The State of the Hobbiest

With work and school taking its toll on my schedule, it's been a while since I've been able to work on any hobby goodness, let alone post about it here. In response, here's the current state of my hobby progress and where I'm headed in the future.

Before I begin, I'd like to take a moment to recognize my favorite podcast: The Masters of the Forge. These guys are single-handedly keeping me interested in the fluff and keeping my mind on the hobby while I'm spending time away. Snorre and Adam are always coming up with new interesting ways to play the game and going into detail about the parts of the background that I've always loved. In a world of responsibilities, they're my one last bastion of hobby goodness. If you haven't listened to them yet, go check them out.

And now, on with the blog post.

Gaming Table:

The table itself is complete and the first set of tiles is finished. I only have one set of trees to place on it, but I'd like to make a whole lot more as well as a little farm to put next to the road. I'm hoping to do some more work on it after I've gotten a sizable force of Knights Bellicose completed.

Current Knights Bellicose Project:

Right now, I'm working on the third Tactical Squad for 4th Company. My goal for now is to duplicate what I have in my Ultramarines force, then expand on it from there. Ultimately, I'm planning on completing the entire company, then move on to other companies until the entire Chapter is complete. Once this squad is complete, I'll have three full Tactical Squads to work with, and they'll all have options of which specialist weapons I want to include. Here's how they currently look:

Having recently completed my skin test, I'm confident I can add some radial diversity to my Chapter, which is something I've always wanted to do. In the spirit of that, this squad will feature three separate Marines without their helmets on. In order to better facilitate the painting process, I'll be painting the heads separate from the rest of the Marine.

Future Project:

Once my third Tactical Squad is complete, the force still won't be playable. I'll need some leadership for that. To help me break up the monotony of painting so many Tactical Marines, I'm going to work on 4th Company's Captain and Chaplain next. I'll probably even do the whole Command Squad, so the whole leadership section will be completed in one go. As of now, I've purchased the models and made sure there were no defects since I went with Finecast in an effort to build a whole army with no metal in it. Here's the models I chose:

Hopefully, I'll be able to devote more time to the hobby in the future. I really miss being able to work on my models as much as I used to and I miss posting on the blog as often as I used to. Once I get a little more homework out of the way, I'm hoping to spend a very large amount of progress in the hobby room. Keep checking back to see how things turn out!

Have fun painting!

First Terrain Piece

Despite the late nights at work and the piles of homework, I've managed to crank out another project for 40k. This time, I've finished my first piece of terrain: The Citadel Wood set. In addition to finishing this piece, this is a new type of model for me to photograph since I did took the pictures on the terrain table instead of in my photo booth. Hopefully, as I finish more terrain pieces, I'll get more proficient and have better pictures to show you.

Speaking of finishing more terrain pieces, this is the first of many Citadel Wood sets that I'll be making. I want this to be a forest board with a farmhouse and farm in one corner. I want all the trees in my forest to match, so I'll be sticking with multiples of this set. I figure I'll need a total of 12 to 15 sets to adequately cover the board. Now that I have the process down, I think I'll be able to complete multiple sets at once and make everything go faster.

Check out how it all came out! Let me know on Facebook or in the comments section!

Up next, I'll be working on another Knights Bellicose tactical squad. I'll most likely work on a Chaplain as well so that the army has some leadership and can be played. Keep checking back to see how it all turns out and have fun painting!

Terrain Boards Complete

The temperate terrain boards are finally finished! There were a lot of problems along the way, but it's finally done. I mixed some of the colors of grass, but I deliberately didn't blend the colors on the board. I know it looks a bit less natural, but I wanted the style to match the layered look of my models so everything fits together. Leave a comment and let me know what you think! I still have a lot to do with trees, some hills, and a nice little farm, but here's how the boards look (with a little work-in-progress). Check 'em out!

Getting the first color on

A few layers of static grass over the old flock.

My workshop is an absolute disaster!

All finished!

Static grass was not very fun to work with, but I'm happy with the results. Next time, I'll have some progress on the new Knights Bellicose squad and maybe some of the modular terrain! Keep checking back and have fun painting!

