27 Feb 2018

Squaduary 2018 - Relictors RTB01 Tactical Squad - Showcase

Hello All, thanks for dropping by and having a look-see, I am glad to report my Squaduary 2018 pledge is complete, based and sealed. I had a blast doing these guys, sometimes a lack of great detail akin to modern plastics is refreshing and helps keep a good pace!
What is it all about - a bunch of hobbyists getting motivated to do long overdue Squads... Rory at Stepping Between Games blog has done a great job corralling us all again this year to pledge to get some paint on our to-do piles. I loved it and the motivation of seeing everyone's efforts really helped me keep fairly focused (HBS aside) - Rory will be posting the final results report Thursday I think - loads of great minis completed or progressed further I hope!
So, here is Squad Cato of the 4th Company Relictors Chapter, hence the green on the banner. Sergeant Cato is a veteran (of the to-do pile!) so earnt Terminator Honours displayed on his banner and the bone colour of his helmet marks him out as a Veteran Sergeant.
I swapped the flamer nozzle for one from a combi-flamer which fitted nicely to the RTB01 sculpt, and added a banner from the Terminator Squad kit atop the Sergeants power pack, topped with a icon also from the Terminators kit. I coloured the gem with Soulstone Blue over Stormhost Silver.
The Flamer Specialist Marine also has some additional Promethium canisters taken from the combi-flamer bits I chopped up. The colours are my usual Dawnstone washed Nuln Oil, highlighted Administratum Grey with 'Ardcoated black Pauldrons and Leadblecher rivets. The Combat Blade handles were Scab Red washed Nuln Oil and highlighted Wild Rider Red and gold was Retributor Gold washed Reikland Fleshshade highlighted Auric Armour Gold.
I was lucky enough to have saved and entire Squad back in the 90's when ditching all my Orks and Marines :( when I put my belongings in storage etc, keeping only Squats (now sold) and these, plus Necromunda and Space Hulk. (So many Orky Looted Vehicles...) This squad has the Missile Launcher and a number of Boltgun accessories, blades and Chainblade attachment. Finally I can now stop saying "I'll paint these guys someday..."
As you can see, I stripped back most of the extra pouches, clips and knives and pistols they all had on every limb my younger self had attached, and where possible kept the lower limb greaves free of additions. The Sergeant has a Mk1 Auspex and the Missile Launcher specialist has some spare ammo on their lower greaves.

That's all for now, I'll post a few pictures together with my first RTB01 Squad from last year's Squaduary and the Mk1b Rhino for an old school cool collection. Thank-you very much fellow Squadu-teers and to Rory for this most excellent event of my hobby calendar - here's to Squaduary 2019... time to hunt for another Beakie squad? Ha Ha

Cheers, Siph. (10 painting points)

25 Feb 2018

Imperial Agents - Astra Telepathica - Primaris Psyker

Hello All, thanks for dropping in. Amongst my to-do pile and whilst I should be concentrating on the finishing touches of the RTB01 Squaduary Squad, I got distracted and finished this guy. He was going to be a Psyker with my fledgling Imperial Guard but as they have found a new home with the Genestealer Cult and the one true Four Armed Emperor, this left this Psyker without a force.
I'm not yet sure how forces work with army building Imperium units in a force but this guy could feasibly be in a battlefield role with my Sisters of Battle or Inquisition Forces, even my Grey Knights? He has the Factions - Imperium - Astra Militarum - Astra Telepathica and Scholastica Psykana so I'm sure I can use him somewhere.
He could even mount up in a Taurox with 3 DKK inspired Ogryns as they amount to transport capacity of 9 leaving a spare space for a Commissar or Psyker... and come to play in bigger battles with a Baneblade or two. But for now, it's good to have another loose thread of the to-do pile finished.

Cheers, Siph. (1 painting point)

23 Feb 2018

Adeptus Custodes - Custodian Guard - Completed Squad #2

Hi one and all, thanks for swinging by. Up next, another completed squad of Adeptus Custodes Custodian Guard.
As a repeat of the previous post, I've completed a further 5 Custodian Guard, but this time armed with Guardian Spears.
Again, as the sentinel blades, I've painted them with Soulstone Blue over a Stormhost Silver base - which gives a really nice effect.
Really happy with the overall look of these guys - the red and gold really contrasts nicely. Bases were done the WeeMen classic way of Mournfang Brown, drybrushed Karak Stone and Ushabti Bone.
Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers, Lord Halfpenny. (Excellent Progress mate - 10 more painting points, Siph.)

