 7 more marines and a demon prince I am excited about converting. Welcome to RatC's newest members unrealistic artist, musings of a smurf, and uniteallaction. Thanks for visiting!

Commitment time: Death Guard timelines...

2012-02-19T21:49:00.000-08:00

In the summer I decided I would finally get "into" 40k. I got a starter box with space marines and orks in it for my birthday when I was thirteen or so. All of my friends played fantasy though and none were interested in 40k. I painted a selection of different models and forgot about it for a while.

My current interest in 40k really grew from terrain and skirmish games. A friend I played Mordheim with convinced me to try Death Squads (a 40k skirmish game, made by fans). I really enjoyed building the futuristic terrain. Over time I got more interested in the 40k story and fluff. I know that in many ways it parallels human history and civilizations (and many of the not so nice parts...) but I really love the grim dark setting. I like the corruption from within and assault from the outside. I like the futility. That sounds pretty dark. I don't support these things. That's why I have finally decided to breaking it all apart with a plague straight from the eye of terror.

Visitors to this blog have probably noticed some waffling on what 40k army to start lately. I've come up with some ideas for using a grey knights list with marines and with my imperial renegades. I have a selection of Death Guard models all ready to paint though. I have finally settled on a paint scheme that I like and so I think I am finally ready to really get started with this force.

Some Death Guard test models. Not really happy with them. Too much yellow. I have remedied that now. Less yellow!

On March 31st there is a local tournament. 1,500 points. As someone who may have never fielded a fully painted and based force this is a pretty ambitious objective. I have more free time coming up in the next few weeks though and will endeavour to complete an army in this time frame.

The basic army will look like this. I know it is not an optimized force but I really don't want to buy and build vehicles until the new CSM codex comes out. I am going to build these first and add plague marines/havocs/chosen/more HQs as needed to reach 1500 points.

Demon Prince-Wings

3 Terminator termicide unit

7 Terminators (foot slogging nurgle style!)

7 plague marines

7 plague marines

10 summoned demons

1 dreadnought (melta and close combat weapon)

This is definitely not a really strong force. Footslogging is not very popular at the moment. That's okay. I am not looking to win very much. I would like to make the list as strong as possible within the confines of Death Guard fluff and my own aesthetic choices. I don't want many vehicles (walkers are ok, I like converting dreads!). I want lots of ground pounders. I want models that I am sure will be included in future Death Guard lists. Any tips or ideas for bulking out the force and making it a bit tougher within these guidelines would be greatly appreciated.

Death Guard character I have been working on. He looks much better now. Totally changed the armour hue and the rusted metal.

Visit back in the next few weeks to see my progress. I've added a progress tracker on the right and a poll to help me improve my army. Can I complete this small force in that amount of time? Who knows!

Thanks for visiting and thanks in advance for tips and ideas!

Renegade psyker conversion

2012-02-10T19:05:00.000-08:00

I started converting a renegade psyker to add to my imperial renegades squad. The model is based off of the High Elf Island of Blood sorcerer and the Warriors of Chaos Sorcerer on the manticore.

I'm not really sold on the chains. I think I will take them off and sculpt a tabard from greenstuff.

I used a paper clip to mount him over the base to look like he is floating a little bit. I don't think he will be used that often in my renegades squad in games, but I am not playing many games lately. I may as well build interesting models!

I started building another renegade sergeant as well. I'm thinking that I will take pictures of each step with this model to show how I do each step of my renegades. This model will have a bit of carapace armour and a hell gun.

I've also got another heavy stubber conversion I am planning to finish soon. I know the gun is ridiculously huge and would probably crush him. Maybe it is nice plasteel? The body and legs of this model are based off of a chaos marauder. Continuing my quest to use every plastic human in this squad (I kid, but I have been building them from many different kits).

More to come soon. My current busy work contract ends in a week and my productivity should drastically increase after that (even if my overall life productivity decreases). I have some big ideas for some projects I am planning to work on in the next little while.

Plagus Mechanicus

2012-02-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

I'm still trying to figure out how to make a 40k army work with the models I want to use. As I wrote last week, I was considering using my renegades as Grey Knights henchmen. The only issue with that idea was that they really were lacking a strong theme (other than corrupted and gross). It felt a bit too much like trying to fit a round peg in a square hole. Now, I am considering making an army based around a Nurgle infested Dark Mechanicus force called Plagus Mechanicus. This force will allow me to use a list I like, build a quality army that can potentially be used with a new chaos book, and has huge conversion and modelling potential.

As I wrote in my last counts as post, I really like the potential offered by the Grey Knights codex. I like that I can have an elite force, less vehicles, and a mix of marines and guard equivalents. I enjoy playing with elite armies that individually are much better than the opposition. I'm not sure why. Maybe I just can't deal with many things at once. When my unit gets where I want it, I want it to crush the opposition. My fantasy armies (5th edition Bretonians (the hardest word to spell!), 7th/8th edition Warriors of Chaos) were the same way. I would like to include a few vehicles but I really don't want to be reliant on having a fully mechanized force as it is hard to transport and expensive to buy. Finally, I want to have both marines and some piddly humans too.

There is a lot of uncertainty with the future of 40k just now with rumours of a new rule set and a new chaos codex on the horizon. A Plagus Mechanicus force gives me some flexibility in this regard. If a new chaos codex allows hecnhmen/renegades mixed with marines then I could potentially adapt the army to use this new codex. The Grey Knight codex is also new and should stay competitive for a long time. I don't plan to abuse counts as but I like to have different options.

The number one reason I want to build this army is for the potential for conversions and modelling. I really like sculpting and modelling and this force would offer that opportunity in spades. I like sculpting robes and nurgly bits. I also like adding cables for a rotten tech look. This would be a melding of two different ideas and offers the potential to be creative and build things in my own way. I like death guard but I have been a bit uninterested in their paint scheme and the fact that so much of the look is a bit predetermined.

Here are my ideas for units and a list so far:

Coteaz-Allows henchmen to be troops. Model his as some sort of techpriest.
Psykers-modelled from flagellants to be floating, hooded with robes and gas masks.
Death cult assasins-modelled from dark eldar or some sort, give them masks to fit the theme
Marines-Modelled with chaos marine torsos, and a mix of different arms. Legs will be elongated with robes and cables. Make them look half machine and half human. Mount some of the weapons on backpacks.
Henchmen-different henchmen made from skaven stormvermin, cadians, flagellants, etc.
Servitors-as I made them before.
Dreadnoughts-As usual but modelled to fit the theme.
Techpriest-pretty standard
Terminators-I want to include them but have no ideas on how to make them fit the theme. Maybe give them four spider like walking legs? Any ideas?

Feedback and thoughts on a build like this are appreciated. Thanks!

Imperial Renegades and Death Guard WIP

2012-01-28T13:53:00.000-08:00

I've not been the most productive lately, but I do have some progress on my renegades and death guard. I have three models that are each about 1-2 hours away from completion. I just have to sit down and finish them. You can't rush these things though...

Here are the totally finished renegades so far. 2 officers, many grunts.

This Death Guard Nurgle Space Marine is somewhat close to finished. I am going to stipple layers of rust on the brown armour and then he should be nearly finished.

This apostate preacher is really close to being finished. I just need to airbrush some dirt on his robes, finish the staff, paint the gem on the laspistol, wash the metal, and add some details.

The renegade ogryn is getting close too. Just needs some highlights and washes and details.

Welcome to berek, skywatcher, deathkorps, karitas, and luckynumber 5, the newest blog followers. If anyone is interested in being added to the Rust and the City blog rolls I would be more than happy to add you. Check back tomorrow for some finished models. Ciao!

Death Squads Prisoner Exchange 2012

2012-01-22T13:25:00.000-08:00

The DS forum is having another Prisoner Exchange event. Each participant receives a model built for them from another member of the forum and builds a model for someone else. Each participant lists models they are interested in (must be usable in DS). The idea is to create a fun community event that pushes each participant to push the boundaries of their own skills while also receiving a cool model built for them by someone else.

Da Amparor by Mordheimer (Gretchin on booby trapped "Golden Throne")

Participants can register to join the event up until February 20th, 2012. At this time each participant will receive the name of the person for whom they will build a model. Models are the shipped out on May 26th, 2012. Lots of time to complete a model! Recipients are kept a secret until the model is received but sharing of WIP work on the forums is encouraged.

Anyone can joint this event by joining the DS forum, posting on the welcome mat, and sharing in a few posts. I would encourage anyone who is interested to enter. The DS community is very supportive and the game has lots of cool modelling opportunities with many unique and interesting characters and squads. As a modeller or painter this is a chance to build a one off model for a race, paint scheme, or squad that you might not otherwise ever paint.

My only caution is to ensure that you are committed before you join. Make sure you will complete a model for someone else and will share the model you receive with the rest of the community. This is intended as a supportive and positive event for all levels of painters and modellers. If you are interested, check it out.

Prisoner Exchange Event 2012 registration and rules

FAQs and WIP logs

2010 Prisoner Exchange

2010 PE Entries

Here are some pictures linked from the 2010 entries. Just a few random ones with clear pictures. There are so many great entries worth checking out. These are all done by amateur painters and modellers trying to create a unique and interesting model for someone else. Hope SOPA doesn't notice these! I will post a message for the creators, I swear!

Drizzt's kroot head hunter.

Lord Grey Wolf's Striking Scorpion

Blood Raven by Librarian

Moggd's prisoner

Dozer's Plague Marine

Mordian's sniper by Death Guard

Laney's Theseus Grey

Dysturbed's Eldar

Dren by Da Eavy

I hope to see you there!

Help needed! Imperial Renegades counts as...

