I Really Need a Light Box

The picture is lousy, I admit, and it does no service to the basic paintjobs I applied to these 'mechs tonight. I need to stop putting it off and build a light box for my photography. The crappy desk lamp and a piece of paper is just not working when I want to take pics in the middle of the night.

These are the first two Battlemechs I've painted up as part of my budding renaissance into the long abandoned Battletech hobby. Kai and I are going to get a game or two in tomorrow night to re-acquaint ourselves with the rules and feel of the game. Once I know a little more I'll start painting up more 'mechs appropriate to the scenarios we want to play. If you have 'mechs of your own, and plan on attending Hobby Night, I urge you to bring them and join us.

In case you're curious about the paint jobs, they are very basic. Black primer undercoat, followed by a airbrushed basecoat of Tamiya XF-51 Khaki Drab. I then lightly drybrushed GW Camo Green over top, and then painted a couple of white chevrons/markings on each 'mech with VMC White.

I based the miniatures as a test for my planned Death Korps scheme, which in practice I can now say I like, and will be using. After applying a liberal coat of PVA glue, I scattered a few bits of GF9 Medium Basing Grit, and then covered the rest of the base with fine sand. Once that dried, I painted them GW Bestial Brown followed by a heavy drybrush of GW Bleached Bone. I then painted all of the Medium Basing Grit bits GW Codex Grey. I then finished the whole base with a light drybrush of VMC White. I painted the edges VMC Black, and finished up the models by painting on a thinned down coat of VMC Matte Varnish to protect them. When I use the method for my Death Korps, I'm also going to use shale bits for more grey rocks, as well as tufts of dead grass from Silflor. Should be pretty sweet.

If you're headed to Hobby Night tomorrow, I'll see you then. If not, take it easy and enjoy your hobby this weekend!

At Last, Proper Army Pics!

After feasting on a delicious bowl of oatmeal for lunch, I headed upstairs and took some pics of my new Iyanden Eldar army while the daylight was still good. They look a lot cooler when they're deployed on a proper wargaming table!

I hope you guys dig 'em- I sure do. Until tomorrow night (and my glorious battle against the Thousand Sons), take it easy...

Nada Mucho

Didn't do much of anything hobby-wise, other than complete the "plucking and sticking" process for all ten trays of my Feldherr backpack. I can confirm that 100% of my Iyanden army fits into this thing, with a bit of room to spare for a squad of Harlequins and maybe a Vyper. At least I've found a use for this case, but in the future I think Battlefoam is the way to go.

Tonight, I definitely will start painting Battlemechs, as well as a test model for a side project army I'm going to do in conjunction with undisclosed parties. Yes, that's right, a SECRET project. Ooooooo! More on that later, for those interested.

In the meantime, tune in tomorrow night for Battlemech pics, as well as the lively hobby banter you've come to expect from the glorious pages of Adeptus Malaysia...

Old School Cool

Recognize this? In case you don't, this is a VND-3L Vindicator Battlemech, one of several other 'mechs I recently picked up from the nice chaps at Noble Knight Games. Almost to the month, it's been exactly 20 years since I last played a game of Battletech. WOW.

Kai, a member of the staff here at Battlefront, has also picked up some 'mechs. We're going to get them painted up, and have some retro fun within the next couple of hobby nights. I'm actually really excited to play again- we're keeping it "old school" and playing The Succession Wars era of the Battletech timeline. So, no clan or wacky weirdness like that.

Before you all groan and roll your eyes, no, I haven't forgotten about Krieg at all. These 'mechs will take me a few days at most to knock out, and once they are done I'm straight on to the Death Korps. However, this is a nice "treat" or diversion from the Iyanden grind I just finished, and for minimal effort I'll have a nice little Davion-aligned mercenary company (fluff as yet undetermined) to play some games with. If you're interested and game here locally, by all means grab your 'mechs and come on down to play. At the very least, it should be an awesome stroll down memory lane...

HRR 23, Day 42

Days Remaining: 0

Models Remaining: 0



WOO HOO! I'm done! I finished the Farseer about an hour ago. Here he is...



I decided on a strong black theme, with the idea of matching Prince Yriel a bit. I figure if he's black and "in charge", the Farseer should reflect the same thing. Blue and yellow are still very prominent, but the black and metallic colors tie the Farseer in with Yriel nicely. At least, I think so!

