Tale of Painters Dealine 6: Met & Project Complete!

Well, its been a while hasn't it...

I come, bearing updates! However, I also come bearing crappy shots on a camera phone. Unfortunately its all I have to work with right now, but I'm hoping I can get some better pictures soon. 

As for the actual update: well, I finished the Tale of Painters challenge on Librarium Online. My final monthly entry and 1000pt army are shown below:

The camera has washed out most of the colour which is disappointing. Most annoyingly though, the shots of my Interrogator Chaplain aren't as nice as I would like. Especially as I think its the best model I've ever done!

(Larger photos of the Chaplain can be seen here, and the ToP entry here)

The photos have washed out some of the highlighting, especially on the wings were I took the time to apply a few layers of highlight, from bone to white. Still though, he looks suitably menacing: 

''Repent, for tomorrow....I shall hit you with my big holy stick''

Also worth its own picture is the Tactical Squad Sergeant. I'm getting the power sword process done pretty quick now, which is useful!  

And that's all for now. I'm chuffed as hell to have made it through ToP. It's been a great start to my planned 3000pts of DA, who are now over half done! I think the painting might have cost me a few marks off my degree in my final year - but this is not a hobby for someone with his priorities in the right order! 

Next to do, after scrambling to write a dissertation, is the final Deathwing Squad. They are all assembled and just awaiting some paint. 

And even if I fail the degree I could become a crazed painter-hobo. That wouldn't be so bad...

Let me know what you think people! 

And now, time for a short commercial break...

Today I'm breaking with my normal service of Dark Angels flavoured goodness to bring you something completely different. After much lurking around, my crazy Dutch friend CJ has finally entered the wonderful world of 40k blogging. Knowing how difficult it can be to find readers in the early days I'm doing my best to get him some coverage! 

The Dragon Riders

CJ is doing some awesome work with the familiar old Saim-Hann theme. Taking the tactics of Fritz he's added his own completely unique modeling ideas. Make sure you go and check out the Dragon Riders. It's early days yet, but its promising stuff! 

++++ ++++

Okay, I couldn't quite resist talking about Dark Angels, but it is my blog after all! Anyway, here's a quick snap shot of my painting table. The last ToP entry is coming along nicely, and quickly! This is great, because I'm only able to catch about an hour of painting every other day at the moment. At this rate, I'll coast through the final deadline! 

Thanks for reading!

Tale of Painters Deadline 5: Met

Well, its the penultimate month of the Tale of Painters challenge on Librarium Online. Of the 54 entrants back in September, only 11 or 12 people are left. And am I glad to say that I continue to be one of them!  

Here are a few (admittedly rushed) shots of my entry:






And a picture of the Sergeants face - not great for seeing detail, but a really atmospheric shot I thought!



I'm pretty happy with how these guys turned out. I managed to get them done in just over a week, which for me is extraordinarily fast! It also means I've finally painted everything in the Ravenwing Box.

For next month I'll be painting a Terminator Chappy and 5 Tactical Marines. This will get me up to the ToP requirements of 1000pts with at least 1 HQ and 2 Troops.

However, before I start them, I have finally finally started to highlight the Deathwing Squads. 5 guys are done, the remaining 5 should be finished shortly. Most excitingly of all, I'm going to have access to my home printer in the next couple of weeks so I'll be able to make up the transfer for my Deathwing Banner. With that, the first 1500pts of my DA will be completely finished. I cant wait!

I'm also working on a blog post with some thoughts on my DA, as they have now seen their first 10 games. This will be slow in coming & dependant on getting uni work done.

Thanks for stopping by...

Tale of Painters Deadline 4: Met

For those who may be following my Tale of Painters progress, I am pleased to report that after jokering last month, I comfortably made this months deadline. 

This months 200ish points comes in the form of Belial, a Terminator Sergeant and Terminator Apothecary. Nothing you haven't seen before (bar the finished Apoc), but I must maintain the ToP diary!

Below is what I have completed in the challenge so far: 

It all totals 620pts out of the 1000pts target. 2 months remain, and I'm confident I'll be able to keep up with the deadlines - despite this being my final year of university. 

However, due to work time pressures, I can't promise much dramatic content on The Astronomican over the next few months, but please bear with me. I have a few interesting projects lined up for the summer, and there should be painting updates a plenty in the mean time. 

I'll leave you with a photo of the Apoc.'s repainted arm. The Simple Green worked perfectly, so thank you to everybody who suggested as such! 

Cheers for stopping by...

Updates: Vogen '09 & Tale of Painters

Today's post is a quick update on my two main projects, should any of you out there be following them. I'll start with the more boring of the two:

Tale of Painters 3: Jokered 

Regular readers will have noticed that there's not been much new painting around here of late. In fact I've only painted 2/3rds of a single Terminator this month, indeed I've not had much time for 40k at all recently. I'm not going to bore you with the reasons for this but it does mean I've have to use my one 'Joker' in the Tale of Painters Comp. The joker effectively allows you to get away with submitting no painted models for a month without going out of the competition. 

