Shrike and other WIPs

So I haven't posted in awhile, but I've been in the process of changing jobs and life is funny that way. However, I have been working, and here are some work in progress shots of my converted Shrike (I hate the Native American dancer pose he has), inspired by Ron over at From the Warp.

While I do like Ron's Shrike, I wanted something more commanding, imposing and authoritative. Something that would look cool with a mass of Assault Marines and Terminators standing behind him, and standing next to my converted Pedro Kantor (pics of him are coming).

I had bought the GW Shrike off a kid on Craigslist a couple years back, and only got as far as painting the purple on him. I just hate the pose, and every time I went to finish him, I just sat there looking at him and ultimately moved on to something else.

I'm actually really happy with how he turned out. I used the legs and torso from the commander sprue, Shrike jump pack (of course), and a couple of powerfits that fit the pose I was looking for. I cut the claws off a couple of terminator arms (I know.. blasphemy!) and worked them into the fists, adding little skulls (which I suck at sculpting) to cover the joint (actually, I did it to match Kantor). Lastly, the helm was pretty easy, as were the icons. Here he is in front of an Assault Squad (notice the TT/SS Sergent!). I think this works.

Lastly, here are some shots of my eight man Assault Terminator Squad. In these shots, I've finished the helmets, and have given them the base coat of Liche Purple. Washes are next... I've got a Landradier Crusader to go with these guys, but it's still in the box.

So the icon on the Termi's shoulders is a press mold I made from the Forgeworld kit ( I mentioned it here ). I've also used it on another Tactical squad I've been working on, and it has worked great. As always comments welcome.

As Promised - Forgeworld Raven Guard Sprues

This post, by design, is crazy pic heavy. I tried to ease the 'bandwidth suck' by making thumbnails but that didn't work out. Oh well! So here's what I got in the mail today straight from Forge World, huge fingernails and all.

First up, the captain...

 Next, the upgrade sprue...

All in all, I think they look great and can't wait to get some press molds done and put some paint on these guys.

As an added extra... here's what I've been working on this week.

Some Forgeworld love for my Hawk Lords

For the eight of you who read this, Forge World's latest newsletter is out and they've finally released their Raven Guard upgrade pack and a new special character that is outlined in their 'Imperial Armour Volume 8'. 

I wasn't really expecting a Captain (since I have a 'Counts-As-Pedro' so I can use my Sternguard as troops), but I bought two of the upgrade sprues and one of the Captain Kordyvae sprue. Why? Well, I hate Shrike's overall look, and I have to be honest... I'm sure I'll switch out the heads on that Forge World model since his yelling face is cool but a little too "augmented" for my tastes.

As soon as they come in I'll shoot some high res photos of the sprues and post them on here... While I'm sure everyone will be buying them,  imagine I'm the only one painting them purple and gold.


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Gauss weapons and a resurrection orb

Well, I finally got round to finishing my first batch of necrons... and they look nothing like I started off. To be honest.. I kept reading the codex, looking at the pictures, and wasn't sure I like the color scheme I had chosen. Decisions, decisions. I sat there looking at my lord and his accompanying 40 warriors, thinking that the object source lighting would be a huge pain... plus (as my wife pointed out) necrons are all GREEN in the codex! To make matter worse, while in Colorado a few weeks ago I went and bought a monolith, and I was seriously fretting about the front portal and the crystal on the top... army scheme cohesion is seriously important to me. So here is where I stand...

I've finished my lord and 40 warriors with a technique that is somewhat easily repeated. The steps are similar to my last post, but I have changed it slightly. Basically, here's what I did: 1) built them and primed them using a metallic silver Krylon spraypaint 2) dipped them using Minwax 3) gave them a coat of matte (the minwax was glossy) 4) painted the eyes, gauss gun tube, and generator (?) area using sick green, high lighted with livery green 5) based them in an ashen wasteland theme using the GW 40k basing kit and a series of lighter grey dry brushes 6) added some coats of varnish as needed 7) stretched my back, and debated if I'll do the same thing for the scarabs! Here are some closer shots, including the obligatory '300' necron. I know, they probably don't move quick or jump, but I was experimenting with conversions and the axe part of the gauss gun made this pose seem logical.

