Musings: 2016 Hobby Resolutions

2016 Hobby Resolutions

Having spent more time being active in the hobby this year and reading and taking tips from other Bloggers out there. It seems custom to put up regarding forth coming hobby projects for 2016.

See mine after the break

Gallery: Soda Pop's Twilight Knight

Gallery: Soda Pop's Twilight Knight

Bit of a break from Games Workshop figures, but this has been on the desk for a while. 

Really enjoyed painting this figure, very different to paint and took about 3 strips before I was happy. For the life of me I could not get the sword to stay straight.

My wife picked me up some more of these for Christmas so I will be popping some more of these up in the future

Any comments please fire up below

Catch you on the flip side

MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Well it is that time of year to down the clippers, clean out the painting cup, tidy down the work area and spend some festive time with the wife and family.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas

A small present for you all after the break

30K: Chapter Decision- Jay

30K: Chapter Decision

Iron Hands

So when I was growing up I never really had a much to do with Space Marines, my Dad boughtme the 40k starter game but it never really captured my attention un-like Warhammer. I tried to dabble in some Dark Angels but they never really fired me up and encouraged me to carry them on.

But with the recent release of The Horus Heresy: Betrayal At Calth for some reason I found that I was wanting to try my hand at some Space Marines . I think  Forge World’s range is so stunning and adds so many options and depth that hunting through the web and visiting the store on numerous occasions it was Iron Hands for me

Read on after the break

GALLERY: SICARIAN RUSTSTALKER

GALLERY: SICARIAN RUSTSTALKER

The first unit of the 3 completed

See more after the break

WIP: ADEPTUS MECHANICUS

WIP: ADEPTUS MECHANICUS

So we are rapidly approaching the end of 2015..........

There are 3 projects on my painting table that have been patiently waiting for me to finish them

More after the break

30K: Chapter Decision

30K: Chapter Decision

IMPERIAL FISTS

So been thinking about this for the last couple of weeks and I have chosen Imperial Fists. This is a Chapter I never thought I would consider due to the expanse of yellow and a longer painting schedule to get them table ready. But never one to shy away from a challenger.

My reasons for Imperial Fists are:

More after the break

WIP : Plastic Contemptor Dreadnought

WIP : Plastic Contemptor Dreadnought

This week I started assembly on the Calth boxset and I have started with the big guy.

See more images and thoughts on the Contemptor Dreadnought after the break........

Tale of Tau Gamers : Farsight Review - Jay

Tale of Tau Gamers: Farsight Review

Commander Farsight:

So as part of my Army list I wanted as an added extra the classic Commander

Farsight  little did I know it was going to be not only the hardest miniature I have ever

put together but also one of the most annoying.

The Commander Farsight kit is made from the Games Workshop's (GW)  resin

and has fourteen different components. From first look it is an absolutely gorgeous

miniature and has some beautiful detail from the marking to the Tau symbols all the

way down to the cloth trailing from the sword and left leg.

However I have to say that games work shop (GW) standard of resin miniatures does

not match the Forge World (FW) standard though the detail beautiful it is no way as

sharp as Forge World products (FW) nor is it as shaped. There are areas of straight

lines in the armour that are wavy and parts that should be square that slightly

rounded off however all of these faults are nothing compared to the part that coursed

me the most issues.

The picture above shows the right let as it was when I first started the build. as you

can see the lower half of the back leading to the nee is one large piece of resin instead

of the framed it should of had. I also found it difficult to tell the difference between

what was part of the figure and what was just excess resin and due to the amount of

excess I had a big clean up job on my hands.

After an hour of cutting, carving and filing I finally got the leg looking more like the

framed back leg I expected when I picked up the miniature from GW. I must admit I

know I could have just taken it back and picked up another set to build but from the

look of the way the leg was moulded my thinking was that I'd probably have the same

issue with the 2nd one so I stuck with it.

After the 2 hours of more cutting, carving and then cleaning the leg was finally what

it should have been.

In the picture above you can see how the leg should have looked and the finally result

of my two hours work, I never for a minute thought I'd be doing GW's work for them.

