It's been a LONG time since I posted, and a long time since I finished a model. This is a terrain piece, from the Kill Team Hivestorm box set. It is one of the Volkus terrain models. I painted it up very grimy and "ruined", and I like how it turned out.
I actually finished this nasty little bugger back on November 11, 2017. Pretty much the same colors as the first Poxwalker I did, although I like the first one better overall. I like the air tank on this model, it adds some pretty cool detail to his environmental suit that is obviously no longer functioning.
Nobody expects the Inquisition! Finished up some minor terrain bits from the Moon Base Klaisus ruins. The original box comes with one Inquisition crate, which I really like and one Hatch. The other two Hatches came from the new STC Ryza-Pattern Ruins box, which is more of the same bits that come with Moon Base Klaisus, although not another Inquisition crate unfortunately.
I like the way they turned out, nothing major but they'll add some fun features to a game board. I decided to paint the actual Hatches in a bronze look, with the ring that it shuts against with more of a steel look. Did a good bit of dry brushing on these pieces, it's getting more familiar now and less intimidating. Now back to painting army minis . . .
So my first "non-Ultramarine" miniature completed. This nasty specimen is a Poxwalker of the Death Guard, and it was a lot of fun to paint. His number shall be 171027.1 . . . I number each miniature I finish based on date. This guy was completed on October 27, 2017 hence his number. He is part of the Dark Imperium box released earlier this year that also included a Primaris Ultramarines force which I am also working to complete.
Poxwalker of the Death Guard
I've never painted a mini outside of Space Marines, so this was quite a departure from the clean lines and straight armor of the Ultramarines. I used the tutorial from Warhammer TV that Duncan Rhodes posted when the set was released. I did a few things differently than the tutorial, but as always the videos that Duncan posts are an excellent way to get good results if you follow the tutorial. The clips also include paint lists.
As I said it was fun to paint, it's kind of a canvas that you dabble at until it looks the way you want it to look, whereas Ultramarines have an exact look that you try to replicate, at least that's the way I paint them. Anyway, fun stuff and very cool looking. I tried for a very dirty nasty look as opposed to the minis that were done by the Games Workshop Eavy' metal team. To me those looked great, but were a bit "too pretty" for walking corpses that are possessed by Demons.
There are 20 of these minis included in the box set, 10 identical pairs and I added 6 extras from another kit. I'm going to try to get the pairs painted up so they look very different on the table. Variations in skin tone and the colors of the clothing should do the trick.
This was a great learning experience, and should be a good springboard to getting the other 25 I have on hand completed and looking . . . hideous.
Right after I finished my first model, I painted these five models all at the same time. I think there was a pretty good improvement on these models over my first attempt. Again, I cut the original 25mm bases off and replaced them with 32mm bases. I also had to paint my first skin on the Flamer model, and I like how it turned out. I have 4 more models in this squad, and many more "non-Primaris" models to complete when I get time. For now though, I'll be focusing on the new Primaris and Death Guard models from the "Dark Imperium" box. When I get caught up on all of that, I'll go back and get the older models done.
I finished this mini a few years back, it is the first miniature I've ever built or painted. It turned out pretty decent, and it was a good learning experience. Obviously it needs some improvement, especially in the shading and highlighting, but on the table it looks pretty good. I also had a very hard time with the decal, I had to re-apply it twice, but I think I got it now. The decals on my next run of minis went much better. I'm not going to change anything on this one, it's going down as a first attempt for historical purposes.
The base was originally a 25mm base supplied with the kit. When GW decided to change the base size on these kits (to make way for the Primaris models), I decided to be OCD and cut all the 25mm bases off the models and re-base them on 32mm bases. Overall, I like the way the bases turned out, again it was a good learning experience. I'll be using Slate rocks for future models.
Some finished ruins from the Moon Base Klaisus "Battlefield in a Box" kit. Fun and quick to put together and paint, and great looking terrain in my opinion. I'd like to see them release more kits that fit in with these ruins in the future.
Exterior wall section. Khorne Red applied with a heavy drybrush.
Interior walls, Castellan Green. Damaged edges are Leadbelcher.
Light drybrush of Screaming Skull all over.
I used the method that Duncan Rhodes posted in the video on Warhammer TV below, which also includes a paint list. It's dead simple and really gives the ruins a nice battlefield look that is simple to achieve.
Using Citadel Macragge Blue Base on this Ultramarine. I thinned it with water in the palette, then applied with the Citadel Base Brush. This is just a first coat.
I bought a 1" diameter poplar dowel at Lowe's for under 4 bucks. Then I cut it into 1 1/4" lengths on a chop saw. Ran some sandpaper over it to smooth it out. Then I used Blu-tac to mount each model on the dowel. Going to use these throughout the painting process.
