Fixing dying paint.

While working on one of my projects this evening, I cracked open my trusted and true Blood Red Citadel paint. The lid had cracked on this paint pot ages ago but it hadn't shown any indication that it was getting to the point that the paint was about to start drying up.  Tonight was a different story as I opened it to find it mostly dry. Panicked, I drove a mixing stick into it to find that there was still some workable paint deeper in the pot.

I abandoned my project and dashed into another room to grab my dancing Khorne Berserkers  (that I have been neglecting) as this paint is crucial to their paint scheme. AS I begain frantically trying to get paint onto these models, a lightbulb went off in my head: extender.

You may recall that I wrote about extender once before, but this is the first time I truly had a need for it. I got a water dropper and added about 5-6 drops of extender into the Blood Red paint pot. I then vigorously stirred it into the coagulating paint until I was satisfied that it had mixed. And behold, it worked! Using the extender, I saved the paint's life!!! Bonus: I found an old lid that I am no longer using that will prevent any more drying.

So I continued to work on these two models until I was satisfied that the  extender was working. I will be talking more about these models in a future 'Feeling Khorney' post.

The Return of She Who Milks! (Part 3)

With the main model pretty much finished it was time to work on the base. This is one of the new Hero Bases that I thought would make an impressive pedestal for She Who Milks, my venerable Keeper of Secrets minature.

The first thing I did was basecoat the turret using Graphite which is made by Craftsmart. I pretty much have this color scheme memorized having perfected it around the year 2000, but I still wanted to reference it to be sure. So I dug out one of my Imperial Guard tanks from it's place of storage..

Long lost cousins: a comparison.

I knew that GW retooled the Leman Russ Battle Tank almost a decade ago, but I was unaware that the turret was so radically altered. The design features are all present, with exception to that bit that comes out on the side that I put the smoke launcher on, it's just clearly wider. Now, I realized that this new turret isn't from the actual tank model, it's a base, but it's still very interesting to compare the two.

The original Leman Russ tank.

Another reason to pull out this old tank was to see how I detailed it, what decals I used, etc. I hope to get back to my Imperial Guard at some point and when I do I would like them all to match!

Pewter Grey.

Pewter Grey was washed on to the turret over the Graphite. By washing, what I did was mix the paint 50/50 with water and dab the color on by going from the edges of a given surface toward the center leaving the Graphite exposed in center and around rivets. I then went in an applied thick concentrations of Pewter Grey around the edges.

Country Grey dabbling.

 Using water I thinned down some Apple Barrel Country Grey and dabbed it onto turret. This created a faux blending effect giving the model a faux sense of depth. I then hit the edges with a thicker layer of this paint.

White Scar highlights.

Finally I applied a thick dot of White Scar to all the rivets and bolt head. I next slightly thinned some White Scar for the final highlight.

Next came the insignia on the side of the turret. I wanted it to resemble my finished Russ so I hand painted a red square and after digging through my vast decal collection found a mailed fist holding a sythe that I thought went well with the older Russ.

Badge added.

As I typically do I once again used Microsol to wet the transfer. After that I dry brushed, in very strong strokes, the mud. I wanted it to appear like a splatter effect as if this turret smashed hard into the mud. It's a subtle effect, as I didn't want it to distract too much from the whole model.

Mud splatter.

You'll also notice that I finished the blown out gun barrel. I used Niln oil and Abaddon Black to achieve this look. Bolt Gun metal (the shiney mid- '90s version) was applied to the break points along the barrel.

With that I was done with the turret. Next I figued out where She Who Milks would stand and drilled a hole for her foot peg. After I tore her off of her previous base, I painted a Worm Purple dot on the bottom of her foot to mark where the other pin should go, then quickly placed her on the turret. The wet paint marked exactly where I needed the pinhole to go.

Mounting prep.

Next I drilled and pinned a bit of brass rod into place.

Foot pinned.

 And finally, after a bit of work and some super glue, she was now mounted!

Mounted!

It seems that this post is running long, so I'll reveal her in all her glory in the next post (part 4), so I hope you come back and check out the final model.

Infiltrate the Camp (or Run at the Guns!)

I made it to another Saturday Night game night at the local Hobbytown USA where The Bob and I found ourselves facing off against each other once again due to no one else showing up to play 40K or Killteam (Blood Bowl however, is going pretty strong and I am glad for it! As soon as I start painting a team the craze will DIE. Always happens...), We decided to set up the ruins in a city grid pattern this time with an Imperial Statue in the middle as sort of a town centre-like focus point. Since we've been playing the KT missions in order, it only made sense that the next one would be #4: Infiltrate the Camp. Upon immediate review of the scenario rules it's clear that there is no 'camp' or base, but rather this is a traditional 'Break Through' mission. Regardless, I felt sure I had the gang  to make it happen either way.

