Rogue Trader Friday (Modeling): Space Santa

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Rogue Trader Friday (Modeling): Marine Scouts

In conjunction with my Rogue Trader Friday post at From the Warp, here is a look at some of the old scout models.

While I like the look of the current marine scout kit, you can't beat the character in these old models.

I love the idea of the scouts being able to use enemy weapons.

Rogue Trader Friday (Modeling): Ork Freebooterz

I don't often post about Xenos scum on this blog, but researching some images in conjunction with my Rogue Trader Friday post at From the Warp, I came across this hilarious looking bunch of orks.

Ork Freebooterz:

Flash Gitz are the flashiest of Freebooterz, flamboyant in appearance and armed to the teeth - and Kaptin Badrukk's mercenaries are no exception.

I was astonished to find a transformation has occurred over the years:



No less flamboyant, but I guess thats what draws some to Orks.

Rogue Trader Friday (Modeling): Chaplains

In conjunction with my Rogue Trader Friday post at From the Warp, here is a look at some of the old Chaplain models.

What is interesting is the color schemes then called for more variation that just the black armor/skull helm that is prevalent today.

I think the Howling Griffon model in the center looks ace.

New Legion of the Damned

Damn (no pun intended!) these are some pretty nice sculpts. It will be cool to see them on the table as a auxiliary unit, and the inevitable converted legion armies that will be showing up.

That sergeant would make a pretty good chaplain as well.

Rogue Trader Friday (Modeling): Space Marines

In conjunction with my Rogue Trader Friday post at From the Warp, I thought it would be fun to look at some of the old metal Space Marine minis from the Rogue Trader days.

I am enjoying some of the archaic poses and interesting color schemes back then.

Rogue Trader Friday (Modeling): Rhinos

As I mentioned over at "Rogue Trader Friday" on From the Warp, Im not a big fan of the old-school rhinos. The new models are much more imposing looking.



The conversions here make them almost palatable. The camouflage is tasteful and subdued, looking like something you would see in the real world of the far distant future

Organization

Nothing puts me in the mood to model and paint then when everything is in its right place. Having just moved, I was able to invest in some new storage setups and it feels good to have it all unpacked and organized.




I find it is easier to get motivated when things are neat and easily accessible.



Of course, I know when you are knee deep in a project, organization and neatness tends to go straight out the window.



And yes, my office's walls are painted Golden Yellow.

So I turn it over to you, what are your thought on organization and motivation? Any great work area setups to share?

Rogue Trader Friday (Modeling): Terminators

A great Terminator vs. Genestealer cult Diorama as a companion to "Rogue Trader Friday" at From the Warp.

Love those caution-striped terminators and the green genestealers. Reminds me of Super Mario brothers where the different colored turtles were harder/easier to kill.

Rogue Trader Friday (Modeling): Imperial Guard

Some of my favorite minatures feature as a companion to "Rogue Trader Friday" at From the Warp.

I fell in love painting miniatures by getting a great gold look on the breastplates of the officers.

My favorite was always the standard bearer with his plumed helmet.

Rogue Trader Friday (Modeling): "Grav-Attack Vehicle"

Heavy Metal brings us an accompaniment to this week's "Rogue Trader Friday" at From the Warp. The vaunted deodorant tube "Grav-Attack Vehicle".

Rogue Trader Friday (Modeling): Genestealer Cult

As a complement to the Rogue Trader Artwork posts I contribute over at From the Warp, I am going to start featuring some of the miniatures that were produced during those heady days at the beginning of the 40k universe.

This week: Genestealer Cults


Not only are those guardsmen sullying themselves by being wrapped up with a Genestealer Cult, but they are Khorne worshipers to boot!

I can't get over the armored hover-limos.

I Have Succumbed...

I said I wouldn't do it, but I gave in to the call of the wolf.



Such a cool bunch of kits out right now, all the more to distract me from my Imperial Fists.

Of course, to complicate matters, I am in the middle of moving, so blogging/painting will be very slow.

I hope you will stay with me as I get back into it/get my stuff out of boxes. Some neat things in the works, including things ramping up over at Orange County Warhammer. If you are in the Orange County, CA area, I invite you to check it out.

Stay tuned!

First Battle

I played my first game of 40k since about 1992 this past Wednesday night at the Los Angeles battle bunker. We picked one of the great tables that they have there that depicts an Ork camp I guess you would call it. Tons of cut up bits and sprue in piles around the board.

We chose the three player scenario in the back of the 5th ed rule book, "Broken Alliance".

My Chaplain faces off against a Farseer at the center of the board.

It turned out Space Marine vs. Space Marine vs Eldar in a 550pt battle.

Slorak's Son's of Dorn defend the plant from Wall-E from my Dreadnought.

The game ended in a draw as my scouts captured the center cap point, but left my home base unguarded. All in all, I had a lot of fun relearning the rules (Im not sure I ever even knew them anyway) and navigating the ton of dangerous terrain on the Ork board.

The postman brought some presents yesterday as well:

A games day captain from ebay, and my Forgeworld order of weathering powders and Imperial Fist Land Raider doors.

I am excited for these and hopefully I will have a review up once I figure out how to properly use them!

New Venture

A few local gamers and I have decided to try to get the ball rolling on forming a gaming club. I am interested in who we can bring into the fold, as to my knowledge there is not very much in the way of organized gaming clubs in our area (Orange County, CA).

I've set up a small website at ocwarhammer.com and registered on twitter here.