Terrain Table Progress

Not long ago, I finally got an airbrush to work on my terrain table. I've only done three of the boards, but here's how they look so far:

I'm still thinking about adding in some static grass anyway, even though I said I wouldn't. The road and the dirt spots look fantastic, but I think that having some static grass will make it all look more realistic. What do you think?

Here's an image of the airbrush I used. It took me a little while to figure everything out, but I really like how this little guy works!

Tune in next week to see how the Knights Bellicose turned out (and may be to see some more progress on the table). Until next time, feel free to leave some comments to let me know what you think of the table. Have fun painting!

Knights Bellicose Progress

Today will be a shorter post. There's not a whole lot to talk about today because I've been focusing on just one project. The good news, however, is that work is progressing steadily on my first Knights Bellicose squad! Check them out!

The squad is coming along nicely!

Close-up of my two current favorites

The Knights have always worked as single models and I was always worried about how they would look as an entire army. So far, I think they're looking really good! What do you think?

And now, do you remember the terrain problems I've been having? My wonderful wife has suggested that instead of trying to fix it with more brushes and paint, that I should just go ahead and get an airbrush. After reading tons of tutorials, watching some videos, and talking to other painters, I'm going to go ahead and get one. The terrain project is on hold for the time being until I can save up the $100 for one, but it should be a good investment when I finally get it.

After the three tables are finished, I'm hoping to continue using the airbrush to prime all my models. No more paint cans leaving blotchy spots on the models. No more obscuring details. From here on out, I'm planning on having nice, even, thin coats of primers. I'm also hoping that it will make vehicles easier to paint. Once I get it all figured out, I'll be sure to post a tutorial for you guys! Keep checking back to see how it all turns out!

Until next time, have fun painting!

KB Update, Terrain Problems

Not too long ago, I went down to my local Michael's and bought enough paint to continue working on the terrain table. I really didn't want to have to go back, so I made sure to buy plenty of paint.

When I got back, I went to work on the terrain table. The general idea is to drybrush the colors on, to create a layered effect like I have on my bases. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out so well.

It came out a little blotchy for my liking

I'm not sure how I'm going to fix it, but I'm not exactly happy with how it looks right now. At least I have plenty of paint.

On the bright side, I was able to devote some time to my first squad of Knights Bellicose. I like how they're turning out! What do you think?

Current project next to the test model

Two different patterns on the purity seals

If you have any ideas for what I should do with my terrain table, feel free to let me know. Either way, keep checking back to see how the Knights Bellicose turn out!

Terrain Table Progress

Since my last blog post, I've had a decent amount of time to work on my terrain board. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Check out how it turned out!

Putting the grass in:

Priming it black:

Green grass:

Unfortunately, I only bought one vial of each color of paint. All of this terrain work is on a scale that I'm just not used to working on. At least now I know how much more paint I need to finish my project. Once I get more paint and make more progress, I'll be sure to post the pictures. Keep checking back to see how things turn out!

While you're painting, check out the latest episode of The PodKastle. In this episode, I sit down for a segment or two! Stop on by for a listen!

My First Terrain Project

Work has begun on my first terrain board! It's going to be a temperate board. My plan is to have an overall grassy board with a few roads on it. Modular terrain will include a whole lot of trees (for which I'll be using a whole bunch of Citadel Wood), a few hills, a small drilling operation, and a house and farm that I'm going to scratch build myself. As of right now, I'm just going to focus on the board itself.

If you remember, I have eighteen 2' x 2' boards, making three 6' x 4' tables. This is one such table. So far, I've gotten the roads constructed. Take a look!

Intially, the roads were drawn in pencil, then
with a Sharpie

The first board gets its road

All smoothed out. Now, I just brush off what didn't stick
and it comes out looking like a gravel road.

All the boards are finished and ready for the
next step: grassy plains

Next, I'll be gluing on the grass. I'll be using a fine flock for that. I don't think it looks realistic, but when I look at the test I did (wherein I painted the flock after the glue dried), I think it looks realistic enough to use on a larger scale. Keep checking back to see how the terrain boards turn out!

