Blog News: Hobby update and clear out of Books

Hi Folks,
in the lead up to the weekend I've had a bit of a clear out ready for some serious hobbying and have come across a few books to part with.
This weekend is planned to start on the first of my on-going forgeworld projects and hopefully something cool for you guys to look at. and for me to get my teeth in to.

Back to the books, at present I have sorted through my loft and have a number to sell, I'd rather them as collections but I have:

• Fantasy Minatures - a painted showcase of GW models and GD winners
• Liber Chaotica: Nurgle
• Liber Chaotica: Khorne
• Liber Chaotica: Slaanesh
• Liber Chaotica: Tzeench
• The Horus Heresy - Visions of Heresy: Vol. 1
• The Horus Heresy - Visions of Heresy: Vol. 2
• The Horus Heresy - Visions of Heresy: Vol. 3
• The Horus Heresy - Visions of Heresy: Vol. 4

Pics are here for an idea of the condition of the books, but basically they are mint condition:

If anyone is interested please feel free to message me, I would prefer to deal in the UK but if you are overseas dont hesitate to message as im sure a deal could be done.

Thanks guys and look forward to giving you some proper hobby content soon.

Blog News - Hobby Mishaps and Progress Advice

So folks after a massive break from the hobby (for which I will forever feel guilty) I am starting to get back on the hobby horse, and have decided to finally clear out some of my unused forgeworld stuff (including some super heavies) on ebay to make way for some more massive FW projects to come my way to make me enjoy it a bit more.

I recently had a bit of a hobby mishap where an entire platoons worth of guard which were in the process of being stripped got ruined, somehow they all melted despite me using the normal stuff I use. Admittedly they were older plastics so that could have been the cause. that was about a month ago and kind of knocked me wanting to get back going but I think I'm there now.

I am now looking to restart these guard and potentially revisit my existing models but there is still a question ongoing in my mind. On the shoulders of the models above (I dont know if you can see it) there are brass etch eagles and inquisition =I=s (and variations there of) on the other, in addition to the helmet and chest eagles. I am trying to decide if I should do one of the following three things with them, should I:

• start picking them out in the grey/white used on my inquisitor terminator is worth it
• leave them green and subdued (and potentially lost)
• remove them and have the pads just painted plain green as with the rest of the armour

Any thoughts on this progress would be appreciated, hopefully there will be some proper hobby progress soon!

Project Raptor - Time for Launch

Hi Folks,
the latest modelling project has hit my workspace. The latest being Project Raptor, as you can probably guess this is a flyer based project and is certainly a change from many many many infantry models and the odd Chimera based tank.

The first model that is being worked on is a Vulture with twin linked punisher cannons, this will be followed by a vendetta and possibly, should sales of airsoft kit suffice, a second Valkyrie will be joining the air support.

The Vulture was bought as a birthday present recently by my friends and is one of the nicest things my friends have ever got me. It was finally started this weekend with an awful lot of sanding and removal of large amounts of flash and overcast. Once sanded and the bits organised the kit doesn't appear anywhere near as daunting as it seemed to start with.

Once assembled the Vulture will be getting a matching paint scheme to the rest of the force but will benefit from some hopefully distinctive markings and options.

I did consider magnetising the weapons but given the thin ammo feeds between the hopper and the cannons it is unlikely they would survive storage so I most likely wont be doing that. I will give it a go and will let you know how successful it goes.

So keep tuned for more Project Raptor updates over the coming weeks.

Black Crusade 2012 - Winner and Final Total

The winner of a gigantic Warhammer 40K Chaos Space Marine army and some other goodies is:

Scott Kunian from the United States!

 

To all the others who did not win: Thank you for your support! You are awesome people!
The Black Crusade 2012 succeeded in collecting a total of

3426 $

for the Jack Vasel Memorial Fund! Thank everybody who contributed!

Black Crusade 2012 - Plague Marine Second Squad

Here are the second squad of 8 Plague Marines for the Black Crusade Charity Draw created by Michael from The Resurected Hobbyist.

To reiterate the previous post these models are were very "battle scared" I only hope my painting has done them justice. Michael envisaged these marines to be battle scared and to look like they have scavenged bits and peices from the battle field. Personally I think with the modelling and parts used he has really pulled this off.

