40k - Adeptus Mechanicus Dunecrawler

Hard rounds whipped down the street kicking up small motes of dust where they impacted upon the hardpan or the ruined walls nearby.

Skitarii Alpha Tyx-60 ducked back into the cover of a ruined stanchion and assessed the noospheric map he was linked into.

They had pushed into the factorum earlier that morning and now were in danger of being pinned down by a massive archenemy counter attack.

Activating his inbuilt communicator, he reached out to his fellow Alpha's to better grasp his units situation.

+++ Alpha Tyx-60, pinned, co-ordinates A65/14. noosphere link weak.
Enquiry: Support available? +++

+++ Alpha Lau-12, Rangers covering from co-ordinates B71/7-1, Dunecrawler support inbound from co-ordinates A65/13, Estimated lapse 17.03 seconds +++

All of this was transmitted in a binaric burst in less then a second real time.

One of his Vanguard Skitarii look a round in the chest and was pitched backwards from where he had been firing.

+++ Alpha Tyx-60, Rumination: Are we overrun? +++

The ruined walls of the factorum exploded outwards, dust clouds billowing towards them ruining normal vision.

His audio sensors automatically muted as the deafening retort of an Icarus Autocannon began its murderous work.

Within seconds the Archenemy foot troops were in disarray, scattering before the whirlwind destruction of autocannon rounds and missile fire.

+++ Alpha 09-Tyba 44, Dunecrawler support on station +++

+++ Alpha Tyx-60, praise the Omnissiah, Vangaurd advance +++

------


Well, another round of hobby updates to come in the next few days, this is the first though.

Previously I have mentioned painting up an Adpetus Mechanicus force for my friend whose vision precludes him from painting regularly.

This is one of the last pieces I have had to do, and it's been sitting in my storage for over a year (do I sense a box on the Hobby Bingo sheet being filled?).

The colour scheme, obvious, was to match the Skitarii I have previously painted, with White being the main colour and the Red stripe as the army identification marking.

The base was kept very simple to match the Knight and the rest of the army.

Another piece completed, I am hoping to get going on some more personal projects and get some games in the near future, especially as I have been looking into a solo mod for the 40k, but more of that in a future post.


Hobby Bingo:

Yep, another box filled, this time the model which has been on your paint station for over a year, I could have gone for the "paint a vehicle" box, but I have other vehicles to get to in the future, always better to keep options open.


Until next time...


 - Lewis

Fantasy - Zaedrera, Gorgon Demon.

Sealed away for countless centuries, the Gorgon Demon known as Zaedrera was released from her stasis by miners delving too deeply for riches.

Once a name which could petrify a person just by mention of it, her reputation has dimmed with the passing of time, with many now believe her to be naught but a myth, like the gods themselves...

Unfortunately for the peoples of the realms, Zaedrera is no myth, she is very real.
A lithe, athletic killer whom can move far faster then her serpentine bulk would appear...

If one of the many blades she wields in her six hands don't kill you, then her petrifying gaze may slow you down enough to make the job easier...

***

Another Reaper Bones miniature completed. This time a "Snake Demon".

As usual with reaper bones minis, the weapons she came with were bent and misshapen. A few moments rooting in the bits box yielded a score of Dark Eldar Wych daggers and a blade on a chain.

In went the clippers to remove the original models hands and replace them with the GW equivalents. Much hardier and more likely to survive the rigours of gaming.

Until next time...

- Lewis

Fantasy - Ig'ni'sio, Greater Fire Elemental.

With a crackle and hiss of heat, the Greater Fire Elemental known as "Ig'ni'sio" has existed for longer then it's original master.

Summoned to do the bidding of a Kahji from the deserts of Mairan. The wizard soon lost control of the avatar of fire which proceeded to burn down most of the palace and earn the Kahji the displeasure of his ruler...and the loss of his head.

Caring nothing for the petty meddling of mortals, the motivations or Ig'ni'sio are utterly alien to most races of the realms.
Aiding one season and destroying the next, no-one is sure what drives this being or where it's loyalty lies...

One thing all are sure of, is that you don't want to be facing it...

***

Another Reaper Bones model completed, this time a Greater Fire Elemental.
I really enjoyed painting this model, even after a false start...don't ask...

Following a basic tutorial for painting fire from YouTube (sorry I don't have a link to this one) I finished it off quite quickly in about three hours total.

I do have another one of these models to paint up, maybe they will end up facing off against one another at some point in the future...

Until next time...

- Lewis

Fantasy - The Thunderstrike Tribe.

A rage filled roar and the thunder of iron shod hooves are often the closest warnings of attack from the Thunderstrike Ogor-Centaurs.

Although, if you have ignored the other signs, such as the massive dust cloud which marks their presence. And the preponderance of Thunderclouds which follow them, then no-one in the realms will have much sympathy for you.

A relatively new tribe to the area, the Ogor-Centaur species has an ancient history. Their oral history reaches back all the way to the Age of Myth, their ancestors once turning their back upon ''The Lightbringer" and being cursed for doing so.

Worshipping "The Stormlord" as they have done for ages past, they see the new "Lightning Men" as thieves, stealing the essence of the Stormlord in their weapons and reforging. As such, they do not hesitate to attack on sight, if any Stormcast are nearby.

****

So, here we have some more finished fantasy models. These I am very pleased with.

I have always wanted a unit of Dragon-Ogres from GW, but I am unwilling to pay the £45 or so price tag, when I could come up with something converted for less...

They started out as some 54mm Centaur models made from a crappy soft plastic from a Russian company I got off eBay for less then £5 (including postage).

