Painting to a Deadline

Adepticon is less than 12 weeks away and I realised that I need to get off my backside and get my Death Guard Legion force finished for the Horus Heresy event (it might even be a good idea to have a game of Sixth Edition before I go.

So over lunch today I totalled up what Death Guard models I still had to paint - 23 infantry (11 of which are Terminators), a Spartan, a Javelin and a Vindicator. That will give me around 2100 points to choose my 1850 point army from.

In true Project Manager fashion, I set up three Steering Committees, wrote Terms of Reference, constructed a PID and submitted it to the Programme Management Office. Like Hell, I did.

Ignoring the tenets of the Contractor Work Creation Industry, I got out a piece of paper and drew up a schedule. It blocked out gaming weekends - Ruination, HomeCon, NZTC and ETC Practice Days - and then allocated a certain number of nights to each unit. It took 15-20 minutes and it gave me a workable plan. More importantly it told me if I realistically wanted to get it finished and have some practise then I need to start now.

Far better to do something as rudimentary as this than to wait until a month....hey a week....out and burn the midnight candle.

So here is my schedule and now I've just got to follow it.

With technology like this I may even do a display board!

Forgeworld - Calas Typhon, First Captain of the Death Guard

A New Year "surprise" with the first FW release being the First Captain of the Death Guard, Calas Typhon.

When I say surprise, this model featured late last year as the Xmas Jigsaw Model. It is a very characterful model and the paintjob really emphasises the no-nonsense nature of the Legion.

The model comes with a custom plinth for display purposes. And yes, I've already ordered it!

Death Guard Spartan

My Death Guard Spartan is starting to take shape. Spasmodically over the past few weeks I've cut and cleaned the FW sprues, tested fits etc.

Last night I finished glueing the superstructure together and it now all fits flush.

Next stage is to mask then undercoat the various components.

Death Guard Reinforcements Roll In

With Adepticon going to 1850 and with the Phobus Land Raider perennially out of stock, I bit the bullet and purchased a Spartan Assault Tank for my Death Guard.

I arrived home from work yesterday and there was a lovely big parcel waiting on the front step containing the Spartan and also a Demios Vindicator. My copy of "Betrayal" tells me that these were the two most prevalent tracked vehicles in the Death Guard Legion. A lot of tank crews - being of Terran birth - were wiped out on Istvaan III so tanks became scarce in the years after the cleansing.

Well this certainly is a big kit. It is all resin and you can see from the pictures that there are some solid lumps.

The kit comes in three bags - one which contains the main superstructure. Those side pieces are solid resin and over six inches long.

To give an idea of the size I have placed a WIP Legion Tactical Marine in the next shot.

So this model is going to be my main focus over the Xmas break. I'll be working on construction and then painting this beastie.

The intention is that this will be the ride for my Terminator Praetor and the Deathshroud.

Landspeeder Javelin for Heresy Death Guard

Last night I built my new Forgeworld Landspeeder that will be part of my Death Guard force.

It is a beautifully crisp model, wonderfully detailed and surprisingly hefty.

The variant I've built comes with Missile Pods and a Heavy Bolter. I suspect I will swap the Heavy Bolter out for a Multi-Melta.

The vehicle is crewed by two marines in Mark IV armour. I am going to see if I can swap it for Mk II Crusade or MKIII Iron Armour but I think there are slight scale differences,

The weight of the vehicle means that I'm going to have to use some magnets to attach it to the flying base.

A very nice model and a nice addition to my force, especially given its rules are included in Book 2: Massacre.

New Legion Tactical Squad Ready to Go

Yesterday I put together a new Legion Tactical Squad for my Death Guard Heresy-era army. This is my second Troop choice and is set up in the same configuration - Bolters and Sergeant with Fist and Pistol - as the first one.

Here they are ready for spraying - mould lines cleaned, resin washed, pinned - with just the Sergeant's bolt pistol to be drilled.

Whereas my first squad was mix of Crusade and Iron Armour, this is all Mark III.

Now have the following:

2x 10 man Legion Tactical Squads (one to be painted)

2x Contemptor Dreads - Multi-melta and Claw

Praetor - Terminator Armour with Plasma and Scythe

5 man Deathshroud

2x Apothecary (both being painted)

Now looking to add a Mk II or Phobus Land Raider then I'll total up points.

Mail Goodies!!!

