039 - HPC Halfway

So in January I decided to get a little more structured with what I was going to paint. I started recording my painting progress with a Kaban board and keeping a better record of what I have done. I have also joined the Independent Characters 2016 Hobby Progress Challenge. The Independent Characters is an amazing podcast that is back after a year long hiatus. The website for the podcast is here and the forums for the Hobby Progress Challenge can be found here. The rules are simple, you just commit to painting a unit (or units) each month and post a  photo of the unpainted miniatures on the forums. You have a month to paint them and when they are done you post a photo up of them completed. 

So lets have a look at my first five commitments:

January was a Betrayal at Calth Contemptor Dreadnought. I really like the model and feel like people were a little down on it compared to the rest of the boxed set but it ticks all the boxes for me. I did quite a few layers of Khorne Red to get the smooth surface on the model.

My second model in the challenge was a Land Speeder that I had leftover from another project and I used mk4 armour to model the crew. I like the fact a "Chaos" army can use a Land Speeder and was quite happy to put the Octed symbol right on the front of the model. I am going to go back and add a havoc launcher to it so it has a little extra firepower than a single heavy bolter.

I converted this Mortis Comtemptor from the Betrayl at Calth Dreadnought by just swapping over the close combat weapon with a spare assault cannon. I also popped a radar dish on the top to represent the Helicial Targeting Array.

This is my first tactical squad.I kept them quite simple to paint with minimal equipment modelled on them. I wanted them to look like foot sloggers rather than the super elite of the legion. 

This the second tactical squad. I have painted them shoulder pads red rather than black as i wanted them to look slightly different to other Word Bearers armies. I like the fact there are hundreds of thousands of marines in a legion so there can be some variation with the colour schemes.

Doing this challenge has been a great shot in the arm and I will have a decent looking army by the end of the year if all goes to plan which for a slow painter like me is very exciting. I would recommend this kind of scheme for projects. Next up are some characters to lead the force. Maybe even some tanks as well!

038 - Deathwatch Marines

I was really excited when Deathwatch: Overkill came out. The game looked good but the thing that seemed to really catch people's eye was the miniatures. The Genestealer Cult is great. It is an update of iconic models and concepts which were a fundamental part of what defined Warhammer 40,000 when I first got into the hobby. However the thing that really got me was the Deathwatch!
The Deathwatch are a cool idea and the new models represent the diverse chapters working as different parts to become more effective as a whole. This mirrors how the original twenty legions were designed by the Emperor to work together and compliment the strengths and inherent abilities of each other.
One Deathwatch marine stood out for me was the Iron Hand Ennox Sorrlock. I wanted to use that model as the basis for a Heresy era Techmarine. The body fit in with the right armour but this left me two Deathwatch arms and and a combimelta which didn't fit in with the time period. So having a few marine spares I cobbled together a Deathwatch Iron Hands marine which I intended to be just a one off model for a bit of fun.
But Games Workshop brilliantly released rules for both factions in the board game. So armed with rules I began thinking I could make my own Deathwatch team with the same wargear and use the rules that have been released.
It may only be eleven models but I can stretch this out and do a few models at a time and use it as a bit of palette cleanser between bigger squads and vehicles for other projects. I won't feasibly be able to substitute certain models without putting in alot of work so the Salamander, Imperial Fist and White Scar will be bought off Ebay and converted somehow to make them look a little more individual.
So my first models that are going to get made is my version of squad Donatus.

I have the basis for the models and the parts for the weapons in my bits box. I will have to buy the Deathwatch upgrade sprue for the shoulder pads but I am okay with that. as that will give me enough pads for all eleven and a few spares as well. 

Here is a quick work in progress picture of my Dark Angel, Space Wolves and Iron Hands marines.

I am quite excited about this small project and hopefully it will keep my creative juices flowing in the future. 

037 - 2016 Half Century

So it's 2016 and I said at the start of the year I would document my painting progress. Having a quick look at my makeshift Kanban Board I realised that I was on my 50th model for the year. Luckily it was a nice character model. So say hello to my 50th model, my 30k Word Bearers Chaplain.

I was quite happy with the paint job and it all seemed to work out so go me!

However I have to try and paint 100 models or more for the entire year. Boo pressure!