Friday, December 29, 2017

Asurmen - First of the Phoenix Lords (A Conversion Journey)

Having recently read the Asurmen: Hand of Asuryan novel, I felt inspired to include the model in my Eldar army. The problem was, the model was old enough for an M18 movie; the dated sculpt also meant that the model itself was very two dimensional, and not in keeping with the more dynamic poses of the current Eldar range. So I started this project to modernise the model slightly,and hopefully make it more resilient.



I started off by chopping off the easy to reach bits that I wanted to replace, namely the sword, and the outstretched Avenger catapult. They were also some of the parts which made the model two dimensional, since they stuck out parallel to the main body.


To replace the sword, I kitbashed a Harlequin Troupe Master power sword hand, an outstretched Harlequin's Kiss arm, and a shuriken pistol, gluing it all together. It was pretty easy, just chop off the "needle" bit of the Harlequin's Kiss, and chop off the "pistol grip" part of the shuriken pistol, leaving the snub nose.


How the conversion looked at Stage 1 of the process. I also removed the head, trying very hard to keep the Avenger targeter on the shoulder, and cut off the model's left leg. This would aid in reposing the model later.


This picture shows progress on the model with the left arm conversion. I tried to keep the left arm similar to the original pose, with slight adjustments to the angle for aesthetic purposes. The left arm was also kitbashed from the Harlequin kit, using an extended left arm, another Harlequin's Kiss wrist, and a left fist from a shuriken pistol hand. The shuriken pistol from that hand was then pinned and glued to the Harlequin's Kiss wrist mount, similar to the right arm conversion.


A close up of the head shows the point at which I pinned the re-positioned head to the neck. Had to greenstuff in the gaps.


I thought the model was coming together nicely at this stage, though I would have to further drill and cut away the excess resin between the cape and the loincloth. It was at this stage where a mishap occurred and I sacrificed blood and skin cells to my hobby knife -.-


The sacrifice was worth it though, as the pinned arms and removal of excess material slowly come together to bring the converted model to life.


The finished base model. As shown in the earlier pictures, I cut up and re-posed the left leg to make it look more dynamic. The main posing idea was that Asurmen was standing on a raised area, shooting at onrushing enemies.


The model was placed on a wraithbone-ish looking base, as a test. After the conversion, I realised that Asurmen wouldn't fit on the standard 25mm base anymore, hence the larger base. Given that his rules involve providing a bubble buff to models near him, I may have to find a way to mark where the 25mm starts and stops for tournaments, or dismount him from the scenic base and put him on something a little more mundane.


A cameo by Eldrad, who functions as a counterweight while my attempt at a greenstuff sashimono type banner dries.


The nearly completed model, with gaps filled in with green stuff, and a little sash added to hide some rough edges. Pardon the resin dust.




The back banner/sashimono was a bit too short for the pin, but i eventually got around it by removing/repositioning the bottom rod. These images are quite good illustrations of how a simple chop/reposition can help liven up an old model by making it more dynamic and 3D.


As I mentioned above, I needed to find a way to make the model more tournament legal, and I decided to try and make the model and base modular. The pins in Asurmen's base are long enough that they hold the model firmly on the scenic base, which means I may not need to glue him down, and can shift him to a 25mm base. Still needs testing though. The other alternative is to mark out the 25mm circle around him using dead enemies and hobby grass. Tempting tempting...

So, that's a quick journey through my second attempt at converting a model. Now to painting this guy!

2017 a hobby review.





Wow its been a year! And what a year it has been! CSM getting a reboot in the first quarter, and then 8th ed drops for Warhammer 40k!

I was just sorting out my photo album, well primarily trying to find photos to keep or delete and I was surprised what I have painted this year.

List of personal goals accomplished
1.)     Buy something ugly on ebay cheap, repaint it, and resell it!    
The BEFORE photo, bought them off ebay at $0.70 each! #ultramarines #ebay
FINISHED as WHITE SCARS, and sold them off on #ebay and more importantly learnt a few techniques that I put to use on my #Deathguard.

            2.) Complete an iron Painter challenge










IronPainter was a 24 hour painting challenge,  where you have to paint something in 24hours and present it at our local hobby store later on.