I have built a fair few GW miniatures in my time but this was my first resin one and I

can say it's not put me off GW resins but I think I'll stick with FWs resins instead But

ever way ill be better prepared for the next time I buy a resin model that's for sure.

Gallery:Tech-Priest Dominus

Gallery:Tech-Priest Dominus

Check out some more shots after the break

Unicorns?????????????????????????????????

Unicorns?????????????????????????????????

Who knew!

Unboxing: Betrayal at Calth

Unboxing: Betrayal at Calth

Read on after the Jump for the un-boxing.........

Tale of Tau Gamers: Army List

Tale of Tau Gamers: Army List

 

 

 

 

It is a sad day today, The Tale of Tau Gamers was three but now it is Tau. With Andy deciding that he is going to focus on his Blood Angels and 30k it leaves me and Jay building our armies for the expansion of the Greater Good.

 

Tale of Tau Gamers: Why I chose my Army- Gareth

Why I chose my Army- Gareth

Why I chose Tau Empire

I am a hobby butterfly I admit and I am sucker for a nice model. When the new Tau came out I was drawn to the new models and especially GW's new Stormtrooper  white colour scheme.

But it was when they showed the Ghostkeel was previewed that was it hook line and sinker

I mean what is not to like cool helmet....check.... big gun, check.....curved bulky armour.... check swanky drones .......check.

So sold on starting a second army and the Ghostkeel being the centrepiece model of my army I picked up the codex, Inflitration Cadre and of course the Ghost Keel.

So my force consists of:

1 Ethereal 

3 Stealth Suits

10 Pathfinders

1 Pirana

1 Ghostkeel

So the knowledgeable among you will see that I will for now be fielding an unbound force. I plan to add some Fire Warriors, Breachers so I have some core troops. But having never played Tau before I think I need to play some games to see how they play and what style I lean towards.

Next post for me will be showing some work in progress and deciding my new colour scheme. I think it will be white but not totally the GW scheme. 

Comments and feedback always welcome

Catch you on the flip side

Tale of Tau Gamers: Why I chose my Army - Jay

Why I chose my Army- Jay

 

Why I chose the Tau Empire.

Since I was a boy I have had a huge love of the classic Gundam battle suites and the animated series. Over the years I have bought and built over 20 of the model kits going from their basic grade to their high grade which have detail as fine as moving fingers.  

When I saw the Tau back in 2001 and I thought hay this is a nice army but what they had made then wasn't enough to woo me to the army. But then I saw the Riptide and Broadside and that was it my love of battle suits was back and there and then I know what my games work (GW) army was going to be. I pop down to the head office with a Gareth and a few friends which was somewhere I hadn't been for many years. I walk in to the new forge world shop and there sat in one of the cabinets was a whole range of battle suits and I just had to have one so i picked up the Tau XV9 with Twin link Burst Cannons and this was a gorgeous model.

So I bought the codex, the army deal, Riptide and a Broadside. I then broke open the boxes and started building. However as I had been out of the GW hobby for a while I was behind the curve. So was a bit of a surprise when GW released a new codex and some stunning models for the Tau. The centrepiece model for me is the absolutely beautiful KV128 Stormsurge as it struck all the right chords with me and harked back to the Gundam days. I know Gareth disagrees with me but I will let him tell you, but with that model in mind  that was it I knew I had to get my army finished and ready for war.

For my army list I have gone with the Retaliation Cadre which consisted of:

• 1 Commander
• 1 Riptide
• 1 Broadside
• 3 Units of Crisis Battle Suites

As an extra I have chosen to take Commander Farsight as my character.

I am aiming for a 1500 point army.

More will follow as I add detail to my list. Currently I am working on what support systems and ranged weapons I am look to take.

 

 

So there is the first guest post from Jay. I guess I need to pull my finger out and decide on my list and written.

 

Be great to hear why you selected your armies and what inspired you. Feel free to comment below.

 

Catch you on the flip side

 



Top Tips:- Nail Files

What lovely Cuticles you have

Files have long been a tool in the hobbyist tool box, whether to be sanding down the pesky mold line or picking out that troublesome piece of meat stuck in the tooth.