Vivjhian Throatpuncn and her Kabalite gang.

After the roll-off I found myself in the Attacker role. Since I outnumbered Bob's Death Watch almost 2:1 I could take a a few casualties and still get the needed VPs for escaping through his zone. The Death Watch will get 1VP for every 3 models they kill, whereas I will get 1 VP for each model I can manage to break through and leave the game from his table edge.

This is my first time facing the Death Watch lets see who we have:

 Veteran on top, and Infernus Bolter on the second level

Shotgun Vet, waits to boomstick something.

Top: a regular Vet, below: the KT Leader.

Stalker (I think?)

Bob's leader also ended up with Murderous Blow. Infernus Bolter took Ignores Cover, the Combat Vet selected Killer Instinct and the Stalker chose Stealth.

And of course my usual goons are my specialists. This time I also got to choose a Specialist Skill for my Leader and I chose Murderous Blow for her as well. The Splinter Cannon once again has Reaping Volley. the Blaster has Stealth, and the 2nd Sybarite has Killer Instinct.

Yes, with the exception of one Specialists per side, we pretty much took the same skillz!

The Dark Eldar Specialists.

The board was set. and with the roll of a die it was determined that we arrived to soon to take advantage of the Darkness.

The board is set, ready for Turn One...

Turn One, The Dark Eldar bolt from their positions and attempt to get as far into the field as they could. The Splinter Cannon showered two marines with a hail of splinters but to no effect. The Death Watch have far more interesting results, and right a way it starts to look a bit grim for the Dark Eldar. The Death Watch pick off 3 models scoring their first VP with First Blood and racking up another VP with those 3 kills.

Going to Ground saves lives. Especially inside a crater!

Turn 2 the Dark Eldar continued to advance and some of them struck back, I managed to kill 2 marines, and since there is only 7 of them, that hurt the DW quite a bit. The Death Watch got only one kill, but it was a good one: My Leader, Vivjhian, was picked off by one of these guys:

"Did you shoot her, or was that me?"

That earned them the Slay the Leader VP, giving them 3VPs so far...

Turn 3: Lots of moving as the Death Watch fire lines shrink. The Dark Eldar pick off another Marine, (Sniper)  but lose another one of their number as well.

"RUN!!!"

Turn 4: One of the Dark Eldar, the Shredder, breaks through and crosses the line! Yes,a VP! The Dark Eldar kill the Shotgun marine that was waiting to pick off anyone getting near him, I really was afraid of this guy and was relieved to see him taken out of action. The bonus to that was that it was enough to make them "Broken" at the start of their turn 4, which resulted in one of the Death Watch leaving the field. This also earned the DE another VP. They got their revenge however by snuffing out another Dark Eldar, earning a 2nd VP from kills.

Shredder, crossing the line. 

Turn 5 was shockingly anti-climatic, No more Dark Eldar made it over the line. It didn't help my cause that I overlooked two models for half the game and did nothing with them. The Death Watch turn was a bit more ugly, even though Bob only had 2 marines left, he still managed to take  two more out, just missing out on another VP. That final shot was done by his leader no less,

Target aquired...

...Target eliminated.

At the end of that turn, we rolled for Variable Turn Length and the game abruptly ended.

Which sucked for me, as I was poised to get a lot more models off the table in Turn 6! Arrrgh! Just goes to show that the dice gods care not for the timing of your plan therefore you need to accumulate VPs early and not hope to net them towards the end of the game as you just never when it coild end!

Anyway, we tallied the VPs:

• Dark Eldar: 2 VPs (One Attacker off of the table, and Broken)

• Death Watch: 4 VPs (2 for kills, Slay the Leader , First Blood.)

Also, it must be noted that had the game proceeded to Turn 6 the Dark Eldar would have been officially Broken at the start of it. 

My only Primary Objective VP comes from Shredder who is the one model in this list whom I typically regard as useless; Heroes come from the most likely of places.

"Thank you,  thank you, I'd like to thank my sponsor  Moutain Dew for giving me the extra pep in my step, couldn't a done without you!"

Thanks again for another good game Bob!

The Return of She Who Milks! (part 2)

The Dairy Cow of Love continues to be colored.

I used Apple Barrel English Blue on the 'black leather' areas. I think this gives the leather a slightly worn look about it.  Also I base coated the metal circular plates that form a belt and that hang on her back with Burnished Gold.

Leather and gold.

Next I washed the Burnished Gold with Chestnut Ink. Then I basecoatws the armout with an old Citadel Metallic pianted called Amethyst Purple.

Chestnut Ink on Burnished Gold. Amethyst Purple armor.

