Justaerin WIP / The Emperor's Legions

Gday all!

I was supposed to be giving you an update on my Justaerin Terminators but a couple things have come up and they are going on the shelf for a little while. I will explain myself in a minute, but a quick look at where we are at with the Justaerin.

Not too much more progress, I have airbrushed in the red on the shoulder pads (they are supposed to have only their left shoulder red, but after Abaddon both red looks really good) and done a base coat of the Eyes of Horus with the airbrush as well, which was tedious work. The one on the right was a test model for colours and needs some touching up, and I have 4x sets of lighting claws that swap out with the power weapon, a powerfist guy and the two TH/SS. They are up to the battle damage and detail stage and that is where they will sit until the next project is done.

So what is this next project you ask? Well my good friend John at The Painting Bunker is running his first tournament in Brisbane in mid March, called "The Emperor's Legions". It is a 1000pt tournament with only 10 positions available, 5 Loyalist and 5 Traitor. Tickets were pricey but the prize pool is enormous (with things like Spartan Assault Tanks and Legion Fellblades as prizes) so well worth it, and John has some amazing terrain so this event is all about looking good and running smooth. Naturally I bought a Traitor ticket to cleanse a few loyalist scum.

John even made some special objective markers for his event, and those participating get a set each, I got mine in the mail today! He even included a personalised note giving it a nice touch. You can find out more about the objective marker here and the tournament here.

 

 

 

I was planning on using the Justaerin led by Abaddon in the tournament, but both units are very overcosted in my opinion. The Justaerin are a whopping 225pts for three models in stock equipment and don't bring a lot to the table apart from looking cool. Abaddon is a bit of a beast in combat but when you compare him to the likes of Calus Typhon, point for point you really lose out. With such a small army that doesn't have a lot of punch I would be lucky to survive turn two. I had a back up plan, and it arrived in the mail earlier this week in the form of a small Mechanicum army. They have some great units (especially in book two) and love to spoil a loyalist Astarte's day out.

 

 

So that's the plan in a nutshell. I am really looking forward to this tournament, win or lose it looks like it is going to be heaps of fun. Did I mention it was being held in a pub? Oh yeah! Knowing a couple of the players going, I reckon they will be hard pressed standing up by the afternoon. Stand by for Mechanicum WIPs!

 

 

Cheers

 

Keepy

Justaerin / Cataphractii Terminator Bases - WIP

Gday again,

Keepy here with the latest in my hobby instalments. This is yet another catch up post, most of these were built at the same time as the Justaerin and Abaddon build. Once again, seasoned veterans of the hobby probably wont get much out of this, but people who are new to the hobby or not used resin bases before will definitely get something out of this.

I have used a combination of Secret Weapon's Urban Rubble and Urban Streets bases and had planned on adding to them to get a real Istvann III look about them, with plenty of rubble, razor wire, shell casings etc. This seems to be a thing with 30k at the moment and I really like how they add to the model and it's environment. They can be overdone, but if you keep it simple you can't go wrong. Macca promises me a full tutorial in our new "How to" posts, so stay tuned as to how to churn out a whole armies worth of basing in just a couple of hours.

As previously mentioned the Justaerin post, the first stage of your prep before painting should be to wash your models in warm soapy water to get rid of the mould release. This is done a bit earlier on the bases as I am using wood glue to hold on rubble etc so water will dissolve all that hard work! I started by test fitting the completed models onto the bases and worked out which models best suited what bases. This is another good reason not to glue the arms or the head of your models on before basing, as these have gutters, step downs and plenty of rubble that change the angle of the model and therefore change it's pose. Once the models had been allocated a base, they were all numbered off by using permanent marker on the reverse side of the base so no mix ups would occur and basing could begin.



Holes were drilled and pins were added so each model would be pinned onto it's base to prevent them snapping off in the future. Happens more often than you would think, particularly with resin. I have used thumb tacks cut from the head to use as pins, they cost a whopping AUD$1.00 for a pack of 100 from the local bargain shop. I added the larger articles of debris from the GW basing set, things like the steel with bullet holes in it, some mesh, cogs and checker plate (aka diamond plate), these were twisted with pliers to give a destroyed look. I started by trying to add varying grades of slate / sand / rocks but it looked terrible. I mixed up an aggregate of sand, small and medium slate / rocks and added it together - and the result was much better. I added larger rocks here and there, as well as patches of dirt sporadically around the base, taking care not to do anything that would prohibit the model from having a neat fit.