Some might have found like me that they left a rough edge that did not take the undercoat to well. So Looking for a better and smoother finish I wandered through the many hobby blogs. In table top modelling most stuck with the tried and tested files or knife edge. But when hitting the military modelling sites they mention sanding sticks and different grades to get that all elusive smooth finish. I found these on Amazon but at £9.99 I thought that there would a cheaper option. 

These reminded me of the files that the wife uses to do that lady thang and make nails sharp I mine pretty for the night out. Rummaging through the make up bag I found something similar and tested them out. Worked a treat and I have to say my nails looked pretty good as well.

Now I obviously wanted to keep the wife happy so causally asked where could I get them and next shopping trip I found myself down the mystery isle called Make UP!

I found these beauties for £1.00

4 different grades from course to fine buffing. 

They work really well and a fraction of the price from the internet.

So now got myself wondering what else does the Supermarket have that I can use for modelling?

Hope the tip was useful.

If you have any top tips add them below

Catch on the flip side

Tale of Tau Gamers

For the Greater Good

Last week saw the release of the Tau codex and the previous solo Tau player Jay has now been joined by 2 other players myself and Andy who have been enticed by the new range of models.

So chatting over Whats App we thought we would do a twist on the Tale of Four Gamers and we are going to do a Tale of Tau Gamers.

What can you expect?

Some initial thoughts on the codex and the possibilities inside.

Introduction for Jason and Andy ( you might want to skip that one :)


Army lists and why we chose them.

Work in Progress

Galleries

Gaming Reports

Randomness

So again no models to show.

I do promise that my next post will have some pictures of my Mechanicus army. No the commander is not named Lord Lucan.


Catch you on the flipside

Essen Spiel

Sorry for the length of delay in posting recently. With being on holiday and now at Essen Spiel  the hobby front has been lacking .

But I have a couple of projects moving to the front burner and will be posting in the next few days.

Gallery: IG88

Gallery: IG88

Today's update is IG88 from the Imperial Assault range by Fantasy Flight Games. First seen on the silver screen in Episode V The Empire Strikes Back standing between Dengar and Bob Fett. He is one of the hired Bounty Hunters tasked by Vadar to hunt down Han Solo and the Millenium Falcon.
 

Gallery: Probe Droid

Gallery: Probe Droid

'We have thousands of probe droids searching the galaxy. I want proof, not leads!'

Admiral Kendal Ozzel

Apologies for the quality of the pics, but I will have a proper camera at the end of the month so hopefully I will be able to take some better pics going forwards.

These probe droids come with Imperial Assault and are a fairly quick and easy paint. Started with a basecoat of Leadbelcher then a Nuln Oil wash then a light drybrush of Runefang Steel followed by a final drybrush of Necron Compound. The eyes were picked out with Abaddon Black and then given a coat of Gloss varnish. Paint the base hey presto droids are ready to hunt down the Rebel Scum where ever they may be hiding.

Up next will be IG-88 

Any comments or suggestions please post below

See you on the flip side

Unboxing: Hound's Tooth

Unboxing: Hound's Tooth

The Hound's Tooth is the latest large ship in the Wave VII release from Fantasy Flight Games. Inside the box is a prepainted YV-666 Light Freighter, it's upgrade cards and a new mission. 

Read on to find out more.

Musings: Sci-Fi or Historical?

Sci-Fi or Historical?

Morning, Afternoon, Evening to you all at whatever time you are reading this post.

STARS WARS SCI-FI or HISTORICAL WARGAMING?

So in my last update I was sorting through my X-Wing cards and tidying up and thinking about Star Wars, I mean what self confessed Star Wars geek doesn't and I was thinking back to an episode of Room 101 and the subject was brought up that one of the guest hated Sci-Fi and used Star Wars as and example. I think it was Phil Jupitas (apologies if I am wrong) and said no Stars Wars is a historical film and it was set ' A Long time ago.......' Frank Skinner upheld the objection and removed it from going into Room 101.

So if the evidence below is keeping Star Wars out of the Sci- Fi section of Room 101 where does it sit in wargaming?