2012-01-21T15:07:00.000-08:00

Originally, I started building my imperial renegades squad for use in skirmish games. As I've spent more time modelling this little force I have become quite attached to them and have been thinking about how I could use them in full sized games of Warhammer 40,000. I considered building an Imperial Guard army based around traitor guard but do not like the high model count and focus on vehicles. I considered just building a separate Chaos Space Marines army but I have been putting it off due to the uncertainty about the impending sixth edition of 40k and a new chaos codex. Most recently, I have been thinking that a "counts as"Grey Knights Force would be the best fit for the way I want to play and models I want to use.

Okay, they aren't very grey. But they would really like to fight you in a full 40k battle!

When one wants to build an army of chaos tainted guardsmen the first logical choice is to build a traitor imperial guard army. I decided that traitor guard were not for me for a number of reasons. First, I don't like army lists that rely on lots of tanks and mechanized armour. They are expensive (money) and bulky to transport and store. A force with 10 tanks/gunships/chimeras takes up way too much space and costs way too much. I am also not really interested in painting many tanks. So Imperial Guard is out.

I have the models to build a small force of Death Guard/Chaos Space Marines. I still want to do this army at some point but I have been putting it off at the moment due to the uncertainty around Chaos. Rumours abound about a new codex for the traitor legions. I don't want to build a force and have to completely revamp it in a few months. As the codex stands now, Death Guard seem to need lots of transports and heavy support to be effective. Ideally, I would love to build a nice force of elite footslogging chaos space marines supported by some angry traitor humans. Unfortunately, the chaos space marines codex does not really give any leeway for the inclusion of non-power armoured humans. I am also a slow painted, and would really like to be able to use my painted renegades in a 40k force. I've put a lot of time and effort into my renegades and would love to include them in larger battles.

Xenos inquisitor?

Finally, I am now considering a Grey Knights "counts as" force. The first reason I am considering Grey Knights is the playing style on the table. I like that Grey Knights are an elite force with lots of synergy between units. The force seems to have a solid blend of ranged support and combat prowess. I have always gravitated towards elite forces that can crush their opponents up close and seem to play best with a force of this nature (maybe I like that skills of subtlety...). It is a major bonus that Grey Knights are not reliant upon tanks and transports. Most of the lists I have been include some armour but do not rely on it exclusively the way many marine and guard forces seem to. As I said, a few tanks is ok, ten is not. The Grey Knight codex also allows me to combine my unarmoured humans with some space marines, dreadnoughts, and tanks to create a varied and interesting force. Henchmen provide great variety and a lot of modelling opportunities for me to try different things and convert models in a way that they can be used within an army. Assassins, servitors, flagellants, and the other henchmen provide almost limitless conversion opportunities. Small, functional units of marines will allow me to convert interesting models without getting bogged down in numbers or repetition. Finally, the Grey Knights codex is recent and (presumably) written with 6th edition in mind, so the codex and army should stay usable through the next edition.

Servitor. I would love to build a few more of these. Lots of fun!

As you can see, Grey Knights are potentially a good fit for my renegades within the 40k universe. I know that there is a lot of hate for "Counts as" within the online gaming community. My intention is not to use Grey Knights because they are the "strongest codex". I want to build a force that matches the models I want to use and the game style I envision. I feel that the Grey Knight Codex gives me the best fit for that at the moment. There are lots of opportunities for more conversions and to build a unique force. The theme would be a band of elite mutants and renegades fighting guerilla, saboteur warfare against the imperium.

Henchmen...

Psyker?

Now I need some help. I want to build a varied force. I envision a core of about 20 henchmen (primarily based around what I already have) 2 "inquisitors" (sergeant and renegade captain), 10 marines, 5 terminators, some dreadnoughts, and some assorted mechanized support. What units should I include (basic builds, unit choices)? Any ideas for cool conversions to meet the weapons requirements for Grey Knights? What would you think playing against a "counts as" Grey Knight force like this?

I'm not a 40k player at the moment so any help would be greatly appreciate. Thanks for your feedback!

2012 Hobby Goals and 2011 in review

2012-01-13T22:42:00.000-08:00

THere have been a lot of these on the blog rolls lately, but I figured it was worth taking a minute to chronicle where I have been and where I want to go.

2011 was a very interesting year for me personally. I finished university at the end of 2010 and spent the first part of the year teaching overseas. I then spent the summer travelling and the fall working at different jobs once back home. I still haven't found continuing employment in this dismal new economy but I have had a wide range of interesting experiences in the interim. In my personal life I am hoping to keep a reasonable level of employment and adventure in my professional life in 2012 while hopefully having the chance for a bit of travel too.

Views like this distracted me from hobby for a few months.

On the hobby front, 2011 was a year of growth for me. Unfortunately, I think I only played 2 games in 2011 (due to aforementioned travel and relocation). I did manage to grow a lot in my painting and modelling skills though and have gained a lot of confidence (in my painting especially). I am finally getting some results I am pleased with in my miniatures and I have learned a lot about building and painting terrain. These blogs and the forums I visit have been a huge inspiration and a source of lots of new ideas and techniques that have aided my growth.

I have a whole squad of Death Orks of Krieg just waiting for a little love and some paint. I even have 4 more totally basecoated and just needing details.

In 2012 I am hoping to complete some of my ongoing projects. I am planning to paint my Malifaux Seamus starter box and some additional models at the start of the year so I can begin playing some games soon. I am also hoping to finish up my Renegades squad by mind-February. My Death Orks of Krieg and a super secret ork warband for 40k skirmish and Mordheim will be on the docket in the spring. I am also hoping to get the Death Guard models I currently have bits for all put together and painted. Hopefully the (rumoured) new edition of 40k with a new Chaos Space Marine codex will come out in the summer as incentive to build a 40k army to completion as I don't want to buy an army book and rulebook a few months before the new edition.

There will be paint.

In literature they call this foreshadowing. This will be painted soon(ish).

He will be finished soon(ish) too. And then by midsummer he should be joined by a small band of merry men...

Once those projects are done I have vague plans to repaint and clean up my Warriors of Chaos fantasy army. I may also work on painting some vintage wood elves and demons of chaos I have in my old models bag. I am also considering building a Colette crew for Malifaux if I enjoy the game. Finally, I am hoping to finish a gaming table and build a piece of terrain each month. I am going to try and build most of these projects with the materials and bits I have on hand and try to limit most of my purchases to hobby supplies like brushes and paints.

Must finish this army one day. The models look so bad to my eyes now. I want to strip them and repaint it all. As nurgle. What shall I do?

Dragon Ogre conversion. I have three of them. Still not totally finished...

For this blog, I am hoping to keep posting regularly throughout 2012. This blog has helped to motivate me to complete projects. Hopefully I will stay on track a little more and finish projects in a more sequential order. I plan to post approximately six times per month going forward and I will continue to focus on terrain building, and miniature modelling and painting.

Showcase: Renegade Sergeant!

2012-01-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

The Renegade Sergeant based on the plastic Warhammer Fantasy Nurgle Lord is finally finished after a month as a half painted work in progress.

I put a lot of work into the sculpting, conversion, and painting of this model. I tried a a lot of new techniques. While the end result is not perfect I feel that I really pushed myself to become better.

So much skin!

It was a challenge to paint a model with so much skin. The skin was painted with the Reaper Master Series pale skin triad (base, midtone, highlight). I washed the skin with a mix of Devlan Mud and Ogryn Flesh. I feel that this wash gave the skin a lot more depth than either on its own. I painted the sores with washes of baal red, devlan mud, and leviathan purple in many layers and mixed together until I got an acceptable result. This was the most intimidating part of the process. At the end I added some Tamiya Clear Read and brown mixed together to create some blood and gore around the wounds. The clear red also made some cool stringy bits in the gut wound.

I tried some new techniques on the white areas. I painted chips with a sponge, runs with Tamiya Clear Orange and added metal showing through with a standard HB pencil. FOr the green areas I did some rough blending of the shadows using a feathering/wet blending technique.

The left arm (minus chainsword) is built from scratch.

The sculpting and conversion was a lot of fun. I also pushed myself to become a better sculptor on this model. With such large skin areas my blending and smoothing on the greenstuff had to be good. This model was also my first successful attempt at scratch sculpting an arm. The lower right arm and the whole right arm (obviously above the chainsword!) were sculpted over only a paper clip as an armature.

Gross leg.

Before painting. So you can see what is converted and what is the original model. I was nervous to paint this conversion because I didn't feel the paint would match the conversion.

The cables are Dragon Forge cables.

Size comparison with a standard guardsman.

Now on to finish painting the commander, apostate preacher, other sergeant, and ogryn. Then I have the starting squad almost finished. Welcome to newest followers Pestus, Broke n English, and Silar. THanks for visiting. As always, comments, constructive criticism, and suggestions are appreciated.

Malifaux Seamus crew assembly

2012-01-08T15:08:00.000-08:00

...and now for something completely different. Malifaux. I decided to get some Malifaux models and the rules so I could quickly put a squad together and play some games at my local game store. My girlfriend also like some of the models so I picked up a Perdita starter box for her and a Seamus start box for myself. I like the low model count, interesting rules, and cool models in Malifaux.

After a bit of fiddling, I have my Red Chapel starter box set assembled and based. I based the models using the method I showed in this tutorial on basing using press molds. I carved out some stones to create puddles and rough patches. I am hoping they will turn out well.

No more exposed butt cheeks.

I usually convert all of my models. As most Malifaux models are metal and don't have standard arm and leg attachments, this is a lot more difficult. The Sybelle model is the only one I converted out of the starter set. I sculpted a small tutu on her out of greenstuff. I thought it was kind of weird that she had nothing covering her legs, so I added a silly tutu to her. I built it using two separate layers of greenstuff and sculpted three layers of folds. Hopefully it will fit well with the model once it is painted. I think the tutu is a theme I might incorporate into some other models I add to the crew.

