More WIP pics of my Lamenters Storm Raven! I traced a Warmachine base to make the circle, then painted it with multiple layers of grey to white. Then I painted the heart with black, then a couple layers of red. I will continue to fiddle with the checks to make the edges harder but for the most part c'est fini! (at least the checks on the wing are.) Now to do the other one...
I had a busy birthday! Part of my present was a day of peace, during which I went to work on the centerpiece of my new Lamenters army. First I airbrushed with multiple yellows, and then sprayed some shade on it to get the yellow base you see here. I left it very subtle for now, I intend to go back and brush in some blending later. I painted the engines black and will do them up with my Jawa Grey NMM grey technique.
Before I could go on with the painting though, I had to do the cockpit.
I painted the seat and back brown then bleached bone then washed.
Then I painted all the controls and lights with multiple layers of highlight.
Then time for the pilot!
First to make sure he fits with the canopy...
Then time to give him some life! He got the same treatment all of my
vanguard vets have gotten so far. Not quite as many layers, but he still looks
good. I did the full checker treatment on the shoulder pad along with the heart symbol and I painted all the
Mechanicus symbols too. I borrowed from fantastic painter Gabe Dobkin for the eyes. I noticed that when he paints his it looks like he actually enlarges the lenses. You can see the images I used as reference HERE on BOLS. Simple but powerful!
Now it is time for the checks! You can see the subtle blending I did
with the airbrush. I mixed a little brown into my yellow for shading
then accented it with wash. I am fairly happy with the right front engine housing
and the housing over the rear right engine as well. The blending is subtle and almost imperceptible
if you don't know to look for it! But it will give me a great base to work on with a brush.
For the checks I used a ruler to grid out 1/4" marks, then a credit card as a straight edge to lay down
the lines. The ruler was too unwieldly.
Then came the hand painting! I started with a codex grey base then painted in each individual
black check free hand. The only issue was that the wing was just a tad too wide to make the checking even. You can see on the right that that row of checks is a bit too wide. I will fix that by blending yellow down the front of the wing. This is just the layout. I will paint each white check with about 4 shades of grey then a white highlight. That is the point that I will edge out the checks and make them as square as possible.
Where else will I place checks? The tail and stabilizers will get some, and maybe some on the intake on the top. This raven will have hurricane bolters, so I think the bolter housings will also be checked. I am going to magnetize the doors and sponsons so I can switch em out.
Here are some inspiration images I found:
I am kinda digging the angled checks on the tails. Perhaps this will be the perfect compliment to what is a very boxy and geometric model. Maybe I can do some subtle checks on the wing tips of the stabilizers. I am thinking about actually hacking up the tail of my raven, and creating a sort of stabilizer like you see on these... a more traditional fighter type...
The storm raven is a truly huge model to build and paint. The model itself goes together very easily, but it is a daunting task to paint it to a top level. The cockpit alone took a couple hours of work for me, but it is necessary. All too often do you see guys who short cut the cockpit and paint over it. But it is those details that a paint judge will recognize, and if not directly, subconsciously reward.
For the symbol, I am going to place it directly in the center of this field of checks. I will simply trace a terminator base and make a big circle and go to town.
Ok, then, back to work for me. My birthday vacation is wearing thin with the wife and my minutes are numbered!
So I posted a pic of my new Lamenters Chapter Banner on Facebook, and none other than the great Dave Taylor popped in and gave some free advice!
I wish I lived close to Baltimore. I would be able to work with Dave and bounce ideas off him and vampire some of his incredible talent and motivation. :)
Here is my first attempt at the Lamenters Chapter Banner:
I was pretty happy with it. Until Dave threw a crack at me for being lazy and painting larger scale checkers. He challenged me to paint 8x16 instead of 4x8.
SO
I went to work.
Here it is now, more closely true to the Lamenters Chapter Banner that I found posted online in various locations. I painted over the top left and bottom right checks with yellow, and then divided each of my original checks into four and based some grey over the black. I need to go back in and edge off the checks with black then highlight with white and grey. And no Dave, I am not going 16x32.
