Chimera 'Divinity'

One of the reasons Scott and I have continued to tally our painted models this year is that like many other hobbyists, we have countless unfinished projects laying around. I, in particular, have terrible project ADD. Currently I'm working on a Marienburg Empire army, as you saw in my last post, but after getting 8 models in I got sort of burnt out. So I rummaged through my drawer to find a "1 Day Distraction". In this case, I found an almost complete Imperial Guard Chimera for my Redemptors of Golinar army and decided it was going to be my minor distraction for a day (or in this case, 2 days). I completed the turret which was only partially painted and then went in and did some weathering which was a mix of washes, dry brushing, and sponging. Sponging was something brand new to me and I am happy with the results.

To update the tally:

Nick: 9

Scott: 0

AdMech Heavy Weapons Squads

Here are a couple more new AdMech Heavy Weapons Squads (pretty overcast outside today, so not the best lighting)...

This first one was actually taken the other day with better lighting, but none of the others pictures i took that day turned out so eh... These are Steel Legion models...

Here are the ones from today...



Im honestly, really chugging through these to make them tabletop ready and not spending a whole lot of time and level of detail i have with my other models.. and im really ok with that ;)
next up are some of the (again only table top ready) lascannon heavy weapon squad.. it was actually way to cold the day i primed them and you can really tell with the texture on some area's of the model.. lesson learned. I do really like these forgeworld tanks and i can foresee picking up some more for different conversion at some point.




and last but not least... here the 3rd Company Crimson Fists Captain (Counts as Khan)



I totally am changing my tournament list last minute for this weekend.. this is my new list (even though i haven't play tested it at all ;)

Pedro with
5x honor guard 3x relic blades
Rhino

Kor'sarro Khan

9x (Mechanicus) Sternguard 4x combi meltas
Rhino

7 Assault Termies 4xTH/SS Landraider Crusader Multagun

2 Ten man tact squads, melta, missile, powerfist, rhino

Landspeeder 2x HB/HB HB

Next post will be all about my experience and perhaps a battle report or two and hopefully lots of pictures!!!
Cheers,
Brose

A Little New, A Little Old

For the last couple of weeks I have had Warhammer on the brain. Scott got talking about doing Skaven so I dragged out my Empire models and one thing led to another. Last week I posted a photo of the first model I completed this year. I didn't talk much about him, I was just so eager to get his ugly mug up on the blog. As it turns out, he wasn't done after all. After "completing" him I went through a huge crisis of faith in my red scheme. You see, back in the day when I started my Marienburg army I was really determined to paint them quickly. So the red was originally Scab Red with a Red Gore highlight and Red Ink in the recesses. You see, back 10 years ago we didn't have GW's current range of Washes, and the Ink's really left whatever area they touched with a bit of shine. When I pulled out the Militia figure with the Catachan head and red coat, I re-did the red in an effort to mute the original shine, so I painted over most of the coat with Mechanite Red, mixed Mechanite Red and Scorched Brown to paint the recesses, and then I highlighted with Blood Red. The end result was this coat here:

He looks pretty good in the photo but I thought he looked a little flat in person. So then I started experimenting with a ton of combinations of washes and highlights to find what I really wanted. I tried washing thinned down Bestial Brown into the folds which gave a smooth but very dirty look that I ultimately rejected. I tried painting the red areas Mechanite Red, and then highlighting with Blood Red and then Bleached Bone. I followed this with multiple layers of Baal Red Wash. At first I thought it was too shiny so I ended up rejecting that scheme. I sort of regret it now. It was very rich and had a lot of depth.

Ultimately, though I went for a tried and true scheme. My 40K IG army was Blood Red with a Brown Wash, and then Blood Red, Blazing Orange, and Fiery Orange. Unfortunately they look very dirty and very orange, so I wanted to sort of get away from that. Instead I used that same basic idea but with the improved paints that GW has released. The final scheme is Mechanite Red with Devlan Mud Wash painted into the folds. All the raised areas are touched back up with

Mechanite Red to ensure a solid coat where it should be. Then the raised areas are highlighted

with Blood Red and Blazing Orange. It's a pretty generic red scheme but it works. Here are the 2 schemes side by side. The scheme that ends in Blazing Orange is on the right. The scheme that ended in Bleached Bone and several layers of Baal Red Wash is on the left. I'm sure I'll adapt that scheme on something somewhere along the way.

I've been productive. Way more productive than usual. Since the January 1 I have finished 5 models. They are actually from two different units, and three of the Spearmen are roughly identical. I added a feather to one and made sure all of the shields are different. I'm pretty happy with how they are coming out aside from the skin. I spent a decade deliberately not painting human faces so I feel like they need some work. I think the army is going to look pretty good when it all comes together. I have another 100 models to refine my techniques on. Here are the 5 completed models. I haven't determined if the bases will have Static Grass ultimately so the bases are sort of plain for the moment. They are display case quality though, so for our purposes they are done.

