Painting contest: Dark Apostle

I had a tough time picking what to put together for this competition. As it turned out with Dark Vengeance, the Gnarloc, and a table full of Daemons & Space Wolves makes for a ton of choices.

That being said I figured I'd keep it simple this time. I've  been excited by the mace wielding Chosen since I first saw him, so I figured he'd make a great showcase piece.

I took it kinda easy: no scenic base, no drastic freehand, just a clean, quality mini with a good scheme. College students weren't really back into town & my buddy Yorrik is sitting this one out to be a judge (since he'd placed in three other painting competitions), so I figured there'd be minimal competition.

As it turns out, I was wrong.

One of the store regulars submitted a stellar looking Ork Bomba, complete with scenic base and a freehand gretchin pinup girl painted on the side (it is all at once impressive and disturbing). He placed some questionable looking aquarium plants on the base, but I know when I'm beat. Odds are good that I'll come in 2nd, and walk away with a lesson about underestimating my fellow gamers. I'll probably post shots of all of the competition's models keep you informed about what happens.

~Muninn

More Chaos pics

Here are some more shots from the upcoming White Dwarf. A lot of good looking stuff here (grabbed from Faeit 212)

Now that I get to see a profile of the Hell Drake's head I like it a great deal more. I also like how the various wing segments appear to come from an eight-pointed star. The swept-wing look also makes it appear to be slowing down to attack.

The new champion appears to have been made right alongside the DV Chosen. I'm really hoping that it's a plastic clamshell pack instead of finecast too, it seems likely since it looks like it's on a pre-modeled base. The horns seem a little big, although I like that they're reminiscent of a Bloodletter's horns.

As I'd hoped it looks like the Warp Talons & Raptors come from a single plastic kit. You can see the similar bodies & jump packs when you compare the two. Side by side you can see that the legs are exactly the same, although there differences in the feet. The Raptor feet appear to have crampons of some sort, while the Warp Talons have talons (go fig). I'll be interested to see how they are applied, maybe separate foot bits?

I'm neither excited nor disappointed by the new Sorcereror or Dark Apostle. Compared to the awesome things they did with the Dark Vengeance box I was hoping they'd step up the look of the Sorcerer. I suppose an alternate head or two could boost it in my opinion, but it still lacks zazz. I'd probably like the apostle better without the enormous Chaos halo, and the overuse of "purity" seals.

What can be said about the Mutilators that hasn't already been said about Kuato from Total Recall?  I can see where they were going, but I think their GPS sent them into an ugly, arse-faced ditch.

That being said. I'm still not discounting any of these guys until I see them in person. Now I'm mostly looking forward to seeing what they rules look like.

~Muninn

Dark Vengeance: Tactical Squad

I finally finished the DV tac squad today. Turns out my "quick" scheme isn't as fast as i'd hoped, but I'm getting them done, and that's what's important.

I'm not really happy with the sergeant's face, so I'll probably go back over that, but overall I'm pretty happy with them, & I hope they sell well once the time comes.

~Muninn

Chaos leaks are Here!

Naftka over at Faeit 212 has released the first images of the new Chaos Space Marine goodies, and Ican't help but share them too

First, the Helldrake. It is, for lack of a better word, Bitchin'. My first impression wasn't one unmitigated of awe, since this shot doesn't do a very good job of showcasing the head details, and the backside appears a touch unfinished from the angle it was show at. Other than that, it looks like it'll be hell on wings.

The Maulerfiend & Forgefiend are neat and appear to draw heavily from the Juggernaut aesthetic. I think I favor the Forgefiend at the moment, just because I like the head a bit better. Things could change once I see them in a different light though.

Good lord, please let these Warp Talons be plastics. There are so many details & slender blades I don't think I'd want to even attempt to tackle them in finecast. I'm pretty sure they are, and I'm pretty sure they'd look amazing on the battlefield. The little flavor description makes it sound like they pop into & out of the warp as a way of stalking & ambushing victims, so I'll be curious how their rules work. Maybe always count as night fighting, Warp Spider-style teleportation, or special deep strike rules?

To me this guy looks like a haunted Techmarine. Again, the picture doesn't leave me overwhelmed since from the angle it's really cluttered lookin. You know when you're watching the Transformers movie, and there are two robots rolling around fighting, but you can't really tell what part belongs to what robot? That's how I feel about this guy.

 Maybe they should have painted him as something other than an Iron Warrior to break up the silver.

If Poems were Chapters

There are a number of homages to the literary word in the Warhammer universe. The two most obvious are the Raven Guard, who were derived from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven", and the Dark Angels who are based from Lionel Johnson's preeminent poem "Dark Angel."

There are probably a few more references around the 40k galaxy, but I'm not immediately familiar with them.

I thought it could be fun to pick through some other poems & turn them into their own Space Marine Chapters. Mind you, several of these chapters have *nothing* to do with with the poem, but then again neither does "Dark Angel."

Ashen Wraiths
Poem: "Ashes of Soldiers" by Walt Whitman
Colors: Light Grey with Dark Grey stripes 
Concept: Known for the eerie silence they bring to the battlefield, these Raven Guard successors inherited their founder's tactical acumen and albino skin.
Motto: "Draw close, but speak not"

Zephyr Knights
Poem: "Fast rode the Knight" by Stephen Crane
Colors: Silver with Green
Concept: A chapter from a medieval world, they are dedicated to sudden & devastating assaults, these marines specialize in bike and speeder tactics.
Warcry:"To save my lady!"