L to R: Rotten belle, Sybelle, Seamus, and two more rotten belles.

Assembly of the models was fairly tricky. I made the mistake of attaching the models to their bases before pinning all of the joints. I definitely should have pinned first. I also cut the models off of their basing slots. In hindsight, I should have left the base parts attached, trimmed them down, and pushed them into the bases when they were not set, and then just cleaned up the bricks around them. Pinning those tiny legs through the bases was tricky (fortunately no legs were broken during this process).

Pinning this bag to Seamus after basing was very difficult. Hopefully it will not fall off...

I am excited to begin painting these models. I am planning on painted them with a white, red, brown, and black theme. The undead skin will be the Reaper Master Series Undead skin triad (A grey skin look). I am planning to convert a few models from other factions to join my undead as I think it would make a funny theme for my gang.

Hobby Tips: Sculpting tools and thoughts

2012-01-04T22:12:00.000-08:00

In this short article we will look at some tools and techniques I use for sculpting with greenstuff. I've always been fascinated with the mysterious greenstuff I read about in White Dwarf when I was a youngster. Now, much older, I have been able to work with greenstuff for the last two years. I'm not an expert, but I do really enjoy sculpting. Sometimes it drives me crazy though. Maybe these tips can help you avoid some of the mistakes I have made.

You have to have some pictures in a boring and long winded blog about sculpting.

Putty
I use both milliput and GW greenstuff for my sculpting needs. I find I use each for different applications.

Greenstuff
I once read an article that compared working with greenstuff to working with hard chewing gum. It is still probably the best analogy I have read for sculpting. Greenstuff is quite stretchy. It is fairly easy to sculpt. The elasticity can be used to create a thin area as you stretch the greenstuff. I don't work with pure greenstuff very often.

Milliput
Initially when I started working with milliput I thought it was useless. It tends to flake and break apart a bit when you try to smooth it. I found it difficult to use. I still rarely use it on its own for sculpting. One advantage over greenstuff is that milliput can be sanded to get a smoother finish. I use milliput a lot for things like basing. It is cheaper and so is better for filler. It also dries with a harder finish which is good if you want to sand something like bricks.

A mix of greenstuff and milliput
This is my favourite. I like to mix greenstuff and milliput to get a blend of the properties of both. I find that the milliput makes the greenstuff softer and easier to smooth and blend into existing pieces. To mix them I mix up greenstuff and milliput separately and then add them together. I change the ratios of greenstuff:milliput but generally I like a ratio of 2 parts greenstuff to 1 part of milliput.

Here you can see the nurgle sergeant is greenstuff and the ogryn is mixed greenstuff-milliput.

Tools
The right tools make a huge difference when sculpting (or trying to, like I do!) Initially, I bought the metal GW sculpting tool and tried to use it for everything. I've since added many different tools to my kit. Life is better now. Lets go through them.

Tools I use for sculpting (L to R): Colour shapers, pin vice, dental pick, exacto knife, GW sculpting tool.

Colour shapers
Colour shapers are amazing. They are basically silicon shapes on paint brushes. The silicon is amazing because the greenstuff doesn't stick to it, making sculpting much easier. I have size 0 chisel and rounded point colour shapers. I would like to get more. I do about 70-80% of my sculpting with these. The chisel shaped shaper is used for smoothing areas, cleaning up straight edges and creating basic shapes. The rounded shaper is used for smoothing things like folds. Great tools. They make sculpting much easier and more enjoyable. I would highly recommend them. Unfortunately they are fairly expensive. About the cost of a decent paintbrush each. They don't seem to really wear out though.

Dental pick
This is made of some type of non-sticky plastic too. I stuck it on the end of a file and it is really useful for sculpting. I use it to create holes in things (damage) or to hollow out underneath holes for things like sores or rips in cloaks. It has also gotten a bit of use for defining small folds and things.

Exacto knife
Also useful in sculpting. I mostly use it to clean up flat edges or create some damage on the greenstuff. I mostly use it once the greenstuff has hardened a bit.

GW sculpting tool
I hated this tool for a while. Now I am using it a bit again. It is a nice solid edge, which is really useful for things like sculpting brick patterns. The flat end can be useful for smoothing if you use some saliva as a lubricant. I mostly use this tool to apply the greenstuff to an area and for rough/basic shaping and smoothing. The worst thing about it is the way that putty sticks to it and dries.

Fingers
Often overlooked are the most imprecise tools ever-your stubby fingers! Finger can be great for a bit of sculpting. I use my hands to create basic shapes with the putty before I apply it to the model. The colour shapers make smoothing out the finger prints much more manageable. I make shapes like hoods and robes and things with my fingers and then apply them to the model with my fingers. I often then put some saliva (as a lubricant) on my fingers and smooth out the greenstuff with my finger. Quick and easy. Then I just need to use my tools to clean everything up and add detail.

If there is interest, I can do a second part where I show a step by step for some of the very basic sculpting techniques I use to create different items.

To any regular visitors, sorry I have been so long between posts. Between my new job, the holiday season, the flu, and some less happy parts of life, this last month has been quite busy and draining. I will try to get back on track here and get some regular posts up again. Welcome to Henry's tat, the newest follower and I have added Warhammer In Progress' blog to the blog roll at the right. Happy hobbying everyone.

Renegade Sergeant Painting WIP

2011-12-15T01:38:00.000-08:00

Last week I showed pictures of my conversion of the plastic Nurgle Lord into a renegade sergeant. I have him about 80% painted now and I thought I should share some work in progress pictures. If you want to see the conversion before paint, check it out here.

Where I am currently at. Just the black, brown highlights, some glazes, the base, and some oozing gunk left to go.

This model has been really interesting to paint. I often find that my painting skills do not do a model or conversion justice. And so I often find myself putting off painting a favourite model or HQ model. I decided to bite the bullet and just get on with the painting though. Afterall, I'd like another 2 or 3 copies of this model for other forces...

The painting has definitely been a process. I read an interesting article recently about blending highlights and shadows basically by quickly wet blending using a slightly damp (with saliva!) brush. I've been trying it out on this model. The best example is the shadows on his leg around. I am really pleased with how it has turned out. I also used it a bit on the skin. I also experimented with using GW washes, wiping them off the brush, and the glazing the flesh on the model for bruising around the stump.

The mask has been the biggest challenge though. The basecoat colour didn't look very good and my highlights just kept making it look worse. I am finally satisfied (not really happy though) with the tone it currently is at. I realize that adding a glow around the eyes will change how it looks as well. So I may still add another wash after painting the glow around the eyes.

Here are some of the different iterations the mask painting went through before reaching this stage.

The mask looked like this tonight before I added many washes and glazes. Too white.

Before that it looked like this. I thought it looked too much like an ork. In retrospect, it wasn't so bad when viewed as a part of the whole model. It was driving me crazy though.

I am hoping to get this model finished Friday evening. It has really been pushing me as a painter. These renegades have been making me try so many new techniques that (I think) are making me really improve my painting.

Welcome to new followers Chris, Pete (wow, nice and easy handles this time!), and Diehard 2501. Thanks to Ricalopia (a semi-local blog) for featuring my renegades in his blog last week. I couldn't find a comment function though to thank him over there. Thanks for visiting!

Tutorial: Painting chipped metal and rust on terrain

2011-12-11T13:48:00.000-08:00

An online friend was having trouble painting chipped metal and rust on his space hulk terrain and asked me for a tutorial. This is the technique I used on a lot of my past terrain projects that I have posted here.

This picture shows the final effect we will achieve using this method.

Materials

I will list the materials I used here. You can substitute similar colours. The colours I used are listed in brackets.

-a sponge (I used a sponge brush and a makeup applicator, any sponge works. I often use blister pack foam. A stipple brush would also work.)

-paint brushes

-dark brown (Americana Raw Umber)

-metal (boltgun metal circa 1997)

-reddish brown (Bestial Brown)

-light orange-brown (Vomit Brown)

-brown or orange wash (Gryphonne Sepia)

-orange ink (Tamiya Clear Orange)

Procedure

I began by spray painting the whole piece using a matte grey primer. I then used my airbrush to add a little boltgun metal in the middle of the walkways to simulate wear.

1. Dark brown: Use your sponge to lightly stipple the dark brown colour in the areas where you want chips and rust. Dab the sponge into the paint and then try to get most of the paint off on some scrap paper. You want the sponge to create incomplete coverage. Dab the paint onto the surfaces using the sponge. I usually aim for about 20% coverage of a surface (change this up if you want more or less damage).

2. Metal: Use your metal colour to stipple metal inside the spots where you have already stippled the brown colour. Aim to keep most of the metal inside the brown areas to create the illusion of chips and damage. Some metal outside of the brown is fine. Be sure to leave lots of brown showing through. From this step on I used the makeup applicator as it has a smaller surface, giving more control.

3. Reddish brown: Now stipple the reddish brown (I used bestial brown) into areas where you want rust. I would recommend stippling the reddish brown over the exposed dark brown areas and lightly over some of the metal bits. You only want a little bit of reddish brown. Work with only a little paint on the sponge for this step. You can always add more later.

4. Light orange-brown: Using your light orange-brown colour (vomit brown), lightly stipple your rust highlight over the reddish brown areas. Like with the reddish brown, aim for just a light dusting in key areas. This colour really stands out. You don't need much. You are just trying to create the illusion of a little bit of corrosion and rust around the metal.