  

What's next? I have the monolith, boo-koo scarabs, three wraiths and four destroyers. Good thing the codex sucks, otherwise I might feel pressured to get these guys finished and on a table. Also, If the mood hits me, I might work some more on my Hawk Lords second rhino and tactical squad. 

Behold - A Painted Necron!

More of an update than anything....

After three different paint schemes, quite bit of searching around the internets and trying weedeater string (0.095" is perfect) for the tubes (it works, I just did't like it), I've decided on a paint scheme (somewhat based on this technique).

Basically, it's highly repeatable, will look good on all Necron models, and consists of these steps:
1. Base coat the minis in Krylon Matte Aluminum.
2. Dip them in Minwax (the Minwax product I had was glossy) and let them dry forever!
3. Coat them in Matte finish (which also seals in the Minwax).
4. Paint the armor Reaper Brick Red and then Drybrush in VGC Hot Orange.
5. Paint the desired tubes Hot Orange and wash the gauss gun near said tubes with a 1:3 paint water mixture. Do the same to the Necron's eye sockets.
6. Repeat the wash using a 2:1:3 Hot Orange, VGC Dead White, and water mixture until happy (I did it three times), adjusting the mixture to get the lighting effect. Don't forget the eye sockets.
7. Hit the edges with VGC Dead White and dot the Necron's eyes.
8. Base him however you want and varnish with matte.
9. Coat the tubes in Gloss Varnish.
10. Yell "Boo-Ya!" and freak out the dog.

The rod took several tries (settled on this one), and I decided against
varnishing the armor. Yuck!

Behold - Necrons!

When I started my Hawk Lords chapter, I debated and debated on which army to start with. Having been introduced to 40k by THQ and on a whim when I purchased the first Space Wolves Omnibus in an airport bookstore, I've always been a fan of Space Marines, Imperial Guard, and Necrons. Well, in a moment of weakness on my trip to Sacramento last week, I threw down the money for a Necron Battleforce and Codex, some extra Warriors, and a Necron Lord.

Now I realize that there have been rumors floating around for awhile now that a new Necron codex is on the horizon, following the Dark Eldar... er ... um... I mean the Blood Angels.... or was it Tau? Honestly, I don't think a new Necron codex is coming anytime soon. Besides, where I live, there are few Necron players anyway. So I bought them in a hopes to be unique on the table and to bring some variety to my painting table.

So now I have 40 warriors, 3 destroyers, 10 swarms, and a Necron Lord are on my desk (about 1250 pts), but I need to finish some Hawk Lords squads and my Space Hulk Terminators. Generally speaking, my initial thoughts were to base coat them in a metallic and dip them (I had some Krylon Matte Aluminum and some Minwax Stain laying around...) as a base. Then I'm thinking to highlight either wash or paint the armor (head, shoulders, greaves, etc) in some unifying color. I'm interested in red, my wife is pushing for blue. We'll see who wins this one.

Here's are some pictures of a WIP warrior, immediately following the dip phase (still wet). One thing I think I'll do from now on (regardless of army) is to leave the legs (the feet in particular) on the sprue through painting, and once the base is done I'll remove them and pin them. We'll see how it goes, but it prevents me from having to paint over a metallic primeer on the base.

This test model was dry this morning, and I think he looks pretty good. I'm really happy with the subtle shading I got from the dip. Of course he was glossy and required a coat of matte over the Minwax, but I didn't have time to snap a shot this morning and will so that as soon as I get home. I'll also do some more painting on the test color scheme and I have a few ideas/experiments to try with the gauss rifle, so come back and see where this goes.