I managed to chart my progress on instagram which is also another big thing for me this year, as the lazy blogger in me, just preferred to snap a photo and upload it. Plus all the instant 'likes' can be gratifying.

Search for me! im 'hobbieswithmazz' on IG

and heres my squad of #DeathGuard legionnaires, completed at 2pm the next day.

In hindsight it was really good fun, though the lack of sleep was really painful. and trying to solve a clogged airbrush at 3am was also another memory that I dont wish to repeat.

2017 was also a year for Netflix! My companion through all the long nights huddled infront of my wet pallet.


I think I have watched everything!

One of the few good offshoots from the IronPainter Challenge, was that I was inspired to paint and build faster. I have a habit of painting 40k minis in parts and then assemble them together, which takes just too long. At least for a few months, I was painting the models fully assembled.

I've since gone back to my old ways though =p

My Good Deed for the year!
2 weekends after the ironpainter challenge, Melvin invited me to join him in painting Andrew's Marines. Andrew's a friend of ours who has hoards of unpainted marines and we took it upon ourselves to help him reduce some of his backlog. Probably the most generous thing I have done this year!

Andrew's Dark Angels all painted for him! Really happy with the 24hour paint job too!





My ork collection also received a minor boost this year, again inspired by the Iron Painters Challenge.







So I got off my butt and finished another group of orks. Figured in any list combination, I would be covered if i had at least 60+ boyz nicely painted ork boyz.

Boyz ready for the great waaargh of the 8th Edition!


Wierdboy converted from a Warhammer Fantasy Savage Orc, added the trophies to give it a more 40k feel =) and plus to commemorate a great day of gaming, (see Ray's post of DP's 1k tourney)
the Butt Shot. NSFW!!! Sorry couldnt resist this photo =)

and so here rounding off the year is the mandatory family portrait... 

Man! have the Deathguard legion grown! #DeathGuard #legionXIV



 
and the great waaargh just got more awesome too!



CHEERS TO AN AWESOME 2018!


M







Tuesday, December 19, 2017

WIP: Blood Angel Sanguinary Priest on Bike + 20 Tac

Just found some old pictures in my phone and thought I would share them with you guys! 

Sanguinary Priest on bike

Loads of BA Tacticals but don't know when I'll use them if ever

Monday, December 18, 2017

Ashes & Dust - Monsters of Malifaux

Have gotten around to painting my Ashes and Dust for my Outcast faction. Really good fun putting this model and painting it. Here are some highlight photos from my journey! 

Big believer in putting as many models together as possible, even terrain! 

Raw plastic! 

Now with bases made of Milliput and a trusty press

Preshaded, I start off by getting the bases done up. 
Drybrushing always leave marks on the miniature if you're not careful so best to get it done first. You can always cover up those mistakes as you paint the actual model thus saving you time and effort. It's all about efficiency! 


I used the airbrush to get the base colors down on Ashes & Dust. The zenithal highlight on the Desolation Engine helped to create the highlights before I added a wash to crate the skin layers
Here are some pretty pictures! I hope you like them!



Saturday, December 16, 2017

GREX Combat Carnival

Gamersaurus Rex organized a newbie friendly event at 1000 points and I threw in my hat to support them. 

Originally I had planned to bring another list which contained some Genestealers but ended up scrapping the idea when Leon thrashed me convincingly. Looked like that list needed more work so I brought the previous list that i brought to DP's Games Day. 

Game 1

Drew against Lum, also known as the Luminator who speaks in 3rd person. He brought a very skewed list that was more shooty with 3 Venerable Dreads, 2 units of Scouts and 2 characters. 

We played the first mission from Chapter Approved which meant that mobility was key. Thankfully my list is very flexible, allowing me to deploy my Flyers all the way in his lines. 

Deployment
I managed to move into his table edge and razed all his objectives for 6 VP the first turn. Lum basically gave up after 2 turns. Ouch.

With some spare time, I went around gazing at other armies.

The flash was not planned! 

This was a tad bit more natural
The painter is Wong Wai Liong and he paints really well. Add in his ability to convert, you've got a fantastic army!