I applied the Amethyst Purple to the armor on her head as well as repeated the color steps for the gold trim. I started to work on the horns and teeth at this step also.

Coloring the head.

Shining Gold was added as a highlight to the gold. I then drybrushed Mitheril Silver on top of the Amethyst Purple.

Mitheril Silver drybrused over Amethyst Purple.

A wash of 1:1 water/Druchii Violet was applied over the armor. I really like how vibrant this made the armor appear and I am quite pleases with it.

Druchii Violet wash on the armour.

I finished the horns and teeth bringing the bone color up to a white highlight. Finally I painted Mitheril Silver on all the spikes, buckles and sharp things that appear across this miniature, of which there are many. 

Mitheril Silver spikes.

Next, I have the base to paint up before relocating this model onto it. That will be covered in part 3.

Turret base primed and ready for part 3...

The Return of She Who Milks! (Part 1)

Of all the sinister rogues in my collection, is there one as vile or as feared as She Who Milks? First revealed to the world many years (and 40k game editions) ago in a joyous Battle Against the Exodites, this vile fiend has only made a few appearances on tabletop, and this blog, since that time. "She" is an original Rogue Trader era model that has sadly remained in a semi-state of neglect.  I recently found her in a case all by herself and I lamented upon her rediscovery that I never finished painting her or any of my Slaaneshi models. Furthermore I thought how sad it is that as these models are slowly being redone in plastic that these original Greater Daemons are shrinking in size and relevance.

Dwarf Flesh basecoat.

That same day I happened to stop at one of the local gaming stores and bought a box of the new Hero Bases. The biggest base has a destroyed tank turret which can be used as a pedestal. I immediately thought that this would be a great way to redo She Who Milks. So above you can see the two models together.  She Who Milks is wearing that same basecoat that has been on that model for well over a decade now. I had a Dwarf Flesh basecoat on her which I was going to bring up to a pinky-fleshy color. (This was getting away from the temptation to paint her like a black and white dairy cow, as even I thought that would be just too damn silly).  I was going to copy a scheme from a model I had seen in White Dwarf at the time but I must have lost interest as other projects (and real life) no doubtfully pulled me away.

In the beginning  (i.e. the late '80s) Slaaneshi daemons were painted in a wide variety of disturbing and unsettling pastel colors. They were freaky. When the '90s rolled around they started to use caucasian flesh tones which looked disturbing also but a bit boring. In more recent times the purple-hued color the GW painters have been using for their Daemonettes has grown on me and I decided I wanted to give it a go. But I didn't know how they were doing it until I found Duncan's tutorial on Warhammer TV.

They start off by priming the model in Mechanicum Grey. Not having that paint, I decided to skip that and just paint the next color over the Dwarf Flesh.

Warpfiend Grey layer.

I painted Warpfiend Flesh over all the skin and the claws. The claws were already basecoated black and since I want them to be darker anyway I thought this would work out well.

Double-coat of Druchii Violet.

Next I applied 2 coats of Druchii Violet, and added another coat to the claws for a deeper tone.

After that I decided to deviate from the tutorial (it's just a guideline after all) and use a deeper color they have called, appropriately, Daemonette Hide.

Daemonette Hide coat.

Being that there is a lot more skin on this thing than there is on a typical Daemonette, it made a lot of sense to me to have an extra layer of tone.  I think worked it out nicely.

Warpfiend Grey applied again. 

After that, I got back to the script and added another layer of Warpfiend Grey. 

Slaanesh Grey top layer. 

Finally topping that off with Slaanesh Grey. Duncan suggested on the Daemonette to use this color as a highlight. Again, being the size that this model is, I chose to be a bit more liberal with this layer.

Slaanesh Grey/White mix highlight 

 And then I added a layer, in a highlight fashion, of a Slaanesh Grey / White mix. This I thought really did the trick. The model had a few small bumps which I wasn't sure what they were supposed to be... zits? Warts? I just painted them White and moved on. I Also added the slightest white highlights on some of the top-most areas of the minature. In particular I made sure to make the knuckles on the clinched fist white to perhaps accentuate the power behind that flex.

Black leggings.

In the end I decided to make She Who Milks wear black lingerie. I figure it would constrast better than anything else. Also any other color could throw off the entire model's vibe. And a clawed pinkish hermaphrodite cow demon has to have the proper vibe, yes?

Celestial Lions Land Speeder (Part 1)

As an option for my Celestial Lions Kill Team I wanted a Land Speeder in lieu of having just a Tactical Squad. I knew before I began that I wanted to magnetize this vehicle for gun options. I also knew that I didn't want to use the Typhoon launchers as that's the most expensive (in-game) option. This piece would be interchangeable between a standard Land Speeder and a Land Speeder Tornado.

