It Came from the Forums Quickie! Rickfactor Is Stepping it Up! Thousand Sons Maulerfiend!

TJ here with a really quick It Came from the Forums, which is going to be focused on an up and coming artist this time: Rickfactor! RF is all about color and transition along with smart conversion work, so lets take a look.

DFG Spotlight: Sam's Salamanders Conversions from the NC Warhammer Gamers Group!

TJ here with a quick Spotlight guest post from Samuel Warner, a local gamer in the N.C. area who is building a great looking Salamanders army, complete with cold ones, drake themes and bits from third party companies like Spellcrow. Check out what he has got going on!

A Closer Look At Chapter Tactics by Darren Driver of The Art of Warhammer!

A Closer Look at Chapter Tactics by Darren Driver at The Art of Warhammer

While looking through the DFG Blog Network, I found an article on Space Marine Chapter Tactics that summed up everything I had thought about the new tactics, especially in comparison to the old 4th edition version of the chapter traits. The article is by Darren Driver at The Art of Warhammer, an excellent blog that I recommend you check out and follow. Darren has a lot of great paint articles and has been doing a hell of a job with his own Marines. Please check out The Art of Warhammer or read the article below and then go check out the blog, you won't be disapointed:

It's been about a month and I still haven't said anything about the new Space Marine codex, so this article has been a long time coming.

I think it's fair to say that the Chapter Tactics are the hottest thing in the new codex. Who remembers the old Chapter Traits in 4th edition? I do. They're like them without the opportunity to abuse the rules. I mean, let's face it, who didn't go with a custom chapter and use whatever tactics worked best every time? And then there were us suckers who used established chapters. Us Ultramarine fans especially had our faith tested with no traits at all.

Fortunately, in my honest opinion, Games Workshop got it right this time. You're guaranteed unique special rules that shape your army in a way that others can't. For me the best thing is, aside from the Black Templars, no chapter is limited in what they can take, but their rules will naturally make collectors evolve their armies in different  ways. I thought I'd take some time to go through each chapter tactic and what they do for their respective chapters.

DFG Painting Challenge: Salamander Scouts

Here's entry #2 from me. My scouts of terror! I put the skull face on one of them and then sent a pic to OST and he was like "Dude, you have to do that to all of them!" I'm pretty happy he told me that.

DFG Painting Challenge; The guantlet has been thrown down! Salamanders Predator Pics!

 
OST and I have been talking about, and are now officially in a personal painting challenge with each other. Our challenge is pretty simple, complete one kill point to a high standard every 2 weeks. There is nothing on the line for either of us, but since about 40% of our relationship revolves around being competitive with each other there's buckets of Scottish Pride on the table.

Despite this being a personal challenge, we're inviting all of the DFG readers to participate in this new section of the DFG blog. If you would like to be part of this, we will post your pictures and any comments you might have to add to them in a weekly post. Just email them to us. This of course is dependent on participation so if the invitation isn't picked up by anyone then we'll just post whenever we get the stray person to send a picture.

OST and I added the "to a high quality" for ourselves. If you did want to keep pace with the challenge, feel free to send us what you're doing. The spirit of this and any painting challenge is to just get people to start putting brushes to models.

Now, with all that said, OST started off with his DREADCLAW last week and here is my answer; the first of three Salamander Predators.

Salamanders Winterbreak Update: Vulkan He'stan

Just a quick update on the salamanders project. Vulkan is completed! I'm sure I'll do minor tweaks here and there and playing with color blends to make it a little smoother but here is the finished project.

Here is a 360 of him:

Salamanders Winterbreak Update: Terminators

So I rolled off the assembly line the first wave of salamander stuff for the winter break project. My goals for the army are pretty simple: 1. Look awesome. 2. Be fluffy. 3. Don't look "fresh off the parade deck" like OST referred to.

Ultimate Land Raider WIP Update!

Salamander Land Raider WIP update!

So I got all the green stuff work done finally. On to paint for the Obsidian Chariot.

WIP pics:

I used a lot of inspiration from all over the internet for the design, not to mention a deep dig through the bits box.

The side colums were made with a combination of plasticard, green stuff and basilisk earth shaker cannon barrels.

