FICTION: Tyranid/Mechanicus 1 pager

A few years back, prior to any Mechanicus models or codices were released, a friend of mine Lantz created a homebrew Mechanicus codex and a set of converted models. It was quite striking, and the points and abilities were well thought out. Very shortly afterwards,

Chapterhouse and Wargamma Defense Walls / Aegis Counts As

I saw this morning on Apocalypse 40k that  Chapterhouse, on the heels of the relatively advantageous (to them) court decision has initiated a Kickstarter for army-specific defense walls.

It's a clever idea for those who don't relish aquilas on their Eldar, Tau, or Ork wargear. It's also an idea that was implemented by others before this Kickstarter.

Adepticon 2013 Part 2:The Haul and The Find

Illustration by Taytonclait on Deviant Art.

I went on quite a shopping spree at Adepticon this year. The new separate vendors' room made it simple to keep orbiting the tables and finding more and more stuff to "need". Of course, I spent too much at Forgeworld, but I was restrained enough to not buy any Black Library...simply not enough hours in the day for casual reading.

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Tyranid size chart...uh oh....

From a Spanish site (I got it from Reddit). Click to enlarge:

Well, so much for the Chapterhouse conversion...it's a little undersized. LOL.

Rumors, Nids, and Nerdrage

I should be really excited.

No, really, I should be ecstatic.Yesterday 2nd wave of Nids. Today, CSM and other rumors.

I REALLY should be happy...and not whiny. But they REALLY deviated from the codex art for the Tervigon and Tyrannofex.

They look more like modified hierophants than the walking tanks in the codex:

Bummer. But I will probably end up buying at least 4 kits. Sigh.

Terv Rage

Why don't you exist, little lady?

OK, so let's talk about something that has me in fits. It has to do with this little lady in the picture (although I'm probably assigning an unnecessary gender stereotype...think penguins and seahorses). Of all the blunders attributed to Games Workshop, this is really the only one that I cannot argue against: the tardiness of the (presumed) third wave of Tyranid models. I know I'm preaching to the converted, but if you want to ride the wave of Black Rage with me, read on...
Click to jump...

Independence Day + Other Fun Events

For all my friends in the U.S., Happy Independence Day!

So it's been almost a month since I last posted. I took a bit of a break from painting to work on my army lists and to get through some non-40k activities (believe it or not, I do have a life outside 40k). With my wife and kids (and dog!) going to the summer place for 6 weeks, I thought I would actually prepare this year to finish my 3 armies - Nids, BAs, and CSMs.

The Nids are about 95% finished, and the CSMs are not a high priority...at least until the next codex. But those Blood Angels - or, rather, Angels Sanguine - wow, there are a LOT of them staring at me on my workbench. I'm actually debating changing these guys to regular Blood Angels because of the sheer numbers. Let's see:

Sanguinor
Dante
Lemartes
Astorath
Mephiston
JP Chaplain
Termie Libby
10 Tac Squad
10 Tac Squad
10 Tac Squad
5 Assault Squad
5 Assault Squad
5 Assault Squad
10 Death Company
5 Scouts
5 Sanguinary Guard
DC Dread
Furioso Dread
Libby Dread
Dread
5 Termies
5 SS/TH Termies
5 LC Termies
Baal Pred
Stormraven
5 Rhinos
Land Raider
2 Drop Pods

Yikes. So to help me finish these, I just took delivery of the following:

It's the Paasche Talon with all three size needles. It's very comparable to the Iwata HP-CS, but for 10 dollars less, you get a ton more accessories. I will be doing a review of this as soon as the compressor shows up.

On another note, has anyone played the new Warpath Rules yet?

A few updates.

The last few weeks have been pretty hectic, but I think i can follow up on some stuff tonight.