When painting these models I took a couple of tracks and have manged I think to combine them quite well. Firstly the green and rotten colours that we associate with Plague Marines of all stripes. Second I wanted the battle damage to stand out went with a nice contrasting rust colour to show the damage more clearly. Finally I wanted these to be Plague Marines, not Death Gaurd but good old honest Plague Marines. More importantly I wanted to tie them in with the the Black Crusade and the Black Legion, so as a result the vast majority are sporting black shoulder pads in homage to that shared legion. Hopefully all this combines to give the units a coherent but uniquie look for the winner.

so on with the pictures and please feel free to comment on the second Squad:

so there you have it, the second squad and hope the pics give you a good idea of what the models are like, any questions or comments please feel free to leave comment on any of the posts.

Black Crusade 2012 - Plague Marine First Squad

Hi folks as you no doubt know if you are a regular follower the 16 Plague Marines are finally completed and ready to ship out for the Black Crusade Charity Draw and yesterday I promised your more pictures of the models so here they are.

The 16 Plague Marines were created by Michael from The Resurected Hobbyist and were very "battle scared" I only hope my painting has done them justice. Michael envisaged these marines to be battle scared and to look like they have scavenged bits and peices from the battle field. Personally I think with the modelling and parts used he has really pulled this off.

When painting these models I took a couple of tracks and have manged I think to combine them quite well. Firstly I wanted to keep the green and rotten colours that we associate with Plague Marines of all stripes, I combined this with the corroded and weathered silvers that give the models a dirty look. Second I wanted the battle damage to stand out and show how ruined the armour is, so then I went with a nice contrasting rust colour to show the damage more clearly and to get some more colour in to them. My final plan was I wanted these to be Plague Marines, not Death Gaurd but good old honest Plague Marines. More importantly I wanted to tie them in with the the Black Crusade and the Black Legion, so as a result the vast majority are sporting black shoulder pads in homage to that shared legion. One or two models have Imperial Markings, theres a Wolf, Blood Angel and Ultramarine in there, to show Marines that have fallen from grace and have joined the band as roving Plague worshippers. Hopefully all this combines to give the units a coherent but uniquie look for the winner.

so on with the pictures and please feel free to comment on the first Squad:

 

Finally a quick apology, I am in the middle of moving so havent being able to get decent pictures, I only hope I can speak nicely to the winner and get some new pictures from them :)

Black Crusade 2012 - The End Is Nigh

Just a short reminder, you have just over 24 hours to make further contributions to the Black Crusade 2012!

They will take down the PayPal button at 12 AM EST on thursday, 30th of September!

Check it out at Black Crusade 2012! Go on, Go, Go, GOOOO!!!!

Black Crusade 2012 - Plague Marine Models Special Preview

Well folks they are finally complete in all their corroded glory!

 

That's right, the 16 Plague Marines are finally completed and ready to ship out for the Black Crusade Charity Draw as a little something for my followers I thought I would share a sneak peek of the finished beasties with you tonight, prior to more in depth and detailed pictures tomorrow. The 16 Plague Marines were created by Michael from The Resurected Hobbyist and were very "battle scared" I only hope my painting has done them justice.

 

So with out further ado I give you Squad Pestilence and Squad Bilious:

 

 

Not the most revealing I know but there are some bits and peices I want to suprise folks with. Pop back tomorrow for more pictures, info on what I aimed for and the thoughts I had as I painted these guys.

 

Also remember there is still time to head over and contribute to Black Crusade Charity Draw before it closes, only 48 hours left so head on over and contribute, not only will you be supporting a great cause but you could even win these models and many more besides.

 

Thanks and hope you folks like what you see so far.

Black Crusade 2012 - Plague Marine Models Pictures

Hi Folks,
well I am back from the Olympics and I return to a great big parcel containing the model I am due to paint for the Black Crusade 2012 charity event. As you may know I originally mentioned my participation in this event sometime ago, well time has finally come to step up to the mark!