:)
Thanks for the inspiration Dave Taylor! If you have not checked out Dave's Lamenters, he truly humbles me. Take a look! I feel refreshed and motivated to start banging these guys out. Unlike Dave's black Death Company, mine will be white. Wish me luck with that!
But wait... Vanguard Vets cant have a banner! Who cares, when competing for Best Painted, you need to add flare wherever you can. So most of the squads in my army will be carrying a banner of some sort. :)
Here is how I did my Lamenters Chapter Banner.
First I sprayed it with Averland Yellow base color and gave it a yellow shade wash.
Then I painted the rectangular banner area with codex grey.
Then I laid out some lines using a detail brush and free hand. I eyeballed the distance and size of the squares, and just got lucky. It was just about perfect.
Then I painted in the black squares.
Then boom finished banner! :)
Actually I layered up to white, using Fortress Grey, Ulthuan Grey, and white.
Then I hand painted a circle sorta in the center with black, and relayered up to white using the same recipe.
Then I hand painted the heart on top of that with black again, then Mechrite Red, then some blood red and a bit of orange. I intend to give it some more love.
For the scroll I painted it with black first, then used Calthan Brown, and layered up using Tallarn Flesh and increasingly light layers of the new flesh and bone colors. I painted the world Lament on the scroll.
The marine is done the same way as my Sgt. I sprayed him with the yellow base first on top of black, then gave a good wash of Casendora Yellow. Then layers of Yriel and Flash Gitz with another light shade of Casendora. The winged parts of his armor I used the same recipe as the checks.
Feel free to leave questions or comments or tips! How are YOU doing your hellow I mean Yellow!
Several people have messaged me asking if I was going to do some sort of charity promotion for the kids at Sandy Hook. I wanted to share this with you, and I promise it will be the last you hear on it from me!
After some thought, I figured I would share this with you. Most people who hear about tragedies like this have a hard time feeling how real it is. When you are disconnected you don't really get a feel for the sadness and emotion. Well in this case, you have a connection to me.
And this.
I have had a tough week because in the nature of my job, I feel the loss of each of those lives deeply. Being a parent of a little boy will soon be approaching the age of those kids only magnifies it.
Any way, now you can add a connection to a face and for a change you can actually help some one directly affected by something terrible, rather than donating to a charity and hoping the money gets to the right place.
Her name was Ana Grace Marquez-Greene.
My friend and colleague is a close friend to Ana's parents. These last days she has spent most of her time with them, trying to add comfort and strength to a place where there is only sorrow. I can't imagine it. But I want to help.
You can help too.
I decided that instead of doing a painting project, or trying to sell chances to win something, or trying to collect money personally, I would connect you directly to a fund created to help the family of Ana Grace. You can find it HERE. I urge you to go there and donate what you can.
I am going to place this image at the top right of my blog with the link to the Ana Grace Fund where you can donate. I urge all bloggers to do the same as a show of support of the kids and teachers who lost their lives. I will keep the image up until New Years Day. Simply save the image and post it.
Sorry the image is not super artsy, I don't have any editing software on this machine. It is enough.
I know times are lean, but lets show this family the power that we as a group wield and donate to the fund created in the name of this beautiful little girl.
As most of you know, I am a teacher in Connecticut. My school is about 20 miles from Newtown. Sitting here at work today, there is a quiet buzz in the building. Most of the kids are going on with business as usual. It is better not to think about things too much. Some of the kids are sad. Some are afraid. One little girl was so affected she asked to go speak to the councilor. We held a school wide moment of silence at 9:30am. Not a peep.
I didn't actually know any one involved with the tragedy, but I have a friend who just went home from work. Her good friend lost a daughter. I can't imagine it. She thought being in school today would be good for her, but it was too much. It doesn't matter though if you lost some one, or knew some one. If you are human, it hurts. I could not read a report over the weekend without tears. I spent most of the weekend painting or playing with Jack to keep my mind off it. The thought of my own son going to school with his usual smile only to be shot down in a corner makes me want to scream puke and cry all at the same time.