Final details of spent bolter casings from Secret Weapon were added, and the pièce de résistance, I found some Verlinden barbed wire to put on as well. This stuff comes in straight runs, so you have to clip it off and twist it around a pen or something to get it to coil like real barbed wire. Now here's the thing - It is model razor wire - but it is freaking sharp and might as well be made of razors for anyone who is considering using this stuff! It didn't draw blood, but it gets caught in your skin as you try to manipulate it. Yes it is really that sharp! nothing like a bit of realism on your bases and I can safely say that most of them have bits of my fingers on them, now sealed in black primer awaiting to be re-discovered in thousands of years for scientists to clone me and stick me in a zoo.

Keeping your bases separate to your minis has a couple of boons - not only can you get a highly detailed base but you can also get to all the hard to reach places on the model as well. To hold your bases onto the spraying surface (in this case an old Leman Russ Tank box) with a couple lengths of packing tape turned upside down. Just stick your bases (or models for that matter) onto the tape and viola, no more resin parts flying around the place when you put them to the spray can.

Well, that's all I have time for now, in the next WIP we will cover weathering pigments, washing and a spot of highlighting.

Till next time!

Keepy

Justaerin / Cataphractii Bases Finished 

Justaerin / Cataphractii Terminators - Prep and Assembly

G'day all!

Keepy here again with the latest instalment of my favourite traitor legion, The Sons of Horus. This post is mainly for the audience who are considering jumping over to 30k and have never worked with resin before, and focuses on the preparation stages required to assemble and paint models from Forgeworld and other manufacturers. More seasoned hobbyists who are familiar with these processes won't get much out of this, but if you want to brush up on your skills then read on.

The main unit we are going to focus on are my Justaerin Terminators, but during the build most of the my Cataphractii pattern Terminators were assembled as well so they might as well be included in this first WIP. It is also a bit of a catch up post as these were all assembled at the same time as Abaddon.

Justaerin Terminators - Yet another great kit from Forgeworld! Once again there is a lot of good detail in these, however the mould lines were no where near as good as the Abaddon vs Loken models. Lots and lots of filing and scraping with the hobby knife just the get these looking right - which is hard considering nearly every plate has metal studs or spikes on it.

 Before you judge me for the load outs, this army was conceived during the initial release of the Dark Angels codex for 40k. It was originally designed to play in both 30k and 40k to give it some sort of usability over multiple gaming systems. So for all those purists out there  - I know, they are not load outs for 30k models. They are, however, magnetised so a win if you have the parts available for multiple weapon load outs.

A quick word on safety - Inhaling resin filings or dust if very harmful to the human body - you may not experience the effects straight away but prolonged or heavy exposure to the chemicals inside airborne resin can lead to emphysema. I'm not sure about you but I don't particularly want that so make sure you wear a dust mask if filing or using a rotary tool such as a dremel to sand back the flash on resin models.

The other important thing to know about working with resin is that your glue used for plastics kits will not work. Resin models require superglue to be joined together - and some pinning may be required on parts that are vulnerable to knocking - read Thunderhammers.

Assembly is fairly straight forward after the clean up. Forgeworld stuff mostly comes marked with dots that match up to torsos so it is hard to accidentally mix up the parts. I mounted and test fitted the models onto the bases I had planned on using (see Justaerin Basing post - coming soon) and then pinned the main components and any smaller ones that would be likely to break. Bits like the thunderhammers - these come for the left hands on Heresy models but 40k ones are on the right if you want a storm shield. So  some Deathwing Knights hands were acquired and crafted to fit the resin thunderhammers. I used a very narrow gauge wire (0.38mm) to pin the parts together and then to the model. The wire was so thin I was able to pin the topknots to the Justaerin's helmets with relative ease. I managed to get some custom made Stormshields from John at The Painting Bunker to finish the TH/SS config.

I made some assault cannons by cutting up some Wolf Guard ones and replacing the Autocannon barrels on the Heresy Reaper Autocannon. The bottom shell ejection port was green stuffed up and the Eye of Horus was then shaped and glued on.

The first lot of standard Cataphractii hot off the press. A contemptor Cyclone Missile Launcher was used for the heavy weapon - once again a 40k perk, but it too is magnetised with the magnet covered up with green stuff. The Combi-bolter arm was also magnetised to allow for different heavy weapon load outs. 

Chugging away....

For each squad I knocked out I gave my work area a bit of a vacuum to counter the build up of resin.

