Skinks done!

The Skinks are finally done (more or less)! Took some time to batch paint them all at once which is efficient when you're applying several different colors to only small areas on each model. The colors turned out great and they look like a real horde! Not that I expect them to do much more than die :) Will try to post the part 2 of how I colored them soon.

Dragon scales...

I previously said that I wasn't happy with the paint scheme of my Saurus infantry, especially their back scales and armoured parts. Instead of keeping them armored I tired hiding them with a pattern on the scales using Doombull Brown. What do you think?

It blends in well with the other colors. Not sure how it would look using black or a similar scheme as on the shields.

The armored pikes are difficult to notice now and I like it much better.

Howling shit!

Ever so often a lack of inspiration can appear especially when painting loads of models in similar color schemes. There are different solutions to the problem. Either start a new project (which is always fun but somewhat time consuming and expensive), collect a couple of armies and take turns paining and adding to each army or take a break and paint something completely different. As I have previously tried the two former options I now tried the third. I have a bunch of primed but otherwise unpainted space marines from a previous Minotaurs project which I can't see myself completing anytime soon (I have my Emperor's Children now). So I took a model and started painting something completely new to me, a Howling Griffon (or at least inspired by them).

 Really fun to get a change in painting and focusing on the art instead of what to add to the army or how good a model will preform in battle.

 This also gave the opportunity to try new techniques and a lot of free-hand. When you start painting an army in a certain scheme it is difficult to change it and develop as a painter.

 I think my choice of colors makes him look more like a clown than a noble knight. Something like the Harlequins of the Eldar. I really like it!

 Parting with some close ups so you can see all my mistakes (ouch! ). No, I am satisfied with the job.

Don't worry I will not abandon the 3rd Legion! They will return stronger than ever and I have several characters I want to finish.

Free shipping voucher!

Yo! Today I had a fantastic call to ForgeWorld when I used my free shipping voucher. Talk about good customer service! It felt unreal to talk to someone at the company who also had an interest in miniatures (it helps but isn't a necessary requirement as he said). Got to talk about my project and future ideas which was cool. Cooler still is the order that is now on its way and will hopefully arrive next week. I got some Emperor's Children specifics, something heavy and something swift. Teaser teaser...

Welcome to the djungle!

Yo! I have been working some on terrain for the home world of the Lepidosauria. I know I wanted this to be a desert themed world but adding some green vegetation really looked nice. I bought a bunch of plastic plants from IKEA (the Swedish furniture company who forces you to put together their stuff yourself which I guess is okay if you are into wargaming and modelling anyway plus that they have nice meatballs) which I cut down into pieces and glued to a rock. Simple as that!

 I was not looking for something too time consuming since I want to spend my time with the models and not the terrain. The result is quite cool though.

A couple more and perhaps a gaming mat and then we have a planet!

Lepidosauria WIP

Just posting some pictures on what I have been up to!

 Another Skink Shaman on the way. This one I based of the extra skink in the Ripperdactyl set with the mask of the special character. I like the hunched look he's got and I added a broken totem for him to stand on (them skinks need their height).

 The knife looks brutal and is probably used in bloody rituals. As a Shaman he needed a staff and I fashioned one from a spear and some decorative feathers from the same kit.

 The Ripperdactyl riders are also on their way.

As are the two other Ripperdactyls. I will add a post on how to paint these later.
That's all for now. I know there has been a lot of Lizards lately and not so much Emperor's Children or other marines but they will be back. I am going to make an order from Forge World by the beginning of next week for something big, bipedal and mechanic. What could it be?

All about that base

I have found a reasonable basing technique for my Lepidosauria which I think I will stick with. The theme is desert/rough terrain with some dead grass.

After priming and adding decorative stones I cover the base with Armageddon dust.

Then I wash the base with Nuln oil.

After that I dry brush with Screaming skull and also apply this to the edges.

The bases are finished by flocking some dead grass.

The finished results. I like the look of the base but perhaps another color would be better for the edges. A light brown perhaps? Good enough for now.

Codex Lepidosauria

Yo! So as I have previously stated I am not a fantasy player and I try to stick with 30 and 40K but it is sometimes difficult when there are such beautiful fantasy models out there. Therefore, I am continuing to work on my Lepidosauria (basically Lizardmen in space) combining fantasy models with existing 40K rules mostly from codex Orks. This I will try to put together in a codex where the rules are explained in a way which makes more sense for the Lizrdmen models. 

An example: Saurus warrior as an Ork boy. Treat the slugga pistol as acid spit which can be produced and projected by the Saurus at its enemies. The difficulty of aiming spittle is explained by the poor ballistic skill. 

Hopefully I can put up the codex with rules as they get ready. Would be cool to add some pictures from my collection as well as a short background story. 

Spoiler alert! 

