The Hobby Table: August 2020

Hi folks,

It has been a while since I sat back and took stock of my hobby efforts. With one month left in the 2019/2020 Hobby Season, things on my hobby table are looking chaotic; it has basically become a dumping ground. 

Over the past couple of months I have entered two painting competitions at my local Games Workshop, both for Age of Sigmar projects that were not on my to To-Do list. At the same time, I have been trying to construct, prime and undercoat my remaining Space Hulk units, as well as prepare for a 2nd Edition army painting challenge. With all of that going on, my stuff has slowly been encroaching on family spaces. The grey tide has been eroding the shores of the wifey's patience! So, starting yesterday, I began sorting and tidying my gear in both the family/games room and the garage. In doing so I discovered some of my 40K books were on the verge of being damaged due to the conditions in the garage, so I moved them and their bookcase upstairs. It has also given me another space to display some 40K artwork (Captain Mikos of Lakodeme, by D Power, and a large version of my Hawk Talon/Barakiel Banner), as well as my two awards for the Age of Sigmar painting competitions.

To keep progressing through my 2019/20 To-Do list, I have moved some Terminators to the layering stage. I have also put together an extra six Deathwing Terminators, so that I can combine what I have to build up my 9th Edition Dark Angels list (10 Deathwing Terminators and an Apothecary). I am really hoping to knock over a lot of the Space Hulk painting this month, so that I am ready to go with a fresh To-Do list at the end of August, which will include a 9th Edition army and a 2nd Edition army!

The 2nd Edition army project I am going to work on started on the 1st of August, so there is a bit of overlap to complicate things. I have always included 2nd Edition models in my later edition armies, simply because Dark Angels have received very few new models for their principal characters for 25 years. I have taken a close look and made some hard decisions to shift some of the more rare models from one collection to another. It sounds like a very first-world problem; let's just say those in the 2nd Ed. collection will need some changes done to the bases. To really nail that project, I have purchased two models locally from Ebay, that I would have loved to have owned back in the day: a Dark Angels sergeant and a techmarine. Let's hope I actually get them sometime this week. The first model I will be painting is a Master of Deathwing (parts at bottom of photo!). If I get him done I am fairly well covered in terms of the challenge, which is aiming for 200 points a month, because the Deathwing squad I will do next month is closer to 400 points!

So, busy busy busy on the hobby front. In terms of blogging, I have been posting my #hobbystreak every day on both Instagram and Twitter. As I mentioned at the start of the year, I was hoping to post some really brief, diary type entries on these platforms to have a record of the little things I wouldn't usually include in this blog. Overall it has been a positive experience to get those things off my chest and I have met some great new (and old!) friends. The platforms themselves have deep faults though. Instagram really is a very shallow experience most of the time; it is much like flicking through a magazine. I did find an interesting group of folks on there, though, which I joined. I then discovered that they operate mostly through Discord, which has introduced me to a whole different society of positive hobbyists. 

Twitter is... unstable; a room full of mood swings. There are people who are really positive and doing great things. There are people really hurting and crying out for help. There are people waging war. There are people doing all of the above. I have lost count of the number of posts from people I just started following saying "I need a break from this: I am dying in a black current of molten tears" followed shortly by "hey I'm back: check out my new Primaris Marine Lieutenant".  I'm just going to make my little posts and be a port in the storm, come and find me if you will. 

Blog-wise, viewing numbers seem to be stabilising at around 3000 a month, though that has only ever been a secondary (tertiary?) concern of mine. At some point over the past couple of months, I passed the 200 000 blog views mark. Something I should celebrate, as I wouldn't have dreamt of that when I started. I'll keep posting for me and, if you are reading this, for you to enjoy.

See you across the table,

Marc

Kill Team: Giger Genestealers

Hi folks,

Early this week I had a game planned with the guys that we ended up cancelling. The cancellation itself was not unexpected; everything is on a knife edge these days. We are all feeling pretty exposed and there is a special type of exhaustion that comes with that. I decided to spend the night speed-painting four genestealers for a new Tyranid Kill-Team, using some H. R. Giger vibe. Here is the process from start to finish, taking about 4 hours on and off (I played some Mario Cart with the boi, ate dinner and helped put the kids to bed as well!). As you will see, it is another case of just how bad miniatures can look before they actually start to look good.

Steps 1 and 2: Priming and Undercoat

I primed these bad boys black to get the most out of my metallics, using a Citadel rattle can. As soon as it was dry I added a layer of Leadbelchers with another rattle can. Leadbelchers can go on like a hot mess sometimes, but I have had a lot of luck with it, using it for my Tyranids, Imperial Knights and Iron Snakes.

Steps 3 and 4: Black Armour and Sepia Glave

Once the Leadbelchers was dry I went back and picked the armour out with black again using some quick brushwork. I then added a heavy sepia glaze that I left to dry completely before adding a second, lighter glaze to the centre of each section. I quick dry-brush around the joints was followed by a third, very light, sepia wash into the joints. This is how I highlight the "skin" of my Splinter Fleet Numereji 'Nids. The black armour wash dry-brushed with The Fang, then edge highlighted (kind-of) with 1:1 Ushbati Bone/ The Fang.

