The True Mechanicum and the Problem of Khorne

Setting up the photography for the other project I mentioned is taking longer than I expected, and this thing is almost done, so I figured I'd post it. Still needs some touch up, and then Nuln Oil Gloss over just about everything. 

While deciding how to paint my True Mechanicum Robots, I ran into a bit of a problem. The obvious approach is to just do a darker version of the standard Adeptus Mechanicus look of red and brass. The problem is that, while red and brass and Imperial says AdMech, red and brass and rebelling against the Imperium says Khorne, and I didn't really want them to be super Chaos tainted, focusing more on Silica Animus, Xenos tech, and forbidden stuff like Phosphex. I figure they've ended up with some Chaos effects, because it's really hard to avoid that in 40K, but I don't want it to be the main thing here. Hopefully the red and steel with a few brass details manages to thread the needle there. 

The other problem with True Mechanicum is getting them to look creepier than the regular AdMech stuff, which is a job of work, since those guys are already creepy as hell. 

I kept the cogs on, but did them in a single colour instead of the usual split, which I believe is intended to symbolize the duality of the Omnissiah and the Emperor, and of the Adeptus Mechanicus themselves and the Imperium as a whole. The True Mechanicum reject the Emperor and the Imperium entirely, and do their cog icons in a single colour to symbolize the singular nature of the Omnissiah. 

The inverted skull here, similarly, represents... Ok, no, I admit it: it's just like that because I didn't notice in time to fix it. Pretend I was able to come up with something suitably deep. 

Oddly, despite being where most Dreads or Robots mount their primary weapon, the Fuckoff Huge™ Flamer is tertiary, mostly there in case some infantry try to object to the Colossus pulverizing their fortifications. 

With all the Gauss Blasters on top, it reminds me of a late-90s Warlord Titan, but chonkier. It felt kinda weird painting the Gauss, because the few actual Necrons I've painted have been Thokt Dynasty, but the story I have for these is way over on the other side of the Galaxy, so I went with the more standard green. 

The Gravitic Singularity Lance on the left arm is the main weapon for its primary role, and it's actually a close combat weapon, not a gun. It's very unwieldy, but since the Colossus is a Siege robot, intended to hit large stationary things, the sheer destructive power is far more important. It creates a miniature black hole at the tip of the lance, and then thrusts it into the target, with generally catastrophic results, especially against things that have already been destabilized and weakened by the Gauss beams. 

Hopefully I'll be back soon with this thing finished, some work on the SC Dread, and/or some 40K civilians. Until then, y'all have a good one, y'hear! 

Dreadtober 2022: First Into the Fray

Being, as I said, the physical incarnation of a Twitter shitpost made from US$25 worth of beat up secondhand models, I'm not investing a whole lot of time into painting Venerable Ancient Galbadrakh Tsendbaatar. The White Scars colour scheme is striking enough that it works pretty well even without doing too much, as long as you're not too messy with it. 

I wanted to get a shot of the extra fuel for the Heavy Flamer, just because that bit fit in the space available better than I could have planned. Covers up the missing hatch on the side of the Speeder perfectly. 

I also want to toss in a shout-out to Mindtaker Miniatures, since they're responsible for this in two different regards. First, years ago, I got the models that I used to make this from them. Then, much more recently, it was well digging out stuff to sell to them that I found those base models hidden in my storage shelves. And finally, they're just generally good folks, and I miss being able to hang out like when I used to roll down to Vancouver every summer. 

Oh, and before I forget, I did manage to find the parts to finish off these other two, and I got them primed this afternoon. The Hades Gatling Autocannon isn't shown here because it's already painted and magnetized, so I didn't include it when I grabbed them to take pics before priming, but they'll be good to paint in another day or two, once the spray paint finishes off-gassing. The Space Crusade inspired one does a pretty good job all by itself of encapsulating #35YearsOf40K, containing parts from 9 different kits spanning four decades and three completely different game systems. 

I've got some other stuff I've been doing that I'd like to give a more extensive writeup than I was able to on Twitter, so I'll probably have some of that next time, and then more Dreadtobering after that. Until then, y'all have a good one, y'hear! 

Dreadtober 2022 Start

Missed a couple of years for a variety of reasons, but I'm back for Dreadtober this year with a variety of projects.

First off, this one isn't actually a Dreadnought, it's a Colossus class siege robot. I've been digging into a lot of the older fluff lately, and for a long time, the only real distinction in 40K between Dreads and Robots was whether they had a pilot or a computer. They had tons of cross-compatible parts, and were frequently salvaged from to repair the other. I had figured this one was just going to live in my head for the foreseeable future, since I can't afford an Ironclad kit right now, but then I found one while digging out stuff to sell, so here we go!

This particular example is a True Mechanicum* variant. Unencumbered by the narrow minded restrictions of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the creator felt free to include Xenos tech, in the form of the Gauss Blaster array, and probably some aspects of the Gravitic Singularity Lance on the left arm. There's going to be some sort of fuckoff huge flamer on the right arm, in place of the single Bolter that the classic version carried for anti-infantry work, but I'm not sure where I put the bits I wanted to use for it.