Historical

Clearly George in his mind this has already past so it puts it into the Historical side as it happened in the past.

Or to quote the Emperor: You will find that it is you who are mistaken, about a great many things. 

Sci-Fi

Well where do we start?

Lasers big lasers

Space Ships big space ships small space ships lots of spaceships

Aliens lots of Aliens

So it would seem that both camps have it solid points to place it in both genres. So where do I place Star Wars wargaming?

It has been part of my life ever since I was a small child going to the cinema in Ramsgate on a Saturday  to watch triple billings of the original trilogy. Sitting in the dark staring at the big screen and reading the words that George Lucas penned a long time ago in a country far far away. From the starting role to the end credits I have been hooked ever since. It also started my love of reading as my father had an wide ranging book collection, and on the shelves were the words of Asimov, Heinlen, Arthur C Clarke all of these noted Sci-Fi writers. 

So I think it is clear that I put it in the Sci-Fi camp.

Where do you think it sits and what reasons place there for you?

X- Wing Tidy Up

So as usual in the UK on a Bank Holiday Monday it is wet,dreary and cold. I was hoping to be able to get my UNSC sprayed up but with the weather against I decided to tackle a job that I have been putting off for a long time.

WIP: Assembling the Fleet

Assembling the Fleet

Following on from the un-boxing post, I had some spare time this weekend to assemble the fleet. I started with the Covenant as for the pure reason they are purple and purple is cool right?

The ships are really nice clean casts and the instructions are very clear. Little in the way of mold lines to clean up. 

Each ship comes on its own base and in the game it is called an element. Elements are brought together to form Battle Groups. More on this in future posts. 

Unboxing: HALO FLEET BATTLES

HALO FLEET BATTLES
The Fall of Reach



I have been ummming and arrrring about buying this for some time now, being a big time Halo fan and spending many hours as Master Chief blasting away at the Covenent, but just could not commit to buying it.However after seeing some of the great community paint jobs and the contents of the box I was sold on picking it up. After ordering it from Chaos Cards on Tuesday it arrived with me today, well packed and a speedy delivery, love those guys at Chaos Cards, there is also a great discount on the starter box saving yourself  £13 on the £80 box set.

WIP: Khorne Skullthrower

WIP: Khorne Skullthrower

So I am half way through the red, 2 layers of base coat and a wash so far, will be working on the highlighting and details over the weekend.

I have kept the front wheel separate to make it easier to get to the underside whilst painting. 

Looking forward to tackling the metal on this beast as there is a lot of it and it will give me a chance to work on my technique.

See you on the flip side

Gallery: Imperial Royal Guard

Imperial Royal Guard

'Guards leave us'

Well I finally got around to start painting the figures from Imperial Assault. Happy with the way these have turned out.

Also tested out a new location for taking photos so they are a little better lit and now need to work on how to do close ups.

Comments welcome as always

See you on the flip side



WIP: Armada Rebel Fighter Squadrons

 

So another post today and this one is the start of my Rebel Fighters for Armada.

I am not to happy with the y-wings the body needs a little more highlighting as I used Nuln Oil to shade and I thinnk that it has come out a little to dark and flat.

With the A-wings I used Agrax Earthshade and I think the warmer brown ink gives more natural space worn look.

Let me know what you think 

See you on the flip side

 

 

GALLERY: Castellan Crowe

This has been on my painting table for the past week, the challenge was the armour and trying to add depth to the pure metal. I did experiment with the blue hue that GW used but I found that it just looked to patchy. There is a lot of great detail on the model especially the purity seals and books.

Not sure if I will paint any more Grey Knights but who knows.....

I know that I need to get a better set up for taking photos and getting more light onto the model.

Will experiment next week and see if I get work out how to improve my picture taking.

Comments are welcome

See you on the flipside

Review: Gates of Ayzr

REVIEW: GATES OF AYZR

 

 

So this has been on my reading stand for the last couple of days. Released on the launch of the Age of Sigmar box set. This is the latest book from Black Library and their first in the new Warhammer setting.

WIP: Age of Sigmar Liberator

Started work on the Liberator this morning from WD 75.