Dead Souls
Poem: "My Native Land" by Sir Walter Scott
Colors: Black with Gold accents
Concept: A fleet chapter well known for their nihilistic tendencies, they navigate the edges of the Eye of Terror as a constant guard. Fellow chapter the Dawn Hawks have rebuked them for their lack of piety, despite their excellent deeds.

Lunar Flames
Poem: "Carnal Apple, Woman Filled, Burning Moon" by Pablo Neruda
Colors: White & Crimson halved
Concept: Created to smoke out and punish heresy within imperial communities, this chapter is known for the numerous burnt cities they have left in their wake.

Dawn Hawks
Poem: "Hurt Hawks" by Robinson Jeffers
Colors: Yellow with Navy Blue
Concept: Shielded as much by faith as by armor the Dawn Hawks extoll the Emperor with every action. Stationed near the Eye of Terror they are frequently at odds with their allies the Dead Souls whose dour demeanor is a sharp contrast to their own exultation.

Yorrik: Guardians of the Covenant

As soon as Dark Vengeance dropped Yorrik & I stepped into a friendly competition to see who could complete it faster. For the Dark Angels side he decided to go with the Guardians of the Covenant successor chapter here:

Yorrik is really fast (that's what she said), and I have a fairly time-intensive job, so I don't hold out a lot of hope in completing the whole box before him. I've made some good headway though. Almost all of the minis built & based, and my Tactical Squad is ready for its first wash. My minis won't be as distinctive or identifiable as Yorrik's, but hopefully that'll help when I sell them.


~Muninn

Test Mini: Dark Angels Green

Continuing on my road to Dark Vengeance I decided to work on an easy Dark Angels green technique.  I'm still not over my lover-fest with Krylon paints, so I picked up some Indoor/Outdoor Hunter Green (Satin finish) spray the other night and started in on it.

After priming I got one good layer of the green down, and that's all it took.

There's a slight rough patch or the left greave, but that should be easy to fix.

If you recall i needed to apply at least 2 coats for my Deep Red test mini. I'm guessing it has to do with the difference in coverage between red and green pigments. You know how many layers it took to get a clean looking red mini compared to a green or blue one? It's the same principle. The green paint can probably carry more pigment without trouble or something like that.

Which means that when it comes down to it, I'll be able to paint these Dark Angel Tac. Marines pretty darn fast.

Anyhoo, once the spray dried I gave the whole thing a Badab Black wash and went to bed.

The next day I gave it a once over with Dark Angels green.

Lastly I added a few highlights of Warpstone Glow, and a wash of Thraka Green, & it was done.

So to recap:
1. Prime Black
2. A coat of Hunter Green Krylon
3. Wash of Badab Black
4. Layer of Dark Angels Green
5. Highlight of Warpstone Glow
6. Wash of Thraka Green

It isn't really high quality, but for relatively quick steps I'd say it's above table-top and the longest part is waiting for the washes to dry.

~Muninn

Dark Vengeance: Box Breakdown

So I finally got my greedy little claws o Dark Vengeance. After a few cursory moments of investigating, inspecting, and smelling I snapped a couple shots of the sprues for your viewing pleasure (each picture shows front and back). Also, I'm a mini guy, so I'm going to bypass everything else & get to the meat & potatoes.

There are four big sprues total, chock full of minis packed in with little room to spare. The first thing you notice when looking at them is their fantastic detail. GW has come a long long way since Battle for Macragge. The bits come together in interesting inventive ways, like the bolter-Chosen whose horns are a part of the bolter arm bit (we have yet to see how well they actually fit though).

The first two sprues are identical and filled with both armies. Here's where you find the bulk of the Marines and Cultists, as well as their gear, as well as a Chosen, a Ravenwing bike, and a Deathwing termi. This is where the duplicates come from. There's a lot to like here, but for some reason I'm drawn to the Chaos backpacks. They're compact, and more characterful than the regular chaos packs. My favorite by far is the one with tentacles reloading a bolter.

The third Dark Vengeance Sprue is filled with the special Dark Angel bits. The gang's all here. The Company Master seems like the more fun with the way the chest fits into the body and the easily converted/customized/replaced head.

I think I'm going to have the hardest time letting go of the Librarian, since I really like the look of him, but I'm sure I'll be able to talk myself out of it. As mentioned, all of these sprues are bits to the brim with minis, but there are two little bits of chaos heads (one cultist & one chosen) for the bases. There's also a skull & ammo shells bit on the duplicate sprues as well.

Finally, my favorite, the special Chaos sprue. What's not to like? Each mini is it's own individual character. My top two minis are the Chaos Lord (ignoring the haters who complain that the sword is too big. pfft) and the Power Maul Chosen. Come hell or high water, that guy is going to be my Dark Apostle. He fits perfectly: Skull(ish) helmet, power mace, some obvious but interesting mutations. So much good stuff.

Since this is the Limited Edition box I got the Interrogator Chaplain as well.

He's alright.

There just isn't anything limited feeling about him. Other than the fancy cloak and smoke machine I think you could make an approximation with regular plastic army bits. I just feel like there was a lot of potential to do something that wasn't a vanilla looking chaplain. What about doing something like this guy?

In conclusion:
It's a damn fine box that I'm going to spend far too many night's working on. Hope you enjoy the pics & summary.

~Muninn