In my classroom I cleared out my big walk-in closet of the various carts and things to make room. Our previous procedure of huddling in a corner was not good enough. I had my 28 8th graders quickly practice squeezing in. They all fit, albeit tightly. It only took a few seconds. Not one of them giggled or snickered. If you knew 8th graders, you would understand the feat.
With the door shut and the lights off you would not even know they were there. At least now I know that given a small warning I can get them safe. If some psycho busts through my class room door, he better have a full mag because that is what it is going to take to stop this 300 pound art teacher from biting out his throat.
Any way... take a moment today to give those poor souls your thoughts. Appreciate what you have, and if you are a parent, spend a few more minutes with your kids. My heart is heavy today and it goes out to those teachers and kids who lost their lives.
And thank you to every one who emailed me with their concern over the weekend.
Back to business tomorrow. Be sure to check out my live show on the MWG vault! Jim and I will be playing some live 40k. 8pm EST. Tomorrow's show is free for all.
I don't manage to check out the greater interwebs often, but every once in a while I come across something sweet. Today Dave from Miniwargaming emailed me a link to a contest video by Austin from Brush 4 Hire, and I wanted to share it here on the blog.
In his video, he is advertising a contest where the grand prize is a 1500 point army painted by his service! The models are donated by Dave and Matt from Miniwargaming.
Here is the video:
So please take a look, and give Austin some props!
Also, Dave from MWG asked me to join their "Vault" community and I happily agreed after taking a quick look at some of the other guys on the list such as Blue Table Painting. I have nothing but respect for the work they do and was honored to be part of the community. I will be doing a weekly half hour show on Tuesdays at 8pm EST, but you have to be part of their Vault to see it!
Tune in next week to the free live show on MWG. So far I have been painting Lamenters and talking Blood Angels. It is pretty fun!
So there was a pretty good discussion the other day about Blood Angels assault marines as allies and I wanted to do a continuation of that thread for review.
First of all, I am sure there are better points use for allies but here is what I came up with:
This is a copy/paste from my comment section. I am replying to a question about bikers to begin.
The important part here is where I break down points costs and why BA RAS are a great troops choice in 6th Ed, especially as allies.
I did a lot of play testing a bike squad with priest. The result was underwhelming all the time. The squad is hugely expensive, and once combat is in place, it is still only one attack per model. If they could all take plasma guns, then yah bikes, but you only get two per squad plus SGT upgrades. In the end it is a very expensive pair of plasma guns that at best will tie up an enemy assault squad for a bit, provided that the enemy unit is not a dedicated assault unit.
Here is a little comparison to show the strength of BA assault squads. I have created two units as identical as possible including 10 men and an attached IC.
Vanilla: x10 marines plasma pistol flamer power fist chaplain with JP Fearless reroll hits on charge non scoring 355 points
Blood Angels: x10 marines MELTA GUN (not an option for vanilla) flamer fist Sanguinary Priest with JP and Power Maul(to keep it even) FEEL NO PAIN Furious Charge possibly fearless reroll ALL hits with librarian buff scoring 320
35 less points and way more effective!
:) Some one had commented comparing vanilla assault marines with BA. So I created two units on army builder creating the same unit as close as possible, with an attached IC. I used a chaplain and a priest since they were probably the closest in nature. You can immediately see the goodness of the BA assault marine! Some of the things that jump out at me are the fact that a BA RAS can have two specials, with the options being Melta, Flamer or Plasma guns while the Vanilla only gets one, and a plasma pistol (I think it was on the sgt?), and no Melta or Plasma gun option. So the point here is that you take this blood angels squad I have above, add another, and a Librarian with JP and you have a brutal group of nasties for 765 points. This is the perfect allied compliment to a Space Marine army who has cheap fire power like Thunder Fires and interesting options like useful Captains or named characters and different Libby powers. (The Blood Angels captain is a joke). You can also throw in a Storm Raven which is one of the best flyers still. In summary, if you are playing Marines, and want some assault goodness, don't bother with the Marine codex, play Blood Angels. 1200 points of the best that the Marine codex has to offer supported by 800 points of the best the Bloods have to offer enhances both. And THAT is the point of allies folks! Jawaballs
My friend Justin Zimmerman over at Gamer's Gambit in Saddlebrook, NJ asked me a question:
If you do not mind taking the time, what would a perfect game store be like? What would it have? What would it NOT have? In your opinion and what you think most of the gamers out there are looking for. Thanks
I figured I would throw this one out to you all to give him some great feedback! First, this question is a lot of responsibility for little ole me to answer alone. :) What do I think all gamers out there want? Well first is good tables and terrain. Most guys will play on any thing, but players really appreciate being able to play on a pretty table that is not just a bunch of foam insulation boards all chipped and broken set up on a folding cafeteria table with some unpainted cities of death terrain and craters. This might not pop out as a huge deal, but tables are usually one of the first things people talk about when they reference good, or bad GTs. "Oh the tables sucked!" Mechanicon has the best table I have played on at any GT and they are proud of that distinction!