21 Feb 2018

Squaduary 2018 - RTB01 Tactical Squad - End of Week 3

Hello All, thanks for checking up on my Squaduary progress. I made really good progress this week which I am happy to report, only bases left to do. Squad Cato is now at full strength and has all its Marines present and correct. My new favourite is the hazard striped chainblade accessory Bolter armed Marine! Although front row, second from left has really striking eyes :)
What is it all about - a bunch of hobbyists getting motivated to do long overdue Squads... Rory at Stepping Between Games blog has done a great job corralling us all again this year to pledge to get some paint on our piles of grey plastic. Loving it so far this year, really helps seeing everyone else's work - Rory will be posting the penultimate week progress report tomorrow..
Cheers for stopping by, and keep up fellow Squaduary-teers! Your progress continues to astound me in cases and motivates me to keep to the schedule, which I'm glad to say I might be ahead on now ;)

Cheers, Siph

19 Feb 2018

Imperial Agents - Grey Knight Brotherhood Champion

Hi All, making good progress with my Squaduary pledge of a Tactical Squad “Beakie” RTB01 Marines and as a distraction from the job in hand (fellow sufferers of HBS Hobby Butterfly Syndrome will understand) I saw this.

Thanks for dropping in. Good to get another mini off the to-do pile, a Brotherhood Champion actually painted by The Pirate Viking at The Beard Bunker and bought as a job lot with some Terminators and a Strike Squad plus unpainted Interceptors. And the Grey Knight Rifleman Dreadnought, the only one not still in the to-do pile from Jul 2016
I've just satisfied my Hobby Butterfly and got this mini rebased to match my own and extended with a 32mm adapter, and off the to-do pile.
I quite like the black Force Sword look with lightning effect and gloss varnish, look like obsidian blades. And yes, this is actually the Castellan Crowe Purifier HQ model, but painted as a 'normal' Grey Knight - so is now my Brotherhood Champion, eagerly awaiting some reinforcements... after Squaduary we'll see what else the to-do pile presents before the Hobby Butterfly once again flutters away to other projects... might even paint something myself for once ;)

Cheers, Siph. (No painting points for a simple re-base)

16 Feb 2018

Adeptus Custodes - Custodian Guard - Completed Squad #1

Hi everyone,

Firstly, thank you all for the constant encouragement, return visits and look-see’s, from all of us at WeeMen, this humble corner of the blogosphere just hit 800,000 page views, sincere gratitude and cheers from Siph, Lord Halfpenny and the elusive 6thDegree. Anyway, on to the latest additions to our WeeMen!

I've been making steady progress on my Adeptus Custodes, recently, and have just finished the first 5 Custodian Guards.

These are armed with Sentinel Blades and Storm Shields. There is also one armed with the Custodes Vexillla.
I'm really happy with the way the 5 Custodian Guards look, the combination of the gold armour, with the bright red really pops, as well as the blue hue of the weapons contrasting with the gems.
For the lenses of the helmets, I've painted them with the Soulstone Blue gem colour, over Stormhost Silver, it gives the lens a really nice, natural look rather than the painted blue lens.
Thanks for looking! Cheers, Lord Halfpenny. (10 painting points - great job, Siph)

14 Feb 2018

Squaduary 2018 - RTB01 Tactical Squad - End of Week 2

Hi All, end of week 2 for my Squaduary pledge and I've made some decent progress I reckon, not as much as a few blogger buddies (Nick, Michael) but getting there - and thats the important thing, getting paint on this bit of the massive to-do pile.
Here is the progress so far, besides having to do bases and I've done the basecoat spray on all. 4 Squaduary members of this Tactical Squad down, and arguably the two most complex, the Veteran Sergeant Cato with 4th Company banner and the Heavy Weapon Specialist with the Missile Launcher. Pluss, two Bolter armed Marines meaning quite good progress I think for halfway through, I should make my pledge :)
What is it all about - a bunch of hobbyists getting motivated to do long overdue Squads... Rory at Stepping Between Games blog has done a great job corralling us all again this year to pledge to get some paint on our piles of grey (in this case cream coloured) plastic. Loving it so far this year, really helps seeing everyone else's work - Rory will be posting the halfway progress report tomorrow.

Cheers for stopping by, and keep up fellow Squaduary-teers! Your progress motivates me to keep to the schedule ;)

Cheers, Siph.