Steps 6, 7 and 8: Eyes, Tongue and Gore

Up to this stage, I have literally been flying with the brush. Shooooom. To say that it has not required brush control is a bit of a furphy: I have used brush control to go faster with just enough accuracy that I don't have to clean up mistakes. I have found that you can get away a lot if you back this up with some careful detail. So for the next step I really slowed myself down, fixed my posture, got my breathing right, gave my eyes a few extra seconds to focus and painted the eyes in Warpstone Glow, followed by a dot of bright yellow. The tongue was a mix of a Vallejo purple I have and Mephiston Red, with I then mixed with a little Ushbati Bone to create a highlight. In the final step I used my secret weapon, Tamiya Clear Red, to add some gore.

Step 9 and 10: Basing and Weathering

I quickly added a layer of PVA to the base and added some shell grit. Over night it set in place, allowing me to add some static grass with superglue. The last step was to add some orange, brown and purple to the metal grate under the Leader specialist using a stipling technique, to make it looked weathered and rusted.

Overall, I am very pleased with the final product and look forward to playing some Kill Team games with them. My Lictor team has already proven to be a potent force (perhaps too potent). These genestealers have the advantage of being able to find cover a little more easily than the Lictors can. The three Ravenors I have added can really rip around the board throwing out a lot of shots and attacks. Both are pretty squishy, though; a little less forgiving than the Lictors, so should be a bit more fun to play against. They also give all players complete license to quote Aliens all night long. Outstanding. Now all we need is a deck of cards. 

See you across the table,

Marc

The Jewel of July 2020: Lexicanium Calistarius

Hi folks,

I have taken a final photograph of my Blood Angels Librarian before clearing a space for him on the shelf. I didn't make a big deal of it before, as I joined the party fairly late, but Calistarius also happens to be my contribution to The Jewel of July, a community painting challenge run by Azazel, at Azazel's Bitz Box. I thundered through the challenge, so that I could get it finished before the end of the school holidays, knowing that once work (teaching) starts again I would have very little time. As a result, I have finished "early"! 

To cut a short story long, I now have two spare weeks in which I could paint another Jewel in July for my collection. I received two, stunning, miniatures for my Birthday on the 13th that would fit the bill. I have a habit of not painting my presents for years, which I hate, so painting one now would set my heart at ease a little. 

Sgt Waz gave me Master Lazarus the last time I saw him, which is an awesome Dark Angels model with heaps of conversion options. 

 

I am a big fan of the 3rd Company, and Lazarus is Master of the 5th, so converting him a little is definitely on the cards. I happened to come across this picture on Instagram, which I think is particularly evocative. A great mix of Primaris and Mark III style, old school gold trim on the armour and a dynamic pose. Full credit goes to StoryKillinger for the artwork... I am going to try and make him!

He is going to be my Primaris Master of the 3rd Company, at least until Games Workshop publishes something to the contrary (which could be next month...). I am not quite sure what to name him yet. Perhaps Azazel? If you have any ideas feel free to leave them in the comments!

See you across the table,

Marc

Space Hulk: Commanders TO-DONE!!!

Hi folks,

Just a quick progress report on my Space Hulk progress today, before I start working on some of the boarding parties more seriously. Over the past couple of days I had some free time to work on Lexicanium Calistarius, the Blood Angels Librarian. Of course Calistarius would later fall to the Black Rage before the walls at Hades Hive and be inducted into the Death Company. Trapped beneath a collapsed building for seven days during the fighting, Calistarius overcame the Black Rage and was reborn as Mephiston, Lord of Death (who just happens to be one of my favourite characters of all time).

I painted him using a very different colour palette to what I would usually gravitate towards. I was aiming for a retro 90's vibe! I'm really happy with how neat I managed to get the paint job, which has built a little more confidence in my ability to tackle the next stage. Each of the miniatures in the set is essentially a special character's worth of detail, so I am going to be very busy. We are also facing some pretty heavy rain in Sydney over the next week, so I am not sure if I am going to be able to use my airbrush.

The other Space Marine commander I have painted is Belial. Belial's ability with a sword is legendary. During his testing as an aspirant, he managed to duel with a Chaplain for 7 minutes. He was the Master of the 3rd Company (my favourite!) during the successful defence of Piscina and elevated to a position in the Deathwing terminator company. I have equipped him as a Captain in Space Hulk, which is a real witches brew of ranged and close combat wargear: stormbolter, auxiliary grenade launcher, powersword and powerfist. The addition of the Watcher in the Dark helps with the problem of "too many weapons, not enough hands"!

Again, lots of bright colours and white armour instead of the usual bone, to match the original paint scheme.

The final figure in the trilogy is the Genestealer Broodlord. Born time and time again to execute the will of the Hive Mind, the Broodlord is the perfect killing machine. I love the purple on this guy, the pigment I used is really fruity, and will tie in well with the retro colours I am using for the marines (in theory).

Originally I was going to do a Fallen Angel Librarian as well, but I don't have a suitable figure for that, as the boarding team itself is in Tartaros pattern armour. I'll sort that one out at a later date. Until then, I deserve a badge for my efforts!

See you across the table,

Marc