Tale of Painters

Showcase: Canoptek Spyder

2013-06-19T02:00:05-07:00

This Monstrous Creature is finally finished. I chose to blend by hand instead of using my airbrush because I felt the limbs were probably too small for the airbrush. I'm really pleased with the finished result. More pictures after the jump.

More after the jump »

Showcase: Crimson Fists Attack Bike

2013-06-18T02:00:01-07:00

Look who makes a return! Seems like Rynn City still is under siege so the Crimson Fists called in some rapid reaction reinforcements.

More after the jump »

WIP: Ultramarines Bike Squad Assembling

2013-06-17T02:00:05-07:00

In our recent Tale of Mega Painters recap I raised the question whether I should paint something for my Eldar or my Ultramarines next. Most people voted for Ultramarines, so here we are. This will be a bike squad of five, I will probably only paint three for the time being as painting five models would stall the progress of my Dark Eldar for too long. As you can see, I went for a Sergeant with power sword and two plasma guns. Ultramarines can look a bit boring because they are so vanilla, so I gathered lots of bits from other marine sprues and even got some resin shoulder guards from Forgeworld to individualise the unit. How do you like them?

Tale of Mega Painters: Reader Submissions #2

2013-06-16T02:32:31-07:00

Last month we introduced Andy and Rory to Tale of the Mega Painters. We catch up with both this month to see what they've painted. We also introduce two new painters to the project, Siph and Manus. Read on to see some amazing hobby from our readers.

More after the jump »

Showcase: Eldar Wraithguards

2013-06-15T02:00:05-07:00

A mega quick post for the new rebooted Eldar Wraithguards. I personally love the models, and I would say out of all the new Eldar releases these are my favorites. I painted them again with a very similar color scheme to the Tau I worked on about a month ago but added a bit of Geiger. I'm in the process of trying to finish a huge Ogre army and then I have to swiftly move on to some Tau troops, Grey Knights and some Warriors of Chaos. Anyone else pick up the new Wraithguards?

More after the jump »

Showcase: World Eaters Champions

2013-06-14T02:00:08-07:00

A part of the latest batch of this by now rather large commission project which I was looking forward to the most is the characters. Not only Angron, but also the smaller-time champions and such.

More after the jump »

Showcase: Fell Wargs and The Desolation of Smaug Trailer

2013-06-13T02:00:01-07:00

Gandalf and Bilbo surrounded by Fell Wargs... where's a Great Eagle when you need one? Read on to see a group shot of the Fell Wargs, my thoughts on painting these evil beasts and the trailer for the next film

More after the jump »

Chat: What goes around comes around

2013-06-12T09:00:08-07:00

A few years ago when the SM codex which allowed bikes to combat squad and count as troops was released I decided to paint an Iron Hands bike themed army. A few years later I sold it to a guy in Australia. Today they showed up on BOLS in the USA! How crazy is that, these bikes have gotten some serious mileage on the clock now. Looks like the owner has made a few additions but 80% of the work on display there is mine. Made me laugh.

Showcase: World Eaters Apothecaries

2013-06-12T02:00:02-07:00

Some more blood-smeared World Eaters, but these fellas have a perfectly good excuse for looking like this: They, much like Dr.Satan, Dr.Quinn or Dr.Pepper, are physicians so it's OK.

Maybe you'll remember that I painted these models before for Crimson fists. The colour scheme isn't all that different this time but some subtle alternations were made (like adding more brutal chain weapons and top knots. I love top knots.) I didn't hold back with the blood on these guys due to how they're supposed to hack up friend and foe alike. Which, come to think of it, isn't all that unheard of either for World Eaters but there you go. If you really think about how muc of a mess chain weapons hacking at someone would cause I think I'm really not underdoing the splatter look. What do you think?

WIP: Necron Canoptek Spyder

2013-06-11T11:47:03-07:00

Today must be Tale of the Mega Painters update day. Stahly shared his awesome Venom this morning and I'm pleased to share the beginnings of my Canoptek Spyder with you this evening. The rusted metals are done and I've started painting the red armoured shell. I decided to blend the reds by hand instead of using my airbrush. I'm really pleased with the result so far. It's reasonably simple to do with glazes but it is time-consuming. You can read more about how I paint my red here, I'm using the same techniques, just a bigger brush for a bigger model.

Do you want to join in?