Im hoping to open up some discussion boards for the group as well as get a blog together for the group shortly.

If you are in the area and interested in joining or finding out more, please shoot an email to info@ocwarhammer.com.

Im pretty chuffed with the way the logo turned out, if I don't say so myself.

I hope this is the beginning of a successful club and I would love to hear any of your experiences in starting/joining a gaming club. Please comment!

Painting Yellow

My previous method of painting yellow with Iyanden Darksun over black undercoat has left me wanting a little more.

In leafing through some old White Dwarfs, I came across a masterclass for painting a Bad Moons Warboss in Issue WD350(US) (also available here, but you need to log in).

Basically it calls for an basecoat of Tausept Ochre:


A wash of Gryphone Sepia in the receses:



Then a midcoat of Iyanden Darksun+Golden Yellow (a 1 to 1 mix):



Highlights are an equal parts Iyanden Darksun+Golden Yellow+Skull White. I actually added more white as my mixture was a little watery after adding a drop of water.

Here is the result on a non-test model:






So there you have it, I am pretty pleased with this method and the results give the models a little more depth and character.

The White Dwarf article also gives a great little snippet on painting battle damage that I used to cover up a small divit from clipping the model from the sprue.



And here is a poor picture of my attempt on the shoulder pauldron:

Chaplain Work

Was able to steal a few moments to get some work done on my Chaplain today. Ive got a faint highlight going, but need to work on it some more. I am really pleased with how the skull helm has turned out.



Got a few squad members starting to shape up:

Painting Bone

Here is a quick tutorial for painting bone that I am using for my chaplain. Im sure it could be adapted to Fantasy Tomb Kings, Undead or Legion of The Damned.

After priming black, I hit the bone pieces with P3 Menoth White Highlight. You could also substitute GW Bleached Bone+White or maybe even the foundation Deneb Stone.



I like the P3 paint as it gives great coverage after only two or so light coats and has a great cream color. I find GW's Bleached bone to be too thin and gets very chalky after multiple coats.

Next simply slap on a nice coat of Gryphone Sepia wash cut with water. I used two heavy coats.



After Letting it thoroughly dry, you can go in an highlight the raised edges with your original coat color. I havent done that here yet, but I think it looks pretty good as it is.



So, how do you paint bone?

Disaster!

After sitting in a simple green bath for a day and a half, the rhino emerged in not so great a condition. The paint refused to come off of the plastic of the rhino, while the primer came straight off for the most part of the Forgeworld extra armor.

So I decided to stick it in the freezer to loosen the glue to remove the forgeworld parts. Of course several pieces shattered...



The rhino is a loss, but the forgeworld parts may be salvageable...we will have to see.

On a better note, I finished up the sergeant.

Salvage Work

I pulled an old Rhino out of the Bitz pile/box to transport one of my tactical squads.



It definitely will need a date with a Simple Green bath, as there is something funky with the top half of it.



Ill let it sit all day tomorrow, and get it primed and basecoated this weekend.



As you can see, it is outfitted with extra armor from forgeworld and will include a pintle mounted storm bolter.

Local Gamers?

According to Google Analytics, I get quite a few hits from the Orange County/LA Area.

I just thought I'd put this out here: Would any of you like to get involved in with a Tale of Four Gamers ?

I think we could use one more to round out the group. We plan on meeting the first Tuesday of every month at the LA Battle Bunker , usually from about 5pm till 8pm.

Failing that, would anyone be interested in forming some sort of Orange County gaming club?

Drop me a note in comments if you are interested.

Almost There and P3 Paints

Getting there slowly. In between football and normal weekend activities I got the dread to a point where I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I am a very slow painter.







I am very pleased how the green targeting lenses came out.

There is some small detail work to be done to be sure, but I'll be able to paint the rim of the base and varnish it tomorrow hopefully.

I was able to get my hands on some of Privateer Press's P3 formula paints.



The reds seem like they may make a good system for the Space Hulk Terminators.

Does anyone have any experience with the paints? Tips? Testimonials?

Forgeworld Weathering Powders

Looks like these have just been released after a bit of rumor anticipating them.

You can check them out here.

Looks like they are packaged in the old "Cote d' Arms" paint pots that Citadel Colour was rebadged in back in the day.

Edit: I broke down and bought them, so hopefully Ill have a review when they show up stateside, which should be oh January? Maybe.

Sarcophagus Work

After a long day, I was able to steal some minutes to get some work done on the Dread's sarcophagus.

It's a bit blown out from the flash here, but the wings do have more definition than that, but a few very thin washes of Asurmen should help pick out the detail on the wings a bit better.

I always have a hard time with white, it either looks too chalky or too runny. This came out okay, but could be a bit tidier.

I do like the the white on the black background though.

Programing Note: RTFridays to Be Featured on From The Warp!

The Astronomicon has led us to a new path through the Warp...

Starting this Friday, Rogue Trader Fridays will become a feature on From The Warp .

I am very excited and humbled to bring some of this great art from long ago to perhaps a wider audience.

In sifting through the myriad rulebooks, supplements and addenda of the Rogue Trader era, I had a great sense of nostalgia to when I first had a glimpse of this hobby in the dark recesses of a local comic shop. All it took was scraping together about six bucks for a blister of space marine medics, (that I promptly slathered with some Testor's enamels straight to the metal) and I was hooked.

I hope these snap shots of GW's past bring the same feelings to some of the grizzled veterans out there as well as let some of those new to the hobby have a peek at what once was...