Big Mek with a Kustom Force Field

The newest addition to my budding Ork army is this Big Mek with the Kustom Force Field. I've commented on my personal delight in the outstanding comical qualities of the Orks, both from the codex and the models themselves. This model certainly reinforces that. The model was very simple to paint, and came out looking pretty nice. I didn't feel daunted by the details on the model, I simple started by dry brushing most of the Kustom Force Field pack. I took inspiration from the various panels and how things were going, and just kept building from there. I read a little strategy article after gluing him together about how it's recommended to take a burna with him as it gives him some utility while embarked in a vehicle and works as a power weapon in close combat. Well... too late now. I don't mind much because that choppa/wrench he has is just awesome looking. His arm position, leaning on the wrench is just perfect.

I also need to add that this is by far the heaviest single model that I own now. He certainly was a substantial chunk of metal. For the base, I decorated that with some "gears" to give him a bit more of the Mek Boy look. I had a tool kit from the Whirlwind box, but it didn't quite fit on the base without covering too much of the model. I also put a little nail varnish on the lenses to give them a shiny glass look. I like it.

I now have 10 Ork Nobz to prime and paint in about a week. I've gained a little courage and glued them all together prior to priming. I'm curious how much trouble this might add to the painting process. I see plenty of respected painters that do this, and it leads me to believe that there isn't much of a negative aspect to this at all. I also have their bases sitting there with the gravel glued and drying right now. I'm half tempted to go ahead and glue them to the bases... eh... maybe I'm not quite that brave yet.

Here are some more pictures of the Big Mek with the Kustom Force Field. I've also thrown in a shot with a Ork Boy next to him for size comparison:

Grey Knights completed

I've completed that final two Grey Knight Terminators for my little clump of terminators to be allied with my space marines chapter. I'll basically be running a Grand Master and five terminators as his retinue. This leaves me with lots of expansion room should I want to add more units either as further Demon Hunter allies or as a possible stand-alone Demon Hunters army. I've said it before, but I'll just say it again here: These are awesome looking characters. The Terminators from the Grey Knights are just so sharp looking. The near medieval look to their helmets and the nice engraved lettering really make these guys a treat to paint and own. I'll be interested in how they perform on the table. Here are a few pics of my latest additions as well a group shot:

Who's Da Boss?

Finished my Warboss from the Assault on Blackreach set. What an awesome model this is. I think there are basically three models that REALLY stand out in that starter set: the Warboss, the Space Marine Captain, and the Deff Koptas. I've gotten a TON of value out of that starter kit. I really think that GW did pretty much everything right with the contents of that box. That mini rule book is awesome for traveling, the models are terrific in inspiring you to start up the hobby, and of course throwing in the templates and some dice was a no-brainer.

Now, about the Warboss. I tried a few techniques on this model the kinda speed things up. I've got about 1000 points of Orks in my place, and I'm kinda starting to feel like I might just be able to have them all painted up before I go back home to Dallas when my leave comes up in late December. Maybe I'm crazy though, because I'm one HELL of a slow painter. I've found that I paint better by taking numerous breaks. I usually sit down for an hour, then wander off for an hour. On the weekends, I typically fill the off-time by digging through old Blue Table Painting YouTube vids. I love those guys. I can't get enough of their antics and inspirational builds.

One technique I explored with this model was blood splattering. I was worried about scaling this effect properly. What I ended up doing was taking my Citadel Detail Brush that I got in their 40K painting starter kit (that have five Ultra Marines in it) and I've since converted to a dry brush, and loaded that sucker up with Gore Red mixed with about 30% water, and just raked my thumb across the brush, flicking paint onto the model. The effect was really well scaled, easy to do, and looked great. Just be careful that you don't get unintentional splash onto something nearby that wasn't supposed to be speckled with blood. I managed to only hit a paint pot, so I learned my lesson at a very low cost.

Here are some more details of the Boss:

Telion is going to reach out and touch somebody

I finished this Telion model for my Prodigal Sons Space Marine chapter  just recently. I'm digging it, but I can't help but feel that I could have done a bit better with this. This is an okay model, not super inspiring, but his rules are just absolutely awesome. He is taken as an upgrade to a scout unit. His ballistic skill is 6 which means a 2+ to hit, and if you roll a 1, you re-roll and hit on a 6. His "Stalker Pattern Bolter" is 36" S4 Heavy 2, rending, and pinning. So sorta a sniper rifle that he double-taps. What's more you allocate the wounds, not the opposing player. He can also forgo his shooting attack and loan his BS6 to any other model in his unit. Wow! Totally worth the 50 points. Oh and weapon skill of 5. Crazy.

I was constructing a post the other day about how I've actually ventured out an started playing 40K at the local game store. In the midst of, what can only be described as an "epic post," the power cut and all was lost. I'll summarize it here.

I've played three games. I faced Eldar, Dark Angels, and Codex Marines (in that order). It was a loss, a draw, and a win. The game types were Annihilation, Annihilation, and Command and Control (D3 + 2 objectives, which resulted in 3 objectives for my game).