I am about 50% of the way through and this has been my first attempt at painting an entire model with gold armour. I am not sure it is bright enough but I have about 2 more highlight layers to work on before the armour is done. I am fairly certain that once I armour pad and shield colour is on it will make the gold pop out more.

Should have this finished by the end of the week. Pop back to see the finished model

See you on the flipside

MUSINGS: AGE OF SIGMAR

 

So there are now only 2 days till release for Age of Sigmar. 

Am I excited?

HELL YES

To be honest I was not 100% sure why. 

I mean I have not been this excited about a release for miniatures for a long time. I think that comes from being the wrong side of 40 and having seen far to much that little comes as a surprise.

WIP: Kastelan Robots

Finally got some personal hobby time and laid some more paint on the Kastelan Robots.

Rather than Mars I have chosen the Tech planet of Stygies VIII.

The red armour is taking a lot longer than I expected around 10 very thin layers to build up the deep chrome colour. I will try and get some better shots but the lighting it not showing to the best.

Hopefully will have these done in the next week, more detailed shots to follow

See you on the flip side

AGE OF SIGMAR

 

Last week saw Games Workshop announced the future of Warhammer.......

AGE OF SIGMAR 

In the build up there had been the usual rumour mongering of what the changes will be, might be, could be, direct from source, 100% official or just plain made up marching through the internet like Archeon on his summer holidays.

I pretty much took all of these with a pinch of salt, smiled, laughed, cried and banged my head on the table at most of the comments and played the long game of waiting for the release from GW.

Finally last week GW unveiled Age of Sigmar. 

Personally worth the wait. 

The release consisted of the usual core box game, 3 paints, 1 spray can, 2 themed carry cases and a hardback novel detailing the background of the Age of Sigmar. They are all up for pre-order now and will be released on the 11th of July.

The nice surprise was the rules. Instead of this being a tome of the ages that cannot safely be used above a table brimming with wonderful paints and sculpts. It is free 4 page download. click here for the download

 Along with free downloads of all the current Warscrolls for your armies.

I have spent most of the week reading through the rules and having a few solo tabletop battles with my Ogres and Undead. The rules are quick, simple and easy to pick up.

I know that the internet warriors have split into their camps of its great and its bobbins, and i find myself in the camp of its great below are my reasons why:

It gives me total freedom of what to collect: In the days of army books and collecting whole armies there were armies that did nothing for me. However there were figures in the range that I wanted to get. 

More figures to paint and enjoy

Themed basing and Warscrolls

It opens up a narrative with my opponent. Gone are the days of how many points do you want to play. It will now be so my forces of the dead are gathering their might, how will the stunties defeat them.

Quick games or long slow games.

So I am now on countdown to the release so I can pick up my box set. 

As soon as I have the box I will do an unboxing and some close ups of the models 

See you on the flip side

Armada Nebula B Repaint

Armada Nebula B Repaint

This is just a quick blog. I know 2 in 2 days whatever next. Whilst I am waiting for the layers to dry on the Mech project (see previous blog) I have put some paint to one of the Nebs from Armada. Quite pleased for a quick job, All that is left to do now is a a couple of washes and weathering and some engine effects.

There will be a longer blog on this in the future.

See you on the flip side

Cult Mechanicus Painting Project

Cult Mechanicus Painting Project

After last weeks visit to Warhammer World and the visit to the exhibition halls I had found my inspiration for my army.

This is the Questoris Knight Styrix by Forge World painted by Mark Bedford. I just loved the gloss red armour that he achieved.

So chatting with Matt Parkes (great to work in the same building as multi Golden Daemon winner, he shared some pearls of wisdom and armed with this off I went to web to make my purchases.

Tamiya Clear Red:- Base Colour

Tamiya Clear Orange:- Highlighting

Tamiya Clear Blue:- Shading

Tamiya Clear:- Seal between layers

Tamiya Thinners:- To thin the paints water will not work

Tamiya Clear spray varnish: In between coats

So after the first night I am sitting with metal shaded model and waiting for the gloss varnish to dry. I have a feeling that this is going to be a long process. But I will try and share the highs and lows of the journey