Then there's this mess, inspired by the Mk IX Dominator class from Space Crusade's Mission: Dreadnought, but limited by the bits I happen to have on hand. Again, I'm frustrated by not being able to find what I want for the right arm. I've made like 5 Maulerfiends, how the hell do I not have any Hades Gatling Autocannon anywhere I can find them? Secondary armament is going to be a Missile Launcher and Conversion Beamer, but I'm not sure yet how I want to mount them. Then I need to figure out something more interesting for the front of the thing. 

Finally (for now), we've got the literal physical incarnation of a Twitter shitpost. I can't remember who, but someone was talking about how much it would suck for a White Scars hero to get stuck in a slow, plodding Dreadnought, and I spewed out some bullshit about a Techmarine bolting the top half of a Dread onto a Land Speeder. Then, again while digging out stuff to sell, I also found a couple of AoBR Dreads and this beat to shit secondhand Speeder, so I decided to actually build the curséd thing. 

This one, I at least don't have to hunt for parts for. Just needs some gaps filled in and a fresh coat of primer and I can start painting it. I decided to go with a weapons fit that will let it actually be used as Land Speeder Tornado, because that felt like it made the whole thing even more ridiculous.

I'll be back once I've made some progress. Until then, y'all have a good one, y'hear! 

*Referred to as the "Dark" Mechanicum by the hidebound fools in the decadent Adeptus Mechanicus. 

Remembrance and Honour

When I first started playing 40K, back before the turn of the century, there was a guy named Tobin Lathrop who was a fixture of the Seattle gaming scene. Absolutely great guy, and he became something of a role model for me as a gamer who really embraced the whole hobby, and didn't get hung up on not being the most skillful player or anything like that. He'd just keep showing up with his fantastic looking Imperial Fists and have fun hanging out with everyone while getting his butt kicked. As a regular at the bottom tables with a bit of a knack for painting myself, it was reassuring. 

On a few occasions, when he was downsizing his collection, he'd just give stuff away to people who he thought would appreciate it and put it to good use. At one point, he gave me a bunch of long OOP Mordians, because he knew I used them as Command Squads and officers in my metal IG army, and that I didn't have many opportunities to expand that force.

The last time I saw him (tho I didn't know that at the time), he gave me this LE101 Chaos Renegade Marine, telling me* that it was the first Chaos Marine GW ever released, because he knew that I had gotten started in 40K with Chaos Marines, and they've always been my core faction.

At this point, I was starting to really run into disability issues, and was kinda falling out of being able to make it in to events and stuff. Some time later, he got pancreatic cancer, and just under two years ago, it killed him.

I still hadn't done anything with this model, worried that I wouldn't be able to do something worthy of the emotional and historical weight it had, and that continued until GW announced the 35th anniversary of Warhammer 40,000. I decided that, worthy or not, it was time to do something with it, and figured I'd also take advantage of the motivation to do something with the Imperial Space Marine from the 30th anniversary that had just been sitting around in primer gathering dust for similar reasons.

It took me a while still to decide what colour scheme to use. Part of me wanted to paint him up as Alpha Legion, which were more specifically my start in 40K, but I eventually decided that the first Chaos Marine should really be done as a Word Bearer. 

The Imperial Space Marine was simpler, of course. I really couldn't think of anything other than to paint him up as a tribute to Tobin's Imperial Fists.

I didn't have the courage to try to freehand insignia on either of them, but other than that, I'm really happy with what I managed to accomplish with them. I know I haven't been around the 40K blogosphere for ages, but I've had a painting streak thread going on twitter for a couple of years now, and that, combined with not worrying about how things would work in the game, has led to some pretty substantial improvements in my painting, if I do say so myself, and I feel like I was indeed able to do something worthy with them.

I don't know if there is anything after we die, any form or part of us that survives the passing of the body, but if you are out there in some way, Tobin, this one is for you. Thank you for helping me get into a hobby that has brought me so much in the quarter century and more since then.

Y'all have a good one now, y'hear! 

*As far as I know, this is correct, but it's really hard to find precise and complete info on old GW releases, so I'm stating only what I know to be true. It is unquestionably one of the first, and the tab on the base actually names it a "Chaos Warrior", which suggests to me that the sculpt was done before the writers had really nailed down what they wanted to do with Chaos in 40K.

A Christmas Revolushun (and Bonus Creepiness)

It's Christmas! At least here, it is. For some of you, it's probably almost Boxing Day already, and for a few, it might not have started quite yet.

I got myself Da Red Gobbo, because he was just too awesome a Model to pass up. Because I bundled him in the same shipment with some Made to Order stuff, tho, he didn't show up here until Saturday. I got him built that evening, primed on Sunday, and painted between yesterday and today. Used it as a break when the noise and anarchy of having that much family around got overwhelming. So, yeah, I put in quite a bit of time ;)

Anyhow, here he is, in all his glory:

As usual, I'm noticing a bunch of stuff here that I forgot or messed up, but overall I'm really happy with the final result. Freehand candy cane stripes on the pistol and badge, and writing on the list, just weren't happening, tho. I particularly love the results I got one the star, the decision to do the grenades in Christmas colours, and the coloured metallics on the globe ornaments.