The Eldar player was a bit of a shark, come to find out. Pretty much 100% of the people I've spoken with at the store warned me (after the fact of course) that he's not to be trusted. I experienced a lot of regret and bitterness about the game, after the fact. Reflection upon the game lead me to discover that he look some enormous liberties with the rules. I don't know if these were intentional or honest mistakes. He told me, prior to the game, that he had been playing 40K off and on for about five years. I can write off some of his mistakes as remembering the wrong edition rules, but other rules he dropped on me... I'm not so sure. We played on a 4x4 board at 1000 points and that just didn't feel right for a start. I won't go any further but to say that I certainly won't be playing him again.

The Dark Angel player was a Navy man, like myself. He was fairly new to 40K, had an interesting list, and a great spirit for the game. We were both bumbling our way through the rule books from time to time but at the end, we had a terrific game. 1500 pts. and I honestly could have won that sucker if we'd gone just one more round. Hehe. Maybe next time.

The Codex Marine player was very enjoyable to play against. We both came to have fun, not just win. As a result, we had a great time, shared some laughs, and played some 40K. The fact that I won really came down to the fact that he kinda stopped playing the mission and got a little caught up in killing my guys. I don't think they play too many objective missions at this store.

Now the amount of unpainted armies is shocking to me. I'm obviously new to the hobby/game, but I guess I didn't know just how unusual it was to have a fully painted, fully based army. I've received a ton of compliments from gamers and passersby which is great. I've found myself in the sudden position of being the guy these people are going to for painting advice. Weird... I've not been doing this for even a year.

Here are some more pics of Telion for ya:

Time to catch up!

Yikes! I've really let my bogging slip! Time to catch back up. I've grabbed a box of Grey Knight Terminators. What a fantastic box of models that is. Each one has something unique and the poses are pretty slick. Which is good, frankly, as they are all metal. Painting them isn't complex, in fact they are pretty much the easiest models I've painted. The stakes are higher since it is a $55 box. Here are some of the results thus far:

More Boyz for the Whaaagh!

Took a week, but the first batch of Boyz are done. A nice little group of five. I really just took my time and enjoyed the models. I tried to make sure that each one had a good level of detail, and some little bit of uniqueness to them. I'm pleased with the paint scheme and I can't wait to see the whole group of 29 Boyz with their Nob leader charging off into battle.

I picked up a box of Loota/Burnas and I'm pleased to see that with some extra torsos/legs I'll be able to use everything in the box and come away with 5 burnas, 4 lootas, and a mek. It's a great kit and every model out of that box will be unique. That's incredible! It furthers my belief that some other GW products are over-priced. Here I have this splendid box with all these unique parts for essentially a five man squad for about $20. Yet there are boxes for 5 men squads (still plastic) for more than twice that? Pfft... please.

Here are some detail shots of the 5 boyz:

More choppa!

Still working on my first batch of Ork Boyz. I'm taking my time really, as I need to learn my way around these models. I love their personality, and it really comes through on every model. I'm waiting to do bases in a batch, and I'm probably not going to put these guys on the base until I'm finished painting the base and everything. My basing test using the Grey Knights Grand Master (pictured below) went well and I think I'd prefer to do all my Orks that way.

I've been hammering away on Army Builder, trying to put together a fun, but still competitive 1500pt Ork list. So far I've got a pretty good one but I'm a little tighter on war gear than I would have liked to be. Unfortunately there aren't many places to cut down in order to make that little extra needed room. I'll need to do some Theoryhammer to see if I need the extra war gear at all.

I've priced out this intial list, and full retail will have me out of pocket about $300. I'll most likely be getting most of my stuff either through The War Store or my local Hobby Town USA as they both offer 20% off GW retail. My local Hobby Town gives me a $5 discount for every $100 I spend, but I pay tax... hmmm... I'll have to number crunch a bit. I've also included a Forgeworld model for my list, so we'll see how that works out.

I noticed that GW put up the new models for Iron Hand Straken and Gunnery Sergeant Harker which I have to say are some of the most insanely awesome HQ's I've seen! Those models make me want an Imperial Guard army. Crazy! We could definately use more of that level of quality GW... definately.

The Whaagh begins!

Here's my very first Ork. This is my test model to see how I want to color these guys. The clan's name is "The Gold Teefs" thus... the gold tooth there. I'm using orange as my clan's primary color. I'm going to use darker browns to compliment that and possibly some other colors just to kinda cool down that bright orange. I should be a nice bright and unique color combo, and I guess I'll see how it comes out. Here's a few more shots:

Demons be warned

Here is the first of my Grey Knights. I'm planning on adding a few as allies for my Space Marine army. I'll be running this model here as a Grand Master and he'll be brining a retinue of Grey Knight Terminators with him.

