Friday 9 February 2024

Epic post

Space Marine was my first exposure to GW in the early '90s. Now Legions Imperialis tries to take up the mantle. I had some Dark Angels, but ultimately ended up seduced by Imperial Guard. Titan Legions was nice to me as well. And I had a copy of Space Marine Battles, the WD compendium- I spent hours poring over that. I sold all my stuff to someone in Perth, I think, about 20 years ago. I don't regret selling them, but I do wish I'd taken more and better pictures. These following tiny pictures are only a part of what I had- if only you could see my dozen nicely painted Titans- Warlords and Reavers and Warhounds, oh my. I wonder what battles they had after they left my command...

The Imperator was the crown jewel of my collection. Hand painted banners and an extra large purity seal.(I've shown her off before but wanted to again.) 

Imperator




Back then, I didn't have the painting stamina I later developed, so not everything is completed. You can see I was influenced by the 'red phase' of 'Eavy Metal. Everything had to be visibly colour coded for organisation. Love me some Goblin Green bases. Man, I have the nostalgia for those Rhinos (and the Land Raiders, sadly no photos...)

Somewhere, I lost the turret to the magnificent Capitol Imperialis. Another hand-painted flag based on classic Rogue Trader art.

Capitol Imperialis

Chimeras

Hydras

Imperial Guard Company

Imperial Guard with Inquisitor and Commissar

Ravenwing

Dark Angel Razorbacks

Imperial Guard Vindicators

Imperial Guard Predators

OG Thunderhawk- the flying refrigerator! Dressed up as a Hind.

I have never had any passion for knights.

Knights Errant

Knights Lancer

Knights Paladin

Friday 2 February 2024

HP Lovecraft

In the eldritch confines of my study, I unearthed a diminutive relic of unspeakable provenance—an accursed miniature that defied the feeble constraints of mortal comprehension. The blasphemous sculpt depicted an otherworldly figure, a ghastly visage that whispered of realms beyond the ken of human perception. In the sickly luminescence of my dimly lit chamber, the colors upon my palette seemed to shift and writhe, revealing cyclopean landscapes and nameless horrors. The twisted sculptor, a shadowy adept in the forbidden arts, had rendered the accursed author with a fiendish precision that echoed the cosmic malevolence of the Great Old Ones. As I gazed upon the diabolical creation, a palpable chill gripped my very soul, and I could discern the spectral murmurs of eldritch entities weaving their inscrutable tales within this infernal masterpiece. The mere act of contemplating the arcane artefact threatened to plunge my psyche into the abyssal depths of cosmic horror, leaving me teetering on the brink of sanity.

I tried out ChatGPT for the above paragraph- horrifyingly good.

Here's a fun figure from Impact! Miniatures. I originally got him as a Blood Bowl coach. They've captured his eldritch chin.

HPL and his friend LP Hovercraft

"I am Providence."

Howard Philips Lovecraft age 43 (1934)

Friday 26 January 2024

Galadriel and her mirror

A 3D Sculpt from The Printing Goes Ever On. A quick paintjob- I tried adding an eye of Sauron, and it really sticks out. I may darken the edges of the bowl. I don't know if the 'water' needs some gloss varnish.


Friday 19 January 2024

How to make swamps

I made some generic swamps for any scale or period. In this tutorial I'll show you how I went about it. This is one of those fun projects where each step looks good and just gets better as it goes along, unlike some projects which seem to get worse before they get better.

I started with some pre-cut MDF forest sabot bases from Knights of Dice (sadly, a company on hiatus). I used my trusty Dremel to hack out the insides and bevel the edges.

Pre-cut MDF forest sabot bases, unglued.


I glued the two halves together with some random offcuts and added Miliput to disguise any regularities in the curves.

After cutting and bevelling, glued together and made more irregular


I used PVA to stick on builder's sand. I then gave a light mist of PVA and IPA to further cement it down. (I could have gone heavier with the spray).

Waiting for the sand/ PVA to dry


I painted them craft paint brown, then drybrushed browns and creams. I could have skipped either of the drybrush stages. I then painted the water dark green- Contrast Dark Angel in this instance. Any dark green or brown would be fine.

Steps of colour


I then used a selection of flocks, static grass and tufts I've been accumulating over the years. I used brighter greens around the water edges, and drier colours to blend with my game boards.

Vegetation added


The final step is Deluxe Materials Aqua Magic. This is like acrylic gloss varnish, a single pour product without any mixing or heating required. I generously poured this in and let it soak up the sides into the flock. I used up the last of my bottle. I put them on a level surface and protected them from dust. Done!


Water poured and left to dry


The finished result! With hobbits for scale. I resisted the urge to add skullz, corpses, rusty bits etc to keep them generic for scale and period.




I did a test swamp before I jumped in and made more. I tried some fancy blending in the water to give a depth illusion, but it just didn't work and is unnecessary. You can see the different water colour in the picture above. More troubling was the cracking of the water. I've slightly salvaged it with a second coat of water effect, but I think more will be required and I expect to have to do it to my new swamps as well. I do need a new bottle of that stuff, anyway. I know I should probably do multiple thin coats, but I'm impatient and in a hurry.

Cracking of the water. Bug or feature?

If you've got any comments on experiences with water effect products I'd like to hear!

Oh, and also I'd like suggestions on storing them so the tufts don't get squished. I'm thinking of putting each in a greaseproof paper bag. Some sort of plate rack or CD holder?

Friday 12 January 2024

40K Tyranid Biovore/ Pyrovore, and Spore Mines

I've painted my first Biovore. These are tyranid 'living artillery'; a beastie with a symbiotic weapon on it that spits out spore mines. I really like spore mines- languidly floating exploding jellyfish thingies.

Biovore and spore mines

I never liked, however, the original 1995 biovore.

Photo from Mr_Pink's excellent Modern Synthesist.

The new sculpt is more than an upscale and aesthetic improvement- it also has a detachable tail so it can be fielded as an acid-spitting Pyrovore. Or the tail can be removed for a xeno-arachnid look.

Biovore

Biovore

Biovore

Pyrovore- note different gun and tail.

Sans both gun and tail.

Despite not having a biovore before, I have acquired a few spore mines. The new ones are much taller.

New (2023) spore mines

Old (2004) spore mines
Spore mines

I'm mulling over using Five Parsecs: Bug Hunt to represent a PDF unit mopping up a spore mine infestation etc.

Friday 5 January 2024

Turbo Kid and Apple

These figures from Imitation of Life pay homage to Turbo Kid and Apple. I painted them for the  'Romance' theme of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge.





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