Tuesday, June 29, 2010

A Secret Project, and Too Much to Do

Howdy folks,

Unfortunately, I don't have an Iyanden hobby report for you all tonight. This Saturday is the Golden Kris painting competition, as well as the Tournament of Skulls (all part of the Legio Malaysia Birthday Bash), and I am wicked busy with last minute preparations.

I spent tonight building and painting the medals that will be handed out at the Golden Kris competition- 12 in all. I think you guys are really going to like them, especially compared to last year's awards. I'd show you guys a picture, but I'd hate to spoil the surprise. If you want to be the first to see them, you need to stop by on Saturday and check 'em out.

I'll also be working on my Large Model entry for Golden Kris- I only hope I can get it done in time. For Iyanden, my general plan is to try and squeeze some time working on the next Wraithguard squad during Hobby Night and on Sunday. We'll see how that goes, and whether it's enough to earn a decent number of votes next week! :)

Until then amigos, hobby hard...

Sunday, June 27, 2010

HRR 10, Day 14

Days Remaining: 28

Models Remaining: 36



I'm slightly off pace at this point, but I sort of expected that with work related stuff last week that required my attention. In addition, my assistance is needed for the upcoming Legio Malaysia Birthday Bash, so I'm going to have to be real careful with my planning. This Iyanden army is going to get DONE. :)

Tonight, I spent a couple of hours finishing off my first Spiritseer:



I'm happy with this model, and he officially completes the entire first Wraithguard squad. Huzzah!

Tomorrow, I'm going to focus on getting as much basecoating done as possible for the second Wraithguard squad. Stay tuned, and hobby strong...

Thursday, June 24, 2010

No Hobby Love Tonight

Ended up going out tonight for a work function, and didn't get home to 11. I'm beat. No hobby.

Start again tomorrow...

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

HRR 9, Day 10

Days Remaining: 32

Models Remaining: 37



Woo hoo! The first Wraithguard squad is DONE!



Tonight I applied a matte varnish to the squad, and then cracked out a couple of new (to me, anyway!) hobby options to finish the bases off. First, I used Silflor "Mininatur" grass tufts:



These things are really cool. As you can see from the pic, you get A TON of these puppies in the package with lots of sizes to choose from. Being pre-formed into natural "tuft" shapes, they make a great, natural looking alternative to simply using static grass. They look especially good as grass growing up from cracks in the pavement, which works perfectly for my chosen theme. Sweet! The other item I'm experimenting with in this army are leaves:



These are pretty cool, and have the added benefit of being pre-painted and ready to glue on as is. Here's a close up of one of my bases using both products:



I'm sure there's a lot more detail I could add for more realism and interest, but I'm happy with the bases given the extreme time constraints I'm operating under to get this army done! If either or both of these products interest you, I can heartily recommend Antenociti's Workshop. They have a fantastic collection of all sorts of hobby goodies, and their customer service and postage were first rate.

That's about it for today. I've been looking at Excel sheets all day, and my brain is starting to run out of my nose. Tune in tomorrow for my next exciting installment! Until then...

Hobby Strong

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

HRR 8, Day 9

Days Remaining: 33

Models Remaining: 47



I got about three hours in tonight- a good weeknight for me. However, the steps I planned on yesterday were a lot more time consuming then I expected. Good knowledge to have for planning the second and third Wraithguard squads...



It's a bit hard to see in this shot, but here's what I did tonight:

1) Painted one more thin layer of GW Codex Grey on the bases of this squad.

2) With a soft, twirling motion, I carefully drybrushed GW Fortress Grey and then VMC White onto the bases, emphasizing the pavement cracks as much as possible. This step took a while, as I used very little paint with each pass to avoid brush strokes of any kind. The final effect is a soft effect that I am really pleased with. When I apply the leaves and grass tufts tomorrow, these bases should look sweet.

3) Airbrushed Future floor polish on them for a nice gloss varnish.

4) Airbrushed the VGC Gold Yellow basecoat on Wraithguard Squad 2, the final Spiritseer, and Prince Yriel (not pictured).

5) Applied Chrome Orange oil pin washes to all detail areas of squad 1's yellow basecoat. This also took longer then expected- these models have a lot of detail, and I didn't want to just bathe the entire surface in orange. Taking a little more time now saved me a lot of cleanup work tomorrow.

