Thursday, June 30, 2011

Jedi Knights 40K


Pictured above from left to right are Layla Walker, Master Ben Shinobi and Jon Walker. Layla is the elder sister of Jon Walker. They were both trained in the ways of the Force by Master Ben Shinobi.

Layla Walker

She was easy to paint and she looks the most like a Jedi out of the five. The limited palette consists of mostly different shades of browns.

All Together Now!

The Forces of Good strike a pose :)

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Jedi Knight: Elensar Feyman

"Elensar or Feyman as he is known to his associates, is an Eldar from the Alaitoc Craftworld. He too discovered his unique gifts whilst training to be a Ranger. The time of solitude and self reliance has made him more aware of his surroundings and his own internal locus of control. He too encountered the Jedi Ancient who recognized Feyman's unique gifts and destiny. Feyman often keeps to himself but is a dependable and much valued member of the Order." -by Mr Fluffy


The Feyman model is based on the old metal Eldar Ranger miniature. I bought a set of Rangers from a friend a while back. I thought that the cloth covering part of his face gives him a sense of mystique. I painted him up quite fast as i am familiar with the Eldar. The main colors and first highlights are mostly done.


I gave him a purplish power weapon...i mean light saber.


I retained his trusty sidearm to represent the +1 Attack in close combat in game terms.


Painted his cameleoline cloak in a xenos-like pattern.

Painting the Ranger mini really brought back memories of my Craftworld Eldar (Alaitoc) army. I really had lots of fun with the Ranger Disruption Table in the Craftworld codex :)

The cloak is painted the same way as my Dryads. Mainly a Knarloc Green basecoat followed by wash if Thraka Green and then Badab Black. This is followed by a 50:50 mix of Knarloc Green and Gretchin Green layered on the raised areas of the cloak. The dots were done with a 30:70 mix of Gretchin Green and Bleached Bone.

For the leather, i just based the relevant parts in Scorched Brown and highlighted it with Snakebite Leather.

That's it for now. Have a splendid day everyone ;)

Master Jedi Aun'Da

I decided to paint up my first Xenos Jedi for the Star Wars 40K project. He will be my counts as Canoness using the Witch Hunters Codex. The major colors and highlights are done. Detail work and basing will follow soon...i hope.

"Master Aun'Da is unique even amongst his caste. He was born without sight, but developed his other senses well. Being blind, he quickly learned to tap into his inner strengths and later discovered he had abilities he never knew existed. A chance encounter with a Jedi Ancient when he was a youth gave him the opportunity to embark on the perilous journey of becoming a Jedi in his own right." -by Mr Fluffy


Aun'Da's Lightsaber is a double sided weapon and in game terms counts as an Eviserator.


Right side view. Another shot of Aun'Da's Power-saber and his bonding knife.


Left side view. Aun'Da motioning the enemy to come towards him with his hand in a challenge.


Back view. I will treat the backpack as a jump pack in a game of 40K to give him that extra mobility.

So instead of the Flying Nun from SoB, he will be a Flying Fish hehehe!

That's all for today. Hope this provided mid-week some entertainment ;)

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Mind Tricked!

Fluffy Sez: "Star Wars Flavored 40K!"

Well i had this idea floating around for quite a few years already. And since then there have also been lots of people who have carried this off superbly. I decided to finish up this army concept also because of the GW price rises and GW's Southern Hemisphere Embargo. So i'm all for using other minis by other manufacturers to continue gaming in the 40K universe.

And Fluffy demanded me to finish up the army concept....

So....the first thing we would need is a suitable Troops selection. The Troops in Star Wars would mostly be the Storm Troopers or Clone Troopers. Which means they must have human stats, but are armed with good guns and armor.

Looking through the wide selection of Codex out there, a decision was to use the Witch Hunter's Codex. I heard its due for a revamp, but i do like playing old-er codex armies..dunno why..


HQ
Jedis!

Yet another huge icon of Star Wars are its Jedi Knights. So for the HQ, the Inquisitor and even the Canoness will fit the bill as suitable leaders.


The above minis are from Reaper Miniatures, just slightly converted. I finished painting up the Jedi on the left who looks a tad like Anakin. I painted the Jedi on the right some time ago.

The plan is also then to treat the Veteran Superiors of each Troop squad as a Jedi Knight, as their force powers can be represented by the Acts of Faith. The SoB calls their Vets the Faithful, I will call them Force Adepts.


I converted a Tau Fire Warrior and an Eldar Ranger to be my Jedis. They will represent the alien races of the Jedi Order.

And speaking of Acts of Faith, they will represent the effects of the Force that all Jedis tap on.


This mini is from Hasslefree Miniatures, which i will undercoat today ;)

All in all, it was a fun exercise in creativity to rename the Acts of Faith (AoF). Thus the AoF will also be known simply as Feats of Valor.

