WIP: Blood Angels tactical squad (milking it now)

Blood Angels: the next three

So, I had another unexpected evening in my study, the results of which are shown above. These three space marines are more or less finished. If there is anything left to do on them, it's just some minor tidying up. For the most part they're done. I have another (with a heavy flamer) that is at the same stage. The only reason he isn't pictured is that he doesn't have a head. Because the face is exposed, I'm painting that separately and it's not finished yet. I haven't had cause to paint flesh on my batch painting sessions yet, but I have a few parts to do for various projects now so I'll do them all together. That should be done before the week is out and then I'll be halfway through my tactical squad.

WIP: Blood Angels tactical squad (yes... again)

Tactical marine with plasma gun (still in progress)

Yes, this is a 'clutching at straws' update, and possibly the last this week, given the amount I (don't) have to report. Nevertheless, I did have an evening to work on the first half of my tactical squad again and the results are demonstrated above. Of the four I'm working on (see my previous post), this one is the best example of my progress. This marine is a stage or two ahead of the others (in that I've highlighted the blacks and the gems on this one) but the other three are close behind. This one is almost finished, actually. I have some tidying to do here and there before I paint the squad marking on the right shoulder pad and finish the base, then he'll be done. I've considered doing some object source lighting from the glow on the plasma gun too, but it was late when I was working on it last night and alas such fineries will have to wait.

Once I've finished the first half of this squad, I plan to treat myself (and any regular readers) with something else for a little variety... I just haven't decided what yet.

WIP: Blood Angels tactical squad (first half progress)

Blood Angels tacitcal marines (one with a heavy flamer)

You may remember from one of my earlier updates that I planned to split my Blood Angels tactical squad into smaller groups while I paint them. I've started to do that now. At the moment, I'm painting four space marines together in a mini production line (painting the armour on each, then the metal, then the black areas...). With the test model finished, this will mean I'll be halfway through the squad when they're done, which is a good milestone. I've made two deliberate choices with this batch: firstly that I'm doing all the weapons I haven't already finished (the heavy flamer and plasma gun) and secondly that I'm leaving some of the models I've been looking forward to for the later batches as a kind of mini-reward...

WIP: Imperial Fists command (standard bearer)

Standard bearer (early stages)

Right, back on to the main projects... This is likely to be a slow week. I had a busy weekend and didn't get a lot done on the hobby side, so there's a good chance I'll run out of updates before the week is out. We'll see what time, if any, I get during the evenings. The standard bearer above represents one of the projects I'm working on piecemeal around my Blood Angels. I don't have many of my Imperial Fists prepped and ready to paint at the moment. That'll need some more work. Among the few models I do, however, is this one.

SHOWCASE: Necromancer

Warhammer: Necromancer

There's a reason I don't finish many of the projects I set myself: I get distracted by other things. My desk is full (literally) of projects I've started and not finished. You can tell the models I'm working on at the moment because they're the ones balancing right on the very edge, closest to my chair. This time the distraction was a model I purchased ages ago. I picked it up because of a book I'm reading (The Rise of Nagash). Having finished it, I don't know why I didn't get around to painting it sooner (except, perhaps, for the other distractions). For various reasons, it was probably a good thing that I waited this long.

WIP: Necromancer

As a writer, I am, as is necessary, also an avid reader. Among the many others I read, books from the Black Library are a common sight on my reading pile. In the wake of the End Times, I'm currently reading The Rise of Nagash, the story of the alliance of the various undead factions aimed at raising the ancient and powerful necromancer from the dead to wreak havoc on (or, somehow, save?) the Warhammer world. As is often the case, reading about a specific faction has inspired me to revisit the models for it, in this case the undead, and specifically a necromancer (not, admittedly, Nagash himself)...

SHOWCASE: Imperial Knight

Warhammer 40,000: Imperial Knight

It's finished! Those who have been following for the last couple of months (give or take—I only started the blog at the beginning of January) will know that I started this project on Boxing Day 2014. My initial progress was quite fast (especially by my normally very slow standards), but I've stalled recently in favour of other projects, in part because of my trepidation over the freehand work involved. Well, I finally plucked up the nerve to do those last few bits and now, I'm happy to say, it's done! Want to see some more pictures...?

WIP: Blood Angels sanguinary priest update

Back to the sanguinary priest and progress is continuing. The armour needs some tidying up to make the blend between highlights and shading a little more subtle, but it's getting there. (This photograph isn't great.) The robes are mostly done too now. These are a different shade of red to the armour (visible on the shoulder pad) to make a clear distinction between armour and fabric. I'm pleased with the effect. That leaves me free to work on the rest of the model.

WIP: Blood Angels tactical squad (shading)

Work continues on the tactical squad. The two models above are the first (after the finished test piece) to get the recess shading treatment. By the time you read this* I should have done more work on the others. The plan remains to paint them up in batches of two or three at a time so I don't get too bored of painting the same details over and over again before I can move on but I'll get as many of these early stages as I can bear done across the whole squad early on. It's good to have a production line going, but there's always a risk that tedium will get the better of me and I don't want the quality to suffer.

* I tend to write several posts in advance and schedule them over the course of the week, so these models were actually shaded last Tuesday evening.

WIP: Imperial Knight (more freehand)

Warhammer 40,000: Imperial Knight (right shoulder pad)

And so the more daunting part has begun. My Imperial Knight has been an on-going project since Boxing Day when I first cracked open the box and started clipping the pieces off their sprues (un-Boxing Day?). These huge shoulder pads represent the closing stages of the project that has been both enjoyable and intimidating. Most of the initial work went quite quickly by my standards, but I've been stalling on the freehand work for weeks because of the challenge involved.