Done! A fully assembled Cataphractii Terminator army. They are all about to be given a bath. Cleaning is a very important stage of working with resin, in particular Forgeworld resin, as the mould release will prevent paint from sticking to the model's surface properly. The get rid of the mould release, each model needs to be scrubbed with a tooth brush in warm / hot soapy water. You don't want this too hot as it will bend the resin and bring undone all your hard work, but not warm enough and you will not get rid of the release agent properly. Once scrubbed, give them a thorough rinse then off to completely dry before painting. You can choose to do this before or after assembly, If I had my time again I probably would have left all the arms separate so painting would be easier - so lesson learnt I guess.

Another post or two and we will be up to real time with these fellas. Next post we play with paint schemes for the Justaerin and start base coating.

Cheers

Keepy

Justaerin / Catapharactii WIP / Emperor's Legions

Ezekyle Abaddon - Finished

G'day Guys,

Keepy here with the final instalment for Ezekyle Abaddon!

As I was saying in the last post, this model came out far better than I was anticipating. From where we left off last time, the head, base and final details were all done completing the model. I will cover the bases in a later post as it was done in one massive batch with the Justaerin Terminators bases. A very light airbrush of GW Rotting Flesh was applied around the feet to give it a slightly dusty feel. The head was done with GW Elf Flesh and Washed with GW Ogryn Flesh, then layered back up with Dwarf and Elf Flesh. 

I took this model to the ADGWGA (Australian Defence Force War Gaming Association) Championships in Dec 13 and he ended up getting 1st place as my Single Figure painting comp entry! Not only did I win that, but got best painted army with my guard to boot! So great weekend on the hobby side of things cleaning up all the painting awards.

Now to finish the rest of an army to this standard...!

Cheers

Keepy

Justaerin / Cataphractii Bases WIP

Ezekyle Abaddon WIP 2

Hello there!

Keepy here again, this time with Part Two of our Ezekyle Abaddon WIP progress. If you missed the first part you can find it here.

So the airbrush highlighting has been done, and Abaddon is ready for some detail. The chipping was done first - unfortunately I didn't get a pic of just that stage but you will see it in some detail in the next few photos. Chipping is done VERY sparsely around edges you think will see a bit of use, for example the front of boots, the cornices of the armour, forearm guards, and the leg grieves. The Abaddon model has battle damage modelled into it so make sure you pay attention to those areas as well. To do the chipping, grab a piece of sponge (like the ones that used to come in the back of blister packs will do great). Tear a corner off so you get a raggedy edge that is uneven - if you apply with a flat sponge you get a flat glop on your model. Then gently dab the corner you tore off into your paint. I prefer to thin my paint in water on a palate, as direct from the pot tends to dry quickly and leave big dollops of paint of your model. You then gently dab the sponge on the model over the previously mentioned surfaces.

Abaddon was done in two layers, one of straight GW Mechanicum Grey, and one of the old GW Fortress Grey. The Mechanicum Grey was done a lot heavier than the Fortress, as it blends well with what is now effectively grey armour. The two colours compliment each other and layer very easily. Like the airbrush highlighting - less is more. Don't go too overboard as it is the suttle details that will really make your model pop.

Next was the detail of the model. The red on the shoulder pads and knee was done prior to highlighting, and was done in a couple layers of the old GW Mechrite Red. The shoulder pads were then finished off with a thin coat of Tamiya Clear Red, not only does it give an awesome colour but also gives the illusion of depth as well. The black was left showing towards the edges to give the impression of shading. The gold was done in the old GW Shining Gold, which was done in 2-3 thinned layers, with the extreme edges highlighted sparingly with GW Runefang Steel. The rivets were done with GW Leadbelcher, and highlighted with Runefang Steel, as were the claws on the powerfist. The sword was done with straight Runefang, and all the cabling / metal components were done with Leadbelcher. The red pteruges (the leather looking straps hanging around the pauldrons and off the centre of the belt) started with a base of GW Evil Sunz Scarlet highlighted with GW Wild Rider Red.  The Eye of Horus (or 6?) all were done with about 5 layers starting with red working up to bright yellow highlights.



Starting to take shape now!

Once all your detail has been done it is time for the fun part - oil washes. Macca has briefly covered how to make an oil wash here. Before you apply your oil wash, you need to seal all that detail you have just put on and create a surface conducive to the application of oil. On a matte surface, oil wash will tend to soak into the model, and act like an acrylic shade. But on a gloss / semi-gloss surface, it tries to find the recesses and does not really stick to flat surfaces. I has a capillary like action where if you dab a bit of a loaded brush it will follow all the seams for you. So after mixing up a black oil wash, it was applied to all the seams and rivets, taking care not to get it on flat surfaces. This is NOT an all over wash, you have to take your time - and believe me it is worth it. Because the model is effectively a dark grey from the airbrush overspray from highlighting, a black wash actually pops on black armour. Check Abaddon out with a black wash!

