Bathing in Blood WIP

A long time it’s been. Much gotten done, I have not. A break for the soul is good, no?

(Don't worry, my crap Yoda impression is done with.)

Truth be told, it was good to get back into the paint mode again these past few days and I’ve been rolling along nicely. Not on my own projects though, but working to kick out the couple commissions I have sat on my desk.



“Commissions?! Why this bloke barely paints better than tabletop!” I hear you say. It’s true, it’s true. But there’s lazy people out there and for some reason one came to me wanting his figs painted so he didn’t have to. No monies involved though, more bartering for comics and some other things.



So what is it that’s been worked on – well, Draigo, Lord High Pickle Features of the Grey Knights. Now, I’m not one to rant, but I am one to write falsehoods, so let me tell you my thoughts on Grey Knights in general. No, not from a silly 40K gaming perspective, (though that will be included in a wee form.) but from someone who’s been following this hobby on and off since Rogue Trader was first released and I bought my first pack of IronClaw Squats some…. Lots of years ago.



The Grey Knights were first released in White Dwarf as a mythical super-secret part of the Inquisition – a Space Marine Chapter created to combat that which even normal Space Marines had trouble taking down. This is back in the day when the fluff had it that Chaos, the Warp, daemons and other such sticky nonsense were not preached about in the churches and cathedrals of the Imperium. There wasn’t even the slightest whiff of them at all. Space Marines even, knew little to nothing (Librarium aside.) of the Warp and it’s dangers aside from – “It’s bad. Don’t think about it.”. Those who had the misfortune of being in contact were either destroyed, turned into servitors or mind wiped and reprogrammed to serve again from scratch… and that’s just the Legio Astartes! Normal citizens were usually destroyed outright due to the risk of them inviting (Unwittingly or otherwise) a Chaos incursion upon the systems of mankind. Preachers, Deacons, Cardinals and all of the other Ministorum dignitaries just stuck to “Worship the Emperor, despise the Xenos”. The End.



So here we are, with Chaos as the great enemy that only the highest echelons of Man’s military and religious might had knowledge of. Sure the Inquisition were there to root out the evils that went along with Chaos and it’s nasty ways, but sometimes that just wasn’t enough. Sometimes even their nasty torturing, brutal ways couldn’t finish the job – enter the Grey Knights! Space Marines even more highly trained than regular Astartes and e.v.e.r.y o.n.e a Librarian to boot! Powerful enough to take on Greater Daemons and have a chance of winning. They looked like normal marines in Terminator Armour, but with way more decoration and with these kick arse superduper halberds with bolters stuck on – it was awesome! Their army entry was for armies to be able to take ONE squad and just by that, it made them special, elite, badarse.



Fast forward to 2011 or when ever it was the latest codex came out.



Grey Knights… have a codex, an army book of their own. WTF? Weren’t they supposed to be this super secret, rarely, if ever, seen uber elite daemon-hunting force that offered the services of A SQUAD to those forces in the direst need of help against the forces of Chaos??? O, so that’s changed then…. Now they are a whole army of their own and… o right, now everyone knows about Chaos, they fight Chaos regularly without penalty and they get up again to do the same next week. So Grey Knights are now as “Special” as Paris Hilton crotch shots or news that the economy has gone bad. Again.



I no longer like Grey Knights. At all. I don’t like their ridiculous huge storm-bolter-on-wrist armours. I can’t stand how much decoration is emblazoned on their armour. And I can’t help but dislike how GW allowed the codex author to completely take all that was cool and special about them and then to completely feck it all up. It saddens this old 40K fan’s heart, almost as much as when Games Workshop ret-conned my beloved Squats, citing “Space Dwarfs” are stupid – yet continuing to embrace stupid pointy hat Space Elves, atypical Space Orks and other direct translations from their fantasy line.



Rant over.



Here’s a WIP of Draigo per the customer’s specifications. He’s doing the basing, which is fine by me. Just the banner to go.

I've also managed to get a little done on my Raven Guard Land Speeder, but that's a post for another blog and another time. Hope to have another update sometime this weekend!

Whispers from a Xenos heart

Frallitus Thorayne is of an unknown species, from a very far off part of the galaxy. It lives in the darkest recesses of society where not even the despicable Hrud feel safe. A Psyker of prodigious power, this xenos has otherworldly control over the minds of any beast or vermin within his locale, able to send them to attack any threats it feels might be in it's adopted territories.

