Star Wars: Command project pt. 2 - Jedi

So I picked the Jedi that comes with the Episode IV 'Desert Escape' playset for my first model to paint up. I think on some level he's supposed to be Ben Kenobi, only he lacks a beard and world weary look, and also appears in some of the Episode II sets for Genosha and such.

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Command-Desert-Escape/dp/B00P45N2C4

No matter.

For now, I've started with Vallejo's Chocolate Brown for his boots and bathrobe, Iraqi Sand for his pants, flat flesh for his skin, and Earth Brown for his inner robes -- all followed by a heavy wash of GW's Agrathax.

Obviously nothing done yet on his lightsaber -- which tends to bend a bit (*the only model from the casts I have that does this).  And I don't know how to paint it up to glow when there are no hard edges to speak of.

Still ... not bad for a guy from a $10 set.

More to follow.

It's not a bathrobe ... it's a Jedi bathrobe!

Nordvolk pt. 1 - Armed Villagers

I ran into the Westwind Miniatures 'Nordvolk' range at a con in Maryland over ten years ago ... and instantly fell in love with them.  At that point they were brand new and VERY affordable, so I snapped up a good 85% of their range (*excepting their cavalry, which didn't appeal to me ...).

http://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_16

They're very close to actual vikings -- or at least close enough that they scratch that itch for me. So when the ennui of the 40K painting grind set in, I decided to take an offramp from the Grimdark and go see what I had in the old boxes that I'd never gotten around to.

In retrospect, I've been long overdue to do this.  Painting up these guys was a great reminder that I love the hobby as a hobby ... not just as a means to put Ultramarines and such on the tabletop.

So without further ado, my first tranche of that Nordvolk range:

12 done so far ... another 12 still in the box. My goal here was to create a unifying set of colors - no actual uniforms after all - while still allowing for individuality and the fact that some villagers amongst these greybeards would have gone viking, and so would have the gear to reflect that.

They're big minis - each sits on a base GW would use for a Chaos Warrior or Black Orc.

Lots of beards and pelts to paint ...

What I love about the range is that each unit has 3-4 sculpts in it that are sorta 'characters' - unique poses that give that unit flavor. Or in this case, beer.

Why, yes, he IS painted up like a garden gnome. How could I not?

Reminds me a slightly taller, angrier Balin.

One of my favorites... I was very pleased at the combination of Vallejo 'Field Blue' and 'Chocolate Brown' for a color scheme.

Side Project - Vikings (Sort of...)

I say sort of because Vikings didn't have horned helmets.

Anyway, it's another 'commission' for a buddy of mine.  A Reaper mini, if memory serves.  Been sitting around for years and now it's finally done.

The two shots below were taken right after one another -- one with the flash, and one without.

AND it's got me moving on painting up the Nordfolk collection from WestWind minis.

http://www.westwindproductions.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_16

Star Wars: Command project pt. 1

I found these in Toys-R-Us and Target -- $10 gets you 8-9 54mm-ish figures depending on the pack.

My plan is to see how well they paint up ... they're made of nice hard plastic, and I've given them a wash to get the release agent off the casts.

Next step will be to see how well they take primer.

A little side project...

So with the coming end to the Independent Characters podcast, I've found myself rather adrift in terms of how to tackle my Tau project for the year.  The effort to carry on the 2015 challenge by several members of the staff just doesn't do it for me -- seems futile given that the blog will close up at the end of the year.

But I want to paint my Tau ... so I've been mass producing them all in one go.  It's grueling work and nothing to post so far for photos.  I did learn that Vallejo's washes are VERY rich and need to be cut with water to be of any use.

For the moment, however, I've just  wrapped up painting three minis for a friend who's running an AD&D campaign.  They're from the Reaper Chronoscope range -- impressive detail on them, and learning to paint true scale was fun (*what do you mean I can't have a pistol as big as my torso!?!).

Hobby is Coming!

Am getting set for the upcoming Independent Characters 2015 Hobby Progress Challenge ... this year's selection will be Tau.  It's a collection of models I own that, once painted, will actually close out the sum of the models I own in its entirety.   Which will be a happy thing. 

At this point I'm looking at an Unbound list to let me take as much of what I own as possible ... but we'll see once the HPC 2015 rules are posted.

In the mean time, I've been building Tau Pathfinders. Have to say that I am very impressed at how much this kit has to offer by way of bits -- lots of drone options AND special weapons AND a full load out of pulse carbines.  There are some great poses in there -- though some of the characters are pretty 'stand up straight and eat your vegetables' in their stature. But all in all, a great kit.

A few old metal Pathfinders to bulk out their numbers, and an Ethereal for my HQ spot.

Though I think the Ion Rifles are a poor choice (AP4?!?) the models themselves look great!

I've also been tinkering with paint schemes ... I was leaning towards the all grey scheme, but am now increasingly taken with a blue-green scheme built around Citadel's 'Stegadon Scale Green' ... it'll require mixing up a highlight color, but only because GW doesn't one that I'm aware of. More to do on these guys, but I'm pleased with the direction they're headed so far.

The Fire Warrior on the right is Vallejo Basalt Grey and a Nuln Oil wash to add depth ... with the red shoulder pad deliberately calling attention to itself.

Having realized a scheme I like, I may yet apply it to the whole army, rather than have them be all greys...

Typhus and Friends

Got a great lot of CSM Plague Marines on Ebay a while back ... finally completed them, which brings my total to 60.  Stars of the show were the Forge World CSM Terminators ... and Typhus.

As you might imagine, there's a lot of drybrushing and washes involved...Citadel's old Foundation Orange, Vallejo's Iraqi Sand and Army Painter's Necrotic Flesh over a Vallejo 'Russian Uniform Green' - all with a healthy wash of Agrathax.

My aim with the EBay lot was to ensure consistency with the PMs that I'd already painted up - including Venerable Brother Mucinex (see my October 25 post from last year) and I think I was able to hit that mark.

Am very pleased with the way Manreaper came out, save for the fact that I missed a mold line.  Pink Horror with an Agrathax Wash = wrapped skin ... appropriately creepy!

Alaitoic Wraithlord

Love this guy, hate painting yellow, and DEFINITELY need to pick a new color for the base (it's Army Painter's 'Necrotic Flesh' - chosen on a whim...)

Blood Angels Librarian

My version of the BA has a decidedly CSM bent to it -- plays to the 'they've fallen to their predatory tendencies'.  This guy originally had the force staff, but of course he's made of FailCast, so it broke.  Fortunately I had some GK bits around, and got him back where I wanted him to be. 

Surprise hit of the whole project for me was the GW 'Stegadon Green' for the robes -- including a wet blend with mixed white.  Very pleased with that as a color.  Makes me think of all sorts of projects involving Eldar and Tau.

Ultramarines!

 Completed some Tyrannic War Vets nee Sternguard, and Tigurius.  These round out this project, though I've many many more Ultramarines to paint.  But at this point I have a good color scheme down for them, so from here it's on to painting up the more 'plain' Tactical and Devastator squads.