BA Project update

OK,
not much to update apart from ready to "black-out".
i.e. revisit the metals, weapons and other bits.
Generally, the models are based and highlighted red, time to do the definition and detail.

From left to right:

the sequence of hightlighting I have used.
From Mechrite/scab red mix through Red Gore to Blood Red.
Ogryn Flesh shading has been done earlier on, then I have used Over-brushing rather than dry-brushing for the highlighting.

After the details, I will re-do a shading layer.













Now for a quick view of the Venerable Furioso (with the kit-bash DCCW).

Gathering momentum

So, thanks to the wonderful work going on over at AGOG; namely Silverback, and his ability to paint a BA army (for someone else!) in under a month..... I am shamed that mine still languish at the Chaos Black Sprayed stage.

Now, I am not planning to beat a speed-painting record, but it is about time that I got something done with them. I do have the right tools for the job, or do I?

With the addition of the "Flamer" spray gun and a complete lack of experience; it was time to try.

The first attempt was definitely a reasonable ...disaster.

Slightly over thinned, it didn't cover well. So flowed and settled like a wash.

I have a couple of predators to re-furbish (including a Baal). These all took a couple of coats and ages inbetween while the coats dried; and the propellant cans cooled down.                                                                                                                                        

  Faced with a few seconds of spraying, swapping out propellant cans then waiting for them to cool down, it was taking ages. 

I went to work on the paint consistency, making a new batch of basecoat. Mechrite Red/ Scab Red 3:1 plus 3:1 Basecoat:Screenwash  solution (from IA Masterclass vol 1).                                                                                                                 

 

 Trying to organise for mass spraying, I raided the bin at work for this tray. In the absence of blutac I improvised with an old pack of double-sided "Stickfixers" that were lying around, and secured the figures.

With trepidation, time to try it out.

Still problems with the propellant, but it covered well for the short time it was active. Allowing for cooling it was still managed in an evening.

I think that the spraygun will be just for vehicles, in future. Also I will have to fashion a Heat-Sink arrangment for the Propellant.

 

But, for now I have some more painting to be getting on with.



A start, but momentum is building.

The Red Tide approaches

Movement at last on the Blood Angels Project, so a quick update:

From a pile of bitz and a bitz box, to a pile of models ... assembled!

So, a core force of 2 Tactical Squads, 2 Assault Squads and a Devestator Squad plus a couple of Sanguinary Priests as support. Actually, that is half a company!



From 2 Death Company boxes and a Sanguinary Guard box ( after putting together 6 Guard) I was able to spread the BA iconography throughout, for a cohesive appearance.

Now the sprue cutting and filing , drilling is done .... ready for basecoating.

A couple of multimeltas and a plasma cannon.

                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Yes, another Tycho is in there for his Death Company version :)

The Red Thirst

Slowly back into the swing of things; it has been a while since posting but the backlog has not diminished. Time to do something about it.

The mighty IXth Legion has been wallowing in bitz piles or basecoated and forgotten. here are a couple of pics for WiP.

Out of the bitz box, spare Dredd parts to form a new furioso.

I have started to make Right Arm DCCWs from left fists and Dredd leg parts.

The legs on the left are from 3 legs to make hips as well, then a couple of cabling parts to blend.

Then there is Moriar the Fallen ....

I have had a version of him from 2nd Ed.

This is from the old metal Furioso model (I have another one that is stripped and ready to go....)

He is looking a touch "aged" now and less than spectacular; but Forgeworld have solved this for me, "Hehehehehe"

The Chaplain Dredd is just screaming to me ..."Moriar ... Moriar!"

With the Blood Talons option for him, Heavy Flamer and Melta of course.

A few BA embellishments from the DC, BT and Sanguinary Guard sprues, some guitar wire, he is ready for painting.

Finally (for the moment)..

A bucket of BA bitz, ready for Troops...

Agggghhhh! moving and modelling

Well, it has been a while since doing anything constructive (or constructing) but as the title says ..... one of them had to go.
It was the modelling .........
Only for a while though. I am now ensconced in a new abode, with a small room now dedicated to the hobby (with shelves and everything - huzzah!), unfortunately still containing piles of boxes and stacks of other detritus. So it is still difficult to get at everything just yet.

I have not been idle though; just not a lot done.

I have put together around 40 (yes .. forty!) Terminators, and stil have some more to do just waiting for some FW Blood Angels Termie pauldrons.

With the wonderful advent of the new BA 'Dex, I have de-sprued a box of Death Coy and Sanguinary Guard, and have blisters of: Astorath (the Grimy), the Sanguinator ("I'll be back!") & the new Lemartes ("Don't make me angry!"). Also picked up an extra Apothecary for Sanguinary Priests and will do a Termie version.
edit: Oooh!, I'd forgotten the new Baal....... Hhhmmm flamestorm cannon....
I have unbuilt Space Marines to use up the spares from the BA boxes, so I am ready to revisit my Sons of Sanguinius.