Stahly and I would like to open this project up to everyone. All you need to do is be a member of the Tale of Painters blog list and be working on a GW army that you're blogging about. If you want to have your work featured on the Tale of Painters blog, drop me an email at garfy.taleofpainters@gmail.com with a link to your blog. Make sure you include a couple of pictures and a couple of paragraphs about your project. I look forward to hearing from you.

WIP: Dark Eldar Venom finished!

2013-06-11T02:00:01-07:00

I did it! The Venom is complete. How do you like it? Better pictures are soon to follow. If you notice, I didn't use the Wych gunner that came with the kit because this Venom is meant to carry Trueborn Kabalites. So I used one of the steersman/gunner from the Raider kit, unfortunately I didn't notice that those models have a far wider stance than the Wych gunner and only fit very tightly and only on their tiptoes on the platform. Looks a bit strange from behind. If you'd like to do a similar conversion, I recommend keeping the Wych legs but add a Kabalite torso.

Showcase: Minotaur Terminators

2013-06-10T02:00:08-07:00

I finally finished phase 1 of the minotaur kitbash project, culminting in 6 terminators. I'll put the minotaur project on hold now until Christmas for work reasons, at which point I'll be adding some anti tank options to get the army ready to sell. So far I've painted all the pieces I originally wanted to build and paint, and only need to add elements required to find a competative player to buy them.

The terminators were fun, a good mix of kits went into their creation and some strong themes run throughout. I used Greenstuff to cast the FW shield so each terminator with a mace also has a shield so you can proxy them as TH/SS minis (if they're still good in 6th, I've no idea!) More pics after the jump.
More after the jump »

Showcase: Eldar Wraithknight

2013-06-09T02:42:55-07:00

Taking a short break from the Ogre commission I am mainly working on, I thought I would try my hand at a few of the new Eldar models. First up is the Wraithknight. A huge model at over 9 inches tall and in all quite straight forward to put together for a kit of this size. I decided to use a colour scheme similar to the Tau models that I painted a few months ago as I felt they would make good allies. I dont know if its just me but whilst painting this model it kept giving me a Prometheus/Tron vibe. So those movies have been playing a lot in the background whilst working. Again with the new release of the Eldar models and codex has made me want to start a new army. But I think my poor unpainted Deathguards are objecting to that.

More after the jump »

Chat: Switching paint ranges

2013-06-08T02:00:01-07:00

Let's start off by declaring my love for the new Citadel paint range. That's right internet, you heard me. "I'm a GW fanboy and proud of it". Seriously though, there is always a downside to discontinuing a range of paints and that is will the new paints match the old ones? Read on to find out how I'm getting on.

More after the jump »

WIP: Ogre Kingdoms Thundertusk

2013-06-07T12:00:49-07:00

I'm going to try and get everything I'm currently painting up as WIP for the Ogres I'm working on as a commission. Normally I just always showcase, but in this event seeing that I have so many models that I'm basically working on at once I thought it would be interesting to see the before and after results. This is the second Thundertusk I have painted. The original was way back several years ago when it was first released by GW. So its actually nice to re paint something and try and make improvements on it, which I think I have.

Again if anyone wants to know any colours that I'm using feel free to ask.

WIP: Dark Eldar Venom #2

2013-06-07T02:00:02-07:00

Update on my Venom, the vehicle itself is completed! As you notice, just as with my Raider, I kept the Venom bare-bone without any spears or flags sticking out. I feel they distort the silhouette of the model. Speaking of my Raider, I feel that its black and gold sail with the blue rune freehands really stands out. I wanted to pick up this design on the Venom, too, so I painted the canopy black and gold and added the runes there. I really like how it turned out, though now I can't help to think of some douchebag 90s guy, driving his pimped car with tribal stickers on the back window ;)

Next up is the gunner. This Venom will belong to a small squad of Trueborns (who I haven't painted yet), so I wanted the gunner to look a bit more noble than my regular Kabalites. I chose a head with a big top-knot and will add more gold to his armour.

What do you think so far?

Showcase: Chaos Sorcerer Dark Vengeance Conversion

2013-06-06T02:00:01-07:00

Finally finished my second HQ for the Black Legion force. The detail on this model is incredible, you wouldn't believe the stock model is from a starter box set. With so much detail it was really challenging trying to use a limited palette of colours. More pics after the jump.