Also, given that it inspired me to take it from NIB to done in less than four days, I'm going to say I'm excited enough about it for it to qualify for Azazel's Destino December Hobby Challenge.

I also picked up the full set of Models from Ana Polanscak's (seriously, if you're not already following her blog, and like creepy atmospheric stuff, go check her out. Amazing modeling and painting, and some of the best narrative battle reports anywhere) Kickstarter earlier this year, and the Skull Familiar's hat just screamed "Christmas" to me, while the rest of the Model just sort of invoked generalized screaming. Nightmare Before Christmas sort of thing. So I got it done up as well, simple job, but it came out well. Kinda wish I'd done more with the legs, but I just sort of ran out of steam. Still happy with it.

So yeah, I hope all y'all have been and continue having pleasant holidays, regardless of which one(s) you celebrate. I also got my set of the Untamed Beasts from WarCry done and photographed, which was a really fun experiment, but I'm gonna save them for their own post. Until then, y'all have a good one, y'hear!

Scenic September: WarCry Terrain

Finally getting around to posting the pics for the other half of Azazel's September challenge. Again, mostly just a pic dump, as there isn't a whole lot to say about these. Sprayed black, then just heavily overbrushed, using a half-inch brush for the grey first, then a quarter-inch for most of the rest. The seasoned and cut timber is XV-88, while the fresher logs are Rhinox Hide (I think. Might have been Dryad Bark) for the bark, and Ushabti bone for the still-green inner wood. Some Typhus Corrosion and Skrag Brown for rust on the steel parts, the always wonderful Nihilakh Oxide on the bronze gratings, and then a bit of drybrushing to bring both of those back up.

Starting off with the bell tower, the coolest piece in the set. Again, these were shot before I switched back to my dark background again, and the high contrast made it hard to get great pics, but if you open the bigger versions, they should be a bit better. The stairs fit really nicely, staying in place well, but still easily removable to use elsewhere.

In retrospect, I probably should have done a "breakdown" pic of this one, too. It's actually four separate parts, each usable on their own in combination with various other parts of the set: The fallen statue, the stairs, the platform, and the "gate" on the end of the platform. Again, stays together very nicely during game play despite how easy it is to take apart and move around.

The various smaller pieces of the set. I don't have enough room in my lightbox to show the bridges actually in use. The log barricades really didn't photograph well here; the bronze sections are much clearer in person. If you look at the end parts of the little ruin, you'll see there are two different broken grating pieces. If you put them together facing each other, they're both distorted in the same direction, so you can set up a spot where something just busted right through and the broken parts all look right for it, like it really was one section originally.

The first of the larger buildings. It takes a lot of angles to show everything that's going on here.

The second larger section of ruins. I really like how that joining piece between the two halves works. It's just the right degree of broken down for the gap there. There's a third pic of this, but it's not uploading for some reason.

The final, and largest, section of ruins. I don't really have a good shot of the whole bunch of it together, but here's one from a game a while back. This was actually before I'd got it to the point it is in the rest of the pics, but it still looked pretty good at tabletop distance:

I'd like to do a little more with it, maybe do a super light drybrush with an off-white over everything, and there's a ton of sloppy spots that could use some touch-up, but it's more than good enough for casual use. As usual, I have a few more things currently going on, and hopefully I'll get some of them done and ready to post soon, but who knows how long it will actually be. Until then, y'all have a good one, y'hear!

Squaddie September: Flesheater Courts Warcry Warband

 Basically just a pic dump. I've been really unproductive for the past month or so, in large part due to a pretty nasty bursitis flare-up in my hip that makes shifting from a sitting to standing position really painful, and has been interfering with pretty much every aspect of my life. Anyhow, here's some Ghouls, and also some larger ones. I can never remember what the hell the bigger ones are called, I just sort of think of them as bigger Ghouls. I actually built them more like the Vampire Counts version because the heads look cooler, and those ones aren't used in WarCry, so there's no possibility of confusion. I kind of wish there were smaller winged Ghouls as well, I think that would be a cool niche.

Like most of the Warbands adapted from pre-existing forces, they're stupidly overpowered compared to the Warbands created purely for the game. Theoretically, it's balanced out by the points costs, but the ability to concentrate so much hitting power and durability into the space of one Model (and as a result into one Activation) is a really big deal, and the Fly runemark seems to be badly under-priced by the devs.

They were painted purely with Army Painter glazes over a light tan spray (one of the Krylon Camo line), except for the wings, which I used to experiment with Volupus Pink, from the Contrast paints. Unfortunately, it doesn't end up looking like I wanted for my Thorns of the Briar Queen, so I need to go back to the drawing board there to figure out how I want to do them.

I also have some Terrain pics to post up, and I'm halfway done with my Untamed Beasts (using a similar approach as with the Ghouls) and my Splintered Fang (need to find more cool venomous snake patterns that are within my ability to paint. Hopefully something out of that will be up before too much longer, but however long it may be, y'all have a good one, y'hear!