First Alaitoc Guardian

Hi again! Just wanted to share a picture of my first painted Alaitoc Guardian. I didn't really use stippling here (I save it for vehicles), but I had great fun painting the carapace armour with Enchanted Blue, Ice Blue and Asurmen Blue wash. It definately looks better than my first try on Alaitoc, which ended up a bit too dark-coloured.


As you can see, there are still many things to improve on the model - for example the fingers holding the shuriken catapult could get some washing, and the jewels could be more detailed as well. I'll probably return to this model when I'll work on other Guardians, but right now, Genesis Chapter is the priority.

Also, I experimented with the basing a bit. You can see a piece of ruin there with an Eldar hieroglyphe (which is actually the symbol for Guardians). The plan is to make the Eldars look as if they are guarding an ancient sacred place.

Anyways, Merry Christmas (or Chanuka/Kwanzaa) and happy New Year! I'm sure about to have fun with a new Ravenwing Battleforce that I'm about to use for my Genesis Chapter army.

Gotta love the Ravenwing upgrade sprues... They make me think about assault cannon Razorbacks.

Anyways, see you in 2012! That is, unless the mayan prophecy turns out to be true.

Deffkopta Squadron finished!

It took a while, but all my three Deffkoptaz are finally finished! Let's take a look at them first.


I spent so much time on these that I actually don't know what to start with! Each of them was painted in very different circumstances and it can be seen on them. Let's look at them one by one.



The first one was actually the first vehicle (if you will) I ever painted; it was finished back in June 2010. Since then, I haven't improved it much. Main change is the basing - when trying it out in a test game, the holding pole broke and I had to improvise. So I took some sand and rocks, a piece of sprue and few toothpicks, and made the ruiny stand you can see now. Lately, I added a plant as well.



This is the Deffkopta my girlfriend was working on. She finished it this summer, and as always, her work inspired me. On this model, she extensively used Bad Moon Yellow, and in quite a different scheme than I did (I used to pay only little attention to engines, and this model proves that was a mistake).

The base was done by me last week. I bought a large terrarium plant for like 5 euro, chopped it up and planted it into drilled holes in the base. The result looks pretty good, I think I'll try to make a whole terrain piece (a small forest perhaps) using this method.



I painted this one recently; in September or October, I think. I like to compare it to the first one I painted; I definately made progress since 2010. There are more colors and the Deffkopta seems richer. It's the same model as the previous one, without any conversions, yet the two look very different from each other. The check pattern is fundamental for this model's individuality. The basing was done last week as well.



On the picture above, you can take a better look at the rokkitz and the basing. One more neat detail there: notice the right Deffkopta pilot's head. My girlfriend really did a good job there - something as simple as a yellow strip gives the model a lot of character!

Last picture is sort of a teaser:



Yep, I got a Predator nearly finished! Still have to paint some details and battle damage on it though.

To be honest I'm glad I'm finally finished with the Deffkoptaz. They are great-looking models, but painting them was annoying because of the two-dimensionality of Assault on Black Reach sprues. Anyways, most of my AOBR units are painted now - only thing left is a bunch of Boyz!

Anyways, I hope you liked the orky machines and the new basing. These things took so long to get finished, but I feel the result was worth it.

See you soon! I'll try to make another post within a week or two, to make up for November.

Genesis Chapter: More fluff

Hi. I'm sorry for missing a few updates; I am currently working on my bachelor work and don't have much time for modelling, and even less for writing on the blog. I'll be sincere now - this post is in fact a filler. It still might be worth reading for anyone interested in the fluff of Genesis Chapter.


"In too deep, against all odds brothers!"

I've been digging through Insignium Astartes and warhammer40k.wikia.com and found some interesting information that haven't been mentioned in the introductory post.

Unsurprisingly, Genesis Chapter follows Roboute Guilliman's Codex Astartes to a tee. The chapter is traditionally split into ten companies, which are distinguished by shoulder pad rim colours, most probably in the same manner as the Ultramarines. Therefore, the classic colour scheme of Genesis Chapter (yellow/golden trims) refers only to the 2nd Battle Company. While veteran's badges are white/silver, sergeant's badges are blue.