Found time today to finish this little wonder of a fig. Illithids are my all time favourite D&D beasties and this has to be one of my favourite sculpts. I had to use it in my campaign. Now I just have to come up with a cool enough group of vermin creatures for it to control and kill off the player teams! :)

Promises promises

Wrote a little while back that I'd show my small painted Guard section and to be honest, forgot just how small the amount of painted figs were. But here they are regardless. Hope you like. They are the troops of a personal army belonging to a Rogue Trader of House Draquon. As well as the stuff pictured below, I also have about 7 or 8 infantry, veteran and/or heavy squads of both Rogue Trader plastic Guard and metal and plastic Squat models. I used the idea that the Trader Prince had rescued the dwarf contingent from a Tyranid threatened base during the Squad purge. So lots not pictured below. One day I'll look into buying them a tank or two. :)

Also there is a small WIP of what I've been adding a little lick of paint too for my =][=munda project.

Commander Isiah Tholme, Pay Master Scheiner (Commissar) and Gorrt, Mutant Standard Bearer and Trusted Protector of the Lord Trader Draquon's family crest. The Commander will probably end up being a 3rd Pay Master.

Armaud Destrierre, trusted Astropath on board the Lord Draquon's trading vessel,  Sergeant Lorch, overseer of the Beastmen Penitents and Ukko, Gretchin member of the Ratling sniper squad.



This squad was my tester squad for the Burgundy and cream scheme. I like it as it seemed the kind of thing a showy Rogue Trader would have his ship bound troops wear.

Squat command group with unpainted beastmen penitents in background. Squats will be stripped and repainted as they have a 14-year-old-me paintjob right now. :)

Trying to fit these Grotz in the list. Was thinking some sort of veterans or bodyguards to the Rogue Trader.

Creed model is my Rogue Trader along with his Command group. The two "white" no arms figs will be removed I think and added to a normal infantry squad so I can fit in the above Grotz. The Fleet advisor will be stripped also in order to be painted in the correct colours.

Washed out pic of (Left to right) Ratlings snipers, 2nd Platoon command, Catachan squad who will be painted as ship's hands and the start of another infantry squad.

Why so much infantry? Well, fair question, seeing as how tanks are the thing right now with Guard. but I always LOVED seeing pics of the masses of RT guard marching across a battlefield with titans in the background and little else to help them aside from their numbers. So I always wanted a Guard force made in such a way. All praise the meat grinder!

Lastly a wee WIP of what I've been painting of late. (Commissions aside.)

He Ain't Heavy

Brother Thelonius - a kindly looking, bearded man of enormous proportions for his species (He is about 6'8" and weighs nigh on 400lbs) is the keeper of the Emperor's word within the Countess' Cell. Beneath that portly jovial exterior is a soul dark and bitter for all the evils it has had to withstand and destroy. One minute a kindly blessing for the lowly servants of the Imperium, the next burning those same souls for fear of their being tainted by those unspeakable horrors who none speak of in his presence.

(I've been dealing with a lot of real life pish tosh of late, hence the lack of posts - so much easier to just read everyone else's blogs during moments like that. Anyhow - This one had a load of detail to get creative with colour-wise. A little frustrating to be honest. Tried my hand at the black and yellow striping on his chainsword, my first attempt, looks okay for that I think. I tried to show a little of the "deranged zealot" about this fellow also by painting one eye open, the other closed. Not sure I've conveyed what I'm on about though... My editing program is rubbish, so please forgive the washed out colours - looks far better in person.)

A small bonus to this post - I've bee working a little more on this Xenos chap. Has been lots of fun to paint and I am excited as he's almost done. 

Test Run

No pics. No pics.

Instead, some small paragraphs to detail that last night was the first properjob testrun of the game. Had four of my Friday Night Gamers group come over so they could get to try out the rules set and get an idea of what their teams can do. It also allowed me to get a better grip on the rules as far as GM'ing the show went.

Needless to say it went really well. Slow, of course (2am finish....) and we really didn't finish the game, but it seemed everyone had fun and I did too. I had forgotten just how deadly the Necromunda rules were! (Prime example being an Ogryn being taken out of the game by one burst from a Heavy Bolter or some such, or a plasma pistol one-shotting a Cultist.) All this effort painting mini's and the cahracters are liable to be defunct after their first proper game!

There were a few things I think I'll change as far as the rules. I don't like the phases, or at least being so strict with them. A fighter should be able to walk a little take a shot and use of the rest of his move, or shoot then move. It'll add more tactical options for the players. I also think Close combat needs tweaking somehow... The Nurgle Magos was stuck in combat with an Interrogator for 3 rounds. 3... long... rounds.