First is the paint station from here: Superfast & Supercheap Paint Riser. Shortly after creating this, I ended up buying the large GW set that has all of the Foundation Paints. I won't get into the fact that it was an old set and GW has discontinued this item; the fact was that I had instantly outgrown the little contraption I had created. So with one more $1.00 sheet of foamcore, I went to work. I couldn't make it much wider, so I added another tier. The one on the left is the new one (click to enlarge):

The other update is a picture related to the previous post. On the left is the regularly dipped warrior. On the right is the one I dipped in a slightly less amenable stain.

I dry brushed red highlights to pull it together with my hive's scheme. Oh well...you live and you learn, I guess.

Status Update

My ever-dynamic employment situation is nearing stabilization, for better or worse, so I've decided to post a quick progress report on my Nids. Since this is more for my own sanity, I decided to forgo the light box and just use the built in flash...better pictures will come after I'm done basing and applying Dullcote.

Hormagaunts

The hormagaunts are lookin' pretty saucy. I've always thought it would make more sense for these babies to come out of a tervigon, but what do I know. This is probably my favorite GW troop model...they look very dynamic. If it didn't  make such poor strategic sense, I would do a hormagaunt-exclusive army, maybe with some deepstriking carifexes and a swarmlord. I'm just not wild about shooty nids. I know that the fluff supports it, but it still seems sort of a copout that the symbiotes look like guns.

Carnifex & Trygon

The trygon needs basing and a shot of the old Dullcote, but I'm pretty pleased at how it has come out. The 'fex is my altime favorite painted model I've been putting off basing it, but the time is coming...I'd like to have one more carnifex with the scything talons and crushing claws. I'd also like a Malwoc, just because I love the rules and I think it looks great.

Termagants

So these are the termagants from the 8 dollar box, so they are quite "samey". I'm going to mix them with other vanilla termagants from the combo troop box...more on those later.

Various nasties...they are not as red as in this pic.

-Sigh- So the venomthrope and lictor are finished except for Dullcote, as is the tyrant guard (2 more guard are in the pipeline) The swarmlord is awaiting the 4 boneswords from the post below.

Warriors...come out to play...

My 6 warriors, 1 that needs dipping, and all need basecoating and Dullcote.

Spinegaunts and Rippers

Spinegaunts and a single one with a devourer, along with some ripper swarms. I have 5 more ripper swarms primed, and 8 or 9 more gaunts with devourers.

Genestealers

Two units of genestealers with my least favorite model of all time (aesthetically), the broodlord. It doesn't help that I painted him to look like he's wearing a red bikini.

Gargle with Ymargl

My small group of Ymargl Genestealers, a few of which I accidently dropped completely in the dip (it was late)...they will eventually have to be fixed.

Zoanthrope Conclave

And finally, my lovely zooeys, ready for Dullcote.

On the painting bench: another 20 gaunts, one zoanthrope, 2 tyrant guard, 5 ripper swarms, and a unit of gargoyles (you can see them above in the hormagaunt pic). On the modeling side, I have a nearly finished Doom of Malan'tai, and I'd like to model two tervigons, a tyrannofex, and a half dozen mycetic spores. I also need to buy a carnifex and a hive tyrant. But the end is near!

FINALLY!

What you see here is a picture of 10 of the cheap termagants (eight dollars per 5) drying after a dip in Minwax. What you don't see is me pumping my fist in the air and shrieking with joy. I have yet to have a unit take this long to paint. It's been about 3 months that these bastards have been on my work table. They aren't even really prepped! You can see mold lines and sprue bumps, but I really don't care.

There are a few reasons why I feel such animosity towards these innocently vicious killers. First, they aren't such hot models, especially where the front limbs meet the body, and they look bulkier than the other type of termagant. Second, I am so sick of this color scheme that I could freak out. I really need a break from nids, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon, which brings me to the main reason: I have another 30 of these to paint. Ugh.

How do you guys who paint horde armies maintain some sort of sanity?

Next up...10 gargoyles.

Finishing up the Hive Fleet

I've been distracted a bit by the immediacy of Warmachine: painted up 5 figs and I'm ready to play.

