DISCUSSION: Progress review, 2015 Q1

We're now three months into the year so I thought I'd take a quick break from my regular posts to have a look at what I've achieved so far. The purpose of this blog is, after all, to keep the ball rolling on the various projects I'm working on. So how have I done...?

WIP: Blood Angels Baal predator (metals)

Moving on from my last post, I've now done the metal work on the main hull of my tank. This is a simple but time-consuming part that involves going around the whole tank and picking out the metal areas. I use three colours (Leadbelcher, Nuln Oil and Runefang Steel, the latter applied sparingly as a highlight).

DISCUSSION: photography

Horus Heresy: Imperial Fists praetor

I've wanted to improve the quality of my photographs for this website for a while now. I'm not yet in the market for a new camera. I know which one I'd go for if I had the funds, but as yet it is a little out of my budget. As such, I wanted a way to improve the pictures I take with my current setup. At present I use my Apple iPhone 5S to take all of the pictures for this website. Until now, most have been taken simply by holding the phone and aiming it at the subject. But, thanks to Tale of Painters, things are starting to change...

WIP: Blood Angels Baal predator (highlights)

Just another short update today. Progress on the predator is slow for various reasons, some of which I'll cover in future posts. That said, however, I have managed to go round and do the highlights for the red on the main hull. After tidying up the initial basecoat, post-shading, I highlighted with Wild Rider Red first with a very light dry-brush technique. I did this to give it a slightly rough look. The tank will be weathered before it's finished, which should blend this in really well. The last highlight was Ungor Flesh, as with the other models in the 'army' so far. This was applied sparingly to the highest edges. Afterwards, I applied a glaze of Bloodletter to the whole tank. I admit I wasn't thrilled with the result of this stage, but that was entirely my fault. The blend worked, but there were a lot of brush marks left on the flat panels. Some of them I was able to buff out with a large, dry brush (not dry-brushing but an actual dry brush). Hopefully they won't be too obvious in the finished piece. More on that soon...

SHOWCASE: Skaven warlord

Warhammer: Skaven warlord

The first of my End Times characters is finished. This is my skaven warlord, henceforth known as Itch Skratchkill. I feel a little bad that the poor chap only has three painted models to lead to war, but as one of them is a rat ogre, hopefully he can hide somewhere and keep himself safe until I make time to expand his hoard.

WIP: Skaven warlord (pre-highlights)

Getting closer...

Greetings, man-thing! The skaven warlord is getting very close to being finished now. Most of the areas have been basecoated and shaded. A few, like the skin, have also been finished. What's needed now are highlights. I need to highlight the armour, metal, leather and wood, as well as a few details like the skull hanging from the banner pole. With those done, there's just one more big section to do before I finish off his base and get him on the shelf, ready to lead my currently non-existent skaven army to battle...

WIP: Blood Angels Baal predator (shading)

Due to a number of non-hobby-related issues, progress is slow, even by my standards. Needless to say when I have had time to look at it, painting has been extremely therapeutic. Anyway, onto the update proper... The bulk of the shading is now done on the Baal predator. This has involved 'black lining' all of the panels. It's a bit of a misnomer in this case as I haven't used black, but the principal is the same: that it entails painting a darker colour (thinned down) directly into the recesses and, for the most part at least, leaving the rest as is. In this case that colour is a shade, specifically Agrax Earthshade, so it didn't need thinning. If anything it needed a couple of coats in some cases. Next up I'll be doing a little tidying with Mepheston Red before I start the highlights... time permitting...

WIP: Skaven warlord (update)

I know it looks rough at the moment, but bear with me, man-thing. This is the skaven warlord I'm working on alongside the grey seer I updated you on the other day. At the moment it's at the stage where I've done a number of basecoats and washes on various areas but haven't completely finished any single part of it. Often when I paint, I'll work on one area to completion before I move onto the next. With a space marine, for example, I'd finish the armour, then get the metals done, then the weapon casings and, finally, any other details. With this model I'm adopting a slightly different technique to bring several stages along together.

WIP: Blood Angels Baal predator undercoat and basecoat

Black undercoat

My Baal predator has finally seen some paint, but alas has yet to be touched by a brush. Having done the bulk of the assembly work earlier in the week, I've since brought out the spray cans to get it undercoated and basecoated. This is the first model I have used a spray basecoat on, so I'm interested to see how that will work out. I'm hopeful that it will save some time and, if so, I'll use it more often in future where there's an appropriate colour available. Regardless of what colour a model eventually gets painted, however, the most important step remains the undercoat. This helps the other layers of paint stick to the model and provides a solid surface to paint onto.