How many? That is up to a store's space. One particularly nice setup I have seen is at Brothers Grimm on Long Island. They have two long rows of tables that run the length of the store, that are raised fairly high so that us out of shape dudes don't have to constantly bend over a low table. The tables there serve double purpose since they work well for Card Games as well as 40k.
Another good thing about those tables is that there is usually space below them to store our stuff on shelves. You can never have enough space to put your transports and army displays!
I say six dedicated gaming tables should be a goal. That allows for a 12 man tournament of 40k, or that can accommodate probably 24 card gamers. Then space for more break down tables allowing for a 30 man tournament.
It is every gamer's gutt instinct to say "Couches with Xbox" when thinking about what should be in a game store. But I disagree. Truth is, whenever I have been to a store that had these things, I have found it mildly annoying! Unlike 40k, video games are uninteresting and actually annoying to watch. Plus the guys playing them are enraptured in their own little worlds, way more so than table top games. They put their back to the room and enter their zone just like they do in their moms basement. And while it would be nice to sit and drink scotch with my gamer buddies and talk 40k on a comfy couch, that is not the case as they are uber camped by 12 year olds eating chips, spilling soda and treating the space like some one is there to clean up after them.
Mike Clark from Showcase Comics in Media, PA put it into words. The couch attracts the wrong crowd. It takes up retail space and populates the store with guys who are not spending money who are more likely to loaf around as they have a comfortable place to park. But worse, creates a situation where your store is providing daycare for free, and on top of that, when walk ins come in, they get turned off by the rowdy crowd associated with it. I concur on all counts.
That is not saying that Xbox does not have a place in a gaming store, especially if that store has a used game market.
A discount program? Stores don't like hearing this, but when gamers run the numbers, it is very tempting to use guys like Spikey Bitz who offer a 20% discount with no tax vs paying full price in a local store plus tax. I used to break it down by box sets. I could buy a Land Raider and two assault squads at the LGS or I could go online and buy a Land Raider and THREE assault squads. Pretty easy decision for most folks!
No that doesn't mean you should just throw a discount at every gamer that walks in though. Dean at Clockwork Comics in Orange, CT has a gamers club. I believe there is nominal yearly fee, and you have to maintain a couple of comic subscriptions, but if you do you get a 20% discount off 40k and Warmachine.
The details are unimportant. What does matter is that a game store can use this approach and individualize it for their own distinct population. Gaming ETC. in Stratford, CT offers a flat 10% discount to every one. Bottom line is that our addiction breaks us, and while we want to support our LGS by shopping there exclusively, I believe you would be hard pressed to find a handful of adult gamers who do not save their big purchases for the interwebs and instead exclusively pay full price at the LGS.
Separate gaming area and retail area. It is annoying to try to shop or browse a store that is full of gamers. I have played at tournaments where we were lined up tight against the clamshell racks. Every time I turned around I was knocking a blister off a hook. What made it worse was shoppers asking me to let them pass through the space. "I'm playing a game here!" I have walked into a store as a shopper to find they were running a Yu Gi Oh tournament.... and just turned around and walked out.
Noise control. Thats right. install noise dampening materials on the walls and ceiling. Sound baffles to redirect the echos, etc. Some places get so loud that you simply cannot hear the guy across from you while you are playing. That sucks. Especially if you are playing three games in a day. You leave wanting to die. And don't play music over a sound system. Even cool stuff like the Conan soundtrack. It just adds to the noise.