12 Feb 2018

Terrain and Scenery- Skyshield Landing Pad

Hi Everyone, thanks for dropping by to have a look-see, the latest addition to the gaming table is an Skyshield  Landing Pad. I am busy this month with getting a squad of RTB01 Marines ready for Squaduary, but in the margins I finished this fairly simple terrain piece. I like terrain as an enhancement to the gaming experience, not to steal the show from the miniatures - so simple effective schemes are the way forward.
I sprayed the model Chaos Black and then a light metallic spray of Leadbelcher, then weathered the top with a blend of Agrax and Nuln Oil before a quick drybrush of Necron Compound.
I picked out the Aquila with Tau Sept Ochre and Khorne Red and a stencil made from tape meant I could paint the white identification numbers.
An effective method of lifting up the scheme was using Stormhost Silver washed with Soulstone Blue for the armoured shield lights and red Bloodletter Glazed lights for the underside and the landing pad itself.
I picked out some details with Retributor Gold just to make it more 40K and yet functional, and the large lamps with Khorne Red and a weathered drybrush of my usual basing brown.
There you have it, simple, effective and functional scenery. Hopefully it inspires you to get some of that grey bare plastic scenery lurking in the to-do pile out and finished, it really enhances the games!

I've a second one of these which arrived warped and half extruded so will be ideal for a ruined building with bombed pad - and thanks to Games Workshop for replacing it free of charge with this one, giving me the opportunity to make a characterful damaged one.  Cheers, Siph.

10 Feb 2018

Reaver Titan - WIP #21 - Weapons Up!

 Hi One and All!

Another quick post- work has been pretty crazy again with 4 days away from home..

I've started work on the different carapace options for the Reaver, having both the Twin Laser Destructor and Plasma Blastgun options to go with the Apoc launcher. These are the warhound weapons which I've converted to fit the reaver.
 I've opted to use 2 pins for the join, I had considered magnets, however after dry fitting the weapons I spotted that the pins work well to hold the weapon in place as its quiet a tight fit. I might add magnets to be sure though..
The pins were glued into the Launcher base- I felt this looked right for the weapon stand, and allows rotation of the weapon. I then did the old trick of painting the top of the pin and then pushed the weapon on top to mark where to drip into. This worked really well and is a trick I've used for years..
 Final results- just need to add some paint to it!
thanks for looking!

Cheers LH

7 Feb 2018

Squaduary 2018 - RTB01 Tactical Squad - End of Week 1

Hello All, thanks for checking in, so... progress has started on the RTB01 Space Marine Tactical Squad. Honestly, close up these guys needed a lot of work, my younger self cared not for moldline cleaning and thought nothing of cutting these from the sprue with blunt scissors! He was also very generous with Poly Cement and accessories on shin Greaves - as the now smoothed scars will attest to.
What is it all about - a bunch of hobbyists getting motivated to do long overdue Squads... Rory at Stepping Between Games blog has done a great job corralling us all again this year to pledge to get some paint on our piles of grey (in this case cream coloured) plastic.
Pictured here is my soon to be Sergeant with a Terminator Honours squad banner and his helmet on, like a sensible squad leader... and next to him a slightly modified Flamer specialist, I've used the nozzle from a combi-flamer rather than the funnel the kit comes with - this echoes my first squad modification of a Grav Gun specialist, adding a modern and recognizable weapon to these old miniatures - I really thought the old flamer nozzle was a bit naff. He also got two small Flamer canisters from said combi-flamers mag-locked to his left thigh (hidden in this pic, sry).
These middle one of these troops shows the Chainblade accessory to the Boltgun and you can see the moldline scraping I've been doing to all. I've also had a few in pieces, straightening or strengthening the old poly cement joins.
Here is the original paintjob I attempted all those years ago, now moldline scraped so looking worse for wear. The paint is thin enough and the others base coat is thin all over not to need stripping.
Finally, the Missile Launcher specialist with his iconic over the shoulder missile launcher and the remaining Bolter troops. As you may have noticed, they've all had 32mm adapters fitted and the seams liquid greenstuffed and sanded smooth - all ready for the next stage of painting.

May the progress continue next week, Cheers, Siph.

5 Feb 2018

Re-basing Characters to 32mm Bases from 25mm - TTAdapters

Hi All, cracking on with Squaduary this month, will be posting progress later in the week so in the meantime just some housekeeping on the side, HBS (Hobby Butterfly Syndrome) hits again, and I need to clear some of my niggly to-do pile. So, I re-based some of my SM Characters, deservedly so, if there was any character that needed a bigger base it was the Chaplain with Jump Pack, a top heavy metal sculpt!
Three more here, love the Chaplain pose above and the Librarian with Jump Pack I think looks awesome. I re-based the Captain ages ago, a true Relictor hero with a Daemon Weapon fighting Chaos with Chaos - the other two keeping a close eye on him ;)

Only another 120 Marines to re-base... I wrote a quick tutorial HERE and the adapters are available HERE if you fancy them. Cheers, Siph. (and 1 pt for re-basing these Characters)
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