WIP: Blood Angels sanguinary priest, armour update

Another quick update today (I'm making a habit of these). This time it's on the sanguinary priest for my Blood Angels. In my previous post, I mentioned that I'd be attempting something a little different with the white armour. I've now started work on that. It's a long way from finished yet, but I've made a start on the basecoat layers and the intial shading. I still have more shades to add to the deepest recesses before I can start work on the highlights to bring it up to the level I want it. It's a little messy at the moment, but that won't be an issue long term. The armour is the largest area of the model, hence why I'm starting there. I can tidy up the rest later. You'll also note I've painted the shoulder pad red. This is simply a time-saving move on my part as I'll be using the same shading on that part as I still have to do on the rest. I'm working on this alongside my Blood Angels tactical squad, so hopefully I'll have more updates soon.

WIP: Blood Angels tactical squad (update)

My palette is very red... I had a busy weekend so I didn't get much in the way of hobby time. What time I did get was spent either prepping, undercoating or painting things red. I was hindered by running out of spray undercoat on Saturday before I'd finished spraying the models I had to do, meaning they were still a bit patchy. Luckily my local Games Workshop store is open on a Sunday so I was able to pop in on the way back from where I'd been that day in time to come home and finish the job.

WIP: Skaven Warlord update (plus Grey Seer)

Warhammer: Skaven warlord

I don't have a lot to update you on with this one yet, other than to say this model is now based and undercoated. This is one of those models I'll be working on intermittently between other projects so progress will be slow, but hopefully you'll see some developments on it over the coming weeks. I've started the painting process by dry-brushing the base up to my usual sand colour. There's still a long way to go on it. Next up I plan to work on the robes and the flesh. Most likely I'll finish with the metals and other details.

WIP: Blood Angels sanguinary priest

I still have a lot of Blood Angels to undercoat, but in the meantime I have this sanguinary priest to make a start on. This will fill one of the HQ slots for the Blood Angels force as it starts to grow. It was another of the new releases that I really liked the look of and will be an interesting project in its own right, not least because there won't be much red on it.

SHOWCASE: Imperial Fists apothecary (Heresy-era)

Horus Heresy: Imperial Fists apothecary

Just a quick post to start the week. As previously mentioned, my updates are likely to slow down a little now I'm settling into the year. Since I do most of my painting over the course of an afternoon or two at the weekends, there's only so much I'll have to write about from one week to the next. At the moment I'm still working on my Imperial Fists along with my other projects. This model is an apothecary: a field medic whose job it is to treat the wounded and, in the worst cases, see that the injured find peace and the dead are suitably harvested.

WIP: Imperial Knight (freehand update)

Warhammer 40,000: Imperial Knight shoulder pads (basecoat)

It's been a couple of weeks since I touched this project so it's overdue some attention and another update. After working so hard on my Imperial Knight earlier in the month, I needed a break to work on some other things. It also meant I could actually finish some models. The sheer size of the Imperial Knight model means that the effort expended on it is comparable to painting several much smaller models to completion. By way of comparison, each of these shoulder pads is taller than a space marine. This should probably make them easier to paint, right? Well, not exactly. The shoulder pads are the last bits I have to do on the model. I admit that another reason I've put them off is that they require freehand and that makes me nervous...

WIP: Imperial Fists tactical squad (Heresy era)

Horus Heresy: Imperial Fists space marines in MkIII 'Iron' armour

Reviewing my finished models for January didn't take long. I finished one. One solitary Blood Angel. I did a fair amount of painting, especially early in the month while I was still on holiday from work, but most of it tended to be either little bits on a variety of projects or quite a lot focused on my (still unfinished) Imperial Knight. Well, it's February now, so it's time to make a dent on the targets I set at the start of the year. Let's start with some Imperial Fists.

WIP: Blood Angels tactical squad progress (another update)

As one of my major projects for 2015, I'm keen to keep the ball rolling on my Blood Angels. Having completed the first model for the squad (see my previous update), I spent this weekend assembling and basing the rest. I've already painted the bolters, so most are empty-handed. I've kept the weapons separate to make painting the chests / fronts easier. A couple of models also have bare heads, so I'll paint those separately too. This squad will have ten members when it is done. The remaining nine (pictured above) now await an undercoat before I can carry on with them. Read on to find out more...

WIP: Skaven warlord

Warhammer: Skaven warlord (just assembled)

Just a quick post today to announce another project I'll be looking at over the coming weeks. I purchased this model last weekend, using a voucher I received for Christmas (you know who you are—thank you!). This isn't one of my main projects, but will provide a suitable distraction in between. It's a model Games Workshop released on the day I bought it to tie in with the skaven leg of the End Times series. I've been meaning to do more work on my skaven for a long time, so I'm hoping this model will prompt me to get on with it. I wouldn't mind if they became another major project. I definitely have enough of them to paint!

WIP: Blood Angels tactical squad progress update (again)

Warhammer 40,000: Blood Angels tactical space marine

In my last update I showed you how I was progressing with the first test model for my Blood Angels tactical squad. As you can see in the image above, that model is now finished. All in all, it probably took about eight hours. In the rest of this article I'll show you a few more images and update you on the progress. I should also state at this point that updates to the site from here on in are likely to be fewer. Since launching the blog last month, I've managed to do daily updates (excluding weekends) to show off models I've painted previously. Now I'm into the realms of the projects I'm actively working on, the updates are likely to be a little slower. Anyway, read on to see how I'm getting on...