BattleTech: Black Widow Part 2

Hi folks,

After adding the red stripes to the Warhammer using green painter's tape as a guide, I went around adding some little details and battle damage. the searchlight was a major piece of detail and a major pain in the backside. Because it is recessed, large and curved, I couldn't do the whole length in a single brushstroke, I had to use one running forwards and one back holding the figure in two different positions. That made blending a nice glass effect really hard. I must have repainted it over ten times, but eventually you just have to let that kind of thing go. I'll do better next time!

The hourglass black widow markings on the centre torso were again marked out with triangles of painter's tape.

The Wolf's Dragoons symbol and spider on the leg were printed transparencies that I glued in place with varnish and then painted over very carefully. The spider looked particularly flat, so I messed it up a bit with some weathering.

To finish it up, I added some colour to the medium and small lasers (green and red), as well as some blue and purple for the PPC's.

To give the project some context I found a rad 80's picture of Natasha Kerensky and some info about the Warhammer BattleMech, and put together a little framed display to go with the figure.

 

Here is how it all looks on display!

 

See you across the table,

Marc

 

BattleTech: Black Widow Part 1

Hi folks,

A couple of months ago a good mate at work offered to give me some old Robotech toys he had decided to part with. He had kept them since he was a kid and was hoping they would go to a loving home. I gratefully accepted and was very excited to see that one was a Destroid Tomahawk, an absolutely awesome Mech design that also features in BattleTech.

I spent a whole day with Wade and Joel in Akihabara searching for one of these, finding a fantastic kit at the end of the day, that I now have on display in the family games room. Knowing that this is also Wade's favourite 'Mech design, I wanted to do something special with my unexpected windfall. Wade is a fan of the Wolf's Dragoons faction in BattleTech, which includes a famous MechWarrior by the name of Natasha Kerensky. Also known as the "Black Widow", Natasha most famously piloted a Warhammer BattleMech, based heavily on the Tomahawk's design. Here's a modern example of her Mech's paint scheme:

With something like this in mind, I went about preparing the model. To start with, I shaved off all the old Robotech stickers, covered up the screw-holes with blutac and gave it a scrub in warm soapy water; there was ~ 20 years of grime in the corners I think!

When the model was clean and dry, I undercoated it black using a Citadel rattle-can. After 24 hours of drying I taped out some thin, straight lines, using green painter's tape. I use this tape very carefully, as it can tear up paint and cause more trouble than it is worth. In this situation, however, it is great for marking out a thin, straight, line; as long as you remove the tape carefully whilst the paint of the line is still wet.

With perhaps the most challenging technique required for this project turning out quite well, I was confident I could get the job done, given enough time. I'll post the finished project over the next couple of days.

See you across the table,

Marc

DreadTober: "Theseus" Ferrum Fortis TO-DONE!!!

Hi folks,

For DreadTober this year I resolved to finish last years unfinished pledge, an Imperial Knight Errant I have named "Theseus" Ferrum Fortis. Ferrum Fortis is Latin for "a strong punch".  Last year I managed to get the torso done, so my time has been spent working on the legs armour pieces, weapons, shoulder armour and base. As with "Perseus" Intrepidus my Imperial Knight Warden , I have added a free-hand symbol on the left shoulder as a unique identifying mark. In this case, it is a minotaur, which Theseus kills in Greek mythology.

Theseus is armed with a thermal cannon; mainly because I think they look cool and wanted him to look like a little Reaver titan!

The shoulder skull and laurel were hastily painted free-hand after I tried to put a decal on there and decided it looked rubbish. This is the same symbol that I painted on Perseus, tying them together nicely.

His left side houses a thunderstrike gauntlet, because picking up Rhino troop carriers and throwing them across the battlefield is great fun. Who doesn't like a gigantic powerfist anyway?!

A stormspear rocket pod and meltagun round out the weapons load, adding some extra high strength anti-armour firepower.

I kept the base simpler this time; not water effects. To make up for this I added a few pieces of slate to break things up a bit, used plenty of laser cut ferns, and sculpted a little snake of green stuff. I modeled it rearing up to bite the knights ankle, as I'm pretty sure having a knight step over a snake would trigger it. I was in a tour bus driving past a snake on Fraser Island, up north in Australia, and it struck out against the tires! I have painted it as a Bandy-bandy snake, to honour a friend over the ditch.

For a bit of fun, I also painted up this Lords of Hellas minotaur as an objective marker. Joel gave it to me out of the blue ages ago, believing that he would never find a use for it. Well, I found a use for it champ.

So, there you have it, another knight for the cabinet (where, I note, there appears to be room for one more...).

See you across the table,

Marc

Space Hulk: Dark Angels Terminator Captain TO-DONE!!!

Hi folks,

A few nights ago I added the finishing touches to my first project of the 2019/20 hobby season. The plan over the next 12 months is for me to paint the Space Hulk miniatures, as well as an alternative Space Marine team using a mixture of Deathwing models from the Dark Angels range.

The only model that I had assembled at the start of the season was Belial, which Sgt Waz gave me a while ago already beautifully painted. As I have no real intention of playing Dark Angels in 8th Edition,  I felt a real need to get this model some action, so having him command the Dark Angels boarding party would be perfect.

To match the old school paint scheme of the Space Hulk Deathwing figures, I was going to need to apply a coat of white over the original bone colour. I washed this with a mixture of grey and brown to give it that "ashes of my dead ancestors" vibe. The left arm was converted to include a power fist and wrist mounted grenade launcher, improving the pose significantly in the process in my opinion! To reflect Belial as a character I dipped into his background a little, giving him a small shield with the colours of his original company (3rd), and changed the colours of his reliquary to match the scheme of his banner in the 2nd Edition Angels of Death codex. The final touch was to rebase him with a 33 mm sculpted base from GW. These bases are light weight and cheap looking when you pick them up, but you can sure make them look fancy enough if you spend a bit of time on them.

As a Terminator Captain in Space Hulk is also equipped with a power sword (for close encounters...) I had to do a bit of problem solving; either adding a scabbard and sword or finding a sword bearer. Thankfully, the same sprue I am using to construct the Deathwing team also has a sword bearing Watcher in the Dark. Win!

Next on my list of things to do for this project will be a really, really big build: 23 Terminators!

Until then, boo yeah I get a stamp:

See you across the table,

Marc