10/26/13: Finished: Charity Cygnar Battlegroup

Hey guys!

So about a month ago, my good friend Magilla Gurilla came to me, looking for prizes for his charity 40k and Warmachine event. He was looking for something like a Dreadnought or some vouchers, but anything would do. Jump back to March, as the shop I manage was getting rid of our Warmachine stock, as it just didn't take off around here. Everything was 50% off, so I had to pick up some paints and a Battlegroup. I saw Cygnar, loved the look, picked them up, built them, then packed them away. I decided I'd rather see the group do something charitable than collect dust, so I set to work!

I opted for a simple-yet-effective scheme to allow someone to add to the group easily, yet still making these pieces stand out.

Really happy with the vent glow; its P3's Arcane Blue layered up to white.

Really happy with Stryker, but getting photos of his face is driving me nuts! I layered him up to Pallid Wych Flesh, so getting that color to photograph right has been a nightmare.

The Power Sword effect turned out perfectly!

The Lancer; I'm really happy with the checkers on the shield, and the glow effect turned out nicely on his shoulders.

The Charger; probably my least favorite Warjack, just not a lot of area for customization on him.

Big Bada Boom!

And the Ironclad! This guy was fun, pretty intimidating-looking model, but lots of space for weathering and freehand.

The Cygnar emblem on his top part is all freehanded; really adds some personality and effect to the model.

Stryker and his bodyguard of Jacks holding the Smells Like Watchtower from those crazy Menoth jerks!

So glad to be done with these, and I'll be even happier to see what they raise for charity. Speaking of charity, Extra Life 2013 is only a week out, so if you haven't supported the cause, swing on over to the page HERE and show your support! Anything is appreciated!

Alrighty, I'll be out of the studio this coming up week, visiting my girlfriend for Halloween, but expect tons of pictures of Extra Life the following Saturday/Sunday, and I'll be working hard on terrain and some IG stuff the week after! Stay tuned guys!

Granesh

10/20/13: Finished: Alpha Legion Murder Sword Lord and Warp Talons

Hey guys!

So following close on the heels of the Skaven Screaming Bell was something for my personal collection! See, I don't get to play a lot of 40k these days; despite managing my FLGS, our 40k group is either fairly spread out or busy. Even less, I get to paint for myself! I decided to remedy that a bit by breaking out my Chaos Marines.

This is my beatstick unit for the army. Sure assault took a hit in 6th Edition, but there's no sense in doing it half-assed; go big or go home!

I run the Lord with Mark of Tzeentch, Sigil of Corruption (Shant turn down a 3++ save!), a Jump Pack, a Plasma Pistol, and the Murder Sword. Background is he's Arkos the Faithless (Siege of Vraks Alpha Legion Leader) who is currently hunting down the Dark Angels that messed up his Warband; most specifically, Azrael. He jumps in, causes a ton of wounds, and usually turns into a Spawn. But he's a blast to play.

The whole army is about the freehand, as you can see. Not entirely happy with his shoulderpad, but it works. I opted for a green phase effect, much like a Grey Knight's Force Weapon, to really hit home the dangerous nature of the Sword. His Jump Pack is magnetized too, so I can run him on foot, either as a standard lord or as Arkos from Imperial Armor 6. 

And the weird part of the army! When I picked up the new book, nothing really caught my eye. I was running a 5th Edition army with a 6th Edition book, and not really having any fun with it. I'd picked up the Aspiring Champion Clampack at Genghis-Con to give me some options, and one day while at work, I decided to grab a box of Warp Talons. Definitely a good way to get into the book!

Love the champion, I'm all for helmet-less leaders! The skintone is layered from Caliban Green, and mixed up with Pallid Wych Flesh. The most extreme highlights are pure Pallid Wych Flesh and a little white. I always buy the Boon of Mutation upgrade for him, just to see what nonsense he gets!

First two Warp Talons. I hated the head I'd put on the second one there originally (Its the reject MK4 helmet, he looks like he's grinning like an idiot), so I found one of the old Possessed heads and slapped it on there. Glad I did!

Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb! Didn't realize I'd done nearly the same model, just mirrored, til I started painting! Oh well, they're more filler than anything (tell that to their four Lightning Claw attacks!).

I've never used their blind special rule; pretty sure the only reliable way to do that is to run the Dimensional Key on something like a Daemon Prince so they don't scatter, but its kinda tricky. I prefer to hide the squad behind cover for a turn or two, then rocket them up and at something squishy. Five Hammer of Wrath attacks and essentially 26 attacks that demolish 3+ saves is nothing to sneeze at! The Warp Talons are definitely tricky to run, and they're by no means a hyper-competitive unit. But they're fun to rocket around the table protecting Arkos!