Hand of the Emperor -> Force Might

Divine Guidiance -> Force Assault

The Passion-> Force Speed

Light of the Emperor-> Force of Will

Spirit of the Martyr-> Force Shield

The names have changed for fluff reasons, but the effects remain the same.


Jedi War Gear
We have to be sure to arm each Jedi with a Light Saber. The Power Weapon is an excellent wargear selection.

Also Jedis are well trained at blocking the physical attacks of the enemy. This will be justified by the 3+ Armor save. The Ordos Hereticus Inquisitor in the Elites section can also be tapped upon to field more counts as Jedi Knights. Just be sure to give them the mandatory power weapon and power armor. Also the modelling opportunities are delicious! You can include other alien races miniatures who are Jedi.


This mini is probably from Ral Partha...i think. I used greenstuff and Tyranid bitz to modify his noggin haha!

I also plan to use an Inquisitor to represent either a Master Jedi because of his access to pyschic powers. The Inquisitor Lord can also represent or a Republic General or Republic Hero like Han Solo.


The exciting part is about giving them Henchmen, and i already have a model to for the Sage who will be CP30. The robot on the left is from Reaper Miniatures. I'll be repainting him in NMM Gold. The tin can on the right is my cheapo version of R2D2 made using a bit from one of the 40K starter sets...can't remember the name at the moment..


TROOPS Selection
The Sisters of Battle statline suits the selection of a Star Wars Storm Trooper. So for a basic Troop choice, there would be 9 Battle Sisters.

The above mini is from em4 Miniatures Science Fiction range. A pack of 5 such Space Rangers only runs up to 2.5 British pounds! So very affordable! I bought 12 packs last year and will be using them to represent a Sister of Battle ;P


Look! They also come with special weapons! Shown here are only 2 of the 4 variants given.

Storm Troopers (counts as Sister of Battle)
"Neo Republic's technologies have lead to the manufacture of a power suit similar to those worn by the Adeptus Sororitas and the Adeptus Astartes. Male and female clones are the main pilots of these suits." -Mr Fluffy


A Storm Trooper with Jedi Squad (aka Sister of Battle Squad with Vet Superior).

"The armor is bulky but provides good protection and enhanced targetting systems.
As such, the Storm Trooper in power suit benefits from 3+ armor save and BS of 4." -Mr Fluffy

Other Troops
IG Storm Troopers can also be used as novice Star Wars Storm Troopers or Bodyguards like those Lando has.

FAST ATTACK
For this section, i will only select the Seraphims who will be my counts as aliens who can fly. They will be painted in blue like the repair shop alien that Anakin Skywalker worked and lived in when he was a wee lad. The models i will use will be the Tau Vespids.

HEAVY SUPPORT
For this section, nothing beats the Excorcist. They can be modeled after the AT-TE using the Rhino chassis. I would really appreciate some suggestions on how i could represent the Exorcist too :)

I may limit myself to the type of units i can take in the WH Codex, just for a bit of a challenge :)

Its also great that my gaming group is accepting of minis from other ranges being used. I have seen stranger and more hilarious proxies on the gaming table hehehe!

Good day to all!
And may the force be with you :P

Monday, June 27, 2011

Introducing: Mr Fluffy

I'm kinda done packing up stuff for now and decided to paint up a miniature i got from my time in Brisbane.

This is the White Rabbit inspired by the Alice in Wonderland story and he's sculpted by the talented Bob Ridolfi. The mini comes with Alice figure as well and is from the Reaper Miniature's range.

I'll be calling him Mr Fluffy and he will be in charge of the nonsensical fluff that i come up with on this blog ;)

He's painted in the original colors of the Alice in Wonderland cartoon. His surcoat is red with blue striped pants and he's also wearing a yellow shirt inside.


Side view. Tick-tock!


He's carrying a small wooden cane as well.


Back view.

Just based him by sprinkling on some modelling sand. Will be adding some static green grass later.


That's my quick paintjob for the day. I really have to get started on those Flesh Tearer Rhinos :)

Have a great start to the week all and don't be late for work or school hehe!


"Oh my ears and whiskers! How late its getting!"
by The White Rabbit

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Back for Good

I've finally reached Singapore and am thankfully back home :)))

The weather is kinder to me here hehe! Am back in my castle and am really stoked to be back with all my miniatures and bitz boxes.

The Shrine of Miniatures. My hope is that if i accumulate enough minis, they will reproduce lol!


The Miniature Crypt below the Shrine. The source of many a strange bitz part(s).


The Painter's Cove. I missed this little corner of my room terribly. I appreciate my bitz and painting station even more now. Its real difficult to do conversions without bitz on hand. For instance, if i had my Sanguinary Guard leftover bitz, I could have added more angel icons for my Flesh Tearers.