WIP: Skaven grey seer

I haven't mentioned my skaven characters for a few weeks. That's because there hasn't been anything to mention. With so much of my attention being focused on my Blood Angels in the last month or so, anything else has taken a back seat. My skaven characters in particular have watched from the side-lines while other projects come and go. Each time I've spared them a glance, I've felt like I need to stop neglecting them and start paying them some attention. Well, now I can.

WIP: Blood Angels Baal predator assembly

Main chasis

I apologise in advance for this: I won't be including pictures of the sponsons and main turret until a little later in the project. Due to the nature of the components and the way I plan on painting it, they're all in so many bits that to get them all photographed at each stage would be a huge chore. As such I'll focus on the main chasis, where the bulk of the work will be anyway. Once the sub-assemblies are put together, I'll start including them in the updates.

WIP: Blood Angels Baal predator

Blood Angels Baal predator (still boxed)

Just a quick heads-up post to get the ball rolling this week (or maybe to get the Baal rolling*). With my Blood Angels army now up to a dizzying six models, I thought I'd throw a tank into the mix to flesh it out a bit. The Baal predator is a variant of the standard space marine predator specific to the Blood Angels and I'm treating it as a reward for the work I've put in on the rest of the 'army' so far. I'll be honest: I have no idea how long this will take. I've painted a number of tanks in my twenty-plus years in the hobby, but by the standards of other models, they're few and far between. More updates soon!

* Because puns based on the name of the Blood Angels' home world are always fun...

SHOWCASE: Blood Angels sanguinary priest

Warhammer 40,000: Blood Angels sanguinary priest

Today my fledgling Blood Angels force gains another recruit in the form of this sanguinary priest. After several updates in the last few weeks, he's finally done! I know it's not perfect, but I'm quite pleased with how this model has turned out. I spent a little longer on it than I did on the regular rank and file space marines in the tactical squad I'm working on, and hopefully that shows in the finished piece.

WIP: Space Wolves Wolf Guard terminators (a third recruit)

A while ago I posted about the Wolf Guard terminator unit I'm working on. I finished the first two right at the end of last year. I started this guy around about the same time, just as I was finishing the others, but he hasn't seen much movement since. The bulk of the work was completed during the holiday season, but then I got distracted by an Imperial Knight and some Blood Angels. I feel a little bad for the poor guy for being neglected so I should probably finish him. He's been on my desk for a few months now so I picked him up again the other night.

WIP: Dark Angels (just for fun)

Warhammer 40,000: Dark Angels librarian

In the absence of much to show for the weekend just gone, I thought I'd take a quick look at some of the items already on my display shelves. This post will feature a few models from the Dark Angels range, specifically the ones included in the Dark Vengeance starter set for Warhammer 40,000. For those who don't know, Dark Vengeance is a 'complete' boxed game containing all the rules, templates and dice you need to play Warhammer 40,000, along with two very small armies: Dark Angels and Chaos Space Marines. It was one of the last sets released where virtually everything in it was exclusive to the set. I use the word 'complete' loosely as the armies are very small and to play anything decent, you'd still need to buy more models and the Codex (an additional supplemental rulebook tailored to a specific faction) for your army. I bought purely it for the models...

WIP: Blood Angels sanguinary priest (head)

Blood Angels sanguinary priest... his head anyway

I'll be honest: I did very little painting this weekend. In fact, Friday evening was the last time I had a brush in my hand. I'm pleased with the results, shown above, though. This is the head for the sanguinary priest project I'm working on at the moment. The sculpt on the face is really nice and is worth the extra effort when it comes to painting. If I get more time in the evenings this week, I hope to get more done on the body it'll sit on. It would be nice to have this model finished to sit alongside the tactical squad I've been bombarding you with in recent weeks.

WIP: Blood Angels tacitcal squad (the first half)

Blood Angels tactical squad... or half of one

I'm starting the week with a shot of my tactical squad as it currently stands. Apologies for the frequent updates on this one. It's all I've been working on to get it done, but normal erratic service can now resume. With the first five space marines painted, I'm halfway there. In game terms, tactical squads can have five to ten models. This squad isn't technically 'game legal' in that it lacks a sergeant and already has both its heavy weapon (heavy flamer) and special weapon (plasma gun) quotas filled—something I don't belive you're supposed to do until you have a full squad of ten. Nevertheless, I'm proud of the work on it so far and look forward to finishing it.