Stock. I dislike when I go to a store to buy something I need, like a Chimera I need for a tournament in two days, and they are out of stock. Then the next time it is a terminator squad. The next time a speeder. Eventually you just stop trying to go to the store and instead drive further to the next one.
Whatever it is, have it in stock. More people will come to the store that has the reputation for always having what you want. Sorry store owners but "I don't have it but I can order it for you" is just not good enough in this case. I think just about 100% of the time whenever I have heard that I declined and just went and ordered it myself.
I know I know, it is impossible to keep EVERYTHING in stock. But you did ask what I thought a perfect store was like! But you should endeavor to try. At least push for what you are known for. If you are a 40k store, your 40k stock should be complete. Skimp on the warmachine and even the fantasy, but if some one comes looking for a Tau Broadside, or Space Marine Chaplain with Jump Pack blister, it should be there.
This is especially important for hobby supplies like spray primer and plastic glue. Always have them. And more than just GW. Army Painter makes nice primers and there are several other brands of glue. Always have at least one can stored away so you can please that guy who NEEDS IT NOW! He will definitely come back next time.
Dedicated space for RPGs. Set up a comfortable area off in the back for Dungeons and Dragons and make sure there is a place for the DM to get set up with his stuff, and 6 to 8 players to sit comfortably.
Cool stuff, like Jawa-Banners! Every store needs a Jawa-Banner! :) But shameless plugs aside, make your store unique. Decorate it with banners, artwork and suits of armor that add the cool factor. Rob Baer at Spikey Bitz has a suit of Storm Trooper armor standing in his store, and a Jawa-banner on the wall! Cool!
:) I am sitting here chuckling to myself.
From here I will open this up to the readers. Feel free to chime in here peeps. Lets give Justin some good feedback on this great question.
By the way I have Comment Moderation on to silence the douchebags. Be patient, your comment will post as soon as I get to it!
So in the new era of Allies, is there a better ally to take (If you are Imperial of course) than Blood Angels Assault Marines? Or a better question, is there any thing else worth taking in the BA codex?
First of all, your basic allied detachment for Blood Angels.
Librarian with JP
x2 Ten man assault squad with meltas and/or flamers and Power Weapons
1 Sanguinary priest with PW and JP.
This is about 660 points, but brings a whole lot of hurt to the table! First of all, they are troops, but also, feel no pain and furious charge hurts, add to that Divination and the ability to give the entire squad reroll to hits, and possibly a 4+ invul save, and you are talking just nasty.
Further, in 6th Edition, with the ability to take armor saves vs Dangerous Terrain tests, and FNP, assault marines are now able to jump in and out of terrain without fear.
Even further, if you are able to line it up, the Hammer of Wrath is sweet! Blood Angels assault marines are truly ferocious.
For about 600 points, what other better options are there? (That are Battle Brothers)
Mostly this is due to an almost speechless stance! I just don't know what to say.
But lets start with the last episode, and the music. Bear McCreary. During the opening scenes of the first season, I took a moment to listen to the music... it was oddly familiar yet hard to identify. Then I nailed it. It was Bear McCreary. I only needed the opening credit sequence to confirm it.
In case you don't know who he is, think Battlestar Galactica, the reboot. (One of the best shows ever)
That show did not just earn that title on the merits of the drama and acting...
Bear McCreary was the episodic composer for every show except the mini series where he was just a subordinate. But I am going to go out on a limb and throw this out here... you would be hard pressed to find a better all around television series sound track... any where.
Any one who cares to contest that statement please refer to:
and please provide a more beautiful composition to come from a TV series. Play the song and listen while you read... I guarantee you will play it again!
So why do I bring up Bear?
Well he nailed it in this last episode. The scenes of Rick and co. hiding behind the car skulking up on the town would not have been half as good without Bear's steady tension flow in the background, tieing in the simultanious scenes at the prison and inside the town with Andrea and the Gov. Bear is a master at this.