Painting this model was a bit more challenging than I expected. The model is more complex than I thought but certainly worth the effort. I magnetized his sword hand for transportation and primed him using Krylon Ultra Flat Black. First time using Krylon to prime. I was nervous about it but I think he turned out well. I primed outside, which is dangerous here in Florida with the crazy humidity. I've never used so many metallics on a model before, but the effect is pretty sharp. I kept the base simple, for now, with plans to add some flocking to it in the near future. There are a few areas I'm going to touch up as well. There's always something I miss on a model when I think I'm finished. Oh well.

I tried to do a little source lighting. Very little... but I think I didn't ruin the paint job, and that's a win in my book. In fact, now that I feel a bit more confident, I think I'll try more of that in the future. Here are some detail shots:

Jump on in

Here's my first metal model! I picked this jump Chaplain up at a GW store while I was back home on vacation. I had been planning on adding one of these bad boys to my army since I had 10 assault marines and all. Unfortunately my assault marines don't have the most stellar record on the battlefield. I deep struck them off the board on their first game. I had them almost completely vaporized by a monolith three times. The most humiliating though, was when the sargeant lost in hand-to-hand against a Necron Destroyer. One game, they managed to do some damage, but even then it was mitigated by another deadly monolith attack and some withering fire. Maybe this Chaplain will give the Prodigal Sons fifth company's assault marines the inspiration they need to turn things around!

Extremely fun model to paint. Dead easy, if you ask me. One of my favorite things to do is to paint lots of little tiny symbols and scripts, and this was the PERFECT model for just that. I even put a red aquilla logo in there. I've got another metal model waiting in the wings, so I'm hoping to keep things on a roll here. Here are some more detail shots for ya:

Back from vacation

A two week vacation with just piles of 40K gaming. I got about 7 games in, participated in an Army Parade at a GW store, and bought a few additions to the army. I'll have pictures of all of this in a future update. I've got to calm down and relax after an 11 hour drive.

Complete Vindication

Now with my Vindicator done, I've really only left with two Rhinos to finish. That's not too terribly much to ask, but I've got much less than a week to complete them. I'm basically going to have to double my usual pace with these last ones. Once they're complete, however, I'll have all my 1500pt list completed. I'll had much more than that in potential points that I can put on a table. Well... maybe not MUCH more, but more nonetheless. I'm very excited to be near completion and I just can't wait to put these suckers on a table and play a real game of 40K. Soon! Less than a week for sure. Wish me luck. Here are some more shots of the Vindicator:

Down to the wire

Here we are. I started painting this army back in mid March. I've got a week left on the clock to finish it off. Just over 1500 points of Space Marines form my very first 40K army. My very first table-top war game army, to be honest.

What's left?

I've got just some vehicles left. I have a Vindicator, a Rhino, and a Predator that I'm really going to be running as a Rhino (magnetized to also run as a Predator). I've got a week to finish all three. Not an impossible feat for most painters, but I'm still new, and I'm slow. In addition to that I've kinda slacked off on basing all my units as I finished them. I find basing to be the most tedious activity of the modeling portion of this hobby so naturally I sluff it off. My Vindicator is underway and my Rhino is assembled. The Predator is not assembled and will be the last thing I paint.

Why the time limit?

I'm not competing in a tourney or anything like that. I'm traveling home to Texas at the end of next week. When I arrive, my good friend will have a brand new 1500 point Necron army waiting for my Space Marines. See, he's also new to 40K so we're going to have some learning battles. I'm a little OCD about things, and I'm determined to have a completely painted army. Bases might have to wait, but paint is the utmost importance.

Wish me luck as I race against the clock to finish this army out.

So long as this banner never falls...

This standard barer completes my Command Squad. This is probably the most amount of freehand I've done to date. I'm satisfied with the results, but I feel that I could have gone a lot further with this. I don't have enough paints, and I realize that now that I REALLY needed them. I think the banner is understated and that is just fine by me. I also realize, as I'm typing this, that I should have taken a photo of how I made his banner arm removable. I was worried about transporting this guy, for obvious reasons, so I decided that I'd make that arm removable. I knew that the small magnets wouldn't work, and that the larger magnets wouldn't grip the banner hard enough such that it would just rotate down. I decided that I would magnetize AND pin the arm. I ended up using two pins, and a pair of magnets. I decided to add a furter bit of metal to help the magnets "grip" just a little bit. Works like a charm. Now all I have to worry about is how this setup will wear. This figure signals a completion of the infantry for my first army. I have three vehicles to go, then I'm finished with my first 1500 point army. Here are some detail shots for your enjoyment:

What we need is transport.

My Battlefoam P.A.C.K. 432 arrived today. WOW what a bag. It was a little pricey at $150, but I'm ever so glad I did it. Lots of storage space. I just went for the standard Space Marine foam package and I have plentiful space to grow. The foam is perfect; just rigid enough to provide amble protection but not such that it would damage the miniatures. It came with three thin sheets of foam, perfect for covering each tray. Everything fit wonderfully and I've already packed my templates and dice... just need to finish my army. Getting close though... getting close.