Just look at that contrast

All nicely painted
Game 2
Going for Gold
I played a newer player called Ling and he played Orks. Unfortunately for him, my army was really well adapted to deal with large numbers owing to the number of shots I can put out per turn. And in true form, I removed a large part of his army and he was rightfully shocked. Orks really need a new codex.

Elite painting skillz
Just look at that detail
Wai Liong really is quite an amazing painter!

At the end of the day each player were give 2 Raffle Tickets if they win a game, 2 Raffle Tickets if your opponent gave you thumbs up for the game and 2 Raffles Tickets if you have a fully painted army. I got 8 Raffle Tickets but Lady Luck deserted me leaving me with no prizes.

The best thing about this format was that it encouraged a very relaxed environment, people came prepared with efficient lists and all were painted. It was awesome to be surrounded with like minded hobbyist and I was really glad GREX put in the effort to run these events. I will definitely go down for the next one! 

Friday, December 15, 2017

Dueller's Point Games Day 2017

A bunch of us at ABO attended a recent Games Day that was organized by Leon and Dueller's Point. This was a 1000 point friendly event that encouraged efficient lists but not too spammy. Considering I haven't played too much 40k 8th Edition till this point, I went with something I was a little more familiar with. 

Hive Fleet Leviathan
  • Hive Tyrant - wings, 2x Brainleech Devourers
  • Hive Tyrant - wings, 2x Brainleech Devourers
  • 3 Hive Guard with Impaler Canons
  • 3 Rippers
  • 23 Hormagants
  • 3 Tyranid Warriors
  • 10 Gargolyes
  • 10 Gargolyes
  • Carnifex with 2x Brainleech Devourers, Enchanced Senses, Spore Cysts
Game 1
I played against Renzus who brought a Chaos army with 2 units of Obliterators who were in reserve. However, having little experience playing the ITC ruleset, I was not aware that there was 2 Objectives, Primary and Secondary. While I was far ahead in the Primary, I lost the secondary. Eventually tying the game and we both walked away having a Draw in our record. 

Renzus vs Ray
Game 2
Next game was with a Nicholas I think. He brought some Ultramarines without Guilliman. I remember he brought and deployed a large part of the Scouts up front to deny me from Deep Striking but left a gap on the one edge my Tyrant can get in. Once it did, it was basically a mop up. The Hive Guard also did remarkably well, taking out a tank per turn. Unfortunately, he gave up at the end of Turn 2, conceding 20-0.

His Reivers were prime to do a charge but failed the roll

While the rest of my army play mop up.
Game 3
When the TO called out the next pair, I grinned. It was our very own Mark! He brought a massive army and it was a Horde vs Swarm. Going for Smite, I suspected that I needed to clear those Shamans out but he was in a massive ball surrounded by everything! 

Going for his back lines, I was hoping to use the Tyrants to punch a hole

You can hear the Waagh from here

While the rest of my army hunkers down
Mind is a bit hazy now but I do recall that I won the game by a small margin, something like 14 to 6.

I eventually placed Best Xenos General and got a $25 voucher for a fun day of gaming. All in, it was a great day! 

I had also actually won Best Painted (by votes) but you can't win two awards so it went to Alan's Vostroyans. 


Army Showcase
It was really nice to see people put effort into making their armies all nice and ready for the event. Here are some pictures!

Mark's Orks

There is so much character in this model

A scary sight

Tyranids were out enmass probably due to the codex releasing a week before the event

Very neat and clean

Considering it was completed the night before, that's pretty good effort

Our very own Ripperling, Jason completed this 

Alan and his Vostroyans

Renzus' Chaossss

Clean look 

Efficient color scheme here too

Superfriends list 

That's a big tank you have there! 

Everyone's favourite unit! 

Bloody Angels

Those are some nice clean blues

Airforce Elf

Airforce Ommmnoommmnboomm

And of course, my very own list
I really enjoyed the event. 1000 points is a really good sweet spot as games can finish within 2 hours. Most games resolve at roughly 1.5 hours. Leon made a fantastic effort of printing out the scenario and everyone, I mean 4 copies of each army list for each player. The player pack was probably one of the best I have ever experienced. The only gripe is the terrain but considering this is a relatively new store, I feel that given time, DP can be quite a good store. 

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