Wednesday, March 31, 2010

A few project updates: 3/31/2010



A few project updates for you fellows... Up first, a counts-as Commissar for use in my IG platoons. I don't like the idea of paying so much for these guys... so I like to make them myself.



Next we have the finished version of my Mars Class Cruiser in a bit more distinct lighting than the other shots. This baby sure looks good on the dark tables that we use for BFG.



Lastly, "Jeeves" gets a paintjob. I felt guilty leaving him only primed, since my Rogue Trader group had really liked him. So I made him his own character sheet and gave him a decent paintjob. Tomorrow is our next session, so I'm sure he'll get some compliments.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Letanie De'Talio: Imperial Mars-class BattleCruiser, and Battle Sisters!








Roughly Translated, the name Letanie De'Talio means "Litany of Retribution". This is a Mars Class BattleCrusier, which mounts a set of Lance Batteries on its dorsal spine. It further mounts a Macrocannon Battery on both the Port and Starboard, which complement the Lances to form a deadly broadside. On the Prow, however, is a weapon that strikes fear into most spacers: an infamous Nova Cannon. A Nova Cannon is to the Imperial Navy what a Basilisk is to the Imperial Guard.

As if this armament was not deadly enough, the Mars is special in that it houses several wings of fighter and bomber craft, which makes it one of few carriers that the Imperial Navy makes use of.


This is the first cruiser I have finished... only four to go! As a side project, I have been working on some Sisters of Battle for my wife (she likes them for some reason).

I found some Fleur de Lis symbols in the Jewelry section of the local Michael's craft supply store, and they were the perfect size to mount on a rhino's doors. Thus:


Well, back to work.

Until next time,
--FP135

Friday, March 26, 2010

Prepping the Fleet




As you can see, my newest BFG force is well under construction at the drydock. So far, my fleet list is looking something like this:

1 Mars Class Battlecruiser with Targeting Matrix
1 Dictator Class Cruiser
1 Gothic Class Cruiser
1 Tyrant Class Cruiser with Range Upgrade
6 Sword Frigates
6 Cobra Destroyers

As I accumulate more cruisers, I'll begin to phase out the escorts. I would really like to get my Dauntless class up and running, but it was missing parts when I got it in the grab bag from a guy on the forums. I need the stem-mount keel and the side bays before I can make use of it.

I also need an opponent. Thus, I'm trying to procure a Chaos fleet, which I hear is cheap to start. A good fleet would consist of a couple cruiser kits and a larger Desolator Class, totalling around eighty bucks to buy new. I'm sure I can get it cheaper somewhere else.

If you haven't tried BFG, I stongly encourage you to do so. It is not real expensive to start, you just need a few of the models. Really, you can start with a 17 dollar investment by you and your opponent for a package of cruisers each, since all the rules are free on GW's website. Go for it! You'll dig it.

Until next time,
--FP135

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Painting BFG Imperial Ships

Today I went about trying out a way to paint my Imperial Fleet for BFG / Rogue Trader in a way that would be both fast and good-looking. I used a model I had gotten off ebay, that I had to strip in simple green, so there was still lumps of paint in hard-to-reach areas. This made it kinda rough, and perfect for a test model! For your benefit, I broke down the steps while doing this...

STEP 1:
Basecoat the model black. You can do the flying stand too, but in all actuality you will probably have to redo it.



Step 2:
Drybrush a mixture of 50/50 Black and Light gray, or a pre-mixed dark gray if you have it, onto all but the prow. The actual colors are not important, as long as you drybrush from darker to lighter. After the dark gray, go over it again with a drybrush of the lighter gray. Again, don't hit the prow so that there isn't too much of a buildup of paint. NOTE: I used gray, but building up any color would work with this technique. Therefore, you could do green, blue, or any other color you desire by building up from dark to light. Just decide on the color you want to use, mix 50/50 black with it for the first coat, do a second coat in the unmixed color, and finish with a 3rd drybrush of 25/75 Bleached Bone mixed with the color (bleached bone being the 25).


Step 3:
In this step, fill in the prow with the color of your choice. Red, Blue, or White are popular colors. If you get a bit over the prow lines, don't sweat it too much. The next step should take care of this issue.


