Bloat Thrall

Bloat Thrall

GREAT DEAL!!

At various Office Depot stores. PVC glue in 4 ounce bottles are selling for $0.08 no limit. That's EIGHT CENTS A BOTTLE.

Terrain boards, here we come. I'm heading back to buyout the rest of the supply.

Necrosurgeon and Stitch Thralls

Well, the picture was taken on a Blackberry, but feel free to click on it for a marginally better shot.

I'm selling my Protectorate army on Bartertown to try to fund a Circle construct list, but I'm slowly paintslogging through my Cryx as well. next up: Nightmare!

Pub/Apothecary

I whipped together a test building to practice the techniques I'd need to create Warmachine terrain.

I literally freehanded and cut out the main structure and roof out of foamcore in 2 minutes using a CD case as a straight edge. It's reinforced on the inside with craft sticks (small tongue depressers). I was at a quandary with the shingles until I went over to Terrain Thralls and saw their technique using business cards.

I wasn't sure how the foamcore would react with spray primer so I used regular wall spackle to create the stucco texture. Shinlges were a Thrakka Green wash followed by a Devlan Mud wash and a black dry brush. The walls are an Qgryn Flesh wash, Devlan Mud wash, and black and white dry brushes.

I think I did a decent job. After all, it's just a test. That said, for the real buildings I'm creating, the shingles will be about 1/3 of the size, and the stucco texture also needs to shrink to scale.

Helldiver

Wow, it's been a while. I've been so busy working on 40k stuff and looking for other employment, that my poor WM stuff has been stacked in the same position for months!

So yeaterday, I just slammed together the Helldiver. It's got an interesting game mechanic, so I wanted it to look like it was going to burst out of the ground. I have yet to add the scenery elements to do so, but at least it's positioned off the base a bit for dynamism. Click for larger pics, and the touching up/final sealing has yet to be applied.

Resurrection

Well, the summer is coming to an end. My 4 weeks (well, weekends, anyway) at the summer house are at an end. But I had a great time, and I managed to procure:

From one of my local dealers. Those orange stickers read "50% OFF". Some even read "75% OFF". How could I resist? Actually, this isn't all of them, since I made a trip after these were photographed. Granted some of them are just wreck markers, and they all had v1 cards, but it's hard to argue their value. Now, whether or not I can create some cohesive forces is another story.

But I truly feel like I am just about finished buying anything for Warmachine. When these are painted, I will have two armies with more than enough points to use in any tournament I've ever heard of to date, and the whole point of starting WM in the first place was an alternative to 40k and its ridiculously huge armies. Not that I'm dissing 40k...I just don't want to get caught up in having everything in yet another system.

So this recent shopping trip netted:

Cryx Nightmare
Cryx Bloat Thrall
Cryx Helldiver
Cryx Necro Surgeon and Stitch Thrall
Protectorate Holy Zealots, 2 packages (4)
Protectorate Heavy Wreck Marker
Protectorate Light Wreck Marker (2)
Protectorate Exemplar Seneschal
Protectorate The Covenant of Menoth

Time to break out the Bone and Black Spray Primers!

Slowdown

Well, it's been a while since my last post. I've been busy trying to finish off my Tyranids. Consequently, my Cryx army ground to a halt, and the Protectorate never got off the ground.

But then I ended up a few days ago at Lightspeed Hobbies in Portage, where I discovered a bunch of Warmachine blisters and boxes for 50% off the selling price. Of course, the cards were all Mk I, but a quick trip to Critical Effect took care of it. So now I have a Bloat Thrall, a Protectorate Guardian, a Necrosurgeon with Stictch Thralls, some Holy Zealots, a Covenant of Menoth, and a boatload of others.

I'll be assembling and priming in a few days. I'm back on track!

Solos

Click on any image to embiggify. Worked on a machine wraith and a scrap thrall.
First is the machine wraith. Fairly simple dry brushing.

Then came the scrap thrall, which I tried to make look like it had been freshly assembled.

Primed with white Gesso.
Bleached Bone/White 50/50, then the red wash followed bybleached bone highlights for the human bits.
Boltgun Metal or Shining Gold plus a wash of Badab Black for the mechanicals. The big fist also has foundation Mechrite Red. I think it turned out nicely!

That thing I hate

I actually like metal models. Despite the fact that they are unwieldy, heavy, and fragile, I like the fact that they are a bit of a surprise. You can't really see all the detail until you prime them and give them a nice wash.

That said, I am having a hell of a time trying to pin my Protectorate of Menoth box set. I had forgotten how much a bear it is to do! Add to that the insanely top heavy warjacks and you have a recipe for a drill bit through the thumb.

Pics will be up tonight...I am motivated to finish!!!

Deneghra

Have I mentioned that I hate painting humans? I've never been good at it, and I'm just not patient enough to give the skin tones justice. I'm also having some trouble with my vision, so I don't think tiny subtle blending may be an possibility in a few years.

That said, I'd like to present Deneghra, my first warcaster. She's so new that you can see the Dullcote dripping off of her right now. Still need to do final detailing and basing. Click to enlarge, but don't bother.

OK, so just the Helljack is left, and I have a playable force! Of course, I also have the Protectorate of Menoth box to assemble and paint...

How to play Warmachine and Hordes

I've always liked the guys up in Canada, Miniwargaming.com. A few months ago, they put up a three part video that gives a really concise and thorough overview of the game mechanics. It seems like babble if you don't have the rulebook, but if you do, it's just nice to see the concepts played out in a 2 turn sequence. Check it out:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

3rd Bonejack (Defiler)

Things are chugging along nicely.

Obviously, I still need to varnish and base this little guy, my first Defiler and 3rd bonejack. I first thought these things looked ridiculous, but the whole aesthetic is starting to appeal to me.

They are sort of "Frankenstein meets Chicken" but they are starting to grow on me. I'm going to have to get a pair of Nightwretches to complete the Bonejack set.

I'm actually getting excited to build terrain! Warmachine has a very pirate/medieval feel to it, so building the houses, stonework, and water features will be interesting.

Rulebook, Menoth

Picked up the Mk II rulebook this weekend, as well as the Protectorate of Menoth battle box. The rules seem streamlined, and I'm excited to play. The remaining three models from the Cryx box are about 60% finished, So I'll be ready to tackle the Menites and Terrain shortly!

2nd Bonejack

For some reason, these are easier to paint than Tyranids. My second Deathripper, on the left (click pic to enlarge) is drying from a Dullcote spray. I can see from the enlarged pic that I need to detail the little jaw pistons on both and clean up some edges, but I think they are turning out fine.

I think part of it is psychological; with such a small model count to get started, it feels great to not have to paint in an assembly line.

First 'Jack

I was sitting here looking at these figures thinking that I had gotten in over my head. A second system with models that are REALLY hard to assemble. But I just went for it and tried to paint one of the smaller bonejacks.

Click on any of the pictures for a larger version. It took a remarkably short amount of time, and I think the results are pretty damn good.

So here's the play by play:

Prime white gesso.
Black Plates:
     -Adeptus Battlegrey
     -Adeptus Battlegrey + Black (50/50)
     -Badab Black wash
Skull:
     -Tallarn Flesh
     -Bleached Bone + Water
     -Devlan Mud wash
Glowing Areas:
     -Scorpion Green
     -Thrakka Green wash
Metallic Areas:
     -Boltgun Metal or Shining Gold drybrush
     -Badab Black wash

I finished with a liberal spray of Dullcote. The basing is white glue with aquarium sand and some fake turf. I had to prime with gesso because it's incredibly humid here. I used Flo-Aid with the Gesso, and it made a huge difference in ease of application.