Get Your Motor Runnin'

I've done my back in moving classrooms and so my progress has been somewhat slowed. I have three separate projects on the go that I am chipping away at in the short periods I can sit at the table and I should have them finished over the next couple of days. 

The first to get done is the last of the Imperials from Legion. Obviously, like everyone else my age, I loved the speeder bikes from Return of the Jedi so doing these was great fun. It also meant that I couldn't bring myself to go with the black gloss base of the other imperial troops - they had to have an Endor forest floor base.  

The armour was done with the same recipe as the stormtroopers but I couldn't take as much care over the black under suit due to pain. They're neat enough for the moment and I can go back and add a highlight when I'm feeling better. 

One thing I did do was to think about the base markings. In legion the arcs of fire are marked on the base. Here I added a tuft at each of the points to allow you to still see the arcs without any ugly lines. 

Next up is a present for the Eldest and then a present for the Youngest. 

Kill Team Morbis

"They'd sealed off Orbital Sector Regulus a couple of months ago to try and stop the spread of the outbreak. Hansen's Pox was pretty virulent, and it was felt that the loss a couple of thousand souls was better than risking it engulfing the whole Starport or - worse - it spreading to Hive Karhonnen. 

"They listened to the cries for help and the banging on the pressure doors fade. After a few weeks, it seemed the infection had run its course. But then the banging started again. And where the those massive doors were struck, they bulged.

"It was on the sixth week that the doors were breached and the Sepsis burst through. Spraying bile and inchor with hideously grinning faces they lurched into the Sector Primus. The air was thick with miasma and screams. But worst of all was what thundered out of the smoke; massive figures clad in supperating armour, like space marines who had succumbed to the Pox, five monsters strode forth to bring their gift of disease to all."

-from The Fall of the Orbital Usher, M41.256

I've been having a serious loss of hobby mojo for reasons I couldn't really place, so I needed a quick palette cleanser. Luckily, Kill Team always provides an excuse to knocks something fun up. These are a simple build up of the miniatures that came with the Conquest magazine and a couple of Death Guard bits from the bits box at work.

The only conversion on these was this one plague marine where I build a new hand using some Dryad bits and some greenstuff tendrils. Everything else was built as is for speed.

Painting was my usual Nurgle recipe: slightly rotten flesh tones and then a variety of different coloured washes for tone. Here I added some bright green for that really pustulent look.

Very happy with these for a couple of days work, and feeling recharged and ready to paint some more stuff. Best of all, if all things go according to plan, Kill Team Morbis will be meeting the Church of the Devoured in a game next week!

"Prepare your troops for a ground assault..."

These were a bit of a challenge. Painting white is always a bit of a chore, and getting the very clean, cold look of Imperial Stormtroopers is quick difficult for someone whose usual painting style is grimy and naturalistic.

I'm happy to admit that I got it wrong first time out and had to repaint. The mistake I made was painting them as people; I started them as grey and started layering up to white like I did with the organic shapes of Gandalf the White. What I should have done was treat them like objects, exactly the same as if I were painting a tank or something else.

In the event, the final process was this:

Spray white.
Paint white.
Gloss coat.
Thinned down black wash as a line wash.
Repaint white.
Black for undersuit.
Gloss coat.

Sprayed White

wash thinned with wash medium and carefully lined/slathered all over

Flat panels repainted white

Bish bash bosh. Pretty quick once I'd cracked the workflow, but two of them ended up loosing a bit of detail due to the number of layers of paint I did while trying to figure it out.

One major thing I did was a bit of cutting and shutting. I am a touch irritated that FFG are shipping a premium priced product with single, duplicate poses. I'll take that for a Blood Bowl team or Necromunda gang, but not in a Big Box game like this. So the trusty jeweler's saw came out and various arms and waists were re-positioned so every member of the squad was unique.

Trying to decide now whether to do the Rebels next or complete the Imperial side by doing the speeder bikes - but before I do that I have something rather big to deal with...