Step 4:
To paint the prow lines, start with Tin Bitz. While that is drying you can paint weapon barrels and the engines in Mithril Silver (or gunmetal, if you prefer a darker metallic). After that is done, you finish up with Shining Gold over the Tin Bitz. Alternatively, you could skip doing tin bitz and shining gold and just use silver, if that would match your colors better.


Step 5:
Lastly, we need a couple of washes to bring out the definition. I used Badab Black for the body, and for the prow I used Devlan Mud. You need to pick washes that best complement the colors you chose. For example, don't try putting Baal Red on a Blue prow, unless you WANT a purple prow. Be smart about it.





If you desire, you can finish up the flying stand at this point. I've seen people take an old toothbrush, dip it in white paint, and flick it at the base to get a starfield effect. Obviously, if you are going to do this, remove the model first so you don't spray white globs all over it. Also, I have seen people paint script for the vessel's name on the base. Furthermore, why not try a combination of the two? If you have an airbrush, it would be easy to go crazy with nebula effects and so forth. Just make sure, just like your regular 40k minis, that the bases of your fleet match to give it uniformity.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I strongly urge people to look into BFG, as it is a great supplemental game to 40k.

Until next time,
--FP135

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

200th Post celebration: Video Tutorials!


Woo-hoo! 200 posts! That is quite an achievement! To celebrate, I'm diving into my first attempt to make a video tutorial. In this 4-part tutorial, I am assembling an Imperial Cruiser from scratch for use with BFG or Rogue Trader RPG games. I am also magnetizing it, so you all will see just how I do it!

Sorry for the poor quality, still figuring out video modes on my camera. In the future, I think I'll be launching a video series detailing how to paint them. For now, enjoy the videos!








Monday, March 22, 2010

Magnetizing Battlefleet Gothic Imperial Cruisers



So I got some Battlefleet Gothic ships in the post today, and didn't waste any time trying to get a few knocked together. Many of them are metal models that don't allow for a lot of customization, but the Cruisers are made of plastic and purpose-built for modification. I had no idea what variant of cruiser I wanted to try out first, so I went on the hunt for a solution. It was simple really... magnets! They were the answer!

First up, I drilled two holes straight through the cruiser, using a 3/16" drill bit. This hole was a little bit small, but some careful filing and application of some plastic glue softened up the edges enough to pop a thin circular magnet in.



After that, you have to enable the bays to adhere magnetically. I acheived this by affixing a staple with its ends cut off with a bit of greenstuff.



Now mix and match! Want a Tyrant? Throw on two macrocannon bays on each side. Want a Luna Class? Throw on a lance battery with a macrocannon battery. Magnets make the most use out of your kit.

Friday, March 19, 2010

The Case of the Missing Sprues, Pt. II


Well, GW came through today. I just received my whole new Land Raider kit, as promised. Ye of little faith, there still be hope!

Just thought I would keep you informed.

Still waiting for in the post: A whole mess of BFG ships that I will be assembling and painting.

So until next time,
--FP135

Tank battles


I am sure that most of you received the "incoming" article in your in-boxes the other day... It appears we are finally going to have a chance to have all-tank battles in 40k.

What are your feelings on that? Good, bad, or in between? I for one am excited, since I have a preference for mechanized or heavily-armored lists anyway. Now all the more reason to get all my land raiders and rhinos finished!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Sister Blog


Lately my gamer ADHD kicked in again, and I have been throwing myself into the world of Rogue Trader by Fantasy Flight Games. Since RPGs are not to everybody's flavor (they were not to mine at first) I have decided that now would be an opportune time to split off a sister blog.

If you are interested in looking into 40k roleplaying, here is the link to the new blog:

http://foxphoenixrpgs.blogspot.com/

Friday, March 12, 2010

Brushes of Fury: 1 Week Until Deadline


Luckily, list of "To-Do" before next Friday is dwindling pretty rapidly. I say luckily, because I am not going to have the energy to keep doing this forever!

Today was a huge day for me. I finally finished not just the other Land Raider, but two Rhinos as well. I must say, in a moment of inspiration, I rightfully decided to add arrows to the tops of my Rhinos. That little detail really distinguishes them as transports for the troops, and I love it.

Tomorrow, I am taking a break, and going out to play a few games. Hopefully that won't set me back too much, as I have a few things to add to my "To-Do" list now. Since I know the scoring system now, here is my current To-Do List:

Make Display Board
Base Terminator Squads
Paint Display Board
Paint Terminator Squads
Make 40mm Objectives (3)
Paint 40mm Objectives (3)

I have a week to do all that, so I'd better get on that this weekend. For now, it's 1:00 in the morning AK time, so I'm off to bed.