It's not the greatest shot, but here's the entire, completed army in all its glory:



It feels good, folks! Six weeks of pretty solid effort have resulted in an army that I'd play anytime without reservation. This Friday, I've got my first matchup against Azlan and his dread Thousand Sons Chaos Space Marines. Wish me luck!

Last Spiritseer Done!

I'm not quite ready to post today's Hobby Rush Report, because I might actually finish the Farseer tonight as well. Don't want to be too hasty, you see...

I like how this dude turned out. Pretty simple paint scheme, but he doesn't look rushed or lame. He'll fit in nicely with his personal bodybuard of 10 Wraithguard (Yikes!).

Thanks for tuning in- one model to go!

HRR 22, Day 39

Days Remaining: 3

Models Remaining: 2



You'll have to take my word for it that this model looks A LOT better in person, but hey, them's the breaks. Tonight I painted Prince Yriel:



He was fairly time consuming- I put in 3+ solid hours on this guy, which included a failed attempt at blending oil paints on the blade of his spear. I tried and tried to get a blue/white gradient going on that thing, and suffice it to say I need work on my technique. When I wiped it down with some mineral spirits and a cotton bud, I ended up with a funky blue/black "mini gradient" which I rather liked. So, I kept it.

Two more models to go folks- this one is almost in the books. Tomorrow, after I finish work and start the weekend with a mighty Indian food feast, I'm going to paint up the last Spiritseer. That gives me the weekend to bust out the Farseer at some point.

Thanks for tuning in- tune in this weekend for the final hobby showdown!

HRR 21, Day 37

Days Remaining: 5

Models Remaining: 3



Tonight I have painted the "twin brother" of Spiritseer Valdanoch, a strikingly similar Spiritseer Hegemesh...



As luck would have it, I wasn't able to get my hands on three different Warlock models equipped with witchblades. So, I tried to paint this Spiritseer with a dramatically different paint scheme then his "twin", in an effort to make the use of the same model not so noticeable. I think I've pulled it off. What do you guys think?

Tomorrow, I think I'll get started on Prince Yriel, and maybe even finish him. Time to paint a model and spend a good amount of time on it...

HRR 20, Day 36

Days Remaining: 6

Models Remaining: 4



Well, this contest is truly winding down. There's less than a week left at this point- Sunday is the last day people can post results and have them count towards qualification. As long as nothing strange happens (crossing fingers), I am on track to finish this army on time. Tonight, I finished the second Wraithlord, thus allowing me to check one more "green box" on the master chart above:





Other than Syamael and his nice looking Saim-Hann Eldar, I haven't seen much from my other opponents in quite some time. Have they made awesome progress, and just haven't posted progress reports? Have they run out of gas? It's hard to say, but I'd love to see how they are getting along. As for me, I'm planning to work on at least one (possibly both) of my Spiritseers. Tune in tomorrow for those pics!

Before I sign off for tonight, I'd like to thank all those kind souls who have taken the time to read these "Legends" threads and comment. I know it's been a great source of motivation and encouragement to me, and doubtless it's been the same for my fellow painters in this mighty contest. Please, keep it up! We truly appreciate it!

Hobby Strong

HRR 19, Day 35

Days Remaining: 7

Models Remaining: 5



I have really been looking forward to this moment. All of the Wraithguard are done. In fact, all of the "basic" infantry models are done. The light's not the greatest, but here's a shot of everything I've finished thus far with the army:



That is AWESOME! I have never seen, much less painted, 30 Wraithguard until this afternoon. I am pumped.

So, I'm going to spend the rest of the evening working on the second Wraithlord. Here's where it's at right now:



We'll see how far I get with it tonight!

I'll leave you all with another song- yet another dip into the 80's. This is a tune I mentioned to Azlan during hobby night. I thought this tune was sweet when I was a young teenager, and I was listening to it while painting the 3d Wraithguard squad. If they do awesome in combat, I'll know why...

Viewer discretion is advised- this clip has serious "mind poison" potential. You could easily find yourself Monday morning humming this tune and imagining a dude with a monster platinum blonde mohawk/mullet. Enjoy...



Late Addition:

I managed to get a pretty good start on the second Wraithlord tonight. The model's been assembled and basecoated in primary colors. I also managed to get the gloss varnish and oil wash done on the yellow. Sweet! Unless something happens to suck up my time tomorrow after work, I should finish this model and start working on a Spiritseer...

Wraithguard Finished!

It's now official- all the troops are done for my army. Yippee!

My power is out so I'm sharing with my phone. Hopefully I can do a proper HRR later...