I press molded vulkan's personal icon to make the center pieces to the ceiling structure. When I was drafting the idea I pictured a sort of under ground almost dwarf like forge built into a cavern yet still refined and not so much stone cut. (tons of pics, keep reading)

Canis Fireborn WIP

Hey everyone. Since OST posted up his counts-as I had to put up my loyalist version so that he didn't take all the glory. A few months back OST and I decided it'd be awesome to put together some counts as Thunder Wolf.

Here is my vision of counts as Thunderwolves, Salamander style.

I really just sort of played with this idea until it eventually came together and really had no plans what so ever. The original weapon was a long, jagged sword that came to about the nose of the Carnosaur. I scrapped that for this massively over sized, almost comedic, thunderhammer. I still have a shield from Chapterhouse to put on this guy too.

Green Stuff Sculpt Video: Land Raider Relief (part 3 &4)!

Alright, almost done. I'll edit the last one and get it uploading and having tomorrow for you guys to see the finished product. Enjoy!

Green Stuff Sculpt Video: Land Raider Relief (part 2)!

Hey everyone, here is part 2. Sorry it's taken this long. It's actually been up on youtube since part 1 but I accidentally didn't load it as HD so I never linked it. However, after 2 aborted uploads (which take ~600 min) I'm done trying to get it in HD for now. Maybe I'll figure it out in the future and i'll keep trying with each video but for now, enjoy some 720 resolution, non HD, sorry.

Green Stuff Sculpt, Part 1! Amazing HD video!

Here is the first of a six part series on how I've sculpted one aspect of a diorama on the side of my Salamanders Land Raider. More to come as I get them converted and uploaded. I just had to start pulling the veil back from my secret projects since OST has been hinting at what I've been up to for weeks.

Green Stuff: Layering tips

Hey everyone! I'm starting work on my salamanders army and the first place I'm starting is my Land Raider. Today I looked around at what to do for it as far as icons go and since this is vulkan's personal rider (with his termy homies) I needed to spice it up.

So, we that said I needed to put an icon on the front and decided to go with the above image. What follows is the step by step layers I used to create it.

The important thing to remember when making icons, or banners or whatever with GS is that it needs to be done in steps. So take a look at how I worked the layers from back to front to create this image. Between each photo the GS was baked to have it firm up. If I hadn't done that it would have been absolutely impossible to do (for me).


To start out, I measured the top door hatch to the Raider and mapped it on a piece of glass. Then I printed out the appropriate sized picture and taped it to the back as a guide to follow.


After it was done, I just baked it a final time, let it cool and then scraped it off carefully with a razor. Viola!

Painted Vulkan He'Stan by OST

Old School here with a few photos of a Vulkan He'Stan model I painted for a guy at the FLGS. His request was that the model was done similar to the GW paintjob, but with mostly Tinbitz on the trim and with a dried lava-themed base. I figured I would give it a shot and here is how it turned out.

The model was painted Snot Green, then Highlighted Goblin with a final thin highlight of Scorpion Green (thanks for the formula Chosen1). There are areas on the head and on the shins where the highlight looks ragged and it was done on purpose to add the look that there may be a slight scale pattern-sheen to the armour. The trim was done in Tinbitz and highlighted with Dwarven Bronze. The cape was done with layers of Astronomicon Grey, followed by Codex Grey, then Bleach bone with Skull white on the highest areas. The flames on the cape were done in the reverse order of my normal flames and at first I wasn't going to add the cracked lava field look to it, but once I figured it out, I really liked what it added to the model.

He wanted the blade to be a Black Obsidian style blade, so I went very flat black with it, using trace amounts of blue and a thin blue highlight on the edge of the blade. All of the purity seals and the streamers on the spear had their script added with a Micron pen, which I like because it is quick, but it needs a coat of clear matte varnish to dull down the shinyness of the ink.

The flames were painted using the same formula I used to paint the recent Salamanders Ironclad, which used the same peice from Vulcan's backpack. I think I got a little out of had with the white near the top, but I will leave that up to the owner before re-painting that area.