Arbites Chimera Complete

The Arbites Chimera has finally been completed and, with that, the entire Inquisition sideboard is now finished! Aside from the Titan, this is actually the largest model I've done so far. Take a look at the finished vehicle. What do you think?

Now that the Inquisition sideboard is done, I'll be finishing up a few tests on the Knights Bellicose. I'm about halfway through a color test with them right now. After that, I need to finalize my bases. I'm thinking of using fine sandpaper for pavement or perhaps plasticard for diamond-plate steel or something for sidewalks. I want some intricate urban bases. After that test is finished, the Knights Bellicose can finally be started. I'm pretty excited about that!

While I'm working on my KB tests, I'll also be working on my next real project: terrain. Remember the terrain table with three sets of boards? I'm planning on making a temperate / jungle board for the first one with lots of hills and trees. I'll post pictures of the plans once they're all drawn up. Keep checking back to see how the progress goes!

Until next time, have fun painting!

Arbites Chimera Nears Completion

We're almost there! Next time you check in, the Arbites Chimera should be completed! The hull is finished, as is the turret and all the weapons. All that's left is to finish the track sections. You'll notice that the right side is completely finished except for the wide piece that sticks out past everything else. This, as well as its counterpart on the other side, will be the last parts painted. That way, I can still hold onto the model without rubbing any of the paint off. You can see in some of the detail shots that I've already accidentally removed some of the primer in those areas, so you can see how important it is to keep from touching something until its sealed.

Once the Chimera is completed, work can finally begin on the Knights Bellicose! I'm considering doing one final base test before I start the models, though. I want to perfect my urban bases and I'm considering using some fine-grit sandpaper to replicate asphalt. I could use sprues or wooden pieces to make curbs and I could add manhole covers and all kinds of things to add character. It'll be an interesting test and once its done I can start the Knights!

Additionally, I'm considering starting my first terrain board. I'm going to do a forest board. Stay tuned for more updates on how my first terrain board goes.

Until next time, check out how the work on the Chimera is going so far!

"Serve" on once side. "Protect" on the other.

Gaming Table Part 2

Between the craziness at work and having weekends filled up with house renovations, its difficult to find time to work on the hobby, let alone the blog. Despite all the work, I've finally managed to find time to devote to the hobby again. I've just recently done some work on the gaming table and on the new art room as a whole. Check out all the progress!

First up is the new table. It been painted and is now complete! All it needs now is the terrain and its ready to go!

Next is the terrain shelf. This is designed to hold all the extra terrain when I'm not using it. The whole idea here is that I have eighteen 2' x 2' wooden boards. Divided up into three equal piles, I have enough to build three separate 4' x 6' gaming surfaces. One will be a temperate board (with rocks and static grass). Another will be a desert board. The last one will be a city board, complete with roads and non-modular buildings. One set will stay on the table. The other two sets will fit into this shelving unit when not in use. All modular terrain is going to go onto the shelf under the gaming table.

These are my three stacks of six 2' x 2' boards. Eventually, these will become my terrain boards and go on the table (and into the shelf).

Aside from the table itself, I've also hung some pictures and set up the display cases. Here's how the room looks right now:

40k posters for the back wall.

The spare terrain shelf is supposed to go to the right
of the display cases.

 I'll keep you all updated with more pictures as progress continues. Hopefully, I'll have all the boards painted black and everything organized within the next few days.

Aside from working on the gaming room, I've managed to get some more paint on my models! Currently, I'm trying to finish a few Grey Knights for my Inquisitorial sideboard. They're to upgrade the five Grey Knights that I already have finished, so it's just two more squad leaders and two more heavy weapons.

I love how the red accents came out for the gun.

After the Grey Knights are complete, I'll be painting up Coteaz. Also, I'm planning on building and painting a black Chimera (with AQRF on the side) for my Arbites, who count as Inquisitorial henchmen. That'll round out the sideboard. I'll then finally start work on the Knights Bellicose! Check back soon to see how it all turns out!