5. Brown wash: Now the fun part! Our rust and metal are mostly finished. To continue the illusion we want to create the effect of water and rust runs. Use your wash undiluted and draw vertical lines from areas with lots of corrosion. Create a variety of patterns. Large areas where washes pool, thin runs down the side, runs starting at rust, runs around rivets, etc. Try to ensure that the lines primarily go vertically, and don't slope to the side.

6. Orange ink (optional): This step is definitely optional. I really like to make the runs "pop" by highlighting them with some Tamiya Clear Orange. A second coat of Gryphonne Sepia also works. The use a detail brush and add a thin line of clear orange inside some of the rust runs. Don't overdo it. Just create a few gross and corroded areas. Then you are finished.

These are the steps I use. Obviously these steps can be modified for the colours you have and the effect you want to achieve. I have found this to be a quick and painless way to paint rust, corrosion, and exposed metal on larger terrain pieces.

Conclusion

Here are the four walkways I painted up while making this tutorial.

Here are some finished terrain pieces that used these basic steps to get the final product (click the link to see more):

Urban barricades

Waste Water Reservoir

Industrial Terrain: Pencil holder

I did a similar blog outlining the steps I used on another terrain piece. The steps are pretty similar. Check there if you would like to see more: Industrial weathering tutorial.

Finally, welcome to Nickolai Lorenzen, the newest follower. I've added two new sections at the top; about me (in case you wanted to know more about me) and a link to all of the tutorials I have added so far. Thanks for visiting!

Tutorial: Brick basing with press molds

2011-12-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

This tutorial will show you how to quickly and easily create brick bases for an army using greenstuff or any other sculpting putty. I'll show the steps for building a simple press mold to quickly make nice bases.

The final product.

Materials
-greenstuff or milliput (or any other air drying putty, I use milliput as it is cheaper)
-a base (recessed like warmachine or malifaux or flat top like GW bases)
-chapstick or vaseline (a lubricant, many others would also work, I used chapstick)
-plasticard or cardboard (only a few square inches)
-paint and flock
-miniature bricks

Procedure
I recently saw this tutorial on building brick bases and casting to create bases. I don't currently have a casting kit or materials so I decided to try it with a press mold. I was also inspired by these cool brick Mordheim bases at Massive Voodoo (a great website, lots of incredible stuff). This tutorial will show you how I made a simple press mold to make lots of brick or flagstone bases for a Mordheim warband, Malifaux crew, Warhammer Fantasy army, or even Warhammer 40k urban army. I tried two different techniques that I will show you here.

Part 1: Build a press mold
First we need to build the press mold. I have a small bag of little bricks I bought online. They are pretty useful for basing. Our first step is to cut a piece of plasticard or cardstock out to the size of our finished mold. I built mine about 50mm x 50mm, slightly larger than a 40mm square base. The plasticard will make the final mold a little more durable. I then made a thin layer of milliput of a uniform thickness around 5mm on top of the plasticard. Cover the top of the milliput in vaseline or chapstick (to stop the bricks from sticking as much).

Plasticard and milliput

The next step is to make the design we will want for our brick pattern. I decided to stick with a simple pattern as I think it will show up best on a small base. You could use more complex patterns. I pushed the bricks a few millimetres into the milliput in a fairly uniform pattern. I left a few spaces where bricks have fallen out. Once this is done, leave it to set overnight.

Small bricks pushed into the milliput at a uniform depth. You want it deep enough to create a good indent.

Alternative methods
The first mold I built I first glued the bricks to a 40mm base and then pressed the greenstuff on top of the dried bricks and base. This worked alright, but it was harder to control the depth of the mold.

Bricks are glued onto the 40mm square base.

Master is pressed firmly into the greenstuff.

If you do not have the tiny bricks, you could still follow this tutorial by creating a master by carving bricks individually onto a 40mm base using sculpting tools, milliput and an exacto knife. Once it has set you can follow the procedure above.

Part 2: Make a base
After setting overnight, our press mold should be ready. Carefully pop out each of the bricks. You can use a sanding block or some sandpaper to clean up the master (I tried to get mine to uniform height using a sanding block).

A blurry picture of the two press molds. The mold on the left was made by pushing in bricks, the mold on the right was made by pushing the putty onto the master (method two). You can see the difference in depth with the two methods.

Get the base you want for your final model. Create a thin layer of milliput or greenstuff on top of it (you could go really thin and just have the top of a brick layer of you could go thicker and have the full bricks). Put some chapstick or vaseline on top of the milliput once it is smoothed.

Take your press mold and push it down on top of the milliput. Push firmly so the indentations go in a few millimetres, but not so firmly that it all squishes out over the base.

After molding.

After pushing the mold down, carefully remove it. You should have something like what you see above. Some of the lines might not be deep enough. Using your sculpting tools or an exacto knife, carefully clean up the lines between the bricks. You can also remove damaged bricks and draw in cracks and indentations if desired. Let the milliput cure for a few hours and then add some sand and ballast in some cracks and larger damaged areas. Add any other details you want on the base.

You can see here that I have cleaned up the cracks between bricks, removed some bricks, and added a little bit of sand. I would recommend using your tools to make sure the lines between bricks are on the outside edges too (I didn't do that here). You can see where I sanded the outside edge as well.

Part 3: Painting and flocking
After curing, your base is now ready. You can clean up the edges using sandpaper or a sanding block to create a smooth outside edge. You can then drill the base to pin a miniature onto.

Prime the base and paint it as you would for any other model. I quickly painted mine by painting it with Americana Raw Umber and then drybrushing Codex Grey, Bleached Bone, and Skull White overtop and the dulling it down with a thinned wash of Devlan Mud. I glued on a little bit of flock with PVA glue to create some moss between the cracks. To improve the look you could paint the bricks different colours. Additional details like rubble, wood, scrap metal, etc. on top of the base will also improve the illusion.

Here is the final painted base.

Next time I would spend a bit more time on the painting. I think the painting is a bit bland. You can see that we have created a decent stone brick effect though.

Milliput or greenstuff?
I used milliput for most of this tutorial. I generally dislike using straight milliput for sculpting as it tends to flake and stick a bit for me. I usually mix greenstuff and milliput. For bases like this though, milliput is much cheaper. It is also possible to sand milliput to clean up the bricks and the edge of the base. I would recommend using milliput (or something similar) over the more expensive greenstuff. Greenstuff would definitely still work though if that is all you have.

To wrap up this blog, I have some more painting that should be finished soon. Lots of progress on the renegades and death guard. Welcome to new followers the 6th degree, enkiel, atr_127, and FieldFactory. Thanks for visiting.

More renegades conversions and December goals

2011-12-05T16:02:00.000-08:00

I finished a few more conversions for my Imperial Renegades squad. I built an apostate preacher from the plastic fantasy necromancer. I also finished the sculpting and basing on the renegade sergeant and the ogryn.

Here is the converted apostate preacher. A really quick conversion. I cut off the top of the staff and carefully removed the hand with a skull (this took a while). I then added a cadian hand and put a laspistol on it. I added a cut down cadian head and then sculpted the mask and then the hood.

I think he should fit in nicely with the squad while having a very distinct look.

I finally got around to sculpting the left arm on this sergeant. This was my first time successfully sculpting a limb from scratch. I pinned the chainsword to the torso with a paper clip and built the arm up in three layers of greenstuff. The fact he is so large and covered in sores made it much easier to convincingly sculpt it.

I am excited to get some paint on this model. I am going to try and use some glazes to add bruising and grossness around the sores. We will see how it goes.

I based the ogryn. I'm not sure what stage the last pictures of him were at. I have been slowly adding armour for the last month or so.

Here is a quick shot to show how big the ogryn and sergeant are.

I did start to paint the deathguard model. I got a bit frustrated with trying to paint my vision so I am going to take a little break from it and paint the ogryn and sergeant next.

My November goals were to paint 10 renegades (I painted 9), 7 deathguard (I painted two), and to finish my canal system. This month I will be a bit busier with work. My goals are to paint 6 more renegades (commander, ogryn, sergeant, preacher, and two others), finish my death guard with scythe, finish at least six canal sections, and paint 4 of some other model (death orks of krieg, maybe malifaux minis, something).

I've also updated the Servitor conversion tutorial with some finished servitors. I have some examples built along the same idea by Komfritten from the DS forums. Be sure to check them out.

Thanks to everyone who has been visiting this blog and is referring others to it. This week I've hit 50 followers and 4,000 views in the three months this blog has been running. Thank you for your support. If there are things you think I should add more of to this blog, I would love to hear your input (I know I should paint more models, but that takes time!). Welcome to W40ktenerife, Lantz, and Mark Beardmore who are the newest followers. Thank you for your support!

Death Guard Conversion

2011-11-28T13:23:00.000-08:00

I've converted a death guard model to add to my renegades squad. The model was built using the Forge World Death Guard torso and shoulder pads. The legs, gun, and upper arms are from the chaos space marine box (and a berzerker arm too I think). The chains and scythe are from the chaos manticore lord box set.

I spent some extra time on this model trying to build a dynamic base. I know people are divided on large gaming bases. I wanted to make him stand out and look like a bit of a display piece.

In game terms, this should be a versatile piece. Deathsquads has the option for a chaos cultist squad lead by a space marine. I figure that this model and some new heros will allow my renegades to serve duty in two different squads. In 40k I think I can use him as a CSM lord in power armour or a sorcerer. We will see what the new Chaos Legions book brings us. I have a sneaky feeling that daemon weapons and specific weapons like the manreaper are going to make a big comeback.

I have some ideas for how I want to paint this model. I tried out an airbrush heavy technique on my other death guard test models. I think I am going to try painting this model primarily with glazes. Hopefully I will have this one finished by the end of the week. Check back later this week for some painting updates.