There are a couple spots throughout the whole base where the lava is kind of showing through and while the owner of Vulkan said he wanted dry lava, I am sure he will be happy to see how this turned out and the element it adds to the base.

I did Vulkan's eyes in Blues rather than oranges as it seems there was way to much orange in the model and I wanted to use this and the clap on his cape as an opportunity to add a couple of complimentary colors.

All in all, I had a lot more fun with this model than I first anticipated. I have always thought it looked kind of goofy on the net, but after handling it more intimately, I rather like the model and even the oddly-grasped spear pose. It was fun, taught me a couple little techniques and while It isn't my masterpeice or anything, I am proud to turn it over to its rightful owner today!

Well that is it for now, feedback is welcome as always!

A sneek peek at Chosen1's Ironclad from the Giveaway!

Old School here with a painting update on the Super Blog Chain Give-away prizes - well the Ironclad anyway. I decided to start the project off with Chosen1's (from Team Snake Eyes) Ironclad because he was the first winner and painting good guys isn't something I do every day.

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Here is a sneek peek of the work done so far. Most of the hammer arm is done, except for a few items on the hammer and the last touch of scorpion green highlighting. In terms of highlighting, I saw that Chosen1's Vulcan Hestan Conversion (I don't even wat to know what Ron charged for that awesome model) had extreme highlighting and since I have never done it, I wanted to teach myself (thank god it seems to be working so far). I know it is a little much right now, but once the scorpion goes on and a coat or two of thinned thrakka go on, it will provide a much smoother transition. The flames and the symbol turn out very well so far and I am now debating adding scorch marks around it. I originally was going to make it look like an icon, but I could not resist the flame effect painting!

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Anyway folks, plenty of work to do, but it should be done Thursday or Friday and then it is time to paint the Libby dread for Damien! Let me know what you all think! Hope you are happy so far Chosen1!

Amazing Conversions and LEDs from Warforge!

I regularly explore various sites and forums to find inspiration for conversions and to find ideas that I otherwise would have never thought of and methods for converting and painting that never would have occured to me. Many of the conversions I have done, both big and small have come from various ideas I have seen. In this way, the folks who post WIPs, tutorials and guides have contributed more to this hobby than any of them will probably ever know.

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Sometimes in my searches, I find something that truly blows my mind and I feel that I should share it to help other find those things that may serve as an inspiration. Yesterday, I was bored and started clicking on a few of the link that I post in the right hand column of my blog. Often, I take these sites for granted and barely explore them. Take for instance, The Warforge. I originally found it many months ago when there was a lot less going on there (or at least on their site) and I had never gone back to it. Little did I know, I was missing some of the most mind-blowing work I have seen in a very long time.

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The first page I opened was the Ork Projects page and what I saw there nearly made me crap my pants ... several times. The Warforge not only is responsible for creating some AMAZING conversions and scratchbuilds, but they also tend to provide photos and explanations from every step of the modelling process.

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These photos posted above are only the tip of the iceberg and I suggest you take a look for yourself. I now plan to explore using plasticard in extensive conversions that I once thought were next to impossible ... and I may even dabble in the LED work displayed there as well..

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Below I have posted a few links to their various project sections. If you like what you see dig deeper, you may just find inspiration for your next big idea.

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Orks: http://www.the-warforge.com/category/orks

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Salamanders: http://www.the-warforge.com/category/salamanders

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Necrons: http://www.the-warforge.com/category/necrons

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A tutorial on pressure casting: http://www.the-warforge.com/pressurecasting

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Enjoy!

Busy in the workshop, Salamanders progress, Daemon Prince WIP!

Just as the painting bug bit me a few weeks ago, the building fix needed to be ... well fixed this week. Here are some pics of what I have been working on.

First there is a shot of a few of My Salamanders up close. I used the GamesDay Sgt from 05 and crafted him a combi-melta. I have placed a Dragon hide cape from the Dark Elf Corsairs bitz in conjuction with each powerpack and of course the squad includes a flamer and multi-melta.

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Aside from that, I rehabbed an old Landspeeder (Thanks for the idea Drunken Samuria) that was a beater from an old bitz box I bought on Ebay (cash for clunkers). I added the heavy flamer and multi-melta from my bitz box. It still needs some work but has come a long way from the bottom of my 'soon to be scenery box'.