Finally I wanted to end with some models that I unearthed while getting pumped on Warhammer. Twelve years ago when I worked for GW - shortly before 6th Edition, I was feverishly working on some Bretonnians. The funny part is that I never completed any Knights. I converted a bunch of figures that didn't have a model in the original Bretonnian book and that didn't make it into the new book, and for some reason I painted a crap load of siege equipment even though I didn't have the models to field it. Ah, to have what seemed like limitless hobby time and resources again so I could do whatever whim that struck me. Anyway, here are the only 5 Bretonnian Spearmen I completed in 1998 along with 2 of the 5 mantlets I completed. Maybe I'll mess around with them a little or maybe I'll hold off until they get their next book. We'll see.

Nick: 5

Scott: 0

Skaven (Sneak Peek)

Eric has been doing it, so I will too. Here are some plague monks in-progress.

When I decided to start my Skaven army this year, I pulled out my old models. I found these four primed and ready to paint, so I couldn't resist slapping some paint on them.

Each one was painted a little differently, but the overall result is the same. I started with a light base coat (Rotting Flesh) and built on that with a series of washes and some dry-brushing.

This is a departure from my recent work with blending and a return to my older technique of dry brushing and washing. The reason I stopped dry brushing and washing was that I thought the results were too sloppy. However, that actually works to my advantage with skaven (and most importantly, it's faster).

Also, whereas my work with my daemons has been very colorful, these are going to muted and almost monochromatic. I'll spend some extra time on front rank and character models, of course.

Scott's Painting Year in Review

I don't want gloat too much, but yes I won the painting race between Nick and myself.

However, as Nick so kindly pointed out in his post, I didn't beat the person I was really trying to beat. Namely, myself. In 2009, I painted 32 miniatures. In 2010, I painted 32 miniatures. Exactly.

Now, granted, the mix is a bit different. This year I painted a monstrous creature and two HQ choices. Seen here:



So, had I scored 2009 painting the way I scored 2010, I would have only earned 33 points. So in a round-about, convoluted way, I did beat my total from 2009.

Sort of.

Anyway, here are more close ups...




I also very nearly finished the second half of the CSM unit pictured above. Those will be done soon as I can tear myself away from assembling skaven.

And Thanks again to Nick for spilling the beans, but we have decided to start (or in Nick's case, revive) WHFB armies.

More on CSMs and Skaven coming soon.

My full Admech Army (sneak peak)

Well, since scott and nick have asked... here is a sneak peak of my army thus far..
its too freaking cold to take pictures outside, so all you get is this slightly blurry overview.. will post individual pictures of everything at some point...



Here is the breakdown
Platoon Command Squad
2x body guards
2x melta
1x plasma
1x vox caster

Platoon squads
10x with plasma, vox, commissar
10x with plasma, vox, commissar
10x with plasma, vox, commissar
3x lascanmon heavy weapon squad
3x lascanmon heavy weapon squad
3x missile launcher heavy weapon squad

Veteran squads
10x with 3x melta, Chimera
10x with 2x flamer, 1x heavy flamer, Chimera

Psyker Battle Squad
10x

Scout Sentinels
2x lascannons
2x autocannons

Leman Russ
Heavy Bolter Turrets

Manitor
Heavy Stubber

Vendetta Gun Ship

comes in at around 1750 points and there you go....

AdMech Guard Heavy Weapons Squad (Sneak peak)

Hey all,
Well following Nicks advice (about trying to keep up our posts) I have a sneak peak of another AdMech Heavy Weapons squad. This time I wanted to try out the Forgeworld Cyclops Demolition Tank. Unfortunately, its way too cold to prime right now and i don't forsee a let-up in the temperature anytime soon, so thought i would just post the first rough conversions.... I am pinning the weapons on these one, so i can swap out between missiles, autocannons, or lascannons (although the picts here are technically multilaser, going to be doing some more work on em I think)








I am really liking the FW model.. and the best part is its only 3 resin pieces.. so easy to put together!!!
Here is a pict of my first Heavy Weapons Squad using the old Rouge Trader/2nd edition Rapier Laser Destroy chasis



Not going to be able to post again for a while, but the next one will for sure be after the Conquest NW Tournament and now that i have my fancy camera, will be posting some picts and perhaps a battle report.
Til then... Take care,
-Brose

"We'd Rather Stand Alone than Under Imperial Tyranny!"

Like last year, I have to be the first to post a brand new model to create the illusion of a prolific year ahead. Yesterday I put some time in to complete this model. My goal with the Empire is to paint them relatively fast, so I'm sacrificing some of the precision that I normally strive for. Originally there were a lot of inks used on this model when it was started 10 years ago. I actually went back with Scorched Brown and Mechanite Red to eliminate any of the old inks on the pants and coat. I don't know if I'll do that with all of the models I started for this army back then, but as he was one of only two Militia who had made it past the priming stage, I figured it was a good time to test out newer paints and techniques. The thing I'm most proud of on this model is his "5 o'clock shadow". This is something I've never tried on a model and though the rest of the model is just stock 3 color shading and highlighting, the scruff was something new and exciting for me to try. I mixed a little Codex Grey with Elf Flesh and water and built it up with a few thin coats, leaving his deeper facial lines untouched. I think it came out well for my first time. Hello 2011!