Painted Renegade Servitor

2011-11-27T13:21:00.000-08:00

I posted a little renegade servitor conversion tutorial a few days ago. Here are pictures of the finished servitor. I've painted him to match the rest of my renegades force. I am not totally happy with the paint job, definitely not my best work, but I think the model has the right feel and atmosphere overall (grimy, old, evil).

I used the airbrush to basecoat the metal parts in boltgun metal. As the model is mostly metal this was a big time saver.

The test of the model was painted with a brush in a style similar to the rest of the chaos militia I have painted so far. You can see in this picture that I added some scratches in the armour. I'm not totally sure how I feel about them either. They do look a bit better in person though.

The blood was done with a mix of Tamiya Clear Red and brown paint.

I also painted an objective marker that came with my order from Secret Weapon Miniatures. It was fun to paint and will make a great objective for my renegades.

Thanks to Santa Cruz Warhammer for featuring my sergeant conversion in their honour roll this week. I really like the work they do on their blog so it is an honour to receive a mention from them. Welcome to new followers Grim Darkness, Mordian 7th, and Old School Terminator.

Speaking of Santa Cruz Warhammer, they featured the Blood Ravens Army Project on their blog today. This project is building a blood ravens army and raffling it off/collecting donations to raise money for Child's Play. I've added a badge to the top that will be there until the project concludes. Check it out.

Be sure to check back soon. I have some pictures of a death guard conversion going up tomorrow. Later on this week I hope to have some finished canal sections and some painted models to share with you. Thanks for visiting.

More painted imperial renegades

2011-11-24T11:04:00.000-08:00

I've managed to complete four more imperial renegades this week. I now have a total of eight chaos militia finished for my squad.

Here is a picture of the models completed this week.

Enforcer is the models with the glowing gun and skull helmet.

The strings of blood were made by supergluing short pieces of hair to the chainsword and then layering the blood over it. It is a bit gruesome.

This was my first attempt at painted flowing weapons with object source lighting.

I painted the eyes to glow a little bit more brightly this time. You can also see some spent shell casings on the base.

Traitor guardsman with pistol and close combat weapon. I painted the skin with Reaper Master Series pale skin triad.

Finally, a picture of the gang so far. Don't worry, I painted the eyes in this time and touched them up on the old models!

As always, thanks for visiting. Comments, tips, and suggestions are always appreciated.

WIP Imperial Renegade Sergeant Conversion

2011-11-21T12:49:00.000-08:00

Here are some quick pictures of a Renegade Sergeant conversion I have been working on. The base model is the new plastic Warriors of Chaos Warhammer Nurgle Lord. I am tempted to get a few copies of this model and convert one for each of my armies. Lets see how this one goes first. I am really loving the new plastic heroes released this year. I have 4 or 5 more plastic heroes in my bits box just waiting for some conversion fun.

This conversion is not quite complete. I still need to sculpt the left arm but need to let the greenstuff set first.

As soon as I saw this model released I knew it would be perfect to represent a Renegade Sergeant with the "Unnatural enhancement" mutation in Deathsquads (basically, he is just huge and gets +1S, +1T, +1W). The cables are Dragon Forge cables (which are excellent). The arms are chaos space marine arms. It was really fun sculpting the stomach and arms and mask. I tried a few little techniques that I will try to show in the final pictures. I added more holes and rips to the mask and wear to the armour to help it to match the rest of the model.

Welcome to new followers cadaver, zanazaz, rogue pom, and oink. Hopefully I will get some paint on this model soon. I have 6 other models primed and that I have begun to paint. Once those are done I will get some paint on this guy and the servitor. Back to painting.

Tutorial: Servitor conversions and showcase

2011-11-19T14:48:00.000-08:00

Update: I have added pictures of the painted model to the bottom of this post. I've also added a few examples that Komfritten from the deathsquads forums built as well. I hope this post inspires some of you to build your own servitors!

I spent a few minutes today putting together this exciting gun servitor for my imperial renegade squad. I found a great tutorial last night here and had to make one for my chaos militia.

The torso is a chaos space marine. The cables are Dragon Forge cables of various sizes. The claw is from the Ork runtherder.

I first glued the torso together and glued on a suitable head. I didn't add the CSM backpack as I didn't want the full marine silhouette. I drilled a hole in the base and in the torso and pinned it using a paper clip. I then added a blob of greenstuff under the torso and stuck in cables of various sizes. I bent the cables back a little to add the appearance of motion.

I decided on a claw and a flamer for the weapon arms. I cut a small piece of plasticard tube and attached it with super glue and greenstuff to each arm socket. I then drilled a little hole at the base of the backpack attachment and at the handle of the gun and made a little cable from really thin plasticard tubing (it was a pain, try to find something more bending if you try this yourself.

I built the base by using a bit of cork, then some plasticard bits, some wire, a little tube, and a bit of sprue. I used the sprue to attach the paperclip to the torso as it provided a solid attachment point.

In total, I probably spent under an hour on this conversion. You could use any bits you have around and make an interesting and unique model.

Here is my finished servitor.

Here are two servitors built and painted by Komfritten from the Deathsquads game forum.

You can see that Komfritten has used a CSM head, terminator arm, space marine backpack and torso and some other bits and wire to build this model. I especially like the wires.

And another servitor from Komfritten.

This model by Komfritten in even more creative. He has an awesome hook weapon, a heavy bolter, and a space marine bike wheel to run around on. The great thing about these conversions is you can use bits from just about anywhere.

Wow. That's a lot of custom automaton goodness added now. I hope you enjoyed these pictures. If anyone has been inspired to build some servitors and would like them featured here just post a link to some pictures in the comments section and I will be more than happy to add them in.

Modular Canal System Part 1

2011-11-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

I've always really wanted to make some big water features to add to my gaming tables. I think they add a lot of complexity and strategic choices. I had originally planned to build them into my boards but I got impatient and decided to build some modular ones. This three or four part series will show the step by step progression of this project.

The pieces so far.

Materials
-1/4" Hardboard (I used 2 2'x2' sheets for this and some other things)
-approximately 18 feet of 11/16" rounded moulding
-wood glue
-screws
-wood filler (could be replaced with glue and sawdust)
-Matte grey spray paint primer

I chose to use 1/4" hardboard as I thought it would be less likely to warp than thinner 1/8" hardboard. The moulding is the stuff used as baseboards in houses or between the walls and ceiling. I chose the 11/16" rounded ones as I thought they would be stronger than some of the thinner ones and would look alright painted up. Use whatever shape and size of these that pleases you most. You can find them at any hardware or home improvement store. Total cost for the materials used was about $20.

Tools
-table saw
-mitre saw
-electric drill
-various drill bits
-safety glasses
-handsaw
-various grits of sandpaper

I had access to power tools, which sped up this project considerably. All of this could be done with a handsaw and a mitre box as well. Important note: If you are under 18 or unfamiliar with power tools, please get someone to help guide you. Table saws are dangerous.

I was visiting my parents' house a few weeks ago and decided to really get this project started as I had access to their power tools. I started by laying out the approximate pieces I wanted. I decided to make the canal 4.25" wide, including the sides and to do each length in 6" increments.

I started by setting the table saw to 4.25" wide and carefully cut the hardboard into 4.25" wide strips. I then used the mitre saw to cut these strips into 12" and 6" lengths as needed. I also cut a 6" wide strip and used a handsaw to cut out the corners to create a corner that is 6" in each direction.

I then used the mitre saw to cut the moulding to fit each piece. For long straight pieces I simply made a 90 degree cut to the correct length for each piece. I then set the mitre saw to cut 45 degree angles in both directions and carefully cut the moulding to create the 90 degree corners where needed for corners. I set it up so the rounded side of the moulding is always facing out. Be sure to carefully check each piece when cutting as it can be confusing with the rounded sides and the mitre cuts (I made lots of cuts in the wrong directions).

Here you can see some of the different shapes I made. The filler shows where the 45 degree mitre joints are.

Next I attached the pieces to their bases. I carefully applied a thin layer of glue using a scrap piece of wood. I put it carefully in place and let it set for about 10 minutes (while I worked on others). The moulding was not sitting perfectly on the wood so I decided to flip the pieces over and insert screws through the hardboard and into the moulding to secure them in place. I then used a small drill bit (the back of your screws will say the size to use) to drill pilot holes where I wanted to place screws. I generally put in one screw for each 6" in length. Be careful to place the screws 1 inch along the moulding to prevent it from splitting. I made this mistake on the first few. Drill the pilot holes about the depth of your screw. Then change drill bits and put in the screws. Try to get them as flush with the base of the mdf as possible. For some of the short pieces I did not bother with screws as it would have broken the small pieces.

The screw at the top right is to close to the edge. The moulding split and the edge of the hardboard broke down a bit. The bottom right screw is much better. I used a sanding block to remove the excess hardboard around the screws.

I left the glue to dry overnight. Once it was set I cleaned off some of the excess glue. I used wood filler putty (sawdust and glue works equally well) and filled in all of the cracks where the moulding meets the mdf, where I split the moulding, where the mitred corners meet, and where I glued small pieces together when I ran out of moulding. Let that set overnight and then sand it smooth using a sanding blog or various grits of sandpaper.

You can see where I used wood filler to fix the messy mitre joint.

I also cut a few pieces of hardboard to make small permanent bridges on a few pieces. This is optional but for skirmish games I thought some walkways would be nice. You can also add some junk on the bottom of what will be the canal before painting so you have some floating debris.

Once this was complete I brushed off the dust and spray painted them outside using a matte grey primer.

The set so far. You can see that the different pieces allow for a lot of different options. This is more than I will ever use at once on my 4' x 4' skirmish table.