Ignore the unpainted terrain! I've shown him before, but this is my Alpha Legion familiar. Lets call him Roger; say hello Roger! Roger here is the little familiar model that comes in the Terminator Lord kit; after converting two Abaddons and a couple other models, I've got quite a supply of them lying around. These guys paint up quick, and make perfect markers for Combat or Spell Familiars! Probably only took half an hour to do. Its the little things that make your army, so get on it!

Alrighty! Next up is that Cygnar Charity group, along with some terrain, an Imperial Vulture, and what looks to be about 50 points of Khadorian goodness! Keep up!

Granesh

10/18/13: Finished: Skaven Screaming Bell and Warp Talons Sneak Peek

Hey guys!

So I did some final touchups, cleaned up some of the glow effect, and matt varnished the Screaming Bell, so I can safely say its complete! I used to hate Skaven, but this kit definitely changed my opinion! Lets let the pictures talk, shall we?

The bell in all its glory!

The Grey Seer and his bell. The Bell was weathered just a little bit more, and hit lightly with the matte varnish to keep its shine.

The Rat Ogre ringing the bell. Definitely a strange model, lots of fun to paint. Definitely leave him off to paint, you'll want to get into all the weird nooks and crannies to really pull him off.

The Warpstone glow dominates this piece, as it should. I deliberately made the glow on the Ogre's hand bright and obvious to accentuate this glow. 

The Brazier was based in Caliban Green, then overbrushed Warpstone Glow and Moot Green. The coals were then washed with Coelia Greenshade to make them stand out. The whole piece was then drybrushed with a mix of Moot Green and White to accentuate any folds and wisps in the smoke.

And the other side, so you can see the back of the Ogre and the other side of the Seer. This project was a lot of fun to do, and I think painting a Hellpit Abomination, Doom Wheel, or hey, even Globadiers, would be a blast, especially with all the glow effects!

I also finished my Warp Talons last night; Not the best picture, but I'll have an article covering it tomorrow while at work, as I'll be able to get better pictures from there.

Alrighty! I've got some interesting projects for today, and I'll be starting the charity Cygnar group today as well. Stay tuned to the Facebook page for WIP updates on those! 

Off to work!

Granesh

10/16/13: WIP: Alpha Legion Warp Talons, Murder Lord, and Skaven Screaming Bell

Hey guys!

Just a quick post to prelude what should be coming tomorrow and the end of the week. After finishing those High Elves, I decided to take a little break to jump into one of my own projects I've had sitting around for quite some time. When the Chaos Codex came out, it took me a little time to really get into it. When I finally did, though, I picked up the Aspiring Champion clampack and a box of Raptors/Warp Talons to really get a feel for the book. I've had all 5 Warp Talons in various painting stages, and the Aspiring Champion had a Warriors of Chaos sword added in lieu of his axe and a Jump Pack added to make a super-dangerous Lord with Murder Sword. I finally decided to knock more of those Warp Talons out though, just to keep progressing on my Alpha Legion.

 

This is Warp Talon #3. The armor is done by basecoating the model in a 1:1 mix of Kantor Blue and Abaddon Black, then mixing Moot Green into the mix and gently overbrushing on the armor to achieve that nice blue-green. The trim is based with Leadbelcher, which is then washed with Nuln Oil. Once that's dry, I carefully brush Runefang Steel onto it, being sure to leave the shade around the bolts and middle of the metal. 

The Power Weapon effects are achieved by blending Abaddon Black to Warpstone Green, then into Moot Green and finally white. With the claws, I just stuck with a perfect blend on both sides to the tip. With the sword, I opted for a switch blend on each side. It creates a nice effect on the blade to switch the blending on both sides, as you can see with the Murder Sword in the picture.

You can see the underside of the sword was done in the same style, of course. I also did the Power Weapon effect on the Warp Talon's feet, as they're supposed to be Lightning Claws as well!

And the current group! The unit champion is in the back, so I only have 2 more to go. I also need to add a Sorcerer with the Burning Brand of Skalathrax, but we'll tackle that when I get there. I've been running the group as Mark of Tzeentch so the Lord gets a 3+/3++ (Sigil of Corruption) and the Talons get a 3+/4++. Sure they're expensive, but when they hit, they do a LOT of damage. I also like to take the automatic Gift on the Champion to give them a little extra oomph. 

This week has been an exercise in glow effects, as I've been rolling through a quick commission (super-secret on who its for!) of a Skaven Screaming Bell. First off, there's a ton going on with this model, so I found it best to leave the Rat Ogre, Grey Seer, and Bell off for separate painting. I started this kit in earnest Monday night after work, and spent all day Tuesday really getting it rocked out.