That's it for tonight. No Spiritseer work at all, and I didn't get the Regal Blue basecoats on squad 2. However, I did get a damn good night of hobbying in tonight regardless. Even better, unless something goes terribly awry tomorrow, I will finish the first squad completely with base detail and a matte varnish. THAT's something I will definitely celebrate! :)

Thanks for tuning in- as always comments, criticism, and lively hobby banter are welcome on Adeptus Malaysia. Until Tomorrow!

Monday, June 21, 2010

HRR 7, Day 8

Days Remaining: 34

Models Remaining: 47



Mighty good progress tonight, especially for what is usually a "hobby lethargic" Monday evening:



Wraithguard Squad 1

It doesn't look like I've done a lot to this squad, but you'll have to take my word for it that those Wraithguard head carapace markings were time consuming and a bit difficult to get even/right. Making, applying, and airbrushing those on was more challenging then I expected, and I also had to clean them up with Regal Blue and paint two VERY thin Regal Blue lines to create the "Mobius Strip" over/under illusion. That step alone for all ten models easily gobbled up an hour tonight. I finished painting the bases GW Codex Grey and called it a night with that squad.

Wraithguard Squad 2

As you can see from the pic, all I managed to do with them tonight was give them a Tamiya Flat White undercoat, applied with my airbrush.

To cap off the night, I finished up the first step of the flames I'm applying to my first Warlock:



With that, I finished up hobbying for the night.

Tomorrow's rough plan is as follows:

1) Wraithgaurd Squad 1 gets gloss varnished, and then all yellow areas get shaded with orange oil washes.

2) Warlock 1 gets finished

3) Wraithguard Squad 2 gets yellow undercoat and Regal Blue basecoat for head carapaces and tabards.

Time will tell if this plan survives contact. Until then, see you tomorrow night...

Sunday, June 20, 2010

HRR 6, Day 7

Days Remaining: 35

Models Remaining: 47



Well, this weekend was a bit of a hobby bust. I didn't get a whole done other than assembled the second squad of Wraithguard:



Not a lot of progress, but at least it's something. I'm going to have to really crack down this week to get on track with the pace I want to keep. Tomorrow I plan to finish the first Spiritseer, prime and apply the yellow basecoat to the second Wraithguard squad, and apply the wraith construct marking to the head carapaces of the first Wraithguard squad. We'll see how that goes!

Until tomorrow...

Saturday, June 19, 2010

HRR 5, Day 6

Days Remaining: 36

Models Remaining: 47



Sorry for the lack of a report yesterday folks, but I was beat after a full Hobby Night of Iyanden painting goodness. I'll make another report tonight, and get caught up with my "One Post Per Day" pace.

Last night I painted like a maniac, and got myself some FANTASTIC progress on the first Wraithguard squad:



The progress represents the following steps:

1) GW Regal Blue basecoat on all head carapaces and tabards
2) VMC Black on all wraithcannons, knee joints, and base crack detail.
3) VMC White detail on all tabards, including squad marking
4) GW Blood Red, Scab Red, Blazing Orange, and Skull White on wraithcannon muzzle gem details (70 gems overall!)
5) VMC Intense Blue highlights on Regal Blue areas
6) Started GW Codex Grey on bases

That was about 5 hours of solid painting- 30 minutes of work on each Wraithguard model to get as far as I did. I'm happy with the result, and I think with a good Sunday effort I'll get the squad AND the Spiritseer done. That will keep me right on pace!

Until next time...

Thursday, June 17, 2010

HRR 4, Day 4

Days Remaining: 38

Models Remaining: 47



Huzzah! The first model is done!



No, the brass leaves didn't show up, but I can always add that later easily enough. My first Wraithlord (and Iyanden model for that matter!) is done. Let there be much rejoicing...

Tonight I'm going to work on the first Wraithguard squad's Spiritseer- if I somehow manage to get him done tonight I'll definitely come back and post again. In the meantime, enjoy the admittedly lousy pic of my completed Wraithlord!

Late Addition- Warlock Start



Started painting the first Warlock after I finished the Wraithlord. I like this flame motif- nod of the hat towards the burning shrine of Asuryan and all that! I'll paint these coming off of his sleeve cuffs as well, and then highlight them up nicely. The yellow's not done either. In fact, I've really just started. However, I thought you all might like to see where this model is headed. That's it for me tonight. Tomorrow, it's mass painting of Wraithguard!!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

HRR 3, Day 3

Days Remaining: 39

Models Remaining: 48



You'd never guess it by the chart above, but I'm actually making decent progress... honest!