Note that the Chapter's Apothecaries have most of their armor painted red. Only their helmets, left shoulderpads and right shouldepad trims are white. Left kneepad is colored according to the Apothecary's company.

The chapter keeps close ties with their Progenitor Chapter, the Ultramarines, and its Astartes commonly undertake at least one pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Primarch on Macragge. Genesis Chapter frequently undertakes joint operations with the Ultramarines, and their squads and even specialists such as Techmarines and Librarians routinely fill gaps within Ultramarines' companies.

There are two recent notable campaigns that involved the chapter. First is the Cleansing of the Ulik Sector. In 997.M41, Space Marines of the Death Strike and Genesis Chapters conduct a series of Exterminatus missions in the Ulik Sector on worlds not yet consumed by Tyranid Hive Fleet Leviathan to prevent it from gaining resources.

The second campaign is Waaagh! Irontoof in 998.M41. A combined force of the Genesis Chapter and the Ultramarines engaged the growing Ork Waaagh! Irontoof and successfully pushed it back.

Sources:
Insignium Astartes, 2002
Genesis Chapter at warhammer40k.wikia.com
Codex: Tyranids, 5ed


Genesis Chapter 3rd Battle Company captain.

If you would have any relevant information on Genesis Chapter which hasn't been mentioned here, please leave me a comment here. I'm especially curious about the campaigns conducted by or with the help of the chapter. Unfortunately, I didn't notice anything about the Irontoof campaign in Codex: Orks.

Also, once again sorry for missing out the update (and for this filler post as well). As any good marine, I have to adhere to my duties first. In December, I'll either continue with the trend of filler posts, or I'll actually finish some of my current projects and post them here. I'm currently revisiting my first tactical squad (expect squad markings and a new Sergeant), painting up a Predator, and basing my three Bad Moons Deffkoptas.

Anyways, thanks for the patience. See you soon!

Genesis Chapter Scout Squad finished!

It took time, but my first squad of Scouts is finally ready for battle! I consider them my first truly finished unit, because they have both Genesis Chapter and squad markings!


I decided to make them a melee unit, therefore they are equipped with shotguns and combat knives. The sergeant has a Melta Bomb, shamelessly stolen from Assault Marines sprue.

I hope you like the color scheme; it is inspired by the only official Games Workshop picture of a Genesis Chapter scout marine I know of (you can see it here). The blue color used for trousers and shirts is basically Ice Blue with a heavy layer of Asurmen Blue wash.



I had some problems making the pictures sharp enough due to extremely odd weather here, so I experimented with background a bit. I've found out that red background makes the picture much more sharp, and I've stick with it for this serie of pictures. I hope it isn't too disruptive for viewing.

Next picture focuses on the shoulderpads; left shoulderpad bears a small Genesis Chapter transfer, while the right shoulderpad has a written squad marking (number I for this squad). I'll have to add squad markings to my previously finished squads (especially the Tactical Marines), although I'm a bit unsure about where should I put them - on shoulderpads, or somewhere else (eg. on a kneepads)?


Anyways, let's finish the post with some more detailed pictures of 'dem Scouts. I really can't wait to see these guys in battle with my Bad Moons! I hope they will be a worthy match to them. Somehow the Scouts look much more hardcore than Tactical Marines to me!







Anyways, I hope you like them. These guys were definately fun to assemble and paint, even though it takes quite some time to finish them - but the result can look so much more lively and personalized than an average Tactical Marine! I'm definately looking forward into getting more of these guys.

Bonebreaka WIP 2

I wanted to post pictures of my new Scout Squad today, but because the pictures didn't turn out good, I'll continue today with my Bonebreaka gunwagon project instead - sorry! Still, I hope the progress I made will make up for an interesting post.



Good thing is that I finally started working on a sratchbuilt Deathrolla, and it's actually already attached to the vehicle:



Yes, the Deathrolla is actually made out of a hair-curler! The "arms" that hold it with the vehicle are made out of a sprue, that is pinned together to prevent it from collapsing. Casings around the arms have been looted from the Battlewagon turret mount, from which I needed only the middle section - rest I used to make useful "orky" bits like these.



