Endocrine?

Work on the Exocrine conversion continues.  I decided to call mine an Endocrine.  Possibly because I'm feeling hormonal.  I had a lot of fun building the gun (bio-cannon?  I don't even know what they're called yet) which is a heavily kit bashed Tyrannofex Rupture Cannon.  The stickman arms were less fun.  Scratch building with Grey Stuff is interesting but its a bit like clay and difficult to do sharp edges well.  Its easier to just use bits of old models for spikey bits or carve the dried resin into the desired shape.

Fire in the hole

Stickman Exocrine

Well, the Hormagaunts are languishing in hobby torpor.  I have been compulsively viewing Bell of Lost Souls and The Tyranid Hive forums for scraps of rumours about the Nid release in January.  There aren't even that many, just rehashes of models already leaked and endless speculation.  Its embarrasing really, but I kind of wish Christmas would just go away so that "Niduary" (as the forums call it) can arrive.  It doesn't help that I'm working all over the festive season and on out-of-hours support.

Exocrine next to a Tyrannofex.  Thanks to The Tyranid Hive for this

Out with the old, in with the new

I started getting caught up in the hype surrounding the forthcoming Tyranid release.  There are so many different and sometimes conflicting rules postings that it all becomes white noise and I try to just look at the pictures.  I decided to dig out my conversions for comparison.  If the price of the models is anything like the rumours portend then I'll be using my 'counts as' for some time to come.

Size does matter.  But so does price.

Mo Gribblies

Hormagaunts are less exciting than I first imagined.  There are only two poses for all the bodies and legs.  

Some of the more notable poses include the "Thriller","Chuck Norris" and the "Morecambe & Wise Christmas Special".

Bringing a knife to a gunfight

I pulled out my box of poor, neglected Hormagaunts today.  They were the first Nid models I bought and I've always had a soft spot for them.  They were only used (disastrously) in a couple of games where I quickly realised that fielding a brood of 12 just wasn't enough.  I bought more, but I never even finished building them all.  Shame on me.

I need to spend some serious hobby time with these poor wee fellas

The trouble with Zoats

Karl down at the club gave me some ancient GW models the other week (I now yearn to build 'old school' Necrons).  Amongst them was a metal miniature called a 'Zoat'.  I had never heard of Zoats before but he assured me that they were the forerunners of the Tyranid race. I was intrigued.

What the hell is it?

Nailed it

I resolved the wobbly model syndrome on my Ghost Ark by nailing some sense into the flight stand:

Best thing the Romans ever did for us

Necron Drive-By

I couldn't resist it.  I had to buy a Ghost Ark as well.  Its such an excellent model that my life felt empty and joyless without it. It was satisfyingly complex to build and paint too.  I dutifully followed the instructions right up to the part where it said "we recommend painting this assembly before the next stage".  Screw that.  I just glued the bugger together and blu-tacced the warrior carcasses in place.  I wanted to play with it, dude.  Its a toy, dammit!

Exterminate!

Hell hath no fury

The bases are dry at last and now I'm done.

A unit   cluster  pod  murder of Wraiths

Rusticrons

I believe that I may now be slow painting Necrons since it took 3 days to add the weathering effects.  In my defense, I do work full time and pay lip service to raising a family.  

Its fair to say that my army has a large yellow streak.

Turning to Custard

Well that took freaking ages.  I never realised just how fiddly some of these models are.  There might not appear to be much difference in the photo but the green is now added.  Again, I had to paint it white first and then add Scorpion Green.  This proved to be too light, so I added a green wash.  This made it too dark so I added a lighter Scorpion Green.  It still didn't look right so I gave up.

Green.  Ish.

Necrophilia

I put the washes on  (Reikland Fleshshade & Nuln Oil) which has softened the 'construction site' yellow a little and added more contrast to the silver.  I also put a heavy black wash on the guns (and tails!) with Tin Bitz overbrushed on top. 

Caption?  We don't need no steenking caption

The future is yellow

Second colour added.  One more to go and they are tournament ready!  Lol.  Like they'll ever compete in a tournament.  I think yellow is quite original for Necrons, but I have a horrible feeling that it just looks stupid.  Maybe some of that Iyanden or Tau shooty goodness will rub off though.

Transformers, Tau bots in disguise!

Speed painting Necrons

I've bitten the bullet and started painting psycho robots. Quickly.  In fairness, the plate metal primer makes the first part really easy. All models were done in under an hour.  I like painting and all, but basecoating an entire army is boring as hell.  This is waaay faster, gives a smooth finish, requires no preparation or cleaning and makes you high, all at the same time.  Aerosols for the win.

Oooh, shiny

Broodlord bonanza

I was going to start painting my Necrons this week,  I really was.  I even bought some Army Painter plate mail primer so I didn't have to actually paint them with a brush.  Once the silver base coat is on, its mainly down to adding a black wash and they're 80% finished.  I've heard stories of people throwing all the models in a plastic bag, adding the wash and just shaking up the bag.  Thats two out of your three colours right there.

One big happy family

Gribblies

Continuing the theme of Necron objective markers with a Genestealer twist, I decided to create some more. This time without the Necrons.  Which kind of makes them just Genestealers really. Sue me. I don't plan to use them in games any time soon but it was fun to use up all my spare parts and bits of scenery.

Is it nice, my precious?  Is it scrumptiously crunchable?

How to get 'ahead' in 40k

Well this marker should motivate my sluggish, gunline Necrons.  I'm not sure its actually a Necron objective marker anymore though.  The theme doesn't quite compute.  