Wraithlord



After failing to make the GW wraith construct decal work yesterday, I went ahead and painted my own version of it directly on the head carapace. Afterwards it, and the Spiritseer, got an airbrushed coat of Future floor wax for a nice gloss varnish. I then applied cadmium orange oil washes to all of the yellow areas I wanted to shade, and applied a black oil wash all over the details of the base. Tomorrow I'll use mineral spirits to clean up the excess wash I don't want, and hopefully get the models almost completely finished.

I say "almost completely" because I'm waiting for grass tufts and brass etch leaves to show up in the mail. I want the bases to look very "nice" or "pastoral", and these are really going to help with that. Hopefully they show up this week- they are already overdue.

Wraithguard and Farseer



All of this got a undercoat of Tamiya Flat White, followed by a basecoat of VGC Gold Yellow. You know, this color would be PERFECT for Imperial Fists! Hmmm... Well, let's avoid distractions, shall we?

Bases



I finished my mold yesterday, and cast up my first bases today. They came out just how I wanted them- they are going to save me a lot of time for this project I would otherwise spend converting bases, AND I get the added bonus of being able to use these for a future hobby project. Fer shizzle...

So, that's today's hobby report. I'm happy with the pace I've set- slow and steady. With any luck I'll get to color my first box "green" tomorrow with a completed Wraithlord. Stay tuned, and find out in the next exciting episode! ;)

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

HRR 2, Day 2

Days Remaining: 40

Models Remaining: 48



I didn't get quite as much done as I wanted to tonight, but I did make some progress:



I highlighted the Regal Blue a bit with VMC Dark Blue, and highlighted the black areas with Codex Grey. I also painted the base with Codex Grey as well. I basecoated a magnetized brightlance and scatter laser as well (not shown).

I applied the Iyanden icon to the groin shield, and tried to apply a Wraith construct icon (the stylized mobius strip), but the decal was too thick to properly curve over the head, despite several applications of decal softener. I'm going to have to use an airbrush mask or freehand that one, unfortunately. Is it me, or are the GW decals wicked thick...?

In addition, I managed to finish off highlighting all the gemstones with the "gem effect" seen below:



Tomorrow I fire up the airbrush and prime/basecoat the first 10 Wraithguard, as well as applying the gloss varnish and subsequent orange oil washes to the Wraithlord and Spiritseer.

Until tomorrow...

Hobby Rush Report (HRR) 1, Day 1

Days Remaining: 41

Models Remaining: 48



Well, I had some pretty good progress last night with the first model of my army, a Wraithlord:



The model was primed white, and then airbrushed with Vallejo "Gold Yellow". I then finished basecoating with GW Regal Blue, Black, and GW Blood Red for the gems. I need to paint the base, highlight all the previously mentioned colors, add decals, and then gloss varnish the whole thing so I can start shading the yellow. Hopefully, I can get all that done this evening!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

D-1... Almost Time for a Hobby Rush



Tomorrow starts the official six week "paint-a-thon", and I feel like I'm reasonably ready. After building one 60mm and five 40mm base masters for a mold tomorrow, I went ahead and built another six 40mm bases and mounted a full squad of ten Wraithguard for painting next week. Check em out below:



Here's a pic of the base I made for the other Wraithlord to be built:



I cut and scribed plasticard to continue the theme I'm doing, and built up a couple of levels with Apoxie sculpt to give the base some more realism/interest. Should look cool painted :)

I should have resin cast bases done by the end of the week for the other 20. I still need to make 25mm base masters for the Guardians, but I'm waiting until the latter half of the hobby challenge to paint those dudes.

Tomorrow this contest begins, and I think the first thing I'm going to paint is a Wraithlord. It's my intention to make DAILY progress reports on Adeptus Malaysia and the forums, so look to tomorrow evening to see how I fare with the Wraithlord...

Friday, June 11, 2010

It's Almost Time to Start

With the 40K Malaysia "Legends" Hobby Challenge just around the corner, I thought I'd fall back to a practice I started when I began "The Unclean". Starting Monday, I will be on an official "Hobby Rush" to paint my Iyanden Eldar for this hobby challenge. Just like before with my Chaos Space Marine force, I'll keep the following chart constantly updated as I progress:



In case you didn't follow my first Hobby Rush, this chart shows me (and anyone else who cares to follow along) where I'm at with my project. It's a motivational tool, basically. It helped me stay on schedule last time, and was a real motivator when I was able to color in boxes.