I also made simple exhaust pipes from drinking straws! Also, instead of putting lasguns at the back of the vehicle, I took some sluggas and put them there - unfortunately I already painted that part black so it can't be seen well; this, ofcourse, will change when the model gets a paintjob.



Last thing - I removed the imperial eagles from sides of the vehicle and replaced them with glyphs. This was a very harsh process and I still have to fine the damaged area, a lot.

I decided to join Matt Kingsley's Ork Vehicle Building Competition on DakkaDakka with this vehicle. If you are scratchbuilding anything orkish right now, be sure to join it as well!

Anyways, this is it for now. My plan is to add more details to the vehicle, and "orkify" it a bit more. I'm sorry that the pictures are too dark - it's rainy here for like three days in row! When the weather gets better, I'll make better pictures - and pictures of the Scout Squad, too.

Well, thanks for watching! I'll be back, soon.

Genesis Chapter Captain finished!

Finally, I have finished my AOBR Captain! Sorry it took me so long, as always I was busy in real life, and I couldn't find the one hour necessary to do the basing for like a month... Or maybe I could but I just didn't feel like it? Just kidding, let's take a look at the masterpiece:

Captain Severinus in all his glory.

OK, now seriously. I really enjoyed painting this one; regarding the details I think it's the best model of the Assault on Black Reach set. I love the beautifully crafted bolter, so I decided to play the model with Hellfire Rounds upgrade. Also, I want him to be as good in close combat as possible, so I'll count the sword as a Runic Blade upgrade; to make it feel less like an ordinary power sword I painted some germanic runes on the blade:


Painting it wasn't too hard. After basing the model black I painted the blade with Boltgun Metal and highlighted it with Mithril Silver. After that, I gave it a heavy wash of Asurmen Blue to achieve a power weapon effect. Then I had to carefully paint the runes, first with Badab Black, and then with Mithril Silver. It was quite an experimentation from my side, but I think it was worth it!



One thing I loved about the model was the flag. It's well detailed and it gave me an opportunity to finally use yellow instead of gold - which is cool, because yellow was the original secondary color for the Genesis Chapter!

Painting the loincloth was pain but the result looks good. It's pretty much Skull White on Astronomicon Gray base, carefully washed with Gryphonne Sepia, one of my favorite washes.



Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the model! Thinking of it, my Assault on Black Reach set is nearly all painted - all I have to do now is one Deffcopta and a bunch of Slugga Boys. I'll have to make a collective photo of them all when they are done! Also, I have a squad of Space Marine Scouts here ready for basing and transfers. That will most probably be my next post.

See you soon and thanks for reading! As always, any feedback is most welcome.

Bonebreaka WIP 1

Hello there!

Maybe you remember the post about my love of Final Liberation ork vehicles. After hours and hours (or months and months) of thinking, I have finally decided to build a kitbashed Bonebreaka, which will serve in my army as a Battlewagon proxy.



Bonebreaka is equipped with a Deathroller and a Battlecannon, a perfect setup for a Battlewagon!

I was deciding between Rhino and Chimera body for the wagon and in the end I went for the Chimera - guardist vehicles look easier convertable into Orks thanks to their industrial feel (and bolts everywhere). I also bought a battlewagon turret from a friend, and I was lucky enough to get a Killkannon too - no deathrolla though.

Joining the chassis and turret mount went rather good. I had to out large section of the original Chimera turret mount - battlewagon turret simply needs a larger hole. I also used only part of the Battlewagon turret platform here, because the whole platform would be too large for the vehicle. Hobby driller helped a lot here.





I also had to saw off one of the corners of the turret mount, which wasn't hard at all. The newly modified platform fits very well on the vehicle.



Here is the vehicle with turret on it. Notice the deffdread Big Shoota on the turret's side. I decided to keep the turret rather simple, so it wouldn't get too large in compare to the chimera body. Pipboy101's article about The Zen of Converting Orks was a great inspiration here.



I love that little valve on the turret. It looks almost as if it is connected to the Killkannon somehow!

Right now, I'm trying to scratchbuild the Deathrolla. Don't laugh, but I'm thinking about using a hair-roller for it. That's right, Orks can loot anything, your mom's wardrobe included!

Also, more posts are coming soon. I have Genesis Chapter Captain and Scouts finished - the only thing they need now is basing, which won't take long. So, see you soon!