Almost Made it Today

Let me start by saying that I REALLY thought I was going to take 20 Wraithguard off the board today, thus breaking the proverbial back of my Iyanden army project. However, due to a perhaps ill-advised foray of normal human/husband-wife entertainment, I have failed to completely finish those dudes. Oh well- can't win 'em all.

The good news is that all 20 remaining Wraithguard are THIS close to being done. As I type this all 20 have an orange oil pin wash that is drying. Tomorrow, all I have to do is clean up any misplaced oil with some thinner and a brush or cotton bud. After that, it's just a quick matte varnish from the airbrush and the grass/leaves treatment. That will be SWEET.

The foray I just mentioned was an excellent day out with my wife Lena. We went and saw the new flick "Inception", and we both thought it was outstanding. I haven't been that impressed with a movie in a long time. I highly recommend it.

While we were in the mall (Ikea @ Curve), putting around and getting this and that, we stopped in Ace Hardware. I enjoy going there, as I like power tools, things that make fire, and sharp objects. Ace has all of these in abundance.

I always walk up and down all the isles, looking for anything that's been restocked or better yet added to the lineup. You never know when you might find something that you can use for an army, terrain piece, or even a future table project. As I walked by the varnish section, I spotted a flavor of Minwax that I have read about, but never actually seen:



Now, this is definitely something that is worth checking out. I haven't used it yet, but this shade is supposed to be black, and not a shade of brown. This could be a new variety that would expand the color palettes that could be reasonably "dipped". I'll get a test model or two done in the next few weeks, and post it up here for your review. It might be too dark to use- we'll see.

That's about it from me tonight. Tomorrow I've got some folks coming over for lunch, and I plan on cooking a mighty Mexican feast on the grill. Afterwards, it is ALL hobby, and I am going to get those bloody Wraithguard put to bed if it's the last thing I do. This army is going to get done, and if I have anything to do with it, it's going to get down BEFORE the upcoming Hobby Night. I wanna play a game with it six days from now...

OT- The Company Band

I'm sitting here, painting the last squad of Wraithguard like a frickin' madman dervish, and listening to some seriously badass tunes. Dig this...



and this tune as well



I gotta get this album.

HRR 18, Day 32

Days Remaining: 10

Models Remaining: 24



I almost colored in 10 boxes tonight. I almost changed the text above to read "Models Remaining: 14". However, I just couldn't do it. As much as they are essentially done, without the orange oil wash and flock, the second squad is not 100% done:



Tonight I finished painting the bases, highlighting the black, and painting the wraith construct symbols on their heads. That in and of itself is sweet, and I'm really happy with the amount of work I got done tonight. Still, with another hour, I could have done the gloss varnish and the oil wash- maybe even the matte varnish too. Oh well. I'm guessing Saturday these dudes will be completely done.

In more good news, I also managed to prime and basecoat the third and final Wraithguard squad. The photo below shows all the remaining models I have to paint, sans the second Wraithlord. I see the light at the end of the tunnel at last.



That's it for tonight, folks. With any luck, I'll finish all the base painting on the third squad during Hobby Night. If all goes according to plan this weekend, by the end of Sunday night/Week 5, I'll add BOTH Wraithguard squads AND the second Wraithlord to the "Painted" category. We'll see....

HRR 17, Day 31

Days Remaining: 11

Models Remaining: 24



Work. Eat. Paint. Sleep. Repeat.

That's been the story folks, especially as the end of this competition grows closer and closer. No TV. No video games. No oogling ForgeWorld tank porn. No mercy. No forgiveness. There is only Iyanden, and I paint it.

Tonight was a fantastic progress night. I started the night by assembling the third and final squad of Wraithguard. Those resin bases sure saved me time I would have otherwise spent with plasticard, a compass, and some knives.



After finishing the squad, I immediately put them away and resumed painting the second squad. Excellent progress was made...



They say no plan survives contact with the enemy, but tonight was a rare exception. I did manage to do exactly what I wanted:

1) Paint all tabards GW Regal Blue
2) Paint 2d squad markings on said tabards in VMC White
3) "Gem Out" the spirit stone and wraithcannon gems of all models (70 in all) by painting them GW Blood Red, GW Scab Red, GW Macharius Solar Orange, and VMC White

I cannot complain.



In addition, the night was made even more awesome with a change of musical pace to Queensryche. These guys are totally awesome. Listening to Rage for Order reminded my of my high school days, painting Ral Partha figs and listening to the cassette with one of those yellow waterproof Sony Walkmans. You know, the one with the locking lid that totally kicked ass. I leave you with an excellent track from that album, and my best wishes to your own hobby endeavors, whatever they may be...