Perhaps my idea of playing Lizardmen in space was perfectly timed since the rumors concerning the latest End Times novel from GW states that the remaining Lizardmen escaped into space on temples incapsuled in magical bubbles :) I feel a bit bad for fantasy players if the Lizardmen won't be getting any more updates but who knows they might be back!

 Had some fun painting this toad which was included in the Ripperdactyl set as a poisonous dart frog. I have plans on using a similar color scheme for a Slann mage who will eventually take control and lead my army.

Pre heresy Fabius Bile conversion

Another addition to my collection of Emperor's Children characters! Fabius is known as the chief apothecary of the 3rd Legion, has a high reputation in Lord Fulgrims eyes and has a very creepy hobby. During the great crusade Fabius started experimenting on dead (and sometimes alive) xeno lifeforms. His own twisted idea of finding perfection, the ultimate goal for all Children, was to surgically modify space marines and incorporate organs as well as abilities from the dissected xenos. I love the hybris of considering himself soo talented that he could even improve on the Emperors creation. This colorful badass had to join my forces!

I based my version of Fabius on the GW model (you can find him here) which is both iconic and has his face on it. This model is however very devoted to chaos and I wanted to see what the pre-heresy Fabius would look like. The skin jacket had to go so I filled the seems with liquid green stuff and filed away the excess as well as the faces (scary stuff). The shoulder pads were cut of/filed away and exchanged with new ones from ForgeWorld. I also removed some skulls from his backpack and placed an aquila on his staff (making him bloody obviously one of the good guys).

The painting was done in a similar way as with my other EC with the inclusion of a lot of extra white from his surgical robe. I think apothecaries should stand out in the army. I also had a lot of fun painting all the tubes and vials with freaky blue liquids.

I hope this guy gets his own special rules from FW in the future but until then I will lay him as a Primus Medicae. Might also add a couple of more apothecaries because I have a feeling that the 3rd Legion should have quite many (not sure if I have read that somewhere).

We end this post with a close up. The awesome details in the GW model made it impossible to try to convert Fabius from something else. Hope you like him!

Assault squad finished

You may have seen these guys before during my painting tutorial but this is the first time they are completely ready for inspection. I painted the left shoulder pads white this time to make the assault squad stand out from the tactical squad (where the right shoulder pad is white). I am also considering painting future elite choices with both shoulders white or perhaps add a black shoulder. 

The sergeant is of course a favorite. I want to continue giving sergeants crested helmets but with slightly different colors of the plumes (previously I have alternated between black and white).

The jump packs make these guys massive and I can't wait to complete the unit with another 5 marines. Will it be more mkIV or perhaps mkII? For the Phoenician!

Bye the way I just finished reading the Horus heresy novel Scars and I can recommend it. The first time I got any depth into the White Scars and they seem much more interesting now than just a bunch of wildlings on bikes. Still, compared to the magnificent of the 3rd Legion they appear quite barbaric, ta ta.

Basing tutorial

Today I will show the easy steps that I use to base my Emperor's Children.

I begin by adding Armageddon Dust to get the texture, some decorative stones and spare plastic resin as pipes or spent bolt shells. Then I spray the entire model with Chaos Black.

 Second, I drybrush the base with Dawnstone.

 Third, drybrush with Administratum Grey. I apply the drybrushing to the legs and feet as well to blend the model into the base.

Last, I paint the bolt shells in Leadbelcher and add grass tufts from the Mordheim Turf. The edge of the base is painted in Dawnstone and voilà, we have the finished result.

Choosing a color scheme for the Saurus

I have a problem finding the right color scheme for some newly bought Saurus Warriors. These models will be perfect to play as Ork boyz and they look cool but how to color them? My initial idea was to paint them red with dark scales, lava meets ash. However, the results weren't what I had in mind. They need to tie in with the rest of the army, particularly the skinks, and at the same time be different enough so that they stand out on the board.

My initial idea on the right was too dark. I practised painting red with some nice highlights (middle model) but the overall feel is still too dark.

These were painted using the exact same technique as for the skinks (paint guide) and they look good but now they are almost too similar to the skinks.

Perhaps I will try to make the scales on the back a bit darker, brown for example and maybe with a pattern. I don't like the metal spikes on the back but perhaps I can simply paint them as the rest of the scales and make them dissappear.

Christmas presents!

Yo! Happy new 2015! I wonder what this year will have in store for the Warhammer hobby, 30K and Forge World. Will Games Workshop use the success of The End Times and use it for 40K as well? Which Primarchs and special characters will Forge World release? And what novels will we see from the Black Library? I am excited!

My lovely partner gave me the kind of Christmas gift that still makes me as happy as a little child: modells! I got some Ripperdactyls from GW which I will use for my Lepidosaurians and play as Deffkoptas (Ork codex).

 Here is one of the Rippers which I have started painting. I will later make a post about the color scheme.

 I tried to mimic the kind of pattern that GW has painted their Rippers in. It is a bit tedious work but the results look good.

More Lizardmen coming up!