For those of you unaware Black Crusade 2012 follows in the footsteps of Heroes of Armageddon and the Storm Lords projects by creating an army (or series of armies) with units from different bloggers around the web and then sells tickets to be drawn to see if you can win that army, plus there are weekly prizes along the way, more information can be found here: http://blackcrusade2012.blogspot.co.uk/

So as you can guess from this I am not the only individual working on this project and in this case I am not the only person working on these models. The 16 Plague Marines I am due to paint arrived today and were created by Michael from The Resurected Hobbyist here: http://40kressurected.blogspot.co.uk/ and to give you guys an idea of whats coming here are some pics of them:

As you can see some pretty unique and nasty looking models there. Given that these are my first Chaos Marines, and most undoubtedly my first Nurgle based models, painting these is going to be a whole new experience for me. Apologies for the basic pictures but I didnt want to give too much away until I can get some paint on them.

On a side note after taking the pictures of these guys for the blog on my phone I was rather disturbed to plug it in and discover this little nugget:

So after that little nudge from the Chaos Gods I'm looking forward to making a start and seeing what people think of the models and my efforts to do them justice.
Thanks and please check out the Black Crusade 2012.

Black Crusade 2012 - Charity Project

Hi Folks,
time for a cross post from http://blackcrusade2012.blogspot.co.uk/ and the launch of the 2012 charity project. this is a direct link from their site so please forgive me but this is definately something to take not of:

###############################################

2012 – The Black Crusade

Hello everybody and welcome to the Black Crusade 2012!

Over the next weeks, we will build and paint a massive Warhammer 40K Chaos Space Marine army just to give it away in a big raffle!

This year we decided that all contributions will benefit the Jack Vasel Memorial Fund, a charity that provides financial assistance to members of the public who are part of the gaming community and who have suffered personal hardship.

How does it work? Every dollar you contribute gives you a chance to be the lucky new army winner at the end of this drive. 10 dollars contribution =10 chances to win. 100 dollars = 100 chances... you get the idea.

In short: the more you contribute, the better your chances. More importantly, the more you contribute, the more you help to make the world a better place.

At the end of the drive, on August 10th, we will choose and announce the winner.

And of course we will have additional give-aways of all kind of gaming related goodies for you! The winners of those prizes will be drwan form everybody who donated tot hat point, so get your lots in early!

We will start to accept contributions on Monday, June 11th.

You want to do more?
Well, the more support we get, the better our army will be and the more money we can collect!
Beside contributing there are some other easy ways to support the Black Crusade:

- Spread the word!
Just talk about us. That's the most important part at all. The more people know about the Black Crusade, the more success it will have. Tell all your friends, talk about the Black Crusade on you favorite forum or post it on your blog!

- Become a sponsor!
We are still looking for donations for the army and for the weekly give-aways. No matter f you are a fellow hobbyist or a store owner, please just contact us under blackcrusade2012@gmail.com!

- Contribute to the army!
For the next couple of weeks we will consider offers to actively help us building the army. Everything from a single character to a Warlord Titan is welcome! Again,the bigger the army, the more success the Black Crusade will have. Golden Demon winners preferred :)

Again, just contact us under the email address above. to help us and feel free to ask any further questions.

Thank you for considering

###############################################

more details, action and the chance to donate and enter can be found here. I have already made my donation, have you?

Exterminatus - The Fan Project!

Hi folks,
just a quick one and not something i do very often, but please head over to ulule.com and consider supporting the fan film. The guys only need 75 more euros to have the funding they need so please pop over and consider donating.
The page can be found here:

Exterminatus on Ulule

Projects Update - Whats on my desk 14.11.10

Hi folks,
unfortunately this week I have been laid up after two small ops, however this time has given the opportunity to think about the blog. Once I got over the shock and interest when copy of Emperor's Will arrived mid week I though it was about time I got more hobby back in the blog. So rather then you lot thinking that now the 500pt challenge is (finally) finished that I'm just sitting on my laurels I intend to do a semi-regular article to let you know what I'm currently working on.

The article will let you know a little rundown on what I'm working on outside of the Guard (as these guys are waiting for the 750 expansion) and it might even give you chance to see some of the upcoming reviews.