And being a fan of his style, I feel that I get an even deeper appreciation for the show. Next time you are watching it... stop for a second and focus on the music. Then think, are you having an emotional reaction to the acting or action, or are you reacting to the subtle soundtrack in the background... almost telling a story on it's own...
Here is more:
I dare you not to listen to that again.
If you get a chance to go back... take a listen to what is going on during the scenes that Rick is confronting Shane, Sophia is coming out of the barn, or Rick is screwing with the phone. Or Carl is about to off his mother. Or when Daryl is putting the Cherokee rose on the grave, or finding Carol, or looking for Sophia. You will find themes and binding movements. I have not had a chance to research it, but I bet if you listen back to season one, you will find the music playing in the background of the scene where Carl shot his mom, it will probably be a darker and more edgy version of whatever theme was playing when we first met the kid. Take a look! I will add it to my bucket list.
In BSG you caught constant recurring themes behind the characters. Adama and Lee, Adama and Roslyn, Kara, Chief! Every one had their themes and Bear spliced them together based on who was on screen and mixed them with the main themes of the show creating a work of beauty.
Hah, I just did a youtube search for Bear McCreary Walking dead and found this... no shit. Im a freaking genius:
Bear sums up the point I was just making. Themes coming together making a darker and more gripping product.
Would the scene in the first season where Rick puts down the walker in the park with no legs been as powerful without this?
Ok. Maybe I had a little much to drink and I was feeling all emotional. :)
A little more... Bear sorta robs this from 28 Days Later, but it is still great:
So any way, the episodes. I just havn't had a lot to say! There is little to infer and little to evaluate. The show has sadly taken a turn away from the mental drama where words have many meanings and friends are poised against friends, (Lori, Shane and Rick) and set up a world where we now have a clear cut black and white. It has sort of become an action movie... standard awesome but not outstanding SciFi.. .stuff.
We have The Governor. We think he is bad, but the show spells it out for us by showing us so. I wish they would have let him ride a bit longer and made us think more. You actually start to think that he is not so bad, but then right away they let you in on his fucked up nature as if there is they are trying to tell a story in 90 minutes.
Then we have Andrea and The Gov. What exactly has this dude done to seduce her? You mean that a few attempts at getting her drunk and spewing evasive humor was all it took? At least with Shane he put her in a life or death situation and got her all worked up. The Gov just sat there staring at the ground in a garden and let the plants woo her. Maybe he planted some mystical spanish fly flowers.
Glen and Merl... I LOVED the scene with Glen in the basement vs the walker. I think it showed a lot about the kind of person Glen has become. It was touched on when he tried to talk to Rick in the prison while Rick was going mad, glen tried to be emotional and got pushed away. Well, here Glen went into a dark spot of his own. Perhaps this will tie him closer to Rick than he was before?
But before that came the scene when Glen had Merl in his sights, and Merl was not yet armed. There came a point, especially when Merl was fumbling for his gun tucked in his pants, that Glen should have put him down. If you watch the scene, Merl digging that 45 out of his trousers took at least 3 seconds. Glen could have shot him 9 times. All I can say is I pity the next fool that tries to draw on Glen!
How about the scene in the guys cabin? What the hell was with the dead dog? Perhaps the guy was eating it.. .but the guy was a hunter.. .or seemed to be. He would have known that it was better to gut, skin and hang the meat rather than let it sit there. I loved when Michone skewered him though.. .and the guys could only sit and look in sorta shock followed by acceptance. Great scene. You do what you gota do! The convict didn't flinch though!
The almost rape scene on Maggie.... You could feel the tension and pain... it was almost too graphic to talk about. By pain I mean that Maggie who not long ago was still sheltered living on Daddies Farm was now accepting that she was about to be violated in this cold new world she lived in.
There is not a whole lot more to say. The lines have been drawn. We now have clear cut heroes and bad guys. We have clear cut arching sequence and traditional drama. We have a wonderfully created show in the same way that Titanic was a wonderfully created movie. We have every thing that makes Avatar, Braveheart and Aliens great movies. But at what cost... I almost find myself longing for the farm... or the quarry...
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