Obliteration is at hand

  I've continued hard on the crusade to paint these armies, and the Chaos Space Marines are seeing progress for it.  In this case, I've returned to my Obliterators, because they're really good and probably the only reason my army ever wins.  

  It's funny too, because I used to be a hater of these guys.  Not only were they too powerful when they first came out, but I dealt with scores of opponents from all over the country bringing these things to destroy me.  I even got a unit of three and then promptly gave them away without regret.  It was sad.  But after losing so many games and finding myself with some extra money, I finally bit the bullet and bought another full unit (at much higher cost than they used to be, of course). 

  I actually also like these old metal ones better than the new plastic ones that GW released in the Shadowspear box.  I think this old version captures the 'daemonic' nature of the Obliterators so much more.  Unfortunately, being old and metal meant that there was much more work to do on these models than I anticipated.  If you look closely at the pics, you can see flashing in various places that I didn't notice.  The models just have so much detail!  And that's why I like them...

  To start with, I'm going to show off some of the progress bits, then I'm going to finish with the actual pics of the models.  To begin the 'hobby' part, I basecoated these models with Khorne Red and Leadbelcher and basecoated all the flesh with Bugman's Glow and the wires with black.  I then liberally washed the models with Agrax Earthshade...

  You'll notice that I also painted the weapons with Flayed One Flesh for that creamy bone color.  This was to start that 'ghostly' effect that I wanted to achieve on their guns.  See, Obliterators create weapons from imagination and blast the enemy with them- materializing whatever guns they need from warp power.  I wanted to represent that with a greenish glow.  

  After the cream color dried, I washed the weapons with Biel-tan Green wash.  It's important to see that I tried to wash over the fleshy areas that produced the weapons as well, but it didn't turn out as strong as I'd hoped.   

  So I took some watered-down Moot Green and 'washed' it over those transition points.  You can see that it faded into the flesh color and the green-washed bone color quite nicely!

  You'll see later how I drybrushed the weapons with white and BOOM!  It easily achieved the affect I was looking for.  The other technique I wanted to show off and test out was how I was going to paint the flesh parts of the model.  When I get to painting Possessed, it might be necessary...

  As noted above, I started by basecoating the flesh in Bugman's Glow.  I then gave all the flesh a liberal wash of Carroburg Crimson and let that dry.  

  Once I had the time, I layered the flesh with Cadian Fleshtone and then a shorter layer of Kislev Flesh.  The important part with the final color is not highlighting from one end of the flesh to the other- paint just the middle.  This lighter 'middle' gives the flesh that organic, 'stretched' feel.  

Obliterators

  This is easily one of the top units in the Chaos Space Marine codex.  With four wounds at Toughness 5 and a 2+ armor save plus a 5+ daemonic save, they are VERY hard to take out.  Worse, they have guns that fire six shots that can either mow away infantry or demolish Imperial (or Chaos) Knights!  And in case you think that close combat is safe, they don't hit very lightly either.  

  Obliterators have a major advantage that keeps them safe- the ability to deep strike onto the battlefield!  This keeps the enemy from being able to engage them until they've had a chance to slag something.  Add the Mark of Slaanesh so they have the ability to fire those powerful weapons twice in the same phase and the devastation they put out can make even Rogal Dorn jealous.  

  The only drawback to this unit is their cost.  They will set you back almost 350 points for three of the buggers.  But they are worth every point...

  I even had that extra motivation and decided to add a tiny bit of blue-glow effect.  I imagine that this could represent their teleportation hardware or something.  More importantly, it adds even more colors to the unit, making the Obliterators the most colorful unit in my army!  

  There's the next unit done, more to come.  Let me know what you've been working on in the comments below.  And, as always, Happy Hobbying!

The Word is Iron!

  Remember from my last post that I'm back to working on my Chaos Space Marines.  I quickly finished both the units from that post and this one in the same week because, well, you'll see.  But I'm happy to be ripping through these units trying to get back on track for all these projects.


  I needed some fire support for the advance-heavy portions of my Chaos Marines and I already painted the unit with the Missile Launcher.  Sometimes, though, you need something just a little more powerful than Strength 8, so I dug for a Lascannon.  While digging, I found an old Iron Warriors conversion kit and decided to use those in this army.  I even took the drastic step of painting them as Iron Warriors because they're easy.  And eye-catching (who doesn't love silver marines?).