You can see where this leaves us now. The current set includes the following:
-4 12" straight sections (1 with bridge)
-1 12" section with intersection
-3 6" 90 degree corners
-1 terminus
-2 6" straight sections

I am trying to complete at least part of this project for the end of this month. Stay tuned for part 2 of this tutorial in the next week or so.

Finally, thanks to From the warp and Stahly's Tale of Painters for the mention in their blog spotlights this week. There are some more Imperial Renegades that should be finished by the end of this week. All of the positive feedback has really helped to motivate me to get them done. Welcome to new followers Rictus and Matthew Ochs. I've also added Matthew's blog Midwest Monster Lab and Muskie's Muskie Miniatures blogs to the blog exchange. Thanks for all of the feedback. Ciao.

Painted Imperial Renegades

2011-11-14T13:24:00.000-08:00

After almost a year of being unable to decide/not having the skills to paint my imperial renegades I have finally finished four models. I tried lots of new (to me) techniques on these models. These are the first painted models intended for my Imperial Renegades squad for the skirmish game Deathsquads. Some of the conversions for this squad can be seen in this post.

A group shot. Vox caster, flamer, militia with autopistol and combat weapon and militia with autogun.

I tried using Ron's tutorial from "From the warp" to paint the soot stained barrel on the flamer. I think it turned out pretty well. These pictures made me realize that I really need to paint the flamer's eyes. Painting eyes always makes me nervous though...

The nasty blood on the spike was painted using a 1:1 mix of Tamiya Clear Red and Vallejo Charred Brown. I added two layers to really get a nice effect. The greasy metal color was achieved using a mix of thinned Tamiya Clear Orange and Badab Black wash.

I added dirt to the robes by lightly spraying them with Vallejo Game Color Earth (after the clogs cleared out of my airbrush). The bases were all built using scraps of cardboard, plastic, and wire and a mix of sand and medium ballast.

All of the cloth and leather areas were painted by glazing different colors. I didn't do any highlighting on the cloth itself.

I also tried a new technique for painting skin. I painted a thin base of Tallarn Flesh and then washed and highlighted it up by mixing in more of a light cream color. I think the blending looks better this way. All of the tones fit together fairly well.

The colour scheme was inspired by Mika's work on warseer and photobucket.

I am pleased with how these models turned out. Now I just need to paint another 14 of them and this squad should be (mostly) complete. I like how the hoods look, so I might get some more cadians and convert a few more when I get the chance.

Finally, welcome to new members dylangould, blitzspear, ricalope (I'm a fan, I heard of your site from chaoticorder when I was in Victoria), Dai Dead, Warsflake, and Spankyhojek. Thanks also to the Santa Cruz Warhammer Honour Roll for listing my conversions! Thanks for your support everyone. This blog is up over 2,000 views now in the first month and a half.

Comments, criticisms, tips, and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

Death Guard test models

2011-11-10T15:25:00.000-08:00

I painted two death guard test models to see how my intended color scheme worked. For most of the basics I used Les' airbrush tutorial at awesomepaintjob.com (Thanks Les!). I used secret weapon weathering rust weathering powders to do the rust.

I am not quite sure if I am happy with the rust. The ended up looking pretty red. I think it looks a bit unrealistic. Comments, tips, and criticisms appreciated!

Airbrush only to this step.

I also finished the conversions on two more renegades. I decided to try adding some hoods. Some worked better than others.

Imperial Renegades conversions

2011-10-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

After 6 months of inconsistent work I have finally added to my grey plastic squad of Imperial Renegades. The conversions are mostly done. I just need to fill some gaps and do some sculpting on the ogryn and then I should be ready to basecoat and prime them. These models are built for the Imperial Renegades squad in Deathsquads.

Officer with flamer.

The models are built from a mix of cadian, catachan, empire flagellant, stormvermin, chaos space marine, space marine, chaos marauders, marauder horsemen, and khorne berzerker parts. There are a lot of random bits in them. Mostly they are kitbashes with only some minor sculpting to adjust joints and things. The cables and jerry can are from Dragon Forge.

The whole happy family. I am undecided about including the shorter model. I think it adds character (I tried to make the models vary in size a lot) but don't want to offend anyone with it.

Officer with flamer, ogryn with buzz saw (need to finish sculpting), Commander with power sword)

Militiamen with pistols and autogun.

Commander poses. I like the evil vibe of this model. I think it is the head.

I am pleased with these weapons. I have just one right now but plan to build a few more models with them as they look cool.

Suggestions, comments, and criticisms are always appreciated!

Completed waste water reservoir

2011-10-26T16:25:00.000-07:00

The waste water reservoir is now finished. I did a few experiments with the water effects that turned out alright. In all, I would say this little project took me about 3-4 full hours of work to complete. It took me two weeks to complete due to all of the waiting between steps. It has inspired me to make a full canal and a big reservoir to really add some fun terrain to my table!

Since the last update all I have done is added more layers of Woodland Scenics Water Effects (the one in the bottle). This stuff is pretty easy to use. Just pour it in a few mm deep and let it sit for 24 hours. In the last post you can see it looked cloudy. It dries pretty clear.

I had a few small issues. After pouring the first layer and letting it set, my girlfriend got a bit excited a poked a hole in the first layer! Fortunately I was adding more layers. For the second layer I added GW Camo Green to some water effects in a little dish. I then poured it. It was looking too opaque so I poured some straight water effects into the other side. As you can see, it created an interesting effect where the two colors mixed. You only need a tiny bit of color to tint the water. Definitely no need to go overboard on how much you use. Another thing I tried was adding a few drops of paint to simulate where the water came out of the pipes. I did this on the first layer and it didn't ever really join with the water effects. It pooled in areas instead.

Notice where the two areas mix. Also, can you spot the easter egg?

It would have been nice to have the light green area a bit more transparent. It does add some interesting color to my terrain though.

I also added a small Skaven rat into the drain. The painting on it is terrible. I rushed. I also messed up my Devlan Mud wash by adding too much water to a dried out pot. Now it takes forever to dry. I think the rat looks alright and adds a little character though. The rat looks pretty washed out in the pictures due to the flash. It is not well painted, but it looks ok when it is hiding in the drain.

Welcome to Granesh, Carl Hayman, and Michael, the newest followers.

I'm currently working on getting some models finished for once. I am slowly making a dent in the modelling for my Imperial Renegades force. I am planning to have some painted by the end of November. I have a lot of terrain ideas that I am wanting to do soon too: mainly a canal, warehouse, and some necromunda style terrain.

Update: I added some new pictures as the last ones were not so great. The rat looks a bit better in these two. Still need to work on my picture taking skills...

Terrain update: Waste water reservoir

2011-10-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some more work in progress pictures from my waste water reservoir piece. In the last post I showed the work I had done with the airbrush. Since then I added some chipped paint and rust using a sponge and then water marks and stains with Tamiya Clear Orange and GW Gryphonne Sepia.

I then used Woodland Scenics Water Effects (in a bottle) for the first layer of water. I added a little Vallejo Olive Drab Model Air to tint the water color too. I still need to add another two layers of water to complete it. I am a bit on the fence about Woodland Scenics Water Effects. It is really easy to apply and creates a decent looking water. You have to be careful to only apply a little at a time though as it can cause the paint to crack as it shrinks. I don't really like the final finish though as it collects dust, is a bit hard to clean, and can be deformed by models. Once I finish this bottle I would try to find a resin or varnish based finish to increase the toughness of the finished model.

Water is a bit cloudy after I applied it. Hopefully it will be better once it is set.

The interesting tank at the back is the container that a printer cartridge came in. They are really interesting looking and fit perfectly for industrial terrain. I've been thinking about trying to get extras at the store.

I should have this model finished soon and will post up some pictures when it is done. If anyone has any tips for some additional weathering to complete this piece I would love to hear it. I want to push myself more, so any tips or ideas are always appreciated.

Welcome also to new followers Ron (from "from the warp", a great blog, I am a big fan), Chaos Heade, Not so great wolf, and master slow poke.

I've also added a new blog to the blog list. My friend Sean has created a new blog called The War Room. Sean has shared some of his completed minis and is currently working on lots of Flames of War and historical miniatures. He and I had a brief deathsquads campaign last year but have not played together recently as he and I have both moved. Hopefully he will share some squads and conversions!

Adventures in airbrushes and aerosols...

2011-10-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

This last week has been a bit crazy on the hobby end of things. I had a few mishaps and adventures. A few posts ago I showed some pictures of my new airbrush set up. I have had some great successes with it so far and a lot of frustrations. Lets make this a things I have learned post.

"Arrrr! Lots of learning experiences here"

1. Spray paint outside. This one is really dumb. I decided it would be a good idea to spray paint in my bathroom, with the fan on and a respirator on. Terrible idea. After I painted I discovered that the extra aerosol had formed a grey film on everything in the bathroom. Fortunately it cleaned up well. My landlords also told me that their whole house smelled of it... Not good. Note to self, paint outside.

2. Use a respirator for airbrushing! After my first session airbrushing I had a lot of irritation in my nose. So I buckled down and bought a $40 paint respirator from Home Depot. Expensive, but worth it. There are some nasty things in some of the cleaners and paints.

3. Airbrush paints work well. They are already thinned, they paint nicely, and don't clog. They are pricey though as I know they are mostly just normal paints with thinner in them. As a beginner though, it is definitely worth it. GW paints have worked alright when I think with Testors airbrush thinner. Craft paints are a disaster though. Horrible tip dry and clogging.

4. Airbrush works well for base coating. I used vallejo white primer in my airbrush and got a good priming on my models. Nice and clean, no buildup and I could reach all of the awkward spots. And I can do it inside with only a few models at once. Works well so far.

