SHOWCASE: A new chapter

Warhammer 40,000: Talon's Reach tactical marine

So, I haven't posted for a while. It actually surprised me when I looked at the date of the last article. To say I've been busy in that time would be an understatement. Unfortunately, it's nearly all been work, rather than hobby related. I have done some hobby work though, and the image above is the first finished evidence of that. A brand new space marine chapter of my own. Want to know more?

SHOWCASE: Imperial Fists legion leviathan dreadnought

Horus Heresy: Imperial Fists legion leviathan dreadnought

As you can see from the picture above, I've finally finished my leviathan dreadnought. After a long time spent painting infantry-sized models, it's been a treat to paint something a little larger and use some slightly different painting techniques. This model is now ready to take pride of place among my Horus Heresy era Imperial Fists and I'm sure they'll be glad to have him on their side. Given how big he is, I wouldn't fancy their chances if he wasn't...

SHOWCASE: Stormcast Eternal Knight Questor

Age of Sigmar: Stormcast Eternal Knight Questor

Another Stormcast Eternal this week. This time it's the Knight Questor model from Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower. I have to admit that this boxed set looks amazing. There are so many brilliant models in it and, from what I've heard, the game-play is fantastic too. And yet I didn't buy it. I'd like it. I really would. But it would just be another set of amazing models that sits unpainted forever in my study. There were a few models in the set, however, that I liked too much not to have them in my collection, and this is one of them.

SHOWCASE: Deathwatch: Jensus Natorian

Deathwatch: Jensus Natorian
The vengeful son

There's been a recent flurry of activity from Games Workshop around the Deathwatch chapter of space marines. Multiple releases have—after many, many years—finally turned the Deathwatch into a viable army in their own right. Previous attempts had merely seen them acting as specialist elites, allied with another army. Now they're fully capable of doing battle alone. The slew of new miniatures has reminded me of yet another unfinished project on my desk: this guy.

SHOWCASE: Stormcast Eternal Liberator

Age of Sigmar: Stormcast Eternal Liberator

Do you remember last July when Age of Sigmar launched and there was a free model on the front cover of White Dwarf? Well, this is that figure: a Stormcast Eternal Liberator. It's been sat on my desk for over a year and—in my 'finishing things' drive I've started of late—I've finally got around to getting him done.

WIP: Imperial Fists Legion Leviathan #2

So far, so big...

A little over a month ago, I posted a picture of my leviathan dreadnought, just after I'd assembled it. At the time, I was working on other projects and still had a fair bit to do. Since then, however, I've been able to spend a little time on him. After priming him black, I airbrushed the metals and gave him a wash of Nuln Oil before dry-brushing on some Necron Compound as an early highlight. I then picked out the yellow panels with Averland Sunset and glazed them with Agrax Earthshade and gave the whole lot another glaze of Lamenters Yellow. I used Dorn Yellow as an edge highlight. There's still more to do, especially on the siege drill arm, and the power plant on his back. After that, I get to start picking out the details. I'm still working on several other projects, but I expect to see him finished in the not too distant future. I can't wait to see him with the rest of the army.

SHOWCASE: Alpha Legion veteran tactical squad

Horus Heresy: Alpha Legion veteran tactical squad

The first models I painted this year were five veteran tactical marines for my Alpha Legion. I should probably be a bit embarrassed, therefore, that I've only just finished the squad! I tend to have a habit of starting projects, but not finishing them—hence the name of this blog. There's always something that will distract me and, before you know it, my desk is full. Well, I'm determined to make August a month for finishing things.

DISCUSSION: Forge World Open Day 2016

Games Workshop's head office in Nottingham. Subtle, guys.

On the 17th of July, I attended the Forge World Open Day 2016. Apparently this is the tenth iteration of this event. It's the first one I've been to, and only the second time I've been to Warhammer World at Games Workshop's headquarters in Nottingham. (The other time, incidentally, was the first ever Black Library Live event way back in 2009.) The Forge World open day is something different to what I'm used to. Having been to several previous Games Workshop events, I had high hopes for this one. It was a good day, but I'm not sure it lived up to them...

SHOWCASE: Orruk Ironjawz warchanter

Orruk Ironjawz warchanter

I haven't painted anything that isn't a space marine for a while. My desk is littered with power armour and related paraphernalia. Amongst the debris, however, are several examples of non-space marine items waiting patiently for my attention. Since its release in April, the model above has been one of them. This is the first finished model for my modest orruk collection. He's a test piece to see if I like the colour scheme. I decided against the predominantly yellow or red variants from Games Workshop's studio armies—not least because I have plenty of things painted yellow already. Instead, I've opted for a bone-coloured scheme accented with red. There will be more to come from this range as I work my way through them. First, however, I have rather a lot of power armour to get through...