"Advance to the objective, minons! And somebody put Geoff's head back on."

Necronom-nom-nomicon

I'm having another lull in 40k (which may turn into a full blown hiatus).  This is mostly because I started reading books again (non Black Library).  And playing videogames (non Dawn of War).  

A right riveting read

Finished!  Well, I could tinker with it more but I'll go blind if I put one more rivet on, so I'm calling it done. The Orkification was the most difficult part really.  Forcing yourself to glue random shit onto a model just feels... unnatural.  Drinking a bottle of wine and listening to 'Woodpeckers from Mars' by Faith No More helps.  However, it makes the rivets difficult to see, never mind glue on.

Crime: Defacing an Imperial Aquila.  Sentence:  Death by rivets

Skyshit Landing Pad

Well, I finally got the landing pad to fit on top of the Manufactork.  I'm not sure its a viable piece of scenery any more since you will have to make a 17" charge up the sheer side of a building in order to assault anything inside it.  Or you could go round the back and play Qbert on the different levels to get up there.  Assuming you hug the lee of the wall in order to get defilade.  Because you can bet your bottom dollar that the defender will put something hideously shooty up there.

All along the watchtower.  Thudd Guns kept the view.

Shrine of the Manufactork 2

Crane added to the Manufactork as per client instructions:

building a grimdark tomorrow

Shrine of the Manufactork

I've been working on the looted Ork manufactorum.  Chris instructed me to add a crane and a skyshield landing pad to the structure.  So I decided to put some doors on it.  Some big ass doors which can open and close and have a working lock mechanism.  I never was very good at taking instructions.

Shrine of the Aquila.  Not.

Bowed but not broken

The Aliens Power Loader, sorry, Dreadknight customisation continues apace.  Its mostly blu-tacked together but I'm fairly happy with the positioning.  The legs were by far the most interesting part.  

His toes had surgery too

Katyusha Lootas

All the boring bits are already done.  I just need to accessorise and Orkify

As usual, I was complaining to my fellow gamer Chris about Nids the other day.  

For shame!

I play Grey Knights. There, I said it.  To my eternal shame I play the Daemon Hunters.  I play them for all the wrong reasons too.  

Psycannons for everyone!  I freely admit, I have a problem.

Freudian nightmares

The Games Workshop model for the Biovore is someone's idea of a joke.  Its got to be.  Lets ignore for the moment the stupid grin and 1980's fashion gauntlets.  These guys have enormous, veiny dicks complete with eyes, growing out of their back. And if you look closely, its actually meat and two veg. The pair of testicles hanging over their head is what really clinches it for me:

This fellow is actually teabagging himself.  And smiling about it.

Call To Arms - Day 2 (pushing your luck)

I found you an Eldar.  But I eated it.

Day 2 dawned bright and early. Having achieved a form of consciousness via the judicious application of coffee and cigarettes, I discovered that my first opponent was Kent.  

Call To Arms - Day 1 (the long dark teatime of the soul)

After a night of frantic basing and 'slap a wash on it and hope no one notices' frolics, I arrived at Call To Arms 2013, slightly disheveled.  Suffering both sleep and nicotine deprivation I was thrown into my first game.

Forward Eorlingas!

Anticlimax

Late posting because I finally realised that I wasn't going to be finished in time for the tournament and so I stopped procrastinating on this idiotic blog, knuckled down and got on with it.  

Hive Fleet.. something or other.  Screw you, I like the colour scheme.

Tervigon poop

The last of my monstrous creatures for the army list is now painted.  I chose the Tervigon behind door number 2:  Gertie:

Tilly, Gertie and Tubbs.   These 3 lovely ladies promise you a frighteningly good time.  And they'll have your babies.

Modelling for Advantage. The Swarmlord.

I stopped dicking around and declared The Swarmlord finished.  Its the only model I have finished painting in my proposed list for Call To Arms.  This is slightly worrying since the tournament is in 6 days.  To be fair, all of the army list is at least 80% done.  The trouble is that the remaining 20% is mostly boring shit like edge highlighting and basing which I really don't want to do.  Swarmy started out life as a Flyrant conversion:

I was going through a particularly bad phase of acid flashbacks when I painted this.

 

Death from below (occasionally)

Mawloc conversion complete. A bit of an under performer, but I love the model.  Once you explain to your opponents that this subterranean killer can deliberately deep strike underneath the enemy for strength 6 damage, you might see a flicker of anxiety cross their face.  

Terminalgaunt

Well that was worse than I thought it would be.  About 15 hours to paint stripey Termagaunts.  It took me all weekend and most of Monday night.  Granted there were long periods of weeping, hysteria and staring vacantly into space humming to myself.  

Do they look the same as the original paint job?  Was it worth 15 hours?  Huh? Huh?!

kekekeke

I don't play Starcraft. Actually, I do fire up the game every now and again and push buttons, but any self respecting Starcraft gamer would not call this 'playing'.  So this post isn't named particularly well.  I do have nice horde of gribblies shaping up though:

Where's Wally?

Pointless Goals

Well I thought I only set unrealistic and/or pointless goals at work, but it seems to be a worrying trait in other areas now.  Having decided to repaint all my termagants, I clumped them all together and took a picture:

We Represent The Lullaby League

Head Transplant Complete

Pro-Tip: When you buy a Dremel rotary tool you should totally destroy all your carefully painted models with it. You know you have spare heads.

Despite being upgraded to a Swarmlord, the Tyrant was still mostly armless.