Off to the right of each entry, you'll see a box or series of boxes. Each box represents a model. So, the 11 boxes off to the right of the Guardians squad represents the 10 Eldar Guardians and the Grav Platform, for instance. As I progress with the models, I color in the boxes based on what stage they are at. The colors are:

White (No Fill)- No progress whatsoever has been made with this model.

Yellow- The model has been Primed White and/or Assembled.

Green- The model is fully painted and ready for battle.

If you recall last time, I also had orange in my chart. The orange represented models that were "dipped". Given the lengthy drying times involved with dipped models, it was a helpful note from a planning perspective to know what was dipped and what wasn't. Since this army is definitely not using "The Dip", this color isn't need for this particular Hobby Rush.

The competition I'm in officially starts this Monday. If you enjoy my work, by all means be sure to visit the competition thread and cast your vote for me! :)

Cheers

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Iyanden It Is!

Let the games begin.

Looks like it's time to change hobby gears, and prepare for another rush like last September with The Unclean Chaos Space Marines. With Doc, Iskazri, and Khairul flying off to lands afar, our Flames of War campaign kinda imploded. Better luck next time, I guess! With that, I'm putting aside my SS and getting on to the new contest.

Getting a predominantly yellow army done in six weeks with decent paint jobs will not be easy by any stretch. However, I've got some basic ideas that I think will help the appearance of my army.

I'm going to cast my own resin bases for the entire army. Have a look at the first two:



I know it's hard to see the detail thanks to the white plasticard. The general idea is to follow the theme of the cool GW Wraithlord base (the black one in the pic). Crumbled, ancient stonework from some kind of Eldar warp gate- non concentric curves and whatnot. I'll do up a couple more 40mm masters, and then do a few 25mm versions for the Guardians and characters. In case you're wondering, I've decided to put the Wraithguard on 40mm bases. They look weedy on 25mm bases in my opinion. If anyone I play against objects to the bigger bases... well, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the game anyway!

Now, the contest rules require an army list. Here's mine- the submission I made according to contest guidelines on 40KMalaysia


Craftworld Iyanden Eldar 1750 Points

Hear me, sons and daughters of Asuryan.

Much have we lost these last centuries. The Great Devourer has taken our children and cast them upon the Empyrean, forever lost to us. Ruin and death stalk our every step. Slim are the cracks that we may slip through in the future of Iyanden. Despite all of this, we cannot turn our face from injustice. Despite all that we've lost, our duty remains. The maiden world Elliadesh must be saved.

In their ignorance, those who would despoil this world call it "Amman Secundus". They see only rapine plunder. In their atavistic fumbling they have set upon a path that left unchecked, will see Elliadesh ruined for all time.

We cannot let this be.

Join with me, children of Iyanden. Let us sing the call of mourning, and bring forth the spirits of our greatest warriors to answer the call of battle once more. Let us cleanse Elliadesh of the mon-keigh filth that dare to alight upon Her. War is the only thing these savages understand.

Eldar Farseer Eldean Iyandenesh




The List

HQ

Farseer Eldean Iyandenesh

Ghosthelm
Shuriken Pistol
Witchblade
Psychic Power: Fortune

Prince Yriel

TROOPS

10x Wraithguard
Spiritseer Valdanoch
Witchblade
Shuriken Pistol
Warlock Power: Conceal

10x Wraithguard
Spiritseer Hegemesh
Witchblade
Shuriken Pistol
Warlock Power: Conceal

10x Wraithguard
Spiritseer A'luin
Witchblade
Shuriken Pistol
Warlock Power: Conceal

10x Guardians "Defenders of the Sacred Flame"
Scatter Laser Platform

HEAVY SUPPORT

Wraithlord
2x Flamer
Eldar Missile Launcher

Wraithlord
2x Flamer
Eldar Scatter Laser


Now, I realize that this list is going to be VERY difficult to play and win games with. Saying the list is light in long range firepower and mobility is certainly an understatement. However, I'm doing this for the theme and to have the core of the army painted in six weeks. After all, I can always come back later and paint up Falcons, Aspect Warriors, Fire Prism, etc...

I can't start painting until June 14th, but I am allowed to assemble my army and prime it. I shall take full advantage of this and have everything ready for paint by then.

Any fans of Adeptus Malaysia participating in this contest? What are your plans for absolute victory...?

Stay Tuned