Saturday 28 December 2019

A special diorama - Predator tank!

Today's post is rather special, as it is my first complete diorama! I made this for my girlfriend for Christmas because, although they are not a Warhammer player, they are very much interested in tanks and have started to become interested in 40k since we started going out. 

I chose the Liberators because my girlfriend is very much into dark colours such as black and purple. The Liberators also have a cool icon, a hawk's head, which I wanted to challenge myself to paint freehand. It came out fairly well.

The diorama shows a predator tank attacking a group of Chaos cultists; one of whom has been run over by the tank and has lost an arm. In that arm is... is that a bomb? Has the bomb been triggered? Is the tank going to survive?


The rear hatch is covered in designs I copied from patches on my girlfriend's denim jacket. 


I quite enjoy painting mechanicum icons and painting heat marks on gun barrels. This model has both!



A few other views:






Tuesday 24 December 2019

Black Legion cultists

I actually forgot to post these a while back... which is silly, because I'm really proud of these models! I love building cultists. Seriously, folks; I love it! I think there are so many parts you can use that there are almost infinite combinations. I have over 100 cultists in my collection now, and they are nearly all unique from each other. Some are unconverted, but if I have a second that's identical, I will convert it so I don't have two the same. I also have some really cool kitbashed models that are totally bizarre and chaotic! I use any human-sized parts I can find that might work, so I have parts from Necromunda gangers, Cadians, Catachans, Empire, Skeletons, Zombies, Tzaangors, Forge World renegades, bloodletters... the list goes on. it's a great opportunity to dive into my bitz box and use up all those weird bitz!

These are my most recent Black Legion cultists:

I really like the one with the weird skull head. The torso/legs are from an old plastic Necromunda Orlock ganger, and the right arm is from the cadian command squad.


The one on the left, with the flamer, is pretty cool. I do feel proud when I manage to make a unique model to carry a special weapon.





Saturday 21 December 2019

A simple little Helbrute

Not much to shout about here, but this is a basic Dark Vengeance Helbrute. I've painted a few of these in my life (and converted a couple), and this might be the last. I don't think I need any more of these! Weirdly, I currently have three of this particular design, and not a single Helbrute from the multi-part kit. Maybe I should rectify that discrepancy... hmm...

It's nearly the end of the year and that means not long to go before I do my annual army group photos. This little daemon will add one more body to the Chaos ranks, and the pics are shaping up to look epic... how many more models can I paint before the end of the year?


 

Saturday 14 December 2019

An unusual Assassin

Today's upload is a Vindicare Assassin. I wish I could tell you where this model came from, but I got it years and years ago and have no idea what manufacturer created it. The base was one I had used for Inquisitor Coteaz, but recently I decided Coteaz didn't look quite right, and I moved him to a regular base. Suddenly, the idea of putting a sniper hiding behind a pillar seemed like a great idea! I had a extra rifle with the model: I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be displayed with the model, but I think it looks quite diorama-like to have the other rifle there, as if they are making a shot, then they'll grab both weapons and slink off somewhere to find another target.






Saturday 7 December 2019

More Wings of Vrayax

The Wings of Vrayax are really starting to come together now! Since I was off work for the last two weeks after getting injured in a road traffic accident, I had some time to work on something big, and this Valkyrie finally came together! The Valkyrie is a really good value model from Games Workshop. It's not expensive but is a huge kit that dominates the battlefield. Its basecoat is a spray of averland sunset, and so I didn't have to do a lot of arduous coats of paint on it, and could focus on getting nice crisp highlights and a smooth white on the tail. The base I got from eBay from a great seller who does all manner of scenic bases, and added a cat from Bad Squiddo Games, a crate from Victoria Miniatures and some flowers from eBay (intended for model railway scenery).






Raging Annie, a sculpt of the owner of Bad Squiddo Games. Annie is roaring a battlecry from the side of the craft as it soars over the landscape!



Miaow!



I also managed to paint the commander of the army, Olenya Heldane. Heldane is a former Imperial Commissar who rose to lead the rebellion against the Imperium and is a master tactician. She was already sceptical of the planetary governor's motivations and the straw that broke the camel's back was when her wife was kidnapped by the Inquisition. Now she ferociously defends the liberty of Vrayax with her master-crafted bolt pistol and power sword.








Leviathan Dreadnought

Today's mini is a humble Leviathan Dreadnought. This is one of the Forge World ones, which I bought just before the plastic one came out...