With that in mind the current project of note on my desk is the Imperial Strong point box set. I bought this intending to use it as a some spare terrain but its fricking massive! I'm loving the model and everything goes together really well. I'm hoping to get some paint on it this next week but before then I need some Liquid Green stuff to try out and to fill the gaps in the towers - not being mobile I don't know how I'll get some though. Other then that though i am very happy with the day or so progress I have been able to make:

apologies for the phone pic but the camera is in a place I cant access at the moment :( Still this coming week more work on this and hopefully some more reviews and articles for the blog.
Thanks for reading

Hobby Tips - Green Stuff Moulding and Casting Tutorial

Hi Folks,
Today is the first in an infrequent series on the various hobby tips I've picked up or developed over my time playing and modelling. Hopefully for some people this might be useful but for those of you that are old hats at this modelling malarkey please feel free to offer tips and suggestions as to how to improve my tutorials and the techniques I use. Also as a heads up as I'm still only at the modelling stage of my current project most of my first tutorials will deal with this, painting will come later.

I've been asked a few times in the past how I recreate some of the icons I've used, how to replicate an icon from a shoulder pad or even how to cast an item off a flat piece for use else where. So I decided to make my first tutorial a quick guide on Moulding and Casting with Green Stuff.

To begin moulding and moving on to casting you will need a few items and I have cut my list down to the bear minimum for speed and cost. To make a successful mould you will need:

• The Item you wish to mould
• Blank Shoulder pads or items you wish to cast on to
• Green Stuff
• Cutters
• Hobby Knife
• Kitchen roll/towel
• An old paint brush
• Tweezers
• Some kind of lubricant

As you can see from the list and the picture this is not a huge list and certainly only covers basic simple push moulds rather than two part moulds. Once you have all these bits assembled you can then start on the following step by step guide on how to create a mould and then cast the icons in question:

• First job is really simple, all you need to do is decide on the the items you wish to cast, in this case I will be using the two shoulder pads that Ron over at ++From The Warp++ sculpted for me for the Red Hunters and the Mentor legion. Using these is twofold, 1- they aren't produced by GW so don't break any copyright and 2- I need them for my upcoming marine forces. Once you have the items its prudent to check them over and remove any flash on the pad and tidy up any rough areas on them to help produce a smooth lift from the mould, this is illustrated below:

• Next step is to measure out the green stuff you require to cover the whole front of the pad to a depth of around 3mm and to give an excess all the way around the rim of the pad to roughly 3-4mm, this is a ball of roughly 1-1.5cm in diameter. Leaving an excess round the edge gives you something to hold on to when removing the pads and the depth assists when you start casting later and means you don't end up pushing the green stuff through the front of the mould. As you can see from the picture below I do a little extra prep on my green stuff:
  
  As you can see from the picture I have cut the amount required, I have then cut the thin strip out where the two separate parts of the GS meet. This is something I recommend doing to help give a smoother putty to work with. I have found that sometimes if you have an older batch of GS the section where the two colours joins has often started to cure, by removing this it makes it easier to kneed the GS and gives a smoother finish, slightly wasteful I know but we're going for results here!

• Once you have mixed your GS the next step is to take your Old Paintbrush and use it to apply a liberal coat of lubricant to the front of the item you wish to cast. There are various types of lubrication you can use but I personally recommend anything water based, this makes it easier for washing off later and means you can make other moulds or even paint on to the item easier.

• Once liberally coated the next step is to push your pad in to the freshly mixed GS, I start by making a rough ball of GS and slowly pushing the pad face down in to the top of the ball. I make my best effort to get the centre of the icon in to the very top of the ball, this just makes sure the GS covers and fills the detail of the icon and helps locate the pad in the center of the GS, once completed the pushing the mould should look like this:
  
  As you can see at the top and sides I have left a 3-4mm overlap with the GS coming well clear of the edge of the pads, this gives me something to grip for removal and something to push against later for casting.

• Once you have finished the pads you should leave the moulds in a warmish place for 36+ hours, as I knew these would be getting some punishment I left them for just over 48 hours just to ensure they were fully set and rock hard, do not remove the pads from the moulds before this time as it means they do not support themselves properly and are likely to deform.