I also now need to get on with making scenerey - namely multi-level scenery. Whilst the few sniping spots I had were muchly abused, there seriously needed to be more to offer more options for the teams than pretty much two levels to play on - on the little scenery I have or off it on the table top.

Anyway, hopefully this weekend will see me completeing the Nurgle Big Mutie and then it's on to the Inquisition forces. Very exciting stuff!

All in all, I'm glad I started this project. So far, it's proven rewarding and confidence boosting where my painting and modelling abilitied are concerned. I also like to see my display cabinet getting it's shelves filled up, meaning I'm getting a LOT more done these days. Now if only I didn't have to also try to fit in my Plague Marines, my Raven Guard and my mate's Malifaux projects into the limited time I have to paint! (Not to mention the NEW commission job I recently took on.... my 1st Grey Knight in 15 years.)

*O and lastly, I had a forum-mate ninja me that amazing new Forge World Enforcer and Cyber Mastiff from their recent 1st April open day thing. I can't wait to get that and somehow fit it into this game. *

Unfettered

Brother Thelonius was a preacher of the Imperial Way, spreading the good word amongst the scattered slums of Hive Grunthius on the planet Budorfin XII. The multitude welcomed him, trusted him and he never found himself wanting for a roof over his head or bite to eat as he made his journeys. Some how though, like many who traverse the toxic wastes, Thelonius succumbed to a fearful disease one trip between settlements. With legions sprouting over his body and black liquids seeping from his orifices the sickness swiftly spread from without to within and his brain itself turned to rot. With a final wish to die and pass to the Emperor's bosom, the preacher waited for inevitable death.... only to be denied. The pox stricken upon him had been a gift of a lesser daemon of Nurgle and with it, a greater personality of that most gross Father settled into his mind. It was with great sense of release that the daemon G'Mukum took the human's body and delivered him over to the Nurgle Coven to act as vanguard in their magos' machinations against the Imperium!
(This fig pretty much painted itself once I settled on a paint scheme. Really like his face and belly. Apologies for the shite connection between wing and back, the soft plastic of the wings proved harder than one first imagined to pin and manipulate.)

And a shot of the lovely extra belly mouth. Quite the change from your usual Imperial chained up host, eh?



Stinky (Part 2 - Complete)

Have to say, this is one of my all time fav figs GW ever produced. I just have one complaint, where on earth they thought that the RT plastic Guard arms looked good on this I have no idea. They are shite, plain and simple. I wanted to keep with the original feel of the fig so decided to stick with the arms, but damn.... O well. I'm done with this one now. (I know, the GS wrap on his gun is too think, but I really need to move onto the next figs else I'll not be finished until 2014......

Tried to do one of them smiley-face acid house badges, best I could do though - things tiny!



Cheeky Sod

I've not been very good at sticking to my plan of updating at least once a week.

A hobby funk had descended upon me and my will to paint whithered like a frog's leg in hot oil. So basically, no painting, no work, no updates.

But.....

There's light at the end of this rotten tunnel. Last night saw in a recharge in the ol' hobby cells (Due to a demo game being run tonight.) and I found myself up late desperately painting the badges on Renzer's coat and other details, glueing the arms upon the Kroot and setting my targets upon the next poor plastic sap in line to suffer my brush lead attentions.

So keep the faith whoever's out there, there will be more coming soon with a small report as to how the game (Nurgle Coven vs Rogue Trader Cerw) went. Can't promise pics of the game though as I've little scenery to show right now, but that will change in time.

Sailing the 7 Galax-seas

Antolio Etcheverria de Dios Otero Antormarchi in all his finery. I really had to force myself to paint this bugger and it shows. (But I wanted the Rogue trader Crew finished.) And so, with him done, my first player team is ready to go forth and search for plunder amidst the storylines in my head. For some reason the camera couldn't take a good pic of his eyes and so they look like pants, which they actually don't in real life. What's a mediocre painter to do?

Any who might remember Hersus Vorden, the 3-armed mutant illegitimate son of this fellow, may well recall the mutie had orange scarves/bandannas? Well, they are directly related to the poor dissociated youth's attempt to show his loyalty to his father and match Antolio's sash.

Enjoy!

And to celebrate the completion of the Rogue Trader Crew, here's a group shot of how sexy they think they are!