But being in the midst of so many unfinished and unboxed miniatures has its downsides. I keep getting distracted on what i have to complete. And in the end i get lost as it all seems so daunting. If the frugality of living overseas has taught me anything, it is focus. I did not have so many other stuff distracting me when i was in Brisbane and i managed to focus on finishing one army at a time.

I thus will plan to apply the same focus here ;) Hopefully the practice will pay dividends haha!

Above are all the miniatures needed for my Flesh Tearer's 1750pt fun list! I'll concentrate on finishing painting the tanks.

Fine Seers!
Also spent some time just admiring the Finecast Farseer and Warlocks.

The quality and detail is without a doubt one of the best i've seen.


The back view of the sprues also do not disappoint. I'll not be painting them for a while because of a hard decision i may have to make. I plan to complete my 5 Warlocks on Jetbikes. But i currently can't bear to cut the resin miniatures for conversion cos they look so beautiful...

Thats all for today. Gotta catch up on some sleep ;)

My Favourite Miniature

Recently joined Warflake's Blog when I saw his post regarding one's favourite miniature. It did get me thinking on what was my fav mini. I honestly had not thought about it as I just go from painting one mini to the next and enjoying the new adventure it brings.

But if i had to pick one, it would be Commander Dante of the Blood Angels :)

He brings back a lot of memories as he has been in the 40K range for a while. Dante also gave me an image of a noble angel, tireless in his devotion to his Chapter and to humanity.


I really like the mini because of the sculpt of the armor. Its really different from the standard Space Marine armor and exudes a more human and organic aura.


He also represents fun moments when gaming with my friends. Dante becomes a trophy 'gold bar' to the player that takes him down. This usually with him taking a meltagun to the face and then promptly rolling a '1' for his invuln save haha!


I feel Dante was one of the main inspirations for one of my next favourite GW minis in the 40K universe- The Sanguinary Guards and The Sanguinor. As a result, I now have a decent Sanguinary Guard army ;)

And upon reflection, my blog avatar is a picture of Dante's mask :)


"A mighty flame followeth a tiny spark."
-by Dante Alighieri

Friday, June 17, 2011

Thranduil

This will possibly be my last miniature to be painted in Brisbane. I did not get to finish up the Wood Elf captain as I was down with the flu for the past few days. Sorry bro! That and most of my paints are in a box on the way home..

It was challenging working with limited colors. So i stuck to mostly greens and browns. My pot of Skull White paint was missed sorely haha!

Front view. Thranduil certainly is stern looking. Wonder if Legolas had a difficult childhood.


Right side view. He must be more than a thousand years old. But no beer belly! He's lookin' in good shape :P


Left side view. Thranduil with his sword, ready to slice an apple or a goblin with equal ease.


Back view. He also carries his trusty bow and arrow around.

Right! I'm feeling much better now. Will be doing some last minute packing too. Friday's here so have a great weekend all!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Flesh Tearers WIP: Shoulder Fashion

I unpacked some of my paints and went on to freehand some shoulder pads for the lads.

I started off with an arrow shape on the shoulder pad.


Then i drew a line to complete the top arrow shape.


I used Codex Grey for this and also filled in the shape of top of the arrow.


I then thickened the arrow shaft on both sides equally and the basic Troops symbol was done. All that is left now is to clean it up with Chaos Black to sharpen the edges.


Managed to put the Tactical arrow on the rest of the Flesh Tearer Troops. Will go over the arrow with a solid fill of Skull White later.


Also finished up the alternate side shoulder pads, now proudly sporting the Chapter symbol.


They look happier! I rewarded them with the shoulder pad paint job as they did well in another battle yesterday versus the Dark Eldar. Again i did not have enough points so it was my Flesh Tearers all decked out at 1300pts vs DE 1400pts. It was Annihilation mission again but Spearhead deployment. I managed a win with 10 kill points to his 4 kill points.

More Elves!

Also picked up two LotR elves to paint from friend Silas on the same day. They are a Wood Elf Captain and Thranduil aka the Elvenking aka Legolas's dad.

Thats all from me for now. Hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend. Its getting colder again in Brissie, hope the temp doesn't go much lower haha ;)

Friday, June 10, 2011

Space Hulk Card Game

I went to the local comic shop today to see if there are any last minute buys before i head home for good. Got a week or so left in Brisbane!

And i saw this really compact box containing a game of what i assume is the Space Hulk version in card form. Apparently its been out since early 2010, at least since the revamped Space Hulk board game came out. I say this because the art of the Blood Angels and the fluff of Sgt Lorenzo is also in this card game.

The game is published by Fantasy Flight Games, and they do make great games :)

I opened it straight after i got home from grocery shopping. There is a rule book, 2 decks of cards, tokens and a dice. The bottom of the box also looks nice.


Closer view of the tokens and rulebook.


A view of the cards.


The dice looks cool as well.

I'll go look through the rulebook to see how its plays. May give my thoughts on it later ;) Also still packing all my minis and paints at the moment haha!

Have a super weekend ahead everybody!