The State of the Paint Desk!

Well folks, I took part in a local painting competition put on by my friend Scotty and ended up taking first place... the fact that there were only three entrants (including my own) doesn't matter at all... really. The venue was a Privateer Press warcaster/warlock attachment for Warmachine or Hordes. With such a small selection of models, it was important to find one that had enough detail to actually be entered into a competition. In the end I chose the Druid Wilder from the Circle of Orboros. The model gave me a chance to try creating a "spell-effect" with brass etched leaves and it was also a model that could easily join my Warhammer Fantasy Wood Elves with a little modification to the base. (It also helped that the other two entrants both chose the same model to paint!)

Still, crappy camera skills aside, I was very happy with how the figure turned out, and I have to give credit to my wife for the win. She was the one that told me to add the swirl detailing to the skirt of the druid that helped edge it ahead of the competition.

And now with the painting competition over, I have taken the time to clean my painting desk and take stock of what projects I want to tackle. There are a few things on the burner. First, shock of all shocks, Lord of the Rings SBG (Strategy Battle Game) has received a small bump in the area after the new release of army books. I'm not sure how long the new interest will last, but I have already told you all that I am a sucker for starting a new mini game, and its not too hard to twist my arm into painting the Lord of the Ring Models! (I mean seriously, this stuff is based off of the Weta designs by Steve Jackson's crew... and how many hours have I spent watching the "making of" footage on those beautiful films?)

That said, when looking at the range of models and thinking of all of the choices I could make, a deep guttural voice was shouting in my head "Who do you serve?" To which I had to loudly reply "Saruman!" That's right folks, the forces of Isengard are assembling, and the Uruk Hai of the White Hand are invading the local gaming tables at The Armory.

Now with this force, I will admit that I am not taking my time, going for a table-top quality force and there is a great reliance on dry-brushing, washes, and selective detail work, but I will try and take some time once my named characters get in (thanks GW direct orders!)

I have tried my hand at some very basic modeling with my Uruk Hai, mainly in order to save money and use all of the figures that I have. First, I created a Captain by shaving off the helmet crest of a warrior and making a larger one with some plastic card and green-stuff. I also added a banner to on of the Uruk Hai warriors by using thin brass rod and then melting plastic card (with a lighter) to create the actual banner.

My last bit of "moding" involved the Uruk Hai scouts. I needed four more with shields added (as you can see to the side) and I think they turned out nicely - made of course with plastic card. I also needed four Uruk Hai Berserkers (and didn't feel like paying $23 for 4 models) so I used the same single weapon armed scouts, and added large two-handed swords that I made out of plastic card, brass rod, and liquid green stuff.

If this wasn't enough to keep me occupied, I have a rather large scratch building project that I have jumped into, that I know will test all of my modeling skills. My Black Templar Army is my pride and joy and I am proud to have a large force of the Emperor's finest to wage war against the enemies of the Imperium. I have reached that wonderful part of army collecting where all of my attention is turned towards Apocalypse size battles, and can slowly add formations and huge engines of war to my force. Of course, being a Space Marine army, I have decided that my battle brothers need to arrive on the field of battle in style. Enter my wip Thunderhawk!

So far the beast has been constructed of plastic card, the engines from Anakin's pod racer, and of course, various bits that I have gathered for the task.

I found plans for a Thunderhawk online, but did not like the scale of the figure. Instead I used these plans as a starting place, and then if I am honest, I have followed a thread on DakkaDakka by a poster named BlackAdder who is building an absolutely beautiful craft. I really want to take my time on this project, as It will become the centerpiece of my Black Templar force (and a great platform for mobile destruction in Apoc. Games)

As you can see, the basic structure is almost done, but I have slowed down so that I can make some decisions about the end design. For one, I really like when people put their flyers on camera tripods, so I plan on doing just that with this model. I also need to finish painting the cockpit area before I assemble the front of the bird.

I'm really excited to get this project underway, and my plan (if at all possible) is to have the Thunderhawk completed by NORCON 2012 so that I can turn this righteous weapon on the fallen forces of Chaos (thank you Gothimos Gaming Group for inviting me to your Apocalypse events, and inspiring me to tackle this monster!)

Well folks, that is all for this post... Upcoming will hopefully be some great works in progress as well as a display of my Dystopian Fleet (a project I have also claimed will be finished by Norcon... me and my big mouth!)