I love walking out to the mailbox and finding a parcel addressed to me. I especially like it when it is from Forgeworld. With my Contemptors finished I was down to three models - a Praetor and two Apothecaries - so new supplies needed.

So here I have a new Legion Tactical Squad which will satisfy my Troop requirements. After this my next purchase will be a Landraider for my Deathshroud.

Death Guard Contemptor Dreadnaught

The Death Guard are known for their love of walkers. And so when building my Heresy army it was important that I recognised this in my composition. Therefore I have two Contemptor Dreadnaughts in the list and here are some pictures of the first one.

Thanks to Charlie for working me through the oil wash. The model is based on a Dark Arts base.

Once the Oil Wash was finished, I went to work with some weathering powders which gave the model the rust effects and the muddy feet.

Like the majority of Heresy-era Death Guard dreads, this model is outfitted with PowerFist/Claw and Multi-melta.

I'm really happy with how it has come out. Fits in perfectly with my other HH units and reflects the plates in the Betrayal book.

Hobby Update

So what have I got on my painting table at the moment.

Well first up I have primed all my Horus Heresy Death Guard for painting. That is a Praetor, an Apothecary and two Contemptor Dreads (both standard DG pattern - Multi-Melta/Power Claw). They will be worked through over the next month or so. I need to paint a further Tactical Squad and that will give me most of the 1500 points I need for Adepticon.

I have also started painting the model I got from Kromlech to use as a Great Unclean One/Nurgle Daemon Prince. Hopefully I'll finish this in the next couple of days so that I can use him on the weekend. The Kromlech models are really nice. I have ordered a couple of their Plague Reapers to fit into various armies.

Additionally I have ten Nurgle Furies to paint. If you remember I made these out of Plague Bearers with Gargoyle wings. Suspect that they will be reasonably quick to paint up and they will round out the Nurgle Daemons.

There are quite a few podcasts backed up on my iPhone. About half have Lizardmen reviews on them. It will be interesting to see whether the new models I've purchased for my Lizards have been a monumental fail. Still I'll probably only have to wait a week and opinions will have changed.

I've been very impressed by the iBook version of the Army Book and in particular the 360 degree views they give of the new models. They look like they will be a joy to paint. I have purchased two Bastilodons, a Troglodon and a box of Ripperdactyls. In the meantime, I am fixing a damaged Ancient Stegadon I had downstairs and it will be an Engine of the Gods in my list. Luckily Sam Whitt has fixed me up with some spare parts and I am waiting for some additional bits to arrive from a UK Bitz seller. Once I've got it fixed then I'll start painting it and hopefully this will inspire me for the new models.

So plenty to do......as always.

Deathshroud Terminators

As part of the "Tale of X Gamers - Heresy Edition" here is my second unit. They are the Deathshroud, a Terminator unit that always has at least two members accompanying the Primarch, Mortarian - and never more than 49 steps away.

 This unit was a bugger to do as I stuffed up the oil wash twice, requiring full repaint. Thanks to Charlie for helping me the last time.

I'm happy with how the rust came out and the bases reflect the extreme environs in which the Legion operates.

Hobby Time incl. Tale of X Gamers - Heresy Edition

Just finishing the last of 56 Plaguebearers before I jump on to paint Epidemius and Kairos Fateweaver. Hoping to gave pics up by the weekend of the Nurgle stuff.

Waiting for some time with Charlie to go over oil washes after a second disaster with the Deathshroud Terminators.

Remember you Tale of X Gamers - Heresy Edition, you have until Easter to finish your second unit.

Major Hobby Fail - Grrrr!

Over the past week I have basecoated my Deathshroud Terminators for my Heresy Death Guard Legion.

Once I finished the basecoat I sprayed them with Gloss Varnish ready for their oil wash. I started on the first one and noticed that the wash was affecting the base coat (ostensibly below the varnish) and as I removed the wash I was also removing paint.

Thinking it was a poor varnish I then brushcoated the remaining four with Gloss Varnish (three coats) and once dry tried the oil wash again. I got the same result though the extra varnish seemed to muffle the effect somewhat.

All five are now in Simple Green as I strip them back to bare resin.

I didn't have this when I did my Tactical Squad. All I can put it down to is preparation. The Terminators must have had more/stronger release agent on them. I did wash them though it appears not well enough.

Very frustrating.

Heresy Death Guard

Here is my first unit for the Tale of X Gamers - Heresy Edition.

