Fortress of Redemption: Finished!

Hello guys, I pleased to say I've finally finished the awesome Fortress of Redemption kit. Well, mostly. As the alert amongst you will notice, the lascannon battery is absent. Unfortunately my desire to see the fortress put in my local GW's cabinet saw me cutting some corners! Still, here she is:

Sorry for the flash on some of the photos, kinda wiped out some of the detail. Still I'm really pleased with how its turned out. It takes an awful lot of effort to get a model of this scale done, I think I've put in about 15/20hrs into this thing. I've not tried to do much special, otherwise I would have been painting forever!

The Missile Silo is a great piece of detail, and the cover has either the Dark Angels logo or an Aquila on the reverse. Mine is more bleached bone that white, but again the flash has done is mischief!

I painted the rockets in a straightforward way, but hopefully they look nice and effective! Below are some details of the tower and door and such.

The tower Angels were really simply done. Dheneb Stone base coat, followed by a heavy Bleached Bone drybrush. Next I added a ton of Gryphonne Sepia wash, and finally another Bleached Bone drybrush. Job done!

The bastions have got some great detail on them, and are really fun to paint. The statue insets are taller than a marine!

Finally a picture of some heroic marines manning the defences. This is what its all about, some great models on lovely terrain. Makes all the effort worthwhile!

So guys, please let me know what you think! Any comments and criticisms are welcome...

Tale of Painters Entry 8

Only time for a quick post today as I update what I have completed for ToP this month.

Epic IG

Superheavy Tank Platoon - 200pts

So not much of an entry, and I'm still miles behind with the army, but next month shall be epic month! I have no 40k to do so next up is titans, valks and tanks tank tanks!

Army to date:

2050pts

40 IG

Busy month with the IG, I tried to get them done for a tournament. I just fell short and had to use an old Chimera, but it did mean that I got these two bad boys done:

Leman Russ & Medusa - 300pts

Army to date:

1434pts

So thats another month, another entry. I do love ToP, its such a good motivator, if a bit stressful at times. Look forward to all the epic stuff coming your way!

Fortress of Redemption WiP (and some light comedy)

So, as I mentioned in my last post, I been working on a house for my Dark Angels, namely the new Fortress of Redemption kit. Allow me to show you the progress I have made...

First off, the all important scale shot, with a crazy priest for flavour.

So as you can see, I have been working on the central walkway and the tower. The walkway is pretty much done:

Just some simple dry-brushing and washes for the green steel on the walkway, and same again for the grey walls and bone panels. It's not going to win any prizes, but at least its getting done!

On to the central tower, and after several hours work I have all four of the angels base-coated, washed and dry-brushed as well as the grey of the tower done. I have also got the skull pile on one done and the halo on another finished.

Well, that my progress so far, and I think it's shaping up nicely. Please let me know what you all think.

Before I leave you, I want to point out the sheer amount of skulls on this thing. I know the Imperium rather likes the liberal application of skulls to everything, but this building must have been designed by some Gothic master on overdrive. Indeed, the appearance of skulls all over the Imperial Guard and Astartes always makes me think of the sketch below. Enjoy...

Of scenery, tournaments and fortresses...

So then, time to prove I've not been idle while I've been quiet.

One of the things I did last month was have a 'scenery day'. I've been meaning to do this for a very long time because, although I have a lot of the stuff, its not all in a good state and I knew it deserved better.

For me scenery is the forgotten 'third player' of any game. Its a vitally important part of the experience. Not only does it effect how you play the game and the obstacles you have to overcome, it also greatly enhances the look of the whole thing. And lets be honest, the only reason we are gaming and not playing computer games or reading sci-fi is that this looks cooler.

So, the first thing I set about doing was painting up most of the forge world terrain I had. I had picked up these bits from a verity of sources (I'm sure some of them are on 'long term' loan), but they were all unpainted. Given how awesome they are, that simply didn't seem right...

Troopers Williams and Jones patrol through the ruins

For painting I chose the simplest and most effective route I could. Sprayed grey base-coat, followed by two levels of dry-brush. Job Done. I think thats the key to getting terrain done whilst still having time to paint your armies. Don't get bogged down in the details, unless its a special piece. You can always go back to it later.

These ruins are a prime example, there are a load of ammo crates and foliage that aren't detailed, but at arms length that doesn't detract from the scenery.

Next I set to making some of my own scenery, mainly for the Dark Heresy campaign I am running (hoping to write up a blog post on that soon). Taking some wire mesh and sprue bits I was able to cobble together some effective fencing and, using toothpicks and the GW razor wire kit, I produced some barbed wire fencing.