More after the jump »

Showcase: World Eaters Tactical Support Squad

2013-06-05T02:00:03-07:00

'Please state the nature of your vehicle-related emergency'

Here's a bit of an oddity from the Space Marines Legion army list, the Tactical Support Squad (troops choice). They're essentially Dominions. A neat little squad and it's always nice to see comms guys in 40k squads.

Thanks for your feedback on the Riptide survey by the way. I'll see that I can get some more work done on that fella very soon but an emergency commission came in so at least painting on the Riptide might be delayed a bit (yeah, shock horror ;) ).

WIP: Ogre Rhinox Thunderlord and Cavalry

2013-06-04T02:00:07-07:00

Hey all. I've been extremely busy the last few weeks painting a huge Ogre army commission for a client. And in all its moving along at a solid pace and its been a lot fun too. Sometimes when I get commission work for larger than large army's it can be a little daunting. But this one is not that bad. Above I have a group of 3 Forge World Rhinox riders. I still need to finish the riders and parts of the Rhinox's. I have been painting them primarily using Vallejo model air both with the airbrush and by regular brush. If anyone wants to know any of the colours I used, feel free to ask.
Also if anyone is interested whilst exploring London I found a fantastic gaming shop called Dark Sphere in Waterloo. I would strongly suggest if you get a chance to visit this store as you will find all sorts of cool things from models to paints. They have a huge stock Vallejo model air and fantasy paints, along with P3 paints. And the pricing is very reasonable as well.

Tale of Mega Painters - Month 4 in retrospect

2013-06-03T02:00:06-07:00

Stahly: In this monthly section we want to recap the progress of our "Tale of Mega Painters" project, a motivational project by Garfy and me. Basically we want to push ourselves to paint up a Dark Eldar and Necron Megaforce respectively. In my case to start a new army, in Garfy's case to expand his small collection of Necrons. More about "Tale of Mega Painters" can be found in our kick-off post here. Click "more after the jump" to review all the models we painted this month.
More after the jump »

Tutorial: How to paint Eldar of Saim-Hann (Mk. II)

2013-06-02T02:09:21-07:00

Hi there, on the occasion of the release of the new Eldar codex I've completely reworked and rewritten the painting tutorial I did a couple of years ago when I started my Eldar army. So if your Wraithknights are craving for some paint, clickt after the jump and you will learn how to paint the striking red of the Craftworld Saim-Hann.
More after the jump »

Chat: How do you like your Riptides?

2013-06-01T09:15:11-07:00

Last night I started putting together a Tau Riptide Battle Suit for an upcoming review of the kit and I'm a bit stumped for how to equip the fellow. So I thought I'd ask you good people for your opinions on the subject. What is your preferred weapons/support systems load-out on the model? And while we're at it - any preferred colour schemes?

Looking forward to seeing your suggestions in the comments section!

WIP: Dark Eldar Venom #1

2013-05-31T02:00:08-07:00

As you can see, I started work on the next unit of my Dark Eldar Megaforce - the Venom. A nifty little vehicle. I already finished the lower hull and the splinter cannons. Next up is the upper hull and the gunner. Just as with my Raider, I airbrushed the hull to acchieve a subtle lilac gradient. This venom is for my Trueborn Kabalites, so I chose the railing that matches the one of the Raider, and the gunner is going to look slightly more noble than the warriors of my regular Kabalite squad I painted a while ago. Stay tuned!

Chat: Scrapbooking & Resourcing for inspiration

2013-05-30T02:00:05-07:00

I nearly entitled this article, 'the real reason to buy white dwarf' but I didn't want to provoke fury, so I went with the much more honest option which is scrapbooking, collecting resources and inspiring yourself. In the last ten years I've managed to fill 5 scrapbooks with cuttings which have been 95% taken from the venerable white dwarf. I'd gotten to the point where I had hundreds of the things on a bookshelf, so spent a rainy afternoon flicking and cutting and it has now become my monthly routine. entire bookshelves condensed into a few inches - pure citadel imagery without the advertising and stock shots. To see inside my scrapbooks carry on reading after the jump.
More after the jump »

Showcase: Necron Canoptek Scarabs

2013-05-29T02:00:04-07:00

These models were so simple to paint, which made them a bit monotonous. I'm pleased they're done though, sometimes it's nice to get the boring units done so you can look forward to the bigger kits. I'm thinking I might paint the Canoptek Spyder next to go with this unit. Stahly is working on a Dark Eldar Venom, and the Spyder is roughly the same size so that's quite cool. Watch this space.