Chaos Space Marine Squad
  This unit also costs less than 100 points and brings that punch that is needed when my opponent brings heavy tanks and big monsters.  Armed with the heaviest weapon in the Imperial arsenal (from whom they originated), this squad just sits back and provides that heavy support.  And just like I noted in the last post- sticking these guys in cover can turn them into a frustration for their opponent, forcing them to commit just a bit more firepower than they want to.

  The metal bitz that go onto the plastic parts of these models makes them very top-heavy.  But the torsos and heads are so full of character to the Iron Warriors that I couldn't resist.  I originally wanted to paint the squad red to match my Word Bearers, but with bits like these, you have to stay true.  Plus, this kit isn't available anymore, so a little homage from the paintbrush seemed appropriate.  

  My Lascannon invited a bit of experimentation, as I wanted to get a pulsing, glowing look on the coils.  It would add some color to these otherwise bland models.  Unfortunately, I didn't quite get what I was looking for, but it came out alright anyway.  I'm not complaining!

  The Aspiring Champion also got a Chainsword to make him a bit of a beast in a fight.  Hopefully, he never has to prove it...

  They may not be the most 'Chaosy' that they can be, but the Iron Warriors are always a cool-looking scheme on the tabletop.  Mixing them in with my Word Bearers (that I play as Red Corsairs because duh) adds some narrative element that I like to sneak into my army lists.  If you remember, I did the same thing with my Black Templars...

   And that's it for this post!  Back to the painting table...  Happy Hobbying!

Back to Chaos

  I made the goal, at the beginning of the year, to paint four armies by the start of 2020.  It's not going well as I've only completed two and I only have two-and-a-half months left.  Besides the Ultramarines, my Chaos Space Marines were the definite priority.  After all, I've used them in so many games that they deserve a little color. 

  After getting many warbands painted for an Underworlds spree, I finally returned to those Chaos Marines.  I'm thinking if I can finish this army by the end of the month, I might be able to meet my goal...



Chaos Space Marines
  This unit costs less than 100  points (maybe FAR less, depending on the Chapter Approved) and brings just a little bit of pain.  With only five marines, the squad depends on cover (especially in ruins or woods) and provides that heavy weapon support for the advancing portions of the army.  Even better, they make great 'campers'- claiming objectives in the backfield. 

  At Toughness 4 and with a 3+ save (2+ in cover), they force the opponent to have to commit to killing them, which can be frustrating to the opponent with only 5 wounds.  The Missile Launcher allows the squad to engage any target, from armored to massed infantry, and that range works very well with the Boltguns.  And when the squad doesn't move, they get to shoot those bolters twice out to max range- that's some firepower!  Finally, the Aspiring Champion (squad leader) is armed with a Chainsword, giving him another attack on top of his leader bonus- that's three attacks at Strength 4, hitting on 3's (and don't forget "Death to the false emperor").  And remember that Chaos Marines get an extra attack when they charge or get charged, so that means four attacks and possibly more.  I enjoy rolling lots of dice in a fight, especially from a fire support squad...

  The ridged horns of the trooper models were so much fun to paint.  Unlike the two models below, these allowed me to quickly blend the colors and still show off the texture.  Painting can be so rewarding in the weirdest ways.  When I was building this unit, I had to scrounge for bits.  Some of this squad are made from Berserker bits, which is certainly ironic considering this unit's mission is to sit back and snipe vehicles and such...

  The Aspiring Champion was a blast to paint, just for the concept of having a beast in combat for a little 'ol squad.  Plus he has a more dynamic pose due to the Berserker bits noted above, and that little bit of character builds quite a bit of attachment.

  The Missile Launcher marine is a 'recover' from my older versions of this army.  You can notice the vehicle spikes that I lined up on an Imperial Missile Launcher to give it that 'chaos' look.  The pic unfortunately shows off the opportunities in this model too well...

  One more unit in this army down.  Let me know what you think and what projects you have been working on lately in the comments below.  

Happy Hobbying!

Blood for the Underworlds!

  I painted something fast!

  In a previous post, I noted that a buddy was coming to town and wanted to play some Underworlds.  So I frantically painted up the Chosen Axes dwarf warband that he was preparing to use.  But then we talked again and it turns out that he's also bringing a deck for Magore's Fiends...