Converting what are little better then children's toys into something approaching a proper wargaming mini was a simple matter of gathering a few cast off Ogre bits from a friend and then taking the clippers to the "toys". Something I wasn't worried about doing as they were so cheap.

I'm sure you will agree that the results are far better then imagination would give credit

Painting wise, I decided in the end to go for a generic normal horse type scheme (which I found a very good tutorial for HORSE PAINTING GUIDE in order that these models could be used in AoS, 1page, Fantastic SAGA, D&D, etc

These models also tick off a second box for my Hobby Bingo challenge:

The convert a model box is now marked up.
I always like to keep an eye out for toys and other bits which may potentially be converted into uses within this hobby of ours.

Well, until next time...


- Lewis

Fantasy - Irvyrreth, The Voiceless One, Juvenile White Dragon.

Dragon's are creatures of Myth and Magic, however they are not without distinct personalities depending on their particular species.

Red Dragons are quick to anger and fight, Silver Dragons are very focused upon justice and law, for example.
These types of dragon are very intelligent, very magical and have plans in motion sometimes for centuries.

The White Dragons on the other hand, are very animalistic and focus upon hunting and protecting their own territory.

Normally raised in a clutch with siblings until they are around a year old, they still develop an intellect of around human level, but with a malign self-centeredness. Some are magical and learn the ways of the frost mage, learning polymorph to transform into a different form and walk freely amongst the "lesser beings".

Not so with Irvyrreth, The Voiceless One, raised in a clutch of five, he was left for dead after a human hunting party found their lair.
With his mother and siblings dead, and a great gash across his neck, he survived despite the odds stacked against him.

Though only juvenile, he has garnered a reputation amongst the tribes and cities on the northern mountains as a merciless killer of humans, often letting other races go free as long as they don't turn back to him.

Unable to articulate words due to his wounding as a youngling, his arrival is often heralded by the beating of wings proceeding a great sheet of icy fog descending from above.

With visibility limited due to his breath attacks, he is then able to pick apart his quarry at his leisure, often still rending and tearing bodies long after they have frozen solid.

***

So, here we have a Dragon (obviously). One of my friends Reaper Bones miniatures, and I was under order to "just paint it however", when I had asked what type of dragon he would have liked.

I chose the White dragon because you don't see them very much, compared to the classic red Dragons.

And also my Mrs and Son both picked that one when I showed them all the different types of dragon in the D&D monster manual.

After a long stint of more work then hobby time recently, it was good to get something finished and off the desk, it also ticks off the first box of my "Hobby Bingo" I mentioned in my last post:

The Monster entry.

I could have gone for the technical entry, as I have improved my drybrush technique, but I don't have that many other monsters to do...yet.

Well, until next time...


 - Lewis

Hobby - Hobby Bingo?

A few days ago now, Chris sent me a link to the old Hobby Bingo form which has been knocking around the Internet for a few years.

I always intended to actually do it at some point, and as 2019 has started figured no time like the present.

There are 25 mini challenges to complete, some will be easy, some won't and some will be downright impossible. But we'll give it a go...

After asking about on Facebook, David of HMDWesternFront decided he was going to take part, like me over the course of the next year.

So I am going to add this to all of my construction posts from now and update it when stuff is fulfilled.

If anyone else wants to have a bash alongside us, feel free to grab the image from here or your favourite search engine (just type in Hobby Bingo) and let me know how you are getting on.

Until next time...


 - Lewis.

Test of Honour - Masked Men warband.

So, work has continued behind the scenes on the Test of Honour campaign framework and narrative.

Before I really get into it though I want to get at least 15 points for each warband ready and some terrain (as fighting over a blank table is boring).

Last night, as well as having a bag of bamboo turn up for scenery, I got to looking at my original Masked Men which I had built and took the clipper to them.

The Masked Men were the first box I ever bought for the game (my Mrs was buying the core box for my birthday that year) and I had started to just build them straight off the sprues without thinking ahead, after all this was a new game, I probably wouldn't play it that much right?

Considering the fact that it has now overtaken 40k for my main game, mainly because it is immensely solo-able and it scratches the Samurai itch, I think I'd better do the best job I can with this stuff.

The "Masked Men" are a warband led by Masahiro, a warrior monk who is enraged by the harsh treatment of common folk by the samurai ruling class.
These guys fight the corrupt samurai every chance they get and take the Menpo (face plates or masks) of defeated enemies and wear them as a taunt to other samurai. It never felt right that they would be wielding what are essentially pikes.

So out came the clippers and the bits box, and these guys were converted to wield Katanas'.

The middle guy is meant to be shouting (cupping his hand at his mouth like), I imagine they would make more use of intimidation and such through that (imagine the forest battle scenes in The Last Samurai with all the shouting before the Samurai appear which unnerves their enemies some).

I also made a normal spear armed Masked Man whom is kneeling, receiving a charge, And a badass Sergeant model, kind of a middle leader, for the warband (After Masahiro and the Samurai who has joined them). He is armed with both a Katana and Wakizashi (short sword) drawn and on guard, holding down a Sashimono (personal flag to identify Samurai) with his foot, kind of another insult/taunt to his Samurai opponents.

Speaking of the Samurai, this is the finished model of "He whom shall not be named", the killer of Takeda Naokos' husband, hunted and on the run from his clan, he has joined with Masahiro in an attempt to stop Daimyo Osagawa and his brutality.

He is made from a Bandit model armed with a Katana. I chopped the head from between the wide hat and the body and replaced it with a Masked Man head. I think he is going to be the only one of the warband with a full red mask, as it was his from before he became Ronin.

Well, that's it for now.

Until next time...


 - Lewis.