I've had to play this card a bit earlier than I had planned, but we are now half way through & I'm confident I can see the project through to the end. My current schedule only demands one painted model a week - as I only I have 7 Deathwing, 3 Ravenwing & Belial left to complete.

For those interested in the overall competition, here are a few statistics that the fantastic organiser Cyric the Mad complied: 

• 54 Entrants
  
• 54% have Jokered out (i.e. left the competition)
  
• 24% are on-track
  
• 22% are a little behind 

Given that rate of attrition I don't feel so bad! I strongly suggest you have a root around on the Librarium projects forum, there are some excellent ToP armies being built. 

And on to update two...

Vogen '09 Update

Well, after Malcom Wilson asked for a proper Vogen Campaign update I though I had better bring it all up to speed. 

The two battle reports that have been written so far have dealt with my Dark Angels' games up till Campaign turn 8. 

The start of Campaign turn 9 looked something like this:

As you can see there were three major conflicts on the day, but we only managed to get round to 2 of them. Both turned out to be Apocalypse games and, although I was unable to take detailed battle reports, I have a few snaps of both of them. 

1. Necrons vs. Eldar - 2500pts Apoc. (For 8 contested victory points)

From what I saw of this game, it was a (sometimes) surprisingly close contest between Wookie (using elements of my Eldar models) & Vessey's Necrons. It seemed for a while that the entirely Mech. Eldar force might keep itself out of the Necron clutches. However after stretching his force a little too far Wookie was eventually bogged down and taken to pieces by the C'tan, who were both present! 

Necrons: 3 Objectives     Eldar: 1 Objective

This victory won Vessey three territories and leaves him at the head of the leaderboard. Wookie on the other hand is in dire straights. Boxed in and with no VP's he is going to need to work hard to turn things around. His occupation of the Water Plant allows does allow him to strike anywhere in the city, but he's going to have to be clever to use that to his advantage. 

2. Dark Angels Vs. Tyranids - 2500pts (For 4 Contested Victory Points) 

Determined to see off any challengers Alex showed his love of Forge World by bringing no less than 3 (!!!!) Gargantuan Creatures to the table. His two Hierodules and one Harridan dominated my combined Dark Angels/Imperial forces, and the table soon became a tank grave yard. I also had some terrible luck with deep strike, with one Deathwing Squad being lost to the warp while another ended up in an entirely useless spot. This was crucial as their 2+ saves were the only thing standing up the Tyranid fire.

Tyranids: 2 Objectives     Dark Angels: 2 Objective

With some admittedly clever maneuvers I managed to scrape a draw against the beasts. However, this did not help me. Draws in campaign games are decided by victory points (who wrote these rules!!??.....oh yeah, I did) and by the end Alex had claimed more than double the VP's I had. This left him in control of Angel Square, and me in some desperate need of Super Heavy support. 

So, after this day's games we were left with the following:

The game between Sam and Alex is hopefully going to be played shortly. However I'm afraid after that there will be no updates until Easter time, when we all reconvene. I hope this has wetted your appetite enough till then! I certainly can't wait to exact some vengeance on Alex, and work out how to get out of this mess I find myself in...

Anyway, this 'short update' got a tad more detailed than I had planned, but here's hoping that nobody is complaining! I'd love to hear any thoughts you have on the update. I've also got two non-campaign battle reports to write up for the blog soon (including one with my Saim-Hann!) and hopefully there will be some painting updates soon.

Thanks for reading guys! 

Tale of Painters Deadline 2: Met

The army, it grows! 

Another quick painting update today, to let you know I managed to get my ToP entry in to Librarium Online on time (just). 

For this months 200pts I painted up the Landspeeder that I've shown off before and some new Deathwing: 








Although I was keen to get them finished (and thus rushed through them a little) I'm pleased with a number of things with these termis. I used similar blending from my Power Sword tutorial to good effect on the lightning claws, and I'm pleased with how my first attempt at feathers turned out. I also think the guy wielding the cyclone missile launcher and the thunderhammer just looks cool! 

I've still not started to highlight the bone armour, so they aren't 100% done yet. I'm waiting till I have all the Deathwing done and them I'm going to go back and highlight the lot. If I want to keep up with ToP (which I'm finding amazing motivation to paint) then I've not got the time to highlight them right now. Still, they are tabletop worthy.

I leave you with two visions of the immediate future. One is a picture of the Rhino I've started working on. I'm really pleased with how its shaping up. Secondly is a promise that there will be a few battle reports (featuring the DA) on The Astronomican before this year is out, so look out for that soon.

As usual I would love to receive and comments or crit. Thanks for reading! 

Dark Angels: Ravenwing Landspeeder Done

Hello all, just a quick update to day to show you all my finished Ravenwing Landspeeder. I took a bit more time on this model than I did with the bikes and I'm much happier with it. Using Codex Grey as the main highlight worked better than Shadow Grey (used on the bikes). I think it gives a more 'metallic' feel. There are a few more pics below, do let us know what you think. 

Next up on the painting table, more Terminators. I'm getting ever closer to having the first 1500pts done, I really can't wait. The Tale of Painters timescale should have me finished by February. Then, finally, I can get some proper games in...

And finally, a bit of fun I had in photoshop, it had to be done really...