SHOWCASE: Ultramarines legion praetor

Horus Heresy: Ultramarines legion praetor

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, aliens to whom gender definitions are meaningless, and anybody who doesn't fall into any of those categories... allow me to introduce you to my Ultramarines legion praetor. The astute among you may recognise this as the limited edition model available exclusively at Games Workshop events during 2016. I picked this one up at Warhammer Fest in May and have been working on him ever since with a view to entering him into the painting competition at the Forge World open day this coming weekend. I'll let you know how that goes in a future post. In the meantime, let's talk about the model.

WIP: Imperial Fists Legion Leviathan #1

My assembled leviathan dreadnought

I haven't posted for a couple of weeks. A combination of real life, weather so hot it made sitting in the study uncomfortable and a worse-than-usual dose of hay fever has contrived to keep my painting to a minimum. My efforts, when I've made them, have been on a competition entry that is taking ages, but that I haven't put on the blog yet (anybody who follows me on Instagram can probably guess what that is—I'm saving it for a showcase post here when it's finally finished). I can, however, give you a sneak peak of (one of) my next project(s) when that is done: a leviathan dreadnought for my Imperial Fists.

WIP: Imperial Fists Phalanx Warder squad (#1)

Horus Heresy: Imperial Fists Phalanx Warder

This week I'd like to introduce you to this guy. He's a test piece for what (hopefully) will one day be a squad of Phalanx Warders for my Horus Heresy era Imperial Fists army. Frequent readers will know not to get excited at this point. Like most of the models I paint for a new squad, this guy will have plenty of alone time to contemplate things before he has any company. I am, however, reasonably pleased with him, and will endeavour to curb his loneliness—at least in lots of small, well-spaced stages—in the coming months/years/decades.

WIP: Orruk megaboss on maw-krusha #1

The 'maw-krusha' so far

Something different. For the first time since Warhammer: Age of Sigmar came out, I'm utterly smitten with an entire new range. Having looked forward to the new dwarf line so much in advance, I was bitterly disappointed by the 'fyreslayers' range when it came out. But with the new 'orruks' (orcs to the rest of us), Games Workshop have finally hit home. I like the Khorne range (ridiculous names aside). I even like the Stormcast range (but hate their lore). I'm at the stage, however, where I roll my eyes and curse "more?!" every time they release yet another kit for either. But with the new 'Ironjawz' orruks, I'm genuinely pleased.

WIP: Imperial Fists Mk.VI tactical squad (update #1)

Imperial Fists Mk.VI tactical squad (first half)

I've done a fair few 'quick updates' lately. Given that most of them involve finished models, I'm taking this as a good sign. Today, I'm pleased to say, is no different. When I last posted about this squad, I only had two models finished for it. Well, now it has five. That puts it at half strength. I still have five more to do, and will return to it just as soon as I have the patience to clean up and assemble that much resin in one go. In the meantime, I have some orruks that need some attention. More next week...

DISCUSSION: Golden Demon 2016

Golden Demon 2016: the crowds gather to inspect the entries

We've had a week for the dust to settle now, so I thought it would be nice to revisit last weekend's Golden Demon competition at WarhammerFest. This year it was held in my home city of Coventry. I didn't go to the last one, so it was a nice opportunity to see the changed format (it used to run over a single day at the NEC in Birmingham). I also entered Golden Demon for the very first time...

SHOWCASE: Nârik Dreygur, Consul-Praevian of the Iron Warriors

Nârik Dreygur, Consul-Praevian of the Iron Warriors

For the last couple of months, I've been gradually doing more and more work on this project. This is Nârik Dreygur, The Gravewalker, Strategos-Minor of the Apolakron, and Consul-Praevian of the Iron Warriors. With such a short, catchy and easily-memorable title, you'd expect a suitably imposing miniature... and this is it. This is a limited edition model, available exclusively at the events that Forge World attended last year... or to anybody, like me, who couldn't make it to the events, but found one on eBay. I loved the model when I saw it, but toyed for a while with whether it was worth getting, mainly because I don't collect Iron Warriors (but do collect their mortal enemies: the Imperial Fists). It's such a good model, however, that I eventually decided to relent. I'm glad I did. As well as being a joy to paint, as of yesterday, it became my first ever entry into the Golden Demon painting competition, and earned me a finalist badge for my efforts.

