Back from the Dead!

It has been a while since my last posting and I have finally decided to revitalize this blog. I just currently graduated from college which will free up some time for me to focus back on the hobby again. My Templars are still in the works and I plan on finishing the army within the next couple months. There are some things I have learned since I last worked on them so I hope to incorporate some of those changes for the better.

Lately, I have been on the ropes as to the look of the army overall. Some things I am happy with (glow effect) while others I am not (lack of white, but I still suck at painting it and I don't want to ruin the success I have had so far). Another area that I wish to improve upon is the tabards. I would like to eventually learn how to paint them in layers rather than one color, black wash, and done. Adding some more weathering is also something I would like to add because I feel they are pretty plain looking otherwise. The goal is to go for realism here rather than the bright colors I see on some armies (which make them look a lot less realistic in my opinion) but if you are one of those people and you are happy with the results, then that is all that matters.

Since the color scheme is not traditional I have thought about claiming these Templars to be a special unit of some sort. I do not want to make them a successor chapter as I feel that takes away from them being Templars. I would rather have them wear the black/red with some sort of meaning behind it. I also like that this is my own personal touch on them rather than sporting the same color scheme as all the other Templars you see. My painting skills are not good enough to take the classic Templar scheme and make them stand out amongst the masses. That being said... I have a goal for the future that I would like to implement...

Once the new codex hits, I would like to rebuild a new Templar army (dubbed Templars 2.0) and stay true to the color scheme as well as making them look more ancient looking. The once concept I am torn on is the white. I would like to use a bone color as I feel it is easier to make it look older and dirtier but deviates a little from the colors Templars use. Part of it comes from me being afraid of painting white but I like the look. Anyway, I have time to figure that all out.

This site will be undergoing a major overhaul shortly as well. I have plans for a new banner, logos, and just an overall look that will be much more enjoyable when visiting the site. More to come shortly...

Black Templar Assault Terminators

Finished my close combat terminator squad. Technically I still have two more thunder hammer/storm shield terminators but I figured since this is the squad setup I will be running most frequently, they should all take a picture together. I am really looking forward to painting the Land Raider Crusader for this squad as well, but that will come next month.

Re-rolling hits (preferred enemy) and wounds is pretty good I hear :P



Nevermind the fact that the squad will cost 566 points with the dedicated transport and furious charge, ouch!

Black Templar Predator

Well here is an update on the Black Templar Predator...



Sadly, this still isn't finished yet, as I still need to apply weathering to the red areas, paint the lenses on the side sponsons, and paint the headlights. Both the lenses and the headlight effect I am still practicing and will apply when I am confident I can get the look right.

Black Templar Initiates

Well, after a lot of headaches working with white, I decided to revert back to the original idea of having red shoulder pads rather than white. White is a very hard color to work with and the more I tried to work with it, the results were horrible. That being said, the red is much easier to work with, wash, and speeds up painting time tremendously.

Here is one of the las/plas squads...



I was able to paint this squad in a day (woot!) and like the previous models, I did not put much effort into the details. I do wish the tabards turned out a little better with the "wash-and-go" method and it is something I may return to once the army is finished. I thought about using three different shades of red to build up the shadows and then use a final wash to dull it down to fall in line, but this is something that will have to wait until the army is completed due to the deadline I have set for myself. Luckily, these are only table top standard and I feel will pass as such for the time being. More to come shortly!

350 pt Space Hulk Battle

The local game store which I go to just held a "Token Smash-and-Grab" which was composed of 12 players in a space hulk setting. Each player was allowed one HQ and one Troop choice with a maximum of 350 points. Tokens were captured from various points within the space hulk and each token either gave a stat buff or awarded a prize should the player exit the space hulk with the token in their possession. Players could also take tokens from other players by defeating the other players unit and thus taking their tokens for themselves. A central "hangar bay" allowed for the player to exit the game, keeping all tokens in their possession.

Overall, the game was a lot of fun, and helped beginners like me understand core rules and abilities without the larger scale of a regular game. I had built a unit and troop choice just for this event since I did not see my Templars doing as well in this type of scenario (at least the ones I had built and painted at this point).

Here are some pics of the units I painted...

Nurgle Daemon Prince (WIP) I say that because there are still details I would like to go back and finish up.



Troop choice - Plague Marines





I did not do multiple angle shots because there isn't much to see (though I think the greenstuff job I did turned out pretty good). I also picked up adhesive pearls for scrap booking from the local Michaels store to add boils to the armor (which aren't really noticeable in the pictures above since most are on the back sides of the legs). The paint job was easy to pull off thanks to the washes as they covered up most of the imperfections unless you are really looking for them (and you will find them) but overall I am happy considering the time it took to complete everything. The Blood Angel floating in the mud was a personal token I added for a local friend who plays BA as I always like to incorporate friends armies into my bases to add that friendly visual smack talk :D

Well, with this project out of the way, it's back to finishing the Templars. With rumors of a new codex next year, I can only hope my army is not rendered useless afterwards (ie. 2x Cyclone Missile Launcher Terminator squads, 2x Heavy Weapons in five man squads, etc.) not to mention shiny new models which I am always partial to. Guess I'll have to wait and see. More to come, enjoy!

Orkz? A little fun on the side..

So I am painting up some orks I had lying around for a cpl years now (from when the Assault on Black Reach first launched) and I decided to start painting them (see, I do jump around a lot). Anyway, these will be used as small pockets of orks for the tabletop game. To make it more interesting, they will guard bonuses, objectives, or whatever. I figured it would add another element to the game.

Templar update* Still putting the finishing touches on the predator tank. I also am halfway done with the last terminator in the first squad lol... (sigh)

Here is one of the nobs from the black reach set...

Predator.. Almost done!

Been a couple weeks since my last post and I have been trying to find the time to get this project done. Well, this evening I found a few hours and was able to make some progress on the vehicle (and I finished another Terminator, woot!).

So far, only drybrushing has been done to the main hull (not the sponsons or turret yet) and I plan on using pigments (dry mud and african dust) on the tracks and near the bottom of the main hull for some added weathering. I am hoping it will keep the look in line with the bases of my figures or else I will have to apply the pigments to the bases of the mini's I have already finished to keep a more uniform look. Luckily I only have a handful painted right now so the adjustment shouldn't be much work in the event I have to add the pigments.

Anyway, the side sponsons are magnetized, as are the two weapon options for the top turret. I also magnetized the top piece where the turret sits so I can remove it to show off the inside more and to put a rhino door on there in case I want to use it for that instead (as well as magnetized rhino doors). Well, hopefully I get this finished in the next few days and I will post finished pics then!

Enjoy!