Thanks for looking!

Tale of Painters Deadline 1: Met

Well, I managed to finish enough Ravenwing for the first ToP deadline today.

As I've said over on my Work in Progress thread at Librarium Online, I really didn't enjoy painting these Ravenwing very much. I guess for some reason I'm just not as happy with the finished result as I was with my previous stuff. This in itself is quite amusing, because I know full well I would have been chuffed to churn these models out only a year ago. I guess its a nice indication of progress! 

Perhaps I need to leave them for a while and come back to them. I always find that helps when evaluating your work. 

But, before I tell you what I think did and didn't work on these models, here are some pictures so you can tell me yourself:

I had some issues with the lights on the front of the bikes, they all came out looking dirty and of a mixed shade. I'm also not 100% on the highlighting, I can't decide if it looks too bold. Finally the white caused me no end of anguish, and is quite blotchy in parts.

However, I've learned a good technique for leather, and I do love the pose on the Attack Bike. Ultimately they are playable, which is what I'm going for. I'm also lucky I only have 3 more bikers and the Landspeeder to do - thank god the Deathwing element of the DA appealed to me more!

Its been a real push to get these models finished within the time limit and this blog has been a bit neglected because of it. Look forward to a few new posts before this month is through, including a product review and a showcase of some custom made models.

As always I would love to know what you think! Thanks for stopping by...

ToP Update & Blog Housekeeping

Well, it appears that I am an idiot. When signing up for the Tale of Painters Project on Librarium Online I misread the process in a rather major way. Because the sign up for the event began in early September I naturally assumed that the first deadline would fall on the 15th of the next month and thus furiously began painting my first Tactical Squad, which I finished yesterday.

I was, evidently, wrong.

The first deadline is in actually on the 15th of November, a fact I only realised a few days ago. Now, because I don't really want to buy or paint any more Dark Angles than what I need for my 1500pts List, I was left with a bit of a choice. Do I paint no DA for a month and submit the Tactical Squad in November (allowing me to work on some Saim-Hann), or do I solider on with the DA and end up with more than I technically want? Well, simply because I'm enjoying painting to the higher standard that the DA enjoy, I've decided to continue with them. I'll probably just paint an extra tactical squad for ToP. I'm also desperate to get an army painted to the best standard I can manage on the table as soon as possible.

This leads me on to a bit more blog housekeeping. I guess I just want to warn those reading that due to some time and transport constraints, this blog is largely going to be a simple log of my painting efforts for the next few months. I'm not able to get to somewhere to game at the moment meaning that I wont be able to do battle reports and other things I would like to do. However, this should change at the start of next year- just about the time I plan to finish my DA! Convenient? I think so!

Finally, in a twist of fate it seems quite fortuitous that I muddled up the ToP deadlines. My camera suffered an 'accident' and is not working at the moment - meaning that I would not have been able to submit pictures of my entry in time anyway. However, the camera is in for repair, and pictures of the Tactical Squad should be gracing these pages shortly.

Be sure to check out my thoughts on the new Space Marine codex below. In the mean time, work begins on the Ravenwing...

Tale of Painters (ToP)

For me the main challenge of 40K is actually painting the models. I consider myself to be alright at the game itself, but win or lose I am pretty much guaranteed a good time. Painting however is a whole series of highs and lows and sometimes really isn't fun. But, the gaming experience is vastly improved by good painting and so we solider on.

In an effort to help with the process I've signed on the The Tale of Painters Project on Librarium Online. Check the links for a full look at how the project works, and be sure to sign up yourself! In summary it is a 6 month project were participants are tasked with painting 200pts of models a month in order to have a legal 1000pts army by its conclusion. Now the mathematically astute of you will notice that 200pts a month for 6 months should make 1200pts, however participants are given on 'free' month, or Joker, where they can paint nothing and not go out. This is to allow for busy home lives that occasionally take precedence to little models.

There is of course no forfeit for dropping out, this is supposed to be friendly motivation after all. But there are competitions for Best Army and Most Improved etc. (not that I'm planning on winning!), and there is a lot to be said for submitting work and seeing what people think - it is after all why this blog exists!

So, in an effort to complete my 1500pts Dark Angels List I've signed up (under the username sovietspace) and made myself a time schedule:

Month 1: 10 man Tactical Squad - 205pts   

Month 2: Rhino, Attack Bike & 3 Ravenwing (1 with Meltagun) - 200pts   

Month 3: Three Ravenwing (Sarg. & 1 with Meltagun) & Land Speeder - 200pts   

Month 4: Four Terminators (including Cyclone Missile & excluding Apothecary.) - 192pts    

Month 5: Belial & Terminator Apothecary. - 203 pts

This gives me a 'Joker' month, that no doubt I'll need for the Terminators, and leaves a Land Raider to finish whenever I have time. Look out for a work in progress thread on Librarium Online should you be a visitor. Also go and have a look at their previous ToP, there has been some great work and some even better excuses!

It's also worth noting that the ToP's organiser, Cyric the Mad, has been working on a mammoth Dark Angels army that can, and should, be viewed here. 

Wish me luck, I'm off to paint some Tac. Marines!