Lords a Reaping 17; Questoris Knight Magaera

Hi All

Bluddtoof here with my first wip post in our annual winter painting shenanigans; Lords a Reaping!
I'm using this event to motivate me to finish my 2nd Imperial Knight, a Questoris Knight Magaera.
Posts for  my 1st Knight can be found here , here , here , also here , here , and here , here too , another , one more , this one too , almost there , and finally here .

I started this second knight earlier in the year, I spent ages thinking about colour schemes, I knew I wanted skulls and chains, so the build incorporates lots of chains hanging from the chassis and shoulder guards, the skulls will be in the heraldry. Still not sure where that's going yet though.

So as for the colours, I went with a two tone metallic green and purple scheme. I posted a couple of early shots previously but here's the state of play at the mo.....

I'm painting in sub assemblies, here's pics of the bits seperated...

The final green and purple are not what I envisioned originally but I like em, they remind me of the really old GW metallic range from the 90's.
They're mixed from kabalite green and genestealer purple, with vallejo metallic medium and a little thinners.

As ever c&c welcome and stay tuned for more Lords a Reaping throughout December from the other code boys too.

WIP - Heresy Era Death Guard Scimitar Jetbikes

Afternoon All,

Another post so quickly after the last that is rare but I wanted to keep up some momentum after completing the Medusa.  My next project is 6 jetbikes which require a lot of sub assemblies and paint jobs.

I decided on 3 sections the rider, the bike and the base.  For the base I have ensured the stalk of the flyer base remained clear by masking it off.  For the riders they have been temporarily attached to a base or a wine bottle cork.

I have a feeling this unit is going to take quite a while certainly one model is probably equivalent in time to painting 5 tactical legionnaires so I will be awarding myself 5 points for each when they are completed.

Current Progress:

I have 3 jetbikes ahead of the rest once the base colours are down I catch the rest up.

As always with me I have take one on further just to ensure I am happy with the colour scheme and the key part for me was where to add some green to the model.  Anyway after deliberation went for the above?  Any thoughts?

Here's the zombie riders primed up

So such a big, time consuming unit to get up and running.  However, they are such cool looking things that keeps you going.  Hope to be back soon with further progress.

Cheers

DOC out...........................................

Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought, Thunderbolts Space Marines. Build and WIP.

Hi All

Bluddtoof here with an update on my progress towards Dreadnought number 11 for my Space Marines; the Thunderbolts. That's right, 11! I may have now reached critical mass on dreadnoughts......or maybe not!
So anyhoo, this is my second contemptor, as I said in my previous post about my latest mortis pattern I'd originally planned on a mortis contemptor, however this was shelved with the build of the mkv. Last month I visited GW HQ with some of the code boys for the FW open day and whilst browsing the store cabinets I saw the iron warriors contemptor and immediately thought "that'd look cool as a thunderbolt". Knowing I had a spare contemptor Lascannon arm in the bitz box I had a quick think about weapon options and plumped for a heavy conversion beamer and cyclone launcher (I've got plenty of assault capable dreads so another fire support dread made sense and the HCB is a nice gun.
I think this load out will make him a threat to pretty much anything non flyer and with 2 mortis dreads I've got flyers covered.
Currently...

I started the build process and straight away decided to go with sub-assemblies, which I don't usually do with my Imperial dreads. I also played with a range of basing and posing options, I considered a braced firing position but the ankles don't rotate enough to get a good look. So I decided on a stoically advancing pose with both feet posed in mid step to convey a sense of motion. I also wanted him to look like he was firing and thought through this too, I've had little success with previous attempts at OSL but I'm going to try it again on the conversion beamer and also I really wanted to try rocket exhaust modelling, (after seeing the fantastic displays at GW) so I did some research and with a little advice from the code boys I got some clump foliage and had a go.
Here's a few pics of the process of building...

The bits laid out awaiting clump foliage for the exhaust clouds.
All the load bearing joints got pinned using 1 mm uncoated jewellery wire, FW resin is very light so the pins are really only there because I don't trust "super" glue, but also to make the process of painting sub assemblies for later attachment easier.
As usual the hardest part with a contemptor is positioning of the legs and feet to get the desired pose, there are a lot of pieces to work with and super glue sets fast so you need to work quickly, again pins and dry runs are the order of the day.

Making the cyclone was really good fun and I'm pleased to have learnt a new technique, here's a series of shots...

The missiles are from the marine tactical sprues, well old ones anyway, I haven't bought a new kit so I don't know if you still get them. Carefully chop out the small, narrow shaft connecting the fins to the missile body and discard. Clean up the new surfaces and VERY carefully drill a hole in the back of the missile body and through the centre of the fin assembly.
Remove your selected missile tip(s) from the cyclone, clean and drill a hole. Fit your wire into the launcher, thread on the fin section and fit the missile body. Just the tiniest drop of thin super glue after assembly fixed the fins in place so that I could fiddle with the positioning at my leisure.
I think it's really important to use different lengths of wire to avoid an unnatural symmetry.
I spent ages wiggling and adjusting the wires to get them straight and in line!

Next the exhausts!

This was surprisingly easy, if you've not used this method then I would suggest you get some NOW! Dirt cheap, a fiver for a huge bag, and easy to use. The clumps break into bits easily but hold size and shape too allowing you to fix a clump in place and then carefully pinch little bits off to get the desired structure. Once it was built I gave the whole piece a good coat of spray matt varnish to hold it and stop the foliage from sucking up too much paint.

