Interlude- The Joy of the Spraygun

When I was first buying kit for getting back into WH40k I bought the Citadel Spraygun and propellant. I'd read mixed reviews, the majority positive, with the main caveat to remember this was a spray gun  NOT an airbrush.

Well I'd never used it but got my first opportunity the other day not for a tank or gunship but a Halloween costume. Tommy & Katie had talked for weeks about they wanted to dress up as for Halloween, Daleks, Slitheen, Cybermen were all mooted. In the end we persuaded Tommy to dress up as the Eleventh Doctor and Katie to go as a Weeping Angel.

Jane organised the costumes. The angel was made from a sheet cold dyed grey and turned into a robe, lots of grey theatrical make-up and a large pair of plastic white angel wings we go online. I undercoated these with GW chaos black primer and then used the spray gun with codex grey. The effect was fantastic and Katie won best costume at her school Halloween dance.

I'm inspired to use the spray gun now. I've got a Valkyrie kit for my Elysians and quite fancy some desert camo on it. Sorry about the pics, don't know why Jane can't manage to focus when taking a shot.

I've also just taken delivery of a squad of Mk 3 Marines and a Contemptor dreadnaught. They'll be getting the Imperial Fists treatment eventually.

Back after the birth of baby Martha, a healthy 8lb 3oz girl born on 23rd of August.

So I've been concentrating on my Battle Sisters of late, when I can grab a moment. I've decided to paint them in Bloody Rose colours.

Kind of coming along here with a sister superior. She actually looks pretty nice now, even if the pics don't show it.

For the battle sister army we have 3 S.Superior, 15 Battlesisters, 5 Seraphim (including one S.Superior), an Immolator, a Penitent Engine, a Mistress of Repentence and 3 Sisters Repentia, one each of Battle Sisters with Storm Bolter, Heavy Bolter, Heavy Flamer, Flamer and Meltagun, a Sister Dialogus and Sister Hospitaller.

I'll look to add a Canoness and some other HQ units but I need to sit down and get my list organised a little. Any recommendations? Additions?

Also of late I've picked up some new ForgeWorld goodies. First and foremost is my Arvus Lighter. Absolutely no game use really except as an objective perhaps but a fantastic kit. Can't wait to get stuck into it. I've also scored an Ork Halftrakk kit which I might put a flakk gun on. I've got some Ork weapons, extra armour for a Space Marine Predator, Sisters of Battle doors and some other odds & sods.

What else? Well I may be making another Forgeworld purchase next week. Dare I buy a Titan?

The Inquisition Cometh...

Time for a poll if you please. I'm going to add an Inquisitor and retinue to my collection. I've a few ideas, especially using Dark Heresy & Deathwatch RPGs for inspiration. I'm a little stuck as to which Ordo my inquisitor will belong; Malleus (probably not), Xenos or Hereticus.

More as the work takes place but please get voting.

Kewl Killa Krew

Under pressure from my son I've been concentrating on his Orks. Still a bit lost as to a solid colour scheme for them. I don't want to use straight clan colours but something specific to this warband.

Progress being made on a Blackreach Ork Boy.

My wife is now into the final week of her pregnancy so time for minis is a rare commodity. I've mainly being using my work for some uninterrupted time. I slip off to the training room where I can get nicely spread out.

More work in progress. A buggy and an Ork in Mega-Armour.

I have discovered one thing now. Painting and assembling minis is so very relaxing. Especially when the kids aren't about. Next, letting a 6 year old have free time with brush and glue.

Wishes & Dreams

We interrupt this blog to bring you my fantasy wishlist of stuff I'llbuy off next months paycheck, stuff I'd like to get if I can afford it and stuff I'd love but could never afford in a million years.

First up is the Arvus Lighter. I'd probably use this for colour on the battlefield or an objective placed on a Skyshield pad, which is second on our list

So that is about as much as I can afford this month, well a few small extras as well.