Close but No Absolution - 2010 in Review

"I cant believe another year has gone by

And still nothing, as if we dont even try

And theres nothing to be proud of

And nothing you can truly stand by

Its time to believe!" - Chain of Strength

I started off 2010 with some ambitious goals (though less ambitious than year's past) and I fell short. My most important goal was to get the Angels of Absolution to 2000 points of fully painted models. I started the year out at around 1500 points. I launched out of the gate early on, completing a couple of key models like a Devastator Veteran Sergeant and a Dreadnought, but the rest of this year's completions for the Angels were 4 counters, my first Scout, and one Tactical Marine for a brand new squad. It was a strong start to 2010 but a weak finish.

Other goals I intended to complete were:

- Get my Tomb Kings to 2000 points fully painted. This army was completely untouched throughout 2010.

- Complete the Ork Trukk I've been working on since 2008. I tried really hard in the last week of 2010 to at least accomplish this goal. I still failed. I also wasn't supposed to work on any other Ork projects in 2010, and instead I completed 3 models for the army - 2 Trukk Boyz and a Scavvie Slave (counts as a Grot).

- Complete my Humboldt Park/Chicago themed board. I didn't get this done but I made some solid progress. In October I posted some close ups of little details. I really want to go crazy on the detail and flexibility of this game table so I'm okay with the fact that this was left incomplete.

- Not listed last January but I was supposed to paint a bunch of models for my buddy Mike. The Blood Angels Dreadnought in the above photo was one of those models. I had like 4 character models I needed to paint as well. Fail. Fail. Fail. And fail.

My final failing was that Scott and I had a painting competition to see who could get the most models done despite our demanding schedules and snail like painting pace. I felt like I was setting the pace for the first several months but as my dad always told me, "Those who run fast don't run long." Sure enough, I got busy and lost all my steam. With the final model I am posting today, I completed 18 painting points worth of models - 2 Dreadnoughts, 6 infantry models, and 4 counters -compared to his 37 painting points.

Strangely, despite being doubled I sort of consider it a success. I feel like I accomplished more in 2010 than I did in 2009, and that's really what it's all about. Conversely, Scott only tied his previous year's output. In my eyes, this made the competition a success and I'm practically begging him to do it again this year!

So lets talk about my goals for 2011! This year rather than setting point totals I'm going to do something a little more suited to my own sense of accomplishment which comes from my display case and how full it is with completed models. In that spirit here are my goals. (Please note that for purposes of these goals a vehicle counts as 4 models.)

- Shelf I & II. Angels of Absolution (DA): I intend to complete 5 models of any type.

- Shelf III. Redemptors of Golinar (IG): I intend to complete 10 models of any type.

- Shelf IV. Bloody Fist Orks (Ork): I intend to complete the Ork Trukk plus 5 models of any type.

- Shelf V. Tomb Kings of Khemri (TK): I intend to complete 5 models of any type.

- Shelf VI. Marienburger Mercenaries (Emp): I intend to complete no less than 25 models.

Some people can complete this many models in their sleep. For me it is very ambitious. The most important things I have on my side are the visual driver that makes me want to fill the display cases I own, the small targets for each army that allow me to jump around with my project ADD, and (hopefully) a little bit of competitive spirit between Scott and I.

Also, it isn't reflected in my goals above, but Scott and I are both striving to have 1000 points painted of our respective Empire (me) and Skaven (Scott). With my hodge podge approach to getting armies on the table, 25 models could still end up being 1000 points with characters and war machines.

Fiinally, I noticed that our blog output dropped from 2009 to 2010. I'd like to put forth a challenge to the rest of the 2nd City Warzone crew - let's strive to have 50 posts this year - just under one a week on average. We can do it. Who's with me?

Mechanicus Knights (aka Sentinels for my AdMech Guard Army)

Hey again,
Just finished up a couple more Knights for my AdMech Guard army... The first one not really super proud of.. had grand ideas when first gathering together the different bits.. but it really didn't turn out like I wanted it too and don't really want to spend any more time on it. Gonna be one of those models that sits on the shelf i think.. but anyhow it was a fun conversion attempt.. The bits used where Legs from the old metal IG Sentinel.. the body was a combination of the super old Space Marine Landspeeder and a new IG Sentinel... the top turret is bits from the new IG Sentinel and some weird mechanicus double melta tripod thing...









Next up is one of my regular Knights, this one armed with lascannons and as of right now, no extra armor, need to dig through my Chimera bits box for more of the track cover pieces (totally forgot about adding those til i just took the picts.. doh!!!)









2011 is starting off to be pretty productive.. now if i could only find people to play with...
-Brose