HRR 16, Day 30

Days Remaining: 12

Models Remaining: 24



I only put in an hour tonight, but it went to good use. Black basecoat has been completely finished, and I'm halfway through the GW Regal Blue basecoat of heads and tabards. Tomorrow, I need to switch gears a bit and assemble the third squad. Once that's done, I'll continue painting 2d squad and get as far as I can. Finishing the blue, squad markings, and gems would be awesome...

HRR 15, Day 29

Days Remaining: 13

Models Remaining: 24



I didn't get quite as much done tonight as I had hoped. Basically, all I managed to do was undercoat the bases black, and start painting the black sections on the squad.



It doesn't look like much, but in my defense the black stage is the most time consuming. The results could have been worse for tonight. :)

On a separate note the voting looks pretty tight right now on 40K Malaysia. At the time of this writing, only three people have voted! I guess interest from several parties has started to wane, which isn't totally unexpected given the long timeframe involved with this cool event. Regardless, I'm going to finish this army!

HRR 14, Day 28

Days Remaining: 14

Models Remaining: 24



Good progress this week, without a doubt. I got the Guardians squad completely finished, along with their scatter laser grav platform. Incidentally, I magnetized the platform for future weapon swaps, making sure the polarity orientation matches the Wraithlords weapon points for maximum versatility. I also painted one more Wraithguard- this one from the third squad. I basically made sure I got him done so I could finish 50% of my models by today, thus giving me bonus points in the 40K Malaysia forums challenge. Good stuff.

I hope your hobby endeavors this weekend were fruitful and excellent! Until next time, hobby strong folks...

Mobile Progress Report

Thought I'd share a quick pic from my phone of the WIP Guardian squad.

Bases only need grass & leaves to be finished, and I've almost finished the black undercoat.

Back to it...

HRR 13, Day 25

Days Remaining: 17

Models Remaining: 36



Excellent progress tonight! :)




I undercoated the Guardian squad and upper grav platform half Tamiya Flat White. I then airbrushed them all VGC Gold Yellow as per normal. I then applied my standard Future floor polish to all the models, again with an airbrush. Before putting the airbrush away I also undercoated the lower half of the grav platform in GW Regal Blue (not shown in pics)

I drybrushed the lower half of the platform first with GW Enchanted Blue, then very lightly with GW Space Wolves Grey. I painted the vents on the upper side black and then highlighted with VMC Gunmetal Grey. I then assembled the grav platform base (shown above).

Finally, I applied my oil pin wash of Rowney Artists' Chrome Orange 626 to all of the Guardians and the upper half of the assembled grav platform. With that, I called it a night to let the oils dry thoroughly. Without a doubt, a good night's progress!

Hobby Strong

Let Slip the Chickens of War!

Yes, that's a Gamer's Edition Warhammer package that only moments ago arrived at my desk. Yippee!!

Now, do I play my currently painted VC army, or do I delve into a new army? Hmmm...

HRR 12, Day 24

Days Remaining: 18

Models Remaining: 36



Well, I honestly didn't do a whole lot tonight other than clean up the grav platform, and I also cleaned up the parts for the second Wraithlord. The plan for tomorrow is to fire up the airbrush, and get the Guardians and grav platform undercoated and basecoated. I'm also going to take a stab at painting some detail work on the squad as well. We'll see how all that goes tomorrow :)

Yesterday I failed to show pics of the assembled Guardians, so here they are. I'm really happy with the plasticard converted bases, and I love the pose of the grav platform crewmember on the left, in the first photo. "The enemy is there!", or something like that. He's cool.





Until next time...

HRR 11, Day 23

Days Remaining: 19

Models Remaining: 36



Sorry folks, but no pics today.

I have to admit I'm a little tired after the frenzy of hobby prep activity culminating in last Saturday's Birthday Bash. I took a few days off to recharge the batteries, and this evening I've started getting back to work on my "Legends" Iyanden Eldar project.

It's not a whole lot, but I did assemble the bulk of my Guardian squad this evening, replete with converted bases that continue the theme I established earlier with the Wraithguard. Rather then continue painting the second Wraithguard squad, I decided to switch it up a little for freshness.

Tomorrow, the plan is to paint on the Guardians as much as I can. I believe they will be easier than the Wraithguard, but only time will tell. Stay tuned, and...

Hobby Strong!