But I've been staring at my 'nids, and they are crying out for completion. So I figure if I formalize it for everyone to see, I can be motivated to finish it posthaste.


Gargoyles
You know what I hate about gaunts and gargoyles? Painting fleshborers. Their fingers are so intertwined in the gun symbiote that it becomes almost impossible to paint with contrasting colors. Had I thought about it before starting, I would have just painted them the body color...either Red Gore or Bleached Bone. But no, I had to make them black. So my 10 gargoyles are ready except for those guns and a dip...but it's going to be a total paint.

Hormagunts
I have about 24 of them unassembled.

Genestealers
One of the first units I painted was a group of genestealers. Not knowing anything about anything, I did 11 of them with normal heads and rending claws, and one with feeder tendrils and scything talons. I have another dozen in the box, and I've procured a few more tendril heads, so I'll do 11 with feeders/scythes and 1 to match the original guys. The Cthulu looking stealers can double as Ymargls.

Hive Tyrant / Swarmlord
I got a great deal on one of these via Ebay, and I was considering magnetizing the arms, but I seriously think it will actually be cheaper for me in time, materials and effort to buy another tyrant. The boneswords for the swarmlord will be purchased HERE at Paulson Games.

Tyrant Guard
Two are assembled, primed, and ready to paint.

Zoanthropes
I have 4 on the bench, primed and pinned, but the little back fins are a colossal pain to attach. If anyone knows of a way other than greenstuff, I'm all ears.

Termagants
I have about 36 of these to paint, with 10 of them almost completed except for the gun symbiote. See the gargoyle text above to see what the hold up is.

Doom of Malantai
I was going to convert a Zooey for this, but I think I'm just going to buy the Alien Brain @ Troll Forged.

Warriors
Three left, unassembled. One may become an alpha.

Wow, I never realized how much is left...but it IS a finite amount. I still have Tervigons to model and paint, but I'm not worrying about that right now.

So after this, I have a full 2000+ points of CSMs and the AoBR set. If anyone wants to suggest a marine and chaos marine chapter, I'd love to see comments. I'm going to do the orks fairly traditionally, so I'm going to have to research them.

In other news, there's still time to enter the giveaway. I don't know if I should be pushing this more aggressively, but you have a huge opportunity here since there are so few entrants. And international folks should not hesitate to enter...I'm a big boy, and I can afford the shipping.  :) Good luck!

On the Bench, 5/24/2010

OK, let's see what's left to do on the Hive Fleet. I got many more boxes of 'Nids this weekend, so I'm going to have to update the spreadsheet.

My Ebay Hive Tyrant arrived! Only 30 bucks including shipping! I didn't care that it was missing the bonesword and lash because I plan to get those from Paulson Games anyway. The idea is to magnetize the arms to it can play as a Tyrant or Swarmlord, although with my low skill level with the pin vise, I may just buy a second Tyrant...considering opportunity cost, it may actually be cheaper. I also assembled the first Tyrant Guard using gray stuff instead of pinning. I may end up regretting this, but I'm sick of breaking bits.

Four Zooeys are primed and pinned...I'm just dreading getting those fins on, though. The gargoyles and Termagants need their guns painted, which is a real trick considering their little wraparound fingers...should've chosen Necrons.  :)

The Trygon, she is done, Senor...

I haven't posted in a few weeks, but it's because I've been painting! I've got 10 Termagants and 9 Gargoyles on the table and I'm assembly-lining 5(!) Zoanthropes. This is just a massive push to finish my 'nids.

And I just dipped the Trygon. My lightbox is disassembled right now, so just one bad picture:

The light is so darn green around the hermit crab tank...I think it may be the effect from the heat lamp in the tank. Better pictures later.

Post-Adepticon

Well, Adepticon has come and gone. I took about 300 pictures and took a few painting classes that were quite informative. And thanks to the great people I met there.