5. Figure out how to properly break down and assemble your airbrush. Mine came with only one awful diagram. I keep changing things and making it not work as well. I am learning the hard way I guess. Today I had it set up so the needle did not retract far enough for paint to come out. A problem.

I did have a bit of success though. These first pictures show some models I have used the airbrush on. The two highlighted models were just some practice with zenithal highlighting. They came out alright. The white models were primed with the airbrush. The ork that is partly painted was basecoated with a brush months ago and then I sprayed devlan mud on him to try it out. I am fairly pleased with all of them.

These pictures show the slight progress I have made on my waste water reservoir. I basecoated the whole thing with flat grey primer. I then sprayed Vallejo Olive Drab Model Air into the bottom of the reservoir. It looked cool on the sides so I decided to do some nasty reservoir dirt over the bottom of the whole thing. I then sprayed the metal bits with a little boltgun metal. It is looking alright so far. Should be my dirtiest piece to date by the time it is finished.

Hopefully this piece will get finished tonight. I am away for work for 5 days and then I am at home a lot more, so more painting should get done. October has been a little busy so far.

Goals:
1. Finish reservoir within a week.
2. Paint 14 Imperial Renegades by the end of November.
3. Assemble and paint 7 Death Guard by the end of November.

More industrial terrain!

2011-10-11T23:20:00.000-07:00

Once you start building industrial terrain, it is hard to stop! I am fascinated by the different ways to connect shapes in a way that tiny 28mm figures can cross them. As I put them together I like setting up little battle scenes with my models showing how they can flow together. That is really nerdy. Hahaha.

Not too much completion has happened this last week. Mostly due to my aversion to spray painting. I like to have a few projects and then do the nasty job all at once. I thought about just airbrushing, but thought I should have a solid basecoat over the strange plastic pieces in these.

This first piece is the largest. It is some type of refinery. It is two soup cans, some balsa wood, some foamcore, and a cool sprinkler pipe I found for $.89 at the hardware store. I experimented with capping foamcore with 5mm strips of cereal packaging. I think it creates a nice clean look that should paint up well. I added lots of rivets using my hole punch. I also experimented with cutting out little panels of the foamcore to create interesting recessed detail areas. Hopefully all this detail will paint up nicely. This piece will have green cans, I mean tanks (airbrushed them already) and the rest of the details will be flaky grey paint and sections of corroded brown metal.

You can see here how two of the new pieces nest inside each other for easier storage.

I also built a small waste water reservoir. I built it mostly from scrap foamcore and bits I had about. I have a big bottle of water effects that really needs to be used for something. An $18 bottle means I need lots of interesting scenery from it (Any ideas for more good water projects? I am going to make canals with a harder resin). I think this little reservoir will look really nice when painted up but will be pretty bland as far as playability as it is mostly just a line of sight blocker with a tiny bit of cover and some dangerous or impassable ground...

Finally, I made 7 connecting walkways for my walkway system. These will help to connect different terrain pieces for exciting skirmish battles high above the ground. After I made them I realized they also looked nice laid out end to end and would actually work pretty well for a space hulk/underground lair/factory/other things. I really like the asthetic of cramped tunnels and walkways and think that these will look pretty good if I combine them with rooms and other levels and different walkways and other cool things... Multi-purpose. That is what I like.

Whew. It feels like I haven't gotten a whole lot finished recently. There is a lot on the go though. I did a little more assembly for my Imperial Renegades deathsquad as well. I have a great leader that just needs arms pinned before I post a WIP shot of him up here. I need to get back into painting mode again though.

Last week was a very exciting week for the blog as well. I got a mention in From the warp's Weekly blog feature which was a great honor. I added a few new blogs to the blog list including Santa Cruz Warhammer and Stahly's Tale of Painters. Check them out in the blog list of the side. I also added a deathsquads banner to the side. You can check out the deathsquads website here. They have the rules for their great 40k skirmish game available for free if you register. I have played a few games with the rules and really love them. It is a great community too.

Finally, welcome to all of the new members including redscorps (fan of your tank weathering!), MSP, samson, hivemind, son of taurus, Olli, Karrde, and Matt. Bring your friends! Comment here and I can add you to my blog list! Come back soon when I have some paint on my mountains of terrain and minis that are needing paint...

My first airbrush

2011-10-04T19:34:00.000-07:00

I took the plunge. After a few months of indecision I decided to purchase an airbrush and compressor. I bought a TC-20T compressor and Master G34 airbrush from TCP Global. I looked locally but couldn't find any hobby compressors (I live in a basement suite, so noise is important) that had tanks.

Compressor: TC-20T

Airbrush: Master G34

At first I couldn't get any air to flow through the regulator. I got air into the water purge but couldn't get any psi. Eventually I figured out that the stop knob of the regulator pulls up to adjust and goes down to lock. The instructions were a little vague.

Why did I get an airbrush? Many reasons really. Although I like painted models and cool color schemes I have never really liked brushes and using brushes themselves all that much. I find basecoating models to be really tedious. I am excited to try painting from an airbrushed base and highlights as it should speed things up quite a lot. I also wanted an airbrush to speed up terrain painting and to allow me to spray foam.

I did a quick test on some old minis last night to try it out. I have a zenithal highlight scheme from Les Bursley's site (awesomepaintjob.com) in mind for my death guard. I thought I would try it out quickly on an old eldar and old Bretonnian bowman. I based the models quickly with vallejo olive drab and then did zenithal highlights with bubonic brown and vallejo dead flesh. It was surprisingly easy to do. I am hoping that I will only get better with practice and new thinner (bought some today).

This picture is pretty bad but you can see the basic zenithal highlights. Will be much better after a wash. The bubble on the leg is from my poor primering job about 14 years ago... This was one of the very first models I ever got.

Lots of news on the blog sharing front this week. I've been bugging lots of the blog exchanges and got added to a few. I've joined the blog exchanges on International House of Paincakes and Faeit 212. Naftka from Faeit 212 was also nice enough to feature my blog here and House of Paincakes here.

Welcome also to new members jabbajabba, WarlikeRogue, CounterFett, O'Shashar, Lorenzo Calvi, and Alviro.

Two members have asked me to add their blogs to the blog exchange as well. Check out O'Shashar's blog as he completes a Tale of 3 Gamers over at http://Cupboardofnurgle.blogspot.com/. Also on the docket is Vitor's blog http://aureliuslegion.blogspot.com/. Vitor's latest post focuses on weathering, a topic close to my heart.

If you are interested in joining my blog exchange just post a message in the comments section with your url and I will be happy to add it. Feel free to add me to your blogroll if you find this blog interesting. Drop me a line so I can check your blog out in return.

Ciao.

Terrain: Urban barricades

2011-09-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

Warning: mutants...

I recently saw a tutorial at Empire of Ghosts on making urban baricades from sprue and had to give it a go. The barricades use a closed loop of sprue for the base and then you glue plasticard and junk around them to flesh them out. I built three like this before I got annoyed with how long it took to glue each bit on and how fiddly it was with the plasticard.

I then decided to make some using a similar technique but basing them on pieces of foamcore. I cut the foamcore into the barricade cross section shaped and then cut plasticard to length and glued it to the sides. Ah. Much faster. I had to use 3-4 of the cross sections per piece to stop warping though. They took me about half the time to make.

I then based them with 2 shades of brown spray paint and painted them up like my other recent terrain.

I tried out some different weathering techniques (sort of, not really, just different colors) and just had some fun varying the amount of weathering on each bit. I am pleased with how they turned out as I built and painted them while working on other pieces at the same time. Much cheaper than $30 barricades from an unnamed conglomerate!

Industrial terrain: Pencil holder

2011-09-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

I finished painting the terrain piece built from a pencil holder yesterday. I found the metal pencil holder at the dollar store and decided to use some tins, plasticard, and balsa to turn it into a functional terrain piece. I think the end effect is alright. You can see an unpainted picture here. I spent a fair bit of time detailing the rivets and things and painting the different areas. I am quite pleased with how the grey and green painted metal turned out and with the weathering on the posters. I am not 100% satisfied with the vents at the top that connect to nothing or the sandbag painting. The stairs are also too narrow to hold some models as they go up. It does all look suitably grimy though.

I like how the weathered streaks look and the rust around the grey plates. I used a wash with Gryphon Sepia and then lined it with some Tamiya Clear Orange. I think the orange makes the streaks pop a lot more.

This time I tried to make the paint look more chipped in places by using bigger splotches of dark brown and then highlighting the rust with a sponge mostly within that area. You can see this on the picture below.

You can also see here the little system I am using to create walkways. Each piece has these little 2" wide sections of barriers that neatly hold the piece of balsa on the bottom of the walkways. This helps to hold them stable and stops the walkways from always wobbling and tipping. It seems to work pretty well

A quick shout out to the newest members: Malachy and Naftka. A special thanks to Naftka as Rust and the city is now on the Faeit 212 Blog Exchange! Check it out here http://natfka.blogspot.com/. Thanks also to Ron at From the Warp for including me in blogroll number 3 (http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/). Thanks for the support everyone.

Tutorial: Industrial weathering

2011-09-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Someone on the deathsquads forum asked for a tutorial on how I did the weathering effects on my last project so I thought I would do a quick tutorial with this quick terrain project. Last entry I showed some work in progress shots of this urban hill. This tutorial does not give Golden Demon level weathering, it merely provides a quick way for me to weather my terrain. In total, I spent only about 30 minutes building this piece and then probably 1.5 detailing and painting it.

The main structure is a dollar store basket decorated with some cardboard and granny grating. To get to the first stage I based the whole piece with a textured brown spray paint. I then heavily drybrushed a dark green, then decided it looked ugly, so I drybrushed a minty green over top (leaving some streaks too). On the top I drybrushed a little silver and painted some panels yellow for hazard stripes. I stuck on a few posters I found around the internet and some numbers from the dollar store. This brought it to this stage:

After this step I finished the hazard stripes and painted over the posters with glue and then gryphon sepia.