The thing that immediately struck me reading "Betrayal" was how battered, dirty and mashed up the Death Guard armour was. I've tried to re-create that with this squad.

The basing is as per the planet in  "False Gods" where the Warmaster is struck down by the Great Unclean One in the crashed ship.

Really happy with the battered look and now I am enthused to do my Deathshroud Terminators

Shiny Stuff From Forgeworld

This week I got some packages full of shiny stuff from Forgeworld.

The Two Imperial Armour Model Masterclass Volumes

Death Guard Deathshroud Terminators

The Terminators were my Xmas present from the boys so I'm especially looking forward to putting them together, then painting them. They will be my next selection for the Tale of X Gamers.

Tale of X Gamers - Heresy Edition: First Deadline Approaches

The first deadline for Heresy gamers is later this week and I think that a few are going to fail at the first hurdle.

So far I have seen half of Charlie's Sons of Horus and John Murrie's Word Bearers......and that's it.

I know that I am struggling with my Death Guard, having hit a real painter's block. Currently my tactical unit sits half painted on my table and I am unmotivated to finish them.

So what do you do in this situation? You HTFU!

Painting table has been cleaned. All distractions removed. Now it is just a case of head down, arse up and doing it.

Progress on Heresy Death Guard

Hopefully all of you that are participating in "The Tale of X Gamers - Heresy Edition" are making progress towards your first deadline - January 31.

I am in the middle of basecoating my Legion Tactical Squad and on Saturday had a couple of hours with Charlie looking at different weathering techniques. This was followed up on Sunday by watching the video tutorial by Miniature Mentor "Rust and Weathering Series - The DreadNought with Mathieu Fontaine" which gave some excellent tips that I'll be using on my Death Guard.

Once I have the base coats done I'll get some photos up.

Deathshroud Terminators - Revealed

So it's Merry Xmas from Forgeworld for Death Guard players. The jigsaw they have been running is now revealed.

 THE COMPLETED JIGSAW

Squad of Deathshroud

Roll on January when these are released!!!

Forgeworld Teaser - Deathshroud???

For those of you on the FW mailing list, you will have received a couple of Newsflashs over the past week that include a teaser of an upcoming model.

Initially I wasn't too excited as the first piece showed a set of Tartaros Terminator Armour and my Death guard were going to use Cataphracti.

Last night the second piece was released and here they are fitted together:

Now the left hand piece has too interesting details on it. First, there is a chest mounted rebreather very similiar to that on the Death Guard Contemptor Dread. Secondly, it looks like he could be holding a scythe - Deathshroud Terminators used Manreaper-like weapons.

So I'm going to call it a Deathshroud - and yes they will be in my Death Guard.

The only misgiving I have is that previous illustrations of Deathshroud have always showed them in the older Cataphracti Terminator Armour.

And if Deathshrouds are here then Mortarion can't be far away.

Horus Heresy Swap Shop

I have started putting together my Death Guard Mk II and Mk III infantry last night.

My Sergeant needs to have a Power fist but I don't really want to shell out GBP 11 for the Character Upgrade kit.

Here's the piece I'm after:

I've purchased the Squad Upgrade kit and have two Sergeant Heads that I am happy to swap for a Fist.

Here are the heads:

Centurion Heads on the far right

These would be suitable for most Legions. Alternatively I can do a Mk II or MK III head instead.

LMK if you can help.



Heresy Edition - Death Guard Legion Purchases

Yesterday afternoon I ordered my Legion Tactical Squad for the first part of “Tale of X Gamers – The Heresy Edition”.

Death Guard Legion Marine in Mark III "Iron" Armour

This will be the first Warhammer 30/40k army I have painted since early 2008 (the Aventine Legion Drop Pod Assault Force I used at Liber V) and so I’m going to invest some time and money in it.

I purchased a mix of Mk II “Crusade” and Mk III “Iron” armour, “Phobus” bolters, Death Guard Shoulder Pads, Mk III Squad Upgrade kit. This will let me build my 10 man Legion Tactical Squad with some bits over. As the LTS has no special weapons my only “dilemma” is how to outfit my Sergeant. I’m looking at probably going for a Power Fist and Melta Bombs though I could be convinced to go for a Combi-Flamer to take advantage of the Death Guard’s special chem weapons you sub for normal promethium.

MkIV Armour (Can Use Tactical Space Marine Models)

Hopefully they will arrive in the next two weeks and I can review with photos for those interested.