Watch this space........

It will now be a focus on the upcoming Attack! 2010 tourney, but wether or not I can put together a new BA army in time for it, is another question. I will probably bring out the Sisters revamp for that.
Decisions, decisions....

Meanwhile, there was the Bristol Vanguard tourney at Easter ... a great time was had .. though it really showed up my rules knowledge (apologies to my opponents, they were very patient and understanding), so re-reading and more games are needed.

I will be back soon.

Big Mek with Kustom Forcefield

Great, another one down and a new addition to my Ork Horde.

Big Mek Nobgul Mekwort

I think he will do very nicely, along with some company in the form of Grot Oilers (no imagination needed) Bodjit 'n Skarpa.

I have decided on a starting point for the army, and I still have 5 points to spend (Ooooooh!) note: spent

Mekworts Skrapyard Stomperz

HQ:
Big Mek Nobgul Mekwort; KFF, 'Eavy, Cybork, Burna, Bodjit 'n Skarpa.
Warphead Oddnutz
Elites:
4 Meganobz; 2 kombi-skorchas, 2 kombi-rokkits, Trukk; Red, rokkit
Troops:
1#     20 Shoota Boyz; Nob, PK, Boss pole, 2x rokkits
2#     12 Trukk Boyz; Nob, PK, Boss pole, Trukk; Red, Rokkit
3#     12 Trukk Boyz; Nob, PK, Boss pole, Trukk; Boarding plank, Rokkit
4#     Deff Dredd; "Da Lawnmowa", 4 DCCW, grot riggers
Fast Attack:
Zagstruks Vulcha Boyz (14 Stormboys)
Heavy:
Deff Dredd; "Dakka Deff", 2x Big Shootas (this is going to be a new Deff Dredd - I can't resist!)
Kan Sqn; (x3), Rokkit, Big Shoota, Skorcha

1500 pts (hopefully)

Extremely low on Da Boyz, so I am chickening out already.
No!, I must be strong. I wanted to try out new (& dust off old) units; then I have to accept that they are going to get mullered.
Just enjoy the scrap.
This list may survive, it may not. I wonder if I can get away with only 3 Meganobz? another Kan may be useful.
Maybe just drop the Vulchas for tourney games, use them for friendliesonly; that way I can get a Battlewagon and fill it with Boyz. It will be more competitive for a tournament army .......................... I just don't know!

Project- Make a Decision. "The winner is.......Orks, orks, orks, orks!"

Bristol Vanquish is looming and I have to make a decision on what Army to take along.
With all the work on the Orks of late, it would seem churlish to not give them an outing; but away from my usual Speed Freek style.
Again, it will be an opportunity to field some new units or those that have been relegated to permanent storage. So, a general idea is forming (Dredds, Kans, Stormboyz, Meganobs, Battlewagon) but for this set-up I will need a new HQ.
Now comes the problem;
It will be a Big Mek, with Kustom Forcefield. Having only an ancient Shokk Attack Gun model, I will:
a. Buy the new figure (very nice!) and spend more dosh.
b. Tie a securing tether and dive into the expansive Bitz Box (if I cannot come up with a kit-bash Konversion, I may as well give up!)

Sense and Sensibility calls for option b.

Grabbing a handful of bitz & an old Warboss model (the one with the chainaxe) ..... off we go.
What do I want?
A name: Big Mek Nobgul Mekwort
Armour: 'Eavy, Cybork body
Kit: Meks tools (standard), Kustom Force Field (KFF), Burna (the only Ork option for a power weapon attack), Grot Oilers x2 (a re-roll for fixin' fings)
That is 130 points of obscured/cover save, fixing goodness (with a bit of choppy if necessary).

For a change I remembered to photo journal the rabid process over the last couple of hours (yes; once started it was frenzied).

First visualisation was a head: IIRC this is from the Nobz sprue, to represent Cybork bitz.

Next WYSIWIG was a start on the Mek tools. The mek backpack placed at the belt area.

There were plenty of options for the next steps (too many), a lot of metal bitz were promising, but I didn't want to be cutting, pinning and filing all of the fiddly bits so swapping an changing all the time I progressed in a logical (sort of) manner to make a KFF.

Power (lots of battery packs - from the Predator sprue).                        Energy coils and gubbinz (A cut-down lascannon)                            More Mek tools (cut from an equipment panel off the Land Raider Sprue.                                                                                       Supported by another cut-down Lascannon (more coils), for the other side, to balance it up.                                                                       You can see the first options for the spinny generating gubbinz, these evolved as I went along.

Next was to secure the whole thing to his body, as a backpack and start build the generating gubbinz.With some use out of the old Shokk Gun (big spinny bit and the central globe-bit, then an angled metal rod with a small polystyrene ball (craft shop) stuck on the end.