  Darnit.  That means more painting.  So I finished up the trees from the last post and jumped right into this warband.  The good thing is that my son also likes to play this band and has been asking to paint them for some time.  I, being the perfectionist that I am, kept them to myself with a grand vision on how I wanted them to look.  But my buddy has thrown my timing off (by actually establishing a reason and a time-frame).  Now I had two people to stop procrastinating for.

  This warband was painted in the span of two days, between various other responsibilities.  I thought about taking pictures as I moved through the progress, but I was too lazy to pull out the digital camera (I miss my phone camera so much right now) and it didn't really matter.  With such a short turnaround required, I didn't exactly put my best effort forward.

  Nonetheless, they came out pretty striking and I'm happy with where the models are at.  A little bit of work on the reds and I think I can have these models at a display quality in no time!  But for now, they're game quality and just in time...

Magore's Fiends

  The pictures simply don't do these models justice AND show off all my corner-cutting techniques!  Oh well, I'm still relearning this camera.  The models just scream aggression and glory and definitely cut imposing figures across the gameboard.  In game, they are just as scary.  They aren't slow, have good defense, hit like a ton of bricks, and can be upgraded very quickly.  It takes some cunning to defeat these brutes and Magore's Fiends is definitely one of the bands we don't like to see very often.  

  Blood for the Blood God!   

Happy Gaming!

Back in the Warp Zone

  Okay, after getting one distraction out of the way and trying to refocus, I got back to Operation Azul and the Chaos Space Marine army that I'm committing to painting.  Admittedly, I'm still totally torn about what I'm going to include in my army list as I don't have any of the new stuff.  But I do know what I'm going to start with.

  Somewhere around six years ago, I built an army for Adepticon and had to be creative with my list.  Since the Word Bearers didn't have any specific rules, I chose Huron Blackheart to represent my commander.  The model came out awesome and it kind of replayed to today.  Having used all the bitz except the body for the Huron-to-Erebus conversion meant that I still had that cracked and unpleasant body to use.  With some Chaos Marine arms, a Possessed backpack, and Terminator Sorcerer staff, this model instantly became a perfect Sorcerer...


  In fact, this model has been chosen to be the general for so many of my Chaos armies.  This is because the Daemon Prince often dies and I'm not trying to just give my opponent victory points!  As the General, he's often where he is needed most and yet... he wasn't painted- just a big, flat black blob of command and warp powers...

  Here's the quick summary of how I painted the model in pictures:

First, the basecoat of Khorne Red over Black Primer.

Second, a very sloppy basecoat of Leadbelcher where necessary.  

  The red and the silver are the most important parts of the model as they are the dominant colors.  While I was pretty sloppy with the silver, it was important to make sure that all the mechanical bits poking through the MANY broken parts of his armor were silver.  Besides, some touch-up of Khorne Red should be expected anyway, right?

Basecoat Abaddon Black, Retributor Gold, and Zhandri Dust.  Also, Cadian Fleshtone for the head...

Now for the heavy washes of Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade over everything.

  With the basecoat and wash stages done, I could call the model 'done' and base it up.  After all, that's the definition of "table-ready"- where all the colors are where they need to be and the model is recognizable.  And I was tempted, but I have a commitment to fulfill.  So now comes the 'effort'...

First, I layered on a 50/50 mix of Khorne Red and Mephiston Red.

Next, a layer of Mephiston Red

Finally, only the 'top' and edges got Evil Sunz Scarlet highlights

  By this point, the rest of the model is just layering up and highlighting everything where necessary...

Dude is pretty much 'done'!

I had to do a bit of details, like the Legion symbol on the shoulder pad and the green effect for Warp power...

  When I painted the Legion symbol, I didn't expect for the yellow to have such a stark effect.  It drew the eye away from everything else and distracted from the model.  I had to do something to mute that down, so I decided to add some more 'effort'...

BOOM!

  I decided to 'wash out' the yellow by painting the daemon-skull in bone rather than that traditional black.  But this weighed the model heavily in color balance so I needed to draw the attention back to the center.  This is a Sorcerer and they do like the Warp powers, so I should represent it through more than the skull's eyes.  How about the big eye!?!?  A couple of layers of green, building up to white in many layers...  Plus, this hearkens back to the plasma effects in the original army!

  I based him up with some painted sand, static grass, and clump foliage and he's finished and ready to lead the force!  And I got a unit done.  Now I have to get another unit going and I'm afraid it needs to be a marine squad...

  Let me know what you think below and even leave a comment noting what you've been working on...  Happy Hobbying!