All in all very pleased, next post will be with more paint on it.
As ever C & C welcome.

Bluddtoof

Forgemas 14; Eldar Corsair Hornet, WIP, Nearly Done!

Hi All

Bluddtoof here with another WIP post of my Eldar Corsair Hornet. Nearly there now, should only need a couple more sessions to get this piece finished. A pic of its current state...

As you can see I'm working on the green plating on the hornets upper face now, I've finished the pilot who is now ensconced in the cockpit with the canopy now fixed in place. Fitting the pilot was a chore as I knew it would be; I'd tried many trial runs before and during painting.
The issue, if you're planning on building your own hornet, is two-fold; firstly the control panel the pilot is connected to has to slot inside the cockpit underneath the lip of the outer plating, so it has to be placed inside the space first. Secondly the pilots shoulder plates are wider than the cockpit opening so also have to go inside first!
I'd spotted this well before painting started and tried a few ways of fitting him, I decided to paint him as a sub assembly as painting him in-situ would have been a nightmare and I wouldn't have been able to get the finish I wanted. The trick was to paint the pilot without putting too much on the shoulders so as to not make him even wider at that tricky spot and then when it came to squeezing his shoulders through the gap to be super gentle. The process resulted in some minor wear of the paint around the cockpit edge, which is covered by the canopy frame anyway and a little wear on the back of the pilots shoulders which are not visible; so Huzzah! Success!

The weapons are now almost complete, gems and lenses done, the green cowlings are being painted alongside the made hull as all the shades are identical and I need to do a little more work on the cables. Once the green is highlighted up to yellow and glazed all I'll have left on the hull are the gems and a few bits of touching up.

A few more pics....

Hope you like it so far, c and c always welcome. More to come soon, in the form of a showcase with any luck.

Bluddtoof

Imperial Knight Freeblade, WIP, work on the left arm

Hi All

Bluddtoof here with an update on progress so far on my 1st Imperial Knight Freeblade.
I've got most of the left arm done now, the Reaper Chainsword, just the 2 coloured panels to go.
I've got the hang of the cream and the red now and I can finish it much quicker.
Hopefully this model will be done in 2 weeks time so I can crack on with my Forgemas entry, for details of Forgemas; our December painting event see here.

Back to the wip, here's a few pics of the current state of play....

Very happy so far, a little more painting to go then some weathering on the complete model to finish, if anyone has tips for modelling/painting icicles I'd like some ideas....

Bluddtoof

Imperial Knight WIP, torso done and in place.

Hi All

I've finished the torso of the Knight and it's now fixed in place, after a little dry run to get the positioning right. Whilst doing the dry run with arms and shoulder pads in place I discovered that the arms cannot be removed if the shoulder pads are fixed in place as the overhang at front and back stops the arm assembly from fully rotating. So, once I get to the arms I'm going to have to decide if pinning the pads in place onto the shoulder frame will work, as that's the only way I'll be able to have removable arms. I like the idea of removable arms for purposes of packing and moving and also to represent weapon destroyed results.
Anyway enough of that for now, here's a few piccies of the Knight so far....

The next step is the top carapace, more on that to come soon....

Bluddtoof.

Imperial Knight Freeblade, some more WIP.

Hi All

Bluddtoof here after a bit of a break to plan and run Worcester War III, which I must say went really well! A big thanks to everyone who came and made it such a great day, Worcester War IV "The Assault on The Code" is now in the preliminary planning stage and will be held Spring 2015, more to come on that in future posts.

Now on to the Knight; I started this a couple of months ago, you can see the previous posts here, here, here and here.

I'm well on the way to finishing the torso and head now, the upper carapace will be painted as a separate sub assembly for ease.

Here's a couple of pics of the torso so far,

more to come soon.

Bluddtoof

Imperial Knight Freeblade, Work in Progress.

Hi All

Time for another update on my progress with my Imperial Knight; I've finished the base and legs now apart from the final weathering which I'll be doing all in one go once the models complete so as to ensure I get a coherent and consistent finish.
Here's pics of it so far...

I'm pleased with the banner sculpt, I've not put the lightest highlights on the red and bone on it that you can see on the plating or the gloss finish, as the banner will  be a tattered piece of grubby cloth once the weathering is done, with the heraldry just showing through the dirt and grime of decades of war without the support of a knightly houses tech servants to repair it.
I've given all the gold trim another coat of Lamentors Yellow Glaze to bring it up a little more. The clenched fist is a transfer and the vines and thorns are all freehand.

Next step is to move onto the torso sub assembly, less plating on that so it should be a little quicker to paint.

More to come soon....

Bluddtoof.

Imperial Knight Freeblade W.I.P.

Hi All

Bluddtoof here with more w.i.p. shots of my Imperial Knight Freeblade.
I've got the armoured plates done on the legs now so all I've got left to do on this section is the iconography some weathering and the base.
I'd hoped to be a little further along by now but the weathers been so hot here this week that I've struggled to paint as the paint has been drying much quicker, sometimes before I've even got it on to the model!
Here's a few pics, including close ups of the green cables as requested.....

Hope you like it so far, I'm thinking I might take the highlight a little further on the red, it shows more in the flesh than on these pics but it's still quite subtle, I'll give it some thought and let you know over the next few days.
As ever feedback is very welcome.

Bluddtoof