Simple and effective! Although the barbed wire still needs painting...

The picture below shows the fencing before painting. The two main struts are supported by pieces of spare sprue - that stuff is so very useful when it comes to making terrain.

So, we are nearing the end of my terrain post, and I'm still yet to mention either tournaments or fortresses. Well, allow me to change all that!

On the 7th of April I am attending a small tournament at Warhammer World, and I'll be taking the Dark Angels off the shelf and bringing them along. This is mainly because there will be a planetstrike game, and I love deepstriking and assaulting Deathwing!

However, the coolest thing is that each competitor needs a terrain piece. Now, I could have dipped into my terrain collection, but then I recalled that GW had recently released a Dark Angels specific terrain piece. Well, I simply couldn't resist...

I'm hoping to be able to put aside a whole day or two, and try and get this done before April. Wish me luck and look out for some pictures!

Thanks for reading...

Tale of Painters Entry 7

Well, once again I have let the blog fall silent for far too long. Never fear however, in this last month I have not been idle, in fact I think I may have bitten off rather more than I can chew in hobby terms, but more on that in future posts!

For today, regular as clockwork, is my monthly tale of painters entry.

Epic IG

Well, I went back on my promise to get the warhounds done. I tired to get the epic done but once again they fell by the way-side. Failure to produce any models next month will see them out of the competition, so I'm determined to get at least something produced for April.

40k IG

The Praetorians however are a different story. I am attending a tournament at the end of this month with the Bristol Vanguard, and I am hoping to bring the little Pith-helmeted fellows along. I've realised they wont be quite finished, I'm going to settle for having an old stand-in Chimera, but I want everything else completed. This means getting a Russ, a Medusa, the Command Squad and Sly Marbo finished before April.

Well, I can proudly report that the Russ is 75% done and the Command Squad is finished. Indeed, there were my March entry to ToP:

Similarly to my Veterans I'm using Vostroyan models to represent 'Spireborn' Praetorians. I do love these models, they are really in-line with the Praetorians, and they provide a nice change of pace and upping of detail. First off, here is the captain (with a chip on his nose I have just noticed...)

Next, the most striking model in the squad (and already the most chipped...)

I'm pleased with how the banner came out, its not fantastic, but I think above normal table-top quality.

Finally, one of my favourite models, the medic with the huge syringe.

And finally, an army shot, showing where the Praetorian 5th are to date.

Sorry for the rushed post, I'm already going to be for work! Still, this is more interesting...

Any comments greatly appreciated!

Tale of Painters Entry 6

Its that time of the month again...

I'm now at the half way point of the LO Tale of Painters challenge, and I'd sad to report that I'm behind schedule with both my 40k and Epic entries. However, that was the case last time, so I'm confident I'll get everything done in the end!

This month I failed to get any work done on the Epic models, which is annoying. I'm going to get my two Warhounds done for next month though, promise!

As for 40k, I managed to pull through and achieve my target, which was:

1 Leman Russ and 1 Infantry Squad w/ Missile Launcher: 215pts

That leaves my Praetorian army currently at 792pts. I'm half way to 1500pts, woohoo!

I've got to say I'm rather proud of this army now. All the Praetorian models are done, a full platoon's worth, and I think I've finally done the figures justice (especially compared to the last paint job I gave them).

Moving on to the armour, I'm still trying to crack this realistic weathering, and I know I'm still a long way off from getting it. That said, I think I'm still moving in the right direction. For this months Russ, I think I may have gone over the top in a few places, but there are a lot of elements that I think really worked - for example I'm starting to get better use out of those pesky weathering powders. Thats what its all about in the end, gradual improvement. Hopefully I can have a few more tricks mastered before I attempt the Marauder...

Anyway, here are some pics, I would really be interested in any comments or criticisms people have. You should be able to click on the photos to get larger versions.

I really must learn to post less photos..!

Tale of Painters Entry 5

Here we are again guys!

This month I epically failed to get enough 40K IG painted, so I've had to play my first joker for the Praetorians, which is not good as I'm already behind with them. I'm hoping to get two tanks and a squad done next month to compensate for this. What I can share with you though is my latest addition to the epic force, a Superheavy Tank Company:

This 600pt addition brings the whole army up to 1850pts, leaving them still 150pts behind target. Jeez, its hard work this painting schedule stuff!

For next months epic entry I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of some Epic Valkyries, so I can start creating my rapid response Stormtrooper platoon. Now I've just got to think up a suitable colour scheme to paint them...