Terminators finished! (w. custom transfers)

Alas, the first Genesis Chapter Terminator squad is finished! I was working on these guys on and off for over a year, and it can be seen; especially as I recently started using Mithril Silver as my "veteran colour". Still, I think the squad looks coherently; see for yourselves.


The reason why it took me so long to finish them is, I think, the low variety of models; all of them have the same boring pose and they are basically clones of each other. Later I started adding bits on some of them, like grenades and spare bits from the Commander box set.



I was also lucky enough to score an Assault Cannon from a friend - that doesn't just give the models more variety, but most of all some heavy firepower! The bit is metalic, but it holds just fine.



Model I enjoyed the most is the Sergeant, even though I had to switch his Storm Bolter arm, the original one just didn't look right to me.



It was also my first time painting a power weapon - not surprisingly, I did it the easy way (using Asurmen Blue wash). I'm satisfied with the result though.



Now let's check the Genesis Chapter decals:


At first I was a bit worried the decals will be too large to fit the shoulders, but luckily they are sized well. I'm really happy with the result, though I'm thinking about adding some squad markings to the shoulders (or elsewhere). I used various iconography for hierarchical purposes (like the white/silver cruxes and icons on those shoulder shields), but when it came to squad markings, my imagination was burned out. Got any ideas?



I planned to buy five more terminators, but now that the prices are rising, I'm not that keen on the idea.

Anyways, thanks for stopping by! Now, back to magnetizing that Predator...

Just passing the word...

Not that I agree with everything said, but the GW policies are going a bit too far lately...

"As I’m certain everyone in the gaming universe is well aware of by now, Games Workshop has announced a wide range of price increases currently set to take effect at the end of May. Veterans, and even most neophytes, in the gaming community, would normally roll their eyes at this completely expected maneuver, shrug their shoulders, and move on." (...)

Tabletop Hooligans: The Winter of Our Discontent

Anyways, I have bit more time now, and I'm working on Marines and Orks again! I'll post some stuff soon, I promise!

AOBR Terminators WIP

Hello there!

I'm not dead yet, but I'm not much alive either - I have so much work this semester that I will have hardly any time for Warhammer until April or May. I'm hardly ever at home, so the only thing I can do now is to hoard stuff. Therefore, excuse me for my delay, I promise I'll make up for it in summer!

Anyways, I thought I could share few pictures of my nearly finished Terminators. They still need a lot of work - bases, custom decals and ofcourse, a careful check for mistakes, and some more details, too.



As you can see, I'm trying to customize these, since the AOBR terminators are rather... boring and duplicate. Commander set helped a lot with this one.

Another bad thing about AOBR terminators is their lack of special weapons. Luckily, I have a shiny metal assault cannon from a friend!



I guess you noticed the color scheme difference. I used white as a veteran color on a first bunch of termies, and then switched to Mithril Silver - but I couldn't imagine a Terminator without it's classy white helmet, so I kept that on. So right now I have two red/white termies, and three red/silver ones! Let's see the difference closer:



I think I'll stay with the silver scheme because it makes the terminator look more battle-worn (and I'm going for that look in this army), but the unit is a mess. I hope it doesn't matter that much, because I really don't feel like repainting the white ones. Opinions are welcome though!

Anyways, I'm afraid this is all for now, and for few weeks (perhaps months) as well. :sight: See you in summer.

First Alaitoc Jetbike finished!

Happy new year 2011!

I'm sorry for inactivity, just have too much trouble IRL right now. Can't wait to get back to Warhammer!

Anyways, I have finished an Eldar jetbike, craftworld Alaitoc. While I like the way the front plate went out, I'm rather dissatisfied with the rest. I will try a much lighter color scheme next time (I have a whole Eldar battleforce ready for assembly here). While I have used Mordian Blue, Enchanted Blue, Ice Blue and Asurmen Blue on the Jetbike, I plan to use mainly Ice Blue / Asurmen Blue on the Guardians. I hope it will bring a more contrasting result.

Here are pictures of the jetbike:







Well, that is all. Since I'm new to the Eldar, I would really welcome any sort of tips and criticism!

Ergotoxin out.