To do most of the rest of the painting I used a sponge brush. I rip the brush apart a little so there is no sharp edge texture. I first used Americana Dark Chocolate. I put some paint on the brush and sponge it on the cardboard until there is only a very little coming off.

I then sponged the dark chocolate all over the top and sides of the piece.

I then did the same with Americana Raw Umber. Raw Umber is a nice, dark brown. I used it in some places a little more heavily to create a chipped paint look as well.

Next I sponged GW Vomit Brown over the areas I previously colored brown and wanted to look extra rusty. The Vomit Brown creates a perfect rust color (in my opinion). Be careful not to overdo it though (if you ever do too much, just go back with your darker browns to break up the texture a bit). I tried to focus on areas that would naturally rust and made large blobs of rust in interesting places. I did a few little dots of each color over the posters to simulate wear as well.

After the vomit brown I lightly sponged GW Boltgun Metal (another great color) over different parts of the piece to simulate more recent chips and metal showing through.

Finally, I added in streaks of grime and oil and dirt using GW Devlan Mud wash. I made drips from the circles, drips from rust, pools in some of the holes, lines from the top, streaks on posters, etc. using a regular brush. Use your imagination and think of wear liquids might flow. Try to make the lines vertical and somewhat neat though.

These streaks are a little ugly and rough...

Now you are done! I will probably go back and add a few more streaks in Gryphon Sepia and some blazing rusty streaks using Tamiya Clear Orange. At this point it looks suitably battered.

The sponge painting goes really fast. I didn't even clean the sponge between brushings. Wash at the end though so your sponge lasts longer. The sponges with the little handles help to reach difficult spots and keep your hands clean.

Here are some pictures of the finished product:

This is how it looked before painting.

Hope this helps! Post any questions here and I will be more than happy to answer them. Also, welcome to my newest follower, Sultansean, the first victim of my Death Orks of Krieg!

Industrial terrain: Urban elevation

2011-09-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

Work in progress shot of the hill so far.

When I was designing my game board I realized that I wanted lots of elevation in an urban environment, but still wanted the board to be easy to store. I have seen different elevation pieces around the web. The general idea is that when the board is complete I will have a large selection of 1.5" and 3" high sections to make a more complex environment with recessed roads and lots of overhead walkways and bridges.

At the dollar store I found a basket of about the right shape and decided to turn it into a quick urban hill. I took the basket and glued cardboard along the inside, cut up some card for the top, and glued on some granny grating and coffee stir sticks for variety. I then sprayed it with two shades of brown and drybrushed a base coat of silver on the top and a minty green on the sides (I need more color in the terrain I think). I've also added a few details such as posters and the start of some hazard stripes.

Here you can see how it can be used to add elevation. You can also see the unpainted basket!

I am trying to do this piece fairly quickly. I will be away for a few days, but should have it finished early next week. Just lots of weathering and some detail work left to do.

As a final note, welcome to my first two followers, TW and Messanger of Death!

Industrial terrain complete!

2011-09-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well, the twin tanks are finally finished. Only took 8 months... Hopefully the next project will be completed much sooner.

Death Orks of Krieg for scale.

I finished the twin tanks project tonight. Still a few things a may touch up in the future, but I think it is looking alright just now. I am trying to balance creating a quality product with spending too much time detailing and not finishing anything!

I am pleased with how the weathering turned out. I should have been a little more careful with the direction of the streaks.

The streaks are done with Gryphon Sepia and Tamiya Clear Orange.

I think there is a bit too much rusty brown on this piece. More colors on the next one.

A top view shot.

Hopefully the next piece will go by a bit quicker. I have two other pieces primed and ready for painting. I just need to get started on the painting and spongeing and then I will have them up on here.

Twin tanks update

2011-09-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

The storage tank facility is about half painted now. I need to add more corrosion and rust and weathering to the rusty sections. It is a little glossy right now and needs a spray of dull coat (any recommendations?). The main tanks will be getting a sponge stippling of two or three more browns to improve the rusting, as will the other corroded areas. The gravel will get a dry brush and wash in grey. Then I will add in more runs and corrosion. The ones so far are done with Gryphonne Sepia and Tamiya Clear Orange (the bright orange streaks).

I painted the structure by first spraying it with two colors of brown spray paint. I then brushed an egg white latex paint over the tanks, drybrushing in some places, and covering the whole thing in others (I liked both and couldn't decide).

The signs come from an attachment someone posted on a thread I had created. Not sure who the original creators are. I just printed them out, glued them on, and weathered them with Gryphonne Sepia and Tamiya Clear Orange.

Anyone see the hockey reference?

Industrial terrain WIP

2011-09-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

WIP shot off the new terrain piece.

Just a quick little update. I've been working on the boards a bit more. They are on hold now until I get some more granny grating to complete some sections. Not sure at the moment if I should hold off and paint all four sections together or do them two at a time.

In the meantime I have been working on a little bit of terrain.

The first piece was a WIP from months ago. I didn't get a chance to paint it as I was gone for 6 months. I touched it up a bit, glued the pieces down better, and added some more cover. It is now ready to paint!

I tried to build it with a bit of cover and some access to different levels to make it playable.

My favourite part is the strange broken tubes with electrical wires and things coming out of them.

The second piece is based on a $3 metal pencil holder I found at the dollar store. I got a little carried away adding details to a simple piece, but I am hoping it is quite playable. The big tank is a dental floss container, the pipes are copper connectors, the blue containers are mint containers. The plasticard is from a beware of dog sign. The balsa warped a lot on the main structure, so it looks a bit ramshackle. I'm planning to paint these mostly in a rust color scheme with some tanks and things with different colors for a little contrast.

Tonight I am planning to give them a basecoat of textured matte brown spray paint. Then hopefully I can get them painted up and completed around mid week.

Ongoing projects

2011-09-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

I have a number of ongoing projects that will feature heavily in this blog. I am terrible for frequently starting a project and then getting distracted before it is finished. I really love converting and building things, so many projects get only a bit beyond this stage. Hopefully this blog will help me to stay on track and finish a few of these ongoing projects.

Death Orks of Krieg
This is a small squad I have been building for deathsquads (a great 40k skirmish game similar to Necromunda and Mordheim, visit http://www.deathsquadsgame.com/ for more info and free rules!). They are orks who have been raised by the Death Korps of Krieg as an experimental commando force. They are now renegade. This force is mostly built. It just needs some finishing details and a whole lot of paint. Here are a few pictures of what I have so far.

First two finished Death Orks.

A shot of most of the gang. Lots of work still to complete.

Imperial Renegades
Another squad for deathsquads. These are humans who have been corrupted by chaos and have rebelled against the Imperium. They are made from a variety of Cadian, Catachan, Skaven, Necron, and other bits. This squad is partially assembled and converted. I have not fully decided on a color scheme yet, as the one I tried was unsatisfactory.

Some of the Imperial Renegades.

Death Guard
As I have moved to Vancouver I have discovered that I will need to convert people to deathsquads through more popular games. So I am building a small Death Guard force. Death Guard are a traitorous space marine legion devoted to Nurgle. I have built a few models and converted them from the Chaos Space Marine box set. I am waiting for some conversion sets from forgeworld to arrive and some bits I have ordered so that I can begin seriously working on this project. My goal is to have a 1750 point force painted and ready to game for the November 24th Foodhammer tournament in Vancouver. Hopefully this blog will include lots of Death Guard fun over the next few months. Here are two pictures of the first two models I have built.

A bit of a poor picture. I am planning to mix forge world sets and greenstuff conversions.

Here you can see the greenstuffed bellies. I "weathered" the legs, arms, and weapons to fit in a bit better. I've also tried to create a flayed skin look on some of the shoulder pads using greenstuff.

Terrain
I am hoping to complete my board soon and to start adding lots of modular terrain to it. I want to keep everything compact for storage but to still have plenty of gaming options on it. I have lots of half complete projects that I need to finish...

Warriors of Chaos
I have a moderately effective 2,000 point Warriors of Chaos army. This army is partially painted. I keep changing my mind on things and taking things apart to change them. I will sit down and try to get them to a good level of completion soon though...

Test piece for board

2011-09-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the blog. This blog will track my progress through various terrain and hobby projects.

First up, I am planning to make a small terrain board. It will be modular with 4 2'x2' boards. The boards are 3/4" masonite. I want the board to be reversible (twice the gaming space with the same amount of storage space). One side will be a ruined city; flagstones, craters, canal. The other side will be a metal tech style. It will work for Necromunda, the inside of a factory, inside of a space hulk, future city, etc.

I have created a small test piece to try out a few different textures and painting techniques for this side.

The first image shows the materials I used. Base is 1/8" hardboard. Left to right the materials are drywall tape, cardboard from space marines, and darche.

The second image shows the test piece painted. I first sprayed it with a textured rust brown paint. On the top half I drybrushed on boltgun metal. The lower half I lightly drybrushed Americana Raw Umber. I painted the hazard stripes using vomit brown, golden yellow, black, and some masking tape. I then used a sponge to lightly sponge on layers on raw umber, bestial brown, and vomit brown. I did a small amount of sponging with boltgun metal as well, to show wear.

I'm not sure which paint scheme I like best. I like how old and decrepit the lower side without the drybrushed metal looks. It has the uniform look of corroded iron i-beams. I like how the drybrushed metal shows that this is a metal surface. Not sure yet which I will use. Definitely going back and forth on it.

Next I need to decide on the layout for the board and start cutting and gluing on the various textures.