The highlight of this kit is the Warpstone. Games Workshop opted to paint the stonework in the middle as, well, stone! I decided I wanted to play a little more with the glow, and turned them into two gigantic blocks of Warpstone the Skaven had just tied to the contraption and built from. The glow effect was incredibly easy, and perfect for a gaming model; if this was more of a competition piece, I'd blend it by hand. The Warpstone was basecoated in Caliban Green, then overbrushed Warpstone Glow (fitting, right?), then up to Moot Green and white. The woodwork around it was lightly overbrushed with Moot Green to create an eerie glow. Focus on the areas that would take the glow from the stone, of course.

Here's the bell as it sits now. The bell was weathered and tarnished using Brass Scorpion as a base, then adding Gehenna Gold, dulling it with a black weathering powder, then washed with Nuln Oil, Agrax Earthshade, and watered-down Hawk Turquoise. Finally, Runefang Steel was sponged onto the model to create pitting and weathering.

All I really have left on the model is to get the Grey Seer finished up and to do any touch-ups on the kit itself. The picture above doesn't have the brazier added, and there's a little work that needs to be done on the straps and rope. Should have it done tonight, and will have pictures up on Friday, so stay tuned!

Next up is some 40k terrain, a little Forge World, and that charity Cygnar group! I may even get my Warp Talons finished, but we'll see!

And don't forget, we're just over two weeks from Extra Life 2013, so if you can afford it, swing on over to my page and support the cause! Anything is appreciated!

Granesh

10/13/13: Smells Like Charity...Again! Extra Life 2013 and Charity Gaming Event

Hey guys!

Its been a busy two weeks! This post is going to have a little bit of painting showcase, but I really want to focus on the more important aspects this time; namely, more charity work!

Those of you might remember this time last year, Smells Like Wargaming participated in two charity events; Extra Life 2012, and the Breachside Benevolence Ball. Both were for great causes, and greatly helped out their respective groups. Lets break them down again, shall we?

With Extra Life 2012, myself, along with two other members of our gaming group, Durango Diceworks, raised over $800 for the Children's Miracle Network. We got in some 40k, Warhammer Fantasy, plenty of Magic, Xbox, X-Wing, and....*shudders*...Nitro Dice...

There may have been some...drinks involved...too...

For those of you unfamiliar with Extra Life, its a charity group involved with raising money for your local Children's Hospital by getting pledges to play games for 24 25 hours. Its for a great cause, and we all have a ton of fun gaming and raising money for the kids. Its all about the kids, ya'know!

This year, I'm hoping for an even greater turnout and results. You can't go wrong with raising that much money for charity, but hey, we've always gotta aim higher! For those of you interested, here's a link to my Extra Life page: Granesh's Extra Life Page 

The Extra Life page recommends a dollar an hour ($25), but anything works. My personal goal is $250, but I'm hoping that's a glass ceiling that we smash through! Honestly, any money raised for this group will make me happy!

Believe me though, I've got more going on than gaming for charity too. I'm always happy to donate my talents to these endeavours as well! Again, my good friend Magilla Gurilla came to me, asking if I could donate some vouchers for painting for his Charity Gaming Event, taking place in Southern California November 9th. I one upped him, as I like to do, and offered to paint up a Cygnar Battlegroup to be raffled off for charity. 

Again, for those of you who don't remember, I painted up a Seamus Crew and redid some models for a second crew (for some reason, I can't find pictures) for Malifaux; the two crews raised about $150 towards charity. Magilla approached me again, as I said, looking for some support, and I figured it'd be better if we had a set of models the bidders could see in the flesh. I opted for a Cygnar Battlegroup, as Warmachine seems to be bigger in their area than Malifaux at the moment. Pictures should begin next week of the progress, I'm very partial to that Colonel Striker model from that set...

Blue and Brass? I think that can be done!

Expect shots of this project over the next week and a half. I'll be out of town for Halloween, so we'll have to get it done in that timeframe. 

I apologize for the lack of updates, Facebook and Twitter seem to be a little easier for posting, especially WIP shots. I was working my butt off last week on High Elf stuff to get them ready for my client who was traveling with RTGamer and my boss to Feast of Blades. For those of you who haven't seen it, here's the freehand on the Dragon Prince's banner:

Alrighty! Got a game of Blood Bowl today (Don't lose too many skinks...) and I'm doing some work on my Warp Talons to relax, and monday, expect some Skaven and Cygnar goodness!

Granesh