Until next time,
--FP135

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

No wings on it yet...


In my classic grungy style, here is my speed-painted Land Raider. I painted it the day after assembling it, and I am pleased with the results for the speed I put this out in.

No plans for wings yet, as I don't intend on using it as a flying land raider just yet ;)

That brings my list of items needing painting down somewhat, but it is still substantial. I still have left to go:
1 Land Raider
2 Rhinos
10 Assault Terminators
1 Terminator (Space Hulk's Brother Omnio)
1 Meltagun Marine

I've been debating dropping the regular terminator squad I had, in favor of a Razorback and a combat squad of marines (or even a scout squad?) to add another scoring unit. I am just afraid that two tactical squads will not be enough, and I think that my anti-horde is a bit light. So you can see where I am coming from, here is the list I was thinking of (Version 1):

Terminator Chaplain
2 Assault Terminator Squads in LRs
1 Regular Terminator Squad with an Assault Cannon
2 Tactical Squads in Rhinos
1 Predator (naked)

Which would you go with? The terminator squad with an Assault Cannon, or a Razorback and Combat squad with some trimmings, maybe some upgrades for the Pred?

Monday, March 8, 2010

The Case of the Missing Sprues

So if you read my last post (Like Christmas in March!) then you know I just received a few Land Raiders to bulk out my Space Marines. Much to my dismay, one of the kits was missing a few sprues, despite being in the original shrinkwrap.

I have had a similar problem before with a Flames of War howitzer, but Battlefront quickly and amicably sent me replacement parts. Will GW be just as kind?

I sent an email out to them seconds ago, calmly and politely asking what information I would need to provide them with to facilitate shipment of replacement sprues. It was not the online vendor's fault, since the box was still in the shrinkwrap, so they shouldn't give me any problems... will they?

I hope this doesn't turn out to be a big fiasco. I just want my 60 bucks worth, that's all!

Have any of you had problems with missing sprues, and how were they resolved?

Like Christmas in March!


The postman made me a happy fellow today! (Ew, not like that, you pervert.) I got my humongous order of space marine goodies today, and I am already happily at work assembling some of the vehicles. I have to take a break every once in a while, or the glue fumes go to my head. It is during such a break that I am currently posting!

Brimfrost, the biggest annual tournament, is nearly here. I debated going for a while, but I finally decided to suck it up and go. It's going to start at 7:30 in the morning, meaning I have to leave my home at 5:30, but it might be worth it, so I am frantically trying to hammer out a list and paint up the models that require it. I have until the 19th to have everything finished (as I see it).

So far, it looks like I have the following to finish painting before the 20th:
2 Land Raiders
1 Rhino
10 Assault Terminators

That isn't so bad when you put it down on paper! I can get that done. Await updates, and you will be rewarded!

Well, time for me to get back to building the 1st Land Raider.
Until Next Time,
--FP135

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Mustering the Angels: Preparing for Blood Angels update

With the arrival of some funds to buy new kits, I was able to get a start on some Blood Angel projects that have been on hold for quite some time. First up... A new Chaplain kitbash, made as a stand-in for Chaplain Lemartes or any other chaplain with a jump pack:



Next up, what kind of assault player can I be without some heavy-hitting Assault Terminators to back it up? This is the first of 2 Assault Terminator squads, the other is being built to utilize the fast-striking capability of Lightning Claws. For this first squad, however, I decided to utilize the Storm Shields to make a very tough nut to crack.



So, in closing, I have a small mountain of boxes left to open and sort through. For those interested, I dropped a lot of dough while I had it, picking up things that are meant to round out my collected Space Marines. I have left to assemble:

3 Land Raiders (I may be trading a friend one regular one for a crusader variant)
29 Assault Marines (9 of which will be death company)
15 Terminators (5 Lightning claws, another 5 TH/SS, and then I'll have bits left over)
2 Rhinos


I also splurged on paint supplies, picking up a very nice workstation lamp with the built in magnifier, a few expensive brushes, and the proper cleaners to keep those brushes in good shape. I hope these amenities will help keep up my motivation, and inspire me to put out more work! Look for a mass sprint to the finish of production before the end of this blog's first year! Thanks for sticking with it.

Until next time,
--FP135

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