• Once this period for setting has elapsed you can then remove the pads from the moulds, to do this you can use your cutters, tweezers or fingers to grip the pads and pull, there is also still some give in the GS so you can at least try to tease it from the edges of the pads. Once done you should be left with something like this:
  
  I would then recommend leaving the moulds for a further 12-24hours to make sure the inside of the mould which was protected from the air by the pad and lube has fully cured. This isn't necessary but its a useful suggestion to prolong the life of the moulds

• Now the mould making process is complete you can begin on the casting. This is where you will need you blank shoulder pad. The first step is to mix up a small amount of GS as shown here:
  
  As you can see from the 6mm airsoft BB in the picture the ball of GS required is somewhere between the size of a Space Marine Shoulder pad and a 6mm BB.

• Step one of the actual moulding process is to take the mould you wish to use and cover the relief image of the icon and all of the internal part of the mould with lubrication:
  
  Feel free to be fairly liberal with the amount you use as any excess lubrication should squeeze out when you start the push casting.

• Next take your ball of GS and push it in to the mould gently, to ensure I roughly cover the whole of the icon before I start on the pushing I put a small amount of lube on the round end of the paint brush and push the GS gently until I end up with this:
 
as you can see this doesn't quite cover the whole of the inside of the mould and is still pretty uneven but this will be rectified soon.












• THIS STEP IS PURELY OTIONAL - this step can be used if you want to make sure you are covering the icon but is not required. If you would like to make sure it is covered then take your old brush and with the round end use it to gently push the GS to cover the icon impression. If you have found you havent put enough GS in you can add more at this point to cover the icon and repeat the brush push stage. one thing to note is that this step can occasionally cause slippage so personally i wouldnt recommend it be some people find it useful.

 

• Once you have done this place the shoulder pad in to the GS and gently push, you should then end up with this:
 
As you can see the excess GS and lubrication has started to be pushed out from around the mould and the pad.










• Next take the mould and the kitchen roll/towel, place the mould on the roll/towel with the pad facing down (if the pad was uncovered you would expect to see the icon facing up towards you. Then gently apply pressure to the mould and push down as hard as possible but slowly and gently. keep this up for 30 seconds to 1 minute and you should have like below:
  
  here you can see the excess lubrication and GS has being fully squeezed to the side of the pad and should be completely pushed in to the icon.

• Once this is completed you should now have a small amount of GS left over from what you moulded up, I personally use this to make rudimentary sandbag shapes for future terrain, you should therefore be left with this:
 
there seems to be a lot of excess GS sticking out from the mould but this is actually more of a bonus than it seems as it means you now have something to grip to help remove the cast from the mould.




• This step is nice and simple, leave the pads in the moulds for 24-48 hours to allow the GS to set and to make sure the icon stays crisp.

• After letting the GS set you can then use your cutters, tweezers or fingers to grip the pads and pull, this sometimes removes the pad and the GS cast, often though it will just remove the pad and leave the icon in the mould. If the pad takes the icon with it I then use my tweezers to grip the excess GS and remove the icon from the pad, if it doesn't take the icon with it I use the tweezers to remove the icon from the pad by the excess. Once removed from the mould or pad you should have this:
  
 
As you can see there is an awful lot of overflow but its very thin and easily removable with either cutters or a hobby knife.
• The next step is to clean up the icons and if needed remove a small amount of GS from the rear of them, rinse them to remove any lube and then stick them on appropriate shoulder pads. Personally I wait until I have cast all the pads I need of a type before I tidy them up and mount them on pads.

Well folks there we have it the step by step guide on making icons for short runs of pads or the odd character. I hope this is of use to someone and gives you a good basis for future modelling projects!

As I need lots of both icons and pads my next tutorial will deal with making a silicon mould for casting larger numbers of self sculpted or custom sculpted pads, this is why there are no finished pads above but tune in again soon when once I have completed an additional 5 Red Hunters pads I will then show you how to make moulds of them for a more production line casting process.

Any questions, tips or requests feel free to drop me a line.

**Please Note to comply with the GW copyright rules (and to cover my arse!) this is only to be used for casting either self sculpted or commissioned icons or casting icon that are part of a larger item - please do not use this to cast and replicate parts or icons that are readily available from Games Workshop**