I also took advantage of the complete nonexistence of sales tax and bought just about everything I needed to finish my Nids, and I got a complete set of waches plus some other neat stuff.

Click for a bigger pic. This is my workspace as of 5 minutes prior to this post.The funny thin is that my actual "work" desk is directly to the left of this desk.

On it, you can see the assembly line, and it works well for the most part. Those 4 little objective markers in front of the Trygon are from Ramshackle Games, and they are little carnivorous plants.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! No, I mean it this time!

Zoanthrope #1

Zoanthrope - ARRRGH

Even the Venomthrope cant make heads or tails of it. The Zoanthrope model is surprisingly difficult to assemble. I've pinned the lower body to the head, and I'm going to have to paint those

Mishap

I had a small accident yesterday. Remember the hormagaunts from two posts back? Well, I'm at the wash stage of all 16 of them. So they're lined up in a row, and i realize that I'm REALLY late to pick up the kids from school, so I grab my jacket and run out of my office.

What i didn't realize was that the jacket pulled 5 of the 'gaunts onto the ground. When I returned to the office that evening, I rolled my chair straight over them in a tidy line.

Luckily, I managed to make really clean breaks where the hoof meets the base slot. a little superglue fixed up just fine. Will they stand the test of time? Who knows.

Venomthrope: 50%  finished
Trygon: 80% finished.
Hormagaunts: 75% finished.

Next up: Ymargl Genestealers, Termagants, and....NOISE MARINES!

After that, I'm going to tackle magnetizing with my first vehicles...a set of Rhino/Predators.

Lots of progress

A lot going on in my little hivefleet in the past 10 days. I've dabbled back into music, which I said i wouldn't do until I finished this, but it was unavoidable. Therefore, my time to paint has been slightly reduced.

16 hormagaunts on the assembly line. I actually nodded off a couple times while trying to basecoat these and ended up painting my jeans, my hand, and a bit of my glasses.

Trygon prime is nearly basecoated. I was skeptical about Foundation paints, but they do make a difference. I didn't check if they have a Bleached Bone equivalent in Foundation, but it would be worth checking...this is taking forever!

Speaking of paint, I wanted to show you something. I did  a little test on this gruesome Noise Marine. I tried one of those craft store pink paints in hopes that it would be acceptable, since I don't foresee using pink again after this squad. But after 4 watered-down coats on the legs, it's a no. I've used the crafty black and white with success, but there just isn't enough pigment in the pink. On the other hand, the GW purple I used on the chest as a test went on in two coast. TMMV.

Although I'm not close to starting on my CSMs, I messed around with this Khorne lord and Chaos Termie Lord. Just practicing various techniques. I will soon strip them and start over. Notice the Imperial Fist helmet impaled on his shoulder.  :)

Warriors done, and...It Lives!

I finished the warriors, but I have a major dipping flaw on one of them, so that may have to be redone. It's on the underside of the model, though, so I may just say "whatever"/

I thought I had gotten all of the excess MinWax off of the model before I set it down, but it ended up pooling a bit under the tail...just enough to look unrealistically goopy. Like I said, it's only really noticeable if you specifically look for it, so it's definitely low priority.

On a side note, I also took the opportunity to finish my last two metal gargoyles. I did a REALLY bad job on them, but I don't even care. I only have 4 of them anyway, and I'd only use them with the plastic brood.
'
And building has commenced on the Trygon Prime, which I don't see as that much better than a regular Trygon. I was going to magnetize it, but there's only one head...hmmm...maybe I'd magnetize it anyway and search for extra heads.

It lives!

I'm also dipping a toe into my huge number of CSMs...I'm currently about 50% through a Khorne Lord and a Chaos Terminator Lord. I'm trying not to think about them too much, or I'll feel guilty for not getting the rest of the gaunts and this trygon out first.

Warrior w/ Barbed Strangler

Done with Warrior #1, Scything Talons and Barbed Strangler. Click to enlarge.