Soooo....

So I know I havent posted yet, I know, epic fail on me. I did want to comment on the Horus Heresy series and how awesome it has been thus far! I highly recommend. I know Esh has been reading it, Im on the sixth book and so far cant put it down - Dark Angels baby! So for those looking for a great read, in the gore filled 40k universe, pick it up!

Posts to come on my Lord of the Rings paint scheme with my dwarfs!

Finally Back from Fort McCoy

Back from AT. Updates will be inbound this coming week. After I get my hands on some Simple Green, we'll see how things play out.

Edit:

Today I'll begin my Simple Green experiments. For those of you not familiar with it, the Independent Characters are hosting a Hobby Progress challenge on their forums. It encourages players to lay out their goals in constructing a new army over the next 8 or so months. I accepted this challenge right before heading off to AT. Do I think I'll make it? We'll see. But I was building a new Ultramarines army anyway, so what's the harm in posting a few pictures there too?

I'll post more pictures here then there, but as a forum it may have ore discussion, and you can view my hobby plans for the next little while.

Here's the link:
http://www.theindependentcharacters.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=2147&p=21489#p21489

Ultramarines - Captain Finished

I've finished my Captain and I finally have an Ultramarine force I can field!

This is my victory shot, after painting him in one sitting. It was ridiculous, but I did it.

And I decided to repaint the power sword green. It is used in my palette, but infrequently. The change from blue makes it stand out, especially with the red on the sword.

The cloth has been done in the same way as the Tactical sergeant.

That banner was ridiculous, but I'm proud of it. I painted the eagle without a wash too.

For the cape, I used Blood Red mixed with brown. This gives it a really interesting look, and as my first time painting cloth without a wash (and second time period) I was really proud of the results.

My first power sword; I used Dark Angels Green and drew a lightning (well, a zig-zag since it doesn't look too much like lightning) pattern. Afterwards, I added a little white and traced within the lines. I added more white for a third layer, and I thought about doing a final layer of just white in the intersections, but decided against it.

The other side of the sword.

Paired with my recently painted tactical squad.

Tabletop shot.

Shot in the daylight.

I still have to figure out what I want to write on the banner and bolter, and add any other markings to him. But I've finished my first marine character!

Next on my list is to paint up a land speeder. Not sure when I will repaint the other tactical squad, but for now I want to try something new. I also have to get some simple green to fix a bad prime job. I also found about the IC Hobby Progress Challenge: Paint up an 1850 list with 400 pt sideboard before March 31st, 2012. It started in July, and since so did my reentry to the hobby, I figured it isn't that much more effort to try it. It also forced me to set a plan out. I'm not sure I'll have the time to finish it all, but it can't hurt to work towards a goal.

I'm also going to be out of town conducting training in Wisconsin, so my next post won't be until late August. Have a good three weeks everyone.

-Esh

Ultramarines - Tactical Squad Finished

I finished my tactical squad the other night. I really like the lighter blue color scheme. I've also used one of the GW Washes for the first time (Gryphonne Sepia) and it was awesome.

Flamer: Cygnar Base Blue (Heavily watered down), Drybruh Scorch Brown, Drybrush Black

WIP Shot: I painted a grey cloth at first, and it came out really good. Unfortunately I wanted it slightly tanned., so I had to repaint it.

Cloth: Bleached Bone, Bleached Bone : Skull White Highlight, Skull White High-highlight, and Gryphonne Sepia.

Skin: Elf Flesh followed by, you guessed it, Gryphonne Sepia.

A few shots from outside. We actually have sun today!

The entire finished squad.

I plan on using the same basing material, but I'm looking for a good tutorial for making crystals out of the necron gauss sprues.

My next project will be an HQ. I definitely want to take a break from assembly line marines and do a model I can focus on. Plus I need one for compulsory. I'm not sure when I'll repaint my first tac squad, but I have a second AoBR one to paint first.

For my HQ, my options are:

Captain/Chapter Master

Librarian

Chaplain

Master of the Forge

I also have Chaplain Cassius, but I'd like to get a little more experience on another character first. With what I currently own (2 AoBR captains) I pretty much have narrowed my choices down to the Captain and Librarian (as I want to convert one of the captains).

I'll sped this week figuring out my conversion details, and probably paint one of the Captains up just to get my compulsory units done.

Til then,

-Esh

Ultramarines - Adding Green Stuff Chapter Badges

I took a break from painting to make some green stuff chapter badges. The tactical marking shoulder pads look better than transfers, so I wanted to make the other side match. Learning to sculpt green stuff was pretty tough, but I like the results. And even if they aren't the best, I made them myself. I've also added one with the iron skull for the squad sergeant. You can see the test version below.

Was it worth it? Well, the tools were cheaper than ordering the sets online. And the Ultramarines sets are nearly as cool as the Crimson Fists ones. Also, the AoBR models come with shoulder pads already on, so they can't be replaced  easily. And in the future, I do other shoulders like terminators or the tactical sergeant. A little work, and I can do Devastator and Fast Attack symbols. I've even got a few icons for bikes now. But the time investment was quite a bit for me. It took a few hours, and while I know I'll get quicker at it, your time may be worth more than the cost of the packs. I might go back and touch them up a bit now that I've seen the finished product, but from 3 feet away, they look fine.

Here's the link to the guide I used.

The supplies I personally used:
Vaseline
Sculpting tools (A nice little $15 set from JoAnn's, with the weekly coupons was about $8).
Wooden Dowels ($1 for a 48" rod I cut down)
Green Stuff ($8 for a pack of 2 strips from GW; I used less than one to learn how to do all this and finish this tactical squad)
File (Initial the icons were thicker than I wanted, so I had to file them down a little bit)

I found a good skull on this backpack.

A quick shot of the impression.

This is the symbol I needed to make for the sergeant.

Another shot of it.

This is the icon prior to taking an impression of it.

One of the finished sculpts.

The dark blue (older models) have transfers for comparison.

From a tabletop view.

So all in all, a successful project. If anyone has any questions about minus_t's guide let me know.

-Esh

Ultramarines Tactical Squad - Half Finished

I finished up the first combat squad of the marines I'm working on.

Basing, Purity Seals, and Squad markings still need to be done, but the other details are finished.

Before I finish the squad, I've started making green stuff icons for the shoulder pads using this guide. It's going well enough. However, just in case I can't shape the icons well, I'm looking for kits with Ultramarine icons in them. Unfortunately, since I just moved away from everyone I know who plays, I probably won't be able to find someone who will hook me up with the bits.

The laurel turned out pretty well.

Tabletop style shot.

The one in the background was the test model.

Far left is the test model.

The squad in its entirety.

A new shot of the old scheme vs. new scheme.

I took some photos outside to try and counter the light bias. But when you live in Seattle, sunlight is hard to come by.

I went back and painted the scopes up.

So, a little more to finish up. After this squad, I think my next project is taking apart a built vindicator. Still have to figure out how I'm gonna pull that off. I've heard freezing it, but we'll see.

-Esh