Really makes the detail pop, doesn't it? Well worth your efforts to stay nice and neat. The benefits to oils vs acrylic washes are great too. With acrylic, once it is on, it is on. There is no being able to take it off the model. With oil, if I get a cotton bud / ear cleaner (or cue tip) with a bit of artist's turps (sort of like mineral turpentine but without the bad smell) and give the area a gentle wipe, and hey presto, mistake gone. Here is a shot from the back:

You can also see the chipping on the back of the grieves a bit better from this shot. The Cthonian markings were done with a  white oil wash and after leaving him 24hrs to dry (this is to make sure he is absolutely dry or the clear coat will react to the oil and not set) give your model a couple coats of flat clear. I use Testors Dullcote but Tamiya Clear Flat works just as well. This takes the glossy sheen off the model and also sets on your oil, chipping and painting so far.

Well that will do for this post, on the next instalment we shall have a look at the finished product, and let me assure you this turned out a lot better than I expected!

Till next time

Keepy

Abaddon Finished

Ezekyle Abaddon WIP 1

The Forgeworld Abaddon from the Horus Heresy era has been a model I have wanted to do for a long time. Ever since Forgeworld started the Horus Heresy series, their model quality has gone up quite substantially, in particular the mold lines that you used to get. This model (along with Garviel Loken) really have raised the bar, and you can tell that they have been sculpted with a lot of love by Simon Egan. What better way to start my 30k army than with the Warmaster's right hand man!

Because of the good cast, there wasn't too much clean up to do. A little trimming with the hobby knife was all to be honest! I left Abaddon on the casting block as this would make it easier to handle him during the paint process without rubbing or wearing the paint off.

I magnetised his arms as he has two weapons options - the power sword which is featured in most of the artwork for Abaddon; and a combi-bolter with an underslung grenade pack. I also crafted a combi-bolter arm to replace his powerfist in the event I wanted to run an all terminator army in 40k. With a power sword and storm bolter look-a-like Abaddon substitutes well as a Belial stand in for a Dark Angels army.... I have since abandoned that idea and have now opted to go with a full 30k load out as opposed to one that ticks both the 30k and 40k boxes.

Abaddon with powerfist and powersword. The head is not glued on and is sitting to pose for the photo.

Abaddon with all weapon options and base, fitted with the makeshift combi-bolter right arm for 40k use.

Undercoats were done with a combination of GW Chaos Black (I know, I know...) and Vallejo Model Air Black Primer.  Painting was done with the model in parts glued to tooth picks as you can see in the back ground. The superglue I was using was a pain in the arse and wouldn't set in under 15 seconds, even then it only formed a weak bond. Accelerant is a must for the next project! The toothpicks are stuck into some refrigerant grade foam (it doesn't melt when you hit it with spray cans) so spraying with the airbrush or spray cans is easier. Also pictured is a libby conversion I did to go with Abaddon and his retinue of Justaerin Terminators, I will cover more on him in a later post.

Once the basics had been done, it was on to highlighting the black. This was a bit daunting at first, but with a bit of help from old mate google I had found a few varying techniques and made my own mash of them to suit. I went and got an adjustable pressure valve from Supercheap (a car parts shop in Aus) so I could dial the airbrush right down and get only the minimum amount of spray required. The first layer was done with a mix of Mechanicum Grey / Abaddon Black (lol) in a 1:3 ratio. This was then thinned with Tamiya X20A acrylic thinners then applied to a test model along the general areas of wear and along the edges of the armour plating. You sort of have to let go of the "traditional" way of painting if you haven't done this before and just have a crack at it. The 2nd layer was done with Mechanicum Grey / Abaddon Black again but in a lighter 1:2 ratio. That was as light as I wanted to go as this model was all about the small details and over highlighting it would bring all my work unstuck.

Undercoated model on the left, test model for highlighting with the airbrush on the right.

After doing a couple of the Justaerin Terminators as test models, it was onto Abaddon, who went really well. I am really happy with the way my first lot of airbrush highlight went, and I think it will be the chosen technique for all my 30k models from now on. A couple lessons learnt - less is more. Don't go overboard with excessive highlighting as this will in my opinion detract from the overall look of the model. Thin your highlighting paints more than normal - it makes for a smoother transition between colours and the airbrush will apply it more easily.

That's all for now, in the next post I will cover battle damage, oil washes and detailing. If you have any questions, please don't be afraid ask!

Cheers

Keepy

Abaddon WIP 2