Just moved my entire workstation to a new room and I like the new workspace much better. This is my first model in a few weeks, so I am just adding more units as I delve deeper into the hobby. Right now I'm basically putting together the more "basic"units, and you can't go too far wrong with a Scout Squad. Scout's have never been terribly exciting to me, but after reading more about the Scout squad in Codex: Space Marines I think they do have a nice role in the game. I like the look of the unit using Sniper rifles and Invisibility cloaks, I plan to replace the standard Sergeant with Sergeant Telion...mostly because I love the look of the Telion model, and his stats are very impressive.
My second squad built is an Assault squad. This kit took a lot longer to build than the Tactical squad I started with. The minis just had a lot more flash, mouldlines, and generally took a lot more effort to clean up. So this five man squad took almost as long as a 10 man, the improvement in the newer kits is significant. Happy with the results though, again I especially like the Sergeant, love the Power Fist and Combat Shield which makes him look like a formidable combatant.
Overall the quality of these molds is quite a step down from the newer 2013 Tactical kit. The newer kits are far superior on fit and do not have nearly as many mould lines to clean up. I don't remember dealing with any "flash" on the Tactical kit, just some very faint mould lines. Even the quality of the plastic is better on the new kit, it has crisper details and the finish is more uniform and smooth. Also, the plastic on the older Assault kits seems harder, so it's harder to file without using more pressure.
I also don't like the fit of the exhaust area of the jump packs. The fit is just off, the side seams I just filled with Citadel Liquid Green Stuff and filed down a bit which worked great. Inside the exhaust port is a different story. I don't have the files it would take to clean those areas up. Looking around the web it seems a lot of folks don't even fill the sides of the jump packs, and just accent them instead. I don't mind the look of the intake area lines, they look mechanical, the sides of the pack look better filled and cleaned up in my opinion. I'm going with filling the sides and living with the ports for now. Maybe if I had a file kit like this, I could have a go at cleaning up the very small ports on the back of the pack...for now it stays.
I'm still happy with the models once they are cleaned up and assembled. Some pretty nice stance and gear options, I just have a hard time with the port area...it's hard to ignore. Probably need to get to some painting before I build more.
The Sergeant is built, and I'm very happy with the end result. I went with a Chainsword and Plasma Pistol. This Sergeant also carries a banner. I added a few extras like the scroll carrier and loincloth. This is my favorite Marine yet, no surprise. I'm glad I waited to build the Sergeant last.
I decided to build my next Marine equipped with MK VI Corvus armor, in the past I wasn't a huge fan of the "Beak" helmet but after building this model I really dig the look of it. I also used the alternate hand so he looks like he's getting ready to slam another full magazine in his Bolter.
Mark VI Corvus Battle Plate.
Slamming a full clip into his Bolter.
I made a small mistake on the Purity Seal on the shoulder plate, it will interfere with the Ultramarine decal that will be placed on this shoulder guard. I'm going to have to cut it off and file it back down which shouldn't be too hard. This is the first model that may require a bit of Liquid Green Stuff to fix some errors.
One thing I noticed that I was missing in this unit are Grenades, which are standard weapon load out for Tactical Marines. This battle brother has both Frag and Krak grenades on hand ready to decimate foes that are closing in or behind barricades. These things are so tiny that I lost the first on on the floor, and almost lost another which I found after getting on my hands and knees using a magnifying glass. Going to head to the hobby shop today and pickup a hobby tweezers!
Krak grenades and a large finger!
Frag grenades. Elbow mishap.
The elbow on this model had a small gash from getting a little "over zealous" with the clipper, this is the other spot I'll need some liquid greenstuff to fix.
And then there were four . . .
That's it for now, tonight I build number five which when added to the others will form my first 5 man squad. I think #5 will be wielding a Missile Launcher.
My third tactical Marine is wielding a flamer, I also used the head sporting the special rebreather....certainly a good choice for a Space Marine bathing the unclean in holy promethium! I wanted to be sure at least one model would have skin tones to paint even though I prefer helmets. It will be good practice and it makes the flamer stand out, plus I like the look of it.
So number two is put together and wow....doing a dry fit with putty along with gluing up the arms and bolter one at a time really made the whole process go much smoother. Plus, no glue smears!
Getting this phase of the marine together is giving me fits. I now realize that trying many different left and right arm combinations using adhesive putty is the key. Hopefully I can get a better fit this time.
I didn't see at first that many of the arms look identical at first glance, but there are minute differences like the angle of the wrist joint.....or maybe the angle is different where the arms meets the torso. Time to work on my dry fit more this time around.