I've picked up a small number of Cadians with the view of creating some Inquisition Stormtroops. I've considered just using them vanilla with an interesting paintjob or making some minor conversions using milliput or green stuff. The third option is to use the Forgeworld Hostile Environment conversion torsos.

Another affordable dream is the Forgeworld Contemptor Pattern Dreadnaught and arms. About £45 in total. It would look totally sweet in Imperial Fists livery.

So as to my dreams. Well if I got a lottery win I'll be looking at Thunderhawks or Titans. In the meantime equally distant looking are the Crassus and/or Gorgon Armoured Assault Transports or the Achilles Land Raider.

I've got more than enough to be going on with for now though.

Slow time

Long time since I last wrote but little progress. My work and home life have interfered with the painting and assembly of our three armies. That said I'm still trying to paint and assemble when time permits. The Ork Warbuggy is nearly complete and I've got quite a few Nobz and Boyz from the Blackreach set done.

Another quandary is who to play. I live out in the boonies, a rural town with a population of only 4000. The nearest club mentioned on GW's website is 50 miles away. That said there must have been a few players in the area as it once supported 2 stores that stocked minis. I wonder if it is possible to start a new club?

More soon and pics too.

ORKS!!

My six year old son Tommy will have an Ork army as I have convinced him they are cool. In fact his warband will be called the Kewl Krazee Krew.

Slowly building this collection up. I've got the Orks included in the Blackreach set and added some Boyz, Gretchin and some other bits. I also got him a Deff Dread today so he stops nicking my Dreadnaughts to play with while I'm painting.

Speaking of painting the Orks are coming along great. Pretty easy to get a have decent looking paint job with these. I'll post some pics later.

When it comes to playing we are struggling to find a club. I'm sure there used to be one in Hawick but the nearest I can find is Edinburgh, over 40 miles away. Time to put out some feelers.

Battlegroup Cestus; based upon the 3rd Company of Imperial fists. I like the red heraldic trim of the Codex Third Battle Company but want other specialised units in my Space Marine battleforce. I'll include some veteran units; Terminators and Sternguard veterans to bolster my army as well as at least one Scout squad.

To date we have the following ready to be assembled and painted:

2 Tactical Squads

1 Assault Squad

1 Devastator Squad

1 Terminator Squad

1 Command Squad

1 Captain/Commander

1 Chaplain

1 Techmarine plus servitors

1 Sternguard Veteran Squad

1 Librarian

2 Razorbacks

1 Landraider Crusader.

1 Venerable Dreadnaught

1 Ironclad Dreadnaught

That's a lot of yellow paint I'll be going through.

The Fists

So when starting out I got the Black Reach set and a few other boxes of Marines. I picked up the latest edition of the rules for a tenner on eBay, mint condition. Paints, glue, sprays, brushes. The costs mounted up.

I needed to relearn how to paint minis. Not too difficult but there are loads of helpful tutorials on YouTube as well as articles on Games Workshops own site. The various "How to Paint.." books by GW are ok too. I wasn't looking for a Golden Demon, just a nicely painted army.

I chose Imperial Fists as a Chapter for my Space Marines purely on the basis of the nice bright colour. At this point I didn't know that they are one of the hardest chapters to paint.

And in we dive.

Back to the Battle.

Way back in the dawn of time I bought the very first edition of Warhammer on its release. I collected and played with Citadel minis for a good 8 years. I really just used Warhammer as a skirmish game not having the time or inclination to play full pitched battles. I desperately awaited the fabled Rogue Trader game and was a little disappointed when it turned out to be another minis game and not an RPG as was initially promised.

Still I enjoyed it all but eventually I packed it all away and forgot about it till now...

My little boy Tommy expressed an interest after seeing some plastic Warhammer and Warhammer 40k sets in Hobbycraft. So I took the plunge, getting Space Marines for me and Orks for Tommy.

This will be the story of my attempt to rediscover the hobby I used to love.