The Polystyrene was stuck with PVA and then coated with PVA (hopefully, so it won't melt when spraying later).                                   A harness was added for effect (from the Burna/loota sprue), because I am that retentive!                                                                              So: KFF ......... check!

Now for the arms (& effect). A Burna and something for the pose.

I liked the big choppa arm from the Nobz sprue, with it resting over the right shoulder, or the Standard pole arm from the Black Orc sprue .... the big choppa would be easier to konvert, so there we go.

With the right arm taken, the Burna then became a problem (as all the ones from the burna sprue are right handed). Choose a left arm, cut off the hand attached to the burna and stick on! The fuel hoses need to be re-positioned as well, with the burna fuel tanks trimmed and stuck on the base of the KFF.

Back to the right arm; I was thinking about whittling some caliper jaws, but that was too much aggro for me. I have plans for a Techmarine servo-harness, that doesn't need on of the caliper arms (Conversion Beamer....ahem!...).

With jaws pinned into place I was now ready for the final pose and effect, before painting. (I had to knead the connecting screw with pliers, to widen the reach and fit the big choppas head).

Here it is.

Comments are very much welcome (before I start painting please). I like the pose and the "Mekkiness", I'm very happy (and still have a few "beer tokens" in my pocket!).

"Bring out your Dredd (s)"

Sorry, I couldn't resist the Monty Python quote.
And as an aside, I also couldn't resist showing off this pic of the most brilliant piece of work I have seen for 40K.
To share with you:

"Ah Ha! Noooobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"

I cannot deduce the originator, to acknowledge their awesomeness; but here is the thread link I found it on. http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56102&highlight=expects&page=2
If anyone does know the source please let me know and I will add a full acknowledgement (plus try to purchase them!).
These even surpass the brilliance of the comical Ork Kommandos. If I can ever find them again: One is holding up a poster of a Space Marine in front as kamouflage, others as bushes etc.

Ok, so back to the original post. After completing Da Lawnmowa, I searched high & low to find my existing Dredds & Kans, as I may very well field them for Vanquish.

A bad move as they were in seriously poor shape, in fact the storage segment looked like a Meks scrapyard (although this is also an excellent place to start).
Broken, weapons blue-tacked and in dire need of updating or finishing painting.

I have everything from Rogue Trader Mk1 Dredds (both Ork & Marine) as Kans, The Mk1 Metal Kans, a Mk2 Ork Dredd and a Mk3 (slightly larger) Ork Dredd..
With the new Plastic Dredds and Kans due out very soon, my collection looks sad. The new models are brilliant. If you haven't seen them yet .... get to see them immediately. On the sprues ... lots of options for a Mad Meks dream ... whilst made up, the Ork Deff Dredd looks "Proper Orky!" it towers over the Marine Dredds.
Methinks there may be room for a "Wafer-thin one!" to squeeze into my Army .. somewhere ... please.

The Mk2 Dredd I have is actually about the same size as the new Kans, so this may be re-assigned to make room (the Mk3 is still a reasonable size). I am also going to have a go at some Grotzookas (yes they are in the new sprues for the Kans). So ...... "Wait-Out!"

Edit:
An update for the Kommados mentioned earlier;

again, apologies for the Originators acknowledgement (whomever made these models), but the link where I found it is here http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.the-waaagh.com/images/photos/gf1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/234092.page&usg=__cHFa5SYI5pMtDg0ljF2thrFs2hI=&h=519&w=706&sz=249&hl=en&start=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=0-GYn0IH-abx3M:&tbnh=103&tbnw=140&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dork%2Bkommando%2Bconversions%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1

Backlog Update: Meganobz

Back to clearing the backlog, and the last on the list (present list) for the Orks was the Meganobz.
Mostly in pieces these have been hanging around for ages ....... well, not anymore.

Using alternate bitz; simple headswaps and the like needed very minor konverting. Essentially they were just filing or trimming down, filling in hollows on the back of the head or the addition of trophies.
I do like to overall effect away from the standard model.

On the right, a couple of Shoota-skorcha kombi weapons. Their muzzles drilled out and the swap of a helmetted head from the plastic Black Orc sprue (WFB). This sprue is great for 'Eavy Armour swaps and guantletted hands.

To the left, shoota-rokkit kombis; an armoured visor head from the Burnaboyz sprue and a Nid spine plate on the shoulder.

The other Nob has a Cybork head, with exhaust from the new Nobz sprue.

Both needed trimming to fit into the jaw plates.

Finally, as I was another jaw plate diffy (slang: deficient), another head from the Burna/Loota sprue (Mekboy), but a faceplate/mask from the Black Orcs sprue, just stuck on the front of this shoota-skorcha kombi Meganob.

Painted up with different primary colours, based and then accompanied by my lonely Mega Armour Nob that has never seen the light of day (it needed a basing update, to tie-in with the others). Here are the finished articles.

Cabling was picked out with a simple Ice Blue and Snot Green contrast.

The list is complete ....... "NEXT!!"