Iron Snakes: Master of the Forge Progress Part 2

Hi folks,

I worked on my Master of the Forge for a couple of hours this morning. Most of that time was spent on weathering with verdigris. I was going to try to get this guy finished today, but I am a bit out of practice! Everything seems to be taking longer than usual, but I have decided to just go with the flow instead of stressing about it. I also added a few highlights using hard-lining, which I haven't had a steady enough hand to do for the past couple of months. A bit more practice and I'll be back to my old self, I think.

I added a blue glow/lens effect to the dendrites and eyes, which will also be used on the spear and plasma cutter when the servo harness is complete. The final touch was the glass lens on the targeter.

The right shoulder pad and boltgun turned out pretty well, I think. They both have some nice detail which lends itself well to the verdigris effect. The other shoulder pad will contrast with this considerably, being predominantly white with a sky blue Iron Snakes symbol. But that's tomorrow Marc's problem!

See you across the table,

M4cr0

Dreadtober: Planning

Hi folks,

Dreadtober is nearly upon us and it is time to start planning. My first idea this year was to get myself one of the new Deathwatch Venerable Dreadnoughts. The wifey saw me checking all of the different dreadnoughts out online and justifiably questioned “Don’t you already have three of those?”… I have six! On second thought, there are better things for me to spend a disposable $80 on, so I spent a bit of time in my garage exploring other options.

My second idea was to finish Old Six Eyes, a Carnifex that I have been putting together for a while now. I may actually complete him during October but, as he is already half finished, it didn’t seem much of a challenge.

At the bottom of one of my bitz boxes, I happened upon a horrible looking Iron Clad Dreadnought that I acquired some time ago. I think it came from Craig R. who may have got it from someone else. For the past couple of years it has been sitting in my “too hard” basket. Not anymore! Here is a look at some of the problems I will have to overcome:

Take a close look: do you see anything weird?

I'm not a big fan of the additions to the sarcophagus. The segmented armour of the Iron Clad is iconic and I would love to get it back.

What the? That thing has to go. I wonder what was used to attach it?

Terminator shoulder pads for knee pads and a broken seismic hammer. I'm going to have to do something about that...

I still liked the idea of a Deathwatch Dreadnought. Remembering that I actually have a Deathwatch member in my Dark Angels army, I looked there for inspiration. Hephaeston was my character in the Deathwatch roleplaying game; a Dark Angels Techmarine that specialises in exotic weaponry and the hunting of xenos (two pursuits which are not mutually exclusive). Constructing the model, so that it paid homage to all of the factions this guy was aligned to, was a real challenge. After the campaign finished, we played a 40K game to decide his fate, a rollicking six way battle in which he was eventually slain by a Scythed Heirodule (of all things). The idea that he may have survived that battle in some form is the heart of my Dreadtober project this year.

My task will be to clean up the myriad problems of the Iron Clad Dreadnought I have and strip the primer off it. To be representative of a Techmarine, the Dreadnought is going to need some big servo arms, perhaps including a plasma cutter, as well as a potential coil. To really champion the theme, I am going to arm it with a Conversion Beamer and Seismic Hammer (with Meltagun). Any iconography I can fit on, whether it be Dark Angels, Adeptus Mechanicus or Ordo Xenos, will be a bonus. Here are some other bits that I found that will be used in the project (...somehow...):

Some may say I am wasting a perfectly good Ork dreadnought, but I am getting a reputation for reclaiming and re-purposing Ork bits for more... respectable... projects.

So that’s the easy part. Now the real work begins.

See you across the table,

M4cr0

Iron Snakes: Master of the Forge Progress

Hi folks,

I have been a bit quiet on the blogging front the past week or so, as 3rd Term wraps up at school. This is when we bid farewell to our senior students in the lead up to their final University entrance examinations, so it is a busy and emotional time. My Chemistry kids gave me two bottles of Sake as a parting gift; they know me too well x)

Dreadtober is about to start and, true to form, I am ditching everything in my To-Do list to work on some hair-brained, balls-hard, Dreadnought project. As excited as I am about my 7th Dreadnought project, I also felt like I should make a start on my Iron Snakes Master of the Forge. My aim is to get him done before next week's Dreadtober progress report is due. With that in mind, I laid down the base metallics (Leadbelchers and Warplock Bronze), as well as some simple details, such as the helmet plume, purity seals and loin cloth. I may have to touch these up later if necessary.

The project has reached the stage now that it looks like rubbish; I know the kind of detail it requires to make it work and it takes a lot of patience. Next I will be highlighting the Leadbelchers with Runefang Steel, then adding verdigris to the Bronze and gold highlights. After that will be a round of sky blue lense effects and OSL to the eyes and various cable ends, as well as a Shadow Grey/White blend for the targetter lens. Once that is done I will start work on the shield arm and the servo harness, following the same generally scheme.

Assuming all goes well, I will have this guy finished by Monday night, so that I can start planning my Dreadtober Dreadnought. Wish me luck!

See you across the Dreadtable,

M4cr0

Infinity: USAriadna Army Pack Unboxing

...because I don't have enough things to paint LOL

Hi folks,

Last Tuesday, when I met up with the guys for a game of Aliens vs Predator, Sgt Waz surprised me with this pack of awesome sauce. He has recently been getting into Infinity and is doing a good job of easing the rest of us into it as well. The challenge with picking up a new game like this is making sure you have people to play against; Sgt Waz has that covered pretty well.

The pack contains 8 miniatures, which is enough to play a small game, a bunch of tokens, 3d20, quick start rules and a bunch of card buildings with a playing mat. That's a substantial kick-start!

If you aren't familiar with the game, Infinity miniatures are wonderfully detailed but a little smaller than what I am used to. So I'm feeling excitement mixed with a healthy dose of nervousness as I get ready to paint them. It doesn't help that the guys who paint for Corvus Belli are outrageously good.

The Ariadna faction encompasses a few different futuristic takes on some contemporary nationalities, including Scottish, French, Russian and American troops. The US contingent includes Rangers, Special Forces, Werewolf type things, some vaguely Chuck Norris guys and a bit of Clint Eastwood. Did I mention pretty girls on bikes?

I spent a bit of time yesterday putting the card buildings together, they were very easy and required no glue or cutting. Simple but effective.

So, I am adding these guys to the To-Do list under the "Paint My Present" category. I want to knock them over fairly quick so that I can start playing!

See you across the table,

M4cr0