WIP: Alpha Legion veteran tactical squad (update #1)

Alpha Legion veteran tactical marine
with missle launcher

Another quick update today. This time it's another addition to my Alpha Legion veteran tactical squad. This guy carries the squad's heavy weapon: a Proteus pattern missile launcher. If I remember rightly from my (brief) foray into gaming in the early to mid-90s, missile launchers can be great for blowing up both tanks and infantry, depending on the type of missiles they fire. I like to think this one would be more than adequate at such a role.

In other news, my updates are weekly at the moment for good reason. While I'm still very active on the painting front, a lot of my energies are going into a very specific project. Details will be revealed next week!

WIP: Imperial Fists Mk.III tactical squad

Imperial Fists Mk.III tactical marine

Just a quick post today to show off another finished tactical marine. This model is for a different tactical squad: my first Mk.III squad. I last did something with this squad last year, so it's been a long time coming. This model is brings the squad up to half strength (five models) and features the squads Legion Vexilla banner. It also marks the completion of the first set of 'old armour variants' that I ever bought, a year or so before Forge World launched the Horus Heresy range proper. One day I might even finish the squad!

WIP: Imperial Fists Mk.VI tactical squad

Horus Heresy: tactical marines in MK.VI armour

Lately I've been prompted to look again at the Imperial Fists in my modest but largely unpainted Horus Heresy era collection. Perhaps spurred on by the standard bearer I finished in February, and by the Alpha Legion that are forming a rival faction on the same shelf, I've looked again at the unpainted models I have to hand and decided to spend a little time on them. First among them are these offerings for a tactical squad in Mk.VI armour.

SHOWCASE: Alpha Legion contemptor dreadnought

Horus Heresy: Alpha Legion contemptor dreadnought

Today we have a new addition to my (very slowly) growning Alpha Legion collection: a contemptor dreadnought. This is the Forge World model, complete with sculpted Alpha Legion details. I've armed it with a power fist and a volkite culverin. I have no idea if these are any good in game, but they look cool and that's all that matters to me as a painter. This model features lots of airbrush work, mainly on the blue armour, but also on some source lighting on the main weapon.

SHOWCASE: Imperial Fists legion standard bearer

Horus Heresy: Imperial Fists legion standard bearer

It's been a while since I first started this. For the longest part of that, he'd stood on my desk minus a head and with a blank banner. That was until Forge World released their Imperial Fists transfer sheets and, with it, the banner decal that I'd been waiting so long for. Admittedly, it still took me a while to finish him, but here he is now. This model is a war-torn veteran, his armour damaged by countless attempts on his life, yet still he holds his legion's banner aloft. After the one for my Alpha Legion, this is the second standard bearer I finished last month. It marks a welcome return to my long-neglected Imperial Fists and I'm quite pleased with how he turned out.

WIP: Ultramarine's tactical squad

Warhammer 40,000: Ultramarines tactical marine

Last year I attempted to paint an Ultramarine for the first time in many years. The result was uninspiring. This year, I've decided to pretend that didn't happen and try again. This time I'm happier with the result. The model featured in this article is the first of what might one day be a squad of them. I wouldn't hold your breath for the rest to appear any time soon, but I feel somewhat more motivated by the results this time around.

SHOWCASE: Alpha Legion standard bearer

Horus Heresy: Alpha Legion standard bearer

This is the first of just three models I managed to finish in February. I've worked on several others that will hopefully show themselves in the coming months, but for now I'm focusing on those that are done. This one—a standard bearer for what will be the command squad in my Alpha Legion collection—was a relatively quick job, following the pattern I'm already familiar with from my veteran tactical squad. The most difficult part with this was applying the transfer (from Forge World's Alpha Legion transfer sheet) to the banner. It took lots of patience and decal medium, but it's done now and ready to join the others.

WIP: Alpha Legion veteran tactical squad

Horus Heresy: Alpha Legion veteran tactical squad (first half)

It's been a while since I posted. I did hardly any painting in December while I focused on other projects, not least my writing, which has been very beneficial. The downside has been that what was already, for me, a disappointing year on the hobby front ended with barely a whimper. I have, however, not been entirely idle. In the last few weeks I have returned to painting with a renewed motivation and some renewed goals. Among them are these offerings from a new army: the Alpha Legion.