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Other than that, I spruced up a couple Assault on Black Reach Dreads to stand in as my DP dreads until something much better (FW) comes along).

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And almost forgot. I have been using a tired old Fantasy Prince as my Lash Prince for some time and since I went Iron Warriors for all my non-marked Chosen and Oblitz, I have also decided to make an Iron Warriors Daemon Prince. I used the standard 40k daemon prince body (also from the bitz box) and gave it a defiler mask and some wires from the Ork Deff Dread box. Then I added some green stuff around the neck to make it look all veiny and roided-up. Next I added the Penitent Engine arm (Awesome bit by the way) and green stuffed it on and did my best 4th grade sculpting to make musclature and tissue mixed into the buzz saw mechanical arm.

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More to come, along with a painted Nurgle Daemon Prince (I promise). Let me know what you think!

Salamanders list for the new army

After posting a discussion question about the value of Ironclad dreads vs regular dreads, Raptor mentioned that the matter also depended on what your army looked like. My ideal Space Marine army since 4th edition was always Salamanders. The new codex really had me tempted to build a Salamanders army with the introduction of Vulcan Hestan and I4 Salamanders. Up until now, I have decided that I would just stick to Chaos, but after beginning the new Salamander book, I have been bitten by the bug ... and I don't feel to bad as there are few Codex Astartes players at the FLGS.
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Here is an idea I originally had for 1750. I am not going to post the points values as I do not feel like it.
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Vulkan
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Iron Clad with Heavy flamer
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Iron clad with heavy flamer
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Dreadnought with Multi melta and Heavy Flamer
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10 man Tac Squad with Multi melta, flamer, combi-flamer, rhino
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10 man tac squad with Multi melta, flamer, combi-flamer, rhino
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10 man tac squad with Multi-melta, flamer, combi-flamer, powerfist rhino
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Landspeeder with Multi-melta, heavy flamer
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Landspeeder with Multi-melta, heavy flamer
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Landspeeder with Multi-melta, heavy flamer
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Predator with Auto cannon, Heavy bolter sponsons
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Predator with Autocannon, Heavy bolter sponsons
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Vindicator
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1750
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Now this was the first idea I had when I dreamed up my Salamanders list, but I have seen the killyness of drop podded dreads on turn one and it is fearsome, but then again, 5 AV 13 vehicles coming down the board with speeder spam is nasty too. My reservation is that the punch of all my anti-mech will be dampened by the slogging ironclads.
My solution would be to sown grade to regular dreads like my third one and drop pod them in, stealing points back from elsewhere to do it.
I think the drop podding multi-melta dreads will make a threat that has to be dealt with turn one while the rest of the army moves up. In any case I think the combo of vehicle spam anti-tank/anti-troop firepower along with the massive distractions on the board may be better than the slogging ironclads. What do you all think? What have you seen? What would you run? How would you deal with it. And a special thanks to Raptor for the idea for a great post.

Salamanders Conversion (WIP)

Alright, so ever since the new SM codex came out, I have been thinking of a Salamander army and after resisting for so long, I just can't take it any more! This is the look of my new salamanders!

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I am going to use the old metal Alpha Legion shoulder pads for the Salamanders symbol. It provides a feircesome looking dragon head on each Marine and I think embossed shoulder pads look better than the caveman-type looking decal currently available. The other shoulder pads I am using are old metal Legion of the Damned flaming shoulder pads.

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Each Salamander will also have a Dark Elf Corsair cape to display the fact that every Salamander must slay a Drake to become a full Astartes!

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I also plan to base them all on lava bases and don't worry, I am not done with that backpack, it will look like it drapes over with a little GS work. Please hit me with your comments and critisism!

PS - let me know what you think about the chained on bolters.

New bitz from Chapterhouse studios! The return of the Salamander Drop Pod!

Chapterhouse Studios now has its Salamander Drop Pod vehicle accessories back out with new and improved panels. Their Web site also has some teaser photos of a Lion shoulder pad, which makes me wonder what else may be in the works over there! Check out their site and their online store for yourself at www.chapterhousestudios.com