This was actually the prime motivation behind this whole Celestial Lions project and it was the first thing I started on. Back in December, I primed the whole kit while it was still attached to it's frames using Krylon Gold.

Primed sprues.

After just over a month I returned to this model confident that I had a renewed grasp on the Celestial Lions paint scheme. Now this is the original model that came in the 40k 3rd ed starter box.  It is somewhat notorious for being a model that doesn't like to go together without a fight. Having built one of these before, I know that it takes patience, skill, rubberbands and plenty of plastic cement.

Stage one, with magent hole.

At this point I figured out where I wanted the hull mounted magnet to go. I simply eye-balled it and carved out a hole using my X-acto blade. I made the hole big enough for the smaller magnets, that will be on the guns, to fit through where they'll contact the larger magnet superglued within.

Large magnet superglued over small hole.

On to the painting, where I picked out all the areas that needed a black basecoat. Next, I applied Chestnut Ink to all the grooves and recesses on the main hull and the lower assembly.

Test fit. 

Next I had to decide which weapons to use for my load out options. I chose the multimelta from the 2nd edtion era Land Speeder and the heavy flamer from the Space Marine Attack Bike which is also from that time.

Old enough to be relics.

The magnets I am using are seriously strong and in the event that the superglue were ever to fail I would likely not be able fix it again due to the way this kit goes together. So I decided to glue a piece of sprue over and around the magnet for extra security.

Sprue cage over the manget.

With the sprue cage set and the magnets glued, I am happy to show that this appears like it will work perfectly!

Heavy Flamer option.

Multimelta option.

I have another weapon (or two...maybe. the debate continues) that I would like to add to these options, but for now I feel like we can move on with the painting and assembly. And since this post is now long enough, we shall leave those steps for part 2!

Cypher beat down.

Burning ...for you. 

The Bob and I decided to play a full game of 40K, and we had so much full with chasing Cypher that we thought we should do another Cypher mission. This time we played Turn the Tide. The idea being that the aggressors have more-or-less ambushed Cypher and his minions as they were doing whatever it is they were doing, and they have him back against the proverbial wall until help arrives. This one has a rather unique deployment which I found exciting and challenging.You can see in the map that I get to set up in that gray corner and he gets to set up 12" away in the other three quadrants. 

How the deployment works is that I essentially split my force, and if the aggressors, in this case Bob's Dark Angels, can destroy the force that I started the game with, then he'll get the big share of VPs (6 VPs in fact) whereas if I have survivors, I would get them. The big catch is that my Reserves don't arrive until Turn 4. Oddly enough the other Special Rule, Backs Against the Wall, forces broken units to auto-rally when they hit the board edge. 

 Sadly my camera phone was acting buggy today and as a result I barely had enough power to review the Cypher Dataslate and could take just two pics. Bob took a lot of great pics which I hope he'll show on his blog soon (update: and here it is). Therefore I won't be doing my typical  battle report but instead giving you a brief summery. 

We totally forgot to check for Night Fighting, which might have helped me in the first turn. The Dark Angels hit me hard with a sledgehammer-like alpha strike that saw my Black Legion unit all but wiped out. Only the Aspiring Champion survived, and of course my dice chose that moment to start rolling high and he broke harder than my first car and ran screaming for the table edge where he would ultimately rally before being picked off (by a Krak missile!).

Bob has some great shots of the Ravenwing attacking Cypher. Cypher and his Fallen goons dove out of their Land Raider to vaporize the bikers, however the Sgt and the Attack BIke survived and pulled back to make room for the two units of Deathwing that 'ported in on Turn 2. In short, only a wounded Cypher survived that hail of bullets and he dove back into the Landraider. On Turn 3 that surviving Attack Bike rolled up and lanced the Landraider like a boil with it's multimelta, leaving an exasperated Cypher sitting in a crater. 

The bottom of Turn 3 saw me trying to cobble together some sort of force with which to survive Bob's next turn. The Vinidicator, which couldn't roll a HIT on the scatter dice if I had bribed it to do so, was ultimately wrecked (see top pic). 

The final stand for Cypher saw him being captured, again, while the rest of his goons were all executed. And this was done before my Turn 4, denying me my reinforcements (a Chaos Champ on a Juggernaut and a squad of Khorne Berserkers).

It was a fun game despite my abysmal dice rolling in the beginning, and a fun scenario. Very challenging. I would like to try it again I think, but with a more hardier army composition. In the game victory was very much absolute so we didn't bother with VPs (and I doubt I earned any regardless!).

Anyway, I was trying to pressure Bob to write out a battle report, or a least a photo dump with play-by-play comments, on his blog. Especially since it's been awhile since he last posted on it. And if he does, as promised, I'll link it back here. (Update: Here it is)