Bad paint job purge

Here are some very old Space Marines, released in 1987 as boxed set RTB01 (That's Rogue Trader Box #1). I believe these models were given to me by Warfrog who acquired them as part of a bigger lot and he just didn't want to deal with the aggravation of having to relist them. So naturally, the miniature hoarder that I am, I gave them a home. I stumbled upon these all but ruined things the other day and decided it was time to clean them up and ready them for future projects. But first, let us pick on them:

Actually, I need to be upfront about this: I would never pick on, or attempt to discourage, anybody from painting models or doing any sort of art. Some people have talent right from the go, some need to go through a lot more trial and error before they get to even a modest level, but that's OK. If you have fun, and like your results, that's all that matters.

Having said that, I have no idea what the eff'n hell happened to these things!

This one came apart in the bag it was in. I am not sure what scheme was being attempted or imagined when the paint was being applied, but I am at a loss when I try to see. it. The belts are yellow, and a hideous version of it, I suspect this was a flat enamel of some sort, with blue on the rest of it. Then it seems that yellow was applied over it rather liberally for some reason, and where it was all still wet, colors blended to for an interesting green.

is another one, with similar coloration. The model is busted to hell and after I strip the paint I will need to rip off his arms and replace them.

Next up, more of the random colors that makes me think that a child, perhaps one too small to even be using these paints, was coloring these things. .

At least with orange and green they are opposite colors on the color wheel, so, props for an attempt at color theory I guess.

There are more models, most of which were never cleaned up properly and still have mold-lines and flash. I will soak these things just I did when I stripped the vindicator a while back. Afterwards, some of these may end up as casualties on a foe's base, or re-purposed as full fledged marines! Keep an eye on this blog, you will see these guys again!

Arise, Cerastus, Arise! -Part Three- (TSG Post)

The mad Doc has been at it since we last checked in on his Imperial Knight Titan project. It's important to note that the Knight in the following pics isn't the same knight in the previous posts, for the Doctor is working on three Cerastus Knight Titans at the same time!

As per the previous posts, the following  quotes are from the text messages that he has sent me with the pics

"Notice how the sword arm swivels. It is magnetized at the arm/body connection and the elbow."

Here is the side view of the arm swiveling. This sword reminds me of a carrot peeler...

+"Finalizing the rubble on the cerastus titan base."

He seemed proud of how fine the granulation of his basing materials were so he sent me multiple pics of it, and well, maybe someone out there wants to see some detail of it, so enjoy!

On one of his other bases, he did more green stuff work that incorporates more vehicle wreckage...

Here is another view of these legs and you can see where he had to make some corrections to the casting by filling in the holes and gaps with greenstuff.

When he sends me more pics I will post another update.

Beyond the Gates of Antares

Finally, I have the starter boxed set for Warlord Games Beyond the Gates of Antares game.  I have been following the development of this game for years, initially because Rick Priestley wrote and developed it, but even more so when I found out that the game mechanics would be based on Warlord's Bolt Action game. I don't do product reviews or unboxing videos but in this situation, I just can't help myself and I want to show people what a cool product this is.

The first thing that struck me was how much smaller the box is compared to a typical GW starter set. However, one needs to just pick up the box to quickly discern that this boxed set is packed from corner to corner with content. Opening the box up, one is immediately greeted by the hardcover rulebook, and I was pleased to discover that it is a full sized book like their Hail Caesar and Black Powder rules books and not small like the Bolt Action book.

After lifting that impressive tome from the box I discovered the Quick Start guide which also has assembly instructions for the models within. It's a great guide and it should be handy for helping me to teach others how to play this game.

After removing that from the box you find yourself admiring all the models that come with this boxed set. 20 Concord Strike Team figures, their support drones, and the 6 Ghar battlesuits. Great looking models, and a big improvement over Warlord's initial metal releases. I look forward to working on them!

The boxset comes with all the dice you could need to play, as well as some snazy, and unique templates and pin markers.

The templates remind me of the early days of 40k, when different weapons, psyker powers and vehicles required different templates to use them properly. I file this time of 40k in my memory under "fun".

So, with the box somewhat explored I took to the book, and it was difficult setting it down. The games has a 40k Rogue Trader feel to it, but with a cleaner presentation. It was very easy to dive into, and after skimming the rules I immersed myself in the background section of the book, which, like Rogue Trader, you get just enough info to get the ball rolling and know why it's rolling, with it clearly stated that future supplements, campaigns, etc with fluff it all out further. So far, I am digging it.

The art is mostly in color and pretty good. The cover art, reprinted as a nice spread within, has a layout that virtually mirrors the cover of Rogue Trader, and not only is that fine, I appreciate the gestalt and what it means. What it means is, Rick Priestley is back, and so is his ideal of a space age miniature game. And I am excited to play this game!