The Weekly Review: Interromancer Build Complete

Hi folks,

What a whirlwind this week has been. Parent/teacher interviews expanded my working hours this week to 14 hours a day for a couple of days. That last hurdle before the holidays seemed like it was a mile high! Today was my first real chance to do anything hobby related, so I kicked the day off with some Dark Angels conversions for an upcoming game (!) and added a few more details to The Trooper's Van Diemen's World Battlewagon.


On the Table

The Battlewagon had a lot of weathering and details left to do, so I started with the wheels and tracks. To tie it in with the infantry, I have used the same colour I used on their bases (Steel Legion Drab) to dust the tyres and tracks. I then added a highlight of Ushbati Bone, to add even more contrast. I finished it off with some Runefang Steel highlights stippled into the centre of each track wheel.

I also picked out the computer screens and ammo in the Battlewagon's tray with some spot colours. I still need to add the some carbon scoring to the exhaust and paint the twin-heavy bolter and driver assemblies: that's tomorrow Marc's problem.

Under the Knife

My hobby tools got a real workout this morning. To start the day, I converted some Eviscerator swords for my assault squad using parts from Victoria Miniatures. The process involved obtaining and drilling some cross guards from powerswords on the old Ravenwing sprues. I then drilled out the Eviscerator blades and pinned them through the cross guards and into the hands of the marines. The result was quite sturdy and I think they look wicked.

I had to re-drill this hole, as it came out in the wrong place!

Next, I pieced together a real Frankenstein's monster of a Dark Angels Librarian. I am calling him the Interromancer. This guy contains parts from every stratum of my bitz box, from a 3rd Ed. shoulder pad to a Grey Knight force rod and Dark Vengeance backpack.

On my Mind

Early next week I am going to be playing a game against Sgt Waz, showcasing the Fallen Angels (and my ham-fisted attempts to capture them). This will be the first 40K game I have played in about 12 months, so I have been very busy writing army lists and making sure I have all the right models. I am really hoping I can get the Interromancer finished for the game! Tomorrow we are all meeting up to watch the latest Sasuke (if you don't know what this is, do yourself a favour and find out), so I don't see much painting getting done. Then again, stranger things have happened...

See you across the table,

Marc

The Weekly Review: Belial TO-DONE!

Hi folks,

In an unexpected twist tonight, I actually got something finished!


On the Table

I have been tinkering away at a couple of figures for my mates, and in between coats of paint I have been adding details to my Belial model. Sgt Waz gave Belial to me a while ago, mostly painted but in need of some detail work.

To finish it off, I repainted the sword, storm bolter and feathers, followed by four extra layers on the armour. The robes were beautiful already, but I added another highlight to top them off.

Under the Knife

I spent a bit of time this week prepping a lance of old school Unseen Battlemechs for KuriboGoomba. The main task was to back fill the hex bases with green stuff, ready for painting. These 'Mechs are going to be painted in a Comstar scheme: clean white with some metallics.

I also worked a bit on Old Six Eyes, for my Tyranid Hive Fleet. I'm hoping to add some glazes to this model and my Tyranid Warrior Kill Team whenever I get a chance, now that my other side project (Belial) is finished.

On My Mind

I would be lying if I didn't say holidays were on my mind. This term at work has been incredibly busy and emotionally difficult for a host of reasons: not least the death of one of my students after a short battle with cancer and the death of my dog, two weeks later, again after a short illness. I have a week to go before I can drop my bundle in spectacular fashion, though that week will include two 6 hour parent/teacher interview nights (basically double shift, 14 hour days). On top of that I have about 20 hours of marking to do. It is going to be hard to get anything done hobby-wise, but there is always hope! In preparation for being a little more competitive with my Dark Angels, I bought myself a Deathwing Command kit which I will be building as Knights with an Interrogator Chaplain.

I'm sure the extra command bitz will come in handy at some point ;-)

See you across the table,

Marc

A Little Milestone: 50 000 views!

Hi folks,

I don't usually post about blog statistics, because they have never really been a focus of my bloggitude (is that even a word?). When I started Old School Gaming it was really just a haunt for my old gaming buddies, which I furnished with gaming curios. I had a good idea of how many friends I had, so after sharing to my private Facebook group, I could pretty much tell when everyone had read a blog post. After that view counter clicked to 7, I was happy. After a few weeks you can imagine my vexation when I hit 23 views one night. Who the hell was reading my blog? Even more importantly, I had to ask myself why were they reading my blog. The article in question was about Raphael the Ninja Turtle, if you're interested.

I came to the conclusion that trying to second guess what people wanted to read about was not for me. So I just posted what I was interested in, and things that I was proud of. Some things were just weighing heavily on my mind and had to be expressed. The blog has grown steadily since then, but not much has changed in terms of my motivation. At some point last night, the total number of blog views ticked over 50 000. That's small change compared to most of the blogs I read, but I still found myself celebrating this morning with a Caramello Koala (if you don't know what this is, you have not truly lived).

Can you spot the two Russian bot spikes?

One thing that has changed is that I don't just post for my old gaming buddies anymore. I have found many friends online that I respect greatly, who have inspired me and made this hobby so much more enjoyable. It is one of my great joys, opening up my Reading List to check what everyone has been up to and reply to comments that people have taken time to leave.

Instead of vigorously pursuing higher levels of readership, I have tried to make meaningful connections with people. To those of you who are regular contributors to my blog, by visiting or commenting, I just want to say thank you. You are more than just a number to me.

See you across the table,

Marc

Van Diemen's World Devils: Battlewagon Progress

Hi folks,

I gave myself an hour to see how much of my Van Diemen's World Battlewagon I could get finished. It turns out I can get quite a bit done! I started with a Nuln Oil wash over the olive armour plates and metallics, then used a short bristled flat brush to add Ushbati Bone highlights, which seamed to tie everything together. I also added some Runefang Steel highlights to the metallics and Shadow Grey to the blacks.

Next I added a blue jewelled effect to all of the little lenses (I'll give you a cookie if you can find all of them...).

The biggest job of the night was wet blending the roo shootin' lamps (note: I don't shoot kangaroos. I quite like them, unless they are jumping in front of my car in the middle of the night). I still need to clean up the shutters a little, because I got some white on them during the blending process. Avoiding this would have been more trouble than it was worth. When it is nice and neat, I'll whack a coat of gloss over the top to make it look like a big light bulb. I still need to paint the small headlights at the front, which will be tomorrow Marc's problem.

The next phase of the paint-job will include some weathering of the tires and rear assault ramp. I'm thinking of getting some red planet BASE! action going, because that would fit nicely with the Australian theme. I am also going to use a Black Templar decal on the assault ramp, because you don't just get Landraider doors from any old place. Let's just assume that they "borrowed" the door.

I also need to add some carbon scoring to the "smoke stack". Goodness knows how they get a battlewagon to run on steam, but I love the idea of it tooting in defiance as it unleashes all of those heavy bolters!

See you across the table,

Marc